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Palestine condemns Israeli attacks on Gaza, holding U.S. responsible

Xinhua) 09:19, November 18, 2024

RAMALLAH, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian presidency on Sunday condemned the Israeli attacks in northern and central Gaza Strip, holding the U.S. administration responsible.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency, said in a statement that Israel translates the continued U.S. military, financial and political support into the killings that claim the lives of dozens of children and women, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Abu Rudeineh held the U.S. administration fully responsible for the continuation of the "bloody aggression" as a result of giving Israel political cover to "escape punishment and defy international legitimacy decisions."

Also on Sunday, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the international community responsible for the continued "displacement and starvation" in the Gaza Strip.

In a press statement, the ministry called for urgent international action to force Israel to implement UN resolutions and precautionary orders.

At least 96 Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombing in northern and central Gaza Strip in the past hours, the Hamas-run Gaza media office said on Sunday.

The strikes are part of Israel's ongoing large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza, launched in response to a Hamas rampage on Oct. 7, 2023. The Hamas attack killed around 1,200 Israelis and led to 250 individuals being taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 43,846, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Sunday.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
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Following the receipt of all applicable change of control and regulatory approvals, JTC, the global professional services business, has completed the acquisition of FFP, which was first announced in June.

Headquartered in the Cayman Islands with further offices in the BVI and Dubai, FFP is a leading provider of specialist fiduciary services to fund, trust and corporate clients.

The firm has built a strong reputation and differentiates itself as a leader in its chosen markets through a focus on providing innovative and tailored solutions and leveraging the unique multi-disciplinary skill set of its experienced and highly regarded team.

Strategic initiative

The acquisition of FFP is an important part of JTCs strategic initiative to establish a market-leading governance services practice that will help drive organic growth and add value to the Groups existing global client base.

FFP will leverage JTCs well-invested operational infrastructure and global network of 37 offices, which includes the largest and most sophisticated jurisdictions for fund and trust services. This will accelerate geographic expansion beyond FFPs current footprint to capture demand for its specialist services within the framework of JTCs governance services practice.

The entire FFP team, including the founders and senior management, will remain with JTC post completion. All employees will become owners of JTC through its well-established Shared Ownership programme, which ensures 100% of JTC employees are owners of the business.

Nigel Le Quesne, CEO of JTC, said: "As well as strengthening our well-established presence in the Cayman Islands, FFP will play a key role in the development of our governance services practice globally, which forms part of our wider growth strategy for the Group during our current Cosmos Era business plan.--TradeArabia News Service
Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), the operator and managing body of Bahrain International Airport, has announced that Ajex Logistics Services, a leading Middle East-based specialist in express distribution and shipping solutions, has expressed strong interest in leasing warehouse space at the newly developed Express Cargo Village Phase II at Bahrain International Airport (BIA).

The announcement was made at the recent Bahrain International Airshow held under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in the presence of Ajex Gateway and Network Operation Development Director Naser Alateeq and Bahrain Airport Company Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah.

Welcoming Ajex's interest, BAC said it is actively exploring negotiations to finalise a lease agreement.

"We are delighted by Ajexs interest in the Express Cargo Village. Their presence would be a significant addition to our growing logistics ecosystem, further strengthening Bahrain's position as a regional leader in air cargo and e-commerce," stated Al Binfalah.

Mohammed AlBayati, the Group CEO at Ajex Logistics Services said: "We are pleased to explore warehouse opportunities at Bahrains Cargo Village. This new facility would enable us to better serve customers with faster, more efficient logistics solutions, thus reinforcing our position as a key logistics provider in Bahrain."

"Moreover, this agreement underscores our commitment to supporting growing trade and commerce across the region, as we continue to meet the growing demand for reliable and innovative logistics services," he added.

Ali Al Mudaifa, Chief of Business Development at Bahrain Economic Development Board, said: "We warmly welcome Ajex's interest in the Express Cargo Village, which underscores the growing confidence investors have in Bahrain as a regional logistics hub."

"This development is not just a testament to our strategic location and robust infrastructure, but also highlights our commitment to enhancing the air cargo sector in line with Kingdoms strategic objectives," he stated.

"The presence of industry leaders like Ajex will further strengthen our capabilities and position Bahrain as a premier destination for logistics and e-commerce in the region, he added.

Al Mudaifa pointed out that Ajexs interest highlights the strategic importance of the Express Cargo Village, located north of BIA's runway.

"The facility is a key component of Bahrain's Logistics Services Sector Strategy and Economic Vision 2030, designed to advance the Kingdom's logistics industry, enhance its regional competitiveness, and attract further investment," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Radisson Hotel Group has announced the opening of its second hotel in Kuwait - Park Inn by Radisson Hotel & Apartments within the bustling Mahboula district, just south of the capital Kuwait City.

It offers 180 modern rooms and 70 serviced apartments, all with stunning sea views. Guests can enjoy nearby dining and beach access within walking distance of the property in addition to key business facilities.

These include a cutting-edge conference centre with three multipurpose halls, including the grand Al Nuwair Ballroom, which is perfect for business and social gatherings, said the hospitality group in a statement.

The Al Maha restaurant serves a signature breakfast buffet, live cooking stations, and a la carte options for lunch and dinner, it added.

Strategically located, it is a 30-minutes drive from Kuwait International Airport, with the famous Al Kout Mall only a 10-minute drive away. It also offers easy access to key locations, including the Warehouse Mall and Kuwait Towers.

Tim Cordon, COO Middle East & South East Asia Pacific for Radisson Hotel Group, said: "The opening of the Park Inn by Radisson Hotel & Apartments Kuwait underscores our commitment to continued growth in the region."

The hotel, he stated, offers a perfect blend of comfort, convenience, and the feel-good vibe that the Park Inn by Radisson brand is known for.

"With a contemporary all-marble decor from the lobby to the suites, the hotel exudes a modern lifestyle and sets itself apart as a unique destination in Kuwait," he noted.

The countrys strategic location at the crossroads of global business makes it a key destination for corporate travellers, while its picturesque beaches, thriving arts scene, and exquisite culinary offerings attract leisure guests year-round.

Kuwait has a dynamic blend of rich history and modern development, offering visitors a unique cultural experience. From the traditional charm of Souq Al-Mubarakiya to the architectural marvel of Kuwait Towers, the city effortlessly merges its heritage with contemporary advancements, said the hospitality group in a statement.

Visitors can explore the vibrant cityscape, indulge in world-class shopping at The Avenues Mall, or experience the tranquility of the Arabian Gulf coastline, it stated.

Odile De Groot, the General Manager of Park Inn by Radisson Hotel & Apartments Kuwait, said: "Our team is thrilled to open the first Park Inn by Radisson in Kuwait. This property is designed for short and extended stays, offering breathtaking sea views, cutting-edge innovative facilities, and spacious meeting areas catering to all guest needs."

"We are excited to deliver an elevated experience that showcases the best of Kuwaits hospitality while championing diversity within our leadership," stated Odile De Groot.

"Achieving a 50/50 gender balance is central to our mission, and we are committed to fostering an inclusive and empowered team," he added.

According to him, wellness enthusiasts will enjoy the hotels fitness center, which offers panoramic sea views.

Equipped with the latest cardiovascular and strength-training equipment, saunas, and steam rooms, the facility ensures a comprehensive wellness experience, he stated.

Cordon said Kuwaits warm hospitality, paired with a growing focus on tourism, ensures a welcoming environment for all travellers.

"This hotel embodies the vibrant spirit of the Park Inn by Radisson brand, combining contemporary design with an environment that makes our guests feel good. Under Odiles leadership, we believe this property will raise the bar for hospitality in Kuwait," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Diyar Al Muharraq, a leading real estate developer in Bahrain, is set to showcase its wide array of residential and investment real estate projects across its masterplan at the Cityscape Bahrain, the largest real estate event in the kingdom.

To be held from November 26 to 30, the premier event is being organised by the Bahrain's Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) in partnership with Informa Markets, at Exhibition World Bahrain in Sakhir.

Cityscape also aims to promote new real estate projects in Bahrain, highlighting the investment scene in the Kingdom and driving progress and development in the real estate sector.

Commenting on the occasion, Diyar Al Muharraq CEO Engineer Ahmed Ali Alammadi said: "We are proud to be participating for the third consecutive year in the biggest real estate event in Bahrain. Through our participation, we hope to showcase our exceptional array of residential and investment real estate projects across our master plan."

"We also look forward to sharing experiences and building relationships with leading real estate developers taking part in Cityscape both within and outside of the kingdom," stated Alammadi.

"At Diyar Al Muharraq, we continue to reinforce our national contributions and role in the community by participating in key events that aim to elevate Bahrains position in the regional and global real estate landscape," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Anax Developments, a subsidiary of Dubai-based investment company Anax Holding, has announced the launch of its second project, Evora Residences, within the Al Furjan community development.

Designed as a tranquil retreat that embodies an urban lifestyle while providing excellent connectivity to the city, the Evora Residences are scheduled for completion in Q3 2026, said the company in a statement.

The tower features 10 residential floors and offers a range of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments; each one featuring spacious balconies with a fusion of modern elegance and contemporary design throughout its layout.

It will be located within the rapidly growing, lush green expanse of Al Furjan, minutes away from Dubais landmarks, including Legoland, IMG Worlds of Adventure, and Ibn Battuta Mall.

The project was unveiled at a first-of-its-kind gala event at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, in the presence of VIP guests, stakeholders and media representatives.

According to Anax, the tower embodies its ethos of "Live Large", embracing a life of impact and abundance.

The philosophy is extended to creating spaces with purpose - designed for residents to live well, enjoy robust investments, and expansive amenities.

Evora Residences will offer an end-user focused 30/70 payment plan with prices starting at AED1,068,777 ($290,959) for one-bedroom apartments, it stated.

Evora Residence also ensures that sustainability is a key feature amidst the modern comforts and serene living, with solar panels to support energy consumption, and the highest standards of Smart Home Automation.

Residents will get to enjoy amenities designed to elevate their living experience. Each apartment is equipped with top-of-the-range fittings like Bosch kitchen appliances, and sanitary ware by Teka, it added.

Satish Sanpal, the Chairman of Anax Holding, said: "Upholding our philosophy, our vision is to create spaces which allow residents to live large, create impact and where one truly feels at home. With Evora Residences, given its location in the family-friendly Al Furjan community, our priority is to combine urban living and peaceful surroundings."

According to Anax, the development beautifully integrates lush greenery with urban panoramas within the vibrant Al Furjan community.

Residents will benefit from an extensive network of modern amenities, including retail hubs, adventure parks, fitness clubs, a well paved jogging track around the residences and other recreational areas, ensuring a harmonious lifestyle, stated the developer.

"We have strived to capture this essence throughout our design process, a philosophy that will continue to dominate across all our future projects as we continue to build with Anax Developments and bring more than 2,000 homes to the market in the next twelve months," he noted.

With a pipeline of upcoming projects, Anax is planning to bring in a cumulative project value of $1 billion to the market in the next year, he added.

On the launch, Ravi Bhirani, Managing Director of Anax Developments, said: "This project, along with our upcoming developments in Meydan, and Dubai Islands reinforces our commitment to enhancing Dubais residential landscape with elevated living across each of our new ventures."

"We strive to cater to a diverse audience at various price points ensuring that exceptional residential experiences are accessible to a broad spectrum of investors and home buyers," stated Bhirani.

"With Al Furjan being an emerging and highly desirable destination for families seeking a peaceful environment with green spaces and modern amenities, along with a promising ROI, launching a project here was a strategic decision to steer our efforts towards our goals," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
EFG Hermes, an EFG Holding company, and the leading Investment Bank in Mena, has announced that its private equity arm has launched a $300 million Saudi Education Fund (SEF) to build an institutional world-class K-12 operator in KSA.

SEF aims to capitalise on the clear market opportunity that is evidenced by the growing student population in private schools, which is expected to more than double in line with Saudis 2030 vision targets and the critical need for strong operators to cater to such growing demand.

EFG Hermes also announced that SEF has entered into definitive agreements with GFH Financial Group (GFH), a leading and dynamic financial group in the GCC, to acquire a portfolio of international schools owned by private equity funds managed by GFH under the brand name of Britus Education. This portfolio includes four schools in Saudi Arabia, two in the UAE, and one in Bahrain, boasting a total capacity of approximately 12,000 students, with nearly 8,000 students currently enrolled.

Britus Education

Britus Education represents a distinctive and innovative school brand and platform across the GCC, offering a transformative educational experience. GFH is proud to partner with EFG Hermes to leverage its extensive track record in the education sector and to continue the growth of Britus to new heights. Building on EFG Hermes solid success and experience in managing a model educational fund in Egypt, together, we strive to enhance access to high-quality education, and foster excellence by providing the best learning experiences to students, said Khaldoun Haj Hasan, Chief Executive Officer of GFH Equities.

"I am thrilled to announce that our Saudi Education Fund has made its inaugural investment in Saudi Arabia and the broader GCC region with the acquisition of a substantial and diversified portfolio," stated Karim Moussa, Co-CEO of EFG Hermes. "Drawing on the expertise and insights we've gained over the past five years while establishing Egypts premier K-12 operator, EEP, we are poised to deliver exceptional educational services to our new student populations. Through this investment, we are committed to ensuring that Britus Education flourishes and adapts to the dynamic needs of students and communities throughout the region."

Egypt Education Platform (EEP) was launched under EFG Hermes first education fund back in 2018, and since then, the company acquired, developed, and successfully integrated a uniquely diversified portfolio of 25 assets spreading across Egypt and comprising (i) 23 schools and pre-schools offering 5 curricula (American, British, IB, Montessori and Egyptian National curriculum) with a combined capacity of c.25k students, (ii) an education content business that serves between 3-4mn students annually (Selah El Telmeez), and (iii) a specialised transportation business that transports over 3k students daily (Option Travel).

The transaction is subject to certain conditions and regulatory approvals. PwC Middle East served as financial and tax advisor to SEF and White & Case as legal counsel.--TradeArabia News Service
Schneider Electric has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DP World to accelerate the upskilling of Emirati youth in sustainability and digital technologies.

The signing ceremony was held in the presence of Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Schneider Electrics Global Chairman and Abdulla bin Damithan, CEO and Managing Director, DP World GCC. The MoU was signed by Maha AlQattan, Group Chief Sustainability Officer of DP World, and Amel Chadli, President of Gulf Countries at Schneider Electric.

As part of the agreement, Schneider Electric and DP World will collaborate on an Experience Exchange Program and a Future Sustainability Leaders Programme.

As part of the Experience Exchange Programme, three employees from each company will spend time at the partner organisation to enhance knowledge sharing and deepen mutual understanding of sustainability practices across business operations.

Five-month initiative

In addition, the Future Sustainability Leaders, starting next year, will empower a select group of UAE fresh graduate with industry knowledge and practical experience to drive sustainability forward. The five-month initiative includes training and knowledge transfer programmes focused on sustainability, decarbonisation, and AI, followed by a one-month long internship.

Maha AlQattan, Group Chief Sustainability Officer of DP World, said: We are using our reach at DP World to expand opportunities and bridge the divide across Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. We want to ensure no one gets left behind as the world responds to the challenge of climate change, and that means equipping youth with the tools and skills to succeed. Partnerships like the one with Schneider Electric go a long way in driving this forward, and were proud to collectively advance the UAEs ambitious youth and climate agenda.

Amel Chadli, Shneider President of Gulf Countries, said: "We are proud to collaborate with DP World to support the next generation of Emirati talent across sustainability and technology. The collaboration reflects a shared commitment to developing future leaders in sustainability and supporting the UAEs vision for a sustainable economy. By empowering young Emirati professionals, we are not only enhancing their individual development but also advancing the UAE's vision of becoming a global leader in innovation and sustainable technology, driving progress both locally and internationally."

The collaboration complements Schneider Electrics ongoing initiatives in the UAE, including the Tamayuz Programme, which focuses on empowering Emirati graduates and boosting female participation in industrial sectors. Earlier this year, DP World has also launched a global education platform offering resources that emphasise green, digital, STEM, and logistics skills, as part of its broader $35 million investment target for education by 2030.--TradeArabia News Service
Experts will convene at Scalex at Logimotion, to discuss the innovations shaping the future of global supply chain and logistics. Over 40 speakers and 150 delegates are expected to attend the conference, which will be held at the inaugural edition of Logimotion from December 10 to 11.

Scalex will showcase advancements in data analytics, robotics and automation, artificial intelligence, blockchain and IoT, offering insights into how these technologies enhance supply chain resilience, visibility, and control. In addition, the event will underscore the critical importance of sustainability and explore green practices and strategies.

Commenting ahead of Scalex, Dishan Isaac, Exhibition Director of Logimotion, said: Logimotion is committed to driving innovation, collaboration, and growth across the international logistics, mobility, and supply chain sectors by offering a dynamic platform for industry leaders.

Top industry figures

As one of the three flagship conferences at Logimotion, Scalex will bring together top industry figures, including government officials, policymakers, CEOs, and CTOs, to explore the current state of the sector and provide valuable insights into the key trends shaping its future.

Scalex will open with a leadership panel discussion, examining the trends and challenges of global supply chains, including the impact of shifting trade policies and tariffs, the rise of e-commerce and implementing sustainable practices.

Panelists include Gopal R, Global Leader, Supply Chain & Logistics Advisory, Frost and Sullivan; Piyush Malviya, Vice President and Head, MEA, Moglix Business; Waleed Al Saeedi, Director of Supply Chain Management, Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority; Sayed Habib, Director, Danube Home; Amer Alkhatib, VP - UAE and Commercial and Milaha Fawzi ALHussain, VP Supply Chain, Arabian Pipes Company.

Advancements in technology are transforming every facet of logistics operations. A report by PwC, the knowledge partner of Logimotion and moderator for several of the events panel discussions, underscores that digital fitness will be essential for success in the logistics industry. The report further stresses the critical role of data and analytics in transportation and logistics, with 90% of industry experts identifying it as a key priority over the next five years - surpassing the average of 83% seen in other sectors.

Balancing Innovation with Impact

Day one of Scalex will also feature a case study on Balancing Innovation with Impact presented by Guillaume Akbaraly, Operations Director  Supply Division at International SOS. The session will explore how scalable, flexible technologies, combined with human expertise, can drive strategic decisions and sustainable growth, focusing on IoT, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

On day two, the conference will highlight sustainable logistics and green supply chains with a panel discussion on overcoming barriers to sustainable supply chains in the GCC region.

In addition, industry leaders such as Rohan Singhvi, Global Head of Logistics & Warehousing, RAK Ceramics, Shashi Kiran, Group General Manager, Jashanmal National Co and Talal Ali Mohamed, Director of Supply Chain, Clemenceau Medical Centre will share insights into overcoming challenges in modern warehousing through technological innovations.

Digital transformation

The event will also spotlight digital transformation in logistics, with a presentation on Adnocs AI-Driven Risk Management: A Game Changer in the Industry showcasing how AI is enhancing compliance, mitigating risks, and setting new standards for procurement excellence.

The concluding session of Scalex will explore the fascinating world of drones when Ahmed Attiya, Group Supply Chain Director at Zahrawi Group, will outline how drones can be used for last-mile delivery in urban areas and the regulatory challenges for drone operations in cities.--TradeArabia News Service
Ritchie Bros., a global leader in asset management and disposition, will be hosting an online auction next month on its IronPlanet platform.

The event, which kicks off on December 4, is being held in partnership with XCMG, one of Chinas largest machinery manufacturers.

Announcing this, Ritchie Bros. said the second IronPlanet auction event in China promises over 300 units of XCMG-owned construction machinery, directly accessible to buyers worldwide through its user-friendly IronPlanet platform.

Following a successful XCMG auction in June, which saw over 1,700 bids and participation from 75 bidders across five continents, this December auction will feature an extensive selection of low-hour, late-model XCMG equipment.

Ritchie Bros said the bidding opens today (November 18) offering interested buyers a chance to inspect equipment in person at the XCMG facility in Xuzhou until December 4.

The XCMG IronPlanet auction provides unique advantages for buyers, including:

Direct Factory Access: Purchase directly from XCMG, ensuring authentic quality and adherence to original manufacturer specifications.

Flexible, International Shipping Options: Machinery will be available ex-works (EXW) from XCMGs yard, with logistics partners offering global shipping solutions.

Seamless Online Bidding: With Ritchie Bros. IronPlanet platform, buyers can participate from anywhere with real-time bidding updates.

"Were excited to expand our partnership with XCMG and provide our customers with unparalleled access to premium factory-owned equipment," said Ivan Wang, Regional Sales Manager for Ritchie Bros. in China and Japan.

The December 4 auction builds on the momentum of June's successful event, strengthening the XCMG-Ritchie Bros. collaboration and expanding their reach to global equipment buyers, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Dell Technologies has announced advancements to its Dell NativeEdge edge operations software platform to simplify how organisations can deploy, scale and use AI at the edge.

According to Gartner, by 2025, more than 50% of enterprise-managed data will be created and processed outside the data centre or cloud. As organisations increasingly move data toward the edge and AI accelerates new edge workloads, the demand is rising for agile, connected and secure systems to deploy and manage AI models across multiple edge locations.

Todays Dell NativeEdge advancements, part of Dells AI Factory capabilities, address these needs and offer organisations AI software integrations and high-availability (HA) capabilities to provide more resiliency and reliability in the deployment and management of AI at the edge.

Boost Edge and AI Workload Efficiency with NativeEdge

Dell NativeEdge is the industrys only edge operations software platform delivering secure device onboarding at scale, remote management and multicloud application orchestration.

NativeEdge software now enables multinode high-availability (HA) clustering for NativeEdge Endpoints, such as Dell PowerEdge servers, OptiPlex and Precision workstations and Dell Gateways.

The endpoints can be clustered, or grouped together by NativeEdge software to act like a single system, so organisations can:

Provide high-availability capabilities to maintain critical business processes and edge AI workloads, despite network disruptions or device failures. Virtual machine (VM) migration and automatic application, compute and storage failover provide organisations increased reliability and continuous operations.

Easily adapt to changing workload demands across diverse environments, from retail stores to utility companies.

Integrate NativeEdge Endpoints with external storage solutions, such as Dell PowerStore and Dell PowerVault, to support the training and deployment of AI models with the versatility of single, two-tier or three-tier solutions at the edge.

NativeEdge AI Software Integrations Simplify Edge AI Deployments

Organisations implementing AI inferencing at the edge may find it tedious and time consuming to deploy AI applications and solutions across hundreds, if not thousands, of edge locations.

Dell offers a comprehensive catalogue of more than 55 pre-built Dell NativeEdge Blueprints that automate the deployment of an organisations choice of AI applications and frameworks for faster time to value. The NativeEdge Blueprints provide customers an easy button to assemble and deploy new use cases and AI inferencing capabilities at the edge, while reducing manual set up time and errors.

Dell is expanding the catalogue

Open-source tools, such as Apache Spark, Apache Airflow, MLflow, and Grafana, to support continuous MLOps workflows tailored for edge use cases, for quick and efficient deployment of AI-enhanced solutions.

Aveva Unified Operations Centre, to facilitate city infrastructure modernisation in integrated operations, building systems, master planning, intelligent urban mobility and critical connectivity.

EPIC iO, which uses real-time analytics for retail operations to enhance the in-store shopper experience.

Dell Data Collector, to collect and transfer data from sensors and IoT devices to various locations in near real-time with. Organisations can use Dell Data Lakehouse to query the data for real-time insights and AI workloads.

The Intel Geti software solution, to accelerate the development of computer vision AI models at the edge.

Updates to the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform, which includes NVIDIA NIM microservices, enable developers to more efficiently and securely deploy AI inferencing capabilities at the edge, while reducing manual setup time and minimising errors.

Dell Services for NativeEdge Blueprints help organisations design and develop custom NativeEdge Blueprints for Dell validated and customer-owned applications, providing seamless deployment using Dell NativeEdge software.

Perspectives

AI is accelerating new edge workloads and opportunities at an unprecedented rate, and organisations across industries are asking for simpler and more reliable ways to use AI at the edge, said Gil Shneorson, senior vice president, solutions and platforms, Dell Technologies.

Our NativeEdge expansion automates the deployment and management of edge AI workloads, with features to support business continuity, so organisations can continually use the latest AI advancements at the edge to drive revenues and positive customer outcomes.

With over 1,000 IoT-enabled facilities, Dell NativeEdge helps us monitor real-time infrastructure elements, ensuring optimal conditions for our produce, and receive comprehensive insights into our produce packaging operations, said Keith Bradley, vice president, Information Technology, Nature Fresh Farms.

Dell NativeEdge has enhanced our operational efficiencies and reduced costs, while supporting our continued growth and innovation in yield optimisation and environmental monitoring."--TradeArabia News Service
The third edition of Dubai Future Forum, the worlds largest gathering of futurists, will start Tuesday, November 19, at the Museum of the Future.

Held under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), the event will provide an optimal platform for global thought leaders to develop actionable solutions for the future.

Hosted by Dubai Future Foundation, the Forum will be held from November 19 to 20, bringing together over 150 prominent speakers from the UAE and around the world. It will also welcome more than 2,500 experts from around 100 countries, along with representatives from 100 leading international organisations specialising in futurism.

Global hub for futurists

Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and Managing Director of DFF, referred to the Dubai Future Forum as a global platform for future foresight and collaboration. Reflecting the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Forum underscores Dubais commitment to preparing for the future and capitalising on emerging opportunities.

Al Gergawi said: "Dubai and the UAE have become a global hub for futurists passionate about shaping the future to explore transformative shifts, identify priorities, and raise recommendations to support decision-makers to ensure global readiness for future changes."

Rapid transformations in technology, society, and the environment make it essential to continuously revisit our governments priorities for future readiness and the tools needed to achieve this. A governments success depends on its ability to anticipate and benefit from future opportunities. Through the Dubai Future Forum, we will bring together experts and decision-makers to build strong international partnerships and design solutions for a better future for all humanity, he added.

Day 1 Sessions

The Forum will delve into five key themes: Foresight Insights, Transforming Humanity, Optimising Health, Empowering Generations, and Futuring Nature. These themes will be explored through multiple sessions addressing some of the most critical challenges and opportunities shaping our world.

Panels & Keynotes

The opening day of the Dubai Future Forum 2024 will feature a dynamic program of panels and keynote sessions, beginning with From Deep Space to Deep Ocean: A Future of Exploration and Discovery, featuring Sara Sabry, the first Arab and African female astronaut, Professor Oussama Khatib, creator of the deep-sea exploration robot OceanOneK, and Suaad Al Harthi, a National Geographic explorer.

Other key sessions include Concepts of Time: How Do They Shape Our Future?, with Jonathan Keats, applied philosophy expert; Ann Beate Hovind, Chair of the Future Library Trust; and Dr. Patrick Noack of the Dubai Future Foundation. Keynote addresses by Dr. Parag Khanna, founder of AlphaGeo, on Setting the Scene: Where is Humanity Going?, and Dr. Jordan Nguyen Founder of Psykinetic, on Enter the Future: Technology for Humanity, will also take place, alongside Making the Case: Which Way to the Future?, featuring His Excellency Khalfan Juma Belhoul, CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation, and Amy Webb, CEO of the Future Today Institute.

Thematic sessions

Alongside the panels and keynotes, the first day will feature 15 specialised thematic sessions, covering topics such as societal transformations, future ecosystems, generational opportunities, and advancements in healthcare. Global experts will discuss pressing questions and critical views on topics such as the rights of nature, the future of the pharmaceutical industry in AI era, and humanitys ability to control its future. A notable session will include Japanese cardiologist Makoto Suzuki, who is 92 years old, discussing longevity research.

The Foresight Insights theme will include the following panels: Beyond the National: How to Future at the Multilateral, Global and Local Levels?, Foresight in Practice: What Can We Learn from Around the Globe?, and Network Weaving: How Can the Practice of Linking Past, Present, and Future Lead to Systemic Change?.

The Transforming Humanity theme will include the sessions: Investing in a Better Future: What Will Be the Role of Philanthropy? and Future by Design: How Materials Are Shaping Our World?, and Echoes of Tomorrow: What Impact can Science Fiction Have on Imagining the Future?.

The Futuring Nature theme will explore the following sessions: Wild Comeback: Will We Engineer Nature Resilience in the Future?, Futuring the Law: Which Rights Will Nature Stand For?, and Deeper Underground: Why the Fungi Hype?.

The Empowering Generations theme will present the sessions: Power of Traditions: How Can Myths Unlock Innovation?, The Control Illusion: Are Humans Really Shaping the Future?, and The Grief Stage: How Can Society Overcome Future Challenges?.

The Optimising Health theme will address critical sessions including: Pharmas New Frontier: How Is Outside Innovation Reshaping Drug Discovery?, Longevity Cities: Utopia or Dystopia?, and Earths Checkup: What Can We Gain by Connecting Our Wellbeing to Our Planets Future?.

Dubai Future Solutions  Prototypes for Humanity

The Forum will host the Dubai Future Solutions  Prototypes for Humanity initiative, showcasing the top 100 prototypes and innovative solutions at AREA 2071, Emirates Towers. Held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, this initiative is a collaboration between the Dubai Future Foundation and the Hussain Sajwani  Damac Foundation, which has pledged AED100 million ($27.23 million) to support innovation and technology in Dubai. As part of this initiative, the Dubai Future Solutions Awards, taking place on the first day of the forum, will celebrate groundbreaking projects that contribute to building a better future.

Activations & Workshops

The first day of the forum will feature interactive workshops, including Future of Making: A New Material Culture? by ARUP, Flipping the Script: How Can Films Shape Positive AI Futures? by the Future of Life Institute, and Shaping Health Futures: What Actions Today Will Build a Healthier Tomorrow? by the World Health Organisation and Museum of Discovery (MOD). Complementing these will be engaging activations such as Play-Full Futures and Foresight Games Showcase.

This years edition of the forum will also introduce city-wide activations aimed at bringing the concepts of future design closer to socity. These events, combining art and cinema, will take place at Cinema Akil in One Central, Alserkal Avenue, and The Courtyard in Al Qouz from November 18 to 21.--TradeArabia News Service
Emirates has once again won Best Airline in the World at the prestigious ULTRAs 2024 Awards.

The airline was recognised by thousands of global travellers for its exceptional products, innovative services and value-for-money experiences on offer, an Emirates statement said.

Emirates fly better travel experiences have also been recognised by more than 20 awards this year, including World Best Airline' by Telegraph Travel, ranking first amongst 90 global carriers; and Best Airline by The Times and Sunday Times Travel Awards.

The ULTRAs are amongst the most respected awards in the industry, which recognise travel leaders in multiple categories with winners determined from the votes of a global network of active and affluent travellers. Ultratravel is an independent magazine with a global circulation of 1.2 million active travellers.

The award was accepted by Thierry Aucoc, Emirates Senior Vice President Commercial Operations in Europe and the Americas, and Jabr Al-Azeeby, Emirates Divisional Vice President in the UK, at a ceremony held last week at Kensington Palace in London. The event was attended by leading members of the travel industry and other notable guests.

Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, said: Were delighted to be recognised as Best Airline in the World by the prestigious ULTRAs. Our investments in product and services, in our people, training and technology, all aim to elevate the travel experience at every step of the journey so our customers truly fly better, and well always work hard to raise the bar for them. Our multi-billion dollar nose-to-tail refurbishment programme will see over 200 aircraft receive fully refreshed interiors that will take the Emirates experience to even greater heights. Thank you to our loyal customers, and well keep moving forward at pace to offer the very best in international air travel.

Enhanced travel experiences

Emirates continues to invest in innovative products, implement advanced technologies, and expand its network to make the travel experience even more seamless for customers.

In the last year, the airline rolled out eight fully refurbished aircraft with refreshed interiors (3 A380s, 5 Boeing 777s) as part of its $4 billion retrofit programme; invested $11 million to open new lounges for premium customers in London Stansted and Jeddah as well as refurbished the existing facility at Paris Charles De Gaulle; and opened experiential travel stores in Hong Kong, London, and Paris.

Emirates also expanded its global network with the restart of services to Phnom Penh in Cambodia via Singapore, and announced new routes to Bogota via Miami, and Madagascar via the Seychelles. The airline recently announced its best-ever half-year financial results, carrying 26.9 million passengers across its extensive network of more than 148 destinations (between 1 April and 30 September 2024).

Award-wining airline

Emirates also recently won the 2025 APEX World Class Airline for delivering outstanding customer service, and for showcasing the highest global standards of safety and well-being, sustainability, and service-guest experience.

Last month, the airline also took home five awards the at Forbes Travel Guides Air Travel Awards including Best International Airline, Best Culinary Programme, Best First Class, Best In-Flight Cocktail Lounge (Emirates A380 Onboard Lounge) and Best International Airline Lounge' (First Class Lounge at Dubai International).

Emirates operates the worlds largest fleet of wide-body Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft, offering spacious cabins and iconic inflight features such as its A380 Shower Spa and Onboard Lounge. -TradeArabia News Service
The ninth edition of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism opened today (November 18) at Exhibition World Bahrain in Sakhir featuring over 500 visitors and participants from over 50 countries, in a major boost to the kingdom's growing role in gastronomy tourism.

The two-day event will bring together award-winning chefs, including 10 Bahrainis, sector policymakers and industry experts who will take part in a range of panel discussions and masterclasses, thus marking a significant milestone as this prestigious event makes its debut in the Middle East.

The Kingdom of Bahrains recognition as the host city reflects collective efforts by the Ministry of Tourism and the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), to position Bahrain as a leading MICE (Meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) destination, and a destination with a unique culinary offering, drawing gourmet enthusiasts and event professionals alike.

EWBs ultramodern facilities are primed for an event of this scale, which will utilise the Grand Hall, Pre-Function Area and 11 versatile and technologically-equipped meeting rooms, said the organisers.

Global collaborations

EWB seamlessly blends functionality and elegance, setting the stage for international collaboration. The Grand Halls adaptable layout accommodates up to 4,000 guests, suitable for conferences, concerts, and gala events, while the Pre-Function area serves as a stylish and comfortable networking space, setting the tone for the event ahead, they stated.

The two-day event is poised to feature several major announcements regarding the opening of new international restaurants in Bahrain, as well as partnerships among stakeholders at local, regional and global levels.

EWB offers over 1,400 main parking spaces, with an additional 2,800 overflow spaces, complemented by a well-coordinated shuttle service for seamless transport to and from the venue.

During the mega event, Bahrain will showcase its culinary heritage and vibrant culture, which make it a must-visit destination for gastronomes and tourism professionals alike.

At the heart of EWBs offerings is a culinary team dedicated to providing bespoke food and beverage services. Operating from a state-of-the-art kitchen facility spanning over 3,600 square meters, the team is well-prepared to meet diverse catering requests.

Attendees can look forward to an impressive range of cuisines, including Asian, Mediterranean, and European flavours, said the organisers.

The culinary experience at EWB compliments the excitement and quality of the events it hosts, with capacity to welcome up to 10,000 guests at once.

Every detail is meticulously crafted to reflect EWBs commitment to delivering an unforgettable, culturally enriching experience, reinforcing Bahrains status as a premier destination in international culinary tourism, they added.

Middle Easts hidden gem

Sara Ahmed Buhiji, the CEO of the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA) and Chairman of Exhibition World Bahrain, emphasised the significance of this event, stating: "Bahrain offers travellers a unique blend of hospitality and gastronomy. Hosting the 9th UN Tourism World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism is a historic milestone not only for the Kingdom, but for our region, showcasing our rich heritage and Bahrains rising prominence in gastronomy tourism."

"This first-of-its-kind event highlights Bahrains commitment to elevating its global status, while EWBs world-class facilities underscore our role as a leading player in the MICE industry. Together, we celebrate the fusion of culture, cuisine, and commerce," she added.

Joxe Mari Aizega, Director General of the Basque Culinary Center (BCC), shared his perspective on Bahrains hosting of the forum: "The 9th UN Tourism World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism in Bahrain is a landmark moment in celebrating culinary diversity and innovation. This event not only brings Bahrains cultural heritage to the forefront but also highlights the essential role of gastronomy in sustainable tourism."

"Exhibition World Bahrain is an outstanding venue for this forum, embodying Bahrains dedication to fostering global dialogue around culinary arts and sustainable tourism," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
WHITE candles were yesterday placed on the side of the road in Sennon Village Number Three, Siparia, where the severed head of 59-year-old Joanne Estick was found in a bag on Thursday.

Estick, a mother of one and grandmother of three, was last seen in the village earlier this week.

A senior police officer of the South Western Police Division said they are yet to officially confirm that the head is that of Estick without the rest of the human remains.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called on Brazilian firms to promote investment in Vietnam during his receptions for leaders of four Brazilian corporations in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday (local time) as part of his trip to Brazil.

The Vietnamese government leader, his spouse, and a high-ranking delegation arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday afternoon (local time), commencing a three-day visit to attend the G20 Summit and bilateral activities.

At these receptions, he underlined that the Vietnamese government will continue improving the business and investment climate, and simplify administrative procedures to attract foreign investors.

Vietnam is committed to creating favorable conditions for Brazilian companies to do business effectively and sustainably in the country, with a suitable visa policy.

At a meeting with Jose Serrador, global vice-president of Brazilian multinational aerospace corporation Embraer, PM Chinh said that Vietnam is studying new development spaces, including maritime space, underground space, and aerospace.

Vietnam has several advantages for developing the aviation industry such as a favorable geographical location. For example, 60 percent of the worlds GDP is within a five-hour flight radius from Vietnam.

The premier affirmed that Vietnam aims to become an air transit hub and expects to expand cooperation with aviation partners, including Embraer.

The prime minister suggested Embraer work with Vietnamese partners, including Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, and Bamboo to boost its cooperation and investment.

He also urged the Brazilian aerospace corporation to assist Vietnam in establishing pilot and staff training centers, maintenance hubs, and transferring technology to strengthen their partnership in defense trade and rescue operations.

Vietnams Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) highly values Embraers plan to boost cooperation in Vietnam. Photo: Doan Bac

Meeting with the Vietnamese prime minister, Marcio Rodrigues, CEO of JBS, the worlds largest meat producer, said that JBS has been cooperating with several Vietnamese partners.

JBS aims to make Vietnam its strategic hub in the Asian market.

PM Chinh encouraged the company's leader to visit Vietnam to explore cooperative opportunities and integrate more deeply into the market.

He suggested expanding supply chains to bring Vietnamese agricultural products to Brazil and the global market, and investing in factories in Vietnam to boost feather and meat production and export.

Vietnams Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) receives Marcio Rodrigues, CEO of JBS, in Brazil, November 17, 2024. Photo: Doan Bac

Meanwhile, Roger Zen, chairman and CEO of Oceanside One Trading, briefed the Vietnamese leader on the firms operations and opportunities to expand business and investment collaboration with Vietnam.

Specifically, the company has signed an agreement worth US$120 million with a subsidiary of the Vietnam National Chemical Group (Vinachem) to export automotive tire products to the Brazilian market.

The firm's future goals include an increase in its exports to the U.S. and Brazilian markets from $70 million to $150 million annually.

Zen noted that Oceanside One Trading wishes to buy more goods from Vietnam and ramp up exports to the country in the coming months.

The prime minister welcomed Oceanside One Tradings ideas and plans for cooperation, urging the firm to expand the reach of Vietnamese commodities to global consumers.

He called on JBS and Oceanside One Trading to approve of negotiations for new-generation free trade pacts between Vietnam and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), as well as Brazil, and to advocate investment protection agreements.

Vietnams Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) shakes hands with Roger Zen, chairman and CEO of Oceanside One Trading in Brazil, November 17, 2024. Photo: Doan Bac

During a meeting with Celso Nunes, innovation director at Alterosa, a smart card solutions provider, PM Chinh urged the company to expand its collaboration in Vietnam.

He suggested that both sides work to advance digital security authentication solutions and smart card technology to support the development of digital infrastructure and drive progress in the digital economy, society, government, and citizenship.

Nunes expressed Alterosas commitment to strengthening its partnership with Vietnam in smart card solutions and praised the countrys significant potential for business and investment opportunities.

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President Joe Biden's administration has allowed Ukraine to use U.S.-made weapons to strike deep into Russia, two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the decision said on Sunday, in a significant reversal of Washington's policy in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the coming days, the sources said, without revealing details due to operational security concerns.

The move comes two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20 and follows months of pleas by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to allow Ukraine's military to use U.S. weapons to hit Russian military targets far from its border.

The change comes largely in response to Russia's deployment of North Korean ground troops to supplement its own forces, a development that has caused alarm in Washington and Kyiv, a U.S. official and a source familiar with the decision said.

Zelenskiy said in his evening address that the missiles would "speak for themselves."

"Today, many in the media are saying that we have received permission to take appropriate actions," he said. "But strikes are not made with words. Such things are not announced."

The White House and U.S. State Department declined to comment.

There was no immediate response from the Kremlin, which has warned that it would see a move to loosen the limits on Ukraine's use of U.S. weapons as a major escalation.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a wreath laying ceremony on Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., November 11, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian upper house's international affairs committee, said Washington's decision to let Kyiv strike deep into Russia could lead to "World War Three".

"The West has decided on such a level of escalation that it could end with the Ukrainian statehood in complete ruins by morning," Andrei Klishas, a senior member of the Federation Council, Russia's upper chamber of parliament, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine's first deep strikes are likely to be carried out using ATACMS rockets, which have a range of up to 190 miles (306 km), according to the sources.

While some U.S. officials have expressed skepticism that allowing long-range strikes will change the conflict's overall trajectory, the decision could help Ukraine at a moment when Russian forces are making gains and possibly put Kyiv in a better negotiating position when and if ceasefire talks happen.

It is not clear if Trump will reverse Biden's decision when he takes office. Trump has long criticized the scale of U.S. financial and military aid to Ukraine and has vowed to end the conflict quickly, without explaining how.

A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But one of Trump's closest foreign policy advisers, Richard Grenell, criticized the decision.

"Escalating the conflicts before he leaves office," Grenell said, in an X post responding to the news.

Some congressional Republicans had urged Biden to loosen the rules on how Ukraine can use U.S.-provided weapons.

Since Trump's Nov. 5 victory, senior Biden administration officials have repeatedly said they would use the remaining time to ensure Ukraine can fight effectively next year or negotiate peace with Russia from a "position of strength".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is embraced by U.S. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, September 21, 2023. Photo: Reuters

'Way too late'

The U.S. believes more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia and that most of them have moved to the Kursk region and have begun to engage in combat operations.

Russia is advancing at its fastest rate since 2022 despite taking heavy losses, and Ukraine said it had clashed with some of those North Korean troops deployed to Kursk.

Stretched by personnel shortages, Ukrainian forces have lost some of the ground they captured in an August incursion into Kursk that Zelenskiy said could serve as a bargaining chip.

"Removing targeting restrictions will allow the Ukrainians to stop fighting with one hand tied behind their back," Alex Plitsas, senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, said.

"However, like everything else, I believe history will say the decision came way too late. Just like the ATACMS, HIMARS, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Abrams tanks and F-16. They were all needed much sooner," he added.

Despite Zelenskiy's pleas, the White House had been reluctant to allow U.S.-supplied weapons to be used to strike targets deep inside Russia for fear this could ratchet up the conflict.

Republican U.S. Representative Mike Turner, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that Bidens decision was long overdue and that there were still too many restrictions on Ukraine.

But he added: This first step will put pressure on Vladimir Putin as President-elect Trump returns to the White House and works to end this conflict.

Kyiv's other allies have been supplying weapons but with restrictions on how and when they can be used inside Russia, out of concern such strikes could prompt retaliation that draws NATO countries into the conflict or provokes a nuclear conflict.

Poland's foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, also called the move a response to North Korea's involvement.

"President Biden responded to the entry of North Korean troops into the conflict and the massive Russian missile strike in a language that V. Putin understands - by removing restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western missiles," Sikorski said on X.
By a canal in Amsterdam's red-light district, one of the "window women" is actually a hologram which Dutch police hope will help solve the gruesome murder of a sex worker in 2009.

Peering through a frame out onto passers-by, a human-sized likeness of Bernadett Szabo -- in skimpy shorts and a leopard-print bra, a dragon tattoo covering much of her torso -- taps the pane and fogs the glass with her breath.

The word "HELP" appears, chillingly, on the screen.

"Fifteen years ago, Betty was killed in a horrible way and the investigation was never closed," Amsterdam police spokesman Olav Brink told AFP.

Aged only 19, Hungarian-born Betty was stabbed multiple times in her brothel room in the centuries-old red-light district, known as De Wallen, just months after giving birth to a baby boy.

Despite a large-scale police probe, the case went cold.

During a review, however, police found "promising clues" and decided to reopen the investigation, Brink said.

They hope the likeness of Betty, created with 3D visualisation technology, will jolt the memories of people who may have information about her murder.

'Shocking'

"There are still people who know what has happened to Betty," said Brink, hoping that 15 years on, "people feel freer to share information with the police".

The initiative also aims to raise awareness about the violence faced by sex workers.

Around 78 percent of prostitutes in the Netherlands have faced sexual violence and 60 percent report being physically attacked, according to a 2018 report by Dutch charities and sex worker rights groups.

Concerns about violence also rose during the Covid-19 pandemic, when loss of income forced some prostitutes to continue working illegally and reduced their ability to report crimes to the police.

In the week since the hologram and accompanying information about Betty went on display, the police have seen "that a lot of people are talking about it".

"We find it quite special that Betty can bring attention to her case this way," said Brink.

In the streets of De Wallen, lined with women watching from red-lit window booths, groups of locals and visitors pause and strike up conversations about the unusual display, entitled "Who was Betty?".

Theo, 80, who lives outside Amsterdam, said he read about the project in the papers and "came especially to see it" when he was in the city.

Soyoon Jun, 34, lives near the red-light district, "so it was more shocking for me that there were neighbours who are going through this type of horrendous event".

For Jun, who works at a Christian charity, the hologram made the murder "real".

"It wasn't just information that was given out," Jun explained. "People could feel the helplessness that Betty would have felt."

The police have already "received several tips because of the campaign", Brink confirmed to AFP.

They are still waiting, though, for the "golden tip" that will lead them to the murderer, which comes with a 30,000-euro ($31,600) reward.

Relocation plans

According to Brink, the hologram is a "special way of getting attention for this case" -- including by putting it in De Wallen, which is "one of the busiest places in Amsterdam and probably the whole of the Netherlands".

This may not last, though, since Amsterdam's sex workers may soon lose the centrality and visibility of their windows.

The local government plans to relocate the red-light district to a purpose-built centre south of the city in the hope of reducing petty crime and tourist footfall in De Wallen.

The move is opposed by tens of thousands of locals and sex workers, who are calling instead for better crowd control and surveillance in the existing red-light area.

Miranda K, a 57-year-old who lives near Amsterdam and declined to give her full surname, said the relocation plan was a "pity" because she felt "safe" in De Wallen.

She said the out-of-city centre would be in a "dark" area, whereas De Wallen has "tourists and people and locals and everything here. So I think it's safer".

"For me, it's not just about finding Betty or who was Betty," she said, "but it's about... these other ladies on the streets too."
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva agreed to elevate the relationship between their two countries to a strategic partnership during their talks in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.

The talks took place during PM Chinhs trip to the Latin American nation to attend the G20 Summit and have bilateral activities from November 16 to 19.

Looking back on the 35-year journey of diplomatic relations, PM Chinh told his host that the Vietnam-Brazil relationship has been built and developed on five major pillars, namely shared ideals and trust, cultural affinity, complementary nature of the two economies, sincere and warm feeling, and aspirations for peace and development.

Based on these foundations, the bilateral relationship has experienced fruitful developments in all fields, especially since the two countries entered a comprehensive partnership in 2007, he commented.

With a common strategic vision to develop the relationship more deeply and substantially on bilateral, regional, and global levels, both leaders consented to elevate the two countries relations to a strategic partnership.

They pledged to order both foreign ministries to promptly develop and finalize the detailed contents of the Vietnam-Brazil strategic partnership framework at the earliest possible time.

Both leaders agreed to take necessary measures including exchanging delegations at all levels, effectively implementing the documents signed during PM Chinhs Brazil visit in September 2023, and fostering cooperation in areas such as high technology, digital transformation, energy transition, biofuels, environmental protection, and climate change response.

President Lula da Silva acknowledged PM Chinhs suggestions that Brazil recognizes Vietnams market economy status and that the two sides negotiate a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR for its Spanish initials, including Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay) in the future.

Both leaders also agreed to promote bilateral trade and investment, underlining their targets of raising two-way trade to US$10 billion in 2025 and $15 billion in 2030.

An overview of the talks between a Vietnamese delegation led by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (L) and its Brazilian counterpart headed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Rio de Janeiro, November 17, 2024. Photo: Vietnam News Agency

According to official figures, Brazil is Vietnam's leading trade partner in Latin America, with bilateral turnover soaring to more than $7.1 billion last year from $1.53 billion in 2011.

The two leaders agreed to enhance defense and security cooperation, focusing on officer training, defense industry and trade, logistics, military medicine, and peacekeeping operations.

This collaboration will build on a memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation signed in September 2023.

They also pledged to strengthen joint efforts in combating transnational and cyber crimes.

PM Chinh welcomed and appreciated Brazils decision to send its representatives, including the Embraer Aerospace Corporation, to the Vietnam International Defense Exhibition in December 2024, believing that the presence of the Brazilian side will contribute to making the event a success.

President Lula da Silva expressed confidence that PM Chinh's participation in the G20 Summit, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, would significantly contribute to the event's outcomes.

He noted that Vietnam's delegation could enhance the country's position and role in addressing global challenges by drawing on its strengths and expertise across various fields.

In discussing regional and international issues, they concurred to step up cooperation in global governance, poverty alleviation, climate change response, and the reform of the United Nations (UN).

The two leaders emphasized that international disagreements and disputes should be resolved peacefully, in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

PM Chinh extended invitations from Party General Secretary To Lam and State President Luong Cuong for the Brazilian president to visit Vietnam in 2025, which he graciously accepted.

President Lula da Silva invited PM Chinh to the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP30) and the BRICS summit in Brazil in 2025.

BRICS is an intergovernmental organization currently consisting of nine member states, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the UAE.

Following the talks, the two sides issued a joint statement on the upgrade of their bilateral ties to a strategic partnership.

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Vietnams State President Luong Cuong met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on the sidelines of the 2024 APEC Economic Leaders' Week in Lima, Peru on Saturday.

During their meeting, State President Cuong and South Korean President Yoon expressed their delight at the development of the Vietnam-South Korea relations, which are at their best, especially following the elevation of the two countries bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

President Yoon congratulated Cuong on his election as state president of Vietnam, affirming that Vietnam is a key partner of South Korea in deploying the ASEAN-South Korea Solidarity Initiative and Seouls Indo-Pacific Strategy.

Regarding cooperation plans in the coming time, the two leaders agreed to continue promoting economic cooperation to achieve bilateral trade of US$100 billion in the near future and $150 billion by 2030.

South Korea will prioritize support for Vietnam in some key areas, including training high-quality human resources, developing R&D centers, transferring technology, and helping Vietnamese enterprises integrate more deeply into global supply chains led by South Korean groups.

The Eastern Asian country will provide more official development assistance (ODA) loans for Vietnam with special incentives so that the latter can invest in strategic traffic infrastructure, climate change response, green transition, and energy transformation, Yoon added.

The two sides reached a consensus on cooperating closely in international and regional issues and supporting each others candidacy at multilateral cooperation mechanisms and international organizations.

On the East Vietnam Sea issue, both sides stressed the need to uphold peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation.

They emphasized resolving disputes through peaceful means, adhering to international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

State President Cuong extended an invitation to President Yoon to visit Vietnam and expressed gratitude for the latter's invitation to visit South Korea at a suitable time.

The two leaders agreed to coordinate these visits through diplomatic channels.

Vietnams State President Luong Cuong (R) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Peru, November 16, 2024. Photo: Vietnam News Agency

On the same day, State President Cuong also met with Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba.

The Vietnamese president affirmed that Vietnam considers Japan as a reliable, important, and long-term partner, supporting Japan's active contributions to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

Cuong proposed the two sides strengthen political trust, increase annual high-level meetings, and promote substantive defense and security cooperation through the effective implementation of signed cooperation agreements.

The Vietnamese state leader also suggested the two nations enhance economic cooperation -- the main pillar of their bilateral relationship -- and continue to expand the comprehensive cooperation to new sectors, such as digital transformation and green transition.

He requested Japans support in training a highly skilled workforce, including university graduates and advanced-degree holders, for Vietnam's semiconductor industry by 2030.

President Cuong also proposed strengthening cooperation in human resource development, particularly for strategic-level managers, while promoting cultural and people-to-people exchanges, partnerships between localities, and tourism collaboration.

Ishiba said Vietnam is always a priority partner of Japan in the region.

The Japanese prime minister welcomed President Cuong's proposals and affirmed that the Japanese government would continue implementing policies to encourage and support foreign communities in Japan, including Vietnamese nationals, to live, study, and work in the country.

Ishiba also praised the Vietnamese student community in Japan for their contributions.

The two leaders agreed to enhance coordination on regional and international issues of mutual interest, actively contributing to peace, stability, and development in the region and beyond.

They were committed to strengthening cooperation at multilateral forums and within international and regional organizations such as the United Nations, APEC, ASEAN, and the Mekong framework.

The APEC Economic Leaders Week took place in Perus capital Lima from November 9 to 16.

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Peruvian President Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of The Sun of Peru to Vietnamese State President Luong Cuong last week, honoring his significant contributions to promoting the ties between the two countries.

The Peruvian leader presided over the awarding ceremony for President Cuong at the Casa de Pizarro, the Government Palace, in Lima on November 13 afternoon (local time), following their talks held on the same day, as part of the Vietnamese leaders official visit to the South American country.

Expressing her honor in awarding the noble order, President Dina Boluarte praised his significant contributions to beefing up the friendship and cooperation between Peru and Vietnam.

She emphasized that this high distinction reflected the Peruvian states appreciation and deep affection for the country and people of Vietnam, particularly when the Vietnamese leaders visit coincided with the 30th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic relations.

The Peruvian president expressed her confidence that the relationship between the two nations would continue to be deepened in the future.

President Cuong said he was particularly moved to receive the Grand Cross of the Order of The Sun of Peru when the two nations were celebrating 30 years of ties and during his first visit to the South American country.

The order is a special demonstration of affection from the Peruvian state and people for Vietnam, as well as for the friendly relationship and cooperation between the two nations, Cuong commented.

Established in 1821, the Order of The Sun of Peru is among the oldest orders in the Americas.

It is intended for honoring foreigners who have made outstanding contributions to Peru in the arts, literature, culture, politics, and social activities.

According to eMedals Inc. based in Canada, the order has currently six grades from the highest to lowest, namely Grand Cross with Diamonds, Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer, and Knight.

The state leader of Vietnam described the order as a great encouragement for him to work harder with the Peruvian side to further develop the Vietnam-Peru partnership.

Despite the far geographical distance, the Vietnamese people have always received support and solidarity from the Peruvian people over the years, Cuong told his host.

He highlighted that the Vietnamese people admired Peru as a beautiful country with warm and hospitable citizens, home to the remarkable Inca civilization, and a popular destination that attracts millions of travelers annually, including a growing number of Vietnamese tourists.

After the honor-awarding ceremony, President Cuong and his Peruvian counterpart held a press briefing to share the outcomes of their discussions.

The Vietnamese leader gladly announced to the media that the two sides had agreed to issue a joint statement on strengthening Vietnam-Peru relations.

Cuong emphasized that the two countries had met all the conditions necessary to upgrade their relationship to a higher level for mutual interests.

Currently, Peru is Vietnams sixth-largest trading partner in Latin America and Vietnam is Peru's biggest trading partner in ASEAN, with two-way trade reaching almost $500 million in 2023 and nearing $300 million in the first seven months of 2024, according to official figures.

Peru is also the largest Latin American recipient of Vietnamese investments with two projects in development totaling $1.24 billion by Vietnams telecom giant Viettel Group and the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam).

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Thich Minh Tue, a Buddhist devotee whose real name is Le Anh Tu, has announced that he would suspend alms-receiving activities as many people have surrounded his spiritual practice venue, disrupting security and social order in the area.

On Monday, a handwritten letter by Tu, a resident of Ia Grai District, Gia Lai Province, located in Vietnams Central Highlands region, was published on his older brother's company website.

He wrote that he would resume alms-receiving activities only when conditions are appropriate and traffic and social safety are ensured.

Tu reminded followers that having people follow him to protect him or stand along the road to welcome him by shouting goes against the dharma.

Due to these disturbances, he will suspend his alms-receiving journey. He will consider reinstating the practice when people stop gathering or causing a disturbance.

According to Tu, such gatherings cause chaos and disrupt social order, affecting his spiritual practice.

Gatherings must be in line with regulations and appropriate to actual conditions and contexts, Tu noted, calling for others support.

A representative of the authorities in Ia To Commune, Ia Grai District told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that they had yet to receive Tus letter.

On November 14, Tu authorized his older brother Le Anh Tuan and Tuans company to help him with administrative procedures to ensure his citizen rights so that he could spend time on his spiritual practice.

T., a childhood friend of Tu, said throngs of people flocked to the area wishing to meet Tu. Every morning, thousands of people come and their cars form long lines there.

On Sunday, T. saw large crowds along the roads. When Tu appeared, many people wanted to touch him and screamed. As a result, Tu immediately returned to his hut.

In early June, Tu, who has become well known for his barefoot journeys from the south to the north of Vietnam, voluntarily ceased his pilgrimage and alms-receiving activities.

He had undertaken three of these journeys without any incident between 2017 and 2023.

This year, however, on his fourth barefoot journey from Khanh Hoa Province in south-central Vietnam to northern provinces, he found it challenging to continue once large crowds began to follow him.

Among these followers, a man named Luong Thanh Son from Ho Chi Minh City passed away from heatstroke, multi-organ failure, and gastrointestinal bleeding. Two women also collapsed from exhaustion.

In response, local authorities met with Tu, affirming their support for religious freedom and his practice while addressing the impact of his growing following.

Tu later returned to his hometown in Ia Grai District, Gia Lai Province. However, many people have come wishing to meet him.

He has recently requested that the public stop filming, photographing, and sharing his image on social media.

He has asked that authorities take action against those who publish his information online without his consent; and shared concerns about large gatherings causing traffic disruptions which affect his spiritual practice.

Tu clarified that he is a normal citizen learning and practicing Buddhas teachings, reiterating that he is not a Buddhist monk or a revered figure.

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Storm Man-yi, which entered the East Vietnam Sea on Sunday evening, is expected to weaken further over the next two days due to its interaction with cold air, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

At 7:00 am on Monday, the storm was traveling west-northwest at 20kph and centered in the northern part of the East Vietnam Sea, packing maximum sustained winds of 117kph near the center.

Over the next few days, the storm is anticipated to move toward the northern waters of Vietnams Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago before changing its direction toward the central coast.

The weather agency predicted that the storm will dissipate at sea, with minimal chances of making landfall in Vietnam.

By 7:00 am on Tuesday, the storm is expected to be 330km northeast of Hoang Sa, moving west-northwest at 15-20kph and continuing to weaken.

By 7:00 am on Wednesday, it will keep weakening and may change its direction to travel west-southwest at approximately 15kph, eventually landing 210km northeast of Hoang Sa.

In the next three days, Man-yi, the ninth storm to hit the East Vietnam Sea this year, will possibly march southwest at around 10kph and downgrade into a tropical depression and then a low-pressure area in the waters of central Vietnam.

The weather agency has issued a warning to all vessels operating in the northern part of the East Vietnam Sea of potential thunderstorms, powerful winds, and huge waves.

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Ly Xuong Can, a 31st-generation descendant of Emperor Ly Thai To, spoke about the historic bond between Vietnam and Korea at a recent seminar in Ho Chi Minh City.

At the seminar held on November 8 at Van Lang University, Vietnamese Tourism Ambassador to South Korea Ly Xuong Can -- a 31st-generation descendant of Ly Thai To, the founding emperor of Vietnams Ly Dynasty that reigned from 1009 to 1028 -- delivered an emotional speech which highlighted the 800-year-old connection between Vietnam and Korea.

Though only a small portion of Cans genetics carries Vietnamese ancestry, he holds deep love and loyalty to his Vietnamese roots.

Addressing a full auditorium, Can focused on an important message aimed at younger generations: cherish and take pride in Vietnams rich cultural heritage, regardless of where life takes them.

This message was embodied by Cans stories of Prince Ly Long Tuong, whom he affectionately referred to as 'the forgotten prince.'

The prince was born in 1174 to Emperor Ly Anh Tong (113875).

He came of age as the Ly Dynasty entered into a period of decline, shortly before it ceded power to the Tran Dynasty (12251400).

In 1226, as the Tran Dynasty began to take hold in Vietnam, Prince Ly Long Tuong and several other Ly Dynasty loyals left Vietnam, hoping to find shelter and the opportunity to preserve their familys legacy abroad.

They eventually landed on the Korean Peninsula, where they found sanctuary and spent years aiding in the defense of Korea from foreign invasions.

Over time, the Ly family integrated into Korean society, contributing to a centuries-long bond between Vietnam and Korea.

Generations later, descendants like Can continue this legacy, strengthening the cultural ties between the two countries.

Through the generations, the Ly family in South Korea has preserved its Vietnamese cultural heritage.

For Can, this connection to his roots is an inseparable part of his identity.

Perhaps this is my destiny or mission, he told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

I believe I was born to return to my roots.

"Through this role, I feel called to act as a bridge between my two homelands, my two cultures.

Heritage and unity

Can made his first visit to Vietnam in 1994.

Welcomed warmly by both the people and government of Vietnam, he felt like a long-lost family member who had finally returned home.

That visit strengthened his commitment to Vietnams progress, inspiring his dedication to the country's development.

In 2024, Can was appointed Vietnamese Tourism Ambassador to South Korea for the third term (202429), a role in which he passionately works to introduce Vietnam to Korean audiences and the world.

As a tourism ambassador, I am dedicated to promoting the potential of lesser-known Vietnamese regions to South Korean investors, he explained.

However, I hope the Vietnamese government will develop strategies to attract foreign investment to under-resourced areas.

"Provinces in the central region, the Mekong Delta, an northern provinces outside of Hanoi are often overlooked despite their unique potentialities.

"I hope that over time well see more initiatives that encourage balanced investment across the country.

Bonds of affection

With a growing online presence on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, Can has an increasing number of opportunities to connect with the Vietnamese community, both at home and abroad.

Im continually moved by the warmth of Vietnamese people whenever I post on social media, he said.

On my TikTok channel, I never see negative remarks from Vietnamese viewers. Their comments are always filled with appreciation and encouragement.

"They reflect the love and pride they feel for our shared roots.

"Every word of encouragement is something I deeply cherish.

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The Organizing Committee for the 2025 World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Seoul General Assembly, which will be co-chaired by Rev. Junghyun John Oh and Rev. Younghoon Lee was launched on Friday (Nov. 15th). The thanksgiving service, held at the CCMM Building in Yeouido, Seoul, was led by Pastor Seok-soon Im, President of the Korea Evangelical Fellowship.

Rev. Sang-sik Kim, President of Sungkyul University, offered the representative prayer, followed by a special hymn from the Sarang Solist Choir. Co-Chair Rev. Younghoon Lee, Senior Pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church, delivered a sermon titled The Absolute Authority of the Bible based on 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

Forces aiming to undermine the absolute authority of Gods word are advancing through waves of liberalism, evolution, and Marxism. Some Christian textual critics claim that there are words of God in the Bible, implying that some parts are not Gods word. However, the Bible is the word of God, and it is final. No additional story can be added, Rev. Lee said.

As a result, doors to homosexuality and abortion have opened, leading to societal breakdown and widespread chaos in the Western world. The World Evangelical Alliance was conceived in 1846 to counteract the waves of religious pluralism and biblical textual criticism. Approximately 600 million believers worldwide hold membership in WEA. We must work together to restore the absolute authority of the Bible, he added.

Throughout the service, progress reports, and Q&A, speakers emphasized the authority of the Bible, the values of conservative and reformed evangelicalism, possibly in response to recent controversies around WEA, including religious pluralism.

Afterward, WEA Chair Goodwill Shana delivered congratulatory remarks via video. He expressed his gratitude to the Korean Church saying, I am deeply thankful to the evangelical believers in Korea who have committed to serve the 2025 Seoul Assembly. I sincerely hope that the WEA Seoul Assembly will serve as a catalyst for spreading the pure gospel.

Rev. Sangbok David Kim, Emeritus Pastor of Hallelujah Church, concluded the service with a benediction.

Following the service, Rev. Yeonjong Ju who serves on the Planning Committee introduced the main events, and Co-Chair Rev. Junghyun John Oh, Senior Pastor of Sarang Church, delivered a welcome message.

The Korean church, with its 140-year mission history, has been indebted to Western churches for over 100 years. Now, it's time for the Korean church to repay this debt to the global church over the next century, Rev. Oh said.

He acknowledged the concerns surrounding the WEA, saying, Due to various shortcomings, there may have been individuals within WEA over the past 20-30 years with differing thoughts. I hope that through better understanding and communication, the Korean church can participate together. If we become fixated on minor differences, things will become harder, and we may even experience a kind of hell. I hope we receive grace with a focus on Gods Great Commission.

WEA Vice-Chairman Dr. Frank Hinkelmann, President of the European Evangelical Alliance, who led the WEA delegation shared, At a time when the Korean church has grown to become the worlds largest missionary-sending country, it is a great privilege to hold the assembly in Korea with evangelical leaders from over 100 countries worldwide. We stand with Korea and will pray for peace and unification. This week marks the 35th anniversary of witnessing the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany, and we will pray for all these events.

Professor Myungsoo Park, Emeritus Professor at Seoul Theological University, then read a document titled The Significance of the WEA Seoul General Assembly, which was distributed on-site. The Organizing Committee and WEA also signed an MOU during the event.

Afterward, a press conference was held, moderated by Rev. Sungsam Sam Ko and Rev. Yeonjong Ju from the Planning Committee.

Asked how they would respond to opposition to the WEA GA, Rev. Oh said, We will continue to persuade them and have already been doing so. I hope those with opposing views can come into the WEA and engage in theological discussions to help guide the evangelical church on the right path.

Rev. Ju said, We have studied the WEA for almost a year. We are grateful to those who have raised concerns in newspapers and statements, as their arguments  against things like homosexuality and religious integration  show that we are essentially on the same side. I believe communication will go smoothly.

A question was raised about whether this WEA General Assembly could avoid the divisive impact that followed the 2013 World Council of Churches General Assembly in Busan, which deepened divisions in the Korean church.

Rev. Sang-bok David Kim responded, The Korean Church does not have an official member in the WEA. The Korean Church did not make the decision to hold the General Assembly; it was requested by the WEA, and we are simply hosting it. There will always be pros and cons, but opposition alone cannot prevent the assembly.

Dr. Jae-sung Kim, a member of the Organizing Committee's Theological Committee, addressed concerns regarding WEA leadership, specifically noting the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) suspicions about WEA Chair Goodwill Shana.

Dr. Kim stated, Chair Goodwill Shana uses the title Apostle, which is a term associated with the NAR. We will investigate this issue and ask questions accordingly. The Theological Committee will work to clarify this issue for the Korean Church, and if possible, I will even travel to Zimbabwe, where Shana resides, to investigate.

He added, We will investigate whether Chair Shana is truly someone whom the Korean Church can support for hosting a global event. If it turns out he is not, I will step down myself. The Korean theological committee members will work closely together to ensure a clean and clear arrangement over the next year in preparation for the WEA General Assembly.

The event concluded with a prayer from President Deok-gyo Oh from Torch Trinity Graduate University.

Based on reporting by Christian Daily Korea and Christian Today Korea.
NSW Police have arrested former SKY News presenter and veteran broadcaster Alan Jones following an investigation into alleged indecent assault and sexual touching offences spanning two decades.

ABC reports in a statement NSW Police said Child Abuse Squad detectives executed a warrant early this morning.

Child Abuse Squad detectives have arrested a man following an investigation into alleged indecent assault and sexual touching offences spanning two decades, a NSW Police statement read.

In March 2024, State Crime Commands Child Abuse Squad established Strike Force Bonnefin to investigate a number of alleged indecent assaults and sexual touching incidents between 2001 and 2019.

Following extensive inquiries, about 7.45am today, strike force detectives executed a search warrant at a unit in Circular Quay where they arrested an 83-year-old man.

A search warrant is continuing.

Jones had a broadcasting career spanning more than 35 years, best-known for his radio career at 2UE and 2GB and SKY News which he departed in 2021, when his contract was not renewed.

He later joined streaming news channel ADH TV.

In December, Jones vehemently denied allegations he indecently assaulted young men over his lengthy career after articles were published by Nine newspapers.

Updated:

Broadcaster Alan Jones has been charged with an additional two assault offences against a ninth alleged victim, bringing the total number of charges to 26.

Police on Tuesday said, after receiving legal advice, they were able to lay two additional charges of assault with an act of indecency. His current list of charges includes 11 counts of aggravated indecent assault, which can attract a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment.
Q+A is broadcasting from Melbourne tonight.

Donald Trump is not a psychopath, according to Jon Ronson. But hes probably a narcissist.

The outward manifestation of psychopathy and narcissism is quite similar but it feels like theres a volcano of emotions going on underneath Trumps surface, the British journalist says, author of the bestselling The Psychopath Test who embedded deeply in the world of Trump during his first run for office.

On Q+A, Ronson explains what that volcano of emotion might mean for the United States and the world. And how fringe conspiracists, and the social media platforms Australia is now trying to regulate, changed politics forever  amid fevered speculation that a federal election may be just around the corner.

Plus the treacherous diplomatic path for Anthony Albanese and Kevin Rudd on the US, China and regional trade; the ongoing fight against social media capture and gambling advertising; and does the Liberal Party still have a women problem?

Panellists:

British journalist, author & filmmaker Jon Ronson,

Independent MP for Goldstein Zoe Daniel,

Centre for Public Christianity senior fellow & anti-gambling advocate Tim Costello,

Broadcaster, advocate & Hilmas Network founder Charlotte Mortlock

Columnist & Quillette Editor-in-Chief Claire Lehmann

9:35pm Monday on ABC.
Veteran performer Louise Yates (nee Philip) yesterday recounted how she was nearly written out of Bellbird following a devastating car-crash in 1972 which left her paraplegic.

Interviewed by TV historian Andrew Mercado at Driving Change, a Bondi-based summit on disability employment in the screen sector, Yates recalled how she was recuperating in hospital when reading a TV Week article in which then-producer James Davern suggested she could consider a career in radio.

I was pretty flawed. I think the kicker was when he finished that statement with The ABC is not a charity set up. And I thought, Oh my god. I mean, one of the startling things for me was the fact that even though I had changed physically -mentally, I hadnt at all, said Yates.

I had the same drive, the same energy, the same commitment to my career. That drive that had led me to leave school at 15 and pursue my career was still there. So I didnt even really see a difference. I just thought, Im going to go back. Im going to rejoin the cast, and well work out how it happens.

So its really surprising to suddenly be cast into this role of not good enough. That was unfamiliar territory. For a couple of days, I really had to gather my thoughts around all of that.

A few members of the cast came to see me in hospital, and they said, Dont worry about it. Well work things out. And sure enough, it was Terry (Norris, actor) that led the way. But they said to Jim Davern, that was unacceptable, and that if I didnt come back into the show after I had rehabilitated, that they would strike.

The ABC didnt like those words!

To his credit, Davern backtracked, giving her character, Christine, a job as a medical receptionist and effectively making her the first actor with a disability on Australian Television.

Bellbird was also hugely popular, but Yates recalls some viewers thought she was acting rather than an actor living with a disability.

Lots of people would stop and say, Are you practicing for the role? and they would be shocked. I think especially in those days, because there was so little access.

Every single day right through my career, that was at Crawfords, at Channel Seven, Channel Nine, Channel 10. It didnt matter where I worked. I always worked in inaccessible environments, and there were no mobile phones either, which was an issue, because I just had to wait sometimes for people to come by to help me up the stairs. And thank goodness I was a lot lighter in those days as well. But,yeah, there were no rights for people with disability, no discrimination rights.

I guess the motivation was to always be the best I could be, because thats how I would keep my job.

Andrew Mercado noted, I know that you have some really important advice that you want to give up and comers about what they need to move forward in the industry?

I think the first thing is the champions. It doesnt matter what area of life youre in. Everybody needs champions, people who get you, people who understand the skills and the the innate character of you and can help to take you further. So its up to you what you do with that, she continued.

The second thing is to appreciate and value your uniqueness that is, I think, critical to understand that in your disability theres uniqueness that you can exploit.

Because weve got one chance, one life. Make the most of it, go for it, and never take a backward step. Doesnt matter if you get rejection, just keep going, because every now and again, youll find those champions, and every now and again, theyll take you to the next level. And as I say, its what you do with it that counts after that.

You can read more on Louise Yates (nee Philip) career, including her time in Cop Shop, as part of TV Tonights recent Nostalgia Week.

Photo: Driving Change Summit 2024; Photography by Julia Firak.
Azib Ahmed, TwoCircles.net

Mumbai: As Maharashtra heads into its crucial 2024 assembly elections, the states Muslim community finds itself grappling with a longstanding issue of political underrepresentation. Despite constituting 11.54% of the states population, Muslims in Maharashtra continue to face challenges in securing meaningful representation in the state legislature.

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The frustration is palpable, particularly as the major political alliances  the Mahavikas Aghadi or MVA (an alliance of the Shiv Sena- Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar and the Congress) and the Mahayuti (a coalition of the BJP, the Shiv Sena  Shinde, the Nationalist Congress Party  Pawar)  have allegedly denied the community its due representation.

For many within the community, the battle is not just about numbers. It is about ensuring that their voices are heard in the decisions (from local governance to broader state policies), which affect their lives.

Muslim representation in Maharashtra Assembly has historically fluctuated, with peak periods during the Congresss dominance in the state in the late 20th century. However, the rise of the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alongside changing political alliances, has led to a steady decline in Muslim presence in the assembly.

A Brief History of Muslim Representation in State

Maharashtras political landscape has been primarily shaped by the Congress, the Shiv Sena and the BJP, with smaller parties occasionally shifting the balance. During the Congresss peak, Muslim candidates were often nominated in significant numbers. It reflected the partys efforts to build inclusive representation. However, the rise of the BJP and the Shiv Sena contributed to a noticeable decline in Muslim representation. The pattern still continues despite Muslims being an essential electoral base for several major parties.

The Current Scenario

As the state prepares for a pitched battle between the two coalitions, the MVA, which has traditionally been seen as more inclusive of minority voices, has fielded only a handful of Muslim candidates. This includes eight from the Congress, one from the NCP and just one from the Shiv Sena (UBT). On the other hand, the Mahayuti has nominated even fewer Muslims  with the BJP and the Shiv Sena (Shinde) each fielding no Muslim candidates at all.

Kaisar Khan, a 52-year-old tailor from Akot taluka in Akola district, speaks for many in the community when he says, Every election, we hear promises, but when it comes to actual representation, they barely even put up candidates from our community. How can we trust that our issues will be addressed if we do not even have a seat at the table?

For Khan, and many others like him, the lack of representation in the legislature is not just about politics but about practical concerns. We fear that our issues unemployment, small business struggles and communal harmony  will not be addressed unless we have more Muslim voices in the government, he adds.

Will Muslim Votes Get Divided?

A significant concern for many in the community is the division of the Muslim vote, particularly in constituencies where multiple Muslim candidates are running. In areas like Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar, with a Muslim population exceeding 50%, the contest is expected to be fierce, with candidates from the Samajwadi Party, the NCP and the AIMIM vying for the communitys vote. There are growing concerns that such divisions could result in a victory for the Shiv Sena, a party that has historically had strained relations with the Muslim community.

Khan notes, Muslims may only expect real representation in the assembly if they collectively vote for one candidate in each constituency.

The potential for vote-splitting in multiple constituencies, including Nanded South and others, has only added to the growing sense of political fragmentation within the community.

The Feeling of Political Alienation

Shaikh Burhan, a 29-year-old engineer from Jalna district, shares a sentiment common among young Muslims in the state: a feeling of exclusion from the political process. It is like they do not want us to be part of the process. There is a perception that our community is only needed for votes, but we are overlooked when it comes to actual participation.

This sense of alienation has led many, particularly the younger generation, to question the sincerity of political promises. Burhan believes that with greater Muslim representation, issues like unemployment and communal harmony would receive the attention they deserve. The low nomination of Muslim candidates raises concerns about inclusivity and fair representation.

Community Feels Betrayed

Mujtaba Farooq, a social activist from Aurangabad, believes the Muslim community in Maharashtra has long been loyal to secular parties, voting for the Congress, the NCP and even the Shiv Sena despite its complex history. Rather than engaging in political bargaining, Muslims have demonstrated commitment to the countrys integrity and security, he says, reflecting the broader frustration of the community.

He further argues that the underrepresentation of Muslims in the candidate lists of both major alliances is part of a wider trend where minorities are sidelined in favor of strategic vote consolidations. The ignorance by Mahavikas Aghadi and Mahayuti alliances shows a lack of concern for the community. This approach could eventually backfire on these parties, he warns.

He urges the Muslim community to reconsider its support for the MVA and look beyond traditional alliances. Muslims should now aim to support parties or independent candidates who truly advocate for the rights of their community, he advises.

Long Fight for Justice

Ulka Mahajan, a political activist from Mumbai, expresses concern over the systemic underrepresentation of Muslims despite their sizable population. She stresses that this is not just a numbers game, but a matter of justice. The fight for fair representation is grounded in justice, and while it cannot be achieved all at once, the immediate goal is to unseat the BJP, she says.

However, she acknowledges that this is part of a broader, long-term struggle to preserve democracy and ensure fair representation for all communities, including Muslims.

Mahajan recalls a time when the Constituent Assembly, despite Muslims comprising just 10% of Indias population, allocated 13% of the seats to Muslim representatives  a time when the principle of fair representation was not just an ideal but a reality. We need to return to that kind of fair representation, she says, calling for a more inclusive political framework.

A Community in Search of Recognition

For many Muslims in Maharashtra, the fight for political representation transcends electoral numbers. It is a fight for inclusion, for recognition and for a voice in shaping the policies that impact their everyday lives. As the state enters the 2024 election cycle, the demand for fair representation has never been more urgent.

Arif Naseem Khan, vice president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, acknowledges the communitys frustrations. Besides the five seats for Muslim candidates in Mumbai, we have also nominated Muslims from Nanded, Solapur and Akola. Unfortunately, due to the alliance, we cannot field more candidates.

While Khan argues that the MVAs nominations are fair, he urges Muslims to avoid vote splitting and to support the alliance as a unified front. However, for many in the community, the question remains: is mere numerical representation enough, or is it time for a deeper reckoning with political inclusion in Maharashtra?

In the coming days, the electorate will determine whether Muslim voices in Maharashtra Assembly will continue to be sidelined or whether they will rise to play a more prominent role in the future of the states politics.
HA NOI  Expers have called for the Government to issue a comprehensive planning for disaster risk financing and insurance as natural disasters and the damage they cause are increasingly becoming more severe in Viet Nam and worldwide.

The United Nations Climate Change Summit in Baku, Azerbaijan (COP29) reported that the total cost of damages caused by extreme weather from 2014 to 2023 amounted to US$2 trillion, which is equivalent to the economic losses from the 2008 global financial crisis.

Recent examples of this increasing damage are Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, both of which hit the United States in October 2024. Each caused damages of up to $50 billion, making them two of the eight most destructive storms the country has seen in the last 45 years.

Natural disasters have also caused significant damage in Viet Nam in recent years, reducing GDP by up to 1.5 per cent each year. Direct losses from typhoons and floods in Viet Nam rank third in Southeast Asia, after Myanmar and the Philippines.

Typhoon Yagi, which struck the country in September 2024, was one of the strongest storms to come out of the East Sea (internationally known as South China Sea) in 30 years, and one of the strongest that made landfall in 70 years.

According to 2018 forecasts from the World Bank, there is a 40 per cent chance that Viet Nam will lose $67 billion in the next 50 years due to damage caused by natural disasters, if the country doesnt have proper prevention and insurance strategies in place.

Le Thi Thuy Van, deputy director of the National Institute for Finance (NIF) under the Ministry of Finance, said that in Viet Nam, the Government has mobilised various financial resources to help businesses and people recover after each disaster.

These include the State reserves, financial reserve funds, agricultural insurance, bank credit, disaster prevention funds, and voluntary contributions from domestic and international organisations and individuals.

However, significant challenges remain at the grassroots level. Local government budgets are often insufficient during disasters and require supplementary funding from the central Government, Van said.

We also lack comprehensive data and information on disaster risk financing. The countrys financial capacity covers only about 21 per cent of the need for reconstruction and emergency relief after disasters.

"In this context, it is of utmost importance to adopt a comprehensive approach to financial resources and disaster risk insurance.

Learning from international experiences will help us find effective solutions," she added.

According to Dr Nguyen Thi Hai uong from the Department of Insurance at the National Economics University, the Indonesian government adopted the national Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance (DRFI) Strategy in October 2018 with support from the World Bank.

Under this framework, in 2019 Indonesia began piloting insurance for government assets against disaster risks.

"Disaster risk insurance has been recognised as an important tool for managing climate risks. It is also a tool to increase the resilience of insured entities after a disaster," said Dr uong.

"Research is being conducted by the international community to find effective models and tools to aid recovery after disasters, especially for developing countries."  VNS
AK LAK  More efforts should be put into developing a sustainable model for the swallow nest industry of the Central Highlands province of ak Lak, industry insiders have urged.

According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, swallow nest farming took root in the province in 2009 and every year since has seen significant growth. The province is now home to nearly 1,750 swallow habitats, with the majority of them in the districts of Ea Kar, Ea Sup, Krong Pac and Buon Ma Thuot City. Of these, 70-80 per cent have been built recently by local residents.

Bird nests have put the Central Highlands province on the business map with 15 products rated as One Commune One Product (OCOP) 3-star and eight with 4-stars.

The province has also experienced one of the fastest growth in the number of swallow habitats and production of nests, at over ten tonnes per year. It has been a popular destination among investors who are looking to build a supply chain network to export the nests.

In January this year, Thanh Dung Swallow Nest Import-Export JSC, in Krong Pac District, exported its first batch of products to China. Meanwhile, other companies have established partnerships to bring the nests to consumers in the US, Australia and Japan.

The provincial authority said the export of swallow nest products presents a great opportunity for the industry to develop and contribute to the local economy and social development. The industry, however, must address current difficulties and challenges in building breeding grounds, processing, production, quality control and brand development.

Industry insiders voiced concerns over a lack of cohesion among swallow farms and other players in the supply chains, along with efforts to build strong brands.

The department recommended the provincial authority and the business community start by collecting and building a database for nest production, which can serve as a cornerstone for future development.  VNS
HA NOI  Experts have said there remains scope for Vietnamese rice suppliers to boost exports to the UK market thanks to the UK-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) and a Vietnamese community of more than 100,000 people.

The UKVFTA took effect on May 1, 2021, with a preferential tariff quota granted to Viet Nam at a tax rate of zero per cent, enabling UK buyers to have more choices of rice varieties from Viet Nam.

Within the framework of the UKVFTA, the UK committed to providing Viet Nam with a tariff quota of nearly 14,000 tonnes of rice, baodautu.vn reported.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Viet Nam is one of the world's leading rice exporters, with an output of over eight million tonnes each year.

However, Viet Nam only ranks 20th among countries exporting rice to the UK, making up a modest 0.2 per cent of the total import turnover to the country, the ministry said, adding that the door is wide open for Vietnamese rice in the market, which has a large demand for rice imports at over 700,000 tonnes annually.

In 2021, the UK imported nearly 652,000 tonnes of rice worth US$575 million. The country's rice imports hit over 678,000 tonnes valued at $603 million in 2022, up 4.1 per cent in volume and 7 per cent in value, the Viet Nam Trade Office in the UK said.

The office suggested that to increase the presence of Vietnamese rice in the UK market, the MoIT should encourage rice exporters to sign long-term contracts with UK partners based on balancing domestic food security with export demand. It petitioned the State Bank of Vietnam to consider creating favourable conditions for enterprises to access credit for rice purchases.

At the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should support farmers in expanding rice-growing areas which apply Global GAP to produce high-quality fragrant rice, according to the office.

According to other trade experts, to create a larger market breakthroughs and strengthen a sustainable position for Vietnamese rice in the UK and other major markets, the Vietnamese rice industry should implement a branding strategy suitable for each market.

The national brand programme needed to select high-quality and high-yield rice varieties and name them in a simple, easy-to-remember, easy-to-pronounce way along with the place where the rice is grown (Soc Trang Viet Nam rice, for instance) or the name of the creator of that rice variety, so that they can register for brand protection abroad easily.

Currently, Vietnamese rice is competing with leading competitors in rice exports to the UK including India which accounts for 22 per cent of the total import turnover to the country, Pakistan (18 per cent), Spain (11 per cent), Italy (10.9 per cent), Thailand (9.2 per cent), baodautu.vn reported.  VNS
RIO DE JANEIRO  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received leaders of four Brazilian corporations in Rio de Janeiro on November 17 (local time) as part of his trip to Brazil for participation in the G20 Summit and bilateral activities.

The firms are aerospace company Embraer, meat producer JBS, Oceanside One Trading, and smart card solution supplier Alterosa.

At the meetings, Chinh highlighted the strong and growing Viet Nam-Brazil relationship, underscored by mutual political trust and complementary economic strengths.

Bilateral trade reached over US$7.1 billion in 2023 and $6.58 billion in the first 10 months of 2024, he noted.

The Vietnamese leader highlighted Viet Nam and Brazil's similarities and shared aspirations for peace and development, as well as great potential for cooperation.

He called on Brazilian firms to promote investment in Viet Nam, and pledged that the Vietnamese Government will continue improving the country's business and investment environment, speeding up administrative reform and providing optimal conditions for Brazilian investors to effectively and sustainably operate in Viet Nam.

Jose Serrador, Global Vice President of Embraer, the worlds third-largest manufacturer of commercial aircraft, affirmed the company's wish to continue promoting comprehensive collaboration with Viet Nam.

He committed to expanding cooperation with Vietnam, particularly in exploiting routes such as Ha Noi - HCM City and Ha Noi - Con ao, and in defence trade.

Chinh said Viet Nam is focusing on developing maritime space, underground space, and aerospace, and that the country aims to establish an aviation transit centre.

Pointing to Viet Nam's potential in aviation development and rising demands, he encouraged Embraer to support Viet Nam's ambition to become a global aviation hub through sustainable fleet development, pilot training, technology transfer, and airport construction, while cooperating with Viet Nam in other fields such as defence trade, search and rescue.

Meanwhile, Celso Nunes, Innovation Director at Alterosa, presented plans to enhance partnership with Viet Nam in smart card solutions.

Chinh welcomed Alterosa's activities in Viet Nam and urged the firm to expand its partnerships in Viet Nam, both in scope and scale, particularly in digital security authentication solutions and smart card technology, helping to build the countrys digital infrastructure, digital economy, and digital society, digital government, and citizenship.

He welcomed the firm to explore opportunities in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things. The PM encouraged Alterosa to collaborate with Viet Nam's National Innovation Centre to drive innovation and develop financial hubs, advancing the countrys technological and economic transformation.

Marcio Rodrigues, CEO of JBS, the worlds largest meat producer, proposed making Viet Nam a strategic hub for the Asian market. PM Chinh welcomed this idea and invited JBS to expand investments in Viet Nam, including facilities for livestock processing, food security, and leather production. He also encouraged the further integration of Vietnamese agricultural products into global supply chains.

Last year, the firm earned $8.3 billion in revenue with more than 65,000 labourers worldwide.

Chinh expressed his hope for JBS to establish a greater, deeper, and broader presence in Viet Nam in the coming years. He encouraged the company's leaders to visit Viet Nam soon to explore further cooperation opportunities, enhance supply chain expansion, and bring Viet Nam's diverse agricultural products to Brazil and global markets. Additionally, he urged JBS to invest in factories in Viet Nam, focusing on leather production, manufacturing, processing, and exporting livestock and poultry meat.

At the meeting with the Vietnamese leader, Roger Zen, Chairman and CEO of Oceanside One Trading, briefed him on the groups operations and touched upon opportunities to expand business and investment collaboration with Viet Nam.

Oceanside One Trading is a leading American trading conglomerate headquartered in the US, with subsidiaries in Brazil. The group specialises in trading commodities such as chemicals, oil and gas, tires, fertilizers, and urea. In 2023, its revenue exceeded $500 million, with a commercial presence in over 50 countries and territories.

In Viet Nam, the group has signed an export agreement for automotive tire products with a subsidiary of the State-managed Viet Nam National Chemical Group (Vinachem) for the Brazilian market, valued at $120 million. Oceanside One Trading aims to increase its export volume to the US and Brazilian markets from $70 million to $150 million annually in the near future.

Roger Zen praised the potential for collaboration with Viet Nam, highlighting the strong friendship between the two countries, their cultural similarities, and the complementary strengths of their economies. He noted the groups desire to continue purchasing goods from Viet Nam and increasing exports to the country, targeting annual trade growth of 1520 per cent.

Welcoming Oceanside One Tradings ideas and plans for cooperation, the PM encouraged the group to provide input to help Viet Nam improve its institutional framework.

He suggested the group enhance trade collaboration, explore investment opportunities, introduce more Vietnamese products to global consumers, and help the country integrate more deeply into the global supply chain.

Highlighting Viet Nam as a promising consumer market with over 100 million people and a growing middle class, the leader said the country has signed 17 free trade agreements (FTAs) with over 60 major economies. He called on Oceanside One Trading and JBS to support negotiations for a new-generation FTA between Viet Nam and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), as well as Brazil, and to advocate for investment protection agreements.  VNA/VNS
Hate crimes against Christians in Europe increased dramatically in 2023 over the prior year, with France, Germany and the U.K. cited as countries of concern, according to a new report.

The Vienna, Austria-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe (OIDAC Europe) found 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes reported in 35 countries across Europe in 2023, compared with 748 hate crimes in 30 countries in the prior years report.

The anti-Christian hate crimes last year included 232 personal attacks involving violence, harassment and threats, the report noted.

The OIDAC Europe figures included data by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europes (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

As France and some other countries with high numbers did not submit their statistics to the OSCE, the actual numbers are even higher than the OSCE data suggests, said Anja Hoffmann, executive director of OIDAC Europe. As far as anti-Christian hate crimes are concerned, we have registered 2,444 cases for 2023 but assume a high number of unreported cases.

The report cites nearly 1,000 anti-Christian hate crimes in France in 2023, with 700 in the U.K. and 277 in Germany. Cases in Germany represented a 105 percent increase compared with 2022, when 135 were reported. Additionally, German police recorded 2,000 cases of damages to church buildings and similar sites.

Regina Polak, OSCE Representative on Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Discrimination, also focusing on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians and Members of Other Religions, said Christians had become the target of hate crimes across the OSCE region.

Anti-Christian hate crimes send a message of exclusion to the victims and their communities, and to society as a whole, Polak said. We can observe an increase of discrimination and hate crimes against Christians also in Europe. These phenomena must also be seen in the broader context of intolerance and discrimination against other groups and in particular against members of religious communities, both minority and majority groups.

Church building vandalism was the most common reported crime, at 62 percent of the cases, including desecration and beheading of religious statues. Arson attacks accounted for 10 percent of cases, and physical attacks 7 percent.

The reported physical violence included the attempted murder of a Christian in the U.K. who had converted from Islam, a car ramming attack in Poland and the murder of a Catholic church worker by an Islamist in Algeciras, Spain.

Workplaces were cited as a cause for concern in the report, with widespread discrimination reported against Christians espousing faith values in a number of European countries.

In particular, Christians who adhere to traditional religious beliefs face increasing discrimination and hostility, ranging from bullying at work to the loss of employment, Hoffmann said. It is very worrying that the peaceful expression of personal religious beliefs, for example on matters relating to marriage and family, has become the potential end of a political career or employment, or even the beginning of a court case.

The report also cited European governments cracking down on religious freedoms, from bans on religious processions to targeting Christians for peacefully expressing their beliefs, such as a British army veteran found guilty of praying silently outside an abortion clinic.

Hoffmann has called for an EU coordinator to be appointed specifically to oversee efforts to combat anti-Christian hatred, similar to existing mandates for anti- semitism and anti-Muslim hatred in the European Union.

These trends should alert us all to step up efforts to protect freedom of religion or belief, including the freedom to openly and respectfully discuss different philosophical and religious viewpoints on sensitive issues, without fear of reprisal and censorship, Hoffmann said.
RIO DE JANEIRO  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended a Viet Nam-Brazil business forum in Rio de Janeiro on 17 November afternoon (local time) as part of his trip to Brazil for attendance at the G20 Summit and bilateral activities in the Latin American country.

Brazil is currently Viet Nam's leading trading partner in Latin America. In recent years, two-way trade has grown rapidly to over US$7.1 billion in 2023 from $1.53 billion in 2011. In the first ten months of 2024, the figure reached $6.58 billion. The two sides are aiming to increase trade to $10 billion by 2025 and $15 billion by 2030.

Viet Nam has exported a variety of goods to Brazil, including seafood, rubber, textiles, footwear, and steel, while Brazils exports to Viet Nam mainly consisted of soybeans, wheat, corn, animal feed, cotton, and other raw materials.

In terms of investment, as of October 2024, Brazil had invested seven direct investment projects in Viet Nam, with total registered capital of $3.85 million, mainly in the manufacturing and processing, wholesale, retail, and scientific and technological sectors.

Holding that economic cooperation is still not commensurate with their potential and sound bilateral political and diplomatic ties, participants explored opportunities for deeper investment cooperation and proposed solutions to enhance bilateral collaboration, particularly in areas where one country has strengths and the other has needs.

A representative of the Brazil Chamber of Commerce and Industry noted that since PM Chinh's visit to Brazil in 2023, and his current visit, trade relationship between the two countries has advanced significantly. Viet Nam is now Brazils 17th largest supplier and the 18th biggest trading partner.

Brazil sees substantial potential in collaborating with Viet Nam, particularly in high-tech industries, semiconductors, agriculture, energy security, renewable energy, science and technology, climate change, digital transformation, and South-South cooperation. In particular, Brazil expects the Viet Nam-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement will be signed soon, enabling Brazilian businesses to get access to the ASEAN market through Viet Nam.

Brazilian Minister of Rural Development Paulo Teixeira highlighted the historical significance of Viet Nams national liberation journey, recalling the visit of President Ho Chi Minh to Rio de Janeiro in search of a path to independence. He emphasised the importance of Viet Nam in the global food and foodstuff production and supply chain and stressed the need for enhanced cooperation, especially in agricultural technology, to ensure food security not just for the two countries, but also for the global fight against poverty.

Addressing the forum, PM Chinh highlighted that the Viet Nam-Brazil relationship is continuing to develop positively, underpinned by strong political trust. In his talks with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, both leaders agreed to elevate the Viet Nam-Brazil relationship to a Strategic Partnership, he noted, stressing that this will serve as a strong foundation to further enhance economic, investment, and trade cooperation between the two countries' business communities.

PM Chinh underscored the strong foundation for bilateral cooperation, citing high political trust, complementary economic strengths, shared cultural values, and aspirations for peace and national development.

He expressed his optimism about reaching the two-way trade goal of $10 billion by 2025 while calling on Vietnamese and Brazilian enterprises to land investment in each others country, foster collaboration in agriculture and food security, renew traditional growth motives and explore new cooperation space, including aerospace and maritime development and underground spaces.

Viet Nam is seeking selective investment in high-tech projects with high added value and spillover effects that can connect with domestic enterprises, he said, adding that priority is given to the domains of science technology, innovation, research and development, green economy, digital economy, circular economy, knowledge-based economy, semiconductor production, hydrogen, renewable energy, and green financing, among others.

With a view to removing roadblocks to make the economic cooperation to be on par with the political and diplomatic relations, PM Chinh held that both sides should soon launch negotiations for a free trade agreement between Viet Nam and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), an agreement on investment promotion and protection, and an agreement on visas and accelerate Brazils recognition of Viet Nams market economy status.

He stressed that to create a conducive environment for sustainable business development, Viet Nam is advancing three strategic breakthroughs in institutional building, strategic infrastructure development, and high-quality human resources training while working to improve the business climate.

The PM hoped for a more robust partnership between enterprises of both nations, emphasising the principles of harmonising benefits and sharing risks as well as mutual understanding, sharing visions and actions, mutual development, and shared prosperity.

In his conclusion, PM Chinh affirmed his belief in more dynamic economic cooperation that will contribute to the development and prosperity of both nations and strengthen the bilateral relationship.  VNS
WASHINGTON DC  A seminar discussing solutions for energy, industry, and trade cooperation between Viet Nam and the US recently took place in Washington. Organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) in collaboration with the Vietnamese Embassy in the US, the event drew a large gathering of overseas Vietnamese entrepreneurs, intellectuals, and scientists working in these sectors.

In his opening speech, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long highlighted the role and significant contributions by the Vietnamese community in the US to activities to further develop the bilateral relations between the two countries.

He urged participants to share their proposals and opinions, especially those on how to create breakthroughs and identify areas where breakthroughs can be made in energy, trade, and investment cooperation between Viet Nam and the US.

Delegates, who have contributed to the development of trade, renewable energy, industrial building materials, solar and wind energy, and infrastructure construction, pointed out challenges and obstacles related to unstable legal frameworks and certain issues related to human resources and opportunity costs that Viet Nam needs to address swiftly to attract US investors.

Norman Van Toai, a businessman involved in numerous energy collaboration projects between Viet Nam and the US for several decades, said that the energy sector is a key advantage for Viet Nam in the context that US investors are shifting production from China to some countries in Asia and Southeast Asia, including Viet Nam.

Delegates expressed their hope that the Vietnamese Government will provide policy advice on energy and support for the sectors supply chain, especially in solar energy, in preparation for this industrys boom in the US in the coming years.

The MoIT will collaborate with relevant agencies to regularly organise working programmes with the Vietnamese community abroad, aiming to update information, policies, opportunities, and potential for investment and trade cooperation in Viet Nam, the official said.

He added that consultation sessions with Vietnamese entrepreneurs, researchers, and scientists abroad on policies in energy, industry, and trade will be also arranged, thus providing recommendations for policy-making and building efficient trade and industry development orientations; and promoting opportunities for cooperation between Vietnamese organisations and businesses with those of the Vietnamese diaspora in the US, as well as US partners.

Long said similar initiatives will be implemented to strengthen the connection between ministries and sector in the homeland and the Vietnamese community in the US, towards realising trade and investment cooperation aspects in the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam exported 7,260 tonnes of rubber to Malaysia, valued at US$11.5 million in October, surging by 861 per cent in volume and 1,240 per cent in value year-on-year, according to the General Department of Customs.

This also represents a 22.2 per cent increase in volume and a 47.8 per cent rise in value compared to September, marking the highest monthly figures for the year.

From January to October, Malaysia spent $35.2 million to import 24,800 tonnes of rubber, reflecting a 349 per cent increase in volume and a 405 per cent rise in value year-on-year.

This elevated Malaysia to the second-largest market by volume and the third-largest by value for Viet Nam's rubber exports.

In the first ten months of 2024, Viet Nam exported 1.54 million tonnes of rubber, generating over $2.52 billion in revenue.

This represents a 4.9 per cent decline in volume but a 16.4 per cent increase in value compared to the same period in 2023. The average export price stood at $1,638 per tonne, up by 22.4 per cent year-on-year.

China remained Viet Nam's largest rubber export market, accounting for 78.7 per cent of the countrys total rubber exports. Exports to China reached 1.06 million tonnes, valued at $1.7 billion, a 16.8 per cent decrease in volume but a 1.5 per cent rise in value year-on-year.

The first ten months witnessed notable shifts in Viet Nam's rubber export markets. While exports to China, South Korea, Netherlands and Argentina declined year-on-year, substantial growth was recorded in other markets such as India, the US, Germany and notably Malaysia.

Rubber remains a significant export sector for Viet Nam, which ranks fifth globally in plantation area and third in natural rubber production.

According to the Viet Nam Rubber Association (VRA), the country has around 930,000 hectares of rubber plantations, producing about 1.3 million tonnes of latex annually.

Despite the decline in export volume this year, Viet Nam's rubber export value has increased thanks to consistently high export prices.

With these results, rubber export revenue in 2024 is forecast to reach $3-$3.5 billion, an increase of $200-$400 million compared to last year.  VNS
HA NOI  A poetry collection written in both Vietnamese and South Korean has been published.

The Viet Nam Writers Association working in conjunction with South Korean writers have published Chung ta co the suot oi cho nhau (We can Wait for Each Other Forever), which features 42 poems, half written by Vietnamese poets and half Korean.

The selected poems were translated and presented by South Korean poets, with the introduction written by Vu Quan Phuong.

"The general impression of the poetry collection is a sense of novelty and freshness," Phuong said.

"The South Korean poets do not use the traditional references that have become formulaic; instead, they write in a conversational style, spontaneously creating poetry. The ideas in their poems are dense and rich."

The Vietnamese authors participating include well-known names such as Huu Thinh, Tran ang Khoa, Huu Viet, Tran Hung, Luong Ngoc An, Phan Thi Thanh Nhan, and Nguyen Bao Chan.

Meanwhile, the South Korean authors featured are prominent figures such as Kim Tae-soo, Jang Seok-nam, An Hoen-mi, Lee Sulya, Son Cecilia, and Yi Wi-bai.

Fifteen South Korean writers and poets visited and worked with the Viet Nam Writers Association for the collaboration.

"The remarkable development of Viet Nam in various fields, including literature, has always attracted attention and left valuable lessons for other countries," said writer Bang Hyun-suk.

Nguyen Quang Thieu, chairman of the Viet Nam Writers' Association said: "We continue to promote the literary exchange between Viet Nam and South Korea in the coming time.

"Every year, authors from both sides will visit each other to exchange views on the development of literature in each country. In particular, we are focusing on enhancing the publishing cooperation between Vietnamese and South Korean literature."

Vietnamese and South Korean writers have strengthened their literary ties, with 16 South Korean poets attending the 22nd Viet Nam Poetry Day in early 2024 at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, Ha Noi.

Works by contemporary Vietnamese writers and poets such as Huu Thinh, Nguyen Quang Thieu, Thanh Thao and Nguyen Binh Phuong have appeared in literary anthologies published in South Korea.

Binh Phuong's novel Minh va ho (Us and Them) has been particularly well-received in South Korea.

The works of Han Kang, the South Korean writer who received the Nobel Prize in Literature this year, were also translated and introduced in Viet Nam in 2011.  VNS
RIO DE JANEIRO  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse, and the Vietnamese delegation participated in the Viet Nam Day in Brazil programme in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday (local time).

Held from November 15-17 to mark 35 years of Viet Nam-Brazil diplomatic relations, the event aimed to promote Viet Nam's unique cultural values to Brazilian and international friends.

The event showcased Viet Nams rich heritage and aspirations for global integration and development through exhibitions, cultural experiences, and art performances.

It featured 10 key cultural exchange activities, including photo exhibitions on the Viet Nam-Brazil relations, UNESCO-recognised world heritage in Viet Nam, and displays highlighting the traditions of Viet Nams 54 ethnic groups.

Visitors also experienced traditional Vietnamese lacquerware, ong Ho paintings, toy figurines (to he), and water puppetry  Viet Nams unique cultural art form originating from the 11th century. They also explored Vietnamese coffee, and enjoyed an art performance programme, which included traditional Vietnamese lion dances, folk songs, and martial arts demonstrations. Brazilian artists also contributed with traditional music and dance performances.

Speaking at the event, Chinh highlighted the programmes significance in celebrating 35 years of the Viet Nam-Brazil relations and the 112th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minhs stop in Rio de Janeiro during his journey to seek ways for national salvation. The PM thanked the Brazilian Government and Rio de Janeiro for their support in organising the event, reflecting the growing trust and cooperation between the two nations.

He noted that over the past 35 years, the bilateral diplomatic relations have continuously strengthened. The two nations share a sincere and trustworthy political partnership, with regular exchanges of delegations, particularly those at the highest level.

He said that during his trip, the two countries have agreed to elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership, establishing a crucial foundation for collaboration across all fields, including culture.

The PM highlighted cultural similarities between the two nations and underscored the importance of enhancing cultural collaboration. He called for efforts to internationalise the traditional cultures of both countries while embracing the universal values of global cultural diversity.

Chinh affirmed that this event marks only the beginning of a deeper cultural partnership, envisioning broader and stronger exchanges to enrich the lives of both Vietnamese and Brazilians and further solidify the ever-flourishing relationship between the two countries.  VNA/VNS
SEOUL  The 33-year-old artist, who completed his mandatory military service earlier this year, expressed his excitement about reconnecting with BTS fans, known as ARMY.

"Since returning to civilian life, I've been looking forward to meeting ARMY in person. Thank you for filling the seats and joining online as well. I feel excited and nervous," Jin said as he opened the last-day event on Sunday at Jangchung Arena.

The showcase, attended by 3,800 fans chosen from a draw over two days, featured the vocalist's live performances from Happy, including the lead track Running Wild.

The British rock-inspired pop-rock song about the warmth, brightness and passion inspired by love debuted at No. 8 on Spotify's Daily Top Songs Global chart with over 493,000 streams on its release day.

Opening the show with a live band and a dramatic appearance through red curtains, Jin performed Running Wild, energizing the packed venue. Fans waved BTS' signature purple light sticks and sang along to the track that came out just two days ago.

Jin shared personal anecdotes while introducing songs from the album, including the fan-dedicated song, I Will Come to You, which he co-wrote based on feelings he experienced during his military service.

"It's been five to six months since I was discharged," he said. "This song captures the emotions I felt while thinking of ARMY during that time. I noted down words that came to mind while serving and later turned them into lyrics."

When asked by a fan about his inspiration for the song, Jin revealed, "As soon as I entered the military, I desperately wanted to perform. I missed ARMY and didn't know how to handle those emotions, so I decided to write them down."

In addition to performing live all the tracks from Happy, to a live band sound, Jin delighted fans with a unique interactive event aimed to explore Jin's personal understanding of happiness and gauging fans' preferences for Jin's fashion choices.

Red Velvet's Wendy joined him for a duet on Heart on the Window, a song she featured in, while Jin also performed his viral hit Super Tuna, BTS' Moon and his first solo single, The Astronaut. Each song featured elaborate stage sets tailored to their themes.

Jin expressed his desire to continue to "be happy together" with fans just like now, encouraging them to live "fulfilling lives" while apart and to reunite to share happiness when "we can."

"I believe greater happiness comes from being happy together. I'll keep running to achieve this goal," he added.

The showcase event was also livestreamed globally on Hybe's K-pop fan community platform, Weverse, with translations available in seven foreign languages, including English, Japanese, Chinese and Spanish.

Jin, the first BTS member to complete military service, has been active in various roles since his discharge in June, including participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics torch relay and appearing on South Korean variety shows.  The Korea Herald/ANN
HA NOI  President of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia Alen Simonyan arrived in Ha Noi on November 17 evening, beginning his week-long official visit to Viet Nam at the invitation of NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man.

He was welcomed at Noi Bai International Airport by Pham Phu Binh, permanent member of the Vietnamese NAs Committee for Foreign Affairs, and Armenian Ambassador to Viet Nam Suren Baghdasaryan.

Viet Nam and Armenia established diplomatic relations in 1992. The two countries have obtained great achievements in national construction, socio-economic development and international integration. Armenia has given the Vietnamese people valuable assistance in national construction and defence, including the training of Vietnamese officials and students.

Political ties between Viet Nam and Armenia are growing, with the exchange of all-level delegations. These visits have contributed to maintaining traditional relations and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries. The two sides wish to promote all-round and substantive collaboration on par with the good traditional friendship as well as the potential of the two countries.

Bilateral economic and trade cooperation has shown positive signs thanks to the implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union, of which Armenia is a member. Viet Nam - Armenia trade reached US$62.6 million in 2022, up 469 per cent from a year earlier, and hit $342 million in 2023, an increase of 516 per cent compared to 2022. There remains room for both countries to boost cooperation in such areas as economics, trade, science, and education.  VNA/VNS
RIO DE JANEIRO  Viet Nam and Brazil issued a joint statement on elevating bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday (local time) on the occasion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhs ongoing trip to the Latin American nation to attend the G20 Summit and have bilateral activities.

The following is the full text of the joint statement.

"JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN BRAZIL AND VIET NAM ON ELEVATING BILATERAL RELATIONS TO STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

1. His Excellency Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and His Excellency Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, met in Rio de Janeiro on the 17th of November 2024, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.

2. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed his satisfaction in receiving Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Rio de Janeiro, following the Vietnamese leaders official visit to Brazil from September 23rd to 25th, 2023the first by a Vietnamese Prime Minister. Both leaders recalled the Joint Statement issued during the occasion, which remains a reference for future bilateral engagements.

3. The leaders celebrated the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between their countries, expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved over the years, especially since the establishment of Comprehensive Partnership in 2007; and reaffirmed their commitment to fostering an even stronger relationship grounded in friendship and mutual respect.

4. The leaders noted, among other recent significant exchanges, the visit of Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira to Viet Nam on April 10th, 2024, and the delegation led by Nguyen Trong Nghia, Politburo member and Chairman of the Central Committee of Education and Communication of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, that visited Brazil from August 26th to 29th, 2024; they pledged to expand high-level official engagements through all channels, as well as to promote local cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

5. The leaders welcomed the sustainable growth in bilateral economic exchanges and pledged to further promote trade and investment. They recalled their committed targets to raise bilateral trade volume to US$10 billion in 2025 and $15 billion in 2030.

6. Both leaders celebrated Brazil and Viet Nam's collaboration in multilateral fora and pledged to enhance coordination and mutual support, affirming their shared commitment to peace and sustainable development.

7. Both leaders celebrated the launching of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva welcomed Vietnam as a founding member of the Global Alliance, and both leaders committed to collective efforts to eradicate hunger by the end of the decade, aligning with the 2030 Agenda.

8. The leaders also expressed support for the reform of global governance, including the expansion of permanent and non-permanent seats of the UN Security Council. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh for Viet Nams support for Brazils aspiration for a permanent seat in a reformed Security Council.

9. Both leaders reiterated their countries respect for international law, especially the United Nations Charter, and their support for the peaceful settlement of disputes in international relations on the basis of international law, including compliance and good faith implementation of the provisions of international law on seas and oceans, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982). Brazil welcomed the UNCLOS Group of Friends Initiative spearheaded by Viet Nam and a number of key countries.

10. Recognising climate change as a major civilizational challenge, the leaders committed to working together within the frameworks of the UNFCCC, its Kyoto Protocol, and its Paris Agreement. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed Brazil's decision to host COP-30 in Belem in 2025 and pledged his support to the Conferences successful results.

11. Recognizing the urgency of a just energy transition that addresses the needs of developing countries, the leaders emphasized biofuels key importance in decarbonizing the mobility and transport sector. They agreed to maintain dialogues on bioenergy and renewable energy and other initiatives to reduce inequalities within and among nations.

12. The leaders highlighted the importance of ASEAN-Brazil relations and expressed support for further strengthening the ASEAN-Brazil Sectoral Dialogue Partnership in a substantial, effective and mutually beneficial manner. Brazil supported ASEAN Centrality in the region and reaffirmed its commitment to cooperating with ASEAN in areas such as sustainable development, energy, climate change response, disaster management, science, technology and innovation, agriculture, food security and nutrition, among others.

13. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh reiterated Viet Nams proposal to start negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR). President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva agreed to continue discussion with other MERCOSUR members on this matter.

14. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh congratulated President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for Brazils leadership in amplifying the voice of the Global South within the G20. Healso conveyed invitations from Viet Nams high level leaders and expressed his desire to host President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in an official visit to Viet Nam in 2025. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed his gratitude for the invitation and his desire to visit Viet Nam soon.

15. Building on their shared achievements and recognizing the mutual benefits of a strategic outlook for Brazil-Viet Nam relations, both leaders agreed to elevate the bilateral relations to the level of Strategic Partnership. They also instructed their Foreign Ministers to negotiate the terms of reference of the Strategic Partnership, to be concluded at the earliest opportunity.

Rio de Janeiro, 17th of November, 2024."
RIO DE JANEIRO  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Sunday (local time) attended a ceremony to inaugurate a plaque in commemoration of late President Ho Chi Minh in Rio de Janeiro city, Brazil, where the Vietnamese revolutionary leader stayed in 1912 during his journey seeking ways to liberate the home country.

The event was part of PM Chinh's ongoing trip to the Latin American nation to attend the G20 Summit and have bilateral activities.

The plaque is inscribed in both Vietnamese and Portuguese, saying that President Ho Chi Minh (1890 - 1969) declared Viet Nam's independence on September 2, 1945, establishing the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam. It also refers to UNESCO's resolution honouring him as a national liberation hero and a great man of culture of Viet Nam, who also made contributions to the struggles of the people across the globe.

Speaking at the event, PM Chinh laid stress on President Ho Chi Minhs role in founding the Communist Party of Viet Nam and giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam. He noted that the late President's brief stay in Brazil contributed to the comprehensive partnership between the two countries nowadays.

The PM emphasised President Ho Chi Minh's enduring legacy as a noble symbol of indomitable will throughout Viet Nam's thousands of years of history, adding that he was not only a brilliant leader of the world's communist and workers' movements but also a close friend of peace lovers and advocates of social progress worldwide.

He went on to underscore the significance of the plaque, saying it is a historical landmark young generations of the two countries can learn about the history, preserve President Ho Chi Minhs noble values, and resolve to develop the bilateral relations to a new height for peace, development cooperation, and prosperity in each nation.

PM Chinh expressed his hope for stronger bonds between Rio de Janeiro and Vietnamese localities, helping consolidate the multifaceted cooperation and enhance cultural exchanges between the two nations.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Brazil Pedro De Oliverira, and President of the Communist Party and Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Luciana Santos said the plaque is a special symbol for the strong relationship between Viet Nam and Brazil and international solidarity.

The historical connections between the two countries began in 1912, when President Ho Chi Minh worked as a crew member aboard a French vessel traveling from Viet Nam to France. During the journey, he fell ill and had to disembark at Rio de Janeiro's port for medical treatment. During his stay in the city, Ho Chi Minh established close ties with Brazil's Porto workers' trade movement, laying the foundation for friendship and cooperation between the two nations at the beginning of the 20th century.

Viet Nam and Brazil established diplomatic ties in 1989 and since then the bilateral relationship has flourished. The two nations elevated the relationship to a comprehensive partnership and agreed to upgrade it to a strategic partnership.  VNA/VNS
RIO DE JANEIRO  Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, during which the two leaders agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership and issue a joint statement on the upgrade of the ties.

Looking back at the bilateral relationship over the past 35 years, PM Chinh affirmed that it has been built and developed on five fundamental pillars: shared ideals and trust, cultural affinity, complementary nature of the two economies, sincere and warm sentiments, and aspirations for peace and development.

The two countries have witnessed robust development in relations across various domains, including the regular exchange of delegations at all levels, sustainable growth in economic  trade ties, and close coordination at multilateral forums.

President Lula da Silva acknowledged PM Chinhs proposals regarding Brazil's recognition of Viet Nam's market economy status, as well as the early initiation of negotiations for a free trade agreement between Viet Nam and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) in 2025 so as to bring practical benefits to both sides and contribute to each country's development.

The leaders asked the two foreign ministries to promptly develop and finalise the detailed contents of the Viet Nam-Brazil Strategic Partnership framework at the earliest possible time.

They reached consensus on joining hands to carry out measures enhancing bilateral ties to align with the new framework, including delegation exchanges at all levels, the effective implementation of the documents signed during PM Chinhs visit in 2023, and cooperation in such areas as high technology, digital transformation, energy transition, biofuel, environmental protection, and climate change response.

Speaking highly of the significance of defence  security cooperation, they unanimously agreed to bolster collaboration in military officer training, defence industry and trade, military medicine, and peacekeeping operations, among others.

Touching on regional and international issues, they concurred to step up cooperation in global governance, the reform of the UN, poverty alleviation and climate change response. They also held that international disagreements and disputes should be settled via peaceful means and based on international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Regarding PM Chinhs attendance at the G20 Summit, President Lula da Silva expressed his belief that, with a positive and dynamic foreign as well as development experience and being a responsible nation in the international political, economic and cultural affairs, the Vietnamese delegation will make contributions to the success of the event, enhancing its position and affirming its role in addressing global issues by leveraging its strengths and experience in various fields.

PM Chinh took the occasion to convey Party General Secretary To Lam and State President Luong Cuongs invitations to President Lula da Silva to visit to Viet Nam in 2025, which he accepted with pleasure. VNS
Yemen's Houthis claim fresh drone attack on Israel

Xinhua) 09:20, November 18, 2024

SANAA, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi group announced on Sunday it had launched a fresh drone attack on Israel.

In a televised statement, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the operation was carried out "in support of the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples," targeting a number of "military and vital targets" in the Israeli cities of Jaffa and Ashkelon.

"The operation was carried out by a number of drones and achieved its goals successfully," he added, vowing that his group would launch more attacks until Israel stops its war in Gaza and Lebanon.

The latest attack occurred less than 24 hours after the Houthi group claimed responsibility for a drone strike on the southern Israeli port city of Eilat on Saturday.

Israel has yet to comment on the Houthi strikes.

Since November 2023, the Houthi group has launched rocket and drone attacks on Israel to show solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid their ongoing conflict with Israelis.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
An overwhelming response by the wider Christian community in The Netherlands confirmed there is still a need for an evangelical alliance in the country, following a survey, and an appeal has been made for new members to join the organization.

The purpose of the MissieNederland (Dutch evangelical alliance) survey was to gauge the need for, and the future of, the national alliance.

The September (2024) survey sought the views of 309 respondents, 46 per cent of whom were not affiliated with the alliance. Results were decisive: 95 percent of those surveyed agreed that an evangelical alliance was still needed to advance the Great Commission.

Conversations between the evangelical body and 40 evangelical leaders, in time with the survey, revealed not only a prevalent need for the umbrella organization for evangelicals but also a refocus on MissieNederlands core tasks, namely connecting, strengthening and representing its supporters.

Setkin Sies, chairman of the board of MissieNederland, saw the survey and conversations of the past few months as encouraging for the organizations future.

"We look forward to building MissieNederland in solidarity with each other,  said Sies, so that the evangelical voice in the church, in the social debate and in the breadth of Dutch society continues to sound clear."

A joint appeal has now been launched inviting people to join the national alliance, with signatories headlined by Jan Hol, chairman of the Executive Board of the Christian University of Applied Sciences Ede; Bente S. Gundersen, Commander at the Salvation Army, and Carlino Bus, director of the Revival Foundation, amongst others.

"MissieNederland is an umbrella organization that connects Christians across church and organizational walls from a clear evangelical identity, in which Christ is central. MissieNederland is committed to the well-being of the evangelical movement and its missionary heart, the group said.

That is why we call on Christians, churches and organizations to become participants in MissieNederland. To make the unity in Christ visible and tangible again, so that the world can see who He is.

The first iteration of an evangelical alliance in The Netherlands happened not long after the foundation of the British Evangelical Alliance in 1846. This prayer, Bible study and social action movement dissolved around the time of the Second World War, a representative of MissieNederland confirmed to Christian Daily International.

Meanwhile the Evangelical Missionary Alliance was founded in 1973, and represented missionaries in The Netherlands and abroad. Then the Dutch Evangelical Alliance, more focused on evangelistic efforts in The Netherlands itself, was reestablished in 1979. The two organizations later merged under the name EA-EZA in 2013.

MissieNederland, as the organization is now known, has struggled with declining support in recent years, according to a press release.

At the end of last year 2023, the organization repositioned itself with an enhanced profile as one of the 143 national evangelical alliances with the World Evangelical Alliance.
MOSCOW  Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien recently hosted a meeting in Moscow with Russian veterans who had served in Viet Nam during the resistance war against America, honouring their crucial role in the struggle for Viet Nam's independence and reunification, as part of his working trip to the country.

At the event, Chien underscored the enduring bonds between Viet Nam and the former Soviet Union as well as the Russian Federation that have withstood the test of time and historical changes, saying they laid the foundation for their comprehensive strategic partnership nowadays.

The two countries always bear in mind international communist soldiers and outstanding Vietnamese people who laid down their lives defending Moscow from fascist troops during the harsh winter of 1941, he said, adding the Vietnamese side always treasures the Russian peoples great support during its struggle for national independence and reunification.

Chien highlighted the achievements that Viet Nam has obtained since its independence in 1945 and reunification in 1975, including better living conditions of local people, stable social and political situation, enhanced defence and security, and increasing prestige in the international arena.

Nikolai Kolesnik, Chairman of the Russian association of military experts who served in Viet Nam, recalled the Russian experts' achievements during their time in Viet Nam and praised Vietnamese missile operators' determination and skills, which contributed to the victory in the "ien Bien Phu in the air" campaign in December 1972.

Chien took this occasion to invite the Russian veterans to visit Viet Nam to attend the upcoming celebrations of the 80th founding anniversary of the Viet Nam People's Army and the 35th anniversary of the All-people national defence day.

Earlier, Chien hosted a similar get-together in St. Petersburg.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI  The ultimate goal for the education sector is training reforms to ensure human resources for a new era of national development and protection, said Party General Secretary To Lam at a ceremony commemorating Vietnamese Teachers Day (November 20) in Ha Noi on Monday.

The event was jointly organised by the Ministry of Education and Training, the Viet Nam National University-Ha Noi and its University of Economics and Business.

Addressing the ceremony, Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that after nearly 40 years of national oi Moi (Renewal) and 10 years of fundamental and comprehensive educational renovation, the sector has witnessed significant changes and achieved important results.

Viet Nam has ensured universal education for children aged five to 14, covering the completion of lower secondary school.

Learning and teaching methods in general education have transformed from imparting knowledge to developing students' comprehensive qualities, capacities and skills. Progress has also been made in continuous education and higher education in alignment with labour market demands.

Higher levels of autonomy and international integration have generated new momentum for education institutions, leading to significant improvements in training quality, efficiency in human resource development and scientific research.

Viet Nams general education ranks 53rd in the world, and the country has been consistently included in the top 10 of international academic competitions for high school students.

Nearly seven million people in the country have a university degree, while 24 million others are enrolled in various levels of education across over 52,000 educational institutions nationwide.

Praising the sectors achievements and sending his congratulations to educators across the country for Vietnamese Teachers Day, Party leader To Lam noted that developing high-quality human resources is a strategy in the countrys new era of growth.

Education reforms to achieve this objective are a challenging mission, but it is achievable with clear goals, precise policies and innovative approaches, he said.

The top priority is to nurture socialist citizens, with an emphasis on traditional and humanistic values, personal development, ethics, way of life, legal knowledge, and civil responsibility.

The Party General Secretary noted that the education sector should align with the national development directions and the labour market.

In addition to strengthening teaching and scientific research at the higher education level, pedagogical methods must be streamlined and practical to improve learners qualities, skills and knowledge for real-life application.

He noted that urgent tasks include illiteracy eradication, particularly in remote areas and among ethnic minority populations, as well as increasing digital literacy among the general public.

Meanwhile, relevant agencies should address the lack of schools and classrooms in cities, industrial zones, densely-populated areas and mountainous regions, notably ensuring proper infrastructure for teaching and housing for educators in remote areas.

State agencies and local authorities must ensure that the budget allocated for education meets at least 20 per cent of total national spending, in line with the Partys directions.

It is necessary to employ mechanisms and policies to attract investments in education and training from the public to maximise their efficiency, said the Party leader.

He also stressed the importance of building a balanced workforce of virtuous, highly-skilled, dedicated, knowledgeable and capable educators and education managers, who are eager to learn, innovate and serve as role models for students.

Noting the tremendous efforts, determination and solidarity needed for education reforms, Party General Secretary Lam expressed confidence that the education sector and the entire political system will overcome every challenge with their earnest dedication.

On this occasion, the Party leader also awarded the Third-Class Labour Order to the University of Economics and Business (under Viet Nam National University-Ha Noi) for its contributions to education, scientific research and technology transfer, which have contributed to Viet Nams development of a socialist state and national protection.  VNS
NINH BINH  The northern province of Ninh Binh hopes to build cooperative relations with Armenias historical cities and heritage urban areas, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee oan Minh Huan told visiting President of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, Alen Simonyan on Monday.

The guest is on an official visit to Viet Nam until November 23, following an invitation from his Vietnamese counterpart Tran Thanh Man.

Huan told the president about Ninh Binh's geographical location and explained that their model is highly praised by UNESCO for its green, sustainable and harmonious development, based on the protection of natural resources and the revival of cultural heritage. At the same time, it promotes harmony between people and nature, works to transform its cultural heritage into an important resource for developing cultural industries, tourism and the heritage economy, which are key economic sectors of the province.

Ninh Binh aims to build a millennium-old heritage city and a creative city with its own unique identity. It also aims to become a centre for cultural industries and creative economies worldwide, so as to make the most of the soft power of culture, he added.

Stressing that Ninh Binh is the first destination in his official visit to Viet Nam, Alen Simonyan was impressed with the province's development potential, particularly in the fields of car manufacturing and tourism.

He also noted that Armenia is an important partner of Viet Nam and that this relationship will continue to be strengthened, not only at the national but also at the local level. Therefore, following this visit, his entourage will explore the possibility of developing a cooperation programme between Ninh Binh and Armenian localities.

The Armenian NA delegation toured many industrial and scenic sites in the province.

Viet Nam and Armenia established diplomatic relations in 1992. The two countries have obtained great achievements in national construction, socio-economic development and international integration.

Political ties between Viet Nam and Armenia are growing, with the exchange of all-level delegations. These visits have contributed to maintaining traditional relations and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries. The two sides wish to promote all-round and substantive collaboration on par with the strong traditional friendship as well as the potential of the two countries.

Bilateral economic and trade cooperation has shown positive signs thanks to the Free Trade Agreement between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union, of which Armenia is a member. Viet Nam - Armenia trade reached US$62.6 million in 2022, up 469 per cent from a year earlier and hit $342 million in 2023, an increase of 516 per cent compared to 2022.

There remains room for both countries to boost cooperation in such areas as economics, trade, science and education.  VNA/VNS
MEXICO CITY  Major Mexican newspapers have highlighted Viet Nam's role in multilateral mechanisms, given State President Luong Cuong's recent official visits to Chile and Peru and his participation in the APEC 2024 Leaders Week and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's ongoing trip for a working visit to Brazil, participation at the G20 Summit, and an official visit to the Dominican Republic.

In an article on Viet Nam's active contributions to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, Voces Del Periodista  a scholarly journal and the voice of Mexican journalists  noted that in its 26 years of membership, the Southeast Asian nation has twice successfully hosted the events in 2006 and 2017 and is among the most active members spearheading numerous APEC initiatives and projects.

According to the journal, Viet Nam has made significant contributions to the forum this year, leading initiatives and projects on structural reform, finance, science-technology, innovation, human resources development, tourism, agriculture, climate change, and inclusive sustainable growth. It is now chairing the group responsible for developing the APEC structural reform agenda for 2026-30, while leading the drafting of the 2025 APEC Economic Policy Report.

Mouris Salloum George, President of the Mexican Journalists Association, noted that at the Economic Leaders Week from November 12 -16, Viet Nam effectively collaborated with other members to shape the Joint Declaration and other key documents. President Cuong presented several strategic and groundbreaking proposals to enhance the forums role in fostering international economic cooperation and connectivity.

Meanwhile, Regeneracion, the official media outlet of Mexicos ruling Morena party, published an article on Viet Nam's international integration policy. It said PM Chinh's participation in the G20 Summit in Brazil from November 16  19 reaffirms Viet Nam's contributions to addressing global challenges and its efforts to strengthen cooperation with its partners across various sectors through such diplomatic engagements.

In its November 17 issue, Regeneracion highlighted the visits to Latin American countries by the two leaders underscore the increasingly substantial and deepened relationship between Viet Nam and the region and signify its evolution from traditional friends to partners in global integration.

Author Pedro Gellert noted that as Viet Nam and Mexico celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2025, PM Chinh is expected to meet with newly inaugurated President of Mexico Claudia Sheinbaum  the first female President in North America  during the G20 Summit.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI - General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee (CPVCC) To Lam and his spouse will pay an official visit to Malaysia from November 21-23.

The visit is made at the invitation of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his spouse, according to the CPVCCs Commission for External Relations. - VNS
HA NOI  National Assembly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man will lead a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese Party and State to pay an official visit to Cambodia and attend the 12th General Assembly of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) and the 11th Plenary Session of International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace (IPTP) from November 21-24.

According to the announcement of the NA's Foreign Affairs Committee, the trip will be made at the invitations of President of the Cambodian People's Party Samdech Techo Hun Sen, President of the Cambodian National Assembly Samdech Khuon Sudary and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the ICAPP Chung Eui-yong.  VNS
PHNOM PENH  The defence ministries of Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia on Monday launched a joint search and rescue exercise themed "Rescue and relief activities at collapsed structures" at the Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia Training Centre in mountainous Chum Sen Rikreay area, Kampong Chhnang province, Cambodia.

The joint drill, conducted under the direction of the three countries' defence ministries, aims to strengthen cooperation between the nations' armies, support each other in case of natural disasters, provide prompt help for people affected by natural disasters and minimise the loss of life and property, Lieutenant General Pen Sokrethvithyea, Director of the Training Command for Cambodia and head of the Training Subcommittee of the Inter-Ministerial Committee, said at the opening ceremony.

During this exercise hosted by Cambodia, participating forces will coordinate to conduct search, rescue and relief activities, such as evacuation, transfer of victims to higher levels for treatment at level I, level II and level III hospitals.

Close to 700 soldiers, including 563 from the Royal Cambodian Army, 64 from the Lao People's Army and 71 soldiers from the Viet Nam People's Army, joined this year's exercise. It will run until November 26.  VNS
HA NOI  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has told the Ministry of Education and Training to swiftly finalise the draft of the Education Development Strategy by 2030, with a vision to 2045, and present it to the Government for approval by the end of the first quarter of 2025, at the latest.

The directive follows the issuance of Government Offices recent announcement, summarising the conclusions of PM Chinh during a meeting of the National Committee for Education and Training Reform, which discussed on key strategies for implementing education reform.

As outlined in Conclusion No. 91-KL/TW by the Politburo, PM Chinh called for a series of measures to address key issues in education and human resources development across the country.

Regarding the recruitment of foreign experts, he tasked the ministry to work with other relevant agencies, to develop policies and mechanisms to attract foreign scientists and experts, as well as overseas Vietnamese, to teach, undertake research and work in Vietnamese educational institutions.

To ensure a unified approach to State management of education from preschool through to higher education, he assigned the education ministry and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to assess the current situation, identify challenges and propose solutions to address the shortcomings.

In terms of improving the quality of human resources in education, the Ministry of Home Affairs, in coordination with the education ministry, were ordered to review the quality of staff in the education sector.

The review should consider the growing demands of larger schools in urban areas, industrial zones and densely populated areas, reducing the number of separate schools associated with improving quality, suitable to the situation and practical requirements, fitting to local, regional and national conditions.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment, in collaboration with the education ministry and the Ministry of Finance, has been tasked with looking at successful models and practices in educational investment as a basis to create policies that mobilise both State and social resources to further develop the education sector.

Additionally, the education ministry together with the Viet Nam Study Promotion Association and other relevant agencies, were tasked with researching and refining mechanisms for building a lifelong learning society.

That included creating policies that ensured equal access to education for all, fostering an environment that encouraged lifelong learning for everyone.

In his announcement, PM Chinh, who also serves as chairman of the national committee, underscored the critical importance of fundamentally and comprehensively reforming education and training to ensure rapid, sustainable development and social progress.

The reform is vital for fostering social equity and improving the overall quality of education in the country, he said.

The education ministry was also directed to compile and carefully review all feedback from the national committee members to quickly finish the draft of the Action Programme for implementing the Conclusion No. 91-KL/TW of the Politburo for approval by this month.

The action programme should be concise, clear and actionable, with specific goals, deadlines, responsibilities and measurable outcomes, allowing for effective monitoring and assessment.

It was advised to empower local governments and educational institutions, giving them more autonomy and responsibility to drive innovation and improve systems with the motto of: "Localities decide, implement and are held accountable."

The action programme needs to focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning, with an emphasis on enhancing the professional development of teachers and ensuring that teaching methods are age-appropriate, inspiring and student-centred.

It has to improve the national education network, ensuring the training of high-quality human resources in both traditional and emerging fields, increasing the effective mobilisation of resources for education, ensuring that at least 20 per cent of the State budget is allocated to education, gradually positioning English as a second language in schools, while also responding to the growing demand for other foreign languages. VNS
NINH THUAN  After hearing that the Government has proposed restarting the Ninh Thuan nuclear power project in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan, residents of the areas where the previous Ninh Thuan 1 and 2 projects were put on pause nearly ten years ago have expressed enthusiasm and strong support.

They expressed their hope that the project will be implemented with a clear, coordinated timeline and that it will bring transformative development to the province.

Provincial leaders also supported the projects revival and emphasised the need for a defined roadmap to prevent resource waste. They have urged the Government to provide specific and consistent policies for efficient project implementation and to strengthen public confidence.

On November 25, 2009, the National Assembly approved Resolution No. 41/2009/QH12 to establish two nuclear plants, Ninh Thuan 1 and 2, with a total capacity of 4,000MW and an initial investment of VN200 trillion (US$7.8 billion).

Phuoc Dinh Commune in Thuan Nam District and Vinh Hai Commune in Ninh Hai District were chosen as the sites for the plants after extensive research identified them as safe and highly suitable.

Seven sub-projects, funded by Viet Nam Electricity and the Ninh Thuan Province Peoples Committee with over VN2.3 trillion ($90.5 million), have already been completed. This includes feasibility reports, electric and construction infrastructure, resettlement designs, land compensation, site clearance and supporting facilities.

Around 450 students and engineers were sent to Russia and Japan to study nuclear energy.

In 2016, however, the National Assembly issued Resolution No. 31/2016/QH14 to halt the project due to changing economic conditions. If the project had continued, the country's debt ceiling might have been exceeded.

Viet Nam also required substantial capital to invest in infrastructure and key projects that could drive socio-economic development at that time.

Nguyen Van Thang, head of Vinh Truong Hamlet in Phuoc Dinh Commune, said that when the project was announced in 2009, local residents were very supportive. They also understood and accepted the decision to halt the project, despite the subsequent economic challenges.

Now, with the news of a potential restart, the community is excited, closely following updates, and hopeful for economic benefits to both the local area and the country.

Pham Van Phe, a resident of Thai An Hamlet whose land lies in the core area of the original Ninh Thuan 2 project, explained that after the project was paused in 2016, residents faced difficulties as they were restricted from farming and construction.

However, with the support of the Government and local authority, essential infrastructure was established, bringing gradual improvements.

He voiced support for the projects revival, but noted that since most locals rely on agriculture, comprehensive resettlement and livelihood support policies would be essential to ensure community stability if land is reclaimed for the project.

Following the suspension of the nuclear power project, the Government issued Resolution No. 115/NQ-CP on August 31, 2018, outlining special mechanisms and policies to support the socio-economic development of Ninh Thuan Province and to stabilise residents' lives over the 201823 period.

Ninh Thuan implemented plans to stabilise livelihoods for residents and develop residential areas around the sites originally intended for the Ninh Thuan 1 and 2 nuclear plants.

The Government allocated VN423 billion ($16.6 million) for infrastructure investments, including VN273 billion ($10.7 million) from the State budget and VN150 billion ($5.9 million) from the provincial budget to develop 18 essential facilities in the region.

Ninh Thuan has also sent personnel abroad for specialised training in nuclear power to build a skilled workforce.

Ninh Thuan Province has been designated as a renewable energy hub, focusing on wind and solar power, along with projects like the Bac Ai pumped-storage hydropower plant and the LNG Ca Na power complex, developed at an appropriate scale.

The province benefitted from a preferential solar energy tariff of 9.35 cents per kWh, in line with Decision 11/2017, which was available until the end of 2020 for solar projects and grid infrastructure with a design capacity of 2,000MW.

Ninh Thuan has attracted substantial investment in renewable energy over the past few years. From a province with per capita income below the national average, by 2020, five years after the nuclear power project halt, its GRDP growth averaged 10.2 per cent annually, reaching VN60.1 million per person.

In 2021, Ninh Thuan's total budget revenue hit VN3.9 trillion, nearly 2.2 times that of 2015.

However, residents in areas previously designated for the nuclear project continue to face difficulties, as the production stabilisation and residential development plan for these areas has yet to be approved.

According to the Ninh Thuan Provinces Master Plan for the 202130 period, the Government has designated the planned nuclear plant sites as long-term strategic reserves for energy projects, ensuring these areas remain available for potential national projects.

The Government has directed investments to upgrade essential infrastructure for both production and daily life in the sites designated for the two nuclear power plants, ensuring connectivity and integration with surrounding areas.

Tran Quoc Nam, chairman of the Ninh Thuan People's Committee, expressed agreement with a Ministry of Industry and Trade report recommending a feasibility study on nuclear power development on October 1, 2024.

However, he emphasised the importance of a clearly defined development roadmap to avoid inefficient use of public funds, land resources at the two planned nuclear sites and the workforce recently trained in nuclear technology.

Nam also urged the Ministry of Industry and Trade to request central authorities consensus on policy directions to ensure efficient, coordinated implementation and public trust in the development of nuclear power in Ninh Thuan.

Nam further recommended that comprehensive, consistent and cohesive legal regulations be established alongside special policies to provide a solid legal framework for nuclear energy development.

Recognising Ninh Thuan's renewable energy potential, the Government has designated the province as a renewable energy centre under Resolution 115, identifying energy as the top priority in the provinces development plan.

Nam requested the ministry to consider establishing Ninh Thuan as a green and clean industrial hub within the nuclear power development strategy, thereby positioning Ninh Thuan with a competitive edge in sustainable socio-economic development.  VNS
HA NOI  The Ministry of Transport has directed relevant authorities to accelerate the investment process for constructing a bridge which collapsed killing four people in the northern province of Phu Tho.

Phong Chau Bridge on National Highway 32C collapsed without warning following Typhoon Yagi in September with multiple vehicles being swept away.

The bridge rebuild project is classified as an emergency construction under the Prime Minister's directive.

The new Phong Chau Bridge will be designed to accommodate four motorised lanes, consistent with the approved planning and the required width specifications.

The ministry asked relevant agencies to work closely with the investor to implement the project efficiently under the emergency directive, ensuring quality and completion by 2025, as mandated by the Prime Minister.

Specifically, the Thang Long Project Management Unit (PMU), the project's investor, was tasked to focus on drafting a detailed implementation plan that accounts for adverse weather conditions and the flood season in 2025. Regular updates must be provided to the ministry for monitoring and further guidance.

The PMU has been directed to instruct design consultants to promptly finalise the design proposals for the bridge.

These proposals must address various factors, such as the bridges location, structural design, estimated costs, and economic and technical analysis.

The ministry has also required meticulous research on potential bridge alignments, aiming for the new bridge to align with the axis of the old bridge to minimise land clearance and additional road connections.

The most optimal solution should be selected in consultation with local authorities and relevant parties to ensure smooth subsequent steps.

Regarding the main span configuration, the design must be based on comprehensive data, including terrain, geology, hydrology, the current state of the old bridge, navigation clearance, riverbank erosion, changes in water flow, hydrodynamic calculations and flood safety for 2025.

The consultants must carefully analyse and compare options to select a design that ensures long-term structural stability while being economically and technically viable.

The PMU must guide the design consultants to expedite surveys, project design, and complete the proposal documents for submission to the Ministry of Transport for evaluation and approval under the emergency directive. Quality assurance and adherence to deadlines are essential.

Regarding the dismantling of the old bridge, the ministry requested the PMU to collaborate closely with the Viet Nam Road Administration and the Phu Tho Department of Transport to take away the collapsed steel spans of the old bridge in alignment with the new bridges construction timeline and safety.

The Phong Chau Bridge, which spans the Red River on National Highway 32C, connecting Lam Thao and Tam Nong districts of Phu Tho Province, built with a steel truss structure with about 380m long and a load capacity of 18 tonnes.

The bridge, which was put into operation in 1995, collapsed on September 9 this year killing four people.  VNS
Timothy West, a British actor of both theater and screen, has passed away at the age of 90.

His children, Juliet, Samuel, and Joseph West, expressed in a statement, "After a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage, our darling father Timothy West died peacefully in his sleep yesterday evening. He was 90 years old."

"Tim was with his friends and family at the end. He leaves his wife Prunella Scales, to whom he was married for 61 years, a sister, a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. All of us will miss him terribly."

They also extended their gratefulness to hospital staff, saying, "We would like to thank the incredible NHS staff at St George's hospital, Tooting, and at Avery Wandsworth for their loving care during his last days."

Shortly after the news of his death was made public, the late actor will be seen in an episode of "Doctors" later today, as per The Mirror's report.

West was born on October 20, 1934 in Bradford in West Yorkshire, England.

His illustrious career spanned both stage and screen, with stints at the Royal Shakespeare Company during the 1960s, per Variety.

Throughout his lifetime, he was known for his commanding performances in iconic roles such as "Macbeth," "Uncle Vanya," and "King Lear."

In 1975, he made his debut on the big screen through the TV series "Edward the Seventh," where he brought to life the character of the titular king from his youth until his passing.

Following this success, he went on to charm audiences from 1983 to 1990 as the patriarch Bradley Hardacre in the comedic drama "Brass."

Among the movies that showcased West's talent were Richard Attenborough's "Cry Freedom" (1987), Luc Besson's "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc" (1999), and Richard Eyre's "Iris" (2001).

In the 2000s, West expanded his presence on television by taking on various roles. He graced the screens as Geoffrey Adams in the BBC One comedy series "Not Going Out" between 2007 and 2009. Additionally, he became part of the cast of the popular ITV soap opera "Coronation Street" in 2013, portraying the character Eric Babbage, who becomes entangled in a romantic storyline with Sue Johnston's Gloria Price.

Between 2014 and 2019, a Channel 4 series called "Great Canal Journeys" featured him and his wife, Prunella Scales, embarking on narrowboat adventures across the UK and Europe. Following this, he portrayed Jeremy Lister, a British officer during the American Revolution, in the historical drama series "Gentlemen Jack" from 2019 to 2022.
Representatives of HEINEKEN, SABECO, NielsenIQ, AEON, VPBank, SCG, Nestle, Acecook, Takeda, Phuc Khang, Masan High-tech Materials, and MUFG Bank were honoured

Representatives of Bamboo Capital Group, Roland Berger, VIAD, 1C, REPEET, Frasers Property, CapitaLand, Vietnam SuperPort, Frieslandcampina, and Tan Hiep Phat being honoured

Representatives of Prosezi EIP, CME Solar Investment, AKYN Hospitality, Sheraton Hanoi Hotel, Ecolean, Vinamilk, Siemens, and Herbalife Vietnam being honoured

Earlier, also at this event, 18 international organisations were also honoured for their contribution to sustainable development.

The conference took place in the morning on November 12 at the Pullman Hotel in Hanoi with the participation of almost 300 representatives of state-managed authorities, international organisations, business associations, and big corporations.

The conference was live-streamed on VIR's websites and social media platforms, receiving thousands of views.

Vietnam Economic Pulse Forum discusses sustainable growth Experts at the fourth Vietnam Economic Pulse Forum agreed that emerging trends in technology and environmental sustainability are especially significant for Vietnam.

New era of sustainable fuel in aviation builds momentum With the adoption of sustainable fuel for planes in Vietnam, new doors are opening up for both domestic and international suppliers.

The key to success for AEON Vietnam Sustainability in human resources forms a core pillar of AEON Vietnams sustainable development strategy, shaping the brand and supporting a decade of growth for millions of Vietnamese consumers.
How can businesses better understand and engage with Vietnams emerging carbon credit market?

Under the Paris Agreement, carbon credits are considered a national asset. Developed and developing countries can collaborate to reduce emissions through carbon credit trading, where high-emission nations partner with lower-emission counterparts to build a market.

Vietnam has significant potential in this area. Over the past decade, the concept of carbon credits has gained attention, but the legal framework for a robust carbon market remains incomplete. Encouragingly, under the direction of the prime minister, ministries are collaborating to establish a comprehensive carbon market. This market is expected to officially launch in 2028, enabling Vietnam to integrate into the international carbon credit market.

The aim is to harness Vietnams resources, nature, labour, and governance to reduce emissions and transform carbon credits into a valuable economic asset that contributes meaningfully to the economy.

Vu Minh Tien, vice chairman of VIAD Group

How can businesses access green finance for digital transformation, dual transition, and participation in the carbon market?

Securing funding for carbon credits and green initiatives remains a long-term challenge. Several non-governmental organisations, international funds, and banks already provide financial packages for Vietnamese businesses. However, the lack of clear legal provisions to define and evaluate such projects creates confusion for firms and banks.

For instance, some companies claim their projects are green, but banks or credit institutions dispute this classification due to the absence of unified standards. There is an urgent need for a consistent regulatory framework that establishes criteria for assessing green projects. This would help banks and businesses align their processes.

To address these issues, some financial institutions in Vietnam have adopted international practices. For example, SeABank follows standards similar to Indonesias for green bonds, while BIDV has introduced green deposit schemes. While input mechanisms exist, the output requires further state intervention to ensure timely implementation. Policymakers must accelerate new regulations to enable faster access to green financing for investors.

Real estate and emerging sectors like e-commerce face unique challenges. How can they align with green finance goals?

Real estate continues to draw in significant investment in Vietnam, but the challenge lies in developing truly green real estate. Although the concept emerged in Vietnam 20 years ago, there are only about 10 projects classified as green real estate today.

Green real estate must integrate sustainable elements such as transportation, infrastructure, renewable energy, and waste reduction. To be certified as green, all aspects of design, implementation, and construction must meet these standards. This requires long-term vision from investors to recognise the benefits of green real estate, which include higher value propositions and alignment with sustainable development goals.

The government has provided instructions for green planning, and two-thirds of localities have established their own plans. Enterprises need to align projects with these plans and incorporate renewables, carbon credits, and emission reduction measures. Green real estate should go beyond physical structures to deliver long-term value through sustainable construction, effective resource management, and reduced environmental impact.

E-commerce, on the other hand, offers a different pathway. Over the next 10-15 years, e-commerce will play a crucial role in supply chain optimisation, enabling businesses to cut carbon emissions and comply with international standards. By adopting green practices in packaging, logistics, and distribution, e-commerce can help businesses penetrate key markets like the EU and the US, avoiding tariff and technical barriers while delivering green products to consumers.

Non-traditional e-commerce is particularly promising as it adheres to stringent green standards in developed countries. For smaller enterprises, it provides an efficient distribution channel to expand beyond local markets. With the rise of trade tensions and protectionist policies, such as those seen in recent years, Vietnam must adapt quickly. E-commerce presents a critical solution to overcome barriers, access global markets, and ensure compliance with evolving green requirements.

Green-digital transition must start with proper mindset Firms are emphasising that effectively implementing green-digital transition strategies depends on understanding the core issues and priorities of the company, rather than merely following current trends.

Addressing challenges in transition to circular economy The shift towards a circular economy has become one of the most pressing global challenges. For companies that produce key elements crucial for the green transition, this shift presents both opportunities and hurdles.

Nestle Vietnam leads green and digital transformation journey As the importance of sustainable development continues to grow, businesses are no longer viewing the 'green' trend as merely a competitive edge but as a crucial aspect of their investment strategies, according to Nestle Vietnam.
How does Vietnams dual transition compare to the global landscape?

The world is grappling with three interconnected crises: climate change, environmental pollution, and biodiversity loss. In response, global investors are increasingly focusing on assets that positively impact the environment, aligning with mandatory and voluntary environmental, social, and governance standards.

Amid these international demands for sustainability, Vietnam has committed to its National Green Growth Strategy through 2030, with a vision towards 2050. By 2030, the strategy aims to mitigate land and water resource degradation, secure water supplies for key economic sectors, and transition agricultural practices to climate-smart models.

Global trade and investment trends heavily influence Vietnam, requiring an independent and proactive approach. Since its economic reform in 1986 and World Trade Organization accession in 2006, Vietnam has undertaken significant institutional changes to align with a market-based economy. A new milestone is anticipated in 2026, with reforms focusing on green transition, digital transformation, and sustainable development.

These reforms mirror global trends. Major international companies like Apple, Intel, and IBM have adopted net-zero policies, and Tesla continues to push electric transportation. For example, Apple recently launched its first carbon-neutral computer, using 100 per cent recycled gold and silver alongside clean electricity. This suggests that Vietnam has the potential to produce similar products if industrial zones and investors meet the required standards.

Despite progress, Vietnam faces challenges in aligning fully with global sustainability benchmarks. For instance, new EU regulations taking effect in June 2024 will require companies operating in the EU to report on sustainability.

However, as one of the top 20 greenhouse gas emitters, Vietnam must improve compliance to remain competitive in the global trade and investment arena. Vietnams current share of global trade, at 0.8-1 per cent, underscores the importance of sustainable practices to capture larger market opportunities.

Prof. Nguyen Dinh Tho, general director of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment, under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

What commitments has Vietnam made in international forums?

Vietnam is transitioning from the Fourth Industrial Revolution to the Fifth, often referred to as the Green Revolution. This shift aligns with global efforts to address sustainability amid geopolitical competition.

In 2015, Vietnam committed to reducing emissions by 9 per cent without international support, with the potential to increase this to 27 per cent with assistance. And in 2021, it pledged net-zero emissions by 2050  ahead of key competitors such as Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Thailand. To meet these commitments, Vietnam revised its second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and pledged a 15.8 per cent reduction in emissions without support and up to 43.5 per cent with international assistance. Vietnam is now preparing its third NDC for 2025 to stay competitive with major emitters such as China and the United States, which have differing roles and responsibilities in sustainability and development.

Achieving net-zero emissions is not just critical for the environment but also an opportunity for Vietnam to restructure its economy, enhance competitiveness, and align with the Paris Agreements post-2021 global agenda.

How will Vietnams GHG inventory requirements support businesses in the green transition?

By April 2025, Vietnams GHG inventory and emissions reporting requirements will expand to cover over 2,100 companies, up from around 1,900. This policy will help establish a carbon credit market where low-emission businesses can sell credits to high-emission companies, facilitating emissions reduction across industries.

However, only about 10 per cent of businesses currently meet the governments requirements for emissions reporting, highlighting the need for training and capacity-building to support compliance. The government has identified three critical factors for successful emissions reduction and green transition: green finance, green technology, and increased capacity to absorb both. Without all three, businesses may struggle to meet their green transformation goals.

Global funds, adaptation initiatives, and World Bank support are aiding Vietnamese businesses in this transition. For example, carbon pricing mechanisms are being developed to determine the technologies and investments required for a low-emission economy. These mechanisms will play a crucial role in guiding businesses as they navigate this complex process.

Vietnams green transformation is deeply tied to its economic future. As global corporations set higher sustainability benchmarks, Vietnam must adapt quickly to remain competitive. Emerging opportunities, such as the ability to produce carbon-neutral goods and engage in international carbon trading, present pathways to bolster its position in global trade.

The journey, however, requires significant effort. Businesses must align with global standards while addressing gaps in tech and capacity, and policymakers will need to accelerate reforms and foster an enabling environment for the transformation.
This expanded collaboration aims to provide world-class financial risk management and compliance offerings, addressing critical challenges in the financial and banking sectors.

FPT and Oracle will deploy the OFSAA system to support banks and financial institutions in anti-money laundering, asset and liability management, liquidity risk management, internal capital transfers, multidimensional profit allocation, and compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Dao Hong Giang, executive vice president and head of the finance and banking division at FPT IS, and Mark Atherton, global head of financial services analytical and compliance solutions at Oracle

Through this collaboration, Oracle will provide products and services and work closely with FPT's team of tech experts to execute the projects in the near future. FPT IS, a member company of FPT Corporation, will bring its extensive expertise in addressing banking industry challenges and collaborate to implement the OFSAA offerings for clients.

Currently, according to the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering's assessment, markets in the region face numerous gaps in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, significantly impacting economies worldwide, with up to 5 per cent of global GDP (around $2 trillion) being laundered annually. In Vietnam alone, the Basel Committees Anti-Money Laundering evaluation places the money laundering risk level at a relatively high 7.08/10, ranking it third among regional countries.

Implementing the OFSAA is a crucial foundation that enables financial institutions to measure and meet internal risks and financial management requirements, as well as comply with global banking regulations. These include the Basel Accords, which set standards for bank supervision to protect the global financial system, International Financial Reporting Standards, and the Financial Action Task Force's recommendations and standards for anti-money laundering. This system helps banks achieve transparent profit targets, risk management, and compliance, reduce management and operational costs, and gain deeper insights into customer behaviour.

We have a longstanding relationship with FPT and our commitment to expand our collaboration to deliver our OFSAA products to the Asia-Pacific market is in response to the immense development and growth here, said Mark Atherton, global head of financial services analytical and compliance solutions at Oracle. Our OFSAA family of products perform the processing, categorising, and selection of data and information needed to analyse, understand, and report on specific performance, risk, compliance, and customer insight issues. Vietnam is an example of a developing market that brings forth unique use cases that can help address these challenges.

FPT IS, a member company of FPT Corporation, partners with Oracle to implement the OFSAA offerings for six major markets

Tran Dang Hoa, chairman of FPT IS, emphasised, "We are honoured to be the first Vietnamese tech company to partner with Oracle in deploying OFSAA across Asia-Pacific. FPT brings over 30 years of comprehensive experience in the finance and banking sector, addressing numerous challenges and building foundational systems. In risk, finance, and compliance, FPT has implemented nearly 30 projects for banks in Vietnam. Deploying the OFSAA system will be critical in empowering FPT to support banks in achieving global financial compliance standards".

"This collaboration lays the groundwork for FPT to further expand its collaboration with Oracle, aiming to become a top technology partner for international clients. FPT continues to develop and expand its 'Made by FPT' ecosystem of products and services for the finance and banking sector, ready to integrate and expand alongside global systems to meet each customers unique needs, elevate management standards, and drive business growth," Hoa said.

In 2018, FPT completed a risk management database framework project for a large bank in Vietnam, establishing a solid foundation for the bank to effectively undertake business, risk management, and Basel II compliance projects.

In 2021, FPT partnered with PwC and Oracle to provide OFSAA software licences for MB Bank, jointly implementing a system to comply with Basel II capital adequacy standards. From 2021 to 2024, FPT and Oracle collaborated to deploy OFSAA financial crime and compliance management. Projects at MB Bank, Techcombank, Asia Commercial joint-stock bank, and The Orient Commercial joint-stock bank have successively gone live, either partially or fully. In 2024, the project at MB, jointly implemented by FPT with Deloitte and Oracle, successfully completed all modules for anti-money laundering and fraud risk management, enhancing MBs capabilities in financial crime prevention.

OFSAA include modules for integrated risk management, performance management, customer insight, and compliance management which allow financial institutions to measure risk-adjusted performance, cultivate a risk management culture, lower compliance costs, and gain deeper customer behaviour insights. Key applications within OFSAA include enterprise risk management, governance, risk, and compliance, enterprise performance management, and customer insight tools specifically designed for financial services.

FPT sets goal of hundreds of thousands of high-quality tech workers Global leading IT firm FPT has set a goal to develop hundreds of thousands of high-quality developers while taking a large step towards making Vietnam a global technology hub.
12 international organisations attending were honoured for contributions to sustainable development

Earlier, the conference took place with some keynotes and two panel discussions. The first session, titled Dual-Transition Motivators, highlighted the benefits companies can achieve through the dual transition and emphasised the risks of falling behind if they are unprepared. It also addressed the challenge of securing substantial capital.

The second session, Taking the Lead, showcased stories from pioneering businesses at the forefront of innovation and green, sustainable initiatives. Companies shared their insights and solutions for optimising available resources, minimising costs, and accessing green credit effectively. These efforts aimed to spread valuable lessons and inspire sustainable development within the community for a better Vietnam.

Tan Hiep Phat: a 30-year journey of sustainable development In early October, Tan Hiep Phat, Vietnam's leading beverage manufacturer, in collaboration with the Red Cross Society of Hau Giang Province, awarded 200 scholarships, each worth VND1 million ($39.54) to disadvantaged students.

CEO of SuperPort Vietnam discusses sustainable development During Vietnam Logistics Summit 2024 which took place in Ho Chi Minh City on October 31, VIRs Mai Ngoc spoke to Dr. Yap Kwong Weng, CEO of Vietnam SuperPort, about his assessment of Vietnam's investment strategy for the logistics industry.
The event represented a significant milestone in NAB Vietnams dedication to supporting communities in northern Vietnam.

NAB Vietnam colleagues volunteer to support underprivileged children of Bac Ninh Centre for Social Protection

Established in 1977, the Bac Ninh Centre for Social Protection currently cares for more than 196 children, many of whom face challenges such as disabilities, abandonment, and orphanhood. NAB Vietnams colleagues dedicated their volunteer day to make a meaningful difference in these childrens lives by painting rooms, revitalising playgrounds, and donating air conditioning units.

Do Thanh Quang, director of the Bac Ninh Provincial Centre for Social Protection, expressed his appreciation for the contributions made by NAB Vietnam.

We truly appreciate the contributions and support from NAB Vietnam colleagues, which will greatly motivate both teachers and children at the centre, he said.

In response, Howard Silby, general director of NAB Vietnam, said, We have deep respect for the dedication of the centres teachers and staff in caring for disadvantaged children. We stand together to support this great work, and our team members are very honoured to be part of this effort. With a long-term commitment, we aim to make a lasting, positive difference in the local community.

Howard Silby, general director of NAB Vietnam, gives a speech at the volunteer day

Earlier this year, NAB Vietnam hosted a volunteer day in Can Gio, Ho Chi Minh City, where colleagues participated in planting 500 mangrove trees to support the preservation of ecosystems and contribute to the national goal of planting one billion trees by 2025.

Sustainability at the heart of NABs operations

A core element of NAB Vietnams sustainability approach is empowering colleagues to articipate in community engagement. With two paid volunteer leave days each year, NAB colleagues are encouraged to dedicate time to causes they are passionate about. This policy reflects NABs belief that fostering a culture of giving back is key to creating a positive and inclusive workplace and strengthening the companys connections to the communities it serves.

NAB Vietnams projects in Bac Ninh and Can Gio are not isolated efforts; theyre part of a broader, comprehensive sustainability strategy that spans all areas of its operations. Recently, the centre joined forces with other business leaders at the VietHarvest CEO Cook Off to support the vulnerable communities. During Typhoon Yagi, NAB Vietnam also raised funds to assist the victims.

NAB Vietnam employees engage in painting and maintenance activities for a good cause

As NAB Vietnam continues to grow, its commitment to social and environmental responsibility remains at the forefront of its strategy.

NAB Vietnam: Pioneering sustainable development and community engagement In the bustling landscape of Vietnams thriving tech industry, NAB Innovation Centre Vietnam (NAB Vietnam) is looking to become known not just for its technological innovations, but also for its approach to environmental and community stewardship.

NAB Innovation Centre Vietnam awarded for 'Corporate Excellence' at Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards 2024 NAB Innovation Centre Vietnam (NAB Vietnam) has been honoured with the prestigious Corporate Excellence award at the gala ceremony of Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards (APEA) 2024 taking place on October 3 in Ho Chi Minh City.
Do Van Tam, deputy CEO Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) This year, the HNX increased the weighting for best practice governance criteria from 30 to 40 per cent, yet average scores rose slightly, reflecting companies efforts to improve governance. However, the assessments revealed areas for improvement, particularly in the quality of disclosures and overall governance practices. One key recommendation is for listed companies to expand English-language disclosures, which remain limited but are crucial for foreign investor transparency. Decree No.68/2024/TT-BTC, issued in September, amends regulations on securities transactions, clearing and settlement, securities company activities, and market disclosures, now requiring companies to provide disclosures in English to meet new standards. In terms of governance, the HNX advises listed companies to prioritise transparent reporting on board members, supervisory committees, and management teams, particularly regarding ownership structures, compensation, and shareholdings, to prevent conflicts of interest. Companies are also urged to hold timely and inclusive annual general meetings, ideally in a hybrid format, allowing all shareholders to participate and vote electronically. Independent directors are another critical focus. Findings from the VLCA 2024 show that some companies still lack the required proportion of independent directors, and, in some cases, these roles are not fully effective. The HNX encourages companies to establish dedicated governance committees and invest in governance training for their leadership. Dr. Nguyen Thu Hien, director, Technical Advisory Board Vietnam Institute of Directors A survey on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices in Vietnam from our institute and PwC reveals that while 80 per cent of companies have made or are planning ESG commitments, only 23 per cent feel confident in their leaderships capabilities in this area. This gap highlights the need for proactive and informed leadership to bridge the divide between commitment and effective action. Boards and executives must stay updated on sustainable development trends and continually reassess strategies to ensure alignment with ESG goals. To move from commitment to action, companies should establish a sustainability steering committee that includes board members, the CEO, and relevant department heads. This team can conduct initial assessments, identifying key ESG risks and opportunities that will shape strategic planning. Comprehensive training is also essential, cascading from the board to senior management, ensuring ESG becomes ingrained in decision-making. Integrating this into the corporate strategy is critical, with boards providing oversight and tapping into green financing to support ESG investments. However, strict criteria attached to green capital pose challenges, as many Vietnamese companies struggle with the required sustainability disclosures. Effective strategy execution requires robust monitoring, ideally through an internal control framework, ensuring accountability across all action points. Over the long term, companies should aim to develop integrated ESG information systems, facilitating data-driven reporting that appeals to green financiers and stakeholders alike. Nguyen Son, chairman Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation The VLCA 2024 highlighted the increasing commitment of Vietnamese companies to transparency and high standards of corporate governance. This years selection process was especially rigorous, involving independent evaluations and thorough discussions to align on scoring The awards reflected significant progress, with many companies now investing more seriously in both content and presentation. Reports are becoming visually engaging, featuring creative slogans and clear messaging that strengthen brand identity. Financial data is presented in a systematic, transparent manner, and some firms are also beginning to align with international corporate governance practices. However, companies are advised to go beyond aesthetics by strengthening risk analysis and including projections to give investors a clearer view of future risks and opportunities. Legal compliance in information disclosure and governance remains a core focus. Corporate governance criteria for the awards are rooted in Vietnamese law as well as ASEAN and global principles, covering shareholder rights, transparency, board accountability, and sustainability. While progress is evident, many companies still fall short of best practices in areas such as shareholder rights, transparency, and board oversight. Sustainability reporting has also improved, with higher quality and consistency this year. Companies with dedicated sustainability reports or strong environmental and social scores were closely reviewed in the final round. Marking its 17th year, the VLCA honoured companies for their commitment to transparency, good governance, and sustainable growth, reflecting the evolving standards of Vietnams securities market. Nguyen Ngoc Xuan Quynh, corporate governance researcher Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology Investors and the public today access company information almost instantly through digital channels such as corporate websites, social media, and financial platforms, rather than waiting for an annual report. While this shift seems to undercut the timeliness of annual reports, these documents retain a unique and indispensable role. In many jurisdictions, annual reports are still legally mandated for listed firms, enforcing periodic, structured disclosure. But beyond regulatory compliance, an annual report can serve as a powerful strategic tool, documenting a companys progress over time, establishing benchmarks for comparison, and offering a roadmap for the future. A professionally designed report doesnt just convey data - it communicates brand values, captures public interest, and strengthens corporate identity. To align with digitalisation and sustainability trends, ASEAN companies are modernising their reports. Electronic reports with rich visual elements and multimedia features are becoming common, while integrated reporting - combining financial and non-financial information - gains traction, global guidelines encourage emerging markets like Vietnam to elevate their reporting standards, incorporating various key elements to attract global investors. Yet, a gap remains. Many smaller firms still view annual reports as a basic compliance task, while well-resourced companies see them as a branding tool. To truly add value, however, an annual report must reflect the organisations authenticity and commitment. When produced with executive focus and care, it becomes a transparent bridge to the companys goals and accomplishments, enhancing credibility with stakeholders.
In agriculture, the sector has undergone positive restructuring. Advanced production and preservation processes that enhance efficiency, reduce post-harvest losses, and adapt to climate change are increasingly recognised and applied. Meanwhile, the industrial sector has embraced modernisation, prioritising science and technology to improve efficiency and restructure resource- and energy-intensive industries.

Le Viet Anh, director general Department for Science, Education, Natural Resources, and Environment Ministry of Planning and Investment

Renewable energy now accounts for a higher proportion of Vietnams power system compared to many countries. The shift to clean energy vehicles is progressing, particularly in public transport in major cities. Similarly, green and sustainable tourism is emerging as a cornerstone of the tourism industry, with innovative models and products driving its development.

New economic models, such as the circular and sharing economies, are being promoted and piloted in various enterprises. Circular economic principles, particularly in industrial symbiosis and ecological industry models, are showing promising results. Programmes supporting sustainable businesses, assessing enterprise sustainability, and advancing environmental, social, and governance initiatives have garnered widespread support from the business community.

While digital transformation in Vietnam trails green transformation, it has become a central development trend globally. Digital technologies optimise production and business processes, reduce costs, and enhance competitiveness through automation, data analysis, and efficient information management.

Vietnam has set ambitious digital transformation goals, aiming to build a fully digital government by 2030, with the digital economy contributing 30 per cent of GDP. Vietnam also aspires to rank among the top 50 countries globally and third in ASEAN for e-government and digital economy performance. These goals are critical for achieving modern industrialisation and realising sustainable development objectives by 2030.

Digital transformation has already spurred significant changes in both state and private sector operations. According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, the digital economy accounted for 12 per cent of GDP in 2020, rising to 16.5 per cent in 2023, with an annual growth rate exceeding 20 per cent.

Despite their importance, green and digital transformations in Vietnam often proceed independently, missing opportunities for synergy. The World Banks 2023 report on dual transformation highlights the intersection between digital and green technologies. It identified 16 green and 11 digital technologies as foundational for this dual transformation.

Between 2017 and 2021, Vietnam accounted for 15 per cent of green patents in emerging markets, focusing on wind energy, waste management, pollution reduction, and green buildings. However, Vietnam lags in digital transformation technologies, holding just 8 per cent of patents in developing economies, behind Malaysia (58 per cent), the Philippines (16 per cent), and Thailand (11 per cent).

The integration of digital and green transformations is vital for sustainable growth. Businesses must seize dual transformation opportunities to boost productivity, unlock new market potential, and deliver societal and environmental benefits. Green and digital transformations rely on science, technology, and high-quality human resources. Investment in these areas is essential for success.

The transformation process must also ensure equity, particularly for vulnerable groups such as the poor, ethnic minorities, women, children, and the elderly. The state should create an enabling institutional and policy framework, while businesses, especially large enterprises, take the lead in implementing solutions.

International cooperation and knowledge-sharing are crucial. Large corporations and foreign-invested enterprises should support small- and medium-sized enterprises in adopting dual transformation initiatives. By prioritising these efforts, Vietnam can harness the full potential of green and digital transformations to drive sustainable development and enhance global competitiveness.

Green transformation and a journey to the future In Vietnam, the green consumption trend is making significant strides as consumers increasingly prioritise sustainability as a core aspect of their future outlook. This shift is not merely reflected in their purchasing behaviour, but also in their long-term priorities and overarching concerns regarding the living environment.

Dual transition can motivate businesses Investing in green transformation will be a crucial tool for Vietnam to secure substantial advantages in global trade, Prof. Nguyen Dinh Tho, general director of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment, under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, explained more to VIRs Hoang Minh.
New Zealands identity is inseparably linked to its landscape. From green rolling hills to our breathtaking coastlines, our environment is not just a part of who we are. It is integral to our economy, our culture, and our way of life. Sustainability is about safeguarding this environment for future generations while nurturing the growth of our industries and ensuring that our economic success does not come at the cost of the planet.

This includes our agriculture industry, which has a significant impact on our emissions profile, like Vietnam, New Zealand has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. By investing in research and technology, we are working towards more efficient, lower-emission farming practices, which aim to balance productivity with environmental responsibility.

Our dedication to renewable energy is another area where New Zealand demonstrates its commitment to sustainability. Around 80 per cent of New Zealands electricity already comes from renewable sources, and we aim to increase this share to 100 per cent by 2030.

Additionally, our food and fibre sector is investing in technology to improve traceability and transparency. Digital tools are being used to track products from farm to table, building consumer trust but also driving accountability for sustainable practices throughout the supply chain.

Vietnam and New Zealand look to a sustainable future, Photo Dung Minh

New Zealand actively supports our businesses to make sustainability a core part of their export strategy and a point of difference in global markets. This is especially important as more than 85 per cent of New Zealands exports are going to countries with environmental, social, and governance legislation in place or coming into force that require business to report on sustainability practices.

Firstly, companies must understand what their consumers want and clarify their objectives within the sustainability space. What specific goals are they aiming to achieve in this area? Secondly, collaboration is key. In New Zealand, businesses work together to share best practices, allowing others to benefit from collective knowledge and skills.

Finally, transparency is crucial. New Zealand consumers, for example, increasingly value transparency in sustainability efforts. This is something we have seen in companies like Boring Oat Milk, T&G, and Zespri. They do not want greenwashing; they want to understand the companys true journey towards sustainability.

Sustainability sits at the heart of Boring Oat Milk where local supply chains are prioritised, and they offer recyclable packaging solutions for their customers.

To produce one litre of oat milk requires 70 per cent less land and creates 93 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions than one litre of dairy milk. With dairy a backbone of the New Zealand economy, Boring are looking at how an oat production system could fit into a regenerative farming framework while giving consumers choice.

Some of the steps T&G is taking include applying a completely environmentally friendly and ecologically safe growing process, adopting compostable labels, a 5 per cent reduction in the companys emissions.

While kiwifruit is a low-impact crop, Zespri knows there are still environmental impacts involved in growing and delivering the fruit to consumers. The company is utilising new tools and technology to reduce its environmental impact from the kiwifruit grower to the end consumer.

New Zealand is committed to a vision of sustainability that reflects who we are as a people. From our government policies to our industry practices, we are working to protect our natural resources, promote social equity, and support the wellbeing of our communities as we work towards net-zero 2050. Sustainability for us means creating a future where economic growth, environmental health, and societal wellbeing are interconnected and mutually reinforcing.

I see plenty of opportunities for New Zealand and Vietnamese businesses to collaborate. New Zealand is already significantly involved in Vietnam, particularly through funding initiatives that enhance sustainable development in the agriculture sector. There is great potential for resource sharing and support, and as more New Zealand businesses engage with Vietnam, it will be increasingly important for them to work together in developing a roadmap for sustainable business.

New Zealand and Vietnam are already collaborating closely and will continue to grow these business connections. A shared vision for sustainable goals is essential, with a clear roadmap for cooperation and knowledge exchange. By collaborating and sharing best practices, businesses in both countries can move forward together. Sustainability isnt about one company outperforming others; we need everyone to succeed in this area for meaningful progress.

New Zealand and Vietnam to strengthen ties New Zealand and Vietnam are focused on strengthening cooperation by making progress on mutually beneficial opportunities.

New Zealand shares sustainable development experience with Vietnam With its commitment to environmental preservation reflected in both policy and practice, New Zealand hopes its experiences can provide guidance for Vietnam's shift to a greener economy.

(*)Scott James, New Zealands consul-general and trade commissioner to Vietnam
Alyn Waters Country Park awarded National Forest for Wales Status

This article is old - Published: Monday, Nov 18th, 2024

A Wrexham country park has been awarded National Forest for Wales status.

Alyn Waters is one of 18 sites across Wales to have received the accolade from the Deputy First Minister with responsibility for Climate Change and Rural Affairs, Huw Irranca-Davies.

The National Forest programme is a commitment to create a network of woodlands across Wales.

It will provide interconnected ecosystems and create a national legacy for future generations.

Alyn Waters Country Park has expansive woodland spanning between its sites in Llay and Gwersyllt.

The Deputy First Minister, said: Im delighted that during Wales Climate Week were able to announce further growth for the National Forest for Wales, in what was the largest round of applications weve had to date.

This means we now have 55 Status Scheme Sites as part of the National Forest for Wales.

Expansion of the National Forest is a key step towards creating, restoring, and connecting valuable habitats  where resilient forest ecosystems allow wildlife to thrive. The National Forest network is central to our natural and cultural heritage, enabling communities to connect with nature and experience its benefits.

We have a great ambition to have more sites throughout Wales  which can be enjoyed by everyone.

Two sites from Eryri National Park have been also successful in joining the network  Coed Bryn Berthynau and Coed Hafod.

Jonathan Cawley, Chief Executive of the Eryri National Park Authority said: We feel honoured that two woodlands owned by the Eryri National Park Authority have secured a National Forest for Wales status.

 These woodlands are valuable recreational resources to both local residents and visitors as places where they can spend time surrounded by nature, and reap the benefits of doing so to health and wellbeing.

On joining the National Forest, woodland sites become part of a network which supports sites and helps share knowledge and good practice.

The new sites also receive National Forest Signage which has been made by Merthyr Tydfil Institute for the Blind, who have made the signs from Welsh wood which was felled and processed in Wales.
Police warn Ford Fiesta owners of targeted thefts

This article is old - Published: Monday, Nov 18th, 2024

Police in north east Wales have issued a warning to Ford Fiesta owners, particularly those with ST models, following a rise in targeted car thefts.

PC Shannen Finnerty of North Wales Police notes that advances in theft tactics and changes in the cars production have made the popular vehicle a prime target for thieves across the UK.

These thefts are happening nationally, and weve seen incidents within Flintshire North, said PC Finnerty.

We urge owners to use steering wheel locks, faraday boxes for their keys, and ensure trackers are activated and operational.

To prevent further thefts, police are conducting increased vehicle stops in the area, focusing on Ford Fiesta models.

While this may cause temporary inconvenience to some drivers, officers emphasise the importance of these checks in identifying and recovering stolen vehicles.

We noted a similar trend with Navara vehicles in the past and took similar measures, PC Finnerty added.

The police have chosen not to disclose specific details about the tactics used by thieves to avoid inadvertently encouraging criminal activity.

However, they stressed the importance of robust security measures to deter opportunistic thefts.

Residents are encouraged to share the warning to raise awareness and help protect fellow vehicle owners.
Patisserie chef at new college venue celebrating sweet awards victory

This article is old - Published: Monday, Nov 18th, 2024

The proof is in the pudding for a talented baker loving life in the kitchens of a leading college restaurant.

Fresh from her Rising Star victory at this years BIA (Baking Industry Awards) ceremony, Naomi Spaven, from Mold, is turning heads as lead baker and patisserie chef at Coleg Cambrias Ial Bakery in Wrexham.

She and baker and pastry chef Ella Muddiman  a colleague nominated in the same category  have attracted new customers to the Hafod venue with a selection of delicious cakes, breads, biscuits and more.

Reflecting on the accolade, a year after she won the Fruit Cake category in Britains Best Cake competition, Naomi said: I cant quite put into words just how pleased  and shocked  I was to win the Rising Star award.

Ive been baking professionally for three years now and am so grateful for all the experiences I have had since joining the industry.

Im incredibly proud to win the award and I cant wait to build on this. Becoming a baker has transformed my life in the best possible way and I love how varied and enjoyable my work life is.

She added: I am three months into my new role at Ial Bakery and loving every minute.

The job is varied, and Ive got great freedom of creativity for new products and developing the bakery further.

Ella and I make a great team, and everyone at Ial Restaurant has been incredibly welcoming and supportive.

Naomi wants to keep spreading her love for baking and inspire future generations into the sector, which she does via her popular @LittleWelshFoodie account on Instagram.

I love to share recipes and ideas and see other people try them out, its hugely rewarding, she said.

And at Ial Bakery we have some incredibly exciting plans including our first Bake Off competition for staff and students, raising money for charity.

We have extended our wholesale range and have begun selling our own bread in the coffee shop and restaurant, there is so much in the pipeline.

The Baking Industry Awards (BIA) recognise excellence in the sector, and the winning people, products, and businesses were chosen following months of judging, which included site visits, interviews, and product testing to ensure they were worthy of these accolades.

Held at the Royal Lancaster in London, trophies were handed out in 13 categories, and British Baker editor Amy North said this was one of the best events theyve ever held.

These awards have been going for nearly 40 years and recognise the best and brightest the industry has to offer, from skilled artisan bakers to large-scale manufacturers, nationwide retailers, and up-and-coming bakery brands, she added.

Following a trying few years, bakery has further cemented itself as a pillar of the food and drink industry

Our latest collection of winners showcase why it is such a driving force as they demonstrate innovative thinking, successful strategy at all scales, and unmatched passion for the baked goods they produce whether theyre the nations daily bread or an occasional afternoon pick-me-up.
Senedd told legislative gender quotas are the only way to achieve gender-balanced Senedds

This article is old - Published: Monday, Nov 18th, 2024

Voluntary guidance aimed at making the Welsh Parliament more representative of the population lacks any real teeth, Senedd members warned.

Sioned Williams described new draft guidance for political parties on diversity and inclusion as too little, too late, with the next Senedd election less than 18 months away.

Plaid Cymrus shadow social justice secretary said the voluntary guidance has no teeth after the Welsh Government scrapped a proposed law on gender quotas in September.

She said: Although any and all steps to try to increase diversity in politics are very welcome, I am deeply disappointed at the rolling back by the Welsh Government.

Ms Williams suggested a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure a 50:50 gender split may have been missed, given the current progressive majority in the Senedd.

Limited

She said: Candidates are already declaring their intention to stand.

Voluntary guidance, which wont be ready for months, really isnt going to achieve that change for the Senedd elections in 2026.

Her Plaid Cymru colleague Heledd Fychan pointed out there will be no penalties nor repercussions if political parties do not implement the guidance.

The Conservatives Darren Millar criticised a lack of engagement from the Welsh Government since legislation on gender quotas was withdrawn.

He questioned a limited focus on other aspects of equality such as age, faith and disability.

Mr Millar, who represents Clwyd West, said: We very much hope when the final guidance is published it will be reflective of that broader range of characteristics.

Sizeable risk

Jane Dodds, the Liberal Democrats leader in Wales, raised the Electoral Reform Societys warning of a sizeable risk the next Senedd could be the least gender-balanced in history.

She told the debating chamber or Siambr: The evidence is clear: legislative gender quotas are the only way to achieve gender-balanced Senedds.

Ms Dodds, who represents Mid and West Wales, suggested political expediency and party interests were prioritised over womens representation and democratic reform.

Hannah Blythyn, a Labour backbencher who represents Delyn, said making the Senedd more representative not only changes the face of politics but its focus too.

Ms Blythyn said: Weve talked about other protected characteristics and as an out lesbian, Im very much in the minority in this place still and Id like to see that diversity grow.

Huge disappointment

In a statement to the Senedd Jane Hutt recognised huge disappointment that gender quotas will not be underpinned by law.

Describing the draft guidance as a catalyst for change, the social justice secretary stressed that the Welsh Government remains committed to a gender-balanced Senedd.

Ms Hutt explained the final guidance, which is also aimed at council elections, will be published in spring following confirmation of new boundaries for the 2026 Senedd poll.

Pointing to measures under the Elections and Elected Bodies Act passed in July, she said: We all know the guidance alone is not enough to ensure we achieve diversity in politics.

She added: Women are an under-represented majority in this Senedd. By including the section on voluntary gender quotas in the guidance, I want all parties to recognise the importance of considering what action they may take to increase womens representation.

A consultation on the draft guidance closes on January 7.

By Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter

Some stats provided:

Information currently available shows that (of those who responded) at the last local government election in 2022 (Local Government Candidates Survey: 2022):

40% of elected County Councillors surveyed were female (43% of Community Councillors).

46% of elected County Councillors were aged 60 years or older (56% of Community Councillors).

96% of elected County and Community Councillors reported they were from a white ethnic group.

89% of elected County Councillors reported they were heterosexual or straight (88% of Community Councillors), 6% reported they were lesbian, gay or bisexual (5% of Community Councillors).

1% of all candidates responded that the gender they identify with is not the same as their sex registered at birth. 2% chose not to respond.

13% of elected County Councillors considered themselves to be a disabled person (15% of Community Councillors).

For the Senedd election in 2021, the Senedd Research service noted (Election 2021: How diverse is the Sixth Senedd?) that there is limited information publicly collected about the diversity and backgrounds of Members of the Senedd. The research did however identify the following:

43% of elected Members were women (compared with 40% in the House of Commons following the July 2024 general election (Female Members of Parliament), 46% in the Scottish Parliament, and 37% in the Northern Ireland Assembly (Women in politics and public life)).

5% of elected Members came from an ethnic minority background.

5% publicly identified as LGBT+.

No information is currently captured on the number of Members who identify as a disabled person.

By comparison, according to the 2021 Census:
Fundamental change By Robert T. Smith

web posted November 18, 2024 There have been several dividing lines that have led us to our current sociopolitical situation. The retrospective before and after pictures can seem clear in hindsight. A common theme in these dividing lines can be found in this quote attributed to Noam Chomsky: "[H]e who controls the media controls the minds of the public." As a generality, prior to the 1990s the media consisted of a monochromatic offering of thought. To those self-anointed figures in control of the mainstream media, this was the general agreement of the social discourse that could be relied on to have an orderly society. The Walter Cronkites, Dan Rathers, and David Brinkleys of the world whose words were the gospel formation of society's conversations. As examples, arguably at the very moment in time we had won the Vietnam War by then having eliminated over 80,000 Viet Cong communist leaders through the Phoenix Project and then by destroying the Tet offensive, "Uncle" Walter Cronkite came on the television and said the war was lost, and so it was. The economy of Jimmy Carter's 1970s was not due to his political decisions, it was the citizens' malaise. Ronald Reagan was simply an uninformed B-list actor who would get us into a nuclear war and not the intellectual President who brought down the former Soviet Union and drove the economy to a huge expansion of wealth for all. A clear dividing line would appear to have arrived with talk radio in the form initially of Rush Limbaugh. No longer did the mainstream media entirely control the narrative. Tens of thousands of listeners who had previously only thought differing thoughts from the mainstream media now had a voice. As any product that has a willing consumer, "conservative" talk radio flourished as a vexation to the establishment mainstream media and their preferred political party, the Democrats. The Democrats had controlled the house of representatives for 40-years prior to 1994, coincidentally and arguably because of the proliferation of the alternative of thought from the new media, the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives in the form of Newt Gingrich. As this dividing line dichotomy has ripened now for a couple of decades, to many it seems our country's current sociopolitical discourse is tumultuous. We now can live in almost two different versions of reality, mostly divided by political affiliation and where we get our information or news. The old-established media versus the new media. As a related example, a retrospective clear dividing line came in the form of a presidential candidate who clearly stated and meant to fundamentally change our country. The desire to fundamentally change is not to love or even like something, in this case the USA. With the mainstream media propagating his election, he and his ilk set out to do just that, fundamentally change the country. In opposition was the new "conservative" media who did like/love their country and did not desire the fundamental change offering. This divide continues to exist to this day. In broad generalities, one side believes our country was founded on evil in the form of racism, sexism, xenophobia, conquest of native American's, ad infimum, and remains evil to this day and therefore must be fundamentally changed. In broad generalities on the opposing side are those who believe in our country's exceptionalism, not perfect but a force for good. The problem the mainstream media and their benefactor political party now have is that many no longer believe them. We have just witnessed this dividing line of social discourse in the form of the re-election of Mr. Trump. According to the mainstream media and those who obtain their information from the mainstream media, Mr. Trump is a criminal, Nazi, a racist, xenophobic, ad infinitum. According to those who obtain their information from the alternative media, Trump is a patriot and fighting for their country's virtues. To either side of this equation there is no middle ground to meet, halfway to what they believe is a bad idea is still a bad idea. Fundamental change or exceptionalism hangs in the balance. Robert T. Smith is an environmental scientist who spends his days enjoying life and the pursuit of happiness with his family. He confesses to cling to his liberty, guns and religion, with antipathy toward the arrogant ruling elites throughout the country. Home


Investee Cortical Dynamics Presentation

Perth, Nov 18, 2024 AEST (ABN Newswire) - BPH Energy Limited ( ASX:BPH ) provide a presentation by investee Cortical Dynamics at the Health Innovation Frontier Forum on 18th November 2024. This event will showcase the intersection between technology, health and community.



*To view the presentation, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/91TD2JM9





About BPH Energy Limited





BPH Energy Limited (ASX:BPH) is an Australian Securities Exchange listed company developing biomedical research and technologies within Australian Universities and Hospital Institutes.

The company provides early stage funding, project management and commercialisation strategies for a direct collaboration, a spin out company or to secure a license.

BPH provides funding for commercial strategies for proof of concept, research and product development, whilst the institutional partner provides infrastructure and the core scientific expertise.

BPH currently partners with several academic institutions including The Harry Perkins Institute for Medical Research and Swinburne University of Technology (SUT).

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Entitlement Issue and Presentation

Sydney, Nov 18, 2024 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Cobalt Blue Holdings Limited ( ASX:COB ) ( COH:FRA ) ( CBBHF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to announce a pro-rata non-renounceable rights issue (Entitlement Issue) to raise up to $6.08 million (before costs) at a price of $0.072 (7.2 cents) (Offer Price) per new fully paid ordinary share in the Company (New Share), on the basis of 1 new Share for every 5 shares (Entitlement) held as at 7.00 pm (Sydney time) on 21 November 2024, Sydney time (Record Date).



The issue price of $0.072 per Share represents a 10% discount to the closing Share price of 8.0 cents on 15 November 2024 and between 20-23% to the 10 and 15-day VWAP, respectively (as of 15 November 2024).



Entitlement Issue



The Entitlement Issue will open on Tuesday, 26 November 2024 and is expected to close on Thursday, 12 December 2024 (Closing Date). Settlement of the New Shares issued under the Entitlement Issue is expected to occur on Wednesday, 16 December 2024.



Further details of the Entitlement Issue will be provided to eligible shareholders in the offer booklet (Offer Booklet), expected to be despatched or made available to shareholders on Tuesday, 26 November 2024.



New Shares issued under the Entitlement Issue will rank equally with the existing Shares then on issue. The Entitlement Issue is not underwritten. Blue Ocean Equities Pty Ltd has been appointed as Lead Manager to the Entitlement Issue.



Eligible Shareholders



All Shareholders on the Company's share register at the Record Date and whose registered address is in Australia and New Zealand (Eligible Shareholders) will be entitled to participate in the Entitlement Issue.



Eligible Shareholders can choose to take up all, part or none of their Entitlement.



The Entitlement Issue will allow Eligible Shareholders to take up New Shares proportional to their shareholding and mitigate the effect of dilution. Eligible Shareholders who do not take up their Entitlement under the Entitlement Issue in whole or in part will not receive any value in respect of those Entitlements not taken up. The Entitlement is non-renounceable and cannot be traded on ASX or any other exchange, nor can it be privately transferred.



Eligible Shareholders wishing to participate in the Entitlement Issue should carefully read the Offer Booklet and accompanying personalised Entitlement and Acceptance Form which contains their Entitlement and the terms and conditions of the Entitlement Issue. The Offer Booklet will also be available on the ASX website (www.asx.com.au) from 26 November 2024.



Shortfall



The Entitlement Issue includes a facility under which Eligible Shareholders that have taken up their full Entitlement under the Entitlement Issue can apply to take up additional New Shares in excess of their pro rata Entitlement (Top-Up Facility). Applications under the Top-Up Facility will only be considered to the extent there is a shortfall under the Entitlement Issue.



Directors then reserve the right to place any shortfall shares at their discretion within 3 months of the Closing Date at a price not less than the Offer Price.



To view the Capital Raising Presentation, please visit:

https://www.abnnewswire.net/lnk/6897T4VP





About Cobalt Blue Holdings Limited





Cobalt Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX:COB) (FRA:COH) (OTCMKTS:CBBHF) has a strategic approach that positions us to be among the first wave of new entrants into the allied battery materials supply chain. We are committed to playing a leading role in securing a stable and sustainable future for critical minerals.

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Commitment Positions PAM to Deliver Significant Project Outcomes



Secures A$35 Million Capital Commitment Agreement

Sydney, Nov 18, 2024 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Pan Asia Metals Ltd ( ASX:PAM ) secures A$35 Million capital commitment agreement, positioning PAM to deliver significant project outcomes for the company to be re-named Flagship Minerals Limited.



Highlights



- 4 Year $35 Million equity investment via Capital Commitment Agreement (Facility) secured.



- Facility with Global Emerging Markets Group, a $3.4 billion alternative assets management group.



- Facility significantly reduces PAM's capital raising risks but maintains PAM's capital raising flexibility.



- Facility structured to incentivise GEM to build value in PAM, with equity commitments at fixed pricing reflecting traditional capital raising structures.



- Facility potentially funds PAM through to Resource and Preliminary Feasibility at Rosario Copper and Tama Atacama Lithium Projects.



- PAM will seek shareholder approval to rename the Company 'Flagship Minerals Limited'.



Pan Asia Metals' Managing Director, Paul Lock, commented:



"We have been working on this Capital Commitment Agreement with GEM for several months and have found the GEM team constructive and collegiate. The facility provides PAM a pathway to Resource definition and pre-feasibility at both the Rosario Copper and Tama Atacama Lithium projects, as well as working capital for the Company's other needs. I am also pleased to put forward to our shareholders a proposal for a company name change to Flagship Minerals Limited. We are seeking the name change as we have noticed confusion from investors regarding the Company's geographic focus."



Battery and critical metals explorer and developer, Pan Asia Metals Limited ( ASX:PAM ) ("PAM" or "the Company") is pleased to advise that it has entered into a binding Capital Commitment Agreement ("Facility") with New York based Global Emerging Markets Group for a 4 year $35 million equity investment commitment, providing PAM with a reliable source of equity funding to see it through to JORC Resource and Pre-Feasibility at its Rosario Copper and Tama Atacama Lithium projects.



The Company will also seek shareholder approval to be renamed Flagship Minerals Limited. The name change marks a break in PAM's exclusive geographic focus on Asia.



Global Emerging Markets ("GEM") is a $3.4 billion alternative investment group that manages a diverse set of investment vehicles focused on emerging markets across the world, having completed over 570 transactions in 70 countries. GEM's investment vehicles provide the group and its investors with a diversified portfolio of asset classes that span the global private investing spectrum. Each investment vehicle has a different degree of operational control, risk-adjusted return and liquidity profile, providing GEM and its partners with exposure to Small-Mid Cap Management Buyouts, Private Investments in Public Equities (PIPE's) and select venture investments.



The GEM Facility will be primarily employed for Resource definition and preliminary feasibility work at the Company's Rosario Copper and Tama Atacama Lithium projects. The GEM facility also positions PAM to undertake strategic acquisitions, should appropriate opportunities present.



The PAM Board is of the opinion that the GEM Facility is a transformative step for the Company, providing a pathway for near and medium term funding requirements but not limiting the Company from meeting its capital requirements from other sources, including traditional equity capital and convertible notes.



Key Terms of the GEM Capital Commitment Agreement



The Capital Commitment Agreement between the Company, GEM Global Yield LLC SCS and GEM Yield Bahamas Limited, provides the Company the option, but not the obligation, to draw down up to an aggregate $35 million at any point during the 4 year term of the Facility, subject to certain conditions, including the provision of a drawdown notice to commence a 15 trading days pricing period, with the subscription price being 90% of the higher of:



a. The average closing bid price of PAM shares as quoted by ASX over the pricing period; or



b. A fixed floor price nominated by PAM equal or higher than the closing price immediately preceding the Capital Call; and the Company's shares are continuously quoted on ASX during the 15 days prior to the Capital Call.



The quantum of the first 3 drawdowns can be for up to $1.5 million each and the following 3 for up to $5 million each for up to an aggregate $19.5 million. The remaining drawdowns and outstanding Facility after the initial 6 drawdowns are limited to 700% of the daily trading volume and GEM may opt to subscribe for 50% to 200% of the drawdown face value provided that any issue of Shares to GEM (or its nominee) would not be a breach of any law or the ASX Listing Rules, including GEM breaching the 19.9% threshold of issued Shares held.



The Company will pay GEM a fee of 2% of the Capital Commitment of $35 million, or A$700,000, within 12 months, exclusive of GST, which is payable in cash and/or shares at the Company's election. The Company will also issue GEM with 2 tranches of 10 million 5 year call options with a strike price of 12.5c and 20c and expiring 5 years from issue, subject to Shareholder approval.



PAM's Managing Director, Paul Lock, will provide GEM with collateral shares equivalent to the Commitment Fee, calculated at 90% of the closing bid price at signing of the Agreement and recalculated every 90 days thereafter until the Commitment Fee has been paid. The Board will seek shareholder approval to replace Mr Lock's collateral shares should they be drawn upon.



About Flagship Minerals Ltd





Flagship Minerals Ltd's (ASX:FLG) strategy is to secure and develop projects which it believes will position the Company as a low-cost producer of Copper and Lithium, metals that matter. Specifically, Flagship Minerals seeks to secure low capital intensity projects in low-cost jurisdictions and infrastructure rich settings, projects which are positioned for high margin outcomes, and projects which are proximal to industry, chemical processing, and manufacturing.

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Democracy at Gettysburg By J.K. Baltzersen

web posted November 18, 2024 What was this talk about government of the people, by the people, and for the people at Gettysburg? Was it about the slaves being denied the right to vote in the South? Voting rights for blacks weren't that widespread in the North either. It seems strange that a slave abolitionist, even the one known as the Great Emancipator, would sell slaves he inherited from his father-in-law. But Lincoln did. He had the rights to the slaves his wife inherited, and he sold them. Many of his in-laws freed the slaves they inherited, but Lincoln did not. So much for the Great Emancipator. Lincoln was a lawyer, and lawyers are not supposed to be identified with their clients, but it does seem a bit odd that an abolitionist would talk cases for slave owners but not for slaves. Lincoln defended slavery in his first inaugural address, where he also made clear that tariffs would be collected. He supported strengthening the constitutional protection of slavery. Of course, he could never have made the war explicitly against slavery, as there were slave states on the union side. Let us suppose that Lincoln "knew" he would become President and that he would lure some slave states to fight a war that really was a war against slavery by cleverly hiding his deep-down abolitionist sympathies until the war was over and tricking them into fighting a war they thought was for something else. Seems very unlikely, but it would be theoretically possible. Sure, the need to keep support for the union in line can explain his inaugural address and other behavior signaling indifference or opposition to the abolition of slavery, or even support of slavery, right before the outbreak of the war or during the war. But acts long before he was a candidate for President? That does seem very far-fetched! Sounds a bit like a conspiracy theory, doesn't it? Why is this Gettysburg Address seen as this great oratory in support of democracy? No one was fighting for the expansion of the franchise that came in the wake of the war. At least not officially. Voting rights came officially, but impediments were put up against them for roughly another century. Blacks lacked voting rights both in the South and the North. It was the other side that was fighting for self-determination. If the North lost the war, according to the Gettysburg Address, government of the people, by the people, and for the people would perish from the Earth. If the South had won, that kind of government would likely continue on both sides of the border. Slavery would have continued but likely not indefinitely. Is there a meaning other than propaganda? Monarchical and aristocratic Europe was considering intervening in the war on the side of the South. Slavery was probably the main factor behind their hesitation. Maybe Lincoln feared such an intervention, and that the war would become a clash between the old and new world, and that the old world would seize the opportunity to crush the new world of government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Well, that kind of government was emerging on the other side of the Atlantic too. And if there were a Southern victory, the union would be permanently split. Maybe he was referring to a quote of Benjamin Franklin: "We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately." How relevant that was with emerging democracy elsewhere in the world is certainly highly debatable. Also, secession was triggered by the election of Abraham Lincoln. The South didn't accept the election. So they seceded instead. Lincoln made it clear in his first inaugural address that the minority had to accept the decision of the majority. It seems so no matter what. That has very serious implications for limits to the powers of the majority. The ultimate consequence of this is that with, let's say, a global democracy with a majority consisting of India, China, and Africa, the minority West has to accept the redistribution decisions of that majority. It also has the implication that individuals cannot move from a country if they don't like the way the majority is running things. There's no moving to Switzerland if you don't like the tax level. You must accept the majority decision no matter what. This is what this means. Or else government of the people, by the people, and for the people will perish from the Earth. This is a recipe for tyranny, as there is no effective check on the power of the majority. J.K. Baltzersen is a Norwegian political commentator and writer. His work has appeared, among other places, in The Washington Times, FEE.org, and Enter Stage Right. Home
Vasant Masala, a trusted name in the spices industry for over 50 years, proudly announces Anil Kapoor as their brand ambassador with the new positioning: Pyaar Toh Hona Hi Tha This strategy reflects the brand's commitment to celebrating genuine emotions of love and connection, woven into the fabric of family life and the cherished moments that define it.

In this exciting new chapter, Vasant Masala aims to resonate with its audience by showcasing the beauty of familial bonds. To embody this heartfelt narrative, Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Kapoor are appearing together on screen for the first time in a TVC. Their dynamic relationship perfectly illustrates Vasant Masala's message: love is not just a feeling; its an experience that brings us closer.

Crafting communication that bridges the gap between business and creativity has always been our goal. By selecting Anil Kapoor, alongside his real-life brother Sanjay, we elevate our storytelling and connect deeply with our audience, ensuring that the brand resonates meaningfully. said Ravikant Banka, Founder, Eggfirst.

Chandrakant Bhandari, Managing Director of Vasant Masala said, For decades, delivering purity to Indian households has been the cornerstone of Vasant Masala. With 'Pyaar Toh Hona Hi Tha,' we are not only enriching this foundation but also strengthening the bond that goes beyond taste to touch the heart. Anil Kapoors association perfectly blends tradition, modernity, and universal appeal, resonating across generations. This campaign celebrates our legacy while reaching a wider audience, bringing Vasant Masala into more homes and fueling our growth for years to come.

Anil Kapoor expressed his enthusiasm stating, I am thrilled to be part of this new chapter in Vasant Masalas journey. This brand is known for its uncompromising quality and I have complete faith in its commitment to delivering the best. This story is about more than just promoting a product; its a celebration of love, family, and the bonds we hold dear. What's more, this is the first time I am sharing the screen with my brother Sanjay, which makes this even more exciting for me. I cant wait to see how this heartfelt campaign connects with people.

Also Read: Vasant Masala launches 'Pyaar Toh Hona Hi Tha' with Anil Kapoor
The Press Council of India held the National Press Day celebrations at National Media Centre, New Delhi, to mark the National Press Day 2024. The event was attended by Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Railways, and Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw; Union Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, Dr L Murugan; Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Sanjay Jaju; Chairperson, Press Council of India, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai; and veteran journalist, Kundan Ramanlal Vyas.

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ashwini Vaishnaw while addressing the gathering as chief guest and keynote speaker at the National Press Day celebrations virtually, highlighted Indias vibrant and diverse media ecosystem, which includes 35,000 registered newspapers, numerous news channels, and a robust digital infrastructure. The Minister noted that investments in 4G and 5G networks have propelled India to the forefront of digital connectivity with the lowest data prices globally.

However, he pointed to four key challenges our society is facing due to changing landscape of media and press:

Fake News and Disinformation

The spread of fake news undermines trust in the media and poses a threat to democracy. During his address, Vaishnaw raised a critical question on the rapid growth of digital media and the responsibility for the content published on these platforms. The concept of Safe Harbor, developed in the 1990s when the availability of digital media was limited to select users in universities and research institutes, provided immunity to platforms from being held accountable for user-generated content.

He mentioned that globally, debates are intensifying over whether the Safe Harbor provisions are still appropriate, given their role in enabling the spread of misinformation, riots, and even acts of terrorism. Shouldnt platforms operating in a context as complex as India adopt a different set of responsibilities? These pressing questions underline the need for a new framework that ensures accountability and safeguards the social fabric of the nation, he added.

Fair Compensation for Content Creators

The shift from traditional to digital media has financially impacted conventional media, which invests heavily in journalistic integrity and editorial processes. Vaishnaw highlighted the need for fair compensation for traditional content creators, addressing the asymmetry in bargaining power between digital platforms and conventional media. The efforts made by the conventional media in creating content needs to be fairly and suitably compensated, he said.

Algorithmic Bias

Algorithms driving digital platforms prioritize content that maximizes engagement, incites strong reactions and thereby defines the revenue for the platform. These often amplify sensational or divisive narratives. Vaishnaw highlighted the social consequences of such biases, particularly in a diverse nation like India, and called on platforms to come up with solutions that account for the impact their systems have on our society.

Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Intellectual Property Rights

The rise of AI presents ethical and economic challenges for creators whose work is used to train AI models. Union Minister Vaishnaw highlighted the significant upheaval the creative world is facing due to advancements in artificial intelligence. Addressing the challenges posed by AI systems, he emphasized the need to safeguard the intellectual property (IP) rights of original creators. AI models today can generate creative content based on vast datasets they are trained on. But what happens to the rights and recognition of the original creators who contributed to that data? Are they being compensated or acknowledged for their work? the Minister questioned. This is not just an economic issue, it is an ethical issue too, he added.

Vaishnaw urged stakeholders to engage in open debates and collaborative efforts to address these challenges, transcending political differences. He emphasized the importance of preserving the medias role as a strong pillar of democracy and building a harmonious and prosperous Viksit Bharat by 2047.

Also Read: Govt to set up universities, facilities to enhance creators capabilities: Ashwini Vaishnaw
Today, numerous online transactions are taking place, and users are continuously under the threat of fraud and unauthorized access. Bajaj Finserv is addressing security needs with the rollout of BHIM UPI 2.0, a new version with advanced safety features. BHIM UPI 2.0 aims to enhance the safety element of digital payments, which offers innovations empowering its users to transact with confidence through the UPI payment wallet and enhanced functionalities of the UPI wallet, thereby making digital payments much more secure than ever before.

Why Security Matters in UPI Transactions

UPI has revolutionized digital transactions in India in that it enables users to quickly make transfers, pay bills, and make other purchases. However, the security gaps allow cybercriminals to exploit these benefits to commit fraud. Tactics like phishing, social engineering, and unauthorized access to accounts are meant to finance users' losses. Truly transformative digital payments have to be safe.

BHIM UPI 2.0 brings in a slew of measures to fight the risks involved, therefore creating scope for real-time surveillance, robust encryption, and convenient authentication processes for the users. Other than increasing security in transactions, these updates enable users to develop trust in the digital payment platforms offered by Bajaj Finserv, one of the leading companies for safe and reliable UPI services.

Key Security Features of BHIM UPI 2.0

BHIM UPI 2.0 by Bajaj Finserv has a robust security structure. There is strong safety against probable risks for the users. Here is a list of features.

 Two-Factor Authentication: Transactions may be authenticated by two-factor authentication through BHIM UPI 2.0. Biometric authentication or secure PIN can be used, and it saves all transactions for only authenticated persons.

 AI-Powered Fraud Detection: The system uses artificial intelligence to examine transactions and identify erratic patterns. The ability to detect fraud patterns in real-time is enabled through the use of AI, such as those like high-value transfers to unknown accounts and multiple log-in attempts that fail.

 End-to-End Encryption: BHIM UPI 2.0 applies end-to-end encryption to all the transactions, meaning that the data security and privacy of a user would be guaranteed. Because data is encrypted from sender to receiver, unauthorized parties cannot intercept any sensitive information.

 Dynamic QR Code Verification: The application provides dynamic QR code verification wherein the authenticity of the QR codes is verified in advance of any payments. This avoids any proxy scams via fraudulent QR codes and ensures that the payments end up in the right account.

 Secure UPI Payment App WalletFor a secure wallet, BHIM UPI 2.0 provides an enhanced, encryption-based wallet through which payment can be done and users can set their limits, receive alerts, etc. This generally aids in tracking the users' account activities and avoids unauthorized transactions.

Combining all these features makes it a more secure digital place for the user and hence has better account control, thereby reducing fraudulent activities.

Benefits of Enhanced Security in BHIM UPI 2.0

In BHIM UPI 2.0, the advanced security features provide varied benefits to individuals, enrich the user experience, and ensure safe transactions:

 Risk of Unauthorized Access Lowered: Two-factor authentication plus AI-based monitoring prevents any hacking into accounts, thereby allowing only genuine users to make transactions. Users' accounts are likely not hacked because of layered protection.

 Greater User Confidence: It therefore results in having higher user confidence, especially due to real-time alerts, dynamic scanning of QR codes, as well as end-to-end encryption. This confidence is the key that will make hesitant users adopt the digital setup over the traditional one.

 Active fraud prevention: Instant alerts for any suspicious activity help the user act quickly to prevent unauthorized transactions. Thus, the user would be completely in control of his account and money.

 Customizable security control: Users can choose security settings to accommodate transaction limits, alerting etc., so one creates a highly customized experience based on each user's comfort level.

All these make Bajaj Finserv's BHIM UPI 2.0 one of the safest digital transactions and encourage a safer environment for all the users of UPI.

Wallet in UPI Payment App: Secure Management of Digital Funds

The wallet in BHIM UPI 2.0 gives a higher level of security to manage the digital funds. Know how the wallet provides an extra layer of security to the transaction experience:

 Stored data is encrypted: The user wallet of the UPI payment application contains encrypted sensitive information, including that of the person and also the transaction history thereby thus keeping unauthorized parties away. It will protect personal details so that no unauthorized person will ever access them.

 Alerts can be customized: Users can set up alerts for certain types of transactions or threshold amounts, and in this way, all the account activities and irregularities would be known at the very onset while timely observation happens.

 Instant Fraud Alerts: The wallet's fraud detection system will immediately notify users of suspicious activity, hence enabling users to verify real-time transactions. These alerts enable users to respond quickly to possible fraud activities and secure their accounts.



Such features have made the UPI payment app wallet a reliable means of managing digital funds, thus giving users peace of mind when transacting.

Conclusion

Bajaj Finserv BHIM UPI 2.0 has introduced a new trend regarding secure transactions because it has brought about some new features like AI-powered fraud detection, two-factor authentication, and end-to-end encryption, and dynamic QR code verification. Along with UPI payment app support, this wallet provides users with multiple layers of protection through which they can manage their digital funds safely. The BHIM UPI 2.0 has given users a boost in embracing digital payments, which aligns with India's goal to move cashless. This is why Bajaj Finserv leads safely in secure digital solutions and makes BHIM UPI 2.0 the option of preference in handling safe, reliable digital transactions.

Also Read: Bajaj Broking launches Diwali campaign Shubh Diwali, Shares Wali
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently unveiled a commemorative postage stamp celebrating the 100-year journey of Hindustan Times (HT) in New Delhi.

The event marked a significant milestone in Indian journalism, paying homage to a legacy intertwined with the nations history and evolution.

Congratulating the institution on its centenary, PM Modi remarked: "Completing the journey of a 100 years is a historic accomplishment. I congratulate everyone who has been a part of this enterprise, who has fought adversity, but remained steadfast."

Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson of HT Media Ltd. and Editorial Director of Hindustan Times, expressed her gratitude, stating: "I thank the Prime Minister from the bottom of my heart for releasing the commemorative postage stamp. This is a milestone in our long journey, and we know that our mission is far from over."

A Legacy of Nationalism and Excellence

Founded by Mahatma Gandhi on September 15, 1924, Hindustan Times was conceived as a voice for Indias freedom movement. Initially supported financially by the Akalis, and later by stalwarts like Lala Lajpat Rai and Madan Mohan Malviya, it was eventually handed over to GD Birla at Gandhis request.

During its formative years, HT chronicled the independence struggle and the birth of the Republic, serving as a crucible for ideas and debates that shaped modern India. Over the decades, its pages have featured writings from icons such as Subhas Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Martin Luther King Jr., and MS Swaminathan, reflecting its unparalleled stature.

From a nationalist daily, Hindustan Times evolved into a global media powerhouse, encompassing digital platforms, regional editions, and business publications like Mint. Yet, its core mission has remained unchanged: delivering news fearlessly, accurately, and thoughtfully.

A Glimpse into History

Before the stamp release, PM Modi toured the HT@100 exhibit, which vividly captured the institutions journey alongside Indias transformation. Impressed by the showcase, he remarked: "I saw the editions printed on the day of independence and the day India became a republic. The words of icons like Subhas Chandra Bose, Martin Luther King Jr., and Atal Bihari Vajpayee have illuminated your newspaper."

The Commemorative Stamp

The postage stamp, designed by renowned artist Sankha Samanta, encapsulates HTs centenary journey. It features two editions of the newspaper: the 1924 issue, authentically restored from microfilms, and the 2024 edition, representing modernity and progress.

The stamps design prominently incorporates HTs tagline, First Voice, Last Word, symbolizing its steadfast commitment to truth and simplicity. The iconic blue of the HT brand adds a touch of vibrancy, reflecting values championed by Gandhi and upheld by HT over a century.

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Dehradun-based luxury jewellery brand Vasundhara Raj has launched its latest campaign, Teele Dharo, a heartfelt tribute to Uttarakhands rich cultural legacy and enduring strength.

Drawing from the local dialect, "Teele Dharo" translates to "to behold," encapsulating the beauty, resilience, and courage of the region and its people.

At the core of this campaign is a vibrant collaboration between Vasundhara Raj and celebrated Uttarakhand artists, including Digvijay Singh Pariyar, Kamla Devi, and Shiwani Bhagwat, alongside other creative talents from across India. The campaign masterfully combines traditional elements with modern artistry, offering a fresh perspective on Uttarakhands cultural treasures and age-old customs.



The campaign places a spotlight on iconic jewellery pieces native to the hills of Uttarakhand. Central to the collection is the Bulakee, a striking 22-karat gold nose ring symbolic of beauty and pride among pahadi women. Complementing it are the Nath, a cherished bridal heirloom, and the Pahunchi, a traditional bangle representing strength and femininity. Each piece is meticulously crafted to blend traditional aesthetics with contemporary elegance, creating modern heirlooms that tell stories of unity and joy.

Teele Dharo is more than a jewellery campaign; its a celebration of the legacy, grace, and strength of the women who carry forward our traditions, shared Vasundhara Raj, Founder and Creative Director. Through this campaign, we aim to bring Uttarakhands heritage to the forefront while honouring the artisans whose craftsmanship is at the heart of our creations.



The visuals for Teele Dharo are brought to life through a stunning music video directed by Amith Krishnan of Moca Studio and filmed by cinematographer Abhimanyu Sadanandan..

The accompanying song, composed by Digvijay Singh Pariyar, merges traditional folk melodies with contemporary sounds, creating a soulful homage to the region. When Vasundhara shared her vision, it resonated deeply. The music reflects the pride, spirit, and warmth of Uttarakhands people, said Pariyar.

The campaign also highlights the invaluable contribution of artisans, especially sonars, whose dedication preserves the art of jewellery-making. By showcasing their craftsmanship, Teele Dharo celebrates the intricate work and cultural significance behind each piece.

The campaign is a moving tribute to the strength, beauty, and cultural pride of the pahadi community, offering a modern lens to explore the heritage of the hills.

Also Read: Centrick pushes the frontiers of website design for Kirloskar Vasundhara
Looking at the structural problems of Canadian conservatism at the end of 2024 (Part One) By Mark Wegierski

web posted November 18, 2024 It must be said that Canadian conservatism has not made too many extensive and discernible advances in Canada, despite the winning of a majority government in the federal Parliament, by the Harper-led Conservative Party, in the federal election of May 2, 2011. The Conservatives ended up routed in the federal election of October 19, 2015. They had manifestly failed to create some kind of independent conservative infrastructures during the propitious time of their majority government. The Conservatives also failed to defeat the Trudeau Liberals in the federal election of October 21, 2019, as well as in the federal election of September 20, 2021. However, the recent winning of the Conservative Party leadership by the young, dynamic Pierre Poilievre, may offer some hope. What is most sorely lacking are some kinds of major infrastructures outside the framework of the federal Conservative and provincial Progressive Conservative parties. In provincial politics in Quebec, the centre-right is grouped around the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ); in Alberta, the Wildrose Alliance and the Progressive Conservatives have merged as the United Conservative Party; in Saskatchewan, there is the centrist Saskatchewan Party; while in British Columbia, there is the newly arisen Conservative Party of British Columbia. There also are or were a series of minor parties  the People's Party of Canada/Parti populaire du Canada; the Manitoba Party; the People's Alliance party in New Brunswick, the Christian Heritage Party Canada; the Family Coalition Party in Ontario; federal and provincial Libertarian Parties; the Freedom Party of Ontario; and the Cultural Action Party of Canada. In the 2022 provincial election in Ontario, at least two minor parties ran with great ambitions  the New Blue Party, and the Ontario Party, but they ended up playing a minimal role in the election, both of them failing to win a single seat. In the 2022 provincial election in Quebec, the Conservative Party of Quebec won 13 percent of the vote  but not a single seat. As a result of burgeoning Western Canadian alienation, a federal Wexit Party had been formed in Alberta, and other Western provinces. It was renamed the Maverick Party around September 2020. Also, the Freedom Conservative Party and Wexit Alberta merged to form the Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta (WIPA). In Saskatchewan, Wexit Saskatchewan was renamed as the Buffalo Party. ("Buffalo" was the proposed name of a larger province that would have included Alberta and Saskatchewan, before it was decided that the two smaller provinces would be formed.) There are also a number of well-known foci, for what could be broadly considered conservatism, outside of the major party structures. These would include the Fraser Institute, the National Citizens' Coalition (NCC), and the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation (CTF). However, all three organizations are almost exclusively focussed on economics, and all have a relatively low profile, compared to the multifarious infrastructures of left-liberalism. Indeed, such groups as ideological feminists receive huge funding from various levels of government. The right-leaning economist, Brian Lee Crowley, has established a think-tank called The Macdonald-Laurier Institute. In 2010, the Ludwig von Mises Institute Canada was established. In the Western provinces, there is the Frontier Centre for Public Policy (FCPP), and in the Atlantic provinces, there is the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS). After the failure of The Western Standard some years ago, there arose in 2011 two new, broadly right-of-centre publications  The Dorchester Review (which is named after the British nobleman who gave Canada the Quebec Act of 1774), and The Canadian Observer (which in its first issue, announced its ambitions to be a Cite Libre [1] of the Right). However, it appears to have failed subsequent to the appearance of the Spring 2012 issue. The remnants of the long-standing Report newsmagazines in Western Canada (which had reached a height of about 80,000 subscribers, mostly in Alberta) are now represented by the Citizens' Centre for Freedom and Democracy (CCFD). The main, broadly right-leaning "ginger group" in Canada is Civitas, which has endeavoured to raise its profile somewhat in the last few years. Its main activity is the annual conference. Civitas was somewhat of a successor to the short-lived Charlottetown Society of the early 1990s, which failed when its main founder untimely passed away. There has also arisen in recent years the Manning Centre for Building Democracy (MCBD), which could be seen as existing both inside and outside the Conservative Party. The Manning Centre was renamed as the Canada Strong and Free Network in 2020, at the personal request of Preston Manning. The Manning Centre has helped to launch a prestigious e-journal: c2cjournal.ca . There has also arisen in recent years the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF), as well as the Runnymede Society. After three highly successful annual conferences on legal and cultural issues, the CCF had decided to focus most of its efforts on litigation. The annual conferences, all of which took place in Toronto, were very warmly received, and it is unfortunate that there was such a long break (between 2009 and 2015), in their holding. John Carpay, who had been one of the founders of the Canadian Constitution Foundation, has subsequently founded the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), which is especially devoted to freedom of speech issues, especially at Canadian university campuses. However, he was put on a leave of absence from the Presidency of the JCCF, after a scandal where he had hired a private investigator to monitor whether the Chief Justice of Manitoba was following COVID protocols. But after seven weeks, he was nevertheless brought back as President. Joseph Ben-Ami, a well-known conservative activist, has established a small think-tank called the Canadian Centre for Policy Studies (now, I believe, reconfigured as The Arthur Meighen Institute for Public Affairs). By 2023, there have arisen two new conservative outfits  The Democracy Fund (which held a conference for young journalists); and the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy  Championing Reason, Democracy and Civilization. The Aristotle Foundation brought out a number of books, including The 1867 Project: Why Canada should be cherished  not cancelled, a collection of essays rejecting the overheated left-wing rhetoric about Canada. To be continued. Footnote: [1] Cite Libre was the name of the intensely left-wing and intensely intellectual journal founded by Pierre Elliott Trudeau and his associates in 1950s Quebec  when the prospects for the Left in Quebec and Canada seemed very thin indeed. Cite Libre was arguably the launch-pad for the so-called Quiet Revolution in Quebec, and the somewhat later "Trudeau revolution" in all of Canada. Mark Wegierski is a Canadian writer and historical researcher. Home
Former Delhi Minister Kailash Gahlot Joins BJP After Quitting AAP 2

Former Delhi minister Kailash Gahlot joined the BJP on Monday, a day after resigning from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Gahlot was welcomed into the party at its headquarters by Union Ministers Manohar Lal Khattar and Harsh Malhotra, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva, and national media head Anil Baluni. Addressing the media, Gahlot refuted allegations that his resignation was influenced by pressure from the ED and CBI. He stated that efforts to build such a narrative were false and claimed that AAP had compromised its founding values.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar described Gahlots induction as a turning point in Delhi politics, expressing confidence that it would boost the BJPs chances in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva praised Gahlot as a two-term MLA and an advocate known for his good work and leadership.

On Sunday, Gahlot resigned from AAP, citing the partys shift from focusing on public welfare to prioritizing political ambitions. In his resignation letter to AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal, Gahlot stated that instead of fighting for peoples rights, the party had increasingly been focused on its own agenda. He also expressed dissatisfaction with controversies like the Sheeshmahal row, questioning whether AAP still upheld its core identity as the party of the common man.

AAP responded by alleging that Gahlots resignation was influenced by pressure from central agencies investigating him, a claim Gahlot dismissed. The BJP believes that Gahlots entry strengthens its position as it prepares to challenge AAP in the upcoming elections.
SC Stays Order Directing President's Office to Review Mercy Plea in Beant Singh Assassination Case 2

The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily stayed its earlier directive requiring the secretary to President Droupadi Murmu to place before her the mercy plea of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a death row convict in the 1995 assassination of then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. The courts decision came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta raised concerns about the sensitivities of the matter and informed the bench that the file was with the Ministry of Home Affairs, not the President. The bench agreed to hear the case on Friday.

Earlier in the day, a bench comprising Justices B R Gavai, P K Mishra, and K V Viswanathan had requested the President to decide on the plea within two weeks, citing the urgency due to Rajoanas status as a death row inmate. The bench expressed displeasure over the absence of representation from the Union of India despite prior directions for updates regarding the pleas status.

Balwant Singh Rajoana was sentenced to death in July 2007 for his role in the blast at the civil secretariat in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995, which killed Beant Singh and 16 others. In 2012, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) filed a mercy petition on Rajoanas behalf under Article 72 of the Constitution. However, the plea remains undecided.

In May last year, the Supreme Court declined to commute Rajoanas death sentence, stating that the competent authority must address the mercy plea. The court has now sought responses from the Centre, the Punjab government, and Chandigarhs administration regarding the petition.
For more than 30 years, the Christmas tree lot next to Lloyds Restaurant on hectic U.S. Highway 280 has been a Birmingham holiday tradition.

Ive got grandkids of my first customers as customers (now), says 68-year-old North Carolina tree farmer Bob Daniels, who started selling his Fraser firs in the Lloyds lot in 1992. Ive got a few that have passed on. I was 36 years old when I first went there.

The Lloyds Tree Lot is like a Hallmark holiday classic come to life, where, amidst all the bumper-to-bumper 280 craziness, the traffic pauses and the Christmas season officially begins.

To see his big, red, striped tent out there and his workers, its kind of like Christmas is around the corner when Bob shows up, says Mary Stevens Flach, a daughter of the late, longtime Lloyds Restaurant owners Eli and Pat Stevens.

But this Christmas will be Daniels last in his old, familiar spot.

Lloyds Restaurant closed in October 2023 after 86 years in business, and next Christmas, Daniels and his wife, Lisa, and their son, Josh, will move to a new lot less than a mile away on Alabama Highway 119.

RELATED: A Christmas promise never broken

The Lloyds Tree Lot reopens this Friday, Nov. 22, at 5301 U.S. Highway 280 and will stay open until Daniels sells out of trees, which is typically around mid-December but sometimes earlier.

That Daniels will be back for one last season at the Lloyds lot is something of a Christmas miracle itself.

As he says: I am blessed that the Lord opened the door for me to be there again this year.

So, too, is Mary Stevens Flach and her family.

All of my siblings are excited that Bob is coming back, she says. We all love Bob.

Lisa Daniels, left, and her husband, Bob Daniels, thought they would be moving their tree lot to a new location this year, but they will be back on U.S. Highway 280 for one last Christmas there. (Photo by Mary Stevens Flach; used with permission)

A promise kept

Not long after Daniels began selling his Bobby Ds Christmas Trees in the vacant lot next to Lloyds, Eli Stevens promised him he would always have a place to sell his trees for as long as Stevens owned the property.

I can see the Lords hand in this ever since I started, Daniels says. You just dont get a lot with that kind of status and keep it for 33 years. Somebody is going to come along and buy it for a car lot or a shopping mall or something.

I was allowed to stay there 33 years, and it was all because of Mr. Eli, he adds. I think he liked me, and I think he just liked the families coming in.

Stevens, who used to walk his dogs around the lot and chat with the families while they shopped for their Christmas trees, loved having Daniels there, his daughter says.

Dad would get so excited when Bob would be there, Flach says. He really had a great friendship with Bob.

Stevens died four years ago  his funeral was the Friday after Thanksgiving, Daniels busiest day at the tree lot -- but his children honored their fathers promise.

RELATED: Remembering Lloyds Restaurant owner Eli Stevens

After the Stevens family decided to close Lloyds Restaurant last year, though, a buyer came along to purchase the property and redevelop it, Daniels says.

With the property under contract, Daniels told his longtime customers that he would be moving to a new lot in 2024.

Where he did not yet know.

So, when he packed up last Christmas to head back home to North Carolina, Daniels said his goodbyes to Lloyds.

Or so he thought.

I thought, This is it, he recalls. It was pretty sad when I pulled out. After you go somewhere 33 years, youll get attached to it.

In this 2020 photo, Bob and Lisa Daniels stand alongside one of their Christmas trees at Lloyd's Restaurant, which closed in 2023 after 86 years in business.(Bob Carlton/bcarlton@al.com)

A prayer answered

Earlier this year, Bob and Lisa made the six-and-a-half-hour drive to Birmingham from their home in Newland  in North Carolinas Blue Ridge Mountains  to scout out a new tree lot.

We spent maybe two or three days down there, and we came home with nothing solid, Daniels says. We had a lot of leads, but we didnt have anything solid.

After they got home that night, though, Daniels received a text message from one of his regular customers, pediatric dentist Jeff Flannery, whose family has been buying their Christmas trees at the Lloyds lot for the past 10 years.

We love Christmas, and we always go to his lot and try to find one of the biggest Christmas trees, prettiest Christmas trees on the lot, Flannery says. Ive got six kids, and its just become a family tradition.

Flannerys Oak Mountain Pediatric Dentistry is on Alabama Highway 119, less than a mile from the Lloyds lot, and he told Daniels he had a couple of acres of land next to his office that might make the perfect spot for his tree lot.

I just told him, I was like, everybody loves you guys, and we want you guys to stay close, Flannery recalls. I talked to a lot of people about it, and everyone I talked to was like, Yeah, we want them to stay in this area.

They worked out an agreement, and earlier this year, Daniels put up a sign next to Oak Mountain Pediatric Dentistry to let his customers know that is where he would be moving, and he shared the news on Facebook.

Then, because of the extended drought that has parched most of Alabama, the grass in the new tree lot was slow to take root, Flannery says, and Daniels began to worry if it would be ready in time for him to open this year.

So he called Mary Stevens Flach  who, Daniels says, has been a very good friend to me -- to ask her a favor.

When he drove by and saw that nothing was going on at Lloyds, he wanted to know if there was any way that he could come back and be on that lot this year, Flach says. And my first response was, Absolutely.

It was not only an answered prayer for Daniels but also a blessing to Flach and her family, she says.

Its been really hard watching my dads business close, she says. When I think about my dads restaurant, I can still taste his lemon pie, I can still smell the fried chicken.

So when Bob called, it just gave me a good feeling to have something familiar go on that lot, she adds. I dont know how else to say it, other than it was a God wink.

The Lloyd's Tree Lot will open Friday, Nov. 22,, for one last Christmas at its U.S. 280 location before moving to a new spot on Alabama 119 in 2025.(Bob Carlton/bcarlton@al.com)

A new Christmas memory

But this Christmas really is it for Daniels at his old spot.

The Lloyds Restaurant property is again under contract, Flach says, and will likely be sold by the end of the year.

She and her husband, Pete Flach, who owns Hamburger Heaven next to the Lloyds Tree Lot, plan to go with their oldest son, Philip, and their daughter-in-law, Shelby, when they take their 2-year-old granddaughter Scottie to pick out their family Christmas tree.

It will be cool that they get to take her because she will really understand Christmas this year, Flach says. So it will be really cool to go down and get our Christmas tree from Bob.

Flach thinks it all could make a heartwarming Hallmark movie one day. She already has the title: The Christmas Tree Lot.

Bob could probably tell so many stories, she says, and to me, it has that magic of Christmas.

The Lloyds Tree Lot is at 5301 U.S. Highway 280. Hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays. Trees are typically available until mid-December.
Potential changes to saltwater fishing limits for several species will be up for discussion this week as state officials begin a series of public meetings along the coast.

The Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) plans a series of three public meetings in November and December. The first takes place 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, at the Spanish Fort Community Center, 7361 Spanish Fort Blvd.

The second meeting will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, at the Orange Beach Event Center at The Wharf, 4671 Orange Beach Parkway. The third is scheduled for 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, at the Tillmans Corner Community Center, 5055 Carol Plantation Road.

A meeting announcement from the Marine Resources Division says generally that the meetings will concern potential regulation changes and the status of several saltwater species.

Expected topics listed by the announcement:

Retention of bag limits by captain and crew of Alabama commercial party boats

Remove allowance for oversized red drum

Tripletail and sheepshead status

Creating bag and size limit for common snook

Creating bag limit for skates and stingrays

Commercial flounder limits

Commercial shark fishing in Alabama waters

Red snapper status

According to the meeting announcement, the sessions will be streamed at https://aldcnr.webex.com/meet/scott.bannon.
Alabama has entered whats often called its secondary severe weather season, and a few severe storms will be possible this week.

The National Weather Service said isolated severe storms will be possible starting overnight tonight and into the day on Tuesday ahead of a cold front. That front will also bring much-needed rainfall and some cooler temperatures.

Wind gusts up to 60 mph are the main concern with any stronger storm that develops, according to the weather service.

The southwest corner of Alabama has also been included in a Level 1 risk for severe weather today, mainly after midnight and into the morning hours. Heres the outlook for Monday:

The southwest corner of Alabama has a Level 1 severe weather risk on Monday, primarily tonight and into the morning hours.SPC

The best chance for stronger storms will be in south Alabama, but much of the state could also hear some thunder, according to forecasters.

NOAAs Storm Prediction Center has expanded a Level 1 out of 5 (marginal) risk for severe weather in the state for Tuesday. It now includes much of south and central Alabama (see the map at the top of this post).

A Level 1 risk means that isolated severe storms will be possible..

Rain chances will begin to increase overnight, with south Alabama likely seeing rain first. It should spread northward and eastward during the day on Tuesday.

Heres the weather services rainfall forecast for tonight through Wednesday morning:

A cold front will bring some very needed rain to Alabama starting today and lasting into Tuesday. Above is the forecast for rain from the National Weather Service from 6 p.m. Monday through 6 a.m. Wednesday.National Weather Service

Winds are expected to also be breezy as the weather system approaches, especially in south Alabama.

The weather service in Mobile warned that the approaching system will bring a host of hazards to coastal Alabama. Forecasters said minor coastal flooding, a high risk of rip currents, high surf and heavy rain will be possible along the coast, with some areas potentially getting up to 5 inches from tonight through the day on Tuesday.

Forecast Update (11/17) - Heavy rain moves into the area overnight Monday into Tuesday. Flooding is possible, especially across southeast MS, southwest AL and the western FL panhandle. 3-5 inches of rain is possible area-wide, locally higher in some areas. pic.twitter.com/fGr6ZzVoJZ  NWS Mobile (@NWSMobile) November 17, 2024

Minor coastal flooding was reported overnight, according to the weather service, and more will be possible tonight.

2am Update - Water levels peaked around 1.85 ft MHWW in the northern part of Mobile Bay and are starting to fall. Ongoing coastal flooding along coastal roads should start to recede soon as water levels fall below impactful levels. #mobwx pic.twitter.com/W77jCcPkNT  NWS Mobile (@NWSMobile) November 18, 2024

Central Alabama will see rain chances rise overnight and into the day on Tuesday. Heres the outlook for central Alabama:

There is a marginal (level 1 of 5) risk for severe storms Tuesday that may produce damaging straight-line winds for much of the western two-thirds of Central Alabama. Rainfall amounts will be generally up to an inch along and north of I-20 with 2-4" south of Interstate 20. pic.twitter.com/tpP7np6hqk  NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) November 18, 2024

As for north Alabama, the weather service said there will be a very low chance of a strong storm or two primarily south of the Tennessee River and along and west of Interstate 65. Forecasters said if storms develop the main concern would be damaging wind gusts.

Heres the north Alabama outlook for this week:
Todays report moves from eagles to turkeys, with mayors somewhere in between.

Also, dont miss the quiz results down lower.

Thanks for reading,

Ike

Evicted eagles

Messing with some animals will get folks' dander up quicker than messing with others.

Horses, dogs and manatees come to mind.

Also, bald eagles. Auburn in particular would seem like a place where people might feel a kinship with eagles, golden or bald.

Efforts to persuade a developer to change plans because of an eagles' nest ended over the weekend when the tree in question was unceremoniously felled, reports AL.coms Diane Mwai.

The builder, Hughston Homes, wasnt available for comment after the tree came down but had explained previously that it had communicated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The developer said it initially wanted to save the tree that held the eagles' nest but that regulations wouldve required a 330-foot radius of undisturbed habitat. It said its plan prioritized wetlands surrounding the property.

The development is expected to place 46 homes near Auburn Universitys E.W. Shell Fisheries Center.

Thousands had signed an online petition calling for the developer to change their plans and leave the nest undisturbed.

Auburn city council member Beth Witten posted on Facebook that she had been told removal wouldnt take place until a meeting today. And Auburn City Manager Megan McGowen Crouch said shes told the city attorneys office to ask for an investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make sure the terms of the permit were followed.

Area residents say the nest had been around since 2017 and belonged to a pair of eagles they had named Jim and Pam.

Good to be mayor

The most lucrative mayoral job in Alabama probably isnt where you thought it was.

AL.coms Joseph D. Bryant reports that the 25th-largest city in the state, at least for now, appears to be about to have the highest-paid mayor.

The Bessemer City Council last week approved raises for the next mayor and council. The mayor will be paid $170,000 a year plus $1,000 a month for a discretionary account.

That aint bad work if you can get it.

The council president will make $28,568, and the rest of the council will make $27,568.

The vote was 5-1. Ill let you guess how many plan on running for higher office.

A better Thanksgiving

The Carolina Panthers just had an off weekend, and that means cornerback Michael Jackson was back home in Birmingham giving out turkeys for the fourth year in a row, reports AL.coms Carol Robinson.

Jackson played high school ball at Parker and Spain Park. On Saturday he handed out 1,000 free turkeys with sides to local folks at the Ensley Recreation Center. The event is through his foundation.

Said Jackson: We just want to be able to give families a sense of a holiday and not put stress on the parents knowing Christmas is just a month away and some have to decide if they want to do Christmas gifts or something for Thanksgiving.

By the Numbers

$500,000

Thats how much the Alabama company Yall Sweet Tea won on the ABC reality show Shark Tank.

More Alabama News

Alabama News Quiz answers

Readers knocked this one out of the park, with three of the clues drawing more than 80 percent correct answers.

Well have to make this weeks quiz a little harder.

Here are the answers/results:

The University of North Alabama is considering bringing back another live mascot to campus. Previously, the male and female Lions in Florence were named:

Leo and Una (CORRECT) 62.3%

Simba and Nala 19.7%

Jack and Jill 11.3%

Burt and Lonnie 6.7%

A board recently decided to name the new prison thats being built in Elmore County after:

Gov. Kay Ivey (CORRECT) 83.2%

Department of Correction Commissioner John Hamm 11.3%

Attorney General Steve Marshall 4.6%

Businessman Richard Scrushy 0.9%

What will be the name of the new amphitheater coming to Downtown Birmingham next summer?

Coca-Cola Amphitheater (CORRECT) 83.8%

Regions Amphitheater 10.7%

Larry Langford Memorial Amphitheater 4.6%

Grapico Amphitheater 0.9%

A Harris-Walz campaign 757 was last seen ...

At Mobiles Aeroplex at Brookley to be painted over (CORRECT) 85.8%

At the Port of Mobile to be taken offshore to become a reef 7.8%

In Huntsville to become an I-65 roadside attraction 4.9%

In Mentone to be converted into a carbon neutral, off-the-grid home 1.4%

The recently departed Bobby Allison was originally from South Florida but moved to Hueytown to famously found NASCARs Alabama Gang, he said, because there were more of these in the region:

Quality paved tracks 60.0% (CORRECT)

Auto parts suppliers 16.2%

Elite Ford mechanics 12.8%

Eligible bachelorettes who liked stock-car racing 11.0%

The podcast
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trumps pick for defense secretary, paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault to head off the threat of a baseless lawsuit, according to Hegseths lawyer.

Hegseth was accused of sexual assault in 2017 after a speaking appearance at a Republican womens event in Monterey, California, according to a statement released by the city. No charges were filed.

His lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, told The Associated Press on Sunday that the sexual encounter was consensual and that the woman who made the accusation to police several days later was the aggressor. That assertion has not been confirmed in the statement released by the city.

Parlatore said a payment was made to the woman as part of a confidential settlement a few years after the police investigation because Hegseth was concerned that she was prepared to file a lawsuit that he feared could have resulted in him being fired from Fox News, where he was a popular host. Parlatore would not reveal the amount of the payment.

He was falsely accused and my position is that he was the victim of blackmail, Parlatore said, calling it a case of successful extortion.

The Washington Post earlier reported details of the payment. The newspaper also reported it obtained a copy of a memo sent to Trumps transition team this past week by a woman who said she is a friend of the accuser that details the sexual assault allegations.

Trumps transition team had no immediate comment Sunday on the memo.

The person who reported the assault  whose name, age and sex were not released  had bruises on the right thigh, according to the citys statement. No weapons were involved in the encounter, the person told police.

The incident occurred sometime between 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 7 and 7 a.m. the following morning, according to the citys statement.

Hegseth was in Monterey at the time to address the California Federation of Republican Women during a banquet dinner held at the groups biennial convention, according to social media posts and promotional materials from the time.

Monterey officials said they were withholding further details included in the police report because it included analysis and conclusions by law enforcement officials that are exempt from release under state public records law.

At the time of the 2017 accusations, Hegseth, now 44, was going through a divorce with his second wife, with whom he has three children. She filed for divorce after he had a child with a Fox News producer who is now his wife, according to court records and social media posts by Hegseth. His first marriage ended in 2009, also after infidelity by Hegseth, according to court records.

After the accusations first surfaced last week, Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump transition who has been named White House communications director, issued a statement saying the president-elect is nominating high-caliber and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his Administration.

Mr. Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed. We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get started on Day One to Make America Safe and Great Again, Cheung said.
Bloomberg  Joe Deaux

Nippon Steel Corp. is promising unionized workers of United States Steel Corp. that it wont send steel shipments from its overseas mills as part of its commitments to seal a $14.1 billion takeover of the iconic American company.

The commitment is among the undertakings highlighted by Nippon Steels Executive Vice President Takahiro Mori in a Monday letter to United Steelworkers members at two key US Steel operations. Union leaders have repeatedly raised concerns that Nippon Steels overseas footprint threatens the American industry - arguing that the Japanese steelmaker may one day find it cheaper to export certain steel to the US and replace some domestic output.

The letter mostly reiterated the promises made by the Japanese steelmaker in the last year, though also served to counter arguments against the deal made by union leaders including USW President David McCall. Last week, the union leader questioned the legality of Nippon Steels meeting with workers.

There is a lot of misinformation circulating about the Nippon Steel-US Steel partnership and what it means for you, Mori wrote. We are here to inform you, not to negotiate as President McCall has suggested. I have asked President McCall to meet, most recently on Nov. 11. I await his response.

Moris letter vowed not to import any overseas produced steel slabs into the US, or reduce the ability of US Steel to produce slabs. He also reiterated a promise that Nippon Steel wouldnt pursue layoffs as part of the takeover and reaffirmed plans to make investments of about $2.7 billion to upgrade US Steel facilities around the country.

Mori is in the US this week visiting steelworkers in Pittsburgh, and is also likely to stop in New York and Washington. Mori said in his letter that his offer to meet with union leadership in Pittsburgh has gone unanswered, but hes ready to work expeditiously and in good faith when they agree to come to the table.

McCall wasnt immediately available for comment.

Nippon Steels takeover offer has grown increasingly controversial among some steelworkers, who are now openly challenging McCalls and union leaderships opposition to the deal. Rank-and-file members have said they support a deal because it would guarantee them job security. McCall has previously argued that theres no guarantee the Japanese producer would keep union jobs years down the line and that its promised investments may not be all theyre cracked up to be.
Alabama state Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, has pre-filed a bill that would create an alert system dedicated exclusively to missing Black individuals between the ages of 12 to 25.

The system, otherwise known as an Ebony Alert, would work exactly like an Amber Alert, according to the bills text.

With HB19, Givan said she hopes to bring more attention to cases that might be overlooked otherwise.

Nobody sees us, she said.

Its a known fact, and its been very well reported, that when its someone of color, in many instances, and if they dont live in the right zip code, that that investigation sometimes goes under the radar versus above the radar.

Late American journalist Gwen Ifill dubbed this phenomenon Missing White Woman Syndrome in 2004 when referring to the amount of media coverage a case will receive depending on the race of the victim.

If there is a missing white woman, youre going to cover that every day, she said at a Unity journalists of color convention in Washington.

And Givan is not the only lawmaker working to address this ongoing issue.

California recently became the first state to establish an Ebony Alert system introduced last session by State Sen. Steven Bradford.

The Ebony Alert will ensure that vital resources and attention are given so we can bring home missing Black children and women in the same way we search for any missing child and missing person, Bradford said in a previous statement announcing the bills signing.

In 2022, roughly 546,000 people were reported missing across the U.S. with 36% of those cases identified as Black women and children, according to data from the National Crime Information Center.

This is more than twice the percentage of the U.S. population Black people make up (13%), according to Census data.

White women and children/Hispanic women and children, which are lumped into the same category by the FBI, make up a little more than half of the missing persons cases while accounting for 75% of the overall female population.

Although Black women go missing at much higher rates, a 2016 study conducted by Northwestern University determined that white women accounted for 49.74% of American media coverage surrounding missing women, with the next highest demographic being white men at 17.40%.

This bill simply says that black women, women of color, and brown girls matter, Givan said.

The reason why we need the extra spotlight is again, youre not going to have the stories like Natalee Holloway. Youre not going to have a Gabby Petito type of situation where those stories were so big, they were so sensationalized. Because these were all American, good, young, white, Anglo-Saxon females who all of a sudden disappeared.

Givan said she is confident that one case that did make national headlines last year, the Carlee Russell kidnapping hoax, will not prevent her bill from moving forward despite doing so in the past.

Before the Carlee Russell situation, I had already prepared this legislation, she said.

It was already prepared to be sponsored in. And then of course, that monstrosity of a debacle just put everything on ice because at that point everybody was feeling a certain kind of way.

Russell seemingly vanished July 13, 2023, after calling 911, and a family member, to report seeing a child, about 3 or 4 years old only wearing a diaper, walking alone on I-459.

In March she pleaded guilty to false reporting to law enforcement authorities and false reporting an incident.

But after allowing some time to pass, Givan said she is eager to move forward with the bill this session and in future sessions until it is signed.

The realization is not every bill is going to pass the first year, she said.

And of course, anything dealing with race in America is going to be sensitive...So if not this year, then next year we come back and guess what? We can get this legislation passed because at that point, its been vetted. Youve heard the pros, youve heard the cons. You know those things you have to work on.
Will Trump's tariffs really work? By Owen Kamphuis

web posted November 18, 2024 In a recently published article on American Thinker titled "Trump's tariffs will contribute to the US economic boom," Dr. Howard Richman and Jesse Richman argue just that. They mainly take issue with the point of economist David Herbert, who argued that tariffs should not be used. The Richmans responded to him with their article that claims that the tariffs will lead to an upcoming US economic boom. However, I believe that David Herbert does have a point. One of the strongest arguments for Trump's tariffs is that American industry has been surpassed by China on the world stage. This is true, as the US runs a trade deficit with China. In 2022 alone, the US imported $562.9 billion worth of products from China, whereas the US only exported $195.5 billion to China. This massive trade deficit clearly results in money leaving the American system for China, which hurts the American GDP. In the documentary "Is Walmart Good for America," PBS shows how Walmart has consistently chosen to buy from Chinese manufacturers instead of American manufacturers. However, while this has meant much lower prices for American consumers, it has also put some Americans out of jobs. Trump's tariffs are meant give people their jobs back. This keeps money in the country and gives it to Americans. Another argument that the Richmans make is that, while China is using comparative advantage, trade is not fair. The concept of comparative advantage is based on the idea that each country makes what they're relatively best at and trade to each other for their needs. However, the playing field isn't level in US-China trade. The Chinese capital of Beijing, which has the highest hourly minimum wage in the country, requires firms to pay workers US$3.7 per hour. The district of Columbia, the US's capital and highest minimum wage location in the country, has an hourly minimum wage of US$17. Clearly, American firms cannot compete with Chinese factories that have lower operating costs of this magnitude. This is why Trump's tariffs idea resonates with American voters. These are the pros to Trump's tariffs, and these are what the Richmans highlighted in their article. However, I believe that there are side-effects worth considering. One of the strongest complaints against the Biden administration is that the cost of living is so high. In fact, some analysts believe this to have been a driving force in why Trump was elected. If you can't put food on the table, of course you won't vote for the party in power! However, whatever Trump's other laws do, his tariffs will almost certainly lead to higher costs of living. If you shop at Walmart, start looking at the stickers on the back of products. An overwhelming majority of these will say "Made in China." This is because, of course, the production costs are much lower in China than in the US. If Trump introduces a 10% tariff on all Chinese imports, these goods immediately become 10% more expensive. That means that, for consumers, everything becomes more expensive no matter if they buy the Chinese-produced goods they are accustomed too or if they buy the already more expensive American-produced goods. True, more "Made in USA" products will be bought, but the Americans buying them will have to pay higher bills. Another possible side-effect of American tariffs on imports is that other countries will retaliate with tariffs on the US. Of course, most countries won't want to make the cost of living in their countries higher, but when high tariffs are placed, countries can be expected to retaliate. Another possibility is that foreign governments will place retaliatory tariffs on the US, which will make their consumers go to Chinese products that American consumers now buy less of. This is why, on further consideration, a 10% only on Chinese imports would make more sense for the sake of American citizens. Finally, the Richmans also quote an Oren Cass commentary titled: "Trump's Most Misunderstood Policy Proposal" where he argues that manufacturing drives innovation and points the Apple's failed attempt to make its high-end Mac Pro in Texas. Yes, bringing American manufacturing back will bring back the resources and innovation to be able to produce high-tech products. But, as shown by Apple, it could very well take time. By immediately putting in place a 10% tariff on foreign imports, the result could be that the effort is too much, too fast. American firms would not have time to up their production to be able to keep up with demand, which could lead to a shortage. This could very well cause products to be bought from China anyway, just at a higher price to Americans. In conclusion, Trump's tariffs are driven by a good idea: America needs to wake up to the fact that China is catching up fast. Trump's tariffs could have the effect that the Richmans describe: more jobs for Americans. But it could just as well result in pointless higher prices for Americans. The only way to discern what will happen to the American economy as a result of these tariffs is to wait and see. Owen Kamphuis is an AP economics student of Dr. Howard Richman  2024 Owen Kamphius Home
Alabama YMCAs are addressing post COVID-19 pandemic financial challenges in different ways.

While one went the route of bankruptcy protection, another sold its property and now has a very low operational cost.

Huntsville YMCA sought bankruptcy protection in August when more than $15 million in loan repayment came due.

We need to be profitable, and we need to have surpluses because we need to be able to take care of our facilities and to provide for services, but a lot of times, it does not happen that way, Jeff Collen, Huntsville YMCA interim CEO, said. Its the life of the nonprofit world.

This financial pressure isnt unique to Huntsville.

Y without walls

Coosa Valley YMCA in Gadsden recently recorded back-to-back losses. First, it had a deficit of nearly $100,000 in 2021, and then, in 2022, it had the largest deficit in the past decade almost $250,000.

That chapter took a drastic step to stop the bleeding.

We actually sold our building in 2023, said Coosa Valley YMCA CEO Heidi Darbo, who points directly to the COVID-19 pandemics effect on the chapters fortunes.

Instead, they use community centers and gyms for afterschool care services and community pools for lifeguard training, keeping operating expenses near zero.

So, our model is very different, Darbo said. And some of that is because were trying to make sure that we are financially sound and can move forward with a new building down the road when that time comes and were able to sustain it.

We are Y without walls, she added. We are serving more kids than weve ever served before right now.

Selling off property

While Coosa Valley found success in selling its building, the Huntsville YMCAs property decisions came under different circumstances. Currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings, the chapter, this month, received federal court approval to sell two properties: a 62-acre lakeside campsite and an undeveloped 26-acre parcel.

Coosa Valley and Huntsville arent alone in leveraging property assets  the YMCA of South Alabama, recently sold properties to address its financial challenges.

The chapter sold one location in 2022 and another in 2023, South Alabama CEO Gwen Sommer told AL.com.

Those sales have put the branchs finances on the right footing. Were in a much better financial position, Sommer said.

From a loss of $151,263 in 2022, more than $1.6 million from asset sales put South Alabama at $1.3 million in profits for 2023.

But selling assets has long been Birmingham YMCAs strategy to stay ahead of financial challenges, Birmingham CEO Dan Pile told AL.com.

The Birmingham YMCA has been proactive in planning for the future, including refinancing our debt when rates were favorable and selling underperforming assets, Pile wrote in an email.

The chapter recorded more than $2 million in asset sales in 2021, its largest in the last decade.

The proceeds from these efforts are earmarked for reinvestment into our facilities and communities, as well as to create reserves that protect us from economic challenges, Pile explained.

He noted that aggressive cost controls is another tactic the chapter employs to deal with the uniquely challenging COVID-19 pandemic.

Other strategies

Like other chapters coming out of the pandemic, Tuscaloosa YMCA aims to put that difficult period behind it, according to CEO Jeff Knox.

I didnt get here until late 2020, just as they were reopening from COVID, so for us, its just been  like everyone  an uphill battle to get back to an equilibrium, Knox told AL.com.

And so thats what weve spent the last four years doing and are finally in a place where were looking at a sustainable financial model moving forward, where we can meet our obligations as well as deliver on our mission.

Not all YMCAs have reached such stability. Brewton YMCA, serving a small town, is looking at millions of dollars in long-overdue maintenance.

Brewton YMCA CEO Rob Kirkland said in a statement to AL.com that their 34-year-old building needs more than $5 million in repairs, renovations, and replacements, and there is a need to make facilities functional, safe and efficient.

This list ranges from preschool vans (ours are over 20 years old with hundreds of thousands of miles on them each) to a new roof to failing plumbing and 25-year-old HVAC systems, he said.

Rather than wait for such issues to accumulate, Prattville YMCA CEO David Lewis emphasizes the importance of having reserves.

In the event that we encounter a tough situation or tough year with unexpected expenses or events and we have to have reserves to fall back on to continue to sustain our operations it is important that we replenish our reserve for future events that could occur and also to reinvest in our facilities and our programs to be able to have long term sustainability, he added.

And as an independent nonprofit, our ability to sustain our operations is entirely dependent upon our ability to weather whatever situation we encounter, whether its positive or negative.

That YMCA currently has no debt, but that may soon change because of significant facility needs. So that may be something we have to look at in the future, Lewis said.

While YMCAs grapple with these financial decisions, Meghan Cochrane, vice president for communications for Montgomery YMCA, emphasizes a broader perspective.

Its imperative to acknowledge that YMCA of Greater Montgomerys CEO, AJ Hernandezs leadership began in June 2024, she wrote in an email. And since then, our primary focus has been on serving our community, regardless of whether our financial statements show a profit or a loss.
A toddler girl was among two people wounded in a shooting Sunday night in Birmingham Wylams community.

Birmingham police were notified at 6:45 p.m. that an 18-month-old girl was at Childrens of Alabama. She had been driven there in a private vehicle.

Officer Truman Fitzgerald said her condition is not life-threatening.

Initially police believed the girl was caught in crossfire of a shootout while riding in a vehicle.

Fitzgerald said further investigation showed the shooting happened at the 5-Way service station at 4800 Eighth Ave.

Fitzgerald said a man fired shots into at the vehicle in which the girl was a passenger.

Officers believe an adult who was traveling with the 18-month-old was the intended target,' Fitzgerald said.

Police discovered a second victim - an adult male - was also injured in the same incident. He was in a separate vehicle and also not an intended target.

He was taken to UAB Hospital. His condition was not released.

No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
The Federal Aviation Administration has banned flights to Haiti due to escalating gang violence.

The ban covers the next 30 days and comes after gangs shot at three planes, hitting a Spirit Airlines jet as it was landing in the capital of Port-au-Prince last week, CBS News reported. One flight attendant was injured and the airport was shutdown. The United Nations also temporarily suspended flights to the country.

JetBlue and American Airlines announced its planes had also taken gunfire when they were departing Port-au-Prince last week.

The latest wave of violence came as Haiti swore in a new appointed prime minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime after the ouster of Garry Connille after less than six months in office. According to media reports, some 3,600 people in Haiti have been killed in the unrest in Haiti since January and more than 500,00 have been forced to leave their homes.

U.S. Embassy Alert

Last Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince issued a security alert saying it was aware of gang-led efforts to block travel to and from the capital, including armed violence causing disruptions to roads, ports and airports.

The security situation in Haiti is unpredictable and dangerous. Travel within Haiti is conducted at your own risk. The U.S. government cannot guarantee your safety traveling to airports, borders, or during any onward travel. You should consider your personal security situation before traveling anywhere in Haiti. Only attempt to depart Haiti or travel within Haiti if you believe it is safe for you to do so.

The island nation, once a popular travel destination for cruise ships and Caribbean travelers, remains under the State Departments highest warning  a level 4  do not travel designation due to ongoing gang violence.

According to the State Department, Haiti has been under a state of emergency since March due to robbery, carjackings, sexual assaults and widespread kidnappings, as well as mob killings and assaults. People are advised not to cross the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic and the U.S. embassy is not helping people enter the Dominican Republic by land, sea or air.

The U.S. government is very limited in its ability to help U.S. citizens in Haiti, the department said. Local police and other first responders often lack the resources to respond to emergencies or serious crime.
President-elect Trump Monday backed an emergency plan to use the military to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, which he has said could target more than 10 million people.

True!!! Trump posted on his social media site in response to an allys claim that the incoming president would use unspecified emergency powers to round up and boot immigrants from the U.S.

(Trump is) prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets (for) a mass deportation program, read the post from Tom Fitton, a right-wing legal activist.

Trump oddly reposted Fittons Nov. 8 post at 4:03 am Monday without elaborating.

Its not known what Trump or Fitton meant by a national emergency or how that would give him the right to use the military to carry out mass deportations.

The military is generally barred from taking part in domestic law enforcement like rounding up people suspected of being undocumented immigrants inside the U.S.

Border patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are focused primarily on seeking to prevent immigrants from crossing the countrys borders.

Those agencies would be woefully understaffed and underfunded to mount a major nationwide effort to identify, find, detain and deport many millions of people living in the country.

Trump made mass deportation a major plank of his successful presidential campaign and has claimed more than 15 million undocumented immigrants will need to be booted back to their homelands.

Those numbers could include asylum seekers, recipients of Temporary Protective Status and the so-called Dreamers or beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) program meant to provide a path to citizenship for people brought to the U.S. when they were minors.

Trump has lashed out at immigrants, many of whom have the legal right to be in the U.S., for what he calls the takeover of small cities in the heartland. The spots includes Springfield, Ohio, where racist conspiracy theorists accuse Haitians of eating neighbors pets, and Aurora, Colorado, which Trump says has been taken over by Venezuelan gangs.

The looming anti-immigrant push has also driven Trumps picks for his incoming cabinet.

Hardliner Stephen Miller was one of the first selections as deputy White House chief of staff for policy. He he has regularly decried illegal immigration as the biggest problems facing the nation and was an architect of the border family separation policies in the first Trump administration.

Tom Homan, a tough-talking former ICE head, has been named so-called border czar.

Homan has repeatedly said he has the know-how to deport anyone living in the country without legal documentation and has brushed off concerns about separating families, including those of mixed immigration status.

Trump also has said he hopes to eliminate birthright U.S. citizenship, a practice that courts have ruled is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.

Critics say the deportation push is dangerous and impractical, and could have devastating effects on the American economy.

Industries like agriculture, meat processing and hospitality are heavily dependent on labor from undocumented immigrants. Removing immigrants would raise costs for companies and prices for consumers.

Undocumented immigrants also pay billions of dollars a year in taxes and pump billions more into the U.S. economy by consumer spending.

2024 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Were a little more than a week away from Thanksgiving, the holiday centered around gratitude, family and, lets face it, food.

But if it seems the annual event is a little later this year, its because it is. Thanksgiving 2024 is on Nov. 28 and thats technically as late as it can be. The reason is all because of two Cs  Congress and the calendar.

History of Thanksgiving

To understand the dates of Thanksgiving, you must go back to the state.

On Sept. 28, 1789, Congress passed a resolution asking the president to recommend a day of thanksgiving to the nation. A few days later, President George Washington issued a proclamation naming Thursday, Nov. 26, 179 as a Day of Publick Thanksgivin, marking the first time Thanksgiving was celebrated under the new Constitution, the National Archives explained.

Subsequent presidents issued Thanksgiving proclamations but the dates and even months of the celebration varied and it wasnt until President Abraham Lincolns 1863 Proclamation that Thanksgiving was regularly commemorated each year on the last Thursday of November.

That all worked well until 1939 when the last Thursday of the month fell on the last day of the month. Concerned the shortened Christmas shopping season could hurt the countrys economic recovery, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving to the second to last Thursday of November. Thirty-two states followed along but 16 states didnt and kept Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of the month, creating a holiday hodgepodge.

That dual holiday system continued for the next two years  the president and part of the nation celebrated it on the second to last Thursday in November, while the rest of the country celebrated it the following week.

Congress decided to step in. In 1941, the House passed a resolution declaring the last Thursday in November as the legal holiday. The Senate amended that to make Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday to take into account years when November has five Thursdays. The House agreed, President Roosevelt agreed and Thanksgiving as we know it was established.

So why is Thanksgiving so late this year? Thats where the second C comes in. The first of November was on a Friday, which meant the fourth Thursday fell on the last possible week. There will be only two days  the 29th and 30th  before Dec. 1 and only 27 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Two women were wounded when a fight led to gunfire Sunday at an east Birmingham apartment complex.

Shots rang out about 4:15 p.m. in the parking lot of Monarch Ridge Apartments, formerly known as Valley Brook Apartment.

That is the same complex where an chaotic shooting in August led to the death of Asia Alyce Poole, a 21-year-old woman, and the wounding of her friend after hundreds of shots were fired. Much of the August shooting was livestreamed.

Officer Truman Fitzgerald said the injured woman sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Initial reports of a child shot turned out to be false.

The shooting started out as people fighting. Shots between two groups of people then erupted.

Witnesses reported hearing possibly dozens of shots fired.

Later Sunday police learned a second woman showed up at UAB Hospital with gunshot injuries.

The City of Birmingham previously sued the apartment complex and said it had not been in compliance with agreed-upon security updates.

Fitzgerald said since August, the complex has brought their camera system into compliance, which is helping BPDs Real Time Crime Center in this investigation and others.

No arrests have been made in Sundays shooting.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
An organization dedicated to ending and preventing homelessness in Baldwin County was the recipient of the first car donation by a locally owned business Monday.

The Foley-based Sea Glass Initiative, founded in September 2023 to provide homelessness outreach and case management services for Baldwin Countys unsheltered residents, received a refurbished 2005 Honda Odyssey during a brief ceremony outside Christian Brothers Automotive in Daphne.

Transportation is the No. 1 barrier of homelessness in the county, said Michelle Hillman, co-founder and executive director with the Sea Glass Initiative. This will help us better serve all the residents in the county.

Hillman said her organization is one of four organizations in Baldwin County assisting the over 550 people who are unsheltered, including 200 who are children.

She said the new van will enable her organization to transport clients to Mobile and elsewhere for medical and other supportive care services.

If we can get them healthy, we can get them into the workforce, she said. Well also transport them, if it a job employment thing, to interviews, and all around the county for social services when needed.

The vehicle was donated by Amanda Bozeman and had a Kelly Blue Book value of around $4,577. The donated parts and labor led to improvements of around $8,045, which included a new timing belt, battery, filters, rotors, spark plugs, brake pads, among other things.

The project is a first for Christian Brothers Automotive, a family-owned business founded by Matthew Brown, a former Planning & Zoning and Transportation director for Baldwin County. The Christian-brand business opened about seven months ago, and provides services for single mother who are in need of help.

You have folks like the Sea Glass Initiative who are doing this behind the scenes to continue to make Baldwin County a great place to live, Brown said. Our goal is to find vehicles out there who folks are willing to donate. Well work to get the repairs done and pass them off to a single mom or a family or to another organization that might need it.

Brown said his company will work directly with non-profits in the area to identify need for the vehicles. He said the goal is to refurbish one vehicle per quarter and have it donated to an organization, like the Sea Glass Initiative, to support people in Baldwin County.

We are looking for people who have a vehicle that is maybe sitting in their yard for a while and might have major issues and they are willing to donate it, Brown said. We will try to get that vehicle back into working condition and place it with a non-profit. Weve realized we wanted to have an impact here. We can donate our time and parts to get them up and running and get (the vehicles) back into the communitys hands.
By Dave Williams

Capitol Beat News Service

ATLANTA  Boating enthusiasts and representatives of the recreational boating industry are asking Georgia lawmakers to separate the right to float along the states rivers and streams from hunting and fishing.

That was a major theme of the final meeting of a legislative study committee that has been grappling with how to guarantee Georgians access to the states navigable rivers and streams without violating private property rights.

The right of passage is independent of laws relating to navigability, Joe Cook, paddle coordinator for Georgia Rivers, a member of the Freedom to Float Coalition, told members of the study committee. Common law guarantees the right to float.

The right to float down Georgia waterways has been caught up in a debate over fishing rights that began early last year when a property owner on the Yellow Jacket Shoals portion of the Flint River banned fishing there and sued the state to enforce it.

The General Assembly responded with legislation codifying public fishing rights into state law. But that didnt clear up confusion over which rivers and streams across the state are navigable and, thus, open to fishing and paddling, and which are off limits.

The House Study Committee on Navigable Streams has held several hearings this summer and fall to try to come to grips with that issue.

Front and center in the debate has been legislation House Majority Whip James Burchett, R-Waycross, introduced this year naming 64 rivers and creeks presumed to be navigable.

Burchetts list bill has run into strong opposition. Representatives of the Freedom to Float Coalition argue the bill, if adopted, would ensure the publics right to boat, fish, and hunt on just 5% of the states 70,000 miles of waterways.

List bills do not work when it comes to capturing the breadth of recreational boating in Georgia, Suzanne Welander, author of Canoeing and Kayaking in Georgia, said. List bills barely scratch the surface of where people are boating today without conflict.

Burchett has suggested that boaters wishing to float down streams that are not on the list of navigable waterways seek permission from landowners along the banks of those streams.

But Janina Edwards, a kayaking instructor in DeKalb County, dismissed seeking out every property owner along a stream as unrealistic and even potentially dangerous.

This idea could get me killed for trespassing or having to get permission from dozens of property owners, she said. If a person has a vessel and it will float on a Georgia waterway, we have a right to recreate on it.

Opponents of limiting access to the states rivers and streams also are putting forth an economic argument. Boating and fishing generated $1.1 billion in economic activity in 2022, and 70 small businesses offering canoe, kayak, tube, raft and paddleboard rentals as well as hundreds of independent fishing guides depend on access to Georgia waterways.

Lets not curtail an entire river recreation sector, Andrea White, community programs coordinator for Georgia Rivers, told the study committee. Its a major draw for our state.

The study committee has until Dec. 1 to make recommendations for the full House to consider during the 2025 General Assembly session starting in January. While Burchetts bill died with the end of the 2023-24 legislative term, it could resurface next year.

It wont be an easy debate, Rep. Lynn Smith, R-Newnan, the study committees chair, said at the end of the Nov. 13 hearing. But its one worth having.
The one person who knew that the Joe Biden presidency was something other than Obamas third term was Barack Obama. If Obama had any illusions about his control over events, he was rudely disabused of them on July 21, 2024. This was the Sunday on which Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Kamala Harris.

The announcements caught Obama flatfooted. Biden had not consulted with his former boss either on his decision to drop out nor on his decision to endorse Harris. At 12:46 p.m. EDT, Biden posted on X his intention to withdraw.

The endorsement of Harris, also on X, came at 1:13 p.m. The media have expressed no curiosity about the 27-minute gap. If pressure had been brought on Biden to endorse Harris, the Obamas werent the ones bringing it.

The Clintons are another story. At 2:10 p.m., Bill and Hillary posted a joint statement on X, declaring, We are honored to join the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her. At 2:34 p.m. Alex Soros, scion of the Soros evil empire and fiance of Hillary intimate Huma Abedin, posted on X, Its time for us all to unite around Kamala Harris and beat Donald Trump. By days end, just about every prominent Democrat had hopped on the Harris bandwagon.

Every prominent Democrat except the Obamas.

People noticed. At 9:10 p.m. on July 21, the New York Times ran a story headlined, Why Obama hasnt endorsed Harris. As the days counted down without an Obama endorsement, some Democrats in Congress openly criticized the former president. As for the media, they chose not to inquire too deeply about the hesitation. At this point, they were all in for Kamala. Internecine friction did Harris no good.

The New York Post played by its own rules. One source within the Biden family told the Post, Obamas very upset because he knows she cant win. The anonymous source made the credible claim that Obama, working through proxy George Clooney, had helped launch the coup against Biden but was shocked when Biden endorsed Harris. Said another source, Obama always thinks he is the smartest and coolest guy in the room. Hes friends with George Clooney, after all.

Finally, on July 26, Barack and Michelle announced, We couldnt be more excited for her  or more thrilled to endorse Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. By this time, no one believed them.

Less than a month before the election, the Obamas hit the campaign trail on Harriss behalf. To remain relevant in Democrat circles, they could not do otherwise. Baracks initial assignment was to hector black men into voting for Harris.

In Pittsburgh on October 10, Obama said, We have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running. This apathy, he added, seems to be more pronounced with the brothers. Accusing black men of misogyny did not fly with the brothers who saw through the black facade of both Harris and Obama.

When that tactic backfired, Obama ended the campaign  and the Obama era  the way he began his career: peddling racial hoaxes. In Milwaukee, on the final Sunday before the election, a weary Obama gave a speech that was less about praising Harris than it was about slandering Trump.

After assuring the audience that real strength is about telling the truth even when its inconvenient, Obama recycled a series of lies that had been slam-debunked, even by fact-checkers on his own side. Reading from the teleprompter, and slipping in and out of a faux black preacher accent, Obama mustered his energy at speechs end to do some cringe-worthy race-baiting.

Obama told the anxious crowd that, among his other sins against common decency, Donald Trump had suggested that any Mexican crossing the border is a criminal and a rapist. He had instituted a so-called Muslim ban. And yes, that oldie but goodie: He had said that there were very fine people on both sides of a white supremist [sic] rally.

The brothers" werent buying. In the closing weeks of the campaign, young black men openly scorned Obamas efforts to woo them through an appeal to their shared blackness. An estimated 40 percent of black men under 40 voted for Trump. More than half of Hispanic men did the same. I voted for Obama because he was a black man, one African-American customer at a Pennsylvania barbershop told a CBS reporter. That was a mistake.

With a Trump administration in power, we might see more than the dismantling of the DIE regime that has sustained the Obamas throughout their careers. We might also see behind the curtain of the Russian collusion hoax and the other chicanery that bear Obamas fingerprints. For the twenty years of his public life, Obamas stature as a black icon protected him from serious media scrutiny. On November 5, the iconoclasts prevailed.

It is time to start hammering.

Jack Cashills newest book, Ashli: The Untold Story of the Women of January 6, is available in all formats.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Joe Bidens border policies are disastrous for communities nationwide, including cities that are nowhere near United States borders. There have been at least 10.8 million encounters with illegal aliens nationwide since the start of Fiscal Year 2021 (FY2021), according to Rep. Mark Greens September Startling Stats report on the border crisis. The same report indicates that 2 million more aliens have entered as known gotaways. According to former chief of Border Patrol Raul Ortiz, the total number of gotaways could be underreported by as much as 20 percent.

The devastating numbers fail to tell the whole story, however. Embedded in those historic numbers are criminal gangs like Tren de Aragua, whose members have taken root in communities nationwide. Tren de Aragua is terrorizing communities, forcing the Biden administrations U.S. Treasury to label the gang as a U.S.-designated transnational criminal organization (TCO).

The Treasurys announcement states that the gang has opportunistically infiltrated local criminal economies.

From its origins as a prison gang in Aragua, Venezuela, Tren de Aragua has quickly expanded throughout the Western Hemisphere in recent years. With a particular focus on human smuggling and other illicit acts that target desperate migrants, the organization has developed additional revenue sources through a range of criminal activities, such as illegal mining, kidnapping, human trafficking, extortion, and the trafficking of illicit drugs such as cocaine and MDMA. Tren de Aragua poses a deadly criminal threat across the region. For example, Tren de Aragua leverages its transnational networks to traffic people, especially migrant women and girls, across borders for sex trafficking and debt bondage. When victims seek to escape this exploitation, Tren de Aragua members often kill them and publicize their deaths as a threat to others.

Tren de Aragua engages in particularly vicious activity in victimizing populations and maintaining sources of income, such as sex and migrant trafficking and the distribution of illegal drugs, according to a September 20,2024 letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland from members of Congress who put pressure on the administration to put sanctions on Tren de Aragua and designate the dangerous gang as a TCO.

Primarily Venezuelans, members of Tren de Aragua control many migration routes to our borders, thereby victimizing many migrant children and families who pay gang members for passage.

Even more alarming is the foothold Tren de Aragua is gaining in American cities. The same group that has terrorized parts of Latin America is now menacing American cities like Chicago and New York City. The gang has even resurfaced in Tennessee, according to TBI director David Rausch.

Tren de Aragua begins its criminal enterprise by abducting women from Venezuela and trafficking them to the U.S., which eventually evolves into organized retail crime, drugs and heinous violence, according to the TBI. Recently, there was a video that they shot, where they shot a cartel member 31 times in broad daylight on video and posted it to social media, added Rausch. Thats the type of organization they are.

America First Legal (AFL) has closely monitored the Biden administrations border policies, focusing on the flood of migrant criminal gangs into American communities. AFL launched investigations into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HIS), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to look at the growth of violent alien gang activity spreading in Aurora, Colorado, Chicago, Illinois and western Wisconsin.

In August 2024, surveillance video showed evidence of terrifying violence in the city of Aurora. The video footage allegedly showed armed men purportedly affiliated with Tren de Aragua forcing their way into neighborhood homes. Escalating gang activity drove one resident, Cindy Romero, to demand action from law enforcement. She begged for help from the Aurora City Council, and Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky responded by helping terrorized community members move out.

According to AFL, similar calls have been coming in from other cities, like Chicago. In its newest release of FOIA response documents on November 14, AFL shows data and emails obtained from the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and the Office of Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker. According to the documents, persistent busloads of new arrivals have strained the communitys resources and capacities. Among the data points published by AFL were the following:

AFL reports that the search term Tren de Aragua was found in adult arrest reports for 30 different individuals from the CPD between January 1, 2023 and September 10, 2024.

There were 412 buses filled with migrants arriving in Chicago between August 18, 2023 and November 27, 2023, doubling the new arrivals from 13,000 to 26,677.

The citys shelters reported significant crime and medical needs and the surrounding Chicago Public Schools reported enrolling more than 1,000 students from these new arrivals.

Emails sent in October 2023 from the Cook County Police in Chicago, a sanctuary city, document the new threat developing amongst the newly arriving immigrant community, according to AFL. The email referenced Tren de Aragua, which has strong human trafficking operations in Latin America and are likely engaged in sex and labor trafficking in the U.S. Multiple agencies have confirmed their presence in the U.S and the [redacted] has information that the gang is here in Chicago.

Another email from the Cook County Police noted that the gang is embedded with South American Migrant Communities ... and they engage in a wide variety of crimes.

AFL asserts that Tren de Aragua is exploiting the Biden-Harris policy of open borders to enter the country and hide amongst the millions of imported immigrants. On September 25, 2024, Rep. Tony Gonzales released startling data documenting the numbers of criminal aliens now on ICEs national docket. As of July 21, 2024, there were 662,566 noncitizens with criminal histories, 13,099 of whom were convicted murderers. He also stated that of the 662,566 individuals, 435,719 of them are convicted criminals.

Governor Greg Abbott of Texas announced in mid-September his initiative to aggressively target the dangerous Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) to disrupt their criminal operations and deny their foothold in the state. Abbott designated TdA as a foreign terrorist organization. Abbott also released data showing the U.S. Border Patrol had apprehended at the southern border 499,428 Venezuelan illegal non-citizens between January 1, 2020 and September 3, 2024.

Abbott released a map showing the expansion and operational activities of Tren de Aragua. The map, taken from the National Gang Intelligence Center, shows activities including extortion, kidnapping, human-smuggling, drug-trafficking, fraud, violence and murder, and weapons. Nevada, Texas, Illinois, Florida, Georgia, and New York are listed as known locations for the gang. Other reporting shows that the gang is active in numerous other communities.

The best way to stop Tren de Aragua in communities is to aggressively address the problem, according to Robert Almonte, a former U.S. marshal and deputy chief with the El Paso Police Department.

If we dont get a handle on them, theyre going to become a bigger problem than they are today, Almonte said. Almonte believes that some city officials ignore Tren de Aragua or deny that theyre there because they dont want to give their city a bad image. According to reporting from NewsNationNow, Almonte said, If police officers are encountering members of the gang, city leaders should identify the scope of their presence and go after them.

Image: woodleywonderworks via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.
The Demos' widening voter disconnect and divide

By Mark Alexander

web posted November 18, 2024

Four decades ago, Ronald Reagan remarked, "The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so."

He was much too kind.

Given the deliberate profusion of mass political deception in this era  most recently perpetrated by Kamala Harris, her socialist Demo cadres, and their Leftmedia talkingheads and scribes, combined with the systemic suppression of free speech  it is no wonder that so many leftist Demos know "so much that isn't so."

Harris has a long and prolific record of lying, as is the case with Joe Biden, who leads the Demos' cavalry of "lying dog-faced pony soldiers." And they, along with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama before them, have led their constituency down a dark path of deceit over the last 16 years.

The presidential victory of Donald Trump and JD Vance was the biggest comeback in presidential history. It was even more so given that over the last four years, Democrats had rigged the election process for what they believed would set up a sure win for the Harris/Walz ticket.

Those machinations notwithstanding, Trump somehow dodged another bullet  and, by extension, so did all Americans who love our country and embrace our legacy of Liberty.

The Trump/Vance victory is a testament, first and foremost, to a groundswell of grassroots American Patriots. They won the electoral vote 312 to 226 and have a lead in the popular vote (as of this writing, 75,575,744 to 72,414,936), which I hope they will hold if California ever completes its vote count.

So, what did Demos miss in their arrogant rush to broad-brush Trump and his grassroots American supporters as "bitter, deplorable, racist, misogynist, fascist, garbage"?

How did Demos miss the fact that Trump and Vance would broadly increase their voter constituency demographics with Latino/Hispanic voters (+13%), black voters (+5%  with 30% of black male voters under age 45), Asian voters (+5%), young voters (+6%), male voters (+3%), and, most notably, with female voters (+2%  and a 52% majority of white female voters)?

While Harris predictably won 54% percent of female voters, which was offset by Trump's win of 54% of male voters, when compared to Biden's 2020 support from suburban and college-educated women  Democrats' most loyal constituency  Harris lost ground with that demographic.

The Trump ticket won 13% of black voters and 45% of Latino/Hispanic voters, which is a big increase from 2020 when Trump won 8% of black voters and 32% of Latinos. The increases were primarily among black and Latino/Hispanic men.

How did Demos miss that the Trump ticket would win 58% of Catholic voters nationwide? The 18-point margin was the largest voting gap in decades.

How did they miss that Trump would earn a "YUGE" 50% increase in support from Jewish voters in New York, winning about 45% of that vote compared to just 30% in 2020? Who would have thought they would support the "NAZI Party"? Predictably, Trump lost deep-blue New York with only 44% of the vote, but that was a 12-point improvement over 2020. Of course, Peanut the squirrel and Fred the raccoon helped Trump win over more New Yorkers.

Heck, even the Amish were campaigning hard against Harris, which helped Trump and Vance win Pennsylvania.

And in California, where some big chunks of blue are turning red, Harris's hometown voters booted "progressive" politicos  apparently, woke is broke.

Then there's Harris's sidekick, Tim Walz, of stolen valor infamy. He lost his home county in rural Minnesota, and he also lost the county of his birth and youth, Cuming County, Nebraska, by a 60-point margin.

Get this: Trump and Vance were outspent almost 4-to-1 by Harris's leftist billionaires and their collaborators, Harris spending more than $1.1 billion and ending up tens of millions in debt. This from the candidate who was going to "fix our economy."

But that phony promise could not overcome the words Trump wisely borrowed from Ronald Reagan's 1980 campaign: "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?"

Notably, one thing Demos did not miss in this election because it is integral to their strategy to rig future elections is that of all the states Harris won, only two, Vermont and Rhode Island, require a photo ID to vote.

Attempting to get to the bottom of what they missed leading to Harris's defeat, predictably, Demos formed a circular firing squad, blaming each other. But the fact is, they are ALL to blame.

Most media elite have resorted to blaming those stupid deplorables, claiming they are just too ignorant to know what they were doing. The Left-elite is casting post-election denigration on the ranks of those who don't live in their gated communities and belong to their exclusive clubs.

Summing up that assessment, Demo lunatic strategist James Carville circled back to the fascist and NAZI explanation: "This guy got 50%! OK? You could make the argument Hitler never got 33[%]. OK? This is  this is frightening that we would get here."

But Carville then joined the suicide circle: "All of the Washington-based Democrats farting around, going to wine and cheese parties, and talking about how misogynistic the race was  get your ass out of Washington, and go work on a 2026 campaign and do penance to make up for your [GD] arrogance and stupidity. ... We told you this identity s**t was [a] disaster. We told you to get out in front of public safety issues. You didn't."

Right.

Exhibiting a more reasoned 20/20 hindsight evaluation, the Demo Party's elder socialist, Sen. Bernie Sanders, declared: "It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them. While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they're right."

Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison called Sanders's remarks "straight up BS" and insisted that Biden was "the most-pro worker President of my life time." If the "Biden/Harris economy" is indicative of what he means by "pro worker," Harrison is locked in a Beltway echo chamber.

Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, agreed with Sanders, concluding, "We have become a party of elites, whether we abandoned working-class people, whether they abandoned us, whether it's some combination of all of the above."

For much that reason, former DNC Chair Donna Brazile noted, "Donald Trump had a relationship with the American people that we could not break."

Notably, another big loser was Barack Obama, whose relentless effort to "fundamentally change America" was also on the ballot. Obama issued a post-election statement that, of course, made no mention of his failed record as a queen-maker.

But Obama's former chief strategist, David Axelrod, muddled through an indictment of the Democrat Party similar to that of Sanders and Jayapal: "I think we owe people the respect for what they do and what they mean, you know, and all these blue-collar workers and people who do things with their hands in the back, they make this country go. [They] feel like they are thought of as less and that their priorities are not the priorities of the Democratic Party."

The reason for that, as Axelrod concluded, is the Democrat Party "itself has increasingly become a smarty-pants, suburban, college-educated party, and it lends itself to the kind of backlash that we've seen."

Notably, Axelrod's comments about "all these blue-collar workers and people who do things with their hands" are drenched with evidence of how detached he and his left-elite ilk have become from the Americans they purport to represent. I suspect Axelrod, like most white-privilege suburban Demos, does not have one substantive personal relationship with any "deplorable."

But it was Biden who best summed up the problem, saying, "It's been a historic presidency," as in historically inept on every level. He added, "Much of the work we've done is already being felt by the American people." That is precisely why the Harris/Walz ticket lost.

Bottom line: Demos, blinded by their own arrogant light, missed two critical things in this election.

First, they could not hide Trump's considerable and well-documented record of domestic and foreign policy successes when he was president. Nor could they detach Harris from the abysmal Biden/Harris record of policy failures, especially their long list of disastrous foreign policy decisions over the last almost four years.

Second, and most important, what Democrats missed was the reemerging Reagan voter coalition, which had been squandered by George H.W. Bush by 1992.

That grassroots constituency, our Patriot Post constituency, is the bedrock foundation of our nation  the legacy descendants of generations of Patriots who have embraced and defended American Liberty since the dawn of our nation's formation. These are the people Democrats discounted. Thus, they did not see us coming to take back our country.

We are mothers, fathers, and other family members nurturing the next generation of young Patriots. We are farmers, craftsmen, tradesmen, mechanics, millworkers, and industrial producers. We are small and large business owners, service providers, and professionals in medicine and law. We are employees and employers. We are in ministry at home and missionaries abroad. We are students and professors at colleges and universities, often standing alone for what is good and right.

We are Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen among the more than 41 million Veterans who have served our nation since the American Revolution, standing in harm's way at home and around the world, bound until death by our sacred oath "to support and defend" our Constitution and the Republic it created.

We are first responders and public servants dedicated to others before self.

We are consumers and taxpayers.

We are not defined by race, gender, creed, ethnicity, religion, wealth, education, geography, or political affiliation, which the Left uses to divide the nation.

We are Patriot sons and daughters from all walks of life, heirs to the blessings of Liberty bequeathed to us at great personal cost by our Patriot forebearers, confirmed in the opinion that it is our duty to God and Country to extend that blessing to our posterity, and avowed upon our sacred honor to that end.

We are bound by our "sacred honor" to that end. We will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give up or give in.

We are vigilant, strong, prepared, and faithful.

What the Democrats missed in their disconnect and alienation of average Americans, whom they incessantly disparage, is that, once again, we have had enough.

In 1964, Ronald Reagan issued a clarion call for Liberty in his most famous speech, "A Time for Choosing." He echoed the commands of Captain John Parker at Lexington Green in 1775: "There is a point beyond which they must not advance." Reagan concluded, "You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We'll preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we'll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness."

In this most recent election, a majority of Americans have risen again, inspired by Donald Trump and JD Vance, to choose every day between Liberty and tyranny, between prosperity and poverty.

Just ahead of the presidential election, Kamala Harris declared, "There is an overwhelming call for a fresh start."

Turns out, she was right.

But reports about the death of the Democrat Party being propagated by some political analysts on the Right are bunk. The Demos are regrouping and will be back with a vengeance before the 2026 midterms.

However, the counteroffensive has begun, and I project that the next two years of the Trump/Vance administration are going to be a good layup for those midterms.

Mark Alexander is the executive editor of the Patriot Post.
The House will release the Gaetz ethics report on the same day that

The January 6th committee releases all the information and recordings from witnesses that they hid from the public. They should also send a list of all documents they destroyed.

The FBI gives a full record of all the lies told to the FISA court to illegally spy on President Trump and his associates.

The FBI hands over all the information that they hid about Joe and Hunter Biden.

The FBI releases the names of all the people they know who are related to Epstein and his illegal activities. Arent the Democrats interested in the powerful people who participated in the trafficking and abuse of children?

Will the media ever be interested in who participated in the abuses of P. Diddy?

Adam Schiff shares all the fake evidence he accumulated when he ran the endless witch hunts on the Russian collusion lies.

The clients of the Chinese prostitution ring are run out of D.C. Wouldnt the clients be a national security risk, since they possess sensitive national security information, and laid down with Chinese operatives? Of course Democrats still elect and trust Swallwell, who slept with a Chinese spy.

Maybe when Alejandro Mayorkas gives an actual count of how many gang members, terrorists, and other criminals have illegally crossed the border while he has maliciously claimed that the border is secure? Maybe when he offers up the number of refugees his agency has accepted?

Maybe when the CDC, Anthony Fauci, and the NIH tell us the truth about COVID and the Wuhan lab? The lies were endless.

It is about time that the House released all the names of members of Congress whose sexual transgressions were paid off by taxpayers from the #MeToo slush fund. I wonder if any of the instances involve pages or interns? How many current members of Congress are on the list? From an expose on the matter:

$18.2 Million Congressional Slush Fund for #MeToo Claims Since 1997, the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights has paid out $18.2 million to settle 291 cases of workplace disputes for Congress, the Capitol Police, the Architect of the Capitol, and the Library of Congress. When news first broke of the settlement account, Congress was accused of having a veritable #MeToo slush fund to secretly pay off victims of sexual harassment. Reports surfaced that then-Rep. John Conyers (DMich.) negotiated a secret settlement with a female staffer who accused him of sexual misconduct, and the 88-year-old quickly resigned from Congress. It turns out Conyers Congressional office budget paid out his sexual misconduct settlement, meaning that total wasnt even included in the multi-million-dollar slush funds reported total.

We know the media doesnt give a damn about most of this stuff, All they care about is targeting people surrounding Trump and protecting Democrats.

Image: Free image, Pixabay license.
In the 1960s, Democrat presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson launched the United States into the Vietnam War, albeit without true justification based on our national interests and the faux argument that communist China was about to consume much of Southeast Asia  the so-called Domino Theory. Unfortunately, something similar might now happen in the last two months of President Joe Bidens tenure in the White House. It will be up to Republican President-elect Donald Trump to clean-up after another Democrat president.

Today, the situation in Ukraine is morphing into a 21st century version of that same Vietnam-era scenario. Starting in 2021, the view from Moscow was that Biden was weak, given our 2021 debacle of a withdrawal from Afghanistan, which prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine, a land most Russians believe is part of their land and a necessary buffer from the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Rather than deterring that conflict, President Biden waited until Moscows forces invaded in February 2022 before rallying international support to Kyiv. Now, almost three years later, according to The New York Times, Kyiv is losing the war and Moscow is doubling down, even threatening to use nuclear weapons if the United States and its NATO allies become directly involved in the fight, such as by supplying Ukraine long-range weapons that strike inside Russia.

In response to this grave picture, our lame-duck leader evidently responded to a modern Gulf of Tonkin-like scenario by ramping up lethal aid and allowing Kyiv to use our deep-strike weapons against Moscow. The trigger for Bidens decision appears to be Ukraines incursion into the Kursk region of Russia, which is earning a strong counter-attack from the Kremlin.

The historic parallel with Vietnam seems obvious. In 1964, then-President Johnson responded to the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which was evidently skewed to create the perception of an attack. Specifically, the American destroyer USS Maddox was operating close to North Vietnamese territorial waters, which triggered a response from Hanois torpedo boats, whereby both sides exchanged fire.

The manipulated outcome of that incident led to Congresss passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave President Johnson the authority to deploy our armed forces to South Vietnam and thus open war with North Vietnam, which only ended thanks to Republican President Richard Nixon, albeit at the tragic cost of 58,220 American lives.

Contrast the actions that led to our participation in Vietnam to the Ukraine situation today. Team Biden failed to deter the Russian attack in 2022, and along with Congress, supplied Ukraine with more than $100+ billion in lethal and other aid. At this point, weve given Kyiv advanced tanks, sophisticated anti-missile systems, jet fighters, and the long-range tactical missile systems (ATACMS), which can reach 188 miles. Until recently, Biden limited the use of our ATACMS to targets inside Ukraine. Now, Kyiv has the White Houses go-ahead to use these missiles to strike deep inside Russia. This is obvious mission creep that will enrage the Russians, and perhaps broaden the war  much like what happened in Vietnam.

Bidens decision comes in the wake of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys trip to the U.S. in September to pitch his Victory Plan. That plan, according to press speculation, includes the U.S. granting permission for Kyiv to employ ATACMS against Moscows strategic assets.

Granting Zelensky the go-ahead to use our long-range missiles comes in the wake of Bidens failed Ukraine strategy. Specifically, Team Biden expected the demands of the Ukraine war would energize our industrial base to then replenish our depleted arsenals and degrade the Russian military. Unfortunately, neither of these aspirations took place. Rather, our arms industry is slow to respond to the demand, and Russias Putin has his country on a war footing. In fact, Moscow is ready for an extended and perhaps expanded war in Europe and worse, Putin recruited his authoritarian allies  China, Iran and North Korea  to the fight directly with thousands of North Korean combatants and the others shoring up Moscow with lethal aid.

Where does this leave the United States? Well, our lame-duck president is handing President-elect Trump another Democrat war. Further, it begs the question: How might Russia respond to Bidens release of long-range US-supplied weapons striking deep inside Russia?

Ukraine was a war of choice for Putin and one Biden could have prevented had he acted with the right mix of deterrence measures. However, our president just cemented his legacy as an agent of war. Hopefully, President Trump will quickly end the needless killing and prevent what threatens to become a broader, perhaps world war.

Robert Maginnis is a retired U.S. Army officer and the author of many books to include one coming out this winter, Preparing for World War III: A Global Conflict That Redefines Tomorrow.

Image: Free image, Pixabay license.
The details of the trial of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was murdered while on a campus jog, allegedly by an illegal alien, just keep getting worse and worse.

Officials have already disclosed that the accused, Jose Ibarra, an illegal from Venezuela, was a Tren de Aragua member, which is the same criminal crew that took over a string of apartment complexes in Colorado. His brother, who's also in the states, has already been identified as a member of the same gang.

NEW: DHS sources just confirmed to me that the suspect in the murder of Georgia nursing student, Laken Riley is a confirmed member of Tren de AraguaUntil now it was considered speculation.



Jose Ibarra crossed into the country through El Paso back in 2022 and was released with a pic.twitter.com/baxIS8DAPP  Ali Bradley (@AliBradleyTV) November 18, 2024

Now we learn that Ibarra got the royal treatment as an illegal in New York -- free housing, meals, medical care, and the works, along with a free flight to his destination of choice.

NEW: The partner of Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan illegal alien charged w/ murdering Laken Riley, just testified in his trial that she & Ibarra went to the Roosevelt hotel in NYC to ask for a humanitarian flight to Atlanta, GA in September 2023. She says they got the flight, then  Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) November 18, 2024

According to Shore News Network:

In September 2023, Ibarra and his roommate reportedly stayed at New York Citys Roosevelt Hotel, which had been repurposed as a humanitarian center for asylum seekers. During their stay, they requested a humanitarian flight to Atlanta, Georgia. Such flights are typically organized by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to assist migrants in reaching destinations where they have support networks. While these flights are often funded by NGOs, they may receive government support or coordination.

He chose Georgia, where he apparently went out to try to kill people, not just young Laken, a college nursing student, but at least one other innocent woman, too. He got he wanted in killing Laken, and the barbaric violence of her death shocked the courtroom.

His entire journey to Georgia was financed by either NGO industrial complex, which grows rich off government contracts, or else the government itself.

That puts paid to the Biden administration's claims that migrants pay for their own flights -- this one didn't. They blatantly lied.

It also draws attention to the fact that 'humanitarian' is a pretty relative term. Was it humanitarian for Laken Riley that this accused killer got a free flight to her hometown? Was it humanitarian to her grieving family?

The free flights became "humanitarian" flights because someone lobbied for them. None of these illegals-enabling NGOs, let alone the Catholic bishops, the pope, and other clerical scolds, who lecture the public about "welcoming the stranger," have said, or will say, a thing about this humanitarian issue.

Blithely, they ignoring the nation's duty to defend the helpless -- as in Laken Riley. She and the many victims of illegals being allowed in without vetting are mere collateral damage on their grand Utopian let-'em-all-in project.

The killers rolling in are right in front of their faces yet they say nothing. Corner them and they might pay lip service to how lamentable it all is, but it's hard to view any of them as sincere.

Mass border crossings allow every criminal in the world to enter the U.S. illegally and stay here, because they have their fierce protection rackets in the NGOs and among the clerical class. The pope, after all, says that sending back an illegal like Ibarra to his homeland is "grave sin."

They put out these moral distortions because some hate America and want it taken down a peg and others are focused on harvesting and gathering government money.

Hence, the free flights.

It's terrible stuff. Ibarra clearly didn't belong in this country but he was allowed in and allowed to stay after crossing our border illegally. Worse still, he got privileges and emoluments no U.S. citizen gets, such as free flights, and even freedom from having to show photo I.D. to board, as if he were in a privileged class.

And those who defend this setup get away with it because the tissue of lies is so dense from the perpetrators, beneficiaries and leaders of this great wave of global illegal immigration.

They lied about a border crisis, they lied about their "strict vetting" of migrants being allowed in without papers, and they lied about free flights. There's nothing they won't lie about to get what they want.

Meanwhile, Laken Riley lies mangled in her grave, thousands of other victims of murder, robbery, rape, arson and other crimes go largely ignored, while hundreds of thousands of children are dragged in and released into the U.S. as sex slaves or sweatshop labor, some of them actually kidnapped in Mexico itself to serve that purpose (a largely unreported story).

Border czar-designate Thomas Homan was right that the entire open border policy is an inhuman crime with victims all around.

The Laken Riley murder trial discloses the utter moral bankruptcy of the perpetrators of this crime repackaged as a 'humanitarian' obligation.

This November's election was a resounding statement that it's got to stop.

Image: Twitter screen shot
It happens, but not often. In other words, usually the family of a fallen police officer welcomes the mayor and the local leadership. It doesnt happen when the mayor is Brandon Johnson, the controversial man in charge of Chicago.

This is the story:

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson will not attend the funeral of slain Officer Enrique Martinez on Monday -- honoring the familys wishes that politicians steer clear of the service. Johnson initially planned to attend but made an about-face following backlash for failing to respect the grieving familys request. The family of Officer Enrique Martinez continues to be in my prayers as they prepare to lay him to rest. I heard from the family and am honoring their request and will no longer plan to attend the honors funeral services, his office said in a statement, according to NBC Chicago. This has been an emotional two weeks for the loved ones of Officer Martinez, the Chicago Police Department, and the city of Chicago. We all want to do right by Officer Martinez and give his family and the CPD family space to grieve, it added.

No, Mayor Johnson -- and Illinois governor JB Pritzker. The family does not want the top two leading Democrats around. It doesn't get any more direct than that.

So what's going on? The last time this happened involved a police officer in New York City when the family said no to Governor Kathy Hochul.

So I called my longtime friend in Chicago for his thoughts. He did not vote for Johnson and he loves the city. A Cubs fan!

His explanation was alarming. First, he thinks that Mayor Johnson is too woke to look at the crime problem seriously. Second, he sees a growing divide between the mayor and Hispanics, a more conservative community tired of crime and lousy schools. Last, but not least, he fears that these "woke" policies will drive more and more good people away from serving as police officers.

So our prayers for the Martinez family as they bury their hero. Our prayers that Chicago comes to its senses and elects people who want to make Chicago serious again.

P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Image: Greg Matthews
Googles AI Overviews had a pretty rocky start, but the company fixed them up and shipped them out. Now, over 100 countries offer this controversial feature Hooray. Well, it seems that Google isnt content with just delivering AI Overviews. A new report revealed that Google may let you further expand AI Overviews that already appeared.

Its not hard to see why AI Overviews are controversial. They could prove fatal to millions of websites across the internet, but Google doesnt seem to mind. Other AI-powered search features from other companies arent any better. Thankfully, theres a way to disable the AI Overviews in case youre tired of seeing them.

Google could let you further expand AI Overviews

Dont you hate when you look up a word in the dictionary, and the definition has a word in it that you then have to look up the definition of? This may have inspired this potential AI Overviews feature. Its important to note that Google hasnt launched this feature just yet. Thanks to Assemble Debug, we know that Google is actively working on it. As such, youll want to take this news with a grain of salt. Google could take this feature away at any moment before the launch.

If this feature hits the stable channel, youll be able to request an AI Overview of you your AI Overview. Say you get an overview when you search AMOLED, and it includes the term Diode. Well, youll be able to select Diode and summon an entire overview for that word. So, youll be able to expand on certain terms and phrases within the overview. From the looks of it, youll only be able to get a new overview from text within an overview. You wont be able to do the same thing with text in any of the traditional search results.

Looking at the screenshot below, it looks like the secondary overview will appear in a panel at the bottom of the screen. It wont fill the screen or replace the original overview. If you need to dismiss it, youll just need to slide the panel down.

At this point, we dont know when/if Google will launch this feature. Anyway, it shows us that Google has 100% confidence in AI Overviews.
Microsoft is one of the largest contractors for the US government. The Redmond-based tech giant provides many services to the government in the States. Notably, the company provided the US government with $150 million worth of cybersecurity tools for free. By doing so, Microsoft created a monopoly in the US governments security systems, claims a report.

A report claims Microsoft created a monopoly in the US governments cybersecurity systems

A ProPublica report found Microsoft pledged $150 in cybersecurity to the US government during a 2021 White House summit. Internally known as the White House Offer, the summit was led by President Joe Biden. The companys pledge would see the federal agencies getting free access to many of its tools.

Besides, the report claims that Microsoft made it difficult for the US government to switch contractors as it already created a monopoly by offering free services. Also, the White House summit in 2021 benefited Microsoft beyond the cybersecurity space, as well.

Microsofts consultants working with the agencies provided technical assistance to the agencies to implement its tools. The consultants pushed federal agencies to adopt Microsofts cloud-based security products.

Microsoft offered free services as part of a calculated business maneuver

Microsoft provided many paid tools the Microsoft 365 Government G5 security suite to the US government. It includes security, compliance, and collaboration features. Notably, the G5 security suite costs around 60 percent more than the G3 suite. Microsoft proposed to offer free services as a calculated business maneuver. The report says they designed the proposal to bring in new revenue.

This was also to box competitors out of lucrative government contracts. The company was seeking to tighten its grip on federal business. Microsoft has denied these allegations. Steve Faehl, the companys CTO said, sole goal during this period was to support urgent requests by the administration to enhance the security posture of federal agencies.

That said, Some of the unnamed Microsoft sales leaders confirmed these allegations. They said that it was a golden opportunity that nobody could have foreseen opening up.
Investigators in the US have been questioning suspects about AT&T iPhone thefts from porches, perhaps assuming it was an inside job. Police have made several arrests and have gone through dashcam footage of thieves.

AT&T iPhone theft increasingly seems like an inside job

America has an increasing problem of porch pirates. These criminals essentially specialize in monitoring deliveries and swiping them before the recipient collects them.

When Apple launched the iPhone 16 series, telecom companies started delivering the latest iOS smartphones to several subscribers who opted for a home delivery. However, several AT&T subscribers reported cases of iPhones stolen from their front doors with alarming precision.

Reports about AT&T iPhone 16 thefts indicated the thieves were highly efficient. It was as if they know in advance that the device is going to arrive at that exact address. Even the cops seem inclined to believe that an AT&T insider may have offered useable information that helped the thieves pick up iPhone 16 delivers swiftly and cleanly.

Why were iPhone 16 devices from AT&T targeted?

It is interesting to note that AT&T doesnt require the recipient of a phone to sign for the package. Other leading American carriers including Verizon and T-Mobile usually seek delivery agencies that hand over a package to a person and get a signature, confirming delivery completion.

Whats more concerning, however, was that in most of the thefts, thieves were mere minutes behind the delivery truck that dropped the AT&T iPhone 16 on the doorsteps. In some cases, thieves accidentally reached a location early. They had to stall for a few minutes for the FedEx truck to arrive, before stealing the iPhone 16.

Investigators suspect the AT&T iPhone theft was an inside job because one of the porch pirates had tracking numbers for iPhone shipments to Houston areas. After they were arrested, police discovered four stolen iPhone 16 models in the car they had rented.

To avoid or minimize such incidents, investigators have advised consumers to collect their iPhones from the store. Additionally, if possible, buyers would opt for a delivery method that mandates a signature of the recipient.
In the world of mobile devices, competition between key component suppliers is also quite fierce. Samsung is the main name in the display industry, which is arguably the most crucial component in smartphones and tablets. That said, a patent dispute by Samsung against Chinese display supplier BOE could lead to some brands exiting the US market.

Patent dispute against BOE gives Samsung the right, partially

BOE is a display supplier that multiple big names are turning to. Lately, its presence has been especially noticeable in the foldable devices segment. Products like the Motorola Razr lineup or the Lenovo foldable ThinkPad use displays from the company. Several traditional devices, especially highlighting OnePlus flagships and a portion of the Pixel 8, also feature BOE panels. Since BOE displays are more affordable than Samsungs, many manufacturers incorporate them into aggressively priced products.

That said, following a lawsuit from Samsung, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) has determined that BOE infringed South Korean giants patents on its displays. However, the authority also found that the infringement has no impact on the industry in the United States. Therefore, it did not grant Samsung its request to ban the sale and distribution of BOE displays in the US.

Samsung wants to ban the sale of BOE screens in the US

This is a preliminary decision pending a final verdict that will come in March 2025. In the meantime, a report from The Elec claims that Samsung will urge the commission to reexamine the ruling. If the ITC grants Samsung its demands, the US smartphone market could change significantly. Devices such as OnePluss could no longer be sold, and other brands with a presence in the United States, such as HP and Asus, could also be affected.

The report adds that it is unlikely that the ITC will end up banning the sale of BOE displays in the United States after the preliminary ruling. However, the mere possibility of this happening is a big development. We will have to wait a few months to know the final outcome of this legal confrontation. If Samsung gets what it wants, Samsung Display will gain an even more dominant position in the market. In related news, the company could be working on devices with tri-fold and rollable screens by 2025.
Chinas ByteDance is one of the most notable tech companies nowadays. The company owns some of the most popular apps including TikTok and Toutiao. ByteDance launched its first app in March 2012. Now, after 12 years, TikTok owner ByteDances value has reached around $300 billion, suggest the industry insiders.

TikTok parent ByteDance valued itself at $300 billion in a recent share buyback offer

TikTok, one of the most popular GenZ apps, owner ByteDance recently announced a share buyback offer. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company claimed to have such a huge valuation. Notably, the brand had the same valuation in September 2022 too. However, its valuation had fallen 26%, to $223 billion a year later. Now, it is back to the same valuation.

ByteDance has reportedly reached out to its investors recently. It is offering a price of $180.70 per share, suggests the report. The companys current share price is a jump of 12.9% from $160 in its last share buyback program. Furthermore, the report claims that the TikTok owner has no IPO plans. ByteDance is using the buyback program as a way to provide it with liquidity.

Furthermore, the report says this is ByteDances third share buyback program for its investors. The brand in December 2023 offered to buy back around shares worth $5 bullion. The brand had a valuation of $268 billion in 2023.

ByteDances valuation has increased even when it faces a ban in the US

TikTok owners valuation has reached the highest point even as the popular app faces the prospect of a looming ban in the US. In April, President Joe Biden signed a bill, which would ban the TikTok app in the States. The administration has given ByteDance until January 19 to sell TikTok or face a ban. Furthermore, the order wants to see China-based ownership of the app ended on national security grounds. ByteDance is suing the government over the ban.

The company has been in troubled waters lately. Seven families in the states sued TikTok after several suicides. Notably, this hasnt stopped its valuation from growing exponentially.
Data breach incidents have hit several big names in the tech industry in recent years. Twitch, the live streaming platform owned by Amazon, was among them. In 2021, the company suffered a hack that affected thousands of users. Now, Turkey has imposed a fine on Twitch for the data leak.

Turkey fines Twitch for massive data leak in 2021

The 2021 hack exposed data of thousands of people around the world. Among those affected by the breach, there were around 35,274 Turkish citizens. Therefore, the countrys data protection authority (KVKK) has imposed a fine of 2 million liras on Twitch, which is equivalent to around $57,600. The fine includes 1.75 million liras for insufficient security systems to keep its users data safe and 250,000 liras for not properly reporting the incident.

In 2021, the hacker responsible for the attack shared around 125GB of data from the live streaming platforms databases. The leak took place on 4chan, the popular anonymous image board. The KVKK investigation concluded that Twitch failed to take adequate security measures beforehand, addressing the issue only afterward.

Twitch had already offered an official response on the matter at the time. The company attempted to minimize the issue by asserting that there was no breach of users login credentials. They also said that the credentials are encrypted and that bank details were not compromised either. Twitch passwords have not been exposed. We are also confident that systems that store Twitch login credentials, which are hashed with bcrypt, were not accessed, nor were full credit card numbers or ACH / bank information, a company spokesperson said.

The leak included users personal data

The hacker was reportedly an individual unhappy with the state of the Twitch community. The attack was an attempt to foster more disruption and competition in the online video streaming space. While the leaked data did not include user credentials or banking details, it did expose personally identifiable information (PII). The hacker also published the platforms source code.
World Young Scientist Summit held in east China

Xinhua) 09:35, November 18, 2024

HANGZHOU, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 800 scientists from 71 countries and regions as well as 63 international sci-tech organizations attended the 2024 World Young Scientist Summit (WYSS) held in the city of Wenzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province.

Addressing the plenary session of WYSS on Sunday, Wan Gang, president of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), said the wave of informatization, digitization and intelligence accelerates a profound change in research paradigm and helps young people acquire knowledge and information more widely, deeply and conveniently, thus helping young scientists achieve leaps and breakthroughs by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Tshilidzi Marwala, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Rector of the United Nations University, said young scientists play an important role in advancing frontier science, creating regional innovation ecosystems, and fostering international cooperation, especially in tackling climate change and health and inequality issues.

Four young scientists from the United States, Britain, France and China won the second Young Scientist Sustainable Development Goals Award.

The WYSS is jointly sponsored by the CAST and the Zhejiang provincial government. Since its inauguration in 2019, the summit has set up an open platform for scientists from more than 100 countries and built cooperation relations with more than 200 international sci-tech organizations and universities.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
A car demonstrates the new parking process at San Antonio International Airport on Monday. Cameras and artificial intelligence tracks vehicles and license plates, allowing visitors to pay for parking without a physical ticket. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Ping Lieu, director of northeast operations for Metropolis Technologies, shows the application customers can use to reserve and pay for parking at San Antonio International Airport. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Alex Israel, CEO and co-founder of Metropolis Technologies, speaks Monday about the parking technology his company has brought to San Antonio International Airport. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News An attendant helps a customer leaving the San Antonio International Airport on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. The airport has announced new parking tech that includes expedited check-in services, parking spot reservations, and bag checks in the parking garage that will bypass the airline ticket counters. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News Ping Lieu Metropolis Technologies explains how cameras and artificial intelligence will be used to streamline parking at San Antonio International Airport. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

From now on, when you park your car before flying out of San Antonio International Airport, you will do so with the help of artificial intelligence.

Last week, San Antonio International became the first airport in the U.S. to replace its ticket-based parking system  which had visitors swipe their credit cards at kiosks before being let into a parking lot or garage  with license plate recognition technology offered by the startup Metropolis Technologies, with offices in Nashville and Santa Monica.

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The overhaul comes after Metropolis acquired the Chicago-based parking giant SP Plus, which the city of San Antonio had picked in April to manage the airport's parking and shuttles. The airport had previously managed its own parking, but officials decided to privatize the operation after a surge in traffic had put the system under strain.

Upon approaching a parking area, visitors must now use their smartphones to create a profile with Metropolis using a QR code, inputting their credit card information. When they leave, the company will automatically extract payment, notifying them on their phones. If visitors already have a profile, they can just drive through each way.

Visitors reacted well to the technology during a soft launch last week, said Ryan Rocha, chief of operations with the airport, in a phone interview on Monday, after a public unveiling attended by Alex Israel, Metropolis's co-founder and CEO. The technology will be "transformative" to the airport's parking, he said.

"It can be very challenging for people to find parking, and we want to make that a very customer-friendly experience," Rocha said.

Metropolis, which was founded in 2017 in Los Angeles and opened a new headquarters in Nashville this month, envisions making its technology so widespread that motorists can drive into and out of parking areas across the U.S. without having to stop their vehicle, much less scan a credit card or enter their license plate number into a machine. The technology recognizes vehicles through "computer vision," according to the company's website.

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Visitors to the airport will also be able to use the Metropolis app to reserve a spot, according to a news release from the airport. The airport will continue to set the parking rates under city ordinance, and will offer parking discounts until Dec. 20, Rocha said.

In May, Metropolis purchased SP Plus, a publicly traded company founded in 1929 with nearly 20,000 employees, after raising $1.8 billion in venture capital funding. That came a month after the San Antonio City Council had approved a contract with SP Plus. The city chose the company from among five bidders, taking into account its depth of experience and the compensation package it would offer to parking workers who up to then had been employed by the city.

Metropolis' acquisition of SP Plus was already in the works when council voted, with SP Plus's shareholders deciding in February to agree to a merger plan.

At the time, Metropolis CEO Alex Israel said the acquisition would allow Metropolis to deploy its technology to more than 50 million customers, making it the largest parking network in North America. When it was acquired, SP Plus operated in 160 airports across the country, including in Austin, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso and Laredo.

"Continuing its rapid growth trajectory, Metropolis will move forward as a founder-led and founder-controlled, private company forging a future where their AI-enabled technology enables seamless transactions across multiple verticals in the real world," the company said in announcing the acquisition.

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Metropolis has said that it also plans to apply its automatic payment technology to vehicle fueling, electric vehicle charging and car washes.

Jesus Saenz, director of airports with the city of San Antonio, had said that by privatizing its parking operation the airport could offer visitors a more innovative parking experience and better deal with "consistent capacity issues" during peak travel times.

Parking at the airport has been tight in recent years, with garages often hitting capacity, pushing passengers out to two large surface lots reached by shuttle.

A new parking garage is set to be built in 2028 as part of the airport's $2.5 billion expansion project.

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The city and SP Plus signed a contract with an initial term of 10 years and with two optional five-year extensions.
A new Armed Forces watchdog will be a powerful independent voice for service men and women, Defence Secretary John Healey has said.

The Armed Forces Commissioner Bill will establish the Armed Forces Commissioner role and their office, replacing the Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces.

The Commissioner will have the power to hear directly from service personnel and family members on the concerns connected with their service, and to investigate personal concerns as well as launch wide ranging investigations.

They will also have the power to demand access to information and service premises to facilitate investigations, and visits can be unannounced if theyre in the UK.

During the Bills second reading Mr Healey told MPs: This is significant, and it is long overdue, and its long overdue, because for the last 14 years, the forces have been badly let down.

The Conservatives have created a crisis in recruitment, a crisis in retention, a crisis in morale and last year the strength of the Armed Forces fell at the fastest rate for a decade, with 300 more personnel leaving than joining every month and last year service morale fell to its lowest record level.

Only four in 10 of our forces personnel report being satisfied with service life, while the impact on families and on personal life was the leading factor they report influencing their decision to leave.

Defence Secretary John Healey said the Commissioner will become a powerful independent voice for those who serve and for the families who stand behind them (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Mr Healey said the Commissioner will become a powerful independent voice for those who serve and for the families who stand behind them and the Government are improving service life by introducing the Bill.

He said: A Government delivering for defence and delivering our manifesto commitment to establish that Commissioner as an independent champion for our forces and their families to improve service life.

The Commissioner will be a direct point of contact for serving personnel and their families who can raise concerns which may impact on their service lives and their ability to serve.

Everything from kit to food to housing, to medical care, to study programs, to promotions, to childcare, to support for spouses in work.

Conservative MP Harriet Cross (Gordon and Bucha) asked where the Commissioner would fall in the chain of command, to which Mr Healey said they would be independent, with powers that do not depend or account to in any way the chain of command.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said the Tories would be supporting the Bill, but raised issues on the impact it could have on operational effectiveness.

He said: If this new Office of the Commissioner genuinely exposes cultural weaknesses and hidden systemic problems that would otherwise not have been disclosed or would take longer to emerge it should be welcome.

That said, this extra transparency cannot be at the expense of operational effectiveness.

That is why one of the most significant issues we all want to probe further is the interaction between the commissioner and the chain of command, especially in sensitive operational settings.

Mr Cartlidge also questioned the cost of the Office which he claimed is higher than that of the current ombudsman, and overall in the region of approximately 5 million annually.

He further called for all children of armed forces personnel to be exempt from the VAT rise on private schools, stating: many such families do not receive continuity of education allowance and will have to cover a 20% hike in fees from their taxed income.

Chairman of the Defence Select committee Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi also welcomed the passing of the Bill as fulfilment of one of Labours manifesto pledges, but criticised the lack of time for scrutiny the committee had been given.

The Labour MP for Slough said: We had hoped to have time to take account of the views of representatives of Armed Forces communities, as well as the Service Complaints Ombudsman, but the pace of events made that impossible.

On the person who would take up the role he said: Expectations of the new Armed Forces Commissioner will be high.

They will need to be a strong character with the best interests of the armed forces in mind.

They will need to be prepared for questions and challenge, but also to understand and bring support and change hearts and minds.

This success will likely ultimately depend on the support and trust of the armed forces, including the chain of command.

The Bill was given an unopposed second reading by MPs, and will undergo further scrutiny at a later date.
Claire Bullimore was in her twenties when she was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour that required surgery. Now 41, Claire runs the Aunty M Brain Tumours Talk Show podcast and lives in Croydon with husband Ioannis, 37, an airport worker at Gatwick. Here, she shares how the news impacted her life...

Claire Bullimore pictured before (right) and after (left) her brain surgery to remove a benign tumour. (Supplied)

When I heard the news about Davina McCall being diagnosed with a benign brain tumour, my heart went out to her. Im sure shell be really scared right now, wondering how it will affect her life, whether she will still be able to do the job she clearly loves and be the same mother and partner she always was. I really hope her story will be one of the 'good ones'.

I was 25 when it happened to me. Until that point, I thought I was completely healthy, although afterwards I realised Id probably had symptoms for three to four years. I was living a great life, working in the City for an oil and gas company, earning good money and going out with friends, having fun dating and travelling.

But one day, heading into work, I fainted on the train. I woke up with someone leaning over me, asking, "Are you ok?"

Passengers helped me off the train and I called my mum, Eileen, who drove straight over and took me to the GP. Id been having headaches for several months and the doctors had previously said they were down to hormones, periods or even low iron. This time I was told it was due to stress.

Over the next few weeks, the fainting and headaches were intensely painful, like whacking my head against concrete. The pain was right in the middle of my head and I was constantly taking painkillers. It got to the point where I couldnt take the pain anymore. I decided to go to the GP. But while driving, my vision went completely black for a second  as if I was blinking  but my eyes didnt close. It was really weird.

The fainting and headaches were intensely painful, like whacking my head against concrete

My first thought was that Id damaged my eyes by going on a sunbed recently. So, instead of going to the GP, I visited the nearby optician. There, two opticians examined me and agreed that there was a lot of pressure behind my eyes. They said I should go to A&E to get it checked out. They were even going to call the hospital so they could tell them what they thought it was  but they didnt tell me. By now, I was really scared but still had no idea it would turn out to be a brain tumour. Again, I convinced myself it was something to do with sunbeds.

My parents were in Australia visiting my brother so I called a friend who lived nearby and asked if he could meet me at the hospital. Together, we sat for around six hours while the doctors did tests but they couldnt work out what the problem was and told me to go home, then return in the morning. I was so confused but called my parents to tell them not to be worried.

The next morning, I had more tests. The doctors suspected I had fluid leaking from my spine into my brain and wanted me to have an MRI scan and then go home, but as I was walking out of the hospital, a nurse chased after me and said, "Miss Bullimore, wed like you to speak to someone." By now, I was really worried.

Claire's MRI scans in 2024 (left) and 2008 (right). (Supplied)

Eventually, a consultant said the words that would change my life forever: "This scan shows your tumour." I couldnt believe what I was hearing and had to ask him to repeat it.

Like Davina, my kind of benign tumour  called an 'intraventriculor meningioma'  was also rare, accounting for only around 2% of people suffering from meningiomas. I totally zoned out. I really dont remember how I reacted but do remember thinking, 'Im going to die. How am I going to tell my parents?' The consultant said I needed to be admitted into the hospital that night for surgery in a couple of days.

It's strange what you say in these moments and my response was to say that I had to go home and clean up, lock the doors properly and pack. The doctor agreed I leave the hospital if I came back that night for more tests.

I remember thinking, 'Im going to die. How am I going to tell my parents?'

At home, I put the bins out, tidied up and packed for the hospital, wondering whether Id be returning home at all and might die during surgery. I even went for a Chinese with my friend, not knowing if it would be my last meal out.

I had to wake up my parents in the middle of the night in Australia with the words, "I dont want to worry you, but Ive got to have surgery tomorrow." They told me they would fly home the next day. I was absolutely petrified. I do have a faith and was holding onto that as much I could, but I really thought I was going to die, go to heaven and would never know life beyond 25. It made me so sad.

I returned to the hospital around 11pm that night and spent the following day in the ward, with more waiting. Thankfully, my aunt came over to help me talk to the doctors. Apparently, I was told there could be complications with the surgery, that my speech, vision and movement could be affected. I dont remember that.

With only minutes to go before I was taken into theatre, my parents ran through the door and we hugged and kissed. I had been holding it together emotionally, but when I saw them I burst into tears. I didnt say it out loud but the thought going through my mind was, 'Am I leaving them now?'

Claire following her brain surgery in 2008. (Supplied)

There were several complications in my surgery. I had quite a lot of hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain). The tumour was 10cm in diameter and had been pushing the backs of my eyes, which is what had been causing the pain and the black outs. Thankfully, they managed to remove it.

But in the brain tumour community there is a saying: 'Benign isnt fine'. When I woke up from surgery, it was clear I had other issues. Although the headaches had disappeared and I could recognise my mum and dad at the side of my bed, I couldnt articulate who they were. In fact, it took a good six months of speech therapy to be able to say anything properly. My speech is still affected now although Im able to form sentences clearly, sometimes I struggle to think of the word I need.

In the brain tumour community there is a saying: 'Benign isnt fine'.

I had a big scar from forehead and to my neck. Even now, if its cold, my scar tingles. Worst than that, I started having seizures. I had to stay in hospital for a further 17 days until they got those seizures under control with medication.

Today, almost two decades on, my life has changed in ways I never thought possible. Initially, it ruined my life at the beginning. Watching friends fall in love, get married and have children was very upsetting because I realised that was probably never going to happen for me. I would be so terrified of having a seizure in front of people that for a long time I simply refused to leave the house. I sat at home with my parents watching my life go by. I had to have a lot of therapy for the anxiety.

Claire showcases the stories of brain tumour survivors on her podcast, Aunty M Brain Tumours Talk Show. (Getty Images)

But I have tried to turn this into a positive. My surgery was in 2008 and by 2011, I was writing a blog about living with a brain tumour and even doing a local radio show with my mum to help build a community for people with brain tumours. At first, I used a pseudonym  Aunty M  because I didnt want people to know it was me. I felt Id failed at life somehow. Today, Im much more confident about being open about my diagnosis and my life because I think its helpful for other people to hear about it.

I met Ioannis four years ago via a dating app and we married a couple of years ago. He has mild cerebral palsy so has a lot of empathy for my situation and thats why we connected. Sadly, the medication I am on means that it would be difficult for me to have children.

Claire and Ioannis on their wedding day. (Supplied)

Claire and Ioannis wearing grey for brain tumours last month. (Supplied)

In another really sad twist, I lost my mum who developed cancer and it went to her brain. It was really strange to be able to be on the other side, helping her understand what was happening to her and the treatment she was having. I miss her so much.

Davina may have a long journey ahead but it sounds like her surgery went well and she seems to be recovering. Shes very healthy and that will work well in her favour. The patients I know who are active tend to be able to move on more quickly. I truly hope shes one of the successful stories.

Read more on brain tumours:
Ramp agent Chantel Murray holds up a sign as a Spirit Airlines Airbus A320 arrives at San Antonio International Airport as officials celebrate the return of the carrier to San Antonio and marks Spirits first flight to Orlando on Nov. 17, 2022. On Monday, Spirit announced it has filed for bankruptcy protection. Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer Lania Rittenhouse, right, Spirit Airlines vice president, welcomes pilot Elizabeth White and the companys Airbus A320 jet as officials celebrate the return of the carrier to San Antonio and marks Spirits first flight to Orlando on Nov. 17, 2022. On Monday, Spirit announced it has filed for bankruptcy protection. Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer A Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-232 lands at San Antonio International Airport as officials celebrate the return of the carrier to San Antonio on Nov. 17, 2022. On Monday, it announced it has filed for bankruptcy protection. Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

Spirit Airlines, which has been boosting its presence in San Antonio, filed for bankruptcy protection Monday to try to reboot from its struggles to recover from the pandemic-caused swoon in travel, stiffer competition from bigger carriers and a failed attempt to merge with JetBlue.

Spirit, the biggest U.S. budget airline, filed for Chapter 11 to restructure $1.6 billion in debt, the first major passenger airline to do so since American Airlines in 2011. The Florida-based carrier has lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020 and faces debt payments totaling more than $1 billion in 2025 and 2026.

It said will continue to operate normally and pay employees and vendors throughout the bankruptcy process, which should be complete in the first quarter of 2025. It told customers Monday they can book flights and use frequent-flyer points as they ordinarily would.

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Spirit returned to the San Antonio market two years ago, with an inaugural flight to Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 17, 2022. Since then, its been growing its presence at San Antonio International Airport, doubling capacity and increasing passenger numbers by 85% from September 2023 to September 2024, according to the most recent report from the airline.

Although its market share in terms of passengers on domestic flights is still behind the top four airlines flying out of San Antonio  Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines  it has grown to 6.5% from 3.6% in the same time period.

MORE ON SPIRIT: San Antonio International Airport adds Spirit Airlines flights to Atlanta and New Orleans

With the Oct. 29 announcement that it would add a daily nonstop to Atlanta in the spring, it now offers flights to seven markets from San Antonio. The other destinations are Dallas-Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando in Florida, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Newark, N.J. It also offers seasonal flights to Tampa, which are scheduled to resume Jan. 9, and announced in October it would be adding a daily flight to New Orleans during Mardi Gras season.

The airline said Monday it received commitments for a $350 million equity investment from existing bondholders and will convert $795 million of their debt into stock in the restructured company. The bondholders also will extend a $300 million loan that, combined with Spirits remaining cash, will help the airline get through the restructuring.

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Spirit shares dropped 25% on Friday after the Wall Street Journal reported it was discussing terms of a possible bankruptcy filing with its bondholders. Its stock was halted by the New York Stock Exchange ahead of trading Monday. It closed Friday at $1.08, a fraction of the record high of more than $84 it hit nearly 10 years ago.

The company missed a deadline for filing its third-quarter financial results, but said its operating margin would indicate a bigger loss than the company suffered in the same quarter last year.

Those were just the latest in a series of blows that have sent the stock crashing down by 97% since late 2018  when Spirit was still making money.

CEO Ted Christie confirmed in August that Spirit was talking to bondholders about the upcoming debt maturities. He called the discussions a priority, and said the airline was trying to get the best deal it could as quickly as possible.

People are still flying on Spirit Airlines. Theyre just not paying as much.

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MORE ON SPIRIT: Spirit Airlines adds new daily nonstop flights to Dallas-Fort Worth from San Antonio

In the first six months of this year, Spirit passengers flew 2% more than they did in the same period last year. However, they are paying 10% less per mile, and revenue per mile from fares is down nearly 20%, contributing to Spirits red ink.

Its not a new trend. Spirit failed to return to profitability when the coronavirus pandemic eased and travel rebounded.

There are several reasons behind the slump.

Spirits costs, especially for labor, have increased. The biggest U.S. airlines have snagged some of Spirits budget-conscious customers by offering their own brand of bare-bones tickets. And fares for U.S. leisure travel  Spirits core business  sagged this summer because of a glut of new flights.

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The premium end of the air-travel market has surged while Spirits traditional no-frills end has stagnated. So this summer, Spirit decided to sell bundled fares that include a bigger seat, priority boarding, free bags, internet service, and snacks and drinks. It also dropped cancellation fees after rival Frontier Airlines did so.

Those are huge changes from Spirits longtime strategy of luring customers with rock-bottom fares and forcing them to pay extra for things such as bringing a carry-on bag or ordering a soda.

In a highly unusual move, Spirit plans to cut its October-through-December schedule by nearly 20%, compared with the same period last year, which analysts said should help prop up fares.

But that will help rivals more than it will boost Spirit. Analysts from Deutsche Bank and Raymond James say that Frontier, JetBlue and Southwest would benefit the most because of their overlap with Spirit on many routes.

Out of San Antonio, Spirit competes with Frontier on its Las Vegas and Orlando flights. JetBlue serves the New York-New Jersey market with flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport while Southwest offers flights to Love Field in Dallas and Atlanta.

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Spirit also has been plagued by required repairs to Pratt & Whitney engines, which is forcing the airline to ground dozens of its Airbus jets. Spirit has cited the recall as it furloughed pilots.

The aircraft fleet is relatively young, which has made Spirit an attractive takeover target.

Frontier tried to merge with Spirit in 2022 but was outbid by JetBlue. However, the Justice Department sued to block the $3.8 billion deal, saying it would drive up prices for Spirit customers who depend on low fares, and a federal judge agreed in January. JetBlue and Spirit dropped their merger two months later.

U.S. airline bankruptcies were common in the 1990s and 2000s, as airlines struggled with fierce competition, high labor costs and sudden spikes in the price of jet fuel. PanAm, TWA, Northwest, Continental, United and Delta were swept up. Some liquidated, while others used favorable laws to renegotiate debts such as aircraft leases and keep flying.
Large demonstrations by farmers are expected in London on Tuesday as they fight to reverse absolutely unacceptable changes to inheritance tax.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) is holding a mass lobby of MPs with 1,800 of its members  three times as many people as originally planned  to urge backbenchers to stand up to the Governments plans to impose inheritance tax on farms worth more than 1 million.

And thousands more are expected to join a separate rally in Whitehall as they protest against last months Budget, which also sped up the phase out of EU-era subsidies as funding is switched to nature-friendly farming schemes.

Celebrities including TV presenter and farmer Jeremy Clarkson  who told the Times in 2021 that avoiding inheritance tax was critical in his decision to buy land  are expected to join the rally.

Organisers and farming leaders say they have no concerns over potential trouble despite speculation over far right protesters attending.

While a procession to Parliament Square will be spearheaded by children on toy tractors, organisers have told those coming that they should not bring their farm machinery.

It is the largest show of anger to date over the inheritance tax changes for farming businesses, which limit the 100% relief for farms to only the first 1 million of combined agricultural and business property.

For anything above that, landowners will pay a 20% tax rate, rather than the standard 40% rate of inheritance tax (IHT) applied to other land and property.

Ahead of the protests, Environment Secretary Steve Reed  who was meeting with NFU president Tom Bradshaw on Monday evening  defended the changes as fair and balanced, saying it would only affect 500 estates a year and small family farms would not be hit.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Reed said exemptions for agricultural land had led to wealthy individuals from non-farming backgrounds buying up land to avoid paying inheritance.

That had forced up rural land prices, robbing young farmers of the dream of owning their own farm.

And he said: Its become the most effective way for the super-rich to avoid paying their inheritance tax  and its costing other taxpayers a whopping 200 million.

Speaking to reporters on his way to the G20 summit in Brazil, Sir Keir Starmer said it was important to support farmers, pointing to 5 billion over two years for farming in England, and said he was absolutely confident the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected by the tax changes.

Campaigner and author Guy Shrubsole has highlighted the inequality of land ownership in England, with 18% of land owned by corporations and a further 17% by oligarchs and bankers.

Farmers warn 66% of farming businesses would be in the scope of the tax changes (Steve Parsons/PA)

And he said data from the Environment Department (Defra) showed just 2,500 of the largest farms owned a quarter of Englands land, while 59% of farms were less than 50 hectares.

He said: Small farmers deserve all of our support  and theyre not helped by giving tax breaks to wealthy investors whove been snapping up farmland as a handy tax shelter, inflating the price of land and starving public services of cash.

But farmers have pointed to other data from Defra which suggests 66% of farm businesses are worth more than the 1 million threshold at which inheritance tax will now need to be paid.

Olly Harrison, one of the rallys organisers, said of the Government: They dont know their own figures, they have not done any homework whatsoever.

Its embarrassing for them, how little research theyve done on this before they brought it in.

He warned the move could destroy UK food production, with family businesses in food processing and retailing, as well as farming, at risk from the changes.

He said the rally aimed to show this is what we do, this is what we produce, this is whose future is being taken away.

Mr Bradshaw said the mass lobby aimed to get MPs to push the Government to reverse the changes, which had left older farmers in particular in the cruellest of predicaments, unable, for example, to take advantage of the seven-year exemption for gifting assets.

Its absolutely unacceptable, the human impact of this, the pressures they have put on these people who have given everything to this country.

The NFU president added: Theres a complete disillusionment and distrust, and feeling of betrayal, that (the Government) doesnt understand food production or even want to understand food production.

Farmers are cross, theyre worried, they feel theyve nothing to lose, I dont know where this ends, he said, adding it was within the power of the Government to take the next step.

I dont believe the Government have any choice but to rethink this policy, he said.

Mr Bradshaw said he expected Tuesdays events to be a great demonstration of the very best traditions of the countryside, with people being respectful but passionate, while Mr Harrison said he was not concerned about potential trouble from far right groups at the rally.

A Met Police spokesperson said the force was well prepared for Tuesdays protest and had had positive discussions with its organisers.

We will have officers deployed in the vicinity to ensure the event takes place safely, lawfully and in a way that prevents serious disruption.

The spokesperson added: We are aware of speculation online that we have tried to ban tractors from the event.

This isnt true  weve policed protests involving tractors previously without any major issues and we have plans in place to do so again if required.
The Governments change to inheritance tax relief on farming businesses was the straw that broke the camels back, the president of the National Farmers Union will tell members.

A mass lobby of MPs organised by the National Farmers Union (NFU) will take place in Westminster on Tuesday, alongside a separate protest which thousands are expected to join.

NFU President Tom Bradshaw will tell members at an event in central London ahead of the mass lobby that the changes are an extraordinary betrayal of farmers by the Government.

Previously, farming businesses qualified for 100% relief on inheritance tax on agricultural property and business property.

But now the tax is being imposed on farms worth more than 1 million, with an effective tax rate of 20% on assets above the threshold, rather than the normal 40% rate for inheritance tax.

The Government says that the actual threshold before paying inheritance tax could be as much as 3 million, once exemptions for each partner in a couple and for the farm property are taken into account.

However, Mr Bradshaw will say that the shocking policy was built on bad data and was launched without consultation.

The NFU are warning more farmers will be affected by changes to tax relief on their property and land than the Treasury has accounted for.

Official estimates suggest only the richest quarter of landowners will be affected, but the NFU and others say reforms to inheritance tax relief could drag more farmers into paying extra.

To launch a policy this destructive without speaking to anyone involved in farming beggars belief, Mr Bradshaw will say.

And let us remember that they promised not to do this when they were wooing the rural vote.

Its not only been bungled in delivery, its also nothing short of a stab in the back.

He will call the budget a kick in the teeth following years of changing policy and 18 months of some of the worst weather on record.

Far from catching wealthy homeowners with a bit of land, the Treasurys mangling of the data means those people will generally not be affected, he will say.

Farmers protest outside the Northern Farming Conference in Northumberland against government proposals to reform inheritance tax rules (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Its the farms producing this countrys food, which are more valuable assets, that are caught in the eye of the storm.

The irony that this asset wealth will never become actual wealth unless farms are broken up or sold  kicking the legs out from under Britains food security  is a bitter one.

And they will need to be broken up or sold, because farmers simply wont have the money to pay this tax any other way.

He will call on members to tell MPs their stories, and to tell them how it will affect their farms, families, and futures.

It may be that ministers think today will be it, that well get tired and they can just wait this out, he will say.

Well farmers may get tired, but as every one of you in this room knows, they dont give up. We wont give up.

We wont stop fighting this nationally or locally, in every constituency. If they dont realise that, they really dont know farmers at all.
Survivors of the 2004 Boxing Day Indian Ocean tsunami described how they were fighting for our lives on the day, ahead of the release of a new documentary marking the 20th anniversary of the disaster.

A major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2  9.3 struck off the coast of Indonesia on December 26 2004, prompting a massive tsunami with waves up to 30 metres.

It killed more than 220,000 people in 14 countries in one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

One of the survivors, Louis Mullan who was 16 at the time, was on holiday with his brother Theo, then aged 11, and his parents Leonard Barratt, 50, and Catherine Mullan, 53, in Khao Lak, Thailand, when the wave struck.

The boys parents, from Cornwall, were swept away and killed in the disaster, with Mr Mullan outlining the dramatic and heartbreaking story in a new documentary, Tsunami: Race Against Time.

Mr Mullan told the PA news agency: We were going out on a snorkelling trip and then dad came to our room to grab us and say, theres something happening on the waterfront, to come have a look.

When we got there, we could see that the water receded quite far, and you could just see kind of a bubbling sea in the distance but no one knew what was going on at that stage.

When the tsunami hit, Louis Mullan and brother Theo Mullan were on holiday with their parents in Khao Lak, Thailand (National Geographic/Charlie Laing/Alec Davy/PA)

He and Theo ran to lock their room and about 20 seconds later returned to find that panic had set in, before the water quickly caught up with them.

Theo and I were holding on to each other, and then the water just became too deep, and we were at our depth and then we got separated, and then we both went our separate ways through the water.

It was scary because we didnt know what it was, scary because we were fighting for our lives.

The water, filled with debris including wood and glass, pushed him into a half-built building before he was pulled out of harms way by a stranger.

After the water subsided, he joined a French family he had met earlier in the trip and felt huge relief when he reunited with his brother, who he saw walking down a road with a group.

It was ridiculous. I remember his shorts had been ripped off him, and so he was naked from the waist down, he said.

The two went to a local hospital, where Louis placed a sign on the noticeboard saying the brothers were safe and they were looking for their parents.

Id leave Theo every hour or so and go for a wander around all the hospital rooms and corridors, he said.

Because the hospital was one of the closest to Khao Lak, it was just chaos. Every room youd go and see some horrible things, but I was just looking for mum and dad at that point.

The boys were in Thailand for several days before they flew back to the UK without their parents and were later adopted by a family in Cornwall.

The battered beach of Unawatuna (Caroline Gammell/PA)

Paul and Sally Murray were celebrating Christmas with friends on the island of Phi-Phi when the tsunami struck.

Mr Murray, 32 at the time, told PA he saw a rumbling messy wall of water overturn a large speed boat in the distance and knew he was looking at a tsunami, before he ran down the beach to help two people in the water.

Mr Murray said the wave felt like being hit by a bus or a car and separated him and Mrs Murray, taking him inside a large hall and her down a 20-foot drop inside a gym.

It felt like being in a washing machine with the contents of any room, whether it was chairs or stools or bits of twig. It wasnt like being in water. It was like being bashed and kicked and hit.

When the water subsided, Mr Murray went looking for his then-girlfriend, whom he eventually found in a hospital later that day.

When the tsunami struck, Paul Murray and his partner Sally were on holiday with friends on Thailands Phi Phi Islands (National Geographic/Charlie Laing/Alec Davy/PA)

A large shard of glass almost like the fin on a surfboard had lodged inside her stomach, the back of her thigh looked like it had been attacked by a shark and her foot was more or less hanging off, he said.

Mr Murray said he thought she was going to die but she survived, although she underwent numerous surgeries for years afterwards.

Executive producer and director Daniel Bogado said the documentary is filled with archive footage of the tsunami and shows moments of tragedy and heroism.

You get to meet people there who went through that experience from those countries, often telling their own story in their own language, with their own voices always looking directly at the audience, he told PA.

On what he took away from the survivors accounts, he said: Especially when you approach that line separating life from death, everybodys always thinking about the same thing, which is their loved ones.

Tsunami: Race Against Time premieres November 25 at 9pm on National Geographic and will be available for streaming on Disney+ the same day.
A teenager who fatally assaulted a bus driver after being refused permission to travel because he was drunk has been sentenced to four years and four months in custody.

Keith Rollinson, 58, died of cardiac arrest following the assault in Elgin bus station on February 2 2024.

The attack on the former RAF employee began at about 10.30pm, after he refused to allow the teenager to board his bus due to his noticeably intoxicated condition.

The 16-year-old, who was 15 at the time of the incident and cannot be named for legal reasons, had spent the evening drinking with other youths in Elgin town centre, and had gone to the bus station on St Giles Road with the intention of catching the last bus home.

Floral tributes were left at the bus station after the death of driver Keith Rollinson (Alamy/PA)

Inverness High Court heard the youth argued with Mr Rollinson and apparently began filming him on his phone, and that when the driver grabbed the device, the teenager headbutted him and rained punches on Mr Rollinsons head and body.

After initially appearing to be unharmed, Mr Rollinson collapsed after bending down to pick up his cap from the ground.

He was taken to Dr Grays Hospital in Elgin but never regained consciousness, and was pronounced dead at 12.45am on February 3.

The teenager was quickly traced by police and was initially charged with murder, but later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of culpable homicide.

Passing sentence, judge Lady Hood said statements from Mr Rollinsons family described him as a true gentleman with a heart of gold and a wonderful husband and father.

She said the family have been shattered by their loss, and that due to the circumstances of his death they had been unable to be with him when he died.

Nothing said or done here today, and no sentence I can pass, will ever be enough to help Mr Rollinsons family with their devastating loss, the judge added.

Lady Hood told the youth the harm which resulted from your actions is of the highest level, and sentenced him to four years and four months in custody.

The teenager, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, showed no reaction as he was led from the courtroom.

Earlier the youths lawyer Shelagh McCall KC told the court the attack on Mr Rollinson was not intended, nor was it foreseen by the accused.

The incident was precipitated by an action on the part of the deceased that appears to have been a trigger, she said, referring to Mr Rollinsons grabbing of the youths phone and then stamping on it.

She told the court this reduced her clients level of culpability, but acknowledged that the harm caused was of the highest level.

Ms McCall also said her client understood the seriousness of his actions, and that he had shown sincere remorse for it.

At an earlier hearing advocate depute John Keenan KC told Edinburgh High Court the teen had been was refused travel due to his intoxication.

He had become agitated and upset by this and argued with the deceased, and pointed his phone in the deceaseds face, apparently filming him.

The advocate continued: The deceased grabbed the phone, which then led to a physical struggle during which the accused headbutted the deceased.

The struggle continued and the deceased threw the phone to the ground before stamping on it several times.

At this, the accused completely lost control, raining punches on the deceaseds head and body. The deceased did not retaliate but tried to get away from the accused.

Keith Rollinson died after being assaulted by the teenager after refusing him permission to board his bus (Police Scotland/PA)

He said a post-mortem examination found that Mr Rollinson had a pre-existing heart condition and was at risk of a sudden fatal cardiac event at any time.

He continued: Most likely the physical altercation as a whole led to increased blood pressure, cardiac arrythmia (irregular heartbeat) followed by cardiac arrest.

Detective Inspector Andrew Wilson said: Mr Rollinsons death was a tragedy which affected a number of people across Elgin and the wider Moray area. The thoughts of the entire policing team remain with his family, friends and colleagues who have suffered a devastating loss.

No-one should expect to be the subject of violence while simply going about their job and today justice has been delivered with the conviction of the person responsible for this senseless act.

While no outcome can undo what happened, I hope this guilty plea brings some measure of comfort to Keiths family, friends, and colleagues.

Chief Inspector Mike McKenzie, area commander for Moray, said: Since Keith Rollinsons death, we have been working closely with a range of partners to tackle youth disorder in Elgin, particularly around the bus station.

This work will continue and are committed to working with partners to prevent and deter anti-social behaviour.
One of my favorite animals to see at the zoo are the otters. Even when other creatures are lazing around in the sun or hiding in the depths of their enclosures, otters always seem to be ready to have a good time. At my local zoo here in DC they use a slick part of a rock as a sort of water slide, catapulting their long bodies over and over again into a nearby pool. Its honestly so fun to watch.

And humans are not the only ones who are amused by the antics of river otters. Look at the fascination a service Golden Retriever recently showed to the river otters at the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, Texas.

In this clip, we all get to share in the delight of a young service dog, a Golden Retriever named Sugar, as she enjoys the sight of a playful otters in a tank at the Caldwell Zoo. Sugar is an Elementary school support dog, and thus tagged along on the the student field trip to the Caldwell Zoo. While the Golden Retriever helped ease anxiety and provide a calming presence for her young human charges, the animals at the zoo were amazed by the sight of this unusual creature and seemed to be just as enthralled by her appearance as she was by theirs.

Related: Otter's Reaction To Finding Phone in Aquarium Is Priceless

A Source of Fascination

All through the long video, you can see this playful otters flipping and turning in the tank, eager to pass by the Golden and get a glimpse of her adorable, furry face. The love story between them was obviously completely mutual, and were glad we got a chance to witness it.

The only thing better than seeing the otters is watching a dog see the otters, observed one person in the comments, and honestly, I have to agree. Ive been to zoos before with my newborn baby and noticed that the apes were always very curious about the infant, but this is the first time Ive ever seen a zoo animal be so amazed byyou know, another animal.

Otters are my favorite wild animal but Im also a huge dog lover, said another witness to this spectacle. Im just now realizing otters are just puppy mermaids.

This is now my head canon. Ive long heard otters referred to as water puppies but I love the idea of them as canine mermaids.

Her friends at the dog park will never believe her, remarked a third person.

Even Sugars keeper was surprised but he level of interest her sweet Retriever garnered from the residents of the zoo. The animals were way more interested in the dogs than the kids, she confessed.

And little wonder. Groups of screaming children are a regular occurrence at most zoos. Adorable, well behaved, and silent dogs are probably not.

Dogs and Otters

In the wild, dogs are actually one of the greatest dangers to river otters and especially river otter pups. And sometimes the relationship can be dangerous in the other direction, as groups of aggressive river otters have been known to attack dogs in their territory.

Perhaps its a good thing that this otter and this dog are both safely ensconced in captivity, with protective glass between them, where they can observe each other to their hearts content.

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 Grangemouth refinery could relatively easily be converted into a production facility for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) over a few years, the trade union Unite has claimed.

General secretary Sharon Graham said she is dismayed by comments from the Scottish Secretary which appeared to give up on keeping the refinery open.

There are fears for about 400 jobs at the refinery after owners Petroineos said they would cease operations there in the second quarter of 2025.

Last week, officials from the company told a Holyrood committee it is simply too late to secure a smooth transition of the site from fossil fuels to renewables, as workers and politicians have suggested.

Sharon Graham wrote to Ed Miliband (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The Scottish and UK Governments have launched Project Willow, which aims to chart a future for the site in low-carbon fuels.

Unite says Grangemouth could be converted relatively easily to produce SAF  made from feedstocks such as cooking oil  saying this could happen in between one to three years without job losses.

They pointed to examples of other refineries around the world such as P66s in Rodeo, California, which switched from crude oil to renewable feedstocks at a cost of one billion US dollars.

Unite are sceptical of Peroineos claims about the lack of financial viability at Grangemouth, saying there will soon be burgeoning demand for SAF.

In a letter to Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Ms Graham said: I do not need to remind you that this is the only refinery in Scotland and it is critical to our national security.

A Labour Government not putting together a serious plan for the future of the site and the thousands of jobs which depend on it, would be a huge dereliction of duty.

I was extremely concerned to hear the evidence of Iain Hardie and Colin Pritchard from Petroineos to the select committee on Wednesday. In particular, they claimed that no Government discussions around an intervention had happened yet.

I was also dismayed at the comments of (Scottish Secretary) Ian Murray which seemed to give up on Grangemouth, which is totally unacceptable.

Unites survival plan for the site involves the UK and Scottish governments taking a stake in the refinery to prevent its closure, though so far ministers in neither London or Edinburgh have suggested they would do this.

Last week, Mr Murray told STV there is no way round the fact the refinery is closing in May.

Iain Hardie, head of legal and external affairs for Petroineos, has told MSPs the site lost on average 385,000 per day last week and expects a 150 million loss this year.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Hussam al-Masri

CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) -Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip killed 20 Palestinians on Monday, including six people who were killed in attacks on tents housing displaced families, medics said.

Four people, two of them children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment in the coastal area of Al-Mawasi, designated as a humanitarian zone, while two were killed in temporary shelters in the southern city of Rafah and another in drone fire, health officials said.

In Beit Lahiya town in northern Gaza, medics said an Israeli missile struck a house, killing at least two people and wounding several others. On Sunday, medics and residents said dozens of people were killed or wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a multi-floor residential building in the town.

The Israeli military, which has been fighting Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza since October 2023, said it conducted strikes on "terrorist targets," in Beit Lahiya.

An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza City killed seven people and wounded 10 others, medics said. Later on Monday, an Israeli air strike killed four people in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, they added.

There has been no Israeli comment on Monday's incidents.

The Gaza health ministry said Israeli military strikes had killed 76 Palestinians across the enclave in the past 24 hours.

In Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, relatives of Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike on tents housing displaced families sat beside bodies wrapped in blankets and white shrouds to pay farewell before walking them to graves.

CHILD MALNUTRITION GROWING, HOSPITAL DIRECTOR SAYS

"My brother wasnt the only one; many others have been martyred in this brutal way  children torn to pieces, civilians shredded. They werent carrying weapons or even know 'the resistance', yet they were ripped apart into fragments," said Mohammed Aboul Hassan, who lost his brother in the attack.

We remain steadfast, patient, and resilient, and by the will of God, we will never falter. We will stay steadfast and patient," he told Reuters.The Israeli army sent tanks and soldiers into Beit Lahiya and the nearby towns of Beit Hanoun and Jabalia, the largest of the Gaza Strip's eight historic refugee camps, early last month in what it said was a campaign to fight Hamas militants waging attacks and prevent them from regrouping.

Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, said the hospital was under siege by Israeli forces and the World Health Organization had been unable to deliver supplies of food, medicine and surgical equipment.

Cases of malnutrition among children were increasing, he said, and the hospital was operating at a minimal level.

"We receive daily distress calls, but we are unable to assist them due to the lack of ambulances, and the situation is catastrophic," he said. "Yesterday, I received a distress call from women and children trapped under the rubble, and due to my inability to help them, they are now among the martyrs (dead)."

Israel said it had killed hundreds of militants in the three northern areas, which residents said was cut off from Gaza City, making it difficult and dangerous for them to flee. The armed wings of Hamas and militant group Islamic Jihad said they have killed many Israeli soldiers in anti-tank rocket and mortar fire attacks during the same period.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 43,800 people have been confirmed killed since the war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people in attacks on communities in southern Israel that day, and hold dozens of some 250 hostages they took back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo. Additional reporting by Hussam al-Masri in GazaEditing by Ros Russell, William Maclean)
Many will be left vulnerable to legal loan sharks if the Government does not bring forward its plans to regulate the buy now, pay later sector sooner, a Labour MP said.

In Chancellor Rachel Reeves first Mansion House speech, she pledged to rip up financial red tape, arguing that regulatory changes following the 2008 economic crash have gone too far.

The Treasury is currently consulting on draft legislation which would allow the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to fully regulate buy now, pay later firms.

Stella Creasy criticised the Governments plan to implement the regulations in 2026, claiming they should be put in place sooner.

In the Commons on Monday, the Walthamstow MP said: One of the areas of financial regulation I know members from across the House have been long calling for is the buy now, pay later companies.

Because of the delay in regulating these companies, a third of people seeking debt advice do so because of buy now, pay later companies.

She added: I welcome the Governments commitment to regulate them, but Im as bemused, as many people are, as to why it will take until 2026 for the regulations to take effect and for our constituents to be protected.

So can the minister give me an assurance as to why, when everybody knows this regulation needs to happen, everybody knows what those regulations are, the Financial Conduct Authority have been waiting since 2021 to do it?

Why are we giving these legal loan sharks two Christmases worth of presents to exploit our vulnerable constituents in this cost-of-living crisis?

Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq replied: There is need for buy now, pay later during a cost-of-living crisis, and people are going to access their products.

Labour MP Stella Creasy (Yui Mok/PA)

But what Ive done is bring it under FCA controls so far and regulate it to make that its safer and that people dont store up a huge amount of debt that they cant pay.

The consultation is open until the 29 of November, and I would urge her to urge other people to feed into it, so we can get this policy right. Because it wasnt done by the previous government.

And I will bring forward legislation as quickly as possible, but I did think it was important to bring in the consultation and hear what people have to say because we do want to regulate it properly and we have to hear what the sector have to say.

I do understand that shes being very patient, and I ask her to more patient, but our intention is to make this sector as well-regulated as possible under the FCA.

Earlier in the statement on the Chancellors Mansion House speech, Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe argued that the FCA should be disbanded.

He said: Given that regulators cannot regulate for growth, the only solution is to disband the FCA and PRA (Prudential Regulation Authority), and return to the light touch of regulation under the Bank of England.

The Great Yarmouth MP added that the Governments plan to regulate for growth is an oxymoron.

Ms Siddiq said our regulators do a very good job, but we will be holding them to account, adding: I wouldnt say getting rid of the regulators is the way to grow the economy.

During her speech last week, Ms Reeves also told City chiefs she plans to create pension megafunds that will power growth in the economy and reward British savers.

The reforms will be introduced through a new Pension Schemes Bill next year, consolidating defined contribution (DC) schemes and pooling assets from 86 local government pension scheme authorities.

Conservative shadow Treasury minister Mark Garnier warned the Government not to use pensions as a cash cow, ploughing them into infrastructure without creating the best deal for savers.

He said: These reforms must remain focused on delivering the best deal for pension savers and whilst additional investment is welcome, the pension market should not be treated as a Government cash cow for public investment if it loses sight of the paramount objective to deliver a secure return for savers.

It is true that unlocking greater investment and delivering greater returns for pension savers can come together, both can be true at the same time, but as Ive said without the publication of the finer details of this policy, I must push for more detail.

Ms Siddiq had earlier said whilst it was right that successive governments made regulatory changes after the global financial crisis to ensure that regulation kept pace with the global economy of the time, the system sought to eliminate risk-taking and had cost to firms when theyre spending large sums on compliance and they are not using that money to innovate and to grow.
An MP has said it is mystifying why files on the bombing of the Navy support ship Sir Galahad during the Falklands War have still not been released.

Defence minister Al Carns said the Ministry of Defence (MoD) position was that the losses that occurred on the vessel during the Falklands War were the result of enemy action and enemy action alone, as MPs from across the House pushed the Government for transparency.

Senior Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin was among those to raise concerns, telling the Commons it is mystifying that documents relating to the attack had not already been released.

The Sir Galahad, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ship, and sister vessel the Sir Tristram were attacked by the Argentinian air force on June 8 1982.

Some 48 crew members on board the Sir Galahad died, with many more injured.

Following the disaster, some blamed the Welsh Guards aboard for not having left the ship earlier, thereby leaving the vessel vulnerable to attack.

Survivors have long campaigned for the release of further documents from a private inquiry into the bombing, which they believe would exonerate the Welsh Guards.

During defence questions in the Commons, Mr Carns told MPs: Id like to reiterate that the service and sacrifice made by those on board Sir Galahad will never be forgotten.

Defence Minister Al Carns, pictured laying a wreath, said the MoD in no way blamed the Welsh Guards (Petty Officer Joel Rouse/UK MOD Crown Copyright/PA)

After any incident which results in the loss of life, people always ask themselves, what if something different had happened? However the losses on Sir Galahad were the result of enemy action and enemy action alone.

Under the Public Records Act, we protect personal data and information, but weve recently reviewed further files.

Labour MP for Newport East Jessica Morden said: Falklands veterans from the Welsh Guard continue to campaign to uncover the truth behind the attack on the Sir Galahad in June 1982.

I know the minister is already working on this issue, but with time marching on, will you agree to meet with me but also with other colleagues, and, crucially, veterans from the campaign to discuss releasing the remaining documents from the board of inquiries so that those veterans and the families of those who died can finally get to the truth?

Conservative MP Sir Bernard (Harwich and North Essex) said: This is 40 years on from this conflict, and its not about finding blame or who was responsible, in my view, its about making sure that lessons are transparently learned for future operations, about command chains and about accountability during a conflict.

What is the reason for withholding these documents? And will he (Mr Carns) have compassion for those who still live with this as bereaved relatives or people bearing the scars and injuries of this tragic event?

Mr Carns expressed his compassion with those either injured or wounded in combat, adding his assurance that lessons learned from the conflict have been spread throughout the department.

He added: There are five files of 308 witness statements remain closed, and under the terms of the Public Records Act, the witness statement will remain closed until 2065. However, we look at reviewing some of those statements and providing a view on them in due course.

Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the death toll in the attack was a result of incompetence from leadership.

He said: I had many friends who served out there, and the aftereffects of that disaster, death, burned human beings still alive today, resonates and bangs on at them, and all they want is to know why they were there at the wrong time, who gave the orders  that report is critical.

Its not a case of they were damaged or killed by enemy action. Its also about the incompetence of those who put them there in the wrong place at the wrong time, that laid them open to that simple, terrible attack.

Mr Carns replied: As (Sir Iain) will know, there is much chaos in conflict, and the MoD in no way blames the Welsh Guards for the events of that tragic day.

My officials have been reviewing further files, and two extracts of the board of inquiry were reviewed and are now within the open records of the National Archives.
The UK will never let up in backing Ukraine, the Foreign Secretary said, as the war entered its 1,000th day and questions lingered over whether British-supplied missiles could be authorised to hit targets within Russia.

David Lammy warned that faith in international law may never return unless Vladimir Putin fails as he attended a UN Security Council session on Monday.

It follows speculation that the UK could follow the US after President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to use American-supplied weapons to strike sites in Russia after months of pressure from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Addressing delegates in New York, Mr Lammy said: Unless Putin fails, we could plunge into a world where the principles inscribed in the UN charter will have lost their meaning.

Unless Putin fails, others will be inspired to wage imperialist wars of conquest. Unless Putin fails, our faith in international law may never return. Unless Putin fails, each of our borders will be less safe.

If anyone (is) doubting Putins intent, this weekends massive missile attack on Ukraine and its energy infrastructure should serve as a reminder Putin wants to plunge Ukraine into darkness.

Russia launched a massive missile and drone strike over the weekend, which targeted Ukraines energy infrastructure.

Mr Lammys message comes as Kyiv and Western allies brace for a possible change of US stance under Donald Trump, who has said he could end the war in a day.

Outgoing president Mr Biden has given Ukraine permission to use US-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia after months of pressure from Mr Zelensky.

David Lammy warned that the UK will never let up in backing Ukraine (Lucy North/PA)

The move fuelled speculation that the UK Government, which has been reluctant to authorise the use of Franco-British Storm Shadow missiles in Russia without a shift in US policy, may follow suit.

Ministers on Monday hinted at a possible change, saying Britain was working in close co-operation with America and would align with allies in ensuring Kyiv could make use of the capabilities that had been offered.

However, the White House is yet to authorise the use of Storm Shadow missiles  which use American navigation data  in Russia, The Sun reported.

The Kremlin said the move would change the nature of Western involvement in the conflict.

It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps and they have been talking about this, to continue adding fuel to the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict, spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters after Mr Bidens decision.

The UK Government said on Monday it would not be drawn on operational details regarding the missiles because to do so would only play into the hands of Putin.

Asked how concerned he was about the change of US leader as he spoke with the press outside the UN Security Council meeting, the Foreign Secretary said: Ive studied in this country, Ive worked in this country, and I know that theres a simple rule: one president at a time.

Were dealing with President Biden and we are committed to putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position.

He added: We will help keep the lights of Ukraine on in the face of Putins aggression, and that matters not just for Ukraines security, Britains security or indeed Europes security.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to make Ukraine number one on his agenda at the G20 summit in Brazil (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said that Ukraine is number one on his agenda at the G20 summit in Brazil, though he is not expected to hold meetings with Mr Biden or French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday.

Speaking to broadcasters, he said: Tomorrow is day 1,000 of the conflict, thats 1,000 days of aggression from Russia and 1,000 days of sacrifice from Ukraine.

So that is my clear message here. Its number one on my agenda.

Downing Street said the summit would offer Sir Keir an opportunity to encourage allies to double down in their support after the Russian attack on Ukraines energy infrastructure.

Weve seen in recent days the lengths that Putin will go to systematically attack energy infrastructure in Ukraine, the impact that its having on innocent civilians all over the country, and that is why hes come to this summit that marks this 1,000th day of sacrifice for Ukrainians with this message to the G20 that we must double down, the Prime Ministers official spokesman said.
Former Valbridge Property Advisors office manager Jennifer E. Walker received a 51-month prison sentence Monday for stealing more than $1.8 million from the firm over a nine-year period. Bill Oxford/Getty Images

A San Antonio property appraisal firms former office manager, who stole more than $1.8 million from it to feed a gambling addiction, is headed to federal prison for 51 months.

Jennifer E. Walker, who worked at Valbridge Property Advisors from 2012 to 2021, also must serve three years supervised release and repay the stolen money as part of a sentence handed down Monday by U.S. District Judge Fred Biery.

Walker pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud earlier this year in connection with the theft. Six other counts were dropped as part of her plea agreement.

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Walker will remain free on a $20,000 unsecured bond until she has to report to prison by Feb. 10. Biery gave her the time to report so she can turn over the keys to her house and a $15,000 purse collection as part of her restitution.

The theft started almost immediately after Walker joined Valbridge and continued for nine years, hampering the firms growth for several years, senior manager Paul Grafe told the court during a victims impact statement he delivered for the firm.

We believe as an ownership group that she should serve one year in prison for each of the nine years that she stole from us, as well as paying restitution  a sentence, to us, that proves our justice system is still in play, and the effort and time and financial burden that we have incurred does not get put aside, Grafe said.

The sentencing guidelines called for a prison term of 41 to 51 months, though Walkers lawyer, Thomas McHugh, asked the judge to sentence her to home confinement because she accepted responsibility for her crimes and because she had no previous criminal history.

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Biery opposed that, noting that Walker had made no effort to reimburse Valbridge for its losses prior to her sentencing.

Walker told Biery that she was addicted to online gambling, though Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Playton said Walker made trips to Las Vegas and New Orleans to gamble.

Walker poured her winnings back into her gambling, McHugh said. She later told the judge that she spent some of the money on Louis Vuitton purses, including one for about $3,500.

Biery directed Walker, who was facing him from a lectern, to turn around and address the Valbridge officials she had betrayed like Judas betrayed Jesus.

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I want to sincerely apologize for my actions during my time with your company, she said, her voice cracking while she fought back tears. Stealing money from you was not only wrong, but also a betrayal of the trust you placed in me. I deeply regret my behavior and harm it caused to you, your business and your families.

Valbridge entrusted Walker to handle all of its accounting and administrative processes, including semimonthly payroll and certifying wage and tax statements for filing with the IRS and Social Security Administration.

Walker fraudulently inflated her own pay in the payroll reports she sent to the companys bank, according to the charges. She stole about $24,000 her first year on the job, but the amount climbed to $280,000 and then more than $300,000 in subsequent years, Biery said.

So the addiction got really bad? the judge asked.

Very, very bad, she answered.

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Playton, the prosecutor, asked the judge to stay within the guidelines when imposing the sentence.

Every two weeks, she had to lie to the bank about her payroll, then she had to lie on the ledgers of the books, and then she had to look at the faces of her employers and her co-workers, Playton said. Every two weeks, she lied to these people and stole money that affected everyones lives in that firm.
Palestinians in Deir al-Balah queue up to receive food supplied by humanitarian agencies. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Gazas Hamas-run interior ministry has said that at least 20 people have been killed in an operation targeting gangs accused of looting trucks bringing aid into the war-torn territory which is facing the threat of famine.

Gunmen attacked and looted about 100 trucks carrying desperately needed supplies over the weekend, the biggest such attack during 13 months of war in the territory and new evidence of the growing power of Gazas criminal gangs.

In a statement late on Monday, the Gaza interior ministry said that more than 20 people had been killed in a security operation carried out by security forces in cooperation with tribal committees.

The statement said that thefts had severely affected society and led to signs of famine in southern Gaza, and warned that the operation was the start of a broader campaign to tackle the problem.

An interior ministry source told AFP the 20 were killed in connection with the looting on Saturday of a convoy which was transporting thousands of tonnes of food provided by the UN agencies Unrwa and the World Food Programme (WFP). It was attacked shortly after entering Gaza on Saturday, UN officials and local community leaders said.

Ninety-eight trucks of the 109-truck convoy were looted and some transporters were injured during the incident, said Louise Wateridge, Unrwas senior emergency officer.

Related: Aid groups accuse Israel of ignoring US ultimatum on apocalyptic Gaza crisis

The incident highlights the severity of access challenges of bringing aid into southern and central Gaza, she told Reuters.

The urgency of the crisis cannot be overstated; without immediate intervention, severe food shortages are set to worsen, further endangering the lives of over 2 million people who depend on humanitarian aid to survive.

Community leaders in central Gaza said local people had fought back against the looters of the convoy, who were armed with automatic rifles, and managed to retrieve some of the stolen trucks which were then returned to the WFP.

A spokesperson for the Internally Displaced Civilians Association (IDCA) in Deir al-Balah said the attack meant that two bakeries serving roughly 1 million people in central Gaza had announced they would not be able to provide any bread until they receive new supplies.

The IDCA, one of a number of informal groups that have sprung up to represent the interests of Gazas 1.8 million displaced people, said Israeli authorities had been repeatedly warned that armed gangs were operating along roads leading into Gaza from specific entry points.

A better route for aid was repeatedly proposed, but [the Israelis] have refused all these requests, the spokesperson said.

UN officials said the convoy had been instructed by Israel to depart at short notice through an unfamiliar route from the Kerem Shalom border crossing.

Gaza is facing deepening anarchy as the last remnants of civil order break down, leaving a vacuum increasingly filled by armed gangs, clans, powerful families and criminals.

In April, aid officials said they feared Gaza would become Mogadishu on the Mediterranean.

The 13-month Israeli military offensive has removed Hamas from power in most of Gaza but the Islamist militant group has not been replaced by any other form of governance.

Systematic targeting of Gazas police force, which Israel considers part of Hamas, and the release of hundreds of prisoners from jails by the group early in the conflict have exacerbated the chaos.

Waterbridge did not identify the attackers but UN officials have said that powerful families in the south of Gaza long known for their involvement in looting had been behind a series of attacks on convoys in recent weeks.

This isnt desperate people looking to feed themselves or their families. It is pure organised crime, by people who are heavily armed and making a lot of money. They are taking supplies paid for by member states. Its a disgrace, one senior aid official said earlier this month.

Aid officials in Gaza describe the situation in much of the territory, where more than 80% of the population of 2.3 million have been displaced and more than two-thirds of buildings have been destroyed or damaged in 13 months of war, as apocalyptic.

An Israeli official said Israel had been working to address the humanitarian situation since the start of the war, but blame aid organisations and the UN for failing to distribute aid that is cleared for entry to Gaza.

A WFP spokesperson confirmed the looting and said that many routes in Gaza were currently unpassable because of security issues.

A UN aid official said on Friday that delivering aid across Gaza was now more difficult than ever before, with parts of the besieged north of the territory almost impossible to reach. Israels devastating military campaign in Gaza was triggered by the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel last year.
Joe Biden, pictured meeting Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in September, has previously refused to allow use of the missiles inside Russian territory - Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Joe Biden is poised to allow Ukraine to fire Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia for the first time.

Mr Biden is expected to give his blessings for the British-made weapon to be used in Kursk after authorising similar American long-range missiles to be deployed.

Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, is now under increasing pressure to allow Taurus missiles to join the offensive, which would give Ukraine a trio of new munitions to hit high-value Russian targets.

British and American officials declined to comment on private conversations about the missiles on Monday, citing the risk that Russia could move its resources out of range before the weapons could be deployed.

But Sir Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, said at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro that Ukraines Western supporters must double down after Vladimir Putin sent North Korean troops into Kursk to fight off Kyivs advance into Russian territory.

He said: We need to make sure Ukraine has what is necessary for as long as necessary, because we cannot allow Putin to win this war.

The Storm Shadow is known for its bunker-busting capability - Gary Dawson/Shutterstock

Mr Biden is now expected to give his authorisation for Storm Shadows to be used, after rejecting repeated requests from the UK to allow Ukrainian forces to deploy them with American support systems.

If used without US systems, the weapons do not work effectively.

The Telegraph understands that Mr Biden, who had been refusing to allow the missiles to be used, changed his mind last month following intelligence reports which suggested North Korean troops were advancing towards the front line under Russian command.

Ukraine can use missiles as it sees fit

Maria Eagle, a junior British defence minister, appeared to admit by mistake that the policy had changed, replying to a question on the issue that Ukraine would absolutely be able to use missile defence systems as it sees fit.

We intend to align with our allies in making sure Ukraine can make use of the capability that has been offered by those who have committed support to that country in its fight, she said.

The White House previously feared that firing long-range missiles inside Russia would escalate the conflict, but national security officials view North Koreas involvement as an escalation by Moscow that requires a response from the West.

On Monday, Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokesman, rejected the Kremlins claims that the missiles would add fuel to the fire, telling reporters: Whats adding fuel to the fire is the fact that DPRK [North Korean] soldiers are now entering a fight.

Ukraine has already deployed Storm Shadow and Atacms missiles donated by the US and UK during the conflict, but has been restricted to using them inside its own territory.

Atacms is a 190-mile range weapon system that can be deployed with a cluster warhead to strike targets across a large area.

The Storm Shadow, which has a smaller range of 155 miles, is a bunker buster weapon that can penetrate the defences of various military installations.

US intelligence suggests almost all Russian military aircraft have been moved out of range of either missile, in anticipation that Mr Biden would give approval for them to be deployed.

However, military analysts say they can be used against military warehouses, repair centres and airfields  making it more difficult for Russia to resupply its troops in Kursk.

Despite the move, Mr Scholz has continued to refuse permission for German Taurus missiles to be used in Russia, which critics say will severely hamper the war effort.

The Taurus has a longer range than Storm Shadow and is in more abundant supply.

A government spokesman said on Monday that Mr Scholzs decision on Taurus had not changed.

Ben Wallace, the former British defence secretary, described him as a sub-committee council leader who was unfit to run Germany, adding that Putin was laughing at him.

Reports that Atacms missiles had been authorised emerged in The New York Times on Sunday, and were not confirmed by US officials.

The issue dominated the first day of the G20 summit in Brazil, where Sir Keir met Xi Jinping.

He is the first prime minister to meet a Chinese premier in six years.

Downing Street refused to say whether they discussed the issue, but said they each promised to engage honestly and frankly on those areas where we have different perspectives, including  Russias war in Ukraine.

Some allies of Donald Trump condemned Mr Bidens decision to allow long-range missiles inside Russia, although none of the officials he has nominated in key roles have yet criticised the move.

Donald Trump Jr said: The military industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives.

It is unclear whether Mr Trump would allow Atacms and Storm Shadows to be used after he takes office on Jan 20.

He has promised to facilitate talks between Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky before he takes office, and end the war through peace talks.

Separately, members of the AUKUS alliance of countries announced on Monday that they would accelerate development of hypersonic missiles by coordinating testing, with up to six trilateral test flights expected by 2028.

Hypersonic weapons have been described as the future of missile warfare, but US development has been slow. The UK is expected to develop its own hypersonic capability by 2030.
G20 leaders will meet in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Spains economy minister has urged the worlds richest countries to be brave and redouble efforts to reach an agreement on a global minimum tax on the worlds 3,000 billionaires, saying recent elections have shown citizens are demanding redistribution of wealth.

Speaking during a visit to London before the gathering of G20 leaders in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, Carlos Cuerpo said the plan had gained political momentum since the summer, when finance ministers agreed to work together to ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed.

Brazil, which backs proposals to raise an estimated $250bn a year from the worlds billionaires by ensuring they pay taxes worth at least 2% on their assets, is expected to push for formal negotiations on global wealth taxes when it hosts next years Cop climate summit. France, Germany and South Africa have expressed support, saying the money is needed to help climate-vulnerable nations and drive green investment.

There is this moment where you have to be brave and where you just have to do things that you are convinced are right said Cuerpo. There is an element here of redistribution of wealth that, if we listen carefully to the results of many of the elections that have taken place over the last years, that has been demanded by our citizens, by our population. So we have to somehow respond.

Cuerpo, an economist who led the Spanish treasury before entering government last December, was appointed as an independent minister to oversee the economy, trade and business by the socialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez.

Concern in Spain over the climate crisis has reached new heights after flash floods in Valencia this month caused more than 200 deaths and extensive damage to homes and infrastructure. Among EU nations, Spain is at the sharp end of climate change. Barcelona, the countrys second-largest city, is racing to build desalination plants in order to ensure future water supplies during droughts.

Despite the havoc caused by changing weather patterns, the Spanish economy is booming, with the International Monetary Fund predicting it will have grown 2.9% this calendar year  faster than all of the G7 economies including the US. The bounce is partly due to tourism, which has come roaring back after the pandemic, bringing its own complications with overcrowding and pressure on water supplies and other resources.

But Cuerpo has said renewables and other green investment projects are part of the growth engine. Spain has been given 160bn in EU loans and grants to recover from Covid, and has diverted a chunk of the cash into decarbonisation. A third of its electricity last year came from wind and solar. Investing in renewables in Spain is a factor that is driving our competitiveness up, said Cuerpo.

Another post-Covid measure has been to tighten the national wealth tax. The system in place dates back to 2011, after the financial crash, and applies to those with more than 700,000 in assets. In 2022, the Sanchez government closed loopholes so that Madrid and other regional governments could no longer opt out.

Although Rachel Reeves, the UK chancellor, was criticised for making no mention of wealth taxes in her first budget last month, outside Britain the idea is gaining support. Frances Assemblee Nationale voted on 25 October for an annual 2% levy on those with assets worth more than 1bn. While the measure was opposed by the government, and may not survive the complex budget negotiations, it was supported by a majority of the parliament.

During Covid, the worlds five richest men doubled their wealth. Donald Trumps successful campaign to become the next US president, with a mandate to cut taxes and deregulate, has led to their fortunes increasing further. According to research by the pioneering economist Gabriel Zucman, billionaires pay an average of 0.3% tax on their wealth  a fraction of the rates paid by workers.

Zucman is the architect of the global wealth tax scheme being promoted by Cuerpo and his allies in Brazil and beyond. It is based on the minimum 15% tax rate imposed on multinationals as of this year and now adopted by more than 50 countries. Supporters have said it is not necessary for every country to sign up for the idea to get off the ground. If billionaires relocated to tax havens, for example, their countries of origin could impose exit taxes.

In July, finance leaders from every G20 country agreed to engage cooperatively to ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed. When the leaders of the 20 richest nations meet in Brazil this week, they will be asked to confirm that commitment.

Cuerpo said he would push to the put the plan on the agenda at the UN development finance summit in Seville next summer, and work closely with Brazil to ensure discussions are coordinated with the preparations for Cop30.

For governments seeking more equal taxation, the political air cover of an international agreement could be an easier option than clashing with their most powerful citizens and armies of well-paid lobbyists. The bigger the coordination or the larger the coordination, the easier it is to implement, said Cuerpo. It minimises the political capital costs.
Britain now has worse life expectancy in western Europe - DMP/E+

The United Kingdom has the worst life expectancy in western Europe, a report has revealed.

People born in Great Britain and Northern Ireland can expect to live until about 80.9 years old, according to the latest data.

This puts the UK behind the average of 81.5 years for the 27 countries across the European Union, and last among western European countries, the analysis from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found.

Improvements in life expectancy for people born in Britain had stagnated in the decade leading up to the pandemic but have fallen since.

The most recent analysis from the Office for National Statistics puts life expectancy in England and Wales for men at 79 years and women at 83 years for 2021-23.

This is about six months and three months shorter, respectively, than it was for 2017-19, which remains the highest level on record.

Experts have previously blamed Britains obesity epidemic and the growing burden of preventable illness on the reduced life expectancy, as well as the excess deaths seen in the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the OECD report, called Health at a Glance: Europe 2024, reveals how the UK has fallen behind peers on the continent, with most other countries having recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

Switzerland leads the way with an average life expectancy of 84.2 years, followed closely by Spain at 84 years and Italy at 83.8  all about three or more years longer than the UK, which ranked 21st out of 39 countries across Europe.

As well as having shorter life expectancies than the Nordic states, France, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the rest of western Europe, the UK is also lagging behind Malta, Cyprus, Greece and Slovenia.

The lowest life expectancies reported were in Ukraine and Moldova at 73.4 and 73.3 years respectively but this was based on data from 2019. Georgias average life expectancy of 73.7 years was the lowest of those using data from 2022 or later.

The analysis found that the average life expectancy across the EU had increased by a year since last year, while the UKs had increased by six months.

In last years OECD report, the researchers compared the UK with countries across the globe, where its 80.4 year average life expectancy put it behind other developed countries including New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea and Israel.

The OECD also found that womens life expectancy was longer than mens across all European countries by an average of 5.3 years.

The authors said the gender gap in longevity has narrowed by nearly a year since 2010 as the life expectancy of men increased more rapidly than women.

Explaining why Spain had the highest life expectancy in the EU, Javier Padilla Bernaldez, Spains secretary of state for health, said: Almost everything that is good in Spain related to health is linked to two main situations.

The first one is the existence of a good healthcare system, very well distributed [across] all the population. The second one is an enormous universal health coverage.

He said equal access meant all the population were getting older with a good amount of healthy ageing results, and that the country had a very low unmet medical needs ratio, which protects the elderly from developing disabilities and health conditions that might reduce life expectancy.

He said the countrys biggest intervention had been improving access for all to community services such as GPs, pharmacies and dentists, and that it was succeeding at the aim of protecting the eldest population.

Mr Bernaldez also praised Spains strategy to strengthen nursing and at-home care services and the protection of retired peoples income which, along with healthcare access, makes a good lifestyle possible in retirement.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: We are lagging behind our European neighbours in many areas of public health and the situation will not improve without radical action on all fronts. Our 10 Year Health Plan will shift the focus of healthcare from sickness to prevention.

Weve already made a strong start by restricting junk food advertising on TV and online, and limiting school childrens access to fast food, while the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will tackle our biggest killer and put us on track to a smoke-free UK.
Mika Brzezinski, pictured with husband Joe Scarborough, said: Joe and I realized its time to do something different and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump, but also talking with him. Photograph: Paul Morigi/Getty Images

Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, top morning hosts at the liberal MSNBC cable news network, have revealed that they personally met with Donald Trump about a new approach as well as to restart communications after vocally opposing his successful campaign for a second presidency.

On Mondays edition of Morning Joe, Scarborough said he and Brzezinski spoke with the president-elect at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida three days earlier about abortion, mass deportation, threats of  retribution against political opponents and media outlets.

We didnt see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, and we told him so, Scarborough remarked. But Brzezinski said she and Scarborough agreed to resume a dialogue with Trump during what was their first in-person meeting in seven years.

Related: Morning Joe host criticizes MSNBC for pulling show after Trump shooting

The president-elect on Monday claimed to Trump-friendly Fox News that it was Scarborough and Brzezinski who requested the meeting. Trump asserted that the hosts congratulated him on his campaign during what he described as a very positive conversation.

Accurately anticipating condemnation from Democratic viewers and other liberals who were upset that voters returned Trump to the Oval Office in the 5 November election, Brzezinski said why wouldnt she and Scarborough  her husband  meet with him.

She recounted how she and her co-host expressed deep concerns with Trumps threatening rhetoric on various issues as well as the deadly US Capitol attack that his supporters launched after he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden. But she said none of those issues proved as important as ones that sent Trump back to the White House.

Brzezinski added: Joe and I realized its time to do something different and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump, but also talking with him.

Scarborough, meanwhile, cited somebody close to  Trump who insisted the president-elect would not try to seek a third term in defiance of the US constitution. That comment came after reports that Trump reportedly told members of the US House: I suspect I wont be running again, unless you do something  unless you say, Hes so good, we have to just figure it out.

This is a president who is not seeking re-election, Scarborough said of Trump, who served for four years beginning in 2017 and is set to be inaugurated again in January. The Morning Joe co-host then called on leaders of both political parties to find common ground, if its possible at all.

At least some viewers came away unimpressed in the immediate aftermath of Brzezinski and Scarboroughs revelation Monday. One social media account claiming to have supported Kamala Harris in her defeat to Trump wrote: In other words, Joe and Mika went to see the king at his castle, and they bent the knee.

Fellow MSNBC host Katie Phang notably tweeted on Monday, Normalizing Trump is a bad idea. Period.

Related: US non-voters: tell us why you abstained in the 2024 US presidential election

Journalism professor and author Jeff Jarvis accused Brzezinski and Scarborough of inflicting a betrayal [on] their colleagues, democracy and us all. He tweeted: It is a disgusting show of obeisance in advance.

Furthermore, in a separate post, the liberal commentator and former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann wrote: Ive said Scarborough was the worst person Ive ever encountered in this business. He proves me right, year after year. Olbermann also wrote that Scarborough and Brzezinskis network had now become Vichy MSNBC, in reference to the French state regime that collaborated with Nazi occupiers during the second world war.

Brzezinski and Scarboroughs show emerged as a go-to early morning option for liberals. Biden is reportedly a big fan as may have been evident when he phoned in during a Morning Joe episode in early July to explain why he was resisting demands to withdraw from re-election after a disastrous debate with Trump, though he eventually caved and made way for Harris.

On the other hand, Morning Joe repeatedly drew ire from Trump during his first presidency, when he called Scarborough crazy and Brzezinski dumb as a rock.

Scarborough used to be a Florida US congressman who left the Republican party over disagreements with Trump.

Brzezinski on Monday said her and Scarboroughs recent Mar-a-Lago visit was their second conversation of any kind with Trump since March 2020. The first of those talks was a personal phone call between Scarborough and Trump shortly after the incoming president survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July, she said.

Dont be mistaken, Scarborough said on Monday. We are not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump. We are here to report on him and to hopefully provide you insights that are going to better equip all of us in understanding these deeply unsettling times.
An aerial view of Windsor Castle - Getty Images

Burglars raided the Windsor Castle estate while the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children reportedly slept nearby.

Two men are said to have climbed a 6ft fence at night and stolen farm vehicles during the raid last month, The Sun reported.

They used a stolen truck to break through a gate said to be the nearest exit for the Prince, Princess and their children before targeting Shaw Farm, a working farm inside the estate.

The pair, who remain at large, stole a black Isuzu pick-up and a red quad bike before making off, police said.

On Sunday night, a Thames Valley Police spokesperson told the newspaper: At around 11.45pm on Sunday October 13, we received a report of burglary at a property on Crown Estate land near to the A308 in Windsor.

Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Isuzu pick-up and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area.

No arrests have been made at this stage and an investigation is ongoing.

Kensington Palace did not comment to the newspaper on Sunday night.

The burglars also targeted Shaw Farm, a working farm inside the estate - Ian Jones

The Prince and Princess are reported to have been at Adelaide Cottage, which they bought in 2022, at the time.

The King is said to have been in Scotland, while the Queen is said to have been in India before the royal couples tour of Australia and Samoa.

A source told The Sun: They would have to have known the vehicles were stored there before they broke in and known when was the best time to get and escape without being caught.

So they must have been watching Windsor Castle for a while.

There are alarms at Windsor Castle but the first time anyone knew there was a break-in was when they crashed through the security barrier at Shaw Farm Gate exit.

The barrier has needed to be replaced as it was so badly damaged.

It was a Sunday night on a school week so the young princes and princess would have been tucked in bed at Adelaide Cottage, just around the corner but still in the grounds.

It comes after Jaswant Singh Chail, 23, climbed a fence on castle grounds and said he wanted to kill the late Queen on Christmas Day 2021.

Last year, he was jailed for nine years for treason, becoming the first person to be convicted of the offence since 1981.
Everyone would benefit from doing time inside - Brian A Jackson

As Britain is gripped by a prisons crisis, The Telegraph is publishing dispatches from an inmate at a Category B jail  the second highest level of security  to discover what life is really like inside. Recently, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) found the jail to be chronically overcrowded and understaffed, with self-harm and drug use rife.

The inmate, a British professional and entrepreneur on the outside, is on remand awaiting trial charged with non-violent crimes which he denies. To protect his identity, he is not named. Other names and nicknames have also been changed.

Some prison officers are petty sticklers and jobsworths. Because many of the rules in prison are hard to fathom in terms of rationality, I judge them by the extent to which they allow themselves to be guided by their own decency and common sense. There is a ridiculous rule about having to wear our long sweat-trousers when we go out to exercise in the morning. Its especially absurd because we are allowed to leave in our shorts if we are going to the gym.

Nine times out of ten, officers let me go out in shorts  they usually know that I use the exercise yard for, well, exercise (I am in a minority in this regard). But every now and again the governor sends out a notice requiring prisoners to wear long trousers until they are in the yard. Whenever this happens, an anxiety creeps in to the morning rub down (sadly, not a massage, but a hand search made prior to allowing you out), and we get sent back to put trousers on  nonsensical, in security terms, because trousers give you much more space than shorts do to hide drugs or weapons. Then, once were outside in the yard, some officers will harangue you if you take your top off to go bare-chested, even on a sunny day (bear in mind that we see very little direct sunlight). Others recognise that the half hour is your one daily chance to feel fresh air and natural light on your skin.

I respect officers prepared to turn a blind eye. In one arena, doing so is critical to my wellbeing: I get issued anti-depressant meds with a powerful sedative effect every day at around four pm. The rules are crystal clear: all meds must be taken in view of the pharmacy officer at the meds hatch. I take the meds, keeping them under my tongue, swallow the disposable plastic cup of water, then, once around the corner, spit them back into the cup to take later at around nine pm, so I am asleep by ten. If I did not do this, I would be asleep by six or seven and up again at around three, which would play havoc not only with my rhythm of life, but my padmates too. The pharmacist, I feel sure, knows what I am doing; hes a very efficient, clued-up guy. He has probably worked out I am not a junkie and not selling my meds (some prisoners do), so he lets it pass. Such small, magnanimous gestures make life bearable.

But officers are under pressure. What you do notice is elements of chaos intruding to disrupt the order with which a prison, well-staffed and not overflowing at the gills with new prisoners, should run. The exercise yards are filthy, as officers do not seem to be willing or available to ensure daily clean-ups. Kit change, which should mainly be run by prisoners handing out clean sheets, towels, t-shirts and so on once a week, hardly ever happens now. Were often banged up (confined to our cells) for longer periods than is physically or psychologically healthy. The usual reason is short-staffing. A giveaway is the frequency with which you see PEOS (Physical Education Officers, all also qualified prison officers) covering for regular officers. You may deduce from their presence on the wing that the gym is closed.

Drugs keep flooding in: prisons are so remarkably porous now that you can order a drone delivery. There simply are not enough officers to spin (search) sufficient cells, or sufficient counter-measures to secure the perimeter from the air. Indeed, I met a prisoner recently in the video-link waiting area on remand for conspiracy to supply HMP. And one does wonder  one has to wonder  whether some of the stuff coming in can do so because some officers turn a blind eye for less than magnanimous reasons.

Outside exercise is an important moment in the daily prison routine, but understaffing means this is often not possible - OlFedv/iStockphoto

Being a prisoner has made me  formerly a soft, safe Tory  a bit of a radical, though whether left wing or right, I dont know. I am of the generation whose parents did National Service but who missed the obligation ourselves, at the time with relief. Yet I have come to rather envy my father his stint in the Navy, and now I believe the scope of public service could be widened from its former military parameters.

Everyone, I think, should spend a few weeks in prison, though not necessarily behind bars. A six-month internship as a junior prison officer would teach anybody a huge amount about society and the criminal justice system.

I also believe that prisoners could become more involved in supervising each other, certainly within individual spurs: just the basic stuff like banging up and unlocking and supervising servery mealtimes. (This is not a new idea; in fact, the model dates back to the earliest workhouses.) Even more radically, because it is impossible to understand the prison crisis separately from the housing crisis, I believe a form of ultra-low-cost housing, along the single-and-shared cell lines of prison buildings, with strict curfews and codes of conduct, could serve as a foundation for helping prisoners leave prison without becoming inevitably, if not instantly, homeless. A cross, perhaps between a D-Cat Prison and an AP (Approved Premises  which you are often released into), but one in which you played your part and paid your way: and one which you would not be kicked out of if you respected the rules. Such a model could certainly support the nitties, the revolving door guys, who commit crimes to get back into jail because prison is warm, three meals, clean clothes and company.

If there were an alternative to sleeping rough which allowed men (because I think prison is mainly a male problem) to supervise and support each other in frugal, disciplined communities, we might need far fewer prison places and fewer prison officers. But such environments would still need fair, canny, authoritative oversight by a form of officer with prison and probation experience.

The skill set of the experienced prison officer is pretty impressive, and possibly scandalously underpaid. Its the problem with the caring professions, in which I actually think prison officers belong: whether you are a child carer or a home visitor for the elderly, a nurse or a prison officer, you have a wide set of skills which society tends not to value as being worth even a half of what a skilled tradesman might expect to earn.

But then, no doubt this is why the occasional prison officer finds illicit ways to boost his income.

Next week the Secret Prisoner writes about the espionage breakthrough which has crushed natural justice
Keith Rollinson died of cardiac arrest after being assaulted at a bus station - Police Scotland/PA

A drunk 15-year-old who killed a bus driver after he refused to allow him to travel has been jailed for just four years.

Keith Rollinson, 58, died of cardiac arrest after the assault at Elgin bus station on Feb 2. The former RAF employee was attacked by the boy, who is now 16, after he refused to allow him to board the service because he was drunk.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, headbutted Rollinson and rained punches on his head and body after the driver grabbed his mobile phone, which was being used to film him.

Rollinson suffered a cardiac arrest shortly after being attacked and never regained consciousness.

The sentencing follows growing concern about violent disorder on Scotlands public transport network, which some have blamed on the SNPs policy of handing free bus passes to those aged up to 21.

John Swinney, the First Minister, last week vowed to consider what action could be taken against those who abused the perk after a survey by trade union Unite found 84 per cent of bus drivers had experienced abuse over the previous year.

The teenager who killed Rollinson had initially been charged with murder, but later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of culpable homicide, the Scottish equivalent to manslaughter. He was jailed for four years and four months.

Keith Rollinson was assaulted at Elgin bus station on Feb 2 - Stephen Finn/Alamy

Passing sentence, judge Lady Hood said statements from Rollinsons family described him as a true gentleman with a heart of gold and a wonderful husband and father.

She said the family have been shattered by their loss and that due to the circumstances of his death, they had been unable to be with him when he died.

Lady Hood added: Nothing said or done here today, and no sentence I can pass, will ever be enough to help Mr Rollinsons family with their devastating loss.

The teenager, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, showed no reaction as he was led from the courtroom.

Attack not intended by accused

Earlier, Shelagh McCall KC, the youths lawyer, told the court the attack on Rollinson was not intended, nor was it foreseen by the accused.

The incident was precipitated by an action on the part of the deceased that appears to have been a trigger, she said, referring to Rollinsons grabbing of the youths phone and then stamping on it.

She told the court this reduced her clients level of culpability but acknowledged that the harm caused was of the highest level.

Ms McCall also said her client understood the seriousness of his actions and that he had shown sincere remorse for it.

Sue Webber, the Scottish Tory transport secretary, said: The death of Keith Rollinson was an appalling tragedy, and my thoughts are with his family today.

Far too many bus drivers are being put in harms way and left feeling unsafe at work due to the SNPs failure to crack down on this behaviour.

Their soft-touch attitude means judges hands are being tied due to their sentencing guidelines for younger people, which meant a lighter punishment was handed down simply due to the offenders age.

John Swinney must take a tough stance against those who believe it is acceptable to abuse our bus drivers and that should start by imposing restrictions and curfews on those abusing the young persons bus pass scheme.
Thames Water, the UKs largest water company, is more than 15 billion in debt and battling to stay afloat - Toby Melville/Reuters

Every water company in Britain faces financial ruin similar to that crippling Thames Water, Barclays bank has warned.

In a private report for investors, analysts at the bank criticised Ofwat, the water regulator, for overseeing an unhelpful system of rules.

The document, seen by The Telegraph, also included investor research suggesting that British water is seen as Europes riskiest utility sector.

The downbeat comments come amid wrangling between the water industry and Ofwat over how high bills will be allowed to rise to pay for investment in improving the network, in part to address sewage leaks.

Ofwat has suggested bills should rise by an average of 19 a year between 2025 and 2030  an increase of 21 per cent.

Water companies want that to go further, arguing that those price increases will only allow for about 88 billion of infrastructure investment over the next five years rather than the 105 billion they have proposed.

Thames Water, the UKs largest water company, is more than 15 billion in debt and battling to stay afloat as it urgently seeks new investment.

The Government has ruled out full nationalisation of the firm but has left open the possibility of putting it into special administration, which would see it, in effect, in temporary control.

The Barclays report, entitled Rating agencies and investor survey: all about contagion, was issued last Thursday and provided analysis of the water sector. It shared views given confidentially in a survey of investors, as well as providing other wider comments on the sector and regulator.

One part read: As shown by our investor survey results, a vast and still growing majority of investors see the regulatory framework as unhelpful, hampering their investment appetite for the UK water sector.

Another section discussed the restructuring of Thames Water, raising concerns about whether there was enough protection for bondholders. It read: In this context, investors expect contagion risk to keep on growing, spreading to the entire UK water sector.

A third part read: UK water came in  very clearly  as the riskiest European regulated utility Contagion risk on investment in the UK has risen. In April, 64 per cent of investors believed a poor performance of UK water would impact their view on UK investment. This has now risen to 75 per cent of investors, although the UK power sector was deemed most preferred.

In the next two months, Ofwat is expected to decide whether to stick with its original proposals for the increase to bills, or to go further. The final decision could yet be appealed against, potentially creating uncertainty that could drag on for months.

Some politicians have, however, sounded the alarm over letting customers bear the burden of mismanagement by water companies over years by letting bills rise substantially after a cost of living crisis.

A spokesman for Barclays declined to comment on the leaked report.
Thousands of farmers and their supporters are expected to protest at Parliament against the Budget inheritance tax raid - Martin Pope/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Farmers have been told by the Chancellor that they must pay inheritance tax to fund the NHS, despite mass protests planned for Tuesday.

Rachel Reeves has refused to back down over her controversial plan to impose inheritance tax on farms in the face of warnings that it could threaten food security, end the tradition of family farms and create a mental health crisis.

Thousands of farmers are expected to descend on Westminster on Tuesday to protest against the changes, under which farms worth more than 1 million will be eligible for 20 per cent inheritance tax, having previously been exempt.

The proposals are at the heart of a growing row over Ms Reevess Budget, and on Monday a Labour peer became the first to publicly criticise the Government over the plan. Baroness Mallalieu, a Labour peer since 1991, said her party had become too urban to understand the impact of the tax raid.

But Ms Reeves defended the policy on Monday, repeating that the Government had taken difficult decisions to fill funding gaps.

The reforms to agricultural property relief ensure that wealthier estates and the most valuable farms pay their fair share to invest in our schools and health services that farmers and families in rural communities rely on, she said in a joint statement with Steve Reed, the environment secretary.

Rachel Reeves insisted on Tuesday that the Budget measures would ensure that farmers paid their fair share for health services and schools - Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Kemi Badenoch, who is expected to speak at the protest on Tuesday, vowed that the Tories would reverse the cruel tax hike if they came to power.

Jeremy Clarkson and Nigel Farage are also expected to attend the rally.

Rural Labour MPs, many at risk of losing their seats over the policy, will be lobbied by hundreds of farmers at a separate event organised by the National Farmers Union (NFU) in Parliament on Tuesday.

Mr Reed met Tom Bradshaw, the head of the NFU, on Monday night as the Government seeks to calm farmers anger over the tax raid.

Mr Bradshaw will tell farmers on Tuesday that the policy is nothing short of a stab in the back.

He will say: To launch a policy this destructive without speaking to anyone involved in farming beggars belief. And let us remember that they promised not to do this when they were wooing the rural vote.

Before the election, Mr Reed repeatedly said the Government had no plans to change agricultural property relief, which was introduced in 1992.

On Monday, Keir Starmer repeated the Governments claim that the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected at all, despite warnings that the Treasury has vastly underestimated the impact.

The NFU has warned that two-thirds of farms will be hit by the tax, compared to government estimates that just 27 per cent would be forced to pay.

The Prime Minister told reporters on Monday that he could understand that its causing concern. However, Ms Reeves has declined to amend or pause the policy.

Farmers say they will be forced to sell farmland to pay the tax because of the small profit margins in agriculture compared to the value of assets. This would then put food security at risk, they warned.

Rural support groups also warn of a growing mental health crisis among farmers over the tax, which comes into force from April 2026.

Baroness Mallalieu, who is also the president of the Countryside Alliance, said destroying family farms is an unforeseen consequence which is a result of hurried decision-making by the Treasury.

Sadly, this will only underline the perception that Labour has become an urban party divorced from the big section of the community that lives and works in the countryside, she said.

Organisers said Tuesdays protest would be peaceful and led by children on toy tractors in a procession to Parliament Square.

But they warned that more extreme action could come if the Government did not heed calls to relent on the inheritance tax.

We are focused on Tuesdays non-disruptive rally for now  beyond that, who knows what happens next? said Clive Bailye, one of the organisers.

The Government is drawing up contingency plans if farmers go on strike over the tax raid, but is understood to believe it can bridge any gaps with food imports.

Organisers were offered a helping hand by militant French farmers, who have dumped manure and blocked roads in major protests against the Mercosur trade deal between the EU and South American countries this week.

Im prepared to receive my British farmer colleagues or to travel over there to lend a hand, said Serge Bousquet-Chassagne, the head of the militant Coordination Rurale union in the southwestern Lot-et-Garonne region.

We have a lot of form when it comes to more radical forms of protest. Were all in the same boat.

The inheritance tax plans have been widely criticised since being announced at the end of October.

The Duchess of Rutland said she would attend the protest against the class warriors in the Labour Party. Writing for the Telegraph, she said: Inside, I am, and always will be, a farmers daughter from Wales.

And when I join the farmers rally in London on Tuesday I will be there as part of a vital community that today feels equally discriminated against, whether they are from a ducal estate or a small dairy farm.

Elon Musk, the tech billionaire, said the tax plans suggested Britain is going full Stalin, as he reacted to a comment on X, formerly Twitter, suggesting that farmers had hoarded land for too long.

Britain is going full Stalin https://t.co/GYtwBMu11S  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2024

Baroness Bamford, the founder of the Daylesford Organic food business, said in an article for The Telegraph that the inheritance tax would place an unfair burden on the very people working tirelessly every day to feed our nation, and will make it more difficult for young farming families to use land to produce food.
Mike Sutter is the Express-News restaurant critic. He can be reached at msutter@express-news.net.

Before joining the Taste Team in 2016, he served as a restaurant critic for the Austin American-Statesman and editor of FedManWalking.com. Hes appeared on NPRs All Things Considered, ABCs To Tell the Truth and written for The Guardian, Bon Appetit and The Wall Street Journal.
John Pratts partner said he had expressed suicidal thoughts before he took his life - Cavendish Press

A retired firefighter who had been suffering from PTSD killed himself after being left alone in a hospital room for 48 hours.

John Pratt, 54, was found hanged after he had been left alone in a hospital room with two chairs and a sofa, an inquest heard.

Janine Carden, his partner, had earlier pleaded with staff at the Countess of Chester Hospital to keep watch on him as he had expressed suicidal thoughts, but said a nurse had told her she had 50 other patients to look after.

Ms Carden returned to the facility the following morning to find Mr Pratt had slipped out of a side room unnoticed and taken his own life.

She has now criticised the handling of her partners care after an inquest jury at Warrington returned a verdict of suicide contributed to by neglect.

Mr Pratt suffered from PTSD as a result of experiences from his job as a firefighter - Cavendish Press

An assessment carried out by staff had failed to correctly identify Mr Pratts high risk to himself, inquiries found.

Mr Pratt, who lived with Ms Carden in Frodsham Cheshire, had been a senior fire officer with the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service at Bolton but suffered from PTSD as a result of experiences from his job.

After handling the bodies of those who had died in the Covid pandemic, he decided to take an early retirement.

On Friday September 8, Mr Pratt had a severe episode of psychosis when he and Ms Carden came across a police incident while driving.

Ms Carden said he had started writing his childrens names on a piece of paper while driving, while also claiming they were being followed and said he was going to take his own life that night.

He said that it would be better for me and his children if he did that. I told him we were going to get help. I took him to A&E, she added.

Mr Pratt took early retirement after handling the bodies of those who had died in the Covid pandemic - Cavendish Press

Mr Pratt was seen by a triage nurse and it was agreed he required admission to a mental health unit but there were no available beds so he was put in a side room.

His partner was told he would receive medication at 6pm, but it was not administered until four hours later, after which Ms Carden asked a nurse if someone could sit with him while she went home.

But the nurse said no, telling her that she had 50 people to look after.

After pleading with the nurse to find someone to sit with him because she was concerned he might leave the hospital and do something, the nurse agreed to ask a security guard to look over him.

The next day, a member of staff from the organisation Independent Support Living (ISL) arrived to check on Mr Pratt but then left again saying he had to tend to someone else.

That same day, Ms Carden waited until he had his medication and was asleep before going home, telling a nurse to ring her if he woke up so she could come straight back.

The nurse assured her they would because they knew he was a high risk. However, the next morning when Ms Carden returned, she found Mr Pratt was missing from his room.

Nurse disappeared

I asked the nurse where he was and she disappeared, she told the hearing. An A&E consultant came and I could tell by her face that something bad happened.

Proper support for Mr Pratt was only in place between 8:30-9:30am on Saturday and it was removed owing to a lack of staffing, it was heard.

Despite a support worker at the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust raising concerns about leaving Mr Pratt alone, no assessment risk was carried out before his support was removed and no plans were made to replace it.

Missed opportunities

Alice Wood of Farleys Solicitors, who represented the family, said: No one in Johns position should have been left in the way he was, which is demonstrated by the jurys finding of neglect. We are grateful for the detailed consideration of the inquest evidence by the Coroner and the jury, which has highlighted that there is a lot of learning required.

It was concerning to see that some of the witnesses didnt seem to grasp the importance of the missed opportunities highlighted to them.

The panel found that there had been a complete and total failure to provide basic care to Mr Pratt and listed various failings including lack of communication between teams and a lack of action by staff in the 48 hours before his death.
Matt Gaetz outside court while Donald Trump speaks to the media during his trial in New York on 16 May 2024. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty Images

As Donald Trump moves fast to expand his influence over prosecutorial and legal decisions while revamping the US justice department, concerns are rising quickly about how he may abuse his powers to target political foes for retribution as he often suggested during his campaign, say ex-federal prosecutors.

Fueling those fears was the president-elects stunning decision to choose ultra-loyalist and firebrand Florida representative Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general and help fight what Trump calls a weaponized government that he says baselessly used a special counsel to file criminal charges against him for trying to subvert his 2020 election loss.

Trumps pick of Gaetz quickly set off alarm bells among former justice department officials and some congressional Republicans who view him as unfit due to ethics and legal problems that for years have dogged Gaetz, and could seriously jeopardize his confirmation by the Senate.

Above all, the choice of Gaetz underscores the premium Trump places on selecting a loyalist who can help him expand his powers at the justice department to further his revenge agenda, and avoid the conflicts Trump had at times with Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr when they were attorneys general in his first administration.

Its an extraordinary choice, said the former justice department inspector general Michael Bromwich. In a world where there are plenty of lawyers willing to do Trumps bidding, he chooses the candidate who has so much baggage. Hes testing his strength and if anyone in his party has the backbone to oppose him.

[Matt Gaetz] is an extraordinary choice. [Trump is] testing his strength and if anyone in his party has the backbone to oppose him Michael Bromwich, former DoJ inspector general

Gaetz will not be able to obtain a security clearance because of the sex-trafficking criminal investigation that was finally closed a year ago, the House ethics committee investigation, and other acts of mischief. Its hard to imagine he is capable of being confirmed even with a Republican majority in the Senate.

Similarly, Daniel Richman, a law professor at Columbia University and an ex-federal prosecutor, deplored Trumps choice of Gaetz. Trumps selection of him shows a contempt for the department that is sure to lead those within it, particularly in the DC area, to think hard about whether they can bear to stay, he said.

But in tapping Gaetz, Trump lavishly praised him, declaring he will end Weaponized Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organizations and restore Americans badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department.

Further, Trumps picking Gaetz jibed with older concerns about Trumps debunked claims he was the victim of a vendetta and lawfare led by the special counsel Jack Smith, who filed criminal charges against Trump for conspiring to subvert his 2020 loss and for improperly taking hundreds of classified documents after he left office.

Trump and his lawyers have vehemently denied Smiths charges.

Last month, Trump said he would fire Smith in two seconds and that Smith ought to be thrown out of the country. Likewise, Trumps multibillionaire ally Elon Musk said Smith cannot go unpunished, and the House judiciary chair, Jim Jordan, has warned Smith to preserve everything and suggested investigations could be coming.

Smith is now in the process of winding down his two investigations and planning to leave his post before Trump takes office in January given that Gaetz would almost certainly move to drop the cases at Trumps request, say ex-justice department prosecutors.

Compounding concerns about Trumps plans to exert more influence at the justice department was the US supreme courts highly controversial ruling on 1 July that granted presidents wide-ranging immunity from prosecution for their official acts.

Critics worry too that the rule of law and the justice department will be badly weakened in light of Trumps often calling those convicted of crimes for their violent actions during the January 6 insurrection to block the certification of Bidens win patriots, and suggested that he would grant many pardons when he takes office.

In another sign on Thursday that Trump is moving aggressively to overhaul the justice department, he tapped Todd Blanche, the key lawyer who defended him against the Smith charges and the 34 counts of business fraud that he was convicted on in New York, to be deputy attorney general.

Ex-justice department officials say Trump risks violating historical standards of independence with his threats to punish his political enemies who besides Smith include Biden, the ex-House speaker Nancy Pelosi and others.

Trumps revenge agenda is utterly inconsistent with the Department of Justices standards for initiating investigations and prosecutions, said Bromwich. Anyone in DoJ who implements that agenda would violate not only historical practice but specific DoJ requirements embodied in its internal regulations.

Although they might curry favor with the White House, they would subject themselves to misconduct investigations within DoJ  unless that function is neutered  and risk the loss of their license to practice law.

In a related vein, Bromwich warned: There is no doubt that the Republican Congress will be willing accomplices in the pursuit of Trumps enemies, including people who investigated and prosecuted him. The saving grace is the incompetence of the investigators who demonstrated their ineptness  over and over again  in pursuing the impeachment of President Biden and various other wild goose chases.

Other ex-prosecutors worry Trump now may move aggressively to target his political foes given the supreme court presidential immunity ruling this year.

I have concerns about a Trump administration in which he now enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution, said Barbara McQuade, a former top prosecutor in the eastern district of Michigan who now teaches law at the University of Michigan. An order by Trump to his attorney general to prosecute his rivals would be barred from prosecution, giving Trump a freer hand to target his foes.

McQuade noted: Even a loyalist attorney general cant prosecute a case without assistants. I am hopeful that career professionals at DoJ would refuse to carry out illegal orders [and] that could result in their resignations or firings, and then replacement by people who are willing to obey.

McQuade stressed too: After Watergate, the justice department installed norms designed to protect it from partisan influence. Gaetz seems determined to take a sledgehammer to those norms.

Richman worries Jordan and other Trump allies could try to undermine justice department independence to further Trumps revenge agenda and bring law enforcement personnel to testify before Congress on their past actions under the Biden administration. Should this happen  and it may start with Jack Smith and the career prosecutors who worked with him  the damage to department morale and effectiveness will be grievous, he said.

Meanwhile, its not clear what will happen with Smiths extensive work documenting his charges against Trump for conspiring to overturn his loss in 2020 and leaving office with a large cache of classified documents

Smith is reportedly working on a final report about his findings in the two federal cases charging Trump with criminal conduct to submit to Merrick Garland, which the attorney general has the option of making public before he leaves office.

Smith also faces a decision about whether to indict any of the co-conspirators who were unnamed but widely identified in the election-subversion case, although any Trump allies he charged would very likely get presidential pardons, say ex-prosecutors.

In another legal area, critics say that if Trump goes ahead with granting many presidential pardons to January 6 insurrectionists as he has suggested, that would be very damaging to the rule of law and justice department morale. While Trump has hedged at times about just how many people he would pardon of the more than 1,500 convicted of crimes for taking part in the violent attack on the Capitol, he told a CNN town hall in May 2023: I am inclined to pardon many of them.

I am concerned that he may recklessly and contemptuously pardon the most serious of the January 6 perpetrators despite their insurrection and violence, Ty Cobb, a former Trump White House lawyer and ex-justice department official, said.

Cobb said he was concerned about Trumps overhaul of the justice department and what the Gaetz pick portends. Im concerned about the integrity of the entire department given the Gaetz appointment. Vengeance for Trump and further violence to the rule of law beyond what Trumps crimes to date have seen are the desired consequences of having Gaetz as AG, he said.
Chinas president, Xi Jinping, has heaped praise on Keir Starmers economic policy, as the UK prime minister used their first meeting to raise concerns about sanctions on MPs and the treatment of the pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai.

During their conversation at the G20 summit in Rio, the first meeting between the UK and Chinas leaders in six years, Starmer said he would be keen to host a full bilateral meeting with Xi and the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, in Beijing or London as soon as possible, aimed at turning the page on frosty UK-China relations.

In a marked change of tone from previous years, Xi said Starmer was fixing the foundations of the UK economy, echoing the prime ministers own slogan. He said the pair would break new ground in the relationship.

Related: Starmer aims to build pragmatic and serious relationship in meeting with Xi

But the prime minister also raised human rights concerns with the Chinese president about sanctions on British Conservative MPs and the deterioration of Lai, a British citizen and Hong Kong democracy activist.

Starmer promised a strong UK-China relationship and said the pair had agreed there should be no more surprises between the two countries. Chinese officials bundled British journalists out of the meeting when Starmer raised the plight of Lai, who is being held in Hong Kong.

The world has entered a new period marked by turbulence and transformation, Xi said in the meeting. The new UK government is working to fix the foundations of the economy and rebuild Britain and has set the vision of Britain reconnected. And China is further deepening reform across the board to advance Chinese modernisation.

Starmer said the pair had acknowledged they wanted relations to be consistent, durable, respectful and, as we have agreed, avoid surprises where possible.

A strong UK-China relationship is important for both of our countries and for the broader international community, he said at the top of the meeting. The UK will be a predictable, consistent, sovereign actor committed to the rule of law.

He proposed a full bilateral meeting with Li in Beijing or London, and for the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to meet her counterpart, He Lifeng, which is expected to happen in Beijing in January.

Im keen that my chancellor should meet with Vice-Premier He for the upcoming economic financial dialogue early next year to explore more investment projects and a more level playing field to help our businesses, Starmer said.

Im very pleased that my foreign secretary and foreign minister Wang met recently to discuss respective concerns including on human rights and parliamentary sanctions, Taiwan, the South China Sea and our shared interest in Hong Kong. We are concerned by reports of Jimmy Lais deterioration.

More than 100 senior politicians from 22 countries have called on China to release Lai before his trial that restarts in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Held in custody since December 2020, Lai faces a range of sedition and foreign collusion charges that include meeting politicians in the US.

Signatories to the appeal include the chairs of a range of foreign affairs committees and prominent MPs from across Europe, Canada and Australia and the Balkans. The signatories point out that Lai is 77, a British citizen and was declared as being arbitrarily detained by a UN panel last week.

In a statement, they claim he has been held inhumanely in solitary confinement in a maximum-security prison for four years, and call for his immediate release before it is too late. The UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, recently met Jimmy Lais son Sebastian to promise to do all he could to secure his release.

Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said Starmer the UKs world standing risked being weakened if Starmer was not robust with China. While it is important to have a constructive diplomatic dialogue with China, the prime minister should have been stronger in raising our concerns over human rights, the repressive nature of the national security laws imposed on Hong Kong, and the security, safety and wellbeing of British nationals, like Jimmy Lai, who should be freed from custody, she said.

The former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, who is also under sanctions from Beijing, condemned Starmers attempt to resuscitate relations. President Xi has no regard for the UK and is trashing all the rules-based order around the world  from human rights to the WTO, China just ignores what it is told, he said.

No British prime minister had met Xi since Theresa May visited Beijing in 2018 in the midst of a trade push during Brexit negotiations, though Boris Johnson spoke to the Chinese president during the pandemic.

Since then, relations have significantly cooled because of cyber threats, a human rights crackdown in Hong Kong and the sanctions against MPs. Lammy visited China last month in the first signal that the new Labour government saw a renewal of better ties as a diplomatic priority.
Atacms weapons systems could be used to support Ukrainian forces in Kursk, Russia. Photograph: South Korean defence ministry/AFP/Getty Images

The Kremlin has accused Joe Bidens outgoing US administration of wanting to escalate the conflict in Ukraine by allowing Kyiv to use long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia, vowing an appropriate and palpable response.

The decision, first reported on Sunday, to allow Ukraine to conduct strikes with US-made weapons deep into sovereign Russian territory has not been formally announced by the White House, but a German government spokesperson said on Monday that Berlin had been informed.

It is clear that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps to continue to add fuel to the fire and to further inflame tensions around this conflict, Vladimir Putins spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters. This decision is reckless, dangerous, aimed at a qualitative change, a qualitative increase in the level of involvement of the United States.

Russias foreign ministry said in a statement that the use of long-range US-supplied missiles against its territory would represent the direct involvement of the United States and its satellites in hostilities against Russia. It added: Russias response in such a case will be appropriate and palpable.

Biden, currently in Rio de Janeiro for his final G20 Summit, has yet to comment on the decision, which marks a significant shift in US policy.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had long pushed for authorisation from Washington to use the 190-mile range Army Tactical Missile System, known by its initials Atacms, to hit targets inside Russia.

Peskov said Putin had expressed his position clearly in September when the Russian leader warned that the move to let Kyiv use longer-range weapons against targets inside Russia would mean Nato would be directly at war with Moscow.

Putin had said Moscow would take the appropriate decisions based on the threats that we will face and previously suggested Moscow could supply long-range weapons to other countries with the aim of attacking western targets.

If someone thinks it is possible to supply such weapons to a war zone to attack our territory and create problems for us, why dont we have the right to supply our weapons, Putin told a press conference in St Petersburg in June.

Russian officials similarly pledged that Moscow would respond to Bidens decision, though they did not elaborate on what that response might entail.

Leonid Slutsky, the chair of the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic party of Russia, said the US was now directly participating in the military conflict in Ukraine. This will inevitably entail the toughest response from Russia, based on the threats that will be posed to our country, he said.

There were further Russian threats issued in state media, with the prominent propagandist Dmitry Kiselyov saying the west was directly entering the war with all the ensuing consequences for their own territories and those inhabiting them. Kiselyov said: The response could be anything. Anything.

On Monday, the Kremlin rejected a reported peace proposal from the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to be put forward at the G20 summit in Brazil, to freeze hostilities at the current positions of both parties.

Any option involving the freezing [of the conflict] along the line of engagement is unacceptable for Russia in any case, Peskov said, adding that Putin had declared Russias demands for ending the war in June when he said Ukraine would have to drop its Nato ambitions and withdraw all its troops from all the territory of four regions claimed by Russia.

The US decision is being justified by the presence of North Korean troops fighting alongside Russia against Ukraine. Briefings to US journalists said permission to use the missiles would be limited to the Kursk region, where Ukraine launched an incursion into Russia in the summer.

Several western officials praised the US decision to permit Ukraines use of long-range missiles. Ukraine should be able to use the arms we provide in order not only to stop the arrow but also to be able to hit the archers, the EUs chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, said before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, described Bidens decision as important and essential. She said in Brussels: The decision from the American side, and I would like to emphasise that this is not a rethink but an intensification of what has already been delivered by other partners, is so important at this moment.

A German government spokesperson said, however, that Germany was sticking with its decision not to supply Kyiv with long-range Taurus missiles. The decision by the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, to withhold its most powerful missile has been a significant point of contention in Germany.

The chancellors decision is unchanged, the German government spokesperson told a regular news conference in Berlin. Last week, Scholz held a telephone conversation with Putin about the war in Ukraine, in a move that drew criticism from Kyiv.

The UK on Monday refused to say whether its ongoing support for Ukraine would include allowing UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to be fired at targets in Russia.

Meanwhile, France said it was still considering whether to allow Ukraine to use its long-range Scalp missiles inside Russia. Jean-Noel Barrot, the minister for Europe and foreign affairs of France, said: We openly said this was an option that we would consider if it was to allow to strike a target from where Russia is currently aggressing Ukrainian territory. So nothing new on the other side.

But there was also criticism in Europe from Hungary, seen as Putins closest EU ally.

The pro-war mainstream has launched its last, desperate attack on the new reality, the Hungarian foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, wrote on Facebook, referring to the recent victory of Donald Trump.

The hawkish politicians ousted from power refuse to take note of the will of the people. This is not only undemocratic, but also extremely dangerous, Szijjarto added.

Trumps team are yet to officially comment on Bidens move. The president-elects son Don Jr criticised the decision, writing on X: The military industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get world war three going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives. Gotta lock in those $trillions. Life be damned! Imbeciles!

Elon Musk, a close Trump ally, claimed on his social media platform, X, that Russia would respond reciprocally to the US approval.

Some Russian officials openly voiced hopes that the incoming Trump administration would overturn the decision after taking office in late January.

These guys, Bidens administration, are trying to escalate the situation to the maximum while they still have power and are still in office, the Russian lawmaker Maria Butina said. I have a great hope that Trump will overcome this decision if this has been made because they are seriously risking the start of world war three, which is not in anybodys interest.
Atacms can strike targets up to 190 miles away. Photograph: South Korean defence ministry/AFP/Getty Images

It has taken an election defeat in the US and the arrival of 10,000 North Koreans in Ukraine for Joe Biden to finally relent. After two years of asking, Ukraines army has been given permission to use US long-range Atacms missiles to strike against targets inside Russia. The military and political consequences remain uncertain.

Russia has been able to bomb targets across all of Ukraine throughout the war. On Sunday it attacked key sites across the countrys power network, forcing Kyiv to implement national electricity rationing as a result of the damage caused. Some missiles were aimed as far west as Lviv and at sites near the border with Moldova, and an energy crisis is closer as a result.

Related: Atacms missiles: what are they and why are they important for Ukraine?

Kyiv did not have a significant long-range missile programme before the full-scale Russian invasion and has been hamstrung by its western backers ever since. The US, UK and France may have donated long-range missiles but they have only allowed them to be used against targets inside Ukraines internationally recognised borders  meaning that key airfields, fuel depots, logistics sites and barracks in Russia had remained beyond the reach of Ukraine, except through drone attacks.

White House leaks to US media on Sunday night indicate that Biden, with two months of his presidency left to run, has given permission for Atacms missiles, which have a range of 190 miles (300km), to be used inside Russia. However, there is an apparent qualification: they must be used in relation to the battle in Kursk oblast. There, Russia, with the help of North Korea, has massed about 50,000 troops and is aiming to snuff out Ukraines three-month incursion.

Reading the tea leaves, unfortunately this looks like more incrementalism, said George Barros, a Ukraine expert at the US Institute for the Study of War. It looks like the US wants the Atacms missiles to be used precisely against the North Koreans in Kursk, yet there is a large volume of meaningful Russian support infrastructure in locations such as Rostov, Belgorod and Vorenezh.

Though there have been no Atacms missile attacks inside Russia recorded yet, some effects are expected to be immediate. Russian military planners are likely to move anything they believe is at risk out of range if they can do so fast enough.

That may be good value for the US also given that Atacms stockpiles are not plentiful and the missiles, at a cost of somewhere between $1m and$2m, are not cheap.

There may also be a value in directly threatening North Korea, whose entry into the war is hugely significant, Barros said. So far the western response has been lacklustre, and there are reports that North Korea may be willing to send as many as 100,000 to fight against Ukraine. With Russia and Ukraines combat forces considered very roughly matched at somewhere between 600,000 and 700,000, dissuading North Korea from sending more troops could be significant.

With a Donald Trump presidency looming, Ukraine also badly needs an opportunity to show what it can do, with western help, on the battlefield. The Ukrainians need to convince the incoming US administration that they are still worth backing  in Trumps transactional view, a good investment, argued Matthew Savill, of the Royal United Services Institute thinktank.

In response, the west has to contend with Russian threats of escalation, though the reality of the Ukraine war is that, as Savill points out, Moscow has already escalated. Russia is already engaged in a heightened sabotage campaign across Europe, with assassination plots targeting western arms makers and arson plots, including sending incendiary devices via the DHL network to the UK.

Meanwhile in Ukraine, the attacks on power plants and substations primarily affect civilians, particularly when electricity is lost. Russias strategy of escalating attacks, especially around holidays or weekends, is intended to break the spirit of Ukrainians and remind them of the hardships of war, said Vladyslav Faraponov, the head of the board of Ukraines Institute of American Studies.

However, few experts believe that even allowing Ukraine to use Atacms more broadly inside Russia will have a decisive military effect. The US permission may well be followed by the UK, France and Italy agreeing to donate more of their Storm Shadow/Scalp missiles, which have a similar range, and allowing them to be used inside Russia. But again, stocks are limited, even if permission is given by the Europeans and the US, which provides a guidance system on which the missile relies.

Ukraine remains under serious pressure in the east, with Russian forces threatening to form a pocket that would encircle Kurakhove in the south. Though Russian casualties are running at record levels of about 1,500 a day, as the Kremlin tries to persuade Trump and his team that its victory is inevitable with constant frontline attacks, Ukraine is also short on personnel numbers and has never obtained decisive western support at any point during the war.

Over time, Ukrainians have learned to live with initial refusals on the delivery or use of critical weapons, followed by hesitant maybes, and only after countless lives are lost, a reluctant yes. Unfortunately, this reactive approach is not what Ukraine needs to preserve its independence or endure potential negotiations, Faraponov said.

A late decision to loosen restrictions on one missile type is not obviously the kind of decisive support that Ukraine hopes for either.
Billy Coull was sentenced to 120 hours of unpaid work - Spindrift Photo Agency

The man behind the notorious Willy Wonka experience that left children in tears because of its low quality has been exposed as a sex pest.

Billy Coull, 36, who made international headlines after footage of his low-budget Glasgow exhibit went viral, has been placed on the sex offenders register for hounding his female victim with a barrage of sexual messages.

His lawyer blamed Coulls action on a decline in his mental health, because of the global attention and ridicule the botched event had attracted.

The 35 a head Willy Wonka experience, held in a Glasgow warehouse in February, promised a day where dreams come to life and was promoted with elaborate marketing.

However, it was axed within hours and police were called after furious parents complained that their children had been offered half cups of lemonade and small rations of jelly beans, in little more than an abandoned, empty warehouse.

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that weeks after his event ended in disaster, Coull began messaging his victim online.

He repeatedly sent explicit pictures and messages to her despite being told to stop. One of the texts stated that Coull was a wolf and that she was his prey.

The event was promoted with elaborate marketing online and drew criticism from the international community - SWNS/Jenny Fogarty

Coull charged parents 35 a head for entry to the experience which only had basic decorations - SWNS/Jenny Fogarty

He was accused of messaging his victim from a fake Facebook account in March. He continued to message the woman on Snapchat and WhatsApp and used sexual language. Coull referred to her as sexy, sugar lips and my wee charm.

On July 2, Coull sent a Snapchat saying: Im the wolf and you are my prey, I will get you.

The matter was then reported to the police and Coull, of Anniesland in Glasgow, was arrested.

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that Coull suffered a decline in his mental health owing to the significant media attention which included a documentary being made about him.

Stories about the event, and now infamous images of a sad-looking actress portraying an Oompa Loompa and a bizarre masked villain called The Unknown, featured in outlets including CNN, the New York Times and the Rolling Stone.

The moment Billy Coull is confronted by angry parents at the entrance to the Willy Wonka event

The event provoked comparisons to notorious flop events which do not live up to their marketing, such as the 2017 Fyre Festival in The Bahamas, which promised to be a luxury VIP music festival but turned into a viral disaster.

Neil Stewart, defending Coull, told the sentencing hearing: He has been distressed with the proceedings and will never do something of this nature again.

Sheriff Mark Maguire, sentencing, said that the custodial threshold had been passed by Coull but he was able to impose an alternative to custody. He had earlier pleaded guilty to engaging in a course of criminal behaviour which was abusive.

The former charity worker was sentenced to 120 hours of unpaid work and put under supervision for a year. He was also placed on the sex offenders register for 12 months.

Sheriff Maguire added: She told you to desist from using sexual language but despite this, you sent intimate images and messages of an alarming character.

She told you to stop and you failed to desist and sent further messages of a menacing nature.
The IOPC conducted a year-long investigation before passing a file to the Crown Prosecution Service - Dan Kitwood

A Metropolitan Police officer is due to appear in court after allegedly tasering a man who then fell off an outbuilding and was left with life-changing injuries.

Pc Liam Newman, 30, based at Ilford police station, will appear at Westminster magistrates court on Wednesday accused of grievous bodily harm.

He was chasing a 61-year-old man on foot in Woodford Green, east London, on April 24 2022 when the suspect climbed onto a shed structure and fell after Mr Newman tasered him, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.

The IOPC conducted a year-long investigation before passing a file to the Crown Prosecution Service, which then authorised the charge.

Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell, who leads policing in the area, said: I am acutely aware of the level of public concern following this incident. Our officers understand it is vitally important to maintain public trust and confidence, and that such matters are thoroughly investigated.

Given that criminal proceedings are now active, we must now allow the circumstances to be examined in open court.
An escaped hamster is captured on an Airbus A321neo at Ponta Delgada airport. It took staff five days to find all the rodents - CM Journal

More than 130 hamsters grounded a plane for five days after they broke free and ran riot inside the cargo hold.

The rodents had been on a flight from Lisbon to Ponta Delgada, on Portugals Sao Miguel Island, last Wednesday, along with ferrets and some caged birds that were due to be delivered to a pet store in the Azores archipelago.

However, when airport staff unloaded the hold they found that the hamsters transport boxes were empty.

The plane, belonging to Portugals TAP national airline, had to be grounded until all 132 hamsters were recaptured over fears that they might gnaw through the aircrafts electrical cabling.

It took maintenance staff at Ponta Delgada Airport until Sunday to root out the last 16 hamsters on the plane.

Only then was the Airbus A321neo finally declared rodent-free and fit to return to Lisbon on a so-called ferry flight with no passengers on board.

The hamsters were due to be delivered to a pet store - CM Journal

TAP Air Portugal said the plane would now undergo exhaustive checks to ensure that no significant damage had been done by the hamsters sharp teeth.

Like all rodent species, hamsters continually gnaw at hard materials to prevent their teeth, which grow throughout their lives, from becoming too long.

Portugals specialist aviation news site Aviacao TV reported that passengers and their luggage were also on board the flight.

It added: Upon landing, the teams responsible for baggage collection noticed that the [hamster] boxes had been damaged and that rodents were loose.

The boxes containing the hamsters were not accepted on a separate flight out of Lisbon as the containers were not considered to be compliant with hold requirements, according to Correio da Manha, the Portuguese newspaper.

For some reason, it appears that the boxes were allowed on a subsequent flight to Ponta Delgada.

The Telegraph has contacted TAP for comment.

It comes after a horse forced a Belgium-bound Boeing 747 cargo jet to turn back to New York after it broke free on board last year.

Earlier in 2023, a bear freed itself from its crate on an Iraqi Airways flight from Dubai to Baghdad.

Last year, a giant albino rat shocked passengers on a flight from Bangkok to Taipei after escaping from a passengers luggage, along with an otter. The rodents sparked a frenzied search on the VietJet plane before being wrestled into plastic bags. In the tussle, the rat bit a flight attendant.
Nationals senator Matt Canavan has questioned aspects of the proposed electoral law reforms, saying if the cap was too low it could deny new entrants from participating in the democratic process. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Some Nationals are disgruntled the Albanese governments electoral bill will deliver more money to party head offices, but Labor is still hoping to pass spending and donation caps with opposition support.

On Monday Labor shut down a bid by the independent MP Kate Chaney to send its proposed reforms to an inquiry, as crossbench fury over the bill grew.

Chaney told the house the major parties were relying on the increasing disengagement of the public to pass the bill without scrutiny.

But the fate of the electoral reform and electoral communications bills, introduced in the House of Representatives on Monday, will hinge on the Coalition, from which Labor believes it has in-principle support.

Related: Labor and Liberals could each get $19m more from the public under electoral law reform. What else would it do?

On Monday at a meeting of the junior Coalition partner, the Nationals, Senator Matt Canavan queried the reforms.

Canavan later equivocated, telling ABC TV he had not seen evidence that political donations influence party policy, but the way to minimise that concern is to have the funding made in a public fashion.

We do need to run campaigns and I also think theres an issue with large donors coming into the system which distort democratic process.

Its just about finding a balance here  the cap shouldnt be too low to deny new entrants, deny others participating in the democratic process, but there probably needs to be some restraint on unlimited amounts of money.

Another parliamentarian, who insisted on anonymity to speak frankly about internal deliberations, told Guardian Australia they were concerned the reforms would further centralise campaigns.

The reforms raise the public funding of elections to $5 per vote and grant administrative funding of $30,000 per MP and $15,000 per senator to party head offices to deal with more onerous disclosure requirements.

The parliamentarian argued these measures would be worse for MPs and senators who would be hamstrung by caps that make it harder to raise local funds for local campaigns, with centralised funds used as another management tool for enforcing party discipline.

I dont want more nodding monkeys controlled out of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

The shadow finance minister, Liberal senator Jane Hume, remained tight-lipped about the package, although the crossbench treated the Coalitions decision not to support its push for an inquiry as further evidence of a major party deal.

The legislation has only been introduced today, a spokesperson for Hume said. As usual, it will go through our party room processes and we will determine our position after that.

Independents and minor parties have queried why the legislation, which will not take effect until July 2026 after the 2025 election, must pass this fortnight.

Chaney attempted to send the reforms to an inquiry to report by 3 March, but the motion was defeated 50 votes to 14, with the crossbench united but Coalition MPs abstaining.

The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, told the lower house that if the legislation is as good as the government says it is, then they will have nothing to hide from an inquiry.

Chaney told the house the major parties were leaning on the complexity of this bill, the crowded media space to [rush] it through to get away with the only path theyve got left to arrest the trend of declining support for the sclerotic leadership the two parties offer to the public.

In a show of force 11 MPs and senators, including senator David Pocock and seven teal MPs whose campaigns raised more than the $800,000 proposed cap for an electorate-level campaign, fronted the media to oppose the bill.

We will not be hoodwinked by this blatant attempt to lock out political competition, Chaney told reporters.

If the reforms pass, the major parties could reap an estimated additional $82.7m in higher public funding and $16.5m in administrative funding if they maintain their vote share from the 2022 election at the 2028 poll, according to an analysis by funding aggregator Climate 200.

The independent senator Jacqui Lambie said major parties have their snouts in the trough so far that theyre blowing that many bubbles I could jump in and have a bubble bath.

There is nothing I can think of worse, towards the end of the year, the end of sittings, and all the major parties are worried about is money and trying to maintain their seats.

Heres a good idea: why dont you go and do what we all have to do  go earn [votes], instead of buying them.

Related: Electoral reform  its the worst. Snitty the Psephological Cassowary tries to make it interesting | First Dog on the Moon

The independent MP Andrew Wilkie labelled the major parties self-serving political dinosaurs.

Earlier, the assistant minister to the prime minister, Pat Gorman, told the house the bills would remove the influence of big money in politics, ensuring that our electoral system remains a system we can all trust.

Trust that election results are not unfairly skewed by big money. Trust that elections are a contest of ideas, not bank balances.

Trust that we know who is funding election campaigns with more information about campaign financing provided before voting day.
Ms Reevess profile site was updated to state her role was in retail banking at Halifax instead - Tayfun Salci

Downing Street has refused to say whether Rachel Reeves broke the Ministerial Code amid accusations that she lied about her CV.

The Chancellor quietly edited her profile on LinkedIn last week to remove her previous claim that she worked as an economist at the Bank of Scotland between 2006 and 2009.

The site was updated to state that her role was in retail banking at Halifax. She has also been accused of lying about how long she spent working at the Bank of England.

The Chancellor removed her previous claim that she worked as an economist at the Bank of Scotland between 2006 and 2009 from her LinkedIn profile - Rachel Reeves/LinkedIn

On Monday, the Prime Ministers official deputy spokesman was asked: Is lying on your CV a breach of the Ministerial Code?

The spokesman responded by pointing to the Treasury, before saying: I think with regards to the Chancellor, the Prime Minister is very clear that the Chancellor has restored fiscal stability.

This is someone who, on coming into office, looked under the bonnet and exposed a 22 billion black hole in the public finances and has been honest with the public.

On being challenged about whether Ms Reeves had been straight with the public regarding her employment history, the spokesman declined to give a direct answer.

She said: He is very clear that this is a Chancellor that has been straight with the public about the state of the public finances and what is necessary to restore financial stability  that is most important.

Ms Reevess LinkedIn profile was updated to state that her role was in retail banking at Halifax rather than at the Bank of Scotland - Rachel Reeves/LinkedIn

Worked at the Bank for best part of a decade

A Treasury source responded to the row over Ms Reevess LinkedIn profile last week by saying her resume was updated to reflect her retail banking experience.

The source said: She worked in retail banking covering various areas drawing on her background as an economist. Her LinkedIn has been updated to reflect that.

In an interview with Stylist magazine in 2021, Ms Reeves said she spent a decade as an economist at the Bank of England and loved it.

She made a similar claim in a video posted to her X profile on Sep 24 this year, in which she said: I worked at the Bank for the best part of a decade.

In a video posted to her X profile on Sep 24 this year, Ms Reeves said she worked at the Bank for the best part of a decade - Rachel Reeves/X

But Ms Reevess LinkedIn profile only lists a six-year period of service at the Bank, which ran from September 2000 to December 2006.

It came as the seniority of Ms Reevess experience was called into question on Monday after a historic tweet emerged in which she said she held a very junior role.

Responding to a post that has now been deleted, she wrote in May 2012: Indeed  I first met him when I was the very junior Japan analyst at the Bank of England 12 years ago!

One of the six years that Ms Reeves spent at the Bank was during her masters degree at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Economical with the truth

Throughout her time as shadow chancellor, Ms Reeves has repeatedly made the argument that her banking experience makes her best placed to grow the economy.

She wrote on X last year: As a former Bank of England economist, I know what it will take to get Britains economy back on track.

She has also said her tenure at the Bank of England taught her how important stability is for our economy, what it takes to run a successful economy and the value of independent economic institutions.

Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, accused Ms Reeves of being economical with the truth over the weekend.

He said: During the election campaign, she lied through her teeth about not raising taxes on working people, adding: Now shes been exposed brazenly lying about her CV, which would be curtains for most people. Its one rule for her, another for everyone else.

Last year, Ms Reeves said she held her hands up and confessed to having made mistakes when it emerged her new book included a number of passages from Wikipedia.

The Women Who Made Modern Economics, a 288-page guide to overlooked female economists, directly reproduced text from elsewhere without crediting the original sources.

Ms Reeves told the BBC at the time: It is true that there were some sentences in the book that were not properly referenced in the bibliography.

Im the author of that book, I hold my hands up and say I shouldve done better In any future reprints, I will make sure that everything is properly referenced in the bibliography.
Kenyon Lewis lives in 8900 block of Cloudstone Place in Northeast Bexar County. Bexar County Sheriff's Office

The Bexar County Sheriff's Office is seeking the public's help with its search for a missing 16-year-old, who was last seen early Saturday morning.

Kenyon Lewis was last observed around 12:30 a.m. wearing a black hoodie and sweat pants. The sheriff's office said the 5-foot-11 teenager is diagnosed with a medical condition.

ALSO READ: San Antonio police search for gunman who shot man at a Northeast Side hotel and fled

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Lewis lives in the 8900 block of Cloudstone Place in Northeast Bexar County. He has a cell phone, but calls to it are immediately forwarded to voicemail, the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post.
Police said they were called to the Moss Side area of the city at about 5am on Sunday. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

A man in his 20s has been arrested on suspicion of a double murder after two men were fatally stabbed in Manchester.

The 23-year-old suspect has been detained under the Mental Health Act after being assessed by medical professionals, Greater Manchester Police said on Sunday evening.

Police said they were called to Great Southern Street in the Moss Side area of the city at about 5am on Sunday, responding to reports of two people being stabbed.

Two men were treated at the scene for their injuries and despite the best efforts of first responders were pronounced dead, Greater Manchester police said.

Detectives said they were treating it as an isolated incident with no threat to the wider public. No one else is being sought. No further details about the victims have been released.

There was a heavy emergency service presence in the area on Sunday with the force asking the public to avoid the area if possible.

Ch Supt Dave Meeney of Greater Manchester police said he understood the shockwaves the incident would have caused in the local community and across Greater Manchester. He said a number of local neighbourhood officers would conduct visible patrols in the area to help reassure people.

Anyone with knowledge of the incident has been encouraged to contact police on 101 quoting 553 of 17/11/24.

Information can also be shared anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
A weasel turned out to be the shoe-stealer at a kindergarten in Japan. It is thought it might be using the items to line its nest in time for winter. Photograph: Stephan Morris Photography/Alamy

Police and staff were initially flummoxed when shoes started disappearing from a kindergarten in south-west Japan, not least because the thefts were of single shoes, not pairs.

Unable to get to the bottom of two incidents reported earlier this month, police installed three security cameras in the hope the thief would strike again, according to the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper.

Then, when a single shoe went missing from Gosho Kodomo-en kindergarten in Koga, Fukuoka prefecture, on the night of 11 November, investigators sifted through camera footage, believing they had finally caught their footwear-filching suspect in the act.

The culprit, however, turned out to have four legs, a coat of orangey-brown fur and sharp claws.

Camera footage revealed that a weasel had appeared from behind a wall the previous evening before approaching cubbyholes storing childrens indoor shoes and making off with a single white shoe in its mouth  all in the space of about 10 seconds.

The kindergartens head had contacted police in early November after 15 shoes belonging to 10 children had vanished. The following day, another three had gone, while other shoes, which the children wear only inside, were found scattered on the floor.

Related: Curious case of the missing monkeys turns spotlight on South Carolina lab

We were very worried, but were relieved now that we know it was an animal, a member of staff told the Mainichi.

The newspaper quoted a local police officer as saying that, to his knowledge, the mystery of the missing shoes was the first of its kind.

Prof Hiroshi Sasaki at Chikushi Jogakuen University said the shoe-stealing weasel had probably just given birth and, given the animals sensitivity to the cold, was using the shoes to line its nest for the winter.

The shoes whereabouts remain unknown, however, and the childcare centre is hoping to prevent a repeat of the incidents by covering the cubbyholes with nets at night in what it described as a crime prevention measure.

Japanese-language references to the weasel have similarly negative connotations to those found in English. According to the late Japan-based naturalist CW Nicol, the musky scent of the Japanese weasel gave rise to the saying itachi no saigo-pei. That literally translates as the weasels final fart, but is used to refer to the last word or act of an unpopular or dislikable person.
Two British police officers

What connects a loopy geologist, the Welsh Government and the hounding of Allison Pearson? Well, the lines between these dots illustrate how an ideology evolves from conception, to structure, to enforcement  and how free speech dies in the process.

Last week The Telegraph quoted Kathryn Yusoff, a professor at Queen Mary, University of London, describing geology as riven by systemic racism. It began as a colonial practice, created a geo trauma, and operates within a white supremacist praxis.

Very funny: another misguided academic in a world of their own. But we concurrently reported that the Welsh Government hopes to change the beliefs and behaviour of the white majority as part of an official anti-racist strategy. This strategy  which utilises public bodies, mandatory training etc  strikes a similar vibe to our angry geologist, all the way down to delivering a balanced, authentic and decolonised account of the past.

Whats often dismissed as the isolated rantings of the university elite in fact shapes policy  either because academics are educating the politicians of tomorrow or theyre directly contributing to said policy. The co-chairman of Waless strategic plan is one Prof Emmanuel Ogbonna CBE who, in a recent paper, identified two competing approaches to reducing racial disparity: volunteerism or compulsion. Both, he said, were necessary: after all, slavery would have taken a lot longer to abolish had we waited for slave owners to change their hearts and minds.

This is both fair comment and an insight into the moral imagination of the Left. If you assume that the West is racist, youve got to fix it. If you believe racism is morally corrosive, you cant leave a racist population to do it for itself: youve got to reprogram society from the top down.

Raising objections to such therapeutic brainwashing is hard because its motivations sound so good. The recording of non-crime hate incidents, as happened to my friend Allison, is a legacy of the botched investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993. The police had failed to see that this vile crime was racially motivated. Henceforth, they would acknowledge anti-social thought, log and monitor it, to prevent it escalating into violence.

The Soviet Union had a word for this: profilaktika. After Stalin, the security forces moved away from arbitrary arrest, finding it crude and likely to provoke resistance, embracing preventative measures instead, such as correcting poor-taste jokes told in the workplace. Go too far and youd be subject to besada, or chat, with a couple of coppers who, oozing paternalism and menace, would put you back on the righteous path.

Profilaktika used religious terminology, much as wokery deploys narratives of sin and confession, and was psychologically perceptive. Who doesnt want to fit in? To spot where others are going wrong and be the first to correct them? This is why the oft-stated claim that police officers who visit Telegraph columnists are unhappily following orders is probably false. Most of these officers have been raised and trained in PC culture. Id wager that they believe in it and enjoy enforcing it.

If weve learnt anything from lockdown, when neighbours ratted on each other and people felt compelled to applaud a health service they would normally curse, its that the British are inveterate conformists and the national myth of libertarian eccentricity is the exception, not the rule. There are 65 non-crime hate incidents reported each day. Its not the Germans or the Chinese doing this. Its us.

Allisons visit is the end result of an ideological revolution begun on campus, codified by Labour governments, and upheld by Tories  often by the same Tories who now express shock that anything like this could happen in the land of the free. Why didnt they change the rules when they were in office? Because many of them share the first principles articulated by anti-racist academics, namely that the state has a duty to inform how citizens think.

Faced with a choice between protecting the old right of freedom of speech vs the new right to freedom from offence, theyve come down on the side of the latter  part of a suite of elite preferences that also puts immigration over social cohesion, social justice over the real thing.

Allison joked that had she stolen 199 in groceries, the police wouldnt have spoken to her. Thats nothing. At the same time as the authorities are letting drug dealers out of jail to free up space  and a trainee teacher who shared videos of babies being raped dodged a custodial sentence altogether  a 23-year-old care worker has been given nine months for live-streaming the aftermath of a riot (note: not the riot itself).

This is objectively mad. But one of the great cruelties of any totalitarian thought system is that it generates madness and then, when you refuse to believe in it, calls you insane  just as the final destination for many Soviet dissidents wasnt the jail cell but the psych ward.

Weve all become prisoners of PC logic, whose contradictions are grimly inescapable. To paraphrase Joe Ortons satirical copper, Truscott of the Yard: If you accuse the police of brutality one more time, Ill take you down to the station and give you a thrashing.
A dying wish written in support of the assisted dying Bill - James Manning/PA

The assisted dying Bill is unworkable because there are not enough judges to approve decisions by terminally ill people, the shadow justice secretary has warned.

In a letter to Shabana Mahmood, the Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Robert Jenrick said there was a real risk that people considering assisted dying would die before the decision was taken due to court because of delays caused by a shortage of judges.

He also warned that a terminally ill persons close relatives could be cut out of the process and denied any right of appeal.

Meanwhile, judges would not have a chance to opt out because of conscientious objections and people could seek to expand the scope of the Bill through appeals to the European Court of Human Rights, he added.

Ms Mahmood, who oversees the courts as Lord Chancellor, has already indicated that she will vote against the assisted dying Bill put forward by Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP. The Bill will be debated on Nov 29, when MPs will have a free vote. Mr Jenrick is inclined to vote against it but has not made a final decision.

The legislation would allow terminally ill adults expected to die within six months to legally take their own lives, provided they have the support of two independent doctors and have been approved to do so by a High Court judge.

In his letter, Mr Jenrick said the entire premise of the Bill is hinged on judges being able to make rigorous and well considered decisions in a timely way.

Having consulted with members of the judiciary and senior practitioners, there is significant concern that the assisting dying procedure outlined in the Private Members Bill is unworkable. There is a real risk that those considering assisted dying will have passed away before a decision is made, wrote Mr Jenrick.

He cited evidence of the judicial shortages from Sir James Munby, the former president of the family division, about the courts that will probably hear assisted dying cases. Sir James estimated it could take up 34,000 hours of court time, when there are only 19,000 sitting hours a year.

If correct, this suggests the additional workload would simply be impossible to manage in any reasonable timeframe, leading to people dying before a decision has been made, said Mr Jenrick.

Mr Jenrick also said he had significant concerns that the process would be secretive, which could lead to errors and over-reach. There was no requirement for anyone other than a doctor to attend and no obligation to inform next of kin, he added.

Those seeking approval for assisted dying could do so without their loved ones being consulted, even though they could be best placed to raise concerns about coercion or other impropriety, he said.

In some circumstances close family members will be best placed to provide evidence and information on the situation of the individual, including to raise concerns about coercion or other impropriety, he added.

Mr Jenrick said the Bill also lacked an investigative element beyond the court hearing to probe any concerns. Although doctors could opt out, no such allowance is provided for judges who may have a sincere, conscientious objection to their involvement, he added.

He also warned there was likely to be a challenge to any legislation under the European Convention on Human Rights on the basis that it discriminated between terminally ill adults and other people with serious disabilities and illnesses. This could mean the scope of those eligible could be expanded.

Mr Jenrick asked Ms Mahmood to reply to the questions before the second reading vote on Nov 29.

I do not therefore raise these questions as an attempt to create partisan divides where there are none, but instead to ensure that the full implications of this legislation have been considered and MPs are equipped with the best information with which to make their decision, he said.
Robloxs move comes after an investor last month alleged it had found child sexual abuse content, sex games, violent content and abusive speech on the site. Photograph: Sopa/Alamy

The fast-growing childrens gaming platform Roblox is to hand parents greater oversight of their childrens activity and restrict the youngest users from the more violent, crude and scary content after warnings about child grooming, exploitation and sharing of indecent images.

From Monday, Roblox will grant parents access to a dashboard on their own phone showing who their child is interacting with, how long they are spending on Roblox each day and to make sure they are accurately recording their age.

It will also restrict users under nine to games rated mild, with access to moderate content allowed only with parental approval. Mild content might involve unrealistic blood or unrealistic violence whereas the blood would look realistic for moderate violence.

Preteens will also be blocked from chat functions outside of games as part of a worldwide tightening of the rules on the most visited online destination among British eight- to 12-year-olds after Google, Metas Instagram and Facebook, and TikTok.

The moves comes after a short-seller last month alleged it had found child sexual abuse content, sex games, violent content and abusive speech on the site. In the UK, Peter Kyle, the secretary of state for science and technology, told parliament: I expect that company to do better in protecting service users, particularly children.

Robloxs millions of brightly coloured user-generated gaming worlds are enjoyed by 90 million daily users worldwide, according to the $3bn (2.4bn) annual revenue Silicon Valley company.

Children using Roblox can choose from 6m games and experiences devised by users, and play with friends and strangers who are able to message them in real time.

Already the company runs automated software that clamps down on texts that aim to lure children off the platform and vets the images, audio, video and the 3D models for content that breaches community standards.

The most popular games last week included the dressing-up game Dress to Impress and the angling game Fisch. But there are also games themed around depression, violence and some which are described as racism simulators.

Last month, Hindenburg Research, , described Roblox as an X-rated paedophile hellscape, replete with users attempting to groom our avatars, groups openly trading child pornography, widely accessible sex games, violent content and extremely abusive speech  all of which is open to young children.

It revealed it took a short position in Roblox shares, while the gaming platform described the claims as misleading and said safety and civility was foundational to the company.

On 16 October, the MP Mike Reader told parliament about a constituent who was a volunteer moderator and had identified and banned over 14,000 accounts involved in child grooming, exploitation and sharing indecent images as part of a group.

Kyle responded: Companies releasing products into our society should see that as a privilege, not a right. I have high expectations, on behalf of this country, to ensure that safety is baked in from the start.

Restrictions to prevent under-13s accessing new Roblox games that are awaiting maturity ratings will begin on 3 December. From Monday, under-13s will also be prevented from using games that use chalkboard writing as these attract teens  drawing things that may be inappropriate for our youngest audience, said the chief safety officer, Matt Kaufman.

Explaining the new parental controls, Robloxs senior product manager, Dina Lamdany, said: Parents will be able to view their childs screen time over the last week, as well as set daily limits on that screen time. In addition, from that same dashboard, parents will be able to view their childs friends. We hope that this will encourage parents to have conversations with their kids about who their child is spending time with on Roblox.
US Army conducting live fire tests of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico - JOHN HAMILTON

Follow the latest Ukraine updates

Olaf Scholz is still refusing to send Germanys long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, despite the US allowing Kyiv limited use of its Atacms missiles for strikes in Russia.

The German chancellor told a press conference at the G20 summit in Brazil on Monday that it was only possible for Ukraine to use Taurus missiles if we take joint responsibility for target control.

That is something that I cannot be responsible for, and dont want to be responsible for, Mr Scholz explained.

Mr Scholz has strongly opposed sending Germanys Taurus missiles to Ukraine for fear of escalation if Ukraine hits politically sensitive targets with German-made weapons.

He has also repeatedly said the missiles could only be used with German help.

The chancellors decision is unchanged, a government spokesman told reporters in Berlin on Monday.

Robert Habeck, Germanys economic minister and the Green candidate for chancellor, said on Sunday that he would send Tauruses to Ukraine if he prevails in the countrys snap elections in February.

Taurus missiles have a longer range (311 miles) than the USs Atacms (190 miles) or the UKs Storm Shadows (155miles).

Ukraine on Saturday accused Mr Scholz of opening a Pandoras box for calling Vladimir Putin for the fist time in two years.

Former British defence secretary Ben Wallace said that Putin has the German chancellor exactly where he wants him and is laughing at him.

Mr Scholzs call was so ineffective that within a few hours Putin launched a massive illegal attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Mr Wallace wrote on X, adding that Scholz is probably best suited to chairing a sub committee of a local council.

06:20 PM GMT

Todays live coverage has ended

Todays live coverage has ended. Heres a roundup of the days events:

Olaf Scholz again refused to send Germanys long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

Sir Keir Starmer said Britain needs to double down on its support for Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky visited the frontline towns of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk as their defenders attempt to hold back the Russian onslaught.

Some Donald Trumps allies attacked Joe Bidens decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range American missiles to fire at targets inside Russia.

The Biden administration is throwing oil on the fire by lifting restrictions on Ukraines use of long-range missiles, the Kremlin said.

06:12 PM GMT

Biden is trying to tie Trumps hands on Ukraine, says Trump fundraiser

Joe Biden is trying to tie Trumps hands on Ukraine by authorising Ukraine to make long-range strikes in Russia during his last two months in the White House, according to major Trump backing tech entrepreneur David Sacks.

This decision is so reckless that it may have the opposite effect, Mr Sacks said.

It proves Trump was 100% right to warn about the risk of WWIII throughout his campaign, he added.

In June 2024, Mr Sacks raised $12 million dollars for the Trump campaign at a dinner held at his house in San Fransisco.

06:02 PM GMT

Starmer: UK needs to double down on support for Ukraine

Sir Keir Starmer said the UK needs to double down on support for Ukraine but did not confirm if this extended to authorising Kyiv to use Britains Storm Shadow missiles for strikes against Russia.

Im not going to get into operational details, because the only winner, if we were to do that, is Putin, and Im not prepared to do that, the Prime Minister said when asked about Storm Shadows.

Ive been really clear for a long time now we need to double down. We need to make sure Ukraine has what is necessary for as long as necessary, because we cannot allow Putin to win this war, he added.

05:50 PM GMT

US cannot confirm it has allowed Ukraine to use long-range missiles vs Russia

The Pentagon has refused to confirm widespread reports that it has allowed Ukraine to use US Atacms missiles for long-range strikes against Russia.

I cannot confirm the reports...I cannot go into more details about the reporting, deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said on Monday.

She added that Atacms were in limited supply and that Russia had already moved some targets like airfields out of range of the missiles.

04:57 PM GMT

Zelensky visits the frontline towns of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk

Volodymyr Zelensky visited the embattled towns of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk on Monday as their Ukrainian defenders attempt to hold back the Russian onslaught.

In Pokrovsk, Mr Zelensky visited the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade and awarded medals to soldiers. He then oversaw the construction of trenches and defensive structures at an unspecified location in Donetsk.

My Zelensky next headed to the city of Kupiansk, which last week repelled a major attack when two Russian tank convoys attempted to gain a foothold in the city.

Filming himself outside a large Kupiansk sign, Mr Zelensky paid tribute to Ukrainian soldiers, saying the strength of our entire Ukrainian army is the people who serve.

Volodymyr Zelensky awarding a Ukrainian soldier of the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade in Pokrovsk, Nov 18 - UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP

04:35 PM GMT

Pictured: Security patrol with giant anti-drone gun at G20 summit

Brazilian security forces patrol around the Museum of Modern Art during the G20 Leaders Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Anadolu/Anadolu

A member of the security forces uses a drone jammer on the first day of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Nov 18 - MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP

04:29 PM GMT

UK has trained 50,000 Ukrainian troops, Defence Secretary says

The UK has trained 50,000 Ukrainian troops since the Russian invasion of the country in 2022, Defence Secretary John Healey has said.

I can confirm today that 50,000 Ukrainian troops have now been trained through Operation Interflex, thats the UK-led multinational training programme, which Ive now extended to run throughout 2025, Mr Healey told the House of Commons on Monday.

A British Army commander told the Telegraph last month that Operation Interflex had been successful at teaching basic skills, but it had not been able to teach the advanced tactics required to defeat Russia.

It has never really been able to teach them anything more than small-unit tactics and the very-very basics of what they need to be learning, he said.

He added: Despite them now receiving Western Nato weapon systems and ammunition, they have continued to refuse to adapt to Western tactics in the use of what the weapons were designed for, especially in terms of combined arms.

This is something thats been driven hard and pushed by some of the training teams. However, due to time and execution of the training of Interflex, it hasnt always been fully pushed enough.

04:16 PM GMT

Biden launching whole new war before leaving office, say Trump allies

Donald Trumps allies have attacked Joe Bidens decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range American missiles to fire at targets inside Russia.

Mike Lee, a Republican Senator from Utah, said the US presidents decision to lift restrictions on the use of Atacms showed Libs love war, to which Elon Musk, one of Mr Trumps closest allies, replied: True.

Richard Grenell, Mr Trumps former director of national intelligence, accused Biden of escalating the wars before he leaves office and that allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles at Russia amounted to launching a whole new war.

It comes after the president-elects son, Donald Trump Jr, accused the military industrial complex of wanting World War III before his father had a chance to create peace and save lives.

Mr Trump repeatedly vowed during his election campaign to bring the war to an end, even promising to end it in a day.

The Republican refused to give specifics of how he would bring the war to an end but Kyivs allies feared it would involve Ukraine giving up a significant chunk of land.

03:57 PM GMT

Watch: Paramedics respond to Russian strike on Odesa

03:24 PM GMT

Germany will not send long-range missiles to Ukraine

Germany is sticking to its decision not to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles, a government spokesman confirmed on Monday.

The chancellors decision is unchanged, the spokesman told reporters in Berlin.

It comes as Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, faced renewed pressure to send German-made cruise missiles to Ukraine after the US allowed Kyiv limited use of its Atacms missiles for strikes in Russia.

Robert Habeck, Germanys economic minister and the Green party candidate for chancellor, said on Sunday that he would send long-range weapons to Ukraine if he prevails in the countrys snap elections in February.

03:05 PM GMT

Atacms missiles no silver bullet, says expert

Joe Bidens decision to lift restrictions on Ukraines use of Atacms may fulfil one of Volodymyr Zelenskys long-held ambitions but is no silver bullet, an analyst has told The Telegraph.

Timothy Wright, a research analyst a the International Institute of Strategic Studies, said Russia is likely to pre-emptively move its most valuable assets out of range.

Mr Wright also said Washington and Kyiv have likely already discussed which targets it can strike inside Russia to minimise any potential for escalation.

Some targets will almost certainly be off the table because they present an escalation risk, such as Russian nuclear warhead storage sites, nuclear power plants, and Russias civilian and military leadership, he said.

02:55 PM GMT

UK wants to engage frankly with China on Ukraine, Starmer tells Xi

Keir Starmer said he wanted to engage frankly with China on issues such as human rights and the Ukraine conflict, a British readout of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit said on Monday.

The Prime Minister said that he also wanted to engage honestly and frankly on those areas where we have different perspectives, including on Hong Kong, human rights and Russias war in Ukraine, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

Sir Keir was the first Prime Minister to meet with President Xi in six years on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

Sir Keir Starmer and Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro - AFP

02:46 PM GMT

Ukrainian MP calls on Western troops to join war

Western countries should consider sending troops to fight in Ukraine, the MP for Odesa has said.

Referencing North Korea deploying thousands of troops to Kursk, Oleksiy Goncharenko asked why Western allies cannot do the same.

Not on the frontline but inside Ukraine, he told the BBC, saying such a move would free up thousands of Ukrainian troops.

02:25 PM GMT

Afraid to open the fridge: Kyiv resident fears more strikes on her home

Evdokiya, an 89-year-old widower living in Kyiv, has only just had her home repaired after it was struck by a Russian missile during the summer.

Now she fears more damage as Russia intensifies its missile and drone attacks across Ukraine.

I had spent two months with shards instead of windows, she told the Telegraph.

She described how the blast from the Russian strike was so strong that it blew the door off her home, hitting her on the head and leaving her with a brain injury.

Now, whenever theres an air raid alarm, my heart sinks, and I immediately run to the corridor, she said, adding that she is too afraid to even open the fridge.

Paul Anticoni, Ceo of World Jewish Relief - which helped repair her home - told the Telegraph the relentless targeting of Ukraines energy infrastructure poses a devastating threat to elderly residents such as Evdokiya.

It comes after Russia launched more than 200 missiles and drones at targets across Ukraine on Sunday, damaging energy and military infrastructure.

Evdokiya, an 89-year-old widower in Kyiv, tells the Telegraph she is afraid to open the fridge after her home was destroyed by a Russian strike in the summer - World Jewish Relief

02:05 PM GMT

UK sanctions Iran over Russia support

The UK has announced a fresh wave of sanctions against Irans national airline and shipping carrier, which it said were taken in response to Tehrans transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia.

The state-owned Iran Air and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) will face an asset freeze for their role in supplying weapons to Russia for use on the battlefield against Ukraine, an FCDO spokesman said.

Irans attempts to undermine global security are dangerous and unacceptable, David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said.

We reiterate our call on Iran to cease its support for Russias illegal war in Ukraine.

01:46 PM GMT

Putin ally threatens use of new weapons against Ukraine

A Vladimir Putin ally has threatened the use of new weapons systems against Ukraine if Kyiv strikes Russia with American long-range missiles.

Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the lower house of Russias parliament, did not provide further details on the weapons systems and said Kyiv had already struck Russian targets with long-range missiles.

Mr Volodin added that further use of the weapons by Ukraine would completely destroy Russian-American relations.

Putin previously warned that allowing Kyiv to fire long-range missiles at targets inside Russia would constitute Natos direct involvement in the conflict.

01:29 PM GMT

Watch: Russians react to missile restrictions being lifted

Russians have had their say on Joe Biden allowing Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia.

Of course we should strike back, one said.

01:03 PM GMT

No10: Russia escalating war, not Ukraine

Russia is escalating the war, not Ukraine, Downing Street told reporters on Monday after Joe Biden approved the use of American missiles to strike targets inside Russia.

The US presidents decision has renewed focus on whether the Government would give Ukraine permission to launch British Storm Shadow missiles to strike targets inside Russia.

Asked if the use of Storm Shadows would be escalatory, a No10 spokesman said: I wont get into speculation around operational matters on kit, but I think its very clear that Russia is the one that continues to escalate this war.

Weve seen that in the deployment of [North Korean] troops and with their ongoing bombardment of innocent civilians during what continues to be an illegal war, an invasion of a sovereign country. We put that firmly back in Russias court.

12:54 PM GMT

Watch: Ukrainians react to lifting of missile restrictions

It should have been done in the beginning... Its weird they give us permission to defend ourselves...

Those are just some of the reactions coming in from Kyiv after Joe Biden decided to allow Ukraine to fire American long-range missiles inside Russia.

12:42 PM GMT

Biden throwing oil on fire by approving missile strikes, says Kremlin

Joe Biden is throwing oil on the fire and escalating the war by allowing Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia, the Kremlin has said.

Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, said the US presidents decision to lift restrictions on the use of Atacms on Russian and North Korean troops in the Kursk region would directly involve the US in the conflict.

The Kremlin spokesman said this was because the targets are set not by Ukrainian military but by specialists from these Western countries. That fundamentally changes the modality of their engagement.

The Kremlin spokesman also cast doubt on whether the restrictions had even been lifted, suggesting the reports did not have official sources.

12:25 PM GMT

Hundreds of Russian targets in range of Atacms

Hundreds of known Russian military objects are in range of Atacms, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank.

Ukraine has had access to the American missiles for some time but has been unable to fire them at targets inside Russia due to restrictions put in place by Joe Biden.

While Russia is believed to have moved hundreds of military objects out of range of the Atacms (300km), hundreds could still be targeted by Ukraine.

12:07 PM GMT

Odesa strike shows war Russias only interest, says Zelensky

A deadly strike on Odesa on Monday shows Russia is only interested in war, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

And this signal should be heard in all parts of the world, from the halls where the members of the Group of Twenty meet to all the capitals of the world, the Ukrainian president wrote on Telegram.

Credit: Volodymyr Zelensky/X

11:55 AM GMT

Russians drinking record amount of alcohol

Russians are drinking more alcohol than at any time since official consumption records began in 2017, according to state regulators.

The Federal Service for Control of Alcohol and Tobacco Markets said that the volume of alcohol sold in Russia in the first 10 months of the year showed a small increase from 2023 and was 21 per cent higher than in the same period in 2017.

Vodka makes up more than a third of all alcohol sales in Russia.

Data has previously shown that sales of alcohol, tobacco and anti-depressant drugs have increased in Russia since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022.

11:27 AM GMT

Russian strike on Odesa kills eight

A Russian strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa on Monday killed eight people and wounded 18 more, the governor of the Black Sea region said.

According to preliminary reports, the Russian attack left eight dead and 18 wounded. One child is among the wounded. Four people are in a serious condition, the official, Oleg Kiper, wrote on social media.

Footage posted on social media showed the aftermath of the attack, with bodies sprawled across the street and cars on fire.

Cars and a residential building were struck in Russias attack on Odesa - REUTERS

Cars burn at the site where a residential area was hit by a Russian missile strike on Odesa - Reuters

11:15 AM GMT

Germany preparing to send 4,000 mini-Taurus drones to Ukraine

Germany is reportedly preparing to send 4,000 mini-Taurus kamikaze drones to Ukraine, according to the Bild newspaper.

It said the drones have AI technology that gives them greater autonomy in hostile environments. They also carry equipment that neutralises drone jamming defences.

Taurus is the name of German long-distance bunker-busting missiles. Berlin has refused to hand over any to Ukraine despite repeated requests.

German drones would start being delivered to Ukraine in December, the German newspaper said.

Ukraine has stepped up its drone attacks against Russia, striking targets across the country.

11:00 AM GMT

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10:50 AM GMT

Trump allies react to missile decision

Donald Trump is yet to comment on Joe Bidens decision to lift restrictions on the use of Atacms, but several of his allies have.

Mike Lee, a Senator from Utah, said in response to the decision: Libs love war. War facilitates bigger government. Elon Musk, one of Mr Trumps closest allies, later replied: True.

Richard Grenell, Mr Trumps former director of national intelligence, accused Biden of escalating the wars before he leaves office.

No one anticipated that Joe Biden would ESCALATE the war in Ukraine during the transition period. This is as if he is launching a whole new war. Everything has changed now  all previous calculations are null and void. And all for politics, he said.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch Trump ally condemned Mr Biden and said: On his way out of office, Joe Biden is dangerously trying to start WWIII...The American people gave a mandate on Nov 5th against these exact America last decisions and do NOT want to fund or fight foreign wars. We want to fix our own problems. Enough of this, it must stop.

It comes after Mr Trumps son, Donald Jr, said the military industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get World War III before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives.

10:27 AM GMT

Ukraine using its missiles inside Russia an option, says France

Ukraines use of long-range missiles to strike military targets inside Russia remained an option after the United States cleared Kyiv to use American missiles for the same purpose, France said on Monday

Jean-Noel Barrot, Frances foreign minister, said President Emmanuel Macron had made it clear in May that such missiles could be used in certain cases.

You heard President Macron in Meseberg on May 25, where we openly said that it was an option that we would consider, if we had to authorise strikes on targets from which the Russians attack Ukrainian territory, he said in English on his arrival in Brussels for a meeting of foreign affairs ministers.

So, nothing new under the sun, he added.

10:15 AM GMT

Reminder: Heres what Putin thinks about long-range missiles

Vladimir Putin is yet to comment on reports surrounding Ukraines use of long-range missiles but he spoke about the possibility in September.

This would in a significant way change the very nature of the conflict, the Russian president said in response to the prospect of Ukraine using British Storm Shadow missiles.

It would mean that Nato countries are at war with Russia.

This is essentially the same message put out by the Kremlins spokesman said on Monday.

Telegram/@news_kremlin

10:00 AM GMT

Putin is laughing at Scholz, says Ben Wallace

Olaf Scholz made the West look weak and emboldened Russia by speaking with Vladimir Putin, Ben Wallace has said.

The former defence secretary said Putin is laughing at Scholz, who he said had been manipulated by the Russian president to exactly where he wants him.

No Taurus but huge amounts of humiliation. I think Scholz is probably best suited to chairing a sub committee of a local council rather than running a government, Mr Wallace said.

Scholz's phone call to the Kremlin was so ineffective that within a few hours Putin launched a massive illegal attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. In one move he undermined the unified western position, showed weakness and emboldened Russia. 1/2  Rt. Hon Ben Wallace (@BenWallace70) November 18, 2024

09:46 AM GMT

Biden risks WW3, claim Russian MPs

Joe Bidens decision to allow Ukraine to use its long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia could start World War III, Russian politicians have warned.

Maria Butina, a Russian MP, accused the Biden administration on Monday of trying to escalate the situation to the maximum while they still have power.

They are seriously risking the start of World War Three, she said, adding that she hopes Donald Trump would reverse the decision.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian upper houses international affairs committee, also called it a very big step towards the start of World War III.

Joe Biden speaks following a tour of the Museu da Amazonia - AP

09:34 AM GMT

Biden throwing oil on the fire, says Kremlin

The Biden administration is throwing oil on the fire by lifting restrictions on Ukraines use of long-range missiles, the Kremlin has said.

Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, said it would mean the direct involvement of the US in the conflict.

09:09 AM GMT

What are Atacms?

Unlike a more conventional cruise missile (600mph), Atacms can accelerate to three times the speed of sound (2,300 MPH), making them more difficult for air defence systems to intercept. Their speed is the missiles main strength.

Once launched, Russias web of radars and missile detection systems will be up almost instantly.

But a ballistic missile you might see it coming but youve got about three minutes, said Justin Crump, the chief executive of the strategic intelligence company Sibylline.

Its only in your engagement area for maybe 30 seconds, and youve got to fire something very fast back at it, not an easy target.

Read more about the Atacms here.

09:00 AM GMT

Europe reacts to Atacms call

Reaction to Joe Bidens decision to lift restrictions on Ukraines use of Atacms has been pouring in from across Europe.

Joseph Borrell, the European Unions top diplomat, said he hoped member states would agree to allow Ukraine to use arms inside Russia.

Ive been saying once and again that Ukraine should be able to use the arms we provided to them, in order to not only stop the arrows but also to be able to hit the archers, Mr Borrell said.

Caspar Veldkamp, the Dutch foreign minister, said allowing Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia was an adequate response to North Korea deploying troops in Ukraine.

While Jean-Noel Barrot, the French foreign minister, said providing long-range missiles to Ukraine is an option Paris is considering.

08:44 AM GMT

Bidens green light could be too little, too late for Ukraine

Ukraines wait for permission to use US-made ATACM long-range missiles on Russian territory is finally over.

Joe Bidens decision is a groundbreaking Ukrainian diplomatic triumph. Ukraines use of ATACMs in Kursk will provide immediate benefits for its increasingly bleak frontline position.

But the true significance of Bidens decision hinges on the flexibility that the US affords to Ukrainian troops.

As Trumps inauguration nears, the US is finally making a complete rally behind the cause of Ukrainian victory. A promising pivot but one that could be too little, too late for Ukraine.

Read the full story here.

08:24 AM GMT

Chancellor candidate would give Ukraine Taurus missiles

Robert Habeck, the German economy minister hoping to take over as chancellor, said he would give Ukraine permission to use long-range Taurus missiles to strike targets inside Russia if he wins the election.

Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, has repeatedly insisted he would not grant Ukraine permission to use the missiles out of fear of escalating the war.

The election is set to take place on February 23. Mr Habeck will lead the Green Partys campaign.

German Economy and Climate Action Minister and Greens Party chancellor candidate Robert Habeck - Getty Images Europe

08:03 AM GMT

This is how you defeat the Russian advantage

Allowing Ukraine use long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia is how you defeat the Russian advantage, a former commander of US troops has said.

The war could have ended last year, if we had been actually serious about helping Ukraine win, US Lt Gen Ben Hodges told the BBC World Service.

This is how you defeat the Russian advantage of mass, by taking out their artillery headquarters and logistics.

He went on to say the decision was a gift to Donald Trump as it gives him leverage when negotiating an end to war, as he has promised to do.

07:43 AM GMT

China calls for peace after US clears missile strikes on Russia

China reiterated calls for a peaceful settlement to the war in Ukraine on Monday after Washingtons decision on Ukraine using long-range missile to hit targets inside Russia.

The most urgent thing is to promote the cooling down of the situation as soon as possible, a foreign ministry spokesman said when asked about the US decision, calling for an early ceasefire and a political solution.

07:37 AM GMT

Russian attack kills 11 in Sumy

A Russian missile strike on Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, has killed 11 people and injured 84, hours after Joe Bidens decision on long-range missiles.

Two children were amongst the dead, while 11 more were injured, Ukrainian officials said.

Sunday evening for the city of Sumy became hell, a tragedy that Russia brought to our land, Volodymyr Artyukh, the head of the Sumy military administration said in a post on the administrations Telegram messaging channel.

The military administration said another missile hit critical infrastructure, leaving the city without power.

Firefighters work at the site of a residential area hit by a Russian missile strike on Sumy - REUTERS

07:32 AM GMT

Zelensky: Missiles will speak for themselves

Volodymyr Zelensky said long-range missiles provided by the US will speak for themselves after Joe Biden granted Ukraine permission to use them to strike targets inside Russia.

Referencing reports about Mr Bidens decision, the Ukrainian president said: Theres a lot of talk in the media about us receiving permission for respective actions. But strikes are not carried out with words.

The UK and France are thought to have been in favour of giving Ukraine permission to use long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia but Mr Biden resisted out of fear of escalating the conflict further.

But Mr Biden is understood to have been swayed after North Korea deployed thousands of troops to the frontline to fight Ukraine.

07:26 AM GMT

Washington risking WW3, warns Kim Jong Un

Kim Jong Un said the United States and the West risk provoking World War III by using the Ukrainian military as shock troops to fight Russia.

The North Korean leader did not reference Joe Bidens decision on long-range missiles but accused the West on Monday of using the war expand the scope of their military interventions globally.

Washingtons continuing military assistance to Ukraine... raises the concern of World War III, Kim added.

Kim Jong Un accused the West of using Ukraine as shock troops to fight Russia - AFP

07:22 AM GMT

Welcome to our live coverage

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

Well be bringing you the latest updates and analysis throughout the day after Joe Bidens decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia.
Joe Biden has authorised the use of long-range US missiles - Evan Vucci/AP

Late yesterday afternoon in Washington, Joe Biden decided to abandon almost three years of risk-averse American policy in Ukraine, by finally gifting Kyiv permission to launch long-range US-supplied missiles to strike targets inside Russia.

The relief in Ukraine is palpable  having long-courted the US to allow such a policy the talk is now just how quickly this newly lifted restriction can achieve some sort of tactical breakthrough across the various stagnant fronts. The reality however is far more depressing. Bar the thinnest of odds, this change will not achieve the decisive effect that many are now jubilantly claiming will occur.

Whilst President Zelensky is quite right to remain resolute that Ukraine will decide when Ukraine enters negotiations, President-elect Trump and his newly appointed team are already busy at work communicating their desires for a peace settlement to be agreed upon by both parties as early as next spring.

Ukraine have six weeks until the new administration in Washington begins to significantly ramp up these talks, and the diplomatic pressures that they will entail. Trump knows that he will have to demonstrate to the American people who voted for him that he meant what he said on several key policy decisions. Bringing Ukraine and Russia to Trumps heel will be a quick domestic political win, no matter how damaging this may be for Ukraine.

Like all of Trumps decisions, one must view these from a US political domestic mind, and not a European. US financial support to Ukraine has grown steadily unpopular amongst ordinary Americans, as the war in Ukraine is increasingly portrayed as an extension of the political mainstreams  and the Democrats in particular  so-called forever wars, which many claim do nothing to further Americas interests.

This springs Congressional budget deadlock demonstrated this wider American distrust that this war will not result in dragging in the US more overtly, and whilst many Americans  especially across the Republican heartlands of the southern border and swing states  view aid to Ukraine unfairly whilst they are grappling with an ever-increasing immigration crisis costing billions and inflaming security worries along the southern border.

Six weeks is simply not enough time to reverse any of Russias recent tactical advances across the remaining key eastern battlefields, without a major uptick in manpower, artillery, armoured support, and air defences. Lifting the ban on long-range US missiles into Russia could have had a significant effect damaging Russian supply lines and logistics columns, bringing Putins war machine to Ukraine, but this is unfortunately too little, far too late.

This needed to happen years ago, when it really could have made a game-changing difference to the outcome of the war, not six weeks before Biden bows out in yet another foreign policy disaster on his watch.

Time and time again, Biden and his team, including Harris, Anthony Blinken, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, have repeatedly done the bare minimum on Ukraine, too hesitant and weak in the face of Putins repeated bluffs of escalation against the west, often only reluctantly siding with Europe long after key decisions were made in London, including sending western anti-tank missiles and main battle tanks.

The return of Trump has caused much speculation concerning American foreign policy. Far from a perceived more aggressive and unpredictable agenda, Trump is merely advancing the now-decade long isolationist approach Washington has gradually employed.

Initiated under Barack Obama  with Biden as, you guessed it, Vice President  the 44th President famously went back against his own now infamous red-line on Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad using chemical weapons on his own people back as 2012, sending a clear message to adversaries around the world that America had lost its bite.

Biden has simply continued this trend, evidenced by his catastrophic and shameful withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Trump is now continuing this trend, in an attempt to achieve peace through strength.

There is merit in this approach, the ability to deter an adversary from fighting due to your military power and strength is absolutely in a nations interests  wars are the most costly and destructive activity for any state to engage in.

But Ukraine is not a case in this point. This is a war already approaching three quarters the length of the Great War. US-led western deterrence went out the window in 2014 when Putin invaded Crimea in 2014, and has suffered irreparable damage since Kabul in August 2021.

The next six weeks will likely see an increase in Ukrainian attacks against Russian airfields, storage depots, and military bases inside Russia, which will have some effect damaging Russian supply lines and morale. But this will not result in the meaningful decisive breakthrough that Ukraine needs in order to maintain territorial sovereignty into next year.

Biden could have chosen to enact this policy months  years  ago, but chose not to based on a deep miscalculation that it would only embolden Putin. Putin has been emboldened for a decade, and feverishly so under Bidens watch since 2021.

Whilst there are merits to the national security people surrounding Trump  particularly on the need to invest in the defence manufacturing base, and rearm the US Navy for the Pacific  there is a key facet that they have gravely misunderstood. They argue that supporting Ukraine does little to advance American interests. But what is bad for Ukraine, threatens Europe. And what threatens Europe, has historically dragged in America for over 100 years.

Robert Clark is a Fellow at the Yorktown Institute, a security and strategy think-tank based in Washington, DC
An RAF Tornado with two Storm Shadow missiles at the airbase in Akrotiri in Cyrpus in 2018. Photograph: Cpl L Matthews/PA

Britain is expected to supply Storm Shadow missiles for use by Ukraine on targets inside Russia, now that the US president, Joe Biden, has agreed to do the same for the similar American long-range Atacms weapon.

Keir Starmer, the prime minister, said at the G20 summit that the UK recognised it needed to double down on its support for Ukraine, while diplomatic sources briefed they expected other European countries to follow the US lead.

The prime minister said that, while he was not going to get into operational details, he recognised the need to do more to help Ukraine, whose electricity network was seriously damaged by a wave of Russian bombing on Sunday.

Ive been really clear for a long time now, we need to double down. We need to make sure Ukraine has what is necessary for as long as necessary, because we cannot allow Putin to win this war, the prime minister said.

Related: Letting Ukraine fire missiles into Russia unlikely to have decisive effect

Russia, however, accused the west of escalation and said that Biden risked adding fuel to the fire in Ukraine, and while Donald Trump remained silent on the issue, his son Don Jr accused the military industrial complex of wanting to get world war three going.

Storm Shadow missiles have a range of about 250km (155 miles), similar to the US Atacms, and have in the past been given to Kyiv by the UK and France to strike targets inside Ukraines internationally recognised borders.

But the US retained an effective veto on their use because it supplies a guidance system and repeated lobbying by the UK had failed to shift the US position, which has only begun to soften after the election victory of Donald Trump earlier this month.

Ukraine wants to be able to strike barracks, fuel and logistics hubs, and airbases deeper inside Russia to blunt Moscows relentless attacks on their country. Russia, by contrast, is able to strike targets anywhere in Ukraine.

Biden had refused to allow permission for long-range missiles to be used inside Russia for years but finally relented on Sunday, and said that Ukraine could use Atacms missiles to try to halt an expected counter-offensive by an estimated 50,000 Russian and North Korean forces in Kursk.

Ukraine had also become increasingly exasperated with Britain on the issue of long-range missiles, complaining earlier this month that not only had there been no progress on their use inside Russia but that the UK had stopped supplying them at all.

Vladimir Putins spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, accused the US of escalation. It is clear that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps to continue to add fuel to the fire and to further inflame tensions around this conflict. He added: This decision is reckless, dangerous, aimed at a qualitative change, a qualitative increase in the level of involvement of the United States.

Peskov said Putin had expressed his position clearly in September when the Russian leader warned that the move to let Kyiv use longer-range weapons against targets inside Russia would mean Nato would be directly at war with Moscow.

Putin had said Moscow would take the appropriate decisions based on the threats that we will face and previously suggested Moscow could supply long-range weapons to other countries with the aim of attacking western targets.

Jean-Noel Barrot, Frances foreign minister, said that the countrys president, Emmanuel Macron, had already said Paris was open to consider greenlighting the use of its missiles to strike on Russian soil. Storm Shadow missiles are manufactured by MBDA, a company with UK, French and Italian shareholders.

We openly said that this was an option that we would consider if it was to allow Ukraine to strike targets from where Russians are currently aggressing Ukrainian territory, Barrot told reporters in Brussels.

The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, described Bidens decision as important and essential. She said in Brussels: The decision from the American side, and I would like to emphasise that this is not a rethink but an intensification of what has already been delivered by other partners, is so important at this moment.

A German government spokesperson said, however, that Germany was sticking with its decision not to supply Kyiv with long-range Taurus missiles. The decision by the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, to withhold its most powerful missile has been a significant point of contention in Germany.

But there was also criticism in Europe from Hungary, seen as Putins closest EU ally.

The pro-war mainstream has launched its last, desperate attack on the new reality, the Hungarian foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, wrote on Facebook, referring to the recent victory of Donald Trump.

The hawkish politicians ousted from power refuse to take note of the will of the people. This is not only undemocratic, but also extremely dangerous, Szijjarto added.

Trumps team are yet to officially comment on Bidens move. The president-elects son Don Jr criticised the decision, writing on X: The military industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get world war three going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives. Gotta lock in those $trillions. Life be damned! Imbeciles!

Elon Musk, a close Trump ally, claimed on his social media platform, X, that Russia would respond reciprocally to the US approval.

Some Russian officials openly voiced hopes that the incoming Trump administration would overturn the decision after taking office in late January. These guys, Bidens administration, are trying to escalate the situation to the maximum while they still have power and are still in office, the Russian lawmaker Maria Butina said.

Starmers spokesperson said that the UK prime minister wants allies to step up and support Ukraine and that he intended to reflect that in his conversations with other leaders at the G20 in Rio de Janeiro. The prime minister is not expected to have a one-on-one meeting with Biden, though they will see each other on the sidelines of the summit.

Similar language about Storm Shadow was also used by John Healey, the defence secretary, in the Commons on Monday. Giving the clearest hint yet that a positive decision on allowing Ukraine to use Storm Shadow inside Russia was expected, he told MPs: I will not compromise operational security and comment on long-range systems today, before adding that the UK recognised Ukraine needs extra help. The prime minister has made clear, as I do to the House today, that we must double down on the support for Ukraine, he said.
The state education minister, Ben Carroll, says Kylie White has resigned as chief executive of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

The Victorian government hasnt ruled out taking marks off VCE students who used de facto exam cheat sheets, with more than 56 tests now found to be affected and the chief executive of the curriculum authority resigning.

The education minister, Ben Carroll, on Monday confirmed Kylie White had resigned as chief executive of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA), effective immediately.

White had only been in the position for a year, after having been recruited by the state government after the discovery of multiple mistakes in the 2023 maths exams.

In this years blunder, the VCAA published sample cover pages that contained hidden text in seemingly blank sections, which, when copied into another document, revealed a series of questions and answers identical or very similar to those in the final exams.

Of the 116 VCE exams, 56 were affected by the publishing error, with the impact varying from one or two multiple-choice questions being the same or similar, to some exams where up to 50% of the questions were replicated from the sample cover sheets.

However, Carroll said no exams were completely identical to the cover sheets.

He said he became aware of the issue in mid-October, but was given inaccurate assurances by the VCAA that the exams would be rewritten.

I was given reassurances that the exams had been rewritten  that has now proven to be inaccurate. While some exams were rewritten to a satisfactory standard, others were not, Carroll said.

Related: Queensland fails to crack down on rebranded sunbed that claims to stimulate collagen but accelerates ageing

Thats why Im deeply angry and upset. The reassurances I was provided that the examinations were being completely rewritten has not been the case.

The cover pages were also pulled offline at the time, although they continued to be widely shared by students.

Carroll, who ordered a root-and-branch review into the structure and operations of the VCAA last week, has also appointed an independent expert advisory panel to ensure no students would be given an unfair advantage by the publication of the cheat sheets.

Led by former VCAA chief executive John Firth, the panel will use the existing grade-check process to identify any anomalies in how students have responded to affected questions, Carroll said.

This process will identify any student who has performed significantly above the expected levels, he said.

If so, results will be investigated to identify if they had advantage from the early publication of VCE examination questions. Following this process, if questions have been identified that any student has an unfair advantage, adjusting will be made to student marks.

According to Carrolls media release, this could be done by invalidating a question and awarding all students who sat this exam a full mark if necessary.

However, Firth did not rule out taking marks off students.

I dont want to pre-empt anything that could happen. So if, say, a multiple choice question worth one mark performed inconsistently with the rest of the paper, then you could take that mark off or ignore that question, he said.

Firth said the panel would be guided by high quality, reliable data, such as the students performance on other questions contained in the exam, their results in previous exams and how they fared compared to other students.

Were not shooting in the dark here. There is plenty of evidence and plenty of material available for us to analyse, he said.

The oppositions education spokesperson, Jess Wilson, described the process as convoluted.

How on earth is VCAA going to know which student had an advantage by seeing the sample questions compared to students that have  studied hard and have done really well on an exam? This is the problem, she said.

Were talking about potentially taking marks off students without any proof that theyve actually done anything wrong  they are told to go online and download the sample papers.

Carroll also announced that the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leaderships chief executive, Marcia Devlin, would replace White in an interim capacity.

He said he was confident VCE results would still be published by 12 December, well before the first round of university offers in mid-January.

I apologise to all students impacted by the inadvertent publication of examination material on the exam cover sheets, Carroll said.

The VCE exams are stressful enough, the last thing that year 12 students need is additional stress and uncertainty from the administration of examinations.
G20 leaders

C-SPAN

The US president missed the final group shot at the G20 summit with video showing confused photographers shouting: Wheres Biden?

A White House spokesman said the family photo was taken early, resulting in Joe Biden missing the shot.

The US president was not the only world leader who was absent, with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau arriving late, as did Giorgia Meloni, the Italian premier.

It should have been a memorable shot, with global leaders lined up in front of Rio de Janeiros Sugarloaf mountain.

However, the closing formalities descended into confusion with the three prominent participants absent, with one confused photographer shouting wheres Biden?.

One photographer was heard saying that the leaders were being asked to wait for Mr Biden, before exclaiming oh my god!

The president was later seen standing among the palm trees as the leaders dispersed.

It was the second time in a matter of days that the US president had arrived late for a family photo, having done so at the APEC summit.

One US official, speaking anonymously, blamed logistical issues for Mr Biden, who was performing one of his last official functions, not appearing in the shot.

The picture was also taken early, the official added.

It is understood that Mr Biden did not deliberately skip the photo because of the presence of Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, who was standing in for Vladimir Putin.

It remained unclear whether the organisers of the summit will try to corral the leaders together for a re-shoot  which would be a first in the history of the climate summits.

The official added Mr Biden did not use an open ramp because of security concerns.
Jacob Beltran covers crime, breaking news and general assignments for the Express-News. He can be reached at jbeltran@express-news.net.

A San Antonio native, Jacob began his journalism career in 2010. He's worked for the student-run newspaper for San Antonio College, The Ranger, and for Texas A&M University-San Antonio, The Mesquite.

He enjoys video games, photography and exploring during his free time.
Women and children from Sudan, among the many whom conflict has pushed over the border to Adre in Chad. Photograph: El Tayeb Siddig/Reuters

Womens rights campaigners have spoken of their concern over the spread of female genital mutilation among Sudanese refugees in camps across the border in Chad.

Both countries have outlawed the practice but it continues in secret. The UN childrens agency, Unicef, says that about 87% of Sudanese women aged 14-49 have been cut  one of the highest rates in the world. In Chad, the figure is 34.1%, though rates are higher in the south and east, which is where the camps for Sudanese people have been set up.

On a recent visit to the main refugee camp in Adre, which lies very close to the Sudanese border, the Guardian met three girls aged nine, seven and three who were being prepared by their family to be cut. The family was putting henna tattoos on the girls feet and fingers  a traditional way of celebrating the FGM procedure.

A social worker at the camp said the cutting itself was taking place in secret because it contravened Chadian laws. She added that as well as children, married women were being subjected to another form of FGM after giving birth. The procedure, known as adal, which means fixing it, is common in Sudan.

FGM, otherwise known as female genital cutting (FGC), is a procedure in which female genitals are cut, injured or changed in some way. There is no medical basis to the practice, which can seriously harm the health of women and girls, on top of being very painful. It is often carried out with inadequate equipment, in inappropriate places, by people with no medical qualifications.

Related: The Guardian view on tackling FGM: as progress slows, efforts must be redoubled | Editorial

Chad has hosted refugees fleeing conflict in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan for decades, but the number of arrivals has increased dramatically since war broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Before FGM was made illegal in Sudan in 2020, Sudanese refugees in Chad would return to their home country to cut their daughters then head back across the border to the camps, a staff member of UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said.

Houida Ibrahim, the head of Mercy Shadows, an NGO working among the refugees in Chad, said women and girls usually paid the highest price when there were outbreaks of violence. Whole communities become more violent [during wars] and little girls are often the first victims, she said.

Ibrahim, who used to work at a number of womens rights organisations in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, said there had been a number of cutting instances in the camp block where she was working.

Another international aid worker who wished to remain anonymous said curbing FGM in Chad was very difficult because many communities held deep-rooted beliefs that it was an essential part of a girls life. Its legally banned but people still do it secretly, the aid worker said. We see many cases of FGM in women when they arrive at hospitals for unrelated health issues. We also learn about it when a cutting goes wrong and girls are transferred to clinics with health complications such as bleeding.

The aid worker situated FGM in the context of the wider violence that Sudanese people have been subjected to in recent years. The level of violence against Sudanese women and girls in general is very high, they said.

For example, you see mothers slapping their daughters when they cry during vaccination injections. But they accept their sons crying. Im shocked by that. They are tough on girls.

I believe on one level that when mothers support cutting their children it is in part a transferring of the trauma and violence that they went through in Sudan.
Residents queue to collect water as temperatures soar during a heatwave and drought in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Photograph: Kb Mpofu/Reuters

The internationally agreed goal to keep the worlds temperature rise below 1.5C is now deader than a doornail, with 2024 almost certain to be the first individual year above this threshold, climate scientists have gloomily concluded  even as world leaders gather for climate talks on how to remain within this boundary.

Three of the five leading research groups monitoring global temperatures consider 2024 on track to be at least 1.5C (2.7F) hotter than pre-industrial times, underlining it as the warmest year on record, beating a mark set just last year. The past 10 consecutive years have already been the hottest 10 years ever recorded.

Although a single year above 1.5C does not itself spell climate doom or break the 2015 Paris agreement, in which countries agreed to strive to keep the long-term temperature rise below this point, scientists have warned this aspiration has in effect been snuffed out despite the exhortations of leaders currently gathered at a United Nations climate summit in Azerbaijan.

The goal to avoid exceeding 1.5C is deader than a doornail. Its almost impossible to avoid at this point because weve just waited too long to act, said Zeke Hausfather, climate research lead at Stripe and a research scientist at Berkeley Earth. We are speeding past the 1.5C line an accelerating way and that will continue until global emissions stop climbing.

Last year was so surprisingly hot, even in the context of the climate crisis, that it caused some soul-searching among climate scientists, Hausfather said. In recent months there has also been persistent heat despite the fading of El Nino, a periodic climate event that exacerbated temperatures already elevated by the burning of fossil fuels.

Its going to be the hottest year by an unexpectedly large margin. If it continues to be this warm its a worrying sign, he said. Going past 1.5C this year is very symbolic, and its a sign that we are getting ever closer to going past that target.

Climate scientists broadly expect it will become apparent the 1.5C target, agreed upon by governments after pleas from vulnerable island states that they risk being wiped out if temperatures rise further than this, has been exceeded within the coming decade.

Despite countries agreeing to shift away from fossil fuels, this year is set to hit a new record for planet-heating emissions, and even if current national pledges are met the world is on track for 2.7C (4.8F) warming, risking disastrous heatwaves, floods, famines and unrest. We are clearly failing to bend the curve, said Sofia Gonzales-Zuniga, an analyst at Climate Analytics, which helped produce the Climate Action Tracker (Cat) temperature estimate.

However, the Cop29 talks in Baku have maintained calls for action to stay under 1.5C. Only you can beat the clock on 1.5C, Antonio Guterres, secretary general of the UN, urged world leaders on Tuesday, while also acknowledging the planet was undergoing a masterclass in climate destruction.

Yet the 1.5C target now appears to be simply a rhetorical, rather than scientifically achievable, one, bar massive amounts of future carbon removal from as-yet unproven technologies. I never thought 1.5C was a conceivable goal. I thought it was a pointless thing, said Gavin Schmidt, a climate scientist at Nasa. Im totally unsurprised, like almost all climate scientists, that we are shooting past it at a rapid clip.

Gavin SchmidtYou shouldnt ask scientists how to galvanize the world because clearly we dont have a f****** clue

But it was extremely galvanizing, so I was wrong about that. Maybe it is useful; maybe people do need impossible targets. You shouldnt ask scientists how to galvanize the world because clearly we dont have a f****** clue. People havent got a magic set of words to keep us to 1.5C, but we have got to keep trying.

What matters is we have to reduce emissions. Once we stop warming the planet, the better it will be for the people and ecosystems that live here.

The worlds decision-makers who are collectively failing to stem dangerous global heating will soon be joined by Donald Trump, who is expected to tear down climate policies and thereby, the Cat report estimates, add at least a further 0.04C to the world temperature.

Despite this bleak outlook, some do point out that the picture still looks far rosier than it did before the Paris deal, when a catastrophic temperature rise of 4C or more was foreseeable. Cheap and abundant clean energy is growing at a rapid pace, with peak oil demand expected by the end of this decade.

Meetings like these are often perceived as talking shops, said Alexander De Croo, the Belgian prime minister, at the Cop29 summit. And yes, these strenuous negotiations are far from perfect. But if you compare climate policy now to a decade ago, we are in a different world.

Still, as the world barrels past 1.5C there lie alarming uncertainties in the form of runaway climate tipping points, which once set off cannot be halted on human timescales, such as the Amazon turning into a savanna, the collapse of the great polar ice sheets, and huge pulses of carbon released from melting permafrost.

1.5C is not a cliff edge, but the further we warm up the closer we get to unwittingly setting off tipping points that will bring dramatic climate consequences, said Grahame Madge, a climate spokesman at the UK Met Office, who added that it would now be unexpected for 2024 to not be above 1.5C.

We are edging ever closer to tipping points in the climate system that we wont be able to come back from; its uncertain when they will arrive, they are almost like monsters in the darkness, Madge said.

We dont want to encounter them so every fraction of a degree is worth fighting for. If we cant achieve 1.5C, it will be better to get 1.6C than 1.7C, which will be better than getting 2C or more.

Hausfather added: We arent in for a good outcome either way. Its challenging. But every tenth of a degree matters. All we know is that the more we push the climate system away from where it has been for the last few million years, there be dragons.
An x-ray of 18-month-old Riyad, who was hit in the chest by a stray bullet while he was sleeping. Photograph: MSF

A series of X-rays showing a piece of shrapnel buried deep inside a 20-month-old girls head and a bullet embedded in an 18-month-old boys chest are among images released by medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) revealing the impact of the war in Sudan on children.

The two babies were treated at Khartoums Bashair teaching hospital.

Cases like this are common, said Dr Moeen*, who works with MSF at the hospital. Thankfully, that little girl survived. Others are not so lucky.

Bashair teaching hospital treated 314 children under the age of 15 for wounds from gunshots or blasts this year  about one in six of all war-wounded patients received at the hospital.

The baby girl was one of 12 children rushed to the hospital after an explosion at a nearby market. But the hospitals capacity is limited  severe burns cannot be treated, and surgeries are stalled because the lack of access provided by the warring sides means supplies have not been received for more than a year.

The city has been carved up by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the rival Rapid Support Forces paramilitary since April 2023, with civilians unable to cross frontlines to seek out food, medicine or healthcare  or simply escape the gunfire and explosions.

This meant that when an 18-month-old boy named Riyad arrived with a 50% chance of survival after being hit by a bullet while sleeping, the medical team had to fight for hours to stabilise him but could not remove the bullet from his chest.

Mohammed al-Hammadi, MSFs field coordinator at the hospital, said that in most cases, patients like Riyad cannot be evacuated because of the divisions in the city.

The fighting has disrupted daily life, making movement between states, crossing frontline areas, extremely dangerous. There is a constant threat of violence, and continuous airstrikes in the city, said Hammadi. Movement within the city and across conflict lines is often hindered by the lack of permits, and many patients face significant delays or are unable to be evacuated to other facilities.

Related: UK aid budget to Sudan set to double amid famine fears

These barriers have resulted in invisible deaths, caused by preventable disease and starvation, according to Dr Maysoon Dahab, co-director of the Sudan Research Group at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

A study led by Dahab estimated there were more than 61,000 deaths in Khartoum State in the first 14 months of the conflict  a 50% rise compared with before the war. It also put the number of violent deaths in the capital at 26,000, which is higher than the 20,000 recorded by civilian casualty monitor ACLED for the entire country.

Dahab said that alongside the direct violence wrought by the war, people were prevented from finding food and accessing medicine, while the primary healthcare system needed to detect, diagnose and treat disease had been shut down. The halting of vaccination programmes also posed a long-term threat.

She said the impact of disease and starvation has become larger as the war has dragged on.

You can be hungry for one day, but hungry for three or four days, what does that do? You are hungry, you get sick, [when] youre sick, you cant seek food. Its a vicious cycle, said Dahab. There is, in all wars, an accumulation of vulnerability that happens over time that touches upon the lives not only of those people who are facing the guns but even facing people who are well, far away and in relative safety, because they cant get food, because they cant get water, because the banking system has collapsed.

MSF said it found 1,500 women and children who were severely malnourished from the 4,186 it screened between 19 October and 8 November 2024.

Dahab said the LSHTM report shows how the war is causing deaths that could be prevented, but the lack of aid and intervention meant Sudanese civilians were suffering.

People are dying from preventable causes because there is a war, and wars will do that, she said. To continue to justify a war and not to stand and say it has to stop  then you advocate for all of that happening.

*Name has been changed to protect identity
Liz Kendall will introduce a Youth Guarantee to increase opportunities for adults aged 18 to 21 - Hollie Adams/Bloomberg

Young unemployed people must take up training or face having their benefits cut under plans being drawn up by the Work and Pensions Secretary.

Liz Kendall has promised to introduce a Youth Guarantee that will aim to increase opportunities for adults aged 18 to 21.

Local authorities will offer support to all unemployed people in this group to help them find employment or education.

But The Times reported that Ms Kendall will not allow young adults not to be in some form of education, employment, or training, and will strip benefits from those who do not take up offers of support.

A government source told the newspaper that the proposals would usher in the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation. The source said: Conditionality is a fundamental principle of the social security system and has always existed. Thats not going to change.

The Prime Ministers official deputy spokesman downplayed suggestions the policy could punish care leavers who could be left without any income if stripped of their benefits.

Our focus is on making sure we get people into work and that should be a priority, the spokesman said. We will approach this in a balanced way and no doubt the department in preparing this will be alive to these issues. The priority is ensuring that we have a system in place that is tackling inactivity.

Some 874,000 young people are Not in Education, Employment or Training (Neet), according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figures represent a rise of almost 75,000 on the previous year, while 41,000 more people aged 18 to 21 are now unemployed than before the pandemic.

Before the general election, Labour promised to introduce a new Youth Guarantee which will make sure young people are either earning or learning.

The party said it stood ready to take the tough action necessary to boost the career prospects of young people.

The Youth Guarantee scheme will place an added emphasis on giving power to councils and mayors, shifting power away from Whitehall to deliver joined-up plans.

These will bring together work, health and skills resources to tackle economic inactivity, which the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has made one of its top priorities.

Britains welfare bill has soared in recent years amid a surge in claims for mental health conditions, meaning one in 10 adults of working age are now on sickness benefits.

Sharp rise in young unemployed

Liz McKeown, the director of economic statistics at the ONS, warned earlier this year there had been a particularly sharp rise in young people staying away from the job market. Ms McKeown noted 16- to 24-year-olds were the exception to a wider overall trend of rising employment.

More than 2.5 million people who are currently in education have said their studies are the reason they are not looking for a job following a sharp rise in the number of university students.

Last week, Ms Kendall said jobless people should not be called economically inactive because it dehumanises them.

When pressed by the Work and Pensions Committee about what her upcoming White Paper would involve, she said: I think this is the biggest employment challenge we face, although weve seen some changes in the latest stats, unemployment  official unemployment  is still low by historic standards.

But we have seen this really worrying increase in the number of people who are whats termed economically inactive. In a way, its a terrible phrase, because this is (sic) real human beings.
Northern Irelands MPs and peers have united in a plea to the Government to rethink planned changes to inheritance tax for farmers.

In a letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, DUP MP Carla Lockhart warned it could threaten the generational transfer of farms, disrupt rural communities and undermine the long-term security of the agricultural sector.

The Stormont Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has estimated that around a third of farms in Northern Ireland will be affected.

DUP Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart (Oliver McVeigh/PA)

It comes as farmers plan to take part in an Ulster Farmers Union rally in Lisburn, Co Antrim, on Monday evening.

A large-scale protest is expected to take place at Whitehall on Tuesday.

Ms Lockhart has urged the Chancellor to reconsider her plans to axe historic agricultural property relief (APR) on inheritance tax announced in the recent Budget.

From April 2026, APR will only apply to the first 1 million of the estate, with anything over that value taxed at 20%.

The letter, which was circulated to the Treasury, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Defra minister Daniel Zeichner, has been countersigned by all sitting Northern Ireland MPs and members of the House of Lords.

Ms Lockhart described a strong united message on this issue.

Agriculture isnt just a cornerstone of Northern Irelands economy, it is a fundamental part of local communities and rural life, she said.

With more than 26,000 farms, the agri-food sector supports tens of thousands of families across the region, providing vital economic, social and cultural contributions.

The removal of Agricultural Property Relief will place a substantial and unfair financial burden on family farms, jeopardise their ability to pass on these assets to future generations and risk the sustainability of family-owned farming operations.

Ms Lockhart said the plan risks exacerbating existing pressures already faced by the agricultural sector, including rising operational costs, challenges from changing trade conditions and the uncertainties associated with climate policies.

She said at least a third of all farms in Northern Ireland are set to be affected, and 75% of dairy farms.

Whilst almost 14,000 per acre is reported as the average price, land values in Northern Ireland vary massively, depending on location and sector, but are in the main more expensive than elsewhere in the United Kingdom, Ms Lockhart wrote in her letter to the Chancellor.

Unlike other types of businesses, farming is asset-rich but often cash-poor, making inheritance tax liabilities particularly difficult to meet without significant restructuring, borrowing, or asset disposal, potentially leading to fragmentation or loss of productive land.

We recognise and support the need for a fair tax system, but we strongly believe that removing APR will inadvertently threaten the generational transfer of farms, disrupt rural communities and undermine the long-term security of our agricultural sector.

We strongly urge the government to reconsider this decision and to preserve APR for agricultural properties to ensure that the next generation can continue to work and thrive in this essential industry.

We would welcome the opportunity to engage further with you on this matter to discuss possible approaches that can support both the governments fiscal objectives and the viability of the agricultural sector in Northern Ireland.

A Government spokesperson said: The Governments commitment to our farmers remains steadfast. Its why we have committed 5 billion to the farming budget over two years  more money than ever for sustainable food production.

We understand concerns about changes to Agricultural Property Relief but the majority of those claiming relief will not be affected by these changes. Around 500 claims each year will be impacted and farm-owning couples can pass on up to 3 million without paying any inheritance tax.

This is a fair and balanced approach that protects the family farm while also fixing the public services that we all rely on.
Opportunities to treat a man who went on to kill his best friend following an attempted break-in at Buckingham Palace were missed, a court has heard.

Dylan Thomas, 24, is accused of stabbing William Bush, 23, 37 times in a frenzied attack on December 24 last year at their home in Llandaff, Cardiff.

Thomas admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility at a previous hearing but denies murder.

The trial is being heard at Cardiff Crown Court (Antony Stone/PA)

He appeared before Cardiff Crown Court by video link from a psychiatric hospital on Monday.

The defence presented evidence from Dr Panchu Xavier, a consultant forensic psychiatrist at Ashworth Hospital Liverpool where Thomas is in custody.

Dr Xavier argued that Thomas, who is being treated for schizophrenia, was having a psychotic episode during the attack and had been for up to six months before the event.

This would include a period when he attempted to break into Buckingham Palace saying he was looking for energy fields between the palace and Cleopatras Needle.

The prosecution, who will be presenting evidence from their own psychiatrist, accept that Thomas is mentally unwell, but insist he planned the attack.

Dr Xavier said the attempted palace break-in was the first opportunity to realise something had been wrong with Thomas, but the psychiatrist who saw him speculated that he was autistic.

Thomas had climbed over the fence to the palace, where he was confronted by armed police who he told: Im over now so you may as well show me round the palace.

He was ultimately rugby-tackled by an officer.

After the arrest he kept asking officers how they knew what he was thinking about.

Defence barrister Orlando Pownall KC said: He wasnt interviewed (by the police) because when he was seen by a psychiatrist he wasnt considered fit for interview.

The psychiatrist concluded that Dylan Thomas might be autistic.

With the benefit of hindsight might it have been picked up at that time that he was psychotic?

Dr Xavier responded: Unfortunately that might have been the first time when an intervention could have happened that may have prevented him continuing to be unwell.

His description of what happened, the manner in which he described it and I suspect some of the biases that clinicians have  the way someone is dressed, the fact that he was articulate  would in their minds make it easier for them to convince themselves that he was ok to go back to Cardiff.

The fact that youve got a young man who has climbed the palace gates and was nearly shot and his explanation for that is he was exploring the energy field would have made me want to ask further questions.

He also told the jury it would not have been obvious to a lay person that Thomas was psychotic.

The court heard that Thomas believed he had the ability to harness gravity and had written a message to tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, saying once you solve gravity, you can solve everything else.

He told the psychiatrist he had learnt everything about gravity in five months using Wikipedia and Googles Bard AI chatbot.

The jury also heard he had a suspected auditory hallucination while in Primark, which caused his ears to ring for some time.

Rather than seek medical attention, Dr Xavier said Thomas had gone to a solicitor in an attempt to sue the store.

Mr Pownall said the defendant had been through a lot of stressful situations in his life, with his parents having separated when he was young and alleged domestic violence.

The trial continues.
A Metropolitan Police officer is due to appear in court after he tasered a man who then fell off an outbuilding and was left with life-changing injuries.

Pc Liam Newman, 30, based at Ilford Police Station, will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday accused of grievous bodily harm.

He was chasing a 61-year-old man on foot in Woodford Green, east London, on April 24 2022 when the suspect climbed onto a shed structure, and fell after Mr Newman tasered him, watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.

The IOPC carried out a year-long investigation before passing a file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which then authorised the charge.

Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell, who leads policing in the area, said: I am acutely aware of the level of public concern following this incident.

Our officers understand it is vitally important to maintain public trust and confidence, and that such matters are thoroughly investigated.

Given criminal proceedings are now active we must now allow the circumstances to be examined in open court.
Friendship and team spirit are driving Great Britain towards a first Billie Jean King Cup final appearance for more than 40 years.

Anne Keothavongs side will be favourites when they take on Slovakia in the last four in Malaga on Tuesday, with Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu yet to drop a set in victories against Germany and defending champions Canada.

Including an upset victory over France on clay in the qualifiers in April, Boulter and Raducanu have won seven of eight matches between them and are proving quite the double act.

There is a genuine warmth between them, and Raducanu said: We get on really well. I think were a really strong one-two combination in the singles.

Its great to play with her. Shes such a friendly girl, and I know we worked really well together in France, and now were doing the same again in Malaga.

Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls have not been needed yet as Britains doubles pair but are playing a key role in creating a fun team environment, while warm-up games of Spikeball  where players have to bounce a ball off a small trampoline  have also fostered high spirits.

Were just going to keep believing, keep trusting it, and just keep enjoying it, said Boulter. I think thats really important. Its worked so well for us so far.

Emma Raducanu celebrates beating Canadas Rebecca Marino (Manu Fernandez/AP)

I dont think there is any pressure. I think were just enjoying ourselves. Living with the girls its been honestly truly amazing and such a great week for me. I have enjoyed it and been so inspired to be around all these people.

I know theyve got my back so, no matter what happens, Im just going to go out and do my best. I know theyll support me.

Captain Keothavong has a deeply personal reason for valuing close relations within her team.

The 41-year-old experienced a very different environment during her years as a player, when her rivalry with compatriot Elena Baltacha on court led to a rift off court that was fostered by those around the two players.

It was not until the latter stages of their playing careers that the pair found a friendship, but that was cut tragically short when Baltacha died of cancer 10 years ago aged just 30.

Its wonderful to see when youve got your top two players genuinely getting on, and theres huge amount of respect for each other, said Keothavong.

Whats important for me in this competition is that the girls find a way to gel and get on. From my previous experience as a player, that wasnt always the case.

Myself and Elena Baltacha had our ups and downs but towards the end we were pretty tight. We were able as adults to reflect on how we could have been better, but also the people around us that influence us, who are the right people to listen to, who should we have just ignored.

And when she passed away, you just kind of think, Well, what was that? Because it was just such a waste to spend so much time being angry and p***ed off at each other and it was so totally unnecessary.

While Britain have been hugely impressive so far, so have Slovakia, who boast victories over the United States and Australia.

An incredible final four remain in Malaga  But who will make it to the #BJKCup final?  pic.twitter.com/wupAmiRSDj  Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) November 17, 2024

Number one Rebecca Sramkova upset world number 11 Danielle Collins on Thursday but is their only top-100 player, giving Britain the advantage on paper.

Should they reach the final, it would be their best showing in the competition since 1981, when a team boasting Virginia Wade, Sue Barker and Jo Durie were beaten finalists.

That is one of four final appearances in the event formerly known as Fed Cup, with Britain yet to lift the trophy.

Theyre not going to be easy, said Keothavong of Slovakia. Theyve got momentum in this competition.

We have seen countless times how people are able to raise their level when they are representing their nation. But I go into it believing again that our players have the ability to get the job done.
An armed royal protection officer who lied about losing a bullet in the grounds of Buckingham Palace and covered it up for eight days has been sacked.

Stephen Cotgreave, based within the Metropolitan Polices Royalty and Specialist Protection, was on foot patrol alone in the gardens of Buckingham Palace on the afternoon of December 6 2022 when he accidentally dropped the magazine from his firearm.

He picked up the magazine and placed it back inside the gun but when he returned the firearm to the armoury at the end of his shift an hour later, it was found that one round of ammunition was missing.

The officer, who was 48 at the time, was then asked if he could explain the missing bullet but he insisted he could not and denied dropping the magazine.

The incident, which was captured on CCTV, should have led to an immediate and full search of the area and posed a risk to the welfare of the royal household, a misconduct hearing heard on Monday.

The incident happened on the day a protester had thrown an egg at the King during a walkabout in Luton (PA)

It happened on the day a protester had thrown an egg at the King during a walkabout in Luton before he returned to the palace with Camilla to host an evening reception alongside the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Unyime Davies, on behalf of the Metropolitan Police, told the panel sitting at the Empress State Building in west London: As a result of Pc Cotgreaves short round, all the magazines were emptied and a thorough account was conducted, and the loading bay was searched.

Asked if at any point the magazine dropped from the weapon, Pc Cotgreave still denied any knowledge of how the round went missing.

He eventually recovered the missing bullet eight days later on December 14 at the same location he first dropped the magazine.

The officer went to the control room of Buckingham Palace where he admitted that he had dropped the magazine  explaining that he had felt stupid, ashamed and embarrassed since the incident.

It was then alleged that, in failing to admit to the incident on December 8, the officer breached the forces standards of professional behaviour in respect of honesty and integrity.

In a statement dated from December 14, he admitted dishonesty and misconduct  but denied gross misconduct, arguing that he had panicked and acted in a moment of madness.

Nicholas Yeo, defending Mr Cotgreave, told the misconduct hearing: We do fully accept that this is a serious matter, but it is to be set against his history of 24 years of unblemished service, and to be taken into account the fact that, realistically, there was nothing more that this officer could do to put it right once he realised that he was in the wrong.

But Harry Ireland KC, chairman of the panel, told the hearing that Mr Cotgreave had plenty of time for reflection in the eight days that passed after the bullet first went missing, as well as the perfect opportunity to come clean.

Mr Ireland added: We find the culpability in this matter to be high as there was a deliberate course of conduct by the officer which posed a risk to the welfare of the public and the royal household.

The panel found Mr Cotgreave had committed an abuse of trust, particularly as working in the royal household, and because he had been concealing wrongdoing for eight days and lying to fellow officers on three occasions about the incident.

Mr Cotgreave, who shook his head as the panels verdict was returned, was dismissed with immediate effect for gross misconduct at the end of the hearing.
Starmer calls for respectful relationship with China in meeting with Xi

Sir Keir Starmer has said he told Xi Jinping he wanted respectful relations with Beijing as he became the first prime minister to meet the Chinese president since 2018.

The Prime Minister raised the case of detained pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai in a sign he was prepared to challenge China over human rights abuses, but he also signalled a desire for greater business co-operation.

Sir Keir also suggested a full UK-China meeting in London or Beijing as part of his desire for consistent, durable, respectful ties between the two countries.

He also told the Chinese leader that he wanted to engage honestly on issues where the two nations disagree, including on Hong Kong, human rights and Russias war in Ukraine, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.

The pair met in Brazil, where both leaders are attending the G20 summit.

Sir Keir said a strong UK-China relationship is important for both of our countries and for the broader international community.

The UK-China relationship has deteriorated in recent years, with concerns over security, human rights and the sanctioning of Westminster parliamentarians souring ties with Beijing.

Despite the renewed engagement by the Labour administration, the relationship is still a long way from the golden era sought by the Conservatives under David Cameron and Theresa May.

Sir Keir Starmer and Xi Jinping met in Rio de Janeiro (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The Prime Minister told the Chinese leader: We want our relations to be consistent, durable, respectful, as we have agreed, avoid surprises where possible.

He added: The UK will be a predictable, consistent, sovereign actor committed to the rule of law.

Sir Keirs meeting followed Foreign Secretary David Lammys visit to Beijing in October for talks with counterpart Wang Yi.

The Prime Minister told Mr Xi: Im very pleased that my Foreign Secretary and foreign minister Wang met recently to discuss respective concerns including on human rights and parliamentary sanctions, Taiwan, the South China Sea and our shared interest in Hong Kong.

We are concerned by reports of Jimmy Lais deterioration.

It was also agreed that the Chancellor Rachel Reeves should visit Beijing next year to discuss financial cooperation with vice premier He Lifeng.

The UK and Chinese leaders met at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Rio (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

According to a readout of the meeting issued by Number 10, the Prime Minister said that he also wanted to engage honestly and frankly on those areas where we have different perspectives, including on Hong Kong, human rights and Russias war in Ukraine.

The readout states that discussions touched on trade and investment, health, education and other areas of mutual interest.

They also discussed the climate, on which both said that this should be high on the agenda and there was more work to be done to accelerate global progress towards net zero, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.

Meanwhile, a No 10 spokeswoman told reporters: Weve consistently said when it comes to China that it is important to engage seriously and pragmatically, and that involves challenging (the Chinese) where necessary.

She added: The Prime Minister believes that its as important, as a serious government, to engage with China given the size of the economy and its position on the world stage.

His priority is on pursuing pragmatic and serious diplomatic relationships.

Speaking through a translator, Mr Xi told Sir Keir: China and the UK have broad space for co-operation across various domains, including trade, investment, clean energy, financial services, healthcare and improving our peoples well-being.

We should take fostering greater development, better serving our peoples and contributing more to the world as our goal.

Live up to our strategic partnership and commit to mutual respect, openness, co-operation, exchanges and mutual learning for shared benefit  in doing so we will break new ground in the China-UK relationship amid a changing world and better underscore our relationships relevance for the times and its significance for the world.

The President also appeared to repeat Labours Government messaging, as according to the translation he said that the new Government is working to fix the foundations of the economy and rebuild Britain.

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel has said that Sir Keir should have been stronger in raising our concerns over human rights following the meeting.

Dame Priti said: Britains standing on the world stage risks being weakened if the Prime Minister does not robustly defend our national interest.

While it is important to have a constructive diplomatic dialogue with China, the Prime Minister should have been stronger in raising our concerns over human rights, the repressive nature of the national security laws imposed on Hong Kong, and the security, safety and wellbeing of British nationals, like Jimmy Lai, who should be freed from custody.

In this uncertain world, we need leaders who are clear about defending this countrys national interest, and who are not afraid to stand up against Chinas malign influence with confidence and authority.

Starmer must set out, as part of his supposed reset, what assurances he received from President Xi on the UKs areas of concern.
Sebastian Lee Hernandez, 22, shown after his arrest in June, was sentenced to 32 years in prison by 186th Criminal District Court Judge Kristina Escalona after pleading no contest in August to the 2021 murder of former News 4 employee Christopher Olivarez. Megan Rodriguez

A San Antonio man was sentenced to prison for stabbing a former News 4 employee to death at his home in 2021.

Sebastian Lee Hernandez, 22, was sentenced to 32 years in prison by 186th Criminal District Court Judge Kristina Escalona after pleading no contest in August.

He was convicted in the death of Christopher Olivarez, 40. Olivarez was an account executive at News 4 from 2012 to 2016.

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Hernandez received the maximum sentence under the plea. Hernandez cannot appeal the judge's decision and can't have contact with Olivarez's family.

Olivarez was found dead on Sept. 25, 2021, with multiple stab wounds in the front yard of his home in the 300 block of Kirk Place. During sentencing, Hernandez testified that he met Olivarez through Grindr, a dating app for gay men.

Hernandez said he would meet Olivarez at his home where the two would engage in sexual activities and smoke marijuana.

Defense attorney Robert Maurer said the stabbing was the result of sudden passion. He recommended that his client receive a maximum of 15 years in prison.

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"We have a situation where a 19-year-old was drawn into a relationship with a man who was engaged in sketchy behavior," Maurer said. "I think there is evidence that my client provided concerning (Olivarez's) actions toward him that led my client to panic."

Bexar County Chief Medical Examiner Kimberley Molina testified that her office found a low amount of methanphetamine in Olivarez's system at the time of his death.

Prosecutors said Hernandez stabbed Olivarez 25 times in the head and back before stealing his car and driving it to Seguin. When police found the vehicle, it had been burned.

During his testimony, Hernandez said he stabbed Olivarez during an altercation that began after Olivarez sexually assaulted him. He said Olivarez was being aggressive with him and came at him with a knife.

Prosecutors said Hernandez originally lied to investigators when he denied stealing the vehicle and meeting Olivarez on Grindr. They also said there was no way to prove the sexual assault ever happened.

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"What's happening here today is character assassination of a victim that is not here to defend himself, that is not here to tell what actually happened," prosecutor Melissa Rust said.

San Antonio police released several surveillance videos showing a person coming and going from the residence before and on the night of the fatal stabbing.

San Antonio police asked for the public's help in identifying the man in the surveillance video. The requests went unanswered until a later push from Crime Stoppers and the media. In the Spring of 2022, someone came forward with Hernandezs name. Hernandez provided a statement and a DNA sample to police.

His DNA matched several pieces of evidence at the crime scene, including the knife that was believed to be the murder weapon.
Sir Keir Starmer will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Brazil, Downing Street has confirmed.

He will be the first British prime minister to meet the Chinese leader in more than half a decade when they hold talks in Rio de Janeiro on Monday and has pledged to have serious, pragmatic discussions when they speak.

The Xi meeting will be one in a series of discussions the Prime Minister is expected to have with world leaders at the two-day summit, with conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East likely to be high on the agenda.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer works on board a Government plane as he travels to the G20 summit (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Reports that US President Joe Biden has given the green light for Ukraine to use US-supplied long-range missiles to strike inside Russia emerged on Sunday evening ahead of the summit getting underway.

Speaking to reporters en route to the summit on Sunday, Sir Keir said: I am planning to have a bilateral with President Xi at the G20. I think thats important.

We are both global players, global powers, both permanent members of the Security Council and of the G20.

Chinas economy is obviously the second biggest in the world. Its one of our biggest trading partners and therefore I will be having serious pragmatic discussions with the president when I meet him.

Trade could be one of the issues that come up for discussion amid concern over US President-elect Donald Trumps threats to impose tariffs on imports.

Sir Keir will be the first UK prime minister to meet the Chinese premier since Theresa May in 2018.

Asked if he wanted a better relationship with Beijing than previous governments, Sir Keir added: Given the size of the economy it is very important that we have a pragmatic and serious relationship and thats what I intend to pursue.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited China in October and pledged that the Government would bring consistency to the UKs relations with the country.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy (Leon Neal/PA)

He said that there had not been sufficient contact between London and Beijing under his predecessors, particularly on human rights issues.

Sir Keir arrived in Rio in the early hours of Monday morning UK time and was greeted by the British ambassador to Brazil Stephanie Al-Qaq.

It is thought that during the summit he will call on leaders to go further and faster in their support for Ukraine and warn of unfathomable consequences if Putin succeeds.

While Sir Keir was in the air on his way to the summit, AP reported that President Biden has authorised Ukraines use of US-supplied long-range missiles to strike inside Russia for the first time.

The move marks a major policy shift as he is about to leave office and comes ahead of the 1,000-day mark since Russias invasion of Ukraine on Tuesday.

The two-day summit is the first visit to Brazil by a UK prime minister for 12 years and it is thought that Sir Keir will focus on conversations that could help increase economic growth and security at home and abroad.

In a statement ahead of the summit, the Prime Minister said: It is in the UKs best interests to engage on the global stage  whether thats building strong and fruitful partnerships with our closest allies or being frank with those whose values differ from our own.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (AP/Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool)

Close cooperation with the worlds leading economies is vital to secure investment into the UK and create the jobs needed to catalyse growth.

As we mark 1,000 days since Putins illegal invasion of Ukraine, I will be doing all I can to bolster Ukraine as they continue to bravely defend their sovereignty.

Under my leadership, the UK will be a responsible actor at a time of increasing volatility in the world, while ensuring our diplomacy delivers for people at home.

World leaders attending the summit this week include President Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Sir Keir Starmer will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Brazil on Monday, the first time a British premier has met him since 2018.

The pair will hold talks in Rio de Janeiro on Monday and Sir Keir pledged to have pragmatic discussions with the leader of the Asian economic superpower when they speak.

The Xi meeting will be one in a series of discussions the Prime Minister is expected to have with world leaders at the two-day summit, with conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East likely to be high on the agenda.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer works on board a Government plane as he travels to the G20 summit (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Sir Keir said: I am planning to have a bilateral with President Xi at the G20. I think thats important.

We are both global players, global powers, both permanent members of the Security Council and of the G20.

Chinas economy is obviously the second biggest in the world. Its one of our biggest trading partners and therefore I will be having serious pragmatic discussions with the president when I meet him.

The UK-China relationship has deteriorated in recent years, with concerns over security, human rights and the sanctioning of Westminster parliamentarians souring ties with Beijing.

Despite the engagement by the Labour administration, the relationship is still a long way from the golden era under the David Cameron and Theresa May administrations.

Then prime minister David Cameron and Xi Jinping visited a pub in 2015 at the height of the golden era in relations (Chris Radburn/PA)

Asked if he wanted a better relationship with Beijing than previous governments, Sir Keir added: Given the size of the economy, it is very important that we have a pragmatic and serious relationship, and thats what I intend to pursue.

Trade could be one of the issues that comes up for discussion amid concern over US President-elect Donald Trumps threats to impose tariffs on imports.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden had a meeting with Mr Xi on Saturday.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, one of the MPs and peers sanctioned for speaking out on Chinas human rights record, told the Daily Mail: This is very sad. Those suffering genocide and slave labour under the brutal hands of Xi will feel betrayed.

Starmer will be seen as weak by Xi who will see him as coming to him in a kowtow begging for trade.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith has been sanctioned for speaking out on Chinas human rights record (Yui Mok/PA)

Campaign group Amnesty International UKs chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said Sir Keir must raise the case of Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy activist and British national imprisoned in Hong Kong.

He said: The appalling state of human rights across China must be top of the agenda, including raising alarm about the industrial-scale repression of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet, the crushing of press freedom and hounding of activists and critics in Hong Kong and China.

Prime Minister Starmer must also be clear that Chinas campaign of terrorising students and campaigners here in the UK will not be tolerated.

Opposition frontbenchers criticised the Prime Minister for meeting Chinas leader as Mr Lais trial is set to begin.

Shadow Foreign Office minister Alicia Kearns told the PA news agency: On Keirs first call with Xi he didnt raise the case of British national Jimmy Lai, and it is quite something now to hold a bilateral meeting with Xi the same week Jimmy will finally be taken out of the torture of private detention only to appear in a show trial whose sole purpose is to prop up Xi and entrench their attempt at strangling media freedoms and basic human rights in Hong Kong.

Shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat, who has been sanctioned by Beijing, described Mr Lais case as a sham trial.

He added: Of course we need to talk to China  our embassy does that every day  but we the first thing we need to do is defend our own people.
The UK has announced fresh sanctions against Iran for aiding Russias war efforts in Ukraine.

Irans national airliner Iran Air will be subject to an asset freeze in response to the countrys transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia.

Shipping carrier the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines has been sanctioned for its role in transporting Iranian military supplies and the Russian cargo ship Port Olya-3 has been sanctioned for carrying missiles from Iran to Russia.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy is expected to address the new sanctions as he speaks at the United Nations Security Council in New York on Monday.

Irans attempts to undermine global security are dangerous and unacceptable, he is expected to say.

Alongside our international partners, we were clear that any transfer of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia would face a significant response.

Thats why today we are sanctioning Iran Air and the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, in response to Irans deliveries of ballistic missiles to Russia.

We reiterate our call on Iran to cease its support for Russias illegal war in Ukraine which continues to bring devastation to the Ukrainian people. We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.

It comes after the Government moved in September to halt flights to Iran, which was attributed to the Middle Eastern nations supply of weapons to Russia.

At the G20 summit in Brazil, Sir Keir Starmer will press world leaders about more support for Ukraine to defend against Russias forces as he marks 1,000 days since the conflict began.

The UK has sanctioned more than 450 Iranian individuals and entities, including those responsible for spreading Tehrans influence across the globe.

Britain has also sanctioned 2,100 individuals and entities involved in the Russian regime, with more than 1,900 since the start of Vladimir Putins full-scale invasion.
New business openings across the UK hit their lowest rate in more than a decade last year, official figures show.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows 316,000 new businesses were created in 2023, down from 337,000 the year before.

This means the rate of new businesses opening hit its lowest level since 2010, at 11% of all active firms.

This was a fall from 11.5% a year earlier.

Anna Leach, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, blamed poor financial conditions after the pandemic, a relatively weak growth environment and skill shortages.

Recent budget decisions unfortunately undermine the UKs business environment, disincentivising employment and reducing investment through the impact of higher taxes on business costs, Ms Leach added.

Meanwhile, higher public spending is expected to raise the cost of finance in the UK.

If the Government wants to get higher growth, itll need a vibrant business sector to deliver it.

Despite this, there were slightly more business openings than closures, with the death rate dropping to 10.8%.

This was a reversal from 2022, which was the first year in more than a decade where there were more deaths than births.

The figures also showed an increase in the number of high-growth businesses, those which saw their workforce swell by more than 20% for three years in a row.

There were 13,750 such businesses nationally in 2023, an increase from 11,480 a year earlier.

Pranesh Narayanan, research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research, welcomed the recovery in the number of high-growth businesses, which he said would lead to more jobs in dynamic and growing companies and a stronger economy overall.

However, Mr Narayanan warned they will be competing with larger, established firms.

He urged the Government to ensure the Competition and Markets Authority has the backing it needs to stop larger businesses from throwing their weight around to stifle competition.

There were stark regional differences in where high-growth companies were located.

Accounting for nearly a quarter of all high-growth businesses with at least 10 employees, London had 3,300, with a birth rate of 6.3%.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland had just 240 and a birth rate of just 3.1%, less than half the capitals high-growth business birth rate.

Looking at individual industries, the transport and storage sector industry had both the highest business birth rate (14.5%) and the highest death rate (21.6%).

At the other end of the scale, finance and insurance saw the lowest proportion of new businesses (6.4%), while the health sector had the best survival rate, with just 6.5% of firms going under.
UK to double down on support for Ukraine as US backs missile use in Russia

The UK will double down on support for Ukraine, fuelling speculation that British-supplied missiles could be used by Kyivs forces to hit targets deep inside Russia.

Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons to strike sites in Russia after months of pressure from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The UK Government would not be drawn on whether restrictions on the use of Storm Shadow missiles it supplied would also be eased, but Defence Secretary John Healey stressed the UK was working in close co-operation with the US.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine  18 November 2024. Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/OhCoylRoai #StandWithUkraine  pic.twitter.com/wxoSuand2m  Ministry of Defence  (@DefenceHQ) November 18, 2024

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: Im not going to get into operational details, because the only winner, if we were to do that, is (Vladimir) Putin, and Im not prepared to do that.

He told broadcasters at the G20 summit in Brazil: Ive been really clear for a long time now we need to double down. We need to make sure Ukraine has what is necessary for as long as necessary, because we cannot allow Putin to win this war.

In the Commons, Mr Healey told MPs: I will not compromise operational security and comment on the details of long-range systems today.

The Prime Minister has been clear that we must double down on the support for Ukraine, give Ukraine the support that it needs and do so for as long as it takes.

In doing so we will continue our close co-operation with the US and allies in providing that support to Ukraine.

(PA Graphics)

He dismissed suggestions from the Kremlin that using Western-supplied missiles to hit targets in Russia would escalate the conflict.

The one person responsible for escalation in this conflict is President Putin, the one side that has been escalating in recent months is Russia, he said.

Defence minister Maria Eagle also hinted at a shift, telling MPs: We intend to align with our allies in making sure that Ukraine can make use of the capabilities thats been offered by those who have committed support to that country in its fight.

The UK Government has been reluctant to give Ukraine permission without a shift in US policy, in part because the missiles use American navigation data.

However, the White House is yet to authorise the use of Storm Shadow missiles in Russia, The Sun reported, despite the change in Mr Bidens policy.

Downing Street said it would not get into speculation about Storm Shadow.

The outgoing US presidents decision could see American long-range ATACMS missiles used initially in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops have launched an incursion into Russian territory and Mr Putin has bolstered his defences with troops from North Korea.

Sir Keir Starmer with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden (Nadja Wohlleben/PA)

Mr Zelensky has been lobbying western allies for permission to strike targets in Russian territory, arguing that he is effectively being forced to fight with his hands tied because he cannot hit the bases Mr Putin is using to launch air attacks against his country.

Mr Zelensky said long-range capabilities are a key part of his victory plan.

But Moscow said the move would change the nature of western involvement in the conflict.

According to Russias Tass news agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: If such a decision has indeed been formulated and communicated to the Kyiv regime, then of course this is a qualitatively new round of escalation of tensions and a qualitatively new situation in terms of the involvement of the United States in this conflict.

The change in the final months of the Biden administration comes as Kyiv and western allies brace for a possible change of US stance under Donald Trump, who has said he could end the war in a day.

The shift in US position could have a greater political than military impact for Ukraines forces, partly due to limited supply, but also because Russian strikes are being launched from beyond the 300km (186-mile) range of the US-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) or the UKs Storm Shadow and its French equivalent Scalp.

Matthew Savill, military sciences director at defence think tank the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said: Many of the best targets  helicopters and glide-bomb armed aircraft attacking Ukrainian cities and troops in the north or in Kursk  have largely moved to air bases outside the range of ATACMS.

POLITICS Ukraine

This still leaves plenty of opportunities to strike military headquarters and ammunition or supply locations supporting Russian and North Korean troops, but this would be a reduced impact from when the Ukrainians first requested these weapons.

The impact may be more political, albeit with a narrowing window of opportunity.

The Ukrainians need to convince the incoming US administration that they are still worth backing  in President Trumps transactional view, a good investment.

And they will want to convince him to link his and US credibility to a winning outcome, not a major compromise that sees the US lose.

A Ministry of Defence intelligence assessment underlined the scale of losses being suffered by the Russians, with 1,498 casualties a day on average in the first 12 days of November, an increase on the most costly month of the war in October when the daily total was 1,354.

Russia will highly likely continue to experience high casualty rates over the remainder of the year with continued dismounted infantry attacks on multiple axes throughout the winter, the assessment said.
UK to relaunch trade talks with India at start of next year

The UK is set to relaunch trade talks with India, Downing Street has announced.

It was confirmed that discussions will reopen at the start of next year, following a bilateral meeting between Sir Keir Starmer and Indian PM Narendra Modi at the G20 summit.

The Government is seeking a new strategic partnership with New Delhi that goes beyond trade and also looks at areas such as security and education.

The Prime Minister has said that a deal between the fifth and sixth largest economies in the world would help support jobs in the UK, with a trading relationship with India worth 42 billion in the 12 months to June 2024, according to Downing Street.

Sir Keir said: Boosting economic growth is key to improving living standards for working people.

A new trade deal with India will support jobs and prosperity in the UK  and represent a step forward in our mission to deliver growth and opportunity across our country.

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has described India as a vital trading partner for the UK.

In a statement marking the announcement, he said: Whether its lowering Indian tariffs to help British firms export to this dynamic market or boosting investment which already supports over 600,000 jobs across both countries, striking a deal is important to deliver this Governments core mission of driving economic growth.

In July, Mr Reynolds had said that the UK intended to forge better trading relationships with countries around the world.

When asked about what deals could mean for access to the UK labour market Downing Street has said that the talks and any deals will be rooted in the UK national interest and said that the position on migration has not changed.

The Governments position on reducing net migration comes first and foremost, the Prime Ministers official spokesman said. We obviously only agree deals that are rooted in the UK national interest.

Discussions between New Delhi and London over a trade deal had stalled under the last government.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson had previously said that he wanted a deal done by October 2022 to coincide with Diwali celebrations. Although Rishi Sunaks administration had declined to set a target date for signing off on an agreement.

Earlier this year the UK and India signed off on a scheme aimed at strengthening co-operation on artificial intelligence and technologies.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy travelled to India and the technology security initiative was agreed by both nations national security advisers following negotiations.

The announcement comes ahead of the second day of the G20 summit, where Sir Keir is expected to hold talks with more foreign leaders.

The PM told Chinese President Xi Jinping he wanted respectful relations with Beijing when they took part in a bilateral talk on Monday.

The Prime Minister raised the case of detained pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai in a sign he was prepared to challenge China over human rights abuses, but he also signalled a desire for greater business co-operation.

Sir Keir also suggested a full UK-China meeting in London or Beijing as part of his desire for consistent, durable, respectful ties between the two countries.

However, shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said the PM should have been stronger in raising our concerns over human rights following the meeting.

Sir Keir Starmer shakes hands with President Xi Jinping of China (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

She said in a statement: Britains standing on the world stage risks being weakened if the Prime Minister does not robustly defend our national interest.

While it is important to have a constructive diplomatic dialogue with China, the Prime Minister should have been stronger in raising our concerns over human rights, the repressive nature of the national security laws imposed on Hong Kong, and the security, safety and wellbeing of British nationals, like Jimmy Lai, who should be freed from custody.

The meeting with Mr Xi came ahead of talks with other nations including Australia and Japan.

As well as the economy, Ukraine featured in a number of Sir Keirs discussions with world leaders on Monday.

According to readouts issued by Downing Street, leaders in both the Japan and Australia meetings agreed to double down on support for Kyiv.

As Tuesday marks 1,000 days since Russias invasion of Ukraine, the Prime Minister has faced questions on whether Storm Shadow missiles will be signed off for use against Russian targets by Ukraine, after President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons.

The PM declined to get into operational details when asked by broadcasters on Monday because the only winner, if we were to do that, is (Vladimir) Putin, and Im not prepared to do that.
Joe Biden has given Ukraine permission to use US-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia after months of pressure from Volodymyr Zelensky.

The outgoing US presidents decision could see long-range missiles used initially in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops have launched an incursion into Russian territory and Vladimir Putin has bolstered his defences with troops from North Korea.

Mr Bidens decision could pave the way for the UK to follow suit with the Storm Shadow long-range missiles it supplies to Ukraine.

I am deeply grateful to all our partners who support us with air defense systems and missiles. This is a truly global effort. Every time Russia carries out such attacks, it underscores how critical it is that partners dont leave systems like Patriot and others sitting idle in pic.twitter.com/4VZu4JpzxG  Volodymyr Zelenskyy /   (@ZelenskyyUa) November 17, 2024

The UK Government has been reluctant to give Ukraine permission without a shift in US policy, in part because the missiles use American navigation data.

Here is a guide to which British and American-supplied long-range weapons Ukraine could use to strike Russia.

UK:

 Storm Shadow cruise missiles

In May 2023, the government announced that it would provide Ukraine with long-range Storm Shadow missiles.

(PA Graphics)

The weapon is fired from aircraft and has a range of more than 155 miles, according to the manufacturer. By contrast, the US-supplied Himars missiles currently used by Ukraine only have a range of around 50 miles.

Powered by a turbo-jet engine, the 1,300kg Storm Shadow travels at speeds of more than 600mph, is just over five metres long and has a wingspan of three metres.

After launch, the weapon, equipped with its own navigation system, descends to a low altitude to avoid detection before locking on to its target using an infrared seeker.

On final approach, the missile climbs to a higher altitude to maximise the chances of hitting the target.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has bolstered his defences in Ukraine with troops from North Korea (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

On impact, it penetrates the target before a delayed fuse detonates the main warhead.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge has said he hoped the UK would follow the US lead in granting permission to use Storm Shadow missiles to hit targets in Russia, given Mr Putins continued attacks on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure.

US:

 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) rockets

The ground-launched Army Tactical Missile System, more commonly known as ATACMS, have been used by Ukraine to strike Russian military targets in occupied Ukrainian territory for more than a year.

But the weapons were never granted for use inside Russia  until now.

Produced by US global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin, the missiles carry a 500lb (227kg) class blast fragmentation warhead.

The missiles can reach up to 186 miles (300km) and are difficult to intercept due to their high speed.

The weapons are fitted with a specialised GPS system and carry cluster munitions.

When fired, the clusters open in the air, releasing hundreds of bomblets rather than a single warhead.
Ukraine must be in the strongest possible position to defend itself, Downing Street has said when asked whether Britain would follow the US in granting Kyiv permission to strike targets in Russia with allied weapons.

Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons to strike sites in Russia after months of pressure from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

No 10 would not be drawn on whether the UK would follow suit, but did not rule out allowing Kyiv to use British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.

The UK Government has been reluctant to give Ukraine permission without a shift in US policy, in part because the missiles use American navigation data.

The outgoing US presidents decision could see long-range missiles used initially in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops have launched an incursion into Russian territory and President Vladimir Putin has bolstered his defences with troops from North Korea.

(PA Graphics)

Downing Street said the UK Government wanted to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position going into the winter to defend its sovereign territory.

The UK will double down to ensure Ukraine is provided with the support that it needs for as long as it needs, a No 10 spokeswoman said, though she refused to say whether that would include allowing Storm Shadow missiles to be fired at targets in Russia.

Our support in Ukraine is ironclad and will continue on that basis. But as to the specifics of the support that we provide  we wont get into speculation or a commentary on operational discussions.

It also remains the case that no war was ever won with one single piece of kit, she said.

Sir Keir Starmer with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden (Nadja Wohlleben/PA)

No 10 also suggested that publicly announcing a change in the UKs position would only serve to benefit Putin during an ongoing illegal war.

Asked if it was fair to say the UK would work in lockstep with the US, the spokeswoman replied: It has always been the case we work closely with our allies and engage to ensure that strategically we are providing the support that Ukraine needs, and we do that in consultation both with Ukraine and with each other as allies.

Mr Zelensky has been lobbying western allies for permission to strike targets in Russian territory, arguing that he is effectively being forced to fight with his hands tied because he cannot hit the bases Mr Putin is using to launch air attacks against his country.

Mr Zelensky said long-range capabilities are a key part of his victory plan.

But Moscow said the move would change the nature of western involvement in the conflict.

According to Russias Tass news agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: If such a decision has indeed been formulated and communicated to the Kyiv regime, then of course this is a qualitatively new round of escalation of tensions and a qualitatively new situation in terms of the involvement of the United States in this conflict.

An RAF Tornado with two Storm Shadow missiles (Cpl L Matthews/PA)

Sir Keir Starmer told reporters travelling to the G20 summit in Brazil that support for Ukraine was top of his agenda at the gathering of world leaders.

Mr Biden will be at the summit, while Russia will be represented by foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

The change in the final months of the Biden administration comes as Kyiv and western allies brace for a possible change of US stance under Donald Trump, who has said he could end the war in a day.

The shift in US position could have a greater political than military impact for Ukraines forces, partly due to limited supply, but also because Russian strikes are being launched from beyond the 300km (186-mile) range of the US-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) or the UKs Storm Shadow and its French equivalent Scalp.

Matthew Savill, military sciences director at defence think tank the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said: Many of the best targets  helicopters and glide-bomb armed aircraft attacking Ukrainian cities and troops in the north or in Kursk  have largely moved to air bases outside the range of ATACMS.

POLITICS Ukraine

This still leaves plenty of opportunities to strike military headquarters and ammunition or supply locations supporting Russian and North Korean troops, but this would be a reduced impact from when the Ukrainians first requested these weapons.

The impact may be more political, albeit with a narrowing window of opportunity.

The Ukrainians need to convince the incoming US administration that they are still worth backing  in President Trumps transactional view, a good investment. And they will want to convince him to link his and US credibility to a winning outcome, not a major compromise that sees the US lose.

A Ministry of Defence intelligence assessment underlined the scale of losses being suffered by the Russians, with 1,498 casualties a day on average in the first 12 days of November, an increase on the most costly month of the war in October when the daily total was 1,354.

Russia will highly likely continue to experience high casualty rates over the remainder of the year with continued dismounted infantry attacks on multiple axes throughout the winter, the assessment said.
A man has admitted being the owner of a XL bully which killed his neighbour while it was dangerously out of control.

Ian Langley, 54, suffered fatal neck injuries when he was attacked while he walked his puppy in Shiney Row near Sunderland on October 3 last year.

Christopher Bell, 45, formerly of Maple Terrace, Shiney Row, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog which caused injury leading to death while dangerously out of control in a public place.

Christopher Bell leaving court after a previous hearing (Tom Wilkinson/PA)

After the hearing, the Crown Prosecution Service said Bell ran from his house when someone smashed one of his windows.

He thought Mr Langley was responsible and chased him with his two dogs, one of which grabbed the older man by the throat causing catastrophic injuries.

The defendant then made a panicked 999 call but despite a response by the emergency services, Mr Langley could not be saved.

Bell, now living in Coltman Street, Hull, was granted bail and will be sentenced on January 27.

The charge named his dog as Titan  an American bully XL.

Police shot the dog at the scene to protect the public.

It was understood at the time that another XL bully was taken away by police for public safety.

Neighbours said Mr Langley, who was originally from Liverpool, was walking his Patterdale puppy called Bow when he was attacked.

His puppy bolted and managed to escape and was being looked after by a neighbour in the aftermath of the shocking attack which horrified residents living on the estate.

At the time, Michael Kennedy, also from Shiney Row, said he had known Mr Langley for more than 20 years, and said many people knew him simply as Scouse.

He said: He was a really nice lad, he came from Liverpool, he was a lovable rogue you might say.

Emergency services were called to Maple Terrace just before 7pm on October 3 last year, where they found Ian Langley seriously injured (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Mr Kennedy added: He never did any harm, he was not a violent person, he wasnt a hard man, he wasnt the type to go looking for trouble.

He was really thin, he would have no chance against a big dog.

In a video shared on social media last year, an armed police officer stood on ladders to reach over a fence into a yard and shoot the animal from the road.

Northumbria Police said the emergency services were called to Maple Terrace just before 7pm on October 3 last year, where they found Mr Langley seriously injured.

He died in hospital that evening.

Bell was initially arrested on suspicion of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and after Mr Langley died, he was re-arrested on suspicion of murder.

In September, following a lengthy police investigation, he was charged with being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death.

The force said the breed is now banned in this country  and since February this year it has been a criminal offence to own an XL Bully without an exemption certificate.

The dogs must also be kept on a lead and muzzled in public places, as well as neutered.

Leading the investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Jason Henry, of Northumbria Police, said: Our thoughts continue to be with Ians loved ones following his tragic death.

They have shown significant strength during this time.

We also recognise the impact this devastating incident had on the wider community and I would like to thank all those who have helped with the investigation.

He added: This case highlights the very tragic consequences of what can happen when people fail to control dogs within their care.

We would urge everyone to follow the legislation and guidance in place to help protect themselves and others from events like this happening in the future.

After the hearing, Christopher Atkinson, head of the Complex Casework Unit at CPS North East, said: The injuries caused by the dogs attack were catastrophic and, despite Bell making a panicked call to emergency services, Mr Langley tragically died a short time later.

It was clear from the evidence in this case that Bell had not attempted to control the dog as he chased Ian Langley, admitting in a police interview that his primary focus had been to catch Langley and that it was for this reason that he did not think to intervene in his dogs pursuit.

Our thoughts remain with the family of Ian Langley, for whom this must remain a difficult time.

We hope the conviction of Bell today provides some measure of comfort.
Julianne Smith was home with two of her daughters in early January when her world completely changed.

She passed out, and one of her daughters who just so happened to be home for holiday break immediately called Mike, Smiths husband who was at work.

Once her husband called first responders, two rescue squads and police came to help. The call led to a shocking diagnosis. She had a ruptured brain aneurysm that was categorized as grade 5, one of the most severe.

I'm told that I vomited, said Smith, who lives in Cleveland. I had a really bad headache.

She doesnt remember many of the details from that fateful day. In fact, many of her recollections are mostly secondhand accounts from her husband, her daughters and the nurses and doctors at the Cleveland Clinic who cared for her.

Her husband said she has undergone at least 12 procedures since the incident, and she has also had to undergo speech, physical and occupational therapy to regain her independence. She couldnt drive for months and had to learn how to walk on her own again.

Now, nearly a year after the scare, Smith is back on the road and she tries to walk 3 miles a day.

Shes looking forward to her favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, and this year, she has so much to be grateful for."

Julianne Smith with her daughter. Smith had a grade 5 brain aneurysm in January 2024. She survived it, but had to learn how to speak, walk and regain her independence in the months after her medical emergency.

How did this happen to me?

After Smith passed out in January, an ambulance took her to the nearest hospital, Smith told USA TODAY on Wednesday. The hospital couldnt do much for her though, so she was then flown to the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus.

Within 90 minutes, I was in my first brain surgery, Smith said. My brain was filling up with so much fluid and blood that they had to take part of my skull off.

She doesnt remember much about the procedures she has undergone but said she recalls her husband filling her in when she came out of a medically-induced coma.

How did this happen to me? she wondered. I thought I was taking good care of myself and I had never even known anyone personally with a brain aneurysm.

Mike and Julianne Smith with two of their daughters.

What is a brain aneurysm and what causes them?

Dr. Adam Barron, a Cleveland Clinic neurointensivist (a neurology doctor who specializes in taking care of patients with brain injuries in the ICU) who treated Smith, said aneurysms are caused by a weakness in a blood vessel wall in the brain.

According to Barron, there is a small balloon that forms on the side of the blood vessel and if it becomes weak enough, it can rupture and cause bleeding around the surface of the brain. When that bleeding happens, its called a subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Its possible for people to have brain aneurysms without symptoms, he said, but when the aneurysms rupture and cause bleeding, there will be signs, he said.

According to Barron, women are at a slightly higher risk for ruptured brain aneurysms than men, and smoking can also increase the risk of having an aneurysm rupture.

Smith said that after her brain aneurysms, one of her doctors recommended that her first-degree relatives undergo brain scans. Her youngest sister has an aneurysm in the same location as Smiths rupture, she said, adding that both she and her sister will undergo routine scans.

She and her husband had their middle daughter checked out because she has struggled with migraines, they said. Shes 13 now and although doctors typically dont scan children at that age, a doctor decided to OK it.

There is a spot that they want to look at, but they don't even think it's anything to worry about and it's not in the dangerous part of the brain, her husband said.

Barron said brain aneurysms aren't common in the general population so doctors dont typically recommend routine scans to look for them. Doctors do recommend scans if there are significant risk factors though, he said.

Brain aneurysms are caused by genetics, so it can be hard to prevent them, he said. However, some factors that may help include refraining from smoking, as well as taking care of your blood pressure and cholesterol.

Julianne Smith, a Cleveland woman who suffered a grade 5 brain aneurysm in January 2024.

Ohio woman underwent 12 procedures

Between Jan. 5 and Feb. 14, Smith underwent at least 12 procedures to treat the brain aneurysm, according to her husband.

Actually, most of those happened in the first five days, he said. It was pretty intense.

She underwent a drain placement to treat the pressure in her skull, but days later, her brain was still swelling, so doctors removed part of her skull to make room, a spokesperson from the Cleveland Clinic said.

Doctors were able to reattach part of her skull sooner than planned because of how much the swelling in her brain had subsided, her husband said.

Julianne Smith with her husband at a doctor's visit with her surgeon, Dr. Nina Moore at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

Family praises medical staff for pushing mom to get up and moving

Immediately after the aneurysm, Smith couldnt feel her entire left side and struggled with her memory, her husband said. She didnt realize her daughters birthday had already passed, and Christmas as well.

Smith remembers what it felt like to accept that she had such a debilitating illness. Some days, she had no energy, and initially, she needed help doing simple tasks like using the restroom. It was difficult to transition to relying so much on others, she said, but she didnt let it stop her.

The Smiths spent the first few months of 2024 making sure she underwent extensive physical therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy. The medical team that treated her helped stimulate her mind as she recovered, quizzing her.

I was so determined to get better, and I had so many people praying for me, she said. I really do believe that that is where my strength came from, and that is why I'm still here. I persevered. And I had some dark days. I had some very dark days where I struggled.

Julianne Smith (right) with one of her daughters.

Womans recovery has been amazing to see, doctor says

To get better, Smith would set goals that take lots of brain power, such as cooking a meal at home, planning and going grocery shopping.

Its all those things that I used to take for granted, she said, noting that it was hard not being able to be as independent as she was before. She couldnt drive for about seven months.

Barron said Smith was as sick as you can be in the neuro ICU. She was under heavy anesthesia and paralyzed, he told USA TODAY.

It's thanks to her and her family, he said. Working so hard through her rehabilitation to get to the point where she is today. But it's also thanks to the multidisciplinary group at the Cleveland Clinic, all of the different doctors, the neurosurgeon, the ICU doctors, the nurses and nurse practitioners, the respiratory therapists, everyone involved.

I probably would not be alive today

Smith and her husband said timing is everything. Two of their three daughters were at home on holiday break when she suffered her brain aneurysm.

Had our two younger daughters not been home on Christmas break, I probably would not be alive today, she told USA TODAY.

She added that shes grateful for her neurosurgeon, Dr. Nina Moore, as well as the other doctors who cared for her this year.

I'm just so incredibly grateful to them, to our friends and our family, and to every individual that prayed for me, she said.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia  the 757. Follow her on Twitter at @SaleenMartin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brain aneurysm recovery: One woman's journey to walk, talk again
Elizabeth L. T. Moore is a Hearst Fellow in San Antonio. She can be reached at Elizabeth.Moore@hearst.com

Elizabeth did her first fellowship year as a reporter with the New Haven Register in Connecticut. Moore has published bylines with Bloomberg News, The Virginian-Pilot and The Daily Tar Heel, the student newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Moore placed nationally in the Hearst Collegiate Journalism Program, and she is fluent in Spanish.
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel

Whether you're starting your day solo or sharing it with loved ones, it's time to rise and shine with one of these healthy breakfast recipes! Using a sheet pan, these meals are both hearty and flavorful, perfect for jump-starting your morning with minimal cleanup. Theyre also ideal for feeding a crowd. Delicious options like Sheet-Pan Lemon-Blueberry French Toast and Easy Sheet-Pan Eggs with Mushrooms & Spinach are nutritious, easy to prepare and guaranteed to please.

Sheet-Pan Lemon-Blueberry French Toast

Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel

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When youre catering to a weekend crowd, having recipes like this Sheet-Pan Lemon-Blueberry French Toast up your sleeve can be a game-changer. Instead of laboring over the stove, you can whip up 8 servings of delightful fruity French toast infused with zesty lemon flavor, all in one shot thanks to your oven and a single baking sheet.



Easy Sheet-Pan Eggs with Mushrooms & Spinach

Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food Stylist: Lauren McAnelly

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Make these easy sheet-pan eggs the next time you're serving a crowd for breakfast or brunch. Mushrooms add texture and flavor, while spinach adds a pop of color. You can also make these eggs for a meal-prep-friendly breakfast.

Sheet-Pan Banana Pancakes

Carolyn Hodges

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Prep a batch of these baked pancakes for easy breakfasts throughout the week. Reheat in the microwave or oven, then top with syrup, chopped nuts or fresh berries for a quick and satiating bite.

Sheet-Pan Egg Sandwiches for a Crowd

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Hosting a crowd for the holidays or another occasion? Forget cooking individual servings of eggs and make these easy sheet-pan egg sandwiches instead. One batch makes enough bacon, egg, cheese and vegetable sandwiches to serve 12 people in the time you'd normally spend prepping breakfast for one or two people.

Strawberry Sheet-Pan Pancakes

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Sheet-pan pancakes feed a crowd, without your standing over a hot skillet or griddle for long periods of time. This easy pancake recipe calls for sprinkling strawberries on top of the batter, but you could personalize toppings for guests with a variety of fruits or nuts.

Smoked Salmon & Goat Cheese Sheet-Pan Eggs

Casey Barber

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Meal-prep breakfast for the week with these easy sheet-pan eggs, which can be served as is or in a sandwich. Smoky salmon, briny capers and creamy goat cheese load these frittata-like slices with flavor.

Tomato & Pesto Sheet-Pan Eggs

Casey Barber

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Chicken sausage, pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella combine to add Italian flavor to these frittata-like slices. Serve them for breakfast as is or in a sandwich (they're great for meal prepping).

Bacon & Kale Sheet-Pan Eggs

Casey Barber

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Our trick for making a big batch of eggs? Get out your sheet pan. With this simple recipe, you can easily meal-prep breakfast for the week. Serve them as is or in a sandwich. A sprinkling of za'atara Middle Eastern spice blend that's a mix of thyme, sumac, salt, sesame seeds and sometimes other herbsadds big, bold flavor to these frittata-like squares.

Potato-Kale Hash with Eggs

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This potato and kale hash recipe is just as fun to make as it is to eat. After the potatoes and kale are roasted, the hash is formed into 4 individual "nests" that are finished with an egg in the middle. To keep the prep work to a minimum, use pre-chopped kale, found near other prepared cooking greens. If you'd rather chop your own, start with about 1 bunch and strip the leaves off the stems before chopping.

Spiralized Zucchini Nest Eggs

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These impressive-looking zucchini eggs in a nest are actually surprisingly easy to make. There's no frying or poaching requiredinstead, the eggs are baked right on top of a bed of spiralized zucchini noodles. An herbed cheese mixture adds plenty of flavor and keeps the eggs from running through the zucchini nests. Serve these eggs for a healthy breakfast or brunch.

Sheet-Pan Pancakes

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Pancakes are a weekend brunch necessity (mimosas, too), but making them for a crowd is time-consuming. Instead, bake four kinds of pancakespeanut butter, chocolate chip, raspberry and blueberryat once with this easy sheet-pan pancake recipe. Making several different pancakes in one batch means you can easily please your whole brunch party, including yourself!

Smoky Cauliflower Sheet-Pan Eggs

Casey Barber

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Smoky tempeh, sometimes called fakin' bacon, adds meaty flavor to these frittata-like slices, which are great as is or in a breakfast sandwich.

Sheet-Pan American Flag Pancake

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Get your Fourth of July off to the right start with this patriotic sheet-pan pancake! It's fun and easy to decorate with fresh summer fruit. Depending on the thickness of your batter, the fruit may slip under the surface while baking. Check it toward the end of the baking time and add more fruit to the top if needed.

Sheet-Pan Eggs with Spinach & Ham

View Recipe

Making a big batch of eggs has never been easier with this one-pan oven-baked eggs recipe. Whether you are making brunch for a crowd or just want to meal-prep healthy breakfasts for the week, you'll have 12 servings ready in just 45 minutes.

3-Ingredient Bell Pepper & Cheese Egg Cups

Carolyn Hodges, M.S., RDN

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Requiring just three main ingredientsbell peppers, eggs and shredded cheesethese portable baked eggs are simple to assemble and perfect for meal prep. Store them in the fridge for up to 4 days to reheat on demand.

Broccoli, Ham & Cheese Sheet-Pan Eggs

Casey Barber

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This riff on broccoli, ham and cheese omelets adds all the same flavors to a big batch of easy-to-prep eggs, thanks to your sheet pan. With this simple recipe, you can easily meal-prep breakfast for the week. Serve them as is or in a sandwich.
President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken both threatened to leave Israel alone and deny the Jewish states military critical weapons ahead of a planned offensive in southern Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed on Monday.

During a secret meeting with an Israeli parliamentary committee, Netanyahu disclosed that Biden, 81, began warning him in April against the assault on the city of Rafah  even telling the PM that you will be left alone, the right-leaning Israeli outlet Now 14 reported.

Netanyahu, 75, told members of the Knessets Foreign Affairs and Security Committee that he replied to Biden, We will do it alone, foreshadowing public remarks he would make early in May.

President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken both threatened to leave Israel alone and deny it military weapons before a southern Gaza assault, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed on Monday. REUTERS

Days after the phone call, Blinken also traveled to Israel to meet with Netanyahu and discourage the offensive by saying: You will not have weapons.

Netanyahu reportedly shot back: We will fight with our hands and nails.

The PM also crowed that US officials had vastly overestimated the number of potential civilian deaths in a Rafah assault, putting the number of likely fatalities around 20,000.

While there were some tragic civilian killings, Netanyahu said in a joint address to both chambers of Congress in July that the lowest ratio of combatant to non-combatant casualties came in Rafah.

Remember what so many people said? If Israel goes into Rafah, therell be thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of civilians killed, the prime minister told US lawmakers. I asked the commander there, How many terrorists did you take out in Rafah? He gave me an exact number: 1,203.

I asked him, How many civilians were killed?' Netanyahu went on. He said, Prime Minister, practically none. With the exception of a single incident, where shrapnel from a bomb hit a Hamas weapons depot and unintentionally killed two dozen people, the answer is practically none.'

Blinken also traveled to Israel to meet with Netanyahu and discourage the Rafah offensive by saying: You will not have weapons. dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images

While there were some tragic civilian deaths, Netanyahu said in a joint address to both chambers of Congress in July that the lowest ratio of combatant to non-combatant casualties came in Rafah. AFP via Getty Images

You want to know why? Because Israel got the civilians out of harms way, something people said we could never do, but we did it, he said.

Biden publicly announced on May 8 that his administration was not supplying some 2,000-pound and 500-pound bomb shipments to Israel for the Rafah invasion, as both he and Blinken lamented the high Palestinian death toll over the course of the war.

I made clear that if they go into Rafah  they havent gotten into Rafah yet  if they go into Rafah, Im not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, to deal with that problem, Biden told CNNs Erin Burnett in an interview at the time.

Netanyahu later told US lawmakers that the civilian death toll in Rafah was practically none. Israeli Army/AFP via Getty Images

The move earned swift blowback from congressional Republicans and Democrats  and the president eventually un-paused the shipment of munitions.

Neither the White House nor the State Department immediately responded to a request for comment.
By David Lawder and Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden pledged a $4 billion U.S. contribution to the World Bank's International Development Association fund for the world's poorest countries, a senior Biden administration official said on Monday.

Biden announced the three-year U.S. pledge during a closed session of the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, the official told reporters, adding that the U.S. Treasury was leading negotiations at the World Bank for the IDA replenishment.

The new U.S. pledge is a record and substantially exceeds the $3.5 billion Washington committed in the previous IDA fund replenishment round in December 2021.

It is unclear if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has proposed cutting foreign aid in the past, will honor Biden's pledge as he and billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk seek to slash U.S. spending through a new government efficiency panel. An appropriation by the U.S. Congress to fund the commitment would not likely take place until after Trump takes office in January.

A spokesperson for Trump's transition team did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.

'HISTORIC' PLEDGE

Earlier in Rio de Janeiro, U.S. deputy national security adviser Jonathan Finer told reporters that Biden would announce a "historic" pledge to the IDA replenishment.

Finer also told reporters at a briefing on the G20 summit that Biden will launch a bilateral clean energy partnership when he meets Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday.

The World Bank's IDA fund, which provides mainly grants and very low interest loans to the poorest countries, is replenished every three years, and a pledging conference is scheduled for Dec. 5-6 in Seoul.

World Bank President Ajay Banga is aiming for a record amount exceeding the $93 billion refunding in December 2021, amid rising demands from poor nations in Africa and elsewhere that are struggling with crushing debts, climate disasters, conflict and other pressures.

Banga told Reuters in October that a $120 billion replenishment is possible, but that goal would require some substantial increases in country commitments.

Biden's new U.S. commitment is about 14.3% higher than its 2021 contribution. At the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in October, Spain announced plans to boost its contribution by 37% to 400 million euros ($423 million).

Denmark in September announced a 40% increase in its contribution to about $492 million.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder in Washington, additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Sandra Maler)
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Brendan Carr to lead the Federal Communications Commission, the agency that regulates television, radio, wire, satellite and cable across the United States. The former president originally appointed him as a commissioner of the FCC in 2017.

As the top Republican at the FCC, Carr was widely expected to receive the job. But as one of the authors of Project 2025, the 900-page "presidential transition project" released by the Heritage Foundation, we have clear window into his future plans for the agency.

Here are three objectives Carr hopes to accomplish as Trumps incoming FCC chair.

Limiting Big Tech

One hour after thanking the president for his appointment, Carr made a declaration on X: We must dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights for everyday Americans.

What does it mean to take down the censorship cartel? For Carr, much of his criticism of Big Tech focuses on Facebook, Google and YouTubes content moderation policies. In his Project 2025 chapter, he argues that these companies unfairly censor and demonetize conservative voices.

The FCC has an important role to play in addressing the threats to individual liberty posed by corporations that are abusing dominant positions in the market, Carr wrote. Nowhere is that clearer than when it comes to Big Tech and its attempts to drive diverse political viewpoints from the digital town square.

Over the years, these privately owned media companies have chosen to remove certain users from their platforms. Many of the banned accounts posted disinformation, conspiracy theories and violence.

Its worth noting, however, that that ban on X, formerly Twitter, didnt last, according to an analysis by the Anti-Defamation League. When Elon Musk took over in 2022, hundreds of white nationalist and pro-Nazi accounts were reinstated despite the companys own hateful conduct policy.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at a rally for former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York, October 27, 2024. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

To address these threats to free speech, Carr proposes scraping Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which grants immunity to tech companies that moderate user-generated content.

Congress should do so by ensuring that Internet companies no longer have carte blanche to censor protected speech while maintaining their Section 230 protections, Carr wrote in Project 2025.

Banning TikTok

In his chapter of Project 2025, Carr argues that during Trumps first term in office, the administration took a hard stance against Chinese tech companies to protect the United States from the Chinese Communist Party. He hopes to further limit Chinas reach by further regulating their tech companies' access to U.S. markets.

Among other measures, Carr supports banning TikTok, claiming that it poses a national security threat, although the president-elect joined the popular social media platform in June. He writes in Project 2025 that the app provides Beijing with an opportunity to run a foreign influence campaign by determining the news and information that the app feeds to millions of Americans."

Protesters watch the vote taking place while outside of the United States Capitol as the House voted and approved a bill Wednesday, March 13, 2024, that would force TikToks parent company to sell the popular social media app or face a practical ban in the U.S.

Politicians on both sides of the aisle have said that the apps parent company, ByteDance, is operated by the Chinese government.

An investigation by PolitiFact found that claim to be false. Its U.S. user data is also stored exclusively in the United States, TikTok said, and it cannot be turned over to the Chinese government. The user data is likewise protected by a U.S.-based security team.

Supporting Elon Musks Starlink technology

Carr wants to support Musk's Starlink, a satellite constellation that provides internet coverage to over 100 countries. StarLink is a subsidiary of aerospace company SpaceX.

He says in Project 2025 that the FCC should expedite its review and approval of satellites from Starlink and the Amazon-owned Kuiper, arguing that doing so would significantly accelerate efforts to end the digital divide and disrupt the federal regulatory and subsidy regime.

Melissa Cruz is an elections reporting fellow who focuses on voter access issues for the USA TODAY Network. You can reach her at mcruz@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter, at @MelissaWrites22.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's FCC chair, a Project 2025 author, supports TikTok ban
Juvenile system failing New Yorkers

One of the Big Apples most notorious criminals this year has been arrested two dozen times in less than two years, yet remains free to walk city streets  because hes just 14 years old.

Another young thug, just 12 years old, has already been busted six times, but also roams the streets at will after being cycled through a state juvenile justice system that is handcuffed by lax laws and inadequate resources  and theres nothing authorities can do about it.

We are arresting juveniles at the highest level than we have ever seen before, NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael Lipetri told The Post. We are seeing juveniles commit five, six, seven robberies. Most of them get dealt with under the Family Court statutes.

The Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn is one of two overcrowded holding facilities in the city for young criminals. G.N. Miller/NY Post Staff Photog

If they get arrested with a gun we know a quarter of that population will be involved in a shooting in [some] way, which means a victim, which means a perpetrator, which means that they were at the scene as a witness  a quarter of that population, the chief said.

Why? Because theres no consequences right now, he added. We already have 15 juveniles murdered this year by a gun. Im talking about being murdered by a gunshot. It wasnt even close in prior years.

The Empire States Raise the Age law and controversial bail reform statutes have spawned a younger breed of criminals who dodge big-boy treatment and instead get thrown into an overwhelmed juvenile system that lacks the space, the resources and the authority to keep them locked up, critics say.

The citys two juvenile holding facilities are now dangerously overcrowded, and stringent laws prohibit cops from reviewing criminal records or hooking up young troublemakers with resources to help them.

Meanwhile, Lipetri said 12% of gun arrests this year involve suspects under 18, up from 7% in 2018, when Raise the Age first took effect. And while the NYPD made 275 juvenile gun arrests in 2016, he said there have already been 438 this year.

NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael Lipetri says juveniles made up 12% of run arrests this year. NYPD

Cases reviewed by The Post expose the consequences  baby-faced defendants who are cycled in and out of overcrowded youth holding facilities and a judicial system without the power to do anything about it.

The 14-year-old troublemaker is one egregious example of the failing system.

Despite his tender age he has built a rap sheet with nearly two dozen arrests, primarily on robbery, grand larceny and possession of stolen property charges, with some of his busts now sealed, sources said.

The Horizon Juvenile Center in the Bronx has been forced to take older and more violent suspects due to the states Raise the Age statute that upped the age of criminal responsibility. J.C. Rice

His most recent arrest came on Oct. 22, when he was charged after a Brooklyn purse-snatching incident, less than one month after a separate robbery arrest elsewhere in the borough.

The 12-year-old suspect was most recently pinched in the Bronx on Nov. 9 and charged with gun possession  adding to a string of arrests that include assault and reckless endangerment busts.

Yet, both youngsters remained free after having cases heard in family court rather than adult court, sources said. They were both released without bail to their parents custody, the sources added.

Police said a quarter of juveniles busted with a gun will likely be involved in a shooting in some way down the line. Obtained by the NY Post

And theyre not alone: One 15-year-old has already been charged four times, most recently after Queens school safety agents found a black Cobra pistol inside his backpack after he got into a fight, sources said.

Another underaged thug, 17, has nine arrests on his record, including for three gunpoint robberies in Brooklyn, according to sources.

Baby-faced gangbangers are even part of the migrant crime wave that has hit the city.

The notorious Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua, which has established a foothold in the five boroughs over the past two years, has spawned an off-shoot crew of youngsters calling themselves Diablos de la 42  devils of 42nd Street  with members as young as 11.

One teen terror in the young crew was busted nearly a dozen times this year on a slew of robbery and assault charges and yet was allowed to remain free at a tax-funded migrant shelter until last month.

Only after his 11th bust in a knifepoint robbery was he finally locked up at one of the juvenile centers.

Meanwhile, the citys only two juvenile holding facilities  Horizon Juvenile Center in the Bronx and Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn  are bursting at the seams after being forced to take in more violent and older teens thanks to the Raise the Age law.

In a scathing new report last month, the city Department of Investigation revealed that the resident population at the centers exploded from 52 in April 2018 to 237 in May 2023.

A spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul said her office continues to work with lawmakers to get guns off the streets. James Keivom

The number facing murder charges jumped from seven to more than 230 over the same span.

Raise the Age does nothing to curtail criminal behavior in children, does nothing to protect victims from crime, said a law enforcement source. Clearly theyre unfazed by any faux deterrent the law offers.

In an email to The Post, a spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul defended her law enforcement agenda.

Governor Hochuls top priority is to keep New Yorkers safe, which is why she has worked with the legislature to deliver record funding to crack down on gun crimes and car thefts, repeat offenders, and further expand the types of cases where judges have the discretion to set bail.

Diablos de la 42, an underaged offshoot of the Venezuelan migrant gang Tren de Aragua, has increasingly popped up on the NYPDs radar. Obtained by the NY Post

Our administration will continue working with law enforcement and local officials to improve the criminal justice system, combat violence, and strengthen public safety across New York, the email said.

But a law enforcement source griped that something has to change  starting in Albany.

We need a top-to-bottom review of all the stakeholders to see what we can do to save these kids, the sources said. Its not about incarceration. Its about saving these kids and getting them on the right track.

Additional reporting by Carl Campanile
A staggering 72% of Jewish college students in the US feel unwelcome on their campuses, while more than half have been victims of antisemitism, a dismal new report shows.

The civil-rights group StopAntisemitism issued report cards on how more than two dozen university campuses have been addressing hatred against Jews and re-evaluated five other campuses previously graded by the organization.

Two New York City schools  Cornell University and The New School  were slapped with a shameful F grade, the group said.

An anti-Israel demonstration outside of The New School on Sept. 12, 2024. Michael Nagle

Among the organizations other findings, Jewish students at the surveyed campuses revealed:

72% feel unwelcome in certain spaces on campus simply for being Jewish.

52% had personally been victims of antisemitism at their schools.

67% feel their university did not take sufficient action to protect Jewish students in the wake of the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel

43% said they hide their Jewish identity from classmates out of fear, and the same percentage would not recommend their school to fellow Jewish students.

43% did not feel safe enough to report the antisemitism against them. Of those who did report it, a staggering 87% believe their school failed to properly investigate the crimes.



69% said they are blamed for the actions of Israel by Palestinian backers.

Another group, Alums for Campus Fairness, reported similar findings about antisemitism in August.

Universities are failing their Jewish students, often leaving them vulnerable and unsupported, the StopAntisemitism report said.

An anti-Israel protest at Columbia University on Oct. 7, 2024 to mark the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 terror attacks. Photo by Alex Kent/Getty Images

The group said it was forced to triple the size of its organization just to manage the recent deluge of complaints about hatred against Jews what it described as a jaw-dropping 3,000% rise in antisemitic tips and submissions since the Israeli massacre.

Jewish students and professors have been ambushed, harassed, stalked, and physically assaulted. Mezuzahs have been torn from doorways, and mobs of peers openly called for their deaths, chanting genocidal slogans, the report said.

These institutions enabled privileged mobs to commit some of the most vicious hate crimes witnessed on American soil since the civil rights era, targeting Jews with impunity.

Cornell University Professor Russell Rickford called the terror attacks exhilarating during a speech on campus. @samaberman / X

While Cornell University and The New School in the Big Apple flunked the survey, accused hotbed of hate Columbia University in Manhattan was not rated this time around, as the group rotates the schools it examines every year.

In 2022, though, Columbia  the disgraceful site of some of the countrys most vitriolic antisemitic protests, got a failing grade.

This year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University, Emerson College, the University of Oregon, University of California-Davis and the University of Washington joined the groups Hall of Shame and got an F grade.

A tent at the anti-Israel encampment on Brown Universitys campus on April 30, 2024. CJ GUNTHER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Every year, we evaluate 25 new schools, and the findings remain unfortunately consistent: institutions like Columbiaand many Ivy League and Ivy-adjacent schoolscontinue to fail their Jewish students, said Liora Rez, founder of StopAntisemitism.

Administrations across the country have made zero meaningful efforts to ensure Jewish students feel safe expressing their identity. This is not an isolated issue; its a systemic failure of leadership.

Cornell was flunked for multiple antisemitic incidents, including student Patrick Dai threatening to shoot and stab Jewish students and attack the campus kosher dining hall, while history professor Russell Rickford expressed being exhilarated by the Hamas terrorists Oct. 7 attack.

In May, an 18-day illegal encampment also took place, resulting in six student suspensions.

Anti-Zionist protests have disrupted much of campus life, the report said of Cornell.

StopAntisemitism researchers said the brass at The New School University in Greenwich Village declined to participate, but students did.

Cornell student Patrick Dai threatened to attack Jewish students on campus last year. Broome County Sheriffas Office/AFP via Getty Images

75% of students have experienced antisemitism,  95% of students do not feel welcome in many spaces on campus.  83% of students would not recommend their school, the report said.

Notable Incidents: Anti-Israel protesters and faculty at The New School took over a building in protest.

Three universities received an A grade for being more supportive of Jewish students: Baylor, Clemson and Elon.

Hofstra University on Long Island received a C, and Vassar College in upstate Poughkeepsie and Stanford were rated D.
In celebration of National Princess Day on Nov. 18, see which Disney princess aligns most with your zodiac sign, according to astrologer Lisa Stardust

Disney; Shutterstock; Alamy Disney princesses by zodiac sign

The Disney princesses have delighted generations of movie fans alike for years. The characters are best known for the kindness, strength and resilience they demonstrate in each of the respective films and their message resonates with all audiences.

Each of the Disney princesses offers their own set of personality traits that people can relate to, but how do their characters match up with the zodiac wheel?

Air signs may find inspiration from Ariel's dreamy mindset and chatty personality while Fire signs may relate to Mulan's strength and warrior mindset.

Read on to learn which Disney princess you closely relate to based on your zodiac sign, according to astrologer Lisa Stardust's readings.



Aries: Mulan

Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection Mulan

Mulan's warrior spirit and personality closely relates to Aries' energy. Stardust says "her down-to-Earth personality never changes" throughout the film, even through the trials she faces throughout the movie.

Taurus: Moana

Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock Moana

Just like Taurus, "Moana isnt afraid of anything," Stardust explains. Stardust adds that the princess from Motunui has a "stubborn nature" and a "desire to do things on her own terms." Moana also "defies the advice of others to align with her ancestors and seek knowledge."



Gemini: Ariel

Snap/Shutterstock Ariel

Ariel is considered the "Mercurial social butterfly" with her eclectic personality, much like Gemini placements. Stardust says that her "positive attitude" and ability to "look at the brighter side of life" closely aligns with Geminis and Air signs. Geminis are also chatty like Ariel, "so giving up their prized voice like Ariel did in the films is something they'd also sacrifice for love."

Cancer: Cinderella

WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS/Album/Alamy Cinderella

Like Cinderella, Cancers are known for their "nurturing nature" and also "yearn for someone to take care of them," like her Fairy Godmother. Stardust adds that "Cancers have a clear belief that the maternal influence should be kind and believe in fairytale endings. Since Cinderella experiences both, she aligns with the water sign most."



Leo: Jasmine

Alamy Jasmine

Jasmine's confidence and passion for life, along with her determination for greatness make her the ultimate Leo. Stardust says while "her flair for beauty and bling make her a regal Leo, its her desire for excitement beyond the palace walls that connect her closest with the Fire sign."

Virgo: Belle

WALT DISNEY PRODUCTIONS/Album/Alamy Belle

Belle the bookworm exudes mindful and demure qualities that make her just like the Earthly Virgo placement. Stardust explains that "like most Virgos, Belle seeks inner beauty and truth. Virgos and Belles compassionate nature loves the beast in others as long as they have a beautiful heart."



Libra: Snow White

Everett Snow White

Just like a charming Libra, Snow White  one of the first Disney princesses  is patient, loving, and social. Stardust adds that as "the fairest in the land, Snow White is known for her grace and beauty like Libras."

Scorpio: Rapunzel

AJ Pics/Alamy Rapunzel

In true Scorpio fashion, Rapunzel yearns for change and manifests her freedom while hidden in her ivory tower. Stardust says she also "waits in her deep feelings, brooding away in her castle, looking for true love and affection."

Sagittarius: Merida

Walt Disney Pictures/ Everett Merida

"The archer wanders with a bow-and-arrow to shoot defensively at their targets," just like Merida does as a skilled archer herself. Like Sagittarius placements, Stardust says that "Merida doesnt want to conform to societys expectations and enjoys her individuality too much."

Capricorn: Tiana

Walt Disney Co./courtesy Everett Collection

Tiana's business mind and hardworking spirit connect closely with Capricorn's energy. Stardust explains that she has a "perseverance to succeed, strong traditional values and is also a magical and powerful being."

Aquarius: Raya

Walt Disney Studios/Moviestore/Shutterstock Raya

Like Aquarius, Raya's "independent nature and intelligence resonate with the attributes of freedom-seeking, smart Air sign." Stardust says "Raya is unconventional and marches to the beat of her own drum and is more than just a fighter and a princess  shes her own person."

Pisces: Aurora

Courtesy Everett Collection Aurora

This sleeping beauty enjoys her rest, which is exactly why she closely aligns with dreamy Pisces. Stardust explains that "throughout her life, Aurora was protected and wanted to escape. She yearns to run off with a mysterious stranger, like this water sign placement desires."


Police in Russia are investigating after renowned Russian ballet dancer Vladimir Shklyarov reportedly fell to his death over the weekend. He was 39.

Shklyarov was a star dancer at the Mariinsky, the historic opera and ballet venue in Russia's imperial capital of Saint Petersburg. His funeral will be held on Thursday, the Mariinsky Theatre announced.

Citing theater representatives, Russian media reported that he fell from a fifth-floor balcony on Saturday after taking painkillers ahead of back surgery that had been scheduled for Monday.

"His loss is deeply felt by the entire Mariinsky family and the wider ballet world," the theater said Monday in a statement, without commenting on the circumstances of Shklyarov's death.

Ballet dancer Vladimir Shklyarov from the Mariinsky Ballet performs during a dress rehearsal of 'Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux' at the Saddlers Wells theater in London, on October 15, 2008. / Credit: CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty

Shklyarov had been a principal dancer with the theater since 2011, "captivating audiences with his expressive artistry and technical brilliance," it said.

He was married to fellow company dancer Maria Shklyarov, with whom he had two children, CBS News' partner network BBC News reported.

A memorial service will be held Thursday at the theater, followed by a church service and burial in central Saint Petersburg.

Russian investigators have launched a probe into Shklyarov's death, according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency, which said authorities' preliminary assessment was that it was likely to have been an accident.

Shklyarov won several prestigious awards for his performances in classic ballets including The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty and Manon, and had regularly toured internationally.

Dancers Vladimir Shklyarov and Alina Somova perform as Romeo and Juliet during a rehearsal for the Mariinsky Ballet company at the Royal Opera House in London, Aug. 3, 2009. / Credit: Luke MacGregor/REUTERS

Shortly after Russia launched its full-scale military offensive on Ukraine, Shklyarov criticized Russia for ordering troops into the neighboring nation in a social media post that was later deleted.

Unlike other some performers, such as Olga Smirnova, a prima ballerina at Moscow's famed Bolshoi who left the country in protest, Shklyarov stayed in Russia and continued performing with the Mariinsky under its pro-Kremlin leadership.

Shklyarov had performed at prestigious venues around the world, including the Royal Opera House in London and Metropolitan Opera in New York, according to the BBC. In 2014 and 2015, he was a featured guest artist at the American Ballet Theatre in New York, the BBC said.

"We mourn the tragic loss of Vladimir Shklyarov, an extraordinary artist whose grace and passion inspired audiences worldwide," the American company wrote on Instagram Sunday. "Your light will continue to shine through the beauty you brought to this world."

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More than two months after American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, allegedly by a member of Israel's security forces, her family tells CBS News their faith in the United States has been shattered due to the lack of any independent criminal investigation.

Eygi's husband Hamid Ali said he was appalled by the reaction of the Biden administration.

"I would hope that the U.S. government is able to implement its own law in this case and withhold, at the very least, funding from its own taxpayers that went to this unit or this soldier that killed one of its own citizens," he told CBS News.

Aysenur Eygi was killed during protests against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. / Credit: Family handout

Neither the Biden administration nor any U.S. law enforcement agency has announced an investigation into Eygi's killing. The State Department told CBS News it continues pushing to see the results of a "full, transparent" Israeli probe.

Eygi's sister, Ozden Bennett, said the Biden administration's response had made the grieving process "even more heartbreaking and painful."

"No family should have to experience this," she told CBS News, with tears in her eyes.

Bennett said that growing up in the U.S., she had developed an idealistic vision of the country and its values but her sister's death "shattered" those ideas.

"It feels like they don't care about all U.S. citizens the same way," she said. "The U.S. government, or the Biden administration particularly, not opening an investigation makes us question why it is not being equally treated."

Witnesses, her family, and the group Eygi had joined at a protest have said the U.S.-Turkish dual national was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper as she stood under a tree in the West Bank city of Nablus.

She was shot not long after joining a protest organized by the International Solidarity Movement, at which the Israel Defense Forces said some demonstrators had thrown projectiles at troops. Witnesses said she was shot after the protest, and away from where it had taken place.

The IDF said an initial inquiry found it was "highly likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally" by a member of the Israeli security forces. The IDF told CBS News on Thursday that it was unable to provide any further detail on its ongoing investigation.

A State Department spokesperson told CBS News last week that the U.S. has continued to press Israel for "a full, transparent, and rapid investigation."

"We are eager to see the findings as soon as possible, including any appropriate accountability measures that will be taken," the spokesperson added.

Asked whether the U.S. government intended to launch its own criminal investigation into Eygi's killing, the White House referred CBS News back to President Biden's statement from September, in which he said Israel had "acknowledged its responsibility for Aysenur's death," and that the U.S. had "full access to Israel's preliminary investigation, and expects continued access as the investigation continues, so that we can have confidence in the result."

But Eygi's father, Mehmet Suat Eygi, said it seemed to have become the norm for the U.S. government to downplay the killing of Americans by Israeli forces. He said his daughter's death reminded him of the deaths of other U.S. nationals in the Palestinian territories, particularly Rachel Corrie and Shireen Abu Akleh.

Mehmet Suat Eygi (C) father of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was shot dead in the West Bank, sits between her uncle Yilmaz Eygi (L) and her cousin Bahar Tkk, as he speaks to media near the house of her grandfather in the Didim district of Aydin, Turkey, Sept. 12, 2024. / Credit: OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty

"It's beyond disappointment," the bereaved father told CBS News. "The reaction of the U.S. government only asserts that Israel could kill anyone and there would be no consequences."

He emigrated to the Seattle area in 1999, when his daughter was 10 months old, and was naturalized in 2005. Aysenur Eygi grew up in the Pacific Northwest and graduated from the University of Washington in the spring of 2024. She had planned to start a PhD program after taking a gap year off.

"The safety of American citizens should not be tied to their ideological support to Israel," Eygi's father told CBS News.

Samah Park Imtiaz was a close friend of Eygi. Sobbing quietly, she recalled to CBS News their last phone call, when Eygi told her how much she missed her cat.

"I am still in a dream state when I think about what happened," Imtiaz said. "[Biden] said whoever hurt Americans would face consequences. We are Americans and we deserve answers."

In September, 103 members of the U.S. Congress signed a letter to Mr. Biden urging the administration to launch an independent investigation into Eygi's killing.

"To walk away without asking further questions gives Israeli forces unacceptable license to act with impunity," the lawmakers said.

Brad Parker, a member of the legal team supporting Eygi's family, called the Biden administration's response thus far "underwhelming," and said it was "concerning" that there had not been a "strong sign to pursue justice for Aysenur."

"I think it's the policy at this point, which can be characterized as providing impunity to Israeli forces, even in the killing of American citizens," he told CBS News. "The focus has been on having the Israeli military adjust [its] rules of engagement, rather than justice and accountability for specific killings of American citizens."

Eygi's husband, Ali, said Israel's close alliance with the U.S. should not make it immune to consequences.

"Israel has a history of not being forthcoming with any kind of investigation and, when they are, it is largely inadequate what they come up with," he said.

His sister-in-law said the Biden administration had yet to address the family's pain, "aside from condolences."

"If the U.S. government does not respond to cases like hers, which historically they have not, Israel has the green light to continue acting with impunity and killing other citizens," Bennett asserted.

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B.L. Craighead Jr., right, a 99-year-old World War II vet, enjoys a fishing excursion on Calaveras Lake. Army vet Javi Zuniga, left, is a team leader for the nonprofit Combat Marine Outdoors, which arranged the outing. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer B.L. Craighead Jr., center, a 99-year-old World War II veteran, is wheeled toward a boat for a fishing excursion on Calaveras Lake. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer B.L. Craighead Jr., center, a 99-year-old World War II veteran, is helped onboard a boat for a fishing excursion on Calaveras Lake. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Julie Craighead sits with her grandfather B.L. Craighead, a 99 year old WWII era pilot with the United States Air Force, aboard a boat on Calaveras Lake while participating in a program called Combat Marine Outdoor on Thursday, August 15, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 2005, Combat Marine Outdoor is a non profit organization that organizes and funds hunting and fishing trips for military veterans. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Veterans bring in catfish during a fishing outing on Calaveras Lake. The excursion was arranged by Combat Marine Outdoors, a nonprofit that organizes hunting and fishing trips for military veterans. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Julie Craighead, left, with her grandfather, B.L. Craighead Jr., a 99-year-old World War II-era pilot, during a fishing outing on Calaveras Lake. It was arranged by Combat Marine Outdoors, a nonprofit that organizes hunting and fishing trips for military veterans. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer David Ortega, a Marine veteran, retrieves a catfish during a fishing outing on Calaveras Lake. It was arranged by Combat Marine Outdoors, a nonprofit that organizes hunting and fishing trips for military veterans. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer A catfish caught during a fishing excursion on Calaveras Lake led by Combat Marine Outdoors, a nonprofit that organizes hunting and fishing trips for military veterans. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Julie Craighead, left, with her grandfather, B.L. Craighead Jr., a 99-year-old World War II-era pilot, during a fishing outing on Calaveras Lake. It was arranged by Combat Marine Outdoors, a nonprofit that organizes hunting and fishing trips for military veterans. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Billy Copeland, 88, a Korean War-era veteran, on a fishing excursion on Calaveras Lake. It was arranged by Combat Marine Outdoors, a nonprofit that organizes hunting and fishing trips for military veterans. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Billy Copeland, 88, a Korean War-era veteran, on a fishing excursion on Calaveras Lake. The outing was arranged by Combat Marine Outdoors, a nonprofit that organizes hunting and fishing trips for military veterans. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Javi Zuniga, right, takes a photo of Billy Copeland, 88, a Korean War-era veteran, during a fishing excursion on Calaveras Lake. The outing was arranged by Combat Marine Outdoors, a nonprofit that organizes hunting and fishing trips for military veterans. Zuniga, an Army vet, is a team leader with the group. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer B.L. Craighead Jr., center, a 99-year-old World War II veteran, watches as Javi Zuniga reels in a fish. The excursion on Calaveras Lake was arranged by Combat Marine Outdoors, a nonprofit that organizes hunting and fishing trips for military veterans. Zuniga, an Army vet, is a team leader with the group. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer B.L. Craighead Jr., left, a 99-year-old World War II veteran, and Javi Zuniga reel in a catfish. The fishing excursion on Calaveras Lake was arranged by Combat Marine Outdoors, a nonprofit that organizes hunting and fishing trips for military veterans. Zuniga, an Army vet, is a team leader with the group. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer B.L. Craighead Jr., left, a 99-year-old World War II veteran, eyes a catfish reeled in during a fishing excursion on Calaveras Lake. The outing was arranged by Combat Marine Outdoors, a nonprofit that organizes hunting and fishing trips for military veterans. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer B.L. Craighead Jr., right, a 99-year-old World War II veteran, with Javi Zuniga during a fishing excursion on Calaveras Lake. The outing was arranged by Combat Marine Outdoors, a nonprofit that organizes hunting and fishing trips for military veterans. Zuniga, an Army vet, is a team leader with the group. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer Billy Copeland, an 88-year-old Korea War-era Army veteran, takes a photo of catfish caught during a fishing excursion on Calaveras Lake. The outing was arranged by Combat Marine Outdoors, a nonprofit that organizes hunting and fishing trips for military veterans. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer A boat carrying military veterans plies the waters of Calaveras Lake. The fishing excursion was arranged by Combat Marine Outdoors, a nonprofit that organizes hunting and fishing trips for veterans. Christopher Lee / Staff Photographer

B.L. Craighead Jr. fished the waters of Medina Lake as a boy, often casting his line out from an island where his family loved to spend time.

He's 99 now and under 24-hour care, but he wanted to go fishing one more time. He told his son it was "on my bucket list."

A nonprofit veterans support group, Combat Marine Outdoors, made it happen, taking Craighead on a fishing expedition on Calaveras Lake.

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I was raised more or less on Medina Lake, the World War II veteran said. "We knew the fish were there. The lake had plenty of fish in there, and we would bring them out."

Snapshots tell the story of the Craighead family's passion for fishing. One black-and-white photo shows B.L. as a boy in overalls, holding a rod and reel in front of a Ford Model T or Model A. Written in the margin is "1933," when Craighead was nine.

Another picture shows an older B.L. holding a pair of catfish in his hands. Decades later, in 1999, a gray-haired man in a flannel shirt and maroon windbreaker is pictured clutching a handful of fish on a string.

Craighead graduated from Fox Tech High School in 1941, joined the newly created Army Air Forces at 17 and later guided B-17 Flying Fortresses over the skies of Texas. He trained as a pilot at Sheppard Field (now Sheppard Air Force Base) near Wichita Falls. He became an instructor and flew out of Randolph Field (now Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph) and other airfields across Texas. He never flew combat missions overseas.

"I was lucky," said Craighead, who left the service as a second lieutenant. "I never shot anybody, I never killed anybody and I never wanted to kill anybody, believe it or not."

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'I've got to go fishing'

Craighead greeted a visitor to his home near Castle Hills recently with a firm handshake. He sat on a wheelchair, wearing a World War II veterans cap, and reflected on his life. An old Gunsmoke episode played on a flat-screen TV. Craighead has been diagnosed with dementia. He apologized on occasion when a thought eluded him in mid-sentence and he couldn't reel it back.

But he was lucid and animated when the subject was fishing. His family lived just south of downtown San Antonio, but his parents had grown up near Medina Lake and brought him and his sister out there as often as they could. Visions of a childhood full of relaxed days at the Hill Country reservoir are never far from his heart and mind.

"My dad and mother, both of them fished because they loved to fish, No. 1, and No. 2, it was available," he said.

Drought has drastically depleted Medina Lake, but in those days there were lots of fish and no limit on how many you could catch. Craighead recalls pulling in one that was 42 inches long and weighed 40 pounds.

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His daughter, Peggy Schooley, said a granddaughter, Julie Craighead, heard about Combat Marine Outdoors from someone at the Department of Veterans Affairs and arranged the fishing trip to Calaveras Lake, 20 miles southeast of downtown San Antonio. Craighead was excited by the idea.

"He told me, Ive done almost everything I wanted to in my life, but Id like to go fishing,'" said his son, Don Craighead, 78, a Boerne homebuilder. "'On my bucket list Ive got one more thing: Ive got to go fishing.'"

On the appointed day, B.L. Craighead, granddaughter Julie, a nurse and a caregiver boarded a boat along with a pair of other veterans, one of whom is in hospice care.

Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Javi Zuniga, a team leader with Combat Marine Outdoors and a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, guided the boat onto the lake and helped the veterans fish.

By days end, they had a line of catfish ready for cleaning. Most important, Craigheads wish had been fulfilled.

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"It wasnt necessarily that he talked so much about it," said Zuniga, 44, of San Antonio. "To be honest with you, he was just enjoying being out on the water. You could see it in his face."

The two fish Craighead caught that day weren't very big, but he loved the boat they were in. He imagined how much he'd enjoy coming up with the money to buy it and tool around the lake. Decades ago, he had a boat and a condo in Rockport and took his family there to fish and enjoy the beach.

'A different world'

Craighead also has warm memories of flying and would love to rise into the clouds once more. He'd like to visit Randoph AFB. His connection with the base is strong. Life literally really took off for him when the war started.

"Once you got in that airplane, it was like a different world when you flew," he said.

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When the war ended, Craighead came home and followed his father into the home-building business. An oft-told family story has it that B.L. and his father sealed the deal with one customer on a single sheet of paper.

Its on one piece of paper, and it says, Ill provide all the materials and I will be done in one month or some amazingly short period of time," Schooley said. "It was a handshake, and he built this house out in Pumpville, Texas.

B.L. and his wife, Patsy Sue, had three children: David, Don and Peggy. One of the images that pops up on an electronic photo carousel in Craighead's home is a snapshot of David, known as Bubba, standing in front of an F-4 Phantom fighter, its tail badly shot up during a mission over North Vietnam.

Bubba was a navigator aboard the plane, which barely made it back to base.

Don Craighead remembers how, when he and Bubba were boys, their father would pick them up from middle school and take them to Medina Lake, where they'd fish until dark.

The elder Craighead, thinking back on his wartime service, said, "I've really had a lot of adventure for a 17-, 18-, 19-, 20-year-old person, so I really can't complain." He lost his train of thought, then regained it when asked what he had thought about during the fishing trip on Calaveras Lake.
Trump's nomination of Lee Zeldin as EPA Director wil likely lead to an increase in drilling.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.  The next White House will usher in a new era of energy policy, as President-elect Donald Trump and two of his cabinet-rank picks  Environmental Protection Agency nominee Lee Zeldin and energy-secretary nominee Chris Wright  prepare to drill, baby, drill.

In exclusive interviews, Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) and Greg Kozera, an economic-development consultant and fracking advocate, told The Post they expect the new administration to immediately slash regulations and open up new opportunities for the natural-gas industry.

Rep. Hunt, who hails from Houston  Americas energy capital  said hes relieved Trump has been re-elected after four years of Biden-Harris energy policy.

Its been an absolute disaster, Hunt told The Post. Sitting on the Natural Resources Committee, Ive learned that these people are committed and this administration was committed to killing the oil and gas industry and basically strengthening our adversaries and strengthening our enemies abroad.

Rep. Wesley Hunt hails from Houston, the energy capital of America. Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

Thats just what Ive seen by killing our [liquified-natural-gas] production, limiting pipelines.The onerous and burdensome regulations that we have seen on refining and everything, said Hunt.

We have got to do a complete and total 180 shift in policy. I think were gonna see that under President Trump rapidly within the first 100 days of his presidency.

A member of Congress since 2023, Hunt has repeatedly

for banning new drilling on federal lands and killing the Keystone pipeline.

But Hunt, who entered Congress under President Biden, is optimistic about Lee Zeldin, Trumps pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

I think its absolutely wonderful. Ive gotten to know Lee over the course of the past few years by campaigning with President Trump, Hunt said. He is somebody thats dedicated to the Trump agenda and dedicated to, for lack of a better word, Drill, baby, drill.

Hunt is hoping to start working on this from Day One as he listed his immediate legislative priorities after Trumps inauguration.

First of all, an immediate lift on the LNG-export ban, quicker approval from the EPA for [exploration and production] companies, for sure. And allowing them to drill on federal lands, said Hunt.

And then our offshore-lease sales will happen under President Trump. And I see these five things happening immediately. Actually within the first 100 days of the election via executive fiat, if need be.

Hunt has never served in Congress during a Trump administration but will be an ally to the president-elect. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Greg Kozera is an economic development consultant for Shale Crescent USA, which encourages investment in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania  states that have abundant natural gas and a large fracking presence.

Wright, Trumps energy pick, is a big player in the industry and leads oilfield-services group Liberty Energy.

Kozera said since the election, multiple foreign investors have expressed interest in manufacturing in this area, expecting the Trump administrations loosening of regulations to provide a steady stream of natural gas.

What Im seeing is the companies that weve been dealing with that have been kind of dragging their feet have suddenly fired up, Kozera told The Post.

Kozera said this increased interest in investment is due to Trumps clearer track record on energy policy, despite Vice President Kamala Harris claims during the campaign she would not ban fracking.

I think what Trump brings to the table is, during his last administration when a lot of these projects started, he was reducing regulations, trying to create regulation certainty. Which, even if its a bad reg  one that is restrictive  at least if you know what the rule is, you can deal with it. What their fear was with a Harris administration is they werent sure what they were gonna get.
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"Half-Baked Harvest: Quick & Cozy" is another fantastic cookbook from Tieghan Gerard. (AOL / Kate Tully Ellsworth)

A few years ago, I bought a cookbook on Amazon that had some impressively high ratingsHalf-Baked Harvest: Super Simple. After the first recipe I tried, I was googling its author, Tieghan Gerard, to see if shed published anything else, because I knew whatever she had on the market belonged in my kitchen.

Half-Baked Harvest is more than a cookbook titleits a cooking blog with a huge community of followers who get treated to a new recipe every day from Tieghan, who spends her day tending to her homestead and cooking for her family.

Her newest cookbook, Half-Baked Harvest: Quick & Cozy, releases tomorrow, November 19. I had the opportunity to chat with Tieghan about her latest cookbook and the best kitchen tools she owns. I also got to review a copy of Quick & Cozy before its release, so I tried out a few recipes with my own family to see if this cookbook was as good as her others (spoiler alert: it is).

Quick & Cozy: The one-pot cookbook of your dreams

Comfort food is Tieghans speciality, and while all of her cookbooks feature those warm and fuzzy favorites, her latest book leans fully into all things cheesy, filling, and easy to prepare.

This really is such a labor of love at this point, Tieghan said. I don't know what it is about this book, but it feels so special to me. I've really put so much of everything into it.

You can feel Tieghans passion as she talks about her fourth cookbook. As one of 10 children, Tieghan is used to preparing large-batch dishes that need to please lots of different palates at once. The secret?

Straightforward, quick and cozy, Tieghan says.

This cookbook comes with 120 recipes that are exactly what youd expect if youre a Half-Baked Harvest fan, like I am. If youre new to Tieghans cooking, you can expect a lot of filling entrees (like Sage Brown Butter Lemon Pasta), twists on comfort food favorites (like Sheet Pan Mac & Cheese with All the Crispy Edges), and richly decadent desserts (like Frosted Peanut Butter Brownies).

"Half-Baked Harvest: Quick & Cozy" features quite a few tasty soup recipes that don't take all day to make. (Half-Baked Harvest)

The common element that ties them all together is that theyre accessibleyou dont need to make dough for four hours to enjoy a delicious pizza in under an hour, you dont need to simmer soup for six hours, and you dont need to break out the grill to make chicken skewers.

I think everyone can really find some recipes in this cookbook that they are just so excited to create and make and find doable at home, Tieghan said. I love to cook with real ingredientsusing a lot of produce, really great meats, and things like that are really how I love to cook.

As a new mother, Im all for recipes that wont take too long or produce way too many dishes. Im having a love affair with one-pot and sheet-pan dishes, and in this space, Half-Baked Harvest excels.

Nothing needs to be complicated to be delicious, you know, Tieghan says. There's just really simple, straightforward recipes with simple ingredients that you should have in your pantry or your kitchen and in your fridge  nothing's complicated.

What I loved best while trying out this cookbook was that I was able to customize a few of the recipes to better suit my familys taste without ruining any meal. We prefer chocolate ganache over frosting so we tweaked a brownie recipe a bit, and I cant eat garlic (a true curse, believe me), so I had to replace it every time it appeared.

The recipes are approachable, quick, andimportantlytasty, a trifecta that few cookbooks can effectively nail. But, as she has with her other three cookbooks, Tieghan absolutely knocks it out of the park.

Half-Baked Harvest cookbooks are some of the best in my kitchen. (AOL / Kate Tully Ellsworth)

Editors choice: The best 5 recipes to try from Quick & Cozy

Along with my beautiful at-home testers, my husband and my 14-month-old, we tested a handful of recipes from Half-Baked Harvest: Quick & Cozy to see how they held up in a real kitchen, under the pressures of real life (read: a toddler opening every single cabinet while I cook).

Here were the best recipes we tried out.

Creamy Turmeric Lemon Chicken & Orzo Soup

Its soup season, and this recipe called to me. But I was very suspicious of it, to be honest. Its a soup that only cooks for 40 minutes surely that wouldnt be enough time for deep flavor?

Turns out, it was pretty good. Its packed with fresh herbssage, thyme, and rosemaryand loaded with vegetables (carrots, celery, and kale). It made enough to feed us for three nights in a row, without needing to re-add too much broth after each re-heat. It also calls for an optional parmesan rind to simmer with the soup, a small and delicious step that elevates the broth, especially after such a short simmer.

This pizza looked just like the pictureand tasted amazing. (AOL / Kate Tully Ellsworth)

Pickled Pepper Pepperoni Pizza

Tieghan makes incredible pizza recipes. Too often cookbooks feature two recipespepperoni and margherita. But Tieghan always finds a way to offer 5-8 pizza recipes in her books, each of which are unique enough to serve several nights in a row.

This one adds smoked paprika to the base and calls for pickled roasted peppers (which you can buy on your own or make with her recipe), kalamata olives, and pepperoncini. I absolutely love that flavor combinationthe olives added an unexpected but welcome bite.

Lemon Pesto Orzo with Buttery Walnuts and Kale

This is my favorite recipe from Quick & Cozy so far. It can be found in the vegetarian section, butas I often do with vegetarian recipesI added meat (some shredded chicken at the end).

This recipe is a perfect dish for cold days. Its got creamy orzo, fresh basil, a kick of lemon zest, and buttery walnuts, which are so, so delicious. They make the dish and add a much needed texture to this creamy pasta.

Baked Cajun Chicken Skewers

I own a set of skewers but no grill, so they get little to no use in my kitchen. I was excited to try this recipe because Im always on the hunt for a reason to use my skewers.

These were a sleeper hit with my husband and baby. They cooked extremely well in the oven and provided a strong punch of flavor. My only regret was the sauceI cant eat garlic, so I tried to make the sauce without it and it was not good (thats my bad: dont try to make a garlic parmesan sauce without garlic).

I topped Tieghan's brownies with my favorite ganache, and O-M-G, they were incredible. (AOL / Kate Tully Ellsworth)

Frosted Peanut Butter Brownies

These brownies were so good I made a second batch immediately after finishing the first. This is another one I was initially a bit skeptical of. It calls for warmed peanut butter spread on the brownie (instead of a peanut butter mixture thats more common for buckeye-type brownies), but it ended up working really well.

The brownies were deliciously gooey without being undercooked. The recipe calls for a chocolate frosting, but I prefer a ganache, so I cut the frosting and coated them with my favorite ganache. The results were incredible.

Tieghan Gerards kitchen staples

As a home chef, Im always curious what tools the professionals use. I watch a lot of Americas Test Kitchen, where Le Creuset Dutch ovens line the shelves and wall-to-wall ovens sparkle in the background. So when I get the opportunity to chat with chefs, I like to hear what actually lives in their kitchens.

And, unsurprisingly, Tieghan Gerard uses a lot of the tools normal home cooks do.

This is always the hardest question for me because I'm going to be honest with youI just don't use a lot, Tieghan said. Its so simple in my kitchen.

She loves using wooden spoons, Pyrex dishes, Target measuring spoons, and solid mixing bowls.

You need a sharp knife and you need a cutting board, Tieghan said. When it comes to bigger needs, there are only three Tieghan considers must-haves: The Crock-Pot, the food processor, and the stand mixer are definitely my go-tos in the kitchen when it comes to appliances.

Tieghan adds that theres one piece of cookware that she cant live withoutand it happens to be my all-time favorite piece of kitchen equipment.

I kind of love a Dutch oven, Tieghan says. I find that most of the time, anything you can do in a Crock-Pot, you can almost do it easier in a Dutch oven, just because the oven has higher and lower temperatures and you can brown things  and that's really nice on my end.

A Dutch oven can also go straight from the oven to the dinner table, Tieghan adds. Her favorite is the Staub Dutch oven, a gorgeous option and cheaper (yet equally powerful) alternative to the Le Creuset.

If youre looking to splurge and youre preferential to Le Creuset, Tieghan loves the pumpkin-shaped line of Dutch ovens thats currently on sale at Williams-Sonoma.

Le Creuset Le Creuset Cast Iron Pumpkin Cocotte Something about this design is just so cute, Tieghan says. The pumpkin-shaped Dutch oven comes in two colors, orange and white, and makes a beautiful Thanksgiving centerpiece. $368 at Williams Sonoma

Fall cooking tips from Half-Baked Harvest

Tieghans newest cookbook, Quick & Cozy, has quite a few great recipes for fallsoups, stews, and flavorful roasts. But we asked Tieghan to share a few more fall cooking tips that she uses during this time of year.

Her go-to fall flavors? I love cinnamon, like there's so much cinnamon in my recipes right now, Tieghan said. If I'm baking, I mean, literally like 9.5 times out of 10, there's cinnamon somewhere in there.

Its not an exaggeration; if you head to the Half-Baked Harvest blog, you can spot it in just about every recipe in the fall, like Brown Sugar Roasted Honeynut Squash.

Pumpkin doesn't need to be confined to your baking. (Half-Baked Harvest)

I'm using a lot of sage right now, Tieghan added. I use rosemary sparingly, but I like it. I think rosemary can be a little bit overpowering.

And while many of us are using pumpkin for pies, cakes, and cookies this season, Tieghan prefers adding it to more savory dishes.

I love to bake with pumpkin, but I think that everybody bakes with it and nobody cooks with it, Tieghan said. I think that it's actually great in a lot of savory dishes too.

I asked her immediately for an example, because I hadnt seen many savory pumpkin dishes in the fall before. She directed me to her blog, where three stood out immediately: One Pan Sesame Butter Chicken, Pumpkin Pasta Alla Vodka, and Crock-Pot Pumpkin Beer Braised Chicken.

Tieghans latest cookbook, Half-Baked Harvest: Quick & Cozy, is for sale now.

If you're looking for any shopping advice, drop us a line at shopping.editors@aol.com and our Shopping Editors will be in touch!
By a canal in Amsterdam's red-light district, one of the "window women" is actually a hologram which Dutch police hope will help solve the gruesome murder of a sex worker in 2009.

Peering through a frame out onto passers-by, a human-sized likeness of Bernadett "Betty" Szabo -- in skimpy shorts and a leopard-print bra, a dragon tattoo covering much of her torso -- taps the pane and fogs the glass with her breath.

The word "HELP" appears, chillingly, on the screen.

A pedestrian walks past a hologram representing murdered sex worker Bernadette Szabo, known as Betty, implemented by Dutch police in hope to uncover new information around her murder, in Amsterdam, on November 15, 2024. / Credit: NICK GAMMON/AFP via Getty Images

"Fifteen years ago, Betty was killed in a horrible way and the investigation was never closed," Amsterdam police spokesman Olav Brink told AFP.

Aged only 19, Hungarian-born Betty was stabbed multiple times in her brothel room in the centuries-old red-light district, known as De Wallen, just months after giving birth to a baby boy.

Despite a large-scale police probe, the case went cold.

During a review, however, police found "promising clues" and decided to reopen the investigation, Brink said.

They hope the likeness of Betty, created with 3D visualization technology, will jolt the memories of people who may have information about her murder.

"Betty was murdered in one of the busiest areas in Amsterdam, maybe even in the Netherlands. It is really almost impossible that there are no people who saw or heard something unusual at the time," cold case team member Anne Dreijer-Heemskerk said in a statement. "We hope witnesses who may have been afraid before or kept silent for other reasons now have the courage to come forward."

Waiting for the "golden tip"

"There are still people who know what has happened to Betty," said Brink, hoping that 15 years on, "people feel freer to share information with the police."

The initiative also aims to raise awareness about the violence faced by sex workers.

Around 78 percent of prostitutes in the Netherlands have faced sexual violence and 60 percent report being physically attacked, according to a 2018 report by Dutch charities and sex worker rights groups.

Concerns about violence also rose during the Covid-19 pandemic, when loss of income forced some prostitutes to continue working illegally and reduced their ability to report crimes to the police.

In the week since the hologram and accompanying information about Betty went on display, the police have seen "that a lot of people are talking about it."

"We find it quite special that Betty can bring attention to her case this way," said Brink.

In the streets of De Wallen, lined with women watching from red-lit window booths, groups of locals and visitors pause and strike up conversations about the unusual display, entitled "Who was Betty?"

Bernadett

Theo, 80, who lives outside Amsterdam, said he read about the project in the papers and "came especially to see it" when he was in the city.

Soyoon Jun, 34, lives near the red-light district, "so it was more shocking for me that there were neighbors who are going through this type of horrendous event."

For Jun, who works at a Christian charity, the hologram made the murder "real."

"It wasn't just information that was given out," Jun explained. "People could feel the helplessness that Betty would have felt."

The police have already "received several tips because of the campaign," Brink confirmed to AFP.

They are still waiting, though, for the "golden tip" that will lead them to the murderer, which comes with a 30,000-euro ($31,600) reward.

"Special way of getting attention"

According to Brink, the hologram is a "special way of getting attention for this case" -- including by putting it in De Wallen, which is "one of the busiest places in Amsterdam and probably the whole of the Netherlands."

This may not last, though, since Amsterdam's sex workers may soon lose the centrality and visibility of their windows.

The local government plans to relocate the red-light district to a purpose-built centere south of the city in the hope of reducing petty crime and tourist footfall in De Wallen.

The move is opposed by tens of thousands of locals and sex workers, who are calling instead for better crowd control and surveillance in the existing red-light area.

Miranda K, a 57-year-old who lives near Amsterdam and declined to give her full surname, said the relocation plan was a "pity" because she felt "safe" in De Wallen.

She said the out-of-city center would be in a "dark" area, whereas De Wallen has "tourists and people and locals and everything here. So I think it's safer."

"For me, it's not just about finding Betty or who was Betty," she said, "but it's about... these other ladies on the streets too."

Ongoing effort to identify cold case victims across Europe

The search for Betty comes amid a wider effort to solve cold cases in the Netherlands and beyond. Last month, Interpol launched a new campaign to identify 46 women whose remains have been found across Europe in unsolved cases, some dating back decades.

The initiative from the Lyon-based organization builds on the success of the first Identify Me campaign, which last year helped identify the body of a woman -- dubbed the "woman with the flower tattoo" -- found murdered 31 years ago in a Belgian river as Briton Rita Roberts.

The original initiative launched to identify 22 deceased women saw some 1,800 tips received from the public.

Now the campaign has been expanded to include cold cases from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, as well as unexplained deaths from new participating countries France, Italy, and Spain.

Most of the women were "murdered or had died in suspicious or unexplained circumstances," the organization said.

Among the women Interpol is seeking to identify is the body of a woman -- dubbed "the woman in the suitcase" -- with an estimated age of between 16 and 22. In the autumn of 2005, her corpse was found in a red suitcase lying in the canal in the town of Schiedam in the west of the Netherlands.

The oldest of the cold cases, "the girl on the parking lot," dates back to 1976. Her body was found along the A12 highway in the Netherlands.

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WHEATFIELD, Ind. (CBS)  Kandice Cole longs for the life she knew before her 4-year-old son, Eric, found a loaded gun at a babysitter's house.

In September, she stood in her living room, surrounded by images of him. A room once filled with his laughter is now a reminder of his absence. His toys now sit untouched. A little basketball hoop hangs from the closet door. Toy cars and action figures line the shelves. A little league photo sits above the entryway.

"A lifetime ago," Cole said. "Because I miss him, and I don't get to make any new memories. All the ones I have are just on replay."

Eric is one of dozens of children who found an unsecured gun and unintentionally shot themselves or others in Indiana. He's also one of hundreds of children who were killed by guns in Indiana over the last 20 years, a CBS News Chicago investigation found. This all happened in a state that has failed to pass gun storage legislation, which advocates said could prevent deaths like his.

"I talk about it because I want to save other parents the heartache," Cole said. "I want to save other kids like I wasn't able to save him."

Not an "accident"

It was the morning of Aug. 5, 2017. Kandice and her husband, Ronald, had to work. Her boss volunteered to watch Eric and Kandice's 7-year-old daughter.

"I just never thought to ask, do you have a gun? Is it locked up? And that's one of the main things that I wish I could go back and tell myself," Kandice said.

At one point, the babysitter left the children with his fiance at his Winfield home, court records said. His fiance stepped away to go to the bathroom. It was then that Eric found an unsecured, loaded .40-caliber handgun belonging to the babysitter, and shot himself. It was two weeks before his fifth birthday.

"We planned a birthday party and ended up planning a funeral," Kandice said. "I woke up with two kids, and I had to go to sleep with only one."

Initial news reports and officials called Eric's death an accident. But describing shootings like his that way, rather than as preventable, only deepens Kandice's pain. She believes it strips the gun owner of accountability.

"It was 'accident' everywhere," Kandice said. "'It was just an accident. Just a horrible accident.' And we weren't okay accepting that."

The babysitter in her son's case would later admit in court that "he did not properly secure" his handgun, records show.

Gun violence: A bigger picture

Shootings like the ones that killed Eric are part of a larger story of gun violence in Indiana. The nonpartisan, nonprofit Everytown ranked Indiana as one of the states with the weakest gun safety laws, in part because it does not have a law that requires safely storing firearms.

In 2023, Indiana had at least 27 unintentional shootings by children under 18 years old, resulting in 9 deaths, according to Everytown. That's nearly twice the totals found in Illinois, where safe gun storage is required by law.

CBS News Chicago Investigators also analyzed CDC data over a 20-year period. From 1999 to 2020, there were 804 children under 18 years old killed by guns in Indiana. This could be a homicide, suicide, or an unintentional shooting like Eric's.

Nearly 24%, or 191 shootings, were in Eric's Northwest Indiana community alone. The rate of kids killed by guns in Northwest Indiana is double the national rate.

Indiana is one of 24 states without laws requiring safe firearm storage, meaning guns locked and unloaded. Some lawmakers, like Indiana State Rep. Maureen Bauer (D-House District 6), have attempted to pass laws aimed at holding gun owners accountable if they don't safely secure their gun, and a child gets a hold of it. So far, these efforts have not been successful.

Bauer said it was a challenge even to pass a law last year that requires all Indiana public schools to send home information about how to safely store a firearm in homes where children are present.

"Every policymaker should have to explain why that is the fact and why they aren't willing to change it," Bauer said. "It's happening in every community. It's not just blue districts."

The fight for legislation

Kandice also struggled to get traction when sharing her story with some lawmakers.

"It's an uphill battle," she said. "And you can't find a lot of Republicans to want to work across the lines."

For years, gun lobby groups like the NRA have opposed proposed bills that strengthen storage accountability. While the NRA's website says it "supports storing firearms in a responsible manner," the organization also publicly encourages members to oppose laws and proposed gun storage bills. The group argues storage requirements violate their constitutional rights and could prevent gun owners from easily accessing their firearms.

This sentiment was made clear to Kandice in 2018. She built up the courage to attend the U.S. Senate debate in Indiana and ask the candidates if they would be willing to commit to legislation to hold negligent gun owners criminally liable. One of the candidates was then-Republican senator, now Indiana Governor-elect Mike Braun.

"My 4-year-old son Eric was killed at a babysitter's house when they left a fully loaded handgun unsecured and easily accessible to children," Kandice said during the debate. "Would you support and would you sponsor a bill passing safe storage laws, also known as child access prevention laws?"

Braun would not commit to legislation.

"When it comes to things like storage and so forth, I think the places where we've tried to use gun laws generally impact the folks who are law-abiding," Braun said, in part. He also emphasized his endorsement from the NRA.

"I was the individual here who's getting the NRA endorsement and proud of it because I think they want to make sure your Second Amendment rights are never infringed," He said.

When reflecting on her public address to Indiana Senate candidates years later, Kandice criticized Braun's response. She rejected the idea that law abiding gun owners would be impacted by a safe storage law.

"I'm not talking about the Second Amendment," Kandice said. "I'm talking about kids accessing guns."

"I think it's very easy to get those two issues conflated," Bauer agreed. "We're talking about preventing the death of children, which we all agree shouldn't be happening."

Accountability and solutions

The gun owner in Eric's case served less than two years in the Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to reckless homicide and criminal recklessness, followed by time in a work release program. He faced no gun-related charges.

Kandice said she didn't feel that was enough.

"We didn't want it to just be a slap on the wrist and you get probation," she said. "Because we didn't get a slap on the wrist."

"I don't think two years is sufficient," she continued. "At the end of the day, you were the adult who purchased that gun. You were the one who should have been the one to put it away."

CBS News Chicago found the outcome of the criminal case could have been different in a state with stronger gun laws. Everytown ranked California as having the strongest gun legislation in the country, in part because of its storage law.

If Eric's death happened in California, his babysitter could have been charged with an additional "criminal storage of a firearm" charge and faced up to three years in prison. If the gun owner had been convicted of a first-degree felony on that charge, he would be banned from owning a gun for life.

To continue her efforts in honor of her son, Kandice joined the Be SMART awareness campaign to promote responsible gun ownership and reduce child gun deaths. The Centers for Disease Control also recommends storing guns locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition to prevent deaths like Eric's. Many local police departments offer gun locks for free.

In addition to educating families to secure their firearms - and encouraging them to ask about unsecured guns in other homes - Kandice is working to combat the characterization that these shootings are accidents, rather than preventable. If the gun had been in a safe or unloaded in her son Eric's case, she believes he would be alive -- and 12 years old -- today.

"You can save people's lives for free. It's easy, just lock it up," she said. "When you have a gun accessible, it makes it that much easier, and you don't get a second chance."

Kandice and her husband, Ronald, kept the door closed and avoided their living room in the first few years after Eric's death. His photos, toys and the memories were too much to bear. But that's changed.

"It made me cry then," she said. "It makes me smile now."

"He's not just a tragedy. He was a fun and loving boy before that," she continued. "I can keep him forever by helping spread awareness and helping other parents realize the importance of asking."

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U.S. Senate Republicans elected Sen. John Thune of South Dakota to be the Majority Leader starting in January, opting for a seasoned Washington insider despite pressure by supporters of President-elect Donald Trump more closely aligned with the Make America Great Again agenda.

Who is John Thune?

Thune, 63, is considered a level-headed lawmaker and is generally respected by many of his Republican peers. He currently serves as the Senate's Republican second-in-command and will succeed 82-year-old Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving party leader in the chamber's history. Thune was first elected to the Senate in 2004.

Thune's win might also signal that the Senate could be more independent from Trump when Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress. Republicans hold a slight majority in the Senate and in the House of Representatives.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, waves as he walks at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2024.

How was Thune elected?

Thune won 29-24 against his opponent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in a second round of voting. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., was also a contender but was eliminated in the first round.

Allies of the president-elect, including Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy and many Trump-aligned U.S. Senators, had been advocating for Scott, who is considered more ideologically extreme than Thune and more loyal to Trump.

Trump, however, did not weigh in on the contest at the urging of lawmakers, including Thune himself.

How closely aligned is Thune with Trump?

In a Wednesday news conference, Thune said he wanted to confirm Trump's cabinet nominees and collaborate with him to make spending cuts and increase border security.

"We are excited to reclaim the majority and begin to work with our colleagues in the House to enact President Trump's agenda," he said.

But that didnt stop Trump from calling him a "RINO" (Republican in Name Only) in 2021 and calling for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to primary him.

What does the Senate Majority Leader do?

The majority leader sets the Senates legislative agenda, including what pieces of legislation to debate and vote on and when, and manages business like scheduling votes, hearings and meetings. They also serve as a representative or spokesperson for the party, coordinating and negotiating with the opposition party and the Executive Branch.

USA TODAY's Riley Beggin, Francesca Chambers, David Jackson, Joey Garrison, Rachel Looker, Josh Meyer, Marina Pitofsky, and Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy; USA TODAY Network's Gray Rohrer and Reuters contributed to the reporting of this story.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Thune: What to know about incoming Senate Majority Leader
The Oscar winner talked to PEOPLE ahead of the premiere of his new faith-based anthology series 'Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints'

Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Martin Scorsese in 2019.

The boy whod grow up to direct The Last Temptation of Christ apparently couldnt resist the temptation to sleep in on Sundays.

When Martin Scorsese was a child growing up in New York City in the 1940s and 50s, he spent a few years serving as an altar boy at the Basilica of St. Patricks Old Cathedral, the Catholic church his family attended.

But, Scorsese is the first to admit he didnt have a knack for being an altar server, a child who assists priests during liturgical services like Catholic Mass.

I wasn't so great at it, Scorsese, 82, tells PEOPLE. It was very hard for me to be there on time for the 7:00 Mass. I would always be late. The priest had to say, You can't go on like this. 

Lionel Hahn/Getty Martin Scorsese on March 10.

Related: Martin Scorsese on Miraculous Moments that Deepened His Faith, Fatherhood  and Not Going Too Far on TikTok (Exclusive)

Nevertheless, he did  and remained an altar boy for a few years.

Though Scorsese was often tardy, the time he spent in the church left an indelible impression. It's amazing the impact of being back there while the High Mass was being celebrated, he says.

Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Martin Scorsese on Feb. 20.

The Mean Streets andGangs of New York filmmaker became fascinated by statues of saints that were positioned around this house of prayer.

The saints  deceased figures who lived holy lives and are believed to have performed miracles  cast a spell over me, remembers Scorsese. Who are these people? And why are they elevated, so to speak, to something special, sainthood?

Related: Martin Scorsese's Life in Photos

"Were these saints human? As a young person, you thought maybe they were more than human, and that's something I've been fascinated by since that time, he continues.

Courtesy of FOX Nation A scene from 'Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints.'

With his new Fox Nation docudrama Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints, Scorsese highlights eight of these historical figures, including Mary Magdalene, Joan of Arc, Francis of Assisi and Maximilian Kolbe.

Scorsese, who also serves as an executive producer, narrates the episodes, which feature reenactments of portions of the saints lives.

Related: Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese on Building Love and Trust During Their 50-Year Friendship (Exclusive)

He explained to The New York Times why he thinks the series is timely. The world as it is now, it is good to have examples of people who led their lives through compassion and love, Scorsese said.

Some are martyrs; some died for it. Some of the eight that were chosen deal with legend, but the legend does come from one or two facts. Legends grow out of actions that really did mean the sacrifice of someone. Its all about faith, something one struggles toward. Its always been important to me, the star added.

The first four episodes of Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints stream on Sundays this fall, beginning on Nov. 17. Four more debut in 2025.


Jonathan Majors and Meagan Good are taking the next step in their relationship.

The couple announced their engagement to People and E! News while attending the Ebony Power 100 Gala in Los Angeles on Sunday. Good showed off her ring at the event.

Good told E! that they chose to announce their engagement at the gala for a special reason. "Ebony Power 100 is the event that we met at in the bathrooms, in the unisex bathroom," she said.

The "Creed" actor told People, "It's a season of joy," while Good added: "It's a season of all the good things."

Jonathan Majors and Meagan Good attend the 2024 Ebony Power 100 List at Nya Studios on Nov. 17, 2024 in Los Angeles.

USA TODAY has reached out to Good and Majors' reps for comment.

Majors, 35, and Good, 43, sparked dating rumors in May 2023. The following month, she began attending his assault trial in New York.

Majors was arrested in New York in March 2023 and accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari in the back of a car. In December, he was convicted of misdemeanor assault and harassment, but acquitted of intentional assault and aggravated harassment. Majors had pleaded not guilty.

Meagan Good shows off her engagement ring with fiance Jonathan Majors as they attend Ebony Power 100 Gala at Nya Studios in Los Angeles on Nov. 17, 2024.

The actor was sentenced to a 52-week domestic violence intervention program but avoided jail time.

Earlier this year, Good shared in an interview with the "Today" show that "every friend advised" her against dating Majors amid the "Creed III" actor's trial.

"At the end of the day, one thing I know is that I can always look myself in the mirror when I trust my spirit, when I trust God, when I ask God, when I move to the beat of my own drum  I can always look and say, 'I'm proud of that,'" she told hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. "Whatever happens, I have peace in my heart and I have harmony in my heart."

Speaking of her relationship with Majors, Good gushed: "The support we've been able to give to each other, the pouring into each other, the honest conversations, the love, the respect, just the care, and the thoughtfulness, it's been really wonderful."

Good was previously married to pastor DeVon Franklin. The couple divorced in 2021 after nearly a decade of marriage.

Contributing: Naledi Ushe

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Meagan Good engaged to Jonathan Majors
Toxic smog engulfed much of northern India on Monday and pollution readings in New Delhi hit their highest of this pre-winter season, after dense fog overnight.

Visibility dropped to about 300 feet in the capital and at least eleven flights were diverted. Operations at airports and railway stations continued, but with delays, officials said.

Delhi's chief minister Atishi, who goes by only one name, called the situation in northern India "a medical emergency."

"For any responsible government in India, the top priority should be pollution control in cities like Delhi," economist Kaushik Basu said in a post on social media platform X.

Atishi's government has directed all schools to move classes online and tightened restrictions on construction activities and vehicle movements, but despite the polluted air, many Delhi residents continued their daily routines.

"Morning walk usually feels good, but now the air is polluted and we're forced to wear a mask ... There is a burning sensation in the eyes and slight difficulty in breathing," Akshay Pathak told the ANI news agency.

The winter blanket of smoke and fog descends each year as cold air traps dust, emissions and smoke from illegal farm fires, where stubble left after harvesting rice is burnt to clear fields in surrounding states.

"In addition to diminishing the quality of life, this kind of pollution, left unchecked, can bring India's growth story to an end," Basu said of the problem.

India's Supreme Court, which has been hearing cases on tackling the problem, directed all states in the Delhi region to immediately take a call on suspending offline classes for students up to grade 12, legal news website Livelaw reported.

Delhi's 24-hour air quality index (AQI) reading was at 491, classified as "severe plus", the highest this season, India's pollution control authority said.

By afternoon, the AQI in at least four stations in Delhi had touched 500, with many others between 490-500. India's weather department has forecast similar conditions on Tuesday as well.

India's Central Pollution Control Board defines an AQI reading of 0-50 as "good" and above 401 as "severe", which affects healthy people and "seriously impacts" those with existing diseases.

Farm fires this season have contributed as much as 40% of Delhi's pollution, SAFAR, a weather forecasting agency under the ministry of earth sciences has said.

Swiss group IQAir ranks New Delhi as the world's most polluted city with air quality at a "hazardous" 1,081.

The concentration of PM2.5 - particulate matter measuring 2.5 microns or less in diameter that can be carried into lungs, causing deadly diseases and cardiac issues - was 130.9 times the World Health Organisation's recommended levels, it said.

Experts say the scores vary because of a difference in the scale countries adopt to convert pollutant concentrations into AQI, and so the same quantity of a specific pollutant may be translated as different AQI scores in different countries.

(Reporting by Tanvi Mehta, Editing by Kate Mayberry, YP Rajesh and Alexander Smith)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'A medical emergency': India's north shrouded in toxic smog
An escaped hamster is captured on an Airbus A321neo at Ponta Delgada airport. It took staff five days to find all the rodents - CM Journal

More than 130 hamsters grounded a plane for five days after they broke free and ran riot inside the cargo hold.

The rodents had been on a flight from Lisbon to Ponta Delgada, on Portugals Sao Miguel Island, last Wednesday, along with ferrets and some caged birds that were due to be delivered to a pet store in the Azores archipelago.

However, when airport staff unloaded the hold they found that the hamsters transport boxes were empty.

The plane, belonging to Portugals TAP national airline, had to be grounded until all 132 hamsters were recaptured over fears that they might gnaw through the aircrafts electrical cabling.

It took maintenance staff at Ponta Delgada Airport until Sunday to root out the last 16 hamsters on the plane.

Only then was the Airbus A321neo finally declared rodent-free and fit to return to Lisbon on a so-called ferry flight with no passengers on board.

The hamsters were due to be delivered to a pet store - CM Journal

TAP Air Portugal said the plane would now undergo exhaustive checks to ensure that no significant damage had been done by the hamsters sharp teeth.

Like all rodent species, hamsters continually gnaw at hard materials to prevent their teeth, which grow throughout their lives, from becoming too long.

Portugals specialist aviation news site Aviacao TV reported that passengers and their luggage were also on board the flight.

It added: Upon landing, the teams responsible for baggage collection noticed that the [hamster] boxes had been damaged and that rodents were loose.

The boxes containing the hamsters were not accepted on a separate flight out of Lisbon as the containers were not considered to be compliant with hold requirements, according to Correio da Manha, the Portuguese newspaper.

For some reason, it appears that the boxes were allowed on a subsequent flight to Ponta Delgada.

The Telegraph has contacted TAP for comment.

It comes after a horse forced a Belgium-bound Boeing 747 cargo jet to turn back to New York after it broke free on board last year.

Earlier in 2023, a bear freed itself from its crate on an Iraqi Airways flight from Dubai to Baghdad.

Last year, a giant albino rat shocked passengers on a flight from Bangkok to Taipei after escaping from a passengers luggage, along with an otter. The rodents sparked a frenzied search on the VietJet plane before being wrestled into plastic bags. In the tussle, the rat bit a flight attendant.

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.
BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanese armed group Hezbollah confirmed its media relations chief Mohammad Afif was killed by an Israeli strike on a building in central Beirut on Sunday.

Israel has rarely hit senior Hezbollah personnel who do not have clear military roles, and its air strikes have mostly targeted Beirut's southern suburbs where the group has its heaviest presence.

Israel's military, which earlier declined to comment, issued a statement late on Sunday reporting it had "eliminated" Afif. The Lebanese health ministry said the strike had killed one and injured three.

A second, separate strike later on Sunday hit Mar Elias street, another central area rarely targeted by Israeli bombs, Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV reported. The Lebanese health ministry said that strike killed at least two people and wounded 22.

Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire for more than a year, since the group began launching rockets at Israeli military targets on Oct. 8, 2023. That was a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, Israeli authorities say.

In late September, Israel expanded its military campaign in Lebanon, heavily bombing the south and east and the southern suburbs of Beirut alongside ground incursions on the border.

Israel's campaign in Lebanon has in the last year killed 3,841 people and wounded nearly 15,000 others, the Lebanese health ministry said on Sunday, a toll that did not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Hezbollah rockets fired across the border have killed dozens of Israelis, including soldiers and civilians, Israel says.

A separate assault on the Gaza Strip in Israel's war against Hamas has killed more than 43,000 people, most of them civilians, according to Palestinian health officials.

LEBANESE SOLDIERS KILLED

In addition to targeting Hezbollah, the escalation has killed several soldiers of the Lebanese military, including two who died on Sunday when Israel attacked an army post in the southern town of Al-Mari, the Lebanese army said on X.

Two other soldiers were wounded, it said.

The strike in Beirut targeting the Hezbollah official hit the Ras al-Nabaa neighbourhood, where many people displaced from the southern suburbs by Israeli bombardment have sought refuge.

The Lebanese security sources said a building housing offices of the Ba'ath Party had been hit, and the head of the party in Lebanon, Ali Hijazi, told the Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed that Afif had been in the building.

Ambulances could be heard rushing to the scene, and guns were fired to prevent crowds approaching.

The Lebanese broadcaster showed video of a building whose upper floors had collapsed and civil defence workers at the scene.

Afif was a long-time media adviser to Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sept. 27.

He managed Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station for several years before taking over the group's media office.

Afif hosted several press conferences for journalists among rubble in Beirut's southern suburbs. In his most recent comments to reporters on Nov. 11, he said Israeli troops had been unable to hold any territory in Lebanon, and that Hezbollah had enough weapons and supplies to fight a long war.

(Reporting by Beirut bureau; additional reporting by Menna Alaa El Din and Emily Rose; Editing by John Davison, Kevin Liffey, Andrew Cawthorne and Cynthia Osterman)
The University of Texas at San Antonio responded to criticism after what it says likely was a second student suicide since May. Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

The University of Texas at San Antonio is responding to criticism over its handling of the second apparent suicide of a student this year, saying that the school takes an "intentional and proactive approach" to mental health on campus.

On Nov. 6, the university announced that a 33-year-old man studying for his doctorate died that morning at the Bauerle Road Garage. In a letter to the campus community, President Taylor Eighmy confirmed that the student "likely" died by suicide.

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A male student also died in a "likely" suicide in May, according to a letter Eighmy released to students, staff and faculty at the time.

Classes went on as scheduled Nov. 6 after the student death, as students sent condolences to his family and expressed difficulties dealing with the loss.

"How am I supposed to go to class when another student just committed suicide on campus this morning," one Reddit user wrote on a UTSA page, in a post that has since been deleted. "I have class in an hour with a professor who grades for attendance / only accepts (doctor's) notes or deaths in the family and I'm sobbing in my car absolutely shocked over what happened this morning, honestly also feeling similarly regarding my mental health, (I don't know) how to 'resume regular activities' am I the only one struggling with this" right now?

The university announced later that day that it canceled classes for Nov. 7 for a day of free mental health programming, in what UTSA said was "just the beginning" of increased support for students.

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An expanded wellness campaign will include student listening sessions and programs on topics ranging from healthy body image to therapy animals, UTSA said.

However, social media users who said they were students or staff at the university wondered what more could be done to prevent suicide on campus. On a UTSA Reddit page, users spoke about long wait times for counseling and dismissive professors.

"It's not just mental health but also looking at the contributing causes to these mental health issues," one user wrote. "Counseling can help students, but it only goes so far if there are exacerbating causes coming from the university that the university refuses to address."

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Joe Izbrand, a UTSA spokesperson, responded to the criticism in a statement to the Express-News, writing that the university is committed to supporting wellbeing on campus amid a nationwide suicide crisis.

"Death by suicide is not an issue limited to college campuses," Izbrand said. "It is a national public health crisis, with approximately 1.6 million people attempting suicide each year."

A task force formed in September is currently evaluating the school's wellbeing resources and determining whether additional services may be beneficial, Izbrand said. The task force will report its findings to university leadership in the spring.

The university sends regular reminders about mental health resources in its academic portal, which students use daily to check assignments and grades, Izbrand said. Access to TimelyCare, a 24/7 emotional support resource, is posted on the landing page of the academic portal.

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All employees are required to complete a mental health course when they join the university, in addition to annual training available on topics such as "Mental Health First-Aid." Educators are also supported by campus teams that help identify and respond to students who are struggling or may pose harm to themselves or others.

"We are committed to doing everything we can to support our students, faculty and staff and to continually evaluate our services and resources to provide the best possible assistance to those in need," Izbrand said.
A New Orleans Police Department vehicle. New Orleans Police Department | Facebook

(The Center Square)  The New Orleans Police Department is grappling with a staffing crisis, with officer numbers at their lowest since the 1940s and facing mounting financial penalties for falling short of state-mandated thresholds.

According to a report from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor's office, between 2019 and 2023, the department lost 26.6% of its staff in police districts, with a total of 776 employees  both civilian and commissioned  leaving during this period.

Of those departures, 496 were resignations, 205 were retirements, 46 were dismissals and 22 were attributed to death. The exodus has coincided with a steady decline in new recruits, with just 35 recruits joining the force so far in 2024, compared to 88 in 2023, 25 in 2022, and 42 in 2021.

The staffing shortages have triggered financial penalties under Louisiana law, which requires municipalities with significant staffing drops to cover their share of unfunded liabilities in the Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System .

Starting in July 2023, the city of New Orleans has been fined $50,314 monthly, with penalties set to rise to $214,113 per month by July 2024 unless staffing levels rebound. To reverse the penalties, the department would need an estimated 1,100 employees in the system.

The shortage has also raised concerns about the NOPD's ability to comply with a federal consent decree that requires reforms to address longstanding civil rights violations and misconduct. The consent decree, in effect since 2012, mandates fair, unbiased, and constitutional policing.

The department's depleted ranks have strained its capacity to meet these standards, particularly in responding to emergency calls for domestic violence and sexual assault cases.

The federal monitor overseeing the decree highlighted issues with "Gone on Arrival" dispositions, where officers fail to respond promptly to emergency calls.

"If officers cannot consistently respond to calls for service in a timely manner, the NOPD cannot meet this fundamental obligation," the monitor noted.

Officers' job satisfaction has also plummeted, with many citing financial stress and excessive overtime as contributing factors.

One officer remarked in a survey: "With current cost of living increases, it is impossible for an officer (with a family) to survive on their regular salary alone. The only way to live comfortably is to work 30+ hours of overtime every week which affects family relationships and officers' mental health."

City officials say the consent decree has cost New Orleans approximately $61.3 million since its inception, with $14.3 million allocated to the Office of the Consent Decree Monitor.

Gov. Jeff Landry has been a vocal critic of the decree, blaming it for NOPD's staffing woes.

"The New Orleans Police Department is in shambles because of a federal consent decree and a federal judge," Landry said earlier this year.

In response to the crisis, Landry established a permanent State Police troop in New Orleans in early 2024, deploying 40 troopers to assist local law enforcement. He has also called on officers nationwide to join Louisiana, highlighting legislative efforts to bolster police protections, including the newly enacted Halo Act.
By David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said on Monday he is "strongly confident" the South Korea-U.S. alliance will continue to thrive under the incoming U.S. administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

"To be sure, concerns have been raised in many circles about the implications of the election outcome on U.S. relations with its allies," Cho said in recorded remarks to a forum hosted by Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"But I'm strongly confident that the Korea-U.S. alliance will continue to thrive and reach new heights in the coming years," he said.

Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden met with Japanese and South Korean leaders on Friday as they sought to cement their diplomatic progress ahead of the new Trump administration that many fear could upend alliances worldwide.

Getting South Korea and Japan to work together is considered one of the diplomatic achievements of Biden's soon-to-end four-year term as president.

In his 2017-21 first term, Trump pressed Tokyo and Seoul to pay more for the U.S. forces they host, which in Japan include amphibious units and naval warships that Washington could deploy to defend neighboring Taiwan from any attack by China.

Trump's allies in June assured officials in Japan and South Korea that he would support deeper three-way ties, sources have told Reuters.

Outgoing Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, who has led Biden's Indo-Pacific policy, told the same forum that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had been in consultation with Senator Marco Rubio, Trump's nominee to take over as America's top diplomat, about which parts of existing strategy deserved continued engagement and investment.

Referring to the trilateral relationship, Campbell said: "I would put this very much at the extreme top of the list."

Cho said his interactions with a wide range of key interlocutors in the United States had left him as convinced as ever that American support for the Korea-U.S. alliance cuts across U.S. party lines.

He said the need to strengthen extended nuclear deterrence against the threat posed by North Korea was well understood and support ran deep for further expanding cooperation in areas including cyberspace and outer space, and for growing the trade and investment partnership to include shipbuilding and servicing, semiconductors, AI and nuclear domains.

"Second," he added, "the (South Korea President) Yoon Suk Yeol administration's determination to assume roles and responsibility commensurate with Korea's strength comports very well with expectation that allies must pull their weight."

Campbell said that given China and North Korea's nuclear buildups and nuclear saber-rattling by Russia, it was essential that the United States "be absolutely rock-solid in our commitment to extended deterrence", under which the U.S. nuclear missile umbrella protects Japan and South Korea.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom, Michael Martina and Doina Chiacu; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Mark Heinrich)
A somber scene unfolded on Oct. 6 in Tehrans Revolutionary Court that underscores the brutal clampdown on dissent in Iran. Seven political prisoners, including seasoned activists and young professionals, faced grave charges under the watchful eyes of the regime.

Among the accused is Abolhassan Montazer, a 65-year-old with a storied history of political resistance dating back to the 1980s. Despite suffering from serious health conditions, Montazer faces charges that could lead to the most severe penalties. Alongside him are young professionals like Pouya Ghobadi and Vahid Bani-American, whose only crime appears to be their unyielding demand for a free Iran.

The Iranian judiciary, acting as an arm of suppression rather than a pillar of justice, has begun resorting to increasingly harsh measures. The recent trial of these seven men is conducted by Judge Iman Afshari, who is known for his harsh rulings. The proceedings lack the most basic standards of fairness and due process, and they are often characterized by predetermined outcomes and accusations of torture and forced confessions.

This crackdown occurs within the broader context of the Iranian regimes efforts to control an increasingly volatile societal atmosphere, as public discontent simmers due to the new President Masoud Pezeshkians failure to alleviate the severe difficulties faced by Iranians.

The judiciarys oppressive measures extend well beyond the courtroom. Recent months have seen a sharp rise in the number of executions. Specifically, in the last week of October, at least 25 prisoners were executed, contributing to an alarming surge that resulted in 170 executions that month alone  an 85 percent increase compared to the previous year. Among those executed was Jamshid Sharmahd, a German-Iranian citizen who was controversially abducted in Dubai in 2020 and later sentenced to death following a sham trial, which was widely denounced by Amnesty International, Germany and the European Council.

These executions typically follow trials lacking fair legal representation, with defendants often charged with ambiguous crimes like waging war against God. The execution tally rose to 438 people since Pezeshkian assumed office in August. Fearing the increasing appeal of the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran among the Iranian public, the ruling regime has intensified its actions against the dissident group, detaining its supporters and issuing death sentences to suppress the organizations activities.

In a stark demonstration of both economic and political suppression, assets linked to the group are being confiscated. A glaring example is the absurd trial in absentia of 104 members in Tehran, during which the judge mandated the confiscation of all defendants properties.

The plight of these political prisoners is a stark reminder of the ongoing human rights crisis in Iran. Their trial is a test of global commitment to human rights. The world must stand in solidarity with those who have the courage to demand change in the face of such peril.

Iran is at a pivotal moment, and the choices made by the international community now will resonate not only within its borders but globally. It is imperative that global powers increase their examination of Irans human rights practices and hold the regime to account for its violations. Every international interaction with Iran, be it economic or diplomatic, should be contingent upon tangible improvements in human rights, such as the release of political prisoners and the cessation of torture within its prisons.

The call for action extends beyond mere rhetoric; it demands substantive, collaborative efforts that unequivocally support human rights and justice. This involves not only sanctions and diplomatic pressure but also support for the Iranian populaces quest for freedom from oppressive theocratic rule. The global response should thus be robust and unwavering, aiming to empower the Iranian people in their fight for a democratic and just society.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated political scientist.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Tel Aviv  After more than a year of bombing and homelessness, Gazans are looking to a new administration in Washington for help. President-elect Donald Trump's election victory has raised hopes and fears among the five million residents of the Palestinian territories  the war-torn Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Gaza resident Rakan Abdul Ahman told CBS News he wants the new U.S. president to make Israel end the war.

"We've witnessed enough killing of women and children," he said. "I'm looking for Trump to end the suffering in the Gaza Strip."

People react over the bodies of people killed by an Israeli strike that hit a tent where displaced Palestinians had taken refuge in Khan Younis, Gaza, Nov. 18, 2024. / Credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu/Getty

In the eyes of Ahmed Harb, a Gazan journalist, the incoming Trump administration faces a real test. In his victory speech, Trump said he'd end wars. Harb hopes that means the one in Gaza.

"I hope he was telling the truth," he told CBS News, adding: "But he shouldn't stop the war at the expense of the Palestinian people."

That is the big worry for Palestinian politicians, too, including Mustafa Barghouti. Still a practicing physician, he leads the Palestinian National Initiative, a party that champions democratic government for all Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza.

The question, Barghouti said, is "how you stop the war? Do you stop it by annexing occupied territories? By ethnically cleansing Palestinians? Or do you stop the war by forcing Israel to end its illegal policy of settling Israelis on our land?"

Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, sparked by the U.S. and Israeli-designated terrorist group's massacre of some 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2023, has diverted international attention away from growing violence in the West Bank by Israeli settlers determined to encroach on what has been Palestinian land.

In 2023, there were a record number of so-called outposts  makeshift Jewish encampments set up by settlers in what has been Palestinian land. They can be as simple as a couple of shipping containers that function as a de-facto Jewish real estate claim. The settler groups then lobby Israel's courts and government to retroactively make the outposts official Jewish settlements.

Right-wingers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet support Jewish expansion, including the outposts, in the West Bank. They openly advocate driving the Palestinians out, and annexing the whole area for Israel. Not only would that be illegal under international law, Barghouti warns that it would also lead to even more conflict.

"We will struggle for our rights," he said. "It will take time. We will suffer. We know that. But what's the alternative? To cease to exist? It's ethnic cleansing. We cannot accept that."

Palestinians everywhere are watching Trump's choosing of pro-Israeli officials for key positions with dismay, especially Mike Huckabee, the president-elect's pick to serve as the next U.S. Ambassador to Israel.

Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, is on the record as saying, "there's really no such thing as a Palestinian."

"When you hear a person like Huckabee saying there is no occupation, and there are no settlements, they are just Israeli communities. he might as well say there is no international law," said Barghouti.

During Trump's first term, he opposed the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, in 2020, proposed what he called "the deal of the century"  a template for a long-sought Palestinian state.

Under his proposal, the new state would have been a scattering of isolated Palestinian lands, each surrounded by Israel. The plan was rejected by both the Palestinians and by Jewish settlers and, since then, both sides have dug in.

Even if the new Trump administration revives some version of its proposal for a Palestinian state, it will face Palestinians and their Arab allies whose resolve has only been hardened by a devastating year of war in Gaza that has killed almost 44,000 people.

On the Israeli side, hardliners in Netanyahu's government oppose any form of Palestinian sovereignty. Netanyahu himself has flatly rejected the prospect repeatedly.

Barghouti, however, sounded ready for the fight.

"I'm sure it will be a rough year for everybody," he told CBS News. "But whatever happens, we, the Palestinian people, will never give up our right to struggle for our freedom."

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President Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to fire U.S.-made and supplied missiles deeper into Russia  a major policy shift announced over the weekend after months of intense lobbying by Kyiv  has drawn a furious response from Moscow. While there was no immediate reaction directly from the man who launched the nearly three-year war on his neighboring nation, lawmakers aligned with President Vladimir Putin in Russia said Monday that the move was unacceptable and warned it could lead to a third world war.

Mr. Biden authorized Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to use American-made missiles with a range of about 190 miles, known as ATACMS, to strike deeper inside Russian territory than the Ukrainians have to date.

So far, Ukraine's attacks beyond the immediate border region inside Russia have been limited to non-U.S.  and much less potent weapons such as explosive drones. ATACMS are far more destructive and harder to shoot down as they head for their programmed targets.

U.S.-made HIMARS rocket launchers, which can fire various missiles including ATACMS, are placed on military vehicles at the military 1st Transport Aviation Base in Warsaw, Poland, in a May 15, 2023 file photo. / Credit: Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty

Zelenskyy's government had been pushing Washington for permission to use the missiles for long-range attacks for some time but the Biden administration had been reluctant given concerns about potentially escalating the war.

Over the weekend, however, the calculus apparently changed. The decision came almost 1,000 days into the full-scale war in Ukraine, and with Mr. Biden about two months away from handing over the White House keys to President-elect Trump, who's seen as far less supportive of Ukraine's ambitions of hanging onto all of its Russian-occupied territory.

It also came as Russia hit Ukraine with a devastating missile attack, highlighting Ukraine's desperate desire for the ability to target Russian weapons systems deeper inside the country before they're launched, which Zelenskyy has stressed for more than a year.

Many of the Russian rockets launched Sunday targeted energy infrastructure but a ballistic missile carrying cluster munitions also struck a residential part of the northern city of Sumy, killing 11 people, including two children, and leaving more than 80 others wounded. Fresh strikes hit apartment buildings in the southern city of Odesa on Monday, killing at least eight people including a child, regional authorities said.

Residents in Sumy were targeted as they slept, and Ukrainian officials called the Sunday missile and drone salvo one of the largest Russian attacks since the start of the war.



With the change in policy from the outgoing administration in Washington, Ukrainian forces will be able to retaliate harder, reaching further into Russia than ever before. Ukrainian forces have launched drone attacks into Russian territory, including targeting Moscow, for months, but with limited effect.

Zelenskyy welcomed the change in U.S. policy, saying "strikes are not made with words The missiles will speak for themselves."

But Ukraine's war-time leader also appeared to acknowledge the change in tack in Washington that Trump's second swearing-in will bring, with a far greater emphasis expected on striking a negotiated truce than on defending Ukraine's sovereign territory from unilateral annexation by Russia.

"It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens," Zelenskyy said in an interview with a Ukrainian news outlet, adding that Ukraine "must do everything so that this war ends next year, ends through diplomatic means."

In Moscow, meanwhile, senior lawmaker Leonid Slutsky slammed Mr. Biden, accusing him of deciding "to end his presidential term and go down in history as 'Bloody Joe'."



Senator Vladimir Dzhabarov, meanwhile, told Russia's state-run Tass news agency that Biden's decision represented "a very big step toward the beginning of the third world war."



The official newspaper of the Russian state, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, warned "the madmen who are drawing NATO into a direct conflict with our country may soon be in great pain."

Putin had personally warned against the eventuality previously, issuing a warning in September that U.S. permission for Ukraine to fire American-supplied long-range missiles at his country, "would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries, are parties to the war in Ukraine."

But Putin himself has dramatically raised the stakes in the war since then, by overseeing the deployment of at least 11,000 North Korean troops to fight alongside Russian forces. According to U.S. and South Korean officials, they've joined the battle in Russia's western Kursk region, a significant portion of which Ukrainian troops occupied earlier this year in a surprise offensive.

According to John Sullivan, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Russia under both Trump and Mr. Biden, it may have been that move by Putin  "really solidifying this as a global conflict with troops from North Korea fighting in Europe"  that proved to be "the last straw" for the current U.S. president.

"It's been one escalation after another by Putin and, in my opinion, it was about time that the United States gave the Ukrainians the ability to defend themselves more completely," Sullivan said Monday on CBS Mornings.

The parameters of the permission granted to Ukraine for the use of the ATACMS haven't been confirmed, but according to reports, they include  and may be limited to  Ukraine using the missiles to attack Russian defensive positions in Kursk.

James Nixey, who heads the Russia and Eurasia program at the London-based Chatham House think tank, said in an analysis Monday that the change in policy from Washington was "not a game changer," especially if it included a limitation on where Ukraine can use the ATACMS.

"The relaxation of range limits for Ukraine's usage of US ATACMS follows the overall pattern of America's approach to this war: to make sure Ukraine cannot inflict significant damage on Russia but to allow small increases in hardware provision and their usage over extended periods of time," he said. "If it is true that the authorization for usage extends only to the Kursk region (and is therefore primarily directed at North Korean troops); then, again, this fits the pattern, and means the overall effects on the war will be negligible."

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By Lisandra Paraguassu and Elizabeth Pineau

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - A Russian air strike on Ukraine on Sunday shook a fragile consensus among the Group of 20 major economies drafting their joint statement at an annual leaders summit in Rio de Janeiro, three diplomats familiar with the talks told Reuters.

European diplomats are now pushing to revisit previously agreed language on the topic of global conflicts after Russia unleashed its largest air strike on Ukraine in almost three months. The United States responded by lifting prior limits on Ukraine's use of U.S.-made weapons to strike deep into Russia.

The escalating conflict could upset a hard-fought consensus that G20 negotiators reached around 5 a.m. on Sunday, after an overnight push to ready the joint statement for final review by leaders arriving in Rio.

That preliminary consensus after six days of negotiations included streamlined language about global conflicts including the war in Ukraine, focusing on the need to negotiate peace rather than criticism of any participants.

However, sources said even that "simpler" consensus may now be up for reconsideration following the Russian air strike and the prospect of further escalation.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a G20 news conference in Rio that he continued to support efforts for a "just peace" in Ukraine.

"Our position has been very clear in relation to ... avoiding a permanent escalation in the war in Ukraine," he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron told journalists in Buenos Aires that his focus is backing a Ukrainian response.

"With what is happening today, we must first equip and allow Ukraine to resist. This is the key to the coming days and the upcoming weeks," Macron said before embarking for Brazil.

"We will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes," said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, in a Globo TV interview from Rio.

Until Sunday's air strike, the toughest element of the talks in Rio had been shared language on financing to mitigate global warming, as differences at U.N. climate talks in Azerbaijan spilled over to the G20 summit in Brazil.

Wealthy nations, especially in Europe, have been pushing for more countries, such as China and major Middle Eastern oil producers, to make obligatory contributions to climate finance targets.

For the G20 leaders' joint statement, however, Brazil and other developing nations resisted that pressure, sources said.

Two diplomats said the negotiators agreed early on Sunday to a text mentioning developing nations' voluntary contributions to climate finance, stopping short of calling them obligations.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu and Elizabeth Pineau; Additional reporting by Jake Spring and Nina Lopez; Editing by Brad Haynes and Bill Berkrot)
Moses Shyne Barrow went from being a rapper to a politician in his native Belize, where as an elected representative he is referred to as Honorable.

He told CNN its a word that isnt just part of his title.

Everything Ive been through has conditioned and prepared me and molded me into where Im at presently. But where Im at is where I wanted to be, Barrow said. I made the choice at 18 years old to say that I wasnt going be dishonorable, and I wasnt gonna get my friends in trouble to get myself out of trouble.

Barrow, now 46, made the comment in reference to how he conducted himself in a case that has forever tied him to Sean Diddy Combs.

In 1999, the then-up-and-coming recording artist was signed to Combs Bad Boy Records. Barrow was part of the producers entourage at a New York City nightclub, along with Combs then-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez, when the evening ended in a hail of gunfire. Three people were wounded.

Barrow, Combs and bodyguard Anthony Jones were tried in the shooting in 2001. Combs and Jones were acquitted, while Barrow was convicted on assault and firearm possession charges. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and deported to his native Belize following his release in 2009.

Barrow blames Combs, in part, for what befell him.

You know, theres so many things that I said so long ago about Diddy. Nobody would listen, nobody would believe. And it makes the wounds that Ive, by the grace of God, been able to heal and the accomplishments that Ive been able to achieve even much more significant.

Barrows life is the subject of a new Hulu documentary, The Honorable Shyne. The project was well underway prior to Combs being named in multiple civil lawsuits, as well as pleading not guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking and other allegations. Barrow doesnt think Combs current legal issues overshadow the message of resilience he hopes people take away from his film.

In underscores the message, it really magnifies the message. It really brings everything that Ive been saying more into sharper focus, he said.

Not a Bad Boy for long

A scene from Hulu's "The Honorable Shyne." - Hulu

The documentary traces Barrows journey from his childhood in Belize to the teen trying to break into the rap game after moving to New York to live with his mother in search of a better life.

He honed his craft and ultimately caught the attention of Combs, who signed him in 1998.

I was only in his orbit for about a year. I got signed in 98, spent most of that time not really interacting with him [Combs.] Being a young millionaire is not an easy transition, so I was just blowing money fast as I guess the song goes, he said. The beginning of 99 was when I really started interacting with him. I got engaged in this mentorship and this apprenticeship and then by the end of a year the situation with Club New York happened and that was it.

Barrow said it would be more than 20 years before he and Combs would reconnect. The former rapper told CNN he was not privy to the events that have led to the recent criminal charges and civil allegations against Combs.

I didnt have the opportunity to engage with him to see any of those things and when I didnt engage with him, I didnt see any of those things, Barrow said. However, what he did to me as far as calling witnesses to testify against me, despite us pleading with him not to do that, anyone that would send someone to jail deliberately is a monster.

Representatives for Combs told CNN in a statement: Mr. Combs categorically denies Mr. Barrows allegations, including any suggestion that he orchestrated Mr. Barrow to take the fall or sacrificed him by directing witnesses to testify against him. These claims are unequivocally false.

Mr. Combs was acquitted of all charges related to the 1999 Club New York incident and has consistently maintained his innocence. He cannot accept or condone any characterization of his actions as demonic or malicious, the statement reads. Mr. Combs appreciates the path Mr. Barrow has pursued and wishes him continued success. It is unfortunate that Mr. Barrow has chosen to revisit these allegations. Mr. Combs trusts that responsible journalism will weigh both the established legal outcomes and Mr. Combs positive, longstanding support for those he has worked with.

Now serving as an Opposition Leader of the House of Representatives in Belize, Barrow sees it as part of the progression of his life. His message today is one of hope, including his desire for the world to discover the beauty and vibrance of Belize.

Ive healed and Ive forgiven, Ive gotten over it, Barrow said of Combs.

As for what comes next for his former mentor, thats what a judge and the jury will decide.

The Honorable Shyne is streaming on Hulu.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
President-elect Donald Trump confirmed Monday he would declare a national emergency to deport illegal migrants using military assets once he steps back into office early next year.

Trump made the statement on Truth Social, responding TRUE!!! to a post from Judicial Watchs Tom Fitton citing reports he would do so.

GOOD NEWS: Reports are the incoming @RealDonaldTrump administration prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program, Fitton wrote on the social media platform.

Trump has vowed to enact the largest deportation in history, starting when he takes the oath of office Jan. 20.

Trump said he would declare a national emergency over migrant deportation. Getty Images

Any attempt to use active-duty troops would be subject to legal challenges, as the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 limits the federal government from using the military to enforce domestic policy.

The act does not prohibit the National Guard from serving in a law enforcement capacity.

An ICE source told The Post that the military is barred from performing domestic law enforcement duties without Congressional authorization.

If the incoming administration were to pursue such a strategy, it might involve deploying National Guard units or other military resources under different legal frameworks, potentially framing it as a public safety or humanitarian effort. However, this approach would most certainly provoke considerable backlash from civil rights groups and the public.

The source said while the military could play a role in such operations, the ramifications would be complex and contentious, requiring careful consideration of legal, ethical, and social implications.

But former acting ICE Director Ron Vitiello told The Post that the Department of Homeland Security has called upon the Pentagon many times in the past.

Vitiello said he could see the military being leveraged to provide transportation or construction as they have done before.

Migrants being deported to Mexico under Title 8 walk through the CBP Paso del Norte Port of Entry in El Paso, Texas. The Washington Post via Getty Images

The president-elect has also said he would invoke the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to dismantle criminal gangs operating on American soil.

The act  which requires Congress to declare war  would allow Trump to detain and remove dangerous foreign nationals that are deemed a threat to the US. Trump has yet to say whether he would declare war on a specific country  such as Venezuela  to authorize the removal of migrants.

Military defense attorney Davis Younts said the military could help ICE with the logistics involving mass deportations, including conducting drone surveillance of targets and providing security at detention centers. Service members, however, could not actually be the ones detaining illegal migrants for ICE.

They would be in a support role, supporting law enforcement, said Younts, who is a retired Lieutenant Colonel with the Air Force.

Texas National Guard patrol as they reinforce security with barbed wire and chain-link fencing to prevent migrants from crossing the border while hundreds of migrants camp near the Rio Grande on the border between Mexico and the United States in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on April 1, 2024. Anadolu via Getty Images

When I worked with the National Guard, we would do things with the FBI, ATF or DEA. We would be doing a large bust and we would provide overwatch from helicopters, we would provide drone support, we would do all of those things.

The former president is prioritizing the border in his transition plans and has created a new border czar position for former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief Tom Homan, who will work with government agencies to secure both the south and northern borders.

Homan has said he will work to remove illegal immigrants in the US illegally without regard for Democrat-run cities like New York claiming sanctuary status.

Ive been clear. President Trumps been clear. Public safety threats and national security threats will be the priority because they have to be, they pose the most danger in this country, Homan told Fox & Friends last week after being tapped for the czar position.

Homan told The Post he hopes Trump will use his authority to squeeze sanctuary cities by cutting off federal funding and filing legal action.

If theyre not willing to do it then get out of the way  were coming, Homan said.
A Ford dealership in Colma, Calif., in 2022.

The U.S. auto safety regulator has opened two new probes into potential defects related to Ford vehicles.

In separate releases issued Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said its Office of Defect Investigations (ODI) was looking into complaints about a seatbelt retractor, as well as ones regarding loss of motive power in recent model-year Ford Broncos and Ford Mavericks.

ODI said it had received three complaints about the retractors in model year 2019-2020 Ford Expeditions.

"The complaints allege hearing a loud sound immediately followed by the seat belt rapidly tightening," the release states. "The complaints do not allege a crash or impact occurred that may have resulted in the deployment of the pretensioner system. Additionally, the seat belt remains in a locked position after the deployment event."

ODI says Ford already issued a recall related to this issue, but that the Expeditions, as well as potential issues affecting model year 2018-2019 Lincoln Navigator vehicles, were not included in it.

The separate motive-power probe is in response to 15 notices submitted by Ford vehicle owners about remedies to a previous recall that may have failed to effectively address the issue, according to a release.

Last week, Ford agreed to pay the second-largest-ever civil penalty issued by NHTSA to resolve charges that it failed to timely and accurately file recall information.

Ford, America's second-largest automaker, has been beset by quality control issues in recent years, something CEO Jim Farley has said the company is focused on addressing moving forward.

A spokesman for Ford said in an email the company was working with NHTSA to support its investigations.
RIO DE JANEIRO  World leaders moved on without President Joe Biden. Literally.

The outgoing U.S. president missed a photo with Group of 20 leaders on Monday in Brazil after summit organizers proceeded without him.

Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived at the waterside location just as their fellow world leaders were dispersing. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also missed the photo shoot, in which Chinese President Xi Jinping stood front and center.

The White House said the photograph got taken earlier than planned.

"Due to logistical issues, they took the photo early before all the leaders arrived," a senior Biden administration official told reporters in Rio de Janeiro.

The world leaders' portrait followed a session on hunger and poverty, where the U.S. president pledged $4 billion in new support for developing nations.

Biden is attending his final G20 Summit as president this week in Rio de Janeiro. Its his second stop on a two-nation trip. Over the weekend, he attended a gathering of Pacific Rim nations in Lima, Peru.

At that summit, photographers captured an image of Biden in the last row, near the far edge of the picture. The White House said that leaders were arranged in that photo alphabetically by nation. Xi was also in the front.

President Joe Biden and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are pictured after the group photo at the end of the first session of the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 18, 2024.

More: Biden in the background at G20 Summit as leaders brace for second go-round with Trump

On Monday, at the group session on hunger and poverty, Biden sat near the center. He was the second leader over from the Brazilian president, whose country is hosting this years summit of the worlds largest economies.

The group includes U.S. adversary Russia, whose president, Vladimir Putin, did not attend. He sent his foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, in his place.

Biden made a point of addressing Russias unprovoked attack on Ukraine during brief remarks at the event.

"The United States strongly supports Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Everyone around this table in my view should as well, he said.

Biden also touted U.S. support for Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"We're going to keep pushing to accelerate a cease-fire deal that ensures Israel's security and brings hostages home and ends the suffering of the Palestinian people and children, he said.

The U.S. president added: "I ask everyone here to increase their pressure on Hamas, which is currently refusing this deal."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where's Joe Biden? U.S. president misses G20 Summit photo
Peru's Chancay Port opens new land-sea corridor between China and Latin America

People's Daily Online) 09:46, November 18, 2024

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Peruvian counterpart, Dina Boluarte, attended the opening ceremony of the Chancay Port in Peru via video link on Nov. 14 local time.

This connection means more than just the BRI taking root in Peru. From Chancay to Shanghai, we are witnessing the birth of a new Asia-Latin America land-sea corridor, Xi said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a grand welcome ceremony hosted by Peruvian President Dina Boluarte in Lima, Peru, Nov. 14, 2024. (Photo/Xinhua)

The new land-sea corridor between China and Latin America in the new era, developed in just a few years, has garnered significant attention on a global scale.

Previously, Peru lacked ports capable of accommodating large container ships. These ships had to stop in Mexico, Panama, and other places to transfer goods destined for Peru onto smaller vessels before being transported. With the completion of the Chancay Port, the port berths can now accommodate large container ships with a capacity of 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), reducing direct shipping time from Lima to Shanghai by approximately 10 days.

With promising prospects for cooperation between China and Latin America, the Chancay Port will strongly consolidate Peru's position as a gateway that connects land and sea, Asia and Latin America.

Chancay is home to tens of thousands of permanent residents, and the mention of China and the Chancay Port is well-known to all. Local residents said that the construction of the port has brought more business opportunities and boosted tourism in the area. Peruvian scholars are optimistic about the potential of the Chancay Port to attract a fresh influx of foreign direct investment, thereby catalyzing regional economic growth.

The Chancay Port is the first smart and green port in Latin America. When it is completed, the port will bring Peru huge revenues and create a large number of jobs.

The vast Pacific Ocean separates China and Peru, but it also serves as a link and bridge connecting both countries.

Over 2,000 years ago, Chinese ancestors sailed across treacherous seas to establish the Maritime Silk Road connecting East and West. Over 500 years ago, the Inca people in Peru crossed rugged mountains to build the Inca Trail through the Andes Mountains.

Today, the Chancay Port is becoming a new starting point of the Inca Trail in the new era.

The BRI was proposed by China, with its achievements and opportunities benefiting the world.

The Piraeus Port in Greece serves as a vivid demonstration that the BRI is not merely a slogan or a myth, but a tangible and successful reality. The Colombo Port in Sri Lanka bears witness to the revival of Sri Lanka, known as the ancient "Crossroads of the East." The Gwadar Port in Pakistan is evolving into a key regional logistics hub. In recent years, President Xi has frequently mentioned ports on international occasions and has made visits to various ports worldwide.

Ports stretch far and wide, like pearls strung on a jade belt, linking Chinese opportunities and bringing benefits to people around the world.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
The Supreme Court is seen, April 21, 2023, in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP

Two conservative judges from Texas are being floated as possible U.S. Supreme Court nominees amid speculation that a justice may retire during President-elect Donald Trumps second term.

Judges Andrew Oldham and James Ho, both on the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, are viewed as likely members of Trumps shortlist in the event of a vacancy on the high court, according to several legal experts. Both came up through Texas legal circles and were among the Trump appointees named to the 5th Circuit who have shifted the court further right.

The Trump administration will look for someone who's got perfect ideological purity, and I think either of those two 5th Circuit judges would fit that mold, said Lucas Powe, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law.

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Conservative and legal activists are speculating that some of the U.S. Supreme Courts oldest justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, may retire in the next two years, when Republicans will have a majority in the U.S. Senate and could confirm a nominee without the need for any Democratic support.

Conservative justices currently hold a 6-3 majority on the U.S. Supreme Court, including three Trump appointees. If Trump can successfully replace sitting members with younger justices, he will not only have nominated a majority of the court but also solidified a conservative majority for generations.

Federal judges are appointed to life terms.

Legal experts said the 5th Circuit, which covers Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana, is a natural place to look for appointees. It is widely known as one of the most conservative benches in the country that has upheld Texas abortion restrictions, struck down gun prohibitions for domestic abusers and greenlit Texas border security measures.

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Even the Supreme Courts more conservative justices have rejected the circuits interpretation of the law on numerous cases, including those on gun control, abortion pills and social media privacy.

The whole countrys been talking about what the 5th Circuits been doing. Its the court that the country is watching and reacting to, said Cory Liu, an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law and a former Oldham clerk.

Texas hasnt sent a justice to the high court for decades. The last and only Texan to serve was Justice Tom Campbell Clark, an appointee of President Harry Truman, a Democrat.

Who is Andrew Oldham?

Oldham, 45, clerked for Alito shortly after graduating from Harvard Law School and also worked in the U.S. Department of Justice. He came to Texas after being hired by then-Attorney General Greg Abbott as deputy solicitor general and later became Abbotts top legal adviser as general counsel to the governor.

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Oldham has said he was involved in legislative efforts including Texas bathroom bill, which would have restricted access to transgender people in public facilities, and an immigration law aimed at eliminating sanctuary cities in Texas. While working for the state, Oldham was reportedly involved in the "Texas Plan," which aimed to call for a second convention of states to amend the U.S. Constitution in order to rein in the federal government. Oldham is known for skepticism of administrative agencies in Washington, calling them constitutionally suspect in a 2016 speech.

Trump nominated Oldham to the 5th Circuit in 2018 with the blessing of Texas U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, as well as support from Abbott. Oldham drew some opposition from Senate Democrats for declining to discuss his views on the landmark Supreme Court desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education.

The Senate confirmed Oldham with a 50-49 vote, with all Democrats opposed. He was among the youngest judges on a federal appeals court and Trumps youngest nominee.

While on the bench, Oldham has signed onto a number of major opinions, including authoring NetChoice v. Paxton, which upheld Texas ban on social media moderation. He also dissented from a ruling that halted parts of a Texas law that would have upended federal immigration law by allowing state police to arrest migrants suspected of entering the U.S. illegally. Oldham argued the measures should have been allowed to go into effect.

Who is James Ho?

Ho, 51, graduated from the University of Chicago Law School and is familiar with Washington. He clerked for Thomas, worked as chief counsel for two Senate subcommittees under Cornyn and served from 2008 to 2010 as solicitor general, leading Texas lawsuits against the Obama administration.

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Trump nominated Ho to the 5th Circuit in 2017 with the backing of Cruz and Cornyn. Hos confirmation hearing in 2017 was not particularly contentious, and he was seated with a 53-43 vote, earning the support of all Republicans as well as three conservative Democrats.

On the court, Ho has demonstrated a knack for seizing headlines. In 2022, Ho announced his office would boycott hiring law clerks from Yale Law School over concerns about "cancel culture," a move that prompted the school to create new free speech guidelines. He also frequently authors solo opinions outlining his thinking, even when he generally aligns with the courts opinion.

[Hos] opinion writing is more florid, more adventurous, more sort of transparently Republican-favoring, said Lee Kovarsky, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law.

Ho is a fierce critic of race-conscious admissions programs and cancel culture on college campuses. In a recent dissent, Ho decried racism against white people, writing that institutions tolerate (if not encourage) racism against whites, under the guise of promoting diversity.

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by Fady Noun

Negotiations for a 60-day suspension of the fighting, followed by the implementation of resolution 1701, continue on difficult tracks. Among the obstacles is the military doggedness of the Jewish state against the cedar country. Another of Hezbollah's historic leaders, Mohammed Afif, was the victim of a targeted attack. According to World Bank estimates, more than 100,000 homes have been destroyed in the last two months.

Beirut (AsiaNews) - Departing from a rule it has been observing since the raid against Hezbollah's head of liaison and coordination, Wafic Safa on October 9, and forbidding the bombing of targets in the administrative heart of Beirut, yesterday Israel struck again at the heart of the Lebanese capital. In a targeted attack, the Jewish State's missiles killed two Hezbollah cadres: Mohammed Afif, the head of the media within the pro-Iranian Shiite movement, a comrade of the first hour of Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hezbollah assassinated on 27 September last; Mohammed Madi, the head of operations in south Lebanon, was also hit.

In the past few hours, Israel confirmed that it had killed Hezbollah's propaganda chief, an apparently affable man who had made several public appearances in recent times, aware that he was running the risk of being eliminated. On the same day, the Jewish State military opened fire on a Lebanese army post in Meri, a Druze village in the Hasbaya region, killing two soldiers.

An attack launched despite the fact that, according to previously agreed rules, the army is considered militarily neutral, as is the Interim Peacekeeping Force in Southern Lebanon (Unifil). According to observers, these serious developments are part of a new phase in the war that began on 23 September between Israel and Hezbollah, which should precede a ceasefire agreement, the terms of which are currently under discussion.

This escalation was marked by a relentless attack on buildings in Haret Hreik, Bourj Brajneh and Chyah, in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Lebanese have watched in astonishment, sometimes live, sometimes on television, the daily destruction of their real estate. The raids have not even spared places of worship: the windows of a church on the outskirts of Hadeth were also shattered by shelling.

According to unofficial World Bank estimates, more than 100,000 homes have been destroyed in the last two months, including entire villages in the south such as Kfar Kila and Adeisse, in the immediate vicinity of the border. The international institution has estimated the initial cost of the losses incurred at USD 8.5 billion, and thus the amount of the eventual reconstruction work.

However, unlike the targeted operations mentioned above, the bombardments in the southern suburbs are announced about an hour in advance to allow the civilian population to take cover. This has generally prevented loss of life. Deserted by their occupants since the first bombardment, the houses are only inspected during the day. In this regard, street surveillance has been set up to prevent looting of rubble and thefts in abandoned flats.

The Southern Front

On the southern front, the Israeli army finally managed to breach the land in the direction of the Lebanese coast, bypassing the headquarters of the Unifil forces in Naqoura, which it wanted to relocate. The artillery batteries were thus able to cross the border to support the soldiers' operations inside Lebanese territory, which were also marked by unexpected resistance from Hezbollah units.

In addition to the ground resistance, the Shia movement fires an average of 100 medium-range missiles and drones, usually against the regions of Haifa, Acca and Ashdod. However, the militiamen rarely use their long-range missiles. According to specialists, these are controlled by Iranian personnel and are subject to strict rules of use. The Israeli media claimed that there was no indication that the target had been hit, in a strategy of systematically obscuring the losses suffered by the Jewish state.

Nevertheless, it should be noted that even in this faee, the war between Hezbollah and Israel has some limitations in terms of targets: infrastructure in Lebanon, in particular Beirut International Airport, was not targeted; on the other hand, strategic targets such as the Dimona reactor, Israel's David Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, and the oil fields in the Mediterranean were kept out of the bombing.

Tight negotiations

The Israeli military escalation comes at the same time as very close negotiations between Israel and Lebanon, via the United States and outgoing President Joe Biden's deputy, Amos Hochstein, towards a ceasefire. Hochstein is expected in Lebanon tomorrow and will then travel to Israel. In reality, this ceasefire would initially be a 60-day freeze of fighting that precedes Hezbollah's withdrawal north of the Litani river line and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the evacuated areas at the same time as Unifil.

Negotiations are taking place under fire, points out Kassem Kassir, an analyst close to Hezbollah. He believes that the intensification of the fighting is due to the fact that Lebanon has rejected the conditions that Israel and the United States have tried to impose. Among the conditions that the cedar country has refused to accept, Kassir explains, are the formation of an international committee to oversee the implementation of UN Resolution 1701 and the authorisation for the Israeli army to carry out incursions inside Lebanon. The next few days will be decisive for the outcome of the negotiations. The visit to Beirut of Ari Larijani, chief advisor to the Supreme Guide of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Ali Khamenei, suggests that it will not be easy to reach an agreement.
Today's news: Sri Lanka swears in new cabinet with 22 ministries, Amarasuriya reconfirmed as prime minister; In the Philippines one million people evacuated due to typhoon Man-Yi; In Singapore, tycoon Lim Oon Kuin was sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison for swindling more than 100 million dollar; Divorces rocket in Russia

CHINA

A former student went on a stabbing spree at a vocational college in eastern China, killing eight people and injuring 17. The attack took place on Saturday at the Wuxi Vocational College of Arts and Technology in Yixing, part of the city of Wuxi in eastern Jiangsu province. The suspect, a 21-year-old man, was arrested. This comes just a few days after a car attack in Zhuhai, which claimed 35 lives, one of the deadliest in contemporary Chinese history.

SRI LANKA

The Sri Lankan President reappointed Harini Amarasuriya as Prime Minister. The leftist coalition won 159 seats in the 225-member parliament in the general election. The newly sworn-in cabinet has 22 ministries. Veteran Vijitha Herath was also reconfirmed as head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dissanayake did not appoint a new finance minister during the swearing-in, signalling that he will keep the role himself, as he had done in September.

ISRAEL - LEBANON

An Israeli airstrike on a building in a central district of the Lebanese capital Beirut killed Hezbollah's spokesman yesterday. Both the Israel Defence Forces and Hezbollah confirmed that media relations chief Mohammed Afif was killed in the attack on the Ras al-Naba'a neighbourhood. On the same day, Israeli planes carried out at least 27 attacks against civilian and religious sites in Lebanon. One targeted the Church of Our Lady of Salvation, near Saint George's Hospital, in the Hadath area, south of Beirut.

PHILIPPINES

More than one million people have been evacuated since super typhoon Man-Yi, known locally as Pepito, made its second landfall on the Philippines' main island of Luzon, with forecasters warning of life-threatening swells, heavy rains and strong winds. Man-Yi is the sixth typhoon to hit the Philippines in a month, with at least 160 people known to have died in the previous five storms. It is the 16th of the year, with environmentalists calling for a climate emergency.

SINGAPORE

Lim Oon Kuin, 82-year-old founder of oil trading company Hin Leong Trading, was sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison in a case involving at least 1.7 million in fraud. The tycoon also known as OK Lim, had orchestrated one of the most serious business fraud cases in Singapore, prosecutors told the court. Lim faced more than 100 charges and contested them at trial, but was convicted of two counts of defrauding the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) and one count of aiding and abetting forgery.

RUSSIA

In this 2024, which had been proclaimed by Vladimir Putin as the Year of the Family, the number of divorces in Russia has risen exponentially, as can be seen from the registers of the Zags, the municipal registry offices for registering marriages, with 318,000 divorces compared to 360,000 marriages, mainly due to the introduction of large subsidies for single mothers.

TURKEY - AZERBAIJAN

Turkey's Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, paid a visit to Azerbaijan, where he met the President of the State Tourism Agency, Fuad Nagiev, with the aim of forging cooperation agreements in the field of tourism between the two countries, also meeting the Minister of Culture, Alil Kerimili, and stopping by Cop29 in Baku.
by Nirmala Carvalho

After six bodies were found over the weekend, protesters stormed the homes of local BJP lawmakers. The Union government is sending thousands of special forces, while the Union Home Affairs minister tries to resolve the situation peacefully. For the archbishop emeritus of Imphal, the government is only watching".

Imphal (AsiaNews)  The State of Manipur is on high alert after the authorities recovered the bodies of three women and three children over the weekend. All six were reportedly ethnic Meitei.

Some Meitei immediately accused the Kuki minority of kidnapping and murder, reigniting violence. Clashes between the two ethnic groups broke out in May 2023 and recur regularly.

According to official sources, more than 200 people have been killed so far and about 60,000 have been displaced, with more killings in recent weeks, particularly in Jiribam district.

It is estimated that at least 20 people have died in clashes in the last month. To terrorise members of the rival group, people are often abducted.

After the discovery of the bodies, some protesters on Saturday looted and set fire to the homes and offices of several legislators, mostly from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Hindu ultranationalist party in power at the Union (federal) and state level in Manipur.

Police arrested 23 people and the authorities imposed an indefinite curfew, suspending Internet services in several districts, including the state capital, Imphal.

India's Home Affairs Minister, Amit Shah, who has tried in recent months to start talks to resolve the situation, chaired a security meeting yesterday, but tensions continue to be high.

At least one person died this morning in fresh clashes between civilians and armed forces.

According to local media, the minister will hold other meetings today in an attempt to contain the unrest.

The Union government has also reintroduced a law allowing the deployment of special forces in five districts, including Jiribam.

These areas, which according to some witnesses have already been largely depopulated, will remain classified as "disturbed" until 31 March next year. Meanwhile, the authorities today ordered the deployment of another 5,000 personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to the state.

In the peripheries of where we are, shootings, kidnapping, etc. are going on, laments Archbishop Emeritus Dominic Lumon of Imphal, speaking to AsiaNews. In some isolated places there are crimes, protestors, rallies and even killings by one group. The government is unable to do anything and is only watching, thinking that it will die down by itself. However, the kidnappings and killings continue.

On the reintroduction of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, the prelate said: We feel it should be totally removed. It gives absolute powers to the Army and in that sense, it is a serious matter.

What is more, This Act is imposed only in certain areas and not in all areas. With this Act, the security forces can take the law into their own hands and use their powers indiscriminately."

On Saturday, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi expressed deep concern about the The recent string of violent clashes and continuing bloodshed in Manipur, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the state.
by Joseph Masilamany

The request made to the local government by John Ilus during a parliamentary debate. Sarawak is a state in Borneo where Christians are in the majority and where missionaries have historically played an important role in the growth of the education system. Knowledge of Scripture is a unifying force and an essential component in educating young people in pluralism.

Kuching (AsiaNews) - During the budget session of the Legislative Assembly of the Malaysian State of Sarawak, Borneo, a Member called for the reintroduction of Bible classes in all local schools.

John Ilus, representative for the Bukit Semuja area, suggested that the State revive Bible lessons, which he described as a fundamental aspect of Sarawak's educational history, rooted in tolerance and respect.

John Ilus also emphasised the significant role played by Catholic, Anglican and Methodist missionaries: They laid the foundations of Sarawak's education system during the Brooke era, in pre-colonial times, he recalled.

The early Christian missions introduced educational programmes and Bible studies became an essential part of the curriculum, open to students of different backgrounds. This inclusive approach fostered a tradition of tolerance and respect that has become a hallmark of Sarawak's social fabric,' he pointed out.

Bible studies have since been removed from the curriculum, a fact that according to John Ilus represented a serious loss for the moral and spiritual development of young Sarawakians.

Hence the request to the Ministry of Education to consider reinstating them as a structured and optional subject within primary education, allowing students to learn about the Christian faith as they do about other religions.

This revival would help build understanding and respect, enriching the character development of young Sarawakians, he added.

About two-thirds of Malaysia's Christians live in the states of Borneo (Sarawak and Sabah) and in Sarawak in particular - which is the largest of the states that make up the country - Christians make up the majority (50.1%) of the population, with Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism as the other religions present.

Unlike other states in Malaysia where Islam is the official religion, Sarawak does not officially have a state religion.

British Anglicans were among the first Christian missionaries to set foot in Sarawak in 1848. About two decades later, Catholic missionaries from Mill Hill also arrived, who also established a missionary base from which they could effectively reach the mostly animist urban and rural tribal populations.

ECCLESIA IN ASIA IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES IN ASIA. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE IT EVERY SUNDAY? TO SUBSCRIBE, CLICK HERE.
The Armenian governments press office said Pashinian briefed Trump on recent years developments in Armenia-U.S. relations and their current state.

Issues relating to the regional agenda were also discussed, it added in a short statement.

No other details were reported. Neither Trump nor members of his entourage commented on the call on social media or otherwise.

Pashinian was quick to congratulate Trump on his resounding victory in the November 5 presidential election. In a congratulatory message, the Armenian premier expressed confidence that bilateral ties will be further strengthened and elevated to strategic partnership during Trumps second presidency.

The administration of outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden has strongly supported Pashinian in his efforts to reorient Armenia towards the West that have caused unprecedented tensions in the South Caucasus nations relations with Russia, its traditional ally. Washington has also repeatedly tried to broker a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

It remains to be seen whether the incoming Trump administration will show as much interest in helping Yerevan leave Moscows orbit and ending the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Trump never held face-to-face talks with Pashinian during his first term in office which ended in the wake of the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Republican courted Armenian American voters during the U.S. presidential race. In an October 24 statement, he blamed the Biden administration for last years forced exodus of Nagorno-Karabakhs ethnic Armenian population and pledged to end the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict if he wins the election.

Kamala Harris did NOTHING as 120,000 Armenian Christians were horrifically persecuted and forcibly displaced in Artsakh, he said.

Trump went on to call Catholicos Aram I, the number two figure in the Armenian Apostolic Church who oversees some of its dioceses in the United States.
Gunshots were fired as two groups of men clashed at a Yerevan car wash for still unknown reasons. Armenias Investigative Committee said a 42-year-old man was accidentally shot and killed by his brother.

The law-enforcement agency did not identify two other men who it said were wounded in the fight. According to unconfirmed news reports, one of them was Lyudvig Gyulnazarian, who has run the community comprising nine villages for less than six months. The largest of those villages, Parakar, is located just a few kilometers west of the Armenian capital.

Gyulnazarian, who is a member of Armenias ruling Civil Contract party, has not publicly commented on the incident or his decision to step down. He could not be reached for comment on Monday. The car wash in question is reportedly owned by a friend of his.

Vahagn Aleksanian, a deputy chairman of the party led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, said the very fact of Gyulnazarians presence at the scene of the shooting was questionable in itself and had to entail a political consequence regardless of the outcome of the criminal inquiry launched by the Investigative Committee.

A state or local official must not allow themselves to do such a thing, Aleksanian told RFE/RLs Armenian Service.

The shooting happened one day after Pashinian expressed serious concern about a significant increase in gun violence in Armenia during his rule. He ordered law-enforcement authorities to do more to tackle what he called a very big problem.

Official statistics show that a total of 68 armed robberies, shootouts and other firearm-related crimes were committed in the country in the first eight months of this year, a year-on-year increase of almost 55 percent. Opposition politicians and other critics blame Pashinians administration for the increased number of these and other crimes.

Civil Contract installed Gyulnazarian as mayor of Parakar and the nearby villages two and a half years after being defeated by an opposition party, Aprelu Yerkir, in the last local election. It teamed up with another political group to controversially prevent Aprelu Yerkir from taking over the local government.

The groups leader became the community chief amid allegations of foul play made by Aprelu Yerkir. He ceded the post to Gyulnazarian earlier this year under the terms of a power-sharing deal struck with Pashinians party.
A commercial airliner glides in for a landing in foggy conditions at San Antonio International Airport on Feb. 10, 2021. Kin Man Hui/Staff photographer

Weve all been there: rushing to the airport for the holidays, only to find out our flight was delayed or canceled  and more often than not, you likely can blame the weather because it accounts for about 75% of delays lasting more than 15 minutes in the United States, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Two Texas airports fare better than most of the nation's airports when it comes to weather-related delays during the holidays, a new study from Austin-based travel company Upgraded Points found.

Using air travel data from November to January, compiled by the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the study looked at how many delays or cancellations were caused by the weather. It found that holiday travel through the smaller airports in Dallas and Houston were among the least affected by weather-related delays. Houston's Hobby Airport had a weather-related delay rate of only 12.3%, while Love Field in Dallas had a weather-related delay rate of 12.7%.

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But the study found that these five major airports had the highest rate of weather-related delays: At the top of the list was San Francisco International Airport, 42.3%; Newark Liberty International Airport, 42.1%; New York's LaGuardia Airport, 38.3%; Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, 38.1%; and Boston's Logan International Airport, 31.3%.

Although the study focused on holiday weather, all kinds of weather events, from severe thunderstorms to extreme temperatures, can wreak havoc on airport operations and can cause disruptions.

A Southwest Airlines jet approaches the runway for a landing at Hobby Airport on Sept. 26 in Houston. Kirk Sides/Staff photographer

But not all weather events created equal when it comes to flight cancelations and delays.

The usual suspect: Thunderstorms

The FAA says that thunderstorms are responsible for most of the weather-related flight disruptions.

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Its the thunderstorms that can really throw a kink into the flow at the airport, said Troy Kimmel, a longtime Austin-based meteorologist and senior lecturer at the University of Texas. You get lightning within a 5-mile diameter of any airfield, and ramp operations shut down.

Ramp operations are activities dedicated to the service and operation of the aircraft, such as loading and unloading, fueling, maintenance, communication and aircraft positioning. Making sure airport crews take shelter and stay safe during lightning-filled thunderstorms is a priority, but taking precautions can create an immediate 20- to 30-minute delay.

Thunderstorms also can result in updrafts, downdrafts and extreme mid-air turbulence that pose dangers to the aircraft and everyone on the plane. When the cloud pillars in severe thunderstorms reach certain altitudes, jet planes cant fly above them so they must change routes, which can lead to further delays or cancellations. As planes approach airports, pilots may be instructed to decrease speed or hold their position until the storm passes.

Flights can become bottlenecked as more planes arrive and holding patterns continue. Once overcrowding the airspace or running out of fuel become serious issues, planes often are diverted to alternate airports to wait out the bad weather, refuel and fly again later to the original destination.

Airports collaborate with the National Weather Service to identify adverse weather conditions before they pose problems. Utilizing a weather tracking system, real-time observations from the Automated Surface Observing System and on-site weather observers, airports try to ensure the safety of passengers and flight crews while maintaining a continuous flow of travel.

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A jet takes off June 8, 2023, from San Antonio International Airport as a severe thunderstorm turns the sky black. William Luther/Staff

Wintry hazards

Snowstorms and ice accumulation can disrupt airport operations because the weather can make runways and taxiways too slick or hurt aircraft performance. Prolonged exposure to below-freezing temperatures means aircraft wings, windows, and antennas require de-icing. The process typically uses a heated, glycol-based fluid sprayed onto the aircraft to melt ice and snow. After de-icing, an anti-icing fluid may be applied to prevent new ice from forming. Additionally, snow buildup can decrease visibility and create slippery runway surfaces, causing increased delays and cancellations.

Foggy weather

When dense fog creates low clouds or especially heavy rainfall leads to flight delays or cancellations, airports measure visibility using Runway Visual Range, which is a measurement of how far a pilot can see down a runway. If its too low or the air traffic controllers cant see clearly, then they may delay flights.

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Lower visibilities and fog can slow things down but usually with the current navigation aids available to the aircraft and the modern technology, that even runs pretty smoothly, UT's Kimmel said.

Dangerous winds

High winds will cause delays, especially if its a crosswind. At Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, the air travel hub serving the Texas capital, runways are orientated north to south, so the crosswinds from east to west give them the most concern, according to airport officials.

Each aircraft is different when it comes to winds threshold, a Boeing 737 taking off a runway has a maximum allowable crosswind of 38 mph while an Airbus 320s maximum crosswind speed is 44 mph.

Extreme temperatures

Extremely high temperatures can adversely affect a planes takeoff performance because the heated air at ground level has a lower density, which then provides fewer air molecules to lift the plane. As a result, planes may require longer runways for takeoff in hot weather and airlines might need to reduce weight by carrying fewer passengers and luggage.

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A 2015 study by the American Meteorological Society found that the number of summer days necessitating weight restriction has increased since 1980 along with the observed increase in surface temperature.
The press office of the Holy See did not release a readout of the meeting in the following hours. The official Vatican News portal likewise gave no details of the pontiffs conversation with Pashinian.

It said the audience lasted for about 30 minutes and was followed by an exchange of gifts. Its Armenian-language service also noted that Pashinians trip to the Vatican lasted for only a few hours.

An Armenian government statement on the visit said Pashinian told Francis that increased contacts between Yerevan and the Vatican testify to their special interstate relationship. It said the premier also praised the pontiffs international peace efforts and briefed him on the latest developments in the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process.

The prime minister thanked His Holiness for the Holy See's continued efforts to release Armenian prisoners [held in Azerbaijan,] added the statement. It did not shed light on those efforts.

Last year, one of those 23 prisoners, Gevorg Sujian, appealed to Francis to help release him Azerbaijani custody in a letter forwarded to the Vatican through his family in Armenia. Sujians wife Lilit said on Monday that the family still does not know whether the Pope has read the letter.

Sujian and a fellow aid worker, Davit Davtian, were captured by Azerbaijani troops just a few days after a Russian-brokered ceasefire stopped the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. An Azerbaijani court subsequently sentenced them to 15 years in prison on a string of criminal charges denied by them.

The Vatican has reacted cautiously to the six-week war and subsequent developments. In January 2023, Francis expressed concerns about Azerbaijans blockade of Karabakhs sole land link with Armenia that caused a serious humanitarian crisis in the Armenian-populated region.

But unlike the United States, the European Union and Russia, he stopped short of explicitly demanding that Baku reopen the corridor. Nor is the pontiff known to have publicly denounced Azerbaijans September 2023 military offensive that forced Karabakhs entire population to flee to Armenia.
18 November 2024 07:00 (UTC+04:00)

Elnur Enveroglu Read more

The first week of the UN Climate Change Conference of parties ongoing in Baku was remarkable with several political events in and out of the country.

While COP29 was an interesting and important platform for many countries, it was both unreachable and unexpected for some political circles. However, the event was made accessible to all parties by the will of Azerbaijan, even allowing politicians who have long expressed prejudices against Azerbaijan to visit the country.

For example, Frank Pallone, a stark pro-Armenian US Congressman from New Jersey and a member of the Democratic Party, known for his constant defence of Armenian separatism and biased statements against Azerbaijan in Congress, did not face any obstacles during his unexpected visit to Baku to attend the COP29. In fact, some anti-Azerbaijan factions, while organizing a smear campaign against Azerbaijan, called Baku a place of victims of political repression. However, the truth did not remain hidden; Azerbaijan answered the questions remaining obscure in minds with its democratic approach at COP29.

Frank Pallone, who evaded questions extended by journalists in Baku, did not want to give a statement about his true intention to attend the COP29. Although he dashed to several conference halls before journalists with several folders clutched to his chest, he appeared in neither of the press conference rooms. Frank Pallone behaved as if he had come to Baku with a full of impressions, but he refused to share his thoughts at the last moment showing his reluctance to communicate with the local media.

One of the most memorable moments was the violent behaviour of Pallone's guards towards local journalists. They pushed the journalists at every step while asking questions about the pro-Armenian politician's visit to Baku.

Many unforeseen circumstances and unpredictability turned into reality on day six of COP29, when sessions continued with discussions on energy and peace. It would not have been surprising if Senator Ed Markey, Adam Schiff, and even Bundestag member Frank Schwabe had appeared as participants.

But what happened outside the country?

Against the backdrop of COP29 calling for peace and collaboration in the fight against climate issues, the anti-Azerbaijani propaganda and agitation campaign outside the country did not subside. The Armenian lobbys heated activities in the background were trying to attract attention on social networks. One of such cheap campaigns was the involvement of a young Swedish influencer in inappropriate actions in Tbilisi and Yerevan under the guise of an eco-activist. Certainly, the activities of the Armenian lobby are undeniable, but the fact that this action did not coincide with the goals of COP29 was a clear example of blatant bias.

22-year-old Greta Thunberg shouting about human rights on the streets of Yerevan, and on the other hand, the sudden appearance of pro-Armenian US congressman and politician Frank Pallone at COP29 in Baku these events were watched as a non-commentary event on the eve of the UN Climate Change Conference in Baku. Neither human rights nor politics are the subject of COP29, but for some reason, outside forces are trying to politicize the UN climate conference based on their illogical thinking.

There is still a week to go, and we will be watching the upcoming COP29 sessions, as well as the events taking place in the country and abroad, in the coming days.
18 November 2024 10:00 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

Azerbaijans biennial Transparency Report (BTR) is ready for presentation this week, signaling the countrys commitment to global climate transparency and the 1.5C target.

Azernews reports that Mukhtar Babayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources and President of COP29, emphasized the importance of transparency in climate action during the Round Table of Ministers on Global Climate Transparency held in the Blue Zone. The event included ministers from nations such as Japan, South Africa, the United States, Italy, and Kazakhstan.

Raising ambition requires clear plans to maintain the 1.5-degree target through Nationally Determined Contributions, National Adaptation Plans, and Biennial Transparency Reports, Babayev stated. He stressed that such collaborative discussions are key to achieving more effective climate outcomes.

Highlighting the significance of COP29, Babayev added, I urge COP29 to be seen as an opportunity to take these steps. The Baku Declaration, which will be adopted at this round table, will encourage more effective actions on global climate transparency and climate change.

This declaration is expected to reinforce international efforts in ensuring transparent and ambitious climate strategies, setting a benchmark for future COP sessions.
18 November 2024 12:02 (UTC+04:00)

Nazrin Abdul Read more

A meeting of the Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising Committee of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan was commenced, Azernews reports.

The draft law "On the State Budget of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2025" was discussed at the meeting.

Minister of Finance Samir Sharifov, Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov, Chairman of the Accounting Chamber Vugar Gulmammadov, Chairman of the Central Bank Taleh Kazimov, Executive Director of the State Oil Fund Israfil Mammadov, and other officials participated in the discussion.

It should be noted that the projected revenues for the state budget of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2025 are 38 billion 316 million manats, while the projected expenses amount to 41 billion 367 million 600 thousand manats. These include centralized revenues of 37 billion 520 million 952 thousand manats, local revenues of 795 million 48 thousand manats, centralized expenses of 40 billion 567 million 265 thousand manats, and local expenses predicted at 800 million 335 thousand manats.
18 November 2024 16:00 (UTC+04:00)

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Positive economic dynamics were observed in the past period of the current year, Azernews reports, citing Taleh Kazimov, Chairman of the Central Bank, as he told at the meeting of the Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship Committee of the Milli Majlis held on November 18.

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18 November 2024 17:18 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

Azerbaijan has presented its Roadmap for Energy Efficiency Policy at an event jointly organized with the International Energy Agency (IEA) during COP29, Azernews reports.

Deputy Minister of Energy Orkhan Zeynalov highlighted Azerbaijans commitment to combating climate change and its dedication to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He emphasized the country's active steps to accelerate the transition to a green economy, enhance the share of renewable energy sources, and ensure greater energy efficiency.

Zeynalov further noted that energy efficiency is a critical component of Azerbaijans energy transition policy, which is reflected in strategic documents and the legal-regulatory framework developed in this area.

The Roadmap, which was created under the EU4Energy program of the European Union, outlines the current state of energy efficiency in Azerbaijan. It indicates that multi-apartment residential buildings in Azerbaijan have the potential to improve energy efficiency by up to 50%. If fully realized, this could save up to 4.2 billion cubic meters of gas annually, reduce carbon emissions by 10 million tons, and create 125,000 new jobs.

The event included panel discussions on future priorities for energy efficiency, the challenges ahead, solutions, and the study of international experiences.
18 November 2024 18:19 (UTC+04:00)

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Azerbaijan and Germany have discussed the development of cooperation in renewable energy during the German-Azerbaijani high-level business dialogue on "Green Transformation" held within the framework of COP29, Azernews reports.

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Azerbaijan Culture Minister Adil Karimli has met with the Director General of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation of Cultural Property (ICCROM) Aruna Francesca Maria Gujral on the sidelines of the COP29, Azernews reports.

Adil Karimli expressed his gratitude to the guest for participating in the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 29)

He pointed out that the Azerbaijani state always pays attention to the protection and restoration of cultural heritage.

Azerbaijan has so far successfully participated in the protection of monuments belonging to a number of religions at the local and international levels, both at the state level and through the Heydar Aliyev Foundation headed by First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva.

Azerbaijan has allocated funds for the reconstruction of the Islamic culture section of the Louvre Museum in Paris, the restoration of the Strasbourg Cathedral, and the repair of the Hall of Philosophers of the Capitoline Museum in Rome.

The Culture Minister also informed the guest about the vandalism and looting carried out against our historical and cultural heritage in the territories of Azerbaijan that have been under the occupation of Armenia for nearly 30 years.

He said that currently, systematic work is being carried out by our state to restore the destroyed and looted monuments.

The ICCROM Director-General expressed his gratitude for the high-level organization of COP29 and the opportunity to meet.

During the conversation, discussions were held on the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and ICCROM, the exchange of experience in the field of protection and restoration of cultural heritage samples, the organization of joint training, seminars and other issues. At the end, the guest was presented with a souvenir.

Note that the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) is an intergovernmental organization created to promote the conservation of all forms of cultural heritage, in every region of the world.

Its mission is to provide Member States with the best tools, knowledge, skills and enabling environment to preserve their cultural heritage in all of its forms, for the benefit of all people. Through its work, ICCROM is contributing to the environmental, social and economic sustainability of communities.

Working on the front lines of conservation, nationally and internationally, and with institutions and professionals on the ground, ICCROM commits to studying and promoting cultural heritage conservation; mobilizing and coordinating expertise to address critical issues of conservation; providing the training and research tools for implementation to strengthen the professional community.

ICCROM is an active partner in the World Heritage Information Network. As an Advisory Body to the World Heritage Committee, it provides expert advice on how to conserve and manage listed properties, and it offers a variety of training opportunities to professionals charged with their care.
18 November 2024 10:22 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

"I am very glad that the COP29 conference is being held in Azerbaijan, one of the post-Soviet countries. This is an excellent opportunity for Central Asian countries to share their climate problems,"Azernews reports, citing Nurzat Abdirasulova the founder and president of Kyrgyzstan's "Unison Group" company, as he told in an interview with an Azerbaijani media outlet.

She added that the Central Asian region is one of the regions sensitive to climate changes and the countries in the region suffer from drought and intense rains. Those countries need significant financial support from the international community.

"Kyrgyzstan is represented here by a large delegation. The conference is organized at a high level, and very interesting pavilions are displayed here.

In addition, transportation is also well organized, to get to the stadium we do not encounter any obstacles. I consider the COP29 conference a great success for Azerbaijan and congratulate Azerbaijan on this occasion."
18 November 2024 11:03 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

"I am proud to present the Baku Declaration on Global Climate Transparency. The declaration underscores our collective commitment to promoting transparency and international cooperation. The declaration will work in parallel with the Baku Transparency Platform," Azernews reports, citing the Ecology and Natural Resources Minister, COP29 Presidenr-designate Mukhtar Babayev within the framework of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

He said at the "round table of ministers on global climate transparency" with the participation of the ministers of the republic.

"Today, I would like to focus on the biennial transparency reports and how the COP29 Presidency supports transparency in climate action. Transparency builds trust and confidence in the international process. It supports our accountability and increases our ambitions for climate action. Azerbaijan's Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) is due to be presented this week. Transparency also helps countries better understand their potential for climate action and identify their needs," M. Babayev added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on Monday that the United States has lifted its restriction on using American-made long-range weapons within Russian territory. This news, however, has raised concerns with Russian lawmakers stating that the US is taking a significant risk with the move.

"These guys, Biden's administration, is trying to escalate the situation to the maximum while they still have power and are still in office," Russia lawmaker Maria Butina told Reuters. Butina was jailed in the United States for 18 months in 2019. She was convicted of attempting to infiltrate U.S. conservative groups and the National Rifle Association to advance Russian political interests around the 2016 election.

"I have a great hope that (President-elect Donald) Trump will overcome this decision if this has been made because they are seriously risking the start of World War Three which is not in anybody's interest."

On Monday, Zelenskyy addressed the reports of the ban lift, first published by The New York Times and The Washington Post, stating, "Such things are not announced; missiles speak for themselves."

The decision marks a shift in U.S. policy, as President Joe Biden had previously expressed concerns that allowing Ukraine to target inside Russia could escalate the conflict and draw NATO further into the war. Zelenskyy has long advocated for removing the ban, citing the need for greater offensive capabilities.

After the US ban was lifted, France also hinted at a similar move, saying that the option was on the table.

"We openly said this was an option that we would consider if it was to allow to strike a target from where Russia is currently aggressing Ukrainian territory. So nothing new on the other side," Jean-Noel Barrot told journalists ahead of an EU ministers meeting in Brussels, according to Reuters.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also signaled that other EU members could also start allowing Ukraine to use arms to strike inside Russia, Reuters reported.

"I've been saying once and again that Ukraine should be able to use the arms we provided to them, in order to not only stop the arrows but also to be able to hit the archers," Borrell said. "I continue believing this is what has to be done. I'm sure we will discuss once again. I hope member states will agree on that."

Meanwhile, analysts suggest that Washington's move may prompt other Western nations to reconsider their own restrictions. Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier said that if any NATO ally makes such a move, it would be considered a declaration of war.
18 November 2024 10:41 (UTC+04:00)

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A total of 11 countries presented biennial transparency reports (BTR) within the framework of COP29 in Baku, Azernews reports, citing Noura Hamladji, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), telling at the "Ministerial Round Table on Global Climate Transparency" with the participation of ministers within the framework of COP29.

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18 November 2024 11:13 (UTC+04:00)

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to the Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq Al Said on the occasion of the National Day of the Sultanate of Oman, Azernews reports.

"Your Majesty,

On behalf of myself and the people of Azerbaijan, I sincerely congratulate you and, through you, your entire people on the occasion of the national holiday of the Sultanate of Oman.

On this festive day, I wish you robust health and happiness, and the friendly people of Oman everlasting peace and prosperity," the letter reads.
18 November 2024 11:23 (UTC+04:00)

On November 18, Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, met with Surangel Whipps, President of the Republic of Palau.

The President of Palau expressed his gratitude to the Azerbaijani leader for the excellent organization of COP29 and the hospitality extended to him. President Surangel Whipps noted that during the visit, they had the opportunity to learn more about Azerbaijan and its culture. He highlighted that this was the first high-level meeting between the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Palau and expressed hope that it would give impetus to the development of bilateral relations.

The President of Palau thanked President Ilham Aliyev and Azerbaijan's Presidency of COP29 for prioritizing the climate change challenges faced by small island states. He emphasized that small island states are directly affected by climate change and face existential threats.

President Ilham Aliyev noted that during Azerbaijan's Presidency, the climate challenges faced by small island states were prioritized, and the Summit specifically dedicated to this issue was held with the participation of small island states. The head of state also mentioned Azerbaijans collaboration with the Commonwealth to implement a special aid program for small island states. The creation of a database system to address their climate challenges and the mobilization of Azerbaijans space capabilities for this purpose were highlighted by President Ilham Aliyev.

The President also emphasized that although negotiations on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement have been ongoing for over a decade, COP29 in Baku marked significant progress. The head of state further described the steps taken toward fully operationalizing the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage as an important milestone.

During the conversation, the Presidents noted the high expectations from around the world, especially from developed countries, regarding new financial targets.

The President of Palau presented keepsakes to the Azerbaijani head of state.
18 November 2024 17:35 (UTC+04:00)

Nazrin Abdul Read more

Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev met with the delegation led by the President of Interpol, Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi, Azernews reports citing the press service of the General Prosecutor's Office.

During the meeting, Kamran Aliyev emphasized the need for further development of mutually beneficial relations between Interpol, one of the largest international organizations, which plays a crucial role in the implementation of justice, and Azerbaijans law enforcement agencies. He also noted that COP29 was organized at the highest level under the direct leadership of President Ilham Aliyev.

Regarding the successful completion of the high-level session titled "Mobilization of Law Enforcement Agencies in the Fight Against Climate Change," which was organized by the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and co-chaired by the Ministry of Interior of the United Arab Emirates within the framework of COP29, the speakers underscored the importance of cooperation among law enforcement agencies for environmental protection.

President of Interpol Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi praised the reforms carried out within Azerbaijan's prosecutor's offices and discussed the prospects for further developing mutually beneficial relations between Interpol and Azerbaijans law enforcement agencies. He emphasized that Azerbaijan's preparations for the prestigious international event COP29 are at the highest level, expressing confidence that the conference will make significant contributions to global efforts. He also mentioned that the high-level session on the mobilization of law enforcement agencies in the fight against climate change, held within COP29, was a great success.

During the meeting, issues related to expanding bilateral relations between Azerbaijans Prosecutor General's Office and Interpol, as well as enhancing the efficiency of measures aimed at the arrest of individuals wanted for crimes and hiding in foreign territories, were also discussed.

The delegation's visit to our country is ongoing.
18 November 2024 14:11 (UTC+04:00)

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Azerbaijan's Ministry of Energy has revealed the natural gas production and export figures for the past 10 months, Azernews reports.

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18 November 2024 13:23 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has confirmed requesting the resignations of several high-ranking officials, Azernews reports, citing Armenian media.

It was reported that Pashinyan acknowledged the move amid widespread discussions in the press and on social media.

"The officials accepted my request with understanding," the Armenian PM stated.

Reports indicate that the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, Karen Andreasyan, and the Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Committee, Sasun Khachatryan, have already stepped down.

Additionally, Armenian media outlets have suggested that several other prominent figures, including Minister of Internal Affairs Vaghe Ghazarian, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan, Chairman of the State Revenue Committee Rustam Badasyan, and Head of the Investigative Committee Argishti Kyaramyan, have also tendered their resignations.
18 November 2024 20:18 (UTC+04:00)

By Alimat Aliyeva

Finland's defense spending is set to rise to the 2% of GDP target required by NATO by the end of this decade, Azernews reports.

"Finland should prepare to allocate about four billion euros more for defense in the late 2020s and early 2030s. This means we must give the Defense Forces the authority to plan and order materials at the 2% GDP level," said Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo on Suomi Radio.

According to Ilta-Sanomat, Finland's defense spending in 2024 is projected to be 2.3% of GDP, or 6.5 billion, largely due to the acquisition of 64 F-35 fighter jets. However, the Ministry of Defense expects spending to begin decreasing from 2024 onwards, dropping to 1.99% of GDP by 2027.

Interestingly, Finland's defense strategy has been undergoing significant changes since joining NATO in April 2023. With the increased military spending, Finland is aiming to modernize its forces and ensure readiness in a rapidly changing security environment.
18 November 2024 21:22 (UTC+04:00)

By Alimat Aliyeva

The American nuclear-powered submarine USS Columbia entered the port of Busan on Monday to replenish supplies and allow the crew to rest. The Los Angeles-class submarine's visit is expected to include "friendly exchanges" between the South Korean side and the American crew during their stay, Azernews reports.

This follows a similar visit in September, when the Virginia-class nuclear submarine USS Vermont also docked in Busan for supplies. At that time, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, remarked that the U.S. Navy submarine would not find safety or shelter on the Korean Peninsula, suggesting that American sailors would not be secure in the region.

The presence of U.S. nuclear submarines in South Korea is seen as a signal of the ongoing military cooperation between the two countries, amid rising tensions in the region. This military exchange underscores the strategic importance of South Korea as a key ally in the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy.
President-elect Donald Trump's education secretary pick could likely be Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice. However, Justice is the same person who has called for the abolition of the department that she might lead.

"Parents are the number one driver of student success. Parents were put in the back seat when it came to their kids' education. We need to put them in the driver's seat, and I know that President Trump believes that, too," Justice said Monday on "Fox & Friends First."

"Ultimately, I believe the Department of Education should be shut down. Since it was created, we have only seen plummeting achievement scores, teachers unions having more influence on our kids' education and more global interference in our kids' education. It's no coincidence that kids in Kenya are learning the same type of comprehensive sex education curriculum that they are in New Jersey, so we absolutely need to stop the waste at the federal Department of Education and put parents back in the driver's seat."

Meanwhile, Donald Trump plans to challenge the state of U.S. higher education by launching a free online university offering bachelor's degrees. He also vows to "deport pro-Hamas radicals," push for safer and "patriotic" campuses, and overhaul the accreditation process to allow alternative educational programs.

However, abolishing the Department of Education would be a difficult task, requiring the approval of 60 senators. Reports suggest a reconciliation bill defending education programs and bureaucratic positions is a more likely alternative.

But, if the department remains, Justice has said that the incoming Trump administration must focus on eliminating Critical Race Theory and address what she calls "transgender insanity" in public schools.

"We want to get back to common sense governance in the United States of America. We want more school choice. Parents have the fundamental right to direct the education of their children. They should have transparency into what their children are learning in school and ultimately have the choice as to where their child is educated," she said, according to Fox News.

"President Trump is a really smart guy. He's made amazing picks so far in his cabinet, and I have no doubt that he will find many ways to accomplish the things that he has promised the American people that he will do."

Speaking to the media in September, Justice said she would be "honored to serve" as Education Secretary.

"I think there's a cultural revolution happening in America, and I think our schools are being used as one of the major battlefields. And so, I'm willing to serve in the next administration; however, I need to because we have got a country to save," she said at the time.
Brooding Horror Flick The Cycle Being Filmed at N. Oregon Coast's Astoria

Published 11/17/24 at 1:45 a.m.

By Andre' Hagestedt, Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Astoria, Oregon)  An indie horror flick is being filmed in Astoria right now, and in some circles it's one of the more awaited movies in almost five years. (Parts of the movie were filmed at Custard King - Oregon Coast Beach Connection photo)

In 2018, Jordan Downey created The Head Hunter, a tiny film by comparison to most, but it won seven awards and was the darling of a few festivals. The artful yet minimalist horror turned heads for its inventiveness, including the fact it was filmed for a mere $30 grand (and grossed under half a million worldwide).

Now, Downey is returning  this time heading to the north Oregon coast with The Cycle, another horror flick. The Cycle snagged Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood, Daredevil) and reportedly a couple other series' stars, with at least the majority being filmed in Astoria.

Astoria is also famous for its part in Tinseltown outings such as The Ring II, Short Circuit, and of course The Goonies.

The Cycle producer Mike Downey (The Big Ugly) is Jordan's older brother: the two originally hail from Ohio.



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Downey told Oregon Coast Beach Connection it's a horror / suspense film with an otherworldly element.

Our film is a suspense thriller but more in the supernatural vein, Downey said by email.

The Cycle has been zipping around the north coast region.

We've filmed all around Astoria from the old Roby's department store to AMCCO, Suomi Hall, Hughes Ransom Mortuary, both Clatsop Community Colleges, Custard King, the old County Jail, all the way to Clatskanie, Downey said. This has been an amazing experience, we love the town and community.



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It reportedly centers around the discovery of a murdered body  some 36 years later after the man went missing. Digging into the mystery, characters uncover a dark past of the victim.

Jordan is again directing, and as with The Head Hunter he penned the script with Kevin Stewart.

Astoria Visitor Center's Regina Wilke said they've been here since September and employed numerous locals and regional talent from around Oregon.

Theyve got a couple weeks left as I understand it, Wilke told Oregon Coast Beach Connection.



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In addition to the paid gigs for residents, the film crew had also put out a call for a large, brooding home.

Could there be a next Goonies house of sorts?

Indeed, there's a bit of buzz in the industry about Downey since The Head Hunter. That one did well on streaming once it hit Shudder and the company is behind the current flick.

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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All Dungeness Crabbing Closed on Part of South Oregon Coast

Published 11/15/24 at 6:30 p.m.

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Port Orford, Oregon)  Late Thursday, Oregon officials closed both commercial and recreational crabbing on a sizable stretch of south Oregon coast: from Cape Blanco to the California border. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) said the usual marine toxin has been found, the same one that's been increasing in frequency in recent years. (Cape Blanco courtesy Manuela Durson Fine Arts)

Recent crab samples indicate levels of domoic acid (a marine biotoxin) are above the safety threshold, ODFW said. The closure includes Dungeness crab and red rock crab harvested from bays and estuaries in this area.

The closure affects areas around Port Orford, Gold Beach and Brookings. Other crabbing hotspots are not affected, such as Bandon, Coos Bay, Newport or Seaside.

In areas where crab harvesting is allowed, it is always advised to eviscerate crabs and remove the guts before cooking. This involves discarding the viscera, internal organs, and gills. Cooking, freezing, or any other treatments do not eliminate toxins.

ODA said due to Oregons precautionary management of biotoxins, crab and shellfish products currently sold in retail markets and restaurants are safe for consumers. Chowing down on seafood in Oregon coast eateries will be just fine.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) will continue testing for shellfish toxins at least twice a month, as tides and weather allow. Reopening an area closed due to biotoxins requires two consecutive tests with results below the closure limit.

There are still some other closures on the coast:

Crabs:

CLOSED Cape Blanco to CA border.

OPEN Cape Blanco to WA border.

NOTE: sport crabbing in the ocean off the Oregon coast is closed through Nov. 30.

Razor clams:

OPEN from the WA border to Cascade Head.

CLOSED from Cascade Head to the CA border.

Mussels:

OPEN coastwide.

Bay clams:

OPEN coastwide.

The biotoxin has definitely made its mark on the Oregon coast in the last decade, increasing in frequency due to warmer waters. Domoic acid has delayed the commercial crabbing season on the west coast many times in recent years.

It's also hit other shellfish sectors hard. Earlier in 2024, 20 people fell severely ill after consuming mussels tainted with PSP. Elevated levels of domoic acid and other biotoxins subsequently led to the comprehensive shutdown of recreational shellfish harvesting along the entire Oregon coast. Even commercial harvesting areas and the two bays on the Washington coast saw closures. It marked the most extensive health-related shellfish shutdown on record.

People should always call the Shellfish Safety Hotline at 1-800-448-2474 before heading out to harvest any shellfish or visit the ODA Recreational Shellfish Biotoxin Closures Webpage.

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Seaside, the Mother of All Oregon Coast Tourism Draws, Displays Curious History In Its Details

Published 11/14/24 at 2:05 a.m.

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Seaside, Oregon)  In many ways, it is the mother of them all on the coast. Seaside is arguably the matriarch of Oregon coastal tourism towns, having started its first big hotel in 1871. It's been the mecca for fun for generations, even if that initial resort was for the rich and filthy rich (it also had a horse race track). (All photos Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

These days, Seaside still has plenty of monster attractions and caters more to a family vibe, kid-friendly in so many aspects. It serves up fun in more ways than the cotton candy. Yet to some that overshadows the place's pristine facets, and Seaside is crammed full of them.

There's so much more than the carnival vibe. Seaside's natural side shines as brightly as any of them.

Sometimes, that's as much about the tiny details than the bigger vistas. Like its big, fat  and phat  beaches (above). Seaside has some of the broadest beaches on the entire coastline, which is strangely due to Man's meddling with the jetties at Astoria. Drastic Changes and Old Looks of Seaside





A good example of all the subtle wonders here is examining the town at dusk, even on a cloudy, wet day. The dim light can do some amazing things, such as above, in this shot of Tillamook Head.

That long and gently meandering Seaside Promenade takes on a more suburban feel once you pass the railings. It's a historical gem and remarkably close to nature, with homes of varying ages and mystique basking in the final rays of sunset. These rays sometimes get interrupted by the wind-worn trees dotting these beaches. Victorian charm and white picket fences blend with a lightly forested atmosphere, all merging with the soft sands and the ocean.





Those final rays create a vivid spectacle at the Seaside Turnaround. Behind it, the moon makes a subtle appearance from behind some of the high-rise accommodations.

Funky Fact: It took another 30 years for its first big oceanfront hotel to be built, in 1900. This was before the Prom existed. History of the Seaside Prom, parts I and II.





A bit further inland, you'll find that the ocean isn't the only captivating body of water. The Necanicum River can also put on quite a show from time to time.

Freaky Fact: ancient tsunamis have actually moved the path of the Necanicum in the past, according to local geologists.

The details here are just as enchanting as the broader vistas. Sometimes, all you need is to glance down and notice a small piece of wood taking on fanciful shapes.

One of Seaside's unique attractions is the swingsets in the sand. It's the only town on the Oregon coast to boast these, thanks to its wide beaches that are far enough from the tide. In winter, the winds toss them around too much, so the city removes them until the weather is more favorable.

Freaky Fact: so much sand gathers on these beaches the city has to occasionally remove it. It would look like Gearhart and its massive dunes if not for that. The Cause of Explosive Growth, Widening of N. Oregon Coast Beaches Last Century

Just how did Seaside, Oregon get its name? That comes from the original resort built in 1871. It was called the Sea-Side House, and that's where founding fathers got the name - not the fact it's by the seaside. Oregon Coast Names Part 2: Central and North Coast History

Winter is not all gloom and rain clouds around here, either. This shot, of the Seaside Turnaround in the middle of December, shows plenty of sun pouring down on this north Oregon coast delight, as the various attractions of this spot are silhouetted and given a kind of heated aura, even in the chill of this cold winter's day.

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From June 2013 to December 2019, internist Kenneth Fishberger, MD, conspired with others to commit healthcare fraud, according to a Nov. 15 news release from the Justice Department.

Dr. Fishberger worked with an executive and a salesperson from a medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial doppler scans to order hundreds of unnecessary scans in exchange for kickbacks.

The scheme involved using false diagnoses to justify the scans, leading to about $891,978 in fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare and other payers. In exchange, Dr. Fishberger received cash kickbacks of about $100 per test.
I think transparency can be about the health insurance structure and what that means when patients have tests and treatments that need prior authorization from their insurance company, said Carla LoPinto-Khoury, MD, a professor of neurology at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Prior authorization is a significant area where physicians have urged for more transparency on payer processes and decision-making. According to Medscapes Theyre Awful and Impede Patient Care: Medscape Physicians and Prior Authorizations Report 2024, 73% of physicians said that they could not learn relatively quickly whether a patients health plan would require a prior authorization for certain treatments or medications. Another 86% said that prior authorizations interfered with a patients care or treatment plan.

Dr. LoPinto-Khoury said that these interferences can often stem from a breakdown in communication, and therefore lack of transparency, between physicians and insurers during the prior authorization process.

The insurance company may deny a test or a treatment, claiming that the doctor did not provide enough information when in fact the doctors office sent all the notes but the fax machines are set to only receive five pages, she said. But as physicians we get these denials all the time and patients are falsely led to believe that their insurers are in fact reading what we send them and when we physicians do speak to medical reviewers  when they do not bounce us around on their phone trees for 30 minutes on purpose  they are not even qualified professional and do not care to engage in any discussion.

A recent survey by the American Medical Association found that 85% of physicians do not see payer-appointed medical reviews as peers at all. The disruption that this creates in patient care creates further lapses in transparency between physicians and their patients.

The patients are led to believe that their physicians are in charge of their care when in reality the health insurers have the final say on what the patient can get, Dr. LoPinto-Khoury said.

Reimbursement rates are another area where physicians desire more transparency, as commercial payers often follow Medicare guidelines for physician reimbursements, but the processes for deciding those reimbursements are often opaque to physicians.

Its almost like there was a very antagonistic relationship when people would [complain] at me, their doctor, about their co-pay for something, Susan Baumgaertel, MD, an internal medicine physician in Seattle, told Beckers. Dr. Baumgaertel practiced at The Polyclinic in Seattle for 25 years, where she also had an ownership stake, before launching her independent telemedicine practice, myMDadvocate.

She frequently encountered patients who expressed frustration about having to pay co-pays in addition to their health insurance premiums. The lack of clarity surrounding how reimbursement rates are set, and the destination of co-payments, often led to friction during billing.

I said [to patients], this has nothing to do with me. I have no control over the fact you have to pay 20 bucks for this visit. That is between you and your insurance company, Dr. Baumgaertel said. They looked at me like I was evil. I dont get 20 bucks from your visit. I felt like, if you get a buck, you know, they would look at me.

This dynamic has created a cycle where patients, frustrated by unexpected charges for services believed to be covered under their insurance, direct their dissatisfaction toward physicians. With limited access to the entities setting reimbursement rates, physicians often become the default target for patients frustrations.
According to the report, TriHealth learned that one of its vendors suffered a data security incident on Oct. 23. The incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access older documents related to For Women, a formerly independent OB-GYN group that TriHealth acquired in 2020.

The unauthorized party did not access TriHealths computer or records created since the acquisition of the group, but an investigation discovered the hackers did access confidential patient information. Breached information may include names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, claims information and medical information.
Now, the system is taking steps to close a series of administrative and clinical services across the state, including Central Vermont Medical Centers Inpatient Psychiatric unit, to comply with orders to cut more than $100 million in revenue, according to a Nov. 15 report from NBC 5.

The Green Mountain Care Board, the governing body of the hospital, has ordered UVMHN to cut $122 million in revenue from Central Vermont Medical Center and the University of Vermont Medical Center to stay within an imposed cap.

The health system has since fought back, filing a motion Oct. 21 with the Green Mountain Care Board to delay an order that the hospital said would penalize it for delivering care to patients in fiscal 2023.

The system alleges that the board has penalized them for providing too much care back in fiscal 2023, meaning they are being forced to reduce revenue from patient care in that same amount this year.

The closure of the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit at CVMC, which saw an average of eight patients a day, was among the biggest changes made to save money, according to the report.

Additional cuts include eliminating $18 million in administrative expenses, reducing the number of patients who stay overnight at the UVMMC from 450 to 400 and eliminating surgical renal transplants.

The cuts will also end UVMHCs staffing and operation of kidney dialysis clinics outside of primary service areas and consolidate some family medicine and rehabilitation clinics.

These cuts will also result in approximately 200 workforce reductions, including employed, temporary and travel staff. Staff cuts are expected to take effect immediately.

These decisions we are being forced to make are painful because there are patients connected to each one of them. I apologize to our patients and to our employee colleagues who will be impacted, Sunny Eappen, president and CEO of the University of Vermont Health Network, told NBC. As a nonprofit academic health system rooted in the rural communities we serve, we know these cuts will affect our friends, our families and our neighbors who need the lifesaving care we provide.

Its an unacceptable decision. UVM Health Network and CVMC management are blaming the Green Mountain Care Board, however, this is the fault of executives and leaders who have failed to plan their budgets accordingly. We are not going to stand by and let this happen, Sue Becker, the grievance chair of the nurses union at CVMC, told the news outlet.

The Green Mountain Care Board alleges that they had no idea the psychiatric unit would be closing as part of budget reduction measures.

The GMCB was not consulted on, and did not approve, these reductions, the group told NBC. The GMCB is reaching out to UVMMC to better understand UVMMCs rationale and how it evaluated alternatives, such as those identified in the GMCBs budget and enforcement orders.
Robert Icsezen, owner, is shown at Fine Turkish Wine, 1909 Dunlavy St., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Houston. He exclusively features Turkish wine. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer

When most people think of wine, they often refer to labels from California, France and Italy. In Houston, Robert Icsezen is trying to turn people on to Turkish wine.

Earlier this year, he opened a shop and tasting room called Fine Turkish Wine in Montrose. He believes it is the only shop in the U.S. that offers exclusively Turkish wine.

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Turkish wine is in the midst of a resurgence. Because Turkey is a Muslim country, in which some abstain from alcohol, it might be surprising that it could be the next wine frontier. In 2013, the country outlawed the advertising of alcoholic products. However, winemakers have been reviving native grapes in the past couple of decades and producing "exceptional wine," according to Icsezen.

A selection of wine is shown at Fine Turkish Wine, 1909 Dunlavy St., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Houston. Owner Robert Icsezen exclusively features Turkish wine. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer

"Islam certainly has a complicated relationship with alcohol, but they always find a way to reconcile it," Icsezen said. "I really think Turkish wine is right at the tip of the sphere of the wine frontier."

In Europe, Turkish wine is picking up traction, and Icsezen wants to be at the forefront of its U.S. momentum. There are multiple reasons Icsezen points to why Turkish wine should be in the spotlight.

For one, Turkey has the perfect climate to grow wine grapes; it is the third-largest producer of table grapes in the world. In his shop, Icsezen has a globe and map on the wall to show customers where Turkish wine is made. He said it helps people see that Turkey is along the same longitude lines as California, Italy and Spain, showing that it is a place meant to make wine.

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A Hittite wine jug is shown at Fine Turkish Wine, 1909 Dunlavy St., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Houston. Owner Robert Icsezen exclusively features Turkish wine. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer

Wine has been produced in the Turkish region for thousands of years. Research suggests that Turkey is one of the first places wine grapes were grown. The Hittite Empire, located in what is modern-day Turkey, was one of the first civilizations to create laws around wine when they ruled in 14th century B.C.E. At Fine Turkish Wine, a replica of one of the first wine vessels ever used is on display.

Icsezen holds Turkish wine dear to his heart. His Turkish father grew up drinking wine with dinner in Izmir. A photo of his father, as well as family mementos, are celebrated on one wall of the wine shop. Icsezen, who was born and raised in Houston, was a lawyer before he started his wine journey three years ago, following his father's passing.

"It connects my Turkish heritage with Houston. I have deep passion for both places and the more I can connect the two, the better," Icsezen said. "And it does it in a very positive because the people who are producing this wine are really interesting, good, progressive people who I think the same people over here would really like, so connecting these communities is really at the heart of it."

Family photos and mementos are displayed at Fine Turkish Wine, 1909 Dunlavy St., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Houston. Owner Robert Icsezen exclusively features Turkish wine. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer

All the wines in the shop are from small estate, family- or women- owned vineyards that are no more than 20 years old, working with vines that have been there for more than 50 years. They all have low-intervention or are natural wines. One of the wineries he is working with searches for old native vines and saves them from being destroyed.

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"Every bottle in here has a story behind it: the wine maker, the winery, the history of it, every glass has something in it that's fun to talk about," Icsezen said.

Turkey is known for medium-bodied red wines, but his shop carries a wide range, from whites to orange to dessert wines. His wines are only available in the U.S. through his shop and the places he sells to, like Vineology in Rice Village. A few Houston restaurants are offering some of his labels, including MF Lobster and Ceviche, Hamsa and Ume.

A selection of wine is shown at Fine Turkish Wine, 1909 Dunlavy St., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Houston. Owner Robert Icsezen exclusively features Turkish wine. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer

Before he opened, he said he didn't really see Turkish wine around Houston, except for some mass-produced brands at Turkish restaurants. He's happy to sell bottles and host tastings in his quaint spot in Montrose, which is open to the public, but he said his primary goal is to reach people through restaurants.

"We have so many amazing restaurants here, so my goal is to have these labels on a menu next to familiar (varieties)," Icsezen said.

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It's been a three-year process to get Turkish wines into restaurants. He first had to get his wine import license from the U.S. government. Then he had to get a permit from the state to sell wine and to be able to hold tastings in the shop. He also had to create relationships with the wine merchants by going to Turkey, tasting the wine and figuring out U.S. pricing. The wines have to be labeled according to U.S. regulations. And then he had to get a logistics company to get the bottles on a boat from Turkey to the U.S., where they go through customs.

He has been part of each stage of the process. He even took classes at Texas Wine School in Houston to further his wine education.

Fine Turkish Wine, 1909 Dunlavy St., is shown Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Houston. Owner Robert Icsezen exclusively features Turkish wine. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer

"I really welcome anyone. If they've never talked about wine in any kind of way, that's fine," Icsezen said. "I wanted to create an atmosphere that's welcoming and sophisticated, but not snooty at all. If you go into a wine shop now and you buy wine based on whether the label looks cool, that's OK, come on in."

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Here are 10 major headlines regarding Optum since Jan. 1:

1. In November, the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group, parent company of Optum, to prevent its planned $3.3 billion acquisition of home health provider Amedisys. The lawsuit alleges that the acquisition would drive up home healthcare prices in 23 states plus Washington, D.C. Optum announced its intent to merge with Baton Rouge, La.-based Amedisys, which employs about 18,000 staff across 522 care centers in 37 states and Washington, D.C., in June 2023

2. A recent audit of Optum revealed it may have violated Mississippi law. Among other findings, the audit uncovered more than 75,000 instances wherein Optum-affiliated pharmacies lowest payments for a prescription drug were higher than at unaffiliated pharmacies, including chain and independent drugstores, over the course of a year.

3. Optum set its sights on acquiring Brentwood, Tenn.-based ASC operator Surgery Partners. Private equity firm TPG is also an interested buyer, along with other PE firms and strategic bidders. The deal is in its early stages and is not confirmed.

4. In October, Pittsburgh-based UPMC and national urgent care provider GoHealth Urgent Care launched a joint venture to oversee operations at selected Optums MedExpress centers across Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia.

5. In September, OptumCare, located in Basking Ridge, N.J., announced plans to lay off 160 employees.

6. In July, Optum announced plans to close clinics in multiple states and lay off 524 employees across California. The California employees will be terminated from Sept. 16 through January 2025 at clinic and administrative office locations in Hayward, Glendora, Montbello, Covina, Pasadena, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Irvine, Beaumont, Redlands, Highland, El Segundo, and Cerritos.

7. In June, Optum called off its plan to acquire financially troubled Steward Health Cares 1,700-physician group. In August, Steward entered into a definitive agreement to sell the group to Nashville, Tenn.-based Rural Healthcare Group, part of private equity firm Kinderhook Industries, for $245 million in cash.

8. Also in June, the company announced that it is shuttering its telehealth business, selling its workers compensation settlement solutions business and closing a clinic in Ohio, laying off 129 employees in the process.

9. In May, Optum announced it would close a Change Healthcare facility in Toledo, Ohio, resulting in the termination of 129 employees located in Ohio or working remotely. The layoffs occurred in three waves from July 15 to Sept. 6.

10. In February Optums Change Healthcare experienced the most significant and consequential cyberattack in American history, crippling financial operations for hospitals, insurers, pharmacies and medical groups nationwide.
According to a Nov. 18 news release, Dr. Tyagi implanted the device on 75-year-old Bonnie Hutton, who had been living with an aortic aneurysm for some time. The aneurysm had worsened as Ms. Hutton developed a bowel blockage, which would typically be treated through a surgical procedure that would involve opening the patients chest and abdomen.

Not every patient is an open operative candidate, so the Tambe device takes a lot of patients who have no option and gives them a minimally invasive one, Dr. Tyagi said in the release. The mortality rate in the clinical trial for this device was zero.

Since the first procedure in June, the system has completed at least four more implantations of the Tambe device.
The Southern Orthopaedic Surgery Center in Montgomery, Ala., will have six operating rooms, two specialized procedure rooms and a surgical robot, according to a Nov. 14 news release from SOS.

The plan is advanced to the State Health Planning and Development Agency to decide whether to issue the Certificate of Need.

The center is expected to open within the next two years if approved by the SHPDA, the release said.
Fort Myers, Fla.-based Lee Health is planning to launch an acute hospital at-home program and expand its remote patient monitoring program.

The health system has partnered with Biofourmis, a technology company offering platforms that support in-home acute care delivery, to support the programs, according to a Nov. 18 news release.

Under the new partnership, Biofourmis will support Lee Health's entire RPM service line and support the launch of a new hospital-at-home program.

Lee Health is a five-hospital system in Southwest Florida. With an average daily census of more than 700 patients, its RPM program is one of the largest in the country and has driven a 50% reduction in 30-day readmission rates for all clinical pathways, according to the release.

CMS approved Lee Health's at-home model in May 2023 at two of its two largest hospitals: Lee Memorial and HealthPark Medical Center.
Developments on X, formerly Twitter, have sparked interest and concern as users submit medical images like X-rays and MRIs to Grok, an AI chatbot introduced by Elon Musk, for potential diagnoses, The New York Times reported Nov. 18.

Mr. Musk has promoted Grok as a tool that, with user input, could improve its diagnostic capabilities over time, offering faster results or even acting as a second opinion. Early feedback is mixed: while some users report accurate insights, others highlight notable errors, such as misidentifying a broken clavicle as a dislocated shoulder. Even some physicians are experimenting with the tool out of curiosity, according to the report.

But, unlike HIPAA-protected platforms used by healthcare providers, data shared with AI chatbots like Grok is not subject to strict federal privacy laws. Experts told the publication that sharing sensitive health information with such platforms could lead to misuse, as it becomes part of a broader online footprint accessible for unintended purposes, such as targeted marketing or discrimination by insurers and employers.

"This is very personal information, and you don't exactly know what Grok is going to do with it," Bradley Malin, PhD, a professor of biomedical informatics at Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University told the publication.

While X's privacy policy states that user data will not be sold to third parties, it does allow data sharing with affiliated companies. X did not respond to The New York Times request for comment.

Experts also cautioned in the report against relying on AI tools that lack the rigorous training and data quality needed for healthcare applications. Misinterpretations could lead to unnecessary tests or treatments, increasing patient burden. Despite these risks, some users upload data under the belief that contributing information could advance AI development in healthcare  a practice dubbed "information altruism."
Miami-based CareMax, a healthcare provider focused on older adults, sought Chapter 11 protection Nov. 17 and has entered into an agreement with Revere Medical to sell its management services organization and core clinic business assets. The transactions are part of a pre-arranged Chapter 11 restructuring plan which is fully supported by the company's secured lenders.

Here are eight things to know:

1. In late October, Dallas-based Steward Health Care, which sought Chapter 11 protection May 6, sold its physician group, Stewardship Health, to Nashville, Tenn.-based Rural Healthcare Group, a primary care provider organization part of Kinderhook Industries. Stewardship Health was rebranded as Revere Health.

2. CareMax is a value-based care-delivery system that operates 46 clinical centers and employs around 1,100 people. In November 2022, CareMax acquired Steward's Medicare value-based care business. It also partnered with Anthem to open 50 medical centers across the U.S. in August 2021.

3. Under the agreement, CareMax will sell Revere Health the Medicare shared savings program part of its MSO business, which supports around 80,000 Medicare beneficiaries, according to a Nov. 17 news release.

4. CareMax plans to wind down the Medicare Advantage and ACO REACH parts of its MSO business as it focuses on the transaction with Revere Medical. The company has also reached a tentative stalking-horse agreement for its operating clinic business assets with a third-party buyer. The buyer and proposed sale terms will be disclosed in the coming days should they finalize an agreement. Should an agreement not be reached, the stalking horse bid will be auctioned.

5. CareMax filed voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, and sought approval to pay employee wages, continue operations and settle critical vendor claims to ensure patient care is not disrupted.

6. Lender support has been secured by the company to hold 100% of its debt obligations, with lenders funding a $30.5 million debtor-in-possession financing facility to ensure operations are maintained during the restructuring process.

7. CareMax expects to complete the financing agreements, restructuring plan and sale transaction process by early 2025.

8. "After a careful review of the companys strategic alternatives, we have determined that the transactions announced today are our best opportunity to protect the long-term value of the CareMax assets and ensure our patients, providers and health plans can continue to rely on the comprehensive, coordinated care we provide. We are deeply appreciative of the outstanding team members across CareMax, whose hard work and commitment to our partners is resolute," Carlos de Solo, CEO of CareMax, said in the release.
Although Bob Glenning, president of the financial and digital technology services division and CFO of Edison, N.J.-based Hackensack Meridian Health, plans to retire in just under a month, his passion to ensure long-term success for the health system has not wavered.

From investments in technology, partnerships and expanded care access, Becker's connected with Mr. Glenning to discuss the health system's bold, over $5 billion capital plan and how the system plans to achieve a 5% operating margin goal in 2025.

Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Question: What do you feel is the largest financial challenge facing the healthcare industry right now? How can we combat it?

Robert Glenning: Healthcare faces a significant challenge in achieving health equity, particularly due to the rising costs of innovative procedures and technology. While these advancements offer improved outcomes, they remain inaccessible to many patients who are uninsured, underinsured or burdened by high-deductible health plans.

The current system, with its proliferation of high-deductible plans, creates a barrier to accessing care. These plans often leave patients with unaffordable out-of-pocket expenses, leading them to avoid seeking necessary treatment. This delay in care not only increases the cost of treatment but also makes positive health outcomes more difficult to achieve.

To address this challenge, the healthcare insurance system requires a major disruption. This disruption should focus on making healthcare more affordable and accessible for all, regardless of their insurance status or financial situation. By removing the financial barriers to care, we can ensure that everyone has the opportunity to receive the treatment they need, leading to better health outcomes and greater health equity.

Q: Does Hackensack Meridian Health have any major partnership or investment plans slated for the rest of 2024 into 2025?

RG: Hackensack Meridian Health is committed to shaping the future of healthcare through strategic partnerships and continued investment. With a comprehensive capital plan exceeding $5 billion over the next five years, we are focused on:

Expanding ambulatory care: We are increasing access to convenient, high-quality care by expanding our network of outpatient facilities and services.

Investing in new technology: We are embracing cutting-edge technologies to enhance patient care, improve efficiency, and drive innovation.

Building strategic partnerships: We are collaborating with leading organizations to deliver comprehensive, coordinated care and advance medical research.

Growing and renovating inpatient infrastructure: We are investing in our hospitals to ensure they remain state-of-the-art and meet the evolving needs of our communities.

Through these initiatives, Hackensack Meridian Health is dedicated to providing the best possible care to our patients and communities, now and for generations to come.

Q: What advice do you have for hospital and health system financial leaders looking to get their margins up?

RG: Every health system faces unique challenges, and there's no single solution that fits all. I believe in taking a long-term approach to managing finances, focusing on achieving a set operating margin to allow for continued capital upgrades and innovation. This means finding ways to disrupt ourselves, seeking out partnerships that bring value, and asking critical questions about our core values and negotiation points.

Q: What is your target operating margin percentage for Hackensack Meridian Health in fiscal 2025? How do you plan to get there?

RG: Hackensack Meridian Health goal is a 5% operating margin target for fiscal 2025. Building upon the groundwork laid in previous years, the health system plans to achieve this ambitious growth goal through strategic partnerships. By aligning strategies with key partners, Hackensack Meridian Health builds upon its solidified position as the premier destination for high-quality care across a broad spectrum of health services, not only in New Jersey but beyond.

Q: What is one piece of advice you've been given that has helped drive your leadership style?

RG: See things as they are, not as you wish them to be. This realistic perspective is crucial for achieving your organization's ideal. Remember, leadership and followership are two sides of the same coin. You cannot lead without followers, and they will only follow if they feel heard and understood.

Effective leadership requires active listening. Pay close attention to what your team members have to say, and ensure they don't lose sight of your vision and direction.
The absence of meaningful healthcare policy through the 2024 election marks a lost opportunity and even more lost time for health system leaders.

Republican Donald Trump will be the 47th U.S. president after securing a second term in the White House. The outcome brings to an end an election cycle in which healthcare bobbed up and down in attention and air time before ultimately sinking in priority to the economy.

In August, it was unclear if the Affordable Care Act was a central issue in Vice President Kamala Harris and Mr. Trump's campaigns or not. Candidates spent a lot of time in semantic debate, namely the meaning of verbs repeal v. replace. By September, Gallup polling revealed a striking consensus: 67% of Americans across party lines believed healthcare wasn't receiving adequate attention in the campaign. This diminished focus marked a shift from previous election cycles, where healthcare reform  particularly the fate of the Affordable Care Act  weighed more heavily in political discourse.

As economic anxiety dominated voter concerns, both candidates missed a big opportunity by failing to frame healthcare as an economic issue.

The Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund, out of which Medicare Part A benefits are paid, is projected to be depleted in 2036  just 12 years from now. In the meantime, physicians are facing a 2.8% cut in pay under the 2025 Medicare physician payment rule  a move the American Medical Association has described as "death by a thousand cuts."

As Medicare payments shrink in effort to shore up a few more years of trust fund solvency (the idiom of arranging deck chairs on the Titanic comes to mind), hospitals and health systems are watching governmental payers continuously eclipse commercial reimbursement in their payer mixes.

Consider the numbers out of world-renowned University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia. When CEO Kevin Mahoney began his time with the organization in 1996, its payer mix was approximately 60% commercial and 40% governmental reimbursement. It has completely flipped today. The six-hospital system with hundreds of outpatient locations is now nearly 63% government paid. ("You could also say 'government underpaid,'" as he put it.)

Particularly troubling is the rapid expansion of Medicare Advantage, which has grown from covering 19% of Medicare beneficiaries in 2007 to 54% in 2024. This privatized version of Medicare, while increasingly popular, faces serious scrutiny for waste and questionable practices. Recent investigations revealed an estimated $7.5 billion in questionable risk-adjustments for 2023, while Senate findings indicate major insurers prioritized profits over patient care through aggressive prior authorization practices, often denying necessary post-acute care services to seniors.

Mr. Trump has put forward that he "will not cut one penny from Medicare." Project 2025, a political vision from the conservative Heritage Foundation for the 47th presidency, calls for making Medicare Advantage plans the default enrollment option for Medicare. Ms. Harris had proposed expanding Medicare to include home care, vision and hearing benefits, which could have made the traditional option more competitive to its MA counterparts.

Meanwhile, hospitals, health systems and urban and rural communities bear the brunt of healthcare's unaddressed systemic pressures. The ongoing closure of rural hospitals and reduction of essential services, especially maternity care, reflects the unsustainability of reimbursement models amid an aging population with approximately 10,000 Americans becoming Medicare-eligible per day.

"While I do think we need to push back on the insurers, I believe the more fundamental issue is that politicians aren't addressing the core problem: the fact that Medicare isn't profitable, and it covers a huge portion of the population," Jim Molloy, executive vice president, CFO and treasurer of 46-hospital Ochsner Health in Baton Rouge, La., said at Becker's CEO + CFO Roundtable Nov. 11. "No one is tackling this problem head-on."

And these challenges are just the financial side of healthcare. As Kevin Smith, CFO of St. Louis-based SSM Health, warns, even more fundamental problems loom: workforce shortages and limited care capacity.

"We have to understand, do we first have the assets to be able to take care of these patients? The resources from a workforce perspective to take care of these patients? Substantial reimbursement to ensure that we're covering the cost of these patients?" Mr. Smith said at Becker's CEO + CFO Roundtable.

"When you start to meld all those things together, we have a problem in the future. How do we start to really think big about that? From our perspective, we need to ensure that we're giving some light and national attention to ensure that we can mitigate some of those issues that are coming on to us like an onset train," Mr. Smith said.

Both presidential candidates missed a crucial opportunity to frame healthcare as the fundamental economic issue it represents. As government payments increasingly dominate hospital revenue streams while failing to cover costs, the sustainability of America's healthcare system hangs in the balance.

The absence of substantive healthcare policy discussion during this election cycle doesn't just represent a failure to address current challenges  it may well compound them in the years ahead.
Melody Trimble, MSN, has been appointed transitional CEO of West Plains, Mo.-based Ozarks Healthcare as the board searches for a permanent leader.

Ms. Trimble most recently served as CEO of St. Francis-Emory Healthcare in Columbus, Ga., according to a Nov. 15 news release shared with Becker's.

Her appointment follows the resignation of Tom Keller, who will become president and CEO of Joplin, Mo.-based Freeman Health System on Dec. 1.

Ozarks Healthcare includes a 114-bed acute care hospital, pharmacies, specialty and family medicine clinics, and home care services.
Greenville, S.C.-based Prisma Health expects its acquisition of Maryville, Tenn.-based Blount Memorial Hospital to close Dec. 1 after receiving approval from the Blount County Commission.

The commissioners gave unanimous approval of the Blount Memorial Hospital lease agreement and related documents, according to a Nov. 14 Prisma Health news release.

Prisma announced plans to acquire the 304-bed community hospital in July. Under the proposed deal, Prisma would commit to investing $364 million in Blount Memorial. It would be Prisma's first hospital in Tennessee.

"This partnership promises to bring expanded resources and innovative care to our community, and we are eager to build a stronger future together," Blount Memorial Hospital Interim CEO Jonathan Smith said in the release.

Prisma President and CEO Mark O'Halla in July described the deal as an "exciting new chapter for Prisma" as healthcare shifts to a multi-region model and the number of systems operating in multiple states rapidly increases.

"Expanding to desirable nearby markets with respected regional hospitals like Blount Memorial strengthens our scale, capabilities, relevance, resources, and attractiveness to top talent and industry partners  all attributes of leading healthcare organizations," Mr. O'Halla said.
Kim Son's 2001 Jefferson location near the downtown Chinatown offers spacious dining and a ballroom photographed Monday afternoon, Jan. 19, 2004, in Houston. Kevin Fujii/Houston Chronicle

Just over a year after shutting down its Stafford location, Kim Sons ownership confirmed that its flagship in East Downtown, 2001 Jefferson, will close sometime next year because of the Interstate 45 expansion project.

They havent given us a date, but we know its coming, said Tao La, who is the chief operating officer of his familys Vietnamese restaurant. Its just a matter of time.

When the Jefferson location closes, Kim Son will be left with a single restaurant along Bellaire in Asiatown, a far cry from its heyday with multiple full-service spaces boasting sprawling banquet rooms, casual spinoff concepts and food court outlets throughout the Houston area.

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For Houstonians, the forthcoming closure of Kim Sons flagship will mark a goodbye to one of the citys most enduring Vietnamese restaurants built on a story of immigrant success.

HOUSTON EATS: The Chronicles top 100 restaurants

The confirmation of Kim Son's latest closing follows a steady stream of announcements from restaurants affected by the I-45 project, a $10 billion-plus project that could span two decades of construction.

Kim Son has been in business in the area bordered by I-45 long before any of those restaurants, bars and cafes.

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When Kim Son opened in 1982, "EaDo" was referred to as Houstons Chinatown. The familys Vietnamese restaurant originally opened on St. Emanuel before moving to a small space on Pease Street, La said.

The flagship restaurant on Jefferson opened in February 1993. The pagoda-like building was a sprawling 20,000 square feet with seating for 350 in the downstairs dining room and banquet rooms upstairs for up to 650 customers. The entry included a water feature with a 16-foot limestone fish pond teeming with goldfish.

Kim Son hosted countless weddings and banquets for decades.

MORE FROM BAO ONG: Michelin strips Kau Ba of Bib Gourmand after discovering the Houston Viet-Cajun restaurant had closed

In honor of the Chinese New Year, performers from Huyen Quang, a Buddist youth association, perform a Lion Dance for good luck at the Kim Son restaurant on Jefferson Wednesday Feb. 9,2005. Dave Rossman/for the chronicle

The business originated in Vietnam, where the family operated Kim Son in Vinh Long, Vietnam, which is about 80 miles south of Saigon.

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By 1980, the La family, headed by matriarch Kim La, her husband and seven children made it to Houston after fleeing Vietnam.

Kim La, who briefly worked at Mais Restaurant, is said to have memorized over 250 recipes passed down from her mother-in-law. As her children learned English, they also worked at convenience stores and collected aluminum cans to make extra cash.

Over the years, the family would establish Kim Son as the successful Vietnamese restaurant in town. The buffet at the Bellaire location draws crowds of regulars as much as those who stop by because they've seen a video on TikTok.

While Houstons newest Asian-owned restaurants open in Asiatown and Katys Asiantown today, the downtown flagship is special to the La family, Tao La said.

But business did slow down at the Jefferson location during the pandemic and never fully recovered.

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The La family, however, continues to grow its catering and a manufacturing side, where they make sriracha and supply restaurants across the country with pho broth.

When the Jefferson location turns of its lights for the final time, Tao La expects his family will gather at the restaurant beforehand.

I dont know how we will feel that day, he said. Our family will probably cry. Its where we grew up.

Depending on the construction work, Tao La said they may open a smaller Kim Son on land they own in the same area where their flagship restaurant has been open for over three decades.

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Primary care physicians at Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's hospitals, both part of Mass General Brigham, are taking steps toward a unionization election.

On Nov. 15, physicians filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board, seeking an election to decide whether to join Doctors Council, SEIU Local 10MD.

At Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's, both based in Boston, physicians cite "burnout" and the "corporatization of medicine" as their reasoning behind the unionization efforts, according to The Boston Globe.

"MGB has relentlessly become more and more corporate in the way they manage their physicians," Michael Barnett, MD, a primary care physician and associate professor of health policy and management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said, according to the publication.

"It's become increasingly clear, with policy decisions that have been made and challenges that have been unaddressed, that we don't have the autonomy and the ability to provide the kind of care that we signed up for."

If the physicians vote in favor of unionization, the bargaining unit would number 400 members, the largest union of attending physicians in Massachusetts, according to Doctors Council.

A Mass General Brigham spokesperson shared the following statement with Becker's:

"Primary care physicians are critical to the health of our patients and community. We know that PCPs across the commonwealth are facing unprecedented volume and stress as a result of a confluence of factors that are not unique to our organization. We share the common goal of offering world-class, comprehensive care for our patients and believe we can achieve this best by working together in direct partnership, rather than through representatives in a process that can lead to conflict and potentially risk the continuity of patient care. We are committed to continuing our dialogue with our PCPs, supporting them and their practices through this challenging time and investing in ways to reduce burden."
Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Sanofi and Bristol Myers Squibb are suing the federal government over the future of their 340B drug rebate plans.

The lawsuits reflect rising tensions among drugmakers, hospitals and the Health Resources and Services Administration, which oversees the 340B program. The program allows hospitals that serve low-income and uninsured populations to purchase outpatient drugs at discounted prices. Drugmakers must participate in the program if they wish to have their products covered under Medicaid and Medicare Part B.

The drugmakers argue their rebate plans will improve program transparency and ensure cost savings are passed onto patients. Meanwhile, hospitals and HRSA contend that the rebate plans violate 340B statute, create additional administrative burdens and threaten some hospitals' financial stability.

Nine key developments in the unfolding legal battle:

1. In August, J&J announced plans to end upfront discounts for two drugs sold to disproportionate-share hospitals under the 340B program, replacing them with a rebate process. The new rebate system would require 340B hospitals to buy its blood thinner Xarelto and anti-inflammatory drug Stelara drugs at commercial prices. Once the drugs are administered, hospitals would need to submit claims data via an online portal to qualify for a rebate.

2. Various healthcare groups, including the American Hospital Association and American Society of Health-System Pharmacies, condemned the plan. The groups argued that the plan violates the 340B statute and would create more financial strain on hospitals, especially safety-net facilities. J&J defended its rebate plan, saying it "will help the 340B program meet its original intent, and better ensure discounts are more directly benefiting vulnerable patients," in an August statement to Advisory Board.

3. J&J ceased implementation of its rebate plan Sept. 30 after facing federal pushback. HRSA said that drug rebates are illegal under the 340B program and warned the drugmaker it could face significant fines or lose its eligibility for Medicaid or Medicare Part B participation if it proceeds with the plan.

4. On Nov. 12, J&J filed a lawsuit against HHS and HRSA. The drugmaker is requesting a federal judge declare its rebate plan legal and block federal authorities from taking any enforcement action against its implementation.

5. Just two days later, Eli Lilly filed a similar lawsuit against the federal government over the denial of its own rebate plan. Under Lilly's plan, 340B hospitals would pay full price for drugs up front and then receive a cash rebate every week. Eli Lilly argues the model would offer hospitals faster payments, improve cash flow for covered entities and increase transparency.

6. On Nov. 22, Sanofi notified 340B entities that it would roll out a new credit model in early 2025. The model would require hospitals to pay for drugs at the wholesaler acquisition cost and then submit purchase and claims data to a third-party tool, which would determine whether to issue a credit based on the difference between the wholesale cost and 340B price.

7. Meanwhile, Bristol Myers Squibb filed a lawsuit against HRSA on Nov. 26, requesting a federal judge regard its own 340B rebate plan as lawful.

8. On Dec. 13, HRSA sent Sanofi a warning letter, urging the drugmaker to halt its rebate model. Sanofi has paused implementation and is challenging HRSA in a federal suit filed Dec. 16.

9. The HRSA declined to comment on the lawsuits.
The California Department of Public Health has confirmed the first known case of Clade I mpox in the U.S., following laboratory testing of a patient who recently traveled from East Africa.

The case, diagnosed in San Mateo County, Calif., is linked to an ongoing outbreak of Clade I mpox in Central and Eastern Africa. While the risk to the general public remains low, health officials are actively monitoring the situation, according to a Nov. 16 CDC news release.

The patient, who has not been identified, was treated at a local medical facility after returning from East Africa and was subsequently released. They have been isolating at home and are not receiving specific treatment for mpox. According to the CDC, the patient's symptoms are improving and the agency has initiated contact tracing efforts to identify anyone who may have been exposed.

Clade 1 mpox has caused significant outbreaks in parts of Africa, with more than 57,000 confirmed or suspected cases and nearly 1,200 deaths this year alone, The New York Times reported. However, this particular subtype has not been circulating in the U.S.
Denise Brooks-Williams stepped into her role as executive vice president and COO of Henry Ford Health on Oct. 1, coinciding with the Detroit-based health system's official launch of its joint venture with Ascension Michigan.

Approximately 50 days into the position, Ms. Brooks-Williams told Becker's she is optimistic about the potential of the joint venture, which encompasses approximately 50,000 employees across more than 550 sites in Michigan under Henry Ford Health.

In an interview, Ms. Brooks-Williams, formerly the executive vice president and CEO of care delivery system operations at Henry Ford Health, shared her top priorities for the first year, her approach to integrating the joint venture, and her vision for how the partnership will advance health equity and access.

Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Question: In your new role as COO, what are your top priorities for the first year, and how do you plan to address them?

Denise Brooks-Williams: My first objective is to meet our new colleagues and ensure that we are establishing culture together. We're really excited because we know that that was one of the things that brought the joint venture together  the great similarities between the Henry Ford Health culture and the Ascension Michigan culture.

The second is looking at what our operating model will be. We're evolving that as a result of the joint venture. So a lot of time is being spent on how we are going to structure ourselves from an operating model perspective. [Next] will be, how are we going to create leadership systems? How are we going to work together?

The last part is ensuring that we're operating efficiently. Looking at where we, Henry Ford and Ascension Michigan, stand with our budgets. Our budget years are not the same. So really looking at how we'll ensure that we have the right data and information to manage and ensure that our quality and safety remains high.

Also, what tools do we have to ensure that we'll be in alignment? We are not right now on the same electronic medical record platform. So some of that is really just putting in structures to ensure that we have line of sight of what's going on.

Q: How will the new joint venture between Henry Ford and Ascension Michigan impact patient care and service delivery across the region?

DBW: Our anticipation is it's going to have a positive impact on both patient care and just overall care delivery in the region. We're coming together. So we know initially that creates access because you are going to be able to pull together two world-class systems and really create an opportunity from the primary care continuum all the way through complex care.

We also know that we can coordinate care well. We have our tertiary and quaternary site, which is our Henry Ford Hospital, which becomes now very easy from a transfer and accessibility perspective to some of the other sites that are joining the system.

And when we are fully integrated, the network will occur over a period of time. It will make the journey very seamless for patients in our community.

Q: What challenges do you anticipate as you lead the integration of operations in the joint venture, and how will you approach them?

DBW: I wouldnt necessarily say challenges, but definitely opportunities. I mentioned that one of the significant investments that we're excited about will be moving our electronic medical record platforms to be the same. We'll be transitioning the legacy Ascension facilities onto the Epic platform, which is the platform Henry Ford currently utilizes.

This is going to honestly facilitate the integration, if you can imagine, because it'll benefit our patients and our care teams by having that one universal platform. So, it's an opportunity. I don't look at it as a challenge, but we will need that to be fully integrated. And so, we anticipate that occurring over the next 18 to 24 months.

Q: How do you see this joint venture advancing Henry Ford's and Ascension Michigan's goals for healthcare equity?

DBW: We're bringing together two systems that have had a significant focus on health equity, and I think the joint venture will just enhance and increase that. We know that it's going to contribute to the wellness of the community. We've already begun, as an example, to bring together our two community health departments to understand what programs already exist and how we can accelerate those.

We also have our population health and value-based care initiatives that are underway, and so we're looking at how those will be able to be aligned. We're not just letting it happen coincidentally. We are continuing to focus on our healthcare equity and access agendas. And because of the strengths in both of the systems as we come together, we believe that it's going to be enhanced.

Q: What considerations or insights would you share with leaders looking at similar initiatives, like a joint venture or M&A strategy, as they plan for 2025?

DBW: If you're looking at your M&A potential in your community, doing it along the lines of strategically  how does it serve the communities that might come together?  is going to be, to me, a much more strategic way to view it than saying just scale for scale's sake.

The work that we do is in service to communities and making sure that we can create access. If we can improve or enhance quality, enhance the complexity of care, as an example, that might be able to be better coordinated. In our instance, bringing together organizations that have like values so that you're able to advance the care even faster.

So definitely, the strategic pillars around why you would come together, I think, would be much more important than just getting bigger. You want to come together where you can create overall value for the communities that are going to be served. And that can be variable. You could be bringing different types of value in those communities, but certainly, it should be strategic in nature  around how you're either going to reduce a certain issue or illness, how you can enhance equity, how you can provide greater integrated services, bring services that are needed in a community to be available  something in that vein. I think it's more helpful than just to say we're going to do it because we want to get bigger.
1. A jury awarded a Texas man, who was left a paraplegic after spine surgery, $6.2 million, according to his lawyers. Mark Silver, MD, performed an elective lumbar spine procedure for Bill Proctor in 2018, the law offices of Laird & McCloskey said in a Feb. 29 news release. Mr. Proctor had surgery to address chronic lower back pain, but Dr. Silver overly stretched or compressed nerves affecting mobility.

2. A man who suffered temporary paralysis after having spine surgery received a $23.87 million verdict. James Spangler had a laminoplasty at WellSpan York (Pa.) Hospital in October 2019. During the procedure his neurosurgeon, Joseph Krzeminski, MD, mistakenly put a screw into the patients spinal cord. A jury awarded the unanimous verdict after an eight-day trial. It is the largest medical malpractice verdict in York Countys history.

3. A patient was awarded $3.16 million in a medical malpractice case involving a spinal surgery from September 2015 that resulted in irreversible nerve damage. In May 2015, Rony Nazarian, MD, a Princeton, N.J.-based orthopedic surgeon. performed the initial surgery on the patient, Jason Rosen, to address a herniated disc. In September 2015, Mr. Rosen underwent a second surgery performed by Harshpal Singh, MD, a Hackensack, N.J.-based orthopedic surgeon, who noted significant damage to the C8 nerve root. The case centered on whether the nerve damage occurred during the first or second surgery.
Farmers from across Northern Ireland are expected to flock to a rally today to oppose the Labour governments changes to inheritance tax.

It comes as one of the worlds most iconic rural brands throws its support behind farmers furious at the new rule changes, saying its essential that we look after the people who feed us.

Ahead of a huge farmer protest expected in London on Tuesday in what is already being dubbed rural Englands revolution, French-based tractor producer Massey Ferguson has become the first international manufacturing firm to weigh into the debate that kicked off in the wake of Labours first Budget where Rachel Reeves imposed a new tax on family farms.

The Ferguson in the manufacturers name is Harry Ferguson, the late Co Down mechanic and inventor renowned for his role in the development of the modern agricultural tractor.

The row has erupted over new taxes for farms worth more than 1m.

Treasury data shows that around three-quarters of farmers will pay nothing in inheritance tax as a result of the controversial changes. However, farmers point to other government figures suggesting 66% of farms are worth more than the 1m threshold at which inheritance tax will now need to be paid.

Massey Fergusons UK, Ireland and Middle East sales promotion manager Lindsay Haddon agreed the company of course held concerns about the impact of the new tax on farmers.

We have a vested interest in seeing family farms continue, generation after generation, after all we wouldnt be here if it wasnt for these guys, Ms Haddon said.

"More than anything though, we all have to eat! And we know, food is precious so we look after the people who feed us.

On Saturday, unhappy farmers gathered with tractors outside the Welsh Labour conference venue in protest. More than 50 vehicles massed near the conference centre in Llandudno on Saturday morning, with campaigners claiming the tractor tax will mean the end of many family farms.

The Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) has called on the agricultural community to stand together in a show of unity at a rally to overturn family farm tax at the Eikon Exhibition Centre today.

UFU president William Irvine said: This is a direct threat to the sustainability of our family farms and the livelihoods of over 24,000 farming families across Northern Ireland.

"This change impacts not only our farm businesses but also the generations who will inherit and care for the land.

"We cannot stand by as these decisions are made without our voices being heard.

National Farmers' Union President Tom Bradshaw yesterday said farmers are feeling "betrayed" about changes to inheritance tax, but made clear that he does not condone halting supplies of food to supermarkets in protest.

He told Sky News: "We have a government saying food security is a critical part of national security, yet they've ripped the rug out from that very industry which is going to invest in food security for the future."

A Treasury spokesperson said: Around 500 claims each year will be impacted and farm-owning couples can pass on up to 3m without paying any inheritance tax  this is a fair and balanced approach.
Downing Street has defended Rachel Reeves record of being straight with the public amid claims the Chancellor has embellished her CV.

Newspapers over the weekend contested Ms Reeves claim in an interview with Stylist magazine from 2021 that she had spent a decade at the Bank of England, when her LinkedIn account described it as a six-year period between 2000 and 2006.
The son-in-law of IRA murder victim Jean McConville has criticised the makers of new drama Say Nothing for not consulting his family before it began streaming on Disney+ last week.
Conroe has renewed its tax abatement policy, but council members were lukewarm about supporting it as a method of recruiting new businesses to the area. The action comes after the city redesignated its technology and industrial parks as tax reinvestment zones. The redesignation, required every five years, allows the city to offer tax abatements to companies interested in coming to the city for development in those areas. Jason Fochtman

Conroe has renewed its tax abatement policy, but council members were lukewarm about supporting it as a method of recruiting new businesses to the area.

The action comes after the city redesignated its technology and industrial parks as tax reinvestment zones. The redesignation, required every five years, allows the city to offer tax abatements to companies interested in coming to the city for development in those areas.

A tax abatement is a local agreement between a taxpayer and a taxing entity that exempts all or part of the increase in the value of the real property and tangible personal property from taxation for a period not to exceed 10 years, according to the Texas Comptrollers website.

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Tax abatements are only available for commercial development and incentivize large companies to develop in the city by not paying taxes for a designated amount of years.

Property tax is a revenue stream for the city.

Councilwoman Marsha Porter said she did not support tax abatements.

I am of the opinion these companies come here because they want to come here, Porter said. So why are we giving them tax abatements?"

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Laura Lea Palmer, deputy director for the Conroe Economic Development Corp., said while Conroe is not using tax abatements, they are common across the nation.

Currently, that is not the preferred method to incentivize companies that we recruit here or companies that are expanding, Palmer said during the councils workshop meeting on Wednesday. But this policy is certainly a needed tool in our toolbox. Its really the most widely know economic development tool across the nation.

Councilman David Hairel, who also serves as the chairman of the Conroe Industrial Development Corp., said not having a policy could discourage companies from locating to Conroe.

We arent using it, we havent used it, Hairel said. We are limiting, to some degree, potential who would want to come and talk to us.

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Conroe isnt the only one moving away from tax abatements. Montgomery County commissioners are focusing more on 381 Agreements, which allow counties to provide incentives specifically for encouraging residential development, to build in their jurisdictions.
Dean McCullough is one of 10 celebs who have entered the jungle

From Antrim to the Australian jungle, NI DJ Dean McCullough has already made an early impression on the launch of years Im A CelebrityGet Me Out Of Here!

The BBC Radio 1 presenter made a dramatic entrance as one of 10 celebrities who began their stint in the Australian bush on Sunday night, as he polished off one of the shows iconic gruesome drinks and proceeded to skydive down to a beach.
Sport

Michael Duffy has the answer as Derry City get better of Sligo Rovers to move off League basement
A property in Belfasts Holyland, an area which currently houses a largely transient population of students (Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye)

Students in Northern Ireland are regularly skipping meals and struggling to pay housing costs, according to a new survey from the NUS-USI.

The national union of students in Northern Ireland revealed that almost half of students surveyed have less than 100 to live on after paying their monthly rent, while more than a third struggle to find the money to keep up with rising rental costs.

NUS-USI president Ben Friel said the findings paint a stark and worrying picture of the student housing crisis in Northern Ireland.

Its simply unacceptable that so many students are struggling to afford basic necessities like food and rent, he added.

Were seeing a generation of students building credit card and loan debts just to keep a roof over their heads.

The lack of affordable accommodation is forcing two-thirds of students to skip meals, and almost one in five students are relying on food banks. These alarming rates of student poverty are not normal; no longer can we accept this as the norm for the student experience.

With student numbers at an all-time high in Belfast, and the expansion of Magee to 10,000 in the pipeline, theres never been a greater need for safe, affordable and secure housing for students.

We will continue working with decision-makers in Stormont and Westminster to bring about rent controls, greater regulation of purpose-built student accommodation, and increased investment in affordable housing options.

The survey revealed that 44% of students have less than 100 per month remaining after paying all their housing costs, with over a third (37%) struggling to pay their rent each month.

Pressures created by housing costs are having a knock-on impact onto student food and fuel insecurity.

Two-thirds of students in Northern Ireland have skipped a meal, half have gone without heating and 19% have needed to use a food bank to survive.

This represents a 12% rise in food bank usage compared with NUS-USI research from October 2023.

Faced with rising levels of student poverty, some students unions have had to set up food pantries, food banks and free food initiatives to provide additional support for students.

The financial strain is leaving two in five students having to rely on financial support from family. The report revealed that more than half (51%) of students needed to take out a credit card or loan.

A street in Belfasts Holyland, an area which currently houses a largely transient population of students (Picture: Philip Magowan / PressEye)

Living with parents or guardians was the most popular living circumstances for students in Northern Ireland, with three in ten (31%) opting to stay at home.

Just over a quarter (26%) live in private rented accommodation shared with roommates.

The situation here is the reverse of wider UK statistics which reveal that 40% of students live in shared private rental accommodation and 18% live with parents.

Student renters in Northern Ireland were also more likely to encounter issues with their housing compared with their UK counterparts: 92% experienced some sort of issue in their accommodation, compared with 84% of students in the rest of the UK. Mould, mildew, heating, pest infestations, plumbing or noise complaints emerged as the most common issues.

Students also highlighted the requirement to provide a rental guarantor as a barrier to quality housing.

Student campaigners have been calling to make it illegal for landlords to require tenants to have a UK-based guarantor who either owns property or earns over a certain amount of money.

The report revealed that securing a rental guarantor can cause a great deal of stress for students accessing housing, with 35% in Northern Ireland claiming to have had difficulty with this process.

Difficulties and stress caused by the guarantor requirement were particularly prevalent among international, cross-border and low-income students, with some students pointing to the lack of family connections in the UK as a barrier to securing rental guarantors.

NUS UK president Amira Campbell said the survey results lay bare what the union sadly already knew.

Students and apprentices across the UK are suffering at the hands of a housing system predicated on exploitation and profit extraction, she said.

We should be ashamed as a society that we are allowing policies like the requirement for a UK-based guarantor to act as a barrier to our most vulnerable students having a safe and secure place to live.

The solutions to this problem are twofold: the Government must include student renters in the Renters Rights Bill to make sure that student renters are given the same protections as everyone else.

Without this measure, dodgy landlords will flock to the student rental sector, making it more and more precarious for tenants.

The second step in solving this crisis is for the Government to urgently reintroduce maintenance grants, uplifted to reflect the true cost of living.

As this data shows, students are quickly being priced out of education.

If the Government want to maintain our world-class education system, they need to make sure students can actually afford to stay in it.
Bobby Singleton is tipped to be the PSNI's new Deputy Chief Constable

Bobby Singleton has been appointed as PSNI Deputy Chief Constable by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The PSNI moved to fill the post after Mark Hamilton confirmed in September that he intended to retire.

Welcoming the Mr Singletons appointment, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said: I very much want to congratulate Bobby on his appointment as the next Deputy Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

"I am personally really delighted to welcome him to his new role. This is great news for the PSNI. Bobby is dedicated to policing in Northern Ireland and he brings a wealth of knowledge, skill, leadership and experience to the job.

"He is already a key member of our leadership team having joined the PSNI in the first intake of recruits after its formation.

"Like myself, I know that Bobby truly understands the importance and responsibility that comes with this role and what a privilege it is to be a part of this organisation. This is a super appointment."

Mr Singleton had applied for the role of Chief Constable after Simon Byrne quit last year, but lost out to Jon Boutcher.

He has been with the PSNI for over two decades, having first joined the PSNI as one of the first student officers in November 2001.

He first came to public attention in 2016 when the PSNI posted a photograph of him to Facebook, accompanied by a caption detailing safety advice for the upcoming Tennants Vital music festival.

The police officer caught the eye of social media users who took to the comments section to praise him for his looks.

After the 2016 Facebook post, former Detective Superintendent Singleton, who officially became Assistant Chief Constable two years ago after serving in the role on a temporary basis, laughed off his newfound hunk status.

Just another day at the office lol, he had tweeted, adding that his fellow officers were ensuring Im kept well grounded.

Between 2014 and 2016 as a superintendent he was responsible for leading community policing services for Belfast.

He was also a firearms and public order commander, leading complex and challenging multi-agency operations.

From April 2016 to May 2019, then a Detective Superintendent, he was the PSNIs lead for drugs, organised crime and the Paramilitary Crime Task Force.

After being promoted to Detective Chief Superintendent, he was appointed head of the PSNIs Legacy Investigation Branch in May 2019 before taking up a role as the head of Headquarters Executive Support in October 2020.

In March 2021, and now Assistant Chief Constable, he was temporarily appointed head of the Community Safety Department, responsible for public protection, crime prevention, criminal justice and custody matters.

In December 2021 he graduated from the Strategic Command Course before being substantively appointed to Assistant Chief Constable by the Northern Ireland Policing Board in January 2022.

Mr Hamilton, who had been second in command since 2020, had been absent from work since a medical procedure a year ago.

Chris Todd had been appointed as temporary deputy in October last year.

The post has a salary of around 195,000-200,000, according to the latest PSNI accounts.

Mr Boutcher added: I also want to take the opportunity to pay tribute to former Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton who retires from policing later this year.

"Mark has spent 30 years of his life working to make the people of Northern Ireland safe. I wish him well for his retirement.

"Additionally, I want to especially thank Chris Todd for undertaking the role as my Temporary Deputy Chief Constable for the past 12 months.

Chriss support has been invaluable to me and the entire team, and his leadership through a number of key challenges, especially the data breach, in the past year has been exceptional.

"It is great news for the PSNI and for Northern Ireland that Chris will remain a key member of the PSNIs senior team working with Bobby and I, and the rest of the team. We are fortunate to have such outstanding people throughout the organisation.

Bobby Singleton is tipped to be the PSNI's new Deputy Chief Constable

News Catch Up: Monday 18th November
SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone said Saoradh are "a group with no mandate that have no role to play when it comes to educating children"

A dissident republican group has been told to get off the backs of communities after it stopped an Irish-medium primary school hosting a PSNI talk on internet safety.

SDLP Mid Ulster MLA Patsy McGlone has said nothing can be more important than keeping children safe online.

Specialist police officers had been due to speak to pupils at Gaelscoil Eoghain in Cookstown on Monday to offer tips on how to protect themselves online.

The event forms part of a wider effort by the PSNI to increase internet awareness among children in the wake of the Alexander McCartney case.

Read more Internet safety talk at NI school pulled over dissident complaints after case of worlds most prolific sex offender

The 26-year-old from Newry was jailed for 20 years earlier this month after being convicted of dozens of online offences, including blackmail, child sex abuse and the manslaughter of Cimarron Thomas.

But the internet safety seminar at Gaelscoil Eoghain, which would have helped protect against this, has been axed following complaints from Saoradh  the political wing of the New IRA.

Mid Ulster MLA Mr McGlone said: If we have learned anything from the coverage of the horrific crimes of Alexander McCartney, its that we need to do more to teach children about the dangers online and to equip them with the tools to keep them safe.

This workshop from the PSNI at Gaelscoil Eoghain could not have been more timely.

Instead of children getting this important lesson, we have now had an intervention from Saoradh, a group with no mandate that have no role to play when it comes to educating children.

They would be better off educating themselves, getting off the backs of communities and abandoning their outdated and futile brand of politics that has been repeatedly reject by people here.

SDLP Cookstown Councillor Kerri Martin said: Its deeply concerning that this group thinks they can interfere in an important initiative like this.

"Any parent that has concerns should be able to raise them with the school, and its sinister that an event intended to keep our children safe has been used in this way.

The PSNI are the experts on matters around online safety and they are best equipped to deliver this workshop and keep our children safe. Nothing is more important than that.

In a message posted to the parents of pupils, school principal Caitriona Ui Dhoibhlin had said: Further to todays email, the internet safety workshop for Rang (class) 7 pupils with the PSNI on Monday has been postponed.

Saoradh had welcomed the event being called off.

Following a number of discussions, Saoradh in conjunction with parents of children that attend Gaelscoil Eoghain penned a letter outlining some of the concerns raised, it said.

It is our view that schools shouldnt be used as a political tool in the ever-changing political landscape, particularly a gaelscoil.

The Irish language has suffered, and continues to suffer, under partition and colonialism and it is not fair or right that a welcome should be given to crown force terrorists that support this system.
Assistant Chief Constable Una Kelly (formerly Jennings) has been suspended from Cheshire Police with immediate effect (Photo: South Yorkshire Police/Facebook)

A former senior PSNI detective has been suspended from her role as Assistant Chief Constable at Cheshire Police with immediate effect following an investigation into what they described as historic matters.

Una Kelly (formerly Jennings) was suspended from her role within the force on Thursday following an ongoing independent investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IPOC).

A spokesperson for Cheshire Police said: This investigation relates to historic matters and does not involve Cheshire Constabulary in any way.

It is understood that Ms Kelly had been one of the applicants for the position of PSNI Deputy Chief Constable. However, it was announced earlier today that Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton had been appointed.

The story was first reported by UTV.

A police officer for over 20 years, Ms Kelly, who was born in a convent in Co Armagh, began her career with the PSNI.

She joined the PSNI having graduated with a Masters in Criminology from Cambridge University following a degree at Queens University in 2000 where she studied law.

Ms Kelly was one of the first Catholics to join the PSNI following its creation in 2001 and attended Thornhill College in Londonderry.

She later worked her way up to Detective Chief Inspector of the Serious Crimes Unit where she was tasked with investigating the murder of fellow police officer Ronan Kerr, who was killed after a bomb was placed under his car near his home in Omagh in 2011.

She left the PSNI to join South Yorkshire Police in 2017 where she became District Commander for Rotherham and received an award recognising her leadership from Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce, who presented her with an Athena Leadership honour as part of their International Women's Day celebrations in 2020.

During her time at South Yorkshire, she was one of only two PIP 4 qualified senior investigating officers - a role held by a small cadre of officers nationally, for use in serial, serious and complex homicides.

In a profile of her by Queens University in 2020, she said she was inspired by the Patten Reforms to join the PSNI.

I was there during a hugely significant time in Northern Irelands history, with our peace accord and the changes to policing sparked by the Patten Reforms. I wanted to be part of that change and I felt a real sense of responsibility  thats why I joined the police," she said.

Assistant Chief Constable Una Kelly (formerly Jennings) has been suspended from Cheshire Police with immediate effect (Photo: South Yorkshire Police/Facebook)

Inside the PSNI Dog Unit
Exclusive | Inga Maria Hauser: New inquest granted over 1988 murder of German backpacker

Family of 18-year-old German backpacker hope to find out truth after long campaign for justice during which victims parents died without knowing who killed their daughter

Inga Maria Hauser

Allison Morris Mon 18 Nov 2024 at 07:00

The 1988 murder of German backpacker Inga Maria Hauser is to be subject to a fresh inquest, with facts about the unsolved cold case to be aired in court for the first time, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal.
Bobby Singleton expected to be appointed to role this week

Bobby Singleton is tipped to be the PSNI's new Deputy Chief Constable

Bobby Singleton is expected to be appointed Deputy Chief Constable.

The PSNI moved to fill the post after Mark Hamilton confirmed in September that he intended to retire.

Mr Singleton first came to public attention in 2016 when the PSNI posted a photograph of him to Facebook, accompanied by a caption detailing safety advice for the upcoming Tennants Vital music festival.

The police officer caught the eye of social media users who took to the comments section to praise him for his looks, labelling him Superintendent Hot Stuff.

After the 2016 Facebook post, former Detective Superintendent Singleton, who officially became Assistant Chief Constable two years ago after serving in the role on a temporary basis, laughed off his newfound hunk status.

Just another day at the office lol, he had tweeted, adding that his fellow officers were ensuring Im kept well grounded.

He then featured on the front of a Valentines card, created by Londonderry company Ferry Clever, in 2022.

Mr Hamilton, who had been second in command since 2020, had been absent from work since a medical procedure a year ago.

Chris Todd had been appointed as temporary deputy in October last year.

The post has a salary of around 195,000-200,000, according to the latest PSNI accounts.

Mr Singleton had applied for the role of Chief Constable after Simon Byrne quit last year, but lost out to Jon Boutcher.

However, he is highly rated and is now expected to be appointed Deputy Chief Constable.

It is understood an announcement could be made by the Policing Board as early as Monday.

Mr Singleton has been in the PSNI for more than two decades, joining as a student officer in November 2001.

Between 2014 and 2016 as a superintendent he was responsible for leading community policing services for Belfast.

He was also a firearms and public order commander, leading complex and challenging multi-agency operations.

From April 2016 to May 2019, then a Detective Superintendent, he was the PSNIs lead for drugs, organised crime and the Paramilitary Crime Task Force.

After being promoted to Detective Chief Superintendent, he was appointed head of the PSNIs Legacy Investigation Branch in May 2019 before taking up a role as the head of Headquarters Executive Support in October 2020.

In March 2021, and now Assistant Chief Constable, he was temporarily appointed head of the Community Safety Department, responsible for public protection, crime prevention, criminal justice and custody matters.
Weather warning for snow and ice has been issued. Stock image

Springer Spaniel Finn enjoys the snow during Storm Eunice in Portstewart in February 2022. Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Snow has been spotted in Northern Ireland as the Met Office has cautioned travel amid ice during yellow weather warning.

In a video shared by Aerial Vision NI, snow showers are seen on the Sperrins mountain range which stretch from Co Tyrone to Co Londonderry.

The first sight of snow comes as a yellow weather warning for snow and ice came into force on Monday afternoon.

The Met Office has warned of the potential for difficult travel conditions as the alert started at 3pm and continues until 10am on Tuesday morning.

Some roads and railways are likely to be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services.

There is the potential for icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths  and the risk of slips and falls.

According to the forecaster outbreaks of rain will arrive from the west during Monday afternoon, turning to sleet and perhaps wet snow at times during the afternoon, evening and first part of the night.

Snow is expected on high ground above 200 to 300 metres, where several cm snowfall is likely, and perhaps 5 to 10 cm across the higher parts of the Sperrins and Mournes.

Settling snow looks unlikely on low ground. However, as skies clear overnight, temperatures will fall widely below freezing with ice forming on untreated surfaces. This will lead to difficult travelling conditions.

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The Met Office warns that you should give yourself extra time for journeys and try and stick to main roads which are likely to be less slippery.

If driving, make sure you have some essentials in your car in the event of any delays (e.g., warm clothing, food, water, a blanket, a torch, ice scraper/de icer, a warning triangle, high visibility vest and an in-car phone charger).

Springer Spaniel Finn enjoys the snow during Storm Eunice in Portstewart in February 2022. Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Woman in Dublin reacts to seeing snow for the first time in her life
The Harris County Criminal Justice Center, 1201 Franklin St., is shown Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Houston. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer

An 18-year-old has been charged with five felonies over a series of sexual assaults on women at north Houston apartment complexes, according to the Harris County District Attorneys office.

The teenager, Jayden Demouchet, was arrested Friday not long after two assaults were reported at an apartment complex in the 300 block of West Little York, prosecutors said.

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Police responded to a 911 call about the fist assault when neighbors alerted them to another womans screams from within the same apartment complex, prosecutors said.

Police tracked Demouchets movement through the apartment complex using security cameras, and he was arrested within 30 minutes of officers arriving on the scene, prosecutors said.

He was charged with five felonies, including aggravated sexual assault, attempted sexual assault and burglary with the intent of a committing a felony.

Demouchet is the second person arrested in connection to sexual assaults at Acres Homes-area apartment complexes since Houston Police made a plea for help on Nov. 8.

Police at the time said there had been at least five similar assaults reported in the same general area since August, and released a video of a person wanted for questioning.

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Last week, police arrested Denzeill Sneed in connection to two of the assaults, but said they were still looking for another suspect.

Demouchet was arrested Friday evening.

Prosecutors said Monday that despite the proximity and timing of the assaults, the two men didnt appear to be acting together.

Its shocking news to hear, Harris County Assistant District Attorney Jay Gordon said Monday. Im hoping right now this is at least putting to rest whats been going on recently.

Demouchet allegedly admitted to committing an assault on Oct. 17 in addition to the two assaults that were reported on Nov. 15.

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Hes also being investigated in connection to reported assaults on Oct. 9 and Oct. 24, but has not been charged in connection to those cases, Gordon told a judge on Monday.

Demouchet is alleged to have committed similar attacks on women in the three cases he was charged over.

On Oct. 17, a woman said she answered a knock at her door only to be forced back inside at gunpoint and then assaulted.

In the first attack on Nov. 15, a woman said she was attacked by a man not wearing pants while she was returning to her apartment after taking out the garbage. Her attacker was chased off by the womans sister, according to prosecutors.

In the second attack, a short time later, a woman said the half-naked man forced his way into her apartment, grabbed her neck and assaulted her.

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Gordon said that Demouchet was caught on video walking through the apartment complex, and admitted to the assaults during a police interview.

Hans Nielsen, Demouchets defense attorney, said he was still reviewing evidence Monday and declined to discuss the charges.

Demouchet has no criminal history, and lives in the Acres Home neighborhood with his grandmother, his defense attorney told a judge Monday during a bail hearing. Prosecutors said there was no apparent connection between him and the women who were attacked.

Demouchet was being held in the Harris County Jail on $1.1 million bond as of Monday afternoon.
Three people have been arrested after police recovered 250,000 worth of Class B drugs in Co Antrim.

One man, aged 41, was arrested after a van he was driving was stopped by police officers in the Prince Charles Way area of Glengormley around 12pm today.

During a search of the vehicle, suspected Class B drugs with a potential street value of 150,000 were located.

While conducting follow up enquiries, police also arrested a 37-year-old man and 32-year-old woman at a hotel in Belfast city centre after suspected Class B drugs worth approximately 105,000 were recovered from their room.

The two men and the woman were arrested on suspicion of drug offences and remain in police custody at this time.

A police spokesperson said: This is a significant amount of drugs removed from our streets as we approach the festive season. We are committed to tackling organised and we will continue to disrupt the activities of this group and others involved in the supply of controlled drugs in our community.

I would encourage anyone who has any information about the use or supply of illegal drugs to contact police on the non-emergency number 101 with any information they have. Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime.

250,000 worth of drugs were seized in Co Antrim

Inside the PSNI Dog Unit
The worlds tallest statue of St Patrick has turned red for 'Week of Witness'.

Bishop Alan McGuckian at the monument in Saul, Co Down.

The 47-foot monument was illuminated with the blessing of the Bishop of Down and Connor to mark the Week of Witness.

World's tallest statue of St Patrick in Co Down turns red in solidarity with persecuted Christians.

The worlds tallest statue of St Patrick has turned red to highlight the plight of those persecuted for their faith with other landmarks including the Colosseum in Rome set to be illuminated for Red Wednesday.

The 47-foot monument at Saul in Co Down, where Irelands patron saint began his mission in 432AD and established his first church, was illuminated with the blessing of the Bishop of Down and Connor to mark the Week of Witness.

Alan McGuckian, whose diocese manages the national shrine in Ireland, visited the statue which towers above the small Slieve Patrick mountain in his red robes following a vigil Mass in nearby St Patricks Roman Catholic Church.

The clergyman told parishioners the move marks a week of solidarity with Christians persecuted around the world to this day.

"Some people think there could be 250 Christians suffering violence even unto death every single day, Bishop McGuckian said.

There are 50 countries in the world where Christians are regularly persecuted and dying often.

So this week you will look up at the mountain and you will see it at night all in red.

"Remember to pray for our brothers and sisters all over the world who at this very moment, this very day, are being persecuted for boasting that Jesus Christ is Lord.

The 47-foot monument was illuminated with the blessing of the Bishop of Down and Connor to mark the Week of Witness.

The Bishop recalled Fr Ragheed Ganni who served in the diocese before being killed in Irag on June 3, 2007 after celebrating Mass alongside three other church leaders.

He disobeyed orders to close the church and insisted on celebrating the Eucharist before being gunned down after refusing to convert to Islam.

Dr McGuckian also referred a Nigerian priest serving in Co. Donegal who regularly receives reports of Christians being killed in his native homeland and pointed to images of 21 Coptic Christians who were kidnapped and killed in Libya by Isis in 2015.

The initiative has been organised by the Catholic charity, Aid to a Church in Need which supports 6,000 vulnerable communities in 140 countries and facilitates the illumination of churches, cathedrals and landmarks around the world  including the Colosseum in Rome which will mark Red Wednesday on November 20.

Knock Shrine in Co. Mayo, and St Peters Cathedral in Belfast are among the Irish sites turning red this week.

The statue of St Patrick was constructed in the 1930s to mark the 1500th anniversary of his arrival in Ireland.

The Bishop, who wore the traditional colour of martyrdom (derived from the Greek word for witness) encouraged all Christians to witness to the truth.

There is a great tradition of Christians saying Jesus Christ is Lord and meaning it very, very seriously, he said.

Because Jesus is their life and they know it is so important.

Please God none of us will have to die for this but it would be wonderful if we were able to live for it.

"Because if our faith is worth dying for it is all the more worth living for.

The worlds tallest statue of St Patrick has turned red for 'Week of Witness'.

Dr McGuckian Christians  including men, women and children  died in their droves  on account of their faith from the very beginning of the Church because they would not stop saying Jesus Christ is Lord.

"And that is part of our story, he added.

As you know, in this place that we live, it was around here that this boast was first heard in Ireland. It was here that Patrick said Jesus Christ is Lord and he invited our ancestors and now us to share in the mission and the boast.

The director of public affairs for Aid to the Church in Need, Ireland, said St Patricks monument was ideal to illuminate as the famous saint was himself persecuted during his mission, while some of his converts were martyred.

Michael Kelly warned against assuming that religious tolerance and freedom are universally recognised and respected in the 21st Century.

"Christians across the globe continue to face varying degrees of persecution, discrimination, and hostility, he said.

"While the nature and intensity of this mistreatment differs from region to region, the phenomenon remains disturbingly widespread, affecting millions of believers in both overt and subtle ways.

Mr Kelly said the Week of Witness is vital for raising awareness as he thanked the sponsors who lit St Patricks monument, including the Diocese of Down and Connor, the parish of Saul, the Knights of St Columbanus (CK12) in Downpatrick and Newcastle, and NIAVAC (Audio Visual Ltd) in Belfast.

Red Wednesday is at the heart of the week, and many parishes have heeded the call to hold special liturgies and prayer vigils for those persecuted, and sadly often forgotten, he added.

The ACN charity was founded in the aftermath of the devastation of World War II and now supports some 6,000 communities in close to 140 countries reaching some of the most marginalised and vulnerable people in the world.
Ukraine must be in the strongest possible position to defend itself, Downing Street has said when asked whether Britain would follow the US in granting Kyiv permission to strike targets in Russia with allied weapons.

Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons to strike sites in Russia after months of pressure from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

No 10 would not be drawn on whether the UK would follow suit, but did not rule out allowing Kyiv to use British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.

The UK Government has been reluctant to give Ukraine permission without a shift in US policy, in part because the missiles use American navigation data.

The outgoing US presidents decision could see long-range missiles used initially in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops have launched an incursion into Russian territory and President Vladimir Putin has bolstered his defences with troops from North Korea.

(PA Graphics)

Downing Street said the UK Government wanted to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position going into the winter to defend its sovereign territory.

The UK will double down to ensure Ukraine is provided with the support that it needs for as long as it needs, a No 10 spokeswoman said, though she refused to say whether that would include allowing Storm Shadow missiles to be fired at targets in Russia.

Our support in Ukraine is ironclad and will continue on that basis. But as to the specifics of the support that we provide  we wont get into speculation or a commentary on operational discussions.

It also remains the case that no war was ever won with one single piece of kit, she said.

Sir Keir Starmer with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden (Nadja Wohlleben/PA)

No 10 also suggested that publicly announcing a change in the UKs position would only serve to benefit Putin during an ongoing illegal war.

Asked if it was fair to say the UK would work in lockstep with the US, the spokeswoman replied: It has always been the case we work closely with our allies and engage to ensure that strategically we are providing the support that Ukraine needs, and we do that in consultation both with Ukraine and with each other as allies.

Mr Zelensky has been lobbying western allies for permission to strike targets in Russian territory, arguing that he is effectively being forced to fight with his hands tied because he cannot hit the bases Mr Putin is using to launch air attacks against his country.

Mr Zelensky said long-range capabilities are a key part of his victory plan.

But Moscow said the move would change the nature of western involvement in the conflict.

According to Russias Tass news agency, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: If such a decision has indeed been formulated and communicated to the Kyiv regime, then of course this is a qualitatively new round of escalation of tensions and a qualitatively new situation in terms of the involvement of the United States in this conflict.

An RAF Tornado with two Storm Shadow missiles (Cpl L Matthews/PA)

Sir Keir Starmer told reporters travelling to the G20 summit in Brazil that support for Ukraine was top of his agenda at the gathering of world leaders.

Mr Biden will be at the summit, while Russia will be represented by foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

The change in the final months of the Biden administration comes as Kyiv and western allies brace for a possible change of US stance under Donald Trump, who has said he could end the war in a day.

The shift in US position could have a greater political than military impact for Ukraines forces, partly due to limited supply, but also because Russian strikes are being launched from beyond the 300km (186-mile) range of the US-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) or the UKs Storm Shadow and its French equivalent Scalp.

Matthew Savill, military sciences director at defence think tank the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said: Many of the best targets  helicopters and glide-bomb armed aircraft attacking Ukrainian cities and troops in the north or in Kursk  have largely moved to air bases outside the range of ATACMS.

This still leaves plenty of opportunities to strike military headquarters and ammunition or supply locations supporting Russian and North Korean troops, but this would be a reduced impact from when the Ukrainians first requested these weapons.

The impact may be more political, albeit with a narrowing window of opportunity.

The Ukrainians need to convince the incoming US administration that they are still worth backing  in President Trumps transactional view, a good investment. And they will want to convince him to link his and US credibility to a winning outcome, not a major compromise that sees the US lose.

A Ministry of Defence intelligence assessment underlined the scale of losses being suffered by the Russians, with 1,498 casualties a day on average in the first 12 days of November, an increase on the most costly month of the war in October when the daily total was 1,354.

Russia will highly likely continue to experience high casualty rates over the remainder of the year with continued dismounted infantry attacks on multiple axes throughout the winter, the assessment said.
US President Joe Bidens decision to allow such weapons to strike targets in Russia could see the missiles used initially in the Kursk region (Nadja Wohlleben/PA)

Joe Biden has given Ukraine permission to use US-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia after months of pressure from Volodymyr Zelensky.

The outgoing US presidents decision could see long-range missiles used initially in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops have launched an incursion into Russian territory and Vladimir Putin has bolstered his defences with troops from North Korea.

Mr Bidens decision could pave the way for the UK to follow suit with the Storm Shadow long-range missiles it supplies to Ukraine.

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The UK Government has been reluctant to give Ukraine permission without a shift in US policy, in part because the missiles use American navigation data.

Here is a guide to which British and American-supplied long-range weapons Ukraine could use to strike Russia.

UK:

 Storm Shadow cruise missiles

In May 2023, the government announced that it would provide Ukraine with long-range Storm Shadow missiles.

(PA Graphics)

The weapon is fired from aircraft and has a range of more than 155 miles, according to the manufacturer. By contrast, the US-supplied Himars missiles currently used by Ukraine only have a range of around 50 miles.

Powered by a turbo-jet engine, the 1,300kg Storm Shadow travels at speeds of more than 600mph, is just over five metres long and has a wingspan of three metres.

After launch, the weapon, equipped with its own navigation system, descends to a low altitude to avoid detection before locking on to its target using an infrared seeker.

On final approach, the missile climbs to a higher altitude to maximise the chances of hitting the target.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has bolstered his defences in Ukraine with troops from North Korea (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

On impact, it penetrates the target before a delayed fuse detonates the main warhead.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge has said he hoped the UK would follow the US lead in granting permission to use Storm Shadow missiles to hit targets in Russia, given Mr Putins continued attacks on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure.

US:

 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) rockets

The ground-launched Army Tactical Missile System, more commonly known as ATACMS, have been used by Ukraine to strike Russian military targets in occupied Ukrainian territory for more than a year.

But the weapons were never granted for use inside Russia  until now.

Produced by US global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin, the missiles carry a 500lb (227kg) class blast fragmentation warhead.

The missiles can reach up to 186 miles (300km) and are difficult to intercept due to their high speed.

The weapons are fitted with a specialised GPS system and carry cluster munitions.

When fired, the clusters open in the air, releasing hundreds of bomblets rather than a single warhead.
Tom Yendell, who was born without arms due to the drug Thalidomide, creates bold, graphic paintings using his mouth and feet (Ian Treherne/PA)

A blind photographer who captured artists with disabilities that paint using their mouths or feet has said he hopes to challenge stereotypical views of disability.

Ian Treherne, 46, known as The Blind Photographer, was born with RP Type 2 Usher Syndrome, a condition that causes both blindness and deafness and sees a 5% pinhole of sight.

He harnesses his disability to create his images, specialising in black-and-white photography that uses light and dark to capture his subjects.

Rob Trent, who was born with arthrogryposis, focuses much of his imagery on serene, water-influenced landscapes in his work (Ian Treherne/PA)

The series of photographs called SHADOWS & SUBSTANCE: The Mouth and Foot Painting Artists Through The Blind Photographers Lens shows artists in their studios using their hands or feet to paint their artworks.

Mr Treherne told the PA news agency it was great to photograph the artists from the UKs Mouth and Foot Painting Artists (MFPA) collective, and that he recognised commonalities between them.

It was like having a silent understanding that we all had disabilities and we are dealing with big obstacles, but I think having that creative trait, were kind of persistent in finding solutions, he said.

That was something that I recognised amongst the five artists, theyd all have quite different personalities but the one thing that they all seem to have was determination, persistence and the love for art.

He said he has learned to overcome challenges and uses a memory map to help him take photographs.

Bazza West became quadriplegic after a car accident aged 19 and uses mouth painting as a form of self-expression (Ian Treherne/PA)

As a photographer with limited eyesight, I just learned how to work around the challenges and the obstacles and find my own solutions to take the portraits, he said.

Thats generally how I work, whether Im photographing or outdoors, is trying to build a memory map of points of the environment to help me build a picture so I can navigate and work around the artist.

At the same time, Ive got an incredible level of curiosity so I get really passionate and excited about finding nooks and crannies so Im always pushing the boundaries of finding new angles to showcase people a bit differently, rather than just a generic portrait.

Artist Rob Trent, 66, was born with arthrogryposis and typically paints landscapes and seascapes using his mouth.

He was photographed by Mr Treherne for the series and told PA: I thought it was incredible. It was really cool to see how we both use our disability to shape what we do.

Ian Treherne was born with a condition that causes both blindness and deafness (Annex/PA)

It doesnt define us, but it helps us create something from a different angle and perspective.

Mr Trent, a member of MFPA, added: Its really great to be part of the community. Weve all got different styles. We share ideas with each other and we meet up when we can.

Its really great to feel part of something like that.

Mr Treherne said he hoped to challenge stereotypes with the series.

When I was growing up, imagery of people with disabilities werent particularly positive, and thats something that I incorporate with my work, to show a better representation and show the misconceptions as well, he said.

Jacky Archer, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1985, turned to painting after losing the use of her limbs in 2002 (Ian Treherne/PA)

It was about changing stereotypical views of disability, capturing how the mouth and foot painting artists in their living and showing what ability they do have and how theyre able to create in the way that they do.

The photography series has been released by the MFPA preceding a physical exhibition in 2025.
Bennington, VT (05201)

Today

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Areas of patchy fog. Low 51F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Areas of patchy fog. Low 51F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
It is getting to be a regular occurrence. The U.S. Treasury runs out of money and warns Congress that they need more. Politicians on both sides strut and crow but delay until the 11th hour only to pass another "continuing resolution" for a few months. Will it ever end?
PITTSFIELD  Morris Lee and his brother have watched their apartments change hands like loose change since moving in three years ago. And each new landlord raises their rent.

Most recently, their rent increased by $350 in the span of a month, Lee said.

They are just two of the citys renters who are struggling to pay soaring rent bills  or find somewhere else to go.

In the past year alone, the typical asking rent for an apartment in Pittsfield rose by 10.3 percent, according to a new report released by MassINC Policy Center. The newly released Gateway Cities Housing Monitor, which MassINC intends to update every year, represents the first report to take stock of the housing market in cities that drive the commonwealths regional economy.

Its the greatest jump in rents in all 26 of the states Gateway Cities, or midsize urban centers that anchor regional economies around the state.

That may be because Pittsfield is the Gateway City with the second-lowest typical asking rents, giving landlords the most room to raise prices.

While the citys typical asking rents remain significantly lower than those in the Barnstable and Boston regions, renters here are carrying housing cost burdens that are almost equivalent to those shouldered by renters in Gateway Cities a few miles outside the capitol, the report found.

Gateway Cities  midsize urban centers, many of them once industrial hubs  have long been a key source of affordably priced housing. Today they are home to nearly two-thirds of the states naturally-occurring affordable housing, houses that are priced lower because of location, not through the contribution of federal or state dollars.

As the housing crunch spreads into the far corners of the state, the affordability of those units are now being threatened.

Of the 26 Gateway Cities, Pittsfield maintains one of the largest shares of naturally-occurring affordable rentals at 50 percent. But rents are climbing fast and without incomes moving in parallel, renters are feeling the burden.

This year, the typical asking rent in Pittsfield ranges from $1,300 to $1,600, a bill that is unaffordable to renters making at or below the citys median renter household income of $39,833.

For renters to afford those rates, the citys median renter household income would need to increase by over $19,300, the report says.

While those asking rates are lower than those in the Barnstable and Boston regions, so are peoples incomes. Its that variance in median incomes that explains why renters in Pittsfield are carrying housing cost burdens almost equivalent to those shouldered by renters close to Boston  when rents rise and incomes dont, cost burdens are created for residents.

Across the state, extremely low-income renters are feeling the greatest need, with the 26 Gateway Cities home to 35,000 more renters than apartments priced affordable to them.

Theyre renters like Morris Lee, who now pays $1,250 for his poor-quality apartment. Thats nearly half of his monthly Social Security check. Utilities are an extra cost.

Im down to one meal a day. Ill cook something and just nibble here and there, Lee said. If youre not making anything and somebody takes $350 from you, thats your transportation, your groceries, your utilities.

There is also a housing shortage among the cities 50,000 middle- and upper-income renters, who could pay significantly more for housing if there were suitable apartments available or move into homeownership if homes were more readily available, the report found.

In Pittsfield, the report estimates there is a 13 percent shortage of affordable apartments for extremely low-income renters and a 10 percent shortage for middle- and upper-income renters.

Rising costs go hand-in-hand with rising demand, and Pittsfield is seeing both.

In 2022, the vacancy rate for rentals in Pittsfield was 2.8 percent, the report found. A healthy vacancy rate, meaning there is a balance between supply and demand, ranges between 5 and 10 percent.

When it comes to affordable homeownership, Pittsfield is doing slightly better, according to the report.

Statewide, the report found that home prices are rising faster than rents in the Gateway Cities. In Pittsfield, looking at last year alone, typical home values rose by 4 percent, while typical asking rents rose by 10.3 percent, according to the report.

The vacancy rate for homes in Pittsfield is 0.6 percent. The healthy vacancy rate is 1.5 percent.
Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province and elsewhere in Saudi Arabia
Octavia Johnson is a general assignment reporter for the Houston Chronicle. Follow her on Bluesky (@octaviajnews.bsky.social), TikTok (@octaviaj_news) and Facebook (Octavia R. Johnson).

Before joining the Chronicle, Octavia worked as a digital content producer at WATE-TV in Knoxville, Tenn., where she became a leader in producing fast-paced, audience-focused content.

Octavia graduated from UNC Pembroke with a bachelor's degree in journalism before earning her master's degree in media and communications at Norfolk State University.
Mickey Llew, a specialised performance marketing agency, has appointed Reagan Moyo as organic search lead at its Cape Town branch.

Moyo, with more than 15 years of SEO experience, will lead the agency's SEO team and develop strategies to enhance its service offering.
CANYON CITY  Grant County Clerk Laurie Cates opened her email on Tuesday, Nov. 12, and saw the same thing county clerks throughout Northeastern Oregon had seen four days earlier  a bomb threat.

The threat was sent in a mass email to most of the county clerks offices in the state late in the afternoon on Friday, Nov. 8, three days after Election Day.

Cates said the email came in at 4:54 p.m. on Friday but the office had closed at noon that day. The Veterans Day holiday meant that Cates didnt see the email until Tuesday, after which she informed Grant County Sheriff Todd McKinley and the Oregon Secretary of States Office  which oversees elections  of the threat.

McKinley told the Eagle that a search of the Grant County Courthouse, where the county clerks office is located, turned up nothing suspicious. The sheriff added that the FBIs Portland office was looking at the source of the email.

Under Oregon law, a bomb threat targeting a public building constitutes first-degree disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.

The Baker, Morrow, Umatilla, Union and Wallowa County clerks offices all reported receiving similar emails in interviews with the Blue Mountain Eagle. An official from the Umatilla County Clerks Office said the police were called and a check of the area revealed no threat to the office.

Officials asked about the language contained in the emails said they could not disclose that information due to the ongoing investigation into the incidents.

Laura Kerns, the communications director for the Oregon Secretary of States Office, said most counties in Oregon received bomb threats via email on the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 8, and that those threats were referred to law enforcement.

When asked if the threats were connected to the recent general election, Kerns said any thoughts about a motive are entirely speculative at this point.

As there is an ongoing investigation at this time, I cant comment further, she said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations Portland public affairs office said it was aware of the threats.

The FBI is aware of bomb threats emailed to election offices in Oregon, officials said. None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far. Election integrity is among the FBIs highest priorities. We will continue to work closely with our state and local law enforcement partners to respond to any threats to election officials and to protect our communities.

Tips about suspicious activity can be reported to local law enforcement or submitted to the FBI at 800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or online at tips.fbi.gov.

Bomb threats against polling places were reported in several states on Election Day, and a ballot box in Portland and two others in Vancouver, Washington, were targeted with incendiary devices in the days leading up to the election.

A previous version of this story did not have the response of the FBIs Portland office to the threats.


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Breaking news Houston Chronicle

A dispatcher with the Spring Branch ISD Police Department was found fatally shot Friday morning and authorities later arrested his nephew in connection with his death, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

Around 7 a.m., deputies found Jose Torres fatally shot inside his home in the 12000 block of Mallard Stream Court, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said in a Facebook post.

The 37-year-old's nephew, Antonio Guzman, was arrested at his home in the 7200 block of Fairbanks North Houston and accused of allegedly fatally shooting his uncle, Gonzalez said.

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Gonzalez said Guzman was charged with murder in connection with Torres's death; he was being held in the Harris County Jail.
China, U.S. hold political dialogue in Shenzhen

Xinhua) 09:59, November 18, 2024

SHENZHEN, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-China Political Dialogue 2024 was held in Shenzhen on Sunday, with the two sides having candid, profound and constructive communications under the theme of "Cooperation and Challenge under New Circumstances: The Path Forward for China-U.S. Relations."

Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, attended the dialogue and delivered a key speech.

The two sides agreed that a stable, healthy and sustainable China-U.S. relationship serves the common interests of both countries and is also the common expectation of the international community.

It is also their common belief that China and the United States should maintain contact and communication, properly manage differences, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and shoulder their responsibilities as major countries in promoting world peace and development.

They also expressed the belief that with multi-dimensional and multi-faceted characteristics, the China-U.S. relationship faces many uncertainties, but at the same time has strong resilience.

The two sides agreed to continue their political dialogue.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
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.
Abbott has opened a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Kilkenny with a ceremony attended by the Taoiseach, Simon Harris and Abbott chairman and chief executive officer, Robert Ford.

The site is a global manufacturing centre of excellence for Abbotts diabetes care business and will employ more than 800 people.

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The Kilkenny facility is part of a 440 million investment in Ireland, which also includes a significant expansion of the companys Donegal site, where a further 200 jobs are being created.

The new 30,000-square meter Kilkenny facility is producing FreeStyle Libre 3 sensors, the worlds smallest sensors and latest generation in Abbotts world-leading continuous glucose monitoring portfolio for people living with diabetes.

They said the Kilkenny facility was built with sustainability in mind. The site is fully electric, powered by six air-to-water heat pumps, has nearly 600 solar panels on the roof and features tanks for collecting rainwater to use onsite.

Demonstrating its further commitment to Ireland, Abbott is announcing a new $100,000 (95,000) grant to The Ireland Funds.

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The grant, which will be run by The Funds scholarship wing, No Mind Left Behind, will fund three 2024 Leaving Certificate graduates, enabling them to take up third-level education.

The scholarship recipients are all from local DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) schools including Colaiste Mhuire, Grennan College and Castlecomer Community School.

All students are pursuing their education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects, which aligns with Abbotts drive to support more young people into STEM careers.

Outside Ireland, Abbott is expanding its manufacturing capacity across Europe with a further 85 million (101 million) investment in its Witney facility in Oxfordshire, UK.

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Speaking at the event, Taoiseach, Simon Harris said, "Abbott, which has been in Ireland since 1946, is one of the longest-established global companies and largest employers in our country.

"This latest investment is a further vote of confidence in Ireland as a location for world-class advanced manufacturing and healthcare businesses. With the opening of this new site, Ireland is now at the global centre of diabetes care."

Speaking about the investment, Robert Ford, chairman and chief executive of Abbott said: "This is our latest commitment to providing innovative care and supporting people with diabetes to live healthier lives.

"The state-of-the-art Kilkenny facility will have the highest production of Libre sensors in the world to help meet the growing global demand for our world-leading FreeStyle Libre portfolio.

"Ireland plays a crucial role in helping Abbott deliver on our purpose, with 10 sites across all four provinces supporting our work in diagnostics, medical devices and nutrition."
Engaging with viral social media trends is not the key to youth engagement in the upcoming election.

This is the view of the director of policy and advocacy of the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), Kathryn Walsh, who said, if parties and general election candidates are serious about youth engagement and representation, they need to move beyond "tokenistic gestures and platitudes".

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"Channelling 'what about young people' in press releases or speeches is not enough. Genuine engagement, listening and hearing young people, youth organisations, and youth workers is critical," she said.

"Manifestos and political strategies must set out clear priorities for young people and actions to be championed in the next programme for government.

"We know housing, cost of living, employment, transport and education are important issues for young people and these must be addressed."

The 'State of our Young Nation: A report into the lives of Irish 18-29-year-olds' results earlier this year showed the most pressing concerns for young people in Ireland are housing (67 per cent) and the cost of living (62 per cent).

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The report also showed that over half of young people (52 per cent) live with their parents, with financial constraints being a primary reason, and this figure rose to 74 per cent amongst 18 to 22-year-olds.

When it comes to transport, Walsh said the NYCI welcomed the extension of the young adult Leap Card until the end of 2025 that was announced in Budget 2025, but said young people have made it clear that transport remains a major concern.

"While the extension is positive, NYCI echoes the calls for free public transport for young people as a long-term solution to ease the cost-of-living crisis," she said.

"Transport costs are a significant burden on young people, particularly those in education and lower-paid jobs. This would have been the perfect opportunity to reduce costs for students, especially those who are commuting, because they cannot find affordable, safe and accessible accommodation near their campus.

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"We need to see more than temporary measures  young people need ongoing, sustainable support to ensure access to affordable transport."

Opportunities for young people

Walsh said Ireland offers strong educational opportunities and a vibrant cultural scene, which are highly valued by young people.

However, the high cost of living and housing issues significantly impact the overall quality of life.

"Many young people feel underpaid and undervalued in their jobs. Despite these challenges, there is a strong sense of community and pride in Irish culture," she said.

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Walsh said Budget 2025 failed to address income adequacy for young people.

With six in 10 of 18-29-year-olds citing rising costs as a top concern, failure to deal with lower rates of Jobseekers Allowance for under 25s is a missed opportunity, she said.

"These punitive rates mean young people are not receiving an adequate income to survive with rising costs.

"Equalisation of Jobseekers Allowance in Budget 2025 would have been a positive measure to support some of those young people furthest behind with significant cost of living challenges."

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On education, Walsh said "one-off measures are not enough".

"NYCI acknowledges the 1,000 reduction in college fees and a similar one-off reduction for apprenticeships, but these are short-term solutions that do not address the deeper financial challenges faced by students.

"Previous research from the Higher Education Authority shows that one in three students are facing serious financial difficulties, and this budget offers little in the way of ongoing support."

Walsh said the Government failed to mention student accommodation at a time when there are many students staying in "unsafe, inaccessible, and overpriced housing across the country".

"The increase in the renters' credit was good, but it doesn't go far enough to give students the supports that they need."
Ten party leaders are taking part in the first televised leaders debate of the election campaign.

RTE is hosting the debate between Fine Gael's Simon Harris, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, Green Party leader Roderic OGorman, Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald, Labour leader Ivana Bacik, People Before Profits Richard Boyd Barrett, Independent Irelands Michael Collins, Aontu leader Peadar Toibin, and Joan Collins of Right to Change.

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The Social Democrats deputy leader Cian OCallaghan is stepping in for leader Holly Cairns, who is due to give birth this week.

Journalist Katie Hannon drew names randomly to decide which podiums the leaders are using in the studio. RTE said the debate between the 10 party leaders would be the "largest-ever" to take place on Irish television.

Tonight we host a 10-person leaders' debate, covering the key issues of the #Election24 campaign.



Here is the draw for where each person will be standing in the studio.



The debate begins at 9.35pm on @RTEOne.#rteupfront pic.twitter.com/IH9gE7YJa0  Upfront with Katie Hannon (@RTEUpfront) November 18, 2024

Speaking ahead of the debate, Mr Harris said: Theres not nearly enough focus being paid in this election debate to the economy. I personally think there should be a debate scheduled on the economy.

Theres lots of discussions about how to spend money, not nearly enough discussion in relation to the economy.

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Asked whether Fine Gael was trying to give out policies in their manifesto for everyone in the audience, Mr Harris said not at all.

Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael, Simon Harris, arrives for the election leaders' debate at RTE. Photo: Niall Carson/PA

Tanaiste and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said he hoped the debate would involve a focused discussion on housing.

He also aimed criticism at Sinn Fein for failing to publish its manifesto ahead of the debate.

Hopefully we can debate substance and the basis of our manifestos, those of us that have published manifestos. Its disappointing that other parties havent in advance of a national debate tonight, but Im looking forward to it, he told reporters arriving at RTE.

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Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald rebuffed criticism from Fine Gael and Fianna Fail over the fact her party has not published its manifesto prior to tonights TV event.

I think much of that criticism was coming from people who actually were looking to cog our homework and steal our policies, she said. I know that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so one can only be flattered by the attentions of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail but they really should go and get some ideas of their own really, you know.

And we will publish our manifesto tomorrow morning. Youll know that weve spent now five months publishing very, very detailed work in the areas of housing, and health, and childcare, immigration and international protection, mental health, disability. Weve done a huge amount of work, and we look forward to publishing the manifesto tomorrow. Youll all get to see the plan there.

Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald arrives at RTE studios in Dublin. Photo: Niall Carson/PA

Green Party leader Roderic OGorman said he would retain his seat as he arrived at RTE headquarters for the first televised debate of the election.

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Im confident of retaining my seat. Its always a battle in Dublin West, but I look forward to holding that seat and proving [political commentator and former Fine Gael minister] Ivan [Yates] wrong.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik and Social Democrats deputy leader Cian OCallaghan have both called the rows between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael in recent days a phony war on their way into RTEs TV debate.

I think that until now, the first week of the election campaign has been dominated by a sort of contrived conflict, a scripted scrap between two parties that have, in fact, been governing together for the best part of a decade, Ms Bacik said.

Ivana Bacik of the Labour Party arrives for the debate. Photo: Niall Carson/PA

I think thats been somewhat disrespectful to many voters. Certainly what Im hearing on doors is people feeling rather frustrated and indeed irritated by the phony war thats gone on.

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Mr OCallaghan said: They are now for these few weeks, pretending to be loggerheads with each other. So I think tonight is an opportunity for us to actually discuss some of the real issues facing people in this country.

Aontu leader Peadar Toibin said there has been a high octane sugar-rush of promises and believed the leaders' debate will change the dynamic of the election.

One of the reasons why this election has been so flat at the moment is there has been very little exchange of real ideas, he said ahead of the debate. A lot of the election campaigning seems to be out of a marketing box, literally high-octane sugar-rush promises etc, just to kind of befuddle people and what we actually need is a discussion on where this country is going.

Joan Collins of Right To Change said similar, arguing that she wanted to change the course of the discussion about fundamental issues in housing and health rather than Fine Gael and Fianna Fails goodies for everybody.

Asked about whether it would be hard to get a hearing in a debate with nine other people, she said: It will but Ill fight my corner.

People Before Profit leader Richard Boyd Barrett said that people are demoralised at the idea of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael re-entering government again.

Independent Ireland leader Michael Collins said they understand if they go into a coalition government, were not going to get everything across the line.

I know that were not. But if theyre not going to work with us to create solutions for to make lives easy for these people? Well, were off that table. We are going to be the opposition.

Election 2024 Irish election poll tracker: Fianna Fail takes nar... Read More

The debate is taking place in the second week of a short, three-week general election campaign.

More than 680 general election candidates are running for the Dail across the States 43 constituencies.

The deadline for nominations passed at the weekend and returning officers have now published the final list of candidates in each area.

All parties bar Sinn Fein and the Social Democrats have published their general election manifestos, making pledges on housing, childcare and on how to spend the 14 billion Apple tax money.
The Irish unit of online accommodation rental service, Airbnb has set aside $1.002 billion (950 million) to deal with tax investigations across the countries the company and its subsidiaries operate in.

This is revealed in new accounts filed by the Dublin-based Airbnb Ireland UC which show that operating profits last year increased by 24 per cent to $118,750,000 (112,318,218).

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The unit generates substantially all of its revenues from facilitating guest stays at accommodations offered by hosts on Airbnbs online marketplace for users outside of the United States.

The accounts for Airbnb Ireland UC show that operating profits increased after revenues surged by $909,000,000 (859,979,410) from $4.199 billion to $5.1 billion (4.8 billion) last year.

The $5.1 billion revenues generated by the Dublin-based unit represent 51 per cent of the firms global revenues of $9.9 billion in 2023.

The Irish unit owns Airbnb's Italian subsidiary and last December, Airbnb Ireland UC made a $621m (576 million) tax settlement concerning a 2017/2021 audit by the Italian tax authorities over the firms obligations to withhold and remit host income tax, including tax, interest and penalties.

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A note attached to the accounts states that the 2022 and 2023 tax audit periods by the Italian Revenue Agency remain open and the note states that the company commenced settlement discussions with the agency in the second quarter of this year.

The accounts show that the Irish unit made a $1 billion withholding tax provision last year and after the December $621 million settlement, there remained $380.85 million in place at year end to deal with the Italian tax liability from 2023 and 2022 and other liabilities that may arise.

The directors state that in 2023, revenue grew by 22 per cent and the growth in revenues demonstrated the continued strong travel demand.

Pre-tax profits did decrease by 24 per cent from $98.44 million to $75.05 million and this was due to the company recording a $50.44 million expense arising from a $48 million foreign exchange loss and another unspecified expenses of $2.4 million.

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The company did record a post tax loss of $18.68 million and this followed the company incurring a corporation tax charge of $93.68 million which was a multiple of the $15.6 million corporation tax charge for 2022.

The 2023 corporation tax charge was made up of an Irish corporation tax charge of $46.09 million and foreign corporation tax charge of $47.4 million.

The bulk of the Irish corporation tax charge related to expenses not deductible for tax purposes of $36.36 million.

The Irish-based firms cost of sales declined by 10 per cent from $3.26 billion to $2.9 billion as administration expenses more than doubled from $843.7 million to $2 billion.

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Airbnb set up its European HQ in Dublin in 2013 and numbers employed by the Irish-based firm increased from 380 to 391 as staff costs rose from $56.48 million to $59.89 million.

The wage and salary bill of $41.3 million and shared-based payments of $12.92m add to a combined $54.22 million and average pay for the 391 workers works out at $138,693.

Pay to directors last year increased from $1.44 million to $1.67 million largely made up of $667,000 in emoluments and $985,000 in benefits under long term incentives scheme.

In March 2023, the company sublet a portion of its Dublin office space and this followed the firm reviewing its real estate lease arrangements.

Business Abbott announces new manufacturing facility in Kil... Read More

The review came after the company adopted in 2022 a Live and Work Anywhere policy which permits the majority of employees to work remotely.

The profit last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of $2.14 million.

At the end of December last, AirBnb Ireland UC had shareholder funds of $51.27 million. The companys cash funds fell sharply from $251.39 million to $42.03 million.

Airbnb was established in 2007 when two hosts' welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5n hosts who have welcomed over 2bn guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe.
An Bord Pleanala want to appeal against the High Courts overturning of its refusal of permission for the proposed Shannon liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Co Kerry.

A decision in a judicial review case can only be appealed to the Court of Appeal if permitted by the High Court.

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Mr Justice Richard Humphreys quashed An Bord Pleanalas decision last September. He proposed ordering the board to reconsider the planning application for a power plant, battery energy storage system and regasification unit on the Shannon estuary near Ballylongford.

In October 2023, the board refused to approve the project pending completion of the governments review of the security of energy supply to 2030.

It found the proposal was contrary to government policy and therefore contrary to the proper planning and development of the area.

The 2020 programme for government stated the government did not believe it makes sense to develop LNG gas import terminals importing fracked gas.

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The judges ruling, which came in response to a challenge by the Shannon LNG developer, noted later developments included the March 2022 Versailles declaration by EU heads of state and government, including the Taoiseach.

The European Council, including Ireland, unanimously decided to work together on common purchase of gas, LNG and hydrogen.

It appeared the parties agreed that government policy did not amount to a moratorium on LNG facilities, he said, adding that the board must have regard to a government policy document but is legally entitled to depart from it.

He found the board made a few errors, including failing to have regard to the 2023 national risk assessment that recognised a lack of diversity of energy supply sources and storage is a risk for security of supply.

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On Monday, the High Court heard An Bord Pleanala intend to apply for a certificate to appeal against the judgement.

Mr Justice Humphreys questioned whether the application should be paused for a period, given there are a lot of moving parts affecting the issues in the case.

From the Governments perspective, there are important pieces of policy to be balanced, he said. He could also see why developer Shannon LNG would want to progress the matter as it obviously wants to get on with developing its project.

A court decision on a potential appeal is a year away, he said, adding: I could be wrong, but I would have thought bringing clarity to this would have been a first 100 days kind of a decision.

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Ireland Four men arrested in connection with Dublin riots,... Read More

The parties lawyers all consented to an adjournment of one week so they can take instructions from their clients regarding their preferred approach.

In his decision of last September, the judge observed that it would be desirable to have an actual conclusion to the review of energy security and gas supply policy, which has been ongoing for some 2 and a half years.

The State had tried to attribute the delay to Russias invasion of Ukraine but that should be a reason to speed matters up, not slow them down, he said.

Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan recently said it might make more sense to invest further in solar, interconnection and battery storage of electricity than to put the money into LNG. Analysis on this issue would be completed in the coming months, the judge said.
A man who carried out a vicious assault on two American tourists in their late 60s in the elevator of a Dublin hotel, threatening to rape the woman and kill her husband, has been jailed for two years.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Sean Dunne (26) pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing harm against a man and woman on April 7th, 2023, at the Ashling Hotel, Parkgate Street, Dublin.

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Dunne, of St Catherines Foyer, Marrowbone Lane, Dublin, has 10 previous convictions for offences including threatening and abusive behaviour, breach of a barring order, and criminal damage.

Ms Justice Sarah Berkeley described it as a vicious assault on a married couple who were visiting from the US.

She sentenced Dunne to two-and-a-half years with the final six months suspended and backdated it to April 2023 for time spent in custody.

Garda Stephen Lawlor told Michael Horrigan BL, prosecuting, that he was on mobile patrol on the night in question. He received a call about an alleged assault just after 9pm.

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When he arrived at the hotel, he saw one man, who was later identified as Dunne, being restrained on the corridor floor. He also noted blood on the carpet.

The court heard that Dunne was arrested and cautioned at the scene and placed in a garda van. Gardai spoke with both injured parties, an American couple aged in their sixties. They said they had returned to the hotel after eating dinner locally.

They went to the hotel bar and ordered a drink before getting into the lift. Dunne also entered the elevator.

Gda Lawlor said Dunne told the woman that he was going to rape her and kill him, indicating her husband. He then struck the woman in the mouth and began to attack her husband. The woman pressed the panic button.

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When the door of the elevator opened, the woman screamed for help, and two others came to their assistance.

The court heard that Dunne was still attacking the man, and there was blood everywhere. As Dunne was being subdued by onlookers, he continued to say that he was going to kill the man. The man fell to his knees and was shaking.

The couple received treatment at the scene from the emergency services but did not require hospital treatment.

The woman told gardai that this was an unprovoked attack. The court heard that this was the couples last night in Ireland, and they returned to the United States the following day. Images of the injuries sustained by both injured parties were handed to the court.

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Dunne was interviewed but denied that he assaulted either of the injured parties. He has been in custody since April 2023. Dunne took a trial date but pleaded in advance of his trial.

Gda Lawlor agreed with defending counsel that this was a frenzied attack and that Dunne had not known the couple.

The garda agreed with counsel that Dunne exhibited signs of someone going through a psychotic break and that he suffers from schizophrenia, which was diagnosed in 2020.

The court heard that Dunne had been homeless and turned to addictive substances. Since he went into custody, he has been doing very well, and his mental health has improved significantly.

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Dunne is currently on medication. He is off all addictive substances and is tested regularly in prison.

On the last hearing date in June, Judge Berkeley had ordered the probation services to carry out a report and adjourned the case for sentencing.

Passing sentence, Judge Berkeley said the victims were in their late 60s and much older than the accused.

The judge noted Dunne had been diagnosed with schizophrenia but also chose to use illicit substances.

She placed the offending in the middle upper range but took account of his guilty plea.

The judge said she was imposing two-and-a-half years but would suspend the final six months and ordered him to engage with probation services.

Ireland Man jailed for 17 years for rape of wife and two d... Read More

I have a real concern in relation to this man, said the judge who noted he had a history of not taking his medication and of using illicit substances.

Dunne who has been in custody since April 2023 will have served most of his detention and is shortly due for release.

The judge also ordered he undergo 18 months post-release supervision and to follow all recommendations and advice in relation to treatment.

He is also to follow all recommendations of the probation services and keep them informed in relation to his contact details and whereabouts.
The Mater Hospital warned of the risk of a catastrophic technical failure of its computer systems after an IT glitch caused chaos during the summer.

The hospital was hit by a failure of its patient record computer system in July, which led to the cancellation of surgeries and a plea to the public not to attend its emergency department.

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A report prepared in the aftermath said the hospitals PatientCare records system was beyond end of life with no technical support available for critical elements.

It said: Services were affected for the entirety of the outage; this included an unknown level of harm to the patients.

No assurance can be given that [the] system will not fail at any point into the future. Furthermore, if the failure is in one of the unsupported elements of the system, the failure may be unrecoverable.

The report detailed how Julys IT outage left the hospital exposed as medics were forced to revert to the use of paper files without access to electronic records.

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It said that 60 procedures  including 32 surgeries  had to be deferred including time sensitive urgent care.

The report added: Support for outsourcing surgical activity in the private hospital system was denied by the HSE.

It said that 420 GP referrals were made through the system during the down time meaning care of all those patients would be delayed as a result of this failure.

The Mater report said additional staff were deployed across the organisation to help, but this would not be a sustainable solution for a more serious IT failure.

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Longer outages will require adjusted rotas, outsourcing and overtime as well as decreased activity to sustain safe practice, the document said.

It said the risk of a catastrophic IT glitch needed to be dealt with urgently as an extended problem could lead to a reduction of up to 50 percent in services.

The report added: A technical failure that results in the loss of PatientCentre will impact all the hospital services including the 17 national services [we provide].

The hospitals capacity to deliver safe and efficient services will be diminished immensely, increasing risk to patients who can access care.

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It said there had been repeated calls for a new patient record system for the Mater in 2021, again in 2022, and again in 2023.

Last week, we had an insight into the chaos caused by a technical failure that lasted less than five days, the report said.

It said waiting for a regional solution covering a larger number of hospitals could take between four and seven years.

The report said: The hospital acknowledges that we will need to manage risk for 18-24 months if approval is granted [to us for our own system].

However, this is significantly less than the expected time for the regional system. For this reason, waiting for the regional solution is not an option that the hospital can support.

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A separate analysis said the Mater should consider that its PatientCare system was at elevated risk and that proper strategies were in place in case of further failures.

Asked about the outage, a spokeswoman said: [The hospital] worked as quickly as possible to rectify the situation, but some patients were affected, which the Mater Hospital regrets and apologises for.

The hospital has been working for some time with the HSE to update and replace the existing ICT system and it is now part of the programme to introduce a new National Electronic Health record.

Pending that new system being in place, the Mater Hospital has instigated a range of measures to mitigate against future systems failures.
Australian senators have voted to censure an Indigenous colleague who yelled at the King during a reception in Parliament House.

The censure of independent Senator Lidia Thorpe is a symbolic gesture that records her colleagues disapproval of her conduct during Octobers first visit to Australia by a British monarch in 13 years.

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The motion was carried 46 votes to 12.

Government leader in the Senate Penny Wong said Ms Thorpes outburst sought to incite outrage and grievance.



Australian senator Lidia Thorpe protests during the Ceremonial Welcome to Australia (PA)

This is part of a trend that we do see internationally which, quite frankly, we do not need here in Australia, Ms Wong told the Senate.

Ms Thorpe launched the rant at Charles following his speech during his visit to Canberra.

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You are not our king. You are not sovereign, she yelled as she was led by security guards from the reception.

You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us: our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people.





Following her censure, she said she would repeat her rant if Charles returned.

If the colonising king were to come to my country again, our country, then Ill do it again, she told reporters.

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And I will keep doing it. I will resist colonisation in this country. I swear my allegiance to the real sovereigns of these lands; First Peoples are the real sovereigns. You dont have some random king rock up and say hes sovereign.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, a member of the minor Greens party, opposed the censure motion.

The bubble of white privilege that encapsulates this parliament is a systemic issue, she said.





Thats why we are here today, debating a black senator being censured for telling the truth of the British crowns genocide of First Nations people and telling it the way she wants to.

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The vote took place before Ms Thorpe arrived on a flight from Melbourne. She said she had wanted to be in Parliament for the vote but government senators refused to wait.

Indigenous people account for fewer than 4% of Australias population and are the nations most disadvantaged ethnic group.
An Israeli airstrike hit a densely populated residential area in Lebanons capital near key government and diplomatic buildings late Monday, killing at least five people as the US pressed ahead with ceasefire efforts.

Lebanons state-run National News Agency said two missiles hit the area of Zoqaq al-Blat neighbourhood  where local UN headquarters and Lebanons parliament and prime ministers office are located.

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Civil defence workers extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut (Hassan Ammar/AP)

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strike, which also wounded 24 people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Since late September, Israel has dramatically escalated its bombardment of Lebanon, vowing to severely weaken the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group and end its barrages in Israel that the militants have said are in solidarity with Palestinians during the war in Gaza.

The US has been working on a ceasefire proposal that would remove Israeli ground forces from Lebanon and push Hezbollah forces far from the Israeli border.

Lebanons Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who is mediating for the militants, is expected to meet with US envoy Amos Hochstein in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday. The White House has not confirmed Mr Hochsteins visit.

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Labour minister Mostafa Bayram, who met with Mr Berri on Monday, said Lebanon would convey its positive position to the latest US proposal.



Residents and rescuers gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut (Bilal Hussein/AP)

Many areas in central Beirut, including Zoqaq al-Blat, have become a refuge for many of the roughly one million people displaced by the ongoing conflict in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The target of the airstrike remained unclear, and the Israeli army did not issue a prior warning. Ambulance sirens echoed through the streets as an Associated Press photographer on the scene saw significant casualties on the street.

It was the second consecutive day of Israeli strikes on central Beirut after more than a month-long pause.

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On Sunday, a strike in the area of Ras el-Nabaa killed Hezbollah media spokesperson Mohammed Afif, along with six other people, including a woman. Later that day, four people were killed in a separate strike in the commercial district of Mar Elias.

The Israeli military has not said what the target of that strike was.

Minutes after Mondays strike, Lebanons caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a post on X, All countries and decision-makers are required to end the bloody and destructive Israeli aggression on Lebanon and implement international resolutions, most notably Resolution 1701.



Rescue workers search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut (Hussein Malla/AP)

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006, ended a month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah and was intended to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon. However, the resolutions full implementation has faced challenges from both sides.

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The resolution is again on the table as part of an American proposal for a ceasefire deal, aiming to end 13 months of exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israeli ground forces, who invaded southern Lebanon on October 1, would fully withdraw from Lebanon, where the Lebanese army and the UN peacekeeping force Unifil would be the exclusive armed presence south of Lebanons Litani River.

Hezbollah would withdraw from the area.

Also on Monday, Hezbollah launched dozens of projectiles against Israel. A rocket that hit the northern Israeli city of Shfaram killed one woman and injured 10, according to Israels Magen David Adom rescue services.

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More than 3,400 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli fire  80% of them in the past eight weeks  according to Lebanons Health Ministry.

In Israel, 77 people, including 31 soldiers, have been killed by Hezbollah projectiles, while more than 50 soldiers have been killed in the Israeli ground offensive.

Israel has said it is targeting Hezbollah in order to ensure that thousands of Israelis can return to their homes near the border.
Many of Hollywoods biggest stars gathered at the annual Governors Awards in Los Angeles to honour the late Quincy Jones, James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, filmmaker Richard Curtis and casting director Juliet Taylor.

The event put on by the film academys board of governors is a de-facto campaign stop for Oscar hopefuls as awards season gets under way.

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The Governors Awards are often an emotional affair, but the 15th event took on an added sadness following Joness death on November 3.



Richard A Jones, Leslie Jones, Martina Jones, Rashida Jones, Quincy Jones III and Kenya Kinski-Jones with the honorary award for Quincy Jones during the 15th Governors Awards at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles (Chris Pizzello/AP)

The record producers family were not sure they wanted to attend the awards but decided to show up for the event in Hollywood for a celebration of his life and work with humour from Jamie Foxx, a rousing performance by Jennifer Hudson and a moment with his family: his daughter Rashida Jones even read the speech he had been working on up until a month ago.

We felt like we wanted to celebrate his beautiful life and career, she said.

His music has literally defined an entire century of culture spanning genres.

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It was a moving end to a celebratory evening that had Hugh Grant roasting Curtis for getting a kind of Oscar and Daniel Craig celebrating the legacy of the James Bond films.

The audience in the Ray Dolby Ballroom was starrier than even the Oscars.



Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson arrive at the Governors Awards in Los Angeles (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Everywhere you looked there were famous faces greeting one another: Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson at the bar ordering a margarita on the rocks; Jude Law and Kristen Wiig exchanging hellos; Zooey Deschanel sipping champagne; Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz Beckham wandering around; Saoirse Ronan and Elizabeth Olsen deep in conversation; Sharon Stone hugging Kieran Culkin; Jesse Eisenberg chatting with Elle Fanning; and Jeremy Strong taking a selfie with Guy Pearce.

Others remained near their seats, such as Jennifer Lawrence, June Squibb and Angelina Jolie, who attended alongside her son Knox Jolie-Pitt.

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Angelina Jolie and Knox Leon Jolie-Pitt at the 15th Governors Awards (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

They sat beside her Maria director Pablo Larrain and across from His Three Daughters stars Natasha Lyonne and Olsen.

At another table, Barry Keoghan kept making his way to Margaret Qualleys side, squeezing in between her and Demi Moore.



Barry Keoghan was among those attending (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

But most of the schmoozing subsided for the main event.

With no television cameras or band to play anyone off during a speech, it is a night during which friends and colleagues can pay tribute to the years honorary Oscar recipients.

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Broccoli and her brother Wilson followed in her fathers footsteps, receiving the rarely given Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award, celebrating the work of producers.



Barbara Broccoli, left, and Michael G Wilson accept the Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award during the 15th Governors Awards (Chris Pizzello/AP)

Albert Cubby Broccoli accepted his own trophy, then a bust of Thalberg, at the 1982 Academy Awards as they looked on from the audience.

Its heavier than I thought, Wilson said, holding the Oscar statuette.

Broccoli also commented on the importance of producers, a credit she said that lately is being handed out like party favours.

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They got some gentle ribbing from Craig beforehand.

Broccoli, he said, cackles, I mean, crackles with passion.



Daniel Craig paid tribute to Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson (Chris Pizzello/AP)

But for a man who has always had a seemingly conflicted relationship with his Bond era, his admiration for them was evident.

I cant tell you how much I admire your integrity, Craig said.

These (Bond movies) are the most expensive independent films ever made.

Grant was less delicate but infinitely funnier paying tribute to Curtis, who has written for and directed him in many films including Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill and Love, Actually.

Would we call it an Oscar? Its a kind of Oscar, Grant said.



Hugh Grant presents Richard Curtis with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (Chris Pizzello/AP)

Its a better than nothing Oscar.

Curtis may be best known for his contributions to romantic comedies, but the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was for a lifetime of charitable work, which Grant said was annoying and frankly selfish.

In his acceptance speech, Curtis made a plea to the room to set aside a small portion of film budgets to hire an impact producer.

Nicole Kidman presented the honorary Oscar to Taylor, a casting director unaccustomed to being publicly celebrated for her contributions to cinema.



Nicole Kidman presented an honorary Oscar to casting director Juliet Taylor (Chris Pizzello/AP)

In her career of more than four decades, she cast classics such as Annie Hall, Working Girl, Sleepless In Seattle and Schindlers List.

Squibb, at the event with her Thelma director Josh Margolin, said that Taylor cast her in her first film, Woody Allens Alice.

I dont know if Id have a career in motion pictures without it, Squibb said.

While Taylor was excited about her award, she was even happier that her peers are soon going to be regularly recognised.



Juliet Taylor accepts an honorary award during the Governors Awards (Chris Pizzello/AP)

Starting with films released in 2025, the film academy will give a new competitive Oscar to casting directors.

There were many sombre references throughout the evening to the events of the last few weeks, although no-one speaking from the stage said anything much more specific.

Foxx, introducing the Quincy Jones tribute, did his own little impersonation of US President-elect Donald Trump.

Why is everyone so down on these few weeks, he said.



Jamie Foxx paid tribute to Quincy Jones (Chris Pizzello/AP)

Foxx quickly got back on track to speak about Jones, whose celebration closed out the evening on a cathartic note.

He was really excited to attend tonight, Rashida Jones said.

He has so many friends in this room. Well, actually, probably in every room to be honest because wherever he went he made connections with everyone.

Real ones. He knew how to stay present, to stay curious, to stay loving.

Jones invited the audience to listen on the way home, to go for the deepest cuts.



Martina Jones, from left, Rashida Jones, and Quincy Jones III accept a posthumous honorary award for Quincy Jones (Chris Pizzello/AP)

Theres an entire universe waiting in his seven decades of music, she said.

And while you listen, hear him, hear how he imbued love into every single second of music he made. That was his real legacy: Love.
Caroline Wilburn is a breaking news reporter for the Houston Chronicle.

A 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.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has renewed his call for a limitless expansion of his military nuclear programme to counter US-led threats.

His comments, reported on Monday, were his first direct criticism toward Washington since Donald Trumps win in the US presidential election.

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At a conference with army officials on Friday, Mr Kim condemned the United States for updating its nuclear deterrence strategies with South Korea and solidifying three-way military cooperation involving Japan, which he portrayed as an Asian Nato that was escalating tensions and instability in the region.



Kim Jong Un, centre, attends a meeting in Pyongyang (KCNA/Korea News Service via AP)

He also criticised the United States over its support of Ukraine against a prolonged Russian invasion. He insisted Washington and its Western allies were using Ukraine as their shock troops to wage a war against Moscow and expand the scope of US military influence, the Norths official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Mr Kim has prioritised his countrys ties to Russia in recent months, embracing the idea of a new Cold War and displaying a united front in Russian President Vladimir Putins broader conflicts with the West.

He has used Russias war on Ukraine as a distraction to accelerate the development of his nuclear-armed military, which now has various nuclear-capable systems targeting South Korea and intercontinental ballistic missiles that can potentially reach the US mainland.

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Mr Kim has yet to directly acknowledge that he has been providing military equipment and troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine and the KCNAs report did not mention whether he made any comments towards President-elect Trump, whose election win has yet to be reported in the Norths state media.

The pair met three times in 2018 and 2019 during Mr Trumps first presidency, but their diplomacy quickly collapsed over disagreements in exchanging the release of US-led sanctions and North Korean steps to wind down its nuclear and missile programme.

North Korea has since suspended any meaningful talks with Washington and Seoul as Mr Kim ramped up his testing activity and military demonstrations in the face of what he portrayed as gangster-like US threats.

There are concerns in Seoul that Mr Kim, in exchange for his military support of Russia, would receive Russian technology in return to further develop his arsenal.

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Mr Trumps election win has touched off speculation about a resumption of a summit-driven diplomacy with Mr Kim, which was described by critics as a bromance.



Donald Trump at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York in 2024 (Michael M Santiago/AP)

But some experts say a quick return to 2018 is highly unlikely, as too much has changed about the regional security situation and broader geopolitics since then.

While the North Korean nuclear problem was relatively an independent issue during Mr Trumps first term, it is now connected with broader challenges created by Russias war on Ukraine and further complicated by weakened sanctions enforcement against Pyongyang, Hwang Ildo, a professor at South Koreas National Diplomatic Academy, wrote in a study last week.

North Koreas nuclear and missile programme is now much more advanced, which would increase Mr Kims perception of his bargaining powers.

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Mr Kims efforts to boost North Koreas presence in a united front against Washington could also gain strength if Mr Trump spikes tariffs and rekindles a trade war with China, the Norths main ally and economic lifeline, Prof Hwang said.

Amid the stalemate in larger nuclear negotiations with Washington, Mr Kim has been dialling up pressure on South Korea, abandoning his countrys long-standing goal of inter-Korean reconciliation and verbally threatening to attack the South with nuclear weapons if provoked.

Mr Kim has also engaged in psychological and electronic warfare against South Korea, such as flying thousands of balloons to drop rubbish in the South and disrupting GPS signals from border areas near the Souths biggest airport.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea again flew rubbish-laden balloons towards the South early on Monday and issued a statement warning the North not to test our militarys patience any further.

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The North has launched about 7,000 balloons towards the South since May, causing property damage but so far no injuries.

On at least two occasions, rubbish carried by North Koreas balloons fell on Seouls presidential compound, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key sites.
Typhoon Man-yi has left at least seven people dead in a landslide, destroyed scores of houses and displaced large numbers of villagers before blowing away from the northern Philippines, worsening the crisis wreaked by multiple back-to-back storms.

Man-yi was one of the strongest of the six major storms to hit the northern Philippines in less than a month and had sustained winds of up to 195 kilometres (125 miles) per hour when it slammed into the eastern island province of Catanduanes on Saturday night.

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US defence secretary Lloyd Austin met President Ferdinand Marcos Jr in Manila and offered his prayers, announcing an additional one million dollars in humanitarian aid for typhoon victims.



Motorists pass by toppled trees caused by strong winds from Typhoon Man-yi in the municipality of Baler, Aurora province, northeastern Philippines (Noel Celis/AP)

He told Mr Marcos he has authorised US troops to help Filipino forces provide lifesaving aid.

Torrential rains and fierce wind unleashed by Man-yi set off a landslide early on Monday in the northern town of Ambaguio in Nueva Vizcaya province that buried a house and killed seven people, including children, and injured three others inside, regional police chief Brigadier General Antonio P Marallag Jr said.

Army troops, police and villagers were scrambling to search for three other people who were believed to have been entombed in the avalanche of mud, boulders and uprooted trees, Brig Gen Marallag said.

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Disaster response officials said they were checking if the deaths of two villagers in a motorcycle accident and an electrocution were directly related to Man-yis onslaught so they could be added to the overall death toll.

They said a separate search was under way for a couple and their child after their shanty was swept away in rampaging rivers in northern Nueva Ecija province.

More than a million people were affected by the typhoon and two previous storms, including nearly 700,000 who fled their homes and moved to emergency shelters or relatives homes, according to the Official of Civil Defence.

Nearly 8,000 houses were damaged or destroyed and more than 100 cities and towns were hit by power outages due to toppled electric posts, it said.

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A resident checks belongings from his damaged home in the municipality of Baler (Noel Celis/AP)

In the worst-hit province of Camarines, officials pleaded for additional help after fierce winds and rain damaged more houses and cut off electricity and water supplies in the entire province, along with mobile phone connections in many areas, provincial information officer Camille Gianan said.

Welfare officials transported food aid, drinking water and other help but more is needed over the coming months, Ms Gianan said.

Many villagers will need construction materials to rebuild their houses, she said.

They had not recovered from the previous storms when the super typhoon hit, Ms Gianan told The Associated Press.

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Its been one calamity after another.

The rare number of back-to-back storms and typhoons that lashed Luzon  the countrys largest and most populous island  in just three weeks left more than 160 people dead, affected nine million people and caused such extensive damage to communities, infrastructure and farmlands that the Philippines may have to import more rice, a staple food.

In an emergency meeting as Man-yi approached, Mr Marcos asked his cabinet and provincial officials to brace for the worst-case scenario.



A resident checks his home that was damaged by Typhoon Man-yi in the municipality of Baler (Noel Celis/AP)

At least 26 domestic airports and two international airports were briefly shut and inter-island ferry and cargo services were suspended due to rough seas, stranding thousands of passengers and commuters.

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Most transport services have now resumed, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines and the coast guard.

The United States, Manilas treaty ally, along with Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei provided cargo aircraft and other storm aid to help the governments overwhelmed disaster response agencies.

Last month, the first major storm, Trami, left scores of people dead after dumping one to two months worth of rain in just 24 hours in several towns.

The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons and storms each year.

It is often hit by earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the worlds most disaster-prone countries.
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Eating outGood Food Guide 2025 Back with a bang: The restaurants with new hats (and lost hats) in The Age Good Food Guide 2025 An iconic fine diner reclaims its three-hat status, high-profile operators take hits, and omakase restaurants rise and fall. Tomas Telegramma November 19, 2024 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

This article appears in The Age Good Food Guide 2025 collection. See all stories .

Whos up and whos down in 2025? Nine Full list of hats

All the award winners Stakes were high at The Age Good Food Guide 2025 Awards on Monday night as some trailblazing restaurants were celebrated while others  including some of the citys enduring favourites  took a tumble, losing their coveted chef hats. After going in the Guide unscored last year, amid a $3 million refurb, the sky-high Vue de Monde has rejoined the three-hat hall of fame, reclaiming its place on Melbournes dining leaderboard with food as good as ever, but an experience a little less buttoned-up.

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Vue de Monde is absolutely back with a bang, says Guide editor Ellen Fraser. This is high-calibre fine dining unlike anything else in the world  and it is astonishingly delicious. The floor team strikes that magic balance of fine-tuned and laid-back. And the refreshed room is even more worthy of the incredible outlook. The arc was similar for Torquays Samesyn, re-emerging from an overhaul with a thrilling zero-waste philosophy (and no bin!) that elevated it from one hat to two. On the flip side are several high-profile demotions. Rinaldo Di Stasios eponymous CBD restaurant Di Stasio Citta fell from two hats to one  as did Stephen Nairns Chapel Street bistro Omnia. Sibling venue Yugen Dining lost its hat, as did Shannon Martinezs mark-making vegan diner, following a recent transition to the more casual Smith & Daughters Social Club. Other losses included Bistro Gitan, Il Bacaro and Tonka. The decision to remove a hat is never made lightly, particularly at such a tough time for restaurants, says fellow Guide editor Emma Breheny.

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Some venues may still be ironing out the kinks after a major chef or concept change just prior to the Guide going to print, says Fraser. Some that scored highly on opening have fallen out of step with diners expectations today. Ultimately, our responsibility is to the diner, and recommending venues beyond just the hottest new openings. The experience and the price tag need to match up. A selection of nigiri at Sushi On. Supplied Theres been oscillation in the omakase landscape as well, where sophisticated Japanese set menus easily cost upwards of $200. Kews Sushi On and South Yarras Aoi Tsuki raised the (sushi) bar this year  both ascending from one hat to two  while Fitzroy newcomer Shusai Mijo, praised for its comparative value, debuted with a hat. Omakase dining is undoubtedly one of the biggest forces in Melbourne dining right now, says Breheny. More venues are bringing their own approach to the genre after the three-hatted Minamishima in Richmond set the standard nearly 10 years ago. If you love sushi, your time is now. City omakase restaurants did not fare so well, though, including the W Hotels dining centrepiece, Warabi, and The Chefs Table at Kisume, which both dropped from two hats to one.

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Lobster served tableside at Society restaurant in Collins Street. Its half of a one-two punch for Lucas Restaurants, with this years de-hatting of Grill Americano. But its 80 Collins flagship Society is flying high, with two hats once again. Meanwhile, a raft of restaurants have been bestowed with a hat for the first time, including Dainty on Toorak, following the Sichuan stalwarts significant renovation, Filipino firecracker Askal, Chinese institution Supreme J Kitchen and the plant-based Patsys. What impresses us most is when a venue has a compelling singular vision and delivers on that, says Fraser. Were excited to recognise places that are the best in their category or forging an entirely fresh path. Bar Olo in Carlton has a vintage vibe. Simon Schluter

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Cause for celebration also extends to newly hatted neighbourhood wine-diners such as Bar Olo and Bar Bellamy in Carlton, and Bar Magnolia in Brunswick. There are neighbourhood losses, too, with hats gone from La Pinta in Reservoir and The Recreation in Fitzroy North. In the regions, single hats have been lost at Cape and Oakridge  but gained by Geelongs Songbird, the reimagination of Igni; Alburys fun-loving Norma; and Ballarats refined Babae. Dining outside the city continues to delight us, with more styles, price points and cuisines joining the big-ticket restaurants that are well known, says Breheny. Its an exciting time to eat out in many different parts of Victoria. The Age Good Food Guide 2025, featuring more than 500 reviews, is on sale for $14.95 from newsagents, supermarkets and at thestore.com.au.

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The new Good Food app, featuring Good Food Guide reviews, recipes and food news, is now available to download. Its available as a standalone subscription and as part of our Premium Digital packages for subscribers. Premium Digital subscribers can download the Good Food app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store now. The ultimate guide to the Good Food Guide
Melbourne teens Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones were not seen for a day following a night out in Laos. When the best friends failed to check out of their hostel, staff knew something had gone wrong.

The 19-year-olds  in Vang Vieng on a South-East Asian backpacking trip  were discovered seriously ill in their room, victims of a suspected mass methanol poisoning that has killed at least two and sickened more.

On Tuesday, they were both on life support in separate Thai hospitals. Their parents and Jones brother have flown there to be by their bedsides.

Earlier that day, one of Bowles colleagues told this masthead of her concern for the young woman she described as an absolute star and a bundle of joy.
Two Melbourne teenagers are fighting for life after a suspected mass poisoning during a holiday in South-East Asia.

Family members have flown to be at the bedsides of the 19-year-old women, who are thought to have fallen critically ill after consuming methanol in the popular tourist town of Vang Vieng in Laos on Thursday before being hospitalised in Bangkok.

Two others are believed to have died in the suspected drink poisoning, according to Nine News, with at least 10 people understood to have fallen ill.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman confirmed on Monday that the government was providing consular assistance to two Australians and their families in Thailand.
Australians will go to the ballot box more sharply divided over immigration than ever, with roughly half saying they think too many migrants are coming into the country as the issue shapes as a crucial federal election battleground.

Forty-nine per cent of Australians believe immigration is too high, up from 33 per cent last year, although those attitudes are being driven by record levels of worry about housing and the economy rather than a surge in anti-migrant sentiment as seen in the United States and Europe.

Still, support for multiculturalism has dipped, and more people hold negative attitudes towards Muslim and Jewish people as the Middle East conflict takes its toll.

Annual research by the not-for-profit Scanlon Foundation, which surveys more than 8000 people, reveals Australias social cohesion remains at its lowest level  first reached last year  since the survey began in 2007.
Detective Superintendent Linda Howlett said Jones was quite calm when officers armed with a search warrant arrived at his luxury apartment on the sixth floor of the Bennelong Apartments, overlooking the Sydney Opera House, at 7.45am on Monday. After being arrested and calling for legal assistance, Jones watched on as police spent hours searching his house. A number of his electronic devices were seized. Loading At 11.30am, he was whisked away by police in a small white Hyundai and taken for questioning at Day Street station, where he was met by criminal lawyers Chris Murphy and Bryan Wrench. Nothing has been tested. Nothing has been proven. Alan Jones will assert his innocence appropriately in the courtroom, Murphy said.

He said Jones denies any misconduct. Jones bail conditions include surrendering his passport and not approaching points of departure from Australia. He was also ordered not to stalk, harass or intimidate any prosecution witness or complainant or to identify any of the alleged victims to anyone except his lawyers. At an afternoon press conference, Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald from State Crime Command thanked his investigators for their tenacity and hard work since the strike force was formed in March. These are serious charges, Fitzgerald said before commending the alleged victims for their bravery in coming forward.

He also said the victims had co-operated with the police knowing  as did investigators  that the hard work is just beginning. Asked about the creation of the strike force this year, Fitzgerald said reporting by the Herald and The Age was the catalyst for the probe. The reports, denied by Jones at the time, included that he had indecently assaulted, groped or inappropriately touched a number of young men. The reports in the Herald and The Age did result in victims coming forward and the creation of Strike Force Bonnefin, but  a number of witnesses have also been assisting police over the years, he said.

Fitzgerald said the energy that was generated out of those newspaper articles encouraged people to speak to the police. We believe we will have more people coming forward, he said. More alleged victims have contacted the Herald and The Age since Jones arrest. NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the arrest came after a very long, thorough, protracted investigation, and she also expected more people might come forward with allegations. I did visit the strike force some weeks and months ago to look at the work that they have been doing. It is very complex and protracted, and I know those officers have been working tirelessly to lead todays operation, she said.

I cant speculate in this particular case, but what is often the case is when it is known  the full circumstances and those parties involved  other people may come forward. Premier Chris Minns said he understood the public interest in the case but said he would not offer running commentary. During his 35 years as the most successful and feared broadcaster of his generation, Jones is also alleged to have indecently assaulted several young men. Police arrive at Alan Jones apartment building in Circular Quay on Monday morning. Credit: Kate Geraghty One former 2GB employee has alleged he was repeatedly indecently assaulted by Jones.

Brad Webster (not his real name) told the Herald and The Age last year: If I went to the police, Jones could be charged. What he did to me was a criminal offence. He cannot die without people knowing what hes done. Jones was 65 when Webster was hired at age 20 to do menial jobs, including driving the radio star from the stations Pyrmont studios to his apartment in the Circular Quay building, dubbed The Toaster. During those 10 minutes, it would be wandering hands, and then it just gradually became him grabbing my dick  youre driving, youre absolutely trapped  hed go the grope, hed rub my penis, Webster said. Jones is also alleged to have kissed him in the lift and exposed himself at his apartment. Like many others, Webster knew he would be destroyed if he complained.

Several men from the arts community have alleged that Jones assaulted them at his apartment. One, a musician, said he didnt say anything to anyone because Jones was immensely powerful, and no one wanted to risk getting the broadcaster offside. You get on the wrong side, and hell ruin you, he said. In 2008, a waiter who was 22 at the time said he was working at a Kiama restaurant when an inebriated Jones grabbed and fondled his penis without consent. The late tech entrepreneur Alex Hartman, who died in 2019, told four journalists Jones had indecently assaulted him as a teenager. I was his prey. I know I am not the only one, and this will come out somehow. Hartman also said Jones forces himself on young men and uses his power in a predatory way. In January 2017, a then-schoolboy told the Herald and The Age he was invited to spend a weekend at Jones Fitzroy Falls property in the NSW Southern Highlands. The broadcaster had taken an interest in the boys family following numerous difficulties, including the death of the boys sister.

Jones after being granted bail on Monday. Credit: Wolter Peeters The boy later gave a statement to police in which he alleged that he and Jones, who was 75 at the time, watched a movie before Jones passionately kissed him on the lips and placed his left hand on the boys buttocks. He pushed Jones away. Later, he told police he went to the bathroom with my loofah and soap and began scrubbing my mouth, inside and out, as much as I could. Loading He later told his mother that someone with power and money had done something to him which he shouldnt have. Jones denied the allegations raised by the Herald and The Age in December 2023 and threatened to sue. A concerns notice sent to the mastheads at the time by lawyer Mark OBrien demanded the articles be removed from online and the publication of a front-page apology. It also said Jones should be paid compensation in addition to his legal costs.
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 Yamanashi, Japan: Inside the cabin of the worlds fastest train, the force of the propulsion pushes you back in your seat. The wheels lift off as it races towards a speed of 500 kilometres an hour, levitating 10 centimetres above the track, around the foothills of Mount Fuji. This is Japans ultrafast driverless Maglev train. The 129-metre-long bullet is barrelling at top speed around a 42.8-kilometre test track. The levitation is the Maglevs superconducting magnet technology at work. It has been long hailed as the future of high-speed rail. The powerful magnets propel the train forward and upward, enabling it to glide above the track to reach speeds not safely achievable using regular wheels and rails. At this pace, friction would quickly wear out the technology that has defined train travel for two centuries. It takes 2 minutes for the train to accelerate to 500km/h, a pace that Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) says will allow its passengers to travel from Tokyo to Nagoya in 40 minutes, and then to Osaka in 67 minutes once the train is fully operational. That journey now takes almost 2 hours by regular high-speed rail.

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The train is actually running well below its top speed, a world-record 603km/h set on this test track in 2015. The innovation of the Japanese Maglev is that travelling at this speed doesnt feel remarkable at all. The ride is smooth and relatively quiet, and it is not buffeted by the typical bounce of wheels grinding against rail tracks or the screeching that often accompanies it. Were it not for a speedometer screen at the front of the cabin, it would be difficult for the average passenger to gauge they were hurtling much faster than the 320km/h limit of Japans fastest Shinkansen bullet trains. One clue appears through the double-paned cabin windows, when the pristine mountainous countryside is reduced to a blur as the train sprints between tunnels. Arguably the best way to appreciate the speed is not by riding the train itself, but from a viewing platform as it barrels past. You have only a split second to clock the lights of the trains approach, before feeling the whoosh of it roaring past you. This journey of 438 kilometres, linking Japans two biggest cities, Tokyo and Osaka, is being billed as the Linear Chuo Shinkansen line, the most ambitious project yet in Japans famous high-speed Shinkansen rail network. However, the project hasnt been without controversy.

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After almost three decades of testing, only the test track section of the line has been completed. Most construction work for other sections remains in its early stages if it has commenced at all. The first stage from Tokyo to Nagoya was once expected to take 13 years to build. More than 80 per cent of the line runs underground, requiring costly excavation works. JR Central is funding the project using low-interest loans from the Japanese government. But it has run into hurdles that have blown out its timeline and its budget. In 2009, the entire project was estimated to cost 9 trillion yen. Now, just stage one alone is expected to cost 7 trillion yen ($70 billion), and it will not open until 2034 at the earliest. As for the extension to Osaka, no revised estimates have been made public, and there is no timeline for its completion. For years, one regional government district, the Shizuoka prefecture, single-handedly stalled the projects stage one progress, refusing to greenlight the construction of an 8.9-kilometre tunnel through the regions Southern Alps, citing environmental concerns. The Maglev travels past Mount Fuji. Credit:

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Home to Mount Fuji, the Shizuoka prefecture is a verdant, picturesque region between Tokyo and Nagoya on the Pacific coast that seduces countless tourists with its towering mountains, famed hiking trails and pristine beaches. It is also the only prefecture along the proposed route that will not feature a stop for the Maglev. Its long-serving governor, Heita Kawakatsu, was a thorn in the side of the project until his abrupt resignation in May. He refused to approve tunnelling works after it emerged the construction could reduce water flows in the Oi River system by two tonnes a second. He said this would affect farming and tap water supply to 600,000 residents for whom the river was a lifeblood. A plan to pump the lost water back into the river failed to secure Kawakatsus approval. The project was stuck at an impasse until April, when Kawakatsu was embroiled in controversy over a gaffe insulting farmers. He resigned, but not before claiming victory over JR Centrals concession days earlier that the 2027 opening date had been abandoned, declaring he had achieved a major objective of my duty. With the election of a new governor, there are signs of the project gaining momentum again. The Shizuoka prefecture last month granted JR Central approval to conduct a boring survey, a necessary pre-construction step. But the train company remains hesitant to commit to a new opening date, signalling that the difficult terrain means it will take at least a decade to build.

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The Shizuoka section is one of the most difficult tunnel construction projects, full of uncertainty, Yoh Shigeta, deputy chief of Chuo-Shinkansen Promotional Headquarters, told journalists in a briefing last month. Due to the length of the mountains that needs to be dug, the completion schedule is uncertain as well. Therefore, Shizuoka Prefecture holds the key to realising the completion of this new train line. Torkel Patterson, a senior adviser and former director of JR Central, is certain the completed line to Osaka will absolutely be built. Its the largest private sector project ever undertaken by one company, he said in an interview. It may take another election cycle or two, but itll be done. A general view of the Maglev train at Yamanashi Prefectural Maglev Exhibition Centre. Credit: Christopher Jue The sheer size and scale of the project also pose serious questions about the viability of a similar ambition in Australia. Both sides of politics have toyed with the idea of constructing a high-speed rail line linking major east coast cities since the 1980s, but they have never gone much beyond feasibility and scoping studies.

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As Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky said after the attack: This is the answer to all those who wanted to achieve something with Putin through conversations, phone calls, hugs and appeasement. Today, this dove of peace sent Ukraine yet another barrage of Kinzhal and Kalibr missiles. Thats Putins diplomacy. His language is treachery.

This vicious assault occurred not more than 24 hours after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appealed directly to Putin to suspend hostilities and to enter into peaceful negotiations. Putin responded with an act of utmost disregard not only for Ukrainian life but also for diplomacy.

In the first respect, as I write  after 33 months of war  Russia has launched its largest-ever air assault on Ukrainian civilian targets. It sent 120 ballistic missiles and 90 drones, mostly provided by Iran, against Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure. Ten people, including two children, were killed. The attempt before the northern winter, as it was last year, is to terrorise and freeze Ukrainians into submission and surrender; it will again prove futile, as Vladimir Putin continues to underestimate the resolve and resistance of the Ukrainian nation.

It is timely, on the 1000th day of Russias war against Ukraine, to mark the lessons learnt and to consider the latest developments, including the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States.

Indeed, it reinforces one of the important lessons of the war. Every time Putin senses weakness on the part of the West in its support for Ukraine, he responds with deadly force. Whenever there is a vacuum of strength and purpose, the dictator in Moscow attempts to fill it with brutal violence. As part of this, the Kremlin has now entered into a truly evil alliance with the rogue regime in North Korea, which has deployed troops in the war.

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While it will give them no satisfaction, Australias leaders have been proven right: the war on Ukraine has significant implications for your own Indo-Pacific region. I welcome the stance that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is to take at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that the worlds leading economies should more assertively act against Russian aggression.

As world events unfold, what Ukraine knows is that we must constantly assert our sovereignty, control our own destiny and grow our capability to defend ourselves and prosecute the war to a just conclusion. While we greatly appreciate the loyal support of our allies, including Australias recent and unparalleled gift of 49 M1A1 Abrams tanks, we know we must secure our self-reliance. To that end, as the war shifts technologically, Ukraine is now the worlds largest innovator and manufacturer of military aerial and naval drones and is well advanced in its development of three types of long-range ballistic missiles.

Increasing our domestic capabilities, including our own capacity to hit Russian air bases, ammunition dumps and other strategic sites, will be complemented if the current US administration confirms  as was reported on Monday  that it will allow Ukraine to use American-provided tactical missiles, ATACMs, against targets inside Russia. We would hope to receive related commitments from our British and French allies. Even then, the words matter less than the actual weapons, some of which, as President Zelensky has noted, are yet to arrive. The clock should not be left ticking on the important additional capacity to knock out the Russian military assets that launch the missions that kill innocent Ukrainians on a daily basis and that sustain the Russian war-making machine.
Kyiv: The Kremlin warned that President Joe Bidens decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with US-supplied longer-range missiles adds fuel to the fire of the war and would escalate international tensions even higher.

Bidens shift in policy added an uncertain, new factor to the conflict on the eve of the 1000-day milestone since Russia began its full-scale invasion in 2022.

An ATACMS in use in South Korea. Credit: Getty

It also came as a Russian ballistic missile with cluster munitions struck a residential area of Sumy in northern Ukraine, killing 11 people, including two children, and injuring 84 others. Another missile barrage sparked apartment fires in the southern port of Odesa, killing at least 10 people and injuring 43, including a child, Ukraines Interior Ministry said.

Washington is easing limits on what Ukraine can strike with its American-made Army Tactical Missile System or ATACMs, US officials told the Associated Press on Sunday, after months of ruling out such a move over fears of escalating the conflict and bringing about a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.
Crystal and Brittany Lemoine place themselves in a frame as they take a photo together during the annual Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market at NRG Center on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 in Houston. Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market has become the signature holiday fundraising shopping event in Texas that kicks off the holiday season Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Michele Smith, right, lines up a photo with Santa during the annual Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market at NRG Center on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 in Houston. Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market has become the signature holiday fundraising shopping event in Texas that kicks off the holiday season Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Brittany and Crystal Lemoine wait in line to take a photo together during the annual Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market at NRG Center on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 in Houston. Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market has become the signature holiday fundraising shopping event in Texas that kicks off the holiday season Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Mike Miller, left, helps Amari Watkins and Corbin Crook as they ride toy horses at the Pony Pal Stable booth during the annual Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market at NRG Center on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 in Houston. Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market has become the signature holiday fundraising shopping event in Texas that kicks off the holiday season Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Audrey Ferguson, left, takes a look at a pair of shirts shown to her by her mother, Rebecca, during the annual Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market at NRG Center on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 in Houston. Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market has become the signature holiday fundraising shopping event in Texas that kicks off the holiday season Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Cheryl Hall, right, walks through a lighting display with her friends Sue Sanders, from left, Jenny Prasek, Sherrie Jannise and Jeanie Reeder during the annual Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market at NRG Center on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 in Houston. Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market has become the signature holiday fundraising shopping event in Texas that kicks off the holiday season Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Annette Jackson wears Christmas lights glasses as she attends the annual Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market at NRG Center on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 in Houston. Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market has become the signature holiday fundraising shopping event in Texas that kicks off the holiday season Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Shoppers roam around NRG Center during the annual Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 in Houston. Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market has become the signature holiday fundraising shopping event in Texas that kicks off the holiday season Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Shoppers roam around NRG Center during the annual Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 in Houston. Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market has become the signature holiday fundraising shopping event in Texas that kicks off the holiday season Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Shoppers roam around NRG Center during the annual Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 in Houston. Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market has become the signature holiday fundraising shopping event in Texas that kicks off the holiday season Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Alexis Shoemaker dons a Grinch-themed cowboy hat as she shops during the annual Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market at NRG Center on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 in Houston. Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market has become the signature holiday fundraising shopping event in Texas that kicks off the holiday season Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Shoppers roam around NRG Center during the annual Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 in Houston. Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market has become the signature holiday fundraising shopping event in Texas that kicks off the holiday season Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Jars of homemade Italian sauces are on display, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023, that members of Donne Di Domani, Woman of Tomorrow, sell at the Nutcracker Market with 100% of profits benefitting local charities. Kirk Sides/Staff photographer

NRG Stadium took a break this weekend from hosting its Houston Texans megafans and instead welcomed crowds more interested in tiny trinkets and holiday must-haves as it transformed into a winter wonderland for the 2024 Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market.

Each year, the NRG Center is transformed into a Christmas paradise for folks looking for items such as ornaments or the all-important matching, ugly holiday sweaters.

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Since 1981, the Houston Ballet has hosted the holiday market, which began as a church bazaar that has transformed into a four-day shopping extravaganza at NRG Stadium, according to the Houston Ballet's website. The event was inspired by Houston Ballet supporter Preston Frazier, who approached the board of Houston Ballet Guild with a new concept with the means to raise much-needed funds for the organization, its Academy and scholarship programs, according to the website.

In 2023, more than 92,000 people in the Houston area attended the event and spent more than $20 million at hundreds of booths  each offering unique, including home decor, gourmet food, apparel, accessories and toys.

Overall, the event has provided arts education to more than 82,000 Houston area students through the Houston Ballet Academy's Education and Community Engagement programs, the website states. It has awarded more than $212,000 in scholarships in the past to students wanting to continue their dream of studying dance at the organization's academy and has given students in the Houston area the opportunity to see a ballet for free.

The holiday market isn't just known for its festive nature.

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London: King Charles tried to prevent his son Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, from suing the publisher of The Sun newspaper, the High Court has heard.

Prince Harry is to argue at trial in January that his father acted to discourage and stymie him from pursuing legal action against News Group Newspapers (NGN), Justice Timothy Fancourt revealed, quoting from a document filed by Harrys legal team.

Prince Harry leaves Londons High Court after giving evidence last year. Credit: AP

His case against the publisher concerns accusations of blagging  obtaining confidential details about him by deception  and other unlawful invasions of privacy.

On Friday, the judge granted Harry access to a cache of Buckingham Palace emails sent between two of the most senior members of the royal household and specific senior executives at NGN.
In 2023, about 30% of the Australian population, or 8.2 million people, was born overseas, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. That's an increase of nearly half a million people from the year before. Many of them don't speak English as a first language, and need help understanding complex financial terms and regulatory guidelines when taking out loans.
MultiBank Group, the worlds largest and most regulated financial derivatives institution, headquartered in Dubai, is proud to announce its recognition as the Best Global Financial Institution at Money Expo Qatar 2024.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241117366866/en/

MultiBank Group Wins Best Global Financial Institution at Money Expo Qatar 2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

This prestigious award, presented at one of the Middle Easts premier financial events, highlights MultiBank Groups commitment to delivering industry-leading financial services to its clients worldwide. With a comprehensive suite of over 20,000 financial products across multiple asset classes, MultiBank Group is dedicated to setting the standard in financial services by offering advanced trading solutions backed by a robust regulatory framework.

Money Expo Qatar serves as a vital gathering for finance professionals, investors, and industry leaders to explore the latest trends, innovations, and developments in global financial markets. MultiBank Groups recognition underscores its significant role within the financial sector and also reinforces its dedication to integrity, transparency, and excellence.

Naser Taher, Founder and Chairman of MultiBank Group, remarked on the award: We are truly honored to be recognized as the Best Global Financial Institution at Money Expo Qatar 2024. This award shows our adherence to excellence and to supporting the financial goals of our clients through a blend of state-of-the-art technology and solid regulatory adherence. At MultiBank Group, we are dedicated to empowering traders and investors worldwide, ensuring that we provide the highest standards of security, innovation, and service.

MultiBank Group, established in California, USA, in 2005, serves over 1 million clients in more than 100 countries and maintains a daily trading volume surpassing $18.1 billion. Known for its forward-thinking trading solutions, strong regulatory oversight, and outstanding customer support, the Group offers a comprehensive range of financial services, including brokerage and asset management. MultiBank Group is regulated across five continents by over 16 of the most esteemed financial regulatory bodies worldwide.

This recent accolade at Money Expo Qatar 2024 joins a long list of global awards received by MultiBank Group, reaffirming its position as a trusted leader in the financial industry and its dedication to driving innovation within a secure and regulated trading environment.

ABOUT MULTIBANK GROUP

MultiBank Group, established in California, USA in 2005, is a global leader in financial derivatives, serving over 1 million clients across 100 countries, and boasts a daily trading volume that exceeds $18.1 billion. Renowned for its innovative trading solutions, robust regulatory compliance, and exceptional customer service, the Group offers an array of brokerage services and asset management solutions. It is regulated across five continents by 16+ of the most reputable financial authorities globally. The groups award-winning trading platforms offer up to 500:1 leverage on a diverse range of products, including Forex, Metals, Shares, Commodities, Indices, and Cryptocurrencies. MultiBank Group has received over 70 financial awards recognizing its trading excellence and regulatory compliance. For more information, visit MultiBank Groups website.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241117366866/en/
By Grainne Ni Aodha, PA

The Green Party has called for a Citizens Assembly on a four-day work week in order to comb through issues such as peoples pay and its effect on the public service.

Party leader Roderic OGorman said it should be held after the planned citizens assembly on education, suggesting the second year in government with legislation implemented in the third year of government.

He said that flexible and remote work had achieved a better work-life balance for people, but it was now time to take the next steps forward.

He said figures from the Central Statistics Office suggest about a quarter of workers feel they get inadequate amount of leisure time and time with their families.

Mr OGorman said this limited spare time has health, mental health and social impacts.

A Citizens Assembly was warranted because there were complexities to the suggestion, he added, particularly for the hospitality and public sectors.

It also raised questions on what people should be paid to work a four-day week.

Fundamentally, we want to continue this effort to broaden out access to leisure time, broaden out access to caring time and benefit from the technological changes, AI changes, and make sure that those changes are benefiting workers in the same way that theyre often benefiting their companies, he said on Monday.

The party is also pledging to hold an extra bank holiday in July.

This would bring the total number of bank holidays up to 12, which is the European average.

Green Party leader Roderic OGorman (left) with candidates Hazel Chu and David Healy in Dublin launching the Green Partys plans to enhance work/life balance. Photo: Niall Carson/PA

Asked whether the four-day proposal was a bid to attract voters back to the Green Party, after they had fallen from 7 per cenr support in the last general election to around 3-4 per cent in current polls, Mr OGorman said no I dont think so.

I think it speaks to the work weve already done with this government in terms of trying to help workers balance their work-life responsibilities with their caring responsibilities as well.

So its consistent with the work-life balance act that I introduced, its consistent with the extension of breastfeeding breaks that I introduced, and its consistent with the introduction of the February bank holiday, which the Green Party championed.

Asked about the possible challenges of a four-day work week, he added: Were not talking about immediate implementation. Were talking about discussing it with social partners, see what are the benefits, see how we can support it.

The four-day week and bank holiday proposals were highlighted in the Green Partys election manifesto.

The party also proposed expanding the right to request flexible working to all workers, and not just those in caring roles; to transpose and legislate for the provisions of the EU Pay Transparency Directive, and to implement a living wage.

Other Green Party election pledges contained in its manifesto include spending 10 billion on public transport, a tax on business class flights and private jets, and a State-led childcare system.

It said it would oversee 50,000-53,000 new homes built a year, 15,000 of which would be affordable and 12,000 social; and create a means testing agency to simplify access to public services.
Shakari Briggs is a Quality of Life reporter for the Houston Chronicle. She focuses on issues in the rapidly growing suburbs and surrounding counties.

Before joining the Chronicle in November 2023, Shakari worked for Spectrum News as a digital journalist based in her hometown. She has experience in broadcast reporting and producing as a former multimedia journalist and associate producer. The Dallas native has also worked at small to medium-sized newspapers throughout her career.

Her reporting on the rise and fall of a shopping mall won an Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors Contest award. She also earned an Arkansas Press Association award for freelance reporting.
High Court reporter

A property investment finance company is seeking judgment for 1.19 million against businessman Paddy McKillen junior over a guarantee he gave on the loans to buy a property in England for development as a 155-bed hotel and 1,500-capacity venue.

Mr McKillen jr is a co-founder of Ireland's largest hospitality group, Press Up, and son of well known developer Paddy McKillen senior.

Investment finance firm AHG Properties Unlimited Company applied on Monday to Mr Justice Denis McDonald to admit the summary judgment proceedings by the firm against Mr McKillen jr to the fast track commercial list. After hearing the defendant had requested an adjournment, the judge adjourned the matter for two weeks.

In an affidavit seeking admission of the proceedings to the Commercial Court, AHG director Tony O'Shea said Mr McKillen jr had provided a personal guarantee, limited to 1 million plus interest, on loans totalling 10 million to buy The Central Hall and adjoining buildings in Corporation Street/Ryder Street, Birmingham.

The plan was to redevelop it as a 155-bed "Dean" hotel with a 1,500 capacity event venue.

The loans were made to Creative Cedar Ltd, a UK company which Mr McKillen jr is a director of and also part of the Press Up Group,

Mr O'Shea said he always understood the AHG facility, provided in 2022 and 2023 in two tranches of 9 million and 1 million, was principally to buy the Birmingham property and that it would be subsequently refinanced by development finance from a separate lender.

However, Mr O'Shea said, as the final repayment date approached on December 30th, 2023, Creative Cedar sought an extension to April to allow for discussions regarding the potential refinancing of the AHG facility.

There followed a number of exchanges and a meeting with Mr McKillen jr in March in which it was learned that the sale of Dean hotels in Ireland and other Press Up hotels had concluded, but it had not resulted in enough equity to repay AHG. A proposed refinancing deal would also leave redevelopment plans some 15 million short.

Mr O'Shea said Press Up's newly appointed director, Ronnie Delaney, who was now in charge of the group, organised a meeting in London with the defendant's father, Paddy McKillen sr and a number of other people involved in Press Up.

The meeting took place at the 22 Club in Grosvenor Square on July 10th. Mr McKillen jr was in the US for reasons that were explained by his father, Mr O'Shea said.

Mr O'Shea said there was a robust discussion about the Birmingham property and Mr McKillen sr said there was no onus on him to resolve the matter. "I challenged him on this on the basis that he was one of the ultimate beneficial owners of the borrower which owned the property", Mr O'Shea said.

Mr McKillen sr also spoke of looking to raise finance for the property and that he was personally paying for security and insurance on it, he said.

There followed further correspondence and a meeting with Mr McKillen jr, after which AHG advised the defendant it was reserving its rights under the loan agreement and evaluating enforcement options.

Mr O'Shea said he visited the Birmingham property on September 25th last to find it had deteriorated significantly since he visited in 2021. He was concerned it was not adequately secured and while he was there he said two trespassers gained access.

Two passing police officers went after the trespassers and could not find them. But the officers advised Mr O'Shea not to go in and that the basement was under two feet of water.

On September 30th, AHG notified Creative Cedar that some 12.5 million was now due on the loan facility, including interest. It also made a formal demand of Mr McKillen jr to repay 1.198 million under his personal guarantee for the loan.
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Turkiye-based cement manufacturer Cimsa, a unit of Sabanci Holding, has secured a US$70m green loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. The loan, announced on 4 November, has a five-year maturity, including a two-year grace period for principal repayments. This marks Cimsas first green loan, highlighting its commitment to sustainable financing.

The funds will be allocated towards renewable energy projects, alternative fuel adoption, alternative raw materials, and product transformation. These initiatives are set to enhance operations at Cimsas Mersin, Eskisehir, and Afyon cement plants. The company plans to install solar photovoltaic panels as part of its renewable energy strategy.

Cimsa has been expanding its renewable energy capacity. In June, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provided a EUR25m (US$26.4m) loan for projects at its Eskisehir plant, including an 11MW solar installation, a 5MW waste plant and a silo upgrade.

Cimsa operates three cement plants in Turkiye and has international facilities, including a white cement plant in Bunol, Spain and a grinding facility in the US. The company recently acquired a 95 per cent stake in Ireland-based Mannok Holdings DAC, a move expected to increase the share of FX-denominated revenues to over 70 per cent of total income.

These developments are part of a broader sustainability drive. The IFC has been actively supporting projects in Turkiye, with plans to extend US$18bn in financing to the country between 2024 and 2026. This includes US$9bn from the IFC, alongside US$6bn from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and US$3bn in guarantees from the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

Cimsas ongoing green initiatives, including a newly operational 7MW solar plant at its Bunol site and upcoming projects at its Afyon and Eskisehir facilities, underline its commitment to sustainability and efficiency.
The High Resolution Rapid Refresh model, shown here, expects a line of thunderstorms to arrive Monday afternoon ahead of Houston's first of two cold fronts this week. WeatherBELL

Houston sits at the peak of the temperature rollercoaster Monday ahead of the first of two cold fronts that will slide through Southeast Texas this week.

The first cold front is poised to bring storms to Greater Houston Monday, some of which could pack a punch with damaging wind or large hail. Let's dive into the detailed timing of Monday's storms and look ahead to the steady drop in temperatures expected later this week.

Monday morning showers

Our first priority of the week is getting through Monday's storms. The morning commute is expected to be relatively problem-free, aside from a passing light shower that may dot radar. A morning commute free of rain is always a good thing, especially on a Monday.

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If you were out and about Sunday and got rained on, Monday morning's showers will be pretty similar. Certainly nothing heavy, but enough that you'll want to take it easy and turn the windshield wipers on. More numerous downpours are expected to develop by the afternoon as highs peak into the lower 80s ahead of the approaching cold front.

When do storms arrive in Houston?

The High Resolution Rapid Refresh, or HRRR, model is a weather forecasting model that provides hourly updates with high-resolution numerical forecasts, focusing on localized weather conditions. This model, along with other high-resolution models, suggests the cold front will stretch from east of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to Corpus Christi early Monday afternoon.

Our first cold front this week will likely push into the Houston area between 3 and 5 p.m. This could spell trouble for the Monday evening commute, so pack extra patience or consider leaving work an hour or so earlier than usual, if possible.

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Monday's severe storms risk

Given Houston's positioning in the warm sector ahead of an approaching cold front, a few storms may pack a punch. The Storm Prediction Center, an arm of the National Weather Service, has placed much of Southeast Texas under a level 1 out of 5 risk for severe storms Monday. More abundant severe weather ingredients will be found between Oklahoma City and Waco, where a level 2 out of 5 risk exists for severe storms Monday.

An approaching cold front Monday could spark strong storms across the eastern half of Texas, including in the Houston area. Storm Prediction Center / Pivotal Weather

Damaging wind is the main risk Monday's storms pose, but some of the strongest cells may also bring the threat of large hail. A slim tornado risk exists north of Houston, stretching roughly from near and north of a line from Austin to Lufkin.

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There is some good news here and it's that storms will be moving through Southeast Texas fairly quick. Storms should taper off from west to east through 8 p.m.

Second cold front brings chill

The first of two cold fronts will bring slightly cooler weather to the Houston area Tuesday. From high temperatures Monday in the lower 80s to highs falling just below 80 degrees by Tuesday, you'll likely not notice a drastic cool down until our second front blows through late Tuesday.

This cold front, which comes through Southeast Texas dry, will send temperatures plunging backwards by Wednesday and Thursday. High temperatures both of those days may not get out of the 60s under crystal clear blue skies. Morning lows will also take a considerable drop, with most of Greater Houston falling into the mid-40s by early Thursday and Friday.

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A mere four hours from where I live, Asheville, N.C., is decimated. As are many surrounding small towns. Many folks lost everything, their homes, cars, belongings. Its hard to imagine the devastation from the storm that let us get by with a few power outages and some downed trees.

A mere eight hours after Hurricane Helene ripped through the mountains in North Carolina, several folks a few minutes from where I live did more than count their blessings. They pulled up their sleeves, reached out to a few neighbors, got a plan together in a matter of minutes, and put the word out to the Lookout Mountain community.

Monica and Matt Dixon of What a Chef Wants knew one of their trucks could hold a whole lot of supplies for folks in need in North Carolina. The Lookout Mountain School Carnival, a major fundraising event, raised more than money for LMS. PTA president May Burke posted on the Lookout Mountain Neighborhood Facebook page that the Dixons were filling up a truck with supplies that could be collected by the ticket booth at the Commons during the carnival. These supplies were so basic it is mindboggling, necessities we take for granted as a general rule. Water. Toilet paper. Can openers. Warm blankets. Baby formula. Canned food. Gloves, coats, and hornet/yellow jacket spray as the downed trees exposed lots of nests. AA batteries. Diapers.

I went early to the Commons to deliver water, wondering how I would know where to put it. I assumed there would be a whirlwind of activity with last minute carnival set-up and folks scrambling to make sure all the booths had signs and the cotton candy machine was working. But right there, front and center by the ticket booth, hours before the Carnival was to begin, two 8-foot tables were growing under the weight of jumbo boxes of disposable diapers, cases of canned vegetables and jumbo boxes of garbage bags and industrial-sized boxes of coffee. The What Chefs Want truck was full to the brim by the time the LMS Carnival was halfway over.

Along this same timeline, Leigh Kurkendall of Lookout Mountain Dental put big Tupperware boxes out on the porch with signs to donate. She also posted her mission to fill a truck with supplies and drive it a few hours east to help our neighbors. And about the same time, Kate Fuller of The Hive announced the same plan. Their businesses literally next door to one another, Leigh and Kate got together and coordinated their efforts. Leigh had already rented a trailer to haul supplies to North Carolina herself. But shortly after the two gals announced their plan on the Lookout Mountain Neighborhood Facebook page, it was clear the vehicle would not suffice. Were gonna need a bigger boat, they agreed. Or truck, as the case happened to be.

Donation collection is ongoing through the Church of the Good Shepherd on Lookout Mountain. There are wagons in the churchs narthex for donations, and What Chefs Want loads up the truck and hauls everything from blankets to baby formula to places recovering from this devastation.

The last word in this classic line in Jaws can be substituted for many things: house; car; TV  But one thing that will never fit for the folks who didnt hesitate to organize this grassroots Johnny-on-the spot relief effort is heart. There are some great big giving hearts a mere four minutes from where I live.

* * *

Ferris Robinson is the author of three childrens books, The Queen Who Banished Bugs, The Queen Who Accidentally Banished Birds, and Call Me Arthropod in her pollinator series If Bugs Are Banished. Making Arrangements is her first novel. Dogs and Love - Stories of Fidelity is a collection of true tales about mans best friend. She is the editor of The Lookout Mountain Mirror and The Signal Mountain Mirror.
A new study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE shows potential technological transformation paths towards climate neutrality by 2045 at the state level in Germany. The cross-sectoral energy system model "REMod" was used to quantify cost-optimized development paths for the energy, transport, industry and building sectors - including their necessary infrastructures. A variety of possible scenarios were considered. The study confirms the central role of electrification in a cost-efficient transformation, yet also the supplementary role of hydrogen for the industry, transport sector and power plants.

The results indicate that a significant grid expansion is needed to transport electricity and hydrogen from northern Germany to the main consumption centers in western and southern Germany. In an energy system based largely on renewable energy, both energy generation and energy consumption must be made more flexible.

The transition of the energy system towards climate neutrality is in full swing. Concrete implementation plans on the regional level, e.g. for municipal district heating, are becoming increasingly important. The new study "Pathways to a Climate-Neutral Energy System: Federal States in the Transformation Process" addresses important current developments such as the changing energy demand, geopolitical uncertainties and infrastructure planning for power grid and hydrogen network expansions. The study uses spatially resolved optimizations to focus on the technical transformation at the state level. This was made possible by adding numerous extensions to the existing REMod energy system model, which mathematically simulates the German energy system (including energy imports) to calculate the most favorable transformation paths. The regionalized model shows possible pathways for ten regions in Germany, taking the required expansion of the electricity and hydrogen grids into account. The resulting cost-optimized regional transformation paths can now provide orientation for decision-making processes at the state level.

Four defining scenarios Based on current social and political developments, the study examines four scenarios as possible paths to climate neutrality in 2045. In all of them, the German climate targets, including climate neutrality, are achieved by 2045 and the energy supply is always ensured throughout all consumption sectors.

The scenario "Open Technology" describes the cost-optimized transformation path of the energy system without considering additional, fixed boundary conditions. A high degree of freedom with regard to the selection of available technologies is assumed.

The scenario "Efficiency" is based on stricter climate targets: By 2045, CO2-emissions must be reduced by 1000 million-tonnes. At the same time, a faster expansion of renewable installations (particularly solar and wind) is assumed possible. Also, energy demand decreases due to higher efficiencies and falling consumption (sufficiency).

In the scenario "Persistence", existing technologies such as vehicles with combustion engines or fossil-fuel based heating systems are retained longer. The climate-friendly conversion of industry is also delayed.

In the scenario "Robust", geopolitical uncertainties and climate change are taken into account. For example, the availability of photovoltaic and battery storage systems is assumed to be reduced due to geopolitical reasons, delaying the potential expansion in Germany.

Direct electrification central to the decarbonization of all sectors The study results show that, when technically possible, direct electrification is the most cost-effective option for the overall system: Thus, heat pumps will be the dominant heating technology in 2045. Battery-electric vehicles will be used almost exclusively in private transportation. The degree of electrification in industry will rise to around 70 percent. Due to the high level of electricity use in the consumer sectors, demand for electricity is expected to double in all German federal states by 2045. In addition, the wind-rich states of Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-West Pomerania will experience the development of a major new electricity consumer in the form of domestic hydrogen electrolysis. Depending on the scenario, electricity consumption of between 1,150 and 1,650 TWh can be expected in 2045.

Northern Germany shall supply one third of the primary energy in 2045 and become a supplier of hydrogen Wind energy and photovoltaics are proving to be the central pillars of the energy transition, which is why onshore wind energy is to expand even in supposedly low-wind states. In the open-technology scenario, today's installed onshore capacity shall double by 2030 and reach around 290 gigawatts by 2045. The installed photovoltaic capacity increases to up to 420 GW by 2045.

For 2045, the study shows that Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-West Pomerania will provide a third of Germany's primary energy due to their high wind power potential and that power-to-x technologies will greatly expand. Electrolysis will play a central role in flexible electricity consumption, which is why a large proportion of the expected 65 GW of electrolysis capacity will be installed in the north. In contrast, more battery storage systems will be installed in those states dominated by photovoltaics.

For optimal energy distribution between the north and the industrially strong federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Wurttemberg and Bavaria, the expansion of the electricity grid is key alongside the hydrogen infrastructure, especially the north-south and north-west connections. Storage capacities of at least 130 TWh are required for hydrogen, which is primarily needed for high-temperature processes and for material use in industry.

In order to compensate for the large regional differences in generation and demand, the flexibilization of electricity demand plays a major role in all scenarios. Flexible gas and hydrogen power plants are used in all states to stabilize the grid. Electric vehicles and stationary batteries are used as short-term battery storage.
The new Stilwell senior nutrition site is expected to be operational in early 2025. The schedule of operations will be 11 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Home News 2,400 anti-Christian hate crimes reported in Europe Germany sees 105% increase

Anti-Christian hate crimes in Europe reached a total of 2,444 incidents in 2023, according to a report that compiled data from police and civil society sources across 35 European countries. The statistics include 232 personal attacks on Christians, ranging from harassment and threats to physical violence.

At least 1,230 anti-Christian hate crimes were allegedly committed by 10 of the European governments in 2023, an increase from 1,029 in 2022, said the report, titled Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe Report 2024, by OIDAC Europe, a watchdog organization.

These incidents took place in countries including France, Germany and the United Kingdom, which experienced some of the highest numbers of recorded incidents, according to the report, which draws on data from various sources, including the OSCE's (Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, or ODIHR, and government reports.

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France saw nearly 1,000 anti-Christian hate crimes in 2023. The majority of these attacks  about 90%  were aimed at churches and cemeteries.

Further, French authorities documented 84 personal attacks on individuals. A notable incident involved two nuns in Nantes who left the city in March 2023 due to ongoing hostility, stating that they endured beatings, spitting and insults.

In January 2023, arsonists attacked four churches in Paris using Molotov cocktails, which was highlighted by the French Religious Heritage Observatory, an organization that also observed a rise in criminal arson incidents since 2023.

The U.K. also faced a significant number of incidents, with 702 cases reported in England and Wales between April 2023 and March 2024. This represented a 15% increase compared to the previous year. One particularly shocking attack occurred against Javed Nouri, a Christian convert from a Muslim background, who narrowly survived an attempted murder by his roommate, who viewed him as an apostate who deserved to die.

Germany witnessed a 105% increase in anti-Christian hate crimes, rising from 135 incidents in 2022 to 277 in 2023. However, the German government's official statistics only include politically motivated hate crimes, excluding vandalism or arson attacks without political motives.

OIDAC Europe, using police data obtained from most German federal states, estimated that there were at least 2,000 cases of damage to Christian places of worship in Germany in 2023. This marked a worrying trend of escalating violence against Christian religious institutions across the country.

The countries that published police statistics on anti-Christian hate crimes in 2023 reported that the majority of incidents targeted places of worship.

Across Europe, OIDAC documented a total of 232 incidents involving verbal and physical attacks on Christians, supplemented by civil society data. The most common form of violence was vandalism, accounting for 62% of the incidents, including numerous cases involving desecration. Arson attacks made up 10%, threats 8% and physical violence 7%. OIDAC also recorded one case of murder, seven attempted murders and 68 personal attacks on Christians motivated by anti-Christian bias.

The perpetrators' motives and backgrounds remain challenging to establish, as police authorities generally do not disclose this information, said the report. However, Germany provided some details, reporting 92 politically motivated attacks on churches in which the perpetrators' motives could be classified.

These motives included political right (31 incidents), religious ideologies (16 incidents), and political left (14 incidents). Of the cases documented by OIDAC, those with identifiable motivations frequently involved radical Islamist backgrounds (21 incidents), followed by anti-religious motives (14 incidents) and radical left motivations (13 incidents).

Compared to 2022, the number of incidents involving Islamist backgrounds almost doubled from 11 to 21.

The report also listed a number of restrictions on religious freedom affecting Christians in Europe. These restrictions included fines and prosecutions for individuals engaging in public prayer, such as the instance of a man in the U.K. convicted for silently praying in his mind near an abortion clinic within a designated buffer zone.

The report also pointed to discrimination against Christians in public life and the workplace. Christian politicians, in particular, have faced discrimination for their personal beliefs, sometimes being forced to choose between their political careers and their faith. This type of workplace discrimination, along with other pressures, has led to an increasing trend of self-censorship among Christians, particularly younger individuals, who often hide their beliefs to avoid confrontation or harassment, it noted.

The findings suggest a chilling effect on the public expression of Christian faith in Europe. Workplace environments, university campuses and other public spaces have become increasingly hostile to the overt practice of Christian beliefs, the report noted.

In several European countries, Christians have faced restrictions on public prayer, manifestations of their beliefs, and in some instances, limitations on their parental rights and conscientious objections to specific medical procedures.
Home News 'Forced silence: Barbados may jail citizens for online posts causing emotional distress

A proposed law being debated in the Caribbean island of Barbados threatens citizens with up to seven years in prison for causing "emotional distress" through online posts, leading to public protests and accusations of silencing free speech.

The Cybercrime Bill seeks to criminalize a wide range of actions under the guise of "cybersecurity," including publishing, broadcasting or transmitting data that is "offensive" or which might subject someone to "ridicule, contempt, or embarrassment," warns the legal advocacy group ADF International.

The bill, which was passed by the House of Assembly in June, is currently under review in the Senate. ADF International argues that the proposed legislation violates international human rights protections for free speech, including the American Convention on Human Rights.

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The criteria for offenses are vague, ranging from causing "annoyance" or "inconvenience" to inducing "anxiety" or "substantial emotional distress," the group said.

According to the bill's text, violators could face up to 70,000 BBD in fines (around $35,000) and seven years in prison. The Joint Select Committee, which was supposed to improve the bill after widespread public concern, instead recommended harsher penalties, suggesting sentences of up to 10 years and fines of 100,000 BBD (about $50,000).

Speaking before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington, D.C., Donald Leacock, a social media influencer and citizen of Barbados, called the bill "draconian."

"Freedom of expression is blatantly being stripped from us in this draconian cybercrime bill that the government of Barbados is forcing onto the citizens," Leacock said, adding that Section 20 of the bill could lead to prison terms of up to 10 years for merely posting something that could be interpreted as causing "anxiety or emotional distress."

"Should our citizens be thrown in jail for a decade simply for posting something online that the political elite can claim makes them 'anxious' or 'emotionally distressed?'" Leacock asked. "The law's deliberately vague language leaves it open to interpretation, and therefore, abuse.  The government aims to intimidate us into forced silence."

Julio Pohl, legal counsel for ADF International, criticized the attempt to criminalize online content, stating, "Any law that seeks to criminalize online content that is subjectively deemed annoying, embarrassing, or anxiety-inducing is absurd in a free society."

Pohl contends the Barbados government should focus on protecting citizens from real cyber threats, such as hacking and incitement to violence, rather than regulating online speech to spare individuals from "annoyance."
Some of us pull up to a red light and, in the comfort of our climate-controlled cars, we pass the captive seconds fiddling with the phone, the radio, the rear-view mirror, anything to avoid connecting with the desperate eyes on the other side of the glass, yet another fellow human soliciting salvation through a cardboard sign.

Maybe we dont have cash that day. Maybe we arent sure what good it would do anyway. Maybe were just tired of being asked. And then, mercifully, the light turns green. We press the gas. Were on our way  free from the face.

But not the eyes. The eyes stay with you.

Sheri Macek, 52, panhandles at the intersection of State Highway 288 and Almeda-Genoa on July 13, 2023. Sharon Steinmann

For most of the past seven years, it was Sheri Maceks eyes that haunted the intersection of Almeda-Genoa and Highway 288.

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Theres a McDonalds on one corner and a truck stop on the other. Macek would fly a sign for long hours, the sun raking her reddened skin, gray hair pulled into a knot thats matted in the back, dirt caking her fingernails, a hopeful smile puckered where her teeth used to be. The reading glasses perched atop her head might seem a luxury for someone in these circumstances, but theyre essential for a voracious reader who devours science fiction and fantasy paperbacks.



Macek is only 52. But the many heartbreaks she told us about  addiction, mental illness, domestic violence, the grief of giving up two children she knew she couldnt raise, dysfunctional relationships and the deaths of two husbands  have added decades to her eyes.

After panhandling all day  Hungry Anything Help God bless, reads the sign  she beds down beneath the highway at night, bracing against the weather and cuddling her orange tabby, Marmot, who is better at warding off loneliness than repelling the prowling rats.

Sheri Macek, 52, sits under the overpass at the intersection of State Highway 288 and Almeda-Genoa on July 13, 2023, where she lived for 7 years. Sharon Steinmann

Sometimes the police would come, issuing Macek and her companion, Tony, citations and repeated warnings of arrest for trespassing. They didn't have another place to go.



Some people are out here by choice, Macek told us. And some people get thrown out here and by the time they want to get out, its almost too late.



Finally, she and Tony fled to the woods on the edge of the highway, hoping no one would find them. But someone soon did.

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The Way Home

Tina Hatcher, Executive Director of Hope Impacts in Katy, TX, talks with an unhoused woman her organization is helping in Katy, TX during the annual Point in Time count on January 24, 2024. Sharon Steinmann

While some of us turn away from the thousands of Houstonians who call our streets home, others  a legion of social workers, city employees, homeless outreach police officers and nonprofit volunteers with the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County  go looking for them.



They go looking  to build rapport, to count heads, to warn about trespassing laws. And often to persuade: Somewhere, theres a better life, they say. Somewhere, theres a soft bed, a warm shower, a fresh start. Somewhere, theres a home waiting for you  just as you are. You dont have to get sober or get saved to get a roof over your head. The roof is supposed to help with the rest.

This approach is called housing first. Houston and Harris Countys version is called The Way Home.

Sheri Macek is pictured with her younger son in a family photo. Sharon Steinmann

PART II: The Sheri Macek who lived under a bridge for years never imagined having a home again

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Does it really work to hand over an apartment key to someone who hasnt yet shown a commitment to change or even to enter counseling? California has spent billions on a similar model, but amid skyrocketing housing prices, the number of homeless people there still surged. Some conservative think tanks have branded the concept a disaster. But Houston has the advantage of relatively low housing costs, plus a remarkable level of coordination among nonprofits and law enforcement.

Officer Sheldon Theragood, with Houston Police Departments Homeless Outreach Team, talks with unhoused people living under an overpass on Elysian Street near downtown Houston, TX on July 28, 2023. Sharon Steinmann

Annise Parker helped build Houstons model when she was mayor: If youre sleeping in a tent under a bridge and youre drowning your pain and the cold with alcohol, she told us, how are you going to get clean and sober in an unstable situation?

During her tenure, Parker demanded that the Houston Housing Authority use its federal vouchers to house people who are chronically homeless. She pushed more than 100 nonprofits to work together instead of duplicating efforts, and to use the same data tracking system so people wouldnt slip through the cracks.

Houston is now a national model for reducing homelessness among those who meet the definition of chronic: unhoused for a year. Across the country, the number of people sleeping on the streets and in shelters has exploded, smashing records each year. But not here. Delegations from Anchorage to Albuquerque have flown to Houston to study our system, which has reduced homelessness by 60% since 2011 and housed more than 30,000 people.

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A family walks past homeless people at Bayou Place in downtown Houston on April 13, 2024. Sharon Steinmann

It isnt a panacea, though, as this editorial board has learned over more than a year of reporting, interviews, tours and ride-alongs. The system leaves thousands languishing on the streets. The focus on those who meet a strict definition of chronic homelessness often means that people dont get help until theyve experienced months of trauma living on the street. Funding is unstable. Local philanthropy is leveraged to bring in around $50 million in federal money per year. In addition, $100 million in federal COVID funds were used to expand the program.

COVID funds are running out, and early this year, the federal stream of housing vouchers ran dry, screeching housing efforts to a near halt. That sent Mayor John Whitmire, Houston Housing Director Mike Nichols and homeless coalition members scrambling for solutions. One plan is to raise $75 million  a third from the city, county and private sector each  to expand the program rather than let it backslide.

Every Houstonian should hope they succeed  not just for the sake of the unhoused but for the safety and quality of life for all.

The Way Home is worth saving. Maceks story tells why.

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The social workers' offer

Khena Minor, an outreach worker from the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County, was driving down the feeder road of Highway 288 in the spring of 2023 when she noticed a footpath into the woods. The path lead her to Sheri Maceks campsite in the woods. Sharon Steinmann

On a wet and muggy day at the end of March 2023, a young outreach worker named Khena Minor was driving down the feeder road of Highway 288 when she noticed a footpath into the woods. She and her colleague stopped to check it out.

Hello, hello? Minor called out as she cautiously entered the tangle of sycamore and oak.

Minor stopped at the head of the path, but farther in, the ground was strewn with coolers and Styrofoam cups. A makeshift bridge of election signs covered the muddiest patches along the path. There in the woods, the rumble of nearby semis surrenders to a strange serenity.

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Were with the Houston Homeless Coalition, Minor called, inching closer to a campsite.

Macek emerged, eyes alert as she assessed her visitors. She wondered how theyd found her down such a narrow path.

Minor flashed a reassuring smile and approached, iPad in hand.

Minor and her colleague asked Macek if they could look her up in the system. They saw that social workers had reached her before, but that she had fallen through the cracks. They asked Macek if she wanted to do a housing assessment  that is, to give them information they could use to determine if she qualified for housing. Minor recalled Macek looked discouraged.

Minor didnt pressure her but offered to help her get a special ID card for the homeless. An ID  only a few inches of laminated plastic, often featuring an unflattering photo  is something so simple, most dont give it much thought. But for homeless people, an ID opens doors that otherwise remain closed. Macek had lost her last ID in a police sweep of a former encampment, along with her birth certificate and her wedding ring from her late husband.

About a week later, with a plastic card in hand, outreach workers explained that they could help her with so much more. Over several months, they brought snacks, clothes and helped her get a new Social Security card. With that, she'd be able to apply for jobs, housing and food stamps.

Macek even had a chance of qualifying for permanent housing with supportive services because of her disabilities and years of continuous homelessness.

In July, social workers came out again. A spot had opened in the Navigation Center, a transitional shelter in the Fifth Ward where she could get cleaned up and access services while awaiting housing.

Macek wasnt sure.

A middle-class childhood

Sheri Macek, far left, is seen in a family photo in her fathers home outside Austin, TX. Sharon Steinmann

Street life  with its filth and monotony and dangers  was a far cry from Macek's comfortable, middle-class upbringing in Spring.

We met Kenneth Oliver, Macek's 84-year-old father, at his current home outside Austin. A retired oil-and-gas geophysicist, he said that his daughter had a happy childhood in a God-fearing home but fell into the wrong crowd as a teen. She mentioned suicide at school, prompting family counseling. Her mother, now deceased, struggled with health issues, and mother and daughter often butted heads.

Looking at old family photos her father shared with us, its hard to reconcile the bright-eyed child  so many possible paths ahead of her, maybe a professional one like her brother who became a lawyer  with the woman we encountered living under the highway. Her eyes, though, still have a spark of mirth  until she talks about the hardest times.

After high school, Macek went to a small Christian university in Oklahoma. At age 18, she became pregnant there. Her parents sent her to a residential center in Fort Worth where she says young mothers were encouraged to give up their babies for adoption. She doesnt talk freely about that painful decision. She never knew what became of her first born. The only trace of him, a small snapshot of a baby boy, still hangs in her fathers home on a wall of family portraits.

Sheri Macek, bottom center, is seen in family photos in her fathers home outside Austin, TX. Sharon Steinmann

Macek never re-enrolled in college. At 22, she gave birth to her second son and tried to raise him by herself for the first years of his life. Eventually she fell into homelessness after a failed marriage and financial problems. Her parents adopted and homeschooled her son.

Years passed. Macek married again and became a widow. Traumas compounded with mental illness and addiction. She found shelter and work periodically, but by 2015, her world had shrunk to the encampment under Highway 288. Her third husband died while they were living at the encampment.

There was always concern there, her father told us. But I didnt feel like there was anything we could do. He gave her small amounts of money but worried giving her more would fuel her drug addiction. He said that he and his wife took her out to eat when they visited and at some point, paid for a car.

She knew it wasnt the best lifestyle," he said, "but its what she had chosen.

Over time, Macek grew accustomed to the rhythms of life on the streets, the independence, the camaraderie of other unhoused people shed meet. That includes Tony, who helped pull her out of despondence after the devastating loss of her third husband.

When my husband died, I just, I kind of lost it, she said. I gave up.

Hesitant to be housed

Sheri Macek, 52, hugs an outreach worker with the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County at the intersection of State Highway 288 and Almeda-Genoa on July 13, 2023. Sharon Steinmann

After all this time, the prospect of returning to society seemed daunting. Somewhere along the way, an unimaginable life on the streets became normal to Macek. And normal became unimaginable. She gave up hope.

It may be miserable, she'd say later. But its a miserable you know.

Shed lost her confidence that she could ever go back.

On that sweltering day in July 2023 under the highway, she told outreach workers that shed lost some of her teeth after an abusive partner years before knocked them out. Whos going to give a job to a toothless hag? she asked, crying.

Macek thought of every excuse she could. The campsite was a real find: close to a convenience store, a McDonalds and a bus stop. A woman who became a good friend picked her up every Sunday to take her to Sagemont Church, where she felt welcome.



But she struggled to articulate the biggest reason she didnt want to leave: fear.

Sheri Macek, 52, talks with outreach workers from the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County at the intersection of State Highway 288 and Almeda-Genoa on July 13, 2023. At left is Molly Permenter and at right is Kris Donaldson. Sharon Steinmann

Several of the outreach workers ticked off reasons why Macek should accept a bed at the navigation center.

The nav center  all right, it might not change everybodys life, said Molly Permenter, an outreach worker who was once homeless herself. But I think that just being a woman, especially, getting off the streets knowing that youre safe. I know thats a big one with women  youre safe, youve got three square meals, youve got snacks. Youve got medical. You have people who will bring you books.

You can bring your pets, someone else added.

You can bring your pets! Permenter repeated.

Macek listened intently to that part: She loves her cats like kids. She kept listening, rocking gently, tears in her eyes.

The triple-digit heat bore down, but the outreach workers didnt. They wont force anyone to go.

Only Macek could make the choice.

Sheri Maceks story will continue in the third installment in this series on Houstons efforts to reduce homelessness.

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Home News Florida sues FEMA for discrimination, denying aid to Trump supporters

Florida has sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency, alleging discrimination in hurricane relief efforts against supporters of President-elect Donald Trump. The lawsuit, filed by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, accuses FEMA officials of deliberately denying aid to victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton based on their political affiliation.

The suit names FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and former FEMA supervisor Marn'i Washington as defendants.

The federal lawsuit claims that FEMA officials conspired to discriminate against hurricane victims who displayed support for the former president. Specifically, the complaint accuses Washington of directing workers to avoid aiding homes displaying Trump campaign signs after Hurricane Milton hit Florida in late September and early October, according to NPR.

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Hurricane season is not over, and the federal agency in charge of emergency response is embroiled in scandal  caught withholding aid from storm victims in Florida who support President Trump, Moody was quoted as saying.

Washington, who was later fired, reportedly gave verbal instructions and repeated them in a group chat, instructing relief teams to bypass homes advertising Trump, The Daily Wire reported earlier.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has thrown his support behind the lawsuit, declaring that he has directed other state agencies to investigate and ensure accountability.

DeSantis described the incident as the blatant weaponization of government by partisan activists.

New leadership is on the way in DC, and I'm optimistic that these partisan bureaucrats will be fired, DeSantis wrote on X.

The accusations against FEMA first came to light through an internal investigation.

The Daily Wire reported that messages in a government group chat included instructions to avoid homes advertising Trump during post-hurricane surveys in Highlands County, a conservative area significantly affected by Hurricane Milton. As per these reports, at least 20 homes with Trump signs were bypassed during relief efforts, leading to widespread backlash from residents and prompting Moody's lawsuit.

Criswell called Washington's behavior reprehensible and a clear violation of FEMA's core values and principles to help people regardless of their political affiliation.

Following the initial revelation, Washington was terminated, but not before defending her actions. In an interview on media commentator Roland Martin's digital show, Washington asserted she was merely following standard protocol to avoid hostility in the field.

The scandal has attracted congressional scrutiny, with Criswell set to testify before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Tuesday.

A FEMA spokesperson earlier said the agency is deeply disturbed by the incident, stressing that Washington had no authority to issue such guidance.

The controversy surrounding FEMA's response is not limited to Washington's actions.

Similar allegations emerged in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene, when FEMA was accused of selective assistance. In response, FEMA suspended its door-to-door operations in North Carolina temporarily, citing threats against its personnel.

Complaints of delayed or insufficient aid to Trump-supporting areas have persisted, including in regions like Carter County, Tennessee.

FEMA's response to the hurricanes has been substantial, with the agency having provided assistance to over 365,000 households affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida, disbursing more than $898 million in aid. However, the allegations of selective aid distribution have marred these efforts.
Home News Gaetz nomination draws pushback from Christian conservative, sexual exploitation groups

A Christian conservative legal group and a sexual exploitation watchdog are among many speaking out against President-elect Donald Trump's selection of Rep. Matt Gaetz, R- Fla., to serve as attorney general, citing allegations of sexual misconduct.

Trump announced his intention to nominate Gaetz, a staunch ally representing Florida's 1st Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, to serve as Attorney General on Wednesday.

The selection of Gaetz, known for orchestrating the ouster of then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California last year, has drawn blowback from many, including some conservatives and nonpartisan groups.

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The nonpartisan National Center on Sexual Exploitation released a statement Thursday calling on the U.S. Senate to reject Gaetz's nomination unless he is cleared of allegations of sex trafficking of a minor and prostitution.

"We urge the Senate not to confirm former Representative Matt Gaetz as U.S. Attorney General while there remain serious, credible allegations of engaging in sex trafficking of a minor and prostitution," said NCOSE CEO Dawn Hawkins. "As the nation's highest law enforcement officer, he would be responsible for enforcing our nation's laws prohibiting sex trafficking, child sexual abuse material, prostitution, and obscenity."

Insisting that "the victims and survivors we serve deserve no less," Hawkins maintained that "the people of this country deserve assurance that their leaders are committed to justice without exception."

She stressed that "Gaetz's resignation from Congress should not prevent the House Committee on Ethics from releasing its report, which is relevant to his potential qualifications to be the U.S. Attorney General."

"If the House will not release the report, we call on the Senate to conduct a full investigation before moving forward," she added. "His candidacy for this position cannot be fully vetted absent a full and transparent investigation."

Liberty Counsel, a Christian conservative legal group, expressed similar reservations about Trump's nomination of Gaetz.

"The nomination of Matt Gaetz as Attorney General is shocking and disappointing to those who have followed this man and the lurid scandals and serious allegations of sex parties and drugs during his tenure in the U.S. Congress," Liberty Counsel President Mat Staver said in a statement.

"The resignation of Gaetz immediately after his name surfaced for Attorney General is inexplicable except for the fact this resignation now ends the U.S. House Ethics probe," he asserted. "Obviously, Gaetz does not want America to know the result of the Ethics investigation. Matt Gaetz has neither the experience nor the moral character to serve as the highest law enforcement officer of the United States of America. Gaetz should do President Trump and all of America a favor and withdraw his name from consideration."

Liberty Counsel expressed concern about positions Gaetz has taken during his tenure as a state and federal legislator, specifically his work to remove Florida's prohibition on adoption by same-sex couples.

The group expressed disgust that Gaetz told "jokes" that it denounced as "laced with sexual innuendo" to an audience of conservative leaders that included conservative Christians.

While Gaetz resigned from the U.S. House this week in anticipation of becoming the next attorney general, the lawmaker's future heading the Department of Justice is contingent upon confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

Although Republicans are projected to have 53 Senate seats in the forthcoming 119th Congress, several members of Gaetz's own party have spoken out against his nomination, leaving his confirmation in doubt in light of the unanimous opposition expected from Senate Democrats. More than half of Senate Republicans told NBC News they don't believe Gaetz will be confirmed and want to know more about the allegations against him.

The House Ethics Committee elaborated on its investigation of Gaetz in a statement published in June, explaining that it "had initiated a review" in April 2021 "into allegations that Representative Matt Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift" in violation of House rules.

The panel maintained that "Gaetz has categorically denied all the allegations before the Committee" and that "the Committee has spoken with more than a dozen witnesses, issued 25 subpoenas, and reviewed thousands of pages of documents in this matter."

While the committee determined that the allegations that Gaetz "engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts, dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct" merited investigation, it did not reach the same conclusion regarding the other allegations.

The New York Times reported in March 2021 that the DOJ was investigating if Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and if he transported her across state lines to engage in the activity in violation of federal sex trafficking laws.

In February 2023, the DOJ announced that they were not going to bring charges against Gaetz due to reportedly being unable to bring forth a strong enough case against the congressman.
Home News Nicaragua expels lead bishop in further targeting of Catholic Church

Nicaragua has expelled Bishop Carlos Herrera, the head of the countrys Episcopal conference, in what appears to be a further step in its campaign against the Catholic Church, according to a report, which says the 75-year-old bishop was forced into exile in Guatemala.

The expulsion was sudden and has left the local Catholic community in shock, Reuters quoted Martha Molina, a lawyer with close ties to the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, as saying. She described Herrera as having been the target of persecution by the dictatorship and cited continuous harassment by leading security and administrative officials.

Molina added that Herreras recent criticism of the government, specifically pointing out disturbances during his religious services by individuals linked to local authorities, prompted his expulsion. Herreras masses in Jinotega were reportedly disrupted by loudspeakers set up outside by individuals tied to the mayors office.

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Costa Rican Bishop Manuel Eugenio Salazar was quoted as saying, May the Immaculate Conception crush the old serpents head!

The Nicaraguan government has not issued any statement regarding Herreras expulsion.

The government of President Daniel Ortega has increasingly targeted the Catholic Church since 2018, following a series of anti-government protests during which numerous church leaders, including Herrera, acted as intermediaries between the government and protestors.

Herrera was known for negotiating the release of several young people arrested during the 2018 demonstrations in Jinotega, a role that likely positioned him unfavorably with the administration.

Ortegas government has accused the Catholic Church of supporting opposition movements and has intensified its crackdown on religious institutions, civil society organizations and independent media over the past five years.

Many other clergymen have been expelled from Nicaragua, and Catholic-affiliated media outlets have been shut down. Bishop Rolando Alvarez of Matagalpa, who has been a prominent critic of the government, was exiled to Rome earlier this year. The government has gone as far as to seize a prominent Jesuit-run university in Managua.

In August, the Nicaraguan governments crackdown expanded to include Protestant churches, marking a significant broadening of its policy of religious suppression.

Scores of Protestant churches and the Nicaraguan Evangelical Alliance were among 169 civil society organizations that were stripped of their legal status. The move followed the revocation of the legal registration for about 1,500 nonprofit organizations, including numerous religious entities, as part of the governments crackdown on civil society.

A total of 5,552 organizations have had their legal status revoked since 2018, according to the U.K.-based group Christian Solidarity Worldwide. Historic denominations such as the Episcopal Church of Nicaragua, founded in 1612, and the Moravian Church of Nicaragua, which dates back to 1847, were affected by these revocations. Both churches have long played crucial roles in providing education and community services, particularly in indigenous and Afro-descendent communities in the South Caribbean Autonomous Region.

The First Baptist Church of Managua, established in 1917 and renowned for its community contributions, also had its legal status canceled. The churchs services include operating schools, a seminary, a hospital, and a radio station, which now face uncertainty.

The governments decree further targeted smaller and lesser-known congregations like the Shalom First Presbyterian Church of Nicaragua and the Gospel Eternal Message of the Three Angels Adventist Church, among others, revoking their permits to operate legally within the country.

Properties linked to these organizations, including church buildings and land, are being transferred to state control, continuing a pattern seen in previous seizures benefiting government entities like the Nicaraguan Army and the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute.

A report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, published in June, suggested increased surveillance and threats during church services.

President Ortega secured a controversial fifth term in 2021. Since then, his administration, led by the far-Left Sandinista National Liberation Front, has jailed political opponents, journalists and civil society activists, citing national security concerns.
Home Opinion Brooklyn and Bronx: Ground zero in the war for life

Brooklyn and the Bronx represent ground zero in the war for life. They represent ground zero for the highest number of abortions in the U.S. New Yorks Governor and Attorney General are celebrating attacks on pro-life Christians there, with the Empire State Freedom Initiative. The destruction of preborn boys and girls is a right that Governor Kathy Hochul seeks to protect by targeting those who see abortion as barbaric violation of the rights of the baby and destruction of the health of the mother.

At CompassCare, we know a thing or two about the dangers of being inside the belly of the beast. Weve been attacked by the acidic secularists who support exterminating innocent life in the womb. Those attacks have been political, legislative, legal, and even terrorist in nature, when our Buffalo medical office was firebombed in the wake of the Dobbs decision.

These attacks are meant to intimidate and shut us down. But we never shut down and we are not intimidated. These attacks serve only to galvanize us to the principles of life that drive us. There can be no higher moral ground than loving God and our neighbor as ourselves. And so we have the legal high ground as Scripture says that among other things, the fruit of [Gods] Spirit is love  against such things there is no law. It is precisely because of this moral high ground, this high calling, that we are opening two new medical offices, one in the Bronx and one in Brooklyn in the coming days. Operating in the State of New York can often feel like were doing our work behind enemy lines.

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These offices represent much more than just medical care. They are outposts in a spiritual war  a war that has profound temporal consequences. The attacks we continue to face from both state and local authorities, coupled with the newly established constitutional right to abortion in New York, make it clear: this is not just a political debate. It is a battlefield. We are not just treating patients  we are standing in the breech, offering a lifeline to women who may otherwise feel trapped into choosing abortion.

Lets be clear: the pro-life movement is not about merely fighting to change laws; its about changing hearts and minds, teaching the world the truth that humanity is inherently valuable as made in the image of our Creator. Protecting all life equally, without arbitrary qualifications like gestational age or genetic normalcy, or quality of life, is the hallmark of civil society.



Death is only ever a solution in barbaric, narcissistic societies where women and men treat each other as mere objects for personal gratification.

CompassCare provides an alternative that honors the dignity of both mother and child. This mission has always been a deeply spiritual one, driven by the truth that every life is sacred, regardless of the circumstances of conception. But now, its becoming an increasingly temporal battle. With each new attack, each fiery law aimed at limiting our ability to provide these life-affirming services, the stakes get higher not just for pro-life Christians but also for women who will have no ethical abortion alternatives.

The Empire State Freedom Initiative may be designed to crush the pro-life movement, but it is the catalyst for a revival of commitment to the sanctity of life. Unjust enforcement of inhumane policies only strengthens our resolve, serving only to illustrate the point that we as a nation need to re-civilize, returning to the basic truth about what being human means. And as we continue to serve the women and families in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and beyond, we ask the public to see through the political smokescreen, recognizing that the work we are doing is nothing less than a stand for human dignity, a stand for life everywhere.

In the coming weeks, CompassCare will not only be opening medical offices; we will be planting flags of freedom, truth, and hope in a state where life is increasingly under threat. It is our belief that while the battle may be hard, the victory will be worth it  because, in the end, the truth remains.
Home Opinion Gen Z sours on social media is good news

In The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien writes of Gollums relationship with the One Ring: He hated it and loved it  He could not get rid of it. He had no will left in the matter. A new survey suggests something similar has happened with Generation Z and another powerfully addictive object: the smartphone, especially when it functions as a portal to social media.

Writing in The New York Times, psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt details a recent Harris poll of over a thousand 18- to 27-year-olds about their experience with and attitudes toward technology. The most shocking finding was that around half of Gen Z wished social media platforms like TikTok and X didnt exist.

Considering 60% of Gen Z adults spend at least four hours a day on social media and a further 23% spend seven or more hours daily, thats remarkable. But it makes perfect sense when you realize that people can dislike something and still be addicted to it. As Haidt wrote:

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Feelings of regret or resentment are common with addictive products (cigarettes, for example) and addictive activities like gambling, even if most users say they enjoy them.

Though the members of Gen Z in this survey were all adults, their insights are still valuable. Recall that they were the first generation of digital natives  those who never knew a world before smartphones or other internet-capable mobile devices. Perhaps that explains why eight in 10 associate social media with the word addicting, and a third said they use it out of force of habit. Considering how early many of these kids were handed a screen, they never stood a chance.

In his book The Anxious Generation, Haidt recalls the gut-punch moment when his young daughter approached him and said, Daddy, can you take the iPad away from me? Im trying to take my eyes off it, but I cant. He goes on to show that the addictive power of smartphones and social media is a feature, not a bug. They were designed to do this.

But its not just the addictive quality of sites like X and TikTok that leave young people wishing they could quit. Theres also something innately unhealthy about these platforms, especially for the young. Thirty-seven percent of respondents to the survey said that social media had a negative impact on their emotional health. Women in particular (44%) were likely to feel this way. And incredibly, 60% of respondents said social media has had a negative impact on society  nearly twice the number who said it has had a positive impact.

A look at the two sites Gen Z hates the most suggests explanations. X has long been known as the ultimate cancellation machine, a place where peoples careers and reputations are often ruined by a foolish post, and where one-liners and mobs trump rational discussion. TikToks endless feed of quick videos infamously deadens users ability to enjoy real life, and turns mental health problems into social contagions.

Ultimately, these toxic effects arise from social medias tendency to reward users worst impulses and to train them to think and act in a disembodied way. This is harmful because were embodied beings, designed to have relationships mediated by our bodies. When we remove them from the picture, our social interactions become that much less human.

Podcaster Patrick Miller summed it up well when he wrote on X (where else?): Our children are begging us to rescue them from the technology we created and gave them. Its time we listened.

Thankfully, a majority of Gen Z already supports common-sense measures to get the phone-based childhood under control. Six in 10 young adults favor a parent restricting their childs access to smartphones until high school, and nearly half said they would place this restriction on their own child. Imagine the next generation of children freer from the weight of screens. Cool.

These are very close to Haidts own recommendations based on years of research into childhood development. And they open the possibility of parents, neighborhoods, churches, and schools reviving what he calls the play-based childhood. Or as my generation called it simply, childhood.

Gen Z souring on social media is good news. It coincides with other hopeful signs of a backlash against addictive tech. But at the rate this stuff advances, time is critical. If kids who havent yet gotten hooked are going to stand a chance, we need a better vision of childhood, a clearer idea of where screens fit into it, and a cultural shift back toward embodied relationships. The fact that half of digital natives wish the biggest social media sites didnt exist is the clearest cry for help I can imagine. Like a certain Ring, this stuff has a mind of its own. Lets not let it steal another generations ability to look away.

Originally published at BreakPoint.
Home Opinion Youre Christian because you were born in America and other lies

You know the story of Superman, right?

Born Kal-El on his planet of Krypton, hes sent to Earth by his parents in a small spaceship shortly before Krypton is cataclysmically destroyed. Fortunately for him, he lands in America and is found and adopted by the good and decent farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent who name him Clark. They go on to raise him to value truth, justice, and the American way, and so he grows up to live out those values as the Man of Steel.

Nice story. But what if baby Kal-El had landed somewhere else?

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New York Times best-selling writer Mark Millar imagined just such a thing. In 2003, Millar published a three-series work for DC Comics entitled Superman: Red Son where Kal-El lands in the Soviet Union on a Ukrainian collective farm instead of one in Kansas. Hes raised under the tenets of Communism, works for the Russian newspaper Pravda (instead of the Daily Planet in America), and fights a never-ending battle for Stalin, socialism, and the international expansion of the Warsaw Pact.

Quite the difference, huh? Well, I have news for you: although youre probably unaware of it, something similar happened to you.

If youre reading this, are a Christian, and living in America, youre a Christ follower only because youve been raised in the United States. At least thats what quite a few skeptics want you to believe.

The standard party line in this regard is that religion is mostly just an extension of culture and an invention of society. Civilizations do this primarily because they help unify people, and if you look back through history you can see how various cultures developed certain religions to do just that.

Moreover, if you look at where the bulk of practitioners are for those religions (each of which they believe is the only correct one) youll find they center around the birthplace of their faith. Its a little like Richard Dawkins said: How thoughtful of God to arrange matters so that, wherever you happen to be born, your local religion turns out to be the true one.

Sounds a bit caustic at first, but lets step back and ask, is Dawkins making a bogus claim? Actually, theres some evidence to support his statement.

Somewhere around 96% of Muslims live in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Almost 90% of Buddhists live in East Asia. Almost 100% of Hindus live in India or South Asia. This begs the question: is there any major religion that doesnt follow that trend?

Yes  just one: Christianity.

In his book, Whose Religion is Christianity?, Yale Divinity School professor Dr. Lamin Sanneh goes to great lengths to showcase how the Christian faith differs from its rivals, one of which is that it doesnt obey the geographical confines of other belief systems.

Noting that, professor Richard Bauckham of St. Andrews says, Almost certainly Christianity exhibits more cultural diversity than any other religion and that must say something about it.

But what exactly does it say?

How Christians are really birthed

Before we answer that question, lets quickly address the cynics contention that you only believe X because you were raised in your current culture or family. We need to remember that theres a distinction between truly believing something and being either implicitly or explicitly coerced to practice something. Just look at how many young people jettison their family faith once they leave home.

Further, the argument slices up the skeptic in both directions as soon as it leaves their mouth. If they are an unbeliever and were raised by unbelievers, then how can they say theyre not just practicing the family belief system? But if they were raised by parents who believed and taught them a particular faith, which they now deny, theyre living proof of their arguments failure.

But lets get back to why Christianity stands out from other faiths regarding its point of origin. Lets start with the important fact that Jesus doesn't say, as every other prophet does in competing religions, that I am here to show you how to find God, but rather He says I am God and I have come to find you.

And He finds His people, as you would expect, everywhere.

Christ told His disciples, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, (Matt. 28:19) and so we speak the hope of the Gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under Heaven (Col. 1:23).

Of course, other religions have missionaries that go everywhere as well. So why does Christianity still stand out as having massive numbers of converts in all corners of the globe, like in China where current estimates are that the Christian community there has grown from 1 million to 100 million?

Two reasons.

First, there are good, rational, historical, and logical reasons for accepting the Christian faith as being true. For example, listen to how J. Warner Wallace, a former atheist and now well-known Christian apologist, became a believer:

I was not raised in a Christian home. The one man I respected more than anyone else (my father) has always been a committed atheist. I didnt know any outspoken Christians growing up, and I was hostile to the claims of Christianity until the age of 35. While I had examined a number of eastern religions, Mormonism, Islam and the Bahai Faith, I was eventually persuaded by the evidence of the New Testament Gospel eyewitness accounts. On the basis of those accounts, I began an investigation of Christianity and the existence of God. Like so many others, I came to believe Christianity is true, not because of my surrounding influences, but on the strength of the case itself.

But second, since theres plenty of proof that we excel at acting contrary to even the best evidence, we next need the new birth to accept what the evidence and God tell us. And fortunately for us, the Holy Spirit knows no geographic bounds for making disciples of Christ: The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit (John 3:8).

That being the case, whether you or I live in America or at the top of the Himalayas, thats the real reason were Christ followers. And thats a better story than Supermans because its true.
Home Books Pastor Jack Graham implores Christians to proclaim truth in a shifting culture

For as long as Prestonwood Baptist Church Pastor Jack Graham can remember, he's loved the Bible  a connection nurtured during his childhood as he sat on his grandfather's knee, listening to the Scriptures.

The Bible has always been a part of my life, and I'm very grateful for that, the 74-year-old pastor told The Christian Post.

As a child, I revealed in those great stories of adventure in the Old Testament, whether it was David and the giant or Daniel in the lion's den. Then, ultimately, I realized that the story was all about Jesus. Jesus stepped out of the pages of Scripture and into my life. From the beginning, like Timothy, since my childhood, Ive had the privilege of knowing and loving the Scriptures.

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That childhood foundation shaped not only Graham's faith but also his calling as a pastor and teacher. A prolific author, he's served two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. His teachings are broadcast through PowerPoint Ministries, reaching audiences nationwide and globally. In October 2022, he launched the "Bible in a Year with Jack Graham" podcast, which quickly gained popularity, surpassing 60 million downloads.

But for Graham, his latest book, The Jesus Book, represents the culmination of his life's work.

If I had never written another book, this is the one book that I'm glad I was able to write, because it basically covers the message of my life; certainly the message of the Christian faith, the Word of God, the testimony of Christ, he said. It is everything to me. My whole lifes goal is to stand on the truth of Gods Word and to proclaim it and, of course, live it.

In his book, Graham recounts his formative years  a nod to the enduring influence of his grandfather's storytelling  and how, decades later, that connection to Scripture came full circle during a visit to Oxford, where he held fragments of the Gospel of Matthew, the oldest manuscript of the New Testament.

As I held those pieces of papyrus, my mind flashed back to learning to read by reading the Bible, he said. For me, it wasn't 'Dick and Jane'; it was Moses, Daniel, Joseph and Jesus. The Bible has been such a treasure in my life.

At its core, The Jesus Book is an invitation for readers to encounter Jesus in Scripture, Graham emphasized, adding that the Bible isn't just a historical artifact or a set of moral guidelines, but a living breathing testimony of God's plan for redemption.

The more you read your Bible, the more you know who Jesus is, he said. And the more you know Jesus, the more you love and serve Him.

Through stories, teachings and practical advice, the pastor said his book aims to demystify Scripture for those who feel intimidated or unsure about how to approach it. The book's subtitle, Reading and Understanding the Bible for Yourself, he said, captures his goal of empowering readers to approach the Bible with confidence.

The story of the Bible is clear because it has one central theme, he said. That theme is redemption, salvation. There's one central person in the Bible: God, in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. It's the story of redemption. And that redemption story is a scarlet thread, that runs through the Bible, from Genesis in the Old Testament all the way through to the New Testament. When you understand the basic themes of the Bible and what the Bible is all about, then it's not that hard to understand.

If a person will make the effort and intentionally read God's Word and hear God's Word and ask the Holy Spirit to explain it and interpret it to them, they will understand it, he reiterated.

At a time when biblical literacy is at an all-time low, Graham stressed that the Bible's relevance is timeless. His ministry emphasizes the transformational power of Scripture, he said, citing studies that show regular Bible engagement drastically reduces destructive behaviors while increasing spiritual growth.

People assume that [the Bible] is a religious book without relevance, and it is an antique or an ancient book that has no application for their lives, he said. "They approach the Bible as though they would approach any book of history or book of archeology. But you have to start by recognizing that the Bible is the Word of God, and that because it's the Word of God, there is a message for you today.

In The Jesus Book, Graham also addresses common mistakes, such as approaching Scripture haphazardly or misunderstanding its central message.

Bible study methods are important, and we talk about some of those methods as you look at a passage of Scripture, how to summarize the passage, how to assess its content and context, Graham said. There is a chapter on protecting yourself from bad Bible reading. There's a lot of people who misinterpret the Bible because they don't understand its central content.

One of the key topics in The Jesus Book is developing a biblical worldview. At a time when truth often seems relative and cultural values shift rapidly, Graham urges Christians to see the world through the lens of Scripture rather than allowing culture to dictate how they interpret the Bible.

Jude 3 says we are to earnestly contend for the faith, and that reminds us that with all the worldviews that we hear and see out there, with so many lies in the culture, so many lies we tell ourselves, the only way to overcome this attack on truth is using truth to support our faith and our beliefs, he said.

In a world that is filled with unbelief, we should graciously, but yet forcefully, understand our Bible and proclaim this message without apology, he added. In the culture today, it's important that we give reasonable evidence for the faith, and that we proclaim Scripture with confidence and certainty and conviction. And when we do that, the Word of God works, and there's power in the Scripture to counteract all the works of darkness.

With over 50 years of ministry service, Graham said he's convinced that pastors and church leaders play a crucial role in encouraging a love for Scripture.

When you preach the Bible, it creates an appetite for things of God, for the truth, he said. It's like eating a meal; you have to try it: 'taste and see that the Lord is good.' I've always believed pastors should give a proclamation of the Scriptures so that people can understand it; explain what the Bible says, but also illustrate it and apply it to peoples lives.

Through his book, Graham said his prayer is that readers will encounter Christ through the Bible and learn how to encounter the Scriptures as a living, breathing testimony of God's plan for redemption.

 Luke 24 reminds us that Jesus is present in Scripture, he said. My prayer is that every Christian would encounter Christ in the Bible and experience His living presence in His Word. He is called the Living Word of God. So He has given us His book, the Bible, and it is true and trustworthy.

The Jesus Book is now available everywhere books are sold.
Home News Catholic Archdiocese of New York lays off workers due to undisclosed financial pressures

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York has laid off several workers due to budget issues and financial settlements over sex abuse claims.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, head of the Archdiocese, announced earlier this month that the diocese is laying off 18 employees as part of a financial restructuring of the regional body.

The financial reorganization, which also includes selling the Cardinal Cooke Building in New York City, which has served as the Archdiocese's headquarters, was due to "undisclosed financial pressures," The National Catholic Reporter reports.

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Such pressures are believed to include an overall decline in donations, especially in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, as well as ongoing financial settlements related to the Catholic Church clergy sex abuse scandal.

"I am grateful for the service of all those whose positions are being eliminated," Dolan wrote in a letter to the archdiocesan staff, according to NCR. "Such decisions are never easy, but the current financial crunch the archdiocese faces, and the upcoming move to our new offices in 2025, make this the appropriate time to make some tough decisions."

Following sale of the Cooke Building, the regional body's staff and leadership plan to move into a smaller office space located near St. Patrick's Cathedral.

In 2019, New York passed a law known as the Child Victims Act, which extended the statute of limitations on child sex abuse cases from one to five years after a person turned 18 to when a person turns 55.

"For a long time, it has been recognized that it is very difficult for survivors of child sexual abuse to come forward or even come to terms with the trauma until many years later," states the New York City Bar Legal Referral Service.

"As a result, many survivors could not pursue a claim for damages because the one (1) to five (5) time period expired by the time they were ready  emotionally and otherwise  to bring a claim for money damages."

Earlier this year, the archdiocese filed a complaint against its insurer Chubb, Ltd, for the company's refusal to provide coverage for paying sex abuse claims, alleging that they violated state business law.

"Chubb, for decades our primary insurance company, even though we have paid them over $2 billion in premium by today's standards, is now attempting to evade their legal and moral contractual obligation to settle covered claims which would bring peace and healing to victim-survivors," stated Dolan in a letter to parishioners last month.

"In legal documents, Chubb has abandoned its archdiocese and parish policy holders and those people such policies were purchased to protect, the survivors of child sexual abuse."

In a statement shared with media, Chubb has accused the archdiocese of covering up child sexual abuse for decades and refusing to compensate victims. Additionally, Chubb claimed that the archdiocese witheld information about its knoweldge of the abuse. The statement alleges the archdiocese is "attempting to shift responsibility for its actions onto insurers but won't turn over information regarding what it knew about the abuse."

"Further, they have concealed their vast wealth and hidden assets," Chubb's statement reads. "This is just another financial maneuver by the Archdiocese to deflect, hide and avoid responsibility."

Dolan wrote in October that the regional body has settled over 400 abuse cases via their Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program and another 123 via the Child Victims Act but still has around 1,400 cases remaining to be resolved.
Home News Justin Welbys son speaks out as CofE abuse scandal heightens calls for archbishop of York to step down

Tim Welby, son of the recently resigned Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, has defended his father's decision to step down amid mounting scrutiny over the Church of England's handling of abuse cases. The resignation has intensified demands for Stephen Cottrell, the archbishop of York, to follow suit due to his alleged neglect of multiple safeguarding complaints.

Tim Welby noted that so many people were calling for his resignation that his father's position had become untenable, according to The Mirror.

He said his father was really, really cross that it didnt occur to him to triple check whether the abuse had been reported to the authorities. The frustrating thing is I don't think it ever occurred to him that it hadn't been reported to the police, he was quoted as saying.

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He's definitely very embarrassed and appalled by what's happened. I know he's going to spend a lot of his time left in office having conversations with some of the people and trying to make sure that things are set up in the right way, Tim Welby added.

Tim Welby also shared that his father plans to spend his remaining time in office meeting with abuse victims and establishing measures to prevent future failures.

Following Justin Welby's announcement last week that he would step down, a move prompted by accusations of mishandling child abuse claims involving Evangelical leader John Smyth, calls for Cottrell's resignation also emerged.

The Rev. Matthew Ineson, a retired vicar and abuse survivor, directly urged Cottrell to resign, arguing that only a complete clean sweep at the top could lead to significant change within the Church, The Telegraph reported.

Ineson, who experienced sexual abuse by a Bradford priest in the 1980s, claimed that the current archbishop of York has failed to hold clergy accountable. Until there is a complete clean sweep at the top, nothing is going to change, Ineson was quoted as saying. He further accused Cottrell of inconsistency, pointing to how Cottrell initially supported the suspension of Lord Sentamu, his predecessor, but later endorsed his return in a joint letter with Justin Welby.

Rev. Ineson waived his anonymity to describe how he was sexually abused by Rev. Trevor Devamanikkam, who took his own life in 2017 before facing trial on multiple sexual offense charges.

Ineson disclosed the abuse to senior clergy in 2013, but they did not report it to the authorities. In 2021, Cottrell visited Ineson, offering an apology on behalf of the Church of England for the abuse and the failures of senior leaders. Ineson, however, maintains that apologies are not enough, pointing out that the CofE's leadership has repeatedly protected its own. They are just covering up for each other all the time, he was quoted as saying.

Dame Jasvinder Sanghera, who previously led the Independent Safeguarding Board for the CofE, also called for Cottrell to step down.

Sanghera accused Cottrell of ignoring multiple safeguarding complaints, including some involving senior CofE officials. The real currency of leadership is transparency and trust, The Times quoted her as saying. Sadly, Stephen [Cottrell] has not demonstrated either with survivors. I believe stepping down is the most appropriate thing to do.

Sanghera, who worked as head advocate of the ISB, said that out of the abuse cases reviewed, 12 were deemed strong, yet the CofE only reopened one. Between January 2022 and June last year, she said she repeatedly urged both archbishops to take action. At every point, when we tried to get them to listen, we were ignored, she told The Mail on Sunday.

Among the allegations are claims of sexual, physical and emotional abuse, as well as bullying and intimidation within the Church. Victims reportedly approached the Church for safeguarding responses, only to be let down.

Sanghera added that in both July of last year, she warned Welby and Cottrell that some victims might not survive another year without support.

Sanghera claimed that her removal from the ISB in June 2023 was due to her continued criticism of the CofE's handling of abuse cases. She said that her removal had left victims without support, leading some to experience severe mental health crises, with four survivors requiring emergency psychiatric care.

The recently published Makin Review described decades of abuse by John Smyth, who was involved in Evangelical camps across the U.K., South Africa and Zimbabwe. The review indicated that Smyth had abused at least 115 boys and young men, and that Welby was aware of the allegations from 2013 but failed to ensure they were reported to the police.

Welby admitted to incompetence in his resignation statement, noting that he bore personal and institutional responsibility for the failures.

The archbishop of York's office denied allegations that Cottrell ignored safeguarding complaints, stating that he has always taken such issues seriously.

The disbandment of the ISB was a collective decision made by the Archbishops' Council, prompted by a breakdown in relations with independent members, a spokesman claimed while speaking to media. However, the spokesperson acknowledged the negative impact that the ISB's dissolution had on victims, expressing regret for the consequences of that decision.
In 1998, the San Diego Padres, left, and the Houston Astros, right, lined up before a game in the Astrodome. DAVID J. PHILLIP/AP

Astrodome proposal

Regarding "A $1 billion proposal is the latest plan to refurbish and save the iconic Houston Astrodome," (Nov. 13): Today I reiterate my earlier proposal for Houstons Astrodome. Maybe nobody heard it the first time.

First, it wont cost a billion bucks nor will it require expensive demolition. And, second, it can happen right now rather than in ten years. In fact, it is already happening. All we need to do is the same thing that the owners of the Roman Colosseum did.

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We should do nothing.

Just let it sit there. And weather and rot and crumble and tumble down. Let it become a ruin. Ruins are all the rage in Europe. Why wouldnt a nice ruin be a an attraction in Houston?

I just read on the worldwide interweb that in 2023, some 12 million paying customers visited Romes Colosseum. Twelve million! Even charging as little as $5 a head, thats $60 million straight into someones coffers. That doesnt even include parking fees and concessions proceeds. Seriously, someone should look into this. Put this idea to a vote or continue to come up with billion-dollar proposals.

Either way, we get the same outcome. Rome, here we come!

Gene Fisseler, Houston

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Natural remedies

Regarding "A Houston hospital uses leeches to save everything from severed fingers to skin grafts. Heres why," (Nov. 2): I read the article about using leeches to save patients with interest. Some natural things can be helpful to use. I remember many years ago, I went to the intensive care unit to do an electroencephalogram (EEG) on a patient who had fallen in her yard, cut her head open and laid there for quite a while. Fly larvae had cleaned the wound pretty efficiently. It was gross, but it worked!

Emily Murphy, Kingwood

Abandon disgust

Regarding "Latinos showed up for Trump for a reason. It's on us to understand why. | Opinion," (Nov. 8): We need to abandon disgust and work for solutions. What an appealing possibility in the middle of the post-election week. I can't fault the genuine desire for answers that might work for all of us. However, I can look on with dismay.

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I believe the man a majority hired to lead us to the glorious kumbaya moment of cooperation many of us desire does not have that trait. The man who boasts he'll be a dictator on Day One, who scuttles a bipartisan bill of cooperation and compromise on the border, the man who idolizes those foreign leaders, who hints he'll shut down the free press and sentence dissenters to prison and death, is not a man who would encourage working together with others on solutions.

The work he will do will be with those of his persuasion. And the solutions they reach will not be compromise for the sake of the common good. Anyone who voted for him thinking that he'll help with their problems, as great as health care crises or as difficult as managing a household in tough times, has confused empty promises with the facts straight out of the man's mouth. He wants his way,and his way is to meet his needs and those of his tribe of wealthy, ruthless people. As we've already seen, he'll use the legitimate vulnerability we all face in our lives to achieve his goal.

Dictators do not gladly give up power for compromise. Getting his way will not help most of us and will truly hurt some of us. Even those who assured his win.

Carol Godell, Spring

As a barber, I have the unique opportunity to converse with people from various backgrounds and perspectives. While I am personally a liberal, its essential in my profession to remain neutral, especially in such politically charged times. Customers come to relax and talk openly, and expressing partisan views could be unprofessional  and potentially lead to losing clients.

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I typically start conversations with a simple question: Are you planning to vote? This question often sparks deeper discussions about the state of our country. Many customers feel comfortable opening up, and the range of responses Ive heard has been eye-opening.

What surprised me the most was the level of disengagement, particularly among men. A common sentiment Ive heard across racial and age groups is frustration and distrust: All politicians are crooked or It doesnt matter whos in office; life stays the same. Many believe that their vote wont make a difference.

This disillusionment, in my view, was strategically exploited in recent elections. The barrage of controversial statements from former President Donald Trump and his associates seemed designed not just to galvanize his base, but also to disillusion and disengage those on the fence or those uncomfortable with the rhetoric. For many, the shock value of his messages, especially with racial or nationalistic undertones, drove them away from voting altogether  not toward the opposing candidate, but toward abstention.

Through these conversations in my barbershop, Ive come to believe that this intentional polarization is what helped Trump win. It discouraged many people from participating in the democratic process, perhaps just as effectively as it motivated others.

John Harrison, Raleigh, N.C.

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I dont feel disgust for Trump's followers, just angry confusion that they put their trust in a lying, misogynistic fraud.

Speaking of the pandemic, he allowed hundreds of thousands of Americans to die because of his ignorant inaction. Lets hope we dont have another crisis that needs quick, rational decisions.
Home News Oklahoma orders first shipment of Bibles for use in public school classrooms

More than 500 Bibles have been purchased for use in Advanced Placement (AP) Government classrooms across the state of Oklahoma.

The move marks the first purchase of Bibles specifically intended for use as an "academic and literary resource" in U.S. public schools and is a key part of a broader initiative aimed at providing Bibles to every classroom in Oklahoma, according to State Superintendent Ryan Walters.

The Bible purchase, which will be distributed specifically to AP Government classrooms, is part of a push to purchase 55,000 King James Version Bibles with the United States Pledge of Allegiance, the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights documents included.

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"We are focused on ensuring we get Bibles available in every classroom in our state as quickly as we can," Walters said in a statement. "I will take every step possible to ensure Oklahoma students have the resources they need to fully understand American history.

"By acting now, Oklahoma is leading the country on a path toward greater focus on academic excellence by providing critical historical, cultural, and literary context for our students. We are not going to change our history, and the Bible is a major part of that."

In a video shared on social media, Walters emphasized the importance of these documents in educating students about American history.

"We have the Bible, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights  these are foundational documents in our nation's history," he said. "Our kids have to understand the role the Bible played in influencing American history."

Following Walters' video, some speculated the Bible looked similar to the "God Bless the USA" Bible that Trump promoted in March. In response, Oklahoma amended its request and cut the requirement for its Bibles to include historical documents.

Calling it his "favorite book," Trump touted the "God Bless the USA" Bible's inclusion of America's founding documents, which he encouraged every citizen to read.

"You have to have it for your heart and for your soul," Trump said. "Many of you have never read them and don't know the liberties and rights you have as Americans, and how you are being threatened to lose those rights. It's happening all the time. It's a very sad thing that's going on in our country, but we're going to get it turned around."

CP reached out to Walters' office for a comment. This story will be updated if a response is received.

In July, at least eight school districts indicated they would not comply with Walters' order to include Bible curriculum in classrooms.

The Bible rollout is part of a larger educational shift in Oklahoma. Earlier this month, the Oklahoma Department of Education announced the launch of its "Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism" to protect the religious practices of students, teachers and parents.

In an announcement last Tuesday, the Oklahoma Department of Education said the office will seek to protect students, faculty and parents as they "practice their religion freely in all aspects" and will investigate "abuses to individual religious freedom or displays of patriotism."

Specific guidance related to the office will be sent to Oklahoma public schools in the near future and will ensure that "the right to pray in schools is safeguarded."

Walters said the new office will be "charged with supporting teachers and students when their constitutional rights are threatened by well-funded, out of state groups." Walters pointed to how the Wisconsin-basd Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) threatened legal action after Bible references were found at a high school in Skiatook, located about 20 miles north of Tulsa.

According to FFRF, John 3:16  perhaps the most well-known verse in all of Scripture  was displayed in one room on campus, while another sign made reference to a verse from the book of Daniel.

At the time, Walters said he believed the school was "bullied" into removing the Bible verses and has vowed to prevent such action in the future.

"The removal of Bible verses from display in Skiatook under the threat of a baseless lawsuit is unacceptable," he said. "American citizens do not give up their right to practice their faith at the schoolhouse door or anywhere else."
Home News Should churches require tithing? John Piper weighs in

Pastor and author John Piper recently weighed in on an oft-debated topic within the Church: is tithing a binding New Testament requirement, or has the principle been transformed in the light of Christs crucifixion and resurrection?

Piper, the 78-year-old chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota, shared his thoughts on the issue on a recent episode of his Ask Pastor John podcast in response to a question from a listener.

The question centered on one church's policy requiring its leaders to tithe 10% of their income as a condition of employment, a practice the person found troubling.

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The listener expressed concern that such a mandate could undermine the spirit of generosity. Citing 2 Corinthians 9:7, which emphasizes cheerful giving over compulsion, the listener contended that true worship stems from gratitude and sincerity, not obligation.

Piper said the short answer to such a question is that Christian generosity under the New Covenant is rooted in freedom and joy rather than adherence to Old Testament law: I do not think tithing is a New Testament requirement the way love your neighbor as yourself is a New Testament requirement (Mark 12:31), he said.

I think the New Testament has put Christian generosity toward the cause of Christ on a new footing of freedom motivated by the joy of seeing Christ magnified in peoples lives. I think tithing was an integral part of the Old Testament sacrificial priestly system, which God designed for the support of the priesthood  a system that no longer exists in the Christian Church.

The pastor outlined four key reasons why tithing should not be considered a binding practice in the New Testament era. First, tithing was instituted to support the Levitical priesthood under the Old Testament sacrificial system, which no longer exists in the Christian Church, he said.

Since that system of Levitical ministry is now gone, I think the designed support for it is gone, he said.

Drawing from Romans 7:4-6 and Colossians 2:16-23, Piper explained that believers are no longer under the Old Testament law but are called to live by Spirit-motivated love.

He also highlighted passages such as 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, which promote giving as an act of personal decision and joy. God loves a cheerful giver, he quoted, underscoring the absence of compulsory tithing in the apostles' teachings.

Finally, Piper noted that while Jesus acknowledged tithing in Matthew 23:23, these directives were given before His death and resurrection, which marked the end of the Old Testament laws jurisdiction.

So, my conclusion is that its a mistake for the leaders of a church to make tithing a requirement for church leadership, he said. I have always taught that Christian freedom in the light of the lavish generosity of God toward us in Christ will motivate Christians to give more than a tithe, but it will not be under compulsion because God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

A 2022 study from Barna found that, among self-identified Christians, less than half could say definitely what the tithe is. More than half of practicing Christians, 59%, had a stronger awareness of the tithe and what it means, while 99% of pastors understood the traditional concept.

However, only 21% of Christians were found to give 10% of their income to their local church, while 25% didnt give to their church at all. Among practicing Christians, the study found that 42% gave at least the traditional 10% to their church.

Meanwhile, a study released this year found that the share of Evangelical Protestant Christians giving financially to churches fell significantly in the last three years.

According to data from Infinity Concepts and Grey Matter Research, 61% of Evangelical adults donated to a local church the previous year, half (50%) donated to an organization outside of a church, and 42% donated to both church and charity. Nearly a third (31%) said they donated to neither a church nor a charitable organization.

The share of Evangelicals who gave to churches fell 13 percentage points from 2021, which equates to a 17% decrease in giving.

Previously, Dave Ramsey, CEO of Ramsey Solutions and author of Financial Peace University, revealed he regularly tells pastors to stop stressing the importance of tithing to congregants who aren't good stewards of their money.

"Unless," he clarified, "you've done two sermons on ... debt  one on getting out of debt and one on getting on a budget."

"That's the ratio for me instead of just tithe, tithe, tithe," he said. But when pastors fail to address debt and setting a budget, he said, the reaction to a sermon about tithing is often "Yeah right, I've got a light bill. That's a great spiritual concept. Maybe someday I'll get around to that.'"

However, in an op-ed, Ligioner Ministers founder R.C. Sproul emphasized the biblical principle of stewardship, which calls Christians to manage their resources for Gods Kingdom. Despite cultural cynicism toward giving  exacerbated by misuse of funds in some organizations and unscrupulous televangelists  faithful giving remains a biblical mandate, he stressed.

The pastor cited Malachi 3:810 to stress that "we systematically rob God when we dont tithe." The verse reads, in part: "Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, How have we robbed you? In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you."

"Let me repeat that. Malachis teaching indicates that when we fail to tithe, we are not merely robbing the church, the clergy, or Christian educators  we are robbing God Himself," he said. "But note that God had words not only of condemnation for the people but also a promise of prosperity were they to change their ways. God challenged them to be faithful, giving His own promise that He would open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings upon them.

When people fail to tithe, Sproul said, they "reduce the ministry of Christ," adding: "One of the greatest barriers to expanding the kingdom of Christ in this world is financial. A fundamental principle is at work here. If we have $100 to work with in ministry, we are limited by that dollar amount. We can waste that money and do only $10 of actual work. But even if we are expert managers and scrupulous stewards, we cannot do $110 of ministry. Christian ministry depends upon Christian giving. That giving always and everywhere limits the work of ministry.

Sproul encouraged prioritizing tithing "from the top" and teaching this principle to children. A persons financial records, he concludes, reflect where their heart truly lies, as Jesus taught in Matthew 6:33: "Seek first the kingdom of God."
Home News Zelensky says war with Russia will end 'sooner' under Trump presidency

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he considers President-elect Donald Trump a supporter of Ukraine and believes the war with Russia will end "sooner" because of his administration.

In an interview with the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne published over the weekend, Zelensky was asked his opinion about Trump's recent election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.

"I congratulated him on his victory. And we also had a good conversation. He said he wanted to end the war, but he wanted to help," said Zelensky, as rendered by Google Translate.

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"And he is on the side of supporting Ukraine, appreciates our strength, integrity and courage. That is, the atmosphere in our conversations was good so far."

Zelensky believes "with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House, the war will end sooner" though he did not have an "exact date" for that.

"I think Putin does not want peace. But this does not mean that he does not want to sit down at the negotiating table with one of the leaders. For him, this is the destruction of political isolation. It is beneficial for him to sit down and talk," he continued.

Shortly after Election Day, Zelensky wrote a message posted on X congratulating Trump on his victory over the Democrat Harris, citing a meeting Trump had with the Ukrainian president in September.

"I recall our great meeting with President Trump back in September when we discussed in detail the Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership, the Victory Plan, and ways to put an end to Russian aggression against Ukraine," wrote Zelensky.

"I appreciate President Trump's commitment to the 'peace through strength' approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer," he said. "I am hopeful that we will put it into action together."

On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, with Russian President Vladimir Putin claiming that the attack was aimed at securing the rights of pro-Russian communities in Eastern Ukraine.

Although many believed that Russian forces would steamroll Ukraine in a relatively short period of time, Ukrainian resistance was surprisingly resilient, with the invasion bogging down.

In August, Ukraine launched a surprise counter-invasion of Russia, taking swathes of territory in the Western Russian region of Kursk. In addition to Russian forces, the Kremlin has enlisted approximately 10,000 North Korean troops to take back the area, reported The Washington Post.

Russian forces have also been steadily making gains in portions of eastern and southeast Ukraine, doing so with considerable losses.
The Archbishops of Canterbury (l) and York (r) outside St John The Evangelist, Balby. (Photo: Church of England)

A dame who was sacked from the Church of England's now defunct Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB) has called for the Archbishop of York to follow the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, in stepping down.

Welby resigned last week over failures in the handling of abuse by the late John Smyth, which the Makin Review said amounted to a "cover-up" by the Church of England. There have since been calls for others to follow suit.

Dame Jasvinder Sanghera told the Mail on Sunday that the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, should also go.

She said she had repeatedly tried to raise concerns with Cottrell about safeguarding complaints and had pleaded with both Archbishops to re-open 12 cases dating from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Only one case was re-opened and she claims that her pleas were "ignored".

"I sat down with both archbishops and poured my heart out, saying we need help. It went unheard  they have chosen to look the other way," she said.

"The real currency of leadership is transparency and trust. Sadly, Stephen [Cottrell] has not demonstrated either with survivors.

"I believe stepping down is the most appropriate thing to do."

She alleged that the response from the Archbishops was "appalling" and that when she sought to advocate for the needs of victims, it was "not very well received".

"At every point, when we tried to get them to listen, we were ignored. There are people who are still in place who need to be held to account," she said.

"There were sexual, physical and emotional allegations as well as bullying, intimidation and many going to the Church for a safeguarding response and being let down.

"This is about victims and survivors and doing the right thing. These victims are still waiting for closure and compensation.

"Some of their complaints are against very senior bishops."

A spokeswoman for the Archbishop of York denied that he had "ignored" safeguarding concerns.

"The Archbishop has always taken safeguarding very seriously, particularly his commitment to victims and survivors, and he commends Dame Jasvinder's work in this important area," she said.

"But it is not true to say that these victims and survivors have been 'ignored'.

"He believes the future of Church safeguarding needs independent structures and scrutiny while ensuring it remains everyone's responsibility.

"The Archbishop deeply regrets the impact on victims following the disbandment of the ISB, which was a decision taken collectively by the Archbishops' Council. This was due to a breakdown in relations with independent members."

In a hugely controversial move, the ISB was disbanded last year and Dame Jasvinder was sacked with its two other members, Steve Reeves and acting Chair Meg Munn.

The decision was taken by the Archbishops' Council which said at the time that working relationships with two ISB members had "broken down".

In scathing comments to Synod soon after, Dame Jasvinder claimed they were sacked because "we were too independent".

"We did our job too well and when I'm being told, and Steve is being told, that we are too survivor-led and too survivor-focused, I feel the Church has a problem," she said.

Reeves also addressed Synod at the time, saying that when the Archbishops' Council talks of independence, they do not mean it in the way that "you and I and the average person in the street means independence".

"They mean semi-detached, not independent," he said.

Archbishop Cottrell, who is the second most senior figure in the Church of England, has rejected calls for any more resignations after Welby stepped down last Tuesday.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Archbishop Cottrell said that Welby's resignation was enough "because he has resigned for the institutional failings", and those involved in the cover-up were "not bishops".
Father Matt Marino (Photo: First Coast News)

A US priest has spoken words of mercy and faith after a series of "wildly improbable events" saved his life after being stabbed in the street by a stranger with no apparent motive.

Father Matt Marino - who ministers in Trinity Parish church in the city of St Augustine, Florida - told local TV news channels of his compassion for the young woman who committed the senseless act which nearly took his life.

Early morning in October, he was sitting with friends at a coffee shop. A woman he did not know approached him and said: "I have problems."

Fr Marino told the local TV news channel First Coast News (FCN) of his first reaction to her words: "Pastors instinctively go, 'oh, well, tell me your story.'"

But as he leaned forward to help her, she pulled out a rusty knife and plunged it into his chest. "I just looked down and said, 'hey, you just stabbed me'," he told the news channel.

"Then she kind of got this look on her face like, 'and now I'm gonna finish the job' and it reminded me of, Lord of the Rings when Gollum sees his precious."

She was not able to make another attack as others intervened. Initially the priest did not realise the seriousness of what had occurred. But when he coughed and saw blood which was also running down his leg, he realised he was in danger, and fell to the ground. He was told later that he had lost 2.5 pints of blood  half of his total.

As he lay down, looking at the sky, he thought, "what a random way to die" and said to God: "I don't really want to go today. So not today, Lord.'" He believes that God responded: "OK."

Then a series of unlikely coincidences came together to ensure that his life was saved as first responders arrived and a local friend accompanied him to the hospital.

The first extraordinary event was that as he lay on the street, driving past was "the one person in the county who had a combat chest seal in his car," who happened to see a man on the ground and stopped to help.

According to sales websites, a combat chest seal is designed to seal open chest wounds and prevent one of the main causes of death on a battlefield. They are not widely used in the civilian population, however, so the likelihood of one being in the vicinity of a street stabbing appears very low.

"The chances of me being here are the result of several wildly improbable events and an amazingly good set of first responders, trauma docs and ICU people at Florida Memorial," he told FCN. "So because of a great fire department, a guy pulling over in his car, a really fast ambulance driver, a guy in the back who had a kid who goes to our preschool, keeping me with him mostly - I was in and out, but mostly with him - and then this army of trauma docs, here I am."

Within several hours, a 22-year-old woman was arrested on the charge of attempted murder and has appeared in court.

Fr Marino has been involved in young adults ministry and said that experiences with that helped him to have concern for the young woman who attacked him. His church website describes him as "an adolescent atheist turned Episcopal priest" who is "in wonder at the grandeur of the One who made us and calls us home through the cross and empty tomb."

He blogs on "The Gospel Side" where he has called for more grace for our political opponents and spoken of his intention to pray for people he disagrees with.

Despite his ordeal, Fr Marino said he did not feel fear or pain until the interventions needed to save his life began, which had to be done without anaesthetic and was "not a comfortable experience". Instead, he expressed concern for those around him.

"This was not as mentally painful for me as the people around me," he told FCN. "I mean, whatever this poor girl was going through, it was surely worse for her.

"Who wakes up on a Wednesday morning and says 'I'm going out to knife people'? You know, whatever she was going through was worse. The people who had to see me laying there in a pool of blood, I'm sure that was traumatic. For me, I was looking at the sky."

He also spoke of his understanding of why he might have to suffer in this way. "I don't know what God is doing in this, but it seems to me that people who are pastors or first responders, they have to go through things that are not for their benefit but for the benefit of others," he said. He cited Isaiah 55:8-9 as to how we cannot understand what God has planned because his thoughts are higher than ours.

The priest said it was not difficult to forgive his attacker and spoke of being inspired by his faith. "I mean, Christianity is 'you are forgiven through the love of Jesus'," he told FCN, on the verge of tears. "So, how could I not forgive her? I've been forgiven so much. How could I not extend that forgiveness? Now, the law is gonna do what the law is gonna do and it's gonna make sure that that society is safe and hopefully get her help."

He said he hoped to see her in person and tell her himself of his forgiveness for her.

He also cited a verse from 1 Peter 4, to rejoice when you experience the sufferings of Christ. "I thought, Christ died for us, so we don't need to," he reflected.

"Then I realized Peter said, no, sometimes you get to suffer as someone who follows the Lord.

"You know, the truth is that a pastor is always gonna be the easiest target in a community, because we've made a life commitment to be open handed and open hearted to other people and to have the love of Jesus for them."

Heather Tomlinson is a freelance Christian writer. Find more of her work at https://heathertomlinson.substack.com or via X (twitter) @heathertomli
Donald Trump promised that, once reelected, he would conduct the largest deportation campaign in United States history. That pledge is already taking shape with his appointments. Stephen Miller will be deputy chief of staff and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem will head the Department of Homeland Security. Both are infamous anti-immigrant agitators. And then theres Tom Homan, whom Trump has named his border czar.

In a recent interview on 60 Minutes, correspondent Cecilia Vega asked Homan what such a campaign might look like:

Cecilia Vega: Is there a way to carry out mass deportation without separating families?

Tom Homan: Of course there is. Families can be deported together.

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This chilling response underscores an uncomfortable reality: Immigrants do not live in isolation. Many are part of mixed-status families, where some members are U.S. citizens and others are not. According to the California Immigrant Data Porta l, California alone is home to 2.44 million undocumented immigrants and 3.59 million U.S. citizens who live with undocumented family members. These numbers make clear the vast human impact of the kind of deportation policy the president-elect and Homan may put in place. The humanity of these families and the trauma deportation would inflict are of no apparent concern to the incoming administration.

And Homans interview isnt just rhetoric. Homan served in Trumps first administration as acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement  ICE  overseeing the forcible separation of thousands of migrant children from their parents at the border. As we have seen in the stories of these families years later, his policies had devastating effects then, and they promise to again.

And these tactics are not new, as history tells us.

Im the thesis advisor of a student who is researching the policies of L.A. leader Gloria Molina (no relation) in the Huntington Librarys archives. She wanted help identifying a document shed found among Molinas papers  it was a fax; it might as well have been a stone tablet to her  from county archives. She asked about all the mumbo jumbo  the transmission information  at the top of the document; I was more interested in the content: records from the 1930s that detailed a shameful chapter in Los Angeles history  repatriation campaigns that targeted Mexican and Mexican American families.

According to George J. Sanchezs L.A. history Becoming Mexican American, Los Angeles lost a third of its Mexican and Mexican American population during these campaigns. Nationally, an estimated 1.8 million Mexicans and Mexican Americans were deported, and 60% of them were U.S. citizens. Although we think of these repatriation drives as federally driven, they were largely enacted by local officials, a stark reminder that local governments have tremendous power to harm  but also to resist. Grassroots activism can push back, lean in and go high when others go low.

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Repatriation hit all levels of society, but the poorest were the most vulnerable. Mexican immigrant mothers and their American-born children  seeking basic healthcare at Los Angeles County General Hospital, for instance  were scapegoated as undesirable and deported directly from the hospital. Molina, then a member of the county Board of Supervisors, requested the repatriation records during her fight against Proposition 187 in the 1990s. That measure sought to deny public services to undocumented immigrants. Molina fought hard against the proposition, which was eventually stayed by the courts. Molina would have understood the parallels between the deportations and xenophobic policies of her times. By grounding her activism in history, she was ensuring that past injustices would not be repeated.

My own familys story intersects with the 1930s repatriation. My mother and uncle, both born in Southern California, were 4 and 5 years old. They could have been deported simply for being Mexican American. But their mother, my grandmother, sick with tuberculosis, asked a friend to adopt them when she died. That kept them out of the oversight of city and county agencies whose officials were complicit in the deportations. Today, with family separation policies likely in the Trump administration, many families may find themselves hanging by a similarly fragile thread.

You probably didnt know L.A.s repatriation story. In fact, a 2023 study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that 87% of key topics in Latino history are either underrepresented or omitted entirely from textbooks. Such erasure leaves everyone vulnerable to a repeat of past injustices.

Donald Trumps appointments are a stark reminder of how easily history can repeat itself when we fail to confront it. As we face yet another wave of anti-immigrant policies, we must remember: History is not just a tool for understanding the past; its a weapon for shaping the future.
President-elect Donald Trump has announced Brendan Carr as the next head of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the organization responsible for setting the regulations governing telecoms, broadband, satellite communications and broadcasting in the US.

Unlike some of the executive appointments made by Trump in recent days, Carr is an experienced hand at the FCC, having served as a commissioner since 2017 after a period as an aide to Commissioner Ajit Pai before becoming the organizations chief legal advisor.

Hes also got very strong opinions about where the FCC has been going wrong and where it might go in future. As Trump put it in his announcement of the appointment on Truth Social: Commissioner Carr is a warrior for Free Speech, and has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans Freedoms, and held back our Economy. He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling Americas job creators and innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America.
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Adobe, by Vitalii Vodolazskyi

Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) has been ordered to pay a former employee 68,990 for discrimination and unfair constructive dismissal based on her gender critical beliefs.

An employment tribunal also told ERCC to apologise publicly to Roz Adams for alleging that she was transphobic and acknowledge that there was no evidence to support that allegation, which the charity did.

The charity was also told to state that its disciplinary decision that Adams had misconducted herself was wrong and that she did not carry out bullying or harassment.

It was also told to acknowledge that it accepts the tribunals findings that the charity had harassed and discriminated against Adams because of her protected gender critical beliefs.

Previously while working at ERCC, Adams expressed her beliefs that sex assigned at birth is real and important and cannot be conflated with gender identity.

She believes that biological sex is especially relevant in relation to sexual violence and that ERCC should give people who are seeking help the upfront choice of whether they would be seen by someone who was assigned female at birth.



The tribunal observed that Mridul Wadhwa, then chief executive of ERCC, was the invisible hand behind everything that had taken place regarding the events that led to Adams resignation.

When Wadhwa stepped in as the charitys chief executive, there was considerable press controversy as she was a trans woman who did not have a gender recognition certificate and was thus legally male at the time, according to the tribunals judgment .

Charity apologises

ERCCs board said in a statement issued after the judgment: We recognise that during the employment tribunal with Roz Adams we did not act in the right way.

We want to publicly apologise, and we understand that Rozs actions were not motivated by transphobia, but by a genuine wish to act in the best interests of service users.

We should have listened more to Rozs concerns and never pursued disciplinary action and for that we are sorry.

Steps have already been taken to address the outcomes of both the tribunal and recommendations provided by Rape Crisis Scotland.

Our focus for the future is ensuring we can provide survivors with the best possible service and support they need to aid their recovery.

We are committed to ensuring that ERCC is a safe, accessible and inclusive service for all. We have information on our services, including our women only services, on our website.

We want to reassure all survivors who are currently accessing our services and anyone seeking support that we are here for you, and you matter to us.



sign up to receive the free Civil Society daily news bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector,
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It goes without saying that civil society is an engine for enormous good in the UK  for many who engage with it or benefit from its support, its activity is priceless. But therein lies a problem.

In the absence of the price signal that exists in the private sector, were not very good at putting an economically recognisable value on civil society. And the unspoken nature of much of what it does too often results in it being taken for granted.

That matters not for some vainglorious reason of recognition, but because of the barrier it creates to collectively making more of the power of charities, community groups and other purpose-driven organisations to contribute to a better Britain.

Too much remains hidden

In truth, much of what civil society does is present in official government data. But its activity is spread across sectors and industries in a way that makes it impossible to separately identify its combined contribution. And too much remains hidden entirely.

Most crucially, one of civil societys most valuable inputs  the time and talent of millions of volunteers each year  is simply not counted. To the extent that estimates of the sectors value do exist, they represent an undervaluation of uncertain but inevitably massive magnitude.

As a result, civil society is too often overlooked  viewed more as a lowest cost deliverer of public services than as a crucial partner in shaping the future of the country.

Undervalued and underutilised

This underrepresentation means civil society is also underutilised. Charities and community organisations have unparalleled insight into the realities of life across the UK and the ways in which centrally determined policies play out on the ground.

Yet, despite civil societys role in representing and supporting communities that the government can struggle to reach, its practical expertise goes unheard. As a result, policies are misaligned and resources misallocated.

Bring all that together and what emerges is a self-perpetuating cycle that undervalues civil society, excludes it from the discussions it needs to be in and, ultimately, serves as a brake on the scale of good it can deliver.

Satellite account

The new governments plans for a Civil Society Covenant provide an opportunity to change perceptions, reform relationships and so release more of civil societys potential. But truly breaking the doom loop requires fixing the valuation problem too.

Thats where recent work from Pro Bono Economics and the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence provides encouragement. Prompted by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the two organisations have outlined the practical means by which a new civil society satellite account might be created .

Such an account would follow the examples that already exist in relation to tourism and the environment to produce an official quantification of civil society that would provide visibility and a base for more evidence-based decision-making.

The process is far from straightforward. But the feasibility study provides two potential routes which could deliver a civil society satellite account within the next two years.

Either option would allow civil societys activity to be measured, valued, and integrated into policy decisions that affect millions of lives. And it would add weight to the prime ministers pledge to ensure that civil society sits alongside the public and private sectors as an equal partner.

We may not always be able  or indeed want  to put a price on what charities, community groups and other parts of civil society do for our citizens and our country, but that shouldnt mean that we dont value it appropriately.

sign up to receive the free Civil Society daily news bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector,
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Ive spent more than four thousand hours studying right-wing media for my newsletter TheRighting over the past seven years.

The reelection of Donald Trump presents a unique opportunity for a growing army of reporters, pundits, podcasters, and influencers. They reflect what is now the majority viewpoint of the countrys voting population, at least according to the popular vote. And some, more than others, are poised to rise over the next four years.

While I expect the leading conservative news brands and stars, like Fox News, the Washington Examiner, the National Review, Ann Coulter, and Tucker Carlson to continue to unofficially govern and shape right-wing political discussion and news coverage, several lesser-known players and outlets are poised to raise their profiles.

First off, Newsmax.com seems likely to take another step forward. Though Fox News remains the largest right-wing website, as measured by Comscore, it has shrunk while Newsmax has posted increases every month except one for the past four years.

Ive also tracked subscriber counts very closely among the top right-wing podcasters, and the increases have been remarkable for a handful of conservative voices. Because I based my research on the Castbox platform, which represents less than 2 percent of all podcasts, it is a tiny sample. But Im able to get real subscriber numbers for individual podcasts that are not publicly available on any major podcasting platforms.

Ben Shapiro has been the undisputed king of right-wing podcasters for several years, with more than 660,000 Castbox subscribers, and I anticipate a much higher profile for him in 2025. At this point in time, I dont consider Joe Rogan a conservative, but his three-hour interview with Trump resulted in the New York Post labeling him the improbable kingmaker of American politics. Hell become a must-stop for presidential candidates in 2028.

But keep an eye on Megyn Kelly for the next year. In my estimation, shes the leading female right-wing podcaster. Not only is her podcast quickly gaining subscribers, according to my estimates, but shes got a knack for landing successfully in the public eye. Its not unreasonable to think that Kelly will build on the popularity of her podcast to extend her successful brand to other platforms.

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Podcaster Matt Walsh likewise seems positioned for greater influence. Hes got a fast-growing top-ten right-wing podcast (just ahead of Kelly), has authored four nonfiction books, and has become a real multiplatform force with the September release of the comedy documentary Am I a Racist? (tagline: A comedy to DEI for), which he stars in and cowrote. Its the countrys highest-grossing documentary this year.

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon may still be whispering to President Trump, and so his podcast, War Room, might be required listening in 2025. Its numbers are smalleroutside the top twentybut it drives a lot of attention from an audience that likely includes many incoming Trump administration officials.

By studying Trumps prolific linking activity on Truth Social and his website DonaldJTrump.com, its possible to get a sense of what media outlets and reporters he himself now admires. In research conducted by TheRighting this spring and summer, we found he most often linked to stories appearing on the Murdoch-controlled New York Post, FoxNews.com, and video clips from the Fox News Channel.

Despite the bumpy relationship with the Murdoch news brands, they should continue their role as a powerful amplifier of his messages and enthusiastic sideline cheerleader. Trumps nomination of former Fox News personality Pete Hegseth to the role of secretary of defense is the clearest indication of the value the incoming president places on a tight relationship with the Fox empire.

Trump also linked often to articles from media outlets on the fringes of the right, like Real Americas Voice, the Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN), and Breitbart. They are among the current fringe players that seem poised to take bigger roles. Id pay particular attention to the work of right-wing pop-culture critic and analyst Christian Toto, who publishes the website Hollywood in Toto. Hes written articulately and critically about left-wing extremism in film and television, and his opinions may be more widely accepted with Trump back in the White House.

For sheer tonnage, no one beats the output of Summer Lane, who says she wrote three thousand articles in three years for RSBN before leaving the outlet several months ago. Trump linked to her articles more than 150 times. Based on that work, she ventured out on her own and launched Write Revolution News in September, which Trump has continued to link to.

Its quite possible, too, that there are budding stars on Instagram, TikTok, Rumble, YouTube, and conservative cable and streaming news that I havent noticed. And that means Ive got to spend even more hours studying the ever-expanding world of right-wing media. Its going to be a busy year.
General Motors self-driving car unit, Cruise, admitted to submitting a false report to influence a federal investigation and will pay a $500,000 criminal fine as part of a deferred prosecution agreement, the Justice Department said.

The department said Cruise failed to disclose key details of an October 2023 crash to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in which one of its robotaxis in San Francisco struck a pedestrian after she was hit by another vehicle and dragged her 20 feet (6.1 meters).

Companies with self-driving cars that seek to share our roads and crosswalks must be fully truthful in their reports to their regulators, said Martha Boersch, who heads the criminal division for the U.S. Attorneys Office in San Francisco.

Under the three-year agreement, Cruise must cooperate with government investigations, implement a safety compliance program, and provide annual reports to the U.S. Attorneys Office, which can proceed with prosecution of the charged offense if Cruise fails to comply over the next three years.

Cruise will comply with the requirements set forth in the agreement, as we continue to move forward under new leadership and with a firm commitment to transparency with our regulators, said Cruise President Craig Glidden in a statement.

In response to the accident and subsequent investigations, Cruises CEO and co-founder both resigned, the company cut a quarter of its workforce and fired nine executives, including its chief operating officer and chief legal and policy officer.

The Cruise robotaxi stopped after running over the pedestrian but then attempted to pull over to the side of the road with the woman underneath it, dragging the woman who was seriously injured. Cruises report to NHTSA omitted reference to the dragging. GM subsequently reached a settlement with the woman worth at least $8 million, a person confirmed to Reuters.

In September, Cruise agreed to pay a $1.5 million fine to resolve a NHTSA investigation. Cruise must submit to NHTSA a corrective action plan on how it will improve its compliance with reporting of serious incidents and face enhanced reporting requirements for at least two years.

NHTSAs investigation into whether Cruise is taking sufficient precautions with its autonomous robotaxis to safeguard pedestrians remains open. In August, Cruise recalled 1,200 robotaxis over hard braking issues.

The company also faces a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation.

Cruise has relaunched supervised autonomous driving testing in three U.S. cities but abandoned its Origin vehicle that does not have human controls. The company said in August it will offer its autonomous vehicles on ride-hailing platform Uber UBER.N starting next year.

(Reporting by Shepardson; Editing by Sandra Maler and Christian Schmollinger)
The ballet community is mourning the loss of Vladimir Shklyarov who passed away at just 39 years old.

Shklyarov was a principal dancer at the Mariinsky Theatre since 2011 and dedicated more than 20 years to his craft. His performances in ballets like "Sleeping Beauty," and "Swan Lake."

The St Petersburg company officially announced and said in a statement over the weekend, "Tonight, the favorite of the public, the star premier of the Mariinsky Theater, Honored Artist of Russia Vladimir Shklyarov, tragically died. This is a huge loss not only for the theatre's staff but for all of contemporary ballet."

"Our condolences to the artist's family, loved ones, friends and all the numerous admirers of his work and talent."

Authorities are reportedly looking into the circumstances surrounding his death. Representatives of the dancer informed the press that he tragically fell from the fifth floor of a building while under the influence of painkillers.

As recalled by witnesses, Shklyarov went to the balcony for fresh air, but unfortunately, his footing reportedly faltered on the slim edge.

Russian news agency RIA Novosti has stated that the incident is currently classified as an accident pending further investigation.

Hailing from Leningrad, Russia, Shklyarov's journey into the world of ballet began at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, where he completed his studies in 2003.

Over the years, he has been recognized with various awards, such as the Leonide Massine International Prize in 2008.

Unlike Olga Smirnova, the ballerina who left Russia for Europe, Shklyarov chose to stay in Russia and focused on his performances without making any additional statements regarding the ongoing conflict.
LOS ANGELES -- Actor Paul Teal, best known for his work on One Tree Hill, has died after battling cancer.

Teals girlfriend, Emilia Torello, announced the 35-year-old actors death in an Instagram post on Sunday.

The most thoughtful, inspiring, driven, self-disciplined, loving man passed away on Friday, November 15, 2024, she wrote. Paul, you were my soulmate, my soon-to-be-husband, my rock, and my future. You filled my lungs with laughter, my stomach with butterflies, and my heart with love. You were taken too soon, in a battle that you fought bravely without fail.

Teal played Josh in One Tree Hill, and was in seven episodes. His credits also include roles in Good Behavior, Shots Fired, Dynasty, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, Outer Banks and George & Tammy.

While a part of me died with you, I promise to fight to find joy in life as hard as you fought to live every single day. The world is lucky to have even had a moment with Paul Teal, and I am the luckiest person in it, because I got to call you mine. I will love you forever, Torello wrote.

Teals co-star Bethany Joy Lenz, 43, paid tribute to the late actor with a post on Instagram.

My heart is heavy. Paul Teal was the kind of guy who lit up a room without trying, she wrote. His bright smile, infectious laugh and kind heart made you want to be near him.
COLUMBUS, Ohio  The incoming border czar for President-Elect Donald Trump warned that a federal program allowing people who fled dangerous countries to live and work legally in the U.S. on a temporary basis can end tomorrow, at which point the enrollees would be subject to deportation.

Asked about a population of roughly 15,000 Haitian immigrants in the Temporary Protected Status program who live in Springfield, Ohio, on talk radio Friday, Tom Homan emphasized that the Department of Homeland Security can end the program at the secretarys discretion.

That can end tomorrow. And if TPS ends, theyre removable, he said to conservative talk show host Bob Frantz. We need strong leadership at the White House and department to say, You know what, temporary means temporary. Whatever reason you guys got your temporary protected status, whether its a hurricane or war in your homeland, as soon as your situation clears up, you need to go home. And we need to be real hard on that, that temporary means temporary.

As border czar, Homan said he will report directly to Trump and is responsible for creating policies to secure the border and developing an operational plan for mass deportations. Homan oversaw Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trumps first administration.

Trump himself said during the campaign hed revoke the Temporary Protected Status program for Haitians in Springfield and bring them back to their country, part of a broader mass deportation effort. He has chosen immigration hard liners to key jobs, including Vice President JD Vance, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Both Trump and Vance shined a national spotlight on Springfield during the campaign, pushing false rumors that Haitian immigrants in the small city were stealing and eating locals pets. The rumormongering became a lead-in for broader criticism of how the Haitian population surged in town, putting stress on social services and schools. The rhetoric was followed by a series of bomb threats to schools, hospitals, and government buildings in the county, which local officials attributed to Trumps high profile commentary. State officials said the threats came from outside the country.

Trump won Clark County (which includes Springfield) with 64% of the vote, a four-point gain over his past two runs.

Congress and President George H.W. Bush created the Temporary Protected Status program in 1990 to admit natives of countries hit by natural disasters or that fall into civil unrest or violence. The countries are granted the protected designation on 6- to 18-month intervals that can be renewed. As of March, about 864,000 people are enrolled from 16 countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Cameroon, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen, according to the Congressional Research Service.

About 200,000 come from Haiti, which gained protected status after a earthquake in 2010 killed thousands and ravaged the poor countrys infrastructure. The status was renewed under Presidents Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Trump sought to revoke Haitis status during his first term, but the effort was caught up in court before he lost his reelection campaign.

Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reached out to a Vance spokesman for further detail, including whether the administration plans to revoke Haitis temporary protected status.

American politics in recent years has shifted toward a stricter approach to both legal and illegal immigration and, according to some polls, majorities of Americans support some form of mass deportation. Meanwhile, Haiti has fallen into disarray and widespread violence since its president was assassinated three years ago, leaving gangs to flourish in a power vaccuum. The New York Times reported that in just the past few weeks, commercial planes have taken gunfire, the United Nations grounded flights in and out of the island nation, doctors have been attacked in the streets, and thousands have been forced from their homes.

Jake Zuckerman covers state politics and policy for Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.
Letter from China: An advancing aerospace dream of China

10:08, November 18, 2024 By Hu Tao ( Xinhua

ZHUHAI, Guangdong, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- China's homegrown C919 jetliner and Y-20 transport aircraft are displayed side by side at the ongoing China Airshow in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province. It is an exhilarating scene to behold.

They are the both members of China's large aircraft family, while the key other member -- the AG600 large amphibious aircraft -- is conducting certification flight tests, with the goal of obtaining type certification.

I am looking forward to the day when the Chinese large airplanes C919, Y-20 and AG600 will stand side by side at air shows in China and around the world. I am also eagerly anticipating the day they will be able to serve the welfare of Chinese people and people everywhere.

This is my dream: to see the progress of my country's aerospace industry and share the fruits of that progress with the world.

Stepping through the entrance of the airshow, I saw a slogan in English, which reads "Chasing the dream for a shared future." Yes, it is a shared aerospace dream.

The airshow is an excellent stage for displaying progress and sharing the aerospace dream in an open manner, which means both going out and inviting people in.

Mankind has always wondered about the skies overhead and the space beyond. This curiosity has driven individuals around the world to persist in aerospace exploration.

The high-tech aerospace industry is a highly globalized industry, allowing enterprises around the world to use unique strengths to secure their share of the long industrial chain.

Therefore, the importance of the airshow reaches far beyond inspiring acrobatic flights. It is a platform for China to display its unremitting pursuit of an aerospace dream and commitment to wider opening up.

At the airshow, I learned about the systematic development of aerospace products and their roles in safeguarding the country, serving people's travel, satisfying people's desire to explore the skies and space, and more.

Visitors are able to get a close-up look at China's Chang'e-6 mission lunar samples, collected from the far side of the moon.

They also have the chance to enter the cargo cabin of Y-20 transport aircraft, provided they have made an appointment.

To me, I am extremely amazed by those innovative new-energy and new-configuration aircraft, which are developed by both leading aircraft makers and rapidly progressing start-ups.

Fancy and trending aerial vehicles are here, such as electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, tilt-rotor aircraft, hydrogen aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles for passenger or cargo transportation, flying cars, and those innovative vehicles with integrated future-oriented technologies.

"We should cherish this era of innovative low-altitude aircraft blooming freely," said Guo Liang, CEO and chief scientist of Aerofugia, an eVTOL start-up under China's EV giant Geely Auto.

Guo received the award of "Person of the Year" at the 16th China Aerospace Laureate Awards at the airshow.

"Gratitude to our aviation predecessors, as it is your efforts that enable us to stand on the shoulders of giants and look at the world from a position of equality, while making breakthroughs in the fierce competition of aeronautical technologies," said Guo while receiving the award.

"Space is vast enough to accommodate diversified technical routes from all countries around the world to explore and expand," said Wu Jiwei, the spokesman of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), while mentioning the company's independently-developed Haoloong space cargo shuttle.

Words of both men explained why the Chinese people are able to continually advance their aerospace dreams: the persistent pursuit of exploration that is firm, resilient and open.

I eagerly look forward to the next Airshow China.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with the House GOP conference, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. Allison Robbert/AP

The claim: Former President Donald Trump raged against Vice President Kamala Harris on Truth Social for saying he wanted to end the Affordable Care Act, the federal law signed by then-President Barack Obama that expanded access to health insurance.

"Lyin Kamala is giving a News Conference now, saying that I want to end the Affordable Care Act," Trump posted Oct. 31, ahead of the election. "I never mentioned doing that, never even thought about such a thing."

PolitiFact ruling: Pants on Fire. Trump gave mixed and incomplete information about his plan for the 2010 law during the campaign, and Democrats including Harris exaggerated how certain it is that Trump will do away with the law if he wins back the Oval Office. His campaign said he didn't want to repeal it anymore.

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But it was ridiculously wrong for Trump to say he never even mentioned getting rid of it. In his first campaign and as president, Trump supported multiple efforts to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.

Trumps claim fit into another moment of the campaigns revisionist health history; his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, falsely said in September that Trump "chose to build upon" the Affordable Care Act.

Discussion

During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump promised to repeal the law, sometimes called Obamacare. Shortly after taking office, Trump discussed his "ambitious legislative agenda," which included eliminating the Affordable Care Act. He called it "a disaster" and said he wanted to save families from what he described as a "catastrophic rise in premiums and debilitating loss of choice and just about everything else."

Trump supported congressional Republicans failed repeal-and-replace efforts. One example is the American Health Care Act, a bill to repeal the health laws subsidies and regulations, that the House passed in May 2017; it failed in the Senate. In June 2020, Trumps administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the law, but the court dismissed the case.

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Trump also cut funding for the laws marketing, outreach and enrollment assistance. He expanded access to short-term, limited-coverage plans that Democrats call "junk insurance," arguing they limit care and can lead to surprise medical bills.

During Trumps presidency, Affordable Care Act enrollment declined by more than 2 million and the number of uninsured Americans rose by 2.3 million.

During the 2024 campaign, Trump has said inconsistent things about whether he wants to overturn the law. In late 2023, Trump expressed interest in repealing and replacing the law.

"The cost of Obamacare is out of control, plus, its not good Healthcare. Im seriously looking at alternatives," Trump wrote Nov. 25 on Truth Social. "We had a couple of Republican Senators who campaigned for 6 years against it, and then raised their hands not to terminate it. It was a low point for the Republican Party, but we should never give up!"

On Nov. 29 he wrote, "I dont want to terminate Obamacare, I want to REPLACE IT with MUCH BETTER HEALTHCARE. Obamacare Sucks!!!"

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Since then, hes backtracked.

In March, he wrote on Truth Social that he is "not running to terminate" the health care law, but wants to make it "better" and "less expensive."

He said during the Sept. 10 debate with Harris that he has "concepts of a plan" to replace it.

But he hasnt given more details, the Republican Party platform doesnt address the Affordable Care Act, and he did not mention the law in his campaign promises.

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Han Ji-il, who was once a famous actor in the 1970s, has talked about his life after he fell into disgrace.

Despite a time when he was worth 10 billion won (Over $7 million), Han has a small rental apartment and lives on basic livelihood security.

The 70-year-old actor was a guest on MBN's "Special Scoop World," where he revealed the painful truth of his life, saying, "Do you know how painful it is for a top star to fall to the ground?"

Many viewers felt something for his narrative when he laid out the string of unsuccessful businesses that had bankrupted him, including a film production and hotel business.

Han Ji-il's colorful career started as an ad model, and later he starred in more than 70 movies and countless dramas.

He became a world sensation with his charismatic role in Im Kwon-taek's film Gilsottum, which won the Getz Peace Prize at the Chicago Film Festival in 1986. But his fortunes changed for the better as his career grew.

At present, Han is struggling with health problems such as leg pain and a herniated disc. He had recently been tested in America for possible Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease.

His results came back with "no real issues," but his mobility issues persist.

Han said, "Two and a half years ago, I was diagnosed with a herniated disc  and I never knew I would have to suffer this much, for this long.

He described feeling isolated with the fear of no one finding him in his modest home after he died alone in the place.

The actor said it has been years since he has lost many friends and fellow actors, elaborating, "Actually, I've never lost so many friends as a lot of them and fellows have died these days."

He then went on, "Last week, I attended the funeral of Kim Soo-mi and contemplated my death." He said, "I am also thinking of going to another world now."
Jason Nelson has always loved playing music. The 30-year-old, Hillsborough, New Jersey, native started playing piano and saxophone in elementary school and continued playing in various school bands through high school. While getting his degree in marketing at Rutgers University, Nelson started playing pop covers for his friends and fellow classmates at parties and even outside on campus. "I would kind of just walk along the street and go up to random groups" and tell them to pick a song for him to cover on his sax. Drake's "Hotline Bling" was a popular choice around that time, for example. The response was incredibly positive. In late 2018, a year and a half after he graduated and after he started a career in marketing at Barnes & Noble College, a friend asked Nelson if he would play piano during the cocktail hour at her sister's wedding in March 2019. The bride also wanted him to play saxophone as the couple walked down the staircase for their grand entrance. Nelson had so much fun playing sax alongside the DJ, he ended up playing the entire reception as well  despite only getting paid for the cocktail hour and entrance song. "I just remember being up there with the bride, the groom, all the bridesmaids," he says, "playing along to pop songs and being like, 'wow, I can do this.'" Nelson has since built a bustling career as a live performer, playing piano and saxophone at "an average of 80 events a year," he says, mostly weddings. In 2023 alone, he grossed more than $176,000. Here's how he built his musical business.

Live musicians are 'a really, really popular add-on'

Nelson doesn't remember when he learned that he could keep earning money as a musician after that first wedding, "but I realized that it was a really, really popular add-on in my New Jersey area for DJs to hire live musicians," he says. And he decided to do whatever he could to keep getting hired. By fall 2019, after reaching out to local New Jersey DJ companies to let them know he was interested in playing events, he was "doing about two, sometimes three" events per weekend, he says. "For weddings, I was getting anywhere from $300 to $500," typically for a four-hour reception and sometimes for the cocktail hour as well, he says.

Jason Nelson playing sax at a wedding. Photo by Fox Photography LLC.

Nelson hoped to quit his 9-to-5 job in marketing in March 2020. By then he was confident he could make the equivalent of his "around $50,000 salary with events," he says. When the pandemic hit, however, he decided to wait. He used the time to post more videos on social media and to find industry connections on apps like Clubhouse. He quit his job in September 2020, and by the spring of 2021, "a lot of the mask mandates were lifted, and the event industry, especially the wedding industry, saw lot of DIY and rescheduling weddings," or weddings in unconventional spaces like backyards on top of typical venues, he says. "So I worked three-to-four events a weekend." He no longer needed to rely on DJ companies to book events as well. "You play one wedding," he says, "and then, you know, 12 people within the next three years are getting married." And they remember him.

'I don't have set packages anymore'

These days, Nelson often does about two events per weekend. The majority are weddings but there are also bar or bat mitzvahs, 40th birthday parties, a boozy brunch or a nightclub. Earnings vary, though, his price tag has gone up. "I don't have set packages anymore," he says. "I hop on calls with every single client of mine or future client of mine, and I put together custom proposals based on exactly what they're looking for." For weddings he usually recommends couples book him for the whole four-hour reception, but they're able to choose whether he only comes out at specific moments or plays for a certain amount of time. One recent event paid $3,622. Another paid $1,325. Prices reflect demand for his services (he often gets asked to play multiple weddings per weekend) and the quality and detail he brings to each event. He says he earns about $750 per hour.

Jason Nelson playing sax at a wedding. Photo by Michael Romeo Creations
Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller built a sizable position in regional banks and made one health-care name his biggest position last quarter  two bets that have been rallying since the election of President-elect Donald Trump two weeks ago. The former lead portfolio manager for George Soros' Quantum Fund, who now runs his own Duquesne Family Office, bought $115 million worth of shares in the SPDR S & P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) in the third quarter, making it the firm's seventh-biggest holding, according to a new regulatory filing. Meanwhile, Druckenmiller dramatically hiked his bet on clinical genetic testing company Natera to $453 million, pushing it to the top of his portfolio at the end of September and more than double the $214 million Natera represented in the portfolio in the second quarter. Banks and health-care companies are seen as beneficiaries under a Trump presidency because of potential deregulation. The regional banking exchange-traded fund has climbed 12% this month alone, while Natera has jumped nearly 26% in November. In the lead-up to the presidential election, Druckenmiller said the market was convinced of a Trump victory and that if the Republican did take the White House, it would very likely prove a red sweep. The GOP eventually gained majority control of the Senate and kept control of the House of Representatives. KRE YTD mountain SPDR S & P Regional Banking ETF The widely followed investor was recently applauded for his big win on key artificial intelligence player Nvidia . He first bought the chipmaker in 2022 as he grew bullish on the burgeoning industry, comparing the power of AI to the internet. However, he exited the winning bet this year, later admitting it was a "big mistake" as Jensen Huang's company continued its rally. During the third quarter, Duquesne added a small bet on Broadcom, worth $41 million, as another AI play. Druckenmiller shot to fame after helping make a $10 billion bet against the British pound in 1992. He later oversaw $12 billion as president of Duquesne Capital Management before closing his firm in 2010.
Thomas Plantenga, CEO of used fashion resale app Vinted, on center stage during Web Summit 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal. Harry Murphy | Sportsfile for Web Summit Getty Images

LISBON, Portugal  Tech CEOs in Europe are urging regional countries to take bolder action to tackle Big Tech's dominance and counter reliance on the U.S. for critical technologies like artificial intelligence after Donald Trump's electoral win. The Republican politician's victory was a key topic among prominent tech bosses at the Web Summit conference in Lisbon, Portugal. Many attendants said they're unsure of what to expect from the U.S. president-elect, citing this unpredictability as a core challenge at present. Andy Yen, CEO of Swiss VPN developer Proton, says Europe should echo American protectionism and adopt a more "Europe-first" approach to technology  in part to reverse the trend of the last two decades, during which much of the Western world's most important technologies, from web browsing to smartphones, have become dominated by a handful of large U.S. tech firms. VPNs, or virtual private networks, are services that encrypt data and mask a user's IP address to hide browsing activity and bypass censorship. "It's time for Europe to step up," Yen told CNBC on the sidelines of Web Summit. "It's time to be bold. It's time to be more aggressive. And the time is now, because we now have a leader in the U.S. that is 'America-first,' so I think our European leaders should be 'Europe-first.'"

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One key push for the past decade from the European Union has been to take legal action and introduce tough new regulations to tackle the dominance of large technology players, such as Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta. As Trump prepares to come into power for a second mandate, concerns have now mounted that Europe might reel in its tough approach to tech giants out of fear of retaliation from the new administration.

US Big Tech playing 'extremely unfairly'

Proton's Yen, for one, urged the EU not to water down its attempts to rein in America's tech giants. "Europe has been thinking in a very globalist mindset. They're thinking we need to be fair to everybody, we need to open our market to everybody, we need to play fair, because we believe in fairness," he told CNBC. "Well, guess what? The Americans and the Chinese didn't get the memo. They have been playing extremely unfairly for the last 20 years. And now they have a president that is extremely 'America-first.'"

Mitchell Baker, former CEO of American open internet non-profit Mozilla Foundation, said the EU's DMA has led to meaningful changes for the Firefox browser, with activity increasing since Google implemented a "choice screen" on Android phones that enables users to select their search engine. "The change in Firefox new users and market share on Android is noticeable," Baker said. "That's nice for us  but it's also an indicator of how much power and centralized distribution that these companies have." She added, "This change in usage because of one choice screen isn't the full picture. But it is an indicator of the kind of things that consumers can't choose and that businesses can't build successfully because of the way the tech industry is structured right now." Thomas Plantenga, CEO of Lithuania-headquartered used clothing resale app Vinted, urged Europe to take the "right choices" to ensure the continent can "fend for ourselves" and does not get "left behind." "If you look very realistically at what countries do, they try to take care of themselves and they try to form coalitions to be stronger themselves, and as a coalition be stronger," Plantenga told CNBC in an interview. "We have a lot of very talented, well-educated people."

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"We need [to] ensure that we can take care of our own safety, that we can take care of our own energy, that we ensure to keep on investing in our education and innovation so that we can keep up with the rest [of the world]," he stressed. "If we don't, then we'll be left behind. In every collaboration, it's always a trade. And if we don't have much to trade, we become weaker."

'AI sovereignty' now a key battleground

Another theme that attracted much chatter on the ground at Web Summit was the idea of "AI sovereignty"  which refers to countries and regions localizing critical computing infrastructure behind AI services, so that these systems become more reflective of regional languages, cultures and values. With Microsoft becoming a key player in AI, concerns have surfaced that the maker of the Windows operating system and Office productivity tools suite has secured a dominant position when it comes to foundational AI tools. The tech giant is a key backer behind ChatGPT maker OpenAI, whose technology it also heavily uses in its own products.



For some startups, Microsoft's decision to embrace AI has resulted in harmful, anti-competitive effects. Last year, Microsoft hiked the fees it charges search engines to use its Bing Search APIs, which allow developers access to the tech giant's backend search infrastructure  in part because of higher costs attached to its AI-powered search features. "They're gradually reducing our revenue  we're still relying on them  and that reduces our capacity to do things," Christian Kroll, CEO of sustainability-focused search engine Ecosia, told CNBC. "Microsoft is a very fierce competitor." CNBC has reached out to Microsoft for comment.

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Ecosia recently partnered with fellow search provider Qwant to build a European search index and reduce dependence on U.S. Big Tech to deliver web browsing results. Meanwhile, the European Union's AI Act, a landmark artificial intelligence law with global implications, introduces new transparency requirements and restrictions on companies developing and using AI. The laws are likely to have a big impact on predominantly U.S. tech firms, since they're the ones doing much of the development of  and investment in  AI. With Trump set to come into power, it's unclear what that could mean for the global AI regulatory landscape. Shelley McKinley, chief legal officer of code repository platform GitHub, said she can't predict what Trump will do in his second term  but that businesses are planning for a range of different scenarios in the meantime. "We will learn in the next few months what President-elect Trump will say, and in January we will start seeing some of what President Trump does in this area," McKinley said during a CNBC-moderated panel earlier this week. "I do think it is important that we all, as society, as businesses, as people, continue to think about the different scenarios," she added. "I think, as with any political change, as with any world change, we're still all thinking about what are all of the scenarios we might operate."
US President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, DC on November 13, 2024.

A Georgia appeals court on Monday canceled until further notice oral arguments on an effort by President-elect Donald Trump and other co-defendants to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the criminal election interference prosecution against them.

The Georgia Court of Appeals acted on its own in canceling the arguments scheduled for Dec. 5. The court did not explain its reason for the move.

Three other criminal cases against Trump have been put in limbo since the Republican won the presidential election nearly two weeks ago.

Trump and the other defendants are charged in state court in Atlanta with crimes related to their attempt to undo his 2020 election loss in Georgia to President Joe Biden.

Earlier this year, the judge in the case, Scott McAfee, allowed DA Willis to remain on the case despite revelations that she had had a romantic relationship with a top prosecutor assigned to the case.

Trump and other defendants had appealed that ruling, and the Court of Appeals in June halted proceedings in the case pending the outcome of that effort.

A New York state judge in Manhattan last week delayed until Tuesday ruling on whether to toss out guilty verdicts against Trump in his criminal hush money case there. The Manhattan DA's office had asked the judge for the delay, citing the need to evaluate how Trump's electoral win affects the case, where he is awaiting sentencing.

The U.S. Department of Justice is expected to dismiss two other criminal cases against Trump because of his election.

In one of those cases, Trump is charged in Washington, D.C., federal court with crimes related to trying to overturn Biden's 2020 win in the national election. The judge in that case has paused proceedings in the case at the request of the top prosecutor, special counsel Jack Smith.

In the second case, Trump had been charged in Florida federal court with crimes connected to his retaining classified government documents after leaving the White House in January 2021 and with obstructing efforts by government officials to recover those records.

The Florida case was dismissed earlier this year by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who had been nominated to her seat by Trump.

Smith is appealing Cannon's decision. But last week he asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to suspend proceedings in that case, citing Trump's election victory. That federal appeals court granted Smith's request.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Acting Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Stephanie Koury, has described municipal council elections that were held in 58 municipalities on Saturday as a "significant milestone in Libya's journey toward democracy
I have to confess that I love the new "AI summaries" Apple offers on notifications in its latest operating system. I also have to confess my love of the "AI overviews" in Google when I use search now. What is happening?!

It turns out, the reason I love using these new features is that both companies are letting AI do sort of an end run around their bloated interfaces to simplify and improve the user experience. Yay for competition once again! We can all thank OpenAI (which has myriad problems of its own) for scaring the big tech platforms into adopting this new technology to make their products better.

Google, after all, was becoming borderline useless. Those of us who remember how amazing it was back when its simple little search box first disrupted Yahoo and AOL's bloatware were shaking our heads in recent years at how frustrating it had become. You want a simple, authentic search result? Good luck scrolling through 15 sponsored links on your mobile phone first. It was also enraging businesses who had to pay up to not get kicked down the page on legitimate search results.

Now, the magic is back. It might even be better. Because instead of having to open a link--unless I'm specifically trying to get to St. Louis "FRED," for instance--I get the info I'm looking for in one quick result. I don't have to open another AI-specific app. I can simply write "why is social security counted as government spending," and get a decent sense of things, plus quick links for further reading.

Same for Apple's AI summaries. They're sort of hilarious in the matter-of-fact way they present and group information. For instance, this weekend it told me my husband's "Fourth time walking outside was thwarted; feeling stressed and asking about dinner plans," based on a flurry of recent texts.

(I would love if the next iOS update would go a step further, asking him "are you sure you want to send these?" or even suggesting us some dinner ideas: "Would you like me to order your favorites from Bombay Hut?" "Yes!")

Now, the problem for the companies is that both Apple and Google have to figure out a way to keep making as much money with the deployment of these AI advancements. For Google, the disruption is more obvious--I'm skipping past all of those paid ads. How does advertising work in the "AI summary" world?

Analysts think they'll figure it out. Bank of America put out a note today saying AI search might actually help drive more search traffic (which my experience would seem to confirm) and better ad targeting. Although I'd still like to know exactly how that works if we are all seeing fewer ads. But the firm argues that if query volumes rise 2.5%, and ad clicks per search rise by a percentage point, Google's search revenue by 2026 should rise 6-8%, they estimate.

As for Apple, anything that makes glancing at my phone easier and more enjoyable seems like a long-term win. Both stocks are trading somewhat off their all-time highs; the sooner they can offer more clarity on how they're monetizing these user innovations--Google especially--the sooner they are likely to regain those levels.

See you at 1 p.m!

Kelly

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Shares of Liberty Energy rose on Monday after President-elect Donald Trump picked CEO Chris Wright as energy secretary.

Liberty Energy is an oilfield services company headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with a market capitalization of $2.7 billion.

The shares closed nearly 5% higher Monday.

Wright will step down as CEO and chairman of the board at Liberty upon his confirmation as energy secretary, according to a company statement Monday. Liberty plans to appoint Ron Gusek to succeed Wright as CEO, and William Kimble as chairman.

Wright also serves as a board member at Oklo , a nuclear startup backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that is developing micro reactors. Oklo's stock gained nearly 15% Monday.

Wright will also serve as a board member of the president-elect's Council on National Energy. The CEO has denied that climate change is a global crisis that requires a transition away from fossil fuels.
Here are Monday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Oppenheimer reiterates Netflix as outperform Oppenheimer said the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight "demonstrates [the] ability for meaningful" live event viewership for Netflix. "While the press will focus on the technical bandwidth issues and customer complaints, our guess is that viewing was likely ~2x internal expectations, a high quality problem than can be easily fixed by Christmas Day." Citi initiates Astera Labs as buy Citi said it is bullish on the AI/cloud infrastructure company. "We initiate coverage of ALAB with a Buy rating and $120 target price." Goldman Sachs initiates Ingram Micro as buy Goldman Sachs said the IT solutions provider is well positioned. "We initiate coverage of Ingram Micro (INGM) with a Buy rating and a 12-month target price of $33." Goldman Sachs initiates GATX as buy Goldman Sachs said it is bullish on the railcar company. "We initiate coverage of GATX Corporation with a Buy rating and $185 12-month price target." RBC initiates TechnipFMC as buy RBC said the oil and gas company is well positioned for shareholder returns. "TechnipFMC's ability to convert its record $14.7bn backlog into profitability and grow shareholder returns underpins the company's strong medium-term outlook." UBS initiates Franco-Nevada and Wheaton Precious Metals as buy The firm said it is bullish on the metals companies. "We initiate coverage with Buys on WPM & FNV as we think they offer lower risk, more reliable leverage to gold price upside and organic growth." HSBC upgrades Moderna to buy from hold HSBC said the biotech company is undervalued. "We think there is a good opportunity for Moderna's pipeline to support the back-to-growth story and view it as currently undervalued." Baird upgrades Roku to outperform from neutral Baird said in its upgrade of Roku that it sees an "attractive long-term opportunity." " ROKU is down 25% YTD vs. S & P 500 +23%. Historically, we have been hesitant regarding the company's execution in a rapidly evolving streaming landscape - but we now think shares are overlooking the meaningful changes in the business and the attractive long-term opportunity." Morgan Stanley upgrades Futu to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said it is bullish on the Asia brokerage and wealth management company. "We upgrade Futu to OW  we view the recent correction as a good entry point for its long-term growth potential from overseas franchise expansion." UBS upgrades Air Products to buy from neutral UBS said it sees a rerating for the air product and chemical company. "We upgrade APD stock to Buy. We lift our FY25/26 adj EPS and are now 1%/5% above consensus." Raymond James upgrades Hewlett Packard Enterprise to strong buy from outperform Raymond James said in its upgrade of the stock that it sees an "expanding multiple and server growth." "We upgrade HP Enterprise to Strong Buy from Outperform. We have refined our model to break out AI platforms and traditional servers, and this leads us to increase our FY25 sales estimates." Goldman Sachs downgrades Redfin to sell from neutral Goldman Sachs said in its downgrade of the online real estate company that it sees rising competition. "We downgrade Redfin ( RDFN) to Sell from Neutral with a new 12-month target price of $6.50 (v. $6.00 prior)." Wells Fargo upgrades CVS to overweight from equal weight Wells Fargo said the "aggressive growth strategies" have "likely peaked." "We are upgrading CVS to Overweight from Equal Weight and increasing our PT to $66. We believe the negative consequences of aggressive growth strategies at Aetna have likely peaked and create a compelling investment opportunity." Needham downgrades Biogen to hold from buy Needham said it sees a lack of upside for the stock. "We are stepping to the sidelines as we do not see a meaningful source of upside for BIIB over the next 12 months." Bank of America reiterates Nvidia as buy The firm said it is sticking with the stock heading into earnings later this week. " NVDA reports on Wed with sell-side consensus for FQ3/FQ4 sales at $33.2bn/$37bn, though as usual bullish investors' expectations likely at least a $1bn+ higher at $34bn/$38-$40bn for FQ3 and FQ4." Bank of America reiterates Alphabet as buy The firm said it is bullish on Alphabet search in 2025. "We expect an eventful year for search in 2025, with new competition, remedy ruling in DOJ case, and Google capitalizing on new AI overview format (better results, more ads). For the last three months, Google's US search share has increased, and the global rollout suggests Google is seeing a positive impact on search share." BMO upgrades Bright Horizons to outperform from market perform BMO said in its upgrade of the day care company that it sees margin expansion. "We upgrade BFAM to Outperform from Market Perform. The stock has been weak since 3Q24 earnings, while beating expectations, management cited slightly slowing top-line growth which could impede margin expansion." Loop upgrades Monolithic Power to buy from hold Loop said in its upgrade of Monolithic that investors should buy the dip in the power company. "We are taking the opportunity to up our rating to Buy from Hold. Our PT remains $660." Needham upgrades Robinhood to buy from hold Needham said the stock is a beneficiary of Donald Trump's election win. "We are upgrading HOOD to a Buy as Donald Trump's election win stands to materially benefit the company, primarily via changes at the SEC." Bernstein reiterates Tesla as underperform The firm said the electric vehicle automaker is a full-self driving beneficiary under a Trump administration but it is sticking with its underperform rating. "Trump is anti-EVs, but TSLA is on a tear. Tesla's stock is up 28% since Trump's election victory, despite the fact that the new administration will likely end IRA consumer and battery manufacturing tax credits, potentially lower emissions standards and could increase tariffs on Chinese batteries."
Caroline Kennedy, US ambassador to Australia, speaks during the AFR Business Summit in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s views on vaccines are "dangerous" and rejected by his family, U.S. Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy said of her cousin, whom President-elect Donald Trump has picked to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

The ambassador, speaking Monday at the National Press Club of Australia, said she believes most Americans also disagree with RFK Jr.'s well-documented history of spreading skepticism and conspiracy theories about vaccines.

"I'm a sitting ambassador, and I'm not supposed to comment on politics ... and now you're asking me to also comment on family, so that's really a lot," she told a reporter who asked if she was concerned about RFK Jr.'s views becoming mainstream.

"I think Bobby Kennedy's views on vaccines are dangerous," she said. "But I don't think that most Americans share them. So, we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

She added, "I grew up with him, so I've known all this for a long time, and others are just getting to know him." The line drew chuckles from the audience.

Caroline Kennedy offered the remarks as she prepared to leave her post, making way for the incoming Trump administration.

Caroline Kennedy, 66, is the only surviving child of former Democratic President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
Local residents walk past destroyed houses in the city, approximately 10 km from the frontline, on November 16, 2024 in Pokrovsk, Ukraine. Libkos | Getty Images

The Kremlin has lashed back against a White House decision to now allow Ukraine to use U.S.-made long-range weapons for limited strikes inside Russian territory. The decision, reported by NBC News, marks a major reversal in Washington policy a mere two months before the mandate expiry of President Joe Biden, who has steered U.S. engagement in the Ukraine conflict since Russia's wholescale invasion in February 2022. Previously, the Biden administration had limited the deployment of American-made long-range arsenal to the Ukrainian battlefield, but had green lit Kyiv's use of U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, HIMARS, in cross-border attacks to defend Ukraine. The latest authorization follows the deployment of North Korean troops to support Moscow in the stagnating conflict, along with what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy qualified as "one of the largest Russian strikes" against his country over the weekend. "It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps to continue adding fuel to the fire and continue to provoke tension around this conflict," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier Monday, according to Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during a summit of leaders of nations, which are members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), in Moscow, Russia October 8, 2024. Sergei Ilnitsky | Via Reuters

"If such a decision was really formulated and communicated to the Kyiv regime, then, of course, this is a qualitatively new round of tension and a qualitatively new situation from the point of view of the US involvement in this conflict," he added, in Google-translated comments reported by Russian state news agency Ria Novosti. Ukraine depends on Western allies for military and humanitarian aid, including the provision of weapons  which NATO members have largely supplied for defensive purposes on Ukrainian grounds, amid fears of further war escalation and Russian retaliation. Speaking to journalists on Sept. 12, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin had warned that a then-potential decision on behalf of any NATO country to allow Ukraine the use of long-range weapons against targets on Russian soil would amount to direct participation in the war. "The issue is not about allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons or not. The issue is about making a decision: NATO countries directly participate in the military conflict or not. If this decision is made, it will mean nothing other than the direct participation of NATO countries  the United States, European countries  in the war in Ukraine," Putin said at the time, according to Russian state news agency Tass. Yet analysts at the Institute for the Study of War warn that Washington's limited authorization could prove insufficient to materially alter the course on the battlefield. "The partial lifting of restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western-provided long-range weapons against military objects within Kursk Oblast will not completely deprive Russian forces of their sanctuary in Russian territory, as hundreds of military objects remain within ATACMS range in other Russian border regions," they said in a note, with reference to the U.S. long-range Army Tactical Missile System. They added that "Russian forces will benefit from any partial sanctuary if Western states continue to impose restrictions on Ukraine's ability to defend itself and that the US should allow Ukraine to strike all legitimate military targets within Russia's operational and deep-rear within range of US-provided weapons  not just those in Kursk Oblast." "The only way to truly stop this terror is to eliminate Russia's ability to launch attacks. And this is absolutely realistic," Zelenskyy said Monday on social media, without directly referencing the reports of the U.S. permission. "It is not just defense; it is justice the right way to protect our people. Any nation under the attack would act this way to defend its citizens. We must do the same, together with our partners. Russia must be left with no capacity for terror."

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses lawmakers as he presents the so-called 'Victory Plan' during a parliament session, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 16, 2024. Andrii Nesterenko | Reuters

It remains to be seen whether European countries will follow Washington's suit over Kyiv's use of their weapons. Major Western ally France upholds Kyiv's right to self-defense  which it says is not limited to Ukrainian territory, according to a diplomatic source  and which entitles the country to neutralize Russian targets that are directly involved in operations against Ukraine. Preparing for the November G20 summit, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer had stressed the need to double down on support for Ukraine, without referencing weapons use. Germany's Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock meanwhile on Monday said the reported U.S. decision is not a change in thinking, but an "intensification" of existing policy, also noting Ukraine's right to self-defense. EU foreign affairs ministers are meanwhile gathering in Brussels on Monday to hold talks that will also touch on the Ukraine conflict. "I've been saying once and again that Ukraine should be able to use the arms we provided to them, in order to not only to stop the arrow, but also to be able to hit the archers. I continue to believe this is what has to be done. And I'm sure will be discussed once again. I hope members will agree on that," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said before the meeting.
Thailand's same-sex marriage legislation, scheduled to come into effect in January 2025, could attract an additional 4 million tourists to the country per year, according to a report commissioned by the travel company Agoda.

The report published Thursday estimates the country's marriage equality law may increase tourism arrivals by 10%, netting the country an extra $2 billion in tourism revenue per year, within two years.

Arrivals are expected to come, not only from same-sex couples and their wedding guests, but from the broader LGBTQ community and beyond.

"Thailand is set to attract a growing number of travellers and expatriate workers who seek not just a vacation spot but a place where they can feel truly accepted," according to the report, titled "The Economic Impact of Marriage Equality on Thailand's Tourism Industry."

Thailand's new legislation is projected to add 76,000 full-time jobs to its tourism industry, while raising the country's gross domestic product by .3%, according to the report from the public policy consultancy Access Partnership.
Shares of Samsung Electronics jumped on Monday after the company unveiled a surprise plan to buy back about 10 trillion South Korean won ($7.19 billion) worth of its own stock over the next 12 months.

The South Korean tech giant's stock rose more than 7% in Seoul, after shares had already surged 7.21% on Friday, following news that the company reached a preliminary agreement with its largest workers union, which went on strike in July.

Samsung last bought back shares in November 2017, according to data maintained by LSEG.

In a regulatory filing, the company said that 3 trillion won of shares will be bought back in the next three months and canceled. While the repurchase of the remaining 7 trillion won worth of shares will be "authorized accordingly by the Board, which will decide on ways to enhance shareholder value, including when and how to use the treasury shares," it added.

Shares of Samsung had hit a four year low on November 15, after the company posted a disappointing profit guidance for its third quarter and amid worries about tariffs after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump won the presidential election.

The company has fallen behind rival SK Hynix in the race to supply high bandwidth memory, or HBM chips, that are a key component used by AI leader Nvidia, with analysts telling CNBC that "it is fair to say that Samsung has not been able to close the gap with SK Hynix on the HBM development roadmap."

HBM is a type of dynamic random access memory, known as DRAM. DRAM is often used in laptops, workstations and PCs.

According to South Korean media, SK Hynix is the first chipmaker in the world to supply fifth-generation HBM3E chips in March to Nvidia.

 CNBC's Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report.
Steve Bannon, former advisor to former U.S. President and now President-elect Donald Trump, sits at the New York Criminal Court for a pre-trial conference hearing in his fraud case stemming from a fundraising effort to build a border wall, in New York City, U.S., November 12, 2024.

A New York judge on Monday delayed the start of the criminal trial for Steve Bannon, a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump and his former White House adviser.

Bannon is facing numerous charges from the Manhattan district attorney's office for allegedly defrauding donors who believed they were giving money to build a wall at the southern U.S. border. He pleaded not guilty.

Bannon's trial had been scheduled for Dec. 9. At a hearing Monday, Judge April Newbauer pushed the date back to Feb. 25 after granting prosecutors' motion to allow additional financial evidence into the case that they say goes to Bannon's motive.

"We're not changing it again," Newbauer told both sides including Bannon, who attended virtually.

Bannon was indicted in the case in Sept. 2022 and hit with charges including money laundering, scheming to defraud, and conspiracy.

Bannon was chair of the "advisory group" for an organization called WeBuildTheWall.Inc, which prosecutors say duped thousands of donors by telling them that all of the money raised would go to build a wall along the southern border and not to the people running the effort.

Bannon used some of the money to enrich himself and the group's founder, Brian Kolfage, prosecutors say.

Three other members of the group, including Kolfage, have already been convicted of charges related to the scheme.

Bannon maintains he was targeted for political reasons by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat. Bragg won a conviction earlier this year against Trump in an unrelated case.

Bannon was initially hit with charges related to the same scheme by federal prosecutors in Aug. 2020. He pleaded not guilty and was later pardoned by Trump.

Presidents cannot issue pardons in state cases. Bannon faces up to 15 years behind bars if convicted.

The "War Room" host recently completed a four-month prison sentence for defying subpoenas for testimony and documents from the House Jan. 6 committee related to the 2021 assault on the Capitol.
Chinese tech company Tencent is a gaming giant and the parent company of WeChat, the ubiquitous social messaging app in China.

SINGAPORE  Chinese tech giant Tencent is increasingly leveraging its WeChat super-app ecosystem to set itself apart from dominant global cloud service players, Tencent Cloud CEO Dowson Tong said.

More clients are interested in engaging in the creation of their own super apps, a service Tencent Cloud offers by way of sharing its technology and operational experience gained as it established the WeChat ecosystem, Tong told CNBC on the sidelines of the recent annual Singapore Fintech Festival.

"That's something that makes us stand out, compared to many [other] online platforms," Tong said. Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform are the three largest cloud service providers, making up 68% of the market share as of the second quarter of this year, according to Synergy Research Group.

Super app platforms are often developed using cloud infrastructure to provide scalability, reliability, and efficient resource management.

Tong shared that many of Tencent's cloud services clients were keen on building their own mini programs on WeChat's network to attract existing users of the super app to their services.

"Many of our enterprise customers ... they want to borrow some of the technologies that make our consumer services successful. They also want to leverage our capability to connect to users," Tong said.

The financial and government sectors make up the majority of this interest pool, the company shared. For example, Cambodia's Canadia Bank partnered with Tencent Cloud to launch a new mobile banking app in 2023.

A super app is an application that functions as a one-stop shop for multiple offerings  from messaging to payment transactions to ordering food, among other services. WeChat is the world's largest super app, boasting around 1.3 billion active monthly users, or around 90% of China's total population.

While global competitors Amazon, Google and Microsoft offer a range of services to their clients, these are typically spread across several platforms and applications rather than available on an all-encompassing platform like WeChat.

For instance, Amazon specializes in e-commerce, cloud services, and streaming, but does not have a single app integrating these services. Similarly, Microsoft offers enterprise solutions such as Office 365 and gaming, but lacks a comprehensive consumer-facing super app. Google provides search, email, cloud services and Android OS, but each service is accessed individually.
The PEG Ratio is a valuation metric that helps investors assess the fairness of a stock's price relative to its growth potential. It builds on the P/E ratio (price-earnings ratio) by incorporating the expected long term earnings growth rate, providing a more dynamic perspective. The ratio is calculated by taking its P/E ratio and dividing that by its anticipated annualized percentage growth in earnings, often expressed as a whole number (e.g., 15% growth is used as "15" in the calculation). Consider BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (ticker BJ) , which reports earnings on Thursday. Marlborough, Massachusetts-based BJ's operates membership warehouse clubs. Like its competitors, most revenues come from groceries (70%). With projected revenues of about $20.6 billion for fiscal 2025 (ending January 31st, 2026), BJ's is a smaller version of Costco ($265 billion in projected revenues over the same period) and Walmart-owned Sam's Clubs ($90 billion projected). Using a two-axis growth of a similar relative scale, we can normalize and compare BJ's revenue growth to Costco's. Costco's growth rate is better than that of its smaller competitors, but is the stock itself a better value? Over the past five years, Costco has experienced a growth rate of 11%, and BJ's is a more modest but still respectable 7%. COST BJ 5Y mountain Costco vs. BJ's, 5 years A prudent investor would prefer Costco to BJ's if they could buy the companies for the same earnings multiple. Of course, the companies trade at significantly different multiples. BJ's trades at 21 times forward earnings, a meaningful discount to the S & P 500, which trades at about 25 times forward profits, and Costco trades at an eye-watering 50 times forward earnings. This is where the PEG ratio comes in handy. BJ's PEG ratio is 21/7 = 3. Costco's PEG ratio is 50/11 = 4.5. All else equal, a lower PEG ratio is better, so by this metric, at least BJ's appears to be the more attractive investment. Most investment metrics make some simplifying assumptions, not least of which is that we can reasonably estimate a company's growth rate through time; in this case, I took past growth rates and extrapolated, which is probably okay for the near future but isn't reasonable over the long-term. One would have reached some flawed conclusions if one extrapolated the growth rate of the railroads in the late 19th century or photographic film and typewriter companies in the mid-20th century. Other considerations: We're comparing BJ's relative value to similar (albeit larger) businesses. While the business model is identical, Costco does have the advantage of serving a more affluent clientele. Additionally, smaller BJs is regional, serving the East Coast, Midwest, and the South. The brutal truth for investors right now is that equity valuations are generally lofty from a historical perspective. While investors appear optimistic about Trump's victory, the economic reality of some of the proposals that have been floated, such as massive government spending cuts and tariffs on imported goods, is hard to estimate if they're even feasible. Buying companies at lower valuations provides a better margin of safety if investors become more skeptical. The trade Currently, the options market implies an 8.5% earnings-related implied move for BJ's, which is larger than the average over the past eight quarters. One way to capitalize on this is with a "strangle swap," selling a nearer-dated strangle and using the proceeds to help finance the purchase of a longer-dated one, in this case , the December/February 80/95, where I've selected strikes $7.50 from Friday's closing price, which is consistent with the anticipated magnitude of the earnings move that typically follows. Sell BJ Dec. 20 $80 put Buy BJ Feb 21 $80 put Sell BJ Dec. 20 $95 call Buy BJ Jan. 17 $95 call DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL'S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. Click here for the full disclaimer.
A judge on Tuesday sentenced a Houston mom to 50 years imprisonment after she forced her children to live with the decomposing body of their dead brother.

Gloria Williams, 38, pleaded guilty in October to two counts of injury to a child for abuse. The case involved Kendrick Lee, 8, who was beaten to death by Williams' boyfriend, Brian Coulter. She will be eligible for parole in 25 years.

For his role in the murder, Coulter was sentenced to life in prison, per Fox 26 Houston.

Siblings Discovered Living with Brother's Remains

Officers discovered Lee's body in October 2021 after Williams' eldest child, who was 15, called 911 to report his brother's death. By then, the 15-year-old and his two siblings---aged 7 and 10---had been living in the roach-infested house with the body for a year.

Authorities who responded found Lee's body covered in a blue blanket. All that remained of Lee was his bones. Testimony from Lee's brothers said the 8-year-old was beaten to death after the child drank what Coulter saw was more than his share of water.

Police noted that the siblings were malnourished and hungry when they were found inside the unfurnished, bug-infested house.

Houston Mom Leaves Her 3 Young Children Alone for Months

Williams and Coulter lived with the siblings and Lee's body for months after the fatal beating. However, the couple moved out in March 2022 and lived at another apartment located nearly half an hour away. The three surviving siblings were left alone in the apartment with their brother's body, AP News reported.

Williams would provide the children with food---which authorities noted was mostly junk food. Some neighbors would also feed them.

The children also said they were not allowed to leave the apartment and that they lived in constant fear that Coulter would beat them. Police said the 10-year-old child had been punched in the jaw weeks prior to the 911 call. He was not given medical care after.

The three siblings are now under the temporary custody of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Two of the children are believed to be on the autism spectrum.
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 31: Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr speaks during a House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Hearing titled Connecting America: Oversight of the FCC, on Capitol Hill on Thursday, March 31, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump has picked Brendan Carr, a critic of the Biden administration's telecom policies and Big Tech, as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, he said in a statement on Sunday.

Carr, 45, is currently the top Republican on the FCC, the independent agency that regulates telecommunications.

He has been a harsh critic of the FCC's decision not to finalize nearly $900 million in broadband subsidies for Elon Musk's SpaceX satellite internet unit Starlink, as well as the Commerce Department's $42 billion broadband infrastructure program and President Joe Biden's spectrum policy.

Last week, Carr wrote to Meta's Facebook, Alphabet's Google , Apple and Microsoft saying they had taken steps to censor Americans. Carr said on Sunday the FCC must "restore free speech rights for everyday Americans."

The president-elect has scorned actions by Disney's ABC, Comcast's NBC and Paramount Global's CBS and suggested they could lose their FCC licenses for various actions. Trump also sued CBS over its "60 Minutes" interview with Vice President Kamala Harris.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 18: UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping of China, at the Sheraton Hotel, as he attends the G20 summit in on November 18, 2024 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Keir Starmer is attending his first G20 Summit since he was elected Prime Minister of the UK. He is expected to hold talks with President Xi Jinping of China, the first time a UK PM has done so for six years. (Photo by Stefan Rousseau - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday to establish "consistent, durable" relations between their two nations, pressing on with efforts to thaw ties between London and Beijing at a G20 summit.

The meeting in Brazil was the first between the countries' two leaders since 2018, and Starmer struck an upbeat tone, saying he would like to engage with Beijing on areas such as trade, the economy and climate, and have broader engagement on science, technology, health and education.

The British leader also said he would start plans to have a "full bilateral" with Xi in either Beijing or London and hoped his finance minister Rachel Reeves would meet Vice Premier He Lifeng to discuss economic and financial cooperation next year.

"We want our relations to be consistent, durable, respectful as we have agreed, avoid surprises where possible, and strengthened dialogue should provide stronger understanding," Starmer told Xi at the start of their meeting.

"The UK will be a predictable consistent sovereign actor committed to the rule of law and multilateral system," he said, adding he appreciated Xi's candour in a call in August and would match him in tone when raising differences between the two.

Xi told Starmer that China and Britain should adopt a rational and objective perspective on each other's development and the two nations should enhance strategic communication and deepen political mutual trust, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The meeting's cooperative tone was in stark contrast to ties under the former Conservative government, which took a robust approach to differences with China, particularly over human rights, Hong Kong and allegations of Chinese espionage.

With Starmer focused on rebooting growth in the economy to try to meet his promise during an election in July of rebuilding public services, the British leader is keen to encourage trade and investment from different nations.
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A passenger waits for assistance at the Spirit Airlines check-in counter in the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on November 13, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell | Getty Images

Spirit Airlines has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, becoming the first major U.S. passenger carrier to do so since American Airlines 13 years ago. The budget travel icon is not shutting down, however. The filing will buy Spirit time and protection to restructure so the carrier can continue flying and bringing in sorely needed cash. CEO Ted Christie wrote to customers on Monday to reassure them that they can continue to book flights and use loyalty points or credits normally. Here's what travelers need to know:

Why did Spirit file for bankruptcy?

Spirit Airlines has been losing money since 2019, but its financial woes worsened after the pandemic, when industry costs climbed, dozens of its Airbus jets were grounded because of an engine recall and a federal judge blocked Spirit's planned acquisition by JetBlue Airways . The airline had struggled to renegotiate its $1.1 billion in debt payments due next year. A deadline at the end of the year tied to its credit card processing agreement was fast approaching. Spirit said Monday that it has reached a prearranged deal with the majority of its bondholders for a "streamlined" Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection plan. It expects to exit that process in the first quarter of 2025.

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Is my flight still happening?

Filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection doesn't mean the airline will cease operations. Rather, it gives the airline protection to reorganize its business, which often means shedding assets or parts of its operation. "From a consumer standpoint, you'll need to pay attention if Spirit makes any schedule changes or if they're going to get rid of any aircraft, lay off any pilots and flight attendants  that will affect the traveling public," said Henry Harteveldt, founder of travel consulting firm Atmosphere Research Group. The carrier is likely to keep as much of its schedule as possible in place for the holiday season, when airlines generate a lot of revenue during the popular travel period, but additional cuts are likely not far behind.

What am I entitled to if Spirit cancels my flight?

Under U.S. rules, airline customers are entitled to a cash refund if the airline cancels their flight and they're not rebooked. Spirit Airlines said Monday that it plans to continue flying and CEO Ted Christie tried to reassure customers, whose bookings will bring in needed cash during the peak holiday season. However, the Department of Transportation warns that bankruptcy protection could make getting a refund harder. "If the airline or ticket agent has filed for bankruptcy, the company may be temporarily prohibited from providing refunds and/or vouchers  for example, to conserve assets," according to its website. The agency says that if an airline that has filed for bankruptcy protection refuses to refund you for a canceled or significantly changed flight, your credit card could provide one under the Fair Credit Billing Act. Even if you get a refund, however, buying a ticket last minute to replace your original flight could be costly due to high demand and scarce seats. Harteveldt recommends always buying airline tickets with a credit card, which affords customers more cancellation protections than debit cards or cash. Travelers can also book a refundable ticket on another carrier if they are worried, though that can be very costly, too. Travel insurance might also cover pre-paid expenses if bankruptcy alters airline flights.

What happens next?
Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines today (November 18) celebrated the successful merger of Air India and Vistara in a symbolic ceremony at the Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the Indian aviation industry. The event was attended by Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong, and senior management from Tata, SIA, Air India, and Vistara.

This merger consolidates four airlines, including Vistara, within the Air India Group, creating a unified network with both full-service and low-cost offerings. The merger is part of the ongoing Vihaan.AI transformation program, which aims to reshape Air India into a world-class global airline.

"It has been a little over two and a half years since Air India returned to the Tata Group, and this merger with Vistara is a significant milestone in our journey to transform Air India into a world-class airline. Singapore Airlines remains a key strategic partner in this endeavor, and we are excited to welcome them to the expanded Air India Group," said N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons

The newly formed Air India Group will have a strong presence in all key segments of the Indian aviation marketdomestic, international, full-service, and low-costenhancing operational capabilities, expanding the customer base, and elevating service standards.

"This merger represents a pivotal moment for Indian aviation. We are deeply committed to supporting Air Indias ongoing transformation, leveraging our expertise to restore Air India to its leading position in the Indian market. Together, we aim to create an airline group that will be a source of pride for India and its people," said Goh Choon Phong, CEO of Singapore Airlines.

Following the merger, the Air India Group will operate a combined fleet of 300 aircraft, serving 55 domestic and 48 international destinations. With 312 routes and 8,300 weekly flights, the airline will offer extended global connectivity through over 75 codeshare and interline partners, reaching more than 800 destinations worldwide. The Groups combined workforce exceeds 30,000 employees.

The merger strengthens Singapore Airlines long-standing presence in India, one of the worlds fastest-growing aviation markets, and opens new opportunities for deeper commercial collaboration between Air India and Singapore Airlines, especially on flights between India and Singapore, and beyond.
Country % Change South Korea -7.70% Hong Kong -5.39% France -5.13% Switzerland -4.88% United Kingdom -4.42% India -3.85% Germany -3.45% China -3.30% Taiwan -3.14% Japan -0.26% Canada 0.24% United States 3.21%

The Chinese equity market has exhibited greater resilience compared to other emerging as well as European markets, so far, amid concerns over US President elect Donald Trumps protectionist trade policy.According to Bloomberg data, since November 5, stocks in South Korea have plunged as much as 8%, followed by Hong Kong (5.4%), France (5.1%), Switzerland (4.9%) and the UK, which is down by 4.4% during the same period. In contrast, stocks listed in the Mainland have outperformed India and other European markets such as France, Switzerland and Germany.The US market, which contributes more than half to the worlds equity market, has gained 3.2% after Donald Trumps win as the next US President elect. China, the second largest equity market in the world, accounts for 8.3% to the total market capitalisation, whereas Koreas contribution stands at 1.3%.However, Hong Kong, where some of Chinas most influential and innovative firms are listed, is down by 5.4% post Trumps win. It is to be noted that the Hong Kong market often mirrors the investor sentiment, considering the prevailing restriction placed by Chinese regulators on anything from short selling to verbal warnings and direct intervention by state funds.Nevertheless, market participants are of the view that the newly-elected Trump administration is unlikely to slap 60% tariffs on Chinese imports as promised during his Presidential campaign. Christopher Wood of Jefferies remains sceptical regarding the same, and he believes that if the US does so, it's going to increase the cost of goods for many Americans. It's going to be much lower, maybe even softer as compared to Trump 1.0. said Christopher Wood, Global Head of Equity Strategy at Jefferies. According to Wood, these are part of his negotiation tactics to attract overseas companies to shift their production to the US.Source: BloombergMoreover, with Elon Musk becoming a part of the new administration, the possibility of such a high tariff on China is very unlikely given the country contributes almost a quarter to Teslas total revenue.Meanwhile, Indias equity market continues to slide for the seventh day on Monday, triggered by lower-than expected second quarter earnings and stretched valuations. Companies have witnessed a raft of downgrades post September quarter numbers, resulting in a drop in valuation multiples.The Nifty50 currently trades at 19.6 times its one year forward earnings against 23x commanded in October 2021.Further, after offloading more than $10 billion worth of shares in October, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have sold another $ 3 billion worth of Indian stocks in November.
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A disembodied head that washed ashore in South Florida has been identified as that of a teen boy who disappeared after saving his sister from drowning.

Victor Enrique Castaneda Jr., 19, and his young sister---who has not been named---went into the ocean for a swim at South Point Beach in the early evening of Saturday. The pair were later overtaken by a rip current.

The sister was able to make it to safety, but Victor vanished, according to NBC Miami.

Saving His Sister

Marcus Pearson, a witness, said he was approached by a person who was seemingly looking for a lifeguard. He also noted that he heard someone screaming, "Where's my brother? He didn't come back out."

Two Samaritans had gone into the water to help the siblings. They were able to get the teen's younger sister to safety. However, Victor had vanished from sight.

Recalling the incident, Victor's older sister Jessica Castaneda told WTVJ that the 19-year-old threw his sister in hopes of helping her get out of the rip current. That was the last time anyone saw Victor alive.

"He said his concerns to my sister while they were struggling, just trying to get out. Before he was submerged, he threw my sister, because he told her they were gonna die, and he threw her, and that was the last she saw of him. So my brother died a hero," she said.

Finding the Teen's Head

Miami Beach Police searched for Victor in the water Saturday and Sunday but eventually suspended their efforts. On Tuesday, a beach worker in Key Biscayne discovered the teen's head washed ashore.

Authorities and a medical examiner have confirmed that the disembodied head belonged to Victor, whom his older sister said was the "kindest person" she knew. In addition, they had also confirmed that remains found near Key Biscayne the same day belonged to the heroic teen, per PEOPLE.

Police have yet to release information about the cause and manner of death for Victor but noted that there are no signs pointing to foul play. This echoes statements made by the police last week when they said the case was not being investigated as a homicide.

The teen's young sister was rushed to the hospital for evaluation. She is in good health.
If youve watched the Mission: Impossible movies, or maybe seen the viral footage of hyper-realistic silicone masks, youve probably thought about how those masks would be perfect for doing crimes in. Forget the balaclavas and bandanas, why not send the police on a full-on goose chase after some poor sap who probably got paid a couple hundred bucks for a face-molding session?

The technology is there, and it has indeed been used for this exact purpose. I personally hadnt heard about it, but I also assume the police probably dont want media blasts going out about the easy new way to get away with crimes. I have no such qualms, however, so lets look at some silicone-laden criminals and how it went for them...

5 Benoit Constant Cornelius Police Department If you dont want the police pulling up your picture in the system, one good strategy is to make sure theyre filtering by all the wrong categories. That was the plan of Benoit Constant, a 28-year-old Black man who robbed a bank wearing a silicone mask that made him look much older and whiter. Constant was caught, but not because the mask didnt work. After all that money and effort spent concealing his face, he left the license plate of the van he used completely unaltered, making it all for naught. If youre willing to rob a bank, Id think youd also be willing to lift someone elses license plates first.

4 Clauvino da Silva Brazilian drug cartel member Clauvino da Silva didnt use a hyper-realistic mask to carry out any of his crimes. In fact, his attempt at silicone-amplified impersonation didnt come around until he was already doing time for them. He instead saw an opportunity in tricking prison guards into letting him out, something they will practically never do when they know youre a prisoner. He had his 19-year-old daughter visit him with a mask of herself, and then attempted an ill-guided switcheroo where he would walk out pretending to be her. Advertisement The mask  and plan  both left something to be desired, and neither worked.

3 Gilbert Chikli and Anthony Lasarevitsch Gilbert Chikli and Anthony Lasarevitsch somehow convinced a mask-maker to construct them a mask that looked just like the Defense Minister of France, which I would think should raise a flag in a database somewhere. They would then don the ministers face and Skype executives and politicians, saying they needed money to negotiate a top-secret hostage release of French journalists held in Syria. Advertisement Advertisement The plan worked at first, but Chikli and Lasrevitsch were ultimately caught, and I cant imagine meddling in foreign affairs at the same time got them a commuted sentence.

2 Conrad Zdzierak Conrad Zdzierak committed a series of robberies in the Cincinnati area, but the security footage didnt show someone even remotely resembling Zdzierak. What it showed was the mask he was wearing, which made him look like an older Black man. Left there, it would have been nothing more than an attempt at a dramatic change in appearance. Where it gets really nasty is that his fake mask ended up in the arrest of a genuine, real-life man that happened to look like the mask after witnesses picked him out of a lineup. Mix advanced movie magic with bad movie police investigation procedures and you end up with a hell of a mess. Advertisement Advertisement Zdzierak was eventually arrested after his girlfriend sold him out, thankfully for the poor guy who was secretly twins with Zdzieraks silicone mask.
Good news for that one birthday party impersonator: Austin Powers might be coming back. After seemingly milking the bespectacled superspy for all he was worth more than two decades ago, Mike Myers just hinted that a reboot could be on its way sooner rather than later.

Myers recently attended New York Magazines Vulture Festival, where he was presented with an honorary Master of Culture degree for his non-Love Guru contributions to film and television. At the event, Myers recalled how he first heard about Dana Carvey from a Toronto taxi dispatcher (since he never watched Saturday Night Live growing up) and admitted that, despite being a veritable comedic catchphrase factory, he never consciously designed catchphrases.

But the biggest tidbit of news was revealed before he was presented with the fake degree. Speaking with TooFab outside of the venue, Myers was asked about potential revivals of some of his most iconic characters, including Shrek the ogre, who will be returning for Shrek 5 at some point in the near-future, at least according to Eddie Murphy. I cant tease anything. I can neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence of any element that I should or should not say, Myers joked, adding, Ive never used that answer before, by the way.

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Seconds before he was whisked away by a handler, Myers was asked if the Austin Powers franchise would ever come back. At first it seemed as though Myers was going to offer up another boilerplate denial, but after considering the question, he made a surprising admission: Again its uh I would be surprised if it didnt.

Myers has teased the possibility of another Austin Powers film in the past, but has been decidedly noncommittal on the subject of whether or not any plans were actually in place. His recent statement is much more definitive, although it begs the question: Is bringing back Austin Powers a good idea?

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The first movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery was basically a one-joke premise  what if a spy character from the 60s was forced to adjust to life in the 90s. But somehow, the character outlived that central conceit and returned for a sequel in which he returned to the 60s after having been acclimated to the 90s, and yet another movie in which he travels back/forward to the 1970s for some reason.

Of course, its been nearly 30 years since the first movie premiered, which happens to be the same amount of time that Austin was cryogenically frozen to begin with. If the first movie parodied the cultural shift between 1967 and 1997, Myers could similarly poke fun at how society has changed since the 90s. But, again, since the series continued into the 21st century, and arguably fizzled out, even that approach wouldnt fully make sense.

Its also entirely possible that Myers didnt mean to imply that Austin would be returning for a movie. Myers has already brought back Powers arch-nemesis, Dr. Evil, for a GM Super Bowl commercial.

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And before that, he revived another old character, Wayne Campbell, to promote Uber Eats.

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So its entirely possible that Austin Powers will return, but only for 30 seconds, just to extol the virtues of Taco Bell or the shagadelic Exxon Mobil.
In the upcoming two-part crossover between Abbott Elementary and Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the writing teams from each sitcom will tell their own side of the same story  were gonna figure out exactly who deserves that scratch-off.

Were less than two months out from the mid-season premiere of Abbott Elementary, a very special episode that series creator and star Quinta Brunson has been teasing since early October when she, her cast and the Always Sunny gang posted some promising on-set pictures from a crosstown crossover. As we learned weeks later, the Abbott Elementary/Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia group project will be a two-parter, as Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia will follow up the Abbott Elementary half of the collab with their own episode later in 2025 when Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 17 airs.

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During a discussion with her writers for Vulture Fest, Brunson revealed the exact nature of the collaboration, saying that, when its Always Sunnys turn with the crossover, Rob McElhenney and his team will tell their version of the Abbott episode thats set to air on January 8th. Our fingers are crossed for a Rashomon-style second half  or, at least, a Who Got Dee Pregnant? type beat.

(What) I think people dont realize is our episode will air in January, so itll be an Abbott Elementary episode, but the first episode of Always Sunny will air  I dont know when their episodes going to air, but probably in June, Brunson said of the crossover. Their episode will be their version of what happened in this storyline.

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Members of the Abbott Elementary cast have already expressed their slight shock in the tonal shift when they returned the favor to Always Sunny and ventured from West Philly to the south side and saw the chaos of Paddys Pub for themselves. The incredible Sheryl Lee Ralph, who plays the traditional, conservative Ms. Barbara Howard on Abbott Elementary, said that she had no idea that the Paddys Pub Gang was that depraved, exclaiming in a recent interview, The cast! Theyre criminals! They do so many shady things! I had no idea!

We can only imagine how shady the Always Sunny side of the crossover will be compared to the invitingly well-lit tone of Abbott Elementary, and we fully expect for even more shocking surprises when its Always Sunnys turn with the story. And, when we get the darker side of the crossover coin in Always Sunny Season 17, remember to be grateful for the corporate overlords. I guess I have to say thank you to corporate synergy? Brunson said of the crossover. Thats the only reason we get to do this, is because FX is also owned by Disney. If it werent for that, it wouldnt happen.

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So, when Abbott Elementary fans who, like Ralph, had never seen an episode of Always Sunny before the crossover tune in to FX sometime in the summer, they should address their letters of outrage directly to Disney.
The threat of cyberattacks keeps many US CEOs awake at night, but fewer than half of them have a CISO to check under their companys bed for digital monsters.

Cyber-attacks were ranked as the No. 2 geopolitical concern in the Conference Boards 2024 CEO survey. Yet only 45% of American companies have a chief information security officer, according to a Navisite poll from 2021, the most recent research on the issue.

Those numbers suggest a whole lot of businesses out there have no CISO. Lets break down why so many companies dont have one, how theyre managing cybersecurity without one, and nine key signs that a company does indeed need a CISO.
Responses to the poll were partisan, with 72% of Democrats claiming they would be very or somewhat likely to support her, while 87% of Republicans responded that they would not, according to the poll.
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Members of Parliament tell me they have never experienced such aggressive and incessant lobbying, on any issue, as they have over the past few weeks from Dignity In Dying.

This is the organisation, formerly known as the Voluntary Euthanasia Society, behind the 'Assisted Dying' Bill that was introduced in the name of Kim Leadbeater.

The Labour MP had never previously expressed any interest in the matter, but when she came top of the ballot for private members' Bills, Dignity In Dying swooped and persuaded her to turn their decades-long campaign into proposed legislation (which will be put to a vote a week on Friday).

However, in becoming the instrument of this movement, Leadbeater has revealed her naivety (to put it politely).

Last month, on BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight, she declared: 'The current situation, for people who are terminally ill, is you've got three options. You can suffer and have a very difficult, very painful death; you can go to Switzerland with Dignitas; and the other option is you can take your own life. So there are three options: suffering, Switzerland or suicide.'

Frustrated

I hadn't known this until my wife Rosa heard about it from Rachel Street, the chief executive of the Heart Of Kent Hospice (which Rosa's family has supported for many years). She told Rosa that she had 'shouted at the radio' when listening to Leadbeater.

Later Rachel emailed: 'Speaking personally, I was so frustrated at the lack of awareness that there is such a thing as a comfortable death, and that she hadn't referred to palliative and end of life care, or hospices at all, and was dramatising death and dying  probably terrifying people who are facing a terminal illness even more.'

Campaigner for assisted dying Esther Rantzen on ITV's Good Morning Britain

Sir James Munby (pictured), the former head of the Family Division of the High Court

Health Secretary Wes Streeting (pictured), who formerly supported legalisation of so-called 'assisted dying', said he no longer thinks it can be safely legislated

At that time, it was considered very likely that Parliament would pass the Leadbeater Bill. There is a massive Labour majority, subjected to what has been described as a 'soft whipping operation'  principally based on the fact that Sir Keir Starmer had voted for such a measure when it was last put to MPs, and had 'promised' Esther Rantzen (no less) that he would assist the process of such a measure on to the statute book.

But to Rantzen's fury, the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, who formerly supported legalisation of so-called 'assisted dying', has said he no longer thinks it can be safely legislated, and had become increasingly aware of the way vulnerable people could feel under insidious social pressure to end their lives prematurely.

Rantzen, who has stage 4 lung cancer, wrote in an open letter: 'What kind of Health Minister are you if you have no respect or understanding for the views of terminally ill patients?' She accused Streeting of wanting to 'force me to fly to Dignitas in Zurich to die alone'.

Earlier, she had said that even if the law is changed, 'I will probably not get the chance to die in my favourite place, my New Forest cottage'.

Yet, as the law stands, no one can prevent Esther from dying in her New Forest cottage, if that is what she most desires. No one, despite what her lobby constantly says, is forced to have any medical treatment they don't want. And no one can be made to go to a hospital, if they prefer to end their days in their own home.

Rantzen has already lived (happily, as far as one can tell) for longer than she expected. This is relevant to the phrasing of Leadbeater's Bill, which talks of making a medically 'assisted' death (being given poison) available for those with a terminal illness and a prognosis of being within six months of dying.

Professor Mark Glaser, the former head of cancer services at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, told The Mail on Sunday: 'I can recall several patients who came to me with a prognosis of months, and they are still being cared for many years later.'

Sceptical

One of his patients was the former Northern Ireland Secretary, Mo Mowlam: 'Mo didn't live the six months, the 12 months or the 15 which her prognosis said about her case. Dr Mowlam lived for eight years  and, after her exit from politics, she had a productive and useful life.'

As the law stands, nothing forces patients to have any medical treatment they don't want or to go to hospital, if they desire to end their days in their own home

Kim Leadbeater MP with Dignity in Dying campaigners at Parliament Square in support of the Bill

It is, in fact, an overwhelming sense of being 'useless', or of their life having no value, which typically assails people when they receive a terminal diagnosis.

This was explained to me by Dr Matthew Dore, the honorary secretary of the Association of Palliative Medicine for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He added that this makes patients 'intensely vulnerable' to the sense that whatever remained of their life was merely a burden to their families, or society.

And Dr Dore is deeply sceptical of the notion that doctors or judges could detect if a patient's demand for 'assisted dying' had been subtly, or not so subtly, suggested by others (family, for example).

In fact, Leadbeater's Bill explicitly permits medics to introduce the idea to patients.

Leadbeater claims her Bill has the 'world's strictest safeguards': it requires the 'assisted death' to be approved by two doctors and a High Court judge. But how much would these doctors know of the personal circumstances?

Dr Phil Whitaker, who has long supported the principle of 'assisted dying', wrote in the New Statesman: 'Leadbeater's Bill is the right legislation at exactly the wrong time A doctor who knows their patient well  not just their medical case but also their character, opinions, relationships, belief and circumstances  is best placed to ensure any decision to request assisted dying is well-founded. [But] that kind of doctor-patient relationship is now the exception.'

Actually, the Bill doesn't even specify that the doctors have any previous acquaintance with the patient.

As for the judges, that aspect of Leadbeater's 'world's strictest safeguards' has been torpedoed by Sir James Munby, former head of the Family Division of the High Court.

Secret

Last week, he said the architects of her Bill had 'chosen to promote a highly unsatisfactory scheme a scheme which does not provide an open and transparent process, but, on the contrary, permits a secret process which can give us no confidence that it will enable the court to identify and prevent possible abuses'.

A similar point is made by Thomas Teague KC, who this year retired as the Chief Coroner of England and Wales. One of numerous distinguished legal experts endorsing a report by the Policy Exchange think-tank exposing the Bill's inadequacies, Teague observed: 'Many of the safeguards promised by its supporters amount to nothing more than arbitrary restrictions, with no rational foundation.'

Demonstrators protesting with a mock up 'graveyard' against the Assisted Dying Bill outside Westminster last month

But that, actually, is the point: these safeguards are designed to be a box-ticking exercise, not an investigatory process. This is reminiscent of the debate over the passing of the 1967 Abortion Act, itself the outcome of a private member's Bill introduced by the then 28-year-old Liberal MP David Steel.

That Bill's supporters insisted the requirement that two doctors approve a termination would ensure this would not become 'abortion on demand'.

But it rapidly became just that. And Leadbeater's Bill, which affects the living rather than the unborn, would introduce death on demand.

For a number of powerful and strong-minded individuals, such as Esther Rantzen, that would come as an unmitigated benefit. But for the more vulnerable, it could become a terrible added affliction.
Donald Trump has yet to announce who will be his Treasury Secretary, Americas Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Its a key appointment and Trumps taking his time. Hes spoiled for choice. There are four front-runners, all with impressive backgrounds in high finance.

Joint favourites are Scott Bessent, a successful hedge fund manager and founder, CEO and chief investment officer of a top Wall Street firm, and Howard Lutnick, the billionaire boss of financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald.

Also in the mix are Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor and adviser to President George W Bush, and another Wall Street billionaire, Marc Rowan.

Does anyone seriously believe that, were she American, our own Chancellor Martha Reeves would even get an interview, let alone make the cut?

Shed be lucky to get a job making the coffee at the White House.

When Reeves was appointed by Keir Starmer, we were told she was a highly qualified economist who had worked at the Bank of England for a decade.

Turned out she may have been somewhat, er, economical with the actualite.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves at a Mansion House dinner in the City of London last week

When she was campaigning to become an MP in 2009, her website said: Rachel has spent her professional career as an economist working for the Bank of England, the British Embassy in Washington and at Halifax Bank of Scotland.

Or not, as the case may be.

This week, her online profile was changed from economist to merely saying she worked in retail banking.

It now appears that far from being at the cutting edge of planning and decision-making at the Bank of England, she spent much of her six years there  not ten, as previously stated  studying. Sounds to me like she was more graduate trainee or glorified work experience girl.

Two sugars, please, love.

From Threadneedle Street she moved to Leeds, where her CV again claims she was an economist for the Bank of Scotland, aka HBOS.

It has since emerged that she actually worked in the complaints department at what used to be the Halifax Building Society before it merged with the BOS.

She was also involved in the retail mortgage division at HBOS when it became the second biggest bank to collapse in British history and had to be bailed out by Lloyds.

So not exactly the glittering career in high finance she would like us to believe. Yet now this Hon Member for Fantasy Island is in charge of the nations finances.

As I observed a couple of months ago, when it first became apparent that her CV was a work of fiction right up there with Harry Potter, making Martha Chancellor was a bit like putting me in charge of WH Smith because I once had a paper round.

If wed wanted someone from the Halifax, wed have been better off appointing Howard, the bouncing bank clerk from Birmingham who shot to fame as the face of the popular Get A Little Xtra Help ads on television a few years back.

I cant imagine Martha dancing in the street with a chorus line of happy Halifax customers. Shes more likely to have been chased around the block by pensioners angry at her decision to axe the 300 winter fuel payment, especially as it has subsequently been revealed that she claimed 4,400 towards her own domestic heating bills on her Parliamentary exes.

Her personal financial record is not without blemish, either. For instance, in 2015 she had her official House of Commons credit card suspended after racking up more than 4,000 of invalid spending on expenses.

And despite Reeves and her husband having a joint, pre-election income of around 200,000 a year, she accepted 7,500 from a friend to buy frocks.

It then emerged that shed also enjoyed a free family holiday in Cornwall, worth 1,400, which she hadnt properly declared to the Parliamentary watchdog.

Thats not all, either. Last year, she published a book aimed at boosting her credentials, called The Women Who Made Modern Economics. An investigation by the Financial Times discovered that it was a cut-and-paste job. Shed downloaded some of the material unacknowledged from the internet, including the notoriously unreliable Wikipedia.

(Full disclosure: I just cut-and-pasted that last paragraph from a column I wrote in September. But at least it was all my own work.)

Why should we believe a word this woman says? Weve already had to listen ad nauseam to her droning on about the 22 billion black hole she inherited from the Tories and pretended to know nothing about  even though the books were there for all to examine.

Reeves keeps complaining that the economy is in worse shape than at any time since the Second World War  a claim met with derision by anyone with an ounce of financial expertise.

She insists on talking down Britains economic prospects, something which will become a self-fulfilling prophecy unless she shuts up sharpish. Who wants to invest in a country whose own Chancellor pretends is a basket case?

Giving Reeves the keys to Number 11 is like putting Del Boys Uncle Albert in charge of the Admiralty.

Meanwhile, as Trump prepares to Make America Great Again, turbo-charge the US economy with tax cuts and put one of the Masters Of The Universe in charge of the Treasury, were lumbered with a work-experience girl who once answered the phones at the Halifax's complaints hotline.

Were going to need all the Xtra help we can get.

Labours latest stroke of genius is a plan to spend 1 billion bringing London-style bus services to the rest of Britain. I can only assume Transport Secretary Louise Haigh hasnt yet read the new report which points out its now quicker to walk in London than catch a bus, thanks to mayor Genghis Khans cycle lanes, road closures, pavement widenings, pedestrianisation schemes, 20mph limits and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, which have created gridlock and pollution everywhere.

They used to say you could wait half an hour for a bus in London then three would come along at once.

These days youre better off legging it  as the rest of the country is about to find out.

A pub called The Midget has been forced to change its name because it is allegedly offensive to dwarfs. A petition organised by Dr Erin Pritchard, a senior lecturer in disability studies, called it a hate crime. In fact the pub, in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, is actually named after the MG Midget sports car, which used to be manufactured nearby.

But are people with dwarfism really offended? As the man responsible for the first  and perhaps only  TV appearance of the Half Monty, a troupe of stripping dwarfs, Im not so sure.

So successful were they that we decided to feature a dwarf on every subsequent show in that series. One night the head dwarf said he wouldnt be available next week because he had been booked to take part in a dwarf-tossing contest in Sheffield.

But he said his brother-in-law could stand in for him. Was he a dwarf, too? No, he said, technically hes a midget  but no one will notice the difference.

I doubt either of them would object to a pub called The Midget, especially one named after a car.

As The Office memorably explained: A midget is still a dwarf but their arms and legs are in proportion. Prompting Gareth to ask: So whats an elf?

Come to think of it, we buy our Christmas trees from a company called The Good Elf. How long before they have to change that name, too, or be accused of committing a hate crime?
One car window exploded with a crash, then another. Two yobs were running along our street with a crowbar, howling as they vandalised the vehicles.

I was on my way back from the park with the dog after a late evening walk. Afraid of what might happen if the youths caught sight of me, I stood well back, reached for my phone and dialled 999.

The call handlers response left me speechless. I was scolded, told off for wasting their time. This was not an emergency, they said.

I should have called 101, the number for non-urgent incidents, if I wished to make a report.

Six weeks later, when I answered a knock on the door to see two female police officers, the first thought that flashed through my mind was that this must be somehow connected.

How wrong I was.

They were not calling at my home, at lunchtime on a Sunday, to discuss vandalism. We are here to talk to you about a hate crime, said one.

I invited them to come in, and we went into the study, leaving my lunch guests to wonder what on earth was going on.

The case of journalist Allison Pearson, who is being investigated over a year-old tweet by Essex Police, has sparked an outcry

After being visited by two police officers at home, Julie Bindel says she was not allowed to know what it was she had written that was being investigated as a 'hate crime'

A complaint, said the first officer, had been filed about something Id written on Twitter (this was 2019 before the social media platform became X).

She had the grace to look slightly embarrassed, as though she, like me, couldnt quite believe the words coming out of her own mouth. Her colleague was looking up, down, sideways - anywhere but straight at me.

I asked what the tweet said. They replied that they were not able to divulge that information. Apparently, I was not permitted to know what it was Id written that was being investigated as a hate crime.

I asked what category of hate crime was involved. I wasnt permitted to know that either. I asked who had complained and they became a little more forthcoming. A transgender man in Holland had instigated the inquiry.

That boggled my mind. I started to ask how on earth a police investigation could be launched because someone in another country felt aggrieved about something theyd read on social media.

Under which legal jurisdiction, I wanted to know, did this alleged offence fall? If it went to court, would the case be heard in Britain or the Netherlands?

The police didnt want to discuss that, naturally enough, since they didnt have a clue about the answers. Instead, they invited me to appear at the station the next day to make a statement.

Absolutely not, I said.

Campaigner Maya Forstater also opened the door to police on her doorstep, in July 2023, following a complaint of alleged transphobia. The case has only recently been dropped

That flummoxed them. They explained that I had to discuss this matter with a senior officer. In that case, I told them, they should have brought a senior officer with them.

One of my guests stuck her head round the door, learned what was going on, and warned the duo that they might end up facing a complaint themselves if they didnt drop this nonsense.

They left, with me haranguing them all the way to the door about the scandalous failure of the British justice system, and the shocking waste of police resources  with two constables sent to investigate a tweet, when complaints of domestic violence are too often ignored until women are murdered by their partners.

For the rest of the day, I felt sick to my stomach. Most women in my situation might have felt browbeaten and intimidated into handing themselves in at the station.

Im fortunate that, after decades of fighting to end domestic abuse, I have some knowledge of the law and a good support network of people ready to back me up, including my very understanding partner.

But it makes me livid that on at least two occasions I have felt sufficiently alarmed by death threats on social media, and threats of violence to my loved ones, that Ive gone to the police  and theyve done nothing.

Instead, Ive felt patronised, as though Im seen as an attention-seeker who enjoys the melodrama.

There is a double standard here. Women like me have frequently faced physical attack and venomous verbal abuse for our beliefs  namely, that the fundamental biological differences between males and females cannot be erased.

Our opponents on social media are able to say whatever they like, however threatening. But when one of them feels unhappy at something (factual and non-violent) that Ive said, I get an intimidating visit from the police.

And Im far from alone. The case of journalist Allison Pearson, who is being investigated over a year-old tweet, has sparked an outcry since it made headlines last week. Essex Police have since defended their decision to investigate her.

The campaigner Maya Forstater also opened the door to police on her doorstep, in July 2023, following a complaint of alleged transphobia, and the inquiry remained open for 15 months. She has only recently been told that it has been closed.

That amounts to state harassment. It has ominous echoes of East Germany under the Stasi secret police and many people might buckle under the pressure.

I dont blame the police themselves, certainly not the rank-and-file who are sent on these fools errands. I have good friends in the force, and Im quite sure none of them joined to crack down on social media spats.

But I do blame the virtue-signalling liberal establishment that encouraged the selfish, self-deluding trans lobby.

Women who should have known better, such as historian Mary Beard and novelist Margaret Atwood, tried to ingratiate themselves with the baying activists who drown out all debate by shouting: Trans women are women!

Peter Tatchell, the gay activist who used to proclaim himself such an enthusiastic feminist, poured fuel on the fire by saying that, though he recognised my right to free speech, he abhorred my transphobia.

People like these, the luvvies who are desperate to be on the right side of history as they call it, are the ones most responsible for a truly iniquitous situation  where failure to hold the approved beliefs can bring the police to your door.
Flunkeys offered a last-minute briefing before the British and Chinese leaders met in Brazil. Hes a grey, jaw-grinding Marxist and a bit of a pudding, boss. Wooden and mirthless. Wields vast power because Opposition politicians have been eliminated.

If you want to make him smile you could say that you, too, like locking up protesters. Oh, and his name is pronounced Sir Kia. As in those South Korean cars.

Beijings President Xi Jinping, possibly thus forewarned, did not look entirely thrilled. He half glanced away as he approached Sir Keir Starmer.

The handshake was fleeting before Mr Xi  radiating senior-partner vibes  walked towards some chairs. The two men sat opposite each other with their retinues.

Mr Xis chaps were stiff-spined in dark suits, white shirts, sober ties and little lapel badges, which may or may not have been miniature water pistols.

The British diplomats looked a mess, some leaning back, others bent over notepads. Scruffy hair, untidy clothes, the men ill-shaven. Londons foreign office has slipped, you know.

Speaking across a trench of purple orchids, Sir Keir undertook to be predictable in his relations with China.

Those of us who know the old sausage may feel unpredictability has never really been his thing.

Keir Starmer insisted that UK-China ties are 'important' today as he became the first premier to meet Xi Jinping since 2018 (pictured: Keir Starmer during a bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping of China)

We want, as we have agreed, to avoid surprises, droned Sir Keir. Pictured: Starmer poses for a photograph with Xi Jinping

We want, as we have agreed, to avoid surprises, droned Sir Keir. One of the Chinese officials mined some wax from his left ear and flicked it on the floor.

Mr Xi, for his part, made some brief remarks which included the (entirely untrue) Labour slogan about the Starmer government fixing the foundations of the economy.

The two British reporters in the room were shooed out the moment Sir Keir mentioned an imprisoned Hong Kong dissident, Jimmy Lai.

We therefore do not know if Sir Keir returned the favour and parroted a Maoist slogan  maybe have fewer children, raise more pigs!  at his waxen-faced interlocutors.

How long had the Rio meeting with Mr Xi been in the planning? Where did it fit into the great game?

Could we gain leverage in Beijing if we bag a few trade favours from Donald Trump?

And how does an improved relationship with China sit with Labours protestations about human-rights abuses in Gaza?

Such questions could have been asked by the Commons foreign affairs select committee which had a long session with the foreign offices top civil servant, Sir Philip Barton.

The PM raised the case of Jimmy Lai as he met Mr Xi in Rio today

Alas, Emily Thornberrys new committee showed remarkable lack of curiosity in these matters. As for Sir Philip, he only wanted to talk about managerial and budget details.

The CV of Sir Philip, 61, tells us that he has been head of HM diplomatic service since 2020 and that he was previously high commissioner to India, Pakistan, deputy head of mission in Washington DC and private secretary to Tony Blair.

Quite a flyer, you think. As a committee witness, however, he has always been an ocean-going dud and yesterday was no alternative.

With myriad hand gestures and jerky little lifts of his bottom, as if riding a pony, he talked of finances and personnel management, office mergers and funding models, forward-looking asset plans, annualised budgets and global maintenance requirements.

Yawnsville. To be permanent secretary at the foreign office was once a great glittering prize, reserved for suave scintillators.

That a dull booby such as Sir Philip has held this position for four years is evidence of how mundane the FO has become and perhaps explains why those diplomats next to Sir Keir in Brazil looked so scruffy.

Sir Philip is retiring early. Maybe he felt David Lammy was something of a downgrade after David Cameron. Or maybe Mr Lammy found Sir Philip as eyeball-achingly boring as the rest of us.

We close with word that Sky Newss Beth Rigby, reporting from Rio, just used the diplomatic term rapprochement.

Gruesome. It came out more like ra-proach-meat. French envoys are in a state of shock and have issued a communique begging that our Beth undertakes never again to try to speak French on air.


Karnataka Congress MLA Ravi Ganiga Karnataka Congress MLA Ravi Ganiga has stated that the BJP is offering Rs 100 crore to Congress MLAs to bring down the ruling government in the state. He added that he has evidence in this regard which will be released soon. Speaking to media in Mandya on Monday, Ravi Ganiga stated, that the BJP, in desperation to form government in Karnataka, has started making an offer of Rs 100 crore for Congress MLAs. The BJP leaders are scared of going to jail as one after the other scams involving them are coming to light, he charged.



They have spoken with Congress MLAs in hotels, airports and guest houses. The BJP leaders have attempted to lure Kittur MLA Babu (Babasaheb Patil) and Chikkamagaluru MLA H. D. Thammaiah. We have evidence of audio, video records, CCTV records. I will release the documents related to Operation Lotus by the BJP sooner, MLA Ravi Ganiga stated.



The BJP is trying to bring down the Congress government at any cost. The BJP has the money made while being in power in the previous term. The Central government also has huge money and they are making efforts to purchase 60 MLAs required to form their government, MLA claimed.



They are making big offers to MLAs and 30 of them have been offered ministerial posts. The BJP leaders are even telling them that they just want their government to be formed and their leaders wont care much about the posts, he alleged.



When asked whether he got an offer from BJP, MLA Ravi Ganiga stated that they wont touch him as they know that he will expose everything. I am getting information and updates from my friends and colleagues, he maintained.



Meanwhile, Congress MLA Babasaheb Patil has clarified that he has not received any offer from BJP. No BJP leader had contacted me. I dont know why MLA Ravi Ganiga has issued a statement taking my name. I have not got any offer, he stated.



Earlier, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed that BJP is making offers to 50 Congress MLAs with Rs 50 crore to topple his government. BJP State President B. Y. Vijayendra, denying the charge chided CM Siddaramaiah that his own party leaders who are dreaming of getting the CMs post are giving offers to their party MLAs.




Fast-fashion brand Mango released its first campaign with AI models in July

Mango has implemented AI models in new fashion campaigns, but some have questioned whether it should be classed as false advertising.

The Spanish brand piloted generative AI models in July, creating the Sunset-Dream campaign aimed at teenagers, before going on to release another AI-generated ad campaign this month.

It was a move that formed part of Mango's Strategic Plan 2024-2026, which, according to the brand's press release, 'aims to create value through technological development, data management and operational excellence.'

Mango believes the move demonstrates its commitment to innovation, adding that the brand is a pioneer in the fashion industry.

'This initiative reflects our continued commitment to innovation and being on the cutting edge in the fashion world,' Jordi Alex, Chief Information Technology Officer at Mango, said

He added: 'Artificial intelligence is a technological revolution that presents great opportunities that should act as a co-pilot to extend the capabilities of our employees and further amplify our creativity. Because technology will either make us more human or it won't'.

However, despite the brand's claims, others have taken an alternate view of Mango using AI avatars to model clothes, claiming it should be considered 'false advertising'.

Marcos Angelides, the founder of a London-based marketing firm, raised the question on TikTok: 'Is it false advertising because the models... don't actually exist?'

Mango released its first campaign generated entirely using artificial intelligence for the limited-edition Sunset Dream collection of the Mango Teen youth line in July (pictured) before going releasing a second AI ad campaign in November

The brand has claimed that by favouring generative AI models over humans, it can produce content quicker, according to Business of Fashion.

Chief executive officer Toni Ruiz explained to the publication that the clothes are genuine and available to purchase, adding that a key benefit of generative AI is 'faster content creation'.

Not only do AI models allow for quicker timescales, but they cost a fraction of what human models would cost. While it threatens the modelling industry, the company hopes to double its 640 employees in the US by 2025.

Mango also flags to customers when AI is used on some images with a notice.

MailOnline has contacted Mango for comment.

However, some consumers are finding fault with the change. TikTok user Marcos Angelides questioned whether the advertising industry should rethink its false advertisement rules in relation to AI models.

He said: The fashion brand Mango has replaced models with AI, and it raises a really important point about false advertising.

'So, if a mascara brand uses fake eyelashes in an ad, they'll get in trouble, but if a pizza brand uses glue to make the cheese look gooier, it's just seen as pop design, so the rules are really inconsistent.

TikTok user Marcos Angelides (pictured) questioned whether AI ad campaigns should be classed as false advertisement

'But the growth of Gen AI is going to force the advertising industry to redefine these definitions because if Mango releases an entire ad campaign generated by AI, how do we view this?

'Is the text simply a creative tool, like applying Photoshop or just a lens to the ads?

'Or is it false advertising because the models and the clothes they're wearing don't actually exist. Right now, nobody knows.'

Viewers took to the comment section to share their thoughts. One said: '100 per cent false advertisement.'

'No, models, photographers and all the other humans need jobs,' a second viewer added.

A third wrote: 'I want an AI blocker like ad blocker so I can choose what I want to see across all sites, trading standard.'

A fourth questioned: 'I wonder how they manage to get the clothing details right; can AI do that now? I would expect patterns and seams and details to be off. Also makes it hard to judge sizing.'

It comes after Coca-Cola met backlash after using AI to create its much-loved 'Holidays are Coming' advert.

Viewers took to the comment section of Marcos' video to share their thoughts, and some were unimpressed

First aired in 1995, the ad shows the soft drink giant's red delivery trucks emblazoned with lights making festive deliveries through a snowy landscape.

Ever since, variations of the promo have arrived in the weeks leading up to Christmas - but now the company has made the biggest change yet.

The new 16-second ad for 2024 has been developed solely using AI, meaning all the 'actors' are not real people and none of the shots were filmed on location.

While the firm claims the new commercial was an 'efficient' way of saving time and money, fans are not impressed.

Many have taken to X (Twitter) to slam the ad, calling it 'garbage', 'ugly' and 'too niche', while calling the multi-billion-dollar corporation 'lazy'.

One X user posted: 'Just saw an AI generated Coca Cola commercial on tv... Genuinely how are we letting this happen.

'I feel like I'm watching the death of art and our planet unfold in front of my eyes and no one irl [in real life] seems to care.'
Little Freddie was established in 2014 by Piers Buck and wife Taslim Ho

A popular baby food brand is facing accusations that some of its food pouches contain more sugar than indicated on the labels.

Little Freddie, which is stocked in Sainsbury's, Ocado, Morrisons, Coop, and Tesco, claims to provide baby food with the 'most nutritious and downright delicious' ingredients.

While the amount of sugar varies depending on the flavour, The Grocer found that the worst offenders contained double the amount of sugar through a series of laboratory tests.

The food magazine checked the sugar levels of 12 Little Freddie pouches of varying flavours in a lab and found nine out of 12 Little Freddie's stage one fruit pouches for babies aged six months and upwards contained more sugar than was declared on the label.

The test, carried out by Eurofins Scientific, found the stage one pouches tested were, on average, 40 per cent higher than the stated sugar value and 11 per cent higher than the limit supplied by food labelling regulations, the Mirror reported.

The investigation found that sugar levels in four of the products - Banana & Raspberry Coconut (10.2g per 100g compared to 6.4g); Peaches & Raspberries (10.4g to 5.6g); Pink Lady Apple Yoghurt (9.7g to 5.3g); and Coconut & Summer Berries (10.3g to 6.9g) - contained almost twice the amount of sugar stated.

Eurofins Scientific also tested Little Freddie competitors Ella's Kitchen and Piccolo, which, despite containing more sugar than Little Freddie on the labels, all corresponded with the sugar amount stated on the label.

However, Rich Keir, general manager at Little Freddie, later responded to the claims and denied the findings, saying in The Grocer: 'Our independent nutritional testing results are exactly as we reflect on our packs.'

Food publication The Grocer has claimed that Little Freddie inaccurately labels how much sugar is in some of its baby food pouches (pictured: Stock image)

Founded in 2014 by Piers Buck and wife Taslim Ho, Little Freddie was established to provide baby food with quality ingredients, taste, and sourcing credentials.

At the time of The Grocer's original findings, an industry source told the publication: 'A product that claims to contain even close to 5g of sugar per 100g should raise eyebrows.

'It is just not possible to produce a fruit pouch with such a low level. Questions should have been raised at the production stage.'

In relation to labelling regulations in the UK, the Foods Standard Agency states: 'All prepacked food requires a food label that displays certain mandatory information. All food is subject to general food labelling requirements and any labelling provided must be accurate and not misleading.'

While supplying the exact nutrients isn't always possible, the regulation adds that labels should not deviate substantially from the contents to avoid misleading customers.

The Grocer did find that three of the Little Freddie products tested did had the amount of sugar stated on the packing - Prune Yoghurt with Oats, Pink Lady Apples, and Prunes & Apples.

However, the general manager of Little Freddie, Rich Keir, later refuted The Grocer's 'concerning' findings and said the brand will work with The Grocer to understand why the discrepancies exist, if they do at all.

'Little Freddie has always been committed to choosing the very best ingredients for little ones. In practice, this has meant that our products are always developed alongside registered paediatric nutritionists, and reflective of NHS and World Health Organisation guidelines,' he wrote.

According to the Foods Standard Agency, brands must include 'accurate' food labels that are not 'misleading' (pictured: Stock image)

WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE? Meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain, according to the NHS  Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruit and vegetables count  Base meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain  30 grams of fibre a day: This is the same as eating all of the following: 5 portions of fruit and vegetables, 2 whole-wheat cereal biscuits, 2 thick slices of wholemeal bread and large baked potato with the skin on  Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks) choosing lower-fat and lower-sugar options  Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 portions of fish every week, one of which should be oily)  Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consuming in small amounts  Drink 6-8 cups/glasses of water a day  Adults should have less than 6g of salt and 20g of saturated fat for women or 30g for men a day Source: NHS Eatwell Guide Advertisement

FEMAIL has reached out to Little Freddie for further comment.

In March, an international study found that more than 200 branded food products aimed at UK babies and toddlers fail to meet World Health Organization nutrition and marketing standards.

Two-thirds of products intended for youngsters aged six months to three years from Heinz, Nestle, Danone, Hipp, Hero and Hain Celestial contained excessive sugar, salt or calories.

The rest were found to be marketed misleadingly, such as snacks, purees, cereals and ready meals with few nutrients being labelled as 'healthy'.

Out of 1,297 products assessed internationally, including 218 sold in UK supermarkets, none were considered suitable for promotion for consumption to children.

Greg Garrett, from the global non-profit Access to Nutrition Initiative (ATNI) that carried out the research, said new regulations are needed to control nutrient composition and marketing of foods for babies and toddlers.

'There is a concerning trend in the nutritional quality of commercial baby foods for infants and young children across multiple countries,' he said. 'We must ensure that the well-being of young children is not undermined any more.

'For this, we need the industry to take appropriate action, shareholders of companies to invest responsibly, and policymakers to improve regulations.'

The brands studied own more than 53 per cent of the market share.

The UK has the second largest number of such products after Italy.

Results varied among companies, with Kraft Heinz having the highest percentage of products meeting nutrient composition requirements, at around 42 per cent, followed by Hero at 39 per cent and Danone at 38 per cent.

The researchers said 88 per cent of Hain Celestial products sold in the UK should have a 'high sugar' front-of-pack warning label.

The same was true for 60 per cent of Hero, 50 per cent of Hipp, 46 per cent of Kraft Heinz and seven per cent of Danone products.

The study said new regulations should prohibit the use of added sugars and sweeteners, limit sugar and sodium content, and outlaw misleading marketing and labelling practices.

Governments should introduce mandatory warning labels on products with high sugar levels to help parents make healthier food choices for infants and young children, it added.

The ATNI is calling for parents to be given greater support to make well-informed feeding decisions, to help end international epidemics of obesity, tooth decay, heart disease, diabetes and other conditions caused by poor eating choices.

WHO guidelines say babies and toddlers should not be given foods high in sugar, salt and trans fats or drinks containing sugar or non-sugar sweeteners.

They add that consumption of 100 per cent fruit juice should be 'limited'.

General manager at Little Freddie Rich Keir said the brand's independent testing upholds the sugar amounts stated on the labels (pictured: Little Freddie baby food pouch)

Responding to the study's findings, a spokesman for Kraft Heinz said the company was committed to 'making high-quality, accessible food' in line with 'international food standards and local laws and regulations'.

It also supports 'the WHO's recommendation that babies are exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, followed by the introduction of nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods,' they added.

They said: 'We are committed to transparent communications around the nutrition of all our products, empowering consumers to make informed decisions that meet their lifestyle needs and preferences.'

Meanwhile, a Nestle spokesman added: 'We share the same goals as ATNI to accelerate sustainable access to nutritious.

'We are also supportive of independent benchmarking which can help differentiate between practices within an industry.

'However, the approach taken by ATNI does not deliver these positive outcomes. The methodology adopted may unfairly penalise companies with a large portfolio.

'Everywhere we operate, we comply with all local regulations as well as our Nestle Policy for implementing the Code, whichever is stricter.'

A spokesman for Hero said: 'All products marketed by Hero, including the UK, comply with local legislation regarding safety and nutritional requirements.

'Furthermore, Hero adheres to internal nutritional and safety standards that exceed current regulatory requirements.'
Aldi Australia is kicking off its Black Friday deals early this year with an array of deals on big ticket items and popular gadgets.

The German-owned retailer told FEMAIL its 'Black Wednesday' would kick off on November 27, two days before the infamous Black Friday deals traditionally begin.

And there's something for everyone - with home cooks, tech-heads and beauty lovers all in store for some seriously tempting deals.

The affordable Aldi televisions are back too and this year the store is offering a 70-inch Ultra HD smart TV with webOS for just $589.

And for those who want a little less, there's a 43-inch version for $249.

Fitness and music fans can get their hands on noise cancelling earbuds by Phillips for just $49.99 or a micro music system (stereo) for $149.

There's even an 80s style boom box in the mix - with the added convenience of Bluetooth - for $229.

There are also wireless magnetic chargers for $29.99 and a tablet bundle by Lenovo for $199.

The affordable Aldi televisions are back too and this year the store is offering a 70-inch Ultra HD smart TV with webOS for just $589

They have brought back old favourites for the sale including toasters and coffee machines

For the kitchen the retailer has brought back its popular kettles and toasters by De'Longhi which are just $69.99 and $89.99 respectively.

They have Scanpan 5-piece knife sets for $24.99 and Tefal pan sets (of three) for $59.99.

And, as usual, the retailer will also be stocking espresso machines for the big sale - opting for the De'Longhi Dedica models in black or white for $169.

Beauty enthusiasts will be able to get their hands on Olay gift packs for $49.99 and Colgate electric toothbrushes for $29.99.

Aldi's early start to Black Friday has become a tradition in itself with televisions, coffee machines and gaming chairs part of the normal fare.
The love child of King Albert II of Belgium has said launched fresh attacks on the 'cruel' royal family, claiming she was left hurt' not invited to celebrate King's Day last week because her parents weren't married when she was born.

The royal is the result of an 18-year affair between the former monarch, 90, who abdicated in 2013 and Belgian aristocrat Sybille de Selys Longchamps, 83, that began in the 1960s.

Last Friday, her father and her half-siblings Prince Laurent and Princess Astrid were pictured at the St. Michael & St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels.

The celebration is to honour the monarch, however, her half-brother King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and their four children were not present as the King does not traditionally celebrate it.

But Princess Delphine of Belgium, formerly known as Delphine Boel, was snubbed for the annual celebration and took to her Instagram account on Sunday to write an emotional post about why she was not there.

The artist, 56, said she continues to speak up about not being treated the same as her other siblings because 'children do not choose the circumstances into which they are born'.

Princess Delphine shared the post alongside a black and white image of herself as a child wearing a t-shirt with her name printed on the front.

She wrote: 'I was reminded again yesterday by the press why I was not invited to celebrate kings Day [sic]. The reason is that I do not take a dotation like my brothers and sister.

Princess Delphine shared the post alongside a black and white image of herself as a child wearing a t-shirt with her name printed on the front

'So the fact is that I am not welcome because, in essence, at the time I was born, my parents were not married to each other.

'I write this again and I continue to speak up because children do not choose the circumstances into which they are born.

'Our society and laws should reflect values that welcome children equally whether they are born in marriage, third marriage, fourth marriage, outside marriage or adopted or whatever.

'I remain hopeful that one day our leaders in government, society, and church take these truths to heart.'

Princess Delphine then ended the emotional post with: '#everychildmatters #equalityforchildren #nochildleftbehind #siblingrights.'

A dotation refers to the grants that members of the working Belgian royal family receive.

The moving post racked up mixed opinions from her followers, with some defending Delphine and others asking her to leave the Belgium royal family alone.

One wrote: 'What a freedom fighter started at a young age,' a comment which Delphine liked.

Princess Delphine of Belgium attends the parade for Belgium National Day in July

Former King Albert II and Princess Astrid of Belgium celebrating King's Day last Friday

The moving post racked up mixed opinions from her followers, with some defending Delphine and others asking her to leave the Belgium royal family alone

Another penned: 'It's important to share this. If they remind you,, you remind them and hopefully that will not be necessary in the future.'

A third said: 'Leave the Royal Family alone, be discreet.'

A third penned: 'Why so much hate for Princess Delphine? What has she done to you personally? If her biological father hadn't disowned her from the start, all this wouldn't have happened!

'I would have done the same because too many fathers don't take it on and children suffer from it! If these posts bother you, feel free to look somewhere else. This is wickedness in the free state.

'Every child has the right to know their roots. She hasn't asked for anything in years so to me, she was right to do what she did.'

Delphine then responded: 'Thank you so much for your support as this cruelty is extremely hurtful and closed minded and also affects all children of similar situations.

'Thank you for your understanding and courage to talk to people who don't understand the message I wrote and who keep on writing hurtful and harmful messages without understanding or caring about the impact they have on a human being.'

Princess Delphine was legally named as King Albert II of Belgium's daughter in 2020, which now means that she has the same legal rights as his other children.

In July, all eyes were on Delphine as she attended the National Day 2024 celebrations at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Belgium wearing a statement outfit.

Princess Delphine could not hide her emotion after she won her legal battle in 2020

(L-R) Prince Laurent, Prince Lorenz, Princess Astrid and King Albert II of Belgium take part in 'Te Deum' to celebrate King's Day in the Saint Michael and Saint Gudula Cathedral last Friday

Princess Delphine poses with partner James O'Hare on the pink carpet during the Canneseries Festival

She donned a mesmerising candy and fuschia striped ensemble for the annual day that commemorates the investiture of Leopold I as the first King of the Belgians in 1831.

This comes after she reportedly penned a legal letter to the government last year, asking to be invited to official events like her half-siblings Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent.

Speaking after a court officially acknowledged her as the love child of Belgium's former king in October 2020, Delphine said her battle to be recognised as a royal was not about money or status.

Her lawyer, Marc Uyttendaele, penned a letter to Alexander De Croo, the Prime Minister of Belgium, insisting that she is invited to state occasions and treated with the same respect as Astrid and Laurent, reported The Times.

'My client has been worried for months about her role in official events,' wrote the lawyer, explaining that the princess is only invited to a few occasions.

He added: 'But even there, she is treated differently from her brother and sister. It is simply a question of respect.'

The lawyer went on to state that she has no interest in a financial endowment, in a reference to her siblings annual allowances of more than 260,000 (217,480).

However, the prime minister argued that Delphine is a private citizen and the royal family has official duties at these functions.

He said: 'The people who are invited to these events are people who have official functions in our country, part of the royal family has an official function. Princess Delphine does not have one.'

For decades, the former King distanced himself from Princess Delphine and her mother to preserve his marriage.

After Princess Delphine was born in 1968, the King initially remained in frequent contact with his child and her mother. But when Delphine reached her 16th birthday, the King began to distance himself.

Princess Delphine of Belgium attends the military parade in the front of the Royal Palace at National Day in July 2022

Princess Delphine of Belgium and her spouse James O'Hare attend the annual mass at the Notre-Dame church in Laeken in February 2024

Delphine has started attending royal engagements and says her relationship with her father has healed after years of bitterness

In 2013, the same year King Albert abdicated the throne due to health reasons and was succeeded by his son King Philippe, Princess Delphine launched a legal bid to be officially recognised as Albert's daughter - which she won in October 2020.

Now Delphine has the right to bear the royal name de Saxe-Cobourg and is formally recognised as a member of the Belgian royal family as are her two children Princess Josephine of Belgium and Prince Oscar of Belgium who she shares with partner James O'Hare.

Speaking to Tatler last year, the princess, who is an artist, revealed her father's rejection when she was young still hurts, but added she doesn't blame him and holds no ill-will towards him.

She argued that royal life is 'isolating' and she believed her father had been badly advised at the time. However, she said: 'You don't just have a child and kick it.'

Reflecting on her seven-year legal battle, Delphine said the action she brought was not about money or status but 'principles'.

Delphine has started attending royal engagements and says her relationship with her father has healed after years of bitterness.

When she launched her legal action in 2013, she told Belgian radio show Matin Premiere: 'I feel like I have a right to exist. Not to exist in the royal family but as me.

'My decision to call for help through the law, I feel today that it was the right thing to do... The judicial system said that I was right and that I had the right to exist.'

Since the legal action has been settled, Princess Delphine has slowly become integrated into the Belgian royal family.

She met her brother, King Philippe of Belgium who is one of 20 Belgian royals she is related to - in 2020, where they posted a socially distanced picture to Facebook, describing it as a 'warm meeting.'

When she was granted her royal title Princess Delphine was also invited to Belvedere Castle in Brussels where she had an official meeting with her father and his wife Queen Paola.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt may still be battling it out in the divorce courts after eight long years.

But when it comes to public shows of support from their children, the Tomb Raider star is definitely winning.

Last night, 16-year-old Knox became the latest of the couple's six children to show his support for his mother on a red carpet this year.

The Oscar-winning actress beamed as she walked arm-in-arm with her rarely-seen teenager, who looked dapper in a black tuxedo, at the Governors Awards in Hollywood.

Back in September, the couple's adult children Pax, Zahara and Maddox - whom Brad reportedly has 'virtually no contact' with - also came out in full force to attend a screening of Angelina's film Maria in New York.

Meanwhile, Knox's twin sister Vivienne didn't let go of her mother's hand on the Tony Awards red carpet in June - weeks after it was revealed the teen had dropped her father's surname in The Outsiders' playbill.

Earlier this year, Angelia confessed her bitter divorce battle is likely to keep her in Los Angeles until twins Knox and Vivienne turn 18 in 2026.

As such, Angelina's children's red carpet appearances are a PR win for the actress on more than one front.

Pictured: Angelina Jolie beamed as she walked arm-in-arm with her rarely-seen teenager Knox, who looked dapper in a black tuxedo, at the Governors Awards in Hollywood last night

Knox's twin sister Vivienne (pictured) didn't let go of her mother's hand on the Tony Awards red carpet in June

On the one hand, the outings are a way for Angelina's six children to publicly show their support for the star as she promoted her blockbuster films and theatre productions.

While Maddox, 23, Zahara, 19, Pax, 20, Shiloh, 18 and Knox and Vivienne, 16, have made several group appearances on red carpets with their mother of late, the children have not been photographed with their father in over eight years - casting doubt over the state of Brad's relationship with his children.

Here FEMAIL delves into how the Jolie-Pitt children have rallied around their mother on red carpets around the world after largely cutting ties with their father.

Joining Angelina on Eternals press tour amid custody battle

During the Eternals film press tour in 2021, Angelina's children appeared on red carpets all over the world - with at least one or two of them joining their mother at every premiere.

At the time, Brad and Angelina were locked in a bitter custody battle. In 2021, Brad was granted 50/50 custody - only to have it overturned on appeal. The actor is now no longer contesting the matter, meaning he now only holds visitation rights.

Although the children have never commented on their parents' split, they hinted that their loyalty lay with their mother by the sheer amount of red carpet appearances they did with Angelina that year.

That October, Angelina's daughters Zahara and Shiloh - the eldest biological child she shares with Brad - accompanied her to the premiere in Rome.

Pictured: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie with their adopted children Zahara and Maddox in Mumbai in November 2006

Pictured: Angelina Jolie holds hands with daughters Zahara and Shiloh at the Eternals premiere in Rome in October 2021

For the occasion, Shiloh, who has since officially dropped her father's surname, opted for a simple black velvet dress and trainers - before later wearing one of her mother's Dior dresses at the London premiere.

At the time, Shiloh was only 15 years old - and Angelina reportedly had made sure her children had 'limited involvement' with their father following their split in 2016.

As they arrived at the film premiere, Angelina held her daughters' hands and the trio happily posed for pictures before heading inside.

Meanwhile, Pax - who labelled Brad a 'despicable' person and 'world class a**hole' in 2023 - was the only member of the Jolie-Pitt clan not to attend the London screening three days later.

In 2019, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were declared legally single by a judge - but have yet to reach a divorce settlement.

This summer, a source revealed to People that Pitt does not have much of a relationship with his older children.

Brad Pitt with Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, Maddox Jolie-Pitt and his parents Jane and William Pitt at the premiere of Unbroken at TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX in December 2014

All six of their children - Pax, 19, Maddox, 22, Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 17, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 15, are pictured with Angie in 2018

A insider said: 'He has virtually no contact with the adult kids.

'His engagement with the younger kids is more limited in recent months because of his filming schedule.'

The source noted that the couple's custody agreement allows for visitation rights with Knox and Vivienne, who are still minors.

'[Angelina] has the kids most of the time, but per their agreement, he has visitation with the younger kids,' the insider added.

Since 2021, he's had a judge intervene to tell Angelina she mustnt listen in on his mobile phone calls with the children. The judge has also ordered reunification therapy for Pitt and the kids.

The couple are still involved in a contentious $350 million battle over Chateau Miraval, the vineyard they bought in France. Jolie sold her half to a subsidiary of Stoli Group after the plane incident because, her lawyers said, she was 'uncomfortable' being involved in the sale of alcohol.

In a filing this summer she called her ex a 'bully' who acted emotionally, irrationally and 'ultimately illegally' over the vineyard. He accused her of staging 'a hostile takeover of the business.

Vivienne joins Angelina at Tony Awards after dropping Brad's surname

The star was elegant in a lighter, teal velvet gown that had a fitted, corset-styled bodice and a full skirt that flowed down to brush the ground for the Tony Awards

The mother daughter duo paused for a photo session together upon arriving to the Lincoln Center where the ceremony took place. At one point, the pair were spotted sharing a laugh before heading into the main venue

For the Tony Awards in June, the mother and daughter opted for colour coordinating teal outfits

In June, Vivienne joined her mother on the Tony Awards red carpet - with the pair opting for colour coordinated outfits.

While Angelina wore a show-stopping, Grecian-inspired teal dress, Vivienne opted for a vest and trousers in the same shade.

Both Jolie and her teenage daughter had involvement in the Broadway production The Outsiders - which garnered a whopping total of 12 nominations for the big night.

On the red carpet, the pair looked every inch the adoring mother and daughter - who got matching tattoos to commemorate the play - as they laughed and posed for pictures.

The mother and daughter's outing came as another blow to Brad Pitt on Father's Day shortly after his daughter notably dropped his surname on her Playbill credit.

According to People, the couple's daughter was listed as Vivienne Jolie in the literature, instead of Vivienne Jolie-Pitt.

Pictured: Angelina Jolie and her daughter Vivienne with the cast of The Outsiders on Broadway in April 2024

Both Jolie and her teenage daughter had involvement in the Broadway production The Outsiders. Pictured on opening night

Earlier this year, Shiloh hired her own lawyer to legally drop her father's surname.

On her 18th birthday, Shiloh filed to change her name from Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Nouvel Jolie.

In July, Shiloh took out a newspaper ad marking the name change - which is a standard step before the court would approve a name change.

The notice also stated anyone who had objections to the petition should show up in court.

A source close to the matter told Dailymail.com: Shiloh hired her own lawyer and paid for it herself, so Angie doesnt know and cant speak for it.

Pax's public support after branding Brad 'despicable person'

In September, Angelina's son Pax joined his mother and siblings Zahara and Maddox on the red carpet for a screening of her film Maria in New York

She held onto Pax while walking into Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in September before posing for photos

In September, Angelina's son Pax joined his mother and siblings Zahara and Maddox on the red carpet for a screening of her film Maria in New York.

As she arrived at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Angelina held onto Pax's forearm before posing for photos with her adopted children.

In 2020, Pax famously called his father a 'world class a**hole' who makes his four youngest children 'tremble in fear' in an explosive Instagram rant posted for Father's Day.

In a cutting Instagram Story, Pax wrote: 'You have made the lives of those closest to me a constant hell.'

'You may tell yourself and the world whatever you want,' he added., 'but the truth will come to light someday.

Then he sarcastically added: 'So Happy Father's Day, you f*****g awful human being.'

Maddox rocked a classic black suit, while Pax sported a grey one, as well as a black wrist brace, following his hospitalization in July

Pictured: Angelina Jolie with daughter Shiloh and son Pax at the Paper & Glue film premiere in 2021

Angelina Jolie adopted Pax from an orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in 2007. He was three years old and had been dumped as a newborn by his heroin-addicted biological mother. Brad formally adopted him the following year.

Pax did not say if there was a specific event that inspired the post or whether it was a culmination of years of tension

In his post, Pax called his adoptive father 'a world class a**hole' adding: 'You time and time and again prove yourself to be a terrible and despicable person

'You have no consideration or empathy toward your four youngest children who tremble in fear when in your presence.

'You will never understand the damage you have done to my family because you're incapable of doing so.'

Brad Pitt was investigated by the FBI and the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services over child abuse allegations following the alleged altercation with Maddox on a private jet five days before Jolie filed for divorce.

Pictured: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at the Inglourious Basterds premiere in Cannes in May 2009

Pax's rant was accompanied by a photo of Pitt receiving an Oscar for best supporting actor and posted on Pax's private Instagram story on Father's Day 2020

Last night, 16-year-old Knox became the latest of the couple's six children to show his support for his mother on a red carpet this year

Maddox is said to have stood up for Jolie during a fight between his parents.

A source later told People, Brad had been drunk at the time, adding: 'There was an argument between him and Angelina.

'There was a parent-child argument which was not handled in the right way and escalated more than it should have.'

Jolie told authorities Pitt had behaved 'like a monster' on the jet. Brad was subsequently cleared of all charges and has since quit both booze and smoking cannabis and was photographed attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in September 2016.

Although Brad Angelina have never spoken publicly about the incident, the actress told Vogue in 2021 that she had dumped Pitt for the 'wellbeing' of her family.

She added: 'It was the right decision. I continue to focus on their healing. Some have taken advantage of my silence, and the children see lies about themselves in the media, but I remind them that they know their own truth and their own minds.'

Knox's outing last night marked his first red carpet appearance in over three years.

The event, put on by the film academys board of governors, is honoring the late Quincy Jones, James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, filmmaker Richard Curtis and casting director Juliet Taylor.

Angelina's outing comes as the actress continues to promote her latest film Maria, a biopic about opera legend Maria Callas, which is already generating Oscar buzz.

Maria, which depicts Callas during her final decline in Paris in the 1970s, was helmed by Jackie director Pablo Larrain.
Harry and Meghan have flown solo during some recent appearances

Since exiting the Royal Family and moving from the UK to star-studded Montecito, the Sussexes have found themselves mingling with big names of a different kind as they attend glitzy Hollywood galas and explore the Californian polo scene.

As they attempt to carve out a new path for themselves, the couple are pursuing their own interests - which, at times, leads them to lend their time to different causes.

Just this weekend the Duchess supported her friend Kadi Lee at the launch of her new haircare range (in which Meghan has invested) on Thursday night; while on Sunday Harry crossed the border into Vancouver to represent his Invictus project.

Harry - who was in the city to promote the Invictus Games - was grinning from ear-to-ear as he stood pitchside and waved at fans before the Toronto Argonauts took on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Elsewhere, Meghan was seen partying without her husband in Los Angeles on Thursday at the celeb-approved restaurant Gjelina.

She supported the launch of her friend and A-lister hairdresser Kadi Lee's new Highbrow Hippie hair wellness range. The former senior working royal is an investor in Lee's new collection and was snapped with her pals Lee and Myka Harris in Venice, California.

The individual trips are part of a 'twin track approach' that will see them doing more things on their own rather than together, as they pursue their own passions, a friend previously told People.

These solo visits have meant that since then, the couple - who share two children together Lilibet, three, and Archie, five - have only been seen together once in the past three months.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Kadi Lee, Serge Normant at the Highbrow Hippie Launch Party held at Gjelina on Thursday

On 7 November, Harry and Meghan - who both donned poppies ahead of Remembrance Day - shared a video message about online violence against children, a cause that is deeply important to them.

It was played at the inaugural Global Ministerial Conference on Violence Against Children in Colombia, as the Duke and Duchess called for greater protections for 'the most vulnerable in our world' against the threat of digital violence and harm.

After their two-minute speech, they shared a sweet moment as Harry affectionately wrapped his arm around Meghan.

Analysing the video, body language expert Judi James told MailOnline: 'Harry was very much the alpha prince and Meghan was taking her lead from him as she learned the ropes.

'Meghan looks less assertive here and she appears to be copying and mirroring her husband, taking her cues from him.

Though the couple have been taking on more solo appearances in recent months, they have certainly made an impact together as well; delighting fans across Colombia during their tour of the South American nation in August.

However, the pair seem to be leaving a lasting impression during events on their own too, as part of the 'twin track' approach.

On October 5, Meghan went to the LA Children's Hospital's glamorous gala without her husband.

She donned a scarlet Carolina Herrera gown she wore previously in 2021 and was joined on the carpet by Kelly McKee Zajfen, the co-founder for the Alliance of Moms, an LA 'community of philanthropists who support pregnant and parenting teens in LA's foster care system.'

Prince Harry waves to the crowd during a jersey presentation prior to the start of the 2024 Grey Cup yesterday

Meghan Markle danced with her friends to a gospel choir at a glamorous launch party in Los Angeles last week - without her husband Prince Harry

Harry and Meghan were seen sporting poppies in November as they released a video message in their first joint appearance in three months

Her dress and appearance were a focal point as the Duchess reworked the gown she had previously donned several years ago, but this time removed the wide skirt and paired the satin gown with boho waves.

Meghan greeted the young fans before preparing for a star-studded night featuring a performance by Demi Lovato and appearances by presenters Kaley Cuoco, Jamie Lee Curtis and Colin Hanks.

But body language expert Judi James told FEMAIL that the Duchess appeared nervous without Harry during her red carpet appearance.

'For a confident woman who is used to cameras and red carpets she acts grateful to see and join her friend here. The body language ritual that she follows seems to be deliberate signalling of her current state as Harry is off on his solo tour,' she said.

'Meghan performs signals of coyness and even shyness plus a subliminal desire to have someone take over the lead from Harry, as though she is somehow lost without him on the red carpet or wanting to suggest she is feeling more vulnerable and girlishly playful than usual.'

Judi also believed Meghan gave the gown a complete 'Hollywood' makeover, adding that she looks more like a starlet than the wife of Prince - hinting at their need to fit in with A-listers.

A couple of days before the gala on October 2, Meghan visited charity Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara to help with a new digital-wellness programme called Social Media U.

Girls Inc. partnered up with #HalfTheStory - an organisation dedicated to improving the next generation's relationship with technology - to launch the programme across the States.

Meghan attended the star-studded gala for LA Children's Hospital without Harry on October 5

Prince Harry travelled to Africa between 1 and 4 October (pictured in Johannesburg on 3 October)

Prince Harry was snapped visiting Lesotho on October 2 on his solo visit

During when Harry was in Lesotho, Meghan went to a Girls Inc. event in Santa Barbara alone

Larissa May, the founder of #HalfTheStory, took part in the event alongside the Duchess and Girls Inc. CEO Stephanie J. Hull as they celebrated the collaboration.

'We did an activity where we talked through a bunch of scenarios, and Meghan talked about being one of the most bullied people in the world,' May told Vanity Fair.

'We had girls wave these little emoji signs and talk about how each one of these scenarios would have impacted them emotionally.'

During this time, Prince Harry was across the globe on a solo trip to Johannesburg in South Africa to represent Sentebale, a youth HIV charity he co-founded.

The Duke of Sussex co-founded the youth charity Sentebale there in 2006 in honour of his late mother, Princess Diana, and was pictured with members of the local community.

He then paid a courtesy visit to Lesotho Prime Minister Sam Matekane and went on a trip to the tiny mountain kingdom.

At the end of September, he also travelled to London for the WellChild Awards, which recognises some of Britain's bravest children.

He was not thought to have met up with the Prince of Wales during his trip to his home city as their rift continues.

Harry used his keynote speech to hail the 'little legends' who were being recognised at the ceremony.

But the Duke came away with some prizes of his own from one of the winners.

Harry flew back to his home city - London - at the end of September for the annual WellChild Awards without his wife

He was given four glass hearts by inspiring youngster Scarlett Cripps - one for himself, and one each for wife Meghan Markle and children Archie and Lilibet - so he can keep them close during his travels.

At the start of September, Meghan was snapped attending Oprah Winfrey's book club at Godmothers bookstore in Summerland, located just miles from where she lives in Montecito.

Insiders told People that the independent trips reflect a new shift in direction in the couple's public lives.

'The Duke and Duchess have now hit their stride as individuals  not just as a couple. The Duke appears focused on his patronage work, and the Duchess focused on her entrepreneurial track,' a friend of the Sussexes said.
Furious Tesco employees have since taken to Reddit to hit out at the new policy

Tesco has banned staff from wearing headphones on the shop floor - and furious employees have taken to social media to hit out against the new change.

A new update in the supermarket giant's uniform policy prohibits staff from wearing personal audio devices while in customer-facing areas on the shop floor.

Although the rule was initially part of the chain's health and safety policy, it is also now included in the uniform regulations.

Staff claim they were notified of the new rule in September, under the Dress Code and Appearance section on their Colleague Help app - adding how stores have since 'cracked down' on the use of headphones on the shop floor.

The change is understood to ensure staff can efficiently respond to customer queries, while keeping 'clear ears' in the case of a fire alarm being activated.

Some are exempt from the policy, including those who require hearing hearing assistance or sensory devices, as well as company headsets.

It comes amid declining customer satisfaction scores at Tesco, according to the Institute of Customer Service.

Tesco's scores have plummeted from 81.7 in 2022 to 79.8 in July last year, and again to 79.4 this year out of a possible 100.

Tesco has banned staff from wearing headphones on the shop floor - as furious employees take to social media to hit out against the new change (stock image)

A new update in the supermarket giant's uniform policy prohibits staff from wearing personal audio devices while in customer-facing areas on the shop floor (stock image)

Amid its most recent results, the supermarket chain said that its customer satisfaction scores were 'continuing to improve,' as reported by The Standard.

Meanwhile, Tesco employees have taken to Reddit to express their fury over the new policy, with many claiming their shifts are set to become 'unbearable' without headphones, while others have cited 'low morale' at work following the change.

One employee wrote: 'The day they implement this is the day I stop doing overtime. Night without earphones would be f*****g unbearable.'

Another said: 'We have been allowed them for years on nights, now they are suddenly banned and we are forced to listen to what ever c**p they play on the radio for our whole shift. Work rate is dropping, moral is plummeting.'

A third wrote: 'I work nights in a superstore in the Northwest - after coming in for my shift yesterday in my team five we were all told that the company had recently banned the use of headphones completely whether the shop is open or closed.

'I get the reason behind it while the shop is open but while we are closed to have one headphone in and listen to podcasts and my music was a way to get me through my shift and I feel has made the job less enjoyable.'

They added: 'A lot of people have threatened to leave on my shift due to this change.'

However, one member of staff expressed an opposing point of view, writing: 'Hardly a surprise. Day staff, predominantly the fill teams, started taking the p**s by always wearing them when customers were in.

Staff exempt from the policy includes those who require hearing hearing assistance or sensory devices, as well as company headsets (stock image)

Tesco employees have taken to Reddit to express their fury over the new policy, with many claiming their shifts are set to become 'unbearable' without headphones

'Not only is that an even bigger H&S risk, especially when moving cages around a packed shopfloor, but its actively avoiding doing your normal job of serving a customer. Of course theyre going to complain about being ignored.'

One Tesco customer added: 'Basic common courtesy to the customer, before we even talk about the health and safety aspect.

'How staff have got away with it in front of customers for this time is a mystery in itself.'

FEMAIL understands that the guidelines on staff wearing headphones at Tesco stores are not new, but their recent inclusion in the dress code policy (as well as Health & Safety policy) is designed to ensure easy reference for colleagues.

Tesco's dress code policy is there to ensure that staff are dressed appropriately for their roles, which includes wearing the correct uniform or any safety wear that is necessary in their role.

Additionally, there are a number of reasons why Tesco employees are prohibited from wearing personal headphones whilst working.

The primary reason being colleague safety, ensuring they are aware of their surroundings and can hear important alerts such as the fire alarm, as well as the potential for headphone wires getting snagged on equipment.

In addition, the use of headphones can also impact colleagues' ability to interact and respond to customers.

It comes after employees at rival chain Asda have been left furious over their bosses' decision to play repetitive unlicensed music in store in an alleged cost-cutting move.

The supermarket bosses' have swapped their in-store radio for music from unsigned artists which are not licensed- meaning no royalties have to be paid.

Staff have launched a petition calling for the 'mentally draining' music to be changed.

Staff across the UK flocked to an Asda Reddit forum to express their anger with the new music choice by supermarket, which employees said plays on both day and night shifts.
While Barron Trump may have been largely kept out of the spotlight throughout his childhood, it's no secret that both of his parents seem to adore him.

President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania proudly welcomed their first and only child together, Barron, in March 2006. He is now all grown up at 18 years old, and attending New York University's Stern School of Business.

The teenager also comes in at a tall 6'7, towering over his father and other siblings.

Over the years, we've seen Barron in a few rare snaps, many of which were taken when he was younger, as his mom doted on him or his dad picked him up and showed him off to a crowd of people.

Some photos offered a glimpse into his early teen years as his dad took to Washington, showing him walking alongside his parents on the South Lawn of the White House or even going up the stairs into Air Force One.

He was mostly recently seen on stage with his family at Mar-a-Lago on Election Night, as his dad accepted his victory in the 2024 presidential race against Democrat Kamala Harris.

While on stage, Barron was standing right at the front, near his father - a theme that seems to be consistent with how the family feels about him.

After analyzing photos of the youngster throughout the years, body language expert Judi James has determined that Barron is the apple of his parents' eyes.

While Barron Trump may have been largely kept out of the spotlight throughout his childhood, it's certainly no secret that both of his parents seem to adore him

Barron was born in March 2006, as President-elect Donald Trump and Melania proudly welcomed their first and only child together, Barron

He was mostly recently seen on stage with his family at Mar-a-Lago on election night, as his dad accepted his victory in the 2024 presidential race against Democrat Kamala Harris

James told DailyMail.com exclusively that over the years, Donald and Melania have used 'very similar-looking' body language displays when it comes to their son.

'Their trait of showering him with kisses seems mutual and Barron's responses suggest this isn't just performative signaling for the cameras,' James told DailyMail.com.

'He looks used to all the signs of besotted affection and attention, while his parents appear to be happy to show he is the center of their universe,' she continued.

This endearing affection is something that continued on into his teenage years, too.

'Even when Barron is a little older and beginning to show signs of very common early-teen shyness, Melania appears to be keen to use excuses to perform maternal acts of caring and protection on her son, even stretching one gloved hand out to show where her emotional priorities lie, straightening his tie at Trump's presidential inauguration ceremony, in front of millions of viewers the world over,' James divulged.

The Body Language Bible author also observed that when Barron was younger, Trump used to lift him up and carry him 'as though he is made of a very precious and rare porcelain,' and seemed to be nervous he would fall from his grasp.

Melania, on the other hand, appears more 'relaxed and at ease' while posing with Barron.

'Her poses appear to be formed around her son and their cute "guppy" kisses suggest high levels of synchronicity and mother-son bonding.'

'Her poses appear to be formed around her son and their cute 'guppy' kisses suggest high levels of synchronicity and mother-son bonding,' James said

'Trump seems keen to show the world his pride in his son and this message has not diluted over the years,' James told DailyMail.com

The Body Language Bible author also observed that when Barron was younger, Trump used to lift him up and carry him' as though he is made of a very precious and rare porcelain'

After analyzing photos of the youngster throughout the years, body language expert Judi James determined that Barron is the apple of his parents eyes

According to reports, Barron was the mastermind behind getting his Dad to appear on popular podcasts like Joe Rogan during his campaign

'Melania appears to be keen to use excuses to perform maternal acts of caring and protection on her son,' James explained

'As Barron gets older, he seems to be picked up less by his father in their photos but shown in standing poses, in front of his father, who places his hands onto his son's shoulders,' James noted

But of course, this all points to a much bigger theme in how the Trump family really feels about the youngest son.

'Trump seems keen to show the world his pride in his son and this message has not diluted over the years,' James told DailyMail.com.

'His facial expression as he poses with Barron looks exceptionally besotted and even boastful at times,' she continued.

And now, the way that the 18 year old poses with his father while in public could prove to be a tell-tale sign into his future role in the family.

'As Barron gets older [in photos], he seems to be picked up less by his father in their photos but shown in standing poses, in front of his father, who places his hands onto his son's shoulders,' James noted.

'There is a hint here of celebrating his boy's growth from toddler to young man,' she continued.

'There are also hints in the hands on shoulders pose that this is Trump's "chip off the old block." As an intentional gesture it does hint that this is his heir to the throne.'

And it looks like James could be onto something here - while Barron wasn't seen on Trump's campaign trail much this year, he was apparently working behind-the-scenes to help his dad 'break the internet.'

Some photos offered a glimpse into his teen years as his Dad took to Washington, showing him walking alongside his parents on the South Lawn of the White House or even going up the stairs into Air Force One

'There is a hint here of celebrating his boy's growth from toddler to young man,' she continued

Melania can often be seen being affectionate with her son in photos, as she touches his arm or face

Barron is not the only child of the Trump family - he has older sisters Ivanka and Tiffany, as well as brothers Don Jr. and Eric

Just one day before election day, Trump also revealed the advice his son gave him ahead of the polls

Barron first suggested his father appear on YouTuber and wrestler Logan Paul's podcast, Impaulsive, and sure enough the podcast was the first one Trump appeared on back in June, an insider with the campaign told the outlet

'I have a guy whos home with the first lady,' Trump told a crowd in North Carolina about his son

'Hes very smart ... Hes 18 years old. And he gives me good advice,' Trump said about the 18-year-old now

Last spring, Barron graduated from his high school in Florida, and is now attending New York University's Stern School of Business

The 18 year old was allegedly the mastermind behind some of Trump's podcast appearances that are favored by Gen-Z, according to ABC News.

Barron first suggested his father appear on YouTuber and wrestler Logan Paul's podcast, Impaulsive, and sure enough the podcast was the first one Trump appeared on back in June, an insider with the campaign told the outlet.

He even sat down with popular podcaster Joe Rogan just a mere week before the election.

Just one day before election day, Trump also revealed the advice his son gave him ahead of the polls.

'I have a guy whos home with the first lady,' Trump told a crowd in North Carolina about his son.

'Hes very smart ... Hes 18 years old. And he gives me good advice.'

Then Trump did a quick impression of his son, telling the crowd, 'Dad: take it easy, now. You just take it easy dad, alright? You dont have to go too much here. He gives me good - hes very wise,' Trump said.
An infographic posted by a BIPOC polyamory advocate has been ridiculed online, with users slamming the post for being 'too woke.'

Ebony Hagans, who uses they/them pronouns, regularly posts to their Instagram account @marjanilane, to raise awareness about the nonmonogamy community.

The BIPOC - Black, Indigenous, and people of color - 'expert' and creator originally posted the graphic in September 2020.

The illustration, which was intended to be a tool to explain what 'solo poly' means, has now resurfaced.

However, the detailed explanation has confused many internet users after it reappeared on X, formally known as Twitter, who are mocking it for its attempt to reach a range of minorities.

'Solo polyamory is a type of polyamorous configuration,' the graphic, which features a woman of color wearing a hijab with a prosthetic leg, read.

'Solo poly people tend to see theirselves as their own primary,' it continued.

'They usually have multiple separate (or intertwined) polyamorous dynamics. They are committed to their polyamorous relationships.'

An infographic posted by a BIPOC polyamory advocate has been ridiculed online, with users slamming the post for being 'too woke'

'They don't depend on the relationship escalator to express their commitment,' the post concluded.

It went on to detail other facts about solo poly relationships, writing people in these romantic arrangements are not 'flakey' or 'selfish.'

Solo polyamory is a person who has multiple partners or relationships but don't have a 'primary' partner.

However, people have slammed the post, calling 'too woke,' with others complaining about the decision to depict the woman in the graphic as an amputee and woman of color.

'Parody is almost getting hard to recognize,' chimed in another.

'I honestly don't understand any of that.

'I need a few minutes to re-read and translate that,' one user shared.

'This is too woke for me sorry,' wrote someone else.

Ebony Hagans, who uses they/them pronouns, often posts to their Instagram account @marjanilane, to raise awareness about the nonmonogamy community

However, the detailed explanation has confused many internet users, who are mocking it for its attempt to reach range of minorities

'I feel it's very disrespectful and racist to depict a Somalian woman as a pirate, you guys should get cancelled,' mocked another.

Last week, Hagans spoke with USA Today saying they feel there is a lack of acknowledgment about being polyamorous as a minority from the nonmonogamy community.

Hagans said they have been polyamorous with their partner for a while, noticing a 'huge gap of education between the Black community and just a general nonmonogamous community.'

According to accounts from sex therapists, polyamory describes a situation in which multiple partners have romantic or intimate relationships with each other, with the knowledge and consent of all involved.
A woman who fell in love on holiday rekindled the relationship and ultimately got married to her fling  10 years after they first met each other.

Club promoter Zoe, now 33, was working in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, giving out shots, when she first met Michael, also 33, who was on a lads holiday in 2012.

The pair, both originally from the UK, sparked a holiday romance and met several times during Michael's trip.

Zoe even made a passing comment to a friend about Michael  claiming she had met the man she'll 'marry one day'.

Michael returned to Leeds, Yorkshire, after a week, and Zoe flew back to the UK a few months later to start a course at the University in Bournemouth, Dorset.

Five years later, Zoe sent a drunken message to Michael and, to her surprise, the connection was 'still there'.

The pair renewed their romance and Zoe left her job as an Emirates air steward and moved to Leeds, to be with Michael.

The went on tie the knot in May 2022, 10 years after they first met on holiday, and recently welcomed their firstborn, son Leo, in February 2023.

Club promoter Zoe , 33, was working in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, giving out shots, when she first met Michael, 33, who was on a lads holiday in 2012

Zoe, a content creator, from Leeds, Yorkshire, said: 'When I met Michael, I remember saying to my friend, "I've met the man I'm going to marry." 'During that holiday, he said the same thing to his mates about me.

'I never in a million years imagined I'd actually marry him 10 years later.

'Despite losing contact, the connection was still there.

'It's not all been plain sailing, but I'm so glad I followed my heart.'

Zoe was working as a promoter in Cyprus during the summer of 2012, while taking a gap year before starting university.

Michael was on a lads holiday when he first crossed paths with Zoe.

She said: 'We met when I was encouraging them to come in for shots.

'I don't remember what we spoke about, but I remember how he made me feel.

Zoe and Michael on their wedding day in 2022 - a decade after they fell in love on holiday in Cyprus

They tied the knot two years later in Athens, Greece, in May 2022, with 55 close family and friends

'There was an immediate connection, and I had this gut feeling about us.'

During Michael's week-long trip, they met up several times for dates on the Island.

They exchanged numbers and continued messaging when Michael returned home a week later.

Zoe flew back to the UK in September 2012, ready to start university.

She said: 'We were both in very different places in life.

'He was focused on his career, and I was about to start my course.

'We ended up drifting apart, but we kept liking each other's photos on Facebook.'

Five years later, in 2019, Zoe had just gone through a break-up when she met with a friend.

In 2023, the couple were overjoyed to welcome their son Leo, 20-months-old.

They started discussing past relationship, and her friend reminded her of 'Michael from holiday'.

'We had a few bottles of wine, and I looked him up online,' she said.

'He had two children but was also single.

'I genuinely wasn't expecting anything to come from it, but I sent a drunk message to see how he was doing.

'It was like no time had passed.

'We immediately hit it off again.'

Zoe, who was working as an air steward at the time, ended up leaving her job and moving to Yorkshire to live with Michael in 2020.

The pair were hit with lockdown but despite the difficult circumstances, they made it work.

Pictured: Zoe and Michael with their toddler Leo

She said: 'It was definitely tough at times - I moved my entire life there.

'I never expected to become a stepmum.

'But we took it all slowly, and the kids were so welcoming.

'Through all of it, Michael was so loving and supportive. I knew I had made the right decision.'

During a trip to Greece in September 2020, Michael proposed to Zoe and they started planning the wedding.

They tied the knot two years later in Athens, Greece, in May 2022, with 55 close family and friends.

'We met near Greece, so it's always been very special to us,' she said.

'The proposal was perfect, and it really cemented my feelings that I'd made the right decision.

Zoe said a drunken Facebook message was ultimately the spark that rekindled her romance with Michael

'It was such a magical wedding.'

In 2023, the couple were overjoyed to welcome their son Leo, 20-months-old.

Zoe said: 'We've got through difficult times, but throughout all of it I've had Michael by my side.

'Things might not always be the fairytale you envision, but if put in the work it could be so much better.'


S Chockalingam chief electoral officer of Maharashtra The office of the Maharashtra State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has warned that stern action will be taken for violating stipulated rules during the silence period ahead of the November 20 polling day. The silence period begins from Monday 6 p.m. onwards.



During the 48 hours until the conclusion of voting, any campaigning or public meetings, rallies, or participation in such events that could influence voters is prohibited under Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Violations of these provisions may result in imprisonment of up to two years, a fine, or both, according to the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer S. Chockalingam.



The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued guidelines in accordance with the Representation of the People Act. For advertisements or election-related content published in print media supporting or opposing any political party or candidate, the name and address of the publisher must be mentioned. The ECI has also directed compliance with Section 171H of the Indian Penal Code, which prohibits unauthorised election campaigning or expenses made for campaigning, advertisements, or publications without the candidates explicit permission.



During the silence period, political advertisements in print media must receive prior approval from the Pre-Certification Committee before being published in newspapers. Similarly, audio-visual media (television, cable networks, radio, and social media) are strictly prohibited from airing political advertisements during this period.



Guidelines for pre-certification of political advertisements were issued by the ECI on August 24, 2023, covering both print media during the silence period and audio-visual media before the silence period. Violations of these pre-certification guidelines will result in legal action.



"If any violation of the guidelines occurs, including those of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, or directives issued by the Supreme Court, the violating party must immediately halt their actions. The Election Commission is authorised to confiscate any equipment used for such violations. Failure to comply with these instructions may result in contempt of court proceedings," said the office of the CEO.



All cable networks, TV channels, radio stations, and social media platforms must ensure that political advertisements have proper certification before broadcasting them. Political advertisements without certification must not be aired under any circumstances. Any network or platform airing uncertified political ads, either directly or indirectly, will be held liable for contempt of court and face legal action, said officials.




The couple nearly had to sleep in their car after five hotels turned them away

They faced a problem on their honeymoon that almost left them stranded

A couple was nearly left stranded on their honeymoon after they were turned away from five different hotels due to a small, overlooked detail.

Savanna Stallings, 20, from Idaho, tied the knot with her boyfriend, Ty Walker, 19, last month.

But when the newlyweds set out on their honeymoon, they faced a major problem that almost resulted in them having to sleep in their car.

The couple told Newsweek recently that they planned to celebrate their marriage by embarking on a cruise, but had to take a 30-hour road trip to get to the departure port in South Carolina first.

They had booked a hotel in Nebraska so they could rest about halfway through the journey, but when they arrived to the accommodation around midnight, the pair was in for a shock.

'We were turned away because of [our] age, even when we offered to show our marriage license,' shared Savanna.

The new bride said they went to four more hotels but got the same results, leaving them terrified that they might have nowhere to stay.

'It being midnight and we were nowhere near anybody we knew, we thought for a second we may be sleeping in the car,' she shared.

A couple was nearly left stranded on their honeymoon after they were turned away from five different hotels due to a small, overlooked detail

Savanna Stallings, 20, from Idaho, tied the knot with her boyfriend, Ty Walker, 19, last month. But when the newlyweds set out on their honeymoon, they faced a major problem

Thankfully, one hotel finally agreed to let them stay after 'calling both of their parents,' the publication said.

Suddenly, the couple realized they might face a similar problem when they got to the cruise port.

They tried to check-in for the cruise online but weren't allowed to - and the panicked couple began to worry that their whole trip may have to be canceled.

But the cruise was much more accommodating and ultimately allowed them to board after they 'let them know their situation.'

'At the check-in desk, we just had to have our [marriage] license and ID,' Savanna added.

According to Royal Caribbean's website, 'No guest younger than the age 21 will be assigned to a stateroom unless accompanied in the same stateroom by an adult 21 years old or older.'

However, the policy states that the 'age limit will be waived' for 'underage married couples.'

Savanna opened up about the predicament on TikTok earlier this month, and it quickly went viral.

They drove 30 hours to South Carolina for a cruise, but were turned away from five hotels on the way due to their age and almost had to sleep in their car

Suddenly, the couple realized they might face a similar problem when they got to the cruise port

Savanna opened up about the predicament on TikTok earlier this month, and sparked a slew of backlash for the pair

She shared a clip of Ty looking stressed out while standing at the check-in counter with their marriage license in hand.

'POV: You got married at 19 and 20, your honeymoon is a cruise but you have to be 21 to board the ship,' she wrote, adding in the caption, 'The joys of being young and married.'

They were ultimately allowed to board after they showed their marriage license and ID

The video, which was viewed more than two million times, sparked a slew of backlash for the pair.

'Dumb every way,' one person wrote, while another added, 'It most definitely says how old you have to be to board a cruise when you book it.'

'Y'all don't read the terms and conditions?' asked someone else.

'Well, you live and you learn. Thats quite the expensive mistake,' a fourth comment read.

A fifth said, 'This is common knowledge.'

In response to the haters, Savanna posted a follow-up video, in which she explained that after the 'problems' they faced at the hotels on the way to the port, they 'did research and made phone calls' to make sure they could 'get on the ship' before arriving.

'For all those worried that we were too young to be married 'cause we can't even do our own research, it was researched and really easy and smooth,' she added.
Queen Letizia of Spain cut an elegant figure in a glamorous black suit as she joined her husband King Felipe IV for a journalism awards ceremony in Madrid.

The royal couple were on hand to honour the winners of the 41st annual Francisco Cerecedo award, which is given to journalists who promote freedom of expression.

Letizia, who worked as a TV reporter before marrying into the Spanish royal family, put on a typically glamorous display at the event on Monday night.

The mother-of-two looked effortlessly elegant in a black trouser suit, featuring a form-fitting blazer with velvet lapels and pocket detailing.

Letizia, 52, paired the long-sleeved garment with wide-leg trousers and a shimmering matching blouse. Her outfit was completed with a pair of strappy heels and a fashionable clutch bag.

Adding a touch of glitz to her ensemble, the royal sported a pair of gold hooped earrings and finished off her look with a smattering of glamorous makeup, while leaving her hair down in soft waves.

The Spanish Queen's husband looked equally sophisticated in a pinstriped navy suit, paired with a crisp white shirt and a light blue tie.

Letizia will no doubt be in her element at the awards ceremony as a former journalist herself, who met her husband during an interview in the early 2000s.

Queen Letizia of Spain cut an elegant figure in a glamorous black suit as she joined her husband King Felipe IV for a journalism awards ceremony in Madrid

Her journalism career saw her report from Washington, in the US, Guadalajara in Mexico and Iraq during the war. She also broadcast live from ground zero after the 9/11 attacks in September 2001.

Letizia, whose father Jesus Jose Ortiz Alvarez and stepmother Ana Togores are both journalists, worked in TV and newspapers before marrying Felipe in 2004.

After a stint at Asturian daily paper, La Nueva Espana, she went on to work for ABC, a popular national newspaper that enjoys the third largest circulation in Spain.

Next came a stint at Spanish news agency EFE before a move to Guadalajara in Mexico saw her take on a role on local paper, Siglo 21.

Back in Spain a year later, she worked for the Spanish version of Bloomberg, a news channel and agency specialising in economics, before moving to CNN+.

By the time she met her husband-to-be, Letizia was working for popular TV channel 24 Horas, where along with anchoring the popular Telediario 2 evening news bulletin, she reported on a wide range of breaking news events.

Letizia and Felipe's event this evening comes weeks after they were pelted with mud by protestors in the flood-hit region of Valencia.

They travelled to Paiporta on November 3 to pay their respects to victims and give their condolences to those affected by the floods, which claimed the lives of over 200 people.

The royal couple were on hand to honour the winners of the 41st annual Francisco Cerecedo award, which is given to journalists who promote freedom of expression

Letizia, who worked as a TV reporter before marrying into the Spanish royal family , put on a typically glamorous display at the event on Monday night

The mother-of-two looked effortlessly elegant in a black trouser suit, featuring a form-fitting blazer with velvet lapels and pocket detailing

Letizia, 52, paired the long-sleeved garment with wide-leg trousers and a shimmering matching blouse. Her outfit was completed with a pair of strappy heels and a fashionable clutch bag

During the outing, Letizia appeared to be crying as she spoke to one woman, with the Queen wrapping her hands around her shoulder.

She also consoled groups of sobbing local women affected by the flash floods and gave them hugs as they explained their situations to the royal.

Meanwhile, her husband King Felipe was heckled and had dirt thrown at him by furious locals during the visit.

Queen Letizia appeared to be crying as she spoke to a woman in Paiporta on November 3

The monarch was pelted with mud and objects like drink cans by angry survivors of the deadly floods as he walked through the ruined town.

Hecklers also targeted Letizia, as a video showed the Queen with mud on her face, as she was helped through the busy streets by her entourage.
The Duchess of Edinburgh looked ever-so-stylish in a floral and leather ensemble at a charity appearance this morning.

The 59-year-old had a string of royal engagements today, first visiting the Feel Good Inside and Out Project at Cranford College in Hounslow.

No stranger to outfit repeating, Sophie wore a leather midi dress by designer Loewe that she has worn on more than one occasion.

She was first seen in the frock during a 2022 visit to New York and again later that year for Brainwave South West Centre where she is president for the facility's 40th anniversary.

The Duchess often wears a jumper or shirt under the sleeveless dress and her latest appearance was no exception.

This time, she styled her wardrobe favourite with a silk floral-print blouse from ME + EM.

The Loewe dress wasn't the only thing Sophie recycled from her closet. She wore a pair of brown suede Gianvito Rossi heeled boots that she's been snapped in six times in the past year.

She styled her blonde hair in tousled waves down her shoulders, opted for a pair of Giulia Barela floral gold hooped earrings and carried a snakeskin-style clutch bag.

Duchess of Edinburgh, Sophie Wessex, stepped out looking stylish visiting the Feel Good Inside and Out Project at Cranford College in Hounslow today

The 59-yer-old styled her Loewe leather dress with a silk floral-print blouse from ME + EM as well as a pair of Giulia Barela floral gold hooped earrings and a snakeskin-style clutch bag

No stranger to outfit repeating, Sophie wore a leather midi dress by designer Loewe that she has worn on more than one occasion

The Loewe dress wasn't the only thing Sophie recycled from her closet. She wore a pair of brown suede Gianvito Rossi heeled boots that she's been snapped in six times in the past year

She was first seen in the frock during a 2022 visit to New York and again later that year for Brainwave South West Centre where she is president for the facility's 40th anniversary

Sophie smiled as she entered the venue where she was greeted by a line of students and staff.

Inside, she looked delighted as she chatted with staff, enjoyed a cup of tea and partook in activities including cross stitching, bracelet beading and making jars of preserves.

On Monday, the Duchess also attended a 60th Anniversary Reception for the Wellbeing of Women charity of which she is a patron and visited the Fight for Sight Laboratory at University College London Institute of Ophthalmology.

Sophie's busy day follows last weekend's Remembrance Day services, where the royal made a series of appearances to pay her respects.

She stood alongside Kate, Princess of Wales, on the balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Remembrance Sunday for a two-minute silence before watching as King Charles laid a wreath at the Cenotaph in London.

Sophie and Kate, who both married into the British royal family, are said have a close 'sisterly' bond which was evident as the Duchess placed a supportive hand on the Princess's back as they returned inside after the memorial.

The warmth of her palm displayed not just the comfort of a family member, but also a friend and a mother.

The Princess of Wales, 42, has only just started to ease back into high-profile public events after she announced that she is cancer-free, following her treatment which she started earlier this year.

Sophie smiled as she entered the venue where she was greeted by a line of students and staff

Inside, she looked delighted as she chatted with staff, enjoyed a cup of tea and partook in activities

She was seen creating jarred preserves as well as joining in others as they created a cross-stitch and beaded friendship bracelets

Today, the Duchess also attended a 60th Anniversary Reception for the Wellbeing of Women charity of which she is a patron

She then visited the Fight for Sight Laboratory at University College London Institute of Ophthalmology

Sophie is the Global Ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness

Pictured: Sophie at the Fight for Sight Laboratory at UCL

Pictured: The Duchess of Edinburgh donned a white coat as she joined researchers in the Fight for Sight Laboratory on Monday

Sophie made an appearance on the CBeebies Bedtime Story segment on October 10, to mark World Sight Day. She remains passionate about supporting the sight loss community and eliminating avoidable blindness

Sophie's busy day follows last weekend's Remembrance Day services, where the royal made a series of appearances to pay her respects

Her diagnosis was challenging for her husband, Prince William, to process, with the future King admitting that he's experienced 'the hardest year in my life'.

Body language expert Judi James said of Prince Edward's wife at the time: 'That simple hand gesture showed Sophie's dual role today. She is always the royal who brings a sense of calm and support to some of the most emotionally-charged royal occasions.

'She and Kate always appear to be close and to share a sense of humour but Sophie's gesture here seems to show her in a more maternal mode, as she places on hand on or near Kate's back as she stepped inside the building.'

Later in the day, Sophie was spotted sharing a heart-warming moment with a group of children.

She attended the Armistice service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on Sunday, where proved her maternal nature once again during a sweet conversation with a group of youngsters.

The wife of Prince Edward, 60, was praised by royal fans for the sweet display in which Sophie knelt down to chat with a group of children.

The clip, which was posted on TikTok by Greatest Hits Radio News, saw the mother-of-two exercising her maternal instinct as she told a group of little ones to wave at her when she departed in a helicopter.

During the video, a woman - thought to be the children's teacher - can be heard telling the children: 'This is the lady that came in the helicopter!'

She stood alongside Kate, Princess of Wales, on the balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Remembrance Sunday for a two-minute silence

Sophie and Kate are said have a close 'sisterly' bond which was evident as the Duchess placed a supportive hand on the Princess's back as they returned inside after the memorial

Later in the day, Sophie was spotted sharing a heart-warming moment with a group of children at the Armistice service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire

The wife of Prince Edward , 60, was praised by royal fans for the sweet display in which Sophie knelt down to chat with a group of children

Kneeling down so she is at eye level with the youngster, Sophie then said: 'I'm about to go back in my helicopter. Will you wave at the helicopter?

'It's going to take off in about five minutes so you might see it go up in the sky! So you're going to do a big wave,' she said to the youngster, gesturing at them waving up towards her.

Enamoured by the motherly royal, the group of children, who appeared to be between the ages of three and five, replied with an animated 'yes!'

The group of youngsters appeared in royal blue anoraks and high-vis vest for the Sunday service, where they chatted to the royal.

After seeing the tender moment, royal fans flocked to comments to praise the duchess.

One wrote: 'Sophie Duchess of Edinburgh is a credit to the Royal family,' while another described her as 'Such a natural down to earth person'.

'Darling lady who connects warmly with children and adults,' a third penned.

Another wrote: 'I think that's the first time I've heard her voice! She sounds a bit like Catherine, Princess of Wales when she speaks. I love this! Thank you for sharing!'
A retro home decor trend is set to take over Australia - and Kmart has just the buy for shoppers on a budget.

The mirrored portable rechargeable lamp ($17) has stunned thousands across the country.

Melbourne-based influencer Jenny Zhou recently purchased two lamps and expertly styled them in her living room on top of a green glass side table.

'I thought it would be really cute to have mushroom disco lamps on our dining table too for all the dinner parties,' Jenny said in a video.

'Oh my gosh, it's so pretty,' she gasped when she saw the products in the light. 'Look how shiny it is.'

The lamps have three settings for brightness so that you can perfectly curate the vibe you want.

Sydney-based interior designer Emma Bloomfield previously told FEMAIL that layered lighting adds a touch of softness to create a dynamic room.

She recommended choosing a combination of lamps, pendant lights, and sconces instead of harsh overhead tube lights.

Kmart's mirrored portable rechargeable lamp ($17) has stunned thousands across the country

Melbourne-based influencer Jenny Zhou recently purchased two lamps and expertly styled them in her living room on top of a green glass side table

Sue Kerr, from Sydney, was also mesmerised by how the lamp completely transformed her living room.

Shoppers shared rave reviews of the disco mushroom lamp online.

'I got one this week and I'm obsessed,' one said.

'I really need these, I have to go to Kmart today,' an eager shopper said.

But that's not the only lamp Kmart shoppers are obsessed with.

The Amiri portable rechargeable lamp ($17) has sent Aussies into a spin thanks to the 'luxurious' glow it gives their homes.

Swapping out hard white lights for warm bulbs and moving over to dimmable switches that you can tailor to your mood will help you have more control over the functionality and feel of the room.

Kmart's portable touch lamp is perfect to add dimension to any room - and the low price means you can buy multiple to place around the house for a coherent look.

The Amiri portable rechargeable lamp ($17) has sent Aussies into a spin

Jess Fussell, from Perth, recently purchased the trendy buy to liven up her common room.

'The $17 lamp from Kmart that every girly home needs,' she said.

Jess also bought her coffee table books and various other pieces of home decor from the bargain retailer.

'Kmart is really elite at serving affordable decor finds.'

The lamp is only available in a gold tone at the moment but shoppers are itching for Kmart to release other colours.

'I love it! I really want a chrome silver one of these,' one said online about the touch lamp.

'Stunning - I need it in my kitchen,' another said.

Another option is the Elly table lamp which looks like it came straight out of a time capsule from the 1970s with its pleated lamp shade and sage green stand.

The Scandinavian inspired lamp, left, which is just $15 has been described as being perfect for living spaces and bedrooms - similar lamps are going for over $1000

The Scandinavian inspired lamp, which is just $15, has been described as being perfect for living spaces and bedrooms.

An online vintage decor store is selling a similar lamp, they claim to be from the late 70s early 80s, for $1027.

The table lamp was designed by Poul Seest Andersen and manufactured by Le Klint and Holmegaard in Denmark and is 40cm tall from the base to the top of the shade.

The vintage lamp is an eggshell white finish.

Similar, new lamps are available online at European stores for around AUD$300.
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway has stepped out looking stylish to attend a concert as she resumes her royal duties following a bout of illness.

The 51-year-old was snapped arriving at a concert for the 50th anniversary of record label Kirkelig Kulturverksted in Oslo on Sunday evening.

She looked cheerful and radiant despite her recent health struggles and her son Marius Borg Hiby, 27, facing assault charges.

Mette-Marit opted for a full-length cross-patterned blue coat over a chic pair of navy trousers and simple heels.

She clutched a small embellished Prada handbag, kept her makeup minimal and wore her blonde locks down her shoulders.

The appearance comes just days after Mette-Marit made a visit to the Army's Engineer Battalion, where her daughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, has been serving, signalling the princess is in better health.

Mette-Marit has been gradually returning to her official royal duties after she fell ill due to medicinal side effects associated with her chronic lung disease.

In late October, the Norwegian Royal Court confirmed to Femail that she was taking some time off, saying: 'H.K.H. The Crown Princess is on sick leave.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway looked cheerful and radiant as she arrived at a concert for the 50th anniversary of record label Kirkelig Kulturverksted in Oslo on Sunday

She is resuming her royal duties after taking sick leave for due to medicinal side effects associated with her chronic lung disease

Mette-Marit opted for a full-length cross-patterned blue coat over a chic pair of navy trousers and simple heels

'Due to side effects of the medication that Her Royal Highness is using for her chronic lung disease, she is on sick leave, initially for a week. Her official program during this period will be cancelled or postponed.'

Earlier that month, the court warned that Mette-Marit's current course of treatment for pulmonary fibrosis may interfere with her planned duties over the coming weeks.

The Crown Princess's health condition was first made public in 2018, when it was revealed Mette-Marit had been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis or the thickening of lung tissue.

At the time, Mette-Marit issued a statement explaining that the condition 'means my working capacity will vary' to accommodate her treatment including 'periods of time without an official programme'.

'For a number of years, I have had health challenges on a regular basis, and now we know more about what is involved,' the mother-of-three said. 'The condition means that my working capacity will vary.

Pulmonary fibrosis is incurable and worsens over time, but the Norwegian royal's doctor, Professor Kristian Bjro at the National Hospital, said they'd been monitoring her condition for several years and the 'disease progression has been slow over this period'.

Not much is known about the unusual variant of fibrosis that was detected in Mette-Marit's lungs but, according to the Royal House, 'there is broad consensus that, unlike other more common types of pulmonary fibrosis, it is not related to environmental or lifestyle factors'.

The fact that the disease was detected at an early stage improves Mette-Marit's prognosis, as per the Palace's official statement.

She clutched a small embellished Prada handbag, kept her makeup minimal and wore her blonde locks down her shoulders

Not long after announcing her absence, Mette-Marit had to step in for her husband Prince Haakon (right) at a state lunch as he reportedly had to escort her son Marius Borg Hiby (left) to rehab

'Even if such a diagnosis will limit my life at times, I am glad that the disease has been discovered so early. My goal is still to work and participate in the official programme as much as possible,' the mother-of-three said.

Before the announcement of her most recent sick leave, Mette-Marit was last seen alongside King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark for the 25th anniversary of the Nordic embassy on October 22.

She was next spotted hosting a lunch for state administrators on November 7 in place of her husband Prince Haakon who cancelled the engagement reportedly to take his stepson to rehab.

The Palace communications manager Guri Varple cited 'private reasons' for Haakon's absence however, Se og Hor reported a sighting of the royal boarding a flight from Gardermoen to London at 1pm with Marius, Mette-Marit's son from a previous relationship.

In a scandal that rocked the country, he allegedly attacked his 'girlfriend' Rebecca Helberg Arntsen, citing his mental health diagnosis as a factor.

Back in August, Marius, who has no royal title nor official duties, faced preliminary charges of bodily harm and criminal damage after officers responded to a disturbance in downtown Oslo.

He admitted to and apologised for assaulting Rebecca, thought to be his girlfriend at the time, in a booze and drug-fuelled attack.

In a statement issued via his own lawyer, Marius said he suffers from 'several mental disorders' and has 'struggled with substance abuse for a long time', which he said he is resuming treatment for.

In a scandal that rocked the country, Marius, Mette-Marit's on from a previous relationship, allegedly attacked his 'girlfriend' Rebecca Helberg Arntsen, citing his mental health as a factor

The scandal came just days before the controversial wedding of Princess Martha Louise's and Shaman Durek Verrett which Marius did not attend

Norwegian media reported the Prince and Princess were made aware ahead of time that Marius was going to be arrested on suspicion of assault

Marius was taken into custody and spent the night in a police cell while Ms Helberg Arntsen was treated for her injuries in hospital following the domestic incident, which also resulted in the destruction of the property.

By the time Marius was spotted boarding the plane with his stepfather, he said to have finished being questioned by police regarding the incident.

The scandal came just days before the controversial wedding of Princess Martha Louise's and Shaman Durek Verrett.

Marius was confirmed to not be attending the nuptials by the palace but no reason was cited.

Norwegian media reported that the Crown Prince and Princess were made aware ahead of time that Marius was going to be arrested on suspicion of assault, after the police notified the Royal Court of their intention to take him into custody.

A spokesman for the Royal Court told VG: 'The police notified the Royal Court and the Royal Court then informed the Crown Prince couple about an incident involving Marius Borg Hiby and about a possible arrest.'

'As is known, the police also notified Marius Borg Hiby ahead of the arrest. The police chose not to make an arrest at his residence, and have never searched it.'

FEMAIL contacted the Norwegian Palace for more information.
Doctors are on a quest to find cancer 'super-survivors' who may unlock the secret to beating The Big C.

It comes as part of a new trial which will study people who have survived five years after being diagnosed with advanced cancer.

The Times reported eight UK hospitals will take place in the international trial to find the world's cancer 'super-survivors'  people who should have had months to live but instead are alive five years later  to find out how they have survived for so long.

Doctor Thankamma Ajithkumar, an oncologist at Cambridge University Hospitals, told the newspaper: 'You have these patients [...] and all you can think is, why is this guy still around?'

'Every ten years or so, you find someone who beats all the odds,' he added.

The aim of the trial is to discover what is making these sick people live, rather than what makes sick people die.

Eight UK hospitals will take place in the international trial to find the world's cancer 'super-survivors'  people who should have had months to live but instead are alive five years later  to find out how they have survived for so long (file image)

Doctors aim to understand why there are exceptional survivors of the disease and how they may have managed to overcome these mutations (file image)

Nicolas Wolikow, a co-founder of French biotech company Cure51, is organising the trial and said cancer is a 'pernicious' disease because it is one that mutates.

In order to discover more about it, he said, 'we are going to try and become as intelligent as it is'.

Doctors aim to understand why there are exceptional survivors of the disease and how they may have managed to overcome these mutations.

Mr Wolikow said the goal is to find around 500 people in the UK and abroad who have contracted three of the deadliest cancers and should have died much sooner.

The deadliest cancers are advanced small-cell lung cancer, advanced pancreatic cancer and glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer.

Some of the people involved may have eventually passed away from the cancer, but there will be others who are still alive.

Dr Ajithkumar said the team were searching through medical records and spreading the word amongst colleagues.

He questioned whether some people's immune system may be stronger or perhaps they respond better to treatments.

But the hunch is that there must be something.

'We want to learn from anecdotes', Dr Ajithkumar said.

Any potential super-survivors of advanced small cell lung cancer, advanced pancreatic cancer or glioblastoma can contact info@cancer.cam.ac.uk to take part in the trial.
Being cynical is bad for your health, a leading psychologist has claimed.

Not only are cynics less mentally and physically healthy than positive thinkers - but they also die younger, Dr Jamil Zaki said.

The psychologist, who is a professor at Stanford University, claimed pessimists are more likely to suffer from depression and loneliness as they are cut off from the nourishment of the social world.

And, he said that despite popular belief that cynics are better at making better decisions, or spotting liars, this is in fact not the case - and so the glamorisation of negative views is harming us.

According to the Oxford dictionary, cynicism is the belief that people only do things to help themselves rather than for good or sincere reasons.

Dr Zaki told the Instant Genius podcast: There are data from many studies finding that cynics die younger than non-cynics.

I think if cynicism is cutting us off from the nourishment of the social world.

If you cant be vulnerable to people, if you cant open up, if you cant form connections, you lose so much of what makes life beautiful, first of all - but what makes us healthy as well.

Dr Jamil Zaki is a Stanford University psychologist and author. He said not only are cynics less mentally and physically healthy than positive thinkers - but they also die younger

I really do think that this is hurting us.

Dr Zaki said that not only are cynical people worse at making better or more accurate decisions, but they are also less mentally healthy.

Cynics suffer from more depression and loneliness than non-cynics, he added, it also worsens our physical health.

The psychologist, who is director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab in California, USA, said misanthropists often want more power than non-cynical people - but they dont achieve it.

In fact, they achieve it less because it turns out that success is not typically a matter of stepping on our colleagues, on trying to bruise everybody while we climb to the top, he continued.

Oftentimes, making it to the top is a function of being able to cooperate and build coalitions.

So, cynics think that they can succeed by acting in competitive and sometimes cruel ways, but it turns out that their view of success is far too narrow.

The psychologist said cynicism is spreading because we are instilling it in our children - and that Generation Z is the most cynical on record in the USA.

The psychologist said cynicism is spreading because we are instilling it in our children - and that Generation Z is the most cynical on record in the USA (file image)

Research from around the world finds that parents believe that in order to keep their kids safe and help them succeed, they should teach their kids that the world is dangerous and competitive, he said.

In other words, we want our kids to live better lives than we have.

But, Dr Zaki said this is a backwards strategy and we need to find an alternative.

He said for many people, this negative view of the world is cosy and that by escaping it, people will be healthier and happier.

The psychologist added: Theres this sense that if I never expect anything from anybody, nobody can disappoint me.

I think thats a huge source of cynicism is people who have been betrayed and hurt and reasonably dont want to feel that way again.
A mother of-five has warned those seeking tattoos to check the credentials of their artist beforehand  after a botched job almost cost her part of her leg.

Kirsty Griffiths paid 130 for a flower design on her right ankle while on holiday in Turkey last month.

But within 48 hours, the 34 year-old had developed life-threatening cellulitis which had spread to her stomach and gallbladder.

Cellulitis is a bacterial infection that affects the deep layers of the skin and can spread to other areas of the body.

It requires urgent antibiotics and if untreated can infect multiple bodily areas, eventually leading to deadly sepsis.

Doctors struggled to keep Ms Griffiths' infection under control and reportedly told her if the situation continued, she may have to have her foot amputated.

'Two different surgeons came to visit me and one said if this doesn't clear up I might have to have my foot amputated,' she said.

'I was crying and screaming every night in pain. It was morphine drip after morphine drip and I could still feel the pain through the painkillers.'

Kirsty Griffiths, 34, from Liverpool, suffered the life-threatening infection cellulitis after a tattoo went wrong.

Thankfully, the infection did eventually clear up after about four days in hospital.

'Luckily the antibiotics started working,' she said. 'Now, my tattoo looks all scabbed, crusted and black. It's really itchy and still very painful.'

Ms Griffiths said she is still walking with a limp and having to take paracetamol every four hours to numb the pain.

'I can't sleep through the night [at the moment] as I'm in that much pain and I can't put any weight on it.'

She believes the infection was caused by the tattooist putting the needle in too deep.

Recalling her decision to have the body art she said: 'I already had a rose on my ankle but I didn't like it so he did a better, bigger rose to cover it up.

'[In the appointment, the tattoo artist] did the outline first. But when he was just about to finish that bit I started feeling dizzy and like I was going to pass out.

'I told him I didn't feel well and I got up.

Ms Griffiths said she trusted the tattoo parlour she chose because they were located within a hotel.

Cellulitis is a bacterial infection that penerates the deeper layers of the skin. Without rapid intervention, it can spread to the organs and lead to deadly sepsis.

'I couldn't see anything and I threw up. He [the tattoo artist] said it was because of my blood sugars and at this point I thought it might be.

'I had never experienced this in my life before. To begin with the pain was okay but it started to get more painful.

'It was the kind of pain that made you feel sick. I couldn't bear it so I kept asking him to stop so I could breathe.

'I didn't realise he was going in too far with the needle and causing the pain.

'It looked really nice when he first did it and I didn't think anything of it. I thought it just must be painful because it was on my ankle.'

Ms Griffiths said she took her children to a Halloween party that evening and 'thought nothing of it', until the following morning when she woke to find her leg was 'double the size of my other one'.

'It was red raw and looked like there were blisters on my tattoo. There was fluid behind it which was the infection.'

She flew home from Turkey, suffering 'excruciating pain' on the flight home.

Ms Griffiths said she's been left with itchy scabs that have formed over the ink.

'I had to put my foot up elevated on the back of the chair as it was swelling. It was the worst four hours of my life.'

Shortly after landing back in the UK she was rushed straight to Whiston Hospital in Prescot, Merseyside, where tests confirmed cellulitis.

'I feel stupid because usually when I go to Turkey I always go to the people I know to get tattoos and it was always fine,' Ms Griffiths said.

'I didn't do my research or background checks on this person as I thought they were safe.'

She is now warning other holiday-goers about the dangers of getting a tattoo inked abroad.

'I would say to others thinking of getting a tattoo done abroad, you need to do your research and look into the person you've chosen to do the job.

'I wonder how many other people have been left like this. It's put me off getting tattoos all together.'

When the tattoo studio were contacted by journalists, they claimed Ms Griffiths wore socks following the appointment, which caused the infection.

A representative said: 'We have a camera in the shop and all tools are clean and sterilised. She wasn't well when she first had the tattoo done and I asked her many times if she felt okay.'
Nanoplastics could be interfering with your antibiotics - making the crucial drugs less effective and contributing to the rise of dangerous drug-resistant superbugs.

Using one of the most common antibiotics, called tetracycline, researchers in Sweden, Germany and Hungary, created a computer model to see how the medication interacted with bits of plastic that were less than one thousandth the thickness of a credit card.

They then tested what they learned in the model on human cells grown in the lab. It turns out that the antibiotics bind to the surface of the tiny plastic molecules.

This can cause the drugs to 'hitchhike' a ride on pieces of plastic circulating in the blood stream, being carried away from the infection they are meant to cure and to parts of the body they aren't meant for, becoming less effective overall.

And because of how prominent microplastic pollution is in the environment and in our bodies, being found from the deepest sections of the ocean to Mount Everest, researchers are concerned antibiotics used to treat life-threatening illnesses will no longer be effective.

Lead author Lukas Kenner, a professor at Department of molecular biology at Umea University in Sweden, said: 'The results are alarming considering how common nanoplastics are and because effective antibiotics for many can be the difference between life and death.'

Prof Kenner suggested the plastic-hijacking drugs may make antibiotic-resistant super bugs more common.

An illustration of Bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria that can cause pneumonia, urinary tract infections and wound infections. Studies show that some strains have evolved to become antibiotic resistant making Bacterium Pseudomonas one of the six biggest global killers in 2019

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Because using antibiotics incorrectly can make colonies of bacteria grow and mutate more rapidly, these microplastics could make it easier for bacteria to become impervious to the drugs designed to treat them.

And if bacteria or fungi become resistant to antibiotics, they can grow and spread unchecked, making usually treatable infections impossible to cure.

According to the CDC, about 2.8million of these infections occur each year - killing about 35,000 Americans annually. The most common include Streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes pneumonia, Enterobacteriaceae, which causes food poisoning and Staphylococcus aureus, which causes skin infections.

The CDC deems this trend, which is continuing to grow, an 'urgent global threat'.

The new research linking plastics to this problem was published in the journal of Scientific Reports, and it focused on four different kinds of nanoplastics.

These are bits of plastic that have broken down to be smaller than one thousandth millimeter in length - even smaller than microplastics, which are five millimeters or less in size.

These come from polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and nylon - found in plastic packaging, Styrofoam and clothes with synthetic materials like nylon.

Heating, tearing or wearing down any of these materials can cause tiny bits of the product to flake off, where they're buoyed by air or water.

These are invisible to the naked eye, able to be breathed in through the tiny tracts in our lungs or swallowed.

From there, they get into humans when we breathe or drink water containing the particles.

They've become so common that researchers have found them in human blood, breast milk and brains. According to the researchers, these particles are about five times more abundant in indoor air than in outdoor air.

For their research, the team used a computer algorithm that was able to model the how the antibiotics dissolve and interact with the pieces of plastic, then predict how they get used within the body.

They used one of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics, tetracycline - which treats everything from acne to pneumonia to infections spread by ticks.

Researchers found all four types of plastic could adsorb the antibiotic itself, carrying it around the blood stream away from the infection they were designed to treat.

The particles from nylon were the most adsorptive, followed by polystyrene, polypropylene and polyethylene.

The authors said nylon is one of the most common nanoplastics found in indoor air.

Nylon is a strong, stretchy synthetic fiber commonly found in activewear, seat belts and ropes.

Nanoplastics are between 1 and 1000 nanometers in sizer, smaller than is visible by the naked eye. These are even smaller than microplastics, pictured above, which are five millimeters or less in size

After using computer models, the researchers tested the scenario on human cells grown in a test tube.

They did this by adding samples of the nanoplastic to the test tube and then applying the antibiotic to it.

The results mirrored what was found in the computer modeling - showing the amount of antibiotic that ended up in the cells was altered when plastic was present, as antibiotic molecules stuck to the surface of the nanoplastics instead of heading straight into the cells to attack an infection.

Prof Kenner said: 'Although more research is needed to shed light on the connections and possible measures, we can conclude from our results that Nanoplastics are a health risk that should be taken more seriously.'

Antibiotics are a powerful class of drugs used to kill bacteria and fungi that make people sick, but the pathogens are living organisms that sometimes can evolve evolve and fight back against the drugs designed to destroy them.

Not following the proper instructions for taking an antibiotic, stopping it too early, missing doses or mixing it with substances that weaken it, can make it more likely you develop antibiotic resistance.

Tetracycline (pictured) is one of the most commonly prescribed antibiotics. Similar drugs include doxycycline, Minocycline and Omadacycline

For example, sometimes people stop taking their antibiotics when they feel better, not when they've finished their prescription.

Doing so can potentially leave a colony of bacteria behind, which can then multiply and mutate, morphing into a strain resistant to the medicine.

The researchers suggested nanoplastics could be having a similar affect, by making antibiotics less effective.

The new study comes as scientists warn antibiotic resistance is on the rise.

Recent research from the Global Burden of Disease Antimicrobial Resistance Collaborators suggested that if current trends persist, by 2050, there will be 39million deaths attributed to antimicrobial resistance every year.

This means illnesses that are easily treatable now, like urinary tract infections or food poisoning, could become deadly.

Therefore, the WHO calls antimicrobial resistance 'one of the top global public health and development threats.'

Aside from products in our homes, other sources of nanoplastics include tires, cosmetics and seed coatings.

Older studies have linked the particles to a host of health problems, from delayed development to colon cancer to mood, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

It's difficult to avoid plastics in every day life, but there are steps you can take, Dr Sheela Sathyanarayana, professor in the University of Washington Department of Pediatrics told AAMC.

This includes using stainless steel water bottles instead of single use plastics, avoiding re-heating food in plastic containers, buying glass, wood or steel kitchen utensils and taking off your shoes when you come home to avoid tracking in dust.
A deadly strain of monkeypox has been detected in the United States for the first time.

CDC scientists said a patient in California had tested positive for the Clade I mpox strain, which kills up to one in 10 people it infects.

The CDC said the patient had recently returned to the US from East Africa, where there is a monkeypox outbreak, and was treated in San Mateo County.

The patient was initially treated in the hospital, but has now been discharged home for recovery and told to isolate.

Officials said the risk to the public was 'low', saying the disease only spreads via direct skin-to-skin contact or contact with contaminated towels or bedding.

No further details about the patient were revealed, including when they had returned to the US, how they became infected, or their symptoms.

But scientists said they were expected to make a full recovery.

The Clade I strain is more severe than the Clade II type, which is currently circulating in the US and was behind the 2022 outbreak. That strain has a fatality rate of less than three percent and has killed 63 Americans since the 2022 outbreak.

Officials said the patient had recently returned to the US from East Africa (This is a stock image of the symptoms, and does not show the patient)

In its alert, the CDC said: 'The risk of clade I mpox to the public remains low, and there continue to be sporadic clade II mpox cases in the United States.

'Casual contact, like you might have during travel, is unlikely to pose significant risks for transmission of mpox.'

More than 34,000 people have been infected with Clade II monkeypox since the outbreak began in 2022, and at least 63 people have died so far.

Officials rolled out vaccines to gay or bisexual men  among whom most cases were diagnosed  during the outbreak to slow infections.

But the CDC continues to record 'sporadic' cases in the US, with 2,368 infections detected this year  and 72 in just the last month.

The overall fatality rate in the US is currently 1.85 percent, with scientists saying treatments and the vaccination drive have helped to keep it low.

The California patient came to the US from Africa, where there is currently a major outbreak of the Clade I strain in central and eastern regions, primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with more than 47,000 suspected cases.

But cases began to spread outside the DRC over the summer to neighboring countries including Burundi, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Rwanda and Uganda.

WHO officials raised the alarm over the outbreak in August, officially declaring it a public health emergency.

More than 50,000 monkeypox cases have been recorded in the region's outbreak to date, and 1,100 people have died from the infections.

Officials are trying to stem the outbreak through rolling out vaccines to boost immunity to the virus. More than 5.85million doses are expected to be delivered to the region by the end of the year.

And vaccines are currently being tested in Africa that are administered to people after they have been exposed to the virus. Researchers are investigating whether these can stop an infection from developing.

Scientists say the spread is being driven largely by skin-to-skin sexual contact with rashes caused by the disease.

Symptoms take three to 21 days to develop, and tend to be a rash that forms on the infected area  including the genitals, anus, or chest or hands.

Other symptoms include a severe headache, fever and muscle and back ache.

There is no cure, but doctors may treat symptoms using anti-viral drugs that target viruses like monkeypox.

Patients may also receive IV drips and supportive rest to help their bodies fight off the disease.
Sudden oak death expert Matteo Garbelotto examines a leaf from a tanoak tree at his lab at UC Berkeley in 2019. His team recently discovered a new form of the pathogen driving the spread of sudden oak death in California. Paul Chinn/The Chronicle This tanoak tree, center, died of sudden oak death. Scientists recently discovered that there is a new form of the pathogen causing the disease in California forests. Courtesy of Matteo Garbelotto UC Berkeley students participate in surveys to monitor for sudden oak death. The surveys recently turned up a new lineage of the pathogen that is driving the disease across the landscape. Courtesy of Matteo Garbelotto The brown tip (lower right) of a leaf of a California bay laurel tree is a likely indicator of sudden oak death. Paul Chinn/The Chronicle UC Berkeley professor and sudden oak death expert Matteo Garbelotto examines the trunk of a coast live oak infected with the disease in Berkeley in 2019. Paul Chinn/The Chronicle The brown tips on leaves collected from a bay laurel tree in Berkeley in 2019 reveal that the tree is likely infected with sudden oak death. Paul Chinn/The Chronicle

The tree disease that exploded in Bay Area forests three decades ago, stunning residents with vast die-offs in parks and neighborhoods before slowing, has opened a new front with a second, potentially more potent microbe now on the attack.

Researchers at UC Berkeley say they recently uncovered at least four outbreaks of sudden oak death caused by a different genetic lineage of the fungus-like pathogen that was previously known to propel the disease in California.

The new lineage has so far caused limited observable damage in San Mateo County, the Berkeley hills and Martinez  to bay laurel trees, which are among the many tree species that the disease can infect, beyond the namesake oak. The researchers fear that this vigorous form of the pathogen could soon kick up the pace of sudden oak death to levels not seen in years and perhaps burden California woodlands with even greater losses.

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Early thinking is that the new source of the disease may be hastened by the warming climate.

Obviously, this is a concern, said Matteo Garbelotto, an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley who has long studied sudden oak death and whose lab discovered the new form of the pathogen. We have something that is more aggressive, more infectious. It could really speed up the infection process.

Sudden oak death, which was first observed in Marin County in the mid-1990s, seemingly out of the blue, initially confounded scientists as it went on to kill large swaths of trees in coastal California before the cause was identified in 2000: the emergence of the microscopic pathogen Phytophthora ramorum.

Once deemed the Godzilla fungus, the pathogen is believed to have come from ornamental plants shipped from southeast Asia to California nurseries, then jumped into the wild. The organism is known for infecting trees that, at first, show little sign of attack, only to abruptly reveal seeping cankers, brown up and die  hence the sudden death moniker. The pathogen has been found in other countries, but nowhere has its impact been as great as California, where millions of trees have died across 14 counties.

Three distinct lineages of the pathogen have previously been detected at nurseries in the state. Only one, however, with the exception of an isolated outbreak of another in Del Norte County, had escaped into forests  until recently.

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Federally funded teams of scientists and volunteers that monitor the disease across the landscape collected, in this years surveys, samples of the new form of the pathogen at four sites confirmed by Garbelottos lab. A possible fifth site has not been confirmed.

It was really surprising this year to find (this new form of the pathogen) at five different locations, Garbelotto said.

The new lineage has been causing the most damage in an area north of Woodside, where a roughly 1.5-mile strip of bay laurels was infected. The pathogen was also confirmed in Atherton, the East Bays Tilden Regional Park and John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez.

Garbelottos initial analysis is that the disease is four times as infectious as the initial form to spread in California and, unlike its predecessor, it can flourish in warmer, drier conditions.

Higher temperatures and more drought over the past two decades are believed to have helped slow the advance of sudden oak death, since the worst outbreaks of the disease have generally followed rainy periods. Human efforts to contain sudden oak death, such as quarantines on state nursery products and removal of infected trees, have also curbed the spread.

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With this new form of the pathogen, however, Garbelotto worries that the disease will be able to thrive in much more variable conditions, including the heat that comes with climate change.

It does well in the warmer weather, but it also does well in cooler weather, he said. Thats the problem.

Garbelotto and his colleagues have begun reaching out to land managers in the Bay Area and elsewhere to let them know about the new source of sudden oak death, so they can help track it and perhaps take steps to confront it.

The time to do something is now, he said.
A plastic surgeon has revealed the hair loss drug beloved by presidents and celebrities like Donald Trump and Rob Lowe that he prescribes to patients fighting a thinning hairline.

Dr Gary Linkov, based in New York City, says finasteride is his go-to treatment for patients going bold.

While originally used to treat an enlarge prostate, finasteride is commonly used to treat male pattern hair loss.

The drug works by stopping the body from converting testosterone into DHT, a compound that causes hair follicles to shrink and fall out.

Dr Linkov said in a YouTube video he uses it as a 'first line of defense' for men, as studies suggest more than 80 percent of men have significant hair loss by the time they turn 50.

Dr Linkov said: 'Most guys will lose the majority of their hair usually between 25 and 35 as far as accelerated hair loss, and then there's likely slower hair loss still after that.

'[Finasteride] is what I would recommend as the first line medical therapy for [hair loss] in men.'

The drug is taken by more than 2.4million men a year, possibly including President-elect Donald Trump, according to his longtime physician Dr Harold Bornstein, who revealed the president's prescription list in a series of interviews with The New York Times.

Pictured above is the scalp of a man before (left) and after he took finasteride and minoxidil. Finasteride can help to slow hair loss, while minoxidil can help hair to become thicker

Dr Linkov dismissed other treatments such as lasers and micro needling, saying these can help to thicken existing hair but will not help to stop someone's hairline from receding.

The plastic surgeon continued: 'In their 20s, most people are trying to figure themselves out, they're trying to improve their careers, and figure out what job they're going to have and all of that.

'And that's not the time that they're necessarily so fixated on their hair.

'And when they start to notice, you know, big pockets opening up and the recession and the crown loss and all of this, well... then in a way it's too late to get back to how exactly things used to be.'

Although finasteride will not bring back hair that has already fallen out, doctors say it can slow any further loss  and in young adults could delay age-related decline in their hairline.

Available by prescription, the drug  which costs $20 to $60 a month  is recommended to be taken once a day as either a pill or solution.

Dr Linkov mostly prescribes finasteride as a pill.

It is FDA approved for treating hair loss, and clinical trials on the drug involving 1,800 men showed after two years only 17 percent of the those taking finasteride lost hair, compared to 72 percent of those not on the drug.

However, it has been linked to undesirable side-effects such as chills, cold sweats and a loss of libido, but doctors say these only tend to affect one to two percent of patients.

Some individuals have come forward, however, to suggest the drug permanently damaged their bodies  including a 22-year-old man who said it made his testicles shrink.

The above images, from hims, show a man before taking finasteride and seven months after starting on the drug

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In some cases, Dr Linkov will also prescribe Minoxidil at the same time, sold under the brand name Rogaine, which can help to thicken hair by boosting blood flow to hair follicles.

Minoxidil is also available as a pill or liquid, and costs around $15 per month. It became the first FDA-approved treatment for male hair loss in 1988.

Donald Trump's longtime physician Dr Harold Bornstein suggested the President-elect was taking finasteride in 2017, and Trump, 78, has been previously linked to a number of hair transplants and other procedures to maintain his hairline.

Though the president nor his team have ever confirmed the speculations.

Rob Lowe admitted during a May 2019 interview with the UK's Daily Telegraph that he started taking the drug as soon as he noticed hair loss.

In the interview, where he said that Prince William could have used 'a pill' to prevent his hair loss, he added: 'Honestly, one of the great traumatic experiences of my life was watching Prince William lose his hair.

'He's going to be the f****** King of England! And... and there's a pill!

'The first glimmer that a single hair of mine was going to fall out, I was having stuff mainlined into my f****** veins. And that's what I did for the next thirty years.'

Gary Linkov revealed his preference for finasteride in a YouTube video. He prescribes it to patients alongside Minoxidil, saying they can help to prevent hair loss

Nearly two-thirds of men have significant hair loss by the age of 35 years, and 85 percent have lost a significant amount by the age of 50.

Women can also suffer from hair loss, with about one third suffering from female pattern baldness at some point during their lives.

Female pattern baldness is thought to be linked to shifts in hormones related to menopause or other conditions.

Dr Linkov did not comment on how women may be treated, but doctors suggest minoxidil to help thicken hair on the scalp. Women may also use finasteride, although it hasn't been approved for treating baldness in the group.

More than 2.4million prescriptions of finasteride are written in the US every year, although in some of those instances the drug may be prescribed to stop the prostate enlarging.

It was initially used to treat this condition, until doctors also observed that patients on the drug had thicker heads of hair.

Dr Linkov said a more potent version of finasteride is available, called dutasteride.

This works by blocking two enzymes that convert testosterone into a substance that causes hair to fall out  called DHT. Finasteride only blocks one.

This means that while finasteride reduces DHT levels by 60 to 70 percent in most patients, dutasteride reduces them by more than 90 percent.

But Dr Linkov said the more potent version also has more risks, with one small study finding more than three percent of patients had side effects like decreased libido.

There are other hair loss prevention drugs currently being tested which have names including KX-826, GT-20029 and RU58841.

But these are still working their way through clinical trials and have not been approved for treating the condition.

The doctors also noted that in trans women on hormone replacement therapy, their hair loss was also greatly reduced.

Derek said on the Peter Attia podcast: 'Did you regain that hair you had lost with this protocol? Expecting yourself to get back to baseline, that would be unrealistic.

'So thinking that you're going to reverse it like 10 years, is usually not realistic, but trying to prevent further loss - and adding some degree of fulness... - can be helpful.'
The direct-to-consumer genetic testing market has helped tens of millions of Americans not just learn about their family lineage, but also given them a microscopic view of their health.

Popular DIY tests  such as Ancestry DNA and 23&Me  offer a variety of kits depending on how much of a deep dive into your DNA you're hoping to do, ranging from $99 to $200.

Kits that test your cheek swab for health markers may reveal genes that indicate an increased likelihood of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers, helping customers - whether they have a family history of cancer or not - gain a better understanding of their individual risk.

But oncologists caution the at-home tests are not for everyone.

Direct-to-consumer tests are fairly limited in scope when it comes to variants they test for. 23&Me, for instance, only tests for 44 genetic variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which suggest a proneness to breast cancer, but there are more than 4,000 known variants that increase the risk.

23&me also tests for two variants in genes that increase one's risk of colorectal cancer, though there are about 25 acquired gene mutations known to increase CRC risk.

Dr Mikkael Sekeres, an expert in blood cancers at the University of Miami, advised concerned customers to contact their doctors for a more comprehensive lab test instead of first trying an at-home test.

He added just a small proportion of cancers  between five and 10 percent  are believed to be associated with genetic variants, while the rest are caused by lifestyle and environmental factors like smoking and air pollution, calling into question whether these tests truly are the crystal ball that people want.

And doctors also warn that many people untrained in science may misinterpret their results or blow something out of proportion, leading to even more undue anxiety.

Popular DNA tests such as those made by '23andMe' can reveal certain gene mutations passed down from our parents that can point to cancer risk. But doctors fear these results could cause undue stress and anxiety. And many people won't benefit

Dr Sekeres told the Washington Post doctors typically only order a specific test based on whether the information from those tests will actually lead to a meaningful difference in their care.

If they know the disease risk is low and that it may cause added cost and stress to the paint, they might skip it.

He said: When it comes to at-home tests, I advise my patients to think like a doctor in this way.

If the results are negative, the person will likely breathe a sigh of relief, and their stress will end there, even though that negative result does not mean they will never get cancer.

But if the test shows a positive result, how might that change their daily life, Dr Sekeres asked.

Will you tell your children of your genetic predisposition? Will you slash your alcohol intake and stop smoking to minimize your risk? Will you follow a strict clean-eating regimen and exercise for 30 minutes or more daily? Will you remember every single day before leaving the house to slather yourself in sunscreen?

Dr Sekeres said: If the answer to these questions is no, you probably should not order the test.

According to the National Cancer Institute, people who find they dont carry a genetic variant that others in their family do can engender survivors guilt,' which can cause extreme shame and a false sense that a negative outcome could have been prevented.

And inconclusive results can cause uncertainty and stress.

There is also the risk of false-positive results, which can lead to stress and the financial cost of getting adequate follow-up testing ordered by a physician.

A 2018 report revealed a staggering 40 percent of raw data from direct-to-consumer genetic tests produced false positives.

And just because a test result might show a certain mutation, that does not mean the person is destined to develop cancer, though it does indicate an increased risk.

Anyone who sees a mutation on the BRCA1 gene, for instance, is likely to become extremely distressed. Having a BRCA mutation does not make cancer a foregone conclusion. Rather, having the mutation increases cancer risk by 45 to 85 percent.

At-home tests, which take into consideration a person's ethnicity, have another major shortcoming: they only look for DNA changes passed down from parents. But, genes can undergo major changes throughout our lives.

About 90 percent of cancer mutations occur during a persons lifetime due to factors like aging, environmental stressors, and random errors in cell division and growth, compared to around 10 percent of cancer genes passed down from our parents.

Dr Sekeres said: It can take decades to acquire the mutations that cause cancer, and thus the reason most cancer is diagnosed in older adults, at a median age of 66 years in the United States.

At-home genetic tests only detect gene mutations passed down from our parents, even though the vast majority of cancers are caused by mutations that occur throughout people's lifetimes

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Just three to five percent of colorectal cancer cases are linked to an inherited gene change. The remaining 95 to 97 percent, meanwhile, are caused by acquired mutations.

About five to 10 percent of breast cancer cases are thought to be hereditary, meaning that they result directly from gene changes. That means roughly 90 percent of cases are caused by acquired mutations.

But the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are perhaps the most well-known mutated genes that increase womens susceptibility to breast cancer and ovarian cancer, as well as prostate cancer in men.

About 1 in 400 people in the general population carry one of these genes, but the rate is higher among those of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, with approximately 1 in 50 people affected.

The MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2 gene mutations can lead to colorectal cancer, gastric, ovarian, and endometrial cancers and are colloquially known as Lynch syndrome. Almost one in 300 people have one of these mutations.

And TP53, which leads to a wide range of conditions including breast, bone, soft tissue, brain, adrenal gland, and blood cancers, is known is Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Around one in 5,000 people have inherited this variant.

Of those three, 23&me only tests for BRCA mutations.

Dr Sekeres said: If you do test positive for a genetic mutation, the good news is that, while genetic mutations can place us at higher risk of developing cancer, there are interventions we can make to mitigate that risk.

Talk to your doctor about the best plan for you, which may include early screening and taking medications such as oral contraceptives or aspirin.
If you cant smell your shampoo and soap in the shower, it might be time to schedule an appointment with a neurologist.

Anosmia, or the loss of sense of smell, has been linked to dementia and can be an early sign of Alzheimers disease, Lewy Body dementia, and Parkinsons disease.

This symptom can come on years, even a decade, before a person receives a dementia diagnosis.

A loss of smell doesn't necessarily mean dementia, and there are more common reasons for a decrease in the sense, like the common cold, flu, sinus infections, allergies, and Covid.

Dementia is neurodegenerative, meaning it causes continuous brain atrophy over time.

And because our sense of smell and other senses are configured in the brain, the area that governs smell can become permanently damaged.

Around three percent of Americans over 40 lack a sense of smell, but exact figures are difficult to come by due to a lack of research.

Additionally, like dementia, the odds of experiencing a loss of sense of smell increase exponentially with age.

A lack of a sense of smell could be an early sign of dementia/Alzheimer's disease. As the brain atrophies due to the neurodegenerative disorder, the area of the brain that dictates our sense of smell deteriorates

About four percent of people aged 40 to 49 experience olfactory dysfunction, while the rate increases to 10 percent for those aged 50 to 59.

In the 60 to 69 age group, 13 percent lack a sense of smell, and the prevalence rises further to 25 percent for people aged 70 to 79.

By the age of 80 and older, nearly 39 percent of individuals are affected by this condition.

Dr. Fouzia Siddiqui, MD, neurologist and sleep center medical director for Sentara RMH Medical Center, said: An increased risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimers disease dementia has been identified in subjects with olfactory dysfunction.

Odor identification has been identified as a useful screening tool that predicts conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimers disease dementia.

A 2023 study followed more than 2,400 participants for an average of nearly eight years, tracking their sense of smell and its relationship with dementia.

Anosmia, or complete loss of smell, was found to be associated with nearly a threefold higher risk of developing dementia.

Hyposmia, which refers to a reduced sense of smell, was linked to a 1.76 to 1.85 times increased risk of dementia.

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In addition, individuals who self-reported severe olfactory dysfunction were also at a higher risk, with those reporting very poor smell function showing a 2.56-fold increased risk of developing dementia.

Dr. Meredith Bock, MD, a board-certified neurologist and chief medical officer at Remo Health, said: The process of neurodegeneration that causes dementia can also affect sensation and sensory processing related to smell, making it harder for them to recognize familiar scents like their favorite shampoo or body wash.

If this problem is distressing, particularly in an older adult, its a good idea to seek out professional help from a doctor, Dr Bock said. Once in the doctors office, they can order cognitive tests to see if neurological decline could be causing the lack of smell.

Dr Bock added: Unfortunately, if the loss of smell and taste is due to a neurodegenerative disorder, such as Alzheimers disease or Parkinsons disease, it does not come back.
The chief executive of Elementis will stand down after nine years in charge, following criticism of his leadership by some shareholders.

Paul Waterman, 60, intends to depart the chemicals business, which produces ingredients for deodorants and skin creams, by its annual general meeting in April 2025.

His tenure at Elementis, initially founded in 1844 as a tea merchant, has seen the firm make some major acquisitions, including the antiperspirant ingredient supplier SummitReheis and industrial talc additives producer Mondo Minerals.

However, its trading was severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic as lower vehicle production depressed demand for talcum and restrictions on socialising weakened global cosmetics and deodorant sales.

US-based Minerals Technologies and Innospec made failed takeover bids for the FTSE 250 company in December 2020 and March 2021, respectively.

Last year, investment manager and major Elementis shareholder Franklin Mutual Advisers called for the business to be sold, saying it lacked the 'sufficient size to accomplish its targets'.

Manufacturer: Elementis produces ingredients for deodorants and skin creams

However, Elementis turned down a 160p per share offer from New York-based private equity group KPS Capital Partners in December.

In April, another prominent investor, Gatemore Capital Management, asked Waterman to quit, accusing him of overseeing a period of 'persistent and significant underperformance' caused in part by 'self-inflicted management failures'.

It criticised the Mondo acquisition, saying it had worsened debt and cash flow problems.

Gatemore also noted the firm had delivered 'subpar' shareholder returns since Waterman became chief executive in comparison to its peers despite receiving multiple takeover offers.

'We believe that many of Elementis' current problems are self-inflicted and demonstrate a continued failure of judgement of the company's top leadership team, most notably the CEO,' Gatemore wrote.

Born in Michigan, Waterman joined Elementis after a long stint working for BP, where he was head of its lubricants business and operations in Australia and New Zealand.

He also led the oil supermajor's response to the Texas City refinery explosion in 2005, which killed 15 people and cost BP $3billion in damages and legal settlements.

Before BP, Waterman worked for the defunct British energy producer Burmah Castrol, as well as Dettol owner Reckitt Benckiser and Kraft Foods - now Mondelez International.

Waterman said the company is 'now well positioned for future success as a result of our focused strategy implementation and the commitment of a very talented Elementis team'.

He added: 'I am confident that performance will further improve through 2025 and 2026, making now an appropriate time for a leadership transition.'

Elementis shares were 1.5 per cent higher at 137p on Monday morning and have grown by around 10 per cent in the past 12 months.
Shein bosses will face a grilling from investors over the next few weeks as they seek to drum up support for a controversial 50billion stock market listing.

The Chinese fashion giant will hold a roadshow to convince shareholders to back its initial public offering (IPO) in London, planned for early next year.

But growing questions over its business practices mean that chairman Donald Tang and billionaire founder Chris Xu are likely to face a gruelling round of questions from institutional investors.

Influence: Georgia Toffolo in Shein. The Chinese fashion giant Shein will hold a roadshow to convince shareholders to back its IPO in London, planned for early next year

Regulators still need to give the listing the go-ahead after opposition was raised from both human rights groups and corporate organisations.

Russ Mould, investment director at broker AJ Bell, said: One can only imagine the number of questions from prospective investors, given uncertainties around business practices, supply chains, corporate governance, alleged intellectual property infringement, costs, margins and tariffs.

All these need to be answered before Shein has a chance of getting its IPO away.

Under normal circumstances, Sheins position as a fast-growing retailer expanding across multiple geographies and taking market share from established players would have made it a no-brainer for investors.

However, there is an element of its too good to be true with Shein that makes it a harder investment decision.

Shein is thought to have first filed documents to launch an IPO a year ago, meaning the process is taking longer than usual, Mould added. MPs on the business select committee are also set to scrutinise bosses over forced labour concerns in January.

Shein has insisted it has a zero-tolerance approach to forced labour and that it has increased checks on suppliers.

Even though the listing would be a major boon for London, top money managers have been wary over being caught up in the companys controversies.

The UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association, whose members include Aviva Investors, Schroders and M&G, has said London should not become a listing place of last resort for companies with poor human rights records.

The British Fashion Council has also warned that the planned flotation is a significant concern to the industry.
An Anglo-Australian gold miner has agreed to pay 127million to the Mali government to settle a tax dispute that led to the arrest of the firms British boss.

Resolute Mining has handed over 63million in the first step towards securing the release of its chief executive Terry Holohan and two other senior managers, who are being detained.

Shares in Resolute have tumbled more than 40 per cent since news of Holohans arrest was made public last week, wiping out all the stocks gains from the recent rise in gold prices.

The arrests came amid rising tensions between Mali and Western mining firms. A military junta, which took control of the West African nation in a coup in 2020, is trying to extract more income from the sector.

Detained: Resolute Mining has handed over 63m in the first step towards securing the release of chief exec Terry Holohan (pictured) and two senior managers

Mali is one of Africas top gold producers but is also one of the poorest countries in the world. Last year the government rewrote Malis mining code to channel more revenues into state coffers.

Authorities began renegotiating existing mining contracts under the new law this summer  and the detention of Western executives has started to become a pattern.

Under the updated rules, the state can take a stake of up to 30 per cent in mining projects and an extra 5 per cent later to be given to private Malian investors. Previously the governments ownership was limited to 20 per cent.

Meanwhile, certain levy exemptions have been abolished and firms are being asked to repay back taxes.

Many smaller miners have already signed the updated code but bigger players, such as Sydney and London-listed Resolute and Canadian rival Barrick Gold, are yet to complete the negotiations.

Holohan was in Mali for talks with mining and tax authorities when he was unexpectedly detained on November 8.

The British businessman joined Resolute in 2021 as chief operating officer before being promoted to chief executive the following year, taking over when Stuart Gale abruptly quit.

A mining industry veteran, Holohan had previously worked in Africa for 30 years followed by a decade spent in Asia.

He had flown to Malis capital Bamako to discuss claims made against Resolute related to taxes, customer levies, maintenance, and management of offshore accounts. The company said the claims were unsubstantiated.

Four Barrick executives were detained in the country for four days in September. The New York-listed group was forced to pay 67million related to its ongoing negotiations with the Mali government in October.

The authorities have demanded a total of 277million in back taxes, the Financial Times reported.

Russ Mould, investment director at broker AJ Bell, said: Governments have been trying to increase their share of the value of metals and minerals taken out of mines by companies since time immemorial, so this is not a new trend by any means, even if events in Mali place a fresh focus upon it.

Concern: Shares in Resolute have tumbled more than 40% since news of Holohans arrest was made public last week, wiping out all the stocks gains from the recent rise in gold prices

Resolute, which previously said the tax claims were unsubstantiated, yesterday said that its agreement sets the framework for further detailed discussions with the government regarding the long-term future of the operations in Mali, including migration of the companys assets in Mali to the 2023 Mining Code and maintaining the safety of the companys employees.

The first 63million paid by Resolute will come from existing cash reserves, with the rest of the money to be handed over in the coming months.

The total amount that Resolute has agreed to transfer is more than the entirety of the companys cash reserves. As of October 31, the firm had a net cash balance of 124million.

Resolute said the detained executives remain safe and well and continue to receive support on the ground from the UK and international embassies and consulates.

The company notes that operations on site continue as normal and have not been impacted, a spokesman said yesterday.

Resolutes gold mine in Syama  186 miles south east of Bamako  is the firms largest asset and contributed nearly two-thirds of its annual sales last year.

The company owns an 80 per cent stake in the project, with the rest owned by the Mali government.

Shares in Resolute slipped 5.3 per cent, or 1.1p, to 19.7p yesterday.
Shares in engineering giant Melrose Industries soared after it provided investors with some much-needed reassurance.

The FTSE 100 group, which owns parts maker GKN Aerospace, said revenues rose 7 per cent in the four months to the end of October.

Business was boosted by so-called aftermarket work which includes repairs to engines on fighter jets as well as commercial airliners.

Take-off: Melrose, which owns parts maker GKN Aerospace, said revenues rose 7% in the four months to the end of October

The company, which spun off its car unit and other businesses last year to become a pure-play aerospace supplier, kept its full-year profit forecasts unchanged at between 550million and 570million.

Shares rose 7.6 per cent, or 37.1p, to 526.6p  but remain down around 6 per cent this year having fallen sharply following the publication of disappointing half-year results over the summer.

Production delays at crisis-stricken plane maker Boeing and rival Airbus have taken their toll across the aerospace industry this year.

But in a boost to Melrose, it has forced airlines to keep flying older planes, increasing demand for the aftermarket services and parts it provides.

Russ Mould, investment director at broker AJ Bell, said: There will be genuine relief at a lack of further downgrades at aerospace business Melrose after its warning this summer.

The FTSE 100 added 0.6 per cent, or 45.71 points, to 8109.32 and the FTSE 250 fell by 0.4 per cent, or 81.23 points, to 20395.41.

Having peaked at $93,480 last week, bitcoin slipped back below $90,000. The cryptocurrency has been one of the big winners since Donald Trumps victory in the US presidential election.

Stock Watch - Judges Scientific The rollercoaster ride for investors in Judges Scientific goes on. The company, which buys and develops companies in the scientific instruments sector, said the second half of the year will show progress after a challenging first half. But it warned that a number of orders it was relying on will not come until next year  affecting its figures for this year. Shares plunged 11.6pc, or 1190p, to 9060p.

AstraZeneca received a much-needed boost after its Tagrisso drug was approved by the EU for adults with a type of lung cancer.

The drug has already been approved in countries including the US, China and Japan.

Shares in the company, which have lost around a quarter of their value in recent weeks amid concerns over its operations in China, slid 0.6 per cent, or 63p, to 9915p.

Paul Waterman has bowed to shareholder pressure and agreed to step down as chief executive of FTSE 250 chemicals company Elementis after nine years in the job.

Activist investor Gatemore Capital has been calling for Waterman to be replaced having complained the company has suffered from self-inflicted management failures.

Elementis shares inched down 0.4 per cent, or 0.6p, to 134.4p.

Shares in budget store chain B&M slumped 8.1 per cent, or 30.5p, to a two-year low of 347.9p after analysts at RBC cut their price target to 500p from 550p.

There was no respite for housebuilder Vistry. Brokers at Barclays cut their target for the stock to 615p from 896p. Shares fell 5.6pc, or 39p, to 660p, the lowest level since July 2023.

The shares have more than halved in value since early September as investors stay away following a recent warning that profits will be far lower than expected after the company underestimated the cost of developing certain projects.
A forensic criminologist has revealed the seven chilling stages serial killers go through in horrifying detail.

Laura Brand, who has interviewed more than 50 serial killers, told DailyMail.com she identified these phases while conducting a personality study on many of these murderers over the course of 10 years.

The seven stages range from before they kill a person to during and then after - including the so-called 'fantasy,' 'hunting' and 'capture' phases.

Brand explained that the length of time a serial killer takes to complete a cycle of the various stages can vary widely from a few hours to years.

PHASE 1: FANTASY

Brand explained that the first twisted stage of a serial killer is 'fantasy'.

This is when the person drifts from reality and becomes obsessed with thoughts involving control, dominance and violence.

'Other common themes are aggression, sexual gratification, power and manipulation, revenge and retribution,' Brand explained.

Laura Brand , who has interviewed more than 50 serial killers , told DailyMail.com she identified these phases while conducting a personality study on murderers over ten years

Serial Killer Ted Bundy pictured after he was indicted by a grand jury in Florida. Bundy reported using 'true crime books and true detectives magazines' during phase one, Brand said

To fuel their fantasies, many collect materials such as pornography, violent online content and true crime reports or create artwork, write stories and poems.

During this time, they often become increasingly isolated and withdraw from social interactions. They may also feel rejected.

Brand said the factors that influence fantasy development include childhood trauma or abuse, and mental health issues such as psychopathy and/or narcissism.

She claimed this stage can last between five and 30 years and is typically the longest of the seven cycles.

Notorious serial killers Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy and Jeffrey Dahmer all reported having fantasies involving control and domination, she added.

PHASE 2: PLANNING

The second stage is the preparatory stage, when serial killers begin planning their crimes, Brand told DailyMail.com

They typically research potential victims and identify vulnerable individuals or groups. This might involve online research, and they may build relationships with potential victims or study their routines, Brand explained.

Serial killers also typically scout locations and identify places where they will stage their attacks. They may also devise a contingency plan for unexpected events and decide on what weapons they will use.

'They experience increased excitement and anticipation and a growing sense of control and empowerment,' Brand said. This stage often lasts from one to five years, she added.

Brand (pictured) outside San Quentin's Death Row prison where she has interviewed dozens of murderers

Forensic Criminologist Laura Brand sits next to murderer Lawrence Bittaker in San Quentin's Death Row as he shows her a map of where the bodies of Andrea Hall and Lucinda 'Cindy' Schaefer are located

Serial killer John Wayne Gacy was charged in the slaying of more than 32 young men and boys

PHASE 3: HUNTING

The third stage a serial killer goes through is known as the stalking or hunting stage.

This is when they are actively searching and tracking potential victims, Brand said.

They may follow or watch victims at different locations including transportation hubs and parks. They are usually looking for ways to create opportunities to seize their victim such as by offering rides or assistance.

In this phase, they may utilize technology, such as spyware or GPS tracking, she explained.

They will also typically gather personal information such as addresses and monitor potential victims' online activity.

They may even contact victims by phone, email or a fake online profile on social media.

'They are testing a victims' boundaries,' Brand explained.

Typically, the hunting phase can go on for one to two years, and is a 'favorite' among depraved killers, she added.

PHASE 4: CAPTURE

Brand described the fourth phase as the 'abduction' stage.

This is the horrifying moment a serial killer begins to carry out their plan to abduct or gain control over their victim by way of manipulation, coercion, deception, force, violence, surprise or ambush,' she explained

If a victim is intoxicated or alone, this can create a perfect storm for a killer.

In this stage, the serial killer may utilize restraints such as handcuffs or rope.

Chemical controls may also be used including sedatives and narcotics.

During the abduction, psychological manipulation may also be used, including threats, intimidation and emotional control such as fear and guilt.

This stage, Brand explained, can last for days or weeks and is when the killer experiences 'intense excitement'.

PHASE 5: MURDER

When the serial killers executes their plan it is known as the 'killing' phase and can last for a few minutes or days, Brand said.

Serial killers in history have used all manner of horrific murder methods including blunt force trauma, strangulation, shooting, stabbing, poisoning, drowning and suffocation.

'The motivation can be sexual gratification, control and dominance, financial gain, revenge, retribution or just thrill-seeking,' Brand explained.

At this time serial killers experience an 'intense emotional release and a sense of power and accomplishment that they are fulfilling fantasy-driven desires' she said.

PHASE 6: DISPOSAL

The 'post-murder' stage is when the killer 'disposes of evidence, bodies and other incriminating materials.

They clean or sanitize the crime scene, create alibis or false trails and monitor the progress of any police investigation progress.

During this time, they often experience emotional regression or withdrawal, Brand said.

'They are covering their tracks, and destroying evidence while working to maintain secrecy,' she explained. 'This phase can last hours to days.'

She added that serial killers will often take some type of memento or trophy from the victim to remember the crime.

PHASE 7: REBIRTH

The final horrifying phase is the 'post-offense' stage.

This is when the killer experiences an 'emotional crash' and typically suffers 'potential depression,' Brand explained.

In a twisted turn of events, the killer is in 'need for reassurance and validation,' she said. 'They are also planning their next fantasy or crime to recapture the thrill.'

The 'rebirth' phase varies and can last for years.

Charles Manson (pictured) is classified as a 'spree' not a serial killer, Brand explained. In this 1969 photo, he is being escorted to his arraignment on conspiracy-murder charges in connection with the Sharon Tate murder case

Aileen Wuornos (pictured) is one of the nation's first known female serial killers

Jeffrey Dahmer, aka The Butcher of Milwaukee, is pictured when he was indicted on 17 murder charges, that included men and boys of African or Asian descent, between 1978 and 1991

Brand said that each serial killer's timeline varies.

'Social environment and interpersonal relationships they were having at the time, played a significant factor on how quickly they return back into the cycle,' she said.

A staggering 96 percent of the serial killers she surveyed used 'true detective' magazines during the 'fantasy phase,' she continued.

Most serial killers she surveyed told her they favor the 'planning' and the 'hunting' phase, she said.

They told her it was 'addictive' and gave them a sense of 'euphoria' or a 'high'.

She added that serial killers told her they got the same sensation when they are not caught, and wanted to 'up the thrill for the next time'.
One of the country's most famous roadside attractions lies just off the iconic Route 66 in Texas - but many visitors may not realize that it holds a dark secret.

Known as Cadillac Ranch, around two million tourists flock to this incredible art installation every year. It features ten upside down Cadillacs that are half-buried in the ground and spray-painted with messages in vibrant colors.

Perhaps its most famous visitor over the past five decades was Rihanna, who sparked outrage by leaving a disparaging message about Donald Trump ahead of the 2020 election.

Even more controversially, the Texas millionaire who funded the art project was later accused of abusing teenage boys. Adding to its dark history, one of the artists who designed the installation also met a grisly end.

One of the country's most famous roadside attractions lies just off the iconic Route 66 in Texas - but many visitors may not realize that it holds a dark secret

Perhaps Cadillac Ranch's most famous visitor over the past five decades was Rihanna (pictured), who sparked outrage by leaving a disparaging message about Donald Trump ahead of the 2020 election

The ranch was created by artists Chip Lord, Hudson Marquez and Doug Michels, who were collectively known as Ant Farm, in 1974.

Their project was funded by Texas millionaire Stanley Marsh 3 who gave them $300 per car.

The group then went off for six weeks in search of models made between 1948 and 1961, Texas Monthly reported.

Ant Farm's Marsh-funded project was supposed to show the evolution of the cars' tail fin, with the 1959 model being the highest, symbolizing the peak of the nation's post-war ego.

The group dug out 10 holes on Marsh's property and tipped the cars in nose-first at a 60-degree angle to mimic the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

The project later moved to a secondary location as the town's borders expanded, and it now sits just two miles west in a cow pasture along Interstate 40.

It was the beginning of what would become a huge highway attraction in the Lone Star State that even drew the likes of pop superstar Rihanna in 2020.

Ahead of the presidential election, the musician visited the monument where she brazenly spray-painted 'F**k Trump' in black paint on the roof of one of the cars.

When posting the picture on Instagram she captioned it: 'Art.'

Meanwhile, in 2012, two years before Marsh's death, eight teenage boys sued the rancher-turned-banker, alleging that he plied them with alcohol and gave them cash and cars in return for sexual favors when they were aged between 15 and 17.

Marsh died in March 2014 from pneumonia, with 11 civil cases against him still ongoing.

Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, Rihanna (pictured) visited the monument where she spray-painted: 'F**k Trump' in black paint on the roof of one of the cars

Their project was funded by Stanley Marsh 3 (pictured) - a Texas millionaire accused of sexually abusing teenage boys

The ranch was created by Chip Lord (left), Hudson Marquez (right), and Doug Michels, who were collectively known as Ant Farm, in 1974

The installation marked its 50th Anniversary on June 21 of this year, with Lord and his crew painting the cars gray in celebration.

This was Michels' favorite color and was a tribute to him in the wake of his death during a solo climb in Australia in June, 2003.

He had been climbing to a whale observation spot in Eden when he fell aged 59, according to The Washington Post. His sister Annie Clark identified him to officials by the blue star tattoo on his foot, Texas Monthly reported.

'I like the idea that its eventually just going to disintegrate and be gone,' Lord told Texas Monthly. 'It might take another 50 years.'

The new coat commemorating the anniversary didn't even last 50 minutes.

Before Lord could even get a photo with the freshly painted cars - which was designed to give the installation new life - fans and tourists were already graffitiing them again.

The installation has been an inspiration across pop culture, including Disney's Pixar.

The studio had a 'Cadillac Range' animated in the 2006 'Cars' movie that was meant to imitate the real thing.

The installation has been an inspiration to many, including Disney's Pixar, which had a 'Cadillac Range' animated in the 2006 Cars movie that was meant to imitate the real thing

In 2012, two years before Marsh's death, eight different teenage boys sued the rancher-turned-banker, alleging that he plied them with alcohol and gave them cash and cars for sexual favors

The project has also been referenced in many songs and books, including Bruce Springsteen's 1980 album 'The River', which had a song named after the installation.

The art work also made a cameo in several music videos, including James Brown's 'Living in America' and Cage the Elephant's 'Ain't No Rest for the Wicked'.

The Sex Pistols mentioned Cadillac Ranch in the band's 1990 memoir, where they recounted passing by the artwork, according to The Avalanche-Journal.

In an interview with Open Space by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Lord described the installation as 'our first big hit.'

He recalled that he and his co-artists were all 'car nuts' and loved 'The Book of Cars', where they saw an illustration showing the 'rise and fall of the fin,' he told Open Space.

In an interview with Open Space by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art , Lord recalled that the installation was 'our first big hit'

For the 50th Anniversary, which took place on June 21, Lord and his crew painted the cars gray - Michels' favorite color. But before the artist could even get a photo with the freshly painted cars, fans and tourists were already graffitiing them again

'Curtis [Schreier] made it into rubber stamps, and Hudson [Marquez] made sketches that became our stationary,' he said. 'We understood the ridiculous decorative elements of the fins and their cultural baggage.'
An LA influencer filmed snorting drugs on the street days after allegedly killing an elderly woman in a car crash is now in a coma.

Garrett Bruno, 33, was riding his scooter with no helmet on October 25, when he fell and cracked his skull, leaving him critically-injured in hospital.

Bruno suffered the accident 15 days after allegedly causing the crash that killed Esther Abouab, 83, and six days after DailyMail.com photographed him sniffing white powder he said was ketamine on a sidewalk.

The West Hollywood-based travel influencer, who shocked the LGBT enclave by coming out as a Donald Trump supporter over the summer, was rushed to hospital unconscious. He remains gravely-ill with his parents by his bed, a West Hollywood source told DailyMail.com

Armed cops only learned of Bruno's accident late Friday night when they stormed his $1.1 million rental bungalow to arrest him for Abouab's murder.

Exclusive DailyMail.com images show the moment the dramatic raid took place, with a deputy shouting: 'Sheriff's office, search warrant, come out with your hands up'.

But Bruno was nowhere to be found, with his ex-boyfriend then informing Los Angeles Sheriff's Department of the scooter accident.

Cops left the property empty-handed, with a source telling DailyMail.com that prosecutors plan to file a second-degree murder charge.

This is the moment armed LA Sheriff's deputies stormed the West Hollywood home of influencer Garrett Bruno Friday night to arrest him for the murder of Esther Abouab, 83

Cops discovered that Bruno, pictured snorting drugs outside his home on October 19, is now in a coma after falling off his scooter and cracking his skull on October 25

Bruno is pictured in happier times in a photo uploaded to his popular Instagram page. He faces a second-degree murder charge over the crash which killed Esther Abouab

The distressing sequence of events began on October 10, when Bruno slammed his Ford Escape SUV into the side of a Ford Expedition in which Abouab was traveling with her husband Joe.

Bruno was traveling north on North Spaulding Avenue, a few blocks from his home, when he smashed into Abouab's car as it drove along Fountain Avenue.

The speed limit on the street where Bruno was driving was 25mph, although the force of the impact suggests his car was traveling faster.

Abouab was rushed to hospital where she later died. Family members including her famed restaurateur son Greg Morris are said to be distraught by her death.

Joe Abouab suffered horrific injuries but has since been released. Bruno was photographed covered in blood and handcuffed to a gurney moments after the accident and was discharged from hospital a few days later.

A few days later, Bruno suffered the first of two scooter accidents when he went for a ride, fell off and broke his jaw. Three metal screws were inserted into his injury to help him recover.

On Saturday October 19, DailyMail.com photographed a cut and bruised Bruno snorting drugs on the street outside his home at 11am in the morning.

The influencer, who was 61,000 followers, was snapped unscrewing a black vial and lifting a small metal spoon filled with white powder to his nose, then sniffing it.

Cops are seen examining the trunk of a black Tesla outside the home of Garrett Bruno Friday night

Cops at the $1.1 million West Hollywood bungalow Bruno shared with his ex-boyfriend. They left the property empty-handed and did not make any arrests

Bruno is seen in another image shot by DailyMail.com on October 19, loading a small spoon with what he said was prescription ketamine before snorting it

Esther Abouab, pictured here, died when Bruno's Ford Escape slammed into the Ford Expedition she was traveling in on October 10. She is the mother of famed LA restaurateur Greg Morris

Bruno is pictured covered in blood in the immediate aftermath of the car crash, which happened at a dangerous intersection a few blocks from his Hollywood home

The car being driven by Bruno is pictured in the aftermath of the October 10 horror smash

The Ford SUV that Abouab was a passenger in was pushed into a parking garage by the force of the impact

Bruno is pictured on vacation on his GarrettTravels Instagram account, which has 61,000 followers

On October 22, Bruno took to Instagram to claim that the powder was a ketamine prescription he had been given to treat depression and anxiety.

He also addressed Abouab's death, writing: 'I am very sorry for the loss of this life, but the cause of the accident is still under investigation.'

Bruno shared a photo of his mother paying him a surprise visit from his home in Florida on October 24, the day before his scooter accident.

He also posted a video of himself shirtless, working out at an outdoor gym shortly before he fell off the two wheeler and cracked his skull.

Bruno's lawyer Ambrosio Rodriguez told DailyMail.com last month that a toxicology test performed after the smash had come back negative.

Rodriguez has been contacted for further comment on Bruno's scooter accident and the charges he faces.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has yet to share any official findings.

Bruno was cited by Los Angeles Sheriff's Department deputies for a misdemeanor the week before Abouab's killing after an 'altercation with a firefighter according to the WeHo Times.

Bruno, who has 61,000 Instagram followers, is seen visibly injured last month, around 10 days after Abouab's death. He faces 15 years to life behind bars if convicted of her murder

Bruno is pictured in happier times at the beach in Fire Island Pines

Bruno shared an Instagram screenshot claiming the powder he'd been photographed snorting was prescription ketamine

Bruno went on to issue this statement on the collision which saw him brand it an accident

The influencer shared workout footage on his Instagram page hours before the scooter accident which has left him comatose

Los Angeles Sheriff's Office deputies are filmed at Garrett Bruno's home Friday night during an operation intended to arrest him

No further details on that incident have been given.

He also picked up a slew of moving violations in his home state of Florida in 2012, one of which saw his license suspended.

A second-degree murder charge carries a sentence of 15 years to life. Prosecutors are also preparing to file charges for reckless driving, causing bodily injury and battery over the alleged attack on the firefighter.

Bruno amassed tens of thousands of followers with glossy photographs of himself globetrotting to multiple glitzy destinations.

He came out as a Donald Trump supporter shortly before the fatal accident, further stoking controversy among the liberal-leaning gay community in LA.
At least 96 Palestinians killed by Israeli bombing across Gaza -- Hamas

Xinhua) 10:13, November 18, 2024

GAZA, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- At least 96 Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombing in the northern and central Gaza Strip in the past hours, the Hamas-run Gaza media office said on Sunday.

The Israeli army bombed several residential buildings in Beit Lahia on Saturday morning, killing more than 72 people. Additional bombings in the Nuseirat and al-Bureij camps killed 24 people, the media office said in a statement.

The attacks also left about 60 people wounded and more than 15 missing, it added.

The targeted buildings housed dozens of displaced civilians, most of whom were children and women, the office said.

The Israeli army has not commented on these reports.

Earlier on Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces said that its air force had struck over 160 militant targets belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The strikes are part of Israel's ongoing large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza, launched in response to a Hamas rampage on Oct. 7, 2023. The attack killed around 1,200 Israelis and led to 250 individuals being taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 43,799, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Saturday.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
San Jose police shot and wounded a person accused of threatening officers with a knife as they investigated a reported family disturbance. Jacom Stephens/Getty Images

San Jose police said they shot and critically injured a man Sunday night who threatened officers with a kitchen knife during a domestic violence incident.

At approximately 7:46 p.m., officers responded to a report of domestic violence at a home on the 60th block of Sutter Street. The caller, a woman, said her husband was intoxicated and had thrown dishes at her in the kitchen, prompting her and her four children to lock themselves in a bedroom, San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph said at a news conference Monday afternoon.

The woman told the 911 dispatcher that her husband, Heraclio Mejia, 44, a San Jose resident, had tried to pry open the bedroom door and threatened to kill her, and the dispatcher heard children crying in the background, Joseph said.

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Officers arrived and found another family member outside suffering from a slash wound on his arm. The family member told police he had intervened in a fight between the woman and Mejia, who had tried to assault the woman with a knife, Joseph said. The family member said he disarmed Mejia, but incurred the slash wound in the process, the chief added.

After escorting the woman and her children outside, officers entered the home and found Mejia in a small bedroom, hiding under a pile of clothing. When officers removed some of the clothing, Mejia emerged, armed with a kitchen knife, Joseph said. Though officers told him to drop the knife and started to leave the room, Mejia advanced on them with the knife raised, the chief said.

An officer discharged a Taser at Mejia, but he blocked it with a blanket and kept advancing with the knife, coming within a few feet of one officer. One officer then shot and struck Mejia, who barricaded himself in the bedroom as officers withdrew, Joseph said.

Mejia stayed in the bedroom for several hours, despite officers' attempts to negotiate with him to surrender, Joseph said. Eventually, a team of officers including tactical medics and a police K-9 entered the bedroom and took Mejia into custody at approximately 11:50 p.m. He was transported to an area hospital and was in critical but stable condition as of Monday afternoon, Joseph said.

Mejia has a history of domestic violence and was in violation of a restraining order against him from his wife when he was at the home Sunday night, Joseph said. Officers are not sure why or how Mejia entered the home, and it is unclear whether Mejia was under the influence of narcotics in addition to alcohol, the chief said.

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Joseph said that officers attempted deescalation tactics and discharged a less-lethal weapon, the department-issued Taser, before shooting Mejia.

The officers gave the suspect several commands which would have allowed him to safely surrender and be taken into custody, Joseph said, adding: Its not entirely within our ability to always ensure a perfect ending to these very difficult situations.

The incident is San Joses fifth officer-involved shooting this year and is under investigation by the police departments homicide unit and the Santa Clara County District Attorneys Office, Joseph said.

The officer who shot Mejia has been a San Jose police officer for six years, Joseph said, but he did not release the officers name. All the officers who responded to the incident had their body cameras activated, he said.

Its clear to me the lives of this brave survivor and her children were all in grave danger last night. A suspect with a history of violence did not hesitate to assault his wife and stab a family member, Joseph said. He certainly could have inflicted more harm if not for these officers who responded to their call for help.

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When you Google 'Kay Manuel' the first thing that comes up is the news stories.

'Porn star evicted after Schoolies stunt.' 'OnlyFans star beds 55 Schoolies in one day.' You know, the sort of scandalous coverage that saw Bonnie Blue's visa torn up.

The next thing that comes up is, well, her adult content - mainly collaborations with recent high school graduates and 'spontaneous encounters' with Uber drivers.

And if you keep clicking through the search results you get to the rumours.

Yes, the rumours. There are people out there who claim to have evidence that Kay - who says she has slept with 75 teenage school leavers in her first week on the Gold Coast - is a transgender woman.

When I meet with Kay at a cafe near her accommodation, she squirms at the mention of it, but I get the feeling she knew the question was coming. After all, there have been blogs, Reddit posts and YouTube videos about her supposedly being born male.

She firmly denies the gossip - and tells me where the hurtful rumour came from.

'I think it is because I have a deep voice,' she explains, adding that if she were trans she would not conceal it.

Kay Manuel, an OnlyFans performer, is currently on the Gold Coast filming group sex scenes with 18- and 19-year-old Schoolies. She has denied online rumours she is a transgender woman

'If I was trans, of course I would be communicating that with the men I film with.'

When I present her with photos from an old Facebook account of a young man who online sleuths claim is Kay in a former life, she laughs and says the resemblance is just a coincidence.

'We look very, very similar, but no, that's not me and no, I am not trans.'

She also says there's 'no truth' to claims she was nominated for 'best transgender porn star' for two years running at an industry awards show.

Kay tells me it was a mistake on the part of the show organisers.

'I talked to the awards about it, yeah, and they just said that it was false because I didn't win anything,' she clarifies.

With the false rumours out of the way - and it is not suggested otherwise - our chat turns towards a more familiar controversy: the OnlyFans stars - including Kay, Bonnie Blue and Annie Knight - filming content with teenage boys at events like Schoolies, Freshers' Week and Spring Break.

These 'barely legal' group sex events have led to accusations of 'predatory' behaviour with some critics saying the 18- and 19-year-old boys taking part don't fully understand what they are consenting to.

'I think it is because I have a deep voice,' she explains, adding: 'If I was trans, of course I would be communicating that with the men I film with'

Kay tells me the consent process for her Schoolies content is a lot more involved then just ticking a box and signing a form

But Kay, who has already bedded dozens of Schoolies this week, disagrees. She tells me the consent process is a lot more involved than just ticking a box and signing a form.

Participants must provide identification showing they are over 18, undertake a sobriety test, and sign multiple consent forms for the different platforms Kay uses to distribute her adult content. They can also conceal their identity and have the option to withdraw permission once filming has concluded.

'What a lot of people don't know is that my content is filmed during the day because Schoolies need to be sober to film,' she explains.

'Consent is a really big thing so I understand why people are outraged by it.

'There is an initial meeting - basically a consultation - and I have all the different consent forms laid out and it takes between 20 to 40 minutes to get through that paperwork.'

Kay's around-the-clock operation involves more than just herself; she employs 25 people, including videographers, assistants and security

The men have the option to show as little or as much of their bodies as they want during the scene, which means they can remain semi-anonymous.

She says eight out of 10 men opt to keep their face and identifiable tattoos disguised. The teens who take part also receive the footage afterwards so they can see for themselves if they are identifiable.

'The men have the right not to go through with filming, and I have turned a guy away before because I didn't think he was continuously consenting even though he was saying yes to everything,' adds Kay.

If a participant changes their mind during or after filming, they can withdraw their consent and the footage featuring them will not be shared. If it has already been posted, it will be edited or removed.

'I had two men I filmed with last year applying for government jobs who contacted me asking me not to post the footage, so I didn't,' she tells me.

Kay's around-the-clock operation involves more than just herself; she employs 25 people, including videographers, assistants and security.

She explains content creating is more about self-marketing and administration than actual sex work. Health and safety also takes up a lot of her time.

'I take [STI] tests every day. The industry standard is fortnightly but I do so every day,' she tells me.

Right as she says this, she notices semen on her arm and casually tells me it's 'left over from the 20 men I filmed with this morning'.

She continues: Thankfully I haven't had an STI in 16 months - that's before last year's Schoolies.'

Looking to the future, Kay hopes to continue working in Australia and the U.S., pushing boundaries with her content. She also has plans to use some of her six-figure income to buy an investment property.

'I joined OnlyFans the day I turned 18 and it was the best decision of my life,' she concludes. 'I am money-hungry and sexual.'
QUESTION: Which is the religion that boasts the most deities?

Hinduism has thousands, if not millions, of gods and goddesses, as well as countless minor deities, each representing various aspects of life, nature, virtues and cosmic principles.

This extensive array represents Hinduisms inclusive and flexible approach, which allows for the reverence of local gods within India.

Hinduism recognises a primary trinity (Trimurti) of Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver) and Shiva (the destroyer), along with major deities such as Saraswat and Lakshmi.

Many gods, particularly Vishnu, have numerous avatars (incarnations), each venerated as distinct forms. Ultimately, Hinduisms philosophical schools allow for both monotheistic, polytheistic and pantheistic interpretations, enabling a vast spectrum of divine manifestations.

A. E. Gobin, Harpenden, Beds

Hinduism has thousands, if not millions, of gods and goddesses, as well as countless minor deities, each representing various aspects of life, nature, virtues and cosmic principles

QUESTION: A lot of media attention has been given to Donald Trumps appearance at the Catholic Al Smith dinner, but who was Al Smith?

Al Smith (1873-1944) was a prominent US politician, the first Catholic to secure a major-party US presidential nomination when he ran as the Democratic candidate in 1928 against Herbert Hoover.

Tomorrows questions: Q: Where and when was the last siege of a castle? Shannon Graves, St Helens, Merseyside Q: Has there ever been a British sumo wrestler? Mike Bowden, Winchester, Hants Advertisement

Born in New York City, Smith served four terms as governor of New York

and was known for his progressive policies. The annual Al Smith Dinner was established in 1946 and raises funds for Catholic charities. It also provides a non-partisan platform where presidential candidates mock each other.

The 2024 dinner was a key moment in the presidential race. Donald Trump delivered a hilarious set of jokes while Kamala Harris was a conspicuous no-show. As President-elect Trump pointed out, The last Democrat not to attend this important event was Walter Mondale, and it did not go very well for him. Ronald Reagan beat Mondale with a landslide victory in 1984.

Gareth Moore, Swansea

QUESTION: What is the most surprising dish someone has accidentally ordered at a restaurant?

Further to earlier answers, my wife said that she wanted to try the venison, even though she wasnt sure what it was. I told her that it was deer.

She replied, I dont care how much it costs, I want to try some!

Clive Gladstone, Cullercoats, Tyne and Wear
A lawyer who paid 4,200 for a portrait of Sir Winston Churchill thinking it was a cheap copy accidentally ended up in a scandal because it was the stolen original.

Nicola Cassinelli bought the black-and-white 1941 photograph of Churchill scowling down the lens - named The Roaring Lion - for his small art collection in 2022.

The 34-year-old was pleasantly surprised when his 4,200 bid was accepted and two weeks later - after shelling out 2,000 to get it through customs and shipped to Genoa, Italy, it was his.

He showed it off to houseguests proudly and was 'really happy' with the find which -since 2013 - has been on the Bank of England's 5 note.

But neither the lawyer - or the fine arts seller Sotheby's - knew that it was actually the original and could be worth millions.

Three months after the sale, Sotheby's phoned Mr Cassinelli and asked him to keep it safe in his possession as an investigation was underway.

Intrigued, he searched around online and then discovered he was part of an art heist mystery which had baffled people for years.

It had been nabbed from the hotel lobby of the Fairmont Fairmont Chateau Laurier in January 2022 and secretly trafficked to Europe.

Nicola Cassinelli (pictured right) bought the black-and-white 1941 photograph of Churchill scowling down the lens - named The Roaring Lion - for his small art collection in 2022

A portrait of Churchill, regarded as the 'most famous photo' ever taken of him, was stolen from a posh hotel in Canada by a thief who swapped it with a fake

He said it became a running joke with his friends who visited his home, comparing it to how it must be like owning the Mona Lisa.

He told The Telegraph it was like being in a film, and said he was politely asked by the Canadian Police if he would consider returning the piece after telling him the whole story.

As it hadn't been reported stolen at the time he bought it, it was considered a legitimate sale, he said.

He said: 'I went online and bought a cheap $100 poster of the same photograph and put it in the same spot.

'I promised myself to one day go to Ottawa to see my photograph in the place where I know it should stay, because it had been gifted to the hotel by Yousuf Karsh, it is only right that it remains there.'

Sotheby's refunded him and some of the legal expenses but Mr Cassinelli lost a few thousand euros - however he said this didn't matter to him.

'There was an entire nation searching for it. I just felt it was right to return it. Being Italian, we have had many pieces of art stolen from us, the Mona Lisa in fact has never been given back by France and I know how painful this can be for a populace.'

The portrait of Winston Churchill, regarded as the 'most famous photo' ever taken of the legendary British prime minister, was stolen from a posh hotel in Canada by a thief who swapped it with a fake.

A stamp printed in Canada shows the portrait of Sir Winston Churchill

When Karsh took the picture, it solidified his status as one of the world's foremost photographers

Esteemed Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh took the picture in 1941 after Churchill delivered a rousing wartime speech to the Canadian House of Commons

The heist was executed at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa during the height of the pandemic, and it went undetected for years until a worker noticed that the portrait was askew.

Esteemed Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh took the photo in 1941 after Churchill delivered a rousing wartime speech to the Canadian House of Commons.

By switching the original picture with a copy, the crime was able to go unnoticed.

The fake portrait also bore Churchill's forged autograph, which further disguised its in-authenticity.

When the hotel realised that the photograph might be a fraud, they alerted Jerry Fielder, Karsh's longtime assistant who helped frame and install the portrait over two decades ago.

Believing the picture to be 'very secure' at the hotel, Fielder was shocked when he heard the news.

'I never dreamed that anybody would be able to do this,' he told the Toronto Star.

When Fielder looked at the fake Roaring Lion, he immediately recognised that it was a fraud.

A few moments after examining the forged autograph, Fielder declared that the photograph hanging on the hotel's wall wasn't the original.

He further noted that the quality of the fake portrait, which was little more than a photocopy, was 'awful.'

It is one of the most iconic photographs of Winston Churchill (pictured)

The picture was taken on Canada's Parliament Hill shortly after Churchill had delivered a wartime speech to the Canadian parliament, and just moments after Yousuf Karsh (pictured) famously took a cigar out of the leader's mouth

Ottawa police said that they had tracked the stolen picture to Genoa, Italy, where it was lawfully purchased by an art collector - Mr Cassinelli.

Although investigators originally speculated that the heist bore the mark of a team of professionals, they have since charged one man in connection with the crime.

Jeffrey Iain James Wood, from Powassan, Ontario, was arrested over the theft and is facing charges including forgery, theft and trafficking.

Wood, 43, now faces six charges related to forgery, theft, and possession of stolen property, according to the Toronto Star.

Art experts said that it is incredibly rare for police to recover a piece once it's stolen.

The portrait is celebrated for its complex composition and chiaroscuro lighting. When Karsh took the photo, it solidified his status as one of the world's foremost photographers.

But The Roaring Lion is arguably more famous for its depiction of Churchill, who is scowling at the camera.

Right before he took the picture, Karsh snatched a cigar out of the prime minister's mouth, saying that the smoke would interfere with the image. Karsh said this is what prompted the pugnacious expression on Churchill's face.

Taken at a crucial point during the war, the photograph is also significant for the historical context in which it was captured. In this light, Churchill's scowl comes to represent national strength, defiance, and resolution.
Self-proclaimed 'misogynist' influencer Andrew Tate has used a homophobic slur to mock the haka after the war dance was used to protest a contentious bill in New Zealand's parliament.

Tate, who is currently under house arrest in Romania facing human trafficking charges, shared his thoughts on the protest last Friday.

'The Haka is gay,' Tate, 37, wrote.

'Sorry New Zealand. All that screaming and dancing just to get owned by gunpowder.

Tate then attempted an approximation of what the haka sounded like to him.

'WAKKKAAATAAA RAKKKAATTAAA REEEEYAAA REEEYAAA *Boom* Dead.'

Many of those commenting on Tate's post expressed outrage at his attack on the haka and tried to educate him on its cultural and historical significance.

'Mocking the haka, a sacred Maori tradition, shows a lack of respect for its deep cultural meaning,' one person wrote.

Self-proclaimed 'misogynist' influencer Andrew Tate has used a homophobic slur to mock the haka

Hauraki Waikato MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke of the Te Pati Maori Party erupted into a haka (pictured) to protest a Bill re-interpreting a historial treaty

'It's not about 'screaming and dancing'it's a symbol of unity, pride, and strength. Let's engage with cultures respectfully.'

'That's a pretty disrespectful take on a powerful cultural tradition,' a second added

'The haka is about strength, unity, and respect, not something to mock.

'A Maori bloke would absolutely fold you like a lawn chair,' a third said.

The haka protest was held to oppose a controversial bill that seeks to reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty between the British and the Indigenous Maori people.

First signed in 1840 between the British Crown and more than 500 Maori chiefs, the Treaty of Waitangi lays down how the two parties agreed to govern.

The interpretation of clauses in the document still guides legislation and policy today.

However, the ACT party, a junior partner in the ruling centre-right coalition government, claims it grants Maori greater legal and political rights and its bill will bring an end to what they describe as 'division by race'.

As parliamentarians gathered for a preliminary vote on the bill on Thursday, Te Pati Maori MPs stood and began the haka.

Parliament was briefly suspended as people in the gallery joined in, and shouting drowned out others in the chamber.

The Treaty Principles Bill has now passed its first reading with the support of the National, NZ First and ACT parties.

It will return to Parliament next year to be voted on again.

Up to 8,000 demonstrators are currently marching across New Zealand's North Island in opposition to the bill.

A haka is a ceremonial war dance performed in Maori culture involving chanting and vigorous body movements.

There are multiple different kinds of hakas that can be performed for different occasions.

For example, the New Zealand rugby team - the All Blacks - perform a haka before each test match.

Tate, who has 10million followers on social media, is awaiting trial on human trafficking charges along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women.

The disgraced brothers who are dual US-UK nationals, are also wanted in the UK, where they are facing allegations of sexual assault.

The pair have denied the allegations made against them in both the UK and Romania.

Tate has previously described himself as a misogynist.
Aussies have praised Aldi after a customer revealed the very affordable cost of a large haul of groceries that would last them months.

The Melbourne shopper shared a photo of their impressive buy to Reddit on Sunday revealing they did not normally shop at the German supermarket chain.

They were immediately converted after spending just $160 during their visit.

'I was pretty impressed by the amount of different proteins I was able to get for a good price,' they wrote.

The haul included a bag of eight pieces of salmon fillets, a bag of Basa fish fillets, a bag of raw prawns, a box of tempura battered fish, prosciutto wrapped chicken breast, a bulk pack of chicken thighs and mince.

Yoghurt, feta, chocolate, almond milk and toilet paper were also spotted among the mix.

The shopper added they didn't buy many fruit and vegetables, as they purchase them from a local market, which normally costs them between $10 and $15.

Incredibly, the shopper said the groceries would last a long time.

A Melbourne resident who normally doesn't shop at Aldi was surprised by all the protein they could purchase at the supermarket for $160 (pictured)

'I live by myself and the meat/fish is probably enough to last a couple of months of dinners,' they wrote.

'Obviously would need to top up fruit/veg and staples as they run out during that time.'

Many agreed the discount supermarket was better value than Coles and Woolworths, with some saying they only shop at Aldi now.

'Only place to shop,' one wrote.

'Amazing,' another said.

A third shopper added: 'Im an Aldi convert, my husband and I were spending roughly $300+ a week at Coles and with Aldi were now lucky to hit $200 a week.'

'I swear I get a basket of groceries from Woolworths/Coles and its $100.'

'Me and my partner did a weekly shop today, $59. Aldi is so good if you can cook the right meals!' another wrote.

'Went to Aldi for the first time today, grabbed a bunch of meat and some ingredients for meal prep and was very surprised when it came under $70!' one said.

'I reckon the same shop at Coles wouldve cost $100-$120. Needless to say from now Ill on Ill be a regular.'

The post comes after cost-of-living pressures are at an all-time high for Aussies.

A survey earlier in the year found one-in-five Australians had a second job to make ends meet, with a further 18 per cent doing more overtime so they can afford the basics.

Adding to their frustration, the Reserve Bank kept the cash rate untouched at a 12-year high of 4.35 per cent on November 5.

The Reserve Bank has also warned it could still raise rates, despite borrowers in Canada, New Zealand, the European Union, U.S. and UK already getting some relief this year.
Woolworths has come under fire after revelations emerged one of its popular supermarket-branded products is made overseas.

Australians were left furious after discovering their peanut butter was made in China and Argentina rather than locally.

The label of Woolworths Essentials Peanut Butter Crunchy 500g reveals the product is made in China and Woolworths Smooth Peanut Butter 500g is made in Argentina.

An angry customer shared a photo of the discovery to Facebook.

'Woolworths peanut putter made in China. With China's track record of pollution, poor food standards and plastic in rice! I'll give this a miss,' they wrote.

Social media users were quick to slam Woolworths for not supporting Australian growers.

'Who goes to Woolworths anymore anyway, they don't look after the average Aussie, why look after them. Australia made Australia owned when we can,' one wrote.

'We should always buy Australian made. Supermarkets shouldn't be permitted to sell rubbish from OS.'

Woolworths has come under fire after revelations emerged one of its popular supermarket-branded products is made overseas

'How on earth can we support our Aussie farmers when our leading supermarkets won't promote our Aussie products. I sure as s**t won't and don't buy this,' another wrote.

Other customers said this is the reason why they don't shop at Woolworths.

'Most homebrand stuff in that supermarket is from China and also lots of brand things, thats why l don't shop there,' tone wrote.

Other Facebook users offered advice: 'If it's made in China leave it on the shelf!'

A Woolworths spokesman told Daily Mail Australia the supermarket stocked a range of 'both Australian-made and international made peanut butter'.

'While some customers will always pick Australian made first, we know that for others struggling with the cost of living, having a cheaper option available means they wont have to go without,' he said.

'We provide country of origin labelling to help customers make an informed choice.'

Woolworths previously carried a peanut butter brand that was made from at least 98 per cent Australian ingredients, but decided to remove it from their shelves, prompting outrage.

The popular Farmers Co peanut butter was removed from shelves in 2020 due to poor sales.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, China is Australia's biggest trading partner for both the export and import of goods.

For the 2023 calendar year, imports from China were valued at $108.137million.

The US was second, with imports valued at $65.107million.
Axed ABC journalist Antoinette Lattouf has taken aim at Aussies who were left outraged at the cancellation of the Myer Christmas window display.

The department store opted for a scaled-back rendition of its traditional grand opening in Melbourne on Sunday after pro-Palestine activists threatened to interrupt the unveiling in the days leading up to the event.

Protesters then called off their disruptive plans, but a small handful still turned up on the weekend as part of a 'Morons 4 Palestine' protest.

The demonstration struck a chord with Aussies who described it as 'disappointing' with protestors interrupting a 70-year-old tradition.

Lattouf mocked families that had been left outraged by the protest in a scathing post on social media platform X.

'Im loving watching Boomers spiral over the Myer Christmas display,' she wrote.

'Leave children alone! Protestors are ruining our way of life! We cant even celebrate Xmas & Jesus! Ummwhere was Jesus born? Which childrens lives are actually being ruined right now?'

The small pro-Palestine demonstration was organised by an activist who goes under the pseudonym Amy Settal.

Axed ABC journalist Antoinette Lattouf has taken aim at Aussies who were left outraged at the cancellation of the Myer Christmas window display

She announced she was determined to hold a rally after organisers announced the much-larger protest would not be going ahead.

'The planned disruptions at the Myer windows might have been cancelled, but we will still be there,' she said.

'Bring your bubbles and head to the Bourke St mall now!!' she said.

A small handful of protesters heeded Ms Settal's call and turned up on Sunday.

They were heard chanting slogans including 'bombs are dropping, while you're shopping' as they blew bubbles through the street.

One of them was wearing clown facepaint and the organiser, Settal, was proudly touting a 'Morons 4 Palestine' sign.

They did not deter Aussie families from visiting Myer for its Christmas unveiling, which was guarded by a line of police.

On Monday, Ms Settal told Daily Mail Australia that it was the police who were intimidating, rather than the protesters.

'The children attending the Myer windows were more frightened of the massive line-up of police than they were of 8 individuals blowing bubbles and chanting.'

When asked why she had adopted a pseudonym, Settal said: 'I would prefer you didn't know my name at all, not because I am trying to hide it, but because it doesn't matter.

'What matters is Palestine, and Sudan, and Congo, and the First Nations of this stolen, violently colonised continent.'

Settal insisted she used a pseudonym for her own safety and her Instagram had been flooded with Islamophobic and violent messages.

One mother at the Myer windows said the protesters were 'disappointing,' while another maintained they had not ruined the Christmas spirit.

The 'Morons 4 Palestine' protest drew its name from comments made by premier Jacinta Allan earlier in the week when she called demonstrators morons.

Pro-Palestine protesters then called off their disruptive plans, but a small handful still turned up on the weekend as part of a 'Morons 4 Palestine ' protest

Lattouf on Sunday took to social media to mock the outrage over the cancelled event

Lattouf was fired by the ABC in December 2023 over her posts on the war in Gaza.

The 40-year-old was pulled off the air just three days into her week-long stint as a fill-in host for ABC Radio after she reposted a Human Rights Watch video about starvation being used as a tool of war in Gaza.

She launched legal action against the ABC at the Fair Work Commission claiming the decision was political, based on her stance on Palestine and her Lebanese heritage.

Lattouf's legal team argued the ABC breached its disciplinary policies in its enterprise agreement by sacking her.

The ABC claimed she breached the organisation's social media policy around impartiality and she was not actually sacked because she was paid for the full week.

However, the Fair Work Commission ruled in June that Lattouf was indeed sacked by the national broadcaster.

She is now pursuing an unlawful termination case in the Federal Court.

The ABC's total legal expenses in the case against Lattouf are still unknown.
Mike Johnson called Matt Gaetz 'one of the brightest minds in Washington' while insisting a report on the former Florida congressman's alleged sexual misconduct with underage girls should be kept secret.

The Speaker of the House went on multiple Sunday shows to claim House Ethics Committee should not release the report on Gaetz after he was chosen by President Trump to head the Justice Department.

'He's one of the brightest minds in Washington or anywhere for that matter,' Johnson said about Gaetz, who has been accused of having sex with a minor at a house party in Orlando in 2017.

'He knows everything about how the Department of Justice has been weaponized and misused.'

Johnson believes that Gaetz strikes fear not because of the allegations against him but because he could fix a broken system.

'And he will be a reformer. And I think that's why the establishment in Washington is so shaken up about this pick,' Johnson said.

Gaetz, 42, resigned his seat in the Republican-controlled House on Wednesday, hours after Trump selected him and two days before the Ethics Committee was expected to release its report, which also looked into allegations of illegal drug use. He denies any wrongdoing.

On Fox News Sunday, Shannon Bream asked Johnson whether the full report should be publican, emphasizing that not only Democrats, but Republicans like Texas Senator John Cornyn wants the report released as well.

Mike Johnson continues to insist the House Ethics Committee should not release the report on alleged sexual misconduct with underage girls by Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz

Gaetz, 42, resigned his seat in the Republican-controlled House on Wednesday, hours after Trump unveiled his choice of the lawmaker and two days before the House Ethics Committee was expected to release its report

Johnson believes letting the report come out would set a dangerous precedent going forward.

'I'm afraid that would open a Pandora's box because the jurisdiction of the ethics committee is limited to those serving in the institution.'

He said the tradition holding things together being broken could see the House of Representatives go after anyone they deem undesirable.

'With regard to the report there's a very important reason for the tradition and the rule that we have almost always followed and that is we don't issue investigations and ethics reports on people who are not members of Congress,' he said.

His comments came as Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin became the latest GOP Senate member to ask that it be at least given to the Senate as evidence in confirmation hearings.

'I hope that the Ethics Committee will stick by our tradition and protocol for the reasons I just articulated. I think this would take us down a path there where I don't know how we'd return,' Johnson continued .

'If the House Ethics Committee and its resources, which are significant, substantial, could be used to investigate people who are not in the House, then where would that end?'

Ultimately, Johnson had nothing but praise for his longterm House colleague Gaetz and fully endorsed him for the job.

'The reason that Matt Gaetz is such an exciting pick to so many people is because he will go in and reform the Department of Justice. It desperately needs it.'

Johnson believes that Gaetz strikes fear not because of the allegations against him but because he could fix a broken system

His comments came as Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin became the latest GOP Senate member to ask that it be at least given to the Senate as evidence in confirmation hearings

Mullin told NBC's 'Meet the Press' that the Senate, which holds the authority to confirm or deny Trump's nominations to high-level positions, needs to see the report.

'The senate should have access to that,' Mullin said, declining to say whether he believed the report should be made public.

John Cornyn said that he simply wants to have all the available information before voting.

'The President's role is to make the nomination, but we need to have complete vetting of the nominees, not only so we know that the nominee is qualified, but also to protect the president,' Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Thursday.

He 'absolutely' wants to review the House Ethics Committee's report on Gaetz's conduct.

Cornyn even floated the idea of taking legal action to review the report's contents.

'There's various ways we can glean access to it, we can subpoena it,' he told reporters. 'I don't I don't think any of us want to fly blind.'

Following Donald Trump's nomination of Gaetz to serve as attorney general on Wednesday there have been increasing bipartisan calls for the report on his alleged sexual misconduct and drug use to be released.

Texas Senator John Cornyn said that he simply wants to have all the available information before voting

Gaetz and wife Ginger (pictured left) were last seen at a party Trump attended at Mar-a-Lago Thursday

That would break with Ethics Committee norms as Gaetz resigned his spot in Congress immediately after being nominated, meaning the committee no longer has jurisdiction over the former Florida Republican.

But advocates for the report's release say that its contents are pertinent to whether or not Gaetz gets confirmed by the Senate, and therefore it should be released.

Speaker Johnson pushed back on that Friday, saying he wants the Ethics Committee to refrain from publishing the potentially damaging file.

'I'm going to strongly request that the Ethics Committee not issue the report because that is not the way we do things in the House, and I think that would be a terrible precedent to set,' Johnson said coming out of his office.

The Ethics panel was set to meet Friday to decide whether to release the report.

However that meeting was scuttled after Gaetz's sudden resignation.

His exit comes as allegations resurfaced Thursday about a woman who reportedly testified to the committee that Gaetz had sex with her when she was 17.

The woman - now in her 20s - talked about Gaetz and her having sex when she was a minor in high school while 'representing that she was an adult,' sources told ABC News.

The FBI had investigated similar claims against Gaetz, but the DOJ opted not to indict him over claims he sex trafficked a minor.

Trump's pick of the embattled former congressman to oversee the Justice Department, FBI, DEA, ATF and related agencies has shocked Republicans and Democrats.

And the bombshell claims could derail his hopes of taking the helm as attorney general.

Already reports indicate that Republicans in the Senate are not on board with Gaetz becoming AG.

According to the Wall Street Journal, sources say that Gaetz already has at least 30 Republicans planning on voting against his nomination.

Gaetz is one of a series of Cabinet nominees tapped by Trump last week who lack the resumes normally seen in candidates for high-level administration jobs.

He would need to be confirmed by the Senate -- where Trump's Republicans will have a majority of at least 52 of the 100 seats -- to get the post. A handful have expressed skepticism at the choice.
The husband of infamous fraudster Melissa Caddick has admitted he will never recover from her disappearance and death.

On the fourth anniversary of his 49-year-old wife's disappearance on November 12, 2020, Anthony Koletti, 42, reflected on his lavish life with Caddick, funded by the $23million she scammed from dozens of clients, including family and friends.

Caddick was declared dead by a coroner in May last year. She had disappeared one day after ASIC investigators and Australian Federal Police officers raided her home at Dover Heights, east Sydney.

In February 2021, Caddick's right foot - matched by DNA - was found in a shoe washed up on a beach south of Tathra, about 500km from where she was last seen alive.

It's believed she jumped from the cliffs near her home, but the coroner was unable to determine her cause of death due to a lack of evidence.

'The emotional pain is a million times harder than anything else I lost. I'm still not over it,' Mr Koletti told Woman's Day.

Mr Koletti claimed he was also a victim of Caddick and did not know of her large-scale con until the investigation into her crimes was underway.

While he doesn't refute Caddick's fraud, Mr Koletti does blame ASIC's handling of Caddick's case for her death.

Infamous fraudster Melissa Caddick's husband, Anthony Koletti (pictured together), has admitted he'll never recover from her disappearance and death

Of Caddick's death, Mr Koletti (pictured) said: 'The emotional pain is a million times harder than anything else I lost. I'm still not over it'

He said its investigators should be 'ashamed of themselves' and claimed he was 'ignored and belittled' when he offered suggestions to the coroner on how to 'prevent such a tragedy ever occurring again'.

'I'll never get over the way I lost Melissa,' Mr Koletti said.

He resumed working as a full-time hairdresser following Caddick's disappearance and now runs a salon in Sydney's east.

He also works as a time DJ and amateur music producer, saying he 'had to start my life again at 40'.

Caddick's son, 18, from her first marriage is now mostly under the care of Mr Koletti.

The pair share an apartment in Vaucluse and the young adult studies at university.

Mr Koletti said he is 'doing well' but still struggles with the memory of hearing his mother leave their home at 5.30am on the day she vanished.

A $4.25million compensation payout was shared between 55 of Caddick's victims in August.

The funds were collected from the sale of her assets, include the mortgaged $9.8 million Dover Heights home.

In spite of Mr Koletti's grief, many Australians still believe Caddick could be alive and hiding overseas to avoid detection.

The conspiracy theory has led to several 'sightings' of the fraudster, including one of her limping at a wedding in Canada.

However, criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro told Daily Mail Australia that it is more likely she is dead.

'Who knows? More likely than not she's deceased. That's my view. How has she died? That's speculative, whether it was by suicide or by foul play.'

Caddick (pictured) stole $23million from dozens of clients, including family and friends, in a Ponzi scheme

Despite this, Watson-Munro acknowledges why some people cling to the idea that Caddick is still out there, and did not completely rule out the theory.

Although losing a foot might seem extreme to some people, it paled when compared to serving a 10 to 15-year prison sentence, he explained.

'She could afford a good surgeon who could perhaps remove the foot and have a prosthetic foot made that's fitting and comfortable,' he said.

'Now, for some that may seem pretty drastic but when you're faced with what she was facing in terms of probably decades in prison, certainly more than 10 to 15 years, you would think for that amount of money, it's a softer option.

'She was the queen of the con, the Queen of the Ponzi scheme.'
Details have emerged about the moments before a Melbourne mother was fatally stabbed at her home.

Vicky Van Aken, 51, died after being stabbed multiple times on the doorstep of her home in Bayswater, east of Melbourne, at about 11.15am on Saturday.

Police will allege she was trying to protect a teenage boy who was seeking refuge from the man who lived next door when the attack happened.

It's understood she was home with two sons at the time.

Police allege the perpetrator was Milorad Zaric.

They allege Zaric, 47, arrived at the Cousin Drive property with a knife.

Police allege the man stabbed the 51-year-old mother first, attacking her several times.

The 47-year-old, who works as a carpenter, then returned home, where he was arrested a short time later and taken to hospital under a police guard.

Vicky Van Aken was killed by in the door of her Bayswater home. Picture: Facebook

A woman has died after being allegedly stabbed in her Melbourne home. Picture: 9News

On Sunday morning, the accused killer appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court and was charged with murder.

The court was told the man, who works as a carpenter and has never been in custody before, was experiencing withdrawal from alcohol and drugs.

Homicide detectives returned to the scene later in the afternoon.

Zaric is remanded in custody and will appear before court on February 14.
Union City police are investigating a shooting in a parking lot that injured two people early Saturday. Union City police

Two people have been hospitalized after a weekend shooting in Union City, police said.

Officers responded to reports of a shooting in a parking lot on the 1800 block of Whipple Road shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday, according to the Union City Police Department. Police provided no details on the parking lot, but the block contains a bar and a doughnut shop.

Officers said they found evidence of gunfire but no victims. Shortly afterward, two people with gunshot wounds arrived separately at local hospitals, police said. Their injuries do not appear to be life-threatening, and their condition is stable.

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Ray Hadley has addressed the arrest of his long-time colleague Alan Jones and given a mysterious hint about why he can't talk about the case.

Jones, 83, was arrested at his luxurious Circular Quay apartment in central Sydney on Monday morning in connection with allegations he indecently assaulted, groped or inappropriately touched young men.

Hadley, who for many years worked with Jones at Sydney's top-rating radio station 2GB, made the shock announcement earlier this month that he was retiring after 43 years behind the microphone but denied it had anything to do with Jones' arrest.

'To the narks who are contacting me about me leaving because of this and all the rest of it ... this had nothing whatsoever to do with my decision,' Hadley, 70, said on Monday.

'It is completely devoid of the decision I've taken.'

After telling listeners he intended to ring Nine newspaper journalist Kate McClymont, who broke the news of Jones' arrest on Monday, Hadley said he could not comment further on the matter 'because it will now be before the court'.

However, he also gave a cryptic explanation of why he could not talk about it any further.

'And at some time in the future, those reasons why I'm not commenting on today will become patently obvious to everyone, patently obvious,' Hadley said.

Last December Hadley revealed his 30-year relationship with Jones had been 'severed' after the accusations were made against the 83-year-old.

Ray Hadley has addressed the arrest of his long-time colleague Alan Jones and given a mysterious hint about why he can't talk about the case

Hadley said a former 2GB employee, who was given the pseudonym of Brad Webster, confided in him during a private meeting that he was one of four men alleging Jones had groped him and performed other inappropriate acts.

'I regard this man not as an attention-seeker or someone who seeks notoriety - but rather directly the opposite,' he said.

'The behaviour he was alleging was unwanted sexual advances from a person in power, that person being his boss Alan Jones.'

Hadley said he had offered to be Webster's 'support person' at 2GB and speak to the then-station owner and chairman about his allegations.

'He told me at the start of our conversation that what he was alleging had never been shared with anyone except for me that day,' he said.

'He asked for my complete assurance that I would not share the story with anyone unless he expressly gave me permission.

'In the next 40 minutes I sat silently as he went through the allegations documented in today's (Sydney Morning Herald) story, interrupted only by his tears as he tried to compose himself.

'As a fierce supporter for anyone who finds themselves in this type of situation, my support and actions are always guided by the alleged victims.

'If they ask me not to pursue the matter I respect their wishes.'

Jones has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and his lawyers have described the allegations against him as demonstrably false and defamatory.

Jones, 83, was arrested at his luxurious Circular Quay apartment in central Sydney on Monday morning in connection with allegations he indecently assaulted, groped or inappropriately touched young men

Hadley will sign-off from his top-rating morning show for the final time on December 13 despite having about two years left to run on his multimillion-dollar deal at Nine.

After announcing the move last week Hadley said he wanted to spend more time with wife Sophie, his children and grandchildren after decades of 3.30am starts.

'I achieved far more than I have thought I would,' Hadley told listeners.

'My children, Dan, Laura, Emma and Sarah, have made many sacrifices over the years for me to realise my ambitions.

'Seven years ago I had no grandchildren, now I have seven, and I want to spend more time in the company of Ava, Noah, Ella, Lola, Tommy, Remi and Millar along with their parents.'

Daily Mail Australia revealed last week that Hadley was seen 'deep in conversation' with executives at Sky News Australia, with a TV gig possible in the near future.
Donald Trump's election as the next American president could jeopardise Anthony Albanese's chances at next year's election, a new poll has found.

The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor Party is now trailing Opposition Leader Peter Dutton's Coalition, which is ahead 51 to 49 per cent after preferences, a Freshwater Strategy poll found.

The poll for The Australian Financial Review, published on Monday, also found 47 per cent thought Mr Dutton would be better able to engage with President Trump, compared with 36 per cent for Mr Albanese.

When the Coalition was last in power in 2018, then Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull was able to get an exemption from 25 per cent tariffs on steel and 10 per cent import taxes on aluminum.

Mr Albanese last week confirmed he had raised the issue of the United States, Australia's biggest defence ally, having a trade surplus with Australia - something which Mr Turnbull did during Trump's first term in power.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said a Labor government could easily work with a Republican administration, despite being on the opposite side of politics.

'The Prime Minister's already had a terrific conversation with Mr Trump, incoming President-elect Trump, and in that conversation, they've made the point that we have a very good and close relationship whether it's the Democrats or the Republicans in power in the U.S. or Liberal or Labor in Australia,' she told Sunrise on Monday.

Donald Trump 's election as the next American president could jeopardise Anthony Albanese's chances at next year's election, a new poll has found

'We've had a good and close relationship that's lasted many decades and that'll continue.'

Opposition frontbencher Barnaby Joyce, a former Nationals deputy prime minister, hinted the Coalition would appeal to the kind of working class voters in Australia who voted for President Trump.

'Where President-elect Trump will go is look after the American people first and that is the new reality,' he said.

'We have to look behind that and say, "Why do people believe that Mr Dutton would be better with Mr Trump?".

'He will put aside some of the rhetoric, put aside some of the noble causes that lead to destitution and really concentrate on the Australian people.'

The poll also found the cost of living to be the top concern with 77 per cent of voters nominating it as their key issue.

The weekend online poll of 1,046 voters also found 43 per cent preferred the Coalition to manage the economy with just 26 per cent favouring Labor.

The gap between the major parties was just as stark on the issue of immigration with 43 per cent favouring the Coalition and just 24 per cent supporting Labor.

This occurred as 449,060 migrants moved to Australia in the year to September, which is well above Treasury's May Budget forecast of 260,000 for 2024-25 during a housing affordability and rental crisis.

With an election due by May, Ms Plibersek claimed the Opposition was yet to release its economic plan.

The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese 's Labor Party is now trailing Opposition Leader Peter Dutton 's Coalition, which is ahead 51 to 49 per cent after preferences, a Freshwater Strategy poll found

'The election has to be by May next year at the latest so it's true, we're only a few months away,' she said.

'And it's extraordinary, given we're only a few months away, that the Coalition can't tell you what their plans are.

'They can't tell you what their plans are for cost-of-living, they can't tell you what their plans are on tax, they can't tell you what their plans are on jobs, we've got a very clear record that we'll be discussing with the Australian people and a clear offering for the future.'

Mr Joyce said Labor's plan for renewables to make up 82 per cent of Australia's energy mix by 2030 was unrealistic, with the Coalition taking a nuclear energy plan to the next election.

'If you want to bring down the cost of living, you cannot say I'll bring down the cost of living but have 82 per cent renewables, intermittent power,' he said.

'It's emblematic of a government that has lost sight of the people they are supposed to serve.'

While the Coalition is ahead on primary votes, with 40 per cent support, it has a difficult task in winning 18 seats to have the required 76 seats needed to form a majority government next year.

Labor's primary vote of 30 per cent is much lower but having 78 seats now in the House of Representatives, it could rely on the Greens to form minority government, with the hard left minor party having 14 per cent support.
Two children are among at least eight people who were killed in Ukraine after a Russian missile destroyed a nine-storey building.

Another 52 people were injured on Sunday night when a Russian missile hit a residential building in Ukraine's northeastern region of Sumy, Ukraine's emergency services and military said.

'Sunday evening for the city of Sumy became hell, a tragedy that Russia brought to our land,' Volodymyr Artyukh, the head of the Sumy military administration said in a post on the administration's Telegram messaging channel.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said on Telegram that rescuers and all necessary services continued to work at the scene and psychologists were providing assistance to those affected.

More than 400 people were evacuated, the Service added.

Pictures posted on the Service's Telegram showed firefighters battling a blaze consuming cars and rescuers carrying people out of a building. One photo showed the multi-storey building with nearly all windows blown out and its facade damaged.

Both Kyiv and Moscow deny targeting civilians in their strikes on each other's territory. But thousands have died since early 2022 in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the vast majority of them Ukrainians.

The attack on Sumy came after Vladimir Putin's troops pounded Ukraine's power grid in a devastating attack with 120 missiles and 90 drones.

Two children are among at least eight people who were killed in Ukraine after a Russian missile destroyed a nine-storey building in Sumy on November 17

Firefighters were seen battling the flames resulting from the strike at the nine-storey building in Sumy on November 17

Ukrainian rescuers escort an injured person at the site of a rocket hit on the residential building in Sumy

Various types of drones were deployed, he said, including Iranian-made Shaheds, as well as cruise, ballistic and aircraft-launched ballistic missiles.

Ukrainian defenses shot down 144 out of a total of 210 air targets, Ukraine's air force reported later on Sunday.

'The enemy's target was our energy infrastructure throughout Ukraine. Unfortunately, there is damage to objects from hits and falling debris. In Mykolaiv, as a result of a drone attack, two people were killed and six others were injured, including two children,' Zelensky said.

Two more people were killed in the Odesa region, where the attack damaged energy infrastructure and disrupted power and water supplies, said local Gov. Oleh Kiper.

Both victims were employees of Ukraine's state-owned power grid operator, Ukrenergo, the company said hours later.

The combined drone and missile attack was the most powerful in three months, according to the head of Kyiv's City Military Administration, Serhii Popko.

One person was injured after the roof of a five-story residential building caught fire in Kyiv's historic center, according to Popko.

A thermal power plant operated by private energy company DTEK was 'seriously damaged,' the company said.

Emergency services tackle fire at an apartment building after a Russian missile hit it, according to local prosecutors, in this screengrab from video with a location given as Sumy, Ukraine, November 17, 2024

Emergency services tackle fire at an apartment building after a Russian missile hit it, according to local prosecutors, in this screengrab from video with a location given as Sumy, Ukraine, November 17

Ukrainian rescuers working at the site of a rocket hit on a residential building in Sumy

Terrified Ukrainian civilians were seen cowering in bomb shelters in Kyiv on Saturday night while air defences shot down dozens of missiles 'severe damage' was inflicted on the power grid.

The country's energy operator DTEK announced emergency power cuts at around 7am UK time on Sunday morning affecting the Kyiv, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions following overnight drone strikes.

It said shortly thereafter thermal power plants had been struck by Putin's latest fusillade. The level of damage was not immediately clear.

Air defences were deployed overnight to intercept drones in Kyiv as residents were urged to take cover, while missiles bound for the west of the stricken country prompted NATO to send out its warplanes to assist.

'Due to the massive attack by the Russian Federation using cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles on objects located, among others, in western Ukraine, Polish and allied [NATO] aircraft have begun operating in our airspace,' said a statement from the Polish operational command.

'On-duty fighter pairs were scrambled, and the ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems reached the highest state of readiness. The steps taken are aimed at ensuring safety in areas bordering the threatened areas.'

Also on Sunday, President Joe Biden authorised for the first time the use of US-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine to strike inside Russia, after extensive lobbying by Ukrainian officials.

The weapons are likely to be used in response to North Korea's decision to send thousands of troops to support Russia in the Kursk region where Ukraine mounted a military incursion over the summer.

It is the second time the US has permitted the use of Western weapons inside Russian territory within limits after permitting the use of HIMARS systems, a shorter-range weapon, to stem Russia's advance in Kharkiv region in May.
A bird flu outbreak has been confirmed at a commercial poultry farm in Cornwall.

The government said all poultry on the infected site, near Rosudgeon near St Ives, will be humanely culled, after a strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus was detected.

And a 3km protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone has been put in place around the premises, the government confirmed in a statement.

It was the first confirmation of the HPAI H5N1 strain in kept birds this season following recent detections of HPAI H5N5 in wild birds in south west England.

Bird flu or avian influenza, which has killed hundreds of millions of birds around the globe in recent years, has increasingly spread to mammals, raising concerns it may lead to human-to-human transmission.

The virus has been around for a century, with outbreaks tending to occur in Autumn and fading out by spring and summertime.

Britain, which increased the threat level to medium in mid-October, has experienced several bird flu outbreaks over the years, including one in 2021 that was then described as the largest ever in the country.

There are many different strains of bird flu virus, most of which do not infect humans.

A bird flu outbreak has been confirmed at a commercial poultry farm in Cornwall (stock)

Bird flu or avian influenza, which has killed hundreds of millions of birds around the globe in recent years, has increasingly spread to mammals, raising concerns it may lead to human-to-human transmission (stock)

However, there are four strains that have caused concern in recent years: H5N1 (since 1997) H7N9 (since 2013) H5N6 (since 2014) H5N8 (since 2016).

It comes as the H5N5 strain was detected on a farm in East Riding, in Yorkshire, earlier this month.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said a 3km (1.86 miles) protection zone and 10km (6.21 miles) surveillance zone has been put in place around the site and all poultry on the premises had been humanely culled.

Bird keepers have been urged to remain vigilant and to protect their stock.

Bird flu is spread by close contact with an effected bird, which includes touching or petting an infected bird, touching droppings or bedding, or killing or preparing infected poultry for cooking.

However, bird flu cannot be caught through eating fully cooked poultry or eggs, even in areas with an outbreak of bird flu.

It comes as a 'healthy' teenager is in critical condition after catching bird flu in Canada.

Bird flu is spread by close contact with an effected bird, which includes touching or petting an infected bird, touching droppings or bedding, or killing or preparing infected poultry for cooking (stock)

Health officials are still identifying the strain, but the patient is assumed to have H5N1, the virus that has infected dozens of Americans this year.

Almost all of the US cases were farm workers with direct contact with infected cattle or birds, but the case in Canada is different.

The teen had not visited farms but had been exposed to dogs, cats and reptiles, according to provincial health officer Bonnie Henry.

'That is absolutely an ongoing investigation,' said Henry.

The patient, who has not been identified, is currently being treated in a children's hospital in British Columbia.

Henry said: 'This was a healthy teenager prior to this, so no underlying conditions.

'It just reminds us that in young people this is a virus that can progress and cause quite severe illness and the deterioration that I mentioned was quite rapid.'

The teen who is Canada's first bird flu victim in the latest outbreak - began suffering a fever, cough and 'pink eye' on November 2.

They were admitted to hospital on November 8, where their condition deteriorated further.

The patient is now suffering from severe lung damage making it hard to get oxygen around the body.

The World Health Organization says H5N1's risk to humans is low because there is no evidence it can spread from one person to another.

But disease experts have warned that as the virus jumps between species, the chance of evolving increases, which could lead to a pandemic.
Ministers have pledged to deliver more London-style buses across England as part of a 1 billion funding boost.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh confirmed 712million for local authorities and 243million for bus operators to overhaul services across the country.

Leicester, the Isle of Wight, and Torbay are among the areas set to receive unprecedented levels of funding, according to the Department for Transport.

South Yorkshire and Liverpool City region are also among the largest beneficiaries.

Funds have been allocated based on levels of deprivation and population size, instead of areas competing for investment as they have done in the past.

Ms Haigh said:Buses are the lifeblood of communities, but the system is broken.

Too often, passengers are left waiting hours for buses that dont turn up  and some have been cut off altogether.

Thats why were reforming funding to deliver better buses across the country and end the postcode lottery of bus services.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has pledged over 1billion to overhaul bus services across the country

The announcement comes as Labour was criticised for scrapping the 2 bus fare cap introduced in 2022 by the previous Conservative administration.

The Liberal Democrats have branded the move a bus tax, while the Tories say it is a stealth levy on working people.

Shadow Transport Secretary Gareth Bacon said last night: Labour have chosen to increase bus fares by 50 per cent in a further attack on rural communities, working people and pensioners.

They didnt have the courage to tell people their plans in the election. This is another broken promise that raises costs on working people.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey added: The fare cap increase is like a bus tax for people across the country, impacting bus users and commuters already struggling to make ends meet.

Ms Haigh has said a new 3 cap will protect the most vulnerable while the government improves reliability and frequency of buses for the countrys 3.4 million regular users.

A bus in Central London. South Yorkshire and Liverpool City region are among the largest beneficiaries of the package

This unprecedented level of funding, particularly into rural areas, will vastly improve services, their reliability and frequency, she told the BBC yesterday.

We are keeping fares at a level that will protect those services in rural areas. Its not an option for too many people and too many towns and villages are completely cut off from public transport at the moment.

She told The Sunday Mirror: This represents record capital investment to the majority of places and a once-in-a-generation reform plan that aims to deliver London-style buses to every corner of the country  including those areas that are usually overlooked.

The 1billion funding drive is in addition to 150million spent to cap single bus fares at 3 outside of London until next December.
President-elect Donald Trump is calling to 'fully investigate' the Iowa pollster who predicted him losing in heavily red state just days before November's election.

The Des Moines Register/Mediacom survey conducted by Ann Selzer of Selzer & Company showed Harris at 47 percent support to Trump's 44 percent.

Iowa had gone red for Trump in the last two election cycles after twice voting for Democratic President Barack Obama - and had not been considered to be a battleground state in 2024.

Despite easily winning the Hawkeye State, Trump posted on his Truth Social that he still plans to investigate Selzer, 68, over possible election fraud.

'A totally Fake poll that caused great distrust and uncertainty at a very critical time. She knew exactly what she was doing,' Trump wrote.

'Thank you to the GREAT PEOPLE OF IOWA for giving me such a record breaking vote, despite possible ELECTION FRAUD by Ann Selzer and the now discredited newspaper for which she works. An investigation is fully called for!'

At the time Trump charged that Selzer over-polled Democrats to make it look like Harris, the Democratic nominee, was in the lead.

Selzer's poll for the Register and Mediacom days before the election predicted Harris would win by +3 percentage points. But Trump went on to trounce the vice president by over +13 points in the Hawkeye State.

President-elect Donald Trump is calling to 'fully investigate' Ann Selzer, the Iowa pollster who predicted him losing in heavily red state just days before November's election

'A totally Fake poll that caused great distrust and uncertainty at a very critical time. She knew exactly what she was doing,' Trump wrote on Truth Social

Trump tore into the survey, calling Selzer a 'Trump hater' and insisting that Iowa's farmers 'love' him.

'All polls, except for one heavily skewed toward the Democrats by a Trump hater who called it totally wrong the last time, have me up, BY A LOT,' he scathed on his social media website Truth Social.

Ann Selzer had built a reputation as 'Iowa's Polling Queen' and the 'best pollster in politics' over decades of conducting the Des Moines Register political surveys but on Sunday she announced her retirement after her results wildly missed the mark.

Selzer had accurately predicted each of the presidential outcomes going back to 2008, giving her a Nostradamus-like reputation that drew eyeballs to her incorrect 2024 results.

On Sunday, Selzer revealed she is retiring from The Register to pursue polling for other clients.

'Over a year ago I advised the Register I would not renew when my 2024 contract expired with the latest election poll as I transition to other ventures and opportunities,' she said.

'Would I have liked to make this announcement after a final poll aligned with Election Day results? Of course. Its ironic that its just the opposite.

Ann Selzer had built a reputation as 'Iowa's Polling Queen' and the 'best pollster in politics' over decades of conducting the Des Moines Register political surveys but on Sunday she announced her retirement

Selzer's poll for the Register and Mediacom days before the election predicted Harris would win by +3 percentage points. But Trump went on to trounce the vice president by over +13 points in the Hawkeye State

'Polling is a science of estimation, and science has a way of periodically humbling the scientist. So, Im humbled, yet always willing to learn from unexpected findings.'

Following Trump's landslide victory, Selzer admitted her research was completely wrong and might have even emboldened MAGA nation.

'I told more than one news outlet that the findings from this last poll could actually energize and activate Republican voters who thought they would likely coast to victory,' she said. 'Maybe that's what happened.'

She continued an attempt to defend her methodology, which came as a complete shock to voters the weekend prior to the election.

'The poll findings we produced for The Des Moines Register and Mediacom did not match what the Iowa electorate ultimately decided in the voting booth today,' she said.

Although the results were within the margin of error, it gave Harris supporters hope that she could flip the state they had previously written off.

The Register survey sent shockwaves through the market  triggering a flood of wagers on Harris to win the election.

During her CNN appearance she explained how her poll got it so wrong.

'When former President Trump said we interviewed more Democrats, well that's what came out of our data. We did nothing to make that happen,' she said.

Your browser does not support iframes.

In order to discern likely voters, pollsters ask voters how likely they are to vote and try to create a model of the electorate.

In the data being collected by Selzer it found more Iowa Democrats were motivated.

The Selzer poll also showed that older women were breaking for Harris in a way that other surveys potentially hadn't picked up on.

'I'm a big believer in keeping my fingers off, my dirty fingers off the data. So we did it the way, we did it when he won in our final poll twice, in two election cycles, very same method,' Selzer said.

She noted that the 'best news' she can deliver to any of her client is good data.

'The best news that I can deliver is my best shot of what's true, because then you know what you're working with and you can make adjustments as you need to,' she said.
Is new Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who has edged ahead of Labour in the polls, facing her first big electoral test?

With Rishi Sunak compiling his resignation honours list, Westminster is buzzing with rumours that he will give peerages to two of his most trusted allies: his former deputy Sir Oliver Dowden and Sir Julian Smith, a fellow Yorkshire MP.

This would necessitate two by-elections within months of the General Election, and cost the taxpayer 500,000 to stage.

The speculation was given added credence when Smith was overheard in the Commons tea room talking to a Tory peer about life in the upper house.

Im told Badenochs Shadow Cabinet is hopping mad at the idea of Sunak causing unnecessary by-elections.

Smith held his Skipton seat with only 1,650 votes in July; Dowden won Hertsmere by just shy of 8,000 votes. Both men deny they will jump ship but many of their colleagues are suspicious.

Rishi Sunak is rumoured to be considering elevating two trusted allies to the House of Lords in his resignation honours list

Kemi Badenoch may face her first big test if Sunak's honours trigger by-elections

Im told Badenochs Shadow Cabinet is hopping mad at the idea of Sunak causing unnecessary by-elections

Truth lands Jones in it

Is Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones about to be given media training? His Labour colleagues think he needs it.

Jones blundered into an avoidable trap when asked on the BBC if employers, justifiably incensed about the huge hike in national insurance, should just suck it up. Jones, instead of parrying the question, replied: Yes, its been designed that way. Cue another raft of bad headlines.

Hes too clever for his own good, wailed one Labour MP.

Labour MPs believe Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones needs media training after his blunder on the BBC

Sunak's former chief of staff Liam Booth-Smith made his maiden speech in the House of Lords last week. Peers were impressed the notorious scruff had put on a jacket and tie and spoke without notes. Less so that he kept his hands in his pockets.

Cushy job of the week: With universities begging for more cash, Jesus College, Cambridges, latest recruit, Noella Binda Niati, has been given a coveted fellowship, complete with the usual dining and residency privileges.

Her work focuses partly on non-formal educative spaces young people foster to counter sociopolitical inequalities through the lens of hip-hop pedagogy.

Vital stuff, no doubt funded by your taxes!

The Bishop of Newcastle, Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, who precipitated Justin Welbys resignation as Archbishop of Canterbury, takes an alpinists view of public life.

In the House of Lords last year she said: [Leadership] is like climbing a mountain: the higher you go the better the views but the more unpredictable the weather systems.

Her Grace certainly brought on a cold front for Welby. Does she have her crampons affixed for a bash at the Canterbury job?

The Bishop of Newcastle, Dr Helen-Ann Hartley was among religious figures who helped bring about Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby's resignation

Get your own house in order!

The next time you hear a Labour Cabinet minister blaming the wicked Tories for the housing shortage take their propaganda with a pinch of salt.

New figures show that in the Labour stronghold of Camden in north London there are 415 void properties (in the process of being relet) and 166 deemed too expensive to upgrade, which will be sold off  with thousands of people still on the waiting list for a council home.

Paul Tomlinson, a former Labour councillor, says the situation is simply shameful. He should take up the matter with Camdens most prominent Labour MP: PM Keir Starmer.

Riposte of the week: My favourite response to the decision of Clifton Suspension Bridge Museum to withdraw from billionaire Elon Musks social media site X? Cry me a river.
Rape suspects are 'taking advantage' of delays in the criminal justice system by pleading not guilty in the hope that frustrated victims will drop out, Britain's top prosecutor has warned.

The head of the Crown Prosecution Service, Stephen Parkinson suggested defendants are playing the system calculating that victims waiting years for justice may withdraw as cases are now being delayed until late 2027.

The Director of Public Prosecutions said the length of time it is taking for police to investigate crimes and bring them to court is 'outrageous'.

He revealed that 10 per cent of sex offence victims withdraw their support after charges have been brought, while many more drop out during lengthy police investigations.

'Typically, it can take two years to investigate a rape case and another two years to bring it to trial,' he said.

'I think that's outrageous. We see too many victims, usually women, withdrawing their co-operation because of the delay and also because they don't feel sufficiently supported.'

He told the Sunday Times that defendants were 'taking advantage' of delays by entering not guilty pleas because they were 'hoping that something will come up' to cause a case to collapse.

Rape suspects are 'taking advantage' of delays in the criminal justice system by pleading not guilty in the hope that frustrated victims will drop out, Britain's top prosecutor has warned (file image)

In a bid to stop this, all rape victims will now be offered a named liaison officer to help them to navigate court proceedings.

The CPS has so far recruited 40 liason officers across the country.

He said: '[Victims] will be given the opportunity to meet the prosecution team.

'We can walk them through the process. They can call at any time.'

The CPS is also seeking to reduce delays by expanding the pool of prosecutors specialising in serious sex crimes and serving defendants with the full evidence against them much earlier in proceedings.

Mr Parkinson also supports more funding through legal aid for defence lawyers so defendants can understand the weight of evidence against them, encouraging them to plead guilty at the first court hearing to qualify for a reduced sentence.

A record backlog of 71,000 cases are awaiting trial across the country, up from 38,000 before the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week a survey led by the Government's independent adviser on rape revealed just one in ten victims of rape and sexual assault said they would report the crimes against them again.

The head of the Crown Prosecution Service, Stephen Parkinson suggested defendants are playing the system calculating that victims waiting years for justice may withdraw as cases are now being delayed until late 2027 (file image)

In an interview marking his first year in post, the 67-year-old DPP admitted that historically not enough emphasis has been placed on the accounts of women making allegations of abuse against powerful men such as Mohamed Al Fayed, the late Harrods owner accused of multiple sex attacks.

He said: 'In the past, too much time had been spent analysing what the victim had said.

'The centre of gravity seemed to be around the victim's account. The switch that we've made has been to absolutely focus on the suspect.'

But Mr Parkinson refused to say whether he regretted the fact that Al Fayed was not put on trial before his death last year.

He said he was unable to comment during ongoing police investigations into those who may have enabled the abuse.

Scotland Yard investigated 21 allegations against the Egyptian businessman from 2005 to 2023, including two cases that went to the CPS for a charging decision.

Prosecutors concluded there was insufficient evidence to go to trial.

In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Parkinson said he had been asked to consider charges in 'five or six cases' of assisted suicide in the last year, but decided not to prosecute.

He refused to say if the CPS supported a private member's bill to decriminalise assisted dying.

He said: 'What I would say about the common law is that it requires the personal decision of the DPP.

'I'm not a robot. There's an element of compassion that I've brought to my decisions, and I think that's right.'
Lidia Thorpe has torn up a censure motion passed against her after the rogue senator interrupted King Charles' visit to Australia with a headline-grabbing protest.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong moved a censure motion against Ms Thorpe in the Senate on Monday morning, claiming her outburst during the King's visit last month sought to 'incite outrage and grievance'.

Ms Thorpe was not in the chamber to hear the censure motion, which passed by 46 votes to 12, prompting her to rip it up while on live TV on Sky News.

'The censure motion is like that to me,' she said as she pulled apart the paper.

'I don't give a damn about censure motion. In fact, I'm going to use it for kindling later on in the week.'

Mr Thorpe described the censure motion as a 'piece of paper' and a 'vote'.

'That's what is wrong with the colony,' she said.

'There are rules that were made by a bunch of white fellas in 1901 that still stand today and that's how politicians have got away with bad behaviour.'

Lidia Thorpe has torn up a censure motion passed against her after the rogue senator interrupted King Charles' visit to Australia with a headline-grabbing protest

Lidia Thorpe (pictured) has erupted in anger after the Senate censured the rogue senator over her headline-grabbing protest during King Charles ' visit to Australia

The motion 'censures Senator Thorpe for the disruptive and disrespectful conduct at the Parliamentary Reception, for her disrespect of democratic institutions, including our parliament of which she is a member'.

Dressed in a native fur coat, Ms Thorpe, 51, shouted that the monarch had 'committed genocide against our people' and added 'f*** the colony' during King Charles and Camilla's visit Down Under in October.

Ms Thorpe yelled 'shame on you!' repeatedly at her fellow parliamentarians as she entered the chambers after the censure motion had been passed.

'Order! Order! Order!' responded the speaker Sue Lines.

'Senator Thorpe, you are out of order! Senator Thorpe, come to order!'

But Ms Thorpe, who was wearing a necklace with the words 'Not My King' written on it, continued her tirade.

'Shame on you all!', she screamed.

She added: 'I'll do it again, and I'll do it every time!'

A censure motion has no direct legal or constitutional consequences and is just a way of parliament expressing extreme disapproval.

Before her outburst in the chamber, Senator Thorpe wrote on X that the 'censure motion shows where the major parties priorities lie'.

'They don't stand with First Peoples in this country. They stand against justice for our people, preferring instead to defend a foreign king, rather than listen to the truth,' she wrote.

Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi criticised the motion and called on politicians to listen to the concerns of Indigenous Australians.

'The bubble of white privilege that encapsulates this parliament is a systemic issue,' she said.

'That's why we are here today, debating a Black senator being censured for telling the truth of the British crown's genocide on First Nations people and telling it the way she wants to.'

Speaking to reporters after the motion was passed, Ms Thorpe said that all Labor and the Coalition achieved was to 'give me more media, more exposure'.

'If the colonising king were to come to my country again, our country, then I'll do it again,' she said.

'And I will keep doing it. I will resist colonisation in this country.

Ms Thorpe was wearing a necklace with the words 'Not My King' written on it (pictured)

'I swear my allegiance to the real sovereigns of these lands, First Peoples are the real sovereigns.'

A censure motion was also brought against Senator Ralph Babet, who shared a list of appalling slurs on social media last week - daring 'woke ass clowns' to criticise him.

The Victorian Senator, who was elected in 2022 as part of billionaire Clive Palmer's United Australia Party (UAP), shared a broadcast by misogynist influencer Andrew Tate a week agao.

'My ni****r nailed this one,' Mr Babet wrote on social media platform X. 'One hundred percent.'

The Senator, an unmarried former real estate agent who was born in Mauritius and now earns a base salary of $233,000 after being the only UAP Senator to be elected, doubled down, daring anyone to criticise him.

'In my house we say ph****t, re***d and ni***r. We are sick of you woke ass clowns,' he wrote.

'Cry more. Write an article. Tweet about me. No one cares what you think.'

Senator Wong said the government moved the censure motions 'reluctantly'.

'We all know both senators are engaging in these behaviors precisely in order to get attention, engaging in actions and stunts designed to create storms in social media, but offering nothing of substance to improve anyone's life,' she said.

'These are actions which seek to incite outrage and grievance, actually to boost their own profiles. And this is part of a trend that we do see internationally, but frankly, we do not need here in Australia.'

The motion, which 'censures Senator Babet for his inflammatory use of hate speech, designed to drive division for his own political benefit', passed without needing a vote.

Mr Babet was also not in the chamber to hear the motion.
Ministers have announced a crackdown on businesses profiteering from childrens social care services.

It follows a number of scandals in which private equity firms running childrens homes were charging high fees to the taxpayer while providing sub-standard care.

From today, Ofsted will get new powers to issue civil fines to companies displaying exploitative practices.

In addition, new rules will require private providers to share their finances with the government, allowing profiteering to be challenged, the Department for Education said.

There will also be a backstop law to put a limit on the profit they can make, that the Government will introduce if providers do not voluntarily end profiteering.

And the Government also is calling for more non-profit providers to enter the market, as an alternative to private equity.

Spending by local authorities on looked-after children has more than doubled in just over a decade, from 3.1billion in 2009/10 to 7billion in 2022/23, the DfE said.

The biggest 15 private providers make an average of 23 per cent profit, according to analysis by the Local Government Association.

Ministers have announced a crackdown on businesses profiteering from childrens social care services. (Pictured: Prime Minister Keir Starmer)

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson (pictured) said: Our care system... is bankrupting councils, letting families down, and above all, leaving too many children feeling forgotten, powerless and invisible.'

In addition, there are more than 1,500 children in placements each costing the equivalent of half a million pounds every year.

The new measures, to be set out in Parliament, are aimed at empowering social workers to take action against providers delivering subpar standards of care at sky-high costs to councils.

The DfE said a longstanding challenge in the system is some private providers siphoning off money that should be going towards vulnerable children.

It comes after the Competition and Markets Authority warned private equity firms that own care homes have been charging taxpayers excessive fees.

They have risky debt-ridden business models, leading to fears homes could close, and some have been presiding over poor care.

In one example previously highlighted by the Daily Mail, children were allegedly abused and neglected at homes run by Hesley Group, which was owned by a private equity firm.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: Our care system... is bankrupting councils, letting families down, and above all, leaving too many children feeling forgotten, powerless and invisible.

We want to break down the barriers to opportunity and end the cycle of crisis.
An analysis of voters policy views shows how Mayor-elect Daniel Luries positions differ from those who voted for him. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

During his campaign for San Francisco mayor, Daniel Lurie positioned himself as a political outsider ready to bring fresh solutions to the citys most pressing challenges. The nonprofit founder and Levi Strauss heir argued that he could make progress on problems that incumbent Mayor London Breed, with over a decade of experience in City Hall, could not solve.

Luries message appears to have resonated with voters. He defeated Breed by about 10 percentage points in the final round of ranked-choice voting and also captured the largest share of first-choice votes across the city.

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But according to a Chronicle analysis of voters policy views, some Lurie supporters want even bolder reforms than Lurie promised and hold policy positions to the right of him.

For this analysis, the Chronicle used data from Vote Compass, a survey the newspaper offered to readers that matches respondents policy opinions with those of the major mayoral candidates. In collaboration with researchers from Vox Pop Labs, the Chronicle collected information on candidates stances on 30 policy issues related to housing, drugs, crime and other issues. The survey asked respondents to share their positions on the same issues and their voting intentions in the mayors race.

We compared Luries stated beliefs with those from the 1,250 respondents who said they intend to vote for him as their first choice. Certain demographic groups were disproportionately likely to answer the survey, so the data was adjusted to match the citys overall demographics.

Our analysis found that, on several issues, his supporters hold either stronger opinions than Lurie or views that differ.

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For example, when asked about City Hall staffing levels, about 60% of Lurie supporters strongly or somewhat agreed that the city employs too many people. Lurie, however, disagreed with this view, saying the problem is not in the number of employees, its how the culture of the corrupt system hampers their effectiveness.

According to the researchers who collected and weighted the data, strongly agreeing with this statement made a respondent about 12% more likely to say they intend to vote for Lurie.

While this stance contrasts with Luries stated beliefs, it aligns with his image as a political outsider who will challenge the citys status quo.

Another area where Lurie differs from his supporters is on whether San Francisco should pay reparations to its Black residents. Lurie took a neutral position, saying that while cash reparations are likely best handled at the federal or state levels, there is much San Francisco can and should do to intentionally invest in the Black community.

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Lurie voters, however, are largely against reparations, with 53% strongly opposing and another 16% somewhat disagreeing with the policy.

Breed has also said she believes reparations should be handled at the national level. When faced with a budget shortfall last year, she cut a $4 million plan that would have created an office to oversee the rollout of possible reparations at the city level.

Breed has instead focused her attention on her Dream Keeper Initiative, a program that has allocated over $124 million to the Black community since 2021 but has recently faced scandal involving financial mismanagement and ethics violations. In response, Lurie blamed Breed for not providing sufficient oversight and doubled down on his message about needing new accountable leadership in City Hall.

Lurie and his supporters also diverge on whether the city should ban vehicles from making right turns on red lights. Lurie is, again, neutral on the issue, saying he supports piloting the ban at dangerous intersections to evaluate its impact before expanding it citywide. However, most of his voters oppose the ban, with 35% saying they strongly disagree and another 30% somewhat disagree.

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Earlier this year, the citys Municipal Transportation Agency began implementing right-turn bans at 200 intersections in downtown neighborhoods, particularly on streets with frequent traffic injuries and pedestrian activity. Although city leaders have pushed for a citywide ban, the transit agency has yet to make a final decision.

Its not all disagreement though. On issues related to housing, drugs and public safety, Lurie and his supporters tend to hold similar, moderate-leaning views. For instance, 55% of his supporters strongly support arresting people who openly use illicit drugs in public spaces, with another 28% somewhat agreeing with the policy. Lurie supports the policy, saying that instead of letting people live on the street and do drugs, we will give them a choice: get immediate treatment or face arrest.

They also generally agree that the city spends too much on nonprofit funding and that the mayor should retain or increase his or her authority.
Julie Bindel, the indomitable feminist campaigner, is the latest prominent figure to tell of having been questioned by police over an alleged hate crime.

The allegation related to one of her tweets, but in a Kafka-esque twist, she was not told which one.

Equally bizarrely, the complaint was said to have come from a transgender man in Holland.

She assumed the accusation was one of transphobia, because of her often-stated view that trans women shouldnt be allowed access to female-only spaces  a view held by much of the population.

Regardless of its dubious legal merits, its hard to see what jurisdiction the Metropolitan Police thought they had in this case. But its far from an isolated example of what looks like blatant overreach.

Journalist Allison Pearson is being investigated by Essex Police for allegedly inciting racial hatred in a tweet she deleted many months ago.

She had re-tweeted a snap of officers standing with flag-carrying Muslims, ostensibly in London. She remarked that police were happy to pose with Jew-haters but not the British Friends of Israel.

It turned out the picture had been taken in Manchester and that the flag-wavers were protesting about events in Pakistan rather than Gaza, so the tweet does appear to have contained inaccuracies.

Julie Bindel, the indomitable feminist campaigner, is the latest prominent figure to tell of having been questioned by police over an alleged hate crime

Journalist Allison Pearson is being investigated by Essex Police for allegedly inciting racial hatred in a tweet she deleted many months ago

It may also have been seen by some as offensive. But was it really criminal? And did it merit the setting up of a Gold group, usually used to deal with major crimes, to investigate it?

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley warned last week that his force faces eye-watering cuts because of a funding shortfall.

He and other chief constables may find a more sympathetic hearing to their pleas for more cash if they stopped wasting precious resources on hare-brained cases like these.

This is a country built on principles of individual liberty and freedom of expression. The police are there to uphold them  not collude with those trying to crush them.

The air-miles PM

In his apparent bid to become the Michael Palin of British politics, Sir Keir Starmer is currently on his 15th foreign trip since becoming Prime Minister.

He has visited six countries in the last month alone, including Samoa, Azerbaijan and now Brazil.

Its understandable the new PM wants to announce his arrival on the world stage. But this is beginning to look like a gap year  and one with a massive carbon footprint.

One can see why hes so keen to delay returning to the UK. After the hideously botched Budget, everyone from farmers to pensioners are out for blood and his popularity (never exactly high) is in tailspin.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley warned last week that his force faces eye-watering cuts because of a funding shortfall

He and other senior ministers are beset by sleaze claims, illegal migration is soaring, and the economic growth he promised to turbocharge withers by the day.

These are problems requiring Sir Keirs urgent attention. Its time for him to put away his passport and get back to his day job of running this country.

After all, even Michael Palin has to come home eventually.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is planning to give millions of pounds to Vietnam, Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan, in return for those countries trying harder to stop thousands of illegal migrants leaving their shores bound for the UK.

The Mail has no doubt they will accept the money. Whether it will make the slightest difference to the numbers arriving here is distinctly less certain.
Vulnerable children are being housed in caravans and Airbnbs in a stark failure of the social care system, the Childrens Commissioner reports today.

Dame Rachel de Souza found that a shortage of placements has led to youngsters being put in highly unsuitable accommodation.

She conducted an investigation into children who have to be secured and monitored at all times for their own protection.

They are often teenagers in the care system who have mental health problems, severe disabilities or are vulnerable to abuse.

Ideally, they should be in a secure childrens home, which would have the therapeutic facilities and staff for their needs.

But when no place is available, councils can apply to the High Court for a deprivation of liberty (DoL) order, which allows children to be housed elsewhere and monitored by security guards.

This often leads to them being placed in unsuitable makeshift provision. One autistic teenager was put in an Airbnb property with an open balcony and two sets of stairs, which was unsuitable for his complex needs.

A severely disabled child was kept in such ramshackle accommodation that rats were nibbling through her feeding tubes.

Vulnerable children are being place in 'highly unsuitable' accommodation including Airbnbs and caravans, a report by Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza has found

Another teenager who had suffered parental domestic violence and neglect was given a supervised crisis placement in a caravan.

She was later housed in a childrens home 120 miles from her grandparents.

Others have been housed in tents, said Dame Rachel. The children are usually housed solo, far from family, and although they are visited by carers, many of their other needs are not met.

A shortage of secure childrens home places has led to a massive rise in DoL orders, from 359 in 2021 to 1,368 in 2023, the report said.

Dame Rachel called these make-shift arrangements illegal childrens homes because they are not registered with Ofsted and therefore cannot be regulated properly.

Far from providing the environment they need to help them with the behaviours that have caused concern, this leads to children feeling unsafe and uncared for, further adding to their trauma, she said.

They are enduring things no child should ever have to: contained, often in isolation, in illegal childrens homes without the opportunity for their voices to be heard.

The individual cost of caring for some children in care now exceeds 1 million a year (file photo)

Often such placements come at huge cost to the taxpayer because private businesses and landlords charge over-inflated prices as they know councils are desperate.

The individual cost of caring for some children in care now exceeds 1 million a year.

Dame Rachel added that childrens rights to safety and happiness are too often being ignored in a system that puts profit-making above protection.

The Department for Education is today pledging to develop new community-based provision. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the reforms will tackle profiteering and unregistered placements plus shift the focus back to earlier intervention to help children achieve and thrive.
A teacher failed to sue her school for marriage and age discrimination after she was referred to as Miss instead of Mrs on letters addressed to her.

Eniola Alabi told an employment tribunal she felt embarrassed and humiliated when her payslips failed to acknowledge her marital status.

She told the tribunal that Miss was less than Mrs and so this was an act of discrimination from bosses at the South London secondary school where she worked.

Despite staff insisting the wrong label was used as part of an administrative error, the business studies and computer science teacher asserted it must have been done deliberately.

But Mrs Alabi claims were dismissed by an employment judge, who said the error was in no way whatsoever on the grounds of her marriage.

The tribunal, held in Croydon, heard Mrs Alabi started working for Kingsdale Foundation School, Dulwich in September 2020.

For several months after she joined, payslips left in her pigeonhole were addressed to Miss Alabi instead of Mrs Alabi, the tribunal said.

Mrs Alabi said at first she thought it may have been a mistake  until she realised the letter on the inside was addressed to her married title.

A married teacher has failed to sue her school for discrimination for referring to her as 'Miss' on payslips addressed to her (file photo)

The teacher told the tribunal: At first, I was embarrassed and felt too humiliated to discuss it since it was being done deliberately.

However, the school disputed the fact that this was done on purpose and instead told the tribunal it was an administrative error.

They said that because payslips show an employees details, a sticker is placed over their address to conceal the information.

In February 2022, Mrs Alabi  who represented herself during the proceedings  complained about an incident in which a male teacher used the term motherf*****.

It was heard the teacher used it after Mrs Alabi reminded him that he was supposed to attend a meeting after work which he had forgotten about.

Mrs Alabi also complained about receiving negative feedback during a classroom observation in October 2022.

It was heard Mrs Alabi appeared nervous and did not demonstrate an appropriate way to deliver the curriculum.

However, Mrs Albi said the reason she appeared this way was because of laptop issues.

Mrs Alabi resigned from her post at Kingsdale Foundation School in December 2022

Mrs Alabi later went on to say that the school was controlling her computer remotely and caused it to shut down in order to hinder her work, which the school vehemently denied.

The teacher also accused another male staff member of calling her Pretty Woman  which she said made her feel uncomfortable as she knew this could be used to describe someone as a prostitute.

But the tribunal found the term was never used.

Mrs Alabi told the tribunal that during her tenure, she was subjected to an extended period of discrimination and harassment which cumulatively destroyed the relationship of trust and confidence.

She said this left her with no option but to resign in December 2022.

Mrs Alabi brought forward several claims to tribunal  including age discrimination, sex discrimination, and harassment.

Employment Judge Patricia Tueje said that in September 2020, Miss rather than Mrs was put on envelopes containing her payslips  but concluded the reason for doing so was an administrative error.

We consider it was not intended to or likely to destroy or seriously damage the implied term of trust and confidence between the parties, she added.

Accordingly, on a balance of probabilities, we conclude that printing envelopes with Miss rather than Mrs was an administrative error, and in no way whatsoever on the grounds of (Mrs Alabis) marriage and civil partnership.

The judge said that during the tribunal, Mrs Alabi tried to argue the use of Miss was less favourable treatment.

(Mrs Alabi) maintained that Miss was a term that was less than Mrs, so the (school) using the former title was less favourable treatment, she said.

The Tribunal does not accept this premise and does not consider that referring to someone as Miss instead of Mrs is less favourable treatment.

All of her claims were dismissed.
EXCLUSIVE

Talkback radio king Ray Hadley is among a number of high-profile industry figures who will likely be called to give evidence against his one-time colleague Alan Jones, should he be charged by police.

Jones, 83, was arrested at his palatial penthouse overlooking Sydney's Circular Quay on Monday morning after detectives spent nine months secretly building a case against the Sydney broadcaster.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal Hadley - and several other key 2GB staffers - have been interviewed by NSW Police following allegations Jones abused his powerful position to prey on vulnerable young men.

It is understood Hadley has indicated to detectives he is prepared to give evidence against his former top-rating colleague after one of Jones's alleged victims confided in him several years ago.

Hadley severed his relationship with Jones in the wake of the allegations being made public and has since offered his unequivocal support to those speaking up about their alleged encounters with the former breakfast radio icon.

Jones, 83, has been seen being driven away by detectives from the harbourside home to be quizzed at Sydney's Day St Police Station. He has not been charged with offences at this time.

Hadley and Jones are two of the most successful broadcasters in the nations history having transformed 2GB from a low-rating station into Sydneys high rating - and highly profitable - market leading outlet with their breakfast and morning shows.

Talkback radio king Ray Hadley ( pictured centre left with Jones, centre) is among a number of high-profile industry figures who will likely be called to give evidence against his one-time colleague Alan Jones

Detectives are seen during the raid on Jones's apartment on Sydney Harbour on Monday morning

Hadley addressed the police swoop on his morning radio show, but insisted his imminent retirement had nothing to do with Jones's arrest.

He worked with Jones at Sydney's top-rating radio station 2GB for many years and announced earlier this month that he was retiring after 43 years behind the microphone.

'To the narks who are contacting me about me leaving because of this and all the rest of it ... this had nothing whatsoever to do with my decision,' Hadley, 70, said on Monday.

'It is completely devoid of the decision I've taken.'

After telling listeners he intended to ring Nine newspaper journalist Kate McClymont, who broke the news of Jones' arrest on Monday, Hadley said he could not comment further on the matter 'because it will now be before the court'.

However, he also gave a cryptic explanation of why he could not talk about it any further, which hinted at his own involvement in the investigation.

'And at some time in the future, those reasons why I'm not commenting on today will become patently obvious to everyone, patently obvious,' Hadley said.

That meaning is now clear.

Ray Hadley addressed the police swoop on his morning radio show, but insisted his imminent retirement had nothing to do with Jones arrest

Last December Hadley revealed his 30-year relationship with Jones had been 'severed' after the accusations were made against the 83-year-old.

Hadley said a former 2GB employee, who was given the pseudonym of Brad Webster, confided in him during a private meeting that he was one of four men alleging Jones had groped him and performed other inappropriate acts.

'I regard this man not as an attention-seeker or someone who seeks notoriety - but rather directly the opposite,' he said.

'The behaviour he was alleging was unwanted sexual advances from a person in power, that person being his boss Alan Jones.'

Hadley said he had offered to be Webster's 'support person' at 2GB and speak to the then-station owner and chairman about his allegations.

'He told me at the start of our conversation that what he was alleging had never been shared with anyone except for me that day,' he said.

'He asked for my complete assurance that I would not share the story with anyone unless he expressly gave me permission.

'In the next 40 minutes I sat silently as he went through the allegations documented in today's (Sydney Morning Herald) story, interrupted only by his tears as he tried to compose himself.

'As a fierce supporter for anyone who finds themselves in this type of situation, my support and actions are always guided by the alleged victims.

'If they ask me not to pursue the matter I respect their wishes.'

Jones has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and his lawyers have described the allegations against him as demonstrably false and defamatory.

Jones, 83, was arrested at his luxurious Circular Quay apartment in central Sydney on Monday morning in connection with allegations he indecently assaulted, groped or inappropriately touched young men

Hadley will sign-off from his top-rating morning show for the final time on December 13 despite having about two years left to run on his multimillion-dollar deal at Nine.

After announcing the move last week Hadley said he wanted to spend more time with wife Sophie, his children and grandchildren after decades of 3.30am starts.

'I achieved far more than I have thought I would,' Hadley told listeners.

'My children, Dan, Laura, Emma and Sarah, have made many sacrifices over the years for me to realise my ambitions.

'Seven years ago I had no grandchildren, now I have seven, and I want to spend more time in the company of Ava, Noah, Ella, Lola, Tommy, Remi and Millar along with their parents.'

Daily Mail Australia revealed last week that Hadley was seen 'deep in conversation' with executives at Sky News Australia, with a TV gig possible in the near future.
President-elect Donald Trump will tap Brendan Carr as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, he said in a statement on Sunday.

Carr is currently the top Republican on the FCC, an independent agency which regulates interstate and international communications.

Calling him a 'warrior for Free Speech,' Trump first nominated Carr to serve on the FCC in 2017.

'His current term runs through 2029 and, because of his great work, I will now be designating him as permanent Chairman,' Trump, 78, said in a statement.

'Commissioner Carr is a warrior for Free Speech, and has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that stifled Americans' Freedoms and held back our economy,' he added.

Carr, 45, has stuck to his GOP leanings in recent months, continually criticizing the Biden White House's handling of broadband expansion subsidies.

Carr also authored a chapter on the FCC in the Project 2025 planning document, in which he argued how the agency should also regulate the largest tech companies, such as Apple, Meta, Google and Microsoft.

On Friday, Carr posted on X to attack Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft for playing 'central roles in the censorship cartel,' which he said 'must be dismantled.'

President-elect Donald Trump will tap Brendan Carr as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, he said in a statement on Sunday

On Friday, Carr posted on X to attack Apple, Facebook , Google and Microsoft for playing 'central roles in the censorship cartel,' which he said 'must be dismantled'

Calling him a 'warrior for Free Speech,' Trump first nominated Carr to serve on the FCC in 2017

'The Orwellian named NewsGuard along with 'fact checking' groups & ad agencies helped enforce one-sided narratives,' Carr wrote.

X owner, Musk, has backed Carr's prospects for the FCC chairmanship  reposted his claims and announcement.

Carr's posting suggests he may tackle Silicon Valley head on as he attempts to expand the powers of the FCC by pushing to oversee companies like Meta and Google, although that might require new legislation to be passed through Congress.

In a recent statement congratulating Trump's election victory, Carr said FCC priorities should include 'reining in Big Tech' and 'ensuring that broadcasters operate in the public interest.'

'He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America's Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America,' Trump wrote.

Trump has made it clear he would like to bring the FCC under tighter White House control and use it to punish TV networks that have fact-checked him or otherwise covered him critically.

Carr has backed Trump's call for licenses to be stripped from all three major broadcast networks for coverage choices that he has denounced.

Carr criticized NBC for letting Vice President Kamala Harris appear on Saturday Night Live just before the election and has been a supporter of Elon Musk's efforts to win subsidies for broadband internet service.

Carr has backed Trump's call for licenses to be stripped from all three major broadcast networks for coverage choices that he has denounced

Carr has also been cozying up to Elon Musk. The billionaire entrepreneur is a close ally of Trump

His Starlink satellite internet provider received an $885 million grant in late 2020 from the FCC's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund that aims to bring high-speed internet to rural homes and businesses.

But the Democratic-led FCC revoked the grant in 2022 when Starlink failed to meet speed requirements and could not prove that would serve enough unconnected rural homes.

Carr opposed the decision, saying how the Biden administration had targeted Musk.

'In my view, it amounted to nothing more than regulatory lawfare against one of the left's top targets: Mr. Musk,' Carr wrote in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal last month.

Carr will be able to get started in his role as FCC chairman straight away once Trump enters office on January 20 since he is on the commission already.

Trump's decision to nominate Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general drew open shock and alarm from Democrats

Some of Trump's latest selections have landed like lead balloons as he prioritizes loyalists for top jobs.

His decision to nominate Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general drew open shock and alarm from Democrats who worry he will unleash retribution on Trump's opponents and protect his allies from prosecution.

Even Gaetzs fellow Republican House members, who were meeting in the Capitol when the announcement landed, initially thought the news was a joke.

Another pick that has raised eyebrows was his choice to lead the Defense Department.

Pete Hegseth is a veteran who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay and received two bronze stars.

He served as executive director of Concerned Veterans for America and has written several books on the topic.

But he has no experience at the Pentagon or in running an organization that comes close to the size and complexity of the Defense Department.

Pete Hegseth is Trump's choice to lead the Defense Department. Hegseth is a veteran who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay and received two bronze stars

Trump's choice of Robert F Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic who has pledged to gut federal health research and oversight is the latest example of Trump prioritizing loyalty over expertise

Trump's choice of Robert F Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic who has pledged to gut federal health research and oversight, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services was the latest example of Trump prioritizing loyalty over expertise.

Kennedy was a staunch opponent of the very COVID-19 vaccines whose production Trump jumpstarted in 2020.

But he delivered a key endorsement for Trump and helped the Republican broaden his electoral appeal.

While even Trump aides had dismissed Kennedy's chances for getting a Cabinet post given some of his extreme policy views, the president-elect pushed it through anyway, showing he would not submit to voices of caution.

Trump named Florida senator Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making the critic-turned-ally his choice for top diplomat

Meanwhile, Trump named Florida senator Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making the critic-turned-ally his choice for top diplomat.

Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket last summer.

Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator once called a 'con man' during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals.

Rubio's reputation as a national security hawk, embracing Trumps plan for mass deportation of migrants and knack for polarizing rhetoric is likely to alienate even some U.S. allies in the region unwilling to fall in line with the incoming president's America First foreign policy.
A foreign paedophile who abused his stepdaughter and two of her cousins has been allowed to stay in Scotland  because deporting him would breach his right to a family life.

The man in his 50s, originally from central Africa, was found guilty of vile sex attacks on the three young girls.

The severity of his offences meant he was to be automatically sent back to his homeland.

But even though his victims were members of his extended family, his deportation was blocked as he claimed his family life would suffer  despite a judge ruling he continues to pose a risk.

Last night Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: The public will be appalled that this dangerous criminal can remain in Scotland.

'Common sense should mean that public safety is always prioritised rather than offenders.

The man  who cannot be named for legal reasons  was born in central Africa in the early 1970s.

A foreign paedophile who abused his stepdaughter and two of her cousins has been allowed to stay in Scotland  because deporting him would breach his right to a family life (pictured: Home Office in Marsham Street, London)

Identified in official documents as MD, he arrived in the UK in 2008 and claimed asylum but was initially rejected. Using publicly funded legal aid, he went to court to argue he should be allowed to remain.

He married a British woman and fathered three children and became stepfather to his wifes daughter from a previous marriage.

In July 2014 he was given leave to remain after a judge accepted he had a settled family life in the UK.

In December 2020 he was convicted at Glasgow High Court of assault, sexual penetration and sexual assault on three girls in his family including his stepdaughter, who was nine, and two of her cousins.

Sentencing him to three years in jail for the particularly serious and appalling crime, the judge said: Not only was it sexually motivated for your own gratification, but also the offences were committed on victims in whom you had instilled trust.

MD is now living freely in Glasgow and is allowed to see his biological children  even though they live with the stepdaughter. The Home Office (pictured) said it is challenging the ruling

Foreign nationals who commit serious criminal offences are automatically subject to deportation and the Home Secretary ordered MD to be sent back to his homeland in August 2022.

However, MD appealed the deportation order, claiming it would be unduly harsh for his biological children.

A judge stated MD had no legitimate claim to refugee status but ruled that deportation would breach his rights to a family life  enshrined under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)  and negatively impact the wellbeing of his children.

MD is now living freely in Glasgow and is allowed to see his biological children  even though they live with the stepdaughter.

The Home Office said it is challenging the ruling.

A record number of asylum seekers claiming to be gay have been allowed to stay in Britain in a suspected abuse of ECHR rules.

In 2023, 2,133 asylum applications were granted on the basis of sexual orientation, a sharp rise from 762 in 2022. Extraordinarily, 49 per cent of all asylum applications from Ugandans involved a claim to being gay.

Under the ECHR, those likely to face persecution at home because of their sexuality can claim asylum in the UK. The Home Office said its processes are underpinned by a robust framework of safeguards.
Anthony Albanese is fast becoming the ham in the proverbial sandwich as China and the United States duke it out, now that Donald Trump is set to return as US President in January.

While Trump aides are happy to throw sand in the PM's eyes, scolding his loyalty to Trump critic and Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd, China's state controlled newspaper has chosen a very different path. It has praised our PM.

The China Daily ran an editorial last week saying that other western leaders should emulate Albo, describing him glowingly as 'waking up' to the importance of China economically, and as having shown 'strategic autonomy' by not becoming a mini-me supporter of the US.

It's not necessarily the sort of support Albo wants ahead of a potentially tight election campaign.

China remains a totalitarian regime that shuns democratic principles. Which is one of many reasons why the AUKUS submarine deal with the United States has been hailed as a masterstroke by both major parties.

Only the Greens are calling for the deal to be scuttled, having doubled down on that sentiment since Trump's successful re-election.

While the state controlled Chinese newspaper is in thrall of Albo, it has been highly critical of past Aussie PMs, including Scott Morrison, who was scolded for his close relationship with Trump during the returning President's first term.

Today Albo will meet with Chinese President Xi at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. All eyes will be on just how cozy the pair are and what the PM and President have to say about their meeting.

Anthony Albanese and Xi Jinping during a meeting on the Australian Prime Minister's trip to China in November 2023

Australia is the ham in the proverbial sandwich as China and the US duke it out

Meanwhile Trump has pledged to impose huge tariffs on China and other nations, which could be disastrous for a trading nation like Australia.

Albo discussed the importance of trade in a recent telephone conversation with the incoming US President, but did not explicitly request Australia be exempted from any shift towards greater protectionism under a Trump administration.

He has been criticised for the omission.

The danger for Albo, and by extension the Labor government and Australia, is that if Team Trump start to regard the PM as too close to China, it might weaken our diplomatic standing with the US. In turn weakening our capacity to seek exemptions from incoming tariffs.

However, any attempt to parlay that concern by drawing closer to the US could provoke a reaction from China. We know from experience that China can be quick to retaliate with trade sanctions of its own.

There is no denying that Australia needs to delicately manage its relationship with both superpowers in the coming years and decades.

One is our key strategic ally, the other has emerged as our number one trading partner. China is also seeking to become more militarily dominant in our region, while the US remains our second biggest trading partner notwithstanding our military alliance.

Ever since Gough Whitlam opened relations with the Communist leadership of China in the 1970s, Australia has attempted to balance that emerging relationship with our historical ties to the US.

However the rise and rise of China into the 21st Century has made doing so ever more difficult, as Australian economic dependence on exports to China have locked in national prosperity.

Albo is now right in the middle of what is an increasingly tense balancing act. One that is likely to become more tense with Trump's return.
Those who allege they were abused as children have been left facing delays of six years for their cases to come to court.

The Mail can reveal that women, who claim the same man attacked them when they were children, reported allegations to police in 2020.

But pressure on police time meant the suspect was not charged until early last year, with a trial set to start at Manchester Crown Court this month.

But they said they were contacted by Victim Support ahead of the start date and told lack of court time meant it was now being put back until deep into 2026.

The case joins a growing list of trials that are being held up because of problems with court schedules, as well as a lack of judges and barristers.

Earlier this month another alleged child sex abuse victim revealed her anguish at her Ipswich Crown Court case being repeatedly delayed. It was originally set to begin in 2022 but will now be held in 2026.

The Law Society has complained that some cases are being listed for as far off as spring 2027.

One of the women whose case was due to be heard in Manchester told the Mail: How can they cancel these types of cases? Im on the verge of pulling out, which means potentially he [the alleged attacker] gets away Scot-free.

Alleged child abuse victims are facing court delays of up to six years. Women who reported allegations to police in 2020 have found that the suspect was not charged until early last year, with a trial set to start at Manchester Crown Court (pictured) this month

A shortage of judges and barristers mean trials are being held up, with some being listed as far off as spring 2027 (file photo)

I was waiting for the trial date thinking I could cope up to that date but now I dont know what Im supposed to do. Its another 18 months and its going to be six years from the day I picked up the phone [to contact police].

Theres a reason why so few cases [of this type] come to court and thats the amount of distress it puts you through. Im an independent, powerful person in my work but this has left me a wreck.

The alleged victim in the Ipswich case, who is in her 30s, said: Being a victim of childhood sexual violence comes with its own trauma but the court process feel like another trauma in itself.

The backlog of crown court cases has reached a record 71,000, with Anthony Rogers, the chief inspector of the watchdog which monitors the performance of the Crown Prosecution Service, warning it could soar to more than 100,000.

He has called for radical reforms including judge-only trials and magistrates handling more cases instead of crown courts.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said it was considering ways to fast track certain cases through the system while providing funding to increase the number of court sitting days.
Police forces should focus on tackling crime, not policing peoples tweets, Sir Keir Starmer said yesterday.

In an apparent climb down, the Prime Minister urged the police to concentrate on what matters most to their communities, rather than being drawn into investing resources in tackling so-called non-crime hate incidents.

Downing Street backed the police over the controversial practice last week, saying it was important that the police can capture data relating to non-crime hate incidents where it is proportionate and necessary to do so to help prevent serious crimes which may later occur.

The response triggered a backlash, with civil liberties groups branding the approach Orwellian and accusing forces of trying to police thought crime.

Speaking to reporters while travelling to Rio de Janeiro yesterday, Sir Keir signalled that he wanted the police to focus on dealing with crime.

Firstly, obviously, this is a matter for the police themselves, police force by police force. So they can make their decisions and will obviously be held to account for those decisions, he said.

There is a review going on of this particular aspect but, you know, I think that as a general principle the police should concentrate on what matters most to their communities.

A government source added: You can take it from that that the PM wants the police to put tackling crime first.

Sir Keir Starmer has said that police should focus on 'what matters most to their communities' amid a fallout over the investigation into Allison Pearson's tweet

The issue of 'non-crime hate incident' probes hit the headlines after journalist Ms Pearson said officers knocked her door to tell they were investigating one of her posts

A non-crime hate incident is where no criminal offence has been committed but the person reporting it believes the incident to be motivated by hostility.

The issue hit the headlines after journalist Allison Pearson said officers had knocked on her door to tell her they were investigating one of her tweets.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and former prime minister Boris Johnson are among those who have waded into the row about whether investigating non-crime hate incidents is a good use of police time.

Yesterday, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said police should stick to investigating genuine crimes rather than policing thought.

The former policing minister told GB News: It is ridiculous that public figures, journalists, but actually members of the public as well are getting police attention for essentially expressing opinions.

The police should concentrate on crime, genuine crime, not on policing thought.

He said that he was concerned about the category of non-crime hate incidents and said there should be an extremely high bar for police to investigate anything that doesnt meet the criminal threshold.

He added: People, journalists in particular, but the public as well, should not be getting visits from the police in relation to expressing opinions.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is among those who have waded into the row about whether police are making good use of their time investigating 'non-crime hate incidents'

And sometimes those opinions might be offensive, but we need to be very careful where that criminal line is drawn.

He later told the BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that police are using hate laws wrongly 90per cent of the time.

Mr Philps intervention came as Roger Hirst, Essex Polices Fire and Crime Commissioner, defended the forces visit to Ms Pearson.

He said that while he didnt want thought police, we cant go around ignoring crimes just because its politically sensitive.

And we perhaps need to just think about how our black and Asian communities are hearing this debate, he told LBC.

He was responding to comments by former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith who said police investigating non-crime hate incidents was thought police territory.

He added that it was an absurdity while there werent enough officers to tackle shoplifters.
An Indiana family is demanding answers after a pregnant mother-of-three went missing just days before she was due to give birth to her fourth child.

Emma Baum, 25, was last seen on October 10 in Gary, Indiana, visiting her boyfriend - the father of her unborn child - at the intersection of 25th Avenue and Connecticut Street.

The area that she vanished is known to be desolate, and Baum did not have a working phone on her at the time she disappeared, according to NBC Chicago.

She was also already one centimeter dilated on October 4, and her family now says it is likely she has already given birth - as they comb the area looking for any clues as to her whereabouts.

Volunteers have searched overgrown fields, knocked on doors and passed out flyers, as K-9 units search for her scent, CBS News reports.

Emma Baum, 25, was last seen on October 10 in Gary, Indiana just days before she was set to give birth to her fourth child

Her family is pleading for any help in locating her, as they beg her to come home

Baum's sister, Hailey, has even stopped people in their cars and stopped people who were walking in the neighborhood to ask them if they knew where she may be, she said at an emotional news conference on Friday.

'We have put our own lives at risk,' her other sister, Abigale Smith, added. 'We have run into abandoned houses, we have dug in dirt piles.

'At this point, we have done everything we can, and now we ask the public to please help us.'

The family now suspects her boyfriend knows something about Emma's disappearance, as police confirmed he was taken into custody for an unrelated matter.

The unidentified man has not been charged in connection with Emma's disappearance, Gary Police Commander Jack Hamady said.

She was last seen in a desolate neighborhood of Gary, Indiana, visiting the father of her unborn child

Volunteers have searched overgrown fields, knocked on doors and passed out flyers, as K-9 units search for her scent

He said police have questioned multiple people in connection with the case, and noted to WGN-TV that officers are continuing to scour the area.

'There are three locations that have come up in the investigation, so we've exhausted those means, and looked into video that was possibly in those areas that she was last seen as well.'

Still, Baum's family is not giving up hope.

'We're always going to look for her,' her mother, Jamie Baum, said. 'I'm never going to stop looking for her. My whole family will never stop looking for you, Emma.'

'We love you, Emma. And if you can hear us, there is nothing that you have done to make any of us stop loving you,' Smith added.

Emma is described as 5-feet-3-inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes, though she is known to wear wigs

The family said they hope to have Emma home for Thanksgiving.

She is described as 5-feet-3-inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes.

Baum has several tattoos and scars along her arms, and is known to have experimented with different colored wigs.
Emmy Award-winning chef and television personality Guy Fieri, left, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Sammy Hagar reported that two freight trucks carrying $1 million worth of their co-owned tequila brand Santo Spirits was allegedly stolen in what appears to have been a targeted heist this month. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Bay Area celebrity chef Guy Fieri and former Van Halen vocalist Sammy Hagar reported that two freight trucks carrying $1 million worth of their co-owned tequila brand Santo Spirits, was allegedly stolen in what appears to have been a targeted heist this month.

According to a spokesperson for Marin County resident Hagar, the trucks were hijacked on Nov. 9, in Laredo, Texas, as they were crossing the U.S. border.

Santa Rosa resident Fieri said he was alerted to the crime on Thursday by the companys logistics partner, Johanson, who informed him that neither truck  one destined for California, the other for Pennsylvania  reached its destination.

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Investigators for Johanson said the shipments had been illegally double-brokered to other carriers. The theft was suspected to be part of an organized crime operation.

According to a police report, the thieves likely used a GPS emulator to spoof the tracking signal and mislead authorities. The stolen cargo included just over 4,000 cases of tequila, totaling 24,240 bottles of Santo Blanco, reposado and an exclusive extra anejo, which took 39 months to produce.

Weve worked so hard, Fieri told People, which first reported the theft. This is our best year weve ever had in Santo. We just had all this momentum, and now whatevers on the shelf is all people are going to get.

John Mayer, left, Sammy Hagar, Tom Consolo and Guy Fieri attend the Hollywood Walk of Fame Star ceremony honoring Hagar in Hollywood on April 30. Two trucks filled with 24,240 bottles of tequila made by Hagar and Fieris company was allegedly stolen in Texas on Nov. 9. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

He speculated that the theft of two trucks may have been a deliberate attempt to disrupt the brands rapid growth.

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I mean, one is one, Fieri said. But now youve got to have double the amount of people to pull off the double heist. It just seems so much riskier to take two trucks.

The heist has not only disrupted Santo Spirits operations but also put a strain on the companys relationship with its Mexican distillery.

The distillery, an independent operation, is scrambling to replace the stolen stock, said Santo President Dan Butkus.

Our distiller is an independent distiller whos dependent on our sales for his livelihood and that of his team, Butkus said. Thats sort of the piece thats most hurtful to me. Weve got to support these people both at the distillery and in the U.S., and we cant do it right now without the revenue from these cases.

Authorities, including the Laredo Police Department and CargoNet, a federal organization that tracks cargo thefts, are investigating the crime. Fieri has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the trucks, with a particular emphasis on locating the stolen extra anejo, which he called the crown jewel of the brand.

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You cant reproduce something that takes four years to make, he said.

A spokesperson for Verisk, the parent company of CargoNet, told People that 2024 has seen a record surge in cargo thefts, with incidents expected to rise more than 25% over 2023 levels.
The tasering of a 95-year-old woman was never meant to lead to her death but was done to prevent others from being stabbed, the police officer who fired the weapon has told a jury.

Senior Constable Kristian White discharged his stun gun at Clare Nowland in a treatment room at Yallambee Lodge aged-care home in the southern NSW town of Cooma during the early hours of May 17, 2023.

The great-grandmother, who had symptoms of dementia and was holding a steak knife at the time, fell backwards, hitting her head, and died a week later in hospital.

As White's trial entered its second week on Monday, the 34-year-old explained from the witness box that he only intended to incapacitate the aged-care resident and disarm her of the bladed weapon.

'I'm upset and devastated by it,' he told the NSW Supreme Court.

'I never intended for her to be injured by it at all.'

The senior constable pointed the stun gun at Mrs Nowland as she shuffled forwards out of the treatment room, ignoring four of his verbal warnings and the loud electrical crackles of the weapon's warning arc.

Senior Constable Kristian White (pictured) told the court he 'never intended' for Clare Nowland to be injured when he discharged his stun gun

Clare Nowland (pictured) ignored loud electrical cackles of the Taser's warning arc, Kristian White said

The great grandmother on the night she was tasered (pictured)

Kristian White (pictured) was unaware of the police tasering procedure until Jessica Pank showed him

White argued he tried to give the 95-year-old every opportunity to drop the knife.

He eventually said 'nah, bugger it' before firing the weapon because it was clear the incident - during which Mrs Nowland had been armed with the knife for several hours - was not going to be resolved without force.

'I didn't want to have to tase Clare but I was also weighing up the safety of everyone present,' White told the jury.

The 95-year-old had shown an intention to use the knife by raising it towards anyone who approached. Walking away and letting her wander elsewhere in the facility would have been a gamble that put more people at risk, the officer said.

'Our job is to maintain the peace,' he said under questioning from his defence barrister, Troy Edwards SC.

'Letting her wander the corridors armed with a knife would definitely in my mind be a breach of that peace.'

White said he thought the tasering was justified as it met the exceptional criteria test required by police for the use of the weapon on an elderly person.

Senior Constable Jessica Pank (centre) leaving the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Sydney

But he admitted he did not know of this test until after the incident, when his partner, then acting Sergeant Jessica Pank, showed him the police procedures.

White is due to undergo a grilling by crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC as the trial continues.

The officer pleaded not guilty to manslaughter after being accused of criminal negligence or conducting an unlawful and dangerous act that led to the unlawful killing of Mrs Nowland.
Mining behemoth Glencore has spoken out about the rising energy costs in Australia, which it claims are at least double those in countries like China and the US.

Gary Nagle, who is the CEO of the Switzerland-based company, didn't pull any punches during a brief visit to Australia last week.

'Energy costs for Glencore's metals business in Queensland are about double or more than those in India, China, Canada and the US,' he told the Herald Sun.

'As a result, Australia's competitiveness is being impacted.'

He said the high prices made Australia a less attractive place for international businesses to invest.

Nagle paid visits to Queensland premier David Crisafulli and the Minns government in NSW during his visit.

He said he welcomed the new LNP government in Queensland but added that 'high royalties and the cost of power continue to be big issues for our sector'.

He also complained about inconsistent project approval rules - for example, the discrepancy between the federal and NSW government's emissions targets.

Mining behemoth Glencore has spoken out about the rising energy costs in Australia, which it claims are at least double those in countries like China and the US (pictured, Liddell Power Station in NSW)

The federal target is to slash emissions to 43 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, while the NSW target is a 50 per cent reduction.

These rules were hampering Glencore's application for the Hunter Valley Operations coal mine, an approval process that began in 2020.

'We would like to see a single set of rules to play by. Project approvals are a key issue for us in NSW, in particular the HVO continuation project.'

Glencore is the world's fifth-largest resources company.

More than 17,000 Australians work for for the company across 22 mines - it's the country's biggest producer of coal, but it also mines zinc, copper, lead, cobalt and nickel.

Last year, the mining giant announced that its Mount Isa underground mine operation in Queensland 's north-west would shut down within two years, citing low ore quality and ageing infrastructure.

The closure of one of the world's biggest copper mines won't just impact on the mine's 1,200 workers, it will also have a dramatic ripple effect on the 18,317 residents who call Mount Isa home.

Glencore's announcement prompted an impromptu fly-in visit from the Queensland government which announced a $50 million support package.

It is estimated untouched minerals found in the northwest province are valued at $500 billion.
A former director of the CDC under Donald Trump says he believes COVID-19 may have been born in a North Carolina laboratory as part of a secret biodefense program.

Robert Redfield has previously been a proponent of the 'lab leak' theory which posits the disease came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

Now Redfield - a frequent critic of Dr. Anthony Fauci - says that the disease may have origins in the Tar Heel State.

Appearing on the Third Opinion podcast, Redfield flat out stated that COVID-19 was 'intentionally engineered as a part of a biodefense program.'

He now argues that China did not necessarily create the virus and did the best that they could once 'they realized they had a problem.

However, he calls the United States' role in the development of the virus 'substantial.'

He claims that the American government holds responsibility for funding research into the NIH, USAID and the Department of Defense.

He then calls out researcher Dr. Ralph Baric from the University of North Carolina, whom he calls 'the scientific mastermind' behind all of this.

Robert Redfield has previously been a proponent of the 'lab leak' theory which posits the disease came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China . Now Redfield - a frequent critic of Dr. Anthony Fauci - says that the disease may have origins in the Tar Heel State

'I think he probably helped create some of the original viral lines, but I cant prove that. But he was very involved,' he said.

When pressed on whether the virus was 'actually developed here' and that the Chinese may have been wrongfully accused of developing the virus, Redfield doubles down.

'Well, I dont know if they were framed, but I think there is a real possibility that the viruss birthplace was Chapel Hill,' Redfield said, naming the hometown of the University of North Carolina.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Dr. Baric for comment.

The virus is believed to have originated in bats, but debate is currently raging over whether it leaked from the Wuhan lab - and whether it was modified by Chinese scientists to become more contagious beforehand.

Redfield, who was CDC director under the Trump administration, has in the past said Fauci was 'holding on tightly' to the theory that the virus evolved naturally, before likening the White House COVID tsar to a 'dog with a bone.'

And in 2021, he slammed the 'highly compromised' World Health Organization for not cracking down on China at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and for letting its communist government dictate the terms of the WHO probe into the origins of COVID.

Donald Trump and his supporters were widely derided for sharing the same theory when he was president.

Redfield calls out researcher Dr. Ralph Baric from the University of North Carolina, whom he calls 'the scientific mastermind' behind all of this

Redfield, who was CDC director under the Trump administration, has in the past said Fauci was 'holding on tightly' to the theory that the virus evolved naturally, before likening the White House COVID tsar to a 'dog with a bone'

Redfield, who doesn't believe the virus was intentionally leaked by China, said COVID-19's ability to spread rapidly from human-to-human was unlike other coronaviruses such as SARS.

Redfield said he was 'disappointed' there was a lack of openness within the scientific community early on to investigate both hypotheses.

Some scientists, the media and academics long heaped scorn on the lab leak hypothesis, insisting that it was a fringe conspiracy theory and even racist after Donald Trump embraced the idea.

New evidence, including reports of three workers at the Wuhan lab who fell seriously ill with COVID-like symptoms in November 2019, has forced a sober reassessment among doubters.

Redfield went on to say that it was a 'critical error' to treat COVID-19 the same as SARS in January and February last year.

'By calling it SARS-like, we mounted a public health response that was mirrored off SARS. The problem is, COVID is nothing like SARS,' Redfield said, adding that response was 'flawed'.

Redfield acknowledged that he should have pushed harder for the CDC to be allowed into the Wuhan lab when the virus first emerged and said the World Health Organization was compromised by China.

'I think they were highly compromised. Clearly they were incapable of compelling China to adhere to the treaty agreements they have on global health,' Redfield said.
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A grieving mother, whose son took his own life during Victoria's brutal Covid lockdowns under Dan Andrews, is petitioning for the former premier to lose a lucrative mental health role.

Mr Andrews, who suddenly quit as Victorian premier a year ago, has been appointed chairman of not-for-profit youth mental health service Orygen, which will reportedly pay him around $75,000 a year to attend six scheduled meetings every 12 months.

Ange Shearman, whose 16-year-old son Louie took his own life in April 2020 during Victoria's 262 days of lockdown, has created a change.org petition to demand Orygen strip Mr Andrews of the plum job.

'I lost my 16-year-old son to suicide in April 2020, during the first of Dan Andrew's record six lockdowns,' Ms Shearman wrote on the petition.

'Louie might have been ground zero in the suicide statistics that were a consequence of the inhumane lockdowns that impacted our young people, but tragically, he is now one of many.

'Last weekend, my son would have turned 21.

'Instead, our family and his many friends had a fundraiser to support youth mental health charities. We raised over $25,000 for local regional mental health services that have been left decimated by recent cuts by the State Government.

'I don't want any more young people to be a statistic like Louie, I don't want any more families to suffer the existential shattering that occurs when you lose a child to suicide.'

Anglea Shearman, who lost her 16-year-old son Louie (pictured) to suicide during Victoria's brutal lockdowns, is petitioning to have former premier Dan Andrews stripped of a lucrative mental health job

Ms Shearman said she, her husband Brent and daughter Matilda 'will never be the same' following the unspeakable tragedy.

'We have been to hell and back, and I have chosen to share our story in the hope that Louie's death is not in vain,' she said.

'But today, we are in shock.

'How can a divisive ex-premier in Andrews, who has wreaked havoc on Victoria, presided over the longest lockdowns in the world with the highest suicide rates, be appointed to chair Orygen, a prominent and respected youth mental health body.

'The optics alone are horrendous. It's like Orygen and the ex-premier are gaslighting the most vulnerable people in our state.

'It's unbelievable and I'm asking for your support to reverse this. Orygen must think again.'

Mr Andrews (pictured right with wife Catherine) has been appointed chair of not-for-profit youth mental health agency Orygen

Ms Shearman's petition has been supported by Sky News host Peta Credlin, who shared it on her social media

Ms Shearman's petition received support from Sky News host Peta Credlin who shared it on her social media accounts.

'Ange Shearman is one of my oldest and dearest friends,' Credline wrote.

Those commenting under the petition, which had gathered over 10,000 signatures with its target being 15,000, shared Ms Shearman's outrage and bewilderment at the appointment.

'This man (Mr Andrews) orchestrated extreme escalation in mental health issues and rates of suicide amongst youth during his term as premier,' one person wrote.

'It is abhorrent that he would be appointed to this position.'

Victoria's apparently endless series of lockdowns previously led Orygen executive director Professor Patrick McGorry to express concern about the toll they were taking.

Prof McGorry told ABC's 7.30 in July 2021 that lockdowns were affecting the mental health of all Victorians but particularly young people.

'We've seen a surge of demand, a surge of need for care,' he said.

'But we haven't been able to meet it because of the level of resourcing that we've actually had.'

Orygen executive director Professor Patrick McGorry has backed Mr Andrews' appointment despite voicing his concern during the lockdowns about the effect they were having on youth mental health

'We can't keep going through these lockdowns. I think people are totally over it. (Lockdowns] sap the wellbeing  the joy out of life.

'Morale suffers  there's the impact on social connectedness, social cohesion.'

Three years on Professor McGorry has backed Mr Andrews' appointment as Orygen chairman.

'With 20 years of leadership in mental health reform, Dan Andrews will be an outstanding leader for Orygen and the field of youth mental health,' Professor McGorry said.

'Mr Andrews has a proven record as an agent of change with a strategic mindset, which are invaluable attributes for Orygen as we continue to lead youth mental health reform while navigating funding challenges to secure the support we need to sustain our vital work.'

A longitudinal study of 1,211 students in years 11 and 12 who experienced extended lockdowns in Melbourne over 2020 and 2021 found over 50 per cent reported symptoms of depression and 25 per cent reported symptoms of anxiety.

The risks were higher for students with pre-existing mental health conditions but 20 per cent experienced mental ill health for the first time.

At Monash Children's Hospital Adolescent Medicine Eating Disorder Unit saw an eating disorder admissions increase by 126 per cent in 2020 compared with the mean yearly admissions from 2016 to 2019.

Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital Eating Disorder Service found Covid restrictions were reported as a trigger for eating disorder behaviours in over 40 per cent of adolescents diagnosed with anorexia nervosa in 2020.

The rate of intentional self-harm hospitalisations in Victoria for females aged 15 to 19 spiked in 2020 to 2021.

Orygen reported in September there had been 'an alarming increase in death by suicide for young people in Victoria' with incidents for 18-24 demographic increasing by 48 per cent compared to the same time last year.

A record number of Victorians, 801, died by suicide last year, including 73 aged between 18-24 and 26 under-18.

Mr Andrews is set to earn $225,000 over his three-year term at Orygen, which will be on top of his taxpayer-funded pension that costs Victorians more than $300,000 a year.

Prof McGorry has been contacted for comment.
A Supreme Court judge who assaulted and emotionally abused his then-partner has resigned.

Tasmanian Justice Gregory Geason was on Thursday sentenced to 100 hours community service as part of a 12-month community corrections order.

The 63-year-old was in October found guilty of one count of assault and one count of emotional abuse or intimidation.

Geason, who pleaded not guilty and faced a hearing, grabbed, shook, punched and pushed the woman at a Hobart home in October 2023.

She fell backwards and hit her head on a mantelpiece, suffering concussion and bruising.

The court was told Geason insulted the woman, tracked her movements and was aggressive, jealous and controlling.

His lawyer on Tuesday told Hobart Magistrates Court Geason intended to resign because he felt he no longer had the moral authority to continue as a judge.

'The government has received confirmation that Justice Gregory Geason has tendered his resignation as a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania with immediate effect,' Attorney-General Guy Barnett said in a statement on Monday.

Gregory Geason (pictured) has resigned after being appointed a judge in 2017. The court was told Geason insulted a woman, tracked her movements and was aggressive, jealous and controlling

Gregory Geason, 63, was found guilty in October of one count of assault and one count of emotional abuse or intimidation (pictured leaving the Hobart Magistrate's Court in July)

The government had planned to move a parliamentary motion on Tuesday to remove Geason had he not quit as flagged.

Geason had been on leave since being charged in November 2023 and had given a written pledge to not undertake judicial duties.

As part of the court order, he was told to continue mental health treatment and not leave Tasmania unless he had permission.

Sentencing magistrate Susan Wakeling noted publicity around the case had been 'damaging' to Geason and his 30-year legal career was effectively over.

Ms Wakeling described Geason's version of the assault, in which he said the woman tripped, as 'implausible' and said he had not shown remorse.

She said the woman, who told the court she spent months in hospital after the assault, was a truthful witness.

Earlier in October, Geason, who had served as a judge since 2017, pleaded guilty to breaching an apprehended family violence order in NSW.

Tasmania's parliament has passed law reforms after a government attempt in December to suspend Geason was abandoned because of constitutional concerns.

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The daughter of assassinated President John F. Kennedy has slammed the 'dangerous' views of her right-wing, anti-vaxxer cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr in a speech to Australian media.

US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy initially even refused to mention RFK Jr by name when she addressed the National Press Club in Canberra on Monday.

One reporter asked Kennedy whether Australia should be worried about intelligence-sharing with the US after Trump's nominee for Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was alleged to have ties with Russia.

'Let's see what happens with President Trump's appointments,' said Kennedy.

'They've been making waves, headlines. There's another one who's nominated for Health and Human Services.'

The audience laughed at her dismissively calling her cousin 'another one' after President-elect Trump picked RFK Jr to run the key US department, which also oversees vaccines.

But Ms Kennedy went even further shortly after when she was asked directly about RFK Jr's controversial views on vaccines and whether they might become more mainstream through his proposed role in the Trump administration.

In a break from convention - where ambassadors aren't supposed to comment on domestic political divisions - she gave a frank assessment of her relative.

The US Ambassador to Australia initially refused to mention RFK Jr by name

RFK Jr has made bizarre health claims, including that a worm 'ate' part of his brain

'I'm a sitting ambassador, and I'm not supposed to comment on politics, but, umm, now you're asking me to also comment on families - that's really a lot,' she said.

'Yes, I think Bobby Kennedy's views on vaccines are dangerous.

'But I don't think that most Americans share them, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

'I grew up with him, so I've known all this for a long time and others are just getting to know him.'

She said that her family was united in its support for the public health sector in the US, but that her cousin has got a 'different set of views'.

'My uncle, Teddy [Kennedy], spent 50 years fighting for affordable health care in the Senate, and it's something that our whole family is so proud of.

'The Affordable Care Act was built on the work that my uncle had done over many years.'

She added: 'I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure, and has the greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country.

'And Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views.'

Robert F Kennedy Jr, who dropped his own run for the presidency as an independent to endorse Trump, is an outspoken anti-vaxxer.

He has made bizarre health claims over the years, including that worm 'ate' part of his brain, chemicals in water are making children question their gender identity and vaccines cause autism.

The wild declaration about the worm in his brain was uncovered in his divorce proceeding documents, following his split with Mary Richardson in 2012.

He also falsely claimed Covid vaccines had killed more people than all jabs 'over the past 30 years' in what experts called an 'inaccurate representation of data'.

Experts fear his appointment, and the potential polices that could be implemented, could have consequences far beyond American shores, for instance with regards to vaccination rates.

Caroline Kennedy is the only surviving child of US president John F. Kennedy. RFK Jr. is her cousin and the son of John F. Kennedy's brother, the US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.
Donald Trump's MAGA faithful were outraged after it was leaked that Mitch McConnell hatched a plot to stall his Cabinet nominations in the Senate.

The backlash began after a now-deleted tweet from New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer claimed McConnell told colleagues 'there will be no recess appointments' for the president-elect's cabinet members.

'Message to Trump Team: "There will be no recess appointments" Sen. Mitch McConnell said tonight at a Washington gathering,' Mayer wrote on X at around 8 pm Sunday.

Trump has promised to use the strategy to defy Congressional oversight and bypass the Senate confirmation process when appointing people to senior administration positions.

He has demanded that the incoming GOP Senate leader back his use of recess appointments. McConnell recently stepped down from his position as GOP leader in the Senate and was replaced by South Dakota Senator John Thune.

Still, the 82-year-old McConnell seemed confident about his prediction. It's unclear if he will run for re-election in 2026 at 84 and could feel less influenced by his desire to keep his seat.

Mayer has since deleted the tweet without explanation, but not before it caused commotion among Trump supporters, who suspected something was foul was afoot.

Senator Mike Lee of Utah reiterated that 'McConnell is no longer the Senate GOP leader' before asking: 'Remember that time when McConnell decided he wouldnt be speaking for Senate Republicans anymore?'

Donald Trump 's MAGA faithful were outraged after it was leaked that Mitch McConnell hatched a plot to stall his Cabinet nominations in the Senate

The backlash began after a now-deleted tweet from New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer claimed McConnell told colleagues 'there will be no recess appointments' for the president-elect's cabinet members

Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida was one elected official to publicly deny to missive from Meyer.

'Yes, there will,' Scott said bluntly in response to the Meyer tweet.

But Scott, who also ran for the Senate Majority spot, lost to Thune after a private vote Wednesday morning.

Outside Congress, many of Trump's biggest supporters suspected McConnell of wanting to sabotage the Trump agenda.

'This guy is in for a rude awakening if he thinks hes going to usurp the will of 76 million people and dictate Trumps second term,' wrote a MAGA fan on X.

'Snitch McConnell is trying to block Trumps cabinet,' added another.

Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA turned the question over to incoming leader Thune: 'Senator Thune, care to chime in? Is this your position?'

Thune, the newly minted Senate Republican leader, was elected to usher in Trump's ambitious GOP agenda in Congress. DailyMail.com has reached out to spokespersons for Thune for comment.

The senior senator form South Dakota, 63, has had a complicated relationship with Trump over the years and many in the president-elect's orbit didn't want him in charge of the MAGA agenda.

John Thune, the incoming Senate Majority Leader, has expressed support for recess appointments. MAGA fans were outraged that McConnell, whom Thune is replacing, was trying to continue to throw his weight around

But in recent months, Thune has made his support for Trump known, becoming one of the first to endorse him during the primary. The pair reportedly talked on the phone after his victory Wednesday.

Thune has even come out and suggested recess appointments could be in play.

'One thing is clear: We must act quickly and decisively to get the president's Cabinet and other nominees in place as soon as possible to start delivering on the mandate we've been sent to execute, and all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments,' Thune said over the weekend.

The recess appointments would nix any Senate confirmation hearings, which are intended to give voters a chance to view the candidates as they are grilled on their positions.

The last time a recess appointment was used was in 2012 under former president Barack Obama.

That was before the Supreme Court ruled that the Senate must be on recess for at least 10 days before a president can use the mechanism, meaning the appointments could not be made while Congress was in pro forma sessions and making them effectively unusable.

Trump and President Biden have been unable to use them during their time in office.

The president-elect's relationship with Congress was tumultuous in his first term as he chafed at resistance to his selections and sought ways to work around lawmakers.

Rick Scott, the Florida Senator whom Thune beat for the leadership position, promised 'there will' be recess appointments, going against McConnell and leading the rage of Trump's base

With a sweeping election victory, he has become emboldened and demanded that Senate Republicans fall in line behind his agenda.

On Monday, Trump posted on X: 'Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner.

'Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again.

'We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY! Additionally, no Judges should be approved during this period of time because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. THANK YOU!'

X founder and close Trump ally Elon Musk, who is also said to be appointed the head of a new so-called 'Department of Government Efficiency,' backed the move.

'This is essential. There is no other way,' Musk commented on Trump's post on X.

Musk then added: 'Without recess appointments, it will take two years or more to confirm the new administration!

'This would make it impossible to enact the change demanded by the American people, which is utterly unacceptable.'

Matt Gaetz (pictured center) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (pictured right) are considered two of the riskier nominations to Trump's cabinet

Elon Musk (pictured left) and Mike Johnson (pictured right) have both endorsed the use of recess appointments to confirm Tulsi Gabbard (pictured center left) and Kennedy (pictured center right)

Musk backed Senator Scott, who eventually lost the leadership race to Senator Thune.

Trump has several controversial picks for his cabinet that may struggle to get the 50 votes needed for Senate confirmation.

Matt Gaetz (nominee for attorney general), Pete Hegseth (secretary of defense), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (secretary of health and human service) and Tulsi Gabbard (director of national intelligence) are considered the most difficult sells.

Republican Senators, who will hold the majority in January, have all expressed some doubts about their ability to be confirmed among normal circumstances.

Former George W. Bush Justice Department official John Yoo told DailyMail.com Thursday that a recess appointment is a complex matter.

'The recess appointments clause in the Constitution effectively allows the President to appoint cabinet officers for about two years without the need for Senate confirmation,' said Yoo.

However, that only happens if the House and Senate 'agree on when to adjourn.'

Over the last few decades, the Senate has never been out for recess for more than a few days at a time, as they can hold 'pro forma sessions.'

Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth is also considered a risky pick by Trump

Trump has promised to defy Congressional oversight and bypass the Senate confirmation process when appointing people to senior administration positions

That stops the president in power from conducting recess appointments whenever they wish.

Yoo went on to say that the Senate could 'retaliate' by 'refusing to adjourn, refusing to confirm any inferior officers, and cutting off funding to these officers and refusing to cooperate on Trump's priorities.'

The president-elect could try and force the Senate into recess himself or pressure Republicans to abdicate their own power, which Yoo says is unlikely.

Unless recess appointments are used, the confirmation process may be perilously slow, as it has become a difficult process in recent years.

George H.W. Bush had seven of his 15 cabinet members already confirmed by the Senate when he took office in 1989, according to the Partnership for Public Service.

Joe Biden had just one of his 36 cabinet members approved by a Democrat-majority Senate when he was inaugurated nearly four years ago.

Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all had 200 nominees confirmed by the time they had reached 200 days in office.

In that same amount of time, both Trump (119) and Biden (118) had significantly fewer, despite both belonging to parties that had control of the Senate in 2016 and 2020, respectively.

However, Clinton, Bush and Obama all had Senate majorities of 55 seats or higher when they took office, whereas Trump and Biden have never had more than 53 Senators on their side.

The three presidents before Trump's first term all had more than 200 nominees confirmed by 200 days in office. Trump had 119 and Biden had 118 confirmed nominees at that point, although Trump had nominated far fewer people than other presidents.
As Schoolies celebrations kicked off over the weekend, one Australian researcher is urging parents to discuss a new threat that has emerged - OnlyFans stars.

Up to 20,000 young people have descended on the Sunshine State strip to party, with parents worrying from afar as their kids leave the nest for the first time.

For emergency services, it's a demanding period, with many celebrations derailed by drunkenness and violence.

According to a DrinkWise study, nearly a quarter of school leavers binge drink during Schoolies and one in five report consume even more alcohol after the event.

Researcher Amy Pennay said young people are drinking less over time but the 18-24 age group remains the peak time for experimentation.

'It becomes an even more risky time because you're not used to drinking, you don't know what it takes to get drunk and your tolerance is very low,' the alcohol policy researcher at La Trobe University said.

'You feel like it's not working and then all of the sudden it hits you all at once.

The first weekend of Schoolies on the Gold Coast saw the majority of partying teenagers doing the right thing

The two-week event will see more than 20,000 teens descend on the popular tourist destination to celebrate the end of 13 years of school

'I think that's why at Schoolies we see a lot of intoxication behaviour and increase in emergency departments.'

School leavers tend to take more risks after the stress of the final year of education ends and there is a sudden release of responsibilities, Dr Pennay said.

This year's Schoolies has already been plagued by drama with backlash to adult content creator Bonnie Blue who promised to bed 'barely legal' men at the event and film it to publish on a subscription-based site.

Her visa was revoked as she would be breaching her conditions by carrying out work in Australia.

It was predictable that teens might be interested in taking up Ms Blue's offer, however it came down to their brain chemistry, psychology researcher Rachael Sharman said.

She said the 18-year-olds attending Schoolies still have the frontal lobes of their brains developing which inhibits their risk-to-reward analysis.

Teens aren't great at considering the long-term consequences of a decision like filming sex and putting it on the internet, Professor Sharman added.

'It might sound like a really great idea to get yourself up on (Only Fans) having sex with someone but you know in 10 years when you're at the alter ready to say 'I do', your wife might not be very pleased,' the University of the Sunshine Coast researcher said.

These school leavers were all-smiles as they arrived for a week of celebrations on Saturday

A group of sensible men arrived with a wagon full of bottled water and toilet paper

Parents should have conversations with children around the long-term consequences of such behaviour, Prof Sharman said.

She recommended also having conversations about safe sex and consent before the event.

'Parents sitting down and having a discussion over the dinner table is very, very important,' she said.

Teenagers might not listen to their parents' sage advice but Prof Sharman said simply planting the seed was important.

'You give them a bank of ideas that they can pull from if they find themselves in a difficult situation,' she said.

The first weekend of Schoolies on the Gold Coast saw the majority of partying teenagers doing the right thing, with only four arrests.

Queensland Police Chief Superintendent Craig Hanlon said four Schoolies and eight non-school leavers were arrested on the weekend for 17 minor offences.

These include drug possession and public nuisance incidents like urinating in public and drunk and disorderly behaviour.

'In the scheme of things, it's not serious,' he told reporters on Monday.

'People can take a lesson from those and move on.'

Supt Hanlon said the number of arrests remained low and were 'very good numbers', showing Schoolies revellers so far were having fun but being respectful.

'Considering it's the Gold Coast on a weekend, we think that's a very good result,' he said.

'So thank you to the Schoolies who are doing the right thing.'

Police are also wanding for knives under Jack's Law - named after a teen who was fatally stabbed on the Gold Coast - during the celebrations, with 295 adults and 172 kids checked for weapons.

Supt Hanlon said two knives, a set of knuckle dusters and a fold-back knife were seized from people who weren't Schoolies.

The wanding will continue throughout Schoolies celebrations until December 1.

Pill testing is also underway at the Gold Coast event after the Liberal National government backtracked on plans to dump the service.
Two young women from Melbourne are fighting for life in Thailand, suspected of drinking poisoned cocktails which reportedly had shots of 'vodka' while holidaying in Laos.

The best friends, both believed to be aged 19, were rushed to hospital from the Laotian capital, Vientiane - near Thailand's northern border - after their drinks were reportedly spiked with methanol.

The young women are believed to have finished school in 2023 and had been travelling Asia during their summer university break.

It understood they attended Mentone Girls Grammar and Beaumaris Secondary College in Melbourne's Bayside suburbs.

They are both now on life support in separate hospitals in Udon Thani and Bangkok with their parents now making a mercy dash to be at their bedsides.

Two other tourists are feared dead and ten more are ill from methanol poisoning in the area.

It's understood the teens were staying at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, a popular tourist town about 130km north of Vientiane.

A staff member confirmed a number of young Australian women, reportedly including the two Melbourne teenagers, stayed at the hostel last week.

The two women were reportedly staying in Nana Backpacker Hostel when workers found them unwell in their rooms after they were late to check out. Pictured is the hostel

The staff member believed the group went out for the night to several nearby bars, outside of the hostel, and returned to their beds in the early morning.

'The girls went out to party ... and then on the next day they slept all day,' he told the Age on the condition of anonymity.

He said the women were late to check out and staff found them in their rooms, apparently unwell.

From there, they were rushed to hospital.

'I am so sad ... They were very friendly. We were talking together a lot,' the staff member said.

The hostel's manager told Nine News that police inspected their bar after the incident but she said the alcohol they serve is 'very normal'.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it's assisting the young women's families.

'The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to two Australians and their families in Thailand,' a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

'Our thoughts are with them at this deeply distressing time.

'Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.'

Two Australian girls have been rushed to Thai hospitals from Vientiane, Laos, as other travellers report similar poisonings from within proximity

Another affected traveller reported six people had admitted to her hospital in Vientiane after being poisoned by methanol in Vang Vieng, which is north of Vientiane.

'Stay safe guys and avoid free shots from bars as they are likely local spirits. It's possible that some of the vodka has been contaminated with a higher dosage of methanol than usual,' she warned on the Travelling in Laos Facebook page.

'Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars. Just avoid them as so not worth it.

'Six of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.'

Methanol is commonly used as a petrol additive and an industrial solvent in insecticides, some types of paint strippers and glass cleaner. Drinking just 25-90ml of the substance can be fatal.

Symptoms of methanol poisoning include abdominal pain, vomiting, breathing difficulties, blindness, and seizures.

In countries with high taxes on alcohol, the chemical is often mixed with alcoholic drinks as a cheaper alternative to ethanol, according to the Methanol Institute.

Cover More Travel Insurance warned travellers methanol poisoning poses a real danger to holidaymakers.

'If ingested by humans, it is highly toxic and can lead to blindness, coma, and in severe cases, death,' the agency wrote.

It suggested travellers only by alcohol from reputable venues and shops, and avoid pre-mixed drinks that have not been poured right in front of them, including any 'bucket cocktails' or colourful 'ready-to-drink creations'.

Methanol is a poisonous chemical which is often dangerously used as an additive to alcohol (stock image)

The agency warned that some cheap drink offers are 'too good to be true', writing: 'If your drink or bottle of spirits is much cheaper than what you would pay at home, it is most likely a home brew'.

Travellers should also check bottle seals are intact and labels are free from spelling errors, according to the agency.

'Learn to recognise the signs and symptoms of methanol poisoning and seek help right away. Listen to your body,' it wrote.
A woman has been found dead at a unit in the Sydney beachside suburb of Maroubra.

Emergency services were called to an address in Astoria Circuit shortly before midday on Monday, following reports a body was found.

'The woman is yet to be formally identified but is believed to be aged in her 60s,' a police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

A man, 50, was taken to Maroubra Police Station, where he's assisting police with inquiries. No charges have yet been laid.

Detective have established a crime scene and launched an investigation into the woman's death.

Large numbers of police and forensic officers swarmed the unit on Monday afternoon.

Police officers scoured the surrounding area, including bins for any possible clues or evidence.

A woman has been found dead at a unit in the eastern Sydney beachside suburb of Maroubra. Pictured are forensic officers at the scene

Emergency services were called to an address in Astoria Circuit shortly before midday Monday following reports a woman's body had been found

A 50-year-old man has been taken to Maroubra police station, where he's assisting police with inquiries.

The forensic officers wore blue overalls and white face masks so as not to contaminate any evidence found at the scene.

They were seen putting items into brown evidence bags.

A police dog unit was also at the scene as detectives doorknocked neighbouring homes to speak to residents.

A report will be prepared for the Coroner.
Simmer & Steamer, a new restaurant in San Franciscos Financial District, specializes in rice bowls. Its most affordable item is just $5.99. Mario Cortez / The Chronicle

With more companies mandating workers return to the office, many are remembering that getting lunch in downtown San Francisco on a regular basis gets very pricey very quickly. But a new restaurants $5.99 entree could be a salve for anyone tired of spending  or lugging the same leftovers several days in a row.

South Korean rice bowl chain Simmer & Steamer opened its first U.S. location in October at 222 Battery St., taking over the previous Homegrown space. The restaurant offers several options for under $10: There are rice bowls topped with pork belly curry ($9.99), marinated shredded beef galbi ($9.99), kimchi fried rice with a beef sausage ($9.99) and avocado with pollock caviar ($8.99).

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But the most affordable item is the soy egg rice bowl: a sous vide egg topped with roasted nori, soy sauce, sesame oil and margarine over white rice for just $5.99. Its a restaurant version of a popular homestyle Korean meal known as gyeran bap, or egg rice.

For less than $10, you could do a lot worse in San Francisco. The egg yolk is perfectly runny, ideal for stirring into the warm and plump rice. The soy sauce and sesame oil infuse sweetness and nuttiness. The seaweed brings saltiness. In all, its a solid base meal; you can always add on items like kimchi ($2) or beef ($3.50). Sizing up the bowl to large and mega sizes  which increases the rice and sauce portions  is a respective $2 or $4.

The galbi bowl at Simmer & Steamer, a new restaurant in San Francisco's Financial District, comes with marinated shredded beef, a soft egg, chile slices and sesame seeds. Mario Cortez / The Chronicle

Simmer & Steamers website boasts that the low prices are made possible through automation, though there are no robotic cooking systems like the ones found aboard food truck Ohlso Korean BBQ in Foster City. At the FiDi restaurant, a crew of three assembles the bowls along a bar, taking the respective ingredients from temperature-controlled pots, then finishing with garnishes. While not exactly a high-tech process, it is quick. (This reporter placed an order at 12:35 p.m. and received a pick up notification at 12:38.)

The soy egg rice bowl at FiDi restaurant Simmer & Steamer comes with a sous vide egg, soy sauce and dried seaweed. The restaurant opened in October. Mario Cortez/The Chronicle

Office drones in the area have taken notice of the new spot and given it a warm welcome. On a recent lunch break, the four tables near the entrance were full of coworkers digging into their bowls between banter about other coworkers. A few people quietly ate on a counter near the back, looking out a floor-to-ceiling window as bouncy K-pop hits from groups like New Jeans and tripleS played. There was a short line, with first-timers pondering over what to try at the ordering kiosk. Anyone in a hurry can use QR codes to bypass the kiosk line.

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The South Korean company claims to run more than 200 locations in its home country. Following the San Francisco arrival, Simmer & Steamer has already launched a second Bay Area location in downtown Berkeley, at 2012 Kala Bagai Way.
Eco-tycoon Dale Vince says Tobacco-style health warnings should be put on packets of bacon as the meat increases the risk of people getting cancer.

The millionaire Labour donor, 63, appeared to suggest treating the rashers like cigarettes by placing then behind 'roller shutter doors'.

Vince, who is a vegan, said we shouldn't be putting a picture of a face of a 'happy pig' on the packs with the medical science 'very clear that eating more plants and less animals is better for our health'.

The World Health Organisation in 2015 classified 'processed meats' as a group one carcinogen alongside tobacco, which means there is 'sufficient' evidence that they cause cancer.

Vince, the CEO of green firm Ecotricity, even proposed introducing a 'meat tax' as a way to put people off eating bacon.

Eco-tycoon Dale Vince says Tobacco-style health warnings should be put on packets of bacon to save the planet

A mock up image of a packet of bacon with a health warning that people could increase their risk of prostate cancer

The World Health Organisation in 2015 classified 'processed meats' as a group one carcinogen alongside tobacco, which means there is 'sufficient' evidence that they cause cancer

Speaking to The Sunday Times and BBC Radio 4's A Week in Westminster, he said: 'Now look what we do with tobacco. We hide it behind roller shutter doors, we stick it in unbranded packages with pictures of diseased organs on the front. That's how we deal with tobacco.

'Bacon? We stick it in a supermarket, we stick the face of a happy pig on it and we say to people, it's OK, but we know that it's not OK.'

Vince has joined Chris Packham in backing non-profit organisation Vegan FTA's campaign for NHS hospitals to have plant-based menus.

He said changing what we eat is the 'biggest single thing we can do' to make people healthier and reduce carbon emissions.

'The role for government is to give us better advice, to put health warnings on meat and dairy products, to change the menu in the NHS and our public institutions,' he said.

Sir Keir Starmer last week told the Cop29 climate meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, he will not be 'telling people how to live their lives' despite setting an ambitious target to cut emissions in the UK by 81pc by 20235.

'We are not going to start dictating to people what they do,' the Prime Minister said.

'But we are going to be clear that that involves hitting the clean power 2030 mission that we have set out, one of the five big projects of the Government.'

A customer selects a pack of bacon from the chilled-meat aisle inside a William Morrison Supermarkets Plc grocery store in Erith in September 2012

The millionaire Labour donor appeared to suggest treating the rashers like cigarettes by placing then behind 'roller shutter doors'

Scientists last year called for tobacco-style health warnings to be slapped on on packs of meat in supermarkets to shame buyers.

The stickers could include sad images of animals, accompanied by messages such as: 'Animals suffer when you eat meat.' They could also include images of decimated forests with the words: 'The Amazon rainforest is destroyed when you eat meat.'

A study from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands found that consumers were less inclined to buy products featuring the labels.

'Meat-shaming messages trigger shame but also other negative emotions that translate into reduced purchase intentions,' the authors wrote.

'Our analyses show that adding a sticker to a meat package, warning potential customers about the negative consequences of their purchase, may be an effective way to influence buyers' behavior.'
A primary school principal has been stood aside after Year six students received a graphic sex education class without their parents' consent.

Year six students at Illawong Public School in Sydney's south allegedly told their parents they were asked to write down questions, which were read out and answered by a staff member in front of the class on November 7.

The Daily Telegraph reported some of the questions related to a pornographic website and graphic sexual content.

When parents complained to the staff member involved they were told they had given their consent through another independently run program at the school.

The staff member allegedly told parents it was their intention to have a discussion in a safe space to end inappropriate discussions taking place in the playground.

One parent told the newspaper they 'did not give consent for this discussion and it was simply inappropriate'.

'Parents are really angry and also angry at the responses from the school,' the parent said.

'These topics are not in the school syllabus.'

The principal at Illawong Public School has been stood aside by the department after year six students received a graphic sex education class

A NSW Education Department spokesperson said the principal has been directed to undertake other duties in the department outside of the school while an investigation took place following complaints from parents.

A spokesperson said they expected their staff to deliver age-appropriate education aligned to the syllabus and in this case it did not happen.

'We take the health, safety and wellbeing of our students very seriously,' a spokesperson said.

'We apologise to the school community for the distress to their children.'

Miranda MP Eleni Petinos told 2GB on Monday that parents felt like they been left in the dark about what happened and after finding out about the incident through the media.

Ms Petinos said parents wanted to know what specific topics were covered in the discussion and what follow up actions were taken to ensure the emotional wellbeing of the students involved.

'I was getting detailed emails from parents telling me how troubled and distressed they were to realise some of their very shy children, who have no access to social media, were exposed to these types of discussions,' she said.

Education minister Prue Car said a [staff member] had been stood aside as the Department of Education's professional ethical standards unit investigated the incident

Miranda MP Eleni Petinos told 2GB parents felt they had been left in the dark about what happened and wanted to know what was said to their children

'When pressed at home they were unable to communicate with their parents about any of these topics.'

The MP said the school needed to be transparent with the community about what transpired, and if they were unwilling to do that, then the minister needed to ensure the department gave that direction.

'The most concerning thing was while the department reported counselling was available to students at the school, parents said it was only offered to a select number of students,' Ms Petinos said.

'I am still receiving emails from parents telling me that they are not getting any information about their children's wellbeing and what has happened at that school,' she said.

Education Minister Prue Car said what happened at the school was not on.

'The [staff member] has been stood aside, the activities are subject to an investigation by the Department of Education's professional ethical standards unit,' Ms Car said.

'That is very serious and I will let that investigation take place.'
Keir Starmer has posed for photos working hard on the plane to Rio as he fends off criticism of his globetrotting.

Pictures taken en route to the G20 summit feature a serious-looking Sir Keir leafing through documents.

The images - including one taken by No10's in-house snapper - are in contrast to previous trips, where the premier has been depicted chatting with journalists and aides.

Sir Keir's four-day jaunt to Brazil - where he is due to meet Xi Jinping and have talks on issues including the Ukraine war - is the 15th time he has been out of the country since winning power in July.

He will have been away from the UK for more than three weeks in total.

Keir Starmer has posed for photos working hard on the plane to Rio as he fends off criticism of his globetrotting

The images - including this one taken by No10's in-house snapper - are in contrast to previous trips, where the premier has been depicted chatting with journalists and aides

That includes time in Ireland, Italy, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Washington DC, France, Azerbaijan and a five-day trip to Samoa.

He also flew to New York for the UN General Assembly after the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool in September.

In the same period, MPs have only sat for 34 days in the House of Commons to work on legislation and delivering the government's agenda.

Overall, 16 of the Prime Minister's 136 days in No 10 will have been spent on planes.

Prior to the Rio trip, this resulted in an estimated 920,065kg of CO2 being emitted by the Airbus A321 usually used by the Prime Minister.

This figure could breach one million kilograms by the time he returns from Brazil.

The PM has been forced to defend his constant jet-setting, suggesting he prefers to meet world leaders in person rather than talk over the phone.

'The question is what am I spending my time doing, not where I am,' he said earlier this month.

'I think the best way to build good relations that are based on trust and respect is face to face. I'm a big believer in face-to-face engagement.'

Sir Keir previously said he preferred networking at the World Economic Forum in Davos to operating in Westminster, which he branded a 'tribal shouting place'.

Pictures taken en route to the G20 summit feature a serious-looking Sir Keir leafing through documents

The PM cut a lonely figure at COP29 in Baku, which was snubbed by most other major world leaders such as US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and under-pressure German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Sir Keir did not address their absences when asked. He said: 'We are here to show leadership, we are here because I see this not only as one of the most important challenges we face globally but one of the most important opportunities.'

No 10 insiders have suggested that the Prime Minister is front-loading his international trips and will be more sparing with his travel as his time in office goes on.
August 24, 2018 started like any other day for Jozef Maragol and Anet Eyvazians when their 16-month-old daughter Arianna was dropped off at childcare.

The toddler's carers at Berry Patch Preschool in Kellyville Ridge in Sydney's north-west placed her in a cot at about 9am.

Arianna was found unresponsive three hours later and died at The Children's Hospital at Westmead, where an autopsy was inconclusive.

Six years later, her heartbroken parents are still desperately seeking answers as to why their firstborn died.

The distraught couple said they had 'trusted' that their daughter would be taken care of.

'No one told us what happened,' Ms Eyvazians told Seven News.

'We had to find out through the doctor that she had passed away. That's how much value the life of child has in the childcare system.'

Adding to the parents' ongoing grief, an inquest date into Arianna's death has still not been set.

Just over six years ago, on August 24, 2018, 16-month-old Arianna Maragol was dropped off at a preschool. Arianna is pictured with her mum Anet Eyvazians

Arianna Maragol is pictured on her first birthday. The toddler died just four months later

'It's unacceptable,' Mr Maragol said.

'Our family has been put through such prolonged suffering.'

Ms Eyvazians called the preschool that morning to check on Arianna and was assured that 'everything is fine'.

It's understood staff at the centre used security cameras to monitor toddlers' sleep movements rather than physical checks.

In 2022, the Berry Patch preschool and its owner, Helen Jacobs, were found guilty of 13 charges, including failing to appropriately supervise children and protect them from harm.

In total, they were fined more than $140,000. Ms Jacobs is appealing the charges, which did not relate to Arianna's death.

Speaking to ABC at the time, Mr Maragol said 'The early childhood regulation needs reform'.

'How can someone pass away and the penalties are monetary penalties?

Anet Eyvazians (left) and Jozef Maragol (right) are still desperately looking for answers as to why their daughter Arianna (centre) died six years ago

The couple claimed that the Berry Patch centre had never contacted them after their daughter's death.

Arianna's mum and dad continue to advocate for better regulation in the childcare sector.

'She lived such a short life on this Earth,' Ms Eyvazians said in 2022.

'I hope that she's so proud of us, that we can make changes and be her voice.

'To save other kids and not let any other families, any mums and dads, go through this nightmare.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Berry Patch preschool and Ms Jacobs for comment.
A gold watch that was gifted by three widows to the captain of the ship that saved 700 passengers from the Titanic has sold for a record-breaking 1.57million at auction.

The sale marks the most any piece of Titanic memorabilia has ever fetched at auction.

Madeleine Astor, Marian Thayer and Eleanor Widener bought the Tiffany & Co timepiece after they returned safely to New York following the sinking.

Their husbands  three of the richest men in the world  all perished in the 1912 tragedy.

They presented the timepiece to Arthur Rostron, the captain of rescue ship RMS Carpathia, as an expression of gratitude.

The watch was consigned for sale with Wiltshire auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son of Devizes by a private collector in the US.

It had a pre-sale estimate of between 80,000 to 120,000 but a bidding war saw it go for the hammer price of 1.31million.

The gold watch gifted to Arthur Rostron after he saved around 700 people from certain death

Madeline Astor was married to John Astor, the new wife of the richest passenger on the Titanic. He was worth the equivalent of 2.2bn today

With fees added on, the total amount paid by the anonymous buyer was 1.57million.

The sum exceeds the 1.1million paid in 2013 for the violin belonging to a member of the band that famously played on as the Titanic sank.

John Astor was the richest passenger on the doomed liner and was worth the equivalent of 2.2billion today.

The businessman and property magnate did not make it into a lifeboat and drowned.

Fellow businessman John Thayer was last seen 'looking pale' and heading for the stern of the ship with other passengers moments before she vanished.

Alongside him was George Widener, who gave a dinner party in honour of the Titanic captain, Edward Smith, on the evening of the disaster.

Their wives were loaded into the same lifeboat.

Mr Rostron was showered with gifts from first-class passengers afterwards. He was also awarded the American Congressional Gold Medal for his actions.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: 'It is an incredible piece of Titanic history and shows the enduring appeal surrounding not just the Titanic but all those people who were connected with her.

'Arthur Rostron was a hero of the hour and saved many lives by getting to the wreck site as fast as possible.'

Arthur Rostron, captain of the Carpathia Captain which rushed to the rescue of Titanic passengers in 1912

The watch has become the most expensive item of Titanic memorabilia ever to sell at auction

The inscription on the watch says 'Presented to Captain Rostron with the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of three survivors of the Titanic April 15th 1912. Mrs John B.Thayer, Mrs John Jacob Astor, Mrs George D.Widener

John Jacob Astor and his wife Madeline. Madeleine was five months pregnant at the time of the disaster

Marian Thayer was the widow of businessman John Thayer. He was last seen 'looking pale' and heading for the stern of the ship with other terrified passengers moments before it plunged beneath the waves

Eleanor Widow was the widow of George Widener, who gave a dinner party in honour of the Titanic captain, Edward Smith, on the evening of the disaster

The Carpathia in her pier after bringing back the Titanic survivors

Women passengers are seen sewing and distributing clothes for survivors of the Titanic disaster

The Titanic before it set sail for New York. It was the most luxurious liner ever built

The Daily Mail reported on the gift of the watch in June 1912

The Titanic sank with the loss of 1,522 lives after she struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.

A year before the disaster, Mr Astor caused controversy after divorcing his first wife and marrying Madeleine, who was just 18. The couple had enjoyed a six-month European honeymoon and were returning to the US.

Mr Astor paid almost $9,000 for their one-way first class cabins  about 45,000 in today's money.

Madeleine was five months' pregnant at the time. She gave birth to a son on August 14, 1912, and called him John Jacob Astor V in memory of her husband and the boy's father.

Mr Widener and his wife were also returning to New York from a trip to Paris where he had gone to find a chef for his new hotel  the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia.

Also going under the hammer was another pocket watch that was frozen in time when its owner, Ramon Gomez, went down with the Titanic. It sold for 100,000.
A British woman has been scammed out of thousands of pounds in an 'incredibly unusual fraud' that saw her fall in love with an American colonel who was actually an AI fake.

'Mary', a care worker in her 60s from the east of England, was hoodwinked out of 20,000 in just two weeks by a scammer who posed as a 61-year-old US colonel by the name of Mike Murdy, the Sunday Times reported.

After meeting on dating app Tinder in October, Murdy began gaining Mary's trust, claiming he was a widower who had lost his wife to cancer five years prior and sending her elaborate gifts of trinkets, keepsakes and gold and silver petals.

He shared a photograph of what he claimed was him and his late white, with a message that read: 'In loving memory of my beloved wife today, as I sit in the quiet of our home, I can't help but feel the weight of your absence, a void that echoes through every room and every moment.

'It's hard to believe it had been five years yet the memories of you remain vivid, etched in my heart and mind.'

Murdy would also send her personalised videos, referencing things they had spoken about.

She said: 'He sent me a video and he was dressed in his uniform with a badge on the uniform reading his name. He looked quite handsome, like somebody I might date.'

On top of the videos, he would bolster the trust she had placed in him by sending her gifts - on one occasion, Mary received trinkets and keepsakes, while another time he sent her an ornamental rose with silver and gold petals inside a glass jar.

A scammer posed as a 61-year-old US colonel by the name of Mike Murdy (pictured)

Murdy promised she would receive 607,000 if she paid some delivery fees

Mary eventually realised she was being scammed, but not before losing much of her savings

With the rose came a note that read: 'You're the one I want to be with, now and forever.'

After spending some time convincing her of who he was, Mary said he began talking about money. 'He said his wife had a life insurance policy and that he needed my help to cash in on it', she said.

Murdy told her in a video that the US military would be sending her 607,000 in a briefcase full of cash.

He told her that the briefcase was at a nearby post office, and required some fees to be paid before she would receive it.

'Please trust me on this. Let's make this happen so we can enjoy our retirement together,' Murdy said.

On October 15, she sent over 50 to a bank account provided to her on the Signal messaging app.

But the briefcase never arrived, and Murdy convinced her to send more money over.

She transferred a further 1,000.33 on October 18, and another for 3,649.77 on October 20.

He would send Mary videos of himself referencing things she had said to him

She paid him nearly 20,000 in less than two weeks

Murdy was entirely AI-generated, and never existed in the first place

Each time she sent the money over, she received an email that Murdy told her to open to click a link that would allow her to be sent the briefcase.

But every time she clicked the link, it merely said: 'Run out of time.'

Still believing she would be receiving the large sum of money, she sent over an additional 5,000 on October 23.

Finally, a large silver briefcase was sent to her home, which gave a return address as '111 E Chaffee Ave, Fort Knox, Kentucky, United States', a garrison in Fort Knox.

But a letter that accompanied the briefcase read: 'To gain access to the briefcase you need to obtain a six-digit access code. This code can be generated upon receipt of a payment of 10,000.'

Murdy assured her that this would unlock the briefcase, telling her in a video where he appears to be sweating while on an army base: 'Baby, I've been really busy with patrol and the internet connection is terrible.

'I shouldn't be using my phone right now because of the risk of explosive devices everywhere.

'It's against the army's rules and regulations, but I wanted to reach out to you to make sure the briefcase is delivered right to your doorstep. You mean so much to me. I love you.'

Reluctant to part with more money, she spent several days thinking about whether to send him the money.

He sent a more aggressive video, telling her he was 'unhappy' that 'she seemed more focused on money than on us.

'All I want is a happy retirement for you', he claimed.

Eventually, she sent over the final 10,000 payment on October 31, but her six-digit code never came.

Frustrated, she broke open the case - only to find a wad of blank paper.

She furiously told him: 'I've opened it up and all that's inside is paper and you've stolen my money.'

'That was a test to see if you're trustworthy or not', Murdy replied.

Following her experience, she said she doesn't feel safe anymore: 'It's really scary to think the fraudsters have just created these videos.

'I've never been conned like this in my life. I was saving up that money to redecorate my house. Now I don't feel safe.'

Martin Richardson, a senior partner at National Fraud Helpline, told the Times: 'This was an incredibly unusual fraud in which the scammer used every possible method to convince the victim that he was genuine.

'Not only did the fraudster create AI videos but he also sent physical items such as the briefcase, and trinkets, keepsakes and an ornament.

'Combining AI and fake letters and sending items in the post shows a level of sophistication from a very determined scammer.'

Simon White, managing partner at Time Machine Capital Squared, a British AI firm, said: 'We are witnessing the beginning of an arms race to create technology that can help defeat AI being adopted by fraudsters.'

A Halifax spokesman said: 'Helping to protect customers from fraud is our priority and we have a great deal of sympathy for [Mary] as the victim of this crime. We are reviewing the claim in line with the PSR's rules on reimbursement and will confirm the outcome to our customer early next week.'
Matt Gaetz's politically connected father was surprised when Donald Trump chose his son to be the next US attorney general, it has emerged.

Don Gaetz, affectionately known as Papa Gaetz, told Politico that 'Matt was not seeking the job' of Attorney General when he was offered the role last week.

The Florida state senator claimed he and his wife Vicky Gaetz had 'no prior warning' about their son's new job until he called them and said 'the president just offered me the attorney generalship'.

Trump's selection of Gaetz as the top law enforcement official in the land sent shockwaves across the nation, with many suggesting he is underqualified for the role. Others have cited ethics concerns.

Gaetz, a close Trump ally and MAGA firebrand who has taken aim at both GOP House members and Democrats alike, has been accused of - and adamantly denied - having years earlier paid for sex with a then 17-year-old girl.

He was also being probed for alleged illicit drug use, converting campaign funds for personal use, sharing inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, and other alleged misconduct.

Almost immediately after the President-elect's stunning nomination Gaetz resigned his House of Representatives seat, effectively ending the ethics probe against him.

Despite the scrutiny surrounding Gaetz's nomination, Don believes that his son will withstand the bitter confirmation battle that will soon be under way.

Don Gaetz,(left in April 2020) affectionately known as Papa Gaetz, was surprised when Donald Trump chose his son Matt Gaetz (right) to be the next US attorney general

Donald Trump, pictured with Matt Gaetz in 2019, offered him the role last week. Don has now revealed that 'Matt was not seeking the job', adding that the family was shocked by the news

'Confirmation is always a dice roll,' Don told Politico. 'Some people are more natural at confirmation. Typically a sitting senator finds it easier to be confirmed. Someone who is way outside may find it harder.'

He went on to hail his son also being someone who 'always looked for an opportunity to be an advocate for the issues he cares about', highlighting how Gaetz is a 'strong supporter' of Trump and 'harsh critic of Biden-Harris administration'.

The Florida lawmaker also tried to diminish the sex trafficking allegations against his son, which he branded as 'fraudulent' and 'politically motivated'.

'Matt has been investigated by the House Ethics Committee, the Department of Justice, the Federal Elections Commission and probably the Rotary Club,' he told the newspaper.

'He's been investigated by everyone for more than two years and there's never been any reason to be charged with anything and he's denied all these fraudulent politically motivated allegations.'

Don further claimed Gaetz's abrupt resignation from Congress last Wednesday was his effort at helping ensure Republicans maintain their majority in the House.

He claimed that Gaetz and Reps. Michael Waltz and Elise Stefanik, who were also selected for positions in the incoming White House administration, are staggering their resignations.

Matt Gaetz and his wife Ginger Luckey Gaetz are pictured at the America First Policy Institute Gala held at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on November 14, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida

Critics say that as attorney general Matt Gaetz (pictured at a MAGA rally last month) would likely drop several criminal cases against the former president and try to file bogus charges against perceived Trump opponents

Trump has frequently jousted with the Justice Department, and critics say that as attorney general Gaetz would likely drop several criminal cases against the former president and try to file bogus charges against perceived Trump opponents.

Gaetz was known as a disruptor who earned the enmity of some House colleagues, including by engineering the ouster of Johnson's predecessor and fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy.

But lawmakers from both parties have voiced concerns over his nomination and have called on the House Ethics Committee to still release its report.

Even some GOP senators have said their constitutional role in reviewing nominations means they need access to all relevant information.

Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma told NBC that the report 'absolutely' should be released to the Senate at least, although he stopped short of saying the public should see it.

'I believe the Senate should have access to that now,' he said, adding that Gaetz would be given 'the same chances we'll give all President Trump's appointees.'

One Democratic senator, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, said Sunday that while he would be 'excited' to confirm some Trump appointees, 'There's others that are just absolute trolls, just like Gaetz.'

Johnson said days ago that as House speaker he should not 'put his thumb on the scale' of the ethics committee's decision. But his message Sunday was different.

Senators, he said, would 'have a rigorous review and vetting process... But they don't need to rely upon a report or a draft report or a rough draft report that was prepared by the ethics committee for its very limited purposes.'

President Donald Trump takes a selfie with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., in the House chamber after Trump's State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on January 30, 2018

Senator-elect Adam Schiff, a Democrat and frequent Trump critic who is a regular target of the former president's wrath, also made a case against Gaetz.

'I think he's not only unqualified, he is really disqualified,' he told CNN on Sunday.

'Are we really going to have an attorney general who, there's credible allegations (that) he was involved in child sex trafficking, potential illicit drug use, obstruction of an investigation? Who has no experience serving in the Justice Department -- only being investigated by it?'

But US House speaker Mike Johnson has insisted that the chamber's ethics committee should not release the report on Gatez's alleged sexual improprieties.

'It should not come out,' Johnson told CNN. 'And why? Because Matt Gaetz resigned from Congress. He is no longer a member. There's a very important protocol and tradition and rule.'
A bombshell twist has emerged in the court case against two Channel 7 identities facing a raft of abuse-related charges, after torture charges against one of the pair were dropped.

Family and supporters of the man and woman  who cannot be identified  gasped and audibly cried out in relief after Magistrate Stuart Shearer found there was no prima facie case for the man  who is facing two counts of torture among his raft of charges  to answer to.

One applauded as the charges were dismissed.

Both are still facing multiple counts of assault, which will return to the court next year.

They did not comment outside court as they were ushered away in a waiting car.

The pair  who appeared together on a prominent Channel 7 show  were charged in August 2023.

During a committal hearing on Monday, Magistrate Shearer questioned how statements provided by witnesses were admissible when the details appeared to be 'entirely hearsay'.

One included text messages which were tendered without an accompanying statement from the witness.

Torture charges have been dropped against one of two Channel 7 stars facing a raft of abuse-related charges

The pair appeared on a prominent Channel 7 show and were charged in August last year

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Tom Wirawan said the evidence 'may later become relevant' but was stopped by Magistrate Shearer.

'You may only tender evidence that is admissible,' Magistrate Shearer said.

'It's entirely hearsay.'

He also questioned why witnesses were being kept in a domestic violence safe room adjacent to the court 'prior to and after' their cross-examination.

Constable Wirawan said some were uncomfortable about being in the presence of the defendants.

Magistrate Shearer responded: 'I imagine the defendants are uncomfortable being in their presence as well.'

'This is absurd. There's this presumption of guilt floating around, rather than the opposite, which is the reality of the matter,' he continued.

'If you make an allegation against someone, you bear the onus of proof.'

The man is facing multiple counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and one count of observations or recordings in breach of privacy.

The woman is facing more than 40 charges  which include rape, common assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm while armed, sexual assault, torture and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Police allege in court documents the alleged offences span over several locations in Queensland dating back several years.

Court proceedings remained closed for most of the day while the witnesses gave evidence.

When the hearing resumed in the afternoon, Magistrate Shearer asked about the particulars of the man's torture charges  which he said were alleged to have spanned more than 18 years.

Constable Wirawan said he would not press for a prima facie for the charges  something the man's defence barrister, Stephen Kissick noted was a 'concession'.

'I can't commit someone without there being a prima facie case,' Magistrate Shearer said.

'Given the concession, there is no prima facie case for either of the charges of the torture, and each of those charges are dismissed.'

The pair's committal hearing was adjourned to January 15, with an accompanying suppression order continued.

The woman was granted a non-publication order by magistrate Aaron Simpson after he found she was at risk of harming herself, should further media coverage identify her.

Queensland legislation previously prevented media outlets from identifying people charged with a 'prescribed sexual offence'  including rape, attempted rape, assault with intent to commit rape, and sexual assault.

Changes to the legislation in October last year softened restrictions on identifying people charged with the aforementioned offences.

Mr Simpson's ruling on the woman's identity was one of the first non-publication orders implemented after Queensland's new sexual offence identification laws were introduced.
Do you know more? Email aidan.radnedge.mol@mailonline.co.uk

A neighbour has revealed that a woman 'sounded scared' during a row just days before Harshita Brella was found dead in a car boot almost 100 miles from her home.

Police have launched an international manhunt for her husband Pankaj Lamba after 24-year-old Ms Brella, from Corby in Northamptonshire, was discovered in the back of a vehicle in Ilford, east London.

Northamptonshire Police named him as a suspect on Sunday evening, saying they believed he had fled the country and issuing two photos of him - and their search is continuing today, with no arrests made.

Now a neighbour in Corby has told of last week hearing two blistering rows, one involving a woman who seemed frightened.

Kelly Philp, living near Ms Brella in the Northamptonshire town, said she overheard an argument between a man and a woman on Wednesday last week.

She told the Mirror: 'They were arguing in a different language so I couldn't understand what was being said.

'But it sounded angry and there were raised voices and the woman sounded scared.

'I heard a commotion between a man and a woman and I heard banging around. I didn't call police. I just thought it was a relationship argument.'

Do you know more? Email aidan.radnedge.mol@mailonline.co.uk

Harshita Brella was reported missing on November 13 by the authorities after Northamptonshire Police conducted a welfare check at her home in Corby and got no answer

Northamptonshire Police have named her husband Pankaj Lamba as a suspect

Forensic officers are seen here at Harshita Brella's home in Corby, Northamptonshire

She described feeling 'vulnerable' and 'on edge' after learning about the fate of her neighbour, adding: 'I feel so sad about the loss of the lass. I can't get over it - I can't believe it.'

Ms Philip said she had also overheard two men arguing in a foreign language early on Saturday, shortly after she heard a back gate slam shut.

The murder probe follows alarms being raised last Wednesday when the police received a call regarding concerns over Harshita's welfare.

Officers were sent round to her home address in Corby, but received no answer at the door.

A missing person investigation was launched and after enquiries were fast-tracked she was found in Ilford on Thursday - some 95.7 miles away from the shared house she lived in.

Officers appealed for anyone with information to get in touch as soon as possible - while the force is also putting in place extra patrols around Corby.

The force's Chief Inspector Paul Cash said in a statement on Sunday afternoon: 'We have followed a number of lines of investigation and carried out numerous inquiries and we are now able to provide a further update.

'Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba.

Harshita's body was found 94 miles from her home in Northamptonshire

Forensic officers were today pictured at 24-year-old Harshita Brella's Corby property after the discovery of her body in the back of a car almost 100 miles away in Ilford, east London

Police cordoned off the scene where Harshita Brella's body was then found in the back of a vehicle in Ilford, east London - almost 100 miles away from her Northamptonshire home

'We suspect Lamba transported Harshita's body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car. We believe he has now fled the country.

'More than 60 detectives are working on the case and are continuing to follow numerous lines of inquiry, including house to house, property searches, CCTV and ANPR.

'We are of course continuing to appeal for any information that will help us piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita.'

Earlier on Sunday a police spokesman had confirmed Ms Brella was previously the victim of domestic violence and in early September was made subject of a Domestic Violence Protection Order, served by Northamptonshire Police.

The 28-day DVPO banned the perpetrator of the violence from visiting Ms Brella's workplace, while they were also prevented from molesting her, threatening violence, or intimidating, harassing or pestering her, and also told not to encourage or instruct others to contact her in any way.

No formal charges against the same person have since been recorded by the court and they were released following the court hearing but ordered to pay the full costs, according to reports.

Forensic officers in protective wear have been seen visiting Ms Brella's home in Corby while uniformed police guarded the property.

Mr Cash said of the victim: 'On behalf of Northamptonshire Police, I would like to express my deepest and heartfelt condolences to Harshita's family and friends, and to everyone who knew and loved her.

Officers are seen on Sunday morning at murder victim Harshita Brella's Corby home

Police were pictured at her cordoned-off property in Corby, Northamptonshire, on Sunday

As officers guarded Harshita Brella's home in Corby, Northamptonshire Police said extra patrols would be put on in the area to help reassure residents

'Harshita was a young woman in her early 20s, with her whole life ahead of her and everything to live for, and it is absolutely tragic that her life has been cut short in this way.'

Meanwhile, one local in Ilford has told MailOnline: 'They seemed to be focusing on a car. It's horrific. It's quite an unsafe area.

'That poor woman must have gone through hell. It's deeply shocking. I've felt sick. She must have gone through so much pain.'

They continued: 'Officers swarmed all over the street and were here for hours. It looked incredibly serious.

'There was screaming on the street earlier in the week. It's rough around here so I didn't bat an eyelid. There's always drug dealing and attacks and all sorts.'

A forensic postmortem examination, which took place at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday, confirmed that Harshita had been murdered.

A neighbour at Harshita's home in Corby told the Northampton Chronicle that the house the young woman lived in had been used as an HMO (house in multiple occupation), and at one point last year had 12 people living in it.

The number of occupants has since reduced and the neighbour said she believed that the house had Bulgarian, Moldovan and Portuguese residents.

Forensic officers were seen visiting Harshita Brella's Corby home on Sunday morning

Brisbane Road in Ilford, east London. A forensic postmortem examination, which took place at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday, confirmed that Harshita had been murdered

A murder investigation is ongoing after the 24-year-old's body was found in a car boot near the entrance of Valentines Park in Ilford, East London

The property had been largely peaceful since some noise complaints were resolved last year, the neighbour added.

But she said that earlier this week she heard a commotion, adding: 'The way that gate slammed I knew something had happened. Someone took off quickly.

'I had heard banging coming from the house and then they obviously just legged it. The police have been here about four days.'

Forensic officers spent hours at the scene of the car, only removing a tent there on Friday.

And police have been asking locals whether they had seen any suspicious activity in the area - especially relating to men.

One person, who asked not to be named, said: 'It's a mystery how she ended up here - the poor woman.

'Officers asked me if I'd seen anything suspicious - they basically asked if any dodgy men had been in the area.

'They seem to suggest they know who did it. They seemed to want to know about men in particular.'

A missing person investigation was launched and after enquiries were fast-tracked she was found on Brisbane Road (pictured), Ilford, on Thursday - some 95.7 miles away from her home

Map showing the location that Harshita's body was discovered on Brisbane Road

The body of the woman was found in the boot of a car on Brisbane Road, pictured, in Ilford

Shop worker Paul Sidebottom, 54, said police had spent hours in the street and had asked locals for CCTV.

He said: 'Our shop CCTV hasn't shown anything. They asked if I'd seen or heard anything. They seemed very concerned.'

Northamptonshire Police have also referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to previous contact they had with the victim.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell from the East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU), had said on Saturday evening: 'First of all, I want to express my heartfelt condolences to everyone who loved Harshita Brella.

'She was a young woman in her early 20s with her whole life ahead of her and it is absolutely tragic that her life has been cut short in this way.

'Detectives from EMSOU and Northamptonshire Police are working around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place.'

The force said officers were satisfied there was no wider risk to the public as a result of this incident, but said extra patrols will be taking place in Corby in the coming days 'for reassurance purposes'.

Anyone with any concerns is welcome to approach one of these officers who will be happy to help, Northamptonshire Police added.

A general view of Skegness Walk in Corby where Harshita Brella lived in a house share

Map showing the location of Harshita Brella's home on Skegness Walk in Corby

Police are today continuing to search for whoever was responsible for Harshita Brella's death, as they appealed for anyone with information to get in touch as soon as possible

And DCI Campbell appealed to anyone who may have information about this incident to come forward.

He added: 'We would appeal to anyone who knew her to contact us with any relevant information they may have.

'If you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all.'

Anyone who may have information that could assist police inquiries is asked to contact police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
Kim Jong Un vowed to expand North Korea's nuclear weapons 'without limits' during a WW3 rant amid growing fears he will send Vladimir Putin 100,000 troops for war.

North Korea may be set to send the masses of soldiers to aid Russia's brutal war on Ukraine if the alliance between Pyongyang and Moscow continues to deepen, reports Bloomberg.

According to an analysis of the plan, an anonymous source revealed to the news site that the move would not be imminent as military support to that scale would require troops to be rotated in batches over a period of time.

The source also suggested that the large number of troops could mean that tyrant Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning on continuing the fighting for many more months.

Kim's decision to inject North Korean soldiers into Russia to help in Putin's bloody war has raised concerns among Kyiv's allies who worry that the move may exacerbate what is already Europe's largest conflict since WWII.

North Korea may send 100,000 troops to help Russia in its war against Ukraine if the alliance between Pyongyang and Moscow continues to deepen

South Koreans watch Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin during a recent meeting. North Korea has denied any deployment of troops but Seoul and Washington have accused the nuclear-armed North of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine

It comes after South Korea last week revealed that North Korean troops had already begun 'engaging in combat operations' alongside Russian forces near the border with Ukraine.

North Korea has denied any deployment of troops but Seoul and Washington have accused the nuclear-armed North of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine.

Kim did not mention this in a recent speech to battalion commanders.

During the speech, reported by the state owned Korean Central News Agency, he claimed the US and the West are using the conflict in Ukraine to 'expand the scope of their military interventions globally.'

Kim said that Washington's 'continuing military assistance to Ukraine... raises the concern of World War III.'

He also vowed his country would bolster its nuclear weapons defence 'without limit'.

Kim 'is likely keeping in mind the possibility of additional deployments to support Russia's war in Ukraine,' said Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification.

During a speech the North Korean dictator claimed the US and the West are using the conflict in Ukraine to 'expand the scope of their military interventions globally.' Kim said that Washington's 'continuing military assistance to Ukraine... raises the concern of World War III.'

North Korean media handout claiming to show a test-fire of the new Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile. Kim vowed his country would bolster its nuclear weapons defence 'without limit'

Last week, North Korea ratified a landmark defence pact with Russia, formalising months of tightening military bonds between two nations that were close allies throughout the Cold War.

In exchange for sending troops, the West fears Russia is offering North Korea technological support that could advance Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.

North Korea recently fired a salvo of ballistic missiles and tested a new solid-fuel ICBM.

The nuclear-armed state's deployment of troops to Russia has led to a shift in tone from Seoul, which has resisted calls to send lethal weapons to Kyiv so far but recently indicated it might change its no-provision policy.

Meanwhile, in response to North Korea's increased involvement in the conflict, the outgoing President Joe Biden announced last night that he had lifted the ban on Ukraine's use of American-supplied long-range missiles.

This will allow the war-torn Ukraine to fire missiles deep inside Russian territory.

The decision is a major US policy shift and comes as Biden is about to leave office and President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible.

Biden hopes that this response will 'send a message' to Kim Jong Un not to send any more, sources said.

Smoke rises over the Kyiv skyline after a Russian attack. In exchange for sending troops, the West fears Russia is offering North Korea technological support that could advance Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme

Putin and Kim together in April 2019. Last week, North Korea ratified a landmark defence pact with Russia, formalising months of tightening military bonds between two nations that were close allies throughout the Cold War

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy with President Joe Biden. Last night the outgoing president announced that he had lifted the ban on Ukraine's use of American-supplied long-range missiles

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Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the coming days, according to sources. The first deep strikes are reportedly likely to be carried out using ATACMS rockets, which have a range of up to 190 miles.

Biden allowing Volodymyr Zelensky's forces to use US-supplied missiles for strikes deep into Russia has raised expectations for the UK to follow suit with its Storm Shadow missiles.

Donald Trump Jr has also waded into the debate by accusing Biden of trying to start WWIII before his father can take office after the US gave the green light for Ukraine to blast targets inside Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles.

Trump's oldest son posted on X after Biden's decision was announced, saying that 'the military industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives'.

However, the move will likely be welcomed by fellow NATO members with Keir Starmer having previously said that he would be in favour of giving the green light for the Storm Shadow missiles to be used.

His French counterpart Emmanuel Macron echoed this sentiment, which might mean that France could also soon allow Ukraine to fire their supplied long-range missiles into Russia.
Bob Britton demonstrates in support of Gov. Gavin Newsoms CARE Court proposal at the state Capitol in 2022. Andri Tambunan/Special to the Chronicle 2022

Regarding Despite struggles elsewhere, Alameda County to launch its own mental health court (East Bay, SFChronicle.com, Nov. 12): CARE courts are full of sound and fury that accomplish nothing, as San Francisco has discovered.

Our countrys for-profit health care system  including insurance that is most often linked to employment, an unlikely prospect for someone with untreated mental illness  has done everything it can to avoid paying for mental health care.

Prejudicial policies, minimal coverage, prohibitive co-pays and required pre-authorizations have pushed mental health out of our health care system. For those with severe mental illness, many end up on the streets or incarcerated instead of receiving care.

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As a practicing psychiatrist treating the mentally ill for the past 40 years, at UCSF and the San Francisco Veterans Affairs hospital, I am aware that those with severe mental illness often need comprehensive care. Putting someone under conservatorship with the CARE courts but having nowhere therapeutic to send them is a recipe for failure.

Its time we add carrots to the CARE court sticks. Its the humane thing to do and will save money in the long run. Not to mention making our streets more pleasant and safer.

Nicholas Rosenlicht, El Cerrito

Trump advice is biased

Regarding Kids are being impacted by Trumps win, too. Heres how you can talk to them about it (Open Forum, SFChronicle.com, Nov. 8): The writer is a psychotherapist who suggests that Donald Trumps general aberrant behavior be explained to children with a one-sided narrative that contains only negative information.

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While she certainly has the right to do this with her children, it strikes me as dangerous for her to recommend this action to other parents. Indoctrination can impact the ability of a young mind to think critically.

Any parent, particularly a psychotherapist, should be sensitive to the important responsibility of teaching their children to be open-minded and fair. One-sided discussions are poorly suited for that.

Give children all the main facts or none at all.

Daniel Mauthe, Livermore

Give Israel full support

Regarding U.S. to continue supplying weapons to Israel despite conflicting reports of aid flow to Gaza (Nation & World, Nov. 13): The U.S. governments schizophrenic attitude toward Israels defensive wars against the armed forces of Hamas, Hezbollah, and, it must be said, Iran is problematic.

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First, it deprives Israel of the material support it needs to bring those wars to an end in terms that protect all of Western civilization  yes, Israel is doing the work for the rest of us.

Second, underlying that schizophrenia are the demands placed on Israel to fight these wars in a humanitarian context, ignoring the efforts it has made to do so, far more than has been expected of any military force in history.

Consider the battle of Mosul  did the U.S. military give warning about combat operations, establish humanitarian zones, provide truckloads of aid, some at its own expense, establish field hospitals, put boots on the ground at their peril, before decimating the city and killing many thousands of those civilians in its effort to rid Iraq of ISIS?

William Winston, Oakland

Cut off weapons

Regarding U.S. to continue supplying weapons to Israel despite conflicting reports of aid flow to Gaza (Nation & World, Nov. 13): One month after the Biden administration gave Israel 30 days to improve humanitarian aid to Gaza dramatically, we get conflicting reports.

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Israels new foreign minister, Gideon Saar, noted steps Israel is taking but has not yet enacted and said, The issue would be resolved.

However, nine human rights organizations (including Care, Oxfam and Refugees International) say that conditions are worse than a month ago.

So, who ya gonna believe: the Israeli politician whom other Israeli politicians have described as to the right of Netanyahu? Or the nonprofit organizations reporting that Israel is blocking them from delivering aid?

President Joe Biden chose Saar. Threats are not going to influence Israeli policy; cutting off their supply of weapons might. Meanwhile, children are starving.

Clyde Leland, Berkeley

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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

Protest vote failed

For all the voters who did a protest nonvote or who voted third party because they just couldnt vote for Killer Kamala and did not support Genocide Joe  did you free Palestine?
A 17th-century diamond known as the Idol's Eye and worth up to 21million is at the centre of a bitter High Court battle between warring members of the Qatari royal family

The multi-billionaire Al-Thani family are feuding over the 70.21 carat Mughal-era blue tinged diamond, formerly owned by an Ottoman sultan and - according to legend - kept as the eye of a secret idol in the Temple of Benghazi.

More recently to be found in the London home of the late Qatari culture minister, Sheikh Saoud bin Mohammed Ali Al-Thani, it is held in the name of a company owned by a foundation of which his widow and children are the beneficiaries.

But a cousin of the family - super-rich, London-based art collector Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Thani, who has links to the British royal family and the late Queen Elizabeth II - is now fighting a High Court tug-of-war over ownership of the gem.

The sheik is a leading figure in British horse-racing and senior members of the Royal Family, including the King and the late Queen, have been guests at his 317million Mayfair mansion - reportedly Britain's most expensive private home.

He claims that through his investment firm Qipco he has the right to buy the stone for $10million (7.8m) after the Al-Thani family offered it for sale at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

But Elanus, the Al-Thani-linked company which currently owns the diamond, is fighting the case, claiming the family's supposed offer to sell the gem was a 'mistake.'

Lawyers say the firm itself had not wanted to sell it and that the alleged 'offer' was merely an expression of interest to sell by a single member of the Al-Thani family.

The 17th-century Idol's Eye diamond (pictured) could be worth a staggering 21million and is at the heart of a bitter court feud between members of the Qatari royal family over who owns it

Super-rich, London-based art collector Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Thani (pictured outside London's High Court) claims he has the right to buy the gem stone for 7.8million. But his family claim the stone is worth closer to 21m and that it was never up for sale

Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Thani reportedly has close ties to British royalty. He is seen here with the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2013

The late sheikh's son, Sheikh Hamad bin Saoud Al-Thani, had been interested in selling it to fund property deals, but had not consulted his mother or siblings, while company directors had not even considered a sale, it is claimed.

And they say that the gem could be worth far more than the claimed sale price, with one expert putting its value at a staggering 21million.

The court heard the diamond - which is 'colourless with a slightly bluish tinge' - is thought to have been found in the Golconda mines in southern India in 1600.

'It is said to have been owned by the 34th Ottoman Sultan, Abdul Hamid II, who allegedly kept it as the eye of a secret idol in the Temple of Benghazi,' said Qipco barrister Robert Stewart KC.

Later, it was owned by high-end jeweller Harry Winston before later being bought by the late Sheikh Saoud for about 7million in 2004 and put into the name of the Elanus holding company.

'He kept it in his personal safe in his home in London,' said Elanus barrister Sa'ad Hossain KC.

'It was one of the most significant pieces in his collection, and one of the pieces he was most proud of.

'It is also of particular personal importance to his wife, Sheikha Amna.'

The gem was put into the name of Elanus for inheritance planning reasons and then loaned to family cousin Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah's company Qipco in 2014 to be included in his Mughal collection at lavish exhibitions.

The Idol's Eye diamond was previously kept in the London home of the late Qatari culture minister, Sheikh Saoud bin Mohammed Ali Al-Thani (pictured), who died in 2014

Part of the loan agreement allowed for Qipco to purchase the diamond if Elanus made clear a 'wish' to sell.

The price would be based either on independent valuations gathered by the selling and buying parties, or US$10million (about 7.8m), whichever was higher.

Sheikh Saoud died in November 2014, leaving behind his widow, Sheikha Amna, daughters Sheikha Sara and Sheikha Moza, and son Sheikh Hamad bin Saoud.

Lawyers for Qipco say the process of sale of the diamond was put into train in February 2020 with a letter from Elanus's Swiss solicitor.

Referencing the 'loan agreement between Elanus and Qipco', it stated: 'I just learned from Sheikh Hamad, the son of the late Sheikh Saoud Al-Thani, that the family would like to sell the Idol's Eye.'

Qipco says it then began the purchasing process, but that the Al-Thani family went back on the offer, which they were not entitled to do under the terms of the loan agreement.

It is suing to enforce the sale at a price of US$ 10million, but Elanus's lawyers say the letter taken as an offer to sell was a 'mistake' and could not be taken as stating the company's 'wish' to dispose of the diamond.

It had been sent after the late sheikh's son began considering the possibility of a sale to fund property deals, said Mr Hossain KC.

Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah is pictured outside London's High Court after a hearing about who owns the Idol's Eye diamond

'Although the February 6 letter said that the family wished to sell the Idol's Eye, they did not,' the barrister told Judge Simon Birt KC.

'Indeed, they had not even discussed or considered it.

'As for Elanus and its ultimate beneficial owner, the Foundation, they had not even been consulted, let alone formed any "wish".

'Even Sheikh Hamad bin Saoud, who set in motion getting advice on pre-emption and the drafting of the letter, had only sought to explore the possibility of a sale at the right price.

'When the rest of the family learned of the letter, they were understandably shocked, and corrected the position to Qipco  well before Qipco served any purchase notice.

'It is Qipco's flat refusal to accept that withdrawal, and instead to insist on completing the purchase without Elanus's consent, that has also led to this dispute.'

He said the letter which triggered Qipco's claim of a right to buy was 'fundamentally incorrect' because the family as a whole had not been consulted.

'As such, the suggestion in the letter that "the family would like to sell the Idol's Eye" was completely wrong: the family had not even considered the matter,' he argued.

Additionally, the diamond is owned by the company Elanus and not the Al-Thani family and the letter could not be construed as an offer from the company, he added.

'The directors of Elanus did not pass any resolution, or decide, that they wished to sell the Idol's Eye,' he told the judge.

'The directors had no involvement whatsoever in the events alleged to constitute the "wish" by the February 6 letter.'

Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah is one of Britain's most wealthy people. His 317million Mayfair mansion Dudley House (pictured) is reportedly Britain's most expensive private home

But for the cousin's Qipco company, Mr Stewart said it was his case that the February 6 letter constituted a 'wish to sell' or for Qipco to return the diamond under the loan agreement.

He said Elanus's claim to be a distinct entity from the Al-Thani family was 'crumbling,' since the company's defence had been 'determined by the family,' which is funding its case and whose interests are being pursued.

'The family are Sheikh Saoud's heirs,' he told the judge. 'They are central to this case because the February letter was expressed as a communication of their wishes on behalf of Elanus.'

He said that Elanus had in February and March 2020 become 'fixed with the wish to sell' and that the family and the Foundation behind the company 'acted at this time as Elanus' directing mind and will for all such decisions.'

The Swiss lawyer had 'clear' authority to send the letter following 'unambiguous instruction' to write 'a formal letter as the representative of Elanus informing Qipco that we wish to sell the Idol's Eye,' he continued.

'Sheikh Hamad bin Saoud's clear priority at the time was to enforce a sale as soon as possible,' he said.

That triggered Qipco's right to buy, he told the judge.

'Qipco's position is that it is entitled to an order that Elanus sell it the asset for a price of US$10 million,' he continued.

'It reaches this figure on the basis that, Elanus not having provided any auction mid-estimate, the only available valuations, the Christie's valuations, are for US$ 7-10 million.

'Accordingly, there is no basis for applying a price above the contractually agreed minimum price of US$ 10million.'

The hearing continues.
Viral social media rumours claiming that Sir Keir Starmer represented the father of Southport suspect Axel Rudakubana in an asylum case are untrue, Downing Street said today.

The claims were yesterday circulated widely on X, formerly known as Twitter, by users who were citing them as evidence of an alleged cover-up over the true circumstances of the Southport stabbings in which three girls aged six to nine died.

But a Downing Street spokesperson today confirmed that the Prime Minister had not represented Rudakubanas father in 2003.

The Government has been accused of withholding information about the attack, and that Rudakubana was charged with an additional terror offence. Contempt of court laws mean many details about a criminal case cannot be revealed in case it prevents a fair trial.

Outrage at the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club sparked riots across the UK, with claims circulating that Rudakubana, 18, was a migrant, when in fact he was born in Cardiff. His father moved to Britain around 24 years ago from Rwanda.

And over the weekend there were claims that Sir Keir, a former human rights lawyer, represented Rudakubanas Rwandan dad in an asylum case after he arrived in the UK.

But when approached about whether the Labour leader represented Rudakubanas father in a historic asylum case, the Prime Ministers spokesperson said it was untrue.

The erroneous allegations made against Sir Keir centre on a High Court ruling dating from 2003.

Courtroom sketch of Southport suspect Axel Rudakubana, 18, as he was seen on video link during a court appearance earlier this year

A spokesperson for Sir Keir, pictured with President Xi in Rio, said it was not true that he had represented Axel Rudakubana's Rwandan father

From left: Southport victims Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguia

The judge, Mr Justice Collins, examined cases brought by six asylum seekers who were challenging parts of an immigration law brought in by Tony Blairs government earlier that year.

All six were anonymised in the ruling. However, none of the six match the nationality and gender of Mr Rudakubana Sr, the Rwandan father of the Southport attacker who settled in the UK more than 20 years ago.

Sir Keir, who at the time was a senior human rights barrister at Left-wing Doughty Street Chambers, represented five of the six applicants.

The High Court document makes clear that Sir Keir's clients were a 16-year-old Ethiopian girl, a 26-year-old Iranian man and two Angolan men aged 22 and 33.

The sixth party - the only Rwandan national involved in the case - was a 42-year-old woman.

She was from the Rwandan Hutu majority ethnic group, and told officials she 'had been living in a camp run by Rwandan soldiers since 1994 and was subjected to regular rapes and beatings at the hands of Tutsis'.

She fled Rwanda with the help of her uncle and arrived in Britain by air from Kampala, Uganda, on January 7, 2003. She claimed asylum three days later.

No Rwandan men were involved in the High Court challenge.

A separate team of lawyers represented the sixth applicant in the case, a 20-year-old Iraqi Kurdish man.

Rudakubana (pictured), of Banks in Lancashire, is charged with the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, six-year-old Bebe King, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven

Sir Keir is a former human rights lawyer. The erroneous allegations made against the PM online centre on a High Court ruling dating from 2003 involving six asylum seekers including a Rwandan woman

Lawyers for the six asylum seekers argued that a new law which made them ineligible to claim asylum support was a breach of their human rights.

The measures, contained in Labour's Nationality, Asylum and Immigration Act 2002, allowed the Home Office to refuse to provide asylum support  food and accommodation  if the claimant had not claimed asylum as soon as they arrived in Britain.

The asylum seekers' lawyers argued the measures had left their clients destitute because their claims were unable to be heard.

It was therefore a breach of their human rights, the lawyers  including Sir Keir  told the court.

Mr Justice Collins ruled that all six cases had involved a breach Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to a fair trial or hearing.

Mr Rudakubana is believed to have come to Britain in 2002.

If he lodged an asylum claim that year he would not have been subject to the immigration laws scrutinised in the High Court case, because they only came into force on January 8, 2003.

Today, England's former chief prosecutor Nazir Afsal, a Labour supporter whose boss at the CPS was once Sir Keir, urged people on social media to stop speculating on the case, which is expected to go to trial in January.

Rudakubana is accused of murdering schoolgirls Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29.

He has also been since charged over the alleged discovery of ricin and an Al Qaeda manual found at his home.

Mr Afsal tweeted: 'Speculation about [the] Southport case continues despite the many warnings that it's (1) against the law & (2) liable to prejudice the case.

'Every comment & online post is undoubtedly collected by lawyers to make the case that the accused cannot have a fair trial. Is that what you want?'.

Sir Keir Starmer was heckled by furious locals as he visited the scene of the Southport stabbing atrocity on July 30.

Riots broke out and nearly 1,000 arrests were made. Around 300 were charged and 275 were given immediate custodial sentences, including three under-18s.

Sir Keir vowed swift justice for those involved in rioting in a bid to prevent further disorder.

But there were more questions when, on October 29, the Crown Prosecution Service authorised two further charges against Axel Rudakubana  including for an alleged terror offence involving the production of biological weapon ricin.

Downing Street insisted the timing of the charging announcement was purely a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Tory leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick, who lost to Kemi Badenoch, said he was concerned facts may have been withheld from the public.

He said: 'Any suggestion of a cover-up will permanently damage public trust in whether we're being told the truth about crime in our country.

'Keir Starmer must urgently explain to the country what he knew about the Southport attack and when he learned it.

'Across the board the hard reality of mass migration is being covered up. We need the truth  and we need to change.'

Members of the community blow bubbles as people gathered to mourn victims of the Southport knife attack by holding a vigil on August 5

Axel Rudakubana was in court last week. He was not asked to enter a plea during the short hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on November 13.

The 18-year-old appeared via video link from HMP Belmarsh in south-east London.

A court then ruled he is to face a single trial over the stabbings and more recent charges relating to the alleged discovery of ricin and an Al Qaeda manual at his home.

The teenager is also accused of ten attempted murders - of two adults, dance teacher Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes, and eight more children - plus a further charge of possessing an offensive weapon, specified in court as a curved kitchen knife.

None of the injured children can be named for legal reasons.

Rudakubana appeared before Westminster Magistrates' Court a fortnight ago on additional counts relating to the alleged discovery of ricin and an Al Qaeda manual at his family home, in Banks, Lancashire - a village five miles north of Southport.

During a 30-minute hearing at Liverpool Crown Court, Mr Justice Julian Goose ruled that both indictments should be joined together and Rudakubana face a single trial, to take place from January 20 and last four to six weeks.

The defendant, who watched by videolink from Belmarsh Prison, South East London, was twice asked to confirm his name but refused to reply and sat in his grey prison tracksuit with the sweatshirt pulled over his mouth and nose.
A hardworking father-of-two has been left with permanent injuries after he was allegedly attacked at work by sword-brandishing thugs.

Mohammed Panihani, 35, was manning an EzyMart convenience store on Swanston St in Melbourne's CBD on Friday night when two armed teens allegedly stormed into the store demanding cash and cigarettes.

As shocked customers watched on, the Jordanian national tried to fend the teens off with a mallet as they allegedly waved their swords at him.

Blades from one of the swords slashed Mr Panhani's left hand open before his alleged attackers fled the scene.

Mr Panihani said he felt as though he would die when the intruders allegedly burst into his store.

'At that moment I felt I (had) died,' he told Seven News,

'It happened very quick.

'I couldn't move ... I couldn't even move my tongue.'

Mohammed Panihani was forced to defend himself with a mallet during an alleged armed robbery

The father-of-two has been left with a permanent injury that will require 12 months of treatment

Customers rushed to Mr Panihani's aid.

One wrapped cloth around his wounded hand and applied pressure to his wrist to slow the bleeding.

Another helped him to remain calm and sat on his legs to prevent him from writhing about in pain.

The 35-year-old was horrified when he finally saw the damage inflicted to his hand.

'I saw all like the wound outside, the blood, you know, the muscle,' he said.

Doctors told Mr Panihani his left hand will require ongoing surgery.

It will be 12 months before he will be able to use it again.

The father-of-two arrived in Australia from Jordan six months ago to complete his PhD.

He sends all the money he saves back home to support his young family.

Two 18-year-olds have since been charged in relation to the alleged attack.

Store owner Mohammed Abualfoul called for more police to patrol Melbourne's CBD amid a rise knife crime.

'They told me they do not want to work alone, especially on the night shift,' he said.
Keir Starmer's inheritance tax raid on farmers 'smells of incompetence' and is hammering the party's support in rural areas, a Labour peer has warned.

Baroness Mallalieu, who is also president of the Countryside Alliance and a part-time farmer in Somerset, likened the row to Tony Blair's decision to ban fox hunting, which she also opposed.

The barrister, 78, lashed out at the decision to make wealthy farmers pay IHT on the agricultural value of their land for the first time - albeit at a discounted rate.

Ahead of a major protest by farmers planned for Westminster tomorrow the peer told the BBC's Westminster Hour that 'the majority of the Cabinet' had become 'urban'.

She added that while many of them 'may have a cottage' they did not interact with people who live in the countryside.

'On the train to Taunton the other day I've had people saying to me, and indeed one of my own relatives, ''I wish I hadn't done it, I wish I hadn't voted Labour''.

'And that is very disheartening when Labour made what was perceived as an attack on the countryside 20 years ago (the hunting ban)  the result of that was 14 years in opposition. We went down from 100 MPs in rural areas under Blair to just 17. We're now back to 100, and there we are, once again, making the same mistake.'

Baroness Mallalieu, who is also president of the Countryside Alliance and a part-time farmer in Somerset, likened the row to Tony Blair's decision to ban fox hunting, which she also opposed.

Speaking to reporters on the way to the G20 summit in Brazil, Sir Keir said 'it is very important that we support farmers' but added: 'Obviously, there's an issue around inheritance tax and I do understand the concern.'

Labour faced protests against the change when the Welsh party had its conference at the weekend.

Farmers have reacted with anger and dismay over the inheritance tax changes for farming businesses, which limit the 100 per cent relief for farms to only the first 1million of combined agricultural and business property.

For anything above that, landowners will pay a 20 per cent tax rate, rather than the standard 40 per cent rate of inheritance tax (IHT) applied to other land and property.

Rural Labour MPs have suggested the level of anger is lower than claimed. Several told MailOnline that all the farmers who contacted them about the change had subsequently discovered they were not liable to pay IHT.

Treasury data shows that around three-quarters of farmers will pay nothing in inheritance tax as a result of the controversial changes.

However, others have challenged the figures, pointing instead to data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which suggests 66 per cent of farm businesses are worth more than the 1 million threshold at which inheritance tax will now need to be paid.

Labour faced protests against the change when the Welsh party had its conference at the weekend.

Speaking to reporters on the way to the G20 summit in Brazil, Sir Keir said 'it is very important that we support farmers' but added: 'Obviously, there's an issue around inheritance tax and I do understand the concern.

'But for a typical case, which is parents with a farm they want to pass on to one of their children, by the time you've taken into account not only the exemption for the farm property itself, but also the exemption for spouse to spouse, then parent to child, it's 3 million before any inheritance tax will be payable.

'That's why I am absolutely confident the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected by this.'

However, Baroness Mallalieu told the BBC: 'There was no impact assessment done. The figures differ between the Treasury and Defra, and certainly differ from those of the NFU.

'But I hope what they will do is look at it very carefully, and just see what the unintended consequences were. If they wanted to deal with people who buy farmland not intending to farm themselves but to avoid tax, then fair enough to bring them within the tax threshold.

'But what they've done is to bring in a lot of people who they never really contemplated or thought of as being involved. And it's really small farms. I think they have no idea of the value of farmland... I live in an area where there are a large number of small family livestock farms. And they have been hammered what can they do, they feel powerless.'
Homeowners trying to get 'eco-friendly' heat pumps being pushed by the Labour government are facing a six month wait to have them installed.

Bureaucracy is being blamed for the delay with some people needing planning permission to have the system fitted outside their homes.

Currently, people need permission rubber-stamped by local authorities if they want a heat pump installed in a listed building or in a conservation area.

They must also submit an application if it will be stationed less than one metre away from a neighbour's property.

One homeowner was told he needed to install a 4,500 acoustic enclosure to make the noise being emitted from the pump quieter - despite modern systems being no louder than a fridge.

An increase in demand for heat pumps has slowed down the rollout with councils on average taking eight weeks to approve applications, reported The Times.

In Birmingham applications have risen by 450pc while in Newport that figure is 600pc.

Start-up heat pump business Aira has blasted the 'ludicrous' rules in place saying they are making things 'much more complicated than it should be' and 'impossible for half a million families a year to get a heat pump'.

Daniel Sarefjord, the chief executive of Swedish company Aira's British branch, wants the Government to remove planning restrictions on heat pumps.

'By having these rules in place, you make it impossible for half a million families a year to get a heat pump, because even if they wanted to they can't because you can't live for two to six months without hot water,' he said.

Mr Sarefjord has been left baffled by the need to have planning permission saying you don't need one for a jacuzzi 'which will make far more noise with its bubbles'.

About 40pc of Aira's customers need planning permission.

One of those was Asa Baum who had to apply for permission as it was going to be installed less than one metre from his neighbour's home.

He had to wait 16 weeks to have his heat pump approved in Harpenden, Hertfordshire.

Sir Keir Starmer looks around a completed apartment at a housing development in Walthamstow, England - August, 2022

Heat pumps run on electricity and capture heat from outside before transferring it inside

Air source heat pumps absorb heat from the outside air at low temperature into a fluid to heat your house and hot water. They are able to extract renewable heat from the environment

But Mr Baum ended up moving it to 'where he didn't want it' when the council told him he would have to build a 4,500 acoustic enclosure to make it quieter.

The operations director had to fork out 900 for a noise assessment - which found it would be quieter than a fridge - as the council wouldn't accept the one conducted by Aira.

'How have we spent this long arguing over something that is inaudible in any normal circumstance?' he said.

A Government spokesman told The Times: 'The energy shocks of recent years have shown the urgent need to upgrade British homes and our warm homes plan will make them cheaper and cleaner to run, rolling out upgrades from new insulation to solar and heat pumps.

'We are exploring options on how to speed up the delivery of low-carbon home upgrades, including through reforming the planning system. We will publish more information in due course.'

It has been reported that Sir Keir Starmer's Labour government plans to ban gas boilers in most new homes by 2027.

The so-called 'Future Homes Standard' aims to cut carbon emissions across family homes - and will insist that developers make sure new-builds are kitted out with electric heat pumps or non-gas alternatives.

It has been suggested that the new rules could be brought forward for an announcement next May, although would not be enforced until the following year.

The expected measures come despite a bombshell report earlier this year revealing that the uptake of heat pumps to replace boilers had been less than half the expected levels.

A generic photo of a heat pump outside a home. Start-up heat pump business Aira has blasted the 'ludicrous' rules in place on heat pumps saying they are making things 'much more complicated than it should be'

An air-source heat pump in front of a cottage in Newbiggin-on-Lune, Cumbria, in February

The National Audit Office warned efforts to encourage homes to install the pumps have been slow with people reluctant to spend four times more than on a gas boiler.

Uncertainty over the role hydrogen could play in heating homes is also hampering investment, the report found.

The total installed in 2022 was just 55,000, well short of the Government's targets of 600,000 by 2028 and 1.6million by 2035.

The Financial Times has reported that the proposed ban on gas boilers in new homes would involve a 12-month delay to ensure housebuilders are prepared for the switchover.

The previous Conservative administration last year launched a consultation on the Future Homes Standard policy.

New legislation had been expected to be announced this month but has been put back by at least half a year following the general election last July, according to the Telegraph.

The plans form part of a mission to cut carbon emissions across all new homes by up to 80 pc - but there have been concerns over whether enough new heat pumps can be supplied to meet targets.
A huge fire has engulfed the roof of a hospital in Russia, causing people to jump out of the windows in a bid to escape.

The blaze broke out in the Central Hospital No. 3 in Yekaterinburg, with local media reporting evacuation efforts are now underway to free patients and visitors trapped inside.

Terrifying footage of the scenes show thick plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky as emergency fire services rushed to put out the blaze.

Men and women can also be spotted in the disturbing clips leaping out of the windows as they desperately attempt to flee to safety.

According to 72RU, eyewitnesses reported that repair work was being carried out on the roof of the hospital before the fire began.

The blaze broke out in the Central Hospital No. 3 in Yekaterinburg, Russia

Thick plumes of smoke were seen in footage billowing into the sky this morning

People were forced to jump from the windows in a bid to escape the flames

A grinder that was being used in the building work apparently caused the fire, however, the Russian publication said this information has not yet been officially confirmed.

One clip of the incident shows a woman in a pink coat leaping two storeys from the hospital, before landing on a balcony and being helped down by man who also appears to be treating a casualty.

Others can be seen in the background of the windows from where the woman jumped.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations revealed the fire spread over an area of around 200 square metres.

A post on the It'sMyCity Telegram channel said: 'Fire on the roof of a polyclinic extinguished The Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Sverdlovsk Region reported that it had localised the fire.

'Its area had grown to 300 square metres; 350 people were able to get outside on their own, 48 people and 16 units of equipment are working at the scene.

Emergency services have reportedly rescued around 35 people from the burning building

The Ministry of Emergency Situations revealed the fire has spread over an area of around 200 square metres

The thick smoke was seen covering the city as commuters took to the roads

'The Ministry of Emergency Situations has not reported any casualties.'

Nevertheless, it added: 'E1 published a photo from the scene of the fire, where the fire on the roof is no longer visible. The publication also reports at least two injured workers.

'They were lowered to the ground. One worker is unconscious, KP-Ekaterinburg claims.'

It comes after a major fire broke out in a domestic violence centre in Chigasovo, Moscow, on Saturday, where at least three children were injured, according to local reports.

According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the fire engulfed 300 square meters. Three fire trucks and 15 rescuers arrived at the scene at around 8pm.

There were 26 people in the shelter at the time of the incident, 18 of whom were children.

Two employees were rescued by emergency services but the others made it out of the building on their own.

According to the regional Ministry of Health, six people were injured in the fire and five were hospitalised, with doctors at the time assessing their conditions as serious.
Pasta-making grandmothers in the Italian city of Bari have staged angry protests this weekend after being accused of passing off factory products for hand-made delicacies.

Famous for the 'orecchiette' or 'little ears' they sell, a type of pasta traditionally shaped by hand, an army of women line the streets of the city's old quarter, making the food as tourists watch.

The city has seen a boom in tourism thanks to via dell'Arco Basso, known as 'orecchiette alley', where pasta is made in people's kitchens, dried and displayed on wooden trays outside their homes.

But the tables where the local nonnas usually work the dough and sell their wares stood empty on Saturday, with production stopped as part of a joint 'revolt' against criticism of their practices.

Italian news site Quinto Potere has led a campaign against what it labels the orecchiette 'fraud', claiming mass-produced pasta is sold alongside artisanal food to unsuspecting visitors.

Dramatic scenes even showed furious pasta makers and their families squaring up to a journalist who confronted an old lady over what he claimed was industrial pasta, with the altercation turning physical as locals passionately defended their produce.

Journalist Antonio Loconte has made it his mission to expose malpractice, turning up to stalls and identifying bags of pasta he says are factory-made

Nunzia Caputo (centre) was among the pasta makers who refused to make and sell their wares this weekend

The stalls were empty this weekend as pasta makers staged a protest

Reporter Antonio Loconte was approached by locals who tried to physically push him out of the street

Food bloggers and tourists have also shared their dismay at being sold what they claimed was dry, pale industrial pasta, while others have raised concerns over hygiene in the women's' kitchens.

The 'pastaie' have hit out at the claims as 'nonsense', and have called on local authorities to intervene to help preserve their tradition and protect legitimate sellers from the attacks.

Heading up the protests is Nunzia Caputo, a social media star with tens of thousands of followers who has become the face of the town's pasta makers.

Caputo met the Pope at the Vatican last week and gave him a packet of orecchiette - an apt gift after the Pontiff recently wrote that AI would never replace 'the fork [used] to seal the edges of those panzerotti made at home with our mothers or grandmothers'.

Speaking to Italian news agency ANSA, she insisted: 'There is no scam, they are artisanal dried orecchiette, they are all handmade but we have to dry them for hygiene reasons.

'Tourists take them to Paris, to America, and they need them to be very dry [...] so they do not spoil during transport'.

Journalist Antonio Loconte has made it his mission to expose what he claims is malpractice on the part of some sellers, turning up to stalls and identifying bags of pasta as factory-made.

'In the last few weeks, I found boxes of factory orecchiette in the rubbish bins. It all started from there,' he told MailOnline.

'So when I arrived in the area, the ladies first hid and then came out, they were prepared to fight.'

'The ladies unpack the factory-made orecchiette and put them in bags to sell them as if they were handmade.'

Loconte shakes a box at a pasta seller, claiming that her produce is mass-produced rather than homemade

A woman emerged from the house behind the stall and came to the defense of her elderly relative

In dramatic footage of the confrontation, a woman emerged from the house behind the stall and came to the defense of her elderly relative, telling the reporter: 'Our children are unemployed, we have to feed them!'

Loconte challenged one elderly pasta seller at her stall with a box he said the produce came from, and was met with fury from her neighbours and family members.

He was then approached by other locals who tried to physically push him out of the street as bemused tourists watched the commotion unfold.

The Apulian journalist said he has been working to expose the practice for six years, and continues the 'battle' because of his 'love' for the pasta makers and the local tradition.

'There are two problems here: the ladies fake hand made orecchiette. And then they dodge taxes and [hygiene, hazard awareness] is non-existent.

'In addition, the stalls were initially set up to sell orecchiette, but lately they have also been selling other products such as biscuits and baked goods and drinks.'

He added that the problem had a become worse due to the promotion of the town and its tradition on social media.

'The ladies felt overwhelmed. Tourists flocked to the city to visit and take selfies and reels with these women,' he said.

'As a goodwill gesture, they bought orecchiette, but often they didn't care if they were factory made or handmade. This created an issue for other consumers.'

Bemused tourists were met with angry protests this weekend, with pasta makers refusing to work

The 'pastaie' have hit out at the claims as 'nonsense', and have called on local authorities to intervene

Caputo and other pasta makers stood by their stalls this weekend decrying the criticism the news reports and social media posts have attracted as 'unjust', defending their tradition and the provenance of their food.

Addressing the authorities in Bari, the 61-year-old asked: 'What should we do, give up this work, this long-standing tradition?

'Give us instructions, we are ready to welcome them because we want to work in a peaceful manner'.

Lilla Simone, another pasta maker and head of Il Club delle Orecchiette in nearby Altamura, also supports bringing in stricter rules to guarantee authenticity and protect the industry.

'What has happened there has undermined our work and undermined our reputation,' she reportedly said.

'Orecchiette' or 'little ears' are a type of pasta traditionally shaped by hand

Loconte said rogue pasta sellers 'felt justified by the previous municipal assembly, which never did anything to control the trade.'

'I believe that creating a regulation can benefit the ladies and also the tourists, the consumers will be sure of the food they buy,' he said.

Bari's council has said it is currently looking into bringing in regulations to ensure produce is made in the traditional way while also protecting pasta makers.

'We are examining a series of regulations on the matter, to try to find a path that involves everyone, including the operators,' said city councillor Pietro Petruzzelli, who added that it is crucial that tourists can trust the products they buy.

Bari's mayor Vito Leccese has urged pasta sellers to be honest and responsible with the goods they are selling for the sake of the city's reputation.

'Authenticity is what has given Bari extraordinary appeal,' he said. 'We aren't a cultural mecca like Florence or Rome. It is the traditional activity in the historic centre that gives this place allure.'
Incoming president Donald Trump has confirmed he is ready to declare a national emergency and use the military to deport illegal immigrants from America.

Responding to a post on Truth Social made by activist Tom Fitton, who said the 'incoming Trump administration [are] prepared to eclare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program', Trump wrote: 'TRUE!!!'

Trump has long promised not only to curb illegal immigration, but to deport those who currently live in the U.S.

He said just days after winning the 2024 election that his fight to deport an estimated 11 million people would have no 'price tag.'

He told NBC: 'Really, we have no choice. When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries, and now theyre going to go back to those countries because theyre not staying here. There is no price tag.'

The American Immigration Council estimated that the cost of a mass deportation on the scale that Trump wants could cost $315billion.

This cost includes impacts of lost labor.

Despite this, members of Trump's inner circle previously told the Mail on Sunday that he has been formulating a plan to begin mass deportations in Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home.

Donald Trump (pictured, centre), seen with Elon Musk (left), Tulsi Gabbard (centre-left), RFK. Jr (centre-right) and Mike Johnson (right) at a UFC match on November 17

Migrants walk in a caravan as they continue their journey to the U.S. border, in Tuzantan, Mexico November 6, 2024

One lawyer familiar with the talks said: 'Donald is preparing for a series of moves against illegal immigrants, which he says will cause "shock and awe". Kicking out illegals was the mainstay of his run for the White House and he knows people expect action on Day One. They will get it.'

The source claims Trump will immediately sign a series of executive orders, the most radical of which will be to close the border.

Citing an immigration crisis, he will temporarily shut the southern border to give officials a chance to clear a huge backlog of cases.

Trump claims that the Joe Biden administration allowed more than 10 million people to illegally enter the US, bringing the total number of illegal immigrants to 20 million.

There are plans to significantly increase the number of armed officers on horseback patrolling the rugged terrain close to the US's border with Mexico.

And, of course, construction will resume on the infamous wall running between the two countries, which was a central  if unfulfilled  plank of Trump's immigration policy during his first term.

Having lengthened the wall to around 700 miles (of the near 2,000-mile border), work abruptly stopped when Biden came to power. Trump has vowed to complete the $8 billion job by inviting businesses to 'sponsor' sections.

'Step One' of the deportation programme is to target undocumented immigrants with ties to criminal gangs.

'Step One' of the deportation programme is to target undocumented immigrants with ties to criminal gangs (File image of a migrant caravan on their way to the US-Mexico border)

Hundreds of migrants, mostly Venezuelans, walk in a caravan on U.S. presidential election day in an attempt to reach Mexico's northern border, on November 5, 2024, in Tapachula, Mexico

A migrant in a caravan cooks at a bonfire as he rests before continuing their journey to the U.S. border, in Escuintla, Mexico November 8, 2024

A migrant in a caravan reacts during a meeting as they rest before continuing their journey to the U.S. border, in Escuintla, Mexico November 8, 2024

One lawyer familiar with the talks said: 'Donald is preparing for a series of moves against illegal immigrants, which he says will cause "shock and awe"'

Migrants walk in a caravan along a highway on their way to the U.S. border, in Villa Comaltitlan, Mexico November 7, 2024

It is dubbed 'Operation Aurora', after the Colorado town where members of the ruthless Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua turned apartment complexes into bases for drug dealing and prostitution.

Trump plans to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which gives presidents the authority to detain and deport non-citizens from 'hostile nations' during times of war and conflict. The law was used to justify the building of Japanese internment camps during the Second World War.

According to those familiar with Trump's plans, he will target the 700,000 Venezuelans, Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans he has branded 'vicious criminals from countries that hate us', who have been allowed to stay in the US under a Biden parole programme.

'Step Two' is to expel more than one million people whose applications to remain in the US have been denied and who are on the deportation list.

Then the round-up of the millions of remaining illegal immigrants will begin as part of 'Step Three'. Places of work, including farms and meatpacking plants, will be subject to raids (or 'targeted enforcement activities')  something the American Civil Liberties Union calls 'vile, unconstitutional and un-American'.

Individuals will be taken to 'holding centres' before their deportation is fast-tracked.
The head teacher of a 46,700-a-year private school has said private school parents should be 'celebrated' for saving taxpayers money on their children's education.

Dr Anthony Wallersteiner, headteacher of the prestigious Stowe school, said these families are 'relieving the state' of paying for their children's education.

Speaking at the Independent Schools Show, he said the private sector takes pressure off overcrowded and struggling state schools.

It comes ahead of Labour putting VAT on private school fees from January 1, which will in many cases lead to considerable fee rises and families having to leave the sector.

Private schools were previously exempt from the tax, and from April the schools will get no business rate relief, as the Government looks to fund 6,500 extra teachers for state schools

Several schools have already announced they will close, citing the levy as at least part of the reason.

Dr Wallersteiner, who is one of the countrys longest serving headmasters, said the tax raid was harming diversity in education and creating an unjustified barrier to parental choice.

He added: Why should the State have a monopoly on educating your children?

Dr Anthony Wallersteiner, Head Teacher of Stowe School has called for legal action against the Government

Stowe School, in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, has had to raise its prices as a result of the policy

Does someone like Angela Rayner have a better understanding of what your children need than you do?

He backed the Independent Schools Councils decision to pursue legal action against the Governments controversial policy, adding: There should be legal protection for the rights of parents.

It is appropriate to challenge the Governments decision, which is incompatible with European regulations.

And he warned of further school closures such as that of Tudor Halls prep school Carrdus, which was announced last week, should the policy not be overturned.

He said: Carrdus is only ten miles away from us and the announcement it is set to close is another example of the deleterious effect of this policy which will see more schools close and historic assets sold off.

In a letter to parents last week, Dr Wallersteiner said Stowe would continue to oppose the legislation.

The letter said: We believe that all education is a societal benefit which should be exempt from taxation.

Parents should be applauded for relieving the state of the financial burden of educating their children in the maintained sector.

The Governments VAT proposal undermines pluralism in education by creating an unjustified barrier to educate children in accordance with parents conviction and beliefs, as well as inhibiting access to education for children with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), but without Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).

While recognising the Governments mandate for this policy, it is entirely appropriate to question Government action if we believe it is incompatible with human rights legislation.

Business tycoon, Richard Branson was educated at Stowe school. Mr Branson has a net worth of 2.7 billion USD

The late David Niven also went to Stowe. He was a well known actor and soldier who died in 1983

Actor Henry Cavill also attended the school. Mr Cavill is most famous for roles in The Witcher and Superman

The school has announced it will only pass on a 14 per cent extra charge to parents from January, but boarding fees at the school will still rise to just over 53,000 a year after the increase.

Dr Wallersteiner said that the anxiety and uncertainty caused by the tax has led Stowe to temporarily suspend its one term notice period for withdrawing a pupil.

Instead, the school has imposed a deadline of 6pm on December 1 for parents to give notice that they would need to pull their children out of Stowe or its prep schools Swanbourne House and Winchester House.

However, he urged parents to contact the school to see if they could help before giving notice of their intention to withdraw.

Stowe says its Change 100 programme to raise 100 million for 100 fully funded bursaries to the school is the most ambitious access programme in the UK.
A premature twin baby born at just 28 weeks was one of three who died after being given a 'contaminated' feeding solution, an inquest has found.

Oscar Barker, Aviva Otte, and Yousef Al-Kharboush all died in 2014 after being fed with a solution that had been contaminated by a bacterium called bacillus cereus.

The coroner has written a prevention of future deaths report, demanding action from public health bodies to avoid such a tragedy happening again.

Oscar was born at the Rosie Hospital, Addenbrooke's in Cambridge on May 27, 2014, at 28 weeks gestation as one of twins.

He was given total parenteral nutrition (TPN), which is a liquid solution containing nutrients to help children grow, according to Great Ormond Street Hospital.

His health was monitored and he underwent surgery and a blood transfusion.

At 20 days after he was born, he was 'very sick' with multi-organ failure and sepsis.

Blood cultures were tested and one was found to have bacillus cereus. Oscar died on June 29, 2014.

Oscar was born at the Rosie Hospital, Addenbrooke's in Cambridge on May 27, 2014, at 28 weeks gestation as one of twins, but died just over a month later

Aviva Otte and Yousef Al Kharboush (pictured) also died after the nutrients they were receiving, called Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN), became infected in 2014

Aviva and Yousef were both born premature at St Thomas' hospital and both were also one of a pair of twins.

Yousef died on June 1, 2014, aged eight days and Aviva died aged two months on January 2, 2014 - both had received TPN contaminated by bacillus cereus.

Following Aviva's death, Guy's and St Thomas' trust undertook a cause analysis in partnership with the UKHSA to try and establish the source of the bacterial outbreak, but none was found.

In June, both Oscar and Yousef died after contracting the same bacteria in feed supplied by ITH.

Guy's and St Thomas' trust only admitted Aviva had died following the contamination at the inquest, having repeatedly told her family over the past decade she had died from natural causes.

The outbreak also affected other babies in other NHS trusts, but fortunately these babies recovered.

The feed provided to Yousef and Oscar by ITH Pharma was being used by nine different hospitals across the UK between May and June 2014 and saw 17 more babies become ill.

ITH Pharma was fined 1.2million for regulatory offences following the deaths of Oscar and Yousaf.

Yousef - who was born at St Thomas' Hospital in London (pictured) - was just nine days old when he died on June 1 2014 after Bacillus cereus bacteria infected his TPN feed

Previously, a spokesman for ITH Pharma said: 'ITH was not told of the previous outbreak of Bacillus cereus and death at St Thomas' at any point prior to the summer 2014 incident.

'This is deeply troubling given that this appears to be the very reason we were brought in to supply TPN at St Thomas'.'

In 2022, ITH Pharma admitted failing to conduct a suitable and sufficient risk assessment between August 2009 and June 2014, and two charges of supplying a medicinal product which was not of the nature or quality specified in the prescription.

Regarding Aviva's death, Dr Morris wrote: 'The Trust undertook a root cause analysis together with involving the UKHSA and its own infection and microbiological teams, but no definitive source for the outbreak was found.'

He wrote that the hospital trust where she died had not passed on their findings to other places compounding TPN under a section 10 exemption, which allows pharmacists to make a limited quantity of medicine for a specific patient, or to the wider market.

A Prevention of Future Deaths report into the babies' deaths by senior coroner Dr Julian Morris has called on the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, Care Quality Commission, Medicines, and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to take action.

The organisations must respond to the report by January 8, 2025.

The Prevention of Future Deaths report listed matters of concern including that there is no requirement for entities using the section 10 exemption to report findings to the MHRA or other bodies following an 'adverse event'.

It added that current reporting structures are 'unclear' when sharing information would improve 'the provision of highly specific medication to a group of vulnerable patients'.
George Washington believed that to ensure holding elected office is accessible to people of different income groups, politicians should not be denied a salary, either by statute or custom. Peter Dazeley/Getty Images 2016

San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie made tackling corruption a central component of his campaign for mayor.

During his bid, Lurie touted being the only candidate for mayor who had not received city Ethics Commission fines. He promised to fully fund the commission. He also proposed imposing more stringent campaign finance requirements, raising filing fees for candidates with previous ethics violations and banning supervisors from taking advantage of the slush fund loophole by running for the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee while in office.

During Luries first news conference since becoming mayor-elect, he was asked whether he planned on taking a salary as mayor. Lurie, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, responded, I have to talk to the city attorney about salary. I dont anticipate taking one.

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However, if Lurie really wants tackling corruption in San Francisco to be his legacy, he should reconsider taking a salary.

Lurie is limited by ordinance to two consecutive terms as mayor. Luries financial situation makes a taxpayer-funded salary chump change for him. However, that might not be true for a future mayor. Lurie must consider not only his tenure as mayor but also future mayors if no salary becomes acceptable.

It is a powerful thing for voters in a democratic society to be able to say to their elected officials, We pay your salary, regardless of how wealthy those elected leaders are.

Giving elected officials a salary, and their acceptance of it, honors the democratic tradition of seeing consent as something that must be continually reaffirmed, rather than just initially given. If voters are unhappy with an incumbent politician, they can collectively say, Youre fired, just as San Francisco voters did to outgoing Mayor London Breed. Ending an elected leaders taxpayer-funded salary is an essential component of voters collective ability to revoke consent, as it attaches a tangible metric to that revocation.

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Lurie can look to George Washington for guidance on whether to take a salary as a wealthy officeholder. Just as Washington had refused a salary as commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, he announced in his first inaugural address that he would not take a salary as president. However, after Congress passed an act granting Washington a $25,000 annual salary, he relented.

Eight years later, in Washingtons final State of the Union address, he spoke about the importance of taxpayer-funded salaries for elected officials.

If private wealth is to supply the defect of public retribution, Washington cautioned, it will greatly contract the sphere within which the selection of character for office is to be made, and will proportionally diminish the probability of a choice of men able as well as upright. Besides that, it should be repugnant to the vital principles of our government virtually to exclude from public trusts talents and virtue unless accompanied by wealth.

After two terms as president, Washington became convinced that, to ensure that elected office is accessible to people of different income groups, politicians should not be denied a salary, either by statute or custom.

By taking a salary, Lurie, like Washington, would demonstrate that politicians accepting salaries is a matter of fairness, not profit. Lurie would avoid unintentionally suggesting that refusing a salary is a necessary or important anti-corruption benchmark. He would extinguish the implication that accepting a salary signals a weaker commitment to tackling corruption.

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We need not look further than President-elect Donald Trump to see that politicians refusing or donating their taxpayer-funded salary can be weaponized to deflect tough questions about accountability. During his first term, Trump portrayed his decision to donate his $400,000 presidential salary as some kind of virtuous sacrifice. Nothing could have been further from the truth. In reality, Trump took every opportunity during his first term to use the office of the presidency to enrich himself, even when it meant putting Americas national security at risk.

By taking a salary, Lurie would further his stated objective of rejecting Trumps politics in San Francisco. Lurie would make it unmistakable that neither he nor any other wealthy elected official should be able to use Im not taking a salary to distract from their actual record of addressing corruption while in office.

Will Lurie face criticism if he decides to take a salary, given his immense personal wealth? Absolutely. But the downside of short-term criticism pales in comparison to the upside of Lurie fulfilling his campaign promise to create a sustainable approach to tackling corruption.

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

Forgoing a salary is not sustainable from one mayor to the next. By refusing one, Lurie risks hampering San Franciscos long-term trajectory on corruption and, by extension, jeopardizes his legacy.

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Sky News host Peta Credlin has issued an emotional response in the wake of the arrest and charges laid against her long time friend and colleague Alan Jones in Sydney on Monday.

The former talkback radio king has been charged with 24 offences against eight alleged male victims including a former Olympian and a 17-year-old boy.

It comes as new details emerged that NSW Police moved to arrest Jones on Monday after becoming aware he had a planned upcoming trip to the US.

Daily Mail Australia does not suggest Jones' trip was linked to the investigation.

With her voice at times close to breaking, Credlin on Monday night acknowledged the seriousness of the charges but claimed the alleged behaviour was 'entirely out of character' for Jones.

'These allegations will now be tested in court where evidence will be put forward and that evidence judged. All of it, in a very public way,' Credlin, who previously co-hosted a Sky News program with Jones, said.

'As it should be because we believe in the rule of law in this country and we expect it to be applied openly, transparently and fairly.'

But she suggested Jones had not been treated fairly, saying 'he wasn't given the option of presenting himself to the police station, and plainly, the media were briefed in advance of what was to happen'.

Sky News host Peta Credlin (pictured) weighed in on the arrest and charges laid against her long time 'friend' and colleague Alan Jones on Monday

Alan Jones with his longtime friend and former Sky News colleague Peta Credlin

Credlin said that was 'something that doesn't sit well with any of us who expect justice to be blind'.

'I've known Alan well for nearly two decades, and seen him in many different contexts, and the behaviour alleged is entirely out of character with the man I've known,' she said.

Credlin also referred to her legal background in saying how important the presumption of innocence is.

'As a lawyer, I want to remind all of us in the media that it's a fundamental rule of justice that someone in this country is innocent until proven guilty,' she said.

'We are not judges here, nor are we the jury.'

She closed out the segment wishing her friend well 'for what will be a difficult few months ahead'.

'I do not know what happened in the past, but I know tonight  for everyone involved  this is a traumatic day,' Credlin said.

It's understood that Jones had known about the nine-month police investigation for some time but had no idea that the arrest would happen on Monday, A Current Affair reported.

Former talkback radio king Alan Jones (pictured in green tracksuit) was charged with 24 offences against eight male alleged victims, including a former Olympian and a 17-year-old boy

Jones, 83, was arrested at about 7.45am on Monday at his luxury Circular Quay apartment and later taken to Day Street Police Station in the Sydney CBD after detectives searched his home.

Shortly after 3pm, NSW Police revealed Jones had been hit with a raft of charges involving 24 alleged offences against eight alleged victims between 2001 to 2019.

The charges included 11 counts of aggravated indecent assault - victim under authority of offender, nine counts of assault with act of indecency, two counts of sexually touch another person without consent and two counts of common assault.

Jones said nothing to the large media scrum as he left the police station on Monday afternoon and appeared to briefly snarl at waiting reporters as they thrust microphones in front of his face.

The former radio shock jock, who was dressed in an all-green tracksuit ensemble with emerald loafers, made his way slowly to a waiting car while using a walking stick.

His high profile lawyer, Chris Murphy, said that his client would be defending the charges.

'Nothing has been tested, nothing has been proven,' Mr Murphy said to the surrounding journalists.

'Alan Jones will assert his innocence appropriately in the courtroom - he denies any misconduct, this matter will be defended.'

Another Sky News host, Andrew Bolt, also weighed into the case on Monday night.

He pointed out the massive influence Jones once held, with prime ministers and state premiers ready to come on his show at a moment's notice.

'This could be one of greatest falls from grace we have seen in this country,' Bolt said.

'If so, we are going to be asking ourselves how people bend to power. And ask who else knew of what Jones allegedly did?

'Are our free speech laws so ridiculous now that it's now too dangerous to raise such allegations against the powerful?

'Certainly alleged victims have said they didn't dare speak against a man with so much influence.'

Bolt pointed out that though they were colleagues on Sky News, he barely knew Jones.

'I've met Jones only briefly a handful of times, I saw or heard nothing - I've got to say to me he was always studiously polite,' Bolt said.

'But I wonder how  if true  he could allegedly abuse staff while at (Sydney radio station) 2GB over years and years and not one person in authority there knew.'

Police will allege in court that the authority Jones acted under was an employment contract.

On Monday afternoon, NSW Crime Command assistant commissioner Michael Fitzgerald praised the alleged victims of Jones for their bravery in coming forward.

'In regards to the victims, we will allege that the accused knew some of them personally. Some of them professionally,' he said.

'And we'll also allege that some of the victims, when the alleged offence took place, was the first time that they ever met the accused.

'I wish to commend the victims in their bravery in coming forward. They are fully aware, as are the investigators, that the hard work is just beginning.

'They have given their statements fully aware they will go through the courts.'

Jones' lawyer was not impressed with the assistant commissioner's comments.

'I think it's totally contemptible of the assistant commissioner of police to be praising the witnesses who he might like to call victims,' Mr Murphy said.

Jones was granted conditional bail and is banned from leaving the country.

He will appear in Downing Centre Local Court on December 18.
Raw sewage is being flushed into two London rivers from at least 100 new homes, an environmental charity warned today.

Seven blocks of flats in north and west London have been discharging waste into the rivers Crane and Brent, with pictures showing filthy piles of wet wipes and sanitary towels pouring into the river from a sewage outflow.

Thames Water blamed the issue on developers who had connected new buildings to the wrong drainage pipes, but said it was working 'to help identify and investigate misconnections'.

One apartment block consisting of 14 flats was identified as having a 'misconnection' in its plumbing more than six years ago, while the freeholder of another building was notified in 2021.

But with the buildings still not replumbed, human excrement and other waste continues to pour into the River Brent and River Crane, which are tributaries of the Thames.

Ben Morris, founder of the Clean Up the River Brent campaign, holding wet wipes he has removed from the grille of a misconnected sewage outflow

Around 300 to 400 wet wipes per month gather on the grille, leading to this disgusting sight

Thames Water blamed the issue on developers who had connected new buildings to the wrong drainage pipes, but said it was working 'to help identify and investigate misconnections'

Onlookers have described unpleasant smells coming from the rivers, as well as the growth of 'sewage fungus' - a mix of fungi, bacteria and algae that forms on the surface of polluted water and can suffocate fish.

Ben Morris, founder of the Clean Up the River Brent campaign, told Metro.co.uk: 'It is now possible to build, market and sell properties that flush sewage straight into our rivers, and no one spots it until it is too late.

'That is raw sewage going straight into a river in a country that is supposedly advanced, cares about the environment, cares about hygiene, and has a building regulations system in place. How can that not be a scandal?'

Raw sewage was pumped into British rivers and seas for a record 3.6million hours last year, more than double than in 2022.

The duration of the sewage spills had more than doubled from 1,754,921 hours hours in 2022, to 3,606,170 hours in 2023, the figures show.

Meanwhile, the number of discharges from the 14,000 storm overflows which are owned by English water companies soared to 464,056 last year, up 54 per cent per cent from 301,091, meaning that last year was the worst on record for sewage spills.

This is the highest number since current data began in 2016, ahead of the previous peak of 403,375 spills in 2020.

Failure to fix the misconnection means human waste continues to flow in the River Hanwell (pictured)

An ammonia meter with a reading of 9.86 mg/L after testing water in the River Hanwell. This is considered a high level

Regulator Ofwat is getting powers to ban bonus payments to water bosses if they fail to protect the environment, customers and their company's finances.

Bonus payments of 41 million have been paid to bosses since 2020, despite the ongoing sewage scandal.

A Thames Water spokesperson said: 'Most misconnections will have been done entirely by accident but is the responsibility of the property owner, which is why we would urge freeholders or developers fitting new connections to make sure they're plumbed in properly.

'We have identified seven buildings in the Brent and Crane area which are misconnected, and have made those responsible aware to ensure all wastewater is taken to our sewage works where it can be safely treated.

'We have a programme of work to help identify and investigate misconnections and we also fund local projects across our region, which have been a great way to increase awareness of the issue, while involving communities to take stewardship and help manage their local environments.'

A sign urging visitors to avoid dumping rubbish in the river

The Environment Agency said it 'encouraged' people to report any signs of water pollution.

'Misconnections are a major cause of pollution, especially in urban areas, where the high density of households and associated drainage increases the likelihood of misconnections and therefore the impact on nearby watercourses,' a spokesman added.

'We encourage anyone who is installing a new toilet, sink, washing machine or dishwasher, to make sure their plumber is connecting them to the wastewater sewer rather than surface water drains.'

Is here an unreported sewage scandal happening near you? Contact rory.tingle@mailonline.co.uk
Experts have questioned Sir Keir Starmer's claim that the 'vast majority of farmers' will not be affected by his government's hated inheritance tax changes - as protesters prepare to descend on London.

The agricultural section is in open revolt at the decision to levy IHT on farms worth more than 1million for the first time, with critics warning it will stop a new generation of farmers from being able to inherit their parents' estates.

A protest is expected in Westminster tomorrow, while separately the National Farmers' Union will hold a mass lobby of MPs in their efforts to get the Government to rethink.

Speaking to reporters on the way to the G20 summit in Brazil, Sir Keir said 'it is very important that we support farmers' but he is 'confident' most will not be affected by the changes.

But this assertion has now been questioned by an expert in the agricultural property sector, who believes that nearly half of farms will exceed the 1million threshold based on the value of their land alone.

Sir Keir Starmer claimed to reporters on a flight to Brazil (pictured) that 'the vast majority' of farmers would not be affected by inheritance tax changes

A sign in a field by the M40 near Warwick protesting the changes to inheritance tax rules

Rupert Burchett is an Agricultural Property solicitor at Payne Hicks Beach

'If you just use bare agricultural land values, 40% of farms will be affected,' Rupert Burchett, an Agricultural Property solicitor at Payne Hicks Beach, told MailOnline. 'When you add on the value of farmhouses, diversified farm buildings and so on, that figure skyrockets.

'There is a real and understandable sense of betrayal in our rural communities. It doesn't matter how many times the Prime Minister repeats that the vast majority of farms and farmers will be unaffected - the Government's own figures show that this simply isn't the case.

'Many farmers are now beginning the process of considering how to mitigate the tax burden that will otherwise decimate the future of their and their families' businesses and livelihoods.'

Mr Burchett said Sir Keir's claim 'relies on a number of very big assumptions'.

'This includes that all farmers will be married, that they will be willing to co-own their farms with their spouses, and that they will be passing their farm to their own children - none of which is necessarily the case even before you start thinking about valuation,' he said.

'So I would disagree with the PM!'

It comes as a Labour peer waded into the row by warning the tax raid 'smells of incompetence' and is hammering the party's support in rural areas.

Baroness Mallalieu, who is also president of the Countryside Alliance and a part-time farmer in Somerset, likened the row to Tony Blair's decision to ban fox hunting, which she also opposed.

The barrister, 78, lashed out at the decision to make wealthy farmers pay IHT on the agricultural value of their land for the first time - albeit at a discounted rate.

She added that while many of them 'may have a cottage' they did not interact with people who live in the countryside.

'On the train to Taunton the other day I've had people saying to me, and indeed one of my own relatives, ''I wish I hadn't done it, I wish I hadn't voted Labour''.

'And that is very disheartening when Labour made what was perceived as an attack on the countryside 20 years ago (the hunting ban)  the result of that was 14 years in opposition. We went down from 100 MPs in rural areas under Blair to just 17. We're now back to 100, and there we are, once again, making the same mistake.'

Labour faced protests against the change when the Welsh party had its conference at the weekend

Farmers staged a protest against the inheritance tax changes in Llandudno, Wales, yesterday as Labour held their Welsh conference

Farmers have reacted with anger and dismay over the inheritance tax changes for farming businesses, which limit the 100 per cent relief for farms to only the first 1million of combined agricultural and business property.

For anything above that, landowners will pay a 20 per cent tax rate, rather than the standard 40 per cent rate of inheritance tax (IHT) applied to other land and property.

Rural Labour MPs have suggested the level of anger is lower than claimed. Several told MailOnline that all the farmers who contacted them about the change had subsequently discovered they were not liable to pay IHT.

Treasury data shows that around three-quarters of farmers will pay nothing in inheritance tax as a result of the controversial changes.

However, many have challenged the figures, pointing instead to data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which suggests 66 per cent of farm businesses are worth more than the 1 million threshold at which inheritance tax will now need to be paid.

Labour faced protests against the change when the Welsh party had its conference at the weekend.

Baroness Mallalieu, who is also president of the Countryside Alliance and a part-time farmer in Somerset, has likened the row to Tony Blair's decision to ban fox hunting

Speaking to reporters on the way to the G20 summit in Brazil, Sir Keir said 'it is very important that we support farmers' but added: 'Obviously, there's an issue around inheritance tax and I do understand the concern.

'But for a typical case, which is parents with a farm they want to pass on to one of their children, by the time you've taken into account not only the exemption for the farm property itself, but also the exemption for spouse to spouse, then parent to child, it's 3 million before any inheritance tax will be payable.

'That's why I am absolutely confident the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected by this.'

However, Baroness Mallalieu told the BBC: 'There was no impact assessment done. The figures differ between the Treasury and Defra, and certainly differ from those of the NFU.

'But I hope what they will do is look at it very carefully, and just see what the unintended consequences were. If they wanted to deal with people who buy farmland not intending to farm themselves but to avoid tax, then fair enough to bring them within the tax threshold.

'But what they've done is to bring in a lot of people who they never really contemplated or thought of as being involved. And it's really small farms. I think they have no idea of the value of farmland... I live in an area where there are a large number of small family livestock farms. And they have been hammered what can they do, they feel powerless.'

A government spokesperson said: 'Our figures, which are based on actual claims for Agricultural Property Relief, show that around three quarters of claims each year are expected to be unaffected by the changes. Looking at asset value alone does not necessarily mean that the farm will be affected, as it depends on individual circumstances.

'The figures are available for anyone to view online and have been assessed by the independent OBR. They show around 500 claims each year will be impacted and farm-owning couples can pass on up to 3m without paying any inheritance tax.'
Snow has arrived in parts of the UK this morning after large parts of the country were plunged into a winter freeze following the coldest night of the season so far.

Patches of snowfall could be seen on higher ground in Scotland on Monday morning, after the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for snow and ice from 4pm on Sunday.

Temperatures dropped to minus 7.8C in Tulloch Bridge, Scotland, which is the lowest temperature the UK has seen since last winter.

A dusting of ice was also seen on houses and cars in the north of England, as sub-zero temperatures creeped in to bring an end to the generally mild and dry weather conditions experienced in the first half of November.

Forecasters say the snowy weather is likely to shift south later today, meaning around one to three centimeters of snow is also likely to settle in the lower-level areas of the East Midlands, Yorkshire and parts of Wales from 7pm on Monday.

And more snow is expected to fall in Scotland and Northern Ireland from 3pm - with as much as 10cm of the white stuff predicted to settle in higher ground areas.

People across the UK have been told to brace themselves for the effects of the cold snap over the next few days - as temperatures are expected to stay in the single digits for the rest of this week.

Communities in the affected areas could see their power supply cut off, disruption to roads and public transport and the risk of injury from slipping on ice.

Patches of snowfall could be seen on higher ground in Scotland on Monday morning, after the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for snow and ice from 4pm on Sunday (pictured: Snow and ice surround The Watchers sculpture at Corgaff in Aberdeenshire)

People across the UK have been told to brace themselves for the effects of the cold snap over the next few days (pictured: A motorist scrapes ice of the windscreen of a car in Newcastle)

A dusting of ice was also seen on houses and cars in the north of England, as sub-zero temperatures creeped in to bring an end to the generally mild and dry weather conditions experienced in the first half of November (pictured: Snow capped mountain of Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales)

This morning, snow dusted grounds across Scotland, including at the Glenshee Ski Centre near Braemar and at Corgarff, both in Aberdeenshire, as well as alongside the A939 near The Lecht in the Cairngorms.

Snow also blanketed the mountain of Ingleborough, while frost covered berries in bushes near Clapham, in the Yorkshire Dales.

Met Office spokesperson Nicola Maxey said snow has mostly fallen on hilltops so far on Monday - with 2cm falling in Lerwick, Shetland.

But more snow and ice is expected over the coming days, with temperatures plunging to below average levels for the time of year.

'It is going to be quite a widely cold week,' Ms Maxey said. 'A few degrees below average both day and night for most of the country.'

It is predicted temperatures could drop to minus 2C in London on Friday, minus 4C in Birmingham and minus 7C further north.

There is a possibility of 15-20cm of snow on ground above 300m (984ft), 5-10cm in areas higher than 200m , with a 'chance' that snow could hit lower levels and cause road disruption - although the likelihood of that remains 'uncertain'.

A yellow weather warning was issued for parts of northern England and southern Scotland for the start of this week, with up to 20cm of snow possible on higher ground by Tuesday evening (pictured: Snow and ice at Corgaff in Aberdeenshire)

A severe weather warning for snow and ice across the UK was first put in place yesterday, as the cold weather creeps in, bringing with it temperatures as low as -1C (pictured: A dusting of snow at the Glenshee Ski Centre near Braemar in Aberdeenshire)

A yellow weather warning was issued for parts of northern England and southern Scotland for the start of this week (pictured: Shannon Finlayson uses a broom to clear snow off the windscreen of her car in Inchbae, Wester Ross)

More snow and ice is expected over the coming days, with temperatures plunging to below average levels for the time of year. (pictured: Maria Navarro walks her dog Skye at Corrieshalloch where there has been a couple of inches of snow in Wester Ross)

Met Office spokesperson Nicola Maxey said snow has mostly fallen on hilltops so far on Monday (pictured: Laramie Finlayson walks through the snow at Inchbae, Wester Ross

'There's likely to be a widespread frost overnight as we get this colder air coming in from the arctic maritime air mass - cold air from the north pushing down across the country - which will be across the whole country by the middle of the week,' Ms Maxey said.

Age UK warned that the conditions could be dangerous for older people.

Charity director Caroline Abrahams said: 'With the Met Office issuing a yellow weather warning of snow and ice in some areas this week we are especially worried - the loss of the Winter Fuel Payment has caused many older people to be extra fearful about turning on their heating this winter.

'With high energy bills and food prices it is understandable that some may think they have to cut back on food and turn their heating off, but prolonged exposure to cold temperatures can have a serious impact on an older person's health, especially if they are already trying to manage existing illnesses.

'The cold raises blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke and breathing in cold air can also increase the risk, and impact, of serious illnesses like flu and pneumonia.'

Ms Abrahams said it is 'vital' that older people stay 'fit, warm and well if they can' by having hot food and drinks throughout the day, wrapping up warm and sleeping with the windows closed.

In addition, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a Cold Health Alert for large swathes of England running until Thursday - putting NHS services on notice to expect greater demand.

Age Scotland's Chief Executive Katherine Crawford has also issued advice on how to stay warm during the colder months.

Traffic on the A835 near Braemore, Berriedale, where a couple of inches of snow fell overnight

A man wearing a high-vis jacket wraps up warm as he leaves footprints in the snow as he walks past The Corrieshalloch Gorge visitor centre - Wester Ross

A lorry on a snowy A835 near Loch Dorma in Highland this morning

As much as 10cm of the white stuff has already been predicted to settle on the higher ground areas of Orkney and Shetland in northern Scotland on Monday, while around one to three centimeters is also likely to settle in the lower-level areas of the East Midlands, Yorkshire and parts of Wales

She said: 'As we get older it can take us longer to warm up, and colder temperatures can exacerbate respiratory problems, heart disease and other health conditions.

'There is also a concern for older people who have difficulty heating their homes to a comfortable level because of the bigger energy bills we are facing.

'There is concern too for those with restricted mobility, who may find it harder to get out and about while travel disruption prevents people from being able to get from one place to another safely.

'There are also simple steps we can all take to ensure no one feels they are facing this period alone.

'Bad weather may make it difficult for people to get out for essential shopping or medical appointments, so we'd urge everyone to check in on older family, friends and neighbours during this period to find out if they need any extra support.

'A friendly phone call or an offer to help with shopping, collecting prescriptions or de-icing paths could be a lifeline for someone who feels isolated at home during this cold spell.'

'Older people, their carers and families in Scotland looking for help or advice can call Age Scotland's free helpline on 0800 12 44 222.'
A mother-in-law has been accused of murdering her heavily pregnant daughter-in-law after reportedly claiming she used 'witchcraft' to seduce her son.

Zara Bibi was seven months pregnant when Sughran Bibi, with the help of multiple accomplices, allegedly killed her and then chopped her body into pieces before scattering the remains across the city of Daska in Pakistan.

The 30-year-old mother was reported missing last week before local police officers made the grizzly discovery of her body parts in three separate bags.

Deccan Herald, an Indian english language newspaper, reported that Sughran had issued a confession to the murder.

Senior police officer Omar Farooq said: 'In her confessional statement, Sughran Bibi said that she suspected Zara of allegedly practising "witchcraft". Besides, her son Qadir had started sending money directly to Zara in her bank instead to his mother.

'The four suspects smothered Zara with a pillow while she was asleep. After that they burnt her face and chopped off her body into dozens of pieces before dumping it in a drain in three sacks,'

Zara had been married to Qadir Ahmed for four years and had a three-year-old son. The family had been living in Saudi Arabia before Zara returned to Pakistan just over two weeks ago.

Her father, Shabbir Ahmed, claimed that Qadir's family were jealous of Zara because she was living abroad.

Zara Bibi (pictured) was reported missing last week before local police officers made the grizzly discovery of her body parts in three separate bags scattered across the city of Daska in Pakistan

Zara had been staying with her in-laws in Daska for just over two weeks when she was allegedly murdered her mother-in-law Sughran Bibi with the help of multiple accomplices

The former police officer told Dawn, a Pakistani english language news outlet, that he hadn't heard from his daughter since November 10 when her mobile phone was switched.

He then visited her in-laws two days later who told him Zara had 'left the house with jewelry and valuables.'

With his concerns for his daughter's safety mounting, Mr Ahmed reported her missing.

Police arrested Sughran and three other suspects which included her daughter Yasmin, her grandson Hamza and a distant relative Navid.

A fourth suspect - Sughran's relative Abdullah has reportedly also been arrested.

Police have said all four have confessed to the murder.

A murder case has been registered against the suspects.
This is the moment a Ukrainian nursery teacher took out a Russian cruise missile from a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher with her first shot.

Nataliia Hrabarchuk, a teacher-turned-soldier, was captured in stunning footage obliterating the Kh-101 long-range missile on Sunday morning.

Hrabarchuk, donning a helmet and safety vest, was seen with the large Igla MANPADS rocket-launcher balancing on her shoulder before she fired into the distance.

She then dropped to her knees in disbelief as she successfully targeted the Russian missile on her first attempt during her first combat launch.

The sound of an explosion can be heard in the distance as Hrabarchuk remains on her knees with her hands over her mouth, with the man-portable air defence system on the ground beside her.

Nataliia Hrabarchuk, who was a nursery teacher before the war, was filmed blasting a Russian missile out of the sky with a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher on her first attempt

Footage of the moment saw the woman balancing the Igla MANPADS rocket-launcher on her shoulder before she fired

The rocket could be seen blasting off into the distance as Hrabarchuk set her targets on the Russian cruise missile

An explosion can be heard in the background of the footage as Hrabarchuk's rocket destroyed the Russian missile

The former nursery school teacher dropped to her knees in disbelief when she hit the Russian missile with her first shot

'When the enemy missile was in front of me, I threw away all emotions and excitement,' Hrabarchuk, a volunteer member of Ukraine's air defence command, said.

'I had made hundreds of training launches on simulators. And here  the first combat and on target,' she added.

The impressive launch took place on Sunday morning during Russia's latest large-scale attack, the Ukraine air force said.

Vladimir Putin's troops had pounded Ukraine's power grid in a devastating attack with 120 missiles and 90 drones.

Various types of drones were deployed, including Iranian-made Shaheds, as well as cruise, ballistic and aircraft-launched ballistic missiles.

Air defences were deployed overnight to intercept drones in Kyiv as residents were urged to take cover, while missiles bound for the west of the stricken country prompted NATO to send out its warplanes to assist.

'Due to the massive attack by the Russian Federation using cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles on objects located, among others, in western Ukraine, Polish and allied [NATO] aircraft have begun operating in our airspace,' said a statement from the Polish operational command at the time.

Russia's relentless aerial bombardment with missiles and drones has destroyed half of Ukraine's energy production capacity, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Ukrainian defences shot down 144 out of a total of 210 air targets, the war-torn country's air force reported later on Sunday.

Two children were also among at least eight people who were killed in an attack after a Russian missile destroyed a nine-storey building.

Another 52 people were injured on Sunday night when a Russian missile hit a residential building in Ukraine's northeastern region of Sumy, Ukraine's emergency services and military said.

'Sunday evening for the city of Sumy became hell, a tragedy that Russia brought to our land,' Volodymyr Artyukh, the head of the Sumy military administration said in a post on the administration's Telegram messaging channel.

Two children were among at least eight people who were killed in Ukraine after a Russian missile destroyed a nine-storey building in Sumy on November 17

Firefighters were seen battling the flames resulting from the strike at the nine-storey building in Sumy on November 17

Firefighters work at the site of residential area hit by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Lviv region, Ukraine November 17, 2024

The combined drone and missile attack was the most powerful in three months, according to the head of Kyiv's City Military Administration, Serhii Popko.

The country's energy operator DTEK announced emergency power cuts at around 7am UK time on Sunday morning affecting the Kyiv, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions following overnight drone strikes.

It said shortly thereafter thermal power plants had been struck by Putin's latest fusillade.

Both Kyiv and Moscow deny targeting civilians in their strikes on each other's territory. But thousands have died since early 2022 in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the vast majority of them Ukrainians.

Also on Sunday, US President Joe Biden authorised for the first time the use of US-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine to strike inside Russia, after extensive lobbying by Ukrainian officials.

The weapons are likely to be used in response to North Korea's decision to send thousands of troops to support Russia in the Kursk region where Ukraine mounted a military incursion over the summer.

It is the second time the US has permitted the use of Western weapons inside Russian territory within limits after permitting the use of HIMARS systems, a shorter-range weapon, to stem Russia's advance in Kharkiv region in May.
The parents of a teenager who took his own life after falling victim to a sextortion scam are urging other victims not to be ashamed and to seek help.

Murray Dowey, 16, from Dunblane, Scotland, died in December last year after being tricked into sending an explicit image by online fraudsters.

He was contacted on Instagram by someone pretending to be a teenage girl and sent the image - before being subject to blackmail within hours.

Sextortion is a form of online blackmail which involves criminals targeting people - often young adults and teenagers - around the world, threatening to expose intimate images of them online or to friends and family if they do not co-operate.

At least three British children and more than 20 in the US have taken their own lives after being blackmailed by evil gangs.

Mark and Ros Dowey said they had no idea anything was wrong before their son died.

Mr Dowey told the BBC: 'He went up to his room, and he was absolutely fine. We found him dead the next morning'.

His mother said: 'We had no chance to intervene, to notice there was something wrong and try and help and fix it.'

Murray Dowey, 16, from Dunblane, Scotland, died in December last year after being tricked into sending an explicit image by online fraudsters

Parents Mark and Ros Dowey said they had no idea anything was wrong before their son died

It's thought the culprits behind the scam were based in Nigeria. Police Scotland are working with authorities there to find those responsible.

Mrs Dowey said criminals behind the scams should stop and think about what they are doing.

She said: 'I don't know if they have any humanity to stop and think about what they're actually doing, but you have to question, how would they feel if it was their child or their little brother or their friend?

'You can't put into words how painful it is and how devastating, and how that gap, that Murray gap, is just going to be there for the rest of our lives.'

She added it was heartbreaking to think that her son's last moments were spent in fear as he received threatening messages.

And Mrs Dowey urged anyone who fell victim to sextortion not to be ashamed and to seek help.

She said: 'Everything in life passes. There's nothing that is worth taking your own life for.

'So if something happens to you, put that phone down and go and get somebody you trust and tell them it's happened, and don't be ashamed at what you've done.

Daniel Perry was the target of cruel internet scammers in 2013 before taking his own life

Dinal De Alwis, 16, a schoolboy from Sutton, south London, took his own life in October 2022 after receiving Snapchat messages threatening to send two nude photographs to all of his followers

'Thousands of children are sharing images. It's happened.'

Mr Dowey added: 'Put the phone down, go and talk to somebody, it really won't be the end of the world.'

The couple are speaking out ahead of the launch of a new campaign to help protect young people from sextortion which is being launched by Fearless, the youth service of Crimestoppers.

Mrs Dowey said: 'He didn't deserve to die in the way he did, and it breaks my heart to think that his last few moments are hours of getting relentless messages and threats and the terror he must have felt and the panic.

'That's one of the hardest things to think what his last few moments or hours in life were like.'

The couple also hit out at tech companies who they said could do much more to crack down on sextortion.

Mr Dowey said: 'Social media companies could do so much more, and the reason they don't do so much more is money. It will stop them making more billions than they're making.'

Mrs Dowey said: 'They make big headlines about caring and trying to stop, but they need to put their money where their mouth is.

Dinal had been top of Whitgift School in Croydon in English and economics after achieving straight A*s in his GCSEs

'The technologies are there for them to stop so many of these crimes being perpetrated, so much of the harm being shown and then forced onto kids through algorithms.

'But they don't, you know, they don't care, because all they care about is profits.'

Murray's death has similarities to that of tragic teenager Daniel Perry.

In 2013, the 17-year-old from Fife killed himself after being tricked into making explicit webcam recordings.

And Dinal De Alwis, 16, a schoolboy from Sutton, south London, took his own life in October 2022 after receiving Snapchat messages threatening to send two nude photographs to all of his followers if he did not send money.

The apprentice mechanic believed he was talking online to a girl in the US but was told by the scammers the conversations had been recorded and would be shared with friends and family unless he paid up.

Following his death, Police Scotland uncovered an internet trail that led to the Philippines and links to organised crime groups there.

In July the Mail revealed more than 1,000 children in Scotland alone have been victims of such scams, including children as young as ten.

In April, the National Crime Agency issued an unprecedented alert to teachers and parents about pupils being targeted in 'sextortion' scams.

It warned all 570,000 primary and secondary teachers across Britain that children as young as five are at risk. It was the first time the NCA has issued a national alert to schools and experts say it is urgently needed to stem a 'sextortion epidemic'.

Andy Burrows, chief executive of Molly Rose Foundation, set-up by the family of Molly Russell who ended her life at age 14 in November 2017 after viewing harmful content on social media, said: 'Sextortion is taking young lives but so far the response from tech companies has been piecemeal and insufficient.

'It is disappointing that Ofcom's proposed approach to tackling illegal harms under the Online Safety Act will do little to stop this horrific crime, with even platforms known for this abuse claiming they already comply.

'It is increasingly clear that we need a new Online Safety Act that embeds a duty of care on tech companies to systemically protect children from harm.'

For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
The Labour MP pushing assisted dying laws has urged the Government to maintain 'neutrality' ahead of a House of Commons debate later this month.

Kim Leadbeater, who has introduced the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to Parliament, intervened as more Cabinet ministers set out opposing views.

The Spen Valley MP said it had been 'disappointing' for ministers to criticise her Bill before reading it.

She also took a swipe at those who had speculated on what the consequences might be if Parliament did approve her proposed laws.

Ms Leadbeater spoke out after Health Secretary Wes Streeting warned implementing an assisted dying law could come at the expense of other NHS services.

He said there would be 'resource implications' for the health service and revealed he has asked his officials to carry out a cost analysis of any change.

Ms Leadbeater cautioned against letting 'politicians detract from the issues' and urged all involved to 'pull back a little bit from the politician speaking'.

Meanwhile, a legislative expert has said Parliament is not being given enough time to debate Ms Leadbeater's Bill.

Kim Leadbeater, who has introduced the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill to Parliament, intervened as more Cabinet ministers set out opposing views

Ms Leadbeater spoke out after Health Secretary Wes Streeting warned implementing an assisted dying law could come at the expense of other NHS services

A legislative expert has said Parliament is not being given enough time to debate Ms Leadbeater's Bill

The Bill has support from the Dignity in Dying campaign group, members of which gathered outside Parliament last month

Ms Leadbeater's proposed legislation aims to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales and has been introduced to Parliament as a private members' bill.

She has described it as the 'most robust' legislation on this matter in the world.

Mr Streeting's intervention was condemned by Labour peer Harriet Harman, who accused him of breaching the Government's neutral stance on the issue.

Speaking to LBC radio about Baroness Harman's criticism of the Health Secretary, Ms Leadbeater said: 'The really important thing is that this is a free vote.

'There are 650 MPs - every single one will get a vote. There are a range of views, there are a range of views across the Cabinet.

'And there are a range of views within ministers and, indeed, all MPs. So I think it's really important that the views of people are heard.

'But equally that the Government maintains that position of neutrality when it comes down to what would happen if Parliament did choose to change the law.'

She added: 'It's important all those different voices are heard, the debate is had and, actually, what we do is try and maybe pull back a little bit from the politician speaking and listen to the people with lived experience of the current situation.'

Ms Leadbeater admitted it was a 'difficult' situation, but continued: 'Let's let the debate play out but let's not let the politicians detract from the issues.'

Her Bill is due to have its second reading in the Commons on 29 November, when MPs are likely to vote on assisted dying for the first time since 2015.

But Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been accused by some MPs of 'shortcutting democracy' by not allowing more than one day of debate on the Bill before a vote.

Nikki da Costa, a former director of legislative affairs in No10, urged the Government to devote its own parliamentary time to the Bill in order to 'give it enough time for debate'.

Asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme whether Parliament was being given enough time to consider the Bill, she replied: 'In my view no, for a Bill of this complexity - it's 40 pages - and where the unintended consequences you might have are very severe.'
A British Airways flight avoided colliding with a pair of illegally flown drones by just metres, putting 200 passengers' lives at risk, a report has revealed.

The Airbus A321 on a flight from Rome was at a height of 800ft and on its final approach to Heathrow when the terrifying near-miss happened.

The plane was quickly descending at 160mph when the two drones loomed into view at 1pm on July 28 over Isleworth, west London.

Flying at about 800ft, they were just 50ft above the plane as it soared beneath them, meaning the risk to the plane and passengers was severe.

A report by the UK Airprox Board, which assesses near misses, rated it a Category A incident where there was a serious risk of collision.

The drones were being flown illegally at double the usual 400ft maximum height for the devices.

It is believed that they were deliberately being flown just outside the 5km restriction zone for drones which extends from the ends of every airport runway in the UK.

The pilot or pilots of the devices risked prosecution for endangering an aircraft by reckless flying which carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail - but they were never caught.

The Airbus A321 on a flight from Rome was at a height of 800ft and on its final approach to Heathrow when the double near miss happened (stock image)

It is thought that the drones may have been flown into the path of the plane in a bid to capture dramatic video footage of a passenger jet soaring past in mid-air.

But airline pilots and navigation experts have long warned of the risk of a drone smashing an aircraft windscreen or being sucked into a jet engine, putting the lives of passengers and crew at risk.

The UKAB report said the first officer of the flight had 'initially noticed two objects immediately in front of and higher than the aircraft and pointed them out to the Captain who also clearly perceived them.'

The report added: 'They were clearly identifiable as two identical drones in the shape of two '3's flying in a lateral formation perfectly up the approach, about 50ft (max) above the aircraft.

'The black propellers on the objects were clearly identifiable by both pilots. Both pilots assessed a risk of impact.'

The crew estimated that the two drones were around 50ft over the plane when it soared beneath them.

The report concluded: 'In the Board's opinion the reported altitude and/or description of the object were sufficient to indicate that it could have been a drone.

'The Board considered that providence had played a major part in the incident and/or a definite risk of collision had existed.'

A BA spokesperson said: 'We take such matters extremely seriously and our pilots report incidents so that the authorities can investigate and take appropriate action.'
A machine operator suffered fatal injuries after his clothing got caught in a log cutting machine, a sheriff has ruled.

Andrew Sinclair, 61, was working for DK Logs when he died in September 2022 at Brae of Murthly, Pitilie Farm in, Perthshire, Scotland.

His right arm became trapped after his clothing got tangled within the moving parts of the device.

A fatal accident inquiry at Dundee Sheriff Court has ruled Sinclair wrongly jammed the machine which meant it kept operating when he was caught in it.

His cause of death was recorded as blunt force arm and neck injuries and entrapment by the machine.

Sheriff Timothy Niven Smith said Sinclair had failed to follow operating procedures.

The probe heard co-workers had rushed to help him after he was found caught in the machine.

Sheriff Smith said: 'The circumstances of the accident as known are that the deceased's clothing and arm/upper body has become entangled in the moving cogs of the transverse conveyor of the log deck.

Andrew Sinclair was working for DK Logs (pictured) in Perthshire when he died in September 2022

Dundee Sheriff Court has ruled Sinclair wrongly jammed the machine which meant it kept operating after he became entangled

'The transverse conveyor will only operate if the control lever is in the forward position, it would have been impossible for Mr Sinclair to have operated that lever whilst standing at the log deck, it is a reasonable inference for the court that the control was 'jammed' in the forward position by some means.'

He added: 'I cannot speculate why Mr Sinclair 'jammed' the hold to run controls and left the control panel.

'I can only conclude based on the evidence that Mr Sinclair did do that.'
Children and their parents arrive for school at the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in San Francisco. According to one survey, 48% of parents say their stress is overwhelming. Michael Short/Special to the Chronicle 2020

On my first day as an early childhood teacher, my co-teacher pointed out a rash forming on one of the toddlers in our class. She knew from decades of experience that the rash was a reaction to a particular diaper brand.

Later that day, my co-teacher had me translate in Spanish about the rash and the need to change diaper brands to the childs mom. The mother sighed and looked down, replying in Spanish, I need to wait until next Friday.

Before the mom could look up, my co-teacher had already packed her a sleeve of different diapers from our reserves, giving the mom a reassuring pat on the shoulders. My co-teacher, who doesnt speak Spanish, had at least understood proximo Viernes (next Friday) and knew what it meant  she had to wait until her next paycheck to buy new diapers. Decades of experience, indeed.

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Parenting is hard  so much so that Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory in August warning that the pressure parents are facing has now become a public health problem. Murthy cited a 2023 American Psychological Association survey that showed 48% of parents say their stress is overwhelming, compared with 26% of other adults.

But whats behind that stress can differ for families depending on circumstances. I teach toddlers at an Early Head Start center, part of a nationwide public program that provides comprehensive care and education to families with young children living below the federal poverty line. We see the acute stress parents feel every day as they raise young children while trying to pay the bills.

A cruel irony is that young families with the youngest children tend to have the least resources when they need them the most. Most brain development occurs before age 5, and the stress children experience in the early years can have lifelong effects.

Nearly half of Californias parents with children younger than 6 are experiencing material hardship, according to the RAPID Survey Project at Stanfords Center on Early Childhood. These parents have difficulty paying for basic needs such as food, housing and medical care. Intuitively, Stanfords research also finds that when caregivers cant meet their familys basic needs, their emotional distress increases. And when their emotional distress increases, so does the emotional distress of children.

But the good news is that help helps. Stanfords research found that government financial relief during the pandemic reduced emotional distress for young families because they could afford essentials and pay their bills.

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But temporary policies have temporary benefits: The temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit in 2021 led to a historically low U.S. child poverty rate, which more than doubled after it expired in 2022. Columbia Universitys Center on Poverty and Social Policy estimates that 3.6 million children would have been kept out of poverty in 2023 had the expanded credit still been in place.

The recent presidential campaign brought increased discussion around family-focused policies like the Child Tax Credit, and it remains to be seen what policies the new administration will adopt or erase. Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned on major expansions to the Child Tax Credit, including detailed adjustments for making the money for families more accessible and usable. President-elect Donald Trump didnt release any details during the campaign, though he did oversee the doubling of the Child Tax Credit to $2,000 during his first administration. If Trump is serious about giving families the support they need, he can start by borrowing and implementing some of Harris ideas.

Along with policies, individual action makes a difference in our local communities. Numerous Bay Area organizations work tirelessly to help parents provide the essentials for their children. Help a Mother Out works with community partners to distribute diapers, including operating the San Francisco Diaper Bank, the nations first and only diaper public assistance program. Oakland-based SupplyBank.org distributes essentials to families across California, including diapers and school supplies. For those inspired, financial and volunteer support goes a long way in helping local families access more resources.

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

Years after my first day as a teacher, Im now a parent, and sure enough, my son got a rash because of a particular diaper brand. My wife and I are privileged enough that we didnt have to think twice  let alone wait until payday  to get different diapers until the rash cleared up. That, as a minimum, is something I wish for all parents.

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The farmer's fight against Labour tax raids has taken an unexpected turn as protesters are now going 'nuclear'.

At least - that's what Sky News might have you believe after a news reader announced the disgruntled workers were preparing to put up the fight in Westminster amid a display of missiles.

The embarrassing blunder was quickly jumped upon by social media, but some have actually been pleased at the 'news' saying 'good on them' and 'if that's what it takes, launch those cowpat missiles'.

It comes after the presenter announced the bulletin item - 'Farmers preparing to protest in Westminster as inheritance tax anger grows' - while a missile launched off of barren wasteland more than once under the header 'Farmer Protests'.

One person said on X: 'Yeah we all know they've bene storing those missiles in their barns.'

Another commented: 'Sending a clear message to Downing Street.'

It comes as thousands of farmers are due to attend protests in Westminster on Tuesday against the Chancellor's 'disastrous' move of imposing inheritance tax on previously exempt agricultural estates.

One person joked: 'Amazing what you can do with fertiliser.'

Social media users were quick to react to the blunder, which sent them into hysterics

Another said: 'Guy Fawkes had nothing on these farmers.'

Among the political pundits to also note the blooper are Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice who said Sky were being a 'bit bullish' on protest plans.

Former MP Michael Fabricant added: 'The farmers' protest goes nuclear!'

Behind the humour however is a sad story of generations of those in the trade who have felt 'betrayed' by Rachel Reeves' budget.

Only yesterday, Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers' Union (NFU), delivered a fresh blast at the Chancellor's plans ahead of the planned protests.

There has been uproar since Ms Reeves announced she is imposing inheritance tax on previously exempt agricultural estates worth over 1million, at a rate of 20 per cent.

Critics have warned that move will wipe out family-run farms who will be forced to sell up in order to pay death duties.

There have even been threats of strikes, which could hit supplies of meat, barley and oats, over what has been dubbed Labour's 'family farm tax'.

Social media users made quips online after watching the clip

Bit of an overreaction from Sky News   Matt Gubba (@MattGubba) November 18, 2024

Other comments made in relation to the blunder include some people making joke comparisons to the tactics normally deployed by farmers.

Someone said: 'When they said militant unions I may not have taken them literally enough.'

Another person added: 'They don't mess around them farmers!'

And one observer concluded: 'The future of slash and burn farming.'

Speaking to reporters on the way to the G20 summit in Brazil, Keir Starmer had said 'it is very important that we support farmers' but added: 'Obviously, there's an issue around inheritance tax and I do understand the concern.

'But for a typical case, which is parents with a farm they want to pass on to one of their children, by the time you've taken into account not only the exemption for the farm property itself, but also the exemption for spouse to spouse, then parent to child, it's 3 million before any inheritance tax will be payable.

'That's why I am absolutely confident the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected by this.'
Keir Starmer insisted that UK-China ties are 'important' today as he became the first premier to meet Xi Jinping since 2018.

The PM said he wanted a 'strong relationship' with Being based on 'respect' as he met the Chinese president on the fringes of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Mr Xi responded to Sir Keir's olive branch by welcoming the chance to 'break new ground' between the countries.

He insisted there is a duty to work together with the world entering a 'period marked by turbulence and transformation'.

Links have been in the deep freeze following China's crackdown on democracy protests in Hong Kong and its brutal treatment of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang, which Labour once labelled a 'genocide'.

The cordial exchanges are a long way from the so-called 'Golden Age' pushed by David Cameron a decade ago - when he took Mr Xi to the pub during a state visit.

However, Sir Keir has stressed his determination to rebuild the relationship, despite human rights concerns and fears the push could invoke the fury of Donald Trump.

The returning US president has made clear he sees China as the main threat to global stability.

Keir Starmer insisted that UK-China ties are 'important' today as he became the first premier to meet Xi Jinping since 2018

Sir Keir argued that the two countries should have a 'respectful' relationship

The PM raised the case of Jimmy Lai as he met Mr Xi in Rio today

Speaking at the start of the meeting at the Sheraton Grand hotel, the PM said: 'We want our relations to be consistent, durable, respectful, as we have agreed, avoid surprises where possible.'

He added: 'The UK will be a predictable, consistent, sovereign actor committed to the rule of law.'

Sir Keir suggested they should hold a full bilateral meeting in Beijing or London - amid signs that he is planning a visit to China.

Journalists were ushered out of the room as Sir Keir raised the case of Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy activist and British national imprisoned in Hong Kong.

The PM said: 'I'm very pleased that my Foreign Secretary and foreign minister Wang met recently to discuss respective concerns including on human rights and parliamentary sanctions, Taiwan, the South China Sea and our shared interest in Hong Kong. We are concerned by reports of Jimmy Lai's deterioration.'

He had earlier said that he is 'keen that my Chancellor should meet with vice premier He for the upcoming economic financial dialogue early next year to explore more investment projects and a more level playing field to help our businesses.'

According to a translation in the room, President Xi said there is 'broad space for co-operation' between the two countries, highlighting trade and clean energy.

He said: 'The world has entered a new period marked by turbulence and transformation.

'As permanent members of the UN security council and major global economies, China and UK share the dual responsibility of advancing our respective national development and addressing global challenges.'

He later added: 'China and the UK have broad space for co-operation across various domains, including trade, investment, clean energy, financial services, healthcare and improving our peoples' wellbeing.

'We should take fostering greater development, better-serving our peoples and contributing more to the world as our goal.

'Live up to our strategic partnership and commit to mutual respect, openness, co-operation, exchanges and mutual learning for shared benefit [] in doing so we will break new ground in the China-UK relationship amid a changing world and better underscore our relationship's relevance for the times and its significance for the world.'

Critics  including sanctioned former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith  have accused Sir Keir of a 'betrayal' of those who have suffered under the repressive regime.

En route to the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro yesterday, the PM told reporters it was 'important' to improve relations and trade with China.

'We are both global players, global powers, both permanent members of the security council and of the G20,' he said.

'China's economy is obviously the second biggest in the world. It's one of our biggest trading partners and therefore I will be having serious, pragmatic discussions with the president when I meet him.'

Keir Starmer posed for photos working hard on the plane to Rio as he fended off criticism of his globetrotting

Asked whether he wanted to improve relations with Beijing, he added: 'Given the size of the economy, it is very important that we have a pragmatic and serious relationship and that's what I intend to pursue.'

Sir Keir ducked questions about China's actions in Xinjiang, saying he had previously given 'a whole series of answers in terms of my position'.

But he added: 'I do think it's important that we have serious engagement which is what I will be pursuing in my bilateral at the G20.'
Sweden is sending out five million pamphlets to residents urging them to prepare for the possibility of war, with instructions on how to stockpile food and even seek shelter during a nuclear attack, as fears grow of a conflict between Russia and NATO.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Stockholm has repeatedly urged Swedes to prepare both mentally and logistically for a possible conflict, citing the worsening security situation in its vicinity.

It comes as tensions between Moscow and the West have escalated to new heights after Joe Biden gave Kyiv the green light to blast targets deep inside Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles, which Donald Trump's son has criticised as making sure 'they get WWIII going before my father has a chance to create peace'.

The booklet 'If Crisis or War Comes', sent out by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), contains information about how to prepare for emergencies such as war, natural disasters, cyber attacks and terrorism.

'An insecure world requires preparedness. The military threat to Sweden has increased and we must prepare for the worst - an armed attack,' its new introduction states.

In one of the more worrying excerpts, which harks back to advice given by governments during the darkest days of the Cold War, it informs people of the risk of nuclear weapons.

'The global security situation increases the risks that nuclear weapons could be used. In the event of an attack with nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, take cover in the same way as in an air attack,' the pamphlet instructs readers.

'Shelter provides the best protection. After a couple of days, the radiation has decreased significantly,' it advises, adding that people will be warned of attacks over the radio and should go to basements or subways if there is no better option.

Another message, which has been brought forward from the middle of the booklet in the updated version, reads: 'If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up. All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false.'

Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said that as the global context had changed, advice to Swedish households had to be reviewed to reflect the reality of the situation

The pamphlet urges people to locate the nearest shelter to their work, school or home, and prepare to stay inside it for days at an end

'High alert': The pamphlet states that 'if there is war or danger of war' the government can place the country in a state of 'heightened preparedness' and mobilize the whole of society

The booklet warns people to seek shelter in case of an air raid siren or other emergency

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In the US, Biden's move to permit Ukraine's use of US-supplied long-range missiles has riled supporters of president-elect Donald Trump, who pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible.

Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr, posted on X after Biden's decision was announced, saying that 'the military industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives'.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long pressed western backers to allow his country to strike military targets deeper inside Russia, but allies had resisted his pleas amid fears that doing so would cross a 'red line' set by Vladimir Putin.

Back in September, Russia's president said that he would consider western nations 'direct participants' in the war in Ukraine if they were to provide Kyiv with the ability to strike targets inside Russia.

He has also suggested he may provide Russian missiles to Western adversaries to strike western targets abroad as a course of retaliation.

Today, a pro-Putin mouthpiece has warned Brits of 'nuclear war by Christmas' following Biden's decision.

Sergey Markov, a former spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin said Western allies including Britain, France and the US had taken a 'big jump' towards nuclear conflict by giving Ukraine such an approval.

Markov, a regular Putin 'mouthpiece', said the shock move by US President Joe Biden could mean that Britons were unable to wish each other 'Happy Christmas' as they could be in shelters.

His sabre-rattling in an interview on the BBC Radio 4's The World At One was echoed, remarkably, by the son of the US President-Elect Donald Trump.

Donald Trump Jr suggested those behind the move to approve Ukraine's use of US-supplied ATACM missiles wanted to 'make sure they got World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives'.

However, President Biden's shock move was welcomed by Ukraine, by senior UK defence sources and by many European leaders.

Senior UK defence sources and many European leaders noted that the Kremlin and its mouthpieces in the state-controlled media and academia had threatened nuclear war every time the West had stepped up its support for Ukraine  such as when it provided tanks, fighter jets and other sophisticated weapon systems.

But Mr Markov was adamant this move was different because Western militaries would be directly involved in the conflict for the first time  as Ukraine would require their assistance to use the precision guided missile systems.

Sweden and its Nordic neighbours have become increasingly anxious about the situation in Ukraine and Moscow's belligerence over recent years.

Finland has also launched a new preparedness website while Norwegians recently received booklets instructing them on how to manage on their own for a week in the event of war and other threats.

Both Sweden and Finland dropped decades of military non-alignment to join the US-led military alliance NATO in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The booklet 'If Crisis or War Comes' contains information about how to prepare for emergencies, including war

People are told to stock up on fuel in case of emergencies

The pamphlet advises Swedes to stockpile food, water and medicine, and keep warm clothes and blankets to hand

A page from the pamphlet which advises people on the best places to seek shelter in case of an emergency

'If Crisis or War Comes': Key excerpts from the pamphlet Introduction 'An insecure world requires preparedness. The military threat to Sweden has increased and we must prepare for the worst - an armed attack.' War - the ultimate threat to our freedom 'When someone wants to take the right to rule over us by force, it threatens our right to a free and independent life. There are also ways other than military force to influence and damage our country, for example cyberattacks, influence campaigns, terrorism and sabotage. 'That can happen at any time, and a lot is going on here and now. We cannot take our freedom for granted. And we must have will and courage to defend our open society, even if it means sacrifices. 'If Sweden is attacked, we will never give up. All information about the end of the resistance is false.' High alert 'If there is war or danger of war, the government can decide on heightened preparedness to strengthen the country's ability to defend itself. 'High preparedness means that the whole society must mobilize to be able to face an attacker and to ensure that the most important [parts] of society work. 'At high alert, you may be summoned to help in different ways.' Nuclear weapons 'The global security situation increases the risks that nuclear weapons could be used. In the event of an attack with nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, take cover in the same way as in an air attack,' it instructs readers. 'Shelter provides the best protection. After a couple of days, the radiation has decreased significantly.' Advertisement

Prompted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Scandinavian countries conducted a comprehensive review of national security policy and just two months later applied to join the mammoth bloc.

After nearly two years of political jostling and against a backdrop of menacing threats from Putin and his cronies, Sweden finally became a member of NATO back in March.

The new pamphlet is an updated version of a pamphlet that Sweden has issued five times since World War II.

However, underlining the seriousness of the potential threat, the pamphlet is twice the size of previous years

The previous version of Sweden's pamphlet was sent out in 2018, and made headlines at the time as it was the first time it had been sent to Swedes since 1961 at the height of the Cold War.

'The security situation is serious and we all need to strengthen our resilience to face various crises and ultimately war,' MSB director Mikael Frisell said in a statement.

Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said last month that as the global context had changed, advice to Swedish households had to be reviewed to reflect the reality of the situation.

The 32-page document outlines with simple illustrations the threats facing the Nordic nation, including military conflict, natural disasters, and cyber and terror attacks.

It includes tips for preparedness, such as keeping non-perishable food in stock and storing water, as well as giving people pointers on how to take shelter in an emergency situation.

MSB said the updated 2024 version had a stronger focus on preparation for war.

It goes on: 'When someone wants to take the right to rule over us by force, it threatens our right to a free and independent life.

'There are also ways other than military force to influence and damage our country, for example cyberattacks, influence campaigns, terrorism and sabotage.

'That can happen at any time, and a lot is going on here and now. We cannot take our freedom for granted. And we must have will and courage to defend our open society, even if it means sacrifices.'

The brochure is available in print in both Swedish and English and digital versions are available in several other languages - including Arabic, Farsi, Ukrainian, Polish, Somali and Finnish.

Sweden's former army chief Micael Byden alarmed many of his compatriots in January when he urged them to consider their own preparedness.

'Swedes have to mentally prepare for war,' he said.

Also on Monday, the government in Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia, launched a website gathering information on preparedness for different crises.

Finland shares a 830-mile border with Russia, and after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Helsinki announced plans to build a 125-mile fence along parts of it.

Three metres tall and topped with barbed wire, it is due to be completed by 2026.

The country last year closed its eight border crossings with Russia, following an influx of migrants which Helsinki claimed was a hybrid attack orchestrated by Moscow.

Sweden and Finland were previously considered neutral states, but are now ramping up their readiness for potential conflicts.

After the end of the Cold War, the country drastically slashed its defence spending as it focused its military efforts on international peacekeeping missions.

But it reversed course following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, and redoubled its efforts to increase preparations after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Stockholm has reintroduced limited conscription, massively increased defence spending and reopened a garrison on the Baltic Sea island of Gotland.

It subsequently strengthened bomb shelters, shored up drinking water supplies and transport infrastructure, appointed a minister of civil defence and established a Psychological Defence Agency aimed at combatting disinformation.

Soldiers of the P18 Gotland Regiment of the Swedish Army camouflage their armoured vehicles during a field exercise near Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland on May 17, 2022

Last month, Swedish defence minister Pal Jonson warned that Moscow could attack Sweden as it grapples for control of the Baltic Sea, with Russian naval fleets docked in St Petersburg and Kaliningrad.

'Russia poses a threat to Sweden, as it does to the rest of NATO. We cannot rule out a Russian attack on our country,' Jonson told Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita.

Though the Kremlin's forces are 'tied up in Ukraine,' he said, Vladimir Putin's government has shown it is 'willing to take serious military and political risks.'

NATO on Sunday scrambled its warplanes from Poland and Romania to the border with Ukraine after Russia targeted the country's critical infrastructure with a new onslaught of missile attacks.

The country's energy operator DTEK announced emergency power cuts at around 7am UK time on Sunday morning affecting the Kyiv, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions following overnight drone strikes.

It said shortly thereafter thermal power plants had been struck.

Air defences were deployed to intercept drones in Kyiv as residents were urged to take cover, while missiles bound for the west of the stricken country prompted NATO to send warplanes to assist.

'Due to the massive attack by the Russian Federation using cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles on objects located, among others, in western Ukraine, Polish and allied [NATO] aircraft have begun operating in our airspace,' said a statement from the Polish operational command.

'On-duty fighter pairs were scrambled, and the ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems reached the highest state of readiness.

'The steps taken are aimed at ensuring safety in areas bordering the threatened areas.'
This is the moment firefighters battled a raging inferno after a homeless camp was set alight.

Ten firefighters tackled the blaze which broke out at the camp on Tottenham Court Road in central London just before midnight on Sunday.

Rough sleeper, Gary Birdsall, 51, told MyLondon he woke up to the sound of screaming and fire engines.

He said: 'I was asleep, and I heard the fire engines and I heard screaming.'

Footage posted on social media reveals the ferocity of the blaze, which can be heard crackling as emergency sirens wail in the background.

Around four cubic metres of rubbish were destroyed by the fire, as well as half a tent and an electrical display board, the London Fire Brigade said.

No injuries have been reported.

Two fire crews, from Euston and Islington, attended the scene with the fire being put out by 1.06am on Monday.

Shocking footage captures the extent of the amber inferno which destroyed around four cubic metres of rubbish

The flames emerged just before midnight yesterday (Sunday) as fire officers took three calls to respond to them on Tottenham Court Road

Half of a tent and an electrical display board were damaged by the fire. One homeless man described the board as 'really damage by smoke and burns'

The Met Police, who set up traffic control measures at the busy tourist hotspot, said the incident is believed to be 'non-suspicious'.

The London Fire Brigade said: 'Around four cubic metres of rubbish were destroyed by the fire. Half of a tent and an electrical display board were damaged by the fire.

'Control Officers took the first of three calls at 11.56pm and mobilised crews from Euston and Islington fire stations to the scene.'
A New Hampshire father has been left with third-degree burns covering more than half of his body after a horrifying freak electrical accident.

Michael Papagno, 33, who also goes by Mike, was working on moving an 18-foot-tall and 136-foot-long storage unit from Portsmouth to southern New Hampshire on Tuesday night.

While handling electric wires for the project in Greenland, the electrician mistakenly touched a power line - sending a shock through his body.

The father, who has an eight-month-old daughter, was airlifted to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and put into a medically induced coma.

Mike's father, Michael, told WMUR: 'It's the most terrible news a father or parent can receive. Talking about my son and whether he would live or die.

'It's the most visceral reaction you can ever imagine.'

Mike is expected to be in the coma for three weeks, but faces a long recovery ahead. He will need medical treatment for at least three months after he is woken up.

Doctors have already performed some skin grafts to start treating his severe burns.

Michael Papagno, 33, was severely burned in a freak electrical accident while working. He recently had a daughter, who family members said he adores

Mike's wife Andrea has been left 'speechless' by the horrific accident as Mike fights for his life

'We know there's going to be some setbacks as well as some positive steps, and we're just working to be prepared for that,' Michael told WMUR about his son's recovery.

While Mike fights for his life, his family and friends have come together to show their love for him.

A GoFundMe made on behalf of Mike's wife, Andrea, has already raised more than $133,000. Michael added his son is lucky to have a 'vast' group of friends.

The page reads: 'Michael has lived his life out of love, he grew into a man that is always described as someone who would give you the shirt off his back if you were in need.'

The heartbroken father and Mike's brother, Mathew, emphasized how much he adores his daughter.

'He has such a way with his baby,' Michael said to WMUR. 'They FaceTime with several of us throughout the week, and it's always dinner time and bath time. Michael just goes on and on and on, and she reacts so well to him. It's nice to see.'

Mike has also been a member of the 103 Advantage, an electrical union based in Massachusetts, for 13 years.

The electrical worker lived in Mansfield, Massachusetts, with his family for his entire life until he moved to Merrimack, New Hampshire two years ago.

Mike was working on moving a large storage unit across New Hampshire on Tuesday night when he was shocked by an electrical wire

Mike's daughter held his necklace (pictured). Mike's father said 'he has such a way with his baby' and said he always FaceTime calls to show her to the rest of the family

Mike was described as a caring and generous person, as his friends have traveled to see him since learning about his state of health

A GoFundMe page made on behalf of Andrea has raised over $133,000 to support Mike and his family during his recovery

Andrea wrote in a heartfelt Facebook post: 'I am speechless. I'll find the right words at some point but I am truly speechless.

'Thank you all for the love, support, donations & spreading his story.'

Bay Crane Northeast LLC had permission from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to move the equipment.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Bay Crane Northeast LLC and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation for comment.

The regional Occupational Safety and Health Administration office has launched a safety investigation into the incident, but it can be up to six months before any conclusions are drawn.

Mathew told WMUR: 'To know Michael is to love Michael. My brother is the most fun, the loudest in the room, and the life of the party everywhere he goes. He is an amazing Dad, Uncle, Son, Brother and friend.'
Schools in Massachusetts canceled classes this morning after a monster fire tore through a building in Chelsea overnight.

Emergency crews responded to a nine-alarm fire at an abandoned four-story mill-style warehouse around midnight on Monday.

Hundreds of firefighters from Chelsea, Belmont, Brookline, Waltham and other nearby areas responded to the inferno as they worked to extinguish the blaze.

Chelsea Fire Chief John Quatieri said the fire broke out at the Forbes site, which has been abandoned for 15 years.

As of 6am, most of the flames had been put out, and no injuries were reported, according to NBC Boston.

However, fire crews are expected to remain on site throughout the day amid fears that the building may collapse.

Firefighters managed to contain the blaze to the warehouse, and have prevented it from spreading to a nearby building and commuter train station.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.

A massive nine-alarm fire broke out overnight in Chelsea, Massachusetts at the Forbes site - a four-story warehouse

Hundreds of firefighters from Chelsea, Belmont, Brookline, Waltham and other nearby areas responded to the inferno as they worked to extinguish the blaze

Quatieri said the building was already in rough condition before flames took over.

According to North Horizon News, firefighters frequently visit the abandoned building to inspect its condition.

Schools in the Mary C. Burke Elementary complex closed due to the fire, including Berkowitz, Hooks, Kelly, and Solowski schools, WHDH reported.

All other schools in the city remain open.

Fire crews are expected to remain on site throughout the day amid fears that the building may collapse

Firefighters managed to contain the blaze to the warehouse, as it did not spread to a nearby building and commuter train station

Edna Vargas, a local who lives in the area, told the station 'it took like 15 minutes' before the whole warehouse was engulfed in flames.

'Just glad the team came out - they were able to get what they had to done, and everyone's safe, so they did a great job,' another resident, Dayanara Montilla said.

Several surrounding streets in the area have been blocked off due to the fire.

The state fire marshal is currently investigating the cause of the fire.

This is a developing story.
A schoolgirl who died after she lost control of her car and crashed into a swamp has been pictured as police continue their investigations into why she was driving.

Alyra Whalen, 15, was behind the wheel of a Toyota Corolla early Sunday morning when she hit a street sign and ploughed into the swamp in Helensvale on the Gold Coast.

Two male passengers, aged 15 and 21, sustained serious injuries to their legs and chest and remain in hospital.

Alyra's shattered friends and family were seen laying flowers at the Helensvale Road crash site on Monday.

The Year 10 Benowa State High School student from Molendinar has been remembered as 'a young, beautiful girl full of smiles'.

'Alyra was a young, smart, beautiful girl, full of joy and happiness in her life,' one friend wrote.

'If you knew Alyra you knew how outgoing, open-hearted she was. She would always be there to help others out in situations that some couldn't deal with themselves.

'Forever 15.'

Schoolgirl Alyra Whalen was killed after losing control of a car which ploughed into a swamp

The 15-year-old was behind the wheel of a Toyota Corolla that careered into a sign and fell into the swamp

A fundraiser was launched to help the family cover funeral costs.

Friends took to social media to mourn their loss.

'[She] was taken too quick, too suddenly and too early,' one wrote.

'You are always going to be missing and always will be honoured in this generation, darling girl.'

Another friend said she couldn't handle the loss.

'This isn't how life was supposed to be, this isn't what we grew up to do,' she wrote.

'I will forever miss you so much Alyra, the memories I had with you will have a special place in my heart always,' another wrote in a touching tribute.

'You were the kindest girl ever, you lit up the room with your smile and I will forever remember that,' she said.

Friends were seen leaving flowers at the crash scene on Monday as many took to social media to remember their 'young, smart and beautiful' friend

Detectives and forensics specialists have examined the car and want to know why the 15-year-old was driving

It's understood the 21-year-old man injured in the crash is the registered owner of the Toyota Corolla.

Police revealed a large part of their investigation will focus on why Alyra, 15 was behind the wheel.

'It's another young person that has lost their life. Too many people are losing their lives on Queensland roads and we've got to stop it,' Gold Coast Chief Superintendent Craig Hanlon said.

'We're trying to ascertain the reasons firstly why the 15-year-old female was driving the vehicle and then why the vehicle exited the road and collided with the sign.'

Forensic investigations are ongoing, and have included a thorough investigation of the sedan.

Police have appealed for any witnesses or anyone with relevant dashcam to come forward.

Helensvale Road is bordered by wetlands to its south, and is a major link road connecting the suburbs to Hope Island.

Alyra's death takes Queensland's 2024 road toll to 255, just 22 short of last year's fatalities.
Outraged Oregon high school students blasted the school board for letting a teacher accused of pedophilia continue working despite mounting allegations.

The St. Helens School District was forced to cancel classes, place the superintendent and high school principal on leave and accept the board chair's resignation following the arrest of two teachers on child sex abuse charges.

Choir teacher Eric Stearns, 46, and retired math teacher Mark Collins, 64, were arrested on Tuesday after police conducted a two-month long investigation into historical sexual abuse at St. Helens High School.

During the investigation St. Helens Acting Police Chief Joseph Hogue subpoenaed the district for records of the two teachers, and found reports students filed over the years of inappropriate touching that the district did not previously disclose - as required by law.

Furious students and parents attended the school board meeting on Wednesday, demanding answers as to why they allowed Stearns to continue to teach despite knowing about the investigation.

One female student told the meeting: 'He hugged me, kissed me on the head, and told me that he loved me..'

The girl, who was 14 at the time, added: 'My mom specifically made complaints about Mr. Stearns putting his hand around my neck as a 'vocal exercise'  that, too, went swept under the rug.. you are all to blame. You are all guilty.

'I am just disgusted with you guys for letting him near me and my friends... they were let around a pedophile,' a third student said.

Outraged Oregon high school students demanded answers from the school board as to why a teacher accused of sexual abuse was allowed to continue to work during his investigation

St. Helens High School choir teacher Eric Stearns (pictured), 46, and retired math teacher Mark Collins, 64, were arrested on Tuesday

School board chair Ryan Scholl told the crowd that Stearns was allowed to continue teaching because law enforcement had advised them not to place him on leave, reported KOIN.

Hogue denied that saying, 'at no point did the officers tell the school district or advise the school district in any way to not put the teacher on admin leave.'

Student-led protests caused the high school to close on Thursday and all district schools were closed on Friday as dozens of enraged students and parents called for Superintendent Stockwell and St. Helens High School Principal Katy Wagner to resign.

Stearns has now been accused of sexually abusing six students between 2015 to 2020, allegedly touching their necks, chests, buttocks or mouths inappropriately, according to the Oregonian.

He is now facing seven counts of second-degree sex abuse and one count of third-degree sex abuse, and had been teaching up until last Tuesday, a parent whose child was in his choir class told KGW.

Collins is also accused of abusing three students between 2017 and January 21, 2023, allegedly touching their inner thighs or in one case 'attempting to cause' the student to touch his penis.

He is also facing two counts of second-degree sex abuse and one count of attempted sex second-degree sex abuse.

Both have pleaded not guilty, with an attorney representing Stearns arguing that a grand jury conflated the allegations against him with those against Collins.

Student-led protests caused the high school to close on Thursday and all district schools were closed on Friday

The school district announced on Friday that both Wagner and Stockwell were placed on leave

Board Chair Ryan Scholl also resigned from his position in the aftermath

The school district ultimately voted unanimously to place Stockwell on paid administrative leave during an emergency board meeting on Friday, and the district later placed Wagner on leave. It also announced later that day that Scholl resigned.

Stockwell had served as superintendent since 2015, while Wagner has been principal since 2018.

'We've heard the concerns that have been raised and are committed to transparency and working toward fostering a safe, supportive environment for all students,' the district said in a statement Friday.

'Based off of our last meeting, it was pretty clear that at this point, the community has lost faith in a number of different things for the district, the superintendent, the boards.

'For the purposes of us to be able to move forward, I believe it's going to be in our best interest to make towards placing our current superintendent on paid administrative leave.'
Students at a Philadelphia school are eating lunch at 9am because the district is so crowded with immigrants that canteen dining slots have been staggered throughout the day.

Youngsters at Lincoln High School also lug their backpacks around all day, because there are not enough lockers to go around in a school that this now 1,000 kids above capacity.

Officials have added makeshift divisions to increase the number of available classrooms, but teachers say the new walls are too thin to stop noise and have fallen down during lessons.

The strain at Philadelphia School District is just the latest example of how America's public services are struggling to cope with the influx of immigrants since Joe Biden became president in January 2021.

Immigration was a key issue in the 2024 election that helped secure president-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House, on a platform of tightening the southern border and deporting millions.

'The crowding is insane,' one teacher told The Philadelphia Inquirer, without giving their name for fear of reprisals.

'I do not know how this situation is allowed to continue.'

Other staffers at Lincoln, a public school in northeast Philadelphia, detailed alarming conditions of the swelling population, but were likewise unwilling to provide their names in case they faced consequences for speaking out.

Migrants transported from the US border arrive on a bus from Texas to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Lincoln High School in northeastern Philadelphia is the latest public facility to struggle under the strain of unchecked immigration

The school was designed for 1,500 students; it currently has some 1,000 more than that.

The influx of immigrant students means that there are not enough lockers for everyone, and lunch breaks have been staggered throughout the day, meaning some students dine at 9am  when others are still eating breakfast.

Some teachers sit in their cars during prep periods to find a quiet place to call parents because the school is so busy.

Dozens of classes are crowded beyond the district maximum of 33 students.

Classes routinely start late now because students cannot get to their desks in time, as the corridors are so crammed.

As the problem got worse last year, the school board spent $400,000 carving up the library into makeshift classrooms.

Elsewhere, larger classrooms were divided to make room for more classes  much to the chagrin of educators.

'There's no noise control, and the walls fall down,' said the angry teacher.

'They're not real classrooms with real walls and real doors.'

Sarah Caswell, a science teacher, says the overcrowding have been terrible for her classes of 30 students, who now study in what used to be the closet of a large science lab.

'I'm supposed to teach chemistry, and I don't even have a sink,' Caswell said.

'I can't even do kitchen chemistry, because I don't have the capacity to flush a kid's eye if they got dish soap in it.'

Discipline has suffered in the overworked school, added Caswell, with fights breaking about in the hallways.

After being transported from the US border to Philadelphia, migrants are taken by city employees to a city bus to be sheltered.

School principal Jack Nelson told parents he was 'diligently working to address class sizes.'

Students arrive late, check in, but then leave again, teachers said. Some even smoke weed at the entrance without any consequences.

'These kids are not getting what they deserve,' Caswell said.

'It's untenable  there's too many kids and no rules. They get detention, they don't go, and nothing happens. It's mayhem. It's not OK.'

She slammed officials for 'cramming 2,500 kids into a space that's built for half that.'

Teachers say it's only a matter of time before the overcrowding leads to deadly consequences.

'When we have fire drills, students walk away to go home,' a teacher said.

'If there were an actual fire, it would be a catastrophe.'

Because so many of the immigrant newcomers cannot speak English, the school's language teaching is particularly stressed, they said.

'We're getting new students all the time, and we don't have enough supports for them,' the teacher said.

Because the school is so full, students who speak very little English are sometimes placed

in classes inappropriate for their newcomer status.

Students have also noticed the overcrowding, saying classes are often cut short to make time for them to move around the building.

'Sometimes, teachers have to let us out early just so we can get to class on time because it's crowded,' said a 10th grader.

Another teacher complained that Lincoln was being filled beyond capacity, while other nearby schools were half-empty.

'Why are all these kids being sent here?' the teacher asked.

'It's going to take something really terrible happening for them to listen.'

In a letter to parents, principal Jack Nelson reportedly told parents that 'we are diligently working to address class sizes on an ongoing basis.'

He added: 'Our commitment lies in providing students with a high-quality education in an optimal learning environment.'

Christina Clark, a spokesperson for America's eighth-biggest public school system, said plans were underway to 'address over-enrollment' at Lincoln and other inundated schools.

Texas' Republican Gov. Greg Abbott sent immigrants to Philadelphia, New York and other left-leaning cities during the surge at the southern border.

'This plan may include potential expansions, new construction, and boundary adjustments to

balance student populations effectively,' she told the Inquirer.

The district did not answer DailyMail.com's request for more information about the number of immigrant children at their schools.

Other schools in the district have also complained about overcrowding, with students learning in hallways and in repurposed closets.

'We cannot service our students,' Mickey Komins, principal of Anne Frank Elementary, said recently.

His school currently educates 1,630 students with 150 staff, but has a building capacity of 1,360.

The flow of immigrants across America's southern border in recent years has seen millions of them settle in Philadelphia, Chicago, New York and other northern cities, straining local services.

Though many are hardworking newcomers looking to build a new life, the Biden administration has come under fire for letting in too many people and for not properly explaining their policy to voters.
A Massachusetts mayor has been caught on camera making an obscene gesture as he left a tense negotiation meeting with striking teachers.

Gloucester Mayor Greg Verga was caught raising his middle finger while driving away from West Parish Elementary School, with protesters chanting 'shame on you!' in the background.

Dramatic footage from The Gillnetter, the city's high school student newspaper, captured the moment Verga raised his middle finger on Thursday night.

The mayor claimed he was driven to the shocking gesture after feeling threatened, telling the public his wife was 'scared' and 'sick to her stomach' as protesters gathered outside their home.

'Anyone who knows me knows that this is out of character,' he said Friday.

The mayor claimed he was driven to the shocking gesture after feeling threatened, telling the public his wife was 'scared' and 'sick to her stomach' as protesters gathered outside their home

Mayor Greg Verga was caught raising his middle finger while driving away from West Parish Elementary School, with protesters chanting 'shame on you!' in the background

Verga insisted the gesture was directed at a specific individual - 'not the crowd, and certainly not the teachers.'

He said he was flipping off a 'former public safety official' who allegedly approached his car window shouting.

'As I made my way up to the parking lot, a former public safety official approached my car window shouting at me,' Verga said. 'At this point, my frustrations got the best of me, and I responded to the nastiness being hurled at me as I was trying to make my way home to my frightened wife.'

'As an elected official and a public figure, I signed up for this. But my wife and our family did not,' he said. 'I never expected to fear for the safety of my family in my own home from members of my own community.'

V erga insisted the gesture was directed at a specific individual - 'not the crowd, and certainly not the teachers'

'We all need to do better to solve this crisis, and I intend to lead the way,' Verga said. 'This is not who we are as a community. Gloucester has always come together in a time of crisis. This is that time.'

Matthew Lewis, Vice President of the Union of Gloucester Educators, condemned the mayor's behavior as 'disgusting' and 'unbecoming' of an elected official, as reported by Boston.com.

'We are disgusted by this obscene gesture made by the elected official who was supposed to represent this city,' Lewis said in an emailed statement, referring to Verga. 'We had no issues being outside, and the police were there to make sure that everyone was safe and staying in line.'

'Parents and students were present and appalled at what they saw,' Lewis added. 'Regardless of the intention or direction of the gesture, parents and students were present and appalled at what they saw.'
Chung Lam, left, who is against curriculum that includes nonbinary genders, argues with Mark Carpenter, a teacher and parent supporting LGBTQ teachers and students, at a Cupertino Union School District school board meeting on Nov. 7. Thien-An Truong/Special to the Chronicle

The last person to take the mic during public comment at the most recent Cupertino Union school board meeting came with an admonishment: Respect the families you are serving, she advised teachers and administrators.

And if you disagree, keep it to yourself, said the woman, a parent in the school district, at the Nov. 7 meeting. She then encouraged the school board to pass a policy to keep teachers individuality in the closet when it comes to age-appropriate sensitivity and controversial issues that dont sit well with parents with young children.

Remember, the children belong to the parents, not the teacher, she said.

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Her comments about keeping people in the closet, applied indirectly to a nonbinary teacher in the Cupertino Union School District, were met with audible gasps from the audience  and some applause, too. The reactions spoke to the fundamental division in a community thats been thrust into the national conversation over gender identity and politics.

The individual at the center of the battle teaches 4-year-olds in transitional kindergarten at Dilworth Elementary School and was placed on leave in August after parents complained that they were discussing content they did not believe was appropriate for young children. Supporters of the teacher, including many experts in early childhood development and instruction, said the criticism appears to be leveled against the teachers gender identity, not what theyre teaching.

Mingi Bodine, who is against curriculum that includes nonbinary gender identities, holds a sign depicting her sentiments at a Cupertino Union School District board meeting on Nov. 7. Thien-An Truong/Special to the Chronicle

At school board meetings and in letters to the district, the parents primarily argue that any classroom conversation around gender beyond the binary is not appropriate for students that age. One parent argued at a September meeting that a child who still believes in Santa Claus was too young to learn about nonbinary gender identities.

Many parents have complained specifically about a classroom poster that referred to alternative pronouns, and comments the teacher made about it being OK for boys to wear dresses. Parents have implied that simply expressing alternative pronouns  the teacher uses they/them pronouns  is inappropriate for young children.

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The teacher remains on leave while the district investigates the complaints. The district has not commented on the situation except to confirm that the teacher is on leave while it investigates.

In a letter that Superintendent Stacy Yao shared with parents around the time the teacher was placed on leave, Yao stated that instruction and materials addressing sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression are not approved by the district for transitional kindergarten, or TK. Based on state guidance, these topics are not age-appropriate for TK students and are not taught, Yao wrote.

But state and local regulations suggest otherwise. State standards relating to gender in early childhood education focus on discussing common stereotypes and biases, and the role of gender in social and emotional development. School districts can also put in place policies that promote certain materials or curriculum.

Parents can opt their children out of certain instruction, such as for sexual education or other sensitive topics, but gender is not considered in that category, said experts in academic policy.

Experts generally agree that its appropriate to begin discussing gender with children around preschool and TK age, if not earlier. The role of gender discussion in early education is often play-based and challenges stereotypes  that boys like blue and girls like pink, for example.

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Were constantly talking to and teaching kids about gender  before kids are born, the second after theyre born, said Robert Marx, an assistant professor of child and adolescent development at San Jose State University. Kids are being bombarded with gender, and part of the role of educators is to build on kids existing knowledge to help them understand misconceptions and provide them with accurate information  including that there are people in the world who use they/them pronouns.

The teachers supporters are convinced the only reason they are being attacked is because they are nonbinary  not for anything thats actually being taught. And the supporters are angry that the school district has not yet let the teacher back into the classroom or released a strong statement supporting them.

I get that a loud group of parents is upset, said Robb Zimmerman, the parent of a transgender child in the district who has spoken out in support of the teacher in multiple public meetings. But you can just be a grown-up and tell them thats their problem. As it is, if youre not protecting the adults in your district, I cant be confident youre protecting the students.

Robb Zimmerman, the parent of a transgender child, speaks at a Cupertino Union School District school board meeting on Nov. 7. Thien-An Truong/Special to the Chronicle

According to documents obtained by the Chronicle following a public records request, much of the parent complaints were focused on materials the TK teacher received from a Santa Clara County program that teaches gender inclusivity to educators and others who work with the public. The Gender Wheel curriculum is designed for early childhood education, and it approaches gender as a nonlinear, nonbinary continuum.

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Among other things, instructors are taught to challenge gender norms by, for example, reading Winnie the Pooh with Pooh using she/her pronouns, or asking children to guess the gender of characters if theyre not obviously stated.

Maya Gonzalez, the San Francisco artist and educator who created the Gender Wheel, said they often hear of complaints about the material from parents in other states, but never from California.

So much bullying gets put into place at this age of transitional kindergarten, Gonzalez said. Theyre learning this is how girls act and how boys act, and if youre not fitting into the stereotypes or performing correctly, I cant play with you.

Gonzalez, who uses they/them pronouns, said they began teaching Gender Wheel workshops with Santa Clara County in 2017, and have taught dozens of people in the county. They were not aware of earlier complaints and had not been told that parents had raised questions about the material in Cupertino Union.

That a nonbinary teacher was the first person to draw concerns among parents is alarming, Gonzalez said; it implies that the teacher is the source of the criticism, not the material.

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Cupertino Educators Association members hold up posters and rainbow flags in support of LGBTQ students and teachers at a Cupertino Union School District school board meeting on Nov. 7. Thien-An Truong/Special to the Chronicle

Marx put it more bluntly: This teacher is being targeted as part of a far-right, fascist campaign to eliminate trans people from public life.

If parents successfully argue that it is inappropriate for a nonbinary teacher to talk about alternative pronouns in the classroom, that essentially means they cant discuss a basic part of their humanity.
This is the terrifying moment a lion savagely attacks a man.

The horrific attack took place outside the beast's cage in Lahore, Pakistan, as the man attempted to pose for a picture with the wild animal.

In the footage, the man can be seen letting out blood curdling screams as the lion chomps down on the man's hip.

Two other men attempt to pry the lion's jaw off the man as it sinks its claws into his skin leaving the defenseless man flailing around on the floor in agony.

However the animal refuse to relent as the man can be heard pleading for his life, crying 'Spare me!' and 'Please stop Simba!'

The beast finally lets go of him after three men managed to wrestle the predator off him.

It then prowls around the room licking his lips as the wounded man jumps to his feet and flees the scene complaining that his clothes have been torn.

The Sun reported that the man was then rushed to hospital with an injury to his arm but the extent of his injuries remain unknown.

In the footage, the man can be seen letting out blood curdling screams as the lion chomps down its jaw into the man's hip

The horrific attack took place outside the beast's cage in Lahore, Pakistan , as the man attempted to pose for a picture with the wild animal

The animal refuse to relent as the man can be heard pleading for his life, crying 'Spare me!' and 'Please stop Simba!'

Two other men attempt to pry the lion's jaw off the man as it sinks its claws into his skin leaving the defenseless man flailing around on the floor in agony

The beast finally lets go of him after three men managed to wrestle the predator off him. It then prowls around the room licking his lips as the wounded man jumps to his feet

In October, a zoo worker in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014 but is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, was killed by lions after she entered their enclosure.

The grisly incident occurred when the woman went into a cage at the Taigan park to clean it, according to the Russian Investigative Committee's office in the Russia-annexed peninsula.

Three lions were inside the cage she entered, but crucially the worker did not lock an internal door that would have separated her from the animals, the committee said in a statement.

According to the park's website, the facility holds about 60 lions in its more than 75 acres.

Visitors can observe the lions roaming freely from the park's 0.6 miles of elevated walkways.

Taigan park was the scene of a similar incident in 2018, when a woman was mauled by a lion after she got into its enclosure to pose for a photo.

Olga Solomina, 46, was enjoying a day out at the park when she got into the lion's enclosure.

She posed for a picture next to an apparently placid lion but, according to reports, got herself into trouble when she placed her hand on the ferocious feline's mane.

The enraged lion launched into a vicious attack, mauling Ms Solomina and trying to drag her her away by the arm.

Luckily, zoo director Oleg Zubkov was nearby and managed to save Ms Solomina by chasing the lion away.

He then got Ms Solomina into a nearby vehicle and drove her to safety.
Queen Camilla is heartbroken after her beloved rescue dog Beth died, it was revealed today.

Her Majesty, 77, adopted Beth from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, in South London, in 2011 and fellow Jack Russell terrier Bluebell joined the family the following year.

This afternoon Buckingham Palace revealed that she had passed away. It is understood Beth had an untreatable tumour and had to be put down at the weekend.

'A sad farewell to Beth, The Queens much-loved companion from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home who brought such joy, whether on walkies, helping on official duties, or curled up by the fire', a spokesman said.

The Royal Family also shared a series of candid pictures of the King and Queen with Beth, including footage of the Jack Russell helping with an official opening.

Beth, along with Bluebell, was so loved by Camilla that she even featured on the Queen's coronation gown, with goldwork motifs of the two dogs embroidered onto the historic dress which Camilla wore to be crowned.

Camilla took Beth along to compete in a loyalty duel with the late TV presenter and dog-lover Paul O'Grady and his dog Sausage at Battersea's Brands Hatch centre in Kent in 2022 for the filming of the hit show For The Love Of Dogs.

The royal pet managed to ignore toys and treats to run back to her owner to win the trial.

Queen Camilla with her rescue dog Beth, who has died. It is understood Beth had an untreatable tumour and had to be put down at the weekend

King Charles rubs noses with Jack Russell Beth

The Queen, Beth and late star and fellow dog lover Paul O'Grady with Beth and Bluebell

Beth made a number of appearances at royal engagements at Camilla's side over the years.

In 2020, Beth helped Camilla unveil a plaque as they opened new kennels for the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

A sausage was tied around a rope attached to a curtain covering the sign commemorating Camilla's visit, with the then-duchess laughing as Beth grabbed the treat to pull the drape away.

Camilla is patron of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and O'Grady, who died last year, was a long-time ambassador for the animal welfare charity.

The Queen gave a home to Beth in 2011 when she was a three-month-old unwanted puppy, and Bluebell in 2012 after she was found wandering alone in a London park with a painful skin condition.

In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live in 2020, Camilla - who has owned several generations of Jack Russell puppies - opened up about her love for her beloved dogs.

She told host Emma Barnett: 'The nice thing about dogs is you can sit them down, you could have a nice long conversation, you could be cross, you could be sad and they just sit looking at you wagging their tail.'

When Camilla first adopted Bluebell, a spokesperson for the royal said the dog had had a 'really awful' start in life.

They said: 'She was just four weeks old when she was found by a member of the public in quite a bad way. She had lost a lot of hair and her skin was pink and sore. The Duchess was delighted to take her on.'

A source close to Camilla added: 'Beth is a delightful dog and has been wonderful with the Duchess's five young grand-children - Bluebell is a very welcome addition to the family.'

Pictured: Queen Camilla picking up her nine-week-old Jack Russell terrier rescue Bluebell, with Beth, in December 2012

Camilla was treated like any other potential owners, however, and had to pay a 105 rehoming fee which covers the charity's costs as well as microchipping, initital vaccinations, flea and worming treatments and a new collar, identification tag and lead.

Battersea does not receive any government funding and is totally reliant on publication bequests and donations.
Former Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is being trolled online including nasty messages about his health as MAGA world responds with outrage over his reported rejection of Donald Trump using recess appointments to install his Cabinet.

McConnell reportedly issued a warning to the president-elect's team when he told colleagues that 'there will be no recess appointments,' which would allow Trump to avoid Senate confirmation of his more contentious picks.

That's according to a post on X Sunday by The New Yorker magazine staff writer Jane Mayer, which has since been deleted.

The response has been fast and furious with Trump supporters online slamming the 82-year-old Kentucky senator for his seemingly declining health.

One X user called him 'Mr. Freeze,' referencing some episodes the veteran GOP senator had during press conferences in the past year.

Another user wrote he is 'clearly not well.'

A third wrote: 'Mitch McConnell has had too many freeze ups. The mans brain is no longer working.'

The series of attacks stem from McConnell appearing to freeze up first at a news conference last summer for nearly 20 seconds before being escorted away. It was followed by a second episode also on camera in Kentucky.

McConnell announced his exit from Senate leadership but will remain in the Senate.

His remarks come as Trump has been naming a series of controversial picks to join his upcoming administration.

He has also called for them to be installed through recess appointments, thereby avoiding Senate vetting and Congressional oversight altogether.

McConnell's reported comment was picked up by Trump ally and Utah GOP Sen. Mike Lee who wrote on X Sunday 'Remember that time when McConnell decided he wouldnt be speaking for Senate Republicans anymore?'

The backlash began after a now-deleted tweet from New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer claimed McConnell told colleagues 'there will be no recess appointments' for the president-elect's cabinet members

Recess appointments have been used in the past by past presidents including Bush, Clinton and Obama.

But in 2014, the Supreme Court ruled some of Obama's recess appointments were unconstitutional and such appointments could only be made when the recess lasts ten days or longer.

However, some of Trump's nominees could face an uphill climb being confirmed in the Senate.

Former Congressman Matt Gaetz who is tapped for Attorney General was investigated for sexual misconduct and illicit drug use by the House Ethics Committee. He was accused of sex with a minor. He denies all accusations.

TV personality Pete Hegseth who is Trump's choice to lead the Pentagon was accused of sexual assault and paid the accuser while denying the allegations.

Robert Kennedy Jr. a known anti-vaxxer is Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Some of President-elect Donald Trump's nominees for Cabinet positions have faced pushback and outrage from for controversial pasts and limited experience

Trump 's MAGA faithful were outraged after it was leaked that Senator Mitch McConnell pushed back on the president-elects push to thwart Senate oversight for his Cabinet nominations with recess appointments

Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida was one elected official to publicly deny to missive from Meyer.

'Yes, there will,' Scott said bluntly in response to the Mayer tweet.

But Scott, who also ran for the Senate Majority spot, lost to Thune after a private vote Wednesday morning.

Outside Congress, many of Trump's biggest supporters suspected McConnell of wanting to sabotage the Trump agenda.

'This guy is in for a rude awakening if he thinks hes going to usurp the will of 76 million people and dictate Trumps second term,' wrote a MAGA fan on X.

'Snitch McConnell is trying to block Trumps cabinet,' added another.

Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA turned the question over to incoming leader Thune: 'Senator Thune, care to chime in? Is this your position?'

Thune, the newly minted Senate Republican leader, was elected to usher in Trump's ambitious GOP agenda in Congress. DailyMail.com has reached out to spokespersons for Thune for comment.

The senior senator form South Dakota, 63, has had a complicated relationship with Trump over the years and many in the president-elect's orbit didn't want him in charge of the MAGA agenda.

X users blast Mitch McConnell and bring up freezing episodes after his reported remark on recess appointments

John Thune, the incoming Senate Majority Leader, has expressed support for recess appointments. MAGA fans were outraged that McConnell, whom Thune is replacing, was trying to continue to throw his weight around

But in recent months, Thune has made his support for Trump known, becoming one of the first to endorse him during the primary. The pair reportedly talked on the phone after his victory Wednesday.

Thune has even come out and suggested recess appointments could be in play.

'One thing is clear: We must act quickly and decisively to get the president's Cabinet and other nominees in place as soon as possible to start delivering on the mandate we've been sent to execute, and all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments,' Thune said over the weekend.

The recess appointments would nix any Senate confirmation hearings, which are intended to give voters a chance to view the candidates as they are grilled on their positions.

The last time a recess appointment was used was in 2012 under Obama before the Supreme Court ruling.

Neither Trump and President Biden have been unable to use them during their time in office.

The president-elect's relationship with Congress was tumultuous in his first term as he chafed at resistance to his selections and sought ways to work around lawmakers.

Rick Scott, the Florida Senator whom Thune beat for the leadership position, promised 'there will' be recess appointments, going against McConnell and leading the rage of Trump's base

With a sweeping election victory, he has become emboldened and demanded that Senate Republicans fall in line behind his agenda.

On Monday, Trump posted on X: 'Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner.

'Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again.

'We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY! Additionally, no Judges should be approved during this period of time because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. THANK YOU!'

X founder and close Trump ally Elon Musk, who is also said to be appointed the head of a new so-called 'Department of Government Efficiency,' backed the move.

'This is essential. There is no other way,' Musk commented on Trump's post on X.

Musk then added: 'Without recess appointments, it will take two years or more to confirm the new administration!

'This would make it impossible to enact the change demanded by the American people, which is utterly unacceptable.'

Matt Gaetz (pictured center) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (pictured right) are considered two of the riskier nominations to Trump's cabinet

Elon Musk (pictured left) and Mike Johnson (pictured right) have both endorsed the use of recess appointments to confirm Tulsi Gabbard (pictured center left) and Kennedy (pictured center right)

Musk backed Senator Scott, who eventually lost the leadership race to Senator Thune.

Trump has several controversial picks for his cabinet that may struggle to get the 50 votes needed for Senate confirmation.

Republican senators, who will hold the majority starting in January, have expressed some doubts about whether some of the Trump nominees would be confirmed under normal circumstances, and several have expressed dismay over some of the choices.

Former George W. Bush Justice Department official John Yoo told DailyMail.com Thursday that a recess appointment is a complex matter.

'The recess appointments clause in the Constitution effectively allows the President to appoint cabinet officers for about two years without the need for Senate confirmation,' said Yoo.

However, that only happens if the House and Senate 'agree on when to adjourn.'

Over the last few decades, the Senate has never been out for recess for more than a few days at a time, as they can hold 'pro forma sessions.'

Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth is also considered a risky pick by Trump

Trump has promised to defy Congressional oversight and bypass the Senate confirmation process when appointing people to senior administration positions

That stops the president in power from conducting recess appointments whenever they wish.

Yoo went on to say that the Senate could 'retaliate' by 'refusing to adjourn, refusing to confirm any inferior officers, and cutting off funding to these officers and refusing to cooperate on Trump's priorities.'

The president-elect could try and force the Senate into recess himself or pressure Republicans to abdicate their own power, which Yoo says is unlikely.

Unless recess appointments are used, the confirmation process may be perilously slow, as it has become a difficult process in recent years.

George H.W. Bush had seven of his 15 cabinet members already confirmed by the Senate when he took office in 1989, according to the Partnership for Public Service.

Joe Biden had just one of his 36 cabinet members approved by a Democrat-majority Senate when he was inaugurated nearly four years ago.

Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all had 200 nominees confirmed by the time they had reached 200 days in office.

In that same amount of time, both Trump (119) and Biden (118) had significantly fewer, despite both belonging to parties that had control of the Senate in 2016 and 2020, respectively.

However, Clinton, Bush and Obama all had Senate majorities of 55 seats or higher when they took office, whereas Trump and Biden have never had more than 53 Senators on their side.

The three presidents before Trump's first term all had more than 200 nominees confirmed by 200 days in office. Trump had 119 and Biden had 118 confirmed nominees at that point, although Trump had nominated far fewer people than other presidents.
A pair of escaped pit bulls attacked a boy and a girl at a playground in Brazil - with footage of the horrifying incident showing one of the dogs ripping the boy from a jungle gym.

Video taken by a witness shows a brown-colored dog locking its jaws around the boy's leg on a playground in Sao Paulo on Tuesday as the youngster fights to free himself and bystanders hit the canine with sticks.

At some point, the boy, 11, managed to free himself and pinned the dog to the ground.

The boy was taken by a neighbor to a local urgent care facility in the neighborhood of Vila Guilherme and was then transferred to a hospital, where he underwent surgery, according to Brazilian news outlet SBT.

The girl, 12, was rushed by police to the same urgent care center, where she received treatment for lacerations to her head, chest, arms and legs.

Witnesses told the police that the dogs had slipped out of a scrapyard moments before the attack.

The dogs' owner, Marcos Sibioni, was questioned by police for more than three hours Thursday and charged with animal abuse, custody neglect and serious bodily harm.

Sibioni told reporters that he never neglected his pit bulls and said that the children had previously thrown rocks at the dogs - one of which had recently given birth to two puppies.

An 11-year-old boy was one of two children attacked by pit bulls at a playground in Sao Paulo, Brazil on November 12

At some point, the boy, 11, managed to free himself and pinned the dog to the ground

The boy underwent surgery on his left leg and was in stable condition as of Thursday

All four dogs were set to be taken to an animal shelter while the authorities continue the investigation.

The attack took place just days after a 46-year-old man, Chris Culbertson, was fatally mauled by several dogs in Kansas City.

Culbertson was seen on security footage riding his bike the evening of November 1 when two dogs circled.

He fell to the ground and more dogs broke through a fence, biting his arms, legs, feet and face.

He was attacked for 23 minutes and bit 300 times, his family said.

A month earlier, a five-year-old girl was also mauled by her neighbor's pit bull in Independence, Kansas.

The child was playing in her backyard on October 8 when the attack occurred.

Her skull was crushed in the attack and she had to be placed in a medically-induced coma.
Sir Keir Starmer discussed 'deepening' Britain's links with China today despite the communist country's support for Russia and domestic human rights abuses.

The Prime Minister became the first British premier to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping since 2018, as they held talks at the G20 in Rio.

The UK's relationship with Beijing has been in the deep freeze following China's crackdown on democracy protests in Hong Kong.

China has also been widely condemned for its brutal treatment of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang, which Labour once labelled a 'genocide'.

Speaking after his talks with Mr Xi, Sir Keir said he wants a 'serious and pragmatic' relationship with China while 'being clear about the issues that we do not agree on'.

'It's the second biggest economy in the world, it's one of our biggest trading partners, and therefore we have issues that we clearly need to discuss,' the PM told broadcasters.

'Whilst, of course, being clear about the issues that we do not agree on. But I will always act in the national interest, and that was the basis upon which we had our discussions this morning.'

Downing Street said the PM had used the meeting to raise Hong Kong and China's ongoing backing for Russia in its illegal war in Ukraine.

A spokesman added: 'They also discussed deepening the partnership bilaterally on trade and investment, health, education and other areas of mutual interest.

'The Prime Minister set out that our approach would be consistent, respectful and pragmatic in order to advance these shared goals.'

No10 also confirmed Chancellor Rachel Reeves will visit Beijing next year for talks with her counterpart, vice premier He Lifeng.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited China earlier this year.

Keir Starmer insisted that UK-China ties are 'important' today as he became the first premier to meet Xi Jinping since 2018

Sir Keir argued that the two countries should have a 'respectful' relationship

The PM raised the case of Jimmy Lai as he met Mr Xi in Rio today

Links have been in the deep freeze following China 's crackdown on democracy protests in Hong Kong and its brutal treatment of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang, which Labour once labelled a 'genocide'.

Mr Xi responded to Sir Keir's olive branch by welcoming the chance to 'break new ground' between the countries.

He insisted there is a duty to work together with the world entering a 'period marked by turbulence and transformation'.

The cordial exchanges are a long way from the so-called 'Golden Age' pushed by David Cameron a decade ago - when he took Mr Xi to the pub during a state visit.

However, Sir Keir has stressed his determination to rebuild the relationship, despite human rights concerns and fears the push could invoke the fury of Donald Trump.

The returning US president has made clear he sees China as the main threat to global stability.

Speaking at the start of the meeting at the Sheraton Grand hotel, the PM said: 'We want our relations to be consistent, durable, respectful, as we have agreed, avoid surprises where possible.'

He added: 'The UK will be a predictable, consistent, sovereign actor committed to the rule of law.'

Sir Keir suggested they should hold a full bilateral meeting in Beijing or London - amid signs that he is planning a visit to China.

Journalists were ushered out of the room as Sir Keir raised the case of Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy activist and British national imprisoned in Hong Kong.

The PM said: 'I'm very pleased that my Foreign Secretary and foreign minister Wang met recently to discuss respective concerns including on human rights and parliamentary sanctions, Taiwan, the South China Sea and our shared interest in Hong Kong. We are concerned by reports of Jimmy Lai's deterioration.'

He had earlier said that he is 'keen that my Chancellor should meet with vice premier He for the upcoming economic financial dialogue early next year to explore more investment projects and a more level playing field to help our businesses.'

According to a translation in the room, President Xi said there is 'broad space for co-operation' between the two countries, highlighting trade and clean energy.

He said: 'The world has entered a new period marked by turbulence and transformation.

'As permanent members of the UN security council and major global economies, China and UK share the dual responsibility of advancing our respective national development and addressing global challenges.'

He later added: 'China and the UK have broad space for co-operation across various domains, including trade, investment, clean energy, financial services, healthcare and improving our peoples' wellbeing.

'We should take fostering greater development, better-serving our peoples and contributing more to the world as our goal.

'Live up to our strategic partnership and commit to mutual respect, openness, co-operation, exchanges and mutual learning for shared benefit [] in doing so we will break new ground in the China-UK relationship amid a changing world and better underscore our relationship's relevance for the times and its significance for the world.'

Critics  including sanctioned former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith  have accused Sir Keir of a 'betrayal' of those who have suffered under the repressive regime.

En route to the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro yesterday, the PM told reporters it was 'important' to improve relations and trade with China.

'We are both global players, global powers, both permanent members of the security council and of the G20,' he said.

'China's economy is obviously the second biggest in the world. It's one of our biggest trading partners and therefore I will be having serious, pragmatic discussions with the president when I meet him.'

Keir Starmer posed for photos working hard on the plane to Rio as he fended off criticism of his globetrotting

Asked whether he wanted to improve relations with Beijing, he added: 'Given the size of the economy, it is very important that we have a pragmatic and serious relationship and that's what I intend to pursue.'

Sir Keir ducked questions about China's actions in Xinjiang, saying he had previously given 'a whole series of answers in terms of my position'.

But he added: 'I do think it's important that we have serious engagement which is what I will be pursuing in my bilateral at the G20.'
The skull of a missing Arizona woman has been found two years after she vanished.

JoAnn Dudek, 64, disappeared from her home in Anthem on November 13, 2022, leading the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office to open a homicide investigation.

Over the years, there have been no leads about what happened to the mother, until remains were discovered on November 6 in the New River area.

By November 13 - two years to the day JoAnn went missing - the skull was confirmed to be hers.

Now, her family has been left with a bittersweet feeling following the chilling update in her case.

'Half of my heart is heartbroken, and the other half of my heart is happy to say this is no longer a no-body homicide,' JoAnn's niece, Erin Murtha, told KPHO.

It remains unclear who discovered the skull and exactly where it was found.

Despite having an answer after all these years, JoAnn's niece is convinced that whatever happened to her 'did not happen on her own volition.'

The skull of JoAnn Dudek, 64, was found on November 6 and confirmed hers on November 13 - two years after she vanished from her home in Anthem, Arizona

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office opened a homicide investigation, but never uncovered any leads or made arrests. (Pictured: JoAnn - in pink - with family and friends)

'It was done to her,' Erin added.

Around the time of her disappearance, JoAnn lived with her late husband Walter, their adopted daughter Josephine, and her then boyfriend.

Walter died suddenly from a seizure and brain damage just months after his wife vanished, the outlet reported.

After her mother's remains were found, Josephine - who was adopted by JoAnn and Walter when she was six-months-old - told Fox10 that the night she disappeared there was a lot of tension in the family's home.

'I tried to run away when I was 15. I was 17 when I was rescued and I came home to my parents,' Josephine revealed.

After she returned home, her boyfriend at the time moved in with the family.

JoAnn's daughter told the outlet that he wanted to get married to her and become her legal guardian, but there was 'pushback' from her mother.

'(My boyfriend at the time) had crashed my mom's car and my mom was concerned about (him) being harmful to me. He wanted to be my legal guardian, but my parents didn't really like that,' she said.

On the morning of November 14, Josephine said her mother was nowhere to be found.

'He said he hurt her,' Josephine alleged to Fox of her then boyfriend, who has not been named.

Despite having an answer after all these years, JoAnn's niece, Erin Murtha (pictured) is convinced that whatever happened to her 'did not happen on her own volition

JoAnn's daughter revealed that there was a lot of tension in the home the night her mother went missing, and that her then boyfriend 'said he hurt her.' (Pictured: Friends and family gather for a vigil for JoAnn in 2023)

'I don't know if I should say the details, but he confessed to hurting my mom,' she claimed, according to the outlet's report.

No arrests have been made in the homicide investigation, Fox10 reported.

With news of her mother's remains being located, Josephine has had to face the fact that both her parents are gone.

'That was the only family that I had,' she said.

'I had accepted that I had lost my dad but I had not grieved my mom yet.'

Erin said the family has not been in contact with JoAnn's daughter since her disappearance.

She shared final text messages that the family had with JoAnn around 6.30pm the night she vanished.

In JoAnn's last message to her sister, she said: 'Hi. Okay, looking for flights, best price I can come up with is depart Phoenix Thursday 12/8 arrive LGA 9:55.

'RETURN DEPART LGA MONDAY 12/12 9:45 AM. Just let me know if that works for anyone else, including you,' JoAnn said, signing off the message with a heart emoji and 'Love, Jo.'

Her sister then responded, but grew worried after not hearing back from JoAnn for days.

The family plans to bring JoAnn home and lay her to rest beside her parents. A cause of death has not yet been determined

'Jo, very very worried about you. Could you just let me know your ok. I do respect your privacy but if possible please make contact with me,' her sister said to her.

'Love you!,' she added.

Erin and her family believe JoAnn died in her home during a 'violent altercation' that very night.

'We are very hopeful with now with the location of these remains, that what happened that night and who did this to her will come to light,' Erin said.

'It is insane that the day before we are getting ready to mourn the second anniversary, without answers, that was our big thing - second anniversary without answers - is that the day before, our biggest answer has been revealed.'

A cause of death has not yet been determined.

DailyMail.com contacted the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

The family plans to bring JoAnn home and lay her to rest beside her parents.
Chilling footage appears to show the final known movements of a Hawaii woman days after she vanished from LAX while headed to NYC for a bucket list vacation.

Hannah Kobayashi, 31, flew from her home in Maui via Los Angeles on November 8. She was meant to board a connecting flight to New York City, but never arrived.

She was last seen on CCTV getting off her flight in Los Angeles, but her distressed family claim she's since been seen on surveillance video 20 miles away from the airport in downtown LA.

'In the footage, it is evident that Hannah does not appear to be in good condition and she is not alone,' Kobayashi's aunt Larie Pidgeon revealed.

The CCTV is within 'the vicinity of Pico Station by Crypto Arena in downtown LA,' the family said.

It was taken in the evening of the 11th of November, three days after she arrived from Hawaii.

'Due to the ongoing and active nature of this investigation, we are unable to share any further details at this time,' the family said.

Her tearful aunt shared a video pleading with Kobayashi to get in contact or to come home if she's able.

Hannah Kobayashi, 30, flew from her home in Maui on November 8 and was meant to arrive in New York City the next day

Kobayashi's final post was shared on the 11th of November. It is understood she was attending an event in Los Angeles

In a short clip obtained by HawaiiNewsNow, a photograph of the young traveler clicked on a security camera can be seen

Up until now, the last clue Kobayashi's family had was from her final post on Instagram, which revealed she attended at Lebron James event at The Grove on November 10.

Her desperate family claim they are now 'working tirelessly to get as much [information] as we can.'

But her sister Sydni Kobayashi said both 'LAPD and LAX are not making it easy for us.'

She wrote in a Facebook group looking to help track Kobayashi down: 'We have the FBI involved helping to expedite a subpoena for camera footage, Hannah's phone logs, credit/debit card statements and also to get into her personal accounts.'

Kobayashi was seen in a separate YouTube video outside of the event, wearing the same clothing seen when she hopped off the plane.

A friend claims she received concerning text messages from Kobayashi's phone on November 11 which indicated she might be in trouble.

'I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds. For someone I thought I loved,' one message read.

The family also noted that the young artist's phone has been off since November 11. The last known location it pinged at was at the Los Angeles International Airport that day.

Parts of the video also show Hannah outside of an event in Los Angeles

Brandi Yee, and sister Sydni Kobayashi think Hannah left the airport and attended an event based on a series of texts suggesting she 'had a spiritual awakening and was heading back to the airport'

The concerned companion said she received strange texts from Kobayashi's phone - indicating that she may be in trouble

Both mother and daughter also believe that the messages 'did not sound like her' and wonder if it was Hannah who sent them

Based on a series of texts sent from Kobayashi's phone, her family believe she 'had a spiritual awakening and ahead of returning to the airport.'

A text to her aunt reportedly read: 'Im charging my phone and heading back to the airport to get to NYC... I might need some help getting there, its a long story.'

'She was at LAX, and she said that she was scared,' her mother Brandi Yee said.

Yee said the final text exchange she had with her daughter was asking if she'd arrived in New York yet. Kobayashi replied: 'Not yet.'

Sydni added: 'She texted her that she was scared and that she couldnt come back home or something. It was just really weird texts.'

Both Kobayashi's mother and sister believe that the messages 'did not sound like her' and wonder if somebody else had used her phone to send them.

Yee said, 'we share location' to which Sydni added: 'And we know her phones off because it goes straight to voicemail.

'We've been trying to call and call and call, text. None of the texts are getting delivered. We can't locate her phone.'

The family also noted that the young artist's phone has been off since November 11 and her last pinned location was at the Los Angeles Airport

The family has filed a missing person's report with the Los Angeles Police Department and requested anyone with information to come forward.

Kobayashi's ex-boyfriend was also traveling on the same flight from Maui to LAX.

But the duo did not sit together or speak on the flight. They purchased the trip before splitting up.

Her father, Ryan Kobayashi, has maintained that her former partner has been cooperative and boarded the connecting flight to reach New York.

'A lot of worrying, a lot of confusion. Everything is just a blur it seems because I haven't slept well since I've heard the news, and I really don't know  it's just really concerning.

'We're just trying to get us as much information as we can,' he said.

'Please help her, if you can. If you know where she's at, or you have the chance to just help her, please. We just want to bring her home,' the mother said

'We did everything that we could do. And they told us that it would be, it would have to take 48 hours before they could do anything, because shes not elderly, shes not mentally off. She's not under age,' Yee said.

'I woke up last night crying and I just like, this like the sister, mother, anyones worst nightmare of losing your child.

'Please help her, if you can. If you know where she's at, or you have the chance to just help her, please. We just want to bring her home.'

Ryan said: 'Theres a lot of people looking for you Hannah. So, if you get this, if you see anything, just go to the police, go to anybody.

'Theres a lot of people out there that care and love you, Hannah. If you can just get to somebody, whatever you can do, just let us know that youre OK.'
A mother who murdered her two young sons 30 years ago will learn this week if her bid for freedom has been successful.

Susan Smith, 53, drowned sons Michael, three, and Alex, 14-months, in a South Carolina lake in 1994.

She was sentenced to life in prison with possibility of parole after 30 years and will make her case for release to the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services board on Wednesday.

The seven-member board will hear from Smith virtually from the Leath Correctional Institute in Greenwood, where she is incarcerated.

She will need at least a two-thirds majority of the panel to her approve her application and needs to meet pre-release conditions which include employment, residence, programming and detainers, according to Court TV.

The case should be heard pretty quickly and Smith will likely learn if it has been successful on the same day.

If her application is denied, she can apply again in two years. Data shows the board grants approximately 8 percent of parole requests for violent offenders.

The boys father, David Smith, and former prosecutor Tommy Pope plan to testify against her release.

Convicted child killer mother Susan Smith (pictured), 53, will make her case for release in front of a South Carolina parole board on Wednesday

Smith, 53, drowned sons Michael (left), three, and Alex (right), 14-months, in a South Carolina lake in 1994

David told Court TV that he has forgiven Smith, but does not want her released from prison.

'You have no idea of how much damage you have done to so many people,' he said.

Pope said Smith's outrageous prison behavior shows she has not learned from her time behind bars.

'The belief was that she would spend her time thinking about Michael and Alex. It's clear she hasn't been thinking about Michael and Alex,' Pope told Greenville News.

'She's having sex with the guards and now got guys that want her on social media when she gets out of prison. She's not focused on remorse for the lives she took. I think she needs to continue to serve her sentence and serve it out forward.'

Just weeks before she became eligible for parole, Smith was convicted of a prison disciplinary charge.

The Department of Corrections revealed that the convicted child killer was found communicating with a filmmaker from behind bars in August this year.

She was said to have been discussing her crimes, and providing contact information for friends, family and victims, including her former husband, David Smith. The filmmaker also deposited money into Smith's account, police said.

She was sentenced to life in prison with possibility of parole after 30 years for the 1994 murders

Smith reported her two sons missing in October 1994 and she and her husband (pictured) begged for their safe return

Her story was quickly picked apart and Smith confessed to strapping the two boys into their car seat and watching the car roll into the lake

Smith has had a history of infractions during her incarceration, including drug use, self-mutilations and incidents in which she was caught having sex with guards.

And in February this year, DailyMail.com revealed that the evil mother had been having phone sex with a man half her age from prison.

Smith reported her two sons missing in October 1994 and told deputies the boys had been taken by an unidentified black man during a carjacking.

She wept on national television while her husband begged for their safe return.

Her story was quickly picked apart and Smith confessed to strapping the two boys into their car seat and watching the car roll into the lake.

It was claimed she killed the boys after the man she was having an affair with, Thomas Findlay, broke up with her because he didn't want children.
The 1,200km cable is the only one linking Finland directly with central Europe

A submarine data communications cable across the Baltic Sea between Finland and Germany has broken, Finnish authorities said, amid fears it may have been sabotaged.

The Finnish state-controlled data services provider, Cinia, said 'a fault' was detected Monday in the C-Lion1 cable that runs nearly 1,200 kilometres (746 miles) from the Finnish capital, Helsinki, to the German port city of Rostock.

The cable, commissioned in 2016, is Finland's only data communications cable that runs from the Nordic country directly to central Europe, according to Finnish public broadcaster YLE.

Finnish media outlets noted the cable's route runs in the vicinity of the two NordStream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany that were sabotaged. Finnish authorities are investigating the source of the cable break.

More than 400 subsea cables form the backbone of the internet, carrying more than 97% of the world's data traffic.

But Western defence chiefs have warned that the likes of Russia and China, with advanced submersibles and submarine capabilities, could seek to plunge Western nations into disarray by damaging or cutting them.

The sudden breakdown of the Baltic Sea data cable comes days after the Royal Navy announced it was tracking a Russian spy ship straying close to undersea cables in the Irish Sea and RAF jets were scrambled to monitor a Russian reconnaissance plane flying close to UK airspace.

The Yantar has previously sailed cloe to British waters and had to be escorted by a Royal Navy ship (pictured in 2018)

More than 97 per cent of the world's communications are transmitted through sub sea optical fibre cables

Undersea cables, largely owned and installed by private companies, are designed to withstand the natural rigours under the sea and cannot be cut easily.

Typically just over an inch in diameter, they consist of fibre optics  strands of glass as thin as a hair  in the centre, surrounded by galvanised steel wire armouring and then, on the outside, a plastic coating.

They are engineered to the 'five nines' standard  meaning they are reliable 99.999 per cent of the time, a level generally reserved for nuclear weapons and space shuttles.

But, armed with hydraulic cutters attached to their hulls, Russian submersibles would make short work of the hosepipe-thin cables. Alternatively, divers or remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) fitted with cutters could do the job.

The Yantar, billed by Moscow as an 'oceanographic research vessel', is one such ship that boasts advanced submersibles designed for engineering missions which can examine areas up to 3.75 miles underwater.

And it was one of three Russian vessels sailing through the Channel last week.

As it headed toward British shores, the research craft turned off its transponder - erasing it from commercial marine tracking systems.

On Thursday it briefly appeared some 60 kilometres off the coast of Ireland before disappearing again, raising fears it was operating above vital undersea cables responsible for connecting Britain and Ireland and carrying the UK's digital data.

Despite its official status as a research vessel, a Russian parliament publication previously said the Yantar carries technology 'designed for deep-sea tracking, as well as equipment for connecting to top-secret communication cables'.

The Royal Navy dispatched HMS Cattistock to shadow the vessel while the RAF sent a Poseidon P8 reconnaissance plane to track its movements.

Meanwhile, two Typhoon fighter jets from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland followed a Russian Tupolev-142, a maritime reconnaissance aircraft known as the 'Bear-F' in NATO countries, as it flew over the North Sea.

An archive Royal Navy image of the Yankar ship being shadowed by Royal Navy ship HMS Diamond as it passed through the English Channel in January 2018

Two Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland followed the Russian Tupolev-142 (a Typhoon is seen flanking a Bear-F in August 2023)

'Our adversaries should be in no doubt of our steadfast determination and formidable ability to protect the UK,' said armed forces minister Luke Pollard.

'The Royal Navy and RAF (Royal Air Force) have once again shown they stand ready to defend our country at a moment's notice and I pay tribute to the professionalism and bravery of those involved in these latest operations,' he added.

The RAF scramble to intercept the Bear-F came days after the Royal Navy was forced to shadow Russian military vessels passing through the Channel that were accompanied by the Yantar.

It was the second time in three months that Russian ships and aircraft had been detected around UK airspace and waters within a week of each other.

Incidents involving Russian and Western aircraft have multiplied over the recent months against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Last week, Vladimir Putin's most modern frigate passed through the English Channel on its maiden long-distance voyage.

The Admiral Golovko, the newest member of Russia's Northern Fleet, is armed with hypersonic Tsirkon missiles.

These projectiles can travel some 900km at several times the speed of sound, making it almost impossible for conventional air defence systems to shoot them down.

The warship, one of 10 planned for production as part of Russia's Project 22350, left its Arctic home base in Severomorsk almost two weeks days ago and sailed through the Barents, Norwegian and North Seas before heading for the Channel.

A Russian Tupolev Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft is seen flying over the North Sea in this image taken in August 2023

An RAF Typhoon, left, monitors a Russian Tupolev Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft in August 2023

'The crew of the Admiral Golovko frigate of the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet held exercises in the English Channel,' said Russian defence ministry TV channel Zvezda.

'The sailors practised anti-submarine and anti-aircraft defence, and conducted a training rescue operation using Ka-27 helicopters.'

Footage showed the drills as the vessel passed through the narrowest point of the busy seaway between England and France amid high tension between Moscow and the West over Putin's war against Ukraine.

Russia's defence ministry said of the Golovko's drills: 'The combat crews of the frigate's main command centre trained to disperse dangerous targets in the difficult conditions of intensive shipping in the strait.'

The war games included 'anti-terrorist drills' repelling aerial and marine drones of a 'mock enemy', said naval sources.

The Admiral Golovko was accompanied by the Yantar, which subsequently switched off its transponder and diverted into the North Sea.

The Russian Northern Fleet ultra-modern frigate Admiral Golovko is armed with hypersonic Tsirkon missiles

The Golovko targets another vessel amid naval drills

'The crew of the Admiral Golovko frigate of the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet held exercises in the English Channel,' said Russian defence ministry TV channel Zvezda

'The sailors practised anti-submarine and anti-aircraft defence, and conducted a training rescue operation using Ka-27 helicopters'

The 443ft-long Admiral Golovko passed through the English Channel and was last week performing missions in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

State news agency TASS said: 'The main goals of the long-distance deployment are to demonstrate the Russian flag and ensure Russia's naval presence in operationally important areas of the World Ocean.'

The 5,400-ton Admiral Golovko joined the Navy in December and is the third frigate in the Project 22350 series.

As well as Tsirkon, the frigate is armed with a 130mm A-192 artillery system, a Redut air-defence missile system, launchers for 16 Oniks or Kalibr-NK anti-ship missiles and a Paket-NK anti-submarine system.
This is the moment almost 20 Russia armoured vehicles exploded after Putin's troops drove through a live minefield.

Over the past 11 days, a staggering third of all Russian vehicles in Kursk have allegedly been destroyed by mines as Moscow's bungling army attempts to take back control of the Russian region.

In a video, believed to have been taken during Russia's botched assault on November 7, Russian vehicles can be seen driving along a dirt track before they suddenly burst into flames after hitting a mine.

Multiple different vehicles can be seen maneuvering along the terrain before all meeting similar fates.

In one instance the burnt out shells of two vehicles can be seen mere metres apart as smoke billows from their remains.

According to General Oleksandr Pavliuk, who shared the footage on telegram, Russia lost 17 vehicles in just one day.

He claimed that this accounted for about 30 per cent of Russian vehicles.

Forbes reported that a single Ukrainian engineering unit - the 12th support regiment - are responsible for laying many of the mines.

In a video, believed to have been taken during Russia's botched assault on November 7, Russian vehicles can be seen driving along a dirt track before they suddenly burst into flames after hitting a min

Multiple different vehicles can be seen maneuvering along the terrain before all meeting similar fates

In one instance the burnt out shells of two vehicles can be seen mere metres apart as smoke billows from their remains

It is understood that much of these mines are often planted by hand or by drone.

Rather than scattering the mines across large swathes of land, which was part of Russia's approach to planting land mines, the Ukrainians prefer to strategetically concentrate their mines along roads leading to devastating consequences for the Russians.

This has led a road intersection near the village of Zelenyi Shylakh is littered with dozens of wrecked Russian vehicles.

Ukraine has occupied a small portion of Kursk since August with Russian forces struggling to reclaim it.

This has led Russian casualties' in the war to skyrocket in recent week - with Putin's forces seeing 1,770 soldiers killed or wounded in just 24 hour last week.

Russia have lost 710,660 troops since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion almost three years ago, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces claimed last week.

Despite the heavy losses, Moscow is pushing forward with its 'meat assaults' and continues to advance at its fastest rate since 2022, with Ukraine's armed forces chief admitting this month that it is currently facing 'one of the most powerful' Russian offensives since the war broke out.

Despite its recent successes with landmines, Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region has stalled, and Moscow has reportedly massed a force of 50,000 soldiers as it aims to reclaim the territory taken from it three months ago.

According to General Oleksandr Pavliuk, who shared the footage on telegram, Russia lost 17 vehicles in just one day. He claimed that this accounted for about 30 per cent of Russian vehicles

Rather than scattering the mines across large swathes of land, which was part of Russia's approach to planting land mines, the Ukrainians prefer to strategetically concentrate their mines along roads leading to devastating consequences for the Russians

Kyiv has claimed its forces have clashed with some of the estimated 11,000 North Korean soldiers sent to the region to support Moscow, with some experts saying their deployment could be partly due to the heavy Russian losses.

Meanwhile, the outgoing President Joe Biden announced last night that he had lifted the ban on Ukraine's use of American-supplied long-range missiles.

This will allow the war-torn Ukraine to fire missiles deep inside Russian territory.

The decision is a major US policy shift and comes as Biden is about to leave office and President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible.

Biden hopes that this response will 'send a message' to Kim Jong Un not to send any more, sources said.

Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the coming days, according to sources. The first deep strikes are reportedly likely to be carried out using ATACMS rockets, which have a range of up to 190 miles.

Biden allowing Volodymyr Zelensky's forces to use US-supplied missiles for strikes deep into Russia has raised expectations for the UK to follow suit with its Storm Shadow missiles.

A destroyed Russian tank in Kursk. Over the past 11 days, a staggering third of all Russian vehicles in Kursk have allegedly been destroyed by mines as Moscow 's bungling army attempts to take back control of the Russian region

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un in 2019. Kyiv has claimed its forces have clashed with some of the estimated 11,000 North Korean soldiers sent to the region to support Moscow

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is embraced by U.S. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office. The outgoing President Biden announced last night that he had lifted the ban on Ukraine's use of American-supplied long-range missiles

Donald Trump Jr has also waded into the debate by accusing Biden of trying to start WWIII before his father can take office after the US gave the green light for Ukraine to blast targets inside Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles.

Trump's oldest son posted on X after Biden's decision was announced, saying that 'the military industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives'.

However, the move will likely be welcomed by fellow NATO members with Keir Starmer having previously said that he would be in favour of giving the green light for the Storm Shadow missiles to be used.

His French counterpart Emmanuel Macron echoed this sentiment, which might mean that France could also soon allow Ukraine to fire their supplied long-range missiles into Russia.
The UC Davis Water Tower in Davis, which is among a handful of communities that have chosen to go without the cavity-preventing additive fluoride in their drinking water. Andri Tambunan/Special to the Chronicle

With President-elect Donald Trumps selection of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services, many Americans are wondering whether theyre in for a future without fluoridated water.

Kennedy, who has widely spread falsehoods about vaccines causing autism and other medical claims, has vowed that the Trump administration will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water as soon as the 47th presidency begins.

One place in the country that can offer a glimpse of the fluoride-free life sits just outside the Bay Area: Davis.

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It is among a handful of communities including Portland, Ore.; Albuquerque; and the state of Hawaii that have made the choice to go without the cavity-preventing additive. Towns in Sonoma and Marin counties, as well as Gridley (Butte County), a small community, have also opted to go without fluoride.

But Davis, with its population of 65,000 and reputation for highly educated, liberal residents, stands out.

The city, home to UC Davis, has never fluoridated its water supply, former Mayor Joe Krovoza said. Before 2013, Davis sourced its water from numerous wells that would have made uniform fluoridation difficult. When the city embarked on an expensive project to bring in water from the Sacramento River to Davis and neighboring Woodland, the question of adding fluoride came to the city council.

The council formed a committee to issue a recommendation on fluoridation, which included Dr. Howard Pollick, a professor of dentistry at UCSF. Pollick said the committee recommended fluoridation to the council.

During the councils vote, nearly two dozen people spoke in support of adding fluoride to the water supply, which would have cost about $2 per month per water customer. The comments emphasized how community fluoridation could improve public health and reduce disparities in dental problems between socioeconomic classes, with representatives from local health agencies and organizations emphasizing the lack of negative impact on the environment or people.

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But Krovoza said that the opposition showed up even stronger, with 30 residents urging the council that it was their responsibility to provide clean water and not to force fluoride consumption on the public.

Given concerns with getting the broader, expensive water project funded by the public and the opposition from residents, the city council voted 4-1 to not add fluoride to the citys water supply. Davis and Woodland both have the options to add fluoride to their independent water supplies in the future. The current facilities are set up to accommodate fluoridation.

Pollick said he was very disappointed in the result. He has seen more cities, including Santa Cruz, Redding and Modesto, reject fluoridation, as well as some cities, like Oroville, discontinue fluoridation after years of adding the chemical, though more than 57% of Californians are served by fluoridated water supplies.

A lot of it is just political, who the decision makers are listening to and who they get persuaded by, Pollick said.

Pollick, a former spokesperson on fluoridation for the American Dental Association for 20 years, said he feels compelled to share the benefits of fluoride from an evidence- and science-based point of view to counter emotional arguments against the additive.

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Pollick said that water sources can also have naturally occurring fluoride of various levels and that many other countries that do not fluoridate their water instead opt to fluoridate their salt, similar to iodized salt in the United States.

Dr. Dagon Jones, a dentist with Davis Dental Practice, said that while Davis doesnt see particularly stark effects on oral health due to the lack of fluoride, many other places could if widespread fluoridation is stopped.

Community fluoridation primarily helps lower-socioeconomic-income children who really arent getting the best preventive care, Jones said.

The patients Jones sees in Davis  which has a median family household income 50.4% higher than the California average  typically are less affected by the lack of fluoride in their water because they are getting regular dental cleanings, which include application of concentrated fluoride gels, and using fluoridated toothpaste, he said.

Jones expects that if community fluoridation is stopped nationally, however, the broad oral health effects would be very expensive for government insurance programs like Medi-Cal, which offers dental coverage for eligible Californians.

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Fluoride, which the federal government authorized adding to water 75 years ago, plays a significant role in preventing cavities, Jones said. He said that fluoride helps make tooth enamel more resistant to decay, inhibits bacterias ability to produce acid and aids in the remineralization of teeth, which allows repair of early cavities  all of which reduce the need for further dental intervention.

My concern is that it will just put a bigger strain on the Medi-Cal system, Jones said. It seems to me that, from a policy standpoint, that it would be an expensive decision.

Fluoride only acts on the teeth through topical application, Jones said, meaning those who get fluoridated water are reaping dental benefits by the water touching their teeth, not through actually consuming it.

Fluoridation opponents argue that it can cause fluorosis, which in mild and moderate cases can cause spotting on teeth, but no health concerns. Severe cases can cause pitting on teeth, which can lead to cavities.

And those opponents just scored a big victory in a Bay Area case in federal court.

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After seven years of litigation in a suit by anti-fluoride groups, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco ruled Sept. 24 that the current maximum fluoride concentration, 0.7 milligrams per liter of water, poses an unreasonable risk to children and must be reduced.

There is substantial and scientifically credible evidence establishing that fluoride poses a risk to human health, the judge wrote. He did not specify the amount of reduction, leaving the initial decision to the EPA.

Pollick said the opinion cited a study that highlighted concerns with higher levels of fluoride than are currently added to drinking water.

While Kennedy said the president will advise local water agencies to ban fluoride, the Environmental Protection Agency, whose chief administrator is appointed by the president, has the authority to determine the maximum concentration of fluoride in drinking water consumed by 200 million Americans.

As the EPA considers its next move, Pollick is wary about the potential path forward for community fluoridation.
A Texas man was taken into custody after investigators discovered human remains, weapons, a gasmask, and a missing child at two of his properties.

Michael Dean Davis Jr., 27, was arrested on November 12 outside of his Laredo home after police found the mother of his child's remains at his old property in Buffalo.

Mahogany Washington, 27, along with her and Davis' eight-year-old son were reported missing on June 19 by family members who told police they had not seen them since July 2022.

The Leon County Sheriffs Office Criminal Investigation Division searched the Buffalo property on October 22 and made the haunting discovery - uncovering what were later identified as Washington's remains. Investigators linked Davis to her death.

But there was still no sign of her missing child.

The Laredo Police Department of Webb County then received a tip that Davis had been living in Laredo - about 130 miles away from Buffalo - with his son for two years.

Authorities staked out in front of the home, waiting for Davis to go check his mail, before executing the arrest for Washington's murder.

Police swarmed the property and arrested Davis on murder charges. Davis was pictured handcuffed in the back of the cop car, looking wild-eyed and disheveled.

Michael Dean Davis Jr., 27, was arrested by his Laredo home on November 12 after an investigation into the disappearance of a mother and child pointed to him

Mahogany Washington, 27, was reported missing two years ago with her son and her remains were found on October 22 at a Buffalo, Texas property

The child was found safe inside the home, along with multiple rifles, a gasmask and an armored suit, KGNS reported.

The LPD told the Loredo Morning Times: 'The investigation revealed that Davis was likely armed and was a possible threat to his son.

'Due to the suspects violent tendencies and potential threat to law enforcement and the surrounding neighborhood, a plan of approach was created and executed on November 12, 2024.'

According to a statement released by the Leon County Police Department, this investigation was a collaborative effort across nine different agencies.

These included the the Leon County District Attorney's Office, the US Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force-Waco, the US Postal Inspection Service and Texas Department of Public Safety.

Davis is being held at Webb County Jail on a $3million bond and waiting to be extradited back to Leon County. The child is in the care of Child Protective Services.

This arrest comes after a Chicago woman was found 'pulverized' and missing a foot in the stairwell of her boyfriend's condo.

Caitlin Walch Tracey, 36, was found on October 27, with police detaining her tax attorney partner, Adam Beckerink, 46, who reported her missing days before.

Police and other agencies staked out in front of Davis' home until he checked his mail

Police tracked down where Davis was living in Laredo and waited outside before arresting him on murder charges

They released him after 48 hours without filing any charges.

But Welch's family has accused Beckerink of wreaking a 'campaign of abuse and terror' against their daughter during her final months, including allegedly throwing a glass pickle jar at her head and pouring vodka on her wounds.

In another incident, human remains were found inside the freezer of a Michigan townhouse on November 7, sparking a homicide investigation.

Deputies responded to 911 calls from an unidentified person who 'indicated there was blood on the floor' of one of the homes on the 1500 block of Wintercrest Street.

Working with the property manager, officers were able get inside the residence and spotted dried blood on the floor.

While searching the house, police found a body inside a freezer alongside the possible human remains of a second person.
A seasoned city councilman in Texas let his fists fly in a restaurant parking lot after he said a man followed him and his girlfriend to the politician's car after harassing her online.

In surveillance footage of the encounter on Thursday, Councilman Mike Getz, 68, is seen punching the man twice outside the restaurant in Beaumont.

Getz explained to DailyMail.com that the fisticuffs stemmed from an exchange his girlfriend had with the man over adopting a dog.

She had posted to social media how she was looking to find a new home for one of her three dogs when the man responded saying he was interested.

After her daughters pleaded with their mom to keep the canine, she contacted the man and said she had changed her mind.

That's when the man started peppering Getz's girlfriend with angry messages, the councilman said.

'She quickly cut him off and told him that she did not know him, did not want to know him, that he needed to leave her alone,' Getz said in an email.

Scroll down for video:

Mike Getz, 68, serves as Councilman for Beaumont's Ward 2, which represents the city's West End and counts just over 100,000 residents

In surveillance footage, Getz is seen punching the man twice outside the restaurant in Beaumont during the confrontation

'However, he continued to text her and harass her, and she had to block him.'

The councilman later spotted the man at the restaurant, where he and his girlfriend were having a drink.

When the couple went to leave, Getz said, the man followed them to their car.

'When I see him, I ask him "What do you want?" He says, "What do YOU want?"' the politician explained.

'I told him I wanted him to get away from my car. He said, "what if I don't?" and starts walking towards me in a threatening manner. That's when I popped him twice in the mouth.'

Getz also said the man hit one of his car's mirrors as he drove away.

He filed a police report the day after the encounter, according to KFDM/Fox 4 News, which obtained footage of the run-in.

'I spoke with a detective,' Getz said of the case.

Pictured: The eatery where the altercation occurred

Getz has held his seat in the Beaumont City Council since 2011 and will run for reelection in May

'I filed a report. I was just trying to defend myself.'

DailyMail.com reached out to the Beaumont Police Department for more information.

Getz serves as Councilman for Ward 2, which represents the city's West End and counts just over 100,000 residents.

He has held his seat in the Beaumont City Council since 2011 and will run for reelection in May.
Some of President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet picks have sparked controversy as he prepares to reenter the White House for a second term in January.

As a result, he may not get all his picks through even a newly Republican-led Senate.

And while it is becoming apparent that some - like embattled attorney general pick Matt Gaetz - will face an uphill battle to be confirmed, it would not be the first time a Cabinet nominee was blocked by the Senate.

But it has been decades since that happened.

'It is pretty rare that the Senate will affirmatively vote to block a nominee because often it does not reach that stage,' said political historian Matt Dallek. 'The nominee will withdraw or the president-elect or president will withdraw the person's name.'

Rather than rule out some of his loyalists who carry major baggage, Trump has instead become more bullish.

He is demanding the Senate - which will be led by his own party come January - abdicate its constitutional responsibility and allow his nominees to avoid their scrutiny altogether with 'recess appointments.'

Some of Trump's closest Senate backers have signaled support for the recess appointment strategy, but others have rejected it, meaning his nominees could face brutal confirmation battles early next year.

Those most likely to face contentions confirmation hearings include former Congressman Matt Gaetz who is nominated to serve as Attorney General but faced a House Ethics Committee investigation for sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.

President-elect Donald Trump in New York on November 16. Some of his controversial Cabinet picks could face stiff opposition in the Senate but the last Cabinet nominee blocked by senators was more than 30 years ago. Instead, controversial nominees are typically withdrawn before a vote

He was also probed by the Justice Department for sex trafficking involving a minor but charges were never brought. He denies all accusations.

Trump's pick for Defense Secretary, TV personality Pete Hegseth, was also accused of sexual assault.

While he denies the allegations, he paid the accuser according to his attorney. He also faces criticism that his tattoos have white nationalist ties, which he has denied and called 'anti-Christian bigotry.'

Meanwhile, former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard who is up for Director of National Intelligence has been accused of cozying up to dictators and floated conspiracy theories.

Robert Kennedy Jr., who is up to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, is a known vaccine skeptic.

Some of President-elect Donald Trump's nominees for Cabinet positions have faced pushback and outrage from for controversial pasts and limited experience

There have only been nine Cabinet level nominations to be blocked by the Senate in U.S. history with the most recent one taking place nearly 35 years ago.

Here are the Cabinet nominees who have been blocked by the Senate:

John Tower

Senator John Tower represented Texas in the U.S. Senate from the 1961 until he resigned in 1986 to pursue other business opportunities.

In 1988, he was President-elect George HW Bush's top pick to serve as Defense Secretary and the FBI started its background check.

Senator John Tower was the most recent Cabinet nominee to be rejected by the Senate in 1989

That investigation, according to the Los Angeles Times report at the time, focused on his ties to the defense industry as well as allegations of excessive drinking and womanizing.

In the end, Bush nominated him anyway, claiming he was satisfied with the probe's findings.

But the allegations haunted Tower's confirmation process despite his relationship with Senate colleagues having served in the Senate only a few years earlier.

Senators on both sides of the aisle took issue with the numerous allegations that came up during his confirmation process.

After five weeks of testimony, Tower ended up being blocked in the final vote with 53 votes against him while 47 voted in favor of his confirmation. The vote was largely along party lines.

Lewis Strauss

Lewis Strauss served as chair of the Atomic Energy Commission before President Eisenhower nominated him as Commerce Secretary in 1958.

Strauss started as a recess appointment but with a long-standing bitter feud with Senator Clinton Anderson, his confirmation was hampered in the Senate, and Anderson is credited with killing his confirmation in the final vote.

Strauss was accused of inflating his role with the development of the hydrogen bomb and a group of scientists also took issue over his role in the Oppenheimer hearings.

Time magazine described the fight over Strauss' confirmation as 'awesomely ugly.'

Lewis L Strauss was chair of the Atomic Energy Commission and nominated as Commerce Secretary in 1958 but his confirmation was blocked in the Senate

In the end, his confirmation failed in a vote with 49 against him and 46 in favor.

If the name sounds familiar, Strauss was portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. in the blockbuster 2023 movie Oppenheimer.

Charles Warren

Before Strauss' Senate confirmation was defeated, the last Cabinet nominee to be blocked with Charles Warren in 1925.

President Calvin Coolidge nominated Warren, a former ambassador to Japan and Mexico, as Attorney General. But he faced accusations that his business associations made him unsuitable to enforce anti-trust laws.

Ambassador Charles Warren was nominated for Attorney General in 1925, but his confirmation was blocked in the Senate

Initially the confirmation deadlocked 40-40, but Senator Lee Overman of North Carolina switched his vote. When the nomination was resubmitted, he was rejected with 46 votes against him to 39 in favor.

Henry Stanbery

Henry Stanbery first became attorney general in 1866 under President Andrew Johnson. However, he resigned from the position to defend Johnson during his impeachment trial in 1868.

He was later renominated by Johnson for attorney general after Johnson was acquitted, but the nomination was blocked by the Senate with 29 votes against him with only 11 in favor.

President John Tyler's four nominees

President John Tyler had four nominees who were blocked by the Senate during his time in office. He first nominated Caleb Cushing as Treasury Secretary who was blocked on March 3, 1843.

Caleb Cushing was nominated by President Tyler as Treasury Secretary but blocked

After he was rejected, Tyler renominated him twice more that day but he was rejected again, meaning he was blocked three times.

Tyler's Secretary of the Navy David Henshaw received the post under a recess appointment, but when he was formally nominated for the position, he ended up being rejected by the Senate in January 1844.

Tyler also nominated James Green as Treasury Secretary but he was rejected in 1844. The Senate also blocked the confirmation of James Madison Porter as Secretary of War with only three votes in his favor after he also started the job as a recess appointment.

Roger Taney

The first Cabinet nomination to be blocked by the Senate happened under President Andrew Jackson in 1834.

Jackson named Roger Taney as Treasury Secretary with a recess appointment in 1833. At the time, Taney was serving as Attorney General, but Jackson wanted him to help dismantle the Second Bank of the U.S.

Roger Taney was the first Cabinet nominee to be blocked by the Senate in U.S. history in 1834. While he was rejected as Treasury Secretary, he went on to serve as Supreme Court Chief Justice

In the end, the Senate rejected his nomination with 28 votes against him. He would later go on to become Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court less than two years later after the Democrats took control of the Senate.

Nominees Withdrawn

While it has been rare for a presidential nominee to a Cabinet level position to be blocked completely, there have more often been nominees whose names have been withdrawn from consideration including during Trump's first term.

Congressman Ronny Jackson, who was then serving as Physician to the President, was nominated as Secretary of Veterans Affairs in 2018. After accusations of creating a hostile work environment and drinking on the job, it was not clear whether his nomination would be confirmed.

While Jackson denied the allegations, he withdrew from consideration that April.

President Biden's nominee for the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, which has Cabinet-rank status though is not an official Cabinet position, also faced opposition in 2021. The White House ended up pulling Neera Tanden's name from consideration.

Senator Tom Daschle was nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services by President Obama.

But the former Senate Majority Leader ended up withdrawing his name in February 2009 amid criticism for more than $100,000 in unpaid taxes.

'Most of these people, they withdrew before because they can count the votes, and presidents and president-elects, they don't like the spectacle of one of their nominees going down in defeat,' said Dallek.

Recess Appointments

Past presidents including Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama have all made recess appointments.

Clinton made 139 recess appointments and Bush made 171, according to the Congressional Research Service. But their recess appointments did not include Cabinet posts.

President Obama continued the practice with 32 recess appointments, but in 2014, the Supreme Court ruled that some of Obama's recess appointments were unconstitutional including three officials to the National Labor Relations Board.

The country's highest court also unanimously ruled the Senate must adjourn for ten days for a president to make a recess appointment.
A pro-Putin mouthpiece has warned Brits of 'nuclear war by Christmas' after Ukraine was granted permission to fire Western long-range missiles into Kremlin territory.

Sergey Markov, a former spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin said today Western allies including Britain, France and the US had taken a 'big jump' towards nuclear conflict by giving Ukraine such an approval.

Markov, a regular Putin 'mouthpiece', said the shock move by US President Joe Biden could mean that Britons were unable to wish each other 'Happy Christmas' as they could be in shelters.

His sabre-rattling, in an interview on the BBC Radio 4's The World At One came was echoed, remarkably, by the son of the US President-Elect Donald Trump.

Donald Trump Jnr suggested those behind the move to approve Ukraine's use of US ATACM missiles wanted to 'make sure they got World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives'.

However, President Biden's shock move was welcomed by Ukraine, by senior UK defence sources and by many European leaders.

They noted that the Kremlin and its mouthpieces in the state-controlled media and academia had threatened nuclear war every time the West had stepped up its support for Ukraine  such as when it provided tanks, fighter jets and other sophisticated weapon systems.

But Mr Markov was adamant this move was different because Western militaries would be directly involved in the conflict for the first time  as Ukraine would require their assistance to use the precision guided missile systems.

A former spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin said today Western allies including Britain, France and the US had taken a 'big jump' towards nuclear conflict by giving Ukraine such an approval

The Ukrainian emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian rocket attack in Odesa, Ukraine, November 18

A Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is test-fired from the Plesetsk launchpad in northwestern Russia

On BBC Radio 4, Mr Markov, currently the Director General of Russia's Institute for Political Studies, was asked his reaction to the White House's decision.

He said: 'My reaction was awful, I couldn't sleep well because I am just afraid nuclear war is coming.

'This decision of United States, Great Britain and France is not a step towards nuclear war it is a big jump to nuclear war, nuclear catastrophe.

'It is a very dangerous decision. The point is these rocket-missiles cannot be fired by the Ukrainian army, technically.

'Because, these rocket-missiles need to have very good map of the Russian territory and only the US has this map, even Great Britain and France does not have this map.

'The second reason is the targeting of the rocket-missiles. It cannot be done by the Ukrainian army because it needs satellite-intelligence which Ukrainian does not have.

'So it means these rocket-missiles will be targeted to Russian cities by American, British and French militaries.

'So, we regard this as the start of a direct war by Britain, America and France against Russia, another nuclear power.

'American rocket missiles against our territory. This is a clear escalation of the war.

'We will have American, British and French rocket-missiles which will kill our people in our internationally recognised territory.

'This is the war that you started. I think it is extremely dangerous.'

Asked if Putin would use nuclear missiles in response, Mr Markov said 'not now' and said it was more likely that bases in eastern Europe could be hit by smaller, tactical nuclear missiles.

Russia pounded Ukraine with 'one of the largest' aerial attacks it has suffered in an assault that targeted the country's energy infrastructure, Kyiv's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on November 17

A local resident inspects a crater in the courtyard of a destroyed building following a missile attack at an undisclosed location in Odesa region on November 17

Emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian rocket attack in Odesa

But he added: 'I think Biden, Macron and Starmer want escalation which could lead to, from my understanding, in the worst scenario, the nuclear war happens before Christmas of this year.

'Probably you will not be able to say 'Merry Christmas' because you will stay in the hole trying to hide away you family from the nuclear catastrophe. It can develop very, very quickly.

'This escalation can lead to escalation by Russian side.'

The Kremlin has accused Biden of 'throwing fuel on the flames' of the Ukraine conflict by allowing Kyiv to fire long-range missiles into Russia.

For two years, President Biden has ignored the pleas of Volodymyr Zelensky to let him use Western missiles to strike key Russian installations across the border.

On each occasion the White House has insisted such a move would be escalatory, leaving the Ukrainian President in a state of despair.

But just two months before President Biden is to leave office, he has finally been convinced that he should approve Ukraine's request.

As senior US security officials confirmed today, the determining factor has been Russia's recruitment of 10,000 North Korean troops to bolster its ranks.

These soldiers are expected to lead a counter-offensive intended to recapture Ukrainian-held territory in the southern Russia.

Holding onto ground in the southern Russian province of Kursk remains a strategic imperative for Ukraine ahead of peace talks expected next year.

Without this territory Ukraine has no leverage to recover its eastern provinces which are currently occupied by Russian troops.

Weapon systems such as the US's ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System), the UK's Storm Shadow and France's Scalp missiles, require satellite guidance and intelligence which only the US can provide.

So, from the Kremlin's perspective, their usage against targets inside Russian territory would bring the West into direct conflict with Russia for the first time since the conflict began.

A rocket is fired from the Russian army's missile system toward Ukrainian position at an undisclosed location, on March 30, 2024

Russian soldiers fire from a self-propelled 122mm multiple rocket launcher, BM-21 'Grad', in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, on July 12, 2024

A burnt-out car in the courtyard of a damaged house following a missile attack at an undisclosed location in Odesa region, on November 17

In fact, the Western ballistic missiles, which all include US components and rely on US satellites, have a range of up to 200 miles. So they do not pose a threat to Russian cities.

Security sources have suggested Ukraine will likely use the missile to target Russian airstrips, drone production facilities and command and control centres.

Earlier today, former UK Defence Secretary Sir Ben Wallace said the missiles should be used within the boundaries of international law  against military rather than civilian targets.

President Biden's shock move comes amid the transition process between his Democrat administration and the Republican administration led by US President-Elect Donald Trump.

When the pair of presidents met at the White House last week, there was no indication that Biden, in his final weeks in office, was about to make such a significant decision.

If his son's post on X is any indication, it appears unlikely the US President-Elect was not consulted on the move or provided his approval.

Donald Trump Jnr's response also laid bare the chasm between the outgoing and incoming presidencies how to manage the Ukraine conflict.

He said: 'The military industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives.

'Gotta lock in those $Trillions. Life be damned!!!'

Speaking at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, the US Deputy National Security Advisor John Finer was clear that the White House's move was not a change of policy.

He said: 'The United States has been clear throughout the conflict that we will make our policy decisions based on the circumstances we identify on the battlefield.

'In recent days and weeks this has included a significant Russian escalation, that involves the deployment of a foreign country's forces on its own territory.

'The US has been clear we would respond to that. We have been clear with the Russians we would respond to that.

'However, I am not going to get into precisely what form that response would take for operational reasons.'

It is possible that US President Elect Donald Trump could reverse President Biden's decision as soon as January.

Ukraine was granted permission to fire Western long-range missiles into Kremlin territory by Joe Biden in a shock move

Tthe Russian army's multiple rocket launcher Solntsepyok fires towards Ukrainian positions in the border area of Kursk region, Russia, on November 13

Russian soldiers fire from the BM-21 'Grad' self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, on July 1, 2024

A local resident walks among debris of a destroyed building following a missile attack at an undisclosed location in Odesa region on November 17

He would also be able to suspend Ukraine's use of Storm Shadow and SCALP as these missiles include US components are require US satellite guidance.

As Sir Ben Wallace explained: 'This is about targeting divisional level structures [inside Russia], ammunition, command and control hubs, which are only a few kilometres inside Russia.

'So we should not let Russia deceive us that this is about a major strategic strike capability.

'Russia wants to talk about escalation but it has escalated by bringing in North Korean troops and Iranian drones.

'I cannot think for the [incoming] US administration, but Russia must not succeed in dividing the international community or by taking over a sovereign state.

'Our military strength is based on alliances. That does make us vulnerable to vetoes. We have to rely on the US in certain environments and that is just the reality of it.'

While President Biden's loosening of restrictions was welcomed in Kyiv, none of President Zelensky's officials were exaggerating its significance militarily today/yesterday.

This is because it comes at a time when Ukraine is losing significant amounts of territory in its eastern provinces to advancing Russian forces.

And its major cities and energy infrastructure are suffering a nightly barrage of missile and drone attacks of unprecedented intensity.

In recent months the Kremin has 'turned the screw' in the conflict, exploiting its advantages in manpower on the battlefield and in materiel.

ATACM, Storm Shadow and Scalp missiles are also prohibitively expensive and, according to security sources, Western powers will only sanction their use against top priority military targets.

President Biden's move was also backed by senior European Union figures and UK allies. Poland described it as a 'decisive moment in the war'.

But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was adamant: 'This was a crossing of a red line and adds fuel to the fire. This is a qualitatively new round of tension and a new situation.

'It is clear that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps to, they've said so, to continue to add fuel to the fire and to further provoke the level of tension.'

An op-ed in the Russian state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta even suggested it was intended, by President Biden, to 'complicate the implementation of Trump's peace initiatives'.

President Putin is yet to respond personally. He has previously suggested Russia could respond to such a move by providing advanced weapon systems to Western adversaries such as the Houthi rebels.
A career in dermatology has become increasingly attractive for medical professionals who want easier hours alongside big paychecks.

Four-day workweeks and a median salary of $540,000 are among the perks of the profession, as well as the potential for fame on Instagram and TikTok, where dermatologists can earn up to $30,000 for sponsored posts, The Wall Street Journal reported.

That, coupled with a recent boom in skin care, has caused the field to thrive.

Applications for residency in dermatology are up 50 percent over the past five years, statistics show, with women overwhelmingly fueling that number.

Of the applicants who selected dermatology as their first choice when applying for a residency program this year, 73 percent were were women - up 10 percent from just two years ago.

'It's one of the only fields where you can work 40 hours a week like a normal person,' said Dr. Lindsey Zubritsky, who has three million followers on Instagram and TikTok in addition to her practice in Mississippi.

The 36-year-old acknowledged that the field has become 'ungodly competitive,' thanks to millennials and even Gen-Z taking notice.

New York City dermatologist Shereene Idriss, 40, who has a massive following on social media

Dr. Lindsey Zubritsky, a dermatologist in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, is also a skin-care influencer

'People are much more aware about our field now,' said Shereene Idriss, a dermatologist who owns a cosmetic practice in New York City.

'All our attention turned to skin care versus makeup,' she added, referencing the crush of Zoom calls and selfies.

The 40-year-old doesn't take insurance, with patients paying $500 out of pocket for microneedling sessions.

For laser and filler treatments, she said patients fork over $4,000 to smooth skin tone and reduce frown lines and wrinkles.

The procedures last at most an hour and sometimes are as short as 20 minutes.

While Idriss declined to say how much she earns, she did not put limits on a dermatologist's potential.

'The skys the limit, depending on how efficient you are,' she told the Journal.

Like Zubritsky, Idriss has also amassed a massive following on social media, boasting more than 2.2million followers on Instagram and TikTok.

Dermatologists said they have seen a boom in the filed over the past several years

On her accounts, she provides instructions on things like 'How to prevent wrinkles' - often promoting sponsored lotions or medications.

The social media wave has even caught up people like Donna Stockton, a 65-year-old dermatologist in Chicago who has a more modest 1,092 followers on Instagram.

She chose dermatology nearly 40 years ago simply because she wanted to have mastery over a single organ - the skin - she told the Journal.

She recalled a shift to dermatology around the time the FDA approved the use of Botox for frown lines in 2002.

Once treating patients experiencing skin eruptions brought on by HIV in the 1980s, she now has residents 'more interested in how much I charge for Botox.'

Dr. Mary Alice Mina, a 44-year-old dermatologist out of Atlanta, explained how cosmetic treatments aren't the only way to make money - citing how she specializes in treatments for skin cancer in addition to simpler cosmetic surgeries like neck lifts.

'It's a little bit of a misnomer to think you'll do cosmetics and be churning patients,' Mina said, pointing to how patients taking part in elective treatments usually demand more time and often expect top-of-the-line treatment.

'Those patients want individual attention and personalized care.'

And while dermatologists may face ridicule at times for being mere pimple-poppers, one seasoned veteran explained why that is definitely not the case.

'People are much more aware about our field now,' said Idris, who has millions of followers on Instagram and TikTok. 'All our attention turned to skin care versus makeup'

Dr. Zubritsky said the field has become 'ungodly competitive'

For one, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the US, said Dr. Jane Grant-Kels, vice chair of dermatology at UConn Health.

The 74-year-old said she founded her hospital's program in Farmington, Connecticut nearly 50 years ago, and has seen the field catch fire firsthand.

She described how traditional doctors often do not conduct the sort of physical exams dermatologists do.

These can catch early signs of diseases, including unseen killers like cancers, she said.

The dermatologist went on to reveal how her hospital's program received more than 600 applications for four residency slots this year.

'The quality of these applicants is scary,' she said, detailing how some take off a year after med school to focus on dermatologic research to gain an upper hand over their competitors.

Philadelphia dermatologist Dr. Jules Lipoff explained how the field often provides instant gratification thanks to diagnoses done with an observant eye over equipment.

Dr. Mary Alice Mina, a 44-year-old dermatologist out of Atlanta, specializes in treatments for skin cancer in addition to simpler cosmetic surgeries like neck lifts

Dr. Jane Grant-Kels, vice chair of dermatology at UConn Health, described how traditional doctors often do not conduct the sort of physical exams dermatologists do

Pediatricians take home a median $258,000 annually - less than half the $541,000 a year for dermatologists

'We can walk into a room and sometimes in seconds know whats wrong,' the 44-year-old told the Journal.

And, of course, there's the pay.

Physicians like pediatricians take home a median $258,000 annually, according to a recent poll from the Medical Group Management Association.

That's less than half the $541,000 a year for dermatologists.

Salary figures weren't the driving force for 33-year-old Houston dermatologist Dr. Oyeta Asewmpa, who said she was motivated by other factors.

'I wanted to make a difference,' she told the Journal.

'I don't care about the stats.'
Police are hunting for a blonde woman after a four-year-old boy was left fighting for his life following a horror 'hit-and-run' crash.

The child, who remains in hospital in a 'life-threatening condition' was struck by a BMW in the Lawrence Weston area of Bristol at around 1.51pm yesterday as the vehicle swerved off the road.

Two occupants in the car fled the scene before an 18-year-old man was then arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and driving while under the influence of drink or drugs.

But a blonde woman, described as white, who is understood to have been wearing a black puffer coat, blue jeans and light-coloured shoes remains missing.

Avon and Somerset Police are describing the incident as 'shocking' and say it has 'caused concern' in the area.

A spokesman for the force said: 'A four-year-old boy remains in hospital in a life-threatening condition.

'An 18-year-old man arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs remains in police custody.

'It follows a collision on Long Cross, near its junction with Kings Weston Road, shortly before 2pm.

Officers were called to the scene in Bristol today after receiving reports that a BMW car had left the road and 'collided with a child'. Here is another image which shows emergency services attending the scene in Long Cross

Pictured: A street view of the road in Long Cross, Bristol

Police are hunting for a man and a woman after a hit and run left a child in a critical condition in Bristol. Pictured: Emergency services at the scene of the collision

'We were called at 1.51pm following a report that a BMW car had left the road and collided with the boy.

'He was taken to hospital where he remains in a life-threatening condition. His family are being supported by specially trained officers.'

Neighbourhood Inspector Serena Serjeant added: 'This was a shocking collision and our thoughts remain with the young boy and his family at this time.

'Understandably, this incident has caused concern in the Lawrence Weston community and I'd like to assure everyone that a full and thorough investigation is already well underway.

'I would urge anyone who has any footage of the collision or any other information about it which could help, to contact us.'
Police have ruled out foul play in the mysterious death of a Walmart employee who was baked to death inside a walk-in oven.

The charred remains of Gursimran Kaur, 19, were found by her mother inside the walk-in oven of the Walmart she worked at in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on October 19.

'The police investigation determined the death is not suspicious and there is no evidence of foul play,' officials said in a statement on Monday.

Kaur and her mother had migrated from India to Canada three years ago and both worked at the Walmart.

The store has remained closed following the tragedy, and has thrown out the walk-in oven.

Friends of the mother and daughter have shared distressing details of Kaur's death and her mother's involvement in finding her remains.

Kaur's mother was searching through the store for her after she noticed she had been missing for over an hour when she made her way into the bakery section.

Gursimran Kaur, 19, tragically died in the Halifax superstore she worked at in Nova Scotia

Kaur and her mother began working at Walmart together two years ago, shortly after arriving from India seeking new opportunities

There, a colleague noted 'leakage' coming from the walk-in oven.

By the time emergency responders arrived at the scene, Kaur had died inside the appliance after her mother found her charred remains.

'Imagine the horror that her mother experienced - who herself opened the oven,' a spokesperson for the family said in a GoFundMe appeal.

'As you all know, her charred remains were found inside the walk-in oven in the bakery after a few hours.'

The GoFundMe has raised $190,000 to help bring Kaur's father from India to Canada.

Kaur's mother is reportedly 'traumatized' by the discovery.

She has been described as a 'watchful mother who breathes for her child's happiness.'

Kaur and her mother were well regarded members of the Sikh community in Nova Scotia.

While the exact brand of the oven involved in the incident has not yet been revealed, other Walmart stores around the United States are known to have ovens like the one pictured installed

'This family's sufferings are unimaginable and indescribable,' the Maritime Sikh Society Executive said.

The store was given an all-clear to reopen less than a month after the tragedy occurred.

As it prepares to open doors again, the Halifax store has confirmed that it will be removing its walk-in oven from the premises.

Amanda Moss, a Walmart spokesperson told the National Post: 'This is an extremely sad and difficult situation.

'Removing the oven had always been part of the standard remodel program we are implementing across the country.

'Now that the stop-work order has been lifted by the Department of Labor, the oven will be removed from this store and will no longer be used.'
Two of Britain's biggest trade unions have been pitted against each other after GMB Union members voted to take strike action against their bosses from Unite the Union.

A group of workers in Unite's National Bargaining and Disputes Support Unit (BDSU) are to stage a four-day walkout over 'bullying and victimisation' from management.

Their planned action, from 3 to 6 December, comes after Unite were accused of failing to investigate and take action following complaints.

Some bosses in the BDSU are alleged to have bullied staff and victimised those who spoke out.

GMB said it attempted to resolve the dispute but claimed Unite had been 'unwilling to address the members' concerns or take any meaningful action'.

Members working in Unite's BDSU who took part in a ballot this month voted by 83 per cent to support strike action, according to GMB.

But Unite branded the claims made by GMB as 'totally untrue' and said only five members had voted for strike action, meaning it was 'not a viable ballot'.

Both GMB and Unite are affiliated to the Labour Party and have made donations to individual Labour MPs or Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) this year.

Two of Britain's biggest trade unions have been pitted against each other after GMB Union members voted to take strike action against their bosses from Unite the Union

A group of workers in Unite's National Bargaining and Disputes Support Unit (BDSU) are to stage a four-day walkout over 'bullying and victimisation' from management

Danny Adilypour, GMB London regional organiser, said: 'GMB will always support our members in standing up to bullying within their workplaces and resist any attempts to victimise them for raising their legitimate concerns.

'Our members in Unite's BDSU proudly support other workers to take action against rogue employers.

'It is unacceptable that they have had to face bullying and victimisation from their own trade union employer and they are right to challenge this.

'They have been attempting to resolve their workplace concerns constructively with Unite since March, but have instead been rebuffed and victimised for raising legitimate industrial issues.

'It is deeply disappointing that there has been no effort from Unite to resolve this dispute.

He added: 'Our members have quite simply had enough and they have now voted to take strike action.

'This was entirely avoidable and is solely down to Unite senior management failing to enter meaningful discussions to resolve this dispute.'

A Unite spokesperson said: 'This statement is totally untrue.

'Unite has rightly suspended two GMB union members for serious allegations including the harassment of a woman member of staff.

'The GMB then balloted eight people in a department of 24 and five of the eight have voted for action. This is clearly not a viable ballot.'
President Joe Biden is attempting to give the World Bank billions of dollars before Donald Trump takes over and wields a machete to international development funds through his America First agenda.

Biden pledged $4 billion toward the World Bank's International Development Association for the 'world's poorest countries' during a closed door meeting at the G20 in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, according to Reuters.

More broadly, Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer told reporters Monday morning that Biden will 'highlight his funding request to unlock $36 billion in new lending at the World Bank' during his time at the summit.

The president is committing money where his mouth is ahead of Trump's January 20th takeover - funding areas like international development and the prevention of climate change.

But those promises aren't exactly Trump-proof.

A senior administration official clarified that the $4 billion Biden pledged was a 'future budget request,' though added that it's a 'fairly well supported initiative and the 'most effective and efficient tools we have to fight poverty.'

But the official also confirmed that none of that money would go out the door in the next two months.

'IDA has been strongly supported - it's a bipartisan tool,' the official insisted.

President Joe Biden is committing billions of dollars for the World Bank to use to pull people out of poverty but an official confirmed there's no way the gesture can be Trump-proofed

During his six-day trip to South America, President Joe Biden also committed $50 million to the Amazon Fund. He spent several hours Sunday touring the rainforest in Manaus, Brazil

On this six-day trip to South America, Biden also committed $50 million to the Amazon Fund, the most significant international cooperation to preserve the Amazon rainforest.

He made the announcement during his Sunday trip to Manaus, where he conducted an aerial tour of the Amazon and then walked the paths of the Museu da Amazonia with his daughter Ashley and granddaughter Natalie.

The president also taunted Trump during his brief remarks, suggesting that 'nobody can reverse' the Democrat's green legacy.

'It's no secret that I'm leaving office in January,' Biden said in a brief statement to the press, reading from teleprompters set up in the jungle setting. 'I will leave my successor and my country a strong foundation to build on if they choose to do so.'

Biden said that while some seek to 'deny or delay' the clean energy revolution 'nobody, nobody can reverse it.'

'Not when so many people, regardless of party or politics, are enjoying its benefits. Not when countries around the world are harnessing the clean energy revolution to pull ahead themselves,' the 81-year-old Democrat said.

'The question now is, which government will stand in the way and which will seize the enormous economic opportunity,' Biden added.

The election of Trump has led to a chilling effect over all the federal agencies - and places like the World Bank, where The New York Post reported that employees are terrified of deep cuts.

'They have been running around like headless chickens since Trump won,' one permanent World Bank staffer told The Post. 'It has sparked fear ... They will be desperately trying to show they are saving money.'

Trump announced last week that his billionaire sidekick Elon Musk, as well as former 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, would co-lead DOGE - the 'Department of Government Efficiency.'

Labeling it the 'Manhattan Project of our time,' Musk and Ramaswamy are expected to recommend all sorts of deep cuts to the federal bureaucracy.
March 2023

Edwards announcing the news of Her Majesty's death to the nation in September 2022

Huw Edwards signs new three-year deal with the BBC after praise for the way he led coverage of the Queen's death.

It came after he was seen at the offices of the BBC's biggest radio rival  Global  in August 2022. The News at Ten veteran admitted at the time he was 'thinking about my future'.

In June that year he would pick up the best live event honour at the Tric Awards for being among those to cover the state funeral of the late Queen, and in February he received the Broadcast Awards' special recognition award.

April 2023

Police were contacted but 'no criminality was identified'.

May 6, 2023

Edwards hosts coverage of King Charles' coronation as he lead the BBC broadcast of the historic event.

May 18, 2023

A family member of the young person, who was 17 at the time, made an in-person complaint about the behaviour of a BBC presenter.

May 19, 2023

A complainant contacted the BBC in a 29-minute call to the BBC's audience services team, and the details were referred to the Corporate Investigations Team.

The family member reportedly asked the broadcaster to stop sending their family member cash.

The Corporate Investigations Team decided the complaint didn't include an allegation of criminality, but merited more investigation.

The investigators email the complainant to get more information but they get no response.

June 6, 2023

After getting no reply to the email, the Corporate Investigations Team tries to call the complainant but the call does not connect.

However, the Sun reported later that the family said no one from the corporation phoned them for a proper interview after they complained.

The BBC said no more attempts to contact the family were made after this date, but that the case 'remained open'.

July 5, 2023

Edwards is seen on screen for what would be the last time before the scandal became public, when he covered King Charles' visit to Scotland

Huw Edwards is seen for the last time on the BBC as he covered King Charles' visit to Scotland.

July 6, 2023

The Sun informs BBC Press Office about allegations against the star presenter.

The BBC launches an 'incident management group' of top executives after becoming aware of new allegations 'of a different nature' against the presenter.

It is the first time Mr Davie or any executive directors were made aware of the case, according to the BBC.

A senior manager holds the first conversation with the presenter concerned.

It is agreed he should not appear on air while the allegations are investigated.

July 7, 2023

The Sun published its exclusive which alleged that a BBC presenter, unnamed at the time, paid a total of 35,000 for sexual content to someone beginning when they were 17.

But a lawyer acting on behalf of the young person told The Sun that evening there was 'no truth' to the claims.

The BBC said it would investigate and it made contact with the Metropolitan Police.

July 8, 2023

The complainant sends the BBC 'materials related to the complaint'.

There is a frenzy of speculation about the identity of the star. Gary Lineker, Jeremy Vine, Rylan Clark and Nicky Campbell all feel obliged to deny that they were the man in question.

July 9, 2023

A mocked up version of a reported Instagram message exchange between Edwards and a teenager

The BBC confirms that a male presenter has been suspended from all duties.

The Sun reports that the presenter allegedly made two phone calls to the young person and pleaded with them to call their mother to stop the investigation.

July 10, 2023

BBC representatives and Metropolitan Police detectives meet in the morning to discover if any crimes have been committed.

The young person claims through a lawyer that the allegations are 'rubbish'.

In response, the Sun said it had 'reported a story about two very concerned parents who made a complaint to the BBC about the behaviour of a presenter and the welfare of their child'.

The parents stood by their account to the Sun and the stepfather was quoted in a story saying the allegations were originally put the the BBC 'for an hour'.

July 11, 2023

Director-general Tim Davie sends an internal email to staff reiterating that the BBC is taking the allegations 'incredibly seriously'

Director-general of the BBC Tim Davie defends the delay in speaking to the BBC presenter.

But the BBC admits there were 'lessons to be learned' prompting a boss to assess the protocols.

In the afternoon, new claims emerged from the BBC that the presenter sent threatening messages to a second young person.

It is claimed they met on a dating app, before the conversation moved to other platforms where the presenter revealed his identity.

He then allegedly sent a number of 'threatening messages' to the youngster, which the BBC has seen.

The Sun reported the star is also accused of breaking lockdown rules to meet a 23-year-old stranger from a dating site.

July 12, 2023

Huw Edwards pictured with his wife Vicky Find in South London in 2018. She has since separated from the former broadcaster in the wake of his recent scandals

Huw Edwards is revealed as the BBC presented by his wife Vicky Flind.

She said he was 'suffering from serious mental health issues'.

The bombshell revelation came just moments after the police said they were 'taking no further action' in the case.

But BBC boss Mr Davie sent an email to staff informing them that an internal investigation would continue even though police were no longer involved.

The BBC reported fresh allegations from two current junior members of staff and one former member of staff who claim they were sent messages that made them uncomfortable.

July 12, 2023

Mr Davie asked for a second review of the BBC's complaints protocols after it was revealed the family were only contacted twice by the corporation - despite the seriousness of the allegations.

November 8, 2023

Edwards is arrested, but tells noone.

Later speaking to MailOnline, one shocked former colleague and friend said: 'Huw kept his arrest completely secret'.

They added: 'It turns out he was arrested four months later and nobody knew. I had no idea until he was charged.'

February 27, 2024

The BBC apologised to the young person's family, who'd complained about Edwards two months before he was suspended.

An independent report by Deloitte is published into the BBC's complaints handling procedure

The publicly-funded broadcaster acknowledged that there had been 'shortcomings' in the way it had dealt with the case as it reviewed its complaints procedures.

April, 2024

Edwards took sanctuary in his beloved Wales and was being comforted in Carmarthenshire by his mother Aerona.

April 22, 2024

Edwards resigns from the BBC.

Broadcasting executive Stewart Purvis CBE said there is 'relief across the BBC' that the 'extraordinarily damaging saga' has been resolved.

He added that Edwards having 'walked from the BBC' will be viewed as 'quite a successful outcome' for the corporation.

June 26, 2024

Edwards is charged with the possession of indecent images of children.

Interrupting coverage of Chancellor Rachel Reeves' statement in the House of Commons, the BBC announced the breaking news on July 29.

According to the charge sheet, he was accused of having six category A images, 12 category B pictures and 19 category C photographs on WhatsApp.

July 23, 2024

The BBC's annual report reveals Edwards was paid between 475,000 and 479,999 for the year 2023/24 for 160 presenting days, BBC One news specials, election specials and other television programming.

This salary marked an increase from 2022/23, when he was paid between 435,000 and 439,999 for 180 days presenting on BBC One, as well as news specials.

This was despite him being absent from screens from when the story first broke in July last year until his exit nine months later in April 2024.

But he stayed on the payroll while suspended, which is normal BBC policy, and was suffering from serious mental health issues and received in-patient hospital care.

The BBC confirmed at the time of his departure that he had not received a pay-off and was leaving 'on the basis of medical advice from his doctors'.

Director general Tim Davie defended the pay and the rise, confirming there was 'no settlement payment.' He also said he was not going to 'get into who's spoken to who' when asked if he had spoken to Edwards since his resignation.

July 31, 2024

Edwards remained silent as he left the court building surrounded by the press today

Edwards pleads guilty to making 41 indecent images of children - and faces jail.

The newscaster admitted he kept seven category 'A' images of the very worst kind on his phone after being sent them on WhatsApp by a paedophile.

The sick child porn images showed youngsters aged between seven and 14, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard.

He remained emotionless as he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, between December 2020 and August 2022.

His admission now leaves the former news star's glittering four-decade career in tatters.

September 16, 2024

Edwards is sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years.
China pivotal to MNCs' global biz strategy

10:58, November 18, 2024 By Zhong Nan ( China Daily

Visitors experience lens products from German optical systems company ZEISS Group at its booth during the seventh CIIE in Shanghai on Nov 9. (Photo/Xinhua)

Three or four decades ago, multinational corporations used to take a simple approach while conducting their businesses in China.

They would bring in products that had already succeeded internationally and instruct local factories to produce them for Chinese consumers.

This strategy, backed by the scale and profitability of the Chinese market, proved effective.

As a result, they could gradually expand their presence by establishing additional plants, branches and regional offices within China to maintain a competitive edge.

However, this model no longer fits today's complex business landscape.

A large number of global companies have leaned heavily on the China International Import Expo platform, held annually in Shanghai for seven years now, to showcase their latest products, solutions and services, as well as build connections with new clients in China as well as other countries.

Numerous products and technological solutions making their debuts at the CIIE were developed in their research and development centers in China, showing a clear trend in their investment focus within the country in recent years.

The seventh edition of the CIIE, which was held from Nov 5 to 10, covered an area of over 420,000 square meters and attracted 3,496 exhibitors from 129 countries and regions.

Up to 297 Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders were present at this year's expo, a record high, according to information released by the Ministry of Commerce.

A total of 186 companies and institutions, including French industrial conglomerate Schneider Electric, Swiss food and beverage giant Nestle SA and United States material-science group Dow Inc, have taken part in the CIIE during all seven years.

Highlighting that this grand event has established itself as a premier venue for global product debuts for seven years, Arnold Li, senior vice-president of Ingersoll Rand Inc, a US industrial goods manufacturer and seven-time participant at the CIIE, said the expo has become a key platform for Ingersoll Rand to launch new products.

The company, in fact, held the world premiere of its latest compressor during the expo.

"The Chinese market holds a pivotal position in our global business strategy. As the second-largest economy in the world, China offers immense potential and innovative capabilities, presenting us with numerous opportunities for growth," said Li.

"We firmly believe that the Chinese market is not only a key driver of our current business expansion, but also a core focus of our future strategic layout," he said.

Sectors including healthcare, biotechnology, new energy and automation will be the group's next growth points in China, he added.

Up to 450 new products, technologies and service items made their debuts at this year's CIIE, up from 442 in 2023, said the Ministry of Commerce.

Market watchers and foreign business leaders view this as a strong testament of global companies' confidence in the Chinese market and their commitment to further expansion in the country, despite a sluggish global economic recovery.

Amid the current headwinds to economic globalization, China remains steadfast in advancing reform and opening-up, optimizing the business environment, and continuously working to enhance market transparency, efficiency and market rules.

The government has introduced a series of policies to attract foreign investment, said Dereck Ji, managing partner for China at Belgium-based ADL Consulting.

For instance, the latest edition of China's national negative list for foreign investment, which took effect on Nov 1, has removed the last two manufacturing-related restrictions, further opening the sector to global investors, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

"As China's manufacturing sector undergoes transformation and upgrading, high-end manufacturing has become a key area for attracting foreign investment," Ji said.

Strategic industries in the manufacturing sector, such as electric vehicles, new materials, intelligent manufacturing, industrial robots, biomedicine and high-performance medical devices, aerospace and high-end equipment manufacturing, offer opportunities for foreign companies to achieve growth through technological cooperation and investment, he added.

Apart from showcasing the latest products and technology solutions at its 600-square-meter booth, Swedish technology group and seven-time CIIE participant Hexagon AB said it plans to deliver more tailored solutions for rapidly expanding sectors such as electric vehicles and commercial aviation to support China's rising demand for high-end manufacturing.

"Collaborating with local partners and startups has been a key part of this strategy, helping us to remain agile and address China's industry needs directly," said Josh Weiss, president of Hexagon's manufacturing intelligence division.

People walk past the booth of French industrial conglomerate Schneider Electric during the seventh CIIE in Shanghai on Nov 9. (Photo/Xinhua)

After establishing empowerment centers in Shanghai and Qingdao, Shandong province, as well as other regions within the country in recent years, the Stockholm-headquartered group is currently building its South China headquarters in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, at an investment of more than 200 million euros ($212.4 million). The facility will be operational by the end of next year.

This will create an "Industry 4.0"demonstration model, including a global "lighthouse factory" and the core resource ecosystem for the entire industrial chain. It will also offer solutions support for clients in Southeast Asia and other Asian countries, said Weiss.

Driven by its institutional opening-up, market size, robust infrastructure, growing innovation strength and talent pool, as well as its status as a "world factory", China's foreign direct investment, in actual use, reached $163.3 billion in 2023, an increase of 176 times compared to $920 million in 1983, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed.

Foreign executives at the CIIE often express "long-term confidence in China", grounded in the country's stable economic fundamentals and the consistent trajectory of steady growth in the world's second-largest economy, said Liu Tao, a researcher specializing in market economy studies at the State Council's Development Research Center.

Despite a high benchmark set in the previous year, China's economy posted a year-on-year growth rate of 4.8 percent in the first three quarters, surpassing that of many other major global economies, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

By Nov 10, companies had already signed up for over 100,000 square meters of exhibition area for the eighth CIIE to be held in November next year, said the CIIE Bureau, one of the expo's organizers.

Reflecting this enthusiasm, Treasury Wine Estates, Australia's largest winemaker by sales revenue and the parent company of Australian wine brand Penfolds, believes that the CIIE is a well-developed business platform for China to open up global cooperation and promote a shared prosperous market.

Penfolds' booth showcased wines from countries including Australia, the United States, France and China for the fifth time during the seventh CIIE in Shanghai.

"This is an exciting time for TWE and the Penfolds business, with China remaining a highly attractive long-term growth opportunity," said Tom King, managing director for Penfolds.

King said that re-establishing the group's Australian portfolio in China this year has seen a fairly positive response from consumers to date, reflecting the ongoing strength of Penfolds' brand in the market.

"We will invest further to support our growth ambitions in China, including expanding our local team and developing business on digital sales platforms, while continuing to strengthen our commitment to the Chinese market, its consumers and the local industry," he added.

To meet surging domestic demand for various agricultural products, the Basel, Switzerland-headquartered Syngenta Group signed import agreements with a number of companies such as Louis Dreyfus Company, the Netherlands-based processor and merchant of agricultural goods, and Jiusan Grain and Oil Industry Group Co Ltd in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, for a total contract value of $1.5 billion during the seventh CIIE.

The agreements cover key agricultural exporting countries, including Brazil and Argentina, with a wide range of products such as feed grains, coffee, edible oil and oilseeds.

"Future agriculture must not only sustain a growing population, but also actively and effectively protect the environment. Achieving an efficient and green transformation is only possible through accelerated innovation in agricultural technology," said Su Fu, president of Syngenta Group China.

As a company deeply rooted in China's agricultural sector, Syngenta will focus on the vast market and significant opportunities arising from China's push toward agricultural modernization, said Su.

The export and import value of foreign-invested companies reached 10.61 trillion yuan ($1.47 trillion) between January and October in China, marking a 1.3 percent year-on-year increase and comprising 29.5 percent of the nation's total foreign trade value, according to statistics released by the General Administration of Customs.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price rallies supporters outside the Alameda County Superior Courthouse in Oakland prior to Election Day. David Hernandez/The Chronicle

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price conceded Monday that she was unable to defeat a historic recall that targeted her reforms of the criminal justice system, and she said she will step down next month.

The voters have spoken, Price said during a news conference, and while the outcome is not what we hoped for, I respect their decision.

The most recent results, released Friday, showed 63% of voters supported the recall and 37% opposed it. It marked the first time voters ousted a district attorney in the countys history.

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Prices election two years ago, she said, was a huge step forward toward a better criminal legal system. Since taking office in January 2023, I fought to bring change to a broken system, she said at Fluid 510 lounge in downtown Oakland, flanked by 20 supporters.

Im heartened knowing that when I leave this office, I will do so immensely proud of the work that we have done to improve the office and move the needle of criminal justice reform, Price said.

She thanked supporters, including voters and campaign volunteers, as well as her staff.

Price is expected to remain in office until the election results are certified, no later than Dec. 5. Chief Assistant District Attorney Royl Roberts, whom she hired, will take over until the county Board of Supervisors appoints a successor.

Prices remarks marked the first time she addressed the results of the recall. On Thursday, in her first news conference after the Nov. 5 election, when she announced felony charges against deputies and medical staff in a 2021 in-custody jail death, Price declined to answer questions about the results.

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A former civil rights attorney, Price was elected in 2022 with 53% of the vote on a platform that aligned with a broader reform-minded criminal justice movement across the country: She promised to seek shorter sentences, promote rehabilitation and prosecute police misconduct. The countys first Black district attorney, Price said the reforms were necessary to address root causes of crime and racial bias in the criminal justice system.

Her critics said her approach was too lenient, fueled crime and prioritized reform over victims calls for justice and accountability. She faced scrutiny over several issues, including missed deadlines to file charges in about 1,000 misdemeanor cases. In a separate matter, an Alameda County Superior Court judge determined the office missed the deadline to charge two Alameda police officers with involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 death of a man they pinned to the ground in a park. As a result, the judge dismissed the charges against the officers. The case against a third officer remained intact.

In her 20-minute concession speech, Price touted her administrations efforts to boost services for crime victims, secure grants, expose prosecutorial misconduct under previous administrations and hold businesses accountable for fraud. She referenced a case in which a towing company was ordered to pay $500,000 in restitution for victims whose vehicles were towed illegally. She also touted charges her office filed in high-profile cases, including the fatal shooting of Oakland police officer Tuan Le and the fatal freeway shooting of toddler Jasper Wu.

Price urged the public to support the offices Public Accountability Unit, which prosecutes crimes against public officials.

Jean Moses, a member of the Oakland-based Interfaith Coalition for Justice in Our Jails, was one of three supporters who praised Prices work. Moses said it is important for Prices successor to carry on with cases Price filed, including the case against deputies and medical staff in the Santa Rita Jail death of Maurice Monk. The Sheriffs Office should never be considered above the law, Moses said.

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Price said she feels confident that the office will be in good hands with Roberts at the helm until county supervisors appoint a successor. She added that she will work to ensure a smooth transition.

The supervisors pick will serve until 2026, when voters will elect a replacement to serve the rest of the term, which ends in 2028.

Several former county prosecutors have expressed interest in the role. The list includes Chief Deputy Attorney General Venus Johnson, San Francisco Deputy District Attorney Amilcar Butch Ford, Alameda County Counsel L.D. Louis and Contra Costa County Assistant District Attorney Annie Esposito.

While this chapter has come to an end, I remain committed to making a more equitable and fair system of justice that does not discriminate based on factors such as race and wealth, Price said. She did not take questions from reporters.
Joe Biden unexpectedly took a hard right turn at the G20 summit Monday.

Walking the red carpet on the way to the final world leader gathering of his long political career, the 81-year old president suddenly veered to his right while entering his first G20 meeting in Rio.

He got off the main red carpet, which led to a ramp that other world leaders took at Monday's meetings.

Instead, he ascended using an alternate path, turning onto a perpendicular carpet along with his escort.

The moment happened as Biden got out of his presidential limo 'the Beast' and strode along the branded signage for the meeting of world leaders from the world's top economies.

It happened at a summit meeting where heightened security measures are on display. Naval vessels have been patrolling the picturesque coastline off Rio de Janeiro's famous Copacabana beach, and a clutch of uniformed soldiers bearing rifles are positioned outside the president's hotel.

'A number of leaders took the alternate red carpet path, as was planned,' an administration official told DailyMail.com, when asked about Biden's route.

'He bypassed a ramp to take him into the building. Other world leaders took the ramp,' Fox News reported, sharing a video clip that featured the odd visual.

President Joe Biden took a sudden turn when he arrived at the G20 summit in Rio

White House spokesman Andrew Bates pushed back at the posting and cited security reasons.

'As ***your video*** shows, @POTUS doesn't leave the red carpet. There are 2 routes. He & multiple other leaders took the 2nd for security reasons,' he wrote.

The leaders gathered inside Brazil's Museu de Arte Moderna to hash out issues ranging from global development to tense foreign policy disputes, in a group that includes not just allies but adversaries.

The moment came at a summit where Biden, 81, told leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov that it was his last G20 summit, and that the group had it in its power to 'usher in a new era of sustainable development.'

It came a day after he became the first sitting president to visit the Amazon Sunday. At that event, footage that showed him 'wandering off' into the wilderness blew up on line  but in reality the president returned on the same dirt path he came on after making remarks to the press.

During remarks that a group of reporters were not expecting to be able to hear in person, Biden also touched on foreign policy.

'The United States strongly supports Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Everyone around this table in my view should as well,' Biden said, on a day his deputy national security advisor blasted the Kremlin for saying it was 'fueling the fire' for reportedly authorizing Ukraine to use long-range missiles provided by the U.S. inside Russian territory.

He also said, 'Israel has a right to defend itself after the worse massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. But how it defends itself...matters a great deal.'

He began walking down a wide red carper

Right turn: Biden suddenly turned onto a narrower red carpet. A White House spokesman cited an unidentified security reason at the heavily fortified summit

Biden is attending the final summit of his long career, chatting with French President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders

Ties that bind: Biden (R) and Portugal's Prime Minister Luis Montenegro (L) compare their ties during the first day of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro

'We're going to keep pushing to accelerate a cease-fire deal that ensures Israel's security and brings hostages home and ends the suffering of the Palestinian people and children.'

That remark comes as President-elect Donald Trump is assembling a staunchly pro-Israel cabinet, even after winning key endorsements from Muslim leaders in his successful campaign to win Michigan.

The summit comes at an awkward time, in the midst of a presidential transition.

But Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer told DailyMail.com on the trip that Trump's contacts with foreign leaders were 'not unusual,' but wouldn't say whether the White House is keeping tabs on the interactions either with foreign governments or with the Trump transition.

I guess Id say its not unusual for an incoming administration or an incoming president to engage with people who will be his counterparts, and beyond that I dont have much to say about it, Finer said. He didnt respond to a question about whether the White House knows how many such calls Trump has held.
Laken Riley's accused killer was given a taxpayer-funded plane ticket to Georgia, where he brutally murdered the college student, jurors at the illegal immigrant's murder trial heard Monday.

Jose Ibarra's roommate took the stand in his murder trial on Monday and said she and the Venezuelan migrant moved together from New York City to Athens in September, 2023.

Rosbeli Elisber Flores-Bello told the court she met Ibarra in Queens and within a month decided to move to Georgia with him.

'[Ibarra] told me there was work possibilities in Athens,' Flores-Bello testified.

'His brother [Diego Ibarra] was always calling him saying there was work in Athens, so we came here.'

When asked how they obtained the plane tickets, Flores-Bello said they were provided by NYC officials.

'In Manhattan, at The Roosevelt Hotel, we asked for a humanitarian flight to Atlanta, on the 9th or 10th of October, 2023,' she testified.

As previously reported by DailyMail.com, New York City officials have offered plane tickets to migrants who ask for them in order to mitigate the migrant crisis in the Big Apple.

Laken Riley's alleged killer was given a taxpayer-funded plane ticket by NYC officials to fly to Georgia, where he brutally murdered the college student, a court has heard

Riley's body was found less than an hour after she was reported missing, near a lake on the University of Georgia campus. She'd been a student there until 2023, when she transferred to Augusta

Flores-Bello said that a friend of Ibarra's brother picked them up at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and took them to the Athens apartment where Ibarra was eventually arrested.

Ibarra's other brother, Argenis, secured the apartment for the group, she added.

Ibarra, 26, was arrested four months later for the killing of 22-year-old Riley.

He denies murdering Riley on February 22 as she went for a run near her home at the University of Georgia.

Flores-Bello said she informed Ibarra of Riley's murder the day after her body was found and that he showed no reaction.

Also on Monday police officer Rafael Sayan told the court that Ibarra and his brothers were laughing when officials arrived at their door to ask about the murder.

'There was a lot of laughing, giggling  especially when they were talking about how they were woken up, pulled out of the apartment,' Sayan said.

'I would say the vibe or the atmosphere was very relaxed and calm.'

NYC officials have offered plane tickets to migrants who ask for them in order to mitigate the migrant crisis in the city

Riley's parents Allyson and John Phillips (center and right) were filled with emotion as the trial kicked off on Friday

The picture was taken on CCTV cameras near her home on the University of Georgia campus at 9.05am on the day of her death. She was holding her iPhone in her left hand, wearing all black activewear and her noise-canceling AirPods

On Friday prosecutors said Ibarra's DNA was a direct match to the DNA under Riley's fingernails, and was '10 billion times more probable than a coincidental match.'

During the trial's first day, officials also showed images of suspicious scratches on Ibarra's body at the time of his arrest.

The first scratch officers noted was a four centimeter cut on his lower forearm.

Separately, there was a darker scratch behind his ear at the back of his neck, near his hairline. Another marking was noted down the middle of his back.

Prosecutors had earlier said Riley 'fought for her life' and had forensic evidence which linked to Ibarra on her body at the time of her death.

'She marked her killer for the entire world to see. It is his DNA. Only his DNA, underneath Laken's right fingernails,' Georgia special prosecutor Sheila Ross said.

'He left behind his thumbprint on her iPhone, which was found near her body at the crime scene.'

Ibarra sat motionless as Ross flashed the last known photograph of 22-year-old Riley across the screen, taken just minutes before her death.

The illegal immigrant accused of murdering nursing student Laken Riley had several suspicious scratches on his body at the time of his arrest, his criminal trial heard

Scratches of varying lengths were identified by officers, pictured and submitted as evidence in the case against him

The picture was taken on CCTV cameras near her home on the University of Georgia campus at 9.05am on the day of her death.

She was holding her iPhone in her left hand, wearing activewear and her noise-canceling AirPods.

Ibarra, from Venezuela, arrived in the United States from via El Paso, Texas, illegally in 2022 but was paroled for 'further processing.' His arrest in this case sparked renewed debate about the border crisis and illegal migration.

Prosecutor Sheila Ross used security and doorbell camera video, as well as data from Rileys watch and phone, to establish a timeline of the students final moments.

Ross said during her opening statement that Ibarra encountered Riley while she was running on the UG campus and killed her during a struggle.

Riley was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing, which also has a campus in Athens, about 70 miles east of Atlanta.

Defense attorney Dustin Kirby said in his opening that Rileys death was a tragedy and called the evidence in the case graphic and disturbing. But he said there is not sufficient evidence to prove that his client killed Riley.

Rileys parents, roommates and other friends and family packed the courtroom on Friday and again on Monday.
A gold mining company has been forced to pay Mali 126million over a reported tax dispute, ten days after its British CEO was detained.

Resolute Mining said it would pay 126million ($160 million) to Mali's ruling junta to resolve a tax dispute, after the company's British CEO Terence Holohan and two other employees were detained in the capital city of Bamako on November 8.

The three travelled to Bamako for what they thought were routine negotiations with the junta. Instead, they were 'unexpectedly detained' for questioning.

The Mali government did not say why they were detained.

Andrew Wray, the company's non-executive chairman, said in a statement that all claims against the company made by Malian authorities, 'including those related to tax, customs levies, maintenance and management of offshore accounts' are settled.

Resolute Mining said it would pay 126million ($160 million) to Mali's ruling junta to resolve a tax dispute, after the company's British CEO Terence Holohan (pictured) and two other employees were detained in the capital city of Bamako on November 8

Resolute mining has been working for years at Mali's Syama gold mine (pictured), a large-scale operation in the country's southwest

The company will pay Mali 63million ($80million) from 'existing cash reserves,' with an additional payment of 63million ($80million) in the 'coming months,' he added.

Resolute said Holohan and two employees were 'safe and well,' and that it was working with Mali's authorities for their release.

It was not immediately clear when Holohan and his two unnamed colleagues might be released.

Resolute, which is an Australian company, has been working for years at Mali's Syama gold mine, a large-scale operation in the country's southwest.

It holds an 80 per cent stake in mine, while the Malian government holds the remaining 20 per cent.

The arrest is the latest controversy in Mali's foreign-dominated and crucial mining sector, increasingly scrutinized by the military authorities.

It was the second time in recent months that employees of a foreign mining firm were detained after four employees of Canadian company Barrick Gold were held for several days in September.

Barrick Gold said it had reached an agreement with the state and in October paid 64million (50 billion CFA Francs).

Mali is one of Africa's leading gold producers, but has struggled for many years with jihadi violence and high levels of poverty and hunger (file image of junta Lt. Col. Assimi Goita, centre, who was named as Mali's interim president in 2021)

Mali is one of Africa's leading gold producers, but has struggled for many years with jihadi violence and high levels of poverty and hunger.

The country is embroiled in a political, security and economic crisis, and since 2012 has been battling Al-Qaeda and Islamic State armed groups, as well as a separatist insurgency in the north.

The military seized power in 2020 and since then the junta has placed foreign mining companies under growing pressure as it seeks to shore up the government's revenues.

Gold contributes a quarter of the national budget and three-quarters of export earnings.

The 126million ($160million) payment is a significant hurdle for Resolute, which according to financial statements currently holds 124million ($157million) in cash.

The Australian company also owns a gold production site in Mako in neighbouring Senegal, and has other exploration operations in Mali, Senegal and Guinea.

After the 2021 coup, Mali broke off relations with former colonial ruler France, which had been helping to fight jihadist insurgents in the north, and turned to Russia for political and military assistance.
A Canadian family has been left distraught after buying fake Taylor Swift tickets which cost them $15,600 USD.

Ottawa mom Mel Keogh purchased 28 tickets for a group of Swiftie family members who had been excited to experience the Toronto Eras Tour show on November 23.

She used an independent ticket broker, which she did not name but said she had used before, that turned out to be a scam.

'To break it to the girls that we weren't going - was horrendous,' Keogh told CTV News Ottawa while fighting back tears.

Keogh said her family, including her super-fan daughter Jordan, 15, were devastated by the news after spending weeks making bracelets and choosing outfits.

'(It's) all we've been talking about for over a year,' Mel told CTV News.

'They were absolutely ecstatic. My daughter, I can speak to her specifically, knows every Taylor Swift song, every word, every album, every era, everything.'

Keogh said she booked the tickets in August thinking they were the real deal.

A Canadian family has been left distraught after buying fake Taylor Swift tickets which cost them $15,600 USD

Taylor Swift's final Toronto Eras Tour show is on November 23, and the tour ends December 8

Her group of 28 teamed up with four neighbors, spending $788 CAD on each ticket, or $561.89 in USD.

Keogh's family made a total loss of $22,000 CAD ($15, 687 USD), while her neighbors lost around $3,000 CAD ($2,139 USD).

They planned out a magical evening for Swift's last Toronto show, including booking limousines and hotels for the once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Mel's sister-in-law Patricia Keogh said she had used the independent ticket broker before for several concerts and sporting events.

She said everything seemed legitimate during the buying process - as they received confirmation codes and seat numbers by email and she felt they had done their research.

'It's gone, it's all gone,' Patricia Keogh told CTV News.

'(It is) really upsetting that we let our family down,' she added. 'How could we have not seen this? How did we get duped? We're smart people.'

The Eras Tour has sold out through the original vendor, Ticketmaster, and resale tickets cost a whopping $3,000 to $5,000 CAD.

Ottawa mom Mel Keogh purchased 28 tickets for a group of Swiftie family members who had been excited to experience the Toronto Eras Tour show on November 23

Keogh said her family, including her super-fan daughter Jordan, 15, were devastated by the news after spending weeks making bracelets and choosing outfits

Mel Keogh said her family can't afford the resale but she hopes there's 'still a way to get them to the concert'.

'I still hope,' she said.

The family has filed a police report and contacted lawyers in the hopes of recouping the costs.

The highest-grossing tour of all time, the Eras Tour began in Glendale, Arizona, on March 17, 2023, and after 149 shows, it will close on December 8 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
23andMe customers are terrified their personal data will be sold or used in ways they never anticipated if the company goes bankrupt.

The popular at-home genetic testing company has suffered major financial blows recently, leading its stock to fall by 98 percent, and customers to grow worried about what might happen to their personal information.

Although 23andMe 'does not sell, lease or rent your Genetic Information without receiving explicit consent,' the information is not secured the same way healthcare records are.

The company has even specified on its website that it can share customers' data to a third party if it becomes 'involved in a bankruptcy, merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets.'

'Information may be accessed, sold or transferred as part of that transaction and this Privacy Statement will apply to your Personal Information as transferred to the new entity,' the company detailed on its privacy policy webpage.

Because of mounting financial pressure, the DNA testing company might be more inclined to sell people's data, according to Dr. James Langabeer, a professor of emergency medicine and biomedical informatics at the University of Texas Health Science Center.

'When a company is struggling financially and needs to make payroll, the temptation to sell data for short-term profit becomes much stronger,' Langabeer told Click 2 Houston.

He warned that 23andMe 'might take shortcuts', with customers' history in order for it to possibly make 'short-term money.'

23andMe customers are worried their personal data could be sold if the popular at-home DNA testing company goes bankrupt

A Houston resident, Sandy Zimmer, who purchased a testing kit a few years back to learn more about her family's health, is now worrying if her information will be revealed.

'Both my parents passed away from cancer. So, you want to see the likelihood of having something like that crop up.

'But that was back in the day when everyone smoked,' Zimmer said.

'The more you think about it, the more concerning it becomes.'

Despite using the company to track down more about her and her family's health, Zimmer said: 'Im just not happy with the idea of my DNA being sold.'

Langabeer fears that life insurance companies might make decisions based off the potentially leaked data, leading them to justify their choices on premiums, or even deny coverage altogether.

'People might get turned down for life insurance because the insurer knows more about you than you knew about yourself,' he said.

Another expert, Valerie Gutmann-Koch, a law professor at the University of Houston Law Center, has warned that it's not just 23andMe customers that could be affected by the impending breach, but people with family members who have turned to the genetic testing company.

Because of mounting financial pressure, the DNA testing company might be more inclined to sell people's data, according to Dr. James Langabeer, a professor of emergency medicine and biomedical informatics at the University of Texas Health Science Center. (Pictured: 23andMe headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA)

'Genetic information is unique in the sense that even if you didnt test, if a family member did this test, that can help.

'That can tie their traits to your traits, its ways to learn about these individuals. Even if you didnt do the test,' Gutmann-Koch revealed.

The professor warned that even if insurance companies don't use the data to make decisions about an individual, it could be used to 'discriminate against communities and groups.'

'Also, you know, theres always the concern that even though this information is de-identified, science is moving really quickly, it is getting easier and easier to re-identify information,' she added.

With the possibility of a data breach looming over customer's heads, the company does give them the option to go into their account settings and delete their data.

Once a customer requests that, it takes 30 days for 23andMe to adhere to their wishes.

Unfortunately, if customer data was already shared with a third-party, the information might not be recoverable.

Gutmann-Koch referred to the company as 'the adults in the room' for at least trying to make an effort to conceal people's personal data.

Meanwhile, Langabeer has urged customers to take action now to protect their information, including their social security numbers and bank accounts.

'Just be cautious that things that were giving up loosely today at some point, if stored, can be reprocessed and reanalyzed later in the future,' he said.

'And believe me when I say every health care provider, the major hospitals, insurance companies, they know this.'

In response to the concerns, the company emphasized that its main focus is on their customers.

'We believe customers own their personal information and should be in the drivers seat throughout their genetic journey -- this means providing transparency and choice all along the way so they can decide if they want to share their data, and if so how that data is shared,' a 23andMe spokesperson told the outlet.

Anne Wojcicki, the CEO and Co-Founder of 23andMe agreed with the statement, and added that the company is also focusing on 'growing our subscription business by adding more value and driving greater engagement.'

'We will continue to prioritize driving recurring revenue through our subscription business, in addition to growing our research partnership business as we look to the future,' Wojcicki added.

In September, the DNA testing company had to pay out $30 million to customers affected by a mega data breach last year.

In September, the DNA testing company had to pay out $30 million to customers affected by a mega data breach last year

23andMe was accused of failing to properly protect users' privacy when 6.9 million customers' accounts were hacked, leaving their information to be sold on the dark web.

The suit said 23andMe also failed to tell its customers that hackers specifically targeted certain ethnic groups before selling their data.

People with Chinese and Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry were singled out in the attack that happened last year.

In a court filing, 23andMe called the settlement fair, adequate and reasonable.

Citing its 'extremely uncertain financial condition,' the company also asked the judge to halt arbitrations by tens of thousands of class members, until the settlement is approved or they decide not to participate.

In a statement, 23andMe said it believes the settlement is in its customers' best interest.
A huge load of potentially explosive contaminated Russian fertiliser has been dumped in the sea about off the coast of Norfolk, a council leader has revealed.

The undisclosed quantity of ammonium nitrate was part of a 20,000-tonne load of the fertiliser on board a damaged ship dubbed a floating time bomb.

The MV Ruby arrived in Great Yarmouth on October 28 after being turned away from ports in Norway and Lithuania because its load was considered too dangerous.

Her operators had hoped to offload the cargo to another vessel alongside to allow the MV Ruby to then be repaired after sustaining damage at sea.

But council chiefs claim the operation hit a snag when some of the fertiliser was found to be contaminated, potentially making it more risky to handle.

Ship tracker records show the MV Ruby left the towns outer harbour just after 10am on Saturday and sailed out just beyond the 12-mile limit for international waters.

She then spent more than 30 hours circling around as her cargo was apparently dumped into the North Sea before being allowed back into port on Monday.

Ammonium nitrate is highly soluble in seawater and can cause eutrophication, where the accelerated growth of algae causes oxygen depletion which harms aquatic life.

MV Ruby at Great Yarmouth port last month. The cargo ship appeared to dump a huge load of potentially explosive contaminated Russian fertiliser in the sea

A screenshot from the Marine Tracker website showing MV Ruby leaving Great Yarmouth port and apparently dumping some of its cargo in the North Sea before returning

A close up of the diagram shows the vessel remaining in the same area at sea, where it is thought to have offloaded the dangerous cargo

Ammonia is also harmful to fish as it damages nervous system, while nitrates in fish's blood streams make it harder for them to absorb oxygen.

Graham Plant, the deputy leader of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said today: 'My limited understanding is that some of the cargo was found to be contaminated and somebody thought it was a good idea to dispose of it at sea.

'Personally, I didnt want the ship here in the first place, and I am annoyed it has come back. I represent the community of Great Yarmouth, and I believe some explanation is needed.

'There were assurances given that the cargo was 100 per cent safe when it arrived, but it really needs to be 110 per cent safe. We were told they had all the expertise to offload it, and then this happens.'

Mr Plant added in a joint statement with Norfolk County Council leader Kay Mason Billig: 'We are extremely concerned that the Secretary of States representative has agreed that this ship can return to Great Yarmouth.

'That is unacceptable. It should never have come in the first place, due to the potential risk of a major explosion that could have affected residents and businesses across Great Yarmouth.

'On behalf of the people of Yarmouth, we urge the Government to halt the return of the MV Ruby.'

The ship was carrying seven times more ammonium nitrate than the 2,750 tonnes of the fertiliser which exploded in the Port of Beirut in Lebanon in 2020, killing 218 people.

The blast - one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history - is said to have happened because the fertiliser was not properly stored.

But the operators of Great Yarmouth port had insisted last month that the ship had been berthed in the town under 'the strictest safety conditions'.

A spokesman for Peel Ports, which operates the outer harbour at Great Yarmouth, refused to confirm or deny if ammonium nitrate had been dumped at sea from the ship, saying they could not comment on anything that did not happen in the port.

The firm said in a statement: 'The MV Ruby left port briefly for operational reasons but has since returned and the transhipment of cargo to another vessel is ongoing.'

Richard Goffin, the Port Director at the Port of Great Yarmouth, added: 'We have performed our duty as a port to help a vessel in distress, and its crew, by providing a safe haven.

'Everything we have done has been in accordance with guidance and direction received from the Secretary of States representatives and the Health and Safety Executive, as well as discussions with many other public agencies, including Norfolk County Council.'

The Maltese-registered MV Ruby left the Russian port of Kandalaksha with its cargo in late August but ran aground and damaged its propellor, rudder and hull.

The ship, which was reportedly heading to Africa, called at the Norwegian port of Tromso for repairs in early September but was forced to leave after media speculation over risks posed by her cargo.

Residents of Tromso had become increasingly concerned as the ship was anchored near a university campus, a hospital, and hundreds of homes.

The MV Ruby was also turned away from a repair yard in Lithuania, and ultimately wound up waiting at anchor in the English Channel.

It finally headed to the outer harbour at Great Yarmouth after being given permission to dock there in a move welcomed by the towns new Reform MP Rupert Lowe.

A second ship is due to take the remaining cargo to its final destination while the MV Ruby is repaired in a dry dock elsewhere.

MV Ruby (pictured) was carrying seven times more ammonium nitrate than the 2,750 tonnes of the fertiliser that exploded in Beirut, Lebanon in

Locals in Great Yarmouth have spoken of their fears about the ship after a 550lb Second World War bomb was detonated in the town in February last year.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes after the unexploded German bomb was unearthed during building work for a new bridge.

The bomb dramatically blew up three days later during an attempt to disarm it, creating a giant blast which shook homes and was heard up to ten miles away.

A spokesman for Serenity Ship Management, which manages MV Ruby, said it had reached an agreement with Peel Ports Group to accept the ship in Great Yarmouth 'to complete a transhipment of the vessels cargo of ammonium nitrate'.

The firm added: 'The vessels cargo poses no risk to the surrounding area in its present state.'

Sir Roger Gale, the MP for Herne Bay and Sandwich, said that the cargo was safe following his meeting with Shipping Minister Mike Kane last month.

Peel Ports had earlier said it was 'accommodating the vessel in a suitable berth under the strictest of safety measures'.

It added last month: 'The Port of Great Yarmouth has the capability to handle hazardous materials and the discharge and transhipment of such materials and cargo is common practice across our port group.

'Our team is well-versed in implementing rigorous safety protocols and we strictly adhere to all UK safety regulations and international maritime standards.'
A Washington restaurant closed its doors after fans claimed they spotted a 'worm' in a meal purchased by food critic Keith Lee.

FOB Sushi Bar confirmed its locations in Seattle and Bellevue, Washington were closed 'until further notice' in an Instagram post.

The restaurant announced its closure less than eight hours after Lee posted a video responding to fans who said they saw something moving in his food.

Lee revealed he decided to make the video after he found out a FOB Sushi Bar customer was hospitalized.

He explained the reasons why he did not agree with FOB Sushi Bar's November 16 statement about the matter.

'For the restaurant to post a statement indicating that me holding a sushi or me holding the chopsticks a certain way is why the sushi moved, I personally don't agree with it,' Lee said.

'I just personally will wish they they would come out and they would be more accountable about it.'

Lee confirmed he was in good health after eating the meal but couldn't confirm or deny that a 'worm' was in his food.

FOB Sushi Bar closed its Seattle and Bellevue, Washington, restaurants after TikTok users claimed a 'worm' was in a meal

Viral food critic Keith Lee reviewed the restaurant's food less than two weeks before the sushi bar closed its restaurants

The social media mayhem began after TikTok users watched Lee's November 10 review.

Lee stopped by FOB Sushi Bar's Seattle, Washington, location and claimed its sushi was done in the 'most unique way' he'd ever seen.

'What makes it so unique is the ordering process. All of the sushi is sold by the pound and it's buffet style,' Lee said.

Lee then raved about Hamachi with salt and pepper - the food item in question.

The critic gave the Hamachi an 8.5 out of 10 and admitted he'd go back to the restaurant just for that type of sushi.

'You couldn't pay me to eat sushi for the reason we all here for,' a TikToker wrote after the worm video went viral.

Once TikTokers began to notice the alleged slithery creature, the restaurant was quick to respond.

Lee visited the FOB Sushi Bar in Seattle, Washington, and highly praised its Hamachi - the menu item featuring the alleged worm

The restaurant explained its gratitude for Lee stopping by one of its locations and how it upholds requirements from the FDA's Fish and Fisheries Products Hazards & Controls Guidance, Third Edition.

'Regarding the video, the movement observed in the fish may result from natural elasticity or the pressure of chopsticks when applied to its structure,' FOB Sushi Bar wrote.

'We want to assure our customers that this is not indicative of worms or any health concerns.'

The business also posted a form confirming the food of one of its suppliers, Young Ocean, Inc, was processed under Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP).

FOB Sushi Bar noted that the health and safety of customers are the restaurants' 'highest priorities.'

The restaurant also confirmed it would be conducting an investigation to address the situation and 'take all necessary measures to prevent it from happening again.'

'To our community, we are deeply grateful for your years of support and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused,' the restaurant wrote.

'We remain dedicated to providing you with the highest quality sushi.'

Lee was not happy with the restaurant's original statement, and believed they should've been 'more accountable'

Worms can be dangerous for foodies who ingest one while eating sushi.

Infections caused by the worm can cause eaters to experience symptoms like diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, resulting in hospitalization in sever cases.

Worm reports in sushi are rare in the US, with less than 10 cases diagnosed every year.
The heir to an eye-watering 230 million fortune had confided in his psychiatrist that he attempted to break into Buckingham Palace just one month prior to carrying out a brutal killing.

Dylan Thomas, 24, is the grandson of pie tycoon Sir Stanley Thomas, and had tried to scale the 14-foot perimeter fence of Buckingham Palace after he wondered 'what the consequences would be'.

Eventually being hauled down by armed police, the 24-year-old was released on bail before going on to gruesomely kill housemate William Bush in a fit of rage.

Appearing virtually before Cardiff Crown Court today, Mr Thomas denied the charge of murder, but has already admitted to a lesser charge of mansluaghter.

At the hearing, Mr Thomas' therapist, Dr Panchu Xavier, took to the stand to provide evidence of the 24-year-old's mental state at the time of William Bush's death.

Dr Xavier, who is a consultant forensic psychologist working at the Ashworth Hospital in Liverpool, told the court how his patient explained the attempted Palace break-in.

'In Dylan's mind he was trying to understand some of the energy fields of the connection between Buckingham Palace and Cleopatra's Needle', Dr Xavier stated.

'He could not or would not act appropriately when asked to get down. He didn't understand the significance, and looking back he said it was a silly thing to do'.

Dylan Thomas, 24, confided in his therapist Dr Panchu Xavier how he attempted to break into Buckingham Palace just a month before killing his housemate

The court has also heard how William Bush, 23, (pictured) had previously barricaded himself into his room as he slept after Thomas allegedly talked of killing him only two months before the fatal assault

Dylan Thomas attempted to scale the 14-foot tall perimeter fence which surrounds Buckingham Palace before being hauled down by armed police

Cardiff Crown Court also heard how from Dr Xavier how in his opinion, Mr Thomas was exhibiting multiple signs of psychosis in the lead up to the killing of William Bush.

Discussing his attempted scaling of the Buckingham Palace fence, Dr Xavier told the court how Mr Thomas believed that officers on the scene were able to see his thoughts, which in his view was a psychotic symptom.

The psychiatrist was then asked if he believed the theory that Mr Thomas had killed Mr Bush due to his moving out of their shared accommodation to live with his girlfriend.

In response, Dr Xavier stated: 'That's not my view. Dylan has not mentioned that being relevant to having done what he has done'.

The court was then told of further psychotic tendencies displayed by Mr Thomas, including his attempts to sue retail giant Primark after hearing a 'loud high pitched squeaking' from a store's escalators.

Dr Xavier then told the court that it was not uncommon for people with psychosis to arm themselves if they somehow believe they will be harmed.

'Mr Thomas believed in some way that he was going to be harmed, that is his account', Dr Xavier said.

In addition to this, the psychiatrist revealed that Mr Thomas was worried about cocaine being planted on him during his arrest over the killing of Bush.

'Mr Thomas has been through a lot of stressful situations and that can precipitate some of the symptoms described', Dr Xavier added.

Mr Bush suffered 21 wounds to the neck after Thomas (pictured) allegedly attacked him with two knives, severing his jugular vein

Mr Bush was about to move out of the shared house where he lived with Thomas into a home with his girlfriend Ella Jeffries

Dylan Thomas is the grandson of pie tycoon Sir Stanley Thomas (pictured) and the heir to an estimated fortune of 230 million

Having been released on bail following his attempts to break into the home of the Royal Family, Mr Thomas returned to Cardiff where he lived with friend William.

The pair had met as schoolboys at 13,000-a-term Christ College in Brecon where they were both students.

Mr Bush had been described as popular amongst friends during their school years, whereas Mr Thomas was 'regarded as something of a loner'.

Cardiff Crown Court was told that Mr Bush had been Mr Thomas' only friend but that he had planned to leave their shared house in the New Year to move in with his girlfriend.

Then, on Christmas Eve last year, Mr Thomas brutally stabbed Mr Bush 39 times in the neck and trunk resulting in fatal injuries for Mr Bush.

The court also heard that Mr Thomas had carried out an internet search on the anatomy of the human neck prior to the vicious attack on Mr Bush.

Having spent the night at his Grandmother's for a family dinner on December 23, Mr Thomas had her drive him back to his shared residence in the Llandaff area of Cardiff.

It was hear that he attacked Matthew from behind with a large kitchen knife and a black flick knife.

The court had previously heard how Mr Bush had been sleeping in the house with his door barricaded in the lead up to the stabbing after Mr Thomas had confessed to him that he had thought about killing him.

Dylan Thomas appeared before Cardiff Crown Court (pictured) today virtually. He has denied a charge of murder but already pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter

Emergency services at the scene of the stabbing near to Llandaff Cathedral, Cardiff

Flowers left outside of the newly-built house in Cardiff where Dylan Thomas allegedly murdered his friend William Bush

Mr Bush initially escaped Mr Thomas, but the bloodied 23-year-old collapsed on the patio outside the pair's home in front of shocked Christmas shoppers in the busy Cardiff suburb.

Witnesses frantically dialed 999 when they saw Mr Bush's horrific injuries, but Mr Thomas had already called emergency services for his own injuries.

Police arrived on the scene and performed CPR on Mr Bush, with Mr Thomas allegedly telling the startled officers: 'He's dead, I have f****** disarmed him. I killed him. He came at me and I stabbed him. He attacked me. It was self-defence'.

Paramedics then rushed Mr Bush to the nearby University Hospital of Wales, but he was declared dead a short time after arrival at 12.10pm.

A post-mortem examination carried out by Dr Richard Jones at the same hospital recorded cause of death as multiple stab wounds to the neck and trunk.

Mr Thomas was then arrested in the back of a police van on suspicion of murder, a charge which he denies.

The 24-year-old has though admitted to a lesser charge of manslaughter, with the two-week trial set to continue tomorrow.
Prince Andrew nearly took a nasty tumble after his horse was spooked during his ride through Windsor estate on Monday morning.

Dramatic images capture the moment the Duke of York's picturesque ride took a turn for the worst when his black mare begun showing signs of distress.

The feisty animal threw its head in the air and thrashed around, appearing to catch the prince by surprise and knock him off balance, leaving him clinging to the reins.

After a nerve-racking few minutes spent grappling with the mare the King's brother - who is a skilled horseman - was able to calm the frightened animal by leaning back and stabilising himself.

The Prince - who wore a black riding helmet and khaki rain-proof jacket - was then able to continue on his way.

Prince Andrew has been keeping a low profile since his infamous Newsnight interview in 2019 and has only been seen in public a handful of times.

Andrew was pilloried for his TV performance because of a lack of contrition for his friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his failure to express sympathy for the dozens of women Epstein trafficked and abused over three decades.

Prince Andrew nearly took a nasty tumble after his horse was spooked on his ride through Windsor estate on Monday morning

Dramatic images capture the moment the Duke of York's picturesque ride took a turn for the worst when his black mare became distressed

The feisty animal threw its head in the air and thrashed around appearing to catch the prince by surprise and knock him off balance, leaving him clinging to the reins

The bombshell interview saw Emily Maitlis grill the Duke on the sex allegations made against him by Virginia Giuffre.

His alibis for not having sex with Virginia three times, including being in Woking's Pizza Express, have also been widely ridiculed by the public.

The 63-year-old is no longer a working royal, despite pictures of him at a Balmoral church service last year indicating the Windsors were welcoming him back into the fold.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline at the time that the photographs of Prince Andrew travelling to church with the Waleses were 'clearly intended to send a message of family unity'.

But he insisted it was not a sign Andrew could return to public duties in any form.

It has been a dramatic fall from grace for a man, who, as a Royal Navy veteran of 22 years once commanded the respect of a nation.

He has since given up his HRH titles and had his honorary military roles stripped by the Queen, being denied the right to wear his military uniform on a number of occasions, including as he followed his mother's coffin.

Andrew quit his role as a trade envoy when pictures emerged of him walking in New York's Central Park with American financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2010.

After a nerve-racking few minutes spent grappling with the mare the King's brother - who is a skilled horseman - was able to calm the frightened horse by leaning back and stabilising himself

The Prince - who wore a black riding helmet and khaki rain-proof jacket - was then able to continue on his way

Images also surfaced of the Prince with his arm around Virginia Giuffre, who claimed that Epstein employed her as a masseuse but exploited her.

Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing and settle the case Ms Giuffre brought against him without admitting liability.

The Queen 'sacked' Prince Andrew from royal duties on November 19 after discussing the crisis with Prince Charles and summoning her distraught 'favourite son' to Buckingham Palace to learn his fate.

The Queen took decisive action against her second son in a desperate bid to contain the fall-out from the duke's Newsnight interview about his years of friendship with the paedophile.

Prince Charles, who was in New Zealand with Camilla, is said to have stepped in and made it clear his younger brother be stripped of all royal duties.

Andrew lost his 249,000 annual income from the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant as a result.

Andrew signalled he would speak to FBI detectives investigating billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein as he readied himself for a subpoena from US lawyers demanding he gave evidence under oath - something which did not ultimately happen.
Laken Riley's alleged killer Jose Ibarra has been identified as a member of the brutal Tren de Aragua gang.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed to NewsNation's Ali Bradley that the 26-year-old undocumented migrant from Venezuela is a member of the criminal group.

Ibarro was suspected of being part of the gang but his official membership was not confirmed until now.

The suspected killer pleaded not guilty to the February murder of the 22-year-old nursing student and his trial started on Friday. He waived his right to a jury trial and a judge will decide his fate.

On Monday, the court saw images of Ibarro's brother and roommate, Diego Ibarra, who has a tattoo of a five-point crown of his neck, a symbol of association with the TDA.

TDA became a national story after shocking footage showed apparent members taking over an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. The gang started in Venezuela's prison and has spread through the western hemisphere as the oil-rich nation goes through the worst migrant crisis in the world.

Also on Monday, Ibarra's other roommate Rosbeli Elisber Flores-Bello told the court that she moved to Georgia because Diego Ibarra had told the alleged killer there were jobs opportunities in Athens.

Flores-Bello said she met Ibarra in Queens, New York, and within a month decided to move to Georgia with him.

Laken Riley's alleged killer Jose Ibarra, 26, is a documented member of the gang Tren de Aragua, according to the Department of Homeland Security

Riley's body was found less than an hour after she was reported missing, near a lake on the University of Georgia campus

'[Ibarra] told me there was work possibilities in Athens,' Flores-Bello testified.

'His brother [Diego Ibarra] was always calling him saying there was work in Athens, so we came here.'

Diego Ibarra and a third brother, Argenis Ibarra, pleaded guilty in July to having fake green cards.

When asked how they obtained the plane tickets, Flores-Bello said they were provided by NYC officials.

'In Manhattan, at The Roosevelt Hotel, we asked for a humanitarian flight to Atlanta, on the 9th or 10th of October, 2023,' she testified.

Ibarra was arrested four months later for the killing.

He denies murdering Riley on February 22 as she went for a run near her home at the University of Georgia.

Flores-Bello said she informed Ibarra of Riley's murder the day after her body was found and that he showed no reaction.

The court was shown pictures of Ibarra's brother Diego Ibarra on Monday. He is also a member of the Tren de Aragua

Diego Ibarra has a tattoo of a five-point crown of his neck, a symbol of association with the TDA

Also on Monday police officer Rafael Sayan told the court that Ibarra and his brothers were laughing when officials arrived at their door to ask about the murder.

'There was a lot of laughing, giggling  especially when they were talking about how they were woken up, pulled out of the apartment,' Sayan said.

'I would say the vibe or the atmosphere was very relaxed and calm.'

On Friday prosecutors said Ibarra's DNA was a direct match to the DNA under Riley's fingernails, and was '10 billion times more probable than a coincidental match.'

During the trial's first day, officials also showed images of suspicious scratches on Ibarra's body at the time of his arrest.

The first scratch officers noted was a four centimeter cut on his lower forearm.

Separately, there was a darker scratch behind his ear at the back of his neck, near his hairline. Another marking was noted down the middle of his back.

Prosecutors had earlier said Riley 'fought for her life' and had forensic evidence which linked to Ibarra on her body at the time of her death.

The picture was taken on CCTV cameras near her home on the University of Georgia campus at 9.05am on the day of her death. She was holding her iPhone in her left hand, wearing all black activewear and her noise-canceling AirPods

'She marked her killer for the entire world to see. It is his DNA. Only his DNA, underneath Laken's right fingernails,' Georgia special prosecutor Sheila Ross said.

'He left behind his thumbprint on her iPhone, which was found near her body at the crime scene.'

Ibarra sat motionless as Ross flashed the last known photograph of Riley across the screen, taken just minutes before her death.

The picture was taken on CCTV cameras near her home on the University of Georgia campus at 9.05am on the day of her death.

She was holding her iPhone in her left hand, wearing activewear and her noise-canceling AirPods.

Ibarra, from Venezuela, arrived in the United States from via El Paso, Texas in 2022 illegally but was paroled for 'further processing.' His arrest in this case sparked renewed debate about the border crisis and illegal migration.

Prosecutor Sheila Ross used security and doorbell camera video, as well as data from Rileys watch and phone, to establish a timeline of the students final moments.

Riley's parents Allyson and John Phillips (center and right) were filled with emotion as the trial kicked off on Friday

Ibarra, from Venezuela, arrived in the United States from via El Paso, Texas, illegally in 2022 but was paroled for 'further processing

Ross said during her opening statement that Ibarra encountered Riley while she was running on the UG campus and killed her during a struggle.

Riley was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing, which also has a campus in Athens, about 70 miles east of Atlanta.

Defense attorney Dustin Kirby said in his opening that Rileys death was a tragedy and called the evidence in the case graphic and disturbing. But he said there is not sufficient evidence to prove that his client killed Riley.

Rileys parents, roommates and other friends and family packed the courtroom on Friday and again on Monday.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trumps pick for defense secretary, paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017 but maintains that their encounter in Monterey hotel was consensual, according to news reports. Brett Carlsen/Getty Images 2021

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trumps pick for defense secretary, paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017 as part of a nondisclosure agreement, but he maintained that their encounter at a Monterey hotel was consensual, according to news reports.

Hegseth, a political commentator for Fox News since 2014, agreed to pay an undisclosed amount because he had feared his weekend hosting job with the network would end if the allegations were revealed publicly, his attorney, Timothy Parlatore, said Saturday in a statement to the Washington Post and ABC News. The nondisclosure agreement and payment came after the woman threatened to sue Hegseth, Parlatore said.

Contacted Sunday, the attorney directed the Chronicle to his statement to the Post and other news outlets.

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Trump stood by Hegseth last week after revelations of the allegations.

President Trump is nominating high-caliber and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his Administration, said Steven Cheung, Trumps communications director. Mr. Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed. We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get started on Day One to Make America Safe and Great Again.

Parlatores statement about the nondisclosure agreement came after a woman who said she is a friend of the accuser sent a detailed memo to Trumps transition team that alleged Hegseth raped the accuser, a then-30-year-old conservative group staffer, in his room after drinking at a hotel bar, according to the Post.

The staffer told police the sexual assault occurred at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa between almost midnight on Oct. 7, 2017, and 7 a.m. the next day, the city confirmed last week. The hotel hosted a California Federation of Republican Women conference, where Hegseth spoke to attendees that weekend. The report, filed Oct. 12, 2017, did not result in criminal charges against Hegseth.

The memo sent to Trumps team said the staffer, identified as Jane Doe, was at the conference with the organization and stayed at the hotel with her young children and her husband, according to the Post. One of the womans responsibilities was to make sure Hegseth made it back to his hotel room, the memo said.

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Pete Hegseth, an Iraq War veteran who by then had joined Fox News, heads to a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York in December 2016, a month after Trumps first presidential victory. Evan Vucci/Associated Press 2016

The staffer was summoned to the hotel bar by two other women, who texted that Hegseth was getting pushy about his interest in taking them upstairs to his room, according to the memo. After the women left, the staffer didnt remember anything until she was in Hegseths hotel room, but she had a hazy memory of being raped, the memo said.

A rape-kit examination she underwent at an emergency room was positive for semen, the memo said. The report in the Post did not say whether it was determined whose semen it was.

The womans friend said in the memo that she believed no charges were brought because the woman could not recall all the details, and the incident became a he said, she said situation, according to the Post.

Parlatores statement said the woman went with Hegseth to his room. He was intoxicated; she was not, Parlatore said. His statement described her as the aggressor in initiating sexual activity. The medical examination of the woman produced no evidence that the sexual contact was nonconsensual, Parlatore added.

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The family of a woman whose body was found in a car boot in east London have appealed for justice and shared their heartbreak over her killing.

The older sister of 'murdered' Harshita Brella, 24, took to social media and declared in a moving post: Please help for justice with my sister.

Devastated Sonia Dabas shared on Instagram: Our world has been turned upside down.

'Harshita Brella just 24 years old was found murdered in the boot of a car in East London. Her husband Pankaj Lamba is the main suspect.

He has now fled the country and an international manhunt is underway. Were calling on the UK and Indian governments to act swiftly to capture him. Harshita deserves justice.

'Her voice must be heard. Please help us seek #JusticeForHarshitaBrella. Please help to find the suspect.

In another, Sonia posted a media report of Harshitas killing alongside her picture and that of her husband Pankaj Lamba, who police say is a suspect in the crime. She wrote: Miss u bhaan (sister) #justice #uk #harshitabrella #ministry #indiangovt.

Another post read Please help for justice for my sister, followed by a crying face emoji.

Tragic final videos show 'very happy' Harshita Brella, 24, on her wedding day just months before her body was found in a car boot in Ilford

Ms Brella with her sister in a video during ornate ceremonies solemnising her marriage to Pankaj Lamba

Sonia and Tarun live in north India, where Harshita also lived for most of her life before marrying Pankaj in March and moving to the UK.

Police have set up a murder probe and launched an international manhunt after Harshita from Corby in Northamptonshire was discovered in the back of a vehicle in Ilford, east London.

Tragic final videos showed 'very happy' bride Harshita Brella on her wedding day eight months before her body was found in a car boot in Ilford, east London.

The 24-year-old was found dead in the early hours of Thursday, with police launching an international manhunt for her husband, Pankaj Lamba, 23, who they believe has fled the country.

The video, taken when she tied the knot with Lamba at a Hindu ceremony in northern India, shows them performing traditional rituals seated on the floor, surrounded by family and friends.

With her head covered in a red veil, Ms Brella is seated to the left of Lamba, who is wearing a white turban and traditional white tunic with a garland of flowers around his neck.

Alongside them is an elderly male relative, believed to be Ms Brella's father, who is performing a ritual known as kanyadaan - the giving away of the bride.

Ms Brella, from Corby, is thought to have been killed earlier this month before being stuffed inside a car boot.

Northamptonshire Police have named her husband Pankaj Lamba, 23, as a suspect

It comes after neighbours revealed they heard banging and shouting coming from the couple's Northamptonshire home days before her death.

Ms Brellas weeping mother, Sudesh Kumari, also opened up about her daughter's killing.

The heartbroken woman cried I just want justice for my daughter as it emerged the victim tried to run away from her husband before the murder.

Ms Brella last spoke to her family on November 10 when she told them she had made dinner for her husband and was waiting for him to come home.

Sonia Dabas said her sisters phone was off for the next two days and by Wednesday they thought something was wrong and asked people they knew to file a police complaint.

Speaking to the BBC from their home in Delhi, the family revealed Ms Brella was initially very excited to move to the UK in April after an arranged marriage with Pankaj Lamba.

The pair had a legal wedding in August 2023 before a traditional Indian ceremony on March 22 this year and they left for the UK around April 30.

Once in the UK, Ms Brella started working in a warehouse while her new husband was a student in London.

Harshita and Lamba tied the knot in March

A neighbour today revealed that a woman 'sounded scared' during a row just days before Harshita Brella was found dead

But Ms Dabas said her sister didnt live a very happy life in London.

She struggled a lot because of her husband, she said.

But at the end of August, she phoned her father to say she had run away from the couples home.

Ms Dabas recalled: [Harshita] said he was hitting her and she escaped.

'She ran out on the streets, he chased after her.

Police Chief Inspector Paul Cash said on Sunday: 'Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba.

'We suspect Lamba transported Harshita's body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car. We believe he has now fled the country.'

In other videos seen by MailOnline, Ms Brella, wearing an elaborate wedding lehenga - an ankle length skirt worn by brides in India - is filmed looking nervous while decked out in stunning jewellery, bright red bangles and with her head covered.

She holds her chest as she pants for breath, while a caption reads: 'That nervousness after becoming bride.'

Another video shows her being blessed by her older sister after the ceremony. The caption reads: 'Your sister is not less than a mother.'

The footage, accompanied by a variety of traditional songs in Hindi, captures the elaborate ceremonies the couple underwent to solemnise their marriage, spanning several days.

In one, Ms Brella dances with her young nephew, who claps playfully as he looks up at her.

Another shows her being hugged by an elderly man believed to be her father as she prepares to enter a car and leave the wedding venue after her marriage.

A caption reads: 'Toughest moment for a daughter or papa.'

A spokesperson for the company that did her wedding make-up told MailOnline: '[Ms Brella] came to our studio for the make-up ahead of her wedding, which some brides choose to do.

Harshita Brella was reported missing on November 13 by the authorities after Northamptonshire Police conducted a welfare check at her home in Corby and got no answer

Forensic officers at Harshita Brella's home in Corby, Northamptonshire

'She was like any young bride, filled with a mixture of nervousness and excitement, and you can see that in the videos that were posted. But she did say that she was looking forward to the future.

'She paid around 30,000 Rupees (300) and was very happy with our work but after that we had no contact with her. It's been very shocking to hear that she's been killed in the UK because I know she was happy about starting a new life there with her husband.'

Neighbours have revealed they heard a woman sounding 'scared' during a row days before the body of Harshita Brella was discovered 90 miles away from her home.

Kelly Philip, 41, who lived near Ms Brella, said she overheard an argument between a man and a woman on Wednesday.

She told the Mirror: 'They were arguing in a different language so I couldn't understand what was being said.

'But it sounded angry and there were raised voices and the woman sounded scared.

'I heard a commotion between a man and a woman and I heard banging around. I didn't call police. I just thought it was a relationship argument.'

She described feeling 'vulnerable' and 'on edge' after learning about the fate of her neighbour, adding: 'I feel so sad about the loss of the lass. I can't get over it - I can't believe it.'

Ms Philip said she had also overheard two men arguing in a foreign language early on Saturday, shortly after she heard a back gate slam shut.

The murder probe comes after the alarm was raised last Wednesday when police received a call raising concerns over Ms Brella's welfare.

Officers were sent to her home address, but received no answer at the door.

A missing person investigation was launched and, after enquiries were fast-tracked, her body was found 95.7 miles away from the shared house she lived in.

Detectives have appealed for anyone with information to get in touch as soon as possible.

Harshita's body was found 94 miles from her home in Northamptonshire

Forensic officers at 24-year-old Harshita Brella's Corby property today after the discovery of her body in the back of a car almost 100 miles away in Ilford, east London

Police cordoned off the scene where Harshita Brella's body was then found in the back of a vehicle in Ilford, east London - almost 100 miles away from her Northamptonshire home

More than 60 detectives are working on the case, police said.

Police confirmed Ms Brella was previously the victim of domestic violence and in early September was made subject of a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO), served by Northamptonshire Police.

The 28-day DVPO banned the perpetrator of the violence from visiting Ms Brella's workplace, while they were also prevented from molesting her, threatening violence, or intimidating, harassing or pestering her, and also told not to encourage or instruct others to contact her in any way.

No formal charges against the same person have since been recorded by the court and they were released following the court hearing but ordered to pay the full costs, according to reports.

Forensic officers in protective wear were seen visiting Ms Brella's home while uniformed police guarded the property.

Mr Cash said of the victim: 'On behalf of Northamptonshire Police, I would like to express my deepest and heartfelt condolences to Harshita's family and friends, and to everyone who knew and loved her.

Officers at murder victim Harshita Brella's home in Corby on Sunday morning

Police were pictured at her cordoned-off property in Corby, Northamptonshire, on Sunday

As officers guarded Harshita Brella's home in Corby, Northamptonshire, police said extra patrols would be put on in the area to help reassure residents

'Harshita was a young woman in her early 20s, with her whole life ahead of her and everything to live for, and it is absolutely tragic that her life has been cut short in this way.'

One resident in Ilford told MailOnline: 'They seemed to be focusing on a car. It's horrific. It's quite an unsafe area.

'That poor woman must have gone through hell. It's deeply shocking. She must have gone through so much pain.'

They continued: 'Officers swarmed all over the street and were here for hours. It looked incredibly serious.

'There was screaming on the street earlier in the week. It's rough around here so I didn't bat an eyelid. There's always drug dealing and attacks and all sorts.'

A forensic postmortem examination, which took place at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday, confirmed that Harshita had been murdered.

A neighbour at Harshita's home in Corby told the Northampton Chronicle that the house the young woman lived in had been used as an HMO (house in multiple occupation), and at one point last year had 12 people living in it.

The number of occupants has since reduced and the neighbour said she believed that the house had Bulgarian, Moldovan and Portuguese residents.

Forensic officers visiting Harshita Brella's Corby home on Sunday morning

Brisbane Road in Ilford, east London. A forensic postmortem examination, which took place at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday, confirmed that Harshita had been murdered

A murder investigation is ongoing after the 24-year-old's body was found in a car boot near the entrance of Valentines Park in Ilford, East London

Map showing the location that Harshita's body was discovered on Brisbane Road

Map showing the location of Harshita Brella's home on Skegness Walk in Corby

The property had been largely peaceful since some noise complaints were resolved last year, the neighbour added.

But she said that earlier this week she heard a commotion, adding: 'The way that gate slammed I knew something had happened. Someone took off quickly.

'I had heard banging coming from the house and then they obviously just legged it. The police have been here about four days.'

Northamptonshire Police have also referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct due to previous contact they had with the victim.

The force said officers were satisfied there was no wider risk to the public as a result of this incident, but said extra patrols will be taking place in Corby in the coming days 'for reassurance purposes'.

Anyone with any concerns is welcome to approach one of these officers who will be happy to help, Northamptonshire Police added.
Sir Keir Starmer is under fire after revealing ministers took over decision-making for China's new 'super embassy' in London after Xi Jinping raised it with him.

The PM told the Chinese President, as they met at the G20 summit in Brazil today, how Labour recently 'called in' China's application for a huge diplomatic HQ.

'You raised the Chinese embassy building in London when we spoke on the telephone,' Sir Keir told Mr Xi during their meeting in Rio de Janeiro.

'And we have since taken action by calling in that application. Now we have to follow the legal process and timeline.'

In response to Sir Keir's words to Mr Xi, which were recorded as broadcasters were being ushered out of the room in Rio, top Tory MP Robert Jenrick branded the PM 'weak'.

The shadow justice secretary said: 'Starmer openly admits Labour intervened in the application to build the new Chinese embassy (massive spy hub) after Xi Jinping pressured him. Weak. Weak. Weak.'

Luke de Pulford, of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said the PM was 'nakedly admitting that the Government called in the Chinese mega embassy application under pressure from Xi Jinping'.

Starmer openly admits Labour intervened in the application to build the new Chinese Embassy (massive spy hub) after Xi Jinping pressured him.



Weak. Weak. Weak. https://t.co/KX38RZYldP  Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) November 18, 2024

The PM told the Chinese President, as they met at the G20 summit in Brazil today, how Labour recently 'called in' China's application for a huge diplomatic HQ

An artist's illustration of the proposed frontage of the Chinese embassy in Tower Hamlets, east London

China wants to create a huge diplomatic headquarters on an historic site near the City of London

China bought the former home of the Royal Mint, near the Tower of London, for 255million in 2018.

It purchased the historic site with the aim of moving its embassy eastwards across London from its current Marylebone location.

But China's plans for a 'super embassy' were left in disarray after its proposed redevelopment of Royal Mint Court was rejected by Tower Hamlets Council in 2022.

It had been thought Beijing had subsequently scrapped the plans but - following Labour's general election victory in July - it was revealed how it resubmitted a planning application in August without making any major changes to the scheme.

In October, the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government confirmed Deputy PM Angela Rayner, who heads the department, had 'called in' the scheme.

A Government spokesman said the application 'raised planning issues of more than local importance'.

An inspector is due to hold a public inquiry into the project before ministers make a final decision.

Locals in Tower Hamlets had campaigned against China's embassy plans due to the historic nature of the former Royal Mint site.

They expressed fears the site would be turned into 'a fortress' - with increased surveillance by cameras leading to a loss of privacy for those living nearby - and suggested it could become a terror target.

Campaigners and local politicians also protested against the scheme due to China's repression of the Muslim Uighur people in Xinjiang.

It was recently reported that China is blocking requests to rebuild the British embassy in Beijing while the fate of the Royal Mint Court site is being decided.

A statement on the Chinese's embassy website in August said: 'Six years ago, the Chinese government purchased the Royal Mint Court, London, for the use as the new Chinese embassy premises.

'The UK Government had given its consent to this. Now we are in the process of applying for planning permission.

'Host countries have the international obligation to support and facilitate the building of the premises of diplomatic missions.

'Both China and the UK have the need to build a new embassy in each other's capital, and the two sides should provide facilitation to each other.'

In their first official telephone call on 23 August, Sir Keir told the Chinese President he hopes they can have 'open, frank and honest' talks about areas of disagreement.

The call was the first between the Chinese premier and a British PM since Mr Xi spoke to Boris Johnson in March 2022.

A Downing Street account of the phone call made no specific mention of China's embassy plans.
The parents of a Scots teenager who took his own life after becoming a victim of sextortion have accused social media companies of having blood on their hands.

Murray Dowey, from Dunblane, Perthshire, died in December last year just hours after he was blackmailed by criminals in West Africa who had tricked him into sending intimate images of himself.

Now, his parents, Mark and Ros Dowey, have publicly condemned social media companies for failing to protect young people from sextortion, a form of online blackmail.

Mr Dowey told the BBC: He went up to his room and was absolutely fine. And you know we found him dead the next morning.

Social media companies could do so much more, and the reason they dont do so much more is money.

They make big headlines about caring and trying to stop, but they need to put their money where their mouth is.

Sextortion is an online-based crime that typically involves criminals threatening to share nude or semi-nude photographs of their victim if the money isnt paid or if the victim fails to comply with some other harmful demand.

The image being used as a threat may be a real photo taken by the victim but could also be a fake image that the criminal has created with the intent of blackmail.

Mark and Ros Dowey said their world has been shattered since losing their son to suicide in December 2023

The critical statements made by Mr and Ms Dowey come amid the launch of a new campaign across Scotland that aims to raise awareness of sextortion and help educate young people on how to avoid falling victim to the crime.

The Fearless Scotland initiative, funded and supported by the Scottish Government and Police Scotland, has been developed and run by Fearless, the youth service of the charity Crimestoppers, and aims to target Scots of all genders aged between 13 and 21.

Both Mark and Ros Dowey said that they were hopeful that the campaign will educate young people about the dangers of sextortion and how to deal with and communicate their fears.

Andy Burrows, chief executive of Molly Rose Foundation, which was set-up by the family of Molly Russell, who took her own life aged 14 in November 2017 after viewing harmful online content, has also criticised tech companies response towards sextortion as piecemeal and insufficient.

Mr Burrows added: It is disappointing that Ofcoms proposed approach to tackling illegal harms under the Online Safety Act will do little to stop this horrific crime, with even platforms known for this abuse claiming they already comply.

It is estimated that up to 1,200 Scottish children - some as young as 10 years old - have been the victims of online threats and extortion, with analysis by the UKs National Crime Agency finding that a large proportion of victims are boys aged between 14 and 18.

Mark and Ros Dowey have been critical of social media companies for failing to provide adequate safeguards against sextortion

Incidents of threats and extortion in Scotland have also risen every year from just 290 in 2019/20 to a record 2,080 by July of this year, according to figures based on cyber crime data.

Steve Johnson, Assistant Chief Constable of Police Scotland, warned that it is likely that sextortion is still an under-reported offence, with many victims failing to come forward due to feelings of shame, guilt and even fear that they may have committed a crime themselves by taking and sharing an explicit image.

Mr Johnson said that Police Scotland are working to undertake more research into Scottish rates of the insidious, despicable crime to help better understand the national scale of the issue. He has also called for a greater move towards a collaborative effort for change with tech companies.

Speaking about the importance of the campaign, Siobhan Brown, MSP and Scottish Minister for Victims and Community Safety, said: I am pleased that the Scottish Government is jointly funding this important Fearless campaign with Police Scotland which will highlight the growing incidence of sextortion involving our young people.

Sextortion has a devastating impact on young people and their families.

I want to reassure young people that this is never your fault, please never panic or pay, but instead get help by speaking with a trusted adult or support service, and report sextortion to the police.

Joanne Smith, interim Assistant Director for NSPCC Scotland, said: It is heartbreaking to hear what Mark and Ros Dowey have suffered because of this devastating crime, which resulted in their son Murray taking his own life.. They have shown incredible courage by speaking out about Murrays tragic experience in a bid to help others.

Every day our Childline counsellors speak to children who have been sexually abused and exploited online. Children who contact the service who are victims of sextortion are often extremely distressed and dont see a way out of the situation. They can feel too scared or ashamed about whats happened to make a report.

It is important that children know what has happened is never their fault, and wed encourage any young person to speak to a trusted adult so they can get help and support. The Internet Watch Foundation and Childline work together to remove such material from the internet.

It is crucial that online platforms do more to protect children and prevent them from being targeted, abused and exploited on their sites. The NSPCC continues to call for strong implementation of the Online Safety Act by Ofcom to ensure that tech companies design services with their young users safety in mind and actively identify dangerous behaviour.

For support, call Samaritans on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org
Like the Japanese soldier who stayed in the jungle for decades  refusing to be believe World War Two was over  the SNP is in a state of denial.

It refuses to accept that independence is dead in the water and keeps churning out mindless papers on how the break-up of Britain would work.

The problem is that its not the party producing these studies but the civil service - meaning the hard-pressed taxpayer is forking out for them.

Its the biggest fantasy epic since The Lord of the Rings - or the White Paper ahead of the 2014 referendum - except even Tolkien wouldnt have dreamt up anything quite so barmy.

Forget the moribund economy, failing schools and endless NHS waiting lists, the real priority for mandarins and their flunkeys is to draw up a strategy for a world that doesnt exist.

As the Scottish Mail on Sunday has disclosed, the full scale of spending on the separatist obsession has been uncovered after a two-and-a-half-year battle with the SNP Government.

Not surprisingly, given the Nationalists secret state, the SNP tried to withhold the information but finally had to buckle and publish files laying bare the vast amount of resources channelled into its doomed independence mission.

There are reams of memos and briefings on tearing Scotland out of the UK  almost as if the majority of voters hadnt decisively rejected the proposition 10 years ago.

The SNP continues to obsess about independence whilst public services go to rack and ruin

Even some of the unfortunate souls tasked with pumping out this bilge warned the exercise had gone too far.

The Building A New Scotland series of papers was initially set to cover 31 separate topics, but some civil servants appear to have believed this was too many.

So far, 13 papers have been published on issues including defence and migration, with 216,000 spent on them.

The grandly named Elections and Freedom of Information Division was asked to set out how to hold another referendum.

Salaries for the Orwellian-sounding Constitutional Futures Division, focused on separation, total 1.34million this year.

As of May 16, it had 19 civil servants working for it, with the best-paid, a deputy director, earning up to 117,800 a year.

Theres a touch of black comedy in the revelation that Ken Thomson, the former senior civil servant who told ministers to delete WhatsApp messages during the Covid pandemic, was appointed to further the cause of independence.

He boasted that plausible deniability are my middle names and warned officials to delete phone chats.

First Minister John Swinney has played a huge role in the Scottish Government since the SNP came to power in 2007

Mr Thomson - who retired last year - is a former Scottish Government director general for strategy and external affairs, which carries a salary of up to 134,999.

Back in 2022, he was accused of boasting that breaking up the UK was his job, which was dismissed by official spokesmen at the time as an informal comment  but now we know he was telling the truth.

Is anyone really buying into the tripe that civil servants are being handsomely paid to write up?

One of the many tedious ruminations on independence cost an average of 10.85 for every download.

It was about the marine sector and 14,057 was spent on it - but it was only downloaded 1,295 times.

Dont forget that the SNP Governments Supreme Court defeat on the power to hold an independence referendum also cost the public purse 251,729.

None of this is remotely defensible, particularly in these straitened times of financial black holes, cutbacks - and the possibility of yet more tax hikes.

In November last year, the Nationalists released a document that set out plans for a surge in immigration in an independent Scotland.

The points-based system proposed migrants would get extra credit that would help them move here if they learn Gaelic first  a strange condition in a country whether there are no monoglot Gaelic speakers.

But ministers admitted the paper did not set out a comprehensive immigration plan as it was only designed to give a sense of direction.

Well, the sense of direction is obvious  were on a path to economic ruin thanks to a clueless administration you wouldnt trust to run a tea round, while our political masters are wasting time and money on legislating for a parallel universe.

The last paper in the Building a New Scotland series back in April focused on justice, including a plan to decriminalise drugs for personal use as part of moves to cut drug-related deaths  which remain at the highest level in Europe.

A catastrophic General Election result for the Nationalists in July might have put ministers off publishing any more of these documents.

Yet the SNP Government has said it will continue to do so, claiming that it has a clear mandate to help people make an informed choice about their future.

Now the Greens are putting pressure on John Swinney to stay focused on independence in return for their approval of the Scottish Budget next month.

The Nationalists old allies were thrown out of government by Humza Yousaf  an act which led to his own downfall.

This meant the supposed pro-independence majority at Holyrood was no more - but Patrick Harvie and his Marxist gang are still trying to pull the strings.

The Scottish Greens finance spokesman Ross Greer warned his party would find it impossible to support the SNP if it reduced the already modest sum it spends on trying to break up the UK.

It seems odd that the SNP should need any encouragement to step up its efforts to bring the Union to an end, but Mr Swinney is on a tightrope.

Banging on about independence may be risky in the run-up to the Holyrood election in 2026, as its proving a turn-off for so many Scots who would prefer that he and his colleagues got on with the more mundane business of governing the country.

But he might well need the back-up of the Greens to get the Budget through, while Stephen Flynn - the SNP group leader in the Commons  is plainly on manoeuvres and has his eye on the leadership.

Red meat for the partys hardcore must be provided, which means yet more money will have to be earmarked for the vital work of the propagandists.

Devolution has been hijacked by the separatists and the result is nearly 20 years of decline, failure and botched reform.

Its time for the UK Government to draw a line in the sand and send a clear signal that the SNP cant be allowed to get away with more of this insanity.

Whether Sir Keir Starmer has the courage to step in is a different question - but the case for him to do so is inarguable.

The ruthless politicisation of the civil service is an egregious abuse of power by a party which has taken us all for fools  but may be about to pay a high price for dragging our democracy through the mire.
An autistic child who went missing from a Florida park has been found dead after an extensive search.

Waylon Childs, four, was reported missing on Sunday just before noon from Central Park in Ormond Beach. By the end of the day, it was revealed he had drowned.

His father was at the park with him and his two other children - all under the age of five - when Waylon was last seen, according to the Ormond Beach Police Department.

The child was non-verbal, his grandparents told News 6. His father said he only looked away for a moment and then Waylon was suddenly gone.

The Ormond Beach Police Department, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Department of Law Enforcement, Volusia Sheriffs Office and other local police departments conducted a 'thorough and exhaustive search.'

The Volusia County Dive Team recovered Waylon's body at about 9pm on the same day from the park's pond near Flemming Avenue, which is close to where he disappeared.

Ormond Beach Police Chief Jesse Godfrey said in a statement: 'This is a heartbreaking tragedy, and our hearts are with Waylons family during this unimaginable loss.

'We would like to thank the community and all the agencies involved for their support and efforts during this search. The Ormond Beach Police Department remains committed to standing with the family and our community in the days ahead.'

Waylon Childs, 4, was reported missing Sunday morning before he was found dead later in the day

The Volusia County Dive Team recovered the four-year-old's body after an extensive search

Waylon drowned in a Central Park pond in Ormond Beach, Florida. He was at the park with his father and siblings

A GoFundMe page organized to fund funeral arrangements has raised over $5,300.

Signed off by Waylon's parents, Kristin Scarborough and Scott Childs, it reads: 'Waylon had an incredible energy that filled every room he entered.

'He was always on the move, full of life and wonder, constantly exploring the world with bright eyes and a boundless curiosity. He was a little soul full of innocence and sweet affection, and his light will forever shine in our hearts.'

On a community Facebook page called What's Up Ormond, resident Aileen Mata claimed to have been riding her bike at Central Park when Waylon went missing.

She recapped the heartbreaking moment in vivid detail.

The post reads: 'Covered in cuts, scratches and bleeding, the primal and guttural pain could be heard as Waylon's father screamed out for his little boy.'

Others expressed their sympathy and empathy for Waylon's family.

'Being a parent of a child on the spectrum, this one hit home,' one woman reacted.

Another mother chimed into the discussion, saying her 'mama heart is broken over this.'

She wrote: 'This is the scariest part about autism. The eloping. What is eloping?

'It's when an autistic child wanders or runs away from caregivers or a secure location. It's very common and dangerous for autistic kids.'

The child's grandparents said that Waylon was autistic and non-verbal

Waylon was described as 'full of life and wonder' by his parents in a GoFundMe post

This gut wrenching incident comes after an autistic five-year-old from Texas drowned in a retention pond after he vanished from his home in September.

The boy, last seen barefoot and in a diaper, was found by deputies of the Harris County Sheriff's Office on Sunday, in Cypress, approximately 24 miles northwest of Downtown Houston.

The child had been reported missing just before noon. Family members spotted him in the pond approximately a quarter-mile from his home.

The events leading up to the child's death remain unclear, but the boy's father pulled his son out of the water.

Police performed life saving measures, but sadly the little boy could not be revived.

He was pronounced deceased at the scene, Harris County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Michael Ritchie said.

'I don't foresee any charges being filed,' Ritchie said. 'I just foresee this as a very unfortunate accident.'
The View's Ana Navarro unleashed a blistering on-air tirade in response to Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski's surprise visit to Mar-a-Lago over the weekend.

The 52-year-old political strategist tore into the married MSNBC anchors over their trip to see Donald Trump, calling it 'opportunistic' during her rant.

She also panned the president-elect, chiding him for holding court at his famed Florida compound where he welcomed members of the media. Of the progressive pair, she asked whether the two had 'change[d] their stripes' because of 'who's in power.'

A few hours earlier, the Morning Joe hosts revealed that they had traveled 'personally' to meet Trump on Friday, after openly criticizing him in the weeks, months, and years prior.

The reason for the visit, they said, was to 'restart communications' with the Trump administration before the president-elect retakes office.

The two also touted a 'new approach' to coverage surrounding Trump's second term, eliciting a fiery response from not only Navarro, but her co-host, Sunny Hostin.

Both women said they disapproved of the visit, with Navarro leading the charge.

The discourse came as commentators and analysts continue to discuss the election result, often in a negative light - and amid waning ratings for MSNBC.

The View's Ana Navarro unleashed a blistering on-air tirade in response to Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski's surprise visit to Mar-a-Lago

The 52-year-old political strategist tore into the married MSNBC anchors for the trip, which they revealed to the public only hours earlier

'In 2016, people voted for the unknown and voted thinking that maybe the gravitas of the office was going to change him,' Navarro began.

'In 2024 people voted knowing who he was.'

Referencing Trump's recent rush of cabinet picks, she declared: 'Nothing that he is doing - as concerning as I find it and as disturbing as I find it - should be shocking.

'He told us he was going to do these things.'

'He was surrounded by the people he's appointing,' she continued. 'And he is keeping to his word and people voted for him knowing that.'

That's when Navarro turned to the topic at-hand - Scarborough and Brzezinski's impromptu visit.

The bombshell appeared to be on each of the panelists' minds, with Hostin, 56, bringing it up earlier in the broadcast.

Navarro, a Republican who was part of the transition team for then-Florida Gov. (and eventual Trump opponent) Jeb Bush, brought it back up after complaining about how 'hard' it is 'to criticize and denounce [the president-elect's] abuses of power.'

The episode saw the Republican strategist openly pan the president-elect, chiding him for holding court at his famed Florida compound

Of the progressive pair, Navarro asked whether the two had 'change[d] their stripes' because of 'who's in power'

'We have been there before,' she said, pointing to Trump's first term.

'It means threats, it means death threats, it means retribution against your family, it means crazy things showing up at your house, it means lawsuits - it means all sorts of things.

'We've done it before and if we have to do it again, we will do so again,' she continued, before bringing up the progressive power couple.

'There are probably a lot of people looking at what Joe and Mika did and find it opportunistic.

'There are people who change their stripes or maybe their spots depending on who's in power - I don't know if that's what happening with them.

'Everybody has to live with their decisions, everybody has to look in the mirror - I'm good,' she eventually concluded.

At another point, she added how 'it's a sobering truth... to reconcile with what we [on The View] have been doing for the last eight years.

'I will never sit down with him,' she said of Trump.

'There are probably a lot of people looking at what Joe and Mika did and find it opportunistic,' Navarro said

Navarro and her co-hosts had all supported Kamala Harris, and even had her on the air in a bid to get more votes

'[A]nd I don't think I'm gonna have to make that decision because I don't think I'll ever get invited.'

The latter assertion appeared to be in reference to her other on-air barbs aimed at the former president, whose supporters she has painted as unforgivable.

Just last month, the Republican strategist appeared offended by the mere idea that she'd ever associate with him, after Trump said he knew 'every one' of the hosts personally.

The Nicaraguan-born star has shamed other Latin Americans for voting for him, much like MSNBC's Joy Reid and other personalities on the network.

Her problems with the president-elect appear to stem from his policies surrounding the border - something that appeared to sway Latino voters toward Trump earlier this month.

The president-elect emphatically beat Kamala Kamala Harris after being backed by 46 percent of the demographic - the most from any Republican in modern history.

The result surprised some, including Navarro, who on Monday received backup from a more moderate Hostin, who painted the meeting as not only pandering but an 'aberration.'

Navarro received some backup from a more moderate Sunny Hostin, who painted the meeting as not only pandering but an 'aberration'

The Morning Joe hosts and the president-elect met at Mar-a-Lago on Friday

'The bottom line,' she began, 'is that America needs a free press that is willing to speak truth to power right now more than ever.

'I think we have to be very clear on it when we think about the president-elect and cover the president-elect, and I don't think you need to sit down for 90 minutes at Mar-a-Lago and kiss his ring to be able to speak truth and be able to cover a story.'

The ABC News legal analyst further claimed that Scarborough and Brzezinski were 'not journalists in the true sense' but 'opinion journalists.'

'You have to remember that Trump is the guy who ushered in the era of fake news, he's the guy who ushered in alternative facts, he is the guy who attacked three black female journalists,' she continued, before offering a defiant conclusion.

'I don't think he can be trusted in the way that other presidents could be trusted. This is an aberration.'

As for longtime host Whoopi Goldberg, also an outspoken Trump critic, she took a more measured approach to Trump's ongoing relationship with the media - despite still referring to the conservative as 'You Know Who.'

'I'm going to wait to see what I'm dealing with,' the 69-year-old Democrat said.

'I'm going to have some popcorn and if I have something to say, I will say it.

As for longtime host Whoopi Goldberg, who also an outspoken Trump critic, she took a more 'wait-and-see' approach to Trump's ongoing relationship with the media - despite still referring to the conservative as 'You Know Who'

The two remaining panelists, Sara Haines and Republican Alyssa Farah Griffin, took a different stance - choosing to praise the meeting as a welcome first step in improving relations with the soon-to-be two-term president

The discourse comes as commentators and analysts continue to discuss the result in a negative light, and amid waning rating for MSNBC. Pictured, Scarborough and Brzezinski's colleague Rachel Maddow reacting to the Harris loss

'To predict what we're going to do is impossible to say. I want to see what we're up against, I want to see what will happen.'

The two remaining panelists, Sara Haines and Republican Alyssa Farah Griffin, took a different stance, choosing to praise the meeting as a welcome first step in improving relations with the soon-to-be two-term president.

'You have the conversations or nothing happens,' Haines, 47, said.

Griffin, a Republican who had supported Harris, added: 'I don't think this is opportunistic, but I think they recognize that 75 million people voted for this guy.

'He will be in power, short of something like an impeachment, for the next four years.'

Meanwhile, MSNBC's ratings are in the tank following the landslide election result, with the network's numbers down from 6million daily viewers on Election Day to just 596,000 the following Thursday, Nielsen numbers showed.

It also comes as commentators and analysts continue to discuss the result - often with rants laced with ire toward the conservative - and weeks after the hosts had Harris on as a guest in an apparent bid to get more votes.

The New York Post went on to report how ABC News execs are now searching for a conservative, pro-Trump voice to join the panel - to drown out the chorus of boos.
A third person has been charged following an incident at Stonehenge in which orange powder was sprayed on the ancient monument during a Just Stop Oil protest.

Luke Watson, 35, of Manuden, Bishop's Stortford, has been charged with one count of aiding, abetting, counselling and/or procuring destroying or damaging an ancient protected monument, and one count of aiding, abetting, counselling and/or procuring causing a public nuisance.

He is due to appear at Salisbury Magistrates' Court on December 13 for a first hearing, Wiltshire Police said.

Rajan Naidu, 73, and Niamh Lynch, 22, were previously charged with destroying or damaging an ancient protected monument, and intentionally or recklessly causing a public nuisance and will appear at the same court on December 13.

Following the protest on June 19, English Heritage said experts had quickly removed the orange powder from the stones.

Video footage posted on social media showed two people wearing white shirts with the slogan Just Stop Oil, approaching the monoliths with canisters spraying orange powder paint.

Several of the iconic stones - dating back to the late Neolithic period - were seen covered in orange paint before one protester sat on the grass and the other was detained by a member of the public.

One man could be heard shouting: 'You dirty scum. This is a temple, not a publicity stunt!', as the pair were led away by officers.

A third person has been charged following a Just Stop Oil protest at Stonehenge

JSO activists sprayed the ancient monument with orange paint in June

One woman was seen desperately trying to drag the protesters away during the incident

The protest was described by Sir Keir Starmer as 'a disgraceful act of vandalism'.

A spokeswoman for English Heritage described the spraying of paint at the Stonehenge stones as 'extremely upsetting'.

She said: 'Orange powdered paint has been thrown at a number of the stones at Stonehenge.

'Obviously, this is extremely upsetting and our curators are investigating the extent of the damage. Stonehenge remains open to the public.'

A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said at the time: 'The UK's government in waiting has committed to enacting Just Stop Oil's original demand of 'no new oil and gas'.

'However, we all know this is not enough. Continuing to burn coal, oil and gas will result in the death of millions.

Rajan Naidu, 73, and Niamh Lynch, 21, ran up to the stone circle at around 12pm

'We have to come together to defend humanity or we risk everything. That's why Just Stop Oil is demanding that our next government sign up to a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030.

'Failure to commit to defending our communities will mean Just Stop Oil supporters, along with citizens from Austria, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and Switzerland will join in resistance this summer, if their own Governments do not take meaningful action.

'Stone circles can be found in every part of Europe showing how we've always cooperated across vast distances  we're building on that legacy.'
Up to five people - including a politician - may be prosecuted by the Gambling Commission as part of an investigation into insiders placing bets on when the snap election would take place.

At least three people - but potentially as many as five - could be charged. These include a politician and a bodyguard, according to Sky News.

Five Conservatives and five Met Police officers were among those investigated as part of the betting scandal, and one cabinet minister claimed he won thousands before backtracking and saying it was a joke.

A member of Rishi Sunak's close protection team was also arrested over an alleged bet.

The Gambling Commission is conducting a criminal investigation into 'confidential information being used to gain an unfair advantage' when betting on the date of the General Election.

The commission is investigating the offence of cheating and is ongoing, while a separate investigation by The Met Police was centred on offences of misconduct in public office.

The Met Police announced at the end of August its investigation had concluded with no action and it passed the investigation to the commission instead.

It's an issue that dogged the Tories through the party's campaign, dubbed 'gamblegate' by some.

'Gamblegate' plagued the Tories throughout their campaign

Craig Williams, the Conservative candidate for Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr, was placed under investigation over a 100 'flutter' on the date of the election

Nick Mason, the chief data officer of the Conservative Party, was also investigated

The scandal emerged after it was revealed Mr Sunak's closest aide Craig Williams was being investigated by the Gambling Commission for betting that the election would be in July, three days before it was called.

Labour then suspended a parliamentary candidate Kevin Craig after he reportedly bet on himself... putting a wager on himself losing. He insisted it was for charity, and said sorry to his party.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack is also alleged by a BBC reporter to have claimed after the election that he won more than 2,100 betting on the date. He later clarified to the BBC that it was a 'joke' and confirmed that he didn't breach any rules.

The Conservative Party's director of campaigning Tony Lee and his wife Laura Saunders - a candidate in Bristol North West - were also looked into as part of the probe.

Nick Mason, the chief data officer of the Conservative Party, was also investigated.

Welsh Conservative MP Russell George was the fifth Tory candidate to be investigated. He said in October he wasn't 'sure' about the status of the probe and hadn't heard from the commission in 'some months'.

When the news broke in June, he stepped back from his job but later returned in October.

Andrew RT Davies, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives, said at the time: 'Russell George has informed me that he has received a letter from the Gambling Commission regarding bets on the timing of the General Election.'

Michael Gove, the outgoing Housing Secretary, condemned the reports and likened the betting scandal to Partygate during Boris Johnson's premiership.

'It looks like one rule for them and one rule for us,' he told the Sunday Times.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack also allegedly claimed that he won more than 2,100 betting on the date during an interview after the election

Tony Lee, the Conservative party's director of campaigns, and his wife Laura Saunders, are also under investigation by the Commission

Lee's wife, Laura Saunders, a Conservative candidate in the Bristol North West constituency, is also under investigation but said she is fully cooperating with the commission

'If you're in a privileged position [close] to the prime minister at the heart of a political operation and you use inside information to make additional money for yourself, that's just not acceptable.'

When the allegations surfaced, Mr Sunak admitted he was 'incredibly angry'.

The use of confidential information to gain unfair advantage when betting may constitute a criminal offence of cheating under section 42 of the Gambling Act.

Those convicted face an unlimited fine or up to two years in jail.

Andrew Rhodes, Chief Executive of the Gambling Commission, said: 'We have remained focused on our criminal investigation into confidential information being used to gain an unfair advantage when betting on the date of the General Election.

'Our investigation continues to progress and we have interviewed several suspects under caution. We are continuing to interview a number of witnesses, who are co-operating with this criminal investigation, as well as gathering further documentary and electronic evidence.

'We clearly appreciate the level of public interest there is in this investigation but in order to protect the integrity of the investigation and to ensure a fair and just outcome, we are unable to comment further at this time, including the name of any person who may be under suspicion, or the total number of suspects.'

A member of Rishi Sunak 's close protection team was also arrested over an alleged bet

Five Met Police officers were among those investigated as part of the betting scandal

Former Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Stephen Roberts, who also served as the Met's director of professional standards, told LBC the behaviour of those involved in the scandal is 'appalling' and 'shabby'.

Detective Superintendent Katherine Goodwin of The Met Police said: 'These allegations caused a significant dent in public confidence during the election campaign and it was right that they were investigated to explore all possible offences.

'While our involvement in the criminal investigation now ceases, it's important that is not misinterpreted as an all clear for those whose cases were looked at. There are still Gambling Act offences to consider and it is appropriate that they are taken forward by investigators from the Gambling Commission who have particular expertise in this field.

'Seven police officers who are alleged to have placed bets are still among those being investigated by the Gambling Commission. They also remain under investigation by the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards.'
President Joe Biden was stunningly left out of a group photo of the world leaders gathered at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro Monday after he arrived late - and they chose not to wait.

In a signal of how the world no longer bends to the leader of its most powerful nation, the photo went off without him, while other leaders including China's Xi Jinping and India's Narendra Modi gripped and grinned.

The event was played live on local Brazilian television as the culmination of work on a new Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty being championed by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

It also got captured on C-Span, as journalists who were there to memorialize the photo-op were amazed that it went on without Biden, 81.

The leaders were arrayed before a picturesque backdrop featuring Rio's internationally famous coastline, with its iconic Sugarloaf Mountain in the background.

Such 'family photo' events are a staple of international summits and meant to feature unity despite clashes over trade and territorial invasions and threats of war over lethal weapons.

A TV producer who was capturing the moment in real-time provided breathless commentary as it all unfolded.

'Where was he? They're telling them to wait for Biden, guys,' she said in video that got shared on social media, as Xi and other leaders stroll away. 'Oh my god!' she intoned.

President Joe Biden was late to a 'family photo' of the leaders attending the G20 summit in Rio. The assembled leaders grinned for the picture and left before Biden arrived

'Do you see him to the left? To the left of the palm tree,' she exclaims.'Oh my god ... He's behind the palm tree right now.'

Brazilian media carrying the event quickly zoomed in to show the tardy Biden, wearing a blue suit and aviator shades, approaching.

He arrived late with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, getting there right after the photo session ended.

But it was too late. The photo was done, and the assembled leaders would not be saying 'cheese' again for the outgoing president.

Some of leaders gathered there, including China's Xi Jinping, have a long history of flouting U.S. pronouncements anyway.

White House officials did not respond to questions from DailyMail.com about why Biden was late, on a trip that has not featured a presidential press conference or less formal interactions with the press by the outgoing president.

It may not have been an intended slight, but it came as the lame duck president is heading for his final two months in office, with his successor vowing to rip up some of his most hard-fought achievements.

It was arranged to call attention to fighting global hunger in a country that features aching poverty around its metropolises. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva organized the initiative

Other leaders, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, South African Cyril Ramaphosa, President Chinese President Xi Jinping and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Alabanese, grinned during the group photo

It featured a stunning backdrop of Rio de Janeiro

Days ago at the APEC summit in Lima, Peru, Biden was about five minutes late for the family photo, which featured leaders sporting brown scarves made from Alpaca wool, a proud export of the country.

Biden was pictured near the back of an earlier APEC photo, but aides said it was for alphabetical reasons.

The family photo is dictated by alphabetical order - though Trump got a front row spot in the center, next to Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his one and only APEC appearance in Vietnam in 2017. Trump famously pushed aside the Montenegrin prime minister as he was lining up for a similar 'family photo' taken at the NATO summit in Brussels in 2017.

It comes on a trip to South America that began with Biden ignoring a series of questions about President-elect Donald Trump, as his successor made a series of extraordinary announcements about people he wants to install in his cabinet, including Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general.

At both the APEC Summit in Lima and the G20 here in Rio, Chinas President Xi Jinping is receiving an official state visit. In Peru that got him an elaborate welcome ceremony which far outshone Biden's.

Xi was positioned in the front row for the Rio photo.

It was a trip that also had Biden becoming the first sitting U.S. president to visit the rainforest. He announced new funds to preserve precious forests and a new International Conservation Day.

But his team faced repeated questions about whether his actions will be undone by the incoming Trump administration. Trump has called climate change 'a hoax.'
President Donald Trump revealed new details of his meeting with MSNBC co-hosts after viewers mocked the famous television couple for 'bending the knee' to the president-elect they once denounced as a fascist.

Trump met with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski on Friday after a tumultuous relationship over the last seven years.

During the 2024 election, they repeatedly denounced Trump as a racist, sexist, fascist, and told viewers he did not deserve to be president.

At one point, Scarborough said Trump was acting 'full-on Hitler' and Brzezinski condemned him for echoing the 'dangerous language of infamous fascist leaders.'

But the president-elect told Fox News that he took the meeting because in order to 'Make America Great Again, it is very important, if not vital, to have a free, fair and open media or press.'

'I am not looking for retribution, grandstanding or to destroy people who treated me very unfairly,' he added.

Trump said Scarborough requested the meeting and that pair traveled to Palm Beach, Florida, to meet on Friday morning at Mar-a-Lago.

'Many things were discussed, and I very much appreciated the fact that they wanted to have open communication,' he said. 'In many ways, it's too bad that it wasn't done long ago.'

Trump said that both of the hosts, 'congratulated me on running a 'great and flawless campaign, one for the history books.'

Donald Trump participates in a town hall with Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough

The pair had not met with Trump in seven years.

But Trump appeared willing to bury the hatchet on Friday, describing the meeting as 'extremely cordial.'

'The meeting ended in a very positive manner, and we agreed to speak in the future,' he said.

Despite striking up a warm media relationship when he ran for president the first time in 2016, Brzezinski and Scarborough had a falling out with the president after he shocked the world and beat failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Scarborough and Brzezinski were soon highly critical of Trump's presidency, after he entered the White House, repeatedly condemning him on their morning news program.

Brzezinski in particular repeatedly needled Trump for being 'mentally ill' and speculated about his need to see a psychiatrist.

In June 2017, Trump fired back at the pair on social media, recalling how 'low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe,' came to Mar-a-lago for three nights in a row during New Year's Eve, and were desperate to spend time with him.

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump jokes with host Joe Scarborough after an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe cable television show at Java Joe's CoffeeHouse in Des Moines, Iowa.

'She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!' Trump wrote, referring to Brzezinski.

The relationship entered even more bizarre territory by Christmas 2017, when Brzezinski and Scarborough recorded a holiday-themed album called 'A Very Drumpf Christmas' with songs mocking the president.

In 2018, the TV couple made it official as they were married at a ceremony at the National Archives in front of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, signaling their commitment to Democracy.

But Trump was gracious on Friday as the couple sought to 'restart communications' and set a 'new approach' ahead of his second term.

Brzezinski said they decided to reach out to Trump for 'the opportunity to speak with the President-elect, himself' because their viewers and 'regular citizens' have expressed fear following Trump's election and his recent cabinet selections.

'On Friday, we were given the opportunity to do just that. Joe and I went to Mar-a-Lago to meet personally with President-elect Trump,' Brzezinski revealed Monday morning.

Scarborough said they spoke about several issues pressing the country reassuring viewers that that they and Trump 'didn't see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues and we told him so.'

Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have revealed they visited president-elect Donald Trump at Mar-A-Lago over the weekend

The Morning Joe hosts and the president-elect met at Mar-a-Lago on Friday

Defending their decision, Brzezinski said: 'For those asking why we would go speak to the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us, I guess I would ask back  why wouldn't we?'

Brzezinski said Trump was cheerful during their meeting and seemed interested in finding common ground with Democrats.

Scarborough told viewers they would not stop their criticism of the president-elect.

'Don't be mistaken, he said. 'We are not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump.'

Morning Joe viewers were outraged by the news, condemning the hosts for their apparent hypocrisy.

'I don't think you need to sit down for ninety minutes at Mar-a-Lago and kiss his ring to be able to speak truth and be able to cover a story, so maybe they're not journalists in the true sense, maybe they are saying they are opinion journalists.' The View cohost Sunny Hostin noted on the show Monday.

'Normalizing Trump is a bad idea. Period,' wrote MSNBC host Katie Phang on X.com apparently reacting to the news.

Journalism professor Jeff Jarvis said the meeting was a 'betrayal of their colleagues, democracy, and us all. It is a disgusting show of obeisance in advance.'

'Making the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago is kissing the ring #MorningJoe, normalizing Trump, surrendering in advance regardless of how you try to justify it,' wrote X user 'Wendy Spirit' on social media

'I hate to break it to you, Joe and Mika: you compromise it all when you compromise yourself like this. Shameful stuff, you two,' wrote Ben Meiselas on the viral leftist politics MeidasTouch Substack. 'As for us, MeidasTouch will never bend the knee. We will never submit. We will never obey.'

'Definitely going to stop watching Morning Joe. I'm not going along wtyh normalizing racism and misogyny from a rapist,' wrote media publicist Raquel Perazzo on X.

'More than any other media hosts these two are responsible for the Dem party's disastrous obsession with Liz Cheney NeverTrumpers over the working class and the destruction of the class first Bernie movement,' wrote former MSNBC host and Breaking Points co-host Krystal Ball. 'Now that they've helped usher the fascists in they go and kiss the ring. Disgusting.'
The a2 Milk Company (a2MC, the Company) advises that Lain Jager has been appointed as an independent non-executive director of the Company with effect from 1 December 2024.

Mr Jager brings extensive international, agribusiness leadership experience to the Board through his former role as CEO of Zespri International. Zespri is the worlds largest marketer of kiwifruit, distributed in more than 50 countries with revenue of NZ$4.2bn and operating profit of NZ$230m in FY24.

Mr Jagers nine years as CEO of Zespri International from 2008 to 2017 included the development of a successful global growth strategy, and significant increases in revenue and profitability. Since stepping down from Zespri in 2017, Lain has focused on private business interests including personal investments in a range of entrepreneurial, technology and agriculture related businesses. Mr Jager is based in New Zealand.

The Board has determined that Mr Jager will be an independent director. He will also be a member of the Boards People and Remuneration Committee. With Mr Jagers appointment being confirmed after the notice of meeting for the upcoming annual meeting was circulated to shareholders and Mr Jagers appointment as a Director becoming effective on 1 December 2024, a resolution to elect Mr Jager will be put to shareholders at next years annual meeting in 2025.

Chair of the Board, Pip Greenwood, said: "We are very pleased to appoint Lain as a director of the Company. Lain has a successful track record as CEO of Zespri, a New Zealand primary sector market leader. We are looking forward to welcoming Lain to the Board in December."

The Board has also determined that Sandra Yu will become Chair of the Board's People and Remuneration Committee from 22 November 2024, replacing outgoing non-executive director, Warwick Every-Burns, who as previously advised is retiring from the Board at the upcoming Annual Meeting to be held on that date.

Authorised for release by the Board of Directors

Pip Greenwood

Chair

The a2 Milk Company Limited

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Police are hunting for the owner of an XL Bully-type dog after it attacked a woman in Northampton.

The victim was left with injuries to her arm when the hound latched onto her while she was out for a walk on Friday morning.

The dog's owner, who has been described by police as red-haired and of a slim build, apologised to the woman but took off without giving her details.

The mauling was said to have unfolded on Constable Road, Corby after the XL Bully-type dog became startled by the victim.

Northamptonshire Police said the woman tried to move out of the way of the hound, which was on a lead at the time of the attack, but was left with an arm injury after the dog lunged at her.

The force added the dog owner is believed to be 35-40 years old and of a slim build.

She was also seen wearing a long green jacket with its hood up at the time of the attack.

Officers said in a statement: 'Police officers are appealing for the owner of a dog to come forward after a woman sustained an arm injury in Constable Road, Corby.

Northamptonshire Police have issued an urgent appeal for information after a woman was bitten by an XL Bully-type dog (pictured) in Corby last Friday

'The incident occurred between 7am and 7.10am on Friday, November 15, when the woman and the dog startled each other. As she moved out of the way, the dog which was on its lead, jumped up and bit her on the arm.

'The owner of the dog apologised to the woman but left without leaving details and officers would like to identify the dog, which is described as possibly a red coloured American Bulldog or XL Bully.

'They would also like to speak to the owner, who was a white woman, aged 35 to 40 years and of a slim build with dark red hair. She was wearing a long green jacket with the hood up.

'Witnesses or anyone with information about the dog are asked to call Northamptonshire Police on 101 or alternatively contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

'Please quote incident number 24000681613 when providing any information to make sure it gets to the right person as quickly as possible.'

An XL Bully is a banned breed, after rules officially came into place in England and Wales on February 1 following legislation from then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Tory government.

Following a long history of vicious attacks on people and other dogs across the UK, the ban made it illegal to own, sell, abandon, give away or breed an XL Bully without an exemption approval granted by the government.

The ban also made it illegal for any exempt XL Bullies to be in public without both a lead and muzzle.

Included in this new legislation was a set definition for what exactly constitutes as an XL Bully dog.

This criteria includes the size of the dogs head, its build and its height (at least 20 inches for males and 19 for females).

Dogs which met the XL Bully criteria but whose owners were unable to obtain government exemptions from the ban were ordered to be put to sleep by vets, with owners to receive compensation from authorities.

However, many experts have questioned the effectiveness of the ban, with reports of breeders and owners finding workarounds to avoid having their dogs seized.

Doug Smith, member of Bully Watch, told the MailOnline earlier this year that more XL Bully remain likely despite the new legislation.

'The ban hasn't had an impact on the ownership of these dogs and they are being rehomed to unsuitable homes illegally', Mr Smith said.

'People are rehoming these dogs to other irresponsible owners. It is a case of idiots giving their dogs to other idiots. These people think they are responsible owners when they aren't.'

Moreover, there have been further reports of pet owners attempting to dodge the ban by breeding 'micro' or 'pocket' versions of XL Bullies.

As for the confirmed effectiveness of the XL Bully ban, the true results are yet to be seen with the Office for National Statistics still awaiting official figures on UK dog deaths for 2024.

Part of the Dangerous Dogs Act, if an owner is found to be in breach of the XL Bully ban, they can be sentenced to up to 14 years in prison, be disqualified from owning other dogs in future and also allows for authorities to euthanize dogs deemed to be dangerous.

As for the confirmed effectiveness of the XL Bully ban, the true results are yet to be seen with the Office for National Statistics still awaiting official figures on UK dog deaths for 2024.
A Georgia mother-of-four arrested for allowing her 11-year-old son to walk less than a mile into a small town has vowed to fight the charges as the community has rallied around her.

Brittany Patterson, 41, was charged with reckless conduct on October 30 after her youngest son, 11-year-old Soren, was spotted walking less than a mile from their home.

He was walking alongside the road in downtown Mineral Bluff, a town of just 370 people, when a woman who asked if he was OK. Even though he said he was fine, she called police anyway.

Fannin County Sheriff's Deputies drove the boy home, then came back a few hours later and arrested Patterson for reckless conduct in front of her children.

The community has rallied around Patterson since she was forced to post $500 bond and donations have been pouring in to a GoFundMe set up for her legal defense. The fundraiser has reached almost $54,000.

Patterson has vowed to fight the charges despite authorities offering to drop it if she signs a form that outlines a safety plan that requires electronic monitoring of her children.

'I just felt like I couldn't sign that and that in doing so, would, you know, be agreeing that there was something unsafe about my home or something unsafe about my parental decisions, and I just don't believe that,' Patterson told ABC News.

'This is not right. I did nothing wrong. I'm going to fight for that,' she told NBC News.

Brittany Patterson (left), 41, was charged with reckless conduct on October 30 after her youngest son, 11-year-old Soren (right), was spotted walking less than a mile from their home

Fannin County Sheriff's Deputies drove the boy home, then came back a few hours later and arrested Patterson for reckless conduct in front of her children

The day after her arrest, a case manager from the Division of Family and Children's Services arrived at her house for a home visit and even interviewed Patterson's oldest son at his school.

The case manager told Patterson everything seemed fine, she told Reason Magazine, but a few days later, the Division of Family and Children's Services presented her with a 'safety plan' for her to sign.

It would require her to delegate a 'safety person' to be a 'knowing participant and guardian' and watch over the children whenever she leaves home.

The plan would also require Patterson to download an app on Soren's cellphone to monitor his location - something she has refused to do.

Attorney David DeLugas, the head of ParentsUSA - a nonprofit that provides pro bono legal help to parents wrongly arrested and prosecuted for child neglect - has picked up her case.

'Are all parents going to have to put GPS on their child?' he said. 'The parents get to decide for their children unless it is unreasonably dangerous.'

Bodycam footage shows Patterson asking why she is under arrest and the deputy responding, 'For reckless endangerment.'

'And how was I recklessly endangering my child?' Patterson asked. Another deputy responded, 'We're not talking about it.'

Patterson has vowed to fight the charged despite authorities offering to drop it if she signs a form that outlines a safety plan that requires electronic monitoring of her children

Patterson said, 'Last time I checked, it wasn't illegal for a kid to walk to the store.'

The deputy said, 'It is when they're 10 years old.'

An assistant district attorney has since told DeLugas that if Patterson were to sign the safety plan, the criminal charges against her would be dropped.

But DeLugas responded by saying that if Patterson was being compelled to sign a safety plan just because her son walked somewhere without her knowing his exact location, he would be prevented from visiting friends or having any independence whatsoever.

Still, the assistant district attorney maintained that Soren had been in danger, and therefore a safety plan was necessary.

She now faces a reckless conduct charge, a $1,000 fine and one year in jail.
This is the moment a takeaway worker was arrested after he killed a father with a metal chair in a row outside a fish and chip shop.

Rashko Kurtev, 32, got into an argument with Rodney Macleod, 46, outside the Seabells Fish and Chip shop in Birchington, Kent, on March 9.

Kurtev, who worked at the business, came outside during the spat and threw some of Mr Macleod's belongings at him - before hurling two metal chairs in his direction.

The second chair hit father-of-two Mr Macleod in the head - causing serious injuries which ultimately led to his death in hospital just over a month later, on April 15.

Footage shows Kurtev being arrested at the scene. He was initially charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

He later pleaded guilty to manslaughter at Canterbury Crown Court and was jailed for three years and nine months.

Witnesses to the incident said that Mr Macleod had fallen to the ground when the chair hit him.

He was rushed to a local hospital before being airlifted to a London hospital. But he tragically never recovered from his injuries.

This is the moment takeaway worker Rashko Kurtev was arrested after he killed a father with a metal chair in a row outside a fish and chip shop

Rashko Kurtev (pictured), 32, got into an argument with Rodney Macleod, 46, outside the Seabells Fish and Chip shop in Birchington, Kent, on March 9. Kurtev came outside during the spat and threw two metal chairs in Mr Macleod's direction. The second chair hit father-of-two Mr Macleod in the head

Footage shows Kurtev being arrested at the scene. He was initially charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent

A post-mortem examination listed his traumatic brain injury among the causes of his death.

Detective Inspector Colin McKeen said Mr Macleod's death is evidence of the 'catastrophic' consequences of people turning to violence.

He said: 'This case shows the catastrophic consequences of people turning to violence during disagreements.

'One man has lost his life and another is in jail following an argument which this offender could just have walked away from.

'The use of a metal chair as a weapon was completely unnecessary.

'I would like to offer my condolences to the victim's family and friends.

'I hope the swift investigation and court proceedings help give them some sense of closure as they try to cope with their loss.'
Am overwhelmed pet owner has surrendered one thousand mice and counting to stunned shelter staff after the rapidly breeding rodents multiplied beyond his control - leaving animal welfare workers scrambling to cope with the furry influx.

The unnamed man walked into the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on Monday hoping to give up what he claimed were '150 mice' - before revealing that he actually meant 150 tanks of mice.

He initially surrendered 71 mice but after counting, that number quickly grew to 400.

Now hundreds more are still waiting to be rescued from what officials described as 'terrible living conditions.'

'We have never seen anything like this,' said Savannah Alcero, Director of Animal and Veterinary Services at the NHSPCA. 'And the longer we wait to get all of the mice out of their terrible living conditions  the greater the likelihood is that the numbers will continue to grow.'

'With a gestation period of just around 20 days, mice can reproduce at an alarming rate,' she added.

Staff were horrified to discover the animals crammed into filthy plastic tubs that appeared not to have been cleaned 'in a long time.'

An overwhelmed pet owner has handed over more than a thousand mice to stunned shelter staff after the rapidly breeding rodents multiplied beyond his control - leaving animal welfare workers scrambling to cope with the furry influx

The unnamed man walked into the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on Monday hoping to give up what he claimed were '150 mice' - before revealing that he actually meant 150 tanks of mice

On top of that, the mice weren't separated by sex, leading to unstoppable breeding which left some mice still pregnant.

'The mice were living in filthy plastic tubs that hadn't been cleaned in what appeared to be a long time,' the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said in a Thursday news release.

Now the shelter has issued an urgent appeal across New England for help housing the mushrooming mouse population, as pregnant females continue giving birth daily.

These aren't ordinary field mice, but 'fancy mice' - typically friendly and curious pets that can make entertaining companions.

The shelter is now seeking adoptive homes for the first wave of mice, while others remain under careful watch in what has become New Hampshire's largest-ever rodent rescue operation.

Staff were horrified to discover the animals crammed into filthy plastic tubs that appeared not to have been cleaned 'in a long time'

He initially surrendered 71 mice but after counting, that number quickly grew to 400

The shelter is now seeking adoptive homes for the first wave of mice, while others remain under careful watch in what has become New Hampshire's largest-ever rodent rescue operation

Lisa Dennison, executive director of the New Hampshire SPCA, called the situation 'crippling.'

'Even in the short time that we've had them, many of these mice have given birth,' Dennison told the AP. 'It's an exponential problem that keeps growing.'

The most animals the shelter took in one day prior to this was 125.

'It does happen where you take a large number, but even when we took in 54 goats or we took in 39 cats, I mean, those are still large numbers, but much more manageable as you can imagine than hundreds and hundreds of mice,' Dennison said.
It's no secret that center-left news organization CNN does not welcome four more years of a Donald Trump administration.

But the cable network desperately needs to claw back viewers, after numbers declined before the election and prompted looming mass lay-offs.

According to an insider at Puck, CNN chairman and CEO Mark Thompson hosted an all-hands meeting on Wednesday morning to set the agenda for the second Trump era.

The CNN boss of one year used the daily 9am call to rally editorial staff, telling them not to obsess over drama surrounding the incoming president for the next four years.

Thompson reminded staff that there are 'a lot of other stories out in the U.S. and around the world' and 'it was clear that audiences were sick of the way the media covers politics' according to Puck.

He also said he wanted to get more 'people we don't normally hear on CNN' - perhaps alluding to more right-wing pundits like Scott Jennings, who was recently praised by viewers for his commentary on the election which stunned his fellow panelists into silence.

Thompson praised some of the network's current projects, including John King's 'All Over The Map' series which tracked the 2024 campaign through the voices of voters.

It comes as CNN suffered its worst rating in a key demographic for the first time in a quarter of a century as employees fear more layoffs are coming.

According to an insider at Puck , CNN chairman and CEO Mark Thompson (pictured) hosted a company wide meeting on Wednesday morning to set the agenda for the second Trump era

The CNN boss of one year used the daily 9am call to rally editorial staff, telling them not to obsess over drama surrounding the incoming president for the next four years

A critical demographic for network news channels are those aged 25 to 54, and on Tuesday - a week after the 2024 presidential election - CNN averaged 61,000 viewers in that range.

It was the smallest of audience viewers in that demographic since June 27, 2000, when Bill Clinton was in the White House.

It also pulled in bad numbers for its daytime programming - shows that run between 9 am and 5 pm - with an average 60,000 viewers in the demographic on Tuesday.

This was the worst for a non-holiday week since 2014, according to Fox News.

Overall daily viewership for daytime programming sat at 403,000 for the liberal outlet, whereas its competitor and conservative outlet Fox News brought in around 2.2million.

Primetime coverage - between 8 pm and 11 pm - also saw struggling viewership numbers with an average of 483,000 since Election Day. Fox News brought in 3.4 million, according to the network.

CNN's Election Day coverage also waned compared to previous cycles, with a huge downfall in viewership as it fell below MSNBC for the first time since the company launched, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

CNN brought in 5.1million viewers, while MSNBC had 6.01million. Meanwhile, Fox News led with 10.32million, according to THR.

During CNN's prime time shows in 2022 it saw an average of 828,000 viewers, significantly down from 2020 numbers, where it saw around 1.8million, according to Pew Research Center.

A critical demographic for network news channels are those aged 25 to 54, and on Tuesday, CNN averaged 61,000 viewers in that age range. It was the smallest of audience viewers in that demographic since June 27, 2000

The news also comes as veteran anchors Jake Tapper (left) and Wolf Blitzer (right) were reportedly recently denied raises. Tapper's salary is currently $3million and Blitzer stands at $7million

MSNBC saw slightly lower numbers than CNN, while Fox News bulldozed the both of them with a 2.1million average viewers in 2022 and 3.1 million in 2020.

CNN's dropping numbers have caused staff to become 'scared and frustrated' about looming layoffs.

Stars including Jake Tapper and Wolf Blitzer have reportedly been denied raises on their multi-million-dollar salaries as the biggest names on the network fear for their futures.

Tapper's salary is currently $3million and Blitzer stands at $7million.

On-screen favorite Chris Wallace also departed the network earlier this week, although he insisted that he did so on his own terms.

A longtime CNN employee told Fox News that after news of the layoffs spread, staff across the company are left feeling 'very sad and deeply frustrated.'

'Feelings which are pervasive throughout the organization among those who have been here a long time and feel a deep personal connection to having helped build the organization,' the anonymous staffer added.
Hunter Biden, wife Melissa Cohen and little son Beau enjoyed a VIP tour of Disneyland with friends in their first public outing since Democrats were trounced in the general election.

Pre-schooler Beau, 4, and mom Melissa wore matching mouse ears. Beau's had a Santa hat attached while Melissa's sported a red-spotted bow.

Hunter, 54, was spied on the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride with his son and a friend. The trio also hopped on the Peter Pan ride and Mickey and Minnies Runaway Railway.

President Joe Biden's son looked gloom despite the park having the moniker the 'Happiest Place on Earth.'

It was the first sighting of Hunter since Kamala Harris lost the election. And it comes a month before he's scheduled to be sentenced on federal charges related to a gun purchase and his taxes.

The family was joined by friends and five Secret Service agents. They enjoyed a private, VIP tour of the amusement park.

They also munched on funnel cake as they watched the Christmas Parade.

Hunter Biden, Melissa Cohen and their son Beau on a VIP tour of Disneyland

Hunter Biden rode the Dumbo ride with his son

Hunter Biden with his four-year-old son Beau Jr.

Hunter Biden stayed out of the presidential race after his father exited it in late July. He had been one of the strongest voices trying to persuade Joe Biden to stay on as the Democratic nominee.

Now that the election is a settled matter, there are a handful of 'will he or won't he' questions hanging over President Biden's final days in office.

One that's been asked repeatedly over the past months is: Will Biden pardon his ne'er-do-well son Hunter over his convictions on federal gun and tax fraud charges?

Both Biden and his spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre have repeatedly denied Hunter will be pardoned by his father.

When asked Thursday - just over 24 hours after the presidential election was called in Trump's favor - whether Biden has any intention of pardoning his son, Jean-Pierre responded, 'We've been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no.'

But few observers seem to be buying that answer. Bob Woodward is among the skeptics.

The All the President's Men journalist last month predicted Biden will indeed pardon the recovering drug-addict first son, who is facing prison time when he's sentenced for separate federal gun and tax fraud convictions next month.

Woodward, citing reporting he did for his latest book 'War,' said ' the issue of Hunter Biden is just ripping Joe Biden's heart out, and it is something he talks about with close friends.'

'He worries about, where is this going to go? He has said he would not pardon him. There are a couple of trials coming up. Quite frankly, I know enough about Biden I don't believe that. I think he will pardon his son,' the longtime Washington Post editor and reporter told The Late Show's Stephen Colbert.

Hunter Biden enjoys some funnel cake as the family watches the Christmas Parada

Hunter, Melissa and Beau were joined by friends and five Secret Service agents

Hunter, Baby Beau and a friend on the Dumbo ride

In June, Hunter Biden was convicted of three felony charges related to his 2018 purchase of a revolver. Then, in September, he pleaded guilty to nine charges in a federal tax case.

President Biden is said to be deeply worried about Hunter relapsing into drug addiction under the pressure of those outcomes.

And Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution gives the president blanket power to pardon any federal crime, something most outgoing presidents do in their final days in office, some controversial, others routine.

Even Trump, who issued a slew of pardons during his four years in office and on his way out the door in January 2021, weighed in on the Hunter Biden pardon issue, with a response that surprised many.

Asked by radio host Hugh Hewitt last month if he would consider pardoning Hunter Biden, Trump said, 'I wouldnt take it off the books.

'See, unlike Joe Biden, despite what theyve done to me, where theyve gone after me so viciously, despite what - and Hunters a bad boy, theres no question about it, hes been a bad boy.

'But I happen to think it's very bad for our country,' Trump said of what he considers politically motivated prosecutions and punishment which he likens to his own experience.

Jeffrey Crouch, a professor at American University who is an expert on the pardon process, noted a president can 'use the clemency power whenever he would like, and as often as he would like.'

The only real consequence - if Biden opts to give his son a pardon - would be that it becomes a stain on his legacy.

Jurors at Hunter Biden's Wilmington, Delaware gun trial in June were shown his infamous laptop and saw photos, videos and text messages from when he was in the depths of his addiction to crack cocaine

The court was shown evidence taken from the laptop - including pictures of text messages where Hunter refers to himself as an addict and his conversations with suspected drug dealers

The Colt Cobra gun Hunter Biden bought illegally while addicted to drugs was part of the evidence presented by federal prosecutors

Voters could also punish the Democratic Party at the voting booth in the next election, though there seem to be weightier issues that emerged for the Democrats to contend with in the aftermath of Kamala Harris decisive loss to Trump.

'The president may also incur consequences come election season when they, or at least, their political party may face punishment from the voters. And, the president always needs to keep their legacy in mind,' Crouch said.

Other presidents have issued controversial pardons - usually in the final days of their presidency.

In 1974, President Gerald Ford pardoned his predecessor Richard Nixon for any crimes he had 'committed or may have committed' in the Watergate scandal. This was the first pre-emptive pardon by a president.

In 2001, President Bill Clinton pardoned 140 people on his last day in office including billionaire Marc Rich, who had been a fugitive for decades for fraud related to making illegal oil deals and not paying more than $48 million in taxes.

It resulted in a federal investigation into donations made to the Clintons by Rich's ex-wife. But the investigation didn't discover enough evidence to indict Clinton.

Clinton also pardoned his half-brother Roger Clinton, who had been convicted of drug charges.

In the last 12 hours of his presidency, Donald Trump pardoned and commuted the sentences of 144 people, including former advisors Stephen Bannon and Roger Stone. He also pardoned Charles Kushner - the father of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner - and the rapper Lil Wayne.

Hunter Biden with his brother Beau in 2013; Beau died in 2015 of brain cancer

Hunter Biden leaves a Delaware courthouse with his wife Melissa Cohen Biden and mom Jill Biden after the jury found him guilty on all three counts on June 11 for criminal gun charges

After the verdict, President Joe Biden flew to Wilmington so he could hug his son Hunter

Joe Biden has expressed regret and frustration with his son's legal cases.

He also said he regretted picking Merrick Garland as his attorney general, Woodward reported in his book 'War,' writing the president was angry about the prosecution of his son.

David Weiss, the special counsel who brought both cases against Hunter, said he prosecuted the president's son to show that nobody 'is above the law.'

Hunter Biden is scheduled to be sentenced in the Delaware gun case on December 13, and on December 16 in the California tax case.

That is a month after the 2024 election.

Hunter expressed his fear of the 'end of America' if Trump is elected president again.

'A second Donald Trump presidency is potentially the end of America as weve known it,' the president's son said to Politico in an interview this month.

He said that his greatest worry was 'losing our democracy to a fascist minority,' suggesting that he feared the verdict of the electoral college on who should be elected president.

Hunter Biden also accused Trump of 'lies, fear-mongering and disinformation.'

'Its easier to scare people with lies than educate them with the truth. Its faster. It sticks to your marrow,' he said.

President Biden could pardon or commute his son's sentences anytime before he leaves office on January 20, 2025.

Friends of the family have questioned if the president will keep his promise not to pardon given his worries about Hunter's mental state and the fact that, since he's not running for a second term, there is essentially no political danger to him.

Additionally, Donald Trump promised to prosecute his political enemies if he wins the election and Hunter would be a top target. A blanket pardon from President Biden would protect his son from any action by Trump.

In the June gun purchase case, jurors found Hunter Biden guilty of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user, and illegally having the gun for 11 days.

Hunter faces up to 25 years in prison although as a first-time offender he would not get anywhere near the maximum, and there's no guarantee the judge would send him to jail.

In the September tax case, Hunter could face up to 17 years in prison for his crimes, which include tax evasion, filing fraudulent tax returns, and failing to pay taxes. The judge also could impose a hefty fine, perhaps as much as $1.3 million.

The judges in both cases were appointed by President Trump.

Hunter is a first-time offender. He has been sober for years and paid his taxes and fines, although that money was provided by a wealthy friend.

President Biden is known to be torn up about the situation.

Hours after Hunter's conviction in June in the Delaware gun case, President Biden flew to Wilmington to spend the night with his family before leaving for the G7 summit in Italy.

And he also got a few minutes with his son on the tarmac, hugging him in full view of the cameras.
Wildlife officials are seeking the public's help with information regarding the death of an endangered female Mexican wolf.

Federal and state officials announced they were offering a reward of up to $103,500 for information leading to the prosecution of someone involved in the death of the protected wolf.

Officials confirmed in a press release the Mexican wolf was found dead on November 7 in the vicinity of Forest Service Road 2058 and East Spring Valley Road in Flagstaff, Arizona.

The agencies have not shared information regarding the wolf's cause of death, but that 'the mortality was not related to agency management actions.'

According to the press release, the US Fish & Wildlife Service put up $50,000 of the $103,500 reward.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department's Operation Game Thief and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish each added $1,000 to the reward.

The remaining $51,500 came from funding from various individuals and non-governmental organizations.

Federal and state officials are offering a reward of up to $103,500 for information leading to the prosecution of someone involved in the death a Mexican wolf

The Mexican wolf was found dead on November 7 in the vicinity of Forest Service Road 2058 and East Spring Valley Road in Flagstaff, Arizona

This animal's death comes four months after officials documented the first Mexican wolf outside the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area (MWEPA).

Officials named that Mexican wolf Hope after she was spotted north of Interstate 40 near Flagstaff, Arizona.

Hope was captured by officials and released back into the wild in July but was found dead not too long afterwards.

Before its death, Hope was spotted travelling with another Mexican wolf, but officials revealed that animal's fate remains unknown.

The Western Watersheds Project posted photos of Hope and the collar she wore last July on Facebook on November 16.

'We don't know yet how Hope was killed, but if someone shot her, they must have known she wasn't a coyote,' the organization wrote in its Facebook post.

The organization added that individuals are not supposed to shoot 'without knowing the identity of your target.'

'In every photo we saw of Hope, her collar was plainly visible. If she was shot, the shooter had to know she wasn't a coyote,' said Cyndi Tuell, the Arizona and New Mexico director at Western Watersheds Project, in a statement to CBS News.

'If someone killed Hope, the full weight of the federal and state law should be brought to bear against the person or persons who took her away from our human community which found inspiration and joy in her existence, and from the non-human community that depends upon top predators to bring balance to the landscape.'

This animal's death comes four months after officials documented the first Mexican wolf outside the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area (MWEPA)

Mexican wolves are one of the most endangered wolf subspecies in the world.

'Although their numbers have grown slowly, they remain the most endangered subspecies of wolf in the world because of compromised genetics, human intolerance and reluctance to release more individuals and bonded pairs to the wild,' according to Defenders of Wildlife.

Over the years, these animals were found in mountainous areas in the southwestern US and northern Mexico.

However, in recent years, individuals in the US have primarily can usually only see Mexican wolves in southeastern Arizona or southwestern New Mexico.

Despite how rare the animals are, the US Fish & Wildlife Service confirmed in a March 2024 press release that the Mexican wolf population grew for the eighth year in a row.

'In the aggregate, the 2023 data points out that Mexican wolf recovery has come a long way since the first release,' said Jim deVos, Arizona Game and Fish Department Mexican Wolf Coordinator.

'Each year, the free-roaming Mexican wolf population numbers increase and the areas they occupy expands. Genetic management using pups from captivity is also showing results.'

According to the 2023 results, at least 60 Mexican wolf packs were documented at the end of 2023: 37 in New Mexico and 23 in Arizona.
A controversial rape crisis centre has issued a formal apology to a former employee it forced out over her gender critical beliefs.

A tribunal previously found Roz Adams was the victim of a heresy hunt at Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC).

Her gender-critical beliefs clashed with those of Mridul Wadhwa, the trans activist who was the centres chief executive before stepping down in September amid a row over its failure to provide single-sex spaces.

Yesterday ERCC issued a formal apology to Ms Adams, admitting it had harassed and discriminated against her.

Support worker Ms Adams suffered harassment after she stood up for a female victim who wanted assurances she would receive counselling from a woman - with Ms Wadhwa identified as the invisible hand behind Ms Adamss persecution.

She was awarded awarded almost 70,000 following the tribunal as redress for discrimination and constructive dismissal as well as compensation for emotional pain and suffering.

In his ruling, tribunal judge Ian McFatridge ordered the ERCC to publish a statement and to refer survivors of sexual assault to Beiras Place, the womens refuge in Edinburgh which was established by gender-critical author JK Rowling as an alternative source of support for female victims of sexual violence.

In an apology to Ms Adams published on its website last night, ERCC said: Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre apologises to Rosslyn Adams for having alleged that she was transphobic and acknowledges that there was no evidence to support that allegation (and) its disciplinary decision that Ms Adams had misconducted herself was wrong.

Roz Adams was awarded 70,000 after she took Edinburgh Rape Crisis to an employment tribunal

It added: Ms Adams was motivated by a wish to act in the best interests of service users when she questioned how to respond to a service user (as detailed in the Employment Tribunal judgment dated 14 May 2024), nothing Ms Adams did constituted bullying or harassment; and it accepts the Employment Tribunals findings that it harassed and discriminated against Ms Adams because of her protected gender critical beliefs.

It ends: Beiras Place provides an alternative source of support for female victims of sexual violence, with a link to the organisations website.

Following the tribunal awarding her compensation earlier this month, Ms Adams, 53, said: Im grateful to the tribunal for this judgment.

She called for there to be meaningful change at [the] ERCC, as well as at Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) and the Scottish Government.

She added: My priority remains that all victim-survivors of sexual violence can make a genuinely informed choice about the service they seek and have confidence in who will support them.

To restore that confidence, I urge these organisations to give a clear definition of woman.

The ERCC had been ordered to apologise publicly to Ms Adams as part of the tribunals ruling.

In September, a report commissioned by umbrella body Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) condemned the centre for insisting that traumatised rape victims, who can be as young as 12, must specify if they do not want support from someone born a man.

Mridul Wadhwa quit as the head of Edinburgh Rape Crisis the wake of a damning report

Campaigners had called for Ms Wadhwa, who is biologically male but identifies as female, to be removed - and she quit in the wake of the report after three years in the job.

Writing on X at the time, JK Rowling said government funding for Rape Crisis Scotland should be withheld if a single-sex service cant be guaranteed, because thats what the overwhelming majority of female survivors want and need.

She added: This problem starts at the governmental level. Scotlands ruling party, the SNP (for which Mridul Wadhwa stood as a council candidate), has embraced gender ideology wholeheartedly, dismissing all evidence that the most vulnerable women are suffering as a result.

At the time, Rape Crisis Scotland said: We will now be working with ERCC to ensure the recommendations of the review are implemented.
A crackdown on subscription traps that cost consumers an estimated 1.6billion a year is set to be launched by the government.

The business department said nearly 10 million of 155million subscriptions were unwanted, costing households an average of 14 per month.

It has launched a consultation on plans to make it easier for consumers to cancel these arrangements, which can cover anything from magazines to beauty boxes, and often come with unclear terms and conditions and complicated cancellation routes.

Consumers could often become trapped by signing up for a free trial or cut-price offer.

In some cases if the consumer doesnt cancel the trial within a set amount of time, they are often automatically transferred to a costly subscription payment plan, the government said.

Cancelling can involve long waits on a phone line service which may have restricted hours or other inconvenient processes that can leave consumers feeling trapped.

Government proposals will aim to make the cancellation and refunds process simpler as well as forcing retailers to be more transparent.

That includes clear websites that signpost them [consumers] directly to the cancellation process.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds. The Government is set to crack down on 'subscription traps' which cost consumers an estimated 1.6billion annually

New plans will make it easier to cancel arrangements (file image)

The government said it would aim to boost the rights of consumers without placing unnecessary burdens on businesses.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: Our mission is to put more money back into peoples pockets and improve living standards across this country, tackling subscription traps that rip peoples earnings away is an important part of that.

Everyone hates seeing money leave their account for a subscription they thought theyd cancelled, or a trial that unexpectedly gets extended.

Tom MacInnes, director of policy at Citizens Advice, said: Weve been raising the alarm for a long time on subscription traps exploiting consumers.

So were pleased to see the Governments new rules taking up our call for people to be able to exit a subscription as easily as they signed up for it.

Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at consumer group Which?, said: Subscriptions can be a convenient way for consumers to receive products and services, but in recent years many consumers have been trapped in unwanted subscriptions.

Its encouraging to see the Government press ahead with much-needed laws to tackle this, which will hand consumers far greater control over the subscriptions they take out.
The battle is bloodier than ever in Kursk province, Vitaliy Ovcharenko tells me. His unit, which he cannot name for security reasons, was part of the second Ukrainian wave into Russia. He has been fighting there since August 20.

The Russians are attacking like psychos, he tells me over the encrypted messaging app Signal.

Around three to five days ago  I cant say exactly for sure because I never sleep regularly here  they launched one of their biggest attacks yet.

But they used the same tactics and the same route. A column of Russians just came straight toward us; we pounded them and destroyed around 40 armoured vehicles in one day.

The next day they repeated the attack with 12 armoured vehicles, and we destroyed those, too.

It seems extraordinary, but I have seen and heard the same things at every front line I have visited across south and eastern Ukraine: The Russians are happy sending their soldiers to the meat grinder to be slaughtered. They have endless supplies and a political system that renders them entirely expendable.

Vitaliy continues: Russian soldiers weve captured all say the same thing: They have strict orders to kick us Ukrainians out of Kursk  at any cost.

This doesnt surprise me. Everything on the ground in the Russia-Ukraine War is now playing out with Donald Trumps presidential inauguration on January 20 in the background. Trump says he wants to end the war: This appears to mean a Versailles-style carve-up of the territories Moscow stole through invasion, torture and murder.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has promised to set out a new 10-point 'resilience' plan for his nation as morale begins to dip in the wake of the US election

President Zelensky has insisted that Donald Trump's re-election to the White House will help Ukraine defeat Russia 'faster'

David Patrikarakos beleives that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot negotiate whilst Ukraine holds a part of Russian territory

But Ive always believed it will be almost impossible for Putin to negotiate while Ukraine holds a part of Russia. It makes him look unforgivably weak.

This is the man who wanted to bring back his nations glory days as a global power, but ended up with a foreign army on Russian soil for the first time since the 1940s. He has little choice but to go all-out to take it back before the inauguration, no matter how many will die.

Ukraine seized around 420 square miles of Russian territory in the Kursk Oblast following its August incursion, but the Russians have counter-attacked ferociously and reclaimed around half of what they lost.

Now they are clearly determined to reclaim the remaining 230 square miles, pounding the Ukrainian positions on their north, west and east flanks.

Conditions are getting tough as winter arrives. Ukrainian forces near the Russian town of Sudzha are reportedly using construction equipment to clear roads of mud. Andrii Horets, first deputy commander of 95th Brigades air-mobile battalion, says Ukrainian forces are struggling to dig trenches.

But sometimes the bad weather helps. Vitaliy remembers a recent battle. It was night, and through a thermal-vision camera drone he saw a Russian unit assault Ukrainian positions as a group of his comrades poured out to engage them. The problem was that once there was only about 50m between our guys and them we no longer knew who was who, he said. So I asked our boys to do something that would distinguish them from the enemy.

One guy had an idea  Ill make a snow angel, he said, before laying down in the snow and stretching out his arms and legs in the white power. It worked. As soon as we saw that, we called in the strike. The enemy was done.

If the Russians are determined, so are the Ukrainians. Horets was clear. No matter what anyone says, the enemy is suffering huge losses here and our losses are small. The more assaults there are, the bigger the losses, he told the Ukrainska Pravda news site.

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A breakdown of the ATACMS missiles which could prove a 'game-changer' for Ukrainian forces

President Biden has after much deliberation given the green light to Ukraine to use US-supplied missiles to strike targets inside Russia

Donald Trump ran his bid for re-election on an 'America First' foreign policy, which if implemented, could spell a reduction in US aid for Ukraine

Last week UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated his 'unwavering' support for Ukraine

Ukrainian officials were reportedly furious with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who last week held an hour-long phone call with Russia

President Zelensky has called for increased funding and military aid to be granted to Ukraine by the EU

North Korea and Kim Jong Un have remained one of Russia's few allies during the Ukraine war

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reportedly given the go ahead for his nation's troops to be deployed to the Ukrainian frontlines and aid Russian units

Captured Russian soldiers have reported that they believe many more North Korean soldiers are due to arrive on the frontlines in the coming months

US officials have said that Biden may authorise them to be used to strike targets deeper into Russia in the future. In the meantime, a bonus is that Bidens authorisation means the UK and France will now almost certainly grant Kyiv authorisation to use their Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles inside Russia, too.

Anticipating such a move, Russia has reportedly pulled most of its warplanes and other assets deeper into Russia. In September, a Pentagon spokeswoman said 90 per cent of Russian aircraft launching guide bombs into Ukraine were doing so from airfields out of ATACMS range.

But they will unquestionably help Kyiv with its most immediate priority: The defence of Kursk. And as long as its soldiers hold the Oblast, Putin does not have everything his own way.

I read the news about the ATACMS during a meeting with my colleagues, says Vitaliy. Finally, finally, we all said. We have so much information about the location of Russian troops, logistics and key positions to target that these missiles can really make a difference  and can really help us to win here.

The Ukrainians will need all the help they get. They are always outnumbered when they face their far more brutal and larger neighbour. And now things are even worse as Russian numbers in Kursk have swelled with the arrival of 10,000 North Koreans. The troops, whom Moscow has supposedly trained in artillery fire, basic infantry tactics and trench clearing, are likely to get involved in the continuing assaults against Ukraines positions. They wear Russian uniforms and are equipped by Moscow. But US officials assess that they will likely fight in their own distinct units.

I have had no direct encounter with the North Koreans, Vitaliy tells me. Right now they are far from the front. But in my reconnaissance work we can see their deployment. Their groups stand out on the front line as they are much shorter than the Russian soldiers and even the Asian Russians, and they look different from them as well.

He continues. But its clear they are going to play a big role here. Some captured Russian soldiers said there are rumours that there are going to be more and more of them arriving. But we dont care. Whether its North Koreans or Russians it makes no difference  we will kill them. Morale is high. We just need more ammunition.

North Korean troops have been drawn from the 11th Corps, a special operations group comprised of their best fighters. But they have not seen ground combat for decades, and will fight as light infantry with no armoured vehicles, which is good for the Ukrainians, who are adept at deploying artillery fire and drones against unprotected Russian troops.

Analysts claim the Korean soldiers are younger and in better physical shape than many Russian contract soldiers. An analyst at the Institute for the Study of War has said the one thing they have that might actually be better than the Russians is cohesion and discipline. That is of course, if they can stay away from online pornography. The FT journalist Gideon Rachman recently tweeted that a reliable source had told him: North Korean soldiers deployed to Russia have never had unfettered access to the internet before. As a result they are gorging on pornography.

President Zelensky last week visited Ukrainian forces near the frontline of the war effort in the Donetsk Region

President Zelensky has spent the last number of days visiting Ukrainian forces near the frontline of the war effort in the Donetsk region

President Zelensky has spent the last number of days visiting Ukrainian forces near the frontline of the war effort in the Donetsk region

Morale amongst has been reportedly been low in the aftermath of the US Presidential election with Donald Trump running on foreign policy centering around 'America First'

Supplies for frontline Ukrainian troops have been dwindling as the nation enters its winter months

Some troops have been on the frontline for over two years without any meaningful respite, resulting in fatigue and a drop in morale

The news that US weaponry can now be used to strike targets inside Russia has come as a great boost to Ukrainian forces

Yeah, we heard about this, says Vitaliy laughing. Me and a couple of my boys joked about sending drones to their positions and then dropping phones loaded with Pornhub on to them.

Either way, the arrival of the North Koreans is an ominous development. This marks a major broadening out of the war as another nation state joins the fight. Alongside its troops, Pyongyang has also reportedly supplied Russia with long-range rocket and artillery systems, some of which have been deployed to Kursk.

This includes 50 domestically produced 170mm M1989 self-propelled howitzers, and 20 updated 240mm multiple-launch rocket systems that can fire both standard rockets and guided ones.

The arrival of the North Koreans also drags China further into this war. We already know how deep China and Russias ties run. In February 2022 the two powers announced their own no limits partnership. Russia is integral to creating the alternate world order Beijing wants to build and lead.

The Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy doctrine that underpins Chinese foreign policy stipulates that countries should work together on a common destiny. Make no mistake, the North Korea-Russia partnership, especially if successful in Kursk, brings the common destiny of dismantling American and Western hegemony one step closer.

Trumps imbecilic son Donald Trump Jr was enraged at Bidens decision to allow Ukraine to use the long-range ATACMS missiles, tweeting: The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives. Gotta lock in those $Trillions. Life be damned!!! Imbeciles!

As ever his words no doubt gave succour to Putin, who warned in September that any use of ATACMS in Russia would change the very essence, the nature of the conflict. But he said any invasion of Russia would do the same, and he barely mentions the Kursk offensive to his own people.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, deputy head of the Russian upper houses foreign affairs committee, was also eager to get in on the hyperbole. The US, he said, had taken a very big step towards the beginning of a Third World War.

In the end, though, it is perhaps a different harbinger of World War III that we need to beware of  and confront. Almost every week in 90 Seconds To Midnight, the Daily Mails weekly global news podcast, I discuss how the prospect of mass war is closer than ever. The podcast has travelled from Ukraine to Iraq to Israel, and the lesson from those I speak to is always the same: Appeasement emboldens our enemies.

Its something that Vitaliy understands, too. What does Trump mean when he says he will end this war? he asked me. It can only end once all our conquered territories are returned. Only then will me and my boys go home.

Anything less is just a temporary pause, and if you agree with a dictator like Putin, he just uses it to regroup and then return to capture more territory. A dictator is only stopped by strength.

Trump reminds me of Neville Chamberlain. He said he would bring peace, but instead brought us World War II. Now, Trump could bring us World War III.
Former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley ridiculed MSNBC Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski on Monday after they revealed they met with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

The famous TV couple said they met with Trump Friday to 'restart communications' after they spent eight years berating him as a racist, sexist, misogynistic, fascist.

'Joe and I realized its time to do something different, and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump but also talking with him,' Brzezinski said.

But Haley was not convinced.

'Lets be clear, Joe and Mika didnt suddenly see the light, they saw their ratings,' she wrote on X. 'They realized they needed Trump for their survival.'

Trump's landslide victory cratered ratings for MSNBC, as their prime-time viewership has fallen 53 percent from October.

As a presidential candidate challenging Trump, Haley was celebrated by the show hosts on Morning Joe, but was often criticized for not doing more to publicly condemn Trump on the campaign trail.

'That says a lot Nikki,' Brzezinski bemoaned after Haley refused to comment on a prior defamation and sexual assault case against E. Jean Carroll in New York.

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley mocked Morning Joe hosts for meeting with Trump

Brzezinski also berated Haley for suggesting that Biden could die in office if he was reelected president.

'Who does this? Im sorry, it just seems really untoward,' she said.

But Scarborough and Brzezinski faced their own reckoning from their viewers after the met with the man they denounced as acting like Hitler.

Fellow left-leaning personalities insisted the pair were 'bending the knee' to visit Trump and 'kiss the ring.'

But Scarborough said during the broadcast he felt a duty to visit with Trump in order to 'provide you insights and better equip all of us to understand these deeply unsettling times.'

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley ahead of a cable news interview

'Dont be mistaken: Were not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump,' he tried to reassure his viewers.

Morning Joe viewers were outraged by the news, as media colleagues condemned the hosts for their apparent hypocrisy.

'I don't think you need to sit down for ninety minutes at Mar-a-Lago and kiss his ring to be able to speak truth and be able to cover a story, so maybe they're not journalists in the true sense, maybe they are saying they are opinion journalists,' the View cohost Sunny Hostin noted on the show Monday.

'Normalizing Trump is a bad idea. Period,' wrote MSNBC host Katie Phang on X.com.
Keir Starmer was under mounting pressure last night to ignore blood-curdling Kremlin rhetoric about nuclear war and let Ukraine fire UK-made ballistic missiles into Russia.

Former defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace led calls for Britain to step up support after Vladimir Putins mouthpieces said such a move risked nuclear conflict by Christmas.

On the eve of the 1,000th day of the conflict, which has cost more than a million lives, the United States lifted a ban on Ukraine firing its long-range missiles into Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hinted that retaliatory strikes at Russia could be imminent, saying: Strikes are not carried out with words. Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak for themselves.

But Downing Street refused to say if the UK will follow suit and allow Ukraine to fire powerful British Storm Shadow missiles at military targets inside Russia.

The capability has been a key demand from Ukraine for months, following the growing use by Moscow of devastating glide bombs dropped from aircraft flying deep inside Russian territory.

Sir Keir yesterday said shoring up military support for Ukraine before Donald Trumps return to the White House was his top priority for this weeks G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

A diplomatic source told the Mail that Sir Keirs discomfort over the Storm Shadow issue is now so great that ministers have asked Ukraine to stop raising the issue in public.

Sir Keir Starmer is facing calls to allow Ukraine to fire UK-made ballistic missiles into Russia

Former defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace led voices urging Britain to step up its support for Ukraine in the face of blood-curdling Russian rhetoric

Vladimir Putin's mouthpieces warned of 'nuclear war by Christmas' in response to Joe Biden's widely reported but not confirmed move to allow American missiles to be fired at Russian targets

The only person that benefits from public discussion about this is Putin, the source said. It makes the West look divided when we are not. And it makes it look as if the war depends on one missile system, which it does not. This is a point we have been making with the Ukrainians at all levels.

No 10 declined to comment on reports that the US is continuing to block the use of Britains missiles against Russian targets.

Government sources said a planned meeting at the G20 today, at which the PM had planned to lobby Joe Biden for backing over the missiles, would not now take place. Asked about the crisis yesterday, the PM said: Im at the G20 with one message, which is that we must double down on our support for Ukraine.

Tomorrow is day 1000 of the conflict. Thats a thousand days of aggression from Russia and a thousand days of sacrifice from Ukraine. So that is my clear message here. Its number one on my agenda. Obviously, Im not going to get into operational details because the only winner, if we were to do that, is Putin and Im not prepared to do that.

President Bidens decision  which has been widely reported but not confirmed on the record  to finally let Ukraine use American missiles against Russian targets followed the deployment of North Korean troops to aid Putins forces, which the West sees as a major escalation in the war.

But it triggered a furious and threatening response by the Kremlin yesterday. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed President Biden was throwing fuel on the flames of the conflict.

In an interview on Radio 4s The World At One, a former Putin spokesman, Sergey Markov, went much further. He said: This is not a small step to nuclear conflict but a big jump. This is the war that you started. I think it is extremely dangerous.

I think Biden, Macron and Starmer want escalation which could lead to, from my understanding, in the worst scenario, nuclear war happening before Christmas this year.

Your browser does not support iframes.

It was also condemned by the son of US President-Elect Donald Trump who suggested the West wanted to start World War 3 before his father has the chance to make peace and save lives.

But Sir Ben, who led the UKs response to Russias invasion of Ukraine in 2022, insisted: Russia talks about escalation but it has escalated the conflict by recruiting North Korean soldiers and using Iranian drones.

Russia must also not be permitted to succeed by dividing the international community or by taking over a sovereign state.

Also, this is not about providing Ukraine with a major strategic strike capability.

Instead it is about targeting key Russian military infrastructure which in some cases is only a few kilometres inside its territory.

Former UK military intelligence officer Phil Ingram told the Mail last night that Sir Keir Starmer was too cautious.

He said: We should 100 per cent be granting Ukraine approval to use Storm Shadows. If Boris Johnson had remained as Prime Minister this would not be an issue as he would have given permission and taken the consequences, unlike our current Prime Minister.

Since 2022, the US has blocked Ukrainian pleas for permission to use American, British and French long-range missiles against Kremlin military targets inside Russia.

A Storm Shadow/Scalp EG missile system used by a Eurofighter Typhoon

These have a range of between 200 and 300 miles and are very accurate. But they are also prohibitively expensive and Britains stocks of Storm Shadow missiles are understood to be low.

Following Russias recruitment of 10,000 North Korean troops  and after Donald Trumps victory in the US Presidential election  Biden has finally been persuaded to change his stance.

Soldiers provided by Pyongyang are expected to lead a counter-offensive to capture territory seized by Kyiv in the southern Russian region of Kursk.

According to UK security sources, it is imperative Ukraine retains the territory in Kursk before any peace talks with the Kremlin. This is so the return of this land can be leveraged against Russia giving up the Ukrainian sovereign territory it has captured.

Western ballistic missiles could be fired into Kursk, destroying Russian airstrips, drone assembly facilities and military headquarters.

Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine has led to more than 700,000 Russian casualties, either dead or wounded.

Ukraine is also understood to have lost hundreds of thousands of troops, but it does not share its casualty figures.

Supporters of US President-Elect Donald Trump have argued that Ukraine should accept a land sacrifice as part of a peace deal.

A handout photo released by the press service of the State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine shows Ukrainian rescuers working at the site of an air strike in Lviv, western Ukraine, November 17, 2024

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian rocket attack in Poltava region Ukraine, November 17, 2024

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following a Russian rocket attack in Odesa region Ukraine, Sunday, November 17, 2024

Trump has also claimed he could end the conflict in a day once he is in office. He maintained a rare silence yesterday but his son, Donald Trump Jnr launched a breathtaking attack on President Biden.

Trump Jnr labelled US officials behind the policy shift imbeciles and suggested the move was led by the USs military industrial complex which makes billions of dollars from supplying equipment.

It is possible that President-Elect Trump could reverse President Bidens decision as soon as January.

He would also be able to suspend Ukraines use of Storm Shadow and French SCALP as these missiles include US components and require US satellite guidance.

Britain is also pushing President Biden to release 17billion in promised loans to Ukraine before Mr Trump returns to the White House.
Labours tax raid on private school fees risks a seismic impact on girls due to a shortage of female-only state schools, heads warn.

The Girls Schools Association (GSA) said it was a backwards step for equality because female-only education improves pupils life chances and breaks glass ceilings.

The body, which represents 150 girls private schools, warned families may no longer be able to educate their daughters in exclusively female establishments due to the policy.

Those forced out of their schools by unaffordable fee rises may not be able to find a similar state place, meaning they have to go co-educational.

Some areas in England have very few single-sex state schools, and in Scotland there are none.

Donna Stevens, chief executive of the GSA, said the new VAT on fees, due to come into effect in January, may lead to the girls school sector shrinking and choice being eroded.

Speaking at the GSAs annual conference, she said even where there are state girls schools, they are packed and places are impossible to get.

GSA president Alex Hutchinson added: The Governments rushed VAT policy has the potential to have a seismic impact on girls life chances.

Labours tax raid on private school fees risks a seismic impact on girls due to a shortage of female-only state schools, heads warn. Asked about the VAT policy on LBC Radio, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson (pictured) said private schools should cope with the increase in costs by managing budgets

Donna Stevens, chief executive of the GSA, said the new VAT on fees, due to come into effect in January, may lead to the girls school sector shrinking and choice being eroded

She said there would be individual hardworking families at GSA schools who will find fee rises linked to the VAT unaffordable and may have to leave the sector.

She added: It may be that because there are a very small number of all-girls state schools [in some areas], their choice to educate their daughters in an all-girls school is taken away.

Mrs Hutchinson said girls schools are absolute beacons around the promotion of gender parity.

She added that the GSAs purpose is to have schools that are designed for girls and she said in their schools theres no such thing as a boy subject.

Mrs Stevens said that research shows time and time again that it [girls-only education] does improve girls life chances and break glass ceilings.

She said girls schools can tailor education to their needs, for example by showing how physics can change the world, which tends to appeal to girls.

In addition, girls are encouraged to do science subjects because there is no negative pressure from boys, she said.

Asked if she thought the VAT change was a 'step backwards for equality', she said: I think we would.

The Girls Schools Association (GSA) said it was a backwards step for equality because female-only education improves pupils life chances and breaks glass ceilings (file image)

It comes after The Mary Erskine School for girls, in Edinburgh, announced it will merge with a boys school last month.

This leaves just two girls schools in Scotland - St Georges in Edinburgh and St Margarets in Aberdeen - both of which are private.

Asked about the VAT policy on LBC Radio, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said private schools should cope with the increase in costs by managing budgets.

She said: I know our state schools have been under enormous pressure and have had to deal with it and maybe they could provide some advice to the private sector on how to manage their budgets more effectively.

An HM Treasury spokesman said: The Government has made difficult decisions on tax now to fix the foundations and increase investment in public services and the economy, to rebuild Britain and unlock long-term growth.

We want to ensure all children have the best chance in life to succeed. Ending tax breaks on private schools will help to raise the revenue needed to break down the barriers of opportunity for children and young people across the country.
Aussies are fuming as Ticketek continues to grapple with an outage that has stopped thousands of customers from booking tickets to live events.

Customers trying to access the company's website on Tuesday have come across a message informing them that officials are conducting maintenance work on the site.

'The Ticketek website is currently undergoing maintenance. We apologise that the update is taking longer than anticipated,' the message states.

'Users may experience temporary disruptions.

'Our team are working hard to complete the update, please check back again later.'

The outage is believed to have started on Sunday night.

Dozens of people took to social media to express their anger as they scramble to book tickets to concerts and sporting events.

'Yikes is anyone else stressing about Ticketek being down? I can't access my tickets,' one complained on X.

Customers trying to access the company's website on Tuesday have come across a message (pictured) informing them that officials are conducting maintenance work on the site

'Ticketek is under maintenance and I can't access my tickets. Am I cooked?' another person wrote.

The company has not issued a statement on social media to explain what may have caused the problem and how officials are attempting to fix it.

The lack of information also left customers irate after many were unable to access their tickets online.

'Why is @Ticketek_AU not posting that their website and app are down? How the hell are people supposed to access their tickets?' one person asked.

Some customers, who attended a concert performed by punk band Dropkick Murhphys in Melbourne on Monday night, are understood to have received assistance from the company on social media.

The business informed customers to send Ticketek a 'private message' to help them address their complaints.

'We don't have quite enough information from this post. Please privately message your Ticketek contact details so we can assist you further,' the response read.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ticketek for further comment.

Dozens of people have taken to social media to express their frustration (pictured) at not being able to book their tickets to events online

The latest incident comes just months after the company was hit by a major data breach in May.

The names, email addresses and dates of birth of some customers were hacked, however the company assured customers that no accounts or payment details were stolen.

Ticketek said the personal details were held by a 'reputable, global third-party supplier' when the information was compromised.

The company has 1.9 million users a month and sells around 20 million tickets a year.
Donald Trump has nominated former Congressman and Fox Business host Sean Duffy to be his Transportation Secretary.

The president-elect announced late Monday he had picked Duffy, a father of nine who appeared on MTV series the 'Real World' in the 1990s, to take the spot currently occupied by Pete Butttigieg.

Duffy is married to fellow Fox News personality Rachel Campos-Duffy, who he met on the reality series 'Road Rules: All Stars' in 1998.

After leaving his reality TV career behind, Duffy then turned to politics and public service.

In 2010, he was elected to Congress to represent Wisconsin's seventh congressional district.

He served in the role until 2019 when he announced his retirement from Congress.

Duffy said at the time he wanted to spend more time with his children.

In 2020, Duffy joined Fox News as a contributor. He began hosting the Fox Business program 'The Bottom Line' later in 2023 alongside co-host Dagen McDowell.

Donald Trump has nominated former Congressman and Fox Business host Sean Duffy to be his Transportation

Duffy while appearing on MTV's 'Real World'

The president-elect announced late Monday he had picked Duffy, a father of nine who appeared on MTV series the Real World in the 1990s, to take the spot filled by Pete Butttigieg

But he has been absent from his anchoring post recently.

Some keen media observers have noticed leading up to the days to the announcement Duffy was not hosting his normal 6 p.m. show.

Instead a replacement anchor was filling in.

On Monday that fill-in anchor announced Duffy was selected as Transportation Secretary during the host's Fox Business Show.

President-elect Donald Trump released a statement Monday evening stating: 'I am pleased to announce that former Congressman Sean Duffy, from the Great State of Wisconsin, is nominated to serve as the Secretary of Transportation.'

'Sean has been a tremendous and well-liked public servant, starting his career as a District Attorney for Ashland, Wisconsin, and later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District.'

'During his time in Congress, Sean was a respected voice and communicator in the Republican Conference, advocating for Fiscal Responsibility, Economic Growth, and Rural Development.'

The president-elect also highlighted some specific projects Duffy worked on to show his qualifications for the role.

Sean and his wife Rachel have had nine children since they met on the reality show in the 1990s

In a statement on Monday night, president-elect Trump praised Duffy's political career and his 'star' wife Rachel

US President Donald Trump, with US Congressman Sean Duffy (L), holds a tariff table as he speaks in the Cabinet Room of the White House on January 24, 2019

'Admired across the aisle, Sean worked with Democrats to clear extensive Legislative hurdles to build the largest road and bridge project in Minnesota History.'

'As a member of the House Financial Services Committee, Sean played a key role in shaping and strengthening Economic policies, and ensuring Transparency and Accountability in Government programs. Seans leadership extended to championing the needs of families, farmers, and small businesses, especially in rural communities.'

Trump said in the announcement Duffy will be tasked with beatifying airports tunnels, bridges, highways and more.

'He will ensure our ports and dams serve our Economy without compromising our National Security, and he will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers.'

'Sean will use his experience and the relationships he has built over many years in Congress to maintain and rebuild our Nations Infrastructure, and fulfill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation. Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!'

Sean and Rachel posing together in an old photo posted on their social media

Duffy holds a dollar bill while questioning tech executives about blockchain technology when he was a member of the House

The president-elect also noted in his announcement how Duffy's wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, is a star in her own right.

Campos-Duffy former Fox News cohost Pete Hegseth was also recently tapped by Trump to serve in his upcoming administration.

Hegseth was nominated to be Trump's Secretary of Defense last week.

Duffy is a known 'lumberjack' - and he is a three-time winner of the Lumberjack World Championship.
In the last 10 days, the most liberal city in Texas has seen six murders, a unusual phenomena in the red state that prioritizes public safety.

Austin's murder rate has spiked in recent years, along with crime, which has spiraled out of control.

With several weeks in the year left, the capital city has recorded 62 homicides; compared to 73 in 2023.

An all-time high of 88 murders took place in 2021.

'You're looking in Austin, prior to 2020, I believe it was the norm to have 25 homicides a year, so to go up from 25 to 30 homicides to most likely will end at 70 for the year, that's a concern,' the city's brand new police chief, Lisa Davis, told the local Fox station just last week.

Led by then-mayor Steve Adler and ultra leftist members of city council, 2020 was a pivotal year for public safety in the growing Texas city.

Anti-police sentiment reached a boiling point after riots broke out in Austin's streets over the death of George Floyd.

The former mayor and city council went to war with the police that same, slashing the department's budget by a third - and dismissing two recruiting classes for new police cadets.

Austin, the Texas capital, is deep blue city where even Democrats have to prove how liberal they are to win elections

Austin currently has a police shortfall of nearly 500 cops after city council defunded the police department in 2020, only to return the money after they learned the state would penalize them for doing so

The city was later forced to give back the money due to a state law that penalized municipalities that defunded police.

However, the damage was done, with cops retiring early or transferring to departments in the Lone Star State.

It's left the police department understaffed by 483 officers and created a public safety crisis that means 911 calls will be directed to the non-emergency number unless you're in a life or death situation.

Homicide detectives and specialty units that targeted gangs or park patrols have been disbanded so that those officers can fill the basic needs of the city, like patrolling high crime areas of town or answering 911 calls.

In 2020, Austinites also voted the George-Soros backed district attorney Jose Garza into office.

In his tenure, Garza has been repeatedly accused of offering plea deals to murders and being soft on crime.

'How many of the assailants from this year were out on bond at the time,' retired police officer David Fugitt said in an online post over the weekend.

'How many of the deaths could have been prevented had the assailants been held accountable for prior crimes?'

Garza held a press conference in November to take credit for a jury's conviction of murderer Kaitlin Armstrong, even though he had offered Armstrong a plea deal, which she turned down, opting to take her case to trial instead

Garza recently won a second term in office, despite pleas from victims of crime sharing their horror stories about him.

A wealthy Austin neighborhood responded to the crime wave by voting to leave the city in what many saw as 'giving the finger' to soft on crime policies.

Lost Creek, a rich enclave in the west side of Austin, saw an overwhelming majority of 91 percent of residents vote to break away from the city during a May 4 election.
Passengers on the Southwest Airlines flight struck by gunfire Friday night in Dallas were never told by the airline that their plane had been hit by a bullet, and instead were put on another flight.

The Texas-based travel company seemed to adopt an ignorance-is-bliss policy after gunfire hit the right side of the plane near the cockpit and the entry door as the plane was getting ready to take off around 9:50 p.m.

The pilots made the decision to return to the gate and all passengers were told to exit the aircraft before being put on another plane that same night.

A Dallas family who was on the Indianapolis-bound aircraft say they would have not boarded another plane if they had known what really happened.

'That's the concerning part, I think, that they went ahead and chose for us to put us on another plane without our knowledge of the actual events,' passenger Shannon Lee told the local Fox station.

Lee, traveling with her husband and two son, did not learn why they had been forced to return to Dallas Love Field until another passenger told her when they finally landed in Indiana.

'The pilot came on just before takeoff and said that he had heard a rattling outside of the plane and that they were electing to turn back to the gate so that the mechanical team could check out the plane before we took off,' Lee's husband, James, added.

A Southwest Airlines plane carrying passengers has been struck by a bullet amid gunfire near a Texas airport

The Lee Family, from Dallas, did not learn their plane had been struck by gunfire until they landed in their final destination in Indiana hours later

Authorities are still working to determine if the plane had been targeted or hit by stray bullets.

'The investigation is ongoing, and we do not have an update to report,' the Dallas Police Department told DailyMail.com.

Southwest explained the second flight to Indianapolis did not take off until police had deemed the airport safe.

'The replacement flight continued to Indianapolis only after the Dallas Police had ascertained that there was no ongoing threat to public safety and the airport authority had reopened the runway for normal operations,' a Southwest spokesperson said in a statement to Fox 4.

'Southwest Airlines has been in contact with the Customers who were aboard Flight 2494 on Friday night.

In addition to offering them vouchers for future travel, we apologized for the inconvenience and stressed that the Safety of our Customers and Crew were our top priority.'

No injuries have been reported and the aircraft has been taken out of service, the airline confirmed.
It was once an essential device for iPhone users.

But now, Apple appears to have finally discontinued a popular piece of tech.

Shoppers around the world have been concerned to find that the 3.5mm Lightning To Headphone Jack Adapter is sold out online.

As Apple moves away from the Lightning cable and towards USB-C, the once-popular product could finally be gone for good.

Die-hard fans rushed to social media to vent their frustrations, calling the change 'the end of an era'.

MailOnline has confirmed that the cable is no longer available on the UK or US Apple websites.

The adaptor is reportedly still available in some countries, such as France, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

However, this is likely to be the case only in these countries where stores still have limited stock.

Apple appears to have discontinued the Lightning To 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter as shoppers around the world find that the popular piece of tech is now out of stock

On X (formerly Twitter), commenters rushed to share their frustration with the decision being called 'the end of an era'

The Lightning headphone adaptor first arrived in 2016 alongside the release of the iPhone 7.

This was the first iPhone release to ditch the 35mm aux jack in favour of the new Lightning cable.

The problem for many iPhone customers was that this decision rendered wired headphones, including all of Apple's previous EarPods, unusable.

The Lightning To 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter allowed users to keep connecting their older headphones to the newer iPhone models.

These small but vital cables were included in the box with every new iPhone from the iPhone 7 up, until the release of the iPhone XS in 2018.

By that time, many customers had moved on to Apple's Lightning EarPods or the newer Bluetooth AirPods.

But the adaptor still remained available for purchase separately for 9 at Apple stores.

However, Apple finally got rid of the Lightning cable in favour of the USB-C, with the release of the iPhone 15 in 2023.

The Lightning To Headphone Jack Adapter was released in 2016 to allow iPhone users to connect their wired headphones to the new iPhone's Lightning port

In 2016, Apple released the iPhone 7 (pictured), which was the first flagship smartphone to ditch the headphone jack in favour of a lightning cable. This meant iPhone users needed an adaptor to connect their older headphones

As Apple moves towards the USB-C, it is phasing out its remaining Lightning cable products. MailOnline found that the Lighting to USB Cable (pictured) and the Lightning to VGA Adapter are also out of stock

This has led to Apple slowly phasing out its Lightning cable products, including the Lightning to headphone adaptor.

In UK and US Apple stores, the Lightning to USB-C Cable and Lightning to VGA Adapter are also sold out, suggesting that these three older cables may all be discontinued.

On social media, a few die-hard fans of the product have expressed their disappointment that this key piece of tech will no longer be available.

One commenter wrote on X: 'I use mine all the time for my B&W 5 wired-on-ear headphones. Silly move to discontinue it.'

Another added: 'I still use mine to connect to my aux chord in my car even though I have Bluetooth.'

One commenter simply added: 'RIP'.

However, not everyone was so sad to see the headphone adaptor fade into obscurity.

On X, one commenter wrote: 'It was trash anyway. Third-party variants are much more reliable.'

On X, one commenter called the move to ditch the adaptor 'silly', adding that they still use theirs to connect wired headphones

Another commenter said that they used the adaptor to connect to their car's audio even though they also had the option to use Bluetooth

One commenter simply added 'RIP' (Rest in Peace)

'Makes sense as lightning ports are getting phased out', an Apple fan added.

While another commenter joked: 'If you didn't have one by now, I guess it wasn't meant to be.'

This is not the first time this year that Apple has discontinued a once-popular device.

In September, the company announced that it would discontinue three iPhone models to make way for the iPhone 16, as they revealed that the iPhone 13, iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models would no longer be manufactured.

Likewise, this month Apple began a tactical retreat from augmented and virtual reality amid poor sales of the 3,499 Vision Pro headset.

With only 370,000 headsets sold in the first three quarters of 2024, Apple has quietly scaled back production of the much-hyped headset.

One Chinese manufacturer of the Apple Vision Pro said it had already cut assembly rates in half, down to just 1,000 units per day.

Apple has been contacted for comment.
The earliest inscription declaring Jesus as God - deemed 'the greatest discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls' - was uncovered beneath the floor of an Israeli prison and is now on display in America.

The 1,800-year-old mosaic, discovered by an inmate of the Megiddo prison, features the ancient Greek writing: 'The god-loving Akeptous has offered the table to God Jesus Christ as a memorial.'

The 581-square-foot mosaic decorated the world's first prayer hall in 230 AD, confirming Christians believed Jesus was the son of God from the very beginning.

The Megiddo Mosaic also included some of the earliest images of fish, which experts believe reference the story in Luke 9:16 when Jesus multiplied two fish to feed a crowd of 5,000 people.

The floor has been hidden under the prison since it was discovered in 2005, but has now been lent to a museum in Washington, DC, until July 2025.

Carlos Campo, CEO of the museum, hailed the mosaic as ' the greatest discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls,' while his colleagues noted it was 'the most important archaeological discovery for understanding the early Christian church.'

'We truly are among the first people to ever see this, to experience what almost 2,000 years ago was put together by a man named Brutius, the incredible craftsman who laid the flooring here,' Campo said at the opening of the exhibition.

The Megiddo Mosaic (pictured) was unearthed during the expansion of a high-security prison in Israel. The mosaic had an inscription at the top (pictured) that said: 'The god-loving Akeptous has offered the table to God Jesus Christ as a memorial'

The Megiddo Mosaic is currently on display at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC (pictured until July 2025

Alegre Savariego, curator of the exhibition, said: 'The mosaic presents groundbreaking physical evidence of the practices and beliefs of early Christians, including the first archaeological instance of the phrase, 'God Jesus Christ.''

The Megiddo Mosaic was found in the Jezreel Valley where Christians believe the final battle of the Biblical Armageddon in the Book of Revelations will occur.

The excavation, conducted by archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), took four years to recover the 581-square-foot mosaic floor.

The mosaic included the name of the Roman officer who commissioned the tile during the Roman occupation of Judea.

Researchers suggested that could prove Romans coexisted with Christians to some degree, despite the numerous stories of war and slaughter at the time.

An inscription on the mosaic read: 'Gaianus, a Roman officer, having sought honor, from his own money, has made the mosaic.'

The team also found a nearby Roman camp, providing more support of the peace between the two groups.

The prayer hall, or church, was likely abandoned and covered up because the Roman Empire's Sixth Legion was transferred to Transjordan - a region located to the east of the Jordan River.

The mosaic also contained the names of five women, highlighting the important role women played in the church.

Aside from Akeptous, who was mentioned for her donation of a table to the prayer hall, the mosaic's inscription also says to 'remember Primilla and Cyriaca and Dorothea, and lastly, Chreste.'

Bobby Duke, director of the Scholars Initiative at the Museum of the Bible, said: 'This is arguably one of the most important archaeological discoveries for understanding the early Christian church.'

The mosaic was discovered while expanding a maximum-security prison located near the ancient city of Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley in 2005

The mosaic featured some of the earliest images of fish being used to represent Christianity, mirroring the story told in Luke 9:16 when Jesus multiplied two fish to feed a crowd of 5,000 people

'For example, the mosaic underscores the crucial role of women in the early church by the fact that five women are mentioned in it by name,' he continued.

'Truly, the mosaic presents a wealth of new data for church historians, like the Dead Sea Scrolls did for Bible scholars.'

The IAA said there isn't any information that explains why these women were mentioned, but it is highly unusual because God wasn't typically asked to remember individuals.

'While they were clearly important to the community, the inscription does not tell us whether they were patrons of the community (like Akeptous), or martyrs, or honored for some other reason,' the Museum of the Bible said.

After the major archaeological find, the conservation department of the IAA cleaned and stabilized the mosaic, grouted and re-laid any loose tesserae and filled in the empty spaces with mortar and reburied the mosaic while they carried out their research.

IAA had to separate the floor, placing pieces in 11 crates that were shipped to the US earlier this year for the exhibit titled: 'The Megiddo Mosaic: Foundations of Faith.'

'You couldn't just lift the whole floor up,' Duke said.

'So ... they very intricately cut different pieces of the mosaic so that they didn't destroy any of the artwork. So, not all the pieces were the same size.

'So, even one of the crates that came into this gallery was about a thousand pounds.'

The Megiddo mosaic will return to Israel after the exhibit concludes and put on a permanent display at the exact site where it was discovered.

The Megiddo inmates will be relocated to another prison upon the mosaic's return.

The mosaic contained Greek inscriptions that include the names of five women, highlighting the importance of women in the church

In the year leading up to the mosaic's move to the Museum of the Bible, the IAA received criticism for allowing the a major piece of Christian history to be displayed at the museum.

Since it's doors opened in 2017, the museum has been forced to return thousands of artifacts including an ancient Mesopotamian tablet and thousands of clay scrolls that were looted from Iraq.

It was also forced to admit that several of the Dead Sea Scroll fragments displayed in its collection were modern forgeries.

'While some of the founders and actions of the museum are questionable, and the museum clearly has a very ideological agenda, I don't think a 'purist' agenda is very helpful here,' Prof. Aren Maeir, an archaeologist at Bar-Ilan University told Haaretz.com.

'As long as everything is done by the letter of the law, I see no problem.'
Scientists have uncovered a shocking link between air pollution and a group of cancers that plagues tens of thousands of Americans each year.

The researchers found that exposure to PM2.5 pollution - or particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns - increases the risk of head and neck cancers (HNC).

Common types of HNC include throat cancer and mouth cancer, which an estimated 71,100 Americans will be diagnosed with in 2024.

The study discovered that breathing in PM2.5 increased the risk of developing HNC by 24 percent five years after exposure to this pollutant.

Even within just one year of PM2.5 exposure, the researchers found that the risk of developing HNC increased by 16 percent.

PM2.5 is generated through a variety of industrial processes, including fuel burning and manufacturing, but can be generated inside the home by burning candles, using certain cleaners or air fresheners, and other activities.

Particulate matter can be found all across the US, but PM2.5 pollution is particularly severe in states such as California, Georgia and Utah.

Studies have shown that HNC rates are especially high in the Midwest and Southeast. These regional economies rely heavily on manufacturing, agriculture and energy, all of which are key producers of air pollution.

A new study has uncovered a link between air pollution and head and neck cancer (HNC), which tens of thousands of Americans are diagnosed with each year

The harmful effects of particulate matter on human health - including increased risk of cancer - have been well documented.

But now, researchers have investigated how breathing in PM2.5 specifically affects the risk of developing HNC.

'Environmental health and personal health are inextricably linked,' said co-author Dr Amanda Dilger of the Center for Surgery and Public Health and Massachusetts Eye and Ear, in a statement.

Dilger and her colleagues published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports on November 12.

The research team, which spanned several US research hospitals, gathered data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) national cancer database.

The SEER database tracks cancer cases and collects follow-up information on all previously diagnosed patients until their death.

The researchers pulled data on HNC cases spanning 2002 to 2012, and then linked those cases to county-level data on PM2.5 pollution, alcohol use and smoking across all available years.

The cohort included cancer cases from California, Connecticut, Southeast Michigan, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Seattle (Puget Sound) and Utah.

Patients had been diagnosed with oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx, hypopharynx, sinonasal and middle ear cancers.

An EPA map shows nationwide PM2.5 levels on Nov. 18, with green dots representing 'good' air quality and yellow dots representing 'moderate' pollution levels

The analysis found a significant association between PM2.5 levels and the incidence rate of HNC, and this relationship was strongest at a five-year lag period.

This means that the risk of developing HNC increased the most at five years after exposure to PM2.5 pollution - rising by 24 percent.

But PM2.5 exposure also increased HNC risk over shorter and longer time periods.

At the time of exposure (AKA a zero-year lag) HNC risk increased 16 percent, and after 20 years, the risk increased 15 percent.

'These findings shed light on the significant role of environmental pollution in cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract, highlighting the need for further awareness, research and mitigation efforts,' said Dr Stella Lee, study senior author and rhinologist Brigham and Women's Hospital, in a statement.

While the link between PM2.5 exposure and HNC has been historically understudied, according to the researchers, it's well-known that this type of air pollution is a powerful carcinogen.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies air pollution, specifically PM2.5, as a carcinogen known to cause cancer in humans - particularly lung cancer.

PM2.5 is generated through a variety of industrial processes, including fuel burning and manufacturing

But cells in the head and neck are especially vulnerable to air pollution.

'Presumably, the link to head and neck cancer comes from what we breathe to that material affecting the lining in the head and neck,' said lead author Dr John Cramer, associate professor of otolaryngology at Wayne State University in Detroit.

'We see a lot of occurrences of where carcinogens touch or pool in the body to where cancers can occur,' Cramer added.

But breathing air pollution can lead to other health risks too. This study comes on the heels of research that uncovered a link between air pollution exposure and higher incidence of miscarriage in Baoji, China.

There are several theories for why air pollution may cause miscarriage, including disruption of pregnancy hormones, triggering harmful inflammation in the mother and negative impacts on fetal development.

As researchers dive deeper into the many ways that air pollution harms human health, they are also pushing for improved air quality standards to mitigate the affects of these dangerous substances.

'Our study highlights the need to improve air quality standards in order to decrease the risk of developing cancer, including head and neck cancer,' Dr Dilger said.
Ancient Egyptians consumed a gruesome alcoholic cocktail made with psychedelic drugs and bodily fluids, a new study shows.

Researchers have analysed chemical traces inside a 2,200-year-old ceramic drinking mug found in ancient Egypt.

The palm-sized mug depicts the head of the strange deity Bes, who was believed to protect women and children, specifically during labour.

Traces of a fermented alcoholic liquid derived from fruit were found, as well as psychoactive compounds from plants to induce 'dream-like visions'.

For an extra kick, they added bodily fluids to the mix, such as human blood, breast milk and even vaginal and oral mucous, the experts claim.

The concoction was also flavored with honey, sesame seeds, pine nuts, licorice and grapes, which were commonly used to make the beverage look like blood.

But it may have been drunk in moderation  one serving of the concoction was 90ml, about one sixth of a pint.

Study author Davide Tanasi, a professor at University of South Florida (USF), thinks the mixture was drunk by sick people who wanted to receive 'prophetic dreams'.

The analysis was performed on this Bes-vase, donated to Florida's Tampa Museum of Art in 1984. Bes, an ancient Egyptian deity, was worshiped for protection, fertility, medicinal healing and magical purification

University of South Florida scholar Davide Tanasi creates a 3D replica of the Egyptian Bes mug used in the study

'At this point, we are 100 per cent certain that psychotropic substances were used for "incubation rituals" connected with the cult of Bes,' he told MailOnline.

'Incubation rituals are religious practices where people sleep in a sacred space to receive a dream from a deity that may provide healing.'

Around 2,000 years ago, Bes was worshiped for protection, fertility, medicinal healing and magical purification.

The Bes vessel analysed for this study originated in the second century BC and is part of the collection at the Tampa Museum of Art in Florida.

It was said to be found in the Fayum district, a region south of Cairo known for its fertility and the abundance of plant and animal life in Ancient Egypt.

Professor Tanasi worked with USF researchers and partners in Italy at the University of Trieste and the University of Milan to perform the chemical and DNA analyses.

With a sample scraped from the inner walls of the vase, the team used multiple analytical methods including to reveal more about what was last in it.

One of the plants used as a cocktail ingredient was Peganum harmala, more commonly known as Syrian rue, native to the Mediterranean basin, they found.

The team used multiple analytical methods including spectroscopy, which involves studying the absorption and emission of light and other radiation by matter

This particular jug is said to have be found in the Fayum district, a region south of Cairo known for its fertility and the abundance of plant and animal life in Ancient Egypt

The Ancient Egyptian cocktail recipe Traces of a fermented alcoholic liquid derived from fruit

Psychoactive compounds from plants

Bodily fluids (human blood, breast milk and even vaginal and oral mucous)

Honey, sesame seeds, pine nuts, licorice and grapes Advertisement

The seeds of the plant produce high quantities of the alkaloids harmine and harmaline, which induce 'dream-like visions', the team say.

These visions tend to be 'oneirophrenic'  where a person becomes confused about the distinction between reality and dream.

Also in lower concentrations in the plant are the alkaloid vasicine, which has 'utero-tonic' properties at certain dosages, the team say.

These can aid childbirth or induce abortion  alluding to those concepts linked with Bes the deity.

Traces were also found of the aquatic plant blue lotus flower (Nymphaea caerulea), which contains the psychoactive alkaloid aporphine.

The analysis also revealed the presence of fermented fruit-based liquid and other ingredients such as honey or royal jelly.

There was even a compound found in the licorice plant (Glycyrrhiza glabra), suggesting the cultivation of licorice in ancient Egypt.

Traces of wheat and sesame seeds were found, along with yeasts from fermentation such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae (still used in baking and brewing) plus pinolenic acid, indicating a source rich in this fatty acid such as pine nuts.

Bes was a minor god in ancient Egyptian religion, depicted as a dwarf with a large head, goggle eyes, protruding tongue, bowlegs, bushy tail, and usually a crown of feathers (depicted here left with smaller feminine counterpart Beset right)

The team used multiple analytical methods including spectroscopy, which involves studying the absorption and emission of light and other radiation by matter. In this image, the area marked in red is a large grain of the pottery sample. Those indicated in green are crystallized grains imbued with beta-carboline alkaloids derived from the wild rue plant

Pictured, optical images of the sample collected from vessel residues at varying magnifications. The sample is mostly small grains of different sizes and colour

But most disgustingly was the discovery of 'a high presence of human proteins within the residue', the team say in their study.

This suggests the 'deliberate addition of human fluids to the drink prepared for ritual purposes'.

'This includes fluids like breast milk, mucous fluids (oral or vaginal), and blood.'

One reason for drinking this concoction may have been to recreate the Myth of the Solar Eye, a significant event in Egyptian myth.

In the story, Bes stopped the wrath of bloodthirsty goddess Hathor by serving her an alcoholic beverage spiked with a plant-based drug.

'In the light of our results, it would be possible to infer that this Bes-vase was used for some sort of ritual of reenactment of what happened in a significant event in Egyptian myth,' the team say in their paper, newly published in Scientific Reports.

Until this analysis, experts had speculated that Bes mugs could have been used for sacred water, milk, wine or beer  making this bizarre cocktail something of a surprise.

According to the team, their study identifies all the chemical signatures of the liquid concoction contained in the Tampa Museum of Art's Bes mug for the first time.

This Bes mug - which has been recreated as a to-scale 3D replica - is available for the public to see at the Tampa Museum of Art in Tampa, Florida

The next step will be to carry out the same analyses on other Bes mugs, of which less than 15 exist, including those kept at the Allan Pierson Museum in Amsterdam.

These other Bes mugs, produced with the same mold used for the Tampa one, could show if there was 'one and only recipe' for this 'magical potion', Professor Tanasi told MailOnline.

The Tampa Bes mug  which is available for the public to see at the Tampa Museum of Art in Tampa, Florida  been recreated as a to-scale 3D replica.

'The 3D print can also be used for public outreach experiences with the public with visual impairments and cognitive disabilities,' Professor Tanasi added.

'Additionally, we were also able to calculate the amount of liquid that the original Bes mug contained, simply filling up with water the 3D print  about 90ml.'
Wow, I think, as we cycle the deserted road. If you are really worried about World War Three  and you want to avoid the nuclear fall-out  then this is the place to be.

You never saw a landscape so enchanting or so lonely. Its barely 7pm and theres plenty of light left in the day, but not a single car passes us. For mile after mile we see no human habitation, just cows grazing the upland pastures. The wind is mild, grass lush, sky grey.

This is Chiles Easter Island  but it could be the west coast of Ireland, except for these strange green conical volcanoes, hundreds of metres high. On our right is the south coast, with its turquoise Pacific rollers crashing into the black volcanic rock of the shore.

If the islands of Polynesia were a solar system, this would be Pluto. If they were the dots on the old Central Line tube map, then this would be Ongar. My wife, Carrie, and I have come to the worlds last bus stop, the back of beyond, a tiny pimple on the rear end of nowhere.

We are about 2,500 miles from mainland Chile, and about 7,000 miles from New Zealand. It is the loneliest place on the planet, except that of course we are not alone.

Out of the corner of my eye, I detect a human shape; and then another, and another. Here they are at last, the peculiar people I have been waiting all my life to encounter face to face.

We dismount, open a rickety wooden gate, and walk through cowpats and lupins towards the shore, until we are only feet away. You arent supposed to go too close to the gods of Easter Island, not these days. There are signs on the cropped grass.

But we feel drawn as if by some instinct, and, without exactly disobeying the signs, we walk down towards the coast, keeping the huge figures on our right  until we find ourselves in a spooky place, somehow between the statues and the sea.

Boris Johnson visits Easter Island (above) with his wife, Carrie. 'You never saw a landscape so enchanting or so lonely,' he says. 'If you are really worried about World War Three  and you want to avoid the nuclear fall-out  then this is the place to be'

Statue selfie: Boris and wife Carrie

There is a long stone ledge carved in the rock, about 6ft tall and 6ft wide, so close to the shore that you could feel the spray; and now the gigantic divinities are invisible above us as we walk behind the altar, for about 50ft, until we can go no further, and so we turn and come out among them  purely by mistake, I want you to know.

We have emerged into the holy precinct itself, and I cannot contain my curiosity. I reach out to touch one of the fallen statues  or moai  his colossal forehead buried in the turf, his very earlobe as tall as we are; and as I look down I see that we are actually standing on one of them. Beneath our feet, almost completely buried, is the shape of a human face.

There is an eye socket dwarfing Carries foot; and another; and his nose, and  well  as you can imagine, we leap off this glaring god like a pair of scalded cats.

So I apologise to the people of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, for accidentally trespassing on this sacred site; and yet I cant help feeling that if it were a sin, its forgivable.

You couldnt claim that the religion is practised today, or even understood. The cows wander freely among these altars. It wasnt the Europeans who knocked these godheads down. It wasnt we who humbled the humongous humanoids.

It was the people of Easter Island themselves. It was they who exalted the moai, and they who tore them down  and all my life I have wondered why.

My obsession was fired at the age of about ten when I read Aku Aku by Thor Heyerdahl, in which the great Norwegian explorer argued (unconvincingly, they say) that Easter Island had been settled from Peru. My researches continued at Oxford, where in my otherwise entirely dissipated first year of study the only lecture I attended was on Easter Island, even though it was completely irrelevant to my actual curriculum.

There in the Pitt Rivers museum I learned what has been for decades the dominant theory. It was an ecocide, the professor said, an environmental catastrophe. It is an idea that has been echoed in many books, including Jared Diamonds Collapse.

Remote: Rano Kau volcano at the south-western tip of Easter Island

Boris reveals that he has long been obsessed with why the people of Easter Island tore their statues down

The gist of it is that over hundreds of years the islanders were so obsessed with their statue-building cult that they became ever more ambitious and competitive. So they needed more and more wooden scaffolding and more and more rollers to manoeuvre the 14-ton anthropomorphs into place.

So they cut down trees, and without the trees the soil was washed away  and lo! Humanity was punished for overdevelopment. The crops failed, the population dwindled to almost nothing, and the giant statues were felled by time and tsunamis.

For generations, that has been the moral of Easter Island  that human activity can trigger a sudden eco-disaster that endangers our very civilisation.

Yes, the fate of the Easter Islanders has been held up as a lesson for the whole of the human race, a finger-wagging warning about the dangers of anthropogenic climate change. The message of Easter island, on this reading, is that by damaging the environment, we can imperil the entire future of humanity.

Well, that may very well be true  as a general proposition. But as an explanation of what happened to the people of Easter Island, I now think it is probably total balls.

Over the best part of two days, we cycle a big chunk of the beautiful island  a triangle in which the hypotenuse is only 14 miles long. We swim at Anakena, with its golden-pink sand and water that is clear and blue, though not exactly tropical.

We look from a respectful distance at many of the other re-erected man-mountain monoliths. And after much conversation with the locals, especially with Ricky, the thoughtful guide at the Explora hotel, I can see why so many scholars now reject the ecocide theory.

Explora is a beautiful timbered structure looking out over the south coast, where the breakfasts are generous and they take the archaeology seriously. After spending more than ten years showing people round, and listening to the theories, Ricky has formed a view.

Explora hotel 'is a beautiful timbered structure looking out over the south coast, where the breakfasts are generous and they take the archaeology seriously'

Easter Island is one of the most remote islands in the world. Its nearest inhabited neighbour is Pitcairn Island, more than 1,200 miles away

YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW THAT... The name comes from its European discovery on Easter Sunday 1722 by Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen.

One of the most remote islands in the world, its nearest inhabited neighbour is Pitcairn Island, more than 1,200 miles away.

Rapa Nui is the language spoken by the inhabitants, who number nearly 8,000.

Wifi is only available in the main town of Hanga Roa.

At just 2.5million years old, the island is considered young in geological terms. Advertisement

So, here is what I reckon really happened. It looks as though the Polynesians first got to this island about 800 years ago. You can imagine that they were aware just how far they had come. So they quarried these statues from the volcanic tuff, to honour the genius of their seafaring ancestors, and they rocked them into place; not on rollers, but rocking them upright as you rock a wardrobe along a floor, pulling ropes and singing shanties.

And for centuries, since they were so far away from the rest of humanity, they blissfully indulged their cult.

They dressed the statues in feathers; they gave them white coral eyeballs; they chanted their praises and every year they added more until there were about a thousand dotted around the island.

Things seemed to go well. Easter Island is temperate and fertile, and they had large numbers of chickens, which they kept in elaborate stone coops. The population rose and prospered, until there were many thousands living on the island  and it does not seem, from the human remains, that they were especially violent towards one another.

So what went wrong? Sometime in the 1600s the rate of statue production goes into a sharp decline. It was a period  as Ricky reminds  that coincided with the mini ice age.

Could it have been that after centuries of practising the same religion  thanking and propitiating their ancestors  they started to worry that it just wasnt working? They were carving bigger and bigger moai, some of them heavier than a Boeing 737; and yet the weather was getting colder and colder.

Then, in 1722, something truly shattering happened. A Dutchman called Jacob Roggeveen made landfall  the first European to discover the place. As they looked at that enormous European ship, they realised a dreadful truth: that their seafaring ancestors  the gods of these statues  were not so special after all.

There followed a catastrophic period of self-doubt, and recrimination.

As with mediaeval Christianity, as with Islam, they decided that somehow their sufferings were caused by their very reliance on graven images. In a fit of puritan iconoclasm they  or some of them  decided to tear down these masterpieces.

The happy island was engulfed by a struggle between those who still clung to the old faith, and those who believed that the old idols had manifestly failed, and were interrupting the relationship between man and god, and that it was time for a new and purer religion.

Thats my guess, and I bet Im right. It wasnt ecocide. It was religious strife, and civil war, and a collapse of confidence and leadership. Yup, folks, the one and only lecture I went to in the whole of a drunken and crapulous taxpayer-funded year at university turns out to have been completely wrong.

It wasnt poverty; it wasnt disease; it wasnt crop failure; it wasnt famine. It certainly wasnt some environmental problem to do with soil erosion that caused the collapse of the Easter Island culture.

It was politics that destroyed this amazing civilisation, as it almost always is. And that is the real lesson for the human race.

Boris Johnson's memoir, Unleashed, is out now (30). Visit harpercollins.co.uk to order.
Moonflower Murders (BBC1)

Rating:

Silly accents, vintagecars, stunning locations  Moonflower Murders is a lot of fun to watch and, by the look of it, even more fun to make.

Sipping cocktails by a pool in the Med, Lesley Manville returns as sleuth Susan Ryeland, now retired from the London publishing trade and running a hotel on Crete with her boyfriend, Andreas.

Just as the business threatens to fold, what with leaking roofs and kitchen fires, two visitors turn up and offer her 10,000 to help find their missing daughter. Nothing strenuous involved . . . just a bit of travel and a few tantalising puzzles to solve.

Amateur detective Susan thinks exactly what actress Lesley must have thought  this job offer is too good to miss.

Adapted from his own novel by the acknowledged master of traditional mystery stories, Anthony Horowitz, the plot is a riddle wrapped in an enigma sealed within a conundrum.

Susan is investigating a disappearance linked to a killing eight years earlier, which supplied the inspiration for a period thriller set in the 1950s . . . a book that she herself edited. Got that?

We timeslip between eras and backdrops: her idyllic life in the Greek islands, a wedding venue in Suffolk and an Olde Worlde village in post-war Devon. To add to the layers of complexity, many of the cast play double roles. Rosalie Craig, for instance, is a bad-tempered hotel manager in the 21st century and a spoilt Hollywood film star 60 years earlier.

Even the title is a teaser  a tongue-in-cheek reference to Midsomer Murders, the series Horowitz helped to create. In fact, Moonflower Murders is the second in a series that started with Magpie Murders and will continue with Marble Hall Murders . . . its clearly a case of dial double-M for you-know what.

Tim McMullan is the imaginary detective Atticus Pund, a cousin of Hercule Poirot but without the moustache

Madeline Cain played by Pippa Bennett-Warner and Maureen Gardner played by Pooky Quesnel in Moonflower Murders

One of the characters, the marvellously brisk and efficient secretary Madeline Cain (Pippa Bennett-Warner), is never without her notebook. Its the surest way of keeping track but, if thats too much like hard work on a Saturday evening, you can simply let the cast entertain you.

Tim McMullan is the imaginary detective Atticus Pund, a cousin of Hercule Poirot but without the moustache, who haunts Susans imagination to hint at clues.

Daniel Mays plays a gruff inspector called Locke and his 1950s counterpart, a yokel policeman with a limp and a ravenous appetite for home-made Battenberg . . . whose name is Chubb.

That performance is almost understated, compared to Mark Gatisss turn as a prissy, demanding hotel guest called Frank Parris. He has only one scene before the Russian chambermaid discovers him with his head bashed in and a bloody hammer lying beside his corpse.

Naturally, the maid dips her hands in gore and rushes downstairs to smear crimson all over a brides white satin.

Gatiss soon returns as the alter ego of Mr Parris  Herr Oscar Berlin, an oleaginous film producer with a nervous twitch and a Gestapo intonation straight out of Allo Allo. I kept expecting him to announce: I shall not be reporting zis incident.
Yellowstone fans were left confused by time jumps in the latest installment of the hit Paramount Network show on Sunday night.

As many expected, Kevin Costner's John Dutton was killed off in the opening moments of last week's episode, which brought the wrath of Yellowstone fans online.

This week's episode began with flashback scenes of Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) and Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) at the 6666 Ranch in Texas, before Dutton was found dead.

Then inexplicably, just minutes later, the couple was back at the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch in Montana in present day, after Dutton was killed, with no clear segue or explanation as to why the flashback happened in the first place.

Several fans did not hesitate to express how confused or irritated they were on numerous social media posts, with some even comparing Yellowstone to Game of Thrones, in how that show handled its ending.

Social media user @StilsonGreene wrote: 'This is very frustrating storytelling by @Yellowstone' on X Sunday evening.

Paramount Network's Yellowstone returned last Sunday with the first new episode in nearly two years, and it had fans quite confused

They also lavished praise on Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler's (Cole Hauser) relationship as well.

@colbyfootbalfan said, 'These time jumps in Yellowstone this season are so f***ing confusing. I don't give a s**t about Texas.'

@AdeleSellsNJ said, 'Is anybody else lost on Yellowstone? Last week Rip was heading home and tonight she went to Montana?! It's disconnected. Did I miss something?!'

@Kelli_A2 added, 'What happened to Yellowstone? It's all over the place,' while @taha19611983 said, 'That was confusing right?'

@YoungTide1998 said, 'So did anyone else notice that Rip and Beth managed to somehow end up back in Montana when in the previous scene they were both in a hotel in Texas? Please don't be another GOT and start not making sense at the end. We love this show!!'

@richardaurora said, 'This season of Yellowstone is completely lost. They should have just shut it down when Costner bailed.'

The episode began with Rip Wheeler and some of the Yellowstone cowboys down at the 6666 Ranch in Texas, before the death of John Dutton

Then, just minutes later, they inexplicably jumped back to the present with Beth and Rip back home at the ranch in Montana, which fan's weren't too pleased about.

@StilsonGreene said, 'This is very frustrating storytelling by @Yellowstone

@jonward51 said, 'I guess Yellowstone is doing flashbacks?

@PCSoonersFan said, 'I'm not a fan of this bouncing around timeline s**t with Yellowstone tonight.'

@jonward51 said, 'I guess Yellowstone is doing flashbacks?'

Other fans showered praise on Beth and Rip's unique relationship, after the episode began before John Dutton's death, showing Beth making a surprise visit to Texas, revealing she put an Airtag in his wallet and tracked him down.

@SandraTrollinger said, 'Beth using an Airtag in Rip's wallet is awesome. Points for digital "branding" and kidnapping her husband.'

@njramen added, 'I love Beth and Rip's shorthand, they both have a lot of baggage and trauma (who would want them but each other?) but the writers always did a good job of showing them stronger together than apart.'

@sunshine0nme shared an image of Rip and Beth adding, 'Find you a man that looks at you the way Rip looks at Beth.'

@sunshine0nme added a picture of of Rip and Beth dancing, adding, 'Love seeing Beth and Rip happy.'

@BroGod4Life added, 'Rip can't trust them even after what happened last night he's not leaving them just for Beth to get some action but give them a chance let's see how that goes.'

Other fans showered praise on Beth and Rip's unique relationship, after the episode began before John Dutton's death, showing Beth making a surprise visit to Texas, revealing she put an Airtag in his wallet and tracked him down

@SandraTrollinger said, 'Beth using an Airtag in Rip's wallet is awesome. Points for digital "branding" and kidnapping her husband'

@njramen added, 'I love Beth and Rip's shorthand, they both have a lot of baggage and trauma (who would want them but each other?) but the writers always did a good job of showing them stronger together than apart.'

@sunshine0nme shared an image of Rip and Beth adding, 'Find you a man that looks at you the way Rip looks at Beth.'

@sunshine0nme added a picture of of Rip and Beth dancing, adding, 'Love seeing Beth and Rip happy.'

@BroGod4Life added, 'Rip can't trust them even after what happened last night he's not leaving them just for Beth to get some action but give them a chance let's see how that goes.'

The episode also showed Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) getting confronted by his sister Beth, who ultimately confirmed for herself that Jamie was involved in their father's murder.

She slapped him several times but he refused to look her in the eye, as she told him in no uncertain terms that she would kill him.

'Seeing me will be the last thing you ever do alive. I swear to God, Jamie... I will be the last thing on this planet your rotten f***ing eyes will ever see. And I will be smiling,' Beth said to her brother.

Beth immediately called her brother Kayce (Luke Grimes), confirming Jamie was involved in their father's death, but Kayce insisted he couldn't have done it alone.

He called an old Navy SEAL buddy and asked who was doing 'black work' these days and he says he'll make some calls and start digging around.

Jamie also revealed that he will start proceedings to negate the land trustee restrictions on the ranch, and insists his family could not afford to keep the ranch or to fight for it either.

Kayce also had a heart-to-heart talk with his son Tate about whether or not he would want to take over the Yellowstone Dutton ranch some day.

Tate said he didn't want to run the ranch because it's what 'killed' his grandfather, but he always thought he would work on the ranch when he grows up.

The episode also showed Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) getting confronted by his sister Beth, who ultimately confirmed for herself that Jamie was involved in their father's murder

She slapped him several times but he refused to look her in the eye, as she told him in no uncertain terms that she would kill him

'Seeing me will be the last thing you ever do alive. I swear to God, Jamie... I will be the last thing on this planet your rotten f***ing eyes will ever see. And I will be smiling,' Beth said to her brother

Beth immediately called her brother Kayce (Luke Grimes), confirming Jamie was involved in their father's death, but Kayce insisted he couldn't have done it alone

He called an old Navy SEAL buddy and asked who was doing 'black work' these days and he says he'll make some calls and start digging around.

Forgotten by many - including Beth - in all of this was Summer Higgins (Piper Perabo), who was told she was supposed to spend the rest of her prison sentence on house arrest at the ranch.

Beth informed her that she was never on house arrest and that her father actually secured her release, but never told Summer.

Rip drops her off at the airport as she admits feeling sad that she'll never get to see life on the ranch again.

Yellowstone continues the second part of its final season with a new episode Sunday, November 24 at 8 PM ET on Paramount Network.
Netflix fans are 'already hooked' on a grisly new British drama which has a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but claim some of the scenes are so 'stressful' that they're keeping them up at night.

Temple stars Mark Strong as Daniel Milton, a surgeon who sets up an illegal clinic beneath Temple tube station in an attempt to save his dying wife, Beth.

Line of Duty's Daniel Mays also stars in the show as transport network employee Lee Simmons.

The series, originally based on a Norwegian thriller, was originally produced by Sky, with season one airing in 2019 and season two coming out in 2021.

The show follows the surgeon as he tries to save his wife, who has developed a fatal degenerative disease.

Temple stars Mark Strong playing Daniel Milton, a surgeon who sets up an illegal clinic beneath Temple tube station in an attempt to save his dying wife, Beth

The show was originally produced by Sky, with season one airing in 2019 and season two coming out in 2021 and is based on a Norwegian series

The show follows the surgeon as he tries to save his wife who develops a fatal degenerative disease

However, in order to fund his underground clinic he agrees to treat criminals and other desperate patients who are unable to seek treatment from regular doctors and hospitals.

But Daniel faces a race to save Beth's life when someone threatens to expose his secret clinic.

Viewers have flocked to social media to share their thoughts on the series.

Tagging one of the shows stars, one person wrote: 'Just started to watch #Temple. Really really cool. I am hooked already #Netflix'.

Another said: 'Temple on Netflix is so good but I'm so stressed'.

A third joked that the show was robbing them of sleep, quipping: 'Temple on Netflix. OMG Im hooked. I always do this to myself before bedtime.'

'Temple is really good, reminds me a touch of Breaking Bad. A 'normal' man's decent into psychopathy, or uncovering it!', someone else posted.

Others called it a 'good watch' and raved that they 'highly recommend' it.

The rave reviews come after Netflix fans 'discovered' hit series How To Get Away With Murder - gushing that they can't stop rewatching it.

Temple is available to stream on Netflix.
An Antiques Roadshow expert was left floored by one of the most unique and valuable items in the show's history.

During an episode earlier this month, valuer Cristian Beadman was left in awe at one guest's precious item that 'glistened in the sun'.

The BBC show, which was presented from Thirlestane Castle, Scotland saw one hopeful bring a small music box to be appraised by the team of experts.

And Cristian was delighted to look over the heirloom, telling the guest: 'This is certainly one of the most exquisite things I've ever seen on the Antiques Roadshow in my 10 years. Glistening in the sun, like a jewel.'

The interested antique valuer then asked the man to reveal what had initially drawn him to the small box and he was told that the guest was an avid collector of music boxes.

He went on to tell the expert that the item was a Swiss singing bird automaton box from more than 150 years ago.

An Antiques Roadshow expert was left floored by one of the most expensive items in the show's history which was brought in by an avid Swiss box collector

The guest revealed to valuer Cristian Beadman that the item was a Swiss singing bird automaton box from more than 150 years ago

Cristian was delighted to look over the heirloom, telling the guest: 'This is certainly one of the most 'exquisite things I've ever seen on the Antiques Roadshow in my 10 years. Glistening in the sun, like a jewel.'

He explained it had been made in the early 19th century by the famous Rochat brothers, who made hundreds of the impressive little music boxes.

And Cristian's delight didn't end there as he found out that the collector had brought along the music box's original carrying case.

Barely containing his excitement, he eagerly asked the guest if he could see how it worked.

The guest was happy to oblige and pulled down a small lever on the box, which concealed a colourful 3D bird which began to open its mouth and flap its wings while pretty chirping sounds played.

And it wasn't just the expert who was left impressed, as the crowds gasped and cooed over the delightful antique.

One woman from the crowd could be heard saying 'Oh my gosh' before Cristian gushed: 'Utterly exquisite, utterly exquisite'.

He then told the gathered crowds that the item was almost 200 years old and was still in almost perfect condition.

He said: 'It hasn't got a feather out of place. There isn't a chip on this box. This one, I can see is made of Hawksbill Turtle shell.

The guest explained the box had been made in the early 19th century by the famous Rochat brothers who made hundred of the impressive little music boxes

The guest confessed that he had been told by an auctioneer at the time it was one of the best they had ever sold and had cost him 9,000 when he purchased it almost 20 years ago

Cristian told the guest that his purchase was a good investment because the Swiss singing box would likely now fetch up to 40,000 at auction

'It's been protected since the 1970s, but this is of course much older.'

And the box was full of intricate details, including a tiny enamel painting of a Alpine scene with a gold frame around it.

The guest confessed that he had been told by an auctioneer at the time it was one of the best they had ever sold and had cost him 9,000 when he purchased it almost 20 years ago.

Cristian then revealed that the guest was wise to hang on to the amazing music box and that Swiss boxes have continued to go up in price.

He told the man: 'Even though it seems like a lot of money to have spent nearly 20 years ago, funnily enough, that was a good investment.

'I think that you could realistically expect that, best example possibly ever to come on the market, to go in at something between 20,0000 to 40,000.'

Despite the staggering amount the box was worth, the impressed guest said he wouldn't be selling it.

He told the valuer: 'It'll get passed through my family because they love it. It's not just the money, it's quite special to me .'

Before the expert responded wistfully: 'I'll never see one of those again, that's a thing of wonder, thank you so much.'

This is not the first time an item on Antiques Roadshow has fetched an eye-watering sum. Last week, a guest was left speechless when she discovered the incredible value of her 18 painting she had almost donated to charity

The expert revealed her painting would now be worth fetch between 3,000 to 5,000.'

This is not the first time an item on Antiques Roadshow has fetched an eye-watering sum.

Last week, a guest was left speechless when she discovered the incredible value of her 18 painting she had almost donated to charity.

The expert was taken aback by the unexpected discovery as he pointed out: 'So of all the paintings I was not expecting to see here at Cromford Mills in Derbyshire, is a painting by an artist from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pili Pili Mulongoy.'

Disclosing the price she paid, the guest revealed: 'I think I paid about 18 for it, it was only about six years ago.'

'I had my eye on a print in this bundle of paintings and, as I say, I donated some to a local charity shop on the way home because I didn't want them all.'

Pressing on, the expert said: 'But you kept this one crucially. Okay, well was it 18 well spent?'

'To be honest, if this were to go under the hammer today, I wouldn't be surprised to see it fetch between 3,000 to 5,000.'

The crowd gasped at the expert's shocking revelation and the owner exclaimed 'No!' in disbelief.
This Morning fans all made the same joke about Lily Collins' very glamorous outfit as she joined Cat Deeley and Dermot OLeary on the ITV sofa on Monday morning.

Emily In Paris star Lily, 35, and Money Heist actor Alvaro Morte, 49, appeared on the latest instalment of the chat show to speak about their West End debut.

Viewers rushed to social media to make the same jokes about Lily's glitzy ensemble, which they deemed somewhat over the top, especially compared to Cat's outfit of a cosy jumper and jeans.

One asked: 'Is Lily Collins on her way to or from some sort of party?'.

Another wrote: 'Cat looks like she's going for a hike in the alps and Lily looks like she is going on the red carpet, get the poor lass a coat.'

'Lily, you'll catch your death,' someone else joked.

This Morning fans have all made the same joke about Lily Collins ' very glamorous outfit as she joined Cat Deeley and Dermot OLeary on the ITV sofa

Emily In Paris star Lily, 35, and The Money Heist actor Alvaro Morte, 49, appeared on Monday's instalment of the chat show to speak about their West End debut

When Cat asked if there are any plans to bring Emily In Paris to London, Lily said: 'I feel like I have become the voice of the one pitching this because I would love Emily to come to London'

Others said the actress looked 'stunning' and questioned if she was heading off to film an episode of The Graham Norton Show.

Lily wore an 880 Vivienne Westwood corset, paired with a 836 gathered skirt also by the British designer - bringing the total price of her red-carpet-ready look to 1,716.

In comparison, Alvaro looked much more laid back next to the actress in his black jeans, white T-shirt and black leather jacket.

The pair are spending 12 weeks starring in Bess Wohl's West End show Barcelona at London's Duke of York's Theatre.

Giving a rundown of the play to hosts Cat and Ben, Lily said: 'A young woman goes to Barcelona on a bachelorette weekend and meets a Spanish man at a bar and they go home together.

'It takes you on a wild ride with things you are not expecting. Even things that we were not expecting that we are finding out every night on stage to.'

The pair are spending 12 weeks starring in Bess Wohl's West End show Barcelona at London's Duke of York's Theatre

Lily wore an 880 Vivienne Westwood corset, paired with a 836 gathered skirt also by the British designer - bringing the total price of her red-carpet-ready look to 1,716

Viewers rushed to social media to make the same jokes about Lily's glitzy ensemble, with one asking: 'Is Lily Collins on her way to or from some sort of party?'

Alvaro added: 'It's a while that they spend together in his apartment and you see how they discover things about each other and also about themselves.'

Performances began on October 21 and will run until January 11, 2025, with tickets currently available for 20 to 195.

Speaking for all Emily In Paris fans, Cat asked if there are any plans to bring the show to London, to which Lily excitedly replied: 'I feel like I have become the voice of the one pitching this because I would love Emily to come to London. I'm like "Just take the Eurostar!".

'There's so many amazing monuments and things that she should do here.'

This Morning airs weekdays on ITV from 10am.
Christine Lampard has revealed how security allegedly stood back and did nothing as she was robbed in broad daylight.

The Loose Women panellist, 45, claimed she was robbed on King's Road in Chelsea, southwest London, whilst she was out shopping.

Christine explained how a security guard shrugged when she had her phone snatched out of her handbag and said 'there's at least 30 a day stolen out here'.

After implying that the security guard did nothing to help, she said: 'I can understand I'm not going to have a police task force looking for my phone for me.'

She and fellow Loose Women, Olivia Attwood, Judi Love, and Brenda Edwards, were speaking about policing and Keir Starmer's right to prioritise 'physical crime' after journalists were arrested over social media posts.

Christine Lampard, 45, has revealed how security allegedly stood back and did nothing as she was robbed in broad daylight

The Loose Women panellist claimed she was robbed on King's Road in Chelsea, southwest London , whilst she was out shopping

Christine explained how a security guard shrugged when she had her phone snatched out of her handbag and said 'there's at least 30 a day stolen out here' (King's Road Chelsea pictured)

Christine spoke about how she believes London is turning into 'Gotham City' as muggings and robberies become more frequent.

She also said she thinks there is a huge 'disconnect' between the police and the public and that there should be more officers on the streets.

Judi Love explained how she believes online trolling 'can snowball' and 'incite hate' which can 'incite violence'.

Brenda Edwards expressed a need for a special task force who 'understand social media'.

Olivia Attwood explained how she understands the police are 'struggling with numbers and boots on the ground' but criticised the attitude of officers attending reports of crime.

She said: 'My car got stolen off my driveway and the officer's attitude was "You're probably one of a thousands cars stolen tonight in Greater Manchester".'

When she asked how she could get it back, she claims the officer told her 'I don't think you will' and said the police seem 'defeated'.

Olivia Attwood explained how she understands the police are 'struggling with numbers and boots on the ground' but criticised the attitude of officers attending reports of crime

Judi Love explained how she believes online trolling 'can snowball' and 'insight hate' which can 'insight violence'

In February it was reported that in London West End have tripled in the last two years, prompting concerns the crime wave threatens its future of shopping districts popular with wealthy tourists

Judi Love said she believes officers 'don't feel respected' and that 'the relationships between them and some communities are not working'.

She suggested that the government 'start from the ground up' and address these issues to create a stronger police force, which was met with applause from the live studio audience.

In February it was reported that in London West End have tripled in the last two years, prompting concerns the crime wave threatens its future of shopping districts popular with wealthy tourists.

New figures show the number of thefts from a person in the area around Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square increased to 2,806 last year, compared to 796 in 2021.

Theft, which includes pick-pocketing and shoplifting, currently makes up around 60 per cent of crime in the West End. The figures were compiled by the Heart of London Business Alliance, which represents 600 local retailers, restaurants and property owners.

Ros Morgan, chief executive of the group, told the Telegraph: 'Retail crime in the West End is not just a threat to businesses but to the entire community and luxury goods are no exception.

'There was a significant spike in shoplifting and a rising number of thefts across the West End in 2023. We have long called for a greater police presence to deter criminal activities and instill a sense of security.'

London's street crime epidemic last year saw theft from a person offences soar by 27 per cent compared to the previous 12 months.

Metropolitan Police figures show there were 72,756 of those crimes reported in the year to 2023, up from 57,468 in 2022.

Moped and e-bike gangs have been identified as prolific culprits.
Martha Stewart's prison 'best friend' has accused the lifestyle guru of lying about the harsh conditions she allegedly endured during her infamous stint behind bars.

The mogul, 83, reflects on her 'terrible' time at FPC Alderson, a minimum-security federal prison for women in West Virginia, in the new eponymous Netflix documentary about her life.

Stewart, who served five months at the facility - known as 'Camp Cupcake' - for lying to investigators during an insider trading scandal, revealed she was once thrown in solitary confinement where she was denied food and water.

'I was dragged into solitary for touching an officer,' Stewart says in the documentary film. 'No food or water for a day. This was Camp Cupcake, remember? That was the nickname. Camp Cupcake. It was not a cupcake.'

But fellow former inmate Lisa Guarino, 62, has come forward to poke holes in Stewart's sob story and revealed why the domestic diva's claims about being subjected to such a punishment are not plausible.

The ex-convict, who was locked up alongside Martha at the facility, told DailyMail.com: 'That's a lie. There is no solitary confinement at Alderson.

'If you get any sort of punishment to the level of solitary confinement, you get sent to a federal lockup in Philadelphia.'

Martha Stewart reflects on her 'terrible' prison stint in her new Netflix documentary and reveals she was once thrown in solitary confinement where she was denied food and water

But Stewart's fellow inmate and 'prison bestie' Lisa Guarino, 62, (pictured) has poked holes in Stewart's account and accused her of lying about the harsh conditions behind bars

Guarino also went on to discredit Stewart's claims about not being given food or water for a day.

'I'm not a fan of the federal government or police, but Martha is lying,' she added.

'There was always plenty of food and water. It may not be the best food, but it was available.

'I've never heard of any punishment consisting of withholding food and water.'

When asked for comment by DailyMail.com, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) corroborated Guarino's claims and confirmed Stewart's allegations 'do not accurately reflect' the conditions at the facility.

'While some facilities have restrictive housing units, the Federal Prison Camp Alderson does not have one,' a FBOP representative said.

'In cases where it becomes necessary to temporarily remove an individual from the general population, FBOP facilities may use secure observation areas under direct supervision. While in these areas, incarcerated individuals are consistently provided with regular meals and access to potable water.

'These allegations do not accurately reflect the conditions or the procedures that would be followed, as the FBOP remains committed to providing humane treatment and ensuring basic needs are met at all times.'

An undated handout from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, shows a cell in the Alderson Federal Prison Camp, a minimum security facility

Stewart and Guarino met at Alderson Federal Prison Camp also known as 'Camp Cupcake'  a 159-acre federal prison ground that is more akin to a college campus

The famed domestic goddess started her sentence at FPC Alderson in West Virginia on October 8, 2004. She was released on March 4, 2005

Guarino spoke out against Stewart's claims in the documentary during a tell-all interview with DailyMail.com about her prison stint with the queen of crafts two decades ago.

The former self-proclaimed 'cocaine queenpin of Boston' - whose 4ft 11in build earned her the street name 'Little Italy' - was serving seven years for possessing and intending to distribute more than five pounds of cocaine.

Stewart, meanwhile, had just convicted of four counts for her role in a stock trading scandal, and was due to begin her five-month sentence in October 2004.

She was found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators.

Guarino described Stewart as her 'best friend' with whom she formed a close bond, spending most of their time together and confiding in one another about their lives behind bars.

She said she took Stewart under her wing, helping her adapt to prison life, and even preparing meals for her using smuggled kitchen supplies.

She even recalled one incident when she had to save a not-so-prison-savvy Stewart from trouble with another inmate.

So when Guarino watched the hit Netflix documentary about her former prison pal she was disappointed to see Stewart's apparent misrepresentation of her stint behind bars.

She scoffed at Stewart's comments about being 'warned but not protected' in prison - claiming Martha was 'bait' and 'wouldn't have made it out of prison unscathed without my help.'

Martha's six-week trial in Manhattan became a media sensation. Her daily arrival at court was captured by dozens of cameramen

Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison in July 2004 following her conviction on charges stemming from a dodgy stock deal

'If it weren't for me, Martha could have been seriously injured or worse that night, she was frightened to death but looking back on it, I don't think it ever permanently registered in her mind,' Guarino said.

The terrifying prison altercation unfolded after Guarino and Stewart went into an upstairs area of the unit and found the curtains drawn  a sign not to enter or disturb.

'I told Martha I think we should leave, but Martha insisted that this was her area and opened them,' Guarino said.

'As soon as she opened, we saw several girls in all forms of being undressed and in sexual positions. These women were known as the 'bull daggers' the butch gay girls in prison.

'One of the biggest of the bull daggers named 'Swish' came up to Martha and told her: "You're dead, girl".'

The menacing threat left Martha cowering behind Guarino who felt she had to step in and diffuse the situation.

'Swish wanted to kill Martha, for opening the curtain interrupting them. I immediately reminded Swish that she owed me and I wanted to call in the favor,' she said.

Swish then asked, 'You want to use the favor on this b***h?' before turning to Stewart and saying: 'You owe Little Italy big time.'

To make peace Guarino offered for Stewart to give them all yoga lessons, she claims.

Stewart would eventually end up expressing her gratitude being 'grateful' for her help and guidance during their time locked up together, according to the former convict.

The famed queen of crafts celebrated the release of the new Netflix documentary on her life, titled, 'Martha' last month

But 20 years after the two bonded over tough times, Guarino claims Stewart has turned her back on their friendship  and an alleged promise of financial support.

She claims Stewart had told her family during a prison visit she would give her $1million upon release  a promise, Guarino says, Stewart has not kept.

'She told my family they no longer needed to put money on my books because she was going to take care of me,' she says.

But after transferring to another facility, Guarino discovered her account empty.

'I could've killed Martha when I found out she didn't keep her word. She told my family they no longer had to put money on my books because she was going to take care of me, but she gave me a donut, a big fat zero,' she says.

'I then had my phone privileges suspended for three months so I couldn't ask my family for money. It was hell and I suffered in part due to Martha not keeping her word.'

The chain-smoking, diminutive Guarino was released in 2006 and now lives in a one-bedroom, $1,900-a-month apartment outside of Boston, unable to work because of her medical condition and survives on $600 month in social security.

Hopeful for a reunion and for her former prison pal to make good on her promise after two decades, she attended a November 11 event at the Chevalier Theatre in Medford, Massachusetts, where Stewart was promoting her 100th cookbook.

Guarino, whose 4ft 11in build earned her the street name 'Little Italy' claims she was once known as Boston's 'cocaine queenpin'

DailyMail.com was there to witness Stewart arrive and wave at fans while Guarino attempted to get her attention, calling out her name and even making eye contact.

At one point she yelled out, 'Martha, it's Lisa!', yet, Stewart, who was easily within earshot, appeared to ignore her calls and quickly averted her gaze, before slipping into the theater.

Speaking to DailyMail.com, Guarino said: 'Martha blew me off after I saved her life in prison. She jumped the fence to not have to look at me or say something to me and ran off.

'I'm pissed off, I'm offended.'

She added: 'I believed Martha when she told me in prison that we were friends, but I guess when she got back into her world, she went back to her old narcissistic ways.

'She has all the money in the world but part of me feels sorry for her. At least I have my family.'
Linda Robson has revealed her horror experience at the hands of sick scammers who pretended to be her daughter to steal from her.

The Loose Women panelist, 66, told The Mirror how she was left 'shaken' after receiving a normal-seeming text from someone she presumed was her daughter.

The star explained that the scammers were very convincing and even used her daughter's nickname of Bobbi Girl to convince her the text was real.

Because of Linda's terrifying ordeal, she is now encouraging the older generation to educate themselves about online safety.

Linda told the publication that she received a text from her daughter asking for help while she was filming Loose Women and was so convinced she was almost ready to send the scammers 150.

She said: 'I was on Loose Women when I got a message from my daughter, saying 'I've dropped my phone down the toilet, can you send me some money?'

Linda Robson has revealed her horror experience at the hands of sick scammers who pretended to be her daughter to steal from her

The star explained that the scammers were very convincing and even used her daughter's nickname of Bobbi Girl to convince her the text was real (pictured with her daughter Bobbie, 27)

Because of Linda's terrifying ordeal, she is now encouraging the older generation to educate themselves about online safety

'I rang her and then she texted me saying 'I can't pick up the phone because it's gone down the toilet.'

'It sounded like it was my daughter, she was saying things we would say to each other, and used her nickname for her - Bobbi Girl.'

Linda went on to say that she was only stopped from sending any cash after a Loose Women boss intervened and warned her she was probably being scammed.

And to check, Linda asked the scammers a personal family question.

'I asked the person on the phone for the name of our dog. They said Gerald, and I said: 'No, my dog's called Dolly.' So that's when I knew I was being scammed.' she said.

The TV presenter explained that she was surprised by how convincing the scammers were.

She added that its becoming even scarier as she hears of more instances of it happening to more people including her friends and family.

She added that its becoming even scarier as she hears of more instances of it happening to more people including her friends and family

In a bid to tackle the technology gap, Linda has joined forces with BT Group to encourage people to brush up on their digital skills.

Linda recently lifted the lid on her feud with her Birds Of A Feather co-stars Pauline Quirke and Lesley Joseph.

The actress, 66, revealed the whole gang would be keen to reunite for the much-loved comedy after last month marked 35 years since the day filming for the show began.

Speculation of rift between Linda and Pauline was reported back in 2021 after it was revealed the duo were no longer on speaking terms.

However, Linda put any rumours of the pair not getting on to bed as she confirmed she would definitely be keen for a reunion.

Speaking to Marina Berry at the Lifestyle Awards, the presenter asked if the show might make a comeback.

Linda replied: 'Well I think because it was our anniversary on the 16th of October it was 35 years ago to the day that we started and it has just sort of gone viral and everyone has gone mad saying "Bring back Birds Of A Feather".

'You never know, fingers crossed. We are all up for it if they want us. I would definitely, 100% be up for it.'
An audience with a classically trained Italian pianist is not exactly the date night youd expect from two reality television stars.

But for Pete Wicks  whos appearing on this years Strictly  it was the perfect romantic send-off for Maura Higgins before she jetted off to Australia to star in Im A Celebrity.

The pair, who are not yet official, appeared close as they walked to the London Palladium to see Ludovico Einaudi perform on Monday, though they were not seen canoodling.

And the date clearly went down a treat with Maura, 33, as emotions ran high. On Instagram, where the former Love Island star documented their evening and posted a video of the spectacular performance, she wrote: Cried all night long.

Much less was made of a night out Pete, 36, enjoyed recently with another woman in his life.

Last week he took Jowita Przystal  his partner on Strictly  for a drink to meet his mum Tracy at The Woodbine Inn in Epping Forest, Essex. Pete, who made his name on The Only Way Is Essex, has also met Jowitas brother and learned a bit of Polish to greet him when they met.

Jowita, 30, is believed to have loved every minute of their trip to the pub as she is said to adore the long-haired hunk. Certainly, they were seen canoodling just days after they met at the National Television Awards in September.

Has Jowita found herself embroiled in a very public love triangle? Maybe, because it can be revealed that Mauras feelings have grown stronger for Pete after seeing him perform with his professional partner in recent weeks.

Maura Higgins and Strictly's Pete Wicks on a date to see pianist Ludovico Einaudi at the London Palladium before she flew out to Australia to star in I'm A Celebrity

Pete with Jowita Przystal performing on Strictly's Blackpool special on Saturday night

So if Jowita wants to pursue a romantic relationship with him, she will be delighted Maura has now flown 10,000 miles to Australias Gold Coast. She will be away for almost three weeks, as a late-comer on the show.

Meanwhile, Polish dancer Jowita has Pete all to herself in their bid to make the Strictly final. It could all lead to awkwardness, particularly for Pete, who is said to be a commitment-phobe and enjoying the attentions of both women.

A source familiar with the situation told the Mail: He is still playing with both girls affections. Its typical Pete, he cant decide and cant commit.

Seeing him on Strictly getting close to Jowita actually made Maura realise she did have stronger feelings for Pete than she realised. They had been enjoying flirty exchanges and each others company for over a year, but it has really heated up in the last three months.

So the next few weeks will be crucial for Pete.

We can reveal that he will fly to Australia if he and Jowita do get booted off Strictly in the next couple of weeks. And thats not just because his best friend Sam Thompson  another reality TV personality  is appearing on the Im A Celeb spin-off show, having won last years series.

The source added: Pete will be flying out to Australia as soon as his time on Strictly is over. Not to see his best mate Sam Thompson, but to meet Maura on the bridge, if he can. Pete doesnt want to leave Strictly, but he has made his peace with the fact that he is one of the weakest dancers left.

Speaking ahead of what turned out to be a lacklustre performance on Saturday, which saw him come bottom of the leader board, Pete said: Its a moment I really want to share with Jowita because shes done so much for me, and it means so much to her too.

I love that I have the opportunity to give that back and we have the chance to dance there together after everything weve been through. Jowita was equally gushing when she spoke of their time in Blackpool. I think Pete is such a gentleman, she said. He puts his arms in a frame and holds me and always likes to be in contact with me. I feel hes such an old-school, old-fashioned soul so he likes that connection when we do ballroom. I think he likes to have control over me so thats why he likes ballroom.

While Pete and Jowitas friendship is a new one, Maura has been friends with the star for years after meeting him on the reality TV circuit.

They have repeatedly shot down rumours of a romance but were seen getting close at the Broadwick Hotel in Soho in August and again last month at The Ship pub in Wandsworth.

Wearing tight pink trousers, Pete performed a cha cha cha to I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred

But the bold routine scored 27 points and landed them at the bottom of the leaderboard

Sources say Pete will fly to Australia to see Maura if he and Jowita get booted off Strictly in the next couple of weeks

Recently, Maura posted a video on TikTok of her in Petes muscled arms, as he displayed an impressive dance move by lifting her off the ground before gazing amorously into her eyes.

Pete is not the first man to find himself caught between Maura and Jowita. Giovanni Pernice, Strictlys former heartthrob, dated Maura in 2021 and reportedly broke her heart before he started going out with Jowita less than a year later.

Those who know Pete say he is a wonderful, lovely man. So how must he feel about being caught in the middle of two beautiful women? Oh, he loves the ladies, says one friend of the star.

But he is such a nice guy and he will be feeling terribly guilty about not being able to give his heart to one of them.
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This video is no longer available

Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder surprised fans at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on Saturday night when he brought an AFL legend onto the stage.

The legendary grunge rockers were playing the first of two Melbourne shows as part of their Australian Dark Matter tour when Brisbane Lions legend Jonathan Brown made an impromptu appearance.

The Fox Footy commentator, 43, and Vedder, 59, are connected through a charity - EB Research Support - that was founded by the frontman and his wife Jill.

The charity, of which Brown is an ambassador, raises funds to find a cure for Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare, genetic skin disorder.

Introducing the footy great to the stage, Vedder described him as a 'hero.'

'You knew him before I did and I didnt really know him as a hero but hes absolutely become one of mine, just from knowing him as a human, as a person,' Vedder told the crowd.

Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder (pictured last week) surprised fans in Melbourne on Saturday night when he brought an AFL legend to the stage.

The legendary grunge rockers were playing the first of two Melbourne shows as part of their Australian Dark Matter tour ,when Brisbane Lions legend Jonathan Brown made an impromptu appearance. Pictured: Eddie Vedder (l) and Jonathan Brown (r)

'He's been a great support. Hes been a great spokesperson for EB.'

Vedder then handed Brown his guitar which he wore for a moment before exiting the stage, with the rock legend joking: 'I was just going to see if I could scare him.'

The surprise cameo comes after Vedder blasted Australian anti-abortion politicians during a gig on the Gold Coast.

Vedder, who is known for his pro-choice stance, also appeared to take a crack at the outcome of the US election during a break between songs at People First Stadium on Wednesday.

The Gold Coast Bulletin reported in a review of the show that Vedder referenced Trump several times.

Included in the band's set as a sign off tune for the night was Neil Young's 1989 tune Rockin' in the Free World.

During a rambling address to the packed out crowd Vedder paid a surprising tribute to local AFL legends.

'We like the underdogs, we like the Gold Coast Suns and it's men and women which is bada**,' Vedder began.

The Fox Footy commentator and Vedder are connected through a charity - EB Research Support - that was founded by the frontman and his wife Jill. Pictured: Jonathan Brown playing for the Brisbane Lions in 2010

He continued: 'The ball's coming at you or let's say an accident happens, or let's say an election happens, or an election that feels like an accident, don't react. Just respond.'

His remarks about abortion came during a performance of the song Daughter.

In a daring move the grunge veterans incorporated a 1980 tune by Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall - into their own song.

But instead of singing the original lyrics of the Floyd song, 'Hey teacher, leave those kids alone,' Vedder changed the words to: 'Hey politicians, leave those girls alone.'

The commentary appeared to be a response to a rally in Brisbane earlier this month where hundreds gathered to maintain abortion rights ahead of the Queensland election.

Organisers of the Keep Abortion Legal rally said there was anger directed at the Liberal National Party over their stance on abortion.

Pearl Jam will play Marvel Stadium on Monday night, before heading to Sydne's Olympic Park for two shows on November 21 and 23.
Michelle Yeoh emotionally revealed she feels 'huge sadness' over her inability to have children - but has 'no regrets' as she gushed over her six godchildren.

The Wicked star, 62, discovered she was unable to conceive during her marriage to business magnate Dickson Poon from 1988 to 1992.

But the Academy Award winner proudly admitted 'she has given her '110 per cent' in life, praising the love of her beloved family.

Michelle told The Sunday Times: 'Maybe that is the biggest sadness in my life, that I cannot have kids. But the beauty is that I have six godchildren, many nephews and nieces.

'I don't live with regrets because I have always given it my 110 per cent. I did everything to make it work, and sometimes even that is not enough, you have to be able.

'In life, we say, you have to not go around holding your hands like this, you have to learn to let go, and sometimes letting go helps you move forward,' she added.

Michelle Yeoh, 62, emotionally revealed she feels 'huge sadness' over her inability to have children - but has 'no regrets' as she gushed over her six godchildren

Michelle told The Sunday Times : 'Maybe that is the biggest sadness in my life, that I cannot have kids. But the beauty is that I have six godchildren, many nephews and nieces (pictured with two family members)

The actress also revealed in a recent interview that her fertility issues were partially what led to her divorce from the business mogul.

The Crazy Rich Asians sensation tied the knot with French motor racing executive Jean Todtsince in 2023, almost 20 years after they initially met and is now a grandmother through his children.

Speaking on The Goop Podcast, she said: 'We did whatever was necessary (to have children). Unfortunately, I was physically unable to.

'I knew my ex really wanted a big family... not just one son, but two sons or three even better. He was working hard for a big empire and he needed sons to carry on his lineage.

'I don't know how women in our line of work juggle being pregnant, having a baby, going back to work... I'm not a multitasker.'

Last week, Michelle made jaws drop as she displayed her bold new hairdo at the star-studded Wicked premiere in Los Angeles.

The Malaysian star  who plays the role of headmistress Madame Morrible in the highly anticipated musical blockbuster  channeled Marylin Monroe as she debuted a voluminous bleach-blonde bob with dark roots.

Some of her co-stars we also in attendance, including the likes of Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Ethan Slater, Jonathan Bailey, Kristin Chenowith and Idina Menzel, among others.

The actress also revealed in a recent interview that her fertility issues were partially what led to her divorce from the business mogul (Michelle and Dickson pictured in 1997)

While on the red carpet, Yeoh told E! News that she was 'so excited' for the premiere as the film's release nears.

'I am so excited to be here. As you know, I haven't even seen the film yet, so I am beyond excited. And to see all thisthank you, everyone, for showing up,' she told the outlet.

She also explained that working with co-star Cynthia Erivo  who plays Elphaba, the wicked witch  made her experience on set more comforting and 'easy.'

'When you have Cynthia next to you and holding your hand, and saying, "You can do this," it's easy.'

She said, 'When magic happens there's no rhyme or reason for it. And it just did.'
Bindi Irwin is reportedly keen to mend her relationship with her grandfather Bob Irwin Snr after a bitter family feud.

Bindi, 26, shocked fans in 2021 when she slammed her estranged grandfather, 85, in a sensational Facebook post.

But it seems Bindi has softened, with a source telling Woman's Day she is keen to mend the rift.

'Bindi is having a complete change of heart about her grandad Bob Snr,' a source claimed.

'She's realised the bitter family feud that has seen them estranged for years has finally taken its toll on her and husband Chandler, and their daughter Grace Warrior.'

The source added that Bindi wants Grace Warrior, three, to have a relationship with her great-grandfather.

Bindi Irwin is reportedly keen to mend her relationship with grandfather Bob Irwin Snr after a bitter family feud

'She's told her mum (Terri) she wants her daughter to know her dads dad  that she wants to mend the rift before her grandad dies,' the source said.

Bindi, Chandler and Grace Warrior were apparently absent from the recent Steve Irwin Gala Dinner in Brisbane.

Daily Mail Australia has reached to Bindi's reps for comment.

Bindi sensationally spoke out about her strained relationship with her estranged grandfather in a scathing 2021 Facebook comment.

She shared a sweet post celebrating Father's Day in the US, saying she was thankful for the 'three most incredible fathers in her life'; her late father Steve Irwin, her husband Chandler Powell and her father-in-law Chris.

When one fan asked why she hadn't included her grandfather - Steve's father, Bob - Bindi gave an uncharacteristically raw account of their relationship, claiming he had ignored her since she was a 'little girl'.

'I really wish that my entire family could spend time with Grace. Unfortunately, my grandfather Bob has shown no interest in spending time with me or my family,' Bindi wrote.

A source told Woman's Day that Bindi wants Grace Warrior, three, to have a relationship with her great-grandfather. Bindi is pictured with husband Chandler and daughter Grace Warrior, three

'Shes told her mum she wants her daughter to know her dads dad  that she wants to mend the rift before her grandad dies,' a source told Woman's Day

She went on to claim that Bob had 'returned gifts I've sent after he opened them' and ignored any letters sent from her.

'From the time I was a little girl he has ignored me, preferring to spend time doing anything else rather than being with me,' she continued.

'He has never said a single kind word to me personally. It breaks my heart.'

She went on to say that her mother Terri still writes to him and sends birthday cards and Christmas gifts, but claims they have received no reply.

'We have also been his financial support since 1992 when he returned from Australia Zoo, sending him funds every week,' she added.

'We built him a house on a beautiful property and will always do our best to ensure his wellbeing.

'I hope everyone remembers to be kind to one another but most of all care for your own mental health.'

The Irwin family feud began 13 years ago when Bob Snr quit Australia Zoo because he was concerned the wildlife park he'd founded in 1970 was becoming a 'circus'.

Bindi, Chandler and Grace Warrior were apparently absent from the recent Steve Irwin Gala Dinner in Brisbane. Pictured are Robert and Terri Irwin

Bindi sensationally spoke out about her strained relationship with her estranged grandfather in a scathing 2021 Facebook comment

Various reports from the time of Bob's exit claim he was worried the Sunshine Coast tourist attraction was becoming 'too commercial - and even feared a then nine-year-old Bindi was being pushed into child stardom.

When Bob left the zoo for good in 2008 - two years after the death of his famous son, Steve 'The Crocodile Hunter' Irwin - his daughter-in-law Terri was said to be planning a five-year expansion 'to make it Australia's peak tourist destination with a Disneyland feel'.

This plan apparently didn't sit well with Bob, who felt Australia Zoo should focus on conservation instead of following a commercial path and becoming a 'circus'.

By his own admission, Bob felt he'd become an unwelcome presence at Australia Zoo as the business grew into a major attraction aimed at American tourists.

'It's a strange feeling to spend half your lifetime building something up and walking away from it,' he told ABC's Australian Story in April 2008.

'I was becoming a disrupting influence, not that I meant to be.'

When he resigned from the family business in 2008, he made no reference in his farewell statement to his daughter-in-law.

He also said he wanted to 'continue Steve's dream' of wildlife conservation at his own reserve in Kingaroy - with the implication being Terri's new vision for Australia Zoo wasn't what his son would have wanted.
Netflix fans are convinced Selena Gomez made a major faux pas in a scene from her new film Emilia Perez.

The 32-year-old actress was called out by a number of movie enthusiasts on social media for looking directly into the camera while filming.

A clip of Gomez was shared on X, which sees her having a heated argument on the phone, and making eye contact with the camera, with fans calling it a 'crucial mistake.'

'Oops! Selena Gomez commits acting sin by looking directly at the camera in Emilia Perez!' one fan wrote.

'Guess she broke the fourth wall a bit,' another added.

Netflix fans are convinced Selena Gomez, 32, made a major faux pas in a scene from her new film Emilia Perez by looking directly into the camera

People notice that Selena Gomez makes the acting crucial mistake and she looks at the camera while filming in Emilia Perez. pic.twitter.com/577Q8mIZ7t  Selena Gomez Charts (@selenagchart) November 15, 2024

'Oh my god is it meant to be like that I feel like Im having a sensory overload,' another one asked.

'This might be the worst acting performance of the year omg,' someone else chimed in.

Others also took issue with the third generation American-Mexican star's Spanish, writing, 'Her Spanish is god awful.'

The comments continued, with one person writing 'Worst acting ever.'

However, there were also commentators who believed the Selena looking into the camera was an artistic choice.

'Directing choice or mistake? Selena might be breaking the fourth wall on purpose for her character's depth.'

'Its very intentional and happens a lot during the movie.'

'I think it was meant to be that way simply because there were enough cuts and angles to not have used that shot during post. The editors may have left it this way intentionally. I mean, I havent seen it so I dont know that context and could be COMPLETELY wrong but as someone who edits daily, this seems to be intentional.'

On Saturday night Gomez made a stylish appearance at Netflix and Elle's second annual Latinas in Hollywood event.

A clip of Gomez was shared on X, which sees her having a heated argument on the phone

In the short video Selena is seen making eye contact with the camera, with fans calling it a 'crucial mistake'

'Oops! Selena Gomez commits acting sin by looking directly at the camera in Emilia Perez!' one fan wrote. 'Guess she broke the fourth wall a bit,' another added

However, there were also commentators who believed the Selena looking into the camera was an artistic choice

The star  who recently made a rare statement about Wizards of Waverly Place  looked chic in a black, leather trench coat with an exaggerated plush collar.

The fashionista tied the outerwear's coordinating belt around her waist and rounded out the ensemble with pointy-toe black, leather boots.

The brunette beauty flashed her megawatt smile as she arrived with her lustrous, sleek, bob haircut styled in a center part with bumped ends.

The yearly event honored Gomez's new film, which also stars Zoe Saldana, 46, and Karla Sofia Gascon, 52.

The trio landed one of several covers for Elle magazine's latest issue, Women in Hollywood.

Zoe takes on the role of Rita in the Spanish language film, which has a musical element, while Selena portrays the character Jessi Del Monte.

The movie is set in Mexico and tells the story of a lawyer who receives 'an unexpected offer to help a feared cartel boss retire from his business and disappear forever by becoming the woman he's always dreamed of being,' according to an IMDb synopsis.

It won the Jury Prize during the 77th Cannes Film Festival in May, and the female ensemble won the Best Actress award.

Per an account from Elle, Editor-in-Chief Nina Garcia gushed to guests at Saturday's affair, 'What a miracle of a movie this is.

'It is surprising and moving and audacious, unlike anything I have ever seen. But, most of all, it is a complete original. As a fellow storyteller, I know this is the hardest thing to achieve, and when we do it well, it is the most satisfying.'

She added, 'When I look around this room, I see the diversity within our community. You all bring such an incredible range of backgrounds and special talents. But I also see our unity.'

Gomez also touched on the subject of community as she reflected in the magazine cover story: 'The sisterhood ended up becoming what got us through. Its still getting me through. Im so glad that Im not doing a bunch of scary things on my own.'

Gomez made a stylish appearance at Netflix and Elle's second annual Latinas in Hollywood event on Saturday night

The yearly event honored Gomez's new film Emilia Perez , which also stars Zoe Saldana, 46, and Karla Sofia Gascon, 52

The women posed alongside Elle Editor-in-Chief Nina Garcia

Zoe modeled a brown, leather tube top and matching high-waisted, wide-leg trousers

Christina Milian, 43, wore a black and white suit-inspired mini dress

Sisters Madison Reed and Victoria Justice posed up, showing off their sexy looks

Christina Milian, 43, wore a black and white suit-inspired mini dress.

Sisters Madison Reed and Victoria Justice were also present for the celebration, each turning heads in sexy looks.

Reed, 28, looked phenomenal in a strapless, berry-colored leather dress that showed off her busty chest.

Meanwhile, 31-year-old Victoria opted for a sheer black outfit consisting of a button-up shirt with solid trim and a long, pleated skirt.

The getup was punctuated by a pair of backless black heels with a pointy toe and bow detail.

Her lengthy, glossy brunette locks were parted on one side and tucked behind her ear as they flowed over one side of her chest.

Actress Stephanie Beatriz dazzled in a nude-toned dress with sequins.

The 43-year-old Encanto star looked beautiful as she smiled for red carpet photos.

Actress Stephanie Beatriz dazzled in a nude-toned dress with sequins

The 43-year-old Encanto star looked beautiful as she smiled for red carpet photos

About what drew her to the Jacques Audiard-directed drama, Zoe recently told Variety it 'felt provocative, audacious, original, and operatic.'

Zoe, who was raised in New York and the Dominican Republic, was also asked what it was like to speak Spanish on the silver screen.

'If you live a day in the life of my crazy circus of a household, English is probably a language that we use when the kids are out of school,' she explained.

She added: 'When the kids are in school, everybody goes back to their child language, and the language that was first spoken to me  that was sung to me, that I received love in  was Spanish.

'I do become a different person. I use different tones in my voice when I speak Spanish. So it felt wonderful. It felt like going home.'
Rebecca Judd turned up the heat on Instagram on Monday by going braless in a chic suit for Bianca and Bridget's Black Friday campaign.

The 41-year-old AFL WAG is the new face of the leading Australian fashion label, which relaunched in September.

Rebecca looked every inch the supermodel in a feminine black and white suit in new video footage from her glamorous Parisian shoot.

Melbourne's 'Queen WAG' leads the Black Friday promotional campaign for the label.

In the dozen advertisements posted to the Melbourne fashion house's Instagram Stories on Monday, Rebecca, Nadia Bartel, Tayla Broad, and Miss Universe Australia Maria Thattil are pictured modelling the garments at recent high-profile events.

On Monday, the brand announced it would reduce the price of all the items by 30 per cent for the American shopping holiday.

Rebecca Judd turned up the heat on Instagram on Monday by going braless in a chic suit for Bianca and Bridget's Black Friday campaign

Rebecca looked every inch the supermodel in a feminine black and white suit in new video footage from her glamorous Parisian shoot

In a shrewd marketing manoeuvre, each influencer's own photographs were shared to the label's social media accounts, alongside a pricing guide that labelled each garment and its discount.

In the video, Rebecca strides confidently along a Parisian street wearing the $490 Lilah suit, consisting of a blazer and pants,

She twirls and shows off her fit physique in the long-line pants and embodies the Melbourne duo's tagline of 'sophisticated minimalism with elements of femininity.'

The mum-of-four described the experience of fronting Bianca and Bridgett's rebrand fashion campaign as one of the most surreal moments of her life.

Speaking on stage at the launch event in September, she shared how a week working on the campaign in Paris left her unexpectedly in tears, despite not being someone who cries easily.

'I'm not a crier, I don't cry,' she said.

'Lana [Wilkinson] cries all the time. But, as we're leaving the hotel after shooting the campaign in Paris - Lana and I were wheeling our suitcases out of the hotel, we both looked at each other, and we were just bawling.'

Lana, who worked closely with the WAG during the campaign, added her own take on the heartfelt moment, describing the shock of seeing her usually composed colleague break down.

The 41-year-old AFL WAG is the new face of the leading Australian fashion label, which relaunched in September

The label repurposed recent photographs of influencers wearing their gifted ensembles at high profile events for the Black Friday sale advertisement

'And so, yeah, she dropped on the leg,' Wilkinson laughed.

'And I thought something had happened because she doesn't cry. And she's like, well, it's the best time, it's the best week.

'We didn't want to come home. And thank you so much. It was incredible.'

Photos from the French photoshoot show Rebecca modelling the label's feminine and chic pieces, including a mini dress that featured a black fitted bodice with a plunged V-dropped waist line and white full skirt.

Another mini dress was fitting among the Parisian backdrop as Bec modelled the red number that had multiple 3D rose flower details at the lower panel of the skirt.

A similar dress, this time floor length, had the same detail but with one large rose at Bec's hip while a thigh split featured on the same side.

Bec also showed off her business side in a smart, red suit that featured a plunging neckline.

Standing in front of the Eiffel Tower, the former Postcards presenter rocked another mini dress that boasted a classic design with a sophisticated edge, featuring a bubble skirt, fitted panelled bodice, off-the-shoulder neckline and thin shoulder straps.

Bec models the Remy vest and blazer, which was recently worn by Maria Thattil

Bec is pictured modelling an eye-popping cherry suit on the streets of Paris

The rebrand follows a red, black, navy and tan brown colour scheme, with many pieces intended to be mixed and matched

The rebrand follows a red, black, navy and tan brown colour scheme, with many pieces intended to be mixed and matched with skirts, trousers and jackets to build out a capsule wardrobe.

Prior to the glamorous relaunch, the Roccisano sisters wiped their Instagram to announce their label's new direction.

In a single post to their platform, the siblings say they have found 'extraordinary new partners' and will be launching a new collection in sizes 4 to 18.

In June, Rebecca was living it up in Paris as she documented several luxurious activities alongside designer sisters Bianca and Bridgett Roccisano and stylist Lana Wilkinson.

Bec was seen outside Hotel Plaza Athenee, enjoying a fine dining experience at Girafe, shopping at designer stores like YSL and Celine, and exploring the sights like the Eiffel Tower and Louvre.

She spent the morning at a nine-hour shoot at several locations across the French capital for Bianca and Bridgett.

On her Instagram Story, Bec praised the hair and makeup artists for the shoot after her look held in place for the entire nine hours.
Sir David Attenborough said he is 'profoundly disturbed' that American artificial intelligence websites are cloning his voice for partisan news reports.

Known for narrating and producing some of the finest nature documentaries the world has seen, Sir David's voice is as gripping as the remote regions he brings to the nation's living rooms.

But now online American outlets are using Sir David's voice to deliver partisan news bulletins about topics including Donald Trump's election and the war in Ukraine.

One of the websites, called the 'The Intellectualist', began publishing videos of up to five minutes long on YouTube using Sir David's voice about three weeks ago.

Responding to the unsolicited use of his voice, Sir David said it amounted to his 'identity being stolen'.

He told the BBC: 'Having spent a lifetime time trying to speak what I believe to be the truth; I am profoundly disturbed to find that these days my identity is being stolen by others and greatly object to them using it to say what they wish.'

There is no means to stop AI companies cloning voices for their use, although some celebrities including Scarlett Johansson have tried.

Sir David Attenborough said he is 'profoundly disturbed' that American artificial intelligence websites are cloning his voice for partisan news reports

One of the websites, called the 'The Intellectualist', began publishing videos of up to five minutes long on YouTube using Sir David's voice about three weeks ago (file image)

Responding to the unsolicited use of his voice, Sir David said it amounted to his 'identity being stolen' (file image)

The Hollywood actress refused to give permission to one of the largest AI companies ChatGPT to use her voice in 2023.

However, she was 'shocked' when an artificial online personality called 'Sky' appeared on ChatGPT with a voice she claims is 'eerily similar' to hers, but developers say has no resemblance.

Dr Jennifer Williams, a lecturer and assistant professor in electronics and computer science at Southampton University, explained the technology in protecting people's identities had not caught up with AI.

She added she had serious concerns about the implications for people's financial security, with scammers often trying to mimic bank staff in calls to customers.

Dr Williams told the Daily Mail: 'Sir David is renowned worldwide. You can talk about the technical side but think about how this could embarrass him personally and his family.

'This is a man who has developed his whole legacy through his work and that could be in jeopardy because of something like this, it is really quite disturbing.'

The Intellectualist was approached for comment.
Peter Kay made a surprise announcement on Sunday about his record breaking tour during I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!

The comedian appeared in an advert during the hit ITV series announcing his one-man show was bring extended as new dates are added over the next two years.

In the new ad Peter was seen carrying a large gold toilet into his mum's iconic bungalow, a reference to the title of his 2002 Mum Wants A Bungalow tour, which had an elaborate mural of Freddie Mercury on the garage door.

A voice yelled over to Peter, 'Is that Freddie Mercury?'

Peter replied: 'Yeah she is obsessed with him'.

Peter Kay made a surprise announcement on Sunday about his record breaking tour during I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!

The comedian appeared in an advert during the hit ITV series announcing his one-man show was bring extended as new dates are added running over the next two years

The fan asked: 'Are you doing any more shows?'

'I have no choice, she wants it all now,' Peter yelled.

Peter announced 21 new dates, kicking off in February 2025 and will finish his show in February 2026.

Peter Kay Live originally kicked off in December 2022 and the new dates will see him visit 16 cities over the course of a year.

The new tour which will run in 2025 and 2026 will include his first dates at Aberdeen P&J Live, Brighton Centre, Bournemouth International Centre and Isle of Man Villa Marina.

Peter has already broken records during the tour after selling out 45 dates at London's O2 Arena, the only artist to do so in the world.

The funnyman also performed a record 100 shows at the Manchester AO Arena - breaking all attendance and performance records.

Peter said in a statement: 'It's been wonderful doing what I love most, stand-up comedy. Laughter is more important than ever in these challenging times and with the cost of living still at an all-time high, ticket prices for the new dates will start from 35.'

Tickets go on sale on Saturday November 23 at 10am.

Peter was seen carrying a large gold toilet into his mum's iconic bungalow which had an elaborate mural of Freddie Mercury on the garage door

A voice yelled over to Peter, 'Is that Freddie Mercury?' Peter replied: 'Yeah she is obsessed with him' The fan asked: 'Are you doing any more shows?' 'I have no choice, she wants it all now,' Peter yelled

Peter announced 21 new dates, kicking off in February 2025 and will finish his show in February 2026

It comes after Peter's set to make a TV comeback as he breaks his acting hiatus for a special Christmas role.

The much-loved comic, who recently stepped back into the spotlight after an extended break, is set to feature in the new Wallace and Gromit film Vengeance Most Fowl, where he'll take on the role of Chief Inspector Macintosh.

Wallace and Gromit fans were left delighted as the BBC dropped the first look at the highly anticipated Christmas Special on Wednesday afternoon.

The beloved cartoon duo are returning to screens for the first time in 16 years over the festive period and an iconic evil character is set to make an appearance.

Peter's role in the film comes after he devastated fans back in 2017 when he announced that he would be cancelling his long-awaited comeback tour due to 'unforeseen family circumstances.'

The beloved Bolton-born comedian noticeably retreated from the spotlight for five years following the cancellation.

At the time speculation was rife among fans about the reason for his absence, with Peter's social media also plunged into silence until March 2018, when he return to announce a charity screening of Peter Kay's Car Share.

Peter then completely disappeared from public life for a year, and reportedly relocated to Tipperary, Ireland, where locals claimed he seemed determined to fly under the radar.

In April 2019, Peter resurfaced for the first time in many months, making a surprise appearance at a screening of Car Share at Blackpool Opera House, which raised 34,000 for The Lily Foundation.

It comes as Peter is set to return to TV as he is set to feature in the new Wallace and Gromit film Vengeance Most Fowl, where he'll take on the role of Chief Inspector Macintosh

The funnyman did make a short return to TV in April 2020 for BBC's Big Night In Special, as part of a reworked version of his iconic music video for (Is This The Way To) Amarillo.

He then went onto perform two sold-out Dance For Life shows to raise money for Laura Nuttall, 21, who had an aggressive type of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme. She sadly died in May 2023.

In November 2022, Peter then delighted the nation by announcing he would be returning to touring for the first time in 12 years, including a monthly residency at London's O2 Arena.

And after stepping back into the public eye, Peter is set to delight fans once again as he takes on a role in the festive Wallace and Gromit film.
Francesca Farago and Jesse Sullivan have revealed the names of their fraternal twins, who were born less than one week ago.

The 31-year-old reality TV star and 35-year-old TikToker shared a snapshot on Instagram of their babies, a boy and a girl, wearing gold nameplate bracelets.

'Welcome to the world Poetry Lucia Sullivan and Locket Romance Sullivan,' Jesse wrote on the social media platform Sunday. 'My kids will change the world.'

Meanwhile, the new mom shared the same image and said, 'Our two little angels made a surprise appearance via emergency c section at 36 weeks and 5 days at 7:31 & 7:33AM on 11/11.'

She detailed, 'Locket weighed 5 pounds 10 ounces & Poetry weighed 5 pounds 8 ounces! Ive never been more in love but Ive also never had more anxiety. Theyre perfect.'

Francesca Farago and Jesse Sullivan have revealed the names of their fraternal twins, who were born less than one week ago; pictured in April

The 31-year-old reality TV star and 35-year-old TikToker shared a snapshot on Instagram of their babies, a boy and a girl, wearing gold nameplate bracelets

The fiances previously announced the birth of their children just a few hours after their births.

While Francesca is a first-time parent, Jesse previously welcomed 16-year-old child Arlo with a past partner.

Sullivan wrote online shortly after the twins' delivery, 'On 11.11.24 around 4am, as I finished the final touches on our nursery, we unexpectedly rushed to the hospital due to concerning symptoms francesca was having.'

Continuing to engage his audience, he added, 'I brought her suitcase and hospital bag just in case, but felt as though it was possible wed be back in our bed the same night.'

The story went on, 'We got her settled in the room as they checked her out. I went to grab Starbucks. Within 2 minutes of me stepping back in the room multiple doctors rushed in handing us surgery caps and said 'happy birthday twins, were delivering them in 20 minutes!'

'From that point everything happened so fast. Baby boy was born at 7:31am, baby girl was born at 7:33am.'

Jesse was tasked with cutting the newborns' umbilical cords.

He said, 'And in that moment as I watched Francesca see her babies for the first time, I thought back to the doctor handing me Arlo. I knew in that moment my life is the life Ive always dreamed of.'

He gushed about his wife-to-be, 'Francesca is the best mom in the world already, and I know were going to raise the best little humans together, along with big sibling Arlo.'

'Welcome to the world Poetry Lucia Sullivan and Locket Romance Sullivan,' Jesse wrote on the social media platform Sunday. 'My kids will change the world'

Jesse shared an Instagram reel showcasing Poetry and Locket's arrival over the weekend, writing in the caption: '11.11'

Farago first announced her pregnancy in April, after seeking out a sperm donor and undergoing IVF.

Sullivan had nine eggs extracted in August 2023 (resulting in five embryos) and Farago had 18 eggs extracted the following September (resulting in eight embryos).

In May, Farago and Jesse shared a number of bizarre baby name ideas in a video, leaving fans perplexed.

They posted a clip on Instagram in which they discussed baby names they love but decided not to use.

Among the names were: 'Baby, Afternoon, Odyssey, Alchemy, Heart/Hart, Lovely, Golden/Goldie, Lyrics, Sunday, Monday, November/Novi, October, Rocket/ Rocky, and Stone.'

Francesca also listed 'Prosper, Darling, Ethereal, and Caspian' as names she liked, and mentioned doing another video with even more monikers.

'I forgot SO many of my fave names so lmk if you want a part two!! A lot of these names we wouldnt use but I still love the idea of them,' she wrote in the caption.
Kyle Sandilands has hit back at comedian Sammy J after the ABC star took a savage swipe at the shock jock.

Sammy J, who announced last week he was leaving ABC Radio Melbourne, took to X last week to mock Kyle after his ABC show beat The Kyle and Jackie O Show in the Melbourne radio ratings.

'I beat Kyle again in my final ratings today,' the radio star, whose real name is Samuel Jonathan McMillan, wrote.

'So, I'll forever live rent free in his head. I'm his white whale; his tormentor; the last face he sees at night and first face he sees each morning.

'When he strolls on the beach at night, the wind will whisper "Sammy J,"' he quipped.

The Kyle & Jackie O show suffered a small dip in the seventh GFK radio ratings in the Victorian capital last week, placing them behind the outgoing broadcaster.

Kyle Sandilands (pictured) has hit back at comedian Sammy J after the ABC star issued a savage swipe to the shock jock

And Kyle took serious umbrage with Sammy's comments on Monday, claiming that he had 'never heard' of his radio 'rival.'

'There's some guy at the ABC in Melbourne who quit, but he was saying some weird s**t like: "I beat Kyle Sandilands," and: "I'm the first thing he thinks about',' Kyle said on Monday's Kyle & Jackie O Show.

'I have never even heard of him and he thinks that he is in my mind. What a deluded flog. I don't know who you are dog.'

Kyle's spray continued: '[Sammy wrote] When he [Kyle] walks on the beach he can't not think about me. I said "Bro no one knows who you are."'

Reading Sammy's direct quote, Kyle's co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson argued that the comedian was only joking, but Kyle was having none of it.

'Jackie, He is from the ABC. They don't joke.'

Sammy J, who announced last week he was leaving ABC Radio Melbourne, took to X last week to mock Kyle after his ABC show beat Kyle and Jackie O in the Melbourne radio ratings. Pictured: Sammy's post

Kyle's manager and Kyle and Jackie O Show director Bruno Bouchet chimed in, agreeing with Kyle's assessment of the sledge.

'You're 100 per cent right,' Bruno said.

'The ABC, they don't do jokes, that's against their charter so you've got to assume that it's being said very sternly and seriously.'

Kyle then offered his congratulations to Sammy before offering his own, not-so-subtle digs at his rival and the ABC.

'Anyway well done to him for winning, Not that anyone give a s**t,' Kyle said.

'I don't even know why they taxpayer is forced to pay for a commercial-less radio show to be in a survey. What do you have to pay for that?'

It's not the first time that Sammy has sledged Kyle and Jackie O.

Back in August, the ABC host mocked the pair after they placed fifth in this month's survey, while Sammy J had a boost in the ratings for his ABC breakfast show.

And Kyle took serious umbrage with Sammy's comments on Monday, claiming that he had 'never heard' of his radio 'rival'

The popular comedian could not resist boasting his victory with a post that mocked the Kyle and Jackie O Show's love of lewd content back in August.

'All these months asking my ABC listeners whether they've done a**l has really paid off,' Sammy said in an Instagram story at the time.

The naughty joke at the expense of his rivals appeared to be a direct reference to a remark made by Sandilands when his radio show made its debut on Melbourne airwaves in April.

During the show Jackie, introduced herself as 'STI-free' before Kyle began pressing her for her opinions on a**l sex.

The 52-year-old, meanwhile, introduced himself as an 'ex F-boy, coke-sniffing a**hole.'

Sammy, who has been hosting ABC Radio Melbourne Breakfast since before the pandemic, said he leaves the program with 'pride' and gratitude.

'Hosting Melbourne Breakfast was an unexpected opportunity that became an unexpected joy,' Sammy J said.

'But radio demands all of you and deserves nothing less, and after five years I'm ready to trade the 4:15am alarm for more regular hours.'

'I leave with pride, gratitude, and a litany of cash-for-comment scandals that will be revealed in due course.'
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Jennifer Lopez dazzled alongside Angelina Jolie and pregnant Jennifer Lawrence at Sunday's star-studded 15th annual Governors Awards in Los Angeles.

The Hustlers star, 55, looked sensational in a sheer beaded silver metallic gown that gave a glimpse at her toned figure as she arrived to the event, held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood.

The beauty  who filed for divorce from estranged husband Ben Affleck, 52, in August  completed her look with a silver clutch.

Angelina, 49, opted for a more bohemian look for the night, as she wowed in a delicate floor-length dress with a golden bust and a white lace bottom.

The Maria star was joined by her 16-year-old son Knox Jolie-Pitt for the occasion. She shares Knox with ex-husband Brad Pitt, 60.

The Governors Awards, a prestigious honor bestowed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, recognize extraordinary lifetime achievement in cinema and exceptional contributions to the film industry.

Jennifer Lopez, 55, dazzled alongside Angelina Jolie, 49, and pregnant Jennifer Lawrence, 34, at Sunday's star-studded 15th annual Governors Awards in Los Angeles

Not present with Angelina were her and Brad's five other children, Knox's twin Vivienne, as well as Zahara, 20, and Shiloh, 18, and sons, Maddox, 23, and Pax, 21.

Meanwhile Lawrence, 34, showed off her effortless maternity style as she wrapped her growing baby bump in an elegant brown dress with gold details. The blonde beauty carried a gold clutch and sported stylish bangs for the night.

Last month, the Hunger Games star confirmed that she's expecting her second child with art dealer husband Cooke Maroney, 40.

Lawrence and her husband have been married since 2019 and share two-year-old son Cy.

Countless A-list stars attended the soiree, including Pamela Anderson, 57, who was the picture of sophistication in a simple long-sleeve black gown.

The Baywatch bombshell continued with her recent trend of wearing little to no makeup, as she showed off her flawless visage on the red carpet.

She sparkled up her look with diamond studs.

Demi Moore, 62, sizzled in a sleeveless black dress which she accessorized with statement-making diamond jewelry.

Demi also posed with pal Nicole Kidman, 57, who opted for a classic floor-length black gown. Demi also caught up with Margaret Qualley, 30, at the event. Margaret looked breathtaking in a delicate white dress with silver accents.

The Hustlers star looked sensational in a sheer beaded metallic gown that gave a glimpse at her toned figure

The beauty  who filed for divorce from estranged husband Ben Affleck in August  wore picture-perfect glam for the evening

She showed off the showstopping look from the back

Her honey toned tresses cascaded down in loose waves

Lopez posed up a storm on the red carpet

The mom-of-two enhanced her naturally stunning features with delicate bronze makeup

Angelina was joined by her 16-year-old son Knox Jolie-Pitt for the occasion

She stunned in a bohemian dress with a golden bust and a white lace bottom

She was the epitome of a proud mom while looking at Knox, whom she shares with ex-husband Brad Pitt

Knox looked dapper in a sharp black tuxedo and bow tie

Meanwhile Lawrence showed off her effortless maternity style as she wrapped her growing baby bump in an elegant brown dress with gold details

Last month, the Hunger Games star confirmed that she's expecting her second child with art dealer husband Cooke Maroney, 40

The Hunger Games star sported chic bangs for the night

Lawrence and her husband have been married since 2019 and share two-year-old son Cy

She was not joined by her husband at the star-studded event

Elle Fanning, 26, was a vision as she descended upon the red carpet in a Valentino mint dress with a dramatic beaded cape featuring a feather trim.

Johnny Depp's daughter Lily-Rose Depp, 25, turned heads in a stunning off-shoulder black and white gown, adorned with a delicate pink rose.

Julianne Moore, 63, exuded gothic glamour in a dramatic black cape gown, accessorized with chunky black bracelets. Her strawberry toned tresses were styled straight for the night.

Elizabeth Olsen, 35, cut a trendy figure in a black dress with a v-shaped neckline. She was joined by director Azazel Jacobs, 52, who sported a classy tuxedo.

American-Irish actress Saoirse Ronan, 30, was the belle of the ball in an off-shoulder baby blue gown with a fringe neckline.

Selena Gomez, 32, sparkled in a sequined black gown with a striking white collar and sleeves. Unique shimmering feather earrings spruced up her look.

She was joined by Emilia Perez co-star Karla Sofia Gascon, 52, who rocked a black and white dress.

They were also joined by co-star Zoe Saldana, 46, who put her legs on display in a green mini dress.

Sharon Stone, 66, stunned in a timeless white gown, which she paired with a silver clutch.

Succession star Jeremy Strong, 45, looked cool as ever in a mint suit. The actor, famous for his portrayal of Kendall Roy in HBO's satirical dark comedy-drama, sported a clean-shaven face.

His co-star Kieran Culkin, 42, went a more traditional route with a black suit.

Pamela Anderson, 57, was the picture of sophistication in a simple long-sleeve black gown

She sparkled up her look with diamond studs

The Baywatch bombshell continued with her recent trend of wearing little to no makeup, as she showed off her flawless visage on the red carpet

Demi Moore, 62, sizzled in a sleeveless black dress that showed off her long legs

She accessorized the look with statement-making diamond jewelry

Demi posed with pal Nicole Kidman, 57, who opted for a floor-length black gown

The dress featured a stylish side slit

Kidman showed off her svelte figure

Demi also caught up with Margaret Qualley, 30, at the event

The two stylish ladies laughed it up in front of the shutterbugs

Margaret looked breathtaking in a delicate white dress with silver accents

She wore her hair in a low ponytail

Elle Fanning, 26, was a vision as she descended upon the red carpet in a Valentino mint dress with a dramatic beaded cape featuring a feather trim. American-Irish actress Saoirse Ronan, 30, looked incredible in an off-shoulder baby blue fringe gown

She exuded old Hollywood glamour

Saoirse wore matching aquamarine earrings

The Atonement actress wore her hair in a sleek middle parting and framed her features with subtle taupe-hued makeup

Johnny Depp's daughter Lily-Rose Depp, 25, turned heads in a stunning off-shoulder black and white gown, adorned with a delicate pink rose

The Idol star wore her blonde tresses in a stylish updo

Lily's gown featured a long train

Julianne Moore, 63, exuded gothic glamour in a dramatic black cape gown, accessorized with chunky black bracelets. Meanwhile Kate Winslet, 49, opted for a classic black pantsuit with white floral embellishments

Her strawberry toned tresses were styled straight for the night

The Titanic star accessorized with chunky gold earrings

Amy Adams, 50, exuded elegance in an oversized black button-up tucked into a black sequin maxi skirt

The American Hustle star slicked her hair back and accessorized with hoop earrings

She framed her features with metallic eyeshadow and subtle blusher

Selena Gomez, 32, sparkled in a sequined black gown with a striking white collar and sleeves

She completed the look with stunning Boucheron jewellery, with Plume de Paon pendant earrings and dazzling cocktail rings

She was joined by Emilia Perez co-star Karla Sofia Gascon, 52, who rocked a black and white dress

They were also joined by co-star Zoe Saldana, 46, who put her legs on display in a green mini dress

The trio had a blast on the red carpet

Zoe added height to her look with open-toe black heels

Kerry Washington, 47, made a bold statement in a skintight white dress

She opted for delicate makeup

Elizabeth Olsen, 35, cut a trendy figure in a black dress with a v-shaped neckline

Her dress featured a low-cut back

The actress wore delicate glam

She was joined by director Azazel Jacobs, 52, who sported a classy tuxedo

Sharon Stone, 66, stunned in a timeless white gown

The Basic Instinct star looked as youthful as ever, framing her features with an elegant updo and subtle makeup

Felicity Jones, 41, looked ethereal in a ruched white gown

Kerry Washington, 47, made a bold statement in a skintight white dress.

Amy Adams, 50, exuded elegance in an oversized black button-up tucked into a black sequin maxi skirt.

Jude Law, 51, cut a handsome figure in an all-white suit.

Tom Hanks, 68, and wife Rita Wilson, 68, made a glamorous pair. Rita shimmered in a sparkling silver gown. She paired it with a cheetah print purse.

Jennifer Hudson, 43, commanded attention in a form-fitting black dress with a shimmering side panel.

Kat Graham, 35, put her hourglass curves on display in a sizzling yellow bustier-style dress.

Kristen Wiig, 51, glowed in a sleeveless floral gown, while Connie Britton, 57, opted for a pop of color in a velvet pink dress.

Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield, 41, looked handsome as ever in a navy suit.

Irish actor Barry Keoghan, 32, showed off his unique style, wearing a frilly collar white shirt under a black tuxedo.

Jurnee Smollett, 38, dazzled in a romantic layered red gown.

Rebel Wilson, 44, exuded style in an emerald gown, while Anna Kendrick, 39, donned a low-cut black sequin gown with floral patterns.

Felicity Jones, 41, looked ethereal in a ruched white gown.

Lupita Nyong'o, 41, looked captivating in a sheer black strapless dress with silver and gold embellishments

The A Quiet Place: Day One star wore her tresses in a braided updo

Kat Graham, 35, put her hourglass curves on display in a sizzling yellow bustier-style dress

She flashed her toned legs

Kat's hair was styled into a glamorous updo

Rebel Wilson, 44, exuded style in an emerald gown

She was joined by Marissa Montgomery

Jennifer Hudson, 43, commanded attention in a skintight black dress with a shimmering side panel. Anna Kendrick, 39, donned a low-cut black sequin gown with floral patterns. Michelle Rodriguez also opted for a black look

The singer styled her glamorous look with a sharp straight bob and smoky eyeshadow

Kristen Wiig, 51, glowed in a sleeveless floral gown. Connie Britton, 57, opted for a pop of color in a velvet pink dress

Kristen matched her makeup to her dress, wearing pink eyeliner

Amy Poehler, 53, put on an edgy display in a silver chainmail top paired with a black skirt

She added a pop of color with her red nail polish

Tom Hanks, 68, and wife Rita Wilson, 68, made a glamorous pair

He matched his silver tie to her dress

Rita shimmered in a sparkling silver gown

She paired it with a cheetah print purse

Zooey Deschanel, 44, wowed in black mini dress

She was joined by partner Jonathan Scott

The loved-up pair shared a smooch

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 63, put her toned arms on display in an elegant black and white gown

Her brunette tresses were lightly curled

Tilda Swinton, 64, made a fiery entrance in a red hot dress. Harper Steele wowed in red as well

Tilda styled her platinum pixie hair into a mohawk

The Narnia star held hands with Julianne Moore on the black carpet

Jurnee Smollett, 38, dazzled in a romantic layered red gown

Actress Mikey Madison, 25, also opted for an eye-catching red gown

Her raven tresses were tucked behind her ears

Euphoria star Storm Reid stunned in a draped metallic strapless dress

Longlegs star Maika Monroe, 31, was the epitome of chic in a halter neck gown. Natasha Lyonne, 45, showed off her unique style in a beige dress with frilly sleeves

Her red hair was pinned up

Danielle Deadwyler, 42, shimmered in an iridescent gown. Coralie Fargeat wowed in all black. Meredith Shea also wore a black ensemble with a large white bow

Monica Barbaro looked flawless in a bustier style dress

Leonie Benesch radiated glamour in a golden gown

Lupita Nyong'o, 41, looked captivating in a sheer black strapless dress with silver and gold embellishments. Storm Reid dropped jaws in a skintight white gown.

Longlegs star Maika Monroe, 31, was the epitome of chic in a halter neck gown.

Tilda Swinton, 64, made a fiery entrance in a red hot dress. Actress Mikey Madison, 25, also opted for an eye-catching red gown.

Zooey Deschanel, 44, wowed in black mini dress. She was joined by partner Jonathan Scott.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 63, put her toned arms on display in an elegant black and white gown.

Danielle Deadwyler, 42, shimmered in an iridescent gown.

Amy Poehler, 53, put on an edgy display in a silver chainmail top paired with a black skirt.

Among the stylish stars there was also Natasha Lyonne, 45, who showed off her unique style in a beige dress with frilly sleeves.

Gladiator 2 hunk Paul Mescal, 28, sported a black suit with a vintage-inspired lace-up white shirt, while Yellowstone star Kevin Costner, 69, rocked a light grey suit and a mustache.

Hugh Grant, 64, cut a dapper figure in a black tuxedo. Jesse Eisenberg, 41, looked sharp in black.

Daniel Craig, 56, and Ziggy Marley, 56, also chose classic black tuxedos.

Jamie Foxx was pictured addressing the crowd inside the event.

Many of Hollywood's biggest stars gathered for the annual Governors Awards, put on by the film academy's board of governors.

Gladiator 2 hunk Paul Mescal, 28, sported a black suit with a vintage-inspired lace-up white shirt

He rocked a light stubble

Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield, 41, looked handsome as ever in a navy suit. Irish actor Barry Keoghan, 32, showed off his unique style, wearing a frilly collar white shirt under a black tuxedo. Jesse Eisenberg, 41, looked sharp in black

Andrew rocked a scruffy beard and tousled hair

Succession star Jeremy Strong, 45, looked cool as ever in a mint suit. His co-star Kieran Culkin, 42, went a more traditional route with a black suit

Jeremy, famous for his portrayal of Kendall Roy in HBO's satirical dark comedy-drama, sported a clean-shaven face

Yellowstone star Kevin Costner, 69, rocked a light grey suit and a mustache

He wore black rimmed eyeglasses

Hugh Grant, 64, cut a dapper figure in a black tuxedo

He rocked salt and pepper hair

Willem Dafoe, 69, kept it classy in a black tuxedo

Guy Pearce opted for a velvet suit

Jude Law, 51, cut a handsome figure in an all-white suit

The Alfie actor knotted a silk white scarf around his neck

Daniel Craig, 56, was dashing as ever in a black tux

The James Bond star looked every inch the Hollywood star with his slicked back hair and sharp tuxedo

Coleman Domingo wore all black

The actor accessorized with a cross brooch

Robbie Williams rocked a pale blue suit

Like many of the other gentlemen, Peter Sarsgaard also chose a black suit

John David Washington, 40, chose a dark velvet suit, while Ziggy Marley, 56, went for a classic black tuxedo

The Pianist actor Adrien Brody rocked an all-black outfit as he posed with Guy Pearce

Tom Nesher, Marielle Heller, and Tia Carrere all cut glamorous figures

Mona Fastvold and Brady Corbet made a stylish pair

Anthony Robles was joined by mom Judy Robles

Star Wars actor Mark Hamill made an appearance with his wife Marilou York

The event honored the late Quincy Jones, James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, filmmaker Richard Curtis and casting director Juliet Taylor. It's also a de-facto campaign stop for Oscar hopefuls as awards season gets underway.

Broccoli and her brother Wilson are following in her father's footsteps receiving the rarely given Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, celebrating the work of producers.

Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli accepted his own trophy (then a bust of Thalberg) at the 1982 Academy Awards as they looked on from the audience.

'It's very humbling,' Broccoli told The Associated Press. 'I think of so many people who have come before us, so many people I wish had been given the honor who aren't with us anymore.'

Curtis, a writer and director known for his contributions to romantic comedies like Love, Actually, Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral is being recognized for a lifetime of charitable work with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Getting an Oscar was a lifetime dream for him - as a teenager he used to try to shield himself from the news so that he could watch the broadcast the next night in the U.K.

'This is particularly a special award, but it's not work for which one expects praise or needs praise,' he said.

Taylor is even less accustomed to being publicly celebrated for her contributions to cinema as a casting director.

Nicole took off her shoes as she addressed the audience

The actress flashed a smile while speaking

Colman was pictured speaking at the event

The Governors Awards, a prestigious honor bestowed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, recognize extraordinary lifetime achievement in cinema and exceptional contributions to the film industry

Hugh also appeared on stage

Hugh presented Richard Curtis with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Jamie Foxx was present at the event as well

Juliet Taylor seen accepting an Honorary Award

Craig rocked yellow tinted glasses

US record producer Quincy Jones' children Martina Jones (3rd L), US actress and filmmaker Rashida Jones (C), Quincy Jones III (2nd R), Kenya Kinski-Jones (R) seen accepting an honorary award for their late father

They looked emotional as they went onstage to accept the award

Hudson (C) performed in honor of the late Quincy

She gave an emotional performance

In her over four decades of work, she cast classics like Annie Hall, Working Girl, Sleepless in Seattle and Schindler's List.

While she's excited about the honorary Oscar, she's even happier that her peers are soon going to be regularly recognized. Starting with films released in 2025, the film academy will give a new competitive Oscar to casting directors.

The Governors Awards are often an emotional affair. With no television cameras or band there to play you off during a speech, it's a night where friends and colleagues get to pay tribute to that year's honorary Oscar recipients, many of whom are later in life.

But this 15th event took on an added sadness when Jones passed earlier this month. There are still plans to honor Jones on Sunday with a tribute to his life, work and legacy.
Angelina Jolie looked every inch the proud mom as she beamed alongside her son, Knox Jolie-Pitt, at the Governors Awards on Sunday.

The Oscar-winning actress, 48, and her handsome 16-year-old sonwhom she shares with ex Brad Pitttook over the red carpet at the Ray Dolby Ballroom, effortlessly commanding attention with their striking style.

Jolie dazzled in a shimmering gold-and-silver sleeveless gown, radiating Hollywood glamour, while oversized diamond earrings and a matching necklace added the perfect touch of sparkle.

Her newly lightened locks were swept into a chic bun, and she shared an easy laugh with Knox, who looked dashing in a tuxedo.

As the duo posed for photos, Knox, towering over his mom with a striking resemblance to his matinee idol father, made a memorable grand entrance.

Notably absent were his siblingsMaddox (22), Pax (20), Zahara (19), Shiloh (17), and Knox's twin, Viviennemaking it a rare mother-son moment at the star-studded event.

Angelina Jolie looked every inch the proud mom as she beamed alongside her son, Knox Jolie-Pitt, at the Governors Ball on Sunday

The Oscar-winning actress, 48, and her handsome 16-year-old sonwhom she shares with ex Brad Pitttook over the red carpet at the Ray Dolby Ballroom, effortlessly commanding attention with their striking style.

Knox held a striking resemblance to Brad, seen on right in 2004 with Jennifer Aniston

The pair mingled with a who's who of Hollywood, including Pamela Anderson, Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman, and Elizabeth Olsen, among many others.

The event, put on by the film academys board of governors, is honoring the late Quincy Jones, James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, filmmaker Richard Curtis and casting director Juliet Taylor.

Angelina's outing comes as the actress continues to promote her latest film Maria, a biopic about opera legend Maria Callas, which is already generating Oscar buzz.

Maria, which depicts Callas during her final decline in Paris in the 1970s, was helmed by Jackie director Pablo Larrain.

Fans have called for the actress to get an Oscar with one writing: 'Holy s**t I f**king can't wait to see this movie!!! Seriously I know I'm going to be blown away by Angelina Jolie's performance as Maria. The Oscar is coming for her.'

Another pleaded with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science to just 'give Angelina the Oscar already for her interpretation as Maria Callas.'

A third, who admitted they hadn't even watched the trailer, joked they were already planning on 'running the Angelina Jolie Oscar campaign.'

'The Maria trailer is so beautiful. I've seen enough, give Angelina Jolie the Oscar already,' a fourth tweeted.

Angelina proudly held onto the arm of her son

Knox smiled during the rare red carpet outing

Knox certainly seemed in good spirits

Notably absent were his siblingsMaddox (22), Pax (20), Zahara (19), Shiloh (17), and Knox's twin, Vivienne making it a rare mother-son moment at the star- studded event

Angelina looked every bit the proud mom

As the duo posed for photos, Knox, towering over his mom with a striking resemblance to his matinee idol father, made a memorable grand entrance; (R: Angelina and Brad in 2015)

Notably absent were his siblingsMaddox (22), Pax (20), Zahara (19), Shiloh (17), and Knox's twin, Vivienne making it a rare mother-son moment at the star- studded event

Angelina stared adoringly at her child

Angelina left no detail overlooked

She sported plenty of blinged out jewelry including massive necklace and dangling earrings

Maria, according to a synopsis, 'follows the American-Greek soprano as she retreats to Paris after a glamorous and tumultuous life in the public eye.'

The film aims to 'reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days as the diva reckons with her identity and life.'

She died in Paris in 1977 of a heart attack at age 53.

The highly anticipated movie will come out in theaters in November then stream on Netflix in December.

Netflix is set to release the film in U.S. theaters on November 27 before it debuts on the streaming platform on December 11.

Previously, the mom-of-six won an Oscar the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Lisa Rowe, a diagnosed sociopath, in the 1999 psychological thriller Girl, Interrupted.

In 2008, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Christine Collins in the mystery crime drama Changeling.

She lost, however, to French actress, Marion Cotillard, who won for her leading role in La Vie en Rose.

The mother-son duo were certainly ready for their close-up

Jolie dazzled in a shimmering gold-and-silver sleeveless gown, radiating Hollywood glamour, while oversized diamond earrings and a matching necklace added the perfect touch of sparkle

It remains uncertain where the rest of Knox's siblings are

The two were all smiles for the occasion

Jolie is halfway to EGOT status after winning her first Tony over the summer

Throughout her career, Jolie has taken home a number of awards, including three Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award.

Jolie is halfway to EGOT status after winning her first Tony over the summer.

The EGOT is one of the most prestigious clubs in all of US showbiz and there are dozens of stars who are just one award from achieving the prestigious title.

The acronym stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards and is the designation given to people who have won all four of the major American performing awards.

Jolie just needs to earn an Emmy and Grammy in order to achieve the feat, which has only been earned by 21 people.
AFL WAG Chelsea Becirevic put on a very busty display on Sunday as she packed on the PDA with her Port Adelaide footy star boyfriend Ivan Soldo during an outing on the Gold Coast.

The loved-up duo were not afraid to flaunt their love for all to see, stopping to share a very public smooch as they headed out for coffee.

Chelsea , 24, was also not shy about flaunting her very ample cleavage in a barely-there white crop top.

Featuring a bow embellishment at the bust and a subtle rose print, the low-cut top showed off Chelsea's decolletage and taut torso.

She matched her racy top with a pair of loose fitting white linen pants that she wore with a pair of black slides.

Chelsea finished her day-date ensemble with some subtle gold bling on her wrists and a pair of sleek, cat eye sunglasses.

AFL WAG Chelsea Becirevic put on a very busty display on Sunday as she packed on the PDA with boyfriend Ivan Soldo during an outing on the Gold Coast

Chelsea flaunted her very ample cleavage in a barely-there white crop top

The blonde beauty, 24, stepped out for a day of fun in the sun on the Gold Coast with her AFL star partner 28

The loved-up duo were not afraid to flaunt their love for all to see, stopping for a very public smooch as they headed out for coffee

She left her platinum blonde lock out to cascade freely around her shoulders.

It was a case of sun's out, guns out for Ivan, who showed off his well-toned biceps in a plain black tank top.

The AFL star also wore a pair of light blue denim shorts and a pair of grey and white Nike sneakers.

Ivan completed his casual, summery look with a pair of black Saint Laurent sunglasses.

The pair looked thrilled to be in head other's company, happily walking hand-in-hand as they strolled.

Ivan romantically threw his arm around his lady love's shoulder at one point as they went to pick up some iced coffees.

As they waited in line at the cafe for their beverages, the PDA continued with Ivan standing close behind Chelsea, his hands placed lovingly on her hips.

Chelsea was also not afraid to flaunt her very ample cleavage

The pair locked lips in the middle of the street

She matched her racy top with a pair of loose fitting white linen pants that she wore with a pair of black slides

Taking a rest on a nearby bench, Chelsea sat in her boyfriend's lap as they quietly canoodled, staring into each other's eyes.

The loved-up scenes come after Chelsea levelled a shocking accusation at her former employee Emirates for whom she worked as a flight attendant.

Chelsea made headlines in May, when she announced she was departing Adelaide to start a new career in the United Arab Emirates, writing, 'I've always wanted to work for Emirates, live in Dubai and travel the world. So that's exactly what I'm gonna do.'

Her confession that living in Adelaide had 'been a struggle for me' and the city 'is just not for me permanently' raised eyebrows - but within four months, she was back down under after the move didn't pan out.

Chelsea said she returned because she 'hated' being in a long-distance relationship with Soldo and she 'missed Australia so much'.

However, she revealed a new reason for the career backflip in a Q&A session with her 67,000 Instagram followers last week.

When one fan asked if the Emirates airline has a 'toxic' work environment, she pulled no punches, replying: 'Toxic af [as f***] IYKYK [if you know, you know]. It's a shame tbh'.

When contacted by Daily Mail Australia, a spokesperson for Emirates said: 'We don't comment on former Emirates employees.'

At one point, the pair appeared to be locked in a serious conversation

Taking a rest on a nearby bench, Chelsea sat in her boyfriend's lap as they quietly canoodled, staring into each other's eyes

The pair looked chuffed to be in head other's company, happily walking hand-in-hand as they strolled

Chelsea opened up about what the future holds for her and Soldo in an exclusive interview the couple did with Daily Mail Australia earlier this month.

'At the moment I am just staying close to my family, trying to get settled in Adelaide and sorting out the house right now and making plans for the future,' she said.

Ivan added that he tells his girlfriend 'all the time' that she should get into modelling, with Becirevic cryptically adding that she is 'working on some things' and 'can't really say much right now'.

Her Q&A on Instagram also saw her reveal that she and Soldo are moving to their new Adelaide property 'in a few weeks'.

'I'll be living in SA,' she said as she answered questions from her 67,000 followers in an Instagram Q&A.

'We move into a new place in a few weeks, which is exciting.'
Former The Block star Sharon Johal looked unrecognisable as she attended the Wicked premiere on Sunday.

The reality TV star debuted her new pink locks as she walked the carpet at the event in Melbourne.

The 36-year-old ditched her usual brunette hair for a baby pink wig as she lead arrivals at the premiere.

Sharon dressed to impress for the occasion in green pants and a suit jacket with a plunging neckline.

She completed her look with a pair of pink strappy heels and a matching coloured bag.

Sharon was also joined by The Block judge Shaynna Blaze, who went for a similar approach in a green linen jacket and pants.

Former Block star Sharon Johal looked unrecognisable as she attended the Wicked premiere on Sunday with pink locks

Sharon dressed to impress for the occasion in green pants and a suit jacket with a plunging neckline

Sharon was also joined by The Block judge Shaynna Blaze, who went for a similar approach in green linen jacket and pants

The 61-year-old accessorised her ensemble with a pair of green heels and statement earrings.

Shaynna tied her blonde locks into a low bun and showed off her natural beauty with a neutral makeup palette.

Big Brother star Tully Smith, 37, also flaunted her figure in a long pink dress which featured a corset bodice.

The reality TV star accessorised with a pair of beige heels and silver earrings.

Tully left her blonde locks out and was all smiles as she posed on the red carpet at the event.

Meanwhile, Em Rusciano dressed to impress in a long sheer green dress which had sleeves.

The stunning frock featured florals along the front and was clinched in around the waist.

Big Brother star Tully Smith, 37, also flaunted her figure in a long pink dress which featured a corset bodice

Radio host Em Rusciano dressed to impress in a long sheer green dress which had sleeves

The Block's Mimi Belperio also made a style statement at the event in a mini dress which featured a large flower at the front

The Block's Mimi Belperio also made a style statement at the event in a mini dress which featured a large flower at the front.

The 28-year-old, who charmed audiences alongside her husband Kristian on the reality renovation show, accessorised with white heels and a pink bag.

Meanwhile, Patti Newton and her granddaughter were all smiles as they made an appearance at the event.

They were also joined by Sophie Cachia and her daughter Florence.

Patti Newton and her granddaughter also attended the premiere
They have shared the screen as co-hosts of Channel Seven's My Kitchen Rules since 2020.

But it hasn't always been plain sailing for Manu Feildel, 50, and Colin Fassnidge, 51, with the celebrity chefs once indulging in a social media war of words.

Manu has opened up on his feud with his co-star, admitting that it's now all water under the bridge.

Appearing on Jess Rowe's Big Talk Show podcast, the French chef said the war of words began when Colin was less-than-impressed with a meal he received while dining at his Bilson's Restaurant in Sydney.

After relocating from France to Australia in 1999, and cutting his teeth in several Aussie restaurants, Manu opened the kitchen as head chef at the now defunct Sydney restaurant.

Manu told host Jess Rowe that Colin was quick to voice his displeasure about his dining experience on X, formerly known as Twitter.

MKR's Manu has opened up on his social media feud with his co-star Colin Fassnidge admitting that it's now all water under the bridge

'He came to Bilson's restaurant and he wasn't happy with his meal and we were awarded two hats at the time.,' Manu said.

'I think he said something like I was a clown and i should go back to France and hang my jacket and learn how to cook.'

Manu added that it was Colin who continued to throw fuel on the social media fire as he loves to 'poke the bear'.

'We never met each other, we just knew [of] each other,' Manu said.

'He loved the social media war. He's addicted to it. That's his life, he just loves to poke the bear.'

Manu admitted when he was informed Colin would be joining the cast of My Kitchen Rules, he was dumbfounded.

But it appears that producers knew exactly what they were doing, betting that the tension created between the pair off-screen would translate into ratings gold.

'That was the beginning of a fight. I think it was a one way fight where he kept on going at me,' Manu said.

'We never met each other we just knew [of] each other,' Manu said. 'He loved the social media war. He's addicted to it. That's his life he just loves to poke the bear.'

But it appears that producers knew exactly what they were doing, betting that the tension created between the pair off-screen would translate into ratings gold

'One day the production of MKR decided to bring a third judge in and it was announced that it was going to be Colin Fassnidge.'

'I said to the producers, "are you kidding me? The guy hates my guts," and they said "we know".'

Wanting to make the best of things, Manu said when Colin arrived for his first day of shooting, he welcomed the Irish-born chef with open arms.

'I was always so comfortable in my shoes already I'd been there for about eight years,' he said.

'When he walked in I welcomed him at the door. I said, "welcome to MKR." I said I found this very difficult at the beginning and that "if you need anything from me do not hesitate to call".'

Manu's words proved to be just the thing to broker a peace deal between the pair, with Colin eventually apologising for his past behaviour.

'After the end of that year of production, he knocked on my door after the grand final and he went, "I would like to apologise for being an a**ehole" and we became good mates since,' the celebrity chef said.

Colin joined the MKR team in 2013 as a judge in the Kitchen HQ cook off and final rounds.

'After the end of that year of production, he knocked on my door after the grand final and he went I" would like to apologise for being an a**ehole" and we became good mates since,' the celebrity chef said

In 2020, he became a main series judge alongside Manu and Pete Evans before returning in 2022 in his former MKR role alongside Curtis Stone and Gary Mehigan.

Following controversial Pete Evans' departure, Colin again became a main judge and co-host for the 2023 season of the popular reality show.

In a new episode of Charlie Albone's podcast That's How We Grow, the pair reflected on how they managed to build a friendship from the ashes.

'Let's cut to the chase, we didn't on. I may have called him... something on Twitter, I called him a... beep...' Colin said.

'Then Ricky, who made MKR, rang and I said, "I don't want to be a TV chef, I want to be a real chef".'

Manu added that Colin saw TV chefs as 'w**kers' and that the pair 'weren't friends' when they first worked together.

The pair revealed they got off on the 'wrong foot' after Colin took aim at Manu before the show.

'The salty secret is Colin and I started on the wrong foot. Because when I started TV, most chefs in the industry thought I'd sold my soul,' Manu said.

Colin added: 'I said he's sold out.'

Explaining the criticism, Manu said: 'They said I was no longer a chef, I was a TV celebrity.'
Nicole Kidman was the definition of old Hollywood glamour on Sunday when she attended the 2024 Governors Ball in Los Angeles.

The Australian actress, 57, looked every inch the timeless beauty as she posed on the red carpet at the event which was held at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The event brought Hollywood's best and brightest stars out in jaw-dropping couture, with Nicole leading the best dressed lists alongside Jennifer Lopez and Saoirse Ronan.

The Babygirl star wowed in a floor-length black gown that featured an exposed back, an on-trend oval chest cut-out and a gem-encrusted halter neck.

Nicole kept her accessories to a minimum for the star-studded event, opting to draw attention to the glittering trim of her dress by wearing just two silver rings and a delicate black-and-silver bracelet with her classic ensemble.

She wore her strawberry locks parted in loose, natural waves that flowed over her lithe frame.

Nicole Kidman was the definition of old Hollywood glamour on Sunday when she attended the 2024 Governors Ball in Los Angeles

The Australian actress, 57, looked every inch the timeless beauty as she posed on the red carpet at the event which was held at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

The event brought Hollywood's best and brightest stars out in jaw-dropping couture, with Nicole leading the best dressed lists alongside Jennifer Lopez and Saoirse Ronan

The Oscar winner also appeared to go braless in the gown in a bold move that showed her experienced hand at lavish A-list events.

She also flaunted her slim pins as she posed for red carpet photographers by placing a hand on hip at times to reveal the daring thigh-high split in her gown.

The biggest names in Hollywood are campaigning for Oscars, and many of them were on hand to celebrate five film legends at Sunday's 15th Governors Awards.

The gala honoured Richard Curtis, Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, Juliet Taylor and the late Quincy Jones with 2024 honorary Oscars.

The glamour and sophistication were dialled up to the max as Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, Jennifer Lopez, Andrew Garfield, Jennifer Lawrence (and her baby bump), Selena Gomez, Danielle Deadwyler, Kevin Costner, Mikey Madison, Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Sharon Stone stepped out at the event.

The Governors Awards recognise extraordinary lifetime achievement in cinema and exceptional contributions to the film industry.

Nicole appeared to suffer a minor wardrobe malfunction with her stiletto heels as she approached the stage and laughed it off by removing them as she approached the podium.

Nicole kept her accessories to a minimum for the star-studded event, opting to draw attention to the glittering trim of her figure-hugging dress

Nicole presented the honorary Oscar to American casting director Juliet Taylor

She applauded enthusiastically after presenting Juliet with her Honorary Award during ceremony held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in LA and embraced her in a warm hug

She applauded enthusiastically after presenting Juliet with her Honorary Award during ceremony held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in LA.

The pair then embraced in a warm and heartfelt hug, with Juliet beaming from ear-to-ear in Nicole's arms.

The American casting director, who has cast more than 100 films including 43 of Woody Allen's pictures, beamed with pride as she embraced the Australian beauty on stage.

She appeared to suffer a minor wardrobe malfunction with her stiletto heels as she approached the stage and then removed them

Nicole, who has already won the best actress award at Venice Film Festival for her erotic drama Babygirl, was a vision as she posed with Demi Moore on the red carpet.

The pair of glamorous film sirens appeared to have coordinated their looks, with Demi donning a slinky strapless black gown and also wearing a large diamond chocker and statement diamond and emerald earrings.

In the trend of movie stars using fashion as a vehicle to tease and promote their upcoming flicks, Nicole's showing on the red carpet mirrored the backless black gown she wore to the 4th Annual Academy Museum Gala in October.

Nicole, who has already won the best actress award at Venice Film Festival for her erotic drama Babygirl, was a vision as she posed with Demi Moore on the red carpet

Nicole and Demi were all smiles at the star-studded event

Nicole's warm embrace of Juliet comes after her interview with Vanity Fair which ruffled feathers last week, as she revealed she's always wanted to work with legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese, 81.

She took a very pointed swipe at the Goodfellas auteur, noting his preference for casting male leads.

'I've always said I want to work with Scorsese, if he does a film with women,' she told the outlet.

Scorsese often works with male A-listers such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Daniel Day-Lewis.

Nicole isn't the first lauded actress to point out Scorsese's preference for masculine-heavy films, with Meryl Streep sharing similar sentiments in a 2011 interview.

'I would like Martin Scorsese to be interested in a female character once in a while, but I dont know if Ill live that long,' quipped the three-time Academy Award winner.

Countless A-list stars attended the soiree, with Nicole leading the pack

Countless A-list stars attended the Governers Ball on Sunday, including Pamela Anderson, 57, who was the picture of sophistication in a simple long-sleeve black gown.

Elle Fanning, 26, was a vision as she descended upon the red carpet in a mint dress with a dramatic beaded cape featuring a feather trim.

Johnny Depp's daughter Lily-Rose Depp, 25, turned heads in a stunning off-shoulder black and white gown, adorned with a delicate pink rose.

Julianne Moore, 63, exuded gothic glamour in a dramatic black cape gown, accessorised with chunky black bracelets.

American-Irish actress Saoirse Ronan, 30, was the belle of the ball in an off-shoulder baby blue gown with a fringe neckline.

Selena Gomez, 32, sparkled in a sequined black gown with a striking white collar and sleeves. Unique shimmering feather earrings spruced up her look.
Jackie 'O' Henderson was faced with a very emotional surprise during her book signing in Penrith, Sydney on Saturday.

The radio host, 49, was left 'overwhelmed and emotional' when she met 20-year-old fan Ziad whose life she helped save in 2016.

Only 12-years-old at the time, Ziad had been diagnosed with a brain tumour when Jackie and her co-host Kyle Sandilands helped raise $150,000 for his surgery.

Eight years later, the young boy, now a grown man, made an unexpected appearance at Jackie's book signing to thank her for her part in his recovery.

Their reunion was caught on camera as the media personality paused her six-hour-long book signing to embrace Ziad and his mother.

'Just seeing him today, he's grown up and he's happy and healthy and thriving and living such a great life,' Jackie said after meeting Ziad once more.

Jackie 'O' Henderson, 49, was faced with a very emotional surprise during her book signing in Penrith, Sydney on Saturday. Pictured with fans

'Knowing that all our [radio] listeners came together to make that happen was really beautiful,' she added.

Ziad appeared on The Kyle and Jackie O Show back in 2016 as his family sought help to raise funds which would pay for his life-saving surgery.

Within 10 minutes of appearing on the KIIS FM radio show, Ziad's story had touched the hearts of listeners who donated more than $150,000 to help remove his tumour.

'The power of their community and platform is why my boy is standing here right now,' Ziad's mother said during her reunion with Jackie.

Jackie recalled the story of Ziad in her memoir The Whole Truth, saying it 'never left her' as she often wondered how he was faring in life.

The radio star also confessed to struggling with an addiction to prescription pills, but has recently marked two years of sobriety.

She told how she spent 28 days in the famous rehab clinic, The Betty Ford Center, in November 2022 after struggling with addiction during the Covid lockdown.

In a candid extract, Jackie revealed that at the height of her addiction, she took around 10-12 Stilnox/Ambien sleeping pills and 24 Panadeine Forte painkillers a day.

The radio host was left 'overwhelmed and emotional' when she met 20-year-old fan Ziad (pictured) whose life she helped save in 2016

Only 12-years-old at the time, Ziad had been diagnosed with a brain tumour when Jackie and her co-host Kyle Sandilands helped raise $150,000 for his surgery

Jackie's 'best friend' Pip Edwards recently shared how she stood by the side of the radio host amidst revelations that she battled drug addiction.

The activewear entrepreneur, 44, told Stellar Magazine on Saturday that Jackie's honesty inspires her.

'I think for her it was extremely healing and it was time for her to stand in her truth. It's nothing to be ashamed of. And to all the critics out there, f**k off. Sorry,' Pip said.

'The night Jackie released the story on radio, I went to her house to be with her and give her a big hug.'

The P.E Nation founder said the pair are 'spiritually aligned' and share an incredibly close friendship.

After overcoming her addiction struggles, Jackie revealed how she marked her two years of sobriety on Thursday, November 14, in a milestone achievement.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at Marie Claire's Women of the Year Awards recently, Jackie revealed how she marked the occasion with her friends.

'I think we will go out for dinner and celebrate, for sure,' Jackie proudly shared.
Pregnant Jennifer Lawrence exuded glamour while attending the star-studded 15th annual Governors Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The Silver Linings Playbook star, 34, displayed her chic maternity style as she wrapped her growing baby bump in an elegant brown dress with gold details while arriving at the event, held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood.

The blonde beauty carried a gold clutch and sported long bangs framing her face for the night. She further accessorized with chunky gold earrings and a matching ring.

As for glam, the Oscar winner drew attention to her magnetic green eyes with black eyeliner, and wore cranberry toned lipstick to match her dark dress.

The Governors Awards, a prestigious honor bestowed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, recognize extraordinary lifetime achievement in cinema and exceptional contributions to the film industry.

It was a starry night, with other A-listers like Jennifer Lopez and Angelina Jolie and her son Knox, 16 in attendance as well.

Pregnant Jennifer Lawrence, 34, exuded glamour while attending the star-studded 15th annual Governors Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday

The Silver Linings Playbook star displayed her chic maternity style as she wrapped her growing baby bump in an elegant brown dress with gold details

The event honored the late Quincy Jones, James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, filmmaker Richard Curtis and casting director Juliet Taylor. It's also a de-facto campaign stop for Oscar hopefuls as awards season gets underway.

Last month, the Hunger Games star confirmed that she's expecting her second child with art dealer husband Cooke Maroney, 40.

Lawrence and her husband have been married since 2019 and share two-year-old son Cy.

Last year a source told Us Weekly: 'They're thinking about having another child.'

'At first they weren't sure if they wanted another one because it's so much work, but they're obsessed with Cy and love showing off videos to their friends and family,' the source said. 'They've started warming up to the possibility of a second.'

In a 2022 interview with Vogue, Jennifer opened up about the joy of becoming a first-time mother, sharing that the birth of her son 'felt like my whole life had started over.'

'I just stared. I was just so in love. I also fell in love with all babies everywhere. Newborns are just so amazing,' she explained.

Lawrence and Maroney tied the knot at the Belcourt of Newport mansion in Rhode Island in October 2019 after just over a year of dating.

They hosted 150 guests at the reception including Adele, Amy Schumer, Cameron Diaz, Benji and Joel Madden, Nicole Richie and Kris Jenner.

Recently the star recently admitted that she was too stressed worrying about her guests' comfort and enjoyment during her big day.

The blonde beauty carried a gold clutch and sported long bangs framing her face for the night. She further accessorized with chunky gold earrings and a matching ring

As for glam, the Oscar winner drew attention to her magnetic green eyes with black eyeliner, and wore cranberry toned lipstick to match her dark dress

Last month, the Hunger Games star confirmed that she's expecting her second child with art dealer husband Cooke Maroney, 40

Lawrence and her husband have been married since 2019 and share two-year-old son Cy

She cradled her burgeoning bump with her hand

Lawrence flashed a bright smile for the cameras

Lawrence and Maroney tied the knot at the Belcourt of Newport mansion in Rhode Island in October 2019 after just over a year of dating; the pair seen in 2018

'It's so stressful. You're not having fun. You're just like, "Is that person having fun?" she joked to E! News, humorously referring to being the bride 'awful.'

'I'll never forgetI was freaking out about the guests being cold, and all of my friends were lying they're like, "Nobody's cold, nobody's cold, everything's fine, everything's fine.'

'My mom was like, "It's freezing out there, your grandmother almost died."'

The actress even ordered her friend and frequent co-star Robert De Niro to 'go home' during the rehearsal dinner because she was convinced he didn't want to be there.

She said: 'I looked over and I saw Bob, who doesn't know anybody and he's kind of wandering around, and I immediately was like, "No, this isn't what he wants to be doing. I don't want him here."

'So I went over and whispered, I was like, "Go home" and he was nice - he like talked to my parents and was polite - but I was like, "Go."

'[After he left] that just genuinely made me feel better.'
Saoirse Ronan put on a dazzling display as she led the British and Irish stars in attending the Governors Awards held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday night.

The Irish actress, 30, looked sensational in a dramatic fringed baby blue gown as she joined the likes of Kate Winslet, Barry Keoghan, Paul Mescal and Tilda Swinton at the star-studded event.

Saoirse oozed sophistication as she modelled the off-the-shoulder dress which featured an eye-catching fringed trim.

The beauty added coordinating drop earrings to her look, while her blonde cropped locks were styled in a simple centre parting.

Meanwhile, Kate Winslet, 49, cut a stylish figure a smart black trouser suit with cream floral detailing.

The Titanic star boosted her height with black pointed heels while she accessorized with statement gold earrings and gold rings.

Saoirse Ronan put on a dazzling display as she led the British and Irish stars in attending the Governors Awards held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday night

The Irish actress, 30, looked sensational in a dramatic fringed baby blue gown as she joined the likes of Kate Winslet [L] , Barry Keoghan , Paul Mescal [R] and Tilda Swinton at the star-studded event

The stunner highlighted her flawless complexion with a creamy make-up palette, while sweeping her locks into a simple bun.

Irish actor Barry Keoghan, 32, meanwhile showed off his unique style, wearing a frilly collar white shirt under a black tuxedo.

The Saltburn star finished off his attire with a gold feathered pin and a gold chain with a silver ring attached.

The red carpet also saw Paul Mescal looking sharp in a black suit and vintage-inspired lace-up white shirt as he mingled with his co-stars and other Hollywood greats as the glitzy ceremony.

The Gladiator II leading man oozed confidence as he casually posed with his hand in his pocket on the red carpet.

Elsewhere, Tilda Swinton, 64, took out from the crowd as she rocked a bold red dress on the red carpet.

The figure-hugging number cinched her in at the waist and featured an eye-catching ruched and beaded detail down the front.

The Room Next Door star styled her blonde tresses in a quirky quiff, with the beauty finished her look with a dramatic sweep of red lipstick.

Irish actor Barry Keoghan, 32, meanwhile showed off his unique style, wearing a frilly collar white shirt under a black tuxedo

Elsewhere, Tilda Swinton, 64, took out from the crowd as she rocked a bold red dress on the red carpet

Saoirse oozed sophistication as she modelled the off-the-shoulder dress which featured an eye-catching fringed trim

The beauty added coordinating drop earrings to her look, while her blonde cropped locks were styled in a simple centre parting

The films star looked radiant as she posed for snaps at the glitzy event

Saoirse looked gorgeous as she led the British and Irish stars at the event

Nicholas Hoult meanwhile looked suave in a black blazer and matching wide-legged trousers, which he matched with a simple white T-shirt.

The About A Boy star appeared to have confirmed he secretly married Bryana Holly, whom he shares two children with.

Nicholas reportedly referred to the model, 31, as his 'wife' while sharing her response to a scary scene in his horror flick Nosferatu.

Speaking to E! News on the Governors Wards red carpet, he remarked: 'Afterwards, I remember I had my wife's nails imprinted on my hand. I was like, "Oh my gosh, this was tense."'

Elsewhere, Andrew Garfield drew the eye as he rocked a smart navy ensemble, consisting of a blazer and trousers with a matching shirt.

The ceremony was also dominated by American stars, with the likes of Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Lawrence gracing the red carpet.

The Governors Awards, a prestigious honor bestowed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, recognize extraordinary lifetime achievement in cinema and exceptional contributions to the film industry.

Saoirse's red carpet radiance comes after she recently revealed she is embracing playing flawed characters after her latest role as alcoholic Rona in The Outrun.

Meanwhile, Kate Winslet, 49, cut a stylish figure a smart black trouser suit with cream floral detailing

The Titanic star boosted her height with black pointed heels while she accessorized with statement gold earrings and gold rings

The Saltburn star finished off his attire with a gold feathered pin and a gold chain with a silver ring attached

Barry was in great spirits on the red carpet

Paul got suited and booted for the star-studded Governors Awards held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood

The film star looked sharp in a black suit and vintage-inspired lace-up white shirt as he mingled with his co-stars and other Hollywood greats as the glitzy ceremony

Tilda's figure-hugging number cinched her in at the waist and featured an eye-catching ruched and beaded detail down the front

The Room Next Door star styled her blonde tresses in a quirky quiff, with the beauty finished her look with a dramatic sweep of red lipstick

Nicholas Hoult meanwhile looked suave in a black blazer and matching wide-legged trousers, which he matched with a simple white T-shirt

The About A Boy star appeared to have confirmed he secretly married Bryana Holly, whom he shares two children with

Elsewhere, Andrew Garfield drew the eye as he rocked a smart navy ensemble, consisting of a blazer and trousers with a matching shirt

The English-American actor, who was born in LA but brought up in Epsom, Surrey, looked in good spirts as he posed at the event

The Irish beauty admitted she now gives 'less of a f*** about things being palatable' and is enjoying playing characters who aren't always the most likeable and have challenging qualities.

Saoirse made headlines last month after she stunned a panel of male celebrities into silence with her comment on male violence on The Graham Norton Show.

And now the star has spoken critically about the current tendency to 'filter our personalities' for social media.

Starring in ELLEs 2024 Women in Hollywood she spoke about playing a flawed character in The Outrun she explained: 'I havent played anyone like that anyone like that since Briony Tallis [her character from Atonement]. And I was so ready for it.

'I felt confident enough in my ability, but also confident enough in who I was. I didn't feel like I was being held down by a need to only play likable people.

'Because I got to shape it creatively, I just gave less of a f**k about things being palatable.'

Revealing how she was inspired by Lena Dunham's characters in Girls, she continued: 'We've gotten into this habit of filtering our personalities so much, reducing them to a line on Instagram or Twitter.

'And to be able to have the opportunity to go, "Look, this person can be fully formed and have sh**y qualities and also redeeming ones, and let's honor all of that"I'm at the point in my life where I'm like, "That's what I want to see onscreen".'

High Grant looked dapper as he rocked a classic black tuxedo

The Notting Hill favourite looked suave as he addressed the audience at the event

Daniel Craig looked as cool as ever as he posed wearing purple-tinted glasses

The James Bond star placed his hands in his pockets as he walked the carpet at the glitzy event

Jude Law meanwhile showcased his sense of style as he opted for a cream ensemble

The films star turned heads in a cream blazer and trousers which he wore with a coordinating scarf

Last month the actress set social media alight during her appearance on Graham Norton when she made a remark about gender-based violence while sat alongside an otherwise all-male panel of Paul, Denzel Washington and Eddie Redmayne.

As the men laughed about how they wouldn't think to access their phone to retaliate in the event of an attack, Saoirse stunned the group into silence as she finally found a moment to speak amidst the hilarity and declared: 'That's what girls have to think about all the time.'

The brutally honest comment prompted a moment of silence from the panel before Saoirse asked the crowd: 'Am I right, ladies?' eliciting a huge round of applause from the studio audience.

Breaking her silence on the viral moment, Saoirse spoke to Ryan Tubridy on Virgin Radio UK, as she admitted the reaction 'wasn't something she expected,' before going onto 'urge more women to speak out'.

She said: 'The reaction has been wild. It's definitely not something that I had expected, and I didn't necessarily set out to sort of make a splash.

'But I do think there's something really telling about the society that we're in right now and about how open women want to be with the men in their lives.

Saoirse's red carpet radiance comes after she recently revealed she is embracing playing flawed characters after her latest role as alcoholic Rona in The Outrun [pictured]

Saoirse set social media alight last when she made a joke about self-defence while sat alongside Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington and Eddie Redmayne on Graham Norton

'So many men and women that I know from all over the world have gotten in touch with me about this one comment, which is, again, I would urge people, please, please, please to watch this in context.

'Please watch the whole interview or watch at least that part of the conversation, because it really wasn't about the boys weren't sort of like debunking anything that I was saying.

'But at the same time, it felt very similar to like when I am at dinner with a bunch of my friends and I will always make the point that, well, this is actually an experience that we go through every single day, 100%.

'Paul being one of my very dear friends, I've had conversations like that with him before and he completely gets that and completely understands that but I think the fact that there was a moment like that that happened on a show like Graham Norton, which is something that the entire nation channels and to watch and even overseas, it's something that people tune into, it seems to have had an accessibility which seems to have really gained traction, which I think is amazing.

'It's opening a conversation and again, hopefully it's allowing more and more women to just be like, well, yeah, actually, let's talk about our experience.'
Hugh Bonneville enjoyed a cosy stroll with his new girlfriend Heidi Kadlecova on Sunday after a night of performing.

The Downton Abbey star, 60, had taken part in a charity gala performance to celebrate the legacy of the playwright Sir Noel Coward.

Onlookers claimed the vegan influencer met him at the stage door of Prince of Wales Theatre before walking back together.

Hugh had performed alongside the likes of Gyles Brandreth, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen and Marisha Wallace.

Following his show, the pair linked arms as they strolled along the streets of London.

Hugh was dapper in a tuxedo and smart grey coat, while Heidi dressed down in a black coat and trousers with Adidas Samba trainers.

Hugh Bonneville enjoyed a cosy stroll with his new girlfriend Heidi Kadlecova in London on Sunday after a night of performing in the West End

The Downton Abbey star, 60, had taken part in a charity gala performance to celebrate the legacy of the playwright Sir Noel Coward and was greeted by his girlfriend afterwards

His cosy outing with Heidi comes after he split from his wife of 25 years Lulu Williams in September last year.

The actor, who shot to superstardom with his portrayal of the Earl of Grantham in the ITV drama Downton Abbey, reportedly enjoyed a string of dates with Canadian actress Claire Rankin, 53, in March.

Yet he's since moved on with Heidi and is said to be a 'different person' around his new girlfriend.

MailOnline recently revealed he had introduced her to the cast and crew on his new movie.

He is said to have asked Heidi to spend the day on location as he filmed final scenes for Go Away! in Hertfordshire.

A source told MailOnline that her presence perked up the veteran star, whose mood changed considerably while in the vegan influencer's company sparking onlookers to describe the pair as 'a couple of lovebirds'.

Plus, locals spotted the pair cuddling during breaks from filming scenes next to a church.

A source said: 'Hugh and Heidi seemed really loved up and excited to be in each other's company.'

'Her being on set brought out another side to him, he was like a different person on set when she was around, considerably perkier.'

Onlookers claimed the vegan influencer met him at the stage door of Prince of Wales Theatre before walking back together

Following his show, the pair linked arms as they strolled along the streets of London

They added: 'She watched on as he filmed scenes and during breaks they went off together for some privacy.

'But he introduced her to everybody connected with the project and they came across as a really sweet pair, like a couple of lovebirds.'

She also watched him shoot scenes for the third Downton Abbey film, to be released on Netflix, before she was pictured arriving at a wrap party in Kings Cross, two weeks ago to mark the end of filming - the third time they have been pictured together.

MailOnline has contacted Hugh's representatives for comment.

The divorced philanthropist describes herself on social media as a 'world traveller' and 'animal advocate'.

Her Instagram bio reads 'Live life ethically, with kindness and compassion always'.

Heidi has a young daughter Gabriella who she takes on her travels, including the Mount Everest base camp in 2019.

She was previously married to lawyer Richard Coglon, Gabriella's father, while they lived in Vancouver.

Hugh was dapper in a tuxedo and smart grey coat, while Heidi dressed down in a black coat and trousers with Adidas Samba trainers

Hugh is said to be a 'different person' around his new girlfriend and MailOnline recently revealed he had introduced her to the cast and crew on his new movie

Heidi has previously worked for non-governmental organisations in Uganda, Indonesia and Nepal.

The vegan campaigner and Hugh were first pictured together on July 8 at the premiere of new film Twisters.

Documenting the night on her Instagram, Heidi wrote: 'Such a fun night and you are absolutely amazing in this film.'

Two weeks later, Heidi and Hugh posted the same photo at the same time during the opening night of Fangirls, a new musical at Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, West London.

Paddington star Hugh split from wife of 25 years Lulu Williams in September last year.

They share one son called Felix, 20, and lived together in West Sussex, but have yet to officially divorce.

A spokesperson for Hugh confirmed in September 2023 that he and his ex Lulu, who lived together for 25 years at their home in West Sussex, ended their marriage.

However, it seems the split has not been smooth sailing, with a source revealing: 'It is clear that Lulu feels as if 20-odd years of marriage counts for nothing.'

His cosy outing with Heidi comes after he split from his wife of 25 years Lulu Williams in September last year (pictured in 2019)

Lulu often accompanied her husband to premieres and film sets and her recent absence sparked rumours the pair were having troubles.

The actor, famous for his role as Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, had never shied away from expressing his love for Lulu, having previously called her his 'bedrock' and 'anchor' and crediting his wife for being the backbone of their household.

A source told The Sun: 'Hugh has been away from home filming a lot this year. He has lost a bit of weight this summer, he was looking trim, tanned and relaxed.'

The heartbreak came just five years after the couple renewed their vows at Graceland chapel in Las Vegas.
Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult sent About A Boy fans wild as they reunited 22 years after the hit romantic-comedy came out.

In the cult classic, Hugh plays Will Freeman, a rich, carefree man who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a 12-year-old boy named Marcus (Nicholas) after they meet at a single parents' meeting.

More than two decades on, the Love Actually star, 64, and his former costar, 34, recreated an adorable scene from the beloved 2002 adaptation of Nick Hornby's novel.

Hugh shared a snap of them laughing outside in Los Angeles in their tuxedos, with Nicholas patting his friend's shoulder as the actor appeared to crack a joke.

They appeared to have captured the heartwarming moment outside the The Ray Dolby Ballroom after attending the 15th annual Governors Awards on Sunday night.

Hugh Grant and his About A Boy costar Nicholas Hoult reunited in Los Angeles on Sunday night

In the cult classic, Hugh played Will Freeman, a man who struck up an unlikely friendship with Nicholas' character, a 12-year-old boy named Marcus (pictured in the film)

Hugh shared the sweet reunion snap on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday

Hugh posted the sweet shot alongside a still from the film showing Hugh's character frowning as Nicholas' character laughed at him.

The Bridget Jones's Diary star shared the post on X, formerly Twitter, prompting hundreds of fans to flood the comments with their praise.

"A beautiful film. Both of you should be proud. You could now play in the film as a family. Father son?' one fan suggested.

'Great film... he's all grown up... and you haven't changed. Is there a painting up in your attic somewhere?' another joked.

'Youve both got even better with age. That guitar scene at the school talent show was absolute genius,' a third penned.

Another user added, 'IF ONLY RACHEL WEISZ WAS THERE :(.'

Rachel played Hugh's character's love interest, Rachel, in the much-loved Christmas film.

In About A Boy, Will, who attends single parent meetings to woo women, meets Marcus, a troubled boy who is bullied in school.

He appeared to have reunited with his former costar at the Governors Awards on Sunday night (pictured at the event)

Nicholas, 34, looked suave at the gala in a sharp black tuxedo

He is the son of Fiona (Toni Colette), a depressed woman who has attempted suicide.

As Will and Marcus become friends, Will learns to be responsible for the youngster while helping him with his studies and his love life.

Nicholas was only 11 at the time of filming and has since gone on to star in Hollywood blockbusters like Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and the upcoming horror Nosferatu.

The Skins star previously revealed he and Hugh hadn't stayed in touch much after the film.

'I was only a kid when I worked with him, but he was so hard-working and diligent  neurotic, almost,' he told The Guardian in 2021.

'I can remember him being very specific about beats on the set, and trying things and getting it right. I think you have to be.'

He added that he has been admiring Hugh's success from afar, revealing: 'In my head, Im thinking its a kind of Hughnaissance, or something.

'I had so much fun watching him in Paddington 2, he was wonderful, and then in A Very English Scandal, and Im about to start watching The Undoing. Im enjoying what hes doing at the moment, a lot.'

Nicholas was just 11 when he filmed the instant classic with Hugh

Rachel Weisz also starred in the heartwarming comedy as Hugh's love interest Rachel

In the romantic-comedy, Hugh's character helps Nicholas' character overcome his social anxiety

Nicholas was even accused of copying Hughs acting style when playing Emperor Peter II in the Channel 4 period drama, The Great.

The actor insisted he didn't 'purposefully do that' but called it a 'compliment'.

About A Boy, which was directed by Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Hugh and Toni Collette were nominated for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award, respectively, for their performances.

The film became an instant classic, earning 103million when it was released.
Jackie 'O' Henderson has revealed that she's 'lucky to be alive' after taking dozens of pills a day during her battle with addiction.

The radio host, 49, recently confessed she took around 10-12 Stilnox/Ambien sleeping pills and 24 Panadeine Forte painkillers a day before seeking help.

'I mean, that's a lot of sleeping pills just for a start. A lot of people think, how did she even function?' she tells the Mental As Anyone podcast this week.

'My body just built up a tolerance to them, so I may as well have been taking one or two with the way they were affecting me,' Jackie continued.

'The 10 just wasn't, I think it was honestly just bringing my body to an even keel in a way. That's just an awful lot for the body to take.

'When you look at the actual medication I was taking, I don't know how I survived that'.

Jackie 'O' Henderson (pictured) has revealed that she's 'lucky to be alive' after taking dozens of pills a day during her battle with addiction

The radio host, 49, spoke about her years-long battle with drug and alcohol addiction for the first time in her memoir, The Whole Truth, last month.

She told how she spent 28 days in the famous rehab clinic, The Betty Ford Center, in November 2022 after struggling with addiction during the Covid lockdown.

After overcoming her addiction struggles, Jackie has now told how she is marking her two years of sobriety on Thursday, November 14, in a milestone achievement.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at Marie Claire's Women of the Year Awards, Jackie revealed how she intends to mark the occasion with her friends.

'I think we will go out for dinner and celebrate, for sure,' Jackie proudly shared.

The media personality also confessed she had forgotten she was approaching the notable date, with her best friend Gemma O'Neill having to remind her about it.

Walking the red carpet with Jackie, Gemma shared: 'I reminded you this morning and you were like, ''oh, is it?'''

She went on to gush over the support that she has received since her memoir's release and thanked her fans for trusting her with their own addiction stories.

'When you look at the actual medication I was taking, I don't know how I survived that,' she said

'I didn't know what to expect to be honest, the reaction has been really amazing and it's just so nice having so many people reaching out and sharing their stories with me, I've been so grateful for that,' she said.

'People are trusting me with something they don't tell many people in their life, so from that aspect it's been beautiful.'

Jackie also revealed she pre-warned some people - including her ex-husbands Lee and Phil O'Neil - about the contents of her tell-all memoir as not to 'blindside' them.

'I wanted to be respectful to people - obviously my daughter [Kitty], and my mum and even my ex-husbands - so I didn't want to blindside them,' she said.

'There were no huge surprises for the people that I warned anyway.'

In her memoir, Jackie told how she spiralled into a deep addiction following the 2018 breakdown of her marriage to UK photographer Lee and again during the Covid-19 lockdown.

But her struggles first began more than 15 years ago, when she was prescribed a strong opioid painkiller for endometriosis - a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus, causing severe pain.

'I got prescribed that and I found myself at the time taking it more than I needed and I recognised that this might be a bit of a problem, so I stopped at the time,' she said.

The radio host, 49, spoke about her years-long battle with drug and alcohol addiction for the first time in her memoir, The Whole Truth, last month

However, Jackie then went back to the medication after her turbulent split from Lee, who she shares her daughter Kitty, 13, with.

'I went back to it as a way to kind of go to some happy please, and it was a way of escaping and it was so the wrong thing to do,' she confessed.

Jackie said she started taking a few codeine 'here and there' and one Stilnox at night with a glass of wine, which she described as a 'blackout' situation.

'You can still be awake and have no idea what's going on,' Jackie shared.

'It's like you're kind of functioning but you have no memory.'

What really 'kickstarted' Jackie's harrowing addiction was isolating at home during the Covid-19 pandemic, when she said she was 'struggling' and felt 'so sad'.

'The dosage started to creep up more and more and it got extreme and I was averaging about 24 Panadeine Forte a day and then I was averaging about 10 to 12 Stilnox,' she shared.

She kept her addiction battle a secret from her loved ones, saying she had long Covid when she took an extended absence from work in November 2022 to check into The Betty Ford Clinic in California.

Apologising to her listeners, she tearfully admitted she 'lied' by 'omission' when she publicly shared on her radio show that she was battling long Covid at the time.

'I want to apologise to our listeners and everyone in my life where I haven't sort of been forthcoming with this, I just needed to concentrate on that part first, that recovery for the first year particularly,' she said.
Nicholas Hoult has seemingly confirmed he has secretly married long-time partner Bryana Holly.

The actor, 34, previously sparked speculation that he'd tied the knot with the model, 31, last year when they were spotted wearing wedding bands at Anya Taylor-Joy and Malcolm McRae's wedding, though nothing was confirmed.

However, speaking about his new horror film Nosferatu at the Governors Awards on Sunday, Nicholas appeared to verify the marriage rumours after referring to Bryanna as his 'wife'.

Speaking to E! News on the red carpet, the star made a rare comment about Bryana, remarking: 'Afterwards, I remember I had my wife's nails imprinted on my hand. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, this was tense.''

MailOnline have contacted representatives of Nicholas for comment.

The couple, who rarely make public appearances together, officially began dating in 2016 after meeting in Los Angeles.

Nicholas Hoult has seemingly confirmed he has secretly married long-time partner Bryana Holly [the couple pictured in 2023]

Speaking about his new horror film Nosferatu at the Governors Awards on Sunday, Nicholas appeared to verify the marriage rumours after referring to Bryanna as his 'wife'

They share son Joaquin, six, and another child born in 2022.

Nicholas went on to give an insight into family life as he revealed he's looking forward to celebrating the festive season - with a funny family tradition.

He added to the publication: 'I play this really silly game where you have to roll dice and when someone gets a six, they have to put on oven gloves, a hat, a scarf, and then grab a knife and fork and try and eat the chocolate bar, and eat as much as they can of the chocolate bar before the next person in the circle rolls a six. It's fun game.'

Nicholas and Bryana first sparked marriage speculation as they attended the star-studded wedding of Anna and Malcom in Venice in October last year.

Nicholas - who shot to fame as an adorable child star opposite Hugh Grant in About A Boy - and the blonde beauty both sported gold wedding bands on their fingers.

Back in 2018 Nicholas became a father for the first time after welcoming his first child - son Joaquin - with Bryana, after just one year of dating.

Nicolas told the Evening Standard in 2019 his 'levels of tiredness are extreme' after he became a father for the first time.

He said: 'No one warns you about it! But the level of love that comes with it outweighs everything. It's phenomenal.

Speaking to E! News on the red carpet, the star made a rare comment about Bryana, remarking: 'Afterwards, I remember I had my wife's nails imprinted on my hand. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, this was tense' [the couple pictured in December]

Nicholas went on to give an insight into family life as he revealed he's looking forward to celebrating the festive season - with a funny family tradition

'I'm loving it. And it evolves all the time. They change so much, every day is different. It fills you up as a human completely.'

While in 2020 he revealed he's relishing the challenges of fatherhood, and is actually enjoying being at home with his family due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking on The Late Late Show with James Corden, he said: 'I'm loving it. It's mad. It's a learning curve, isn't it? There's a lot to take in.

'But overall, it's like that time again, it brings back a lot of memories of your childhood.

'It makes you play again - which I'm really enjoying, particularly with this time now with everything shut down and not having to work I'm kind of just playing trains all day. Yeah, it's great.'

Nicholas previously dated actress Jennifer Lawrence, 29, on and off for four years (pictured together in January 2014)

In 2020 he revealed he's relishing the challenges of fatherhood, and is actually enjoying being at home with his family due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The About A Boy actor famously dated Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence on and off for four years before they broke up in 2014.

Jennifer later reflected on their split during an interview with Diane Sawyer, revealing it happened as they completed filming X Men: Days Of Future Past.

Meanwhile, Bryana previously dated Five Seconds of Summer star Aston Irwin and Brody Jenner, the step-brother of American socialite Kim Kardashian, with whom she regularly featured on Kim's popular fly-on-the-wall reality show.

The couple dated for several months in 2013 before a dramatic falling out at the annual Playboy Mansion Halloween party.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard has revealed the name of her unborn daughter after the paternity test drama to uncover the child's biological father.

Blanchard, 33 - who served eight years after being convicted of second-degree murder for the death of her mother Dee Dee Blanchard, announced this July that she is pregnant by her boyfriend Ken Urker, 31, and in August they shared that they are expecting a daughter.

Because Blanchard is still legally married, husband Ryan Anderson had to take a DNA test to establish the baby's paternity or run the risk that he, rather than Urkel, would be listed as the father on the birth certificate under a little-known Louisiana law.

After the test proved Urker was indeed the father, the couple held their baby shower in Louisiana over the weekend - where they discussed their excitement over their baby's birth.

Blanchard told People: 'Ken and I were so excited to have a beautiful celebration that our daughter Aurora Raina Urker can look back on and see how our community welcomed and embraced her with love.

'She will be supported and given all the happiness a child should experience.'

Gypsy Rose Blanchard has revealed the name of her unborn daughter after the paternity test drama to uncover the child's biological father

Blanchard, 33, - who served eight years after being convicted of second-degree murder for the death of her mother Dee Dee Blanchard, joyfully announced this July that she is pregnant by her boyfriend Ken Urker, 31

Blanchard said she felt 'supported and happy' with her sister Mia and stepmother Kristy by her side while her father works offshore,

She said she was looking forward to 'giving my daughter a happiness I never knew growing up.'

Blanchard said she and Urker have spoken about 'plans to get married' but for now are 'more focused on being parents.'

Earlier this month Blanchard confirmed on Instagram that Urker is indeed the biological father of her baby.

She wrote: 'Theres been a lot of chatter around the paternity of our baby and while weve known for sure from the beginning, I feel that its finally time to put all these theories to rest. Here are the results showing Ken is the father.'

Blanchard added: 'Ken is going to be an incredible dad and we are so excited to welcome our baby girl into the world.'

Her message was accompanied by a screenshot of the results, which stated that based on DNA evidence, Urker had more than a 99.9% probability of paternity.

Urker's test will now enable him to be listed as the father on the baby's birth certificate, in accordance with a Louisiana law that would have otherwise classified Anderson as the 'presumed father.'

Anderson revealed he was taking a DNA test to confirm the paternity of his estranged wife's pregnancy

The law states: 'If the mother is married to someone other than the biological father when the child was conceived or has been divorced for less than 300 days at the time of birth, the husband/ex-husband shall be the presumed father, unless paternity is established for the biological father.'

Anderson declared on a TikTok livestream on August 10 that he was going to undergo a paternity test to put the matter to rest.

His social media announcement came later on the same day that Blanchard and Urker revealed the sex of the baby.

'I have to get a DNA test. I don't have a choice,' Anderson said in the social media clip, before adding, 'I hate being in this situation.'

Anderson maintained he has to 'take a DNA test for court,' and then followed-up by offering up his opinion before he got the final results.

'The way the timeline matches up  I don't think it's mine, but I don't know. The DNA test is going to prove it,' he shared. 'Crazier things have happened. I just don't know. I have my thoughts and I have my opinions.'

Blanchard announced on July 9 that she's expecting a baby with Urker, her current boyfriend, with a due date around January 2025.

This would put the date of conception to be around April.

Blanchard (born Gypsy-Rose Alcida) filed for divorce from Anderson on April 8 shortly after they publicly announced their split.

Blanchard rose to prominence when she was convicted of second-degree murder in Springfield, Missouri, for the death of her mother Dee Dee Blanchard.

Her death came in the wake of what Blanchard described as a 'lifelong physical, mental, and medical abuse,' and ended up being sentenced to 10 years in prison.

She was paroled at the end of December 2023 after serving eight years behind bars.

Given the sensational aspects of Blanchard's childhood, including her mother forcing her to pretend to be disabled and terminally ill, she gained widespread media attention as a Munchhausen-by-proxy survivor.

Basically, the definition translates to 'someone with a mental health disorder in which a caregiver creates the appearance of health problems in another person, typically their child,' according to Wikipedia. 'The caregiver or partner then presents the person as being sick or injured.'

The Munchausen-by-proxy victim took to her Instagram in August to share a video of an adorable gender reveal party she and Urker held

'It's a girl,' the couple announced on Instagram following their gender reveal party

The result of a factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA), which it's also known as, can result in permanent injury or death of the victim.

The behavior might be motivated by the caregiver or partner seeking sympathy or attention.

Despite all the back and forth legal wrangling, Anderson said, 'I'm always going to have love for [her],' in one of his latest TikTok live posts.

He then proceeded to try and quell all the hate being thrown at his estranged wife, saying, 'If anyone is going to bash her, it should be me... If Im not bashing her, why yall need to?'
Jennifer Lawrence enjoyed a sunny outing with her two-year-old son Cy Maroney, who played with an ADT sign on a grassy lawn, in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The expecting 34-year-old - who wore baggy clothing beneath a trench coat - confirmed she and husband Cooke Maroney were expecting their second child to Vogue the day after celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary on October 19.

She looked cozy clad in a $590 grey Another Tomorrow 'Cashmere Knit Sweatshirt.'

Jennifer and the 40-year-old art dealer reportedly named their blond toddler after his favorite American painter Cy Twombly.

Hours after her street sighting, Lawrence glammed up to showcase her bourgeoning baby bump in a clingy brown Bottega Veneta gown at the 15th Governors Awards in Hollywood.

Last Thursday, the Excellent Cadaver founder unveiled the first images of Lynne Ramsay's thriller Die, My Love - which she and Robert Pattinson wrapped on October 16 in Calgary.

Jennifer Lawrence enjoyed a sunny outing with her two-year-old son Cy Maroney, who played with an ADT sign on a grassy lawn, in Los Angeles on Sunday

Jennifer produced and stars as a Montana mother suffering from postpartum depression and struggling with her marriage in the big-screen adaptation of Ariana Harwicz's 1969 novel.

Sissy Spacek, Nick Nolte, and LaKeith Stanfield also star in Die, My Love.

'She just really responded to the material, which is hardcore in some ways, because it's about postnatal depression and bipolar [disorder],' the Scottish 54-year-old filmmaker told Variety last year.

'But it's funny as well. Well, I've made it funny. I think I've made it funny. I hope I've made it funny.'

Lynne added: 'Everyone's had mental health issues through COVID. So it deals with that. But it deals with it, I think, in a really funny way.'

This Friday, Apple TV+ will begin streaming Sahra Mani's critically-acclaimed Afghan women documentary Bread & Roses, which Lawrence produced with 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai.

The Oscar winner also produced Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault's critically-acclaimed abortion documentary Zurawski v Texas, which screens December 7 at the Northstar Village Cinema during the Tahoe Film Festival.

'I've tried to get over [the reversal of Roe v. Wade] and I really can't,' Jennifer told Vogue back in 2022.

'I can't. I'm sorry I'm just unleashing, but I can't f*** with people who aren't political anymore. You live in the United States of America. You have to be political. It's too dire. Politics are killing people.'

Lawrence continued: 'I had a great pregnancy. I had a very fortunate pregnancy. But every single second of my life was different. And it would occur to me sometimes: What if I was forced to do this?'

And last June, Apple Original Films acquired the Real Housewives-inspired murder mystery The Wives, which the No Hard Feelings producer-star will star in and produce.

The expecting 34-year-old - who wore baggy clothing beneath a trench coat - confirmed she and husband Cooke Maroney were expecting their second child to Vogue the day after celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary on October 19

Jennifer - looking cozy in a $590 Another Tomorrow sweatshirt - and the 40-year-old art dealer reportedly named their blond toddler after his favorite American painter Cy Twombly

Hours after her street sighting, Lawrence glammed up to showcase her bourgeoning baby bump in a clingy brown Bottega Veneta gown at the 15th Governors Awards in Hollywood

Last Thursday, the Excellent Cadaver founder unveiled the first images of Lynne Ramsay's thriller Die, My Love - which she and Robert Pattinson (R) wrapped on October 16 in Calgary

Jennifer produced and stars as a Montana mother suffering from postpartum depression and struggling with her marriage in the big-screen adaptation of Ariana Harwicz's 1969 novel

This Friday, Apple TV+ will begin streaming Sahra Mani's (R, pictured last Thursday) critically-acclaimed Afghan women documentary Bread & Roses, which Lawrence produced with 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai (L)
Paul Mescal has revealed the unlikely advice director Ridley Scott gave him before filming his first scenes in 300M mega move Gladiator II.

The Irish actor, 28, who plays Lucius in the epic, said that he didn't fear taking the mantle from Russell Crowe who won an Oscar for his role in the 200 original, which he first saw in his teens.

But admitted to the Hollywood Authentic that he was left asking himself 'what the f*** does that mean' following the 86-year-old moviemaker's cryptic words.

This ties back to something Ridley said on the first day of filming when we were waiting to get going, and we were all in these little tents. He comes up, smoking a cigar, and he slaps me on the back, and goes: Just remember, your nerves are no good to me'.

'I was like What the f**k does that mean? What I took from it was: This isnt about you. So whatever legacy the film is taking, youre actually doing it a disservice if you cant wear that. Its bigger than us all making the film. Just go make the film"'.

Paul Mescal, 28, has revealed the unlikely advice director Ridley Scott, 86, gave him before filming his first scenes in 300M mega move Gladiator II

The Irish actor, who plays Lucius in the epic (pictured) admitted he was left asking himself 'what the f*** does that mean' following the moviemaker's cryptic words

Paul also revealed after training so hard to get into shape for the role co-star Pedro Pascal dubbed him Paul the wall on set due to his intimating physique.

It comes after Director Ridley revealed if there will be a third Gladiator film and said he is already making plans for another movie just days after the second in the trilogy's worldwide release.

The sequel stars Paul and Denzel Washington and has been lauded by critics as 'watchable and spectacular'.

Speaking to The Times Ridley spoke about his future projects which also include a western inspired by The Proposition and a new thriller.

Asked if he has started Gladiator III he said: 'I've written 12 pages' - before confirming he has also started drawing his storyboards.

It comes after Gladiator II critics declared that Denzel 'stole the entire' picture as they heaped praise on his electrifying performance.

Though Paul, 28, takes the lead in the action-packed blockbuster as the vengeful Roman Empire heir-turned-Gladiator, it's Denzel's portrayal as the sly and ambitious Mecrinus that has everyone talking.

The Hollywood star, 69, has been lauded for his 'pure camp' line delivery, with it being said that Denzel is 'palpably revelling' in playing the 'smug, self-satisfied schemer.'

Paul said that he didn't fear taking the mantle from Russell Crowe who won an Oscar for his role in the 200 original, (right) which he first saw in his teens

This ties back to something Ridley said on the first day of filming when we were waiting to get going, and we were all in these little tents. He comes up, smoking a cigar, and he slaps me on the back, and goes: Just remember, your nerves are no good to me'

'I was like What the f**k does that mean? What I took from it was: This isnt about you. So whatever legacy the film is taking, youre actually doing it a disservice if you cant wear that'

Paul also revealed after training so hard to get into shape for the role co-star Pedro Pascal (right) dubbed him Paul the wall on set due to his intimating physique

Meanwhile, Paul, who first shot to fame in 2020's Normal People, is said to be the 'pumping heart of the movie' who 'exudes charisma and testosterone'.

Though critics have been somewhat divided by Scott's latest offering with some noting that it doesn't quite live up to the film's original, overall, Gladiator II has been seen as a triumph, with one noting that it's 'watchable and spectacular'.

The Daily Mail's Brian Viner notes that while the sequel falls short of its masterpiece predecessor, it is still 'heaps of farfetched and ferocious fun.'

He writes: 'Even though this sequel rarely scales the soaring heights of the first film, and takes some right Roman liberties with historical truths, it is still worthy of a firm-ish thumbs-up.

'Giving the blockbuster four stars, he continues: 'Certainly, Lucius is not cowed by anything the Colosseum can throw at him, from killer baboons to, in a cinematic flourish all but guaranteed to make historians of ancient Rome throw their textbooks at the screen, a saddled-up warrior-rhinoceros.

'And let's not even start on the savage sharks brought in to pep up the recreation of a naval battle.

'Meanwhile, Rome has become a cesspit of depravity and corruption under the rotten rule of slimy emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and his twin Caracalla (Fred Hechinger).

'Hechinger is said to have modelled Caracalla on Johnny Rotten, while the syphilitic Geta was reportedly inspired in part by Sid Vicious. Having warmed to the rhino and the sharks I'm all for this unlikely fusion of ancient Rome and the Sex Pistols.

'The emperors' over-the-top ghastliness borders on the comedic but then it's best not to take any of this seriously.'

Brian concludes: 'Yes, Scott's lofty disregard for historical verities extends even to his own narrative but let's not hold that against him. At the age of 86, the old boy still knows how to craft a sword-and-sandals epic, so to hell with the facts.'
Emily Ratajkowski posted a striking image to the Instagram on Monday, showing off her worryingly taut torso and defined abdominal muscles.

The 33-year-old model will have surely turned heads with the look, as her bright red sweater featured a huge cut out design, revealing her extremely slender physique.

Emily was posing to the side and her hands full with her iPhone, coffee, and red bags but all eyes were on her defined tummy area.

She appeared to be on a shopping spree as she tagged the fashion label Gimaguas, founded in 2018 by twins Claudia and Sayana Durany.

The garment that the model was seen wearing also exposed some sideboob.

The sighting comes after Emily was named the new U.S. brand ambassador for Intimissimi.

Emily Ratajkowski put her abs on display in a red sweater and black skirt as she held up several red shopping bags

She was bra free as she flashed plenty of flesh

'I am thrilled to join Intimissimi as their U.S. Brand Ambassador,' Ratajkowski said in a statement provided to DailyMail.com

'Intimissimi celebrates women and femininity in such an inspiring way, and I am excited to help introduce this iconic brand to more women across the U.S.,' she said.

'I truly believe in the power of beautiful lingerie to make you feel confident and empowered, and Intimissimi does this beautifully.'

The iCarly actress succeeds Jennifer Lopez, 55, as the new brand ambassador.

She shared several photos of herself in the brand's Couture de Nuit Bustier ($79), Kimono ($79) and Brazilian brief ($15) on Instagram last week.

'We are absolutely delighted to welcome Emily Ratajkowski to the Intimissimi family,' Matteo Veronesi, brand leader of Intimissimi, added.

'Emily's charisma and undeniable presence perfectly reflect the qualities we want to celebrate through our brand.

'She brings a modern, powerful energy that aligns with our dedication to empowering women and embracing individuality through our lingerie.'

The sighting comes after Emily was named the new U.S. brand ambassador for Intimissimi

'I am thrilled to join Intimissimi as their U.S. Brand Ambassador,' Ratajkowski said in a statement provided to DailyMail.com

Since its founding in 1996, Intimissimi has been 'at the forefront of lingerie design, combining Italian craftsmanship with contemporary fashion,' a press release shared.

'With a commitment to high-quality fabrics, sophisticated design, and an inclusive approach, Intimissimi brings women's lingerie, loungewear, and accessories that inspire confidence and elegance.'

Now available in 53 countries with 1,719 stores worldwide, Intimissimi has the 'experience and expertise to produce the finest lingerie for every woman's daily needs,' a press release shared.Intimissimi is 'designed with the modern woman in mind, for the woman who is comfortable in her own skin.'
Nearly 30 years after catapulting to fame as a member of one of the biggest boy bands of all time, Lance Bass 'hopes' to reunite again with his NSYNC bandmates.

Speaking with DailyMail.com at the Vanderpump Dogs gala, Bass, 45, was asked about possibly joining forces with the beloved music group yet again.

'I mean, who knows? I hope so! Fingers crossed!' he shared.

During their heyday, Bass, along with bandmates Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, and Chris Kirkpatrick dominated the radio as members of the iconic group NSYNC.

While they ultimately disbanded in the early 2000s, their legacy has endured - not only have they reunited in recent years, but they have even been the focus of several documentaries.

Bass makes an appearance in the newly-released documentary Larger Than Life: Reign of the Boybands, and he also spoke in the 2019 doc, The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story.

Lance Bass 'hopes' to reunite again with his NSYNC bandmates, nearly 30 years after the hit boy band first catapulted to fame

Bass and NSYNC dominated the radio during their heyday; pictured 2000

'It's so crazy, so many people are doing documentaries on it right now,' Bass said when asked about Larger Than Life.

He called his participation in The Boy Band Con, the doc about disgraced businessman and manager Lou Pearlman, 'cathartic.'

'I did one years ago called The Boy Band Con and it was cathartic to be able to do that,' he explained.

'Really kind of dissecting who he was and what we went through. So many people have asked me to sit down, I'm like, "Yes, I want to share my story,"' he said.

Bass has yet to watch Larger Than Life but has heard great things about it so far.

'I have not seen this one yet! I'll be watching it along with everyone else, but I hear it's an incredible doc,' he shared.

In the meantime, Bass has been busy promoting his new children's book, Trick or Treat on Scary Street.

Bass, who has three-year-old twins Alexander James and Violet Betty with husband Michael Turchin, said his children make him read the book 'every single night.'

Bass served as host of the charity ball, which raised funds for Lisa Vanderpump's Vanderpump Dog Foundation

Bass, Justin Timberlake, Joey Fatone, and JC Chasez made up the legendary boy band NSYNC

Bass called appearing in The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story 'cathartic' (pictured: Lou Pearlman poses with N'Sync Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, Bass, Joey Fatone and Justin Timberlake seen at N.Y.P.D. pizza in Miami, 1996)

'It's their favorite book, and I'm like, "Okay I guess this is going to work." It's now after Halloween and they still make me read it every night,"' he said.

Bass called promoting the book 'so much fun.'

'It was so much fun to promote because when you go and like do interviews they actually want to talk about the book and not about like Britney Spears!

'So it was really fun to promote, and to be able to like read to kids all over the country, it was a beautiful thing,' he said.

Larger Than Life hit Paramount+ earlier this month while The Boy Band Con, the film about Lou Pearlman, was released back in 2019.

Pearlman was the disgraced businessman who created and managed boybands such as Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC and O-Town.

Lisa's bash featured a slew of big stars including Joel McHale

While the talent manager was busy distracting the masses with a stream of noughties hits, he was running one of the longest running Ponzi schemes in American history, convincing banks, and individuals to invest into his bogus companies.

Pearlman also made millions from young musicians lacking knowledge about the inner workings of the music industry, allowing him to pay 'NSYNC just $35 (27) per day while selling millions of records.

He was ultimately sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiracy, money laundering, and false bankruptcy proceedings. He died behind bars at age 62 in 2016.

Bass previously said the first red flag into the music mogul's shady management was after he flew them to Los Angeles and handed them checks for just $10,000.

'At the end of the dinner we had all these envelopes sitting in front of us and I knew my life was about to change...then I opened the check and it's $10,000,' he revealed in a 2019 ABC television interview.

On Friday, the musician was among a slew of stars supporting Lisa Vanderpump's dog rescue, Vanderpump Dogs, at The Maybourne Hotel in Beverly Hills

Trixie Mattel was among those wowing the crowd with a performance

The stars more gathered together for a good cause (pictured Tom Schwartz, Bass' husband Michael Turchin, Lisa, and Bass)

The bash was held at The Maybourne Hotel in Beverly Hills

'I knew we had worked so hard, so I knew what that check should be, or what I was hoping it would be.

'I mean in the best of worlds a million dollars would have been like - Oh my god. That's what we deserved,' Bass added on his work with his bandmates.

'Then, I went back to the hotel room and that's when it all just hit me. I was so disappointed, and I ripped up the check. I did. I knew something was wrong,' Bass recalled.

'I was in the biggest band in the world, but I can't even afford my apartment,' Bass said in the 20/20 interview.

Things have certainly changed for Lance since then.

On Friday, the musician was among a slew of stars supporting Lisa Vanderpump's dog rescue, Vanderpump Dogs, at The Maybourne Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Lance served as host for the event which included performances by Trixie Mattel, Breanna Whitaker, and Sam de Rosa.

The event raises awareness and funds to support the organization's rescue efforts, rescuing and rehabilitating pooches both in America and overseas.
Angelina Jolie and her son Knox Jolie-Pitt walking arm in arm at the Governors Awards was 'odd' to Brad Pitt, according to insiders who accused the actress of using outings with her children to 'get under her ex-husband's skin'.

Sunday saw the pair enjoy a rare public mother-and-son date with the toast of Hollywood at the star-studded bash at the Ray Dolby Ballroom.

The Oscar-winning actress, 48, and her 16-year-old son effortlessly commanded attention, with the teen towering over his mom as they posed for pictures on the red carpet.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, a source revealed that her ex-husband Brad found the timing of the outing 'suspicious' amid their ongoing divorce battle.

'Brad only gets to see his children when they walk on the carpet with their mom and the timing of this could not be any more suspicious considering it was just decided that he and Angie are headed to trial,' the insider noted.

Last week DailyMail.com revealed that the former couple are set to face-off in court next year as their long-running legal battle or so-called 'War of the Rose' heads to trial.

Angelina Jolie and her son Knox Jolie-Pitt walking arm in arm at the Governors Awards was 'odd' to Brad Pitt

Speaking to DailyMail.com, insiders who accused the actress of using outings with her children to 'get under her ex-husband's skin'

The decision came after a judge recently threw out the Wanted actress's motion to dismiss her ex-husband's lawsuit over their French vineyard.

The Chateau Miraval estate, which produces an award-winning sparkling rose, is at the center of a long-running court battle between the pair.

Meanwhile, Angelina has also been accused of trying to drive a wedge between her estranged husband and their six kids in the aftermath of their split.

The source continued: 'She is trying to get under his skin after his recent win and using Knox to do so is odd.

'Knox wants nothing to do with Hollywood and has no communication with Brad.'

The insider added: 'Of course, it bothers him that Angelina has turned them against him. She did this while they were all young and they didnt even get a chance to make up their minds about him.

'He believes that, in time, his children will come back into his life.'

Elsewhere, a source close to Angelina insisted that it was Knox's choice to support his mother at the event.

Sunday saw the pair enjoy a rare public mother-and-son date with the toast of Hollywood at the star-studded bash at the Ray Dolby Ballroom

A source stated: 'The timing of this could not be any more suspicious considering it was just decided that him and Angie are headed to trail'

'Knox chose to attend the awards with his mom, and they had a nice mother-son evening,' the insider noted.

'Their decision to attend together did not have anything to do with Brad,' the insider added.

Notably absent from the outing on Sunday were Knox's siblings  Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 17, and Knox's twin, Vivienne.

Back in May, court filings lodged at LA Superior Court revealed that a former bodyguard for the couple was informed by his own contractors that Angelina was pushing for her children to avoid Pitt when she had custody of them.

Former British SAS solider Tony Webb worked for the family for more than 20 years, starting in 2000, and claimed that his colleague told him he overheard Angelina 'encouraging the children to avoid spending time with Pitt during custody visits.'

Documents detailing the explosive claims were made public as part of the ongoing 'War of the Roses', with the A-List couple stuck in an acrimonious battle over her rights to sell their French vineyard and home.

Documents filed earlier this year revealed how a former bodyguard was told by his contractors that Angelina was pushing for her children to shun Brad when she had custody of them

The source added: 'Of course, it bothers him that Angelina has turned them against him (The couple and their brood are pictured in 2011)

The Tomb Raider star sold her $62million stake to Russian billionaire Yuri Shefler in 2021, which Brad argues went against their agreement to offer the other the right of first refusal.

Angelina had recently filed motions to dismiss claims that Brad made against her concerning a verbal agreement over their 50-50 ownership of the vineyard.

She argued that the agreement had been nullified after her ex requested she sign an NDA regarding their marriage  with both sides seemingly determined to throw everything at the case.

'It's already been ugly but it's going to get even uglier as Angie is bent on retaliating against Brad and will try to continue to settle more old personal scores,' an insider close to the case told DailyMail.com.

And it's only going to get more expensive for the pair  with their legal wrangling already costing both sides millions.

Last week DailyMail.com revealed that the former couple are set to face-off in court next year as their long-running legal battle or so-called 'War of the Rose' heads to trial

The newest twist in the acrimonious lawsuit saw seen LA Superior Court Judge Lia Martin throw out the motions - putting Brad firmly back in the driving seat of the dispute.

Court filings submitted last week suggest that the judge has found a basis in Brad's claims that their original verbal agreement was binding, and Jolie may have violated them when she sold her shares.

With the dismissal of the three filings, the former power couple - who wed at the Provence, Southern France estate in 2014 and split in 2016  are set to face off in court at the trial next year.

A source close to the actor told DailyMail.com: 'This is a straightforward business dispute, but unfortunately, the other side has consistently introduced personal elements which have exposed the weaknesses in their case and complicated and lengthened the proceedings.'

The Maleficent star will have 30 days to appeal the judge's decision.
Kendall Jenner was joined by her pals Hailey Bieber, Justin Skye and Devon Lee Carlson for a girls night out in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The ladies attended Sabrina Carpenter's third and final Los Angeles show at the Kia Forum - amid her Short n' Sweet Tour.

Kendall showed off her newly cut chin-length locks that she re-dyed to brown after enjoying blonde locks for two months.

Kendall, 29, wore a black mini dress with a black leather jacket and calf-length boots - a perfect look to compliment her short locks.

Meanwhile Hailey, 27, stepped out in a furry cream colored jacket with baggy jeans - almost three months since welcoming her first child Jack Blues Bieber with husband Justin Bieber.

Pal Justine Skye looked pretty in a skintight top with matching leggings and a headband.

Kendall Jenner was joined by her pals Hailey Bieber , Justin Skye and Devon Lee Carlson for a girls night out in Los Angeles

The ladies attended Sabrina Carpenter's third and final Los Angeles show at the Kia Forum - amid her Short n' Sweet Tour

Kendall showcased her newly cut locks

Meanwhile Hailey stepped out in a furry cream colored jacket with baggy jeans - almost three months since welcoming her first child Jack Blues Bieber with husband Justin Bieber

Kendall showcased her long legs in the short frock, paired with the waist-grazing leather jacket.

The statuesque beauty added small earrings and a small patterned clutch - opting for minimal makeup.

Hailey's baggy jeans and cream colored furry jacket was paired with a black handbag and sunglasses.

Her outing comes just three months after her and Justin welcomed their first child together, son Jack Blues Bieber.

The lovebirds announced the birth of their son on August 23, posting a snap of their baby boy's foot - along with his name.

Justin, 30, had shared the image with the caption: 'Welcome home Jack Blues Bieber,' adding a teddy bear emoji.

The post has since garnered over 22 million likes.

Days later, Hailey showed off a $2K diamond ring that said 'mom.'

Kendall showed off her newly cut chin-length locks that she re-dyed to brown after enjoying blonde locks for two months

Hailey's baggy jeans and cream colored furry jacket was paired with a black handbag and sunglasses

Her outing comes just three months after her and Justin welcomed their first child together, son Jack Blues Bieber

Kendall showcased her long legs in the short frock, paired with the waist-grazing leather jacket

Hailey and Justin announced her pregnancy in May, after sharing footage of their vow renewal ceremony they had in Hawaii - with her baby bump on full display.

Justine styled her blonde locks with a headband, while toting a colorful handbag in one hand, for the Sabrina concert.

Sabrina's Short n' Sweet Tour kicked off on September 23, 2024 in Columbus and is set to conclude on March 26, 2025.

There were three Los Angeles tour dates - November 15 at the Crypto.com Arena and two at the Kia Forum - November 17 and November 18 - with Kendall and crew going November 18.

Kendall's outing comes just one week after she celebrated her 29th birthday; she was born on November 3, 1995.

The star shared a photo dump from her birthday - which included three birthday cakes.

Hailey seen staying warm in her heavy coat

The girl group pictured arriving to the venue together

Kendall towered over her pals

The stunner chopped off her locks - which were dyed blonde - just days prior

Kendall rocked a black cardigan over a white shirt, adding gold earrings and her hair half pulled back - as she closed her eyes to make a wish before blowing out her birthday candles.

The star had three cakes - one white one with black ribbons - with the writing on it unclear as to what it says.

The second one was a cream colored one with thin red ribbons - with 'twenty something' emblazoned in frosting.

The third one was a red and brown one that said: 'Witches don't age.'

Kendall just rang in her 29th birthday; she was born on November 3, 1995. Kendall rocked a black cardigan over a white shirt, adding gold earrings and her hair half pulled back - as she closed her eyes to make a wish before blowing out her birthday candles

The star shared a photo dump from her birthday - which included three birthday cakes

Kendall shared a clip of Sabrina performing during the concert

The model also posted a picture of Sabrina mid-singing

Kendall snapped a pictured with her pals - including Hailey - right before the concert started

Kendall captioned the images with: 'Another year I'm blessed thank you.'

Kendall shared a childhood video of herself as well as her enjoying a horseback ride, plus two images of the moon.
A shopper created a social media frenzy after finding the Walmart dupe of a Ralph Lauren sweatshirt for men.

Florida-based shopper @mustard517 showed off the Walmart dupe during his November 14 TikTok video.

The Walmart sweatshirt included a logo of two polo players, which looks similar to the solo rider seen on Ralph Lauren apparel.

The TikToker repeatedly said the $28 dupe didn't look 'too bad' during the video.

Nearly all Ralph Lauren men's sweatshirts are available to purchase for over $100 on the luxury fashion brand's website.

@mustard517's TikTok video has received over 740,000 views since he posted it on the social media platform.

His dupe find comes as more and more shoppers claimed they spotted affordable Walmart dupes of luxury items.

It is one of many pieces under the US Polo Association brand that's available to purchase in Walmart stores and on its website.

Shopper @mustard517 showed off the Walmart dupe of a men's Ralph Lauren sweatshirt from the US Polo Association brand

More than 2,400 TikTokers commented on the video, saying the sweatshirt was 'affordable' and 'looked clean.'

'As you get older you start to realize it legit does not matter what anyone else thinks about what you wear,' a TikToker wrote.

'All that matters is whether you are comfortable, and how budget-smart your choices are.'

Another shopper wrote: 'Yeah, as we get older, we just chill on a different level - and so does our style.'

A few commenters gave shout-outs to other dupes at places like Target, Costco, and Dollar Tree.

More than 2,400 TikTok users commented on @mustard517's video after seeing the Walmart dupe

The US Polo Association brand includes hundreds of affordable accessories and clothing items for men and women.

The products are 'authentic and officially sanctioned' by the US Polo Association.

All men's sweatshirts from the US Polo Association brand are available to purchase on its website for less than $100.

A similar product, the Men's Quarter Zip Flatback, is available to purchase for $20 at Walmart.

Other items from the brand sell for less than $10 online.

Besides US Polo Association, TikTokers claimed they spotted clothes from the Reebok and Wranglers brands at Walmart.

Other duped items like makeup, furniture, and holiday decorations have become popular.

The US Polo Association Men's Quarter Zip Flatback is a $20 Walmart best seller

Aldi shoppers have rushed to buy a $7 dupe of a $90 Williams Sonoma holiday-themed serving dish.

The Aldi product named the Crofton Holiday Platter is nearly identical to Williams Sonoma's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Figural Tree Platter.

@mustard517's find also comes after TikTok users spotted Dollar Tree skincare and makeup resembling Sephora products.

The $1.25 Dollar Tree dupes appear comparable to Sephora's $60 pumpkin enzyme mask and a $26 lip creme from Tarte.
Boeing will slash 2,200 jobs in Washington and Oregon in the coming weeks, according to official filings posted on Monday.

The cuts are part of the embattled aerospace giant's plan to cut 10 percent of its workforce, around 17,000 jobs.

The US planemaker has been struggling with heavy debt and a series of plane crashes and mid-flight disasters.

Boeing began informing affected workers on Wednesday last week, and another round of cuts is expected in December.

Laid-off employees will remain on the company payroll until January 17, 2025, complying with federal requirements to notify employees at least 60 days in advance.

In October, Boeing's new CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company does not intend to 'take people off production or out of the engineering labs.'

However, several hundred engineers and production workers were among those who received pink slips last week.

Major unions such as The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) and The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) confirmed that hundreds of their members had received layoff notices.

The US planemaker will slash 2,200 jobs in Washington and Oregon in the coming weeks

The notices come as Boeing tries to restart production of its strongest-selling 737 MAX, after a weeks-long strike by more than 33,000 West Coast workers halted output of most of its commercial jets.

Boeing staff with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers walked off the job on September 13 after overwhelmingly rejecting a contract offer.

Boeing had already imposed rolling temporary furloughs, but Ortberg said those will be suspended because of the impending layoffs.

The company will further delay the rollout of a new plane, the 777X, to 2026 instead of 2025.

It will also stop building the cargo version of its 767 jet in 2027 after finishing current orders.

Among the other recent issues, the Federal Aviation Administration increased scrutiny of the company after a panel blew out of a Max aircraft during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.

Boeing executives also accepted a $243.6 million plea deal in July that would see the company avoid a criminal trial over two deadly 737 Max crashes.

Under the agreement, Boeing will plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge stemming from the fatal crashes in Indonesia in October 2018 and in Ethiopia less than five months later that killed a combined 346 people.

Boeing drew scrutiny after a panel blew out of a Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January

Factory workers and supporters gather on a picket line during a Boeing strike in September

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Worker members count strike ballots

Boeing must also pay the hefty fine, invest at least $455 million in compliance and safety programs, and have an independent monitor oversee Boeing's safety and quality procedures for three years.

But relatives of the 346 people who died in the two Max crashes want tougher punishments.

And Boeing got attention for all the wrong reasons when NASA decided that a Boeing spacecraft wasn't safe enough to carry two astronauts home from the International Space Station.

The company currently has about 170,000 employees worldwide, many of them working in manufacturing facilities in the states of Washington and South Carolina.

Boeing has lost more than $25 billion since the start of 2019.

The company declined to comment further on Monday.
Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on Monday, owing to relentless foreign fund outflows, selling in IT stocks and weak leads from the US markets.

The BSE benchmark Sensex declined 156.72 points to 77,423.59 in early trade. The NSE Nifty dipped 64.25 points to 23,468.45.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, NTPC, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and IndusInd Bank were the major laggards.

HDFC Bank, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance and Asian Paints were among the gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,849.87 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Foreign investors have pulled out Rs 22,420 crore from the Indian equity market so far this month, owing to high domestic stock valuations, increasing allocations to China, and the rising US dollar as well as Treasury yields.

With this sell-off, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have recorded a total outflow of Rs 15,827 crore in 2024 so far.

Equity markets were closed on Friday for Guru Nanak Jayanti.

"Even though Nifty has corrected 10.4 per cent from the peak there are no signs of a sustained recovery in the market. Relentless FII selling, earnings downgrades for majority of stocks for FY25, and the consequences of the Trump trade are weighing on the market," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services, said.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong traded higher while Tokyo quoted lower.

The US markets ended lower on Friday.

"Weak leads from Wall Street and rising US bond yields add to the anxiety," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.51 per cent to USD 71.40 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark Sensex dropped 110.64 points or 0.14 per cent to settle at 77,580.31 on Thursday. The Nifty declined by 26.35 points or 0.11 per cent to 23,532.70.
Proactive leadership is crucial for implementing strategic plans, while swift judicial reforms are needed to handle terrorism cases more effectively

The recent wave of terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, following the formation of a new state government, has reignited concerns over transnational terrorism. These incidents, marked by escalating violence in vulnerable areas, highlight a disturbing evolution in militant strategies. This resurgence is rooted in multiple factors, each revealing the complexities of the situation.

Firstly, the attacks aim to signal that despite the abrogation of Article 370 and the central governments efforts to stabilise the region, Jammu and Kashmir remain unstable. Secondly, Jammus expansive forested terrains have become a haven for militants, offering natural cover for guerrilla warfare and hindering security forces. Thirdly, the improved law and order in Kashmir has shifted insurgent focus to Jammu, where vulnerabilities are being exploited. Fourthly, while terrorist activities were temporarily subdued, the resurgence of militancy underscores the persistence of deep-rooted threats.

Lastly, despite the successful Assembly elections and the formation of Omar Abdullahs government, the region continues to grapple with relentless attacks.

The situation in Jammu and Kashmir resonates with broader developments in the West Asia. Recent events, such as the targeting of an Israeli ship by Iran-backed Houthi groups in the Red Sea and subsequent retaliatory strikes by Israel, the UK and the US on Houthi positions in Yemen, have heightened regional tensions. The involvement of Hamas and Hezbollah in supporting the Houthis underscores a dangerous convergence of terrorist alliances. The killing of prominent figures like IRGC General Sayyed Razi Mousavi and Hamas Deputy Leader Saleh-al-Arouri has added to the volatility, while Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthis aggressive strategies have intensified attacks.

Adding to these concerns are the January 3, 2024, twin blasts in Karman, southern Iran, which left over 85 dead and hundreds injured. This violence has spread to Lebanon and Syria, where terror networks have previously used locations like Sana, Yemen, as bases for planting explosives in international airports. These incidents reveal two critical trends: the increasing potential for transnational terrorism and the extension of terror operations into global trade routes and economies.

Modern terrorist networks demonstrate an unsettling capacity for precision in choosing targets and timings.

The persistence of global terrorism is not new. Tragic events, from the Oklahoma City bombing that claimed over 200 lives to the Tokyo subway gas attack, which killed 12 and hospitalised thousands, reveal its devastating history. Other instances, such as the long-running insurgency of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka, have inflicted severe casualties and losses. Nations worldwide-be it Russia, Spain, the UK, Italy, Israel, or China-face the unrelenting specter of terrorist violence.

Social inequities, global economic disparities and historical grievances contribute to the conditions that foster extremism. The post-Cold War global order, shaped by power dynamics of major nations, has exacerbated these tensions. For instance, the power network established by the US and its allies in West Asia has sparked resistance in many regions, deepening conflicts and animosities.

In an interconnected world, socio-economic conditions in one region influence those in another, creating a fertile ground for transnational grievances. The rapid dissemination of advanced weaponry and transportation networks has further facilitated the expansion of terrorist activities. Suicide squads and other modern militant tactics have left security apparatuses reeling. It is imperative to reject narratives that romanticise terrorists as freedom fighters and foster cooperation between local communities and law enforcement to dismantle these networks.

A diversified approach, integrating technical expertise and on-the-ground insights, is essential. Specialised training programmes for security personnel to anticipate and respond to emerging threats are crucial. Countering terrorism requires a multifaceted approach, beginning with detailed analysis of major incidents to formulate actionable strategies. Advanced communication networks must be established to intercept terrorist communications effectively, while enhanced intelligence gathering, supported by strengthened local sources, is essential for generating actionable insights. Investment in cutting-edge technology for maintaining secrecy and security, along with training specialists in counter-terrorism tactics, is vital to address evolving threats. Dedicated think tanks should be created to develop innovative solutions, and comprehensive training programs for police, intelligence, and military personnel must be prioritised. Proactive leadership among security officials is crucial for implementing strategic plans, while swift judicial reforms are needed to handle terrorism cases more effectively.

These measures must be accompanied by the political will to enforce them effectively. Public awareness and grassroots support play pivotal roles in countering terrorism. Localised insights should inform security measures to ensure they are contextually appropriate and effective.

Ultimately, combating terrorism requires a coordinated global effort.

Nations must share intelligence, align strategies, and foster international cooperation to address this pervasive menace. Time is of the essence, as modern terrorists continuously adapt their tactics. Without addressing the underlying socio-political and economic factors that nurture terrorism, efforts will only provide superficial relief.

(Author, a Bharat Gaurav Award recipient, is a professor, HOD, and expert on strategic affairs; views are personal)
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Monday raised an alarm over the severe air pollution engulfing a large swathe of North India, describing the situation as a medical emergency caused by rampant stubble burning in several Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states. Experts have advised citizens to reduce outdoor activities, minimise exposure, wear N95 masks when outside, and decrease vehicular emissions, to minimise the impact of pollution in their day-to-day lives. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a warning for dense to very dense fog, saying road, train and flight services may get affected.

Fifteen flights were diverted, and around 200 were delayed at the Delhi airport on Monday as visibility reduces to 150 metres due to unfavourable weather conditions in the National Capital. Flight operations in Delhi faced disruptions on Monday as thick smog reduced visibility significantly at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). According to Flightradar24, over 200 flights, 118 departures and 43 arrivals, at Delhi Airport experienced delays due to the low visibility till 8.30 am. More than 100 flights have been rescheduled. Out of the 15 flights, 13 were diverted to Jaipur and 1 to Dehradun, the official said and added that the diversions happened between 8.30 am and 3 pm. Some of the pilots were not trained for CAT III operations due to which flights had to be diverted.

Complying with the measures enforced under GRAP Stage IV, the Delhi traffic police imposed a total of 4,852 challans and 4,472 challans on the non-possession of Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates on November 15 and 17 respectively. It also imposed 138 and 155 challans on End of Life Vehicles (ELVs) on November 15 and 17 respectively.

The police also diverted 423 non-destined trucks on November 15 while the numbers were higher for November 17 as 545 such trucks were diverted in Delhi. In adherence to the measures, the police also imposed challans on 514 Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) (BS III petrol and BS IV diesel) on November 15. The numbers rose about 100 per cent on November 17 as 1,130 such LMVs were issued challans.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government has directed the health department to form a special task force at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital to handle medical emergencies related to the pollution. As Delhiites struggle to breathe, traders said the demand for air purifiers and masks have increased as many residents see the equipment as a necessity to safeguard their health.

A toxic smog blanketed the city, affecting visibility as the air quality deteriorated sharply, falling into the severe plus category with an AQI of 494 on Monday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) website. The toxic air has disrupted flight, rail and road traffic services in the National Capital.

Addressing a press conference, Atishi accused the BJP-led central government, instead of addressing the crisis, is focussed on political blame games. Punjab on Monday reported 1,251 fresh farm fire cases, the single-day highest this season, taking the states total count of such cases to 9,655, Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data showed.

North India is choking because of the Modi governments inaction. Stubble burning incidents have escalated in BJP-ruled states like Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, while AAP-governed Punjab has registered a decline, Atishi said. She pointed to official data and claimed that the reduction in incidents of stubble burning in AAP-ruled Punjab demonstrates effective governance, unlike the approach seen in states governed by the BJP.

Atishi criticised the central governments handling of the situation, stating, The people of Delhi are struggling to breathe, with the elderly and children needing medical support due to the severe pollution. Instead of taking action, the central government is busy playing politics, pushing the entire region towards a health crisis. She questioned why the central government had not taken steps similar to those implemented in Punjab.

If the Punjab government can reduce stubble burning, why cant BJP-ruled states do the same? The rising pollution levels across North India highlight the failure of the central governments policies, Atishi added.

In a separate press conference, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the Delhi government has directed the health department to form a special task force at LNJP Hospital to handle medical emergencies related to the pollution. I have directed the health department to form a special task force at LNJP Hospital to address medical emergencies, Rai said. If the central government had collaborated and acted in a timely manner, people in Delhi wouldnt have to face these hazardous conditions, he said.

Meanwhile, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) school teachers accused the administration of neglecting their health by forcing them to come to school to take online classes amid deteriorating air quality.
Union Home Ministry on Monday rushed 5,000 paramilitary troops to Manipur to assist the State Government in handling the current volatile situation. While 35 units will be drawn from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the rest will be from the Border Security Force (BSF). Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the prevailing security situation and deployment of troops for the second consecutive day and directed top officials to focus on restoring peace and order there as early as possible.

A total of 218 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) companies are now present in the State, which has been reeling from ethnic strife since May last year. The Home Minister took stock of the deployment of central forces there and directed the officials to restore peace and order there as early as possible, said officials. The situation in the Northeastern state, which has been reeling from ethnic strife since May last year, has been volatile following protests and violence after the recovery of bodies of women and children.

Meanwhile, in Imphal, defying curfew orders, a group of people led by members of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) on Monday locked the front doors of several government offices in Imphal West district to protest the recent killing of three women and three children in Jiribam, officials said. The COCOMI is an influential organisation of the Meitei community, the majority ethnic group in the Imphal Valley region that comprises five districts including Imphal West.

The Manipur Government, on Monday, also extended the suspension of internet services by two more days till Wednesday in seven districts of the northeastern state. Raising slogans demanding justice for the victims and their families killed by suspected tribal militants in Jiribam district, the protesters stormed into the office complex of the Chief Electoral Officer at Lamphelpat and locked its main entrance door with chains and locks, officials said.

The main office doors of the Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) at Takyel, and the Directorate of Economics and Statistics located a few hundred metres from the CEO's office were also locked by the protesters. Meanwhile, the indefinite sit-in staged by COCOMI at Khwairamband market in Imphal demanding a military crackdown against "Kuki Zo Hmar" militants in the state entered its third day.

Manipur has seen a fresh wave of protests after six people went missing from a camp for displaced persons in Jiribam on November 11, following a gunfight between armed men and security forces that resulted in the deaths of 10 Kuki youths. On Sunday, the bodies of two persons, believed to be among the six missing people from Jiribam, were found floating in the Barak river in neighbouring Cachar district of Assam.

More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kukis in Manipur since May last year.
Delhi Police has arrested a 35 year old active shooter of the Neeraj Bawana gang involved in a double murder case.

According to police on Sunday, the accused, identified as Raghu, was previously involved in 18 cases of murder, attempt to murder, carjacking, dacoity, robbery, arms act and was declared a proclaimed offender for evading court proceedings.

A senior police officer said that the accused was apprehended from Sonipat on Saturday. The accused was involved in gang war in Delhi in 2014 and had been an active shooter since then. Based on a tip-off a police team nabbed him from Sonipat in Haryana, Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Satish Kumar said.

He added that during interrogation he told police that he studied upto 10th standard and started working as a farmer with his family. The officer added that in 2009, he committed his first murder due to an old enmity in his native village in Hassanpur.

On August 24, 2014, residents of one of the posh localities of the capital city i.e. Subhash Place got chills with the sensational double murder in a gangwar between Neeraj Bawania Gang and Neetu Dabodia wherein multiple rounds were fired from both sides, a police officer said, adding that a case under section 302, 307, 120B and 34 IPC and 25/27 Arms Act at Subhash Place police station was registered.
The BJP's Purvanchali leader and two-time former MLA from Kirari Anil Jha joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the presence of party supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday.The development came a few hours after the AAP suffered a big blow as its Najafgarh MLA and Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot quit the party.

Kejriwal welcomed Jha to the AAP at party headquarters near Mandi House and dubbed him as one of the "biggest" Purvanchali leaders in Delhi politics. He will boost the AAP not only in Kirari but all over the city, the AAP supremo said.

AAP's national convenor also hit out at the opposition (Congress and BJP) accusing both parties of serving injustice to the community. He further praised the AAP government for bringing development to the "illegal colonies" of the Purvanchal community. Party sources claimed that Jha could replace the sitting AAP MLA from Kirari, in the Delhi Assembly polls due in February.

The Kirari constituency, home to a large population from the Purvanchal region, has been a challenging area for AAP to penetrate. With Jhas influence and credibility among Purvanchali voters, AAP hopes to make significant inroads in the upcoming elections. The upcoming elections will be crucial for both AAP and BJP as they vie for control over key constituencies like Kirari. Jha's move may influence voter sentiment and reshape electoral strategies.

Purvanchali voters, once seen as a Congress stronghold, shifted significantly toward the AAP in the 2015 assembly polls, helping 13 AAP leaders from the community win the seats.

Jha praised Kejriwal, saying, "If there is one person who has worked for the Purvanchali community Delhi, it is Arvind Kejriwal." He noted that residents in the region lived with inadequate infrastructure, including unauthorised water pipes and faulty sewer lines. "In 10 years under Arvind Kejriwal, drinking water reached every household," Jha added. Jha, a two-time BJP MLA from the Kirari Assembly constituency in North West Delhi, has joined the AAP, citing disillusionment with the saffron party's leadership and policies.

Kejriwal alleged that while the AAP government built 10,000 km of roads and streets, laid 6800 km of sewer lines and provided piped water in 1,650 unauthorised colonies, "the BJP did nothing".

"I want to ask the BJP and its leader Amit Shah, why should Purvanchali people vote for the party. I challenge them to tell one thing they did for the Purvanchali people in Delhi. They promised the registry of properties in these colonies but not a single one could be done in five years," he said.

Over the past decade, the Haryanvi-Punjabi dominated politics in Delhi have shifted towards the Purvanchali (eastern) voters, hailing from regions of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

These Purvanchali migrant voters have become a strong force that can change the political discourse in the national capital. BJP, Congress and AAP are trying to woo purvanchali voters ahead of the next year assembly polls.
The Delhi BJP and Congress on Sunday lashed out at the ruling party at the issue of the senior AAP leader and former Delhi Minister Kailash Gahlot leaving the government over awkward and embarrassing controversies like 'sheeshmahal' while the AAP called it a dirty political conspiracy of the BJP and said that it wants to win the Delhi Assembly polls by misusing the ED and CBI.

Attacking the AAP, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva in a press conference said, Delhi government minister Kailash Gehlot, in the letter he has written while resigning from his ministerial post, has raised the issues of corruption in Arvind Kejriwal's Sheeshmahal building construction and Yamuna cleaning work, which demand answers from Kejriwal but he is trying to divert the topic but now the time has come for his departure.

Stating that resignation in the political field is not a new thing, Sachdeva asserted that the questions asked by Gehlot are definitely shocking. Kailash Gehlot has written some of the same issues while resigning, which shows that no Delhi resident who wants development of Delhi will be a partner in Arvind Kejriwal's corruption. Kejriwal, who has sworn on the heads of his children that he would not take government housing, should explain what is the compulsion that he not only committed corruption in housing but also wasted the money of the taxpayers of Delhi like water? he said.

He accused the AAP supremo of throwing away the mike instead of answering the journalists when they asked him about the resignation of his 12-year-old colleague Kailash Gehlot. Union Minister Harsh Malhotra said that we all have just seen in the Mayor elections that eight councillors of AAP did cross voting without leaving his party.

Rajkumar Anand and Kailash Gehlot have resigned being ministers, the biggest reason for this is the corruption within AAP and the dictatorial attitude of Arvind Kejriwal due to which AAP MLAs and councillors are feeling suffocated, he added, adding that the councillors, troubled by the allegations of corruption against the party, cross-voted in an attempt to elect a good mayor.

Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta called the resignation a clear sign of the partys disintegration and collapse. AAPs own leaders and ministers are dissatisfied with the working style of the partys leadership and are feeling suffocated within.

Calling AAP a sinking ship, he added that even the partys ministers have realized that the personal ambitions of some of its senior leaders have started to outweigh the partys stated objectives. Referring to the issues raised in Gehlots resignation, Gupta said, Gehlot himself has now acknowledged that the promises made by the party to the people of Delhi remain unfulfilled.

The LoP declared that AAPs lies and corruption wont last much longer and accused Arvind Kejriwals government of deceiving, exploiting, and looting the people of Delhi. He predicted that in the coming days, more senior leaders might follow Gehlots example and abandon this sinking ship.

Reacting to the resignation by the former senior leader of AAP, Delhi Congress President Devender Yadav said "We have received the information that Kailash Gahlot submitted his resignation and he has made some clear allegations against the party. He has pointed towards the pollution in the Yamuna River and the controversies around 'Sheeshmahal'. AAP leaders are now either leaving the party or are getting arrested on corruption charges. The party is entirely submerged in corruption and their MLAs and Ministers are leaving the party. People have also lost their faith in the ruling party. We can say that AAP has now become a sinking ship."

Meanwhile, the AAP claimed that the resignation was driven by pressure from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh called the resignation part of the BJPs dirty politics, while AAP Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar asserted that he chose to join the BJP to avoid imprisonment amid ongoing ED and CBI investigations against him and his family.

Pressure was created on Kailash Gahlot by conducting ED-CBI raids, and now he is speaking according to the script given to him by the BJP. The Modi Washing Machine has become active before the Delhi elections. Now many leaders will be inducted into the BJP through this machine, Singh said.

He added, Kailash Gahlot was being continuously pressurized by the BJP, and ED-CBI raids were being conducted. He was repeatedly called for questioning at the ED office, and income tax raids were conducted at his house. This is all BJPs script. Whatever kind of script they make and whatever conspiracy they have hatched against Kailash Gahlot, he will have to speak in the same way.
CMPDI inducts Electric Vehicles into its fleet

Ajay Kumar, Director (Technical/P&D); Satish Jha, Director(Technical/ES) and S.K. Sinha, C.V.O., CMPDI flagged off the fleet of 23 electric cars at CMPDI (HQ), Ranchi on Monday and inducted Electric Vehicles (EVs) into the fleet of CMPDI. CMPDI in its endeavor for Sustainable development inducted EVs which will help in reduction of Greenhouse gases emissions, improving air quality and reducing noise pollution. It is pertinent to mention here that CMPDI in March, 2024 inducted 10 Electric Vehicles into his fleet. With this latest addition, CMPDI has 33 Electric Vehicles in his fleet. SK Dubey, GM(TS/PR), Vinod Kumar, GM (E&M) and other senior officials were present on this occasion.

Tribal Pride Day celebrated in RRD

On the occasion of the birth anniversary of great freedom fighter Dharti Aba Bhagwan Birsa Munda, the fourth Tribal Pride Day will be celebrated in Ranchi Railway Division from 18 November to 26 November 2024. On Monday ADRM Hemraj Meena, Branch Officer of the Division, other officers and employees paid tribute by offering flowers to the picture of Bhagwan Birsa Munda on platform number one of Hatia station. The ADRM visited the exhibition based on the biography of freedom fighters of Jharkhand and their contribution to the freedom struggle at Hatia station. This exhibition will be displayed at Hatia Railway Station till 26 November 2024, so that passengers will be able to know about the unforgettable role of tribal fighters in the freedom struggle. Under the program, a play based on the biography of Bhagwan Birsa Munda was also staged at Hatia station by the Cultural Department of the Division.

Rodic Consultants Develops SAAJ App

Rodic Consultants, a leading engineering and digital infrastructure consulting company, developed the SAAJ (Sehat aur Aarogya ki Jaankari) app, a state-of-the-art digital platform, to streamline healthcare access for residents across Bihar. The App, which has been developed for Bihar Government, represents Rodic's commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to address critical healthcare needs and improve the healthcare experience for all residents.
November 17, 2024: NATO has moved its three decade-old reachback support operations to Poland. Reachback electronically connects troops in a combat zone with a large number of tech experts and other support personnel stationed anywhere else in the world, but generally in the US. Its primary active operations are now in Poland, near the Ukrainian border. This speeds up repairs and improved maintenance for the many weapons and munitions NATO has and still is supplying to Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine is unique because of the large number of new (to Ukrainians) weapons that have arrived since the Russians invaded in early 2022. The countries sending this gear cannot send their own personnel to Ukraine to help maintain or repair the new weapons and equipment. Since Ukraine is not a NATO member, NATO nations do not send their own troops or technicians into Ukraine.

Poland has also become the place where Ukrainians can come for training by NATO personnel as that is often inconvenient, impossible and illegal in Ukraine. A solution was soon found by updating the reachback technique. After the first Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014, NATO military and tech advisors went to Ukraine and established good relationships with the Ukrainians they supported. This often included trainers of support techs leaving Ukraine after their terms of service were up, would give Ukrainians their cell phone number and call any time they had an emergency the departing expert could help with. These NATO trainers in Ukraine had to leave after the 2022 Russian invasion started, so group video software like Zoom was added so groups of Ukrainians could participate in a tutorial by someone outside Ukraine on how to use, maintain or repair some new bit of equipment. The Ukrainians have been very resourceful and inventive themselves and recognized the enhanced reachback capability as yet another way to make their military more effective than the Russians.

Reachback has been heavily used by American forces since the 1990s. This has been the case even when the United States has very few troops on the ground in places like Iraq and Syria. In those situations, the Americans had to be resourceful finding targets for the coalition of NATO, Arab and other allied warplanes to attack from above. Just because the attacks were being made with precision munitions did not eliminate the risk of civilian casualties. There have been few of these, and none are ignored on the ground because Arab Islamic terrorists will invent them if they can to rally more support to their cause.

There have been so few civilian casualties because the coalition used new American intelligence techniques. This system uses many analysts based anywhere, but largely in the United States, who carefully examine the aircraft and drone video and still photos for information that identifies Islamic terrorists and any nearby civilians. This is not easy just using overhead video and some electronic intercepts. The analysts do have software and electronic tools to get more out of the images and electronic chatter. Within minutes, hours or days the analysts can provide highly accurate, and safe from the possibility of civilian casualties, GPS coordinates. Sometimes armed drones or aircraft are already overhead, waiting to be directed to a specific target.

This concept, which the U.S. began developing in the 1990s and used with increasing frequency after September 11, 2001, was called reachback. Originally this meant that some parts of a unit ordered overseas would remain in the United States and use Internet-like communications capabilities to do their work from their home base. Sending fewer people overseas is a major advantage, as it means less transportation, and supply effort is needed. Since the 1990s it has been noted that modern communications make it practical for some support units to stay behind, with no loss in effectiveness in the entire unit. Reservists make for better reachback troops, because they have to go through more additional combat training before being sent overseas. Moreover, the reservists can be taken on and off active duty as the workload changes.

Reachback works particularly well for intelligence work. With reachback, the few intel personnel in the combat zone are mainly there to work with local counterparts and provide them with intel collected by the drones and other sources. For the Iraq/Syria operation, which involves several hundred manned aircraft, drones and several satellites, the reachback intel operation in the United States has been equally large, so that analysts can be quickly switched to the most important possible targets. Often, though, the analysts are looking at a battle area stakeout that can last several days to weeks or more to identify who the targets are, where they fight from, where they live, where they store their supplies, especially ammunition and explosives, and which vehicles they use. In addition more detailed information is collected like where the enemy forces operate from, which could be bunkers, buildings or ruins where they place snipers or other portable weapons.

Once the analysts believe they have the most targets they are going to find, they send the target list off to the waiting targeting analysts in the Middle East and the airstrikes are carried out as quickly as possible. The bombers have their own video cameras in their targeting pods so pilots can double check for the presence of civilians or anything else the original analysts noted. In some cases, all the analysts back in the United States have to do is confirm the identity and location of a major leader or a meeting of key people. This will usually be attacked by a single aircraft or drone. The Islamic terrorists know that when several warplanes appear overhead bad things are probably about to happen to them.

The same analyst teams used for air strikes in Syria and Iraq are composed of people with lots of experience at this. While their recent experience might be in Afghanistan or Yemen, Somalia and now Ukraine, most spent time covering Iraq operations before 2011. Many of these analysts have retired. Some have been persuaded to return and help out with operations in Ukraine. The important thing is these men and women have lots of experience and skill with quickly adapting to new analysis software and the many major updates since 2001. All this is made possible because of reachback. The main benefit is that reachback enables a lot of troops to operate from a foreign base without being there. Many other nations are noticing.

One of the most frequent uses of reachback is the operation of the larger American Predator and Reaper drones. It involves operating drones with crews connected via satellite communications. In 2014 the United States established an intelligence base in Niger, which is the eastern neighbor of Mali and just south of Algeria and Libya. Only a hundred Americans are stationed there, most of them to maintain several American drones that fly surveillance missions over Mali. Thanks to satellite communications, this base has hundreds of other people involved in what it is doing, almost as if they were there, by using reachback. For example, most of the people actually operating the drones are back in the United States. Operating drones is very labor intensive, as you need a pilot and one or more sensor operators for something like the Predator or Reaper. In addition, you need shifts of operators because these air force drones typically stay in the air for 12-36 hours at a time. So having the operators back in the United States greatly reduces the number of people you have overseas. The drone maintenance crews get the aircraft ready for take off and on the airstrip. But after that the flight operations crew back in the U.S. can take over.

Enhanced reachback has provided Ukrainian forces with yet another advantage over their Russian adversaries.
Delhi Police have booked over 17,400 first-time offenders in three districts and two units of the national capital this year till September 15.

In a reply to RTI, the Delhi Police said that a total of 17,404 people were booked for the first time in North Delhi, Rohini, West Delhi Railway and Delhi Metro. According to official data, 3,486 people were booked for the first time in North Delhi, 5,089 people were booked for the first time in Rohini, 8,123 in the west district, 420 in Delhi Metro and 286 in Railways.

The police said that more than 1.50 lakh people were nabbed in 2023 who were first-time offenders and over 1.49 lakh people were nabbed in 2022.

The first-time offenders usually begin with minor offenses like selling liquor, drugs, fights and other petty crimes. However, these crimes can escalate to more serious crimes in many cases, a senior police officer said.

"We have interrogated many first-time offenders who are either hired by criminal gangs or are influenced by movies where they see the lavish lifestyle of criminals. Such first-time offenders also want to lead sumptuous lives," the officer added.

He said that many youths are also involved in cyber crimes and they harass people by making fake IDs. Police teams arrested many youths, who are first-time offenders and they were lured into cyber criminal gangs after looking at the lifestyle the gang members are leading, the officer stated.

Many young men start defrauding people just to purchase super-bikes, cars and expensive shoes. Such people are totally unaware that police work round the clock to nab them and put them behind the bars, said the officer. Another police officer said that parenting is an important factor.
A Dalit student at Delhi University's Shaheed Bhagat Singh College filed a police complaint alleging that its principal hurled casteist slurs and assaulted him after he was falsely accused of sending obscene messages on the official WhatsApp group of his department.

However, Principal Arun Kumar Attri denied the allegations, claiming the student was being manipulated by a faculty member against whom an inquiry is underway for taking appointment and promotion on fake and fabricated experience certificate. The allegations by the student have sparked protests by student groups. Students from other universities like JNU gathered at the college on Monday demanding the principal's resignation.

The student, a third-year BA Hindi Honours student, claimed the incident caused him mental trauma and defamation. He has also written to the University Vice-Chancellor and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, seeking action against those involved.

In his complaint, the student detailed the events, stating that on October 24, a classmate's phone was allegedly hacked, and objectionable content, including links to obscene videos, was shared in the department's WhatsApp group.

He claimed to have helped fix the classmate's phone to prevent further misuse. However, during a preliminary investigation initiated by the principal he was accused by some students of sending the messages. "Despite my full cooperation, I was subjected to intense scrutiny, including having my phone searched without my consent, which violated my right to privacy," he stated in the letter.

The student alleged that some teachers pressured him to admit to the allegations and threatened him with expulsion. "When I refused to accept the false charges, Principal Arun Kumar Attri physically assaulted me. He also made casteist remarks, asking why I disclosed my Dalit identity and threatened to expel me if I spoke about the incident," the letter claimed.

The student added that he faced severe humiliation when he returned to college, with peers treating him as a criminal, which affected his mental health. "These actions have hurt my self-esteem. I am under immense mental tension and have even had suicidal thoughts," he wrote, requesting urgent legal action.

However, Principal Attri said the allegations are "completely false" and the complaint is an attempt to malign him and the college. The allegations of casteist slurs and assault are completely false. The student was found guilty by a disciplinary committee of sending obscene messages and hacking WhatsApp accounts. However, to protect his career, the college refrained from filing a cyber cell complaint and instead counselled him, warning him for the future. This complaint is an attempt to malign me and the college, Attri told PTI.

Furthermore, the All India Students Association (AISA) unit of JNU and DU gheraoed the principal's office on Monday in Shaheed Bhagat Singh College demanding action.

The protests reportedly disrupted classes, prompting the college to announce a shift to online teaching. In a notification, the administration cited "deteriorating air pollution" as the reason for the move.
Sleuths of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Saharanpur police achieved a major success when they nabbed Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Nazir Ahmed Wani, wanted for the last three decades for throwing a grenade at Saharanpur police personnel in Deoband.

Nazir, who hails from Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, had a case registered against him for attacking policemen in Deoband in 1993. The purpose of this attack was to kill the policemen and a reward of Rs 25,000 was also announced on him.

According to Saharanpur police, on August 26, 1993, some policemen were deployed for security at Union Tiraha in Deoband when a grenade was thrown at them, injuring two cops and two civilians named Jai Prakash Saini and Sukhbir. After this attack, the police had registered a case under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and Explosive Substances Act. Investigation revealed that the accused of this attack was Nazir Ahmed Wani, who had been living in Deoband for a long time using fake documents.

Nazir Ahmed was a resident of village Inzak Sharifabad in Parimpora police station area of Budgam district of Kashmir. He was an active terrorist of Hizbul Mujahideen who had been living in Deoband for a long time with the help of fake documents. Finally, on May 26, 1994, the police arrested Nazir Ahmed Wani. Then the police had registered another case against him for using fake documents. This FIR was registered in the new Deoband police station under sections 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC.

Nazir Ahmed got bail in 1994 itself and since then he never appeared in court. For the last more than 30 years, he was constantly changing his name and address. On May 20, 2024, a Saharanpur court issued a permanent warrant against Nazir Ahmed Wani, a long-time absconding warrantee. The Saharanpur police took cognisance of this warrant and announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for the arrest of Nazir Ahmed. The ATS was also deployed along with Saharanpur police for the arrest of Nazir Ahmed.

Finally, on Sunday, the police arrested him from Hakar Mulla village in Budgam district, where he was living. Hakar Mulla village is located near Soibuddh town in Kashmir. After necessary legal action, Nazir Ahmad Wani was brought from Kashmir to Saharanpur and presented before the court on Monday. The court has sent him to jail.
A 24 year old vagabond man has been arrested by the Delhi Police after he stole 11 high end bicycles for making his ends meet in north Dwarka area.

The police told The Pioneer that despite the bikes he stole pricing between Rs 18,000 to Rs 32,000, he sold some of them for less than Rs 5,000 in desperation for money for food. He used to sell some bikes by asking for Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 from the buyer and stating that he is in desperate need of money. He used to promise that he would return the money and take the bicycle back. These cycles are on the expensive side costing around 18,000 to 32,000, a senior police official said.

The man, identified as Selvin Wilson, was in his teenage when his father, who works as an ad hoc driver with a government agency, left his family and started living separately. To earn a living, the accused left his studies after 9th class from a government school and started work as a helper in office.

However, in 2023 he lost that work also and about two months back after a quarrel at home with his mother, due to not having any work, he left his home. He started living as a vagabond. After some time, he started stealing high-end bicycles and selling them to prospective buyers for food and his daily needs.

Upon receiving a number of e-firs regarding the stealing of bicycles in the area, the police gathered a team and technical and manual efforts were being made. A senior police official said that every spot of crime was being visited and CCTV coverage was being analyzed to garner clues about criminals.

Previous offenders and listed criminals were being watched. From one of the spots, relevant CCTV coverage was discovered which was followed from point to point and the head route was followed. Specific features, like built, age, gait of the thief was observed accordingly. Beat staff and the Crack Team of the police station were sensitized. Efforts bore fruits in the form of apprehension of habitual bicycle lifters, he said.

The accused was arrested when on area patrolling, a police team apprehended him near Park Sector-12 in Dwarka, with a stolen bicycle. While patrolling, they noticed a person on a bicycle coming towards them but sensing police presence, he turned back and tried to flee. However, the police quickly acted and apprehended him.

On enquiry, he revealed his name as Selvin Wilson and was unable to tell about the particulars and ownership of his bicycle. On verification, the Bicycle was found stolen from Dwarka North police station, accordingly legal action was initiated and investigation taken up. During interrogation, the accused disclosed stealing a number of bicycles.

He was taken into police custody and further eight stolen Bicycles were recovered at his instance, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh.

He added that from his arrest 11 Cases of bicycle theft have been worked out and no previous cases have been registered against the 24 year old.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reaffirmed today that the INDIA bloc intends to dismantle the 50% reservation cap and extend reservation benefits to marginalized groups through a caste census in Jharkhand, should the alliance come to power.

Speaking at a press conference in Ranchi on Monday, Rahul emphasized the ideological battle at the heart of the oppositions efforts. The INDIA alliance is committed to protecting the Constitution and ensuring governance for the underprivileged. On the other side, there are forces working to undermine Ambedkar jis Constitution, he stated.

Rahul reiterated his stance on conducting a caste census, saying, The Congress Party and INDIA alliance will conduct a caste census to identify the proportion of backward classes, Dalits, and Adivasis in the country and ensure their fair participation.

He also criticized the reservation ceiling, adding, The 50% reservation limit is a hurdle we intend to overcome. The Prime Minister falsely accuses me of opposing reservation. This is not true. I advocate increasing reservation beyond the 50% threshold.

He further outlined the alliances plans for reservation in Jharkhand, pledging, We will raise the reservation for Scheduled Tribes from 26% to 28%, for Scheduled Castes from 10% to 12%, and for Other Backward Classes from 14% to 27%. However, BJP forces are obstructing these efforts.

Accusing Prime Minister Modi of favouring corporate interests, Rahul stated, Modi ji wants to hand over Jharkhands resourcesits forests, water, and landto a few billionaires. We aim to govern for the poor, not for billionaires. The next Jharkhand government will provide Rs. 2,500 monthly to every womans bank account and ensure 7 kg of ration for every individual.

He also promised measures to reduce household burdens, including, We will bring down the cost of gas cylinders, which Modis government raised to Rs. 450. Private healthcare expenses of up to Rs. 15 lakh will be covered by the state.

Further, he announced initiatives to boost agriculture and employment. The MSP for paddy will be increased to Rs. 3,200 per quintal, and we will create 10 lakh jobs in five years. Industrial parks spanning 500 acres will be established in each district, along with degree colleges in every block and professional colleges in every district.

Rahul concluded by emphasizing the alliances commitment to farmers, labourers, and the Constitution. This is a fight for the youth and the marginalized. Congress is defending the Constitution, while the BJP and RSS seek to dismantle it. Congress will never allow that. The BJP government is withholding Rs. 1.36 lakh croremoney that rightfully belongs to the people, not Narendra Modi, he asserted.
Chief Electoral Officer, Jharkhand K Ravi Kumar has said that the work of distribution of voter slips for the second phase of Assembly Elections 2024 has been completed. The remaining voter slips have been deposited in the RO's office. FST and SST are being deployed in the second phase areas. In the areas where the first phase of polling has been completed, relaxation is being given under the provisions of the Election Commission of India, but still the borders and checkposts of the district have been kept active. He was addressing media representatives at the Election House on Saturday.

Kumar said that 83 cases related to violation of the Model Code of Conduct have been registered. The maximum number of 33 cases has been registered in Garhwa. He has requested all the candidates to follow the model code of conduct and also keep their polling agents and workers alert about it. He said that many complaints have been received regarding unauthorized use of candidates' symbols in the first phase of elections. As per the instructions of the Election Commission of India, the use of any kind of symbol related to the election symbol of the candidates is completely prohibited at all polling stations and within its 200 meter radius.

He said that no message appealing to the voters by any candidate should be broadcast in the silent period 48 hours before the end of polling. Media representatives can cover the voting of the candidates, but no kind of appeal or political rhetoric should be broadcast by them. He said that on the day of polling, no kind of pamphlet related to the candidates should be distributed by the polling agents of the candidates. The polling agent is allowed to give only the serial number of the candidate to the voter on a plain paper. Apart from this, giving the name of the candidate or any kind of symbol is prohibited.

He said that since the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct in the state, a total of illegal material and cash worth more than Rs 2 billion 14 crores has been seized by various agencies.
A 64-year-old woman died and a man got injured after being hit by a car in southwest Delhi's Uttam Nagar area on Sunday morning.

According to the police, they got information about the incident at around 6 am. On Sunday at about 6:03 am a PCR call regarding an accident at Uttam Nagar terminal by one car was received. Police reached there and found that the injured had been taken to hospital, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh said.

While Kamlesh, a resident of Gupta Enclave, was admitted to Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital, the unidentified injured man, in his 70s, was taken to Mata Chanan Devi Hospital," the officer said.

According to an eyewitness, the victims were crossing the road near Uttam Nagar Terminal when a vehicle, reportedly driven rashly, rammed into them. The vehicle, coming from the Janakpuri side, fled the scene immediately after the accident, the eyewitness said.

Kamlesh succumbed to injuries during treatment while the unidentified man remains hospitalised in critical condition. "We checked the CCTV footage which led to the identification of the offending vehicle, and the police have registered a case, he said.

The body is being sent for post-mortem and further probe is underway, the officer said, adding that a case under section 281 (Rash driving) and 106(1) (Causing death of a person by negligence) of BNS has been registered.
President-elect Donald Trump has selected Chris Wright, a campaign donor and fossil fuel executive, to serve as energy secretary in his upcoming, second administration.

CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Wright is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking, a key pillar of Trumps quest to achieve US energy dominance in the global market.

Wright has been one of the industrys loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change and could give fossil fuels a boost, including quick action to end a year-long pause on natural gas export approvals by the Biden administration. Wright also has criticised what he calls a top-down approach to climate by liberal and left-wing groups and said the climate movement around the world is collapsing under its own weight. Wright, who has never served in government, has written that more fossil fuel production is needed around the globe to lift people out of poverty. Consideration of Wright to head the administrations energy department won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm.

Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and advisor who played a key role on energy issues in Trumps first term. Hamm helped organise an event at Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in April where Trump reportedly asked industry leaders and lobbyists to donate USD 1 billion to Trumps campaign, with the expectation that Trump would curtail environmental regulations if reelected.

Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industrys top lobbying group, said Wrights experience in the energy sector gives him an important perspective that will inform his leadership of the Energy Department. We look forward to working with him once confirmed to bolster American geopolitical strength by lifting DOEs pause on LNG export permits and ensuring the open access of American energy for our allies around the world, Sommers said. Jackie Wong, senior vice president for climate and energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, called Wright a champion of dirty fossil fuels and said his nomination to lead the Energy Department was a disastrous mistake.

The Energy Department should be doing all it can to develop and expand the energy sources of the 21st century, not trying to promote the dirty fuels of the last century, Wong said.

Given the devastating impacts of climate-fueled disasters, DOEs core mission of researching and promoting cleaner energy solutions is more important now than ever. The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the US. The agency is in charge of maintaining the countrys nuclear weapons, oversees 17 national research laboratories and approves natural gas exports, as well as ensuring environmental cleanup of the nations nuclear weapons complex. It also promotes scientific and technological research.

Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, who is expected to become chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Trump promised bold choices for his Cabinet, and Wrights nomination delivers.

Hes s an energy innovator who laid the foundation for Americas fracking boom. After four years of America last energy policy, our country is desperate for a secretary who understands how important American energy is to our economy and our national security? Barrasso said.

If confirmed, Wright will join North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Trumps choice to be interior secretary, as a key player on energy policy in a second Trump term. Wright will be a member of a new National Energy Council that Burgum will chair. The new panel will seek to establish US energy dominance around the world, Trump said.

Thomas Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, a conservative group that supports fossil fuels, said Wright would be an excellent choice for energy secretary. Pyle led Trumps Energy Departments transition team in 2016.

Liberty is a major energy industry service provider, with a focus on technology. Wright, who grew up in Colorado, earned undergraduate degree at MIT and did graduate work in electrical engineering at the University of California-Berkeley and MIT. In 1992, he founded Pinnacle Technologies, which helped launch commercial shale gas production through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

He later served as chairman of Stroud Energy, an early shale gas producer, before founding Liberty Resources in 2010.
One has to hand it to the Europeans, they are the masters of regulation, integration, collaboration, quality standards, and kings of data. The European standard of daedal excellence is all too prevalent in Gaia-X, as witnessed at the Helsinki 2024 Summit during the 14-15 of November. The colossal data project is currently headed by the towering CEO Ulrich Ahle, a veteran of multiple technical appointments at companies like Siemens and Atos.

The amount of data that is produced by business within the EU, amongst its companies and its regulatory systems is immense, therefore it is only right that this data is directed through specialist data hubs to create an efficient network for stringent EU compliance regulations and automation between all complying manufacturers and companies involved. Imagine the amount of technical data from a company like Airbus regarding its multiple components, suppliers, technical, legal, mechanical systems constituting exabytes of data that in the traditional methods of working would take thousands of years to process for compliance, or in relation to production and manufacturing collaborative needs to be assimilated within the manufacturing process; but because of Gaia-X, it takes half-an-hour to parsenot two thousand years. Catherine Jestin, Gaia-X BoD Chairwoman; Executive Vice and President of Digital and Information Management, Airbus, explained the processes at play regarding the aerospace industry very succinctly during the conference. The key point here is interoperability, the ability of computer systems or software to exchange and make use of information where data between devices made by different manufacturers can be efficiently assimilated and integrated within a singular data stream for maximum productivity also helping collaboration between different sectors/manufacturers. The Gaia-X Digital Clearing House is essentially Open Source which brings forth a certain level of transparency within operational standardised EU Compliance contingencies, but the data hubs aim to push further globally, and not be constrained within the European framework. For example, Japan is now a major player within the Gaia-X data system, which is constantly expanding its global reach.

The 800 pound gorilla in the room

It goes without saying that the coterie of clerisy assembled at the conference offered immense detail and knowledge about their particular fields of expertise providing sufficient blood flow through the vena anastomotica during the summit as they were utilising technical, cerebral and almost robotic linguistics to somehow explain the enormity of the Gaia-X system. My main concern for the future was the immense data that will be needed for AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). What struck me particularly about the conference was not only the cloud data system of Gaia-X but also how the ideopraxist vision of the corporate and EU technocrats corresponded with the writings of the French philosopher and thinker Jacques Ellul who in his 1964 book The Technological Society defined technique as the ensemble of methods that achieve efficiency in all fields of human activity. I had the opportunity to parley with the Gaia-X CEO Ulrich Ahle briefly during the conference, mentioning Jacques Ellul, along with technique and he nodded his head knowingly. Ellul posited that the essence of technique lies in its self-perpetuating natureonce a technical method is discovered, it drives further advancements, often independent of societal needs or ethical considerations. This technique ties in quite succinctly with Gaia-X and its inevitable push for total autonomy of technique, where techniques evolve on their own momentum, often unrestrained by human control or societal input. They are not merely tools but forces that shape human behaviour and societal structures. The guiding principle of technique is optimising processes for maximum efficiency, often side lining human and cultural values. While techniques themselves may be neutral, their adoption and implementation often lead to unintended and profound societal consequences. Ellul foresaw that techniques transform societies, creating dependencies and reducing human agency. They often precede and drive the moral, social, and economic frameworks that emerge around them. This elemental basis of technique is truly relevant when it comes to open source blockchain data projects like Gaia-X. My thoughts during the conference carried me towards the global proliferation of AGI, which is currently within the preliminary phase of pre-planning before being rolled out globally, simultaneously. The advent of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) will represent a profound leap in technological evolution, with implications resonating deeply with Jacques Elluls philosophy and the principles underlying the Gaia-X project. AGI, will be an AI system capable of understanding, learning, and performing any intellectual task a human can, thus encapsulating the trajectory of Elluls concept of technique: self-perpetuating, autonomous, and driven by the pursuit of efficiency above all else. The emergence of AGI would mark a point where technique not only shapes human behaviour, but potentially surpasses human agency altogether. There are caveats however to AGI. Elluls cautionary stance on the autonomy of technique is particularly relevant when considering AGI. As AGI systems develop, they may become increasingly independent of human oversight, creating new pathways of knowledge and solutions that humanity neither anticipated nor fully comprehends. This mirrors Elluls observation that technique evolves for its own sake, with efficiency as the primary driver. While AGI could optimise global processesfrom healthcare to climate modellingit also raises the question: at what cost? Will AGIs pursuit of technical solutions override ethical considerations, cultural nuances, or human welfare? Gaia-X offers an illustrative framework for exploring the intersection of human sovereignty and advanced technologies like AGI. Its emphasis on data interoperability and sovereignty provides a blueprint for maintaining control over complex, autonomous systems. If Gaia-X principles were extended to AGI, they could ensure that such systems remain aligned with human values by embedding accountability, transparency, and decentralised oversight into their operations. However, the integration of AGI into a system like Gaia-X also exemplifies the tension Ellul describes between human intention and the autonomous trajectory of technique. As AGI integrates into interoperable networks, it could accelerate the very self-perpetuation Ellul warned about, potentially amplifying the risks of loss of control, chaos and disorder. Moreover, the interplay between AGI, Gaia-X, and Elluls philosophy underscores the critical need for ethical frameworks. Ellul highlighted the moral neutrality of technique, arguing that societal values must actively guide its application. Gaia-Xs federated structure could serve as a model for ensuring AGI adheres to ethical principles by fostering collaboration amongst diverse stakeholders. This collective governance could mitigate the risks of monopolisation or misuse, ensuring AGI systems serve the common good rather than narrow interests. Ultimately, the advent of AGI, when viewed through the lens of Elluls critique and Gaia-Xs ambitions, represents both an unprecedented opportunity and a profound challenge. It calls for a reimagining of how humanity engages with technologynot as passive beneficiaries of efficiency but as active stewards of innovation. To balance the transformative potential of AGI with its inherent risks, society must adopt systems like Gaia-X while remaining vigilant about the deeper, often unpredictable consequences Ellul foresaw. This approach could help navigate the path to AGI responsibly, ensuring it enhances human agency rather than diminishing it.

After the conference, back in the hotel bar, the beautiful Finnish barmaid handed me another glass of Kyro wood smoked dry malt dulcifluous nectar and there I contemplated the enormity of the Gaia-X pabulum, not only in the technical sense, but also its all-encompassing vision of futuristic smart cities, artificial intelligence, nubiferous digital cloud systems and total non-human automation.
Brazil eyes for increasing tourism cooperation with China: travel bureau head

11:16, November 18, 2024 By Li Xuanmin and Zhang Yiyi ( Global Times

Brazil views China-Brazil tourism as a key driver of mutual growth, believing it will further strengthen the friendly relations between the two countries. It is also expected that the development of the tourism industry will bring long-term economic and cultural benefits to both China and Brazil, Marcelo Freixo, president of Embratur told the Global Times.

The comments were made as the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro is set to take place on Monday, which draws global attention to the host Brazil. Embratur, known as Brazilian Tourist Board, is a Brazilian travel promotion and marketing agency.

"Brazil has been ramping up its tourism promotion efforts in the Chinese market, aiming to showcase the country's rich and diverse travel offerings, including cultural experiences, nature-based activities such as wildlife observation, and luxury experiences," Freixo said.

He added that Brazilian tourism spots such as Iguazu Falls, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Manaus in the Amazon region have gained rising popularity among Chinese tourists.

Freixo noted that, considering China is one of the world's major economies, and that the number of Chinese travelers to Brazil continues to grow, the bureau will put more focuses on unlocking the potential of bilateral tourism industry in the future.

According to him, the agency plans to participate in ITB China, a leading B2B travel trade show to be held in Shanghai next year to promote more communication and exchanges with Chinese travel industry. The country will also increase tourism promotion efforts, improve infrastructure, and provide more convenient and enjoyable services to enhance the overall experience for Chinese tourists.

"We also plan to provide more conveniences to Chinese tourists, for example in payments, to simplify the communication process," Freixo said.

Starting from February 19, China and Brazil agreed to grant 10-year visas for each other's citizens for business, leisure trips and family visits. Freixo believed that the latest visa policy could promote bilateral travel, encourage business exchange and foster the development of tourism between the two countries.

Statistics provided by the board showed that last year, a total of 42,542 Chinese mainland tourists visited Brazil last year. And, data from travel platform Tongcheng.com showed that the volume of international flight bookings to Brazil via the platform expanded by 201 percent year-on-year as of November 12, the company said in a statement sent to the Global Times.

Brazil also ranked among the top five Latin American travel destinations for Chinese tourists on travel agency Trip.com from January to October, data showed.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
European tech CEOs are calling on the region to make bold moves to reduce its dependence on U.S. technology and challenge Big Tech's stranglehold-at least in areas like AIon which the region should focus first.

The call for the move gained steam after the election of Donald Trump, who rekindled talk on the potential future of global tech relations during the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal.

A 'Europe-First' Strategy

Proton CEO Andy Yen, the leader of Swiss VPN developer Proton, challenged Europe to view technological independence as a priority. He told CNBC that the EU region thinks in a "very globalist mindset," which means that they only want everyone to be fair.

"Well, guess what? The Americans and the Chinese didn't get the memo. They have been playing extremely unfairly for the last 20 years. And now they have a president that is extremely 'America-first.'"

For example, ProtonVPN, which not only serves as a VPN but also encrypts user data and provides an IP address mask, is just an example of how Europe can innovate in safeguarding its digital sovereignty.

Europe's Struggle Against Big Tech

The European Union, as far back as it can remember, has taken legal and regulatory measures to curb the influence of these giants like Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta. And with Trump coming back to power, Europe will likely roll over once more.

Mitchell Baker, Mozilla Foundation's former CEO, lauded the EU Digital Markets Act for forcing actual change. She described how "a recent 'choice screen' from Google on Android phones significantly increased market share in Firefox." But she warns that efforts in this direction only scratch the surface of the systemic outcomes of centralized power by Big Tech.

The Struggle for AI Autonomy

The other key focus area in the Web Summit was to assert "AI sovereignty." In fact, European leaders urged localization of AI infrastructure reflecting regional languages, cultures, and values. This balances big U.S. firms like Microsoft, which has solidified its place in AI by supporting OpenAI as well as AI tools on all its platforms.

Christian Kroll, CEO of Ecosia, took on Microsoft. He said that Microsoft has been gradually reducing their revenue and this also signals that the tech giant is reducing their capacity to do more things.

Building a Resilient Europe

Meanwhile, Thomas Plantenga, the CEO of Vinted, asked Europe to look toward long-term self-sufficiency. He added that the EU should make the "right choices" so the countries won't get left behind in development.

In other news, The Verge reports that Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Intel, Qualcomm, and Uber congratulated Trump on becoming the returning US President.

While the US-based tech giants were aware of the huge changes that the Trump admin imposed, TikTok may finally face the ban following Donald's victory.

Not only that big ban can happen after Trump returns to the White House. For gamers, you need to brace for the worst shopping season to come. If you have time to upgrade right now, do it immediately since Trump's tariff plans might ruin your gaming upgrade plans by next year.
A man who flouted his bail conditions by not being resident at his bail address has been remanded in custody at Derry Magistrates Court.

Sean Walsh (21) of Patrick Street in Derry had been on bail on various charges and some of his conditions were that he was not to go into a Creggan and to reside at his address.

A police officer told the court that this was the defendants fourth breach of bail.

The court heard that at 11.00pm on November 14 police called at his address and it was completely empty and it appeared that no one had lived there for some time.

The officer said it was believed that Walsh was living in Creggan.

Walsh has 11 previous convictions and police believed there was a clear risk of re-offending.

The officer also said that in February and September this year threats had been made against the defendant.

Defence counsel Sinead Rogan said her client had a new address that was available to him from today.

READ NEXT: The Republic of Ireland's newest international and his connection to Derry

She said that his conditions were designed to keep him out of Creggan and the new address was not in that area.

District Judge Barney McElholm said that Walsh had breached his bail and revoked it.

He was remanded in custody to appear again on December 2.
HIGHLIGHTS A 77-year-old retired engineer from Rohini found himself trapped in a horrifying scam that lasted 19 days, He was manipulated and threatened out of over Rs 10 crore. The scam began when he received a call from someone claiming to be from a courier company.

Its easy to think that scams only happen to others, but the reality is far different. A 77-year-old retired engineer from Rohini found himself trapped in a horrifying scam that lasted 19 days, during which he was manipulated and threatened out of over Rs 10 crore. This incident serves as a stark reminder that no one is immune to digital fraud.

The ordeal began on September 25, when the engineer received a call from someone claiming to be from a courier company, informing him about a returned parcel. Although the engineer usually avoids answering unknown numbers, he picked up this time. The caller explained that a parcel sent from Mumbai to China had his Aadhaar details, and he was connected to a video call with someone allegedly from the Mumbai Police.

Also read: Delhi graphic designer loses Rs 2 lakh after being held hostage online by fake police

On the call, the supposed officer accused him of being involved in money laundering and demanded his bank details for verification. The victim was then passed on to another person who introduced himself as a senior CBI officer. Speaking with authority, the man instructed the engineer to move to a private room to avoid being overheard. He showed documents, including one with his Aadhaar details, and warned him not to disclose anything to his family. He was also told not to leave the country and that his phone was under surveillance.

Over the next 19 days, the scammers maintained control over the engineer, claiming an ongoing investigation and pressuring him to transfer large sums of money. Believing the threats were real, he transferred Rs 10.3 crore in three separate transactions.

On October 14, the scammers claimed his brother was now part of the investigation. It was then that the engineers suspicion grew, and after talking to his brother, he realised he had been scammed.

Also read: Man loses Rs 20 lakh to fake FedEx representative in courier scam

How to protect yourself from such scams

Be cautious of unsolicited calls: Avoid picking up calls from unknown numbers or sharing personal details over the phone.

Avoid picking up calls from unknown numbers or sharing personal details over the phone. Verify before acting: Always verify the authenticity of any claim, especially if someone pressures you for sensitive information like bank details.

Always verify the authenticity of any claim, especially if someone pressures you for sensitive information like bank details. Use official channels: If contacted by government or police officers, reach out to official numbers or websites to confirm the legitimacy of the communication.

If contacted by government or police officers, reach out to official numbers or websites to confirm the legitimacy of the communication. Stay informed: Stay up to date on the latest scams to recognise red flags early.
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Innovations driving the future of space applications: Meet three promising startups

In line with global space industry trends, Taiwan's Small and Medium Enterprise and Startup Administration (SMESA), under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, is organizing the International SpaceTech Startup Supporting Program through Taiwan Accelerator Plus (TAcc+). Executed by the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), the program aims to attract international SpaceTech startups to Taiwan, support local startups in accessing global markets, and foster partnerships for international expansion. By collaborating with global accelerators, TAcc+ brings foreign startups with advanced technologies to Taiwan, offering education, networking, and exposure to Taiwan's dynamic space industry.

The TAcc+ program underscores Taiwan's commitment to becoming a key player in the global space industry by fostering a vibrant ecosystem for innovation. By attracting cutting-edge startups and fostering collaborations, Taiwan aims to leverage its advanced manufacturing capabilities and technological expertise to drive space-related advancements.

For this year, OQ Technology, Manastu Space Technologies, and Tethys are startups invited to Taiwan to show their innovations in the satellite service and space application area. Luxembourg's OQ Technology integrates LEO satellite constellations with 5G networks, enabling global connectivity for IoT applications. Manastu Space Technologies specializes in advanced space propulsion with its hydrogen peroxide-based green fuel, providing safer and more efficient satellite maneuverability. Tethys, meanwhile, is revolutionizing thermal management with its Tempesta system, initially designed for Earth-based industries, but ultimately aimed at supporting astronauts and spacecraft in extreme space environments.

OQ Technology S.A.R.L

Focusing on providing satellite-based 5G IoT solutions, OQ Technology based in Luxembourg was co-founded by Omar Qaise, who has a distinguished background in satellite communications and aerospace engineering. As the company's CEO, Omar's expertise and experience have been pivotal in the company's focus on delivering global connectivity through low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. OQ Technology's team includes experts in satellite design, network engineering, and IoT applications, making them a leader in integrating LEO satellite constellations with 5G networks.

OQ Technology's primary offering is its LEO satellite constellation, which enables low-latency, high-performance connectivity for IoT applications across industries such as agriculture, logistics, and energy. Their hybrid connectivity solutions integrate satellite networks with terrestrial 5G infrastructure, providing seamless global coverage even in remote areas. The hybrid approach enhances overall network performance and bridges the connectivity gap between terrestrial and satellite systems.

Leveraging LEO satellites, the company provides faster data transmission with lower latency compared to traditional geostationary satellites. The integration with 5G networks allows for extensive global coverage and improved scalability, making it ideal for industries requiring large-scale IoT connectivity. OQ Technology also offers cost-efficient end-to-end solutions, simplifying the implementation of satellite communication networks for diverse applications.

A significant milestone for OQ Technology was its collaboration with Aramco, one of the world's largest oil companies headquartered in Saudi Arabia, in August 2024. OQ Technology demonstrated its satellite solutions in remote oil fields, enhancing communication and asset management. The partnership is a testament to OQ's ability to provide reliable and scalable solutions for industries in challenging environments.

OQ Technology's Engagement with Taiwan's SpaceTech Ecosystem for Strategic Partnerships and Expansion

During its recent visit to Taiwan, the OQ Technology team engaged with TASA and ITRI, where they explored local expertise in satellite technology and manufacturing, gaining insight into Taiwan's ambitions for space innovation. "We were impressed by Taiwan's manufacturing capabilities and focus on advancing national space programs, especially with TASA's efforts in low-Earth orbit (LEO) and 5G connectivity," Abdulaziz Alsaeed, Global Business Development & Sales Manager at OQ Technology noted. The visit also involved meetings with Taiwanese engineers and scientists, laying the groundwork for possible joint projects that integrate OQ's satellite-based IoT solutions with TASA's LEO initiatives.

OQ Technology also explored Taiwan's academic resources, as Alsaeed mentioned, by attending the International SpaceTech Startup Academia-Industry Collaboration Workshop hosted by ITRI. The company established contacts with experts from National Central University (NCU), opening doors to future partnerships for research and development.

Additionally, OQ Technology engaged with local tech companies to explore Taiwan's robust manufacturing capabilities, with a specific interest in hardware and semiconductor suppliers for their satellite systems. Collaborative discussions with companies such as Galaxy Star Space, and other local enterprises including Tron Future, Rapidtek, Compal Electronics, and the Syscom Group offered OQ Technology a view into Taiwan's potential as a strategic partner in developing next-gen satellite connectivity. Through these interactions, OQ Technology sees Taiwan as a key regional hub that could support its ambitions to grow within the Asia-Pacific market.

Oct. 18th Taiwan Startup Terrace Visitation at Kaohsiung. OQ Technology (row 1, second from the left ), Manastu (row 2, fourth from the left), Tethys (row 1, third from the left). Credit: TAcc+

Manastu Space Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Manastu Space Technologies, founded in 2017 by alumni of IIT Bombay, is at the forefront of the space industry's move towards sustainability with its innovative green propulsion systems. Traditional propulsion systems often rely on hydrazine, a highly toxic and expensive chemical, which has long been the go-to fuel for space missions. The company has developed a hydrogen peroxide-based fuel that is not only safer but also more efficient, offering up to 50% greater efficiency compared to conventional systems.

This fuel powers Manastu Space's advanced propulsion systems, designed to cater to small and medium satellite operatorsa growing market segment. These systems provide enhanced satellite maneuverability, reducing operational costs and increasing the mission lifespan. On the occasion of the global space industry prioritizing the reduction of space debris and toxic by-products, the team's focus on environmentally friendly propulsion is crucial.

To expand its global reach, Manastu Space is actively seeking strategic partnerships with technical vendors, satellite manufacturers, and space agencies worldwide. Its visit to Taiwan is a strategic step towards establishing a strong presence in the market and exploring potential collaborations with local aerospace and technology firms.

Manastu Space Collaborates with Taiwan's Advanced Tech Ecosystem for Sustainable Space Solutions

Considering the advanced manufacturing capabilities, and vibrant technology ecosystem that Taiwan has, Manastu Space believes that collaborations with Taiwanese companies will help it establish a reliable and efficient supply chain to accelerate the development and production of its innovative propulsion systems. The company also expects to acquire potential partners for the vision of contributing to a sustainable and safer space industry.

Isha Raje, Sr. Lead of Business Development from Manastu Space, was impressed by the local industries and institutions' robust technological capabilities and collaborative potential, "Interacting with these organizations has been really instrumental in understanding the current state of Taiwan's space infrastructure and technology capabilities as well." She highlighted the visits to TASA and ITRI, "they showed the capability Taiwan has in space, materials, electronics manufacturing, all these areas."

Apart from that, the company also visited a few local universities and interacted with some of the professors. "This has provided an excellent platform for us. We also identified some areas of collaboration like with the National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), " Raje said, "we're exploring how we can work together to develop new technologies." Manastu Space is also preparing to sign an MOU with NCKU, and the company has signed an MOU with an industry partner, Advanced Material Systems. Their engagements further solidified Taiwan's position as a valuable partner and are expected to bring expertise that could advance Manastu's projects in the green propulsion system.

Reflecting on the trip to Taiwan, Raje expressed that their stay, though productive, felt short. "Before coming here, I thought one month would be a very long time, but now I think one month is too little. I'd have to spend at least 3 to 4 months here." She emphasized the company's strong interest in further integration with Taiwan's tech ecosystem, driven by the country's efficient lead times and high-quality outputs.

TETHYS

Tethys, a company led by two experienced aerospace engineers, Giacomo and Rebecca, aims to bridge the gap between space-grade technologies and their terrestrial applications. Tethys specializes in thermal management systems, a critical technology for both space exploration and Earth-bound industries that operate in extreme environments.

The company's flagship product, Tempesta, is designed to provide thermal comfort in industrial sectors, construction sites, and security forces where extreme temperatures can be a hindrance to productivity and safety. By deploying space-grade thermal management technologies on Earth, Tethys is creating a financially sustainable business model that can fuel its long-term space ambitions.

However, Tethys' vision goes far beyond Earth. The company's future plans include the development of high-performance "thermal control systems for space suits" and "next-generation thermal systems for spacecraft". By mastering thermal solutions for extreme environments on Earth, Tethys is positioning itself as a key player in the future of space exploration. These innovations will be crucial for enabling deep-space missions, where maintaining stable temperatures in space suits and spacecraft is essential for astronaut safety and mission success.

With Tempesta's success, Tethys is actively building the engine to drive future innovations, from space suits for deep space missions to next-gen satellite thermal management systems. The team's vision is to make space exploration a reality and expects the ground-based technology will be the catalyst to empower the company to be the technology leader both on Earth and in space. The startup is also open to establishing long-term partnerships to achieve these goals and push the boundaries of innovation together.

Tethys Looks for Collaborations in Taiwan for Advanced Temperature Control Solutions

During the recent visit to Taiwan, Rebecca Martinelli, CTO of Tethys was highly impressed by the well-organized meetings and diverse partnerships established across Taiwan's academic and industrial sectors. "I was impressed by how we could connect with so many different groups in such a short time," which facilitated their market entry and partnership opportunities in Taiwan.

One of the most promising collaborations identified was with Taiwan's Metal Industries Research & Development Centre. As Martinelli mentioned Tethys found that the possibility to print in 3D with materials like alumina and titanium could be revolutionary for their device development, given these materials' lightweight and heat-resistant properties. This collaboration is seen as pivotal for refining and manufacturing Tethys' temperature control devices to meet industry needs, especially for applications in extreme environments like space. The interaction underscored Taiwan's capability to support innovation in material sciences and custom manufacturing.

In addition, Tethys' team visited NCU and engaged with the professors who lead laboratories for the microgravity experiments. "We entered a very real laboratory and watched how they performed tests with microgravity," Martinelli said, "they have a real problem with these experiments, which is the control of the temperature, most specifically the control of the delta temperature during these experiments in the gravity fields." She discussed with NCU professors the possibility of using Tethys' solution to replace the current bulky, immobile temperature control methods. Both parties were excited and confident about future collaboration.

Martinelli concluded that Tethys sees Taiwan as a strategic partner with robust technical expertise. This visit laid the foundation for long-term partnerships that will bolster Tethys' technical development and market reach in Asia.

Startups Leading the Charge into the Next Frontier

As those startups continue to refine their technologies and expand their global reach, they are not only pushing the boundaries of space exploration but also contributing to critical technological advancements here on Earth. The convergence of environmental sustainability, practical applications, and space innovations makes this an exciting time for the global space industry.

Oct. 15th SpaceTech & AI Synergy Collaboration Event by ITRI and TSIDA. OQ Technology (row 2, fifth from the left), Manastu (row 2, second and third from the right), Tethys (row 1, fourth from the right). Credit: TAcc+
MKS' Atotech and ESI at TPCA show and IMPACT 2024

The TPCA Show and IMPACT Conference 2024 was held in Taiwan at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Hall 1 from October 23rd to 25th. Two strategic brand presences of MKS, Atotech, and ESI impressed visitors at the show. The crowded booth, the many paper presentations at the IMPACT conference, and the specially hosted session on "Advancing AI chips from silicon to PCB" draw special attention to the company this year, a leader in Taiwan's PCB, IC substrate, and semiconductor industries.

In addition to the enthusiastic participation at the exhibition this year, many senior leaders from MKS headquarters, including CEO Dr. John Lee, also gathered from all over the world. In addition to the show, the leaders also discuss and communicate with important customers, as well as such as the TPCA Chairman, for a deep level of information exchange which will be valuable to each other. Through these activities, customers and MKS became closer. During this period, the CEO was also interviewed by the media to let the industry know more about MKS and the contributions and efforts MKS can make to the PCB, IC substrate, and semiconductor industries.

MKS' teams on the show floor.

The teams from both strategic MKS brands came together to represent the new combined company and its combined expertise in advanced PCB via drilling systems, lasers, optics, and motion with process chemistry and equipment for current process and yield optimization, as well as next-generation product development, e.g. for advanced material processing, via formation, glass package substrates, solar, batteries and more. One of the focal points at the show was on Optimize the InterconnectSM which can be achieved with Atotech and ESI products and services. Optimize the InterconnectSM is an MKS offering that provides printed circuit board (PCB) and advanced electronics packaging customers with a wide range of products and services for creating interconnects in the most advanced PCB and IC packaging designs. Services include PCB and advanced electronics packaging interconnect creation and evaluation services, access to the MKS Technology Centers for installation, setup and troubleshooting services, application development services, application labs and support, design and development services, and maintenance, repair, and calibration services.



This unique combination of MKS' via drilling and routing, and chemical plating expertise enables customers to accelerate their product roadmaps, solve the challenges associated with new materials and finer feature sizes, and thereby create the interconnection more effectively with higher quality output and faster time to market.

MKS' CEO Dr. John Lee by Gary.

MKS' team with TPCA Chairman Mr. Lee.

We offer a broad range of MKS' technologies and capabilitiessuch as lasers, precision optics, motion control, beam measurement, via drilling systems and process chemistryto provide a unique solution for optimizing the manufacturing of PCB and advanced electronics packaging interconnects, a key part of the overall PCB and advanced electronics packaging manufacturing process.

"We understand the importance of providing our customers with the best solutions and services including sustainable products and energy-saving equipment to create win-win situations for our customers," said Daniel Schmidt, Global Marketing Director. Throughout the week, various local and international executives were available to meet with teams, customers, partners, and prospects to discuss the way forward with a special focus on the latest industry trends and challenges. The teams made special efforts to welcome and introduce the latest technologies and solutions to key industry participants and customers and the team demonstrated our new synergies and total solution package consisting of PCB production equipment (wet-to-wet process equipment, laser systems, and auxiliaries), chemistry, software, and service to the Taiwanese PCB industry. After one year since the acquisition, the industry and especially our customers are expressing high confidence in our integration, and trust that we can provide them with more complete solutions to support their future product and manufacturing development roadmap.

MKS' Industrial Forum and the audiences.

Presenters of the MKS' Industrial Forum.

The team also presented 6 papers at the IMPACT technical conference this year. A key event was the IMPACT industrial forum on October 23 from 1:30 3:30 pm, where industry leaders in specific fields were invited to talk about their contributions to the developments and manufacturing of AI, especially glass substrate technology explorations and discussions. The attendees benefited greatly from these talks and discussions. Daniel Schmidt, Global Marketing Director said: "The special industrial session helped our company to draw attention to industry trends, challenges, and possible solutions. Many questions were asked and discussed during the session, and it showed our contributions not only in our solutions but also in the technology developments within our industries."
India roundup: India to generate 1 million jobs in semiconductor industry

India is estimated to require 1 million jobs in the semiconductor industry. India-based electronics manufacturers will likely benefit from President-Elect Donald Trump's return to the White House.

India to generate 1 million jobs in semiconductor industry

India's semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem is experiencing rapid growth, with projections indicating the creation of 1 million jobs across various segments. According to a report by talent solutions provider NLB Services cited by the Press Trust of India, 300,000 positions will emerge in foundry operations and 200,000 in Assembly, Testing, Marking, and Packaging (ATMP). The remaining positions will span chip design, software development, system circuits, and manufacturing supply chain management.

India-based Tessolve acquires German IC design house

Tessolve, an India-based semiconductor engineering firm owned by Hero, the world's largest two-wheeler brand, has acquired German-based IC design house Dream Chip Technologies. This acquisition marks a significant step in India's efforts to expand its in-house semiconductor capabilities in both design and production.

Apple expected to scale up iPhone production in India following Trump's win

Following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election and the possibility of a renewed US-China trade war, Indian officials believe Apple may scale up its manufacturing capacities in India to mitigate potential tariffs and avoid supply chain disruptions that could arise.

India-based PC contract manufacturers reportedly receive few-than-expected orders despite incentive scheme

The Indian government launched an incentive scheme to encourage local production of PCs and notebooks. However, most beneficiaries under the scheme are reportedly struggling to receive orders from PC brands.

Three Chinese solar firms accused of US$2.64 billion tax dodge in India

A trio of Chinese solar companies were found to have evaded taxes on approximately INR220 billion (US$2.64 billion) of profits earned from INR450 billion worth of solar product sales in India over the past decade.

Nokia and Dixon begins manufacturing fixed broadband devices in India

Dixon Electro and Nokia have officially launched the manufacturing of fixed broadband devices in India. The collaboration will focus on producing GPON, 5G FWA, and Mesh Wi-Fi devices, all capable of delivering up to one gigabit per second per home.
Dianne McPhelim, a researcher from Dundalk IT, has been awarded a prestigious Government of Ireland Postgraduate Research Scholarship through Taighde Eireann Research Ireland.

Dianne has been awarded the scholarship for her work on one of Ireland's forgotten female voices, Mamo McDonald.

The project engages with the writings of the Monaghan woman Mamo McDonald who was an important female figure in the latter half of the twentieth century in Ireland.

Mamo McDonald was a key figure in bringing the voice of Ireland's rural communities to the fore, was a prominent campaigner for women's rights in law and health, a champion of higher education, ICA President, and later founder of Age Action.

The important legacy of Mamo McDonald has been lauded by Mary Robinson and Nell McCaffrey, and is now the focus of Dianne's work.

READ NEXT: Louth nominee shortlisted for 2024 Ocean Hero Awards

Dianne's research aims to enhance engagement with tangible heritage and offer insights into hidden literature to inform our understanding of society and the lived experience of citizens.

The project will catalogue and contextualise the writings of McDonald, digitise artefacts to create an archive with metadata, and propose and design ways of accessing and engaging with the archive.

The project will be supervised by Dr Daithi Kearney, Co-Director of the Creative Arts Research Centre at Dundalk Institute of Technology and Dr Naoise Collins, lecturer in Game Design at IADT.

Dianne recently graduated from Mary Immaculate College in Limerick with an MA in Modern Literature. She also holds a degree in Writing & Literature from ATU Sligo and is a published writer. The researcher also boasts extensive experience in the Heritage, Tourism and Community Development sectors.

Commenting on her award, Dianne said: "As a creative writer with strong administration and project management experience in the heritage sector and knowledge of the demographic region, I hope to bring a unique perspective to this project.

"My work in rural development and heritage in the border region has equipped me with empathy and an interest in the forgotten and the untold."

The three-year scholarship allows Dianne to develop her locally significant research and explore ways to attract attention to the remarkable figure that is Mamo McDonald.
The Greens are electioneering over claims that the Government almost collapsed over climate measures, the Tanaiste has said.

Micheal Martin said he does not recognise claims made by his coalition partners over an apparent split in 2023.

It comes after the Green Party said the coalition almost fell during negotiations with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael over the establishment of a multibillion euro climate and nature investment fund in 2023.

The 3.15 billion euro state investment fund will be put into infrastructure, climate and nature projects until 2030, sourced from windfall corporation tax profits.

Green Minister of State Ossian Smyth said the Government nearly collapsed over Fianna Fails position on establishing the fund, which was eventually agreed as the Infrastructure Climate and Nature Fund.

The alleged row occurred when the Greens were led by Eamon Ryan but his predecessor Roderic OGorman claimed last week that it had been made clear that the fund was a red line for the party. He said the negotiations were a tense and very difficult time.

Mr Smyth also said he was prepared to walk out of Government at a later stage over the threat of repeated delays to the land hoarding tax  which the Greens see as an essential measure to combat the housing crisis.

Asked about Mr Smyths comments on Monday, Mr Martin said: That must have passed me by.

Pressed on whether he recognised the central claims by Mr Smyth, he added: I dont  its just not serious.

The infrastructure idea was mine, by the way. The idea of having a consistent fund to make sure we got that infrastructure through .

To be fair to Eamon [Ryan] and others, they wanted the climate and nature in  that was agreed.

There was toing and froing, that happens over most of the Budget.

The idea that there was nearly a collapse of Government? To be fair to Eamon Ryan, he never threatened to collapse any Government  thats electioneering, and thats not serious.

He added: I dont think anyone was aware that Ossian Smyth was going to walk out of Government  at any stage.

He seemed to me to be a very enthusiastic participant right up to the very end.
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Postal Code
The first time I heard about COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) was in 2009 when I was ill on holiday in Germany.

The doctor suggested that I see my GP on my return to Cork, who, in turn, referred me to a consultant.

I had been experiencing increasing shortness of breath and a constant cough and I was duly diagnosed with the condition.

Through it all, I continued to smoke and the prospect of quitting was very daunting. I gave up smoking temporarily on innumerable occasions over the years and finally managed to beat it in 2011, the hardest challenge of my life.

Up to this point, any health setbacks had been acute: a caesarean-section, a gall-bladder removal. These had all been of varying severity but faded quickly into the past as my health improved. COPD was here to stay. I had a chronic disease.

One night, when I could not sleep because of a bad cough, I read a piece of wisdom on my phone. People with a chronic disease are not pretending to be sick; they are pretending to be well. How true, I thought.

You pretend that all is as before, and try to keep up with all of the normal activities, rushing so as not to delay people, and hiding your breathlessness. Pretending.

Being diagnosed with COPD was a huge loss, with the realisation that this condition could not be shaken off.

There was a certain grief at this loss of the old me, no longer able to run or walk quickly without breathlessness, along with a feeling of isolation, as everyone I knew at this time was able to carry on as normal.

I had dreams of bouncing along as if my feet were on springs, only to wake to my impairment.

I became anxious and fearful. There was no cure for this predicament I had managed to get myself into.

I also had a feeling of guilt, that I had done this to myself, and that the damage done could not be undone. I worried that it was downhill from here, and whether I would end up needing a wheelchair, or attached to an oxygen machine.

I had the good fortune to be offered a place on a pulmonary rehabilitation pilot programme which was run in St Finbarrs Hospital. It consisted of a circuit of ten exercises which we did under supervision.

The security of being monitored was very helpful, as breathlessness can be frightening. By the end of the course, I felt stronger and better able to live with my condition.

I subsequently went on to join the Cork South COPD Support group, which meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the newly-refurbished Community Centre in Turners Cross.

The network of peers is very heartening and it is lovely to share stories and support. I also partake virtually in the Sing Strong initiative which helps with my breathing.

It is with the encouragement of the people we meet that we move forward in living with our chronic conditions, that we achieve a certain level of self-management and empowerment.

Personally, I am extremely grateful to all those who have kept me out of hospital and enjoying life.

Breathless, a poem by Mary Boyle

Many of us have died.

Will this be the time I do not recover?

The fight back gets groaningly uphill.

Breath scarce, fear grips.

From the car to the trolley stand is daunting.

I make it.

Onwards with this walking aid.

Stop to examine the fruit, the breads.

Coughing attack at the fish counter.

Enjoy he says, as he hands me the salmon darnes.

Have a good day!

I wish.

Regulate the breathing near the chefs pantry.

Need mayonnaise.

I buy a ready meal.

No energy to cook.

I see a neighbour and move on quickly.

No breath for conversation.

In to the trolley, out of the trolley,

In to the bags, pay.

Do you have a rewards card?

No! Yes! Dont mind it!

In to the trolley, out to the car.

In to the car. Trolley back.

Walk to car unsupported.

Out of the car, into the house.

I slip the milk in the fridge

Leave the non-perishables in the shopping bags

On the kitchen floor.

In through your nose, deeply.

Out, out, out.

Gently and regularly

Until the heart-beat settles.

Ill sit awhile,

Recline the chair.

A cobweb on the curtain rail

Catches the breeze.

So much to be done.

So little energy.

Each task a new Everest.

I mourn for the time it was all so easy.

To mark World COPD Day on November 20, COPD Support Ireland is staging a roadshow at Wilton Shopping Centre on Tuesday, November 19, from 2.30pm to 4.30pm, offering free spirometry breathing tests.

This is a simple and painless breathing test where a person breathes into a device called a spirometer, which measures the amount of air a person can blow out of their lungs in one second, and the total amount of air a person can blow out, to see if there is an obstruction to breathing air out of the lungs.

The test will be performed by a respiratory physiologist, with a specialist healthcare professional also on hand to provide health information and advise people on next steps.

For details of roadshows, or to download or order a copy of the COPD & Me booklet, visit www.copd.ie
The winding grey smoke that used to be seen in the sky above Ummera Irish Smokehouse, located at Inchy Bridge just outside Timoleague, is no more.

The business - one of Irelands longest-running smokehouses - has closed after almost 50 years

I feel very sad, admits Anthony Creswell, who joined is dad Keiths business in 1984, nine years after Ummera was founded.

Others are sad too.

I have been getting lots of messages from my customers from around the world, with some expressing their sorrow that Ummera Smokehouse was closing and no longer trading, adds Anthony.

His family left the UK in the early 1960s - my sister and I were in our late teens, he says.

Was it a culture shock to come and live in the wilds of West Cork. We both enjoyed the wilds of West Cork, says Anthony.

Maybe he enjoyed it too much!

My dad said to me, if I didnt get a job soon he would put me in the army within a week!

That got Anthony moving.

A friend of my parents from Bantry was going to work in the wine business in Dublin, he says. He asked me if Id go to work with him. And I did. We went off on the train to Dublin and I was involved in the wine business in vineyards from Alsace to Australia.

We called our company Corkscrew Wine Company, says Anthony. I remember being in the middle of Australia, at Ayres Rock, and I had no corkscrew to open the bottle of fine wine!

The beginning

Meanwhile, back at the ranch in West Cork, Anthonys dad, Keith, a keen fisherman and chicken farmer, started smoking salmon.

He and his friends were catching lots of salmon on the local rivers, the Argideen, the Bandon, and the Blackwater. The group caught too much salmon to eat, says Anthony.

Dad came up with the idea of smoking the salmon. After much trial and error, he perfected methods which remain unchanged to this day.

Fate was to intervene in Anthonys wine business, when Finance Minister Charles Haughey doubled the duty on it, putting an end to his enterprise.

We were literally screwed, says Anthony, smiling at the pun. But he had an answer to his woes, thanks to his father.

Soon, I could see a greater potential in smoking salmon than selling wine!

I joined dad in the food smoking business in 1984. In 1988, Ummera Smoked Products Ltd. was created.

Smoking food has been in Irelands blood for centuries. The heat of smoke on fish and meat helps flavouring, tenderising, and preserving of the food. The natural flavour and texture, blended with careful curing smouldering over oak fires, ensures the enjoyment of the finest smoked fish and poultry.

Anthony says: In May, 1988, I took over the running of the company from my father, who died in 2000.

Ummera Smoked products Ltd has closed its doors.

Keith and Anthony were cut from the same cloth, both feisty and determined.

I kind of missed the arguing and the fighting! says Anthony.

When I took over the running of the company from dad, I transferred the smoking to a new custom-built smokehouse in October 2000.

The smokehouse was 1km upstream of its original location on the river Argideen.

Continuing with his father's those

Anthony took his fathers ethos with him.

Dad always concentrated on producing the best quality products, smoked fish, smoked chicken, smoked duck, smoked beef and bacon, as opposed to quantity, says Anthony.

I wanted to continue in his footsteps, with the confidence that the quality of our products was second to none. He succeeded in his quest to produce only the best.

Indeed, just last week, Anthony was honoured with the Outstanding Contribution to Food Production Award at the prestigious Good Food Ireland Awards 2024 at a high-profile ceremony at The K Club in Co. Kildare. It was the last of many such accolades.

In 2002, we won the Organic Trust symbol for sourcing, processing and distribution of Certified Organic Smoked Salmon, he said.

When we did our research, we became involved in processing of farmed fish. We found this to be a positive move.

Anthony progressed further.

In the autumn of 2004, modifications were made to the smokehouse to meet the demanding standards required by the Irish Government and the EU for export of meat and poultry products, says Anthony.

This was a good thing.

Anthony Creswell, of Ummera Smoked products Ltd at Inchybridge, Timoleague, Co. Cork

This enabled Ummera Smoked Chicken and Smoked Dry Cured Bacon to be exported throughout the EU in compliance with EU regulations.

Anthony was satisfied, and so were his loyal customers. Satisfied customers spreading the word all over the globe helped the business grow, says Anthony.

We built up a long-established record of supplying customers in many countries around the world.

Ummera was in a good place.

Our location in West Cork, with the vitality of fine quality food producers, helped us maintain our vibrancy and high level of interest, maintaining quality and continuing developing expertise.

Hopes someone may take over business

So why stop now?

None of our five children scattered around the world were interested in the business, says Anthony.

The festive season was looming too.

Christmas is our busiest time, of the year, says Anthony.

It is so busy; it is very challenging. Because we have private customers and customers all over the world, the last thing I wanted to do was make a mess of it.

So I decided to pull the plug. I am hoping somebody good and enthusiastic might take over the business. Id be open to that.

What is he open to now hes retired?

Anthony laughs.

Thats what worries me. I have no idea!

He does know that hell miss the people he worked with and their customers.

I loved the involvement with other people, says Anthony.

He still has a couple of jobs to do.

Theres a ton of organic sugar and sea salt to get rid of and some rape seed oil. Also, a lot of oak sawdust. After 40 years, theres a bit of packing to do and a bit of tidying up.

We finished up on a Monday, Anthony says. Monday was our last day.

No doubt, being in a most beautiful part of the world, Anthony will enjoy many more happy days.
Waiting for author Margherita Selicato to arrive in a Cork hotel to talk about her book, I imagine a precocious, cocky young one.

After all, this 19-year-old Italian, currently studying archaeology and history of art at UCC, started writing at the age of 13 and completed her historical fiction novel at just 18. It has just been published.

The author of From Ekaterinburg To Askat, dressed in an Edwardian-style high-necked cream-coloured blouse and a skirt she made herself in the fashion of the protagonists of her novel, is surprisingly low-key, a little serious, and speaks fluent English in an American accent. She wrote her debut book in Italian and translated it herself into English.

Keen to experience life abroad and mature a little, this Rome native had an Irish teacher in Italy who spoke highly of Irish universities.

Margherita was drawn to UCC because she liked the size of Cork city. She is very happy at the university, unlike her school experience.

Margherita was drawn to UCC because she liked the size of Cork city.

I changed schools at 12, right in the middle of my middle school cycle. My parents made the decision to move me to an international school, which is like an American school but is in Rome. Every nationality goes there.

My parents wanted me to go there because my sister had been and also because I was having issues with my classmates at my first school. It was time to move me a little early.

It was always the plan to go to the international school... it took me years to see that my parents made a great decision.

For a while as a young girl, Margherita wanted to be an archaeologist and is pursuing that line of study. Then she wanted to be a writer and promptly pursued that ambition, which she now describes as her passion.

An alternative narrative

Obsessed with the imperial Romanov tragic family story which saw all seven of them executed, Margherita wondered what if they survived after the Russian Revolution. Her novel is an alternative story of the siblings (four girls and one boy) who, surviving the murder attempt, set off on a fascinating journey; laughing, suffering, learning  and growing up along the way.

The premise of the tale is that when youre lonely or lost, friends (who happen to be siblings) can guide the way out of the darkness.

In writing the novel, Margherita says: I wanted an outlet for all the thoughts I had in my head. I was imagining the pretty dresses that the Romanov sisters wore. I read some historical extracts of their actual conversations and thought about how they might have carried on in a different context. What if they werent confined to the palace? Thats how the book was born. I remade the story in a way that made me happier.

Margherita read a lot of books about the family, who were surprisingly close for royal family standards of the time. The parents were a love match. People didnt want Nicholas to marry Alexandra but he loved her. Insanely, despite having four girls before they had a male heir, the parents didnt resent the daughters at all, so I was drawn to that aspect of their story.

There used to be a rumour that one of the daughters, Anastasia, survived.

It has been proven that all the bodies of the family were found. There were a lot of fake grown-up siblings after the execution so you had something like six Marias and ten Olgas.

Writing a sort of fantasy novel set against a historical backdrop was an enjoyable experience for Margherita.

I realised I could publish it. I wrote in my free periods during school. I would finish my homework and get on to the book straight away. It was my passion project for five years  and it still is.

Sequel

Margherita is obsessed with the Russian family and has started work on a sequel to her book.

There are a lot of parallels between me and the four sisters. I grew up very sheltered. Im grateful for having discovered the family for myself. It brought me closer to hobbies like reading. A thing I have in common with the sisters is crafting and sewing. I like traditional needlework such as embroidery.

Margherita Selicato says her book is suitable for teens and younger people.

At the International School, Margherita admits that she was singled out and described by some as a weirdo.

When I was 17, that was still going on. It was very immature of the high-schoolers. But thankfully, I had a great support group at school. And as soon as I graduated, I was able to shrug it off as I was never going to see those people again. It doesnt matter what they think. It was less constant than at the Italian school but it was still there. So I was kind of guarded about working on the book.

Asked if she had a normal adolescence, Margherita thinks not.

She hated discos, finding them too loud and crowded. I wasnt comfortable in that space.

But Margherita made good friends at school. My book is about friendship in a family and with other people. Friends and family are my number one priorities. I think its the most important thing you can have in your life.

Her book is self-published with funding from her lawyer and university professor father. She surprised a lot of people, including her parents, when she announced she had written it.

Margherita doesnt mind the solitary nature of writing. Its what I do to recharge because Im more of an extrovert. Im with people most of the day. I write before bed.

She has learned that no matter how hard life is, theres always a chance youre going to pull through. Everyone in their teen years has very bad moments. You feel everything so deeply when youre that young.

And keeping her audience in mind, Margherita says the book is suitable for teens and younger people. Its themes include the dehumanisation of royalty. My attitude to the Romanov family is that I support them, especially the children. But Im not for the system. People died because of it.

For some, the symbols of royalty are an escape. I think many aspects of it are unnecessary. It wasnt a good system. Thats why it was taken down, says this young writer, who pursues her interests with a zeal that should serve her well.
The stress and anxiety experienced by library workers in Cork and across the country as a result of protests staged by far-right agitators has been highlighted in a new report.

Several librarians across the country were anonymously interviewed for the report by University College Dublin, with one recalling when someone came in asking for the removal of books they deemed offensive.

She leaned in, looked at me very closely, and said: 'Yeah, I can tell you're the sort that likes to groom kids'.

This was a common theme, with one librarian saying: It was quite intimidating they would come in in groups, and they'd immediately kind of come up and just be kind of in your face, and they'd be recording.

And they would be accusing library staff of being paedophiles.

For about three or four days afterwards it was: was that person gonna come back?" another librarian said, while a third added: It's such a confrontational situation there is somebody looking you straight in the face and calling you a child abuser.

People who lived in the same area as they worked were very wary of being outside even during the day and were afraid of walking to their cars on dark evenings.

The report also stated that the first protest by anti-LGBTQ+ protestors to be reported in mainstream media and disseminated across social media occurred in Cork City Library.

Several others followed across Ireland, each following a similar formula: agitators would record the disruption in public libraries on their phones and share it on social media, encouraging parents to report books to the gardai.

One of the most egregious escalations of the agitation and disruption also occurred in Cork City Library, the report said.

Crowds gathered to express that there are only two genders, male and female, this disruption forced the library to close its doors.

Cork city became the site of rolling protests, and the incident led to the formation of counter-protests in support of librarians and a march through Cork city, demanding protection for library workers.

Forsa, the trade union representing library workers, has called for the law to be changed allowing library management to bar - via a court injunction - people from entering a library branch if they repeatedly engage in abuse and confrontational behaviour.

Comprehensive safety measures had to be put in place in libraries, with many installing panic buttons at the desk, fostering connections with local gardai and establishing a buddy system, particularly in rural libraries where someone might be working alone.

Instructions were given around how to interact with agitators if they came into the library, with one worker saying they were told: You need to be silent. You cant engage with these people. Theyre not going to listen to what you say and thats really difficult.

However, the report explained: "Being silent while facing harassment requires considerable restraint and emotional resilience, particularly when accusations are personal and inflammatory it can also amplify feelings of frustration, powerlessness, and vulnerability.

One librarian spoken to also added why it was important not to run away, saying: Im not leaving the people. If theres children in the library, Im not leaving them alone in the library.

People Before Profit-Solidarity TD for Cork North Central Mick Barry said: The main thing that comes across in this report is the deep impact being targeted for abuse by far right agitators had on librarians' mental state and wellbeing.

It tells the story of several librarians who feared being physically attacked, who were afraid to walk to their cars after work.

Society owes a debt of gratitude to our librarians who kept our libraries open in the face of such a campaign of intimidation and terror.

Society should also note that far right groups are currently trying to gain representation in our national parliament and use the ballot box to ensure that this simply does not happen.
The record breaking amount of prisoners in Cork prison on Friday poses clear risks to both prisoners and staff, the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) have said.

The prison is at 120% capacity, with 355 in custody and only 296 beds, and an additional 68 out on temporary release.

A Cork prison officer said he expects the numbers to continue to rise due to the circuit court in full swing at this time of year".

There are so many cases to be heard that there is a huge backlog. They are close to 60 prisoners sleeping on the floor at the moment.

The 59 prisoners without beds in Cork are in addition to the 501 without beds in the rest of Ireland.

A spokesperson for the prison said: The Irish Prison Service has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time.

Where the number of people in custody exceeds the maximum capacity in any prison, the Irish Prison Service makes every effort to deal with this through a combination of inter-prison transfers and appropriate use of structured Temporary Release, they said, adding that these are subject to conditions and anyone who breaches them will be returned to prison immediately.

The spokesperson added that the Government has made capital funding available to provide new accommodation for over 1,100 prisoners between 2024 and 2030.

No new beds for Cork have been announced, but re-opening the old Cork prison, which closed in 2016, is currently being considered following a feasibility study.

Sinn Fein Cork North Central TD Thomas Gould said: These figures show the governments failure to address issues with prison capacity in this state. Theyre telling us they have a plan to expand four prison sites but in reality, that wont happen until 2027.

These statistics cannot be used by Fine Gael and Fianna Fail to open a second prison in the Glen. The solution to this is not to put a residential area under more strain.

70% of people in prison will spend 4.5 months or less there. This really needs to be looked at  prisons should be for people engaged in serious criminality and damaging behaviour.

There are also many people in prison right now who, if they had access to addiction services would not be there and would instead be contributing to their community.

'UNNACEPTABLE'

IPRT Executive Director Saoirse Brady said: The current level of overcrowding is unacceptable and poses clear risks to both people living in custody and staff. Noone should have to sleep on a mattress on the floor of a prison cell.

Reducing the number of people going to prison on short sentences and providing more alternatives to prison would not only be more cost-effective but would have longer-lasting positive results in reducing crime.

Ms Brady added: The current talk of building more prison spaces will do nothing to alleviate todays crisis as those are years in the making.

Similarly, current discussions around reopening Cork prison are unhelpful as the prison is not fit-for-purpose and was closed almost a decade ago because it had no in-cell sanitation. We have finally gotten to a stage that slopping out is all but eliminated, we cant go back.

She shared that a recent RED C poll commissioned by IPRT found positive appetite for change, with four in five people believing it's important to focus on alternatives to prison for people who commit non-violent offences.

Only one out of four believes prison is effective at reducing non-violent crime and one in two polled thought that people left prison worse than when they entered.

Ms Brady concluded: IPRT wants to see the incoming government shift its thinking, make politically brave decisions and invest in meaningful solutions that will result in both a more effective and humane penal system as well as ending cycles of disadvantage and harm faced by so many in the criminal justice system.
Cork University Hospital (CUH) housekeeping staff have raised concerns about proposals to increase pay for certain staff members while others have been forgotten about.

It comes following the outcome of a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) conciliation conference held on November 12 pertaining to the pursuance of the HSE Band 3 pay scales for housekeeping staff.

Staff received an email at 8.30pm last Wednesday from union body Siptu in which they were informed of the decision of hospital management that they cannot regrade all housekeeping members, on the basis that not all members are carrying out duties which award higher pay rates.

Management said that it accepts that auxiliary staff do perform catering duties to a large extent and that it is accepted that catering duties form the majority of an auxiliary staff members working shift/roster; however, it did not accept that staff on floors have catering duties to the same extent, and advised that it does not have the authority to sanction an upgrade for all housekeeping members in the hospital.

Management proposed to upgrade auxiliary staff to the Band 3 pay scales on the basis that their primary duties are of a catering nature. Management also proposed that it would backdate the payment to January 15, 2021.

Management was not agreeable to upgrade floor staff and did not accept that Band 3 duties are the primary duties of staff in this cohort.

Members of floor staff staged a sit-in on Thursday morning that lasted three hours before a meeting was held with Siptu representatives in which staff were told to return to work.

Staff have now said they will strike if management does not agree to pay both auxiliary and floor staff equally.

Speaking to The Echo, housekeeping staff raised their concerns about the decision, describing it as disheartening and degrading.

Floor staff members at the hospital said that auxiliary and floor staff work hand-in-hand in getting their duties done while on shift, and said floor staff hold a number of responsibilities including handing out food to patients, fumigating rooms and sanitising all equipment, changing bins, cleaning bathrooms, and assisting with the additional needs of patients during busy periods on the wards.

Were short over 30 members of staff and there are staff working 50 to 60 hours a week, who are like the dead walking, said a staff member.

If you take out the cleaner, straight away the place goes into chaos. It doesnt operate without us.

Were so short-staffed that they are taking staff from one place to another place who are covering about three peoples jobs so there is nothing being done fully and properly, and staff are very disheartened about it.

Staff have since been told by Siptu that a vote on whether or not to accept the pay increase and backpay for auxiliary staff only will be held within the next three weeks.

A spokesperson for Siptu said that the union and CUH/HSE management attended a WRC conciliation conference last week in an effort to resolve the issue satisfactorily for its members.

No agreement or negotiated settlement has been reached between the parties.

A statement by CUH read: Cork University Hospital can confirm that some members of the housekeeping staff held a protest at the hospital this morning [Thursday].

However, after meeting with their union representative, all the staff involved returned to work.
The Lifeboat Inn in Courtmacsherry has been named the Pub of the Year at the 2024 Good Food Ireland Awards.

The gastropub, which is owned by Martin Buckley and David OHalloran, was described by the judges as a pub that represents the very best of Irish food and culture, one that takes the Irish pub experience to a whole different level of excellence.

The Lifeboat Inn in Courtmacsherry has been named the Pub of the Year at the 2024 Good Food Ireland Awards. Picture: Larry Cummins

The well-known West Cork foodie spot received a number of mystery visits and assessments from Good Food Ireland inspectors and was shortlisted by an independent panel of Irish and international industry leaders.

The judges praised The Lifeboat Inn for its inclusion of local Irish produce, with consideration for traditional or speciality Irish dishes, supplemented by home-baked bread, cakes and desserts.

Taking to social media, the owners Mr Buckley and Mr OHalloran said they were over the moon with the recognition.

A huge thank you to all our suppliers, staff and customers over the years who play a vital part in making The Lifeboat Inn what it is.
Brooklodge National School recently marked a significant milestone, celebrating 150 years of education.

We celebrated 150 years of education in Brooklodge, across four different sites  our current site, which we moved to in 1986; before then, we were in whats currently the playschool, from 1946; before that, one of the houses nearby, and prior to that, up Brook Hill a little, principal Joe Nolan told The Echo.

We have no specific dates and very little detail but the first record of a school in Brooklodge was 1874.

Mr Nolan described the school celebration as a great day.

We were joined by past staff members, parents and grandparents, members of the community  a number of families had three generations whod attended the school, which was lovely.

He thanked the parents association who helped to organise and run the event, which saw about 80 guests attend.

Principal Joe Nolan (right) with past pupils now staff members from left, Ellie Desmond, Chris McDermott, Ciara Dennehy, Evelyn Holland, Tyrone Power, Jess Desmond and Ciara Norris at Brooklodge NS at the 150th celebrations at the school. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

Past staff attended the school for the whole day, where they enjoyed guided tours from the student council who took them around showing new parts of the school and everything that had changed, and calling into the classrooms to meet current students.

Past staff member Mairin Maclernon planted an oak tree, a symbol of strength and unity, witnessed by the junior infants to first class pupils, said Mr Nolan.

Parents and members of the community attended a meet and greet at the end of the day, sharing stories of the schools past, and Mr Nolan made a speech, alongside former principal Eoghan OConnor, chairman Frank Linehan, and Mark ODonoghue, a member of the Board of Management.

Its a big honour to be a part of a school with such a long and storied history. At the end of the day, a school is a community of people coming together to do whats best for the children, said Mr Nolan.

As principal, youre only as good as the staff and the families around you, and its great to work somewhere with such a long tradition of education.

Read More All About Cork: Phil honoured for her work with people in Douglas

Students exhibition at library

An exhibition at Mayfield Library by 14-year-old Ewan Stockley, a student at Mayfield Community School, is proving popular with visitors.

The display is titled Logo Plaza and includes his favourites from television channels and computer games and his favourite drink.

Perhaps a budding career in graphic design beckons, said librarian Richard Forrest. The display is proving popular with visiting school classes, and as a token of reciprocation the library presented Ewan with a copy of Julius Wiedemanns genre classic Logo Design.

A display by student Ewan Stockley is proving popular with visitors to Mayfield Library.

Coming up at the library is chair yoga for adults on November 27; imagination station for children on November 30; One Book, One Community for schools on December 4; a Christmas music box for adults on December 18, and Christmas storytime and a Santa visit on December 20.

Lighting issue in Corrib Lawn

An electrical fault in Corrib Lawn in Mayfield is causing issues with lighting in the area, with a local TD assuring that he has raised the problem with the council.

Ive reported it to the council numerous times and they have come up and fixed it but these fixes are only temporary, said Cork North Central TD Thomas Gould.

They need to get an engineer up and undertake the necessary works as the dark evenings are proving very worrying for residents.

One resident today told me that she dreads 5pm as the estate is often plunged into total darkness. Ive raised this with the council again."

Scoil na nOg open day

Scoil na nOg in Glanmire village is to host an open day next week for parents of potential students.

Attendees will get a glimpse into life at Scoil na nOg, meeting pupils and teachers as well as getting to see the classrooms and grounds and learning about what the school has to offer in academics, arts, sports, and extracurricular activities. The open day will be held on Thursday, November 28, from 3pm to 5pm at Scoil na nOg, Glanmire village, T45RW94.

Road safety measures

Cork City Council has voted to agree to carry out road safety improvement measures at St Lukes National School, Mahonys Avenue, Montenotte as part of the Safe Routes to School programme.

The work includes decommissioning of the existing left slip lane from Glanmire Rd Middle to Summerhill North by use of planters/pencil bollards, the reallocation of existing on-street parking to the left side of the carriageway on Mahonys Avenue, and the introduction of a one-way traffic system.

It will also include new signage, a raised table pelican crossing on Summerhill North, raised table uncontrolled crossing at Mahonys Avenue North, widening of the existing footpath from the front of the school, and a raised table zebra crossing on Wellington Rd.

Local councillors Joe Kavanagh, Oliver Moran, and John Maher proposed reviewing the changes in a few months.

Have Mayfield news to share? Contact amy.campbell@theecho.ie
A 17-year sentence was imposed today on a 45-year-old man for a cold, calculated campaign of sexual abuse and rape carried out over a period of 15 years on his ex-wife and two of his daughters.

Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring imposed the sentence at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork.

He coldly engaged in a campaign of rape and sexual assaults on his wife and daughters from 2004 to 2019 during which he threatened and manipulated his wife and daughters and it had devastating effects on his family, Ms Justice Ring said.

The Director of Public Prosecutions expressed the opinion that it was a case that came within the 10- to 15-year sentencing category.

Ms Justice Ring disagreed and said it was more serious. She imposed a sentence of 18-and-a-half years with the last 18 months suspended.

The accused pleaded guilty to counts of raping and sexually assaulting his wife and the two children, the charges coming from indictments with 185 counts.

One of the victims said the abuse and rapes happened on a daily basis for years.

These three people endured unspeakable behaviour by their husband and father turning the family home into a place for him to carry out his deviant acts when they were trapped. None of these women bears any blame. All of that rests on the shoulders of [the defendant], Ms Justice Ring said.

Identification of the parties is prohibited. The judge noted that one of the victims was further distressed by the fact that at a time when the defendant denied what he had done he disclosed in the local community what their complaints were, betraying their right to anonymity.

In a case investigated by Detective Sergeant Elaine Scannell and Detective Garda Brian Morris, the accused man was interviewed on five occasions and always denied all of the allegations against him. At one stage he claimed that he might have gone into his daughters bedroom when sleep-walking.

It was not until the cases were to be heard by judge and jury that the accused pleaded guilty to the charges against him.

Ms Justice Ring noted from defence submissions and background reports that he expressed regret and guilt but had a tendency to avoid and diminish his own responsibility.

Ms Justice Ring said that as well as sexual assaults, vaginal and oral rape with the penis, the use of an object to rape his wife and daughters made the offences worse and more degrading for the injured parties. Vibrators were used by the accused.

One of his daughters presented at her local Garda station exactly five years ago in November 2019 and first made the complaint that she was being raped and abused by her father. Her mother came forward with similar complaints in respect of herself five months later in April 2020. And by November 2022 a second daughter reported the sex crimes her father carried out on her.

The victims were all present for the sentencing hearing. The judge said that if they would find it too upsetting to hear the summaries of the evidence which the judge was obliged to give in the sentencing they could leave the court for that portion. Det Sgt Scannell said all of them opted to remain in court throughout.

One girl was abused from the age of nine to 16, beginning with sexual abuse and increasing to rapes. On one occasion she woke to find her father raping her. This happened again at a time when she was preparing for her Junior Cert. After her 16th birthday, the abuse escalated whereby her father began to rape her with a vibrator and did this as many as 25 times.

The defendants ex-wife said that he raped her even before they were married and it continued throughout their married life until she left the family home. Even when she was seriously ill the rapes continued. She began to notice that the more she struggled the more excited he seemed so she struggled less.

On the first occasion when he raped her in a hotel room before they were married and when they were attending a wedding, he threatened afterwards to kill himself so she did not make a complaint. She was also raped with vibrators. Investigating gardai found that he had a collection of these items in the family home.

Threats of what he would do if she complained continued to be a feature of their marriage and on one occasion he left the house in a car with one of the children and there was a car crash, confirming his ex-wifes fears about his possible reaction to her complaining of being raped.

The defendants second daughter recalled incidents where she woke to find her father naked in the bed with her and he had sexual intercourse with her.

One daughter said in her victim impact statement that the abuse humiliated her and she felt she had lost control of her body. After being raped or sexually assaulted, she showered and scrubbed herself so hard she was nearly bleeding.

His ex-wife reflected on the fact that she had been in a coercive, controlling relationship where he took away her confidence and self-worth.

She blames herself for not seeing what was happening to her daughters in the home, Ms Justice Ring said but added: She did nothing wrong. The only person who bears responsibility is [the defendant].

One of his daughters said she found safety  not at home but in the quiet room in her school when the abuse was happening. Another thing that made the abuse worse was that he would take away their pets  which were a great source of comfort at the most difficult times. She finds comfort in knowing that he is in custody and she no longer has to worry about seeing him in the locality. She feels angry about what he did to her at a very young age.

Ms Justice Ring expressed the hope that this young person  and her sister and mother  would begin to layer good experiences and memories over the horrors of her childhood and hopefully go on to lead a happy life and she wished all of them well.

The judge concluded by saying that there was no indication of any understanding by the defendant of the offences he carried out or the damage he caused and that hopefully he would reflect on this in jail over the next 17 years.

- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services.
A 43-year old man wearing a balaclava and carrying an axe smashed every door and window in the home of a woman in Fermoy as he threatened to kill her.

Last week at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, Jason OCallaghan, of 4 Old Lachnalooha, Mallow, County Cork, was sentenced to four years imprisonment, with the last year suspended.

In the case, investigated by Detective Garda Dave Barry, it was mentioned by Judge Helen Boyle that the background appeared to have had something to do with a dispute over a dog.

Originally the case was to have been the subject of a trial in June.

But as the jury was about to be sworn in, Brendan Kelly, barrister, asked to have the accused arraigned on a total of five charges.

When this was done, Jason OCallaghan pleaded guilty to the charges before Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Mr OCallaghan admitted causing criminal damage to the front door and three windows of a house at Baile Ard, Fermoy, County Cork, on January 16, 2023.

He also admitted to making a threat to kill or cause serious injury to a woman living at that house.

Additionally, he admitted causing criminal damage to a Garda patrol car and possession of a weapon, namely an axe, on the same date.

Finally, he pleaded guilty to resisting Garda Martin Murphy at Emmett St, Fermoy, on the same date.

Judge Boyle said it caused great concern to the householder to have such damage caused to her home by a man who also shouted at her: I am coming back later, I am going to burn down your house.

Det Garda Barry said that within a very short time of the reported incident, gardai stopped the accused in a car close to the scene and he was still in possession of the axe and balaclava.

A total of 2,400 worth of damage was done to the womans house in Fermoy.

Jason OCallaghan had convictions for assault causing harm, assault, arson, hijacking, and possession of a knife.
Tanaiste and Defence Minister Micheal Martin has led tributes to Fr Des Campion, who served as chaplain to the Naval Service for almost four decades.

Fr Campion, who acted as Navy chaplain from 1988 to 2024, working from the naval base in Haulbowline, passed away on Saturday.

Mr Martin offered his sympathies to Fr Campions family and to all who had known him.

I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Fr Des Campion, who for 36 years was a source of great compassion, counsel and support for all who served in the Irish Naval Service, Mr Martin said.

As Navy chaplain, Fr Campion combined a deep faith with an infectious sense of humour, and a strong commitment to the men and women he served with.

I very much enjoyed meeting Fr Campion, and he will be sorely missed.

The Bishop of Cork and Ross, Dr Fintan Gavin, said he extended his sympathy to Fr Campions family, friends, the Salesian order, and his colleagues in Hawlbowline.

The Diocese of Cork and Ross has been blessed by Fr Dess ministry and his life has touched many individuals and families with whom he has celebrated milestone moments in life, Bishop Gavin said.

We pray that he may now be in the loving presence of the Lord whom he served as a priest.

In a statement, the Naval Service said Fr Campion was a guiding light and source of comfort to all who served.

His unwavering faith, compassion, support and belief in us enriched our lives and strengthened our families and our community. He will be deeply missed by the previous and current generation of the Naval family.

Fair winds and following seas Fr Des. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam.

Formerly of Brendan Road, Drimnagh, in Dublin, Fr Campion is survived by his siblings Declan, Bernard, Miriam and predeceased by his brother Raymond.

He will lie in rest in the Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea, Naval Base, Haulbowline, on Tuesday, November 19, from 3pm until celebration of Vespers at 7pm.

Concelebrated Requiem Mass will be held at 11am on Wednesday, November 20.

He will then rest at the Brian McElroy Funeral Home, Crumlin Village, in Dublin, on Thursday, November 21, from 5pm to 7pm.

Concelebrated Requiem Mass at 11.30am on Friday, November 22, in the Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Mourne Road, in Drimnagh, followed by burial in Palmerstown Cemetery.
Justice Minister Helen McEntee has pledged that Fine Gael will establish a dedicated task force to revitalise Cork city centre within its first 100 days of returning to office.

Ms McEntee was speaking to reporters while being accompanied by Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohue and local Fine Gael general election candidates on a walkabout in the English Market today.

During the walkabout, she and Mr Donohue spoke with Sheila Fitzpatrick at the Alternative Bread Company. Ive been working here for 30 years and now Im frightened to walk back to my car at seven oclock in the evening, she told The Echo afterwards. She also attributed the anxiety she felt to the lack of people living in the city centre and its general lack of cleanliness.

The Justice Minister said that she was in favour of more prison places and more gardai being deployed around the country but pointed out that this would only address part of the issues raised with her during the walkabout.

Its not just about more gardai, its about our city centres, she said, responding to a query from The Echo.

Our Taoiseach instigated a task force for Dublin earlier on this year, they looked at the entirety of the city and what we need to make sure that it is as vibrant and as thriving as it can be.

"Actually, of the 10 significant recommendations, one of those was more gardai, and thats really important, but the remaining nine were about infrastructure, the built environment, its about dereliction, its about the type of services in our city centres, its about whos living in our city centres and, unfortunately, post covid, we have less people living in our city centres  so what we says is something similar for Cork here.

Cork is a vibrant, thriving city that faces its own unique challenges and opportunities.

The first step in the creation of the taskforce will be bringing together stakeholders from across national and local government, businesses, and civic and cultural organisations. This expert group will consider the current economic and social environment across Cork city, identify the needs and ultimately present recommendations for the rejuvenation of the city.

Crucially, Fine Gael in Government will ensure that Cork has the investment needed to implement the taskforces recommendations. Ms McEntee also addressed concerns raised about overcrowding at Cork Prison which, on Friday night, was holding a record number of inmates, at 360, despite only having a capacity for 296.

Thats why I have started the largest ever expansion in recent years of our prison service  we have plans and funding for 1,100 new prison places, the first 150 of which are to come on stream this year, thats right across the country, she said.

Fine Gael is proposing in our manifesto to increase that to 1,500, as well as that were proposing to develop a completely new prison on the Thornton Hall site. Her colleague, Paschal Donohue, said the party in Government would commit to the construction of Cork Commuter Rail Programme along with a renewed pledge to invest in the Cork to Limerick motorway.

Cork Airport opens up the county and surrounding areas to tourism from across Europe, he said. To ensure Cork Airport continues to go from strength to strength, Fine Gael will conduct an urgent review to maximise the use of regional airports.

During the walkabout the two ministers and their entourage of Cork South and North Central candidates met with other stall owners including Jack Mulcahy at the Chicken Inn who spoke of the number of restaurants to go out of business during the year due to the 13.5% Vat rate.
Various general election stories dominate Irish front pages on Monday morning, from Fine Gael's manifesto, to Gerry Hutch's bid for thr Dail.

The Irish Times lead with a story about Fine Gael's election promises being branded a "Charlie McCreevy and Brian Cowen tribute act" as political opponents accuse them of trying to buy the election. It also features a story about Ukraine being cleared to fire long-range US missiles at Russia and a story about gardai urging vigilance over a rise in counterfeit currency.

The Irish Examiner leads with a story saying that dealers give free cocaine to young cannabis users to get them hooked, alongside a story saying the cost of taxis of pupils has doubled in the last four years, and an election story about criticisms of parts of Fine Gael's manifesto.

The Echo leads with a story saying that Cork Prison is at 120 per cent capacity, and a story saying that Thomas Gould, Sinn Fein general election candidate for Cork North Central, had surgery five weeks ago.

The Irish Independent lead with a story about Simon Harris being under fire for standing by a general election candidate who was ordered by the High Court to pay 39,000 to a man who took civil action against him for an assault that took place outside a pub.

The Irish Daily Mail lead with a story saying that Fine Gael plan to introduce stricter immigration rules.

The Irish Daily Mirror, Irish Daily Star, and The Herald all lead with various stories about Gerry Hutch's general election campaign.

British newspapers

The search for a missing husband after a womans body was found in a car boot and politics make the headlines on Mondays newspaper front pages.

The UK Daily Mirror splashes on the murder of Harshita Brella with her husband Pankaj Lamba, who has been named by police as the prime suspect, thought to have fled abroad.

Ms Brella had taken out a Domestic Violence Protection Order at Northampton Magistrates Court two months before her death, according to The UK Independent which looks at the case through a domestic violence lens.

Windsor Castle has fallen victim to robbers, reports The Sun, with tractors and farming equipment taken from the royal estate by masked men.

Looking to politics, the Daily Express runs with a headline on food security, pointing the finger at Labours war on farmers as a potential threat.

Daily Express: LABOUR WAR ON FARMERS IS THREAT TO FOOD SECURITY' #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/QfdDClOCnv  George Mann (@sgfmann) November 17, 2024

The UK Times reports that Sir Keir Starmer has his eyes set on UK-China relations with the Prime Minister keen to build new rapport with the Asian superpower.

The Times: Starmer wants to build new rapport with China #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/r1QP5LjlQQ  George Mann (@sgfmann) November 17, 2024

The i writes about a warning from the British Chambers of Commerce to Keir Starmer, which calls for as much alignment as possible with the European Union ahead of a move in Parliament to make the adoption of Brussels regulations the default position for the UK.

i: Move as close as possible to EU in Brexit reset, business bosses urge Starmer #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/HbbCSzudEx  George Mann (@sgfmann) November 17, 2024

The Financial Times and The Daily Telegraph report on the conflict between the US, Ukraine, and the Kremlin, with US President Joe Biden giving the green light for Ukraine to strike against Russia with American missiles.

Financial Times: Biden allows Ukraine to hit Russia

with American long-range missiles #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/lCmHmW0YMW  George Mann (@sgfmann) November 17, 2024

The Daily Telegraph: Biden gives green light for strikes

in Russia #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/FvosLcED0m  George Mann (@sgfmann) November 17, 2024

The Guardian reports that Thames Water has 23 billion in assets which are in need of urgent repair, leaving the water supply for customers on a knife edge.

The Guardian: Thames Water repairs crisis

leaves supply on knife-edge #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/NLyt4OOuIz  George Mann (@sgfmann) November 17, 2024

The Metro reports that toilets are flushing directly into river systems because of plumbing left unchecked for years.

Lastly, the UK Daily Star splashes on the risk of yeti attacks in the Im a Celebrity jungle camp.
At least one was physically cut following US warnings of an increased risk of Russian sabotage.

Two undersea communications cables in the Baltic Sea have been knocked offline, and at least one appears to have been physically cut. CNN received confirmation from a local telecom company that a cable between Lithuania and Sweden was cut on Sunday morning. A second cable, about 60 to 65 miles from the first, routes communications between Finland and Germany. The cause of that outage has yet to be determined, but officials suspect intentional damage.

The outages follow a September warning from the US about an increased risk of Russian sabotage of undersea cables. That came after a joint investigation from public broadcasters from Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland that Russia had deployed a fleet of spy ships in Nordic waters. They were reportedly part of a program designed to sabotage the cables (and wind farms).

This doesnt leave the European nations entirely without online communications, as data is typically routed through multiple cables to avoid overreliance on a single one.

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Cinia, the state-controlled Finnish company that oversees the second cable, said it wasnt yet determined what caused the outage since they havent yet physically inspected it. However, the sudden outage reportedly suggests it, too, was cut by an outside force.

The foreign ministers of Finland and Germany released a joint statement on Monday. We are deeply concerned about the severed undersea cable connecting Finland and Germany in the Baltic Sea, they wrote. The fact that such an incident immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage speaks volumes about the volatility of our times. A thorough investigation is underway. Our European security is not only under threat from Russias war of aggression against Ukraine, but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors. Safeguarding our shared critical infrastructure is vital to our security and the resilience of our societies.

The Lithuania-Sweden cable, which handles about a third of Lithuanias internet capacity, is expected to be repaired over the next few weeks, and weather could determine the precise timing.
MBABANE  Zakhona Sibandze, the woman who gained popularity for making submissions about sex at the Sibaya, hinted to some community members that she was about to commit suicide.

Sibandze, a teacher at Matsapha Government Primary School, ingested a poisonous pill on Friday and succumbed to poison. Her passing was confirmed by a relative yesterday.Sibandze, from Velebantfu in the Shiselweni Region, went to a local general dealer and found people at a shop. The relative revealed that Sibandze told the people she found at the shop that they were seeing her for the last time. This was after she had already ingested the poisonous pill.The relative revealed that Sibandze bought the pill at an agriculture shop, little did they know that she intended to end her life.

The relative said Sibandze arrived at home on Friday and found that her grandmother who resides at the homestead, was not there. She proceeded to the agriculture shop and bought the pills. Then she went to a local shop and told the people that they were seeing her for the last time and this was after she had ingested the pill. She then vomited and the people could tell that she had ingested a poisonous pill, judging by its smell, she said.The energetic Sibandze created hype at the last Sibaya late last year when making her submissions, shouting seyisukile Wena Phakathi, giving the impression that what she was about to present deserved everyones attention.

However, she started telling the audience that her mother, who was unmarried, abstained from sex and she didnt know what her reasons were.Astonished, the crowd started murmuring, wondering what that had to do with the topic of economic sustainability and fighting corruption, which the people had been requested to dwell on and share ideas around.While still mesmerised by the submission, Sibandze continued to reveal that her father also refrained from sexual activity. Before she concluded the sentence on it, the crowd was up on its feet calling for her removal from the podium.

Take that woman off the stage, she is busy telling us about sex, something we have no business with. Akakhweshe, luhlanya lolu, ingenaphi i-sex lana, shouted the crowd.Puzzled by the crowds reaction, Sibandze was seen leaning towards the programme director, Sifiso Mashampu Khumalo, as if enquiring what the crowd was furious about. For at least 60 seconds, the crowd was up in arms ordering her removal from the stage.It was after a brief moment of fury from the crowd that Sibandze eventually gave up the microphone and went off the stage, evidently disappointed judging from her facial expression.Her disappointment was also magnified by her decision to actually leave the cattle byre a few moments after leaving the stage, as she was seen negotiating her way out and leaving through the Sibaya main gate.
Back in January at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), LG unveiled a 27-inch 480Hz OLED panel with some incredible specs, but didn't say when or even if it would build a monitor around it. Now, the company has announced the UltraGear GX7 (27GX790A), a 27-inch QHD (2,560 x 1,440) OLED gaming monitor with a 480Hz refresh rate and a .03-millisecond response time  the fastest of any QHD OLED monitor, LG claims.

The new display supports both NVIDIA's G-Sync and AMD's FreeSync technology to reduce screen tearing and flickering. It received VESA's DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification, meaning it's decently bright, supports a wide color gamut (DCI-P3 98.5 percent) and produces deep blacks. It also comes with an anti-glare and low reflection coating.

The UltraGear GX7 is equipped with a headphone jack and both HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.1 inputs. It should be noted that neither of those display technologies natively support 480Hz refresh rates at 1440p resolutions, so LG's new display will likely use DSC (display stream compression) technology that allows such a high refresh rate in conjunction with modern NVIDIA and AMD GPUs. Finally, it's perched on sleek, height-adjustable stand with 15 degrees of tilt and 30 degrees of swivel.

LG's new display isn't cheap at $1,000, but it does undercut rival Sony's InZone M10S (also a 1440p 480Hz OLED display) by $100. However, Sony's monitor has a few extra pro gaming features, including one that draws an outline around enemies and another that simulates older LCD monitors for players who prefer that. The UltraGear GX7 is live on LG's site, but there's no pre-order button or shipping date yet.

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Fiona Shaw, who portrayed Harry Potter's cantankerous Aunt Petunia in the film series, isn't fully on board with HBO's upcoming Harry Potter TV adaptation.

In an interview with PEOPLE magazine, Shaw was seemingly taken aback by the news, remarking "How dare you!" when asked her thoughts on the series.

Reflecting further, Shaw acknowledged that it's not uncommon for there to be various adaptations of beloved classics. "I mean, can stories be retold? They must be retold over time," she said. "It seems to me no time [has passed] since we told it, but maybe it's [for] a whole new generation."

The 66-year-old also offered a more positive note, saying she wishes the cast of the series "well."

Read More: LOOK: 'Harry Potter's' Severus Snape As A Sexy 'Daddy' Goes Viral On TikTok

Shaw isn't the only Harry Potter alum to have shared their thoughts on the upcoming iteration of J.K. Rowling's novels. Last year, Daniel Radcliffe was asked by ComicBook.com if he'd consider making an appearance in the HBO show. He said, "My understanding is that they're trying to very much start fresh and I'm sure whoever is making them will want to make their own mark on it and probably not want to have to figure out how to get old Harry to cameo in this somewhere."

The actor added that while he is "not seeking [the cameo] out in any way," he does wish the cast and crew "all the luck in the world" and is "very excited to have that torch passed."

Read More: Daniel Radcliffe Pays Tribute to His Late 'Harry Potter' Co-Star Maggie Smith

The TV show, which is expected to premiere in 2026, tapped Succession consulting producer Francesca Gardiner as its showrunner. In September, a casting call was launched in the UK and Ireland to find children between the ages of 9 and 11 to play Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and the titular character. It appears that filming will begin in the spring, as the casting call mentions that the children must be between that age range in April 2025 to be considered.

Though some fans have raised concerns about HBO's decision to move forward with the series given Rowling's transphobic comments on social media, the network's CEO Casey Bloys recently confirmed at a press event that the author has been "fairly involved" in the making of the show. "She was very involved in the process of selecting the writer and director, and I imagine she'll have opinions on casting," he added. "It hasn't affected the casting or hiring of writers and production staff. So we haven't felt an impact from that."
Sean "Diddy" Combs is under the microscope once again thanks to graphic text messages from his ex-girlfriend Cassie, which reveal what happened after she claimed he assaulted her in 2016.

They also followed the release of security footage showing Diddy chasing Cassie down a hotel hallway and allegedly hitting her.

The details, as reported by AllHipHop, are all in there, starting with Cassie's account of her injuries from the night at the InterContinental Hotel in L.A. "I have a black eye and fat lip. You are sick for thinking it's OK to do what you've done...I still have crazy bruising."

Other messages describe the horrors of the event and say that Diddy pulled Cassie down the hallway by her hair and punched her in the face three times.

In the shocking footage captured on hotel security cameras, Diddy could be seen grabbing Cassie around the neck before throwing her to the floor and kicking at her.

In her texts, she said: "When you get f##### up the wrong way, you always want to show me that you have the power and you knock me around. I'm not a rag doll. I'm someone's child."

Appearing in the lawsuit is Cassie, who, in 2023, under the Adult Survivors Act, sued brutal Diddy for years of physical and sexual abuse. The suit was settled in under 24 hours, but the terms are confidential.

Diddy was denied these allegations at first but later apologized via video for his actions, saying his behavior was "inexcusable," and he had gone into treatment.

The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office has decided not to prosecute Diddy because of the amount of time that has passed since the incident. He faces separate charges at the federal level, including racketeering and sex trafficking charges.

Diddy is behind bars without bail at the MDC jail in Brooklyn, where he is in the middle of a three-count federal indictment regarding wide-ranging criminal activities, including violent assaults.
Congratulations are in order for Meagan Good and Jonathan Majors as the couple themselves have revealed that they are engaged.

Good, 43, showed off her engagement ring while walking the red carpet at the EBONY Power 100 Gala, which took place in Los Angeles.

The couple shared to E! News why they chose to reveal the big news during the event.

"EBONY Power 100 is the event that we met at in the bathrooms," Good explained, "in the unisex bathroom."

The revelation that the two are now engaged just comes days after Good's team denied that the two have gone their separate ways.

A representative of the actress told TMZ at that time that "They are not broken up. In fact, they will be attending the Ebony 100 Gala together."

Good began dating Majors, 35, in May 2023. It is around that time that Majors was involved in a domestic dispute with ex Grace Jabbari.

The "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" actor was ultimately found guilty of misdemeanor assault and harassment in December.
Masked burglars staged a daring raid on the Windsor Castle estate, targeting an area alarmingly close to the home of Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their children, who were asleep in Adelaide Cottage.

The thieves used a stolen truck to force entry through the Shaw Farm gate, a point often used by the Prince and Princess of Wales, before making off with agricultural equipment. Among the stolen items were a quad bike, which the burglars used to flee the scene.

The timing of the break-in raises serious concerns. According to a source who spoke to 'The Sun,' the perpetrators seemed to have intimate knowledge of the estate's security lapses. "It was a Sunday night on a school week, so the young princes and princess would have been tucked in bed at Adelaide Cottage, just around the corner but still in the grounds." The source suggested the burglars may have been watching the property for some time to learn when farm buildings were left unattended.

Thames Valley Police confirmed the events, stating, "At around 11.45pm on Sunday October 13, we received a report of burglary at a property on Crown Estate land near to the A308 in Windsor. Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Isuzu pick-up and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area." Authorities have yet to make any arrests, but the investigation remains active.

This incident is especially unsettling given the gate's historical significance. The Shaw Farm gate, now rebuilt, was used as the starting point for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral procession. The estate has scaled back armed patrols at certain entrances to ease tourist concerns, a decision that may warrant reevaluation after this breach.

Adelaide Cottage, where the Wales family has lived since 2022, was chosen for its proximity to Lambrook, the school attended by Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. The family aimed to provide their children with a sense of normalcy, but the break-in is a chilling reminder of the risks associated with living in such a high-profile location. The cottage itself, a Grade II-listed property built in 1831, carries a storied history, but its relatively modest size and lack of live-in staff make it less fortified than other royal residences.

This is not the first time the Crown Estate has faced security breaches. On Christmas Day 2021, an intruder armed with a crossbow scaled Windsor Castle's walls, intending to harm Queen Elizabeth II. The individual was later convicted of treason and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Jaleel White, best known for portraying the iconic character Steve Urkel on the beloved sitcom 'Family Matters,' is reflecting on his time on the show in his upcoming memoir, 'Growing Up Urkel.'

In the book, White reveals how his wardrobe evolved during his years playing the awkward yet endearing character. He shares that, as he matured, show executives instructed him to wear looser jeans to obscure what they referred to as a noticeable "bulge."

White recalls being told, "Let's get rid of the suspenders. Lower his pants, too. Oh and ... It's getting a bit uncomfortable watching him in tight jeans. There's a, uh ... bulge." He explained that this shift in wardrobe came toward the later seasons of the show, when he had outgrown much of Urkel's signature geeky attire, including the high-waisted, tight-fitting jeans that had been a hallmark of the character.

Reflecting on the physical demands of the role, White, who was just 13 when the series began in 1989, said it became increasingly difficult to play the character as he got older. By the time the series wrapped in 1998, he was 22 and found it "physically painful" to maintain Urkel's iconic high-pitched voice. He described the tight jeans as so restrictive that he had to "peel" them off "like a banana" at the end of filming days.

In addition to the challenges of portraying Urkel, White opened up about nearly quitting the series before its conclusion. Despite the strain of playing the role, he acknowledged that producers were determined to keep the show running as long as possible.

White also shared anecdotes outside of 'Family Matters' during a recent appearance on 'The Viall Files' podcast, including a candid moment about his lack of invitations to high-profile events, such as Sean "Diddy" Combs' White Parties. "I never got invited to any parties," he said. "I constantly say, 'Rejection is God's protection.' I got left off the White Party list; I never really went out of my way to get myself invited to any of those things anyway. That's the way it is."

While reflecting on the ups and downs of his career, White also discussed his personal life. In May 2024, he married Nicoletta Ruhl after going public with their relationship in 2022. He is also the proud father of his 15-year-old daughter, Samaya, whom he shares with his ex-partner, Bridget Hardy.
Fairfield, MT (59436)

Today

Rain early. Decreasing clouds overnight. Low 29F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Rain early. Decreasing clouds overnight. Low 29F. Winds SW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Higher wind gusts possible.
MBABANE - A WhatsApp message and an unsigned will, purportedly from the late former EBIS Director, Welile Dlamini, has been rejected by the Master of the High Court.

The former director of Eswatini Broadcasting and Information Services (EBIS) left an estate valued at E2.1 million, comprising cash and assets. According to the WhatsApp message and unsigned will, Welile bequeathed most of his assets to his nephew, Philakwezwe Khumalo.The estate includes a three-bedroom house at Woodlands, Mbabane, a total of E180 000 in various bank accounts, and a car. The exact value of the estate is E2 175 623.

The WhatsApp message was allegedly written by Welile on October 16, 2024, eight days before his demise on August 24, 2024. Khumalo has since approached the High Court, seeking an order declaring the alleged last will and testament of Welile to be valid. He further implores the court to direct that Welile died testate.Testate succession occurs when a person dies with a valid will in place. Khumalo also wants the court to direct the master of the High Court to accept Weliles alleged last will and testament. Additionally, he wants the High Court to direct that the purported will, stored in Welile's cellphone storage memory, be considered as corroborative evidence.

However, Khumalo's application faces resistance from the office of the master of the High Court, represented by lawyers from the Attorney General's Chambers. The Master's Office is yet to file its papers outlining its reasons for opposing the requested orders. In his application, Khumalo informed the court that his late uncle, Welile, was the son of the late Abel Boiling Dlamini and Make LaZulu.He stated that Welile was the youngest of four siblings. According to Khumalo, Welile's parents and siblings passed away several years ago.

Khumalo pointed out that his uncle was disabled, paralysed for most of his life, and relied on a wheelchair for mobility. "I lived with my uncle, taking care of him, considering his confinement to a wheelchair. Needless to say, he required constant attention and medical care due to his ill-health," Khumalo submitted. He further contended that his uncle, being elderly and disabled, needed constant assistance. Khumalo described himself as his uncle's nephew and right-hand man for a long time.

The applicant mentioned that his late uncle's estate was reported to the master of the High Court. According to Khumalo, during his lifetime, his uncle prepared a last will and testament outlining how his estate should be distributed.The master of the High Court rejected the will on the grounds that it did not comply with the requirements of the Wills Act of 1932 and advised Khumalo to seek a declaratory order from the High Court.Khumalo claimed that his uncle executed the will on August 5, 2024, before lawyer Mlungisi Khumalo.

He contended that, according to the Wills Act, the only omission that led to the master's rejection was the testator's failure to sign each page of the will in the presence of two competent witnesses. "I wish to state that my uncle Welile passed away without signing the Will. Attorney Mlungisi Khumalo attested to this, stating that the testator intended to sign the will at a later stage," he argued. In the disputed Will, Welile allegedly instructed the executor to sell some of his assets, pay off a housing loan with Swaziland Building Society, terminate his funeral cover premium, and cancel his motor vehicle policy with Eswatini Royal Insurance Corporation.

The unsigned will also allegedly directed the executor to withdraw E60 000 from one of his bank accounts to build three low-cost houses (rondavels) for his late brother's three sons at Nginamadvolo Royal Kraal, allocating E20 000 per house.Welile allegedly stated that this was his way of encouraging them to return home and develop the area. He further instructed the executor not to give the sons money but to build the structures for them, emphasising that they would forfeit the money if they refused.

According to the purported will, Welile stated that Prince Thumbumuzi paid E1 000 monthly for his DSTV subscription in South Africa. He directed that the prince should continue to receive E1 000 monthly from his estate as a form of repayment. Welile also thanked Machawe Edgar Mavuso, whom he considered a friend since high school and a constant source of support. The matter is pending before Judge Mumcy Dlamini.

MBABANE - In the unsigned, disputed will, the late former EBIS Director Welile Dlamini allegedly named his nephew, Philakwezwe Khumalo, as the executor and inheritor of his estate.

In the purported will, which is attached to the court documents filed by Khumalo against the master of the High Court, Dlamini allegedly wrote:

"I nominate and appoint Philakwezwe Khumalo to be the executor and inheritor of my estate as a token of appreciation for looking after me while I was alive. My family abandoned me when I needed them most after an operation that left me confined to a wheelchair due to the negligence of doctors at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in South Africa."

The impugned will also highlights Khumalo's role as a companion, particularly in sharing Dlamini's passion for music.

It states: "Khumalo, a music lover, drove me to Johannesburg on numerous occasions to attend music shows by various artists, including Brian Culbertson, the O'Jays, Earl Klugh, Fourplay, Bebe and Cece Winans, Gladys Knight, Hugh Masekela, and Salif Keita."

The will concludes with a heartfelt message:"Khumalo, please continue to look after the vulnerable members of society. May the Lord God Almighty bless you abundantly."
AHDB has agreed to transfer 1.8m worth of residual potato levy reserves to GB Potatoes, as part of an agreement to fund seven projects following the demise of AHDB Potatoes.

The industry projects will cover pressing issues such as potato blight, aphid monitoring and nutrient management, among others.

They will be funded by residual levy reserves after a grant agreement was signed between the levy board and GB Potatoes, which launched in 2022.

The recommendation received official approval by AHDB's board following the wind down of AHDB Potatoes, after growers had voted to end the statutory levy in 2021.

Scott Walker, GB Potatoes chief executive, welcomed the move as the UK potato sector continues to face a 'number of serious challenges'.

This grant will kickstart new initiatives and galvanise existing projects that have previously operated on an annual, uncertain basis," he said.

"It offers a foundation to transform key industry projects and develop a sustainable, industry funded model for initiatives that are critical to the future of the potato sector.

"We are delighted that GB Potatoes has successfully secured the residual levy funds through a grant from AHDB to support projects for the benefit of the entire potato industry.

It is a fantastic opportunity for the potato industry to now take control of its future and influence the direction of the sector by addressing industry obstacles and building resilience.

The funding will be transferred from 1.8m of potato reserves held by AHDB since the wind down of levy payer activities, 400,000 of which is set aside to cover any potential residual liabilities.

The grant will be tapered over three to five years, reducing each year as GB Potatoes increases its flow of voluntary industry funding.

Letters of support for the funding of the projects were received from the NFU, NFU Scotland, NFU Cymru, the British Potato Trade Association, the Fresh Potato Supplier Association and the Potato Processors Association.

AHDB CEO Graham Wilkinson said: We are pleased to be able to support growers and the wider industry by releasing these residual funds for projects that will significantly contribute to the industrys success.

What are the projects?

The proposed projects are:

 Potato Blight Project  addressing the significant threat of potato blight, by monitoring genetic changes and fungicide sensitivity.

 Aphid Monitoring Project  supports national aphid monitoring, providing industry-wide data for decision-making.

 Management Tools to tackle Viruses Project  this project proposes joining Horticulture Crop Protection (HCP) on behalf of the seed sector in order to access essential functions for sustaining high-grade seed production.

 Reputational Management Project  safeguarding the industry's reputation through strategic monitoring, proactive crisis management, centralised coordination, influencer engagement, and media outreach.

 Bridging Information Gap Project  provision of transparent and reliable data on potato cultivation, varieties, and national yield.

 CIPC Residue Monitoring Project  to support the industry providing data to the Chemical Regulation Division (CRD) to assess chlorpropham (CIPC) residues in stores. Failure to submit data risks rendering stores with a CIPC history unusable.

 Updating Nutrient Management (RB209) Project  with the industry always looking to move forward and adopt new practices there is a need to ensure revision of fertiliser recommendations reflect current technologies.
Proposals to simplify crofting regulation and encourage more use of common grazings have received high levels of support in a recent consultation.

The Scottish government has published an independent analysis of the responses to the consultation on proposals for Crofting Law Reform.

This covered potential legislative changes to support entry to crofting and to clarify the community aspect of crofting law.

And measures could be made to promote the use of common grazings, including for environmental purposes, as well to strengthen adherence to crofters duties.

According to the analysis of responses to the proposals, the Scottish government's proposals were 'well supported' by crofters.

There are around 20,000 crofts across Scotland's crofting counties, which are located in the Highlands and Islands and in designated areas.

More than 750,000 hectares of land in Scotland is in crofting tenure, with approximately 33,000 people living in crofting households.

Minister for Agriculture, Jim Fairlie said: Most of the governments proposals were well supported by the consultation responses, though I recognise that some proposals received less strong backing.

"We will give full consideration to all the responses and will discuss key issues further with the Crofting Bill Group."

NFU Scotland said it 'broadly supports' reform, but also used its submission to the consultation to call for the legislation to go further to assist entry to crofting for new entrants.

Archie Macnab, chair of NFU Scotlands Crofting Committee, which represents 850 crofters, said the future of crofting must be successful and profitable.

It is in the best interests of everyone that crofting law is future-proofed, modernised and becomes more flexible to ensure crofting businesses are sustainable and play a full part in the local economy," he said.

"Crofting law must enable crofting to move with the times and any changes that can speed up the Crofting Commissions processes would be welcome.

Greater flexibility in crofting law would recognise that one size fits all may not always be appropriate and we have made suggestions around regionalisation of some proposals to ensure all aspects of crofting are catered for."

However, he said the sector was disappointed that the proposals did not go far enough to help address entry to crofting for new entrants other than the proposed access to funds to purchase a tenancy.

"That, in itself, may exacerbate the worryingly high values already being paid for croft tenancies," Mr Macnab said.

Some of the welcomed elements of the proposals do provide opportunity for crofters to benefit from their common grazings, particularly the proposed changes that would permit shareholders to make use of the common grazings for purposes other than solely for livestock grazing.
The possibility of fresh pasteurised Scottish milk being sold to Morocco, as part of a strategy to grow Scotland's dairy exports, has edged closer.

The dairy sector is targeting 150m worth of fresh, Scottish-produced pasteurised milk to be exported annually to the North African nation by 2030.

This target was made by the Scottish Dairy Growth Board, a Scottish government-backed initiative aiming to grow the dairy sector in global markets.

The board has been been actively working on this and has, according to new comments by its chair Paul Grant, made real progress in the last 12 months.

Discussions are now currently underway between the Scottish Dairy Growth Board and Moroccos largest agricultural and food processing company.

The impact of climate change in those countries where annual water scarcity is a reality has led to real interest from dairy processing companies in the supply of fresh milk," Mr Grant said.

"Scotland, with its sustained water availability, grass-feeding for its dairy cows and milk growth potential, perfectly fits this supply situation."

The board has also identified future potential markets in Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, and the Middle East. Holland and southern Europe have also confirmed interest.

But Morocco is the board's first market opportunity due to its free-market trading position for fresh pasteurised milk, which means no quotas or tariffs.

Distribution using temperature-controlled containers will see the milk shipped from Grangemouth via Antwerp to Casablanca using established shipping routes.

However, there will be need to invest in a suitable pasteurisation plant in Scotland and, subsequently, in a milk concentration plant on the same site to allow the sector to be more competitively priced and achieve longer shelf life.

Meanwhile, the forthcoming UK milk contract regulations allows British dairy farmers, under certain conditions, to supply additional customers.

Mr Grant said this would ensure that the growth opportunity in Morocco could be fulfilled and sustained in the years ahead.

He said: We will undertake a static container test on a Scottish dairy farm by early next year and this will be followed by a shipping trial to potential customers during the first half of 2025. We expect regular trading to begin in early 2026.

The fresh milk destined for Morocco is not intended to substitute existing dairy farming there or its importation of milk powder, but to fulfil market growth opportunities or the introduction of new premium dairy products to stimulate the customers market."

Mr Grant concluded by saying it was an 'exciting development' for Scottish dairy.
UK farming bodies have welcomed confirmation that the EU's deforestation regulation will be delayed for 12 months to avoid disruption to supply chains.

It follows calls for a delay by a wide-ranging coalition of industry bodies concerned at the potential disruption to the sourcing of commodities, like soya.

However, the European Parliament's approval of the delay has sparked criticism from some environmental NGOs.

The new timetable means the law will apply from 30 December 2025 for large companies and from 30 June 2026 for small enterprises.

MEPs ratified the 12-month postponement by 371 votes to 240 against and 30 abstentions.

The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) aims to ensure that certain commodities used in the bloc will no longer contribute to deforestation.

The UK's National Pig Association (NPA) said it welcomed confirmation of a delay, calling it 'the most sensible option available'.

NPA chief executive Lizzie Wilson said: It has become increasingly clear the supply chain is simply not in a position to deliver the requirements of EUDR by the start of next year.

This will allow a transitioned introduction and, therefore, time for the supply chain to adjust to the new conditions, the detail of which will require further clarification.

It is now important that the UK government adjusts the timetable for the similar UK Forest Risk Commodities regulation accordingly, so we are in step with the EU on this.

The EUDR was set to come into force at the end of this year, with products such as cocoa, coffee, soy, palm oil, timber and rubber all included within its scope.

The regulation aims to restrict entry of the commodities into the EU market unless they meet sustainability standards.
Netflix is being sued by Linda Napolitano  whose claims of alien abduction near the Brooklyn Bridge in 1989 gained global attention.

Netflix is being sued by Linda Napolitano  whose claims of alien abduction near the Brooklyn Bridge in 1989 gained global attention

She has filed a lawsuit against the streamer and documentary producers for defamation and fraud.

The legal dispute stems from allegations in the Netflix series The Manhattan Alien Abduction that Napolitanos story was an elaborate hoax.

Her account of the incident alleges that at 3 am on November 30, 1989, she was paralysed by a beam of light and transported from her 12th-floor Manhattan apartment to a UFO.

They take me out all the way up, way above the building, she said.

The UFO opens, almost like a clam, and then Im inside.

She also described being experimented on aboard the craft and waking up in her bed with no memory of her return.

The case became famous after UFO researcher Budd Hopkins featured it in his 1996 book Witnessed: The True Story of the Brooklyn Bridge UFO Abductions.

Hopkins claimed there were 23 witnesses, including a delivery driver who said: It scared the heck out of me. I saw a woman coming out of a window and just disappear.

But the Netflix documentary casts doubt on the story.

Carol Rainey, Hopkins ex-wife, alleged the case was fabricated and that Hopkins selectively used evidence to bolster his book.

Budd cherry-picked compelling details but ignored anything that presented difficult questions, Rainey stated in the documentary.

Napolitano denies the allegations, maintaining her story and accusing the filmmakers of manipulating interviews.

Her lawsuit, filed in the New York State Supreme Court, seeks undisclosed damages and demands Netflix remove the series.

Her lawyer Robert Young said the case is not about proving whether Napolitano was abducted but about the fairness of the documentarys portrayal.

Netflix has declined to comment.

Rainey, who died in 2022, stood by her claims, citing inconsistencies in witness statements and handwriting analysis suggesting fabricated evidence.
Charles Dance's girlfriend swears at him for being "pompous".

Charles Dance's girlfriend can be very blunt with him

The 78-year-old actor met his production manager and lover Alessandra Masi - who is 22 years younger - in Italy in 2018, and Charles has admitted that she can't be blunt with her criticism.

He told The Times newspaper: "When I get pompous, which I tend to do from time to time, I tell her: Just tell me to f*** off.

"She comes out: F*** off! Wonderful! But not very often, thankfully.

The actor acknowledges that Alessandra is "very good" at her work, and he observed that she's a "tough cookie", too.

The 'Game of Thrones' star said: "We just got on well and shes very good at her job. Shes either a line producer or a production manager.

"Its difficult. Its a difficult job if youre a woman and its doubly difficult if youre a woman in Italy because Italian men dont like being told what to do by women, you know.

"But shes a tough cookie.

Charles was married to his ex-wife Joanna Haythorn for 32 years from 1970, and he's admitted that he allowed the "attention" from fans to change him.

Despite this, Charles and Joanna ultimately became the "best of friends" following their separation.

The actor explained: "We divorced after 32 years but after the first 18 months, which were not great, thankfully we ended up the best of friends.

But all that attention, yes, it did go to my head a bit. Not for a while, actually, and it must have been very difficult for Jo. Difficult for anybody in the public eye because they then get attention as well, you know?

"The kids get scrutinised, the wife gets looked at. Thats not what they bargained for."
ZOMBODZE  A ritualistic prayer expedition ended in tragedy when a man, who had gone to perform kuphahla at the Manzamnyama River, tragically slipped and drowned in front of his fellow church members.

The incident happened on Friday evening while the man, along with members of the Zion Church, had travelled to the prominent river at Zombodze to perform kuphahla. It was reported that the man, who attended a church in Siteki, regularly visited the river with the congregants for such rituals, and this was not an uncommon practice for them. A visit to the area by this publication yesterday around noon revealed groups of people, both men and women, making their way up the hill towards the river. Some were dressed in bright and colourful uniforms of the Zion Church, while others wore casual clothing.

They were carrying various items, including buckets and plastic bags. Among them were traditional healers. As they made their way to the river, some could be heard chanting prayers. Upon reaching the river, a group of church members were seen gathered on the banks, seemingly deep in prayer before entering the water. Among them were several children, and they were carrying candles, eggs and bottles thought to contain tiwasho, a traditional mixture used in spiritual practices. The church leader led the believers into the river, where they began sprinkling salt and praying fervently in the water.

Sizwe Tsela, a local community member, explained that the deceased and his fellow worshippers arrived at the river around 5pm on Friday to begin their prayers. After performing the kuphahla ceremony, they reportedly entered the water to conduct their rituals. Tragically, it was then that the man reportedly slipped and fell ainto the river, disappearing beneath the surface. "The others waited for him and, around 7pm, they saw a hand raised from the water. They believed it was his, but they couldn't reach him. The water was clear at the time," Tsela said. The resident narrated that by 7am on the following morning, the police had been alerted and responded promptly. Scuba divers were said to have been deployed to recover the body, which was later confirmed to be that of the 34-year-old man of KaPhunga.

Senior Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer confirmed the incident, stating that the man had drowned while praying at Manzamnyama River at Nkamanzi. She added that his body was retrieved from the water later that day.While law enforcement said the man died as a result of drowning, some community members believe that there may be a spiritual force at play behind the deaths of those who perform rituals at the river. Locals have long suspected that the river has a mysterious, almost supernatural power, with many residents claiming that at least two deaths occur in the river each year during ritualistic ceremonies.

Makhanya Makhanya, President of the Witchdoctors Association, commented on the powerful spiritual forces associated with water. He explained that people who enter water to pray or perform rituals are often engaging with the unseen world."Water holds immense power. Those who do not have knowledge or skill to mix their remedies correctly before entering the water may expose themselves to dangerous spiritual forces, Makhanya asserted.

Makhanya also referenced the Bible, stating that even the Bible substantiated that there is a great power that governs everything in the water. He warned that without the proper knowledge of how to prepare tiwasho, those who pray in the river may be vulnerable to the creatures that dwell within it. "The spirit of the deceased was likely consumed by these creatures," Makhanya said. He further advised those who perform water rituals to seek guidance on the proper spiritual preparations.
Ethan Slater played both Glinda and Nessarose in his 'Wicked' audition tape.

Ethan Slater plays Bog in Wicked

The 32-year-old actor hoped to land the role of Bog in the movie musical but had no one to read scenes with him so had no choice but to step in and read his scene partners' lines when filming his submission for the role.

He told People magazine's special Wicked issue: I did two scenes and sang Boqs songs, 'The Ozdust Ballroom' and 'March of the Witch Hunters,' which is the second movie.

"But, I should say that I didnt have anyone to read with at the time, so the tape I sent in is me playing Glinda and Nessa off camera, and then me reading with a video of myself."

Ethan admitted the move was "so bold" but he ultimately felt it was the right thing to do.

He added: "I cant believe I got away with it. But I knew I wanted to take my time with it ... and I couldnt get somebody to spend that time with me, so I just did it with myself.

Ethan is dating Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda in the film, and he hailed her "masterful grip" on the comedy of the role.

He gushed: "One of the things that was really fun to see is, she has a masterful grip on comedy, and shes so funny and so physical, and it never feels like a joke on top of the character. It always feels like its coming right from Glinda. You get lost in the performance  she just is Glinda. Even in those incredibly funny physical moments.

The cast also includes the likes of Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Peter Dinklage and Marissa Bode, and Ethan praised all his co-stars for their commitment to the project and their characters.

He said: The thing that felt really special is how much everyone cared about their characters.

"When youre working on something thats been around the world for 20 years and these are characters that the fans love and care about, its really important that the actors portraying them in a movie of this scale care as much as everyone else. And everyone did."
Jeff Goldblum found his role in 'Adam Resurrected' "painful" because of his religion.

Jeff Goldblum says playing Adam Stein in Adam Resurrected was painful

The 'Wicked' actor - who is Jewish - played a Holocaust survivor in Paul Schraders 2008 drama and though he found it hard visiting concentration camps while researching the role, it was also satisfying and had a profound impact on him.

He told The Sunday Times' Culture magazine: [It was] painful in an enjoyable way, and in a creative way.

Thats what Ive always had a hankering for. I did all sorts of research, and I visited Majdanek, one of the most intact concentration camps. I went to Yad Vashem [the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre].

"Id never been to Israel before. I went to Jerusalem.

It changes you. But thats what youre looking for. You want to be transformed, and enhanced, and deepened by everything you do, and more connected to yourself, and more connected to the world, and history, and your own history, and the possibility of the human species.

The 72-year-old actor feels lucky to have played a wide range of characters over the years and though he insisted he isn't as "brave and funny and smart" as his alter egos, he's enjoyed giving his whole self to his work.

He said: "Im not a chaotician. Im not a scientist. Im not even a doctor, like my dad. I made good grades at school.

"But I immediately went to pursue acting, and I tried to apply my intelligence, such as it is, and heart and soul, to all of that.

"Acting demands that you use all of yourself. I like science. I like poetry and passion and romance and culture, and all aspects of the human experience and engagement.

"And you know, with my devotion to the unseen and the miraculous and the magical and the fantastical  thats a part of me.

"But I certainly feel lucky to play these characters that are more brave and funny and smart than I ever could be.

Jeff has never had a career plan in mind beyond "hope".

He said: Its hoping against hope, and just casting my fate to the wind, and going on this madcap adventure of creative ambition and delight and aspiration and appetite.

I have no career plan. But things right now are peachy.
King Charles has been urged to "push for the release of the British X Files".

Mark Christopher Lee delivering a letter to Buckingham Palace

The 76-year-old monarch should ask for a political briefing on extra-terrestrial life from UK politicians and press for any material to be made public, 'The King Of UFOs' filmmaker Mark Christopher Lee has suggested.

Mark - whose film examines the royal family's links in UFOs and the paranormal - said: "King Charles could ask for a briefing by his ministers on UFOs and discreetly enquire about what is in the so called X Files and find out what the truth is.

"From making this film we know that the king has a huge interest in UFO and other worldly matters.

"The king should use his position top push for the release of the British X Files - the public deserves to know the truth."

And the filmmaker has also suggested UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer should have UFO hearings in parliament, similar to meetings in the US congress.

He said: "This is not fringe conspiracy theories anymore. The UK's politicians need to take this seriously. The public deserves to know the truth. We are closer than ever to finding evidence of intelligent life in our galaxy - are we prepared for first contact? This will create a new galactic era of politics - Exo politics and will need new thinking.

"UFOs or UAPs as they are now known are taken very seriously in the US both by notable scientists such as Prof Avi Loeb from Harvard and by politicians, with both Republican and Democrats calling for the US Government to release the truth about UFOs. We need the same in the UK scientists and politicians need to step up - there is something unidentified in the skies that people are seeing all over the world it's not a jokey thing anymore."

Mark's new film, 'The Rendelsham UFO - The British Roswell', will look at evidence of a UFO landing on UK soil and alleges the truth was covered up by the British government.

It is due for release next month, while 'The King of UFOs' is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Tubi.
Japan and Bangladesh have agreed to sign an economic partnership agreement (EPA) by the end of 2025 or early 2026 to deepen and expand bilateral trade and investment ties, it was announced recently at a ceremony to launch the EPA study report at the Japanese embassy in Dhaka.

The Japan-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JBCCI) launched the report.

Japan and Bangladesh have agreed to sign an economic partnership agreement (EPA) by the end of 2025 or early 2026 to deepen and expand bilateral trade and investment ties. The second round of EPA talks, held in Dhaka recently in a hybrid format, discussed trade in goods, rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, trade in services, investment and intellectual property.

The second round of negotiations for the EPA was held in Dhaka in a hybrid format from November 10 to 14. In this round, both sides discussed trade in goods, rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, trade in services, investment and intellectual property, a release from the Japanese foreign affairs ministry said.

For signing the EPA, JBCCI has formed a standing committee. Policy Exchange of Bangladesh Limited, the consulting firm appointed by JBCCI, prepared the report.

JBCCI executive director Mohammad Emran said EPA is a key vehicle to secure duty-free market access for Bangladesh after its graduation from the least developed country (LDC) status in 2026.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
In a joint call from both sides of the Atlantic, 78 business associations representing a diverse array of industries from the EU and Mercosur ask their governments to expedite the conclusion of the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. The statement underscores the strategic importance of reinforcing trade links, fostering investments and promoting sustainable development, which this historic agreement is built to deliver.

78 business associations from the EU and Mercosur urge governments to fast-track the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement (FTA), emphasising its potential to strengthen trade, investment, and sustainable development. In 2022, over $166.95 billion in goods and services were traded between the regions. The agreement aims to enhance market access, supply chain stability, and cooperation.

Addressed to the Presidents of the European Parliament, European Council, European Commission, and Hungarian Presidency of the Council, and shared with the Mercosur Presidency, the statement highlights that over 159 billion (~$166.95 billion) in goods and services was traded between the EU and Mercosur in 2022, with mutual investments approaching 380 billion. Together, these economic ties underpin millions of jobs on both continents. The associations highlight the importance of the EU-Mercosur agreement, emphasising that it can help mitigate the challenges posed by geopolitical instability and supply chain disruptions.

The joint statement notes that the agreement represents a rare opportunity to strengthen relations between the EU and Mercosur. Both sides would benefit from an agreement that supports economic recovery and lays the foundations for sustained growth. In particular:

- Market Access and Growth: The removal of trade barriers would enable greater market access, facilitating a steady flow of goods and services.

- Supply Chain Stability: Strengthened trade relationships would mitigate the impact of supply chain disruptions, securing reliable access to essential resources.

- Enhanced Cooperation: By deepening cooperation, the agreement could bolster sustainable development, labour rights, and environmental standards across both regions.

In conclusion, the coalition of business associations calls on policymakers to take immediate steps toward ratification, positioning the EU and Mercosur to advance their mutual competitiveness in a changing and challenging global landscape.

Note: The content of this press release has not been edited by Fibre2Fashion staff.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HU)
Net sales of Upland cotton in the United States for the 2024-25 season totalled 153,300 running bales (RB), each weighing 226.8 kg (500 pounds). This represents a decline of 33 per cent from the previous week and 18 per cent from the prior four-week average.

According to the USDAs export sales report for the week ending November 7, significant sales increases were primarily noted for Turkiye (41,500 RB), Pakistan (40,000 RB), China (19,000 RB), Vietnam (18,900 RB, including 200 RB switched from Indonesia, with a reduction of 2,600 RB), and South Korea (12,200 RB). Total net sales of 1,000 RB for 2025-26 were recorded for Mexico.

US Upland cotton sales for 2024-25 dropped 33 per cent, while Pima sales fell 60 per cent last week, according to USDA. Exports of Upland cotton declined 23 per cent but rose 3 per cent from the 4-week average. Pima exports increased by 27 per cent. The WASDE report highlights reduced global production, consumption, and trade, with US exports lowered and ending stocks rising to 4.3 million bales.

Exports for the week totalled 112,000 RB, down 23 per cent from the previous week but up 3 per cent from the prior four-week average. The primary destinations were Pakistan (51,000 RB), Mexico (14,000 RB), Vietnam (12,900 RB), Bangladesh (8,300 RB), and El Salvador (3,400 RB).

Net sales of Pima cotton for 2024-25 totalled 4,900 RB, a 60 per cent decrease from the previous week and 37 per cent below the prior four-week average. Increases were primarily recorded for India (2,300 RB), Vietnam (1,700 RB, including 400 RB switched from Hong Kong), Peru (400 RB), Turkiye (400 RB), and Italy (200 RB), but were offset by reductions for Hong Kong (400 RB). Exports of Pima cotton totalled 9,500 RB, up 27 per cent from the previous week and 15 per cent from the prior four-week average. The main destinations were India (6,700 RB), China (1,600 RB), Thailand (400 RB), Pakistan (400 RB), and Vietnam (400 RB).

WASDE November 2024 Report

The global balance sheet for 2024-25 reflects reductions in world production, consumption, beginning and ending stocks, and trade. Production is forecast to decrease by 460,000 bales, with the largest reductions in Pakistan and Turkmenistan. Consumption is expected to decline by 515,000 bales, primarily due to reduced demand in Turkiye and Pakistan. Ending stocks are projected to fall by 574,000 bales, with significant decreases in India, Turkmenistan, and Pakistan more than offsetting increases in the US and Uzbekistan. World trade is reduced by 295,000 bales, driven by lower imports by Turkiye, partially balanced by higher imports by Uzbekistan and Egypt. Historical revisions to production for the 2023-24 global balance sheet also lead to lower ending stocks.

The US cotton balance sheet for 2024-25 indicates slightly lower production, reduced exports, and higher ending stocks. NASS revised its estimate for total US cotton production downward by 10,000 bales to just below 14.2 million bales in the November Crop Production report. While Georgias crop forecast was raised by about 200,000 bales, this increase was offset by a similar reduction in Texas, along with minor adjustments elsewhere. The national all-cotton yield estimate remains unchanged from the previous month at 789 pounds per harvested acre.

With global consumption and imports declining, US exports are reduced by 200,000 bales to 11.3 million. Ending stocks are raised by 200,000 bales to 4.3 million, resulting in a stocks-to-use ratio of approximately 33 per cent. The 2024-25 season average upland farm price remains unchanged at 66 cents per pound. No revisions were made to the 2023-24 US cotton balance sheet.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
MANZINI - A traditional healer has been arrested in connection with a disturbing scheme involving black magic and cybercrime to defraud numerous people.

The inyanga, Vusumuzi Mfanimpela Bhembe (43) and his 31-year-old accomplice, Sabelo Banele Dlamini, both of Timbutini, face a total of 120 charges. They are alleged to have, among other things, threatened to bewitch their victims unless they paid various sums of money. These include the contravention of the Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (Prevention) Act of 2011, the Computer Crime and Cybercrime Act of 2022 and theft by false pretences.

Reports suggest that Bhembe, using his position as a traditional healer, would contact victims and threaten them with imminent harm unless they paid him large sums of money.It is alleged that the victims, fearing for their lives, would give in and pay what was described as a redemption fee to avert the supposed danger.Sources close to the matter have revealed that Bhembe typically instructed victims to transfer substantial amounts of money to redeem themselves from the supposed threats.

One source commented: "The arrest of the kingpin is a major breakthrough for the police." It is also claimed that Bhembe, along with his accomplices, was involved in the facata scams, which have been making headlines in recent weeks. The facata scams, which involve tricking people into parting with their money through various deceptive means, allegedly continued even after the arrest of two other masterminds a week ago.

"Since the arrest of the other facata scams suspects, Bhembe and his associates have continued to exploit emaSwati. They have used a variety of methods to defraud the public, including promising jobs and threatening to bewitch their victims if they did not comply," sources explained. In addition to using black magic as a form of extortion, Bhembe and Dlamini are said to have engaged in cybercrime, impersonating bank employees or police officers in order to gain their victims' trust and steal personal information.

According to the charge sheet, the duo is alleged to have defrauded different people money ranging from E19 000 to E15 000. The criminal activities are believed to have taken place between January and November of this year. Both Bhembe and Dlamini made their first court appearance before Manzini Magistrate Thamsanqa Ndlovu on Friday.They were remanded in custody pending their committal to the High Court. The pair informed the court that they will engage an attorney to represent them.

One of the most shocking charges relate to an alleged incident where Bhembe and Dlamini coerced a victim into paying E11 000, claiming they had been instructed to kill the individual unless he paid them. The scale of the fraud in Eswatini has been staggering, with losses amounting to a staggering E398 799 405.49. This figure was disclosed by National Commissioner of Police (NATCOM) Vusi Manoma Masango during the launch of the 2024 Fraud Awareness Campaign. The commissioner revealed that the fraudulent activities had taken place between November 2023 and October 2024.

Masango also highlighted the impact on the banking industry, with nine cases involving bank fraud resulting in losses exceeding E7 million.In addition, four new facata scam cases have been reported, bringing the total losses from this scam alone to over E3 million. Despite the significant losses, the commissioner expressed hope that all perpetrators would soon be brought to justice. A concerning trend has also emerged in the Manzini Region, where a group of unemployed youths are allegedly targeting unsuspecting victims, tricking them into revealing personal information through fraudulent means.

Beyond the facata scams, Eswatini is grappling with a broader spectrum of fraud-related crimes. From November 2023 to October 2024, a total of 576 fraud cases were reported, leading to losses exceeding E398 million.Manzini has emerged as the region most affected by these crimes, with 95 cases reported. Notably, Dlamini is the second inyanga to be arrested in connection with these fraud cases, following the arrest of Bongiwe Dlamini, who is currently out on bail. So far, at least 34 individuals have been arrested in connection with the facata scams, with suspects coming from areas such as Mpaka, Malindza, Thulwane and Siteki.

The scammers trick their victims into entering personal information on their phones, which allowed them to steal money from the victims' Mobile Money (MoMo) and bank accounts. The list of accused individuals includes Lindelwa FanaMbingo (19) of Thulwane, Celumusa MdumseniMsibi (27) of Sithobelweni, Nhlanhla Maseko (21) of Thulwane, Wakhile Felix Mtsetfwa (19) of Thulwane, Sandile Wandile Matsenjwa (30) of KaBhudla, Wakhile Sanele Mamba (19) of Thulwane, Sipho Neliswa Mbingo (21) of Thulwane, Nkosikhona Fisokuhle Maziya (24) of KaBhudla, Siyabonga Sakhile Ndlovu (22) of KaBhudla, Gcina Ndlovu (21) of KaBhudla, and Mbongeni Bongani Maphalala (22).

Recently, the REPS issued a warning to members of micro-co-operatives known as stokvels, urging them to exercise caution as the festive season approached.The publication reported that Senior Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, the Chief Police Information and Communications Officer (PICO), had said that with the festive season drawing near and stokvels preparing to distribute savings, extra caution is required.

She advised against carrying large amounts of cash and recommended that people seek assistance from the police station when necessary. Vilakati also warned the public to be cautious and avoid sending money to accounts that had not been verified. She added that, when making purchases, it was important to double-check that the correct account was being used.

Some of the charges

- It alleged that in August to November 2024, they unlawfully perform an remotely obtained banking details of John Mweli and in the process a unlawfully withdrew a sum of E19 000 from his bank account

- They are also accused of having using the same modus operandi stole a sum of E10 O17 from the bank account of Mfanzile Nzima

- The accused as per the charge sheet using the same method, are alleged to have stolen a sum of E3 217 from the bank account of Dumezweni Kunene

- It is further alleged that from September to November 2024, they unlawfully withdrew a sum of E6 500 from the bank account of Matoko Lukhele

- They further stand accused of stealing a sum of E981 from the bank account of Bhekithemba Vilakati

- In August to November 2024, the accused persons are alleged to have unlawfully withdrew a sum of E10 617 belonging to Mcondzisi Mavimbela

- As per the charge sheet, between the months of August to November 2024, the accused persons unlawfully withdrew as sum of E1 377 from a bank account belonging to Nonhlanhla Zondo.

- It also alleged that during the month of October 2024,the withdrew a sum of E488 belonging to Zanele Dlamini

- It is alleged that in the month of September 2024, they unlawfully obtained a sum of E4 817 from Lucky Simelane for the benefit of their criminal gang.

- They are also accused of having stolen a sum of E15 000 from Bongiwe Maureen Mango.

- The accused as per the charge sheet using the same method, are alleged to have stolen a sum of E19 740 from the bank account of John Mweli




Baku, Indonesia, Nov 16, 2024 - (ACN Newswire) - The Indonesian Government, through the Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, annouced EUR 1.2 billion in green funding for the power sector from German state development bank Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) at the COP29 World Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Wednesday (11/13). The conference runs through Friday (11/22).The agreement was marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between PT PLN (Persero) and KfW to support Indonesia's sustainable energy self-sufficiency with the development of various green power clean energy projects, centered on the Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Power Plant (PLTA) and transmission network connecting with green power plants.?Hashim emphasized that the government is committed to accelerating the energy transition. By fostering collaborations at the global level, the shift towards renewable energy is expected to support energy self-sufficiency and drive national economic growth. "We have developed a new strategy over the next five years to achieve a minimum of 8% sustainable economic growth," Hashim affirmed.He stated that the development of clean energy sources is crucial for enhancing industrial competitiveness. Over the next 15 years, Indonesia's renewable energy generation capacity is targeted to increase by 75% from the total addition of 100 gigawatts (GW) in electricity capacity."We will be a major country fulfilling our responsibility to protect the environment's future. We deeply appreciate the established international cooperation as a joint effort toward reaching the Net Zero Emissions (NZE) target," Hashim explained.PLN President Director Darmawan Prasodjo expressed full support for the government's initiatives in advancing the energy transition. Various collaborations and initiatives have been implemented by PLN to ensure the success of sustainable electricity projects. Darmawan noted that KfW's involvement in PLN's green projects is expected to attract more international partners to collaborate.This will create a synergy of sustainable strategic, technical, and investment collaboration in global climate action. "This collaboration signifies PLN's proactive steps in expanding international partnerships to enhance national energy self-sufficiency in line with global climate actions," Darmawan stated.KfW Group's Sustainability Officer, Jurgen Kern, explained that KfW's support for Indonesia represents Germany's commitment to international cooperation for green transformation. Further, Jurgen highlighted that PLN is at the center of Indonesia's energy transition. PLN is strongly committed to greening the energy sector while ensuring reliable energy access."Therefore, we believe that Indonesia and Germany can continue strengthening their partnership in the energy sector, especially in clean energy projects like geothermal, hydropower, and transmission. Achieving the NZE target requires solid collaboration and partnership," Jurgen said.Caption: COP29 - Indonesian Special Envoy of the President, Hashim Djojohadikusumo (second left) with PLN President Commissioner, Burhanuddin Abdullah (second right), PLN President Director, Darmawan Prasodjo (right), and Chief Sustainability Officer, Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW), Jurgen Kern signing the MoU entitled "Leading the Charge: Strategic Partnership to Catalyze Decarbonization" in Baku, Azerbaijan on Wednesday, Nov 11.- Antara, for PT PLN (Persero), https://web.pln.co.id/en/sustainability/sustainability/.- Indonesia: https://indonesia.go.id/,? KfW Germany: https://www.kfw.de/kfw.de-2.html?Source: Republic of IndonesiaKreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW)PT PLN (Persero)Copyright 2024 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
As real-time payments surge in the UK, FICO research reveals that 26% of consumers have reported losses to their bank

(International Fraud Awareness Week) A new study of 12,000 consumers across 14 countries by global analytics software leader FICO has underscored the need for banks to strike a better balance between customer satisfaction and fraud mitigation as real-time payments (RTP) surge in popularity. In the survey, 26% percent of UK consumers said that they have reported actual or suspected scam losses to their bank.

More information: https://www.fico.com/en/latest-thinking/ebook/2024-scams-impact-survey-uk

About three-quarters of consumers in the UK say they have sent (79%) and received (73%) RTP and more than a quarter (28%) plan to increase their RTP usage in the next 12 months. However, RTP-related scams, such as Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud, are following in the shadows. In addition to the quarter of Brits who say they have reported losses, an alarming 41% of respondents said their friends or family members have been scammed. 70% say they have received a text, email or call that was part of a scam.

"The need to stop scams has never been more urgent," said Matt Cox, vice president and general manager for FICO in EMEA. "In our study, more than half of UK consumers want their banks to deploy better fraud detection systems. And the stakes have been raised by the new rules that came into force last month, from the Payment Systems Regulator and the Bank of England. Both sending and receiving institutions must reimburse APP fraud victims in most cases."

Key findings:

More than a quarter of consumers (26%) say they've reported losses from a scam to their bank

54% of consumers say they believe they should be responsible if they fell for a scam; nearly a third blame either the sending bank (19%) or the receiving bank (13%)

73% of consumers thought banks should refund scam victims always (31%) or most of the time (42%)

58% of consumers ranked having better fraud detection systems as the most or second-most impactful action that banks can take to protect them from scams

Nearly two-thirds of consumers say they would complain to their bank and 23% to regulators if they are unhappy with how a scam incident is handled.

Taking Steps to Stop Scams

Unscrupulous criminals will go to great lengths to con bank customers, often socially engineering personal information from their victims to commit APP fraud. Yet, according to the FICO research, over half of consumers (54%) feel they are responsible if they fall for a scam; only 9% blame the scammer. Add to this the fact that 73% of consumers in the UK think banks should refund scam victims most of the time or always, and the potential reputational and cost fallout from APP fraud is massive.

"Financial institutions should focus on mitigating fraud at the front end. They play a crucial role in identifying and intervening in scam transactions," Cox said. "It's vital that consumers remain confident enough to take advantage of the benefits of real-time payments, such as immediate transfers and instant funds availability."

As RTP usage continues to soar, consumers expect their banks to equip them with the tools, education, and automated fail-safes to help prevent scam losses. "One of the most fundamental ways banks can help to prevent losses is by knowing how their customers want the bank to communicate with them," Cox said. "The good news is that more UK consumers prefer to receive sensitive communications through their bank's app than any other method (37%). As banking apps provide a much more secure channel for communications and transactions than text messages or emails, they can be a key channel for banks to help consumers fight scams. But no one channel is right for every customer, and banks should be able to select the most effective channel for each person."

Cox cited the need for fraud detection capabilities such as data ingestion across multiple sources with behavioural profiling to provide rich context about RTP transactions, applying sophisticated analytic techniques capable of detecting suspicious transactions, and automating decisioning to determine the best course of treatment or level of intervention.

"By automating fraud detection at scale, banks can really help to defend their customers' interests, protect their own bottom line and importantly, build greater trust in the all-important customer relationship," Cox said.

A new solution from FICO and Jersey Telecom (JT) received the Anti-Fraud Solution award at the Credit Collections Technology Awards on November 7 in Manchester. The FICO Customer Communications Service Scam Signal uses telephony signals to detect potential scams.

About FICO

FICO (NYSE: FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 200 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, insurance, telecommunications, health care, retail and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 80 countries do everything from protecting 4 billion payment cards from fraud, to improving financial inclusion, to increasing supply chain resiliency. The FICO Score, used by 90% of top US lenders, is the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the US and has been made available in over 40 other countries, improving risk management, credit access and transparency.

Learn more at https://www.fico.com

FICO is a registered trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241117899413/en/

Contacts:

For further comment contact:

FICO UK PR Team

Wendy Harrison/Parm Heer

ficoteam@harrisonsadler.com

0208 977 9132


EQS Newswire / 18/11/2024 / 09:51 UTC+8



On November 12, OMODA&JAECOO announced a collaboration with Universal Pictures' spectacular new cinematic event Wicked. Together, they are embarking on a fantastical journey into the magical world of Oz that not only showcases the brand's dedication to innovative personalization and trendsetting but also offers film and car enthusiasts a dual visual and emotional surprise.

Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, is based on one of the most beloved and enduring musicals in Broadway history. The film now arrives in cinemas as a visually stunning cinematic event this November. Wicked boasts an all-star cast, featuring Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award winner and Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo and Grammy Award-winning global superstar Ariana Grande in the lead roles. In addition, the film stars Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh, film icon Jeff Goldblum, Olivier Award winner and Emmy nominee Jonathan Bailey, and four-time Emmy Award winner Peter Dinklage. Wicked arrives in cinemas from 22 November 2024.

In Wicked, Cynthia Erivo portrays Elphaba, a young woman misunderstood because of her green skin who has yet to discover her true power. Ariana Grande plays Glinda, a popular young woman gilded by privilege who has yet to discover her true heart. As they forge an unlikely friendship, their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

In this collaboration, OMODA&JAECOO have specially created two car wraps themed to the film: the E5 Green Witch edition and the C5 Pink Witch edition. These wraps feature the characters of Elphaba and Glinda on each of the respective vehicles, awakening limitless imagination, and longing for the magical realm in everyone's heart.

As the film arrives in cinemas, there will be opportunities to view the specially customized Wicked-themed cars by OMODA-the E5 Green Witch Edition and C5 Pink Witch Edition. These custom-modified vehicles will allow car enthusiasts and film fans alike to experience their unique charm and extraordinary appeal firsthand.

This collaboration will offer film fans and car enthusiasts an unforgettable experience and memories, building a closer bridge between the brand and its consumers.

As a personalized brand committed to embracing global pioneering users, OMODA&JAECOO have always engaged with the new generation through cross-industry collaborations, creating the "O-universe" ecosystem that allows the brand and users to collide in different dimensions.

About Universal Pictures' Wicked

One of the most beloved and enduring musicals on the stage, Wicked makes its journey to the big screen as a spectacular cinematic event this holiday season.

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights), Wicked is the first chapter of a two-part immersive, cultural celebration. Wicked Part Two is scheduled to arrive in cinemas on November 21, 2025.

Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, stars Emmy, Grammy, and Tony-winning and Oscar-nominated powerhouse Cynthia Erivo (Harriet, Broadway's The Color Purple) as Elphaba, a young woman misunderstood because of her green skin who has yet to discover her true power and Grammy-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and global superstar Ariana Grande as Glinda, a popular young woman gilded by privilege who has yet to discover her true heart.

The two meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

The film also stars Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as Shiz University's regal headmistress Madame Morrible; Olivier Award winner and Emmy nominee Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton, Fellow Travelers) as Fiyero, a roguish and carefree prince; Tony nominee Ethan Slater (Broadway's Spongebob Squarepants, Fosse/Verdon) as Boq, an altruistic Munchkin student; Marissa Bode in her feature-film debut as Nessarose, Elphaba's favored sister; and pop culture icon Jeff Goldblum as the legendary Wizard of Oz.

The cast includes Pfannee and ShenShen, two conniving compatriots of Glinda, played by Emmy nominee Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live) and Bronwyn James (Harlots); a new character created for the film, Miss Coddle, played by Tony nominee Keala Settle (The Greatest Showman); and four-time Emmy winner Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) as the voice of Dr. Dillamond.

Wicked is produced by Marc Platt p.g.a. (La La Land, The Little Mermaid), whose films, television shows, and stage productions have earned a combined 46 Oscar nominations, 58 Emmy nominations, and 36 Tony nominations, and multiple Tony winner David Stone (Kimberly Akimbo, Next to Normal), with whom Platt produced the blockbuster Wicked stage musical. The executive producers are Stephen Schwartz, David Nicksay, Jared LeBoff, Winnie Holzman, and Dana Fox.

Wicked is based on the generation-defining musical stage play with music and lyrics by legendary Grammy and Oscar winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, from the bestselling novel by Gregory Maguire. The screenplay is by Winnie Holzman Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. The film score is by John Powell & Stephen Schwartz, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.

Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, the Araca Group, Jon B. Platt, and David Stone produced the Broadway stage musical.

Company:Chery Automobile Co., Ltd

Contact Person: Lulu Tao

Email: Taolulu2@mychery.com

Website: http://www.omodajaecoo.com/

City:Wuhu,China

18/11/2024 Dissemination of a Financial Press Release, transmitted by EQS News.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



Media archive at www.todayir.com


In collaboration with Toronto Metropolitan University, the Government of Canada will invest $3.9M CAD in the Malaysia Cybersecurity Center of Excellence to strengthen cybersecurity partnerships and expertise in the region through skills training opportunities, including for women

At the APEC Leaders' Summit, BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB)(TSX:BB), expressed its gratitude for the Government of Canada's announcement to invest $3.9 million (CAD) in Malaysia. This funding will support cybersecurity training programs and threat intelligence initiatives aimed at strengthening capacity building and enhancing overall cyber resilience in Southeast Asia.

Canada's support will be delivered by BlackBerry in partnership with the Toronto Metropolitan University's (TMU's) Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst ("Catalyst"), with a goal to train 3,500 cyber-defenders from Malaysia and other ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member countries. This initiative furthers global public-private sector collaboration in the battle against rising digital threats, is aligned with Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy, and establishes Malaysia as a hub of regional cybersecurity excellence in Southeast Asia.

Support from the Government of Canada will include the design, development, and delivery of a comprehensive cybersecurity curriculum, including dedicated programs for women, expanding what is already on offer at the world-class Malaysia Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (CCoE) in Cyberjaya. The aim is to help more men and womentake advantage of the region's most in-demand cybersecurity roles and establish the CCoE as a regional destination for learning and intelligence-sharing, enabling government and industry to better prevent, deter and respond to emerging cyber threats and coordinate responses to incidents that may impact operational resilience and national security.

Courses supported by the Government of Canada at the Malaysia CCoE will include role-based education and specialist tracks as well as Certifications for Leadership in Cybersecurity and Women in Cybersecurity Leadership courses. In line with Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy, which aims to invest in and connect people, funding from the Government will also support scholarships and bursaries for Malaysians and regional participants to enroll in courses at the CCoE and earn globally-recognized industry certifications in cybersecurity.

Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim during the opening of the center on March 26 said, "Being more than a facility to help train and upskill our national cyber workforce, the Cyber Security Center of Excellence has the potential to be an international destination to address emerging cyber threats. We can bring together Malaysian and Canadian universities, research institutions and skilled practitioners to share knowledge, threat intelligence and jointly develop methods and strategies to strengthen national and regional cyber-resilience."

The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada said, "Cybersecurity is a pillar of Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy. It is also a shared challenge that countries around the world need to tackle together. With our government's investment in Malaysia's Cybersecurity Center of Excellence in collaboration with BlackBerry, Canada will share cyber-expertise, train the cyber workforce across ASEAN countries, increase public-private sector collaboration, and strengthen our collective capacity to counter, deter and respond to cyber threats."

BlackBerry CEO, John Giamatteo, added, "BlackBerry is honored to partner with the Governments of Malaysia, Canada, and Toronto Metropolitan University's Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst to establish the Malaysia Cybersecurity Center of Excellence. As the beating heart of the region's cyber-threat defense capabilities, this world-class facility helps train and upskill Malaysian and regional cyber workforces, and is also an international destination to address emerging cyber threats and coordinate regional incident response. In a growing digital economy, no matter how advanced your cybersecurity arsenal is, nations must have a well-trained cyber-workforce to bolster their front lines of defense."

"We are delighted that Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst at Toronto Metropolitan University is partnering with the Government of Canada and BlackBerry to deliver cybersecurity skills training in this vital region for international security, which now more than ever must include technology security," said Dr. Mohamed Lachemi, Toronto Metropolitan University's President and Vice Chancellor. "Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy is a critical effort to build democratic resilience and advance Canada's democratic values internationally. As one of Canada's leaders in cybersecurity training, the Catalyst at TMU is perfectly positioned to collaborate with the Government of Canada and BlackBerry in advancing this cause."

The news comes just twelve months after BlackBerry and the Malaysian Government announced a long-term software and services agreement designed to strengthen the nation's cybersecurity posture and upskill regional digital workforces with advanced cybersecurity technology and training at a dedicated facility. In collaboration with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the world-class Malaysia CCoE opened on March 26, 2024.

For more information on the Cybersecurity Center of Excellence and the courses available, please visit here. For the currently available course information, please visit here.

The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, and to the left, the Hon. Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development.

##

About Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst

Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst is Toronto Metropolitan University's national center for training, innovation and collaboration in cybersecurity. Headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, and offering programs and services across Canada, the Catalyst empowers individuals and organizations to seize the opportunities and tackle the challenges of cybersecurity. Together with our partners and collaborators, we work to realize a vision of healthy democracies and thriving societies, powered by secure digital technologies. Through our groundbreaking training and certification programs; unique innovation programming for start-ups and scale-ups; first-of-its-kind cyber range; and wide-ranging public education programs, the Catalyst helps drive Canada's global competitiveness in cybersecurity.

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company's software powers over 255M vehicles. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety, and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint management, endpoint security, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry's vision is clear - to secure a connected future you can trust.

For more information, visit BlackBerry.com and follow @BlackBerry.

Trademarks, including but not limited to BLACKBERRY and EMBLEM Design are the trademarks or registered trademarks of BlackBerry Limited, and the exclusive rights to such trademarks are expressly reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. BlackBerry is not responsible for any third-party products or services.



Media Contacts:

BlackBerry Media Relations

+1 (519) 597-7273

mediarelations@BlackBerry.com

SOURCE: BlackBerry

View the original press release on accesswire.com
QINGDAO, China, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from chinadaily.com.cn:

Important in Qingdao's development strategy, Laoshan district is a city of science and technology that is a fertile ground for innovation and a number of strategic emerging industries and future industries.

In 1994, the initial batch of high-tech enterprises in Qingdao began to congregate in Laoshan. Over the past 30 years, Laoshan has focused on expanding and strengthening the value chains of seven key industries including artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and modern finance.

The district has attracted a large number of innovative enterprises, including nine unicorn companies, 28 nationally recognized specialized and new "little giant" enterprises, 47 provincial-level gazelle enterprises, and 920 high-tech enterprises, all of which are among the top in the city in terms of quantity.

Laoshan district currently has the highest density of scientific and technological innovation in Shandong, with 178 high-tech enterprises per 10,000 companies, 52 national and provincial-level scientific research institutions, and 160 academicians and high-level talents.

By 2023, the proportion of the output value of high-tech industries in Laoshan district to the total output value of large-scale industries reached 86.55 percent, with the leading industry scale exceeding 180 billion yuan ($25.33 billion). Laoshan district has been selected as one of the nation's top 100 industrial zones for two consecutive years.

Taking virtual reality as an example, as early as 2016, Laoshan district proposed that it become China's virtual reality industry capital. In 2022, Qingdao constructed an industrial park featuring virtual reality in Laoshan, which has a planned area of over 2,000 mu (133.33 hectares), aiming to create an internationally leading highland for the virtual reality industry.

With the establishment of the industrial park, Laoshan district has vigorously attracted industry-leading enterprises and high-growth companies, as well as top talents in virtual reality. Currently, the park has attracted leading consumer-facing companies such as Douyin Pico and Dapeng VR, as well as core supporting enterprises such as electroacoustic components manufacturer GoerTek and Chinese virtual reality headset maker Pico. Shipments of high-end VR products from leading companies in the park account for over 80 percent of the domestic market.

In 2023, the scale of the virtual reality industry in Laoshan district surpassed 18 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 50 percent, and the virtual reality industry cluster was selected as a provincial-level future industry cluster.

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/qingdaos-laoshan-district-boosts-innovative-growth-302308048.html
Kawasaki, Japan and Walldorf, German, Nov 18, 2024 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu and SAP Fioneer have signed a partnership master agreement to accelerate the digital transformation of Japan's insurance industry. Under the agreement, Fujitsu and SAP Fioneer will collaborate on product planning, development, and marketing, including the development of the Japan Edition of SAP Fioneer Cloud for Insurance (1), an end-to-end cloud-based platform that packages core insurance services and combines localized business content with global industry best practice.The insurance industry is undergoing a profound transformation driven by technological advancements, including the rise of the digital native generation and the emergence of FinTech companies, but also societal challenges including declining birth rates and an aging population. These dynamics are not only reshaping customer expectations but also intensifying the competitive landscape - both on a global scale and in Japan. To ensure that they are positioned for sustainable success in a rapidly evolving market, insurers need to address critical challenges such as outdated and opaque legacy systems and a shortage of skilled IT professionals, and accelerate digital transformation to enhance compliance and operational efficiency.With the Japan Edition of SAP Fioneer Cloud for Insurance that Fujitsu plans to provide, customers will be able to quickly standardize core insurance operations and systems such as product management, quotation and underwriting management, policy management and claim management. They will also gain a competitive advantage by strategically allocating resources, such as personnel and investments, to high value-added areas such as new product development and sales channel expansion, while ensuring robust IT capabilities and continuous quality improvements.In addition, by developing this edition as the de facto standard for business collaboration in the insurance industry in Japan, Fujitsu and SAP Fioneer aim to drive innovation in products, channels and processes, as well as strengthen governance across the sector.Based on this partnership agreement, Fujitsu will conduct proof-of-concept projects with customers to validate the feasibility of the Japan Edition of SAP Fioneer Cloud for Insurance and aims to start offering the service by the end of March 2026.Masaru Yagi, Corporate Executive Officer, EVP, Vice Head of Global Customer Success, Fujitsu Limited, comments:"We are excited to start a partnership with SAP Fioneer. The collaboration marks a pivotal moment in our efforts to drive digital transformation (DX) for our financial customers. By merging SAP Fioneer's cutting-edge financial services solutions with Fujitsu's unparalleled expertise and quality in system development for the financial sector, we are poised to deliver groundbreaking and efficient solutions like never before. Through this partnership, we will closely collaborate with SAP Fioneer from product planning to development and marketing, and advance DX in the financial industry."Chirag Shah, Managing Director Insurance, SAP Fioneer comments:"Japan's insurance market requires solutions that address its unique local regulatory and functional requirements. In response to the industry's demand for an adaptable packaged software suited to the Japanese insurance sector, we are partnering with Fujitsu to develop the Japan Edition of SAP Fioneer Cloud for Insurance, our core insurance platform, which combines localized business content with global industry best practices."(1) Cloud for Insurance: SAP Fioneer solution that covers end-to-end core insurance business processes, including product management, quoting and underwriting, contract management, insurance payments, and claims collection. It is built on SAP Fioneer's proven and performant technology and is trusted by major insurers around the world.About FujitsuFujitsu's purpose is to make the world more sustainable by building trust in society through innovation. As the digital transformation partner of choice for customers in over 100 countries, our 124,000 employees work to resolve some of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Our range of services and solutions draw on five key technologies: Computing, Networks, AI, Data & Security, and Converging Technologies, which we bring together to deliver sustainability transformation. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 3.7 trillion yen (US$26 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024 and remains the top digital services company in Japan by market share. Find out more: www.fujitsu.com.About SAP FioneerSAP Fioneer was launched in 2021 as a joint venture between global technology leader SAP and entrepreneurial investor Dediq to become the world's leading provider of financial services software solutions and platforms.With a broad ecosystem of partners, over 800 financial services customers and more than 1,300 employees, SAP Fioneer is a global business present in 17 countries across Europe, North and Latin America, Middle East and Asia-Pacific.Press Contacts:Fujitsu LimitedPublic and Investor Relations DivisionInquiries (https://bit.ly/3rrQ4mB)SAP FioneerContact, press only:E-mail: press@sapfioneer.comSource: Fujitsu LtdCopyright 2024 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Call for global governments, agencies and organisations, to combat pervasive and deadly atrocities

The Rt. Hon Dominic Raab, in partnership with the World Gold Council, today publishes a new report examining the systemic threats from the illicit trade of gold through artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM).

The Silence is Golden report finds the ASGM industry, responsible for an estimated 20% of annual gold supply and about 80% of gold mining employment1, is being targeted by criminal gangs, armed groups and corrupt officials, presenting a real and present danger to international security.

The report notes the top fundamental challenges that plague ASGM are:

1) The lack of transparency across businesses and governments for implementation and compliance with legal standards.

2) Failures of accountability creating serious breaches of national law and international obligations, allowing criminals to operate freely.

3) Criminals extracting enormous profits from serious human rights abuses, due to disconnected enforcement and compliance efforts across nations and international agencies.

In response, it outlines four strategic objectives with 24 practical actions for governments, international organisations, NGOs, mining companies and economic development organisations. These include prosecuting and disrupting criminal perpetrators and sustaining a coordinated and focused international effort across G7 and G20 countries to tackle these pervasive issues.

"Governments, international organisations and the gold sector must work together to prosecute criminals, prevent illicit profiteering and integrate responsible ASGM into the legal and viable supply chain," said Rt. Hon Dominic Raab, former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the report's author. "It will now require coordinated and sustained international attention and action to prevent the illicit flows from gold from bankrolling the war in Ukraine and enabling Al Qaeda and Islamic State to regroup in Africa."

"Without viable economic alternatives, the poorest and most marginalised of our world's citizens are forced into artisanal gold mining, taking place within hazardous conditions and of little economic gain for their families," said David Tait, CEO, World Gold Council. "Our partnership with Dominic Raab is a call to action to both redirect illicit gold away from the world's bad actors and improve the lives of those working in the sector, offering actionable ways that governments and international agencies can contribute to positive change, both environmental and economic for the millions impacted globally."

ASGM, as defined in the report, is gold mining conducted by individuals or small enterprises with limited capital investment and production. While this practice spans 80 countries, it is particularly focused in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The majority of ASGM operates outside of formal legal frameworks, within the shadow economy, making it especially susceptible to serious risks and challenges including evasion of tax revenue for governments, lack of basic safety standards that can cause mercury poisoning and other maladies, and safety concerns for the miners and their communities.

To learn more about the report and download a copy: Artisanal Small Scale Gold Mining World Gold Council

World Gold Council

We are a membership organisation that champions the role gold plays as a strategic asset, shaping the future of a responsible and accessible gold supply chain. Our team of experts builds understanding of the use case and possibilities of gold through trusted research, analysis, commentary, and insights. We drive industry progress, shaping policy and setting the standards for a perpetual and sustainable gold market.

You can follow the World Gold Council on X (Twitter) at @goldcouncil and LinkedIn.

________________________

1 Please note these statistics are estimated and sourced from 'Global Trends in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining, A Review of Key Numbers and Issues', Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development, 2017.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241117372074/en/

Contacts:

For further information please contact:

Stephanie Cadman, World Gold Council, T: +44 20 7826 4740 E: stephanie.cadman@gold.org

Lizzie Murray, Vested T: +44 7914 698 310 E: wgc@fullyvested.com
Trogenix Unveils Revolutionary Platform to Transform Cancer Treatment Through Precision Viral Immunotherapy

Company founded by 4BIO Capital and Professor Steve Pollard as a spinout from the University of Edinburgh to commercialise its breakthrough Synthetic Super-Enhancer platform, Odysseus, to enable unprecedented precision in targeting aggressive cancers

IQ Capital, Cancer Research Horizons, National Brain Tumor Society, AIN Ventures and Old College Capital now also investors in Trogenix

Dr Ken Macnamara, a veteran gene therapy executive who held leadership roles at Bayer/AskBio and Synpromics, appointed as Chief Executive Officer

Tay Salimullah, former executive team member at Novartis Gene Therapies, joins the Board as Trogenix advances towards clinical development

Edinburgh, UK, 18 November 2024 -- Trogenix Ltd today emerged from stealth mode to unveil its groundbreaking therapeutic platform for treating aggressive cancers. Built from inception by 4BIO Capital, which specialises in creating breakthrough therapeutic companies, Trogenix spun out from the University of Edinburgh in 2023 and raised a seed financing round earlier this year. Leading life science and deep tech investors IQ Capital, Cancer Research Horizons, the US National Brain Tumor Society's Brain Tumor Investment Fund, AIN Ventures and the University of Edinburgh's venture investment fund, Old College Capital, have also invested in Trogenix.

"Cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide, with current therapies often falling short, especially for aggressive solid tumours," said Dr Ken Macnamara, Chief Executive Officer of Trogenix. "We founded Trogenix to transform cancer treatment from chronic disease management to potentially curative one-time treatments. Our Synthetic Super-Enhancer technology represents a significant breakthrough in precision cancer therapy, offering unprecedented selectivity in targeting cancer cells and activating the body's own immune system against tumours, all while leaving healthy cells untouched."

The company's lead programme targets glioblastoma (GBM), the most aggressive form of brain cancer, where only 25% of patients survive beyond one year. Preclinical studies have demonstrated curative responses with no toxicity and evidence of persistent anti-tumour immunity, with Phase 1/2 clinical trials planned for 2025.

"Trogenix exemplifies our approach to advancing revolutionary therapeutic platforms from concept to reality," said Dmitry (Dima) Kuzmin, Managing Partner at 4BIO Capital and Founding Chairman of Trogenix. "By combining our deep expertise in advanced therapies with the company's breakthrough science, we've helped shape a platform with the potential to fundamentally change cancer treatment. The convergence of synthetic biology, machine learning, gene therapy, and precision targeting in Trogenix's technology represents exactly the kind of innovation needed to deliver next-generation curative treatments. Being able to discern a cancer cell in situ from a healthy cell without relying on a surface antigen is truly revolutionary."

The company's proprietary Synthetic Super-Enhancers (SSEs) are engineered DNA elements that act as docking stations for transcription factors uniquely expressed in aggressive cancer cells. This enables highly selective and potent gene control with multiple layers of safety, including direct tumour injection for localised delivery and self-limiting control mechanisms.

Through these SSEs, Trogenix's Odysseus platform delivers a comprehensive attack on cancer through controlled cell killing via targeted expression of cytotoxic payloads, immune modulation to overcome tumour-induced immunosuppression, and a unique 'Trojan Horse' approach that reawakens the immune system to provide long-term protection against recurrence.

World-Class Leadership Team

Trogenix emerged from groundbreaking research at the University of Edinburgh - including its UK Centre for Mammalian Synthetic Biology and Institute for Regeneration and Repair - and the Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre. The company was co-founded by Professor Steve Pollard, a renowned authority in regenerative medicine and cancer biology, who serves as Chief Scientific Officer. Under his leadership, the company has rapidly advanced its revolutionary SSE platform from concept to preclinical proof-of-concept. Chief Executive Officer Dr Ken Macnamara brings extensive leadership experience in gene therapy and biotech, including senior roles at AskBio (a Bayer company), and involvement in three successful M&A exits.

"Our Odysseus platform represents a significant advancement in cancer treatment," said Professor Steve Pollard, Chief Scientific Officer of Trogenix. "By precisely targeting cancer cell states rather than just cell types, we can achieve unprecedented selectivity while activating the body's own immune system against the tumour. Our preclinical studies in glioblastoma have demonstrated complete responses with no toxicity and evidence of persistent anti-tumour immunity."

Beyond GBM, Trogenix is advancing programmes in colorectal cancer liver metastases, hepatocellular carcinoma, lung squamous cell carcinoma, and regenerative medicine, with the goal of submitting five Investigational New Drug (IND) applications in five years.

Strategic Board Appointment

As Trogenix advances its groundbreaking platform toward clinical development, the company has appointed Tay Salimullah to its Board of Directors, his first Board appointment since leaving Novartis Gene Therapies. Tay has over 20 years of leadership experience in the rare disease and MedTech sectors, with a proven track record in incubating and scaling innovative, high-value technologies, including cell and gene therapies. He spent over a decade at Novartis in a series of leadership roles. As an Executive team member at Novartis Gene Therapies, Tay executed a new commercial model for Zolgensma securing approvals in more than 55 countries, helping to treat over 4,000 patients, and generating more than $5 billion in revenue. Prior to his roles at Novartis, Tay worked in a variety of investment and healthcare roles, including a decade at Pfizer where he held several strategic and commercial roles. His expertise spans drug development, pricing science, market access, and operational excellence in high-value healthcare solutions. Tay holds a BSc in Management Sciences from the University of Brunel, London.

About Trogenix

Trogenix unites cutting-edge technologies in genomics, oncology, immunotherapy, and gene therapy to create a revolutionary therapeutic approach through its Odysseus platform. Using proven AAV vectors, our proprietary Synthetic Super-Enhancers (SSEs) are delivered directly to tumour cells without detection. Our SSEs enable unprecedented precision in gene control, effectively revealing cancer to the body's immune system and killing tumour cells. For any cells escaping Trogenix's technology, our 'Trojan horse' reawakens the immune system, countering recurrence and offering potentially curative 'one-and-done' treatments for aggressive tumours. With our lead asset showing curative potential in preclinical glioblastoma studies, we're poised to transform treatment paradigms across multiple cancer types and explore applications beyond oncology, such as regenerative medicine.

For more information, visit www.trogenixbio.com.

About 4BIO Capital

4BIO Capital ('4BIO') is an international venture capital firm headquartered in London, focused solely on the advanced and emerging therapies sector. The 4BIO team, which has an unrivalled network within the advanced therapy sector, comprises leading advanced therapy scientists and experienced life science investors.

The firm maintains a global footprint across the US, Europe and Asia with an objective to create, invest in, support, and grow early-stage companies. Its ultimate goal is ensuring access to potentially curative therapies for all patients, with a specific focus on viable, high-quality opportunities in cell and gene therapy, RNA-based therapy, targeted therapies, and the microbiome.

4BIO is currently investing out of its Fund III, having secured support from prominent global institutional investors, including the Children's Minnesota, UPMC, Development Bank of Japan, Kyowa Kirin, Exor, and many other endowments and foundations.

For more information, please visit www.4BioCapital.com

For more media enquiries, please contact:

trogenix@icrhealthcare.com
Quantoz Payments to receive investment from Fabric Ventures, Kraken and Tether

UTRECHT, The Netherlands, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Quantoz Payments B.V. (Quantoz), the Netherlands headquartered payments technology company, is pleased to announce that it will start issuing two stablecoins EURQ and USDQ, designed to be MiCAR Compliant, on Monday 18th November.

EURQ and USDQ are respectively euro and US dollar-referenced E-Money Tokens (EMTs), issued on the Ethereum blockchain by Quantoz, an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) authorised and supervised by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Dutch Central Bank.

The new EMTs will facilitate euro and US dollar transfers and payments in secondary markets as well as transfers across digital asset and crypto exchanges. Fiat-referencing stablecoins on blockchains can enable digital and decentralised payments that are faster, more transparent, secure and cheaper when compared to existing payment infrastructure.

Bitfinex and Kraken, two of the world's longest standing and most secure crypto-asset exchanges, plan to be the first to list EURQ and USDQ for trading to eligible clients on Thursday 21st November.

Arnoud Star Busmann, CEO of Quantoz Payments, said:

"We are thrilled to bring to market truly European-native stablecoins, available on respected venues for European consumers and corporations, issued by a company with its roots in the Netherlands, one of Europe's leading fintech jurisdictions. The MiCA regulation brings a new level of trust to digital assets markets, not least through its prudential requirements on the issuers of stablecoins. As the world of payments becomes more digital, having well-regulated, transparent and fully backed stablecoins is critical to enabling faster, cheaper and more secure settlement within the world's largest single market."

A group of investors including Fabric Ventures, Kraken and Tether are underlining their support for Quantoz by investing in the company.

Anil Hansjee, General Partner at Fabric Ventures, said:

"Europeans speak loudly about MICAR making stablecoin issuance seamless in Europe and whilst there are clearer rules, there are very few players that can pull it off at scale. Think regulatory licenses, tier 1 banking partners with adequate liquidity ratios and balance sheets, blockchain expertise, state of the art and scalable compliance onboarding, on chain transaction monitoring, treasury and risk management, security DNA, let alone an ability to convince major European exchanges to list you and market makers to provide liquidity, as well as dApps to build use cases around you. Quantoz Payments have achieved all this and brought all the right components to the table to succeed. Fabric Ventures are delighted to be participating in this partnership and in an investment thesis that sits firmly at the intersection of our expertise in payments and crypto."

Mark Greenberg, VP of Product & GM of Consumer at Kraken, said:

"Stablecoins are the backbone of crypto, reshaping the way people connect traditional finance with the decentralized world. We're pumped to join this investment round and team up with industry partners to push the mission of crypto adoption forward."

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether said:

"Our support for Quantoz highlights Tether's commitment to fostering innovative and regulated solutions within the digital asset landscape. By supporting Quantoz and bringing technology solutions like Hadron by Tether, we reinforce our dedication to expanding reliable, compliant financial tools that empower users and build trust across the digital ecosystem."

Arnoud Star Busmann, CEO at Quantoz Payments, added:

"Quantoz is an established digital payments technology company in the heart of the European Union and started issuing EURD earlier this year, another euro-backed stablecoin focused on e-money solutions for consumer payment ecosystems as well as treasury management for corporates.

"The support through this investment round from some of the best businesses in digital assets will enable us to provide a timely solution for digital asset markets as well as unlock the benefits of blockchain based money for more traditional use cases. We are excited to be partnering with them on this journey."

The amount of EURQ and USDQ in circulation is fully backed 1-to-1 by fiat reserves and highly liquid financial instruments such as government bonds. These reserves are managed by an independent foundation, subject to strict DNB oversight and are placed in segregated accounts with Tier 1 banks. In addition to the requirement of maintaining 100% reserves to fully back all circulating assets, Quantoz is also required to hold an additional 2% on its own balance sheet as part of its obligations under MiCAR.

About Quantoz Payments

Founded in 2015, Quantoz N.V. is a financial technology company. Its subsidiary, Quantoz Payments, was founded in 2021 and issues USDQ, a US dollar backed E-Money Token (EMT) and two euro-backed EMTs, EURQ and EURD, within the European Economic Area. These EMTs facilitate fast, cheap, transparent and secure blockchain technology based payments.

Incorporated in the Netherlands, the Company holds an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the Dutch supervisory authority, the Dutch Central Bank. The funds received in exchange for the e-money tokens are held by Stichting Quantoz, a bankruptcy remote entity, which ensures that these funds are safeguarded following the requirements of MiCAR. The e-money tokens in circulation are fully backed 1-to-1 with fiat and highly liquid financial instruments. In addition, the Company is required to hold at least an additional 2% of reserves on its balance sheet. Quantoz Payments and Stichting Quantoz are subject to prudential supervision by DNB.

W: https://quantozpay.com/

L: https://www.linkedin.com/company/quantoz/

X: https://x.com/Quantoz

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2559444/Quantoz_Payments_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/quantoz-payments-issues-euro-and-us-dollar-stablecoins-receives-backing-from-major-crypto-asset-firms-302307632.html


EQS Newswire / 18/11/2024 / 09:29 CET/CEST

LIMA, PERU - Media OutReach Newswire - 18 November 2024 - Chinese President Xi Jinping has wrapped up his state visit to Peru, where he addressed the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and gave a written speech at the APEC CEO Summit. At these key meetings, President Xi emphasized China's commitment to fostering an inclusive, balanced, innovative and green global economy.



President Xi Jinping in Peru: China's 'neighbor' across the ocean

This year's APEC adopted the theme "Empower. Include. Grow." Against a backdrop of global uncertainties, Xi highlighted pressing challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region and presented China's proposals to enhance the region's development while building a shared future for its nations.



Reform and opening up

"Asia-Pacific cooperation is confronted with challenges, such as rising tendencies of geopolitics, unilateralism and protectionism. At this historic crossroads, we Asia-Pacific countries carry greater responsibilities on our shoulders," Xi said at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting on November 16.



Earlier this month, the seventh Hongqiao International Economic Forum released the World Openness Report 2024, which measured the openness levels of 129 economies from 2008 to 2023 and showed that the world's opening-up level declined over the past year.



In his written speech at the APEC CEO Summit on November 15, Xi highlighted the necessity of global economic governance reform and economic globalization to empower the Asia-Pacific economy for long-term growth. Economic globalization has always been the general trend, he said.



China has continued to push for reform and opening up. It has introduced measures to advance the process of opening up in sectors such as telecommunications, education and healthcare. Additionally, China remains active in advancing regional agreements, such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and pursuing membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA).



The signing of a protocol to upgrade the China-Peru Free Trade Agreement and ongoing negotiations for the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 also reflect China's commitment to fostering cross-border trade and economic collaboration.



Inclusive development

Global prosperity and stability cannot be achieved when the rich get richer and the poor poorer, Xi said in the written speech, noting true development means common development of all countries. "We should pursue economic globalization that is people-centered and delivers more balanced development and more equal opportunities, so that different countries, classes and communities can all benefit from development," he said.



This philosophy aligns with China's domestic and international actions. China's domestic achievements in poverty alleviation stand out as a key example. Over the past four decades, nearly 800 million people have been lifted out of poverty, marking one of the largest anti-poverty initiatives in history.



Internationally, China has supported developing nations through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which spans infrastructure, energy and trade projects. For instance, BRI project Chancay Port. The mega project, which was inaugurated on November 14 with President Xi and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte attending the opening ceremony via video link, connects Peru to regional markets and boosts its economic development.



At the APEC meetings, China proposed initiatives aimed at enhancing household incomes and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises across the region. These steps are designed to foster a more inclusive economic landscape, enabling diverse countries, communities and social groups to share in development outcomes.



Innovation-driven growth

"We should make full use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to rev up the world economy and stimulate its growth with the current technological revolution," Xi said in the written speech at the APEC CEO Summit.



China's contributions to technology and innovation have had far-reaching impacts. It has been responsible for over 40 percent of the annual additions to global renewable energy capacity since 2013. In 2023, the newly installed capacity in China accounted for more than half of the world's total, according to a white paper released by China's State Council Information Office.



In the digital realm, China's leadership in 5G technology has enabled rapid advancements in telecommunications and smart city development. Shenzhen, often referred to as China's "Silicon Valley," has become a global hub for innovation, housing companies like Huawei and Tencent.



During the APEC meetings, China unveiled its plans for a Global Cross-Border Data Flow Cooperation Initiative and proposed measures to support digital trade, green supply chains and AI collaboration. These initiatives aim to create a more sustainable and innovation-driven growth model for the Asia-Pacific region.



https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-11-18/How-China-empowers-the-development-of-Asia-Pacific-region-1yCsGRJVtDO/p.html

Hashtag: CGTN

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

News Source: CGTN

18/11/2024 Dissemination of a Financial Press Release, transmitted by EQS News.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



Media archive at www.todayir.com


New Delhi, Nov 18 (UNI) Amid rising incidents of violence in Manipur, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level meeting and reviewed the security situation in the state with senior security officials for the second consecutive day on Monday.

According to sources, the Home Minister directed the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) and the state police to maintain peace and order in the state, .

Meanwhile, the Central Government is also increasing the deployment of Central Police Forces to maintain law and order in the state and 50 additional companies of Central Police Forces are being deployed.

It may be mentioned that the centre had earlier deployed 20 companies there.

In view of the latest spurt in violent incidents in Manipur, Shah on Sunday had left the election campaign programme in Maharashtra and returned to Delhi where he reviewed the situation in Manipur in an emergency meeting with senior security officials in the North Block.

It may be mentioned that after the latest incidents of violence in Manipur, curfew has been imposed in many districts and internet services have also been shut in some areas.

Moreover, angry mob also vandalised the houses of some MLAs and ministers in the state.

On Saturday, the Union Home Ministry had directed the security forces to take necessary steps to maintain law and order and take strict action against the miscreants in Manipur.

UNI RBE CS1822
Oslo, Norway (18th November 2024) - Following a series of fixed income investor meetings as previously communicated, TGS ASA ("TGS" or the "Company"), a global leader in energy data and intelligence, announces the launch of an offering (the "Offering") of Senior Secured Notes with an expected aggregate principal amount of $550 million and maturity in 2030 (the "Notes").

In connection with the Offering, the Company also expects to enter into a senior secured credit facilities agreement, the proceeds from which, together with proceeds from the Offering and cash on hand, is expected to be used to redeem the entire outstanding amount of the 13.50% senior secured bonds due 2027 issued by Petroleum Geo-Services AS (the "2027 Bonds") and to repay the Company's other existing debt financing. This announcement does not constitute a notice of redemption under the indenture governing the 2027 Bonds.

In addition to the previously published Company presentation, the Company has also today published certain pro forma financial information and a refinancing overview, which can be found on the Company's corporate website.

For more information, visit TGS.com or contact:

Bard Stenberg

IR & Communication

Mobile: +47 992 45 235

investor@tgs.com



About TGS

TGS provides advanced data and intelligence to companies active in the energy sector. With leading-edge technology and solutions spanning the entire energy value chain, TGS offers a comprehensive range of insights to help clients make better decisions. Our broad range of products and advanced data technologies, coupled with a global, extensive and diverse energy data library, make TGS a trusted partner in supporting the exploration and production of energy resources worldwide.



Important notice

This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute a prospectus or any offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. This announcement also does not constitute an offer to purchase or the solicitation of an offer to purchase any security in the United States or any other jurisdiction, nor does it constitute a notice of redemption under the indenture governing the 2027 Bonds.

This announcement is not for public release, publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States (including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia), except to "qualified institutional buyers" ("QIBs") as defined in Rule 144A under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "SecuritiesAct"). This announcement does not constitute or form a part of any offer of, or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for, any securities in the United States. Any such securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act. Any such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States, except that the securities may be offered for sale in the United States to QIBs in reliance on the exemption from registration under Rule 144A. No public offering of securities will be made in the United States or in any other jurisdiction where such an offering is restricted or prohibited.

This announcement does not constitute an offer of the securities to the public in the United Kingdom. This announcement is directed only at persons (i) outside the United Kingdom; (ii) that have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order"); (iii) falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations etc.") of the Order or (iv) to whom this announcement may otherwise be directed without contravention of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). This announcement must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this announcement relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons.

In member states of the European Economic Area ("EEA") or the United Kingdom, this announcement is directed only at persons who are "qualified investors" under Regulation (EU) 2017/1129, as amended, or Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. This announcement does not constitute and shall not, in any circumstances, constitute a public offering nor an invitation to the public in connection with any offer within the meaning of the Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (as amended), and any relevant implementing measure in the relevant Member State of the EEA.

MiFID II professionals/UK MiFIR/ECPs-only / No PRIIPs KID - Manufacturer target market (MIFID II/UK MiFIR product governance) is eligible counterparties and professional clients only (all distribution channels). No PRIIPs key information document (KID) has been prepared as not available to retail in the EEA or the United Kingdom.

This announcement may include projections and other "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any such projections or statements reflect the current views of the Company about further events and financial performance. No assurances can be given that such events or performance will occur as projected and actual results may differ materially from these projections. Neither the content of the Company's website nor any website accessible by hyperlinks on the Company's website is incorporated in, or forms part of, this announcement. All statements in this announcement other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, which are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict and are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove accurate. These factors include volatile market conditions, investment opportunities in new and existing markets, demand for licensing of data within the energy industry, operational challenges, and reliance on a cyclical industry and principal customers. Actual results may differ materially from those expected or projected in the forward- looking statements. TGS undertakes no responsibility or obligation to update or alter forward-looking statements for any reason.

The distribution of this announcement into certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
Operational EBIT for Norway was NOK 1,082 million in the third quarter of 2024. The harvest volume was 56,400 tonnes, and operational EBIT per kg was NOK 19.2.

Operational EBIT for the group was NOK 1,041 million in the third quarter of 2024. The harvest volume was 60,300 tonnes, and operational EBIT per kg was NOK 17.3.

The farming segments in Norway were affected by biological challenges during the quarter, and volume expectations for 2024 have been reduced.

Sales and industry reported historically strong results, where the efficient and flexible operational setup, along with the contract share, positively impacted the results.

SalMar Aker Ocean completed the harvest of the remaining volume in 2024, and the production cycles for both Ocean Farm 1 and Arctic Offshore Farming are well underway, with planned harvesting in 2025.

Icelandic Salmon continued to be affected by low volume and high costs.

Scottish Sea Farms reported another good quarter with increased harvest volume, higher harvest weight, and good biological status in the sea across all regions.

"Although the results are affected by challenges at sea, the results also show that the structure we have at SalMar is solid and rigged to handle challenging periods, which makes the financial results acceptable during the period. Going forward, we are fully focused on improving performance and realizing the potential we see in the value chain", says Frode Arntsen, CEO of SalMar ASA.

Strengthening our presence in Norway

In November 2024, SalMar entered into an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in AS Knutshaugfisk through a combination of shares and cash. AS Knutshaugfisk currently has 3,464 tonnes MAB in licenses and four farming sites in production area six in Central Norway.

"Knutshaugfisk is a well-run family company with which we have developed a close and value-creating collaboration over many years. SalMar's acquisition of a significant stake in the company is a natural continuation of this collaboration", says Arntsen.

The completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in January 2025.

Significant potential for cost savings identified in the value chain

After realizing synergies following the acquisition of NRS, NTS, and SalmoNor in 2023, SalMar analyzed the entire value chain in 2024 to optimize the new company further. This work has identified NOK 1.2 billion in potential savings in the value chain. Through improved operational structure and increased efficiency, this is expected to be realized by 2029.

" The work ahead to further improve operations and increase efficiency in all parts of the company will make us even stronger going forward. We see strong demand for our products, and our job is to produce them as efficiently and sustainably as possible", says Arntsen.

Volume guidance and outlook

Volume guidance for 2024 has been reduced due to the biological challenges experienced, and it is now expected to be 217,000 tonnes in Norway. SalMar Aker Ocean has completed harvesting for the year and lands at 6,900 tonnes. Iceland remains unchanged at 13,000 tonnes. Scottish Sea Farms increases volume guidance for 2024 by 3,000 tonnes and expects 40,000 tonnes (100% basis). Considering the relative share in Scottish Sea Farms, a total of 257,000 tonnes is expected for the group.

For 2025, it is expected 254,000 tonnes in Norway, 9,000 tonnes from SalMar Aker Ocean, 15,000 tonnes in Iceland, and 32,000 tonnes in Scottish Sea Farms (100% basis). Considering the relative share from Scottish Sea Farms, a total of 294,000 tonnes is expected for the group, a 14 percent increase in harvest volume compared to 2024.

As a result of the acquisition of Knutshaugfisk and the purchase of volume on the traffic light earlier this year, the volume potential for SalMar has increased to 370,000 tonnes, considering the relative share in Scottish Sea Farms.

"We consider ourselves well-positioned to realize the potential we have in the value chain going forward. Although we have experienced challenges in 2024 that have affected harvest volumes, we are adapting to the challenges we have experienced through measures across the value chain and are confident in reaching our volume potential", concludes Arntsen.

The complete report and presentation for the third quarter is attached.

SalMar's CEO Frode Arntsen and CFO Ulrik Steinvik will present the company's results today at 08:00 CET at Hotel Continental in Oslo. The presentation will also be available on webcast on www.salmar.no.

For further information, please contact:

Frode Arntsen, CEO

Tel: +47 482 06 665

Email: frode.arntsen@salmar.no

Ulrik Steinvik, CFO

Tel: +47 900 84 538

Email: ulrik.steinvik@salmar.no

Hakon Husby, Head of Investor Relations

Tlf: +47 936 30 449

Email: hakon.husby@salmar.no

About SalMar

SalMar is one of the world's largest and most efficient producers of salmon. The Group has farming operations in Central Norway, Northern Norway and Iceland, as well as substantial harvesting and secondary processing operations. In addition, the company is operating within offshore aquaculture through the company SalMar Aker Ocean and SalMar owns 50% of the shares in Scottish Sea Farms Ltd.

See www.salmar.no for more information about the company.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements stipulated in section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks were steady on Monday amid a quiet day on the economic front.The benchmark FTSE 100 was marginally higher at 8,071 after closing 0.1 percent lower on Friday.Melrose Industries, the owner of aerospace parts maker GKN Aerospace, jumped 9 percent after reporting a 7 percent rise in revenue for the four-month period ended Oct. 31 and reiterating outlook for the rest of the year.Halma added half a percent. The safety equipment maker has acquired French firm Lamidey Noury Medical for around 42 million.AstraZeneca fell more than 1 percent despite receiving EU approval for its lung cancer drug.Elementis gained 1 percent. The specialty chemicals firm announced that its chief executive officer Paul Waterman would step down following nine years at the helm.Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights ReservedCopyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Partnership Leverages Immersive AR Technology and an agile Process for Creating 3D Models at Scale to Improve E-commerce Experiences

STOCKHOLM, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Fibbl, creators of the world's first plug-and-play platform for integrating 3D models and AR technologies onto e-commerce sites, is working with Samsonite to develop improved experiences for online shoppers, and to increase the efficiency of producing high-quality 3D models for its leading brand's websites: Samsonite, TUMI, and American Tourister. The announcement follows Fibbl's rapid expansion across 2024, growing to over 60 live customers and serving over one million end-user interactions per month.

-"This collaboration enables us to offer an immersive, interactive shopping experience that closely mirrors the in-store feel our customers love. By integrating Fibbl's advanced 3D and augmented reality capabilities, we're making it easier for our customers to explore and understand our products in rich detail from any device, ultimately building confidence and enhancing their journey from browsing to purchase," said Edouard Wattel, VP Digital & E-commerce at Samsonite Europe

-"By creating high-quality 3D assets with Fibbl, we're transforming the product experience on our site and building a versatile digital library for use across our marketing channels. These assets enable us to showcase products in rich, dynamic formats in social media, email marketing, and digital ads - bringing products to life with detail and realism that static images just can't achieve," said Joeri Van Holder, Sr. Digital Marketing Manager At Samsonite Europe

Fibbl delivers an easy-to-implement script-based solution for adding 3D models and XR technologies onto e-commerce sites and online platforms.

-"At Fibbl, we want to democratize high-quality 3D & XR for consumer brands by making them accessible, affordable, and scalable," explains Henrik Arlestig, CEO and co-founder of Fibbl.

E-commerce is usually dealing with higher return rates compared to physical stores. The reason is typically tied to a weaker product experience online as it's more difficult to discover, interact and understand the product from a static image.

- "Using a 3D viewer and virtual try-on technology, you can virtually pick up a shoe, twist and turn it, and then try it on before buying. Similarly, if shopping for luggage, I can place a virtual model of what I'm buying next to the bag I use today - comparing details and size," continued Mr. Arlestig.

Beyond improving consumers' online shopping experience, gaining access to high-quality 3D models benefits creative production efficiency and flexibility of marketing content. Fibbl enables brands to use new XR advertising formats and CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) to conceive stunning advertising campaigns and promotions.

Visit www.fibbl.com to learn more

PRESS CONTACT

FIBBL: Patrik von Bergen, CMO, +46 766 310 735 (patrik@fibbl.com - book meeting here)

SAMSONITE: Joeri Van Holder, Sr. Digital Marketing Manager (joeri.van.holder@samsonite.com )



Supporting content:

Samsonite Proxis PDP :

TUMI Alpha Bravo backpack PDP:

American Tourister Starvibe PDP:

About Fibbl

We believe in a world where the digital product experience exceeds the one of the physical world. Our mission is to create the world's largest database of photorealistic 3D assets from consumer brands, providing innovative display technologies with 3D content and seamless integrations to any digital platform.

About Samsonite

Founded in 1910, Samsonite is the world's leading luggage brand with an extensive legacy in trendsetting travel solutions. Renowned for breakthrough research and its commitment to innovation and sustainability, Samsonite has excelled since its inception in a number of industry firsts and offers an extensive range of travel, business, kids, casual and personal accessory products. Samsonite helps travellers to journey further, with ever - lighter and stronger products.

www.samsonite.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/fibbl/r/samsonite-and-fibbl-team-up-to-delight-customers-online,c4067417

The following files are available for download:

https://news.cision.com/fibbl/e/better-product-experiences-online,c3352637 Better product experiences online

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/samsonite-and-fibbl-team-up-to-delight-customers-online-302308354.html
MADRID (dpa-AFX) - Spain's foreign trade deficit decreased in September from a year ago, as exports grew faster than imports, preliminary data from the Economy Ministry showed on Monday.The trade deficit dropped to EUR 3.29 billion in September from EUR 3.83 billion in the corresponding month last year.In August, there was a shortfall of EUR 4.76 billion.Exports climbed 1.9 percent year-over-year in September versus 2.5 percent growth in August. Imports rose only 0.1 percent, much slower than the 3.2 percent growth a month ago.On a monthly basis, both exports and imports surged by 17.7 percent and 10.4 percent, respectively.The country's total trade deficit stood at EUR 11.27 billion in the third quarter, up from EUR 7.71 billion in the second quarter.Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights ReservedCopyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Commerzbank reaffirms its commitment to independence despite growing interest from Italian banking giant UniCredit. CEO Bettina Orlopp emphasized the bank's "clear and independent" strategy during the Euro Finance Week in Frankfurt, even as UniCredit increased its stake to 9% with potential access to up to 21% of shares. The German lender remains open to consolidation ideas that benefit the German and European markets but is wary of time-consuming integrations. In response to the situation, Commerzbank plans to accelerate its strategy review to further strengthen its market position.

Stock Performance and Share Buyback Progress

Commerzbank's stock saw a 1.51% increase on XETRA, reaching 16.14, following reports of a meeting between Commerzbank and UniCredit executives. The video conference primarily focused on Commerzbank's quarterly results rather than potential takeover scenarios. Concurrently, the bank continues its share buyback program, having repurchased 5,195,710 shares since November 7th, with 3,792,010 shares acquired in the week of November 11-15 at an average price of 15.88. This ongoing initiative may further bolster investor confidence and support positive stock performance.

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HONG KONG, Nov 18, 2024 - (ACN Newswire) - - The 14th Asian Logistics, Maritime and Aviation Conference (ALMAC) takes place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 18 and 19 November- Under the theme "Shaping the Future of Supply Chains: Resilience and Sustainability", over 80 distinguished speakers will participate in more than 20 forums to exchange views and discuss the latest industry developments- The first day of the conference features a special address by Chan Kwok-ki, Acting Chief Executive of the HKSAR; Fu Xuyin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Transport, the People's Republic of China, and officials from ASEAN countries, reinforcing Hong Kong's position as a superconnector and an international shipping centre and aviation hub- Sessions focus on three major trends - supply chain diversification, sustainability and green energy and innovation and technologyFollowing the Resolution of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and measures proposed in the latest Policy Address to strengthen Hong Kong's status as an international shipping centre and aviation hub, the 14th Asian Logistics, Maritime and Aviation Conference (ALMAC), co-organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), commences today at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, under the theme "Shaping the Future of Supply Chains: Resilience and Sustainability". As an annual event for the logistics, maritime, aviation and supply chain industries, the two-day conference gathers more than 80 heavyweight speakers, including government officials and industry leaders, to discuss industry trends and opportunities to help promote high-quality development of the logistics and supply chain management industry.Chan Kwok-ki, Acting Chief Executive of the HKSAR, delivered a special address, followed by Fu Xuyin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Transport, the People's Republic of China, Loke Siew Fook, Minister of Transport, Malaysia, H.E. Heng Nan, Secretary of State of Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Kingdom of Cambodia, H.E. Saysongkham Manodham, Vice Minister of Public Works and Transport Lao PDR, and H.E. Nguyen Xuan Sang, Deputy Minister of Transport, Vietnam. ASEAN is Hong Kong's second-largest trading partner, with a total bilateral trade of US$144.6 billion last year. As Hong Kong is actively seeking membership of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), trade relations between Hong Kong and ASEAN are poised to deepen further. The participation of government officials from ASEAN countries in the conference underscores the robust cooperation between Hong Kong and ASEAN.Margaret Fong, HKTDC Executive Director, said in her welcome remarks: "In today's fast-moving world, global trade has been buffeted by numerous headwinds, including geopolitical tensions and tariffs. This is further compounded by global logistics bottlenecks, rising freight rates, increased focus on sustainability and the growing uptake of digitalisation. As businesses grapple with such a complex environment, it is evident that effective supply chain management is the essential engine that drives sustained growth in global trade. It plays a pivotal role in combating uncertainty and future-proofing business operations. Reflecting the vital importance of Asian supply chains in today's interconnected world, this year's ALMAC will zero in on global business opportunities and supply chain management.Chan Kwok-ki, Acting Chief Executive of the HKSAR, said in his special address: "We see long-term opportunity in Hong Kong's rise as a green and smart port. Our Action Plan on Maritime and Port Development Strategy outlines that promising future, including building green fuel-bunkering capabilities. Just three days ago, we published an action plan on developing Hong Kong into a green maritime fuel-bunkering centre. Combining our aviation and maritime strengths, Hong Kong has long been a major cargo gateway to and from the Greater Bay Area."He additionally mentioned: "We will also step up efforts to develop Hong Kong into a cross-boundary, e-commerce logistics and distribution centre. This year's Asian Logistics, Maritime and Aviation Conference is all about creating a resilient and sustainable future for global supply chains. And Hong Kong is determined to play a vital part in that promising future."As the engine of business operations, supply chain management plays a pivotal role in combating uncertainty and future-proofing development. The first day featured a session titled "Steering Business Growth: Building an Evolving Supply Chain" hosted by Kelvin Leung, the immediate past President of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport in Hong Kong. Speakers including David O. King, Senior Vice President, Commercial, SEKO Logistics, Jotaro Tamura, Senior Managing Executive Officer, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, and representatives from international brands - including Arjen van Diepen, Head of Global Strategic Planning, the HEINEKEN Company, Bjoern Neal Kirchner, Corporate Vice President, Supply Chain Management, Henkel, and Kalyan Chakravorty, Senior Director, Global Productivity, Benchmarking & Analytics, Mondelz International - analysed the challenges and opportunities encountered by global supply chains and delved into how supply chain transformation and innovation could drive business expansion and foster sustainable development.A newly introduced session, "Navigating New Trade Lines for Mitigating Disruptions", brought together industry leaders, including David O. King, Senior Vice President, Commercial, SEKO Logistics, Wilson Kwong, Chief Executive, Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals, Eng. Loay Mashabi, Managing Director, Saudia Cargo, Louis Tang, Managing Director, Ocean Network Express (East Asia), and Delia Sun, Head of Supply Chain Management, DKSH. The session explored supply chain diversification and how emerging markets in Asia, the Middle East and North America can help enterprises build more resilient networks.Two Air Freight Forums explore Hong Kong's future as an aviation hubBeginning operations at the end of this month, the Hong Kong International Airport three-runway system will significantly enhance the airport's passenger and cargo capacity and help consolidate Hong Kong's position as an international aviation hub. Co-organised with the Airport Authority Hong Kong, two air freight forums "Cargo Aviation Hub of the World" and "Digital Air Cargo and Global Trade Ecosystem" feature experts including Tom Owen, Director, Cargo, Cathay Cargo, Dereje Derero, Managing Director, Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services, Ming Chan, Associate Fintech Director, Financial Infrastructure Department, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and Philip Chan, Head of Wholesale Digital, Hang Seng Bank, to discuss how the cargo industry can enhance Hong Kong's competitive edge as an international aviation hub through collaboration in premium warehousing, digital technology, and talent development.Day 2 focus on sustainability and green energy, 5 workshops will be held in the afternoonGiven society's greater emphasis on climate change action, more and more businesses across different industries are striving to reduce their carbon footprint and move towards net-zero emissions. Hong Kong is also committed to developing as a green maritime centre. In tomorrow's sessions "Fostering Sustainable Trade: Embracing Future-proofing Supply Chains and the debut "Green Energy Forum: Energy Transition towards Net Zero Emissions", Pernille Dahlgaard, Chief Officer of Government, Business & Analytics, Marsk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, Achim Martinka, Vice President, Global Airfreight-Commercial & Sustainability, DSV, Scott Childress, Chief Sustainability Officer, UPS, and Paolo Gallieri, Chief Operation Officer, Zhero, will shed light on best practices in integrating sustainability and explore strategies and technologies that facilitate the energy transition.In addition to thematic forums, ALMAC will feature a series of workshops on environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives, e-commerce, youth empowerment, halal logistics, and air freight decarbonisation. Speakers from Shell Aviation, Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited, Arup, and DKSH will provide participants with practical insights and tips.Following last year's success, this year's ALMAC exhibition continues to feature three zones including Logtech Salon, Supply Chain Management and Logistics Services, and Maritime and Port Services, showcasing innovative logistics and supply chain solutions from 90 exhibitors, including three major Hong Kong air cargo terminals (Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals, Cathay Cargo Terminal, and Asia Airfreight Terminal), together with other leading companies such as Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Ocean Network Express. The Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics and Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks (HKSTP) also host exhibition pavilions.The HKTDC encourages enterprises to leverage its trade platform and events to seek global business opportunities. Business matching sessions are offered at ALMAC, bringing together shippers and service providers to foster business partnerships and promote industry development.Photo downloadhttps://bit.ly/4fwil2mIn her welcome remarks, Margaret Fong, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), said: "Reflecting the vital importance of Asian supply chains in today's interconnected world, this year's ALMAC will zero in on global business opportunities and supply chain management.The 14th Asian Logistics, Maritime and Aviation Conference (ALMAC), jointly organised by the HKSAR Government and the HKTDC, commenced today at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and will run until tomorrowChan Kwok-ki, Acting Chief Executive of the HKSAR, delivered special remarks at ALMACFu Xuyin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Transport, the People's Republic of China, delivered special remarks at ALMACLoke Siew Fook, Minister of Transport, Malaysia, delivered special remarks at ALMACALMAC features three exhibition zones including Logtech Salon, Supply Chain Management and Logistics Services, and Maritime and Port Services, showcasing innovative logistics and supply chain solutions from 90 exhibitorsALMAC: https://www.almac.hk/main/en/ALMAC programme: https://almac.hktdc.com/conference/almac/en/programmeALMAC speaker list: https://almac.hktdc.com/conference/almac/en/speakerMedia enquiriesYuan Tung Financial Relations:Agnes Yiu Tel: (852) 3428 5690 Email: ayiu@yuantung.com.hkEdmund Choi Tel: (852) 3428 2360 Email: echoi@yuantung.com.hkHKTDC Communications & Public Affairs Department:Stanley So Tel: (852) 2584 4049 Email: stanley.hp.so@hktdc.orgClayton Lauw Tel: (852) 2584 4472 Email: clayton.y.lauw@hktdc.orgHKTDC Media Room: http://mediaroom.hktdc.comAbout HKTDCThe Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus.Source: HKTDCCopyright 2024 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
NORTH READING, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / Fifth-grade students from North Reading Public School District in Massachusetts achieved the best test scores in the state on this year's Massachusetts Common Assessment Program for Science (MCAS). The school district ranks first in the state, considered one of the best in the nation for public education, for elementary science this year. The North Reading Public School District is partnered with KnowAtom, a Massachusetts company and nationwide provider of K-8 Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-based curricula.

KnowAtom Students Figure Out Phenomena

In North Reading, science means students figure out phenomena taking on the role of scientists and engineers, developing key knowledge, dispositions, and skills to participate in STEM careers.





"The commitment of our district's science leaders and educators supported with access to KnowAtom's high-quality instructional materials provide amazing learning opportunities for all students. We take great pride in our students' experiences and celebrate their curiosity and ability to utilize science practices to solve real life problems," said Dr. Sean Killeen, North Reading's Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning.

Students from J. Turner Hood School scored highest on the MCAS of the district's three elementary schools, with 91% of students meeting or exceeding state proficiency levels and no students ranking in the lowest category of "not meeting expectations." In all, 87% of the district's fifth-grade students met or exceeded proficiency expectations, placing it first in the state among districts with 30 or more students tested. Only 44% of Massachusetts students statewide met or exceeded proficiency levels (MCAS Data, 2024). The North Reading Public School District uses KnowAtom's hands-on science curriculum, which is student and phenomena-driven, designed to meet Massachusetts Science and Technology Engineering Frameworks entirely hands-on screens-off.

"We are once again so proud of our students and teachers for this great achievement in elementary science that is also reflected in our scores in middle and high school," said Dr. Patrick Daly, Superintendent of North Reading Public Schools. "We dedicate time in our schedule for science, provide educators with high-quality curriculum materials, benefit from tremendous STEM leadership, first-rate educators, and parents who support our students by engaging in science activities and extracurriculars. There is community-wide support for our STEM programs in North Reading and we are very pleased with the outstanding student results."

The district's 2024 test results represent a 5-point increase over the previous year and a 7-point increase since 2021. In 2024, Consumer Affairs ranked Massachusetts the best in the country for public education, noting that "the state has the best fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math scores in the country on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests" (Consumer Affairs, 2024).

"With a focus on bringing together a team of highly qualified teachers, classroom methods that help create a culture of thinking, and administration that maintains a vision for quality science instruction, the North Reading Public School District has shown exceptional success yet again. We congratulate our long-term partners for ranking first in Massachusetts," said Francis Vigeant, CEO of KnowAtom. "KnowAtom partner school districts regularly rank top in the country for science. It takes both teaching and administrative excellence to develop top-performing students across multiple schools year after year, and the North Reading teaching community is more than good, they're exceptional!"

About KnowAtom

KnowAtom makes real science possible in every K-8 classroom. We provide a complete, high-quality K-8 solution designed for mastery of the Next Generation Science Standards: fully designed professional grade curriculum, integrated hands-on material kits, and targeted professional development. Our research-based, classroom-tested tools and techniques bring students' ideas to life with hands-on materials and technology.

Explore more at www.knowatom.com.

Contact Information

Nicole Lanoue

Press Contact

nlanoue@knowatom.com

617-475-3475 x2002

SOURCE: KnowAtom

View the original press release on newswire.com.
HONG KONG, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Trader Funds (hereinafter referred to as TTF), backed by the Magic Compass Group, a leading global fintech company, is excited to announce its participation in the upcoming World of Trading 2024, scheduled to take place on November 22-23 at the Frankfurt Trade Fair. As an Asian pioneer in prop trading models, TTF aims to bring its innovative solutions to the European market, recognizing the region's potential for growth and the increasing demand for advanced trading technologies.

In recent years, Europe has emerged as a critical hub for financial innovation, and TTF is eager to leverage its expertise in proprietary trading to elevate the trading landscape for European clients. "We believe that our unique approach to prop trading can significantly contribute to the evolving market in Europe, providing prop traders with opportunities." Alex Zhou, Chief Marketing Officer at TTF, as he unveiled insights about the upcoming event.

Experience the Future of Trading at the Event

Attendees of the World of Trading 2024 can anticipate an engaging and interactive experience at The Trader Funds exhibition booth. TTF will debut a cutting-edge virtual reality (VR) immersive trading simulation, allowing visitors to don VR devices and step into a simulated trading environment. This innovative approach not only demonstrates TTF's commitment to advancing the trading experience but also provides a unique opportunity for traders to engage with the latest technologies in a fun and accessible way.

At the World of Trading conference, attendees will hear from two leading figures at The Trader Funds (TTF) under the Magic Compass Group. Alex Zhou, Chief Marketing Officer, will present "Catalyst for Capital: Unleashing the Potential of Proprietary Trading with TTF," where he will unveil how TTF empowers traders through its robust platform and regulatory compliance. Following this, Yuri Zanoni, Marketing Director of TTF, will host an interactive seminar highlighting TTF's unique offerings, including innovative account structures and the TTF Academy, designed to enhance traders' skills and profitability. Together, these presentations promise to inspire and equip traders with the tools they need for success in the trading landscape.

In addition to the immersive VR experience and the sharing, TTF proudly announced a strategic partnership with a finance creator from Singapore, who will collaborate with the team at the event. This collaboration reflects TTF's commitment to merging technology with creativity, fostering a community of informed and engaged traders.

Looking Ahead

With preparations underway for World of Trading 2024, The Trader Funds is poised to make a significant impact in the European financial sector. A team of experts will be present to welcome visitors and showcase how TTF's cutting-edge technology can empower traders and investors in the prop trading industry. Stay tuned and make sure to catch them at Booth 6 to discover the future of trading with The Trader Funds!

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Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 18, 2024) - Aurania Resources Ltd. (TSXV: ARU) (OTCQB: AUIAF) (FSE: 20Q) ("Aurania" or the "Company") will be participating in Deutsche Goldmesse Fall 2024, on November 22nd at The Westin Grand Frankfurt.

Aurania's management team will be holding meetings throughout the day to discuss exploration activities in Ecuador and France. Aurania's Chairman, President & CEO, Dr. Keith Barron, will present to an audience of European investors at 2:00pm on November 22nd. An online registration form is available, and Investors can register to attend at: Investor Registration | Deutsche Goldmesse Fall 2024

Kai Hoffmann, Managing Director of Soar Financial Partners, remarks, "Following two virtual, and six in-person events, Deutsche Goldmesse has established itself as Germany's premier investment conference in the resource space. Being from Germany myself and working solely in the junior mining space for the last 15 years, I understand what German and European investors are looking for. This is why I have focused on bringing together a selective group of impressive and diverse companies, keynote speakers, influencers, HNW investors, asset & fund managers, media partners and more. I am excited to offer this boutique event once again, exclusive to the junior mining sector."

The Deutsche Goldmesse website is updated regularly with attending companies, keynote speakers, schedule, and other important details: https://www.deutschegoldmesse.com/

About Aurania

Aurania is a mineral exploration company engaged in the identification, evaluation, acquisition, and exploration of mineral property interests, with a focus on precious metals and copper in South America. Its flagship asset, The Lost Cities - Cutucu Project, is located in the Jurassic Metallogenic Belt in the eastern foothills of the Andes mountain range of southeastern Ecuador. www.aurania.com

About Deutsche Goldmesse

Deutsche Goldmesse is Germany's premier mining investment conference, based in Frankfurt- one of Europe's most important financial capitals. The exclusive two-day event brings together leading minds in the industry to foster new business opportunities and facilitate valuable relationships. Each edition will showcase up to 35 mining companies across various commodities and stages alongside internationally renowned keynote speakers, media personalities, and other influential figures in the industry.

Hosted by Soar Financial Partners, Deutsche Goldmesse provides a unique platform where company management can connect with a vast network of European institutional and HNW investors, retail investors, analysts, influencers, newsletter writers, media, and other local partners.

Information on Aurania and technical reports are available at www.aurania.com and www.sedarplus.ca, as well as on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/auranialtd/, Twitter at https://twitter.com/auranialtd, and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurania-resources-ltd-.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/230011

SOURCE: Soar Financial Partners
New Delhi, Nov 18 (UNI) Former Delhi Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Kailash Gahlot on Monday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here a day after he had resigned from the AAP.

He joined the party in the presence of Senior BJP Leader and Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, party's National Vice President Baijayant Panda, and Delhi BJP Chief Virendra Sachdeva, among other party leaders.

Speaking at the event, Khattar said, "Today, Delhi's former minister Kailash Gahlot has joined the BJP. This is a turning point in Delhi's politics as a senior minister of the Delhi Government has joined the BJP...I am sure that you must have seen the work of PM Modi and BJP before taking the decision to join BJP. I welcome you to the party".

'This is not an easy step for me. I was a part of the AAP since the time of Anna Hazare (the anti-corruption activist whose popular movement birthed the AAP) and have worked for Delhi throughout as MLA and Ninister," Gahlot said in his first comments after joining the BJP.

"Some may think this is an overnight decision... or due to pressure. But I want to tell them I haven't ever taken any decision due to pressure," he told reporters, firmly rejecting speculation the move was the result of "pressure" from investigative agencies.

On Sunday, in his resignation letter to AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Gahlot said that the party faces grave challenges and alleged that political ambitions have overtaken the party's commitments towards the people which has left many promises unfulfilled.

UNI JA CS1524
Halifax, Nova Scotia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 18, 2024) - GoGold Resources Inc. (TSX: GGD) (OTCQX: GLGDF) will be participating in Deutsche Goldmesse Fall 2024, which will take place on November 21st and 22nd at The Westin Grand Frankfurt.

Members of the GoGold Resources Inc. management will be taking meetings throughout the day, and also present to an audience of European investors.

An online registration form is available, and Investors can register to attend at:

Investor Registration | Deutsche Goldmesse Fall 2024

Kai Hoffmann, Managing Director of Soar Financial Partners, remarks, "Following two virtual, and six in-person events, Deutsche Goldmesse has established itself as Germany's premier investment conference in the resource space. Being from Germany myself and working solely in the junior mining space for the last 15 years, I understand what German and European investors are looking for. This is why I have focused on bringing together a selective group of impressive and diverse companies, keynote speakers, influencers, HNW investors, asset & fund managers, media partners and more. I am excited to offer this boutique event once again, exclusive to the junior mining sector."

The Deutsche Goldmesse website is updated regularly with attending companies, keynote speakers, schedule, and other important details: www.deutschegoldmesse.com

About GoGold Resources Inc.

GoGold Resources (TSX: GGD) is a Canadian-based silver and gold producer focused on operating, developing, exploring and acquiring high quality projects in Mexico. The Company operates the ParralTailings mine in the state of Chihuahua and has the Los Ricos South and Los Ricos North exploration projects in the state of Jalisco. Headquartered in Halifax, NS, GoGold is building a portfolio of low cost, high margin projects. For more information visit gogoldresources.com.

About Deutsche Goldmesse

Deutsche Goldmesse is Germany's premier mining investment conference, based in Frankfurt- one of Europe's most important financial capitals. The exclusive two-day event brings together leading minds in the industry to foster new business opportunities and facilitate valuable relationships. Each edition will showcase up to 35 mining companies across various commodities and stages alongside internationally renowned keynote speakers, media personalities, and other influential figures in the industry.

Hosted by Soar Financial Partners, Deutsche Goldmesse provides a unique platform where company management can connect with a vast network of European institutional and HNW investors, retail investors, analysts, influencers, newsletter writers, media, and other local partners.

SOURCE: Soar Financial Partners
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - The United Kingdom has successfully test-fired its cutting-edge SPEAR mini-cruise missile Sunday.SPEAR, which is a next generation turbojet-powered miniature cruise missile, successfully completed the trial after being fired from a BAE Systems-operated Typhoon jet at Vidsel range in Sweden. This was the first time the weapons system had been fired against a target, signifying a major leap forward in the program's development.SPEAR autonomously navigated to the target via customisable routes before using its advanced all-weather radar seeker to map the target area, and using the radio-frequency imagery to successfully engage it. The trial used a telemetry unit instead of a live warhead.Each missile can hit targets from 100 kilometers away and is designed to be used against a range of targets, including air defenses, ships, tanks, defended structures and fast-moving vehicles. Once in service it will be fitted to Britain's F-35B fighter jets and allow the military to strike targets both from land and Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard said, 'the successful trial of the pioneering SPEAR missile marks a significant leap forward in UK Armed Forces' capabilities, ensuring our Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel are equipped with cutting-edge technology to protect our nation.'This achievement not only strengthens national defense capabilities but also boosts the UK economy, by supporting high-skilled jobs and innovation.F-35B jets will be able to carry up to eight SPEAR missiles at a time, providing the next generation of long-range air-to-surface missiles. This guided firing trial marks a critical milestone in the development of the SPEAR program, which provides the next generation of stand-off air-to-surface missiles for Suppression of Enemy Air Defences missions in challenging and complex operating environments.Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights ReservedCopyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Ten trailblazing organizations from the Global South to receive over $14 million for digital inclusion efforts

Washington, D.C., Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Women in the Digital Economy Fund (WiDEF) is proud to announce the awardees of its first round of funding. Ten organizations, spanning eight countries across East Africa, West Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, have been selected for their innovative solutions and impact in tackling the gender digital divide.

The gender digital divide disproportionately impacts women in low- and middle-income countriesthat 244 million more men around the world than women used the internet. This staggering gap leaves millions of women and girls excluded from the transformative power of digital technologies that drive opportunities in education, employment, entrepreneurship, and financial independence. Such vast disparities in internet usage are exacerbated by a host of barriers across many geographies. Without targeted, sustained action, this digital divide will only deepen with the rapid advancement of emerging technologies - further marginalizing women and girls around the globe. That is where WiDEF comes in.

WiDEF launched its first call for proposals in March 2024, receiving more than 1,350 applications from 98 countries. Semifinalistsfor the award were announced in September 2024. An external selection panel of industry leaders assessed this final group of applicants for the potential impact of their proposals, their track records, and the clarity of their vision for the future. The ten awardees - eight of whom are women-led - will receive financial support ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million USD to scale up their solutions over the next two years.

"We are incredibly proud to support this diverse and innovative group of leaders lighting the path to universal, gender-equitable digital inclusion. By investing in local and women-led initiatives, WiDEF is advancing a real shift not only in what gets funded, but in who gets funded. We are confident that, alongside our partners, these amazing leaders will help break down the barriers preventing women and girls from participating fully in the digital economy. We could not be more excited to have the privilege to support and learn alongside them." said Christian Pennotti, Chief of Party for WiDEF and Managing Director at CARE.

The awardees are:

CITAD (https://citad.org.ng/)(Nigeria): Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) is tackling the gender digital divide in northern Nigeria by enhancing young people's digital skills, expanding their access to the internet, and advocating for policies and practices that promote gender equality and inclusive civic engagement.

DEMO (https://demo.org.pk/)(Pakistan): DEMO is addressing Pakistan's gender digital divide by providing digital entrepreneurial training to 10,000 female university students in remote and underserved regions, aiming to empower women and ensure financial independence.

DOT Kenya (https://kenya.dotrust.org/) (Kenya, Ethiopia): Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) Kenya's "Digital Skills at Scale" initiative aims to empower 10,000 young women in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Rwanda with digital and entrepreneurial skills, addressing socioeconomic barriers and safety concerns, and fostering leadership through "Digital Champions" to drive community change.

El Proyecto Hambre (The Hunger Project) (https://thp.org.mx/) (Mexico, Malawi, Ghana): El Proyecto Hambre's "Empowering the Digitally Underserved" (EDU) program works to bridge the digital divide for indigenous persons, women, and people with disabilities in Mexico, Malawi, and Ghana. The program focuses on increasing internet access and promoting participation in the digital economy.

Ensibuuko (https://ensibuuko.com/)(Tanzania, Ghana): Ensibuuko will digitize Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) in Uganda, Tanzania, and Ghana by creating 5,000 digital savings groups led by young women with aspirations to empower 125,000 members with improved financial management and opportunities through digital innovation.

KICTANet (https://www.kictanet.or.ke/)(Kenya): KICTANet's "Empowering Kenya Rural Women Through Digital Literacy" program aims to boost digital inclusion for marginalized women in 21 rural counties by providing digital literacy training, affordable loans for devices, and comprehensive support.

New Sun Road (https://newsunroad.com/) (Guatemala): New Sun Road's Digital Community Centers (DCCs) are set to empower approximately 250,000 indigenous Guatemalan women by providing electrification, internet access, and digital literacy training in both Spanish and Mayan languages to remote communities, addressing barriers of isolation, education, and representation in the digital economy.

Player First Limited / MESH (https://www.playerfirsttech.com/) (Kenya): Player First Limited/MESH's Bridging the Gender Digital Divide (BGDD) program seeks to empower female-led informal micro-businesses in Kenya by providing an online community platform for marketing, financial management, and customer engagement for young entrepreneurs.

Smart Regional Consultants (https://srctech.co.ke/home/index.html) (Kenya): SMART Regional Consultants (SRC) aims to bridge Northern Kenya's digital gender divide by enhancing economic opportunities for rural women through digital literacy programs, leveraging five existing incubation centers, and influencing policy for a more inclusive digital economy.

Tech Project Women (https://techherng.com/) (Nigeria): Tech Project Women, a feminist organization in Nigeria, seeks to enhance the personal and societal development of women and girls in peri-urban communities by improving digital skills, financial inclusion, and employability, while also addressing online harassment and gender-based violence.

To learn more about these incredible organizations, visit widef.global/R1awardees.

"The digital gender gap in Kenya is estimated at 43%, while in Ethiopia, only 11% of women have digital access compared to 20% of men. With support from WiDEF, DOT is accelerating the journey towards gender equality within the digital economy. This grant will enable us to empower 10,000 young people-70% women-with the skills to thrive in the digital economy. By addressing the gender digital divide, we are shaping a future where youth, especially young women, can confidently lead in digital transformation." said Esther Gathigi Kibugi, Country Director of awardee organization, DOT Kenya.

WiDEF is a collaborative effort by USAID and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to address gender digital inequalities. With new partnerships and investments from the Reliance Foundation and the UPS Foundation, the initiative is committing over $80 million to accelerate progress in digital inclusion. WiDEF's latest call for proposals was launched this November, with a specific focus on India-based organizations. For more information or to join the mailing list, visit widef.global.

About the Women in the Digital Economy Fund

The Women in the Digital Economy Fund.
EQS-News: PlusPlus Capital Financial S.a.r.l. / Key word(s): 9 Month figures/Conference

PlusPlus Capital reports on 9M 2024 and outlines Recent Developments in its Reorganization Process - Invitation to Investors Call on 21 November 2024



18.11.2024 / 15:30 CET/CEST

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





PlusPlus Capital reports on 9M 2024 and outlines Recent Developments in its Reorganization Process

Invitation to investors call on 21 November 2024



Tallinn, Estonia, 18 November 2024. PlusPlus Capital ("PPC"), a leading pan-Baltic and Finnish technology-driven receivables management group, has published its 9M 2024 report and outlines the recent developments in its reorganization process.



The 9M 2024 report is available on the Company's website at:

https://pluspluscapital.eu/investor-relations/reports-and-presentations/ .



Update Call:

PlusPlus Capital cordially invites investors and analysts to an investor call with the Management on 21 November 2024, 13.00 CET.

The Management Board will comment on 9M 2024 and outline the recent developments in its reorganization by means of a webcast presentation. The update call will be held in English and will be recorded.

Please register in time to participate in the update call at:

PlusPlus Capital - Investors Call .



Contact:

PlusPlus Capital

Kaarel Raik, Member of the Management Board

Email: kaarel.raik@plusplus.ee

Phone: +372 56 606 148



About PlusPlus Capital:

PlusPlus is a pan-Baltic and Finnish technology-driven receivables management company with offices in Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, and Helsinki. The Company acquires overdue loans and other non-performing exposures from financial institutions and non-financial sector merchants. With its core competence in handling claims against private individuals, PlusPlus prefers diversified portfolios balanced by geography, portfolio type, and other metrics.

Since its inception in 2010, PlusPlus has bought over 120 thousand claims with nominal value of approximately EUR 270 million. The Company offers its clients affordable recovery solutions and aims to avoid litigious scenarios. In doing so, PlusPlus pursues win-win solutions that allow sellers to focus on their core business, provide affordable solutions for borrowers, and ensure adequate returns for investors.

PlusPlus is a transparent and socially responsible company set to assist people in resolving problems connected with their insufficient solvency. The ambition of PlusPlus is to increase its market share and further strengthen its position as a leading player in its regional market.

pluspluscapital.eu

18.11.2024 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.eqs-news.com


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crypto market sentiment turned volatile even as anticipation of a crypto-friendly regulatory regime in the U.S. heightened. Overall crypto market capitalization has slipped 0.36 percent overnight and is currently at $3.03 trillion.Bitcoin slipped 0.77 percent overnight to trade at $89,899.58, around 4 percent below the all-time high. The original cryptocurrency touched a high of $92,194.36 and a low of $88,741.67 in the past 24 hours. Weekly gains are at 9.6 percent whereas gains over the 30-day horizon are close to 32 percent. Gains in 2024 are at 112 percent.Data from Farside Investors showed outflows from Bitcoin Spot ETF products in the U.S declining to $370 million from $401 million on Thursday. No ETF recorded net inflows on Friday.Ethereum slipped 0.76 percent in the past 24 hours to trade at $3,076.88, around 37 percent below the previous peak. Weekly losses are at 2.9 percent. Gains over the 30-day horizon are at 16.6 percent whereas year-to-date gains are a little less than 35 percent.Data from Farside Investors on Ethereum Spot ETF products in the U.S. showed net outflows of $60 million on Friday as compared with $3 million on Thursday.4th ranked Solana (SOL) gained 3.1 percent overnight and 9.5 percent in the past week to trade at $239.61.5th ranked BNB (BNB) slipped 1.6 percent overnight and 0.4 percent in the past week. BNB is currently trading at $616.82.6th ranked XRP (XRP) has added 2.71 percent overnight to trade at $1.13. The cryptocurrency issued by Ripple Labs has jumped close to 95 percent in the past week. Gains exceed 84 percent on a year-to-date basis.7th ranked Dogecoin (DOGE) declined 0.6 percent overnight to trade at $0.3608. DOGE has added 24 percent in the past week and more than 300 percent in 2024.9th ranked Cardano (ADA) gained 1.2 percent overnight to trade at $0.7319. ADA is currently trading 76 percent below the record high till date.10th ranked TRON (TRX) added 2.7 percent overnight to trade at $ 0.2021. TRX has gained 22.5 percent in the past week. The trading price is 33 percent below the cryptocurrency's all-time high.28th ranked Hedera (HBAR) topped overnight gains with a surge of close to 28 percent.20th ranked Stellar (KLM) and 32nd ranked Mantra (OM), both gained more than 18 percent.77th ranked Goatseus Maximus (GOAT) that has declined 17.8 percent is the greatest laggard on an overnight basis.Amidst persisting post-election market momentum and hopes of a crypto-friendly regulatory regime in the U.S., inflows to digital asset investment products recorded a massive jump in the past week. The CoinShares' Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly report showed inflows of $2.2 billion during the week ended November 16, rising from $1.98 billion during the week ended November 8. Year-to-date flows have increased to record high of $33.5 billion. According to the report, Bitcoin topped flows by asset, iShares ETF topped flows by provider and United States topped flows by country during the past week.Bitcoin-based products dominated with inflows of $1.5 billion. Ethereum-based products recorded inflows of $646 million. Short Bitcoin products recorded inflows of $48.5 million. Solana followed with inflows of $23.9 million. Multi-asset products however recorded outflows of $19.4 million.Close to 83 percent of the cumulative AUM of $135.9 billion is attributed to Bitcoin products that account for an AUM of $112.8 billion. Bitcoin's dominance of crypto market is much lower, at around 59 percent.AUM of Ethereum products stood at $13.3 billion. Multi-asset portfolios command assets under management of $6.5 billion. An AUM of $1.8 billion is attributed to Solana-based products and $601 million to Binance-based products.The provider-wise analysis of flows inter alia shows inflows of $2.2 billion to iShares ETF. Ark 21Shares recorded outflows of $153 million followed by Grayscale Investments that recorded outflows of $108 million. Bitwise ETF and CoinShares XBT, both recorded outflows of more than $60 million.iShares ETF tops with a cumulative AUM of $43.4 billion implying a share of close to 32 percent. Though year-to-date outflows exceed $19.9 billion, Grayscale Investments still accounts for an AUM of $27.4 billion, which is 20.16 percent of the cumulative AUM of $135.9 billion. Fidelity commands an AUM of $17.4 billion, followed by ARK 21Shares and 21Shares that have both mobilized assets under management of more than $4.1 billion.The top 3 viz iShares, Grayscale Investments and Fidelity account for more than 64.8 percent of the total AUM.The country-wise analysis shows weekly inflows of $2.21 billion to United States. Hong Kong recorded inflows of $27 million followed by Australia that recorded inflows of $18.3 million.Sweden topped outflows with $58.1 million followed by Brazil that recorded outflows of $10.5 million.2024 has been a super year for digital asset investment products with inflows of $33.5 billion. Bitcoin ETF frenzy and expectations of pro-crypto policies from the new Trump administration boosted inflows to the United States which has seen year-to-date inflows of $33.42 billion. Switzerland has recorded inflows of $688 million followed by Hong Kong with inflows of $352 million and Brazil with inflows of $190 million. Sweden, Canada and Germany have recorded negative flows over the year-to-date period. Of the cumulative AUM of $135.9 billion, $105.3 billion or 77.5 percent is in United States. Switzerland follows with AUM of $6.4 billion whereas Canada accounts for an AUM of $5.96 billion. Germany accounts for an AUM of $5.11 billion followed by Sweden with an AUM of $3.75 billion.For More Cryptocurrency News, visit rttnews.comCopyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights ReservedCopyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
Meetings and networking activities strengthen Costa Rica's presence among investors.

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Agency (PROCOMER) has intensified its efforts to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) by participating in four key events: the Web Summit 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal; the Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference & Operations Summit (CHICOS) in the Caribbean; the MEDICA trade fair in Dusseldorf, Germany; and SEMICON Europa in Munich, Germany.

Held from November 11 to 14, 2024, these events were part of PROCOMER's strategy to position Costa Rica as an ideal destination for investment in strategic sectors: information and communication technologies (ICT), tourism infrastructure, medical devices, and semiconductors.

PROCOMER organized meetings with potential investors and representatives from strategic industries at each of these events. Additionally, networking activities were conducted to showcase Costa Rica's business opportunities and foster direct connections with companies. These efforts were complemented by prospecting strategies to identify and attract potential leads.

"These events are essential to our strategy of diversifying and positioning Costa Rica in the international market. PROCOMER's participation reinforces the country's global presence and allows us to secure new investment opportunities that will generate high-quality jobs and strengthen high-value-added sectors in Costa Rica," said Monica Umana, PROCOMER's Investment Manager.

Event Highlights

MEDICA Trade Fair

From November 11 to 14, Costa Rica was present at MEDICA, held at Messe Dusseldorf, Germany. This is one of the world's most important events for the life sciences sector, with a focus on medical devices. PROCOMER hosted a booth where meetings with potential investors were scheduled. The event strategy included networking activities and direct meetings with MedTech companies, strengthening Costa Rica's position as a hub for advanced manufacturing and medical technology.

According to PROCOMER, this sector experienced significant growth of 13% between January and September 2024, reaching $6.288 billion in exports. Medical devices such as needles, catheters, and surgical instruments drove this growth with notable increases in export value.

Web Summit 2024

In Lisbon, Portugal, PROCOMER participated in Web Summit 2024, one of the most influential events in the tech sector, bringing together technology leaders, startups, and investors. This platform allowed Costa Rica to position itself as a competitive destination for investments in advanced technology and high-value-added services, highlighting the country's advantages in infrastructure and a highly skilled workforce in fields such as artificial intelligence, telecommunications, and digital development.

The ICT and business services sector has been a key driver of service export growth, excluding travel, accounting for 53% of total service exports in the first half of 2024.

Electronica and SEMICON Europa

From November 12 to 15, Costa Rica participated in Electronica and SEMICON Europa, two of the most relevant global events for advanced manufacturing and microelectronics, held at Messe Munich, Germany. This year, PROCOMER's booth focused on attracting FDI in the semiconductor and electronics sectors.

Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference & Operations Summit (CHICOS)

In Barbados, Costa Rica participated in the Caribbean Hotel Investment Conference & Operations Summit (CHICOS), a leading tourism investment event that gathers hospitality and investment industry leaders across the Caribbean. This event enabled PROCOMER to promote sustainable and authentic tourism investment opportunities, positioning Costa Rica as a unique destination that blends responsible practices with high-value experiences.

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Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices climbed higher on Monday on concerns about likely shortage in supplies due to an escalation in Russia - Ukraine war and a production halt at Norway's Johan Sverdrup oilfield due to power outage.A weak dollar contributed as well to the rise in oil prices.West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December closed higher by $2.14 or about 3.2% at 69.16 a barrel.Brent crude futures were up $2.31 or 3.27% at $73.35 a barrel a little while ago.Investors weighed the risk of supply disruptions after fighting between Russia and Ukraine intensified over the weekend.A 'massive' Russian missile and drone attack has targeted power infrastructure across Ukraine, the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.According to a Reuters report, work was underway to re-establish production in the Sverdrup oilfield, but it was not immediately clear when it would resume.The outage was caused by smoke developing in an onshore electricity converter station which sends power to phase 1 of the Johan Sverdrup development, according to a spokesperson. The situation was quickly clarified, but resulted in a temporary shutdown of production on the whole Johan Sverdrup field, he said.Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights ReservedCopyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Global Special Situations Firm for Family Offices Builds Capabilities with New Additions

Emissary Partners, a global special situations firm for family offices, is pleased to announce the appointment of Andrew T. Clarke as Chairman and J. Peter Donald as Principal. These strategic additions to the firm's leadership team underscore Emissary Partners' commitment to delivering exceptional service to its clients navigating complex global investment challenges.

Andrew T. Clarke joins Emissary Partners following a 33-year career at ExxonMobil, where he served as General Counsel for ExxonMobil International and as the principal legal advisor for the company's global LNG business. With transactional experience across multiple jurisdictions, including roles in Qatar, Indonesia, and Turkey, Andrew is also recognized as a thought leader in international arbitration and investor-state dispute settlement. Andrew initially joined Emissary Partners as a Senior Advisor in 2023 and has already made significant contributions to the firm's strategic direction.

In his role as Chairman of Emissary Partners, Andrew will leverage his extensive experience to assist Emissary's clients in managing cross-border special situations investments and overseeing the firm's governance.

J. Peter Donald, who has been a Senior Advisor to Emissary Partners since 2020, has been promoted to Principal. Based in New York, Peter brings a wealth of expertise in crisis management, strategic communications, and reputation management. He previously served as Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs at the New York Police Department and as spokesman for the FBI's New York field office. As the founder and managing director of Arena, a New York-based global communications advisory firm focused on moments that matter, Peter is well-equipped to support Emissary's clients in making high-stakes decisions while safeguarding their reputations. Arena is a strategic affiliate of Emissary Partners.

"Andrew and Peter's collective experience will be invaluable as we grow the Emissary leadership team. Most importantly, it will help our clients solve cross-border investment challenges in an increasingly complex world," said Matthew L. McGrath, founder and managing director, Emissary Partners. "I am deeply appreciative for all their contributions and I am thrilled to welcome them into the partnership."

Background on Emissary Partners:

Emissary Partners is a global special situations firm for family offices and institutional investors. The firm advises clients on legacy asset workouts, dispute management and global investments. Emissary deploys a "Five Lenses" methodology to help clients optimise financial returns and protect reputation in challenging circumstances. Since the firm's founding in 2019, the team has have delivered excellent results for top-tier investors across the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

With a network of over 250 family offices, the Emissary Partners estimates that at least 5% of assets under management in the family office industry are trapped in long-term legacy assets. Based on industry estimates of global family office assets under management exceeding $5 trillion, legacy asset issues within family offices comprise at least $250 billion in value. Emissary Partners is the first firm globally to diagnose these legacy asset issues for family offices and create a dedicated offering to solve them.

Headquartered in London, Emissary Partners operates with a dedicated team of ten professionals across the UK and the US. More information on the firm and its expanded team can be found on its newly re-launched website at www.emissarypartners.com. Emissary Partners will announce new additions to the team in the following months.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241118177889/en/

Contacts:

For media inquiries:

Paola Zocchi, +44 7887 913239

Associate, Emissary Partners

zocchi@emissarypartners.com

www.emissarypartners.com
Robust trade between China, Brazil promotes mutually beneficial ties

11:18, November 18, 2024 By Chu Daye ( Global Times

Visitors appreciate Chinese handicrafts at an exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil in Brasilia, capital of Brazil, Aug. 15, 2024. (Photo: Xinhua)

Robust trade between China and Brazil continues to promote mutually beneficial bilateral trade and economic ties, while a number of sectors have profound growth potential, industry insiders from the two countries said.

The comments were made ahead of the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, as the event draws global attention to the host country, Brazil.

Brazil views China-Brazil tourism as a key driver of mutual growth, believing it will further strengthen friendly relations between the two countries, Marcelo Freixo, president of Embratur, told the Global Times. Embratur, known as the Brazilian Tourist Board, is a Brazilian travel promotion and marketing agency.

It is also expected that the development of the tourism industry will bring long-term economic and cultural benefits to both China and Brazil, Freixo said, noting that Brazil has been ramping up efforts to showcase the country's rich and diverse travel offerings, including cultural experiences, nature-based activities such as wildlife observation and luxury experiences.

China's trade with Brazil increased by nearly 10 percent in the first 10 months of 2024, highlighting the deep economic and trade ties the two nations have built over the past 50 years., Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said on Sunday.

According to Chinese customs, trade with the South American country grew by 9.9 percent year-on-year to reach 1.14 trillion yuan ($157.62 billion), maintaining steady growth and outpacing China's overall trade growth rate by 4.7 percentage points.

In the January-October period this year, China's intermediate goods exports to Brazil grew by 11.8 percent year-on-year to reach 216.86 billion yuan, which accounted for 50.2 percent of all Chinese exports to Brazil.

Textiles, auto parts, electrical equipment, and display modules all recorded significant growth, customs data showed.

Risen Energy, a leading Chinese photovoltaic (PV) manufacturer based in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang Province, said 96 percent of its solar PV modules exported to Latin America are headed to Brazil.

Liu Chang, a manager with the company, told the Global Times on Sunday that the company plans to deepen its partnership in Latin American countries by providing quality products and helping local clients to build power plants that are more cost effective and assist local energy transitions.

In the first 10 months, Ningbo's trade, exports and imports with Brazil all registered double-digit growth, data from the Ningbo customs showed. The value of iron ore imports soared by 190.4 percent year-on-year.

The facilitation of cross-border e-commerce has also brought in trendy Brazilian goods such as gems, cosmetics and aromatherapy essential oils to Chinese consumers, according to Ningbo customs.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Brazil.

Analysts noted that the partnership between the two countries has not only achieved remarkable leaps in economic cooperation but has also provided substantial support for the modernization efforts of both countries.

Zhou Zhiwei, an expert on Latin American studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday that the rapid bilateral trade growth underlined the humming and highly efficient operation of trade flows between the two immensely complimentary economies, resulting in strong vitality in trade.

"The highly efficient relationship has also received boosts and better safeguards from improved financial services in recent years, such as trade settlement in local currencies, which greatly reduced risks from foreign exchange," Zhou said, noting that the expansion of trade items, such as those in agriculture, will add growth momentum to the already sizable bilateral trade.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
Majhi invites global industrial leaders to invest in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Nov 17 (UNI) A high-level delegation led by Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi met with global industrial leaders on Sunday, the first day of his visit to Singapore, to attract investments to the state.

According to sources from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), Majhi chaired a series of meetings highlighting the pivotal role Indian states like Odisha play in strengthening bilateral relationships, particularly in sectors such as Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Renewable Energy, Green Fuels, and Skilling.

Shilpak Ambule, Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, stated that the Chief Minister's first meeting was with Dr. Edward Morton, Founder of CT Metrix. The discussions focused on developments in IT/ITeS, Semiconductors, Medical Equipment Manufacturing, and Smart City Solutions.

The Chief Minister assured that the Odisha Government would take all proactive measures to develop a robust electronics ecosystem in the state and invited Dr. Morton to visit Odisha to explore the business opportunities available.

In a meeting with Vivek Agarwal, Director of Visa Group Limited, Majhi encouraged the group to expand its capacity, increase value-added products, and create more employment opportunities in Odisha's Steel and Ferro-Chrome sectors.

The delegation also met with Rabin Jhunjhunwala, Chairman of Orind Singapore Pte Ltd, who expressed interest in investing in the bio-fertilizers sector. Majhi urged Jhunjhunwala to establish the facility in Odisha, offering the full support of the state government.

The delegation, led by the Chief Minister, also visited Sembcorp Industries Ltd. to explore Singapore's advancements in renewable energy. Majhi announced the approval of Sembcorps Green Ammonia project in Odisha, aligning with the states focus on attracting investments in Renewable Energy, Green Fuels, and related manufacturing sectors. Discussions centered on opportunities to build sustainable infrastructure and strengthen Odisha's position as a key destination for green investments.

"This is my first foreign visit as Chief Minister, and I chose Singapore for the Odisha Business Meet due to its thriving industrial ecosystem and innovative practices," Majhi stated. He highlighted Singapores excellence in infrastructure, logistics, and urban management as valuable lessons for Odisha, a rapidly urbanizing state.

Majhi emphasized the strong economic, strategic, and cultural ties between India and Singapore, adding that Odisha is well-positioned to enhance this partnership. He reiterated his governments commitment to facilitating investments in sectors such as handloom, seafood, and skilling.

Over the next three days, the Chief Minister will meet with potential investors to foster growth and collaboration.

Industry Minister Sampad Chandra Swain, who accompanied Majhi, remarked, Odishas strategic location on Indias eastern seaboard makes it a major investment hub, particularly for green fuels and renewable energy. Todays engagements have provided valuable insights to further enhance our industrial ecosystem and attract global investments.

This visit forms a key part of the upcoming Utkarsh Odisha: Make in Odisha Conclave 2025, showcasing Odishas potential to global investors. The delegation plans to visit the Jurong Petrochemicals Region, ITEES, PSA Horizons, and hold additional high-level meetings over the next three days to strengthen Odisha's industrial growth and sustainable development.

UNI DP GNK
Exports of high-quality wheat expected to top 25 million tonnes this year.

WINNIPEG, MB, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cereals Canada today released its annual New Wheat Crop Report to domestic and global customers of Canadian wheat. The 2024 report provides a quality and functionality update and highlights Canadian wheat production.

"In the 2024-25 crop year, Canada is expected to export 25.4 million tonnes of wheat to over 80 countries, with the quality and protein content that customers expect," stated Dean Dias, Chief Executive Officer at Cereals Canada. "This will make Canada the world's third largest exporter of wheat, and the top exporter of high quality, high protein wheat, for the second year in a row."

In a season that started with ample precipitation in Western Canada, Canadian farmers grew nearly 34.3 million tonnes of high-quality wheat. Yields exceeded expectations, leading to a four percent increase in non-durum wheat production and an eight percent increase in durum wheat production. Quality was excellent for all classes with a high proportion of the crop grading No. 2 or better.

The CWRS crop had average protein content with a very high proportion grading No. 1 or No. 2.

A high proportion of the CWAD crop graded No. 1 or No. 2 and had average to higher-than average protein content.

The CPSR crop had average protein content, and a very high proportion graded No. 1 or No. 2.

A high proportion of the CESRW crop graded No. 1 or No. 2 with protein content that is slightly lower than average.

The technical data for the 2024 wheat crop will be presented at two customer webinars hosted by Cereals Canada on November 19 and 20, before a cereals value chain delegation embarks on four international trade and technical missions. This year's delegation, which includes Cereals Canada experts, value chain members, producer representatives, and the Canadian Grain Commission, will engage with 18 markets that purchased $8.6 billion worth of Canadian wheat in 2023.

"The New Crop Trade and Technical Missions help strengthen the competitiveness of the Canadian cereal industry," noted Dias. "Our targeted, in-market outreach provides opportunities to build relationships and create advocates for our industry, while engaging in market access discussions. It goes beyond simply providing updates on the quality of Canadian wheat."

The New Wheat Crop Report is prepared and presented annually, in partnership with the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC), value chain members, and provincial grower commissions. This fall, Cereals Canada received over 115 samples of Western Canadian wheat from eight grain exporters for analysis. The Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) contributed an assessment of Eastern Canadian winter wheat for the report.

To learn more about Canada's 2024 New Wheat Crop and download the 2024 Crop Summary, visit cerealscanada.ca/2024-wheat-crop/

About Cereals Canada: Cereals Canada is the national, not-for-profit, industry association representing the Canadian cereal grains value chain. We value relationships and work with government and stakeholders to provide timely, expert technical information and deliver best-in-class customer experience. We are dedicated to supporting the Canadian cereals value chain including farmers, exporters, developers, processors, and our customers around the world with a focus on trade, science, and sustainability.

For further information, please contact: Ellen Pruden, Vice President, Communications & Value Chain Relations, E: epruden@cerealscanada.ca, C: 204-479-0166

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FORT LAUDERDALE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / Splash Beverage Group, Inc. (NYSE American:SBEV) ("Splash" or the "Company"), a portfolio company of leading beverage brands, announced that it will host a conference call on Monday, November 25, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. (ET). The C-Suite team Robert Nistico (Chairman / CEO), Julius Ivancsits (CFO), and Bill Meissner (President / CMO) will be present and will field questions after the formal presentation.

Topics include the following

Q3'2024 Financial Results

Distribution / Brand Strategy

Capital Structure / Financing Update

Merger & Acquisitions Update

Conference Call Details:

Date: Monday, November 25, 2024

Time: 8:30 a.m. (ET)

Call: 888-506-0062 (US Toll Free) or 973-528-0011 (International)

Participant Access Code: 134899

Webcast: A live webcast will be available and can be accessed from the Investors section of the Company's website or by clicking here

All interested parties are invited to participate. Please connect at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be required to join the webcast.

For those unable to join the live webcast, a teleconference replay will be available until Monday, December 9, 2024 at 1-877-481-4010 (US) or 1-919-882-2331, replay pin number 51687. Additionally, to access the archived webcast, please visit the Investors section of the Company's website or click here

Follow Splash Beverage Group on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SplashBev

About Splash Beverage Group, Inc.

Splash Beverage Group, an innovator in the beverage industry, owns a growing portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage brands including Copa di Vino wine by the glass, SALT flavored tequilas, Pulpoloco sangria. Splash's strategy is to rapidly develop early-stage brands already in its portfolio as well as acquire and then accelerate brands that have high visibility or are innovators in their categories. Led by a management team that has built and managed some of the top brands in the beverage industry and led sales from product launch into the billions, Splash is rapidly expanding its brand portfolio and global distribution.

For more information visit:

www.SplashBeverageGroup.com

www.copadivino.com

www.drinksalttequila.com

www.pulpo-loco.com

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws. Words such as "expect," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "should," "believes," "predicts," "potential," "continue" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. These forward-looking statements and factors that may cause such differences include, without limitation, the risks disclosed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 8, 2021, and in the Company's other filings with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or publicly announce any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

Contact Information:

Splash Beverage Group

Info@SplashBeverageGroup.com

954-745-5815

SOURCE: Splash Beverage Group, Inc.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 18, 2024) - Elemental Altus Royalties Corp. (TSXV: ELE) (OTCQX: ELEMF) ("Elemental Altus" or the "Company") announces its operating and financial results, including record quarterly cash flow and EBITDA, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024. For the full year 2024, based on recent forecasts and performance by operators, Elemental has fine-tuned its guidance range for adjusted revenue and reduced its guidance range for gold-equivalent ounces.

For complete details, please refer to the Financial Statements and associated Management Discussion and Analysis for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) and the Company's website (www.elementalaltus.com). All amounts are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.

Financial Highlights

Royalty revenue of US$3.7 million and adjusted revenue 1 of US$4.8 million, up 32% on Q3 2023

of US$4.8 million, up 32% on Q3 2023 Attributable Gold Equivalent Ounces 1 (" GEOs ") of 1,941 ounces, up 3% on Q3 2023

(" ") of 1,941 ounces, up 3% on Q3 2023 Operating Cash Flow plus Caserones dividends of US$2.8 million, up 42% on Q3 2023

Adjusted EBITDA 1 of US$3.7 million, up 72% on Q3 2023

of US$3.7 million, up 72% on Q3 2023 Net cash position as at November 18, 2024, following La Mancha US$12.8 million private placement completed post quarter end

US$50 million available liquidity for non-dilutive royalty acquisitions

Royalty Highlights

Elemental Altus completed the acquisition of an uncapped 4% royalty on the Mactung tungsten project operated by Fireweed Metals for an initial $3 million plus staged and deferred payments

Subsequent to September 30, 2024, Elemental Altus acquired a portfolio of royalties from AlphaStream Limited ("AlphaStream") for US$28 million in equity. The AlphaStream portfolio includes a further 2.25% NSR on the Company's Bonikro royalty, 1.25% NSR on Ballarat, A$5/oz on SKO, and increased interests on 21 other royalties in Australia

Frederick Bell, CEO of Elemental Altus, commented:

"Elemental Altus had a strong performance in Q3, with record operating cash generation showing the benefits of direct gold price exposure and disciplined cost management despite production at some assets being pushed into subsequent quarters. We expect further revenue growth through increased royalties at Bonikro, Ballarat and SKO, and confirmation of production at Korali-Sud (Diba) is very positive for growth going into 2025.

The acquisition of AlphaStream's royalty portfolio will highlight the expanded margins from Q4 onwards and strengthens our asset base at the same time as bringing in a new strategic shareholder. With La Mancha's continued support, the Company entered a net cash position post quarter end at the same time as expanding the credit facility and adding Royal Bank of Canada to the syndicate."

Outlook

Elemental Altus expects record Adjusted Revenue in 2024, and further organic growth in 2025 and 2026 from the acquisition of the AlphaStream portfolio, a full year of production from Korali-Sud (Diba), and a planned 30% production expansion at Karlawinda

For Adjusted Revenue, Elemental Altus has slightly revised its 2024 guidance range, increasing the low end to $21.6 million from $20.0 million and lowering the high end to $23.1 million from $23.3 million. The guidance range continues to compare favourably with 2023 actual Adjusted Revenue of $17.9 million due to higher gold prices.

For GEOs, Elemental Altus has lowered its 2024 guidance range to 9,000 - 9,500 ounces compared with the previous range of 10,000 - 11,700 ounces. The 2024 guidance revisions are principally driven by the delayed start up of the Korali-Sud royalty, where government approvals have taken longer than expected. Now in production, Korali-Sud is expected to make a material impact to the Company in 2025. The revised guidance also takes into account the latest operator forecasts for Karlawinda and Bonikro, year-to-date performance at Wahgnion, and the AlphaStream acquisition.

Elemental Altus expects to be in a net cash position by year end, reducing interest costs with flexibility for new acquisitions utilising the expanded $50 million credit facility

Investor Webcast

An investor webcast will be held on Tuesday, November 19, 2024 starting at 11am Eastern Time (8am Pacific Time) to discuss these results, followed by a question-and-answer session. To register for the investor webcast, please click the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_K00JP6CJRu6b8DbyixatLQ

Q3 2024 Financial Results

The following table sets forth selected financial information for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024. Royalty revenues are at zero cash cost.





Three months ended

September 30,



Nine months ended

September 30,





2024



2023



2024



2023



$'000



$'000



$'000



$'000 Total Revenue

3,725



2,378



10,804



7,784

Adjusted revenue*

4,825



3,652



14,773



12,206

Adjusted cash flows from operations*

2,818



1,956



5,423



3,982

Total net profit / (loss)

630



(2,606 )

(498 )

(6,079 ) Adjusted EBITDA*

3,702



2,156



10,342



7,822





















2024



2023



2024



2023



GEO



GEO



GEO



GEO Total attributable GEOs*

1,941



1,886



6,436



6,187

* See the "Non-IFRS Measures" section of this news release

Asset Update

Karlawinda

Q3 2024 gold production from Karlawinda was 25,559 ounces (Q3 2023: 29,700 ounces)

Capricorn Metals Ltd (" Capricorn ") is guiding to production of 110,000 to 120,000 ounces for the year to June 2025

") is guiding to production of 110,000 to 120,000 ounces for the year to June 2025 Capricorn announced the approval of a major expansion study for Karlawinda, targeting a throughput increase of between 2.0 and 2.5 million tonnes per annum (" Mtpa "), an approximate 50% increase in throughput on the current 4.5 Mtpa, targeting annual production of 150,000 ounces

"), an approximate 50% increase in throughput on the current 4.5 Mtpa, targeting annual production of 150,000 ounces Elemental Altus' uncapped 2% NSR royalty will provide up to approximately 3,000 GEOs annually to the Company based on the higher 150,000 ounce production rate

Karlawinda's mine life remains 10 years with significant further potential to increase Reserves and Resources

Caserones

In Q3 2024, the Company accrued adjusted royalty revenue of $1.1 million, based on reported sales of 22.0kt of copper

Production in the quarter was impacted by lower head grades and labour action in August lasting 14 days which reduced throughput to approximately 50% of capacity.

Annual copper production guidance range for the Caserones mine for 2024 reduced to 121 - 125kt (upgraded in Q2 to 125 - 135kt, from original 2024 guidance of 120 - 130kt)

Korali-Sud (Diba)

Allied Gold announced a settlement of terms for a protocol agreement with the Government of Mali to secure approvals for advancing the development and processing of the Korali-Sud deposit

Production in the third quarter included minimal contribution from Korali-Sud from stockpiled material with production ramping up post quarter end

Korali-Sud is expected to represent a significant component of near term production across 2025 - 2026, displacing some of the lower-grade ore originally planned to be fed through the plant

Bonikro

Royalty attributable sales in Q3 2024 was 24,461 ounces (Q3 2023: 715 ounces) due to the majority of production being sourced from royalty linked areas

The Company acquired a further 2.25% NSR royalty on Bonikro in October 2024, with all Q4 royalty revenue attributable to the Company

Stripping at Pushback 5 is expected to expose higher-grade materials in 2025 and 2026

There are approximately 435,000 payable ounces remaining until the royalty cap is reached

Wahgnion

Q3 2024 gold production from Wahgnion was 25,353 ounces (Q3 2023: 35,063 ounces)

Following arbitration between previous operators Endeavour Mining plc and Lilium Gold, the State of Burkina Faso has agreed to acquire the Wahgnion mine for a combination of cash and a royalty

Frederick Bell

CEO and Director

TSX.V: ELE | OTCQX: ELEMF | ISIN: CA28619K1093 | CUSIP: 28619K109

About Elemental Altus Royalties Corp.

Elemental Altus is an income generating precious metals royalty company with 10 producing royalties and a diversified portfolio of pre-production and discovery stage assets. The Company is focused on acquiring uncapped royalties and streams over producing, or near-producing, mines operated by established counterparties. The vision of Elemental Altus is to build a global gold royalty company, offering investors superior exposure to gold with reduced risk and a strong growth profile.

Qualified Person

Richard Evans, FAusIMM, is Senior Vice President Technical for Elemental Altus, and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this press release.

Notes

1. Non-IFRS Measures

The Company has included certain performance measures which are non-IFRS and are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. These non-IFRS measures do not have any standard meaning under IFRS and other companies may calculate measures differently.

Royalty revenue is received at zero cost. Distributions from associates related to Elemental Altus' effective royalty on Caserones are received net of Chilean taxes and have no other costs.

Adjusted Revenue and cash flow from operating activities

Adjusted revenue is a non-IFRS financial measure, which is defined as including gross royalty revenue from associated entities holding royalty interests related to Elemental Altus' effective royalty on the Caserones copper mine. Management uses adjusted revenue to evaluate the underlying operating performance of the Company for the reporting periods presented, to assist with the planning and forecasting of future operating results, and to supplement information in its financial statements. Management believes that in addition to measures prepared in accordance with IFRS such as revenue, investors may use adjusted revenue to evaluate the results of the underlying business, particularly as the adjusted revenue may not typically be included in operating results. Management believes that adjusted revenue is a useful measure of the Company performance because it adjusts for items which management believes reflect the Company's core operating results from period to period. Adjusted revenue is intended to provide additional information to investors and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. It does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.

Adjusted depletion, adjusted tax expense and adjusted cash flow from operating activities are non-IFRS measures which include depletion, tax and dividends from the Caserones royalty asset in line with the recognition of adjusted revenue as described above.

Gold Equivalent Ounces

Elemental Altus' adjusted royalty, streaming, and other revenue is converted to an attributable gold equivalent ounce, or GEO, basis by dividing the royalty and other revenue from associates in a period by the average gold price for the same respective period, plus the net gold ounces received in the period from streaming investments. The presentation of this non-IFRS measure is intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Other companies may calculate these non-IFRS measures differently. The production forecast was derived using information that is available in the public domain as at the date hereof, which included guidance and estimates prepared and issued by management of the operators of the mining operations in which Elemental Altus holds an interest. The production forecast is sensitive to the performance and operating status of the underlying mines. None of the information has been independently verified by Elemental Altus and may be subject to uncertainty. There can be no assurance that such information is complete or accurate.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA excludes the effects of certain other income/expenses and unusual non-recurring items. Adjusted EBITDA is comprised of earnings before interest, taxes, depletion, including depletion and taxes relating to share of profit from associate, and share-based compensation. Management believes that this is a useful measure of the Company's performance because it adjusts for items which may not relate to underlying operating performance of the Company and/or are not necessarily indicative of future operating results.

On behalf of Elemental Altus Royalties Corp.

Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V.) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

This news release contains certain "forward looking statements" and certain "forward-looking information" as defined under applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "plans" or similar terminology.

Forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the date that the name change is expected to become effective, whether shareholders will be required by their broker to exchange their issued certificate for a new certificate or take any other action in connection to the name change, the Company's ability to deliver a materially increased revenue profile with a lower cost of capital, the future growth, development and focus of the Company, and the acquisition of new royalties and streams. Forward-looking statements and information are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions that, while believed by management to be reasonable, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies.

Forward-looking statements and information are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the ability of Elemental Altus to control or predict, that may cause Elemental Altus' actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied thereby, and are developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out herein, including but not limited to: the impact of general business and economic conditions, the absence of control over the mining operations from which Elemental Altus will receive royalties, risks related to international operations, government relations and environmental regulation, the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties; the uncertainties involved in interpreting exploration data; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities; the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with Elemental Altus' expectations; accidents, equipment breakdowns, title matters, labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions in operations; fluctuating metal prices; unanticipated costs and expenses; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price fluctuations; currency fluctuations; regulatory restrictions, including environmental regulatory restrictions; liability, competition, loss of key employees and other related risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of important factors which could cause actual results to differ from forward-looking statements, refer to the annual information form of Elemental Altus for the year ended December 31, 2023. Elemental Altus undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements and information except as required by applicable law. Such forward-looking statements and information represents management's best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement or information can be guaranteed, and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/230460

SOURCE: Elemental Altus Royalties Corp.
ChapsVision, a Suresnes, France-based AI-enriched data processing company, raised US$90M in funding.

The round was led by Tikehau Capital, Qualium Investissement, Bpifrance, GENEO Capital, and Jolt Capital.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate these efforts, expanding its reach and investments in R&D and product enhancements.

Founded by CEO Olivier Dellenbach, ChapsVision enables companies and administrations to complete their digital transformation and create value through a software suite centered around its data operating system. Through R&D investments in big data processing, complemented by a sustained strategy of international acquisitions and development, it assembled a cohesive group of two branches addressing data-intensive sectors: one for businesses and the other for government organizations.

Created in 2019, ChapsVision has nearly 1,000 employees, 1,000 major clients, and is targeting a turnover of more than 200 million in 2024.

The company also acquired Sinequa, a Paris, France-based company which specializes in AI-powered enterprise search and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Through this acquisition, ChapsVision will enhance its ArgonOS platform, combining advanced search and data processing capabilities that support clients digital excellence in industries such as manufacturing, life sciences, financial services, and aerospace and defense.

FinSMEs

18/11/2024
IonKraft, an Aachen Germany-based coating machine startup, raised 3.5M in equity financing.

The round was co-led by M Ventures and TechVision Fund and joined by High-Tech-Grunderfonds.

The company intends to use the funds to expand its team and scale the production of coating machines.

Founded in 2021 by Dr. Montgomery Jaritz and Benedikt Heuer as a spin-off from the Institute for Plastics Processing (IKV) at RWTH Aachen University in Germany, IonKraft aims to make plastic packaging recyclable, free of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and to enable a circular economy in packaging with the help of plasma coating technology. Its patented technology enables packaging producers to replace millions of tons of non- recyclable multilayer or fluorinated (PFAS) packaging that cannot be recycled. Furthermore, the barrier technology can provide sufficient protection to allow the incorporation of recycled materials into packaging for sensitive, food or cosmetics products.

The company is funded by EXIST Research Transfer and the EIC Accelerator program of the European Innovation Council.

FinSMEs

18/11/2024
JobGet, a Boston, MA-based provider app-first job platform, acquired Snagajob, a provider of a platform which specializes in hourly employment.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

Snagajob will operate as a standalone entity within JobGet, allowing employers to continue leveraging the platform while benefiting from JobGets resources and technology.

Snagajob provides a platform focused on hourly employment, connecting 45 million job seekers annually to quality jobs and helping tens of thousands of employers build reliable and robust teams. The company partners with brands such as Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Lowes, Aldi, Buffalo Wild Wings, Amazon, Lyft, Five Below, and many others.

Led by CEO Tony Liu, JobGet is a provider of an app-first platform improving how employers and workers connect in the U.S. The company partners with brands like Whole Foods, Avis, Hobby Lobby, Public Storage, KFC, Kelly Services, Uber, Tenet Healthcare, Aldi, UPS, and more to fill everyday roles across food service, retail, customer service, hospitality, manufacturing, healthcare, warehouse, transportation, and more.

FinSMEs

18/11/2024
One person wrote on Twitter, Kid looks like he wants to look like his mom and dad at the same time lol. read more

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt had an ugly of turn of events in their personal lives and what followed was weeks and months of blame-games and mud-slugging over the custody of their children. Owing to the trauma that the actress has gone through, a report states she could be quitting Hollywood. The National Enquirer reported Jolie is tired of being painted as the bad-guy in this relationship gone sour.

Anyway, the actress made a stunning appearance and a rare one rather with her son Knox Jolie-Pitt at Governors Awards and netizens cant keep calm.

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One person wrote on Twitter, Kid looks like he wants to look like his mom and dad at the same time lol. Another said, Her twin. Shiloh and Knox are her twins. Copy and paste. I love that. A person said, He looks so similar to her brother. A comment read, They really made beautiful babies, half half it is.

A source says, Even with all the facts, their peers are siding with him. It makes her sick that people in Hollywood can be such hypocrites. She doesnt want to be in L.A. and plans to take off for Cambodia as soon as all the kids are of legal age. Angie has no close ties to Hollywood. Shed rather be at her home in Cambodia, working with refugees. Brad Pitt had accused his ex-wife Angelina Jolie of seeking to inflict harm on him by selling her 50 percent stake in their French vineyard to a Russian oligarch with poisonous associations and intentions.

The allegations, made in new court filings as part of Pitts lawsuit against Jolie over the sale of Chateau Miraval, were a yet another barb in a bitter legal battle between the former Hollywood power couple who filed for divorce in 2016. Jolie sold her share of the southern France vineyard  where she and Pitt had their wedding  to Tenute del Mondo, a subsidiary of Russia-born billionaire Yuri Sheflers drinks conglomerate. Pitt sued her, saying the couple had agreed never to sell their interests without the others consent, and accusing Jolie of seeking unearned profits.
Neeraj Pandey returns to the action-packed genre with his upcoming heist thriller, Sikandar Ka Muqaddar, set to premiere on Netflix. Starring Avinash Tiwary, Jimmy Shergill, Tamannaah Bhatia, and Rajiv Mehta, while viewers eagerly await the dynamic pairing of Avinash Tiwary and Tamannaah Bhatia in Sikandar Ka Muqaddar, fans are equally excited to see Avinash and Jimmy Shergill share the screen for the first time in this thrilling heist story. Avinash Tiwary, celebrated for his compelling performances and dedication to his craft, recently opened up about how working alongside Jimmy Shergill marks a deeply emotional milestone in his journey. Avinash shared a heartfelt anecdote about drawing inspiration from Jimmy, who he once admired as a role model during his formative days

Avinash revealed how Jimmy Shergills work and words played a pivotal role in shaping his aspirations to become an actor. Reflecting on his journey, Avinash said, When I dreamt of becoming an actor and looked around for inspiration, for some reason, Jimmy Sir stood out to me. Watching him made me feel, Shayad main aisa bann sakta hoon. I remember reading one of his interviews after Maachis when I was still in college. I sat there, reading his words, and thought to myself, Yeh jo likha hai, yeh jo bola hai inhone, this is exactly what I want to do as an actor. And now, sitting beside him and performing scenes together, it feels like life has come full circle. During those moments, flashes of my younger self being inspired by him would come to mind, and Id think, You did it, finally. It was an incredible experiencefilled with joy and gratitudeto work with someone who played such a pivotal role in shaping my dreams.

The film has already created a buzz with its recently released trailer on November 11. Scheduled to release on November 29, 2024, fans are eagerly counting down the days to experience this gripping saga.
After Honourable Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, recognized and extended his support for the films compelling narrative. Joining him, other prominent political figures also praised the film for its hard-hitting storytelling read more

The Sabarmati Report is making a powerful impact nationwide, shedding light on one of the most pivotal events in Indias history that deeply shook the nation. Since its release, the film has been garnering widespread acclaim from audiences and critics alike.

After Honourable Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, recognized and extended his support for the films compelling narrative. Joining him, other prominent political figures also praised the film for its hard-hitting storytelling. Now, the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, also spoke about the film, and how it reveals the truth.

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Taking to his social media, Minister of Home Affairs of India Amit Shah, wrote -

No matter how hard a powerful ecosystem tries, it cannot keep the truth hidden in darkness forever.

The film #SabarmatiReport defies the ecosystem with unparalleled courage and exposes the truth behind the fateful episode to broad daylight.

No matter how hard a powerful ecosystem tries, it cannot keep the truth hidden in darkness forever.



The film #SabarmatiReport defies the ecosystem with unparalleled courage and exposes the truth behind the fateful episode to broad daylight. https://t.co/AnVsuCSNwi  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) November 18, 2024

Balaji Motion Pictures, a division of Balaji Telefilms Ltd presents, A Vikir Films Production, The Sabarmati Report starring Vikrant Massey, Raashii Khanna, and Ridhi Dogra, directed by Dheeraj Sarna and produced by Shobha Kapoor, Ektaa R Kapoor, Amul V Mohan and Anshul Mohan, a worldwide wide release by Zee Studios. The film is now released in theatres.

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Global leaders are gathering today (November 18) in Brazil for the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The two-day summit is the main forum for international economic and financial cooperation  the two areas increasingly tested by todays shifting geopolitics read more

A person walks next to G20 summit banners, outside the Museum of Modern Art (MAM), venue of the G20 summit, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil November 13, 2024. Reuters

Global leaders are gathering today in Brazil for the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

The two-day summit is the main forum for international economic and financial cooperation  the two areas increasingly tested by todays shifting geopolitics.

Here is a primer on the G20 and what it does:

What is G20?

The Group of Twenty brings together the worlds biggest economies.

It plays an important role in shaping and strengthening global architecture and governance on all major international economic issues.

The G20 comprises 19 nations: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, and the United States.

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Despite its name, the G20 today counts 21 members.

Together, they represent 65 per cent of the world population, 79 per cent of world trade and 85 per cent of global GDP.

The European Union has also long been a member, with the African Union admitted last year.

A woman walks along the Olympic Boulevard, ahead of the G20 summit, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil November 12, 2024. Reuters

How did the G20 come into being?

The formation of the G20 is forged in crisis.

It was conceived in 1999, in response to the Asian financial crisis two years prior that shook the global system.

The G20 was initially intended to serve as a forum for central bank chiefs and finance ministers to coordinate.

It was elevated to leader-level in 2008  after another global financial crisis  so heads of state and government could meet annually on international economic issues.

There are additional side forums at the event where representatives talk about issues like social justice, health, culture, tourism, agriculture, and fighting corruption.

How does G20 function?

There is no permanent leader of the G20.

Every year, a nation is chosen to serve as the forums president. The G20 meeting is hosted by the nation holding the presidency, which also sets the agenda.

While Indonesia hosted the summit in 2022, India did it last year.

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Brazil is hosting the summit this year.

Next years summit will be held in South Africa.

India hosted a highly successful G20 Summit in September 2023. Reuters

Whats the agenda of G20 Brazil?

Brazil has prioritised fighting hunger, poverty, and inequality, along with sustainable development and reforming global governance.

To do that, it is hosting a G20 Social Forum a few days prior to the main summit on November 1819, which aims to increase the representation of civil society in the talks between the countries.

The G20 summit is taking place in Rio de Janeiro and will see US President Joe Biden attend alongside Chinas Xi Jinping and other leaders.

The Indian Prime Minister will also participate in the G20 Summit in Brazil, as New Delhi is part of the G20 troika along with Brazil.

He will present Indias stance on a number of global issues and expand on the outcomes of the G20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration and Voice of the Global South Summits, which India hosted two years ago. He is also anticipated to meet with a number of leaders on the sidelines.

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Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that he would not be visiting Brazil.

He said his presence would wreck the summit but insisted an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him for Russias actions in Ukraine was not a factor in his decision. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is going in his place.

What are the achievements of the G20?

Since its inception, the G20 has worked to encourage the formation of consensus on international issues.

It was crucial in guiding the world out of the 20082010 global financial crisis. The G20 is credited by many analysts for acting quickly.

Former Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) fellow Stewart Patrick said that the group rescued a global financial system in free fall."

The G20 countries rejected trade barriers, adopted extensive banking system reforms, and committed to invest $4 trillion to boost their economies in 2008 and 2009.

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The G20 has committed to problems that could be categorised as part of the social agenda since the economic crisis.

Signatories hope it can help integrate Indias vast market of 1.4 billion people with countries to the West, offer a counterbalance to lavish Chinese infrastructure spending, boost Middle Eastern economies, and help normalise relations between Israel and Arab Gulf states. News18.

In 2014, in Brisbane, it pledged to reduce the gap between men and women in the workforce by 25 per cent by 2025.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the G20 undertook many measures to support economies and supply chains. It also lent its support to international organisations  the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The issue of climate change has also been a focus of the G20.

Was there any past friction in G20 Summit?

Russias war in Ukraine has caused a split among participating nations in recent G20s.

The traditional family photo of the leaders standing together in a gesture of unity had to be abandoned at the last two summits, in Bali in 2022 and Delhi in 2023, due to different opinions on Moscow and how best to sum up the conflict.

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Xi also upbraided Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Bali summit after details of talks they held were leaked to the media.

With inputs from AFP
Trump administration places Bhutan, Pakistan in draft list of countries for travel ban 15 Mar 2025 | 11:24 PM Washington, Mar 15 (UNI) The Trump administration has placed Bhutan on a draft Red List of countries, along with 11 others, for a complete travel ban to the USA, while Pakistan has been placed in a group that will be considered for a partial suspension of visa issuance, according to a report. see more..

Bangladesh's envoy to Morocco terms Mohd Yunus a 'tyrant', has diplomatic passport cancelled 15 Mar 2025 | 4:28 PM Dhaka, Mar 15 (UNI) Bangladesh has cancelled the diplomatic passport of the immediate-past envoy to Morocco, Mohammad Harun Al Rashid, for his Facebook post wherein he terms Mohammad Yunus as a tyrant cloaked in deception and describes the countrys descent into radical extremism and savagery under the Yunus-led Interim Government. see more..

Kiev loses up to 465 soldiers in battles with Russia's Tsentr group 15 Mar 2025 | 4:10 PM Moscow, Mar 15 (UNI) Ukraine has lost up to 465 soldiers and a Bradley infantry fighting vehicle in battles with Russia's Tsentr (Center) group of forces over the 24 hours, Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday. see more..

NZ PM calls for action against hate on mosque attack anniversary 15 Mar 2025 | 2:35 PM Wellington, Mar 15 (UNI) Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Saturday called on New Zealanders to continue confronting the forces that led to the 2019 Christchurch Mosque attacks, stressing that there was no place for Islamophobia in New Zealand. see more..
A court in Hong Kong has handed out jail terms ranging from four to 10 years to 45 most prominent pro-democracy activists, including Benny Tai and Joshua Wong, in the citys largest national security trial. They were earlier found guilty of trying to overthrow the government by conducting an unofficial primary election in the financial hub in 2020 read more

A supporter holds a poster showing some of the 47 pro-democracy activists on trial at the West Kowloon Court in Hong Kong. Of the 47, 45 were sentenced on Tuesday, receiving jail terms ranging from four years to 10 years. File image/AFP

After a long wait, Hong Kongs pro-democracy activists finally know their future as the high court sentenced them to jail terms of up to 10 years in a landmark national security trial seen as Chinas tightening grip on the city.

The 45 pro-democracy activists, also known as Hong Kongs 47  two of the defendants had been acquitted earlier this year  were tried under the 2020 national security law for their roles in an unofficial primary election in 2020. Prosecutors said their aim was to paralyse Hong Kongs government and force the citys leader to resign by aiming to win a legislative majority and using it to block government budgets indiscriminately.

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Democracy activist Benny Tai received the longest sentence of 10 years. He became the face of the movement when thousands of protesters took to the citys streets during the Umbrella Movement demonstrations.

Countries such as the United States, Australia and rights group slammed the sentencing, calling it the erosion of political freedoms in the city since Beijing imposed the security law in 2020.

But who are these 45 activists? What do we know about them?

Benny Tai

Believed to be the leader of the group, Benny Tai has received the longest sentence of 10 years. In their judgment, the judges wrote that Tai essentially advocated for a revolution by publishing a series of articles over a period of months that traced his thinking, even though in his mitigation letter Tai said the steps were never intended to be used as blueprint for any political action.

Pro-democracy activist Benny Tai flashes thumbs up as he walks to a prison van to head to court, over the national security law charge, in the early morning, in Hong Kong. File image/Reuters

For those who dont know, Benny Tai was a law professor at the University of Hong Kong and a member of a consultative committee that helped collect views on the drafting of the Basic Law before the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. He was awarded a medal of honour in 2001 by the government for promoting civic education. Although, it was withdrawn in 2022.

He rose to prominence in 2014 when he founded the pro-democracy Occupy Central movement along with two others. This campaign called for fair and free elections in Hong Kong, and saw hundreds of thousands take to the streets.

Joshua Wong

From a young age, Joshua Wong was involved in activism with his most famous venture as a high school student leading protests against the introduction of national education in the citys schools. Later, he became famous for leading the Occupy Movement.

In 2016, Wong co-founded a political party named Demosisto with fellow young activists Nathan Law and Agnes Chow. In the 2019 pro-democracy movement, Wong helped seek overseas support for the protests. His activism led Beijing to label him an advocate of Hong Kongs independence who begged for interference by foreign forces.

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Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong has received a sentence of four years and eight months. In the judgment, the judges said Wong was not of good character because of his previous convictions. File image/AP

Demosisto disbanded when Beijing imposed the security law in 2020. Wong won in the primary election, but the government postponed the official election, citing public health risks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wong has received a sentence of four years and eight months. In the judgment, the judges said Wong was not of good character because of his previous convictions. Wong is already in jail serving sentences for other protest-related charges, but the judges said the additional sentence would not have a crushing effect on him.

Wu Chi-wai

Former chair of the Democratic Party, Hong Kongs biggest pro-democracy party, Wu Chi-wai was awarded a Medal of Honour for community service in 2006.

Pro-democracy lawmaker Wu Chi-wai (C) from the Democratic Party. File image/Reuters

Wu entered a guilty plea, with his lawyer saying he has been in public service for over 30 years and that he and his party did not seek indiscriminate vetoing of budgets. Three former government officials wrote letters seeking a reduced sentence for him. Wus parents passed away during his detention and he could only briefly attend their funerals.

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Gordon Ng

A dual citizen of Australia and Hong Kong, Gordon Ng had been declared an organiser of the primary by prosecutors. This is an accusation that Ng has constantly denied and pleaded not guilty.

The judges acknowledged in their verdict that Ng did not organise the plan and was not a candidate. However, they pointed to his campaign urging voters to support primary winners through social media posts and a front-page advertisement in the now-shuttered pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, founded by Jimmy Lai.

He has received a sentencing of up to seven years and three months.

After the sentencing, Australias foreign minister, Penny Wong, said her government was gravely concerned about Ngs sentence, and had expressed its strong objections to the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities on the continuing broad application of national security legislation.

Leung Kwok-hung

Leung Kwok-hung, the 68-year-old co-founder of the citys last standing opposition party, the League of Social Democrats, has received a term of six years and nine months. Speaking on his jail term, his wife, Chan Po-ying, said that it was within our expectations.

It is what it is  no matter (whether) I laugh or I cry, so I choose to laugh a bit, she told AFP.

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Leung Kwok-hung holds an umbrella while taking oath at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, China. File image/AFP

Kwok-hung, also known as Long Hair, earned notoriety for hurling bananas as a mark of protest. In 2016, when he was sworn in as a lawmaker, he even released a balloon with a political banner and held a yellow umbrella, declaring that the Umbrella Movement would never end.

This earned him a disqualification but he didnt stop protesting.

The others

Other than these, other pro-democracy activists also received their sentences today. For instance, Former Stand News journalist Gwyneth Ho was sentenced to seven years in jail.

Claudia Mo, a 67-year-old former legislator, also received her sentencing today. She received the shortest of jail time  four years and two months  after judges took into account her previous public service.

With inputs from AP
India successfully tested a long-range hypersonic missile on Sunday, entering the group of select nations with such critical and advanced military technologies. The domestically developed weapon is capable of carrying several payloads for ranges exceeding 1,500 km for the armed forces read more

In a historic feat, India successfully tested a long-range hypersonic missile on Sunday (November 17). This puts the country in the league of a select few nations with the advanced technology.

The missile, which was test-fired off the coast of Odisha, can carry several payloads for ranges exceeding 1,500 km for the armed forces, the government said in a statement.

Taking to X, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh wrote, India has achieved a major milestone by successfully conducting flight trial of long-range hypersonic missile from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off-the-coast of Odisha. This is a historic moment and this significant achievement has put our country in the group of select nations having capabilities of such critical and advanced military technologies.

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India has achieved a major milestone by successfully conducting flight trial of long range hypersonic missile from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off-the-coast of Odisha. This is a historic moment and this significant achievement has put our country in the group of select nations pic.twitter.com/jZzdTwIF6w  Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) November 17, 2024

Lets take a closer look.

Indias first long-range hypersonic missile

The long-range hypersonic missile is built domestically by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), along with laboratories of the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex, Hyderabad and other industry partners.

The missile was tracked by various range systems, deployed in multiple domains. The flight data obtained from down range ship stations confirmed the successful terminal manoeuvres and impact with high degree of accuracy, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The @DRDO_India has successfully conducted a flight trial of its long range hypersonic missile on 16th Nov 2024 from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off-the-coast of Odisha.



Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh has congratulated DRDO, Armed Forces and the Industry for successful flight pic.twitter.com/wq7yM2YS9f    / RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) November 17, 2024

With this, India is part of the elite group of countries possessing long-range hypersonic missiles. As per the Atlantic Council, the United States, China and Russia have displayed hypersonic capabilities.

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Other countries like France, Germany, Japan, Australia, Iran, and Israel are also developing hypersonic missile systems.

What are hypersonic missiles?

Hypersonic weapons can fly at speeds more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5.

These hi-tech weapons fly lower and are harder to detect than ballistic missiles. They reach the targets faster and can change course during flight.

There are two types of hypersonic weapons: Hypersonic glide vehicles (HGV) and Hypersonic Cruise Missiles (HCM).

Like regular ballistic missiles, HGVs are launched from a rocket. After this, the glide vehicle separates from the rocket and glides at the speed of at least Mach 5 toward a target, as per Voice of America (VOA).

The HCMs use high-speed, air-breathing engines called scramjets after acquiring their target.

Why hypersonic weapons matter

Hypersonic missiles are a game-changer for national security, according to the defence equipment manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

There is a race among countries to develop such weapons as their manoeuvrability and hypersonic speeds are an advantage, helping these missiles evade nearly any defence system at present.

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It doesnt matter what the threat is. If you cant see it, you cant defend against it, General John Hyten, the former vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in Washington in January 2020.

Ballistic missiles can also travel at hypersonic speeds of at least Mach 5. However, they have a predictable arc and are detectable by long-range radars.

As per an article in the Centre for Power Studies, Hypersonic technology differs from ballistic missiles as the former does not follow a ballistic trajectory and can manoeuvre on the way to their target. Hypersonic weapons have the potential to avoid detection because of their speed, manoeuvrability, and low altitude of flight.

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But hypersonic weapons come with their own challenges. As per the Lockheed Martin website, developing such a system means overcoming a number of difficult engineering and physics challenges, such as heat created due to friction and air resistance.

The weapons high speed demands an incredible degree of precise manoeuvrability.

Basic operations, like communications, become a significant challenge during hypersonic flight. A system must maintain connectivity to operators and decision-makers through communications and sensor systems, the website noted.

With inputs from agencies
The GSAT-N2, a high throughput Ka-band satellite, will deliver high-speed broadband internet connectivity and digital video and audio transmission across India. New Space India Ltd is paying Elon Musks SpaceX Rs 500 crore to send the rocket to space. But why isnt the Indian Space Research Organisation launching it? read more

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with Isro's GSAT-20 satellite disappears in the clouds after launching from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. AP

Elon Musks SpaceX has launched Indias GSAT-N2 communication satellite.

Radhakrishnan Durairaj, chairman and managing director of New Space India Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) was quoted as telling NDTV that the satellite has been placed in a precise orbit.

The aim behind sending it to space is to meet Indias broadband needs.

But what do we know about the satellite and the mission?

And why is India issuing Elon Musks SpaceX and not the Indian Space Research Organisation?

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Lets take a closer look:

The satellite and the mission

The GSAT-N2 is a high throughput Ka-band satellite.

As per Economic Times, it is the latest in a series of GSAT satellites.

The GSAT-N2 was developed by the state-owned New Space India Ltd (NSIL).

A commercial arm of Isro, the NSIL is responsible for funding and operating the GSAT-N2.

As per India Today, the satellite has a mission lifespan of 14 years.

Isro chairman S Somanath told The Times of India, SpaceXs Falcon-9 will launch Isros Gsat-20, also called GSAT N-2, on November 19.

The satellite weighs 4,700 kilos.

This satellite will deliver high-speed broadband internet connectivity and digital video and audio transmission.

As per NDTV, the GSAT-N2 is Indias most advanced satellite.

The advanced Ka band frequency  which is a range of radio frequencies between 27 and 40 gigahertz (GHz)  allows the satellite to have higher bandwidth.

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The GSAT-N2 offers Ka-band HTS capacity with 32 beams having pan-India coverage including in Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands.

NSIL will pay Elon Musks SpaceX Rs 500 crore for the launch. Reuters

Of these, eight narrow spot beams will be over the Northeast and the others will be over the rest of India.

The beams will be supported by hub stations located on the mainland.

Dr M Sankaran, director of UR Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru, told the outlet, GSAT-20 is Indias highest throughput satellite.

Eighty per cent of the GSAT-N2s capacity has been sold to a private player.

The remaining 20 per cent will also be sold to private players in the aviation and maritime sectors, as per NDTV.

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As per Economic Times, the GSAT-N2 will give a fillip to the Centres Smart City initiative.

It will also help facilitate internet connectivity on planes.

Why is India using SpaceX?

Because of the satellites immense weight.

The Isros Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM3) satellite, which is the Indian space agencys well-proven and reliable heavy lift launcher, can carry communication satellites weighing up to 4 tonnes into geosynchronous transfer orbits (GTO).

The LVM3, known as Bahubali or Fat Boy, can also lift off a payload of up to 8 tonnes into low earth orbit (LEO).

The LVM3 recently launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission on its lunar journey.

Before that, the rocket was used to launch the Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft in 2019.

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The Falcon 9 rocket, on the other hand, can deliver a payload of 8 tonnes into GTO, as per Economic Times.

According to NDTV, this will be the NSILs first launch with SpaceX.

It paid the Musk-owned company Rs 500 crore for the launch.

Isro previously used Frances Arianespace to launch its biggest satellites.

However, Arianespace currently has no commercial slots available for Isro to book.

This is because the company put its Ariane-5 rocket out to pasture last year, while the slots for the Ariane-6 have already been reserved.

India does not consider using Chinas commercial services, while Russia is engulfed in the war with Ukraine.

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This leaves SpaceX the only viable option, as per Economic Times.

The state-owned NSIL earlier launched the GSAT-24 in June 2022.

The GSAT-24s full capacity was booked by satellite television service Tata Play.

Isro is currently developing its Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV)  which will help it launch satellites over 4 tonnes.

The NGLV, at a budget of Rs 8,240 crore, will triple the LVM3S payload capacity.

This, at a price point of 1.5 times more than the LVM3.

The NGLV will have a reusable first stage.

It will able to put 30 tonnes in LEO and 10 tonnes in GTO.

With inputs from agencies
Amid speculation that Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei is ill, reports have emerged that he has picked his second son as his successor. Who is Mojtaba Khamenei and why is this position so important to Tehran? read more

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meets with Iran's Ambassador in Lebanon Mojtaba Amani, who was wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah detonated on September across Lebanon, in Tehran, Iran, on November 17, 2024. The image was posted on Khamenei's X handle amid speculation about his health. Reuters

Amid ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran, there is speculation over the health of the Islamic Republics Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Unsourced reports shared largely on social media claim that the 85-year-old cleric is reportedly in a coma. Some claim that he is dead.

However, while Iran has not responded to the rumours, Khamenei posted a picture of himself meeting an Iranian ambassador.

What do we know about Ayatollah Khameneis health?

Israeli media outlet Ynet News, citing Iran International, reported that Khamenei is suffering from a severe illness. There have also been unsourced reports on social media that he was either in a coma or dead.

However, misinformation researcher Tal Hagin has pointed out that some of the images flooding social media are from 2014.

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There are currently many unsourced reports claiming Ali Khamenei, the current Supreme Leader of Iran, is in a coma.

Accompanying these reports are "leaked" or "unconfirmed" images - Used to give the unsourced reports credibility.



These images aren't recent - They are from 2014 pic.twitter.com/kT5iXRApD6  Tal Hagin (@talhagin) November 16, 2024

There has been growing speculation about the Supreme Leaders health amid the recent conflict between Israel and Iran. The rumours have only gathered steam after a report in The New York Times said that the ageing Iranian leader is seriously ill. But Iranian authorities have neither denied nor confirmed these claims.

So will succeed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Irans Supreme Leader?

According to the report in Ynetews, which quotes Iran International, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has already picked a successor  his son Mojtaba Khamenei.

The second son of the Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei was reportedly selected during a secret meeting of the Assembly of Experts on September 26.

Ayatollah Khamenei called for an unusual meeting in September where 60 members of Irans Assembly of Experts convened. They were instructed to decide on the succession immediately. While the gathering was a top secret, the members were not giving any notice about what was expected of them, according to the report.

There was some resistance to the process as well as the choice of the successor. However, the Assembly of Experts was coerced by the Supreme Leader and his representatives to pick Mojtaba Khamenei. A unanimous decision was finally taken after the insistence, which involved threats, the report says.

Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, on October 27. There has been speculation that he is ill. Reuters

The meeting and the decision were kept a secret because of the fears of widespread protests over the succession plan and the undemocratic process in which the next leader was picked. Those who attended were warned that any leaks would have repercussions.

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While his pick comes as no surprise, his appointment is expected to raise eyebrows because he lacks experience and has not held any formal positions in the Iranian government.

Some sources familiar with the meeting have said that there is a possibility that Ayatollah might hand over the reins to his son during his lifetime, as this might make the transition smoother. They believe that this could help secure Mojtaba Khameneis leadership and curb any opposition that might arise after the Supreme Leaders death, the Ynet report says.

Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, visits Hezbollahs office in Tehran, Iran, October 1, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters

Technically, the Assembly of Experts is responsible for electing the future supreme leader. As with other institutions, however, it is the supreme leader who ultimately exercises authority over the assembly and not vice versa, wrote Kalpana Jain, a senior religion and ethics editor and director of the Global Religion Journalism Initiative in The Conversation.

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Who is Mojtaba Khamenei?

The second son of Ayatollah, Mojtaba Khamenei was born in Mashhad in 1969. He was trained by influential teachers as he studied theology and became a cleric like his father. He teaches theology at the Qom Seminary, the largest Islamic seminary in Iran, even today.

Mojtaba Khamenei has largely stayed out of the public eye. Over the past two years, he has gained significance in Tehran. Mojtaba Khamenei has become more active in Iranian politics and has played a role in decision-making in the regime.

A supporter takes a selfie with Mojtaba Khamenei. Image courtesy: @Sayyid_Mojtaba/X

In the elections held in 2005 and 2009, Mojtaba Khamenei supported Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He is said to have played a role in the presidents win in 2009 and reportedly suppressed protests that erupted in Iran after the election.

However, relations between the two soured after Ahmadinejad accused Mojtaba of embezzling funds from the state treasury.

In 2021, Mojtaba Khamenei was granted the title of ayatollah, which is a constitutional requirement to serve as Irans supreme leader.

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What has Iran said about Ayatollahs health and succession?

Iran has not made any formal announcement on the succession. The reports of Ayatollahs health and selection of Mojtaba remain speculative.

However, a day after the reports on the coma, the Supreme Leader on Sunday (17 November) posted a picture with an Iranian ambassador. The image posted on Khameneis X account shows him talking to Irans Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani in his office.

Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, met and talked with Mr Mojtaba Amani, the veteran ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Lebanon, at noon today, on the sidelines of his daily meetings, he wrote in Persian.

                    pic.twitter.com/ctIRbi9bVA  KHAMENEI.IR |   (@Khamenei_fa) November 17, 2024

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Amani was among those injured in Beirut in September in Israels pager attacks that targeted Hezbollah operatives.

According to an official statement, Amani presented a report of his latest health status to the Supreme Leader. Both the leaders look well in the latest image.

Before this, Ayatollah Khamenei was seen on 7 November when he addressed the sixth session of the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership within the Imam Khomeini Hussainiyah, a mosque in Tehran. He also met university students in Tehran on 2 November.

One of his most-talked-about appearances in 2024 was the sermon he gave  a first in five years  on October 5 after Iran launched 180 missiles targeting Israel. Addressing tens of thousands of supporters at a mosque in Tehran, Khamenei justified its missile strikes on Israel as a public service. He said Israel wont last long as he backed the Palestinian and Lebanese movements against Israel.

Israel and Iran have seen tensions escalate after the October 7 Hamas attack on the Jewish nation. The two sides have attacked each other, raising fears of a wider war in West Asia. Both Hamas and Hezbollah, which are engaged in conflict with Israel are Irans proxies.

Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with students in Tehran, Iran, November 2, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA/Reuters

What is the role of the Supreme Leader in Iran?

Ayatollah Khamenei is the most powerful and influential figure in Iran. He is the longest-serving head of state in West Asia. He took over as Supreme Leader in 1989 when he was serving as the president of Iran.

Ayatollah Khamenei succeeded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of the Iranian Revolution, after he died. The two are the only men who have held the post since the Islamic Republic was founded in 1979.

According to Irans Constitution, the Supreme Leader is responsible for the general policies of the Islamic Republic. He is the final authority on domestic and foreign policies.

He is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and controls the Islamic Republics intelligence and security operations. He also decides whether to declare war or give a call for peace.

People walk past a mural depicting the late leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on a building in a street in Tehran, Iran, October 7, 2024. Reuters

The Supreme Leader has the power to appoint and dismiss the leaders of the judiciary, the state radio and television networks, and the supreme commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He picks six of the 12 members of the Council of Guardians, the powerful body that oversees Parliament activities and determines which candidates are qualified to run for public office, according to a PBS report.

He operates through approximately 2,000 representatives, part of different sectors of the government. They can intervene in matters of the state, and are, in some aspects, more powerful than ministers, the report says.

The Supreme Leader then is at the top of the power structure and second to him comes the president.

With inputs from agencies
Irate protesters have stormed the houses of MLAs and gone on a rampage, bringing life to a standstill in Manipur. The fresh violence comes after the discovery of six bodies of people who were allegedly taken hostage earlier. But why has violence returned to the northeastern state? read more

People run past burning vehicles of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA during a protest to condemn the alleged killing of women and children in Imphal, in Manipur. AFP

In May 2023, ethnic violence broke out in the northeastern state of Manipur when two major communities of the state, the mainly Christian Kuki community and the non-tribal, mainly Hindu Meitei community clashed over the proposed inclusion of the latter in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category.

Now, a year later, Manipur is in the news again as fresh violence has broken out in the northeastern state, which has also resulted in the National Peoples Party (NPP), led by Conrad Sangma, withdrawing its support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Manipur government under Chief Minister N Biren Singh, accusing them of failing to resolve the ongoing crisis in the state.

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For the past two days, Manipur has descended into chaos  with protesters taking to the streets, setting vehicles ablaze and attacking the residences of several lawmakers in Imphal, Manipurs capital.

The state administration has, in turn, suspended internet and mobile data services in seven affected districts of the valley, imposed curfew and even reinstated the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Manipurs six police station areas, including the violence-hit Jiribam on Thursday.

But what is the reason for the fresh violence in Manipur? We analyse the situation and try to explain it all.

Reason for fresh Manipur violence

The new Manipur violence stems from an encounter between Kuki insurgents and Manipur police last week. Last Monday (November 11), 10 armed Kuki militants were killed in retaliatory firing after they attacked security forces in Jiribam, Manipur Police said.

According to the police, the men, armed with sophisticated weapons, including automatic guns and a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) post about 3 pm in the Borobekra-Jiribam area and were killed in retaliatory firing.

Reacting to the incident, Thangtinlen Haokip, information secretary of the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), told The Print that these were not militants but village defence volunteers. These are not militants, but our village defence volunteers, who have been on the ground since the violence began, to protect their community. It is wrong to call them militants.

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A Meitei woman sits outside her house that was damaged by suspected militants on Monday night in the Kangchup area of Imphal West District in the northeastern state of Manipur. Reuters

Amid this encounter, three women and three children, including an eight-month-old baby, were allegedly abducted from Manipurs Jiribam district. According to a government official speaking to The Hindu, the abducted were part of a group of 13 Meitei people who were displaced from their homes in June and were living in the vicinity of the CRPF camp at Jakuradhor and Borobekra police station, the site of encounter, for their safety.

Later that same night, a photograph of the six women and children, huddled together on the ground, went viral.

On Friday (November 15), the bodies of a woman and two children were found floating on the Barak river in Assams Cachar district. And on Sunday (November 17), two more bodies were found  of another child and woman  in the river in Lakhipur.

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It is reported that the six, who were abducted and whose bodies were later found, all belonged to one family. Laisharam Herojit told NDTV that it was his wife, two children, mother-in-law, wifes sister, and her son who were taken hostage and later killed by suspected Kuki militants.

Houses vandalised, cars torched  Manipurs violence

News of the discovery of the bodies provoked mobs in Manipur to go on a rampage. They attacked the residences and properties of ministers and MLAs, burnt tyres on the main road leading to Biren CM Biren Singhs residence, and even set fire to at least two churches and three houses in Jiribam town.

Vehicles burn as demonstrators stand during a protest against the recent killings, in Imphal West, in the northeastern state of Manipur. Reuters

On Saturday (November 16), irate protesters ransacked the houses of three legislators, including that of Biren Singhs son-in-law RK Imo, who is also a BJP MLA, and set their properties on fire. Later that day, they also advanced towards Biren Singhs ancestral home at Luwangshangbam in Imphal East but were stopped short of 100-200 metres by security forces.

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Protesters also burned tyres and blocked roads in the capital city of Imphal on Saturday.

On Sunday (November 17), the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a prominent Kuki-Zo tribal organisation, alleged that attackers from a rival community set fire to at least five churches, one school, a petrol pump, and 14 houses belonging to tribal families in Jiribam.

A mob also attacked the RSS office at Haraorok in Imphal East around 10 am. No one was hurt in the attack although office property was vandalised.

Demonstrators break furniture after they storm the residences of a lawmaker during a protest against the recent killings, in Imphal West, in Manipur. Reuters

Government steps in to quell Manipur violence

Shortly after the fresh violence in Manipur broke out, the Manipur government announced an indefinite curfew was imposed in Imphal East and West, Bishnupur, Thoubal and Kakching districts of Imphal Valley.

The administration also suspended internet services temporarily in seven districts in the wake of protesters storming the residences of state ministers and MLAs. Anti-social elements might use social media extensively for transmission of images, hate speech and hate video messages inciting the passions of the public which might have serious repercussions for the law and order situation, a notice said.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also expected to hold a key meeting to review the situation in Manipur. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Deka, among other top officials, are likely to attend the meeting.

The Centre has also reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Manipurs six police station areas. A News18 report has said that the Centre is also preparing to send in additional troops to the northeastern state. The report citing sources said that the 20 companies sent by the Union government last week will not be sufficient, given the current tense situation in the state.

The state police have so far arrested 23 people for ransacking and setting fires to the homes of lawmakers and ministers in the capital Imphal. A senior state police official told Reuters on Sunday that the situation in the area was relatively calm today but unpredictable.

Activists and supporters of Womens Wing Delhi Meetei Co-ordinating Committee (DMCC) and Manipur Students Association Delhi (MSAD) hold placards during a protest in New Delhi to condemn the alleged killing of women and children by militants in the Jiribam district of Indias violence-hit northeastern state of Manipur. AFP

Meanwhile, political developments have also unfolded in the state that could result in more volatility in an already vulnerable state. Conrad Sangmas National Peoples Party (NPP), the second-largest ally with seven MLAs in the BJP-led NDA state government, withdrew support citing its failure to restore normalcy and expressing deep concern.

NPP chief Conrad Sangma said, We strongly feel that the Manipur state government under the leadership of Shri Biren Singh has completely failed to resolve the crisis and restore normalcy. Keeping the current situation in mind, the National Peoples Party has decided to withdraw its support to the Biren Singh-led Government in the State of Manipur, with immediate effect. He also wrote a letter to BJP chief JP Nadda, saying, In the last few days, we have seen the situation further deteriorate where many more innocent lives have been lost and people in the state are going through immense suffering.

While the NPP pulling out of the government, doesnt endanger its position, it is a clear indicator of a worsening situation. Speaking to The Indian Express, an NPP MLA said: The state government is already at odds with seven BJP Kuki MLAs. Without the seven NPP MLAs, he (Biren) will struggle to prove his majority in the Assembly now.

With inputs from agencies
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to attend the G20 Summit hosted by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to appear in court today following an arrest warrant issued last month read more

November 18, Monday, is set to be a very busy day with several key developments taking place across the world.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to attend the G20 summit hosted by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The summit is expected to focus on geopolitical tensions, including wars in West Asia and Ukraine.

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been summoned to appear in court today following an arrest warrant issued against her.

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Union Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh will lead a 19-member Indian delegation and present Indias national statement at the United Nations COP29 climate summit.

Meanwhile, SpaceX plans to launch its sixth test flight of the revolutionary Starship launch system today.

Lets take a look at these events:

PM Modi in Brazil for G20 summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two-day visit to Brazils Rio de Janeiro to attend the G20 Summit today. The summit, hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, will focus on global challenges and geopolitical issues.

US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hold hands at the G20 summit in New Delhi, September 9, 2023. Reuters/File Photo

In a press release, the Ministry of External Affairs said that PM Modi will discuss Indias stance on global issues and build on outcomes from the G20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration and the Voice of the Global South Summits hosted by India. On the sidelines, PM Modi is expected to hold bilateral talks with other world leaders.

Will Sheikh Hasina reach Bangladesh court after arrest warrant issued?

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been summoned to appear in Bangladesh court today after an arrest warrant was issued by the countrys International Criminal Tribunal (ICT). The warrant pertains to allegations of crimes against humanity during mass protests earlier this year, which resulted in hundreds of deaths.

Sheikh Hasina speaks during a meeting with foreign observers and journalists in Dhaka, Bangladesh, January 8, 2024. Reuters/File Photo

Hasina, who fled to India in August after being ousted from power, is among 46 people ordered to be arrested and produced before the tribunal, Chief Prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Islam told local media.

India scheduled to deliver national statement at COP29

Union Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh is scheduled to head a 19-member Indian delegation and deliver Indias national statement at the United Nations COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, today.

India is expected to discuss the need for climate finance, accountability, and protection for vulnerable communities. Key priorities include holding developed nations accountable for climate finance, strengthening resilience for vulnerable communities, and ensuring an equitable energy transition, experts told PTI.

G20 leaders in Brazil amid wars in West Asia, Ukraine

G20 leaders will meet in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for a summit expected to focus on disagreements over wars in West Asia and Ukraine, as well as the global implications of Donald Trumps White House return.

A drone view shows a G20 Summit sign outside the Maracana metro station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 14, 2024. Reuters

The summit, hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, will take place at Rios iconic bayside museum of modern art, under tight security. Lula will use the platform to support Global South issues and launch a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty.

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SpaceXs sixth test flight of Starship

SpaceX is set to conduct the sixth flight test of its Starship launch vehicle today, building on the achievements of its fifth test conducted on October 13, 2024.

SpaceXs Super Heavy booster lands during SpaceX Starships fifth flight test, in Boca Chica, Texas, US, October 13, 2024. Reuters

The mission aims to further Starships development toward full and rapid reusability. Key objectives include returning the Super Heavy booster to the launch site for a catch and reigniting a Raptor engine on the Starship upper stage while in space - critical milestones for future orbital missions.

With inputs from agencies
North Korea is reportedly blaring eerie sounds, including howling of wolves and gong-like noises, through loudspeakers into South Korea. Residents of Dangsan village have called it noise bombing. The latest flare-up comes amid heightened tensions between the two neighbours in recent months read more

This general view shows loudspeakers standing in a village of Yeonpyeong island, near the 'northern limit line' sea boundary with North Korea, on January 6, 2024. File Photo/AFP

North Korea has deployed a new weapon against the South: noise bombing. Residents of a village in South Korea, living near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), have complained of hearing gong-like sounds and other eerie noises blasting from loudspeakers in North Korea, a cause of torment for them.

Tensions are high between the two Koreas, with relations plunging to new lows under the Norths leader, Kim Jong-un, and the Souths President, Yoon Suk Yeol.

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Lets take a closer look.

North Koreas noise bombing

Villagers in South Koreas Dangsan, located on the northern shore of Ganghwa Island and just 1.6 km from North Korea, say they have become victims of noise bombing.

As per The New York Times (NYT) report, North Korea is subjecting them to loud, crackly noises and what some villagers describe as sounds of howling wolves, grinding of metal or screaming ghosts.

Other noises mentioned by the residents include an enraged monkey striking a broken piano and the sound of incoming artillery.

It is driving us crazy. You cant sleep at night, An Mi-hee, 37, a villager told NYT.

Its bombing without shells, she added.

Dangsan has a population of just 354, mainly people in their 60s and above.

North Korea has been blaring loudspeakers along its border with South Korea  DMZ  for 10 to 24 hours a day since July. Dangsan has become the worst-hit victim of North Koreas psychological warfare.

Residents along the DMZ have put up with propaganda broadcasts through loudspeakers since the 1960s.

Both sides have insulted the others leaders as puppets. South Korea has tried to tempt North Korean soldiers with K-pop, while broadcasts from the North have called on the South Korean troops to defect to the peoples paradise.

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I wish they would just broadcast their old insults and propaganda songs, An Seon-hoe, 67, another villager, told NYT. At least they were human sounds and we could bear them.

Villagers have described these latest incessant noises, devoid of music or human sound, as irritating and stressful.

They are keeping their windows closed and some have installed Styrofoam to keep the noise from the North out. Villagers say the noise bombardment has given them insomnia, and headaches, and led to miscarriages of goats and hens laying fewer eggs, reported NYT.

Politicians have visited Dangsan and lawmakers are apprised of the situation, but, villagers say, they have failed to provide a solution to stop North Koreas psychological war.

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Latest escalation between the Koreas

Ties continue to be sour between the two Koreas, with North Koreas Kim becoming more hawkish in the past few years.

Since late May, North Korea has dropped thousands of balloons carrying trash in South Korea. This was in retaliation to what the North said was frequent scattering of leaflets and other rubbish in border areas by activists in the South.

These leaflets called Kim a murderous dictator or pig and urged North Koreans to topple his government.

In June, South Korea resumed its round-the-clock loudspeaker broadcast campaign against the North, blasting propaganda, world news and K-pop music.

In response, North Korea has kickstarted its own noise bombing.

These broadcasts were stopped under a peace agreement signed in 2018 between the two countries. This pact has been declared void by both sides amid rising tensions.

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Speaking to NYT, Kang Dong-wan, an expert on North Korea at Dong-A University in the South, said, North Korea knows its propaganda no longer works on South Koreans. The goal of its loudspeakers has changed from spreading propaganda to forcing South Korea to stop its own broadcasts and leaflets.

In October, North Korea accused the South of sending drones that allegedly scattered propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang, warning such a provocation could result in armed conflict and even war, reported BBC.

South Korea said it was ready to respond and a threat to the safety of its citizens would lead to the end of the North Korean regime.

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The North also blew up all railway and road links linking it with South Korea.

Earlier this month, the South Korean military accused North Korea of disrupting GPS signals near border areas, impacting a civilian ship and air traffic.

What is North Koreas motive?

The Norths hostility towards South Korea has been on the rise since 2019 when Kims talks with the then United States President Donald Trump collapsed.

On its part, South Korea has increased joint military drills with the US and Japan to deter Pyongyang.

As per NYT, some analysts say Kim is signalling to the next US president why he should engage with the North Korean leader.

Kim could rein in his nuclear programme in exchange for ease in global sanctions. As Trump, the president-elect, returns to the White House in January, there is an increased possibility of the two countries resuming communication, reported the American daily.

With inputs from agencies
Prime Minister Modi is in Brazil to attend the 19th G20 Summit. While the PM will look to reiterate the importance of the Global South, the two wars  Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas  will cast a shadow on the international meeting. A Donald Trump presidency will also loom large with Joe Biden having the tough task of assuring leaders that the US remains committed to its alliances across the world read more

PM Narendra Modi receiving a warm welcome by the Indian diaspora at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Modi is in the country for the G20 summit -- on November 18 and 19. Image Courtesy: @MEAIndia/X

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro to attend the all-important G20 Summit, which will be held today (November 18) and tomorrow (November 19). Modis visit to Brazil comes after he wrapped up an important and productive visit to Nigeria where he held bilateral talks with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and interacted with the Indian community.

Announcing his arrival in the Brazilian city, the Ministry of External Affairs in a post on X wrote, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lands in the vibrant city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to attend the G20 Brazil Summit. Interestingly, Modi was welcomed at the airport with Sanskrit chants.

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Modi will join other world leaders such as US President Joe Biden, Chinas Xi Jinping and others at the international forum, where differences over wars in West Asia and Ukraine, and implications of Donald Trumps White House return loom large.

Modi at G20

PM Modis presence at the G20 Summit in Brazil is significant as India is a member of the G20 Troika, alongside Brazil and South Africa. He will also be looking to build on Indias successful presidency last year during which it mainstreamed the priorities of the Global South. It was also during Indias presidency that the African Unions permanent membership was secured and a leaders declaration was created despite challenges, including deep divisions over the Ukraine conflict.

This G20, PM Modi is expected to focus on the issues of hunger and poverty. It is also likely that he will push for the restructuring of international institutions such as the United Nations Security Council. New Delhi believes that the UN reflects the world of 1945 and must include more permanent members than the present five  USA, Russia, China, Britain and France. India, Brazil, Germany and Japan are all candidates for permanent member seats when the restructuring does happen.

PM Modi being welcomed at the airport in Brazil after landing for the G20 Summit. The PM is expected to champion the cause of the voice of the Global South at the meet. Image Courtesy: @MEAIndia/X

Prime Minister Modi will also reiterate the importance of peace and talks as the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel continues its war against Hamas. Brazil, the host country of the G20, has said that India can play a significant role in putting the conflicts to an end, considering its position and the influence it wields.

Earlier, Modi in his departure statement said, This year, Brazil has built upon Indias legacy. I look forward to meaningful discussions in keeping with our vision of  . I will also use the opportunity to exchange views on furthering bilateral cooperation with several other leaders.

On the sidelines of the G20 Summit, PM Modi is expected to meet several leaders, officials said. However, theres no confirmation as to who will he meet, though there are reports that he is likely to hold a meeting with new UK PM Keir Starmer.

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PM Modi, as per some reports, may also have another sit-down with Chinas President Xi Jinping  a second in less than a month. The PM and the Chinese president had met in a bilateral format just last month on the sidelines of the Brics summit in the Russian city of Kazan after five years following the recent India-China pact on patrolling along the LAC.

Wars loom large over G20

With the world seeing two wars  Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas  being fought simultaneously, it is natural that the issues will be at the forefront of the G20 Summit too.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be in attendance owing to the International Criminal Court warrant out against him, for Russias actions in Ukraine, his representative  the foreign minister will represent Russia in Rio.

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Members of the security forces arrive at the Museum of Modern Art (MAM), the venue of the G20 Summit, in Rio de Janeiro. Reuters

We are negotiating with all the countries on the final declarations passages about geopolitics so that we can reach consensual language on those two issues, Brazils chief diplomatic official for the G20, Mauricio Lyrio, was quoted as telling AFP.

Those conflicts will be the elephant in the room, Flavia Loss, international relations specialist at the School of Sociology and Politics of Sao Paulo (FESPSP), told AFP.

Climate change on G20s mind

Brazils President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to use his hosting duties to champion the fight against climate change. Notably, the G20 is occurring at the same time as the COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan.

The Brazilian president had earlier said that he would like to focus on climate change rather than the wars, Because if not, we will not discuss other things which are more important for people that are not at war, who are poor people and invisible to the world, he said.

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A member of the Indigenous People Association holds a banner reading We are the answer, during a protest to demand action on climate change, holding big head cut-outs of world leaders US President Joe Biden, Chinas President Xi Jinping, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japans Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, on the waters of Botafogo Bay, ahead of the G20 Summit, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Reuters

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also called for G20 members, who account for 80 per cent of global emissions, to show leadership and compromise to facilitate a deal. A Brazilian diplomatic source told AFP that fast-developing nations like China were refusing pressure from rich countries to join them in funding global climate projects but added that he was hopeful of progress at the summit.

At the last G20 in India, leaders called for a tripling of renewable energy sources by the end of the decade, but without explicitly calling for an end to the use of fossil fuels.

Bidens swansong

This G20 summit will also be US President Joe Bidens final world international meet before Donald Trump assumes presidency after winning the US presidential election on November 5. Experts note that Biden will face a tough task at G20: reassuring world leaders that America remains committed to staying engaged in the world as his successor champions a go-it-alone approach.

Biden will want to convey the message that Americas engagement with the world, American values, American interests are enduring, Evan Medeiros of Georgetown Universitys School of Foreign Service, who led Asia policy in the Obama administration, told NPR.

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US President Joe Biden poses for a group photo after signing a proclamation designating November 17 as International Conservation Day, during his tour at the Museu da Amazonia in Manaus, Brazil. This is Bidens last international summit before Trump takes over the White House. Reuters

But obviously thats going to be exceptionally difficult to do because the rest of the world is now going to be looking to hedge the United States  in other words, reduce involvement  because America is unreliable and a risky partner, Medeiros said.

A tax on billionaires

At this G20, Brazilian President Lula will try to progress plans to tax the worlds richest billionaires. Devised by French economist Gabriel Zucman, the plan would introduce an annual tax of two per cent on the total net worth of extremely wealthy individuals  not just their annual income. This would include real estate assets, corporate shareholdings and other investments. Zucman has estimated that the top 0.01 per cent of the population pay an effective tax rate of just 0.3 per cent of their wealth.

The tax collected could then be used to tackle growing global inequalities, especially among heavily indebted low-income countries, including many in Africa.

However, Lula may find it difficult to push this proposal through, as the rise of national populism in many G20 countries is increasing scrutiny about how public money is spent, with many believing that international aid and development funds could be better deployed at home.

Most of the G20 countries are having a hard time balancing their budgets, Maria Antonieta Del Tedesco Lins, an economist and associate professor at the University of Sao Paulo, told DW. While extra taxes would help, its very hard to juggle national pressures with new international or multilateral obligations.

With inputs from agencies
Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishaliben and two young children Dharmik and Vihangi were among 11 immigrants waiting to make the crossing into America from Canada in January 2022. Authorities found their bodies in a frozen field in Canada just 12 metres away from the border. Now, two men  Harshkumar Patel and Steve Shand  stand accused of being part of a sophisticated human smuggling operation read more

Jury selection in the case of Harshkumar Patel and Steve Shand, each of whom face four counts related to human smuggling at the federal courthouse in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, began on Monday. AP

An Indian family froze to death in 2022 while attempting to cross the Canadian border into America.

Now, the trial of the two men that allegedly smuggled them has begun in America.

Jagdish Patel, his wife Vaishaliben and two young children Dharmik and Vihangi were among 11 immigrants waiting to make the crossing into America in January 2022.

Authorities found the familys bodies in a field in a frozen field in Canada.

Prosecutors have arrested two men  Harshkumar Patel and Steve Shand  in the case.

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But what happened? And what do we know about the case?

Lets take a closer look:

What happened?

Jagdish Patel, 39, grew up in Gujarats Dingucha.

He and his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s, lived with his parents, raising their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi, and Dharmik.

The couple were schoolteachers, according to local news reports.

The family was fairly well off by local standards, living in a well-kept, two-story house with a front patio and a wide veranda.

It wasnt a lavish life, said Vaibhav Jha, a local reporter who spent days in the village. But there was no urgent need, no desperation.

The Patel family were found to death frozen in a field in Canada. Image courtesy: @rcmpmb

But the narrow streets of Dingucha, a quiet village near Gandhinagar, are paved with ads to move overseas.

Make your dream of going abroad come true, one poster says, listing three tantalising destinations: Canada. Australia. USA.

Experts say illegal immigration from India is driven by everything from political repression to a dysfunctional American immigration system that can take years, if not decades, to navigate legally.

But much is rooted in economics, and how even low-wage jobs in the West can ignite hopes for a better life.

Those hopes have changed Dingucha.

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Today, so many villagers have gone overseas  legally and otherwise  that blocks of homes stand vacant and the social media feeds of those who remain are filled with old neighbours showing off houses and cars.

That drives even more people to leave.

There was so much pressure in the village, where people grew up aspiring to the good life, Jha said.

Every child here grows with the dream of moving to a foreign country, a Dingucha councilman told the BBC.

Smuggling networks were glad to help, charging fees that could reach $90,000 per person. In Dingucha, Jha said, many families afforded that by selling farmland.

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Satveer Chaudhary is a Minneapolis-based immigration attorney who has helped migrants exploited by motel owners, many of them Gujaratis.

Smugglers with ties to the Gujarati business community have built an underground network, he said, bringing in workers willing to do low- or even no-wage jobs.

Their own community has taken advantage of them, Chaudhary said.

The pipeline of illegal immigration from India has long existed but has increased sharply along the US-Canada border. The US Border Patrol arrested more than 14,000 Indians on the Canadian border in the year ending September 30, which amounted to 60 per cent of all arrests along that border and more than 10 times the number two years ago.

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By 2022, the Pew Research Center estimates there were more than 725,000 Indians living illegally in the US, behind only Mexicans and El Salvadorans.

According to BBC, the Patels had arrived in Canada on tourist visas.

It was into this pipeline that the Patels went  with tragic results.

Enter Dirty Harry

Coordinating things in Canada, federal prosecutors say, was Harshkumar Patel, an experienced smuggler nicknamed Dirty Harry.

As per CBC.CA, Harshkumar goes by a number of other aliases including Harry Patel, Param Singh, Haresh Patel, and Hareshkumar Singh Patel.

As per BBC, Harshkumar manages a Casino in Florida.

On the US side was Steve Shand, the driver recently recruited by Harshkumar at a casino near their Florida homes, prosecutors say.

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As per India Today, the men knew each other because they both live in Florida and frequent the same casino game rooms.

The two men are accused of being part of a sophisticated human smuggling operation feeding a fast-growing population of Indians living illegally in the US.

As per BBC, another related investigation has revealed that the Indians would be sent to work in a Chicago restaurant chain.

They would remain here until they paid off their debt to the smugglers.

Harshkumar was arrested in February 2024 in Chicago, according to CBC.CA.

Both men have pleaded not guilty.

Over the five weeks the two worked together, documents filed by prosecutors allege they spoke often about the bitter cold as they smuggled five groups of Indians over that quiet stretch of border.

16 degrees cold as hell, Shand messaged during an earlier trip. They going to be alive when they get here?

By 3 am on January 19, 2022, the 11 Indian migrants had spent hours wandering in gusting snow and brutal cold trying to find Shand.

Many were in jeans and rubber work boots. None wore serious winter clothing.

This group included Patel his wife and their two young children.

Wind chills reached minus 36 Fahrenheit (minus 38 Celsius) that night in January 2022 as the family from India set out on foot to meet a waiting van.

They walked amid vast farm fields and bulky snowdrifts, navigating in the black of an almost-moonless night.

A woman carries firewood on her head at Dingucha village in Gandhinagar district in Gujarat. India, AP

The driver, waiting in northern Minnesota, messaged his boss: Make sure everyone is dressed for the blizzard conditions, please.

Shand, though, was stuck.

Prosecutors allege he had been heading to the pickup spot in a rented 15-passenger van when he drove into a ditch roughly 0.8 kilometers from the border.

Eventually, two migrants stumbled across the van. Sometime later, a passing pipeline company worker pulled the vehicle from the ditch.

Soon after that, a US Border Patrol agent, on watch for migrants after boot prints were found near the border, pulled over Shand.

Shand repeatedly insisted there was no one else outside, even as five more desperate Indians wandered to the vehicle from the fields, including one going in and out of consciousness.

They had been walking for more than 11 hours.

There were no children among the migrants, but one man had a backpack filled with toys, childrens clothes and diapers.

But there were no children.

Patel and his family had somehow gotten separated from the others the authorities were told, as per BBC.

Hours later, their bodies were discovered by authorities in a snowbank in Manitoba on January 19, 2022, as per CBC.CA.

They were just 12 metres away from the US border.

In Patels frozen arms was the body of his 3-year-old son, Dharmik, wrapped in a blanket.

Daughter Vihangi was nearby, while Vaishaliben was a short walk away.

What I am about to share is going to be difficult for many people to hear, assistant commissioner Jane MacLatchy with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told reporters the next day as per BBC.

It is an absolute and heartbreaking tragedy.

Back in India, investigating officer Dilip Thakor said media attention had led to the arrest of three men in the Patel case, but hundreds of such cases dont even reach the courts.

With so many Indians trying to get to the US, the smuggling networks see no need to warn off customers.

They tell people that its very easy to cross into the US They never tell them of the dangers involved, Thakor said.

US prosecutors allege Harshkumar and Shand were part of a sprawling operation, with people to scout for business in India, acquire Canadian student visas, arrange transportation and smuggle migrants into the US, mostly via Washington state or Minnesota.

Harshkumar, 29, and Shand, 50, each face four counts related to human smuggling at the federal courthouse in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

Jury selection in the case began today, as per CBC.CA.

A man who was part of the smuggling ring may be called to testify, prosecutors say.

In an undated image released by the US Attorneys Office, shows items found in a migrant childs backpack. AP

The migrants who made the crossing may also be summoned to the witness box.

According to BBC, one of them, known only as VD, said he paid $87,000 to get into Canada under a student visa.

He was later helped to enter the US illegally.

Patels attorney, Thomas Leinenweber, has said his client came to America to escape poverty and build a better life and now stands unjustly accused of participating in this horrible crime.

Shands attorneys did not return calls seeking comment.

Prosecutors say Shand told investigators that Patel paid him about $25,000 for the five trips.

His final passengers, though, never made it.

No charges have been filed in Canada, as per India Today.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police says the investigation is open.

Hemant Shah, an Indian-born businessman living in Winnipeg, some 110 kilometers north of where the migrants were found, helped organise a virtual prayer service for the Patels.

Hes accustomed to hard winters and cant fathom the suffering they endured.

How could these people have even thought about going and crossing the border? Shah said.

Greed, he said, had taken four lives: There was no humanity.
The BJP MLAs in Manipur will meet Chief Minister N Biren Singh today after violence makes a comeback in the state and Conrad Sangmas National Peoples Party (NPP), the second-largest ally with seven MLAs in the BJP-led NDA government, withdrew its support to the ruling alliance read more

Charred remains of goods after demonstrations following bodies, suspected to be of six missing people from Jiribam district, were found near the Manipur-Assam border on Friday night. Source: PTI.

Hours after Conrad Sangma-led National Peoples Party (NPP) withdrew support to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Manipur headed by N Biren Singh, the BJP MLAs will meet the chief minister at his office on Monday at 6 pm to review the current situation in the violence-hit state.

The NPP, which has 7 MLAs in the 60-member Manipur Assembly, withdrew support from the government on Sunday, claiming that CM Biren Singh has completely failed to resolve the crisis and restore normalcy in the state.

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The current coalition government in Manipur was formed with the coming together of BJP, Naga Peoples Front, Lok Janshakti Party and NPP.

In a letter to BJP national president JP Nadda, NPPs president and Meghalaya chief minister said: In the last few days, we have seen the situation further deteriorate where many more innocent lives have been lost and people in the State are going through immense suffering.

Violence makes a comeback in Manipur

On Saturday (November 16) night, a large group of protesters took to the streets seeking justice for six individuals, who were allegedly taken hostage after the Jiribam shootout and their decomposed bodies were found, in the district.

Following the recovery of the decomposed bodies, civil society groups from the valley dominated by Meitei, gave an ultimatum, demanding urgent military crackdown on the terrorists and the armed groups.

All the MLAs and other leaders must sit together to take decisive action to resolve the present crisis at the earliest," Khuraijam Athouba, COCOMI spokesperson, said.

If they do not take any decisive action that satisfies the people, the government will bear the brunt of the peoples discontent and anger, Athouba warned.

Houses of MLAs set on fire

Tensions escalated after protesters targeted the ancestral residence of CM Biren Singh and homes of three state ministers and six MLAs.

As per official reports, protesters on Saturday set ablaze several properties of lawmakers, including PWD Minister Govindas Konthoujams residence in Ningthoukhong, BJP MLA Y Radheshyams house in Langmeidong Bazar, BJP MLA Paonam Brojens house in Thoubal district, and Congress MLA Th Lokeshwars property in Imphal East district.

With the situation turning intense, Manipur government imposed infinite curfew in Imphal and suspended internet services in parts of the state.

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On Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired an emergency meeting with senior security establishment officials to review the deteriorating situation in Manipur.

Shah was in Maharashtra to campaign for Assembly elections later in the week, cut short his visit to return to Delhi for the meeting.

On Monday, the Union Home Minister will again chair a meeting at North Block as the Central government prepares to tackle the latest resurgence of violence, which has been marked by what appear to be reprisal killings carried out by both Kuki and Meitei groups in the state.

The Central government has also sent CRPF director general Anish Dayal Singh to Manipur.

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With inputs from agencies.
Rio de Janeiro/New Delhi, Nov 18 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Rio de Janeiro to attend the G20 summit being hosted by Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula Da Silva. He was welcomed by an enthusiastic diaspora crowd, and Brazilian Vedic scholars chanted Vedic mantras in front of PM Modi.

The PM said in posts on X that he looks forward to the G20 summit deliberations and fruitful talks with world leaders:

Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders.

On the warm welcome by the diaspora he posted:

Deeply touched by the warm and lively welcome from the Indian community upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro. Their energy reflects the affection that binds us across continents.

The Indian community in Brazil was gathered in large numbers outside the hotel in Rio de Janeiro where PM Modi is staying and raised slogans of Modi, Modi on the PMs arrival and crowded around him to greet him.

Brazilian Vedic scholars were also seated there and chanted Vedic mantras in front of PM Modi.

India is part of the G20 Troika along with Brazil and South Africa and has been actively contributing to the ongoing G20 Summit discussions. During the Summit, Prime Minister Modi will put forward Indias positions on various issues of global importance and build on the outcomes from the G20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration and Voice of the Global South Summits which were hosted by India in the past two years. On the sidelines of the G20 Summit, Prime Minister is expected to meet several leaders.

UNI RN
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ship Agrim on Sunday successfully rescued seven Indian fishermen who had been detained by a Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) vessel near the India-Pakistan maritime boundary read more

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ship Agrim on Sunday successfully rescued seven Indian fishermen who had been detained by a Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) vessel near the India-Pakistan maritime boundary.

#WATCH | Indian Coast Guard Ship Agrim chasing Pakistani ship PMSA Nusrat to rescue Indian fishermen who were being taken to Pakistani waters on Sunday, November 17. The Indian Coast Guard managed to rescue Indian fishermen.



(Source: Indian Coast Guard) https://t.co/fdigpCelvN pic.twitter.com/23w67dt33w  ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2024

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Despite the PMSA vessels attempts to retreat, the ICG ship intercepted the Pakistani vessel Nusrat and pursued it for approximately two hours before convincing the crew to release the fishermen.

Indian Coast Guard ship Agrim deployed close to the maritime boundary line with Pakistan chased the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency ship PMS Nusrat after a chase of around two hours and clearly told them that under no condition, it would allow the Pakistani ship to take away Indian fishermen from fishing boat Kaal Bhairav from Indian waters, ANI quoted defence officials as saying.

In a statement, Indian Coast Guard said that the incident took place near the India-Pakistan Maritime Boundary on Sunday.

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ship successfully rescued seven Indian fishermen on 17 Nov 24, apprehended by a Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) ship near the India-Pakistan Maritime Boundary. Despite efforts by the PMSA ship to retreat, ICG Ship intercepted PMSA ship and persuaded them to relieve Indian fishermen, ANI quoted the IGC as saying in a statement.

The ICG ship was able to retrieve the seven fishermen safely, who were all found to be in stable medical condition. Unfortunately, the Indian fishing boat Kal Bhairav was reported to have been damaged and sunk during the incident, the ICG added in the statement.

The statement further said that the ICG Ship returned to Okha Harbour on Monday, where a joint investigation involving the ICG, State Police, Intelligence Agencies, and Fisheries authorities was undertaken to investigate the circumstances leading to the collision and the subsequent rescue operation.

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With inputs from agencies
The NIA has taken over probe into three cases of incidents of violence in Manipurs Jiribam. The state has been witnessing fresh unrest since Saturday with people protesting after the recovery of six decomposed bodies in the area read more

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), on Monday, took over the probe into three cases of fresh violence in Manipur.

The NIA has been given the charge of the investigation after a review of the situation in Manipur by the Union home ministry.

Which 3 Manipur violence cases NIA has taken over?

1 - November 8 Jiribam incident

The Manipur government has already handed over the files of case registered at Jiribam Police Station on November 8 to the NIA that pertains to the murder and burning of a Hmar woman from Jairolpokpi (Zairawn) Jiribam district on November 7 by fully armed militants around 9 pm at her residence.

The NIA re-registered the FIRs under various sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), arms act and unlawful activities prevention act.

The incident resulted in escalation of more violence in the state.

Six members of a Meitei family three women and three children - from the same village were reported missing, with officials saying that they were likely abducted by militants. The decomposed bodies of two children, including an infant, and a woman were found near the Manipur-Assam border on Friday.

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2 - November 11 CRPF post attack case

The second case taken over by NIA on Monday is linked to the November 11 attack by armed militants on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) post situated in Jakuradhor Karong and Borobekra police station.

The case was registered at Borobekra Police station.

3 - November 11 incident of firing & burning of houses

The third case, also registered at Boroberkra Police Station, is related to the November 11 incident at Jakuradhor Karong. The FIR was filed against unknown armed militants who fired on the Borobekra police station, residential houses located at Jakuradhor Karong and set ablaze several houses and shops.

The development comes amid Union Home Minister Amit Shah chairing back-to-back review meetings in national capital New Delhi and has directed the security officials as well as Chief Minister N Biren Singh-led Manipur government to ensure peace in the state.

Fresh violence in Manipur

Since Saturday (November 18), Manipur has been witnessing fresh unrest after violent protests erupted, increasing tension in the Imphal valley.

Protests were carried out after recovery of six decomposed bodies linked to the recent shootout in Jiribam, where 10 Kuki militants were killed.

Civil society groups, led by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), warned both the central and the central government.

Also Read: Fresh violence in Manipur, MLAs houses set on fire; BJP in huddle as ally blames CM Biren Singh

All the MLAs and other leaders must sit together to take decisive action to resolve the present crisis at the earliest, COCOMI spokesperson Khuraijam Athouba said.

If they do not take any decisive action that satisfies the people, the government will bear the brunt of the peoples discontent and anger," he warned.

Meanwhile, protesters targeted the ancestral residence of Manipur CM Singh and homes of three state ministers and six MLAs.

Also Read: Manipur violence: Internet shutdown, ultimatum to withdraw AFSPA, delayed funerals and more

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As per official reports, protesters on Saturday set ablaze several properties of lawmakers, including PWD Minister Govindas Konthoujams residence in Ningthoukhong, BJP MLA Y Radheshyams house in Langmeidong Bazar, BJP MLA Paonam Brojens house in Thoubal district, and Congress MLA Th Lokeshwars property in Imphal East district.

With inputs from agencies.
It appears that Hardeep Singh Nijjar, like Talwinder Singh Parmar, belonged to a special category: one that the Canadian establishment is actually concerned about read more

Two North American governmentsAmerican and Canadianinvoke the freedoms of expression and religion as tests of a countrys democracy. In defense of these freedoms, they deploy diplomatic pressure, economic sanctions, and the threat of coercive measures. Presumably then, violence against the media or religious minorities in their own country would invite outrage and strong action.

But, no: the September attack on a Calgary journalist and a series of attacks on Hindu temples disappeared in a trickle of bland condemnations. In Canada, this is surprising only to those woefully or willfully unaware of the long history of intimidation of the press and anti-Sikh-extremist voices in Canada. Some of the incidents recounted in this piece go back decades, but, sadly, they form a part of the chain of events unfolding today.

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When Tara Singh Hayer, a Punjabi-language journalist and publisher, was shot and killed in Surrey in 1998, he had been a marked man for over ten years. He was sympathetic to the Khalistan causea separatist movement seeking to carve a Sikh state out of Indiabut opposed the violent targeting of civilians to support it. A shooting ten years earlier had left him paralysed, and a few months before that a bomb was discovered in his office. Hayers familyincluding his former British Columbia MLA son, Dave Hayer testified that, despite the prior attempts on his life, it was difficult to get the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to take the threats seriously.

A later enquiry found that the RCMPs efforts to protect the journalist were half-hearted; and no one was ever charged with his murder. Hayers killing kept him from testifying in a trial related to the bombing of Air India flight AI 182 (called Kanishka) in 1985the largest terror attack Canada has seen to date.

Even his written and videotaped testimony was posthumously ruled inadmissible by the judge, saying it would be a highly contentious matter consuming many months and with the potential of significantly diverting the trial. Two decades after the mass killing, the Canadian establishment had discovered a sense of urgency. The two men Hayer was to testify against were acquitted in 2005.

Seventeen years later, in 2022, Ripudaman Singh Malik, one of the two men acquitted due to Hayers testimony being set aside, was taken off a no-fly list and visited India. He praised Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and received permission from the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), an influential body that manages Sikh gurudwaras in India, to print copies of the holy text, Guru Granth Sahib. Pro-Khalistan leaders unleashed invective and threatening rhetoric against Malik. He was eventually gunned down in 2023. Two contract killers were arrested and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The prosecutor refuseddespite the Mallik familys public appealsto reveal who had hired them.

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Canadian authorities, it appeared, werent overly keen to publicly identify or prosecute the conspirators. The man Mallik was in a bitter dispute with and who had made a public call in 2021 to  teach Mallik a lesson, was Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Nijjar himself was shot dead in June 2023. Alert observers of Indo-Canadian affairs would note that the Canadian governments ongoing response to his killing is more energetic and shrill.

More about the Nijjar case later, but this pattern of dealing with Khalistani violence extends backwards to the investigation of its most shocking atrocity, the Kanishka bombing. An official commission that looked into the farcical investigation that followed found  erased wiretaps, warnings that went ignored, interagency turf wars, and witnesses scared into silence.

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For a conspiracy that killed 329 people including women, children, and the elderlyand crew members, the Canadian legal system convicted a grand total of one man: Inderjit Singh Reyat, that too on a manslaughter charge. He was sentenced to five years. Reyat confirmed that one Talwinder Singh Parmar had ordered the bombs that brought down Kanishka and killed two baggage handlers loading an Air India flight in Narita Airport, Japan. This was corroborated by Canadian intelligence officers who followed Reyat and Parmar to a test bombing three weeks before the actual bombing. Its hard to ignore the fact that while Parmarwho was conveniently dead by this timewas named in the case, doing so diverted blame from most living conspirators. But then, it is tempting to ask whether Parmarhad he been alivewould have been in any danger at all in Canada.

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In 1982, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot TrudeauJustin Trudeaus fatherrefused to extradite Parmar to India to stand trial for killing two policemen. While the Indian charge had prevented Parmar from entering the USA, Canada was happy not just to grant him entry but Canadian citizenship as well.

In Canada, Parmar preached killing 50,000 Hindus, and issued warnings that Indian planes will fall from the sky. This was less than a year before the Kanishka bombing. In 1986, while still in Canada, Parmar was charged with a plot to blow up Indias parliament but walked free on a technicality. Perhaps Parmar and his associates made Canadian authorities chronically error-prone, or perhaps protecting his victims wasnt motivating enough for them to do the paperwork.

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A visiting Punjab cabinet ministerwhose presence was equally uninspiring to the Canadian policewas shot on Vancouver Island in 1986. The gunman, Jaspal Atwal, was sentenced to 20 years but was released in just 4 years; he then became a Liberal Party activist. Atwal was also charged, though not convicted, of assaulting Ujjal Dosanjh, an anti-Khalistan voice who later became British Columbias (BC) premier and a federal Liberal cabinet minister. Atwal was in the news again in 2018, embroiled in a controversy when the Canadian High Commission in India invited him to an event with Justin Trudeau.

The Canadian establishments seeming concern for pro-Khalistan criminals, while already well-established, then spread to dead criminals as well. The use of Parmars name in criminal cases having served its purpose, his stature was fully restored. Journalist Terry Milewski has pointed out that Parmar, though declared guilty by an enquiry judge, (Reyats) defence, and prosecution of leading the Kanishka plot, is openly revered by some Sikh extremist groups.

Moreover, Canadian political parties openly associate with these groups and defend their reverence of Parmar. In 2007, the Liberal Premier of BC and other politicians attended Vaisakhi events with Parmar depicted on floats. Later incidents, like depictions of the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by Sikh terrorists, invited platitudinous condemnation from Canadian officialdom but no strong words or action.

To return this blood-soaked story to the dramatis personae we began with, Ripudman Singh Malik was one of the two acquitted as a result of Tara Singh Hayers death and the bomb-maker, Reyats, claimed that he knew no other conspirator. But his tussle with Hardeep Singh Nijjar, his praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and his official recognition by the SGPC likely flipped him to the side of the victims of pro-Khalistan violencethe side that Canada seems uninterested in protecting. It was no surprise then that he was killed or that the Canadian government shows little interest in investigating the conspiracy behind his killing. Just as it wasnt eager to protect Tara Singh Hayer or investigate his killing.

An interesting contrast is provided by the Canadian governments response to Nijjars killing in 2023. Trudeaus government escalated the issue to the point of breakdown in Indo-Canadian diplomatic relations. In violation of the Geneva Convention, Indian High Commission officials were named persons of interest in the investigation, and its diplomats were surveilled. As a result, India and Canada both expelled an equal number of diplomats. It would appear that Nijjar, like Parmar, belonged to a special category: one that the Canadian establishment is actually concerned about. Nijjarlike Parmarwas wanted in India, yet Nijjar immigrated to Canada and became a citizen, just as Parmar had.

Even as operating space and likely political cover drew the likes of Parmar and Nijjar to Canada, innocuous lures like economic activity and safe, vibrant communities drew Indian Hindus and Indian-origin Hindus from countries as diverse as India, the Caribbean, and Surinam. They assimilated into Canadian society even as they cherished being part of the Canadian-Hindu community.

Indeed, they even forged strong social ties with moderate Sikhs in Canada. Ironically, though, in a country that celebrates multiculturalism, they were attacked and intimidated by a small group of extremists, and the government of their adopted home allowed itif not abetted and covered up for itin the name of multiculturalism.

It is in the light of this history that the recent attacks on Indian-origin media persons and Hindu temples must be viewed. It is a history that makes the concluding dialogue of a classic movie, Chinatown, most apt. It alludes to the racist tendencyespecially amongst the political classesof allowing thugs to oppress minority communities. These thugs are protected and promoted as long as they are loyal to mainstream elites. By the end of the film, the protagonist, Jake Gittes, comes to realise that beneath the veneer of order and sophistication, much of 1930s America runs on such thuggery. Similarly, until we see the Canadian establishments attitudes change, Indo-Canadians and Hindus will find meaning in the line: Forget it, Jake. Its Canada.

The writer is the published author of two novels (Penguin, India and Westland, India) based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
This test marks an important milestone in Indias strategic deterrence capabilities, and now India is among a select group of nations, which includes the United States, Russia, and China read more

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on November 16, 2024, conducted a successful flight test of a long-range hypersonic missile from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast. This test has put India in the group of select nations capable of such critical and advanced military technologies. This test marks an important milestone in Indias strategic deterrence capabilities, and now India is among a select group of nations, which includes the United States, Russia, and China. This hypersonic missile can carry various payloads for ranges over 1,500 km for all three services of the Indian Armed Forces and has a speed of Mach 6.

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Broadly, there are two main categories of hypersonic weapons: hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs) and hypersonic cruise missiles. The HGVs are launched from a rocket towards the target, while hypersonic cruise missiles are powered by high-speed air-breathing engines called scramjets. Hypersonic weapons are known to be mainly the weapons of deterrence since their speed of travel (more than Mach 5, which means more than five times the speed of sound; Mach 1 is equal to the speed of sound) is capable of penetrating the existing missile defence systems like THAAD or S-400/500. This speed regime can be further divided into two parts. The speeds in the range of Mach 5 and Mach 10 are simply referred to as the hypersonic speeds, and the ones in the range of Mach 10 to Mach 25 are known as high hypersonic speeds..

The hypersonic is normally considered as the technology for the 21st century. However, the development of this technology goes back much before the development of the modern airplane periodthat is, the 1930s. The most known hypersonic missile is the V-2 missile, which was used during the Second World War. In 1942, the V-2 was launched to an altitude of 176 km, making it the first human-made object to travel into space (normally space is considered to begin at an altitude of 100 km).

The field of hypersonic continues to remain under the process of development, and today various launch platforms and weapon systems are at different levels of the developmental cycle; some are at the level of invention, while others are at the drawing board, designing to development and testing stages.

In recent times, the debate on hypersonic weapons started anew owing to their use in the ongoing Ukraine conflict. On March 19, 2022, Russia had fired hypersonic missiles on the targets in Ukraine, making it the first country in history to use hypersonic missiles in actual war.

Subsequently, on a few occasions these missiles have been used by Russia on Ukrainian targets. Particularly, the attack carried out on March 9, 2023, the simultaneous attack using six missiles was very lethal. The Kh-47 Kinzhal, also called the Dagger, is known to travel at speeds of more than 10 Mach. Interestingly, the same war has demonstrated the limitations of this missile system. In one of the successful interceptions, the Ukrainian Air Force had shot down a Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missile. The missile was successfully engaged by the Patriot Air Defence missile system. It is important to note that existing missile defence systems have some capability towards intercepting hypersonic cruise missiles.

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Today, globally the focus of development is more on hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs). Also, few countries are working on developing missile defence systems, which can address the incoming HGV threat. However, development of this technology is expected to take time.

In India, hypersonic research is being pursued mainly by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and private sector agencies like BrahMos Aerospace (a joint venture with Moscow). Possibly, for around 15 years or so, DRDO is known to be working on hypersonic technology development. DRDO is known to be testing various subcomponents for some time now, and the actual testing of the system is known to have started around 2019.

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On September 7, 2020, DRDO successfully tested its Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV). With this test, India successfully declared its arrival in the field of hypersonics. The HSTDV had successfully achieved speeds of Mach 6. This initial flight testing was aimed at validating the aerodynamics of the air vehicle, its thermal properties, and scramjet engine performance. Israel, Cranfield University of the UK, and Russia are known to be providing some assistance for the HSTDV program.

DRDO has announced that the November 16, 2024, test has successfully validated various subsystems and has shown excellent terminal manoeuvres. Along with the manoeuvrability and the speed factor, these missiles also have the ability to fly at lower altitudes. All this would make the existing missile defence architecture of Indias adversaries worthless. On the other hand, it strengthens Indias deterrence mechanism.

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Currently, DRDO is also developing BrahMos-II/BrahMos Mark II with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited. This is a hypersonic scramjet-propelled missile with an expected range of 1,500 km. Initially, India was required to keep the range of this missile to 290 km since it was not a signatory of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). However, now India has been a member of MTCR since 2014; hence, such restrictions are no longer applicable. Testing of this system is expected to start around 2025, and a fully operational system could be available by 2028. In addition, HTNP Industries Pvt Ltd, an Indian deep-tech start-up, is known to be working on hypersonic technology since 2017.

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This company is working on research and design for the development of an operational prototype of a hypersonic glide vehicle, HGV-202F. The system is expected to have a long-range capability with speeds of Mach 15 or more. Presently, the company is working on the development of design, structure, material, and other associated systems.

There is a possibility that India could use HGV-202F, a hypersonic boost-glide vehicle, on ballistic missile platforms like AgniV. Some reports indicate that BrahMosII would be used as hypersonic anti-ship missiles. Also, the Indian Air Force is known to have shown interest in deploying hypersonic missiles for both air defence and offensive capabilities.

The year 2024 has been very productive for DRDOs missile program. During March 2024, it had conducted the first successful flight test of the indigenously developed Agni-5 missile with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-Entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology. During July 2024, it had successfully conducted a flight test of the Phase-2 Ballistic Missile Defence System (BMD). This was an important step towards demonstrating Indias BMD capability. Now it has successfully tested hypersonic technology. All these tests strengthen Indias nuclear deterrence architecture significantly.

The author is Deputy Director General, MP-IDSA, New Delhi. The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis outreach to Nigeria and Guyana reflects an evolving narrative in international relations affirming that Indias future is intertwined with that of the world, where collaboration, understanding, and mutual growth are predominant read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modis latest visits to Nigeria and Guyana exemplify a critical juncture in Indias diplomatic outreach to Africa and the Caribbean, highlighting the significance of the visit for Indias foreign policy. The relationships between the countries are built upon shared histories, common developmental goals, and aspirations, and at the same time mutual strategic interests. With Nigeria and Guyana emerging as key players in global energy markets in their respective locations, these visits are poised to elevate bilateral ties, enhance Indias foreign policy objectives, and contribute to a more multipolar world order.

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India and Nigeria share a historical bond rooted in anti-colonial struggles, post-independence solidarity, and participation in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). On the other hand, the roots of India-Guyana relations lie in the shared history of enslaved labourers during British colonial rule. After Indias independence, New Delhi officially established diplomatic relationships with Nigeria and Guyana in the years of 1962 and 1966, respectively.

PM Modis tour involves significant geopolitics, which begins with Nigeria, Africas most populous country and a major player in the region, before moving to Guyana, which holds strategic importance in the Caribbean. Both countries share historical connections with India, underscored by a long-standing Indian diaspora that strengthens cultural and economic ties.

India is one of Nigerias biggest trading partners, with a stronghold of two-way trade that hit about $15 billion in the 2021-2022 financial year, even with the COVID-19 pandemics effects. The major exports from India include medicines, machines, and fabrics, while Nigerian crude oil is also brought in. This cooperation shows how much these two countries have come to rely on each other over time. Not only is the relationship limited to trade or economics, but the two nations also equip and help Nigeria to enhance its defence capabilities.

At the same time, Guyana has become a key player in the worlds oil market after finding huge oil deposits offshore. India is a major importer of oil; for instance, in the financial year of 2023-2024, India imported around 232.5 million metric tonnes (MMT) of crude oil.

With the same intensity, India has long supported Guyana through various ways, such as opportunities with scholarships, training programs, and capacity-building initiatives under the ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation) program. This educational cooperation is critical for empowering the next generation of leaders in Guyana and fostering long-term ties between the peoples of both nations.

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International relations come with theories that explain state behaviours and guide why states go for certain foreign policies while cooperating with countries and major players in the international system. Similarly, PM Narendra Modis visit to Nigeria, followed by Guyana, can be analysed from the lens of international relations theories.

From a realist school perspective, PM Modis engagement can be explained as a strategic maneuver to improve Indias power and security. In this context, strengthening ties with Nigeria and Guyana fosters a purposeful cooperation of supplies and capabilities to advance Indias standing in global politics. As realism often takes the notion of power seriously, like that of security, so this visit for the realist can be seen as a means of establishing power in various countries across different parts of the world, making a presence of itself, so that options remain open for future opportunities in the anarchic world order, when Indias competitors, especially China, are constantly establishing their prominence in countries through different outreach.

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The liberal school that stressed economic interdependence will see this trip as an extension of Mutual Economic Cooperation, which would ensure peace and stability within a globalised economy.

Constructivism, on the other hand, focuses on the role of identity and ethos in international relations. The historical bonds constructed through shared anti-colonial descriptions shape the contemporary identities of both nations, fostering collaborative engagements. This emphasis on shared identity enables New Delhi to build diplomatic frameworks that transcend mere transactional relations, promoting a long-term vision rooted in mutual respect and historical connections not just limited to governments but also the general people.

Despite the numerous positives, there also exist challenges when it comes to cooperation, which can complicate situations, for instance, the amount of corruption and economic crisis in Nigeria, which can give rise to terror activities and become threats to foreign investments. New Delhi needs to ensure that businesses are not impeded by internal challenges.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modis visits to Nigeria and Guyana have a profound implication for Indias foreign policy. This engagement signifies not only a historical acknowledgment of shared narratives but also a strategic alignment toward achieving mutual goals in security, economic growth, and cultural diplomacy. As India asserts itself on the world stage as an emerging great power, the same was reflected by John Mearsheimer, one of the major international relations theorists.

In the end, PM Modis outreach to Nigeria and Guyana reflects an evolving narrative in international relations affirming that Indias future is intertwined with that of the world, where collaboration, understanding, and mutual growth are predominant.

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Pritam Sarbabidya is pursuing a Master of Arts in Politics and International Relations at the Department of Politics and International Studies, Pondicherry University. The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
Pilgrimage is a field to explore with China, as yatras always played an important role in Indias relationship with Tibet read more

A few months ago, the Chinese Communist Party expelled Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe, two former defence ministers, for corruption.

Li was sacked in October 2023, after he served just seven months at the post; no explanation was given for his sudden removal. Wei Fenghe, another former defence minister, had earlier been expelled from the CCP for serious violation of party discipline and the law.

Now, the rumour is floating in the Chinese social media that Admiral Miao Hua, 68, who is a member of the all-powerful Central Military Commission and director of the Political Work Department, has been arrested.

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What is going on in the Middle Kingdom?

Despite the turmoil in the Chinese leadership, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has scheduled to meet Gen Dong Jun, the new Chinese incumbent.

It will be the first interaction at the ministerial level after the disengagement in Eastern Ladakh. The meeting will take place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Laos. The upcoming talks are expected to discuss the next steps on the border issue.

Could there be further steps?

Inaugurating the Major Bob Khathing Museum in Tawang, Singh told ANI: This consensus has developed on the basis of equal and mutual security, adding that moving beyond disengagement will take a little longer: We will strive to move beyond just disengagement, but for that, we will need to wait a little longer.

What could the next step be?

The time has come to think beyond the conflict and look to the future.

What can be done?

Pilgrimage is certainly a field to explore, as it always played an important role in Indias relationship with Tibet. It has provided a bridge between both sides of the Himalaya; it could, in the future, become a major Confidence Building Measure (CBM) between China and India.

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The Panchsheel Agreement

The Tibet Agreement, also known as the Panchsheel Agreement for its preamble, was signed in April 1954; both nations agreed to put the age-old relation between India and Tibet in a legal framework.

It was all about trade and pilgrimage in Tibet; if taken up again, it could certainly be a way forward and a meaningful and powerful CBM.

A lot has recently been written in the Indian press about another example of a pilgrimage, ie, the Kartarpur corridor between India and Pakistan; it is a mutual gesture of goodwill agreed upon despite the tough reality and difficulties. The corridor on the Indian side starts from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district before crossing the international border; the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur is across the border on the banks of the river Ravi.

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Both governments agreed to the development of a corridor to enable smooth passage of pilgrims seeking to visit Guru Nanaks final resting place at Kartarpur in Pakistan, facilitating the unrestricted flow of devotees.

Similarly, can pilgrimage be encouraged to promote better relations between China, India, and Tibet?

The importance of pilgrimage

The 1954 Tibet Agreement lapsed in April 1962, and 6 months later, India and China fought a bitter war over Tibet. The objective was to regulate trade and pilgrimage from India to Tibet and vice versa.

Article III of the Agreement says: The High Contracting Parties agree that pilgrimage by religious believers of the two countries shall be carried on in accordance with custom.

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The agreement mentioned that for an Indian pilgrim to go on the Kailash pilgrimage (yatra), he just needed a valid passport and a visa from China.

After the 1962 war, pilgrimage was temporarily stopped, but on June 28, 1981, the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Huang Hua, told a press conference in New Delhi: The Chinese side has informed the Indian side that it will make temporary arrangements for a certain number of Indian pilgrims to go on pilgrimage to what the Indians call the Kailash Mountain and Mansarovar Lake. As for long-term arrangements, we will discuss them with the Indian side through diplomatic channels.

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Since then, the pilgrimage has been allowed to take place, with ups and downs (it is completely down since 2020!).

The Tsari Yatra

Reopening the Kailash yatra could be a first step, but another yatra could be considered: the Pure Crystal Mountain Pilgrimage, or Tsari Yatra, cutting across Lhuntse County of Tibet and the Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh.

In the Tibetan psyche, Tsari has always been synonymous with sacred place. With Mt Kailash and the Amye Machen in eastern Tibet, the pilgrimage around the Dakpa Shelri, the Pure Crystal Mountain has, for centuries, been one of the holiest of the Roof of the World.

The Pure Crystal Mountain lies at 5,735 meters above the sea in the Tsari area of southern Tibet; the Tsari Yatra used to take place every Monkey Year, often special years. For example, in 1956, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama visited India on the occasion of the 2500th anniversary of the birthday of the Buddha, but it also witnessed a last circumambulation around the Dakpa Shelri.

Toni Huber, one of the foremost scholars on the subject, wrote a great deal about the site of the pilgrimage, located in India, between Tsari in Tibet and the Upper Subansiri: The large-scale, 12-yearly circumambulation of Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims around the mountain known as the Rongkor Chenmo, had the character of a state ritual for the Ganden Phodrang (the Dalai Lamas government). Pilgrims in this huge procession crossed the McMahon Line below the frontier village of Migyitun in the Tsari district, writes Huber.

A Buddhist website describes the pilgrimage thus: The Immaculate Crystal Mountain of Tsari provides the definitive Tibetan pilgrimage. It is the palace of the Buddha-deity Demchok, Supreme Bliss, and his mandala of deities. And it is also a principal abode of the sky dancers (dakinis), amongst whom Khandroma (dakini) Dorje Phagmo is supreme. More than Kang Rinpoche and Lapchi (the hermitage of the yogi Milarepa, north of the Nepal border), it is the tantric power place par excellence, a testing place for yogis where the sky dancers dwell. It is a place of breath-taking beauty, the snow mountain rising out of verdant pastures and forests, while in the valleys below is thick jungle.

Incidentally, there was a shorter pilgrimage around the holy mountain, the Kingkor organised every year, but the route does not cross the Indian border. The British intelligence officer, Capt Frederick Bailey, described thus the Kingkor: There was also a Small Pilgrimage We visited the temples. The largest was Pagmo Lhakang, down in the valley. It had a golden roof, and the principal image, that of Dorje Pagmo, was studded with precious stones. A golden butter lamp was set before it.

Let us come back to the Rongkor yatra.

After crossing the Tibet-India border, the pilgrimage would proceed southwards along the Tsari Chu (river) and then suddenly turn westwards to follow the Subansiri, to finally cross back into Tibet to reach the first frontier village in Chame County.

The southern leg of the Rongkor procession crosses the tribal areas of Upper Subansiri; this was the territory of the Mara clan of the Tagin tribe, who lived downstream in the Tsari Chu valley and around its confluence with the Subansiri at Gelensiniak.

According to Huber, there was an elaborate system of compensations or taxes depending on which side one experienced the holy pilgrimage from. Payments in kind were regularly made to both the Mara and Na tribes by the Tibetan government to allow the passage of tens of thousands of pilgrims via the tribal areas. The assistance to the local population was compulsory for the sacred journey to proceed smoothly, south of what is now the Line of Actual Control.

In some ways, it was a clash of civilisations. The tribes of the North East Frontier Agency did not belong to the Tibetan world, but it was for them an occasion to interact and eventually extract their dues for the passage of the pilgrims on their territory.

During the 1914 Simla Conference, Bailey, who had mapped the area with his colleague Capt Henry Morshead, informed Sir Henry McMahon about the sensitivity of the issue, and it is probably on their recommendation that a condition was inserted in the border agreement to reassure the Tibetans that the yatra would not be disturbed despite the fact that it was crossing into Indias territory; further, India always facilitated the smooth continuation of the Tsari pilgrimage on the Indian side of the border, at least till the last Rongkor in 1956, which passed off peacefully; unfortunately, since then, the yatris from both sides cant cross over the border.

Why cant the Indian defence ministers government propose to his Chinese counterpart a corridor circumambulating the Holy Mountain where people from both sides could perform the yatra again? It is worth thinking about.

The writer is Distinguished Fellow, Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence (Delhi). Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
Over the past two years, Chinese smartphone brands faced significant challenges. However, 2024 has seen a notable rebound thanks to improved economic conditions, stabilised supply chains, and a resurgence in consumer spending read more

The push towards innovative designs and cutting-edge technology, such as foldable phones and enhanced 5G features, has also drawn consumers back to Chinese smartphone brands. Image Credit: Firstpost | Mehul Reuben Das

Chinese smartphone companies are plotting a major comeback in Europe, hoping to regain lost ground after a tumultuous year in their domestic market. The strategy? Targeting the premium segment with high-margin devices, aiming to compete directly with established giants like Apple and Samsung.

Realme, one of the fastest-growing brands globally, is leading this push. The Shenzhen-based company has ambitious plans to more than double its market share in Europe over the next few years. Its no small feat, but Realme has already seen a 275 per cent surge in European sales between 2020 and 2023, and the brand hopes to grow from 4 per cent to over 10 per cent market share in three to five years.

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Over the past two years, Chinese smartphone brands faced significant challenges due to economic slowdowns, supply chain disruptions, and intense competition. The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted consumer spending and production capabilities, leading to a sharp decline in smartphone sales. Brands like Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo had to deal with shrinking demand and logistical difficulties, which affected their market performance.

However, 2024 has seen a notable rebound as these companies are regaining momentum. Improved economic conditions, stabilised supply chains, and a resurgence in consumer spending have helped the market recover.

The push towards innovative designs and cutting-edge technology, such as foldable phones and enhanced 5G features, has also drawn consumers back. Aggressive marketing strategies and partnerships have further contributed to their recovery, allowing Chinese smartphone brands to regain market share both domestically and internationally, marking a solid comeback after years of struggle.

A grand European strategy

Realmes rise in Europe has been impressive, with the company becoming the fourth-largest smartphone supplier on the continent. Its also hit global milestones, being the fastest brand to reach 100 million phone shipments in 2021 and 200 million in 2022. The brands Head of Product Marketing, Frances Wong, explained that success in Europe is crucial for Realmes worldwide ambitions. But breaking through hasnt been easy. Wong acknowledged the challenge of winning over fiercely loyal Apple and Samsung users and revealed that marketing costs in Europe are significantly higher than in markets like India.

European consumers are less focused on value for money compared to other regions, which has made Realmes growth slower in this market. However, the brand is banking on innovation to capture attention, investing in foldable phones, advanced cameras, and ultra-fast chargers to stand out from the crowd.

Competition still fierce in the premium segment

Despite these efforts, Realme and other Chinese brands face an uphill battle in Europes premium smartphone market. Counterpoint data shows that Apple and Samsung continue to dominate, holding 94 per cent of the market for phones priced over $700. Huawei, once a serious contender in this space, saw its fortunes decline due to U.S. sanctions and restrictions on 5G technology, leaving a gap that brands like Realme and Honor hope to fill.

Honor has been making waves, recently overtaking Samsung to become the leading foldable phone seller in Western Europe. The companys flagship Magic V3 foldable device, priced at 2,000, is positioned to compete directly with top-tier models like the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Honors President, Tony Ran, noted a growing openness among European consumers towards foldable technology, calling it a potential game-changer.

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The Battle for market share

Oppo, another big player, is making a bold return to Europes premium segment with its new Find X8 series. The companys Overseas Marketing President, Billy Zhang, stressed Oppos commitment to the European market, despite ongoing challenges. Xiaomi, traditionally the third-largest smartphone vendor in Europe, has also been ramping up its efforts. The company increased its share of the premium market from 2.7 per cent in Q3 of last year to 4.3 per cent this year, according to IDC.

Meanwhile, smaller challengers like Transsion are finding success in Eastern Europe. Known for dominating the African market, Transsion has seen significant growth in mid-tier sales, adding more pressure to the competition. However, analysts warn that despite aggressive marketing campaigns  including sponsorships of high-profile events like the Champions League  Chinese brands have struggled to push their market share past 4 per cent.

Industry experts agree that European consumers remain tough to crack, but Chinese manufacturers are playing the long game. They argue that a strong presence in Europe could boost their credibility in other high-end markets like Japan, Australia, and even the US, potentially paving the way for future global success.

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A German astrobiologist suggests that humans might have inadvertently wiped out Martian life nearly 50 years ago, during NASAs Viking 1 mission, which saw two spacecraft land on Mars and conduct groundbreaking experiments to search for signs of life read more

NASAs long-standing strategy has been to follow the water when hunting for life on Mars. However, calls for a broader approach, suggesting that scientists should also investigate hydrated and hygroscopic (moisture-absorbing) compounds, has been gaining ground. Image Credit: NASA

A provocative theory from astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch of the Technische Universitat Berlin suggests that humans might have inadvertently wiped out Martian life nearly 50 years ago.

His claim dates back to the 1976 NASA Viking 1 mission, which saw two spacecraft land on Mars and conduct groundbreaking experiments to search for signs of life. These tests involved mixing Martian soil with water and nutrients, operating on the assumption that any life on Mars would require liquid water to survive, much like organisms on Earth.

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At the time, initial findings hinted tantalizingly at the presence of life. Yet, after years of analysis and debate, scientists concluded the results were likely false positives. Schulze-Makuch, however, has a different take: the Viking landers might have actually found life but unintentionally killed it by drowning it in water.

Martian life may not have been water-based

Schulze-Makuch argues that life on Mars could be vastly different from what we expect. Instead of relying on water as we know it, Martian microbes might thrive in extremely dry conditions, drawing moisture from salty deposits. He points to examples on Earth, such as microbes living in the hyperarid Atacama Desert in Chile. These organisms survive by absorbing moisture from the atmosphere through salts, and similar mechanisms could be at play on Mars.

In his commentary for Nature, Schulze-Makuch suggests that NASAs water-heavy experiments might have overwhelmed any existing Martian microbes. He proposes that life on Mars may use salts, like sodium chloride, to maintain hydration, and that future missions should focus on searching for these salts rather than only chasing water.

Rethinking the search for Martian life

NASAs long-standing strategy has been to follow the water when hunting for life on Mars. Schulze-Makuch, however, believes its time to shift gears. He argues for a broader approach, suggesting that scientists should also investigate hydrated and hygroscopic (moisture-absorbing) compounds. The idea is to consider environments where life could exist without large amounts of liquid water.

In an interview with Space.com, Schulze-Makuch drew parallels between Mars and Earths driest regions. He recalled a study showing how heavy rainfall wiped out up to 80 per cent of native bacteria in the Atacama Desert because they couldnt handle the sudden influx of water. Similarly, he speculates, the Viking landers experiments may have accidentally flooded and destroyed Martian microbes.

Time for a new mission?

Nearly five decades after the Viking missions, Schulze-Makuch believes its time for another attempt at finding Martian life, armed with our improved understanding of the planets environment. He suggests deploying various life-detection methods to gather more robust evidence. While his theory is speculative for now, it raises intriguing questions about our approach to exploring Mars.

Schulze-Makuch stresses the need for diverse, independent methods to detect life, hoping future missions could yield more definitive results. As we continue to explore the Red Planet, his ideas offer a fresh perspective on how we might finally answer one of humanitys most enduring questions: is there life on Mars?
NVIDIAs Blackwell chips, which are intended to be packed tightly in server racks holding up to 72 units, are apparently getting too hot to handle. This overheating dilemma has sparked concerns about potential delays for NVIDIAs latest AI powerhouse read more

The problem has proven tricky to fix. NVIDIA has reportedly asked suppliers to make several changes to the server rack design in a bid to solve the heating crisis. Image Credit: Reuters

NVIDIAs plans for its highly anticipated Blackwell graphics processing units have hit a snag. Recent reports reveal that the company has had to rethink the design of its server racks due to serious overheating issues.

The Blackwell chips, which are intended to be packed tightly in server racks holding up to 72 units, are apparently getting too hot to handle. This overheating dilemma has sparked concerns about potential delays for NVIDIAs latest AI powerhouse, the Information reported, citing unnamed company insiders and suppliers.

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The problem has proven tricky to fix. NVIDIA has reportedly asked suppliers to make several changes to the server rack design in a bid to solve the heating crisis. Employees, customers, and suppliers with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed that these last-minute modifications have been necessary.

However, a spokesperson from NVIDIA downplayed the issue, explaining that working with cloud service providers and going through various engineering iterations is all part of the process.

Blackwells Engineering Setbacks

The Blackwell chips are NVIDIAs next big leap in AI hardware. Each component combines two massive silicon squares and promises a performance boost, said to be 30 times faster for AI tasks like chatbot responses.

Unveiled in March, the chips were initially slated for shipment in the second quarter. But as overheating concerns surfaced, those timelines began slipping. While NVIDIA hasnt officially announced delays to its clients, the late-stage design changes are a worrying sign, especially for major customers like Meta, Google, and Microsoft.

Will Delays Impact NVIDIAs Growth?

Its not the first time Blackwell has faced setbacks. Earlier development hiccups had already pushed the release back by at least one quarter. The ongoing rack redesigns only add to the uncertainty. NVIDIA has yet to confirm if the new server designs are finalised, and the looming question is whether these issues will impact upcoming shipments or cause further disruptions.

As NVIDIA, the worlds most valuable company by market cap, gears up to release its quarterly earnings on November 20, all eyes are on how these engineering hurdles might influence its AI-driven ambitions and broader market trajectory.
One major shift this year is Samsungs rumoured decision to ditch its in-house Exynos chips entirely. Instead, the company is expected to use Snapdragon silicon in all regions, providing the same level of performance to users across the world read more

Recent leaks and a Geekbench listing have revealed that all Galaxy S25 models will be powered by Qualcomms flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, marking a major performance boost compared to previous generations. Image Credit: Firstpost | Mehul Reuben Das

Samsung is gearing up to make waves in early 2025 with the launch of its highly anticipated Galaxy S25 series. Expected to be unveiled in January, the buzz around the upcoming lineup is centred on its impressive hardware upgrades.

Recent leaks and a Geekbench listing have revealed that all Galaxy S25 models will be powered by Qualcomms flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, marking a major performance boost compared to previous generations.

A Geekbench entry for a device, believed to be the Korean variant of the standard Galaxy S25, has provided some exciting insights.

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Benchmark scores and performance upgrades

The listing, first spotted by X user @Jukanlosreve, shows a Samsung device with the model number SM-S931N running on a Snapdragon chipset with overclocked CPU cores reaching a blazing 4.47GHz. This hints at a custom Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy variant, featuring an upgraded GPU and CPU compared to the regular Snapdragon 8 Elite chip found in competing devices like the OnePlus 13 and Xiaomi 15, which are capped at 4.32GHz.

The Geekbench data reveals some impressive scores: 2,481 for single-core performance and 8,658 for multi-core, with the device running Android 15 and equipped with 12GB of RAM. If these numbers hold true, the Galaxy S25 series is shaping up to deliver exceptional speed and efficiency.

Same SoC for the Galaxy S25 series

One major shift this year is Samsungs rumoured decision to ditch its in-house Exynos chips entirely. Instead, the company is expected to use Snapdragon silicon in all regions, providing consistent performance worldwide.

This move follows the success of the Galaxy S23 series, which exclusively used Snapdragon processors across all markets. The Galaxy S24 series, in contrast, featured a mixed approach, using Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processors in markets like the US and Exynos 2400 chips in others.

By standardising on Snapdragon chipsets globally, Samsung aims to eliminate performance disparities and offer a more reliable user experience. The potential Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy variant, with its overclocked capabilities, is expected to set the Galaxy S25 apart, offering cutting-edge performance for demanding apps and games.

Industry insiders are already buzzing about the series potential, although Samsung has yet to confirm these specs officially.

As for the launch details, South Korean outlet FNNews has reported that the Galaxy S25 series will be unveiled on January 23rd, while some reputable tipsters suggest it could debut a day earlier on January 22nd.

The global launch event is likely to take place in California, following the tradition of previous Galaxy S series events. Last year, the Galaxy S24 series was revealed in San Jose, while the S23 series launch took place in San Francisco.
Rio de Janeiro/New Delhi, Nov 18 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Monday warmly welcomed to the G20 Summit venue in Rio de Janeiro by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

As PM Modi arrived at the venue, President Lula da Silva shook hands with him. The two leaders then exchanged a warm embrace, before PM Modi proceeded inside.

In a post on X, PM Modi said:

Looking forward to the proceedings at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Thankful to President Lula for the warm welcome.

He also met the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the venue.

Met UN Secretary General Mr. Antonio Guterres at the Rio G20 Summit.

The 19th G20 Summit is being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from November 18-19.

The Summit will commence today with the launch of the Global Alliance against Hunger & Poverty during the inaugural session, as a flagship outcome of the Brazilian G20 Presidency.

This will be followed by three plenary sessions over the course of two days, aligned with the priorities identified by the Brazilian Presidency. The themes of the three sessions are: (i) Social Inclusion and the Fight against Hunger and Poverty; (ii) Reform of Institutions of Global Governance; and, (iii) Sustainable development and Energy Transition.

The G20 Summit will conclude with Brazil handing-over the G20 Presidency to South Africa.

South Africa will formally assume the G20 Presidency from December 1, 2024.

Brazil took over the baton of G20 Presidency from India on December 1, 2023.

The Brazilian Presidency has identified three priorities under the overarching theme of Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet, which are:

*Social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty;

*Energy transitions and the promotion of sustainable development in its economic, social, and environmental dimensions; and

*Reform of global governance institutions.

UNI RN
Tata has even more ambitious plans on the horizon. Besides expanding in manufacturing, the group aims to dive into Apples retail business in India. Talks are in progress to launch around 100 small, exclusive Apple stores across the country read more

This move will strengthen Tata's position as a leading Apple supplier in India, adding to its already significant presence in the market. With around 10,000 employees and a production capacity of five million iPhones annually, this plant marks Tata's third major iPhone facility. Image Credit: Reuters, Reuters

Tata Electronics is making waves in Indias tech manufacturing sector with a major new acquisition. The Indian giant is set to buy a 60 per cent stake in Pegatrons only iPhone manufacturing plant in the country, located in Chennai.

This move will strengthen Tatas position as a leading Apple supplier in India, adding to its already significant presence in the market. With around 10,000 employees and a production capacity of five million iPhones annually, this plant marks Tatas third major iPhone facility.

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Talks between Tata and Pegatron have been ongoing since April 2024, and although the final signatures and public confirmations are yet to drop, insiders say the deal has been internally announced at both companies. Next up, the duo is reportedly preparing to get the necessary green light from the Competition Commission of India.

Tatas big moves in Apples India push

Apple has been trying to shift more production outside of China and Taiwan due to regional tensions, and India is a prime spot for this expansion.

Pegatrons Chennai factory was the Taiwanese companys only venture in India, and this sale fits nicely into Apples broader strategy to diversify its production base. Tata Group, a massive Indian conglomerate, has been on a mission to boost its status as a key Apple partner. It kicked things off last year by acquiring an iPhone assembly plant in Karnataka, previously owned by Wistron.

Tata isnt stopping there. The company is also constructing a second iPhone component plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, which was initially set to open later this month. However, Tatas first Tamil Nadu facility, another plant bought from Pegatron, hit a snag after a serious fire in October 2024. That factory remains shut until repairs are completed.

Tatas retail & manufacturing ambitions

Tata has even more ambitious plans on the horizon. Besides expanding in manufacturing, the group aims to dive into Apples retail business in India. Talks are in progress to launch around 100 small, exclusive Apple stores across the country.

These stores, each about 500 to 600 square feet, will be managed by Tatas Infiniti Retail division, the same team behind the well-known Croma chain. If this comes through, it will solidify Tatas footprint not just in manufacturing but in retail as well.

Tatas iPhone manufacturing plans

Meanwhile, in Hosur, preparations are reportedly full steam ahead for Tatas latest project: a massive new iPhone assembly plant covering 250 acres.

This facility will employ about 50,000 blue-collar workers, predominantly women, making it the second-largest workforce for Apple production in India, only behind Foxconns enormous Tamil Nadu operation.

Already, components produced at Tatas existing factory, set up in 2021, are being used in iPhones assembled locally and exported to China.

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All in all, Tata Electronics seems to be going all in on Apples India strategy, positioning itself as a formidable force in the global tech supply chain while giving the countrys manufacturing scene a major boost.
Musk, a key Trump donor and a growing influence within the president-elects circle, stands to benefit enormously from a lax autonomous vehicle policy. The Tesla CEO has heavily invested in self-driving technology, betting the companys future on the success of driverless vehicles read more

Elon Musks ambitions for a fleet of driverless Tesla robotaxis, dubbed the Cybercab, are well known. Musk has announced plans to roll them out by 2026, but current US regulations remain a roadblock. Image Credit: AFP

The incoming Trump administration is reportedly eyeing a push to make it easier for fully autonomous vehicles to hit the streets. President-elect Donald Trumps transition team has plans to prioritise a federal framework for self-driving that would be very favourable to the companies working on them.

Sources familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg that developing these new rules could be transformative, particularly for Elon Musk and his electric vehicle company, Tesla.

Musk, a key Trump donor and a growing influence within the president-elects circle, stands to benefit enormously. The Tesla CEO has heavily invested in self-driving technology, betting the companys future on the success of driverless vehicles.

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Current federal restrictions create substantial hurdles for large-scale deployment of cars without steering wheels or pedals  limitations that Musk hopes to see lifted. As Trumps team works to identify leaders who will shape these policies, the discussions around self-driving regulations are gaining momentum.

Potential legislative moves

While a federal framework for autonomous vehicles could be issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), insiders suggest that sweeping legislative changes might be necessary for widespread adoption. A bipartisan bill is reportedly in the early discussion stages, which could establish federal rules for self-driving cars.

The legislation would be critical, as past attempts have struggled to clear the Senate. The proposal would aim to increase the cap on self-driving vehicle deployments, which currently allows manufacturers to release only 2,500 units annually under exemptions. Past measures to raise this to 100,000 vehicles have repeatedly stalled.

Candidates for top roles in the Department of Transportation are already being considered, with former Uber executive Emil Michael emerging as a possible pick. Others in the mix include Republican Representatives Sam Graves of Missouri and Garret Graves of Louisiana. The Trump transition team has yet to respond to requests for comment on these developments.

Musks push for self-driving legislation

Elon Musks ambitions for a fleet of driverless Tesla robotaxis, dubbed the Cybercab, are well known. Musk has announced plans to roll them out by 2026, but current US regulations remain a roadblock. He has expressed support for new federal rules to streamline the adoption of self-driving technology, emphasising this on Teslas recent earnings call. His advocacy for regulatory change has already rattled the rideshare market, causing a dip in Uber and Lyfts stock prices.

Musk has also been tapped by Trump to co-lead a new Department of Government Efficiency initiative alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. The groups mission? To eliminate red tape, cut spending, and remove regulations they deem excessive.

Challenges ahead for autonomous vehicles

Efforts to establish federal regulations for autonomous vehicles have consistently hit roadblocks. The NHTSAs current exemption system limits manufacturers to 2,500 self-driving cars annually.

While a bill to increase this cap sailed through the House during Trumps first term, it has languished in the Senate ever since. A renewed push during the Biden administration fizzled out, as disagreements emerged over provisions that would restrict consumer rights to sue automakers.
As Brazil gears up to host the G20 leaders summit, here are 5 things that will be at the top of the South American nations agenda read more

The stage is set for Brazil to host the highly anticipated G20 summit, as leaders from around the world arrive at Rio de Janeiro for the international event. While the meeting will be overshadowed by two ongoing wars and a looming presidency of Donald Trump in the White House, Brazil has its own agenda which it would like to see fulfilled at the summit.

Brazil succeeded India in assuming the presidency of the Group of 20 nations. After the summit, which is scheduled to be held on November 18-19, the country will pass the baton to South Africa, which will host the 20th edition of the international meet next year.

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Ahead of the summit, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told CMG his main agenda from the event. This included launching a global alliance to combat hunger and poverty, addressing energy transition and climate challenges, empowering women and revisiting the Bretton Woods system. I believe it will be a learning opportunity for all of us, he remarked.

So, heres a look at the five things Brazil will be hoping to get out of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro:

5 things that top Brazils list of agenda from the G20

1. Implementing a global tax on billionaires

During the summit, the Brazilian president will try to progress the plans to tax the worlds richest billionaires, who often find loopholes to avoid being taxed. At the July meeting of G20 finance ministers in Rio, some of the worlds wealthiest nations agreed to start a dialogue on fair and progressive taxation, including of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, despite fierce resistance from the United States and within Germanys now collapsed coalition government.

Ahead of the summit, Lula reiterated the calls for taxing the super-rich emphasising that neoliberalism has worsened equality. Neoliberalism has worsened the economic and political inequality that is currently plaguing democracies, Lula said at the close of a pre-summit event bringing together NGOs, minority groups and climate activists, AFP reported.

To reach the hearts of citizens, governments need to break with the increasingly dissonant gap between the voice of the markets and the voice of the streets, he added, insisting that tax regulations for the billionaires are important. Brazil believes that the money raised from billionaires would help boost other pressing global issues.

2. Alliance to fight hunger

Earlier this month, President Lula also expressed hopes that the upcoming 19th G20 Summit can reach an agreement on hunger, inequality and poverty, urging a pivot away from rampant military spending.

Brazil doesnt want war. Brazil wants peace. Last year, the world spent 2.4 trillion U.S. dollars on weapons. If we spent that money on education and food, would there still be 733 million people living in hunger? Would so many children die from hunger? These are my questions. Therefore, we hope the G20 Rio de Janeiro summit can reach a pact on hunger, inequality and poverty, Lula said in an interview with China Central Television

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In light of this, the South American nation will be proposing the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, discussed at the G20 Social, to unite countries in sustainable food production, combating inequalities. The initiative will aim to unite the member nations in coordinating actions that range from expanding the production of healthy food to supporting families and sustainable agriculture.

3. Strengthen calls for UN reforms

At the closing ceremony of the G20 Social Brazil led the global call for inclusion, democracy and governance reforms. Maze Morais, a civil society representative, presented a Declaration, whose content will also be pushed in the Leaders summit.

The declaration called for urgent reforms to ensure that institutions like the UN and other multilateral bodies reflect todays global realities. More specifically, Brazil called for the reformulation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) which was seen as fundamental to increasing global representativity and promoting fairer and more effective solutions.

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4. Push for global AI rules

The Brazilian president has added the regulations regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence to his list of priorities. With this in mind, Brazil intends to craft a governance framework that includes the interests of Global South nations and forces AI superpowers China and the US to the table.

The big challenge is reducing inequalities  because there is already inequality today, Luciana Santos, Brazils minister of science and technology, told Bloomberg, earlier this week. We want to reduce this within countries and to do this we need to encourage the development of AI, especially for countries in the Global South, he added.

Lulas priority is making the G20 nation reach an agreement on baseline standards of governance that give a wide range of countries a say in who gains access to AI and its benefits. The South American nation is also planning to press members to mitigate potential workforce disruption from AI and the creation of regulations that safeguard intellectual property.

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5. Tackling the issue of climate change

After diplomats failed to reach a solid consensus on climate change, halfway through the COP29 Summit in Azerbaijan, the G20 Summit is seen as an alternative to reach some sort of an agreement. A day before the G20 summit, sources told Reuters that 20 major economies reached a fragile consensus on climate finance, which was eluded to during the Azerbaijan talks.

It is pertinent to note that the G20 nation accounts for a whopping 85 per cent of the worlds economy and is the largest contributor to multilateral development banks that are helping to steer climate finances.

The spotlight is naturally on the G20. They account for 80 per cent of global emissions, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters in Rio de Janeiro. He expressed concern about the state of the COP29 talks in Baku and called on G20 leaders to do more to fight climate change. With the preservation of the Amazon in mind, Brazil will be planning to push the initiative as well.

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As the world leaders come under one roof to discuss the challenges that have engulfed the world. It will be interesting to see how the G20 nations would deal with the new challenges.

With inputs from agencies.
As Qatar has reportedly evicted Hamas leaders, they appear to have found a new home in Turkey. Is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan replacing the Supreme Leader of Iran as the new benefactor of Hamas? read more

A new chapter appears to be beginning for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

Once the unchallenged ruler of the Gaza Strip and a serious contender of power in the West Bank, Hamas has now not just been dislodged as the ruler of Gaza but also appears to have been expelled from Qatar where it had operated from for a long time.

Even though Hamas ran Gaza, with Yahya Sinwar serving as the overall regional head of the group, it had its overall headquarters in Qatari capital Doha. However, it has been reported that Qatar has told Hamas that it is no longer welcome in the country over its refusal to reach a deal with Israel in the ongoing peace talks.

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On November 9, Qatar said that it had halted its mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas.

At the same time, The Times of Israel reported a diplomat as saying that Qatar had told Hamas leaders late last month to leave the country.

Even though Hamas downplayed the reports and Qatar never clarified its stand on the eviction, Hamas now appears to have found a new home.

The ToI has reported an Arab diplomat as saying that, upon eviction by Qatar, Hamas officials have found a home in Turkey.

Since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas with the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has emerged as the biggest champion of Hamas after Iran and has fiercely opposed Israel. Before his death, in April, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh had visited Turkey to meet Erdogan.

A new home & benefactor?

As Hamas primary supporter, Iran, has been reeling from the two rounds of aerial combat with Israel.

Iran has suffered a string of setbacks throughout the region as its primary proxy, Hezbollah, has been battered in Lebanon with top leaders, including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah and its successor, assassinated as a large chunk of its capabilities have been neutralities. Similarly, a string of top Hamas leaders, including former chief Haniyeh and his successor Sinwar, have been assassinated along with military chief Mohammed Deif.

Irans reputation has also taken a hit as it has failed to safeguard its prized nuclear and air defence assets.

Israeli attacks have taken out Irans most-advanced S-300 air defence systems, leaving it essentially naked, as per US and Israeli officials.

In July, in a case of colossal embarrassment, Haniyeh was assassinated just hours after the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at a guest house of the Iranian regime.

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Such a state of affairs in Iran is further affected by the reported poor health of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Amid such conditions, Hamas appears to have pivoted to Turkey where it has found refuge as well as political support.

Erdogan has emerged as the biggest supporter of Hamas after Iran and has slammed Israel repeatedly. Erdogan has even threatened invading Israel.

But Hamas is not relocating permanently

Even as Hamas officials have moved to Turkey, the group does not appear to be relocating the headquarters from Qatar.

Under US pressure, while Qatar appears to have evicted Hamas leaders, it does not appear that the headquarters has been permanently shut.

Moreover, even as Turkey, a member of NATO, is hosting Hamas leaders, it has not yet decided to house the headquarters of the group.

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While Turkey under Erdogan has taken a hard turn to Islamism, it remains a NATO member and an ally of the United States. It does not appear to be willing to compromise the alliance by formalising the sponsorship of Hamas.
Germany announced the delivery of 4,000 AI-guided drones to Ukraine, emphasising their tactical capabilities while maintaining its refusal to supply long-range Taurus missile systems read more

Germany on Monday said that it was delivering 4,000 AI-guided drones to Ukraine, even as it has refused to send Kyiv the long-range Taurus missile system.

Berlin has been the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russias invasion.

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters at an event in Bavaria that the drones being provided were directed and supported by artificial intelligence and that they could take out the enemys electronic drone defences.

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The drones can be delivered very quickly and could be deployed 30-40 kilometres (19-25 miles) behind the front line and hit combat posts, logistics hubs among other targets, Pistorius said.

Along some parts of the front line in Ukraine, such a distance would reach into Russian territory.

Berlin had announced in June its intention to deliver drones to Ukraine but had not given details on their specifications.

Despite the unmanned aerial vehicles being nicknamed mini-Taurus by the German media, the government was careful to point out they dont have the same range.

These are tactical drones with a restricted range, defence ministry spokesman Natalie Jenning told reporters at a government press conference on Monday.

There is no connection to the Taurus (system) as has been sketched out in some of the media coverage, she added.

The current government headed by Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz has refused to supply Ukraine with the Taurus system, fearing that the move could draw Russia and the West into a more direct conflict.

Kyivs repeated appeals for the missiles, which have a reach of more than 500 kilometres (310 miles), have been in vain.

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The government on Monday stressed that its position was unchanged, despite US President Joe Bidens decision Sunday to allow Ukraine to use long-range US missiles to strike targets inside Russia.

Scholzs continued resistance comes despite Russian forces having made rapid gains in recent weeks, and Moscows decision to deploy North Korean troops to aid its war effort.

Some in the chancellors own government have contradicted his stance.

Vice-Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who will lead the Green party into a snap general election in February, said that he would deliver the Taurus system to Ukraine if he were chancellor.

The main opposition party, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which is currently leading in opinion polls, has also said it is in favour of sending the missiles to Kyiv.

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(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)
As China dominates the supply of minerals needed to manufacture chips, it is expected to choke supplies in case Donald Trump ramps up the US-China trade war after assuming office in January read more

Semiconductor chips are seen on a printed circuit board in this illustration picture taken 17 February, 2023. Reuters

For the past year, China has been retaliating against the yearslong trade war with the United States, particular in the sphere of chips.

With the victory of Donald Trump in the presidential election, China is set to ramp up these efforts to choke the chips supply chain.

As things stand today, Taiwan is the largest producer of chips in the world, followed by South Korea, China, and the United States, according to Fortune.

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Of the various types of chips, Taiwan produces around 90 per cent of the most advanced type of semiconductors.

However, China has been chipping away at the domination of Taiwan in chip-making over the years with a two-pronged approach. Firstly, , becoming the worlds biggest spender on chips. Secondly, China has come to dominate critical minerals supply chain to make chips and has been restricts exports of these minerals for the past year.

As Trump has indicated that he would not just continue outgoing President Joe Bidens stringent trade policy with China in place but could even expand it with more tariffs, China is expected to ramp up this two-pronged approach to hit at other countries chip-making abilities. Analysts, however, have said that this is a double-edged sword and export restrictions may backfire as well.

How China uses control of supply chains in trade war

China produces around 80 per cent of worlds gallium and 60 per cent of germanium. The two minerals are required to make chips and other goods like solar panels.

Last year, China restricted the exports of these minerals and introduced stringent licence systems.

Moreover, China controls 80 per cent of tungsten and 90 per cent of magnesium supplies and is expected to expand export restrictions in coming months, according to Semafor.

Along with graphite, whose supply is also dominated by China, these three minerals are used widely in the electronics industry and are critical for a range of defence and weapon systems, aviation equipment, and spacecraft industry.

China is also the biggest buyer, refiner, and exporter of cobalt and lithium, which are critical to the electronic vehicles and renewable energy industries.

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Overall, China controls 60 per cent of rare earth production, 60 per cent of critical minerals production, and 80 per cent of the processing worldwide, according to an analysis published in The Hindu.

China has not shied away from restricting the export of these minerals in response to US sanctions.

After the Biden administration imposed restrictions on engagement with the Chinese chip-makers, China responded by restricting the export of gallium and germanium. Then, following US crackdown on Chinas EV-dumping in the West, China retaliated by restricting the export of graphite and its products.

As Trump has threatened a blanket tariff of at least 60 per cent on all Chinese goods, China may ramp up such export restrictions.

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But Chinas approach may backfire

Even such a domination of supply chains may not be enough for China.

Chinas economy is in a precarious state. It is struggling to meet the modest annual growth rate target of 5 per cent.

As China is still recovering from the real estate collapse and is struggling with debt-ridden local governments, the ability to ramp up the trade war is limited.

Such a state of affairs, coupled with declining exports, make any attempts to ramp up the trade a war a double-edged sword with good chances of back-firing. For one, when exports are already falling amid sluggish economy, restricting exports further may not help.

Moreover, even though China is the leading producer and processor of these minerals, there are alternative suppliers and some materials, such as gallium and germanium, have substitutes as well, according to an analysis by Eurasia Group published by CNN.

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Moreover, the United States is joined by other counties such as China and the Netherlands in checking Chinas domination of the chips supply chain.
A Bangladesh tribunal has set December 17 as the deadline for completion of an investigation into former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her aides for alleged crimes against humanity read more

A special tribunal in Bangladesh on Monday told investigators they have one month to complete their work on ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her close aides, who face charges of crimes against humanity after hundreds of people were killed in a mass uprising this summer.

Golam Mortuza Majumdar, the head judge of the three-member International Crimes Tribunal, set Dec. 17 for investigators to finish their work, as the tribunal heard updates Monday from police about what the countrys security agencies have done to arrest Hasina and her close aides.

The decision came after prosecutors sought more time for the investigation.

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Mohammed Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor of the tribunal, told the judges during Mondays hearing that they were working in line with an extradition treaty signed earlier with India to make Hasinas return possible.

Hasina has been living in exile in India since Aug. 5 when she fled the country amid the student-led protests. The Dhaka-based tribunal on Oct. 17 issued arrest warrants for Hasina and 45 others, including former Cabinet ministers, advisers and military and civil officials. The country is now being run by an interim government headed by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus.

At least 13 people, including a former law minister and a businessman who was Hasinas private-sector adviser, appeared before the tribunal on Monday, said B.M. Sultan Mahmud, a prosecutor at the tribunal. One former Cabinet minister was not brought to the tribunal as he was in custody for police interrogation in a separate case. A further six people will appear on Wednesday, tribunal officials said. At least 20 suspects have been arrested in the case.

The tribunal will also seek updates from police on their progress in arresting the other suspects, including Hasina.

After the hearing on Monday, the tribunals head judge ordered authorities to send all 13 suspects to jail, pending investigation.

The chief prosecutor of the tribunal has already sought help from Interpol through the countrys police chief to arrest Hasina. On Sunday, Yunus said in an address to the nation that his administration would seek Hasinas extradition from India.

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Authorities say hundreds of people were killed during the uprising in July and August, mainly by security agents seeking to quell the initial protests over government jobs. The violence intensified as the protests morphed into an anti-government movement, with more bloodshed, ending Hasinas 15-year rule. Hasina had also earlier sought an investigation into the killings.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)
The World Banks IDA fund, which provides mainly grants and very low-interest loans to the poorest countries, is replenished every three years, and a pledging conference is scheduled for Dec. 6. read more

US President Joe Biden has made a historic pledge of $4 billion to the World Banks International Development Association (IDA) fund for the worlds poorest countries.

Bidens commitment surpasses the previous contribution of $3.5 billion made in December 2021. Biden announced this during a closed session of the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Associated Press reported.

The IDA fund provides loans and grants to developing countries to help reduce poverty and improve living standards. With this pledge, the US aims to support the World Banks mission to alleviate poverty and promote economic development.

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However, theres uncertainty about whether President-elect Donald Trump will honour Bidens pledge, given his past proposals to cut foreign aid. Trump, alongside Elon Musk, plans to reduce US spending through a new government efficiency panel.

Historic pledge

Earlier in Rio de Janeiro, U.S. deputy national security adviser Jonathan Finer told reporters that Trump would announce a historic pledge to the IDA replenishment.

Finer also told reporters at a briefing on the G20 summit that Biden will launch a bilateral clean energy partnership when he meets Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday.

The World Banks IDA fund, which provides mainly grants and very low-interest loans to the poorest countries, is replenished every three years, and a pledging conference is scheduled for Dec. 6.

World Bank President Ajay Banga is aiming for a record amount exceeding the $93 billion refunding in December 2021, amid rising demands from poor nations in Africa and elsewhere that are struggling with crushing debts, climate disasters, conflict and other pressures.

Banga told Reuters in October that a $120 billion replenishment is possible, but that goal would require some substantial increases in country commitments.

Bidens new U.S. commitment is about 14.3% higher than its 2021 contribution. At the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in October, Spain announced plans to boost its contribution by 37% to 400 million euros ($423 million).

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Denmark in September announced a 40% increase in its contribution to about $492 million.

With inputs from agencies.
Biden flew over the jungle by helicopter and met with Indigenous leaders in the Brazilian city of Manaus on the penultimate leg of a valedictory South American tour which has been overshadowed by Trumps election win read more

US President Joe Biden speaks after signing a proclamation designating November 17 as International Conservation Day during a tour of the Museu da Amazonia as he visits the Amazon Rainforest in Manaus, Brazil, on November 17, 2024, before heading to Rio de Janeiro for the G20 Summit. AFP

US President Joe Biden paid a historic trip to the Amazon rainforest on Sunday to promote his record on fighting climate change, insisting it would survive Donald Trumps return to the White House.

Biden flew over the jungle by helicopter and met with Indigenous leaders in the Brazilian city of Manaus on the penultimate leg of a valedictory South American tour which has been overshadowed by Trumps election win.

The 81-year-old Democrat is the first sitting US president to visit the Amazon.

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Dont have to choose

Folks, we dont have to choose between an environment and the economy. We can do both. Weve proven it back home, Biden said in a short speech in a nature reserve, framed by vivid green forest cover.

Without referring to Trump by name, he said he would leave his Republican successor and his country a strong foundation to build on, if they choose to do so.

Its true  some may seek to deny or delay the clean energy revolution thats underway in America. But nobody  nobody  can reverse it, he declared.

On Sunday, the White House announced that the US had hit its target of increasing bilateral climate financing to $11 billion a year.

It said that the figure reached this year was six times what the US was providing when Biden took over from Trump in 2021.

The money, which helps developing countries adapt to climate change, has made the United States the largest bilateral provider of climate finance in the world, the White House said.

The European Union, however, remains the biggest global contributor to climate financing.

Outshone by Xi

Trumps return to the White House looms large over Bidens last major foreign tour as president, which began with a gathering of Asian-Pacific partners in Lima and ends with a G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro starting Monday.

Climate financing for developing nations is one of the topics on the G20 table, with calls for the worlds richest countries to rescue stalled UN climate talks taking place at the same time in Azerbaijan.

While striking a defiant note about Trump, Biden has cut an at-times forlorn figure on his farewell tour of a region the US views as its backyard.

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All eyes in Lima were on Chinese President Xi Jinping, who was received with greater fanfare than the lame-duck US leader.

At a meeting with Biden, the Chinese leader was already looking to the new Trump era, saying he was ready to work with the America First leader and hoped for a smooth transition in relations.

Americas allies fear Trump could again pull the United States, the worlds second-biggest polluter, out of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement on combatting carbon emissions, as he did during his first term.

On Saturday, he nominated a fracking magnate and noted climate change skeptic, Chris Wright, as his energy secretary.

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In another ominous sign, Argentinas right-wing President Javier Milei, a major fan of Trumps, this week pulled his country out of the UN climate talks.

Amazon on fire

The Amazon, spanning nine countries, is crucial to the fight against climate change due to its ability to absorb planet-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

But it is also one of the areas most vulnerable to climate change and environmental degradation.

A recent study showed that the Amazon rainforest had lost an area about the size of Germany and France combined to deforestation in four decades.

This year it experienced the worst wildfires in nearly two decades, fueled by a severe drought blamed in part by climate experts on global warming.

Brazils President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has pledged to put a stop to illegal Amazon deforestation by 2030.

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Biden on Sunday announced an additional $50 million towards a Brazilian fund aimed at protecting the worlds biggest jungle.

Experts have warned that the second Trump presidency could undo progress on the transition to green energy made under Biden, giving heavy polluters like China and India an excuse to scale back their own efforts.
Canadian authorities reportedly foiled an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate a former justice minister and rights activist who has been a strong critic of Tehran, The Globe and Mail newspaper reported Monday read more

Canadian authorities reportedly foiled an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate a former justice minister and rights activist who has been a strong critic of Tehran, The Globe and Mail newspaper reported Monday.

Irwin Cotler, 84, was justice minister and attorney general from 2003 to 2006. He retired from politics in 2015 but has remained active with many associations that campaign for human rights around the world.

According to the Globe and Mail, he was informed on October 26 that he faced an imminent threat - within 48 hours - of assassination from Iranian agents.

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Authorities tracked two suspects in the plot, the paper said, citing an unnamed source.

We cannot comment on, nor confirm specific RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) operations due to security reasons, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc told AFP.

Jean-Yves Duclos, the governments senior minister in Quebec province, where Cotler lives, commented that it was likely very difficult for (Cotler), in particular, and his family and friends to hear about the alleged plot.

Cotler had already been receiving police protection for more than a year after the October 7, 2023 attack in Israel by Hamas gunmen.

He is Jewish and has advocated globally to have Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps listed as a terrorist entity.

His name reportedly also came up in an FBI probe of a 2022 Iranian murder-for-hire operation in New York that targeted American human-rights activist Masih Alinejad.

Ottawa, which severed diplomatic ties with Iran more than a decade ago, listed the Revolutionary Guard as a banned terror group in June.

It said at the time that Iranian authorities displayed a consistent disregard for human rights both inside and outside of Iran, as well as a willingness to destabilize the international rules-based order.

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As a lawyer, Cotler also represented Iranian political prisoners and dissidents. He is additionally international chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and a strong backer of Israel.

His daughter, Michal Cotler-Wunsh, is an Israeli politician and diplomat who previously served as a member of Israels parliament.
Washington, Nov 18 (UNI) US President-elect Donald Trump picked lawyer Brendan Carr to be the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The FCC plays a key role in regulating telecommunications and media in the United States, including overseeing the Internet, television broadcasting, and the introduction of new technologies, making it one of the most important agencies for the American economy and communications infrastructure.

"Commissioner Carr is a warrior for Free Speech, and has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans' Freedoms, and held back our Economy," Trump said in a statement on Truth Social. "He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America's Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America."

Brendan Carr has benn serving at the FCC since 2012, including as an adviser to then-Chairman Ajit Pai. Prior to that, he specialized in appellate and regulatory law and served as a law clerk for a federal appellate court.

Carr received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and graduated with a Juris Doctor magna cum laude from Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law, where he was a former editor of the university's law journal.

UNI SPUTNIK XC GNK
China presents itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine war and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations read more

China reiterated calls Monday for a peaceful settlement to the war in Ukraine, after Washington cleared Kyiv to use long-range American missiles against military targets inside Russia.

An early ceasefire and a political solution serve the interests of all parties, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular briefing, when asked about the US decision.

The most urgent thing is to promote the cooling down of the situation as soon as possible, he said.

China presents itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine war and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.

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But it remains a close political and economic ally of Russia and NATO members have branded Beijing a decisive enabler of the war, which it has never condemned.

On Monday, Lin said: China has always encouraged and supported all efforts conducive to a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

Beijing, he added, is willing to continue to play a constructive role in the political resolution of the Ukraine crisis in its own way.

Lin also rebuffed reports that EU officials had obtained proof that Russian drones being used in the war were being manufactured in China.

Beijing has never provided lethal weapons to parties in the conflict, and has from the beginning strictly controlled military and dual-use drones in accordance with laws and regulations, he said.

It is hoped that relevant countries and persons will not make wild speculations or smear and slander China without factual basis.
With Apple winding up from China and increasing assembling of iPhone in India, Chinese city, Zhengzhou is now gradually becoming a manufacturing zone of EVs. Read to find more read more

BYD electric cars waiting to be loaded on a ship stacked at the international container terminal in China. Source: AFP | Representational Image.

Once a leading producer of iPhone, Zhengzhou, a city in China, is now bustling with brand new EVs. Wondering why? It is because Apple has been rapidly shifting manufacturing to India, making this Chinese city undergo a massive industrial transition as BYD along with other automakers pace up with building electric vehicle supply chain here.

Until Apple ditched China to choose India for manufacturing iPhone the economy of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, depended heavily on the assembly of iPhones by Foxconn.

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Apple began manufacturing phones in India and other countries due to rising geopolitical risks in China.

Meanwhile, a report in Nikkei Asia, stated that Foxconn, a Taiwanese company, assembled nearly 60 per cent of all iPhones after it had set up its largest factory in the city in 2010.

As per Zhengzhou statistics bureau, mobile phone production in 2023 totaled about 140 million handsets, half of the 2017 peak.

iPhone global producer is now an EV hub

As per Nikkei Asia report, late October this year the sight around a BYD plant in Zhengzhou saw just EVs all over, many of which were being loaded onto trailers and shipped off.

The employees at the BYD plant which began operations in stages from April 2023 had new hire armbands.

Last year, BYD produced 200,000 vehicles at the plant and has an aim to double the number this year.

Aim to produce over 1.5 million new EVs in 2025

In September this year, Zhengzhou Mayor He Xiong said that the city plans to produce over 1.5 million new energy vehicles in 2025.

He further set a goal of 60 per cent of parts being procured locally.

Companies investing in Zhengzhou

There are several other companies which are investing in new energy vehicles in Zhengzhou.

State-owned SAIC Motor invested 2 billion yuan ($277 million) to build a battery factory that began operations in October.

The Nikkei Asia report quoted an executive of SAIC as saying that the company plans to make Zhengzhou a base for the production and export of new energy vehicles.

Meanwhile, a leading bus manufacturer in China, Yutong Bus, is boosting production of electric buses in Zhengzhou.

China has been battling to uplift its dwindling economy. Back in 2022, An Wei, secretary of the partys municipal committee in the city and its top official, said that he would make Zhengzhou Chinas largest production base for new energy vehicles.

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Soon after policies including research and development subsidies, sales-based incentives were introduced, with the aim of accumulating technologies for batteries, motors and autonomous driving.

Apple ramps up iPhone production in India

The percentage of iPhones produced in India stands is expected to reach 25 per cent in a few years, Nikkei Asia mentioned Chinese media reports as saying.

Foxconn has announced planned investments in India, and Tata Group subsidiary Tata Electronics is also expanding its contract manufacturing.

However, in China, a local Foxconn, quoted by Nikkei Asia, said: We used to work in three shifts during the busiest times, but now were working in two shifts.

The Foxconn plant in Zhengzhou at its peak employed about 350,000 people. However, the number has now been slashed to the tens of thousands due to automation, the report quoted a local recruitment agency as saying.

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Not just Zhengzhou, but assembly of iPhones was the backbone of the economy of Henan province too. Mobile phones accounted for more than 60 per cent of the provinces exports from 2015 to 2017, but dipped to 46 per cent by 2023.
Even though concerns remain about the kind of ceasefire plan that US President-elect Donald Trump has in mind, European countries now broadly agree with him on the need of an early negotiated end of war in Ukraine, according to a report read more

Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet at Trump Tower in New York City, US, September 27, 2024. File Image/Reuters

After a long period of distrust, Europe appears to be coming to terms with US President-elect Donald Trumps push to end the war in Ukraine, according to a report.

For more than a year, as Trump appeared well-positioned to win the US presidential election, European leaders had been worried about his friendly relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and remarks that indicated he would pull the plug on support to Ukraine.

Even though such fears persist as Trump has now shown any evidence of shedding his yearslong fawning of Putin and his aides have essentially called for the surrender of Ukraine, there is a recognition in Europe that Russia is gaining ground in the war quickly and an off-ramp, which Trump can bring, is desperately needed.

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Particularly after recent rounds of devastating Russian bombardments Trumps push for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine is finding growing acceptance in Europe as Ukraines ability to withstand mounting Russian attacks is under question, according to Wall Street Journal.

This is a sharp turnaround from just six months ago when Europe was focussing on Trump-proofing the support to Ukraine.

While many European nations, particularly Scandinavian and Baltic nations, are still in supportive of aiding Ukraine to the hilt, some countries such as France and Italy have become increasingly cautious in recent years.

Europe agrees in principle with Trump but concerns remain

Considering how Russia has battered Ukraine in recent months and has made rapid gains, European nations now broadly agree that negotiations are a must to end the war, but their concerns remain about how such an end should be reached.

In recent months, ahead of the freezing winters, Russian attacks have destroyed around 80 per cent of Ukraines thermal power generation and a third of hydropower capacity. It has also scored a string of victories throughout the year, capturing strategic places such as Avdiivka and Vuhledar. It has also started to win areas bordering the hugely-strategic city of Pokrovsk, which would be its most prized victory in a long time.

At such a time, while European leaders agree with Trump about the need for an early negotiated end of the war, concerns remain deep over the degree to which the incoming Trump administration will deny Ukraine agency over the shape of the settlement, according to WSJ.

European leaders are also concerned that, just like Trumps aides have parroted Putins talking points so far, he could also accept Russias demand as part of the ceasefire agreement, as per the newspaper.

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European leaders are therefore wary about which demands of Putin would be acceptable to Trump.

The newspaper further reported that the Trump transition team believes that considering the beating it has taken this year, Ukraine will soon have little choice but to sit at the negotiating table.

Trump has not outlined how hed end war in Ukraine

Despite broad agreement with Trump, fears remain in Europe as Trump has not outlined how he would end the war in Ukraine.

Trumps aides have parroted Russias talking points, saying that Ukraine should cede territory to end war and give up the right to join European Union (EU) or NATO.

This is against what Ukraine and Europe believe. In recent time, Ukraine has shifted its policy where it is prioritising security guarantees over reclaiming lost territories.

Whether Trumps idea of ceasefire includes security guarantees or just surrender remains to be seen.

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Most European countries, with the notable exception of Germany, are in favour of Ukraine joining NATO.

Security guarantees would mean that Ukraine has a protective umbrella of either the United States, Europe, or NATO so that in case Russia invades in future, they would come to its aid. If there is no security guarantee of any sorts, then Ukraine would largely be on its own and vulnerable to any future invasion. As the Russian invasion of Ukraine has plunged Europe into the worst security crisis since the World War II, European nations are unlikely to like such a situation.
Heads of state arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday for the G20 summit and will spend Monday and Tuesday addressing issues from poverty and hunger to the reform of global institutions read more

Diplomatic tensions over global warming spilled over into the G20 summit negotiations in Brazil this week, with sources saying the 20 major economies reached a fragile consensus on climate finance that had eluded U.N. talks in Azerbaijan.

Heads of state arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday for the G20 summit and will spend Monday and Tuesday addressing issues from poverty and hunger to the reform of global institutions. The talks must now also grapple with how to address escalating violence in Ukraine after a deadly Russian airstrike on Sunday.

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Still, the ongoing U.N. climate talks have thrown a spotlight on their efforts to tackle global warming.

While the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, is tasked with agreeing a goal to mobilize hundreds of billions of dollars for climate, leaders of the Group of 20 major economies half a world away in Rio are holding the purse strings.

G20 countries account for 85% of the worlds economy and are the largest contributors to multilateral development banks helping to steer climate finance.

The spotlight is naturally on the G20. They account for 80 per cent of global emissions, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters in Rio de Janeiro. He expressed concern about the state of the COP29 talks in Baku and called on G20 leaders to do more to fight climate change.

Now is the time for leadership by example from the worlds largest economies and emitters, Guterres said.

U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell wrote a letter to G20 leaders on Saturday imploring them to act on climate finance, including boosting grants for developing nations and advancing reforms of multilateral development banks.

However, the same fights that have plagued COP29 since it began last week became central to G20 negotiations, according to diplomats close to the Rio talks.

COP29 must set a new goal for how much financing should be directed from developed countries, multilateral banks and the private sector to developing nations. Economists told the summit it should be at least $1 trillion.

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Wealthy countries, especially in Europe, have been saying that an ambitious goal can only be agreed if they expand the base of contributors to include some of the richer developing nations, such as China and major Middle Eastern oil producers.

On Saturday, discussions of a G20 joint statement in Rio snagged on the same issue, with European nations pushing for more countries to contribute and developing countries such as Brazil pushing back, diplomats close to the talks told Reuters.

But early Sunday morning, negotiators agreed to a text mentioning developing nations voluntary contributions to climate finance, stopping short of calling them obligations, according to two diplomats.

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The breakthrough remains overshadowed by the return to power of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who is reportedly preparing to again pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement. His election throws into doubt how much money the world can muster to address climate change, possibly without the support of the worlds largest economy.

Trump is planning to roll back landmark climate legislation passed by outgoing President Joe Biden, who visited the Amazon rainforest when he made a stop there on Sunday on his way to Rio.

The success of not only COP29 but also the next U.N. climate summit, COP30 hosted in Brazil next year, hinges on an ambitious deal on climate finance.

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A centrepiece of Brazils COP30 strategy is Mission 1.5, a drive to keep alive the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The U.N. estimates that current national targets would cause temperatures to rise by at least 2.6 degrees C.

Developing countries argue they can only raise their targets for emissions reductions if rich nations, who are the main culprits for climate change, foot the bill.

It is technically possible to meet the goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius, but only if a G20-led, massive mobilization to cut all greenhouse gas emissions  is achieved, said Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis at COP29 last week.

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The new constitution sets out a vision of a presidency with a maximum of two seven-year terms, no prime minister, and no dynastic transfer of power read more

People attend the celebrations to mark the first anniversary of its overthrow of President Ali Bongo, in Libreville, Gabon. File image/ Reuters

Gabons military rulers announced their new constitution had been overwhelmingly approved in a referendum, according to provisional results it published Sunday, marking a new chapter for the oil-rich African nation.

The estimated 860,000 registered voters faced an onslaught of calls by authorities on TV, radio and social media to make their ballot count  whether they choose a green one meaning yes or a red one for no.

The new constitution sets out a vision of a presidency with a maximum of two seven-year terms, no prime minister, and no dynastic transfer of power.

Provisional results showed 91.8 percent of voters had backed the new constitution, the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI) said in a statement.

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With the campaign dominated by official propaganda by the junta that took power in August last year in a coup, local media had said voter turnout would be a key factor.

The interior ministry said 53.54 percent of voters turned out to cast their ballot, lower than the 71 percent reported earlier by broadcaster Gabon TV.

There were no serious incidents reported during voting across 2,835 polling stations nationwide, which stayed open until 6:00 pm.

The junta on Saturday extended a night curfew by two hours to midnight during the whole electoral process, according to a decree read on state television.

Constitutional proposals

The new constitution also requires presidential candidates to be exclusively Gabonese  with at least one Gabon-born parent  and have a Gabonese spouse.

This would eliminate toppled ruler Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is married to a French woman, and his children.

His replacement, transitional president Brice Oligui Nguema, declared the referendum a great step forward as he cast his vote at a Libreville school.

All Gabonese are coming to vote in a transparent fashion, the junta chief told the press, having ditched his generals uniform for a brown civilian jacket over jeans.

Oligui has vowed to hand power back to civilians after a two-year transition but has made no secret of his desire to win the presidential election scheduled for August 2025.

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Billboards adorned with an image of the general and urging a yes vote are everywhere, the Union newspaper commented on Friday, prompting it to ask: Referendum or presidential campaign?

Creating a dictator

Queues of voters formed in front of the classrooms housing the polling stations at the Lycee Leon MBa in Libreville, under the watchful eye of the soldiers charged with ensuring the ballots security.

Nathalie Badzoko, a 33-year-old civil servant, said she was voting yes and had faith in the junta but admitted she had not read the whole text and its 173 articles.

Opponents of the proposed text dismiss it as tailor-made for the strongman to remain in power.

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We are creating a dictator who designs the constitution for himself, lawyer Marlene Fabienne Essola Efountame said.

Bongo ruled for 14 years until he was overthrown moments after being proclaimed the winner in a presidential election the military and opposition declared fraudulent.

He took office on the death of his father Omar, who had ruled for more than 41 years.

The opposition and the military coup leaders accused Ali Bongos regime of widespread corruption and poor governance.

Concerns about jobs

The interior ministry said it had done all it could to ensure Saturdays referendum was transparent, including inviting international observers  who were not present in the August 2023 presidential election.

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We trust them and this is a test, said Mathurin Bengone, a 45-year-old health ministry civil servant.

If our vote isnt respected, we wont vote again.

The final tally will be announced by the constitutional court.

Nearly 87 percent of those surveyed said they thought the country is heading in the right direction, according to an Afrobarometer survey among 1,200 respondents published mid-October.

Unemployment topped the list of concerns, followed by health, roads, insecurity and a rise in the cost of living, the survey also suggested.

And, more than 46 percent have great confidence in Oligui, who would be the favourite if a presidential election were to be held now.

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Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei met the countrys envoy Mojtaba Amani, who was injured in Lebanon during the pager explosions. The meeting debunked the claims circulating online that Khamenei is in a state of coma read more

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on November 2, 2024, shows him waving to the crowd during a meeting with Iranian students in Tehran. Image- AFP

Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met the countrys envoy who was injured in Lebanon amid speculations surrounding his health. Rumours about Khamenei being in a coma started to spread like wildfire amid reports that Iran has chosen Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to succeed his father.

On Sunday, the Iranian leader met the countrys Ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani. According to Iranian state agency IRNA, the meeting took place in Tehran on Sunday. Amani faced the brunt of the ongoing Middle East crisis after he was injured in pager explosions that rocked Lebanon in September.

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The Iranian envoy briefed the Supreme leader about his health conditions. The pager and device explosions in multiple regions of Lebanon killing dozens of people including civilians. One of these explosions occurred near the Iranian ambassador, causing injuries to him, including to his left eye.

Amani was later transferred to Tehran to receive medical treatment. The Iranian envoy is still in the country and will return to Lebanon soon to resume his diplomatic mission.

Speculations brew over Khameneis health

On Saturday, multiple social media posts started surfacing, claiming that Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is in a state of coma. The claims went viral a month after The New York Times reported that the 85-year-old Iranian supreme leader was suffering from a serious medical condition. The report suggested that Khameneis second-oldest son, Mojtaba Khamenei will likely succeed him when he dies.

Khameneis meeting with the Iranian envoy on Sunday refuted the claim the 85-year-old supreme leader is in a state of coma. The social media frenzy over the matter escalated after Images of Ali Khamenei on a hospital bed also surfaced, adding to the rumours of him being in a coma.

However, the images have been debunked and many claimed that they were clicked back in 2014.
Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, who as per Bangladesh Constitution, should have held fresh national elections within three months, or 90 days, after the dissolution of parliament, recently completed 100 days in office and has still not specified any timeline for the general polls read more

An interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was formed in Bangladesh on August 8 within three days of Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina being deposed and fleeing the country.

Yunus was tasked with holding the parliamentary polls. Article 123 (3) of Bangladeshs Constitution says a fresh general election to elect the new government must be held within 90 days of dissolution of parliament. However, this has not happened.

Yunus, on November 17, completed 100 days of governance. Addressing the nation on the occasion, he spoke about the desired national election, but did not provide any specific timeline.

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The Bangladesh parliament was dissolved on August 6, a day after Hasina left the nation. As per the constitutional mandate, a fresh election should have been held latest by mid-November.

Yunus urges more patience

On the completion of 100 days in office, Yunus appealed for the nations patience, pledging that general elections would be conducted after electoral and institutional reforms were completed.

I promise that we will hold the much-anticipated election once the necessary and essential reforms are complete, he said.

Within a few days, the Election Commission will be formed, after which the responsibility for organising the elections will rest with them, Yunus claimed.

Also Read: Attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh baseless propaganda originating from India, says Yunus | WATCH

Yunus, in his address, vowed that an election commission would be formed within a few days.

I request your patience until then. We aim to build an electoral system that will endure for decades. For this, we need some time," he said, but did not provide any specific timeline for the elections in Bangladesh.

Reasons for delay in holding election

Yunus hinted that the journey of Bangladeshs election train has already begun. Some reforms can be made during the preparations for the elections, and for this reason, the polls may be delayed by a few months, he said.

Bangladeshs interim leader further said that the election might be delayed by a few more months to accommodate necessary electoral reforms.

He also blamed the leaders of the deposed Awami League government for actively seeking to destabilise the administration and trying to return to power with their ill-gotten wealth.

But BNP presses for polls

Amid this, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), a key political group led by former prime minister Khaleda Zia, has been pressuring the Yunus-led interim government to hold national elections within a reasonable time and calling for dialogue between the political parties for the same.

The BNP does not want the Yunus-led interim government to repeat what happened in the past. An army-controlled caretaker government in 2006 stayed beyond its mandated three months and delayed the voting by about two years. When elections happened, Hasina stormed back to power.

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Earlier, the BNP leaders said that the interim government should move forward to hold the election, instead of staying in power for long, but the party is willing to give the government a reasonable amount of time to bring some reforms.

Also Read: Bangladesh will seek ex-premier Sheikh Hasinas extradition from India, says Yunus

However, in September, activists and leaders of BNP carried out protests demanding a fresh election as no timeline was provided by the interim government for the polling.

Again in the start of the second week of November, BNP carried out protests in capital Dhaka, calling for a new election and speedy reforms.

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They have also indicated that BNP would go ahead with plans for street protests in two to three months if the interim government doesnt roll out a road map for the next election.

Bangladesh elections in 2026?

Yunus has been persistent in saying that general elections cannot be conducted in Bangladesh before reforms are completed. The Hindu quoted sources as saying that a realistic timeframe for these reforms to be completed may possibly take at least until the end of next year (2025), and elections are therefore likely in early 2026. This would extend the election-break in Bangladesh closer to the one supervised by the military government  something that wouldnt please the BNP.

Yunus has been saying that the aim of the caretaker government led by him is to create an inclusive and pluralistic democracy and to create an environment where a free, fair, and participatory election can be held.

With inputs from agencies.
As US President Joe Biden has reportedly authorised Ukraine to use US long-range weapons for strikes inside Russia, it remains to be seen if Russia would treat such attacks as an act of war by the United States and the Western military alliance Nato read more

A missile is launched from a United States military HIMARS system during joint military drills at a firing range in northern Australia as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre on July 22, 2023. (Representative Photo, Credit: AFP)

Russia is fuming after US President Joe Biden reportedly authorised Ukraine to use long-range US weapons for strikes inside Russia.

A senior Russian lawmaker said that Bidens decision could lead to such a response that Ukraine would be annihilated.

The west has decided on such a level of escalation that it could end with the Ukrainian statehood in complete ruins by morning, said Andrei Klishas, a senior member of Russian parliaments upper house.

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Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the upper houses international affairs committee, dubbed the decision a very big step towards the start of World War III, according to state-run TASS news agency.

For months, Ukraine had sought permission from Biden to use US long-range weapons inside Russia, but the permission was not granted over concerns of any escalation. Now, in the final weeks of his terms, Biden has finally given his go-ahead at a time Russia has roped in North Korea as well into the war.

The decision came in response to North Koreas entry into the war on Ukraine, US officials told The New York Times.

The newspaper had previously reported that a force of around 50,000 personnel, including up to 10,000 North Korean troops, has mounted a counter-offensive against Ukraine in Russias Kursk region to retake territories captured by Ukraine in a stunning incursion earlier this year.

Throughout this year, as the debate swirled around Ukraines usage of Western weapons deep inside Russia, Kremlin had dubbed such a permission as a red line. In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin had said that an act would amount to an all-out war.

Russia will be at war with NATO, warned Putin

Russian leader Putin said earlier this year that the usage of Western weapons deep inside Russia would change the fundamental dynamics of the war.

Putin said that such a situation would mean a direct war between Russia and the Western alliance Nato.

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This will mean that Nato countries the United States and European countries are at war with Russia and, if this is the case, then, bearing in mind the change in the essence of the conflict, we will make appropriate decisions in response to the threats that will be posed to us, said Putin in September.

European leaders had, however, pressed Biden for several weeks for such a permission. Putins above-mentioned remarks came after British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer visited Washington DC to meet Biden to discuss the Russian war on Ukraine, including the issue of permission for deeper strikes.

The British and French governments were on board with the idea and wanted Biden on board as well before giving Ukraine the go-ahead to use British and French weapons for deeper strikes inside Russia.

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Since February 2022 when Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, he and his officials have constantly warned the West of dire consequences for ramping up support to Ukraine, including threatening the use of nuclear weapons.

New Russian doctrine now allows for nuclear attack on West

Weeks after Putin announced that Russia would be at war with Nato if deeper strikes were permitted, he announced the change of Russian nuclear weapons doctrine.

The new doctrine that Putin outlined significantly reduced the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.

Under the new nuclear doctrine, Russia would consider a conventional attack on Russia aided by a nuclear-armed state as a joint attack, which would make such an act eligible for retaliation by nuclear weapons, said Putin.

As per the new doctrine, Russia could retaliate with nuclear weapons even in case of a conventional attack if the attack posed a critical threat to our sovereignty, said Putin.

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Under the previous doctrine, only a nuclear attack was eligible for nuclear retaliation by Russia.

It is proposed that aggression against Russia by any nonnuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state, be considered as their joint attack on the Russian FederationThe conditions for Russias transition to the use of nuclear weapons are also clearly fixed, said Putin, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Outlining the new doctrine further, Putin said that Russia would consider a nuclear retaliation if it were convinced that a mass cross-border attack by air from strategic and tactical aviation, cruise missiles, drones, and hypersonic weapons is being launched at Russia, said Putin.

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Under such a doctrine, Ukraines strikes deep inside Russia using US weapons would be eligible for retaliation by nuclear weapons.

Among Nato members, the United States, United Kingdom, and France are nuclear-armed states and all of them have supplied long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Now that Biden has reportedly allowed Ukraine to use long-range weapons inside Russia, France and UK are also expected to issue permissions.

It remains to be seen whether Biden has now called out Putins bluff or whether a direct confrontation with Russia is on the cards.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro and told him that a strong UK-China relationship is important for both of our countries. In response, Xi said China and Britain enjoy vast space for cooperation, according to a report read more

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (left) shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping, ahead of their bilateral meeting at the Sheraton Hotel, on the sidelines of G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Monday. AFP

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro and told him that a strong UK-China relationship is important for both of our countries, according to The Guardian, citing British news agency PA Media.

It is the first bilateral meeting between leaders from the two countries since Xi held talks with Theresa May in February 2018.

Ties between China and the United Kingdom have been strained in recent years as they argue over espionage allegations, human rights and Beijings tightening control over former British colony Hong Kong.

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China and the United Kingdom remain major trading partners, however, and are both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

During the meeting, Jinping told Starmer that both the countries have significant potential for working together.

China and Britain enjoy vast space for cooperation, AFP quoted Xi as telling Starmer.

The meeting comes as leaders of the G20 grouping of top global economies gather in Brazil to discuss fighting poverty, boosting climate financing and other topics of multilateral concern.

Starmer raised concerns with Chinese President about sanctions on British MPs and the worsening health of Hong Kong democracy activist Jimmy Lai.

As Starmer brought up Lais plight, Chinese officials escorted British journalists out of the room, reported The Guardian.

Lai, a British citizen and pro-democracy media owner, is currently imprisoned in Hong Kong.

Starmer also discussed broader human rights issues with Xi, including sanctions on several Conservative MPs, such as former security minister Tom Tugendhat and Commons Deputy Speaker Nus Ghani.

Starmer said that both leaders agreed they wanted to ensure relations between the UK and China remained consistent, durable, respectful, and, where possible, free from surprises.

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The Labour leader proposed a full bilateral meeting with Premier Li, either in Beijing or London, and suggested that his Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, meet with Chinese counterpart He Lifeng in Beijing in January to explore further investment opportunities and create a more level playing field for UK businesses.

Im keen that my chancellor should meet with Vice Premier He for the upcoming economic financial dialogue early next year to explore more investment projects and a more level playing field to help our businesses, The Guardian quoted Starmer as saying.

Im very pleased that my Foreign Secretary and Foreign Minister Wang met recently to discuss respective concerns including on human rights and parliamentary sanctions, Taiwan, the South China Sea and our shared interest in Hong Kong. We are concerned by reports of Jimmy Lais deterioration, he added.

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Tugendhat and the former foreign affairs committee chair Alicia Kearns, both prominent Tory critics of China, had called on Starmer to use the meeting to raise with Xi the plight of UK nationals including Lai, the pro-democracy media owner detained and tried in Hong Kong.

Xi also met Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Rio de Janeiro and told him that Chinas relationship with Australia has achieved a turnaround and the two countries are maintaining a positive momentum of development, according to Chinas official Xinhua News Agency.

With inputs from agencies
The people-centric decisions taken at the G20 Summit in New Delhi have been taken forward during Brazils Presidency. It is a matter of great satisfaction that we prioritised SDG goalsIt is clear that One Earth One Family One Future, is as relevant at this summit as it was last year," said PM Modi read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the people-centric decisions taken at the G20 Summit in New Delhi have been taken forward during Brazils Presidency and it is a matter of great satisfaction that Sustainable Development Goals were prioritised.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: At the G20 Session on "Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty, PM Narendra Modi said, "At the outset, I would like to congratulate President Lula for the grand arrangements made for the organisation of the G20 summit and for his pic.twitter.com/rO40N0DgUh  ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2024

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Addressing the the G20 session on Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty, PM Modi said, The people-centric decisions taken at the G20 Summit in New Delhi have been taken forward during Brazils Presidency. It is a matter of great satisfaction that we prioritised SDG goalsIt is clear that One Earth One Family One Future, is as relevant at this summit as it was last year.

PM Modi said India support Brazils initiative for a global alliance against hunger and poverty.

This is an important step towards the implementation of the Deccan High level principles for food security, adopted at the New Delhi Summit.

Citing Indias example, he said over the last 10 years, the country has lifted 250 million people out of poverty.

Over 800 million people are being given food grains free of cost. 550 million people are benefiting from the worlds biggest health insurance scheme. Now, 60 million senior citizens, over the age of 70, will also be able to benefit from free health insuranceIndia is also contributing to global food security. We have provided humanitarian assistance to Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, recently, added the Prime Minister.

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PM Modi said that countries of the Global South are most adversely impacted by the food, fuel and fertilizer crisis caused by global conflicts.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: PM Narendra Modi said, "I would like to say that countries of the Global South are most adversely impacted by the food, fuel and fertilizer crisis caused by global conflicts. So our discussions can only be successful when we keep in mind the challenges and https://t.co/DAJ5bhnjmi pic.twitter.com/y8ntuXLBKg  ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2024

Our discussions can only be successful when we keep in mind the challenges and priorities of the Global South, said PM Modi, adding, just as India amplified the voice of the Global South by granting permanent membership of G20 to the African Union during the New Delhi Summit, India will will also reform institutions of global governance.

With inputs from agencies
Yale has temporarily pulled off Hiram Bingham's plaque after an IPO (Indigenous Peoples of Oceania) student group criticized its offensive description.

The 19th-century missionary to Hawaii, also known as Reverend Hiram Bingham II, was described with words that were offensive to Native Hawaiian culture.

The IPO argued that the language perpetuated colonial ideologies, and therefore, has campaigned for its removal, per Yale Daily News. Their efforts were supported by the Andover Newton Seminary and even descendants of Bingham himself, leading to the temporary removal while future steps are being considered.

Texts in Hiram Bingham's Plaque

Previously shown at the Schwarzman Center, the texts in the plaque described Bingham as a navigator, civilizer, and bible translator. For IPO members, the term 'civilizer' is insulting and reflects the colonialist attitude of the USA. While Bingham has had an impact in the Pacific, IPO, the seminary, and the missionary's descendants believe Yale has the chance to make a historical decision that will respect Indigenous groups.

For the IPO group, finding out about the removal of the plaque with no communication on what the decision had been was frustrating since Yale took it to themselves without noticing any members. Yale continues to receive criticism for failing to involve the group in further steps, such as determining what should replace the plaque's place.

To address the issue, IPO shared on Instagram that they plan to launch a digital archive campaign to educate the public about the history of the Pacific and Yale's involvement, which includes short videos, infographics, and workshops that let the audience understand the legacy of colonialism and its lasting impacts on Indigenous groups.

The campaign is considered "personal," and some members view this advocacy as a way to heal and reclaim their cultural heritage that has been given to white missionaries.
Bangladesh interim government chief Muhammad Yunus called reports of attacks on Hindu minority in his country baseless propaganda originating from the Indian side for whatever reason it may be read more

A demonstrator displays a placard during a protest against what they say as violence against Hindu communities during the ongoing unrest, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on August 9, 2024. Source: Reuters.

Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor of Bangladeshs interim government, once again downplayed the violence on Hindu minority in his country, calling it a totally baseless propaganda originating from the Indian side.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Yunus was asked about the atrocities against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh, which was also condemned by the US President-elect Donald Trump, to which he said, This is mostly propaganda. It is totally baseless propaganda. It is unfortunate.

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Most of this propaganda originates from the Indian side for whatever reason it may be, to keep this alive probably, but in reality it doesnt exist, Yunus further alleged.

Few incidents of violence occurred was political

The 84-year-old leader, who marked 100 days in office, on Sunday in an address to the nation also said that violence against Hindus had occurred only in some cases and most complaints were completely exaggerated.

The main reason for the few incidents of violence that occurred was political, he said, claiming that there has been an attempt to destabilise Bangladesh by framing these attacks with a religious narrative.

With the cooperation of all of you, we have firmly handled this situation, Yunus further said.

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He even assured that his government is investigating all reported cases of violence in Bangladesh.

Yunus statement came amid ongoing protests by Hindus in Bangladesh who have been demanding protection amid the attacks on temples, deities, homes, businesses and the community.

In Bangladeshs 17 crore population, Hindus just make up about 8 per cent.

As per reports, there have been more than 2,000 attacks on Hindus since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled from Bangladesh on August 5 this year.

Yunus denial & shifting blame

It is, however, not the first time Yunus has downplayed reports of attacks on Hindus in his country. Back in September, in an interview with PTI, he said that the issue is exaggerated and alleged that they are more political than communal.

He claimed that the attacks were not communal, but a fallout of a political upheaval as there is a perception that most Hindus supported the now-deposed Awami League regime.

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I have said this to (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi also that this is exaggerated. This issue has several dimensions. When the country went through an upheaval following the atrocities by (Sheikh) Hasina and the Awami League, those who were with them also faced attacks, he had said.

In his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the iconic Red Fort in Delhi on August 15 this year, PM Modi expressed hope that the situation in Bangladesh would return to normal soon and said 1.4 billion Indians are concerned about the safety of Hindus and minorities in the violence-hit neighbouring nation.

Trump flags attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh

Earlier this month, Trump became the first major US politician to speak up against the atrocities against Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.

In his Diwali greetings, Trump condemned the attack on Hindus in Bangladesh and Yunus-led administrations failure to protect the people of the minority community in his country.

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Trump, who has been voted to power with a thumping majority in the recently concluded US Presidential election, also promised to protect Hindu Americans against anti-religion agenda of the radical left and strengthen relations with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At a time nationwide protests were slamming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the murder of six hostages in the Gaza Strip, an aide leaked secret documents to plant stories in the press to influence public opinion in favour of the prime minister, according to court documents read more

An aide of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaked secret documents to influence public opinion on hostages talks, according to court documents.

Eliezer Feldstein, an aide to Netanyahu, leaked documents to plant stories in the press to shape the public opinion on hostage talks in favour of his boss, according to documents released by Israels Rishon Lezion Magistrates Court and reported by media outlets.

Feldstein was arrested earlier this month and is being prosecuted for the leaks.

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Feldstein along with one more unnamed person have been charged with transferring classified information to harm the state, collecting classified material to harm the state, and conspiracy to commit a crime, among other charges, according to The Times of Israel.

Feldsteins leaks resulted in media reports in UK-based Jewish Chronicle and Germanys Bild outlets, as per CNN.

The idea behind the leaks was to shift the public opinion in favour of Netanyahu after he was at the receiving end of nationwide outrage following the murder of six hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The ToI reported that the idea behind the leak was to blame Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for the impasse in talks for the hostage deal and imply that protests in Israel were playing into Hamas hands.

Even though Sinwar and Hamad had hardened their stance in indirect talks with Israel, a major obstacle in the finalisation of any deal to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of hostages was the set of demands inserted by Netanyahu months after the original ceasefire proposal was floated. These demands, including the control of Philadelphi Corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border and control of the east-west route within Gaza, were non-starters for Hamas.

How did Feldstein leak docs?

Feldstein got secret documents in April from an Israeli militarys reservist non-commission officer (NCO), who had originally got the documents illegally, according to ToI, which cited court documents.

Later, the military learnt of the leak and assessed it harmed the wars aim of freeing the hostages as well as military and intelligence agencies operations in Gaza, as per court documents.

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After a preliminary investigation by the Israeli Armys information security department, military chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi asked the domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet to start an investigation to identify the leaker, according to court documents.

This investigation, as per the court documents, identified the above-mentioned reservist NCO along with two reservist officers and a career NCO as part of the operation, which ultimately led them to Feldstein.
After Sikhs for Justice held a referendum in New Zealand that aimed to carve out a sovereign state from Indias Punjab, the New Zealand government said that it is aware of the so-called referendum and respects and recognises Indias sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to a report read more

A supporter waves a Khalistan flag during a protest outside India's consulate after Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau raised the prospect of New Delhi's involvement in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Vancouver, British Columbia. File photo/Reuters

After Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) held a referendum in New Zealand that aimed to carve out a sovereign state from Indias Punjab, the New Zealand government said that it is aware of the so-called referendum and respects and recognises Indias sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) held a referendum at Aucklands Aotea Square over the weekend.

New Zealand is aware of the so-called referendum, and the country is a strong supporter of human rights at home and around the world provided such initiatives are lawful and peaceful, Wion quoted the foreign ministry as saying.

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Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) is a banned organisation in India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The group has faced numerous criminal charges in India, with investigations led by agencies such as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and state police forces, particularly in Punjab.

SFJ has also organised similar referendums in countries like Canada, Australia, and the UK.

The recent Khalistani referendum held in New Zealand received significant coverage in Pakistani media, with one channel even sending a correspondent to report from the ground, conducting interviews with supporters of the Khalistan movement, reported Wion.

India and New Zealand maintain a positive bilateral relationship, with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters meeting several times this year, including earlier this month. Their discussions have focused on areas such as education, technology, agriculture, mobility, and the broader Indo-Pacific situation.

With inputs from agencies
Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Brazils Rio de Janeiro to take part in the 19th edition of the G20 Summit as a Troika member since India hosted the international event last year read more

After concluding a fruitful trip to Nigeria, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to take part in the G20 Summit. This is the second stop in the prime ministers three-nation trip. PM Modi will be attending the 19th edition of the G20 summit as a troika member after hosting the international event in New Delhi last year.

Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders, the prime minister wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. The summit is scheduled to be held on November 18 and 19.

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Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders. pic.twitter.com/bBG4ruVfOd  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 18, 2024

As a Troika member, India is expected to play a significant role in shaping the agenda of the upcoming summit, after India passed the presidency to Brazil. Meanwhile, Brazils President Lula da Silvas government is aiming to maintain the summits focus on the Global South priorities. After Brazil, South Africa will be hosting the next edition of the international summit.

Whats on the cards?

In the departure statement, the prime minister mentioned that Indias successful presidency last year had elevated the G-20 to a peoples G-20 and incorporated the voice of the global south. PM Modi also expressed his anticipation of meaningful discussions in line with the vision of One Earth, One Family, One Future."

This year, Brazil has built upon Indias legacy. I look forward to meaningful discussions in keeping with our vision of One Earth, One Family, One Future. I will also use the opportunity to exchange views on furthering bilateral cooperation with several other leaders, he averred.

The prime minister touched down in Rio de Janeiro hours after he concluded his state visit to Nigeria. While this was PM Modis first visit to the African nation, he became the first Indian prime minister in 17 years to visit the country. During his trip to Nigeria, PM Modi held talks with the countrys President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

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Thank you Nigeria for a productive visit, which will add strength and vigour to India-Nigeria friendship. pic.twitter.com/hoHjAcFa36  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 17, 2024

The talks between the two leaders were held in Nigerias capital Abuja. Had a very productive discussion with President Tinubu. We talked about adding momentum to our strategic partnership. There is immense scope for ties to flourish even further in sectors like defence, energy, technology, trade, health, education and more, he wrote on X.

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During his visit to Nigeria, the prime minister was conferred with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger Award, which is the second-highest national honour. The award lauded the prime minister stating that under his visionary leadership India has been positioned as a global powerhouse & his transformative governance has fostered unity, peace and shared prosperity for all.

Honoured to be conferred with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger Award by Nigeria. I accept it with great humility and dedicate it to the people of India. https://t.co/AyQ6v4EotH  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 17, 2024

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An invitation to the Indian diaspora! pic.twitter.com/uhdVzQ5tEn  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 17, 2024

While addressing the Indian diaspora in the African nation, PM Modi emphasised that When it comes to furthering growth, prosperity and democracy, India is a ray of hope for the world. We have always worked to further humanitarian spirit, he remarked.

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War in Sudan erupted in April 2023 from a power struggle between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, and triggered the worlds largest displacement crisis. read more

Russia vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution to stop hostilities in Sudan and ensure humanitarian aid delivery. The resolution, drafted by Britain and Sierra Leone received unanimous support from the other 14 council members, including China. However, Russias sole dissenting vote blocked its passage.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy strongly condemned Russias move, labeling it mean, nasty, and cynical. He believes this decision sends a concerning message to the warring parties, implying they can act with impunity.

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The conflict in Sudan began in April 2023 as a power struggle between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule. This has resulted in the worlds largest displacement crisis.

The draft resolution called on the parties to the conflict to immediately cease hostilities and engage, in good faith, in dialogue to agree steps to de-escalate the conflict with the aim of urgently agreeing a national ceasefire.

It also called on them to engage in dialogue to agree humanitarian pauses and arrangements, ensure the safe passage of civilians and the delivery of adequate humanitarian aid, among other measures.

Russia accused the United Kingdom of attempting to meddle in Sudanese affairs.

We agree with all Security Council colleagues that the conflict in Sudan requires a swift resolution. It is also clear that the only way to achieve this is for the warring parties to agree to a ceasefire, Deputy Russian UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told the meeting.

He accused backers of the draft resolution of double standards when they were giving carte blanche to Israel to continue violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza, and said Lammys criticism was an excellent demonstration of British neo-colonialism.

One country stood in the way of the council speaking with one voice. One country is the blocker. One country is the enemy of peace. This Russian veto is a disgrace, and it shows to the world yet again, Russias true colors, Lammy told the meeting.

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I ask the Russian representative, in all conscience  sitting there on his phone  how many more Sudanese have to be killed? How many more women have to be raped? How many more children have to go without food before Russia will act?

The U.N. says nearly 25 million people  half of Sudans population  need aid as famine has taken hold in displacement camps and 11 million people have fled their homes. More than 3 million of those people have left for other countries.

With inputs from agencies.
Several Russian lawmakers denounced US President Joe Bidens decision to Ukraine use American long-range missiles in Russian territories. They warned that the move could be a big step towards World War 3'. read more

Just hours after US President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to strike Russia with long-range American missiles, Russian lawmakers denounced the decision and warned that it could lead to a World War III. On Sunday, Andrei Klishas, a senior member of the Federation Council, Russias upper chamber of parliament, condemned the White Houses decision and raised concerns over the matter.

The decision to allow Kyiv to use long-range US missiles in Russia marks a significant shift from the Biden administrations previous stance on the matter. While the UK and other Western allies have already given Ukraine a green signal to do the same, the US feared an escalation of conflict.

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The West has decided on such a level of escalation that it could end with the Ukrainian statehood in complete ruins by morning, Klishas said in a Telegram post on Sunday evening. Meanwhile, Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian upper houses international affairs committee, made it clear that Russias response on the matter will be immediate.

Russia warns of tough response

Russian lawmakers warned the West that its involvement would only escalate the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. This is a very big step towards the start of World War III, Dzhabarov told Tass after Bidens decision stirred headlines in the country.

In September this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin made it clear that the West would be fighting Russia directly if they allowed the use of long-range missiles into Russian territory. He insisted that the move would alter the nature and scope of the conflict.

Russia would be forced to take appropriate decisions based on new threats, Putin said at that time. Following the Sunday decision, Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the State Duma lower houses foreign affairs committee, said that the USs decision would warrant the toughest response.

Strikes with US missiles deep into Russian regions will inevitably entail a serious escalation, which threatens to lead to much more serious consequences, Slutsky told Tass.

In accordance with the Sunday decision, the United States will now allow Ukraine to use US-made Atacms rockets, which have a range of 190 miles (300km)  a decision being justified by the presence of North Korean troops fighting alongside Russia against the eastern European nation.

While there are no public comments made on the matter as of now, the claims by US officials dealing with the matter closely spread like wildfire. Shortly after the report, Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the news, though he made it clear that any proof about the change in policy would emerge on the battlefield, if and when the missiles are used.

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Today, theres a lot of talk in the media about us receiving permission for respective actions. But strikes are not carried out with words. Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak for themselves. They certainly will, Zelenskyy said.

Meanwhile, Polish Foreign Minister Radosaw Sikorski welcomed the news, confirming the reports. With the entry into the war of North Korea troops and the massive airstrike of Russian missiles, President Biden responded in a language that Putin understands, he wrote on X, formally known as Twitter. It is pertinent to note that the use of American long-range missiles into Russian territory will only be limited to the Kursk region, where Ukraine is currently holding on to its advancements.

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With inputs from agencies.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram that a Russian ballistic missile had hit a residential neighbourhood, and that an apartment building, a university building and an administrative building had been damaged. read more

A firefighter works at the site of a residential area damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine November 17, 2024. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Odesa. Image Reuters

At least 10 dead and 43 wounded in a Russian missile strike on Ukraines Black Sea port city of Odesa on Monday, Ukraines state emergency services said.

According to preliminary information, 10 people were killed and 43 others were wounded, including four children, the agency said in a post on Telegram.

A Russian ballistic missile had hit a residential neighbourhood, and that an apartment building, a university building and an administrative building had been damaged, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram, adding These are not random strikes  these are show strikes. After calls and meetings with Putin, after all the false gossip in the media about supposedly refraining from strikes. Russia is showing what it is really interested in: only war, he said.

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Meanwhile, Russias defence ministry on Monday claimed the capture of a new village in the eastern Donetsk region as its troops advanced towards the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

The ministry said its forces had liberated the small village of Novooleksiyivka about 15 kilometres (nine miles) from Pokrovsk.

Russia unleashed its largest overnight missile attack on Ukraine in almost three months on Sunday, killing 10 people and further hobbling an already damaged energy system.

(With inputs from agencies)
Satellite photos taken by Maxar Technologies in July, September and October, reviewed by Reuters, show cleared vegetation and extensive new construction next to buildings that Hinz identified as solid-fuel research and production facilities at the five complexes. read more

Satellite images show major expansions at five complexes where Russia has made solid-fuel missile engines, indicating the Kremlin plans to significantly boost missile production as it pursues its war in Ukraine, according to a European researcher.

Fabian Hinz, a Berlin-based researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a global security think tank, identified the complexes using Russian media reports and declassified Cold War-era CIA documents that listed facilities where the Soviet Union produced solid-fuel missile engines.

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The sites are in the Altai Republic in Siberia, Rostov in southern Russia, outside Moscow and St. Petersburg, and in Perm, in western Russia.

Satellite photos taken by Maxar Technologies in July, September and October, reviewed by Reuters, show cleared vegetation and extensive new construction next to buildings that Hinz identified as solid-fuel research and production facilities at the five complexes.

Following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered increased funding to expand defense production.

Satellite imagery suggests that solid-propellant rocket motor-production capacity appears to be one focus of this effort, Hinz wrote in his report, which was published in Military Balance Plus, an IISS blog.

The Russian Ministry of Defense did not respond to a request for comment. Putins government plans to hike spending on national defense next year to 6.3 percent of gross domestic product, the highest level since the Cold War.

An NSC spokesperson declined to confirm whether the United States was aware of the expansions but said that the U.S. would be applying additional sanctions on Russian entities and financial institutions to curb its ability to produce defense material.

The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.

Hinzs findings come as Russia has been forced to turn to North Korea and Iran, U.S. officials say, to refill missile stocks depleted by the nearly three-year conflict.

Moscows forces have fired more than 9,600 missiles since the beginning of the war, Ukraines top general said in August.

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Expanding solid-fuel missile motor production could help the Kremlin to meet the demands of the war without having to count on outside suppliers like North Korea, whose missiles have frequently malfunctioned, according to Ukrainian officials.

Solid propellants comprise a mixture of fuel, such as aluminium powder, and oxidizers, most commonly ammonium perchlorate, and a hard rubbery binder that is cast in a rocket motor.

Solid-fuel missiles are often easier and safer to operate, especially on the battlefield, than liquid-fuel weapons. They are also ready to launch, cheaper, store longer, and require less logistical support.

Engines for solid- fuel missiles

Pavel Podvig, a Geneva-based defense analyst, agreed after reviewing the photos that the expansions indicated that Russia plans to boost solid-fuel missile production for weaponry it needs for Ukraine, such as ground-to-ground rockets. Podvig, an expert on Russias military, said he was aware that several of these sites have been used to manufacture solid fuel engines.

You produce the propellant, you have to use it somehow. That does suggest the production of missiles will increase, he said, adding that he saw no alternative explanation for the expansions.

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Podvig said he does not believe Russia is planning to boost the manufacturing of solid-fuel missiles for its strategic nuclear forces as their production rates are pretty established.

A senior Russian diplomat in May, however, said that Russia would have to boost its entire missile arsenal as Moscow is in an open confrontation with the United States and its allies.

Hinz noted that the satellite photos provide no clues as to the kinds of solid-fuel missile engines whose production Russia may be planning to boost.

Russia manufactures an extensive range of solid-fuel missiles, including Grads and Uragans fired by mobile launchers, anti-tank rockets, advanced S-300 and S-400 air defense missiles, and Iskander-M short-range ballistic missiles.

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Moscows nuclear arsenal also includes solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles, such as the road-mobile Topol-M and the submarine-launched Bulava. Their deployments are restricted until New START, the last remaining U.S.-Russia arms control pact, expires in February 2026.

Putin has cited U.S. support for Ukraine in rejecting negotiations with Washington on replacing New START, an issue that will confront U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Trump has said he will bring peace to Ukraine, where Russian forces have been advancing in the east, even before taking office in January.

Hinz told Reuters that any Kremlin plans to boost ballistic missile production could face significant hurdles.

They include how Russia will bypass Western sanctions and export controls to obtain high-tech machine tools and whether it has key raw materials needed for solid fuel, including ammonium perchlorate.

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Whether they have enough domestic sourcing or are getting it elsewhere Im not entirely sure, he said of the chemical used as an oxidizer.

Russia, he continued, also is wrestling with a shortage of skilled labor because many younger workers left the country after Putin launched his full-scale invasion to avoid being mobilized.

Others have been drafted into the military, he said.

You basically have a labor shortage across the entire Russian economy, Hinz said.

Unemployment in Russia is at record low levels, aggravated by a military mobilisation in 2022 and the emigration of hundreds of thousands of people since Moscow invaded Ukraine.

Several state officials have flagged labour shortages as a key concern for the Russian economy, which has registered robust growth this year, thanks in part to higher military production.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is all set to be the first British premier in 6 years to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping as the Labour government attempts to mend ties with Beijing read more

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is looking forward to turning the page on UK-China relations by building a pragmatic and serious relationship as he is all set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. Starmer will be the first British prime minister in six years to meet the Chinese leader.

Starmer and the UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves have been pushing to ease tensions with the worlds second-largest economy on pragmatic grounds. The Labour Party leaders suggested that the UK cannot achieve its growth ambitions without improving its ties with the second-largest economy in the world, The Guardian reported.

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However, the eagerness of the British premier to mend ties with China is not sitting well with human rights groups and backbenchers, and with several high-profile Conservative MPs who have imposed multiple sanctions on Beijing during their reign.

Meeting on the sidelines of G20 Summit

Starmer is scheduled to meet Xi on Monday. The meeting between the two world leaders will be held on the sidelines of the 19th edition of the G20 Summit which is being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. What makes the meeting interesting is the fact that no British Prime Minister after Theresa May has met Xi. May visited Beijing in 2018 in the midst of a trade push during Brexit negotiations, though ex-Boris Johnson spoke to the Chinese president during the pandemic.

Since then, relations between the two nations have soured because of Chinas cyber threats in the UK and its crackdown on human rights in Hong Kong. Tensions between the two nations reached an all-time high after Beijing imposed sanctions against British MPs.

It is pertinent to note that Starmers predecessor Rishi Sunak attempted to mend the ties between the two nations at the G20 summit in 2022. However, the bilateral meeting between the two leaders was cancelled due to the development in Ukraine. During his time, Sunak has toyed with designating China as a threat to British security  a stronger language than the US had used.

British MPs who have had Chinese sanctions imposed on them include, Tugendhat, the former security minister; Nusrat Ghani, the Commons deputy speaker; and Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader.

It is essential that Starmer raises Mr Lais case and the threats we are witnessing against other British nationals who have spoken out and are now here in the UK. Starmer must clearly defend Britain against Beijings authoritarian regime," Tugendhat said before Starmer met with Xi.

Last month, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy paid a visit to China signalling the new Labour governments intention to better ties with the country. Meanwhile, Reeves, who is understood to be taking a leading role in pursuing new economic opportunities with China, will head to Beijing in January.

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In his remarks before his trip to Brazil, Starmer emphasised the UKs intentions. It is in the UKs best interests to engage on the global stage  whether thats building strong and fruitful partnerships with our closest allies or being frank with those whose values differ from our own, the British premier said. According to The Guardian, Starmer is expected to meet at least eight world leaders in one-to-one discussions in Rio.

With inputs from agencies.
Sweden and Finland, which recently gave up neutrality and joined NATO following Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, sent out updated civil preparedness guides on Monday with instructions how to survive in war. read more

Flags flutter as the NATO foreign ministers' meeting takes place at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium April 4, 2023. Image- Reuters

Sweden on Monday began sending some five million pamphlets to residents urging them to prepare for the possibility of war, as neighbouring Finland launched a new preparedness website.

In January, Swedens former military commander-in-chief Gen. Micael Byden said it openly: Swedes should mentally prepare for the possibility of war. Sweden in March formally joined NATO as the 32nd member of the transatlantic military alliance, nearly a year after Finland.

The updated Swedish guide explains how to respond to an attack with nuclear, chemical or biological weapons: Take cover in the same way as with an airstrike. Shelters provide the best protection. After a couple of days, the radiation has decreased sharply.

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It is no secret that the security situation has deteriorated since the previous brochure was issued in 2018, Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin told a press conference last month. The Swedish Baltic Sea island of Gotland sits a little more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

Since the start of the Russia- Ukraine war, Stockholm has repeatedly urged Swedes to prepare both mentally and logistically for the possibility of war, citing the serious security situation in its vicinity.

In Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) land border with Russia, the guide is compiled by the government, which has stressed that preparedness is a civic skill in the current global situation.

The Nordic countries all urge people to stockpile drinking water, canned food, medicine, heating, toilet paper, money and flashlights and candles. And if possible, keep the car fully refueled.

The checklist also includes iodine tablets, in case of a nuclear event.

With inputs from agencies.
After announcing plans to shut down the Department of Education, Donald Trump has another goal during the first few months of his second term.

The newly-President-elect, in particular, plans to reshape education by removing what he sees as "wokeness" and "left-wing indoctrination" from schools.

Trump's New Educational Policies

During his second term, Trump's proposals include banning lessons on gender identity and structural racism, abolishing diversity and inclusion offices, and restricting transgender athletes in girls' sports. AP News also added that he intends to use federal funding as a tool to enforce these changes, pledging to cut money from schools that defy his policies.

Trump's education platform includes a major shift in policy as well.

To be specific, he wants to eliminate the US Education Department and transfer responsibilities to states, claiming it has been infiltrated by radicals. With this, he aims to prioritize school choice, removing teacher tenure, and allowing parents to elect school principals.

More than that, Trump is also moving to use federal civil rights enforcement to influence schools and colleges. This includes withholding funding from institutions that have diversity offices or violate his proposed rules. He has hinted at legislative actions, such as fining universities over diversity programs and taxing large endowments.

Although it will be met with resistance, part of Trump's educational policy is to promote "patriotic education" through initiatives like reinstating the 1776 Commission and creating a new credentialing body for teachers.

However, critics argue these measures would harm public education and reduce essential support for low-income and special-needs students, per Bloomberg. At the same time, opponents believe that these policies are fear-driven and lack evidence of widespread issues.

For now, many experts see that these sweeping changes will be met with rigorous congressional approval. But it's also worth noting that the congress will be dominated by Republicans under his second term.
Taiwans President Lai Ching-te has urged the European Union (EU) to sign an economic partnership agreement to enhance semiconductor cooperation and secure supply chains read more

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te called on Monday for the signing of an economic partnership agreement with the European Union, saying it would boost cooperation in semiconductors and that as democracies the two sides should be working together.

Taiwan has pushed for the signing of investment and trade deals with the EU, in what would be politically significant for Taiwan given its diplomatic isolation and general exclusion from most global bodies and agreements.

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For its part, the EU has been courting Taiwan as a like-minded partner under the European Chips Act to encourage more semiconductor production in Europe and lessen dependence on Asia, despite the lack of formal ties with the Chinese-claimed island.

Speaking at a Taiwan-EU investment forum in Taipei, Lai said that facing the threat of expanding authoritarianism, Taiwan and the EU must form a strong democratic umbrella and build secure supply chains for global democracies.

Looking to the future, Taiwan hopes to take an innovative approach towards the signing of an economic partnership agreement with the EU, he said.

Such an agreement would set a sound institutional basis for further cooperation in fields such as semiconductors and AI, Lai added.

This would not only make both our economies more resilient and secure, but also ensure the stable operation of global supply chains.

Taiwanese investment in EU has been anchored by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which in August launched a major new chip plant in Dresden, Germany, expected to be a key supplier to European industry and automakers.

Maria Martin-Prat, deputy head of the European Commissions directorate general for trade, made no mention of signing such a deal with Taiwan in a video message to the investment event, though she did praise bilateral relations.

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Taiwan, a vibrant democracy with an open economy, is a trusted partner for us to promote our economic security, she said.

Taiwan has few free trade agreements, though last year it signed an Enhanced Trade Partnership with Britain and has applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)
Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that Irans relationship with China will remain steady despite Donald Trumps return to the US presidency read more

Irans ties with China will remain unchanged despite the election of Donald Trump as US president, an adviser to Irans supreme leader said in remarks carried by ISNA news agency.

Ali Akbar Velayati said Trumps return to the White House in January would not impact Irans foreign policy, particularly its ties with China, according to ISNA.

Iran and China have long-standing, close and cordial cultural and historical relations and they have had many positive effects on each other, he was quoted as saying.

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The comments were made during a meeting with Cong Peiwu, the Chinese ambassador to Tehran, the news agency said in its report on Sunday night.

Velayati, who served as foreign minister for 16 years until 1997, currently advises Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

China is Irans largest trading partner and a major buyer of its sanctioned oil.

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said last week that the Islamic republic had no serious concerns regarding oil sales following Trumps election.

Trump, who implemented a maximum pressure policy against Iran during his first term, has named Marco Rubio, a politician known for his hostility toward both China and Iran, as his secretary of state.

This policy involved the imposition of both old and new sanctions on Tehran, complicating Beijings efforts to engage Iran in its extensive Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

In 2021, China and Iran signed a 25-year strategic agreement that encompasses various areas, including energy, security, infrastructure and communications.

In September, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reassured Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that China would support Iran, regardless of how the international and regional situation evolves.

(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)

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Ties between China and the United Kingdom have been strained in recent years as they argue over espionage allegations, human rights and Beijings tightening control over former British colony Hong Kong. read more

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping of China, at the Sheraton Hotel, as he attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 18, 2024. Image- Reuters

Chinese officials forcibly removed British journalists from a G20 meeting between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Xi Jinping in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. Reporters were aggressively ushered out as Starmer raised human rights issues during their first meeting in over six years.

Xi and Starmer met in Rio de Janeiro on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit on Monday, according to Xinhua. The meeting is the first to take place between a British prime minister and Xi since 2018.

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Read Also: Keir Starmer, Xi Jinping meet at G20, agree on vast potential for UK-China cooperation

Chinese President Xi Jinping told British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that the two countries enjoy a vast space for cooperation, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

While in Rio de Janeiro, Xi is expected to meet with several world leaders at a time when conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as incoming Trump-led United States, have made efforts to build consensus within the G20 more difficult than before.

With inputs from agencies.
G20 talks in Brazil reached a fragile consensus on climate finance, with tensions over contributions from developed and developing nations, as global leaders focus on combating climate change read more

Frances Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday that Paris remained open to allowing Ukraine to use French long-range missiles to strike military targets inside Russia, after the United States cleared Kyiv to use American missiles for the same purpose.

Washingtons policy shift - long demanded by Ukraine - came in response to North Korea deploying troops to help Moscows war effort, US officials have said. The move is likely to lead European allies to review their stances.

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Barrot recalled that French President Emmanuel Macron had already said in May that Paris was open to consider greenlighting the use of its missiles to strike on Russian soil.

We openly said that this was an option that we would consider if it was to allow to strike targets from where Russians are currently aggressing Ukrainian territory, Barrot told reporters in Brussels.

Nothing new under the sun, he added ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in the Belgian capital.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long pushed for authorisation from Washington to use the powerful Army Tactical Missile System, known by its initials ATACMS, to hit targets inside Russia.

But US officials had previously worried about the danger of escalating the conflict with nuclear-armed Russia, as well as the risk of depleting Washingtons own stocks of the valuable munitions.

France and Britain have provided Ukraine with their long-range Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles, but have held back from authorising their use inside Russia without American approval for ATACMS.

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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)
President Joe Bidens administration concluded this month that Israel was not currently impeding assistance to Gaza and therefore not violating U.S. law, even as Washington acknowledged the humanitarian situation remained dire in the Palestinian enclave. read more

Palestinians with children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of food supplies, as the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas continues, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. File Image- Reuters

The United Nations Security Council has called for a significant increase in aid to reach those in need in Gaza, warning that the situation in the Palestinian enclave was getting worse.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said there needs to be a huge, huge rise in aid to Gaza, where most of the population of 2.3 million people has been displaced and the enclaves health officials say more than 43,922 Palestinians have been killed in Israels offensive.

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The situation is devastating, and frankly, beyond comprehension, and its getting worse, not better. Winters here. Famine is imminent, and 400 days into this war, it is totally unacceptable that its harder than ever to get aid into Gaza, Lammy said.

Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel in October last year, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council that Washington was closely watching Israels actions to improve the situation for Palestinians and engaging with the Israeli government every day.

Israel must also urgently take additional steps to alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, she said.

President Joe Bidens administration has concluded that Israel isnt currently blocking assistance to Gaza, and therefore, isnt violating U.S. law. This assessment comes on the heels of a warning issued by the U.S. in an October 13 letter, which outlined 15 steps Israel needed to take within 30 days to address Gazas worsening situation. Failure to comply might have consequences on US military aid to Israel .

Its worth noting that the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire, with the U.S. acknowledging the severity of the issue. However, according to Thomas-Greenfield, Israel is actively working to implement 12 of the 15 steps outlined in the letter. This development suggests that Israel is taking steps to address the concerns raised by the US.

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We need to see all steps fully implemented and sustained, and we need to see concrete improvement in the humanitarian situation on the ground, she said, including Israel allowing commercial trucks to move into Gaza alongside humanitarian assistance, addressing persistent lawlessness and implementing pauses in fighting in large areas of Gaza to allow assistance to reach those in need.

Tor Wennesland, the U.N. coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said humanitarian agencies face a challenging and dangerous operational environment in Gaza and access restrictions that hinder their work.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza, as winter begins, is catastrophic, particularly developments in the north of Gaza with a large-scale and near-total displacement of the population and widespread destruction and clearing of land, amidst what looks like a disturbing disregard for international humanitarian law, Wennesland said.

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The current conditions are among the worst weve seen during the entire war and are not set to improve, he said.

With inputs from agencies.
US President Joe Biden has authorised Ukraine to use US-made ATACMS long-range missiles against Russian territory, breaking previous restrictions. This decision follows escalating tensions, including Russias deployment of North Korean troops near Ukraines border. With US President-elect Donald Trump suggesting a potential pivot in US policy, Bidens move seeks to fortify Ukraines defences read more

United States President Biden has approved the use of the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) by Ukraine to target sites deep within Russian territory. This marks a significant change in Washingtons previous stance, which limited Ukraine to using US weaponry only within its own borders or occupied areas.

The ATACMS missiles, capable of striking targets up to 300 kilometres (186 miles) away, are expected to be deployed primarily in the Kursk region, where Ukraine holds over 1,000 square kilometres of territory and where North Korean troops have reportedly been stationed to support Russian forces.

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Bidens decision comes as Russia escalates its aggression, including a massive drone and missile attack targeting Ukraines energy infrastructure, described by officials as the largest in recent months.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his frustration over prior constraints on Ukraines defence capabilities, saying: Strikes are not made with words. The missiles will speak for themselves.

The US move follows months of Ukrainian and Western appeals to lift the restrictions, which were seen as a hindrance to Ukraines ability to protect its cities and energy grid from relentless Russian bombardments.

What is behind Bidens decision?

North Korean troop deployment in Ukraine

The backdrop to this decision includes the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to assist Russian forces. Reports indicate that as many as 12,000 North Korean soldiers have been stationed near the Kursk border, a region contested by Ukrainian forces.

These troops, along with significant supplies of North Korean munitions, aim to bolster Russias efforts to reclaim territory lost to Ukraine in recent counteroffensives.

North Koreas involvement has been a source of alarm for Washington and Kyiv, with analysts warning that it signals a troubling deepening of military collaboration between Moscow and Pyongyang.

The deployment was a key topic of discussion during recent meetings between Biden and the leaders of Japan, South Korea, and China at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.

Donald Trump 2.0 in a few weeks

The timing of Bidens decision is also critical, with US President-elect Donald Trump set to take office in January. Trumps campaign promises to bring a swift end to the conflict have raised concerns among Ukraines allies about whether the US will maintain its robust support for Kyiv.

Trump has hinted at pressuring Ukraine to cede some territory to Russia as part of a negotiated settlement, a prospect that many believe would embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump and Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet at Trump Tower in New York City, US, September 27, 2024. File Image/Reuters

America remains Ukraines most important ally, having provided over $56.2 billion in security assistance since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022.

However, Trump has repeatedly criticised Bidens administration for its extensive military aid to Ukraine, casting doubt on the sustainability of this support under his leadership.

How may Bidens decision impact the war in Ukraine?

While the exact number of ATACMS missiles being supplied remains undisclosed, analysts agree their use will likely compel Russian forces to reposition their assets deeper within their borders.

Western intelligence suggests that hundreds of Russian military targets could fall within the range of these missiles. However, questions remain about whether the limited supply of ATACMS will be sufficient to significantly alter the battlefield dynamics.

The long-range ATACMS is capable of striking territories deep inside Russia. Image courtesy: Lockheed Martin via US army

Zelenskyy has consistently argued that the long-range capabilities of weapons like the ATACMS are vital for disrupting Russian logistics and command chains.

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US officials have acknowledged that even a few successful strikes could force Russia to divert resources, providing Ukraine with a tactical advantage.

How has Moscow reacted to Bidens decision?

The Kremlin has yet to issue an official response, but Russian lawmaker Maria Butina warned of dire consequences, stating, These guys, Bidens administration, are trying to escalate the situation to the maximum while they still have power. This decision risks the start of World War Three, which is not in anybodys interest.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier cautioned that allowing Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western weapons would constitute the direct involvement of NATO countries in the conflict, potentially escalating it to a broader confrontation.

He also suggested that Moscow might respond by providing its own long-range weaponry to adversaries of the West.

Will the Russia-Ukraine war escalate now?

The Biden administration had long resisted providing long-range missiles to Ukraine, fearing that such a move could provoke an escalation. This caution was rooted in concerns over a potential direct confrontation with a nuclear-armed Russia.

However, many analysts and policymakers have argued that limiting Ukraines capabilities was an arbitrary decision born out of fear.

Former US ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker stated, By restricting the range of Ukraines use of American weapons, the US was unjustifiably imposing unilateral restrictions on Ukraines self-defence.

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Will Bidens decision prompt EU allies to do the same?

The approval of ATACMS could have a ripple effect, potentially leading other Western allies, such as the UK and France, to authorise the use of their long-range missiles, including the Storm Shadow.

These systems, comparable to ATACMS in range and capability, could further bolster Ukraines ability to strike critical Russian targets.

The decision also reflects a broader trend in the US response to the war. Initially hesitant to supply advanced weaponry, Washington has gradually provided systems such as Patriot air defences, F-16 fighter jets, and advanced tanks, albeit after prolonged deliberations and under pressure from allies.

As Bidens administration seeks to maximise support for Ukraine before Trump takes office, the focus is on strengthening Ukraines position both militarily and diplomatically.

Yet, the looming possibility of a shift in US policy under Trump creates significant uncertainty about the future trajectory of the war.

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Also Watch:

With inputs from agencies
Trump ultimately won the state and the presidential race by a landslide, leaving Democrats in complete shambles. When the votes were ultimately counted, it was found out that Selzer was off by 16 points read more

J Ann Selzer who is known as the "queen of polling," rose to fame after she predicted that virtually unknown senator, Barack Obama, would beat frontrunner Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucuses in 2008. X/ @Jaselser

Celebrated Iowa election pollster J Ann Selzer announced on Sunday that she is moving on to other ventures and opportunities after she wrongly predicted Iowas strong shift towards US Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential elections. Selzer projected a 47 per cent to 44 per cent lead for Harris over President-elect Donald Trump, three days before the November 5 polls.

Trump ultimately won the state and the presidential race by a landslide, leaving Democrats in complete shambles. When the votes were ultimately counted, it was found out that Selzer was off by 16 points.

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The queen of polling, rose to fame after she predicted that virtually unknown senator, Barack Obama, would beat frontrunner Hillary Clinton in the Iowa caucuses in 2008.

While speaking to MSNBC, Selzer said that Harris was leading in early voting in Iowa because of her strength with women generally, even stronger with women aged 65 and older. Her margin is more than 2-to-1  and this is an age group that shows up to vote, or votes early, in disproportionately large numbers.

I am humbled: Selzer bows out

In a column published in the Des Moines Register on Sunday, Selzer wrote that public opinion polling has been her lifes work. The pollster mentioned that she decided to step back from election forecasting a year ago. Would I have liked to make this announcement after a final poll aligned with Election Day results? Of course, she wrote. Its ironic that its just the opposite.

Polling is a science of estimation, and science has a way of periodically humbling the scientist. So, Im humbled, yet always willing to learn from unexpected findings, she added. Meanwhile, the news outlets Editor Carol Hunter wrote that the Iowa Poll has been an important legacy indicator and we recognize the need to evolve and find new ways to accurately take the pulse of Iowans on state and national issues.

It is pertinent to note that Trump disputed the Selzer poll soon after it was released. In fact, its not even close! All polls, except for one heavily skewed toward the Democrats by a Trump hater who called it totally wrong the last time, have me up, BY A LOT, he wrote on TruthSocial. Trump eventually won the state by 13 points, i.e. 56 per cent to 43 per cent.

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How polls failed to predict a red wave

Several pollsters received major backlash after they failed to predict a strong victory for Trump in the 2024 US Presidential election. Most political polls for the 2024 presidential election saw a close race in the electoral college and a popular vote victory for Harris.

However, Trump ultimately won both the electoral college by 312 to 226, and the popular vote against Harris. Amid criticism, UC Riverside polling expert Andy Crosby wrote that Trumps margin of victory was within the 2.2 per cent margin of error of most of the final elections polls.

Before saying goodbye to polling, Selzer had offered words of warning to excited Never Trump podcasters at The Bulwark. People looked at my methodology  and its published in every article in the Des Moines Register, how we do it, but you look at it on paper and you go, Its too simple, this cant possibly work," she said.

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And so far it has, but Im prepared that one day it will not work and I will blow up into tiny little pieces and be scattered across the city of Des Moines, she added.
US President-elect Donald Trumps Cabinet selections, including Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, Robert F Kennedy Jr, and Tulsi Gabbard, have sparked widespread debate over their qualifications and ethical controversies. From sexual misconduct allegations to vaccine scepticism and ties to extremist symbols, these nominees face intense scrutiny as the Senate prepares for confirmation hearings read more

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance and his wife Usha, Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, Linda McMahon, Howard Lutnick and Bryson Dechambeau listen as Republican presidential nominee former US President Donald Trump speaks at his election night rally at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, US, November 6, 2024. File Image/Reuters

As United States President-elect Donald Trump prepares for his return to the White House, his Cabinet selections have sparked unprecedented scrutiny and debate.

With nominees under fire for ethical concerns, lack of qualifications, and controversial pasts, the confirmation process promises to be a contentious one.

We take a look at the most controversial picks in Trumps Cabinet 2.0:

Matt Gaetz for Attorney General

One of Trumps most polarising choices is former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, nominated for Attorney General.

Gaetz resigned from Congress shortly after his nomination, halting the release of a House Ethics Committee report investigating allegations of sexual misconduct, drug use, and campaign fund misuse.

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Republican US Representative Matt Gaetz speaks at a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump in Henderson, Nevada, US, October 31, 2024. File Image/Reuters

The ethics investigation gained attention after a lawyer for two witnesses revealed damning accusations. Attorney Joe Leppard told CBS that one witness saw Gaetz engaging in sexual activity with a minor in Florida in 2017.

Although the US Department of Justice previously declined to press charges, these allegations have reignited concerns. Gaetz has vehemently denied the claims, stating on X, formerly Twitter, that lies were weaponised to try to destroy me.

Also Read | Donald Trumps new Cabinet: Loyalty over experience?

House Speaker Mike Johnson has defended withholding the Ethics Committee report, arguing that releasing it would open a Pandoras box. He highlighted the Senates role in vetting nominees: They will have a rigorous review process They dont need to rely on a draft report.

Despite the controversy, Trump remains unwavering in his support, reportedly telling aides he is 100% committed to Gaetzs confirmation. Trump Jr echoed this sentiment, describing Gaetz as a disrupter essential to the administrations goals on Fox Business.

Pete Hegseth for Defence Secretary

Trumps pick for Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth, has also drawn significant backlash. A Fox News host and Army veteran, Hegseth faces allegations of sexual assault dating back to 2017, for which no charges were filed.

While he denies any wrongdoing, reports of a financial settlement with the accuser have fuelled concerns.

(File) US President-elect Donald Trump is interviewed by Fox and Friends co-host Pete Hegseth at the White House in Washington on April 6, 2017. File Image/Reuters

Hegseths controversial tattoo  a Latin phrase Deus Vult, associated with medieval Christian crusaders  has also raised eyebrows. A former colleague flagged it as a potential insider threat, citing its links to extremist groups.

Hegseth refutes such claims, asserting the phrase represents a personal Christian belief. US Vice President-elect JD Vance called criticism of the tattoo disgusting anti-Christian bigotry.

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Hegseths qualifications are also under scrutiny. Critics argue his lack of experience managing a vast military bureaucracy could pose risks to national security. Nonetheless, Trump remains steadfast, viewing Hegseth as a loyal ally who aligns with his vision for reshaping the Pentagon.

Robert F Kennedy Jr for Health Secretary

Nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has ignited concern among public health experts.

A prominent vaccine skeptic, Kennedy has vowed to tackle Big Pharma, a stance that has sent shockwaves through the healthcare industry. Stocks of vaccine manufacturers and healthcare firms plummeted following his nomination.

Robert F Kennedy Jr and Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump greet each other at a campaign event in Duluth, Georgia, US, October 23, 2024. File Image/Reuters

Critics warn that Kennedys views could undermine decades of medical progress, particularly in vaccination efforts. Despite these concerns, Kennedys advocacy against processed foods has earned support from some medical professionals.

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Trump has remained silent on the backlash, leaving observers to wonder whether Kennedys confirmation is part of a broader strategy to disrupt the health sector.

Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence

Trumps selection of former Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence has raised questions about her suitability for the role.

Critics argue her lack of intelligence experience and controversial foreign policy positions, including perceived sympathies toward Russia, make her an ill fit.

Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump and Former US Representative Tulsi Gabbard gesture as they attend a town hall event in La Crosse, Wisconsin, US, August 29, 2024. File Image/Reuters

Rep. Jim Himes, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, dismissed Gabbards qualifications, speaking to CBS, stating These people are manifestly unqualified to run the very complicated organisations theyve been asked to lead.

Meanwhile, Sue Gordon, former principal deputy director of national intelligence, warned that Trumps team may bypass traditional FBI vetting, opting for private firms instead  a move she described as risky for America.

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Is there a bigger picture to Trumps picks?

Trumps unconventional picks reflect his broader strategy to dismantle what he views as an entrenched Washington establishment. His son, Donald Trump Jr, articulated this vision: Its about surrounding my father with people who are both competent and loyal They are actual disrupters. Thats what the American people want.

However, the Senate remains a key battleground. While Republicans hold a majority, several GOP senators have expressed reservations about the nominees.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Gaetz critic, told NBC he would give the nominee a fair shot but stressed the importance of qualifications over personal loyalties.

As the confirmation process unfolds, the stakes are high.

Also Watch:

With inputs from agencies
Nearly six decades after the assassination of Black civil rights activist Malcolm X in 1965, his family has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the FBI, CIA, and NYPD, alleging they conspired in his murder and covered up their roles. The lawsuit claims law enforcement withheld evidence, removed security and allowed undercover agents to be present but inactive during the killing read more

The mystery surrounding the assassination of Malcolm X, one of the most influential civil rights leaders of the 20th century, has persisted for nearly six decades.

New developments have brought the case back into the spotlight as Malcolm Xs family has filed a $100 million federal lawsuit against the FBI, CIA, and NYPD. The suit alleges these agencies not only failed to prevent his murder but actively conspired in a cover-up that left many questions unanswered.

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Did government agencies have a hand in the Malcolm X assassination?

On February 21, 1965, Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little and later known as el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, was shot 21 times at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan while addressing hundreds of supporters.

His family, including his daughter Ilyasah Shabazz, announced the lawsuit on the 58th anniversary of his death. The familys attorney, Ben Crump, stated during a press conference, We believe that they all conspired to assassinate Malcolm X, one of the greatest thought leaders of the 20th century.

Attorney Ben Crump and legal team speak alongside daughter of the late killed civil rights leader Malcolm X, Ilyasah Shabazz, during a news conference to announce a lawsuit against government agencies and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for the alleged assassination and concealment of evidence surrounding Malcolm Xs murder in New York City, US, November, 15, 2024. File Image/Reuters

The lawsuit alleges a corrupt, unlawful, and unconstitutional relationship between law enforcement and Malcolm Xs assassins. It claims these agencies colluded to allow the killing, concealed critical evidence, and protected the identities of undercover operatives present during the assassination.

The NYPD is accused of intentionally detaining members of Malcolm Xs security team days before the attack and withdrawing officers from inside the ballroom on the day of the event.

Federal agents and undercover operatives, who were reportedly present in the ballroom during the assassination, allegedly took no steps to prevent it. Mustafa Hassan, a witness to the murder, claimed that NYPD officers at the scene seemed to assist one of the gunmen in escaping.

Who killed Malcolm X?

Malcolm X rose to prominence as the national spokesperson for the Nation of Islam, advocating Black empowerment and separatism. In 1964, he broke away from the organisation after ideological disagreements and threats against his life.

A week before his assassination, his home was firebombed, signalling escalating threats from members of the Nation of Islam and potentially others.

Attallah Shabazz (R) and Malaak Shabazz, two of the six daughters of the late Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz, sit together beneath two portraits of their late father during a news conference at the New York Public Librarys Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York, January 7, 2003. File Image/Reuters

Three men were convicted for Malcolm Xs murder: Talmadge Hayer (also known as Mujahid Abdul Halim), Muhammad Abdul Aziz, and Khalil Islam. Hayer admitted to the killing but maintained that Aziz and Islam were innocent.

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In 2021, Aziz and Islam were exonerated after a review by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance revealed that prosecutors, the FBI, and the NYPD had withheld key evidence. New York City and the state of New York later paid a combined $36 million in settlements to the wrongly convicted men.

Also Read | US agencies probe racist text messages invoking slavery in multiple states

Despite these exonerations, no new suspects have been identified, and the real extent of government involvement remains unclear. The lawsuit filed by Malcolm Xs family seeks to uncover the truth, asserting that the damage caused to the Shabazz family by decades of obfuscation is unimaginable, immense, and irreparable.

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What allegations have been made against the FBI?

The familys lawsuit points to systemic surveillance and harassment of Malcolm X by federal intelligence agencies, particularly the FBI, under its COINTELPRO program. This covert operation targeted Black leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr and Fred Hampton, labelling them threats to national security.

A letter from a New York FBI agent to then-FBI Director J Edgar Hoover in December 1964 called for increased surveillance of Malcolm X, citing his intent to bring the plight of Black Americans before the United Nations.

Fidel Castro shares a laugh with Malcolm X at the Hotel Theresa in New York, US, October 19, 1960. File Image/Reuters

Attorneys for the Shabazz family allege that nine FBI informants were present in the ballroom during Malcolm Xs assassination. One of the identified shooters reportedly had deep connections with the FBI and was allegedly shielded from repercussions after the murder.

The lawsuit also asserts that federal and local agencies colluded to suppress evidence of their involvement in the killing, further deepening suspicions of a cover-up.

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Will Malcolm Xs family find accountability?

For Malcolm Xs family, the lawsuit is not just about financial reparations but also about achieving justice and clarity. Ilyasah Shabazz, who was just two years old when her father was killed, remarked, My mother was pregnant when she came here to see her husband speak to witness this horrific assassination it has haunted our family for decades.

The family claims they were kept in the dark about critical details, including the identities of undercover agents and the extent of government orchestration.

Lawyers representing the family also highlight testimony from Malcolm Xs former security guards, who allege they were deliberately entrapped by undercover NYPD officers days before the assassination to ensure his vulnerability.

Also Read | Young Black, Latino men sided with Trump on economy & jobs. Heres why

These revelations further fuel the argument that Malcolm Xs murder was not merely the act of disgruntled Nation of Islam members but a coordinated effort involving government agencies.

The unanswered questions surrounding Malcolm Xs death echo broader concerns about government surveillance, racial justice, and the systemic undermining of Black leaders. As Crump stated, We hope this lawsuit forces the government to acknowledge and address its role in one of the most heinous events in American history.

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With inputs from agencies
A day after US President Joe Biden reportedly gave the green light for Ukraine to use long-range missiles supplied by the US to strike Russia, Kremlin said on Monday that such a move would lead to a new round of tension and deepen the involvement of the US in the conflict read more

A Ukrainian service member from the special police unit Hyzhak (Predator) fires a howitzer D30 towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the frontline city of Toretsk, Ukraine, on October 25, 2024. Reuters File

A day after US President Joe Biden reportedly gave the green light for Ukraine to use long-range missiles supplied by the US to strike Russia, Kremlin said on Monday that such a move would lead to a new round of tension and deepen the involvement of the US in the conflict.

When asked by TASS about the Biden administrations actions, Peskov noted that Russia was only aware of these developments through Western media reports.

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If such a decision was indeed formulated and brought to the Kyiv regime, then this is a qualitatively new round of tension and a qualitatively new situation from the point of view of US involvement in this conflict, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov at his daily press briefing

Peskov said that Russias position remains unchanged from what President Vladimir Putin stated in September.

Putin had warned on September 12 that Western approval for such a step would mean the direct involvement of NATO countries, the United States and European countries in the war in Ukraine because NATO military infrastructure and personnel would have to be involved in the targeting and firing of the missiles.

It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps to continue adding fuel to the fire and continue to provoke tension around this conflict, Peskov said.

Regarding recent peace efforts by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Peskov stated that any proposal to freeze the conflict along the current frontline was unacceptable to the Russian Federation.

Reuters had reported the Biden administrations decision on Sunday, citing two US officials and a source familiar with the decision. The New York Times also reported the decision.

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Sources quoted in both reports presented the move as partly in response to the reported arrival of North Korean soldiers in Russias Kursk region to help repel a Ukrainian incursion.

One Russian official close to the Kremlin who spoke on condition of anonymity said the U.S. move, if confirmed, was an extremely provocative one for an outgoing administration but would not change the outcome of the war.

Ukraines seizure of a piece of the Kursk region this year marked the first time U.S. weapons had been used on internationally recognised sovereign Russian soil since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in early 2022.

Bidens administration is trying to escalate the situation to the maximum while they still have power and are still in office, Russian lawmaker Maria Butina said.

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I have a great hope that (Donald) Trump will overcome this decision if this has been made because they are seriously risking the start of World War Three, which is not in anybodys interest.

Russian officials have repeatedly cautioned that the West is playing with fire by probing the limits of what a nuclear power might or might not tolerate.

Putin has changed Russias nuclear doctrine to say that any conventional attack on Russia aided by a nuclear power could be considered to be a joint attack on Russia.

In late October, Putin said his defence ministry was working on different ways to respond if the United States and its NATO allies helped Ukraine to strike deep into Russia with long-range Western missiles.

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I guess there are some people in the United States who have nothing to lose for whatever reason, or who are completely off the grid so much that they simply do not care, said Butina, who spent 15 months in a US prison for acting as an unregistered Russian agent and is now a lawmaker for the ruling United Russia party.

With inputs from agencies
The US envoy overseeing efforts for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah is set to visit Beirut tomorrow to discuss a ceasefire proposal read more

The US official overseeing contacts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon is due to visit Beirut on Tuesday, sources in Lebanon said on Monday, with Beirut expected give its response to a US truce proposal.

The US-led ceasefire diplomacy has come back into focus as Israel has been stepping up its offensive: Israeli strikes in two Beirut neighbourhoods killed six people including at least one senior Hezbollah official on Sunday, the first time Israel has struck central areas of the capital in a month.

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The new US truce proposal was delivered last week to Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has been endorsed by Hezbollah to negotiate.

White House envoy Amos Hochstein was expected in Beirut on Tuesday for talks on the ceasefire, a Lebanese political source told Reuters. Lebanese media outlet Voice of Lebanon also reported the visit, citing Lebanese lawmaker Kassem Hashem, who is part of Berris parliamentary bloc.

World powers say a Lebanon ceasefire must be based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701 which ended a 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. Its terms require Hezbollah to move weapons and fighters north of the Litani river, some 20 km (30 miles) north of the border.

The diplomacy has been complicated by an Israeli demand for the freedom to act should Hezbollah violate any agreement, which Lebanon has rejected.

Israel launched its offensive after almost a year of cross-border hostilities with Hezbollah. Its declared goal is to secure the return home of tens of thousands of Israelis forced to evacuate the north due to rocket fire from Hezbollah, which opened fire in solidarity with its ally Hamas as the Gaza war got underway more than a year ago.

The Israeli campaign has uprooted more than 1 million people in Lebanon. Israel has dealt Hezbollah heavy blows, using airstrikes to pummel wide areas of Lebanon and sending ground forces into the south.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)
Shen Yun Performing Arts, a renowned dance company, has been accused of exploiting children and teenagers for its global performances, earning millions while offering minimal compensation. The New York State Department of Labor has now launched an inquiry into the companys labor practices read more

Shen Yun Performing Arts, a prominent dance company, has for years used children and teenagers to stage its shows worldwide. While the company earned millions of dollars per season, it offered little to no compensation to its young performers. However, recent month have seen, following an investigative report by The New York Times, the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) opening an inquiry into the groups practices.

In August, as per the NYT report, Shen Yun had violated state child labor laws by employing underage dancers and musicians without the necessary permits.

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The NYT reports that legal experts say the law requires performance groups to obtain certification before using minors in performances, ensure proper working conditions, and set aside a portion of performers earnings in a trust account. Many former Shen Yun performers, however, were unaware of such protections.

Shen Yun, operated by the Falun Gong religious movement from its sprawling campus in Orange County, New York, has drawn scrutiny for its reliance on underage performers. These performers, many from families of Falun Gong adherents, travel from overseas to join the company, receiving full scholarships that cover tuition, room, and board. However, former performers claim the company failed to provide adequate pay, long hours, and harsh conditions during their tours.

The company has used underage performers for nearly two decades but only recently applied for state certification in late September.

The application was approved, and the company must now notify the Labor Department 30 days in advance if it plans to employ minors in any future New York performances.

Shen Yuns representatives, Ying Chen and Levi Browde, defended their practices, denying any violations of labor laws. They asserted that the young performers are not employees but students gaining valuable learning experiences, with some receiving stipends.

The vast majority of students will tell you this is their dream come true, and the parents rave about the positive changes in their children, they stated.

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Despite these claims, the NYT investigation uncovered troubling working conditions. Performers on the companys grueling tours are subjected to long hours, often working from early morning until late at night. Many performers, particularly students, do the majority of the work required to stage the shows, including carrying heavy equipment and setting up for performances.

In addition to the demanding performance schedule, some performers, especially males, were required to guard tour buses at night to protect against potential interference from Chinese government agents, due to the Falun Gongs status as a banned religion in China.

Shen Yuns representatives have downplayed these claims, calling such accounts extreme and rare. They maintain that performers are not forced to work under these conditions and enjoy breaks during their tours

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Despite the companys claims, legal experts have raised concerns about the potential exploitation of young performers. Michael Minkoff, an employment lawyer in Manhattan, questioned whether the company has used loopholes in labor law to justify low pay. My suspicion is that they are treating these children and young people, even if theyre not minors, as maybe volunteers, maybe apprentices, and theyre using that as justification for not paying them, he said.

That doesnt mean its legal by any stretch of the imagination, Minkoff further said.

For years, Shen Yun has amassed substantial earnings while paying relatively small amounts to its performers. In its most recent tax return, the company reported assets exceeding $265 million. By comparison, the American Ballet Theatre in New York, with a fraction of Shen Yuns financial assets, pays its apprentices starting salaries of $986 per week under its contract with the American Guild of Musical Artists.

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Though Shen Yuns practices have been long-standing, the State Labor Department only recently launched an investigation. The department had previously been criticised for its reactive approach to child labor law enforcement, with a 2017 audit revealing that it only acted on complaints. Complaints are less likely to come from children, the audit noted, particularly if both the parents/guardians and employers violate the law.

Legal experts have pointed out that while exceptions to state and federal minimum wage laws exist for students, apprentices, and volunteers, Shen Yuns low pay rates for its performers may not meet legal standards. Meanwhile, Shen Yuns leaders continue to assert that their performers are treated well and that most find the experience to be a valuable educational opportunity.

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Russias strategy to counter Ukraines ATACMS threat spans advanced air defence systems like the S-400, offensive measures and even a recalibrated nuclear doctrine, indicating a comprehensive approach to this emerging challenge read more

(File) In this image provided by the US Army, soldiers, from the 3rd Battalion, 321st Field Artillery Regiment of the 18th Field Artillery Brigade out of Fort Bragg N.C., conduct live fire testing at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., of early versions of the Army Tactical Missile System. AP

President Joe Biden has approved Ukraines first use of US-supplied long-range missiles marking a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict. These Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) could target Russian and North Korean forces in the Kursk region of western Russia, signalling a dramatic shift in the wars dynamics. This decision has resulted in a crucial change in the military balance as the ATACMS precision strikes could challenge Russian defences, compelling Moscow to rethink its strategies and prepare for a more complex conflict that demands a combination of defensive and offensive measures.

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Strengthening air defence systems

Russias air defence, built around advanced platforms like the S-400 and S-500, plays a key role in its military strategy. These systems, designed to intercept both ballistic and cruise missiles, are essential for countering long-range threats.

To mitigate vulnerabilities, Russia is likely to deploy these systems strategically near borders and critical infrastructure. Additionally, a multi-layered defence network combining radar, surface-to-air missiles and electronic warfare could enhance interception rates. Satellite-based early warning systems would further boost defence capabilities, enabling rapid responses to incoming missile threats.

However, maintaining these systems requires significant resources and operational endurance posing challenges for Russia in the long run.

Offensive countermeasures

Russia is also expected to employ offensive actions as a deterrence and preemptive strategy. Targeting Ukraines missile launch sites could cripple its missile capabilities, while preemptive strikes on command-and-control centres might disrupt Ukraines coordination. Yet, such aggressive measures carry the risk of escalating the conflict forcing Russia to weigh the potential consequences carefully.

Military strategies now also rely heavily on electronic and cyber warfare. By jamming or spoofing missile guidance systems, Russia could neutralise Ukrainian missiles without directly engaging with incoming projectiles. Cyber operations aimed at degrading Ukraines military infrastructure could prevent launches, offering a strategic advantage while avoiding physical confrontation. These measures require sophisticated technology and constant updates to stay effective.

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The nuclear angle

In response to discussions about Ukraines potential use of Western-supplied missiles, Russia has adjusted its nuclear doctrine. At an October meeting, President Vladimir Putin proposed changes to the 2020 nuclear deterrence framework. The revisions removed Russias absolute negative security assurance, expanding the definition of a threat to include aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state with the support of a nuclear power. While not specifically aimed at Ukraine, the change is widely interpreted as a response to Natos involvement.

According to a piece published in The Lowly Institute, the updated doctrine also lowers the threshold for nuclear retaliation, including scenarios such as ballistic missile attacks or strikes on critical infrastructure. Additionally, Belarus is now formally included under Russias nuclear deterrence umbrella, signaling a shift in Russias defence posture.

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As Ukraine contemplates using ATACMS missiles against Russian territory, it must consider the risk of escalating the conflict toward a nuclear confrontation.

Long-term measures for sustained security

To secure its future, Russia is likely to pursue long-term strategies such as developing hypersonic missile defence systems to counter next-generation threats. Intelligence gathering within Ukraine will also play a crucial role in preempting missile launches. By neutralising threats before they materialise, Russia could enhance its defensive and offensive capabilities improving its position in future conflicts.

Role of ATACMS in shifting the battlefield

Bidens approval of ATACMS for Ukraine marks a significant shift in the conflict. These long-range missiles enable Ukraine to target high-value Russian assets including airfields in Crimea and military command centres. Although their limited stock could restrict their impact, the precision of ATACMS significantly enhances Ukraines ability to challenge Russian military dominance.

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Manufactured by Lockheed Martin, ATACMS can strike targets up to 190 miles away. Equipped with a warhead carrying 375 pounds of explosives, these missiles are launched using HIMARS or M270 systems already deployed by Ukraine. Originally designed in the 1980s, ATACMS are rare guided weapons that could make a significant difference in the conflict.

This decision by the US follows Russias increased assaults on Ukrainian infrastructure and the introduction of North Korean-supplied missiles into the battlefield. It highlights Washingtons commitment to bolstering Ukraines military capabilities making it more difficult for Moscow to maintain its strategic position.

Global implications for Russian defence systems

Nations that have invested in Russian defence systems, such as India, Turkey and China, are watching closely. The conflict serves as a real-world test for the effectiveness of Russian technologies like the S-400. If these systems perform well, confidence in their reliability will grow. However, any failures could prompt a shift toward Western alternatives, weakening Russias arms export market.

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The ongoing conflict also provides insight into Russias ability to support its allies during crises. The capacity to replenish interceptor missiles, update software and handle logistical challenges under pressure will shape global perceptions of Russian defence systems.

Challenges and risks

Despite its robust response options, Russia faces significant challenges. Maintaining operational readiness strains financial and military resources. Moreover, preemptive strikes could escalate the conflict and invite further sanctions, isolating Russia globally.

Balancing immediate defence needs with long-term sustainability remains a critical task. A misstep could weaken Russias strategic position both at home and abroad. Moscows response to Ukraines long-range missile capabilities will need to be multi-facetedbalancing defence, offence and diplomacywhile avoiding broader escalation.

The Ukraine war is a litmus test for Russian military technology and will have lasting implications for its global arms market. To succeed, Russia must not only neutralise immediate threats but also reinforce its long-term strategic capabilities in an increasingly complex geopolitical environment.
In his first remarks at the G20 Summit, Xi said China would support global development with eight actions, including building a high quality Belt and Road Initiative, his signature foreign policy plan that directs large Chinese investments to infrastructure projects in the developing world read more

Chinese President Xi Jinping listens as US President Joe Biden, not pictured, delivers remarks during an event launching the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty at the G20 Summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Monday. Reuters

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a raft of measures designed to support the Global South at a gathering of leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies in Rio de Janeiro, Chinas state television CCTV reported on Monday.

In his first remarks at the G20 Summit, Xi said China would support global development with eight actions, including building a high quality Belt and Road Initiative, his signature foreign policy plan that directs large Chinese investments to infrastructure projects in the developing world.

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He also announced that China, along with Brazil, South Africa and the African Union, were launching an Open Science International Cooperation Initiative designed to funnel scientific and technological innovations to the Global South.

China supports the G20 in carrying out practical cooperation for the benefit of the Global South, Xi said, according to state news agency Xinhua, adding that Chinas imports from developing countries are expected to top $8 trillion between now and 2030.

China has always been a member of the Global South, a reliable and long-term partner of developing countries, and an activist and doer in support of global development, Xi added.

China does not seek to be a single player, but rather hopes that 100 flowers will blossom and that it will work hand in hand with the vast number of developing countries to achieve modernization.

Xis focus on the Global South comes as Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his peers from developing economies push for a more central role in multilateral talks. The two leaders will meet in Brasilia on Wednesday, as Xi wraps up his stay in Brazil with a state visit.

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Brazil has taken strides to elevate voices of the Global South by insisting that the African Union should be a formal member of the G20, citing the example of the European Union. The AU is participating fully in this years G20 on behalf of African nations.

While the rise of the Global South in the G20 has caused some discomfort among richer countries, it presents an opportunity for China, given its close economic and political ties with most of the developing world, particularly in Africa, where it is a major lender.

The G20 was launched after the 200708 financial crisis to include important emerging economies in talks that had been confined to the Group of Seven industrialized nations, and has become a key venue for economic and financial cooperation.

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It represents around 85% of global GDP, over 75% of global trade and about two-thirds of the world population.

The concept of the Global South emerged to designate developing, emerging or lower-income countries, mostly in the southern hemisphere, and replace the term Third World after the 1945-90 Cold War.
On the afternoon of November 17, 2024 local time, President Xi Jinping arrived in Rio de Janeiro by special plane to attend the 19th G20 Summit and pay a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of President of the Federative Republic of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

When the special plane arrived at Galeao Air Force Base in Rio de Janeiro, senior officials of the Brazilian government warmly greeted Xi Jinping. The Brazilian Air Force buglers blew the horn in salute, and guards of honor lined up on both sides of a red carpet.

Xi Jinping made an arrival statement at the airport, extending sincere greetings and best wishes to the government and people of Brazil.

Xi Jinping noted that he paid four visits to Brazil, witnessing the development and changes in the country over the past 30 years. Xi said he felt very close to Brazil as he stepped onto this hospitable land again. China and Brazil are like-minded good friends and good partners moving forward hand in hand. As two major developing countries in the eastern and western hemispheres respectively, China and Brazil, though separated by vast oceans, are attracted to each other and echo each other at a distance. In recent years, China and Brazil have continued to deepen political mutual trust, yielded fruitful results in practical cooperation, achieved flourishing people-to-people and cultural cooperation, and showed new vitality of the times in the traditional friendship. China and Brazil have also jointly made the just voice of the Global South in the international arena and made important contributions to promoting world peace and development.

Xi Jinping pointed out that this year, the two countries grandly celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Standing at an important historical juncture of building on past achievements and forging ahead, he looks forward to engaging in an in-depth exchange of views with President Lula on further strengthening China-Brazil relations, synergizing the two countries' development strategies, and international and regional issues of mutual interest and concern. He expressed the belief that the visit will further enhance strategic mutual trust between the two countries, deepen bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and lead China-Brazil relations toward the next "golden 50 years". Xi Jinping said that he also looks forward to attending the 19th G20 Summit and working with all parties to hold important discussions, seek common development, jointly advocate an equal and orderly multi-polar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization and ensure that the G20 will continue to play an even greater role as an important platform for international economic cooperation.

Cai Qi, Wang Yi, and other members of the entourage arrived on the same plane.

Chinese Ambassador to Brazil Zhu Qingqiao also greeted President Xi Jinping at the airport.

When President Xi Jinping left Lima after concluding his attendance at the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and state visit to Peru, President of the Council of Ministers of Peru Gustavo Lino Adriazen Olaya, Minister of Defense Walter Astudillo, and others saw him off at the airport.

When Xi Jinping's motorcade drove from the hotel to the airport, many residents spontaneously gathered on both sides of the road, waving to the motorcade. Representatives of overseas Chinese, Chinese-funded institutions, and overseas Chinese students waved the national flags of China and Peru, celebrating the complete success of President Xi Jinping's visit.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday mark the official kickoff to the holiday shopping season, a time of year synonymous with deep discounts and incredible deals. However, amidst the shopping frenzy, its crucial to stay vigilant against the surge in coupon scams that prey on unsuspecting consumers.

According to ExpressVPNs blog post, you can follow several tips to navigate the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping landscape safely. Well delve into the various types of coupon scams you might encounter, expose the tactics scammers employ, and provide actionable tips to ensure you score genuine discounts without falling victim to fraud.

A Guide to Avoiding Coupon Scams

Spotting Fake Coupon Sites

Beware of websites offering unrealistically high discounts, such as 60% off at your favorite store. These fake coupon sites often mimic legitimate platforms but aim to steal your personal information. They might require you to sign up or fill out forms, but instead of providing a coupon, theyre phishing for your data. These sites can look professional and mimic popular brands, making them difficult to spot at first.

Phishing Emails

During the holiday season, your inbox is likely filled with coupon offers. Be cautious of phishing emails disguised as legitimate deals. Clicking on links in these emails can lead to malicious websites or malware. These scams are often well-crafted and can deceive even experienced shoppers.

Beware of Social Media Scams

Social media platforms are flooded with discount deals during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. While some offers are genuine, others are scams. Fake ads can redirect you to fraudulent websites designed to steal your personal information or sell you fake products. Remember the Costco coupon scam? People were tricked by a fake 75 USD coupon on Facebook and lost their data.

Avoid Online Shopping Pop-Up Scams

While browsing online stores, you might encounter pop-ups offering significant discounts. However, these pop-ups are often scams. They can redirect you to malicious websites or infect your device with malware. Be cautious and avoid clicking on these pop-ups.

Protect Your Data from Coupon Verification Scams

Be wary of websites that demand verification before you can redeem a coupon. This often involves providing personal details or downloading apps. These are common tactics used by scammers to steal your data or infect your device. Legitimate coupons typically dont require such extra steps. If a website asks for personal information or app downloads, avoid it.

Dont Fall for Survey Scams

Surveys promising quick rewards often turn out to be scams. They collect personal information without delivering on their promises. Once you share your details, they can be used for malicious purposes like identity theft or sold to third parties. Avoid these deceptive surveys and focus on legitimate coupon sources.

Beware of Fake Coupon Aggregators

Fake coupon aggregator websites promise to provide convenient access to the best deals. However, these platforms often lead to fraudulent websites designed to steal your personal information. Always verify the legitimacy of the website and avoid entering personal information on unfamiliar platforms.

Avoid Malware-Infected Coupon Apps

Downloading apps that promise exclusive coupons might seem tempting, but some contain malware. These apps can track your activity, steal your personal information, or infect your device. Be cautious when downloading apps and research their developers before installing.

Premium Coupon Scams: Avoid Paying Upfront

Scammers offer premium coupons that require upfront payment. They promise exclusive discounts, but once you pay, the coupon and the scammer disappear. Remember, legitimate coupons are always free. Any offer that asks for payment upfront is likely a scam.

Coupon Abuse: How Misuse Impacts Everyone

While scammers pose a threat, coupon abuse is another issue. Some shoppers misuse legitimate coupons, either by using them multiple times or sharing exclusive codes. This practice harms businesses and can lead to stricter coupon policies, making it harder for everyone to find good deals.

Additional Tips for Safe Coupon Shopping

Use Secure Networks: Avoid using public Wi-Fi for online shopping, as it can be less secure.

Avoid using public Wi-Fi for online shopping, as it can be less secure. Check URLs Carefully: Ensure the websites URL is correct and matches the legitimate retailers domain.

Ensure the websites URL is correct and matches the legitimate retailers domain. Look for HTTPS: Websites that use HTTPS encryption provide a more secure connection.

Websites that use HTTPS encryption provide a more secure connection. Be Skeptical of Urgent Offers: Scammers often create a sense of urgency to pressure you into making quick decisions.

Scammers often create a sense of urgency to pressure you into making quick decisions. Verify Coupon Codes: Before using a coupon, double-check its validity on the retailers website.

By following these tips and staying vigilant, you can significantly reduce your risk of falling victim to coupon scams and enjoy a safe and rewarding online shopping experience.
Stuffcool has expanded its powerbank range with the introduction of the GIGA 65W Super Fast Charging Powerbank, marketed as the smallest 20,000mAh power solution with a built-in Type-C cable.

Designed with modern travelers in mind, the compact powerbank weighs only 380 grams and measures 6.8 x 10.8 x 3.25 cm. The GIGA Powerbank features a built-in Type-C cable that supports 65W PD output, enabling it to charge devices such as the MacBook Air, 13 MacBook Pro, and other compatible laptops.

It also offers a significant advantage to Samsung users, thanks to its 45W Super-Fast Charging 2.0, making it perfect for charging Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, S23, and S24 models. Additionally, the GIGA Powerbank supports 65W PD PPS output, allowing devices like iPhones and Pixels to charge up to 50% in just 30 minutes.

It is also compatible with the Nothing Phone 2 and Nintendo Switch, making it a versatile option for various devices. The USB-A port provides 18W output for added flexibility, ensuring you can quickly and efficiently charge smartphones, tablets, and laptops. The GIGA Powerbank is made in India and is BIS certified.

Quick Specifications: Stuffcool GIGA 65W 20000mAh Powerbank

Compact design

20,000mAh battery capacity

65W PD PPS output

Built-in 65W Type-C cable

18W USB-A port

Samsung Super Fast Charging 2.0

Made in India and BIS certified

Weight: 360g

Dimensions: 68 x 108 x 32.5 mm

Technical Specs

Input (Type-C / Type-C Cable):

DC 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/3A, 15V/3A, 20V/2.25A (45W Max)

DC 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/3A, 15V/3A, 20V/2.25A (45W Max) Output (Type-C / Type-C Cable):

DC 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/3A, 15V/3A, 20V/3.25A (65W Max)

DC 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/3A, 15V/3A, 20V/3.25A (65W Max) PPS Output:

DC 3.3-11V/5A, 3.3-20V/3.25A

DC 3.3-11V/5A, 3.3-20V/3.25A USB-A Output:

DC 5V/3A, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A (18W Max)

Pricing and Availability

The Stuffcool GIGA 65W 20,000mAh Powerbank is priced at Rs. 4,299 and is available for purchase on the companys official website and Amazon.in starting today.
Lava launched the AGNI 3 smartphone in India last month. Today, the company has announced that it has seen resounding success with a staggering 200% growth during its launch week and a threefold increase in volume compared to its predecessor, the AGNI 2.

Lava says that its success is attributed to a powerful 360-degree marketing campaign launched on September 24th. This comprehensive strategy encompassed high-impact print advertisements, strategic digital media placements, prominent airport branding, and collaborations with influential figures, said the company.

Over the two-week campaign period, Lava said that it successfully engaged over 118 million people, resulting in more than 1.5 million searches across various platforms.

Between October 4th and October 8th, the AGNI 3 was met with an overwhelmingly positive response, fueled by a high-impact launch event and strategic promotional activities, said the company. It added that the campaign saw a reach of over 29 million, generating more than 70 million ad impressions, and amassing over 41 million video views.

Upcoming Lava phones

Lava is gearing up for the YUVA 4 with HD+ display and a large battery priced under Rs. 10,000, and the company says that it will not compromise on style and functionality.

The Lava YUVA 2 5G that will launch later this November will also be priced under Rs. 10,000 and promises excellent performance and a range of exciting features.

The Lava Blaze DUO 5G that will also launch later this November first for the retail market will feature dual-display that include a secondary AMOLED rear display and will be priced in Rs. 20,000 range.
Anglican Diocese of Melbourne Calls for Genocide Recognition

The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne has joined calls for the 1915--1923 Armenian, Assyrian and Greek genocides to be recognised by the state government.

More than 3 million Armenian, Assyrian/Syriac and Greek Orthodox Christians suffered from the systematic mass murder, expulsion and forced conversion beginning on 24 April 1915.

This population continues to be one of the most persecuted, dispossessed and scattered in the world.

President of the Victorian Council of Churches Deacon Joseph Leach said that a parliamentary declaration of the genocides would let Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Australians know that their suffering is recognised.

In a letter to the Victorian government, Archbishop Philip Freier recalled the historical commitment Victoria showed those affected by the genocides.

When the atrocities occurred 110 years ago, the Melbourne diocese was on the forefront of raising funds and providing relief.

"It is a history that should inspire immense pride in our nation," Archbishop Freier said.

Mr Leach said the VCC had written to parliament to recognise the simple justice of it.

He said when such wounding events happened in history they needed to be recognised as they were important to healing.

Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia Michael Kolokossian said many Armenian, Assyrian and Greek Australians struggled to commemorate their history openly.

"Just as we have taken steps to honour and heal with Indigenous Australians, it is time for Victoria to stand with these communities, affirming their history and helping generations move toward peace and reconciliation," he said.

The NSW, South Australian and Tasmanian state parliaments have already passed similar motions.
Seven Chinese villages recognized as Best Tourism Villages by UN Tourism

(People's Daily App) 11:22, November 18, 2024

Seven Chinese villages have been honored as Best Tourism Villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism). The decision was announced at a UN Tourism meeting in Cartagena, Colombia, on Friday. The seven villages bring the total number of Chinese villages so honored to 15.

(Video editor: Chen Shuang; Interns Cai Yulan and Zhang Huan also contributed to the video)

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Exercise Phoenix Express 2024 Concludes in Tunisia

By U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa / U.S. Sixth Fleet Public Affairs , United States Africa Command TUNIS, Tunisia Nov 15, 2024

U.S. 6th Fleet and Tunisian Naval Forces hosted the closing ceremony for exercise Phoenix Express, concluding the 19th iteration of Phoenix Express on November 15, 2024.

This year's exercise was hosted in Tunisia with training taking place throughout the Southern Mediterranean Sea and territorial waters of participating North African nations. Members of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army worked alongside African and European Allies and partners to incorporate the use of the multinational communication center (MNCC), improving communications among maritime forces from Europe, North Africa, and the United States.

This 12-day exercise brings together North African, European, and U.S. maritime forces as part of a global network of maritime security forces to enhance cooperation and expertise in maritime security operations in the Southern Mediterranean Sea.

"Phoenix Express is one of the most significant ways our nations collaborate," said Vice Adm. J.T. Anderson, Commander U.S. 6th Fleet. "It is crucial to improve regional cooperation, maritime domain awareness, information sharing, and tactical expertise with our Allies and partner nations to counter sea-based illicit activity in North Africa and the Southern Mediterranean Sea."

Phoenix Express focuses on increasing the capabilities and interoperability of land- and sea-based maritime security operations. The use of the MNCC and maritime operations center sought to improve communications with participating Allies and partner nations. Ship-boarding, diving, and search and rescue exercises allowed participating nations to share information, refine tactics, and improve techniques to bolster maritime security in the region.

"Tunisia is honored to host Phoenix Express 2024," said Commodore Noureddine Chakroun, Tunisian Navy Deputy Chief of Staff in Charge of Operations. "Our strategic location in the Mediterranean allowed us to facilitate multinational operations that addressed shared security objectives by collectively addressing maritime security challenges."

Participating nations included Algeria, Belgium, Georgia, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Turkiye, and the United States.

Phoenix Express is one of three regional maritime exercises led by U.S. Naval Forces Africa, facilitated by Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet, as part of a comprehensive strategy to provide collaborative opportunities to African forces and international partners to address maritime security concerns.

Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners to advance U.S. national interests, security and stability in Europe and Africa.

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Enhance Preparedness through Kolekole PassArmy leads joint exercise

By Robert Haynes November 15, 2024

WHEELER ARMY AIRFIELD, Hawai'i -- On Nov. 12-13, U.S. Army Garrison Hawai'i (USAG Hawai'i) hosted a comprehensive tabletop exercise (TTX) with county and state emergency services, including the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) and Honolulu Fire Department (HFD), at the installation's Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The Kolekole Pass TTX was designed to prepare for potential emergency evacuations from O'ahu's west sidespanning communities from Nanakuli to Makahaand highlight the essential evacuation route through Kolekole Pass in times of a man-made or natural crisis.

"The Leeward coast doesn't have any egress points after the Kalaeloa Road exit. This is over ten miles of coastal communities that can be isolated during a disaster. The Kolekole pass is essential to providing an alternative solution to emergency evacuation procedures for the thousands of residents that could be affected," said James Williams, chief operations officer, Directorate of Emergency Services. "Without this initiative, history has shown us that a failure to prepare will cost lives and increase suffering. I commend all the state, county, and federal partners on the swift action to develop a solution. I believe it is essential to have this backup plan to mitigate unforeseen events. And I believe that the plan will succeed with our combined efforts."

The exercise served as a critical initiative in disaster readiness, focusing on the strategic route starting in Nanakuli at the Lualualei Naval Reservation front gate, moving through Kolekole Pass, and exiting into Wahiawa via Schofield Barracks. This collaboration underscored the importance of a coordinated response involving multiple agencies, including the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS), U.S. Army Hawai'i (USARHAW), Installation Management Command Pacific (IMCOM-Pacific), Commander Naval Region Hawai'i Emergency Management Chief (CNRH), Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH), Honolulu Department of Emergency Management (DEM), Hawai'i State Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA), and the Hawai'i Department of Transportation (HDOT), among others.

"Today's TTX was an invaluable step in working with our Federal, State, and City County partners to help pave the way for an effective emergency evacuation route potentially saving countless lives in times of specific critical events," said Scott D. Carter, chief of operations and plans, Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization, and Security.

Twenty-four hours prior to the TTX, USAG Hawai'i staff planners conducted a joint staff ride with key HPD and HFD personnel, touring the pass to evaluate the landscape, conditions of the road, and identify critical points that would influence evacuation plans and operational effectiveness.

"The Kolekole Pass exercise held at USAG Hawai'i's Emergency Operations Center is a critical step that underscores the power of collaboration in ensuring the safety and resilience of our communities in Hawai'i," said Daniel W. Spencer, Protection Division Chief, DPTMS. "Today, we focus on the monumental impact of multi-agency engagement with USAG Hawaii concerning the opening of Kolekole Pass in the event of an emergency."

Hawai'i's unique vulnerability to hurricanes, floods, wildland fire, and even volcanic eruptions necessitates a high level of preparedness, making such exercises essential to ensure communication, coordination, and effective response capabilities among involved agencies. For the communities of O'ahu, especially those in west-side regions, Kolekole Pass offers a viable evacuation route for residents during crises, providing critical access for emergency responders, medical personnel, and essential supplies.

The TTX underscored the value of interagency information sharing, allowing for real-time situational updates on weather, road conditions, and resource availability to enhance decision-making processes. This integrated approach reflects the larger goal of bolstering community resilience, reinforcing the bond between Hawai'i's military and civilian populations, and advancing collective preparedness across all fronts.

As USAG Hawai'i and its partners continue to work towards a unified emergency response framework, this exercise symbolizes a proactive step toward being part of a broader effort to protect the people of Hawai'i and ensure they have the necessary resources and routes available in times of need.

"By working together, we are ensuring that our communities are not only ready to respond to emergencies but also capable of recovering quickly. The opening of Kolekole Pass is just one piece of a much larger problem setone that includes training exercises, public awareness campaigns, and ongoing dialogues among all stakeholders," Spencer emphasized.

With this renewed focus on preparedness, USAG Hawai'i and its partners are committed to making Hawai'i a safer place for all residents.

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Pennsylvania Guard Soldiers Participate in Lithuania Exercise

By Brad Rhen, Joint Force Headquarters - Pennsylvania National Guard November 15, 2024

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. -- Soldiers from the Pennsylvania National Guard's 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team participated in Exercise Strong Griffin in Lithuania.

A total of 71 Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment; 1st Squadron, 104th Cavalry Regiment; and the 2nd IBCT headquarters took part in the exercise Oct. 14-31 at General Silvestras Zukauskas Training Area in Pabrade.

Exercise Strong Griffin is an annual training exercise to rehearse the planning and execution of Lithuanian and allied troops' defensive operations. Over 2,500 troops from Lithuania, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States participated in Strong Griffin this year.

"This was a great opportunity to deploy Soldiers forward to eastern Europe that then needed to quickly integrate into the formation of our NATO partners to conduct defensive operations against an armored unit," said Capt. Daniel Kysela, a training officer with the 2nd IBCT. "Our Soldiers were able to work through the problems of integration in a lower threat environment and build partnership with our aligned unit through the State Partnership Program."

The main training audience for the exercise was the Lithuanian Griffin Brigade's 21st Battalion. An infantry platoon from the 1-109th Infantry and a calvary section from the 1-104th Cavalry were attached to the battalion for the exercise.

Among those participating in the exercise were 23 Soldiers from B Troop, 1-104th Cavalry.

Capt. Justin Gonzalez, B Troop commander, said the mission for the exercise was to integrate into a Lithuanian platoon, execute reconnaissance tasks and conduct defensive operations in urban and forested terrain.

"The purpose of this exercise was to augment the Griffin Brigade's 21st Battalion with subject matter experts on reconnaissance tasks in order to strengthen partnerships, expand knowledge and execute joint operations with our state partner," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said the exercise enabled the troop's Soldiers to apply practical knowledge and training in a maneuver space that allowed junior and senior leaders to make decisions in a structured training environment.

"This experience was invaluable as my Soldiers were able to integrate with a partner nation and apply shared experiences and creative thinking to receive and process information and make recommendations to better shape the battlefield," Gonzalez said. "Our Soldiers made lasting impressions and friendships with the 21st Battalion's Recce Platoon, which I know will only further strengthen continued joint exercises we hope to attend in the years to come."

The Pennsylvania National Guard and Lithuania have partnered through the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program since it began in 1993. The two sides have taken part in over 800 security cooperation engagements, including senior leader engagements, subject matter expert exchanges, familiarization visits and cooperative training and exercises.

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Press Release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the anniversary of the illegal declaration of the pseudo-state in the occupied part of Cyprus

Press and Information Office, Ministry of Interior, Republic of Cyprus

15-11-2024

Today marks forty-one years since the illegal declaration of independence of the secessionist entity created by Turkey in the territory of the Republic of Cyprus under Turkish military occupation. An action that has resulted to the continuing violation of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as of international legality, the principles of the United Nations (UN) Charter and the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.

The Republic of Cyprus condemns the ongoing efforts by Turkey and the occupying regime to promote the so-called "two-state solution", in violation of international legality and UN Security Council Resolutions.

The international community, including the European Union (EU), has made it clear, that it supports efforts to resolve the Cyprus Question only within the agreed framework, on the basis of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality, as described in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions. In this context, we look forward to the implementation of the next steps, which were agreed in New York in October, in order to create the conditions that will allow a return to the negotiating table.

The Government of Cyprus remains firmly committed to this effort, with the aim of reuniting Cyprus and its people, in accordance with international law, the UN Security Council Resolutions, the EU Acquis Communautaire and the values and principles the EU is based upon.

We call on all states to remain steadfastly committed to the UN Security Council Resolutions 541(1983) and 550(1984), which unequivocally condemn this secessionist and legally void unilateral action. We reiterate that we will never accept the faits accomplis created by the continuing occupation, nor any attempts to legitimise the division of our homeland.

We are working for a comprehensive solution that will fulfill the expectations of all Cypriots, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, for the liberation and reunification of our country, and for a peaceful future of prosperity for all citizens of Cyprus within the EU.

(MP/NZ/MS)

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November 15, 2024

Release

Australia-Japan-United States Trilateral Defense Ministers' Meeting November 2024 Joint Statement

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles, Japanese Minister of Defense Nakatani Gen, and United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III convened the fourteenth Trilateral Defense Ministers' Meeting (TDMM) on 17 November 2024 in Darwin, Australia.

Through this fourteenth meeting, we affirm the longevity and enduring commitment of our partnership. Grounded in shared values, deep trust, and our unbreakable commitment to strengthening collective deterrence, our cooperation continues to evolve. We acknowledge significant progress made to implement activities and practical areas of cooperation set forth in our 2023 and May 2024 Joint Statements.

We are united in our steadfast commitment to a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, where the rule of law is upheld, sovereignty is respected, and nations can make decisions free from coercion or threats of force.

We reaffirm our consistent and unwavering support for ASEAN centrality and unity, ASEAN-led regional architecture, and look forward to a successful ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Lao PDR this week. We reinforce our commitment to work with partners, including Canada, France, Germany, India, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom to increase engagement with Southeast Asian partners and support the region's security priorities.

We recognize the criticality of backing Pacific-led responses to Pacific-security challenges, consistent with the Pacific Island Forum's 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. We commit to coordinate our defense engagement with Pacific counterparts, including capacity-building, Women, Peace and Security activities, and working through and with Pacific-led architecture such as the Joint Heads of Pacific Security and the South Pacific Defense Ministers' Meeting, of which Australia is a member and Japan and the United States are observers.

We reiterate our serious concern about destabilizing actions in the East and South China Seas, including dangerous conduct by the People's Republic of China (PRC) against Philippines and other coastal state vessels. We reiterate our strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion. It is important that all states are free to exercise rights and freedoms consistent with international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, including freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the sea. We reaffirm the need for all states to pursue the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law and that the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award is final and legally binding upon the parties to those proceedings.

We emphasize the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and call for the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.

We strongly condemn North Korea's destabilizing activities, including its series of reckless launches using ballistic missile technology, and its intercontinental ballistic missile test on 31 October 2024. These are

serious violations of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and pose a grave threat to international peace and stability. We reaffirm our continuing commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, consistent with UNSC resolutions. We express serious concern for Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security following reports of the transfer of ballistic missiles and other materiel to Russia from third countries to sustain its aggression against Ukraine, and the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia. We urge Russia to immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine. We concur in the importance of continuing to remind third countries, including the PRC, of their duty to uphold international law and in no way to validate, support, or condone Russia's attempts to acquire territory by force, in violation of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. These developments have destabilising consequences for the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions.

To support regional stability and collective deterrence, we commit to enhancing our defense cooperation under the following four pillars:

Expanding trilateral operational cooperation

Recognizing the critical role the trilateral partnership plays to uphold regional stability, we commit to trilateral policy coordination and to consult each other on regional security issues and contingencies. We announce the establishment of the "Trilateral Defense Consultations" to support alignment of policy and operational objectives of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), the Australian Defense Force (ADF), and the United States forces from peacetime to contingency.

We welcome Japan's increased participation in Australia-United States force posture cooperation activities by increasing trilateral interoperability with the ADF and United States through: Annual trilateral amphibious training among the ADF, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, and United States Marine Rotational Force - Darwin in northern Australia and the Indo-Pacific region from 2025, beginning with TALISMAN SABRE 2025. Increasing Japan's contribution to Exercise SOUTHERN JACKAROO and Exercise TALISMAN SABRE in Australia, including more complex scenarios in order to increase trilateral interoperability from 2025.

We reaffirm our commitment to trilateralize key Japan-United States exercises in Japan such as Australia's inaugural participation in Exercise ORIENT SHIELD from 2025, and enhance the ADF's participation in exercises such as Exercise YAMA SAKURA, KEEN EDGE, and KEEN SWORD.

We continue to grow trilateral intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region as a priority, including Australian personnel's participation in the Japan-United States Bilateral Information Analysis Cell (BIAC). We work towards further commitment of Australian intelligence and capabilities for the BIAC.

We intend to enhance trilateral air interoperability enabled by the Australia-Japan-United States Memorandum of Intent signed at Exercise PITCH BLACK 2024. We continue to explore future opportunities to increase trilateral cooperative activities, including reciprocal deployments of air assets such as fighter and transport aircraft, to all three countries from 2025, through Exercise COPE NORTH, Exercise BUSHIDO GUARDIAN, and Exercise PITCH BLACK.

Building advanced capabilities together

We acknowledge progress and expanded cooperation under the trilateral Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) Projects Arrangement, particularly collaboration on composite aerospace materials and autonomous systems.

We commend steady progress of discussion in the area of collaborative combat aircraft and autonomy and commit to find cooperative opportunities in this area.

Our countries intend to continue to work together to strengthen regional deterrence, including through cooperating on a networked air and missile defense architecture to counter the growing range of threats throughout the Indo-Pacific. We continue to make progress on our regional architecture through deepened information sharing to improve each country's ability to respond to threats. We continue to cooperate through various activities including trilateral training, exercises, and exchanges. The inaugural trilateral regional air and missile defense live-fire event at Exercise TALISMAN SABRE 2027 will be a key milestone.

We welcome progress on Japan's consultation with AUKUS partners under AUKUS Pillar II, with the initial focus to improve interoperability with Japan's maritime autonomous systems.

AUKUS partners welcome Japan's October 2024 participation as an observer in Exercise AUTONOMOUS WARRIOR under the AUKUS Pillar II Maritime Big Play series, an important step in our practical collaboration. AUKUS partners look forward to continued consultations with Japan to determine projects for future cooperation under AUKUS Pillar II.

In order to promote trilateral defense industrial cooperation, we concur in further collaboration, including within the Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR), a multilateral forum of allies and partners aimed at strengthening defense industrial resilience in the Indo-Pacific region, and welcome increased opportunities for interaction between Australian, Japanese, and United States defense industries such as holding the Australia-Japan-U.S. Unmanned Aerial Systems Defense Symposium in Tokyo this October.

Planning together

We welcome bilateral initiatives that will improve trilateral operational coordination, planning and information sharing between respective command centres, such as Commencement of the first Japanese Joint Staff Liaison Officer in Australia's Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC) in November this year, while acknowledging the commitment to send an ADF liaison officer to JSDF Joint Operations Command (JJOC) once established in 2025. The United States-Japan Security Consultative Committee ('2+2') announcement to reconstitute U.S. Forces Japan as a Joint Force Headquarters, which will serve as an important JJOC counterpart.



Demonstrating our presence in the region

We welcome greater defense cooperation between Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States in the South China Sea, including through regular Maritime Cooperative Activities to support regional maritime security and uphold international law.

We welcome the success of our maritime patrol aircraft collaboration activity with India on the sidelines of Exercise KAKADU in September 2024.

We commit to enhancing Australia-Japan-India-United States maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific from 2025, acknowledging India's leadership role in conceptualizing the idea of closer collaboration in maritime surveillance.

We intend to deepen cooperation with Pacific island countries, including through Australia, Japan, and United States contribution to Exercise PUK PUK in Papua New Guinea in 2025 and future iterations of Operation RENDER SAFE.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3967118/

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November 15, 2024

Transcript

Michael J. McCord, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), Holds a Press Briefing on the Results of DOD FY 2024 Department-Wide Financial Statement Audit

Michael J. McCord, Undersecretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer

STAFF: Okay, we're going to go ahead and get started. Good afternoon, all. Thank you for being here today and thank you to those who are joining on the phone as well. I'm Bob Ditchey. I'll be moderating today's press briefing and following discussion on DOD's results of the FY 2024 full financial statement audit.

Joining me today is the Undersecretary of Defense Comptroller and Chief Financial Officer, Honorable Michael J. McCord. Our discussion is on the record though embargoed until you receive an email from me later this evening. Once the Office of Inspector General sends agency wide results to the Comptroller, I will send you an email releasing the embargo.

For this discussion, we have 30 minutes, I'll provide a final five-minute warning before the end of the briefing. When I call on you, please introduce yourself and your organization and please limit your questions to one and one follow up. With that, it is my pleasure to introduce to you the Honorable Michael J. McCord.

UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (COMPTROLLER)/CFO MICHAEL J. MCCORD: Thank you, Bob. Good afternoon and thank you all for joining us. I'm Mike McCord, the department's CFO, and this will be my final time discussing our financial audit with you today. We're here to discuss the completion of the department's seventh consecutive audit of the DOD consolidated financial statements.

Each year teams of independent public accountants audit the department's $4.1 trillion in assets and $4.3 trillion in liabilities. The DOD Office of Inspector General audits the department's overall or consolidated financial statements in support of that independent public accounting firms audit the individual military services and other DOD reporting entities, including the defense agencies that are all pieces of that overall audit that that the IG looks at. In total, the overall DOD audit is comprised of or supported by 28 separate audits of these different components.

There are also audits or exams of DOD processes such as military pay or civilian pay across multiple entities and I will speak to those exams as well. I understand from my team, we just got the DOD IG's final report. So we will be able to release that DOD agency financial report later today. DOD reporting entities will also be releasing their individual supporting audit reports today.

These reports represent a great deal of hard work by the department's financial management community and other key personnel, both military and civilian. I want to thank them the independent public accounting firms and the IG for their hard work and dedication to transparency and financial management excellence.

The Inspector General will provide a disclaimer of opinion on the overall DOD financial statements. This result was not a surprise and I know that on the surface it doesn't sound like we're making progress. However, that is not the case. I believe the department has turned a corner in its understanding of the challenges and more importantly in addressing those challenges.

Momentum is on our side and throughout the department. There is a strong commitment and belief in our ability to achieve an unmodified opinion on behalf of the department's senior management. I assess that DOD continues to make progress toward the Congressional mandate for achieving an unmodified audit opinion. In FY '28, We were already halfway there last year in terms of assets under clean opinions.

This year, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency or DTRA, achieved an unmodified audit opinion in only its second year of doing a standalone audit. This brings the total of unmodified opinions up to nine so far and one entity maintained its qualified opinion. Three additional opinions are pending as testing continues and we expect to hold our ground and maintain our progress for these three as well.

The FY '23 Marine Corps unmodified opinion and now the FY '24 DTRA unmodified opinion are the first two new ones that we've gotten since FY '20. So, we've made progress both those last two years.

I want to make five points about the results of this year's audit. The first point is our progress on addressing material weaknesses. A key metric that we track is the presence or absence of material weaknesses. This term roughly translates to a concern that you must resolve to be successful. In FY '20 for the department as a whole closed one DOD wide material weakness called Contingent Legal Liabilities, which demonstrated our progress on developing and executing our internal controls.

Beyond that, there was real progress inside our DOD components. These are the 28 different audits I talked about on this front this year. The military departments and defense agencies closed seven material weaknesses and got downgrades. Downgrade is a positive statement for those of you who don't track the terminology.

Downgrade is good on 12 more, so that's a 46 percent increase over the 13 weaknesses that we addressed or closed last year. Momentum we gained last year to resolving DOD's fund balance with Treasury material weakness, which is one of Secretary Austin's foundational priorities for the audit carried forward this year.

In FY '24, eight DOD reporting entities closed or downgraded a material weakness on fund balance with Treasury. This includes the Army's General Fund, the Navy's Working Capital Fund and the Air Force working capital fund. So these are big rocks. For our defense agencies, Defense Information Systems Agency, DISA resolved, both their general fund and their working capital fund balance weakness, DTRA, DARPA and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency also got it done this year.

So, DOD has closed or downgraded 12 material weaknesses on fund balance with Treasury over the last two fiscal years. So, in addition to the reporting entities that already had favorable audit opinions, $703 billion or 82 percent of our DOD wide 8$00 and $856 billion balance is now free of material weaknesses.

So, this now means that the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Air Force and DISA have gotten their house in order on all of their funding or cash as some people might think of it for both their general funds and their working capital funds. Unless you think this is simple to do for context, the department has improved from less than 7 percent to over 82 percent of its funding being free of material weaknesses.

Since I returned to this job and we're talking about a universe here of approximately 1,500 different active DOD accounts in the Treasury with a value of over $856 billion that must be reconciled.

Second Point Department also demonstrated improvements in system controls, completing 27 DOD-wide system of process exams and achieving 17 unmodified and eight qualified opinions. So that's 17 plus 8, 25 out of 27 were positive, only two exams were adverse. So 25 favorable opinions is 93 percent of the processes that were examined and that's up from 81 percent that were favorable when I returned in FY '21. The results of these exams are used by other auditors, so a positive result on a system wide process means other people don't have to recheck that same thing. It reduces duplication.

Third point, in addition to the progress we've made on the funding side of the House and the systems and processes, which was my second point. We're also moving the needle on our physical assets. One of the most impactful efforts was the Air Force's successful push to downgrade their material weakness on their general fund military equipment.

We're talking here about $115 billion or 26 percent of their assets. So, in the last two years, I just mentioned that all their funding in the Treasury and their military equipment, they've gone from 0 to 71 percent of their assets being clean, if you will, in two years. So, this downgrade means that there are two most significant balance sheet accounts are now free of material weakness. So that's point number three on the property side.

Fourth, leadership engagement is critical to success and we're seeing the results of sustained commitment in this department. The Marine Corps led the way by being the first military service to achieve an unmodified opinion last year. We do expect them to hold that, although that is one of the three that is pending more testing when I said there were three that are not done yet.

To further accelerate remediation efforts toward achieving the 2028 DOD-wide goal, we're prioritizing our efforts to strengthen our control environment and continuing to resolve material weaknesses that are in our way.

Fifth point. No single tool or process change is the one silver bullet that's going to get us over the goal line. But the use of data analytics and AI specifically are advanced platform is definitely helping us pick up the pace of progress, expanding our use of these kind of tools is certainly part of that path to meeting the goal.

So that's five points about kind of the substance. I just want to take one step, not back, but to the side on what is the point of it, what is the value of it. We all realize there is benefits from all the time and effort and money that goes into this beyond just getting an opinion.

In a recent report, GAO report entitled quote, "DOD has identified benefits of financial statement audits and could expand its monitoring." GAO agreed with this point that there's value beyond the opinion itself. GAO cited operational benefits, including improvements to our systems and data, mitigating cybersecurity risk, enhancing visibility over your assets, having more efficient processes and that there could be additional benefits beyond that.

Some of the benefits that we're seeing so far include the Army's improvements to its integrated personnel and pay system that consolidates pay information personnel information from over 50 different legacy systems also promotes secure and consistent processes in support of our troops and improves the service delivery to those troops.

Air Force has deployed 76 robotic process automation tools, also known as RPAs or bots, more commonly since they began that program in 2019. These RPAs have saved roughly 577,000 labor hours and improved the audit ability of 76 different processes through better or quicker documentation.

On the Navy side, they've converted or moved $20 billion of their funding to their more auditable Navy enterprise resource planning system, CRP, through migrating nine major nine major Navy commands and decommissioning 11 systems and transitioning three more budget offices to the CRP. They also migrated their BUPERs [Ph] Bureau of Naval Personnel to the CRP that has 1,400 users. So that was also a big lift for them.

Finally, I mentioned ADVANA [Ph] a second ago, I'll just touch on it again. ADVANA, of course, was developed in this shop for audit purposes, but it has been and will continue to be used to help the department of both across both audit and non-audit purposes. It's been used for COVID response, for operational response.

We're using it for contingency reporting going forward, including support to Haiti today, Tracking Pacific Deterrence Initiative, Hurricane Helene or Milton response. So it's proven to be a valuable tool and is now foundational to how we work.

So, to conclude just on the audit, Secretary Austin, Deputy Secretary Hicks and I, as well as leaders and financial managers throughout the department, remain committed to sustaining the progress we've made, increasing our unmodified opinion accounts and supporting our goal of achieving an unmodified opinion by 2028.

We'll continue to need Congressional support and other stakeholder support, including Office of Management and Budget, the Treasury and GAO, not just for audit success, but also to fix a dysfunctional pattern of repeated lengthy continuing resolutions and replace it with timely and predictable funding.

Also, we need this cooperation to move to that next stage of implementing meaningful planning program, budgeting execution reform and on the audit where appropriate, we may need help for

targeted legislative relief on audit issues such as the help we got from Congress in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY '24 to fix an otherwise unresolvable problem for DLA.

I'm proud of all that's been accomplished by the people across the department in my time back in this position. I also want to thank the members of the Defense press in case I don't see you again for your continued interest in what we do here in my team to try and make government work and protect our national security in a transparent and accountable way. We have issued a press release or are about to issue a press release on this, which will be made available online.

And with that, I am ready to take your questions.

STAFF: Thank you very much, sir. And we'll start in the room and if you would when I call on you just state your name and outlet again for us. Mike Stone. Thanks.

Q: I'm Mike Stone from Reuters. Thanks for coming in and congratulations on a successful four years. I think it's been probably pretty interesting for you, not just with audit but with the other stuff. A couple questions. Are we to understand that these downgrades, that's the real progress that we should be highlighting?

Or can you tease out specifically where you're seeing progress because it's the exact same number of clean opinions and the exact and the same number of failures. I mean, obviously you spent a whole year on this. And then 28 is the goal. Is it an achievable goal?

MR. MCCORD: Okay, so yes. The number of opinions you can think about it, what the DOD IG is doing is a consolidated opinion of the entire department. There's only one answer to that. It's modified, unmodified or disclaimer. I said that and that's made up of 28 supporting opinions within that 28, the number of positive opinions has gone up by one, that's DITRA.

We expect when we get the final three to come in, we expect them to come in where they were last year. So that would be just an increase of one. So that's top of the list is opinions one for DOD or the 28 parts kind of a pass-fail mentality. At the far end of the scale are every single thing that an auditor writes up called a notice of finding and recommendation and there can be thousands of these across every single part of the department. All these 28 audits checklist of things to go work on.

In between that is the material weakness and these number in like the two dozen say for the department.

So, these are the big rocks. And we have picked == Secretary Austin has picked with us three or four areas to focus on. And one of those, this is the one I highlighted, Fund balance with Treasury is  in layperson's terms, it's like balancing your checkbook, except I said we have 1500 checkbooks with $850 billion in them, so it's a little more complicated than it might sound.

But that's basically what it is, right? It's reconciling your version of all the money you have with Treasury's version of all the money you have in these 1500 pots. And that is where the  I agree  I agree  I'm coming to agree with the premise of your question. That is where the most progress was this year.

I'm more pleased with that than having one new opinion out of 28. That's good. But I'm more pleased with seeing that Fund balance with Treasury move up in two years from  fairly low number to  I think we knocked off like $400 billion last year and $250 or maybe more than $250 this year on the  additional amount that we got closed out.

So the  to the point now where the Army  all four services have checked off the money side. Property, you know, buildings, supplies, planes, ships, all the equipment stuff, the physical assets has always been the hardest part, I think. And that is still  we need a lot of progress there, but I am pleased that on one of the things the secretary said, let's get on top of this.

We saw a real  movement in the last two years in a row and so that to me is the biggest sign of progress. There's  some more intangible things I think that came out of our discussions when the auditors come in and kind of read out to me what they saw when they audited the Navy, what they saw when they audited the Army.

But in terms of measurable results, yeah, the Fund balance with Treasury, the closing down some big areas there are, um, is the biggest sign of progress. You'll notice, I didn't say the whole department has cleared that hurdle on that particular issue, even just  even though Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps has gotten there.

How can that be? Because there's a couple of things left that that materiality is a very high standard that's like, you know, like a 99 percent thing. So, we have one or two more  we have some more to get on top of before we can say the whole department has entirely fixed that area. But that's why looking  that's part of why we have more than one audit to give us some ability to drill down and look at where  progress is being made Army versus Navy or this issue versus that issue.

Q: Before you address that, is a clean audit in 2028 achievable?

MR. MCCORD: Oh sorry.

Q: I want to drill down one part. What I just heard you say was that if it comes in an Excel sheet, you've made enormous amounts of progress on it. And if it has a tag and sits on a shelf, that is still a very difficult thing for this audit to occur. Did you just say that?

MR. MCCORD: Yeah, I would say both are difficult. And that we've made more progress on the one. They're both complicated, partly just because of our scope is so enormous that almost anything we do is a big undertaking, given our size and scope. But yes, we made more progress  on the funding than we have on the property.

And your second question was, is 2028 achievable? I believe so, but we do have to get  keep getting faster and keep getting better. If you draw a trend line of, since I've been back at the progress or a trend line back from when we started from year one to year seven, I don't think it's going to show you're getting there in time if you don't continue to pick up the pace, if you know what I mean.

And that's  happens with a lot of programs, right? There's learning curves in building airplanes and there needs to be a learning curve here, too.

STAFF: Thank you. I'm going to go to the phones. Tony Bertuka, can you hear me?

Q: Yes, thank you very much. So, Mr. McCord, one of the things that that we often hear from people who criticize the defense budget as being too large is that, hey, the Pentagon doesn't know where all its money is. Why should we give the Pentagon more money? Now with the closing of the material weaknesses in terms of the services, at least knowing where all the money is, is that still an appropriate risk to  site that the Pentagon shouldn't get more money because it doesn't know where all its money is?

MR. MCCORD: Thanks for the question, Tony. I don't  I don't think that's ever been the primary factor on whether or not we have too little money too much money or the right amount of money. I think that should be based on our security situation and our capabilities to respond. Are they what the American people expect?

I've said this before and I don't know if there's a different way to say it, but  not passing an audit is not the same as not knowing where you're  what you have, how much money you have, where your airplanes are. Being able to pull the records, demonstrate it to an auditor, any record that they pick out of the stack and do it in the  time they expect, that's what an audit is about.

We have seen in a real-world example, most notably, Ukraine over the last two years. We've provided a lot of supplies to them of various types, the Army particularly, but everybody has contributed things. And what we have not seen is people saying, well, my records show I have a thousand of these and I want to give ten of them to Ukraine.

And then finding that we don't have a thousand or we can't find a thousand or we don't know what shape the thousand are in. We have some pretty good real-world experience here in that case where knowing what you have, being able to get your hands on it, get it to someone quickly because they're fighting for their lives with it. We have not had that problem.

I'm not  trying to downplay the importance of passing an audit, however. I understand those who are critical of our top line are critical of our processes. And we understand the concerns. We  agree that  there's goodness in audit and I touched on that a little bit in my opening statement.

Q: And also, now that we know that there's going to be a Presidential transition, a new administration is going to have to take the baton from you guys on this. What do you think is needed to keep the momentum going? But also, what do you fear could derail the progress you've made?

MR. MCCORD: Well, what I witnessed last time, because remember we started the audit in earnest really, I would say about 2012 when Bob Hale, my predecessor was in really and Secretary Panetta at the time was here of  making a bigger push than we had made previously. The first consolidated audit came basically right as I was leaving, and Dave Norquist took over for  as the comptroller role.

I saw at that time a lot of continuity in what we were trying to do and the way we were trying to do it between the Obama administration, the first Trump term, us  me coming back with the 

so  at the Biden team. I think that if we can keep a lot of that continuity of the strategy, not to say the strategy shouldn't be looked at and the new team needs to agree that it's the right strategy.

But if so, I think  our strongest path forward is to keep a lot of continuity in what we're doing. It's not a  you know, a classic political, different administration had a different view on how to do an audit, right? It's a  process where the rules are set by government wide accounting and auditing standards.

There's not like there's different ways to get at solving that problem, but there's not different ways to define the problem or to define the way the problem. So, I think that continuity would probably be well served here. Now if there's substantial gaps in getting people in or you know all that sort of thing, we'll  the Army, the Navy, the Air Force as well as the department as a whole, have you know, financial management appointees that come in. So, if those positions are vacant for a long time, that's not helpful.

But this is largely a career workforce, you know, do the heavy lifting and the most of the lifting in this process, military and civilian. So, I think there's good prospects for the work continuing across  all parts of the department, regardless of personalities.

STAFF: I'm going to go ahead and take another from the phone. Matthew Adams, did you have a question?

Q: Hi. Yes, thank you. I wanted to ask; I think in the embargo stuff we got  I think it was said that this audit cost $178 million. How many auditors worked on this?

MR. MCCORD: I believe the number was 1700. And $178 million was the audit. That of course we spend  additional funds to do something with the recommendations the auditors make. You probably have seen those figures as well.

Q: OK. And I wanted to follow up. I think, I  if I heard you right, in terms of the pacing challenge, that's where your concern is that you won't meet the 28  the 2028 deadline. Is that correct if I heard you right?

MR. MCCORD: Yeah, what I said was I think we have to keep getting better and faster to make that deadline that  I mean, just for example, right, we  we're  at about halfway now in terms of within the  whole department, the number of entities that have clean opinions is slightly over half. But I described there being 28 entities.

So, if you  are halfway and you've got to get the other half in three or four years, you know, that tells you you're going to have to  make enormous progress. I've said before the  biggest part of what remains is the Department of the Air Force, the Department of the Navy, separate from the Marine Corps and the Department of the Army, without all three of those turning green, it is mathematically impossible for the Department to have a clean opinion.

So, the big picture regardless of whetheryou know, how many different audits we have is getting an entire military department to have to have a clean opinion on it  it's statements. Each  and each of those, you know, an IPA is looking at each of those separately. That  one

of those alone or even two of those alone would not move the needle with the IG, understandably.

If one of the three military departments had a disclaimer, the whole department cannot pass. But we need to have progress. And the other thing I would say, this is not like, what could I give as a colloquial example, doing your taxes where if it's due on April 15th and you get it done on April 14th, you're good.

It's not going to work that way for this much work with this big organization. If everybody that had a piece of this got their part done on April 14th, it doesn't work that the whole department will then be good, you know, and you can beat the deadline by one minute. It's just more  there's more interconnections than that.

So, 2028 doesn't mean that, you know, halfway through 2027, you can be halfway there, but  work real hard for half a year and catch up. It's not going to work that way. And our team understands that already. I'm not telling you anything that the people working on this don't already know, but I just want to explain why you have to  get there a little bit ahead of time.

There's testing. There's a lot of stuff that has to happen to confirm and have an auditor, say in time that you have done what you needed to do.

STAFF: From in the room, do you have a question, Todd?

Q: Well, sir. I think last year in 2023 there was 29 agencies that were audited and this year 28. Who dropped out?

MR. MCCORD: I'm going to ask my team  SOCOM, Special Operations Command. Yeah, they're 

Q: [inaudible] all the same?

MC. MCCORD: They are  they had to be moved into what's called the consolidated audit. Their  the firm that audited them declined to pick up the option year, and basically. So, there wasn't  a quick solution to get somebody else on contract in time, so they moved into the consolidated audit, which is what we call a number  I'm going to lose track of how many pieces are in the consolidated, but a fair number who are  it doesn't make sense to individually do them there.

They're too numerous and too small in the scope of things. So, SOCOM that's not really where I would want them to be is in the consolidated only. But you know, private sector firm is not obliged to keep working on something if they've got better things to do with their time or other clients that they want to move to.

STAFF: We have time for a couple more questions. I'm going to go to the phone, Ashley, Breaking Defense.

Q: Hi. Thanks. Just a couple of few follow up questions. One, I guess sort of on the progress you made, especially on the funding, is that something that's easily transferable in the coming years or is that something that the services and the offices need to continue working at?

MR. MCCORD: You know, I don't know that there's anything in the audit that  once you get it checked off that you can relax on because you do have to, you know, keep passing the test each year. That's the  psychologically unfortunate  reality of it is, is, you know, you have to keep at it again the next year.

And the Marine Corps I would say is a good example of they haven't let up this year and said well, you know, the audits passed and now we can worry about other things. They recognize you have to keep working it. I do think that  progress you know does and will build on progress. So, it's not like  you go back to square one, right?

And that the second year of doing something is not as hard as the first time doing it. If you've got your processes right, your people have got the right mindset, your systems have got, you know, the controls squared away, it should be easier the second time. It's just that it still takes work.

Q: Great, thanks. And then, I just also wanted to ask, so if continuity is able, you know, to transfer over to the next administration, what  are there some solid tips you would offer to your successor on how to get faster and more efficient towards this  meeting this 2028 goal?

MR. MCCORD: I think it just off the top of my head in terms of keys, keys to keeping on pace or picking up the pace, I think I said this a minute ago, I would not fundamentally change strategy unless you really took  a hard look and determined there was something that was just not being done the right way.

But  I would give some deference or lean in the direction of keeping, telling the team to keep doing what they're doing. And then adjust at the margins rather than say we're going to do a zero-based review and everybody stop while we think about whether we're doing this the right way. I would not recommend that course myself.

The other thing that is  you know, I'm sure GAO if they were here would say is that getting after the systems. Too many systems has  been a consistent point of view of GAO. One that I cannot disagree with. And you know, that's been a hard thing for the department because all the systems perform functions, and you can't just throw them away.

So, if  that has always been a challenge for the department is necking down the number of systems. We're seeing some progress on that. That's again something I think that the  any new team should look at what is  what is the best process, what  are the right forcing functions to promptly as you can get systems to old systems, I'm talking about turned off and the process has moved to  the best, most modern type of systems?

I think that's an important thing that  lies ahead. I mean, we're already in it, but I think more  work on that is definitely  on the plate of the next team is the systems consolidation business systems.

STAFF: Thank you, sir. And Tony Capaccio, are you still on the line?

Q: Hi, sir, can you hear me? Is it fair to say that you failed the Pentagon failed for the seventh consecutive year to score an overall clean audit, but progress is being made, is that  still fair?

MR. MCCORD: I would think that's very unfair if you say that. I  do not say we failed. As I said, we have about half clean opinions. We have half that are not clean opinions, so. If someone had a report card that is half good and half not good, I don't know that you call the student or the report card a failure. We have a lot of work to do and but  I think we're making progress as I said.

Q: What's the more accurate verb then if it's not failed?

MR. MCCORD: We had  I  first of all, I guess, I don't know if I would reduce it to one word or not. We  have made progress and we need to get better and faster.

Q: OK. Of the [inaudible] 15 agencies that receive disclaimers, was that constant from the last couple of years? Or did more agencies receive disclaimers this year?

MR. MCCORD: We did not move backward anywhere. As I said, when you think about the component building blocks that we use, and it was rightly pointed out that the number of building blocks changed by one because of SOCOM, but roughly, the same department with roughly the same number of building blocks, we got one more moved to the  to the clean opinion or green column in DTRA.

So, nobody moved backward. One moved forward. As I said, we had one, one last year. Marine Corps was a big one. DITRA is not as big as the Marine Corps, obviously. But if you just added one per year, that is not fast enough, so hence my saying we need to pick up the pace. We need to get one of the big rocks, Army Navy Air Force to that same position where the Marine Corps is now.

STAFF: Thank you, Tony. OK, well, thank you everyone.

Sir, did you have any closing comments?

MR. MCCORD: Yeah, just again, I want to thank everyone for their questions, whether you're in the room or on the line. I just want to acknowledge the important work that so many people across the department undertook to get us here. And I think I've made clear that  a lot of work remains ahead. These financial statement audits are our building blocks for everyone involved from the leadership all the way down to the individuals leading the remediation efforts.

And together, all the people that work this have strengthened the foundation of the department. Substantial work remains, but the department is on the right path due to the hard work and dedication of  our people. The next couple of years will be critical time as the department works toward this 2028 mandate, which will require us to keep getting better and faster. And thank you.

STAFF: Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you everybody. I appreciate your time. That concludes our briefing.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3967014/

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November 15, 2024

Release

Department of Defense Completes Seventh Consecutive Department-Wide Financial Statement Audit

The Department of Defense (DoD) released the results of its seventh annual Department-wide financial statement audit today, which again resulted in a disclaimer of opinion. "Despite the disclaimer of opinion, which was expected, the Department has turned a corner in its understanding of the depth and breadth of its challenges," said Michael McCord, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer. "Momentum is on our side, and throughout the Department there is strong commitmentand belief in our abilityto achieve an unmodified audit opinion."

Mr. McCord attributes DoD's audit momentum to the tone-at-the-top, which he has emphasized, alongside Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks. "The path forward is clear," McCord continued, "significant work remains and challenges lie ahead, but our annual audit continues to be a catalyst for Department-wide financial management reform, resulting in greater financial integrity, transparency, and better-supported warfighters."

Teams of independent public accountants and the DoD Office of Inspector General closely examined the financial statements of the Department and its reporting entities. Of the 28 reporting entities undergoing standalone financial statement audits, 9 received an unmodified audit opinion, 1 received a qualified opinion, 15 received disclaimers, and 3 opinions remain pending. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) achieved an unmodified audit opinion in only its second year under standalone audit. The fiscal year (FY) 2023 U.S. Marine Corps' unmodified opinion and the FY 2024 DTRA unmodified opinion are the first new financial statement opinions since FY 2020. The Department is firmly committed and is taking actions to achieve an unmodified audit opinion on its financial statements by December 31, 2028, as mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024.

In FY 2024, the Department made progress in improving its financial management practices and increasing transparency, closing the DoD-wide Contingent Legal Liabilities material weakness. The Department sustained the momentum gained in FY 2023 in resolving its Fund Balance with Treasury material weakness, a Secretary of Defense DoD-wide audit priority area. Eight DoD reporting entities closed or downgraded their Fund Balance with Treasury material weakness: Department of the Army General Fund, Department of the Navy Working Capital Fund, Department of Air Force Working Capital Fund, Defense Information Systems Agency General Fund and Working Capital Fund, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. In addition to existing reporting entities with favorable audit opinions, DoD has closed or downgraded 12 FBWT material weaknesses over the last two fiscal years, totaling $703 billion, or 82% of the $856 billion DoD-wide balance. Of that the Military Departments represent $657 billion, or 78% of the total. Additionally, the Department of the Army General Fund and Working Capital Fund both closed their Entity Level Controls - Enterprise Responsibilities material weaknesses, and Army Working Capital Fund downgraded its Property, Plant and Equipment - General

Equipment, Property, Plant and Equipment Real Property and Environmental Disposal and Liabilities material weaknesses; the Air Force General Fund downgraded its Military Equipment material weakness; the Defense Information Systems Agency General Fund closed its Financial Reporting material weakness; the Defense Health Program closed its Stockpile Materials material weakness and downgraded its Information Systems material weakness; the Defense Intelligence Agency downgraded its Financial IT Controls material weakness, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Civil Works downgraded its Construction In Progress - Property, Plant and Equipment material weakness.

The Department also demonstrated improvements in system controls, completing 27 system examinations and achieving 17 unmodified and 8 qualified opinions; 2 examinations were adverse. The FY 2024 25 favorable opinions represent 93% of the examination opinions, an increase from the FY 2021 81% favorable examination opinions. Results of system examinations are used by other auditors, which reduces duplicative testing.

The Department saw a return on investment across areas essential for achieving and sustaining an unmodified opinion: Workforce Modernization, Business Operations, Quality Decision-Making, Reliable Networks, and Enhanced Public Confidence. A recent Government Accountability Office report, "DOD Has Identified Benefits of Financial Statement Audits and Could Expand Its Monitoring," cited operational benefits of the audits, including improvements to financial systems and data, mitigation of cybersecurity risks, enhanced visibility over assets and inventory, and more efficient processes, and noted that additional outcomes are anticipated.

For example, in FY 2024, the Department used Advana for new contingency reporting, including support to Haiti, tracking the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, and hurricane response; the Department of the Air Force has delivered 76 bots saving 577,000 labor hours and improving the efficiency of 76 business processes; the Department of the Army's new Integrated Personnel and Pay System consolidates information from over 50 legacy systems and promotes secure and consistent processes and data; and the Department of the Navy further consolidated its systems by migrating 9 major commands, decommissioning 11 systems, and transitioning 3 Budget Submitting Offices to Navy ERP, its enterprise resource planning system.

"The Department continues to need the sustained investment, senior leadership commitment, and the support of our partners in Congress, federal regulators, the audit community, and our military and civilian personnel to accomplish its audit goals," added McCord. "An unmodified audit opinion has always been the Department's primary financial management goal, and with their help, I know it is achievable."

For more information, please see the Department's Agency Financial Report and links to DoD Component Agency Financial Reports at https://comptroller.defense.gov/odcfo/afr/.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3967009/

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November 15, 2024

By Joseph Clark, DOD News

Austin Builds Upon 'New Convergence' of Indo-Pacific Partnerships With 12th Visit to Region

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III departed today on his 12th trip to the Indo-Pacific since taking office as he continues to build upon the strong partnerships forged under his tenure throughout the United States' priority theater of operations.

The secretary will meet with counterparts and senior officials throughout the region as he embarks on a series of engagements in Australia, the Philippines, Laos and Fiji.

The trip will showcase the United States' unwavering commitment to the Indo-Pacific amid what Austin sees as a "new convergence" of like-minded partners throughout the region.

"We are doing more than ever alongside our allies and partners to take concrete steps toward a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region," Austin said ahead of his departure.

"During this trip, we will deliver results to advance cooperation, strengthen our relationships, and build an enduring network of allies and partners," he said. "I am proud of the historic progress we've made over the last four years and the depth of continuing U.S. commitment to the region."

The secretary's first stop will be in Darwin, Australia, where Austin will participate in a trilateral defense ministerial meeting with his counterparts from Australia and Japan.

During the meeting, which follows the three leaders' most recent engagement during the Group of Seven summit in Italy during the summer, Austin and his counterparts are expected to discuss recent progress the three nations have made with combined military training and interoperability.

Highlighting these advancements, the leaders are expected to announce that Japan will begin integrating its forces into Marine Rotational Force-Darwin rotations where they will train alongside U.S. and Australian forces beginning next year.

The three leaders will also discuss their three countries' recent advances in combined air and missile defense and information sharing initiatives.

Austin and his counterparts will also tour Royal Australian Air Force Base Darwin, which serves as a critical staging point for annual Marine rotations and regional exercises.

In previewing the visit earlier this week, a senior defense official emphasized that the upcoming meeting in Darwin further underscores the deepening ties among the U.S., Australia and Japan and represents a "concrete demonstration of just how far this trilateral relationship has come in recent years."

Following his visit to Darwin, Austin will proceed to the Philippines where he will meet with President Ferdinand Marcos and senior government officials.

During his discussions, the secretary "will reiterate our steadfast commitment to the mutual defense treaty and discuss ways that we can continue to support the Philippines security through the implementation of the $500 million in foreign military financing that was announced during his last visit to the Philippines," a senior official said.

The secretary will also visit multiple facilities the U.S. is funding to enhance information sharing and capability development, including a new command and control fusion center.

In addition, Austin will meet with U.S. and Philippine forces and U.S. Agency for International Development personnel who helped deliver nearly 100,000 pounds of aid in response to Typhoon Julian earlier this year.

Sites established as part of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the U.S. and the Philippines played a critical role in the humanitarian assistance operations in the wake of the storm, further demonstrating the benefits of the deepening alliance between the two countries, a senior defense official said.

The secretary will also observe a Philippine Navy tech demonstration showcasing T-12 unmanned surface vessels provided by the U.S. through foreign military financing. The T-12 is a key capability used by Philippine forces to protect its sovereignty and operate throughout its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.

Austin's stop in the Philippines marks his fourth visit to the country since taking office, the most visits ever by a U.S. secretary of defense.

The secretary's next stop is in Laos where he will attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus.

U.S. defense secretaries have participated in the forum since 2010 when it was established by the 10-member block of Southeast Asian nations.

Austin will meet with a range of regional allies and partners on the sidelines of the meeting and reaffirm the United States' commitment to regional security. During this visit, he will announce the first-ever U.S. Department of Defense vision statement for a prosperous and secure Southeast Asia.

The statement will outline the U.S. vision "for deepening our practical cooperation across Southeast Asia and is a symbol of our enduring commitment to the region," a senior official said.

While in Laos, the secretary will enumerate several initiatives being taken by the U.S. alongside its ASEAN partners to deepen ties in the region, including an emerging defense leaders program.

In his remarks during the forum, the secretary is expected to address critical issues facing the region, including China's aggression in the South China Sea and ways regional partners work together to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Austin's final stop is in Fiji, marking the first visit to the country by a U.S. defense secretary.

While there, Austin will meet with Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa.

The secretary is expected to announce that the U.S. and Fiji will begin negotiations on a Status of Forces Agreement that will empower the two countries to work more closely together.

The two countries will sign an acquisition and cross servicing agreement that will facilitate U.S. logistical support to Fiji quickly in the case of an emergency.

Austin will emphasize the United States' continued investments in the region, including through recently announced foreign military finance grants.

Defense officials said the trip underscores Austin's continued engagement in the region as secretary builds upon a decade of progress by U.S. administration in bringing together like-minded nations behind a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.

"Secretary Austin has a very unique ability to build coalitions, stich together allies and partners, and use what I think of as a brand of defense diplomacy to bring people to the table that then translates into results," a senior defense official said. "These networks can do very heavy lifting and hard lifting together."

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Mozambique: Statement by the Spokesperson on the latest developments in the country

European External Action Service (EEAS)

15.11.2024

EEAS Press Team

The EU is deeply concerned by the ongoing violence following elections in Mozambique, which has resulted in multiple fatalities.

The EU urges all parties to exercise the utmost restraint, avoid the use of excessive force, refrain from vandalism, and abstain from inflammatory rhetoric.

Relying on the findings and statements of its Electoral Observation Mission, the EU calls on the Constitutional Council to uphold full transparency in the electoral process and ensure the integrity of the results.

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USEUCOM visit to Montenegro strengthens cooperation, initiatives to enhance security in the Balkans

The visit aimed to solidify support to Montenegro, a reliable NATO Ally and an important partner in maintaining stability in the Balkans.

By courtesy story , U.S. Embassy Podgorica Nov 15, 2024

The Chief of the General Staff of the Army of Montenegro Brigadier General Zoran Lazarevic met with U.S. European Command's Deputy Director for partnering and security cooperation U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Chris McKinney on Oct. 30, 2024, in Podgorica, Montenegro.

During the visit, Lazarevic and McKinney discussed strengthening military cooperation between Montenegro and the U.S. with a special emphasis on regional stability, joint military exercises, training and operational interoperability.

Lazarevic expressed his gratitude for the support that USEUCOM provides to Montenegro's armed forces, emphasizing the importance of the strategic partnership between Montenegro and the U.S. in maintaining security and stability in the region. He also praised continued joint efforts in the areas of training and military-to-military exchanges that enhance military capacity in both the U.S. and Montenegro armed forces.

McKinney confirmed the commitment of the U.S. to continue supporting Montenegro in the field of defense and security, emphasizing Montenegro as a reliable NATO Ally and an important partner in maintaining stability in the Balkans.

McKinney also spoke with Chief of Staff of the General Staff Colonel Mitar Klikovac, who led the delegation of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Montenegro in which the capacities of the Armed Forces of Montenegro and future plans for its development were presented. During the meeting leaders discussed steps in improving the nations' joint operational capabilities and readiness in support of NATO deterrence and defense requirements.

McKinney also visited the Montenegrin Navy Headquarters in Bar for a demonstration of improvements to the headquarters' Maritime Domain Awareness and capabilities of four fast patrol boats recently donated by the U.S.

McKinney concluded his visit by meeting with the Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Battalion in Danilovgrad to commend the recent NATO Combat Readiness Evaluation of Montenegro's 2nd Light Infantry Company at Saber Junction 24 and discuss future capability development of the Land Forces.

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Minister of Defence Antti Hakkanen: EU's plans to ban lead would weaken defence

Finnish Ministry of Defence

15.11.2024

The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has proposed that the European Commission extend the restriction on the use of lead. Using lead shot for hunting in wetlands has already been banned for health and environmental reasons. The ECHA now proposes that all use of lead ammunition (shot and bullets) be banned except for military defence and other use by authorities. In practice, this would mean that lead shot and bullets could not be used by civilians after the transition period.

Finland's Minister of Defence Antti Hakkanen deems the proposal a risk to national and European security: "We should be making the European defence industry and our crisis preparedness stronger, not weaker"

If implemented, the ban would significantly cut the European production capacity for lead ammunition. Ensuring sufficient production capacity to meet demand even in crisis situations would require that lead ammunition be used by both civilians and military. Another concern is how the proposed ban would affect voluntary national defence training on shooting ranges. It would also obligate shooting ranges to adopt expensive environmental protection measures that are out of proportion to the health and environmental risks of lead exposure.

The Ministry of Defence and the rest of the Finnish Government have actively tried to influence the Commission to amend the proposal.

"We have made it clear to the Commission on several occasions that this lead regulation would harm military defence, defence industry and crisis preparedness. That is why we were pleased to welcome the news last summer that the proposal was not going ahead. Now that things have changed, we have drafted a compromise proposal for the Commission where we take into account both the risks for military defence and for health and the environment. We are also seeking support for our proposal from other member states," Hakkanen says.

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Lithuania signs Letter of Intent on Piorun short-range system acquisition

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence

2024-11-15

Acquisitions and infrastructure development

Lithuania has signed a key agreement together with Poland, Estonia and Norway. Yesterday, Vice Minister of National Defence Monika Korolioviene paid a visit to a MESKO factory in Poland for a signature of a Letter of Intent on acquisition of the Piorun short-range system.

The anticipated acquisition of the short-range man-portable missile system would be paid for through the European Defence Industry Reinforcement through Common Procurement Act (EDIRPA). Common procurement of weaponry are vital for, among other things, integration within the EU and standardization of weaponry, as well as cost-effectiveness and strengthening defence capabilities.

"We are getting an opportunity to be among the first to receive one of the most state-of-the-art air defence systems shortly, a priority purchase, through cooperation with Poland," said Vice Minister M. Korolioviene.

The Armament Agency under the Ministry of National Defence of Poland will lead negotiations with Mesko on behalf of all four countries in the joint procurement procedure.

Vice Minister M. Korolioviene also discussed bilateral cooperation with Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Defence of Poland Pawel Bejda. They underscored the importance of bilateral cooperation, strategic partnership and defence industry cooperation between the two countries.

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New Zealand Defence Force

The latest update on the HMNZS Manawanui response.

In Samoa yesterday, Chief of Defence Force, Air Marshal Tony Davies, presented recognition awards to Samoan officials and members of the public who were involved in the rescue efforts and care of HMNZS Manawanui ship's company and passengers.

The New Zealand Defence Force Senior National Representative for Op Resolution, Commodore Andrew Brown said, "It was a privilege to see people, who helped save lives that night, be officially recognised by our Chief of Defence Force for their actions."

Commodore Brown said Operation Resolution was entering into the complex and technical phase of fuel removal.

"The contractual and legal aspects have been proceeding, with the signing of the contract expected any day."

"After that, the salvor will begin mobilising equipment and personnel to Samoa to begin the fuel removal. Timeframes for completing this will depend on a number of external influences, such as weather conditions."
Malaysia protests new Philippine maritime zones laws for South China Sea

The action comes about a week after Kuala Lumpur filed a complaint against Vietnam.

By Iman Muttaqin Yusof for BenarNews 2024.11.15

KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia said it is protesting two new Philippine maritime laws that it contends encroach on its South China Sea boundaries, in a move that comes amid heightened regional tension over Beijing's increasing assertiveness about its expansive claims.

In October, Malaysia lodged a complaint against Vietnam, Reuters news agency reported last week.

One security analyst said that despite regional tension, there is little risk of confrontation between Malaysia and the Philippines, or Vietnam, while a regional observer said Manila and Hanoi were the transgressors in both cases.

Malaysian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohamad Alamin told his country's parliament on Thursday that the new Philippine laws encroach on Malaysia's oil-rich state of Sabah, which borders the South China Sea.

"We've finalized and reviewed key issues in our protest note, which we'll send today [Thursday] to affirm our commitment to protecting Sabah's sovereignty and rights," Alamin said, referring to the state that is claimed by both Malaysia and the Philippines.

Manila on Nov. 8 enacted the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, which Alamin said extend into Malaysia's boundaries mapped out in 1979, which Kuala Lumpur regards as internationally recognized.

The Philippines had said the laws were intended to declare Manila's maritime claims in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and restrict foreign ships and aircraft to designated lanes.

Philippine officials did not immediately respond to Alamin's comments.

Located off the southwestern region of the Philippines, Sabah has long been a thorny issue between the neighboring countries.

In September 2020, the two countries took their dispute over who owns Sabah to the United Nations. The dispute remains unresolved.

Separately, in June 2023, a Paris court upheld Malaysia's challenge to a U.S. $15 billion arbitration award to purported heirs of an erstwhile ruler of the Sultanate of Sulu. Part of the former sultanate is in Sabah.

An arbitration court in Paris had in February 2022 ordered Malaysia to pay that amount to settle a colonial-era land deal.

The former Sultanate of Sulu was situated in a small archipelago in the far southern Philippines.

An analyst at the non-profit Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies said Malaysia has had to deal with the Philippines' expansion efforts in the South China Sea.

"From the point of view of Malaysia, the Philippines is the troublemaker-in-chief," Benjamin Blandin, a network coordinator at the council, told BenarNews.

He said the Philippines destroyed Malaysian sovereignty markers in the Spratlys, a South China Sea island chain, in the 1970s and 1980s and later occupied Commodore Reef within the Malaysian exclusive economic zone.

A country's EEZs extends up to 200 nautical miles from its coastline.

"So based on this bilateral 'history,' Malaysia can only interpret negatively any further move of the Philippines, at least as long as the Sabah case is not solved," Blandin said.

He added that Vietnam had also destroyed markers at two maritime features in Malaysia's EEZ before occupying them.

Another analyst, Shahriman Lockman at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia, told BenarNews he blamed Vietnam's actions.

"Recent reports of Malaysia's protest note to Vietnam, if accurate, reflect a growing impatience with Vietnam's recalcitrance in the South China Sea and reluctance to engage in constructive discussions - behavior that deserves as much attention as China's," Lockman, a senior analyst at the institute told RFA affiliate BenarNews.

"Even so, I don't anticipate any major escalation as long as Vietnam tries to restrain its fishermen who have a tendency to intrude into foreign EEZs, not only in Southeast Asia but across the Asia Pacific."

Similarly, "unless Manila actively pursues its legal claims, I don't see a high risk of confrontation with Malaysia," Lockman said.

"This [complaint] is just a routine aspect of diplomatic relations - a typical day at the office for our diplomats. ...As countries build the legal foundations for their territorial and jurisdictional claims, it's inevitable that overlaps are going to be reiterated."

Overlapping claims

Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, China, Brunei and Indonesia, as well as Taiwan, hold overlapping claims in the South China Sea and its islands and reefs.

Beijing claims nearly all of the sea as its own based on so-called historic rights, which were invalidated in a 2016 arbitration ruling by the international court in The Hague,

Since the Philippines enacted its two new laws, Beijing and Manila have launched protests against each other over contested South China Sea claims.

Following Beijing's protest, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday said his government would maintain its stance on its South China Sea territories, the state-run Philippine News Agency reported.

"[T]hey will continue to protect what they define as their sovereign territory," he told journalists.

"Of course, we do not agree with their definition of sovereign territory."

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.

Copyright 1998-2024, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content November not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Vietnam's leader visits island in Tonkin Gulf near China

To Lam urged the district government to make Bach Long Vi a 'fortress' to defend sovereignty.

By RFA Staff 2024.11.15 -- Vietnam's top leader To Lam has made a widely publicized visit to an island north of the South China Sea, seen by an analyst as underscoring its strategic importance in the waters shared with China.

Lam became the first general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party to visit Bach Long Vi island in the Gulf of Tonkin since 2000, when Hanoi and Beijing finally signed an agreement to clearly demarcate their boundary there after nine years of negotiations

Last March, China unilaterally announced a new baseline that defines its territory in the northern part of the gulf called Beibu in Chinese, drawing concern from the Vietnamese government. Some analysts said that Beijing may use it as a pretext to push Hanoi to renegotiate the boundary agreement.

During the visit on Thursday, To Lam called on local government officials to develop Bach Long Vi island, "ensuring that it becomes a fortress for defending Vietnam's maritime sovereignty," according to media reports.

"The Party chief praised the island's strategic importance, pointing out that Bach Long Vi serves as a key maritime gateway, controlling vital shipping lanes in the Gulf of Tonkin and providing logistics services for military activities at sea," the Vietnam News Agency reported.

"General Secretary To Lam's visit to Bach Long Vi was billed as a trip to learn about the living and working conditions of local residents," said Carlyle Thayer, emeritus professor at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra.

"However, the sub-text of his visit was to underscore the importance of the island's infrastructure to national security and defense of Vietnam's sovereignty over islands and sea."

'Normal practice'

"Media coverage highlighted that Bach Long Vi was located 15 nautical miles from the boundary line delimiting the Gulf of Tonkin," noted Thayer. The distance means the island sits entirely inside Vietnam's waters.

Bach Long Vi is Vietnam's furthest island from its mainland and the largest habitable island in the South China Sea, with an area of more than 3 square kilometers (1.2 square miles). It is about 110 km (68 miles) from Haiphong in Vietnam and 120 km (75 miles) from China's Hainan Island.

Bach Long Vi was transferred to Vietnam in March 1957 by a friendly China, which occupied it at the time, allowing Hanoi to establish a radar station there for early warning against U.S. air attacks.

Vietnamese historians said Beijing "returned" the island to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, but some Chinese sources criticized the government of then-premier Zhou Enlai for "ceding" it.

In December 1992, it became an island district under the municipal government of Haiphong City.

"The Vietnam-China Maritime Boundary Delimitation Agreement for the Gulf of Tonkin signed in 2000 recognized that Bach Long Vi was a Vietnam's island," said Vu Thanh Ca, former director of the Vietnam Institute for Sea and Island Research, "There's absolutely no dispute over its sovereignty."

"Given the importance of Bach Long Vi as one of Vietnam's frontier islands, Party chief To Lam's visit is a normal practice," he added.

Before the general secretary, Vietnam's presidents Nguyen Minh Triet and Truong Tan Sang visited the island in 2010 and 2014 respectively, where they made strongly worded statements about "defending every inch of our country's sea and islands."

The year 2014 saw heightened tensions between Vietnam and China after the latter moved a deep-water oil drilling platform to near the Paracel archipelago that both countries claim. Beijing, however, did not officially react to the visits.

"China's government does not and cannot dispute Vietnam's sovereignty over it," said Huy Duong, a Vietnamese South China Sea researcher. "But this does not stop some overly nationalistic Chinese regretting that China 'gave away' Bach Long Vi to Vietnam."

Edited by Mike Firn.

Copyright 1998-2024, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content November not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Rubio as US top diplomat could be a win for Southeast Asian human rights

He could temper isolationism and pursue a muscular foreign policy against China while upholding US values.

By David Hutt 2024.11.15 -- U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Sen. Marco Rubio as his secretary of state is likely to send a jolt of excitement to beleaguered democrats and opposition forces in Southeast Asia's authoritarian states.

Over the past five or so years, Rubio has co-authored almost every congressional bill on human rights in Southeast Asia.

He co-introduced the Cambodia Democracy and Human Rights Act in 2022, stating at the time that "the Hun Sen dictatorship destroyed democracy in Cambodia and allowed the nation to be exploited by the Chinese Communist Party." He reintroduced the bill in 2023.

In 2020, Rubio appealed to the State Department to designate Vietnam a "country of particular concern" for abuse of religious freedom, noting that "the only way to realize the full potential of the U.S.-Vietnam relationship is to press them to take serious steps to improve the human rights situation in Vietnam."

A year earlier, he co-introduced the Vietnam Human Rights Sanctions Act to the Senate, which, had it passed, would have pressured the White House to impose "sanctions and travel restrictions on Vietnamese nationals complicit in human rights abuses."

He was critical of the Obama administration's rush to renormalize ties with Myanmar's semi-military government in the early 2010s, and unabashed in saying the Burmese military orchestrated a "genocide" against the Rohingya.

In 2021, he was one of six senators to call on the Biden administration to impose much tougher sanctions on the military junta that took power in Myanmar through a coup in February that year.

In 2017, he tried to introduce legislation to restrict the export of defense articles to the Philippines in response to then-President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal and illegal war on drugs. The same year, he challenged U.S. Secretary of State Nominee Rex Tillerson to pressure Duterte about his "human rights violations."

China-hawk

Rubio is principally known as a China-hawk, and he has been blacklisted by Beijing in retaliation for U.S. sanctions on Chinese officials for the genocide against the Uyghur ethnic minority and for the crackdown in Hong Kong.

He has co-sponsored numerous bills against the Chinese Communist Party's human rights violations, including the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Reauthorization Act and numerous Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Reauthorization Acts.

Last year, he introduced the Deterring Chinese Preemptive Strikes Act to strengthen American air bases in the Indo-Pacific region. He was the arch-campaigner against TikTok and Huawei, and for the past decade has fought resolutely to bring attention against Beijing's genocide of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang region.

However, a blinkered China-hawk who perceives all foreign relations through the Beijing prism would not have sponsored resolutions condemning the Communist Party of Vietnam, which the "realists" in the Biden administration courting Hanoi treated as an ally beyond reproach.

Rubio's actions indicate he knows that America cannot be indolent about the sins of its friends.

Perhaps he has tempered some of his views, but Rubio would appear to be instinctively interventionist and instinctively knows that America has a duty to not only promote global prosperity but also global liberty.

During Trump's first term, Rubio co-sponsored legislation to make it harder for the U.S. to withdraw from NATO.

His more controversial comments about the Ukraine war - "I'm not on Russia's side, but unfortunately the reality of it is that the way the war in Ukraine is going to end is with a negotiated settlement' - can be read in multiple, not all isolationist, ways.

Promoting values

Even if the senator who has been outspoken on human rights has to temper his views while serving as the top U.S. diplomat, it will still be heartening to have a U.S. secretary of state who has spent as much time with Southeast Asian dissidents, exiles and opposition politicians as with government officials and chambers of commerce.

It will be positive to have an American foreign affairs chief who knows Cambodia is a "dictatorship," who says Myanmar's generals committed "genocide," and who called out Duterte's drug war for human rights violations.

At least since the Obama administration, there's been a tendency to appoint senior Asia officials who spent considerable time in the region. This brought expertise, but it also brought a certain mindset from those who previously "had to get along with" the region's tyrannical regimes.

If Trump was isolationist and transactional in his first term, there's been a temptation by the Biden administration to single-mindedly focus on alliance building against China, without sufficient thought for the local inhabitants of those allies.

Indeed, it's difficult to exaggerate not just how little the Biden administration did for human rights in Southeast Asia as his foreign policy pursued realpolitik goals.

Rubio's record suggests he will remind U.S. leaders and diplomats why they are effectively fighting a new Cold War against China - it isn't only about trade margins and tariffs and spheres of influence.

If he is able to temper Trump's transactional instincts toward foreign leaders no matter how unsavory, Rubio is someone who could pursue a more muscular foreign policy against China without forgetting that key values are a factor in the rivalry.

David Hutt is a research fellow at the Central European Institute of Asian Studies (CEIAS) and the Southeast Asia Columnist at the Diplomat. He writes the Watching Europe In Southeast Asia newsletter. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of RFA.

Copyright 1998-2024, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content November not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Abkhaz Opposition Says Talks Under Way After Storming Of Parliament Over Russia Deal

By RFE/RL's Georgian Service and Current Time November 15, 2024

Opposition leaders in Georgia's Moscow-backed breakaway region of Abkhazia claimed late on November 15 that lawmakers were mediating as a dispute continued with the region's leadership after opposition supporters stormed the local parliament over a controversial proposed deal with Moscow.

Local media said lawmakers had earlier failed to ratify the agreement, which reportedly would give preferential treatment to Russian property developers in the breakaway region, whose independence Moscow recognized 16 years ago but which Tbilisi and most of the international community still regard as Georgian territory.

Opposition leader Temur Gulia said that "negotiations are under way between the Coordination Council and members of parliament, who are communicating with the incumbent president [Aslan Bzhania] and conveying our proposals to him."

Hours earlier, the crowd outside forced its way into the grounds of the parliament building in Sukhumi, the regional capital, and was said to be pushing the legislature to vote on dropping the deal completely.

"The confrontation is growing, and there is a risk of it turning into bloodshed," Nuzhnaya Gazeta wrote on its Telegram channel.

Local media said police and hundreds of protesters clashed with security forces, who allegedly used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Local agency Apsnypress cited Abkhaz breakaway authorities as saying that seven people had been treated briefly for injuries and another remained under medical supervision. RFE/RL could not confirm that report.

Bzhania's press service subsequently said his administration is preparing a document on the withdrawal from parliament of the draft law. But protesters said they do not intend to withdraw before Bzhania resigns.

Appearing alongside Gulia, fellow oppositionist Kan Kvarchia said they had proposed two options, both of which included the resignations of Bzhania, his vice president, and the breakaway leadership's prime minister. The first option would leave parliamentary speaker Lasha Ashuba in charge until new elections are held, he said, while the second would allow the departing president to appoint a different individual "who satisfies all parties" as acting president until new voting.

Tensions have been running high in the region in recent weeks, with opposition activists demanding an end to Russia's dominance over the region and its economy, though opposition parties on November 15 said their protest is not against Russia.

"The actions of the protesters are not directed against relations between Russia and Abkhazia," they said in a joint statement. "In fact, we, the opposition, have always emphasized the importance of fraternal and strategic ties between our countries."

They said their anger was directed at Bzhania, whom they accused of using relations with Moscow "for his own selfish gain during his entire rule."

Russia's Foreign Ministry posted a statement in which spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the Abkhaz opposition of exceeding legal means and "provoking an escalation."

She said Russia was not interfering and expected the situation "will be resolved exclusively by peaceful political means."

Zakharova recommended that any Russian citizens in Abkhazia leave "if possible" and that others refrain from traveling there.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia's rule after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Moscow recognized the independence of the two regions after Russian forces repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war in the summer of 2008, which ended with Georgia's defeat.

Most countries still recognize Abkhazia as part of Georgia, but its economy is almost entirely dependent on Moscow, which pays the salaries of public administrators as well as social payments to residents.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/abkhazia-protesters-storm- parliament-russia-deal/33203385.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.

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Rights experts call for immediate end to post-election violence in Mozambique

By Vibhu Mishra

15 November 2024 Human Rights

UN independent human rights experts on Friday called on Mozambican authorities to prevent and end ongoing violence and repression of demonstrators in the wake of contentious general elections last month.

Weeks of violent protests have marked the outcome of the disputed 9 October presidential elections, which saw ruling party Frelimo candidate Daniel Chapo emerge the winner amid widespread allegations of fraud. Frelimo has been in power since 1975.

Multiple news reports indicate that violent and repressive measures were used by security forces against protesters who were taking part in peaceful demonstrations which continued until 7 November, causing at least 30 deaths - including a child - and injuring a further 200.

At least 300 protesters have also been arrested in connection with these demonstrations.

According to reports, authorities deployed the military last week to stop the protests, while protest leaders have announced multiple phases of demonstrations, including at provincial capitals and border crossings.

Protesters have also allegedly carried out reprisals against suspected police officers, including at least one killing, according to authorities.

Violence very disturbing

"The violations of the right to life, including of a child, deliberate killings of unarmed protesters and the excessive use of force by the police deployed to disperse peaceful protests across Mozambique are very disturbing," the Human Rights Council-appointed independent experts said.

"We call on the Mozambican authorities to promptly and impartially investigate all the unlawful killings."

Questions on electoral integrity

The protests emerged as citizens questioned the integrity of the elections, which were marked by accusations of irregularities.

"Authorities need to take steps to halt the violence and ensure an environment in which all Mozambicans, including women and girls, can participate fully and equally in the political processes and express themselves without fear," the experts said.

Restrictions to media freedoms have also been widely reported, including attacks, intimidation and harassment of journalists, and intermittent internet and mobile network blockages.

Human rights defenders reporting on the irregularities of the election process or participating in protests have been intimidated and threatened.

Rights must be upheld

The rights experts also emphasised that law enforcement personnel "have a duty to respect and protect" those who are exercising right to peaceful assembly and that they remain neutral and impartial during protests.

They must "prevent harm and protect the right to life, liberty and security" of those involved, the experts said.

"We urge Mozambican authorities to facilitate access to information for all and strongly condemn the widespread disruption of internet services," they continued.

The UN experts - who are not UN staff, receive no salary and do not represent any government or organization - warned that enforced disappearances and acts of violence linked to electoral disputes could have enduring consequences on the country's democratic framework.

They confirmed ongoing dialogue with Mozambican authorities and pledged to closely monitor the evolving situation.

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Air Force to evaluate Hanscom AFB for Air Force Information Dominance Systems Center

Published Nov. 15, 2024

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) -- The Department of the Air Force identified Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, as the sole candidate location to host the headquarters for the new Air Force Information Dominance Systems Center.

The Air Force announced the creation of AFIDSC within Air Force Materiel Command as part of the service's Great Power Competition initiative to strengthen and elevate the Air Force's focus on Command, Control, Communications, and Battle Management; Cyber; Electronic Warfare; Information Systems; and Enterprise Digital Infrastructure.

Four existing information dominance-related Program Executive Offices will re-align from AFMC's Air Force Life Cycle Management Center to create the new center, led by a 3-star commander. The commander will be dual-hatted as the DAF Command, Control, Communications & Battle Management Program Director.

The PEO directorates aligning under AFIDSC's command are:

- C3BM

- Cyber and Networks

- Electronic Systems

- Business Enterprise Systems

The current estimate for the center staff is 136 positions. There will be minimal impact on the Program Offices designated to become part of this center, as personnel are expected to re-align in place.

The DAF anticipates making a final basing decision by the end of the year and plans to standup the new center in 2025.

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Readout of U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin's counterpart visit with Royal Saudi Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Turki Bin Bandar Bin Abdulaziz

Published Nov. 15, 2024

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) -- U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin hosted Royal Saudi Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Turki Bin Bandar Bin Abdulaziz for an official counterpart visit Nov. 12 to strengthen the longstanding U.S. defense partnership with Saudi Arabia, which has served as a cornerstone for regional stability and deterrence for decades.

As part of the visit, Turki received a full honors arrival and was awarded a Legion of Merit at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling before attending both an office call and staff talks with Allvin at the Pentagon.

During the office call, the leaders exchanged views on the regional security environment and reaffirmed the importance of close cooperation to deter shared threats.

Allvin expressed appreciation for RSAF leadership in regional forums that promote multilateral solutions to common security challenges. Allvin also offered Department of the Air Force support as Saudi Arabia merges its air force and air defense force into the Royal Saudi Air and Space Force.

The office call was followed by staff talks to discuss a range of topics, to include the U.S. Air Force's ongoing reoptimization for great power competition initiative and the U.S. National Guard Bureau's State Partnership Program, which Saudi Arabia joined in 2024.

Turki met separately with Kelli Seybolt, the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs, to discuss key security cooperation initiatives and further identify ways to advance shared interests and priorities.

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Exercise Phoenix Express 2024 Concludes in Tunisia

US Navy

15 November 2024

From U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa / U.S. Sixth Fleet Public Affairs

TUNIS, Tunisia -- U.S. Sixth Fleet and Tunisian Naval Forces hosted the closing ceremony for exercise Phoenix Express, concluding the 19th iteration of Phoenix Express Nov. 15, 2024.

This year's exercise was hosted in Tunisia with training taking place throughout the Southern Mediterranean Sea and territorial waters of participating North African nations. Members of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army worked alongside African and European Allies and partners to incorporate the use of the multinational communication center (MNCC), improving communications among maritime forces from Europe, North Africa, and the United States.

This 12-day exercise brings together North African, European, and U.S. maritime forces as part of a global network of maritime security forces to enhance cooperation and expertise in maritime security operations in the Southern Mediterranean Sea.

"Phoenix Express is one of the most significant ways our nations collaborate," said Vice Adm. J.T. Anderson, Commander U.S. 6th Fleet. "It is crucial to improve regional cooperation, maritime domain awareness, information sharing, and tactical expertise with our Allies and partner nations to counter sea-based illicit activity in North Africa and the Southern Mediterranean Sea."

Phoenix Express focuses on increasing the capabilities and interoperability of land- and sea-based maritime security operations. The use of the MNCC and maritime operations center sought to improve communications with participating Allies and partner nations. Ship-boarding, diving, and search and rescue exercises allowed participating nations to share information, refine tactics, and improve techniques to bolster maritime security in the region.

"Tunisia is honored to host Phoenix Express 2024," said Commodore Noureddine Chakroun, Tunisian Navy Deputy Chief of Staff in Charge of Operations. "Our strategic location in the Mediterranean allowed us to facilitate multinational operations that addressed shared security objectives by collectively addressing maritime security challenges."

Participating nations included Algeria, Belgium, Georgia, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Turkiye, and the United States.

Phoenix Express is one of three regional maritime exercises led by U.S. Naval Forces Africa, facilitated by Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet, as part of a comprehensive strategy to provide collaborative opportunities to African forces and international partners to address maritime security concerns.

Commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners to advance U.S. national interests, security and stability in Europe and Africa.

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The Future USS Nantucket (LCS 27) Visits Namesake Communities

US Navy

15 November 2024

From Lt. Brinn Hefron

BOSTON, Mass. -- Throughout the week before the commissioning, the crew of the future USS Nantucket (LCS 27), which will be the Navy's newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship, visited the ship's namesake of Nantucket, Mass. as well as volunteered with Boston communities.

For the Nantucket Sailors, these visits were an opportunity to connect with the ship's namesake city and the rich heritage that can be found throughout the state of Massachusetts before they bring the ship to life at a commissioning ceremony on Nov. 16.

For USS Nantucket's Combat Systems Officer, Lt. Cmdr. Mike Lynch, the chance to spend Veteran's Day with the local community was a meaningful moment during the week. "We are very grateful for the opportunity to spend Veteran's Day with the veterans at the New England Veterans Home," said Lynch. "It was great to hear their stories and allow us to connect with veterans in the Boston area."

Of the events that Nantucket Sailors participated in, visiting the town of Nantucket was the most impactful to USS Nantucket's Auxiliaries Officer, Lt. j.g. Meghana Komarraju. "I'm very grateful to the local community who spent their time to show us around the town on a walking tour and the tour of the Nantucket Whaling Museum," said Komarraju. "The visit gave me a deeper appreciation for the town that our ship is named after. I feel much more connected to Nantucket as a whole."

The crew volunteered with the United States Lightship Museum to restore the bunks in the staterooms onboard the Nantucket Lightship. "It was great working on the lightship and giving back to a project that's special to our namesake town," said Machinist Mate First Class Devon King.

To showcase their hard work and dedication to the public, the ship hosted public ship tours throughout the week to include hosting 316th Captain Commanding Maj. Michael Fish of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, Commissioner of Veterans Services Robert Santiago, and Former State of Massachusetts Chief of Staff for Veteran's Services Paul Moran. The Nantucket also provided tours to Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets from Boston colleges and universities.

USS Nantucket is the fourth U.S. Navy ship to bear this namesake, dating back to 1863 when the first USS Nantucket, a Passaic-class, single-turret monitor was commissioned. The Passaic-class Nantucket supported the U.S. Navy's South Atlantic Blockade and played a critical role during the civil war.

The future USS Nantucket will commission on Saturday, Nov. 16 in Boston. To watch the commissioning ceremony on livestream please visit: www.dvidshub.net/webcast/34487

LCS 27 is a fast, optimally manned, mission-tailored surface combatant that operates in near-shore and open-ocean environments, winning against 21st-century coastal threats. Littoral Combat Ships integrate with joint, combined, manned, and unmanned teams to support forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence missions around the globe.

The mission of CNSP is to man, train, and equip the Surface Force to provide fleet commanders with credible naval power to control the sea and project power ashore.

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Navy to Commission Future Littoral Combat Ship Nantucket

US Navy - Press Release

15 November 2024

Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Nantucket (LCS 27) will be commissioned on November 16, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. EST in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Honorable Maura Healey, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will deliver the principal address at the commissioning ceremony. Remarks will also be provided by The Honorable Bill Keating, U.S. Representative, Massachusetts 9th District, The Honorable Meredith Berger, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations, and Environment, Vice Admiral Michael Boyle, Director of Navy Staff, The Honorable Michelle Wu, Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, and Mr. Paul Lemmo, Vice President and General Manager, Integrated Warfare Systems and Sensors, Lockheed Martin.

The ship's sponsor is Polly Spencer, a business owner, grandmother, and wife of Richard Spencer, the 76th Secretary of the Navy. Mrs. Spencer's connection to Nantucket dates back to 1976, when she was a year-round resident of the island, raising her three children and owning and operating a children's clothing and toy store. As the wife of Richard Spencer, she traveled to visit sailors, Marines, and their families both at home and abroad. Noting the sacrifices and unwavering dedication she observed, she cites this experiencealong with being the sponsor of USS Nantucketas the highlights of her career.

"The crew, along with our industry partners, have worked tirelessly over the past several years to bring the USS Nantucket (LCS 27) to life, and I am proud of each of them for their contributions and service," said Secretary Del Toro. "Nantucket already made an impact when she supported a U.S. Coast Guard operation in October in Lake Erie. I take great pride in knowing that Nantucket represents the future of our Fleet and Force -- equipped with advanced technology and sailed by our Navy's best and brightest crews."

Nantucket is the 14th Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) commissioned in the United States Navy and the third U.S. Navy ship to bear this name.

The LCS class consists of two variants: the Freedom and the Independence, designed and built by two industry teams. Lockheed Martin leads the Freedom-variant team, building the odd-numbered hulls in Marinette, Wisconsin. Austal USA leads the Independence-variant team in Mobile, Alabama, constructing LCS 6 and the subsequent even-numbered hulls.

Littoral combat ships like Nantucket will be equipped with Over the Horizon - Weapons System (OTH-WS) Naval Strike Missile (NSM). The OTH NSM provides the U.S. and its allies with long range anti-surface offensive strike capability as well as increased coastline defense, deterrence, and interoperability.

Littoral combat ships are fast, optimally manned, mission-tailored surface combatants that operate in both near-shore and open-ocean environments, countering 21st-century coastal threats. LCS ships integrate with joint, combined, manned, and unmanned teams to support forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence missions around the globe.

The ceremony will be live-streamed at www.dvidshub.net/webcast/34487. The link will become active approximately ten minutes prior to the event, at 09:50 a.m. EST.

Media inquiries may be directed to the Navy Office of Information at (703) 697-5342. For more information on the littoral combat ship program, visit: https://www.navy.mil/Resources/Fact-Files/Display-FactFiles/Article/2171607/littoral-combat-ship-class-lcs/

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Iran pledges support to Lebanon after talks in Beirut

By VOA News November 15, 2024

A senior Iranian official said Friday that Tehran will stand with Lebanon in "all circumstances," as the United States and others work to secure a cease-fire deal between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader, Ali Larijani, traveled to Beirut on Friday and held talks with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. He spoke with reporters following those talks, saying Iran "supports the people of Lebanon and its officials."

He said Iran was not seeking to disrupt anything but to resolve issues. He called Hezbollah a "wise movement" and Lebanon, a wise nation, "but they themselves know what actions they need to take."

Larijani said Iran hopes the situation improves "as soon as possible" and people who were forced to move from the south can return home. Iran supports Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Both groups have been designated as terror organizations by the United States, Britain and other Western countries.

The adviser's comments are viewed as a direct signal Iran would support a negotiated cease-fire agreement with Israel.

Larijani's visit comes a day after Lebanese officials and media reported the U.S. ambassador to the nation, Lisa Johnson, submitted a draft of an Israel-Hezbollah peace proposal to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has been leading the talks representing Hezbollah. Larijani held a separate meeting Friday with the speaker.

The details of the proposal were not released, and the U.S. Embassy in Beirut did not confirm or deny the reports.

Continued bombardment

Despite such negotiations, Israel continues its aerial bombardment of Lebanon, with airstrikes hitting buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs Friday, after the Israeli military issued an evacuation order in the Lebanese capital.

Video from the scene shows massive explosions and buildings crumbling in the aftermath. Major strikes hit the Dahiyeh and Tayouneh areas, among others.

In a statement posted to its X social media account, the Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, said air force fighter jets, under the direction of Israeli intelligence, launched two waves of attacks Friday as part of an effort to destroy Hezbollah targets "hidden in the heart of the civilian population" in the Dahiyeh section of Beirut.

The statement said the targets included Hezbollah munitions warehouses, headquarters and other terrorist infrastructures.

A report from the World Bank Thursday showed the cross-border fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has inflicted $8.5 billion in physical damages and economic losses to Lebanon. The report said Lebanese housing has taken the hardest hit, with nearly 100,000 housing units partially or fully destroyed, amounting to $2.8 billion in losses.

Israel invaded the Gaza Strip last year after Hamas led a terror attack on communities in southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, according to Israeli authorities, and abducting more than 250 as hostages. About 100 of the hostages are still in Gaza, and a third of them are believed to be dead.

Since then, the Israeli counteroffensive has killed more than 43,700 people, according to Gaza health authorities. An additional 103,000 Palestinians have been injured. The Israeli military says the death toll includes thousands of Hamas militants. Israel also has destroyed much of the enclave's infrastructure, forcing most of the 2.3 million population to move several times.

The war spread to Lebanon in mid-September after months of rocket fire from Hezbollah into Israel and drone and airstrikes by Israel's military in south Lebanon escalated. More than 3,200 Lebanese have been killed, most of them in the past six weeks.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

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Taliban relocation plan could worsen humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, analysts say

By Roshan Noorzai, Noshaba Ashna November 15, 2024

The Taliban's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation announced plans this week to return millions of internally displaced people (IDP) to their home villages and provinces in Afghanistan, a move analysts warn could worsen the country's humanitarian crisis.

"In the first phase, 5,000 displaced families in Kabul would be moved to different places to their places of origin. Most of these families are from [the northeastern province of] Kunduz," said the ministry's statement, issued Wednesday.

The Taliban called on national and international organizations to support their relocation plan. "This is a priority for the ministry," the statement said.

"It is a good decision to relocate displaced families to their communities of origin," said Sayed Ahmad Selab, the founder of the Selab Charity Foundation and former Afghan parliamentarian, adding, "but it could bring about a humanitarian crisis under the current circumstances."

Most of these families would not have shelter, Selab said, if they were returned to their provinces.

"They were displaced because of the yearslong conflict and drought. Most of them lost their houses and would have no prospects of jobs and places to live if they were returned," he said.

The United Nations refugee agency, or UNHCR, says there are 3.2 million IDPs in Afghanistan.

More than 7.6 million Afghans are living as refugees in Pakistan and Iran, including 1.6 million Afghans who left after the Taliban's takeover in August 2021.

About a year ago, both Iran and Pakistan started forcible repatriation of Afghan refugees from their countries. The Taliban government said in June that around 2,000 Afghans were arriving daily from these countries.

Hafiz Ahmad Miakhil, a former adviser to the Ministry of Refugee and Repatriation, told VOA that he does not think the Taliban "have any policy in place for the relocation plan."

He told VOA that the Taliban's ministry is not in a position to undertake the repatriation of millions of internally displaced people.

"For the repatriation of internally displaced people, there is the need to construct schools and provide shelters and health services. The Taliban don't have the resources to do so," Miakhil said.

He added that the Taliban would need the support of the international community and for that, the Taliban "have to get recognized nationally and internationally."

The Taliban, who seized power in August 2021 after the former Afghan government collapsed, are not yet recognized as the legitimate government of Afghanistan by any country.

Under the Taliban, Afghanistan is facing multiple crises. Sanctions against the Taliban, no banking transfers, frozen assets, no access to global institutions and the dwindling of foreign aid have moved millions into poverty and hunger.

There are 11.6 million people who are food insecure in Afghanistan.

In September, the U.N. said that it received only 30% of the $3 billion needed this year for the humanitarian response in the country.

Since returning to power, the Taliban have imposed repressive measures on women and imposed their strict interpretation of Islam in the country.

"The de facto authorities are exacerbating this crisis by policies that focus insufficiently on the real needs of its people and undermine its economic potential," said Roza Otunbayeva, the U.N. special representative for Afghanistan.

Abdul Hamid Jalili, the former Afghan attache in the Peshawar Consulate, told VOA that the Taliban's decision to return IDPs to their villages "would bring yet another humanitarian crisis."

This story originated in VOA's Afghan Service.

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Western diplomats urge Somaliland leaders to accept election results

By Harun Maruf November 15, 2024

Western diplomats have urged Somaliland's three presidential candidates and their supporters to accept the election results, expected in the coming days, as vote counting continues. The diplomats said they have visited 30 polling stations in different cities in Somaliland to "reaffirm their support for the democratic process."

The foreign diplomats from nine European countries and the United States, who were in Somaliland on Wednesday to witness the elections, said they commend Somaliland's National Electoral Commission for conducting a "transparent voter registration and candidate nomination process."

In a statement read by the U.K. ambassador to Somalia, Mike Nithavrianakis, the diplomats said they stand ready to work alongside Somaliland to further strengthen democracy and accountability in the future.

Meanwhile, international observers in Somaliland said the elections were peaceful, although in some parts the polling stations did not open "due to conflict."

Tim Cole, a former British diplomat, is the chief observer of the International Election Observation Mission Somaliland. He is leading a team of 28 international observers invited by the Somaliland election committee.

Cole said the observers visited 146 polling stations and saw "some administrative issues" and said in some places "procedures weren't followed." However, he said the team observed that in general, people wanted to participate in the election, there was enthusiasm for voting and the elections were peaceful.

"In some parts of Somaliland ... the polling stations didn't open because of conflict. So that's one issue that some voters faced," he told VOA's Horn of Africa Service.

"There were long queues, which can be seen as a good thing, but it also means people are standing around for a long time. But, yeah, the main challenges were really, I would say, there were some procedural issues. As I said, some of the polling stations, for example, didn't open as early as they should have done. They were due to open at 7 o'clock and they opened later. That was also true in the capital, Hargeisa."

The observer said the tallying starts when the ballot boxes are brought from all six regions of Somaliland. He said the results will take days to be released.

"It will be sometime next week before we know the final results," he said. "So, I'm not sure exactly which day that could be, because all of those things can take time or could be done very quickly depending on logistics, cars breaking down, all those sorts of things. That can happen in any country. So, it will be a few days yet before we get the final result."

The Brenthurst Foundation, a Johannesburg-based think tank that sent observers to Somaliland, said no serious incidents threatened the integrity of the election on voting day.

"In our opinion, this election was free, fair and credible despite the constraints of Somaliland's financial and institutional means," it said in a report published Friday.

More than 1.2 million people registered to vote in the election, the fourth in Somaliland since 2003. The region seceded from the rest of Somalia in 1991 but gained no international recognition. Somalia still considers Somaliland as part of its territory.

Guleid Ahmed Jama is a prominent Somaliland human rights lawyer and analyst. He says the economy, international recognition, foreign affairs, and peace and security were the main issues the candidates have been campaigning on.

"The economy of Somaliland is in a very poor position. Somaliland is a poor country; it's one of the poorest places in the world. It doesn't produce or manufacture anything. Most of the things, most of the goods used in Somaliland are imported from the outside," he said.

"Somaliland export is only livestock and also gets some money from remittance and by the diaspora community. So, its economy is very poor. That is an issue in Somaliland, particularly to the youth," Jama said.

Recognition is another key issue in Somaliland. The current president, Muse Bihi Abdi, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ethiopia in January, agreeing to lease 20 kilometers of seafront to the landlocked country in return for recognition.

Jama said if the incumbent wins, he will implement the MOU. He said the opposition has welcomed the agreement, but with reservations.

"The political leaders, particularly two main contenders, are all on the same page to have some sort of agreement with Ethiopia in relation to access to [the] sea. But the opposition's position is that they will like to see the memorandum of understanding  what is written  because they haven't seen it. It is not a public document, and they say the people will be consulted and the process will be transparent," he said.

"But the ruling party candidate obviously says if he gets elected, he will convert it to a legally binding agreement. So, it depends on who wins in this election, whether they will proceed with the memorandum of understanding or not."

Somalia condemns the MOU as illegal and an infringement of its sovereignty and territorial unity, while Ethiopia and Somaliland defend it.

Without commenting on the MOU, Ethiopia praised Somaliland's election and congratulated the people of Somaliland "on the conduct of [voters for the] peaceful and democratic election."

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ethiopia commended Somaliland's National Electoral Commission for conducting a "free and fair election."

"This process reflects the maturity of Somaliland's governance and democratic system," the statement concluded.

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Regional bloc urged to deal with Mozambique's post-election violence

By Columbus Mavhunga November 15, 2024

Heads of state of the Southern African Development Community regional bloc are due to meet next week in Zimbabwe on post-election violence in neighboring Mozambique, where the political opposition is disputing poll results.

Mozambique has been rocked by violence following its October 9 elections, with police accused of killing some 30 protesters, according to civil society organizations there. Amnesty International says the crackdown on human rights by the government led by the winning Frelimo party continues.

Venancio Mondlane, leader of Mozambique's opposition PODEMOS party, is disputing that Frelimo's Daniel Chapo won the presidential election.

Speaking to VOA Friday from her base in Johannesburg, Amnesty International's deputy regional director for East and Southern Africa, Khanyo Farise, urged Southern African Development Community leaders to advocate for an end to the violence when they meet in Harare.

"The situation in Mozambique gets worse every day as the death toll spirals, yet the SADC remains shockingly silent," Farise said. "Regardless of the outcome of the elections, SADC must take a strong stand against the assault on the right to protest and the killing of protesters.

"SADC has been painfully slow to respond to Mozambique's crisis," she said. "The bloc must forcefully speak out now against the ongoing violations of human rights by Mozambican security forces and put human rights and accountability at the center of its upcoming summit in Harare."

Adriano Nuvunga, director of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Mozambique, said that his country has experienced post-election violence before but that this year, "the magnitude and the duration of incidences is unprecedented."

"It is nationwide violence led by the young people," Nuvunga said, who "feel that the results announced favoring Frelimo did not reflect the will of the people expressed at the polls."

"In the past three days everything is paralyzed," he said. "The ports are paralyzed, corridors, borders are paralyzed, which is affecting not only Mozambique but neighboring countries that depend on Mozambique to access to sea and ports. So, this makes it a regional crisis not only a domestic crisis."

But, Nuvunga said, the leaders of Tanzania, Zimbabwe and South Africa have "taken sides [a] long time ago" because they acknowledged Frelimo and Chapo as the winners of the election even before results were announced by the Constitutional Council.

"So, SADC will meet. SADC will discuss. But the trust in SADC is not that big," he said.

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Readout of President Joe Biden's Meeting with President Dina Boluarte of Peru

November 15, 2024

President Biden met today with President Dina Boluarte of Peru at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' week in Lima, Peru. President Biden congratulated President Boluarte for Peru's successful APEC host year and thanked her for Peru's longstanding partnership with the United States. The two leaders discussed U.S.-Peru cooperation in security and counternarcotics, economic investment and trade, and space collaboration.

President Biden reiterated our commitment to support Peru's counternarcotics capabilities through a $65 million security assistance package that includes the planned transfer of nine Black Hawk helicopters. He thanked President Boluarte for Peru's close coordination on counternarcotics, including Peru's decision to approve measures required to share radar information between the United States and Peru for the first time in a decade. President Biden also highlighted a California Caltrain donation of more than 100 locomotives to the city of Lima to promote cleaner transportation. Lastly, President Biden discussed our expanded space cooperation with Peru, including through a NASA Sounding Rocket Memorandum of Understanding that NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Peruvian counterparts signed as part of this visit.

The two leaders also discussed the challenges in Venezuela. President Biden thanked Peru for its support at the Organization of American States and the United Nations to call for the return to democratic governance in Venezuela.

###

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Background Press Gaggle on the U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateral Meeting

November 15, 2024

Lima Convention Center

Lima, Peru

MODERATOR: We'll do this on background, attributed to a senior administration official. Just a couple minutes to read out the trilat meeting.

Do you want to kick us off and provide 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sure. Maybe just a few comments.

Just finished the trilateral leaders-level meeting between President Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, and the Japanese Prime Minister, Ishiba Shigeru. The meeting lasted probably just over 40 minutes, simultaneous interpretation. So they covered a lot of ground.

I was struck by the fact that every leader commented on how extraordinary this  and how extraordinarily important this trilateral cooperation has become. They all noted that since Camp David, there's been an incredible acceleration in our work together, and also the areas in which we're working has really broadened significantly, from security to economics to economic security, technology, really across the board.

They did do a tour d'horizon of sorts across the region and across the world. They talked about the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea and across the Taiwan Strait. They talked about how closely we're working, all three of us, in Southeast Asia and in the Pacific Islands.

But the issue that they probably discussed most in depth was the growing threat posed by the DPRK, both the DPRK's growing missile and nuclear capabilities and also, of course, the really escalatory and destabilizing nature of Russia-DPRK cooperation, particularly, of course, the deployment of North Korean troops into the Kursk region.

So those were the issues that were covered. And, again, the one that was addressed most in depth was the DPRK-Russia issue.

And with that, I'm happy to take your questions.

Q Sure. The one person you didn't mention was Donald Trump. Did his name come up in any of the discussions? Did the Asian leaders express any concern or seek any insight (inaudible)?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No. As a matter of fact, the President-elect's name did not come up. I think you saw in the pool spray the President did note we're in a time of transition. He noted, of course, we have a newly elected Japanese Prime Minister, Ishiba. You know, we'll have a transition in the United States.

But the focus of the conversation was entirely on, I'd say, two things. It was the here and now of the challenges and the common interests that we share, and then the recognition that both our shared interests and the shared challenges are enduring. And that was the nature of the conversation.

Q Did they talk about consequences for the DPRK, for the Russian (inaudible)?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, the way I would term it is all three leaders said we need to continue to follow very closely these concerning developments, and, most importantly, we need to coordinate more closely than ever before on how we're going to respond. And of course, our teams are talking every day about the best ways to do that.

Q So, did any of the leaders talk about the future of burden sharing under the new administration? I understand that South Korea and the U.S. have just signed sort of like a new agreement that will hold for a few years ahead, which is an increase of the previous agreement on burden sharing. Did they talk about that?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, the Special Measures Agreement issue, you  I think you've described accurately. That was not discussed today. Again, what we discussed today: Every leader noted how incredibly important this trilateral cooperation has been and will continue to be going forward. And then we talked about all the different areas in which we're currently cooperating.

Q Was the sense on the growing DPRK-Russia relationship that there is something that can be done to sort of break this up? Or are you all looking at this as a threat going forward that might intensify? I guess, whatever you're doing, is that going to 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I think, one, there's an increasing recognition that, more than ever before, security matters between Europe and Asia are indivisible and more interlinked than they've ever been before.

But we talked about a number of steps, both diplomatic in terms of our respective military postures and sanctions measures and the like. All of those things, I think, are options before us, and we'll have to consider, I think collaboratively, how best to engage going forward.

But there was tremendous convergence on just how destabilizing this growing nexus between Moscow and Pyongyang is for the region.

And, look, I think there was also a recognition that China has a role to play here as well. And I think there's a sense that one would think it should not be in Beijing's interest to have this kind of destabilizing cooperation take place in the region as well.

Q There was no discussion of Trump in terms of his relationship with Kim and how that has sort of changed during his years and then into the Biden administration?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: None whatsoever.

Q Do you think it's hard to have these conversations in a meaningful way without acknowledging this change in administration that's going to be coming up?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: What we're focused on is the here and now. And I know that, of course, as I said at the top, even in front of the press, there was a recognition that we're in a period of transition. But as we often say, there's one president at a time, and the focus of this meeting was what are we going to do together, especially over the next couple of months, to deter particularly these growing threats that I've

addressed.

Q I know there was a pull-aside with the Japanese Prime Minister. Did Nippon Steel come up? Was that a discussion today?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don't know. I wasn't there, so I do not know.

Q It didn't come up in the trilat, I assume?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No, it did not.

Q What is the current understanding of how the North Korean troops are being used? How many are actually in the fight versus, you now, sort of 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don't have anything new to report to that. I think you've seen Admiral Kirby and others have spoken extensively from the podium.

But as we've talked about, the 10,000-plus North Korean troops that are in Russia, we believe are now all or predominantly in the Kursk region. We presume they have gone there to engage in combat, but I don't have anything beyond those top lines that you've seen already.

Q Is there anything new in terms of missile warning systems, the trilateral part? Or is that just a continuation of what has already been set up?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I think you'll see the three of us will have a statement coming out soon, and we'll speak to  perhaps it's already out. You'll see there's an agreement to continue to share in real time missile data. I think that's really important.

And even though I've emphasized just how broad and deep our cooperation is, I think there was a recognition among the three leaders that, in particular, our security cooperation has probably increased most dramatically, and that's probably most impactful and most needed at this time, given the growing threats that we talked about.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: And the strong recognition by the three leaders that that cooperation, on real-time sharing, needs to be enhanced further in order to respond to these growing threats.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: And, look, maybe just reinforcing that, as well, the trilateral military exercise, Freedom Edge, has either  has wrapped or is just wrapping up.

Again, I think this is, really, a tangible manifestation of what we're doing together in real time.

Q But can I ask just on the missile warning system: On the increase of that, I think Jake mentioned yesterday that, in particular, a period of transition is a time where the DPRK might try to act provocatively. So is there urgency during this transition period to make this statement?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: What we're doing is we're following President Biden's direction. We're going to have the most orderly, peaceful, and effective transition possible, and we're going to do so in a way that ensures that we do everything to ensure America's security and prosperity.

And I have to say it would be very unwise for any of our adversaries to think that this is a period of time in which they could try to seek advantage. That would be a great miscalculation.

MODERATOR: All right, I think we got to wrap here.

Q Do you see alignment with the two countries on potential actions you would take in response to the DPRK's troop deployment?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I think  well, look, again, we agree that we're going to follow  continue following these developments closely, continue our intensive conversations about how to go forward.

But the word that I would use to describe the conversation would be "convergence." Tremendous convergence in our views, our outlook, and our determination to respond collectively to these challenges. And as for how we'll do that in detail, I think you'll see more about that in the coming days and weeks.

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Remarks by President Biden and President Dina Boluarte Zegarra of the Republic of Peru in Bilateral Meeting | Lima, Peru

November 15, 2024

Lima Convention Center

Lima, Peru

3:48 P.M. PET

PRESIDENT BOLUARTE: (As interpreted.) Dear Mr. President of the United States 

(The interpretive audio devices are adjusted.)

PRESIDENT BIDEN: I have to tell you before I begin, when I was a young senator, the president  a senior senator from Texas said, "Joe, someday you're going to run for president. You better learn Spanish." (Laughter.) I only speak English.

All right.

PRESIDENT BOLUARTE: (As interpreted.) Dear Mr. President Biden, first of all, I would like to welcome you to our dear country amidst the APEC 2024 Leaders' Week. We hope that you and your delegation are enjoying your stay here in Lima, Peru, and that you are well treated.

Thank you very much for your visit. Thank you very much for sharing our mutual interests through this APEC forum, where we gather with the most important 21 economies in the world.

You, Mr. President, and your delegation are most welcome to my country.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, Madam President, thank you very much. And my only concern is my colleagues are not going to come home with me. (Laughter.) They're going to want to stay. You have a truly beautiful country.

And you're a very important and valued partner. That's for real.

Our countries work closely together, day in and day out, to manage the regional challenges we both face, to defend democracy, to protect the environment, and to provide good jobs  good-paying jobs for our people.

With your permission, Madam President, I'd like to highlight three areas of growing cooperation.

First, we want to thank you for elevating our fight against drug trafficking, a mutual concern. I'm pleased to announce $65 million over the next five years to assist  in assistance to Peru, including the nine Black Hawk helicopters and training for more than 130 pilots and technicians.

And second, we are partnering on infrastructure. California Caltrain has donated 150 passenger cars and locomotives to the Lima metro rail, part of a much larger collaboration that will save Peru millions of dollars and reduce pollution and deepen ties between and among our businesses.

And third, we're cooperating on space exploration. Now, that fellow right there, the former senator from Florida  very close friend of mine  every time my wife thinks I'm getting out of hand, she says, "I'm going to call him and have him send you to space." (Laughter.) And I'm a little concerned he may want to send me to space because we got to get some folks back home. (Laughter.)

In May, Peru joined the  the Artemis Accords and set the principles of the be-  best practices for how we move on space.

And this week, we've agreed to cooperate on research rockets as well  our countries.

So, Madam President, thank you for your leadership within APEC, and thank you for your partnership and friendship with the United States. And I genuinely look forward to our discussion.

PRESIDENT BOLUARTE: (As interpreted.) Thank you very much.

3:52 P.M. PET

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Joint Statement of Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States

November 15, 2024

We, the leaders of Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), and the United States, convened in the spirit of Camp David to commemorate the remarkable progress our three countries have made since our Trilateral Leaders' Summit in 2023. Japan, the ROK, and the United States stand united in our dedication to promote human rights, democracy, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. We remain determined to align our collective efforts to ensure the continued success of our peoples, the region, and the world. We remain steadfast in our support for a free and open rules-based international order. The actions that we take together will continue to bolster regional and global peace and security well into the future.

***

During the past 15 months, we have constructed a trilateral partnership that is built to last. Today, we announce the establishment of the Trilateral Secretariat responsible for coordinating and implementing our shared commitments. This new secretariat will seek to ensure that the work we do together further aligns our objectives and actions to make the Indo-Pacific a thriving, connected, resilient, stable, and secure region.

We applaud our expanding trilateral security cooperation, including the successful first two iterations of the trilateral multi-domain exercise Freedom Edge and the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation on the Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework to institutionalize trilateral cooperation among our defense authorities. Our trilateral defense engagements are expanding to annual Chiefs of Defense and ministerial meetings that build upon existing senior-level policy consultations, information sharing, trilateral exercises, and defense exchanges. Japan, the ROK, and the United States are promoting trilateral interoperability by sharing data in real time about ballistic missile launches by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and by working to strengthen our ballistic missile defense capabilities. We are enhancing junior officer exchanges to further build interoperability and people-to-people ties among our defense forces. President Biden reiterates that the U.S. commitments to the defense of the ROK and Japan are ironclad and reaffirms the U.S. commitment to strengthen extended deterrence cooperation through the ROK-U.S. and Japan-U.S. alliances. These actions underscore our three countries' shared commitment to consult on regional challenges, provocations, and threats affecting our collective interests and security.

We strongly condemn violations of multiple United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions by the DPRK and Russia, especially in light of the DPRK's decision to deploy troops to Russia for combat against Ukraine. Japan, the ROK, and the United States strongly condemn the decisions by the leaders of the DPRK and Russia to dangerously expand Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. Deepening military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, including munitions and ballistic missile transfers, is particularly egregious given Russia's status as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council. We remain resolute as ever in supporting Ukraine as it exercises its inherent right to self-defense as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter.

We reaffirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, consistent with UNSC resolutions. We commit to respond firmly to violations and evasions of DPRK-related UNSC resolutions as well as any attempt to undermine the global non-proliferation regime. Japan, the ROK, and the United States are committed to the work of the new Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team responsible for conducting comprehensive and effective sanctions monitoring and reporting efforts regarding UNSC sanctions on the DPRK. We express grave concern over the DPRK's illicit revenue generation methods, including its use of arms transfers, malicious cyber activities, and the dispatch of workers abroad, to fund its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. We are committed to expanding trilateral efforts to counter the DPRK's malicious cyber program and illicit revenue generation, including by collaborating to build capacity across the Indo-Pacific region to better protect against illicit DPRK activities. Our three countries continue to call for adherence to shared international norms and responsible behavior in the cyber domain to protect public critical infrastructure placed at risk by disruptive or destabilizing cyber activities. Prime Minister Ishiba and President Biden acknowledge their support for President Yoon's vision of a free, peaceful, and prosperous Korean Peninsula and reiterate their support for a unified Korean Peninsula that is free and at peace. With a clear recognition of the inextricable link between DPRK human rights issues and international peace and security, we promote the advancement of human rights in the DPRK and call for the immediate resolution of the issues of abductees, detainees, and unrepatriated prisoners of war.

We reaffirm the importance of maintaining peace and stability throughout the Indo-Pacific region. We reaffirm our unwavering support for ASEAN centrality and unity and for the ASEAN-led regional architecture. We are committed to working closely with ASEAN to support robust implementation and mainstreaming of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. We express concerns about illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and we take this opportunity to announce a new Trilateral Maritime Security and Law Enforcement Cooperation Framework that will strengthen our cooperation on shared regional challenges and protect rules-based approaches to the maritime domain.

We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the waters of the Indo-Pacific, and we recognize the importance of opposing unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea. We steadfastly oppose the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels and coercive activities in the South China Sea. We express support for the global maritime order, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, based on international law, as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. We recognize that peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is an indispensable element of security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. There is no change in our basic positions on Taiwan, and we call for the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues.

Japan, the ROK, and the United States are committed to deepening our trilateral economic partnership, including through continuing our close coordination on economic security. Japan and the United States look forward to the ROK's hosting of APEC in 2025 and welcome the ROK's chairmanship of the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP). Japan and the United States are committed to closely coordinating with the ROK to accelerate MSP projects. We recognize the MSP as a crucial institutional forum to develop a more diverse and sustainable critical minerals supply chain. We welcome the progress made by the Resilient and Inclusive Supply-chain Enhancement (RISE) partnership. We commend the Trilateral Economic Security Dialogue for deepening trilateral engagements on economic security issues, and we welcome regularized, active consultation among our countries to exchange early warning information on supply chain disruptions. We applaud the successful first trilateral meeting between our finance ministries and look forward to the next convening. We commit to continue cooperating to promote sustainable economic growth and financial stability, as well as orderly and well-functioning financial markets. We commend the successful launch of the first trilateral Commerce and Industry Ministerial Meeting and look forward to the next convening. We reaffirm our longstanding commitment to advancing women's economic empowerment, including through the upcoming 2024 Trilateral Women's Economic Empowerment Conference in Washington. We applaud women leaders in STEM who are working to address barriers to entry and advancement. In addition, we are committed to enhancing cooperation within the Crisis Response Network established under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Supply Chain Agreementwith the ROK as the Chair and Japan as the Vice Chairto ensure members maintain access to vital supplies during emergencies.

We concur on the need for trilateral collaboration on technology security, standards, and trusted ecosystems, and we commit to develop a trilateral framework to further advance our next generation critical and emerging technology cooperation. We hail the successful launch of the Trilateral Technology Leaders Training Program, which has served to train and connect policymakers focusing on semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology, digital economy, biotechnology, cybersecurity, energy, and space. In addition, Japan, the ROK, and the United States are working to accelerate the development of a trusted AI ecosystem across our three countries. We are strengthening commercial collaboration around AI chips in addition to enhancing protections for critical technology and strengthening engagement on AI safety. We are working to build resilient supply chains for active pharmaceutical ingredients through the "Bio-5" coalition. As founding members of the Quantum Development Group, we look forward to further strengthening cooperation on supply chains and trusted investment in our quantum ecosystems. We are proud of the launch of a new quantum workforce program by IBM, in partnership with Japanese, Korean, and U.S. universities, which aims to train 40,000 students over the next decade. We also welcome trilateral cooperation among our national research institutes, and we stress the significance of the successful launch of the Disruptive Technology Protection Network, which is essential for combatting illicit technology transfer.

Japan, the ROK, and the United States also are expanding our cooperation on development and humanitarian assistance across the globe, including through a senior-level biennial policy dialogue. Together, Japan, the ROK, and the United States have expanded trilateral development assistance to the Philippines and Ukraine. We commit to further advance collaboration in critical sectors across the Philippines, including ports modernization, energy infrastructure, agribusiness, and large-scale transportation projects. We support trilateral digital infrastructure and telecommunications initiatives in Southeast Asia, including through the expansion of digital infrastructure using Open RAN approaches across the region.

People-to-people ties between Japan, the ROK, and the United States are rapidly expanding, and we are discussing ways to maintain and build upon this momentum. We applaud the successful first Trilateral Global Leadership Youth Summit this year and look forward to the 2025 Youth Summit in Japan as the next iteration of what we hope will become an annual convening of youth delegates focused on tackling our shared security, economic, and environmental challenges. Furthermore, we support the newly launched Young Trilateral Leaders program, which aims to foster dialogue between our countries and concrete action by young people on global challenges.

***

Our cooperation has soared to new heights in every corner of our governments, and we have created a brighter, safer, and more prosperous future for our people. We are proud of the partnership we have built and believe that the Japan-ROK-U.S. relationship will be a ballast of peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific for years to come.

###

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Background Press Gaggle on the U.S.-Peru Bilateral Meeting

November 15, 2024

Lima Convention Center

Lima, Peru

MODERATOR: I figured we'd do a quick gaggle on background, attributable to an SAO, reading out the Peru meeting and answer any questions you all have.

So, [senior administration official], do you want to say anything at the top?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sure. So, President Biden had a very warm meeting with President Dina Boluarte of Peru. The meeting lasted for about 50 minutes  5-0 minutes.

In the meeting, they discussed the historic nature of the U.S.-Peru relationship. The two countries will celebrate 200 years of diplomatic relations in 2026.

President Biden also remarked that this year, 2024, marks the 15th anniversary of the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement.

They discussed cooperation between the United States and Peru on counternarcotics, and President Biden highlighted the $65 million donation of nine Black Hawk helicopters to Peru that will take place in the coming period.

They also discussed space cooperation between the United States and Peru. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson participated in the bilat as well.

There was some discussion of regional issues, specifically Venezuela, and the need for democracies in the region, including the United States and Peru, to continue to support  for the election victory of Edmundo Gonzalez to be acknowledged by the Maduro authorities, and also discussion of migration and how the United States and Peru and other countries in the region can work together to effectively manage the challenges of migration in the region.

So those were the principal issues discussed.

One other item that was mentioned was a donation that's been made by Caltrain of over 100 locomotives and rail cars to Peru, which will help Peru to modernize its metro system.

And President Boluarte expressed great appreciation for the U.S. contribution to Peruvian infrastructure, and really was enthusiastic about deepening that relationship on infrastructure.

MODERATOR: Any questions?

Q Can you talk about the counterterrorism part of it? Sorry. The counterterrorism part. Why are we 

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: It's counternarcotics.

Q Yeah, sorry.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Counternarcotics.

Q Why are we donating Black Hawks? Is that like  are we going to use that to, like, eradicate coca crops or something?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, it's to fight transnational criminal organizations that are fueling the drug trade in Peru and many other countries in Latin America. Peru, after several years of an increase in coca production, actually saw a decrease last year for the first time in many years. And so, the United States is working with Peruvian authorities to help them to build up the capabilities to fight the influence of transnational criminal organizations in Peru.

Q Was there any discussion of the next administration and what to expect? Or were they picking your guys' brains on that aspect at all?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No, it really focused on the current U.S. bilateral relationship. President Biden did underscore the importance of respect for democracy and strengthening democratic institutions, as he does in all of his meetings with democratic counterparts around the world.

But it was a meeting that was very much focused on, frankly, the accomplishments that the Biden administration has had with Peru over the past four years.

Q So no  Trump didn't come up at all in any sense?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Not explicitly, no.

Q Any talks of the kind of hub on  that Xi is going to inaugurate, the megaport? Like, how are leaders feeling about that? And do they have any sense of what they're expecting from the U.S. in terms of development financing?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, President Boluarte did mention the port but in reference to the fact that she also saw greater U.S. support and investment in infrastructure in Peru. Infrastructure is one of her principal priorities.

President Biden did caution that it's important for countries to maintain very high standards of transparency in their dealings with other partners around the world, including China.

Q One last one. What's the U.S.'s plan at the G20 to regain momentum about Venezuela?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don't have any comment on the G20 at this time.

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Army releases Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Financial Report and audit results

By U.S. Army Public Affairs November 16, 2024

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Army released the results of its financial statement audit contained within its Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Financial Report.

This year, the Army downgraded six material weaknesses within its general fund and working capital fund, representing an important step toward greater financial integrity and stewardship of American taxpayer dollars. By downgrading the Army's Fund Balance with Treasury general fund material weakness, the Army not only accomplished a Secretary of Defense audit priority, but also positioned itself closer to balancing its checkbook with the U.S. Treasury, increasing its financial accountability and transparency. This, along with the other material weakness downgrades made for a successful fiscal 2024. Those downgrades include:

Entity-Level Controls - Enterprise Responsibilities (general fund and working capital fund): Improves the Army's ability to maintain a strong tone at the top by instituting governance and monitoring functions across the entire enterprise.

Environmental and Disposal Liabilities - Asset Driven (working capital fund): Establishes accurate financial estimates of environmental and disposal liabilities at Army depots.

General Equipment (working capital fund): Provides stronger awareness of the location, condition and quantity of equipment at Army depots.

Real Property (working capital fund): Enables greater insight into the Army's real estate footprint across Army depots, driving more accurate maintenance budgets.

"This report highlights our firm commitment to the Army's mission, transparently aligning dollars and resources for maximum impact, while maintaining our commitment to national and allied security," said Caral Spangler, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller. "Our uniformed personnel and civilians worked incredibly hard over the last two years to achieve six material weaknesses downgrades in one audit cycle, a momentous achievement for the Army, and for the entire Department of Defense."

Along with material weakness downgrades, the Army also took other notable steps towards auditability in fiscal 2024 by launching a Continuous Monitoring Program, which creates a standardized internal control testing infrastructure, increases consistency across commands, and enhances the Army's ability to identify and correct control issues before they impact the financial statements.

The Army is downgrading general fund and working capital fund material weakness according to its audit roadmap, which guides the Army toward meeting the latest National Defense Authorization Act mandate to achieve a clean audit opinion by Dec. 31, 2028. Looking to fiscal year 2025, the Army will continue its audit momentum by targeting more material weaknesses for downgrade across the general fund and working capital fund. The Army's continued efforts will enhance visibility over its assets and inventory, a critical aspect of operational readiness and strategic decision-making. With the closing of each audit finding, the Army's goal will be to reinforce its trust with Congress and the American taxpayer.

The full version of the Fiscal Year 2024 Army Annual Financial Report is available here: https://www.asafm.army.mil/portals/72/Documents/Audit/fy24afr.pdf.

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Sri Lanka: Statement by the Spokesperson on the Parliamentary elections

European External Action Service (EEAS)

16.11.2024

EEAS Press Team

On 14 November, the people of Sri Lanka demonstrated again their commitment to democracy, voting in peaceful, transparent, competitive and well organised parliamentary elections. The European Union looks forward to continue working with the government and the people of Sri Lanka in support of a sustainable economic recovery, inclusive growth and reconciliation.

Following the invitation of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka, the EU deployed an Election Expert Mission (EEM) to assess technical aspects of the parliamentary electoral process in Sri Lanka and make recommendations for future elections. The findings of the EEM will build upon the analysis and findings of the EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) deployed between August and October this year for the Presidential elections at the invitation of the authorities of Sri Lanka.

The deployment of these missions is a testimony to our joint commitment to democracy and the values we share. We will continue our engagement with the government in support of the necessary reforms aimed to build a stable, prosperous and peaceful future, and to further expand our trade and investment relations.

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Afghanistan, One Of The World's Most Vulnerable Countries To Climate Change

By Abubakar Siddique November 16, 2024

One of the world's poorest countries, Afghanistan is also among the leading nations affected by climate change.

Decades of war and environmental degradation have made Afghanistan the fourth most vulnerable country in the world to the impacts of climate change.

Rising temperatures have exacerbated the frequency and severity of natural disasters, including droughts, floods, and landslides, experts say.

Deadly natural disasters in recent years have, in turn, aggravated the devastating humanitarian and economic crises in Afghanistan, where millions are at risk of starvation.

Climate change presents unique challenges to Afghanistan's population of some 40 million, experts say, with around 80 percent of its people dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods.

The collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government and the Taliban's seizure of power in 2021 has complicated Afghanistan's ability to deal with the climate change crisis.

In the wake of the Taliban takeover, international donors immediately halted billions in development aid. International humanitarian assistance, meanwhile, has sharply receded in recent years, partly due to the extremist group's dismal human rights record.

A Taliban delegation is participating as an observer at the UN Climate Conference in Baku. But the Taliban's cash-strapped and unrecognized government is unlikely to attract the international assistance needed for Afghanistan to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Afghanistan contributes little to global emissions but has experienced rapid temperature rises. Since 1950, its mean temperature has risen 1.8 degrees Celsius, higher than the global average of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Rising temperatures have "wreaked havoc on agriculture and the agricultural value chain -- the country's economic backbone," according to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Floods in the spring and summer killed more than 300 Afghans, displaced more than 20,000, and destroyed thousands of homes and hectares of farmland. The UNDP estimates that the floods caused more than $400 million in annual economic losses.

Afghanistan is a major source of fresh water for its neighbors. But climate change has rapidly increased water scarcity by decimating the country's hydrological infrastructure.

UNICEF, the UN's children's agency, estimates that eight out of every 10 Afghans no longer have access to safe drinking water.

More than 64 percent of Afghanistan's population is dealing with drought, pushing an increasing number of Afghans into food insecurity, according to the UN.

Data by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) also shows that "climate change is increasingly a trigger for internal displacement as well as migration out of Afghanistan."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-climate-change-un- taliban/33203960.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.

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Embattled Leader Vows To 'Stabilize' Abkhazia, But Protesters Still Hold Parliament

By RFE/RL's Georgian Service November 16, 2024

The embattled leader of Georgia's Moscow-backed separatist region of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhania, was quoted as saying on November 16 that "legitimate authorities" control all of Abkhazia except the parliamentary complex that opposition protesters wrested control of a day earlier to block a controversial Russia-related vote.

The opposition has since demanded Bzhania's and other senior officials' resignations and new elections.

Bzhania's press service said he held an urgent meeting with his cabinet at a school in his home village of Tamysh to discuss "ways to stabilize the situation that arose."

Bzhania had previously said he was "ready" to step down if opposition supporters agreed to leave the parliament compound in the capital, Sukhumi.

There were fears of escalating violence amid the storming of the parliament, which followed weeks of tensions, in a region whose independence Moscow has backed since a five-day war against Georgian forces in 2008 over another breakaway Georgian province, South Ossetia.

Opposition leaders have demanded not only the permanent abandonment of a proposed deal with Russia that opponents say would unfairly open the property market to wealthy Russians, but also Bzhania's resignation and those of his vice president and the breakaway leadership's prime minister.

"The situation will be stabilized. We will return everything to the legal framework," Bzhania's press service quoted him as saying on November 16.

He reportedly added that "the entire country" -- which is overwhelmingly regarded as Georgian territory internationally -- "is controlled by the legitimate authorities, with the exception of the complex of buildings they have occupied."

Tamysh is about 40 kilometers from the region's capital.

The opposition called for a fresh rally on November 16 after protesters the previous day stormed the parliament grounds over a real estate deal with Moscow and demanded Bzhania's ouster.

"Those who seized the buildings, those who tried to commit a coup d'etat, must vacate the compound, after which I am ready to call elections, ready to resign, and run in fresh elections," Bzhania said from Tamysh.

However, the opposition appeared determined to ignore Bzhania's demands.

"Aslan Bzhania is resorting to desperate attempts to preserve his government," a so-called Coordination Council of the opposition said in a statement, adding, "His reign is over."

The statement accused Bzhania of "enriching his relatives and a narrow circle close to him."

Local media said lawmakers had on November 15 failed to ratify the deal, which opponents fear would allow wealthy Russians to acquire property in the picturesque Black Sea region, pushing real estate prices higher and making it unaffordable for locals.

Bzhania, a former chief of Abkhazia's state security service, told his supporters on November 16 that "enormous pressure is being exerted on members of parliament so that the parliament makes an unlawful decision to dismiss the president." But he warned that the "2014 scenario will not be repeated," an allusion to one of two instances when Abkhaz leaders resigned due to opposition protests.

On June 1, 2014, Abkhaz leader Aleksander Ankvab resigned following opposition protests led by Raul Khajimba, who took his place, only to resign, too, after the Supreme Court overturned the results of the 2019 presidential election. Bzhania then became president after winning a March 2020 vote.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia's rule after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Moscow recognized the independence of the two regions after Russian forces repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war in 2008 that ended with Georgia's defeat.

Most countries still recognize Abkhazia as part of Georgia, but its economy is almost entirely dependent on Moscow, which pays the salaries of public administrators as well as social payments to residents.

Georgian pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili responded to the tensions in what Tbilisi regards as its occupied region by accusing Russia of "taking accelerated steps toward annexation" of Abkhazia.

Tensions have been running high in the region in recent weeks, with opposition activists demanding an end to Russia's dominance over the region and its economy, though opposition parties on November 15 said their protest is not against Russia.

"The actions of the protesters are not directed against relations between Russia and Abkhazia," they said in a joint statement. "In fact, we, the opposition, have always emphasized the importance of fraternal and strategic ties between our countries."

Russia's Foreign Ministry accused the Abkhaz opposition of exceeding legal means and "provoking an escalation." It said through a spokeswoman that Russia was not interfering and expected the situation "will be resolved exclusively by peaceful political means."

Moscow recommended that any Russian citizens in Abkhazia leave "if possible" and that others refrain from traveling there.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/abkhazia-bzhania-sukhumi- protests/33204418.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.

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Early reports say a majority of voters in Gabon cast ballots to end military rule

By Moki Edwin Kindzeka November 16, 2024

Early results indicate a majority of Gabon's 860,000 registered voters cast ballots in favor of a new constitution that could end military rule, according to state TV reports.

The results of Saturday's constitutional referendum could end the transitional military government that ousted the Bongo family dynasty after nearly 60 years of rule. An official tally is expected later.

Officials say the adoption of the new constitution is one of the major promises made by General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema after seizing power in what Gabon's military leaders call a bloodless August 30 coup that liberated the central African state from political bondage.

Nguema seized power from Ali Bongo, who was declared the winner of Gabon's August 26 elections with more than 64% of the vote.

Gabon's military said the coup marked an end to the nearly 56-year Bongo dynasty, during which Omer Bongo Ondimba ruled Gabon for 42 years since 1967 and handed power to his son, Ali Bongo, in 2009.

Gabon's military said it deployed troops Saturday to towns and villages and reinforced a dusk-to-dawn curfew from midnight to 5 a.m. to make sure civilians were protected before, during and after the voting.

Serge Zeng Ango is executive secretary of the National Union, a political party that campaigned for Gabon citizens to vote in favor of a new constitution during the referendum.

Ango said the new constitution will put an end to any chance of another political dynasty where power was passed from father to son, as during the Bongo era.

Unlike in the past when power was confiscated by a few people, said Ango, the new constitution is reassuring that ultimate power resides in civilians who can freely vote for their leaders and contribute to the development of their nation.

He said those who voted in favor of Gabon's new constitution are happy that article 42 of the law states that at the end of the term of office, the president, his or her spouse and descendants cannot be candidates for succession.

But opposition and civil society say the draft constitution should have prohibited military ruler General Nguema from running for president. They said military leaders prepared the constitution to grant excessive power to the president because they want Nguema to maintain his grip on power.

Jean-Victor Mouanga Mbadinga is a former presidential aspirant and leader of the Movement for Social Emancipation of Gabon's civilians, one of Gabon's political parties.

He said by suppressing the post of prime minister, the fundamental law of 173 articles transforms Gabon into a country where the president has too much power. He said it is unfortunate that Gabon is increasing the presidential term limit from 5 to 7 years, renewable once, when in the United States of America  a world democracy that the central African state should emulate  presidents serve for no longer than two elected 4-year terms.

Mbadinga said it is abnormal for Gabon's constitution to give powers to the president to either dissolve parliament, which is the legislative arm of government, and to hire and fire a vice president at will.

Gabon's opposition and civil society said they will challenge the outcome of the referendum in the courts but did not give further details.

Gabon's government said Saturday's referendum was free, fair and transparent.

Officials said the new constitution would protect individual liberties, unlike during the Bongo father and son era.

International observers from the African Union and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community said that, except for voting that began late due to the late opening of polling stations, the elections were peaceful and transparent. Hundreds of voters turned out at polling stations starting at 6 a.m. local time, according to observers.

Gabon's military leaders said final results of the constitutional referendum will be released by the constitutional court, but neither provided a specific time or date.

After the publication of referendum results, Nguema said, Gabon will prepare its electoral laws in February, create an elections management body, and organize presidential, parliamentary and local elections in August 2025 to end a two-year transitional period.

The military ruler has not said if Nguema will be a candidate or not, but the constitution in this referendum does not prevent him from running for president.

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Experts: Indonesia's $10 billion deal with China could undermine sovereignty, increase political tensions

By Devianti Faridz November 16, 2024

Maritime security and international law experts are concerned that a $10 billion deal concluded this week between China and Indonesia could not only undermine Indonesia's sovereignty in the North Natuna Sea but also spur illegal fishing and increase political tensions among ASEAN nations.

"Indonesia could be subjugated economically by China, potentially leading to military power in the South China Sea region," said Merisa Dwi Juanita, the founder of Bara Maritim, an independent institution for maritime security research.

Recently inaugurated Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto began his first foreign tour by visiting China on November 8. He held a series of high-level talks and met with President Xi Jinping in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, where both expressed their commitment to long-standing bilateral relations.

"I would like to reiterate our commitment to enhance this relationship and to work together for the mutual benefit of our two peoples and for the prosperity, peace and stability of all of Asia," Prabowo said during the meeting.

However, the joint statement that followed the visit alarmed analysts who view it as a departure from Indonesia's long-standing South China Sea policy.

Maritime security and international law experts who talked to VOA say the statement implicitly recognizes Beijing's "nine-dash line" designating its expansive territorial claims in the strategic waterway and could anger Indonesia's neighbors within ASEAN. The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam all are claimants in the dispute with China.

$10 billion deal

On his Beijing visit, Prabowo attended the Indonesia-China Business Forum, which saw the signing of business agreements between the Indonesian and Chinese private sectors said to be worth some $10 billion.

These provide for the joint development of fisheries, oil and gas exploration and maritime safety. They also call for cooperation in the management of ocean resources and sustainable mineral extraction practices.

By implicitly recognizing Beijing's claim to territory that falls within Indonesia's Exclusive Economic Zone, Indonesia "has assented to something that is illegal under international law," wrote Aristyo Darmawan, an international law professor at Universitas Indonesia, in an op-ed in The Interpreter.

"Even worse, Indonesia is willing to share its sovereign rights to explore and exploit fisheries and oil with the country that is making this claim."

He went on to say that since 2017, China has put forward several joint development proposals in the South China Sea, including the creation of a Spratly Resource Management Authority - with membership not just from parties to the territorial dispute, but also Indonesia.

Indonesia is not a formal claimant in the South China Sea territorial dispute. Nevertheless, it rejects China's claim to the waters around Natuna Island, which lie inside China's self-drawn nine-dash line but fall within Indonesia's EEZ and continental shelf.

In order to create a joint development in a disputed area, Darmawan concluded, China would need to have a legitimate claim under the U.N. Convention on the law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Merisa said the China-Indonesia maritime agreement could also spur illegal fishing.

"There are growing doubts about law enforcement on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated fishing by Chinese fishermen. The substantial losses caused by IUU fishing could increase if Indonesia maintains the overlapping claims narrative. This could undermine the efforts by local fishermen and the Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) to protect Indonesia's maritime resources. Consequently, Indonesia would face even greater losses if this policy continues," Merisa added.

Merisa suggests Indonesia should strengthen its defenses by enforcing the law and better protecting local fishermen against aggressive Chinese coast guard actions.

Regional implications

An Indonesian Foreign Ministry statement following the agreement maintained that the deal is consistent with the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, signed by ASEAN and China. It said the parties will follow the maritime laws and regulations of each country, including maritime treaties, boundaries, marine spatial planning and fisheries management.

The Foreign Ministry said the two countries "agreed to form maritime cooperation. It is hoped that this collaboration can become a model for efforts to maintain peace and friendship in the region."

However, the statement by the Indonesian Foreign Ministry stressed that the agreement does not acknowledge the Chinese claim represented by its nine-dash line, which has been rejected by an international tribunal and is not supported by UNCLOS. Thus, the ministry said, this cooperation has no impact on Indonesia's sovereignty, sovereign rights or jurisdiction in the North Natuna Sea.

Indonesia believes the cooperation will encourage the completion of a long-sought code of conduct for the South China Sea, which could create stability in the region. However, Aristyo said that the agreement exposes the disunity among ASEAN countries in their negotiations with Beijing and could cause them to feel betrayed by Indonesia's implied recognition of the nine-dash line claim, which the others have firmly and jointly rejected.

In addition, Indonesia's seeming recognition of China's overlapping claim contradicts a 2022 Indonesia-Vietnam EEZ agreement, which took 12 years to negotiate. Due to uncertainty caused by the joint statement with China, the ratification of the agreement with Vietnam could be set back.

According to Reuters on Monday, Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Indonesia's statement.

Aristyo sees the joint statement as a huge win for Beijing. Indonesia had sovereign rights in its EEZ and continental shelf, but the joint development proposal would likely see Indonesia surrender those rights to a Joint Intergovernmental Steering Committee, he said.

He suggests that Jakarta would be better off to focus on developing the Natuna Islands on its own, rather than joining with China.

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November 17, 2024

By C. Todd Lopez, DOD News

DOD's 2024 Audit Shows Progress Toward 2028 Goals

The Defense Department today released the results of its departmentwide fiscal year 2024 financial audit, the seventh such audit since 2018.

For this most-recent effort, the department's inspector general provided an overall "disclaimer of opinion" on DOD financial statements, which means the department has not yet achieved a clean audit, said Mike McCord, the department's chief financial officer.

Despite that result, McCord said the department has shown great improvement every year on departmentwide audits.

"I believe the department has turned a corner in its understanding of its challenges, and more importantly in addressing them," said McCord. "Momentum is on our side, and throughout the department there is strong commitment  and belief in our ability  to achieve an unmodified audit opinion."

In total, the FY2024 overall DOD audit involved 28 different reporting entities each undergoing their own stand-alone financial statement audits.

Of those individual audits, nine entities achieved "unmodified audit opinions." Results from three additional entities are still pending, but McCord said its expected that two of those will, as they did last year, also achieve unmodified audit opinions. If that happens, it will mean that eleven audits come back clean  one more than in fiscal year 2023.

This year, for the first time, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency achieved an unmodified audit opinion. This is only the second year DTRA has undergone a stand-alone audit, McCord said.

Also, as part of this year's departmentwide audit, McCord said, one entity received a qualified opinion, while 15 other entities received disclaimers.

Of note, McCord said, are DOD's efforts in closing or "downgrading" material weaknesses that show up in audits. The term "material weakness" in regard to an audit, he said, "roughly translates as concerns you must resolve to succeed."

In particular, he said, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and the department have put an emphasis on eliminating material weakness related to the department's fund balance with the Treasury.

"Fund balance with [the] Treasury is, in layperson terms, like balancing your checkbook," McCord said. "Except I said we have 1,500 checkbooks with $850 billion in them. So, it's a little more complicated than it might sound, but that's basically what it is. It's reconciling your version of all the money you have with [the Treasury Department's] version of all the money you have in these 1,500 pots."

In the FY2024 departmentwide audit, McCord said, eight DOD reporting entities closed or downgraded their fund balance with Treasury material weakness. Those include the Department of the Navy Working Capital Fund and the Department of the Air Force Working Capital Fund, both of which closed that material weakness.

The Department of the Army General Fund, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Defense Information Systems Agency General Fund, DISA Working Capital Fund, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and DTRA all downgraded their FBWT material weakness.

Congress has said the department must achieve an unmodified audit by fiscal year 2028, and McCord said the department has improved every year since the inception of the audit.

"On behalf of department senior management, I assess that DOD continues to make progress toward the congressional mandate for achieving an unmodified audit opinion in FY2028," he said. "We were already halfway there last year in terms of assets under clean opinions. This year, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency ... achieved an unmodified audit opinion in only its second year of doing a stand-alone audit."

While the department has made progress every year, McCord said the speed of that improvement must accelerate if the department is to meet the 2028 goal set by Congress.

"We do have to ... keep getting faster and keep getting better," he said. "If you draw a trend line ... back from when we started, from year one to year seven, I don't think it's going to show you're getting there in time if you don't continue to pick up the pace ... and that's happens with a lot of programs ... there's learning curves in building airplanes and there needs to be a learning curve here, too."

Substantial work remains, McCord said. But he also said the department is on the right track to meeting the demands of Congress.

"[The] next couple of years will be critical time as the department works toward this 2028 mandate, which will require us to keep getting better and faster," he said.

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November 17, 2024

By Joseph Clark, DOD News

Austin Meets With Japanese, Australian Counterparts to Advance Defense Ties

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III underscored the critical role that the deepening defense ties between the U.S., Australia and Japan continue to play in maintaining peace and security in the Indo-Pacific as he met with his counterparts today in Darwin, Australia.

The secretary met with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and Japanese Defense Minister Nakatani Gen as part of the 14th Trilateral Defense Minister's Meeting, where the leaders finalized new steps to further enhance defense cooperation and interoperability among the three nations.

"Today, more than ever, we're taking concrete actions that will deepen our trilateral cooperation, and the three of us are here to see the results firsthand," Austin said in a press briefing following the meeting. "Darwin is a focal point for our expanding trilateral relationship, and our bond is delivering real security, deterrence and interoperability."

As part of the new measures announced by the three leaders in a joint statement following today's TDMM, Japan will increase its participation in Australia-U.S. force posture cooperation activities, including through annual trilateral amphibious training among the Australian Defense Force, Japan Ground Self Defense Force's Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade and the U.S. Marine Rotational Force - Darwin.

The three nations will also expand trilateral participation in key exercises.

As part of the new steps announced today, Japan will increase its participation to Exercise Southern Jackaroo and Exercise Talisman Sabre in Australia beginning next year. Australia will also participate in Exercise Orient Shield in 2025 and enhance its participation in Exercises Yama Sakura, Keen Edge and Keen Sword.

The joint statement also outlines steps to increase intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance cooperation throughout the Indo-Pacific, to include Australia's participation in the Japan-U.S. Bilateral Information Analysis Cell.

In addition to laying out steps to increase interoperability, the leaders laid out steps to build advanced capabilities together, improve operational coordination and information sharing and demonstrate the U.S., Japanese and Australian presence in the Indo-Pacific alongside key regional allies.

The newly outlined steps build upon deepening ties among the U.S., Australia and Japan during Austin's tenure.

"I am absolutely proud of all that we've accomplished together," Austin said. "Together we're continuing to build on the progress our three countries have achieved over the past four years, and I look forward to growing our partnership to endure well into the future."

Austin's meeting today with his Australian and Japanese counterparts kicked off his 12th trip to the Indo-Pacific since taking office as he continues to build upon the strong partnerships forged under his tenure throughout the United States' priority theater of operations.

Throughout the week, the secretary will meet with senior officials throughout the region across a series of engagements in the Philippines, Laos and Fiji.

The trip will showcase the United States' unwavering commitment to the Indo-Pacific amid what Austin sees as a "new convergence" of like-minded partners throughout the region.

"We are doing more than ever alongside our allies and partners to take concrete steps toward a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region," Austin said ahead of his departure.

"During this trip, we will deliver results to advance cooperation, strengthen our relationships and build an enduring network of allies and partners," he said. "I am proud of the historic progress we've made over the last four years and the depth of continuing U.S. commitment to the region."

Following his visit to Darwin, Austin will proceed to the Philippines where he will underscore the United States' commitment to the mutual defense treaty and discuss ways to continue to support the Philippines' security.

Austin's stop in the Philippines marks his fourth visit to the country since taking office, the most visits ever by a U.S. secretary of defense.

The secretary's next stop is in Laos where he will attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus.

U.S. defense secretaries have participated in the forum since 2010 when it was established by the 10-member block of Southeast Asian nations.

Austin will meet with a range of regional allies and partners on the sidelines of the meeting and reaffirm the United States' commitment to regional security. During this visit, he will announce the first-ever U.S. Defense Department vision statement for a prosperous and secure Southeast Asia.

Austin's final stop is in Fiji, marking the first visit to the country by a U.S. defense secretary.

While there, Austin will meet with Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa.

The secretary is expected to announce that the U.S. and Fiji will begin negotiations on a Status of Forces Agreement that will empower the two countries to work more closely together.

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Georgian Separatist Leader Says No Compromise Reached With Abkhaz Protesters

By RFE/RL's Georgian Service November 17, 2024

The situation remained tense on November 17 in Georgia's Russia-backed breakaway region of Abkhazia, with the self-styled president saying no compromise had been reached with the opposition.

Protesters were still reported to be inside the parliament compound in the capital, Sukhumi, which they stormed on November 15 in protest over an investment deal with Moscow.

The region's de facto leader, Aslan Bzhania, had said on November 16 that he would resign once protesters left the compound. However, later that day, Bzhania met with his cabinet in his hometown of Tamysh to discuss "ways to stabilize the situation that arose."

There were fears of escalating violence amid the storming of the parliament, which followed weeks of tensions in a region whose independence Moscow has backed since a five-day war against Georgian forces in 2008 over another breakaway Georgian province, South Ossetia.

Opposition leaders have demanded not only the permanent abandonment of a proposed deal with Russia that opponents say would unfairly open the property market to wealthy Russians, but also Bzhania's resignation and those of his vice president and the breakaway leadership's prime minister.

"The situation will be stabilized. We will return everything to the legal framework," Bzhania's press service quoted him as saying on November 16.

He reportedly added that "the entire country" -- which is overwhelmingly regarded as Georgian territory internationally -- "is controlled by the legitimate authorities, with the exception of the complex of buildings they have occupied."

Tamysh is about 40 kilometers from the region's capital.

Bzhania, a former chief of Abkhazia's state security service, told his supporters on November 16 that "enormous pressure is being exerted on members of parliament so that the parliament makes an unlawful decision to dismiss the president." But he warned that the "2014 scenario will not be repeated," a reference to one of two instances when Abkhaz leaders resigned due to opposition protests.

Abkhazia's Interior Ministry and security service issued statements saying they would obey orders from the president.

Protesters said in a statement that the occupation was not aimed at Abkhazia's close ties with Russia but against Bzhania, who they accused of "trying to use these relations for his own selfish interests [and] manipulating them for the sake of strengthening his regime."

Russia's state-run TASS news agency quoted a representative of the protesters, Adgur Ardzinba, as saying they would remain in place until the president resigned.

Moscow said on November 15 that it was following the "crisis situation" with concern and urged Russian citizens to avoid travel to Abkhazia.

With reporting by Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/abkhazia-protests-russia- georgia-bzhania/33205349.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.

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UK doubles aid for Sudan and neighbouring countries facing the worst humanitarian crisis of the decade

The UK has announced an aid package for Sudan and neighbouring countries.

17 November 2024

UK announces a major aid increase of 113 million for people in Sudan and those who have fled to neighbouring countries

Foreign Secretary will call for the Adre border crossing to remain open indefinitely and for immediate action to end the violence

Draft UN Security Council resolution introduced to push for the protection of civilians and an unrestricted passage of aid.

Today [Sunday 17 November] the UK has announced an aid package which will support more than one million people affected by the devastating war in Sudan, providing vital aid for those in need.

The new 113 million aid package, which doubles the UK's aid commitment to Sudan and the region this year, will assist over 600,000 people in Sudan and 700,000 people in neighbouring countries who have fled the conflict, including Chad and South Sudan.

During the Foreign Secretary's visit to the United Nations Security Council tomorrow [Monday 18 November], he will call on the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) to keep the vital Adre border crossing open indefinitely and for the removal of restrictions, which have limited the amount of aid coming through it. The Foreign Secretary will also call for the SAF and Rapid Support Forces to stop blocking aid convoys.

After 18 months of violent conflict, Sudan is facing the worst humanitarian crisis of the decade, with over 500,000 people in Darfur in famine conditions. Over 11 million people are displaced, 25 million are in desperate need of aid, and famine is likely to spread.

The new funding package announced today will support UN and NGO partners in providing food, cash, shelter, medical assistance, water and sanitation.

Not only is this aid vitally needed, but it will also help people to stay within their home region so they can return to their homes when conditions allow.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:

The brutal conflict in Sudan has caused unimaginable suffering. The people of Sudan need more aid, which is why the UK is helping to provide much-needed food, shelter and education for the most vulnerable. But we cannot deliver aid without access. Starvation must not be used as a weapon of war and we can only stop this famine if every border crossing and route is open, accessible and safe. As the lead on Sudan in the UN Security Council, I will be using the UK's Presidency on Monday to press for a resolution that ensures the protection of civilians and an unrestricted passage of aid. The UK will never forget Sudan.

At the UN, the Foreign Secretary will bring together international partners to lead a discussion on steps to push the warring parties to remove obstacles to humanitarian access.

Humanitarian workers face significant challenges delivering aid to those most in need with instances of aid workers killed, access being blocked by the warring parties, and UN workers unable to move freely. The Adre border crossing re-opened in August and offers a vital lifeline to allow aid to be delivered from Chad into Darfur.

The Minister of State for Development Anneliese Dodds said:

During my visit to South Sudan in August, I saw first-hand the heart-breaking impact the violence is having on those fleeing the conflict. The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is worsening. Famine and disease are spreading, and by next year, many more will be in desperate need of aid. We have to prevent further suffering by acting now. Support announced today will reach over a million people, providing food for some of those most in need and will assist neighbouring countries to continue hosting refugees.

The UK has also introduced a new UN Security Council resolution which will pressure the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to protect civilians, deliver a ceasefire and allow the safe passage of aid.

On 22 August, the UK Minister for Development, Anneliese Dodds, announced 15 million to support those fleeing violence in Sudan, including those displaced to South Sudan and Chad.

Background

The conflict in Sudan began last April 2023 when violence erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Tensions between SAF General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) had been escalating for months following disagreements on a transition to a civilian led government.

On 18 October, the UK led a joint statement with 10 other donors, condemning the obstruction of aid and called upon the warring parties to comply with obligations under international humanitarian law.

Funding announced today includes:

43.5 million for Sudan

Funding will also include 69.5 million of support for people affected by the conflict in neighbouring countries including:

Chad

Sudan

Uganda

Education Cannot Wait will receive support to provide safe learning spaces and psychosocial support for 200,000 vulnerable children in refugee and host communities in Chad, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, Central African Republic and Uganda.

Libya

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Meeting election pledges seen as challenge for Sri Lanka president despite parliamentary win

By Anjana Pasricha November 17, 2024

Sri Lanka's Marxist leaning president has won a sweeping mandate to fulfill his pledges to combat corruption and implement pro-poor reforms, but he faces huge challenges in a country whose economy is still fragile, analysts say.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake's coalition, the National People's Power, or NPP, party, secured an unprecedented two-thirds majority in the 225-member Parliament in snap elections held a year ahead of schedule.

The parliamentary polls  held seven weeks after he emerged victorious in presidential voting  reinforced the remarkable shift in Sri Lankan politics, where mainstream parties that led the country for decades have been reduced to the margins as people put faith in a political outsider to bring about transformative change.

Dissanayake's coalition won 159 seats  a dramatic jump from the three seats his party held earlier. However, that commanding majority may still not be enough to steer Sri Lanka along the path he has promised.

"He is going to encounter bumps on all his agenda which is extremely ambitious. On the economy, there is no easy route to a more equitable and a faster-growing economy. In terms of good governance and anticorruption, they are going to run into a lot of vested interests in business, in politics, in the bureaucracy, in the police. It would not be easy for saints -- it is not going to be easy for this government," Alan Keenan, senior Sri Lanka consultant at the International Crisis Group said.

Dissanayake's first task will be to ease the burden on millions from austerity measures imposed by a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund. The IMF deal brought the economy back from the brink of collapse, but the slashed subsidies and higher taxes imposed to stabilize government finances brought hardship to millions.

"They will have to provide relief to the people who have felt the tremendous rise in the cost of living. There are great expectations that this government will address that," according to Devaka Gunawardena, research fellow at the Social Scientists Association in Colombo. "But that will require some form of renegotiation of the IMF agreement. If they continue with the deal, then they will have to think of other alternative ways of stimulating the economy. This is where the new government will have to thread the needle now."

Dissanayake has said that he is committed to the IMF program and any changes would be undertaken in consultation with the fund. An IMF team is beginning a visit to Colombo Sunday to review the reform program.

However, the room to maneuver is limited in a country that is still mired in debt.

So far, the government has marginally reduced fuel prices and distributed subsidies to farmers and fishermen. Besides delivering such small benefits, it will be difficult to make any significant shifts or show major economic benefits to people in a country that has little money to spend, according to analysts.

Little is also known about the dynamics of the NPP  the leftist coalition that Dissanayake put together ahead of the presidential polls. It consists of his Marxist party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, professionals, trade unions, women and youth groups. Many of those elected will be first-time lawmakers new to politics.

Having to appease various interests under this "big-tent party" will be a challenge for the government, according to Rajni Gamage, a research fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore. "The NPP government will have to strike a balance between the ... economic requirements of the IMF program and the more center-left oriented demands of trade unions and civil society groups who are part of the coalition," she said.

Another litmus test he faces is meeting his promise to transform the country's political culture  people widely blamed misgovernance and graft by previous leaders for driving Sri Lanka, once ranked as a middle-income country, into bankruptcy.

"Thank you to all who voted for a renaissance," Dissanayake said on social media platform X on Friday after the results were announced.

For many of his voters, that renaissance involves ensuring accountability for alleged corruption and a government that is more in touch with the masses  Dissanayake is the son of a laborer, whereas past leaders came from elite political families.

According to political analysts, this is a low-hanging fruit that could yield political dividends for the new government.

"If they can make progress in either achieving accountability for big corruption cases and tracking down the assets supposedly stolen and stacked away in foreign countries, or if they can show people that they do politics differently, they are not arrogant and do not just drive around in big SUV's with lots of security guards, that will go a long way to satisfy people, even if they don't see their lives improve materially or economically," according to Keenan.

However, he cautions that too may not be easy.

"Even if they say they want to change things, at the end, Dissanayake's coalition comes from the same political culture, so it remains to be seen if they can do things differently," he said.

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Ukraine - MGM-140 ATACMS

Three informed sources told Reuters 17 November 2024 that the administration of US President Joe Biden lifted restrictions that prevented Ukraine from using weapons supplied by Washington to strike deep inside Russian territory, in a major change in US policy towards the ongoing war between the two countries since February 2022. This came as French President Emmanuel Macron said that major Russian air strikes on Ukraine on Sunday showed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not seeking peace. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the United States had "given the green light to use long-range missiles." President Joe Biden thus agreed to Kiev's urgent demand before he hands over power to President-elect Donald Trump, who has been highly critical of US aid to Ukraine.

The US Department of Defense declined to comment on reports that President Joe Biden had allowed Ukraine to use US-made ATACMS missiles against targets inside Russia. "We are refraining so far from commenting on reports about allowing Ukraine to use long-range American missiles against targets inside Russia." The US State Department neither confirmed nor denied reports that Washington authorized Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles for deeper strikes inside Russia. "I'm not going to speak to or confirm any policy changes," Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman told a news conference.

According to media reports, this concerns a decision to allow the use of ATACMS, an American missile system with a maximum range of 300 kilometers. This came after a Russian military escalation in Ukraine, after Russian forces launched the most violent attack in about three months, using missiles and drones, which resulted in 10 deaths and international condemnation.

Richard Grenell, Trump's former director of national intelligence and one of his closest foreign policy advisers, criticised the decision, saying Biden was "escalating the wars before he leaves office". Grenell said on X: "No one anticipated that Joe Biden would ESCALATE the war in Ukraine during the transition period. This is as if he is launching a whole new war. Everything has changed now all previous calculations are null and void. And all for politics." David Sacks, a tech millionaire and major Trump donor, said: "President Trump won a clear mandate to end the war in Ukraine. So what does Biden do in his final two months in office? Massively escalate it. Is his goal to hand Trump the worst situation possible?"

Next U.S. NatSec advisor Michael Waltz in an interview with FOX reacted to reports about Biden lifting restrictions on ATACMS for Ukraine: "It's another step up the escalation ladder. And nobody knows where this is going. North Korea is unleashing ballistic missiles, artillery, tens of thousands of soldiers. The administration responds by lifting this restriction. North Korea sends more soldiers. South Korea is now saying it may get engaged. ... So this is a development, but it's a tactical one. President Trump is talking grand strategy here. How do we get both sides the table to end this war?"

Sir John Chipman, Executive Chairman of The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), commented "While it is better for the US to allow the use of ATACMS on Russian positions in Kursk oblast than not doing so, the strategic absurdity of drawing a boundary around an oblast as a clear line that would ex hypothesi not inspire escalation is astounding. A reminder: to defeat an opponent one needs to possess escalation dominance; not gift it to the other side. This conflict with Moscow has been conducted within a strategically illiterate logic that would shock the founders and Cold War leaders of the NATO alliance."

Britain and France have reportedly given Ukraine the green light to strike Russian territory with Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles  but only in the Kursk region, RBC reports referring to a high-ranking source in military and political circles. But French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that Paris had not altered its position on strikes inside Russia. And the German government said that the United States had notified Berlin about Bidens decision.

The United Nations called for ensuring the safety of civilians, Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN Secretary General, said, commenting on reports about US President Joe Bidens decision to allow Ukraine to use US-supplied ATACMS ballistic missiles for strikes inside Russia. "All parties must ensure the safety and protection of civilians, regardless of wherever they are," he said.

"America will be no more. There will be no Biden, no Trump," threatened Russian State Duma deputy Andrey Gurulyov, vowing to inflict "95% total damage on the U.S." in response to the use of American long-range ATACMS missiles against Russia. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: "The Kiev regimes use of long-range projectiles for attacks on our territory will mean the direct involvement of the US and its satellites in combat against Russia as well as a radical change in the conflicts essence and nature... In this event, Russias response will be appropriate and tangible".

Venezuelan dictator Maduro calls Zelensky a Nazi criminal and criticizes the approval for strikes deep into Russia. "The governments of the US, France, and the UK  the axis of evil  have just approved the Nazi criminal Zelensky to use long-range missiles against our brotherly Russia. We are at a decisive moment. American imperialism has entered a phase of madness, he declared.

An Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report on Aug. 27, 2024, using open-source data, identified no fewer than 245 known Russian military and paramilitary objects within the 300-kilometer range of U.S.-supplied ATACMS, including air bases, headquarters, and training centers. The key targets for ATACMS and Storms Shadow missiles will be ammunition depots, military equipment parking lots, personnel locations, command posts and airfields. There are several air bases in the border area that Ukraine can reach in the event of launches of modernized MGM-140B ATACMS Block 1A missiles with a range of up to 300 km . The European Storm Shadow (SCALP-EG) missiles have a similar range.

It should be noted that many of them have recently significantly reduced their activity in favor of deeper air harbors. At the same time, although with a huge delay, the construction of reinforced concrete shelters for aircraft has begun , which in the future should protect aircraft from cluster munitions. However, although some experience in countering ATACMS missiles has already been gained during the Ukrainian Armed Forces' strikes on Crimea, Donbass and new territories, they still pose an extremely serious threat, which not all air defense systems can reliably destroy, and there is a categorical lack of shelters due to the previous leadership of the Ministry of Defense ignoring this problem.

Kyiv previously provided Washington with a target list in side Russia, urging the US to lift its ban on striking Russia with its ATACMS missiles for Ukraine. However, the NYT said 30 October 2024 US officials claimed the list far exceeded the number of missiles available without risking stockpiles needed for potential conflicts in the Middle East and Asia. Four US officials told The New York Times that Zelenskyy was shocked by Bidens refusal to authorize using US long-range missiles during their September 2024 meeting, as Biden had previously relented on weapons like Abrams tanks, F-16s, and ATACMS. Despite detailed explanations and target lists, no political decision had been made.

Ukrainian forces targeted a Russian radar station using long-range missiles provided by the US. The Ukrainian military said on 03 October 2024 that it used U.S. 'Army Tactical Missile System', or ATACMS, ballistic missiles to strike a Russian 'Nebo-M' radar station. The Nebo-M radar is a system that can detect 5th generation aircraft like the F-22 and F-35 as well as long-range ballistic missile launches.

Ukraine's military says it believes Russia had 10 such operational systems left. The military did not state any details of the strike, including when it had taken place, but said that the destruction of the Nebo-M radar creates a favorable "air corridor" for the effective use of missile weapons.

The long-range ATACMS missiles Ukraine used were sent by the United States in the spring when Ukraine, at the time, had committed to only using the weapons inside its own territory, which is also the case with the British Storm Shadow. In the past months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been urging Western allies to let Ukraine fire their supplied long-range missiles deep into Russia. Washington has not suggested any change in its position of not lifting restrictions.

Max Boot noted 28 August 2023 the Biden administration still wont provide ATACMS, citing fear of provoking Putin and claiming that there are too few in the US arsenal. In fact, the US Army has as many as 3,000 ATACMS; sending a few hundred to Ukraine wont deplete U.S. defenses. This is BS, tweeted retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, a former commander of U.S. Army Europe. If we dont have enough, why havent we increased production? This is about a shortage of political will, not a shortage of ATACMS.

Washington made it clear that it cannot provide Kiev with any significant number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) in the foreseeable future, CNN reported on 31 August 2024, citing an unnamed US official. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon this week to discuss additional military aid. During the meeting he reportedly presented him with a list of high-value targets that Kiev would like to strike, deep inside Russia, using American-made weapons.

In an interview with CNN after the meeting, Umerov claimed that Ukraine was pushing to lift the ATACMS restrictions for self-defense, arguing that the airfields being used to hit our cities are within the range of deep strikes. However, a US defense official told the channel that many of the targets on Ukraines wish list are in fact outside the missiles range, as Moscow has relocated its high-value assets away from the front.

The US has also made it clear that Kiev should not expect another significant delivery of ATACMS due to the finite number in US inventories and the long production time of the weapon, CNN wrote, citing the source. The official noted that Ukraine has so far received a very limited supply of these missiles. The US government seemingly drew the line on deep strikes into Russia after one of its ATACMS rockets, armed with a cluster warhead, struck a Crimean beach in early June. Moscow accused Washington of enabling that and other acts of terrorism against civilians, and suggested it might arm states and entities around the world that are hostile to the US in response.

Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder clarified on 27 August 2024 that Washingtons policy has not changed, meaning that Ukraine was allowed to use US-supplied weapons to defend against cross-border attacks but not for deep strikes into what the US recognizes as Russian territory. However, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday that Washington will keep the conversations with the Ukrainians going.

Moscow has warned that any talk of using long-range missiles to strike Russian territory was highly dangerous. This is blackmail, it is an attempt to create an impression that the West wants to avoid excessive escalation, but in fact this is a ruse, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a press conference on 27 August 2024. The West does not want to avoid escalation. The West is asking for trouble, to put it bluntly. I reckon that this is already obvious to everyone.

Kiev had been requesting these missiles for seversl years, but the US has thus far held off for fear of instigating a wider conflict with Russia. The ATACMS range would allow Ukrainian forces to strike targets deeper behind Russias borders, including in Crimea. For this reason, the US has turned down Ukrainian requests for the missiles since last year, with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan telling reporters last July that while a key goal of the United States is to support and defend Ukraine, another key goal is to ensure that we do not end up in a circumstance where we are heading down the road towards a third world war.

Utilized by American forces in the Gulf and Iraq Wars, the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System has a range of up to 300 kilometers (190 miles) and can be fired from the M270 MLRS and M142 HIMARS platforms, which the US and UK had already sent to Ukraine.

White House and Pentagon officials also claimed that the US had too few of the missiles in its stockpiles to spare. However, both officials told ABC News that the US has found it has more ATACMS in its inventory than originally assessed, in the networks words. ABC described this discovery as "surprising." While the quantity and condition of these missiles was unclear, the White House has also reportedly accepted their use to target Crimea. "I think specific targets in Crimea would be command and control, logistics hubs  especially ammunition facilities  and air bases," former CIA officer and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Mick Mulroy told ABC.

A Pentagon official said no decision has been made to supply Ukraine with long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) following reports that claimed the weapons were likely to be sent in the coming months. "While Ive seen that report, no decision has been made yet on whether to provide Ukraine with ATACMS," the official said.

Zelenskyi's call to expand the use of long-range weapons was heard after the massive shelling of almost the entire territory of Ukraine in the morning of August 26. The president emphasized that Ukraine needs additional air defense systems, as well as the removal of long-range restrictions, in order to protect the lives of Ukrainians. He emphasized that such restrictions should not exist when Russia does not have similar restrictions.

"Putin remains true to himself  it is a sick creature; this has long been clear to everyone. But it is also clear that he can only do what the world allows him to do. Weaknesses and lack of decisions in response feed terror. And every leader, every partner of ours knows what strong decisions are needed to end this war  and to end it justly. There should be no restrictions on the range of weapons for Ukraine, while terrorists have no such restrictions. Defenders of life should face no restrictions on weapons, while Russia uses all kinds of its own weapons, as well as Shahed drones and ballistic missiles from North Korea. The United States, the United Kingdom, France, and other partners have the power to help us stop terror. We need decisions. Glory to Ukraine!"

Commenting on President Volodymyr Zelenskyi's call to lift restrictions on long-range strikes against Russia, Kirby said that there are currently no changes in these principles. "This is not a new desire of President Zelenskyi. He has expressed his concerns both privately and publicly. We understand why he is doing this - his country is under attack. But, as I have said many times, we will continue our talks with the Ukrainians, but they will remain private ", he added.

The United States does not plan to lift restrictions on the use of American weapons by Ukrainian armed forces to strike Russian territory, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said 27 August 2024. "Our policy does not change. Ukraine can use U.S. military assistance to defend itself against cross-border attacks and to respond. However, when it comes to long-range strikes, deep strikes into Russia, our policy remains the same," Ryder told reporters. The statement followed calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the West to lift these restrictions. Earlier, Politico reported that Kiev was planning to present to Washington a list of targets in Russia for long-range strikes. It was specified that the Ukrainian authorities insist on the importance of some targets and the possibility of hitting them with American missiles.

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Russo-Ukraine War - 17 November 2024 - Day 998

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A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

The UK Ministry of Defence reported that Russian forces have increased offensive pressure on Kupiansk city, Kharkiv region in north-eastern Ukraine. On 13 November 2024, Russian forces likely attempted to infiltrate Kupiansk from the northeast. The Ukrainian General Staff reported four successive waves of Russian attacks.

To the south of Kupiansk, Russian forces have reached the Oskil river, severing Ukrainian logistics lines on the eastern side of the river. A Russian salient south of Kupiansk has gradually expanded as Russia attempts to increase pressure on Ukrainian forces in the area. Civilian evacuations of Kupiansk and surrounding areas had already been previously ordered by Ukrainian officials on 15 October 2024. The Kupiansk military administration estimates 4,000 remaining civilians in the Kupiansk area. This compares to a pre-war population of 27,000.

Kupiansk is important as it serves as a transportation intersection and logistics hub. The Ukrainians regained control of Kupiansk in September 2022.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that since the beginning of the day, the total number of fighting clashes along the entire frontline has increased to 134, Russian forces launched one mass-air missile strike using 130 missiles, 61 air strikes using 98 CAB, more than 700 kamikaze drones strikes, and more than three and a half thousand shells of Ukrainian troops and settlements with the use of different types of weapons.

In the Kharkiv direction, there were ten combat clashes with Russian zagarbnikami. Five attacks were rebounded in the area of Staritsa, four - in the area of Vovchanska, one attack was repelled by Ukrainian defenders in the area of the settlement of Vysoka Yaruga, the opponent was unsuccessful.

In the Kupans komu direction, Russian forces 10 times tried to move Ukrainian units from occupied positions near Kucherivka, Kruglyakivka and Kolisnikivka. One confrontation near Zagrizovoye is ongoing so far.

Seven attempts to expel Ukrainian defenders from their occupied positions were stopped in the Lyman direction, Russian forces tried to advance in the direction of Tverdohlibovy, Grekivka, Terniv and Cherneshina.

In the sivers komu direction, Ukrainian troops repelled one Russian attack near the verkhnyokamians kogo.

In the Kramators komu direction, there was one combat encounter. The activity of the Russian occupiers was shown in the area of the settlement of the White Mountain, the opponent, having received a hard cut, withdrew.

Russian forces twice tried to infiltrate Ukrainian defense in the Toretsky direction. Since the beginning of the day, occupiers in the areas of populated areas of Toretsk and Cherbinivka. Both attacks were successfully repelled by Ukrainian defenders.

The Russian opponent does not abandon trying to appease Ukrainian defenders from occupied positions in the Pokrovsky direction. The greatest activity of the Russian occupiers is kept in the areas of the settlements of Mirolyubivka, Rumin, Lisivka, Krutiy Yar, Yurivka, Grigorivka and Petrivka. In total, 23 attacks in the direction of Ukrainian defenders have already repelled, five more clashes continue so far.

According to the information available at this time, 251 people have been killed and injured for today's death of the Russian aggressor in this direction. Destroyed two tanks, 10 units of motor equipment. In addition, two tanks, one BMP, one car and one artillery system were damaged.

Intensely attacks the Russian enemy of Ukrainian defenders in the Kurakhiv direction, at this time of the day there are also 35 combat clashes. Zagarbniki maintain high activity, trying to advance in the areas of Nova Illinka, Brestkiv, Voznesenka, Sontsivka, Zora, Maximilianivka, Dalnyi, Kurakhovy and Antonivka. Defense Forces units repelled 20 Russian attacks. The situation is complicated, but controlled by the Defense Forces. Ukrainian soldiers are making efforts to prevent the advancement of the Russian opponent into the depths of Ukrainian territory.

In this direction, according to preliminary data, the Russian casualties were irreversible and 128 wounded. Two tanks, one BMP, two vehicles units, two motorcycles and one enemy mortar were also destroyed, in addition to that one Russian BMP and one artillery system were damaged.

In the vremivs komu direction, there were four encounters in the areas of labor and rozdolivki. Three clashes continue so far.

In the Orihivsky direction, one useless Russian attack was repelled by Ukrainian defenders during the day near Novoandriivka.

In the Pridniprovsk direction, Ukrainian soldiers four times repelled attacks of Russian zagarbnikiv on the position of Ukrainian army.

Defense Forces of Ukraine continue the operation in the Kursk region. Russian aviation continues to strike controlled aviation bombs on the territory of Russia. At the moment it is known about 24 aviation strikes with the application of 37 cab.

In other directions, there have been no significant changes in the environment.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that this morning, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation delivered a massive strike by high-precision air- and sea-based weapons, strike drones on critical energy infrastructure facilities that supported the Ukrainian defence industry and enterprises that produce military products. All planned targets were engaged.



In Kharkov direction, the Sever Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on formations of 57th Mechanised Infantry Brigade, 120th Territorial Defence Brigade, and 5th border detachment of the Ukrainian border police near Okhrimovka, Odnorobovka, Alisovka, and Volchansk of the Kharkov region.

The AFU losses amounted to up to 65 troops, an armoured fighting vehicle, two motor vehicles, and a 122-mm D-30 howitzer. One Anklav-N electronic warfare station was destroyed.



The Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation, inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of 14th, 63rd, 66th, 116th mechanised brigades, 68th Jaeger Brigade, 25th Air Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 114th, 241st territorial defence brigades near Podoly, Petropavlovka, Berestovoye, Staroverovka, Boguslavka, Prokopovka (Kharkov region), Nadiya of the Lugansk People's Republic, Ivanovka (Donetsk People's Republic), and Serebryansky forestry. Six counter-attacks of 77th Airmobile Brigade, 28th, and 115th mechanised brigades were repelled.

The AFU losses amounted to more than 470 troops, a tank, four infantry fighting vehicles, two U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carriers, a Kozak armoured fighting vehicle, four pickup trucks, a Polish-made 155-mm Krab self-propelled artillery system, a 152-mm Msta-B howitzer, and a 100-mm Rapira anti-tank gun. Two ammunition depots were wiped out.



The Yug Group of Forces improved the situation along the front line. It defeated 23rd, 24th, 43rd, 54th mechanised brigades, 56th Motorised Infantry Brigade, 81st Airmobile Brigade, and 10th Mountain Assault Brigade of the AFU near Konstantinovka, Orekhovo-Vasilyevka, Dronovka, Zvanovka, Zakotnoye, Kurakhovo, Ilyichovka, and Seversk (Donetsk People's Republic).

Six counter-attacks of 46th and 77th airmobile brigades were repelled.

The AFU losses amounted to up to 520 troops, a tank, six motor vehicles, a 122-mm Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, two 122-mm D-30 howitzers, and two U.S.-made 105-mm M119 guns. An Anklav-N and a Kvertus electronic warfare stations as well as three ammunition depots were eliminated.

The Tsentr Group of Forces continued advancing into the depths of the enemy's defence, inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of 100th, 117th mechanised brigades, 68th Infantry Brigade of the AFU, 109th, 118th territorial defence brigades, 14th National Guard Brigade, close to Shevchenko, Druzhba, Dzerzhinsk, Dachenskoye, Dimitrov, Mirolyubovka, and Sukhoy Yar (Donetsk People's Republic).

Russian units repelled nine counter-attacks of 151st Mechanised Brigade, 68th, 152nd jaeger brigades, 49th and 425th assault battalions of the AFU, 35th Marine Brigade, 14th National Guard Brigade and the Lyut Assault Brigade of the National Police of Ukraine.



The AFU losses amounted to up to 345 troops, a tank, four armoured fighting vehicles including a Kozak and a U.S.-made MaxxPro, four motor vehicles, and a 152-mm Msta-B howitzer.

The Vostok Group of Forces advanced further into the enemy's defence and hit 120th, 123rd, and 127th territorial defence brigades close to Novoselka, Konstantinopol, and Oktyabr of the Donetsk People's Republic. Two counter-attacks by assault groups of 117th Territorial Defence Brigade were repelled.

The AFU losses amounted to up to 140 troops, a tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, a U.S.-made HMMWV armoured fighting vehicle, eight motor vehicles, and a 122-mm Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system.



The Dnepr Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of 128th Mountain Assault Brigade, 41st Infantry Brigade, 110th Mechanised Brigade of AFU, 103rd and 126th territorial defence brigades near Pyatikhatki, Nesteryanka (Zaporozhye region), Yantarnoye, Olgovka, and Kazatskoye (Kherson region).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 80 troops, four motor vehicles, and an electronic warfare station. A depot of uncrewed surface vehicles was eliminated.



Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack drones, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have engaged the infrastructure of military airfields, gas production and engergetic facilities used for the operation of enterprises of the Ukrainian defence industry as well as clusters of enemy manpower and military hardware in 144 areas.



Russian air defence systems have shot down four French-made Hammer guided aerial bombs, two U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectiles, and 108 aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles.



The Black Sea Fleet's naval aircraft have destroyed four AFU uncrewed surface vehicles in the north-western part of the Black Sea.



In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 648 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 36,068 unmanned aerial vehicles, 586 anti-aircraft missile systems, 19,361 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,489 MLRS combat vehicles, 18,035 field artillery guns and mortars, and 28,465 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.



The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation also reported that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise an enemy group, which broke into the territory of Kursk region.



The units of the Sever Group of Forces engaged formations of 22nd, 41st, 47th, 61st mechanised brigades, 17th Tank Brigade, 92nd Assault Brigade, 80th, 82nd, and 95th air assault brigades, 36th Marine Brigade, 116th and 117th Territorial Defence Brigade of AFU near Daryino, Zelyony Shlyakh, Lebedevka, Makhnovka, Nizhniy Klin, Nikolaevo-Daryno, Novoivanovka, Pogrebki, Sverdlikovo, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye.



Operational-Tactical and Army aviation and artillery inflicted fire damage on AFU manpower and hardware close to Aleksandria, Zaoleshenka, Kurilovka, Leonidovo, Martynovka, Mirny, Nikolayevka, Orlovka, Plyokhovo, Russkoye Porechnoye, Staraya Sorochina, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, and Basovka, Vodolagi, and Zhuravka in the Sumy region.



The AFU losses amounted to 320 troops, a German-made Marder infantry fighting vehicle, four armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, a 152-mm D-20 gun, and Anklav-N electronic warfare station. Five AFU servicemen surrendered.



Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk region, the AFU losses were more than 33,250 troops, 213 tanks, 137 infantry fighting vehicles, 115 armoured personnel carriers, 1,171 armoured fighting vehicles, 954 motor vehicles, 285 artillery guns, 40 MLRS launchers, including 11 of HIMARS and six of MLRS made by the USA, 13 anti-aircraft missile launchers, seven transport-loading vehicles, 66 EW stations, 13 counter-battery warfare radars, four air defence radars, 27 units of engineering and other materiel, including 13 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, six armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.

The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.





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Joint Statement on the Global Forum to Prevent Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism

US Department of State

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

November 15, 2024

The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the Government of Romania on the occasion of the Global Forum to Prevent Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism.

Begin Text

Endorsed by: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Republic of Croatia, Republic of Korea, Republic of Slovenia, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

We, the following participating countries of the Global Forum to Prevent Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism (Global FTPRNT), convened in Bucharest, Romania, from November 13-15, 2024, reaffirm our unwavering commitment to strengthening global radiological and nuclear (R/N) security by fostering international cooperation, upholding international norms, adhering to multilateral conventions, supporting the robust implementation of relevant legal frameworks, and working through international organizations to counter R/N terrorism.

For over fifteen years, the international community engaged in the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) under the co-chairmanship of Russia and the United States to coordinate international capacity-building measures to prevent non-state actors, including terrorist groups, from acquiring or using R/N materials for malicious purposes. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the United States and Russia mutually agreed to pause all official GICNT activities, creating a significant gap in international efforts to address R/N terrorism. The Global FTPRNT bridges this gap by bringing together likeminded partners to address the urgent need for continued international cooperation and coordination to prevent, detect, and respond to R/N terrorism risks and threats globally.

We affirm our commitment to remain vigilant against the risk of R/N materials falling into the hands of terrorist and other non-state actors with intent to cause harm, and we recognize the importance of international cooperation to identify and implement measures to minimize the risk of terrorist use of R/N materials. As nations increasingly pursue nuclear power options - including in considering the selection, development, and deployment of advanced nuclear energy technology such as advanced and small modular reactors - as part of their energy mix, it is essential that adequate security measures are in place and implemented to mitigate the potential risks from R/N terrorism.

We will uphold nuclear security principles for R/N terrorism deterrence, prevention, detection, response, and prosecution. In order to achieve this, we commit to developing global capacity to combat R/N terrorism, consistent with national legal authorities and in compliance with obligations outlined in international legal frameworks such as: the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT), the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) and its 2005 Amendment (A/CPPNM), the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency, the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident, and United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1373 and 1540. These frameworks provide a robust foundation for our efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to acts of R/N terrorism.

We will foster international cooperation to prevent the illicit acquisition, transport, or use of R/N materials, deter hostile actions against R/N facilities, and respond to incidents involving the use of R/N materials. We will do so by strengthening global activities and institutions through the integration of collective capabilities and resources, by maintaining a network for partners to share information and expertise in a legally non-binding capacity, and by strengthening our support of the IAEA's nuclear security assistance to states in the areas of prevention, detection and response.

We call on all states concerned about the threat to international peace and security posed by R/N terrorism to join us in this vital endeavor. By working together, we aim to build a safer and more secure world and protect against the threat of R/N terrorism.

End Text

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Meeting with Head of Roscosmos Yury Borisov

Vladimir Putin had a working meeting with Director General of the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities Yury Borisov.

November 15, 2024

13:55

Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Borisov, we had a meeting in late 2023, followed by an instruction to draft a project for developing the space industry.

Head of Roscosmos Yury Borisov: In fact, I came here to report on this national project, its main goals, objectives, and the expected deliverables.

This is a major challenge for us. I think that the effort to carry out this national project will define the way Russia's space industry develops in the near future, at least until 2030, and probably until 2036.

Today, the space industry plays a major role in both the global and national economies. It is instrumental in terms of defence capabilities and the development of all manufacturing sectors. The global space industry is growing much faster than global GDP, and investment has reached immense proportions. Regarding this momentum and our projections, let me tell you that by 2030, we expect the global satellite constellation to be in the range of 60,000 to 100,000 satellites of various types and designations.

Therefore, if I may, I would like to report to you about our plans, share the challenges we face, so that we can think of ways to overcome them.

Vladimir Putin: Ok.

Mr Borisov, you have visited Artek, haven't you?

Yury Borisov: Yes, Mr President. I met with young people, and we had a very interesting conversation. I talked about the history of world cosmonautics and the role the Soviet Union and Russia played in it. Space has always held a special place in the hearts of all Russians. This is our national pride. This made my visit to Artek very interesting.

Roscosmos is Artek's partner. We attach great importance to educating young people. This year, four hero-cosmonauts visited the camp and met with its students.

Overall, I was amazed by the scale of the upgrades and all the construction at this recreation centre. It is probably the world's best institution of its kind. There are young people from 80 countries there, all bright-eyed - it is a pleasure just to look at them.

Artek's centenary is around the corner. Overall, this was a great trip. The camp's museum is so big, and very good too - with all these exhibits on Yury Gagarin. He visited Artek quite often. In fact, he travelled there seven times after his spaceflight. We have agreed that Roscosmos will help with new exhibits. I have already transferred Yury Gagarin's personal file to the museum. We have declassified this document. This matters a great deal to the museum, since they treasure every artefact they have there.

Vladimir Putin: Excellent.

<...>

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Sky-high teamwork in Alaska

By Flight Lieutenant Nicole Thomson-Pride

15 November 2024

A Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster III took part in a joint air-drop mission over Alaska, which involved about 800 soldiers from the US Army's 11th Airborne Division parachuting from 12 aircraft into a designated area.

The mission was part of an exercise, held from October 5 to 18, at the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) in Hawaii.

The facility is the US Army's newest combat training centre. Its purpose is to generate military readiness in environments and conditions where US forces are most likely to operate.

More than 1000 participants from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and the UK took part. Brunei, Canada, East Timor, Fiji, France, the Republic of Korea and Tonga attended as observing nations.

Among the participants were RAAF aviators from 36 Squadron, as well as an intelligence officer from 87 Squadron who contributed to mission planning, flying and maintaining aircraft.

Flight Lieutenant Alexander Kalfas, of 36 Squadron, said RAAF aviators worked in 'mixed crews' alongside counterparts from the US Air Force (USAF) and the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF) on the ground and in the air.

"During the joint air-drop mission over Alaska, our C-17A Globemaster was crewed by members from RAAF, the USAF and RAF," he said.

"Then on the ground, aviators from 36 Squadron worked in teams with the USAF to maintain their jets, while members of the US Air Force worked within our teams to maintain our jet."

Flight Lieutenant Kalfas said RAAF's involvement in this year's exercise at the JPMRC demonstrated the strength of Australia's relationship with US forces.

"The exercise was yet another example of the depth of our relationship with our mates in the US and its air force," he said.

"The fact that we could deploy with minimal preparation and seamlessly operate and maintain each other's aircraft in mixed aircrews and teams, through weeks of complex training scenarios, is a testament to our ability to work together quickly to achieve mission success."

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Nuclear safeguards and the NPT: AUKUS Side Event, July 2024

Combined Statements of the UK, Australia, and the US on AUKUS from the NPT PrepCom AUKUS Side Event

15 November 2024



U.K. Statement as delivered by Ambassador Corinne Kitsell

Thank you, Vanessa.

Distinguished colleagues,

We welcome your attendance at this side event of the second PrepCom of the 11th NPT Review Conference. The NPT is a cornerstone of the international peace and security system, of crucial importance to all States, and the AUKUS partners are fully committed to the full implementation of the NPT, in all its aspects.

On 13 March last year, the leaders of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States announced the optimal pathway for Australia to acquire a conventionally-armed, nuclearpowered submarine capability. At the highest political level, our Leaders committed to ensuring our approach set the highest non-proliferation standard and would be conducted in a manner fully consistent with our respective non-proliferation obligations and commitments.

I will make some framing remarks on the place of naval nuclear propulsion within the NPT and IAEA architecture.

Colleagues,

Naval nuclear propulsion was foreseen by the drafters of the NPT. Indeed, a mechanism was provided for this in Article 14 of the draft Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This model agreement was approved by the IAEA's Board of Governors in 1971 and is the basis for CSAs agreed with States. The Board of Governors authorises the Director General to negotiate and implement States' CSAs and Australia's CSA was approved by the Board in 1974.

Furthermore, the IAEA has the authority, under its Statute, to negotiate directly with Member States on the establishment, and application, of safeguards and verification arrangements.

The NPT, the IAEA Statute, the CSA and, in Australia's case also the Additional Protocol (AP), provide a firm legal basis and obligation for the IAEA Director General and Secretariat to engage directly, and confidentially to protect sensitive information, with Member States in the development and implementation of safeguards. The global nuclear non-proliferation regime relies on such engagement taking place.

Indeed, it has been the longstanding practice of the IAEA to negotiate directly and bilaterally with Member States on their own safeguards and verification arrangements. There is no reason why Australia's negotiations on its Article 14 arrangement, under its own CSA, should depart from this practice. In fact, there is no basis for any other approach that would involve other states in the negotiation and such an approach would only lead to the politicisation of the process. I believe Ambassador Holgate will talk more about this.

As such, Australia has confirmed that its acquisition of a naval nuclear propulsion capability will occur within the framework of its CSA and AP with the Agency.

I should also refer to the statements and reports made by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. The Director General confirmed that Article 14 of Australia's CSA allows for naval nuclear propulsion. He further underscored that the Agency's role in relation to naval nuclear propulsion is foreseen in the existing legal framework, and that this is within its statutory competences.

In his statement of 14 March 2023, DG Grossi emphasised that the Agency will continue to be guided by its verification mandate in relation to this matter, exercising its powers in an independent, impartial, and professional manner - as we would all want and expect. The IAEA's independence and technical authority is vital to maintaining the nuclear nonproliferation regime - it is essential that this be upheld without politicisation or interference.

So, to summarise, Australia's acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines will occur within the NPT and within Australia's safeguards agreements, as well as all AUKUS partners' respective obligations.

Nonetheless, we are deeply conscious that Australia's acquisition of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines comes with a responsibility to set a strong precedent for states that might also seek to acquire this technology. Whilst we intend to set the highest non-proliferation standard should others follow; this does not mean we intend to create or impose a template arrangement on other states. It will be up to each individual Member State to negotiate directly with the IAEA on safeguards and verification arrangements such that the Agency can meet is safeguards objectives. Australia's approach will include a robust package of safeguards and verification measures which will enable the IAEA to meet its technical safeguards objectives in Australia: no diversion of nuclear material, no misuse of nuclear facilities and no undeclared nuclear material or activity. That outcome is the high non-proliferation precedent we seek.

It is also important to also note that, once agreed, Australia's arrangement will be transmitted to the Board of Governors of the IAEA for appropriate action, as the IAEA Director General has stated on a number of occasions, including in his last report on Australia's NNP program (GOV/INF/2023/10). When Australia's Article 14 arrangement comes before the Board of Governors, in the fullness of time, AUKUS partners expect that arrangement to be judged on its non-proliferation merits: in other words, on whether it enables the IAEA to fulfil its technical objectives.

I turn now to my colleague, Amb. Biggs who will expand upon Australia's progress. Thank you.

Australian Statement as delivered by Ambassador Ian Biggs

Thank you all for joining us today. Thanks to my colleague, Ambassador Vanessa Wood, for her kind introduction and to Ambassador Kitsell of the United Kingdom for her remarks on naval nuclear propulsion (NNP) and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

As many of you may recall, and as Ambassador Wood noted in her introductory remarks, the AUKUS partners held a side-event on NNP at the 2023 NPT PrepCom in Vienna. Following on from the updates provided at last year's side event, I would like to further update you on progress with Australia's NNP program and our ongoing commitment to strengthening the integrity of the global non-proliferation regime.

What is the 'Optimal Pathway'?

To recap, the 'optimal pathway' is the phased approach we have developed to provide Australia with a replacement submarine capability as we transition our existing fleet of six diesel-powered submarines to eight conventionally armed, nuclearpowered submarines, beginning last year and continuing until the second half of this century.

Under the first phase currently underway, the AUKUS partners are making progress on building capacity and familiarity for Australia to safely operate, maintain, and steward nuclear-powered submarines by increasing UK and US SSN port visits to Australia. Once Australia is ready to operate its own sovereign fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, we will then acquire Virginia Class submarines from the United States. Acquiring US Virginia Class submarines will ensure there is no capability gap during the retirement of Australia's existing diesel-powered submarine fleet.

While this is underway, the AUKUS partners will be developing the 'SSN-AUKUS', which will be the future submarine for both Australia and the UK. The UK will deliver its first Britishbuilt SSN-AUKUS in the late 2030s; and the first Australian-built SSN-AUKUS will be completed in the early 2040s.

Naval Nuclear Propulsion and our Non-Proliferation Approach

Australia announced in March last year (2023) that we intended to negotiate an arrangement under Article 14 of our Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA), as part of developing a non-proliferation approach for Australia's NNP program.

Formal technical consultations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Secretariat on Australia's Article 14 approach commenced in May last year (2023). The most recent round of the consultations between Australia and the IAEA Secretariat took place in May 2024. Our consultations with the IAEA are ongoing.

Matters covered in the consultations have included: legal and technical aspects of an Article 14 arrangement for Australia, including the arrangement's form and structure; ways to facilitate verification and monitoring activities, including voluntary transparency measures; and discussion of Safeguards by Design best practice.

We recognise that the acquisition of a NNP capability by a non-nuclear weapon state is a new development.

Australia's non-proliferation approach will operate within the framework of Australia's CSA and Additional Protocol (AP) - as previously described by Ambassador Kitsell. Our Article 14 arrangement with the IAEA will enable the IAEA to meet its technical objectives and have confidence that no diversion of nuclear material has occurred. When the arrangement comes before the IAEA Board of Governors in the fullness of time, we expect it to be judged on its non-proliferation merits. In other words, on whether it enables the IAEA to fulfil its technical objectives.

To be absolutely clear, while we are working to make sure Australia's arrangement meets the highest non-proliferation standard, this does not mean we intend to create or impose a model arrangement on others. We recognise that all IAEA member states share a strong interest in protecting their fundamental right to engage bilaterally, and in-confidence with the IAEA, on safeguards and verification arrangements within the framework of their safeguards agreements. This is also in accordance with the Agency's statutory mandate and authority to hold confidential discussions with Member States on safeguards implementation issues.

When developing an Article 14 arrangement for Australia or another state, the IAEA will need to account for state-specific factors - a one-size-fits-all approach would not work given the differences between NNP programs. To ensure Australia's Article 14 arrangement is fit for purpose, the technical considerations in developing the arrangement will need to reflect factors that are specific to Australia's NNP program, such as: the fact that Australia has committed not to undertake enrichment, reprocessing or fuel fabrication in support of our NNP program; that Australia will receive complete, welded reactor power units that are designed so that the removal of any nuclear material would be extremely difficult and render the power unit, and submarine, inoperable; and that the nuclear fuel Australia will receive cannot be used in nuclear weapons without further chemical processing, requiring facilities that Australia does not have - and will not seek.

A few words on progress with Australia's NNP program

As I touched upon earlier, the AUKUS partners are currently focused on building Australia's capacity to safely operate, maintain, and steward nuclear-powered submarines.

To recap some of the major developments since our last side-event at the 2023 PrepCom:

In December 2023, the United States Congress passed the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act which, amongst other important national defence initiatives, includes substantial enabling provisions for AUKUS. In addition to authorising the transfer of three conventionally armed Virginia class submarines to Australia, the Act also contains provisions to enhance skills development across the partners' workforces and to lift the capacity of our respective submarine industrial bases.

Australia is growing our workforce to build Australia's capability to safely and securely maintain and operate its future submarines, with more than 20 Royal Australian Navy personnel currently in the US Navy Submarine training system.

In March this year, Australia announced the selection of industry partners for the build and sustainment of Australia's future conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines. Cohorts of Australian industry personnel are conducting placements in the UK and US throughout 2024.

In April this year, the AUKUS partners announced initiatives to support increased education and training opportunities to develop the workforce needed to support Australia's future NNP capability. This includes a maintenance activity to be conducted on a US nuclear-powered submarine in Australia, which is scheduled to occur later this year. Australian industry personnel will also be involved in supporting this activity to continue to grow the submarine sustainment workforce and supply chain. As IAEA Director General Grossi has said in his statements, Australia and the IAEA are continuing to engage to make sure relevant technical measures are in place ahead of any such activity under Australia's safeguards agreements with the IAEA, consistent with the Agency's mandate and with its longstanding practice.

Australia has also committed funding to the US and UK industrial base to support increased production and maintenance capacity of the AUKUS partners to ensure there is no capability gap, by boosting the resilience of nuclear-powered submarine supply chains for all AUKUS partners. This funding will be provided in accordance with AUKUS partners' respective legal obligations, including their non-proliferation commitments.

I note that in April, the AUKUS defence ministers released a joint statement which, in addition to providing an update on a number of NNP-related initiatives, outlined principles and models to engage additional partners on specific advanced capability projects under AUKUS Pillar II. AUKUS defence ministers also announced they are considering cooperation with Japan under Pillar II. Pillar II, and any cooperation with additional partners on Pillar II projects, will not include NNP information, technology, or materials. I want to stress that Pillar I relating to Australia's acquisition of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines will remain exclusively a trilateral partnership between Australia, the UK and US.

Transparency

In conclusion, I want to express my thanks for your attendance at this event, and your interest in this matter. This side event is part of our continued commitment to engage, regularly and transparently, on Australia's acquisition of conventionally armed, nuclear powered submarines. Transparency as well as strict and full adherence to our international obligations is key to our approach.

In the IAEA context, AUKUS partners will keep providing updates on relevant developments at the Board of Governors and General Conference - as we have done consistently since AUKUS was first announced in September 2021. We fully support the Director General's commitment to continue to report to the IAEA Board on Australia's NNP program, as he judges appropriate, and welcome constructive discussions in the Board on the basis of such reports. We will continue to seek opportunities to engage and address genuine questions in other fora - such as this side event.

There is a lot of misinformation and disinformation floating about concerning AUKUS - a problem which my colleague Ambassador Laura Holgate is going to address more specifically, because we really value the opportunity to get the facts out there. My thanks again for your kind attention.

U.S. Statement as delivered by Ambassador Laura S.H. Holgate

It is great to see so many delegates in this room for this discussion, which exemplifies the transparency that Australia and the AUKUS partners have brought to this issue. We welcome open, fact-based dialogue intended to build understanding of naval nuclear propulsion and what it entails, at the same that we strongly reject some States efforts to mischaracterize and undermine the transparency that the AUKUS partners bring to this issue. You've heard from Ambassador Kitsell and Ambassador Biggs on the affirmative case for AUKUS and how it fits within the respective legal and policy frameworks of the AUKUS partners. My role today, as it was last year, is to address some of the misrepresentations that some voices continue to put forward here in Geneva, in Vienna, and in other venues regarding AUKUS and naval nuclear propulsion.

This discussion gives us another chance to set the record straight.

First, let me be clear. The transfer of highly enriched uranium from a nuclear weapon state to a non-nuclear weapon state is not a violation of the NPT. Several nuclear weapon states, including the United States, the former Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, and Russia (as an independent nation) have transferred highly enriched uranium fuel to nonnuclear weapon states for use in nuclear reactors - just as it will occur under AUKUS. Nothing about the enrichment level, the quantity, or any other technical parameter equates reactor fuel with a nuclear weapon under the NPT or prohibits the transfer of enriched nuclear material of any enrichment level.

Second, Article 14 is not a "loophole," and its purpose is clear. Naval nuclear propulsion was foreseen by the drafters of the NPT and discussed during the negotiations to develop the model CSA in INFCIRC/153, which has been repeatedly confirmed by the IAEA secretariat, including by Director General Grossi. These discussions, under IAEA Board of Governors Committee 22, are well documented and are accessible to all IAEA Member States in the INFCIRC/153 negotiating history. I urge you to review the excellent, impartial, and unbiased analysis done by the Vienna Center for Nonproliferation and Disarmament on this issue.

Third, given that both the transfer of highly enriched uranium and the use of Article 14 for naval nuclear propulsion are legal and were foreseen by the drafters of the NPT and Model CSA, the combination does not render the activity illegal. DG Grossi has repeatedly addressed the use of Article 14 in this context. As he said in May 2023 when he noted that, "[t]he Agency's role in this process is foreseen in the existing legal framework and falls strictly within its statutory competences." Calling into question whether the IAEA has the capability to make such a judgment is a blatant attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the Secretariat and the Agency as a whole. Furthermore, Director General Grossi explicitly addressed the transfer question in June 2023 when he stated that "the use of nuclear material required to be safeguarded under a CSA, whether produced domestically or imported, for nuclear-powered submarines was envisaged by Member States...and was agreed and reflected in paragraph 14 of INFCIRC/153, and included subsequently in the CSAs approved by the Board".

Fourth, Australia's Article 14 arrangement will not remove nuclear material from IAEA oversight. Australia is pursuing with the IAEA a package of robust verification and monitoring measures to enable the IAEA to continue to fully meet the technical objectives and practical effect of IAEA safeguards including verifying that there is 1) no diversion of nuclear material, 2) no undeclared nuclear material or activity, and 3) no misuse of facilities throughout the submarine's lifecycle. Australia's Additional Protocol also provides the Agency with further tools to verify the absence of undeclared facilities or activities and that no diversion to illicit applications has taken place during the period in which under Article 14 to the relevant nuclear material.

Despite what some have argued, the type of engagement that Australia and the AUKUS partners are having with the IAEA is not a new phenomenon and does not require a separate parallel review process outside of the Board. Indeed, as DG Grossi has repeatedly stated at the Board and specifically documented in 2023/Note 44, the IAEA already engaged in negotiations with one of its Member States on an Article 14 arrangement in the past, in a bilateral manner just as it is currently doing with Australia and is separately engaging with Brazil regarding prospective special safeguards procedures relevant to nuclear material while in use for naval nuclear propulsion. In fact, Australia's negotiations are conducted in a bilateral format with only Australia and the IAEA present - the United States and the United Kingdom do not participate during the bilateral negotiations. As Ambassador Kitsell noted earlier, Australia's Article 14 arrangement will be presented to the Board for appropriate action when the Agency deems it is ready to do so.

Some member states have claimed a tradition or principle that all new safeguards approaches have been developed in a consensus approach by the Board of Governors and that, as such, that precedent requires an intergovernmental process. Firstly, this claim is false, as Laura Rockwood - the former head of Safeguards for the IAEA's Office of Legal Affairs - has documented at length. Secondly, none of the efforts which developed new approaches were used to disrupt or affect bilateral negotiations on safeguards implementation arrangements, authorized under the existing legal framework.

The AUKUS approach to safeguards and verification is specific to the nature of the program. It is not intended to define or constrain future naval propulsion programs.

It does, however, reflect five key principles by which the U.S. plans to evaluate any arrangements for naval nuclear propulsion by a non-nuclear weapons state, including those related to AUKUS:

Can the IAEA meet all of its safeguards technical objectives throughout the naval nuclear program lifecycle with the tools and authorities available under that arrangement?

Does the country have a strong and consistent track record of nonproliferation and compliance with IAEA safeguards?

Has the country been engaged with and responsive to the IAEA Secretariat and kept the Board of Governors and Member States informed in a timely manner throughout its naval nuclear propulsion process?

Is the mechanism for the verification arrangement appropriately derived from the country's comprehensive safeguards agreement (in Australia's case, Article 14)?

Has the country provided the IAEA with the types of additional information and access that are granted under the Additional Protocol?

The United States believes this information and access are even more important for the Agency in the context of naval nuclear programs. We fully expect Australia's arrangement, once negotiated, will meet these principles based on Australia's technical approach. Other naval propulsion programs elsewhere will require those countries to develop their own case-specific measures, but we believe the safeguards outcomes should be the same and satisfy these principles.

Finally, we've heard claims from some Member States about purported safety or other legal and geopolitical issues that naval nuclear propulsion in the context of AUKUS will supposedly undermine. In fact, AUKUS partners will implement the program in full compliance with established safety principles.

We recognize that safety concerns, including the risk of releases of radiation, are a topic which is at the forefront of many minds given the ongoing nuclear safety and security concerns in Ukraine, the history of Chornobyl and other nuclear incidents, and the legacy of nuclear weapons testing.

That said, these concerns must be considered within the context of the specific technology being discussed. For over 60 years, the United Kingdom and the United States have operated more than 500 naval nuclear reactors that have collectively travelled over 240 million kilometers without a reactor accident or release of radioactive material that adversely affect human health or the quality of the environment.

Needless to say, the submarine technology that will be transferred to Australia is state-of-the-art and will not release tritium (or any other material) into sensitive marine environments.

AUKUS is fully consistent with the spirit of Nuclear Weapon Free Zones. All the AUKUS partners support Nuclear Weapon Free Zones and see them as important symbols of our commitment to a rules-based, international nonproliferation framework.

The AUKUS partnership does not involve any nuclear weapons. As a non nuclear-weapon state, Australia does not - and will not - seek to acquire any nuclear weapon. Naval nuclear propulsion is not prohibited by Nuclear Weapon Free Zone treaties and these treaties do not have any bearing on the AUKUS partners' plan to provide Australia with a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability.

This event and the many other briefings, documents, statements, and presentations made available to Member States and the public are evidence of the priority AUKUS partners place on transparency and open discussion. We continue to believe that the intergovernmental process on this matter must be driven within the established roles and procedures, within the IAEA Board of Governors and at the Director General's discretion and direction, and must be underpinned not by fears and fantasies, but by facts. Thank you.

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Australia to host Trilateral Defence Ministers' Meeting with Japan and the United States

The Hon Richard Marles MP

Deputy Prime Minister

Minister for Defence

16 November 2024

The Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the Hon Richard Marles MP, will host Japanese Minister of Defense, H.E. Nakatani Gen, and United States Secretary of Defense, the Hon Lloyd J. Austin III, for the 14th Trilateral Defence Ministers' Meeting on 17 November 2024 in Darwin, Northern Territory.

This will be the first Trilateral Defence Ministers' Meeting held in Australia and the second meeting this year. The Ministers and Secretary will discuss the shared ambition to advance our countries' trilateral program of cooperation, including through exercises and operations, shared strategic capabilities, science and technology and defence industry cooperation.

Bilateral meetings will also be held with each country.

The Acting Prime Minister will host Japanese Minister of Defense Gen Nakatani on his first visit to Australia since being appointed in the role last month. The visit will provide an opportunity to build on the progress made at the Japan-Australia 2+2 meeting in September, including planning for deployments of Japan's Rapid Deployment Brigade to northern Australia.

The Acting Prime Minister will also host US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for his second visit to Australia. The visit will provide opportunity for Acting Prime Minister Marles and Secretary Austin to visit forces and facilities that support our Australia-United States force posture cooperation.

Trilateral defence cooperation between Australia, Japan and the United States is an important pillar of regional security that upholds a stable, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

Quotes attributable to Acting Prime Minister, the Hon Richard Marles MP:

"I am honoured to welcome Minister Nakatani and Secretary Austin for the first Trilateral Defence Ministers' Meeting in Australia. I look forward to discussing defence cooperation with two of our closest partners.

"The trilateral partnership between Australia, Japan and the United States is built upon our shared values, deep trust, and unbreakable commitment to the stability and security of the Indo-Pacific region. Our enduring partnership is crucial to collective deterrence in our region."

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with President of the Republic of Korea Yoon Suk Yeol

Prime Minister of Canada - Justin Trudeau

November 15, 2024

Lima, Peru

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the President of the Republic of Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, on the margins of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru.

The Prime Minister and the President discussed the strong relationship between Canada and South Korea during a time of global instability and reaffirmed their commitment to enhanced co-operation under the Canada-Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They highlighted the benefits of the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement, which has helped rapidly grow our trade and investment relationship while creating opportunities for people and businesses in both countries. Bilateral trade and investment are up 82.6 per cent since the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement was finalized in 2015. The leaders also looked forward to deepening commercial connections, including on artificial intelligence and renewable energy, such as nuclear power.

The Prime Minister and the President expressed their continued support for increased collaboration on issues of mutual interest under the two countries' respective Indo-Pacific strategies, including defence co-operation and economic security.

The leaders reiterated their deep concern and condemnation over North Korea's troop deployment to support Russia's ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine. Prime Minister Trudeau underscored Canada's unwavering support for Ukraine and emphasized the need to hold Russia accountable for its brutal military aggression, which continues to have far-reaching impacts around the world, in particular on those most vulnerable. The Prime Minister also reaffirmed his support for President Zelenskyy's ongoing diplomatic efforts toward a just and sustainable peace.

Prime Minister Trudeau and President Yoon agreed to remain in regular contact and looked forward to ongoing collaboration on shared priorities.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with President of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto

Prime Minister of Canada - Justin Trudeau

November 15, 2024

Lima, Peru

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, on the margins of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru.

Prime Minister Trudeau congratulated President Subianto on his recent inauguration, last month. The two leaders highlighted the strong relations between Canada and Indonesia, which have further grown in recent years. As Southeast Asia's largest economy and with a population of over 280 million - the fourth largest in the world - Indonesia is a dynamic and priority market for Canadian investment and collaboration.

The leaders celebrated the substantive conclusion of negotiations for a Canada-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, including a Memorandum of Understanding on Critical Minerals Cooperation, in support of the Canada-ASEAN Strategic Partnership and continued implementation of Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy. As close partners, Canada and Indonesia play an important role in promoting global trade, defending the rules-based international order, and building economic growth that benefits everyone. This Agreement is a significant milestone in the Canada-Indonesia relationship that will create well-paying jobs, attract investment, and open new markets for businesses and entrepreneurs in both countries.

The Prime Minister and the President also looked forward to deepening commercial connections, including on health, agriculture, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy, such as nuclear power.

The two leaders discussed regional security and the importance of upholding the rules-based international order to ensure peace and stability. They also discussed the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza and their support for a two-state solution. They underscored the need for de-escalation in the Middle East.

Prime Minister Trudeau and President Subianto agreed to remain in close contact.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with President of Peru Dina Boluarte

Prime Minister of Canada - Justin Trudeau

November 16, 2024

Lima, Peru

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the President of Peru, Dina Boluarte, on the margins of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru. He was joined by the Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, Mary Ng.

The Prime Minister congratulated the President on Peru's APEC host year, which comes as Canada and Peru celebrate 80 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries and 15 years since the Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement went into force, more than doubling bilateral merchandise trade and creating opportunities for people and businesses in both countries.

The Prime Minister and the President discussed building on the close people-to-people ties between Canada and Peru, continuing to grow the trade and investment relationship, and working together to advance economic prosperity in the Americas, including through the Chavimochic irrigation project that is being facilitated by the Canadian Commercial Corporation as well as a Canada-Peru Dialogue on Critical Minerals and Mining Sustainability.

Prime Minister Trudeau highlighted new investments Canada has made to support the Peruvian government's goals for economic diversification, labour formalization, and inclusive growth. This includes new funding to protect agricultural workers in Peru through the promotion of occupational safety and health and to improve access to justice for Peru's Indigenous communities by providing technical assistance to the country's judiciary.

The two leaders also discussed the situation in Venezuela following the presidential election and emphasized the importance of transparency and an outcome that reflects the will of the Venezuelan people.

Prime Minister Trudeau underlined the importance of upholding human rights, democracy, and the rules-based international order. He reaffirmed Canada's commitment to working with allies and international partners to promote security and stability for people around the world.

Prime Minister Trudeau and President Boluarte looked forward to remaining in close contact.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with President of Chile Gabriel Boric

Prime Minister of Canada - Justin Trudeau

November 16, 2024

Lima, Peru

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the President of Chile, Gabriel Boric, on the margins of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru. He was joined by the Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, Mary Ng.

The Prime Minister and the President reaffirmed their interest in strengthening the Canada-Chile relationship by building on strong trade and economic ties. They highlighted their commitment to common priorities, including climate action, gender equality, engagement with Indigenous Peoples, and renewable energy, such as nuclear power. They also underlined the need to work together to develop reliable and sustainable critical mineral value chains for resilient economies.

The two leaders discussed global issues, including the ongoing need to support Ukraine in the face of Russia's illegal and unjustifiable war of aggression. They agreed to work together to protect democracy and human rights in the Americas and around the world.

Prime Minister Trudeau and President Boric agreed to stay in close contact and looked forward to ongoing collaboration.

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Xi Jinping Arrives in Lima to Attend the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and Pay a State Visit to Peru

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

Updated: November 15, 2024 17:34

On the afternoon of November 14, 2024 local time, President Xi Jinping arrived in Lima by special plane to attend the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and pay a state visit to Peru at the invitation of President of the Republic of Peru Dina Ercilia Boluarte Zegarra.

When the special plane arrived at Callao Air Base in Lima, President of the Council of Ministers of Peru Gustavo Lino Adriazen Olaya and other senior officials warmly greeted Xi Jinping. Local students presented flowers to Xi Jinping and warmly welcomed his visit in Chinese. Guards of honor lined up on both sides of a red carpet to salute President Xi Jinping.

Xi Jinping made an arrival statement at the airport, extending sincere greetings and best wishes to the government and people of Peru.

Xi Jinping pointed out that the friendship between China and Peru has a long history and is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Peru is one of the first Latin American countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. In recent years, China-Peru relations have continued to develop in depth. Political mutual trust between the two sides has been increasingly consolidated, and major cooperation projects are being steadily advanced, bringing tangible benefits to the people of both countries. Xi Jinping expressed the belief that with the joint efforts of both sides, this visit will lead the China-Peru comprehensive strategic partnership to new heights and promote more new achievements in bilateral practical cooperation across various fields. Xi Jinping said that he also looks forward to attending the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and working with all parties to make new contributions to building an open Asia-Pacific economy, promoting global economic growth, and building an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future.

Cai Qi, Wang Yi, and other members of the entourage arrived on the same plane.

Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, John KC Lee, who arrived earlier, and Chinese Ambassador to Peru Song Yang also greeted President Xi Jinping at the airport.

When Xi Jinping's motorcade drove from the airport to the hotel, representatives of overseas Chinese, Chinese-funded institutions, overseas Chinese students and local people welcomed Xi Jinping on both sides of the road. They waved the national flags of China and Peru, and held high red banners reading "Wish President Xi Jinping a successful visit to Peru!" and "Long live China-Peru friendship!" They played gongs and drums, and performed dragon and lion dances, to warmly welcome Xi Jinping's visit.

On the way from Beijing to Lima, Xi Jinping's special plane made a technical stopover at Gran Canaria Island in Spain, where the Spanish government's plenipotentiary representative to the autonomous community of the Canary Islands and senior local officials went to the airport to greet and see him off.

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian's Regular Press Conference on November 15, 2024

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

Updated: November 15, 2024 18:17

CCTV: On November 14 local time, President Xi Jinping arrived in Lima by special plane to attend the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and pay a state visit to Peru. Can you share more information with us?

Lin Jian: On the afternoon of November 14 local time, President Xi Jinping held talks with President Dina Boluarte to have in-depth exchange of views on bilateral ties, cooperation in priority areas and other issues. The two heads of state jointly witnessed the signing of a Belt and Road cooperation plan, and the Optimization Protocol of the Free Trade Agreement Between China and Peru. The two sides issued a joint declaration on deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership. The two heads of state also attended the inauguration ceremony of Chancay Port via video link.

President Xi noted that both China and Peru are ancient civilizations. Following the principle of equality, mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual learning, China-Peru ties have become a model of solidarity and cooperation among countries of different sizes, systems, and cultures. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 53 years ago, trade and investment cooperation between China and Peru have grown rapidly, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples. The two sides need to synergize development strategies, tap cooperation potential, create a new pattern of practical cooperation, boost the driving force of the two wheels of trade and investment, advance the development of the two priority areas of traditional and emerging industries, and promote the integration of the industrial and supply chains. The two sides should strengthen exchanges of governance experience, shoulder the responsibility of mutual learning among civilizations as required by our times, and carry forward China-Peru friendship from generation to generation. Both China and Peru stand for multilateralism and oppose protectionism. China firmly supports Peru's presidency of APEC and will work for the success of this APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. China stands ready to strengthen communication and cooperation with Peru under the framework of the China-CELAC Forum and make positive contributions to the development of the relations between China and Latin America and the Caribbean.

This is President Xi Jinping's second state visit to Peru and also the third meeting between the two heads of state within this year. It bears historical significance and is highly relevant to our times. China stands ready to work with Peru, following the important common understandings between the two presidents, to further consolidate political mutual trust, upgrade practical cooperation, and bring the China-Peru comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level for the benefit of the peoples of two countries.

Reuters: Taiwan's Lai Ching-te is planning to stop in Hawaii and maybe Guam on a visit overseas in the coming weeks, sources told Reuters. Would the Foreign Ministry like to comment on that?

Lin Jian: The one-China principle is a prevailing international consensus. The Taiwan authorities' political manipulation activities and separatist provocations using countries having so-called "diplomatic ties" with Taiwan will lead nowhere. It will not shake the solid and strong international commitment to the one-China principle, or stop the overriding historical trend towards China's reunification. On the so-called "transit" in the US by leader of the Taiwan region, we always firmly oppose the US's arrangement for such kind of "transit" trip. We urge the US to abide by the one-China principle and provisions in the three China-US joint communiques, not to allow Lai Ching-te to "transit," not to send any wrong signal to "Taiwan independence" forces, and take concrete actions to uphold China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Xinhua News Agency: We noted that the presidents of China and Peru bore witness to the inauguration ceremony of Chancay Port. After the inauguration, the port is expected to become an important shipping hub in Latin America and a gateway to the Pacific Ocean, and greatly reduce the direct shipping time from Peru to Asia. Could you share more details?

Lin Jian: On November 14 local time, President Xi Jinping and President Boluarte in Lima attended via video the inauguration ceremony of Chancay Port.

As President Xi Jinping stressed, Chancay Port is not only an important project under Belt and Road cooperation, but also the first smart and green port in South America. The first phase of the project, when completed, will reduce the sea shipping time from Peru to China to 23 days, thus cutting logistics costs by at least 20 percent. It is expected to generate US$4.5 billion in yearly revenues for Peru and create over 8,000 direct jobs. The completion of Chancay Port will effectively consolidate Peru's role as a gateway linking shipping routes across land and sea, and between Asia and Latin America, and boost the overall development and integration of Latin America and the Caribbean. The port's development plan also includes establishing animal rescue services to improve the environment of wetlands, beaches, and habitats, and contribute to sustainable development of the local economy and society.

Chancay Port is becoming a starting point of an Inca Trail of the New Era. From Chancay to Shanghai, it is witnessing the coming into shape of a new route across land and ocean between Asia and LAC in the new era. China will follow the guidance of the common understandings between the two presidents, uphold the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefit, and work with Peru to ensure the success of Chancay Port from construction through management and operation, so that it will empower the common development of Pacific's coastal economies, including China and Peru, and truly contribute to prosperity and happiness for Peru and all other LAC countries.

China News Service: We noted that statistics released by competent authorities yesterday show that China saw its annual output of new energy vehicles exceed 10 million for the first time, becoming the first country in the world to make this achievement. Foreign media commented that this represents China's effort for green energy transition. What's your comment?

Lin Jian: We noted relevant report. I'd refer you to competent authorities for anything specific. Let me stress that with 90 percent of the vehicles purchased by domestic consumers, the fast growth of China's new energy vehicle industry highlights the potential of China's mega-sized market. It also demonstrates the firm resolve of the Chinese government to advance green and low-carbon development and contribute to global carbon neutrality. According to the statistics of the International Energy Agency, to realize carbon neutrality, total global EV sales will need to reach 45 million in 2030. China will continue to promote high-quality development and high-standard opening up, deepen cooperation in the industrial and supply chains of new energy, advance tech innovation and the development of relevant sector to offer the world more high-quality green products and better turbocharge global green development.

As Ding Xuexiang, President Xi Jinping's Special Representative and Vice Premier of the State Council, said at the World Leaders Climate Action Summit at the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the key to solve climate change is the radical transformation of growth models. The international community needs to work together to speed up energy transition in a fair, orderly and just way, keep industrial and supply chains of the new energy industry stable, promote the accessibility and innovation of green products and technologies, accelerate the cultivation of new quality productive forces, foster a free and fair international environment for green and low-carbon investment, trade and technology cooperation, and boost global green and low-carbon transition.

AFP: Brian Nichols, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, said yesterday that it is essential that LAC countries ensure that "PRC economic activities respect local laws as well as safeguard human rights and environmental protections." What's China's response?

Lin Jian: China is committed to growing friendship and cooperative ties with LAC countries under the principle of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit, openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation. We never attach any strings, or target any third party, and we have no intention to compete with any country for influence. LAC countries, as independent sovereign states, have the right and the capability of independently choosing development path and cooperation partner. China-LAC cooperation has brought tangible benefit to socioeconomic development of regional countries and has been widely welcomed and recognized by regional countries. The Chancay Port that I mentioned is such a case in point.

China Daily: Today marks the fourth anniversary of the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP). Can you update us on what it has achieved and China's role in it?

Lin Jian: RCEP covers more population and involves more trade than any other free trade agreement in today's world. Since its official implementation, RCEP has been delivering institutional benefits, such as easing tariffs, streamlining customs clearance, and facilitating trade and investment. It has made regional industrial and supply chains more stable and unimpeded and opened up a new phase of high-quality development of regional economy.

As the largest economy among RCEP members, China is an active promoter of high-quality implementation of the agreement. In the first three quarters of this year, imports and exports between China and other RCEP members totaled RMB9.63 trillion, up by 4.5 percent year-on-year. In 2023, non-financial direct investment from China to other RCEP members reached US$18.06 billion, up by 26 percent year-on-year, which is 14 percentage points higher than the growth rate of China's investment globally. As this year's non-ASEAN rotating chair of RCEP, China has played a leading role in high-standard compliance with RCEP and made great contribution to enhancing the overall implementation of RCEP in the region. We will stay committed to advancing comprehensive and high-quality implementation of RCEP, injecting more impetus into regional trade growth and economic integration, and bringing more tangible benefits to the people in the Asia-Pacific.

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Keeping Abreast of the Trend of the Times and Jointly Promoting Prosperity Around the World

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

Updated: November 16, 2024 06:21

Written Speech by H.E. Xi Jinping

President of the People's Republic of China

At the APEC CEO Summit

Lima, November 15, 2024

Representatives of the Business Community,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

I am very pleased to visit the beautiful city of Lima. It is truly heart-warming to set foot on this dynamic country again after eight years.

Although China and Latin America are thousands of miles apart, we have carried forward our exchanges in spite of the vast Pacific Ocean. As early as in the second half of the 16th century, the China Ships, laden with silk and porcelain, reached the far coast of Latin America, starting friendly interactions between China and the region.

Several hundred years later today, China and Latin America and the entire Asia-Pacific are deeply woven into the fabric of economic globalization. We are now an interdependent community with common interests and a shared future. On the other hand, the world is in a new period of turbulence and transformation. Unbridled unilateralism and protectionism and an increasingly fragmented world economy threaten to reverse the trend toward economic globalization. The grave challenge for us is like sailing up a riverwe either forge ahead or drift downstream. Where will the Asia-Pacific economy be going? It is a decision we must make.

Economic globalization is an objective requirement of growing social productive forces. It is a natural outcome of advancement in science and technology and a mighty historical trend. Despite headwinds and undertows, economic globalization has always been the general trend. The attempt to block economic cooperation under all sorts of pretexts and break up the interdependence of the world is nothing but backpedaling.

Economic globalization is caught now in a tug of war between driving and obstructive forces, but the driving forces still prevail. New technological revolution and industrial transformation are getting more profound, and the world is moving faster to embrace a digital, green and smart economy. All this is building up powerful energy for further expedition of economic globalization down the road.

We should steer economic globalization in the right direction. We must reject the beaten path that a few countries have taken to pursue dominance and hegemony. We should see to it that economic globalization generates more positive outcomes and is taken to a new phase that is more dynamic, inclusive and sustainable.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

Tougher times calls for greater confidence. We should join hands to promote a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization to the benefit of various countries and communities.

First, we should take innovation as the driving force for stronger growth of the world economy. Innovation is the source of productivity. We should make full use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies to rev up the world economy and stimulate its growth with the current technological revolution. Advances in science and technology should benefit the entire humanity. We should help developing countries with their capacity building in science and technology and promote global flow of knowledge and technologies.

Second, we should keep pace with the times and reform the system of global economic governance. We should follow the principles of "plan together, build together and benefit together" to ensure that the global economic governance system better reflects the new reality of the world economic map. The representation and voice of the Global South should be enhanced continuously, and all countries should be ensured of equal rights, equal opportunities and equal rules in conducting international economic cooperation. We should uphold the WTO-centered multilateral trading regime, push for an open world economic system, and keep the global industrial and supply chains stable and smooth.

Third, we should always take the people-centered approach and seek to settle imbalances in development. Global prosperity and stability cannot be achieved when the rich get richer and the poor poorer. True development means common development of all countries. We should ensure people's well-being while seeking economic growth, and foster a development environment that is inclusive and beneficial for all. We should pursue economic globalization that is people-centered and delivers more balanced development and more equal opportunities, so that different countries, classes and communities can all benefit from development. China hopes that all parties will take an active part in the Global Development Initiative to help expedite the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and promote balanced and full development of all countries.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

APEC was born on the eve of the end of the Cold War when a new round of economic globalization was gradually emerging, and has since taken it as its mission to promote economic globalization. It has contributed immensely to boosting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation in the Asia-Pacific, economic mutual benefit between member economies, and the interests and well-being of the people in our region. Asia-Pacific economies have maintained robust growth and created the remarkable Asia-Pacific miracle.

The success of the Asia-Pacific is due to our firm commitment to peace and stability in the region, to our continuous practices of true multilateralism and open regionalism, and to our deep faith in the trend toward economic globalization as well as mutual benefit and mutual success.

The Asia-Pacific should remain the locomotive of economic globalization in the future. We should stay on the right course and seek to break new ground at the same time. While further burnishing the Asia-Pacific hallmark of openness and inclusiveness, we should make new brand-building efforts to foster a green and digital Asia-Pacific, build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future, and usher in another 30 golden years of development for our region.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

Last July, the Communist Party of China held the Third Plenary Session of its 20th Central Committee, and adopted a comprehensive plan for further deepening reform across the board to advance Chinese modernization. More than 300 important reform measures were introduced at the meeting, and they will be fully implemented within five years. This will provide not only strong impetus for China's economic and social development, but also more opportunities for global development.

China will deepen reform comprehensively and continue to provide robust momentum for the world economy. China will build a high-standard socialist market economy, foster a fairer and more dynamic market environment, and make resource allocation as efficient and productive as possible. China is endeavoring to achieve breakthroughs in key areas such as reforming the fiscal and tax systems, building a unified national market and advancing new urbanization. It is taking targeted steps to boost consumption and increase domestic demand so as to improve the effectiveness of reforms. China has adopted a full range of major reform measures, which will give a vigorous boost to the rebounding and growth of the economy. We have full confidence in meeting the growth targets for this year and remaining the biggest engine of world economic growth.

China will advance high-quality development and continue to lead the efforts to improve the performance of the world economy. In the first half of this year, investment in China's high-tech manufacturing and service sectors achieved double-digit growth, and its economic structure and growth model improved steadily. China will continue to nurture new quality productive forces in line with actual conditions, promote deep integration of the real economy and digital economy, boost the service sector, further modernize infrastructure, and make industrial and supply chains more resilient. China is committed to high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and will work with all participants to put in place a network of connectivity featuring integrated land-sea transportation and coordinated development.

China will stay firmly on the path of green development and continue to be an important force for global green transition. In recent years, the "green quotient" in China's social and economic development has continued to rise. China has become the first country around the world with "zero increase" in land degradation, and its newly-added area of afforestation accounts for a quarter of the global total. China is actively expanding new energy sectors and facilitating international cooperation on green mining. It has achieved one of the world's fastest rates of energy intensity reduction. China's wind and solar power products have helped other countries reduce about 810 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, and enabled them to access clean, reliable and affordable energy. All this has been an important part of the global effort to address climate change.

China will build new, open and higher-standard economic systems and continue to share China's development opportunities with the world. Opening up is a defining feature of Chinese modernization. Since the start of this year, China has lifted all restrictions on foreign investment in manufacturing, and established for the first time a nationwide negative-list system for cross-border trade in services. We have taken systematic steps to further open the telecom, Internet, education, culture, medical service and other sectors. We have also taken the initiative to apply high international standards of economic and trade rules, including those in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), as part of our plan to steadily enhance institutional opening up. We have expanded the coverage of the 144-hour visa-free transit policy to facilitate inbound visits to China, and "Travel to China" is getting very popular around the world. Going forward, China will introduce more policies for voluntary and unilateral opening up, expand its globally-oriented network of high-standard free trade areas, and open its door even wider to the world.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

As an ancient Chinese scholar said, "When eating fruits, one should remember the tree; When drinking water, one should remember the source." China's development is inseparable from the Asia-Pacific, and it will in turn further benefit the region. As a Latin American proverb goes, "Just as a ship is powered by its sails, people are inspired by their hearts." I am pleased to learn that "From Chancay to Shanghai" has become a fashionable saying in Peru, an echo to the China Ships that arrived here over 500 years ago. This fully shows that as long as we act in the spirit of openness and connectivity, the vast Pacific will become a thoroughfare for more prosperity and growth. Let us enhance our solidarity and cooperation, stand up together to the global challenges, jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind, and form a mighty force for the common prosperity of the world and a brighter future for humanity.

Thank you.

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Biden, Xi reiterate importance of managing US-China rivalry

By Patsy Widakuswara November 16, 2024

U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated the importance of maintaining dialogue to manage the U.S.-China rivalry, at a summit Saturday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, or APEC, in Lima, Peru.

The U.S.-China relationship is the "most important" in the world, Biden said, stressing both leaders' responsibility not to allow competition to veer into conflict.

"These conversations prevent miscalculations," Biden said of their meetings. "Over the last four years, I think we've proven it's possible to have this relationship," he said.

Xi expressed similar sentiments, saying both countries "should bear in mind the interest of the whole world and inject more certainty and positive energy into the turbulent world."

The White House highlighted ongoing areas of cooperation, including counternarcotics, as well as new areas of agreement on artificial intelligence, including the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons.

"We are now building a foundation for being able to work on nuclear risk reduction," national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters after the bilateral meeting.

The positive expressions belie new irritants as well as long-standing issues between the two countries.

Biden warned China over its alleged role in hacking private telecommunications providers used by U.S. government and presidential campaign officials, Sullivan said without providing details of the consequences laid out by Biden.

Biden raised the issue of Beijing's increased military activities around Taiwan and the South China Sea, its support for Moscow's war against Ukraine and the deployment of North Korean troops to aid Russia - which, according to Biden, is a "deeply dangerous development" for Europe and the Korean peninsula, Sullivan said.

Biden has called Xi a "dictator" in the past, while Xi has accused the U.S. of being the "biggest source of chaos" in the world. Both leaders, though, have emphasized the importance of stability, and in the past four years they largely have succeeded in managing the complicated rivalry.

In their summit last year, Biden and Xi agreed to restart military-to-military communications, in part to manage potential tensions surrounding Taiwan and the South China Sea.

Multilateralism and free trade

Sullivan said Biden reiterated concern over Beijing's "unfair nonmarket economic practices that are harming American workers and businesses." However, just hours before his meeting, Xi presented himself as a defender of "multilateralism and an open economy," to APEC leaders.

In a speech, he urged leaders to "tear down the walls impeding the flow of trade, investment, technology and services."

Foreign diplomatic sources who spoke under the condition of anonymity told VOA they are concerned that the U.S. will become more protectionist and isolationist under the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated in January.

Under his first term as president, Trump withdrew from various multilateral agreements including the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact and the Paris Climate Accord. He imposed punitive tariffs on China, largely kept in place by the Biden administration, and ramped up trade pressure with other U.S. trading partners including Europe and Japan.

During his 2024 campaign, Trump vowed to place tariffs of up to 60% on all Chinese imports, and 10% to 20% on goods from the rest of the world.

In response to VOA's question Sullivan would not speculate on the policies of the incoming administration. He said Biden raised U.S. concerns over Chinese over capacity and the distortion it could wreak on the global economy.

"The world will be able to judge for itself both the PRC [People's Republic of China]'s approach to trade and the U.S.' approach to over time," he said, adding that countries have begun to take "countermeasures against what they perceive to be PRC overcapacity in critical sectors."

At APEC, Xi championed a "new impetus" toward an "open Asia-Pacific economy" and supported the group's efforts to move faster toward achieving the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, a proposed regional free trade agreement between the 21 APEC member economies.

China is a member of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the largest regional free trade agreement involving 15 countries in Asia and the Pacific. The U.S. is not a member of RCEP.

In 2021, Beijing applied for membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The regional free trade pact initially begun as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, promoted in 2015 by then-U.S. President Barack Obama.

Trump withdrew the U.S. from TPP in 2017. Following Washington's departure, the TPP eventually became CPTPP - an 11-country bloc that now constitutes one of the largest free trade areas in the world.

The Biden administration in 2022 launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which includes a dozen Indo-Pacific countries. There are no market access or tariff reduction provisions in the framework  trade incentives desired by countries in the region.

IPEF is unlikely to continue in its current form under Trump, said Zack Cooper, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

"But the reality is that many countries in the region have been pretty disappointed by IPEF and so if they see it either go away or change, I don't think they'll be panicked about that possibility," he told VOA.

Xi began his South American tour by inaugurating a mega port in Peru, a $1.3 billion investment by Beijing as it seeks to expand trade and influence on the continent.

Sullivan pushed back against the narrative that Beijing has overtaken Washington as the world's main backer of development and infrastructure financing.

"Every time we fly to South America or Africa, the press writes the story: 'China is doing a lot; America is doing a little,'" he said in response to VOA's question aboard Air Force One en route to Lima.

"And then you look at the numbers behind it  the total stock of American investment in Latin America and the Caribbean  and you compare that to what China is doing. We are, across our private sector and now backed up by tools like the Development Finance Corporation, investing in a wide range of technology, infrastructure, energy, health, and other projects and are an incredibly important player," he said, noting that the U.S. is investing heavily in Peru, $6.6 billion last year.

From Lima, Biden heads to the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro Sunday, with a brief stop in the Brazilian Amazon to deliver remarks on climate change.

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Remarks by President Biden and President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China Before Bilateral Meeting | Lima, Peru

November 16, 2024

Delfines Hotel & Convention Center

4:06 P.M. PET

PRESIDENT XI: (As interpreted.) Can you put on your earpiece? We have simultaneous interpreting.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: I've learned to speak Chinese. (Laughter.) Wish I did.

PRESIDENT XI: Okay, let me begin first. It's a great pleasure to see you again, President Biden. Over the past four years, China-U.S. relations have gone through ups and downs. But under our joint stewardship, the two sides have also been engaged in fruitful dialogue and cooperation, and the relationship has been kept stable on the whole.

These developments reconfirmed the experiences and lessons of the past of 45 years of China-U.S. diplomatic ties. When the two countries treat each other as partner and friend, seek common ground while (inaudible) differences, and help each other succeed, our relationship would make considerable progress.

But if we take each other as rival or adversary, pursue vicious competition, and seek to hurt each other, we would roil the relationship or even set it back.

The world today is turbulent, plagued by conflicts. Old problems are compounded by new ones. Humanity is faced with unprecedented challenges. Major country competition should not be the underlying logic of the times. Only solidarity and cooperation can help humanity overcome current difficulties.

In an age of flourishing sci-tech revolution, neither decoupling nor supply chain disruption is a solution. Only mutually beneficial cooperation can lead to common development. "Small yard, high fences" is not what a major country should pursue. Only openness and sharing can improve the well-being of humanity.

As two major countries, China and the United States should bear in mind the interests of the whole world and inject more certainty and positive energy into the turbulent world.

It is my consistent belief that as the world's most important bilateral relationship, a stable China-U.S. relationship is critical not only to the interests of the Chinese and American peoples, but also to the future and destiny of the entire humanity.

The two countries should bear in mind the well-being of the two peoples and the common interests of the international community, make the wise choice, keep exploring the right way for two major countries to get along well with each other, and realize the long-term peaceful coexistence of China and the United States on this planet.

The United States has recently concluded its elections. China's goal of a stable, healthy, and sustainable China-U.S. relationship remains unchanged.

Our commitment to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and winning cooperation as principles for handling China-U.S. relations remains unchanged.

Our position of resolutely safeguarding China's sovereignty, security, and development interests remains unchanged.

Our desire to carry forward the traditional friendship between the Chinese and American peoples remains unchanged.

China is ready to work with the new U.S. administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation, and manage differences so as to strive for a steady transition of the China-U.S. relationship for the benefit of the two peoples.

I look forward to an in-depth exchange of views with you on China-U.S. relations and on issues of mutual interest.

Thank you.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, thank you very much, Mr. President. It's good to see you and see all of you again. You know, one year ago, we met in the Woodside Summit in San Francisco. And I'm very proud of the progress we've both made together.

On military communication, at multiple levels our leaders are now regularly talking to one another on a regular basis.

On AI, we have brought together our nations' experts together to discuss risks and safety.

Our counternarcotics  on that issue, we resumed cooperation. And I want to note: In my country, Mr. President, overdose deaths are coming down for the first time in five years.

We have a lot to discuss, but let me close with this. Over  for over a decade, you and I have spent many hours together, both here and in China and in between. And, you know, we  I think we've spent a long time  (laughs)  dealing with these issues.

Let me close with this. We  I think  and I once had to count up the number of hours you and I spent alone together. I remember being on the Tibetan Plateau with you and I remember being in Beijing. I remember  all over the world. And  both as my  first as vice president, then as president.

We haven't always agreed, but our conversations have always been candid and always been frank. We have never kidded one another. We've been level with one another. And I think that's vital.

These conversations prevent miscalculations, and they ensure the competition between our two countries will not veer into conflict  be competition, not conflict.

And that's our responsibility to our people and, as you indicated, to the people around the world. We are the most important alliance or most important re-  relationship in the entire world. And how we get along together is going to impact the rest of the world.

And  so, you know, our two countries cannot let any of this competition veer into conflict. And as I said, that's our responsibility. And over the last four years, I think we've proven it's possible to have this relationship.

And  but  so, Mr. President, I'm anxious to get our meeting starting and discuss the issues we have remaining.

Thank you.

4:14 P.M. PET

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Readout of President Joe Biden's Meeting with President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China

November 16, 2024

President Joseph R. Biden Jr. met with President Xi Jinping of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Lima, Peru today. This meeting is the third between the two Presidents and follows their April 2, 2024, telephone call. The two leaders had a candid, constructive discussion on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, including areas of cooperation and areas of difference.

President Biden underscored that U.S. investment in sources of strength at home and alignment with partners and allies around the world have been central to his Administration's foreign policy approach. He welcomed efforts to maintain open channels of communication with the PRC to manage competition responsibly and prevent it from veering into conflict or confrontation.

The two leaders reviewed the bilateral relationship over the past four years and took stock of efforts to responsibly manage competitive aspects of the relationship and advance areas of cooperation since the Woodside Summit in November 2023, including counternarcotics, military-military communication, artificial intelligence-related risks, climate change, and people-to-people exchanges.

On counternarcotics, both sides affirmed the importance of continued coordinated law enforcement actions, information exchanges to identify new and emerging drug trends, and regulatory actions. President Biden welcomed the PRC's scheduling of 55 dangerous synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals, closure of online platforms and companies that supply precursor chemicals, and arrests connected to the illicit chemical industry, and he called for additional steps in the period ahead. Both sides welcomed the resumption over the last year of high-level military-to-military communications, the U.S.-China Defense Policy Coordination Talks, U.S.-China Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meetings, and engagements between theater commanders. Both leaders affirmed the need to continue these channels of communication.

Building on a candid and constructive dialogue on AI and co-sponsorship of each other's resolutions on AI at the United Nations General Assembly, the two leaders affirmed the need to address the risks of AI systems, improve AI safety and international cooperation, and promote AI for good for all. The two leaders affirmed the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons. The two leaders also stressed the need to consider carefully the potential risks and develop AI technology in the military field in a prudent and responsible manner.

The two leaders also exchanged views on key regional and global challenges. President Biden condemned the deployment of thousands of DPRK troops to Russia, a dangerous expansion of Russia's unlawful war against Ukraine with serious consequences for both European and Indo-Pacific peace and security. He expressed deep concern over the PRC's continued support for Russia's defense industrial base. President Biden emphasized the United States' commitment to upholding international law and freedom of navigation, overflight, and peace and stability in the South China Sea and East China Sea. On Taiwan, President Biden underscored that the United States' one China policy remains unchanged, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances. He reiterated that the United States opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side, that we expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, and that the world has an interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. He called for an end to destabilizing PRC military activity around Taiwan.

President Biden raised concerns about the PRC's unfair trade policies and emphasized that the United States will continue to take necessary actions to prevent advanced U.S. technologies from being used to undermine the national security of the United States or its partners, without unduly limiting trade and investment. The President noted the importance of human rights and the responsibility of all nations to respect their human rights commitments. He emphasized that it remains a priority to resolve the cases of American citizens who are unjustly detained or subject to exit bans in China. The President raised deep concerns about ongoing PRC cyberattacks targeting civilian critical infrastructure and threatening the safety and security of Americans.

Building on the Bali and Woodside meetings, the two leaders stressed the importance of responsibly managing competitive aspects of the relationship, preventing conflict, maintaining open lines of communication, cooperating on areas of shared interest, upholding the UN Charter, and all countries treating each other with respect and finding a way to live alongside each other peacefully. Both leaders reiterated the importance of maintaining a strategic channel of communication to responsibly manage the relationship and called for continued use of diplomatic, military, law enforcement, commercial, and financial channels.

###

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President Xi Jinping Meets with U.S. President Joe Biden in Lima

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

Updated: November 17, 2024 08:28

On the afternoon of November 16 local time, President Xi Jinping met with U.S. President Joe Biden in Lima.

President Xi Jinping pointed out that over the past four years, China-U.S. relations have gone through ups and downs, but the two sides have also been engaged in dialogue and cooperation. The relationship has remained stable on the whole. Under the stewardship of the two Presidents, the two teams have worked out through consultations a number of guiding principles for China-U.S. relations. The two Presidents have jointly brought China-U.S. dialogue and cooperation back on track. More than 20 communication mechanisms have been restarted or established, and positive achievements have been made in such areas as diplomacy, security, economy, trade, fiscal affairs, finance, military, counternarcotics, law enforcement, agriculture, climate change, and people-to-people exchange.

President Xi underscored that it is worthwhile to review the experiences of the past four years and draw inspirations from them. He listed the following:

First, it is important to have a correct strategic perception. The Thucydides's Trap is not a historical inevitability. A new Cold War should not be fought and cannot be won. Containing China is unwise, unacceptable and bound to fail.

Second, it is important to match words with actions. A man cannot establish himself without credibility. China has always honored its words. If the U.S. side always says one thing but does another, it will be detrimental to its own image, and undermine trust between China and the United States.

Third, it is important to treat each other as equals. As two major countries, neither China nor the United States should seek to remodel the other according to one's own will, suppress the other from the so-called "position of strength," or deprive the other of the legitimate right to development so as to maintain its leading status.

Fourth, it is important not to challenge red lines and paramount principles. Contradictions and differences between two major countries like China and the United States are unavoidable. But one side should not undermine the core interests of the other, let alone seek conflict or confrontation. The one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques are the political foundation of China-U.S. relations. They must be observed. The Taiwan question, democracy and human rights, China's path and system, and China's development right are four red lines for China. They must not be challenged. These are the most important guardrails and safety nets for China-U.S. relations.

Fifth, it is important to conduct more dialogue and cooperation. Under the current circumstances, common interests between China and the United States are expanding rather than shrinking. Their cooperation is crucial not only for the economy, trade, agriculture, counternarcotics, law enforcement and public health, but also for handling global challenges of climate change and artificial intelligence (AI) as well as addressing international hotspot issues. The two sides should expand the list of cooperation and make a bigger pie of cooperation to achieve a win-win result.

Sixth, it is important to respond to the expectations of the people. China-U.S. relations should always advance the well-being of the two peoples and bring them closer together. To facilitate personnel and cultural exchange, the two sides need to build bridges and roads, remove distractions and obstacles, and refrain from making any moves that have a chilling effect.

Seventh, it is important to step forward to shoulder the responsibilities of major countries. China and the United States should always keep in mind humanity's future and their responsibilities for world peace, provide public good for the world, and act in a way conducive to global unity, including carrying out constructive interactions, refraining from mutual attrition, and not coercing other countries into taking sides.

President Xi stressed that the trajectory of China-U.S. relations has proved the validity of these experiences and inspirations from the past 45 years of diplomatic ties. When the two countries treat each other as partner and seek common ground while shelving differences, their relationship will make considerable progress. But if they regard each other as rival and pursue vicious competition, they will roil the relationship or even set it back. Humanity is faced with unprecedented challenges in this turbulent world suffering from frequent conflicts. Major-country competition should not be the underlying logic of the times; only solidarity and cooperation can help humanity overcome current difficulties. Neither decoupling nor supply-chain disruption is the solution; common development can only be achieved through mutually beneficial cooperation. "Small yard, high fences" is not what a major country should do; only openness and sharing can advance the well-being of humanity. A stable China-U.S. relationship is critical not only to the interests of the Chinese and American peoples, but also to the future and destiny of the entire humanity. China and the United States should keep exploring the right way for two major countries to get along well with each other, realize long-term, peaceful coexistence on this planet, and inject more certainty and positive energy into the world.

President Xi stressed that China's goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-U.S. relationship remains unchanged. Its commitment to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as principles for handling China-U.S. relations remains unchanged. Its position of resolutely safeguarding China's sovereignty, security and development interests remains unchanged. And its desire to carry forward the traditional friendship between the Chinese and American peoples remains unchanged. China is ready to engage in dialogue, expand cooperation, and manage differences with the United States so as to sustain the hard-won momentum toward stability in China-U.S. relations.

President Xi stated China's positions on Taiwan, economic and trade ties, science and technology, cybersecurity, the South China Sea, the Ukraine crisis and the Korean Peninsula.

President Xi stressed that cross-Strait peace and stability and "Taiwan independence" separatist activities are irreconcilable as water and fire. If the U.S side cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai Ching-te and the DPP authorities in seeking "Taiwan independence," handles the Taiwan question with extra prudence, unequivocally opposes "Taiwan independence," and supports China's peaceful reunification.

The Chinese people's right to development is not to be deprived of or ignored. While all countries need to safeguard their national security, they should not overstretch the national security concept, still less use it as a pretext for malicious moves to constrain and contain other countries.

There is no evidence that supports the irrational claim of the so-called "cyberattacks from China." China itself is a target of international cyberattacks, and consistently opposes and combats all forms of cyberattacks.

China firmly upholds its territory, sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea. Dialogue and consultation between states concerned is always the best way to manage differences in the South China Sea. The United States should not get involved in bilateral disputes over the relevant islands and reefs of Nansha Qundao, nor should it aid or abet the impulsion to make provocations.

China's position and actions on the Ukraine issue have always been fair and square. China conducts shuttle diplomacy and mediation to promote peace talks, makes every effort for peace, and strives for deescalation. China does not allow conflict and turmoil to happen on the Korean Peninsula. It will not sit idly by when its strategic security and core interests are under threat.

President Biden stated that the U.S.-China relationship is the most important relationship in the world, not just for the two peoples, but also for the future of the world. The two governments have a responsibility to the two peoples and the world to see that competition does not veer into conflict. In the past four years, the two sides worked together to rebuild channels of communication. The two diplomatic and security teams have often had strategic communications and had candid and in-depth dialogue, which helped the two sides to better understand each other. Particularly since the San Francisco meeting a year ago, the two sides have made tangible progress on mil-to-mil relations, counternarcotics, law enforcement, AI, climate change and people-to-people exchange. The two sides support each other's bid for hosting the APEC and G20 meetings respectively in 2026. This demonstrates what we can do for the two peoples when we work together. The United States does not seek a new Cold War, it does not seek to change China's system, its alliances are not targeted against China, it does not support "Taiwan independence," it does not seek conflict with China, and it does not see its Taiwan policy as a way to compete with China. The U.S. side will stay committed to the one-China policy. The United States is prepared to enhance communication and dialogue with China during the transition period to have a better perception of each other and responsibly manage the differences.

The two Presidents reiterated the seven-point common understandings on the guiding principles for China-U.S. relations, namely treating each other with respect, finding a way to live alongside each other peacefully, maintaining open lines of communication, preventing conflict, upholding the United Nations Charter, cooperating in areas of shared interest, and responsibly managing competitive aspects of the relationship. The two sides are ready to uphold these principles, continue to stabilize China-U.S. relations, and ensure a smooth transition of the relationship.

The two Presidents spoke positively about the important role of China-U.S. strategic communication, regular contact between the diplomatic and security teams, and dialogue mechanisms on mil-to-mil relations, economic and trade ties, and financial issues. They agreed to maintain the momentum in communication and strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination. The two Presidents reviewed the important progress in dialogue and cooperation on counternarcotics, climate change, AI, and people-to-people exchanges since their San Francisco meeting.

The two Presidents believed that the two sides have had candid and constructive dialogue on AI. The two sides co-sponsored each other's resolutions at the U.N. General Assembly on AI. They affirmed the need to enhance international cooperation and promote AI for good for all. The two Presidents stressed the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons.

The two Presidents both believed that their meeting has been candid, profound and constructive. They expressed their willingness to stay in contact.

Cai Qi and Wang Yi attended the meeting.

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An Overview of the Meeting Between Chinese and US Presidents in Lima by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

Updated: November 17, 2024 12:04

On the afternoon of November 16 local time, President Xi Jinping met with US President Joe Biden upon request on the margins of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru. China has released a readout on the meeting. I wish to share a bit more on the context for the meeting and what was discussed.

This meeting was held one year after the last time that the two Presidents met. The two sides reviewed the journey of China-US relations over the past four years, and drew experiences and inspirations from it. Their conversation was candid, in-depth and constructive. It focused on advancing dialogue and cooperation and properly managing differences during the transition period of the US government and on regional and international issues of mutual interest, and charted the course for bilateral relations.

Over the past four years, China-US relations have gone through ups and downs, but under the stewardship of the two Presidents, the two sides have also been engaged in dialogue and cooperation, and bilateral ties have remained stable on the whole. In his interactions with President Biden, President Xi fully shared his views on how the two sides should approach bilateral relations, which provide strategic guidance and are important for the direction of this relationship. President Xi vividly compared the relationship between China and the US to a mansion. He proposed in 2021 during the virtual meeting with President Biden that the two countries need to follow the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperationthat is the dome of the mansion. During the 2022 Bali meeting, he underscored China's four red lines on the Taiwan question, path and system, democracy and human rights, and right to developmentthat is the foundation of the mansion. During the meeting in San Francisco in 2023, he stated that China and the US should jointly develop a right perception, manage disagreements effectively, advance mutually beneficial cooperation, shoulder responsibilities as major countries and promote people-to-people exchangesthose are the five pillars of the mansion. In Lima, President Xi insightfully listed seven experiences and inspirations that the two countries should draw from the course of their relations, namely, to have a correct strategic perception, match words with actions, treat each other as equals, not to challenge red lines and paramount principles, conduct more dialogue and cooperation, respond to the expectations of the people, and step forward to shoulder the responsibilities of major countries. President Xi Jinping stressed that the two sides should continue to add building blocks to the mansion, and expressed readiness to make joint effort with President Biden and his successor towards this end.

History tells us that China and the US stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. President Xi pointed out from his deep observation that the Thucydides's Trap is not a historical inevitability, a new Cold War should not be fought and cannot be won, and containing China is unwise, unacceptable and bound to fail. China and the US, as two major countries in the world, need to bear in mind the benefit of the whole world and inject more certainty and positive energy to today's turbulent world.

The common understandings achieved at the Lima meeting are as follows. The two Presidents reiterated the seven-point common understandings on the guiding principles for China-US relations, namely treating each other with respect, finding a way to live alongside each other peacefully, maintaining open lines of communication, preventing conflict, upholding the United Nations Charter, cooperating in areas of shared interest, and responsibly managing competitive aspects of the relationship. The two sides are ready to uphold these principles, continue to stabilize China-US relations, and ensure a smooth transition of the relationship. The two Presidents spoke positively about the important role of China-US strategic communication, regular contact between the diplomatic and security teams, and dialogue mechanisms on mil-to-mil relations, economic and trade ties, and financial issues. They agreed to maintain the momentum in communication and strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination. The two Presidents reviewed the important progress in dialogue and cooperation on counternarcotics, climate change, AI, and people-to-people exchanges since their San Francisco meeting.

The two Presidents believed that the two sides have had candid and constructive dialogue on AI. The two sides co-sponsored each other's resolutions at the UN General Assembly on AI. On this basis, they affirmed the need to deal with risks of AI systems, make AI safer, enhance international cooperation, and promote AI for good and for all. The two Presidents affirmed the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons, and they stressed the need to seriously consider potential risks and adopt a prudent and responsible attitude when developing AI for the military domain.

At the meeting, the two sides did not shy away from differences. President Xi made China's principled position absolutely clear on several major issues.

On the Taiwan question, President Xi Jinping stressed that the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques are the political foundation of China-US relations. They must be observed. Cross-Strait peace and stability and "Taiwan independence" separatist activities are irreconcilable as water and fire. If the US side cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai Ching-te and the DPP authorities in seeking "Taiwan independence," handles the Taiwan question with extra prudence, unequivocally opposes "Taiwan independence," and supports China's peaceful reunification.

On the South China Sea issue, President Xi stressed that China firmly upholds its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea. Dialogue and consultation between states concerned is always the best way to manage differences in the South China Sea. The United States should not get involved in bilateral disputes over relevant islands and reefs of Nansha Qundao, nor should it aid or abet the impulsion to make provocations.

On US suppression against China's trade and technology development, President Xi noted that the Chinese people's right to development is not to be deprived of or ignored. All countries need to safeguard their national security. In the face of challenges, neither decoupling nor supply-chain disruption is the solution, and "small yard, high fences" is not what a major country should do. The US should not overstretch the national security concept, still less use it as a pretext for malicious moves to constrain and contain other countries.

On alleged "cyberattacks from China," President Xi noted that there is no evidence that supports the irrational claim and China itself is a target of international cyberattacks, and consistently opposes and combats all forms of cyberattacks.

On the US's smear and blame-shifting against China on international and regional issues, President Xi noted that China's position and actions on the Ukraine issue have always been fair and square. China conducts shuttle diplomacy and mediation to promote peace talks, makes every effort for peace, and strives for deescalation. China does not allow conflict and turmoil to happen on the Korean Peninsula, and will not sit idly by when China's strategic security and core interests are under threat.

President Xi in particular stressed that China's goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship remains unchanged. Its commitment to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as principles for handling China-US relations remains unchanged. Its position of resolutely safeguarding China's sovereignty, security and development interests remains unchanged. And its desire to carry forward the traditional friendship between the Chinese and American peoples remains unchanged. This shows that China is ready to engage in dialogue, expand cooperation, and manage differences with the incoming US government so as to maintain stability in China-US relations to the benefits of the two countries and the world at large.

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HSBC restructuring a chance to rescue UK's Hong Kongers from transnational repression

More than 120,000 recent Hong Kong exiles have been cut off from their retirement savings since 2021.

By Megan Khoo 2024.11.17 -- HSBC's recently-announced plan to split into four businesses from Jan. 1 offers the British multinational bank a chance to correct a wrong against tens of thousands of Hong Kongers in the UK and Canada who have been denied access to their retirement savings.

The reorganization will create four HBC businesses: Hong Kong, UK, Corporate and Institutional Banking, and International Wealth and Premier Banking.

In the announcement, HSBC wrote that the restructuring "will reduce the duplication of processes and decision making that are built into the current structure and will result in greater alignment and agility in serving our customers."

HSBC did not mention increasing difficulty dealing with the human rights environment in places like Hong Kong as reason for the shake up.

Outside observers, however, noted that the shake-up comes as the bank with a deep history in Asia was struggling to navigate rising geopolitical tensions between China and the west.

The Guardian reported that the overhaul of the company "reflects historical complications in its global banking model. The bank makes most of its profits in Asia, but it remains headquartered in London, giving western leaders an opportunity to exert pressure over its relationship with the ruling Communist party in China."

The New York Times also emphasised how the "changes come as Europe's largest lender looks to cut costs and navigate a diplomatic minefield between China and the West."

Diaspora retirement savings

People working on human rights in Hong Kong and among the diaspora that has fled the city's tough new security regime in the last half decade are seizing on the restructuring to press HSBC to address the problem of more than 120,000 recent Hong Kong exiles who have been cut off from their retirement savings since 2021.

Hong Kong Watch has found that Hong Kongers were being denied access to over 3 billion (US$3.8 billion) of money they paid into the city's retirement scheme, known as the Mandatory Provident Fund.

The MPF is a compulsory retirement savings scheme for the people of Hong Kong. Ordinarily, once a Hong Konger proves that they have permanently departed from Hong Kong, they are entitled to the early withdrawal of the full amount of their MPF savings.

However, after the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared that it would no longer recognise British National (Overseas) (BNO) passports used by tens of thousands of Hong Kongers who moved to the UK and Canada.

The move, in retaliation to the UK government launching the BNO visa scheme in January 2021, has caused approximately 126,500 Hong Kongers around the world to be blocked from accessing an estimated 3.26 billion (US$4.1 billion) of their MPF savings.

The declaration by the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities was conducted by fiat, with no laws or regulations in Hong Kong changed in regards to the operation of the MPF.

HSBC continues to be one of 12 MPF trustees complicit in preventing the release of BNO Hong Kongers' hard-earned savings.

As the largest trustee of the MPF, HSBC oversees five MPF schemes and manages approximately 30 percent of the total MPF market, with assets totalling HK$371 billion (37 billion).

From this, Hong Kong Watch has estimated that HSBC is denying Hong Kongers access to as much as 978 million worth of assets in MPF holdings.

'Financial transnational repression'

This week 13 Parliamentarians from every major political party in the UK wrote new HSBC Group Chief Executive Georges Elhedery urging him to resolve the frozen funds issue.

"As Members of Parliament, we welcome information on how the restructuring of HSBC, specifically the creation of separate 'Hong Kong' and 'UK' businesses, will impact the more than 180,000 BNO Hong Kongers living across the UK who attempt to withdraw their MPF savings," said the letter.

Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong and a signatory to the letter, called on HSBC to make "meaningful changes" for the affected Hong Kongers during the restructuring.

"If HSBC has not yet taken into account how its reorganisation, specifically in regard to the split between the Hong Kong and UK markets, will affect Hong Kongers abroad, it should carefully consider how to protect its Hong Kong customers from further financial transnational repression," wrote Patten, a patron of Hong Kong Watch.

It has been nearly four years since the UK government launched the BNO scheme, which is far too long for Hong Kongers to be blocked from the very savings that, for some, would unleash the path to their new life in Britain.

I continue to hear accounts of struggle as Hong Kongers long to adjust to their new lives in the UK, including a single mom who is again worried about not being able to afford heating this winter, as well as one family which cannot afford accessibility features in their home for their child with disabilities.

HSBC must seriously consider how it will handle Hong Kongers' MPF savings as they rearrange the foundations of the company to split the Hong Kong and UK markets, as it is time for their funds to be rightfully released.

In addition, the new UK government should seek to further understand the issue, raise the freezing of BNO Hong Kongers' savings in every bilateral meeting with China and Hong Kong, and take immediate action to issue guidance to MPF trustees regarding the use of BNO passports as valid, UK government-issued identity documents.

This would ensure that Hong Kongers who are part of the UK's BNO community do not have to face another cold winter nor a sleepless night trying to figure out how they will provide for their family while still in the shadow of trauma from escaping political repression in Hong Kong.

Megan Khoo is policy director at the international NGO Hong Kong Watch. Khoo, based in London, has served in communications roles at foreign policy non-profit organizations in London and Washington, D.C.. The views expressed here do not reflect the position of Radio Free Asia.

Copyright 1998-2024, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content November not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Kim Jong Un wants North Korea to mass produce suicide drones

Experts fear that Russia is transferring tech to North Korea, which could then sell cheap drones to Russia to use in Ukraine.

By Soyoung Kim for RFA Korean 2024.11.15 -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wants the country to begin mass production of suicide drones, raising concerns that Pyongyang could potentially send these to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine.

State media reported that the country's supreme leader Kim Jong Un visited a test site for the unmanned attack aircraft.

"The suicide attack drones, designed to be used within different striking ranges on the ground and the sea, are to perform a precision attack mission against any enemy targets," the Korea Central News Agency report said. In tests, the drones "precisely hit" targets, it said.

Kim "underscored the need to build a serial production system as early as possible and go into full-scale mass production," the report said.

Though the report made no mention of the possibility of North Korea manufacturing drones to be sold to Russia, several analysts said that Pyongyang might look to do just that.

The war is the motivation behind North Korean drone development, Bruce Bennett, a researcher at the U.S.-based RAND Corporation told RFA Korean.

"Putin wants cheap weapons, and Kim Jong Un can produce them," said Bennett. "I suspect that Russia transferred drone technology to support North Korea's production."

He also noted that any North Korean ability to mass-produce drones could be a potential threat to South Korea.

The successful test of suicide drones as reported by North Korean state media is a concern in light of the deepening ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, Bruce Klingner of the Washington-based Heritage Foundation said.

Klingner said that North Korea has already provided Russia with artillery shells, ballistic missiles, and over 10,000 troops.

He also said that the recent ratification of a comprehensive bilateral security treaty between Russia and North Korea suggests that Moscow might soon increase transfer of military technology to Pyongyang.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department expressed concern over the deepening relationship, calling it and its associated weapons transfers "a trend that should be of great concern to anyone who is interested in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, preserving the global nonproliferation regime, and supporting the Ukrainian people."

Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.

Copyright 1998-2016, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content November not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Families of North Korean soldiers in Russia face fear, anxiety

By Young Gyo Kim, Sangjin Cho November 15, 2024

North Korean defectors say Pyongyang has likely kept the deployment of that nation's soldiers to fight in Russia's war against Ukraine as a secret from its own people, including the soldiers' own families, but the news will undoubtedly leak out, causing anxiety and pain.

Western intelligence officials estimate that as many as 10,000 North Korean soldiers are now in place, mainly in locations around Russia's Kursk region where Ukrainian forces have captured some Russian territory, and that the troops have already suffered combat casualties.

"North Korean mothers who sent their children to Russia must feel unimaginable pain," said Kim Jeong-ah, a North Korean defector and former first lieutenant in the North Korean People's Army who spoke to VOA Korean by phone Wednesday.

"It drives you crazy; how else can you express that feeling?" said Kim, herself a mother who now runs a nonprofit in Seoul that promotes women's rights in North Korea. "They cannot even cry as hard as you want at home, because there's no soundproof walls between houses."

Kim, who escaped North Korea in 2009, said, "The families of those North Korean soldiers in Russia must be suffering without being able to express their grievances due to pressure from the North Korean regime."

Rising human rights concerns

It is widely believed that the Kim Jong Un regime mobilized its elite "Storm Corps" special forces to support Russia.

Lee Hyun Seung, a former soldier in the Storm Corps unit and an escapee who now lives in the U.S., told VOA Korean in a phone call Wednesday that "the North Korean regime does not inform families of overseas deployments, unit locations or personal safety issues," for fear of leaking military secrets.

Lee suggested that news of the deployment is likely already spreading by word of mouth among residents, and that "there will certainly be internal opposition among residents to this clear violation of human rights  deploying the troops without notice to the families."

"Rumors will spread quickly, and if the families who were not aware of the deployment find out their sons were sacrificed, this will be a huge blow to the regime."

In a recent talk hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Tae Young-ho, former North Korean diplomat who served in South Korea's National Assembly after his defection, said although Pyongyang is keeping the deployment secret, North Korean troop fatalities will be hard to keep from public view.

Tae also said that North Korea has a very low birth rate, with families having only one or two children, so parents will not be able to accept the fact that their children died defending Russia, not their own country.

Lack of training, resources

Lee Woong-gil, who defected from North Korea after 13 years of service with the Storm Corps, told VOA Korean by phone that he had heard that the training conditions and capabilities of North Korean special forces have deteriorated, compared with when he served.

"If you look at the photos and videos [of North Korean soldiers in Russia], they don't look like the best-trained special forces soldiers, they just look like soldiers who came out during training," Lee said. "They didn't look very fit, and they looked like run-of-the-mill soldiers who were just drafted during training."

North Korea is one of the most militarized countries in the world. All men between the ages of 17 and 30 must enlist for military service for a period of five to 13 years.

Lee also said it is very difficult for the North Korean regime to provide proper economic compensation to deployed troops and their families, adding "the only thing North Korean soldiers can hope for is the safety of themselves and their families."

Lee predicted that when faced with extreme pain and fear of death, North Korean soldiers in Russia would feel agitated and would highly likely surrender during combat or attempt to escape and even seek asylum.

Risk of severe trauma

Oh Eun-kyung, a counselor at the Korean Counseling Psychological Association in Seoul, who counsels North Korean defectors, said in a phone call with VOA Korean on Monday that North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia are highly likely to suffer from severe trauma due to mental stress.

"The psychological isolation and helplessness of not being able to do anything will increase among the families left behind in North Korea," said Oh. "The families' anger at the regime's anti-human rights measures could serve as a trigger for major social unrest within North Korea."

David Maxwell, a former U.S. Special Forces colonel who served on the U.N.'s Combined Forces Command in South Korea, told VOA Korean by phone that North Korean soldiers who have never participated in actual battles are being sent to the front line, risking exposure to even more serious trauma.

"They will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. They will suffer from traumatic experience, but they have been so thoroughly indoctrinated ... that I don't think you will see it manifest in ways that it does in the rest of the world," said Maxwell, who now is vice president of the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy. "They certainly will not be properly cared for [to deal with] the experience."

War without just cause

Ri Jong Ho, a North Korean defector now in the U.S. and a former high-ranking economic official for the Kim regime, said Pyongyang will not publicly acknowledge the Russia deployment, given its weak justification.

"When North Korea sent troops to Vietnam, our goal was to protect the socialist front; it was the Cold War back then," Ri told VOA Korean by phone Wednesday.

North Korea has long denied that it sent members of its air force into the Vietnam War, although it was belatedly confirmed in 2002 when North Korean state media reported that a delegation had retrieved remains of North Korean airmen from Vietnamese soil.

"They don't have any justification this time," Ri said. "They participated in the war of aggression. The North Korean soldiers are just there as cannon fodder."

This story originated in VOA's Korean Service.

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US, Japan, South Korea coordinate response to North Korean threats

By Patsy Widakuswara November 15, 2024

U.S. President Joe Biden met with leaders of South Korea and Japan to discuss a "coordinated" response to the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to help Moscow's war against Ukraine and on Pyongyang's nuclear threat more broadly.

Biden met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba Friday, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Lima, Peru.

Biden said the countries aim to link arms "to secure the technologies of the future and countering North Korea's dangerous and destabilizing cooperation with Russia."

Yoon underscored North Korean troops deployment as a reminder of the "challenging security environment within and outside the region."

Pyongyang's troop deployment is a "significant development" that the U.S. will treat "with the seriousness with which it deserves to be treated," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Lima, Thursday.

Sullivan said the leaders will prepare for any potential moves from Pyongyang, including nuclear testing and ballistic missile launches as the U.S. prepares for a change of administration when Donald Trump takes office in January.

"Transitions have historically been time periods when the DPRK has taken provocative actions," Sullivan said, using the abbreviation for North Korea's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The leaders highlighted ongoing cooperation on "trilateral interoperability by sharing data in real time about ballistic missile launches" by Pyongyang and strengthening U.S. extended deterrence cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo.

Extended deterrence

The United States has an "extended deterrence" policy that aims to prevent adversaries from attacking allies, including South Korea and Japan. The policy states that Washington will come to their aid if they are attacked, potentially including use of American nuclear capabilities.

No specific announcement on extended deterrence was made Friday. However, the summit is an opportunity to "ensure that each of these two bilateral dialogues are working to reinforce one another, and that there aren't gaps and seams between them," Sullivan said.

The leaders announced the establishment of a trilateral secretariat as part of their efforts to "institutionalize" three-way cooperation that began as a series of leaders' dialogues on economic security, intelligence sharing, and defense policy coordination. The trilateral leaders' dialogues began in May 2023 on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, and then at Camp David in August that year.

The trilateral effort is one of Biden's signature regional security initiatives to push Seoul and Tokyo to overcome years of animosity and work together to deter common adversaries, North Korea and China.

U.S., Japanese and South Korean militaries Thursday launched joint exercises in waters south of the Korean peninsula and west of Japan, the final drills under the Biden administration.

During his first term, Trump advocated for friendlier ties with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but also threatened to attack his country. He pressured Tokyo and Seoul to take on a larger share of U.S. defense burden-sharing.

"Both Tokyo and Seoul are worried, what sort of asks he [Trump]'s going to have at them, to maintain the level of alliance that's in both countries today," said Darcie Draudt Vejares, fellow for Korean studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

A day before Trump's reelection, the U.S. and South Korea finalized a new agreement for Seoul to pay $1.13 billion in 2026 to support U.S. troops, an 8.3% increase from the previous year.

A senior administration official briefing reporters after the trilateral said that the leaders did not raise any concerns about the incoming administration. The focus of the conversation was on common challenges and shared interests that are "enduring," the official said.

Bilateral meetings with Peru, China

Biden also met separately Friday with summit host, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.

Biden announced a $65 million counternarcotics assistance package for Peru, which includes transferring nine Black Hawk helicopters over the next five years to support Lima's fight against narcotics trafficking and organized crime. He highlighted other initiatives, including rail and space cooperation.

On Saturday, Biden is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, their last in person engagement while the U.S. president is in office.

"It's an important opportunity to mark the progress that we've made in the relationship and also to manage it through this delicate period of transition where we want to maintain a degree of stability, even as we continue to compete vigorously with the PRC [People's Republic of China]," said Sullivan.

Beijing will be looking ahead to the incoming Trump administration that has threatened higher tariffs on Chinese goods, he told VOA.

"I doubt Xi Jinping is going to want to preface what he'll do with Donald Trump," said Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. "I'm not even sure that the probability of tariffs will come up in the meeting."

Biden and Xi are expected to revisit areas of cooperation, particularly the resumption of military-to-military contact, combating the global fentanyl crisis and nascent work to deal with the risks of artificial intelligence (AI), a senior administration official said in a briefing with reporters earlier this week.

In Peru, Xi will inaugurate a $1.3 billion megaport, part of China's infrastructure investment program that has bought him influence in various parts of the world.

A senior administration official told reporters that during his meeting with Boluarte, Biden cautioned the Peruvian leader that it's important for countries to "maintain very high standards of transparency in their dealings with other partners around the world, including China."

VOA's Kim Lewis contributed to this report.

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Telephone conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

November 15, 2024

18:10

President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Olaf Scholz, held for the first time since December 2022 at the initiative of the German side

The leaders had an in-depth and frank exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin reiterated that the current crisis was a direct result of NATO's long-standing aggressive policy aimed at creating a staging ground against Russia on Ukrainian soil, while showing disregard for Russia's security concerns and trampling on the rights of Russian-speaking residents of Ukraine.

Speaking on the prospects for reaching a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict, the President of Russia pointed out that the Russian side had never rejected and was still open to resuming the talks broken off by the Kiev regime. Russia's proposals are well known and have been outlined, in particular, in the President's speech at the Foreign Ministry in June. Any possible agreements must address security concerns of the Russian Federation, rest on the new territorial realities, and, most importantly, eliminate the original causes of the conflict.

The discussion also touched on the state of affairs in relations between Russia and Germany. Vladimir Putin noted their unprecedented decline in all areas, caused by the unfriendly policy pursued by the German authorities. It was emphasised that Russia had always honoured its commitments under various treaties and contracts in the energy sector and was still willing to promote mutually beneficial cooperation, if the German side showed interest in it.

Recent escalations in the Middle East were also addressed. Vladimir Putin informed Olaf Scholz on the efforts made by Russia to deescalate and seek peaceful solutions for the regional crisis.

The leaders agreed that following their telephone conversation, their aides would keep in touch.

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Muslims welcome Supreme Court's crackdown on India's 'bulldozer justice'

By Shaikh Azizur Rahman November 15, 2024

Muslims in India are largely welcoming a ruling this week from the country's Supreme Court declaring authorities must not demolish any property simply because its owner has been accused of a crime.

Such demolitions  decried as "bulldozer justice" by critics  have targeted mostly Muslim-owned properties in states ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party over the past few years.

On Wednesday, while issuing the verdict, India's highest court called bulldozer justice "totally unconstitutional" and laid down strict guidelines concerning such demolitions.

"The chilling sight of a bulldozer demolishing a building, when authorities have failed to follow the basic principles of natural justice and have acted without adhering to the principle of due process, reminds one of a lawless state of affairs," the court said.

Such "high-handed and arbitrary actions" have no place in a constitutional democracy and would be dealt with through the "heavy hand of the law," the court added.

Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, a leading organization of Islamic scholars in India, said it welcomes the Supreme Court verdict.

"The court has declared demolishing someone's house as a crime, and an unacceptable form of punishment. It has also emphasized that the government may not play judge, and only the judiciary has the authority to determine what is legal or illegal," JUH President Maulana Syed Arshad Madani told VOA.

"This ruling is a victory for justice, and we hope it will serve as a lesson to all authorities," he said.

After firebrand monk and Hindu nationalist BJP leader Yogi Adityanath became chief minister of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in 2017, he ordered his officials to take the strictest possible actions against all criminals.

Soon, the police and other civic officials in Uttar Pradesh started taking strict action against those accused of crimes, including demolishing their properties deemed illegal.

Properties of hard-core criminals were targeted initially. But it was not long until others began losing their properties to demolition for allegedly partaking in protest rallies, pelting stones at others during communal disturbances, slaughtering cows and other offenses.

Over the past few years, houses, shops and other "illegal" structures owned by accused criminals, communal violence rioters and others have been demolished in states including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Assam and Maharashtra  where the BJP was in power. In most cases, the victims belonged to the minority Muslim community.

According to the Housing and Land Rights Network, a housing rights group, more than 153,000 homes were demolished by various state governments in India, displacing about 738,000 people in the last few years.

Since 2022, JUH filed multiple petitions to the Supreme Court seeking orders to prevent the governments from demolishing properties as a form of extrajudicial punishment.

On September 13, while hearing another petition, the court observed that running a bulldozer on the property of an accused is "akin to bulldozing the law of the land."

In its verdict on Wednesday, the Supreme Court firmly stated that the executive must not overstep its bounds by acting as a judge and executing punitive measures such as demolitions.

"The executive cannot pronounce a person guilty. Only on the basis of accusation, if the executive demolishes the property of the person, it will strike at the rule of law. The executive cannot become a judge and demolish the properties of the persons accused," the verdict said.

"No demolition can be carried out without prior show-cause notice and within 15 days from the date of the notice being served," it said.

New Delhi-based lawyer Mohammad Huzaifa said that this week's verdict marked a "historic stand against 'bulldozer justice,' affirming that punitive demolitions have no place in our democratic framework."

"While justice may have come too late for many, this ruling offers renewed faith in our judiciary and stands as a beacon of hope for those wronged by arbitrary demolitions impacting scores of people living under the fear of bulldozer state terror," Huzaifa, a member of the legal team of civil rights group Association for Protection of Civil Rights, told the VOA.

"The challenge now lies in vigilant implementation  true justice will be measured by how effectively these guidelines are enforced on the ground," he said.

Muslim community leader Zafarul-Islam Khan said he welcomed the verdict although it has come too late.

"Demolition of people's homes was a huge issue of human rights violation. Courts should have taken suo motu notice of the cases as soon as those demolitions began some years ago," Khan, former chairman of the Delhi Minorities Commission, told VOA.

"No doubt, the authorities will not feel so free as before in demolishing homes in the future, but they may still look for their devious ways to do so," he said.

The verdict, in some ways still sounds not complete, Khan added.

"This welcome verdict will remain incomplete unless and until tens of thousands of the previous victims are also compensated and the powerful people who violated the law at will are punished," he said.

Human rights activist Harsh Mander said that he was relieved that the Supreme Court had spoken out against a process that was "entirely unlawful and unconstitutional."

"State injustice bulldozing the homes and shops of the working poor has continued for decades, and periodic orders to follow the compassionate due process from the Supreme Court similar to the recent order have not restrained the executive," Mander told VOA.

"But my problem with the ruling is that it doesn't act effectively to deter the current form of demolition, which is essentially targeting a particular community, Indian Muslims. I would have wanted the court to both reprimand and punish political leaders who order and justify such unlawful retributive targeting, and officers who implemented these acts."

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Iranian Foreign Minister Says There's A 'Limited' Chance For Nuclear Talks With West

By RFE/RL November 16, 2024

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on November 16 that there remains a "limited opportunity" for nuclear negotiations with the West, according to Iranian state media.

Relations between Tehran and the United States have been especially tense since then-President Donald Trump withdrew unilaterally from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and global powers and reimposed tough U.S. sanctions on Iran.

"There is still an opportunity for diplomacy, although this opportunity is not much. It is a limited opportunity," Araqchi was quoted as telling state television.

Western concerns at Iranian actions have soared amid the yearlong war in the Gaza Strip after U.S.- and EU-designated terrorist organization Hamas carried out a brutal attack in Israel in October 2023, with Iranian allies including Huthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon attacking Israel in support of Hamas.

With Trump poised to return to the White House in January following his election victory earlier this month, reports circulated of possible informal contacts, including claims that Trump ally Elon Musk met last week in New York with Iran's envoy to the United Nations.

After days of silence, Tehran on November 16 "categorically denied" that any such meeting took place.

This week, Rafael Grossi, head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), urged Iran and its global partners to achieve "concrete, tangible, and visible results" in talks over Tehran's nuclear program as the return of Trump could mean the window for diplomacy is closing.

The 2015 deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), had given Iran some limited relief from international sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program designed to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

After Washington's withdrawal from the JCPOA, Iran expanded its nuclear program and restricted IAEA inspections of its nuclear sites.

U.S. President Joe Biden entered the White House in 2017 pledging to try to revive the deal but made no breakthroughs.

Trump's announced pick for secretary of state, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, is generally regarded as an advocate of tough action to counter Iranian influence through a return to a "maximum pressure" policy.

With additional reporting by AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-nuclear- diplomacy-us/33204804.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.

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Secretary Blinken's Call with Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

November 15, 2024

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa'ar, and congratulated him on his appointment. The Secretary reaffirmed the United States' ironclad commitment to Israel's security. He discussed recent actions Israel has taken to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, including food, medicine, and other essential supplies, and urged Israel to take additional steps to accelerate and sustain the delivery of lifesaving assistance. The Secretary emphasized the importance of ending the war in Gaza, bringing all of the hostages home, and establishing lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike. The Secretary and Foreign Minister also discussed the need for a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon that allows Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return to their homes.

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Thailand to grant citizenship to nearly 500,000 people

The aim is to improve national security and support the economy, officials said.

By Kiana Duncan, Pimuk Rakkanam for RFA and RFA Burmese 2024.11.15 -- Thailand will grant citizenship to nearly 500,000 long-term residents, most of them members of ethnic minorities, with the aim of improving national security and the economy, officials said.

While immigration is a hot-button political issue in many countries, in Thailand, where its remote border lands have for centuries been populated by a patchwork of "hill tribe" communities, the plan has stirred little, if any, serious opposition.

Under a streamlined process agreed by the cabinet in late October, provincial authorities will be able to grant citizenship, cutting down on red tape and saving time, said government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub.

"It will bolster national security, enable those Thai citizens to access medical plans and support the economic drive," he said.

New citizens will gain the right to work freely, buy property, open bank accounts, get domestic rates for tuition fees and apply for university scholarships.

A retired government official familiar with the issue said security worries were at the root of the decision, and a fear stateless people were more likely to get mixed up in "illicit" activities.

"They must gain Thai citizenship so the government knows who they are, and they can have a legal career and contribute to society," said the former senior Thai official who declined to be identified commenting on the sensitive issue.

"Recognizing them helps Thailand earn their loyalty."

While who precisely will qualify for citizenship has yet to be announced, a member of a parliamentary committee on ethnicities involved in the plan told Radio Free Asia that the focus was long-term members of ethnic minorities and tribal people, such as members of the Hmong ethnic group, as well as those settling from Myanmar and Laos, and long-term migrants from Cambodia and Vietnam.

Former members of the Chinese nationalist Kuomintang party, who fled from China after the 1949 communist victory there and settled in Thailand, will also be granted citizenship, said Surapong Kongchantuk, secretary of the house committee on the ethnicities.

"In a nutshell, the eligible people are ethnic and tribal people who have been surveyed and registered for a long time," Surapong told RFA.

"The new system will take effect after the Ministry of Interior declares a ministerial act in around the next two months - a New Year gift," he said.

Path to opportunity

But Surapong said those eligible would not include "new migrants."

He declined to go into details of exactly who he was referring to but applicants must be able prove they arrived in Thailand before 1999 and remained here for at least 15 years.

That means no path to citizenship for the many thousands of people from Myanmar who have fled from their country's latest round of bloody turmoil and repression since a 2021 military takeover there.

It is also not clear if about 100,000 members of the Karen ethnic group from Myanmar living in border camps after fleeing fighting beginning in the 1980s, will be eligible.

But many people from Myanmar are hopeful after years of insecurity, temporary permits and endless scrutiny by the authorities.

"I have to submit information about where I'm going, what I'm doing and who I'm going to meet," said one man from Myanmar, who asked to be identified as Maung Maung, who fled repression in his homeland and has been living precariously in Thailand for 27 years, most recently with a 10-year temporary permit.

For Maung Maung, citizenship would open up a new world, not so much for him, but for his children.

"My wife and I aren't at the age to study anymore but for my son and daughter, if they want a better education in Chiang Mai or Bangkok, as a citizen they would have the opportunity," he said.

Thailand's Minister of Social Development and Human Security Varawut Silpa-archa said 130,000 stateless children born in Thailand would get citizenship.

Health benefits

Citizenship would also mean people can also get access to health insurance and the state health system, and relieve an immense strain on hospitals in border regions that operate under a humanitarian oath to provide care to anyone who needs it.

"Health insurance is really really important, especially for elderly people," said Brahm Press, the director of the Migrant Assistance Program in Thailand.

"Migrants aren't allowed to work after age 55, which means they're not really entitled to any health insurance either, but that's the age when you really start to need it."

While there has been no public outcry about the prospect of nearly half a million new citizens, there has been some grumbling among online posters, with some questioning if all of the likely applicants were "really Thai."

A Bangkok-based businessman who identified himself as Somchai told RFA he agreed that hill-tribe people who had been in Thailand for many years should get citizenship: "They feel Thai even though they're living in remote mountains."

But Somchai said he'd then draw the line.

"I disapprove of granting people from Myanmar, or other nationals, the right to resettle here. That isn't right. What benefits do Thai people get out of this? Why is the government thinking about that?"

Edited by Taejun Kang.

Khet Mar contributed to this report.

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Myanmar's sweeping internet blackouts drive rebels, medics, scammers to satellite service

By Zsombor Peter November 17, 2024

Across war-torn Myanmar, rebel commanders, aid workers and cyber-scammers alike are turning to billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink satellites to stay in touch with each other and with the outside world amid some of the most severe internet restrictions.

Starlink is not licensed in Myanmar, and the military junta running much of the country has banned its use, yet orbiting satellites and smugglers on the ground still manage to meet some of the growing demand.

For many, "Starlink is now the only viable solution for instant internet," an analyst for the Myanmar Internet Project, a local research and advocacy group, told VOA on condition that his name not be used for fear of retaliation from the junta.

The group has counted more than 300 internet shutdowns across the country since the military seized power from an elected government in a 2021 coup that set off a grinding civil war with no end in sight. It says nearly a quarter of Myanmar's 330 townships are now completely cut off.

In its latest Freedom on the Net survey, rights group Freedom House gave Myanmar its worst score among the 72 countries it ranked for obstacles to internet access.

That has left people across large swaths of Myanmar scrambling for alternative channels to get online, and for a growing number of them that means Starlink.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Musk's SpaceX aerospace firm, Starlink operates over 6,000 satellites providing internet access from low Earth orbit, by far the most of any satellite-based internet provider.

Though the company does not officially serve Myanmar, "spillover" bandwidth from satellites serving other countries allows Myanmar to tap in, the Myanmar Internet Project analyst said. The junta is meanwhile losing control over growing swathes of the country, making its ban on the service increasingly moot. With the help of smugglers and a porous border, Starlink units have been trickling in from neighboring Thailand.

The Myanmar Internet Project estimates there are now well over 3,000 Starlink dishes up and running across the country.

"In some areas the regular phone calls even cannot be made, so ... Starlink is the only viable option," the analyst said. "And for people on the ground, information is now life or death. You cannot know if the air strikes are coming to you, you cannot show the people what is happening and what you are facing in Myanmar if you don't have internet."

The Free Burma Rangers, a humanitarian aid group that works mostly along Myanmar's border with Thailand, was among the first to start using Starlink in the country. The group's director, David Eubank, told VOA it now uses over 30 of the units and has donated about 20 more to local hospitals, clinics and schools.

"Starlink has enabled us to have a signal where we've never had one before, and in the areas of blackout [it has been] very effective," Eubank said.

"It's not just us," he added. "There's clinics and hospitals and other humanitarian groups that rely on Starlink. It's absolutely crucial, a life-saving and life-giving way to share information of all kinds  a way to give early warning, a way to get help in, and a way to tell a story, a way to communicate among loved ones, a way to escape. It's the main thing."

Eubank recalled a case in Kayah state from June of a landmine victim whose wounds were beyond the skills of the Free Burma Rangers medic at the scene.

"So, using the Starlink we contacted our surgeon friend in Germany, who'd been working with us before, and showed photos and videos and worked back and forth through the Starlink, and the surgeon guided this ... medic to make the procedures necessary to save what was left of the leg and save this young man's life."

The satellite service has also become "incredibly useful" to the many armed groups fighting the junta where there never was internet service or where mobile towers have been disabled or knocked out, Richard Horsey, senior adviser for the International Crisis Group, told VOA.

"Reliable internet access is very important for command and control of forces, for operational planning  for example, Google Maps and other providers of satellite imagery  and other purposes such as early warning of airstrikes," he told said.

Among the rebel groups making use of Starlink is the Karenni National Defense Force, a coalition of armed groups fighting the junta across Kayah.

KNDF spokesman The Eh Soe told VOA that soldiers on the front lines still rely mostly on radio, partly due to the high power demands and the costs of Starlink units. While still the cheapest satellite option available, a base model that officially retails for $599 is now going for up to eight times that on Myanmar's black market.

Behind the front lines, though, The Eh Soe said some KNDF commanders are using Starlink to plan and coordinate, and to stay in touch with the outside world. Many of the country's resistance groups rely on friends and family abroad to help fund their operations.

The Eh Soe said the system is also being used to help run the opposition government being set up across the state to replace the junta by the Karenni Interim Executive Council, which includes KNDF commanders.

"Starlink is the only way you can use the internet ... right now," he said, "and it is quite important to be connected."

Along with the rebels and humanitarians, some criminals are catching on as well.

In a report on Southeast Asia's cybercrime threat last month, the United States Institute of Peace, a U.S. government-funded think tank, said signals intelligence has shown compounds in Myanmar from which transnational crime syndicates are defrauding victims across the globe "pivoting to Starlink satellite systems."

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says it has found tens of online vendors in the region selling third-party Starlink units explicitly for cyber-fraud operations.

While the satellite service is still the exception for internet access among the region's cyber-scammers, it does appear to be gaining a following and will likely continue to, said Benedikt Hofmann, the UNODC's deputy representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

"Like other technologies, it is definitely becoming a more important tool for criminals to expand this business and shield their operations from external pressure," he told VOA.

He said that in turn may raise calls for Starlink to cut Myanmar off or spur neighboring countries to get tougher on smugglers. Authorities in Thailand have seized dozens of Starlink units on their way to Myanmar and made several arrests so far this year. The Myanmar Internet Project analyst says the growing demand may also overwhelm the available bandwidth at some point, slowing service to a crawl.

SpaceX did not reply to VOA's requests for comment.

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Baloch insurgents kill 7 Pakistan troops

By Ayaz Gul November 16, 2024

Pakistani authorities reported Saturday that seven soldiers and six insurgents were killed in fierce clashes in the troubled southwestern Balochistan.

The predawn violence erupted when the insurgents assaulted a security post in Kalat, a mountainous district in the sparsely populated province, according to a late-night Pakistan military statement.

It stated that the clashes also injured four assailants but shared no further details.

Multiple area security officials reported that at least 18 soldiers were also injured and admitted to hospitals, where some were said to be in critical condition.

An outlawed militant group known as the Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.

In a statement, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the "terrorist" attack and "honored the martyred soldiers," his office said in Islamabad.

Balochistan, the largest Pakistani province renowned for its abundant natural resources, has lately experienced a spike in deadly insurgent attacks.

The BLA took credit for a suicide bombing last week that targeted a unit of Pakistani troops at the railway station in Quetta, the provincial capital.

The powerful blast resulted in the deaths of 27 soldiers and injured many others as they were preparing to depart for a northwestern destination after completing a training session.

BLA, listed as a global terrorist organization by the United States, also claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing that killed two Chinese engineers in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi last month.

The insurgent group, along with several allies, has been waging deadly attacks on Pakistani security forces for years, saying they are fighting for the independence of the province, which shares the country's border with Afghanistan and Iran.

Balochistan is home to the China-built and operated strategic Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea, which is at the heart of the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Both countries hail CPEC as a pivotal component of Beijing's global Belt and Road Initiative. The bilateral project has brought more than $25 billion in Chinese investments over the past decade, building Pakistani roads, power plants, and trade routes to enable China's access to international markets for its landlocked western regions through the Gwadar port.

Islamabad and Beijing condemn Baloch insurgents, saying their violent campaign is aimed at disrupting development in impoverished Balochistan and Pakistan at large.

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Foreign Minister Tsahkna in London: Russia's aggression is not only a regional threat - it is global

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

15.11.2024

On 13 and 14 November, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna was on a visit to London, UK, where he met with his British colleague David Lammy, members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons, and Minister of State for Europe and North America Stephen Doughty.

Meeting with Lammy, Tsahkna said Estonia and the United Kingdom were connected by long history and close defence cooperation. "The United Kingdom is the framework country of NATO's battle group in Estonia and we discussed options for even closer cooperation, including under the Joint Expeditionary Force," Tsahkna said.

They spoke about Russia's aggression in Ukraine, which has continued for almost 1000 days, and raising the cost of the war for Russia, including by using Russia's frozen assets. Tsahkna said that by including North Korea in the war, Putin has directly made Russia's aggression against Ukraine global. "Russia's war is not a regional threat, it is a global threat, and it is with global partners we must stand up to the aggressor," Tsahkna said. He added that Ukraine has presented a ten-point peace plan and a victory plan, which should serve as the roadmap to a just peace for the international community.

Discussing transatlantic cooperation and the election results of the United States, Tsahkna said he had no doubt that close cooperation with the United States would continue during the term of President Donald Trump.

Yesterday, Tsahkna met with National Security Adviser Tim Barrow, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons Emily Thornberry and Minister of State for Europe and North America Stephen Doughty. They discussed shared security challenges and further boosting the excellent relations of the two countries. Tsahkna thanked the United Kingdom for its remarkable contribution to security in Europe.

Yesterday Tsahkna gave a lecture in the prestigious King's College, sharing Estonia's perspective on Russia's aggression. He emphasised that Putin had not changed his objectives and grey areas only spur Putin on to continue his aggression. "Every Estonian can share a story about what an occupation truly means. This is why we are doing everything we can to make sure this never happens again and that international law and norms are respected."

In the evening, Tsahkna attended the formal dinner of the Magnitsky Human Rights Awards.

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The Shadow Fleet Expert Group - Joint Statement

Germany Federal Foreign Office

15.11.2024 - Press release

Finland and Estonia hosted maritime and sanctions experts, from 12 coastal countries around the Baltic Sea and North Sea, in Helsinki and Tallinn from 13 to 15 November 2024.

The participating countries included Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom, that met in order to discuss further international possibilities for addressing Russia's so-called 'shadow fleet'.

The participating countries,

Emphasizing the importance of IMO Resolution A.1192(33), adopted on 6 December 2023, urging all Member States to promote actions to prevent illegal operations in the maritime sector by the shadow fleet; Referring to the Council of Baltic Sea States 'Porvoo Declaration' as of 14 June 2024 calling for decisive joint actions on the shadow fleet transporting Russian oil, including the strengthening of sanctions; Reaffirming the 'Call to Action' on the shadow fleet, agreed at the UK-hosted European Political Community (EPC) Summit on 18 July 2024, signed by 46 countries and the European Union, on addressing the risks that the shadow fleet poses to the environment, maritime safety and security, the integrity of international seaborne trade, and respect for international maritime law as well as the agreement for our relevant experts to meet together as a group and in regional formats in order to take forward concrete measures; Underlining the firm measures already adopted by the European Union and the United Kingdom as well as our partner countries to jointly address the challenge of the shadow fleet as well as our ongoing cooperation on vessel designations; Following the spirit of the initial gathering of the Expert Group by Denmark as well as the previous meetings in Oslo and Copenhagen in relation to our shared commitment to jointly pursue further sanctions and international action against the shadow fleet's activity,

are determined to collectively confront the risks posed by the shadow fleet, especially in the environmentally sensitive waters of the Baltic Sea and the North Sea as well as to explore new possibilities for common measures against the shadow fleet within the framework of international law.

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Regional group of European countries working together to further counter the Russian "shadow fleet"

Finnish Government - Ministry for Foreign Affairs

15.11.2024

On 13-15 November a group of 12 coastal countries from the Baltic Sea and the North Sea met in Helsinki and Tallinn to discuss further joint actions against the Russian "shadow fleet".

Experts from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom affirmed their shared commitment to work collectively to confront the environmental, maritime safety and security risks posed by the "shadow fleet", in particular to all coastal states.

These concerns are widely shared by 46 countries and the European Union which have signed a Call to Action against the "shadow fleet" at the European Political Community meeting hosted by the Government of the United Kingdom in July 2024.

The regional expert group is focused on the activities of the "shadow fleet" in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea where the risk for environmental and maritime accidents is compounded by the challenging conditions and the sensitive waters. The group was initially called together by Denmark and the meeting held in Helsinki and Tallinn is the third in a row after Copenhagen and Oslo.

In the joint statement adopted in the third meeting, the coastal states representatives underlined the importance of continuing close co-operation and information-sharing as well as our joint efforts related to coordination of further sanctions and to explore new possibilities for common measures against the shadow fleet.

Joint statement pdf, 300 kbLinkki toiselle sivustolle

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In Bulgaria, A Secret Russian Consulate Is Unveiled

By Pavela Kostova November 15, 2024

VARNA, Bulgaria -- Russia appears to be offering consular services in the Black Sea resort city of Varna, despite Sofia expelling diplomats in 2022 and closing the consulate down a year later, an investigation by RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service has found.

While the Bulgarian authorities say they are not aware of any diplomatic activities taking place, Russian-language Facebook and WhatsApp groups are advertising consular services at the local headquarters of the pro-Kremlin Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP).

Marina Nacheva, a woman listed in various chat groups as a contact for the consulate, confirmed to RFE/RL that consular services were available at the BSP's office at 33 Macedonia Street in Varna. The stately building is located 400 meters away from the former Russian Consulate at 53 Macedonia Street.

Much of the staff at the former Russian consulate in Varna, a city popular with Russian vacationers, was expelled from Bulgaria along with diplomats at the embassy in the capital, Sofia, in June 2022. In total, the government of then-Prime Minister Kiril Petkov ordered 70 Russian diplomatic staff out of the country, saying they had been working against Sofia's interests. In October 2023, Russia's consulate in Varna was finally shut after its lease for the facility expired.

The punitive measures by the pro-Western Petkov came amid a wave of similar moves by other EU capitals to punish Russia for launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

An RFE/RL reporter recently visited the beige-colored villa at 33 Macedonia Street, situated in a leafy neighborhood of the city. A woman who answered the door and said she worked there told RFE/RL that "no consular services are offered here."

However, individuals posting on Facebook groups monitored by RFE/RL contradict that claim. Posts on those Facebook pages indicate that consular services are still available in Varna but only on certain days and at certain times. The next such date has been listed as November 26.

Consular Contact

It is in one of those Facebook groups, Russian Speakers In Varna, that the name Marina Nacheva appears as a person to contact regarding consular services.

Nacheva's name is also mentioned as a contact in a WhatsApp group, Consulate RF [Russian Federation] In Varna, which also lists the consular address as 33 Macedonia Street.

When RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service called the number listed on this WhatsApp group, a woman who identified herself as Nacheva tersely confirmed that consular services were offered at the BSP's address. When asked why consular services had been outsourced to the BSP headquarters, Nacheva promptly hung up.

The leftist BSP, a successor to the Bulgarian Communist Party, which ruled Bulgaria from 1946 to 1990, is staunchly pro-Kremlin. In the last election campaign, the party boasted that "Russia Is Our Friend" in a billboard campaign in the southern Bulgarian city of Plovdiv. The BSP currently has 20 deputies in the country's 240-seat unicameral parliament.

Further evidence appearing to link Nacheva to the alleged underground consulate can been found on her personal Facebook page, including images of her in group photos captioned "Consular Reception In Varna."

RFE/RL analysis of photos of BSP meetings held at its Varna office indicate that the setting is the same as photos of the "consular reception" posted by Nacheva.

Little else is known about Nacheva. References on the Internet indicate that she attended several events at the Russian Consulate in Varna before it was officially closed. She is also listed on several websites as the chairwoman of an association called Russians-21st Century; however, no such group is recorded in Bulgaria's commercial register.

Deteriorating Ties

Traditionally close allies, relations between Russia and Bulgaria have worsened in recent years. In September 2023, the Bulgarian government expelled the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sofia and two Belarusian priests, accusing them of serving Moscow's geopolitical interests.

In February, Sofia banned two Russian citizens from entering Bulgaria and the entire European Union for five years over their alleged role in a security services operation.

Russia's current ambassador to Bulgaria, Eleonora Mitrofanova, has been accused of using her post to defend and spread disinformation about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and tar those who oppose it. That has prompted many in Bulgaria to call for her expulsion.

For what Russia regarded as hostile moves, Bulgaria was added to the Kremlin's official list of "enemy countries" shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Operating an underground consulate at the headquarters of a political party would be illegal under Bulgarian law, as the diplomatic service is built on the principle of nonpartisanship.

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry told RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service that it was not aware of any Russian diplomatic activities taking place at the Varna address.

RFE/RL also sent questions to the Russian Embassy in Bulgaria and to the BSP, asking about the reported consular services. At the time of publication, no responses had been received.

Tony Wesolowsky contributed to this story.

Source:

Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Address by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Aleksandr Pankin at the APEC Ministerial Meeting. Session 2: "Sustainable Growth for a Resilient Development", Lima, 14 November 2024

15 November 2024 14:53

2218-15-11-2024

Distinguished Chair and colleagues,

The APEC region is strengthening its position as an engine of growth with the positive GDP dynamics of 3.5%. However, the forecasts are not that optimistic. Rampant illegitimate restrictions imposed under various pretexts, ranging from imaginary security threats to pseudo climate concerns, are taking their toll.

These trends reflect the challenging realities of the emerging multipolar world order that is apparently not to everyone's liking. The Global South and East have set on a path of genuine independence, which implies that some cannot achieve progress at the expense of others. A number of high-profile economies in the Asia-Pacific, accustomed to dominating continue with their neocolonial practices and still live in the outdated paradigm regarding the balance of powers and "raw-material appendixes".

The BRICS Summit in Kazan has demonstrated the desire of the World Majority to establish a just world order, carry out the reform of international institutions, and build equitable economic ties. An impressive set of agreements on trade, investment, artificial intelligence, energy and climate as well as logistics was concluded. Indonesia, APEC member state, has become a BRICS partner country.

The share of the Asia-Pacific economies in Russia's foreign trade has already reached 70%. Nearly 90% of payments are carried out in national currencies.

Energy security is one of the pillars of modern development. Russia ensures uninterrupted energy supplies to the APEC region. We strongly believe that transitions to low-carbon energy sources must be fair and take into account domestic priorities and technological capabilities. Environmental and climate concerns must not be turned into a tool of unfair competition.

Russia attaches great importance to the issues of climate change. We have set a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. In the spirit of SDG-7, our energy mix is based on environmentally friendly resources such as natural gas, nuclear and hydro power, and hydrogen. We have approved the taxonomy of sustainable development and launched the registry of carbon units.

Our economy's business community is actively engaged in the implementation of this agenda. The ESG registry of Russian companies is regularly published, and the National ESG-Alliance was created.

Chair,

Food security is a pressing issue on the global agenda with 733 million people facing hunger. Yet, this shocking situation is not due to agricultural shortages. The bottleneck is the lack of affordable access to agricultural products as a result of the West-inspired artificial obstacles to supply logistics and abuse of cross-border payment mechanisms. We, on our part, remain a responsible good-faith supplier. In 2023, Russia's agricultural exports to the Asia-Pacific region alone increased by 17%, exceeding 22 billion US dollars.

In this context, establishing a BRICS grain exchange can be considered as a positive development which aims to set fair and predictable prices and protect markets. Experts estimate that this mechanism will help bring together up to 44% (1.24 billion tons a year) of the global grain supply on one trading platform.

We support the Principles for Preventing and Reducing Food Loss and Waste in the Asia-Pacific Region. We are building up efforts to increase the sustainability of aquatic biological resources. Russia has proposed to establish an APEC virtual working group on port state measures in our efforts to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. We actively engage with the interested economies on this track. We are looking forward to productive discussions during the Ocean-Related Ministerial Meeting in April-May 2025 in Busan.

The regional dynamics will depend, to a large extent, on the rates of digitalization and the development of modern infrastructure.

We actively work to strengthen our technological sovereignty, establish digital platforms powered by Russian software in all sectors of agriculture by 2030. The Russian IT-sector grows on average by 10% annually. Our companies are front runners in such advanced sectors as ICT security, AI, e-commerce, search engines, big data, self-driving vehicles. Moscow is in the top ten in the UN e-services rating.

We are increasing transit capacities through the Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur Mainline Railways, North-South and East-West Transport Corridors, the Northern Sea Route. We continue moving towards the Greater Eurasian Partnership as a wide integration framework with the participation of all Eurasian economies.

Russia stands for depoliticized cooperation in APEC. We play stabilizing role in world energy and fertilizers markets - as opposite to those who pump hundreds of billions of US dollars for military support of Nazi regime in Kiev to fuel the war instead of directing them to developing countries in dire need.

In conclusion, we would like to thank the Peruvian Presidency for its significant contribution to the development of the forum. We are ready to continue our constructive collaboration with the Republic of Korea as APEC 2025 Chair, consistently working towards the full implementation of APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040.

Thank you.







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Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's working visit to the United Arab Emirates

15 November 2024 22:15

2224-15-11-2024

On November 15, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, on a working visit to Abu Dhabi, had talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and also participated in the 15th Sir Bani Yas International Forum on Peace and Security.

During the talks, the ministers discussed in detail current issues related to further development of traditionally friendly Russia-UAE relations of strategic partnership. Moscow and Abu Dhabi reaffirmed their unwavering determination to build up multifaceted mutually beneficial co-operation based on agreements reached earlier at the highest level.

The foreign ministers acknowledged the two countries' mutual focus on maintaining regular political dialogue, strengthening inter-parliamentary ties and intensifying delegation exchange, including through the regions of the Russian Federation. Concurrently, they expressed a common opinion that amid global transformations and aggravation of systemic problems and challenges in the world economy, ensuring sustainable positive dynamics of bilateral trade is becoming increasingly important. In this regard, the ministers noted the coordinating role of the Intergovernmental Russian-Emirati Commission for Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation.

The ministers expressed confidence that the UAE's accession to BRICS as a full-fledged member will strengthen the political, economic, scientific, technological and human potential of this association and will create additional opportunities for coordination on pressing global issues, as well as bilateral cooperation, including with due regard for the results of Russia's 2024 BRICS presidency.

When comparing notes on key topics on the international and Middle East agendas, the main focus was on the escalation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone and the Israeli-Lebanese border area, with an emphasis on the need to take urgent measures to immediately cease fire and provide assistance to civilians who suffered during the hostilities. The ministers also reaffirmed the importance of intensifying collective efforts to ensure conditions for the earliest possible resumption of a comprehensive negotiation process between the Palestinians and Israelis on a well-known international legal basis in the interests of creating an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.

When discussing the situation in Syria, the foreign ministers voiced their support for a comprehensive political settlement in this country in accordance with the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, based on the principles of preserving Syria's unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The ministers emphasised that the Yemeni crisis can be resolved exclusively through political and diplomatic means by creating necessary preconditions for the earliest possible launch of a full-scale inter-Yemeni national dialogue under the auspices of the UN.

Sergey Lavrov outlined Russia's fundamental assessments and considerations with regard to the unfolding geopolitical situation, including the developments within and surrounding Ukraine.

It was agreed that close coordination of the approaches of Moscow and Abu Dhabi should be continued with a view to promoting a comprehensive and lasting settlement of regional conflicts through inclusive and equal dialogue that factors in the legitimate interests and concerns of all parties involved.

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Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's answers to questions following his participation in the 15th Sir Bani Yas International Forum, Abu Dhabi, November 15, 2024

15 November 2024 22:11

2223-15-11-2024

Question: Today, President of Russia Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz for the first time in two years. What does the Russian side think about these initiatives? Can Germany or other Western countries act as an intermediary?

Sergey Lavrov: The Kremlin has made it clear earlier what the Russian side thinks about it. A press release was put out. There's nothing I can add to it.

I read the reports released by the German Chancellor's office following the telephone call. They say he condemned Russia's aggression and that Germany will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.

That's what the Germans and other EU and NATO members are saying publicly anyway. When they say they will stand with Ukraine for as long as necessary, the question is: necessary for whom? Absolutely not for the Ukrainian people.

To reiterate, the Kremlin has provided its assessments in a detailed statement.

Question: Were the forum participants realistic in their assessment of the situation surrounding Ukraine this time compared to last year?

Sergey Lavrov: I did not attend the 2023 forum. That's my first point. I attended the 2022 forum. Second, the forum prefers not to make the details of its operation public.

I don't think I will offend the participants by saying that the answer to your question is positive and there's much more understanding and realism.

Question: The Western press is promoting a narrative that China is allegedly disgruntled by overly close cooperation between Russia and the DPRK, which fact could complicate Russian-Chinese relations. Do you sense this, or is it just another falsehood? If so, what is the goal?

Sergey Lavrov: I have no way of knowing what stands behind this and what their calculus is, but it's impossible to drive a wedge between Russia and China. We have not received any messages concerning our relations with the DPRK.

We hold regular consultations with Chinese colleagues concerning coordination of our actions with regard to the problems created by the Americans and their allies on and around the Korean Peninsula. That's all I can share with you. We maintain a very positive dialogue on this subject.

What stands behind it? Western political science circles are speculating that the Ukraine issue should be wrapped up, Russia should be met halfway with regard to some of its legitimate demands and then be used as part of a coalition against China. It's a straightforward calculus. It's the same old approach, "We're not in favour of team work, we're looking to divide and to try to dominate." These attempts are pursuing absolutely untoward goals.

Question: The increasing number of calls are coming from the EU and NATO countries for establishing a dialogue with Moscow at various levels, or at least establishing contacts with Moscow, although not long ago they claimed there would never be any dialogue. What stands behind this trend and the change in rhetoric?

Sergey Lavrov: This means that they are probably not totally lost as politicians.

Question: Donald Trump has promised to "work very hard" to settle the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. Do you have an idea of how he can accomplish that?

Sergey Lavrov: I have no idea. We will wait for their proposals. When we are asked about this, we always emphasise that in any case politicians who say that they are for peace rather than war deserve attention. But we have no idea what exactly they will propose.

Our position was clearly articulated by President Vladimir Putin during his speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry on June 14.

Question: A US missile defence base has opened in Poland 165 kilometres away from the Russian border. At the opening, President Andrzej Duda said it was originally planned to use it to repel a potential attack by Iran. However, he now proudly stated that the opening of a US base in Poland shows that Russia has lost its influence there. What can you say about this and what might be the response?

Sergey Lavrov: Our assessments made 10 to 15 years ago are coming true. When the Americans withdrew from the ABM Treaty, they said they would deploy their positioning areas in European countries for the sole purpose of defending against Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

We analysed their plans and the way they looked and said right away that this had nothing to do with Iran, but was rather an attempt to create unilateral advantages in a face-off with our country, to ratchet up tensions and to pursue a policy to contain Russia. All of our assessments have come true.

I like the fact that you are asking perfect questions where each one contains an answer.

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Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's meeting with former Prime Minister of the Republic of Lebanon Saad al-Hariri

15 November 2024 17:24

2220-15-11-2024

On November 15, in Abu Dhabi, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov engaged in discussions with Saad al-Hariri, the former Prime Minister of the Republic of Lebanon.

During their conversation, the parties conducted an in-depth exchange of perspectives on the dynamic situation within and surrounding Lebanon. The Russian foreign minister conveyed its solidarity with the Lebanese people in light of the substantial loss of life and the devastation of towns and villages caused by indiscriminate Israeli missile and bomb attacks.

Sergey Lavrov reiterated Russia's steadfast commitment to supporting the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of the Republic of Lebanon, alongside the comprehensive implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Concurrently, he underscored the necessity for the Lebanese to seek consensus-driven resolutions to the complex issues on the national agenda, free from external interference.

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Putin Opponents Gather In Berlin To Protest War In Ukraine

By Current Time November 17, 2024

BERLIN -- Exiled opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his unprovoked war against Ukraine are gathering in Berlin for what they are hoping will be a major demonstration.

It comes as the opposition is struggling to maintain an influential voice after the unexplained jailhouse death of its most prominent leader, Aleksei Navalny, in February, and a decades-long clampdown that has escalated since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and driven many of Putin's critics out of Russia.

The plan is to march to the Russian Embassy near the Brandenburg Gate, in a rally co-organized by Kremlin critics Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Murza, both of whom were released from Russian custody in a prisoner exchange in August.

Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, is also a co-organizer of the event.

"The march aims to unite everyone who stands against Vladimir Putin's aggressive war in Ukraine and political repressions in Russia," the organizers said in a statement.

The opposition says it has three main demands: the "immediate withdrawal" of troops from Ukraine, the trial of Putin as a "war criminal," and the liberation of all political prisoners in Russia.

Ahead of the protest, a dispute over whether the Russian flag should be unfurled at the protest erupted on social media.

The protest announcement featured images from a 2014 rally in Moscow against Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. However, critics say Russia's colors have been discredited by the country's brutal war.

As the controversy emerged late last month, Yashin said that "the discussion of flags clearly obscures the essence of the action that we want to hold in Berlin."

Ukrainian officials and others have expressed skepticism ahead of the planned march.

The Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Oleksiy Makeev criticized the event as a "walk without dignity and without consequences," adding that it illustrated the opposition's "weakness."

Writing in the Zeit newspaper, Makeev argued that the three opposition figures were not doing enough to support Kyiv and call on their fellow citizens to protest in Russia.

Likewise Vitsche, the association of Ukrainian exiles in Germany, said that the event "failed to deliver a clear message" of support.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/navalny-march-berlin-ukraine-war- putin-opposition/33205444.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.

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With Trump 2.0 Looming, Saudi Arabia Pursues 'Cautious Detente' With Longtime Rival Iran

By Kian Sharifi November 15, 2024

Iran and Saudi Arabia have been bitter rivals for decades, vying to lead competing branches of Islam and standing on opposing sides of conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

But Tehran and Riyadh have taken major steps to de-escalate tensions and boost cooperation, a move that appeared unthinkable until recently.

The rapprochement has coincided with growing fears of an all-out war in the Middle East, where U.S. ally Israel is engaged in wars against Iranian-backed groups in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

The detente process has intensified since Donald Trump's decisive victory in the U.S. presidential election earlier this month. The president-elect has pledged to bring peace to the region.

"I don't view this as a warming of relations but rather as a cautious detente," said Talal Mohammad, associate fellow at the Britain-based Royal United Services Institute.

Reassuring Iran

The first signs of a thaw came in March 2023, when Iran and Saudi Arabia restored diplomatic relations after more than seven years following a surprise Chinese-brokered agreement.

But it was Israel's invasion of Gaza in October 2023 -- soon after the U.S.- and EU-designated Palestinian terrorist group Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel -- that gave real impetus to Iran-Saudi rapprochement efforts.

Since the war erupted, Iran and Israel have traded direct aerial attacks for the first time. The tit-for-tat assaults have brought the region to the brink of a full-blown conflict.

Saudi Arabia is "concerned that these escalating tensions between Israel and Iran could spiral out of control and lead to a broader regional conflict that may impact their interests," said Hamidreza Azizi, fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

Azizi adds that Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia and Shi'a-dominated Iran are still "far from friends," despite the recent rapprochement, and they remain rivals vying for influence.

Over the past year, Saudi Arabia has stopped conducting air strikes in neighboring Yemen against the Iran-backed Huthi rebels. Riyadh has also made attempts to negotiate an end to the 10-year conflict pitting the Huthis against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.

The Huthis have also ceased cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia. In 2019, the rebels managed to shut down half of the kingdom's oil production.

The Trump Factor

Trump's victory in the November 5 presidential election has injected more urgency to the Iran-Saudi rapprochement, experts say.

Saudi Arabia's top general, Fayyad al-Ruwaili, made a rare trip to Iran on November 10 to meet Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Baqeri in what Iranian media dubbed "defense diplomacy."

The following day, Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman accused Israel of committing "collective genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza and explicitly condemned Israel's attack last month on Iranian military sites.

Azizi says there are fears in the region that Trump's electoral victory will embolden Israel to intensify its attacks on Iran and Tehran's interests.

During Trump's first term in office from 2017 to 2021, his administration pursued a campaign of "maximum pressure" on Iran that included imposing crippling sanctions against Tehran.

At the same time, Trump struck a close relationship with Riyadh. He helped facilitate normalization between several Arab states and Israel under the so-called Abraham Accords.

Before Israel launched its devastating war in Gaza, Saudi Arabia was reportedly on the verge of a historic deal to normalize relations with Israel.

Experts say that the Huthis' attacks in 2019 on Saudi oil facilities convinced Riyadh that Washington will not come to its aid if it is attacked.

"Given Trump's tendency toward unpredictable shifts in policy, Saudi Arabia may seek to play an influential role by encouraging Trump to adopt a balanced approach that ensures regional stability without triggering escalation with Iran," Mohammad said.

"By subtly guiding U.S. policy toward calibrated sanctions rather than aggressive pressure, Saudi Arabia could help maintain regional security while avoiding the risks of open confrontation," he added.

Israeli Normalization

Normalization talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel have been indefinitely postponed. Saudi officials have recently said that a deal was off until the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Mohammad says Riyadh has significant strategic incentives to normalize relations with Israel, including security and economic cooperation as well as access to U.S. nuclear and defense technology.

But analysts say Saudi Arabia will only resume talks when the Gaza war is over, given the current public sentiment in the Muslim world toward Israel.

"Normalizing relations without achieving tangible rights for Palestinians could weaken Saudi Arabia's normative influence within the Islamic world -- a position they are keen to maintain," Azizi argued.

The Saudis will also have to take into account Iran, which staunchly opposes Saudi normalization with Israel.

"Riyadh may consult with Tehran and seek assurances that normalization with Israel would not heighten hostilities or undermine the balance achieved through recent diplomatic outreach to Iran," Mohammad said.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-saudi-arabia-cautious- detente/33202396.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.

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Marking One Year Since ICJ Provisional Measures Against Syria with Designation of Syrian Official Due to Involvement in Gross Violations of Human Rights

US Department of State

Press Statement

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

November 15, 2024

One year ago, the United States welcomed the provisional measures order by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) calling upon the Syrian regime to immediately take all measures to prevent acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment as well as to prevent the destruction of evidence of such acts. This order by the world court is a response to the regime's flagrant use of torture and other ill-treatment and moved us one step closer to accountability for the thousands of victims and survivors of torture and other cruel treatment in Syria.

Unfortunately, since the measures were issued, the regime has failed to comply with these directives. Human rights and legal organizations continue to document the regime's use of arbitrary detention and torture of detainees, including most recently against Syrians fleeing the conflict in Lebanon. Victims, survivors, and their families deserve justice and accountability. As such, the Department of State is announcing the designation of Abdul Salam Fajr Mahmoud, Brigadier General in the Syrian Air Force, his wife Suhair Nader al Jundi, and his four adult children under Section 7031(c) due to his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.

Over the course of the conflict in Syria, there have been more than 15,000 documented cases of people dying due to torture and other ill-treatment, including U.S. citizens. We call on the regime to immediately cease its brutal and systematic use of torture and comply with the ICJ's order. The United States commends Canada and the Netherlands' ongoing efforts to hold the Assad regime accountable, including by detailing the regime's ongoing use of torture before the ICJ as that case moves ahead with written pleadings due early next year. We also welcome the many cases being brought in domestic courts around the world against individual perpetrators. Together with our international partners, the United States will continue to seek a durable political solution to the conflict in Syria that is grounded in justice and accountability.

This public designation is made under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024 (Div F, P.L. 118-47), as carried forward by the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2025 (Div. A, P.L. 118-83).

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Blinken discusses economic cooperation with Taiwan's APEC envoy

By Nike Ching November 15, 2024

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Taiwan's envoy to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Lin Hsin-I, on Thursday ahead of the bloc's Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru.

The discussion centered on economic cooperation, as Blinken highlighted in a social media post.

"Met with Lin Hsin-i in Lima. We spoke about our growing economic relationship and our enduring shared commitment to foster an open, dynamic, and peaceful Indo-Pacific," Blinken wrote on X.

The pull-aside meeting, which lasted about 20 minutes, was not previously announced in Blinken's official schedule.

"We discussed our important economic cooperation," Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, who also participated in the meeting, told reporters during a phone briefing late Thursday.

In a readout, Taiwan said that Blinken and Lin exchanged views on strengthening the U.S.-Taiwan partnership and discussed strategies for ensuring regional peace and stability.

Lin, a former vice premier of Taiwan and a senior presidential adviser to President Lai Ching-te, was chosen to represent Taiwan at this year's APEC leaders meetings in Peru.

On Friday, the White House announced that the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world's leading advanced semiconductor producer, will receive up to $6.6 billion in CHIPS & Science Act funding. That supports TSMC's $65 billion investment to build three facilities in Arizona, creating tens of thousands of jobs by the decade's end.

The White House called it the largest foreign direct investment in a completely new project in U.S. history.

Taiwan's role in APEC

APEC, an international forum comprising 21 member economies from the Pacific Rim, promotes free trade and economic cooperation across the Asia-Pacific region. Although Taiwan holds full membership in APEC, it faces restrictions due to pressure from China and has to send special envoys instead of its presidents to the annual leaders meetings.

Since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, it has never governed Taiwan but continues to view the self-ruled democracy as part of its territory.

Upcoming Biden-Xi talks

Blinken will accompany U.S. President Joe Biden at Saturday's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, marking the third in-person talks between the two leaders.

Biden is expected to "underscore the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and express his concerns that the PRC's increased military activities around Taiwan are destabilizing and eroding the status quo," according to U.S. officials.

On Friday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian urged Washington to abide by the "one-China principle" and not allow Taiwan President Lai to transit through the United States, urging Washington to take "concrete actions to uphold China-U.S. relations."

Lin was asked to comment on a Reuters report that Lai plans to stop in Hawaii and maybe Guam on a visit to Taiwan's diplomatic allies in the Pacific in coming weeks.

The U.S. one-China policy differs from the PRC's one-China principle, which Washington has said it does not subscribe to.

The U.S. says it remains committed to its long-standing, bipartisan 0ne-China policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Joint Communiques and the Six Assurances.

Chinese officials have rejected the Taiwan Relations Act, calling the U.S. law governing its relations with Taiwan "illegal and invalid."

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Cruise missile of the future completes firing

Royal Navy and Royal Air Force pilots will benefit from a cutting-edge new cruise missile, following the first successful guided firing trial of the missile.

17 November 2024

Cutting-edge missile successfully fires from Typhoon test platform.

Ability to hit a range of targets more than 100km away.

New missile backs hundreds of UK jobs.

Royal Navy and Royal Air Force pilots will benefit from a cutting-edge new cruise missile, following the first successful guided firing trial of the SPEAR missile.

SPEAR, which is a next generation turbojet-powered miniature cruise missile, successfully completed the trial after being fired from a BAE Systems-operated Typhoon jet at Vidsel range in Sweden. This most recent trial was the first time the weapons system had been fired against a target, signifying a major leap forward in the programmes development.

Each missile can hit targets from 100km away and is designed to be used against a range of targets, including air defences, ships, tanks, defended structures and fast-moving vehicles. Once in service it will be fitted to Britain's F-35B fighter jets and allow the military to strike targets both from land and Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

SPEAR autonomously navigated to the target via customisable routes before using its advanced all-weather radar seeker to map the target area, and using the radiofrequency imagery to successfully engage it.

Developed in the UK by MBDA, work on SPEAR supports several hundred jobs among MBDA's 5,500-strong UK workforce, with design work mainly in Stevenage and Bristol and manufacturing in Bolton.

Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard said:

The successful trial of the pioneering SPEAR missile marks a significant leap forward in UK Armed Forces' capabilities, ensuring our Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel are equipped with cutting-edge technology to protect our nation. This achievement not only strengthens national defence capabilities but also boosts the UK economy, by supporting high-skilled jobs and innovation.

F-35B jets will be able to carry up to eight SPEAR missiles at a time, providing the next generation of long-range air-to-surface missiles. This guided firing trial marks a critical milestone in the development of the SPEAR programme, which provides the next generation of stand-off air-to-surface missiles for Suppression of Enemy Air Defences missions in challenging and complex operating environments.

The trial, which used a telemetry unit instead of a live warhead, demonstrated the release, gather and long-range free-flight control of the missile following a high-altitude and high-speed release.

Mike Mew, Tactical Strike Director of MBDA, said:

SPEAR is a truly unique weapon system - the first to offer the range, flexibility, precision and load-out to defeat modern enemy air defences. The success of this trial is thanks to excellent joint working from teams across MOD, BAE Systems and MBDA.

SPEAR is part of a wider portfolio which supports 6.5 billion of planned investment in the UK weapons industry by the MOD over the next decade - which includes other missile programmes such as Brimstone, CAMM, Sea Viper, Sea Venom and Storm Shadow, putting the UK at the forefront of future weapons development.

Matthew Brown, SPEAR Team Leader at DE&S, said:

This trial was a key step on the way to delivering SPEAR to the UK frontline, where it will provide a new capability to defeat the most complex air defence systems, enabling pilots to fly and fight wherever they're needed in defence of the UK and its allies.

The SPEAR programme is being managed by Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), the Ministry of Defence (MOD) procurement executive agency. A joint MOD and industry team conducted this first in a series of SPEAR guided flight trials.

Chris Moon, BAE Systems' UK Delivery Director for Typhoon Capability, said:

This successful firing from Typhoon is as a result of the hard work and outstanding collaboration between MBDA, MoD and BAE Systems personnel over many months. We now look forward to the next phase of SPEAR 3 trials, as well as delivering the testing of many other world-leading capabilities in support of the RAF Typhoon Force.

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November 15, 2024

By C. Todd Lopez, DOD News

DOD Will Work Quickly to Meet President's 'Surge' Commitment to Ukraine Support

In September, President Joe Biden announced he plans to "surge" security assistance to Ukraine. That surge includes plans to ensure all remaining congressionally authorized funding to support Ukraine, including $5.5 billion in presidential drawdown authority, should be transferred to Ukraine before the administration closes out activities in January.

Executing that presidential drawdown authority, which means moving some $5.5 billion in gear from U.S. military inventory to Ukraine before Jan. 20, is a tall order. But Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said the Defense Department has demonstrated a remarkable ability to quickly get things done over the past three years.

"It is a short time ... just under 70 days," Singh said during a briefing today. "This department can do incredible work in that amount of time. The president made clear that ... he wants to spend down the authority that Congress has allocated and authorized before he leaves office. We're going to work very hard to make sure that happens."

Since Russia illegally invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. has provided about $60.4 billion in security assistance. On Nov. 1, for instance, the department initiated the 69th presidential drawdown authority package to Ukraine, worth some $425 million.

"I expect that for the next coming months of this administration, you're going to continue to see those packages draw down from ... what's available in our stockpiles," Singh said. "Again, we're committed to ensuring that Ukraine has what it needs to be successful on the battlefield."

Singh also said that the department has been, since the first transfer of military hardware to Ukraine though PDA, cognizant of what's being sent and of what the department needs for itself to ensure that readiness is maintained. That's something that's not going to change, she said.

"We're constantly refilling our shelves and our stockpiles," she said. "The secretary is not going to allow the department to dip below readiness levels that he doesn't feel comfortable with. So, as we continue to refill our own shelves, you're going to see equipment, capabilities continue to flow out."

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G7 Leaders Statement on Enduring support for Ukraine

European Commission

Statement

Nov 15, 2024

Brussels

We, the Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7), reaffirm our unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as it takes. We stand in solidarity contributing to its fight for sovereignty, freedom, independence, territorial integrity and its reconstruction. We recognize, too, the impact of Russia's aggression on vulnerable people across the world.

After 1.000 days of war, we recognize the immense suffering endured by the people of Ukraine. Despite these hardships, Ukrainians have demonstrated unmatched resilience and determination in defending their land, culture, and people.

Russia remains the sole obstacle to just and lasting peace. The G7 confirms its commitment to imposing severe costs on Russia through sanctions, export controls and other effective measures.

We stand united with Ukraine.

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China, Brazil see prosperous cooperation in emerging fields

13:14, November 18, 2024 By Qu Pei, Shi Yuanhao, Chen Haiqi ( People's Daily

At 3:50 a.m. on Nov. 8, a cargo plane from Hong Kong, China, loaded with packages from cross-border e-commerce platforms such as AliExpress and SHEIN, landed at an airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In a bonded warehouse at the airport, Denise Capitol, operations manager of Anjun Express in Brazil, a cross-border e-commerce logistics company, was busy arranging the reception of the goods, while a high-speed sorting machine was scanning, weighing, photographing, and sorting the packages.

A local employee of Chinese company TCL checks the operation of equipment in a workshop of a television manufacturing base owned by the company in Manaus in Brazil's Amazonas state. (People's Daily/Xu Hailin)

"The volume of cross-border e-commerce orders between Brazil and China is continuously growing, and now we handle about 30 air cargo pallets every day," Denise said.

With a population exceeding 200 million and a rapidly growing number of internet users, Brazil has vast potential in the e-commerce market. In 2023, the country's retail e-commerce revenue reached 185.7 billion reals ($32.08 billion), and there were 87.8 million online consumers.

Chinese e-commerce platforms are intensifying their investments in Brazil, optimizing supply chains and improving logistics efficiency to offer consumers a diverse range of products and a high-quality shopping experience.

AliExpress is actively promoting overseas warehouse construction in Brazil. SHEIN has announced plans to invest 750 million reals in Brazil over the next few years, aiming to collaborate with 2,000 manufacturers to build a localized supply chain. Online marketplace Temu operated by Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings has quickly gained market share in Brazil by leveraging its competitive pricing.

China and Brazil are also expanding cooperation in areas such as digital infrastructure, digital technology, and smart cities.

Chinese tech giant Huawei has deployed over 8,000 kilometers of optic fiber in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, helping more Brazilians access broadband internet.

China Telecom's Brazilian subsidiary has completed the construction of a network operations hub in Sao Paulo, providing high-quality network services for both Chinese and Brazilian companies.

A China-Brazil smart city technology and cultural exchange center established by China's CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd. is inaugurated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in March 2023. (Photo provided by CRRC)

Chinese electronics company TCL has established a digital television production line in Brazil's Manaus, leveraging smart manufacturing to enhance production efficiency.

Besides, CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd. has founded a China-Brazil smart city technology and cultural exchange center in Rio de Janeiro.

Jose Acacio Ferreira, director general of the Superintendence of Economic and Social Studies of Bahia State, Brazil commented that cooperation between Brazil and China now spans multiple fields. The increasingly close economic ties between the two nations bring substantial benefits to their people.

He said Brazil hopes to fully leverage the opportunities arising from China's commitment to expanding high-level opening up and further promote the steady development of pragmatic cooperation between the two countries.

As the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations, they are exploring new potential and deepening comprehensive cooperation to bring real benefits to their citizens.

Brazil-China relations have the potential to further diversify, particularly in emerging fields like the digital economy, renewable energy, and sustainable development, said Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira. By continuing to work together, Brazil and China will not only strengthen bilateral friendship and mutual respect but also contribute to building a fairer, more peaceful, and prosperous world, he added.

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
Norway to support Ukrainian defence industry directly

Government of Norway

News story | Date: 15/11/2024

Norway will support the production of military equipment within Ukraine. 'This is crucial to ensure weapons and ammunition reach Ukrainian soldiers as quickly as possible,' said Norwegian Defence Minister Bjrn Arild Gram. On Friday, he signed an agreement with his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, to enhance cooperation on military supplies.

On 14.-15. November, Defence Minister Bjrn Arild Gram welcomed his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, to Oslo. Continued support for Ukraine was the key focus of their discussions.

'Ukraine's fight is existential and critical for the security of all of Europe. It is essential that we maintain and strengthen Western support for Ukraine and continually explore new ways to contribute to their struggle,' said Gram.

Maximising production capacity

Denmark has established a financing model for Ukrainian projects that enable direct acquisition from Ukrainian industry to Ukrainian forces. Norway intends to join this mechanism, which offers a proven framework to ensure Norwegian funds swiftly have an impact on the ground in Ukraine.

'Ukraine's defence industry must be enabled to produce as much equipment as possible for its armed forces. Ukrainian authorities have identified unused production capacity within the country. Through this mechanism, we aim to increase the production of weapons and ammunition and reduce the time it takes to get equipment to where it is needed most - in the hands of Ukraine's hard-fighting soldiers,' said the Defence Minister.

Close cooperation

Support to Ukraine is being provided in close dialogue with Ukrainian authorities, and Norway's contributions are based on Ukraine's identified needs. This mechanism allows Ukraine to propose specific procurements and projects, which are reviewed and approved by Danish authorities before receiving support. Monitoring systems are in place to oversee the projects. Norway and Denmark will establish an agreement governing the use of Norwegian funds.

Agreement on military supplies signed

Gram and Umerov signed a Memorandum of Understanding on military supplies, setting out general principles, goals, and frameworks for the cooperation.

'This agreement is crucial to better support Ukraine's defence efforts and develop the potential for further cooperation. Norway has so far donated various types of equipment from its own stockpiles, but moving forward, we must increasingly look for alternative ways to support Ukraine with equipment. Establishing this framework is therefore vital for facilitating further military assistance to Ukraine,' said Gram.

Umerov and Gram held a joint press conference on Friday. A recording of the press conference can be viewed here.

The Norwegian Government has previously authorised the transfer of Norwegian defence technology to Ukraine, supported by Norwegian funding.

The Government has proposed expanding the Nansen Support Programme's budget framework from NOK 75 billion to at least NOK 135 billion and extending the programme to 2030. Funding for the direct support mechanism will be provided through the Nansen Programme.

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Sweden supports Ukraine's path towards the EU

Government Offices of Sweden - Ministry for Foreign Affairs

15 November 2024

Ukraine's closer ties with the EU promote the country's development and contribute to security and stability throughout Europe. Sweden is a committed and long-term partner in this integration process and supports Ukraine on its path towards EU membership.

Shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine applied for EU membership and was granted candidate status in June of the same year. Since then, formal membership negotiations have been underway. Sweden is assisting Ukraine in its efforts to implement the necessary reforms and align with EU regulations. This is broad and includes measures such as reform support, initiatives within the Nordic-Baltic cooperation (NB8), deepened political dialogue and cooperation within the EU.

Development assistance and reform support

Through development assistance, Sweden has supported Ukraine's closer ties with the EU for over a decade. Ukraine's reform efforts and adaptation to EU regulations are supported through extensive bilateral reform support. Through this reform support, Sweden is working actively to strengthen democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights in Ukraine. For example, Sweden has contributed to specific reforms on anti-corruption and the rule of law.

Expert support in negotiating chapters

The EU's negotiating chapters are the areas in which candidate countries need to align with EU regulations in order to become Member States. There are a total of 31 chapters, each dealing with a specific area, such as the environment, trade and human rights. In order to advance in the accession process, Ukraine must demonstrate that it has implemented the necessary reforms in each chapter, and the EU regularly evaluates the country's progress in each area.

Sweden is supporting Ukraine's efforts to fulfil EU requirements through experts and reform support in 15 of the 31 negotiating chapters. Sweden leads the EU working groups on the environment and gender equality in Kyiv and has many government agencies and organisations that can contribute to Ukraine's EU accession through their own experience and knowledge. Cooperation spans areas such as the environment, human rights and economic development. Through assistance with the negotiating chapters, Sweden has established itself as a key partner in Ukraine's EU integration and ensured that its development assistance is in line with Ukraine's own reform needs and European ambitions.

Nordic-Baltic cooperation for Ukraine's EU integration

Within the framework of the NB8 and as coordinator, Sweden has established a high-level group to provide expert support to Ukraine during its EU accession process. The group consists of advisors from the Nordic-Baltic countries with a high level of expertise and experience. The group, which is funded by Sweden, will provide support and advice to Ukraine throughout its ongoing negotiations with the EU.

Why is Ukraine's EU membership important?

Support to Ukraine's EU accession process is an important part of Sweden's foreign and security policy. Integrating Ukraine into European structures contributes to stability in our neighbourhood and strengthens Europe's resilience to external threats.

Historically, EU enlargement processes have promoted stable institutions and social reforms, and working closely with Ukraine on its EU accession process is thus a way to strengthen values such as democracy, the rule of law and human rights. Ukraine also possesses significant resources - including critical raw materials and food supplies, in particular - and advanced technological know-how that can contribute to both Europe's security and the EU's independence.

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Update 259 - IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

International Atomic Energy Agency

113/2024

Vienna, Austria

15 Nov 2024

Maintenance of several of the reactor safety systems is being conducted at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), an essential part of wider efforts to prevent a nuclear accident during the military conflict, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy (IAEA) said today.

In its regular reporting on the situation at the ZNPP, the IAEA has previously identified "ensuring adequate and timely preventative maintenance of all structures, systems, and components important to safety" as one of several challenges the plant is facing during the conflict, presenting a potential risk to long-term nuclear safety and security.

Earlier this month, the IAEA expert team stationed at the ZNPP was informed that two safety trains - one in reactor unit 4 and the other in unit 5 - were placed under maintenance for work on their water regulation valves. The work is now complete and the two safety trains are back to standby mode. This week, another two safety trains - in units 5 and 6 - were also taken out of service for planned maintenance.

Each of the six reactors at the ZNPP has three separate, independent safety systems, called "safety trains". These redundant systems are designed to ensure nuclear safety. Normally, these safety trains remain on standby but are ready to activate whenever needed to maintain the reactor's safety. The six reactors of Europe's largest nuclear power plant (NPP) are all in cold shutdown mode, but still require operational safety systems.

"In addition to the many day-to-day challenges the plant is experiencing - including frequent power outages and combat activities nearby - the plant must also carry out essential work to make sure its safety systems are fully functional at all times," Director General Grossi said.

The IAEA team has continued to conduct walkdowns across the site as part of their activities to monitor - and report on - nuclear safety and security, which remains precarious.

Over the past two weeks, the team members visited the turbine halls of units 1 to 4, but were again denied access to the western parts of these structures. In addition, they were not able to visit the off-site central warehouse and diesel fuel storage, with the plant citing security concerns, as has also happened previously. Diesel fuel is important for the upcoming winter season as well as for the plant's emergency diesel generators.

The IAEA team has continued to hear explosions daily, although no damage to the plant was reported. The IAEA is aware of a media report that a resident in the nearby town of Enerhodar, where most plant staff live, was killed in a military strike. The IAEA does not have information on whether this individual was a ZNPP staff member or not.

The IAEA teams present at the Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine NPPs and the Chornobyl site reported that nuclear safety and security is being maintained despite the effects of the ongoing conflict, including air raid alarms for several days over the past week.

On 7 November, Ukraine's national regulator informed the IAEA that the Central Storage Facility for Spent Fuel - located within the Exclusion Zone of the Chornobyl NPP - had lost off-site power for about two hours and relied on emergency diesel generators for electricity during this time. The facility, owned by Energoatom, is used for long-term dry storage of Ukraine's spent fuel.

Four days later, Ukraine's operating nuclear power reactors - two units at the Rivne NPP, both units at the Khmelnytskyy NPP and all three units of the South Ukraine NPP - temporarily reduced their power output as a preventive measure as a result of the conflict.

Ukraine's regulator also informed the IAEA that many drones had been observed in the vicinity of the Khmelnytskyy and the South Ukraine NPPs over the past few weeks.

The IAEA has continued to deliver on its comprehensive assistance programme to support nuclear safety and security. In recent days, three deliveries took place, bringing the total to 76 during the conflict. The South Ukraine NPP, the Slavutych city hospital and the medical unit of the Chornobyl site received vital medical equipment and supplies to improve their diagnostic and treatment capabilities. The funding was provided by Norway and the United States.

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Ukrainian testimonies at the meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe: 300 people held captive in a school basement for four weeks

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Updated 2024-11-15 -- On 13 November, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, attended a meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE), where he presented the main achievements of the Lithuanian Presidency and handed over the Presidency to Luxembourg. At the invitation of Lithuania, Olena Shvydka, chair of the Rural Community of the village of Ivanivka of Chernihiv Region and Inesa Antonenko, Head of Children's Service, shared their experiences and told about the crimes committed by Russia in the region.

Olena Shvydka was among the hostages who were held for four weeks in the basement of the local school in Yahidne, just outside the city of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine.

According to the survivors, some of the prisoners did not survive the brutal behaviour of Russian forces. More than 300 people were forced into dark, stifling premises by Russian soldiers occupying the town, where they were locked up without medicine, food or fresh air.

During nearly a month in the basement, before Russian forces were expelled from Yahidne, ten prisoners died. The remaining ones recorded the deaths by writing the names of the deceased and the date of their death on the basement wall. Among the hostages was a six-week-old baby, dozens of other children and several older people, the oldest of whom was 93 years old.

One of the few photos taken on a cell phone saved by one of the hostages showed dozens of people crowded in a cramped room.

There was no toilet in the crowded basement. In the first week, prisoners were forced to use buckets, and soon conditions became unsanitary.

"Two and a half years have passed, and the stories told by the surviving witnesses are still horrifying today. To the question of what we must do to prevent this from ever happening again, my answer is only one: A clear strategy for Ukraine's victory. The main objective of the Lithuanian Presidency is to support Ukraine and its people in defending themselves and the whole of Europe from Russia's war of aggression and ensuring the accountability of the perpetrators. From the comfort of our offices or homes, it is difficult to truly comprehend what it feels like when your home or entire village has been destroyed, when the family or friends have been killed or fled, when your national identity is being negated, or the right to exist is being questioned," Landsbergis highlighted in his speech, urging Europe to continue its tireless support for Ukraine.

The Foreign Minister presented the flag of the Council of Europe to the Ukrainians as a symbol of our shared values and principles that Ukraine defends with blood and a promise of unwavering support for Ukraine, whatever victory takes. At the same time, the members of the Committee received T-shirts to remind them of that promise.

At the meeting, Landsbergis reviewed the progress achieved during the Lithuanian Presidency - the establishment of an effective special tribunal on the crime of aggression and the accelerated activities of the Register of Damage for Ukraine, Lithuania's efforts to attract new members to the Register and the steps towards the second stage of the compensation mechanism - the establishment of the Claims Commission.

The Lithuanian Presidency also paid particular attention to the situation of Ukrainian children - their well-being in Ukraine and asylum countries, and the safe return of children deported or illegally adopted in Russia.

When handing over the Presidency to Luxembourg, which took over the helm, the Foreign Minister expressed confidence that the work Lithuania had started to achieve Ukraine's victory would continue.

Lithuania chaired the Committee of Ministers of the CoE from 17 May to 13 November 2024. It was the second Lithuanian Presidency since joining the CoE in 1993.

During the six months, 49 Presidency events took place, mainly in Vilnius and Strasbourg, as well as in New York, Helsinki and Chisinau.

Report on the implementation of the Lithuanian Presidency programme (EN).

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Scholz Speaks To Putin About Ukraine War, Drawing Concern From Kyiv

By RFE/RL November 15, 2024

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone on November 15, urging the Kremlin leader to end the war against Ukraine and negotiate with Kyiv for a "just and lasting peace," the chancellor's office said.

But the first direct conversation in nearly two years between the German and Russian leaders elicited a warning from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who said Scholz's call was a "Pandora's box" that could help Putin "ease his isolation, Russia's isolation, and engage in conventional negotiations that won't end in anything."

Zelenskiy said such empty exchanges are "exactly what Putin has been wanting for a long time" as the 2 1/2-year-old full-scale invasion grinds on.

Scholz expressed "unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression for as long as necessary," Berlin said.

"The chancellor condemned Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and called on President Putin to end it and withdraw troops," Scholz's office said.

It also said Scholz spoke with Zelenskiy before the Putin call and would speak again afterward.

The Kremlin said the conversation came at Germany's request and was "a detailed and frank exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine."

It repeated Moscow talking points on the origins of the conflict in "NATO's long-term aggressive policy" and said Russia had "never refused and remains open to resuming negotiations." It cited a speech by Putin in June and said any possible deal should take Russian security interests into account along with "new territorial realities and, most importantly, eliminate the root causes of the conflict."

Putin, the Kremlin said, described Russian-German relations as having suffered "unprecedented degradation in all areas" and said Russia was prepared for "mutually beneficial cooperation" in the energy sector.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Scholz talked to him afterward and that Warsaw was satisfied he "reiterated the Polish position: 'Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.'"

Reuters quoted a source as saying Scholz told Putin that the deployment of North Korean troops for combat missions is a significant escalation and expansion of the war.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/germany-russia -ukraine-scholz-putin-korea-zelenskiy/33203719.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.

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Russian Forces Reportedly Start All-Out Assault On Key Ukrainian City Of Kupyansk

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service November 15, 2024

Russian forces have reportedly opened an all-out assault on Kupyansk in northeastern Ukraine, days after partially breaching Ukrainian defenses to the north of the city.

Ukrainian forces have struggled for weeks to hold back Russian troops who have slowly advanced on the railway and transport hub from the north, east, and south.

The city has been under Ukrainian control since the fall of 2022, when commanders retook it amid a surprise offensive in the Kharkiv region.

Earlier this week, small units of Russian troops managed to enter Kupyansk's northern outskirts, Ukrainian and Russian officials reported. But Ukrainian commanders claimed they had repelled the effort.

On Telegram, Russian war bloggers reported infantry units had entered an industrial zone on the northern side of the city, and fierce fighting was under way.

Ukraine's General Staff said that Russian units were attacking outlying districts, but made no mention of fighting inside the city itself.

For months now, Ukrainian troops have struggled to hold back Russian advances across the nearly 1,100-kilometer front line.

Oleksandr Musiyenko, a military expert with the Military-Legal Investigations Center in Kyiv, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service on November 15 that "in fact, Russian troops have been intensively storming the Kupyansk direction for a year and a half. And in a year and a half of attacks, of course, they could have had some tactical success."

He called the situation "tense" but suggested that Ukrainian forces were "succeeding in weakening" the Russian encirclement effort.

In addition to Kupyansk, Russian units are closing in on the Donbas city of Pokrovsk, and partially control Toretsk and Chasiv Yar. If those cities fall to Russia, Ukrainian supply and logistics lines across the Donbas will be severely threatened.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has stepped up its use of drones to target military bases and industrial sites such as fuel depots inside Russia itself.

On November 15, Ukraine launched dozens of drones, some targeting the southern Russian region of Krasnodar, Governor Veniamin Kondratyev reported, saying two districts -- Krymsk and Krasnoarmeisk -- suffered damage but no casualties.

The Telegram channel Astra reported that the attack targeted the Krymsk air base, which is used by Russian forces to launch attacks.

Ukrainian officials had no immediate comment on the attack.

Ukrainian forces have claimed to control more than 1,200 square kilometers of Russian territory since a surprise cross-border incursion in the Kursk region that was launched in early August.

Musiyenko speculated that Russian forces are attacking with added intensity elsewhere in order to draw some of the Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk to other fronts.

He said Russia's "strategic goal" is currently to fully capture the Donetsk region.

Russia's Defense Ministry also reported more than 80 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory as well as the occupied Crimean Peninsula. The ministry claimed dozens were downed by air defense systems.

A day earlier, Russia launched its own drone and missile strike against the Black Sea port city of Odesa, an important hub for Ukrainian grain and agricultural exports. Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov called it "a massive combined strike."

Officials said one person died and at least 10 other people, including a 9-year-old boy, were wounded.

One apartment building was completely destroyed, several others damaged, and a main pipeline supplying heating to some 40,000 people, was struck, forcing its shutdown, regional Governor Oleh Kiper reported.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported nearly 30 Russian drones and a cruise missile were fired at three regions overnight. It claimed 25 had been downed.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kupyansk-attack-odesa-kiper- strike-trukhanov/33202942.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.

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There Will Be No Minsk-3; What We Need Is Real Peace - Address by the President

President of Ukraine

15 November 2024 - 19:06

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

Briefly about today.

We continued to work on the points of our Internal Resilience Plan. Today, two fundamental points were covered: the frontline and human capital. Everything related to our defense. And everything related to our people - military and civilian, adults and children. The goal is clear - it is our defense against Russian aggression right now, and everything we must do to ensure that we do not lose the post-war peace - to preserve and strengthen our people. Both the state and the people. It is imperative.

Today, I continued our international work. Informal diplomacy. I spoke with university students in Latin America. People in all parts of the world must equally understand what is needed now to restore peace in international relations.

And one more thing.

Regarding one of today's news stories. Chancellor Scholz told me that he is going to call Putin. Olaf's call, in my opinion, is Pandora's box. Now there may be other conversations, other calls. Just a lot of words. And this is exactly what Putin has wanted for a long time: it is crucial for him to weaken his isolation. Russia's isolation. And to engage in negotiations, ordinary negotiations, that will lead to nothing. As he has been doing for decades. This allowed Russia to change nothing in its policy, to do nothing substantial, and ultimately it led to this war. We understand all these challenges now. We know how to act. And we want to warn everyone: there will be no Minsk-3; what we need is real peace.

Glory to Ukraine!

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What the Future Will Look Like Depends on Each of Us Today - Speech by President to the Students of Colombian Universities

President of Ukraine

15 November 2024 - 21:06

Thank you, Mr. Rector!

Thank you, dear students of Colombia, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you.

I am pleased to be able to address you on the eve of International Students' Day. It is a celebration of those who study today and who will create the future tomorrow.

It is always the youth who have been the driving force of change. It is you who have always brought new perspectives, ideas, and solutions to the world. Things that should make the world a better place. And today, our world needs that more than ever. I say this both as President and as a citizen of the country against which Russia has been waging a full-scale war for almost 1000 days.

For 1000 days, Russia has been trying to destroy us, to deprive us of our lives and our freedom.

I could give you many examples to help you better understand what Russian aggression is and what modern Russia is. What it is like when Russia comes to your home, to your land. I will give you just one example: the way your peers, Ukrainian students and youth, are living today. Tens of thousands of young men and women have been forced to leave their hometowns and alma maters. Dozens of our universities have been relocated - from Donetsk, Luhansk, Simferopol, Mariupol and many other cities where Russia, its missiles and bombs have come. Every seventh educational institution in Ukraine was either destroyed or damaged. And these are not just buildings - these are young people, these are dreams, hopes, the future of our children, our youth. And with every destroyed school or university, opportunities for development are destroyed. This is the reality that young Ukrainians face every day.

But despite everything, this destruction did not break us, it strengthened our determination and our will. So today, Ukrainian youth is a symbol of resilience. Endless courage. Our students are not only studying for their future professions despite the war, shelling and air raid alerts, they are actively volunteering, supporting the army, our warriors. Many of them left their lecture halls to go to the front to defend what they love: their families, their land, their country, their rights. Everything we hold dear. Everything that Russia is trying to destroy. For almost 1000 days in a row.

Our country's struggle for survival has been ongoing for almost 1,000 days. And this struggle is not just about Ukraine - it concerns you as well, everyone who values freedom, the right to choose their own path, and a future without war. What this future will look like depends on each of us today - people living in different parts of the world but sharing the same understanding of such concepts as freedom and justice. Colombia and Ukraine are examples of this.

We live on different continents, in different time zones, but we have a lot in common. And it is more than the yellow and blue colors on our flags. It is also similar historical challenges and, I am sure, a shared vision of the values that must be defended.

Russia's war against Ukraine is more than a war. This is an attempt to restore a colonial empire, to enslave our people, to deprive us of our freedom and our right to choose. Colombians, who have experienced the struggle against colonialism, know what this means. They know how cruel invaders can be, how they try to break your resistance, and how important it is to fight, to defend your freedom and the right of every nation to live independently, to preserve their identity.

As one of the most multicultural countries in Latin America, Colombia is also an example of the ability to defend its culture and diversity. Dozens of cultures and ethnic groups are intertwined in your country, each preserving its own traditions, language, art and identity.

Ukraine also has a rich cultural heritage. We are home to about a hundred different nationalities and indigenous peoples, including the Crimean Tatars. Now living in the occupied territories, they face numerous persecutions by Russia - arrests, imprisonment, captivity, and regular restrictions on their rights.

In Crimea specifically, and in Ukraine overall Russia is destroying not only physical objects, but also the very foundations of culture and identity, the right to be who we are.

I am sure our nations know how important that is. They know it is worth fighting for. Ukraine and Colombia have a good space for cooperation and cultural exchange. These are projects aimed at preserving cultural heritage, protecting the rights of indigenous peoples, developing educational programs and ideas of cultural tolerance. Together with Colombia, we want to show that diversity makes us stronger, that the uniqueness of each nation is our common treasure, worth preserving and defending.

In order to restore justice and lasting peace, Ukraine has presented the Peace Formula to the international community. A plan of concrete steps, 10 points to end the war and ensure security on the planet.

This is not just our plan, it is our call to every country, to every person, to join us in defending global security.

And every voice counts. The voice of Colombia and all democratic countries can bring us closer to a new system in which no country can commit aggression with impunity.

This June, we held the first Peace Summit in Switzerland, which brought together more than a hundred states and international organizations from all regions of the world. Most of them were represented at the highest level. It is a great pity that the President of Colombia or any other representative of your country was not present. It is a great pity. However, I believe that Colombia will find a way to join the process of restoring justice. And this is where your role as young people who will shape Colombia's future is crucial.

Preparations for the second Peace Summit are underway. Each state can take the initiative to implement any of the points. Each will find an area of priority for itself. I believe that Colombia could make a significant contribution, for example, to ensuring environmental security in the world.

A real victory is only possible if we stand together. When all democratic nations come together to defend justice, we can change the world for the better. We thank you for the support of the Colombian academic community, for your solidarity, for your commitment to justice. Together, we can build a world where colonialism and aggression will never, ever, ever be acceptable again. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you for the invitation. Thank you, Colombia. Thank you, friends, for your attention. And I am ready to start our discussion.

Glory to Ukraine!

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The Hague Hosted the Third Preparatory Meeting on the Claims Commission for Ukraine

President of Ukraine

15 November 2024 - 21:01

On November 13-15, The Hague hosted the third preparatory meeting on the establishment of an international Claims Commission for Ukraine, during which the Ukrainian delegation presented its position on the future Commission.

Iryna Mudra, Deputy Head of the Office of the President, opened the meeting online and urged participants to accelerate the work on establishing the Commission.

"I express my gratitude to the countries that have supported us on this long journey from the very beginning. The Register of Damage now includes 43 states and the EU. At the same time, I am deeply grateful to the 12 new countries that have recently joined our efforts in the preparatory meetings, standing shoulder to shoulder with us in our fight for justice," she said.

The meeting covered, among other topics, an analysis of the experience of previous compensation commissions and possible options for creating the Claims Commission for Ukraine, as well as the second draft of the Commission's founding document.

"The discussions and conclusions of this meeting mark another important step toward the creation of a comprehensive mechanism for processing compensation claims related to the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine," Iryna Mudra concluded.

The first preparatory meeting was held in July this year, and the second in September. The fourth is scheduled for January 2025. After that, official negotiations to conclude an international agreement on the establishment of the Claims Commission are expected to begin.

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy Spoke with Students of Colombian Universities

President of Ukraine

15 November 2024 - 21:12

On the eve of International Students' Day, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with students and professors of Colombian higher education institutions - the University of La Sabana, the Externado University, the University of Cartagena, the University of Santo Tomas, the Pontifical Bolivarian University and the University of the Andes.

"Our country's struggle for survival has been ongoing for almost 1,000 days. And this struggle is not just about Ukraine - it concerns you as well, everyone who values freedom, the right to choose their own path, and a future without war. What this future will look like depends on each of us today - people living in different parts of the world but sharing the same understanding of such concepts as freedom and justice," the President said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about the struggle of Ukrainians against Russian aggression, as well as the attacks of the Russian Federation on cities and, in particular, educational institutions of Ukraine. He expressed confidence that this would help the youth of Colombia to better understand what modern Russia is and what its war against Ukraine is like.

"This is an attempt to restore a colonial empire, to enslave our people, to deprive us of our freedom and our right to choose. Colombians, who have experienced the struggle against colonialism, know what this means. They know how cruel invaders can be, how they try to break your resistance, and how important it is to fight, to defend your freedom and the right of every nation to live independently, to preserve their identity," the Head of State added.

The President noted that in order to restore justice and lasting peace, Ukraine had presented the Peace Formula to the international community - a plan of concrete steps. Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that the end of the war must be fair and the negotiations must be effective.

The parties also discussed the issue of accountability for all war criminals.

"Justice is needed for all the parents who lost their children, military and civilian. Justice is needed so that over time, all those who gave these bloody orders to kill us, our population, to bomb us every day - so that all these people are held accountable before the law, so that they receive their sentences," the President said.

In addition, the parties discussed the North Korean military's involvement in the war and the international community's reaction to this fact.

"Two countries are against us, against Ukraine. And I would like NATO to turn words into action and strengthen Ukraine. We would very much like to be granted the ability to use long-range weapons against military targets on Russia's territory," the Head of State concluded.

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Republican lawmakers optimistic Trump can end Russia-Ukraine war

By VOA News November 15, 2024

Top Republican members of the House of Representatives say lawmakers have begun discussions about Russia's war in Ukraine in an effort to carry out President-elect Donald Trump's campaign pledge to quickly end the conflict there.

Lawmakers told VOA's Ukrainian Service that they are optimistic that Trump can achieve his goal.

Republican Representative Mike Waltz, who was nominated by Trump this week to be his national security adviser, told VOA that "the president has been clear in terms of getting both sides to the table and is focused on ending the war and not perpetuating it."

Waltz said that while Trump did not address Russia's war in Ukraine when he gave a speech to lawmakers at their leadership meeting Wednesday, he said discussions about the war were happening "off to the side." He did not give further details.

Republican Representative Mike Rogers, who serves as the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, was bullish about Trump's ability to negotiate a cease-fire.

"I expect the president to negotiate an armistice before the end of the year," he told VOA.

When asked how the United States would pressure Russia to lay down its weapons, he said, "I have an idea what it is but I'm not going to talk about it."

Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week and urged him not to escalate the war, according to U.S. media outlets, first reported in The Washington Post. The Kremlin denies the call took place.

Republican Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who has been a strong supporter of U.S. military aid to Ukraine, told VOA that Trump wants to have a "very strong military presence in Europe," part of a "path of deterrence that eventually will get us to a period of negotiation."

However, he cautioned that he does not believe that Ukraine has enough leverage right now for successful negotiations with Russia.

Russia and Ukraine are engaged in fierce battles in eastern Ukraine, as uncertainty mounts over how a Trump presidency will affect the war and whether the two sides will be pushed into negotiations. Analysts say that both sides are looking to increase their territory before any negotiations take place.

When asked about how the U.S. could pressure Russia to the negotiating table, Republican Representative Tom Cole, who serves as the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, told VOA, "I think you have to persuade them what is in their best interest."

Cole said he thinks the war has been a disaster for Russia, noting that the conflict pushed Sweden and Finland to join NATO, the Western military alliance formed in 1949 to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.

He said talks in the House have not yet led to any definitive plan on the Russia-Ukraine war, but said, "I think there is just hope that President Trump can bring this conflict in Europe  the worst conflict since 1945  to a speedy end."

Trump has yet to detail how he will fulfill his campaign pledge to end the war quickly. During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in September, Trump said he "can work out something that's good for both sides."

When asked at that time whether Ukraine should turn over some of its own land to Russia to end the war, Trump said, "We'll see what happens."

Vice President Kamala Harris said on the campaign trail that suggestions by the Trump camp to create a demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine at the current battle lines "are not proposals for peace."

"Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable," she said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured Ukraine and its NATO allies Wednesday that Washington remains committed to putting Ukraine "in the strongest possible position" in the final months of President Joe Biden's administration.

"President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and January 20th," Blinken told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday.

Trump told reporters in September that his plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war is "not a surrender."

"What my strategy is, is to save lives," he said.

Kateryna Lisunova contributed to this report.

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Germany's Scholz speaks with Putin, demands Russia withdraw from Ukraine

By VOA News November 15, 2024

A German government spokesperson said that Chancellor Olaf Scholz held direct talks via telephone Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin during which he demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and that Russia show a willingness to negotiate a just and lasting peace.

A statement from German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said Scholz condemned Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and called on Putin to end it and withdraw troops.

The statement said the chancellor reaffirmed Germany's unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression for as long as necessary. The brief statement did not include a response from Putin.

The spokesperson said Scholz spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before his call with the Russian leader and intended to call him again afterwards. Media reports say that call lasted about an hour.

Reuters news agency reported the Kremlin confirmed the call, which it said had come at Berlin's request. The news agency reported the Kremlin said Putin told Scholz any agreement to end the war in Ukraine must take Russian security interests into account and reflect "new territorial realities."

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said despite deep disagreements, the fact the two leaders had the call at all was "very positive."

Zelenskyy, however, was not as pleased by the call. In a video address posted to his website Friday, Zelenskyy said that in his opinion, the call is a "Pandora's box."

"This is exactly what Putin has wanted for a long time: It is crucial for him to weaken his isolation. Russia's isolation," Zelenskyy said. "And to engage in negotiations, ordinary negotiations, that will lead to nothing."

He said it is what Putin has done for decades. "This allowed Russia to change nothing in its policy, to do nothing substantial, and ultimately it led to this war."

Zelenskyy said Ukraine understands how to act regarding Putin and handle negotiations accordingly.

"And we want to warn everyone: There will be no Minsk-3," he said, referencing the Minsk agreements, two failed cease-fire deals between Kyiv and Moscow over the status of the eastern Donbas region. "What we need is real peace."

The call came roughly one week after Scholz's coalition government fell apart, and he is facing new elections early next year.

Also on Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a state radio interview the European Union must abandon its sanctions against Russia or face economic collapse.

The EU and its western partners have imposed numerous sanctions against Russia and Putin since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many of which target Russia's energy sector.

Orban, a staunch ally of Putin's, said in the interview the sanctions on Russia have driven up energy prices and must be reviewed by EU leaders in Brussels. He said the sanctions have failed and as long as they are in place, energy prices will not come down and it will destroy the European economy.

Orban also referenced U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's victory last week. Referring to Trump as "our comrade in arms," and "our fellow peace fighter," he said his victory means minds have to be changed in Brussels  site of EU headquarters.

Orban said they must urge "a pro-peace" turn in the EU, referring to their support for Ukraine.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

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Ukrainians face harsh winter as Russian attacks destroy energy infrastructure

By Lisa Schlein November 15, 2024

Ukraine is heading into its third, most challenging winter since the war started nearly 1,000 days ago because "systematic attacks" by Russia have damaged and destroyed most of the country's energy infrastructure, a senior U.N. official warned.

"I am told that by now, 65% of Ukraine's own energy production capacities has been destroyed," Matthias Schmale, resident and humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, told journalists Friday in Geneva.

"There are a lot of worries that the Russian Federation's military forces might strike the energy sector again," he said. "And the real concern is, if they were to target the energy sector again, this could be a tipping point, also a tipping point for further mass movements, both inside the country and outside the country.

"The systematic attacks on energy infrastructure may pose an additional risk in winter, especially for already vulnerable people, as power cuts extend more than a few days in subzero temperatures," he said. "Deliberately attacking and destroying energy infrastructure that the civilian population depended on is a violation of international humanitarian law and has to stop."

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, said more than 12,000 people have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion against Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

It said civilian infrastructure has been decimated, with more than 2,000 attacks on health care facilities and 2 million damaged homes. It said almost 40% of the population in Ukraine needs humanitarian assistance.

"There is also a sort of hidden crisis," Schmale noted. "I think this prolonged war, almost three years in February, has led to widespread trauma and psychological distress, and I think the need for mental health support is very evident. It will take years to help people deal with their traumas."

The World Health Organization has verified 2,134 attacks on health care targets in Ukraine, killing at least 197 health workers and patients. The agency said attacks on health facilities have "intensified significantly" since December 2023, "occurring on a near-daily basis."

"The marked increase in attacks on Ukraine's energy and health infrastructure has led to widespread disruptions to power and water," said Dr. Margaret Harris, a WHO spokesperson. "The high cost of medicines, treatment and insufficient number of health care workers have emerged as major concerns, including near the front lines.

"In the coming months we anticipate civilians who live near the front lines may experience coronary vascular diseases, mental health issues and dental problems," she said, noting that the WHO continues to call for humanitarian access to all parts of Ukraine, including Russian-controlled areas.

Resident coordinator Schmale expressed grave concern about the escalating use of drones against the civilian population, many supplied to Russia by North Korea.

"During my many visits to the front lines, civilians have increasingly described to me being targeted," he said, underscoring that the drones not only cause physical damage but also are being used as a form of "psychological terror."

"I am very worried, along with many others, that increased use of drones by the armed forces of the Russian Federation will have an increasingly damaging impact on the civilian population," he said. "The fear of a nuclear fallout because of either a deliberate or accidental hit on a nuclear power plant, such as the one in Zaporizhzhia ... would be extremely devastating, and the worst-case scenario."

OCHA said that U.N. agencies are prioritizing support to people close to the front line, as well as to the thousands who have evacuated in recent weeks and months to help them survive the freezing temperatures that are coming.

It said U.N., international and volunteer organizations have been able to assist 7.2 million people thanks to $1.8 billion received for the humanitarian response in Ukraine. However, another $500 million will be needed to address the emergency needs of 1.8 million people by March.

Schmale underscored the appeal by emphasizing that vulnerable people in high-rise residential buildings in urban areas, the disabled, the elderly and the 3.6 million internally displaced people inside the country are most at risk and in need of help.

He said that helping people to get through this winter "is a race against time," made more difficult because of waning support from the donor community. While the trend was downward, he expressed hope the international community and humanitarian support from the U.S. would continue under the new leadership.

"They have been by far our biggest individual country supporter at country level," he said. "The hope is that they understand like the present administration that there are huge humanitarian needs that need to continue to be addressed.

"We must not normalize the war in Ukraine," he said. "We must continue to support this country to the best of our abilities."

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Reports: Biden OKs Ukraine's use of US-supplied long-range missiles to strike Russia

By VOA News November 17, 2024

In a major policy shift, U.S. President Joe Biden has for the first time authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to strike inside Russia, according to U.S. news accounts.

The reported decision comes two months before Biden leaves office and ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. The incoming president has voiced skepticism of continued U.S. support for the government in Kyiv and claimed, without offering any details, that he will end Russia's 33-month war on Ukraine before he takes office.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has for months pushed the United States to agree to use of the long-range missiles, known as the Army Tactical Missile Systems, to help thwart Moscow's continuing barrage of airstrikes and ground advances in eastern Ukraine.

But initially, the weapons are likely to be used in response to North Korea's decision to send thousands of troops to Russia in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Pyongyang's troops have been fighting alongside Moscow's forces in Russia's southern Kursk region at the Ukrainian border, which Kyiv invaded in August, shocking the Russian military command.

Trump sidestepped a direct question at his September debate with Vice President Kamala Harris about whether he wanted Ukraine to win in its war against Russia, saying simply, "I want the war to stop."

He instead focused on the war's human toll by saying that people were being killed "by the millions," a number that far exceeds any confirmed death toll, although some estimates say about one million Russians and Ukrainians have been killed and injured.

Trump went on to say that if elected, he would negotiate a deal even before becoming president and suggested the United States was "playing with World War III" with its support for Ukraine against Russia.

Harris quickly claimed that if Trump had been president during the invasion, then "Putin would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe," and that in such a scenario the Russian president would move on to Poland.

The U.S. support of Ukraine took a back seat among concerns for U.S. voters, who told pollsters they were most worried about the cost of consumers goods and the influx of undocumented migrants at the U.S. border with Mexico.

Trump swept through seven U.S. political battleground states in the November 5 election to easily defeat Harris. He is set to be inaugurated on January 20.

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G7 Vows 'Unwavering Support' For Ukraine As Invasion Nears 1,000th Day

By RFE/RL November 16, 2024

The Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized countries reiterated its members' "unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as it takes" as that country battles for its survival against invading Russian forces. The current Italian G7 Presidency issued the statement in conjunction with the approach of the 1,000th day of the full-scale invasion, which followed eight years of lower-grade fighting against Russian-backed separatists and Russia's occupation and annexation of Crimea in 2014. November 19 will be the 1,000th day of the full-scale fighting, which has elicited considerable international support and sweeping Western sanctions against Russia. The G7 noted the "immense suffering" of Ukrainians. "We stand in solidarity contributing to its fight for sovereignty, freedom, independence, territorial integrity and its reconstruction," the statement said. "We recognize, too, the impact of Russia's aggression on vulnerable people across the world."



Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/g7-ukraine-support -russia/33204764.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.

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In Ukraine, Top Japanese Diplomat Warns Of 'Alarming' North Korean Move

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service November 16, 2024

KYIV -- Visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said in Ukraine on November 16 that Tokyo and Kyiv have committed to increased dialogue between their respective defense and foreign ministers on security issues in light of the "extremely alarming situation" around the recent deployment of North Korean troops to Russia as Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues.

Iwaya warned at a joint briefing alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha in Kyiv that North Korean troops joining the 2 1/2-year-old Russian war effort could have "extremely significant implications" for Asia as well.

He met later with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Zelenskiy said he discussed with Iwaya "that now North Korea has become an accomplice of Russia and is helping Putin in this criminal war." He said they discussed "all threats from cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow."

With estimates of Russian casualties exceeding 600,000 and President Vladimir Putin desperate to avoid a politically unpopular second mobilization, reports suggest more than 11,000 North Korean soldiers are in southwestern Russia.

In Kyiv, Iwaya expressed "deep concern" and strong condemnation of the deployment.

He said the Japanese and Ukrainian sides would maintain a "bilateral high-level security policy dialogue" going forward, including the sharing of intelligence.

Iwaya arrived hours earlier and visited a memorial to the victims of Russian occupation in the city of Bucha, where Ukrainian and international prosecutors have alleged widespread atrocities against civilians by Russian troops.

Ukrainian military intelligence said the first North Korean troops arrived in the southwestern Russian region of Kursk on October 23.

Subsequent reports said the first clashes between North Korean soldiers and Ukrainian forces took place on November 5 in Kursk, where Ukraine launched a surprise incursion in August and now controls hundreds of square kilometers of territory.

Sybiha called the appearance of North Korean troops "evidence that the future of not only the European but also the global security architecture is being decided in Ukraine."

He cited shared values with Japan and said Iwaya's visit was an "important sign of solidarity, especially in such a difficult time."

With reporting by Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/japan-ukraine-iwaya-korean-troops- cooperation/33204721.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.

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Putin Not Interested In Negotiations, Only In Ending His Own Isolation, Zelenskiy Says

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service November 16, 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin "is not interested in holding negotiations to end the war but wants to hold talks with foreign leaders to put an end to his international isolation," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on November 16 following a telephone conversation between Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

"I think that Putin does not want peace at all, but this does not mean that he does not want to sit down with some of the leaders [at the negotiating table]. Because for him political isolation means destruction. It is quite profitable for him to sit down, talk, and disagree," Zelenskiy said in a radio interview broadcast on November 16.

"He can't travel, and to negotiate means he would be able to go somewhere.... This would be the end of his isolation for him," Zelenskiy said.

However, Zelenskiy said that Ukraine has to put an end to the conflict as soon as possible and admitted that the situation on the battlefield in the east, where Russia was making incremental advances, was difficult for the outmanned and outgunned Ukrainian Army.

"From our side, we must do everything so that this war ends next year, ends through diplomatic means," Zelenskiy said.

He added that he wants to talk with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump directly, not through intermediaries, but said that is not allowed by U.S. legislation before Trump's inauguration.

"As the president of Ukraine, I will only take seriously a conversation with the president of the United States of America, with all due respect to any entourage, to any people," Zelenskiy said.

Zelenskiy has criticized Scholz's phone call with Putin on November 15, warning that it had opened a "Pandora's box" that undermined efforts to isolate Putin and end the war in Ukraine with a "fair peace."

Russia, meanwhile, continued to batter Ukraine's cities and infrastructure.

The Russian military launched 83 drones and an S-300 missile at targets in Ukraine, the air force said on Telegram.

Ukraine's air-defense systems shot down 53 Russian drones over 11 of its regions -- Cherkasy, Odesa, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Mykolayiv, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Zaporizhzhya, Kharkiv, and Khmelnytskiy.

Separately, Russian shelling killed one person on November 16 in the city of Slovyansk, in the eastern region od Donetsk, regional Governor Vadym Lyakh reported.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskiy- putin-peace-talks-/33204534.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.

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Russian Defence Ministry reports on repelling AFU attempt to invade Russian territory in Kursk region (16 November 2024)

16.11.2024

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise an enemy group, which broke into the territory of Kursk region.

The units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted losses on formations of 21st, 22nd, 41st, 47th, 61st, 115th mechanised brigades, the 17th Tank Brigade, 80th, 82nd, 95th air assault brigades, the 36th Marine Brigade, 103rd, 112th, 129th territorial defence brigades of the AFU near Aleksandriya, Daryino, Martynovka, Maryevka, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Pogrebki, and Sverdlikovo.

Army Aviation and artillery inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the enemy near Lebedevka, Novoivanovka, Sverdlikovo, and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye.

During the day, the enemy losses were 255 troops, three armoured personnel carriers, one armoured fighting vehicle, seven motor vehicles, one anti-aircraft missile system, one 152-mm D-20 howitzer, and one electronic warfare station.



Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk region, the AFU losses were more than 32,930 troops, 213 tanks, 136 infantry fighting vehicles, 115 armoured personnel carriers, 1,167 armoured fighting vehicles, 951 motor vehicles, 284 artillery guns, 40 MLRS launchers, including 11 of HIMARS and six of MLRS made by the USA, 13 anti-aircraft missile launchers, seven transport-loading vehicles, 65 EW stations, 13 counter-battery warfare radars, four air defence radars, 27 units of engineering and other materiel, including 13 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, six armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.



The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.

Department for Media Affairs and Information

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Every Day, Ukrainians Prove with Their Courage, with Their Resilience That They Can Stop Russia - Address by the President

President of Ukraine

16 November 2024 - 15:49

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

I have just met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan: he is on a visit to Ukraine. And what's important is that this is his first visit to another country immediately after the new Japanese Government was appointed - a visit to Ukraine. This is symbolic - in terms of our relations, Ukraine and Japan, - and very practical: this war in Europe is now decisive in many ways for the whole world.

I thanked Mr. Minister and all of Japan for the support they have provided to Ukraine. Since the beginning of the full-scale war - twelve billion dollars. Japan is a true leader in Asia when it comes to defending the rules-based international order and, quite simply, human life. We also discussed that North Korea has now become Russia's accomplice and is helping Putin in this illegal war. I informed him about the North Korean military's activities in the Kursk region, about all the threats posed by Pyongyang and Moscow's cooperation. Russia is training North Korea in modern warfare, and this can cause a much wider destabilization. We must counter this together and with all our other partners.

We have a new support package from Japan. Of course, we talked with the Japanese Foreign Minister about strengthening sanctions against Russia, about our economic cooperation with Japan, about reconstruction and about ways of bringing a just peace closer. We are also preparing for a conversation with the new Prime Minister of Japan.

I also held another meeting today regarding the preparation of our internal Resilience Plan - a point on our Heroes Policy. The meeting was quite extensive - not just the Ministry of Veterans Affairs. All kinds of Government officials. Many aspects. And it is very important that the state's decisions maintain at least the same level of concreteness. Concrete programs that work. Concrete support measures. Concrete things regarding the remembrance of the war and the heroic feat of the Ukrainian people. And concrete proposals for the post-war period for our warriors, who have proven to be the most powerful force in Europe, capable of defending their home and all of Europe.

And this is just one of the many aspects in which Ukraine's internal Resilience Plan is intertwined with the Victory Plan that we have presented to our partners and that only our partners can implement. Every day, Ukrainians prove with their courage, with their resilience that they can stop Russia. Courage and resilience are also required from our partners.

And a few other things. Today is the Day of Radio, Television, and Communications Workers. And I am deeply grateful to everyone who keeps all of us in Ukraine, and the wider Ukrainian community around the world, connected through information, emotions, communication, and, most importantly, the shared understanding that Ukraine exists and will always exist.

I am grateful to all of our people who, even in the darkest moments, ensure that Ukrainians have the opportunity to talk to their families and hear how Ukraine is doing, how it is fighting, what Ukraine is doing, what Ukraine is striving for. No one in Ukraine should feel alone when we are all united - including through information, including through communication, including through Ukrainian emotion - through the feeling that we will overcome everything.

And today I also met with Ukrainian students - with representatives of student self-government from all regions of Ukraine - on the eve of Student's Day. I thanked them for being in Ukraine, for taking such an active role, and I wish that all our young people, all our future generations, could realize themselves in Ukraine - in a peaceful, secure and independent state.

I thank everyone who helps!

Glory to Ukraine!

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Discussed Ways to Enhance Cooperation Between the Two Countries

President of Ukraine

16 November 2024 - 18:01

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Takeshi Iwaya, who paid his first bilateral visit to Ukraine after the new Government was formed.

The Head of State particularly noted that Takeshi Iwaya had visited not only Kyiv but also other Ukrainian cities, including Bucha.

The President expressed gratitude to Japan for its consistent support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as its substantial financial and humanitarian assistance, including a transfer of a new aid package for our energy sector.

"You have stood with us since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, you have helped us. We highly appreciate the assistance that the Government of Japan and the people of Japan have provided to Ukraine. The amount of nearly USD 12 billion in total is the support for Ukraine throughout this war," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The President additionally thanked for the allocation of USD 3 billion as a part of G7's decision on a USD 50 billion loan, to be repaid using revenues from frozen Russian assets.

The President commended the close relations between Ukraine and Japan and expressed hope that the dialogue would continue at the same high level with the new Prime Minister of Japan Shigeru Ishiba.

"In light of recent developments, with the North Korean military's intervention in Russia's war against Ukraine, it is important to discuss ways to prevent further escalation by Russia, this time together with North Korea," he said.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Takeshi Iwaya agreed to enhance the implementation of the bilateral security agreement signed on June 13 in Apulia.

Takeshi Iwaya noted that he had come to Ukraine to demonstrate the unchanged position: Japan stands and will stand with Ukraine. He also stressed that he supports strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries for the sake of security.

Other topics of discussion included Japan's support for the Peace Formula and its continued leadership in implementing the point on nuclear safety, the expansion of economic and humanitarian cooperation, and the continuation and strengthening of sanctions against Russia.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also extended an invitation to the Prime Minister of Japan to visit Ukraine.

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Russia Launches Massive Attack On Ukraine, Targeting Energy Infrastructure

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service November 17, 2024

KYIV -- Russia launched one of its largest aerial attacks on Ukraine, Kyiv's foreign minister said on November 17, with drones and missiles targeting energy infrastructure and other civilian sites in cities across the country, prompting neighboring Poland to scramble fighter jets.

"Russia launched one of the largest air attacks: drones and missiles against peaceful cities, sleeping civilians, critical infrastructure. This is war criminal [President Vladimir] Putin's true response to all those who called and visited him recently. We need peace through strength, not appeasement," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote on X.

Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia had launched around 120 missiles and 90 drones in what he described as a "massive" combined air strike on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

"The enemy's target was our energy infrastructure throughout Ukraine. Unfortunately, there is damage to objects from strikes and falling debris," he said in a statement on social media.

Explosions were reported early on November 17 in the capital, Kyiv, as well as other cities across the country, including Odesa on the Black Sea coast and the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhya. Russia's missile attack targeted power infrastructure across Ukraine, forcing the launch of preventive outages, Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said.

The massive attack comes as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine grinds towards its 1,000th day. Russia is expending huge amounts of weaponry and human life to make small but steady territorial gains to the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine it already controls.

Ukraine, meanwhile, is struggling to minimize losses, maintain morale, and convince allies that, with more military aid, it can turn the tide. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has said he could quickly end the war, though it is unclear how.

On November 16, the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized countries reiterated its members' "unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as it takes" in its struggle against invading Russian forces.

Russia's attack on Ukraine on November 17 prompted neighboring Poland to scramble jets.

"Due to the massive attack by the Russian Federation using cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles on objects located, among others, in western Ukraine, Polish and allied aircraft have started operating in our airspace," the operational command of NATO member Poland's armed forces posted on X.

It said it had "activated all available forces and resources at his disposal, the on-duty fighter pairs were scrambled, and the ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems reached the highest state of readiness."

The Polish prime minster, Donald Tusk, wrote on X that the Kremlin's war against Ukraine won't be stopped through phone calls -- remarks coming days after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke by phone with Putin.

"No one will stop Putin with phone calls. The attack last night -- one of the biggest in this war -- has proved that telephone diplomacy cannot replace real support from the whole West for Ukraine," Tusk wrote.

In his social media post, Zelenskiy said Russia deployed various types of drones, including Shaheds, as well as cruise, ballistic, and aircraft-launched ballistic missiles. Ukrainian defense forces shot down 140 air targets, he said.

The missile attack followed an overnight drone strike on Ukraine's capital. The roof of a residential building caught fire in Kyiv due to falling debris and at least one person was injured, city officials said on the Telegram messaging app.

"Emergency services were dispatched to the scene," Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The combined drone and missile attack was the most powerful in three months, according to the head of Kyiv's military administration, Serhiy Popko.

Ukraine's Air Force issued air raid alerts across all regions of the country around 6 a.m. local time, warning of the attack.

Halushchenko said on Telegram that "a massive attack on our energy system is ongoing" and that Russian forces were "attacking electricity generation and transmission facilities throughout Ukraine."

Russia's aerial attack "seriously damaged" equipment at thermal power stations belonging to the country's largest private energy provider.

In a statement on social media, DTEK said its employees were working on repairing the equipment but did not specify what exactly had been hit.

Kyiv, meanwhile, is seeking to deny Russia further gains inside Ukraine and to hold onto Russian territory in the Kursk region.

On November 17, Aleksei Smirnov, the Kursk region's governor, said one person -- a local journalist -- was killed and two injured in a Ukrainian drone strike. The report could not be independently verified.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine- attack-/33205228.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.

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Unity of Ukrainian Youth Is Crucial to Us - President Meets with Representatives of Student Self-Governance

President of Ukraine

17 November 2024 - 15:00

Yesterday, on the eve of International Students' Day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with representatives of student self-governance bodies from over 200 higher education institutions in Ukraine.

The President congratulated the students on their holiday and emphasized that youth are the future of the country.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expressed gratitude to the students who are defending Ukraine on the front lines for their resilience, strength, and patriotism.

"The unity of all young people, wherever a student might be today, is extremely important to us. It is an integral part of the strength of our state. Student life during the war is a difficult and challenging time, but it is incredibly important both for you and for the entire country," the President stated.

He also shared memories of his student years, including a trip to Crimea with friends, and stressed the importance of people who share your values.

"If your value is freedom, you will notice any violation of rights and fight against it. But not alonetogether with those around you. The most important foundation is value-driven people," the President said.

During the discussion, the parties touched upon the issue of involving youth in work within state institutions, particularly ministries. The President highlighted that the state, business, and civil society need to unite efforts to encourage young people to pursue public service.

"Students and youth should be present in (state) institutions. Young people have more energy. And to follow this path, to work for the state, to help Ukraine, it takes a great deal of strength and energy," the Head of State noted.

Another topic of discussion was the mandatory establishment of military departments in higher education institutions after the war. The President expressed his support for this initiative.

"Military preparatory education, training, and related processes are necessary. Patriotic education in schools should be at a high level. All of this is vital because it ensures readiness. It doesn't mean preparing for war or World War III. But if we are attacked, you will be ready for this challenge," Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated.

During the meeting, Illia Beliak, the Head of the Expert Council of Students of Higher Education Institutions, presented innovative projects and legislative initiatives aimed at enhancing the role of the Ukrainian student movement. Among the proposals was the creation of a National Council of Students of Higher Education Institutions and the introduction of a government commissioner position for the rights of higher education students.

Additionally, he presented the UA - Ukrainians Abroad project, which envisions the creation of a network of youth councils worldwide, as well as a draft law to expand the rights of student self-governance.

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November 15, 2024

Release

DOD Sends Report to Congress on the Nuclear Weapons Employment Strategy of the United States

Yesterday, the Secretary of Defense submitted an unclassified report to Congress describing the nuclear employment strategy of the United States. The 491 Report, submitted in accordance with 10 U.S.C. Section 491, reflects an unclassified description of Presidential nuclear employment Guidance issued by President Biden earlier this year. The Secretary submitted the report in anticipation of issuing his classified implementation guidance to the Department and to the Joint Force.

The 491 Report describes, in an unclassified format, changes from previous presidential employment guidance. Updating U.S. nuclear employment guidance is routine and critical to ensuring that U.S. nuclear forces, plans, and posture evolve to maintain the United States' ability to deter adversaries, assure allies and partners, and achieve national objectives if deterrence fails.

The updated Guidance accounts for the new deterrence challenges posed by the growth, modernization, and increasing diversity of potential adversaries' nuclear arsenals. It builds on the findings of the 2022 National Defense Strategy and Nuclear Posture Review, and directly informs development of nuclear employment options for consideration by the President in extreme circumstances to defend the vital interests of the United States and its allies and partners.

The Guidance also directs that the United States plan to deter multiple nuclear-armed adversaries simultaneously; requires the integration of non-nuclear capabilities where feasible to support the nuclear deterrence mission; stresses the importance of escalation management in U.S. planning for responding to limited nuclear attack or high-consequence non-nuclear strategic attack; and enables deeper consultation, coordination, and combined planning with allies and partners in order to strengthen U.S. extended deterrence commitments.

The 491 Report can be found here.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/1926383/

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NEWARK, Del, Nov. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global static VAR Compensator (SVC) market is projected to grow from USD 1,020.2 million in 2024 to USD 1,667.0 million by 2034, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.0%. The SVC industry is witnessing increased adoption across various industrial sectors, driven by the need to control voltage fluctuations, enhance grid stability, and ensure quality power supply, particularly with the integration of renewable energy sources. SVC technology is pivotal in reducing voltage instability and maintaining consistent power flow across transmission lines, making it indispensable for sectors like railways, mining, and renewable energy plants.



Static VAR Compensators are advanced power electronics systems designed to regulate voltage fluctuations, manage power quality, and ensure grid stability by maintaining a constant reactive power supply. These systems help manage the grids reactive power, which is essential for preventing oscillations, harmonics, flickers, and unbalanced loads that can disrupt power transmission and impact industrial operations. With increasing global emphasis on renewable energy and smart grid technology, SVC adoption is set to rise in the coming years.

SVCs have found applications across various sectors, from mining to railways and renewable energy. As the demand for efficient, uninterrupted power grows, many sectors are turning to SVCs to modernize aging infrastructure and support emerging renewable energy facilities, like solar and wind farms, which frequently face power fluctuation issues. For the railway industry, SVCs offer a reliable replacement for existing grids, ensuring stable power supply and contributing to improved operational efficiency. Meanwhile, the renewable energy sector requires advanced solutions like SVCs to address grid instabilities arising from intermittent energy generation.

Smart Grid Infrastructure Development Fueling the Demand for Static VAR Compensators

The development of smart grid infrastructure is a key factor driving the demand for SVCs. Smart grids require dynamic compensation systems to handle varying loads and maintain stability, which is vital for integrating renewables into existing grids. SVCs help enhance grid resilience by dynamically compensating for reactive power variations, thus supporting voltage regulation and ensuring power supply continuity. This need for smart grid systems that can handle fluctuating energy input from renewable sources has made SVCs essential components in grid modernization efforts.

Aging infrastructure in many countries also underscores the need for advanced compensation systems like SVCs. As power grids grow older, they become more susceptible to voltage instability, which can lead to frequent disruptions. Upgrading these systems with SVC technology enables utility companies to maintain consistent power quality, extend grid longevity, and reduce the risk of outages.

Rising Copper Mining is Increasing the Demand for Dynamic Compensation Systems

The copper mining industry is another significant user of SVC technology. Mining operations require substantial power to function, and fluctuating demand can create instability in power supply. By using SVCs, mining companies can better manage their power requirements and minimize disruptions, which is critical for maintaining continuous operations. The increasing demand for copper, driven by the global shift towards electrification and renewable energy, has led to a corresponding rise in demand for SVCs.

As mining operations expand to meet rising copper demand, especially in regions like South America, the need for robust power management solutions is paramount. SVCs provide a practical solution by stabilizing voltage levels and ensuring a consistent power supply, ultimately enhancing the efficiency and reliability of mining processes.

Browse Full Report Here! https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/static-var-compensator-market

Key Factors of the Static VAR Compensator Market

Grid Stabilization : SVCs play an essential role in maintaining grid stability by dynamically adjusting reactive power flow, essential for regions with high renewable energy penetration.

: SVCs play an essential role in maintaining grid stability by dynamically adjusting reactive power flow, essential for regions with high renewable energy penetration. Power Factor Correction : SVCs are crucial for improving power factor, which helps reduce energy waste and improve the efficiency of power systems.

: SVCs are crucial for improving power factor, which helps reduce energy waste and improve the efficiency of power systems. Voltage Regulation : SVCs regulate voltage levels, preventing the risk of blackouts and ensuring a stable power supply across industries and applications.

: SVCs regulate voltage levels, preventing the risk of blackouts and ensuring a stable power supply across industries and applications. Adaptability for Renewable Energy: SVCs support renewable energy projects by stabilizing power from intermittent sources like solar and wind, helping them integrate into existing power systems.

Countries SVC Market CAGR (2024 to 2034) Italy 6.9% Mexico 6.2% KSA 6.1% Czech Republic 6.1% Canada 5.9% Hungary 5.8%

"Static VAR Compensators are becoming an indispensable part of the power sector as they offer solutions to manage power quality and grid stability challenges posed by renewable energy sources. SVCs are not only essential for industrial applications but also for smart grid infrastructure development, which is vital for the future of energy management globally," says [Analysts Name, Title]. "With rapid growth in renewable energy and increasing demand for grid modernization, the SVC market is well-positioned for substantial growth over the next decade," opines Nikhil Kaitwade, Associate Vice President at Future Market Insights (FMI)

Key Takeaways

North America : Increased renewable energy projects and smart grid initiatives are driving SVC demand.

: Increased renewable energy projects and smart grid initiatives are driving SVC demand. Latin America : The rise of copper mining operations and grid modernization efforts fuels demand.

: The rise of copper mining operations and grid modernization efforts fuels demand. Western Europe : Regulatory support for green energy integration is pushing SVC adoption.

: Regulatory support for green energy integration is pushing SVC adoption. Eastern Europe : Industrial expansion and aging infrastructure are key factors for SVC growth.

: Industrial expansion and aging infrastructure are key factors for SVC growth. East Asia : Rapid industrialization and renewable energy investments support the SVC market.

: Rapid industrialization and renewable energy investments support the SVC market. South Asia Pacific : Renewable energy developments and infrastructure upgrades boost demand.

: Renewable energy developments and infrastructure upgrades boost demand. Middle East & Africa: Energy transition and industrial investments are creating SVC growth opportunities.



Upgrading Aging Infrastructure Creating Growth Opportunities

With power grids aging in numerous regions, the need to upgrade infrastructure has never been more crucial. Implementing SVCs helps utility companies to extend the life of existing systems while ensuring stable, reliable power. Countries with aging infrastructure are investing heavily in grid modernization, with SVCs being a core component of these upgrades due to their role in enhancing stability and efficiency.

Static VAR Compensator Market Key Players

Leading players in the SVC market include:

Schneider Electric

General Electric

Siemens AG

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

ABB

Emerson Electric Co.

Hyosung Corporation

Fuji Electric

NR Electric Co., Ltd.

Nissin Electric Co., Ltd.

S&C Electric Company



These companies are focusing on developing innovative solutions to meet the increasing demand for grid stabilization and support renewable energy integration. Collaborations, acquisitions, and investments in R&D are some of the strategies these players employ to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving market.

Regional Analysis

North America : Rapid adoption due to renewable energy initiatives.

: Rapid adoption due to renewable energy initiatives. Latin America : Demand driven by mining and infrastructure modernization.

: Demand driven by mining and infrastructure modernization. Western Europe : Government support for sustainable energy systems.

: Government support for sustainable energy systems. Eastern Europe : Expanding industrial sectors.

: Expanding industrial sectors. East Asia : Fast-paced industrial growth and energy projects.

: Fast-paced industrial growth and energy projects. South Asia Pacific : Expanding renewable energy initiatives.

: Expanding renewable energy initiatives. Middle East & Africa: Growing demand for efficient energy solutions.



Market Segmentation of Static VAR Compensator Products

By Voltage Level:

Low Voltage (400V to 1KV)

Medium Voltage (1KV to 69KV)

High Voltage (Above 69 KV)



By Product Type:

Thyristor Controller Reactor

Thyristor-switched Capacitor

Thyristor-controlled Series Capacitor

Static Synchronous Compensator

By Application:

Voltage Control

Power Factor Correction

Grid Stabilization

Renewable Energy Integration

Transmission Line Compensation



By End-use Industry:

Power Generation

Renewable

Non-renewable

Energy Utilities

Electric Traction

Mining and Metal

Oil and Gas

Textile

Cement

Others

By Region:

North America

Latin America

Western Europe

Eastern Europe

East Asia

South Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa



Other Publication- https://www.accesswire.com/891487/global-static-var-compensator-market-valuation-to-reach-usd-16670-million-by-2034-with-a-50-cagr-future-market-insights-inc

French Language

Le marche mondial des compensateurs statiques a valeur ajoutee (SVC) devrait passer de 1 020,2 millions USD en 2024 a 1 667,0 millions USD d'ici 2034, a un taux de croissance annuel compose (TCAC) de 5,0 % . L'industrie des SVC connait une adoption croissante dans divers secteurs industriels, motivee par la necessite de controler les fluctuations de tension, d'ameliorer la stabilite du reseau et d'assurer une alimentation electrique de qualite, en particulier avec l'integration de sources d'energie renouvelables. La technologie SVC est essentielle pour reduire l'instabilite de la tension et maintenir un flux d'energie constant sur les lignes de transmission, ce qui la rend indispensable pour des secteurs comme les chemins de fer, les mines et les centrales d'energie renouvelable.

Les compensateurs statiques VAR sont des systemes electroniques de puissance avances concus pour reguler les fluctuations de tension, gerer la qualite de l'energie et assurer la stabilite du reseau en maintenant une alimentation reactive constante. Ces systemes aident a gerer la puissance reactive du reseau, ce qui est essentiel pour eviter les oscillations, les harmoniques, les scintillements et les charges desequilibrees qui peuvent perturber la transmission d'energie et avoir un impact sur les operations industrielles. Avec l'accent croissant mis a l'echelle mondiale sur les energies renouvelables et la technologie des reseaux intelligents , l'adoption des SVC devrait augmenter dans les annees a venir.

Les SVC ont trouve des applications dans divers secteurs, de lexploitation miniere aux chemins de fer en passant par les energies renouvelables. Alors que la demande denergie efficace et ininterrompue augmente, de nombreux secteurs se tournent vers les SVC pour moderniser les infrastructures vieillissantes et soutenir les installations denergie renouvelable emergentes, comme les parcs solaires et eoliens, qui sont souvent confrontes a des problemes de fluctuations de puissance. Pour lindustrie ferroviaire, les SVC offrent un remplacement fiable aux reseaux existants, garantissant un approvisionnement electrique stable et contribuant a une efficacite operationnelle amelioree. Parallelement, le secteur des energies renouvelables a besoin de solutions avancees comme les SVC pour remedier aux instabilites du reseau resultant dune production denergie intermittente.

Parcourir le rapport complet ici

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/static-var-compensator-market

Le developpement de l'infrastructure du reseau intelligent alimente la demande de compensateurs statiques VAR

Le developpement des infrastructures de reseaux intelligents est un facteur cle de la demande de SVC. Les reseaux intelligents necessitent des systemes de compensation dynamique pour gerer les variations de charge et maintenir la stabilite, ce qui est essentiel pour integrer les energies renouvelables dans les reseaux existants. Les SVC contribuent a ameliorer la resilience du reseau en compensant de maniere dynamique les variations de puissance reactive, soutenant ainsi la regulation de la tension et garantissant la continuite de l'alimentation electrique. Ce besoin de systemes de reseaux intelligents capables de gerer les fluctuations de l'apport energetique provenant de sources renouvelables a fait des SVC des composants essentiels des efforts de modernisation du reseau.

Le vieillissement des infrastructures dans de nombreux pays souligne egalement la necessite de systemes de compensation avances tels que les SVC. A mesure que les reseaux electriques vieillissent, ils deviennent plus sensibles a l'instabilite de la tension, ce qui peut entrainer des perturbations frequentes. La mise a niveau de ces systemes avec la technologie SVC permet aux entreprises de services publics de maintenir une qualite d'energie constante, de prolonger la longevite du reseau et de reduire le risque de pannes.

L'essor de l'exploitation miniere du cuivre accroit la demande de systemes de compensation dynamique

Lindustrie miniere du cuivre est un autre utilisateur important de la technologie SVC. Les operations minieres necessitent une puissance importante pour fonctionner, et une demande fluctuante peut creer une instabilite de lapprovisionnement en electricite. En utilisant les SVC, les societes minieres peuvent mieux gerer leurs besoins en electricite et minimiser les interruptions, ce qui est essentiel pour maintenir la continuite des operations. La demande croissante de cuivre, alimentee par la transition mondiale vers lelectrification et les energies renouvelables, a entraine une augmentation correspondante de la demande de SVC.

Alors que les operations minieres se developpent pour repondre a la demande croissante de cuivre, en particulier dans des regions comme l'Amerique du Sud, le besoin de solutions de gestion de l'energie robustes est primordial. Les SVC offrent une solution pratique en stabilisant les niveaux de tension et en garantissant une alimentation electrique constante, ameliorant ainsi l'efficacite et la fiabilite des processus miniers.

Facteurs cles du marche des compensateurs statiques VAR

Stabilisation du reseau : les SVC jouent un role essentiel dans le maintien de la stabilite du reseau en ajustant dynamiquement le flux de puissance reactive, essentiel pour les regions a forte penetration des energies renouvelables.

: les SVC jouent un role essentiel dans le maintien de la stabilite du reseau en ajustant dynamiquement le flux de puissance reactive, essentiel pour les regions a forte penetration des energies renouvelables. Correction du facteur de puissance : les SVC sont essentiels pour ameliorer le facteur de puissance, ce qui contribue a reduire le gaspillage d'energie et a ameliorer l'efficacite des systemes electriques.

: les SVC sont essentiels pour ameliorer le facteur de puissance, ce qui contribue a reduire le gaspillage d'energie et a ameliorer l'efficacite des systemes electriques. Regulation de tension : les SVC regulent les niveaux de tension, evitant ainsi le risque de pannes de courant et garantissant une alimentation electrique stable dans tous les secteurs et applications.

: les SVC regulent les niveaux de tension, evitant ainsi le risque de pannes de courant et garantissant une alimentation electrique stable dans tous les secteurs et applications. Adaptabilite aux energies renouvelables : les SVC soutiennent les projets denergie renouvelable en stabilisant lenergie provenant de sources intermittentes comme lenergie solaire et eolienne, les aidant ainsi a sintegrer dans les systemes electriques existants.

 Les compensateurs statiques a valeur ajoutee deviennent un element indispensable du secteur de l'energie, car ils offrent des solutions pour gerer les problemes de qualite de l'energie et de stabilite du reseau poses par les sources d'energie renouvelables. Les compensateurs statiques a valeur ajoutee sont non seulement essentiels pour les applications industrielles, mais egalement pour le developpement d'infrastructures de reseau intelligent, ce qui est vital pour l'avenir de la gestion de l'energie a l'echelle mondiale , declare [Nom et titre de l'analyste].  Avec la croissance rapide des energies renouvelables et la demande croissante de modernisation du reseau, le marche des compensateurs statiques a valeur ajoutee est bien place pour connaitre une croissance substantielle au cours de la prochaine decennie , estime Nikhil Kaitwade , vice-president associe chez Future Market Insights (FMI).

Principaux points a retenir

Amerique du Nord : Laugmentation des projets denergie renouvelable et des initiatives de reseaux intelligents stimule la demande en SVC.

: Laugmentation des projets denergie renouvelable et des initiatives de reseaux intelligents stimule la demande en SVC. Amerique latine : lessor des operations dextraction de cuivre et les efforts de modernisation du reseau alimentent la demande.

: lessor des operations dextraction de cuivre et les efforts de modernisation du reseau alimentent la demande. Europe occidentale : le soutien reglementaire a lintegration des energies vertes favorise ladoption des SVC.

: le soutien reglementaire a lintegration des energies vertes favorise ladoption des SVC. Europe de lEst : lexpansion industrielle et le vieillissement des infrastructures sont des facteurs cles de la croissance du secteur des petites et moyennes entreprises.

: lexpansion industrielle et le vieillissement des infrastructures sont des facteurs cles de la croissance du secteur des petites et moyennes entreprises. Asie de lEst : lindustrialisation rapide et les investissements dans les energies renouvelables soutiennent le marche des SVC.

: lindustrialisation rapide et les investissements dans les energies renouvelables soutiennent le marche des SVC. Asie du Sud-Pacifique : le developpement des energies renouvelables et la modernisation des infrastructures stimulent la demande.

: le developpement des energies renouvelables et la modernisation des infrastructures stimulent la demande. Moyen-Orient et Afrique : la transition energetique et les investissements industriels creent des opportunites de croissance pour les SVC.



La modernisation des infrastructures vieillissantes cree des opportunites de croissance

Dans de nombreuses regions, les reseaux electriques vieillissent, et il est donc plus que jamais necessaire de moderniser les infrastructures. La mise en uvre de SVC permet aux entreprises de services publics de prolonger la duree de vie des systemes existants tout en garantissant une alimentation electrique stable et fiable. Les pays dotes d'infrastructures vieillissantes investissent massivement dans la modernisation du reseau, les SVC etant un element essentiel de ces mises a niveau en raison de leur role dans l'amelioration de la stabilite et de l'efficacite.

Principaux acteurs du marche des compensateurs statiques VAR

Les principaux acteurs du marche SVC sont :

Schneider Electric

General Electrique

Siemens AG

Societe Mitsubishi Electric

ABB

Societe d'Electricite Emerson

Societe Hyosung

Fuji Electric

NR Electric Co., Ltd.

Nissin Electric Co., Ltd.

Societe d'electricite S&C



Ces entreprises se concentrent sur le developpement de solutions innovantes pour repondre a la demande croissante de stabilisation du reseau et soutenir l'integration des energies renouvelables. Les collaborations, les acquisitions et les investissements en R&D font partie des strategies que ces acteurs emploient pour rester competitifs sur un marche en evolution rapide.

Analyse regionale

Amerique du Nord : Adoption rapide grace aux initiatives en matiere denergies renouvelables.

: Adoption rapide grace aux initiatives en matiere denergies renouvelables. Amerique latine : la demande tiree par lexploitation miniere et la modernisation des infrastructures.

: la demande tiree par lexploitation miniere et la modernisation des infrastructures. Europe occidentale : soutien gouvernemental aux systemes energetiques durables.

: soutien gouvernemental aux systemes energetiques durables. Europe de lEst : des secteurs industriels en expansion.

: des secteurs industriels en expansion. Asie de lEst : croissance industrielle rapide et projets energetiques.

: croissance industrielle rapide et projets energetiques. Asie du Sud-Pacifique : developpement des initiatives en matiere denergies renouvelables.

: developpement des initiatives en matiere denergies renouvelables. Moyen-Orient et Afrique : demande croissante de solutions energetiques efficaces.



Autre publication - https://www.accesswire.com/891487/global-static-var-compensator-market-valuation-to-reach-usd-16670-million-by-2034-with-a-50-cagr-future-market-insights-inc

Segmentation du marche des produits compensateurs statiques VAR

Par niveau de tension :

Basse tension (400V a 1KV)

Moyenne Tension (1KV a 69KV)

Haute tension (au-dessus de 69 KV)



Par type de produit :

Reacteur controleur a thyristor

Condensateur a commutation de thyristors

Condensateur serie controle par thyristor

Compensateur synchrone statique

Par application :

Controle de la tension

Correction du facteur de puissance

Stabilisation du reseau

Integration des energies renouvelables

Indemnisation des lignes de transmission



Par industrie d'utilisation finale :

Production d'energie

Renouvelable

Non renouvelable

Services publics d'energie

Traction electrique

Mines et metaux

Petrole et gaz

Textile

Ciment

Autres

Par region :

Amerique du Nord

l'Amerique latine

Europe de l'Ouest

Europe de l'Est

Asie de l'Est

Asie du Sud-Pacifique

Moyen-Orient et Afrique



Author By:

Nikhil Kaitwade (Associate Vice President at Future Market Insights, Inc.) has over a decade of experience in market research and business consulting. He has successfully delivered 1500+ client assignments, predominantly in Automotive, Chemicals, Industrial Equipment, Oil & Gas, and Service industries.

His core competency circles around developing research methodology, creating a unique analysis framework, statistical data models for pricing analysis, competition mapping, and market feasibility analysis. His expertise also extends wide and beyond analysis, advising clients on identifying growth potential in established and niche market segments, investment/divestment decisions, and market entry decision-making.

Nikhil holds an MBA degree in Marketing and IT and a Graduate in Mechanical Engineering. Nikhil has authored several publications and quoted in journals like EMS Now, EPR Magazine, and EE Times.

Explore FMIs Extensive Coverage on Industrial Automation Domain:

The global power quality equipment market sales is expected to grow at a 6% CAGR throughout the assessment period, reaching USD 73.7 billion by 2034.

The global compact power equipment rental market growth is expected to grow at a substantial 6.4% CAGR between 2023 and 2033, reaching around USD 206,557.9 million by the end of 2033.

The mooring compensators market type is predicted to be valued at USD 2439 million by 2032, with a 3.2% CAGR.

The global produced water treatment systems market forecast is expected to reach USD 8.41 billion by 2034, rising at a CAGR of 5.72% between 2024 and 2034.

The global chilled beam system market type is expected to generate USD 607.1 million in 2033, with a CAGR of 5.7% from 2023 to 2033.

The global industrial water cooling system market revenue is anticipated to be worth USD 1,673.1 million in 2022, rising to $2,648 million by 2032 at a CAGR of 4.7%.

The fusing machine market sales are expected to reach USD 886.20 million by 2034. This estimate indicates a moderate CAGR of 5.20% from 2024 to 2034.

The industrial counterweight market revenue is expected to grow at a 5.6% CAGR from 2024 to 2034. The global industrial counterweight market is expected to reach USD 13.5 billion by 2034.

The pump jack market is expected to be worth USD 3.4 billion by 2024. The market is expected to expand at a moderate CAGR of 5.8% over the forecast period. The industry's share is predicted to reach USD 6 billion by 2034.



The metal stampings market size is expected to exceed USD 635.8 billion by 2033. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.2% over the forecast period.

About Future Market Insights (FMI)

Future Market Insights, Inc. (ESOMAR certified, recipient of the Stevie Award, and a member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce) offers profound insights into the driving factors that are boosting demand in the market. FMI stands as the leading global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, consulting, and events for the Packaging, Food and Beverage, Consumer Technology, Healthcare, Industrial, and Chemicals markets. With a vast team of over 400 analysts worldwide, FMI provides global, regional, and local expertise on diverse domains and industry trends across more than 110 countries.

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PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Berger Montague PC advises investors that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed against Dominos Pizza, Inc. (Dominos or the Company) (NYSE: DPZ) on behalf of purchasers of Dominos securities between December 7, 2023 through July 17, 2024, inclusive (the Class Period).

Investor Deadline: Investors who purchased or acquired DOMINOS securities during the Class Period may, no later than NOVEMBER 19, 2024, seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class. For additional information or to learn how to participate in this litigation, please contact Berger Montague: Andrew Abramowitz at aabramowitz@bm.net or (215) 875-3015, or Peter Hamner at phamner@bm.net or (215) 875-3048, or CLICK HERE .

Domino's, through its subsidiaries, operates as a global pizza company under the Domino's brand name through Company-owned and franchised stores. The Company's largest "master franchisee"  a franchisee that is charged with developing a geographical area  is Domino's Pizza Enterprises ("DPE"). As of December 31, 2023, DPE operated 3,840 stores in 12 international markets, accounting for approximately 28% of the Company's international store count and 19% of its global store count.

In December 2023, at Domino's 2023 Investor Day, the Company announced new long-term guidance of "1,100+" annual global net store growth for the years 2024 to 2028.

According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) DPE, the Company's largest master franchisee, was experiencing significant challenges with respect to both new store openings and closures of existing stores; and (ii) as a result, Domino's was unlikely to meet its own previously issued long-term guidance for annual global net store growth.

On July 18, 2024, Domino's issued a press release announcing its Q2 2024 financial results, disclosing that it expects to fall 175 to 275 stores below its 2024 goal of 925+ net stores due to challenges in both openings and closures faced by DPE. Accordingly, the Company temporarily suspended its guidance of 1,100+ global net stores. On an earnings call held that same day, Chief Financial Officer Sandeep Reddy revealed that the long-term guidance announced at the 2023 Investor Day did not accurately reflect the extent of DPE's challenges with respect to new store openings and closures of existing stores.

On this news, Domino's stock price fell $64.23 per share, or 13.57%, to close at $409.04 per share on July 18, 2024.

Learn More About the Lawsuit

A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff is usually the investor or small group of investors who have the largest financial interest and who are also adequate and typical of the proposed class of investors. The lead plaintiff selects counsel to represent the lead plaintiff and the class and these attorneys, if approved by the court, are lead or class counsel. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. Communicating with any counsel is not necessary to participate or share in any recovery achieved in this case. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as a lead plaintiff through counsel of his/her choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an inactive class member.

Berger Montague, with offices in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Delaware, Washington, D.C., San Diego, San Francisco and Chicago, has been a pioneer in securities class action litigation since its founding in 1970. Berger Montague has represented individual and institutional investors for over five decades and serves as lead counsel in courts throughout the United States.

Contact:

Andrew Abramowitz, Senior Counsel

Berger Montague

(215) 875-3015

aabramowitz@bm.net
DENVER, Nov. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In response to the increasingly stringent global regulations on the cryptocurrency industry, SILEGX Exchange has implemented flexible strategic adjustments and technological innovations to maintain its leading position in the global market while safeguarding core interests of users. Recently, SILEGX announced a series of market adaptation strategies to address the ever-changing economic environment and regulatory policies. These initiatives not only enhance its competitiveness in the global cryptocurrency market but also further solidify its significant standing within the industry.





To navigate global economic uncertainties, SILEGX Exchange leverages its robust technological foundation and keen market insights to swiftly adjust its trading strategies. The volatility of the global economy often has profound impacts on the cryptocurrency market, particularly during periods of monetary policy adjustments or geopolitical upheavals. By integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics, SILEGX captures real-time market dynamics, assisting users in quickly adapting their investment decisions amid market changes. This technological edge not only boosts trading efficiency but also provides investors with powerful tools to cope with market fluctuations.

On the regulatory front, SILEGX Exchange demonstrates a strong adaptability, which is crucial in the current environment where regulatory policies on the cryptocurrency industry are tightening worldwide. Instead of taking a passive approach to compliance, SILEGX proactively engages in strategic planning to ensure its operations consistently align with the legal and regulatory requirements of different regions. By establishing a comprehensive compliance framework and implementing forward-looking policy adjustments, SILEGX effectively mitigates potential compliance risks arising from policy changes, ensuring the continuity and stability of its operations.

To better address the diverse regulatory requirements across countries, SILEGX has established compliance teams in several key markets, closely monitoring local regulatory changes and promptly adjusting operational strategies. Through collaboration with governments and regulatory bodies, SILEGX not only ensures legal compliance but also protects the security and privacy of user assets. As the global cryptocurrency market continues to evolve, SILEGX is poised to lead industry innovation and provide users with a safer and more efficient trading experience.



Media Contact:

Company Name: SILEGX CRYPTO TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD.

Company website: https://www.silegx.org

Contact Person: Maria

Email id: maria@silegx.org



Disclaimer: This content is provided by sponsor. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider. The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. Please conduct your own research and invest at your own risk.

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DENVER, Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recently, TwyAe Exchange announced that its next phase will focus on compliance, successfully obtaining the U.S. MSB license and a private equity financing license from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This significant milestone not only highlights the TwyAe commitment to compliant operations globally but also provides users with a safer and more trustworthy crypto trading environment.

The U.S. MSB license is a core certification for compliance in the cryptocurrency market, representing strict standards in anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) protocols. The acquisition by TwyAe of this license marks an enhancement in the platform legitimacy in major global markets, offering users a stronger sense of confidence. Users can rest assured that their transactions are conducted within a fully compliant framework, with asset security thoroughly safeguarded.

Beyond compliance, TwyAe excels in security. The platform employs a multi-layered security protection system, including advanced encryption technologies and cold storage solutions, to ensure user asset safety. Multi-factor authentication further enhances account protection, ensuring that user funds and data are effectively safeguarded in all environments.

TwyAe also undergoes regular third-party audits to ensure transparency and compliance. Users can track transaction dynamics throughout the process, significantly boosting their trust in the platform.

TwyAe understands that compliance is not just about meeting regulatory requirements but also about enhancing user experience. By obtaining dual MSB licenses in the U.S. and Canada, the platform has not only improved security but also ensured transaction transparency and legality. Users can trade with peace of mind, free from compliance concerns, which is a testament to the ongoing efforts by TwyAe.

Building on compliance, TwyAe has simplified trading processes and optimized the user interface, enabling users to complete transactions effortlessly, regardless of their location. This integration of compliance and user experience sets a new standard of trust in the cryptocurrency trading sector.

With the support of regulatory licenses, TwyAe has established itself as a model of trust in the global cryptocurrency market. Through stringent compliance procedures and robust security measures, the platform provides users with a safe and transparent trading environment. No matter how the market evolves, TwyAe will continue to prioritize compliance and security, driving healthy development in the cryptocurrency industry and offering a superior trading experience to users worldwide.

Media Contact:

Company Name: TwyAe Block Technology Ltd.

Company website: https://www.twyae.org/

Contact person: Kesuma

Email id: kesuma@twyae.org

Disclaimer: This content is provided by sponsor. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider. The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. Please conduct your own research and invest at your own risk.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Calibre Mining Corp. (TSX: CXB; OTCQX: CXBMF) (the Company or Calibre) is pleased to announce additional high-grade drill results from the Companys 2024 exploration program within the Limon Mine Complex (Limon), in Nicaragua. Todays results are located across the prolific Limon property ranging from the VTEM Gold Corridor, proximal to the main Limon Norte open pit, and to the west side of the Talavera gold zone, an area with no Mineral Resource.

Additional gold highlights (click here for plan map) from the 2024 Limon exploration program include:

The past producing underground Talavera gold zone:

12.57 g/t Au over 7.1 metres Estimated True Width (ETW) including 26.65 g/t Au over 3.3 metres ETW and4.29 g/t Au over 35.2 metres ETW, and 3.24 g/t Au over 11.76 metres in Hole LIM-24-4979;

See News Release dated September 10, 2024, for additional Talavera drill results; and

The past producing Talavera deposit west extension demonstrates 750 metres of strike extent beyond historic workings with drilling expected to positively impact Calibres year end 2024 Mineral Resource estimate with the declaration of a maiden Talavera Mineral Resource.



VTEM Gold Corridor:

12.96 g/t Au over 19.9 metres ETW and 10.59 g/t Au over 13.5 metres ETW and 9.97 g/t Au over 6.9 metres ETW in Hole LIM-24-4969;

Hole LIM-24-4969 discovered a new structure located 35 metres below surface, open for expansion in all directions;

5.39 g/t Au over 6.4 metres ETW in Hole LIM-24-4975;

14.64 g/t Au over 7.5 metres ETW including 31.88 g/t Au over 3.2 metres ETW in Hole LIM-24-4956;

23.36 g/t Au over 2.5 metres ETW including 29.84 g/t Au over 1.8 metres ETW in Hole LIM-24-4978;

6.78 g/t Au over 9.3 metres ETW including 17.32 g/t Au over 5.6 metres ETW in Hole LIM-24-4951;

16.34 g/t Au over 1.1 metres ETW including 25.65 g/t Au over 0.6 metres ETW in Hole LIM-24-4984;

8.59 g/t Au over 2.4 metres ETW in Hole LIM-24-4893;

5.67 g/t Au over 3.6 metres ETW including 8.96 g/t Au over 2.1 metres ETW in Hole LIM-24-4971;

25.50 g/t Au over 2.1 metres ETW in Hole LIM-24-4977;

4.64 g/t Au over 5.7 metres ETW including 13.55 g/t Au over 1.2 metres ETW in Hole LIM-24-5018; and

7.63 g/t Au over 2.0 metres ETW in Hole LIM-24-5012.

Limon Norte Open Pit (infill drilling)

14.22 g/t Au over 37.0 metres ETW including 66.14 g/t Au over 6.6 metres ETW in Hole LIM-24-4960; and

6.55 g/t Au over 10.0 metres ETW including 11.84 g/t Au over 5.2 metres ETW in Hole LIM-24-4957.

Note: Estimated True Widths reported for El Limon vein intercepts are based on 3D models of individual veins. Estimates are determined in cross-section by measuring the modelled vein thickness perpendicular to the vein margins and through the midpoint of the drill hole intercept. Percentage-based differences between individual ETWs and down-hole interval lengths will vary between drill holes depending on drill hole inclination, variations in vein strike and dip, and overall geometries of the different vein systems.

Darren Hall, President and Chief Executive Officer of Calibre, stated: These recent Limon drill results are among the best we have seen on the property since acquiring Limon in 2019. The exceptional gold potential across the property is demonstrated by extremely strong intercepts from both our Talavera underground target, located less than 2 km west of the Limon mill and close to surface intercepts along the VTEM Gold Corridor.

At Talavera, drilling has intersected gold mineralization 750 metres west of any previous underground development. When combining our drilling efforts since 2019 with historic underground drilling and a recent structural interpretation, we expect to define a meaningful maiden resource at Talavera. Along the VTEM Gold Corridor, recent results indicate exceptionally high grades over broad widths near surface. Notably, Hole LIM-24-4969 intersected a new structure parallel to Panteon Norte (12.96 g/t Au over 19.9 metres ETW) with mineralization occurring within 35 metres of surface.

In addition to the Hagie and Panteon Norte deposits in the VTEM Gold Corridor which, combined, host over 330,000 ounces of Mineral Reserves at approximately 8.0 g/t gold, the new structure parallel to Panteon Norte significantly enhances the potential for rapid resource growth at Limon. Based on our drilling efforts this year, we anticipate an increase in Mineral Resources at Limon and look forward to providing an updated Mineral Resource estimate in early 2025.

Link 1  Figures

Link 2  Drilling Tables

Quality Assurance/Quality Control

Calibre maintains a Quality Assurance/Quality Control ("QA/QC") program for all its exploration projects using industry best practices. Key elements of the QA/QC program include verifiable chain of custody for samples, regular insertion of certified reference standards and blanks, and duplicate check assays. Drill core is halved and shipped in sealed bags to Bureau Veritas in Managua, Nicaragua, an independent analytical services provider with global certifications for Quality Management Systems ISO 9001:2008, Environmental Management: ISO14001 and Safety Management OH SAS 18001 and AS4801. Prior to analysis, samples are prepared at Veritas Managua facility and then shipped to its analytical facility in Vancouver, Canada. Gold analyses are routinely performed via fire assay/AA finish methods. For greater precision of high-grade material, samples assaying 10 g/t Au or higher are re-assayed by fire assay with a gravimetric finish. Analyses for silver and other elements of interest are performed via Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP).

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release was approved by David Schonfeldt P.GEO, Calibre Minings Corporate Chief Geologist and a "Qualified Person" under National Instrument 43-101.

About Calibre

Calibre is a Canadian-listed, Americas focused, growing mid-tier gold producer with a strong pipeline of development and exploration opportunities across Newfoundland & Labrador in Canada, Nevada and Washington in the USA, and Nicaragua. Calibre is focused on delivering sustainable value for shareholders, local communities and all stakeholders through responsible operations and a disciplined approach to growth. With a strong balance sheet, a proven management team, strong operating cash flow, accretive development projects and district-scale exploration opportunities Calibre will unlock significant value.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Darren Hall

Darren Hall, President & Chief Executive Officer

For further information, please contact:

Ryan King

SVP Corporate Development & IR

T: 604.628.1012

E: calibre@calibremining.com

W: www.calibremining.com

Calibres head office is located at Suite 1560, 200 Burrard St., Vancouver, British Columbia, V6C 3L6.

X / Facebook / LinkedIn / YouTube

The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither reviewed nor accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information

This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements in this news release that address events or developments that we expect to occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are identified by words such as "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "project", "target", "potential", "schedule", "forecast", "budget", "estimate", assume, "intend", strategy, goal, objective, possible or "believe" and similar expressions or their negative connotations, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could", "should" or "might" occur. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond Calibre's control. For a listing of risk factors applicable to the Company, please refer to Calibre's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2023, its management discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2023, and other disclosure documents of the Company filed on the Companys SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

Calibre's forward-looking statements are based on the applicable assumptions and factors management considers reasonable as of the date hereof, based on the information available to management at such time. Calibre does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change other than as required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.
Dublin, Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Cancer Profiling Market - Forecasts from 2024 to 2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global cancer profiling market is anticipated to reach US$59.049 billion in 2029 from US$31.816 billion in 2024 at a CAGR of 13.17%



The major growth factors for this market are the rising global prevalence of cancer and the increasing use of biomarkers in tumor profiling. Increased cancer research, funding initiatives, and technical developments in profiling technologies are also driving the cancer profiling market's growth. Furthermore, the growing demand for personalized medicine and point-of-care diagnostics is projected to provide substantial possibilities for market participants throughout the forecast period.





Global Cancer Profiling Market Drivers:

The booming cancer prevalence has positively impacted the market growth.



Many cancers have a high chance of being cured if detected early and treated properly, and with the rising global prevalence of cancer, the demand for cancer profiling is also expected to show traction. Hence, between 30 and 50% of cancers can currently be prevented, and the cancer burden can also be reduced through early detection of cancer and appropriate treatment and care of patients who develop cancer.



According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2050, the global frequency of new cancer cases is estimated to reach 35 million. It will showcase a 77% growth over 20 million new cases reported in 2022. Major cancer types such as lung, breast, prostate & colorectal cancer account for a major portion of global prevalence and require constant treatment.



Additionally, the bolstering growth in the global population has further raised the overall scope of cancer profiling, especially among the older population, thereby adding more to the market expansion. As per the United Nations data, the global population stood at 8.6 billion in 2024, and for the next 50-60 years, it is expected to grow at a constant rate, thereby reaching up to 10.3 billion by the mid-2080s.



Favorable initiatives in cancer profiling are estimated to stimulate market growth.



To minimize the risk of cancer-related deaths and bolster the development of precision cancer medicine, various screening and biotech companies are initiating cancer profiling. For instance, in April 2024, Exact Sciences, in collaboration with Mayo Clinic, launched an initiative for hereditary cancer tests and genomic profiling. Hence, such an initiative will expand the data collection to allow clinicians and researchers to advance their careers in patient care.



Likewise, in April 2023, Agilent Technologies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Theragen Bio to boost precision oncology in South Korea. As per the agreement, Agilent would provide cancer genomic profiling design and software expertise for diving localized analysis and supporting treatment decisions.



Global Cancer Profiling Market Geographical Outlook

North America is estimated to constitute a remarkable market share.



The North American region is set to grow significantly and will account for a considerable market share fuelled by the growing efforts to bolster cancer precision treatment. It has led to various investments & research collaboration followed by new therapy selection tests in major regional economies, namely the United States. For instance, in February 2023, Exact Science Corp launched the "OncoExTraT" therapy selection test in the United States. It would provide next-generation sequencing and RNA & DNA-based genomic tests that would assist doctors in completing their patient's cancer analysis.



Additionally, the United States is also one of the major nations where the frequency of cancer is on the rise. For instance, as per the American Cancer Society, for 2024, the estimated strength of new cancer cases in the United States will reach 20.01 million, with several projected deaths reaching 6.11 million. Hence, this signifies a 2.6% growth in new cases and 1.7% in death frequency.



The flexibility of US government regulations and the availability of funds from various organizations, such as the National Institute of Health, has allowed researchers to invest more in the use of biomarkers in drug discovery, drug development, tumor detection, monitoring biological response to cancer therapy, and genetic studies for the identification of cancer-predisposed candidates. Other regional economies, namely Canada, are also showcasing a higher death rate for cancer. As per the Canada Cancer Society, in 2024, approximately 2.47 million Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer, and the death count will reach 88,100.



Global Cancer Profiling Market Restraints:

Technical issues regarding sample collection can restrain market growth.



One of the most immediate concerns regarding service providers is sample collection, followed by access to these samples. These samples must be subjected to strict quality control and maintained properly to avoid loss.



Furthermore, screening programs are helpful for only certain types of cancer and not all. They are considerably more difficult and resource-intensive than early detection since they require specialized equipment and committed staff. On the other hand, high capital investment, procedure costs, and storage concerns will likely hinder the expansion of the cancer profiling market. Poor regulatory standards, reimbursement options, and a low discovery-to-approval ratio are expected to challenge the cancer profiling market.



Global Cancer Profiling Key Market Developments

In June 2024,Guardant Health Inc. launched its tissue genomic profiling test "Guardant360 TissueNext," which covers 498 biomarkers and recommended genes. This enables oncologists to target therapies and treatment strategies for patients suffering from advanced-level cancer.

In March 2024, Transgene, BostonGene, and NEC Corporation extended their collaboration for the Phase I/II trial of TG4050. The companies would continue performing microenvironment analysis and tumor molecular profiling, which would provide next-generation sequencing data to researchers and bolster their efforts to develop therapeutic vaccines for neck and head cancer patients.

In January 2024,QIAGEN Digital Insights launched its "QIAGEN CLC Genomics Workbench Premium," which features light-speed technology and supports NGS analysis for stomach cancer. The solution is a game changer for comprehensive genomic profiling and would enable clinical labs to perform high-throughput next-generation sequencing for somatic applications.

Key Attributes:





Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 117 Forecast Period 2024 - 2029 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $31.81 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2029 $59.04 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 13.1% Regions Covered Global



Competitive Environment And Analysis

Major Players and Strategy Analysis

Market Share Analysis

Mergers, Acquisitions, Agreements, and Collaborations Competitive Dashboard Illumina, Inc. Qiagen N.V. NeoGenomics Laboratories, Inc. F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd Genomic Health GE Healthcare Siemens Healthineers Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Hologic Inc. Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc.



The Global Cancer Profiling market is segmented and analyzed as follows:

By Technology

Immunohistochemistry

In situ Hybridization

Next-Generation Sequencing

Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR)

Mass Spectrometry

Microarrays

Others

By Cancer Type

Breast Cancer

Lung Cancer

Colorectal Cancer

Prostate Cancer

Melanoma Cancer

Kidney Cancer

Liver Cancer

Others

By Application

Personalized Medicine

Oncological Diagnostics

Cancer Research

Biomarker Discovery

Treatment & Monitoring

Others

By Geography

North America

United States

Canada

Mexico

South America

Brazil

Argentina

Others

Europe

Germany

France

UK

Italy

Spain

Others

Middle East and Africa

Saudi Arabia

UAE

South Africa

Others

Asia Pacific

China

India

Japan

South Korea

Taiwan

Thailand

Indonesia

Others

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/fg83di

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Attachment
Dublin, Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Edge AI Market - Forecasts from 2024 to 2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global edge AI market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.54%, reaching a market size of US$59.978 billion in 2029 from US$23.571 billion in 2024.



Edge computing and artificial intelligence (AI) technology are combined to create edge AI. Multi-Access Edge Computing architecture provides networking, storage, and processing capabilities at the edge of the network, near end users and end devices. Virtual devices, as opposed to actual edge computers, are utilized in MEC Edge AI use cases to process camera video streams over a 5G connection.

For instance, in February 2023, Dublin City University in Europe and Cellnex Ireland, a European provider of wireless telecom infrastructure, worked together to develop a 5G-enabled smart campus. Cellnex installs a range of telecommunication infrastructure on the campuses as part of this partnership to enable Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) capabilities and guarantee 5G coverage throughout the main campus.



Global Edge AI Market Drivers:

Increasing demand for edge AI in the healthcare industry is anticipated to propel the market growth

The healthcare industry is seeing a sharp rise in the use of artificial intelligence applications because these technologies yield accurate results. Applications include electroceuticals, robotics-assisted surgery, image analysis, and virtual diagnostics. These instruments enable doctors to consult with patients remotely and assist healthcare organizations in analyzing health data. Additionally, edge-based cybersecurity is employed to protect private medical information.

The major market players are attempting to organize and create new technological advancements. Furthermore, the healthcare sector will benefit from the high performance and acceleration provided by the integration of this technology. For instance, Nvidia extended the use of its Edge Artificial Intelligence technology for robotics and healthcare in September 2022. The Nvidia IGX Platform aims to accelerate performance and extract real-time insights for use in both industrial and medical use cases.



Global Edge AI Market Geographical Outlook

North America is witnessing exponential growth during the forecast period

The rapid expansion of North American markets can be attributed to companies in the region adopting sophisticated technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning. Moreover, AI technology is getting national attention from the U.S. government as its main goal. For example, in March 2024, the AI solutions provider Innodisk demonstrated its expertise in integrating edge AI at NVIDIA GTC in the United States.

With a focus on delivering customizable AI solutions available to various industries, Innodisk actively shares its research and real-world edge AI implementations globally. The company highlights useful applications across industries by showcasing how its camera modules seamlessly integrate with NVIDIA's specialized AI visual technology.



Report Coverage:

Historical data & forecasts from 2022 to 2029

Growth Opportunities, Challenges, Supply Chain Outlook, Regulatory Framework, Customer Behaviour, and Trend Analysis

Competitive Positioning, Strategies, and Market Share Analysis

Revenue Growth and Forecast Assessment of segments and regions including countries



Key Attributes:





Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 120 Forecast Period 2024 - 2029 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $23.57 billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2029 $59.98 billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 20.5% Regions Covered Global



Company Profiling (Strategies, Products, Financial Information, and Key Developments)

Some of the key companies profiled in this Global Edge AI Market report include:

Microsoft Corporation

Alphabet Inc.

Amazon

IBM Corporation

Apple

Intel

Anagog Ltd.

Nutanix

Octonion SA.

Synaptics Incorporated

The Global Edge AI market is segmented and analyzed as follows:

By Component

Services

Solutions

By Data Sources

Mobile Data

Sensor Data

Biometric Data

Speech, Video

Image Recognition

By Application

Video Surveillance

Access Management

Autonomous Vehicles

Energy Management

Others

By Geography

North America USA Canada Mexico

South America Brazil Argentina Others

Europe UK Germany France Spain Others

Middle East and Africa Saudi Arabia Israel Others

Asia Pacific Japan China India South Korea Others



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/qlmsmv

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Attachment
VOTE FOR THE ARRANGEMENT TODAY TO SAVE YOUR INVESTMENT  EVERY VOTE COUNTS

Leading Independent Proxy Advisory Firms ISS and Glass Lewis recommend Unitholders vote FOR the Arrangement

Independent Committee warns Unitholders there are significant concerns for the future of the REIT if the Arrangement is not completed and reiterates its recommendation for Unitholders to vote FOR the Arrangement

Unitholders who have questions or need assistance in voting should contact Laurel Hill Advisory Group by telephone at 1-877-452-7184 (North American Toll Free) or 1-416- 304-0211 (Outside North America), or by email at assistance@laurelhill.com

EDMONTON, Alberta, Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Melcor Real Estate Investment Trust (Melcor REIT or the REIT) is reiterating its support for the previously announced plan of arrangement (the Arrangement) with Melcor Developments Ltd. (MRD), whereby, among other steps, the outstanding trust units of the REIT will be redeemed in exchange for $4.95 per unit held in cash (the Consideration), through a series of steps outlined in the management information circular (Circular) mailed to unitholders of the REIT (Unitholders), filed under the REITs profile on SEDAR+ (http://sedarplus.com) and on the REITs website at https://melcorreit.ca/special-meeting/.

THE ARRANGEMENT IS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF UNITHOLDERS AND SUPPORTED BY BOTH LEADING PROXY ADVISORY FIRMS REVIEWING THE TRANSACTION

The Independent Committee reiterates its recommendation that the Arrangement is the best outcome for Unitholders. In coming to this recommendation, the independent committee of trustees of the REIT (the Independent Committee), together with its experienced and qualified financial and legal advisors, considered various alternatives reasonably available to the REIT, including the continued execution of the REITs strategic business plan, sales of assets and soliciting other potential buyers of the REIT and/or of the REITs assets.



In addition to the Independent Committees recommendation, BOTH leading independent proxy advisory firms  Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) and Glass Lewis & Co. (Glass Lewis)  have recommended that Unitholders vote FOR the Arrangement.





UNITHOLDERS HAVE A CLEAR CHOICE; DERISKING AT A SIGNIFICANT PREMIUM OR UNCERTAIN FUTURE, SIGNIFICANT HEADWINDS, AND NO VISIBLE PATH TO DISTRIBUTION RESUMPTION

If the Arrangement is approved, the outcome is clear; Unitholders will receive the all-cash consideration at a significant premium to recent trading levels, providing Unitholders with certainty of value, immediate liquidity, and removes the risks associated with the REIT remaining an independent public entity, to which there is no certainty the REITs trading price will be able to get to, remain at or exceed $4.95 over any reasonable period. 

If the dissidents are successful in having the Arrangement resolution voted down at the special meeting of Unitholders (the Meeting), the outcome is less clear. The Independent Committee warns Unitholders that non-approval comes with significant risks, including:

Impact on Trading Price of the Units : The trading price of the REITs Units will be uncertain and could return to trading levels prior to when the Arrangement was announced. The trading price of the REITs Units could be further impacted due to the REITs diminished liquidity and the risk that further value-maximizing transactions could be prevented by dissident Unitholders.

: The trading price of the REITs Units will be uncertain and could return to trading levels prior to when the Arrangement was announced. The trading price of the REITs Units could be further impacted due to the REITs diminished liquidity and the risk that further value-maximizing transactions could be prevented by dissident Unitholders. Viability of the REIT : The REIT faces significant risks to its viability as a publicly traded real estate investment trust as a result of the REITs operating environment, increased costs of tenant inducements and capital expenditures, limited existing liquidity profile, mortgage maturities, credit facility constraints, and headwinds associated with accessing additional debt and equity capital. The REIT will continue to face these risks should the Arrangement not be completed.

: The REIT faces significant risks to its viability as a publicly traded real estate investment trust as a result of the REITs operating environment, increased costs of tenant inducements and capital expenditures, limited existing liquidity profile, mortgage maturities, credit facility constraints, and headwinds associated with accessing additional debt and equity capital. The REIT will continue to face these risks should the Arrangement not be completed. No Prospect of Resuming Distributions : Should the Arrangement not be completed, it is unlikely the REIT will be in a financial position to reinstitute distributions in the near to medium term, as a result of the ongoing liquidity and capital constraints.

: Should the Arrangement not be completed, it is unlikely the REIT will be in a financial position to reinstitute distributions in the near to medium term, as a result of the ongoing liquidity and capital constraints. Risks and Implications Associated with Individual Asset Sales: The dissidents have suggested that selling the REITs assets on an asset-by-asset basis would result in a higher ultimate price to be received by Unitholders, as opposed to the cash consideration under the Arrangement. However, the strategy to liquidate the REITs assets was carefully reviewed during the strategic review process and was deemed not to be a viable path. Not only has the REIT had limited success in selling assets listed for sale to date, the Independent Committees advisors have suggested that it could take years to fully liquidate the REITs portfolio for after tax proceeds to Unitholders that are unknown and subject to market and liquidity risk and material transaction costs. Even were it possible for the assets to be immediately sold for IFRS values, the tax implications and costs of such sales must be factored into any comparison to the $4.95 cash per unit transaction price.



Importantly, the cost of these properties for tax purposes would need to be taken into account if assessing the dissidents proposed liquidation strategy. The chart below includes an aggregated summary of the REIT assets estimated and unaudited tax attributes as of the date of this release:

Lands

Tax Cost(1) Buildings

Tax Cost(1) Buildings

Tax Depreciation Claimed(1) Buildings

Undepreciated Tax Cost(1) $132,000,000 $373,000,000 $148,000,000 $225,000,000 (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest million.

Given these tax attributes, the REIT expects that an asset sale strategy would materially reduce many Unitholders proceeds on an after-tax basis.

The above risks are only some of the reasons the Independent Committee recommends you vote FOR the Arrangement. The Independent Committee urges all Unitholders to also refer to the more extensive list of reasons contained in the Circular.

VOTING IS FAST AND EASY - VOTE FOR THE ARRANGEMENT TODAY



Unitholders are urged to vote their Units TODAY in advance of the Meeting. Even if you have never voted before, every vote will count no matter how many Units you own. Unitholders can switch their vote at any time to vote FOR the Arrangement. Only the latest-dated proxy counts.





The Independent Committee and the Board (with cross-trustees abstaining) continue to recommend Unitholders vote FOR the Arrangement at the Meeting. The Meeting will be held at the Windsor Room, Third Floor, Manulife Place, 10180 101st Street, Edmonton, Alberta, T5J 3V5 on November 26, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. (Mountain Time).

Unitholders are encouraged to vote well in advance of the proxy cut-off which is at 9:30 a.m. (Mountain Time) on November 22, 2024.

QUESTIONS AND VOTING ASSISTANCE

Voting Unitholders who have questions or need assistance in voting should contact Melcor REITs strategic unitholder advisor and proxy solicitation agent, Laurel Hill Advisory Group, by telephone at 1-877-452-7184 (North American Toll Free) or 1-416-304-0211 (Outside North America), or by email at assistance@laurelhill.com.

About Melcor REIT

Melcor REIT is an unincorporated, open-ended real estate investment trust. Melcor REIT owns, acquires, manages and leases quality retail, office and industrial income-generating properties in western Canadian markets. Its portfolio is currently made up of interests in 36 properties representing approximately 3.072 million square feet of gross leasable area located across Alberta and in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Forward Looking Statement Cautions and Disclaimers:

This news release includes forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as may, will, should, expect, intend, plan, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict, potential, continue, and by discussions of strategies that involve risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the REITs control. In this news release, forward-looking information includes, among other things, statements relating to the Meeting proceeding as described herein or at all, expectations with respect to the timing and outcome of the Arrangement, the anticipated benefits of the Arrangement, the timing of the Meeting and the results thereof, the risks associated with non-completion of the Arrangement, the potential impact on the REITs trading price, ability to resume distributions and viability as a publicly traded real estate investment trust if the Arrangement does not proceed, risks and implications associated with the REIT conducting individual asset sales, including tax implications on Unitholders, anticipated net proceeds to be received by Unitholders in various alternatives, tax implications on the REIT and Unitholders of asset sales in the future, the time required to liquidate the REITs portfolio or the success thereof, and ability of the REIT to sell assets in the future and the price of any such sales. The forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the REIT, including with respect to the structure of the Arrangement and all other statements that are not historical facts. The timing and completion of the Arrangement is subject to customary closing conditions, termination rights and other risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, required regulatory, court, and Unitholder approvals. Although management of the REIT believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any transaction, including the Arrangement, will occur or that it will occur on the timetable or on the terms and conditions contemplated in this news release. The Arrangement could be modified, restructured or terminated. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect the REIT are included in reports on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed through the SEDAR+ website (www.sedarplus.ca).

By its nature, such forward-looking information necessarily involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities in future periods of the REIT to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and neither the REIT nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any forward-looking information, and no one has any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or such other factors which affect this information, except as required by law.
Dublin, Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Air Electrode Battery Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis by Type (Rechargeable, Fuel Cell, Non-rechargeable), Application (Medical Devices, Transportation), Region: 2025-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global air electrode battery market size was valued at USD 1.51 billion in 2024, and is anticipated to reach USD 2.82 billion by 2030. The market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.2% from 2025 to 2030. Rising demand for air electrode battery among the end-use markets, along with increasing R&D activities focusing on the advancement of battery technology, is likely to drive the market over the forecast period.







The rising utility of battery energy storage systems, increasing adoption of electronic gadgets, and the growing deployment of electric vehicles are among the key factors positively influencing the industry landscape.



Industry participants are funding R&D activities in order to enhance the technical and economic aspects of air electrode battery manufacturing, offering lower battery cost, longer life, and better performance than conventional batteries. Companies are adopting several strategies, such as new product offerings, joint ventures, collaborations, and mergers & acquisitions, to enhance their foothold in the industry.



Lower energy efficiency and shorter life cycle are among the key factors expected to hinder the market growth. In addition, the coronavirus outbreak has directly impacted the industry supply chain. Electrode material producers, raw material suppliers, and battery pack manufacturers are estimated to suffer a huge setback, resulting in delayed manufacturing and marketing activities for the market.



Air Electrode Battery Market Report Highlights

Fuel cell is anticipated to be the fastest-growing battery type segment over the forecast period owing to its widespread usage in transportation and emergency, stationary, and portable backup power applications.

The rechargeable segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.3% from 2025 to 2030, driven by the rising demand for energy storage systems and the continuous advancements in rechargeable battery technologies.

The transportation application segment is anticipated to expand at the fastest CAGR over the forecast period owing to the growing adoption of fuel cell electric vehicles

The military devices segment is projected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 11.1% over the forecast period.

The Asia Pacific is projected to expand at the fastest growth rate over the forecast period. Proliferating electronic manufacturing market due to the ever-increasing consumer base, along with growing applications in major economies, such as China, Japan, and India, is anticipated to bolster the regional market growth.

Why should you buy this report?

Comprehensive Market Analysis: Gain detailed insights into the global market across major regions and segments

Competitive Landscape: Explore the market presence of key players worldwide

Future Trends: Discover the pivotal trends and drivers shaping the future of the global market

Actionable Recommendations: Utilize insights to uncover new revenue streams and guide strategic business decisions

This report addresses:

Market estimates and forecasts from 2018 to 2030

Growth opportunities and trend analyses

Segment and regional revenue forecasts for market assessment

Competition strategy and market share analysis

Product innovation listing for you to stay ahead of the curve

The leading players in the Air Electrode Battery market include:

Phinergy

Mullen Technologies, Inc.

Poly Plus Battery Company

Tesla Inc.

Hitachi Maxell Ltd.

Volkswagen AG

Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd.

BASF Global

Panasonic Corporation

LG Chem Ltd.

Key Attributes

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 90 Forecast Period 2024-2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $1.51 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $2.82 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 11.2% Regions Covered Global

Key Topics Covered

Chapter 1. Methodology and Scope

1.1. Market Segmentation & Scope

1.2. Market Definition

1.3. Information Procurement

1.4. Information Analysis

1.5. Market Formulation & Data Visualization

1.6. Data Validation & Publishing

Chapter 2. Executive Summary

2.1. Market Insights

2.2. Segmental Outlook

2.3. Competitive Outlook

Chapter 3. Air Electrode Battery Market Variables, Trends, & Scope

3.1. Global Air Electrode Battery Market Outlook

3.2. Industry Value Chain Analysis

3.3. Technology Overview

3.4. Average Price Trend Analysis

3.5. Supply-Demand GAP Analysis, 2024

3.6. Regulatory Framework

3.7. Market Dynamics

3.8. Porter's Five Forces Analysis

3.9. PESTEL Analysis

Chapter 4. Air Electrode Battery Market: Type Outlook Estimates & Forecasts

4.1. Air Electrode Battery Market: Type Movement Analysis, 2024 & 2030

4.1.1. Rechargeable

4.1.2. Fuel Cells

4.1.3. Non-rechargeable

Chapter 5. Air Electrode Battery Market: Application Outlook Estimates & Forecasts

5.1. Air Electrode Battery Market: Application Movement Analysis, 2024 & 2030

5.1.1. Transportation

5.1.2. Medical Devices

5.1.3. Military Devices

5.1.4. Others

Chapter 6. Air Electrode Battery Market Regional Outlook Estimates & Forecasts

6.1. Regional Snapshot

6.2. Air Electrode Battery Market: Regional Movement Analysis, 2024 & 2030

6.3. North America

6.4. Europe

6.5. Asia Pacific

6.6. Latin America

6.7. Middle East & Africa

Chapter 7. Competitive Landscape

7.1. Recent Developments & Impact Analysis, by Key Market Participants

7.2. Vendor Landscape

7.3. Competitive Dynamics

7.4. Company Profiles/Listing

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ccq7kc

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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Culemborg, Netherlands , Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TTNL, a leader in data management and hybrid multi-cloud solutions, today announces the strategic alliance with Erik Sterck GmbH, an IT & Datacenter Specialist headquartered in Leonberg, Germany.



TTNL

Through this alliance, TTNL Group strengthens its position as a leading European IT solutions provider, expanding its presence in the Dutch and German markets. Meanwhile, Erik Sterck GmbHs clients gain access to TTNLs modern hybrid cloud platform and complementary Managed Services. This combination drives international growth and innovation, offering customers enhanced flexibility, cost efficiency, and business continuity through an integrated datacenter infrastructure, hybrid cloud, and managed services

A Unified Vision for Europes Digital Future

Erik Sterck GmbH and TTNL Group share a unified vision of empowering businesses in Europe to embrace the next generation of IT and cloud capabilities. Together, the two companies will provide seamless and secure IT infrastructure management, hybrid cloud solutions, and future-proof IT consulting to help organizations meet the demands of an increasingly digital and interconnected world. By combining Erik Sterck GmbHs deep expertise in data center architecture, IT automation, and consulting with TTNLs hybrid cloud platform and managed services capabilities, the alliance offers an end-to-end portfolio designed to meet the diverse needs of enterprises across industries.

Erik Sterck GmbH

Founded in 2014 by Erik Sterck and Oliver Batz, Erik Sterck GmbH has established itself as a leading provider of data center infrastructure and cloud services for medium to large enterprises across Germany. Headquartered in Leonberg, with branches in Hamburg, Cologne, and Munich, the IT solutions provider offers expert advice on data center environments, cloud-native services, and cybersecurity. Erik Sterck, CEO of Erik Sterck GmbH remarks: "After a decade of consistent growth, this next step represents an exciting new chapter for us. We share a common vision and are convinced to realize synergies for both companies but more importantly: our clients." Oliver Batz, co-founder of Erik Sterck GmbH added: "Forming this alliance with TTNL Group is a game-changer. Our joint capabilities will allow us to deliver comprehensive cloud solutions, that drive innovation and business transformation across industries. The addition of cloud managed services will further enhance our broadened portfolio."

Michel Luxembourg, CEO of TTNL Group, commented: "In Erik Sterck GmbH, we have found a partner that not only shares our commitment to excellence in IT services but also brings a deep understanding of the German market. We share a diverse and sophisticated customer base, along with established relationships with key vendors and partners. This alliance allows us to prove our cloud and managed services capabilities in the German market, hence, driving our vision as a European IT Powerhouse."

New Datacenter Location

Furthermore, TTNL announced to expand its datacenter footprint with a new point of presence to Frankfurt, Germany  creating a pan-European Tier-3 Datacenter and cloud network. Services will include co-location and cloud offerings. In an era of increasing digital transformation, European enterprises face a pressing need to balance security, compliance, and innovation in their cloud strategies. By offering fully managed hybrid cloud environments from multiple points of presence in Europe, the partnership between Erik Sterck and TTNL ensures that businesses are able to stay ahead of the competition without being constrained by a shortage of internal resources. This service is particularly vital for companies looking to scale, modernize, or secure their IT environments without having to continuously search for specialized talent in a highly competitive labor market.

About Erik Sterck GmbH

The owner-managed Erik Sterck GmbH, headquartered in Leonberg, Baden-Wurttemberg, advises companies in the entire data center environment as well as on cloud-native services and cybersecurity. Another focus is on the automation of operations services. From consulting workshops to implementation, Erik Sterck GmbH is available as a contact partner and implements projects in both virtual server environments and container-virtualized environments.

In total, the company supports almost 200 customers from all sectors, primarily in the German SME sector. Erik Sterck GmbH has received numerous awards for its work, most recently Nutanix "Best Technical Partner" (2020), Rubrik Global Award "Cyber Recovery Partner of the Year" (2023) and Arctic Wolf Networks "DACH Partner of the Year" (2024). In addition to its headquarters in Leonberg, the system house is represented throughout Germany with branches in Cologne, Munich and Hamburg. www.eriksterck.de

About TTNL

Dedicated, result driven and dynamic. That is TTNL, the IT partner that goes the extra mile to realize your ambitions. With our strategic data solutions we guarantee continuity and optimal data infrastructure.

TTNL with its headquarters in Culemborg (Netherlands) is specialized in data management in the hybrid multi-cloud. The focus is on optimizing these complex hybrid multi-cloud environments both technically and economically and to ensure business critical data is available and protected. The company has built up strategic partnerships with companies like IBM, Red Hat, Pure Storage, NetApp, Lenovo, Dell Technologies, VMware, Equinix, Varonis, Veeam and Rubrik.

www.ttnl.io

###

Media Contact

Bjorn Peeters

TTNL

+31 (0)345 547040

https://ttnl.io/



TTNL





















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Dallas, TX, Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB), in collaboration with the University of North Texas at Dallas (UNT Dallas) and Tom Thumb / Albertsons, will host a Thanksgiving food distribution for families in need on Saturday, November 23, 2024. Open to the public, this event will occur on the UNT Dallas campus at 7300 University Hills Blvd. in Southern Dallas from 9 a.m. to noon or until supplies last. Each participating family will receive a holiday turkey and approximately 60 lbs. of nutritious food.

Tom Thumb/Albertsons and UNT Dallas are teaming up once again with the North Texas Food Bank to spread holiday cheer and support our neighbors in Southern Dallas, said Trisha Cunningham, President and CEO of NTFB. Our partners are deeply dedicated to combating food insecurity in North Texas. Their generosity is vital to our mission to bridge the hunger gap, especially during this critical season.

A recent study highlights the urgency of the situation, indicating that Texas has become the leader in food insecurity, surpassing California. With a staggering food insecurity rate of 16.4%, nearly 5 million residents are affectedover a third of whom are children. In NTFBs 13-county service area, around 778,000 individuals face food insecurity, translating to 1 in 7 people, with nearly 286,860 being children. Dallas County accounts for over 50% of NTFB's food-insecure population and ranks sixth in the nation for total food-insecure individuals and fifth for food-insecure children.

A long-time ally of NTFB, Tom Thumb/Albertsons is committed to addressing local food insecurity through its Recipe for Change initiative. The company continuously champions innovative programs and partnerships to help break the cycle of hunger, donating millions of pounds of food annually to local food banks and pantries. Recently, Albertsons Companies announced $9 million in multiyear grants to three nonprofits dedicated to food security, with NTFB among the recipients.

We have a long-standing commitment to hunger relief and are pleased to collaborate with the North Texas Food Bank and UNT Dallas in helping to ease the financial burden that the holidays present for many families, said Christy Lara, Tom Thumb / Albertsons Director of Public Relations. We are dedicated to fueling innovative programs that aim not just to feed our neighbors in need but also to help break the cycle of hunger.

Participants in the mobile distribution do not need to register in advance but must have a vehicle for the drive-through event. Food will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. While no identification is required, attendees will be asked to provide their family size and zip code.

UNT Dallas has served as a critical partner of the North Texas Food Bank since 2020, regularly hosting mobile food distributions on campus alongside NTFB. Each month, UNT Dallas hosts a free, drive-through food distribution event to provide relief to students and the Southern Dallas community members in need of support. Hundreds of students and faculty volunteer for the monthly campus food distributions. UNT Dallas also established the Trailblazers Care Pantry, an on-campus resource for students that offers non-perishable and perishable food items, hygiene products, and more to UNT Dallas students. The pantry also includes a Career Closet that provides clothing items to students to use for internships and job interviews.

The UNT Dallas-NTFB partnership exemplifies the universitys mission to strengthen communities. Together, we are committed to providing nutritional support to our students, employees and Southern Dallas neighbors, said Dr. Warren von Eschenbach, interim president of UNT Dallas. We care deeply about their well-being and hope the food they receive at our monthly mobile pantries and this special Thanksgiving event helps them and their families during times of need.

Cunningham emphasized, The holidays can be particularly tough for those struggling to make ends meet. Food is not just nourishment; it fosters connection, celebration, and time with loved ones. When its absent, the impact goes beyond hunger. The North Texas Food Bank and our partners strive to ensure people have the resources to connect with their loved ones.

In addition to the Thanksgiving distribution at UNT Dallas, NTFB purchased and distributed approximately 30,000 turkeys through its network of about 500 food pantries and organizations. Neighbors seeking food assistance can visit https://ntfb.org/our-programs/get-food-assistance/find-a-food-pantry/ to find a food pantry nearby that provides food and often other services, or they can find mobile food distributions across North Texas at https://ntfb.org/mobile-pantry/. Neighbors can also contact the North Texas Food Bank to learn about Senior Programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

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About Albertsons/ Tom Thumb

Albertsons Companies is a leading food and drug retailer in the United States. As of September 7, 2024, the Company operated 2,267 retail food and drug stores with 1,726 pharmacies, 405 associated fuel centers, 22 dedicated distribution centers and 19 manufacturing facilities. The Company operates stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia under more than 20 well known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets and Balducci's Food Lovers Market. The Company is committed to helping people across the country live better lives by making a meaningful difference, neighborhood by neighborhood. In 2023, along with the Albertsons Companies Foundation, the Company contributed more than $350 million in food and financial support, including more than $35 million through our Nourishing Neighbors Program to ensure those living in our communities and those impacted by disasters have enough to eat.

About UNT Dallas

The newest member of the UNT System, the University of North Texas at Dallas (UNT Dallas) is the city's only public four-year university. Located in southern Dallas and serving more than 3,400 students, UNT Dallas offers students a world-class, innovative education focused on career readiness and socioeconomic mobility. UNT Dallas is passionately committed to developing, nurturing and empowering the next generation of servant leaders in North Texas. For more information about the University of North Texas at Dallas, visit untdallas.edu.

About the North Texas Food Bank

The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) is a leading nonprofit organization that fights hunger and provides children, seniors and families in North Texas access to nutritious food. For over 40 years, we have been at the forefront of hunger relief, committed to ensuring that no one in our community lacks access to healthy food. Our extensive network of 500 food pantries and organizations, volunteers, and donors enables us to deliver more than 100 million nutritious meals annually to those in need. Beyond just addressing hunger, we focus on nourishing lives by offering nutrition education, investing in our network partners, innovating solutions to eliminate hunger and advocating for policies that tackle the root causes of food insecurity.

Our dedication to excellence is reflected in our 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, highlighting our strong governance, integrity, and financial stability. Additionally, we are honored to be ranked 89th on Forbes' 2023 Top 100 Charities in America. As a proud member of Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger relief network, we are committed to ensuring everyone in North Texas has the nourishment needed to lead a healthy and fulfilling life. For more information, visit www.ntfb.org or connect with us on social media @NorthTexasFoodBank.

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SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Savage welcomes Josh Anders as the global supply chain companys new chief financial officer (CFO). Anders has served in financial leadership roles in both public and privately held companies and has extensive energy industry experience. As CFO, he will serve as a member of Savages Enterprise Leadership Team.

Joshs background in relevant industries and as a CFO in other businesses make him an excellent fit for Savage, said Jeff Roberts, Savage president and chief operating officer. Hes a strong financial leader and strategic partner whos collaborative and results-driven, and were excited to have him join our team.

Im honored and humbled to join the Savage team. With its strong foundation and diversified businesses, Savage is uniquely positioned to improve the quality of life for people across the globe, said Josh Anders, Savage chief financial officer. I look forward to fostering Savages distinctive culture, defined by the Vision and Legacy, and working with this talented team to build long-term value.

Prior to joining Savage, Anders was president and CFO at Sage Natural Resources LLC, a private equity backed portfolio company of Edge Natural Resources, with upstream and midstream operations in the Eagle Ford and Barnett shale plays. Anders also served as CFO at Samson Resources II, LLC, a private upstream oil and gas company, and as executive vice president and CFO at Adams Resources & Energy, Inc., a midstream-focused company with crude oil marketing, transportation and storage operations. Additionally, Anders was vice president and controller at Southwestern Energy Company and vice president, business development and treasurer at Beryl Oil and Gas LP.

Anders earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Louisiana State University and an Executive MBA from Texas A&M. Hes also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a United States Army National Guard veteran. He and his family will be relocating to Salt Lake City from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

About Savage

Established in 1946, Savage is a privately held, global provider of supply chain infrastructure and solutions, with more than 4,000 Team Members in about 200 locations across the United States, Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. We strive to always Do the Right Thing, Find a Better Way and Make a Difference. Our Customers and Partners count on us to safely and sustainably move and manage what is essential to their business so they can Feed the World, Power Our Lives, and Sustain the Planet. savageco.com

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DALLAS, Texas, Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a heartfelt demonstration of community support and teamwork, Associa offices across the country have joined forces for their Big Bike Giveaway, assembling and donating bikes to children and families in need. The initiative, which kicked off last week and continues into this week, highlights Associas commitment to giving back and creating meaningful connections within the communities it serves.

On November 7, the team at Associa Principal Management Group of Houston gathered to assemble 75 bikes in just four hours. These bikes will be distributed through the Houston Salvation Armys Angel Tree Program, bringing smiles to underprivileged children and their families throughout the area.

"I'm always proud of our teams hard work and dedication, but today, I'm especially moved by the positive impact they continue to make, said Harold Albaugh, Branch Vice President of Associa PMG in Houston. Their commitment to giving back and supporting the Houston community truly shines."

The momentum continued November 13 at Associas Client Shared Services Center in Richardson, Texas, where over 400 bikes were assembled with the help of employees and more than 10 partner organizations, including Toys for Tots and the Childrens Advocacy Center of Collin County. The event featured news coverage, food, and raffle prizes, fostering a celebratory atmosphere as employees came together to make a difference.

The Big Bike Giveaway is part of Associas ongoing philanthropic efforts to support underprivileged families and foster community engagement. This initiative exemplifies the companys core values of teamwork, generosity, and social responsibility.

These events reflect what Associa is all about: creating opportunities to bring people together and make a meaningful impact, said President and CEO, John Carona. Through efforts like the Big Bike Giveaway, we are not only helping children and families but also building stronger, more connected communities.

The Big Bike Giveaway will continue in various locations across the country over the next week, ensuring that even more children will have the chance to experience the joy and freedom of owning a bike.

About Associa:



With more than 300 branch offices across North America, Associa is building the future of community for more than 7.5 million residents worldwide. Our 15,000+ team members lead the industry with unrivaled education, expertise, and trailblazing innovation. For more than 45 years, Associa has brought positive impact and meaningful value to communities. Through Associa Supports Kids, Associa is committed to promoting the health, safety, and well-being of children and families across the country. To learn more, please visit www.associaonline.com.

About Associa Supports Kids (ASK):

Associa Supports Kids is a philanthropic initiative by Associa that promotes the health, safety, and well-being of children and families. Through programs that provide resources, education, and activities, ASK is dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of children and their communities.

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Oklahoma City, OK, Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dickeys Barbecue Pit invites the community to support future leaders while enjoying a great meal. Join us in helping students from Putnam City North High School as we host a special fundraiser for the school's Leadership Development Institute (LDI).

On Tuesday, November 19, from 11 AM to 9 PM, the Dickeys location at 7800 N. May Ave, Oklahoma City, OK, will donate 5% of all sales to support the Putnam City North LDI when customers use the code PUTNAM at checkout. Orders can be placed in-store or online at Dickeys.com.

In addition, 5% of sales for any Holiday Meal or Catering pre-orders placed on this day will also benefit the institute. Funds raised will enable Putnam City North students to attend their annual leadership retreat, offering them the chance to grow, lead, and gain valuable skills for their future endeavors.

As a proud Putnam City North graduate, Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., is deeply committed to giving back and empowering young leaders through opportunities like this fundraiser. Supporting the next generation of changemakers is at the heart of what we do, said Dickey. Were honored to help ensure that students from Putnam City North have the resources and experiences needed to thrive.

How to Participate:

Visit Dickeys Barbecue Pit at 7800 N. May Ave, OKC, on November 19, and mention the code PUTNAM at checkout.

Order online at Dickeys.com using the code PUTNAM.

Pre-order a Holiday Meal or Catering to further support the fundraiser.

Dont miss this chance to enjoy authentic Texas-style barbecue while contributing to the development of local student leaders.

About Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Founded in 1941 by The Dickey Family, Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. is the worlds largest barbecue concept and continues as a third-generation family-run business. For over 80 years, Dickeys Barbecue Pit has served millions with its signature Legit. Texas. Barbecue. Slow-smoked over hickory wood-burning pits, Dickeys barbecued meats are paired with a variety of southern sides. Committed to authentic barbecue, Dickeys never takes shortcutsbecause real barbecue cant be rushed.

With over 866 restaurants across eight concepts in the U.S. and several countries, Dickeys Barbecue Franchise and Dickeys Restaurant Brands continues to grow under the leadership of Roland Dickey, Jr., CEO of Dickeys Capital Group, and Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickeys Barbecue Pit, Inc.

Dickeys has been recognized on Newsweeks 2022 "Americas Favorite Restaurant Chains" list, Nations Restaurant News 2024 top fast-casual brands for value, and USA Todays 2021 Readers Choice Awards. The brand has also ranked in the Top 20 of Fast Casuals Top 100 Movers and Shakers for four of the past five years. Additional accolades include Entrepreneur's Top 500 Franchise and Hospitality Technologys Industry Heroes list. The brand has been featured by Fox News, Forbes, Franchise Times, The Wall Street Journal, and People Magazine.

For more information, visit www.dickeys.com. For information about becoming a franchise partner, visit www.dickeysfranchise.com.

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NEW YORK, N.Y., Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the face of significant setbacks and losses in the 2024 national election, women and gender-expansive leaders still have reason to celebrate important individual wins and historic gains across the country. Notably, women have achieved majority representation in the state legislatures of Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico. At the forefront of this movement to build womens political power, especially in our statehouses, is Vote Run Lead, the largest and most diverse nonprofit dedicated to training women to run for office, which is proudly marking its 10-year anniversary with an undaunted vision for whats to come.

Weve spent the past decade daring for a better future, and now through tremendous hard work, we are closer than ever, noted Erin Vilardi, founder and CEO of Vote Run Lead. Vote Run Lead was born out of a bold dream of training women to lead in public office. In the 10 years since launching Vote Run Lead, weve grown into a vibrant, powerful community of women and gender-expansive leaders reshaping government at all levels. The historic gains we are celebrating today  and the thousands of leaders weve trained  show how far weve come and the bright future were building together.

Since 2014, Vote Run Lead has trained women and gender-expansive individuals from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and two U.S. territories. In 2016, just one week after the November election, a record-breaking 1,000+ individuals signed up for Vote Run Leads trainings. In 2019, Vote Run Lead held its largest-ever one-day training  simultaneously in 20 cities across the United States. In 2021, Vote Run Lead launched its landmark initiative, Run/51, which focuses on transforming key state legislatures to achieve 51% representation with women and gender-nonconforming leaders. In 2023, Vote Run Lead launched its affiliate organization, Vote Run Lead Action, and tripled its reach throughout the U.S.

We are very proud that in the November 2024 election, we had 541 Vote Run Lead Action alumni on ballots across 42 states and Washington, D.C.  the highest number in our history, Vilardi said. With a 68% general election win rate, these victories continue to shape a government that is more reflective of the population it represents.

Some Vote Run Lead alumni who have spearheaded transformative work over the years include:

Alicka Ampry-Samuel, former New York City council member, addressed the housing crisis and advocated for working mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic. She now continues her affordable housing focus as a regional administrator for the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Kim Schofield, serving in the Georgia General Assembly since 2017, has legislated on protecting healthcare access, womens rights, and safe, affordable housing across the state.

Nikema Williams, U.S. representative and former Georgia state senator, champions voting rights, reproductive justice, social justice, economic justice and healthcare.

To mark its 10-year anniversary, Vote Run Lead is celebrating its alumni and milestones on its Vote Run Lead website (voterunlead.org), and launching a campaign to raise $1 million in new donations and pledges to continue the hard work of achieving equal representation and a womens majority. There is also an opportunity to meet some of the voters, candidates and leaders blazing a trail to achieve a truly reflective democracy. Some examples are alumni Athena Hollins, Minnesota state representative and majority whip, and Allie Phillips, a 2024 candidate for Tennessee state representative, who both share their experiences training with Vote Run Lead.

To learn more about Vote Run Leads impact and to support the VRL10 anniversary, visit www.voterunlead.org. To sign up for Vote Run Leads free resources and campaign training modules, visit vrlhq.org. To see how close (or how far) your states representation to being reflective of its population, visit stateofmydemocracy.org. To learn more about training events and to get help running for office, visit voterunleadaction.org.

Vote Run Lead trains women to run for office and win. Vote Run Lead is a nonprofit training powerhouse focused on improving womens representation in Americas statehouses. Vote Run Lead, founded by Erin Vilardi, seeks to unleash the political power of women as voters, candidates and leaders to create an equitable and reflective democracy. Vote Run Leads training and partner programs have touched more than 56,000 women and gender-expansive individuals. To learn more, visit voterunlead.org or follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram: @VoteRunLead.

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NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gainey McKenna & Egleston announces that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Wolfspeed, Inc. (Wolf Speed, Inc. or the Company) (NYSE: WOLF) securities between August 16, 2023 to November 6, 2024, inclusive (the Class Period). The lawsuit seeks to recover damages for the Companys investors under the federal securities laws.

The Complaint alleges that on November 6, 2024, after market hours, Reuters published an article entitled Chipmaker Wolfspeed projects revenue below estimates on weak auto demand, shares sink. This article stated that Wolfspeed forecast quarterly revenue below estimates on Wednesday and said it would book $174 million in restructuring charges for the planned closure of a facility, as the chipmaker deals with sluggish demand from automotive customers. [. . .] The company dropped plans last month to build a factory in Ensdorf, Germany, citing the slower adoption of EVs in Europe. On this news, the Company stock fell 39% on November 7, 2024.

Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares of Wolfspeed should contact the Firm prior lead plaintiff motion deadline. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. If you wish to discuss your rights or interests regarding this class action, please contact Thomas J. McKenna, Esq. or Gregory M. Egleston, Esq. of Gainey McKenna & Egleston at (212) 983-1300, or via e-mail at tjmckenna@gme-law.com or gegleston@gme-law.com.

Please visit our website at http://www.gme-law.com for more information about the firm.
HOUSTON, Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Evolution Petroleum Corporation (NYSE American: EPM) ("Evolution" or the "Company") today announced its participation in an upcoming fireside chat with Water Tower Research ("WTR") on November 20, 2024, at 10:00 AM CT.

As part of WTRs ongoing Fireside Chat Series, Jeff Robertson, Managing Director at WTR, will lead an in-depth conversation with Evolution's President and CEO, Kelly Loyd, Senior Vice President, CFO, and Treasurer, Ryan Stash, and COO, Mark Bunch, to discuss how Evolution's rebalanced asset portfolio provides greater capital allocation options and supports the Company's long-term dividend policy. Topics will include Evolutions capital allocation priorities between organic and inorganic opportunities, the impact of the Chaveroo and SCOOP/STACK acquisitions on organic growth, how these plays extend dividend visibility, and balance sheet capacity for future opportunistic acquisitions.

This event is open to all investors. Registration for the event is available here . Replays of the webcast will also be available after the event.

About Evolution Petroleum

Evolution Petroleum Corporation is an independent energy company focused on maximizing total shareholder returns through the ownership of and investment in onshore oil and natural gas properties in the U.S. The Company aims to build and maintain a diversified portfolio of long-life oil and natural gas properties through acquisitions, selective development opportunities, production enhancements, and other exploitation efforts. Properties include non-operated interests in the following areas: the SCOOP/STACK plays of the Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma; the Chaveroo Oilfield located in Chaves and Roosevelt Counties, New Mexico; the Jonah Field in Sublette County, Wyoming; the Williston Basin in North Dakota; the Barnett Shale located in North Texas; the Hamilton Dome Field located in Hot Springs County, Wyoming; the Delhi Holt-Bryant Unit in the Delhi Field in Northeast Louisiana; as well as small overriding royalty interests in four onshore Texas wells. Visit www.evolutionpetroleum.com for more information.

About Water Tower Research

Water Tower Research is modernizing Investor Relations through research-driven communications and Investor Engagement. Sound investment research begins with good information. At WTR, we help companies and investors connect by creating expert information flow and strategies that are the foundation of a successful modern investor relations platform. Our analysts and capital markets professionals bring decades of unrivaled Wall Street experience and insight to a new digital world of investor communications and engagement. Our research and investor content is distributed across traditional research aggregators like Bloomberg, FactSet, etc., proprietary direct distribution lists, social media, search engines, and our website. As a result, every institutional and retail investor has equal access to our high-quality company research. Our mission is to help companies take control of their IR program and proactively reach investors while bringing investors a consistent flow of quality information to help them understand our clients businesses, industries, and the investment opportunities they present.

Contact

Investor Relations

(713) 935-0122

ir@evolutionpetroleum.com

This press release was published by a CLEAR Verified individual.
Reported figures all in U.S. Dollars

Boston, MA, Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MiniLuxe Holding Corp. (TSXV: MNLX) today announced its financial results for the 13 and 39 weeks ended September 29, 2024 (Q3 2024 and YTD Q3 2024, respectively). The fiscal year of MiniLuxe is a 52-week reporting cycle ending on the Sunday closest to December 31, which periodically necessitates a fiscal year of 53 weeks; fiscal years referred to in this release consist of 52-week periods. Unless otherwise specified, all amounts are reported in U.S. dollars.

The third quarter marked continued progress against key strategic priorities for the Company:

Accelerating overall studio contribution growth, Increasing fixed cost leverage and SG&A efficiency Focusing growth through operating and franchise partners and a narrower set of innovative products

Overall, Q3 represented a quarter of choices. We made some tradeoff choices between growth in favor for more profitability, but most important we made strides on our choice to complement Company-owned Studios with selective partnerships, JVs and franchisees. Notably the Company began the integration and conversion process of Sugar Coat (majority-owned JV nail studio in Atlanta) which has already become accretive to the business, said Tony Tjan, CEO and Co-Founder of MiniLuxe.

MiniLuxes third quarter demonstrated year-over-year (YoY) revenue growth of +6% which included intentional efforts to manage more controlled and slower growth of its product channel. This strategy traded higher growth for more profitable growth and as such the Company experienced its strongest quarter in recent history for fixed cost leverage in the business. Drivers of higher margin growth included:

+5% YoY growth in MiniLuxes expanded waxing services which provide higher gross margin dollar flow-through per service and cross-selling opportunities

Premium services overall increased +29% YoY across MiniLuxes Core Studios

Total Company gross profit was up +12% YoY

Operating burn for YTD Q3 2024 saw ~$3.8M improvement over prior year when adjusting out for ERC received in early 2023. From the cost side of the business, key highlights include:

Total Company SG&A (inclusive of corporate, studio-related, and non-operating overhead) was down 28% YoY while non-operating SG&A (as internally measured) was reduced materially by ~35% versus the same period in 2023

Significant efficiencies have also been gained at the unit economic level through more effective management of indirect labor and continued use of the Companys technology platform

In Q3 2024, ~98% of all service bookings were done through the Companys app or online. Further functionality being used includes seamless / auto-check-in / check-out and testing has started for AI-enabled marketing to help dynamically price services in peak and trough periods

MiniLuxes positive trajectory on narrowing losses included 56% improvement in Company-wide profitability on an Adjusted EBITDA basis over YTD Q3 2023 along with $1.7 million in Fleet Adjusted EBITDA generated during YTD Q3 2024, which is a $0.7 million improvement on a YoY basis. In conjunction with a reduced cost base, this improvement has moved the Company to a further narrowing loss rate. Focus for the balance of the business of the year will be the holiday season which will include special MiniLuxe product bundles, multi-service package offerings, and selectively featured third-party products. Additionally, the Company is evaluating a variety of capital investment interests that would most likely come in the form of a new private placement. Pending the attractiveness of terms of such offers of capital and approval by the TSXv of such investment, the Company would consider taking in a modest level of primary capital this calendar year.

While we have more work to do and find ways that we can do more faster and with less, overall, the Company has demonstrated a quarter of growing high-demand offerings while being more efficient with its cost base. At the same time, it has been building a pipeline of commercial business development activities on the services and product-side that we are looking forward to sharing on during a future update, said Tjan.

Q3 2024 Results

Selected Financial Measures

Results of Operations

The following table outlines the consolidated statements of loss and comprehensive loss for the 13 and 39 weeks ended September 29, 2024 and October 1, 2023:

Cash Flows

The following table presents cash and cash equivalents as at September 29, 2024 and October 1, 2023:

Non-IFRS Measures and Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures

This press release references certain non-IFRS measures used by management. These measures are not recognized under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS, and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Rather, these measures are provided as additional information to complement those IFRS measures by providing further understanding of the Companys results of operations from managements perspective. Accordingly, these measures should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of the Companys financial information reported under IFRS. The non-IFRS measures referred to in this press release are Adjusted EBITDA and Fleet Adjusted EBITDA.

Adjusted EBITDA

Management believes Adjusted EBITDA most accurately reflects the commercial reality of the Company's operations on an ongoing basis by adding back non-cash expenses. Additionally, the rent-related adjustments ensure that studio-related expenses align with revenue generated over the corresponding time periods.

Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by adding back fixed asset depreciation, right-of-use asset amortization under IFRS 16, asset disposal, and share-based compensation expense to IFRS operating income, then deducting straight-line rent expenses net of lease abatements. IFRS operating income is revenue less cost of sales (gross profit), additionally adjusted for general and administrative expenses, and depreciation and amortization expense.

A reconciliation of IFRS operating income to Adjusted EBITDA is included in Selected Consolidated Financial Information.

The Company also uses Fleet Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate the performance of its MiniLuxe Core Studio business (19 MiniLuxe-branded studios operating for 18+ months). This metric is calculated in a similar manner, starting with Talent revenue and adjusting for non-fleet Talent revenue and cost of sales, further adjusted by fleet general and administrative expenses and finally subtracting straight line rent expense (similar to amount used in the full company Adjusted EBITDA, less amounts allocated to locations outside of MiniLuxes core studio business, i.e. Paintbox). The Company believes that this metric most closely mirrors how management views the fleet portion of the business. A reconciliation of Talent revenue to Fleet Adjusted EBITDA is included in Selected Consolidated Financial Information.

The following table reconciles Adjusted EBITDA to net loss for the periods indicated:

The following table reconciles Fleet Adjusted EBITDA to net loss for the periods indicated:

About MiniLuxe

MiniLuxe , a Delaware corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts. MiniLuxe is a lifestyle brand and talent empowerment platform servicing the beauty and self-care industry. The Company focuses on delivering high-quality nail care and esthetic services and offers a suite of trusted proprietary products that are used in the Companys owned-and-operated studio services. For over a decade, MiniLuxe has been elevating industry standards through healthier, ultra-hygienic services, a modern design esthetic, socially responsible labor practices, and better-for-you, cleaner products. MiniLuxes aims to radically transform a highly fragmented and under-regulated self-care and nail care industry through its brand, standards, and technology platform that collectively enable better talent and client experiences. For its clients, MiniLuxe offers best-in-class self-care services and better-for-you products, and for nail care and beauty professionals, MiniLuxe seeks to become the employer of choice. In addition to creating long-term durable economic returns for our stakeholders, the brand seeks to positively impact and empower one of the most diverse and largest hourly worker segments through professional development and certification, economic mobility, and company ownership opportunities (e.g., equity participation and future franchise opportunities). Since its inception, MiniLuxe has performed over 4 million services.

For further information

Christine Mastrangelo

Investor Relations, MiniLuxe Holding Corp.

cmastrangelo@MiniLuxe.com

MiniLuxe.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking information") concerning the Company and its subsidiaries within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to the future financial outlook and anticipated events or results of the Company and may include information regarding the Company's financial position, business strategy, growth strategies, acquisition prospects and plans, addressable markets, budgets, operations, financial results, taxes, dividend policy, plans and objectives. Particularly, information regarding the Company's expectations of future results, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities or the markets in which the Company operates is forward-looking information. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "targets", "expects", "budgets", "scheduled", "estimates", "outlook", "forecasts", "projects", "prospects", "strategy", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will" occur. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, intentions, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events or circumstances.

Many factors could cause the Company's actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including, without limitation, those listed in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's filing statement dated November 9, 2021. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results, performance, or achievements could vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

Forward-looking information, by its nature, is based on the Company's opinions, estimates and assumptions in light of management's experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that the Company currently believes are appropriate and reasonable in the circumstances. Those factors should not be construed as exhaustive. Despite a careful process to prepare and review forward-looking information, there can be no assurance that the underlying opinions, estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information. Although the Company bases its forward-looking information on assumptions that it believes were reasonable when made, which include, but are not limited to, assumptions with respect to the Company's future growth potential, results of operations, future prospects and opportunities, execution of the Company's business strategy, there being no material variations in the current tax and regulatory environments, future levels of indebtedness and current economic conditions remaining unchanged, the Company cautions readers that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which the Company operates may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. In addition, even if the Company's results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which it operates are consistent with the forward-looking information contained in this press release, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other risk factors not presently known to the Company or that the Company presently believes are not material that could also cause actual results or future events to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information, which speaks only as of the date made (or as of the date they are otherwise stated to be made). Any forward-looking statement that is made in this press release speaks only as of the date of such statement.

_____________________________________________

1 Straight-line rent expense for a given payment period is calculated by dividing the sum of all payments over the life of the lease (the figure used in the present value calculation of the right-of-use asset) by the number of payment periods (typically months). This number is then annualized by adding the rent expenses calculated for the payment periods that comprise each fiscal year. For leases signed mid-year, the total straight-line rent expense calculation applies the new lease terms only to the payment periods after the signing of the new lease.
TORONTO, Nov. 18, 2024 - Giyani Metals Corp. (TSXV:EMM, GR:A2DUU8) ("Giyani" or the "Company"), developer of the K.Hill Battery-Grade Manganese Project in Botswana ("K.Hill" or "the Project"), is pleased to report that the resolutions in the management proxy circular dated October 16, 2024 (the "Circular") were passed at the annual and special meeting of shareholders of Giyani held on November 15, 2024 (the "Meeting"). The director nominees were reappointed to the board of directors (the "Board") and Charles FitzRoy, President and Chief Executive Officer, was appointed to its board of directors.

The Meeting also approved the appointment of the Company's auditors and the Company's omnibus long-term incentive plan (the "Plan"). Details of the Plan are included in the Circular which is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Mark Burnett, Chairman of the Company, commented:

"It is encouraging to note the support of our shareholders and stakeholders, as we move meaningfully towards our goal of becoming a dominant producer of battery-grade manganese for the EV market. Value creation for our shareholders remains at the forefront of our minds.

I am also pleased to welcome Giyani's President and CEO Charles FitzRoy as a Director.

We look forward to announcing further progress and providing updates in due course."

About Giyani

Giyani is focussed on becoming the dominant western-world producer of sustainable, low carbon high purity battery grade manganese for the electric vehicle ("EV") industry. The Company has developed a proprietary hydrometallurgical process to produce battery grade manganese (HPMSM), a lithium-ion battery cathode precursor material critical for EVs.

The Company has secured financing of US$26m from two strategic partners, ARCH Sustainable Resources Fund LP and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, enabling it to progress the K.Hill battery-grade manganese project in Botswana to construction by building and operating the Demo Plant and completing a Definitive Feasibility Study in 2025.

Additional information and corporate documents may be found on www.sedarplus.ca and on Giyani Metals Corp. website at https://giyanimetals.com/.

On behalf of Giyani Metals Corp.

Charles FitzRoy, President and CEO

Contact:

Giyani Metals Corp.

Charles FitzRoy, President & CEO cfitzroy@giyanimetals.com

Tel: +1289-291-7632 Tavistock, Financial PR

Tara Vivian-Neal / Josephine Clerkin giyani@tavistock.co.uk

+44 20 7920 3150



Neither the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

The securities described herein have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and accordingly, may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or "U.S. persons," as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act ("U.S. Persons"), except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities requirements or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Company's securities to, or for the account of benefit of, persons in the United States or U.S. Persons.

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that Giyani expects to occur, are "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "does not expect", "plans", "anticipates", "does not anticipate", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "scheduled", "forecast", "budget" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could", "should" or "might" occur.

All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of the relevant management as of the date such statements are made and are subject to certain assumptions, important risk factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Giyani's ability to control or predict. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In the case of Giyani, these facts include anticipated operations in future periods, planned construction and development of its properties and facilities, and plans related to its business and other matters that may occur in the future. This information relates to analyses and other information that is based on expectations of future performance and planned work programs.

Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, including, without limitation: inherent exploration hazards and risks; risks related to exploration and development of natural resource properties; uncertainty in Giyani's ability to obtain funding; commodity price fluctuations; recent market events and conditions; risks related to governmental regulations; risks related to obtaining necessary licences and permits; risks related to Giyani's business being subject to environmental laws and regulations; risks related to the Company's mineral properties being subject to prior unregistered agreements, transfers, or claims and other defects in title; risks relating to competition from larger companies with greater financial and technical resources; risks relating to the inability to meet financial obligations under agreements to which they are a party; ability to recruit and retain qualified personnel; and risks related to the Company's directors and officers becoming associated with other natural resource companies which may give rise to conflicts of interests. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect Giyani's forward-looking information. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking information or statements.

Giyani's forward-looking information is based on the reasonable beliefs, expectations and opinions of the Company's respective management on the date the statements are made, and Giyani does not assume any obligation to update forward looking information if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions change, except as required by law. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. For a complete discussion with respect to Giyani and risks associated with forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, please refer to Giyani's continuous disclosure documents which are filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
VANCOUVER, Nov. 18, 2024 - Koryx Copper Inc. ("Koryx" or the "Company") (TSX-V: KRY) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Heye Daun as President and Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and Trevor Faber as Chief Operating Officer ("COO"). Heye Daun will also retain his board position as Chairman and Pierre Leveille steps down as President and remains on the Board as Executive Director.

Heye Daun, incoming President & CEO of Koryx Copper commented: "As Koryx has completed its private placement of $18M and being more than sufficiently financed to conduct Phase 2 of its drilling and study operations, I am honoured to be appointed President and CEO of the Company, which more accurately represents my day-to-day role of managing the Company. In addition, we are very pleased with the appointment of Trevor Faber as COO. Trevor is a highly experienced mining engineer and projects specialist with a wealth of experience especially in copper and base metals projects delivery in Africa. Trevor has a very strong reputation as a driven and skilled mining project manager and technical leader, and he is a major addition to our team.

We are also very pleased that Pierre Leveille remains involved with the Company in the capacity as Executive Director. He has lead the transition to the new Koryx and was instrumental in the transformation of the Company. After investing a very significant amount of our own capital into Koryx earlier in 2024, and with the continued strong financial support from family members and close associates, Alan Friedman and I together with the rest of the Board and executive management, look forward to leading and implementing our vision for Koryx Copper. That vision is to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of the Haib Copper Project as the next great copper development asset in Africa. We plan to achieve this by financing the company, building a competent management team and then permitting and advancing the project to construction readiness in as short a timeframe as possible."

Trevor Faber - Chief Operating Officer

Trevor is a Mining Engineer with over 30 years of experience in project development and the mining industry in Africa. He is the former CEO of Luma Africa; COO for Alphamin Resources and Project Manager of the Bisie Tin project in the Democratic Republic of Congo ("DRC").

Trevor is also the former Projects and Operations Executive for Metorex and was the Project Manager of the Ruashi Copper/Cobalt Project and the Kinsenda Copper Project in the DRC; Technical Director for Ridge Mining and Project Manager of the Blue Ridge Platinum mine in South Africa. He holds a Bsc (Honors) Mining Engineering degree from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa.

Trevor will spend the next few months getting exposed to the complete breadth and depth of project work that has already been completed by prior operator since the 1970's plus the wide range of new activities which have been initiated and are being advanced by the existing Koryx technical team, led by Charles Creasy and Steve Burks (refer to the press release dated September 24, 2024), whilst he is completing the hand-over of his existing role at Luma.

Once that is completed, Trevor's role will be to help organize and direct all Koryx technical activities, in conjunction with our strong team of in-house technical specialists and the group of external engineering and study groups who are already involved with the Haib project. Trevor will also be responsible for significantly growing our Namibian presence and infrastructure with a view to fast-tracking our drilling, study and corporate initiatives.

As part of this new role Trevor is expected to also spend a significant part of his time assisting in promoting the company and its projects to our local and international shareholders but also other Namibian stakeholders, especially the Namibian government and local authorities and communities, with a strong focus on responsible mining practices and building social license to operate.

Qualified Person

Mr. Dean Richards Pr.Sci.Nat., MGSSA - BSc. (Hons) Geology is the Qualified Person for the Haib Copper Project and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release and is a registered Professional Natural Scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (Pr. Sci. Nat. No. 400190/08) and a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

The resource estimates described below are more fully disclosed in the Company's current technical report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report - August 2024 Mineral Resource Estimate for the Haib Copper Project, Namibia" dated effective August 31, 2024 and signed October 23, 2024 (the "Report"). The Report is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

About Koryx Copper Inc.

Koryx Copper Inc. is a Canadian copper development Company focused on advancing the 100% owned, Haib Copper Project in Namibia whilst also building a portfolio of copper exploration licenses in Zambia. Haib is a large and advanced (PEA-stage) copper/molybdenum porphyry deposit in southern Namibia with a long history of exploration and project development by multiple operators. More than 70,000m of drilling has been conducted at Haib since the 1970's with significant exploration programs led by companies including Falconbridge (1964), Rio Tinto (1975) and Teck (2014). Teck remains a strategic and supportive shareholder.

Mineralization at Haib is typical of a porphyry copper deposit. Porphyry copper deposits are a major global source of copper with the best-known examples being concentrated around the Pacific Rim, North America and South America. Haib is one of a few examples of a Paleoproterozoic porphyry copper deposit in the world and one of only two in southern Africa (both in Namibia). Due to its age, the deposit has been subjected to multiple metamorphic and deformation events, but still retains many of the classic mineralization and alteration features typical of these deposits. The mineralization is dominantly chalcopyrite with minor bornite and chalcocite present and only minor secondary copper minerals at surface due to the arid environment.

In addition to extensive drilling and metallurgical testing various technical studies have been completed at Haib to date. Haib has a current mineral resource of 414Mt @ 0.35% Cu for 1,459Mt of contained copper in the Indicated category and 345Mt @ 0.33% Cu for 1136Mt of contained copper in the Inferred category (0.25% Cu cut-off).

Further details are available on the Company's website at https://koryxcopper.com and under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

More information is available by contacting the Company:

Julia Becker

Corporate Communications

jbecker@koryxcopper.com

+1-604-785-0850

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.



Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the use of proceeds from the Company's recently completed financings and the future or prospects of the Company. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect ", "is expected ", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market, and economic risks, uncertainties, and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, other factors may cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the risk factors in the Company's most recent annual management discussion and analysis. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
VANCOUVER, Nov. 18, 2024 - Marimaca Copper Corp. ("Marimaca Copper" or the "Company") (TSX: MARI), the copper explorer and developer, located in Chile, is pleased to announce that it has commenced the process to dual list on the Australian Securities Exchange (the "ASX").

The ASX dual listing is part of Marimaca Copper's growth strategy and is an important strategic step for its Marimaca Copper Project located in Antofagasta Region, Chile, as it advances through the Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") and project permitting milestones and towards project development.

Hayden Locke, President & CEO of Marimaca Copper, commented:

"We are excited to announce Marimaca Copper's intention to list on the ASX. This will be an important milestone for the Company as we advance the development of the Marimaca Copper Project. Marimaca is one of the most significant copper oxide discoveries in Chile, a tier 1 mining jurisdiction, in the last decade, which has the potential to become a low capital cost, high margin project.

"The ASX listing, in addition to the TSX listing, will provide the Company with greater access to a deeper pool of institutional capital, where there is also a strong appetite for high quality copper development and exploration projects. This naturally becomes increasingly important in the near term as the Company considers its financing strategy for future development."

Marimaca Copper notes there is no guarantee that it will receive approval to list on the ASX and will update as it progresses through the process.

About Marimaca Copper Corp.

Marimaca Copper Corp. is a copper exploration and development company focused on its 100%-owned flagship Marimaca Copper Project and surrounding exploration properties located in Antofagasta Region, Chile.

The Marimaca Copper Project hosts the Marimaca Oxide Deposit (the "MOD"), an IOCG-type copper deposit. The Company is currently progressing the Marimaca Copper Project through the DFS, led by Ausenco Chile Ltd. In parallel, the Company is exploring its extensive land package in the Antofagasta region, including the >15,000ha wholly-owned Sierra de Medina property block, located 25km from the MOD.

Contact Information

For further information please visit www.marimaca.com or contact:

Tavistock

+44 (0) 207 920 3150

Emily Moss / Ruairi Millar

marimaca@tavistock.co.uk

Forward Looking Statements

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation, including, without limitation, statements regarding the proposed ASX dual listing, access to capital based on an ASX listing, the ongoing DFS at the MOD, anticipated financing needs and the Company's ongoing exploration activities. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Marimaca Copper, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: risks that the ASX listing may not be completed, risks that the exploration development activities at the MOD will not progress as anticipated, or at all, risks that the DFS may not be completed as anticipated, or at all, risks related to share price and market conditions, the inherent risks involved in the mining, exploration and development of mineral properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological data, fluctuating metal prices, the possibility of project delays or cost overruns or unanticipated excessive operating costs and expenses, uncertainties related to the necessity of financing, uncertainties relating to regulatory procedure and timing for permitting submissions and reviews, the availability of and costs of financing needed in the future as well as those factors disclosed in the annual information form of the Company dated March 28, 2024 and other filings made by the Company with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities (which may be viewed at www.sedar.com). Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Marimaca Copper undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Neither the TSX nor the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Vancouver, Nov. 18, 2024 - Baru Gold Corp. (TSX.V:BARU | OTCQB: BARUF) (the "Company" or "Baru") and its subsidiary PT. Tambang Mas Sangihe (the "Company" or "PT TMS") are thrilled to announce to shareholders that the Company has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent with PT Arsari Tambang to become a Strategic Equity Partner and Investor.

Background of PT Arsari Tambang:

PT Arsari Tambang is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arsari Group. Arsari Group is an Indonesian conglomerate with operations in renewable energy, agribusiness, mining, trading and logistics.

PT Arsari Tambang is a leading fully integrated tin mining and processing company. Through its subsidiaries operating in Bangka Belitung, PT Arsari Tambang explores, exploits, mines, process, smelts, refines, sells and exports tin. PT Arsari Tambang's tin smelter has a production capacity of 1,200 tons/month and its branded tin ingots are listed on the London Metals Exchange. Year to date export earnings from tin metal are in excess of 4,700 tons (approximate sales value USD $148 million).

PT Arsari Tambang prides itself on responsible management, strong community engagement and development. All aspects of their operations are certified in accordance with the highest standards.

Partnership and Investment Agreement:

Subject to satisfactory due diligence, PT Arsari Tambang will acquire a 10% equity stake in PT TMS from PT TMS's existing shareholder, a private Indonesian corporation. The private corporation is and will remain an existing shareholder of PT TMS. Baru's 70% share in PT TMS remains unchanged and this 10% stake is non-dilutive to Baru shareholders.

PT TMS will grant to PT Arsari Tambang a 5-year Option to subscribe for additional 15% equity stake in PT TMS. The Option is exercisable until the fifth anniversary date from the date the Company receives approval for a Production Operation Status from the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. The option price is based on the valuation of PT TMS at the time of the exercise. The valuation of PT TMS will be determined by a TSXV approved business and natural resource valuator. This estimate will be based on resource estimates from the Company's two Sangihe NI43-101 Reports from 2010 and 2017, and other geological evidence as may be required.

If the 15% Option is fully exercised, Baru's stake in PT TMS will reduce from 70% to 59.5%. Although slightly dilutive to shareholders, Baru Gold will continue to hold more than 50% of PT TMS and the funds from the investment will be used as working capital to expand operations and accelerate value for shareholders.

Company management expects the collaboration with PT Arsari Tambang to be transformative and one that will bring enormous benefit to shareholders.

The goal of this partnership is to enable the Company to obtain the necessary resources and expertise to commence production, further assist in obtaining funding to start its gold production and support the exploration drilling necessary to identify all available resources on Sangihe Island.

Leadership:

The Company is honoured to announce that Hashim Djojohadikusumo will join the Board of PT TMS as President Commissioner. Hashim is the founder and Chairman of Arsari Group.

Hashim is an entrepreneur with a long track record of success in International and Indonesian markets. Hashim has distinguished himself as a philanthropist, in environmental conservation, and in Indonesian cultural heritage preservation. Hashim's ecologically focussed initiatives include the backing of programs to save the orangutan and honey bears of Kalimantan (Borneo) and improving the welfare of the wild elephant population of Sumatra. Hashim also has deep familial ties in North Sulawesi, where Sangihe Island is located.

Mr. Terry Filbert, CEO of Baru Gold, commented, "I'm incredibly excited about our new partnership with PT Arsari Tambang and honoured to have Hashim as President Commissioner on the Board of PT TMS -- all shareholders will benefit from the support of PT Arsari Tambang and Hashim's expansive knowledge and experience. It's a wonderful collaboration. I would personally like to thank the staff and legal teams of both Baru Gold and those of PT Arsari Tambang for their hard work bringing this transaction to a close."

The Company reminds shareholders that this Letter of Intent is subject to a shareholder vote and regulatory review by both TSXV and the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. The Transaction is subject to parties entering into agreed documentation.

ABOUT SANGIHE GOLD PROJECT

The Sangihe Gold Project ("Sangihe") is located on the Indonesian island of Sangihe, off the northern coast of Sulawesi. Sangihe has two existing National Instrument 43-101 reports with over 1 million oz of gold resource identified (inferred mineral resource of 1,022,987 and 114,700 indicated ounces of gold), as reported in the Company's "Independent Technical Report: Sangihe Property" (Caracle Creek International Consulting Inc, September 22nd, 2010) and "Independent Technical Report on the Mineral Resource Estimates of the Binebase and Bawone Deposits, Sangihe Project, North Sulawesi, Indonesia" (Mining Associates Pty Ltd, May 30, 2017).

Readers are cautioned that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Company intends to proceed to production without the benefit of first establishing mineral reserves supported by a feasibility study. The Company cautions readers that the any production decision made by the Company will not be based on a NI 43-101 feasibility study of mineral reserves that demonstrates economic and technical viability and as such, there may be involved increased uncertainty and various technological and economic risks

The Company's 70-percent interest in the Sangihe-mineral-tenement Contract of Work ("CoW") is held through PT. Tambang Mas Sangihe ("TMS"). The remaining 30-percent interest in TMS is held by other Indonesian corporations. The term of the Sangihe CoW agreement is 30 years upon commencement of the production phase of the project.

Baru has met all the requirements of the Indonesian government and has been granted its environmental permit.

ABOUT BARU GOLD CORP.

Baru Gold Corporation is a dynamic junior gold developer with NI 43-101 gold resources in Indonesia, one of the top ten gold producing countries in the world. Based in Indonesia and North America, Baru's team boasts extensive experience in starting and operating small-scale gold assets.

Frank Rocca, BAppSc.(Geology), MAusIMM, MAIG, CPI-KCMI, Chief Geologist of Baru Gold Corp. is the Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101 who has reviewed and approves the content of this release.

BARU GOLD CORP

Per: "Terry Filbert"

Terry Filbert, Director



President & CEO

info@barugold.com



For investor contacts more information, please contact:

Kevin Shum

Investor Relations

kevin@jeminicapital.com

647-725-3888 ext 702

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Certain statements in this News Release, which are not historical in nature, constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of that phrase under applicable Canadian securities law. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements or information concerning future work programs, results and timing of any work programs, the Company's performance or events as of the date hereof. These statements reflect management's current assumptions and expectations and by their nature are subject to certain underlying assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or events to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Those risks include the interpretation of drill results; the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with our expectations; commodity and currency price fluctuation; failure to obtain adequate financing; regulatory, recovery rates, refinery costs, and other relevant conversion factors, permitting and licensing risks; general market and mining exploration risks and production and economic risks related to design and engineering, manufacturing, technological processes and test procedures and the risk that the project's output will not be salable at a price that will cover the project's operating and maintenance costs. Forward-looking statements should not be construed as investment advice. Readers should perform a detailed, independent investigation and analysis of the Company and are encouraged to seek independent professional advice before making any investment decision. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements to reflect events or changes in circumstances that occur after the date hereof.


Alpine not selling engine IP to Cadillac says Famin

Bruno Famin, still in charge of Alpine's overall motorsport activities, has denied the Renault Group might sell the intellectual property of the axed 2026 engine.

Pierre Gasly, Brazilian GP 2024

 Alpine

In a short media statement, Alpine has confirmed that it will use customer Mercedes engines and gearboxes for the start of the new regulations era until at least 2030 .

Famin, no longer team boss of the Formula 1 team, said Renault CEO Luca de Meo made the decision to end the engine program because the gap between works development costs and simply buying power units was too wide.

Until 2025 inclusive, the engine cap $95 million, then it will be $135m from 2026, he told Auto Hebdo. "That is much too high. We would have to develop at full speed over a 4-5 year cycle, representing about a billion dollars of investment.

Spending half as much money as our competitors while thinking we are twice as intelligent no longer exists. On the other hand, the regulations limit leasing engines to $17m per year. That's a huge difference, especially when we only talk about engines when things are going badly.

Famin said that if the customer engine price was higher than the capped $17m, it may have made sense for Renault to continue to make power units so they could be sold.

There were many of us around the table who wanted this increase, but not all of us, otherwise we would have achieved it. It simply went from $15 to $17 million, which is not enough.

Recently, there were rumours that Renault might decide to sell the intellectual property of its stalled 2026 engine program to GM-Cadillac.

Famin insists: "No, we will not sell our IP because Viry's know-how is its capital. We want to keep our value for our future project. We are not parting with it.

Also, we are not going to help competitors to beat us - that makes no sense. So no - it is totally out of the question to sell this intellectual property.

Similarly, he also denied Alpine will use its new customer Mercedes engines from 2026 whilst allowing another entity - like Cadillac - to take over the operations at Viry-Chatillon.

That is totally out of the question, he repeated.

(GMM)
Antonelli may not be ready for 2025 F1 debut

The jury is out regarding the start of Kimi Antonelli's Formula 1 career.

Kimi Antonelli, Italian GP 2024

 Mercedes

That is the view of well-known former F1 star Juan Pablo Montoya, who admits he was not impressed with the 18-year-old's initial Friday practice outings at Monza and Mexico.

Italian teenager Antonelli crashed within minutes of hitting the track at Monza.

There was so much hype around the whole weekend, and I guess you could say I learned a lesson the hard way with what happened in FP1, he said.

Montoya has a more critical view.

He came out onto the track and gave the impression that he wanted to break the lap record straight away, he told W Radio Colombia. Then he wrecked the car.

Antonelli makes no secret of the fact that he took a much more cautious approach to his second outing in Mexico.

I had more time to prepare, because it was not an F2 weekend, he said. It was a much cleaner session and was definitely what was needed after Monza. I didn't want to take any risks, and I learned a lot.

Again, Montoya has a vastly different take on what really happened.

In Mexico, in my opinion, he drove too cautiously so as not to damage anything, said the 49-year-old, who won seven grands prix for Williams and McLaren.

In Monza he was criticised because he put the car off the track, now in Mexico he was too slow, and of course that is not good either. You have to find the right balance, and I see that as a problem, added Montoya.

Kimi has the ability and the speed to compete in Formula 1, there's no doubt about that, he continued, referring to the youngster who will replace Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next year.

"He has done far more laps than other new drivers like (Oliver) Bearman, (Jack) Doohan or (Gabriel) Bortoleto, thanks to all those test drives in the old Mercedes on numerous different tracks.

But I ask myself - is he really ready for this step? Montoya wonders.

Some believe team boss Toto Wolff is planning to bring Valtteri Bottas back to Mercedes as a reserve driver next year as an easy 'plan B' in the event that Antonelli really struggles next year.

But Wolff told Kronen Zeitung newspaper that he isn't thinking of any other driver - like Max Verstappen, for instance - except Antonelli and George Russell for now.

You have to have confidence in your drivers, he said. "You have to give your drivers the maximum support in order to be successful.

Only if things really go wrong will we consider other options. It's like flirting with others while you're trying to make your relationship work.

(GMM)
Colapinto set for Red Bull race seat?

Franco Colapinto is on the way to Red Bull, according to former F1 driver and now pundit Ralf Schumacher.

Franco Colapinto, Brazilian GP 2024

 Williams

The impressive rookie needs to vacate his Williams seat at the end of the year, but there have been rumours the team might keep him onboard in 2025 and allow Carlos Sainz to switch to Red Bull.

Williams rejects that theory outright, confirming that Sainz will test the 2024 car in the post-Abu Dhabi test before lining up on the grid next season.

Carlos will drive for Williams alongside Alex Albon in 2025, forming one of the most formidable driver lineups on the grid, the team declared in a statement.

Behind the scenes, fevered negotiations have been taking place between Williams, 21-year-old Colapinto's management, and potential alternative teams for 2025 including Red Bull and Alpine.

Schumacher, however, says it's clear to him where the Argentine will end up.

There was a lot of interest in him, and not only from Helmut Marko, he told formel1.de. I think Colapinto is a certainty at Red Bull.

Williams boss James Vowles has apparently been demanding $20 million to release Colapinto from his 2025 contract, but Red Bull could cover that with the youngster's immense new commercial appeal within Argentina.

Colapinto can bring a whole package of sponsors, said Schumacher. He will have closed some big deals.

Some think Colapinto could replace the struggling Sergio Perez, although Schumacher admits a spot at Red Bull's junior outfit RB is also possible.

That's a good question, said Schumacher. "I don't think Red Bull knows exactly either.

Internally, the situation between Christian Horner and Helmut Marko is still not optimal. Then you have Max's father, who is really not happy with the whole situation. It's exciting to see how it's all solved, but I'm pretty sure that Colapinto will end up in one of those cars.

Schumacher does admit that a young driver like Colapinto is a risk for Red Bull Racing, even though he's impressed with how quickly the latest influx of rookies are adapting.

But you can still see that Formula 1 is no pony park, he said. You can see it with (Oscar) Piastri. It's not quite as smooth as it sometimes looks.

(GMM)
Ferrari to stage own 2025 car launch

Ferrari is the first F1 team to announce that it will still host a traditional car launch for 2025.

Ferrari 2023 launch

 Ferrari

Formula 1 announced recently that all drivers and bosses will be present at London's O2 arena next February for the first-ever joint season launch, involving the reveal of all teams' 2025 liveries.

Some are calling it 'F175', marking the sport's 75 year anniversary - and it's already sold out.

What is F175? triple world champion Max Verstappen wondered out loud during a live sim racing stream last week. What are you talking about?

When told F175 was the new official season launch, the Dutchman quipped: I hope I'm sick that week.

It is well known that Formula 1 has been pushing for a joint season launch for some years, but received pushback from teams who prefer individual livery reveals and car launches, for obvious sponsor and marketing reasons.

The compromise is the joint launch at the O2, where most teams will merely bring show cars sporting their 2025 liveries - although there are rumours some teams may actually bring their new cars.

Ferrari, though, is the first to admit it will do its own launch.

The Italian marque's museum at Maranello, Musei Ferrari, announced on X: From November 15th to January 12th, grab your fan ticket at Musei Ferrari for a chance to join the exclusive launch of Scuderia Ferrari HP's 2025 single-seater in person.

The date of Ferrari's launch is not yet known.

Mercedes is blocking Lewis Hamilton from enjoying an early taste of a red cockpit at the post-Abu Dhabi test.

But the seven time world champion will make his Ferrari track debut when contractually able early in 2025 in a two-year-old Ferrari at Fiorano.

Team principal Fred Vasseur has raised the possibility that Hamilton could test an old Ferrari as permitted by the regulations before the 2025 Bahrain tests, Sky Italia confirmed.

(GMM)
Monaco relieved to dodge new F1 race rotation scheme

Michel Boeri, boss of the Automobile Club de Monaco, admits he is relieved the fabled street race will survive an expected European exodus from F1.

Atmosphere, Monaco GP 2024

 Red Bull

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali hints that a new race rotation scheme, where European rounds are expected to have to settle for a grand prix every two years, will be outlined soon .

Monaco's existing race deal was one of the least lucrative on the current calendar, and Boeri admits negotiations for a new contract through 2031 - which was announced last week - were difficult.

It was 'I love you, I don't love you', he told Monaco Info. "The negotiations lasted at least six months.

"The problem was that as soon as we had a verbal agreement, we had to finalise it with a 60-70 page contract, written by American lawyers. It was a battle that went beyond the small clashes we had with Stefano Domenicali, who defended interests that were not mine.

All that is in the past, it's swept away, Boeri added.

He admits he is particularly relieved Monaco, supposedly to pay double its previous annual race fee in 2026 and beyond, will not be subjected to F1's looming race rotation scheme.

Compared to other European grands prix, we have a few small advantages, but above all, there is no alternation, said Boeri. "We will be there every year.

Not only will many other European grands prix disappear, but those that remain will be in this alternation. I believe that with the demand that F1 has today, there will only be two or three grands prix left in Europe, with interest shifting to China and other continents.

(GMM)
No rush to decide non-racing Haas role for Magnussen

Kevin Magnussen is still on track to remain in the Formula 1 paddock next year - but in a very different role.

Kevin Magnussen, Mexican GP 2024

 Haas

It is emerging that Valtteri Bottas, having lost his Audi-Sauber seat for 2025, may return to Mercedes next year to be reserve driver and special advisor to Toto Wolff.

Magnussen, not retained by his current team Haas, could have a similar role at the Ayao Komatsu-led outfit. In July, the Haas boss admitted he was looking to find a way to continue working together in some way .

Four months on, Komatsu is quoted as saying by France's Auto Hebdo: Yes, we are still working on it.

The Japanese said the details of the specific role Magnussen, 32, will occupy are yet to be decided. We are not really stressed, said Komatsu.

In a triple header we are just so busy trying to do our best on the track. Because there is no stress and we kind of know we want to do, there is no rush.

(GMM)
Russia may turn down chance to return to F1

Russia may not accept a hypothetical invitation by Formula 1 to eventually return to the annual race calendar.

Lance Stroll, Russian GP 2021

 Aston Martin Racing

The Sochi round was unilaterally scrapped by the sport at the outset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022.

Back then, Alexey Titov was in charge of the Russian GP as boss of the promoter Rosgonki. He is now in charge of the state-of-the-art Igora Drive circuit in the Leningrad region, which was set to begin hosting the Russian GP from 2023.

When asked by Sport-Express if he expects F1 to return to Russia some day, Titov answered: "It wasn't us who decided to part ways with Formula 1. Formula 1 decided to leave us. So they left.

"If they were to express a desire to return, then we will think about whether we need them or not. So I wouldn't want to say 'I believe this or that will happen'.

We had an absolutely clear plan for the development of a number of international events at Igora Drive, Titov added. "Then our colleagues in the West decided that sport is an integral part of political life, and started doing what they are doing.

We were upset for a day or two, then we got on with our business. The motorsport community in Russia has many, many opportunities to develop.

Indeed, since F1 departed Russia, the SMP Racing organisation set up a Russian Formula 4 series with the latest specification of single seaters.

We are not suffering at Igora Drive, either, Titov insisted. "We buy a lot of foreign equipment for the track - there are no problems. So we are engaged in self-development.

"Obviously, international competitions would fuel additional interest, but since they are not there now, we are fuelling the public's interest in other areas.

I want to note that, even before, Russian motorsport was based not on Formula 1, but on our own characteristics.

(GMM)
Trump may pave road to Andretti-Cadillac's F1 debut

Mario Andretti hopes the path to Formula 1 for his son Michael's Cadillac-backed project is no longer as "blocked".

United States GP 2024

 Red Bull

In the words of Dutch journalist Jack Plooij, There's a lot going on in F1 at the moment.

Greg Maffei, the CEO of the sport's owner Liberty Media, for instance, is leaving , Plooij told Ziggo Sport.

And there are new rumours that F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali is also set to be ousted from his position, possibly in a switch to MotoGP.

It all has to do with the victory of Donald Trump, Plooij said.

Indeed, before the election, it was the Republicans who were pushing the investigation into F1's alleged anti-competitive behaviour regarding blocking the Andretti-GM team bid.

Like Maffei at Liberty, Michael Andretti has now stepped aside at Andretti Global - and many insiders are detecting a behind-the-scenes settlement that could result in Andretti slipping into the F1 pitlane.

Let me be clear, said Michael's famous father, Mario, as quoted by Italy's Autosprint magazine. "Politics is certainly not a priority for me.

However, I have done my duty as a citizen and I am certainly not disinterested in the management of public affairs. This is why I say I am happy with Donald Trump's return to the White House.

Mario Andretti admits that he knows Trump's son, Donald jr, well. Plooij continues: They're going full-on attack now, with the help of the Republicans, towards Formula 1.

Andretti continues: "Obviously this is a very delicate situation, in which every word spoken can be misunderstood and cause further problems.

What can I say? On the one hand, Michael is 62 and a little more time to himself certainly won't hurt him. But then there's another angle, because in the event that his presence was an obstacle to the dialogue between Andretti Global and Formula 1, perhaps this could be a good reason to find ourselves with a less blocked situation.

The 1978 world champion confirmed that the Andretti-Cadillac project is moving forward with the goal of debuting in F1 in 2026.

Meanwhile, amid rumours the FIA fired race director Niels Wittich because of the highly controversial red flag situation of Brazil GP qualifying, Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko backed his successor.

He did a very good job, the Austrian told f1-insider.com when asked about Wittich's successor, F2 and F3 race director Rui Marques.

I think the FIA has made a good decision to present him as Wittich's successor.

(GMM)
GEA holds summit for market women

Business Desk Report Business News Nov - 18 - 2024 , 12:20

OVER 400 market women from various major markets across the country participated in the 2024 Ghana Women Entrepreneurship Summit (GWES) in Accra.

They were from major markets such as Makola, Dome, Kaneshie, Madina, Burma Camp, Dansoman among others.

On the theme "Building market women for prosperity," the summit aimed to empower and equip the market women with the skills and knowledge necessary to help build resilient and sustainable businesses.

It created a platform for women in the market to gain valuable tools and connections to propel their businesses forward, fostering economic prosperity and financial independence.

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An initiative of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), the market women benefited from an extensive training package that included modules on banking, insurance, health, and other critical aspects necessary for their personal and professional growth.

Vital role

Speaking at the opening of the summit in Accra, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GEA, Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, said market women play a vital role in the development of the countrys economy.

The reason why market womens issues are dear to my heart is that my grandmother was a market woman who was able to care for her children, ensuring they all completed their education successfully.

Many people take your work for granted, but it is not an easy job. It is a big job. If you do not sell at the market, no one will be able to get access to essential items, she said.

She said the government was committed to support market women by integrating them into the countrys national development plan.

The CEO said market women face many challenges such as limited access to finance, inadequate market infrastructure, child care issues, and a desire to upgrade their skills.

She added that the summit would provide solutions to the concerns of market women, coupled with opportunities for meaningful networking, experience-sharing, and capacity-building.

GWES

The GWES has been a game-changer for women in business, addressing the unique challenges they face since its inception. It has consistently championed the cause of female entrepreneurs, empowering them to excel in their ventures and make significant contributions to national development.

This year's edition reinforced the vital role market women play in Ghana's socio-economic framework, sparking meaningful dialogue and innovative solutions to support their growth and sustainability.

It has created a supportive ecosystem, fostering resilience and empowerment among Ghana's female entrepreneurs. By providing training on essential business skills, financial literacy, and personal development, the summit has equipped market women with the tools needed to thrive.

This comprehensive approach has helped bridge the gap between entrepreneurial aspirations and success, contributing to the country's economic prosperity.
Parents of late UK teen plead with Nigerian fraudsters to stop sextortion

Graphic Showbiz Showbiz News Nov - 18 - 2024 , 19:45 3 minutes read

The parents of a British teenager who died by suicide after falling victim to sextortion, Mark and Ros Dowey, have issued a direct plea to criminals in Nigeria to stop terrorising children.

Their 16-year-old son took his own life after being tricked by Nigerian scammers posing as a girl, who manipulated him into sending explicit pictures of himself.

Speaking about their sons death, they shared that they were then threatened with the release of the material to family and friends unless they complied with the blackmailers demands, one which they believed led Murray to take his own life.

Mark told the BBC that his son was a really lovely kid and that neither he nor his wife had any idea something was wrong.

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He went up to his room, and he was absolutely fine. And you know, we found him dead the next morning, he said.

His mother added, We had no chance to intervene, to notice there was something wrong and try and help and fix it.

The couple, Mark and Ros Dowey, expressed their heartbreak over their sons death, saying, Youre abusing children. Youve ended Murrays life.

How would they feel if it was their child or their little brother or their friend? I mean, its so cruel, and this is children, and its abuse.

Youre terrorising people, children, for some money, and I dont think in any society that is in any way acceptable.

The couple also criticised tech companies, stating that they could do much more to combat sextortion.

Mark said, Social media companies could do so much more, and the reason they dont do so much more is money. It will stop them making more billions than theyre making.

Ros said, They make big headlines about caring and trying to stop, but they need to put their money where their mouth is.

The technologies are there for them to stop so many of these crimes being perpetrated, so much of the harm being shown and then forced onto kids through algorithms.

But they dont, you know, they dont care, because all they care about is profits.

Ros encouraged anyone who had fallen victim to sextortion to not feel ashamed and to reach out for help.

She said, Everything in life passes. Theres nothing that is worth taking your own life for.

So if something happens to you, put that phone down and go and get somebody you trust and tell them its happened, and dont be ashamed at what youve done.

Thousands of children are sharing images. Its happened. Put the phone down, go and talk to somebody, it really wont be the end of the world, she added.

Source: VanguardNgr
Free SHS - Posterity will vindicate Nana Addo

Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa Opinion Nov - 18 - 2024 , 05:23 5 minutes read

A government may not be able to make every citizen rich. But, with political will and responsible leadership, a government can help create a society of opportunities and empowerment for every citizen, and I know no better way to do so but through access to education.

(Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Official launch of Free Senior High School. Tuesday, September 12, 2017)

Posterity has vindicated Dr. Kwame Nkrumah on his numerous policies including the implementation of the Education Act 1961 (Act 87).

Posterity will equally vindicate President Akufo-Addo on his numerous policies particularly on the implementation of free Senior High School (FSHS) policy.

Education Act 1961 (Act 87)

Dr. Kwame Nkrumahs Education Act 1961(Act 87) made six years of primary followed by four years of middle schooling fee-free and compulsory, and any parent who failed to send their school-going child to school committed an offence liable to a fine of 10.00.

The motivation was to widen access to education at the primary and middle school levels and also create awareness of the need and importance of education for national development, especially among rural and economically disadvantaged communities.

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At the beginning of the new school year in September 1961, nearly 57 per cent more children  219,480 compared to 123,407 children the previous year - entered Primary One.

According to the Ministry of Education Report of 1963:

Temporary structures were put up and other accommodation were pressed into service, so that in all, 2,000 new primary schools were opened, ... where no extra buildings could be found a two-shift system was adopted, and at the beginning of the school year, 832 primary and middle schools had classes operating in this way.

A total of 27 secondary schools were built to bring the total number to 68 in the first year of its implementation in 1962.

The 1961 education reform also led to increased enrolment into teacher training colleges, the upgrading of post-middle school teacher training from two to four years and the government's decision to pay salaries of public schools teachers, a responsibility which was previously borne by the local authorities.

Post-elementary technical and vocational education was also tackled.

Free secondary education

In September 2017, barely eight months into office, and exactly 56 years after Dr. Nkrumahs fee-free primary and middle school education, President Akufo-Addo implemented the free SHS in fulfilment of his long standing manifesto promise.

The purpose of free SHS is to provide free, universal equitable access to quality secondary education that prepares and equips the youth with employable skills for the world of work and aptitude for further academic work.

The implementation of the free SHS policy led to increases in enrolment in senior high and TVET schools, such that in 2018, the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) registration jumped from 468,060 in 2017 to 521,710 in 2018.

Considering that the infrastructure then  only 290,737 spaces available for 472,730 students who qualified for enrolment  a potential 181,993 learners might not have gained admissions if the traditional academic system was to be used.

Government introduced an all-year-round, double track school calendar and run a semester system for senior high schools, to replace the age-old trimester system.

The double track school calendar, is an innovative temporary measure of using the existing infrastructure to accommodate the growth in enrolment, while an infrastructure expansion programme is being implemented to end the system as soon as practicable.

To meet its target, government through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) has completed 3,077 legacy and new projects including dormitories, classroom blocks, and many other facilities as of September 2024.

Further, government ensured that quality teaching and learning are raised by deploying nearly half of the over 100,000 teaching and non-teaching staff employed into Ghana Education Service, into SHS to augment its staff. Government provided textbooks and other resources and, increased teacher-students contact hours from 1,080 to 1,134 hours a year.



Criticisms of the policies

Nana Addo and Nkrumahs education policies share a number of features in common; they both aimed at increased access to education, one at the primary and middle school levels, the other at the secondary school level.

Similar to the Education Act 1961 (Act 87), free SHS offers fee-free education and had to expand infrastructure to accommodate increases in enrolment.

Both policies had to innovate to accommodate the increase in enrolment; one introduced two-shift system, the other a double track and semester system.

Just as the free SHS is receiving a barrage of criticisms, Dr. Nkrumahs education policy did too. It was said to be generally over ambitious and lacked proper planning, as many schools were without their full establishment of teachers and other resources before implementation of the policy.

In 1961, while there was over 100 per cent increase in primary and middle school enrolment, with some classrooms set under trees, turn out of teachers to fill the classrooms was delayed for almost two years because, the then pre-elementary teacher education was moved from two to four years.

The government filled the vacant positions with hurriedly trained school leavers referred to as pupil teachers.

McWilliam and Kwamena-Poh (1975) report that between 1961 and 1966, nearly nine thousand trained teachers qualified and the total number of teachers in the classrooms increased by 28 per cent while that of untrained teachers went up by 165 per cent.

Similar to FSHS, critics at that time, raised concern about quality of education.

These criticisms notwithstanding, the Education Act of 1961 (Act 87) has been described as one of the policies which has made significant impact and caused major transformations in educational development in post-independent Ghana.

The story of Dr. Nkrumahs education reforms, gives us hope that in spite of the numerous criticisms of the FSHS, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will surely be vindicated one day. How soon? Well, we leave that to posterity!

The writer is a Professor and former Director-General of Ghana Education Service. kopokuamankwa@gmail.com
Explore debt-for-nature swaps to address galamsey - Expert tells Ghana at COP29

Timothy Ngnenbe Nov - 18 - 2024 , 12:57 5 minutes read

The country has been urged to adopt the Debt-for-Nature swap approach to help fight the illegal mining menace, known locally as galamsey.

Debt-for-nature swaps are financial transactions in which a portion of a developing country's foreign debt is forgiven in exchange for indigenous investments in environmental conservation measures.

The African Head of Sustainable Finance of KPMG Africa, John Boateng Akuoko-Tawiah, who made the call, said there were instruments and grant opportunities that could be leveraged under debt-for-nature swaps to deal with the destruction of the environment through illegal mining.

For instance, he said, the Adaptation Fund had vehicles the government could work with to ensure that certain trees were planted and processes followed to reclaim degraded lands to restore their ecological integrity.

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"Currently, there are debt-for-nature swap programmes that are being done through the Adaptation Fund that I think there should be urgency to see how they can be replicated in Ghana.

They are being done in Brazil, so Ghana can do the same," he said.

Mr Akuoko-Tawiah made the call in an interview with the Daily Graphic after a panel discussion held at Ghanas Pavilion at the ongoing 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Baku, Azerbaijan, last Friday.

The side event focused on exploring opportunities that support Africa's transition to climate-friendly energy sources.

Context

Ghanas Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 995) provides severe sanctions for persons who engage in illegal mining in the country.

As per the law, a mining activity will be described as illegal if the miner has no valid licence; the holder of a mining lease does not abide by the requirements of the lease; a person mines in forbidden or restricted areas such as water bodies and forest reserves.

During the last eight years, the government has launched military operations to help weed out illegal miners from rivers and forest reserves.

In spite of the frantic efforts that have been made to stem the tide, illegal mining activities continue to thrive, a development that has left the country's water bodies heavily polluted and tracts of agricultural lands degraded, leaving a plethora of uncovered pits dotted across the country.

Many climate change and environmental experts have described the destructive activities of illegal miners, particularly in forest reserves as a major enabler of climate change, given that trees serve as carbon sinks to prevent the globe from warming.

Programming approach

Against that backdrop, Mr Akuoko-Tawiah told the Daily Graphic that urgent steps needed to be taken to stop the galamsey menace while lasting solutions were sought to regenerate the degraded ecosystem.

He said it was important to approach the illegal mining fight from the programming point of view by getting the various stakeholders involved, especially the ministries of Lands and Natural Resources (MLNR); Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI); Finance and allied agencies.

"The Ministry of Finance has to be involved because when the debt-for-nature swaps come in, there is a component where these inter-ministerial agencies must collaborate and coordinate activities," Mr Akuoko-Tawiah said.

Again, he said for such an approach to be successful, stakeholders at the local level must be ready to protect the environment from destruction by illegal miners.

Enforcement

Besides the debt-for-nature swap, Mr Akuoko-Tawiah also stressed the need for the enforcement of mining laws to stop further destruction of the environment.

"The long-term solution to illegal mining is doing things right. There must be stronger enforcement regimes to stop illegal mining activities that degrade the lands.

"When these lands continue to be degraded, it will have a lasting negative effect on our unborn generation," the African Head of Sustainable Finance of KPMG Africa said.

Climate-friendly energy

Touching on climate-friendly energy, he underscored the need for Africa-driven data for investment in energy projects.

He said it was through accurate data that workable interventions could be determined for clean energy.

"The thing is knowledge and renewal of mindset. We need to build capacity and move on from the business as usual way of doing things to the use of appropriate technology," he said.

Affordability

The Head of Risk and Sustainability Management at the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), Kwadwo Kwakye Gyan, said one of the major obstacles that needed to be scaled as the country looked to cleaner energy sources was the affordability of renewable energy projects such as solar.

He said the cost of the solar, wind and renewable energy infrastructure was a huge challenge and people could not afford it.

Mr Gyan said it was critical for regulatory issues such as lowering tariffs to be looked at by the government to serve as incentives for private sector participation.

"Efforts must be made to leverage public-private partnerships (PPPs) to fund energy transition projects. In this regard, government subsidies will be the way forward for people to afford solar energy sources," he said.

He added that when there was a stronger PPP, it became easier for international funding agencies to provide finance for clean energy projects.
Majority to vote on policies - Voters prioritise manifestos in Graphic poll

Michael Quaye Nov - 18 - 2024 , 13:21 7 minutes read

In what appears to suggest voters' focus on bread and butter issues, majority of respondents in a Daily Graphic poll have indicated that their choices in the December 7 elections will be based on the manifestos of the political parties.

Out of 4,982 respondents in the online poll run by Graphic Online, 3,317 respondents, representing 66.58 per cent of the participants said they would vote on the basis of promises captured in the manifestos.

The remaining 1,665 respondents, representing 33.42 per cent of the poll participants, answered "No" to whether manifestos would influence their votes in the December elections.

A third option, "No answer", received no responses from the respondents.

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Interestingly, 3,213 of the respondents, 64.49 per cent, indicated that they had read at least one of the manifesto documents, while 1,185 respondents, representing 23.79 per cent of participants, said they had not read any of them.

The remaining 584 respondents, representing 11.72 per cent of participants, were blunt with their "Not interested" answer.

While those influenced by a manifesto were a shade more than those who had actually read one, it appears that some might have gotten the details of the manifestos through other means different from reading the documents by themselves.

Indeed, the poll made no provision for that option.

The poll was accessible only to Ghana-based visitors to the Graphic Online website.

It means it was available to internet users, and some level of literacy was required to complete the short exercise.

It was not available to visitors to the website who live outside the country.

Targeted at voters in the December elections, 4,847 of the respondents, representing 97.29 per cent of respondents, confirmed that they were registered voters.

The remaining 135 respondents, who constituted 2.71 per cent of the participants, indicated that they were not registered voters.

Demographics

The poll provided space for demographic data, which recorded 319 respondents (6.40 per cent) for 18-25 years; 1,339 respondents (26.88 per cent) for 26-35 years; 1,830 respondents (36.73 per cent) for 36-45 years; 872 respondents (17.50 per cent) for 46-55 years; 388 respondents (7.79 per cent) for 56-65 years; and 234 respondents (4.70 per cent) for 66 years and above.

Of the participants, 4,218 respondents, representing 84.66 per cent, indicated that they voted in the 2020 polls, with 749 respondents, representing 15.03 per cent of participants, indicating that they did not vote in the last election.

A further 15 respondents chose "No answer" for whether they voted four years ago.

In terms of whether they would vote in the December 7 elections, 4,190 respondents, representing 84.10 per cent of the participants, said they would, while 395 respondents, representing 7.93 per cent of participants, said they would not vote in December.

The remaining 397 respondents, representing 7.97 per cent of participants, said they had "Not yet decided".

Analysts

Some political watchers are, however, divided over the relevance of manifestos in the voting choices of the electorate.

While some have hailed voters' interest in manifestos as an important dimension of the country's political development, others believe it is an overstated issue in terms of voters' interest.

Useful instruments

The Chief Executive Officer of the John Agyekum Kufuor Foundation, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, said party manifestos outlining economic policies could be useful instruments for the electorate in exercising their franchise.

He said it was, therefore, not surprising that majority of the people polled suggested they would vote on what was contained in party manifestos.

"This could be a new trend, signalling greater awareness of manifestos.

"Its good if, indeed, manifestos are assuming greater significance in voter preferences. It would mean that the parties would be inclined to produce more credible policies that could withstand public scrutiny and accountability," the former United Nations Governance Advisor added.

He stated, however, that factors influencing voters choice went beyond manifestos and economic policies.

"Peoples faith, values and sentiments could be more decisive. In Ghana, as in other democracies, ethnic and religious considerations, for instance, play a major role. But these are areas not easily captured in manifestos, Agyeman-Duah stated.

"Thus, manifestos and policies contained therein could be irrelevant for areas described as 'strongholds' by the parties. In such areas, the primordial sentiments could be the primary explanatory variable for voters choices," he stated.

Growing awareness

A political scientist, Dr Samuel Kofi Darkwa, said the shift among Ghanaian voters, who are increasingly prioritising political manifestos in their decision-making, signified a growing awareness and a move towards informed choices regarding the policies and commitments of various political parties.

He stated that while Ghanaian voters generally fell under one of two categories, namely staunch party loyalists, who were unlikely to change allegiances, and floating voters, who were more open to persuasion and driven by the issues outlined in party manifestos, there had been "a concerning decline in trust towards democracy and political institutions, prompting some former loyal supporters to reconsider their party affiliations".

"This shift indicates a transformative moment in Ghanas political landscape, underscoring the urgent need for enhanced voter education initiatives aimed at engaging a wider electorate, he added

Dr Darkwa said the increasing focus on manifestos as foundational documents for political promises marked a positive development in Ghanaian politics.

Voters appear to be becoming more discerning, concentrating on substantive issues that directly affect their lives and the future of the nation," he added.

The political scientist said that the heightened awareness could lead to more accountable governance, as political parties were held to their commitments by an informed electorate.

"The growing attention on manifestos suggests a movement towards a more engaged and responsible democratic process in Ghana, offering a hopeful outlook for the future of the countrys political framework," the academic stated.

Elite class

A Political Science Lecturer at the University of Education, Winneba, Gilbert Arhinful Aidoo, said the Daily Graphic poll signalled a potential shift in Ghanaian politics, pointing to increased political awareness among voters, particularly within the elite class.

"The emphasis on manifestos as a deciding factor suggests a growing preference for issue-based politics over traditional factors such as party loyalty, ethnicity or patronage," he added.

"However, the online nature of the poll likely reflects the views of more educated and urbanised respondents who have access to digital platforms and engage with policy discussions.

While this group may not represent the broader electorate, it highlights an emerging trend where a significant portion of the population are beginning to prioritise the content of political parties manifesto promises," Mr Aidoo further stated.

He said the shift, especially where some civil society groups subjected the manifestos to scrutiny, was more encouraging for Ghanas body politic.

"It puts pressure on political parties to develop detailed and feasible manifestos rather than relying solely on rhetorics.

Nonetheless, its influence on the outcome of the general election is uncertain, as many people, especially the rural folks and less educated voters, may still focus on personal relationships or immediate rewards from politicians," Mr Aidoo added.

The lecturer said the poll underscored the need for broader civic education to promote issue-based voting across all demographics.

"This will help to cultivate a political culture centred on accountability and substantive policies rather than populism and short-term gains," he emphasised.

Doubting relevance

An Emeritus Professor of Politics at the London Metropolitan University, UK, Professor Jeffrey Haynes, doubted that "more than a tiny percentage seriously read the manifestos".

"Evidence suggests that most people vote for other reasons: they have always voted for the same party and continue to do the same; they dont like the other main party or any of the smaller parties or they dont believe what the candidates they dont like are promising they will do.

"This is particularly true for Ghana, where the manifestos are replete with all the worthwhile things that a president or party wants to do in government yet they do not explain how the goodies will be paid for. So, reading the manifestos is one thing, and believing what they promise is another," Prof. Haynes said.
Ghana ranks 7th in countries with most educated politicians list

Graphic.com.gh Nov - 18 - 2024 , 08:04 4 minutes read

Ghana ranks seventh in a list of countries with most-educated politicians. An article that explores which countries have the most educated politicians has indicated. The article is based on two studies conducted by researchers from global universities using data from 2015, 2017, and 2023.



This is a from a Global Legislators Database that looked at 56 countries with population over two million.

It shows the highest qualification obtained by elected law makers from 2015 to 2017 in percentage terms from PhD or other postgraduate degrees to less than postgraduate.

On top of the list is Ukraine followed by Poland in second position and Czech Republic in third position.

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Taiwan follows in fourth position followed by South Korea in fifth position.

The United States is in sixth position followed by Ghana at seventh position and then Slovenia in eighth position.

The report was published by The Economist.

Here are the Countries with the most educated Politicians and whether a high Level of Education means better Performance

For years, political scientists have been comparing the types of people elected to national parliaments.

They find it relatively easy to track the average age of elected representatives (currently 51 globally) and the proportion of women (still only 27%).

They have had more difficulty examining how other characteristics differ among politicians in various countries.

However, two datasets published in October and November help address this.

These datasets enable scientists to compare the education levels of elected politicians.

The first study, compiled by researchers from six universities, gathered biographical data on nearly 20.000 parliamentarians from 97 countries between 2015 and 2017.

It is the most comprehensive study to date. Since the path to politics changes little even when governments do, the data likely reflects the current reality.

The study found that, on average, 78% of parliamentarians held at least a bachelors degree and 40% had postgraduate degrees.

These figures are far above the global average education level among the general population (currently 35% in wealthy countries and 15% in poorer ones). The ranking below includes 56 countries with populations over two million and data covering at least 90% of legislators.

Ukraine had the highest proportion of legislators with postgraduate degrees; nearly a quarter held a doctorate when the data was collected.

Academic titles have long been beneficial in Ukrainian politics: all its presidents since independence in 1991, except for Volodymyr Zelenskyy, claimed to hold doctoral degrees.

Even the younger, more diverse parliament elected in 2019 included a similar share of representatives with doctorates.

Other countries with highly credentialed legislators include South Korea, where nearly a third hold doctorates, and the United States (U.S.), where more than two-thirds have postgraduate degrees.

By contrast, countries like Italy, Norway, and the United Kingdom (UK) have a high proportion of parliamentarians with only secondary education.

For example, Sir Lindsay Hoyle became Speaker of the UK House of Commons without attending university.

Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini, anti-establishment politicians in Italy, also dropped out of university.

Second study

The second study, conducted by researchers in Chile, examined a sample of 6.000 legislators from nearly 30 countries in 2023.

It found that in North and Latin America, law graduates tend to form the largest blocs in national legislatures.

Meanwhile, Nordic countries lean towards politicians with backgrounds in social sciences, such as economics.

The UK stands out for electing an unusually high number of legislators whose highest degrees are in arts and humanities, such as history or classics.

Can voters in countries where politicians have numerous academic credentials expect their leaders to perform better than average? There is little empirical evidence to support this.

A 2015 study examined the performance of U.S. Congress members over the 20th century and found that those with college degrees did not serve longer, pass more legislation, or win reelection more often than those without degrees.

A more recent study in Spain revealed that mayors with degrees were no better than others at reducing unemployment, balancing budgets, or attracting new residents to their cities.

Countries that fill their parliaments with lawyers do not necessarily enjoy significantly stronger rule of law, according to the research.

Moreover, globally, the most educated politicians lose elections at about the same rate as candidates with less formal education.

Nonetheless, it is becoming increasingly difficult for individuals without degrees to get their names on the ballot.

National legislatures, at least in terms of education, have become less reflective of the populations they are supposed to represent. This trend could have unfortunate consequences.

Those who attain unusually expensive educations often have different priorities from the average person.

Citizens are less likely to vote if they do not see people like themselves on the ballot. While parliaments worldwide are gradually becoming younger and slightly more gender-balanced, they are also becoming more elite, Klix.ba writes.

CLICK THIS LINK TO READ MORE FROM THE ECONOMIST'S PUBLICATION
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STC MD Nana Akomea refutes claims of selling STC property in Kumasi

Mohammed Ali Nov - 18 - 2024 , 06:21 2 minutes read

The Managing Director of the Intercity STC, Nana Akomea, has dismissed reports suggesting he has sold a property of the company to the Stadium Hotel in Kumasi.

In a post on Facebook on Sunday [Nov 17 2024], Nana Akomea described the claims as unfounded, explaining that the Stadium Hotel is not owned by STC.

He clarified that the letter being shared in connection with the allegations refers to a tenancy agreement, not a property sale.

Addressing the issue, Nana Akomea highlighted three key points:

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1. No Managing Director of a state-owned company, including STC, has the authority to sell company property.

2. The Stadium Hotel in Kumasi does not belong to STC, making it impossible for the corporation or its management to sell it.

3. The letter being circulated refers to a tenancy agreement between STC and the Stadium Hotel, which was approved by STCs management and board.

He noted that the agreement has brought substantial financial benefits to STC.

Nana Akomea expressed disappointment that the individuals making the accusations did not take the time to read the half-page letter properly.

According to him, the document clearly outlines the details of the tenancy agreement.

I assume the people who posted are patriots expressing concern about a state company.

But at least, they should read the document that has raised their concern. Its a half-page letter that can be read in 30 seconds, he wrote.

Attached below is a copy of the response from Nana Akomea

I have seen some posts on facebook claiming Nana Akomea has sold STC property, the Stadium Hotel, in Kumasi. The posts also include a copy of a letter, proving the sale.



I am trying to understand these posts as



1) No MD of a state company can sell any property of the company



2) The stadium Hotel in Kumasi does not belong to STC



3) the letter attached to these posts clearly refers to a TENANCY agreement between STC and Stadium Hotel, which Tenancy Agreement, approved by Stc's management and Board, has yielded considerable finanacial gain to Stc.



4) I assume the people who posted, are patriots, expressing some concern about a state company. But at least, they should read the document that has raised their concern? Its a half page letter that can be read in 30 seconds
CPP's Manifesto dedicated to women  Nana Akosua Frimpomaa Sarpong-Kumakumah

Emmanuel Bonney Politics Nov - 18 - 2024 , 05:27 3 minutes read

The Convention People's Party (CPP) 2024 Manifesto is dedicated to women, the presidential candidate of the party, Nana Akosua Frimpomaa Sarpong-Kumakumah, has said.

She said "The Women's Manifesto was a call to action, where everyone would live in dignity, participate in prosperity and shape their destiny in a nation free of dependency.

"This is what the women's manifesto by the CPP is about. The women's manifesto is simple; it is a manifesto of ownership and prosperity," Nana Sarpong-Kumakumah said during the presentation of the CPP Economic Vision to Ghanaians last Thursday in Accra.

The party's economic vision is on the theme: "Ghana's Industrial Rebirth- A New Economic Order of Ownership."

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"When you really support a woman, you have supported an entire nation," she said.

Nana Sarpong-Kumakumah said she was proud to introduce not just a set of policies but a powerful vision for Ghana's future development and progress.

She said the manifesto represented the principles of equality, responsibility and accountability.

She said the manifesto "embodies the strength, the courage and the nurturing spirit of the Ghanaian woman, the very essence of the Ghanaian existence".

The policies of the party, she said, were rooted in four thematic pillars, the first of which was economic ownership.

Youth

Nana Sarpong-Kumakumah said the country was slipping from the youth and that the CPP wanted to give back its ownership to them through it well-thought-out policies and programmes of growth and prosperity.

For far too long, she said, the country had been dependent on foreign imports, including basic goods such as matches, among other things.

She said a factory that produced matches in the country at Kade had been abandoned, like other factories, and left to rot.

"The CPP is coming back to bring industrialisation to the people of Ghana and we are doing it in a way that they can," she said.

Vote

She charged Ghanaians to vote massively for the CPP to come to power to drive the transformation of the country.

Hoe and machete, she said would be a thing of the past for farming and that produce from farmers would also be bought to address the problem of post-harvest losses.

"The women's manifesto of the CPP is here to serve Ghana again because when you save the woman, you have saved the family," she emphasised.

The Chairman of the party, Wing Commander Patrick Sorgbordjor, encouraged Ghanaians to vote for the CPP.

The General Secretary of the party, Kwame Nkrumah Botsio, said it was time for Ghanaians to reconsider going back to the original blueprint upon which the country's first president established it.

A leading member of the CPP, Leonard Kessie, said under the Ghana shares policy of the party, every Ghanaian would be entitled to GH20,000 to be able to invest in a business of their choice.

CPP's Manifesto dedicated to women  Flag bearer https://t.co/5g69gYW8Nn pic.twitter.com/NaXpLZIdkR  DailyGraphic GraphicOnline (@Graphicgh) November 18, 2024

CPP's Manifesto dedicated to women  Flag bearer https://t.co/5g69gYW8Nn pic.twitter.com/nhe7ZU1K33  DailyGraphic GraphicOnline (@Graphicgh) November 18, 2024
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Road to Election 2024: Building trust, unity through ethical communication

Emmanuella Yamoah Politics Nov - 18 - 2024 , 09:57 7 minutes read

As Ghana gears up for the December 7 elections, there is one undeniable truth: communication is more than just a tool for political engagement; it is the lifeblood of a healthy democracy.

The country's democratic history has seen periods of tension and, in some cases, violence. Ethical communication, especially in an election year, holds the power to unite or divide, to build trust or sow discord.

This year, the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) Ghana has launched its Speak Truth For Peace campaign that urges all Ghanaians, particularly political communicators, to adopt ethical practices in their political discourse. It is a call to ensure that the power of words fosters unity and peace.

IPR Ghanas focus on Ethical Communication for Peace Building in an Election Year is not just relevant; it is essential.

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Dangers of misinformation

The advancement of information and communication technologies around the world has ushered in a digital era, revolutionising politics, communication and electoral processes.

Richard Ahiagbah, National Communications Director, New Patriotic Party, Nana Yaw Sarpong, Personal Assistant to Alan Kyerematen and Senior Communicator, Movement for Change

In todays digital world where social media platforms amplify voices at lightning speed, the line between truth and falsehood has never been more unclear.

Political campaigns often rely on the persuasive power of messaging, but this power can be misused. Misinformation, whether intentional or not; spreads like wildfire, creating divisions, sowing mistrust, and inciting violence in some cases.

This is why ethical communication is critical. The Speak Truth For Peace initiative reminds us that words matter.

As the President of IPR Ghana and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Stratcomm Africa, Esther A. N. Cobbah, aptly puts it, Human beings can be moved to act in destructive ways based on falsehood, and so it is really important that everyone, particularly political communicators, recognise their duty to uphold truth for the good of society.

At no point is this truer than during an election when the stakes are high, and the pressure to sway public opinion is intense.

When political communicators respect the truth, they lay the groundwork for a peaceful electoral process. The integrity of the election and the unity of the nation depend on how the truth is treated.

If candidates, parties and their spokespeople take liberties with facts or, worse, engage in the deliberate spread of misinformation, democracy itself is at risk.

Media's role in elections

The media's role in elections is foundational to the health of a democratic society, as journalists and communicators present competing perspectives, guide public opinion and help to ensure that voters make informed decisions.

To fulfil this role constructively, accuracy and reliability are paramount. Journalists must prioritise verifying information before reporting it and cross-checking facts and sources to prevent the spread of misinformation.

This commitment to accuracy protects the public from falsehoods that could mislead voters or damage the integrity of the election process. When the media are diligent in fact-checking, it strengthens voters trust and supports a peaceful environment.

Equally important is the need for balanced reporting that avoids sensationalism. In a time of heightened emotions, journalists and media outlets must present all sides of the story impartially, refraining from bias, sensationalised headlines or emotive language.

Focusing on objective, factual reporting enables voters to assess candidates and issues based on substance rather than spectacle, which promotes calm, informed decision-making rather than unnecessary tension.

Furthermore, the media should adhere to additional ethical considerations that reinforce their role as objective informers. Transparency is critical, journalists should clearly label opinion pieces to distinguish them from factual reporting so that audiences can distinguish between objective news and editorial perspectives.

Accountability is another essential value that should characterise the work of the media; any errors must be acknowledged and corrected promptly, with clear explanations and apologies for mistakes.

Finally, impartiality and maintaining fairness in coverage are key. Journalists and news organisations should avoid promoting specific candidates or parties and must ensure that each side is given equitable attention and scrutiny.

Social media: a double-edged sword

Social media amplifies the reach of political messages. While this offers unprecedented opportunities to engage, it also presents significant challenges.

Social medias immediacy often outpaces the verification of facts, creating an environment where misinformation can easily spread. In this landscape, political communicators face the challenge of balancing speed with accuracy.

IPR Ghanas campaign urges communicators to be vigilant and responsible when using social media.

Speak Truth For Peace is a call for integrity in every message, post, and tweet. Communicators must strive to verify information before sharing it and work to correct false narratives that threaten the publics trust.

At the same time, social media offers a unique opportunity to foster dialogue and build bridges across divides. Rather than exploiting the platforms for personal or partisan gain, communicators have a responsibility to use them as tools for promoting understanding, collaboration, and peace.

Political leaders and their teams can lead the way by modelling respectful discourse, even in the face of disagreement.

Words, manner of expression

In any communication, it is not only the words we choose but also how we present them that truly shapes the message. This is where the three Vs of communication  verbal, visual and vocal  come into play.

Together, they form the foundation of effective communication, influencing how messages are perceived and understood by the audience.

Vocal communication, or tone and delivery, shapes how a message is received. A calm, measured tone conveys confidence, authority and empathy, building trust and reassurance.

Conversely, an aggressive tone can trigger distrust and division. In political discourse, where emotions run high, vocal delivery can either soothe tensions or inflame them. Using a tone of unity can encourage peaceful dialogue, while a harsh tone projects antagonism and provokes defensive reactions.

Visual communication, including body language and facial expressions, complements verbal and vocal cues. In political settings, a leaders presentation can reinforce or contradict the message to the audience he seeks to win over.

An approachable posture and open facial expressions convey sincerity and trustworthiness, making it more likely that audiences will be receptive to the message.

Conversely, defensive gestures or hostile expressions create an impression of insincerity, fuelling division.

Together, these elements shape how political messages are interpreted.

Psychologically, audiences often absorb these cues unconsciously, forming opinions on the communicator's trustworthiness and intent.

Ethical communicators, aware of this impact, can foster peace by ensuring that their words, tone and body language consistently convey truth, transparency and respect.

This alignment promotes constructive dialogue, supports peaceful elections and strengthens national unity.

Political leaders and communicators must be mindful of their word choices, as language significantly affects public perception and emotional responses.

In general, it is not just what we say, but how we say it, and how we look when we say it that we need to pay attention to.

Clear, respectful language promotes peace, while inflammatory words can incite tension and conflict, undermining trust.

Ethical communication

The true power of ethical communication extends far beyond election day.

If we, as a nation, commit to speaking truthfully and with respect, we are not just protecting the integrity of our elections; we are fostering a culture of national cohesion and unity that will endure long after the ballots are counted.

As IPR Ghana emphasises, If we have no respect for the truth, then the whole edifice of our society is undermined.

For Ghana to continue thriving as a beacon of democracy in Africa, it is crucial that we invest in ethical communication, not just during the election, but as a long-term commitment to peace, transparency, and mutual respect.

PR professionals, political communicators, and everyday citizens alike must recognise their responsibility to uphold truth because, in the end, a nation that communicates with integrity is a nation that thrives.

The author is a Communication and Media Relations Consultant with Strategic Communications Africa Limited (Stratcomm Africa). She is also the creator of the digital hub PR Playbook Central.
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Sign peace pact - US Ambassador to political parties

Charles Benoni Okine Politics Nov - 18 - 2024 , 05:41 3 minutes read

With 19 days for Ghana to go to the polls, contesting political parties must commit to a peace pact as soon as possible, the United States Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, has advised.

All political parties must sign the peace pact as soon as possible because that is a sure way to signal to the young people on the streets that violence in any form will not be the way to go during the elections, she stated.

Speaking at the 35th anniversary of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Ghana in Accra last weekend, Ms Palmer touted Ghanas democratic credentials, which she admitted were the envy of the rest of the continent and the world at large and stressed the need for that to be jealously guarded during and after the crucial December 7 general election.

The event, which was also used to commemorate Americas Thanksgiving Day, was attended by former President, John Agyekum Kufuor, who was honoured for his role in strengthening the ties between Ghana and the United States of American (USA) during his two-term tenure as President.

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The call comes at a time when leaders of some political parties are refusing to sign the peace pact ahead of the general election on December 7.

In view of the heated campaigns by the political parties, particularly the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the biggest opposition, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), many civil society organisations (CSOs), religious bodies, among other groupings in the country, have stressed the need for the contesting parties to sign a peace pact as a demonstration of their commitment to ensure peaceful elections in the country.

Ms Palmer referenced the just-ended elections in the USA, which was won by former President Donald Trump over Vice-President Kamala Harris, and stated that immediately after the elections, there had been business as usual in the US with all citizens living in peace.

She said no matter how violent the campaigns were, America emerged victorious and peaceful because the people believed it was where their power as citizens lay.

Against this background, the US Ambassador urged Ghana to emulate that example as it had always been done since the Fourth Republic, to keep the peace, while remaining the beacon of democracy on the continent and beyond.

Ms Palmer said elections were not battlegrounds or a period to make enemies but a platform to project ideas to the electorate for them to make a choice.

She expressed the hope that just as America had done it successfully, Ghana would also emerge victorious after the elections.

Ms Palmer reminded Ghanaians of what President Joe Biden said after the elections: You cant love democracy only when you are winning and you cant love your neighbour only when you agree.

The US Ambassador also recalled what, according to her, the Peace Council had been preaching, that elections were not a battle between enemies but a contest of ideas between groups with different ideologies.

Ms Palmer pledged the continuous support of America to Ghana, both politically and economically, as they strengthened the bond of friendship between the two countries.

More support

President Kufuor, for his part, called for greater partnership between Ghana and America in a manner that ensured a win-win for all and not one that was tilted against the other.

He recalled the enormous support Ghana enjoyed from the United States through the Millennium Challenge Account that resulted in the funding of some major road projects and the energy sector.

President Kufuor expressed the hope that the bond of friendship between the two countries would extend way into the future in the interest of their citizens.

Tribute

The President of AMCHAM, Kimathi Kuenyehia, used the occasion to pay glowing tribute to the founder presidents, directors and patrons of AMCHAM, touting the benefits Ghanaian and American businesses have enjoyed in the last 35 years.

He said plans were afoot to have AMCHAM move from its rented premises into its own edifice, a project which would soon start.
Translate support into vote: NDC appeals to Oda residents

Samuel Kyei-Boateng Politics Nov - 18 - 2024 , 03:57 2 minutes read

Members of the Akyem Oda Constituency of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) last Sunday organised a four-hour health walk through the principal streets of Oda.

It was climaxed with a mammoth rally at Oda Zongo.

Addressing the participants, Emmanuel Okai-Mintah, the Chairman of the National Youth Working Committee of the party, appealed to the people of Akyem Oda to translate their support into votes on December 7, 2024 to ensure the party's electoral victory.

He admonished the supporters to be vigilant at the polling stations on the election day to prevent electoral fraud.

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NDC victory

Mr Okai-Mintah stated that everything was pointing to an NDC victory in the upcoming election and indicated that the party had trained the party's agents on the tactics to check electoral fraud which would be implemented at all the voting centres to protect the ballots.

He enjoined the NDC supporters to cast their votes early before attending to any other business to ensure that former President John Mahama was elected as the next President and Jones Asante as their parliamentarian come December 7, 2024.

A former Eastern Regional Minister, Mavis Ama Frimpong, urged the party supporters to work harder than before to break the New Patriotic Party's monopoly of the Oda Constituency.

The Deputy Eastern Regional Women's Organiser of the NDC, Tina Effah Boadi, admonished the party's supporters to intensify their house-to-house campaign for former President John Mahama to win the upcoming general election to reset the nation for the benefit of all Ghanaians.

She used the opportunity to educate the supporters on the electoral process to reduce the number of spoiled ballots.

The Oda Constituency Chairman of the NDC, Mumuni Gariba, said the proposed 24-hour economy to be implemented by the next NDC government was aimed at solving serious unemployment problem facing the people, especially the youth.
Investigate alleged expired rice distribution to senior high schools - NDC MPs to govt

Nana Konadu Agyeman Politics Nov - 18 - 2024 , 15:47 5 minutes read

Some members of Parliament from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) caucus, led by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the member for the North Tongu constituency have called on the President to setup a commission of inquiry to investigate the distribution of alleged contaminated rice to senior high schools in December 2023.

The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa who first made the allegation last week, said the rice numbering over 22,000 pieces of the 50 kg bags were expired and contaminated.

He said the bags of rice were repackaged and distributed to senior high schools across the country by the National Buffer Stock Company.

He alleged that the rice, imported from India, expired on December 20, 2023 but they were repackaged into white 50kg polypropylene bags as Made-in-Ghana rice with the inscription CEDAO ECOWAS Regional Food Security Reserve.

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The bags, without any expiry dates, were repackaged in an unlicensed storage facility of the Buffer Stock, were then distributed to various SHS where they had been consumed by thousands of innocent students.

President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Bawumia cannot remain silent on this grave matter which jeopardises the health of millions of Ghanaian students, he said.

Punish culprits

Speaking to the press in Parliament today, the Chairman of the Government Assurance Committee of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said food items were found to have expired by the Food and Drugs Authority laboratory tests.

The nation is looking up to them to offer leadership, punish culprits who are largely their appointees and implement reforms to ensure the safety of our children.

The NDC Caucus also demands the immediate arrest and prosecution of the directors of Lamens Investments Africa Limited and the board and management of the National Food Buffer Stock Company must be sanctioned for allowing their storage facility to be used for this atrocious act, he said.

Finding

Mr Ablakwa, who is also the Chairman of the Government Assurance Committee of Parliament said on December 20, 2023, the Ashanti Regional office of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) received an alert from a patriotic Ghanaian about a suspicious re-packaging exercise which had not been authorized by the FDA.

This unauthorised re-packaging was shockingly being carried out at the storage facility of the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) in the Ashanti Region.

The MP for North Tongu said when FDA officials acted on the alert, it emerged that a similar alert had been received by the Ashanti Regional Police Command and the command had promptly moved in to close the storage facility.

The FDA and the Ashanti Regional Police Command then commenced investigations into the matter, he said.

He said Ashanti Regional FDAs investigations revealed a damning finding as contained in an intercepted report signed by its Ashanti Regional Head, John Laryea Odai-Tettey

The Moshosho rice (25 per cent broken white rice) with registration number FDA/Ce 20-701 was imported by Lamens Investments Africa Limited and the notify party is the National Food Buffer Stock Company.

The rice was exported from India by Satya Balajee Rice Industries PVT Ltd and in all 33,000 bags of 50kg bags of rice were imported, he said.

Mr Ablakwa said the National Food Buffer Stock storage facility in Kumasi received 22,000 bags of 50kg rice by the time of the alert, while the remaining 10,000 bags were being kept at a bonded warehouse in Tema known as Lynbrok.

Contravening the law

He said Lamens Investments Africa and National Food Buffer Stock realising that the best before date for the Moshosho Rice was December 2023 started criminally re-packaging the Moshosho Rice from its original yellow 50kg polypropylene bags into white 50kg polypropylene bags with the inscription CEDAO ECOWAS Regional Food Security Reserve.

While the best before date on the original Moshosho Rice packaging was December 2023, there was no date on the new bags being used for the repackaging.

This contravenes the General Labelling Regulation, LI 1541 and the country of origin-India- was also changed to Ghana concealing the true identity of the rice and creating a false narrative that Buffer Stock and the Free SHS Secretariat were distributing Made-in-Ghana rice, he said.

That illegal re-packaging, he said, was carried out without FDAs approval as required by law.

Admission of wrongdoing

Mr Ablakwa pointed out the National Food Buffer Stock storage facility had neither been licensed for storage or re-packaging contrary to the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), while it was determined that the NAFCO storage facility had no qualified or trained person to supervise its activities.

At the time of the criminal re-bagging, investigations revealed that Lamens and NAFCO did not have approval for shelf-life extension neither did they have the approval of the FDA to embark on their reckless, callous and criminal operation, he said.

He added that the importer, Lamens Investments Africa Ltd, was single sourced by NAFCO in spite of the fact that Lamens had no proven credible track record. Lamens was actually incorporated on July 20, 2020, he said, pointing out how the company had become notorious for offering unwholesome food to SHS students.

He cited a 2021 Auditor Generals report exposed Lamens for endangering the health of students with their contaminated food.

They were also engaged in undersupplying food items, he said, citing how Lamens had admitted to its wrongdoing and agreed to pay an administrative fine of GH100,000.

Indeed, additional intercepted documents confirm that Lamens paid a 50 per cent deposit of the fine to the FDA amounting to GHS50,000 and it was received by the FDA on January 5, 2024, he said.

He said the Ashanti Regional Police Command in an intercepted letter dated December 21, 2023, signed by J.J. Boye, Superintendent/Crime/Ashanti wrote to the Ashanti Regional FDA Director requesting assistance in conducting an examination of the re-packaged rice.

Shockingly, he even before the test results would arrive from FDA-Accra, a reckless order came from above that the re-packaged rice be distributed to SHS.

The FDA eventually submitted the test results, also known as certificate of analysis on the February 6, 2024 which showed that the expired and contaminated repackaged bags of rice were already distributed to schools on the February 1 and 2, 2024.
Next article: Lordina Mahama campaigns in Kumasi markets, pledges support for women and traders

Kufuor backs Bawumias proposal to empower traditional rulers

GraphicOnline Politics Nov - 18 - 2024 , 16:45 2 minutes read

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has lauded Vice President and New Patriotic Party flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumias plan to strengthen the role of traditional rulers in Ghanas governance.

The proposal, part of Dr. Bawumias vision for the presidency, aims to amend the Chieftaincy Act to grant Chiefs greater involvement in local governance and deepen their collaboration with the government.

Speaking on the proposal in a broadcast yesterday, President Kufuor described it as a visionary and culturally grounded idea, underscoring the significant respect traditional leaders command across Ghana.

This is laudable and a good proposal, the former president stated. From the coast to the north, our chiefs and queen mothers are now well-educated and knowledgeable. They are trusted by their communities, unlike politicians, who are often viewed with suspicion.

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Traditional leadership as a bridge

Highlighting the deep respect Ghanaians have for their traditional leaders, President Kufuor emphasized their potential role in fostering trust and unity within communities.

In Accra, the Chiefs command respect, and so it is in the Akan areasAsante, Akyem, Akropong, Akwamu, Kwahu. The same applies to Bono, Gonja, Dagomba, Wa, and other regions. Our traditional leaders hold the respect of the people, he explained.

He argued that Dr. Bawumias proposal demonstrates an understanding of Ghanas cultural values and the practical role Chiefs can play in governance.

If Dr. Bawumia says he will empower the Chiefs and involve them in governance, it shows he appreciates the value system of the country. As a servant leader, a politician must understand and leverage this value system to bring people on board and drive national progress.

President Kufuor noted that engaging traditional rulers aligns with the expectations of many Ghanaians who trust their Chiefs to represent their interests effectively.

If through the Chiefs youll get the people to understand what you want to do for them, for the country to move forward, that is something very good, he added.
Kumawu Chief applauds NPPs Free SHS Policy, highlights development in Ashanti region

GraphicOnline Politics Nov - 17 - 2024 , 23:22 2 minutes read

The Paramount Chief of Kumawu, Barima Sarpong Tweneboa Kodua, has lauded the New Patriotic Party (NPP), President Akufo-Addo, and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for their significant contributions to education and development in the region, particularly through the Free Senior High School (SHS) initiative.

During a welcoming address to Dr. Bawumia, who is on a campaign tour of the Ashanti Region, the Kumawumanhene highlighted the transformative impact of the Free SHS policy, describing it as the "ultimate" achievement in education. "Every child is benefiting," he said, emphasizing that the policy has ensured that all children in Kumawu are enrolled in school.

Barima Sarpong Tweneboa Kodua shared that, due to the Free SHS program, parents are experiencing considerable relief. "All parents need to do is provide a few items for their children because of the school feeding program, in addition to Free SHS," he noted. The chief praised the NPP for not only advancing education but also improving infrastructure and creating jobs through various projects.

He cited the construction of a 120-bed hospital, a National Service Scheme project in Sekyere Afram Plains, and the establishment of an ultra-modern district assembly complex as examples of how the NPPs policies are benefitting the local community.

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The Kumawumanhene also expressed his support for Dr. Bawumias future presidential candidacy and appealed for the elevation of Kumawu to a municipal assembly. He further acknowledged the NPPs efforts in improving local roads and securing essential equipment through the District Road Improvement Project (DRIP).

In a gesture of gratitude, Barima Sarpong Tweneboa Kodua also thanked Dr. Bawumia for his swift action in providing two pickup vehicles to address local security concerns, which he had raised with the Vice President.

Assuring Dr. Bawumia of continued support from Kumawu, the chief urged the Vice President to keep spreading his message, assuring him that the people of Kumawu and Ghana would reward the NPPs good work at the polls.
Lordina Mahama campaigns in Kumasi markets, pledges support for women and traders

Kester Aburam Korankye Politics Nov - 18 - 2024 , 16:29 2 minutes read

Mrs. Lordina Dramani Mahama, wife of National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate John Dramani Mahama, has toured major markets in Kumasi to rally support for the NDC ahead of the December 7 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

During her visit to the Racecourse and Kejetia markets, Mrs. Mahama engaged directly with traders, addressing their concerns and highlighting the NDCs policies aimed at improving their businesses and livelihoods.

Some people are going around telling mothers that my husband will cancel the Free SHS policy when he becomes president. I assure you, as his wife, he has not said that anywhere. In fact, he has great plans to improve the policy to make it better, she stated, urging traders to reject such claims.

She encouraged voters to support John Mahama and NDC parliamentary candidates to ensure both the presidency and a parliamentary majority for effective governance.

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Focus on women-centric policies

At the Kejetia Market, Mrs. Mahama unveiled the NDCs plans to empower women and children, including the creation of a Womens Development Bank to provide financial support tailored to women entrepreneurs. She also highlighted initiatives such as the National Apprenticeship Programme and a fee-free policy for first-year university students, aimed at expanding educational and economic opportunities.

These policies reflect the NDCs commitment to supporting women and creating an environment where businesses can thrive, she said.

The campaign event also addressed infrastructure development, with speakers affirming the partys plans to complete phase two of the Kejetia Market project and upgrade the Racecourse Market to offer traders relief from harsh weather conditions.

Reception

Reacting to the enthusiastic reception from traders, Mrs. Mahama expressed gratitude, saying, I am very pleased with the love you have shown me today. This is an unforgettable moment for me and all of us.

Earlier, Mrs. Mahama met with market representatives to discuss their challenges, including infrastructure needs and access to credit. She assured them that the NDCs policies are designed to address these issues comprehensively.

The Ashanti Region, often considered a stronghold of the New Patriotic Party, has become a focal point for NDC campaign activities, with the party aiming to secure significant support in the region.
Realme GT 7 Pro is going global on November 26, and we already established that it has a leading battery life. However, not everyone will benefit from the 6,500 mAh cell that goes 0 to 50% in 13 minutes - Realme is launching the phone in India with less capacity.

The Amazon listing revealed that GT 7 Pro will have a 5,800 mAh capacity, about 10% less than the original.

We spoke with Realme India representatives, who confirmed that the smaller capacity is real, not some Amazon fluke. When asked about the decision, they simply said this was due to regulations but failed to quote what exact regulations they were following.

The lack of an answer means we don't have a resolution to the bigger question: Did Realme simply cap the Si/C dual cell of the GT 7 Pro to play the numbers game, or did it manufacture a cheaper 5,800 mAh Li-Ion cell to keep the price low?

The answer will remain a mystery at least for a couple more days until we see an Indian unit get a teardown, revealing the battery inside.

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Xiaomi is expected to launch the Redmi K80 series in China soon. Some leaks suggested the Pro phone will be super powerful, featuring the new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and today, we have a confirmation of its raw performance.

The smartphone appeared on Geekbench, where it scored 2,753 for a single core and 8,460 for multiple cores - results that are in line with other phones' CPU benchmarks.

The smartphone with model number 24122RKC7C will boot Android 15 out of the box, and it appears that Redmi will once again bring a 16 GB RAM version. The chipset was confirmed to be the new Qualcomm flagship with its 2x4.32 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix L + 6x3.53 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix M cores.

Both the Redmi K80 and Redmi K80 Pro are said to have 6.67" screens with up to 120 Hz refresh rate and IP68 water and dust resistance. We also heard that the Redmi K series might finally come with wireless charging, but we have to wait for the Xiaomi brand to share more details in the following weeks.

Via
The LinkBuds Open, also known as the WF-L910, are the second generation version of the original Sony LinkBuds. These are fairly unique, open-ear style earbuds which take the open-ear concept to a new level by literally having a hole in the middle of the earbuds for ambient sound to pass through.

The second generation model has an updated design, new driver, second generation audio processor, Spatial Audio with head tracking, and longer battery life. Priced at $200, these earbuds still cost a pretty penny. Lets see if they are good enough.

Design

The design of the LinkBuds Open is the star of the show. The earbuds have an unconventional dual pod design that they share with their predecessors. Unlike most other earbuds that have the driver and the electronics in a single shell, the LinkBuds Open need to have two distinct pods since one of them has a hole right through it.

Sony has altered the design of the earbuds in several ways over the LinkBuds. The units are now 2mm shorter in length as a result of the smaller driver module. The back of the earbuds that houses the electronics now has a rubber cover around it, which also features supports to secure the earbuds in your ears. The rubber covers are removable and you can swap them out for different colored ones. There arent different sizes available so this is truly one-size-fits-all.

Turn the earbuds and you get to see the driver arrangement. Unlike other earbuds that are located deeper inside the shell and have their sound piped through a port pointed directly towards the inner ear, the LinkBuds Open driver is ring-shaped and outputs through a dotted ring directly in front of it. This also means the driver doesnt fire directly into your inner ear but rather into a wall on the side, and the sound then eventually makes its way in. That might sound weird but thats how we hear most sounds naturally.

The LinkBuds Open dont have any external buttons on touch targets. Instead, you have to tap the area just in front of your ears. This also means the gestures are simplified on the LinkBuds Open as you can only tap and not tap and hold as on other earbuds. There is also no single tap gesture available and the minimum is two taps, which also limits the range of gestures you can assign.

In terms of build quality, the LinkBuds Open feel well-made. Most of the outside is covered in the rubber cover, which feels intentional in order to protect the earbuds when they inevitably fall out of your ears. The earbuds dont go too deep in your ears so they also generally stay cleaner than in-ear models. However, the case doesn't feel particularly sturdy, especially the lid, which is loosely hinged and rattly. Lastly, the earbuds are IPX4 certified for splash resistance.

Moving on to the case, the LinkBuds Open have a new design compared to the original model. The case is smaller with a shape that looks like two pebbles stacked on top of each other. The white model has a glossy finish and marbled pattern on top, which is a bit hard to see. The lid now closes magnetically instead of with a latch and the earbuds also stay in place magnetically. As with the previous model, the case does not support wireless charging.

The LinkBuds Open are available in three colors, white, black, and a limited edition violet, which is made in collaboration with Olivia Rodrigo. This variant also enables a different color theme in the Sony app along with two exclusive EQ presets.

Comfort

Comfort can be a divisive topic with earbuds due to the differences in peoples ear shapes and sizes. However, one thing in-ear style earbuds assure the user is that the earbuds wont fall out, even if they might not be very comfortable. However, with open-ear style earbuds, the question is not just of comfort but also whether or not the earbuds actually stay in your ears.

With the LinkBuds Open, I can unfortunately say that they simply do not stay in my ears. Ive looked at all of Sonys promotional material as well as the manual on how to wear them and have come to the conclusion that my ears simply arent the required shape or size to hold these earbuds the way they are designed to be.

At first, this was hard to swallow, as Ive never had issues with older style open-ear earbuds (or earphones as we used to call them). Even the original AirPods, which many people struggled with, fit like custom made IEMs in my ears.

As such, the LinkBuds Open being completely unable to fit my ears was a bit of a shock. I cannot overstate how futile it was trying to wear these earbuds; I may as well be trying to make them stay in place on a completely flat wall. They fall out as soon as I let go.

If you look at Sonys promotional material, you will see people with ear cavities large enough to house the two pods of these earbuds fully within their concha and also have antihelix curves that perfectly grip on to the rubber support tip. My ears arent big enough for this to happen so I simply cannot wear the LinkBuds Open the way they are intended.

The solution for me was to shove the driver portion of the earbuds deeper into the ear, which then caused the upper portion to fit better. This had repercussions on the sound quality but at least I could wear the earbuds outside without having to worry about them falling out.

As such, there is no point discussing comfort for me. Im sure its great (or not) if I could wear them the way they were intended but the way I ended up wearing them caused discomfort after a few minutes as there were too many hard plastic bits inside my ears where they arent supposed to be. All I can say is that unless you have large ears, I wouldnt bother looking at these at all.

Software and features

The LinkBuds Open pair with the Sony Connect app, available on iOS and Android. The app has gotten quite a bit bloated over the years with one too many features that most people will just ignore (assuming they even download it) and still has one of the longest, most annoying setup process with seemingly countless steps and screens you have to go through before you can reach the main menu.

The app will automatically edit itself and show only those features which are available for your paired earbuds. The LinkBuds Open, despite being premium earbuds, support fewer features than most of Sonys other premium models, so the app is relatively cleaner.



Sony Sound Connect app

The meat and potatoes of the app remains the audio settings, where you can access the EQ presets along with a manual EQ. There is also a Find Your Equalizer option, which lets you pick your preferred sound by playing different EQ presets and letting you pick the one you like the best. Theres also an interesting Background Music Effect feature, which emulates the effect of sound playing in different rooms; the default is Cafe, where it sounds like youre listening to music playing from a cafe speakers but there are also options to switch to other rooms.



Sound settings

The LinkBuds Open also support Androids Spatial Audio with head tracking, which works with select devices. Theres also Sonys 360 Reality Audio feature, which is even more gimmicky as its only available in a handful of services, and not compatible with Dolby Atmos used by Apple Music.

Theres also a new Auto Play feature, which lets you configure things like your music app and favorite music in advance and then the earbuds will automatically start playing when you wear them without having to interact with the phone.



System settings

Other features include Sonys DSEE upscaling, which really only works with low bitrate content, multi-device pairing, adaptive volume control, which automatically adjusts volume based on ambient noise, Head Gesture for accepting or rejecting calls by shaking your head up/down or sideways, and auto power off.

The LinkBuds Open support SBC, AAC, and LC3 codecs. LC3 is available in Bluetooth LE mode only. For that, you need to enable it from the app and then unpair and repair the earbuds with your phone. Assuming your phone supports Bluetooth LE Audio (very few phones do), then it should play using LC3. You have to repeat all of that to go back to SBC/AAC. Also, a bunch of features including multi-device pairing are disabled when using Bluetooth LE.



Playback controls

Finally, you can also update firmware through the app. Sonys update process is rather slow but also not something you have to deal with often. Our review unit was on the latest 1.2.0 update.

Performance

Audio quality

Testing the audio quality on the LinkBuds Open was an exercise in frustration. I could have shoved them all the way in to stay in place and called it a day but that isnt how they are meant to be worn nor do they sound right this way. So I constantly had to hold or adjust them until they stayed in the optimal position inside my ears and just stop moving altogether so they dont fall out. This was necessary to ensure the sound quality analysis below was accurate as if worn by someone to whom the earbuds actually fit.

The audio quality of the LinkBuds Open was disappointing but not in a way that was surprising. The design of these earbuds presents some very real challenges and its clear not all of them could be overcome even on this second generation product.

Starting with by far the biggest flaw, there is no real bass to speak of. Open-ear earbuds dont have the luxury of a tightly controlled space with a finite volume of air that in-ears have so the bass response always leaves a lot to be desired. On top of that, the LinkBuds Open dont make things easy for themselves with a ring-shaped driver. While its impressive that such a thing even exists, at the end of the day, the driver is a small circular ribbon barely a couple of millimeters in thickness (the 11mm figure only applies to the outer diameter of the ring). Physics will tell you that isnt enough surface to move air with sufficient force, so even by open-ear standards the bass on the LinkBuds Open was going to be weak.

And it is. You essentially dont hear anything below the upper bass frequencies and the bass frequencies you do hear sound hollow with a strange, wooden timbre. There is no rumble, thump, or punch to the low-end. Actually, there is no low-end.

The lower-mids have been boosted to compensate, which gives them a slightly boomy quality that makes male voices overly deep-sounding. The rest of the mids, however, are quite alright. In fact, the mids really are the star of the show here, as they are quite prominent in the mix. The mid and upper mid-range sounds good with a reasonably natural timbre that makes voices and instruments sound authentic.

Leading into the treble, the LinkBuds Open once again start losing energy. Its not clear if this is a driver thing again or just the default tuning but the upper treble frequencies dont have a lot of sparkle or air to them, which makes them sound blunted. However, the lower treble range is well fleshed-out, so the sound is still somewhat on the bright side when coupled with the boisterous mids.

The overall tuning is thus a bit of an inverted v-shaped, with a good, strong mid-range and trailing off at both ends. This works well enough on some genres, where the lack of a low-end wasnt as badly felt. For example, a lot of older pop doesnt always have the most the most deep, thumping bass and as such can sound just fine on the LinkBuds Open, especially since it also tends to be on the brighter side that compensates for the lack of treble extension.

On the other hand, genres that specialize in bass just sound awful, as if you are listening to damaged drivers. Unfortunately, you dont really need to listen to such music to notice this as the bass deficit on the LinkBuds Open goes so high up the frequency range that a large majority of the music sounds incomplete on these earbuds.

On top of that, the drivers are also not the most resolving, so the sound is a bit soft and lacking fine detail. The earbuds also dont get particularly loud, which is odd for open-air design but may just be a limitation of this driver design. As such, its not uncommon to find yourself near, if not at, the maximum volume often.

I also did not find the spatial characteristics of these earbuds particularly noteworthy. Being inside your ears, they do block more of your ear canal than an open-back pair of headphones and with the driver being so closed to the ears, theres only so much it can fool your ears that you are listening to a pair of speakers. While there is a slightly better sense of space than some other earbuds, I have heard similar or better from some other in-ear models.

Microphone

The LinkBuds Open have average microphone performance. The sound is soft and on the quieter side so you might need to speak up a bit. The sound is still fairly natural-sounding without any notable digital processing artifacts.

In noisy environments, the LinkBuds Open do a good job of suppressing background noise and keeping your voice audible. The sound does get even more soft, however, but people should still be able to understand you if you speak up a bit.

Noise cancellation

The LinkBuds Open have no active or passive noise cancellation as that would be missing the point. They also dont have a transparency mode as the sound is supposed to go through the hole they made just for that purpose.

The earbuds let most, if not all, of the ambient noise in. However, I did not find this effect to be notably better than your average AirPods style open-ear earbuds. Its worth remembering that although the LinkBuds Open do have a hole in them, the hole doesnt necessarily align perfectly with your ear canal. I tried blocking it on one of the earbuds and while there was a small difference, I wouldnt say it was super noticeable.

When out and about, its hard not to get distracted by literally every single sound happening around you. But since this is by design, theres no point complaining about it. Its just that I cant find a good enough justification for this that standard AirPods-style open-ear earbuds or even transparency mode on in-ear models cannot achieve. The LinkBuds Open also leak sound outside, which can be distracting to others around you.

Latency

The LinkBuds Open have good latency performance. When paired with a PC, the earbuds had low enough latency to not be noticeable while watching videos and are usable for casual gaming.

Connectivity

The LinkBuds Open had good overall connectivity performance. However, there seemed to be an issue with either this unit or the firmware where adjusting volume caused a noticeable popping noise, and it could be repeated with multiple different paired devices. Also, every time you hit pause, the left earbud stops a split second later, which is quite noticeable.

Battery Life

The LinkBuds Open have a claimed 8 hours of battery life for continuous operation. In our testing, the earbuds lasted for 8 hours and 18 minutes of playback, which is good but nothing special considering there are no major battery sapping features like ANC or transparency mode.

Conclusion

The Sony LinkBuds Open are priced at $200 but were down to $180 at the time of writing.

As a proof of concept, the LinkBuds Open is undeniably cool. An earbud that has a hole right through the speaker so you can hear everything around you? You have to admit, that sounds pretty damn cool. But as an actual product, the LinkBuds Open fails to make the jump from a good concept to a good product.

The one-size-fits-all design is one-size for sure but does not fit all. The speaker holes also had to come at the cost of audio quality, which is mediocre for a $200 pair of earbuds. So the earphones either dont fit you at all or they fit but dont sound very good.

Sonys solution to letting you hear ambient sounds is strangely analog in a world of digital alternatives. Drilling a hole through your speakers sounds like something people would have done before the invention of transparency modes. But we do have transparency modes now that are almost as good as not having anything in your ears. Not to mention you can still buy standard AirPods-style open-ear earbuds, which are often quite cheap these days and are almost as good at letting ambient sound in.

So, Im sorry but I dont get it. I dont get who this product is for and why should they or anyone else deal with its many limitations for such little gain. Even if Sony manages to iron out all the issues in the subsequent iteration, it will still have to answer the first question and Im afraid there is no good answer.
A $75,000 grant funding through the Metallica Scholars Initiative, MSI, helps fund Guam Community Colleges ship repair boot camp.

MSI is a collaboration between the iconic heavy metal band Metallica and the American Association of Community Colleges, AACC.

GCC is the first college in a U.S. territory to be awarded the scholarship.

The MSI funding will support GCCs upcoming Ship Repair XIII Boot Camp kicking off this month.

Ship repair boot camps and marine construction trades are in high demand in Guams ship repair industry, which supports the U.S. Navys mission in the Pacific region.

Participants in the boot camp cycle will receive training in Introduction to Diesel Technology and Preventative Maintenance I, Paint Preparation, and Blue Print Reading. Additional training will include Heartsaver First Aid, CPR and AED, WorkKeys, Work Ethic, and OSHA 10, GCC said in a press release.

Boot camp employer sponsors are Cabras Marine Corp., Guam Shipyard and Sea Fix.

The sponsors will offer successful completers a job at the end of the program.

This boot camp has 20 open spots. The first day of boot camp classes was on Nov. 16.

For more information on this bootcamp, call GCCs Office of Continuing Education and Workforce Development at (671) 735-5640 ext. 5411 or email workforce@guamcc.edu.




Haiti - FLASH : Dismantling of the Dominican network that supplied ammunition to gangs in Haiti





The Dominican Public Ministry announced on Sunday, November 17, 2024, the launch of Operation PANDORA against a major criminal network composed of agents of the Dominican National Police led by the Colonel responsible for the management of weapons and ammunition of this institution.



This network, according to prosecutors, would have stolen more than 900,000 rounds of ammunition that were the subject of several hundred transactions



The investigation that led to Operation PANDORA was launched last October.



Colonel Narciso Antonio Feliz Romero, who was in charge of the guarding of weapons and ammunition, as well as the deputy Commissioner Juan Miguel Perez Soler were arrested during the operation.



Captain Nelson Valdez, head of the weapons, ammunition and equipment depot, and Captain and auditor Victor Manuel Santos, who modified the results of an audit carried out in February to cover up the theft of ammunition, were also arrested, as well as Second Lieutenant Marino Antonio Rodriguez Toribio, a gunsmith at the Cibao Central Regional Directorate.



In addition, Sergeant Major Miguel Angel Gomez Espaillat, Corporal Juan Luis Diaz Medina, agents Rubiel Martinez alias "Escobar" and Moreibin Medina Perez, and the accused Miguelina Bello Segura are also detained as key elements of the operational part of the criminal organization.



The Public Ministry stated that Captain Santos had been an auditor for more than 6 years at the arms department and that in addition to falsifying the data during the February audit, he tried to manipulate the figures again depending on the progress of the investigation, an action that was quickly detected by investigators.



In recent weeks, prosecutors and technical teams from the Public Ministry have worked intensively to carry out this operation, which was the subject of an audit by the National Police that highlighted not only disciplinary but also criminal violations.



The investigation led to the seizure of weapons, ammunition, digital evidence of more than a hundred financial transactions and data extracted from electronic devices, consolidating a set of evidence to be presented before the investigating judge.



To be continued...



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Vertieres 221st : Traditional message of reflection from Lesly Conde





This Monday, November 18, 2023, the day of commemoration of the 221st anniversary of the Battle of Vertieres and the victory of the indigenous army over the colonial forces, Lesly Conde, Former Consul General of Haiti in Chicago (2004-2018) delivered, as every year, his traditional message of reflection to all Haitians, which we invite you to read and share.



Message from Lesly Conde :



"Dear compatriots and friends from everywhere,

I invite you, this year again, to grant me the great privilege of accompanying you, wherever you are, in the commemoration of one of the proudest dates in the history of our dear country. This date is also important in the history of the entire world because on the one hand, what happened on the Caribbean island of Santo Domingo on this eighteenth day of November in the year 1803, had many irreversible repercussions all over the planet, and on the other hand, we live in a world that claims to love the ideals of justice and freedom. I am immensely proud to commemorate the 221st anniversary of the glorious Battle of Vertieres with you.



The commemoration of the Battle of Vertieres is a celebration of the invincibility of any people who cling to their ancestral traditions and their humanity. I tell you that even if slavery continued to exist after the defeat of the French colonial forces at Vertieres, it was, in reality, the victory of our ancestors that sounded the death knell for this odious but lucrative exploitation of man by man.



However, one cannot help but recognize that November 18 is not a date commemorated or even mentioned outside the borders of Haiti or Haitian communities in the diaspora. This is because this world so fond of freedom, justice and democracy, has never seen fit to acclaim the victory that marked the beginning of the end of the slave world order, and the birth of the first sovereign black state in the New World.



Indeed, November 18 of each year should be commemorated by all nations as the day when, in the year 1803 in Vertieres, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, at the head of an army of revolted slaves, inflicted a clear and humiliating defeat on the slave troops of France, commanded by General Rochambeau. Many people, even today, have difficulty digesting this eloquent lesson in humility, and this remarkable triumph of human dignity. But Vertieres belongs first and foremost to the Haitians. It is our history. It is our identity. We have true heroes whom we must proudly honor. It was in Vertieres that the door to freedom opened for the entire world. It is up to us to be proud of our precious identity, and to remind the world that freedom was born in Vertieres on November 18, 1803.



The Battle of Vertieres is a historical event of great importance that belongs first and foremost to the Haitian nation. But it also belongs in a significant way to the human species as a whole because it signaled the beginning of the end of an era. With the irreversible defeat of the slave army of France, the slave world order was seriously damaged, and soon succumbed. As for our Haiti, it was the bad example. And here we are today. Our dear Haiti is reduced today to its simplest expression.



Now, all humiliations resemble the country that, on January 1st, 1804, so proudly carried the banner of freedom. However, the Battle of Vertieres, which represents the triumph of bravery against tyranny, can still inspire us. Our ancestors did not choose slavery. They defeated it by uniting and relying on themselves. We did not choose isolation and contempt. It is also by uniting and relying first on ourselves that we will succeed in asserting ourselves. I invite you all to commemorate the 221st anniversary of the Battle of Vertieres with great pride."



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Religion : Haitian Catholic Bishops aound the alarm on the situation in the country





In a note published in Port-au-Prince on November 15, 2024, the day of the memory of Saint Albert the Great, bishop, doctor of the Church, the Catholic bishops of Haiti sounded the alarm on the situation in the country to ask for Peace and the unity of the Nation.



Excerpts from the note of the Conference of Haiti Bishops :



[...] We, Catholic bishops of Haiti, feel very concerned about the political situation and the serious security problems that are ravaging the country [...] Once again, we raise our voices to demand Peace and the unity of the Nation.



Our prophetic mission as bishops obliges us to denounce these acts of violence that are destroying the country and sowing endless suffering. These acts cause the death of many innocent people and many people are forced to leave their homes [...] In these dark days, many of our brothers and sisters live in great fear, they have lost their fundamental rights, such as the right to security, the right to life and freedom of movement. Even planes are not spared. Toussaint Louverture airport is closed and this isolates us from all other countries. The capital is blocked, schools are closed, activities are paralyzed. There is no real life in the country.



No one can accept such a situation.



[...] Violence can neither bring solution nor salvation to the people. We cannot hope to find Peace by sowing violence. Peace is a gift from God, but it requires the efforts of all those who have good will to build a society [...]



[...] We invite everyone, those who govern the country, members of civil society and all actors who have responsibilities in this crisis, whether or not they have weapons in their hands, to recognize that this situation must not remain as it is. It is important that we find the best way to govern the country and resolve this problem of incessant violence. The future of the people is at stake [...]



[...] We encourage the Christian faithful not to let themselves be overcome by despair. Faith in God must inspire us to work together to build a future where justice reigns, where the life of each person is respected and protected.



Our condolences go to all the families who mourn the loss of a person in these events. With all the people of God, we pray for the recovery of those who are hospitalized, that God will give much courage to those who are on the street or who are taking refuge with a good neighbor. We wish courage to all those who suffer physically and mentally.



Let's keep our hope in God, pray without ceasing and be in solidarity with one another. May God be gracious to us, may he bless us! Let him protect Haiti that we all love !"



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - FLASH : DR exports to Haiti explode in September and October





In the last two months, the Dominican Republic has exported $162.7 million to Haiti, an increase of 230% compared to the same period in 2023.



The worsening of the institutional, insecurity and socio-economic crisis in Haiti has not had a negative impact on local exports to this country. On the contrary, in the last two months, there has been a rebound in sales of national products to the neighboring country.



Statistics from the Dominican Republic Export and Investment Center (ProDominicana) reveal that between January and October 2024, the country exported US$747 million worth of products to Haiti (743.2 million for the same period in 2023), however, until August 2024, exports were lower than in 2023.



The ProDominicana report indicates that in September 2023, exports to Haiti totaled US$37.8 million compared to US$75.3 million (+99.2%) in September 2024. In October 2023, exports totaled US$32.7 million compared to US$87.4 million (+167.2%) in October 2024.



ProDominicana estimates that demand is likely to continue during November, as the crisis in Haiti has worsened, with greater isolation in terms of international transport in the world, consequently Haiti increases its demand with the Dominican Republic, its closest neighbor.



SL/ HaitiLibre


















Porcelain industry thrives in Dehua county, SE China's Fujian

People's Daily Online) 13:25, November 18, 2024

A 3D printer produces a ceramic product at a company in Dehua county, Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Su Haisen)

Traditional porcelain craftsmanship is undergoing a high-tech transformation in Dehua county, Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. At a local porcelain company, robotic arms efficiently manage clay blocks weighing over 50 kilograms, while a 3D printer creates intricate flowerpots in under 20 minutes. This shift exemplifies how the ancient craft is adapting to automation.

Dehua is renowned for its production of white porcelain, a prized commodity along the Maritime Silk Road during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The plain white porcelain produced here is known as "Blanc de Chine," meaning "White from China."

Photo shows an ancient kiln in Dehua county, Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Su Haisen)

In recent years, the county has implemented an action plan aimed at leapfrogging the development of the porcelain industry. This plan focuses on expanding international influence, enhancing technological innovation, and boosting market competitiveness to drive high-quality growth within the ceramics industry cluster.

Quanzhou Kaideli Ceramics Co., Ltd. is benefiting from the transformation of the county's porcelain industry. The company's annual export volume of porcelain artworks exceeds $5 million, with European and American orders surging by more than 30 percent this year.

"To further tap into global markets, we have collaborated with several overseas designers. We invest about 20 percent of our output value in design and research and development each year," said Xu Zhenyan, head of Quanzhou Kaideli Ceramics Co., Ltd.

Ancient ceramics are on display at an exhibition hall in Dehua county, Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Su Haisen)

Over the past few years, Dehua has organized various activities, including design competitions and the Dehua World Ceramic Design Conference, while providing financial support for technological upgrades in porcelain companies.

This September, the county hosted the 2024 Dehua International Ceramic Culture Week and the fifth Dehua International Ceramic Expo, attracting 216 companies from both domestic and international markets. The total value of deals and intended orders surpassed 163 million yuan ($22.5 million).

Visitors observe ceramic products at a ceramic art museum in Dehua county, Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Su Haisen)

Dehua has also promoted the integration of its porcelain industry with exhibitions, culture, tourism, and trade. Since the beginning of last year, the county has held ceramic art exhibitions at the National Museum of China, the National Art Museum of China, and the Dunhuang Museum. Additionally, it has organized participation for companies in major exhibitions at home and abroad, including the China Import and Export Fair and the China International Import Expo.

Through the blend of tradition and innovation, Dehua's porcelain industry has gained new vitality. With more than 4,000 ceramic enterprises and over 100,000 people engaged in the sector, the county has become the world's largest production and export base for ceramic artworks, as well as the biggest manufacturing hub for ceramic tea sets and flowerpots.

Photo shows ceramic artworks at a ceramic art museum in Dehua county, Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (People's Daily Online/Su Haisen)

The county, known as the "World Ceramics Capital," exports its ceramic products to more than 190 countries and regions.

In the first three quarters of this year, the value of the county's porcelain industry reached 47.63 billion yuan, a 13.1 percent increase compared to the previous year.

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Liang Jun)
Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive, has given an outlook on the future of the non-profit online platform for safeguarding the world's cultural heritage, which has been battered by various cyberattacks. "We don't know why these attacks started recently and whether they are coordinated," writes the computer scientist and activist in a blog post. "But we are expanding our lines of defense." Central services such as the popular Wayback Machine, which allows users to view old versions of websites, Archive.org and the particularly controversial Open Library were "gradually" brought back online in the week following the cyberattacks.

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New functions for posting articles and works have also been introduced as part of the restructuring, explains Kahle. More will be added in the near future. "Much of the development during this time has focused on securing the services so that they can continue to run even in the event of sustained attacks," says the 64-year-old, referring to the ongoing efforts to make the portal more resilient. The Internet Archive is adapting to "a more hostile world in which DDoS attacks recur regularly". Overload attempts of this kind have been experienced again in recent days, for example. The operator is also arming itself against "more serious attacks".

Firewalls and free software help

The platform has been targeted by unknown attackers since the beginning of October. Among other things, they managed to steal 30 million user data from the organization. A Russian group of cyber criminals is believed to be behind this. There were also DDoS attacks and website defacements. In mid-October, unknown persons apparently gained access to internal IT systems and were able to send masses of emails.

"Our reaction to this was to secure our services and learn from friends," explains Kahle. He wanted to share "some important insights into the incidents without being so detailed" so as not to help the attackers. "By tightening up firewall technologies, we have changed the flow of data through our systems," reveals the creator. The aim is to "improve monitoring and control". On the downside, these upgrades have also forced fundamental changes to the underlying software, some of which is already "quite old". On the other hand, the overhauls were "long planned" or at least desired.

First-person shooter new part of the archive

"The constantly improving tools of the free and open source community are a great help, as they are available free of charge and can be used by large companies as well as non-profit libraries," reports Kahle. The problems started with complaints from book publishers about online lending. In the meantime, the music industry has also gone to court over 78-rpm records, which "puts a strain on our staff and our financial resources". The New Yorker emphasizes: "We are grateful for the support of our patrons through social media, donations and offers of help". Only these make it worthwhile to "continue to build a library for all of us".

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Kahle has one recent success to report: The early first-person shooters Unreal and Unreal Tournament are now available free of charge via the Internet archive  with the official permission of the publisher Epic Games.

(nen)
Recently, the BBC reported as a curiosity of space travel that someone had moved the UK's oldest satellite, Skynet-1A, from its original location, but no one now knows who, when or why. The British authorities responsible are sure to be ridiculed, but the case once again highlights the problem of "space debris".

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Originally, Skynet-1A was placed in a geostationary orbit over East Africa (36,000 km high, 40 East), from where it served as a communications relay for British forces. However, this only worked for around a year before the transmitter amplifiers failed, presumably due to insufficient adaptation to large temperature differences. Rarely has the diagnosis "cold solder joint" been more apt in the literal sense. Today, the space wreck is inexplicably located over the west coast of South America at 105 West. That is too close to satellites that are in operation.

False gravity hole

There are some indications that it did not arrive at its current position by chance, but was actively steered there. Without active movement, the wreck would have slipped into the next gravity well over the Indian Ocean as seen from East Africa and stayed there. Instead, it is in the next but one gravity hole near South America. There, Skynet-1A swings back and forth as if in a dish and comes alarmingly close to other satellites up to four times a day. Its minimum distance (Apogee) is 35,784 km, the maximum 35,794 km (Perigee). Today, old satellites and other wrecks are transported to an orbital graveyard even further away from Earth, where they do not endanger any active satellites.

We may wonder about the lack of records today, but Skynet-1A was launched into orbit in 1969, just a few months after the first man set foot on the moon  and at that time no one was concerned about the disposal of artificial space objects. Today, this negligence is costing dearly, as Skynet-1A has long been a danger to other satellites and, according to the UK Space Agency, it will probably remain so for the next million years unless special measures are taken.

The authors of the 1 MB UK Registry of Outer Space Objects catalog believe this to be the case, which is why the British National Space Operations Centre is constantly monitoring its position and movement. As it can no longer move itself due to a lack of fuel, the institute informs the operators of neighboring satellites if a collision course is imminent. In this case, endangered satellites have to avoid the unguided block. In any case, a collision must be avoided at all costs, as this creates a lot of small and fast debris (super-spreader events), which can literally shoot down many other satellites.

Space cleanup

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Although methods are currently being developed to fish debris out of orbit, the silenced relay is likely to orbit the sun with the Earth for quite some time before the technology is ready for Skynet-1A. The British Space Agency is already gaining experience with objects in lower orbits. So far, only the USA and China have shown that geostationary space debris can also be disposed of.

The British government has launched a competition to find solutions for the disposal of orbital debris. The winner is expected to present their proposal at the end of 2026 or beginning of 2027. Interesting methods are being developed by the Swiss company ClearSpace and the Japanese company Astroscale, for example. According to Astroscale's idea, a satellite equipped with a robotic arm could be sent into space to grab wreckage and guide it towards the Earth's atmosphere, where it would burn up.

The German company OHB is working with ClearSpace on its own process as part of the ESA's ClearSpace-1 mission. This involves a space tug with four arms picking up disused satellites and also ejecting them into the atmosphere.

(dz)
The Union of Health and Social Care Professionals in Finland (Tehy) on Friday reported that the care provider is intent on terminating up to 800 employees, with care staff bearing the brunt of the blow. The workload of the remaining care staff, it added, will increase not only due to the reductions in care staff but also due to the transfer of secretarial duties to them.

HUS GROUP , the provider of specialised health care in the capital region of Finland, wrapped up its consultative negotiations on Friday.

Millariikka Rytkonen, the chairperson at Tehy, accused HUS Group of reneging on its promise to minimise the effects on care staff. The group, she added, showed its inability to assess its operations as a whole, allowing its various departments to plan the organisational changes half-blindly while no one is taking responsibility for the entire organisation.

If HUS implements these changes as planned in the co-operation procedure, this will send an unprecedented shock wave through the field, she warned.

Paivi Toro, a coordinating chief shop steward for Tehy at HUS, told Helsingin Sanomat that she is confused by the scope of some decisions and urged the service provider to inform the staff members affected by the lay-offs, re-assignments between units, non-renewals of fixed-term contracts and changes in job descriptions.

The workload of care staff will increase for the ones wholl be left working because the work itself isnt exactly going anywhere, she said to the newspaper.

The Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors (JHL) similarly reported that the care provider will be making hundreds of employees redundant in a decision it described as irresponsible and unreasonable. The redundancies will pose a threat to patient safety and place an unreasonable burden on the remaining staff, elaborated Hakan Ekstrom, the chairperson at JHL.

It is impossible to even imagine that firing hundreds would not have an impact on care quality, he said in a press release.

Helsingin Sanomat on Friday wrote that HUS Group will not make any announcements concerning the consultative negotiations until the final decisions have been made. Laura Arho, the director of communications at HUS, said in an e-mail to the newspaper that the decisions will be made at the end of the month in a way that prioritises the most urgent issues.

The consultative negotiations were launched to create cost savings of almost 510 million euros in 20252027.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
Participants in the campaign pledge to support the international Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which promotes non-violent measures to oppose Israels policies.

A campaign urging Finnish businesses and organisations to declare themselves Apartheid-Free Zones has gained momentum, with 85 entities joining the initiative. The campaign aims to pressure Israel to adhere to international law and respect Palestinian human rights.

By aligning with the campaign, businesses and organisations avoid commercial ties with companies connected to Israeli settlements or other alleged human rights violations.

The campaign, launched in Finland in May, has attracted businesses and organisations from 14 cities, including Helsinki, Tampere, and Turku. These participants range from restaurants and theatres to tattoo parlours and accounting firms. Each has displayed a sticker featuring a Palestinian poppy to signal their commitment to the boycott.

Salla Korhonen, a member of the campaign team, said the response has been positive.

Many organisations have shown readiness to adjust their operations to avoid supporting Israels human rights violations, Korhonen said.

Participants specifically commit to boycotting certain goods and services, including products from Israeli settlements and companies like HP, Siemens, and Wolt. Campaign organisers argue these firms have ties to Israels settlement activity or policies they describe as apartheid.

Cultural institutions join movement

The Finnish Museum of Photography is among the most prominent organisations to join. Its director, Anna-Kaisa Rastenberger, explained that the decision aligned with the museums values.

Human rights and social justice are central to our mission, Rastenberger said. Participating in targeted boycotts is a tangible way to advocate for Palestinian rights and demonstrate our commitment.

The museum has displayed the apartheid-free sticker at both its locations. Rastenberger added that the initiative complements the museums principles of maintaining safe and inclusive spaces.

The campaign has so far established apartheid-free zones in cities including Espoo, Kuopio, and Oulu. The full list of participants is available on the Sumud website, which coordinates the campaign in Finland.

Context on the BDS movement

The BDS movement began in 2005, led by Palestinian civil society groups. It calls for measures to end international support for Israels occupation of Palestinian territories and to address alleged violations of international law. Critics argue that the movement is counterproductive to peace efforts, while proponents view it as a necessary tool for justice.

Supporters in Finland hope the campaign will grow, urging more businesses and organisations to commit to the boycott and to publicly identify as apartheid-free zones.

HT
Ilta-Sanomat on Thursday wrote that the appointment has yet to be confirmed and that the role may be specified or expanded as the nomination process moves forward.

PEKKA HAAVISTO (Greens), an ex-Finnish minister for foreign affairs, is close to being appointed as a Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process at the United Nations (UNSCO), according to Ilta-Sanomat.

Haavisto announced only a day earlier he is dropping out of the mayoral race in Helsinki, citing a possible international role.

Foreign policy and peace building have for years been at the core of my work. In a world of conflicts, there is a growing need for peace building, and I know that I would not be able to focus fully on municipal politics in this circumstance, he explained in a statement issued on Wednesday, 13 November.

Salla Merikukka, the chairperson of the Greens on Helsinki City Council, said to Helsingin Sanomat that she learnt about the withdrawal on Wednesday morning, admitting that the news came as a complete surprise.

We talked about the candidacy with Haavisto for a long time. This is the conclusion he reached based on his consideration, and well continue to prepare [for the elections] in other ways, she said.

Both Merikukka and Sofia Virta, the chairperson of the Green League, expressed their confidence that the party can find a competitive candidate for the mayoral race.

I believe that there are many who are interested in the candidacy, and I hope that the race will draw visibility. We have many nationally recognised options whove been engaged in local politics for a long time and with piety, assured Merikukka.

When asked whether the party can put forward a candidate with as much appeal as Haavisto, she quipped: Does any party? Pekkas know-how is in a class of its own.

Greens optimistic despite losing two big names

The Green League was hoping Haavistos lead candidacy could propel it from the second largest to the largest party on the Helsinki City Council. Merikukka insisted that the surprise withdrawal does not leave the party in disarray.

Were not in crisis. Well get a mayoral candidate whose leadership will allow us to fight for the status of the largest party. It wont be easy, and it wouldnt have been easy even if Pekka were our candidate. But its possible, she commented to Helsingin Sanomat.

The plan, she added, is to nominate the mayoral candidate in the autumn meeting scheduled to take place on 14 December.

Deputy Mayor for Urban Development Anni Sinnemaki (Greens), who for the past decade has been one of the most prominent decision makers in the Finnish capital, announced last month she is not interested in running for the mayors office. Fatim Diarra (Greens), a first-term Member of Parliament and chairperson of the Helsinki City Council, has expressed her interest in the lead candidacy in Helsinki.

The mayor will be elected in conjunction with the local elections held in Finland on 13 April 2025.

Five other political parties have already named their top-of-the-ticket candidate in Helsinki. Deputy Mayor for Social Services, Health Care and Rescue Services Daniel Sazonov will lead the ticket for the National Coalition, which with its 23 seats is the largest party on the 85-member Helsinki City Council.

Eveliina Heinaluoma, a second-term Member of Parliament, will top the ticket for the Social Democrats, Minister of Economic Affairs Wille Rydman for the Finns Party, Councillor Marcus Rantala for the Swedish Peoples Party, and Councillor and ex-MP Terhi Peltokorpi for the Centre.

The Left Alliance has yet to announce its lead candidate, but the only viable and interested option appears to be Deputy Mayor for Culture and Leisure Paavo Arhinmaki.

The Green League is the second largest party on the council with 18 seats, followed by the Social Democrats (13), Left Alliance (11), Finns Party (9), Swedish Peoples Party (5), Movement Now (3), Centre (2) and Christian Democrats (1).

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
The article about a significant increase in the length of paternity leaves taken by Finnish fathers, was published in The Guardian on November 7.

Here is a selection of what the international press has published about Finland in the last week:

The article, covered by Agence France-Presse in Helsinki, talks about the 2022 reform in Finland's parental leave system, which has led to Finnish fathers now taking nearly twice as much time off compared to before the change.

The reform granted both parents equal paid leave of 160 days each, with 63 days transferable between them, to be used before the child turns two. This aims to promote family flexibility and gender equality in the workplace.

Before the reform, fathers averaged 44 days of leave. For children born after the reform, the average has risen to 78 days. The change has visibly encouraged fathers to spend more time at home, building stronger bonds with their children. Social benefits agency Kela highlighted this as a positive societal shift toward equal distribution of parental responsibilities.

I feel like you now see more fathers coming here than before, said Leo Vainio, father to one-year-old Unto. It is a good system of enhancing equality to offer both parents the same amount of days of parental allowance, he added.

Kelas lead specialist, Johanna Aholainen, said: The new rules emphasise values in society by aiming to even out the days of parental leave between the parents and, according to the statistics, we are moving towards this aim.

Original story was published by The Guardian on 07.11.2024 and can be found here.

Finlands commissioner hearing: MEPs turn up heat as Henna Virkkunen bids for tech portfolio

The confirmation hearing of Henna Virkkunen, Finlands nominee for the European Commissions Executive Vice President for Tech Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy, before the European Parliament, was covered in an article by Politico on November 11. The article gives a detailed account of the hearing, examining her key policy positions, and the broader political context influencing the hearing.

Virkkunen emphasized the need for Europe to achieve greater technological independence, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and cloud services. She discussed the EUs regulatory frameworks, including the Digital Services Act (DSA), and promised stricter enforcement and enhanced resources for regulatory teams. 80 percent of our technology comes from outside the EU, Virkkunen said.

Lawmakers pressed her on her ability to implement these rules effectively, particularly amid concerns about the influence of tech leaders like Elon Musk, who has close ties to the Trump administration. Despite repeated questions, Virkkunen maintained that all companies operating in the European market must adhere to EU laws, offering measured but unspectacular responses.

Security and defense were also central to the hearing. Virkkunen stressed the importance of strengthening Europes defense capabilities, urging member states to meet NATO spending targets and prioritize investments in cybersecurity and defense research.

While her responses demonstrated thorough preparation, her approach was seen as risk-averse, avoiding controversial statements but also missing opportunities to energize the discussion, and sticking closely to her prepared notes. The lawmakers questioned her approach and her ability to lead with vision. Despite repeated questions, Virkkunen maintained that all companies operating in the European market must adhere to EU laws, offering measured but unspectacular responses.

Original story was published by Politico on 11.11.2024 and can be found here.

How to Build the Worlds Largest Cruise Ship (or One of Them, Anyway)

The construction of Royal Caribbeans Star of the Seas, one of the largest cruise ships in the world, at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, was covered in an article by The New York Times on November 8. The article offers a behind-the-scenes perspective on the complex shipbuilding process and the challenges involved in creating such a massive vessel.

The Star of the Seas Is the sister ship to Icon of the Seas, the worlds largest cruise ship, and is set to launch in August 2025. Like its predecessor, it boasts impressive dimensions1,196 feet long, 20 decks high, and the capacity to accommodate nearly 8,000 passengers. The ship includes innovative features such as themed neighborhoods, water parks, multiple dining options, aquadome, among others. One of the standout features, The Pearl is both a kinetic art installation and a structural element.

The shipyard faced unique challenges during the construction process, particularly due to Finlands harsh winters. With temperatures dropping to -7.6F and strong winds, workers had to carefully time outdoor installations, like the aquadome, when wind speeds were below 10 mph. Coordinating the efforts of multiple contractorstypically 10 to 15 for each ship sectionadded further complexity to the project.

The Meyer Turku shipyard also integrates sustainability practices through its NEcOleap program, focusing on energy efficiency, responsibly sourced materials, and optimized ship design to reduce fuel consumption.

Original story was published by The New York Times on 08.11.2024 and can be found here.

UNHCR raises concerns over Finnish family reunification proposal

United Nations Refugee Agencys (UNHCR) concerns regarding Finlands proposed amendments to its Aliens Act, which introduce stricter rules for family reunification, was covered in an article by Scandasia on November 15. The article gives details of the amendment, as UNHCR highlights how these restrictions disproportionately burden practical nurses and other workers from abroad, as well as refugees seeking safety and stability.

These changes, effective from November 1, 2024, significantly affect foreign workers and refugees, particularly those from nations like the Philippines and Vietnam. Key provisions include new income thresholds, a required minimum residence period, and age limitations for sponsoring spouses, along with financial demands on families of underage sponsors.

Foreign workers and refugees face greater challenges in reuniting with family members, which undermines their integration into Finnish society. The agency warns that the measures could harm refugees' overall wellbeing and create obstacles for their successful adjustment to life in Finland.

In particular, the income requirement makes it increasingly difficult for workers, especially those in lower-paying sectors, to meet the criteria for bringing their families. For refugees, the tightened rules exacerbate their vulnerability, isolating them from vital family support networks.

Original story was published by Scandasia on 15.11.2024 and can be found here.

HT
ARTIST and creative Caroline McAslan believes in keeping busy.

The 75-year-old, who lives in Kidmore End, will be exhibiting some of her knitted wreaths and teddy bears in the Henley Art and Crafts Guild winter exhibition, which starts next Friday, November 22 and runs for nearly two weeks at the Old Fire Station Gallery.

Caroline, who is retired, says: Im very enthusiastic about the way in which people can do art late in life or in midlife. People of a certain vintage, or as the French like to say, une dame dun certain age, have that time to do these things.

I mean, gosh, if I could only have done that when I was commuting to London and the City, then I would have been very happy.

Its only later, but thats the golden opportunity and thats the time when you should be pushing the boat out and doing the creative things that you couldnt do when you were working  and 75 is the new 65.

In addition to being a guild member, Caroline is chairman of the artists group at Phyllis Court. She likes to work in acrylics, pen and ink and oils and is also passionate about sewing, knitting and calligraphy.

I like to support both the club and also the guild and what they do in arranging exhibitions and wonderful workshops, she says.

They really are amazing workshops, they get top notch tutors. We have a whole day at the most marvellous little ex-village school. Its absolutely lovely being there all day, painting away or doing craft, making loom stuff.

Caroline volunteered at Greys Court and Nuffield Place for seven years, where she demonstrated French knitting and would knit flowers. She has since expanded into making wreaths.

These wreaths are about nearly 100 of these little flowers all attached in a colourful arrangement. These ones are in quite nice vibrant spring colours.

I have also been making some very small teddy bears. When I went to the Thames Traditional Boat Festival, I visited the ladies in the knitting and weaving tent and one of them, Linda Scurr, had a pattern for a teddy bear.

I had got some wool from Orkney, so I thought ooh, Ill make the bears from this wool. So, Ive got little bears that have already been welcomed by babies because Ive knitted quite a few of them.

The artists group at Phyllis Court has 65 members, which you wouldnt imagine in a small club, but its all about the atmosphere and how you look after people and the same is true in the Henley Art and Crafts Guild.

If youre not welcoming and friendly, people will just turn away, so youve got to have the right attitude and nurture the members that you have. And Simon Pink, the chairman of the guild, does that very well, he looks after everybody. Hes very warm and hes non-judgemental.

You want to be able to do things and try and do it in the best way you can and sometimes you succeed, sometimes you dont, but youve got to try.

Caversham painter Duncan Eggleton joined the guild recently. The 60-year-old, who is married to Katrina and has two daughters and two children from a previous marriage, works at a graphics printing supplies company at Sheeplands Farm in Wargrave but has had a lifelong passion combining art and nature.

He likes to capture light and natural landscapes.

I studied at Dyfed College of Art and Design back in the Eighties doing wildlife illustration, he says.

I spent the last 35, 40 years working within the art and design supply industry so not physically creating any art but dealing with a lot of creative people.

Now is the time to try and expand my passion and I thought a good way would be to join a local group.

This will be my first time putting some work into an exhibition for many years. Ive been to the last couple of exhibitions that the guild has put on, Ive got a friend that is also a member who I went along to support and have a look at her work. I just thought, the group seems very diverse and interesting.

Its been busy times bringing all the family up, but theyre very into creative stuff as well and my wife is also interested in creating and producing art.

But when I got to 60 I thought yeah, Id like to do a bit more.

Its good, I recommend this for anybody, no matter what skill, for your mental health, anything creative is absolutely so positive for your wellbeing.

Its such a powerful thing to do. You dont have to be super-talented, everybody can do it.

After his early wildlife illustration training, Duncan says he is trying new techniques.

At the moment Im working in pencil and graphite, Im trying to loosen up and be a bit more creative about it. Im more interested in the sort of mark-making, so still quite representational, but trying to create an illusion. Art is an illusion because youre trying to make a series of marks that ends up, not for everybody, but for my art, trying to create something that is realistic without actually drawing every hair on a birds feather or whatever.

But everybody is different and its very subjective and I think thats what makes it so interesting, theres no right or wrong conclusion to art, its all about what people take from it.

Purley artist Debbie Pocock, 63, likes to capture things such as rainbows, sunlight and nature and is inspired by things that connect people, including dreams. Her painting called Reflecting and Connecting had an unusual starting point.

She says: My inspiration comes from sunlight, trees, that kind of thing. For one of the paintings Im going to put in, I had my art board in the hallway, with the paper on the board ready, and the sunlight just bounced in through the glass and then it made all these little patterns on the paper and I thought, ooh, that looks interesting.

I was just going out so I clicked it on my phone, just to capture the image, and then it just kind of gave me an idea as I looked at the shapes.

So, then I just set about thinking, how am I going to start that? Then I just picked a few colours and then in the end I ended up connecting all the shapes with white ink.

Debbie, who is also a hairdresser, painted The Wishing Tree after she had a dream. Then when I woke, I just jotted down notes, how to start the painting. Im very interested in energy medicine and energy work and I do reiki as well, so I just jotted down as soon as I woke, right, do this, do that, and so I just cleared an energy point.

Then, with my eyes closed, I just noticed what I saw, like where to put the colours, which bit to keep white, and shapes, and thats exactly what I did.

Sometimes I might light a candle, put a little lamp on, and just see whats going to grow out of that painting.

Debbie, who has three grown-up sons and six granddaughters, paints mainly in watercolour but occasionally uses ink and sometimes adds a little something extra special.

Ive tried a little bit of 24 carat gold leaf, Ive put that on a few, thats on another one in the exhibition called Gabriela Night and Day. That came from my intuitive feelings that just came through.

I just felt like painting, not really knowing what I was doing and then I got a phone call after and it was almost like Id picked up on this ladys feelings, because I ended up painting a feather in the middle of the picture and I didnt know why and then when I spoke to her, it just connected up.

She started telling me, Oh, I absolutely love feathers and I said, Oh, thats funny, Ive just painted it. I often have crystals in my windows. Sometimes I might be doing an ordinary painting and then a rainbow might bounce in on to the painting and a couple of times Ive included that into the pictures.

Theres a painting I did called The Loving Heart Tree, and as I was painting that the rainbows just came through the window and just landed. I might be painting and put some music on, and then its almost like I paint the music. Ive got a dandelion picture, thats just an ordinary picture of some dandelions and then Ive put gold leaf on that one.

Another one I just threw some blue ink over the page. I dont often know whats going to come next, and its almost like then something grows. I might start off painting something quite ordinary and then I just have a play really.

Debbie was inspired by Simon Pink when she met him on an arts trail in Tilehurst. Ive literally just joined, I actually met Simon when I went along to have a look at his paintings. We chatted about art and he said Why dont you join? So this is my first time doing this with them.

 The Henley Art and Crafts Guild winter exhibition, featuring art, craft and sculpture, is at the Old Fire Station Gallery, behind the town hall in Upper Market Place, Henley, from Friday, November 22 to Tuesday, December 3, open from 11am to 5pm daily (closing at 2pm on the last day). For more information, visit henleyacg.org
THE Mayor of Henley has called for peace in ongoing global conflicts, urging that we owe it to the brave men and women who gave their lives in service.

Councillor Rory Hunt addressed the crowd from a wooden lectern on the steps of the town hall as he spoke about the cost of war and his fears about the rise of fascist leaders.

He said: I am deeply troubled by the deteriorating state of the world, the increase in fascist and autocratic leaders, and the corresponding deterioration in global peace and co-operation.

Unfortunately, we now live in a more dangerous world than we did a few short years ago. I hope we do not as a global society forget the lessons of the past.

As Gandhi once stated, an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind. I hope to see an end to the cycle of violence and vengeance that blights so many lives, to the benefit of so very few.

As we remember those from our community who have given their lives, we should also try and remember those who fell from other communities and countries.

Weapons do not discriminate and many from different parts of the world, of different religions, cultures and customs, have made the same sacrifice that allows us to be together here today, or have otherwise suffered in the same cause.

I ask all those here today to consider the true cost of war and spare a thought for those who, through no fault of their own, are enduring such suffering right now, whether in Gaza, Ukraine or elsewhere.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, one of the most important dates in our history and a day that saw bravery and sacrifice in tragic abundance.

We fought alongside allies to establish a free, just and peaceful Europe. Thankfully we succeeded but not without much suffering and death.

When Armistice Day was first envisioned, there was a pledge of never again. How sad we have not been able to make that pledge a reality but I hope we can all, in our own way, contribute to a peaceful future.

The Mayor addressed the crowd that gathered in Market Place. Many wore red poppies and huddled under umbrellas as the rain fell.

A recording was played over a loudspeaker of pupils from Gillotts School reading the names and ages of those who had died in the First World War.

Edward Horton, 19, Walter Miller, 27, John Thomas Jefferey, 29, came the names, each one read by a different pupil.

The tape has been used for the service since 2014 following the Lest We Forget project led by Mike Willoughby, who identified more than 100 servicemen lost in the Great War but whose names were not listed on the memorial outside the town hall.

At about 10.30am four Royal Marine cadets marched to the front of the town hall, lining themselves in front of the steps and the market place was thronged with people.

There was then a procession from Greys Road car park to the town hall with the Henley air cadets, army, sea, royal marine cadets, members of the Henley branch of the Royal British Legion, beavers, cubs, scouts and brownies all led by standard bearers, as well as representatives of Thames Valley Police, Henley fire service, Henley Freemasons, the RNLI, Henley Bowls Club, South Central Ambulance Service and St John Ambulance.

The choir from St Marys Church in Hart Street then made their way through the crowd and stood at the side of the steps.

The Mayors party came out of the town hall led by town sergeant James Churchill-Coleman carrying the ceremonial mace, Lady Hall, Deputy Lieutenant of Oxfordshire and Cllr Hunt dressed in ceremonial robes.

His chaplain, Rev Jeremy Tayler, the rector of Henley with Remenham, began the service by reading from a lectern at the top of the steps.

He said: My brothers and sisters, today we gather, as we do each year, to pray for peace in the world God made, peace for which so many have already laid down their lives and for which so many continue to die, day by day.

And we remember them before God with grief and pride and thanksgiving. We pray for all who suffer still because of war and terrorism and we ask for Gods help and blessing for ourselves that we may do his will and that the whole world may acknowledge him as Lord and King.

So now let us remember before God our Father, and commend to his love and sure keeping, the souls of those who have died for their country in war, those whom we knew and those whose memory we treasure, and all who have lived and died through the ages in the service of their fellow men and women.

Richard Pinches, who chairs the Henley branch of the Royal British Legion, then read from the poem For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon.

He said: They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

The crowds then responded with We will remember them. The Last Post was then sounded by Gregor Spowart on the cornet to mark the start of the two-minute silence.

The bearers lowered the standards as the crowd fell silent to honour those who gave their lives before the silence ended with Mr Spowart playing Reveille.

Mr Pinches then read the Kohima Epitaph: When you go home, tell them of us and say for your tomorrow we gave our today.

Rev Tayler led the crowd with responses, he said: Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord. The crowd responded with And let light perpetual shine upon them.. Rev Tayler then said: May they rest in peace. And the crowd again responded saying And rise in Glory.

Rev Tayler said a prayer. He said: Ever-living God, we remember those whom you have gathered from the storm of war into the peace of your presence; may that same peace calm our fears, bring justice to all peoples and establish harmony among the nations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

He then led the crowd in singing Jerusalem with some people sharing song sheets while others knew the words by heart.

This was followed by a reading by town clerk Sheridan Jacklin-Edward of Matthew 5:1-12. Rev Tayler then led the crowd in more prayers. After each prayer the crowd responded saying, Lord graciously hear us.

Rev Tayler said: Let us pray for the peace of the world: for statesmen and rulers that they may have wisdom to know, and courage to do what is right; for all who work to improve international relationships, that they may find the true way to reconcile people of different race, colour, and creed; and for men and women the world over that they may have justice and freedom, and live in security and peace: Lord, hear us.

For those who suffer as a result of war: for the injured and the disabled, for the mentally distressed, and for those whose faith in God and man has been weakened or destroyed; for the homeless and refugees, for those who are hungry, and for all who have lost their livelihood and security; and for those who mourn their dead: Lord, hear us.

Almighty and eternal God, from whose love in Christ, we cannot be parted, either by life or by death; hear our prayers and thanksgivings for all whom we remember this day; fulfil in them the purpose of your love; and bring us all with them to your eternal joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Cllr Hunt addressed the crowd and spoke about many of the rights we are able to enjoy today because of the sacrifices made by service men and women.

He said: We come together today as a community to pay our respects, and to give our thanks to those who have given their lives in the service of our freedom. We owe them a debt that we can never repay, but we can, and we will, remember them.

All of us here today are fortunate people. We live in a country largely free of oppression. We are not subject to a foreign occupying force, nor have we been forced from our homes. We do not wake up terrified for our own lives and for the lives of our loved ones.

We are free to speak our own native language and we are free to speak out against our leaders without fear of reprisals. We are all equal under the law, and with a right to a fair trial. Im sure all of us here today would consider these to be fundamental human rights, rights that should apply to all people wherever they may be in the world.

Those whom we are here today to remember made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can enjoy these rights and freedoms, rights an increasing number of our people in the world do not enjoy.

That is what those who have fallen in our service would wish, and we owe it to them to strive for the peace that they fought and died for. We will remember them.

The crowd then sang the hymn I Vow to Thee My Country before a bible reading by the Mayors cadets.

Rev Tayler led the crowd in the Act of Commitment and the Lords Prayer before many lowered their hats for a rendition of the National Anthem.

Lady Hall then stepped forward to lay the first wreath at the steps of the town hall followed by the Mayor and Amy French, on behalf of Henley MP Freddie van Mierlo. Others then followed suit, with many pausing for a moment of reflection and bowing their heads after doing so.

Councillor Stefan Gawrysiak lowered his hat and held it at his side after laying a wreath on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council.

He was followed by Councillor Kellie Hinton, on behalf of South Oxfordshire District Council, and John Green, president of the Henley branch of the Legion who, after laying his wreath, stumbled back on the wet steps but quickly regained his stability.

Wreaths were laid in pairs by representatives, groups and organisations across Henley. They included the army cadets, air cadets, sea cadets, 4th Battalion Oxon & Bucks Infantry, Henley fire service, Thames Valley police service, South Central Ambulance service, St John Ambulance, all churches, all primary schools, Rupert House, St Marys School, brownies, scouts, cubs, beavers, explorers, Henley Lions, Henley Rotary Club, RNLI, Henley Bowls Club, Eyot Centre, The Mans Club, Rugby Club, Henley Conservative club, The Henley Society, River and Rowing Museum, Henley Youth Festival, Phyllis Court Club, Henley Womens Institute, Henley Freemasons, Oxfordshire Grand Lodge, Henley College, Kenton Theatre, Henley Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society, Henley Archaeological and Historical Group and Henley Quakers.

The service ended with the procession resuming and marching around Market Place and back to the car park, applauded by the crowd. After the service, the Mayor invited the public into the town hall for refreshments and the crowd dispersed. Cllr Hunt greeted each person with a handshake as they entered the Queen Elizabeth II Hall.
DIRECTOR Ridley Scott saw in the millennium with the release of global blockbuster Gladiator, a tale set in Ancient Rome.

On the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, one of his generals, Maximus (Russell Crowe), was relegated by the new Emperor Commodus and forced to fight to the death.

Gladiator II (15) picks up the saga from the point of view of the deceased emperor Commoduss nephew, Lucius (Paul Mescal), the son of his sister Lucilla (Connie Nielsen).

Having witnessed the death of Maximus as a child, many years later, Lucius finds himself forced to fight for his life in the Colosseum in Rome.

A tyrannical duo who are co-emperors, Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), up the ante as they make the gladiators face rhinos and baboons in battle.

Denzel Washington stars as slave-owner and trainer Macrinus, who is trying to broker his own levels of power, while Pedro Pascal plays a Roman general, Marcus Acacius. Lucius has to find an inner strength to fight and win and return Rome to its people.

The film is out today at the Regal Picturehouse in Henley and has a running time of two hours and 28 minutes.

Also released today is the film Joy (12A). On July 25, 1978, Louise Joy Brown, the first test tube baby, conceived via in-vitro fertilisation, was born. The film tells the true story of the dramatic steps made in science to achieve this result. It has a running time of just under two hours.

Continuing are Blitz (12A), Small Things Like These (12A) and Paddington in Peru (PG).
TWO women travelled more than 1,300 miles to help transport aid to war-torn Ukraine.

Emma Bermingham, 58, from Goring, and Diana Rhodes, 61, from Ipsden, delivered generators, crutches, medical boots and medical supplies such as first aid kits.

The pair spent about 6,000 of their own money on the trip, including buying a 4x4 vehicle, supplies, petrol and hotel rooms.

They organised the trip with the charity Driving Ukraine, which was set up in March 2022 and since then volunteers have delivered more than 141 vehicles of essential supplies.

A convoy of six vehicles, each with two people, travelled out of the UK on the ferry on October 13, arriving in Ukraine on October 15.

They journeyed across the Netherlands, Germany and Poland and onwards to the city of Lviv, which is 70km east of the border with Poland and more than 500km from the frontline.

Their longest day of travelling from the Netherlands to Rakow in Poland took more than 12 hours, not including stops.

The pair, who met through mutual friends around 15 years ago, took turns to drive and listened to podcasts during the journey.

Mrs Bermingham said: We never slept when the other was driving. I dozed off once for about one second but because we were driving on the opposite side of the road to the UK, you were on high alert the whole time.

It was quite funny because you would get cars coming past and they would see our flags and start beeping and giving us a thumbs-up. They would look back and you could see them go to the other person Theres two old ladies there.

Once they got through the Ukrainian border life appeared normal although the impact of the war with Russia soon became apparent.

Mrs Bermingham said: As you go across the border theres lots of farmland and chickens and a lot of women walking around collecting leaves for the heating and having to navigate the potholes.

But then you arrive in Lviv and you see the boarding up of the churches and statues with scaffolding around them.

When the ladies arrived, they entered a tucked-away garage and their black vehicle was transformed into a matte spray-painted camouflage truck, ready for it to be sent to the front line.

One of the men who was helping with the revamp had stepped down from fighting in the war after losing his leg. After a night of rest, the women were taken around by locals to observe the city.

Ms Rhodes said: We were shown around a croissant factory, which is doing really well because McDonalds is shut. We were shown around by a man and a woman and an interpreter because the woman couldnt speak very good English.

Mrs Bermingham said: You walk around the streets and people are dressed well. All the international companies have left and there are no men around.

Its far away from the front line and any threats but it was bombed in September so that was a bit scary. There are curfews and there are a lot of young people out but not many boys, and any boys that are, are predominantly in uniform.

Youre told to put an app on your phone and as soon as we landed at Heathrow, all I could see was this alert saying drone attack.

The pair visited a military graveyard in the city, which had been extended into a neighbouring field because it needed more space.

Mrs Bermingham said: Every grave had a Ukrainian flag on it with a picture of the deceased and a flower but whats so sad is that there are little benches between each graveyard and there were always women of our age sitting on them.

You look at them and you think Shes my age and shes looking at her son and I suddenly thought, Its always the mother and then I realised theyre all at war.

This boy was the same as my son and I just thought Its so sad and all the graves are beautifully kept. This time last year it was just one side, but now its both sides of the graveyard and they have at least one funeral a day.

Mrs Bermingham said she was close to tears during the graveyard funeral visit.

She said: All the graves have photographs on them with details of them. I happened to pick on the date of August 19 and there were so many. We were at a Taylor Swift concert in England and some 1,300 miles away all these teenagers and 20-year-olds were being killed.

There had been a big strike on a bridge in Kyiv that day. You just think Oh my God, it should be a million miles away, yet its not. I dont think I have been so close to tears so many times.

After completing the trip, the women said they felt flat due to the emotional pressures of being near an active war zone. However, they said they would do it again.

After dropping supplies, they returned by train to Poland where they spent a couple of days unwinding before flying home from Krakow.

Ms Rhodes said: We couldnt sleep for a couple of nights at first until we got to Krakow because it's one of those things that you dont realise until after because of the adrenaline.

My son is training to be a marine and when I was in the cemetery I remember just saying Please, please, please may this never be me. Having been there I just feel desperately sad for them. Not just because Ive seen it but because its such a desperate situation.

It was just very sad. Obviously, we were aware of where we were, but it did feel surreal. I thought everything would be put into perspective when I got back but I just felt a bit flat. It was a great thing, and I will do it again.

Mrs Bermingham added that the train to Krakow further helped ground them and made them realise how privileged they are. She would not hesitate to do the trip again.

She said: There was an adrenaline rush to it and it felt like a real achievement. Afterwards youre thinking were so lucky were going home when all these people have nowhere because they are leaving their home and dont necessarily know when they will go back.

I think its a really worthwhile trip for two people to do together. Im really glad we got the supplies into Ukraine and saw them get delivered.
Feature: Chinese traditional attire captivates enthusiasts in Taiwan

Xinhua) 14:42, November 18, 2024

TAIPEI, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Warriors clad in black robes with long swords at their waists, scholars in flowing wide-sleeved garments, and ladies adorned in golden crowns and colorful skirts drew curious onlookers in the bustling Taipei downtown, with many pausing to take photos and ask, "Is this some kind of performance?"

The third weekend of November marked the annual Taiwan Hanfu Festival, a significant event for fans of traditional Chinese attire across the island.

Since its inception in 2020 with a gathering of about 100 Hanfu lovers, the festival has grown in scale and popularity, with 2024 marking its fifth edition. This year's festival featured not only a Hanfu parade but also a fair, a fashion show, and a Hanfu ambassador selection contest.

Zhong Min-hao has been involved since the first festival. On Saturday, due to the warmer weather, he chose a lightweight blue robe with lotus branch patterns. For Sunday's parade, aligning with this year's theme, he donned a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) royal costume, complete with a vermilion robe and a winged black crown.

"I currently own more than 50 sets of Hanfu, ranging from the Han, Tang and Song dynasties to the Ming Dynasty," Zhong said, while adding that his interest in Hanfu began because of a fascination with Chinese history and inspiration from period dramas.

"Initially, I just thought the clothes were beautiful, but after seeing many Hanfu bloggers sharing information on social media platforms, I became increasingly interested in the historical knowledge behind the attire, for instance, the meanings of the patterns and the distinctions between ceremonial and everyday wear."

Xu Ya-qing, newly elected ambassador for 2024 Taiwan Hanfu Festival, first got into Hanfu to emulate the graceful heroines of martial arts dramas. Over time, her understanding of the cultural heritage behind the clothing deepened.

"When I saw Japanese wearing the kimono and Koreans in the hanbok, I wondered what our traditional attire was," she reflected.

In her daily life, Xu often blends Hanfu with modern clothes, such as pairing T-shirts and shirts with traditional skirts. "When people see my mix-and-match outfits, they often ask out of curiosity, and I take the opportunity to tell them about Hanfu," she said.

Calling herself a "hairpin lady," Tsai Jing-ru set up a stall at the Hanfu festival's fair to showcase handcrafted hairpins created by her and her friends. The vibrant and diverse collection included hand-wrapped flower hairpins made using a traditional handicraft in Taiwan, silk flower hairpins from the mainland, and their own unique designs of glazed flower hairpins.

"Traditional hand-wrapped flowers are often used at weddings in Taiwan, mostly featuring red and gold colors and fixed shapes. We've used this old wrapping technique to create new floral designs with a wider range of colors, complementing the Hanfu attire," Tsai said. Her team of around ten regular members, along with occasional contributors, sell their creations online.

"The Hanfu trend is both a way for young people to express their unique style and a cultural awakening," said Tsai, who favors Ming Dynasty attire.

Tang Hua, owner of Xuntaiji Studio in the city of Tainan in southern Taiwan, traveled to Taipei specifically for the Hanfu festival, hoping to attract northern Hanfu enthusiasts to Tainan for photo shoots.

"Many people in Tainan are passionate about taking Hanfu photos, and the city's numerous ancient buildings and rural landscapes make it ideal for capturing a historical atmosphere," she said.

"The festival started when a few of us, meeting online, decided to wear Hanfu in the downtown one weekend, and we never imagined it would grow into such a large-scale event," recalled Lin Shi-min, one of the original initiators and organizers of the Taiwan Hanfu Festival.

This year, over 1,000 participants joined the parade, and the two-day fair attracted an estimated 30,000 visitors, Lin added.

Lin and Zhong recently attended a Hanfu cultural week in Xitang of east China's Zhejiang Province, where they observed that, while the Hanfu movement in Taiwan is primarily driven by personal passion, there is less commercial development and academic research compared to the situation on the mainland.

"In Taiwan, it's relatively easy to dress up beautifully in traditional attire for a photo shoot, but finding historically-accurate and well-reproduced Hanfu can be challenging," Zhong said.

Despite a later start, Hanfu culture in Taiwan is flourishing. Enthusiasts often showcase and introduce Hanfu during traditional festivals like Dragon Boat, Mid-Autumn and Chinese New Year, as well as during cultural events such as museum visits. More and more people are also incorporating Hanfu elements into their daily attire.

On his Facebook page, Zhong wrote, "Hanfu culture is not just about clothing. It's not simply ancient clothes or costumes, nor is it cosplay. It is a cultural legacy of a nation."

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
Hundreds of people fled Friday as Typhoon Man-Yi bore down on the Philippines, threatening yet more destruction even as rescuers tried to reach people stranded on rooftops by the last tropical cyclone.

Five major storms have battered the archipelago nation in the last three weeks, killing at least 163 people and prompting the United Nations to request $32.9 million in aid for the worst-affected regions.

Typhoon Usagi hit the north of the country on Thursday, and on Friday rescuers were still scrambling to reach residents stranded on rooftops in northern Luzon island, where herds of livestock were devastated.

At the same time authorities began evacuating hundreds of people from the island of Catanduanes, which will likely be the first landmass hit directly by Typhoon Man-yi on Saturday, according to the weather service.

"We expect thousands more to evacuate in the hours before landfall, Roberto Monterola, operations chief of the Catanduanes civil defence office told AFP.

"We do not have enough evacuation centres, so some of them will be sheltering with neighbours who own houses made of stronger materials."

On Thursday, flash floods driven by Usagi struck 10 largely evacuated villages around the town of Gonzaga in Cagayan province, local rescue official Edward Gaspar told AFP by phone.

"We rescued a number of people who had refused to move to the shelters and got trapped on their rooftops," Gaspar added.

While the evacuation of more than 5,000 Gonzaga residents ahead of Usagi saved lives, he said two houses were swept away and many others were damaged while the farming region's livestock industry took a heavy blow.

"We have yet to account for the exact number of hogs, cattle and poultry lost from the floods, but I can say the losses were huge," Gaspar said.

Motorist Janford Bonifacio said he saw Gonzaga residents digging for their animals, many dead but some still alive, beneath mud and uprooted trees.

"I saw people digging for their cattle that were still alive, and some were trying to save their hogs which they found among the logs," he told AFP.

Uprooted trees also damaged a major bridge in Gonzaga, isolating nearby Santa Ana, a coastal town of about 36,000 people.

"Most evacuees have returned home, but we held back some of them. We have to check first if their houses are still safe for habitation," Bonifacio Espiritu, operations chief of the civil defence office in Cagayan, told AFP.

By Friday, Usagi, now downgraded to a severe tropical storm, was over the Luzon Strait with a reduced strength of 110 kilometres (68 miles) an hour as it headed towards southern Taiwan.

But the streak of violent weather was forecast to continue in the central Philippines, with Man-yi, reclassified as a typhoon and already packing winds of up to 150 kilometres an hour, expected to hit the impoverished island province of Catanduanes late Saturday.

A UN assessment said the past month's storms damaged or destroyed 207,000 houses, with 700,000 people forced to seek temporary shelter.

Many families were without essentials like sleeping mats, hygiene kits and cooking supplies, and had limited access to safe drinking water.

Thousands of hectares of farmland were destroyed and persistent flooding was likely to delay replanting efforts and worsen food supply problems, the report added.

About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Southeast Asian nation or its surrounding waters each year, killing scores of people, but it is unusual for multiple such weather events to take place in a small window.

The weather service said this tends to happen during seasonal episodes of La Nina, a climatic phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean that pushes more warm water toward Asia, causing heavy rains and flooding in the region and drought in the southern United States.
European diplomats have raised concerns after President-elect Donald Trump selected Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence. However, they did show support for Trump's choice of Florida Republican Marco Rubio as secretary of state.

Many fear Hegseth and Gabbard's appointments signal a shift away from the U.S.'s traditional role in NATO, leaving Europe to brace for greater self-reliance amid global tensions.

"This is really terrifying," Nathalie Loiseau, former French Europe minister under President Emmanuel Macron and now a European lawmaker in his Renew Europe group, posted on X about Trump's Cabinet selections,

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, the German who heads the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Security and Defence, said: "The time of European restraint and the hope that the USA would protect us is over."

Meanwhile, Marek Magierowski, the former Polish ambassador to Washington, sharply criticized Gabbard for her past "pro-Russian" remarks. Just three days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, she urged the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. to "embrace the spirit of aloha" and negotiate Ukraine's status as a neutral country.

"As she becomes the head of the entire U.S. intelligence community, this is a very disturbing signal for sure," he said on Polish television.

Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic Congresswoman from Hawaii, lacks experience in intelligence and has made controversial statements about countries like Russia and Syria, raising concerns about her judgment. If Trump's nomination stands, Gabbard would be responsible for overseeing the nation's 16 intelligence agencies and some of its most classified national security programs.

"This is seriously big and bad," Francois Heisbourg, senior adviser for Europe at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, posted on X. "I hope the Senate will block her confirmation  but I don't expect that to happen."

Heisbourg added about previous picks: "The question is not so much 'Can they rein in Trump?' as 'Will they want to?' They are on board for the ride."

Gabbard's background contrasts sharply with that of Avril Haynes, the current director of national intelligence, who has a decades-long career in intelligence. Haynes previously served as the deputy director of the CIA during the Obama administration and was a senior member of his national security council.
"Deeply concerning" is what Former Vice President Mike Pence has described President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary. Pence has urged Senate Republicans to oppose Trump's pick.

"I believe the nomination of RFK Jr. to serve as Secretary of HHS is an abrupt departure from the pro-life record of our administration and should be deeply concerning to millions of Pro-Life Americans who have supported the Republican Party and our nominees for decades," Pence said in a statement Friday on behalf of his conservative nonprofit Advancing American Freedom.

During his presidential campaign, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. consistently voiced his support for "a woman's right to choose" and said that he does not support any legislation banning abortion. His campaign website highlights his strong backing of Roe v. Wade, stating that if the courts fail to overturn Dobbs v. Jackson and restore abortion rights, he would advocate for legislation to achieve that goal.

Mike Pence, who served as Trump's vice president, has distanced himself from his former running mate following their fallout over Pence's certification of the 2020 election for President Joe Biden. Since then, Pence has openly disagreed with Trump and the GOP on several issues, particularly favoring a national abortion ban over leaving the matter to individual states.

In the statement, Pence said the agency Trump picked Kennedy to lead makes "hundreds of decisions" daily "that either lead our nation toward a respect for life or away from it."

"If confirmed, RFK, Jr. would be the most pro-abortion Republican appointed secretary of HHS in modern history," Pence said in the statement.

Pence has openly opposed Trump's stance that abortion should be left to the states, previously describing it as a "slap in the face" to those who oppose abortion.

If confirmed as HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would oversee 13 public health agencies and has already signaled plans for significant changes. Speaking at a November conference, Kennedy stated he would halt infectious disease research at the National Institutes of Health if appointed to a position in the Trump administration.

Not only Pence, many Democrats, and some Republicans expressed concerns about the pick. Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins said that Kennedy "would be a surprising choice." House Rep. Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif., expressed concerns that he could "move against one of the most life-saving technologies in the history of the world."
The StandardX brand continues its expansion with the debut of The StandardX, Bangkok Phra Arthit (The StandardX, Bangkok). Following the brand's inaugural launch in Melbourne's Fitzroy neighborhood earlier this year, this second outpost embraces Bangkok's incredible art scene with a rotating art gallery set amongst its 62 guestrooms, and two vibrant culinary concepts.

At its core, The StandardX brand defies convention while embodying the adventure of travel with distinctive style. As the rebellious younger sibling of The Standard, The StandardX brand offers intentionally minimalist rooms, cultural programming and intuitive hospitality. Guests at The StandardX hotels are not cocooned from the local environment; instead, they are given the keys to discover its hidden gems. The brand deliberately chooses culturally rich, but often unexpected locations within major global cities that immerse guests into the local art, fashion, and music scenes.

The StandardX, Bangkok is nestled in Bangkok's old town on the banks of the Chao Phraya River nearby Silapakorn University, the city's most prominent arts institution. The StandardX, Bangkok is surrounded by a creative enclave brimming with cafes, bars, restaurants, and a lively music scene. The hotel immerses its guests into this artistic environment by housing 10 10 Art Gallery that showcases both visiting and permanent collections by local artists with international recognition, launching with Gongkan and MRKREME. Both artists were commissioned to decorate The StandardX, Bangkok's streetside and riverfront facades with their signature, eye-catching artwork. The property will also introduce an artist-in-residence program, serving as an incubator for emerging talent accompanied by workshops, events, and panels that will create a creative exchange with guests and locals.

The StandardX, Bangkok was designed as a collaboration between The StandardX's in-house team and Studio Freehand with Porntip "Mook" Attakanwong of ATT19. The StandardX, Bangkok's guest rooms range from 30 to 46 square meters across four categories, from the intimate Cozy King and Cozy Twin to King on the River and the spacious King of Kings. Each room blends the raw, gritty spirit of Bangkok with the modern comforts a discerning traveler expects.

Similar to its Melbourne counterpart, The StandardX, Bangkok will offer its standout dining concepts: BANG, an all-day Thai restaurant located on the ground floor, where local ingredients bring a bold perspective to beloved traditional Thai dishes. Dishes include Grilled Chicken (Gor Lae) with Roti, Pong-Neng Fried Mussels and Som Tum Chao Phraya.

Adjacent to BANG is The Box, a retail concept store that offers a selection of curated and crafted everyday essentials, snacks, beverages, and local goods. In line with The StandardX's commitment to sustainability and supporting local communities, The StandardX has collaborated with growers in Pua District, Nan Province to cultivate exceptional coffee varieties served throughout the hotel. This collaboration not only delivers exceptional quality but also creates jobs and provides stable income for the next generation in Pua District, Nan Province.

Perched on the sixth floor, The Roof is inspired by the robust flavors of Mexico enjoyed next to a cozy pool with views of the Chao Phraya.

Hotel website
Palladium Hotel Group announces its arrival in Barcelona with the opening of 45 Times Barcelona Hotel, starting from 15 November 2024.

With an unbeatable location, in the heart of Plaza de Cataluna, 45 Times Barcelona Hotel, a 4* superior property, features 119 rooms distributed across 11 different categories. The hotel will operate temporarily under the ephemeral brand 45 Times Hotels. Its location, just a short distance from the theatres of Las Ramblas and Gaudi's majestic works, is an attraction in itself. The building's neoclassical architecture and unique decor combine elements that authentically represent Barcelona's cosmopolitan and varied style, including a mural by the urban art collective Boamistura.

45 Times Barcelona Hotel will maintain the services and facilities of the current establishment, including its iconic rooftop with swimming pool and bar, offering magnificent views over the city.

The opening of 45 Times Barcelona Hotel marks the group's return to Barcelona, where it was present until 2022 with 3 assets operating under the Ayre Hoteles brand. Following its conversion, after approximately one year, 45 Times Barcelona Hotel will become part of the BLESS Collection Hotels portfolio, following the same concept of experiential luxury that characterises this exclusive brand. 'With 45 Times Barcelona Hotel, we are giving continuity to a concept of ephemeral hotels, which pay tribute to the most cosmopolitan traveller and allow us to operate assets in an agile manner for a specific period of time before transforming them into concepts already established within the portfolio of Palladium Hotel Group' says Juan Serra, Corporate Managing Director of Only YOU Hotels and BLESS Collection Hotels.

The opening of the 45 Times Barcelona Hotel is the second for Palladium Hotel Group this year, following the opening of Only YOU Hotel Sevilla in March 2024. This brings the total number of properties operated by the hotel management company to 41, 19 of which are located in Spain.

45 Times Hotels: an ephemeral brand

45 Times Hotels has been created as an innovative concept of hotel accommodation that operates only for a limited time, and must therefore be enjoyed before it disappears to be transformed into another experience. It is accommodation with modern, functional and comfortable facilities that guarantee a quality experience in prime locations, inviting guests to enjoy the destination. At its core is the anticipation of a transformation and evolution to become another concept: another brand in the Palladium Hotel Group portfolio.

45 Times Hotels is a concept that was born in New York. The brand pays tribute to the cosmopolitan spirit of big cities and was created in honour of the chain's first hotel in the American city: 45 Times Square Hotel, which opened in August 2023, and whose opening marked the arrival of Palladium Hotel Group in the United States.

Hotel website
St. Regis Hotels & Resorts is proud to announce the debut of The St. Regis Belgrade, marking the brand's first entry into Serbia. Founded in New York by John Jacob Astor IV more than a century ago, St. Regis celebrates its 120th anniversary this year with this significant addition to its global portfolio. Combining timeless glamour and vanguard spirit with local heritage the property is developed by Eagle Hills, a private investment and real estate development company based in Abu Dhabi and designed by the internationally recognized design firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Global (SOM).

The newly built The St. Regis Belgrade stands tall as a striking 42-story tower located in the city's most coveted address - where the Sava and Danube rivers meet and on the premises of the landmark Belgrade Waterfront. This highly desirable location places guests within walking distance of historical sites, the diplomatic area, and the business district. Part of a monumental urban revitalization project, it promises to become an appealing destination for both locals and global travelers alike.

The design concept of The St. Regis Belgrade pays homage to the city's architectural heritage and unique blend of old and new, epitomizing Belgrade as "the city of two halves." The exterior glass shell is shaped to give a fluid and dynamic vertical expression to the tower, mimicking the fluidity of the two city rivers. In the interiors, traditional Serbian patterns and inspirations woven throughout, are masterfully blended with shades of deep blues, soft grays and warm earth tones that reflect a modern palette.

The seamless integration of Belgrade's character into the refined modern design of the hotel, ensures guests experience the city's essence in every detail, from the local flavors highlighted in the culinary creations, to the bespoke experiences and anticipatory service curated by the signature St. Regis Butler Service.

The St. Regis Belgrade offers 119 guest rooms, including 17 suites and a sprawling 192 sqm Presidential Suite with unparalleled 240-degree panoramic city views. The design is sophisticated and highly curated, featuring an elegant palette of soft and warm earth and blue colors that highlight the essence of Belgrade. The hotel signature Caroline Astor Suite is enriched with a bespoke collection of luxury sleepwear, exclusively curated by the Serbian fashion designer Aleksandar Zabunovic; a true ode to timeless elegance that celebrates the art of refined relaxation. Inspired by the iconic motifs of both brands, the collection effortlessly intertwines the St. Regis diamond pattern - a hallmark of sophistication and grandeur - with the delicate allure of the orchid, the signature emblem of the Zabunovic brand.

Adding a unique artistic touch, Serbian artist Marko Desivojevic contributes to the suite experience with an exclusive marble tray design. Celebrated for his refined aesthetic and commitment to quality, Desivojevic draws inspiration from the Balkans' rich heritage and natural beauty, infusing the space with simplicity, respect for materials, and innovation.

The hotel's dining concepts introduce fresh, inventive venues, adding a premiere culinary offering to the vibrant Serbian capital. Transporting epicurean connoisseurs to New York's inimitable dining scene, Savant Brasserie offers sophisticated interpretations of classic dishes, expertly infused with the flavors of the Serbian terroir and locally sourced ingredients. Meanwhile, Rise Patisserie, celebrates Belgrade's rich coffee culture featuring St. Regis' signature Afternoon Tea Ritual, accompanied by a menu of elevated delicacies and handcrafted pastries.

Embodying the celebratory soul of Belgrade, The St. Regis Bar stands as the centerpiece to a truly immersive cocktail experience. Guests are here invited to unwind in the jazz-inspired ambiance, sampling an exceptional selection of Serbian wines and brandies, as well as international classics, including the hotel's twist on the Bloody Mary, Essentially Quince. Adjacent to The St. Regis Bar a special Wine Room offers an exclusive space for wine-themed dinners and tastings curated by the hotel's Cellar Master and Executive Chef.

Offerings include The St. Regis Spa, a place of endless inspiration featuring an indoor pool, sauna, steam bath and a fully equipped gym. With meticulously curated body and facial treatments performed by Sothys products in five opulent rooms, tailored wellness awaits discerning guests. The 710 sqm meeting space, featuring the spectacular glass-wrapped Astor Ballroom with Astor Terrace, provides a premier setting for gatherings of all kinds. Additionally, the Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, and Carnegie meeting rooms offer an elegant, understated grandeur for intimate dinners, meetings and special occasions, ensuring privacy and a sense of celebration. Meanwhile, the John Jacob Astor Boardroom, with unobstructed city views, offers an exceptional setting for productive meetings, ensuring comfort and sophistication for each guest.

Preserving the timeless traditions of St. Regis, The St. Regis Belgrade will offer a series of signature rituals such as Afternoon Tea, a refined gathering inspired by the legacy of Mrs. Caroline Astor, the Evening Sabrage, celebrating the transition from day to night, and the Bloody Mary cocktail, blending local flavours, including Serbia's famous quince rakija.

Hotel website
Signing of 100-keys hotel will bolster IHG's luxury and lifestyle portfolio in the country and is in line with the company's expansion strategy across key leisure destinations in India.

IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the world's leading hotel companies, has announced the signing of a management agreement with Adyar Gate Hotels to develop InterContinental Kodaikanal Resort. Slated to open in 2028, the resort marks an exciting new addition to IHG's luxury portfolio in India and aligns with the group's strategy to expand lifestyle and luxury brands in key leisure destinations across the country. This signing marks the debut of the InterContinental brand in Kodaikanal and the sixth (open and in the pipeline) in the country, following successful ventures in Chennai, Mumbai, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Delhi.

Perched at 7,200 feet, Kodaikanal is celebrated for its breathtaking landscapes, pleasant climate, and rich colonial heritage, making it one of South India's most popular getaway destinations for high end leisure and corporate clientele. Known as the "Princess of Hills," Kodaikanal attracts a growing number of visitors each year from Tamil Nadu and nearby states like Karnataka, Telangana, and Maharashtra. The destination's allure lies not only in its scenic beauty but also in its outdoor activities, from trekking and boating owing to its consistently pleasant weather.

Once opened, InterContinental Kodaikanal Resort will feature 100 guest rooms with cottages, and a variety of luxury amenities to cater to both leisure and corporate guests. These include five dining options: All Day Dining, Specialty Restaurant, Lobby Lounge, Pool Bar, InterContinental Club Lounge, ensuring a delightful F&B experience for all guests. For guests looking to unwind and relax, the hotel will feature a pool, fitness centre and a spa. InterContinental Kodaikanal Resort will also feature two meeting spaces, including a ballroom catering to social gatherings and MICE opportunities.

Hotel website
Christopher Ahlgrim has been promoted to Vice President, Americas East from his previous role as Vice President, Development - North America. Since joining in March 2020, Ahlgrim has been instrumental in expanding the company's visibility and brand presence across various regions. In his new role, he will oversee the profitability and growth of the Northeast, Southeast, South Central US regions, and the non-Spanish speaking Caribbean, continuing to lead strategic development efforts and regional business development.

Preferred

Chicago, Illinois

United States Website
Renee Haddad has advanced from Account Director, America West to Vice President, Hotel Revenue Optimization - United States & Canada. With 16 years of service, Haddad has significantly contributed to revenue growth and hotel retention within the Americas region. Her new role will see her driving strategy and execution within the Regional Leadership team and the Global Revenue and Distribution Leadership team.

Preferred

Chicago, Illinois

United States Website
Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel, a recently renovated beachfront oasis in the heart of South Beach, is excited to announce the appointment of Luis Rios as its new Director of Restaurants & Bars. With two decades of experience in the hospitality industry, Rios brings a wealth of expertise, passion, and a deep commitment to elevating guest experiences. He will oversee the hotel's dining and beverage operations, including the recently reimagined signature restaurant, The Social Club, and outdoor restaurant and bar, High Tide Beach Bar & Grill.

Rios joins Kimpton Surfcomber from The Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., where he served as Assistant Director of Food & Beverage. His career spans prestigious establishments, including the Waldorf Astoria and The Ritz-Carlton, with notable achievements in operations, team leadership, and guest satisfaction. Throughout his career, Rios has been recognized for creating memorable dining experiences, including several accolades for the Bull & Bear restaurant in Orlando, where he served as General Manager.

A native of Philadelphia with strong ties to Puerto Rico, Rios is excited to return to a tropical setting and bring his extensive experience in food and beverage operations to Miami Beach. Known for his energetic leadership style, Rios thrives in motivating teams to perform at their best while consistently exceeding guest expectations.

With his extensive experience in managing large teams and driving operational success, Rios is set to elevate Kimpton Surfcomber's already vibrant culinary and beverage offerings. The hotel's dining venues, including the recently reimagined The Social Club and the lively High Tide Beach Bar & Grill, offer something for every occasion. At The Social Club, Executive Chef Gaston Sanchez brings his inventive flair to an elevated South of France-inspired menu, where each dish is a creative take on classic flavors. With a brand-new bar, enhanced menu, and innovative cocktails, it's the perfect setting for an upscale dining experience. Meanwhile, High Tide Beach Bar & Grill offers a more relaxed atmosphere with fresh Florida flavors and a South American twist, from mahi tacos to tropical cocktails. Together, these spaces deliver a dynamic and unforgettable culinary journey in the heart of South Beach.
Building on the success of our first episode, the Accor (unpacked) video series returns to uncover more captivating stories from our hotels and brands through the voices of our teams. In this episode, we discover Ennismores 25hours Hotel Dubai One Central with Mehdi Khei, General Manager and Sanela Vuckovic, Restaurant Manager at the Nomad Day Bar. Its now their turn to share meaningful items from their luggage  a book from the hotels spectacular library and a pack of Nightjar coffee beans from the Nomad Day Bar  as symbols of the way the hotel builds a unique legacy, based on local connections, cultural diversity and a special sense of community.

Discover what a Luggage Can Hide in the Episode 2 of Accor (unpacked): Building a New Legacy where Communities Come Together at 25hours Hotel Dubai One Central

Located right next to the world-famous Museum of the Future, 25hours Hotel Dubai One Central is the first ever 25hours Hotel in the Middle East, and was designed as much more than a place to stay. It is a multifaceted experience in which public spaces, open to everyone, are the beating heart. The breathtaking Fountain of Tales in the lobby, where books from all over the world are ready to share their stories with guests, locals and tourists alike, sets the tone. And each of the spaces in the hotel is an adventure in itself: people embark on a culinary and cultural journey across the world in the five distinctive restaurants and bars; they work, meet and share ideas in the beautiful co-working space; they can even reconnect to the sensory and creative pleasure of yesteryear, using polaroid cameras, typewriters or vinyl records in the one-of-a-kind Analogue Circus.

We celebrate both the rich heritage as well as the modern vibrancy of Dubai. Were building our legacy by transforming our hotel into a dynamic hub that attracts travelers from all around the world and by inviting the local community to be part of it. Mehdi Khei, General Manager, 25hours Hotel Dubai One Central

We bring life to our spaces by curating a diverse range of activities and events. This is a place where all digital nomads, travelers, family and friends can meet and join a community. It reflects the true character of Dubai and local art and culture. Sanela Vuckovic, Restaurant Manager, Nomad Day Bar, 25hours Hotel Dubai One Central

Reflecting the Local Heritage: Designing Spaces Inspired by Dubais Past, Present and Future

25hours Hotel Dubai One Central is both a destination in itself and the ideal starting point to explore the city. Designed to meet the evolving needs of our modern lifestyles, it also takes inspiration from Dubais rich culture and art scene. From spectacular public spaces to the coziest rooms, its soulful decor references different eras of Middle Eastern nomadism, from the time the Bedouins lived in Dubai to the modern-day lifestyle of digital nomads. Both rooted in its local environment and inclusive of a diversity of cultural influences, the hotel is a one-of-a-kind experience: a feast for the senses and the mind, an oasis of culture and creativity, fostering a true sense of community.

The Fountain of Tales, a colossal fountain with seating spaces and bookshelves featuring over 5,000 books  Photo by Accor

Building a New Legacy: Creating a Hub to Connect Communities with a Holistic Ecosystem of Experiences

By providing carefully designed spaces where locals, travelers and hotel guests can meet, connect, form a community, share ideas and cultures, 25hours Hotel Dubai One Central has not only shaped a singular guest experience but also deeply transformed its neighborhood. Bustling with life and cultivating a welcoming sense of community, the hotel has become a hub  fully integrated into the local life while contributing its cultural diversity and energy to it. Democratic and tolerant, everyone can come as you are at 25hours Hotel Dubai One Central.

25hours Hotel One Central Dubai  Photo by Accor

25hours Hotel One Central Dubai  Photo by Accor

25hours Hotel One Central Dubai  Photo by Accor

25hours Hotel One Central Dubai  Photo by Accor

Come as You Are: Connecting Communities with 25hours Hotels

Rooted in culture and community, 25hours Hotels is part of Ennismore. With 15 hotels across the world, 25hours hotels are made-to-measure for their destination, and inspired by the art, culture, gastronomy and stories of their surroundings. Like 25hours Hotel Dubai One Central, they are designed as a holistic ecosystem of diverse experiences, not just hosting but also connecting people and expanding their world with a sense of curiosity, discovery and adventure.

As we continue to build our legacy over time through our unique brands and hotels, we harness the power of design and connecting communities with holistic ecosystem of experiences to create unique places  hotels with soul, inspired by the world around them and shaping it in return.

Discover more about 25hours

Stay tuned for more episodes on the fascinating stories behind our hotels and brands. And if you havent watched it yet, catch up with the Episode 1 of Accor (unpacked), in which we explore how to reinvent a strong legacy through places and experiences, at Domain Reine Margot Paris Issy - MGallery Collection.

About Accor, a world-leading hospitality group

Accor is a world leading hospitality group offering experiences across more than 110 countries, with over 5,600 properties, 10,000 food & beverage venues, wellness facilities or flexible workspaces. The Group has one of the industry's most diverse hospitality ecosystems, encompassing more than 45 hotel brands from luxury to economy, as well as Lifestyle with Ennismore. Accor is focused on driving positive action through business ethics, responsible tourism, environmental sustainability, community engagement, diversity, and inclusivity. Founded in 1967, Accor SA is headquartered in France and publicly listed on Euronext Paris (ISIN code: FR0000120404) and on the OTC Market (Ticker: ACCYY) in the United States. For more information, please visit group.accor.com or follow us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok.
This month, Hospitalitys Leading Voices brings you Philippe Roys engaging discussion with Fernando Vives, Chief Commercial Officer at Minor Hotels, a hospitality leader who knows the business from the ground up. With experience spanning international brands like Melia Hotels International, Hesperia, The Ritz, and Le Meridien, Fernando has also co-founded the firm Xotels and launched the first Revenue Management Masters degree at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid.

Source: HSMAI Europe

Introduction to Minor Hotels

First of all, Fernando, can you tell us a little about Minor? People in Europe know NH well but may be less familiar with Minor.

Let me start with a story, Philippe. Forty-five years ago, the founder of Minor was just 15 years old and wanted to start a company. People often ask, Why is it called Minor? The story is incredible. He was so young that banks wouldnt lend him money for his project. They said, We cant give you the money because youre a minor. When he finally secured the funding, he decided to name his company Minor as a reminder of that struggle. Thats why hes deeply attached to the name.

Today, Minor operates close to 3,000 restaurants across Asia, Europe, Australia, and the Americas, as well as nearly 300 retail stores, mostly located in Asia. Minor Hotels manages close to 600 properties in more than 55 countries, and were on track to reach almost 800 hotels in the next two to three years based on our pipeline. In 2018, Minor International acquired a large stake in NH Hotel Group, and today Minor owns nearly 95% of NH. Recently, we rebranded from NH Hotels to Minor Hotels Europe and Americas.

Role and Responsibilities

What is your role today, and what does a typical week look like for you?

I oversee the entire topline of the company, managing a team of over 2,000 people who generate the topline results. This includes traditional and digital sales, revenue management, distribution, e-commerce, business intelligence, contact centres, and groups and eventsboth for B2C and B2B. We have a balanced business split: about 50% is B2B and 50% B2C.

I travel almost every weekaround 100 flights per year. Typically, I try to be in the office on Mondays. In the morning, we hold our commercial steering committee, where we review performance, monitor results, and plan for the future. As a member of the management board, I also attend our Monday management board meeting, which we always know when it starts but never when it ends! The rest of the week is about traveling, leading the team, and ensuring that our strategy is executed.

My job also involves defining, implementing, and improving centralization across Europe and the Americas. Since we are an asset-heavy company80% of our hotels are either leased or ownedwe focus on centralizing operations and processes to create synergies, which has led to our current level of efficiency.

Passion for Revenue Management

Youre passionate about revenue management. Can you tell us more about its role in hospitality?

Ive been involved in revenue management for 25 years! One of my first managers, who was trained at Cornell, introduced me to an Excel spreadsheet on revenue management. I knew right away this Excel spreadsheet would become a friend and that revenue management would become a passion. Since then, Ive witnessed the entire evolution of the field. Early on, I realized that applying revenue management principles gave hotels a competitive edge. Those that didnt adopt these methods were at a disadvantage.

Technology has been a game-changer. Some hotels still use Excel for revenue management, which is unbelievable, but modern technology helps us process huge amounts of data and automate much of the process. To give you an example, were making over two million price changes daily across our 350 hotels in Europe and the Americas. What used to be a luxury is now a necessity. Its been an incredible journey.

The Concept of Attribute-Based Selling

You often talk about attribute-based selling. Can you explain what that means?

In the early 2000s, room segmentation was basicyou had standard and superior rooms, and you sold individual, double, and sometimes suite rooms. That was it. Then, we started optimizing what we called the product mix, recognizing that consumers would pay more for additional value.

We began adding more qualifiers and attributes for roomsviews, junior suites, city views, etc., sometimes reaching up to 15 different attributes. Attribute-based selling aims to give consumers the power to create their entire stay experience. For example, some may only need a bed and breakfast for a quick business trip, while others may want a room with a view of Madrids Santiago Bernabeu stadium or a king-sized bed. Attribute-based selling allows customers to personalize their stay, which helps hotels not only segment but micro-segment their guests.

Is the limitation in technologys ability to handle all these components?

One of the biggest challenges is creating the right pricing for these products. Weve become experts in pricing combinations of different attributes, but theres a learning curve in how to combine all the data points. Well need to adjust not only for ourselves but also for our distribution partners. Theres going to be a transition period before everything is fully in place.

Thats on the product side, but what about customer segmentation? Has it become more complex over the years?

Yes, segmentation has become more complex, but that also brings more opportunities. When lifestyle brands emerged, we shifted from purely demographic segmentation to a psychographic approach. You can have customers with the same demographics behaving in entirely different ways. Technology helps us segment based on behaviour, such as how people book, how long they stay, and how they pay. This allows us to be more precise with our pricing. Data science, AI, and other technologies are enabling us to do this more efficiently.

Market Insights: The Indian Market

In your LinkedIn newsletter (Hospitality Labs) youre talking about India. Can you share what your view is on the Indian market?

Thats a great question, Philippe. Im obsessed with Indianot just because I love the country, its people, and its food, but also because of its potential. In 2020, I read a report stating that 50 million people in India move from poverty to the middle class every year. Thats more than the population of Spain!

While we know what it takes to succeed in China, India is still a new frontier. Even though the numbers arent there yet compared to China, now is the time to invest in this growing opportunity. First, these newly middle-class people will travel within India and the region, and eventually, theyll start traveling abroad to destinations like London, Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, and Barcelona, etc.

Do you see India as a source market or destination market opportunity?

I think its both, but from my perspective, its more of a feeder market opportunityand a great one.

Personal Journey and Career in Hospitality

Lets talk about you, Fernando. How did you end up in hospitality?

Im a hotelier at heart! I didnt land in this industry by accident. My mother was born in a hotel, and my grandfather owned two hotels. Sadly, I never met him, as he passed away when my mother was just 16, but she took over the hotels for a time. I grew up immersed in hotel culture, and I became passionate about it. As a child, when traveling with my family, the first things I wanted to visit were hotels and restaurants, even before museums!

I had two passions growing up: technology and hotels. I built my first computer at the age of 10 in 1988, and I loved programming (I was programming in Pascal and C++). I even applied to two universities simultaneously because I couldnt decide which direction to take. But that summer, I realized that I couldnt spend every day in front of a computer. So, I chose hospitality, which I believe offers so much.

Any regrets?

Not for a single day! Hospitality is such a dynamic industry. You know what I mean, Philippe, because youve worked with hotel chains. The people and the culture are amazing. You have the chance to create unique experiences that people will remember for a lifetime. Especially after COVID, people are choosing experiences over buying things. Its a challenging industry, but its a beautiful one.

What do you mean by challenging?

As a sales and revenue management leader, I face the reality that unsold inventory is lost forever. That pressure can be intense, but I love it! It pushes you to constantly improve and do better. It gives you a real adrenaline rush!

Technology and Leadership in Hospitality

Technology is integral to hospitality now. How do you feel about that?

Youre absolutely right! Its fantastic because it allows me to blend my passion for technology with my love for hospitality. Its important to follow your passion, but its just as crucial to focus on what youre good at.

Youve been in leadership roles for many years, what does it mean to be a great leader in hospitality?

Were a people-intensive industry, despite our growing reliance on technology. Its crucial to develop a vision and share that passion with others. But vision without execution is just poetry. One of the key skills for me is the ability to influence others so that your vision gets implemented effectively. Hard skills are essential, but for a leader, the ability to communicate, build relationships, and influence is vital.

Can you share a key moment from your career?

In 2012, when I was VP of Revenue Management at Melia Hotels, my boss offered me to take over sales as well. I declinedpolitely but firmly. I was focused on becoming the best revenue manager. But he persisted, and after much insistence, I accepted. Not because I was convinced it was the right thing to do, but because I trusted him. That decision was transformative for my career.

It taught me that when you have a mentor or a leader you trust, sometimes you need to follow their advice, even if youre not convinced. Because theyre able to see things that you dont see yet. That role helped me grow exponentially and shaped my leadership approach. Trust is everything in leadership.

If you were to convince a young person to join the hospitality industry, what would you say?

Life is about experiences, and hospitality offers unparalleled dynamism and opportunities. Its an industry where you can create meaningful and memorable experiences for customers, work with people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and countries, and travel the world. Youll grow not just as a professional, but also as a person. And of course, its an industry where you never stop learning!

About Philippe Roy: Hes a contributor of HSMAI Europe and the founder of Red Yucca, an Advisory Services firm helping companies and merchants reduce their cost of accepting payment cards. It has a deep expertise on Influence Strategies, Complex Negotiation, Value Propositions and Relationship Management. It operates both locally and globally. Philippe is also a new member of the upcoming HSMAI Europe France Advisory Board.

About Fernando Vives: Hes the Chief Commercial Officer and member of the Management Committee at Minor Hotels Europe & Americas since July 2016. Fernando is expert and passionate on Revenue Management, Commercial practices and distribution with a complete background and experience in both urban and resorts area gained through international hospitality companies as Melia Hotels International, Hesperia, the Ritz or Le Meridien. He co-founded the Revenue Management & Distribution firm Xotels (2006) and is the founder of the Masters Degree Expert on Revenue Management at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid (2009).

About HSMAI Europe

HSMAI  Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International  is a global organisation founded in the US in 1927. HSMAI Region Europe is the European arm of the organisation. HSMAI Europe aims to be a key influencer, pioneer and the go-to industry resource for professional development, commercial strategies and sustainability in the hospitality, travel and tourism industry. With a strong focus on education, HSMAI has become the industry champion in identifying and communicating trends in the hospitality industry while operating as a leading voice for both hospitality and sales, marketing, and revenue management disciplines. Read More

HSMAI Europe

HSMAI Europe

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Business intelligence software plays an integral role in strategic decision-making for hotels, but not every system is created equal.

Generic BI tools require time and effort to configure data and customize reports to your hotels specific needs. You can spend hours manipulating and mapping data to unlock the information required to maximize revenue and enhance the guest experience.

Hospitality-focused business intelligence solutions, on the other hand, eliminate the inefficiencies associated with generic BI tools. They make it easy to extract, transform, and load (ETL) data, build custom reports, understand multi-property performance, and collaborate across departmentsall within the property management system (PMS).

To provide background into the intricacies of BI tools and how a hospitality-focused business intelligence solution like Cloudbeds Insights can enhance reporting capabilities for larger properties and hotel groups, we spoke to Jackson Chin, Senior Product Manager at Cloudbeds.

Transform your data with Cloudbeds. Book a demo

A brief overview of BI software

Business intelligence software collects and analyzes insights from your property by pulling your data from various sources such as your PMS, revenue management system (RMS), and payment gateway.

By doing so, BI solutions empower your team with accurate, up-to-date data for strategic decision-making. These insights can be used to boost your hotel operations, increase your revenue, and even enhance your guest experience.

5 shortcomings of generic BI tools

While generic BI tools offer many features, they often lack hospitality-specific functionality. During Passport 2024, Chad Brubaker, Senior Director of Product at Cloudbeds, broke down some of the shortcomings of generic BI tools and how hospitality-specific solutions like Cloudbeds Insights help solve these challenges.

Unlock data-driven decisions with Cloudbeds. Watch Passport session

1. Data mapping

Many BI tools make it difficult to map data, missing the fields relevant to hospitality. As Jackson points out, A lot of times, theres not a lot of flexibility in making changes to the core tool. To get the data you need, you must manually collate and format data from different sources so that they transfer seamlessly into your BI system.

2. Poor multi-property reporting

If youre looking to compare performance across your portfolio, many tools dont have the ability to aggregate cross-property information, requiring manual input to export and combine data. If youre looking at multiple properties or youre trying to do deep analysis, oftentimes you have to rely on other tools, shares Jackson.

3. Data control

With generic tools, Jackson says, You really have to configure [your BI tool] to make it your own because it has no context about what youre trying to analyze. That means a ton of effort is needed to create and maintain reports to ensure that youre analyzing the most important data sets.

4. Cross-departmental collaboration

From accounting to operations, collaborative functionalities are siloed in generic BI tools, significantly hindering cross-functional initiatives. In addition, many generic tools charge per user, making it expensive to share data and collaborate across departments.

5. Static reporting

While many of todays generic BI offerings allow properties to create static reports, they lack customizable options or the ability to filter information at a granular level.

Cloudbeds Insights: A hospitality-focused BI solution

Jackson walked us through the development process for Cloudbeds Insights, a hospitality-focused business intelligence solution designed to reduce hotel teams reliance on industry-agnostic BI tools. Cloudbeds Insights sophisticated offerings include real-time data that your staff can act fast on and flexibility within your PMS.

In another session from Passport, Jackson explained the difference between Cloudbeds and generic BI tools for hotels.

Watch the full session from Passport 2024. Watch now

Built in-house.

Building Cloudbeds Insights in-house granted Jackson and his team full control of the solutions functionality and features. With a deep understanding of whats important to hoteliers, the team was able to build a system that prioritized these functions.

For example, In hospitality, the calendar is very important, but a lot of BI tools dont have a good calendar to show occupancy information, says Jackson. By building this in-house, we have full control of how the calendar should look and make it really hospitality-focused.

The best part of an in-house solution? The team will continue elevating the product to incorporate new features and functionality based on customer feedback.

 Source: Cloudbeds

A robust data strategy.

Cloudbeds Insights makes it easy for hotels to access their data without any limits due to the PMS integration. In addition to property-specific data, Cloudbeds has plans to increase its data analytics offerings through succinct integrations with benchmark partners. In the future, we hope to integrate with partners to get even more data into the analytics platform, so users can start comparing their performance and have a central place for visualizing their data.

Elevate your data with Cloudbeds Insights. Book a demo

6 unique features of Cloudbeds Insights

In addition to being built in-house and offering a foundational data strategy for future analytics growth and benchmarking, Cloudbeds Insights offers unique features for hotels.

1. Built directly into the PMS

What makes Cloudbeds Insights unique from other generic BI tools available on the market is that the platform is built directly into the PMS, granting users access to real-time data. Not only are refreshes almost instantaneous, but hotels can fully customize reports, something not found in many tools.

2. Open API & extractable data

Open APIs allow your existing tech stack to seamlessly connect with your data, enabling faster processes for real-time updates. Cloudbeds open API allows users to get creative, opening up the possibilities of creating custom workflows and automations into external tools.

Jackson recalls one instance of an early Cloudbeds customer with monthly rentals using Cloudbeds Insights reporting API to collect periodic data and build up their automation.

They used our reporting API to build triggers and automation to make their lives easier, instead of going to a report and watching it manually and sorting by descending order to see the numbers, he says.

3. Data visualization

Unlimited and fully customizable dashboards with ample data visualization are also on offer with Cloudbeds Insights.

Create dashboards for each of your respective guest personas, or for each of your departments. You can also mix and match reports given the platforms drag and drop functionality to suit your dashboard set up. Your dashboards are updated in real time So if your report changes, the hub will change, too.

 Source: Cloudbeds

4. Customizable reports

From advanced filtering, pivoting, and grouping to relative dates, Cloudbeds Insights features customizable reports, giving hoteliers the information they need to make data-driven decisions.

However, its the time-period comparison reports that Jackson recommends for hotel groups, especially in relation to its importance surrounding the pace report, comparing a specific time frame from previous years.

With comparison mode, you can look up any point in time, past or future and compare that way, says Jackson. Lots of PMS have this functionality, but theyre not as flexible where they can jump to any point in time. We have the ability to do that.

5. Collaborative capabilities

Whether its creating and distributing reports for review, standardizing your reporting processes across teams, or sharing updates with external stakeholders, Cloudbeds Insights enables managers and their teams to effectively collaborate and establish clear reporting processes (with no per-user pricing).

Whats more, Cloudbeds Insights email subscription functionality lets you easily communicate and correspond with respective operational and housekeeping teams, while restricting access as need be.

Jackson shares, You dont have to have Cloudbeds Insights access at all, and you can distribute reports that way as well. One of our customers uses a list of projected in-house guests for the next day to prepare for breakfast. The report has a relative date that will pull tomorrows in-house guests. An email gets sent to the people who prepare breakfast, who then get a list in the morning.

You can even configure who gains access to your email subscription outside of the Cloudbeds platform, making it easy to share data with external stakeholders without creating new users.

6. Native multi-property reporting

Reporting across properties is notoriously difficult, with many PMS offerings lacking native functionality and reporting features for multi-property hotel groups. This is especially the case for hoteliers requiring reporting for different regions. BI software with multi-property functionality is a must for hoteliers responsible for managing multiple properties.

It was important for Jacksons team to grant hoteliers responsible for managing multiple properties full control of their data and reporting dashboards. This includes front-end access like reporting user interfaces and dashboards but also back-end access for integrations and deep analysis.

With Cloudbeds Insights, you can easily group properties in whatever way you want with native multi-property reporting. With standardized data across the tool, its as simple as choosing a checkbox and creating multiple reports for your respective hotels and regions.

You can also create a portfolio-level report that has all of your properties together. This is something that is quite unique for a native business intelligence tool, says Jackson.

Getting started with Cloudbeds Insights

Cloudbeds Insights revolutionizes hotel management by offering hospitality-focused business intelligence tools built directly into your PMS. From customizable reports to real-time data and collaborative capabilities, its designed to meet the unique needs of hoteliers everywhere, large hotel chains and multi-property hotel groups included.

Transform your data with Cloudbeds Insights. Get started

Martina Orlandi

Marketing Specialist

Cloudbeds

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PARIS  Pullman Hotels & Resorts, the flagship premium hotel brand of Accor, has created an innovative concept room to meet the blended needs of todays travellers. The Transforming Room is a high-spec, high-tech space designed to be a place to work, meet, socialise, work-out, relax and sleep. The Transforming Room is the culmination of two years of research on consumer behaviour, business traveller needs and design innovation. The brand will integrate insights from the concept room into the future transformation of Pullman, with flexible environments that cater to the dynamic needs of modern travellers.

With a visionary mindset rooted in serving the lifestyle needs of professionals, Pullman understands that the world is constantly evolving, and so too are the ways in which people travel, collaborate, ideate, and connect. Located in Pullman Singapore Orchard, the concept room serves as a pioneering showcase of the brands innovative spirit, allowing guests to experience firsthand the design and cutting-edge features that will shape the next generation of Pullman hotels. The Transforming Room is fully wired with thoughtful technologies and digital enhancements, enabling guests to adapt their personal environment with the touch of a button.

Pullman is embracing the fluidity of contemporary lifestyles and championing a softer approach to productivity. And that's precisely what the Transforming Room is designed to embrace. This innovative space seamlessly adjusts to the ever-changing needs of our guests throughout their stay, enabling them to effortlessly blend their needs in one space. Through cutting-edge design changes, the Transforming Room seamlessly transitions to cater to guests as they shift from work to wellness, socialising, or relaxation, ensuring a truly adaptive and enriching experience. The concept room is a model for the future of hospitality at Pullman, which aims to flex to serve the evolving needs of todays traveller through curated and people-centric space and service-design. Benoit Racle, Global Brand President, Premium at Accor

Pullman is a brand that designs and creates social spaces that unite diverse minds, welcoming todays visionaries who dont compartmentalise their time as work or leisure, but see their time more fluidly, effortlessly blending social interactions and business moments. From a stylist in town on business who needs space to meet with clients; to an entrepreneur, eager to explore the city, while having their own office space with room for morning yoga; to a local resident hosting an intimate dinner with friends  The Transforming Room is designed to adapt effortlessly, to be a space that inspires productivity, whatever the purpose.

Transforming Design

Upon arriving in The Transforming Room at Pullman Singapore Orchard, guests scan a QR code to access the rooms high-tech controls. Providing an immersive guest experience through multi-sensory design, all functions of the room can be customised and adjusted by the guest using the app. Some of the features of The Transforming Room include:

Multipurpose workspace equipped with numerous outlets, clock, portable lamp, a drinking water tap, and vanity mirror

Privacy screen to separate the space from the other side of the room

LG innovative display technology for movies, fitness classes, room control feedback and presentations

Space saving TECE toilet technology that combines a toilet and bidet

Bathroom mirror with adjustable mood lighting

Dornbracht shower technology for a customisable and therapeutic shower experience, catering for guests personal health and wellness needs

Murphy bed that enables the room to seamlessly transition from sleep mode to various multifunctional spaces such as a lounge, dining or meeting layout

COMPOZ parfum module that allows guests to create and schedule their preferred playlist of scents, according to their mood and activity

Synchronised lights and scents to create an ideal atmosphere

Various workout modes and virtual training programmes

Outside patio with greenery

At Accor, we are constantly pushing the boundaries of design and technology to enhance the guest experience. The Transforming Room is a groundbreaking research initiative that allows us to observe and understand how guests interact within a multi-functional space. This insight is invaluable as we continue to innovate and create environments that adapt to the diverse and evolving needs of our guests, ensuring Pullman remains at the cutting edge of hospitality design. Damien Perrot, Global Chief Design, Technical Services & Innovation Officer for Premium, Midscale & Economy Brands, Accor

In The Transforming Room, restorative sleep experiences are achieved through a multi-sensory journey that helps guests relax and fall into a deep slumber. At the end of the day, housekeeping lower the custom-designed Murphy from its discreet storage wall. With a few swipes of the app, the video screen switches off; blackout curtains slide shut; and the COMPOZ parfum module engages a series of scents to create an atmosphere that influences and induces sleep.

Mornings in the Transforming Room offer a personalised multi-sensory wake-up experience. At the touch of a button, the curtains slide apart to fill the room with natural daylight, boosting the bodys serotonin production. Throughout the day, scents can be shifted to suit various moods or activities, and these playlists of scents are set using the room app.

The Transforming Room prototype app also provides a variety of fitness and mindfulness sessions currently provided by PELOTON as well as Digital Art by ARTPOINT. The modular interiors easily shift to create extra space for wellness routines and workouts. The app is used to select personal wellness pursuits, guided by professional trainers, and displayed on the large in-room screen.

In-room dining is brought to the next level. With the Murphy bed returned to its hidden home in the wall, there is space to create an intimate private dining experience  ideal for a special dinner date; a celebration among friends; or a working lunch for a team of busy creatives.

Pullman  a legacy of blended space design

Pullman is one of the oldest hospitality brands in the world, it is also one of the most innovative names in travel. The Pullman Company of the 1860s revolutionised travel, forging an indelible connection between business travellers and the luxurious lifestyles of art, culture and dining.

Since it was founded, Pullman has always been the place where business and lifestyle merge. Today we call this Blended Travel. It is the space where different purposes and perspectives come together, explains Racle. This is the legacy of the Pullman brand and the blueprint for the Transforming Room. If we want our time to be transformative, the space around us should be too.

The Transforming Room at Pullman Singapore Orchard is available to book for work, meeting, social gatherings and, of course, sleeping.

For more information and to book, please email [email protected].

About Accor, a world-leading hospitality group

Accor is a world leading hospitality group offering experiences across more than 110 countries, with over 5,600 properties, 10,000 food & beverage venues, wellness facilities or flexible workspaces. The Group has one of the industry's most diverse hospitality ecosystems, encompassing more than 45 hotel brands from luxury to economy, as well as Lifestyle with Ennismore. Accor is focused on driving positive action through business ethics, responsible tourism, environmental sustainability, community engagement, diversity, and inclusivity. Founded in 1967, Accor SA is headquartered in France and publicly listed on Euronext Paris (ISIN code: FR0000120404) and on the OTC Market (Ticker: ACCYY) in the United States. For more information, please visit group.accor.com or follow us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok.

Caroline Ponomarenko

Accor
With the latest UN Tourism Data showing that the sector is on track to reach 96% recovery of pre-pandemic numbers by the end of the year, the 122nd Session of the Executive Council looked to the future, with investments and innovation high on the agenda. The Session welcomed representatives of 47 countries, including 21 Ministers and Vice-Ministers of Tourism, alongside key strategic partners from the private sector, civil society and international finance.

Opening the session, UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili welcomed the example set by Colombia in "betting on tourism" to provide a better future for the country, including for previously-marginalized groups. He said: Colombia has chosen to invest in tourism, not in weapons or war, and as the only country to have hosted every major UN Tourism event, including two General Assemblies, it is a testament to the power of tourism as a force for change.

The Secretary-General then presented his report to Members. The report sets out the progress made in advancing the Organization's work since the Council last met, again with a special emphasis on the shared priorities of investments into tourism, education and accelerating innovation across the sector.

Advancing shared goals

In Cartagena, the Members of the Executive Council advanced plans to build a more inclusive, resilient and forward-looking sector, with a focus on:

Innovation: UN Tourism is the global leader in innovation in the sector. Executive Council Members were given an overview of key achievements in this area, including the continued success of its Challenges and Competitions, designed to identify and support the best new ideas and talent. In Cartagena, the winners of two new competitions, the Green Projects Challenge and the Community Tourism Challenge, were formally announced.

UN Tourism is the global leader in innovation in the sector. Executive Council Members were given an overview of key achievements in this area, including the continued success of its Challenges and Competitions, designed to identify and support the best new ideas and talent. In Cartagena, the winners of two new competitions, the Green Projects Challenge and the Community Tourism Challenge, were formally announced. Investment: In Cartagena, UN Tourism will present its Tourism Doing Business Guidelines: Investing in Colombia. The publication series continues to grow, with a further 28 editions, each focusing on investment opportunities in a specific destination, now planned. Also in Cartagena, UN Tourism will host a landmark Global Forum on Investment and Innovation to conclude the Executive Council meeting.

In Cartagena, UN Tourism will present its Tourism Doing Business Guidelines: Investing in Colombia. The publication series continues to grow, with a further 28 editions, each focusing on investment opportunities in a specific destination, now planned. Also in Cartagena, UN Tourism will host a landmark Global Forum on Investment and Innovation to conclude the Executive Council meeting. Education: Executive Council Members were brought up-to-date with UN Tourism's leading work in promoting tourism education and training at every level. Key advances include the continued rolling out of the Education Toolkit, designed to help Member States introduce tourism as a subject in high schools, as well as the ongoing success of the UN Tourism Online Academy and the growing global network of International Academies in Association With UN Tourism.

Strengthening strategic partnerships

Within the framework of the 122nd Executive Council, UN Tourism further advanced its work building strong partnerships around shared goals. A special networking session of the UN Tourism Affiliate Members focused on Tourism of the Future: Moving Towards the Sustainable Development Goals, bringing together destinations, private sector leaders and civil society stakeholders.

Best Tourism Villages 2024 announced

During the Executive Council, UN Tourism announced the latest additions to its growing Best Tourism Villages network. For the 2024 edition, a further 55 rural destinations were awarded the title, recognizing their leading work in harnessing the power of tourism to create local opportunities as well as preserving and celebrating natural and cultural heritage.

Related links

About UN Tourism

The World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UN Tourism promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

Our Priorities

Mainstreaming tourism in the global agenda: Advocating the value of tourism as a driver of socio-economic growth and development, its inclusion as a priority in national and international policies and the need to create a level playing field for the sector to develop and prosper.

Promoting sustainable tourism development: Supporting sustainable tourism policies and practices: policies which make optimal use of environmental resources, respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and provide socio-economic benefits for all.

Fostering knowledge, education and capacity building: Supporting countries to assess and address their needs in education and training, as well as providing networks for knowledge creation and exchange.

Improving tourism competitiveness: Improving UN Tourism Members' competitiveness through knowledge creation and exchange, human resources development and the promotion of excellence in areas such as policy planning, statistics and market trends, sustainable tourism development, marketing and promotion, product development and risk and crisis management.

Advancing tourism's contribution to poverty reduction and development: Maximizing the contribution of tourism to poverty reduction and achieving the SDGs by making tourism work as a tool for development and promoting the inclusion of tourism in the development agenda.

Building partnerships: Engaging with the private sector, regional and local tourism organizations, academia and research institutions, civil society and the UN system to build a more sustainable, responsible and competitive tourism sector.

Our Structure

Members: An intergovernmental organization, UN Tourism has 160 Member States, 6 Associate Members, 2 Observers and over 500 Affiliate Members.

Organs: The General Assembly is the supreme organ of the Organization. The Executive Council take all measures, in consultation with the Secretary-General, for the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the General Assembly and reports to the Assembly.

Secretariat: UN Tourism headquarters are based in Madrid, Spain. The Secretariat is led by the Secretary-General and organized into departments covering issues such as sustainability, education, tourism trends and marketing, sustainable development, statistics and the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), destination management, ethics and risk and crisis management. The Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Department carries out development projects in over 100 countries worldwide, while the Regional Departments for Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and the Middle East serve as the link between UN Tourism and its 160 Member States. The Affiliate Members Department represents UN Tourism's 500 plus Affiliate members.

UN Tourism Communications Department

+34 91 567 8100

UN Tourism
On the 10-year anniversary of Barcelonas clampdown on hosting1, Airbnb is calling on the city to rethink its approach to short-term rentals, as new analysis shows its policies are failing to ease housing and overtourism challenges.

In 2014, the City of Barcelona introduced a moratorium on tourist accommodation licenses, which severely restricted the ability of everyday citizens to share their homes. Advocates said a clampdown was necessary to address housing and overtourism challenges. A decade later, official data shows that while short-term rentals numbers have fallen, challenges related to housing and overtourism are worse than ever.

Record housing shortfall

In the last decade, Spain has built fewer homes than at any point since 19702. While levels of construction have remained stagnant, demand for new homes has increased. In 2023, data from the Ministry of Housing3 shows that the creation of new households in Spain outpaced the number of new homes built by three to one.

 Source: Airbnb

Record-high rents and house prices

As the number of listings on Airbnb has fallen over the past decade4, rents and house prices have risen to record highs. Since Barcelonas clampdown on short-term rentals began, rents5 have risen by 70 percent, while the average price of a home has increased by 60 percent6.

Vacant homes

Vacant homes in Barcelona outnumber short term rentals by eight to one7. Policies that address this issue are more likely to boost affordable housing supply than clamping down on Airbnb.

 Source: Airbnb

Hotels drive mass tourism trends

According to Barcelona Tourism official figures, 75 percent of tourists in 2023 stayed in Hotels and Hostels8. In the Old Town of Barcelona, where the impacts of overtourism are most apparent, there are six times more hotel beds than short-term rentals. A third of hotel beds in Barcelona (22,375 units) are concentrated in Old Town9, compared to just 3,253 beds of short-term rentals in that area.

 Source: Airbnb

Hotel numbers are growing

As concerns on the impacts of overtourism in Barcelona rise, the city is growing its already vast and dominant hotel supply. Across Spain, local governments  including in Barcelona  have authorized plans to build over 800 new hotels, which will create 75,000 new hotel rooms, with almost 90 percent of them allocated to existing tourist hotspots. And while the Mayor of Barcelona said a clampdown on Airbnb is necessary to address overtourism in the city, he also said10 that there is potential for 5,000 new hotel rooms in Barcelona, which will be boosted by the end of short-term rentals in Barcelona.

Record-high hotel prices

With few competitors and a near monopoly on tourism in Barcelona, hotels have increased their prices to record highs. Official data shows that over the past decade, the average price of a hotel room11 in Barcelona has skyrocketed by more than 60 percent.

 Source: Airbnb

Just like in New York City, Barcelonas decade-long clampdown on Airbnb is failing to deliver on its promise to combat overtourism and the housing crisis. The only winner from Barcelonas war on short term rentals is the hotel industry, which is rapidly expanding and increasing prices. We encourage Barcelona to rethink its approach, because its clear that Airbnb is not the cause of historic challenges in the city. We are eager to work with leaders on new rules that support local families who host, and make tourism more sustainable for everyone. Theo Yedinsky, VP, Public Policy at Airbnb

Authorities in the EU, Spain, and Catalonia have criticized the rules in Barcelona as not fit for purpose, raising concerns about their necessity, fairness and efficacy. Local hosts are currently challenging these rules in court, underscoring the need for a balanced approach that considers the interests of all stakeholders.

Airbnb has worked diligently with Barcelona to enforce existing regulations and has removed over 7,000 listings from the platform since 2018. However, it is clear that these measures have not produced the desired results. Airbnb is committed to working with governments worldwide to promote responsible tourism that makes communities stronger.

1. El Pais: Barcelona Barcelona suspends granting of licenses for tourist apartments.

2. Source: Banco de Espana: Total supply of homes and development of new homes: Housing creation during the last decade has been the lowest since 1970.

3. Sources: INE (National Statistics Institute), the Ministry for Housing. 272.000 new households were created while only 89.000 housing units were built. Note: (1) The new housing units include both completed free-market housing and final certifications of protected housing. (2) For the housing projection over the next two years, the housing units started two years earlier are shown.

4. Spanish Official Statistics Office (INE). From August 2020 to February 2024 total number of STR listings in Barcelona fell from 17,280 units to 8,842, or almost 50%.

5. According to City Hall data, the average monthly price per housing unit in Barcelona has increased from 688 in 2014 to 1.166 in 2024.

6. Also according to City Hall data, the average buy price per square meter to buy a home has increased from 2.304 /m2 in 2014 to 3.788 /m2 in 2024.

7. INE. (Page 9): Censos de Poblacion y Viviendas 2023.

8. Observatori del Turisme a Barcelona 2023: Percentage of tourists staying in hotels, hostels and pensions vs total tourist stays in the city.

9. Observatori del Turisme a Barcelona 2023: This refers to the sum of number of hotel, hostel and pension beds in Ciutat Vella (page 7, 10 and 13) vs number of STR beds in Ciutat Vella (page 16).

10. Diario.es: Collboni Collboni says Barcelona has the potential for 5,000 more hotel beds.

11. Barcelona City Hall data portal: Average room price per booked room (ADR; ) in October 2023 188,8 vs 116 in October 2014.

About Airbnb

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

About Airbnb.org

Airbnb.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating temporary stays for people in times of crisis around the world. Airbnb.org operates independently and leverages Airbnb, Inc.'s technology, services, and other resources at no charge to carry out Airbnb.org's charitable purpose. The inspiration for Airbnb.org began in 2012 with a single host named Shell who opened up her home to people impacted by Hurricane Sandy. This sparked a movement and marked the beginning of a program that allows hosts on Airbnb to provide stays for people in times of need. Since then, the program has evolved to focus on emergency response and to help provide stays to evacuees, relief workers, refugees, asylum seekers, and frontline workers fighting the spread of COVID-19. Since then, hosts have offered to open up their homes and helped provide accommodations to 100,000 people in times of need. Airbnb.org is a separate and independent entity from Airbnb, Inc. Airbnb, Inc. does not charge service fees for Airbnb.org supported stays on its platform.

Airbnb Press

Airbnb Press Office

Airbnb
Four Points Flex by Sheraton Osaka Umeda - Image Credit Marriott International

Marriott International, Inc. has achieved a significant milestone by opening its 100th property in Japan, the Four Points Flex by Sheraton Osaka Umeda. This also marks the introduction of the Four Points Flex by Sheraton brand to the Asia Pacific region, excluding China, highlighting Marriott's ongoing commitment to the mid-scale segment.

This achievement will be followed by the opening of twelve more Four Points Flex by Sheraton properties across Japan this year. These openings will include entries into key cities such as Morioka and Kanazawa. The expansion, in collaboration with global investment firm KKR, is set to include a total of 14 properties in Japan by early 2025, adding over 3,600 rooms across key destinations, including Hakodate, Utsunomiya, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, and Hakata.

The Four Points Flex by Sheraton Hotels offers convenient locations near public transport and city centers. They are designed for value-conscious travelers and provide clean, comfortable rooms with essential amenities, complimentary Wi-Fi, and a local breakfast option.

Marriott International's President and CEO, Anthony Capuano, expressed his excitement about the company's growth in Japan and the introduction of the Four Points Flex by Sheraton brand to the Asia Pacific market. Kensuke Kudo, KKR's Managing Director of real Estate, also highlighted the rising demand for mid-scale hotels in Japan.

Four Points Flex by Sheraton is part of Marriott's Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, with over 219 million members worldwide. Members can earn points for stays at hotels and resorts and everyday purchases with co-branded credit cards.

The forthcoming Four Points Flex by Sheraton properties in Japan include facilities in Nagoya Station, Osaka Shinsaibashi, Kanazawa, Shin Osaka, Yokohama West, Kobe Sannomiya, Osaka Kitahama, Kyoto Oike, Utsunomiya, Hakodate Station, Morioka, Osaka Honmachi, and Fukuoka Hakata.
IHG Expands Luxury Portfolio with New InterContinental Resort in Kodaikanal, India - Image Credit IHG Hotels & Resorts



IHG announces a management agreement with Adyar Gate Hotels to develop a new luxury resort, the InterContinental Kodaikanal Resort, set to open in 2028

IHG Hotels & Resorts has recently signed a management agreement with Adyar Gate Hotels to establish the InterContinental Kodaikanal Resort. Scheduled to open in 2028, the resort is a significant addition to IHG's luxury portfolio in India. It aligns with the group's strategy to increase lifestyle and luxury brands across India's key leisure destinations. This agreement marks the InterContinental brand's inaugural appearance in Kodaikanal and its sixth foray into the country, following successful ventures in Chennai, Mumbai, Jaipur, Hyderabad, and Delhi.

Kodaikanal, situated at a height of 7,200 feet, is renowned for its stunning landscapes, pleasant weather, and rich colonial heritage. It is one of South India's most sought-after getaway destinations for luxury and corporate travelers. Known as the "Princess of Hills," Kodaikanal draws an increasing number of visitors each year, primarily from Tamil Nadu and neighboring states like Karnataka, Telangana, and Maharashtra. The destination's appeal extends beyond its scenic beauty, offering outdoor activities such as trekking and boating, courtesy of its consistently pleasant weather.

Scheduled to open in 2028, the InterContinental Kodaikanal Resort will boast 100 guest rooms, cottages, and a range of luxury amenities designed to cater to leisure and corporate guests. The hotel will offer five dining options, including All Day Dining, Specialty Restaurant, Lobby Lounge, Pool Bar, and the InterContinental Club Lounge, promising a delightful F&B experience for all guests. The hotel will feature a swimming pool, fitness center, and spa for those looking to unwind and relax. The resort will include two meeting spaces, a ballroom catering to social gatherings, and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) opportunities.

Sudeep Jain, Managing Director of South West Asia, IHG Hotels & Resorts, expressed his excitement over the partnership with Adyar Gate Hotels. He believes that Kodaikanal's unique blend of nature, heritage, and cultural richness makes it a perfect location for expanding its luxury portfolio in India.

Manish Goyal, Managing Director of Adyar Gate Hotels, also expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating that the InterContinental brand perfectly fits Kodaikanal's growing profile as a premier destination for affluent travelers.

As of now, IHG operates 46 hotels across five brands in India, including Six Senses, InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn Resort, and Holiday Inn Express. A pipeline of 58 hotels is set to open over the next 3-5 years.
Travel Technology Industry Set for a Boost Under a New Trump Administration - Image Credit Unsplash

The re-election of President Trump and Republicans' control of Congress signals a favorable outlook for the travel technology industry.

Trump administration's focus on unleashing American innovation, promoting AI, enhancing competition, and supporting startups will significantly benefit the travel technology sector.

The re-election of President Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress hold promising prospects for the travel technology sector. Given President Trump's first-hand experience with travel and technology, coupled with his pledge to maximize American industry and innovation, the industry looks set for a significant boost.

Trump's administration plans to prioritize the U.S.'s leadership in AI technology. This move comes as Trump announced his intentions to repeal President Joe Biden's Executive Order on AI, arguing that it restricts innovation and excessively focuses on potential harms. This hands-off approach to AI allows the Travel Technology Association to showcase AI-enabled innovations to policymakers and administration officials.

The administration is also looking to manage dominant tech platforms like Google to promote competition and prevent monopolistic practices. The recent U.S. vs. Google case, initiated during the first Trump administration, exemplifies this approach. Furthermore, President Trump's nomination of Congressman Matt Gaetz, a fervent antitrust and anti-big tech advocate for Attorney General, hints at the administration's plans to support innovation and expand competition.

The Trump administration's commitment to removing barriers to innovation and supporting startups through favorable tax policies and a more streamlined M&A landscape holds great promise for travel tech startups and smallto medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The Travel Technology Association, which has supported small, innovative travel tech companies for 25 years, applauds this move.

As the Trump administration's new policies roll out, the travel technology sector is poised to reap the benefits of these initiatives to accelerate innovation. The result will benefit not only the industry itself but also travelers and travel service providers, the industry's top priority.

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Why Spotify growth in the Global South matters for the music industry: Q3 streaming trends

Spotify growth in the Global South is reshaping the streaming landscape and creating new opportunities for the music industry. This trend could change how artists reach listeners worldwide.

Why Spotify growth in the Global South matters for the music industry: Q3 streaming trends

by Tatiana Cirisano via Music Industry Blog

For much of 2024, music industry discourse centred around Spotifys content mix. The growing long-tail of artists and songs on the platform is what fueled Universal Music Groups two-tiered royalty system, and rights holders continue to raise concerns about sharing space with audiobooks and podcasts. But in 2025, record labels may pay increased attention to how Spotifys customer mix has shifted over the past four years  particularly its growth in the Global South  a trend that is likely to continue. Tucked into pages 14 and 15 of Spotifys strong Q3 earnings results are charts reflecting monthly active users (MAUs) and premium subscribers by global region. In both cases, North Americas proportion of the total is getting smaller  a clear sign of notable Q3 streaming trends in emerging markets within the music industry.

Between Q3 2020 and Q3 2024, the Rest of Worlds contribution to global MAUs grew from 19% to 33%, now representing the largest share. Meanwhile, North Americas contribution shrank from 25% to 18%, and Latin America held steady at 22%. As expected, the customer shift is more dramatic for MAUs, which includes free users, than for subscribers. Europe still makes up the largest chunk of subscribers (38% in Q3 24, although down from 40% in Q3 20), followed by North America (27%, down from 29%). Meanwhile, Latin Americas proportion grew from 20% to 22% and Rest of World from 10% to 14%.

Spotifys growth in the Global South reflects a larger shift, whereby these music industry markets (Latin America, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of World) will account for the vast majority of global music user and subscriber growth to come. Cue a ripple effect:

Non-Western markets will account for a greater share of streams: User growth from non-Western markets does not have quite as outsized an impact on the total revenue pie, as these regions have a lower average revenue per user (ARPU). However, because that revenue pie is distributed by streamshare, it matters what all these new users are listening to. Increasingly, they are turning to domestic artists. A mounting body of research, including Will Page and Chris Dalla Rivas glocalisation paper published earlier this year, is proving that more local artists are topping their local charts on global streaming platforms, and in their native languages.FEATURED REPORTMusic merchandise demandWho, what, and whereThe music merchandise market has transformed, with significantly more artists selling merch and more product variety than ever before. The traditional line between hard and soft merch is blurringFind out more

User growth from non-Western markets does not have quite as outsized an impact on the total revenue pie, as these regions have a lower average revenue per user (ARPU). However, because that revenue pie is distributed by streamshare, it matters what all these new users are listening to. Increasingly, they are turning to domestic artists. A mounting body of research, including Will Page and Chris Dalla Rivas glocalisation paper published earlier this year, is proving that more local artists are topping their local charts on global streaming platforms, and in their native languages.FEATURED REPORTMusic merchandise demandWho, what, and whereThe music merchandise market has transformed, with significantly more artists selling merch and more product variety than ever before. The traditional line between hard and soft merch is blurringFind out more Decoupling the global centres of culture from the global centres of revenue: As streaming grows in regions with large populations and strong local repertoire, but lower ARPU, we will see a divergence  or shall we say, bifurcation? The Western world will continue to drive the majority of global recorded music revenue. Yet global music culture and global music charts will be increasingly driven by the consumption habits of the non-Western world.

As streaming grows in regions with large populations and strong local repertoire, but lower ARPU, we will see a divergence  or shall we say, bifurcation? The Western world will continue to drive the majority of global recorded music revenue. Yet global music culture and global music charts will be increasingly driven by the consumption habits of the non-Western world. The double discount: Here is where the above two trends come together. Western rights holders get a double discount on revenue when streaming grows in Global South markets: Not only do these regions have lower ARPU, but Western rights holders have lower repertoire share there. MIDiA highlighted the double discount dynamic in August  it is part of what explained a divergence in Universal Music Groups and Spotifys earnings results.

Perhaps the only thing that can stop this ripple effect, or at least contain it, is if Western labels simply acquire more catalogue in the regions where Spotify is growing the most users. And of course, that is already happening. Expect to see more mergers and acquisitions in Global South markets in 2025 as well as a a shift in the streaming conversation from content to customers.

To hear more about this trend and others to watch next year, sign up for MIDiA Researchs free 2025 Predictions Webinar, coming up on Dec 5. Also look out for MIDiAs upcoming report, Global South rising: A snapshot of streaming audiences in China, Turkey, and South Africa.

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Adams Free Library offers Pastel Painting Workshop

ADAMS, Mass.  Award-winning pastel artist Gregory Maichack will present "Seascapes: Maintaining Habitat Inspired by Winslow Homer," for adults and teens 16+, to be hosted by the Adams Free Library.

Friday, Nov. 21. Registration is required. Library events are free and open to the public.

This program is supported in part by funds from the Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

This workshop is designed for participants of all skill levels, from beginner to advanced. Attendees will create a personalized, vivid seascape painting based on Winslow Homer's beautiful pastel renditions of "Summer Squall," and "West Point, Prout's Neck." All materials will be supplied. Seating may fill quickly, so please call 413-743-8345 to register for the class.

Maichack is an award-winning portraitist and painter working primarily in pastels living in the Berkshires. He has taught as a member of the faculty of the Museum School in Springfield, as well as at Greenfield and Holyoke Community College, Westfield State, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
Mount Greylock Committee Talks Goals, Improvement Plan

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The Mount Greylock Regional Schools interim superintendent Thursday walked the School Committee through his goals for the remainder of the 2024-25 school year and gave a status update on the District Improvement Plan the committee approved earlier this year.

"We are in a unique spot in that I'm very happily an 'interim,' " Joseph Bergeron told the committee at its monthly meeting. "I will probably be serving you this way until the end of June 2026.

"I'm trying to offer meaningful goals and meaningful metrics but do that in a way where I want to get through this school year and then have one more year where we'll, hopefully, see progress."

After the abrupt departure of former Superintendent Jason McCandless in the middle of his contract last spring, the School Committee voted to elevate its assistant superintendent to the interim position with a goal of appointing a new full-time superintendent during the 2025-26 school year.

On Thursday, Bergeron laid out four specific criteria on which he wants the School Committee to evaluate his performance over the next eight months  in addition to the day-to-day administration of the preK-12 district.

Those goals included: revising or re-affirming bias-based, bullying and sexual harassment/discrimination incident response capabilities; completing a plan of action for increased literacy across all grade levels within the district; leading the hiring process for the next permanent principal at Williamstown elementary school; and further developing two-way communication between the district and our students, staff and community.

Three of the four goals align directly with aspects of the District Improvement Plan.

For the fourth, Bergeron promised a hiring process that will be "collaborative and comprehensive" and said that he will be developing a hiring committee that includes staff, community members, parents and guardians of pupils and administrators.

"We want to make sure to conduct that search in a way that has a broad reach," Bergeron said.

Bergeron's first goal on incident response capabilities will involve bringing updated policies back to the School Committee by July and developing training for all staff for the 2025-26 school year.

The new policies and procedures need to include "accountability measures," Bergeron said.

"To me, that means two things: one is an explicitly stated approach to sharing data with the public and two is a well-defined documentation of what is provided to parties [involved in an incident]," he said.

"We're already working toward [Goal 1], and I think we have a good commitment to concrete movement, whether it's revising or reaffirming and better explaining, better teaching, what we do. I feel it will happen prior to the end of June."

The fourth goal, developing better two-way communication in the district, will involve expanded use of the ParentSquare communication app to share information with members of the school community, starting a weekly update from the superintendent for families and launching a "check-in" tool to gather regular, monthly feedback from students, staff and families.

Bergeron talked extensively about increasing literacy (his second goal) in the district both in his presentation on the District Improvement Plan and in the discussion of superintendent goals.

He told the School Committee a team of teachers and administrators are working with the Massachusetts Dyslexia Institute to develop recommended resources and professional development for educators. The district also is looking to expand its assessment tools and intervention resources.

"[The districtwide team has] done a lot of learning over efforts both within and outside the district over the last year," Bergeron said. "We do need to go through a process of documenting the proposed improvements within our curricular offerings and the tiers of support we offer. We need to provide justification for the resources needed to implement that path."

The literacy improvement initiative is one of several areas in the District Improvement Plan that Bergeron highlighted as having potential implications for the fiscal year 2025-26 budget and beyond.

School Committee member Carolyn Greene at one point asked whether Bergeron had specifics on the size of those implications, particularly given the interest of finance committees in Lanesborough and Williamstown that also are heading into the FY26 budget season.

"What we have done over the last few years is try to telegraph earlier and earlier in every budget season: Here are the realities of our wants and interests," Bergeron said. "In reality, not all of these [initiatives] will translate into, 'Here's a proposed budget.' If we were to do everything we want to do, we could pretty quickly stack up a 10- to 15-percent budget increase. That's nothing we plan on doing.

"I will be a little bit more upfront in December and January February to say, 'Here's what it would cost if we were able to  ' But, ultimately, we will also pare that down into something smaller."

Reviewing the curriculum and materials through the lens of addressing bias  one of 15 objectives in the DIP  was another area where Bergeron pointed out potential budget impacts.

But it also was an area where he was able to point to success in the work the district already has done.

"It's been going so well that the state is actually promoting the process that was developed as a model for other districts," Bergeron said. "We've had a couple of districts reach out to us saying, 'We heard you've got something great. Can we learn from it?' which is wonderful.

"It is a little bit of proof, but, at the same time, the proof is in: After we've gone through the first year and do continuous review every year after, the results that come after it."
State Rep. John Barrett III is surrounded by local officials and community and business leaders at Monday's rally for passenger rail support. Barrett and Paula Consolini of Williams College, who has been guiding a group of students on advocacy for passenger rail. PreviousNext

Passenger Rail Advocates Rally for Northern Tier Proposal



Stan Vasileiadis, a Williams College student, says passenger rail is a matter of equity for students and residents. NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  Community, education and business leaders are promoting the Northern Tier Passenger Rail Restoration Project as a critical component for economic development  and say it's high time that Western Mass gets some of the transportation infrastructure money being spent in the eastern end of the state.

"What today is all about is building support and movement momentum for this project and getting it done," said state Rep. John Barrett III on Monday, standing behind a podium with a "Bring back the Train!" at City Hall. "I think that we can be able to do it, and when we can come together as political entities, whether it's over in Greenfield, Franklin County, and putting it all together and put all our egos in the back room, I think all of us are going to be able to benefit from this when it gets done."

The North Adams rail rally, and a second one at noon at the Olver Transit Center in Greenfield, were meant to build momentum for the proposal for "full local service" and coincided with the release of a letter for support signed by 100 organizations, municipalities and elected officials from across the region.

The list of supporters includes banks, cultural venues, medical centers and hospitals, museums and chambers of commerce, higher education institutions and economic development agencies.

1Berkshire President and CEO Jonathan Butler said the county's economic development organization has been "very, very outspoken" and involved in the rail conversation, seeing transportation as a critical infrastructure that has both caused and can solve challenges involving housing and labor and declining population.

"The state likes to use the term generational, which is a way of saying it's going to take a long time for this project," said Butler. "I think it's the same type of verbiage, but I don't think we should look at it that way. You know, maybe it will take a long time, but we have to act what we want it next year, if we want it five years from now. We have to be adamant. We have to stay with it. And a room like this demonstrates that type of political will, which is a huge part of this."

The Berkshires is due for a "transformational investment" in infrastructure, he said, noting one has not occurred in his lifetime.

"So we should be impatient. We should support this project. We should continue to show up when the rep tells us to," Butler said.

The study of west-east passenger rail, including from Pittsfield east, was made possible by an act of the Legislature in 2022 and some $16 billion was being targeted for the Northeast rail corridor by the Biden administration. The state has $135 million committed to so-called Compass Rail that hinges on Pittsfield to Springfield east to Boston and Springfield south to New Haven, Conn.

The Northern Tier proposal would run passenger trains through the historic Hoosac Tunnel for the first time since 1958 along existing tracks with stops in Shelburne Falls, Greenfield, Athol, Gardner and Fitchburg, then straight into Boston in less than 3 hours. A draft plan was opened for public comment earlier this year and a final proposal is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

Barrett said there were elements of the draft plan he didn't like, including that the cost might not justify the effort. The six alternatives plans for the Northern Tier ranged from $1.6 billion to $3 billion; the representative pointed out that the state sales tax was sending $1.4 billion to the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority every year.

"We want the same amount of money up here. We only want it once, and if we get close to that, we'll be enough to move this railroad started within a year or two. That's how quick it can happen," he said. "But we have to have equity, and the only way we're going to have equity with your voices."

The northern rail line could be set up within a short period of time  even if the rail improvements take an estimated dozen years. (This will also depend on negotiations with CSX and the MBTA on track use.)

This was seconded by Ben Heckscher of Trains in the Valley , which has been advocating for passenger rail restoration in Western Mass and the Pioneer Valley since 2016.

The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission did a study in 2009 to extend rail from Springfield to Greenfield and it was up and running six years later , he said, even though the track was in worse shape than the Northern Tier.

"So the possibility to do this is now. We can do this now. We can move this forward, and we just need to find the momentum to come to keep this moving and to get the governor's support," Heckscher said.

Heckscher has been consulting with a group of Williams College students who, under the guidance of Paula Consolini, director of the Center for Learning in Action, has taken on the passenger rail challenge. The students have created a page for the Northern Tier to provide information, updates and ways to advocate for rail. Barrett credited Consolini for spearheading effort and "bugging" everyone.

"I grew up in Greece and my whole life, I was used to having public transportation as a guaranteed thing to be able to go to another place," said Stan Vasileiadis, an economics and math student. "Coming to Williams College, I wonder myself, why can I not go to Boston, it's within the state, it's in the same place, I don't have a car. Most students don't have a car. ...

"But more importantly, how can we bring people who have no access to their own transportation to be able to have a doctor's appointment in Boston, to be able to do their jobs in Greenfield in children falls? It's a matter of justice and equity, if you ask me."

The group also pulled in Thomas Green of Williamstown, a retired Citigroup director who had worked on financing for the state Department of Transportation.

"When you hear the phrase 'rail enhancement,' it's hard to imagine a more important project than the Route 2, [North] Tier restoration of passenger rail service in terms of enhancing, not only transportation from North Adams to Boston, the North Station, under three hours, Greenfield under two hours, even as far east as Fitchburg, which already has a T-commuter line, this would, in effect, create five express trains from Fitchburg to Porter square and Cambridge and then to Boston," he said.

"The other thing is, it's very doable. We all know it. We hear the trains at night. This is not a defunct track. This is not a track where you need to take land by eminent domain for right of way. It's running freight trains every day."

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts President James Birge spoke on rail's importance to the college, noting 60 percent of students come from outside the Berkshires, and Wendy Penner of Williamstown's Cool Committee (CO2 Lowering) of how rail, especially electrified rail, is consistent with the town's climate action plan and would provide better equity for people whose health needs have to be addressed in Boston.

Barrett recalled a great conversation as mayor with former Gov. Michael Dukakis, a train enthusiast, about rail in 1984.

"We realized how important it was for us to have this and lo and behold, here it is, and I'm in a different place than I was 40 years ago," he said. "But the same problem, again, is lack of good transportation, rail service."

Advocates are encouraging residents to contact their state legislator and the governor by letter or email to ask for "full local service" along the Northern Tier and for its inclusion in the Compass model.
China's record express delivery volume marks industry milestone

Xinhua) 15:56, November 18, 2024

BEIJING, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's courier sector reached a historic milestone with the express delivery volume in 2024 surpassing the 150-billion-parcel mark for the first time, according to the State Post Bureau (SPB).

The record figure was captured live on Sunday at the SPB safety center, with the number "150,000,000,000" lighting up the screen of the China Express Delivery Big Data Platform.

A decade after the country's total parcel volume crossed the 10-billion mark for the first time in 2014, China's express delivery has witnessed tremendous growth as the booming courier market has remained prosperous and active.

Marking the symbolic 150-billionth delivery on Sunday was a shipment of a box of Huaniu apples, a specialty of Tianshui city in the northwest Chinese province of Gansu, destined for a customer in the southwestern city of Chongqing who had placed the order just hours earlier on an e-commerce platform.

Fueled by favorable policies promoting domestic consumption and expanding demand, the express delivery sector has enjoyed rapid growth, while national initiatives, such as policies encouraging large-scale equipment upgrades and trade-in programs for consumer goods, have stimulated an active and robust marketplace, particularly across underserved rural regions.

The growth has also been bolstered by advances in logistics technology and infrastructure, highlighted by investments in unmanned vehicles, drones, and automated sorting systems, all of which have elevated both network capacity and service quality.

Reflecting the sheer scale of demand, the country now averages more than 5,400 parcels per second, with daily peaks exceeding 729 million and monthly transaction volumes above 13 billion, the latest SPB data showed.

Express delivery has also become an integral part of everyday life, with the average Chinese citizen receiving over 100 parcels annually.

Nowadays, from essential household items to large appliances, customers can expect near-instant delivery, often on the same day of ordering.

According to the SPB, expansion of the country's express delivery extends beyond urban centers, with regions in western and central China recording delivery volumes above the national average.

From Xinjiang melon seeds to Tibetan yak meat, unique regional products from across the country now reach a vast network of consumers, connecting rural producers with urban buyers and helping drive rural economic growth.

This expansion of e-commerce and express delivery in central and western regions has also played a crucial role in bolstering local economies and creating a more balanced national development model, according to the bureau.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
It is November 24, 1974, when a group of researchers discoversin an archaeological site in the Afar Depression, Ethiopiathe remains of a hominid, identified with the code A.L. 288-1. Numerous fossil bone fragments are found by the researchers, representing about 40% of the skeleton of the first female specimen of Australopithecus afarensis. The discovery makes headlines around the world, and that australopithecine becomes the most famous hominid globally, with the celebrated nickname Lucy. The notes of the Beatles' song 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' play on the expedition camp's radio at the moment of the discovery: Lucy will becomefor the whole worldthe name of the australopithecine. On Friday, November 22, 2024starting at 10:00 AMto mark the fiftieth anniversary of Lucy's discovery, the Museum Center of the University of Naples 'Federico II' celebrates the australopithecine that became an icon of paleoanthropological research with an event titled 'LUCY!'. Opening the day dedicated to the fiftieth anniversary of Lucy's discovery will be Professor Piergiulio Cappelletti, director of the Museum Center of Natural and Physical Sciences of the Neapolitan university. Lucy's discovery challenged the contemporary theories on human phylogeny and had a significant impact on the collective imagination, raising questions about the nature and origin of the human species. The morning will be introduced by Dr. Lucia Borrelli, Technical Director of the Anthropology Museum of the Museum Center of Natural and Physical Sciences of the Federico II University, and will feature Professor Pasquale Raia from the Department of Earth Sciences of 'Federico II' with a talk titled 'Life as Lucy. How Our Ancestor Ate, Moved, and Thought'. The day will conclude with an intervention by Professor Michelangelo Iossa from the Department of Educational, Psychological, and Communication Sciences of the University of Suor Orsola Benincasa in Naples. A biographer of the Beatles and a teacher of musicology and sound education, Iossa will recount the genesis of the name 'Lucy', derived from a Beatles song from 1967, in a talk titled 'In the Name of Lucy: The Beatles and That Drawing by Julian Lennon That Became a Song'. At the end of the day/event, a visit to the Anthropology Museum of the Federico II University will be scheduled.

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Monday 18 November 2024, 18:55

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Queen Camilla has expressed her sorrow over the passing of her beloved dog Beth, a Jack Russell Terrier adopted in 2011 from the famous Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, of which the Queen is a patron. Beth was put down over the weekend due to an incurable tumor, as reported by the Times. Burglars at Windsor Castle, two men with covered faces break into the royal estate: fear for Kate and William, who were sleeping just meters away in the Adelaide Cottage. The news was shared on the official Buckingham Palace account on X, accompanied by a moving message: 'A sad farewell to Beth, the much-loved companion of the Queen, who brought so much joy: during walks, helping with official duties, or curled up by the fire.' The post included some images and a video of Beth playing with Camilla and King Charles. For the 77-year-old Queen, known for her passion for dogs and horses, the loss comes at a delicate time as she is recovering from a seasonal chest infection that has kept her away from public engagements. Beth, along with Camilla's other Jack Russell, Bluebell, has been a constant presence in court life. The two dogs have become symbols of her love for animals, so much so that Beth appeared alongside the Queen in a special edition of Country Life magazine in 2022, published to celebrate her 75th birthday. Queen Camilla has a lung infection, Bassetti: 'I hope she is vaccinated, she is 77 years old. Illness caused by viruses or bacteria.' Camilla's affection for her dogs is well known, and Beth, adopted after being rescued from the London shelter, represented a special bond for her, enriched by many precious memories. The news was also shared on the official Instagram account of the royal family with a touching message: 'A sad farewell to Beth, the Queen's beloved companion adopted from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. She brought so much joy: during walks, helping with official duties, or curled up by the fire.' Camilla, patron of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home since 2016, has often shared her affection for animals, and Beth had become a special figure for the public too. In 2020, the dog participated in the ceremony for the unveiling of a plaque at the shelter, removing a blue curtain with her teeth to the applause of those present, including Camilla, visibly proud. The images published in memory of Beth include tender and significant moments, such as a countryside walk with Camilla, a touching nose-to-nose with King Charles, and a shot of Beth and Bluebell with blue handkerchiefs, in tribute to the organization that gave them a home. Numerous fans and organizations have expressed their condolences. The Battersea Dogs and Cats Home commented: 'Thank you for giving Beth the most wonderful life and for always supporting the rescue. Rest in peace, Beth.' The loss of Beth represents not only a moment of mourning for the royal family but also a demonstration of Queen Camilla's deep connection with her loyal four-legged friends.
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Kevin Smith has confirmed that he is working on yet another sequel to one of his films, which has been left virtually impossible to see, with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck said to be in talks to star.

The 54-year-old director, who survived a heart attack in 2018, is reportedly in talks for a sequel to his highly controversial 1999 film, Dogma, which he claims had previously resulted in him receiving death threats.

The film follows Affleck and Damon as two cast out angels, Bartleby and Loki, trying to re-enter heaven by exploiting a loophole in the Catholic dogma, that would wash away their sins. However, it would also disprove the concept of God and wipe out existence in the process.

Dogma, which also stars Lina Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock and Jason Lee, caused considerable uproar upon release and was protested against by the Catholic League, denouncing it as blasphemy.

Smith, while speaking at the Vulture Festival on 17 November, as reported by Deadline, said of the sequel plans: Some people will be like, Dont f***ing touch it. Youll ruin it. And Im here to tell you: I will. Im f***ing tickled. I found a way in.

The Clerks director added that hes confident he can get Damon and Affleck to star in the film. Smith personally helped them get Good Will Hunting made after he presented the script to Harvey Weinstein, something which the pair failed to acknowledge when they won the Oscar for Best Screenplay.

I have been able to hold that over both their heads for 25 f***ing years, which is why they keep showing up in all the movies, explained Smith. Expect a cameo from them - more than a f***ing cameo. The only way we get a Dogma sequel made is if theyre there. So count on those guys being there.

A pop culture-infused catechism: Linda Fiorentino, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Chris Rock on the poster art for Dogma' ( Miramax/Kobal/Shutterstock )

The original film is now virtually impossible to see, largely due to the controversy surrounding it. The film was released by Miramax, who were owned by Disney at the time and were keen to distance themselves from the scandal.

To resolve the situation, Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob, purchased the rights to Dogma and set up a distribution deal with Lionsgate. The Weinsteins held the rights for years but failed to do anything with the film. Not only is Dogma unavailable on any streaming services but the last physical release was in 2008, when it came out on Blu-Ray.

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Smith joked in 2022, that Weinstein is Holding it hostage. My movie about angels is owned by the devil himself.

In October, Smith provided a positive update on the predicament. Speaking to That Hashtag Show, he said that the rights have now been purchased by a new distribution company and that a re-release could happen in 2025.

He added that the new deal could inspire sequels, TV versions, in terms of extending the story. Something we could never do before. So, exciting man. And all those people who worked in it are still viable.
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Sean Diddy Combs performed a bird sacrifice hours before he was acquitted on all charges related to a New York nightclub shooting in 1999, the music moguls former bodyguard has claimed.

Combs stood trial alongside rapper Shyne, now known as Moses Barrow, after the shooting at Manhattan nightclub Club New York left three bystanders injured.

In the new Hulu documentary The Honorable Shyne, Combss former bodyguard Gene Deal claims that while Combs was on his way to learn the verdict in the trial he stopped in New Yorks Central Park.

There, Deal says he saw Combs drop to his knees in front of another man before smoke swirled around him. Deal believes the smoke to have been caused by burning sage.

The bodyguard says he saw the man holding a bible while praying and laying his hands on Combs. He then told Combs to remove a white bird from a cage. After Combs threw the animal into the air, it dropped to the ground dead.

Hours later, Combs learned he had been acquitted of all charges.

Shyne and Sean Diddy Combs onstage in London in 2023 ( Getty Images for Sean Diddy Comb )

Barrow, meanwhile, was convicted of assault and reckless endangerment and went on to spend nine years in maximum security prison.

The Independent has approached Combss representatives for comment.

Earlier this year, Barrow gave an interview in his home country of Belize, where he is now a politician and Leader of the Opposition, in which he said that Combs had destroyed my life.

He told Channel 5 News: When I was an 18-year-old kid, just wanting to do nothing other than make my mother proud and make Belize proud and, do what all of us want to do, be recognized for our talent and take over the world, I was defending him, and he turned around and called witnesses to testify against me.

He pretty much sent me to prison. That is the context by which you must always describe that relationship. Yes, I forgave. I moved on. But let us not pretend as if I was in Miami for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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Let us not lose sight of what the cold, hard facts are. This is not someone who I vacationed with and who he and I enjoyed this great, intimate relationship of brotherhood.

This is someone who destroyed my life, and who I forgave, and who I moved on, and for the better interest of Belize, because he was in a position at that time to give scholarships and to maybe invest.

I would not deny attempting to bring the investment to Belize and contribution to education to Belize.

Referring to Combss recent arrest on sex trafficking charges, Barrow added: Do I take any joy with what he is going through? Absolutely not. I am different than other people  no one needs to fail for me to succeed.
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David Attenborough, the world-famous naturalist with arguably the best-loved voice in Britain, has said he is profoundly disturbed to hear that AI websites in the US have been cloning his voice.

In recent weeks, it has emerged that online outlets in America have been using the voice of Attenborough, 98, to deliver partisan news bulletins about topics including the US election and the war in Ukraine.

Attenborough told the BBC he was shocked to hear of his voice being impersonated, saying: Having spent a lifetime time trying to speak what I believe to be the truth, I am profoundly disturbed to find that these days my identity is being stolen by others and greatly object to them using it to say what they wish.

The documentarian is not the first to be left dismayed after his voice was seemingly impersonated without his consent.

In May this year, actor Scarlett Johansson spoke out against OpenAI after the company used a voice that eerily resembled the stars in its new ChatGPT product.

The actor said she had been approached by OpenAI nine months before to voice its AI system but declined for personal reasons. She said she was shocked and angered when she heard the voice they ended up using, which sounded so eerily similar to mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the difference.

OpenAI received so much criticism over the move that it eventually pulled the voice.

Attenborough at Wimbledon ( PA Wire )

Before it pulled the voice, the company had denied that the voice, which they called Sky, was based on Johansson, publishing a blogpost about Skys creation and claimed that the company values the voice acting industry.

Skys voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice, the blogpost read. To protect their privacy, we cannot share the names of our voice talents.

Attenborough is currently lending his voice, consensually, to the BBC series Asia, a seven-part series that was filmed over four years, and explores the wildlife and natural wonders of the worlds largest continent.
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Paul Mescal has addressed Saoirse Ronans viral remark on The Graham Norton Show, in which she silenced her fellow guests with a brutally honest reminder about womens safety.

The Gladiator II star, 28, recently appeared on Irish broadcaster RTEs The Late Late Show, where he was asked if he was surprised by the viral response to Ronans comments. Im not surprised that the message received as much attention that it got, because its massively important, Mescal replied.

Im sure youve had Saoirse on the show. Shes quite often, more often than not, the most intelligent person in the room, he continued.

I think she was spot-on, hit the nail on the head, and its also good that messages like that are kind of gaining traction. Like, thats a conversation that we should absolutely be having on a daily basis, the Normal People actor said.

Back in October, Mescal and Ronan  along with actors Eddie Redmayne and Denzel Washington  appeared on the BBC chat show, where Redmayne discussed learning self-defence for his new series, The Day of the Jackal.

open image in gallery Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan on The Graham Norton Show on 25 October ( PA Wire )

When the Les Miserables star recalled being taught how to use his cell phone as a weapon to jab an attacker in the neck, Mescal then joked that he would not think of pulling out his phone during an attack.

Who is actually going to think about that? If someone actually attacked me, Im not going to go phone, said the actor, gesturing as if to take a phone out of his pocket.

Thats what girls have to think about all the time, Ronan then chimed in, as both Redmayne and Mescal fell silent.

After a brief pause, Ronan was met with a round of applause from the audience when she added: Am I right ladies?

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The Little Women star has since called the reaction to her Graham Norton Show comments wild, telling The Ryan Tubridy Show on Virgin Radio UK: Its definitely not something that I had expected, and I didnt necessarily set out to sort of make a splash.

open image in gallery Ronan says viral reaction to her brutally honest Graham Norton Show remark has been wild ( Getty for Academy Museum )

But I do think theres something really telling about the society that were in right now and about how open women want to be with the men in their lives, the Oscar nominee said.

Ronan revealed that so many men and women that I know from all over the world have reached out to her in response to her Graham Norton Show comment, which she urged fans to please to watch this in context.

Please watch the whole interview or watch, at least, that part of the conversation, because it really wasnt about the boys werent sort of, like, debunking anything that I was saying, she continued. But at the same time, it felt very similar to, like, when I am at dinner with a bunch of my friends and I will always make the point that, well, this is actually an experience that we go through every single day, 100 per cent.

The Lady Bird actor admitted that Mescal is one of her very dear friends and that she has had conversations like that with him before and he completely gets that.

I think the fact that there was a moment like that that happened on a show like Graham Norton, which is something that the entire nation channels in to watch and even overseas, its something that people tune into, it seems to have had an accessibility which seems to have really gained traction, which I think is amazing, Ronan added.

Its opening a conversation and again, hopefully, its allowing more and more women to just be like, well, yeah, actually, lets talk about our experience.
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Xi Jinping used his final meeting with outgoing president Joe Biden to lay out four red lines that Washington must not cross and warned Donald Trump against pushing on the guardrails of US-China relations.

In the final chapter of their diplomatic engagement, the Chinese president and his American counterpart held a two-hour meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima, Peru.

Extending an olive branch to the incoming president, Mr Xi said China stood committed to continued dialogue and cooperation to sustain the hardwon stability in bilateral relations but warned against a new Cold War.

A lengthy readout of the meeting in Lima didnt mention Mr Trump by name, but spelled out Beijings approach to dealing with his administration.

The Taiwan question, democracy and human rights, Chinas path and system, and Chinas development right are four red lines for China, it quoted Mr Xi as saying.

They must not be challenged. These are the most important guardrails and safety nets for China-US relations.

Xi Jinping meets Joe Biden on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru ( Reuters )

Mr Biden told Mr Xi that the two leaders did not always agree, but their discussions were always "frank and candid.

The Lima meeting comes as the Chinese leadership prepares for a likely trade war under the Trump administration.

Mr Trump vowed during his campaign for president to impose a blanket 60 per cent tariff on Chinese goods as part of a package of "America First" trade measures.

The Republican has staffed his incoming cabinet with a number of China hawks such as Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Mike Waltz as national security adviser.

A new Cold War should not be fought and cannot be won. Containing China is unwise, unacceptable and bound to fail, Mr Xi told the American president.

Mentioning Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te by name, Mr Xi urged the US to understand his true nature and handle the Taiwan question with extra prudence.

China considers Taiwan an integral part of the country and sees Mr Lai, a proponent of the islands independence, as a separatist.

On the question of the South China Sea, Mr Xi warned that the US should not get involved in bilateral disputes over the relevant islands.

He slammed the policy of a small yard and high fence, a term employed by US national security advisor Jake Sullivan to describe American efforts to block China from accessing advanced technology.

The White House readout of the meeting said Mr Xi and Mr Biden stressed the importance of responsibly managing competitive aspects of the relationship as well as ending the conflict in Ukraine.

Mr Biden reportedly raised the issue of alleged North Korean troop deployment in Russia, a close ally of Beijing.

He condemned the deployment of thousands of DPRK troops to Russia, a dangerous expansion of Russias unlawful war against Ukraine with serious consequences for both European and Indo-Pacific peace and security, it said.

He expressed deep concern over the PRCs continued support for Russias defence industrial base.

On Taiwan, the readout said, Mr Biden reiterated that Washington opposed unilateral changes to the status quo from either side and expected any differences to be resolved by peaceful means.
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China has unveiled an advanced unmanned aerial vehicle which can carry missiles, drop bombs and fire a swarm of smaller drones from a high altitude.

Showcased at the Zhuhai Air Show 2024, which concluded on Sunday, the matte dark-grey Jetank swarm carrier has a maximum takeoff weight of 16 tonnes, payload capacity of six tonnes, and a wingspan of 25 metres. It has been touted as the next-generation large unmanned aerial utility platform, the Global Times reported.

The Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the state-owned company behind the mammoth drone, said it can carry a wide range of weapons and equipment comparable to those carried by modern fighter jets and bombers.

The highlights include firing a swarm of smaller drones from a high altitude, experts have said.

open image in gallery A woman takes a selfie next to a Jetank UAV during the 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai ( AFP via Getty )

The drone has a significant use for the battlefield with its situational awareness and remote control capability via satellite link, said Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert, detailing that the drone has its own radar system and an electro-optical pod at its nose.

The swarm carrier can carry out missions of airlifting, airdropping and information support, the Global Times report said.

Experts have said the Chinese military hardware on display at Zhuhai illustrates the countrys ambitions and breakthroughs in capability.

At the almost week-long air show, China showcased its latest variant of the J-35A stealth fighter, the larger J-20 stealth fighter, a stealthy drone designated the CH-7, and the HQ-19 air defence system.

There was also an electronic warfare variant of the J-15 naval fighter, in addition to dozens of munitions.

An editorial in the Global Times said China is not "seeking to show off its power" but "rather, it aims to prove that it has both the capability to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity and the commitment to peace-based development.

open image in gallery People watch the Bayi Aerobatic Team of the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force perform during the 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai ( AFP via Getty )

China also demonstrated its pull on the world stage by welcoming a delegation from Saudi Arabia with its first pavilion at the event as well as close ties with Russia by hosting the secretary of the Russian security council, Sergei Shoigu, at the air show on Thursday.

The shows commercial aviation side was smaller than in previous years, putting military technology in the spotlight. Hardware as varied as air defence systems, radars, missiles, and aircraft packed the grounds indoors and out.

Additional reporting by agencies.
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Donald Trump belittled him as Little Marco and choke artist, only to nominate him as his US secretary of state. The incoming president even described Marco Rubio as a strong advocate for our nation, a true friend to our allies and a fearless warrior who will never back down to our adversaries.

Rubios appointment as arguably the most powerful diplomat in the world will likely reshape American foreign policy towards allies and rivals alikeand dealing with Chinas continued economic, diplomatic and military rise is set to be one of his top priorities.

That Trump moved swiftly to staff his foreign policy and national security team with China hawks is an indication that relations between the two superpowers will deteriorate further. Alongside Rubio as secretary of state, the team, although its still taking shape, already includes Congressman Mike Waltz as national security adviser and John Ratcliffe as head of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Trump is making no secret of his intention to take a hard line on China, says Swaran Singh, diplomacy and disarmament expert at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.

This is evident from his threat to impose 60 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports and his decision to pick China hawks for his cabinet, Singh adds.

Rubios appointment to one of the most important positions is significant, he tells The Independent. There is palpable anxiety in China because they will not only have to deal with an unpredictable Trump but a myopically China-focused administration.

open image in gallery Donald Trump with Marco Rubio during a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, on 4 November 2024 ( AFP via Getty )

All of Trumps picks thus far are either focused on security and military in their thinking or are China hawks or critics to varying degrees, he argues.

The focus of Trump 2.0 would be on MAGA, to Make America Great Again, and in that the clear challenge is China, Singh says.

Rubio, 53, will be the first sitting US secretary of state, once he is confirmed by the Senate, to have been sanctioned by Beijing.

Rubio was first elected to the Senate in 2010 and served on its Foreign Relations Committee, where he presented himself as a foreign policy hawk and an outspoken critic of China, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba in particular.

He was sanctioned by Beijing along with other US senators in 2020 for introducing measures against senior Chinese officials over their alleged human rights abuses of ethnic minorities, particularly the Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim group in Xinjiang.

He played a key role in introducing legislation, like the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, aimed at preventing goods allegedly made with forced labour in Xinjiang from entering the US and accused Beijing of a grotesque campaign of genocide against the Uyghurs.

He was sanctioned the second time for advocating US sanctions against Chinese officials for their response to the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

Rubio may have seemed unbothered about the largely symbolic Chinese sanctions that prevent him from travelling to the country, but it remains to be seen if they will hinder his ability to conduct diplomacy with Beijing.

open image in gallery Marco Rubio is the son of Cuban immigrant parents to the US ( Getty )

He openly and aggressively pitched for a more hostile policy towards China and many of his positions went on to become more mainstream in both Republican and Democratic parties.

These included a push for an industrial policy to enable the US to get the upper hand in competition with Chinas state-directed economy.

Rubio has described China as "the largest, most advanced adversary America has ever faced" and warned against complacency.

He "believes in his heart that China is an enemy of the United States", says David Firestein, a former US diplomat specialising in US relations with China. "Thats going to colour everything he does with respect to China."

But Chintamani Mahapatra, chair of the Kalinga Institute of Indo-Pacific Studies, argues that Rubio will need to temper his positions in his new role.

There are all indications that the Trump administration is going to be tougher on China on not just economic issues but even on political and security issues after the first term saw an economic cold war between US and China, he tells The Independent.

While Rubio has supported anti-China legislation in the past, as secretary of state he will likely take a hawkish approach to China but ultimately aim for compromises that benefit America. His focus will be on America first and American economic interests.

open image in gallery Marco Rubio arrives to speak before Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Miami ( AP )

Carl-Johan Carlstedt, a geopolitical and security analyst at the intelligence firm Dragonfly, says Rubio will be a headache for Xi Jinpings government due to his advocacy for US allies like Taiwan, for human rights in China, and for imposing stringent economic measures against Beijing.

As secretary of state, he will probably be more confrontational to Beijing than the Biden administration, he tells The Independent.

The upcoming administration will probably expand its use of targeted sanctions and export controls on China.

In response, China will almost certainly strengthen efforts to dominate the supply chains of critical technologies and take steps to demonstrate its red lines on Taiwan to the Trump administration, Carlstedt says.

This includes by expanding its state subsidies and industrial espionage towards the critical technology sectors and by mounting large military exercises around Taiwan.

Rubio and Trump havent always been allies. When contesting the Republican presidential primary in 2016, they exchanged acerbic attacks.

Rubio berated Trump for the size of his hands, calling him a con artist and vulgar. Trump responded by calling him choke artist and Little Marco.

Their relationship improved during Trumps time in the White House and Rubio later downplayed the acrimony, saying: It was a campaign.

In a statement on his nomination by Trump, the Florida senator said he will work every day to enforce the next presidents foreign policy agenda. Under the leadership of President Trump we will deliver peace through strength and always put the interests of Americans and America above all else.

open image in gallery Chinese president Xi Jinping is likely to meet US counterpart Joe Biden in Peru ( AFP )

Singh argues that Trump is more prepared and much clearer this time about what he wants to do than he was in his first term from 2017 to 2020.

The new Trump administration, however, also presents an opportunity for China to expand its influence and for Xi to emerge as a more credible leader, he argues.

Trumps America First foreign policy in the next four years is likely to be seen as not really advocating multilateralism. And during his last term we saw him walking out of five international arrangements, including the Iran deal and the UN Human Rights Council, he says.

China will seek to exploit this potential vacuum and establish its global leadership by strengthening ties with nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America as a counterbalance to Americas more isolationist approach, he argues.

One of the main sources of frustration for Beijing will be Rubios strong support for Taiwan, which China regards as a breakaway province.

Rubio advocates for strengthening US-Taiwan relations, including pushing for a free trade deal and promoting unrestricted interactions between US and Taiwanese officials.

It is anticipated that Taiwan will make new arms purchases after Trump takes office. In his first term, Trump approved more than $18bn in arms sales for Taiwan, compared to $7.7bn under Joe Biden.

Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at SOAS, believes that Beijing may try to sidestep Rubio and seek direct engagement between Xi and Trump or with other senior US officials.

If that doesnt work, then I think were going to get into a much more regular escalation of a bad relationship, he says.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un renewed his call for a limitless expansion of his military nuclear program to counter US-led threats, in the first direct criticism toward Washington since Donald Trumps win in the US presidential election.

At a conference with army officials on Friday, Mr Kim condemned the United States for updating its nuclear deterrence strategies with South Korea and solidifying three-way military cooperation involving Japan, which he portrayed as an Asian Nato that was escalating tensions and instability in the region.

Mr Kim also criticised the United States over its support of Ukraine against a prolonged Russian invasion. He insisted that Washington and its Western allies were using Ukraine as their shock troops to wage a war against Moscow and expand the scope of US military influence, the Norths official Korean Central News Agency said.

The US, Japan and South Korea will never get away from the responsibility as the culprits of destroying the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and the region, he said.

The most important and critical task for our armed forces is preparations for a war.

Mr Kim has prioritised his country's ties to Russia in recent months, embracing the idea of a new Cold War and displaying a united front in Russian president Vladimir Putins broader conflicts with the West.

He has used Russias war on Ukraine as a distraction to accelerate the development of his nuclear-armed military, which now has various nuclear-capable systems targeting South Korea and intercontinental ballistic missiles that can potentially reach the US mainland.

Mr Kim has yet to directly acknowledge that he has been providing military equipment and troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine and the KCNAs report didnt mention whether Mr Kim made any comments toward Mr Trump, whose election win has yet to be reported in the Norths state media.

Mr Kim met Mr Trump three times in 2018 and 2019 during Trump's first presidency, but their diplomacy quickly collapsed over disagreements in exchanging the release of US-led sanctions and North Korean steps to wind down its nuclear and missile program.

North Korea has since suspended any meaningful talks with Washington and Seoul as Kim ramped up his testing activity and military demonstrations in the face of what he portrayed as gangster-like US threats.

Theres concern in Seoul that Kim in exchange for his military support of Russia would receive Russian technology in return to further develop his arsenal.

Mr Trumps election win has touched off speculation about a resumption of summit-driven diplomacy with Mr Kim, which was described by critics as a bromance. But some experts say a quick return to 2018 is highly unlikely, as too much has changed about the regional security situation and broader geopolitics since then.

While the North Korean nuclear problem was relatively an independent issue during Mr Trumps first term, it is now connected with broader challenges created by Russias war on Ukraine and further complicated by weakened sanctions enforcement against Pyongyang, Hwang Ildo, a professor at South Koreas National Diplomatic Academy wrote in a study last week.

North Koreas nuclear and missile program is now much more advanced, which would increase Mr Kims perception of his bargaining powers.

Mr Kims efforts to increase North Koreas presence in a united front against Washington could also gain strength if Trump spikes tariffs and rekindles a trade war with China, the Norths main ally and economic lifeline, Mr Hwang said.
Reset is fast becoming a (not particularly inspiring) catchphrase for the prime minister, a small word that is being forced to carry some humongous burdens in this early phase of his premiership. The much-heralded, but seldom-defined, reset of the UKs relations with Europe has yet to yield much beyond warm words and warmer meetings with EU leaders.

Even less happily, there has been the need for some resets on policy during his first months in office. Now, though, comes the most formidable reset of all  with China, initiated at the G20 summit in Rio...

Why does the UK need a reset with China?

Well, on some measures, its already the largest economy on earth, and is easily an industrial, technological and military superpower  the only plausible challenger to the United States for pre-eminence in the 21st century. So its hard to ignore, quite aside from the perennial legacy issue of Hong Kong.

Without this reset meeting, for example, Keir Starmer would not have been able publicly to raise the case of Jimmy Lai, whose health, Starmer informed Xi Jinping, is deteriorating. (At this point, the two British reporters in the room were removed by Beijings officials).

Also, Britain needs the trade, investment and business China could bring. Often forgotten now, but a trade deal with fast-growing China was one of the more tempting of the Brexit benefits dangled before the British people during the 2016 EU Referendum. Indeed, during the Coalition government only a decade ago, British ministers worked extraordinarily hard to make the most of what they hoped would be a golden era in Sino-British relations. David Cameron even discussed the matter over a friendly pint at a pub near Chequers with President Xi himself.

Will there be an economic dividend to the reset?

Thats the idea. It is no coincidence that the Starmer-Xi reset meeting is being held in advance and in preparation for a mission to Beijing being led by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, early next year  no time to waste. The session in Rio is the first between the two nations leaders since 2018, and Reeves will revive the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue, dormant since 2019.

Notably, Reeves had talks with He Lifeng, Chinas vice-premier, after which Beijing announced the economic dialogue, stymied by political rows and the coronavirus, would resume. In parallel with the official discussions, a private sector delegation was expected to hold a financial services summit, just as happened during the Cameron administration.

What about Trumps tariffs and the US-China trade war?

Tricky. It would be nice to think that the UK could just carry on trading as now or even secure more advantageous terms simultaneously with China and the US  a potentially useful post-Brexit freedom used to excellent effect.

However, its more likely that the Trump administration will, deliberately or inadvertently, force the British to take Americas sides in its trade wars with Beijing and, more damagingly, Brussels. The upshot is that, on balance, the UK, a small player in a three-way economic war between three mega-blocs, could be trampled, and its already anaemic growth prospects flattened.

Why cant we carry on as we are?

It aint working, either in the UKs economic interests nor in those of, say, the people of Hong Kong, whose human rights are being continually extinguished, despite British sanctions and diplomatic objections. Nor do the Chinese seem to take all that seriously the modest deployment of British armed force in the Indo-Pacific region, including lengthy journeys by the Royal Navys two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

If Beijing takes little notice of a superpower such as America (for example in their tacit support for Russias invasion of Ukraine) why should they care about Britain, a long-since departed imperial power they have had little affection for since the opium wars?

And the politics?

The Tory right, like their Republican counterparts, will be furious, and see it as a craven betrayal. In domestic British politics, however, it will only matter insofar as it affects the economy.
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Ballerina Farm trad wife Hannah Neeleman has ditched her gingham apron for a quick trip across the pond  with eight children and husband in tow  for business.

The 34-year-old rose to fame for being dubbed the Queen of trad wives, a label given to women who opt to focus solely on traditional roles of motherhood and homemaking.

Neeleman, along with her husband, and son of JetBlue billionaire, Daniel, run a 328-acre farm in Utah, making food from scratch and tending to livestock.

Boasting nearly 20 million followers across her TikTok and Instagram, her lifestyle provoked debate and concern, after she made headlines for competing in a Mrs World contest just 12 days after giving birth. A Times article further sparked controversy after Neeleman revealed she declined pain relief when giving birth, and had no childcare support.

On Friday (15 November), the influencer posted a video detailing her gruelling journey travelling to Ireland for a work commitment.

This week, we headed to Ireland for a little work trip, she narrated over footage of her catching flights and waiting in airport lounges with her band of children.

It was a series of a lot of flights. They were very long and we were so exhausted by the time we finally got there.

She explained, It took us about 36 hours to get to Ireland but when we were flying into the country, it was all worth it. The green pastures and the little farms were absolutely breathtaking.

Neeleman travelled to Ireland for work ( Instagram/BallerinaFarm )

Landing in Cork for work, she expressed gratitude for her husbands presence as she added: They drive on the opposite side of the road here, so it was a terrifying experience for the first little bit, but Daniel handled it like a charm. I definitely did not want to tackle that so glad Daniel was with me.

Her followers were left shocked as they hit out: Dont you like OWN JetBlue? Youre seriously complaining about long flights when you own the entire airline? I love you mama but try flying economy like the rest of us and then you can whine lol.

Others noticed Neeleman had still not been taken to Greece for a vacation, after a viral video of her hoping for tickets to the European country ended with her receiving an apron as a birthday gift from her husband.

I wish billionaire boy would just take her to Greece for a vacation, not something work-related, wrote one person. Can you imagine having so much money, a wife who does it all, has all the kids you want, raises them, while elevating your business and your life dream to new heights, and then NOT spoiling her rotten in return? sheesh.

Meanwhile, the influencers defenders suggested that any criticism was the product of jealousy.

People are jealous! They are jealous they are successful, they have help with children, they are creative, they travelyou name it! Jealousy is an ugly beast!

Neeleman has hit out at the article that first propelled her into the spotlight as she said at the time, We thought the interview went really well, very similar to the dozens of interviews we had done in recent memory. We were taken back, however, when we saw the printed article, which shocked us and shocked the world by being an attack on our family and my marriage, portraying me as oppressed with my husband being the culprit.

She added, This couldnt be further from the truth. Nothing we said in the interview implied this conclusion, which leads me to believe the angle taken was predetermined.
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A cruise company is offering Americans a four-year escape from President-elect Donald Trumps second term in the White House.

Florida-based cruise company Villa Vie Residences recently announced the launch of its Tour La Vie program, allowing passengers to spend up to four years visiting over 140 countries  all while avoiding the United States.

The Tour La Vie trip offers a variety of extended stays aboard the Villa Vie Odyssey, including a one-year Escape from Reality cruise, a two-year Mid-Term Selection cruise, a three-Year Everywhere but Home option, and the four-year Skip Forward trip.

We came up with this marketing campaign before we even knew who would win. Regardless of who would have won, you would have half of the population upset, CEO Mikael Petterson told Newsweek. Quite frankly, we dont have a political view one way or the other. We just wanted to give people who feel threatened to have a way to get out.

While prices start at just under $40,000 per year, single-occupancy cabins for the full four years start at $256,000, with double-occupancy running up to $320,000 for the trip. All food and drinks are included in the price, as well as WiFi and medical visits. Housekeeping is provided weekly and laundry service is bi-weekly, each with no additional cost, while alcohol is only included at dinner.

open image in gallery Single cabin prices for the four-year cruise start at $256,000 ( Villa Vie Residences/Getty Images )

Passengers will get the chance to spend a month in the Caribbean, before embarking on a four-month South American journey featuring two Panama Canal transits, two World Wonders, the Chilean Fjords, an Antarctic sail-by, Carnival in Rio and an eight-day endeavor into the Amazon River.

According to Petterson, Villa Vie Residences is already experiencing a huge uptick in calls after announcing the cruise on November 7.

For American residents who will be on board for the midterm election in 2026 and the presidential election in 2028, travelers will still be able to cast their votes through mail-in ballots sent to the cruise lines corporate office and then to the ship.

open image in gallery The Villa Vie Odyssey houses up to 600 residents ( Villa Vie Residences )

Petterson said the cruise had hosted two separate watch parties for passengers on board during Election Night, with one group watching Fox News and the other viewing MSNBC.

They didnt want to talk to one another, he told the outlet. They wanted to stay away from one another. At the end of the day everyone there isnt there to talk politics. They actually have similar lifestyles. There wasnt any sort of issues or anything.

Villa Vie Odyssey, which houses up to 600 residents, recently entered the second month of its 15-year tour around the world. The ship will visit all seven continents, 13 World Wonders, and over 100 tropical islands.

The vessel was previously stranded in Belfast for four months due to unexpected repairs. The Odyssey had been scheduled to leave the Northern Irish city in May for a three-year, round-the-world cruise, but eventually set sail from Belfast Harbour in late September.
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With Thanksgiving right around the corner, you may be building your grocery list for the food-filled event. Of course, this includes the usual star of the meal, the turkey.

As you walk through the aisles of your local store, you may be going back and forth on whether to buy a fresh or frozen turkey. While it doesnt necessarily matter which bird you pick for Thanksgiving, there is a significant difference between the two.

When you buy a turkey thats labeled frozen, that means it has been cooled at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Meanwhile, a turkey with the fresh label has never been chilled below 26 degrees Fahrenheit.

The main difference between the two turkeys is when you buy them. A frozen turkey can be bought weeks before the holiday, as long as you give it enough time to thaw. However, fresh turkeys are chilled at a higher temperature, so they should be bought only a few days before Thanksgiving.

While theres no issue with buying a frozen turkey, there could be some downsides. Heres how to know whether the turkey you purchase this year is perfect for your Thanksgiving dinner.

Are there benefits to buying a frozen turkey?

Frozen turkeys can be bought weeks before Thanskgiving ( Getty Images )

The major benefit of buying a frozen turkey is how long it lasts, meaning you can store it in your freezer for weeks before Thanksgiving. That way, you can spend the days before the holiday buying other ingredients for beloved side dishes.

While planning ahead, its important to leave enough time for your turkey to thaw. According to the USDA, you should place your turkey in the fridge and let it thaw for about 24 hours for every four pounds. So, if you have a 12-pound turkey, it will take three days to thaw.

Since frozen turkeys are fed on corn and grains, these tend to be sweeter and more tender than fresh ones, according to Southern Living.

Typically, youd pay more for a fresh turkey than a frozen one. Since fresh birds tend to be free-range and organic, there are most costs involved in raising them, Southern Living reported.

Are there cons to buying a frozen turkey?

The downsides of purchasing a frozen turkey are based on personal preference. If youre not thrilled about thawing a turkey for several days before Thanksgiving, then the frozen option may not be for you.

For those who wish to prepare their dinner closer to Thanksgiving, it may be better to purchase a fresh turkey. The USDA recommends purchasing a non-frozen bird at least two days before Thanksgiving and storing it in your refridgerator. Once the holiday arrives, you can take it out the fridge, season and stuff it as you please, and put it in the oven on Thanksgiving day.

Although fresh turkeys have a tougher texture than frozen ones, they also retain more moisture, which means more flavor, per Southern Living.

Is a fresh turkey better than a frozen one?

Ultimately, theres no right or wrong decision when it comes to what kind of turkey you buy. The option is entirely up to you, depending on your holiday schedule and taste preferences.

However, one brand recently launched a frozen turkey line that makes an expectation to the thawing rule. Last month, Butterball announced the arrival of its Cook From Frozen whole turkey, which can be stored in your freezer. Instead of thawing the turkey in the fridge for days before Thanksgiving, you can take it out the day of and prepare it yourself before putting it in the oven.
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Thanksgiving is just around the corner, meaning millions of Americans are already preparing their menus for the beloved annual holiday. While its no secret that the turkey is the main event, for some Americans, its the side dishes  such as stuffing, mashed potatoes, roasted veggies, and cranberry sauce  that are just as delectable, if not more.

But according to recent data, there are some side dishes that Thanksgiving hosts shouldnt waste their time cooking in the kitchen this year.

Instacart, a grocery delivery company, recently released its joint findings with The Harris Poll from a survey of 2,077 adults in the U.S. According to the poll, in which participants were asked about their holiday likes and dislikes, cranberry sauce was the ranked least favorite Thanksgiving side dish among 27 per cent of adults.

Green bean casserole was runner-up, with 25 per cent of participants saying it was their least favorite dish. Roasted autumn vegetables and pecan pie tied at 23 per cent, while sweet potatoes or yams (19 per cent) were the fifth most-hated Thanksgiving side dish.

However, many participants culinary preferences varied greatly depending on which region of the U.S. they lived in.

open image in gallery Cranberry sauce was the ranked least favorite Thanksgiving side dish among 27 percent of adults in the U.S. ( Getty Images )

Apple pie was named the most favored Thanksgiving side dish in the Northeast, with 50 per cent of participants listing the dish as their holiday pick. Thats compared to 42 per cent in the South and 39 per cent in the Midwest and West who chose apple pie as number one.

Although pecan pie was tied for one of the least favorite Thanksgiving dishes, it still found some support among Americans in the South, with 40 per cent of people saying its a staple on their dessert plate.

Green bean casserole also found popularity among Southerners and Midwesterners, with 43 per cent of each group ranking it as one of their top dishes.

Its intriguing to observe how regional preferences shape holiday meals  whether its the Northeasts preference for apple pie or the Souths love for green bean casserole, said Alex Orellana, Instacarts trends analyst. These patterns not only reveal the diverse culinary landscapes across the country but also offer valuable insights for retailers and consumers alike, showcasing the unique tastes that define our holiday experiences.

open image in gallery While pecan pie was tied for one of the least favorite Thanksgiving dishes, it still found strong support among Americans in the South ( Getty Images )

There are also generational differences when it comes to preferred Thanksgiving side dishes, according to the survey. Generation Z showed a particular affinity for both mashed potatoes (67 per cent) and macaroni and cheese (63 per cent) on Thanksgiving, while Boomers were most likely to rank macaroni and cheese among their least favorites (27 per cent).

For Americans born in the Boomer generation, they listed stuffing as their most favorite Thanksgiving side dish with a whopping 76 per cent. Ironically, Gen Z was considered most likely to rank stuffing as their least favorite Thanksgiving side dish (21 per cent)  provding that generational differences even show up on the dinner table.
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Millions of children are from separated and divorced families  and in many cases, that means Christmas can become a battleground, as theyre caught between warring parents who want the kids to spend the festive period with them.

Parents can sometimes use Christmas as a way of getting back at each other in having some time with the children, says Sarah Hawkins, chief executive of National Family Mediation.

Thats really an unfortunate position for children to be in, when they want to see both parents over that lovely Christmas period.

So, what is the best way for separated parents to negotiate the festive period and avoid conflict, so everyone enjoys some festive cheer? Hawkins and other experts share their top advice

1. Plan well

Plan ahead, advises Hawkins, who says this may mean creating a schedule and trying to agree on things in advance. Then youll both know where you stand and what things youll be attending when you have your children, to try and avoid arguments right up to whats supposed to be a really nice period for them.

2. Do your best to communicate calmlyAs with most things in life, communication is key  no matter how much you dislike your ex partner.

Elizabeth Coe, chief executive of the National Association of Child Contact Centres (NACCC) points out that the charity offers a free Parenting Plan Template on their website, to help parents navigate co-parenting effectively, focusing on the childrens wellbeing.

Family breakdown can be deeply distressing for everyone involved, but especially for the children and young people, says Coe. Communication is key, and the Parenting Plan is a useful tool which encourages respectful communication between both parents.

Talking to each other about what would work best for the children and you over Christmas is essential, she adds. A pre-agreed solution helps to avoid conflict nearer the time, when emotions may be running high.

3. Consider taking Christmas in turns

Parents might agree to take it in turns to spend the day, or the Christmas period, with their children every other year. This enables children to experience the festivities with each parent on alternate years, says Coe.

And Hawkins adds: Share the Christmas period and make sure its fair, but also think ahead for the following year, knowing that if the child has gone to dad this year, theyre going to be with mum next year. Just make sure its firmly set for them, and the children know exactly whats going on.

4. Hold an alternate ChristmasGraham Porter, a trustee at the Association for Shared Parenting, explains that when his daughter was young, he held a second Christmas for her at his home, after shed spent actual Christmas with her mother.

My solution was to let the mother have a complete week at Christmas, and she regarded that as a victory, he says.

I then laid on a second Christmas over a week at New Year, complete with a stocking and a party. It worked very well. My daughter, whos now 32, went to school boasting that she had two Christmases, and coping with her absence on Christmas Day was no problem  I simply looked forward to her week with me.

5. Try to compromise

Coe says: Making plans requires an element of compromise and we would encourage parents to think about a solution which works best for the children involved.

However, Porter points out: At best, the parents can agree without fuss, which is always in the best interests of the children. Sadly, of course, because of the animosity between the parties, that isnt always possible  but they should always act in the best interests of the child.

6. Dont promise what you cant give

Parents want to give their child everything they can at Christmas  perhaps sometimes to get one-up on their ex. But its vital to be realistic, and not to let a child think theyll be getting or doing something you cant actually afford/provide, stresses Hawkins.

Avoid over-promising, she advises. Make those decisions between yourselves before you inform the children of exactly whats going to be happening, so theyre not left feeling that one parent doesnt care about them.

7. Try family mediationHawkins says mediation works in a number of ways, including giving parents examples of scenarios, to pull them away from their own situation and help them view things as the children see them.

Theres also child-inclusive mediation, which gives children a voice and chance to speak to a mediator. They have an opportunity to be honest and open up about the situation, and that information is fed back to the parents, Hawkins says. It can be really impactful for the parents when they hear what their children are going through, because a lot of the time, children just dont feel in a position to be able to say it directly to their parents.

8. Plan presents between you

What presents you aim to give your children needs to be included in your plan, suggests Hawkins. She says parents need to decide between themselves if theyre still going to give presents together, or if theyre going to set a spending limit.

Make sure its all about communication around Christmas, she stresses. Parents do use the present buying as a way to gain favour, but in the long-run, thats not helpful to the child. You need to be thinking about boundaries and making sure your children know exactly what things are worth and are aware, where possible, that youre still co-parenting.

9. Dont make the children go to two Christmas dinners

Hawkins says children from separated families having two dinners on Christmas Day happens a lot. Thats usually where we would push the parents to sit down and think about the impact its had on their child, and then consider mediation so it doesnt happen again, she says.

The feedback we get from parents that have been through mediation is it calms everything down, and they see how settled their children are. Its all about thinking about your children and knowing when to ask for help.
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Jonathan Majors and Meagan Good are engaged.

On Sunday (November 17), the couple made an appearance at the EBONY Power 100 Gala where Good showed off her engagement ring. The Think Like a Man actor explained that she wanted to make the announcement at the event because it was where they first met.

EBONY Power 100 is the event that we met at in the bathrooms, in the unisex bathrooms, Good told E! News.

The two of them first met in 2022 when Majors was dating Grace Jabbari. They didnt officially start dating until May 2023, months after the Lovecraft Country actor had physically assaulted Jabbari.

Majors was found guilty in December 2023 on two counts of harassment and two counts of assault in connection to the March 2023 incident. The jury also found the actor not guilty of one count of assault in the third degree and not guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree.

Although the actor avoided jail time during his sentencing, a judge ordered him to attend 52 weeks of domestic violence programming in Los Angeles, pay $250 in surcharge, and continue going to therapy.

Throughout the trial, Good continued to show up for Majors and stand by him. In January, he had his first interview following his conviction with ABC News.

Meagan Good shows off her engagement ring at the 2024 Ebony Power 100 List at Nya Studios on November 17 ( Getty Images )

Im really blessed. Im surrounded by people who love me, who care about me. But this has been very, very, very hard, and very difficult, and confusing in many ways, Majors said. But Im standing.

Everything has kinda gone away. And its just me now, you know, and my lovely, you know, partner, [actress] Meagan [Good], and my dogs, he added.

Good later appeared on Today With Hoda & Jenna, in July 2024 where she admitted her friends were concerned about the backlash her relationship with Majors would receive.

Well, I wont get into how it started, she said about their relationship, but I will say is that the support weve been able to give each other  the pouring into each other, the honest conversations, the love, the respect, just the care, and the thoughtfulness  its just been really wonderful.

The model was then asked by host Hoda Kotb if any of her friends advised her to wait until after his legal troubles to see how everything turned out before dating Majors. Good responded: Uh yeah, every friend advised me.

But at the end of the day, one thing I know is I can always look myself in the mirror when I trust my spirit when I trust God, when I ask God, and when I move to the beat of my own drum. I can always look and say, Ok Im proud of that. No matter whatever happens I have peace in my heart and harmony in my heart, she explained.

Despite appreciating her friends and familys opinions, Good said that at the end of the day Im the one that has to live my life and I want to be responsible for the choices that I make.

Before her relationship with Majors, Good was married to producer DeVon Franklin from 2012 to 2022.
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A woman found out that she was pregnant with quadruplets after going to the doctors office for a sore throat.

In an interview with Today, 20-year-old Illinois nursing assistant Katelyn Yates shared how an ordinary trip to the emergency room turned into a life-altering revelation. Upon arrival, doctors informed her that she needed an X-ray but required a pregnancy test beforehand due to the potential harm radiation could pose to a fetus.

When the test results came back, her hCG levels  the hormone indicating pregnancy  were described as off the charts.

I was completely in shock, Yates recalled, admitting she initially thought the doctor was pulling an April Fools prank on her. Her now-fiance, 21-year-old Julian Bueker, whom shed been dating for just six months at the time, was so excited and helped her stay calm.

What followed was a challenging pregnancy. Yates was eventually diagnosed with preeclampsia, a serious condition that causes dangerously high blood pressure, and her health rapidly deteriorated during her third trimester. I couldnt breathe on my own, she said, explaining how her liver and kidneys also began to fail.

At just 28 weeks and 4 days, Yates gave birth via C-section on October 17 to quadruplets: Elizabeth Taylor, Zya Grace, and identical twins Max Ashton and Elliot Ryker. Born at HSHS St. Johns Hospital in Springfield, Illinois, the babies arrived prematurely, with Elizabeth weighing just one pound, two ounces, and Max, the heaviest, at two pounds, six ounces.

Despite their fragile start, Yates is overjoyed with their progress. Theyre doing phenomenal. They are gaining weight and growing, she told Today. Elizabeth is about six grams away from reaching two pounds.

open image in gallery A woman give birth to quadruplets in October after receiving the shocking news in April ( Getty Images )

According to the Journal of Family and Reproductive Health, the odds of naturally conceiving quadruplets are staggeringly low  less than one in 500,000. Spontaneous quadruplet pregnancies like hers are exceptionally rare across the U.S. In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported only 121 births of quadruplets and higher-order multiples nationwide.

The incidence of higher-order multiple births has declined significantly over the past few decades. From 1998 to 2023, the rate of triplet and higher-order multiple births in the U.S. decreased by 62 percent, from 193.5 to 73.8 per 100,000 total births.

This decline is largely attributed to advancements and changes in assisted reproductive technologies (ART), which have implemented guidelines to reduce the number of embryos transferred during procedures like in vitro fertilization (IVF). These measures aim to minimize the risks associated with multiple births, such as preterm delivery and low birth weight.
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YouTuber Rosanna Pansino has paid tribute to her dad in a very unconventional way.

The 39-year-old internet personality, who has more than 14.6 million subscribers on YouTube, honored her father by smoking a joint with marijuana grown using his ashes during the first episode of her Rodiculous Podcast.

On the November 17 episode entitled Smoking My Dead Dad, Pansino revealed her dads unusual dying wish before he passed away five years ago was for her to light a joint filled with his remains. Her father, who she often referred to as Papa Pizza, died after battling leukemia for six years.

Rosanna Pansino smokes a joint filled with her dads ashes on new podcast ( YouTube/Rodiculous )

My dad was a badass and quite a little rebel and I will be following in his footsteps, like father like daughter, so to start this episode I want to tell you guys about my dads dying wish, she told her listeners.

Before he passed, he told me and my mom what he would like us to do with his ashes, she added noting how her mom was hesitant at first, fearing people would judge them because of how hippie it was.

Pansino continued: But as time has gone on and its been five years now, we just really think that its the right time to do what dad wanted and to honor him the way he wanted.

Before her dad tragically passed away, he told Pansino and her mom to take his ashes, mix it in with some soil, and grow a marijuana plant and smoke him.

To successfully satisfy his wish, Pansino reached out to a licensed marijuana grower in California. When his Cannabis plant was finally harvested, her family and friends helped her roll the dried plant into joints wrapped in pink paper.

Pansino admitted: I mean this, if Papa Pizza could see this, you guys, he would just... he would get a huge kick out of this, so at the end of this podcast episode, I am going to be fulfilling my dads wish and honoring him.

The famed actress and TV host, known for her YouTube baking series Nerdy Nummies, decided to launch her own podcast, in which she welcomes guests to chat with her over brunch.

While her pilot episode was dedicated entirely to Papa Pizza, Pansino said the podcasts future content will be quite different.

Hi Little Rebels! Welcome to my new podcast, Rodiculous! This episode is going to be different than my future episodes, but I wanted to dedicate my very first episode to my dad, Papa Pizza, she wrote in the episode description.

Rodiculous is available to watch on YouTube and listen to on Apple, Amazon Music, or Spotify.
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The worst case scenario has happened at work. Perhaps you sent a big document off to the printers with an embarrassing spelling error on the front page. Maybe you accidentally ccd a client into some particularly scathing internal emails. Or someone vital just pulled out of a big project. Do you silently seethe and indulge in some weapons-grade eye-rolling? Or do you loudly let off a string of the most unpleasant expletives you can come up with, summoning the spirit of sweary spin doctor Malcolm Tucker from The Thick of It as you go?

The latter scenario would once have been considered an unforgivable faux pas, reason enough to have you hauled in front of HR immediately. But now it might only provoke some raised eyebrows and a flurry of furtive Slack messages between your bemused colleagues. Thats because dropping the f-bomb at the office may no longer be a colossal, well, f*** up.

Last year, 30 per cent of participants in a LinkedIn survey admitted to swearing constantly at work. Another study found that the average UK employee hears 11 swear words a day (an estimate that would be pretty conservative in many of the offices Ive worked in).

A spate of high profile legal cases has highlighted just how far the norms have shifted when it comes to profanities on the job, too. In 2023, a tribunal judge ruled that the phrase I dont give a f*** could now be considered a fairly commonplace office interaction. A separate unfair dismissal case made the news this month, when another judge suggested that swearing at work is more accepted in the north of England.

Yet despite these headline-grabbing examples, the idea of turning the air blue in a meeting room will probably still be anathema to some, because swearing  and the wider question of how we cause and take offence in general  is a subjective, hazy issue. One person might use bastard as a twisted term of endearment; another might see that behaviour as beyond the pale. So how did we get so coarse at work  and how rude is too rude when were interacting with colleagues?

When were attempting to grapple with those questions, context is important. I think swearing, or even ideas about good manners and decorum, are all cultural artefacts that reflect peoples norms, their values, and their attitudes in a given time and place, says Dr Alex Gapud, cultural anthropologist at employee engagement consultancy scarlettabbott.

There are some sectors that seem to have cultivated a more expletives the merrier approach over the years. Working in a restaurant kitchen is notoriously sweary (for a case in point, see Gordon Ramsays entire personal brand). So is the world of finance  you only have to watch a few stress-inducing minutes of banking drama Industry to get a taste. The art world, so very different to the City in most other respects, plays similarly fast and loose with cursing (so countercultural, darling). The more you tolerate it, the more [swearing] youre going to get, says Gillian McAteer, director of employment law at legal firm Citation. So its very easy for it to get out of control.

You might have a leader who feels like they need to swear because they have an idea or norm of what alpha behaviour is Dr Alex Gapud, cultural anthropologist

Whats striking is that these professions have a performative side to them  its as if those involved feel they have to live up to a particular image in order to truly inhabit the part. Just think of Tom Wambsgans in Succession, who seemed to get more and more creative with his expletive-ridden insults as he became more enmeshed in the corporate structure of his father-in-laws media empire.

We tend to play roles as we believe they ought to be played, Gapud adds. You might have a leader who feels like they need to swear because they have an idea or norm of what alpha behaviour is. Wanting to fit in, he says, can be such a powerful force at work, especially because being an insider or being seen as the right kind of person often gets rewarded. You tend to get promoted if you behave the right way  and sometimes the right way involves doing something otherwise considered wrong.

open image in gallery Playing alpha: Successions Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen, right) seemed to get more and more creative with his expletive-ridden insults as he climbed the corporate ladder of media ( HBO )

What we consider to be offensive or profane, Gapud points out, varies over time. Swearing is certainly far less taboo in day-to-day conversation than it once was. In a 2021 report from the British Board of Film Classification, which updates its guidelines around bad language in film and TV by consulting with the public, six out of 10 people said that swearing was part of their daily lives. Plus, one third of the participants admitted to cursing more than they did five years before. Its inevitable, then, that these looser attitudes to language have infiltrated the office, helped along by a concurrent shift towards a more informal working culture, with authenticity as a common  if nebulous  corporate buzzword.

The BBFCs research also highlighted a significant generational divide: 46 per cent of Gen Z said they swore daily, compared to just 12 per cent of 55 to 64 year olds. As the workforce gets younger, theyre likely to reshape office customs in accordance with their own habits. And the blurring of boundaries between our professional and private lives in the wake of the pandemic has likely had a knock-on effect too: theres been seepage between how we behave at home and work, Gapud says, because we might be working remotely, or working outside of the nine-to-five hours.

Dr Tara Reich, reader in organisational behaviour and human resource management at Kings Business School, agrees. I think Covid threw a lot of expectations about working culture in the air, and also created a lot of stress and uncertainty for employees at all levels, so the norms of the workplace are probably more in flux than they were before, she says.

Swearing isnt only an instrument of rudeness, either: we might use bad language to joke, add emphasis to a story or bond with others. On the positive side, swearing with trusted colleagues can build connections, show authenticity and create a comfortable environment where people feel free to express themselves, says Alex Alvarez, lead people scientist at employee experience platform Culture Amp.

Hearing our co-workers express genuine feelings in strong, unvarnished terms might even help us see them as, whisper it, fallible human beings. Swearing is a bit of a risk, and doing so makes us vulnerable; it might signal to the people around us that we trust them enough to bend the rules in their presence (of course, this is tied up in corporate power structures, too  were surely more likely to swear among our direct peers and office pals, rather than semi-ironically calling our bosss boss a w***er).

open image in gallery Bonding: sometimes swearing might even help us build connections with colleagues ( Getty/iStock )

But thats not the whole story. Excessive or aggressive swearing can be harmful  in tense situations, it may escalate conflict or create a hostile environment, Alvarez says. What one worker deems a casual insult might be seen as totally unacceptable by the colleague who sits next to them. Telling that person that theyre overreacting or getting the wrong end of the stick risks undermining their concern and potentially leaving them feeling isolated. Building an inclusive culture means recognising that different people have different reactions to language, and an I didnt mean to offend response will not help if someone feels disrespected, Alvarez adds.

If someones tirades are leaving those around them feeling uncomfortable or unable to speak up, thats a glaring issue. If someones uncivil behaviour makes another person feel like their dignity has been violated or that the environment is hostile to them, then we have a problem, especially if there are protected characteristics involved [such as race, gender, age or disability], says Reich, adding that theres some research that suggests that women and ethnic minorities are more likely to report experiencing incivility.

She points to the work of US academic Lilia Cortina, who has explored the phenomenon of selective incivility, where rudeness is targeted towards a specific group, as a form of covert discrimination at work. The flip side to this, too, is that women and minorities might be more harshly judged for swearing; this, Alvarez points out, can potentially deepen workplace divides.

Building an inclusive culture means recognising that different people have different reactions to language Alex Alvarez, lead people scientist at Culture Amp

Most workplaces will have set out a policy about using offensive language, usually under the heading of misconduct, explains McAteer, but, inevitably, the big grey area is what is offensive? I dont think its as black and white as it used to be.

When considering whether swearing amounts to misconduct, context matters, says Fudia Smartt, employment lawyer at Spencer West. A tribunal is likely to take into account a whole range of factors, she adds, looking at the workplace culture, whether an employers reputation was damaged, whether someone was provoked and if the language has been used in the heat of the moment.

Employers might also find themselves in tricky territory, McAteer adds, if they have a policy, but [they]ve not trained people on it  that is a big risk. Another massive risk is, if youve got a policy  but its not what people are doing in practice. If an employee is dismissed for bad language, then they could argue that they were simply acting in accordance with the office norms. Theyre going to say, well, you didnt take action in all these other instances, she explains.

Creating a list of banned words, as a way of trying to make things more black and white, is unlikely to go down well either. It might come across as patronising, itd be hard to police and, as Reich puts it, misses the point that its not usually about the words themselves, but what they mean to the person who hears [them].

So what is the best way to navigate this undeniably tricky terrain? Alvarez has a good rule of thumb: Ultimately, swearing in the workplace should be used with caution, limited to small, trusted groups where it wont alienate or offend others. If in doubt, save the profanities for your debrief with your (non-work) friends in the pub afterwards. Or, in more colourful terms, shut the f*** up until youre well away from the office.
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It was around 2005 that Simon Payne started hearing it. A strange, low, rumbling sound that travels through walls and floors and seems to come from everywhere. At first, he was convinced the noise was from some kind of machinery, but he couldnt find the source. It didnt go away; he couldnt run from it. Even when he travelled 12,000 miles from his Cambridgeshire home to New Zealand, he could still hear it. It wreaked such havoc on his life, he had to quit his job. He became increasingly isolated and stopped seeing friends. But when he started to look around on the internet for more information, he discovered he was not alone. I found out that it was all over the place, he says. Theres no hiding from it.

Payne was hearing the Hum, a mysterious global phenomenon that is thought to affect as many as 4 per cent of the worlds population. The earliest reliable reports of the Hum date from the Seventies, when numerous Bristol residents wrote letters to the Bristol Evening Post to complain about hearing the noise, which has since been compared to the sound of an idling truck or thunder  and is different from tinnitus. Some Bristolians still hear it to this day, and its been reported in places around the world, from the suburbs of Tokyo to Taos in New Mexico and Largs in Scotland. Its left many hearers anxious and depressed, and has been linked to several suicides. Over the years, many theories have been posed and investigations conducted, but there is no clear consensus on the cause.

In 2010, reports of the Hum began to emerge in Windsor, Ontario. They caught the attention of Canadian author Jordan Tannahill. Residents described hearing a low, reverberant sound that would cause their windows to vibrate, he says. It would sometimes elicit nosebleeds, headaches and even insomnia. The Hum became the inspiration for Tannahills 2021 novel, The Listeners, which has now been adapted into a BBC One drama. It follows Claire, a schoolteacher played with haunting intensity by Rebecca Hall, who one day begins to hear the Hum out of nowhere. She slowly becomes totally preoccupied by it; more than that  consumed, obsessed. None of her family or colleagues can hear it, but one of her students can. The pair strike up an unlikely friendship and, seeking answers, fall in with a community support group that ends up being much more extreme than they could have predicted.

In the fictional case of Claire, the Hum tears her family apart and she loses her job. For Payne, it had a huge impact on his work and social life. It was a nightmare. It ruined my career, he says. I gave up my job at one point, so I was living on savings and trying to get by. It was pretty horrific  I wasnt able to sleep because of this noise drilling into my head the whole time. He says he gave up on everything. I used to be the life and soul of the party, but I withdrew from my social life. It made me feel very isolated, and I stopped doing everything, more or less. His relationship, though, remained intact. My partner is very accepting and understanding of the whole thing, so I dont think it really did us any harm in the long run, because were still together.

Suddenly, one day, Payne stopped hearing the Hum. It had gone on for about 10 years, and I was just about on my knees, he says. At first I thought, Oh, itll come back tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, but it didnt. Gradually, my life went back to some sort of normality. He sought out a fresh start and moved to Somerset, where he lives now. Ive been becoming more outgoing again, and hopefully I can build some lasting friendships here, he says.

But there was always a niggling worry for Payne that the sound would return, and a few months before we speak, he started to hear something again. I would say its a hum, but its not the Hum, he says. I can discern between the two, and its actually at a level that doesnt bother me. Im still a bit of an insomniac, but it hasnt reached the point where its really intrusive and destroying my life, which it did before. I turned the corner a long time ago, and Ive tried to put it behind me. So when stuff like [The Listeners] comes up on the telly, it does kind of make me jump. He wants to move on, but admits he might watch the drama out of curiosity.

open image in gallery Claire and Kyle (Ollie West) try to figure out what the sound is in The Listeners ( BBC/Element Pictures/Des Willie )

This difference between a hum and the Hum is important, says Glen MacPherson, a hearer who first heard it in his small town of Sechelt in coastal British Columbia in 2012. MacPherson, who has a PhD and a background in social research and psychology, set up The World Hum Map and Database Project, where he invites people to report their experiences so he can map them and pore over the data for clues. One purpose of my project is separating anthropogenic sounds from the Hum, he says. For example, the mains electric hum, mining, heat pumps, marine traffic, and so on, can often present in ways that can be mistaken for the World Hum. Some people are simply too lazy to do the work to discover what it is they are hearing. There is no doubt that countless numbers of people have been tortured by sound, but the question is, what sound?

What sound, and indeed, what cause? There are countless theories surrounding the Hum, says Tannahill. There are many natural theories, which I think are quite poetic and mysterious in that we still may not know our own world fully at this stage. He cites the example of a team of French scientists who proposed that the Hum was potentially made by ocean waves hitting continental shelves, shaking the Earth and causing vibrations. Other scientists have hypothesised that it could be linked to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

As with any mystery, the Hum has been used as a jumping-off point for wild conspiracy theories. One of which, of course, is 5G, says the author. I was fascinated while writing the book by how 5G conspiracy theories were prompting people across the UK to burn 5G masts. There are also the most extreme fringe theories around military and government sonic weaponry and mind control. And ELFs  extremely low frequency waves that are used to communicate with submarines  have led to theories that the Hum is the accidental by-product of military technology.

Perhaps its just natural human instinct to want to know the unknowable, and have a simple explanation for that which is complex Jordan Tannahill

In his own research online, Payne has encountered a lot of conspiracy theorists. You know, the tinfoil hat brigade, he says. They say its this, that or the other. Its the Russians or its the Chinese. But Im a rational thinker, Im not given to all that kind of stuff. And to me, there has to be a rational explanation for every kind of physical phenomenon. It just means we dont know what it is yet. Thats all.

At one point, Payne did ask himself, Am I going mad? Is it in my head? So he went to see the doctor, who dismissed it as tinnitus. Its clearly not the case, says Payne. Its not a tinnitus-type noise. Its a low-frequency pulsating. Its very pervasive. And no matter what you do, you cannot block it out. The difficulty is, nobodys actually managed to record it. For some reason, its incredibly elusive. It seems to be coming from all directions at once, almost like its coming up through the ground.

MacPherson says that conflating the Hum with tinnitus has been unfortunate. The phenomena present very differently, affect drastically different proportions of the population, and have dramatically different histories  tinnitus has been documented for thousands of years, whereas the Hum rose to prominence in the early 1970s.

When writing The Listeners, Tannahill wanted to explore this idea of doctors dismissing the experiences of patients. It happens to Claire in the book. There is, of course, this long history of womens symptoms and relationships with their bodies being ignored by the medical establishment and by the patriarchy, he says. At one point, Claire is told that perhaps its perimenopause. My mother had that experience. She began to report different pains in her body and a number of different symptoms that doctors were dismissing or attributing to menopause, which later turned out to be stage 4 metastatic cancer. I think theres a part of me that was reeling from that lived experience with my own mother.

open image in gallery Claire with her daughter, played by Mia Tharia ( BBC/Element Pictures/Matt Squire )

In The Listeners, Claire becomes alienated from her family, who, like her doctor, cant understand what shes going through and are questioning her own experience of her body. Its her loneliness that drives her towards a group of strangers who can hear the Hum. Its the power and seduction of being listened to when you arent elsewhere, says Tannahill.

The leader of the support group in Tannahills story, a man called Omar, links the Hum to the Schumann resonances, a real-life geoscience phenomenon in which the Earth is hit by 8 million lightning strikes a day, and that builds up a huge electromagnetic charge in the ionosphere, and this causes the air between the surface of the Earth and the ionosphere to resonate.

Omar encourages those who can hear the Hum to embrace it, to not just hear it but listen to it, in order to be closer to the Earth. This is when real science begins to enter into pseudoscience, says Tannahill. Im very interested in these thresholds between belief and conspiracy, truth and fantasy, science and pseudoscience, and that slippery slope. Even people who are educated and who we would see as having a good grip on the facts are really prone to this magical thinking, whether its astrology or pseudoscience remedies that have very little scientific basis. Im curious about what soft thinking we allow ourselves as a salve. Perhaps its just natural human instinct to want to know the unknowable, and have a simple explanation for that which is complex.

So, what does MacPherson, who has undertaken years of research on the Hum, think it could be? He tells me his study has shown that fully ambidextrous people, and people with a family or personal history of ADHD or autism, are overrepresented in the data. And we are currently exploring the possibility that hearing the Hum might be triggered in some people by the use of a particular class of over-the-counter painkillers, he says. We are reasonably certain that the Hum is an internally generated perception of sound  that is, it is not actually a sound, just as tinnitus is not actually a sound. It is likely caused by some combination of specific anatomy, environmental exposure, or prescription/over-the-counter drug use.

Payne is not so sure. There is this idea that it could be the total summation of all the human activity that we make; the idea that its actually causing some kind of continuous, standing wave of vibration in the world. And not everybody can hear it. But thats normal. Human beings are not all the same. He cites research by scientist David Baguley into hyperacusis, a condition that makes certain people extremely sensitive to sound and can be linked to trauma.

I think there might be something in that. I could speculate all day long, says Payne. He laughs. A worn-out chuckle. But in all honesty, I just dont have a clue.

The Listeners begins on BBC One at 9pm on Tuesday 19 November
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A former U.S. Army soldier who was court-martialed for fatally shooting a handcuffed civilian in Iraq two decades ago was sentenced on Monday to more than four years in prison for his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Edward Richmond Jr. attacked police officers with a metal baton during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. Richmond, 41, of Geismar, Louisiana, said he immediately regretted his actions that day.

It was wrong. It was foolish. It was not thought-out. It was spur of the moment, Richmond said before U.S. District Judge John Bates sentenced him to four years and three months behind bars.

The judge said Richmond appeared to be genuinely remorseful for joining one of the most violent episodes of the Capitol riot  a clash between rioters and outnumbered officers inside a tunnel entrance.

Your conduct was pretty terrible. You've recognized that, Bates said.

More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the Capitol riot. More than 650 of them have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years.

Several Jan. 6 riot defendants have asked judges to pause their cases until after President-elect Donald Trump takes office, citing his campaign vow to pardon supporters who stormed the Capitol after his Stop the Steal rally near the White House on Jan. 6. Judges have largely rejected those requests and forged ahead with plea hearings and sentencings as scheduled.

Richmond didn't ask for his sentencing to be delayed. His lawyer, John McLindon, said after the hearing that such a request seemed like a waste of time.

Prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of five years and three months for Richmond, who will get credit for roughly nine months that he already has served in jail since his arrest.

Richmond was wearing a helmet, goggles and other military-style tactical gear when he attended then-President Trump's Stop the Steal rally near the White House on Jan. 6. After marching to the Capitol, he joined other rioters in a heave ho push against police officers guarding a tunnel entrance.

Richmond carried a police shield into the crowd and then returned to the mouth of the tunnel, where he attacked officers with a retractable metal baton, hitting their shields.

Before leaving, Richmond passed along a wooden board for rioters to use against police as a makeshift weapon. He also carried out office furniture from a broken window.

He pumped it up in the air several times over his head and shouted, drawing huge cheers from the crowd and spurring the rioters on in their violent attack against police, a prosecutor wrote.

Richmond was arrested in January and pleaded guilty to an assault charge in August.

Richmond was 20 when an Army court-martial panel convicted him of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced him to three years of military confinement for killing a handcuffed Iraqi civilian near Taal Al Jai in February 2004. Richmond was incarcerated at Fort Sill in Oklahoma and also received a dishonorable discharge from the Army.

The Army said Richmond used a rifle to fatally shoot Muhamad Husain Kadir, a cow herder, in the back of the head from about six feet away after the man stumbled. During Monday's sentencing, Richmond told the judge that a superior officer had told him to shoot the man if he moved again.

It was a mistake, Richmond said. It was a mistake by a young soldier.
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U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he wanted a strong and durable relationship with China Monday as he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Brazil.

It was the first time a British leader has met with Xi in recent years as ties between the two countries deteriorated over security and human rights concerns and Chinas support for Russia in the war in Ukraine.

Starmer, who became prime minister in July after his Labour Party won a landslide election victory, is seeking to repair relations with Beijing. The last time a U.K. leader met with Xi was in 2018.

We want our relations to be consistent, durable, respectful, as we have agreed (and) avoid surprises where possible, Starmer told Xi during a meeting on the fringes of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Downing Street said that Starmer wanted a pragmatic approach to working with Beijing on global stability, boosting economic ties and especially climate change and the transition to clean energy.

Starmer also raised more thorny issues including concerns over the detention of Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher and activist Jimmy Lai, a U.K. citizen who has been in custody since December 2020. Lai, 76, could face up to life in prison if he is convicted under a sweeping national security law that Beijing has imposed on the former British colony.

Journalists were ushered out of the room at the start of Monday's bilateral meeting around the time Starmer raised Lai's case, Britain's Press Association agency reported.

Starmer wanted to engage honestly and frankly on those areas where we have different perspectives, including on Hong Kong, human rights and Russias war in Ukraine, his office said in a statement after the meeting.

Xi told Starmer that the U.K. and China have potential for more cooperation despite their differences and should deepen political trust for mutual benefit, according to China's Xinhua state news agency.

Monday's meeting came after U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy paid a visit to Beijing last month for talks with his counterpart, Wang Yi.
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Switching effortlessly from stage to screen and drama to comedy, Timothy West, who has died aged 90, was a remarkably prolific actor over seven decades.

Some of his most acclaimed performances were in Shakespearean productions, but he had a range and versatility that extended beyond the classics.

Wests tour de force came when he brought his towering presence to the title role of Edward the Seventh (1975), ITVs 13-part account of the life of Queen Victorias son Bertie, who spent 59 years waiting to ascend the throne and was recorded by history as a bully and philanderer.

The drama, with Wests sympathetic portrayal of Edward from the age of 23, made him a household name. I felt very warmly towards this somewhat marginalised monarch, he wrote in his 2001 autobiography, A Moment Towards the End of the Play. He had a pretty awful life, really.

In 1979, after acting as the scheming Cardinal Wolsey in Henry VIII, West played another 20th-century historical figure, Winston Churchill, in Churchill and the Generals, aided by his physical resemblance to the wartime leader  with added prosthetic nose and ears, and blue contact lenses.

As in many of the roles he took, his performance transcended the stuffiness to which period dramas are prone, and moved one reviewer to write that the television film was intermittently moving and fun.

open image in gallery West, his wife Prunella Scales and co-star Rodney Bewes in Big in Brazil at the Old Vic in 1984 ( Getty )

He played Churchill again in the 1984 miniseries The Last Bastion and the 1995 TV movie Hiroshima.

West turned to classic literature to take the role of obnoxious, hard-hearted mill owner Josiah Bounderby in Arthur Hopcrafts gritty four-part adaptation of Dickenss Hard Times (1977) for Granada Television.

Later, he would get to parody such industrial melodramas in the sitcom Brass, taking the role of magnate Bradley Hardacre, with the series running on ITV from 1983-4 before being revived on Channel 4 in 1990.

The quirky role of flamboyant conductor Sir Thomas Beecham in Beecham (1990), an adaptation of Caryl Brahms and Ned Sherrins witty play (which West had performed on the West End stage a decade earlier), was another memorable entry in his television CV.

Timothy Lancaster West was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in 1934 to actors Olive Carleton-Crowe and Lockwood West, who was appearing there on tour.

With his parents moving around, he attended 11 different schools, including Bristol Grammar. In that city, he enjoyed watching plays at the Little Theatre.

Moving to London, West studied at the John Lyon School, Harrow, and Regent Street Polytechnic (now the University of Westminster), where he directed and acted in plays. He was also a regular visitor to the Old Vic and Sadlers Wells.

open image in gallery West with his wife of 61 years, Prunella Scales ( Getty )

On leaving college, he spent six months as box-office manager at Frinton Summer Theatre in Essex.

While working as a sales assistant at Partridge & Cooper, a Holborn office furniture company, then as a quality control engineer in EMIs recorded tapes department, he acted with amateur groups such as the Taverners.

In 1956, West became an assistant stage manager at Wimbledon Theatre, where he made his professional acting debut as the farmer in Summertime, and married Jacqueline Grafton, who as Jacqueline Boyer had played the lisping Violet Elizabeth Bott in the radio series Just William. However, the marriage ended in divorce five years later.

From Wimbledon, West moved to repertory companies in Newquay, Hull and Salisbury. Then, in 1959, he made his first West End appearance, at the Piccadilly Theatre as the bookmakers runner Talky in Caught Napping. He followed it with the roles of the informer in The Life of Galileo (Mermaid Theatre, 1960) and Hubert in Gentle Jack (Queens Theatre, 1963).

In the mid-1960s, valuable experience in the classics was gained with the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Aldwych Theatre, London, and Stratford-upon-Avon, when West progressed to parts such as Sir Nathaniel in Loves Labours Lost, Tubal in The Merchant of Venice and Lord Lucius in Timon of Athens.

open image in gallery West during a photocall for King Lear at the Old Vic in 2003 ( PA )

West remained a prolific stage actor over the next three decades. He particularly enjoyed touring, including productions such as the farce Simple Spymen (1961, as Colonel Gray-Balding), and many Prospect Theatre Company plays, including The Tempest (1966, as Prospero), Boswells Life of Johnson (1970, as Samuel Johnson) and King Lear (1971, in the title role).

I get out and about, explore the local countryside, he said. I love the fact that youre playing to the same people in the evening who youve seen in Sainsburys in the morning. There is always a strong sense of community that you dont get in the West End.

Indeed, West was artistic director of the Forum Theatre, Billingham, for the 1973 spring season, attracting actors such as Pete Postlethwaite and Julian Glover.

However, he was back in London, at the Old Vic  where he was artistic director from 1980 to 1981  to play Claudius in Hamlet (1977), Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (1980), Falstaff in Henry IV Part I and PartII (1997) and the title role in King Lear (2003). In the West End, he played Andrew in Its Ralph (Comedy Theatre, 1991).

Television came Wests way when, in 1961, his father recommended him to a producer for the role of Charles Hayter in a four-part BBC adaptation of Jane Austens Persuasion.

That year, he also met Prunella Scales when they were both due to appear in the television play She Died Young. Although it was postponed because of an electricians strike and he was then unavailable for the broadcast, they resumed their friendship while acting in different Oxford theatres a month later, subsequently marrying in 1963.

open image in gallery Actors Sam West, his father Timothy West and his mother Prunella Scales in 1999 ( PA Wire )

Meanwhile, West was getting more small parts on television, including a 1964 guest role in The Marriage Lines, the sitcom in which Scales starred with Richard Briers. He was a regular as Dr Howard Agister in the supernatural thriller serial Witch Hunt (1967) and the sadistic Lennox in the underworld drama Big Breadwinner Hog (1969).

In 1970, he gave TV audiences a taste of what was to come when he played Young Mortimer in Edward II and Bolingbroke in The Tragedy of King Richard II, both opposite Ian McKellen, and in productions he had appeared in for the Prospect Theatre Company.

For two decades, he became almost typecast on the small screen in the classics and period dramas. Alongside his Shakespearean roles, he played Horatio Bottomley in The Edwardians (1972), Porfiry Petrovich in Crime and Punishment (1979), Mr Bumble in Oliver Twist (1982) and William Russell in Florence Nightingale (1985).

He also took the title roles in TVs Boswells Life of Johnson (1971), The Good Doctor Bodkin-Adams (1986), Blore MP (1989) and Martin Luther (2002), as well as playing Mikhail Gorbachev in Breakthrough at Reykjavik (1987), the German-Russian revolutionary Parvus in Lenin: The Train (1988) and Lord Reith for Channel 4s Without Walls series (1993).

At times, West found his television portrayals of real people a millstone round my neck, but he bounced back to play fictional roles such as double-glazing company boss Harry King in Harrys Kingdom (1987), DCI Jimmy McKinnes in Framed (1992) and volatile Andrew Oldfield in the comedy Bedtime (2001-3).

open image in gallery West could turn his talent to comedy or the classics ( Getty )

Although he made less impact in films, West brought authority to the roles of Dr Botkin in Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), the French police chief Berthier in The Day of the Jackal (1973), the inn landlord Mr Tow-Wouse in Joseph Andrews (1977), the detective trying to track down the missing crime mystery author in Agatha (1979), Captain De Wet in Cry Freedom (1987) and PW Botha in Endgame (2009).

Acting in soaps opera for the first time, he had a two-week run in 2013 in Coronation Street as Gloria Prices wealthy fiance, Eric Babbage, who was drawn to her granddaughter, Eva, but broke both their hearts by dying suddenly.

The following year began a longer, 15-month run in EastEnders, playing Stan Carter, the manipulative grandfather of Queen Vic landlord Mick, which also ended in death.

His last regular role was as Jeremy, the ineffectual but affectionate father of Anne Lister (Suranne Jones), in Gentleman Jack (2019-2022), writer Sally Wainwrights popular drama about the 19th-century lesbian and entrepreneur.

West and Scales were narrow-boat enthusiasts and owners who enjoyed exploring the waterways of Britain and beyond, presenting ten series of Great Canal Journeys from 2014-2020.

Lifelong Labour supporters, the couple regularly turned out in public for the party during general election campaigns.

West was made CBE in 1984.

He is survived by Scales and their two sons, Samuel, an actor, and Joe, a teacher, as well as Juliet, a daughter from his first marriage.

Timothy West, actor, born 20 October 1934, died 12 November 2024
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Scientists have detected unexpected activity in the high Arctic as the magnetic North Pole heads towards Russia in a way that has never been seen before.

Compass needles in the northern hemisphere point in the direction of the magnetic North Pole, and the location varies as a result of the changing contours of Earth's magnetic fields.

It differs from the geographic North Pole, also known as true north, which remains stationary at the intersection of all longitude lines.

Dr William Brown, global geomagnetic field modeller at the British Geological Survey (BGS), explained: It's a big, chaotic and turbulent ball of molten iron going around in the middle of the earth that generates the magnitude.

So while we can monitor and see how it's changing, it is quite difficult to predict exactly how it will change.

The magnetic pole moved along the northern Canadian shore for centuries, Dr Brown said. It drifted into the Arctic Ocean in the 1990s, and after that, it accelerated and headed towards Siberia.

From 1600 to 1990, it is estimated to have moved about 10-15km a year. In the early 2000s, it sped up to around 55km a year, Dr Brown told The Independent.

The data comes from the World Magnetic Model, created by the British Geological Survey (BGS) in collaboration with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The model forecasts the location of the pole at any given time. The new model is set to be released in December.

In the past five years, the magnetic north pole has significantly slowed down to about 25km a year.

The model assists in guiding a smartphone's compass tools. It also contributes to GPS systems and is utilised by the military to navigate submarines across Arctic waters.

The world magnetic model is embedded in pretty much any piece of technology, from smartphones to cars and military jets, Dr Brown told The Independent.

The pole's movement is caused by unpredictable fluctuations in the churning of the molten iron that makes up the majority of the Earth's outer core.

This liquid metal moves as a result of heat escaping from the planet's core, creating the Earth's magnetic field. The field and the location of the magnetic pole are impacted by variations in the swirling motion of this molten iron, which is located around 2,000 miles below ground.

Predicting the exact movements is impossible, but the BGS can monitor the Earths magnetic field. The group uses a network of ground stations and satellites to map the field in different locations.
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A 10,000 reward is being offered for information about a father and son who are suspected of being murdered after disappearing in Spain five years ago.

Daniel Poole and Liam Poole, then aged 46 and 22, had travelled to Malaga on 31 March 2019 but have never been heard from since, with their family appealing for an end to the unbearable uncertainty.

Sussex Police has been treating the case as a murder probe since 2022, and is offering the cash for leads that result in arrest and a charge of anyone responsible for their disappearance.

The pair from, Burgess Hill, had hired a grey Peugeot 308 with registration plate 0254 KTM when they arrived in Spain, but the car was later found abandoned by Spanish police after they failed to return it to the car hire firm.

Their luggage and passports were found left at the hotel, suggesting it was not a planned disappearance.

Detective chief inspector Simon Dunn said: Although Danny and Liam went missing in Spain, we believe there are people in the UK who may hold vital information about their disappearance.

We understand there may be some who have felt unable to come forward before now, but its not too late to do the right thing.

open image in gallery The father and son disappeared five years ago after travelling to Malaga (Sussex Police/PA)

You may not appreciate the importance of the information you have, but it could be the piece of the puzzle we need to build the picture of what happened to Danny and Liam.

Sussex Police are taking legal steps to take over leading the investigation from Spanish police.

Lauryn Poole, Dannys daughter and Liams sister, said: Not a day goes by that I dont wonder what life would be like with my dad and brother in it.

Every day that goes by sees a thought pop into my head about what truly happened and what their last moments might have been like  these thoughts often keep me awake at night.

I beg and pray that someone could give me and our family the closure we need to move on from the sleepless nights and that I can give an explanation to my dad and brothers growing family one day.

Dannys mother Jacqui and brother Laurence said: It has been more than five years since theyve been gone, and we have no answers as to where they are or why theyve not come home.

This week would have been Dannys 52nd birthday and in three weeks time, it would be Liams 28th birthday. Our appeal to anyone that has any information is to please come forward  please give us as a mum, grandmother, brother and uncle, the chance to wish them a happy heavenly birthday without the unbearable uncertainty of not knowing whats happened to them.

We go to bed at the end of each day not knowing if tomorrow will be the day we get the answers we need. If you know anything, please come forward and help us end this nightmare.

Anyone with information can call 101 quoting Operation Pheasant or contact Crimestoppers anonymously.
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An international manhunt has been launched for the husband of a woman found dead and stuffed in a car boot 100 miles away from home who is thought to have fled the country.

Police released a CCTV image of Pankaj Lamba, who they believe murdered Harshita Brella, 24, earlier this month before fleeing the country on Sunday.

Ms Brella was discovered in a car boot on Brisbane Road, Ilford, after detectives found her home in the small town of Corby, Northamptonshire lying empty.

open image in gallery Pankaj Lamba is thought to have fled the country ( Northamptonshire Police )

Responding to calls concerned for her welfare, officers got no answer at her home in Skegness Walk and promptly launched a fast-track search for her.

This hunt led them to an empty car in east London, where they discovered Ms Brellas body inside the boot  some 95.7 miles away from her home.

A postmortem at Leicester Royal Infirmary established that Harshita had been murdered.

Northamptonshire Police have referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) after they said officers had previous contact with Ms Brella before she was killed.

open image in gallery Harshita Brella was found in a car boot 100 miles from home ( Northamptonshire Police/PA Wire )

In a statement, Chief Inspector Paul Cash of Northamptonshire Police said: Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba.

We suspect Lamba transported Harshitas body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car.

We believe he has now fled the country.

Police have released an image of Mr Lamba and urged anyone with any information that may assist inquiries, no matter how small, to contact the force.

The Northants Telegraph reports Harshita Brella was previously the victim of domestic violence and just two months ago was made subject of a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) at Northampton Magistrates Court.

open image in gallery Pankaj Lamba ( Police )

Police have urged anyone with information that could assist the investigation into Harshita Brellas death to come forward.

In a statement, Chief Inspector Paul Cash of Northamptonshire Police said: I urge anyone listening to or reading this statement, that if you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us.

We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all.

He added: Anyone who has any information that could help detectives bring Harshitas killer to justice can contact the incident room by calling 101, quoting incident number Operation Westcott.

Alternatively information can be submitted via our online public portal at www.mipp.police.uk or please feel free to call Crimestoppers, in confidence, on 0800 555111.
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The mother of a 24-year-old woman found dead in the boot of a car has demanded justice for her daughter.

Following reports expressing concern for her welfare, Harshita Brellas body was found by police officers in the early hours of Thursday in Ilford, east London, 100 miles from her home in Corby, Northamptonshire.

A post-mortem examination on Friday established that she had been murdered. An international manhunt has been launched for her husband, Pankaj Lamba, who is suspected of killing her earlier this month before fleeing the UK on Sunday.

open image in gallery ( Northamptonshire Police/PA Wire )

Police have since revealed that Brella was previously the victim of domestic violence, and in early September was made the subject of a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) at Northampton Magistrates Court.

Brellas mother, Sudesh Kumari, has now spoken to the BBC from her familys home in Delhi, telling the broadcaster: I just want justice for my daughter.

Her sister Sonia Dabas said Brella was very excited to move to the UK in April after an arranged marriage and wedding ceremony the previous month.

But Ms Dabas said her sister didnt live a very happy life in London and struggled a lot because of her husband. In August, she called her father in India to say that she had run away, according to Ms Dabas.

She said he was hitting her and she escaped. She ran out on the streets, he chased after her and hit her there as well, Ms Dabas told the BBC. There was a local who saw this and asked what happened which is why he left her. Harshita called someone she knew who came to pick her up.

open image in gallery An international manhunt is under way for Brellas husband Pankaj Lamba ( Northamptonshire Police )

Northamptonshire Police have referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), confirming they had prior contact with Ms Brella before her death.

The protection order issued in early September at Northampton Magistrates Court lasted only 28 days, and banned the perpetrator of the violence from molesting her, threatening violence, intimidating, harassing or pestering her, or going to her place of work. He was also warned not to encourage or order others to be in contact with her.

A neighbour of Brellas told the Daily Mirror that she overheard an argument between a man and a woman on Wednesday, saying: They were arguing in a different language so I couldnt understand what was being said.

But it sounded angry and there were raised voices and the woman sounded scared.

Brellas family said they had last spoken to her by phone on Sunday 10 November. She told them she had made dinner and was waiting for Mr Lamba to come home, Ms Dabas told the BBC.

But after two days of Brellas phone being switched off, her family came to suspect that something was wrong and on Wednesday 13 November asked people they knew to file a complaint, her sister said.

Police launched a missing person investigation after officers found no response at her home in Skegness Walk, and her body was ultimately found in the Brisbane Road area of Ilford in the early hours of Thursday.

Northamptonshire Police said on Sunday that more than 60 detectives were working on the case and were continuing to follow numerous lines of inquiry, including house-to-house, property searches, CCTV and number plate searches.

We are of course continuing to appeal for any information that will help us piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita, the force said.
For John Folkes, it all began with a simple command, and a blinding flash. It was September 1956, and he was flying 18,000ft over Maralinga, Australia, secured in his seat by a single lap and shoulder strap, when a 15 kiloton atomic device  as powerful as the weapon that had devastated Hiroshima a decade before  was detonated over the desert plains below.

Two days earlier, the 19-year-old had been told that his job was to head directly into the mushroom cloud and collect a sample of the radiation released by the blast. The flash blazed beneath him, forming an image that would terrorise Folkess dreams for the remainder of his life: it was an inferno, he recalls, describing crimson and black smoke billowing up towards us. The cloud was rising, it was coming up faster than we expected, but there was no turning round, no brakes on a plane. Thats when I thought Were not going to make it.

They sped up. Suddenly, all the gauges in the cockpit were spinning out of control. Folkes shared a look with the pilot. No more than four seconds later, we were hit with this enormous shockwave, which flipped the aircraft over on its back, leaving me suspended in the air on these straps.

Britains nuclear bomb scandal: The story of John Folkes

Unfathomably, they made it safely to the ground  By the hand of God, says Folkes, who is now 89 and lives in Thanet. The moment he stepped off the plane, his hands began violently shaking, and they havent stopped since.

Folkes was working as part of Operation Buffalo, carried out by the UKs Atomic Weapons Establishment. He was just one of thousands of young men whose lives were treated as little more than collateral damage in Britains race to become a global nuclear power.

In the years that followed the Second World War, the nuclear weapons programme placed 39,000 service personnel, scientists and local people in close proximity to 45 nuclear bomb detonations and hundreds of radioactive experiments. The testing left a permanent mark on once-pristine areas such as Maralinga and Christmas Island, causing lethal contamination to regions inhabited by Indigenous Aboriginal and Gilbertese populations. Many of those who were exposed to the blasts experienced debilitating illness for the rest of their lives, with the after-effects of the radiation affecting generations of their families.

They werent respected servicemen, they say, but disposable pawns in a deadly game. Large swathes of the men developed cancer  commonly of the liver, blood, bone, bowel, skin or brain  and overwhelmingly high numbers of families suffered stillbirths, generational birth defects, and miscarriage.

open image in gallery A mushroom cloud forms after a test at Emu Field on the Australian mainland in 1953 ( State Library of South Australia )

Despite this, theyve been consistently denied compensation from the War Pension Scheme (WPS). The proof that they were harmed, they allege, has been covered up for decades by the Ministry of Defence. For years, atomic programme veterans have repeatedly requested blood test results and other medical records, only to be told that no such tests were carried out.

Numerous FOI requests made by Daily Mirror journalist Susie Boniface revealed the existence of more than 4,000 top-secret documents relating to orders to conduct medical examinations on thousands of troops and civilians  documents that have been hidden ever since. Raw blood test data obtained by Boniface stands as evidence that MoD officials were misleading government ministers by denying that this testing had ever taken place.

The veterans decades-long fight for justice has been rightly likened to the Post Office scandal. Its only now that a different story is beginning to emerge, one that will be exposed in a new BBC documentary, Britains Nuclear Bomb Scandal: Our Story, next week.

I was invited to a seminar in 2022; it was with a lot of the nuclear veterans and their family members, John Morris, 87, from Rochdale, explains. He was posted to Christmas Island aged 18, having never travelled further than Blackpool before. There were 12 men on that stage, and we were asked a question  Have any of you lost a child? All 12 men put their hands up. Alongside them, 11 women got on the stage, who were asked, Have you lost a child, or had a deformed child, or miscarriages? Again, every single one put their hands up. This is a story that resonates with hundreds of veterans families. Its just not right.

open image in gallery Atomic veteran John Morris, whose son, Steven, died at just four months old ( BBC/Hardcash Productions )

While serving, Morris was instructed to sit on the ground with his back to an exploding nuclear bomb 20 miles away. Boys next to me were wetting themselves, others were praying. Some wanted their mothers, he recalls. They were given shorts, T-shirts and sunglasses as their only protection. There was a countdown, he explains. We put our hands over our eyes. When the bomb went off, the light was so bright, I cant begin to explain it. Like nothing youve seen before.

It was so bright that I could see through my hands  literally through them, the bones, the blood. I felt my blood boiling, like I was being microwaved. The heat was immense. The palm trees were all scorched, the iron wagons were so hot we couldnt touch them for hours. The wiper blades had all been melted... In those two minutes, I was exposed to millions of X-rays. And then, everything was contaminated by the cloud.

Morris, who has had pernicious anaemia since his twenties and later developed prostate cancer, had a son, Steven, with his wife not long after he returned from duty. He was a happy little boy, and family life came easily to the couple. We were very proud, says Morris. One night we put him to bed in the normal way, having fed him, and my wife woke up in the middle of the night to find Steven dead in his cot. She was beside herself and ran up to the telephone box to call an ambulance, while I tried to give him the kiss of life.

Steven was pronounced dead at the hospital  and Morris and his wife were initially arrested for his murder. A coroner later ruled that Steven had died of pneumonia, and the allegations were dropped  but Morris felt his diagnosis was incorrect. Only in the last couple of years was he able to track down a copy of Stevens autopsy report, which showed he had underdeveloped lungs. Morris believes this was likely to have been caused by his exposure to radiation.

open image in gallery David Purses son, Steve, was born with multiple disabilities, which he believes were a result of his fathers radiation exposure ( BBC/Simon Rawles )

Before she died, my wife always felt I was responsible for Stevens death, Morris explains, his voice cracking with emotion. They had two more children, whom Morris regimentally checked on each morning and through the night. I am now a great-grandad. [My great-grandson] is eight weeks old now, and I am terrified in case he dies or theres something wrong with him. That fear is always there. It will always be there.

For Steve Purse, the fear of passing on genetic abnormalities  his father, David, served in radioactive experiments known as the minor trials in Maralinga in 1963  almost stopped him from having children altogether. Purse was born with a number of disabilities, including a unique form of short stature.

Purses father told him that he had watched officials try to simulate crashes of aircraft carrying nuclear weapons  Basically, piling explosives onto warheads to see what it would take to make them pop, he says. He described watching molten jets of plutonium squirting 200ft in the air. It went everywhere  the wind carried it. They said they cleared it up, decontaminated it. But you cant. The wind blows it, and you dont know where.

When Purse met his wife, they decided to roll the dice  and later welcomed a gorgeous baby boy. He seemed healthy, but, as hes grown, Purse says, its become clear that he hasnt escaped. Now three, his son has a genetic condition that means his teeth are crumbling. I hope thats all hell get. But thats the nature of what we deal with. Its invisible bullets being fired.

open image in gallery Morris was sent to Christmas Island when he was just 18 ( John Morris )

Like hundreds of others, Purse continues to campaign for justice for his dad, and for other veterans who have been consistently dismissed by the MoD, denied recognition for their service, and denied the compensation theyre entitled to.

Morris has taken his fight to every corner he can find. Now, he is calling for Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner, who pledged to help the veterans while in opposition, to make good on their promise.

The veterans want a public apology, and for what theyve been through  the sacrifices theyve made, and the fear theyve lived with since  to be recognised. Our next step is to take the MoD to court, says Morris.

Folkes, who has complex PTSD and is plagued by nightmares that hes falling out of the sky, explains that many veterans were unable to speak out until recently because they had signed a 50-year embargo under the Official Secrets Act.

He called his book about his experiences Silent Tears. That is because so many veterans have died as a consequence of this. They must be in their thousands. And there are copious deformities, and lost children, and children who are going to have problems in the future.

It has been a big problem, and it continues to be. I find it very difficult that our government is still trying to hide it. Its time for answers.

Britains Nuclear Bomb Scandal: Our Story is on Wednesday 20 November at 9pm on BBC Two and on iPlayer
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David Blunkett has spoken of his terror and excruciating pain after he fell through a London Underground platform gap with his guide dog.

The blind former home secretary told how he had been getting on a District Line train with his guide dog, Barley, when he suddenly dissappeared on the rush hour platform.

Writing in The Sun on Sunday, Lord Blunkett said: As I took a step to get onto the tube train I suddenly felt both my feet disappearing down the gap.

In an instant my body had been propelled forward into the carriage and I was face down on the floor.

My legs had somehow been scraped out of the gap and into the carriage.

The former Labour minister under Tony Blair is now pushing Transport For London for changes to make the tube network safer for the visually impared.

He is calling for TfL to make efforts to fill the widest gaps on platforms and make sure there is always someone there to help, especially during rush hour.

open image in gallery A woman waits at Westminster Station ( PA Archive )

He said: Some of our platforms are death traps. The gap between the walkway and train is huge and they are unsafe for everyone, but particularly for blind people.

How many others have fallen and been seriously injured because of the gap? It is not good enough to simply say mind the gap and not give any help. We need action now to avoid preventable injury or worse.

Lord Blunkett said X-rays confirmed extraordinary bruising but not a broken leg. He will soon meet TfL to ask for answers and an urgent review into the safety of the busiest tube stations.

Nick Dent, London Undergrounds director of customer operations, said: We were extremely sorry that Lord Blunkett was injured on our network.

We have written to, and will be meeting with him to discuss how we could have managed the incident better and to ensure that lessons are learned.

The safety of our customers and staff is at the forefront of everything we do, and while injuries like the one experienced by Lord Blunkett are rare, we are undertaking a huge range of work aimed at eradicating such incidents and making travelling even safer for everyone.
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Thousands of farmers are heading to London on November 19 to demonstrate against Labours upcoming changes to how agricultural property is taxed.

Two separate events are due to take place in central London on what promises to be a lively day.

The largest is an independent rally organised by several high-profile farmers. The group has not revealed how many have registered their interest, but it is estimated that between 10,000 and 40,000 people will attend.

The organisers include farmers Clive Bailye, Olly Harrison, Martin Williams, Andrew Ward and James Mills, several of whom have been sharing details their social media channels.

Mr Harrison told his 120,000 followers that the rally is all about landing the message that farmers produce the nations food and we cannot afford this ludicrous inheritance tax change.

open image in gallery Farmers are set to protest against Government changes to inheritance tax (Owen Humphreys/PA) ( PA Wire )

Those who are interested in attending are being asked to gather at Richmond Terrace in Whitehall from 11am. There will then be a short procession to Parliament Square which will return to the start location.

Organisers say that a number of children on toy tractors will lead the procession, desinged to highlight the impact of the devastating budget on the future of farming and the countryside.

Attendees are also being asked to wear boots and wellies, and bring produce to donate to food banks. Crucially, farmers are being asked not to bring their tractors, a request Mr Harrison says is not made by Metropolitan Police but by the organisers.

We are not ready to go full French, he told followers on social media, weve just got to make them aware of the damage their going to do to the countryside.

There had been reports that some farmers were intending to bring tractors to London to disrupt roads, in a move similar to that taken by French farmers several times in the past few years.

The rally will end with addresses from several speakers including National Farmers Union (NFU) president, Tom Bradshaw. TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson  an outspoken farm owner himself  is also expected to make an appearance.

open image in gallery Jeremy Clarkson has criticised Labour changes to inheritance tax ( Times Radio )

The event complements a mass lobby, which was arranged first, organised by the NFU. This is not a protest or march, but will bring together thousands of farmers with MPs at Church House in Westminster, just a 10 minute walk from the rally.

The NFU says attendance has exceeded their expectation and has been forced to stop accepting applications. Around 1,800 farmers are expected to attend the mass lobby, rotating in three groups of 600 to visit Church House.

A spokesperson for the NFU said: Through this first event post-Budget its vital that we leave MPs in no doubt that their constituents, their voters, wont accept this and will hold them responsible.

There must be a political price to pay for this decision. This mass lobby is about landing that message as we work to have this decision reversed.

A Met Police spokesperson said: We have had positive discussions with the protest organisers who have confirmed their event will begin at Richmond Terrace, off Whitehall, at 11am on Tuesday.

There will be speeches, before a procession to nearby Parliament Square.

We will have officers deployed in the vicinity to ensure the event takes place safely, lawfully and in a way that prevents serious disruption.
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Labour faces a wipeout of rural MPs, Sir Keir Starmer has been warned, as tens of thousands of farmers prepare to march on London in protest over the governments Budget changes to inheritance tax.

The partys landslide election victory saw Labour MPs elected across 114 rural constituencies.

But Labour peer Baroness Ann Mallalieu has told The Independent that chancellor Rachel Reevess measure to abolish inheritance tax exemptions for some farms has caused uproar, with her party facing angry claims of betrayal among farmers and rural campaigners.

Farmers arriving to join the first major protest against the new Labour government say the 20 per cent levy on farming assets worth more than 1m will rip the heart from countryside communities.

open image in gallery Labour Baroness Ann Mallalieu, who is also president of the Countryside Alliance, has voiced caution over the impact of the Budget measure on Labour retaining rural MP seats ( UK parliament )

And they strongly dispute Treasury figures that suggest just 28 per cent of farms will be impacted.

Some of the farming communitys anger has been vented at newly elected Labour MPs  with none so far speaking out in support of farmers calls to reverse the inheritance tax measure.

Latest public opinion polls demonstrate support for farmers.

A survey by More in Common showed 57 per cent of people supported making farmers exempt from inheritance tax, including 45 per cent of Labour voters, while 44 per cent said the Budget had a negative impact on farmers.

Baroness Mallalieu, who is also president of the Countryside Alliance, told The Independent: Under Tony Blair there were 100 rural Labour MPs. Tony Blair mounted, and very much regrets it now as he says, what was seen as an attack on the countryside and it dropped to 17.

It took 14 years of Conservative governance before it was restored to 100  now [it is] such a pity to throw that away, which it seems to me they are bent on doing.

Baroness Mallalieu said she had sympathy with the newly elected MPs, some of whom she said were inexperienced and owe it to the party to remain loyal despite outbursts from constituents.

I feel very, very sorry for them, she said. They work very hard and theyve had enormous goodwill in the constituencies... I hope people wont take their anger out on those representatives but they do need to know what its going to do to people, many of whom supported them.

Ive had so many people from the local village shop, to the railway station saying, I wish I hadnt voted Labour  Ive made a mistake.

open image in gallery Tony Blair faced the anger of farmers in St Austell in Cornwall in 2000. Many accused the former prime minister of waging a war on the countryside with measures such as banning foxhunting in 2004 ( PA )

Asked if the measure, unchanged, could lead to rural MPs losing their seats, Baroness Mallalieu said: They [voters] wont forget. I remember John Major at Tony Blairs time said that he would sour a whole generation.

Goodwill, once youve lost it, is very hard to recover. Im afraid thats what happened [under Blair]. Im just afraid that if something doesnt happen fairly quickly, people will remain angry, and also deeply worried and frightened.

Baroness Mallalieu said the Treasury had not properly consulted on the measure or looked at the figures correctly. Last week, unlike the Treasurys estimate, Defra figures were interpreted by farmers groups to show up to 66 per cent of farms could be impacted.

On Sunday night, as he made his way to the G20 summit in Brazil, Sir Keir, who avoided facing protesters at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno on Saturday, doubled down on his claim that the vast majority of farms will be unaffected.

Around 12,500 people are registered to attend tomorrows protest, starting in Richmond Terrace from 11am  but it is believed more than double that figure could arrive, with members of the public joining the action.

Led by a group of children on toy tractors to signify the inheritance taxs implications for the next generation, the protest will feature a list of speakers before a march to Parliament Square.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw will tell protesters: I dont think Ive ever seen the industry this angry, this disillusioned and this upset. And given what weve had to be angry about in recent years thats saying something.

To launch a policy this destructive without speaking to anyone involved in farming beggars belief.

Earlier in the day, the National Farmers Union (NFU) will hold a mass lobby event from 9am with more than 1,000 members entering Church House to put the issue directly to MPs.

open image in gallery Herefordshire farmer Martin Williams says rural Labour MPs are morally wrong not to back their protest ( Martin Williams )

The wider protest was organised by a group of farmers, including Herefordshire cereal farmer Martin Williams, who accused Labour MPs in rural constituencies of letting down voters.

We have had a lot of placating words around the measures that they say will make a difference to us [from Labour MPs], but none of them are breaking the party line, he said.

It seems that they have got such slim majorities in the rural constituences, I feel that they know they are probably not going to get in next time after this debacle already.

Among those joining the protest on Tuesday will be Cornish dairy farmer Bridget Whell, who will be affected along with her sisters in inheriting their parents 500-acre arable farm.

Family farms will need to sell off land to pay for the tax, or some wont continue the business, she said.

They [the Labour government] dont understand how a farm is the basis of a local economy. For every dairy farm, you can have around 25 businesses running off it  and this measure will hurt us all. Its so frustrating. We just want to be heard, to be listened to and hopefully some changes can be made.

The Independent contacted 48 Labour MPs representing communities classed as purely rural by the Countryside Alliance, but none returned with a statement in support of the farmers demand to reverse the measure.

Monmouthshire MP Catherine Fookes said the inheritance tax decision was necessary to address a 22bn black hole left by the Tory government but said she was aware of farmers concerns and will be meeting a dozen constituents on the day of the protest.

I will support them in any way I can through the transition, she said.

Forest of Dean MP Matt Bishop, who won his seat with a majority of fewer than 300 votes, said: We have had to make difficult decisions to navigate the significant financial pressures inherited from the previous government, but I want to reassure my constituents that my focus on farming and rural issues remains unwavering.

Suffolk Coastal MP Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, who won her seat with a majority of just over 1,000 votes, said: I will continue to be engaging with them [local farmers] over the weeks and months ahead  supporting them and advocating for farming and rural communities.

John Whitby, MP for Derbyshire Dales, who won his seat with a majority of 350 votes, said he was listening to farmers concerns. I have visited farms in my constituency, met with the president of the NFU, and will be welcoming even more farmers to parliament tomorrow, he added.

Tory MP for Bridgwater, Ashley Fox, who is joining the protest, said: I would hope that all members of parliament would listen to their constituents, and the message I have had from farmers is that this is a very damaging tax rise, so I would ask my Labour colleagues to reconsider their position.

I think this Labour family farm tax will cause real hardship and will damage Britains food security.

Ahead of the protest Rachel Reeves and environment secretary Steve Reed attempted to address the anger of farmers.

In a statement they said: Farmers are the backbone of Britain, and we recognise the strength of feeling expressed by farming and rural communities in recent weeks. We are steadfast in our commitment to Britains farming industry because food security is national security.

Its why we are investing 5 billion into farming over the next two years  the largest amount ever directed towards sustainable food production, rural economic growth and natures recovery in our countrys history. But with public services crumbling and a 22 billion fiscal hole that this Government inherited, we have taken difficult decisions.

But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch gave her backing to the protesters repeating her pledge to reverse the tax.

She said: The Labour government clearly doesnt understand, or care about rural communities, and now families are having to sell their farms, with knowledge that has been handed down through generations lost forever.

Under my leadership the Conservative Party will staunchly oppose the family farm tax, which threatens our vital rural economy and our food security, with increased costs and a greater reliance on imports.

Mo Metcalf-Fisher, from the Countryside Alliance, said: Labour MPs who find themselves now representing rural seats must be seen to empathise with the awful situation farmers and their families now find themselves. Sadly, many do not feel they are being listened to.

A government spokesperson said: The governments commitment to our farmers remains steadfast. Its why we have committed 5bn to the farming budget over two years  more money than ever for sustainable food production.

We understand concerns about changes to agricultural property relief but the majority of those claiming relief will not be affected by these changes. Around 500 claims each year will be impacted and farm-owning couples can pass on up to 3m without paying any inheritance tax.

This is a fair and balanced approach that protects the family farm while also fixing the public services that we all rely on.
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Thousands of farmers are expected to protest near Westminster tomorrow to express their anger at changes put forward in Labours October Budget.

As many as 40,000 people are estimated to attend the event, forcing police and organisers to move the location from Trafalgar Square last-minute.

They will be gathering to protest Labours announced changes to inheritance tax (IHT) which will change how agricultural assets are taxed.

open image in gallery Farmers and supporters preotest near the Welsh Labour Party conference in Llandudno ( AFP via Getty Images )

The prime minister has pushed back against criticism, telling reporters: I am absolutely confident the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected by this.

Heres everything you need to know about the row:

What are the changes?

From April 2026, landowners who inherit agricultural assets worth more than 1 million will have to pay 20 per cent IHT on them.

These assets were previously entirely exempt from the tax under the agricultural property relief law.

Under the new rules, the 20 per cent levy  which is half of the standard 40 per cent rate  will be charged on assets above the 1 million threshold only.

Also unlike regular IHT, the levy can be paid in interest-free instalments over a ten-year period.

The exemption is stacked with other IHT relief measures. Inheritance tax is already not paid if the value of the estate being passed on is worth under 325,000, plus 175,000 for a home under certain conditions.

For a farm owned by two people, this means the effective tax-free amount passed on is 3 million when combining both their allowances plus each getting the 1 million agricultural relief.

How does this impact farmers?

Labour says three-quarters of estates will not be affected by the upcoming changes, but campaigners have taken issue with this.

According to Treasury analysis, around 500 estates will be impacted by the changes, with just the top 7 per cent of claims accounting for 40 per cent of the total value of the relief fund.

A release from the department adds: It is not fair for a very small number of claimants each year to claim such a significant amount of relief, when this money could better be used to fund our public services.

However, the Country Land and Business Association has said it is closer to 70,000 farms that will be affected. The new measure will mean damaging family businesses and destabilising food security, they add.

open image in gallery Jeremy Clarkson  host of Amazons Clarksons Farm  has opposed Labours new rules (Ben Birchall/PA) ( PA Wire )

Economists have said this figure is slightly misleading. The 70,000 number does not reflect how many estates will have to pay inheritance tax each year, but rather how many are could be valued at over 1 million today.

Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says: The changes will affect a remarkably small number of some of the most valuable farms.

Speaking to Sky News, he added that farms are still more generously treated, actually, than farms used to be in decades past.

Representatives from the NFU do not agree, saying just because a farm is worth more than 1 million, the farm who owns it will often be cash poor.

So far, Labour has resisted calls to reverse the measure  with ministers showing no intention to budge amid the growing protests.
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Violence and drug-use is on the rise at a scandal-hit immigration detention centre after a sudden influx of ex-prisoners released from overcrowded prisons, a new report has found.

Inspectors found a concerning and substantial rise in violence and self-harm in their visit to Brook House immigration removal centre near Gatwick airport in August this year.

Visiting Inspectors described how one psychotic detainee, who was waiting to be transfered to a mental health hospital, had to be moved to different wings three times because other detainees were threatening him.

HM chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, wrote in a report published on Monday that it was clear that a sudden influx of ex-prisoners in 2023 as a result of severe overcrowding in prisons had created some instability in the centre. However he said there were persistent problems at the site that could not be put down just to the influx of ex-prisoners.

Almost half of the detainees told inspectors that they had mental health problems, and 35 per cent said they had felt suicidal.

Migrants rights groups hold a show of support for people detained at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre at Gatwick who are scheduled to be sent to Rwanda. ( PA )

The Brook House site, which was holding about 330 detainees at the time of the inspection, houses failed asylum seekers who have had no previous experience of custody and ex-prisoners whose immigration cases had not been resolved during their sentences.

The number of recorded assaults on staff and of fights had risen five-fold since the previous inspection in June 2022, with 80 attacks on staff in the past six months.

It was also becoming increasingly easy to get illicit drugs at the site, inspectors warned.

Inspectors found the health services at the site were stretched to breaking point, and criticised the lengths of time that people were held there for. 10 people had been held at Brook House for over a year and one man for over 500 days.

Mr Taylor said the Home Office has to reduce the number of people at the site so that staff can provide adequate care for the most vulnerable detainees.

In the previous year, at least 20 detainees had been released homeless from Brook House, including people assessed as vulnerable.

About 60 per cent of the detainees had been held in prison at some point, and 41 per cent had arrived directly from prison. 28 per cent of the people at Brook House were Albanians.

In the past year, three staff had been dismissed due to inappropriate conduct and two were suspended pending investigation.

Brook House was hit by scandal when an undercover BBC Panorama team obtained footage of violence against and abuse of vulnerable detainees in 2017.

The revelations prompted an inquiry, which concluded in September this year, and found that there was a toxic culture at the immigration site. The inquiry report called for an introduction of a 28-day time limit for detention, but this has so far been rejected by the government.

In late October this year, after the inspection, a French-born man was found dead at Brook House. A coroner has said he is believed to have died from unnatural causes.

A Home Office spokesperson said: We recognise standards need to improve across immigration detention facilities, that is why we are taking robust action to improve conditions and safeguards, informed by the findings of this report.

We are reviewing current practices around preventing violence and use of force within the site, and have introduced a programme focused on improving the overall culture, as well as a mentoring scheme for newly recruited officers.
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Australian senator Lidia Thorpe tore up a copy of a motion censuring her for protesting against King Charles during his October visit when she accused him of genocide against Indigenous people.

Ms Thorpe, an Independent senator and Indigenous activist, said Ill do it again and Ill do it every time after she was handed down the parliamentary rebuke.

They want me to kneel, to be silent, to disappear, but let me be clear, she said after the Australian Senate passed the motion which was supported by both the ruling Labor party and the opposition coalition, my loyalty lies with my people, with justice, not with a government or a crown that has systematically worked to erase us.

The Senate passed the motion against Mr Thorpe with 46 votes in favour and 12 against for heckling King Charles and Queen Camilla during their address in the Great Hall of Parliament House.

This is not your country, she said, approaching the stage and shouting at the King. You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us  our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You are not our king, youre not sovereign ... You destroyed our land.

Ms Thorpe, a DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara member, called the lawmakers who supported the motion hypocrites and said the censure process was a ploy to divert attention from the real issues affecting Australia.

She accused the government and opposition of denying her the right to vote.

I was denied my right to be in that chamber whilst everybody else voted to shut me down, she said.

Ms Thorpe, who had disrupted previous events in protest against Britains colonisation of Australia, had to retake her oath of office in 2022 after she tweaked it to label Queen Elizabeth a coloniser.

She was directed to recite the affirmation, a form of parliamentary oath that omits a reference to God, as written.

Australia has struggled for decades to reconcile with its Indigenous citizens, who make up 3.8 per cent of the 27 million population, and are, by most socioeconomic measures, the most disadvantaged people in the country.

Their ancestors arrived on the continent some 50,000 years before the British colonists, yet were marginalised during colonial rule and are not mentioned in Australias 123-year-old constitution.

A censure motion was also passed against United Australia Party senator Ralph Babet for offensive comments made on X (Twitter) after the election of Donald Trump as US president.

He is said to have used a racist and offensive term but deleted the post later.

He said his tweet may have been taken out of context.

Foreign affairs minister Penny Wong said the government reluctantly moved the motions against Ms Thorpe and Mr Babet for actions and stunts designed to create storms on social media.

These are actions which seek to incite outrage and grievance, actually to boost their own profiles, and this is part of a trend that we do see internationally, but quite frankly we dont need here in Australia, Ms Wong said.
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The UK public thinks the US is still Britain's best ally over the EU and Commonwealth nations in the wake of the election of Donald Trump back to the White House, according to a new poll.

As leaders around the EU suggest that the bloc will have to rely on themselves more to deal with global crises such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine given the incoming US president's "America First" doctrine, Britons overall still back the "special relationship" with Washington, according to a survey as leading nations meet up for the G20 summit in Brazil.

Thirty per cent of those asked in new research by political polling group Savanta said that the US was the country's greatest ally, over the European Union (25 per cent) and Commonwealth nations (23 per cent).

But there is a bit of a political split between supporters of Britain's two largest political parties, with 2024 Labour voters more likely to believe EU countries are the UK's best allies (33 per cent of those polled), while Conservative voters from this year are more likely to say it is the US (42 per cent of those asked), followed by Commonwealth countries (26 per cent)  with EU nations at a mere 14 per cent.

Chris Hopkins, Political Research Director at Savanta said: Despite knowing the likely unpredictability of the incoming Trump administration, the UK public is still more likely to say that the United States is this country's greatest ally, over European Union and Commonwealth nations. Interestingly, Labour voters are more likely to say countries like France and Germany are stronger allies over the US - something for [Keir] Starmer's government to think about."

There is consensus across party lines that Russia is the UK's greatest threat, with 52 per cent of those polled saying the UK should be focusing on that over China (13 per cent) and Iran (7 per cent). Fifty-five per cent of Labour voters said Russia was the gravest threat, while 60 per cent of Liberal Democrat and 61 per cent of Conservative voters said the same.

As for what other issues world leaders should be focusing on as top priorities: 22 per cent said managing migration, while 15 per cent said tackling the climate crisis. The same percentage, 15 per cent, also said that peace efforts over conflict in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine should be the focus. Other issues include reducing global poverty (13 per cent) and regulating Artificial Intelligence/new technologies (four per cent).

Savanta interviewed 2,040 UK adults online on 8 November to 10 November 2024, with the data weighted to be representative of all UK adults.
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Ukraine is believed to have used British-made Storm Shdaow long-range missiles inside Russia for the first time.

It comes days after Joe Biden gave the green light for Ukraine to use US-made long-range missiles to target Vlasimir Putins forces deep inside Russia, the first such missiles were used on Tuesday. That opened the door for Britain to do the same, with the UK missiles relying on US targeting programmes.

In a major policy shift just weeks before his tenure in office ends, the US president signed off on Ukraines use of ATACMS missiles outside its own borders. This comes after months of refusing Kyivs requests, which it said was crucial for its defences against Russias invasion. Photographs circulating on Ukrainian and Russian social media suggest the UK missiles were inside the Kursk region near Russias border, where Russian troops have been massing to try and reclaim territory Kyivs forces took in a daring assault in the summer.

Storm Shadow is an Anglo-French cruise missile with a maximum range of around 155 miles (250km). The French call it Scalp. After launch, the weapon, equipped with its navigation system, descends to a low altitude to avoid detection before locking on to its target using an infra-red seeker. On the final approach, the missile climbs to a higher altitude to maximise the chances of hitting the target.

On impact, it penetrates the target before a delayed fuse detonates the main warhead. Powered by a turbo-jet engine, the 1,300kg Storm Shadow travels at speeds of more than 600mph, is just over five metres long and has a wingspan of three metres.

The UK first confirmed it would supply Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles in May last year, for use on Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine. Then defence secretary Ben Wallace had touted that the weapons would give Ukraine the best chance of defending itself. Ukraine has deployed Storm Shadow missiles on several occasions during the war. In June last year, the then-defence secretary Ben Wallace told parliament that the missiles were already having a significant impact on the battlefield.

open image in gallery A graphic showing Storm Shadow missile information ( PA Graphics )

Storm Shadow missiles have also been used by British and French air forces in the Gulf, Iraq and Libya.

Condemning president Mr Bidens decision, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated earlier warnings from Russian president Vladimir Putin saying that any strikes on Russian soil using US weapons would be interpreted as direct Nato involvement.

According to Russias Tass news agency, he said: If such a decision has indeed been formulated and communicated to the Kyiv regime, then, of course, this is a qualitatively new round of escalation of tensions and a qualitatively new situation in terms of the involvement of the United States in this conflict.

Until now, long-range missiles have been limited to Russian targets operating inside Ukraine, as well as in occupied Crimea. The missiles were likely used in the largest Ukrainian attack on the headquarters of Russia s Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol in Crimea last year.

The US, which has provided Ukraine with the longest-range version of the ATACMS, a ballistic missile capable of travelling 190 miles, has been cautious to fire long-range missiles into Russia for fear of a reaction from Moscow that would intensify the conflict. They are believed to be especially apprehensive that Russia may respond by deploying nuclear weapons.

Mr Biden changed his mind, US officials told The New York Times, after North Korea sent troops to support Mr Putins invasion of Ukraine. Speaking on Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not reference Mr Bidens decisions but denounced Western involvement in Ukraine and warned of the potential for World War III.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian upper houses international affairs committee, also said Washingtons decision could lead to world war.

Washingtons ATACMS decision is framed as being restricted to defending Ukrainian forces inside the Kursk region of Russia. In a surprise invasion in August, Ukraine took control of several communities in the Kursk border region, which it is currently defending against Russian counterattacks.

open image in gallery Storm Shadow cruise missile is on display during the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, north of Paris, France ( AP )

The shift in the final months of the Biden administration comes as Kyiv and Western allies prepare for a possible shift in US position under Donald Trump, who has said that he could terminate the war in a day.

The US has been the largest supplier of armaments to Ukraine. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research agency, it delivered or committed to deploy $55.5 billion (41.5 billion) in weaponry and equipment between the start of the war and the end of June 2024. Germany is Ukraine's second-largest military aid contributor behind the United States.

The decision will also put pressure on Germany to relent from its resistance to providing Ukraine with its long-range Taurus missiles, which Mr Zelensky has requested on numerous occasions. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has opposed such a move amid fears it could provoke a response from Russia.

A spokesman for the German government said on Monday that Germany is continuing to hold to its decision to not send long-range missiles to Ukraine. The spokeswoman said, "The chancellor's decision is unchanged," during a routine news conference in Berlin.

France, which has given Ukraine its version of the Storm Shadow, indicated on Monday that it was open to letting Kyiv hit military targets within Russia.

"We openly said this was an option that we would consider if it was to allow to strike a target from where Russia is currently aggressing Ukrainian territory. So nothing new on the other side," foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot told journalists ahead of an EU ministers' meeting in Brussels.

Kyiv has long lobbied for permission to hit deep inside Russian soil via western long-range missiles, given their ability to travel 150 miles and beyond. By contrast, the US-supplied Himars missiles currently used by Ukraine only have a range of around 50 miles.
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Lord Michael Heseltine has warned a Brexit reset is more urgent than ever following the election of Donald Trump in the US and pressures on the government to deliver economic growth.

The former Tory deputy prime minister, 91, made his appeal in a speech as he stepped down as president of the pro-EU European Movement over the weekend.

Lord Heseltine, who will remain as the movements patron, is to be replaced by a joint presidency of ex-Tory attorney general Dominic Grieve and former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas.

He told the meeting: The return of Donald Trump to the White House, Labours proposed reset in UK-EU relations, and the UKs urgent need for economic growth underscore the importance of strengthening cooperation with our European partners.

open image in gallery Trump in the White House puts the focus on Brexit ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

With over 23,000 members, a powerful grassroots network, and strong connections across the political landscape, European Movement UKs uniquely positioned to drive this agenda forward, delivering tangible benefits for people and businesses across the UK.

It comes amid concerns over Keir Starmers EU reset after the prime minister refused to embrace Brussels priority of creating a new youth visa for under-30s to enable free travel for the age group.

In the last week, Trumps economic adviser Stephen Moore issued a warning that the UK needed to make a choice between the EU and US and would suffer from tariffs across the Atlantic unless it accepted a trade deal with Trump.

He said: Ive always said that Britain has to decide  do you want to go towards the European socialist model or do you want to go towards the US free market? Lately it seems like they are shifting more [towards] a European model, and so if thats the case, I think wed be less interested in having [a free trade deal] ... I hope they would move towards freedom, but that doesnt seem to be the case given the Budget that they just came out with in London.

Ms Lucas warned the European Movement that Britain is at a crucial moment in history with Trump about to return to the White House.

open image in gallery Lord Michael Heseltine has stepped down as European Movement president (Aaron Chown/PA) ( PA Archive )

She said: The prospect of Donald Trump in the White House should focus minds on the importance of being guided by our values, and on urgently rebuilding our relationship with the EU as the best way to ensure economic, security and climate resilience.

This is a fight for our planet, for fairness, and for future generations. The European Movement UK is a dynamic cross-party force, and Dominic Grieve and I are committed to building a closer, stronger relationship with Europe to drive meaningful change.

But Mr Grieve warned that the main political parties are turning the other cheek in regards to Brexit.

He said: "The main parties are turning the other cheek on talking about Brexit. There is no-one who can give a benefit of the UK leaving the European Union. I heard on the radio a businessman saying he had done well from leaving the EU, and my ears pricked up. It turned out his company helped other companies complete the huge amounts of extra paperwork that Brexit had caused."
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Ministers have been accused of hiding the cost of a deal to hand the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius after questions were raised about how much the UK will pay to retain a strategically-important military base on the archipelago.

With revelations that Donald Trump is looking for a way to veto the deal struck by foreign secretary David Lammy because of concerns over the airbase on Diego Garcia island, the Labour government is facing calls to publish the costs to the taxpayer of the deal.

As part of the agreement, the UK and US believe they have secured use of the airbase for at least 99 years, but have so far refused to publish how much they will pay to be allowed to use it.

Answering an urgent question last week, Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty told MPs it was not normal practice to reveal the value of payments made by the UK for military bases across the globe due to security risks.

Foreign Office minister in the Lords, Baroness Jenny Chapman also said: We never reveal the cost of basing our military assets overseaswe never have, we never will, and I do not think other nations do either. There are very good reasons for that. If we started to do so, I expect we would see the prices of these things start to go up fairly rapidly. No, we will not be disclosing that."

open image in gallery Stephen Doughty answered an urgent question last week ( House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA Wire )

However, previous written answers and statements showed that the government has published the costs of bases.

A year ago in November 2023, the government published the 256 million cost of its Cyprus military bases. In November 2022, the government also published the annual running costs of the same bases.

Last month the government also published the 27 million annual cost of the British army training facility in Kenya.

And in 2015, the then-defence minister Penny Mordaunt published the annual running costs of all Britains overseas bases.

Tory shadow ministers have now accused the governement of attempting to hold back vital details on the Mauritius deal on Chagos to avoid embarrassment as they come under pressure from president election Trump.

Tory shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said: [Defence secretary]John Healy confirmed that he knows how much it will cost to rent back the military base on Chagos that we currently own - but hes refusing to tell us the figure. What is he trying to hide?

open image in gallery Mark Francois (Gareth Fuller/PA) ( PA Archive )

We know this money could be hundreds of millions that would have to be found from the MoD budget, that should instead be focused on strengthening our armed forces. Weve had confused reasons as to why the Government isnt going to tell us. The fact is this is public money and the Government need to be transparent on the cost of their Chagos deal, and stop hiding the truth from Parliament.

Pressed on the issue by The Independent, a Downing Street spokesperson said: We will be finalising the details and the legal text as part of the deal and then coming forward with the details for scrutiny and treaty ratification in the usual way, and its at that point that we will set out the full details of it, including the costs"

Pressed further on whether Stephen Doughty was right to say that its not normal practice to publish the financial arrangements, spox said: As I said, we will set out the full details of the treaty which includes cost at that point so were following the treaty process on this.

The issue is likely to be raised today in defence questions by the Tories.

Shadow armed forces minister, Mark Francois, said: Just as with farming, Labour are now utterly all over the place on the costs of the Chagos Deal, too. Last Monday, FCDO Minister Stephen Doughty, told the Commons categorically the Government would not release the costs of the deal and yet on Friday the official No 10 spokesman said they would release the full details, including the costs of the deal, when the Treaty is published.

The government are in complete Chagos chaos over this.
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Ministers are facing questions about whether they will exclude Chinese companies from operating in Britain in a bid to protect health data from foreign exploitation.

Senior Tories have questioned whether Labour will follow steps taken by the US and Europe aimed at protecting the UKs genomics sector.

Genomics, the study of humanitys genetic material, has the potential for use in new medical technologies, and the UK is a global leader in the field.

It could be used to provide improved, personalised treatment for patients, but there are also concerns about how access to genomic data could be exploited.

Two Chinese biotechnology companies, BGI Group and MGI Tech, feature in a letter to the Government from shadow cabinet office minister John Glen, though both firms insist they have no ties with the Chinese state.

Worries about Chinese involvement in the genomics sector come after similar concerns about Chinas influence over other new technologies.

Equipment made by Shenzhen-based telecommunications company Huawei was banned from the UKs 5G network in 2020, and security concerns have since been raised about the Beijing parent company of social media platform TikTok.

In a letter to Cabinet Office minister Abena Oppong-Asare seen by the PA news agency, Mr Glen claimed the Chinese genomics companies are being used by Beijing to harvest as much DNA data as possible globally and dominate the genomics industry supply chain.

Beijings data laws require private companies to share information with state authorities, Mr Glen said.

Europe and the US have taken steps to mitigate the risks of Chinese influence in the genomics sector, he added, including US efforts to limit access to government contracts.

Mr Glen asked if Labour planned to take similar steps in office, either using its new Biological Security Strategy to protect against foreign companies of concern, or by debarring them from involvement in the UKs genomics pipeline.

Mr Glen told PA: In light of the Prime Ministers desire to pursue closer economic relations with China, many will want reassurances that they are committed to protecting the critical genomics data industry from the security and privacy risks posed by over exposure to foreign companies.

It is vital that this data, which has significant implications for future UK healthcare strategies, cannot be leveraged by other states.

When the Tories were in power, then-minister Mr Glen said in correspondence that significant work related to national security is being conducted in relation to BGI.

In response to the senior Torys letter, Cabinet Office Ms Oppong-Asare said moves to exclude companies from operating in the UK under the Procurement Act would be taken on a case-by-case basis.

She added: Debarment decisions will be taken after a rigorous investigation process with subsequent publication onto the relevant debarment list which will reference the reason for debarment.

Ms Oppong-Asare added ministers were actively engaging with UK data repositories to ensure that their protocols reflect up to date risk assessments and patients data is protected.

BGI Group said it was not state-owned or state-controlled in any way and insisted all of its services and research are conducted for civilian and scientific purposes.

The company also said it takes data protection extremely seriously and follows all local laws and data regulations, including GDPR rules in Europe.

MGI Tech also emphasised it is an independent publicly listed company, and said there was no relationship with Beijing other than following its applicable laws and regulations.

The Chinese government has never been involved in any part of the process of MGIs overseas projects, the company added.
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Sir Keir Starmer is under fresh pressure over Brexit as a petition calling for Britain to rejoin the EU racks up tens of thousands of signatures.

MPs will almost certainly debate the call in the Commons after 36,000 voters signed the petition in just three weeks. With 100,000 signatures a petition is considered for debate in parliament, although the government must respond to it after 10,000 signatures.

The petition calls for the UK to apply to join the EU as full members as soon as possible, which its creator and ardent Remainer Robert McMaster said will boost the economy, increase global influence, improve collaboration and provide stability and freedom.

open image in gallery Keir Starmer is sticking with pledges made during Opposition, ruling out a return to the single market or customs union ( Reuters )

I believe that Brexit hasnt brought any tangible benefit and there is no future prospect of any, that the UK has changed its mind and that this should be recognised, Mr McMaster added.

Backing the petition, SNP MP Stephen Gethins said Labour and the Conservatives have entered an omerta around the question of EU membership.

He told The Independent: It is so good to see members of the public leading the charge on ensuring that we open up the debate on rejoin.

Leaving the EU has left us poorer, less secure and taken away opportunities from young people and small businesses alike. Every day we see the damage that is being done, damage that could easily be reversed.

Brexit continues to have a huge impact on us all and I hope that this government will follow now by opening up a discussion and debate on our relationship with the EU, rejoining and at the very least membership of the single market and customs union.

Mike Galsworthy, chair of the European Movement UK, said: Everyone knows we are in a new era now, and it is time to put aside the conspiracies of silence on the obvious issues leaving the EU has caused for our country. The previous government would have shut down these conversations.

The new government would be very unwise to do so, because as this petition shows, these conversations are already being had by the people of this country. Theyre already being had by the media in this country. They need to be had in parliament too.

But Stuart Coster, founder and director of the pro-Brexit Democracy Movement, said Remain backers are having trouble respecting democracy. He said: Millions of voters in Julys general election backed parties that pledged not to hand law-making back to the EU. As with the referendum, it seems some hardline Remainers are still having trouble respecting democracy.

Sir Keir has embarked on a reset of relations with Brussels since becoming PM, after years of acrimony under the Conservatives.

But he has disappointed anti-Brexit campaigners, firmly sticking to red lines including ruling out any return to the single market, customs union or freedom of movement.

open image in gallery The return of Donald Trump has heightened calls for Keir Starmer to bring Britain closer to the EU ( AP )

And, since the re-election of former US president Donald Trump, he has faced growing calls to go further and faster in his reset.

In the last week, Mr Trumps economic adviser Stephen Moore issued a warning that the UK needed to make a choice between the EU and US and would suffer from tariffs across the Atlantic unless it accepted a trade deal with Mr Trump.

Speaking as she took over as joint president of European Movement UK, the former Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said: The prospect of Donald Trump in the White House should focus minds on the importance of being guided by our values, and on urgently rebuilding our relationship with the EU as the best way to ensure economic security and climate resilience.

Sir Keir faced questions over his talks with the EU in recent weeks after he refused to embrace Brussels priority of creating a new youth visa for under-30s to enable free travel for the age group.

Lib Dem MP Caroline Voaden, a former member of the European parliament, said: Its little surprise to see this petition surge in signatures given that just 15 per cent of people think the government is handling the issue of Brexit well.

While its refreshing to hear the new government talk about building closer ties with Europe, its time to see those words put into action.

Creating a new Youth Mobility Scheme is a good launchpad from which we can begin addressing the area of the UK most damaged from Brexit: our economy.

I hope this process ends with us rejoining the single market, but this can only happen once our relationship with Europe, so badly damaged by the last government, is repaired.
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A Florida woman has been arrested for allegedly stealing her moms identity in order to collect thousands of dollars in hurricane disaster relief, claiming to officials that her youthful looks were simply because of botox.

Veronica Torres, 44, from Bradenton, Manatee County, was charged on Friday with filing a false public assistance claim after she was granted almost $8,000 in relief through the City of Bradentons Hurricane Disaster Assistance Program, the Bradenton Police Department said in a statement.

Police said the 44-year-old claimed she was forced from her home due to damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton which both slammed into the Sunshine State within two weeks of one another.

Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on September 26 along the Big Bend region, while Milton made landfall as a Category 3 Hurricane on October 9 near Siesta Key. Together, the deadly storms claimed dozens of lives and caused billions of dollars worth of damage across the Southeast US.

According to authorities, Torres applied for disaster relief following the storms using her mothers drivers license and social security information.

Torres was granted $7,967 in assistance but, when she attempted to collect the funds, a city employee noticed she looked much younger than the woman in the identification, police said.

open image in gallery A house seen toppled by Hurricane Milton in Bradenton Beach on October 10  alongside an empty lot where a home was swept away by Hurricane Helene weeks earlier ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

When questioned, she allegedly tried to claim that it was her botox treatments making her appear more youthful than her years. Her moms age has not been disclosed.

Torress explanation failed to convince the employee, authorities said, and she was asked to return the following day  during which time police were notified.

The 44-year-old was charged with the third-degree felony and released after posting a $2,500 bond on Saturday, jail records show.

The Independent has contacted the Bradenton Police Department and City of Bradentons Hurricane Disaster Assistance Program for more information.

After Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida in September, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had warned Floridians that thieves may try to apply for FEMA assistance using names, addresses and Social Security numbers they have stolen from people affected by the disaster.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also issued a warning to any fraudsters after Milton struck. We said it before the first storm, and before the second storm, dont even think about using those as an opportunity to take advantage of people who may be in dire straits, he said at the time.
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On the last night of their lives, Jagdish Patel, his wife and their two young children tried to slip into the US across a near-empty stretch of the Canadian border.

Wind chills reached minus 36 Fahrenheit (minus 38 Celsius) that night in January 2022 as the family from India set out on foot to meet a waiting van. They walked amid vast farm fields and bulky snowdrifts, navigating in the black of an almost-moonless night.

The driver, waiting in northern Minnesota, messaged his boss: Make sure everyone is dressed for the blizzard conditions, please.

Coordinating things in Canada, federal prosecutors say, was Harshkumar Patel, an experienced smuggler nicknamed Dirty Harry. On the US side was Steve Shand, the driver recently recruited by Patel at a casino near their Florida homes, prosecutors say.

The two men, whose trial is scheduled to start Monday, are accused of being part of a sophisticated human smuggling operation feeding a fast-growing population of Indians living illegally in the US. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Over the five weeks the two worked together, documents filed by prosecutors allege they spoke often about the bitter cold as they smuggled five groups of Indians over that quiet stretch of border.

16 degrees cold as hell, Shand messaged during an earlier trip. They going to be alive when they get here?

On the last trip, on January 19, 2022, Shand was to pick up 11 more Indian migrants, including the Patels. Only seven survived.

Canadian authorities found the Patels later that morning, dead from the cold.

In Jagdish Patel's frozen arms was the body of his 3-year-old son, Dharmik, wrapped in a blanket.

open image in gallery An image released by the U.S. Attorneys Office shows how the migrants who survived the crossing were terribly inadequately dressed

The narrow streets of Dingucha, a quiet village in the western Indian state of Gujarat, are spattered with ads to move overseas.

Make your dream of going abroad come true, one poster says, listing three tantalizing destinations: Canada. Australia. USA.

This is where the familys deadly journey began.

Jagdish Patel, 39, grew up in Dingucha. He and his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s, lived with his parents, raising their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi, and Dharmik. (Patel is a common Indian surname and they are unrelated to Harshkumar Patel.) The couple were schoolteachers, local news reports say.

The family was fairly well off by local standards, living in a well-kept, two-story house with a front patio and a wide veranda.

It wasnt a lavish life, said Vaibhav Jha, a local reporter who spent days in the village. But there was no urgent need, no desperation.

Experts say illegal immigration from India is driven by everything from political repression to a dysfunctional American immigration system that can take years, if not decades, to navigate legally.

But much is rooted in economics, and how even low-wage jobs in the West can ignite hopes for a better life.

Those hopes have changed Dingucha.

open image in gallery An aerial view of Dingucha village in Gandhinagar, India ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

Today, so many villagers have gone overseas  legally and otherwise  that blocks of homes stand vacant and the social media feeds of those who remain are filled with old neighbors showing off houses and cars.

That drives even more people to leave.

There was so much pressure in the village, where people grew up aspiring to the good life, Jha said.

Smuggling networks were glad to help, charging fees that could reach $90,000 per person. In Dingucha, Jha said, many families afforded that by selling farmland.

Satveer Chaudhary is a Minneapolis-based immigration attorney who has helped migrants exploited by motel owners, many of them Gujaratis.

Smugglers with ties to the Gujarati business community have built an underground network, he said, bringing in workers willing to do low- or even no-wage jobs.

Their own community has taken advantage of them, Chaudhary said.

The pipeline of illegal immigration from India has long existed but has increased sharply along the U.S.-Canada border. The U.S. Border Patrol arrested more than 14,000 Indians on the Canadian border in the year ending Sept. 30, which amounted to 60% of all arrests along that border and more than 10 times the number two years ago.

By 2022, the Pew Research Center estimates there were more than 725,000 Indians living illegally in the U.S., behind only Mexicans and El Salvadorans.

open image in gallery This combination image shows left to right; undated photo released by the Sherburne County Sheriffs Office shows Harshkumar Patel in Elk River, Minn., and undated photo released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shows Steve Shand. (AP Photo)

In India, investigating officer Dilip Thakor said media attention had led to the arrest of three men in the Patel case, but hundreds of such cases dont even reach the courts.

With so many Indians trying to get to the US, the smuggling networks see no need to warn off customers.

They tell people that its very easy to cross into the US. They never tell them of the dangers involved, Thakor said.

US prosecutors allege Patel and Shand were part of a sprawling operation, with people to scout for business in India, acquire Canadian student visas, arrange transportation and smuggle migrants into the U.S., mostly via Washington state or Minnesota.

On Monday, at the federal courthouse in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Patel, 29, and Shand, 50, will each face four counts related to human smuggling.

Patels attorney, Thomas Leinenweber, told The Associated Press his client came to America to escape poverty and build a better life and now stands unjustly accused of participating in this horrible crime."

Shand's attorney's did not return calls seeking comment. Prosecutors say Shand told investigators that Patel paid him about $25,000 for the five trips.

His final passengers, though, never made it.

open image in gallery Road signage is posted just outside of Emerson, Manitoba,

By 3 am on January 19, 2022, the 11 Indian migrants had spent hours wandering in gusting snow and brutal cold trying to find Shand. Many were in jeans and rubber work boots. None wore serious winter clothing.

Shand, though, was stuck. Prosecutors allege he had been heading to the pickup spot in a rented 15-passenger van when he drove into a ditch roughly a half-mile (0.8 kilometers) from the border.

Eventually, two migrants stumbled across the van. Sometime later, a passing pipeline company worker pulled the vehicle from the ditch.

Soon after that, a US Border Patrol agent, on watch for migrants after boot prints were found near the border, pulled over Shand.

Shand repeatedly insisted there was no one else outside, even as five more desperate Indians wandered to the vehicle from the fields, including one going in and out of consciousness.

They had been walking for more than 11 hours.

There were no children among the migrants, but one man had a backpack filled with toys, childrens clothes and diapers. He said a family of four Indians asked him to hold it, because they had to carry their young son.

Sometime in the night they had become separated.

Hours later, the Patels' bodies were found just inside Canada, in a field near where the migrants had crossed into the U.S.

Jagdish was holding Dharmik, with daughter Vihangi nearby. Vaishaliben was a short walk away.

Hemant Shah, an Indian-born businessman living in Winnipeg, some 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of where the migrants were found, helped organize a virtual prayer service for the Patels.

He's accustomed to hard winters and cant fathom the suffering they endured.

"How could these people have even thought about going and crossing the border? Shah said.

Greed, he said, had taken four lives: There was no humanity.
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A man accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley has been found guilty of murder in a case that fueled the national debate over immigration during this years presidential race.

Jose Ibarra, 26, a Venezuelan native who entered the U.S. illegally in 2022, was charged with murder and other crimes in the February 22 death of Riley, who was found dead on the running trails on the campus in Athens while out for a morning jog.

Following his conviction, Ibarra was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The decision was made on Wednesday by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard after Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial.

Ibarras trial came to a close on Wednesday morning after three days of testimony. Prosecutors called 29 witnesses, including law enforcement officers, Rileys roommates, and a woman who lived in the same apartment as Ibarra.

open image in gallery Jose Ibarra, 26, was found guilty of murder in the death of Laken Riley ( 2024 Atlanta Journal Constitution )

Prosecutor Sheila Ross said in her opening that Ibarra had been hunting for women on the day of the murder but when he came across Riley she fought back. When she refused to be a rape victim, he bashed her skull in with a rock repeatedly.

Defense attorney Dustin Kirby said that Rileys death was a tragedy and called the evidence in the case graphic and disturbing. But he argued there is not sufficient evidence to prove that it was Ibarra and questioned how his fingerprints could be on the phone if he was supposedly wearing gloves.

The evidence in this case is very good that Laken Riley was murdered, Kirby said. The evidence that Jose Ibarra killed Laken Riley is circumstantial.

The defense called a police officer, a jogger and one of Ibarras neighbors on Tuesday and rested their case Wednesday morning.

Rileys parents, family and friends packed the courtroom each day, many of them getting emotional as they listened to witness testimony.

open image in gallery Connolly Huth and Sofia Magana, left and right, roommates of Laken Riley, and Lauren Phillips, sister of Laken Riley, centre, react as the verdict is announced. ( AP )

Ibarra, dressed each day in a collared shirt and dark slacks with his feet chained, appeared attentive throughout the trial.

Rileys family and loved ones provided testimony during the trial, outlining in tragic detail how her loss has affected their lives.

I no longer run every day, Rileys roommate, Connolly Huth said. I cannot imagine running, when I constantly am looking over my shoulder in public, wondering if I am next. I live with excruciating guilt every day, that I was not accompanying Laken on this run, and that it was her, and not me, and I hope and pray that it will never happen again to anyone.

open image in gallery Laken Riley was murdered while out for a run on the University of Georgias campus in Athens. ( Supplied )

Rileys mother, Allyson Phillips, gave heartbreaking testimony, saying Ibarra ripped away every beautiful memory we will ever be able to make with [Riley] again.

Lakens life was not the only life taken on that day that Jose Ibarra attacked her. The life of her family and friends was taken, too. None of us will ever be the same, she said. This monster took away our chances to see Laken graduate from nursing school. He took away our ability to meet our future son-in-law. He destroyed our chances of meeting our grandchildren. And he took my best friend.

open image in gallery Lauren Phillips, the younger sister of Laken Riley, becomes emotional during the trial. ( AP )

President-elect Donald Trump, who often used Rileys death to push anti-immigrant rhetoric on the campaign trail, also commented on the judgement.

JUSTICE FOR LAKEN RILEY! The Illegal who killed our beloved Laken Riley was just found GUILTY on all counts for his horrific crimes, Trump wrote on Truth Social. Although the pain and heartbreak will last forever, hopefully this can help bring some peace and closure to her wonderful family who fought for Justice, and to ensure that other families dont have to go through what they have.
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A man accused of fatally shooting his police dispatcher uncle reportedly confessed that his reason for doing so was that he felt unloved and unwelcome at his Texas home, according to a report.

Jose Torres, 37, was trimming trees in his yard on November 15 when his nephew, 22-year-old Antonio Guzman arrived. At some point the two went into the home and Torres was shot multiple times in the face.

Guzman has since been charged with murder. The pair were related through marriage, and Torres, a dispatcher for the Spring Branch ISD Police Department, had reportedly helped raise the young man for six years.

A statement from the Harris County Sheriffs Office said that when Torres failed to pick up his family from school, they got a ride home with a relative and discovered Torres dead. Neighbors said they were alerted to the crime by the familys screams.

open image in gallery Jose Torres, 37, was fatally shot on November 15, with his 22-year-old nephew later arrested and charged in connection to his murder ( Spring Branch ISD Police Department )

The sheriffs office initially said that the suspect was unknown to Torres, but named Guzman in a release on Sunday and talked about their connection.

At approximately 2:30 AM, the victims nephew, Antonio Guzman, 22 years of age, was arrested at his residence by members of the Houston Police Department SWAT team, a statement read.

Guzman was transported to the Harris County Sheriffs Office Homicide Unit, where he provided investigators with a statement. Guzman has been charged for the murder of his uncle, Jose Torres, and placed in the Harris County Jail.

During a virtual court hearing on Sunday, a judge said that in his statement, Guzman had provided a reason for his actions.

"This witness was Mirandized, gave a statement to law enforcement officers, admitted to going to the complaining witnesss house and shooting the complaining witness with a firearm when the two were alone because he felt unloved and unwelcome," the judge said, according to ABC 13.

Guzman had bail set at $200,000. He is ordered to have no contact with the family if he does bond out.

Torres was remembered for his kindness and unwavering commitment to helping others.

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of TCO Jose Torres, a dedicated member of the Spring Branch ISD Police Department, the force posted on Saturday.

TCO Torres devoted his life to serving and protecting our community, and his impact will be felt by all who knew him. He will be remembered for his unwavering commitment, his kindness, and his service to others. Please join us in keeping his family, friends, and colleagues in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
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A New York model who has walked red carpets and appeared in ads for Calvin Klein has been charged with fatally stabbing a 35-year-old Bronx father.

Model Dynus Saxon, 20, appeared before a Bronx Criminal Court judge and was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon in the November 10 killing of Kadeem Grant.

His next hearing is scheduled for December 3.

According to USA Today, Dynus arrived in court on Friday with a heavy bandage on his right hand, and prosecutors said he was bleeding from a gash when when police arrived at the scene.

Grant was reportedly stabbed in the neck and chest, according to a report from the New York Daily News. A knife was still in his chest when cops arrived. Police have not released a motive for the attack.

According to police sources who spoke to the New York Daily News, the attack took place at the apartment of a third man. They told the paper that Saxon, Grant, and the third man were reportedly involved in some kind of sexual relationship, though the details of it are currently unknown, and it is not known if it was a factor in the stabbing.

New York model Dynus Saxon, 20, has been charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter in the stabbing death of Kadeem Grant in the Bronx ( Marco Bahler/BFA/Shutterstock )

Saxon's mother spoke with the New York Daily News and insisted that there must be more to the story.

I dont know what happened, but I can tell yall based on what I do know that its not going to be as simple as you want to make it. Dynus didnt just decide to murder somebody, she said. Dynus will protect himself, hes a human being, you know what Im saying. Hes young. I dont know what kind of situation he had got himself into.

She also claimed that her son does not remember the stabbing.

Whatever happened it was not murder. He hasnt even done work in like three, six months... He walks around the street. He walks everywhere, she told the paper. He puts his headphones on and skateboards.

Grant's father, Christopher, told the paper that his son was "just a loving kid who was there for his family and his daughter."

"It's just so sad that she has to grow up without a father," he said.
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A homeless man has allegedly confessed to a series of random stabbings with kitchen knives that took place across New York City on Monday, killing three people.

A 51-year-old suspect is in police custody but remains unnamed by authorities. City officials told NBC New York the suspect is named Ramon Rivera. In custody, Rivera allegedly confessed to the killings, the New York Post reports, citing unnamed sources.

Rivera has a lengthy criminal record, according to records obtained by NBC New York, with eight arrests in New York City over the past year for seven felonies and a misdemeanor. He was released from prison on October 17 for time served on burglary and assault charges, per the outlet, and arrested then given bail for an alleged case of grand larceny that took place at a Manhattan store the day of his release.

open image in gallery A man is in custody after a random stabbing spree across Manhattan left three people dead ( AP )

Rivera was also reportedly arrested for assaulting a corrections officer inside New York Citys Bellevue Hospital psychiatric center in May, and arrested and indicted three times in January in Hudson County, New Jersey, for criminal mischief, theft, and burglary. In New Jersey, he was later release on pre-trial monitoring, and a bench warrant was reportedly issued for the man after he failed to return before authorities.

Theres some real questions that we need to look at on why he was on the street, and he has some severe mental health issues that should have been examined, and thats what were looking to spot in the investigation, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference after the attacks.

The unprovoked stabbings took place on Monday morning within two-and-half hours of each other at various locations around Manhattan. The suspect reportedly did not utter a word to any of his three victims.

open image in gallery A police officer at the scene of the first stabbing attack ( REUTERS )

The first, on West 19th Street, killed a 26-year-old construction worker who was standing by his work site near the Hudson River a little before 8:30 a.m. About two hours later and across the island of Manhattan, a 68-year-old man was attacked while fishing in the East River near East 30th Street.

Both men were killed, according to Joseph Kenny, the New York Police Departments chief of detectives.

The suspect then apparently traveled north near the riverfront. Around 10:55 a.m., a 36-year-old woman was stabbed multiple times near the United Nations headquarters on East 42nd Street, Kenny said.

She died Monday evening, sources told the Post. Victims of the attacks have not been named pending notification of their next of kin.

open image in gallery The suspect in the stabbings has a long criminal history across several states, according to reports ( REUTERS )

A passing cab driver saw the third attack and alerted police on nearby First Avenue and East 46th Street, officials said. An officer soon apprehended the suspect, who was found with blood on his clothes and two kitchen knives.

Three New Yorkers. Unprovoked attacks that left us searching for answers on how something like this could happen, Mayor Adams added at the news conference. He called the violence a clear, clear example of failures in the criminal justice system and elsewhere.

The suspect, who was homeless, was arrested most recently on a larceny charge in October, where he allegedly took a $1,500 bowl from a Tribeca shop. Court records show he pleaded not guilty and was released on bail with non-monetary conditions, according to the New York Post.

The suspect is a resident of a mens shelter and also subject to two recent mental health reports, according to the Post. He has five burglary arrests dating to December 2023, along with a petit larceny charge.

The Post stated that the suspect had arrests in New Jersey, Ohio and Florida dating back to 2003.
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Two parents in Washington allegedly tried to choke their 17-year-old daughter to death in an apparent "honor killing" attempt after she refused an arranged marriage with an older man, police said.

Ihsan Ali and his wife, Zahraa Ali, have been charged with attempted murder for the attack outside the teen's school, Timberline High School in Lacey, Washington.

The father also allegedly punched his daughter's boyfriend in the face outside the school, the New York Post reports.

The daughter has not been identified, but told police that her "father had recently been threatening her with honor killing for refusing an arranged marriage with an older man in another country," the police report said.

On October 18, the girl ran away from home and sought help from staff at her high school. Her parents followed her to the school and allegedly attacked her outside the facility, where her father began choking her "to the point where she had lost consciousness."

Timberline High School in Lacey, Washington, where Ihsan Ali and his wife, Zahraa, allegedly attempted an honor killing on their 17-year-old daughter who refused an arranged marriage ( Google Maps )

Other students, including the girl's boyfriend, tried to pry her father off of her, according to police.

Video footage first obtained by Fox 13 Seattle showed the father choking the girl into the ground and shoving her face into the dirt while students surround him and tell him to stop. The girl's mother also allegedly tried to choke her.

Good Samaritan Josh Wagner told KOMO that he was driving by when he spotted the alleged attack occurring. He stopped and approached the scene, thinking he was going to break up a fight between teens, but found the parents allegedly attacking their daughter.

Wagner grappled with Ihsan and held him down until police arrived on scene.

It was pretty angering. All the kids were screaming, yelling, he told KOMO.

Once her father was off of her, the girl reportedly ran off with her boyfriend back to the school's main office while yelling that her father was trying to kill her. The incident prompted a school lockdown and school staff refused to let the girl's parents inside the building.

The girl's boyfriend told KOMO that he had experienced previous issues with his girlfriend's family to the point where he felt it necessary to get a temporary protective order against them.

The daughter's school has arranged a safe place for her to stay while police investigate the incident.
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Two people were killed and 10 others were wounded in two separate shootings along a parade route and celebration on Sunday, authorities said. There were no immediate arrests.

Officers responding to reports of gunfire shortly after 3.30pm on an avenue in the city's St. Roch neighborhood found eight victims with gunshot wounds, according to a news release from the New Orleans Police Department.

All eight were taken to hospitals in unknown condition. Police later said a ninth wounded person arrived at a hospital via a private car.

About 45 minutes later, police received another report of gunfire as revelers were crossing the Almonaster Avenue Bridge, just over half a mile to the north. One person died at the scene and another died at a hospital, police said.

A third victim was driven to a hospital in a private vehicle and is in stable condition, police said.

No arrests were announced and no suspect information was released.

open image in gallery New Orleans police walk up the Almonaster Avenue bridge after a deadly shooting in New Orleans ( AP )

The St. Roch neighborhood is outside the city's French Quarter that is popular with tourists, located several blocks northeast of the quarter.

The Almonaster Bridge was closed in both directions during the investigation.

Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said detectives didn't immediately know if the incidents were related.

open image in gallery Scene at the Save O Lot parking lot where several people were shot ( AP )

They were ... different kinds of approaches, she said of the shootings, which occurred in the area where a second line, a type of parade, was taking place.

It is a wonderful event, and we want to keep it a wonderful event, Kirkpatrick told NOLA.com about the second line.

It was the second major shooting in the South since gunfire marred a homecoming weekend at Tuskegee University in Alabama on November 10, leaving one person dead and injuring 16 others, a dozen of them by gunfire, authorities said.
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When Delfina Perez Chilel never arrived to pick up her two kids from a Hallandale Beach, Florida, daycare last Friday, it immediately set off alarms.

Chilel, 41, was known to be on-time, so when the clock struck 9 p.m., the workers at the center became worried and called police. A relative collected the children, aged 8 and 9, and told the cops that Perez Chilels car was parked in her driveway, as was a vehicle belonging to their father, Victor Chavez.

But, according to the relative, no one was answering the door.

The family members informed officers about the parents history of domestic disputes, concerns over the fathers mental health, and prior threats, Hallandale Beach Police Department spokeswoman Grace Mariot told local ABC affiliate WPLG .

Police entered the home and found a scene they described as horrific, according to the report. The 20-weeks pregnant Perez Chilel was discovered in a bathroom, suffering from severe injuries, and Chavez, 38, was in a bedroom, lethargic and unresponsive, authorities said.

Attempts to resuscitate Perez Chilel were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Chavez was taken to the hospital, where he confessed to killing Perez Chilel and attempting suicide, according to police, who arrested him on two counts of second-degree murder, booking records show.

He is being held without bail at Hallandales main lockup.

open image in gallery Victor Chavez is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and is being held without bail ( Broward County Sheriff )

A neighbor told WPLG that Perez Chilel told her that Chavez was very jealous, but that he also had the face of a madman.

It was obvious that he was not a normal person, the neighbor said.

Chavez has been arrested three previous times for domestic violence, according to a review of court records. In 2017, Chavez was accused of beating Perez Chilel after becoming upset that a former girlfriend of his  not Perez Chilel  was involved in a new relationship, arrest paperwork shows . In 2015, Chavez was arrested for allegedly assaulting his pregnant partner with a 7-inch knife. (The victims name in that incident is redacted in court filings but details suggest it was Perez Chilel.) In 2014, Chavez was arrested on battery and disorderly conduct charges for allegedly attacking a Lyliana Perez after he became enraged over suspected infidelity. (Perez Chilel was known as Lily, according to reports.)

Charges were later dropped in each.

The two children are now with relatives; Child Protective Investigative Services is investigating.

Perez Chilels younger sister has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for Perez Chilels remains to be shipped to Guatemala for burial.

My sister was an amazing mother, daughter, sister, wife, and friend, the page says. She was part of our lives for a little over 41 years and already we feel lost without her and the smile she had for everyone that met her. I am left to raise her two beautiful children along with mine now. Their lives will not be easy Our niece and nephew have lost both their parents in the blink of an eye.

Further details about the gruesome incident have not yet been made public.
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The U.S. on Monday imposed sanctions on organizations and firms involved in illegal settlement development in the occupied West Bank, including a well-established decades-old group that has close ties with Israeli leadership.

Treasury sanctioned Amana, the largest organization involved in illegal settlement development in the West Bank, and its subsidiary Binyanei Bar Amana Ltd. Already sanctioned by Britain and Canada, Amana is one of the major funders and supporters of unauthorized settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Peace Now, a settlement tracking group, says its assets are valued at around 600 million Israeli shekels, or about $160 million, and that it has a yearly budget stretching into tens of millions of shekels.

Amana, which is based in the West Bank and has no known connection to the U.S. appliance maker, over the past few years has underwritten loans, signed contracts, bought equipment and funded infrastructure projects for new settlements, according to Peace Now. The settlements, small farming outposts, have become some of the primary drivers of violence and displacement of Palestinians living in the West Bank.

Additionally, the State Department imposed diplomatic sanctions on Eyal Hari Yehuda Co., which provides construction logistics to sanctioned groups, as well as company owner Itamar Yehuda Levi. The co-founder of the already sanctioned nonprofit group Hashomer Yosh, Shabtai Koshlevsky, and Israeli citizen Zohar Sabah, who has perpetrated acts of violence on Palestinians, also were hit with sanctions.

The penalties come as settlers in the territory celebrate the incoming Trump administration, believing it will likely take a more favorable approach to the settlements. During his first term, Trump took unprecedented steps to support Israels territorial claims, including recognizing Jerusalem as its capital and moving the U.S. Embassy there, and recognizing Israels annexation of the Golan Heights.

Treasurys Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said the U.S. remains committed to holding accountable those who seek to facilitate these destabilizing activities, which threaten the stability of the West Bank, Israel, and the wider region.

Among other things, the sanctions deny the people and firms access to any property or financial assets held in the U.S. and prevent U.S. companies and citizens from doing business with them.

In February, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that targets Israeli settlers in the West Bank who have been accused of attacking Palestinians and Israeli peace activists in the occupied territory. That order is used to justify the financial penalties against the companies and men.

In response, Texans for Israel, a Christian nonprofit, Israeli nonprofit Regavim and others in August sued the Biden administration in Amarillo, Texas, over its sanctions against Israeli extremists in the West Bank.

Eitay Mack, a human rights lawyer who has spent years campaigning for the sanctions on violent West Bank settlers, said the sanctions on Amana were an earthquake for the settlement project and especially the shepherds farms. He called on the U.S. to extend the sanctions now to firebrand Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, also a far-right settler in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus Cabinet.

Amanas leadership has appeared at pro-settlement events alongside Cabinet members. Peace Now says the groups secretary-general, Zeev Hever, was greeted by Smotrich at a June conference where Smotrich laid out his plans for the West Bank.

Violence against Palestinians and their displacement have only picked up since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023. Around 8,000 Palestinians have been displaced in the West Bank during that time and over 700 killed, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Palestinian health officials.

The Associated Press previously reported that the sanctions measures have had minimal impact, instead emboldening settlers as attacks and land-grabs escalate, according to Palestinians in the West Bank, local rights groups and sanctioned Israelis who spoke to AP. Additionally, Smotrich has previously vowed to intervene on sanctioned settlers behalf.

Israel captured the West Bank along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want those territories for their hoped-for future state.

Settlement growth and construction have been promoted by successive Israeli governments stretching back decades, but it has exploded under Netanyahus far-right coalition, which has settlers in key Cabinet posts. There are now well over 100 settlements and 500,000 Israeli settlers sprawling across the territory from north to south  a reality, rights groups say, dimming any hopes for an eventual two-state solution.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said we once again call on the Government of Israel to take action and hold accountable those responsible for or complicit in violence, forced displacement, and the dispossession of private land. The United States will continue to promote accountability for those who further destabilize conditions in the West Bank and support extremist violence in the region.

__

Frankel reported from Jerusalem.
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Joe Biden has authorised Ukraines use of long-range missiles to strike hundreds of miles inside Russia for the first time, according to reports.

The decision marks a major policy shift and comes after Russia warned that Moscow would see the move to allow the use of US-made missiles as an escalation. With Biden leaving office in two months, president-elect Donald Trump has indicated he will limit American support for Ukraine and pledged end the war quickly once he takes office in January.

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has campaigned for months to allow Ukraines military to use US weapons to hit Russian military targets far from its border, and retains important allies in both parties in Congress.

He said Sunday evening that the strikes, if carried out, would "speak for themselves." But he did not confirm the authorization directly.

"Today, many in the media are saying that we have received permission to take appropriate actions," he said. "But strikes are not made with words. Such things are not announced."

A National Security Council spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by The Independent Sunday afternoon. Two unnamed senior US officials confirmed the change in policy to the Washington Post on Sunday.

ATACMS rockets can strike targets nearly 200 miles away ( AP )

A source close to Downing Street said on Sunday that the office was monitoring the situation closely.

The change follows Russias deployment of North Korean ground troops to supplement its own forces, a development that has caused alarm in Washington and Kyiv.

One US official confirmed to the Post that the shift in policy was aimed at deterring further deployments of North Korean troops  including units described as the countrys elite special forces

The first deep strikes are likely to be carried out using ATACMS rockets, which have a range of up to 190 miles (306 km), according to the sources.

While some US officials have expressed scepticism that allowing long-range strikes will change the wars overall trajectory, the decision could help Ukraine at a moment when Russian forces are making gains and possibly put Kyiv in a better negotiating position when and if ceasefire talks happen.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian upper houses international affairs committee, warned the move would instead risk triggering World War Three, and vowed that Russia would respond.

It is not clear if Trump will reverse Bidens decision when he takes office. Trump has long criticised the scale of financial and military aid to Ukraine and has vowed to end the war quickly, without explaining how.

Richard Grenell, who was widely considered as an option for the Secretary of State job before it was snatched up by Marco Rubio, accused Biden on escalating the wars before he leaves office in a post on X.

The president-elect has also repeatedly slammed the Biden administration for giving Kyiv tens of billions of dollars in aid. His election victory has Ukraines international backers worrying that any rushed settlement would mostly benefit Putin.
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While Tropical Storm Sara has dissipated off the coast of northern Honduras, forecasters warned Monday that hazards from remnants of the storm were not over for the Gulf Coast.

Sara is expected to bring flooding rainfall up to 12 inches, whipping winds that could reach 60 miles per hour, scary rip currents, potential tornadoes, and thunderstorms for Florida and other Gulf Coast states.

The media forecasting company AccuWeather said the tropical rainstorms landfall in Florida is likely by Wednesday morning, warning that the most likely location for severe weather is across the Florida Peninsula.

Sara will track northward on Monday, moving into the Gulf of Mexico. AccuWeather said moisture from the storm will bring heavy rain to the region.

Tropical Rainstorm Sara can bring flooding downpours to the northern Gulf Coast Monday night through Tuesday night, with a wide swath of two to four inches from eastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said in a statement.

open image in gallery An aerial view of the Suyapa neighborhood, partially flooded after Tropical Storm Sara, in Potrerillos, Honduras, over the weekend. Sara, which has dissipated, is moving toward the Gulf of Mexico. ( (AP Photo/Moises Castillo) )

As Sara shifts toward the northeast, it will also bring strong winds.

Winds can occasionally gust to 40-60 mph, with the highest wind gusts likely to be confined to the coast and coinciding with any heavier downpours, DaSilva said.

Isolated tornadoes are also possible alongside thunderstorms and higher wind gusts.

open image in gallery A worker stands alongside an overflowing river flooded by rains brought on by Tropical Storm Sara in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, last weekend. Honduras could see even more flooding on Monday. The Gulf Coast of the US could also feel the storm later in the week ( (AP Photo/Moises Castillo) )

Da Silva noted that there will also be a dangerous rip current risk along the Gulf Coast from Monday through Wednesday. Rafael, the previous named storm, brought similar conditions to Texas and Florida a week ago.

The system is also expected to bring up to three more inches of rain to Honduras on Monday, which saw major flooding over the weekend that trapped people in their homes and washed away roads. Sara had stalled there, slowly moving inland and dumping more than 40 inches of rain at some locations.

Other parts of Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the Mexican State of Quintana Roo could see as many as five inches of rain.

The storm was initially expected to strengthen into a hurricane, but that forecast quickly altered as it moved west in the western Caribbean Sea. Sara weakened after it made landfall in Honduras and Belize.
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Connie Schultz, the Pulitzer Prize winning columnist who spent much of her career at The Cleveland Plain Dealer shared what it was like on Election Night when her husband, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, learned that his time representing the Buckeye State was coming to an end.

Brown was one of the few remaining high-profile progressive voices left representing Ohio as the state shifted red in 2016. He took office in 2006 after he defeated now Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. His 2024 opponent, Republican Bernie Moreno, a car dealer, defeated him on Election Day.

Shultz recalled in a post on her Substack the complicated and often awkward early days of her relationship with Brown. As a columnist at a major Ohio newspaper, dating a politician raised ethical questions in the world of journalism and drew a lot of attention..

"At the advice of colleagues and friends, I had agreed to the Cleveland Magazine profile in the hope that it would put it all to rest. This was hilariously naive of all of us. What a disaster," she writes. "What I didnt realize then, but would soon learn, is that our marriage would be a public one, always."

Shultz said she was never more aware of the public nature of her marriage than on Election Day 2024 when it became apparent that her husband was not going to emerge victorious at the end of the night.

Senator Sherrod Brown and his wife, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Connie Shultz, arrives to give a concession speech during an Election Night party on November 5, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. Brown lost his re-election bid to Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Bernie Moreno ( Getty Images )

"About three hours after the polls had closed, our most trusted advisers asked to meet with us in our bedroom. We knew by their faces that they were about to confirm what Sherrod had already started noticing in the numbers. Our path to victory was narrowing," she writes. "Soon, it would disappear."

She said she appreciated the honesty from Brown's advisers, and that her thoughts immediately shifted to the need for her and her husband to be strong for his supporters and their family, who would no doubt be disappointed by Brown's defeat.

"We knew we had to be strong for them, and for hundreds of campaign staffers and supporters waiting for us in the ballroom," she writes.

She knew her husband's defeat would be "one of the most public moments of our marriage" and thought back to the advice that she gave her children about bravery: "in moments of uncertainty ... act brave and the courage will come."

Shultz said in the aftermath of his defeat, her husband and his senior managers are working to find jobs for all of his staff members who will be out of work when his term ends.

"I love Sherrod for many reasons, but top of the list this week is his concern for these remarkable public servants," she writes. "We are really going to miss them, but we look forward to seeing what they do next."

Shutlz's full thoughts and further stories can be found at her Substack.
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The Kamala Harris campaign paid Oprah Winfreys company double the amount initially reported for a livetreamed event.

The Washington Examiner reported last week, citing Federal Election Commission filings, that the Harris campaign made a pair of $500,000 payments to Winfreys media company, Harpo Productions, on 15 October. Other media outlets, however, said that she was paid personally for her appearance.

In a statement, Harpo Productions confirmed that the Harris campaign paid for the cost of the town hall, without giving a figure. It maintained, however, that Winfrey received no payment for her appearance. Oprah Winfrey was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo.

Questioned by a TMZ reporter, Winfrey said she wasnt paid for her endorsement. Not true, she said. I was paid nothing, ever.

Winfrey also posted a statement on her Instagram. I was not paid a dime, she wrote. For the livestreaming event in September, my production company, Harpo, was asked to bring in set design, lights, cameras, crew, producers and every other item necessary (including the benches and the chairs we sat on) to put on a live production. I did not take any personal fee. However, the people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story.

open image in gallery Kamala Harris livestreamed the rally hosted by Oprah Winfrey on her campaign YouTube channel ( AP )

Now The New York Times has detailed the spending on the town hall based on campaign finance reports and unnamed sources.

According to two people aware of the matter, the paper reported, the $1m actually undercounts the full cost of the event which ran closer to $2.5m.

The livestreamed event took place in Michigan on 19 September and was attended by a battery of celebrities like Meryl Streep, Bryan Cranston, Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Jennifer Lopez, and Julia Roberts.

The event, hosted by Winfrey, got over 1.2 million views in under 12 hours.

open image in gallery Meryl Streep appears via weblink to question Kamala Harris ahead of the US presidential election ( AFP via Getty )

According to the Times, the outgoing vice presidents campaign spent $1.5 bn, or $100m per week, during her 15-week ultimately unsuccessful presidential run. Some of this money was spent on holding rallies in swing states with star performers like Lady Gaga in Philadelphia, Christina Aguilera in Nevada, Katy Perry in Pittsburgh, Jon Bon Jovi in Detroit, and James Taylor in North Carolina.

Though the celebrities were not paid for their performances, the support staff were, and the overall bill came to more than $10m.

Harris not only far outraised but also outspent her opponent Donald Trump, even though she had a much shorter campaign to run than the president-elect.

According to the Examiner, the Harris campaign spent more than $15m on production fees for events as well as more than $654m on advertising between 22 July and 5 November.

The Democrats have been embroiled in a blame game following Trumps victory and questions over the Harris campaigns use of campaign funds have continued to swirl.

We spent money in stupid ways because we had a really bad strategy, a former consultant to the DNC told Puck, citing money sent to fund Representative Colin Allreds failed challenge against Texas Senator Ted Cruz, as well as money directed to help in Iowa, a historically Republican state.
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Marjorie Taylor Greene and Donald Trump Jr have accused President Joe Biden of trying to start World War III after he gave Ukraine the green light to use US-supplied long-range supersonic missiles to strike inside Russia for the first time.

The Biden administrations granting of Kyivs request to use the ATACMS missiles outside of its own borders marks a change in stance in the presidents final days in office, before President-elect Donald Trump  who has indicated he will limit US support for Ukraine  returns to the White House in January.

The MAGA representative and Donald Trumps eldest son lashed out at Bidens decision in fiery posts on X.

On his way out of office, Joe Biden is dangerously trying to start WWIII by authorizing Ukraine the use of U.S. long range missiles into Russia, Greene, who is among the Republicans who want to cut US aid to Ukraine, posted on Sunday.

The American people gave a mandate on Nov 5th against these exact America last decisions and do NOT want to fund or fight foreign wars.

She concluded: We want to fix our own problems. Enough of this, it must stop.

Trump Jr  who last week told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that his allowance is up now that Trump is returning to the White House  accused Biden of attempting to tarnish his fathers legacy by placing the US on the brink of conflict before he takes office.

open image in gallery Greene speaks at a campaign event for Trump in Georgia on September 24. She has hit out at the presidents decision ( REUTERS )

The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives, Trump Jr said.

Gotta lock in those $Trillions. Life be damned!!! Imbeciles!

The move marks a major policy shift after Russias warning that it would regard Kyivs authorization to use US-made missiles as a major escalation. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously told Ukraines Western allies that such a move would represent Natos direct participation in the war.

Bidens decision comes with just 64 days left in the White House.

open image in gallery Trump and Donald Trump Jr at his election night watch party ( AP )

Trump meanwhile has criticized the Biden administration for spending more than $64bn in providing security assistance to Ukraine since Russias invasion of the nation in February 2022, according to figures from the US Department of State.

He has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible, even claiming on the campaign trail that he could do so in just a single day. It is unclear how he plans to do so.

Since his election victory, the president-elect has had phone calls with both Zelensky and Putin.

He has expressed interest in having a follow-up call with Putin to discuss the resolution of Ukraines war soon, a source told The Washington Post.
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Matt Gaetz has withdrawn himself from consideration for the role of Donald Trumps attorney general.

The former Florida congressman announced he was ending his bid to head up the Justice Department on Thursday, saying he had become a distraction to the future Trump-Vance administration.

His withdrawal comes following a week of intense scrutiny over resurfaced allegations of wrongdoing, including a federal sex trafficking probe  that ended without charges  and a House ethics inquiry. He vehemently denies the allegations.

I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback - and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition, Gaetz posted on X about his decision to drop out.

There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus Ill be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trumps DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.

He added: I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and Im certain he will Save America.

open image in gallery Matt Gaetz has withdrawn as Trumps attorney general pick ( AFP via Getty Images )

Trump said in a statement on Truth Social that he greatly appreciate[d] Gaetzs efforts in seeking approval for attorney general. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect, Trump said.

When he was nominated on November 13, it sent shockwaves through Congress, where the Senate would have voted on Gaetzs confirmation. Senator Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, told The Independent the announcement sounded like a headline in The Onion, while Republican Senator Thom Tillis told reporters: Im sure itll make for a popcorn-eating confirmation.

In a statement at the time, the president-elect had praised Gaetz, 42, who has frequently defended Trump and criticized the various criminal and congressional probes against the Republican.

On the House Judiciary Committee, which performs oversight of DOJ, Matt played a key role in defeating the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, and exposing alarming and systemic Government Corruption and Weaponization, Trump wrote, calling Gaetz a Champion for the Constitution and the Rule of Law.

Heres what you need to know about Gaetz, who was once dubbed the Trumpiest Congressman in Washington:

Who is Matt Gaetz?

Gaetz, an attorney by trade, was elected to Congress in 2016 to represent Floridas first district, after previously serving in the Florida House. Gaetz is the son of prominent Florida politician Don Gaetz.

Gaetz resigned from Congress on November 13 as soon as Trump made his attorney general announcement.

Matt Gaetz attended William & Mary Law School and is married to Ginger Gaetz, sister of technology entrepreneur Palmer Luckey, founder of the companies Oculus and Anduril, who has funded Republican political causes.

Also within the family is Nestor Galban, Gaetzs ex-girlfriends brother, whom he has raised as a son.

Why was Matt Gaetz investigated?

Gaetz became part of a DOJ federal sex trafficking investigation which was opened in the final months of Trumps administration, targeting a former associate, Joel Greenberg. The pair were part of a group of Florida Republicans described in news reports as attending parties where participants used drugs and paid women for sex.

Among the allegations against Gaetz was that he had paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl  an allegation he has vehemently denied.

In 2021, Greenberg pleaded guilty to federal crimes including sex trafficking of a minor, identity theft, stalking, wire fraud, and conspiracy to bribe a public official, and received an 11-year sentence.

In 2023, the Department of Justice declined to seek charges against the former congressman.

Gaetz was also the subject of a House ethics inquiry, which featured interviews with witnesses from the federal probe, who alleged they attended the parties where Gaetz was with women who were paid by Greenberg.

open image in gallery The federal government did not bring charges against Gaetz in a sex trafficking investigation in Florida ( Getty Images )

The House Ethics Committee was set to release the findings of its years-long probe last week, two days after Gaetzs attorney general nod. His resignation killed the investigation as he no longer fell under the committees jurisdiction.

The committee has been facing calls for the last week, including from several Republicans, to still make its report public. In a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, the committee members voted along party lines  leaving them deadlocked as to what to do with the report. It has still not been publicly shared.

Despite no criminal charges and the ethics committee findings remaining under lock-and-key, in the days following Gaetzs nomination, new details about the allegations against him came to light.

Joel Leppard, a lawyer representing two women who testified in the summer in front of the House Ethics Committee, shared new details about the damning evidence his clients gave.

The attorney said their testimony included claims that one of the women saw Gaetz have sex with the 17-year-old girl, which he vehemently denies.

My client testified to the House Ethics Committee that she witnessed Matt Gaetz having sex with a minor, Leppard told ABC, urging the committee to release the report.

Leppard also told the network that the women testified that Gaetz paid them to cross state lines in January 2018 and have sex with him on at least two occasions.

open image in gallery Matt Gaetz has withdrawn in the running to be Trumps attorney general ( AFP via Getty Images )

A bombshell document from the Justice Department investigation was also leaked, alleging there was a web of payments between the former congressman and friends and associates said to have been with him at drug-fueled sex parties.

The meticulously detailed diagram, obtained by the New York Times, was assembled by federal investigators during the sex-trafficking investigation into Gaetz.

It charts how Gaetz and associates, including convicted sex trafficker Greenberg, allegedly sent thousands of dollars via Venmo to dozens of people who were reportedly involved in the sex parties between 2017 and 2020, according to testimony to federal and congressional investigators, the Times reported.

Prior to his withdrawal, Trumps communications director, Steven Cheung, said: This purposeful leaking of classified investigative materials is the sort of politicized D.O.J. weaponization that Matt Gaetz will end.

The Justice Department investigated Gaetz for years, failed to find a crime and are now leaking material with false information to smear the next attorney general.

Separately, former Trump administration aide Cassidy Hutchinson claimed in a memoir Gaetz groped her on two occasions and tried to make a pass at her at Camp David.

Gaetz has also denied those allegations but claimed the pair had once dated, which Hutchinson denies.

Following a week of intense scrutiny, and new details from the previous investigations into his conduct, Gaetz announced he was withdrawing from consideration for attorny general.

What did Matt Gaetz do in Congress?

During his time as Florida congressman, Gaetz was one of the most bombastic voices in Congress, tearing into Biden administration officials and fellow Republicans with equal ferocity.

In 2019, Gaetz helped lead a group of Republicans in the highly unusual move of storming a closed-door hearing during one of Trumps impeachments.

During committee hearings, Gaetz often slammed witnesses, including an April 2022 hearing in which he berated Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin over allegations the military has gone too woke.

open image in gallery Matt Gaetz helped push out Kevin McCarthy as House Speaker ( Getty Images )

Hes also turned his fire on his own party and was one of the key voices that secured the eventual 2023 ouster of Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

In the House, Gaetz was a frequent critic of the probes into the Trump campaigns ties with Russia, which the Florida rep refers to as the Russia Hoax.

What would Matt Gaetz have done as attorney general?

Despite Trumps claims that Gaetz would have ushered in a new apolitical era at the DOJ, the MAGA loyalist has frequently criticized prosecutors investigating Trump and suggested they face further scrutiny.

Hes called for Fani Wallis, a Georgia official prosecuting Donald Trump for his attempts to overturn the states 2020 election results, to resign and be investigated, after the revelation she had a relationship with a member of her legal team.

In Congress, Gaetz launched a bill to defund the investigation of Jack Smith, the special counsel prosecution of Donald Trump on charges he conspired to overthrow the election results. Trump has said hell fire Smith within two seconds of taking office.

Gaetz also suggesteded he could have gone after Joe Bidens son Hunter, who is currently awaiting sentencing on federal gun and tax charges.

open image in gallery The MAGA Republican has been a vocal critic of prosecutions against Trump, including by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis ( AP )

We could send criminal referrals to the Department of Justice, we go take the White House back, and you never know...it may be an Attorney General Matt Gaetz down the road or someone of my liking who will be there to actually enforce the law and provide the accountability, Gaetz said in a 2023 interview.

What did Matt Gaetz say about January 6 and the 2020 election results?

Gaetz has supported multiple baseless claims about the 2020 election and the January 6 Capitol riot.

The Florida Republican was among those who voted to challenge the certification of the election results, and has said he remains proud of the legitimate arguments about election integrity he and his colleagues made in early 2021, as Trump attempted to remain in power in spite of losing the presidential race.

Gaetz maintained even two years later that Trump won the 2020 election, despite such claims repeatedly being shot down in court.

Gaetz has also leaned into unfounded conspiracy theories about January 6 itself, including claims that there was no insurrection and that federal agents provoked the chaos that occurred at the Capitol.

The MAGA ally reportedly sought pre-emptive pardons from Donald Trump both for his post-2020 election actions and regarding the Florida sex trafficking case.
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Morning Joe co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski visited Mar-a-Lago to meet President-elect Donald Trump, they revealed.

Scarborough and Brzezinski have been highly critical of Trump leading up to the election, calling him erratic, slamming his election fraud efforts and warning of how dark of a place the US would be if Trump won. But after airing their concerns with a second Trump presidency, the pair met with Trump Friday for the first time in seven years to restart communications.

We talked about a lot of issues including abortion, mass deportations, threats of political retribution against political opponents and media outlets, Scarborough said on Monday. Its gonna come as no surprise to anybody who watches this showthat we didnt see eye to eye on a lot of issues and we told him so.

Brzezinski said: What we did agree on was to restart communications.

open image in gallery Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski met personally with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, they revealed ( MSNBC )

She continued: We had not spoken to Trump since March of 2020, other than a personal call that Joe made after the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania.

During the meeting, the president-elect seemed  cheerful and upbeat and interested in finding common ground with Democrats on some of the most divisive issues, Brzezinski added.

For those wondering why they would meet with Trump at such a fraught time, Brzezinski said she would reply: Why wouldnt we?

Five years of political warfare has deeply divided Washington and the country, she said.

Morning Joe has been clear in expressing deep concerns about Trumps actions and words, but for nearly 80 million Americans, election denialism, public trials, January 6, were not as important as the issues that moved them to send Donald Trump back to the White House with their vote, Brzezinski said.

So, the co-hosts realized they wanted to take a different approach today, she continued.

Scarborough tried to instill hope, adding that someone close to Trump told him over the weekend that since hes not seeking re-election this time around, maybe, just maybe now could be time for both parties to get to work.

open image in gallery Scarborough and Brzezinski have been highly critical of Trump leading up to the election, calling him erratic, but met to restart communications ( REUTERS )

Given the tightness of the election, it seems to make sense for leaders of both parties to seek common ground if its possible at all, Scarborough said.

The pair spoke to top Democrats over the weekend as well, who signaled it was time for a new approach and that they were open to working with the president-elect if hes open to working with them, Scarborough explained.

But, they emphasized, threatening political opponents with arrest, harassment and even jail will not work.

We know this will be a consequential presidency. The question is whether it will be constructive, Brzezinski said. It will take a new approach from all sides, from both parties, and a leader who will bring them together. Only time will tell if Donald Trump is that leader.

The co-hosts made clear they will still push back on Trump when necessary.

Dont be mistaken, Scarborough said. We are not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump. We are here to report on him and to hopefully provide you insights that are going to better equip all of us in understanding these deeply unsettling times.
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Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is asking the court to delay his trial with the pair of election workers he defamed so he can attend Donald Trumps inauguration.

Giulianis trial is scheduled for January 16, 2025, four days before President-elect Trumps inauguration. The cash-strapped former mayor has now asked the court to adjourn the trial - which is to enforce the $150 million bankruptcy court judgment against Giuliani - until on or after January 22, so that he can attend the inauguration events.

There would be no harm to the plaintiffs by a delay of a few days in the trial schedule, and I am sure that the Court would have other dates available other than January 16, 17, or 20, 2025 for this trial, when the inauguration events are set to take place, argued Joseph Cammarata, an attorney for Giuliani, in a Friday letter to the judge.

Cammarata is now representing Giuliani after his previous lawyer suddenly quit last week. On Monday, the judge ordered that the matter be discussed at a hearing scheduled for November 26.

Giuliani served as Trumps personal lawyer during his first term in office and pushed election fraud claims after Trumps 2020 defeat. The pair have been charged in Georgias sweeping criminal case related to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 results; they have both pleaded not guilty.

open image in gallery Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media as he leaves court in New York on November 7. He is asking the federal judge to delay his defamation trial until after Donald Trumps inauguration ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

Last December, a jury found Giuliani owes Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss nearly $150 million after he defamed them by spreading false claims that they manipulated the 2020 election results in favor of Joe Biden. The ruling led the disbarred attorney to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which has since been dismissed.

The mother-daughter duo are now allowed to seize his belongings to collect what they are owed.

Although Giuliani confirmed in the Friday filing that he had turned over his 1980 Mercedes-Benz, his watch collection, a diamond ring and some cash, Cammarata said in the Friday filing. He then objected to his Joe DiMaggio shirt, household furniture and other personal belongings being turned over to Freeman and Moss, saying this action violates either New York or Florida state laws  the sites of his two homes.

Similarly, he is arguing that his Benz needs to be appraised. The turnover of the vehicle is wholly improper, Cammarata wrote, arguing that it is exempt if its value is less than $5,500. If the appraiser determines that the car is worth more than that dollar amount, the vehicle must be auctioned. Just ordering the vehicle to be turned over to the Plaintiffs without any appraisal has taken away Defendants statutory and constitutional rights, the lawyer argued.

Giuliani, who rolled up in the Benz to a polling site on Election Day despite admitting in bankruptcy court that he does not have a drivers license, previously valued his vehicle at $25,000, but The Independents review of his assets found that the classic car being worth nearly $30,000.

Freeman and Moss have been overly aggressive in trying to cease [sic] all of the Defendants assets and they have to be restrained from disregarding Giulianis statutory rights, Cammarata added.

open image in gallery Giuliani rolled up to the polling station on Election Day where Donald Trump cast his ballot on election day in his Mercedes ( REUTERS )

The judge ordered on Monday that any requests for additional relief must be made in a formal motion.

Mondays order comes days after two of Giulianis associates  his business partner Maria Ryan and his spokesperson Ted Goodman  were ordered to respond to subpoenas requesting information on their financial ties to the former mayor. Giuliani disclosed earlier this month that he had two financial involvements with Ryan and Goodman: a storage facility and a newly formed company.

The election workers accused Giuliani of moving a substantial amount of his property from his Manhattan penthouse to a Long Island storage facility, which is under Ryans name, before the judge ordered him to turn over his valuables, a lawyer for Freeman and Moss wrote

Giuliani also revealed that he has 88 percent ownership of Standard USA, while Ryan has 10 percent ownership and Goodman has 2 percent. The companys purpose and activities remain a mystery, their lawyer wrote.
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Haitian families are said to be leaving Springfield, Ohio, in droves over fears theyll be rounded up and deported following Donald Trumps re-election, according to reports.

Around 200,000 Haitian immigrants legally live and work in the US under Temporary Protected Status (TPS)  granting them immunity from deportation for a limited time because of emergency conditions in their home nation. Thousands of these have settled in Springfield  a city of about 58,000 residents.

Despite having legal status, the president-elect has signaled that immigrants living under TPS could have their status revoked.

Now, with Trump set to return to the White House in two months time, some immigrants have already started packing up and leaving Springfield before they could be pushed.

People are leaving, Margery Koveleski, a volunteer at the Haitian Community Alliance, told The Guardian.

Some folks dont have credit cards or access to the internet, and they want to buy a bus ticket or a plane ticket, so we help them book a flight.

While many Haitians are thought to have moved locally to surrounding cities, others are considering returning to South America, community leaders said.

Jacob Payen, a co-founder of the Haitian Community Alliance, said that a second Trump term has brought with it fears of mass deportation.

People are fully aware of the election result, and that is why they are leaving; they are afraid of a mass deportation, told The Guardian.

In September, Trump and his running mate Ohio Senator JD Vance pushed false rumors about Haitian residents in Springfield eating pets and local waterfowl even after authorities debunked the claims.

During his campaign, Trump pushed false rumors about immigrants eating pets in the Ohio city ( AP )

Theyre eating the dogs. Theyre eating the cats. Theyre eating the pets of the people that live there, Trump said to a bemused Vice President Kamala Harris on the debate stage on September 10.

In early October, when Trump was asked by NewsNation if he would revoke TPS for Haitian migrants in Springfield, he replied: Absolutely. Id revoke it, and Id bring them back to their country.

Beyond Trumps rhetoric, he has now taken the controversial move to nominate South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as his secretary of homeland security. In this role, she will oversee a $60bn budget and thousands of employees from federal agencies including the US Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

As governor, Noem has deployed the state National Guard to the southern border several times in recent years.

Despite his false claims abotu Springfield residents, Trump beat Harris overwhelmingly in Clark County, where Springfield is based, according to election results.

It comes at a time when violence and unrest in Haitis capital Port-au-Prince continues to rise, with the new Prime Minister Garry Conille being fired last week.
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Two transgender women were attacked at a Minneapolis light rail station  and onlookers cheered on the perpetrators rather than helping the victims, advocates say.

After overhearing a group making derogatory remarks toward them at the station at Hennepin Avenue and Fifth Street in downtown Minneapolis, the pair confronted the group, which led to a physical altercation, Minneapolis Police told The Independent in a statement.

Community organizers held a rally at the site on Sunday in solidarity with the two transgender women, Dahlia and Jess.

Dahlia and Jess were leaving the station when a man started yelling transphobic slurs at them, Amber Muhm, a rally organizer who spoke to both of them after the incident, told The Independent. Jess asked him to stop talking to them that way, prompting the man to sucker punch her. Dahlia then struck the man with her cane, Muhm said.

Although the man was knocked out, four or five other people ran up and began to mercilessly beat the two transgender women, Muhm said.

People were cheering the attackers on, Muhm said. Both of them were knocked unconscious and Dahlia was left with a broken nose while Jess suffered multiple contusions on her ribs.

open image in gallery Two transgender women were attacked at a rail station in Minnesota, while a crowd cheered on the attackers, advocates say ( AP )

No one would help them, Muhm added, noting that her blood from their non-life-threatening injuries was still visible on the concrete during Sundays rally.

It was a traumatic event and they are both still dealing with the physical consequences of that very acutely but the community is kind of whats keeping them grounded right now, she said.

The investigation is still ongoing and no arrests have been made, police said.

The pair moved from Iowa to Minnesota under the 2023 Trans Refuge law, which prevents out-of-state laws from interfering in the practice of gender-affirming health care.

A lot of people are moving to Minnesota and have moved since we passed the trans refuge bill but I think were going to see a real spike after the election outcome, DFL Rep Leigh Finke, who sponsored the bill, told CBS News at Sundays rally.

When asked if she predicts transphobic attacks will absolutely become more prevalent under a second Donald Trump administration, Muhm said:

People are so emboldened now. Theres so much false data, so many false narratives about trans people, she said, adding that at the rally people were screaming that they were performing surgeries on 10-year-olds, which is not even close to being medically true.

open image in gallery Minneapolis police have not made any arrests in the case and the investigation is ongoing ( AP )

Trumps campaign vowed to use the federal government to stop gender-affirming healthcare for minors and labeled the care child abuse and child sexual mutilation. He has also baselessly claimed that children go to school and undergo brutal gender-affirming operations.

After he was re-elected, The Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention among queer youth, revealed it saw a nearly 200 percent increase in conversation topics related to the election across our 24/7 crisis services, said Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project, in a press release.

While alarming, we are not surprised to see that the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ politics of the past few years continue to harm young peoples mental health, Black added.

People are talking to me about erasing their social media presence, going back in the closet, one speaker at the rally said, according to the outlet.

The Minneapolis trans community is preparing for a potential uptick in attacks by taking self-defense classes while others are attending classes on how to get a permit to carry handguns in public, Muhm said.

The day after Trumps re-election, we were flooded with inquiries. Were still getting a ton of requests, Kimmy Hull, founder of Sequeerity, a company that specializes in de-escalation work, including offering classes that grant permits to carry, told The Independent in an email. Our course is geared towards our marginalized communities and we talk about whether a firearm is actually the right tool for them, the mental health side of ownership, and the need for support systems and self-care.

Theres also an urgency for these self-defense classes right now, Muhm said: People are about to get a lot more hostile and emboldened in their transphobia, so what do we do to protect ourselves when were out?
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Donald Trump has confirmed the military could be used to carry out mass deportations, just as a new review of polling revealed support for the measure has grown since he was first president.

The president-elect also suggested a national emergency could be declared on the issue once he is in power, when he responded to a supporters post on his Truth Social platform on Monday morning.

Reports are the incoming @RealDonaldTrump administration prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program, conservative activist Tom Fitton wrote. The president-elect responded TRUE!!!, without going into further detail.

open image in gallery Donald Trump speaks in front of border patrol agents on the campaign trail, where he pledged a mass deportation operation that could upend millions of families ( REUTERS )

Trump declared a national emergency for US-Mexico border wall construction in his first term in an attempt to bypass Congress. President Joe Biden rescinded that order shortly after he entered office.

The incoming president may find it easier to push through tougher measures with Republicans controlling Congress and the White House. But while polls suggest support for deportations has grown since his first term in office, the majority of Americans back providing a path to citizenship under certain circumstances.

Support for deportations grew by 20 points from 2017 to 2024 in a survey by CNN, alongside a 22-point rise from 2019 in the number of voters who believe that having an increasing number of people of many different races, ethnic groups, and nationalities in the US poses a threat to society.

And a Gallup survey in June showed the share of Americans who support deporting all immigrants who live in the US without legal permission jumped up 15 points from 2016, when Trump first assumed office.

However, while immigration was among the key issues motivating voters this year, they did not necessarily give Trump the full-throated mandate his supporters claim. Polling throughout the 2024 campaign found widely disparate levels of support, depending on how those questions were framed.

Fifty-six percent of voters agreed that most undocumented immigrants in the US should be able to apply for legal status, and roughly one-quarter of Trump supporters  including four in 10 Hispanic voters who voted for him  favor a path to citizenship, according to CNNs exit polling.

open image in gallery Trumps former acting ICE director Tom Homan will return to the president-elects administration as a border czar overseeing deportation plans ( REUTERS )

In July, 47 percent of respondents to a Gallup poll said they favored deporting all immigrants who are living in the United States illegally back to their home country.

But another poll from Marquette Law School in October showed that one group of respondents said they would support deporting immigrants living in the country without legal permission even if they have lived here for a number of years, have jobs and no criminal record. In that group, support for deportations dropped to 40 percent, with 60 percent opposing.

The Gallup poll found that 70 percent of Americans support allowing immigrants living in the US illegally the chance to become US citizens if they meet certain requirements over a period of time. Support among respondents for immigrants who arrived in the country as children was even higher, at 81 percent.

A Pew Research Center poll found that 59 percent of voters want undocumented immigrants who meet certain requirements to stay in the country, with just one-third backing a Trump-like plan to deport all immigrants living in the country illegally. And a CNN survey one week before Election Day found that two-thirds of voters support a government plan to help immigrants achieve legal status.

open image in gallery Illegal immigration, and how to tackle it, is a key issue for voters ( AFP via Getty Images )

Trumps campaign was fueled by baseless characterizations of a nation overrun by tens of millions of immigrants, frequently relying on violent rhetoric and false claims to build support for his day one anti-immigrant agenda.

He has since selected Tom Homan, his former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to serve as a border czar to implement the president-elects deportation plan, including law enforcement raids of workplaces.

I got three words for them: shock and awe, Homan told Donald Trump Jr last week.

Homan, among the architects of Trumps first-term zero tolerance anti-immigrant agenda, including the practice of separating thousands of children from their families at the southern border.

Families can be deported together, Homan told CBS last month.

Roughly 4 million children live with an undocumented parent, according to the Pew Research Center.

Trump told NBC News following his election victory that there is no price tag for his proposal, which is expected to cost more than $967 billion over 10 years, according to the American Immigration Council.

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy said Trumps plans would eliminate 22 percent of American farmworkers, 15 percent of construction workers, eight percent of service workers, eight percent of manufacturing workers and six percent of transportation workers
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Donald Trump is once again entertaining the prospect of serving an unconstitutional third term as president as he asked a crowd of supporters whether he should run again.

The president basked in chants of four more years just one month into his second term while at a White House reception celebrating Black History Month on Thursday.

Trumps suggestion came just days after referring to himself as a king and quoting Napolean Bonaparte, unsubtly stating that he was above the law.

Those chants were echoed later Thursday by Trumps former White House strategist Steve Bannon while on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference, who said leaders like him come along once or twice in history.

We want Trump in 28... We want Trump! We Want Trump!, Bannon said before later gesturing, what critics say, a salute that resembled a Sieg Heil.

Since early in his 2024 campaigning, Trump repeatedly mused about a third term. He has raised the idea over and over again since his first term in office.

The 22nd Amendment of the Constitution says that presidents can only serve up to two full terms (eight years). Trump has said he may feel entitled to more while also suggesting he doesnt want to run again after his next term ends in January 2029.

Congressional Democrats have proposed a measure to clarify that the 22nd Amendment expressly forbids a third term in office, and 78-year-old Trump, the oldest U.S. president in history, has at times admitted defeat to the constitutional guardrails hes up against, despite his rhetoric.

What else has Trump said about a third term?

open image in gallery Trump, pictured in the White House on February 11, has publicly mulled a third term several times ( AP )

Just days after winning the 2024 election, Trump told House Republicans: I suspect I wont be running again unless you say Hes so good, we got to figure something else out.

Last month, at the House Republicans annual retreat in Florida, he joked about whether he was allowed to run again. Days later at a Las Vegas rally, he pondered serving not once, but twice... or three or four times.

And at a prayer breakfast at the Washington Hilton on February 6, Trump mulled another four years, despite the fact that they say I cant run again.

You know, FDR 16 years  almost 16 years  he was four terms. I dont know, are we going to be considered three-term? Or two-term? he told a National Rifle Association convention in May last year, referencing Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Elsewhere on the 2024 campaign trail, Trump suggested he would be a dictator and abuse power only on day one of his new administration, and told an audience of Christians if he got elected youre not going to have to vote in the future.

open image in gallery Trump, photographed in Mar-a-Lago in August, has made remarks about serving a third, or possibly fourth, term in the White House ( Getty Images )

It wasnt just the most recent election cycle where Trump seemingly eyed a third term in office.

Were going to win four more years in the White House, he said in 2022. And then after that, well negotiate, right? Because were probably  based on the way we were treated  we are probably entitled to another four after that.

In 2018, he praised Chinese President Xi Jinpings potential lifetime term in office as great, saying maybe well give that a shot someday.

By 2020, while campaigning for reelection in Reno, Nevada, Trump told his followers that he was going to win the state and win four more years in the White House, before adding: Were probably  based on the way we were treated  were probably entitled to another four after that.

When Trump was pressed on whether he believes he can serve a third term, the president said he doesnt want one.

I wouldnt be in favor of it. I wouldnt be in favor of a challenge [to the 22nd Amendment]. Not for me, Trump told TIME in April last year. I wouldnt be in favor of it at all. I intend to serve four years and do a great job.

Trump and his supporters often insist the Republican is joking or not being literal after he faces scrutiny for his statements, including after the Access Hollywood scandal, Trumps call for Russia to release hacked emails from the Clinton campaign, and the presidents suggestion in his first term that disinfectant could be used as a treatment against Covid-19.

The debate around the 22nd Amendment aside, observers are alarmed that Trump adopted quasi-fascist rhetoric on the 2024 campaign trail, including claiming immigrants are destroying the blood of our country and suggesting using the military to go after domestic critics, whom he dubbed the enemy within.

What is the 22nd Amendment?

open image in gallery Trump with Joe Biden at the White House as the president promised a peacefully transfer of power in January ( AP )

The 32nd U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelts four terms in office helped inspire the 22nd Amendment in the first place.

Ratified in 1951, the amendment came after Roosevelt had been elected four consecutive times, from 1932 to 1944. He died in office in April 1945, shortly into his fourth term.

The amendment states that presidents can serve a maximum of two full terms.

If a vice president becomes president during the term of their predecessor, which has occurred nine times in U.S. history due to death or resignation, they can still serve two full terms as long as they serve less than half of their predecessors remaining term.

Before Roosevelt, whose time in office coincided with the twin international crises of the Depression and the Second World War, presidents had observed an unofficial tradition of not serving more than two terms.

Despite Trump bucking constitutional guardrails in his first presidency, he would face a tall order in getting a constitutional amendment through Congress to try to secure a third term.

A proposal for a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, despite Republicans holding a slim majority in both chambers.

Ratifying an amendment would require three-fourths of all state legislatures.

How are Democrats responding?

open image in gallery Rep. Dan Goldman has introduced a resolution to clarify the matter ( REUTERS )

Democrats are desperate for the Trump era to be over.

In November, New York Representative Dan Goldman introduced a resolution affirming that the 22nd Amendment would bar Trump from a third term.

He called on legislators from both parties to stand by the oath we all took to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and confirm the Congress commitment to this principle.

Goldmans resolution would make clear that the 22nd Amendment applies to two terms in the aggregate, even if they are non-consecutive, like Trumps.

Only one previous president, Grover Cleveland, has served two non-consecutive terms beginning in 1884 and 1892.

However, it is unlikely that Goldmans resolution will make it to a vote in the Republican-dominated House.
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Vivek Ramaswamy, who is co-leading Donald TrumpsDepartment of Government Efficiency alongside X CEO Elon Musk, hinted that the dynamic duo of government gutting are planning to "delete" the US Department of Education.

He told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo that he and Musk were planning to make "deep cuts" unlike any in recent history.

"Elon and I aren't in this for the credit," Ramaswamy said on Sunday. "But I think we're gonna build the consensus to make the kind of deep cuts that haven't been made for most of our history."

Bartiromo asked specifically about the Department of Education, and if Ramaswamy and Musk were planning on shutting down departments.

In response, he said: We expect mass reductions. We expect certain agencies to be deleted outright.

Vivek Ramaswamy hinted that he aims to shut down the Department of Education. ( AFP via Getty Images )

We expect mass reductions in force in areas of the federal government that are bloated. We expect massive cuts among federal contractors and others who are overbilling the federal government," he continued. "So yes, we expect all of the above and I think people will be surprised by, I think, how quickly we're able to move with some of those changes given the legal backdrop."

Ramaswamy made clear in August that he wanted to dismantle the department, which was established in 1867.

Lets shut down the head of the snake, the Department of Education, Ramaswamy said in August. Take that $80 billion, put it in the hands of parents across this country.

Ramaswamy said the move would be a part of his and Musk's push for "mass deregulation."

"So this is a historic opportunity We're not actually going to squander this," he said. "But I think part of the key is to move quickly to move effectively. I think that mass deregulation that I talked about earlier that gives us the industrial logic to then make cuts to that bureaucracy and moving quickly is our objective."
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Joe Biden has sensationally granted Kyiv permission to use long-range  missiles to strike targets deep within Russia, despite Vladimir Putin describing such a move as an act of war.

The weapons are likely to be used in response to North Koreas decision to send thousands of troops to Russia in support of President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine and comes after months of pressure from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

He argued the US ban had made it impossible for Ukraine to try to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical grids.

We look closer at the weapons that could mark a turning point in the war.

Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) rockets

The first deep strikes are likely to be carried out using Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) rockets, which have a range of up to 190 miles (306 km), according to sources who revealed Bidens policy.

ATACMS are a long-range guided missile that gives operational commanders the immediate firepower to win the deep battle.

Produced by US global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin, the missiles carry a 500lb (227kg) class blast fragmentation warhead.

These missiles can reach up to 300km (186 miles) and are tough to intercept due to their high speed.

The weapons are fitted with a specialised GPS system and carry cluster munitions.

When fired, the clusters open in the air, releasing hundreds of bomblets rather than a single warhead.

open image in gallery A Storm Shadow cruise missile is on display during the Paris Air Show ( AP )

Storm Shadow

Until now the Storm Shadow missiles have been limited to Russian targets operating inside Ukraine, as well as in occupied Crimea. The missiles were likely used in the largest Ukrainian attack on the headquarters of Russia s Black Sea fleet last year at Sevastopol.

The other missile being touted the British/French made Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG missile has a much longer estimated range of up to 550 km (340 miles).

The UK has supplied Ukraine with Storm Shadows, but hasnt allowed Ukraine to use them against Russian territory.

Manufacturer MBDA has said that the missile, which is fired from an aircraft, is designed to evade detection despite flying low after being launched.

Powered by a turbo-jet engine, the 1,300kg Storm Shadow travels at speeds of more than 600mph, is just over five metres long and has a wingspan of three metres.

After launch, the weapon, equipped with its own navigation system, descends to a low altitude to avoid detection before locking on to its target using an infra-red seeker.

On final approach the missile climbs to a higher altitude to maximise the chances of hitting the target.

open image in gallery (PA Graphics) ( PA Graphics )

What did Putin warn if West let Ukraine use long-range missiles

Washingtons decision to let Ukraine strike deep into Russia with long-range U.S. missiles could lead to World War Three and will receive a swift response, Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian upper houses international affairs committee, said on Sunday, according to the TASS news agency.

If Ukraine is allowed to use long-range Western-provided missiles against targets inside Russia, it would mean the direct participation of Nato countries in the conflict, Vladimir Putin said on Thursday 12 September.

Western long-range precision weapons can only be used with intelligence data from Nato satellites and flight assignments entered by Nato military personnel, he claimed.

Therefore, we are not talking about allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons or not. We are talking about making a decision about whether NATO countries are directly involved in the military conflict or not, Mr Putin said.

open image in gallery Vladimir Putin listens to Donald Trump during a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, in 2018 ( AFP via Getty Images )

He added that the decision would change the very nature of the conflict.

This will mean that Nato countries, the United States, and European countries are fighting against Russia.

Will long-range missile strikes on Russia change the tide of war?

This is a very important decision for us, Serhii Kuzan, Chairman of the Kyiv-based think tank, the Ukrainian Security and Co-operation Centre, told the BBC.

Its not something that will change the course of the war, but I think it will make our forces more equal.

Mr Kuzan said the decision had come just in time to counter the expected start of a major assault by Russian and Korean troops, designed to dislodge Ukrainian forces from the Russian Kursk region.

The assault is expected within days.

Thats why this decision comes just in time. There are two days left, he tells me, adding that much depended on what quantities of missiles have already been provided to Ukraine and whether the US shares intelligence information to enable the missiles to be used to the greatest effect.
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The U.K. government hit Iran with new sanctions Monday for sending ballistic missiles and other weapons to Russia to support the war against Ukraine.

The Foreign Office said it will freeze assets for Irans national airline and its state-owned shipping company that helped transfer weapons. It will also sanction the Russian cargo ship Port Olya-3 that delivered the missiles from Iran.

Irans attempts to undermine global security are dangerous and unacceptable," Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement in advance of announcing the sanctions at the U.N. Security Council. Alongside our international partners, we were clear that any transfer of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia would face a significant response."

The announcement comes on the eve of the 1,000th day of the war in Ukraine and the day after U.S. President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use missiles supplied by Washington to strike deeper inside Russia.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at the G20 summit in Brazil that we need to double down to support Ukraine as long as necessary.

The asset freezes will restrict Iran Airs ability to operate direct services to and from the United Kingdom and will prevent U.K. citizens or businesses from financial dealings with those entities, the office said.

The actions follow a previous round of sanctions against Iran and Russia that it announced in September alongside Germany and France.
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In a secret factory in central Russia, engineers are manufacturing hundreds of decoy drones meant to overwhelm Ukrainian defences as they try to protect against a horrific new weapon.

The plant in Russias Alabuga Special Economic Zone recently started churning out thermobaric drones alongside the decoys, an Associated Press investigation has found. The thermobaric warheads create a vortex of high pressure and heat that can penetrate thick walls. They suck out all the oxygen in their path, and have a fearsome reputation because of the injuries inflicted even outside the initial blast site: Collapsed lungs, crushed eyeballs, brain damage.

Moscow came up with the plan for decoys in late 2022 and codenamed it Operation False Target, according to a person familiar with Russias drone production who spoke on condition of anonymity because the industry is highly sensitive. The idea was to launch armed drones along with dozens of decoys, sometimes stuffed with rags or foam, and indistinguishable on radar from those carrying real bombs. Ukrainian forces must make split-second decisions about how to expend scarce resources to save lives and preserve critical infrastructure.

open image in gallery A Ukrainian officer examines a downed Shahed drone with a thermobaric charge launched by Russia ( AP )

The idea was to make a drone which would create a feeling of complete uncertainty for the enemy. So he doesnt know whether its really a deadly weapon ... or essentially a foam toy, the person said. With the thermobarics, there is now a huge risk an armed drone could deviate from its course and end up in a residential area where the damage will be simply terrifying, he said.

In recent weeks, decoys have filled Ukraines skies by the dozens, each one appearing as an indistinguishable blip on military radar screens. During the first weekend of November, the Kyiv region spent 20 hours under air alert, and the sound of buzzing drones mingled with the boom of air defences and rifle shots.

Unarmed decoys now make up more than half the drones targeting Ukraine, according to the person and Serhii Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian electronics expert whose black military van is kitted out with electronic jammers to down drones.

Both the unarmed decoys and the armed Iranian-designed Shahed drones are being built at a factory in Russias Alabuga Special Economic Zone, an industrial complex set up in 2006 about 600 miles east of Moscow to attract businesses and investment to Tatarstan. It expanded after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and some sectors switched to military production, adding new buildings and renovating existing sites, according to satellite images analysed by The Associated Press.

In social media videos, the factory promotes itself as an innovation hub. But David Albright of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security said Alabugas current purpose is purely to produce and sell drones to Russias ministry of defence. The videos and other promotional media were taken down after an AP investigation found that many of the African women recruited to fill labour shortages there complained they were duped into taking jobs at the plant.

Russia and Iran signed a 1.35bn deal for the Shaheds in 2022, after Vladimir Putins forces invaded Ukraine, and Moscow began using Iranian imports of the unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, in battle later that year. Soon after the deal was signed, production started in Alabuga.

In October, Moscow attacked with at least 1,889 drones  80 per cent more than in August, according to an AP analysis tracking the drones for months. On Saturday, Russia launched 145 drones across Ukraine, just days after the re-election of Donald Trump threw into doubt US support for the country.

Since summer, most drones crash, are shot down or are diverted by electronic jamming, according to an AP analysis of Ukrainian military briefings. Less than 6 per cent hit a discernible target. But the sheer numbers mean a handful can slip through every day  and that is enough to be deadly.

open image in gallery Flames and smoke rise from a residential building after an attack on Kyiv by Russian drones ( AP )

The swarms have become a demoralising fact of life for Ukrainians.

Russian drone tactics continue to evolve. Now, more powerful missiles often follow close behind as air defences are exhausted by the drones. The most destructive are the ballistic and cruise missiles that fly many times faster than the drones, which buzz loudly and can be tracked by the naked eye.

Even the decoys can be useful to Russia. One decoy with a live-feed camera allows the aircraft to geolocate Ukraines air defences and relay the information to Russia in the final moments of its mechanical life.

Night after night, Ukrainian sharpshooters spring into action to down the drones with portable surface-to-air missiles.

One sharpshooter, who like most Ukrainian soldiers asked to be identified by his call-sign Rosmaryn, said he had shot down perhaps a dozen drones in all over nearly two years and saw one that was stuffed with rags and foam. Rosmaryn sees his adversary in almost human terms, describing the aircrafts quest to outwit his small unit.

It was part of a swarm, flying as one of the last ones, he said. When its in the sky, we cant tell what kind it is, because everything is inside the drone. We only find out after its shot down.

Many fly at 2,000 to 3,000 metres (6,500ft to around 10,000ft) before dropping to lower altitudes on their final approach, Rosmaryn said. Leaked videos suggest Ukraine is now using helicopters to shoot down the high-altitude drones.

Three decoys of Russian origin have crashed in Moldova in the past week, authorities there said.

Thanks to optical trickery, radar cant distinguish a drone armed with a Shaheds usual 50kg payload of explosives or with a thermobaric weapon  also known as a vacuum bomb  from those without a warhead or topped with live-feed surveillance cameras. There are also other even rougher-quality drones, armed and unarmed, but in fewer quantities than the Shahed-style unmanned aircraft.

Thats why, even knowing that decoys now make up most of an incoming swarm, Ukraine cant afford to let anything through.

For us, its just a point on the radar  It has speed, direction, and altitude, said Col Yurii Ihnat, an air force spokesperson. We have no way of identifying the exact target during flight, so we have to either jam them with electronic warfare or use firepower to neutralise them. The enemy uses these to scatter our attention.

The engines and electronics for the armed Shaheds and decoys are a mix of Chinese and Western imports, according to fragments seen by The Associated Press at a Ukrainian military lab. Without them, the drones cant fly. Despite nearly three years of sanctions, Moscow can still source the parts  largely from China and via third countries in Central Asia and the Middle East.

open image in gallery Serhii Beskrestnov, more widely known as Flash, a Ukrainian electronics expert, who hunts drones for the military ( AP )

Halfway through the series of air alerts on 2 November, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said the swarms of Shaheds, which he put at 2,000 for the month of October alone, were made possible by Western technology slipping through sanctions.

Included in this many Shaheds are more than 170,000 components that should have been blocked for delivery to Russia. Microcircuits, microcontrollers, processors, many different parts, without which this terror would simply be impossible, Zelensky said.

The joint manufacturing of the drones  some to carry bombs, others to divert attention  is saving Russias military money. Production of the decoys started earlier this year, and now the plant turns out about 40 of the cheaper unarmed drones a day and around 10 armed ones, which cost an estimated 40,000 and take longer to produce, according to the person with knowledge of Russian drone production.

The Russian news outlet Izvestia in late October said the aim of the decoys is to weaken the enemy by forcing it to waste ammunition before sending in armed Shaheds.

Both Beskrestnov and the person familiar with Russian drone production said engineers at Alabuga are also constantly experimenting, putting Moscow at the cutting edge of drone production. To make electronic interference harder, they add Ukrainian SIM cards, roaming SIMs, Starlinks, fibre optics  and can sometimes receive real-time feedback before the drones are jammed, downed or run out of fuel. Sometimes they attach a silver-painted foam ball to make the drone seem larger on a radar.

But the latest thermobaric variant is causing new anguish in Ukraine.

open image in gallery The internal mechanism of a Shahed drone is seen in the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise ( AP )

From a military point of view, thermobarics are ideal for going after targets that are either inside fortified buildings or deep underground.

Alabugas thermobaric drones are particularly destructive when they strike buildings, because they are also loaded with ball bearings to cause maximum damage even beyond the superheated blast, said Albright.

Beskrestnov, who is more widely known as Flash and whose black military van is kitted out with electronic jammers to down drones, said the thermobarics were first used over the summer and estimated they now make up between 3 per cent and 5 per cent of all drones.

This type of warhead has the possibility to destroy a huge building, especially blocks of flats. And its very effective if the Russian Federation tries to attack our power plants, he said.

They have a fearsome reputation because of the physical effects even on people caught outside the initial blast site, said Arthur van Coller, an expert in international humanitarian law at South Africas University of Fort Hare.

With a thermobaric explosion, because of the cloud it would create, everything in its radius would be affected, he said. It creates massive fear in the civilian population. Thermobaric weapons have created this idea that they are really horrible weapons and that creates fear.
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A Russian ballistic missile with cluster munitions struck a residential area of a northern Ukraine city, killing 11 people including two children and injuring 84 others, officials said on Monday.

The two children killed in the strike on Sumy late Sunday were a 9-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, the regional prosecutors office said. Six injured children are in critical condition, it said.

The attack damaged 15 buildings, including two educational facilities, the prosecutors office said. A search and rescue operation continued Monday, on the eve of the wars 1,000-day milestone.

Sumy lies 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the Russian border:

Also Sunday, U.S. President Joe Biden authorized for the first time the use of U.S.-supplied longer-range missiles by Ukraine to strike inside Russia, after extensive lobbying by Ukrainian officials.

The weapons are likely to be used in response to North Koreas decision to send thousands of troops to support Russia in the Kursk region where Ukraine mounted a military incursion over the summer.

It is the second time the U.S. has permitted the use of Western weapons inside Russian territory within limits after permitting the use of HIMARS systems, a shorter-range weapon, to stem Russias advance in Ukraines Kharkiv region in May.

open image in gallery In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters extinguish the fire following a Russian rocket attack that hit a multi-storey apartment building in Sumy, Ukraine, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP) ( Ukrainian Emergency Service )

The first reaction from Ukraine to the long-awaited decision from the U.S. was notably restrained.

Today, much is being said in the media about us receiving permission for the relevant actions. But strikes are not made with words. Such things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.

Earlier, Zelenskyy said that Russia had launched a total of 120 missiles and 90 drones in a large-scale attack across Ukraine, including Sumy. Russia deployed various types of drones, he said, including Iranian-made Shaheds, as well as cruise, ballistic and aircraft-launched ballistic missiles.

The attack, which targeted Ukraines energy infrastructure, came as fears are mounting about Moscows intentions to devastate Ukraines power generation capacity ahead of the winter.

Ukrainian defenses shot down 144 out of a total of 210 air targets, Ukraines air force reported.

The enemys target was our energy infrastructure throughout Ukraine. Unfortunately, there is damage to objects from hits and falling debris. In Mykolaiv, as a result of a drone attack, two people were killed and six others were injured, including two children, Zelenskyy said.

open image in gallery Zelenskyy ( AP )

Two more people were killed in the Odesa region, where the attack damaged energy infrastructure and disrupted power and water supplies, said local Gov. Oleh Kiper. Both victims were employees of Ukraines state-owned power grid operator, Ukrenergo, the company said hours later.

The combined drone and missile attack was the most powerful in three months, according to the head of Kyivs City Military Administration, Serhii Popko.

One person was injured after the roof of a five-story residential building caught fire in Kyivs historic center, according to Popko.

A thermal power plant operated by private energy company DTEK was seriously damaged, the company said.

Russian strikes have hammered Ukraines power infrastructure since Moscows all-out invasion of its neighbor in February 2022, prompting repeated emergency power shutdowns and nationwide rolling blackouts. Ukrainian officials have routinely urged Western allies to bolster the countrys air defenses to counter assaults and allow for repairs.

Russias Defense Ministry on Sunday acknowledged carrying out a mass missile and drone attack on critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine, but claimed all targeted facilities were tied to Kyivs military industry.

Although Ukraines nuclear plants were not directly impacted, several electrical substations on which they depend suffered further damage, the U.N.s nuclear energy watchdog said in a statement Sunday. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, only two of Ukraines nine operational reactors continue to generate power at full capacity.

The Russian military said Monday it intercepted and destroyed 59 Ukrainian drones overnight over several Russian regions. Two were downed over the Moscow region that surrounds the Russian capital, and three others over the neighboring Tula region. A total of 54 drones were destroyed over the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions on the border with Ukraine, according to a statement by the Russian Defense Ministry.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the drones shot down outside of Moscow were heading toward the capital.
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Joe Bidens decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with US-made long-range missiles is an escalation of the conflict, Moscow said on Monday as it warned use of the weapons would trigger a tangible response.

The Kremlin reacted with fury after the US president eased limits on what targets Kyiv can strike using the American-made Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS.

It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to  continue pouring oil on the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict, Vladimir Putins spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Mr Bidens move  previously ruled out over fears of bringing about a direct confrontation between Russia and Nato  put fresh pressure on Britain to follow suit with UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.

Keir Starmer sidestepped questions on the issue last night, but did not rule out a change, saying: We need to double down  to make sure Ukraine has what is necessary for as long as necessary, because we cannot allow Putin to win this war.

open image in gallery Keir Starmer, at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, has promised to double down on support for Ukraine ( AFP via Getty Images )

Defence minister Maria Eagle also hinted at a shift over weapons, telling MPs: We intend to align with our allies in making sure that Ukraine can make use of the capabilities thats been offered by those who have committed support to that country in its fight.

Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky has been lobbying Western allies for months for permission to strike targets in Russian territory, arguing he is effectively being forced to fight with his hands tied because he cannot hit the bases Mr Putin is using to launch air attacks against his country.

Any impact might be more political than military, as Russian strikes are already being launched from beyond the 186-mile range of the ATACMS, or the Storm Shadow and its French equivalent, Scalp.

Washingtons change of stance comes as Kyiv and Western allies brace for a possible shift in direction under Donald Trump, who has said he could end the war in a day after being sworn in next January.

Allies of the president-elect condemned the decision. Richard Grenell, Mr Trumps former director of national intelligence, accused Mr Biden of escalating the wars before he leaves office and said that allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles at Russia amounted to launching a whole new war.

It was a view shared in Moscow, where Russian government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta accused Mr Biden of one of the most provocative, uncalculated decisions of his administration risking catastrophic consequences.

Hungarys foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said it was incredibly dangerous.

Mr Bidens decision also follows North Koreas entry into the conflict, with thousands of its troops being sent to bolster Russian front lines.

open image in gallery Joe Biden told fellow leaders at the G20 that he was committed to the territorial integrity of Ukraine ( via Reuters )

Matthew Savill, military sciences director at defence think tank the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said: Many of the best targets  helicopters and glide bomb-armed aircraft attacking Ukrainian cities and troops in the north or in Kursk  have largely moved to air bases outside the range of ATACMS.

This still leaves plenty of opportunities to strike military headquarters and ammunition or supply locations supporting Russian and North Korean troops, but this would be a reduced impact from when the Ukrainians first requested these weapons. The impact may be more political, albeit with a narrowing window of opportunity.

In Ukraine on Monday, a Russian ballistic missile with cluster munitions struck a residential area of Sumy in northern Ukraine, killing 11 people, including two children, and injuring 84 others. Another missile barrage sparked apartment fires in the southern port of Odesa, killing at least 10 people and injuring 43, including a child, Ukraine said.

Russia is slowly pushing Ukraines outnumbered army backward in the eastern Donetsk region. It has also conducted a devastating aerial campaign against civilian areas in Ukraine.
Joe Biden has finally relented in allowing Ukraine to use US-supplied long-range missiles to strike inside Russia  and it would be a surprise if the UK did not follow suit.

For months, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has been pleading with his US counterpart and other Western leaders to help relieve the pressure his troops are facing on the front line, as well as trying to slow the relentless aerial bombardment of Ukrainian cities that Russia is launching. As Russia's invasion ticks into its 1,000th day, Biden has given the green light.

Given the relatively limited supplies that Ukraine will have of both the US Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) ballistic missiles and the UK Storm Shadow missiles, this will not be a war-winning development for Kyiv, but that should not diminish what a policy shift this is for the White House. Although the symbolic significance may end up outweighing what happens on the battlefield.

According to US officials, the first time the American weapons will be used inside Russia will likely be against Russian and North Korean troops seeking to push back Ukrainian troops from the Russian border region of Kursk  where Kyivs forces launched a daring assault in August that claimed a swathe of territory. Kyiv has warned that tens of thousands of Russian troops, bolstered by thousands of North Korean soldiers as part of growing cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang that also includes masses of artillery shells being sent to Russia.

open image in gallery Firing ATACMS ballistic missiles into Russia will not be a war-winning development for Ukraine ( AP )

That will be the short-term military gain, with hope that long-range strikes will help slow supplies to those troops and give Ukraine a chance of holding onto the territory as long as they can, while ensuring that Russia cant launch its own assaults from that area of the border. More broadly, the aim will be to hit weapons stores housing the glide bombs that have done significant damage to Ukrainian positions. Anything that will force Moscow into serious thinking about how it has to deploy its weapons or cost them time and money in destroying stocks, will be welcomed by Zelensky.

Kyiv has also been desperate for long-range missiles to strike airfields deep inside Russia that have been used as launchpads for the intensive aerial bombardment of Ukraine. This includes stockpiles of missiles, drones and other ammunition, as well as the planes used in those strikes. Russia has spent the last two winters hitting Ukraines energy infrastructure, leading to rolling blackouts that are aimed at sucking away the morale of the Ukrainian people during the coldest months of the year. That is on top of the fear of such missiles destroying homes, or killing and wounding residents.

The impact of such Ukrainian retaliation has been blunted by the months it has taken for Biden to come to this decision. While the missiles will have a range of 150 miles or so, a significant improvement on the missiles Ukraine is currently using, Moscow has had plenty of time to shift key assets out of range of both the ATACMS and the Storm Shadows. Zelensky himself has acknowledged that the very public way this decision has been discussed and announced will not help that. In the wake of Bidens decision being reported, if not officially confirmed yet by the White House, Zelensky said: Such things are not announced... missiles will speak for themselves.

open image in gallery Russian president Vladimir Putin has bolstered his defences in Ukraine with troops from North Korea ( AP )

However, Zelensky knows how important morale is during an invasion that is now well into its third year. Moves such as this give Ukrainians something to cheer for and provide a boost to beleaguered forces that have faced wave after wave of Russian attacks across much of the massive 600-mile front line, with Moscows forces making slow but consistent advances in regions such as eastern Donetsk.

In a similar vein, the political impact of Bidens decision has the potential to be the most important. It signals that Washington is not afraid to face up to Russian warnings of dire consequences for letting long-range strikes happen. Pro-war Russian MPs have been quick to suggest the US is pushing the West towards a world war, but the Kremlin has been a little more circumspect, accusing the US of pouring fuel on the fire of the war, but initially steering clear of talk of instant retribution. Although the key time will be how Vladimir Putin responds to the deaths of Russian forces in an ATACM strike.

Biden will also be hoping to put Donald Trump, the US president-elect, in a position where he will find it tough to revoke the decision. If Ukraine can make full use of the missiles to put themselves in a better position before Trump re-enters the White House, it may make the most transactional of leaders more disposed to fight for Kyivs position. For Trump, it is always about the win that makes him look best, particularly if  as he has claimed  he is looking to end the war in Ukraine quickly. The fact that Trump allies have also already started to complain about Bidens decision pushing the US and the world closer to a wider war will not have filled Kyiv with confidence.

That is among the many reasons that Zelensky and Ukraine will want to ensure the new freedoms over the long-range strikes are used as effectively as possible as swiftly as they can.
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Lasers that can harness bacterias natural ability to convert sunlight into energy could power missions to Mars and provide a source of clean energy on Earth, scientists have announced.

The technology is inspired by the way plants and bacteria convert light into chemical energy through photosynthesis.

The aim is to repurpose the light-harvesting antennae from certain types of photosynthetic bacteria to amplify energy from sunlight, and convert it into laser beams that can transmit that energy across space.

The scientists also hope that using organic materials rather than perishable artificial components means the lasers could be effectively re-grown in space  meaning they could be kept in operation without new parts having to be sent up from Earth.

Unlike conventional semiconductor solar panels, which convert sunlight into electricity, this process would not rely on any electronic components.

The project  called APACE  is first looking at developing the technology under laboratory conditions, before testing and refining its suitability for use in space.

If it is successful, the researchers say it could be used by global space agencies to power space exploration  including lunar bases or missions to Mars  as well as providing a new way of transmitting clean, wireless energy on Earth.

Mars as seen from space ( Nasa )

Professor Erik Gauger, from the Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences at Heriot-Watt, said the technology was potentially a breakthrough in space power.

Sustainable generation of power in space, without relying on perishable components sent from Earth, represents a big challenge, he said.

Yet, living organisms are experts at being self-sufficient and harnessing self-assembly.

Our project not only takes biological inspiration but goes one step beyond by piggybacking on functionality that already exists in the photosynthetic machinery of bacteria to achieve a breakthrough in space power.

Our APACE project aims to create a new type of laser powered by sunlight.

Regular sunlight is usually too weak to power a laser directly, but these special bacteria are incredibly efficient at collecting and channelling sunlight through their intricately designed light-harvesting structures, which can effectively amplify the energy flux from sunlight to the reaction centre by several orders of magnitude.

Our project will make use of this level of amplification to convert sunlight into a laser beam without relying on electrical components.

We already know it is possible to grow bacteria in space, for example through studies on the International Space Station. Some tough bacteria have even survived exposure to open space.

If our new technology can be built and used on space stations, it could help to generate power locally and even offer a route to sending power to satellites or back to Earth using infrared laser beams.

This technology has the potential to revolutionise how we power space operations, making exploration more sustainable while also advancing clean energy technology here on Earth.

All major space agencies have lunar or Mars missions in their plans, and we hope to help power them.

The research team will begin by extracting and studying the natural light-harvesting machinery from types of bacteria that have evolved to survive in extremely low light conditions.

These bacteria have highly specialised molecular antenna structures that can capture and channel almost every photon of light they receive  making them natures most efficient solar collectors.

The researchers will also develop artificial versions of these structures and new laser materials that can work with both natural and artificial light-harvesters.

The researchers then plan to combine these components into a new type of laser material and test it in increasingly larger systems.

The first prototype of the new technology is expected to be ready for testing within three years.
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Most airplane seats have the ability to recline for a relaxing flight experience, but one man has shared how another passengers seat may have gone too far.

In a recent post on X/Twitter, the man under the username @av_cova posted a photo of the seat in front of him reclined so far back that his knees were touching the top of the seat. He revealed in the post that he was sitting in first class on an American Airlines flight.

First class, his post began. Dude is in my lap. You continue to be awful, @AmericanAir.

In the thread, the man explained that he had limited access to move in the cabin. He suggested that the seat was able to move so far back because it was broken.

I cant use my tray table and no chance of getting up. Im in 3C, so 2C is clearly broken. AA1851. Get it fixed before someone else wastes a fortune on first class and gets f***ed @AmericanAir, the post read.

American Airlines passenger complains about uncomfortable seat recliner mishap on flight ( AFP via Getty Images )

In an interview with Fox News, the X user mentioned that he did alert a flight attendant of the seat problem, but allegedly nothing was done to fix it.

He shrugged it off  basically saying, Its an old airplane; some of these seats are worn out, he told the outlet. No matter how I positioned myself, the seat was still against my knees. The gentleman in the seat in front of me was very sympathetic, but he was unable to get the seat to lock forward, as it was inoperable.

American Airlines later responded to the passengers complaint, as they commented underneath his post apologizing for the uncomfortable experience.

Keeping our planes in top-notch shape is always the goal, they wrote. Were sorry for this inconvenience and appreciate you bringing this to our attention. Well get this right over to the Maintenance folks for review. Our apologies again.

However, he still wasnt satisfied with the apology, as the man replied: Maintenance isnt gonna review the money I wasted

Speaking with Fox, the social media user explained that he had spent an extra $500 on a first-class seat specifically for extra leg room, which wasnt possible with the seat malfunction.

This isnt the first time a person has complained about a seat on a flight. Back in September, Erin Rempel turned to TikTok to share a video of her experience in the middle seat of an airplane.

The clip showed her sitting in the middle seat with two men on either side of her, who had stretched their legs far enough that she appeared squished into her seat. The text across the screen of her video simply read: Female rage.

Why would anyone EVER need that much room??? I tried to get him to move but he wouldnt, she wrote in the caption of her video.

Her TikTok went on to receive more than 20 million views, with many people taking to the comments to express how they were equally as mad as Rempel. Some people even called out the display of manspreading  when a man spreads out his legs in a public seating area, typically taking up an extra seat in the process or invading others space.

Girl you need to say something. They do not need to be over that much, if youre nervous, call a flight attendant, one commenter pointed out at the time.
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Tens of thousands of British Airways passengers encountered long delays and possible missed connections after another major IT failure.

On Monday evening passengers at London Heathrow Terminal 5, as well as airports abroad, say they have been told communications systems have failed.

In one example, flight BA365 from Lyon to Heathrow remained on the ground in France for two hours 40 minutes, rather than the expected one hour.

open image in gallery London Heathrow Terminal 5, seen from a departing British Airways aircraft ( Simon Calder )

The three evening departures from Manchester to Heathrow all arrived at least two hours late, jeopardising connections to destinations such as Abu Dhabi, Cape Town and Rio.

The airlines website, ba.com, and its app also failed for a time  with a message reading: We are experiencing high demand on ba.com at the moment.

open image in gallery Front page: Message greeting customers on the British Airways website ( British Airways )

Problems began shortly after 5pm GMT. Some outbound British Airways flights from Heathrow were delayed by up to two hours, including departures to Geneva, Larnaca, Vienna, Vancouver and Dusseldorf.

Domestic flights to and from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle were running an hour or more late.

Arrivals from Continental airports are typically being delayed by an hour or more. The final flight from Europe, BA861 from Prague, touched down a few minutes before midnight. Normally arrivals are scheduled to end at 10.55pm.

Hector McNeil wrote on X: British Airways cmon lets have some updates pls on the pc outage. Stuck in Vienna!!!!

His BA Airbus A319 landed on schedule at the Austrian capital from Heathrow shortly before 6pm, but left nearly two hours late.

Between 5.45pm and 8.45pm only one of dozens of scheduled British Airways departures from Heathrow was on time: a flight to Rome.

With limits on the hours in which planes can depart and arrive at Heathrow, any disruption can swiftly lead to cancellations.

In addition, the complex air-traffic control operation at Heathrow requires a steady flow of departures and arrivals in order to function properly.

Any bunching of flights can swiftly lead to widespread disruption.

Many passengers flying into Heathrow in order to transfer to departing overnight flights are likely to miss their connections. For example the early evening flights from Edinburgh and Glasgow, due in shortly before 7pm, were over two hours behind schedule. Arrivals from Belfast and Dublin are about 90 minutes late.

The inbound flight from Johannesburg, due to arrive at 4.45am, arrived over two hours behind schedule  with a consequent impact on connections on Tuesday morning.

But a spokesperson for the airline said: Our teams worked hard to resolve an issue we experienced for a short time earlier this evening.

Weve apologised to customers for delays to their flights and ensured they were able to reach their destinations as planned.

At least eight BA flights serving London Heathrow on Tuesday have been cancelled: to and from Geneva, Lyon, Milan Malpensa and Nice. But these are not believed to be related to the IT issues on Monday night.

British Airways has a long history of falling foul of IT failures. In May 2023 more than 200 BA flights were grounded, affecting over 30,000 passengers across a bank holiday weekend.

Even worse, over a bank holiday weekend in May 2017, during a routine systems upgrade, a switch was thrown that brought the entire BA Heathrow operation to a standstill. Hundreds of thousands of passengers had their travel plans torn up.
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US budget carrier Spirit Airlines has announced it has filed for bankruptcy protection after accumulating debt and losing more than $2.5bn since 2020

But it has stressed to its customers that it will still continue to fly.

The airline announced on Monday 18 November that it has entered into a restructuring support agreement that has been supported by a supermajority of its bondholders.

The filing follows two failed attempts to merge with other airlines, falling stocks and a loss of income due to lower revenues and higher expenses.

Spirit says the restructuring should reduce its debt, provide financial flexibility and position Spirit for long-term success by investing in passenger experience.

Spirit expects to continue operating business as usual while it navigates a prearranged, streamlined Chapter 11 process, which is a declaration of bankruptcy while it reorganises its company and seeks relief.

Guests can continue to book and fly without interruption and can use all tickets, credits and loyalty points as normal, the airline said.

They also added the Chapter 11 process itself will not impact employee or vendor wages or benefits.

The airline said it has received commitments for a $350m equity investment from existing bondholders and will complete a debt-reducing transaction to equitise $795m of funded debt.

To implement this restructuring agreement, the airline has commenced a prearranged Chapter 11 process in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Existing bondholders are also providing $300 million in debtor-in-possession, which along with Spirits cash reserves, is expected to help the company through the bankruptcy process.

Ted Christie, Spirits president and CEO, said he was pleased we have reached an agreement with bondholders that he said shows a strong vote of confidence in Spirit and our long-term plan.

Im extremely proud of the Spirit teams hard work and dedication, which is key to our sustained progress in advancing our business and delivering for our Guests."

Spirit hopes to emerge from the Chapter 11 process by the first quarter of 2025 in an even better positioned to deliver the best value in the sky.

Other airlines that are operating successfully today have undertaken a similar process, they added.

As a result of the listing, Spirit expects to be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in the near term.

The news comes less than a week after it was reported that merger talks with Frontier Airlines fizzled out, causing Spirit to prepare to seek bankruptcy protection.

Its stock has fallen by nearly 80 per cent this year, with the airline saying in a statement on 12 November that its adjusted operating margin in the third quarter is down 12 per cent from last year due to lower revenues and higher expenses.

Spirit said its revenues are estimated to be about $61m lower compared to last year, partly due to the airline no longer charging change and cancellation fees.

Frontier and Spirit had been set to merge in 2022, before JetBlue Airways presented the airlines investors with a higher offer.

Yet, in January, a federal judge barred JetBlue from acquiring Spirit as it was ruled that the deal would not be fair on low-budget airline market competition and could drive up prices for passengers.

For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calders podcast
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Fodors has revealed the destinations that tourists should reconsider visiting in 2025  and bucket list trips to Bali and a famed Scottish road trip are on the no-go list.

The travel guide publisher identified 15 No locations suffering from untenable popularity alongside its annual Go list of recommendations.

Topping the perennial no list is Indonesias Bali, where overtourism has created a plastic apocalypse, said Fodors.

With 5.3 million international visitors in 2023, once pristine Balinese beaches are now buried under nearly 303,000 tons of plastic waste.

Kristin Winkaffe, a sustainable travel expert, said: Overtourism affects the very core of Balinese life.

Without change, were risking more than just beautiful scenerywere at risk of losing cultural identity itself, she added.

Adventure tourism to Mount Everest was similarly cautioned due to the volume of waste and risk to local workers.

Barcelona, Mallorca and the Canary Islands were all namechecked as European destinations where locals dont want you due to tourism protests this summer, while Venice and Lisbon made the list for the new day-trippers entry fee and lack of housing, respectively.

Travellers were warned for the second year against holidays to Koh Samui in Thailand amid crowd fears once The White Lotus premieres in 2025. Experts worry that increased traffic will exacerbate existing problems, including waste management and water supplies on the island.

As for the destinations beginning to suffer the British Virgin Islands, Kerala in India, Japanese cities Kyoto and Tokyo and Oaxaca in Mexico were all identified as ones to watch before it becomes too late.

Fodors said that the Italian Capital of Culture for 2025, Agrigento in Sicily, is facing a severe water crisis that could be further aggravated by increased tourism.

In the UK, Scotlands famed North Coast 500 road trip loop has become too popular, said the publisher. Roads congested with traffic and a lack of adequate camping facilities have plagued residents with problems.

According to Fodors: The destinations featured on the No List deserve the fame and adoration they receive. They are worthy of your time and money. Yet, the myriad challenges they face are both real and urgent.

Fodors does not advocate for travel boycottsthey harm local economies and fail to bring about meaningful change. But we do believe that the first step to alleviating a problem is recognizing there is one. The No List serves to highlight destinations where tourism is placing unsustainable pressures on the land and local communities.

Fodors travel No list 2025

Perennial no list:

Bali, Indonesia

European destinations where locals dont want you  Barcelona, Mallorca, Venice, the Canary Islands and Lisbon

Koh Samui, Thailand

Mount Everest

Destinations beginning to suffer:

Agrigento, Sicily, Italy

British Virgin Islands

Kerala, India

Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan

Oaxaca, Mexico

Scotland North Coast 500

For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calders podcast
Joe Biden's decision to approve the use of US-supplied longer-range missiles by Ukraine to strike inside Russia will "add fuel to the fire" in the conflict, a Kremlin spokesman has said.

Dmitry Peskov repeated earlier warnings from Vladimir Putin, saying that any strikes on Russian soil using US weapons would be interpreted as direct Nato involvement.

Mr Peskov said Russia was only aware of the apparent decision by the Biden administration from reporting in Western media.

He said: "It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps and they have been talking about this, to continue adding fuel to the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict."
Boris Johnson struggled to explain Brexit during an interview with a French radio station on Monday, 18 November.

The former British prime minister, who campaigned to leave the European Union, told France Inter: "Theres an idea of constitutional freedom for the United Kingdom. And, I recount the struggle for Brexit [in Unleashed].

"The freedom to do things differently. In particular, you see  We forget all this now because it was two or three years ago but when we had the pandemic, thanks to Brexit we had the chance to do the vaccinations in England much earlier."
David Lammy berated Russias first deputy permanent representative to the UN for fiddling with his mobile phone during a UN Security Council session on a joint UK-Sierra Leone draft resolution calling for a national ceasefire on Monday, 18 November.

The foreign secretary criticised Dmitry Polyanskiy for looking down at the device and condemned Russia for blocking a United Nations call for a ceasefire in Sudan.

Mr Lammy, who chaired the Security Council session, said: "I ask the Russian representative, in all conscience sitting there on his phone  how many more Sudanese have to be killed... before Russia will act?

The war in Sudan began in April 2023 when simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital Khartoum and spread to other regions including Darfur.
Time was when optimists responded to the imminence of world war with a cocky: Itll all be over by Christmas

Since President Bidens foreign policy team leaked his decision yesterday to let Ukraine use US-supplied long-range missiles to strike military targets within Russia, pessimists have been warning that World War Three will start by Christmas.

The Russians certainly have been issuing blood-curdling warnings that any Western permission to Ukraine to use Nato-supplied rockets to attack Russia itself would trigger a terrible response.

The deterrent effect of the Kremlins threats had worked with the German chancellor, Olaf Scholtz, who pointedly repeated his refusal to send Germanys Taurus cruise missile to Ukraine  and went on to telephone President Putin for the first time in more than two years.

Our prime minister, however, has not only repeated his support for Ukraine, but Sir Keir Starmer seems poised to follow suit by authorising British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles to make similar strikes against the Russian air bases and bunkers used to launch the recent wave of devastating airstrikes on Ukraines energy infrastructure.

What makes authorising these new missiles and expanding the range of the authorised targets more sensitive than other types of weapons supplies is that the long-range weapons, known as ATACMS (short for Army Tactical Missile System), use intelligence from US satellites to find their targets.

The UKs Storm Shadows use similar targeting information supplied by our intelligence on Russian deployments. Back in September, President Putin threatened to use this reality  that the Ukrainians cant target these Nato-supplied missiles without US or British personnel having an active involvement in the war  to claim the West itself would be at war with Russia.

In reality, what for the Ukrainians is a war of national defence, and for Putin, whatever his blather, a war of conquest, is for Nato countries a proxy war against the alliances Eurasian geopolitical mega-rival.

Putins drawing on North Korean munitions and now that hyper-militarised tyrannys soldiers is a symptom of how the war in Ukraine is taking on a global character.

Maybe it is not World War Three yet, but lets call it World War Z  pronounced in the American way, and referencing the Z symbol (short for Zapad, west in Russian) which the Russian army painted on its vehicles at the start of the war when they invaded in February 2022, a full 1,000 days ago.

A motley range of volunteers have gone to fight for Ukraine from Western countries, but also post-Soviet republics with a strong anti-Russian tradition, such as Georgia; and even some anti-Putin Russians. This foreign legion supplies a relatively small number of troops and their proud brigade names inflate their battlefield impact.

As many as 10,000 North Korean troops  roughly one division strong  are being deployed to support the Russian armys counteroffensive against the Ukrainian troops who had seized a chunk of Russian territory in the Kursk region. Korean boots on the ground is a major internationalisation of the war.

Potential problems haunt hopes that the White Houses decision on ATACMS will be a game-changer.

Often overlooked is how few of these sophisticated weapons systems the Pentagon has available to deploy to Ukraine. As with its Patriot anti-missile systems, the Pentagon has to keep them in reserve for other potential trouble zones  above all, Taiwan and Chinas activities in the South China Sea.

Although the war in Ukraine has been going for a thousand days, the Western countries have not seriously ramped up production of these sophisticated weapons systems. Putin presumably calculates that Russia can roll with any blows in the short term, and hit back with its own boosted production of glide bombs and hypersonic missiles.

Above all, Donald Trumps re-election has raised questions about Washingtons commitment to stand behind Ukraine as long as it takes. President Zelensky says that he thinks Trump could pressure Putin more effectively than Joe Biden has. Maybe  but Trumps team were suggesting the sudden reversal of policy by the outgoing president could be a spoiler to disrupt the next presidents peace plan.

If the President-elect was planning to make Putin an offer he cant refuse  take Crimea and the currently occupied land, but not more, or face expanded American support for Kyiv  Biden had stolen his thunder.

Many of Trumps Maga supporters are deeply suspicious of Bidens twelfth-hour change of heart. Donald Trump Jr has voiced his displeasure at Bidens decision, suggesting it was designed to thwart his fathers peace plan. Die-hard Democrats, for their part, are reviving the Russiagate charges that Trump Sr is Putins poodle.

The intertwining of the war in Ukraine with internal politics in the United States could be the most acute symptom of the globalised proxy war underway between Russia and its allies on one side and the West on the other.

Everyone waits to see which side Donald Trump takes. The outcome of World War Z depends on him more than anyone else.

Mark Almond is director of the Crisis Research Institute, Oxford
A property investment finance company is seeking judgment for 1.19m against businessman Paddy McKillen Jr over a guarantee he gave on the loans to buy a property in England for development as a 155-bed hotel and 1,500-capacity venue.

Mr McKillen Jr is a co-founder of Ireland's largest hospitality group, Press Up, and son of well-known developer Paddy McKillen Snr.

Investment finance firm AHG Properties Unlimited Company applied on Monday to Mr Justice Denis McDonald to admit the summary judgment proceedings by the firm against Mr McKillen Jr to the fast track commercial list, but agreed to the defendants request to adjourn the matter for two weeks.

In an affidavit seeking admission of the proceedings to the Commercial Court, AHG director Tony O'Shea said Mr McKillen Jr had provided a personal guarantee, limited to 1m plus interest, on loans totalling 10m to buy The Central Hall and adjoining buildings in Corporation Street/Ryder Street, Birmingham. The plan was to redevelop it as a 155-bed Dean hotel with a 1,500-capacity event venue.

The loans were made to Creative Cedar Ltd, a UK company which Mr McKillen Jr is a director of. It is also part of the Press Up Group.

Mr O'Shea said he always understood the AHG facility, provided in 2022 and 2023 in two tranches of 9m and 1m, was principally to buy the Birmingham property and that it would be subsequently refinanced by development finance from a separate lender.

However, Mr O'Shea said, as the final repayment date approached on December 30, 2023, Creative Cedar sought an extension to April to allow for discussions regarding the potential refinancing of the AHG facility.

There followed a number of exchanges and a meeting with Mr McKillen Jr in March in which it was learned that the sale of Dean hotels in Ireland and other Press Up hotels had concluded but it had not resulted in enough equity to repay AHG.

Mr O'Shea said Press Up newly appointed director, Ronnie Delaney, who was now in charge of the group, organised a meeting in London with the defendant's father, Paddy McKillen Sr and a number of other people involved in Press Up.

The meeting took place at the 22 Club in Grosvenor Square on July 10 last. Mr McKillen Jr was in the US for reasons that were explained by his father, Mr O'Shea said.

Mr O'Shea said there was a robust discussion about the Birmingham property and Mr McKillen Sr said there was no onus on him to resolve the matter.

"I challenged him on this on the basis that he was one of the ultimate beneficial owners of the borrower which owned the property," Mr O'Shea said.

Mr McKillen Sr also spoke of looking to raise finance for the property and that he was personally paying for security and insurance on it, he said.

There followed further correspondence and a meeting with Mr McKillen Jr after which AHG advised the defendant it was reserving its rights under the loan agreement and evaluating enforcement options.

On September 30, AHG notified Creative Cedar that some 12.5m was now due on the loan facility, including interest. It also made a formal demand of Mr McKillen Jr to repay 1.198m under his personal guarantee for the loan.
Banks say the onus of compensating victims of fraud should not be entirely on them

There should be a requirement on social media platforms to verify ads for financial products before posting them online, as a way of combatting fraud, according to Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).

Before accepting an ad, the platforms should have to check with national authorities that the company involved is authorised to provide the financial product or service being offered, the federation says.

Companies who dont complete the verification process should not be allowed to show ads for financial services.

This advertising verification process was recently introduced by Google here in Ireland, something it also has in place in a number of other countries, a spokeswoman for the representative group said. We see this a hugely positive initiative in terms of addressing fraud, particularly investment fraud, and are strongly advocating that it should be incorporated as a requirement into the Payment Services Regulation (PSR).

The European Commission is proposing to turn elements of the Payment Services Directive into a regulation. In a position paper responding to the proposal, BPFI says the underlying reasons for fraud will not be addressed if the focus is only on banks having to reimburse victims.

By incorporating near-automatic liability requirements into the regulation, this has the potential of reducing customers awareness of fraud attempts, while introducing significant moral hazard into the financial system  especially if the types of fraud under consideration go beyond bank impersonation, BPFIs paper says.

At the same time, it could lead to an increase in friendly fraud where the customer claims to be exposed to fraud, but in reality, is in collusion with the fraudster.

This can in turn lead to an increased exploitation of young people and other vulnerable customers for the purpose of money laundering.

Making the case that online platforms need to be held more responsible, the BPFI says the experience of its members  which include AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB  is that most payment fraud originates on social media, yet is often not acted on.

If there was a clear mandate requiring online platforms to only publish ads for financial products and services regulated by a national authority, it would greatly assist in fraud prevention, BPFI argues.

Recent research commissioned by Bank of Ireland from Red C found that one third of those surveyed said they had been targeted by a fraudulent advert on a social media platform. Asked to identify the platform, 65pc said Facebook, 28pc said Instagram, with X at 13pc and TikTok at 11pc.

Almost one in two adults had seen ads for investments or crypto on a social media platform featuring a well-known personality. The impersonation of celebrities is a tactic regularly used in fraudulent ads to trick consumers into buying fake products.

The bankers federation says its members have experienced difficulty with getting ads not related to their own brand taken off social media sites. They say incentives for online platforms and telecoms companies to collaborate in tackling fraud are reduced if the full financial burden of compensating victims is carried by banks.

While it is welcome that the draft PSR puts forward the proposal that other parties within the fraud chain should cooperate closely in the prevention of fraud, without specific requirements on these sectors  especially in the absence of liability  it will be challenging to establish a well-functioning cross industry collaborative approach, their paper says.

The federation says that policymakers could explore creating a levy which electronic communication providers would be subject to, based on a polluter pays principle.
The Irish general election campaign will dominate the next seven days, with politicians producing all sorts of proposals and promises. Cynics will note that its also International Fraud Awareness Week. Noting to do with politics: this a global campaign led by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners to highlight the importance of fraud detection and prevention.

Delivering a well-functioning financial system to support a changing economy is the theme of this years financial system conference organised by the Central Bank. Its being staged today at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Some 300 delegates will be in attendance, and the event starts with a fireside chat between Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe who is taking time away from canvassing , and Vasileios Madouros, deputy governor with responsibility for monetary and financial stability at the Central Bank.

There will be keynote addresses from both Pablo Hernandez de Cos, a former governor of Banco de Espana, and the Swedish economist Cecilia Skingsley of the Bank of International Settlements.

Gabriel Makhlouf, governor of the Central Bank, will be in attendance and is also due to address the Financial Services Ireland annual dinner on Wednesday, which is being staged at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in Dublin.

The 11th annual Irish Funds UK symposium will take place on Thursday in London, with up to 1,000 professionals from the funds and asset management industry swapping insights. Once again the keynote speaker comes from the Central Bank: it will be Patricia Dunne, director of securities and markets supervision.

The Central Statistics Office will have updates on the residential property price index, tax statistics from 2023, and a labour force survey.

Eirs third-quarter financial results are due on Thursday. Its last quarterly returns showed an annual 1pc increase in revenue to 320m, fuelled by growth in mobile customers.

Finally, the High Court is due to hear a petition today from the tailor Alias Tom to be wound up.
Gerry Adams denies being a member of the IRA or of participating in IRA violence

Jean McConville (left) with three of her children before she vanished in 1972. Pic by PA.

Scenes from the Disney documentary Say Nothing

The son-in-law of IRA murder victim Jean McConville has criticised the makers of new drama Say Nothing for not consulting his family before it began streaming on Disney+ last week.

The nine-part series tells the story of Ms McConville, a Belfast widow and mother of 10 who was murdered and secretly buried during the Troubles.

Seamus McKendry, who campaigned for many years in support of his wife Helens efforts to find her mums remains and wrote a book about it back 2000, made the remarks after the couple binge-watched the entire show.

There was no communication with the programme-makers at all, he told the Sunday World.

They never once lifted the phone to ask us what is your opinion on this or that.

There was a total lack of communication with Helen and myself.

We have been working on the Disappeared for almost 40 years so you would have thought we were the most likely candidates to speak to about a programme like this.

"Thats hurtful.

The grievance prompted a video conference, organised by a family solicitor, between the couple and a representative of those making the series. The McKendrys say they were told a private screening would be organised for them before the online release.

However, Mr McKendry said that never happened.

Despite his criticism, both relatives of Ms McConville are pleased with the end product and hope it will bring the story of the Disappeared to a much wider audience, describing the cast as absolutely brilliant.

However, Mr McKendry said they believed the abduction scene in the first episode was poorly portrayed and should have shown the full horror of what happened.

It didnt and it left you to guess what had happened, he told the newspaper.

I was worried Helen would have a really bad reaction to the programme but she handled it well.

There are a lot of positives but if they (the programme makers) had just made that effort to communicate with us.

They are a multi-million pound company and you think they could have made a wee bit of an effort.

Scenes from the Disney documentary Say Nothing

The programme also depicts the troubled lives of IRA members Brendan Hughes and Marian and Dolours Price, with plotlines spanning from the time of Ms McConvilles disappearance to the disappearance of others including Kevin McKee (17), Seamus Wright (25), and Joe Lynskey (40).

They were all abducted in Belfast in 1972 and subsequently buried in secret locations.

The remains of Mr Lynskey have still not been found alongside those of two others.

But Mr McKendry believes the IRA lied about how many people they killed and secretly buried.

There are a lot more bodies out there, he said

Who are the Provos to say there are only four more bodies out there?

They denied there were any Disappeared before we embarrassed them into admitting it.

Mr McKendrys wife Helen, who is Mrs McConvilles eldest daughter and recently suffered a stroke, was determined to watch the series in one sitting.

Viewers will be familiar with a disclaimer in each episode of the show which is based on true events.

Gerry Adams has always denied being a member of the IRA or participating in any IRA-related violence, it reads.

Gerry Adams denies being a member of the IRA or of participating in IRA violence

The former Sinn Fein president issued a statement through his legal representatives last week to reiterate the denial.

They insisted their client has consistently asserted his innocence in respect of the death of Ms McConville.

Mr Adams had no involvement in the killing or burial of any of those secretly buried by the IRA, the statement read.

It stressed that Mr Adams has not seen the drama, but according to media reports it is based primarily on interviews in the discredited Boston College Tapes from several anti-peace process republicans.

Before their deaths, Hughes and Dolours Price both gave interviews in which they linked Mr Adams to an IRA unit associated with the killings.

The ex-Sinn Fein leader was arrested but later released without charge.

The new drama, which is based on a book of the same name by US journalist Patrick Radden Keefe, has been attracting rave reviews with Time magazine describing it as the must-watch political thriller of 2024.
Green transition will take seismic shift in Azerbaijan  a nation built on oil

Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyevs off-script remarks at the opening of Cop29, praising the bounty of fossil fuels bestowed on his country, left some of his advisers shifting nervously in their seats.

However, it would have been a more radical departure for him to stick to the prepared speech. President Aliyev has asserted before that oil and gas were gifts of God and he was not inclined to change his mind despite the presence of hypocritical western governments and fake news media.
Chlamydia cases soar by an alarming 26pc in the space of just 12 months

There were 13,708 chlamydia cases last year. Photo: Stock image

Christmas party attendees have been urged to take precautions over the festive season amid a worrying surge in cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) across Ireland.

There have been increases in chlamydia, gonorrhoea, herpes, syphilis and HIV.

HSE public health officials have urged people to be aware of their sexual well-being over the festive season, with Christmas traditionally proving a time of high risk given greatly increased alcohol consumption as well as an increased number of parties and social activities.

There were 13,708 chlamydia cases last year. Photo: Stock image

Christmas party revellers have been urged to take precautions if intending to engage in intimate activity over the festive season

One UK survey indicated as many as one in five young people engaged in sexual activity after their work Christmas party.

Detections of STIs traditionally surge at Irish hospitals and clinics between January and April  with doctors directly linking the spike in cases to increased sexual activity over the festive season.

In some cases, the rate of STI detection and treatment is doubled in February and March compared with what it is for the rest of the year.

Chlamydia  Irelands most common STI  has soared by an alarming 26pc in the space of just 12 months, despite public health awareness campaigns.

According to the latest Health Protection and Surveillance Centre (HPSC) data, cases of chlamydia have soared from 10,929 in 2022 to 13,708 last year.

The detection rate in 2023 was almost double the chlamydia case total for 2020.

The number of detections was also almost

double the number of cases of the next most common STI, gonorrhoea.

Overall detections of gonorrhoea infections have soared by 143pc since 2019.

Five years ago, Ireland dealt with an annual detection of 2,799 cases of gonorrhoea. However, that soared to 6,804 cases in 2023.

Syphilis, once the most feared of all STIs, had virtually vanished but has been increasing in detection rates over recent years.

Ireland had 785 cases of syphilis in 2019 but that had risen to 911 in 2023.

In 2019, Ireland recorded 527 cases of HIV. That soared to 911 in 2023, a rise of 73pc in five years.

The HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme has emphasised the importance of condom use and raised awareness of the free home STI testing service, among a variety of sexual well-being messages.

In early 2023, the campaign identified the 17- to 24-year-old audience as a primary target, with a secondary audience of 25- to 30-year-olds.

More campaign messages were targeted at the younger age group, with TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and other social media channels being prioritised to effectively reach them.

The HSE has also stressed that public STI clinics offer free testing and treatment  and warned that early diagnosis and treatment was vital if serious health side-effects are to be avoided.

The alarming increases in STI rates came after overall case numbers collapsed by between 16pc and 33pc across Ireland during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dramatic declines were recorded between 2020 and 2021.

Repeated lockdowns, social distancing, travel restrictions and the shutdown of major parts of Irish social life dramatically slashed notifications of all major STIs.

Doctors also believed an increased awareness of personal health and protection measures helped reduce transmissions.

Irish, UK and US doctors are also carefully monitoring gonorrhoea detections amid concern at a new antibiotic resistant strain and its potential public health impact.

The antibiotic-resistant strain is spreading worldwide, and doctors are worried about it becoming the dominant strain of the disease in Ireland, the UK and EU.

One strain of gonorrhoea, caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae, is exceptionally resistant to normal antibiotics and treatment regimes.

It is a reminder that gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly resistant, increasingly hard to treat, Dr Jeffrey Klausner who is a consultant with the US Centres for Disease Control, said.

We dont have any new antibiotics. We havent had new antibiotics to treat gonorrhoea for years and we really need a different treatment strategy.

If untreated, the infection can cause severe pelvic pain, infertility in women and even blindness in newborns.

Concern has been mounting over the mistaken presumption among young people that STIs, even if ignored, do not have serious side-effects.

According to a medical source, one hospital recently dealt with a case of syphilis that had reached its tertiary  or final  stage, with severe medical issues for the patient involved.
Dublin rioter (28) who burnt out garda car and attacked migrant centre got caught up in violence

Declan Donaghey is the first person to be convicted before the circuit court over the riots last November when large-scale violence broke out in the capital after a number of people including children were attacked outside a primary school

Declan Donaghey

Robin Schiller Mon 18 Nov 2024 at 17:22







A young man who burnt out a garda car and attacked a migrant centre during the Dublin riots told detectives he wanted to "support the victims" of an earlier stabbing but "got caught up" in the violence.
Wicklow County Council Cathaoirleach, Cllr Paul OBrien (second from right), meeting with the campaign group in Newtown Community Centre.

Green Party candidate Steven Matthews (fourth from left) and Independent election candidate Shay Cullen (fifth from left) meeting with the campaigners.

Several general election candidates have voiced their support for a petition calling on the Department of Education to build a new secondary school to cater for students in Newtownmountkennedy and Roundwood, which has already amassed over 1,000 signatures.

The campaign was started by a group of local parents concerned about the rapidly rising population in east Wicklow and the scramble every year to get secondary school places.

Land was zoned for community and education purposes as part of the Local Area Plan for Newtownmountkennedy back in 2002, but a lack of movement from the Department of Education means the secondary school has yet to materialise, despite thousands of new housing units being built in Greystones, Kilcoole, Newtownmountkennedy and Roundwood.

With the general election fast approaching, three more candidates have met with the group and pledged their support for a new secondary school.

Cathaoirleach of Wicklow County Council, chairperson of KWETB and Labour general election candidate Paul OBrien met the group in Newtown Community Centre to give them advice and pledge his support.

Speaking at the meeting, Cllr OBrien said: I'm looking forward to working with the campaign group established in calling for a secondary school for Newtownmountkennedy. As we all know, the surrounding schools are bursting at the seams and Newtownmountkennedy has expanded rapidly over the last few years. It desperately needs a secondary school and I'll be doing all I can to ensure this happens.

Independent candidate and previous two-term councillor for Wicklow County Council, Shay Cullen, met the group at a meeting in Roundwood Parish Hall and shared his previous experience lobbying for a secondary school in the area.

Mr Cullen said: I continue to support people in the communities of Roundwood, Newtownmountkennedy and surrounding areas with access to education and getting places in local schools.

"As a councillor with Wicklow County Council I helped to get this project off to a start by assisting with successfully zoning land for the preferred school site in the Local Area Plan for Newtownmountkennedy. I will continue to work with and facilitate the aims of this new campaign group and use my experience to drive this project to fruition. Our young people deserve the best but right now were letting them down when it comes to providing adequate secondary school places in the local area.

Also attending the meeting of the group in Roundwood, Green Party TD, spokesperson for planning, and election candidate Steven Matthews, shared his experiences from working with local planners and helping students who had missed out on secondary school places in the area.

Deputy Matthews said: Newtownmountkennedy needs its own secondary school. This will reduce the pressure on schools in Greystones and Kilcoole, and provide the opportunity for the young people in Newtownmountkennedy and Roundwood a school closer to home. Its our job to ensure the Department of Education plans and delivers this school over the coming years.

Other general election candidates who have given their support to the campaign group include Jennifer Whitmore TD, who attended and advised the first meeting of the group in October, and Simon Harris TD and John Brady TD, who have written to the group pledging their support.

You can read more about this campaign and support the petition on change.org at this link www.change.org/secondaryschoolforNewtownmountkennedy.
All eyes on Simon Harris and Micheal Martin, among other party leaders, for tonight's televised debate on 'Upfront with Katie Hannon'

The largest party leaders' debate in the history of Irish television is set to take place tonight.

The first televised leaders' debate of this general election campaign during a two-hour live debate will air on Upfront with Katie Hannon from 9.35pm on RTE One and RTE Player, with all 10 political party leaders invited.

Moderated by Ms Hannon, those taking part are: Fine Gael leader Simon Harris, Fianna Fail's Micheal Martin, Sinn Fein's Mary Lou McDonald, Labour's Ivana Bacik, People Before Profit's Richard Boyd Barrett, Independent Ireland's Michael Collins, deputy leader of the Social Democrats Cian O'Callaghan, Aontu's Peadar Toibin, Green Party's Roderic O'Gorman and Joan Collins of Right to Change.

"Where people stand along those podiums is also going to be important, so we're going to do a draw," Ms Hannon said on RTEs Morning Ireland.

"We're going to pull lots for the arrangement along the podiums and we do that live this afternoon.

"We put it on social media so that everyone can see it as it happens," she added.

There will be another debate between the leaders of the three largest parties - Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein - on RTE's Primetime on Tuesday, November 26.

It comes as Virgin Media said it will not host any leaders debate during the campaign due to challenging market conditions and the Governments failure to financially recognise and support our public service content.

Earlier in November, the broadcaster reduced its flagship current affairs programme The Tonight Show from four nights a week to two.

Instead, Virgin Media will host individual one-hour interviews with the leaders of the three largest parties each Wednesday ahead of the polling day.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are both calling on Sinn Fein to publish its manifesto, with Fine Gael leader Simon Harris urging the main opposition party to do so ahead of the televised debate tonight.
Taoiseach Simon Harris at Fine Gaels manifesto launch at the Horse and Jockey Hotel, Co Tipperary. Photo: PA

Fianna Fail has again attacked its coalition partners policies, with deputy leader Jack Chambers claiming Fine Gaels manifesto threatens new recruitment in healthcare and a public-sector pay freeze.

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin called for a ceasefire last week after several days of campaigning in which the government parties took swipes at each other on issues such as justice and drug decriminalisation.

But now two ministers  who just last month delivered Budget 2025 together  have clashed over funding.

Fine Gael launched its election manifesto yesterday. It set out a number of measures, including 1,000 for new babies, which would be put into a savings account in their name.

Finance Minister Jack Chambers. Photo: PA

Newborn babies would receive at least 1,000 lodged into a new bank account in their name under plans unveiled today as part of Fine Gaels manifesto

Just hours after the launch, Finance Minister Mr Chambers criticised the Fine Gael manifesto, which he said had been published very late and raised some very serious problems that needed to be explained.

In particular, Mr Chambers claimed the party had not set out enough money for a new public-sector pay deal and included a five-year restriction on new healthcare positions.

What would concern me is their provision for, or lack of provision for, a new public-sector pay deal, Mr Chambers said at the launch of his partys policy to support businesses.

There seems to be a complete under-provision for a public-sector pay deal in what theyve set out.

Theyve referenced existing levels of service and contingency of about 17.2bn  weve accounted for 20bn for that to include a public-sector pay deal.

He suggested the manifesto proposals could result in a pay freeze for public-sector workers.

For healthcare workers, for public servants and for those who rely on public services, Id be quite concerned that on an initial analysis on whether theyre proposing some sort of pay freeze or how theyre going to pay for a new public-sector pay deal, he said.

Mr Chambers also said Fine Gael had failed to fund extra healthcare staff above existing levels of service.

Another observation I have about their particular manifesto is the under-allocation for healthcare, he said.

Within our fiscal framework, weve set out very clear directions on ensuring recruitment within our health services. And it doesnt appear from the initial figures that Fine Gael have set out that they have any specific focus on recruitment in our health system.

Mr Chambers said the public did not want to see a five-year recruitment embargo in the healthcare sector.

Particularly with changing demographics in our economy, we need to ensure that our health system has increased recruitment, and it appears from an initial reading of their manifesto that they havent accounted for more health staff in our health system, he said.

I dont think the Irish public would like to see an embargo in our health system for five years, and they need to set out how they propose to pay for increased recruitment in our health service beyond what theyve set out today.

However, Fine Gaels Paschal Donohoe has hit back at his cabinet colleague, saying Mr Chambers was wrong to claim a public-sector pay deal was not included in the manifesto.

Ensuring that we are providing for our public servants and the great work they do is an essential element to any budget or manifesto I am involved in crafting, Mr Donohoe said. As is usually the case, that number is captured alongside other amounts to ensure that any future negotiation is not undermined.

Fine Gael has provided 15.5bn over five years in our manifesto costings to cover the cost of a future public-sector pay deal, as well as for changes in demographics and other measures.

Mr Chambers also said Fine Gael did not want to improve the pupil-teacher ratio in schools.

In education, they are not proposing any reduction in the pupil-teacher ratio. In government, we have brought this down to 23:1, which is the lowest ever, and our manifesto commits to bringing this down to 19:1, he said.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party also launched its election manifesto yesterday. Leader Ivana Bacik called Fine Gaels measure of 1,000 for all new babies a gimmick.

To me, it does smack of gimmickry. I mean, it looks like a gimmick when theres 4,500 children in homelessness, a shameful record. There are more sustainable and more targeted ways to intervene to address those chronic issues, Ms Bacik said.

Taoiseach Simon Harris rejected claims Fine Gaels manifesto involved spending measures akin to snuff at a wake. Mr Harris stressed no other party boasted Fine Gaels record of careful management of the economy as he outlined a package that included 1.8bn in spending and 1.4bn in tax measures.

He said: This is a manifesto that is setting aside billions of euro of the peoples money for the future  that does not tally with the characterisation of snuff at a wake in any manner or means.

Follow our Election 2024 live blog and find updates, analysis, and our interactive constituency profile map at our Election 2024 hub HERE
Loved ones of tragic US schoolgirl and her father left with what ifs, as former pal of Newry monster destroyed by revelations

Alexander McCartney, from Newry in Northern Ireland, was jailed for a minimum of 20 years at Belfast Crown Court last month (PSNI/PA)

Cimarron Thomas took her own life while being blackmailed by McCartney (PSNI/PA)

Cimarron's father Ben took his own life 18 months after Cimarron took hers. He died before the family knew she was a victim of Alexander McCartney

Distraught relatives of a schoolgirl killed by monster child abuser Alexander McCartney say her dad might not have taken his own life if hed known why she took hers.

Cimarron Thomas (12), from West Virginia, USA, took her own life in 2018 after depraved McCartney, from Newry, tortured and abused her online.

Her grief-stricken father Ben Thomas (39) ended his own life less than two years later having never come to terms with the death of his beloved daughter and never knowing what drove her to suicide.

McCartney, one of the worlds most prolific online sex offenders, was jailed for at least 20 years in October after admitting 185 charges, including the manslaughter of Cimarron Thomas.

In a new BBC documentary series about McCartneys crimes, Cimarrons grandparents speak candidly about their grief.

Dale and Peggy Thomas, who were Bens mum and dad, wonder if their son might have survived had he known what really happened to his daughter.

A tearful Peggy says: I cant say how Ben wouldve handled it but I think it would have given him a reason to know why.

In his mind I think that would have helped him to accept it maybe a little better, but well never know that.

Cimarron was happy and there was no indication to us in any way and it was like, did we miss something? Was there something underlying there that we didnt know about?

(Finding out) gave us an answer to what we had been wanting to know, why she had took her life.

The couple, speaking from their West Virginia home, describe how Ben Thomas succumbed to alcoholism and depression following Cimarrons death.

Peggy continues: Ben and Cimarron had a very close relationship, they did a lot together and Ben trained her in basic things, he took her and her sister out to the garage to work on vehicles.

He taught his girls young how to use weapons, took them to the range, taught them about how you take care of a weapon, where you keep it, and they both could shoot.

Ben just missed her, he just kind of withdrew and deteriorated slowly because he couldnt deal with all of it.

Cimarron Thomas took her own life while being blackmailed by McCartney (PSNI/PA)

Dale adds: He got down to just about the skin and bones, his bulk was gone, his interest was gone, the attitude was different. Then he went out and took his own life.

To me (Cimarron) was the greatest thing walking but, you know, Ill live with what I had. We were fortunate to have those years. We celebrate her life.

The documentary, entitled Teen Predator/Online Killer, features harrowing bodyworn video footage of Ben Thomas arriving home to find police officers who explain to him Cimarron has killed herself.

The three-part series also features extensive interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from the PSNI and PPS investigations as well as interviews with a handful of McCartneys estimated 3,500 child victims worldwide.

Programme makers also spoke to teenage friends of McCartney, including his best mate Lee, who reveals his disgust and hurt at his paedophile pal.

Lee tells the show: I was super close with Alexander, he was near and dear to me, and then all of a sudden a guy that was my friend I found out was a monster.

It changed me, I think, every now and then Ill think about it and just be in disbelief. How is this real life? How did this actually happen?

Its just hard to think about it all and lay it out in words, Jesus Christ, I trusted him. I let him into my house, and I was in his.

Cimarron Thomas

There are so many people he hurt, his actual victims, but he didnt just directly hurt people. He indirectly hurt all of us who trusted him.

Breaking down, Lee asks documentary makers to take a break in the first episode.

Later in the series he adds: I dont know if Ill ever know why he did the things he did or is the way he is, I dont think why matters.

I hate everything about this situation, its a nightmare to think about and Im just glad no one else is going to get hurt, I dont think Ill ever not be angry.

Alexander McCartney, from Newry in Northern Ireland, was jailed for a minimum of 20 years at Belfast Crown Court last month (PSNI/PA)

Ive nothing Id want to say to him, it wont change what he did, nobody should have got hurt.

You think you know somebody, you dont. I dont know if anybody knew actually what was going on, I would hope that nobody knew and it was just him.

Every time I think about it, it makes me feel sick.

All episodes of Teen Predator/Online Killer are available on BBC iPlayer
I had one of Irelands most expensive pints of Guinness at 9.20  so, was it worth it?
Inga Maria Hauser: New inquest granted over 1988 murder of German backpacker

Family of 18-year-old German backpacker hope to find out truth after long campaign for justice during which victims parents died without knowing who killed their daughter

Inga Maria Hauser

Allison Morris Mon 18 Nov 2024 at 07:00

The 1988 murder of German backpacker Inga Maria Hauser is to be subject to a fresh inquest, with facts about the unsolved cold case to be aired in court for the first time.
Coolattin Cheddar Ltd wins Best Irish Cheese with their Mount Leinster Clothbound. Photo: Tom Burgess

Irelands best cheese has been crowned at the recent World Cheese Awards.

Mount Leinster Clothbound from Coolattin Cheddar Ltd wowed the judges at the international event held at Pavilhao Multiusos de Viseu in Portugal last Friday, November 15.

Coolattin Cheddar Ltd, based in Knockeen in west Co Wicklow, scooped the award during an intense day of judging for their raw cows milk farmhouse cheddar, which is made with animal rennet and matured for 14 months.

Tom Burgess, founder of Coolattin Cheddar, said his cheese won for the second year in a row, defending its title from the World Cheese Awards 2023 held in Trondheim, Norway.

Last year, we had a Super Gold  the best cheddar and the best Irish cheese. It's still the best Irish cheese, he told the Irish Independent.

Obviously, I always knew my cheese was the best but it was great to see somebody else thought that too.

"It is brilliant to be in the World Cheese Awards, this is a huge competition and to get to the top category is fantastic, he added.

Tom Burgess, founder of Coolattin Cheddar. Photo: Tom Burgess

Mr Burgess has been producing milk from pasture-fed cows at his dairy farm, located between Tullow, Co Carlow, and Shillelagh, Co Wicklow.

"We have our own cows and we make our cheese directly from the morning milk from the cows into the cheese vat.

"We make it April to October when the cows are eating freshly growing grass. This is important for the cheese quality and this is why Irish cheese is the best.

It's raw milk cheddar so the milk isn't heat-treated because it comes directly from the cow into the cheese. It's quite safe and the natural ingredients and proteins are intact in the cheese, he added.

Coolattin Cheddar Ltd wins Best Irish Cheese with their Mount Leinster Clothbound. Photo: Tom Burgess

Ireland took home 14 awards in total as other notable wins include two Golds, six Silvers and six Bronzes.

The World Cheese Awards, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, is the worlds largest cheese-only event. This years competition was the biggest yet, with nearly 5,000 cheeses from 47 counties entering.

A total of 240 judges from 39 counties were split into 104 teams to assess the entries. The cheeses were evaluated on factors such as the appearance of the rind and paste, aroma, body, texture, as well as flavour and mouthfeel.

World Cheese Awards 2024

The assessment is judged blind to ensure fair competition as the judges were given a brief description of each entrant but no indication of origin or their producer.

The best cheese this year was the Queijo de Ovelha Amanteigado  a soft, raw ewes milk cheese made with cardoon thistle rennet and matured for six weeks to three months by Portuguese producer Quinta do Pomar.

All the cheeses were entered through one of twenty consolidated shipping points located around the world to ensure every competitor was delivered in the best possible condition for judging.

The events organiser worked with the Portuguese authorities to apply for special licenses, allowing the smallest artisan cheesemakers from across the globe to compete with bigger and better-known producers.

It comes as the British entries missed out on the awards this year due to getting caught up in post-Brexit customs delays.

Director at the Guild of Fine Food, John Farrand, told the UKs Independent the delays would not have been a thing before Brexit.

World Cheese Awards 2024

The winners are as follows:
This brings the number of arrests in this ongoing investigation to 57.

A Garda on the streets during the Dublin riots last year

Three men and a juvenile have been arrested in connection with the Dublin riots that took place last November in the inner city.

Gardai in Store Street carried out a number of searches this morning, Monday November 18, where they arrested four males aged in their 30s, 20s, late teens and one juvenile.

All four were arrested in connection with the ongoing investigations into the serious public disorder events of November 23, 2023, in Dublin city centre.

This brings the number of arrests in this ongoing investigation to 57.

All four are currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at garda stations in Dublin.

Investigations are ongoing.

An Garda Siochana continues to appeal to anyone with information about the events on that day, or anyone involved in organising or participating in these events, to contact the garda investigation team at Store Street Garda Station at 01 666 8000, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or any garda station.

It comes after a mother of two was granted bail last week after gardai charged her with possessing clothes and footwear allegedly taken from a Footlocker store on the date of rioting in Dublin last year.

Sandra Howell (47) of Kilcross Grove, Sandyford, Dublin 18, was arrested on Thursday and charged with having stolen clothing from Footlocker at her home address on November 28.

She was also accused of having stolen footwear and clothing at Bachelors Way on November 23 last year when large-scale rioting and looting in the city centre in response to a knife attack on young children.

Ms Howell appeared before Judge Gerard Jones at Dublin District Court on Friday and was ordered to sign on once a week at her local garda station, provide a phone number, remain contactable, and not leave the jurisdiction.

She must return to court in December.
In less than a fortnight from today, voters will head out to elect the 34th Dail. An odd feeling persists that the contest hasnt really got going yet.

There has been the occasional moment to remember, whether it was Ryanair boss Michael OLeary flunking his audition to become a stand-up comic with a third-rate joke about teachers, or the entry of convicted criminal Gerry Hutch into the race in Dublin Central  a true case of a poacher passing himself off as a gamekeeper.

Both were akin to warm-up acts before a circus show that is yet to start. Where are the clowns? Send in the clowns. Dont bother, theyre here.

The lack of a spark in this election could be down to a sneaking suspicion shared by all, whatever side of the political divide they habitually occupy, that after November 29 the pieces will fall roughly where they were before.

The greatest heat in the campaign has so far been generated by the Taoiseachs own party. It has come in a series of snide attacks on coalition partners Fianna Fail for their role in the financial crash, with the inference being that Fine Gael was left to pick up the pieces. It is like 2011 all over again, except that back then they meant it; the anger was real.

Now they are bedfellows, who little more than a month ago were congratulating each other for passing a multi-billion-euro giveaway budget.

Suddenly, Fine Gael are pretending they wouldnt trust Fianna Fail with the weekly shop without giving them an itemised list first, all the while making an avalanche of lavish promises in an effort to win the so-called grey vote.

For whose benefit is this game of handbags being played? No one is fooled. It simply encourages a damaging cynicism about politics.

Opposition now comes from Sinn Fein, still instinctively mistrusted by most voters, and a gaggle of left-wing deputies and Independents

In a few weeks, they will have kissed and made up, partly because that is the only arrangement that works mathematically, but also because the two parties increasingly feel like a natural fit.

Arguably, in an age of global voter volatility, we should be thankful for such small mercies. Did someone mention US president-elect Donald Trump? Dont say his name three times or, like in Beetlejuice, his equivalent may appear here too.

Our stability is not to be sniffed at. Like voters everywhere, we are disgruntled, but not enough to throw our toys out of the pram.

What is lost is a sense we once had, that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael being distinct from each other gave the country a choice. It may have been illusory, but it was reassuring to think there was always a workable alternative government on offer.

Opposition now comes from Sinn Fein  a party still instinctively mistrusted by most voters  and a gaggle of left-wing deputies and Independents who, while articulating valid concerns, could not agree what time it is, even if they were all staring at the same clock.

Not liking the present Government is never enough. Agreeing a programme for government is the real business of elected representatives.

Unless there is some major curve ball in the coming day, it is hard to see anyone else being able to do that other than Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, along with whoever else they lure in to make up the numbers.

Weary observers will keep their fingers crossed for some surprises at least, but voters appear resigned to continuity. Its their wishes that matter.
Louise McSharry aptly details the trends in US and Irish politics (Our elections are less divisive than US, yet globally its not just politics any more Irish Independent, November 16). As polarisation intensifies globally, politics will increasingly move beyond policy debates to become battles over fundamental moral values.

The emotional and social fractures seen in the US highlight how political choices are now deeply tied to personal rights and identities. Nations like Ireland, which currently enjoy relatively less divisive politics, are not immune to these trends.

The rise of far-right ideologies and movements that seek to limit human rights could lead to similar divisions, with families and communities at risk of fragmentation. If such ideologies are allowed to gain strength unchecked, Ireland could face its own version of the moral and emotional turmoil seen elsewhere.

To prevent this, it will be essential for our leaders and politicians to foster open dialogue, protect rights and promote unity in the face of growing extremism.

Enda Cullen, Armagh

Last few years have been anything but stable, no matter what is claimed

A leader of one of the outgoing government parties, Roderic OGorman, told Claire Byrne last week that weve had stability for the last almost five years.

What may have looked like stability from inside Leinster House, (although talk of behind-the-scenes infighting abounds) looked like something else in the real world.

If protests, riots and burgeoning criminality are a sign of stability, I dread to think what the official view of its opposite looks like.

Peter Declan OHalloran, Co Cavan

Dont repeat childrens hospital fiasco with new prison at Thornton Hall

It is hard to fathom that a person with just 40 worth of cocaine in their pocket faces the full rigours of the law, and the costs associated with it (Kerry man convicted of possession of drugs at Listowel Races, Irish Independent, November 15), while at the same time the party supposedly of law and order wants us to elect it for another five years to tackle major crime, with the building of a new prison at Thornton Hall (Fine Gael and Fianna Fail differences on justice issues dont amount to much, Irish Independent, November 16).

The mind boggles to be honest. Who in their right mind would give a vote to the party responsible for the most expensive childrens hospital ever built in the whole of the developed world just to do the same again with a prison?

Tom McElligott, Listowel, Co Kerry

We should be doing much more to encourage Irish teachers to return home

It has been reported that more than 4,600 teachers are estimated to be working abroad while Ireland struggles with a staffing crisis in our schools. One wonders, would financial incentives bring these teachers back to Ireland?

It might be worth considering that teachers who work abroad should get incremental credit for their years of teaching. As it stands, a teacher in Ireland will only get incremental credit for every year they have worked here.

Lets not forget that theres very few promotional posts in Irish schools. Teachers are therefore dependent on incremental credit for their increases in pay. If a teacher is working in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England or an EU country, they will get incremental credit for every year they have worked in those countries.

A teacher who comes home to Ireland after having worked 10 years in Dubai will have to start on the first point of the pay scale.

It is my assertion that we should be paying them incremental credit.

We should also be paying them incremental credit for the experience they have gained abroad. I believe that the more experience teachers bring into the Irish education system, the better our system is going to be.

At the end of the day, this is about incentivising teachers to come home to work in our beleaguered schools.

John OBrien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary

Green Party is not giving voters the full facts about its approach on gender

I suspect I am not the only voter who felt deliberately misled by Minister Roderic OGorman during the lead-up to the care and family referendums, and hence I take his recent claims regarding the Green Partys position on transgender issues, as reported by Philip Ryan on November 15, with a pinch of salt.

The Green Party 2024 manifesto says that trans healthcare will be guided by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). The manifesto does not mention the 2024 Cass Report from NHS England.

OGorman said politicians like himself who do not have medical backgrounds should listen to the advice of experts, yet the minister is clearly not practising what he preaches. Irish medical experts working in gender-identity services in Ireland are looking to the Cass Report, not to WPATH, and some of these experts have even said publicly that they feel WPATH guidelines are unsafe and unsuitable for use in a public healthcare gender clinic.

This all suggests to me that the minister is being disingenuous with voters once again.

Louise Whelan, Co Wicklow

Key questions for parties to answer about where they stand on Middle East

There are several issues that voters will be exercised about over the next few weeks. But what can be more serious or more urgent than genocide?

Ireland deserves credit for recognising the state of Palestine and for speaking out on this issue, but the Government can do more. When canvassers call, ask if their party will:

1. Divest the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund from Israeli banks.

2. Enact the Occupied Territories Bill  and commit to do so within 100 days of taking office.

3. Press the EU to sanction Israel and suspend the trade agreement with Israel. 

It is said that all it takes for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing. So dont do nothing.

Donough McGuinness, Bray, Co Wicklow

Thanks to DUnbelievable Jon Kenny for all the times you put a smile on my face

May I thank the late, wonderful Jon Kenny, for brightening many a dull day with one of dem jokes here, and wan of dem jokes there.

Tom Gilsenan, Beaumont, Dublin 9
An election candidate and anti-immigration activist has been found guilty of a single charge of threatening and abusive behaviour in the District Court.

Derek Blighe, 44, of Croughevoe, Mitchelstown, Co Cork, appeared before Judge Colm Roberts at Fermoy District Court where he faced one charge under Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994. Mr Blighe is president of the right-wing Ireland First party and is a candidate in the upcoming General Election in the Cork North Central constituency.

Court presenter Inspector Jason Wallace told the court it was alleged that Mr Blighe had engaged in threatening and abusive behaviour during an incident at Abbeyville House, Fermoy, Co. Cork on December 22, 2023.

Giving evidence, witness Christopher Gomez said that he was the duty manager at Abbeyville House on that day. He said that the building was being prepared as accommodation for asylum seekers and a protest had been taking place for several months outside the building by people who were opposed to its use as refugee accommodation.

Mr Gomez told the court that he was alone in the building and had ordered an oil delivery from a local company. He said that when the oil delivery truck arrived at about 11am Derek Blighe approached the driver and spoke to him. Mr Gomez said Mr Blighe then told him the drivers not going to give you oil and the truck left. Mr Gomez contacted the oil company and a second truck was dispatched which arrived at about midday.

Derek Blighe

Today's News in 90 Seconds - November 18th

When the second truck arrived Mr Gomez opened the gates and the driver began making a delivery. Mr Blighe then began recording Mr Gomez with his mobile phone and the court was shown footage that he had uploaded to Facebook.

In the video Mr Blighe can be heard saying to Mr Gomez: You are a guest in this country. Shame on you. You should be ashamed. You will go down in the history books, you will go down in the sewers of Irish history. Go back to where you came from.

Mr Gomez said that Mr Blighe live-streamed the incident which he said really traumatised me. He said that later that afternoon he downloaded the footage from Mr Blighes Facebook page and provided it to gardai when he made a complaint. He told the court that he had been an Irish citizen for 20 years and had never experienced anything like this before.

Garda Dane Murphy said that when he visited the protest at Abbeyville House later that day the atmosphere was borderline volatile, he told the court that Mr Blighe made a statement regarding the incident on January 9, 2024 but replied no comment to every question he was asked.

Giving evidence Mr Blighe told the court that he had spoken to Mr Gomez in the context of concerns about 56 single men being moved into Abbeyville House. He said he did not realise that Mr Gomez had been an Irish citizen for 20 years when he made the comments and he refuted any suggestion he was a racist.

He added that he had taken down the Facebook post when he was made aware that nasty things were being said in the comments. He said the protest was against illegal immigration as we saw it.

Defence solicitor Matthew Bermingham said that the evidence did not amount to a breach of the peace. He added that Mrs Blighe had removed the Facebook post when he was made aware of negative comments.

Judge Roberts said he found the black and white attitude towards immigration hard to understand especially from an Irish perspective where generations had emigrated and the vast majority of them illegally. He said that Mr Blighes reasoning was like the film Minority Report where people were found guilty before they had done anything.

He said that Mr Blighe had admitted that the Facebook post had encouraged negative comments and was therefore accepting what you put up was if not causing a breach of the peace potentially leading to it. The judge said that he found the facts in the case proven. The court heard that Mr Blighe had eight previous convictions including one for public order.

Judge Roberts ordered Mr Blighe to make a donation of 350 to the Irish Refugee Council and allowed him one month to make the payment. The case was adjourned until December 13 by which time if the payment is made Mr Blighe will receive the benefit of the Probation Act. Default will result in a 400 fine and conviction.
Yiwu-Madrid freight train service marks 10th anniversary, strengthening trade connectivity between China, Europe

16:38, November 18, 2024 By Zhang Yiyi ( Global Times

On November 18, a China-Europe freight train carrying 110 containers of daily goods, auto parts, and machinery departed from Yiwu West Railway Station in East China's Zhejiang Province, bound for Madrid, Spain. Covering over 13,000 kilometers, the world's longest China-Europe freight route celebrates a decade of fostering trade and economic ties between the two regions. (Zhang Yiyi/GT)

On Monday morning, a China-Europe freight train loaded with 110 containers of daily necessities, auto parts, and machinery equipment departed from Yiwu city, East China's Zhejiang Province, for Madrid, Spain. This marked the 10th anniversary of Yiwu's China-Europe freight train service.

"The Yiwu-Madrid China-Europe freight train, spanning over 13,000 kilometers, is the world's longest international rail cargo route. It has become a vital trade link between China and Spain, and has significantly boosted economic development in both regions," Feng Xubin, the CEO of Yiwu Timex Industrial Investment Co told the Global Times on Monday.

According to Feng, Zhejiang's imports from Spain have expanded by 170.9 percent, while exports have grown by 87.6 percent over the past decade. "Popular Spanish products like wine, olive oil, and Iberian ham have become increasingly popular in the Chinese mainland market," he said.

Over the past decade, over 6,700 China-Europe freight train runs from Yiwu have delivered 670,000 containers of goods. Of them, the Yiwu-Madrid route completed 1,800 round trips, transporting 145,500 containers of commodities, worth more than $8 billion in value, according to China Railway Shanghai Group Co.

The unique advantages of China-Europe freight trains are crucial to enhancing trade cooperation between China and Europe.

"Compared to sea freight, the China-Europe freight train provides more reliable transportation and short transit time, with minimal impact from bad weather or other disruptions," Kong Zhijian, a representative from Yiwu International Trade Market whose company has been importing goods from Spain for years, told the Global Times on Monday.

Kong noted that the Yiwu-Madrid rail service reduces transportation time by over 25 days compared to sea freight and offers consistent delivery schedules and reduces damage rates for imported food products. "Shorter transport time means faster capital turnover and fresher food for consumers," he said.

The volume of exports has grown, and the export structure has also improved. "Yiwu's exports have shifted from low-cost items and everyday goods to high-value, high-tech products such as auto parts, smart appliances, solar panels, and electric vehicles," a representative of China Railway Shanghai Group Co told the Global Times on Monday.

"While the European goods like cosmetics, personal care products, wine, food, and kitchenware transported back via China-Europe freight trains have become popular imported items for Chinese consumers," the representative said.

As the China-Europe freight train network expands, it has further enhanced connectivity between China's hinterland cities and global markets. To date, Yiwu's China-Europe freight train service reaches over 50 countries and regions across Eurasia, connecting more than 160 cities, spanning Europe, Russia and Central Asia, according to the representative.

According to local railway authorities and Yiwu Timex Industrial Investment Co, the annual Yiwu-China Europe freight train runs increased from 23 in 2014 to over 1,100 in 2024. The annual freight value has grown from $92 million to $2.62 billion, while transported goods have expanded from 10,000 categories to nearly 50,000 now.

Yiwu's imports totaled 58.79 billion yuan ($8.05 billion) in the first three quarters of 2024, marking a year-on-year increase of 20.3 percent, according to General Administration of Customs of China.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
Richard Satchwell, centre, leaving the District Court in Cashel, Co Tipperary, after being charged in connection with the murder of his wife Tina Satchwell in October of last year. Photo Brian Lawless/PA Wire

A judge will rule next month on whether Richard Satchwell, who is accused of murdering his wife Tina, can have his upcoming trial transferred out of Cork.

The 57-year-old is due to go on trial in April next year and last June, Mr Justice Paul McDermott set Cork as the venue.

However, Brendan Grehan SC, for Mr Satchwell, made an application on Friday for the trial to be moved from Cork to either Dublin or Limerick.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, represented by Gerardine Small SC, opposed the request.

Mr Justice McDermott at the Central Criminal Court said he would make his ruling on the application on December 16.

Mr Satchwell, with an address at Grattan Street, Youghal, Co Cork is charged with murdering his wife Tina Satchwell (45) at that address on March 20, 2017.

Mrs Satchwell, a native of St Bernards Place in Fermoy, was reported missing on March 24, 2017 by her husband.

The British truck driver is originally from Leicester in the UK but has been a resident in Cork for over 20 years.

Gardai found Mrs Satchwells skeletal remains in October 2023, more than six years after she was reported missing, while excavating a concrete floor and walled-up area underneath the stairwell of the home she and her husband shared on Grattan Street in Youghal.

Richard Satchwell, centre, leaving the District Court in Cashel, Co Tipperary, after being charged in connection with the murder of his wife Tina Satchwell in October of last year. Photo Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Today's News in 90 Seconds - November 18th
The Labour Party are running two candidates in Cork North Central, Cllr Eoghan Kenny and Cork City Councillor John Maher.

The party has a proud tradition in the constituency with Gerry O'Sullivan and Kathleen Lynch both holding Dail berths over the past 30 years.

In October 2023, Deputy Sherlock announced that he will not contest this years general election.

He made the decision after the Electoral Commissions review of boundaries shifted his main support base of Mallow into Cork North Central

The changes meant that the large town of Mallow - formerly one of the hubs of Cork East - has been added to Cork North Central, along with a substantial part of its rural hinterland.

The experienced Cork politician admits he is still puzzled by the decision to move Mallow from the Cork East constituency to Cork North Central.

Deputy Sherlock however said he fully accepts the decision and stated he has no regrets over his decision not to seek re-election. I am not sentimental so therefore once the decision is made you live with the decision notwithstanding the absolute craziness of the decision and the lack of logic behind it. Politics is like that and things happen. I accept the decision. It is part and parcel of politics. You just move on.

Deputy Sherlock who was first elected to Dail Eireann in 2007 confessed it is strange seeking votes for other candidates in this general election. I am busy. I am trying to do my best to make sure that the Labour Party wins back the seat that it lost in Cork North Central in 2016. I am doing everything I can to help that effort. It is a bit strange asking for votes for other people and not asking for myself. It is all part and parcel of it.

Cllr John Maher and Cllr Eoghan Kenny are both very decent people, said Deputy Sherlock. They have lots of integrity and they are committed to public service. I think there is a fight there for a seat for the Labour Party and whichever one of them emerges will be a fine TD. There is no doubt about that in my mind.

The only Mallow based candidate running in the Cork North Central constituency is 24-year-old Cllr Eoghan Kenny.

Deputy Sherlock said Mallow has always had a strong tradition of local TDs. The only candidate that has emerged from Mallow is Cllr Eoghan Kenny. The town of Mallow going back to Gerry Cronin, Paul Bradford, Joe Sherlock and I to name but a few it has always had a TD. I think the people of Mallow feel strongly that they want to retain their TD. We are seeing a trend in politics where some politicians are all about protest and some politicians are all about populism, running with the hare and hunting with the hound.

Both Eoghan and John are not populist by nature. They are both motivated by wanting to serve the public and deliver for the constituents for Cork North Central. These two candidates just want to work for the people and their communities. That is their sole motivation. They both have those characteristics in spades. That is the mark of any perspective TD, he added.

The Labour Party are led by Ivana Bacik and they currently hold six seats.

Deputy Sherlock is upbeat about the future of the party and he is optimistic they will increase their representation in Leinster House. I am upbeat about it because if you consider the candidacy of Eoghan Kenny in particular. He is 24-years-of age. He is absolutely unencumbered by any baggage of government. There is a whole new generation of voters out there that Labour is going after. Generally speaking I am picking up a greater degree of positivity towards Labour candidates and that is right across the country.

There is a growing consensus that the Labour Party are being lined up to form part of a coalition government with Fine Gael and Fianna Fail after the general election.

Deputy Sherlock admits the number of seats won by the Labour Party in the upcoming general election will determine how this scenario plays out. The next big decision that the people of Ireland have to make is who do they want in government. That is a clear choice between a stable government or do they want a period of instability? Labour has always come up to the mark when it comes to at least providing stable government. Whether or not Labour would be part of government formation is dependent very much on the numbers.

If there arent enough Labour TD the matter doesnt arise, but I do think it is vitally important that the Cork North Central constituency would have a Labour voice. Whether that voice is in government or opposition because we have too many hurlers on the ditch in Cork North Central and we need active TDs, he added.

Deputy Sherlock said the general public have expressed a a mix of emotions ahead of the general election. It is a mix of reactions on the doorsteps. It is a mix between people who havent made up their minds, to people who are broadly happy with the government. In Cork North Central people are saying that services have yet to really flow particularly in the area of infrastructure. They are not seeing the Northern Ring road.

Mr Sherlock who served as Minister of State in three Departments from 2011-2016 continued: We are meeting lots of families who cant get access to services in the disability area. There is a broad sense that things could be better. I am picking up on the doorsteps that people feel that things could be better in terms of the delivery of public services.
A new play at the Axis Ballymun deals with the night of the Dublin riots on November 23, 2023. Pic: Canal Enthusiast, Dublin riots bus burning via Creative Commons

A new play exploring the raw emotions and experiences of the Dublin riots is being shown on the anniversary of the events this weekend.

The Dublin Riots  What Happened?, is a series of theatrical performances presented in Axis Ballymun, on Saturday, November 23.

It takes a look at the events from one year ago through ten different perspectives.

On that day in 2023, protesters had gathered following a knife attack on children outside a school near Parnell Square.

The protests would later descend into violence, with a Luas and a number of Dublin buses set on fire, attacks on gardai and widespread looting.

In the aftermath of the violence, the iNua playwrights discussed the importance of creating and performing stories that reflect turbulent times in society.

The series of performances deals with the events of that day through theatre, prose and poetry, rooted in personal, autobiographical experiences.

The plays promises to be a dynamic and thought-provoking evening that resonates with audiences on multiple levels.

Lesley Conroy, an IFTA-nominated actor and emerging writer, is among those whose work will be performed on the night.

The collegiate atmosphere among the creatives involved, and the energy behind the collaborative process over the past few months, supported by The Lab and Axis, reminds me of my drama school days and has rekindled a fire in me for theatre, she said.

Ive loved directing Mary and Billy and The Dance of Life which is a new venture for me and has allowed me to expand my practice beyond acting and writing.

iNua are a force to be reckoned with and I feel were at the start of a very exciting journey.

iNua is a collective of playwrights who are also actors, directors and producers.

Others taking part include Lisa Walsh, an award-winning playwright from Ballymun; Paddy C Courtney, an award winning actor, screenwriter and voiceover artist from Dublin; Adam Mohamed, an Irish-Sudanese poet, musician and artist from Ballymun; and Betty Duffy, an actress and director with more than 20 years of experience.

The Dublin Riots  What Happened?, will be shown at the Axis Ballymun on November 23 at 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Tickets priced 10 and early booking is recommended
An American man charged with the murder of his father at the five-star Ballyfin Demesne hotel in Co Laois last week, was remanded in custody for a further two weeks at Portlaoise District Court today.

Henry McGowan, 30, with an address in Brooklyn, New York, appeared via videolink on Monday before Judge Susan Fay from Cloverhill Prison, where he is being held in custody in relation to the murder of John McGowan (60), also a US national.

Solicitor Barry Fitzpatrick requested that the case be put back to December 2, for preparation of the Book of Evidence. Judge Fay directed that Mr McGowan be remanded in custody until December 2 and that the Book of Evidence be produced on that day at Portlaoise District Court.

Wearing a grey sweater, Mr McGowan said thank you before the videolink was ended. The alleged incident happened at around 8pm on Tuesday, November 12, at the exclusive Ballyfin Demesne hotel, located about 10 kms from Portlaoise.

The victim was found dead in the leisure area of the five-star hotel and was the victim of a sustained assault, gardai believe.

Henry McGowan. (Photo Credit: ABC News)

Today's News in 90 Seconds - November 18th
Go Yellow fundraiser wins big at National Garda Youth Awards

Chief Superintendent Raymond McMahon with Shauna Nolan, Maria McGlynn, Aoibheann Brennan Grennan and Ava Finneran at the National Garda Youth Awards in the Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise.

Ava Finneran, Aoibheann Brennan Grennan, Maria McGlynn and Shauna Nolan proudly show off their All-Ireland award winning exploits at the National Garda Youth Awards in Portlaoise on Saturday.

Mean Scoil Mhuire students Ava Finneran, Maria McGlynn, Aoibheann Brennan Grennan and Shauna Nolan took home a 'Group Award' at the annual Garda Youth Awards in Portlaoise at the weekend.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris joins the parents of Aoibheann Brennan Grennan, Maria McGlynn, Ava Finneran and Shauna Nolan with their trophy at the National Garda Youth Awards in the Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise on Saturday.

Four Longford students have been hailed for their part in raising tens of thousands of euro to recognise the part played by healthcare professionals in miraculously saving the lives of twin babies who were born at 24 weeks.

Teenage quartet Maria McGlynn, Ava Finneran, Aoibheann Brennan Grennan and Shauna Nolan were among a select band of students who were honoured at the National Garda Youth Awards at the Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise on Saturday.

The girls, all of whom are students at Mean Scoil Mhuire, Longford, were among five winning recipients of the annual events Group Award category.

That accolade came as a direct consequence of a novel Go Yellow fundraising offensive which was set up earlier this year to commend the unstinting efforts of medics who helped treat and nurture the recovery of twin brothers Edward and Patrick McGlynn (13).

Chief Superintendent Raymond McMahon with Shauna Nolan, Maria McGlynn, Aoibheann Brennan Grennan, Ava Finneran and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.

The resolute siblings underwent a number of life-threatening surgeries during the course of a painstaking and emotionally taxing period, a spell which thankfully is now behind the pair.

Those challenges allied to the pairs remarkable recovery led their immensely proud older sister, Maria to kickstart a major fundraising drive to give something back to the healthcare staff of Temple Street, Crumlin Childrens Hospital and The National Maternity Hospital (NMH) on Dublin's Holles Street.

The concept behind the girls initiative had initially been devised with a view to seeing students from across the county don yellow attire for their May 1 fundraiser.

Mean Scoil Mhuire students Ava Finneran, Maria McGlynn, Aoibheann Brennan Grennan and Shauna Nolan took home a 'Group Award' at the annual Garda Youth Awards in Portlaoise at the weekend.

A comprehensive social media campaign and series of inventive ancillary measures saw up to 30 schools across Sligo, Donegal, Westmeath, Roscommon and Longford throw their weight behind the cause.

That support likewise attracted the support of businesses in drive which also coincided with the girls taking their campaign to the corridors of Leinster House.

It was an effort which also ensured the projects overall total of 33,000 eclipsed its provisional 10,000 target by more than twice that sum.

Earlier this month, the Go Yellow campaign secured regional success at the Longford-Roscommon Garda Youth Awards, a feat which reached even more dizzying heights in Portlaoise on Saturday afternoon.

Ava Finneran, Aoibheann Brennan Grennan, Maria McGlynn and Shauna Nolan proudly show off their All-Ireland award winning exploits at the National Garda Youth Awards in Portlaoise on Saturday.

We didnt even know there was a national awards, so it is a bit of a shock, confided Maria, when speaking to the Irish Independent in the aftermath of the awards ceremony.

The whole thing has just been unreal. We set an initial target and we didnt think we would hit it, but by May 1 when we had, it was a huge shock.

That sense of surprise only intensified over the next number of weeks as donations continued to pour in from almost every corner of the country.

Now with their fundraising endeavours all but over, the girls have not ruled out the prospect of renewing the Go Yellow mantra in the future as they prepare for their Leaving Certificate.

It is definitely something we will run again in the future, probably not this year or next year as the four of us are studying for our Leaving Cert and we all have big enough aspirations so we just want to focus on that for now, added Maria.

But we definitely want to come back to it in maybe two years time and see what we can do. We have considered passing it on to other groups of people and some of the girls below us, but with the amount of work we were putting in, we just felt we really couldnt offload it on anyone else.

We all did it from the place of wanting to give something back (to healthcare professionals) because we had got so much from the hospitals and unless you have that connection, its a lot of work.

That said, Maria confided how she and the group will forever be indebted to the unsung efforts of those who not just saved, but secured the long term survival of her two treasured sibling brothers.

We are so lucky to still be in contact with so many of the boys former physicians, but they all got behind it, they all backed it and all supported us and encouraged us the whole way through, added Maria.

And when we were up presenting our cheques, they came down and got photos with us and with the boys. They were so proud of us, but we couldnt have done it without them and the whole experience from start to finish has just been really special.
The Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran has outlined a number of issues of concern in the run up to the General Election including housing, childcare, immigration and policing.

In a statement, Bishop Doran, who is also Apostolic Administrator of the diocese of Achonry said the exercise of public office was a service to the common good and we are fortunate in Ireland to have so many people who are willing, in spite of the pressures of public life, to put themselves forward as candidates. Democracy is far from perfect, but we do at least have the opportunity to elect a new government every five years.

He went on to say that it was not an easy time for politicians.

"Their job-security is at risk. Their motives are questioned as well as their policies. It is part and parcel of democracy that political policies are examined, questioned and sometimes rejected, but candidates for public office should be treated with respect and not subjected to verbal abuse.

He said good government has to be about the good of the human person.

"That includes the good of every citizen, of all those who live and work among us and of the wider world community of which we are a part. Policies and manifestoes must be judged primarily on the impact that they have on people. It is with that in mind that I want to offer some thoughts now on some of the questions that I believe must be of particular importance to Catholics as voters.

Bishop Doran then went on to outline a number of areas.

The Right to Life

"The right to life is a fundamental human right and when life is taken away, all other rights are taken along with it. In 2018, the Oireachtas legalised abortion, with the assurance that it would be rare and safe. Over a five-year period, more than thirty thousand babies have been aborted, the vast majority of them under twelve weeks and with no suggestion of any medical reason. Who even asks the mothers what is going on for them, emotionally, physically or economically?

"The Dail recently voted to receive the report of the Oireachtas committee on assisted dying. This vote had no immediate effect, but it does give us some idea of the number of politicians in the last Dail who would be prepared to consider legalising Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide. The majority of TDs representing the constituencies in our two Dioceses voted against receiving the report but, if this had been about passing legislation, there were enough yes votes nationally to legalise assisted suicide and euthanasia, with all the same promises about it being safe and rare.

"The availability of Assisted Suicide would further weaken respect for life in our society and put pressure on elderly and the sick people who are already vulnerable. It would also seriously undermine doctors and nurses whose professional commitment is to support life. Election candidates should be questioned on their past voting history on this matter and on their intentions for the future.

Housing

"Housing is another fundamental human right and there has been a serious housing crisis in Ireland for many years. It was not caused by Refugees or Asylum Seekers and any attempt to blame them for the situation is unfair. In a market which is dominated by the private sector, subsidies and grants only serve to increase prices, because the same number of people are looking to buy the same number of houses.

"Government can no longer leave the provision of housing to developers who are in the market for profit. Public policy needs to focus on the building of far more houses which will be owned and managed by local authorities at rents which are realistic. It needs to be made clear to candidates that the time for promises is over. Families need homes, not hotels and office blocks.

Childcare

"There seems to be no shortage of policies about the funding of childcare, which like so many things, is becoming more highly regulated and more expensive. Our economy is designed in such a way that preference is for both parents to work outside the home and for the care of children to be left to third party providers.

"All the focus is on providing subsidies for parents whose children attend child-care facilities. Why would we not also consider subsidising parents of young children, at least those under school-going age, who would prefer to stay at home and look after their own children? Surely that would be a positive way for government to recognise the essential contribution that parents make in caring for their own children (cf. Art. 42 of the Irish Constitution). In the final analysis, the primary consideration should be given to what is good for children rather than to what might be good for the economy.

Rural Development and Policing

"On my visits to parishes in our two Dioceses, I have become conscious of a growing concern, both among parishioners and among the clergy, at the apparent reduction in the presence of Gardai on the ground. When it comes to petty crime and anti-social behaviour in our towns and villages, the visibility of An Garda Siochana is an important preventive measure. When phone calls are made, the response often seems to be that there is no car available.

"I imagine this must be a source of frustration and concern for the Gardai themselves. Most of them live in our communities and, if they are not properly resourced, they themselves are also being placed at risk. In a healthy economy such as ours, one must question how public spending is prioritised.

Migrants and Refugee

"Diversity has been a feature of our society in recent years and the presence of men, women and children from other cultures has brought a new richness to our culture. Many of those who come to live among us bring gifts that we need and provide essential services in many sectors, including the Church. Others come in search of refuge, just as thousands of Irish people have done in the past in the UK, the United States and Australia. Our aim, as a society, should be to help these people to integrate in our society and, in due course, to make their own contribution.

"Placing large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers, many of whom are traumatised by their experience of war, into remote places where there is no prospect of either work or integration, is of no real benefit to them. It clearly causes concern in communities where limited services are put under pressure.

"There is no justification for violence or racism against refugees and asylum seekers. Candidates for election need to be reminded of the many promises that have been made about the re-development of publicly owned buildings to provide accommodation which is fit for human habitation, in places where there is public transport and the possibility for people to access work and education.

Prayer "My prayer for all of the candidates is for a safe and respectful election campaign, resulting in a good and stable government, that serves the common good. There will be winners and losers in the polls, but anyone who seeks to serve deserves our appreciation.
Management and staff pictured at the 30th anniversary celebrations at Equifax on Wednesday. Pic: Jim Campbell

Pictured at the 30th anniversary celebrations at Equifax on Wednesday were Alex Cullen, Barry Brogan, Susan Bainbridge, Elizabeth Chapman, Michael Kerrigan, Melissa O'Connor (IDA), Martin Flynn (IDA), Eoin O'Farrell. Pic: Jim Campbell

There was pause for reflection (and cake!) at Equifax in Drinagh last week. Nearly 100 staff members gathered at the credit reference agencys Wexford office to mark a milestone of three decades.

Back in 1994, Equifax came to Wexford. With a small and dedicated team, the company focused on the manual capture of commercial company data from Companies House.

Since then, it was grown into a significant local employer with nearly 100 staff and VP of Customer Service Operations and Business Transformation for the UK and Ireland Elizabeth Chapman was delighted to be joined by senior figures from IDA Ireland to celebrate the company's progress over 30 years.

It was stressed that at the heart of the Wexford site's success is its people. A number of staff members celebrated long-standing milestones with William Murphy, Mary OGorman and Gary McGuire all marking 30 years of service, having been there from the beginning.

Management and staff pictured at the 30th anniversary celebrations at Equifax on Wednesday. Pic: Jim Campbell

The Wexford team is also noted for its community efforts, participating in the likes of Relay for Life and other charitable initiatives, raising 7,653 in 2024 alone.

Reflecting on the milestone, Susan Bainbridge, Operations Director at Equifax, said: Were immensely proud of what our Wexford team has accomplished over the past 30 years.

"Their focus on client service, data quality, and community has set the standard for excellence at Equifax, and were delighted to celebrate the vital role of the team and its impact.
The Rocks in Wexford town has been named the best urban neighbourhood in the country at the prestigious Pride of Place community awards. Held in the Hillgrove Hotel in Co Monaghan, the awards were hosted by RTEs Brendan McArdle and saw communities across Ireland recognised for their achievements.

Consisting of Maudlintown and the surrounding areas, The Rocks was commended for its strong partnerships and inclusivity with judges also impressed by its close working relationship with Wexford County Council (WCC).

There was further success for Wexford as the Fethard-on-Sea Community Development Association took runner-up in the population 1,000-2,000 category, with judges describing it as a vibrant coastal community with commitment to the place where they live.

Councillor Garry Laffan was in attendance at the event and said he was delighted to be at the awards ceremony and celebrate the winning community groups achievements. It is a real mark of success for any community group to be recognised at national level and I want to wholeheartedly congratulate both groups on their many years of positive community activity.

WCC Director of Services Carolyne Godkin has worked with both communities over the years and said it is wonderful to see the positive impact on their areas recognised through the Pride of Place awards. Each year this competition pitches the best communities on the whole island of Ireland against each other, with a judging panel visiting each of the shortlisted communities to see first-hand if they are truly delivering what they say they are.

"Both Fethard-on-Sea and the Rocks area made a very positive impression on the judges resulting in these awards and I have no doubt they will continue to deliver good things for their areas, supported not only by Wexford County Council but also by local business, the wider community and other government agencies.
It was around 2005 that Simon Payne started hearing it. A strange, low, rumbling sound that travels through walls and floors and seems to come from everywhere. At first, he was convinced the noise was from some kind of machinery, but he couldnt find the source. It didnt go away; he couldnt run from it. Even when he travelled 12,000 miles from his Cambridgeshire home to New Zealand, he could still hear it. It wreaked such havoc on his life, he had to quit his job. He became increasingly isolated and stopped seeing friends. But when he started to look around on the internet for more information, he discovered he was not alone. I found out that it was all over the place, he says. Theres no hiding from it.
The US will allow Ukraine to use American-supplied longer-range weapons to conduct strikes inside Russian territory, a long-sought request by Kyiv.

It was not clear if there would be limits on Ukraine's use of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) as there have been on other US missile systems.
LATEST | Kremlin accuses Biden administration of escalating Ukraine war by allowing it to strike deep inside Russia with US missiles

Kremlin says US decision would stoke conflictKremlin says Putin made his opposition clearLawmaker warns of risks of world war

A view shows a destroyed car in front of a residential building, which was damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine November 18, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer

Guy Faulconbridge Mon 18 Nov 2024 at 08:41







The Kremlin said on Monday that any US decision to allow Ukraine to fire American missiles deep into Russia would mean it was directly involved in the conflict, which it accused President Joe Biden's administration of escalating.
One of the smallest pubs in the country also has one of the cheapest pints in Ireland
The New Hampshire SPCA said it has been overwhelmed by the animals. Photo: AP

A US animal shelter is dealing with a great big problem after a man arrived to hand over what he initially said was 150 mice.

However, the donor to the shelter in the state of New Hampshire later clarified that he had 150 containers of mice, not individual creatures.
How new Canadian prime minister and Mayo man Mark Carney was in our corner during dark days after bust
India-Egypt Bilateral Trade and Investment

With steady trade, emerging areas of investments, and increasing scientific collaboration, the India-Egypt partnership is poised for growth.

India and Egypts bilateral economic relationship is deeply rooted in historical and strategic cooperation. Anchored by the 1978 Bilateral Trade Agreement based on the Most Favored Nation (MFN) clause, their partnership has flourished into a robust economic collaboration. Over the past decade, bilateral trade has grown fivefold, reflecting the dynamism and mutual benefits of this enduring relationship. Both nations continue to explore new avenues for cooperation in trade, investment, science, and sustainable development.

Also Read: Why BRICS Matters and Indias Strategic Role in the Multilateral Grouping

Bilateral trade trends

India and Egypt have consistently enhanced their trade relations, reaching a bilateral trade volume of US$6.06 billion in FY 2022-23. India exported goods worth US$4.11 billion and imported goods valued at US$1.95 billion, maintaining a significant trade surplus.

Key exports and imports

Indian exports to Egypt : Buffalo meat, iron and steel, engineering goods, light vehicles, cotton yarn, and chemicals.

: Buffalo meat, iron and steel, engineering goods, light vehicles, cotton yarn, and chemicals. Indian imports from Egypt: Mineral oil, fertilizers, inorganic chemicals, cotton, and other raw materials.

Sectoral performance

The surge in trade relations is driven by robust performance in key sectors:

Agriculture and food security : Indias supply of wheat to Egypt during the Russia-Ukraine conflict underlined its role as a reliable partner.

: Indias supply of wheat to Egypt during the Russia-Ukraine conflict underlined its role as a reliable partner. Metals and chemicals: Growing exports of steel and chemicals reflect Indias diversified trade approach.

2022 wheat trade

The Russia-Ukraine conflict severely disrupted Egypts wheat supply, as over 80 percent of its imports were sourced from these countries. India stepped in by becoming an accredited wheat supplier, breaking down long-standing non-tariff barriers. This culminated in the shipment of 61,500 metric tons of wheat in May 2022, marking a milestone in agricultural trade between the two nations.

August 2024 trade snapshot

Indias trade surplus with Egypt stood at US$224 million, driven by exports worth US$273 million and imports totaling US$49 million.

Compared to August 2023: Exports : Marginal growth of US$337,000, signaling resilience in trade ties. Imports : A sharp decline of US$75.4 million, highlighting changing import dynamics.



Investment landscape

Indian investments in Egypt

India has emerged as a major investor in Egypt, with over US$3.25 billion deployed across multiple sectors. Around 50 Indian companies operate in Egypt, collectively employing approximately 35,000 Egyptians.

Major Indian investors:

TCI Sanmar: Invested US$1.5 billion in the chemicals sector, representing the largest Indian investment in Egypt. Tech Mahindra: Opened its first global delivery center in Egypt in 2022, showcasing Indias IT and digital expertise. Green Hydrogen Projects: ReNew Power, ACME, and Ocior Energy have signed MoUs worth US$18 billion, strengthening Egypts renewable energy landscape. Dabur, Godrej, and Mahindra: Significant contributors to the agricultural, consumer goods, and automotive sectors.

Egyptian investments in India

Egypts investments in India amount to US$37 million, focusing on innovative industries such as:

Smart electrometers : Led by ElSewedy Group.

: Led by ElSewedy Group. Construction materials : Initiatives by Modern Waterproofing Group.

: Initiatives by Modern Waterproofing Group. Car paints and IT services: Reflecting Egypts growing interest in Indian markets.

Collaborative mechanisms

Trade promotion

Bilateral trade is supported by mechanisms such as trade fairs, business delegations, and virtual forums. Since August 2021, over 14 business delegations and 600 Indian companies have participated in Egyptian trade fairs. Sector-specific forums on agriculture, gems and jewelry, and textiles have catalyzed cross-border business opportunities.

Scientific and technological cooperation

India and Egypt share a robust framework for scientific collaboration:

Agricultural research : Partnerships between ICAR (India) and the Agricultural Research Center of Egypt focus on increasing agricultural productivity and innovation.

: Partnerships between ICAR (India) and the Agricultural Research Center of Egypt focus on increasing agricultural productivity and innovation. Space technology : ISRO and Egypts space agencies are working on new frameworks to enhance space exploration and satellite technology.

: ISRO and Egypts space agencies are working on new frameworks to enhance space exploration and satellite technology. Human resource development: Over 1,600 Egyptian officials have benefited from Indian technical and educational training programs, strengthening institutional and professional capacities.

Renewable energy collaboration

As members of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), both nations are committed to promoting renewable energy solutions. Indias investments in Egypts green hydrogen projects and solar energy development align with global sustainability goals.

Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA)

Signed in 1969, the India-Egypt DTAA plays a critical role in fostering economic cooperation and reducing tax-related barriers for individuals and businesses operating across borders.

Key features:

Taxation rules: Residency- Based Taxation: Determines tax obligations using criteria like domicile and habitual abode.

Based Taxation: Determines tax obligations using criteria like domicile and habitual abode. Permanent establishments (PE) : Defines taxable entities, including offices and factories, while exempting facilities for storage or procurement.

: Defines taxable entities, including offices and factories, while exempting facilities for storage or procurement. Specific income categories : Business profits : Taxed in the country where the permanent establishment exists. Capital gains : Taxed where the asset is located. Dividends and royalties : Taxed in the source country, with safeguards against excessive taxation.

: Non-discrimination: Ensures equal treatment for nationals and enterprises, preventing discriminatory taxation. Dispute resolution: Facilitates mutual agreement mechanisms to address tax disputes. Elimination of double taxation: Employs credit and exemption methods to ensure income is taxed only once.

Strategic outlook

India and Egypt are deepening their multifaceted partnership, focusing on emerging sectors such as:

Renewable energy: Joint initiatives in green hydrogen and solar power to address climate change challenges. Space technology: Enhancing collaboration in satellite development and space exploration. Infrastructure development: Opportunities in transport, logistics, and urban development. Agri-tech and food security: Expanding trade in agricultural commodities and technology.

With steady trade, emerging areas of investments, and increasing scientific collaboration, the India-Egypt partnership is poised for growth, driving mutual prosperity and advancing global sustainability goals.
Foxconn employs thousands of women at the iPhone factory at Sriperumbudur, near Chennai. Representational image from Wallpaper Cave

Chennai/IBNS: Apple supplier Foxconn has instructed its recruitment agencies in India to eliminate references to age, gender, marital status, and the company name in job advertisements, Reuters reported, citing its sources.

According to the report, the directive comes after a June 25 Reuters investigation revealed discriminatory hiring practices at Foxconn's primary iPhone assembly plant in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, where married women were often excluded from jobs except during peak production periods.

Foxconn, which employs thousands of women at the facility, relies on third-party vendors to scout and screen candidates, who are ultimately hired by the company.

Reuters' review of job ads from these agencies, posted between January 2023 and May 2024, found several specifying eligibility only for unmarried women within certain age rangesviolating anti-discrimination policies upheld by both Foxconn and Apple.

In response to the expose, Foxconns HR team reportedly directed its Indian vendors to standardize recruitment practices using templates aligned with company policies.

Recruiters were also told to avoid speaking to the media and warned of contract termination if they used Foxconns name in ads, Reuters reported, citing multiple agency sources.

The instructions were clear: no mentions of marital status, age, or gender in job ads, one hiring agent, who spoke anonymously for fear of repercussions, told Reuters.

Although Foxconn and Apple declined to comment on whether restrictions against married women had been lifted, both companies have previously stated that married women are eligible for employment at Foxconns Indian facilities.

Recent job ads reviewed by Reuters reflect these changes, omitting details about age, gender, or marital status, and instead highlighting benefits like air-conditioned workplaces, free transport, canteen facilities, free hostel accommodations, and a monthly salary of Rs 14,974.

During a site visit in October, Reuters examined multiple ads in Tamil and on WhatsApp, finding them consistent with the new guidelines.

While the employer was not explicitly named, hiring agents confirmed that these roles were for Foxconns smartphone assembly lines.

The controversy has attracted scrutiny from Indias federal and state governments.

Following Reuters investigation, labour officials visited the Sriperumbudur facility in July to probe hiring practices.

However, the findings of these inquiries have not been made public, with Tamil Nadu state officials rejecting a Reuters request for the investigation report, citing confidentiality.

Foxconn Chairman Young Liu addressed the issue during an August visit to India, praising the contributions of married women to the companys operations.

Liu also met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss Foxconns investment plans, as India emerges as a key alternative manufacturing hub to China amid US-China tensions.
Driven by festive and wedding season demand, India's domestic air travel achieved a historic milestone, surpassing 5 lakh passengers in a single day for the first time. Representational image from Wikimedia Commons/Wireman27

New Delhi/IBNS: Indian aviation on Sunday (Nov. 17) achieved a historic milestone, surpassing 5 lakh domestic passengers in a single day for the first time.

A total of 5,05,412 passengers flew across 3,173 domestic flights, marking a significant rise in air traffic.

This milestone was the result of a consistent upward trend in recent weeks, with passenger numbers steadily climbing4.9 lakh on Nov. 8, 4.96 lakh on Nov. 9, and nearly 5 lakh on Nov. 14, 15, and 16before reaching the record high.

This surge follows a subdued October, even during the Diwali season, as IndiGo reported a loss for Q2 FY25 after seven consecutive profitable quarters.

The airline attributed the dip to normalising yields from earlier high-yield periods.

Interestingly, the rise in traffic post-Diwali highlights a shift from holiday-driven travel to demand fueled by weddings and festive occasions.

Average daily flight deployments in November stood at 3,161, a slight increase of about eight flights per day compared to the previous month but lower than peak Diwali operations.

The post-merger integration of Vistara with Air India on Nov. 12 also influenced capacity, with upgraded Dreamliner deployments on metro routes boosting seating availability despite no significant increase in flight numbers.

However, not all carriers have expanded operations.

Akasa Air and Air India Express faced delays in fleet expansion due to a Boeing strike, while SpiceJet managed to add limited flights after resolving issues with lessors and vendors, supported by a Rs 3,000-crore infusion.

Despite these efforts, the overall growth in daily flights since early 2024 has been less than 100.

The sectors recovery has been bolstered by government initiatives to modernise airports and enhance air connectivity.

The upcoming launch of new airports in Delhi and Mumbai next year is expected to alleviate capacity constraints on the ground.

This milestone reflects the resilience and adaptability of Indian aviation, which rebounded from the Covid-19 pandemic faster than the International Air Transport Association (IATA) had predicted.

With India's economy expanding and GDP growth projected between 6 percent and 7.5 percent, aviationhistorically growing at twice the GDP rateremains a critical driver of national development.

However, current growth at around 5 percent highlights the need for increased capacity to fully tap into demand.

Achieving over 5 lakh passengers in a single day is not just a numerical feat but a psychological boost, setting a promising trajectory for Indian aviation in 2025 and beyond.
Narendra Modi arrives in Brazil. Photo Courtesy: Narendra Modi X page

Indian PM Narendra Modi on Monday arrived in Brazil where he will attend the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit.

Modi said he is looking forward to Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders.

"Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders," Modi posted on X.

Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders. pic.twitter.com/bBG4ruVfOd  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 18, 2024

US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are among the top world leaders who are expected to attend the summit.

Before leaving New Delhi for his three-nation tour, Modi said: "In Brazil, I will attend the 19th G-20 Summit as a Troika member. Last year, Indias successful Presidency elevated the G-20 to peoples G-20 and mainstreamed the priorities of the Global South into its Agenda. "

"This year, Brazil has built upon Indias legacy," he said.

Modi arrived in Brazil after completing his visit to Nigeria.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu conferred the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) upon the Indian PM during his visit to the country.

Honoured to be conferred with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger Award by Nigeria. I accept it with great humility and dedicate it to the people of India. https://t.co/AyQ6v4EotH  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 17, 2024

The Order of the Niger (OON) is the second-highest national award in Nigeria.

After Brazil, Modi will reach Guyana on the last-leg of his three-nation tour.
Fire at a momo outlet in Kolkata's Acropolis Mall | Photo courtesy: Screenshot grab from X video

Kolkata/IBNS: A minor fire on Monday broke out at the food court in Kolkata's Acropolis Mall.

The fire broke out at a momo outlet at around 10:40 am.

The fire was doused by the staff who used the fire extinguishers.

Though fire tenders were rushed to the spot, they were not required as the fire was controllable.

Kolkata, West Bengal: A fire breaks out at the 'Wow Momo' shop in Acropolis Mall's food court. Mall staff quickly controlled the fire, and the mall reopened after a brief closure. This incident comes five months after a major fire that closed the mall for over a month pic.twitter.com/hlGyledhuN  IANS (@ians_india) November 18, 2024

"Our mall team promptly used fire extinguishers to control the situation. Operations have now resumed, and the mall is safe and secure," said Subhadip Basu, Corporate General Manager - Hospitality & Mall.

Earlier in June, a major fire broke out at Crossword in the mall, which is located in the Kasba area.

The fire had forced the mall to remain closed till early August.
Narendra Modi arrives in Brazil. Photo Courtesy: Narendra Modi X page

Indian PM Narendra Modi on Monday said he was touched by the warm welcome he received from the Indian community in the country after arriving in Rio de Janeiro.

"Deeply touched by the warm and lively welcome from the Indian community upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro. Their energy reflects the affection that binds us across continents," Modi posted on X.

Deeply touched by the warm and lively welcome from the Indian community upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro. Their energy reflects the affection that binds us across continents. pic.twitter.com/hvA6GGKE9l  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 18, 2024

Modi arrived in Brazil for the G20 Summit.

US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are among the top world leaders who are expected to attend the summit.

Before leaving New Delhi for his three-nation tour, Modi said: "In Brazil, I will attend the 19th G-20 Summit as a Troika member. Last year, Indias successful Presidency elevated the G-20 to peoples G-20 and mainstreamed the priorities of the Global South into its Agenda. "

"This year, Brazil has built upon Indias legacy," he said.

Modi arrived in Brazil after completing his visit to Nigeria.
Maharashtra ex-minister Anil Deshmukh receives injuries after stones hurled at his car. Photo courtesy: Videograb from X

Nagpur/IBNS: Former home minister of Maharashtra Anil Deshmukh received grave injuries after stones were hurled at his car in Nagpur district on Monday.

The NCP leader from Sharadchandra Pawar-faction was attacked when he was returning from a poll meeting.

He was en route to Katol from Tinkheda Bishnoor Road after concluding a meeting in Narkhed village.

According to reports, some people attacked his car by throwing stones near Belphata on Katol Jalalkheda Road. He was sitting in the front passenger seat of the car.

Anil Deshmukh was injured on his head and blood was seen dripping down. A video showed blood stains all over his white kurta.

Former home minister of Maharashtra and NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh attacked with stones in Katol while campaigning for his son. Suffers head injury. Most unfortunate. Maharashtra must have no place for goondagardi: why speak of Shahu Phule Ambedkar legacy and then resort to pic.twitter.com/dT30dxg5gP  Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) November 18, 2024

He is being treated at Alexis Hospital in Nagpur.

The car's windshield was damaged in the attack while one of the windows was shattered and shards of glass were scattered inside the vehicle.

"An investigation has begun. Police are trying to identify those responsible for the attack," Nagpur Rural Superintendent of Police Harssh Poddar was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Deshmukh's supporters gathered outside the Katol police station, demanding swift action against the accused.

Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat condemned the "fatal attack" on Anil Deshmukh.

The attack comes days ahead of Maharashtra polls on Nov 20, the counting of which will be held on Nov 23.
The Six Triple Eight OTT release date has been fixed. The movie which will be released on Netflix in December 2024 is an American WWII drama that will keep you engaged. The movie is based on a 2019 World War II History Magazine article by Kevin M. The plot centers on the lives of more than 855 women who choose to enlist in the military in order to clear a three-year backlog of mail. The Six Triple Eight will be released on Netflix on 20th December 2024.

Plot

The Six Triple Eight refers to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion of the U.S. Army, according to Newsroompost. Additionally, it refers to the group of Black women who served abroad during World War II. The movie shows these women's commitment and perseverance as they overcome all obstacles to make sure the mail gets to the American soldiers.

The synopsis reads, An Army Captain (Kerry Washington) and her historic battalion of female soldiers defy the odds to deliver hope to the front lines during WWII.

Cast and crew

Major Charity Adams, the commanding commander of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, is portrayed by Kerry Washington. Ebony Obsidian, Milauna Jackson, Kylie Jefferson, Shanice Shantay, Sarah Jeffrey, Pepi Sonuga, Moriah Brown, Jeante Godlock, Susan Sarandon, Dean Norris, Sam Waterston, Oprah Winfrey, and others are also part of the ensemble cast.

Tyler Perry produced, wrote the screenplay, and directed the movie. Carlota Espinosa, Keri Selig, Tony L. Strickland, Angi Bones, and Nicole Avant are additional producers. Executive producers were Kerry Washington and Peter Guber.

For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.
Actress Swara Bhaskar met Islamic cleric Sajjad Nomani before the Maharashtra elections to seek his support for her husband, Fahad Ahmed, who is an NCP candidate. Nomani has been urging Muslims to vote for the NCP-Congress-Sena alliance. Swara perhaps met him in the hope that Nomani would influence his followers to back Fahad, however, she ended up getting massively trolled. Here's why!

Who is Maulana Sajjad Nomani?

Known for her feminist views, Swara Bhasker is being criticised for meeting Maulana Sajjad Nomani, who once said that sending girls school was haram. She was slammed for advocating women's rights on one hand and meeting the controversial figure on the other. Nomani had once said, "If you are a father, a Muslim or a good person, it is Haram to be careless about your daughter." In another clip, he said, "Teach women at homeDont send them anywhere and find a female teacher".

Sajjad Nomani's controversial statement on education for girls

Everyone send your sons and daughters to schools and colleges so that they don't turn out to be a 'jahil mullah' like Sajjad Nomani.



Source: https://t.co/sOLzQWcSFx pic.twitter.com/Q174Dqa3sK  Dibakar Dutta ( ) (@dibakardutta_) November 17, 2024





Sajjad Nomani's controversial statement on Taliban

Not just that, he is also an avid supporter of Taliban who once said, "I, as a Muslim from Hind, salute your courage, calibre, religious zeal and determination. The whole world has witnessed this historic event. I want to extend my heartfelt greetings and love to the clerics (Ulemas) of Afghanistan and the leaders of Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, Hazaras and that of Northern Afghanistan."

Last year, Indias #Deobandi cleric Sajjad Nomani was openly glorifying #Taliban.



Will he be condemning Talibans evil law of banning female education?



At one side, they praise Ayesha  as intellectual, & on other side they block Muslim women from mosques and universities. pic.twitter.com/faIgmB2WZ9  Zahack Tanvir -   (@zahacktanvir) December 31, 2022

What happened to feminism, asked fans.

Known for her stance on feminism, Swara Bhasker who has always advocated that women should be given the choice to wear what they want to wear is also getting trolled for her attire. The fact that she covered her head with a dupatta has also not gone down well with many.

Why didn't Swara Bhaskar visit Maulana in a short dress!? Why fully covered?



No Feminism & women rights here?



 in full swing pic.twitter.com/Rgf3XP5zAv  The Jaipur Dialogues (@JaipurDialogues) November 17, 2024

Overnight soaked Swara Bhasker  pic.twitter.com/dA8MsNM32a  Lakshay Mehta (@lakshaymehta31) November 17, 2024

Furthermore, several others intensively trolled for her weight gain after the birth of her son. Many posted a lot of memes in her name.

For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.
It is South Indian cinemas 'Lady Superstar' Nayanthara's birthday today, so here we are recalling her love story with filmmaker Vignesh Shivan on her special day. The couple's journey is all about finding love in unexpected places. Here's how it all started:

Where did Nayanthara and Vignesh meet, and how did all this begin?

Nayanthara and Vigneshs journey started on the sets of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, the film that was being directed by Vignesh, and one of the leads of the movie was Nayanthara. The two started having chemistry both on and off the screen. The couple formed a bond, and as the filming wrapped up, they came into a relationship.

How did the love grow stronger?

The rumours of the duo dating started to surface soon after the film got wrapped up, but the couple kept their relationship private. Both the actress and filmmaker often shared glimpses of their time together on the social media platforms, as they also wanted to subtly hint at their romance.

The couple also made a public appearance in 2017 at an award show organised in Singapore.

When did they make it official?

The couple tied the knot two years ago in the presence of family and friends. The wedding event was held in Chennai. Now happily married to each other, actress Nayanthara and her filmmaker husband Vignesh Shivan have twin sons who are named Uyir RudroNeel N Shivan and Ulag Daiwik N Shivan.

Got your answers? Not really? Netflix has released a documentary on the actress' life and her journey in the South movies. On the ocassion of her birthday, the OTT giant has released the documentery by the name, "Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale." Watch now.

As now Nayanthara grows one year older, her journey with Vignesh Shivan continues to be a source of inspiration for her followers. Here's wishing the actress a very happy birthday!

For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.
A Rs 10 crores dispute over apparently a three-second clip has led to massive controversy between actor Dhanush and Nayanthara, which has now become a topic of public discussion after the Jawan actress posted an open letter slamming the former on X. In the midst of this all, a viral X thread calling the South actress "greedy and overrated" has gone viral on social media. And this has become a topic of discussion among fans.

Nayanthara called 'greedy and overrated' amid controversy with Dhanush

#Nayanthara - The Most Greedy & Overrated Actress in India. 



A THREAD  pic.twitter.com/4rHOwe54ch  M.K (@MrsKeerthi85) November 16, 2024

In the thread, the user alleged that Nayanthara wanted to make money out of her wedding. Hence, she sold the documentary Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale to Netflix. Furthermore, the user alleged that to make her wedding more popular, she invited Shah Rukh Khan as well as Ajith and Vijay. As per the user, Dhanush had sent legal notice to the couple even before she sold the wedding documentary to Netflix over the use of some clips and background score from the films he produced.

The user also shared tweets of people supporting Dhanush by saying that if Nayanthara wants to make money with her wedding then why can't Dhanush. Another clip in which Nayanthara allegedly insulted Allu Arjun, an old controversy, was also shared on the thread. Furthermore, the user slammed the actress for showing Lord Ram as a meat eater encouraging Love Jihad in her film Annapoorani.

Nayanthara VS Dhanush: what is the controversy

It all started after Nayanthara posted a long open letter addressed to Dhanush on X on Nov 16 alleging that alleging that he is harbouring a personal grudge against her and her husband Vignesh Shivan after the latter sent her a legal notice demanding Rs 10 crores in damages for unauthorised use of a three-second clip from their 2015 movie Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in her upcoming documentary Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale on Netflix. The clip is significant to for the Netflix documentary which showcases their wedding, as that is where their love story began. The documentary has been released on November 18.

For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.
Happy Men's Day 2024 wishes & quotes: International Men's Day is observed annually on November 19th as a global celebration of men and boys. It provides an opportunity to honour their positive contributions to society, communities, families, marriages, and child care, while also drawing attention to the challenges they encounter.

Established in 1999 by Dr Jerome Teelucksingh, a history lecturer at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, International Men's Day acknowledges the important role men play in society while advocating for gender equality. This year's theme, "Men's Health Champions", encourages a focus on enhancing the overall health and well-being of men. It celebrates individuals and organisations devoted to tackling the health challenges faced by boys and men, as noted in TOI. The theme emphasises physical, emotional, social, and spiritual health, inspiring communities to engage in men's health initiatives.

As we celebrate the special day dedicated to all men today, let's make it even more meaningful by sharing some of the best Happy International Men's Day wishes, quotes, WhatsApp statuses, and Instagram captions to honour the unsung heroes in our lives, such as fathers, husbands, soldiers, and every man out there.

Best Happy International Men's Day wishes in English to share

Credit: Freepik | Happy International Men's Day image for WhatsApp Status

- Happy International Men's Day 2024! Thank you for your strength, kindness, and the positive impact you bring to everyone around you.

- Wishing you a fantastic International Men's Day! Today, we celebrate your resilience, integrity, and the countless ways you make a difference.

- Happy International Men's Day! Your support and care mean the world. Thank you for being a role model and an inspiration.

- To a truly remarkable man, Happy International Men's Day! Your dedication and compassion do not go unnoticed. Have a wonderful day!

- On this special day, I wish you a Happy International Men's Day! Thank you for being a source of strength and encouragement.

- Happy International Men's Day 2024! You are appreciated for all the little and big things you do to make life better for those around you.

- Wishing you a Happy International Men's Day! Your hard work and commitment to those you love are truly inspiring.

- Happy International Men's Day! Here's to celebrating the courage and kindness you bring to the world every day.

- To an extraordinary man, Happy International Men's Day! May your day be filled with joy, recognition, and all the respect you deserve.

- Happy International Men's Day 2024! Thank you for being an example of strength, love, and unwavering support. You are deeply appreciated.

Short Men's Day wishes

Credit: Freepik | Happy International Men's Day image for WhatsApp Status

- Cheers to men making the world brighter!

- Celebrating strength, kindness, and integrity today.

- Honour to all incredible men this Men's Day!

- Grateful for men shaping our lives beautifully.

- Here's to men inspiring us every single day!

- Wishing joy and pride to all amazing men.

- Celebrate men's strength, wisdom, and unwavering support!

- Thank you, men, for being truly remarkable!

- Happy Men's Day to all our everyday heroes!

- Recognising men for their love and endless sacrifices!

Inspiring International Men's Day quotes

Credit: Freepik | Happy International Men's Day image for WhatsApp Status

- "A real man uplifts others, spreads kindness, and leads with integrity. Happy International Men's Day!"

- "To all the men who inspire, protect, and love unconditionally  today, we celebrate you. Happy International Men's Day 2024!"

- "Strength lies not in muscles but in a man's heart, character, and compassion. Wishing you a wonderful Men's Day!"

- "Happy International Men's Day to those who remind us every day that true greatness is found in humility and kindness."

- "A man's worth is measured by the respect he earns and the lives he touches. Happy Men's Day to all the remarkable men out there!"

- "On International Men's Day, let's honour the men who stand as pillars of strength, wisdom, and care."

- "Men's Day isn't just about celebrating men; it's about appreciating the values they uphold and the good they bring into the world. Happy International Men's Day 2024!"

- "To all the men who make the world a better place with their dedication and kindness  today is your day. Happy Men's Day!"

- "Being a man is not about perfection; it's about effort, courage, and showing up every day for those who need you. Happy International Men's Day!"

- "Here's to the men who lead by example, lift others, and always strive to do better. Wishing you a very Happy International Men's Day 2024!"

Best Instagram captions for International Men's Day

Credit: Freepik | Happy International Men's Day image for WhatsApp Status

- "Celebrating the men who inspire strength, kindness, and resilience. Happy International Men's Day 2024! "

- "To the unsung heroes in our lives  today is your day. Happy International Men's Day! "

- "Here's to the men who lift others up and lead by example. Wishing you a fantastic International Men's Day! "

- "Strong, caring, and inspiring  today we honour you. Happy International Men's Day 2024! "

- "Let's celebrate the fathers, brothers, sons, and friends who make the world a better place. Happy International Men's Day! "

- "Cheers to the men who inspire hope, share laughter, and spread love. Happy International Men's Day 2024! "

- "A day to appreciate the men who shape our lives with wisdom and compassion. Happy Men's Day! "

- "To the men who make life brighter  thank you for everything you do. Happy International Men's Day 2024! "

- "Here's to the everyday heroes who inspire courage and kindness. Wishing you a Happy International Men's Day! "

- "On International Men's Day, we celebrate the strength, love, and heart you bring into our lives. Thank you! "

Best Men's Day wishes, messages, WhatsApp status and quotes to appreciate your father

Credit: Freepik | Happy International Men's Day image for WhatsApp Status

- Happy International Men's Day, Dad! Thank you for teaching me the true meaning of strength, resilience, and unconditional love. I am beyond grateful to have you as my father.

- Your unwavering guidance, support, and love have shaped me into who I am today. Thank you for believing in me even when I doubted myself. Wishing you a wonderful International Men's Day!

- You've always held yourself to the highest standards and inspired me to do the same. Thank you for being my moral compass and guiding light. Happy International Men's Day!

- You've always been there to lend an ear, offer advice, and be my shoulder to lean on. Thank you for being my confidant and my best friend. Happy Men's Day!

- Your hugs, your comforting words, and your presence have always made me feel safe. Thank you for being a source of unconditional love. Happy International Men's Day!

- You've made life an exhilarating journey and filled it with countless smiles. Thank you for sharing your zest for life with me. Wishing you a joyful International Men's Day!

- Happy International Men's Day to the man who has always encouraged me to chase my dreams and never lose hope. You've always believed in my abilities, even when I doubted myself. Thank you for being my greatest supporter and biggest fan.

- Dad, you are the most generous and selfless person I know. You've always prioritised the needs of others above your own and never hesitated to lend a helping hand. Thank you for teaching me the importance of empathy and compassion. Happy International Men's Day!

- Happy International Men's Day to the man who always makes me laugh, even when I'm feeling low. Your jokes, funny stories, and infectious laughter never fail to brighten my days. Thank you for bringing so much joy into my life.

- Dad, you are the most extraordinary man I know. You are strong, intelligent, kind, and compassionate. I'm so proud to call you my father. Thank you for being my hero, mentor, and inspiration. Happy International Men's Day!

- Happy International Men's Day to the man who taught me the true meaning of strength, resilience, and unconditional love. Dad, your influence has profoundly shaped my life. Thank you for being my hero.

- On this International Men's Day, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to my father. Your wisdom, kindness, and unwavering support have been my pillars of strength. Wishing you a day filled with joy and recognition.

- To the man who has always stood by me through thick and thin  Happy International Men's Day, Dad. Your guidance and love have been the compass that guides me in the right direction. I am so grateful for the incredible father you are.

- Dad, on International Men's Day, I celebrate the qualities that make you an exceptional man and father. Your integrity, compassion, and dedication inspire me every single day. Thank you for being a shining example.

- Wishing my Dad a Happy International Men's Day! Your sacrifices, hard work, and the values you've instilled in me have laid the foundation of my success. I'm proud to be your child.

Best Men's Day wishes, messages, WhatsApp status and quotes for your brother

- Happy International Men's Day, bhai! You are the true definition of strength, kindness, and wisdom. Proud to have you in my life.

- To the best brother ever, on International Men's Day, I just want to remind you how much you mean to me. Your hard work and dedication inspire me every day!

- Wishing my amazing brother a wonderful International Men's Day. May you always stay strong, confident, and true to yourself. You're a hero in my eyes.

- Happy International Men's Day to the one who has always been my protector and guide. Your courage and determination make the world a better place. Keep shining!

- To my Bhaiya, you are more than just family. You're a friend, a mentor, and a true role model. Happy International Men's Day! Stay incredible.

- Happy Men's Day to my wonderful brother! Your strength, integrity, and wisdom teach me something new every day. I am so lucky to call you my brother.

- Cheers to my brother on this International Men's Day. Your hard work and positive attitude always push me to be better. Keep being the great man you are!

- International Men's Day is the perfect time to let you know how much I admire your strength, both inside and out. Keep being the best brother anyone could ask for.

- To my dear Bhaiya, you are an example of everything great about being a man. Your kindness and commitment to family inspire me every day. Happy International Men's Day!

- On this International Men's Day, I just want to say thank you for always being there for me. Your love and support mean the world to me. Keep being amazing, bro!

Best Men's Day wishes, messages, WhatsApp status and quotes to appreciate your husband

Credit: Freepik | Happy International Men's Day image for WhatsApp Status

- "Happy International Men's Day to my wonderful husband! Your strength, love, and unwavering support brighten every day. I'm so thankful to share my life with you."

- "On this special day, I want to celebrate the remarkable man you are. Happy International Men's Day, my love. Your presence in my life brings joy and contentment."

- "Wishing the best husband in the world a Happy International Men's Day! Your devotion, kindness, and love make our journey together truly exceptional."

- "To the man who turns every day into an adventure, Happy International Men's Day! Your love and companionship are the greatest blessings in my life."

- "Happy International Men's Day to the man who stands by me through every challenge. Your love is my anchor, and I value you more than words can ever convey."

- "Celebrating you, my dear husband, on International Men's Day. Your strength, resilience, and compassion make you an extraordinary partner and friend."

- "Wishing a Happy International Men's Day to the man who makes our family whole. Your love and guidance create a home filled with warmth and joy."

- "On this special day, I want to express my love and gratitude to my husband. Happy International Men's Day! Your presence completes my world."

- "To my partner in all of life's adventures, Happy International Men's Day! Your courage, wisdom, and love make our journey together exceptional. Here's to you!"

- Happy International Men's Day to my rock, my love, my husband. Your strength, kindness, and steadfast support are the foundations of our happiness.

- To my dearest husband, Happy International Men's Day! You are the cornerstone of our family, the rock that keeps us grounded, and the light that brightens our days. I am deeply thankful for your unwavering love, support, and guidance. Thank you for being the most wonderful husband, father, and friend anyone could wish for. I love you more than words can ever express.

- Happy International Men's Day to the most incredible man I know. Your kindness, compassion, and constant presence mean the world to me. You make me laugh every day and always find a way to make me feel special. I'm so fortunate to have you in my life. Thank you for being my partner in crime, my confidant, and my best friend.

- To my beloved husband, Happy International Men's Day! You are the most amazing man I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Your strength, intelligence, and sense of humour never cease to amaze me, and you always find ways to make me feel loved and appreciated. I am so proud of you and everything you achieve. Thank you for being my rock, my hero, and my soulmate.

- Happy International Men's Day to my treasured husband. You are the most inspiring person I know. You never give up on your aspirations and constantly strive to be your best self. I admire your determination, work ethic, and enduring kindness. Thank you for being my role model, my cheerleader, and my inspiration.

- To my wonderful husband, Happy International Men's Day! You are the most loving and caring person I know. You always prioritise my needs and never fail to make me feel cherished. I am incredibly grateful for your patience, understanding, and unconditional love. Thank you for being my best friend, my partner, and my life companion.

- Happy International Men's Day to my extraordinary husband. You are the most adventurous and fun-loving person I know. You turn life into an exciting journey and always manage to bring a smile to my face. I cherish our adventures and am grateful for your zest for life and your ability to make every moment special.

- To my exceptional hubby, Happy International Men's Day! You are the most supportive and encouraging person I've ever met. You believe in me, even when I doubt myself. I'm endlessly thankful for your unwavering support, uplifting words, and faith in me. Thank you for being my biggest fan, my mentor, and my rock.

- Happy International Men's Day to my irreplaceable husband. You are the most important person in my life. I love you more than words can convey, and I cannot imagine my life without you. Thank you for being my everything.

- To my loving man, Happy International Men's Day! You are the most handsome man I know, but it's not just your looks that captivate me. It's your kind heart, gentle spirit, and infectious smile. You are truly beautiful inside and out.

- Happy International Men's Day to my incredible husband. You are the most gifted man I know, a true jack of all trades who never fails to impress me with your skills and talents. I couldn't be prouder of all you achieved.

- To my devoted husband, Happy International Men's Day! You are the most dependable and trustworthy man I've ever known. I can always rely on you, no matter the circumstances. Thank you for being my anchor, my confidant, and my best friend.

- Happy International Men's Day to my playful husband. You always know how to bring a smile to my face and make me feel young and carefree. I treasure every moment of laughter and joy we share.

- To my loving hubby, Happy International Men's Day! You are the most warm-hearted and affectionate man I know. Your hugs, kisses, and gentle embrace mean the world to me. Thank you for always making me feel so loved and cherished.

- Happy International Men's Day to my extraordinary husband. You are the most remarkable man I've ever met, and I feel so fortunate to have you in my life. Thank you for being my soulmate, my best friend, and the love of my life.

- To my dearest husband, Happy International Men's Day! My love for you goes beyond words.

Happy International Men's Day wishes, quotes and WhatsApp statuses for best friends

- Happy International Men's Day, mate! Your friendship means the world to me, and I'm so grateful for the laughs, support, and memories we've shared. Here's to many more!

- To my best friend, Happy International Men's Day! You're always there for me through thick and thin, and I truly appreciate everything you do. Wishing you a day filled with happiness.

- Happy International Men's Day to the one who knows me better than anyone else! Thanks for being an amazing friend, always making life more fun and meaningful.

- Cheers to my best mate on International Men's Day! You're a true legend, and I'm lucky to have you by my side. Here's to many more years of laughter and friendship.

- Wishing you a very Happy International Men's Day! Your strength, kindness, and sense of humour make you an extraordinary friend. I'm proud to call you mine.

- Happy International Men's Day, my friend! You're one of the most genuine, caring, and hardworking people I know. I'm grateful for all the good times and the amazing bond we share.

- To my best friend, Happy International Men's Day! You make life brighter just by being you. Thanks for all the support, advice, and adventures we've had together.

- Happy International Men's Day to the guy who always lifts me up! You've got a heart of gold, and I'm lucky to have you as my friend. Hope your day is as awesome as you are.

- Here's to you on International Men's Day! Thanks for being the one I can always count on. Your friendship means more to me than words can say.

- Happy International Men's Day, mate! You're the definition of a true friendloyal, caring, and always there when needed. Enjoy your day, you deserve it!

Best Men's Day Wishes, Messages, WhatsApp status and Quotes to appreciate our brave soldiers

- Happy International Men's Day to our fearless Indian soldiers! Your courage and selfless dedication to the nation inspire us all. Thank you for protecting our freedom.

- On this International Men's Day, we salute the brave soldiers who stand guard so we may sleep peacefully. Your sacrifice is the greatest act of love for the country.

- Wishing a very Happy International Men's Day to the true heroes of India  our soldiers. Your unwavering strength and commitment to duty are truly admirable.

- To our Indian soldiers, Happy International Men's Day! Your bravery in the face of danger and devotion to the nation fill our hearts with pride.

- On International Men's Day, we express our gratitude to the soldiers who risk their lives for us. You are the embodiment of strength and honour.

- Happy International Men's Day to the protectors of our motherland. Your courage and sacrifices inspire us to be better citizens every day.

- Saluting the Indian soldiers on International Men's Day! You are the backbone of our nation, standing strong and fearless to keep us safe.

- Happy International Men's Day to the brave hearts of India! Your selflessness and resilience remind us of what true heroism looks like.

- To our soldiers, you are the real heroes of our nation. On International Men's Day, we thank you for your sacrifices and commitment to safeguarding our country.

- Happy International Men's Day to the valiant Indian soldiers! Your loyalty and courage in the service of the nation make us eternally grateful and proud.

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After creating quite a buzz because of Vikrant Massey's interviews and his unexpected support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, The Sabarmati Report has finally been released in theatres and the film based on the 2002 Godhra train burning incident has been praised by none other than the PM himself. Not only Massey but even producer Ekta Kapoor, who had earlier said that she would like Modi and Amit Shah to also watch her film, thanked the PM on social media expressing her gratitude. Meanwhile, people are questioning PM Modi's silence on Manipur killings.

PM Modi lauds Vikrant Massey's The Sabarmati Report

Well said. It is good that this truth is coming out, and that too in a way common people can see it.



A fake narrative can persist only for a limited period of time. Eventually, the facts will always come out! https://t.co/8XXo5hQe2y  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 17, 2024

Taking to X, PM Modi said that the truth has come out via the film as earlier a fake narrative was being propagated. "It is good that this truth is coming out, and that too in a way common people can see it. A fake narrative can persist only for a limited period of time. Eventually, the facts will always come out," he wrote quoting a tweet that praised the film that minted Rs 1.69 crores on the opening day.

Ekta Kapoor thanks PM Modi

Ekta Kapoor thanked PM Modi for showing his support to the film. Kapoor had earlier said that she would love if PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah also watches the film. "I want every politician, people interested in politics and people from media to watch this film," she added.

Vikrant Massey thanks PM Modi

Even Vikrant Massey who was being trolled for becoming a BJP supporter ahead of his film's release thanked the prime minister in a post on Instagram. "Honorable Prime Minister, thank you very much for your positive words on #TheSabarmatiReport they have encouraged us. Your appreciation at #TheSabarmatiReport proves that we are on the right direction. Thank you for the love and support!  History is the witness, whether it is country or human, it takes care of it only after falling. No matter how long the period of lies is, the truth changes it," he wrote.

PM Modi gets trolled

What a sight to behold! While Manipur is in flames and the cries for peace echo through the streets, our Prime Minister has prioritized pressing matterslike the cinematic masterpiece that is sweeping the nation off its feet. Because, honestly, who needs to focus on serious pic.twitter.com/MQeDapk3V4  Dr khatra  (@dumbitpatra15) November 17, 2024

Meanwhile, a lot of people in the comments section pointed out how PM Modi has remained silent on Manipur killing but he is talking about a Bollywood movie. "Did anyone see any Tweet for Manipur's fresh killing incidents from Supreme Leader?" a user wrote. "Amazing. That PM has so much time on hand to promote a movie. Must be all too well otherwise in the country," said another one. "Manipur is literally burning & you are sh@melessly promoting a propaganda movie," said another user.

          @narendramodi !     !

             ?        ?

2       ,

    ?

48   10    ,

    ? https://t.co/nQlmz4h0O2  Vinod Kapri (@vinodkapri) November 17, 2024

Filmmaker Vinod Kapri also wrote, "Manipur has been burning for 2 years, Can't you see that? 48 hours ago, 10 children were burnt, Can't you see that?"

Violence in Manipur

Deeply saddened by the tragic incident in Manipur. 6 innocent lives (3 women & 3 minors) from Meitei community were kidnapped & killed by terrorists. Condemn terrorism! Demand severe punishment for culprits. #JusticeForManipur #NoToTerrorism pic.twitter.com/2uzPgmfapg  Dr.Ramdas Athawale (@RamdasAthawale) November 17, 2024

Fresh incidents of violent protests erupted on Saturday night, despite an indefinite curfew being imposed. The unrest followed public outrage over the killing of three women and three children by militants in Jiribam district. Earlier, on November 16, agitated citizens had attacked the residences of three state ministers and six MLAs. For the unversed, more than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kukis in Manipur since May last year.

For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.
A CEO in the United States has faced criticism for terminating 99 employees after they failed to show up for a meeting. The action drew widespread scrutiny after an intern shared a copy of the CEO's irate Slack conversation on Reddit. According to the Reddit user, the CEO, named as Baldvin, held a meeting to which only 11 of 111 employees came.

What did the CEO say in his text?

In a harsh Slack message, Baldvin fired the 99 employees who did not attend the meeting, citing their unwillingness to take their responsibilities seriously. The statement generated uproar on Reddit's 'Recruiting Hell' community, with many criticizing the CEO's handling of the incident.

Some people wondered whether there was more to the story, speculating that the CEO may have failed to notify the staff about the meeting or that there was a major financial issue.

How did people on the internet react?

The episode has prompted concerns about the CEO's leadership and communication approach, with many requesting greater context and openness. Here's what people wrote.

Comment

byu/cupholdery from discussion

inrecruitinghell

Comment

byu/cupholdery from discussion

inrecruitinghell

Comment

byu/cupholdery from discussion

inrecruitinghell

Comment

byu/cupholdery from discussion

inrecruitinghell

Comment

byu/cupholdery from discussion

inrecruitinghell

In a statement, the corporation justified the CEO's decision, emphasizing the value of accountability and teamwork.

Also read: Boss left 'speechless' after GenZ employee decides to show up late after staying late at work, internet sides with later

What do you think about this? Tell us in the comments.

To stay updated on the stories that are going viral follow Indiatimes Trending.
Hellenic Police arrested another individual who appears to be linked to the bomb explosion at an apartment in the Ambelokipi district of Athens on October 31, which killed a man and severely injued a woman.

The police arrested a 31-year-old man following an arrest warrant issued against him. Police sources said that during investigation on the case they found a print

of his on a bag with ammunition at the site of the explosion on Arkadias Street.

He was known to authorities, as he had served jail time for attempted armed robbery and for possession and placement of explosive mechanisms, while he had been acquitted of charges he was associated with the terrorist group "Conspiracy of Cells of Fire".

The man will be led before a prosecutor on Tuesday morning.

So far, police have arrested three more people, another 31-year-old man, a 30-year-old woman, and a 33-year-old woman. One of the women is under guard in the hospital and the other two individuals have been detained after testifying.

   iefimerida.gr
New Democracys ethics committee convened on Tuesday evening to formalize the expulsion of former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras from the ruling party.

The decision, initiated by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, underscores a decisive move to maintain party discipline and unity amidst mounting tensions.

The

committee, which included members called back early from international assignments, is expected to endorse the expulsion unanimously.

Among those summoned was MP Theodoros Karaoglou, who returned early from Buenos Aires to participate. The meeting follows a period of escalating dissent by Mr. Samaras, culminating in a highly critical interview published in To Vima on Sunday.

Mr. Samaras expulsion marks the end of a long period of tension between the former prime minister and ND leadership.

In his interview, Mr. Samaras criticized the government sharply and proposed Kostas Karamanlis as a presidential candidate, a suggestion that undermined Prime Minister Mitsotakis authority.

This behavior exceeded institutional boundaries, government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis stated. The prime minister had no choice but to proceed with expulsion.

Mr. Samaras, currently in the United States on a pre-planned trip, reportedly did not anticipate that his remarks would lead to his removal.

His spokesman, Nikos Tsioutsias, noted that Mr. Samaras remains focused on his trip but declined to comment on his future plans.

Key ministers quickly backed Mr. Mitsotakis decision. Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis stressed the importance of discipline, saying, New Democracy has a leader, and members must respect institutional boundaries. Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis suggested that Mr. Samaras provoked the expulsion, adding, Division and fragmentation only harm the party and the country.

Interior Minister Makis Voridis called Mr. Samaras criticisms unacceptable, particularly his questioning of the foreign ministers patriotism, which he argued indirectly challenged Mr. Mitsotakis.

Observers are now speculating on Mr. Samaras next steps.

Some analysts suggest he may lend support to smaller right-wing or populist parties. Afroditi Latinopoulou of Foni Logikis and Dimitris Natsios of Niki have already expressed support for his views.

Despite these concerns, senior ND MP Nikitas Kaklamanis dismissed the possibility of others following Mr. Samaras lead, stating, No other MPs will follow. This expulsion was unavoidable.

With Mr. Samaras expulsion, ND seeks to reinforce unity and focus on its governance agenda.

Officials at Maximos Mansion stressed that the decision underscores the partys commitment to addressing the countrys challenges while maintaining internal cohesion.

The ethics committees formalization of the expulsion signals a new chapter for ND, leaving behind internal discord and reaffirming its dedication to stability and discipline.



   iefimerida.gr
Nigerian music mogul Michael Collins Ajereh, popularly known as Don Jazzy, has upgraded his garage with three brand-new luxury vehicles.

Taking to his Instagram page on Sunday, the producer shared a video showcasing his expanded fleet, featuring a Rolls Royce among other high-end cars.

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Don Jazzy assured his old cars that they still hold a special place in his heart, despite the new additions.

READ MORE: One Year After Mohbads Passing, Omowunmi Launches First Business With Heartfelt Note

He captioned the video, Even if some new toys join the family, I will love you anyway 

Confirming the purchase, the car dealer Mr Jay Autos took to his Instagram page to share the footage of the car delivery.

Captioning the video, he wrote, Flew in from the United States to personally Deliver 3 Units of Brand New 2024 Exotics to the Greatest Don @donjazzy

2024 Rolls Royce Phantom Mansory (First 2024 in Africa)

2024 Land Rover Range Rover Autobiography LWB

2024 Cadillac Escalade 600 Luxury

Thanks for your patronage Boss

Special thanks to @djbign for the referral. He stood by us all through the process.

The music producers collection now boasts an impressive lineup of luxury vehicles.

SEE POST:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCePDPHMobk/?igsh=MXQyYW1scmExMzBpYw==
Sweden has taken a significant step in preparing its citizens for potential war, distributing 5 million pamphlets nationwide.

The move comes as neighboring Finland launches a preparedness website, highlighting the gravity of the security situation in the region.

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The pamphlet, titled If Crisis or War Comes, outlines essential information on emergency preparedness, including natural disasters, cyber attacks, and military conflicts.

Mikael Frisell, Director of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), emphasized, The security situation is serious and we all need to strengthen our resilience to face various crises and ultimately war.

This updated 2024 pamphlet version, focuses strongly on war preparation, with simple illustrations and practical tips, such as stockpiling non-perishable food and storing water.

READ ALSO: Ukraine: Russia Threatens Finland, Sweden Over Plans To Join NATO

The brochure is also available in print (Swedish and English) and digital formats (Arabic, Farsi, Ukrainian, Polish, Somali, and Finnish).

Information Nigeria reports that Swedens decision to join North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), alongside Finland, has heightened tensions with Russia.

Former Army Chief, Micael Byden warned, Swedes have to mentally prepare for war.

Finland, sharing an 830-mile border with Russia, has also, on Monday, taken measures, launching a website with crisis preparedness information.

The distribution of pamphlets and Finlands website launch demonstrate the seriousness of the situation.

As Sweden and Finland bolster their defenses, citizens are urged to remain vigilant and prepared for any eventuality.
Laolu Akande, former presidential spokesman, has called on Nigerians to shift their attention from Kemi Badenochs recent remarks and focus on the countrys pressing problems.

Badenoch, leader of the United Kingdoms (UK) Conservative Party, sparked outrage with her comment that the UK should not mirror Nigerias situation.

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Our obsession with Mrs. Badenochs comments is entirely diversionary, Akande said on his Sunday segment, Inside Sources with Laolu Akande.

Instead of focusing on her, we should be attacking our real problems. Who cares what she thinks? The bigger issue is the state of our country  we should be putting pressure on our leaders to solve fundamental problems like fixing the national power grid.

READ ALSO: Protests Legitimate But Its Time To Discuss With FG  Laolu Akande To Organisers

Akande also commended the Supreme Courts recent ruling dismissing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of key anti-corruption agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

He described the case as a self-serving attempt to undermine these agencies operations.

The 7-member Supreme Court panel unanimously dismissed the suit, labeling it selfish,' Akande noted.

This ruling is a comforting rebuke against attempts to weaken our fight against corruption. It shows that while much has gone wrong in our country, redemption is not impossible if we remain steadfast, he added.

The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre), a prominent anti-corruption civil society organization, has also applauded the Supreme Courts verdict, calling it a significant victory for Nigerias anti-graft institutions.


Nigerias Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, has accused some individuals of hindering the governments efforts to combat insurgency.

Musa made this statement in Abuja after receiving 58 rescued kidnapped victims from National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu at the weekend

The question you want to ask is why would somebody kidnap these kinds of people? If you see them, they are barely just surviving, Musa said, emphasizing the devastating impact of insurgency on innocent lives.

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He said, And that is to tell you that there are individuals that on their own are trying to make it impossible for the government to succeed.

They are doing everything possible to sabotage the efforts of the government. That will not happen.

He noted that not all individuals involved in banditry joined willingly, but were rather conscripted.

Musa assured that the military will ensure perpetrators face justice.

READ ALSO: Well Capture Turji Same Way We Got Sububu, Others  CDS Musa Vows

For the innocent blood they have spilled, for those they have restricted their freedom, the security personnel will get back at them, and they will face the law, he said.

He also clarified that no ransom was paid to free the victims and appealed for public support in the fight against insecurity.

National Counter Terrorism Center Coordinator, Maj Gen Adamu Laka, revealed that the victims were kidnapped by armed bandits under notorious terrorist Janbros command.

The victims, he said, were forced to trek hundreds of kilometers to Birnin Gwaris thick forest.

Laka confirmed that six rescued victims received medical attention and have since rejoined their families.

The Chief of Staff to Kaduna State Governor, Sani Limankila, urged Nigerians to collaborate with security agencies to end kidnapping.

The 58 rescued victims, comprising 35 males and 23 females, were kidnapped from Katsina States Dan Musa Local Government Area qand rescued by the Nigerian Armys 1 Division on November 14.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared All Progressives Congress candidate, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as the winner of the Saturday gubernatorial elections in Ondo State.

Ayedatiwa has been elected for the first time as Governor by a landslide victory after polling 366,781 votes to defeat Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party, who scored 117, 845 votes.

According to the results, the former governor won all 18 local government areas with a margin of 248,936 votes in an election which was held across 3,933 polling units in the state.

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INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the returning officer for the poll, Olayemi Akinwumi, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State, made the announcement this afternoon.

READ MORE: Ondo Guber Poll Will Be Credible, Weve Learnt Lessons From Past Exercises  INEC Assures

He said: That Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa of the APC having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected.

Aiyedatiwa is set to extend his stay at the helm of affairs in the Sunshine state.

The former deputy governor ascended to power on December 27th, 2023 after Governor Rotimi Akeredolus death.

Akeredolu died on the same day after a lengthy battle with illness and had before his demise transmitted power to Aiyedatiwa.

He thereafter won the APCs ticket for the 2024 governorship election in Ondo, pitting him against 17 other candidates including Agboola who was also a former deputy to Akeredolu during his first term in office.


Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement and 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, has accused the present administration of prioritizing Lagos State over others.

Kwankwaso alleged that Lagos is attempting to dominate other regions, particularly Kano, due to its overwhelming support from the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu government.

READ ALSO: Lets Work As Family, Tinubu Determined To Change Our Fortunes  Shettima To Nigerians

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Speaking at Skyline Universitys convocation ceremony in Kano on Sunday, Kwankwaso stated, Today, we can see very clearly that there are significant efforts from the Lagos axis to colonise this part of the country. Lagos wouldnt allow us to choose even our Emir; instead, they want to impose their own Emir on Kano.

He further emphasized, Lagos today feel they only are Nigeria, interfering in other states affairs. We will not tolerate such actions here in Kano.

Critics argue that Lagos has received undue attention, with numerous projects worth trillions of naira, to the detriment of other states.
Peter Obi, the Labour Partys presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, has congratulated Chidimma Adetshina on finishing as first runner-up at the Miss Universe 2024 contest in Mexico.

As the highest-ranked African contestant in the 2024 pageant, Adetshina was also awarded the title of Miss Universe Africa and Oceania.

Her global success comes after facing xenophobic attacks and online harassment in her home country during the Miss South Africa competition.

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Taking to his X page on Monday, Obi praised Adetshinas resilience, perseverance, and dedication, noting that her journey serves as inspiration to Nigerian youths facing challenges.

Obi emphasized that Adetshinas achievement symbolizes hope for Nigerias talented youths, encouraging them to never give up on their journey to greatness.

He reaffirmed his commitment to building a better Nigeria for its youths, despite obstacles.

READ MORE: Miss Universe: Chidimma Adetshina Is Brilliant, Focussed, Determined  NiDCOM Hails First Runner-Up Finish

He wrote, I followed with keen attention, the journey of our Nigerian beauty queen, Chidimma Adetshina, and her rise to stardom. I can only describe her journey as a demonstration of resilience, perseverance, and dedication.

Through her struggles and the very challenging times, she held on to faith, hope, and her determination to rise to the top.

And today, she has emerged victorious.

She may not have received the 2024 Miss Universe crown, but competing against over 120 contestants from around the world and securing the first runner-up position in the competition and first position in Africa is a giant stride of which we are proud.

I sincerely congratulate her for believing in herself and our nation. And to all those who contributed to her success today, your hard work has indeed paid off.

In these very challenging times in our nation, she stands as a symbol of hope, especially to our youths facing different kinds of challenges, in their journey to greatness  Never give up, no matter how hard the journey, success lies ahead.

As I have always said, we will remain committed to building a better Nigeria for our very talented youths, no matter the obstacles that stand in our way, because undoubtedly  The New Nigeria is POssible. -PO

SEE POST:
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, has hailed Chidimma Adetshina, on her emergence as the first runner-up at the 2024 Miss Universe.

Recall that Adetshina represented Nigeria at the 73rd Miss Universe Competition held in Mexico.

She came second behind Miss Denmark, Victoria Kjaer Theilvig, who won the keenly contested crown from Miss Universe 2023, Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua.

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READ MORE: Denmark Secures Miss Universe 2024 Crown As Nigerias Chidinma Adetshina Achieves Runner-Up Position

Reacting to the development in a statement on Sunday by Chairman and CEO of NiDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, described Miss Adetshinas feat as a reward for her resilience.

She added that despite all odds, Chidimma remained focused and achieved her goals.

The statement, which was released by the media aide of NiDCOMs boss, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, disclosed that the beauty queen was received at the commissions office, in Lagos State.

Balogun said: Adetshinas controversial official withdrawal from the Miss South Africa 2024 contest, of which she had advanced to the final stage, some few months back, noting that Nigeria warmly welcomed her, after being literally forced out of South Africa.

Describing her as brilliant, focussed and determined, she urged others to emulate the spirit of Nigerianess in Chidimma by being proud of the country and not run it down under whatever guise.

The competition, described as one of the most thrilling in recent years, celebrated the talents, intelligence, and elegance of women from around the globe.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged opposition parties to seek redress in court, if dissatisfied with outcome of the just concluded gubernatorial election in Ondo State.

Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission on Sunday, declared Lucky Aiyedatiwa, candidate for the All Progressives Congress, as winner of the election held across 3,933 polling units in the states 18 local government areas.

The INECs returning officer, Olayemi Akinyemi, said that incumbent governor of the State, secured 366,781 votes to defeat the former Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi, of the Peoples Democratic Party, who polled 117,845.

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Following the announcement of Ayedatiwa as winner of the November 16th poll, PDP has described the exercise as sham, and worst election to be conducted by INEC.

The major opposition party also accused APC of engaging in vote-buying, adding that Governor Ayedatiwas victory will be reviewed.

READ MORE: INEC Declares Gov Aiyedatiwa Winner Of Ondo Guber

Meanwhile, President Tinubu, while congratulating the incumbent Governor on Sunday, commended the peaceful conduct of the process.

He also congratulated other candidates of the 17 political parties for the maturity and sense of purpose demonstrated during the campaigns and the election.

This was contained in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.

He said: Those dissatisfied with the outcome of the election can explore the opportunities provided by the judicial system to seek redress on areas of conflict.

President Tinubu believes the Ondo State election was another litmus test of the capacity of the Independent National Electoral Commission, affirming that the electoral body justified the confidence of the people with early preparations, deployment of staff and materials, and handling of the electoral process.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the outcome of the governorship election in Ondo state, describing it as sham.

Recall that former governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, candidate of the All Progressives Congress, was declared winner of the poll held on Saturday.

INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the incumbent Governor won the election in all 18 Local Government Areas with 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival, Agboola Ajayi of PDP, who secured 117,845 votes.

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Meanwhile, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, on Sunday, the opposition party said that it is reviewing the outcome of the poll.

PDP described the election as worst ever to be conducted by Independent National Electoral Commission.

The statement reads: The Peoples Democratic Party and indeed all lovers of democracy in Nigeria and across the world have just witnessed the worst election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The November 16, 2024 Governorship election in Ondo State runs short of all expectations and requirements of a free, fair and credible election as it witnessed the height of electoral swindle, deceit and manipulation by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

READ MORE: INEC Declares Gov Aiyedatiwa Winner Of Ondo Guber

This election witnessed widespread election merchandising, monetization and barefaced vote buying by the APC and its apparatus in government to suppress the genuine aspiration of the people.

This devious practice by the APC was rampant and pervasive because the APC have utterly impoverished Nigerians and turned poverty into a weapon of mass subjugation which enabled it to manipulate the election and its outcome.

We call the attention of all Nigerians and the International Community to this reprehensible practice by the APC as widely witnessed in the November 16, 2024 Governorship election in Ondo State and we demand that a serious action be taken to stem such if Nigerias democracy must survive.

In the meantime, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP will be having a more detailed review of the election and its outcome and take appropriate action in the defence of our Democracy.
Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa has denied alleged involvement in vote-buying activities, following his recent electoral victory in the just concluded gubernatorial poll in the state.

Ayedatiwa led this out on Sunday, after he was declared winner by Independent National Electoral Commission.

The incumbent Governor, representing rulling All Prepgressive Congress, won all 18 local government areas in the Sunshine state on Saturday.

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INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that following the announcement, made by INEC, some political parties and electoral observers have been accusing APC of allegedly buying votes.

Opposition parties also described the poll as worst election to be conducted in Nigeria.

Speaking in an interview with Channel TV on Sunday night, Governor Ayedatiwa noted that his opponents are using the vote-buying allegation as an excuse for their loss.

He said: Im not aware of such. The opposition will want to say that to make excuses for their failure, but for us, it is what we worked for; the people have spoken through their votes.

There wont be any reason to buy votes because Ondo people know what they want. Im not aware of people buying votes on my behalf.

READ MORE: INEC Declares Gov Aiyedatiwa Winner Of Ondo Guber

Speaking over alleged violence and rift between him and Peoples Democratic Partys candidate, Ajayi Agboola, Ayedatiwa said: Both of us (including Agboola Ajayi) served under the late governor (Rotimi Akeredolu) and they knew our relationship with the late principal.

We have access to one another and a free flow of communication. We have no bad blood, which also doesnt exist this time.

During our engagement with INEC at the stakeholders meeting, we shook hands and related very well.

Recall that the State Returning Officer, Prof Olayemi Akinwumi, said announced that Ayedatiwa of APC polled 366,781 to defeat his closest rival, Ajayi, who garnered 117,845 votes.
Chibuzor Nelson Azubuike, a Nigerian indigenous rapper better known as Phyno, has explained why he raps in his native Igbo dialect.

He stated that he began his career rapping in English but subsequently converted to Igbo because he wanted to provide something unique to Western audiences.

In an episode of the In My Opinion podcast shared on X Sunday, Phyno explained that his background influenced his decision to rap in Igbo.

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READ MORE: Wizkid Dominates Spotify Charts With Record-Breaking Debut For Kese

He said, Growing up, I listened to emcees that were very lyrical like the Busta Rhymes, the Jay-Zs, the 2Pacs, the Biggies and the rest. I listened to everything. I had that Western influence in my music but then at some point in my life when I was still trying to find myself, I was rapping in English, too.

But when I got to a point where I had to make a career out of this, I asked myself a simple question, What am I going to sell to the world? If I go to the UK, will I sell English to them? They own English language. If I go to America right now, I am selling Igbo to them. Thats what its. So you have to sell something that they dont have. I cant come to your country and sell what you already have. But if I sell what you dont have, it will be unique.

I grew up in a highlife influenced neighbourhood. I make sure that I incorporate all the influences into my music and art. I have started wearing the Igbo traditional attire because I have to look different, I have to represent my culture.
Senator Ned Nwoko, a prominent billionaire businessman and lawmaker, has disclosed that his wife Regina Daniels had many suitors vying for her attention before she ultimately chose to marry him.

In a video posted by Regina on Instagram Sunday, Nwoko complimented and expressed his appreciation for her while her mother and some guests were present.

He revealed that the actress had numerous admirers, from reverends and film producers to oil tycoons, but he is thankful that she rejected them all and decided to marry him.

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Shes such a gem. She told me there were so many suitors, including reverend pastors, oil bunkers, film producers, and many of them. She gave me the list of her suitors. They were pampering her sending her gifts but she didnt say yes to any of them, he said.

Nwoko also expressed gratitude to Reginas mother for keeping her, adding that he was grateful her daughter was a virgin and its from her resolve to be strong.

READ MORE: Don Jazzy Treats Himself To Three Brand-New Luxury Cars

He also stated that, despite being a traditional man, he did not have to go through many protocols and did not have time to contact anyone on her fathers side before marrying Regina.

I just went to her mother and everything was sorted out, he said.

It should be noted that Nwoko and Regina celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary on May 28, 2024.

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A revenue collector was killed by an articulated vehicle while trying to collect dues from the driver, according to the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).

Olalekan Bakare-Oki, the general manager of LASTMA, confirmed this in a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos.

Taofiq Adebayo, LASTMAs spokesman, signed the statement.

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According to Mr Bakare-Oki, the collision occurred on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, at New Garage, inbound to Lagos.

He stated that the articulated vehicle was registered FST 887 XD, and that the driver fled the site of the accident.

READ MORE: Police Probe Identity Of Decomposed Body Found Near Transformer In Ebonyi

The tragic event resulted in the immediate death of a revenue collector who was attempting to collect dues from the truck driver. The victim was fatally struck while crossing the expressway, succumbing instantly to the severe impact.

Personnel from LASTMA swiftly responded to the scene, taking decisive actions to manage the aftermath of the incident.

The remains of the deceased were respectfully handed over to officers from the Adigboluje Police Division, who are coordinating with the family to facilitate the necessary formalities, he said.

He stated that LASTMA officers swiftly removed the articulated vehicle, which had caused major traffic congestion, and turned it over to police for a thorough investigation.

Mr Bakare-Oki sent his condolences to the bereaved family and expressed sadness over the tragic incident.

He sought transportation unions to educate their members on safe dues collection procedures, particularly in high-risk areas like expressways.

LASTMA remains steadfast in its commitment to safeguarding the well-being of road users and alleviating traffic disruptions across Lagos.

The agency assures the public of its continued collaboration with law enforcement agencies to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding this incident and to implement strategies aimed at preventing similar tragedies in the future, he said.

(NAN)
The Nigerian Army 6 Brigade, under Sector 3 of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), has declared that it will continue utilizing all its resources to dismantle criminal networks in Taraba State.

The troops made the commitment in a press statement on Sunday, as they announced the arrest of a known kidnapper in the state.

Suleiman Ahmad, the suspect, was apprehended over the weekend in Bomanda village, Lau Local Government Council, in the state.

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The statement, signed by Captain Oni Olubodunde, the acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations for the Brigade, revealed that the suspect admitted to kidnapping approximately 20 people in Lau Local Government Area and extorting over N70 million from them.

READ MORE: Navy Intercepts Speedboats With Illegally Refined AGO, Dismantles Unlicensed Refining Sites In Bayelsa

Following the suspects confession, the military conducted a follow-up operation on November 15, 2024, resulting in the discovery of an AK-47 rifle from a covert location.

The troops also apprehended one of Ahmads associates, Hussaini, a suspected gunrunner, at his home in the Mayo Dassa region of Lau Local Government Council.

We will continue to deploy all necessary resources to dismantle criminal networks and protect law-abiding residents from the scourge of kidnapping and other forms of violent crime, the statement said.
In an effort to get more funding to Philadelphias smaller arts and culture groups, the William Penn Foundation is funneling an $8 million award through the Philadelphia Cultural Fund to benefit hundreds of organizations.

The grant is unusual in several ways: Its one of the largest gifts to arts and culture in the foundations history, and the money will go toward general operating support (as opposed to special projects or buildings), which is often the hardest money to raise.

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It is also the first time in the history of the Philadelphia Cultural Fund that it has received money other than an allocation from the citys budget, according to PCF executive director Gabriela Sanchez.

I want our city to celebrate this moment, because this is a historic moment, Sanchez said.

The cultural fund  which is not a city agency, but a separate nonprofit  awarded $3.6 million to 262 Philadelphia-based organizations in 2024, according to its annual report, so the new money from William Penn represents a substantial boost in the amount it can disburse: an additional $2 million a year over the next four years going for grants and capacity-building workshops.

For the William Penn Foundations part, the hope is to get funds to some groups it has not funded in the past.

Its a challenge for some of these organizations  they have barriers like limited staff that make applying for funding opportunities difficult, said Barbara Wong, program director of the arts and culture program at William Penn. So by engaging the Philadelphia Cultural Fund in this initiative, its part of our commitment to helping these organizations get the resources that they need to do their really good and important work.

The new program does not mean a net increase or reduction in the total amount William Penn allocates each year for arts and culture operating support, a foundation spokesperson said.

The grants are intended for groups with annual budgets of $1.5 million or less. The first grants with the William Penn money will be made in 2026, and will go to a subset of PCF grantee organizations expected to number around 200.

Sanchez said that in the past, there was some hesitancy about the PCF raising money beyond its allocation from the city, lest that allocation be reduced. Ultimately the foundation money was sought because Sanchez didnt want to work off of a fear mindset or a scarcity mindset.

Asked whether she will now seek to raise additional outside funds to further sweeten the PCF pot, Sanchez said:

Of course. This is my hope, that this is only the beginning.
The three men, armed with guns, drove through the streets of West Philadelphia in a white sedan, scanning the sidewalks for their targets.

Soon, they would spot the two teens they had planned to kill. After parking on the corner of South 55th and Arch Streets, the trio sat in wait, and as the teens passed, two of the men hopped out of the car and fired more than a dozen shots.

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Then the shooters got back into the car and the getaway driver peeled away, as Nasir Brooks, 17, and Steven Griffin, 18, lay dying.

That ambush on June 11, 2021 was planned and carried out by Rayfiq Tiggle, 25, Tariq Chambers, 23, and Isaiah Jones, 22, all of Philadelphia, prosecutors said. And on Monday, District Attorney Larry Krasner announced that the men will spend the rest of their lives in prison after a jury convicted them of first-degree murder last week.

Krasner praised Assistant District Attorney Sean Perez, the lead prosecutor on the case, for obtaining the conviction. But the DA said gun violence remained all-too-common in the city, even as it has begun to wane.

There have been 227 homicides so far this year, down from 488 by the same time in 2021, when the fatal shootings occurred, according to police data.

Even as those numbers have come down, Krasner said, it was important to remember those who lost their lives to guns.

It is in fact tragedy all around for the families of all five of those people, who have  in one way or another  essentially lost their lives, he said. Now we have to hold that truth at the same time we hold the truth that there are fewer people like Nasir Brooks and fewer people like Steven Griffin being killed this year. And there are fewer people like Tiggle, Chambers, and Jones shooting and harming people and killing people with guns this year.

Krasner declined to comment on the motive for the slayings.

Lawyers for Chambers and Jones said they will appeal the verdict. Tiggles attorney could not be reached for comment.
A Philadelphia man was arrested Monday after police said he raped two women in separate incidents in Point Breeze in the span of a few hours over the weekend.

Abdul Ford, 22, of the 1300 block of South 22nd Street faces charges of rape, sexual assault, and related crimes, police said.

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At 10:50 p.m. Sunday, police said, a woman was walking on the 1600 block of Point Breeze Avenue when Ford grabbed her from behind, sexually assaulted and raped her, police said. The victim was able to escape Ford and flee, police said.

Less than three hours later, just three blocks away, another woman was walking on the 2000 block of Wharton Street around 1:30 a.m. when Ford grabbed and attacked her, police said. The victim was able to get away, police said, but he took her phone.

Police were able to track the womans phone to the 1300 block of South 22nd Street, where they found and arrested Ford.

Ford pleaded guilty to indecent assault in October 2023, according to court records.
Michael Jones (far right), the younger brother of Robert Jones, is joined by attorneys Shaka Johnson (center) and Kevin OBrien (left) during a rally outside City Hall Monday. Jones relatives say they have received no updates from the city in the six weeks since the unarmed man was shot and killed by an off-duty Philadelphia homicide detective. Read more

Family and friends of an unarmed man who was shot and killed by an off-duty Philadelphia homicide detective last month rallied outside City Hall on Monday, calling on District Attorney Larry Krasner to bring charges against the officer.

Robert Jones, 54, was shot and killed by Detective Christopher Sweeney in Northeast Philadelphia on Oct. 3. Jones was driving behind Sweeney as they slowed at a stoplight around 11:30 p.m. at Willits Road and Holmes Avenue, police said. For reasons that remain unclear, Jones then got out of his vehicle and approached the drivers side of Sweeneys car, police said.

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 READ MORE: The family of an unarmed man killed by an off-duty Philly detective wants answers

Just as Jones approached him, police said, Sweeney pulled out his gun and fired multiple times through his drivers window, striking Jones throughout his body. Jones was rushed to the hospital but died shortly upon arrival, police said.

Investigators who responded to the scene searched the area for a potential weapon for hours, even diving into the sewers and opening up manholes. Nothing was recovered, law enforcement sources said.

But there is also no video of the shooting, said the sources, making it difficult to know exactly what happened before Sweeney opened fire.

Just moments before Jones loved ones gathered to call for answers, Krasner said he could not speak publicly about the investigation, which remains ongoing. He said he might have more information to share in 30 days.

We take these cases very seriously, the DA said. Our record as an administration establishes that, but we are not going to comment on our conclusions until we have conclusions. Were not going to draw those conclusions without having all the facts.

Attorney Shaka Johnson, who is representing Jones relatives, said Jones family, colleagues, and the community have been spat upon by Krasners lack of response to the shooting.

Still, he said, they will continue to fight for answers.

Say his name! Robert Jones! shouted the group, which included members of the building trades union Local 57. Jones had worked at Southwark Metal Manufacturing for more than 20 years, his family said, and was a valued member of the union.

His family said he worked part-time as a roadside assistant, and was wearing a reflective vest when he approached Sweeneys car and was shot.

This is why we fight for body-worn cameras, this is why we fight to capture what police officers are doing on film, Johnson said. Because when you dont, you end up in this exact scenario right here.
Students at Gloria Casarez Elementary School in Kensington choose books to take home. The books were donated by Books in Homes, a Bucks County-based nonprofit that gave away its millionth book at Casarez in November. Read more

Confetti floated to the ground. Excited kids shouted, clapping as 9-year-old Baashir Willis waved his arms, jubilant.

It was a big-deal moment in a big-deal day at Gloria Casarez Elementary School in Kensington: A nonprofit that makes kids reading dreams come true had just handed Baashir its millionth book. And though there are innumerable difficult things in the blocks surrounding Casarez and in the world, inside Room 207 there was something to celebrate.

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I love books, said Baashir. I cant believe they picked me.

Democracy in action

Richard Quest never dreamed one day hed be handing his organizations millionth book to a Philadelphia fourth grader.

Quest founded the nonprofit quite by accident; as a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania, he traveled to New Zealand to learn about the countrys educational system and met the founders of a similar charity there. Books in Homes USA, based in Bristol, Bucks County, launched in 2008.

Books in Homes aims to boost literacy and foster a love of reading in children by giving them books to own  not castoffs or material that holds little appeal, but books they love, books they choose. Quest said hell never forget one of the first books he personally gave away at Casarez  after a boy made his pick, he asked Quest when he would have to return it. His face lit up when Quest said it was his to keep.

That little boy said it was the first book he had ever owned, said Quest. This is democracy in action.

Leveling up

Spread out on a table before the Casarez students was a reading bounty: books about sharks and volcanoes, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Confessions of a Gym Class Dropout. Each student was told to choose two books to take home.

Third grader Leilannie Davis considered her choices carefully.

Every time I read, Im leveling up  I get to learn about different things, said Leilannie, 8.

I love the I Survived books, said Cameron Harris, another third grader. I appreciate that they donated all these books.

Think of book fair days in elementary school, said Kate Bowersox, Books in Homes executive director: the thrill of students shopping for books tailored to their interests. Books in Homes brings the book fair feeling to students who might not have the ability to have that otherwise.

Its so very, very important that our students, the next generation, learn to read and think and really dream big, said Bowersox.

Casarez has had a relationship with Books in Homes since 2014, when principal Awilda Balbuena met Quest. Now, shes a member of the nonprofits board and still a staunch believer that books in homes build not just reading comprehension, but also mathematical and digital communications skills, bolstering future job prospects.

After his name was announced, Balbuena hugged Baashir, whose name was chosen at random to receive the millionth book.

I just like books, all the pictures and the words, he said. After Baashirs brother, first grader Zaideek, heard that his brother won, he rushed into the room where kids were still celebrating, poring over their books. They couldnt wait to tell their sister, Xiulan, a Casarez kindergartner, the news.

Now, Zaideek said, we can teach our sister to read, too.
A cheesesteak with fried onions at Uncle Gus' Steaks at Reading Terminal Market on Nov. 17, 2024. Read more

The new cheesesteak stand at Reading Terminal Market has a distinctive pedigree.

Two owners of Uncle Gus Steaks are second-generation market veterans: Joe Nicolosi of DiNics Roast Pork & Beef and Dave Braunstein of Pearls Oyster Bar. The third is Danny DiGiampietro, owner of Angelos Pizzeria in South Philadelphia, who is baking his signature steak rolls for Uncle Gus singular product.

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Uncle Gus soft-opened late last week on the markets 12th Street side, next to Bassetts Ice Cream. It replaced Carmens Famous Italian Hoagies & Cheesesteaks, which closed last month when Carmen DiGuglielmo retired after 42 years.

DiGiampietro, 52, whose background is in baking, was a bread vendor who delivered rolls to DiNics and Pearls before he opened Angelos.

Nicolosi, 43, and his father, Tommy, had long considered opening a cheesesteak stand as a complement to DiNics revered Italian sandwiches such as roast pork, roast beef, and meatballs . It was always, One day one day That type of thing, Nicolosi said. Then Dave and I became friends and we talked about it as well.

DiNics manager Jack Mooneys background is in cheesesteaks, as he worked for former market stand Ricks Steaks from age 13 to 23, after which he left to become a prison guard. He returned in late 2019 to work for Nicolosi at DiNics.

Last year, Mooney approached DiGuglielmo on Nicolosis behalf and asked if he would sell Carmens. DiGuglielmo wasnt ready. Then, in February, Mooney ran into DiGuglielmo at the annual Party for the Market, Nicolosi said, and DiGuglielmo wanted to talk.

DiGuglielmo rejected Nicolosis initial offer. Nicolosi and Braunstein then texted DiGiampietro: Hey. Cheesesteaks. Reading Terminal. You in?

He was, agreeing to share the business equally with Nicolosi and Braunstein.

It was like that, Braunstein, 37, said.

Uncle Gus is the Nicolosi familys first foray into cheesesteaks. I have a long history of saying quasi-derogatory things about cheesesteaks, Nicolosi said. I think I got this line from my dad: A cheesesteak is like a hot dog. It could be good but its not cooking. Since turning on the grills at Uncle Gus last week, however, Nicolosi acknowledged that he has more respect for the grill work.

A decade ago, Braunstein took over Pearls Oyster Bar from his parents, Dani and Lisa Braunstein, who opened it in 1981. In a further connection, Dave Braunsteins younger brother, Jared, is general manager of Angelos, on Ninth Street near Fitzwater.

The stand is named after Nicolosis great-uncle Gaetano Gus Pollizze, a retired upholsterer who for two decades sang opera for customers while working DiNics register. He died in 2009 at age 89.

Nicolosi and Braunstein said their goal was to sell the best cheesesteak in the city.

Wont this create an odd dynamic, with DiGiampietro both a business partner and the owner of Angelos, one of the citys most acclaimed sandwich shops?

I defer to what Tommy always says: I dont know if were the best, but we try our best, DiGiampietro said

Its all subjective, Braunstein said, with a smile.

Nicolosi knows this firsthand. His family came into the pork business through his great-grandfather, an immigrant butcher named Gaetano Nicolosi. His sons  including Tommys father, Benny  started roasting pork and selling it out of a garage in 1954.

Nicolosi remembers hearing how customers compared roast pork sandwiches when his father, along with cousin Frank DiClaudio (the Di in DiNics), opened their first shop in South Philadelphia in 1977.

Everybody said the young guys are good but the old guys at the butcher shop, theyre better, Joe Nicolosi said.

Same product, same process, though.

Without question, there are going to be people that say Uncle Gus might be Angelos-adjacent but the original is better, Braunstein said. Were going to have that. But I would say that Angelos is amazing, but theyre doing so many things. Were going to be singularly focused on one thing.

Besides the same rolls, Nicolosi said, Uncle Gus' basic sandwich has the elements of Angelos standard cheesesteaks  the same beef, Cooper sharp cheese, and fried onions.

Were not looking to be a carbon copy, Nicolosi said. Angelos offers whole, roasted long-hot peppers on its sandwiches, for example, while Uncle Gus slices its long hots, griddles them on the flattop, and folds them into the meat.

Were modeling ourselves after the guy that we feel subjectively has elevated the cheesesteak primarily through his bread, Nicolosi said. So can we take it further? Do we necessarily know the path to that now? Not really.
Containers of Roundup are displayed on a store shelf in San Francisco, Feb. 24, 2019. Read more

A Philadelphia jury sided with agricultural giant Monsanto, finding that Roundup weed killer did not cause the cancer of a local woman.

Judith Womack of Philadelphia was diagnosed in 2019 with non-Hodgkins lymphoma after having used Roundup multiple times a year since 2015, according to court records. Like thousands of people across the country, Womack sued Monsanto alleging that chemicals in the weed killer caused her blood cancer.

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But after a three-week trial in the Philadelphia Court of Common pleas, a jury on Friday found that Monsantos flagship product wasnt the cause of Womacks disease.

This is the third trial in which a Philadelphia jury sided with the subsidiary of German pharmaceutical company Bayer. Monsanto lost four other trials, most recently last month when a jury returned a $78 million verdict in favor of an Abington man. Dozens of other lawsuits are pending in Philadelphia.

Womacks attorneys did not respond to requests for comments.

A spokesperson for Monsanto touted in a statement the companys record of winning trials nationally, saying the latest verdict validates the Companys strategy of taking cases to trial.

Despite the verdict in its favor, Monsanto continues to argue that the recent Roundup trials in Philadelphia shouldnt have taken place at all. In August, three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that Pennsylvania state law cannot require a more expansive pesticide warning label than the one approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The company is planning to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the state-based lawsuits, the statement said.

Philadelphia juries previously handed hefty verdicts against Monsanto, including a $2.2 billion award to a Lycoming man in January. (A Philadelphia judge reduced the award to roughly $400 million in June.) Before that, Philadelphia juries awarded $175 million and $3.5 million to plaintiffs who alleged Roundup caused cancer.
Budget airline Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection Monday after struggling with declining sales prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic and failed merger attempts.

The company estimated its assets and liabilities are between $1 billion and $10 billion each, according to a court filing.The news comes on the heels of a failed $3.8 billion merger with JetBlue Airways, plus issues with engines manufactured for the type of aircraft Spirit uses, grounding many of its planes.

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In October, the company announced it would furlough hundreds of pilots among other cuts beginning next year. When the Wall Street Journal reported last week that a potential bankruptcy filing was imminent, Spirits shares dropped 25%. The company expects to be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange soon, USA Today reported.

As part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the airline has received a commitment for a $350 million equity investment from existing bondholders which is expected to reduce the companys debt.

Spirit is Philadelphia International Airports third-largest airline carrier, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. Last year, the airline flew nearly two million travelers out of the city.

So, what does all of this mean for the everyday traveler? Is the bright-yellow branded airline no longer an option for travelers? Heres what we know.

What if I already booked an upcoming flight with Spirit?

Spirit said it plans to continue its flight operations through the bankruptcy proceedings.

If youve already gotten notice of your flight canceled or [that it] had to be rebooked, youve already gotten that notice, Robert W. Mann Jr., a former airline executive officer who runs an independent airline consultancy, told USA Today.

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Mann said that its possible travelers will see more updates to their already booked flights by the end of the year. Travelers should look for notifications and itinerary changes from Spirit.

Can I keep booking with Spirit anyway?

Spirit says customers can continue to book flights with the company and flights are still available on Spirits website.

Still, some experts caution that travelers may want to book elsewhere to avoid issues later on.

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It would be wise to rebook flights if you have flexible tickets as its uncertain how quickly the bankruptcy will be resolved for Spirit, business consultant Arjan Singh told The Inquirer. You dont want to go to the airport to find out your flight or airline is not operating.

In its open letter to Spirit customers, the airline said it expected to complete the bankruptcy process within the first quarter of 2025 and to emerge even better positioned to deliver the best value in the sky.

The company added that other airlines that are operating successfully today have undertaken a similar process, referring to airlines like American Airlines and United, which filed for bankruptcy in 2011 and 2002, respectively.

Mamie Jones, an organizational change expert and former vice president of technology at Intuit, also advises having a backup flight in mind.

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Airlines are notorious for giving information, only for it to be updated over and over again causing stress to travelers, especially if a trip is a special occasion that would be devastating to impact, Jones said.

What if my flight gets canceled?

If a flight booked with Spirit gets canceled, it will be subject to the new Department of Transportation rules regarding flight refunds.

According to the recently finalized rules, airlines are required to fully refund a flight if its canceled or delayed for more than three hours on a domestic flight, or for six hours on an international flight for any reason. Eligibility depends on if travelers do not opt to fly on the delayed flight or if an alternative travel itinerary is offered by the airline.

What about my Free Spirit loyalty benefits?

Spirit said its loyalty points program  Free Spirit  will continue and that travelers can keep using their rewards.

What does this mean for low-cost travel moving forward?

Spirit is known for its low base fares and no-frills traveling options.

According to the aviation analytics firm Cirium, an average Spirit domestic round-trip economy fare this year cost $136 before taxes and fees, 61% lower than the U.S. airline industrys average fare and 69% lower than the average fare for the four major U.S. airlines: American, United, Delta, and Southwest.

Budget airlines need to be big to compete, Singh said. [The bankruptcy filing] puts the bigger players like Southwest and JetBlue in a very strong position; the other smaller players will continue to struggle. Singh says consumers can likely expect to see more airline consolidation in the form of mergers and acquisitions moving forward.

It also means that pricing could be affected on a short-term basis while other budget airlines see travelers switching their flights from Spirit, Singh predicted. His advice to take the most advantage is straightforward: Book early to get the best prices.
Ayeshia Poole recalled the aspirations of her 8-year-old daughter, Jayanna Powell, who was killed by a motorist in 2016. Poole was among those who gathered at Carroll Park in West Philly for World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on Sunday. Read more

The midday sun hung over Ayeshia Pooles shoulder as she explained the ambitious goal that her daughter, Jayanna Powell, had once set for herself.

Jayanna could sing and dance her heart out  shed memorized the lyrics to Beyonce's 2011 track, Love on Top, along with the fluid dance moves from the songs video  but she aspired to be more than a pop star.

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By the time she was in second grade, Jayanna had told her mother that she planned on being the first Black woman elected to the U.S. presidency. It was a tender thought, a childs dream, open and big as the sky.

On Nov. 18, 2016, Jayanna and her older brother, Hassan Cox, trekked across 63rd Street near Lansdowne Avenue in West Philly, and were struck by a Nissan Altima that had swerved around a stopped trolley car.

Cox, then 12, suffered injuries to his knee. Jayanna was tossed nearly 100 feet through the air, and died later that day. She was 8.

Poole retraced this story  her daughters endearing precociousness, the unending anguish of her death  on Sunday in West Phillys Carroll Park, where other grieving families gathered to mark the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

Every day, Poole said, is extremely hard.

The World Day of Remembrance was started in 1992 by a mother, Brigitte Chaudhry, whose son had been struck and killed by a motorist who drove through a red light in south London.

Philadelphias extension of the event, organized by the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, was a somber affair.

A slight autumn chill hung in the air, and the names of the 106 people who have been killed in traffic crashes in the city thus far this year were read aloud. Some mourners clutched yellow carnations and held aloft photos of their loved ones.

There was talk, from city and state officials, about legislative action thats meant to address vehicular violence.

Every neighborhood deserves safe streets, said City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier.

Earlier this year, an Inquirer report found that the city had recorded 577 driving-related deaths between 2020 and 2023; a third of those victims were pedestrians. Drivers in Philadelphia are involved in fatal accidents at more than double the rate of those in Boston, and triple the rate of drivers in New York City, according to a 2023 city traffic safety report.

In October, City Council approved a bill to ban drivers from stopping for any amount of time in a bike lane. Violators would face a $125 fine in Center City, and $75 in other areas.

Council members voted 17-0 to adopt the legislation, which followed a string of horrific car crashes that left pedestrians dead or gravely injured. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker recently signed the no-stopping bill.

One midsummer day brought the prevalence of the citys traffic violence into sharp focus.

At about 4:30 p.m. on July 17, a driver, Sekia Spencer, allegedly struck a 26-year-old woman who was walking across the 5800 block of Chew Avenue in Germantown, according to Philadelphia police. The victim was flung into Spencers windshield and admitted to Einstein Medical Center in critical condition.

Spencer, 40, was charged with aggravated assault while driving under the influence and related offenses.

A few hours later, at 7 p.m., Barbara Friedes, a 30-year-old medical resident who specialized in pediatric oncology at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, was struck and killed by an allegedly intoxicated motorist as she rode her bicycle on the 1800 block of Spruce Street.

The driver, Michael Vahey, 68, was later charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, involuntary manslaughter, and related offenses.

Minutes after Friedes was fatally struck, Christopher Cabrera, 38, was standing on the corner of Frankford and East Allegheny Avenues in Kensington when he was hit by a speeding Toyota that police said had veered onto the curb.

Cabrera died at the scene, and the driver, Christopher Sorensen, 41, was later charged with homicide by vehicle.

Drivers, Gauthier said, are more reckless than ever.

Mario DAdamo II called for motorists to face longer mandatory prison sentences for driving drunk, leaving the scene of crashes, or being involved in fatal collisions.

His son, Mario DAdamo III, a 37-year-old attorney and avid cyclist, was riding in a bike lane at South Phillys sprawling FDR Park on Aug. 4, 2023, when he was struck by a Tesla and killed.

Police said the driver, Thomas Ford, 68, attempted to flee the scene of the crash. Ford was later charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and involuntary manslaughter.

DAdamo cannot escape the nightmare of his sons final hours: seeing his wife cradle their boys head in a hospital, the devastation of hearing that hed passed, then being told by an undertaker that his injuries were too severe to allow for an open-casket viewing.

The impact on our family has been devastating, DAdamo said softly.

In 2016, then-Mayor Jim Kenney created a Vision Zero task force, which was meant to pursue policy and infrastructure changes that could ultimately bring an end to traffic deaths in the city.

The idea is not far-fetched; other cities, like Hoboken, N.J., and Jersey City, have already eliminated traffic deaths through similar efforts.

Parker faced criticism earlier this year for reducing city spending on Vision Zero by more than $1 million in her first budget. Parkers administration, however, insisted this characterization was wrong, noting that it was spending $1.25 million on other speed enforcement and traffic calming measures.

There is another policy idea, one that is near to Ayeshia Pooles heart.

The motorist who struck and killed Jayanna, Paul Woodlyn III, was convicted in 2017 of involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person, and sentenced to 4 to nine years in state prison, followed by nine years probation.

Woodlyn had tried to have his car repaired at an auto body shop in Chester County, claiming it had been damaged by a deer.

So Poole and her sister, Jasmine Hoffman, hit upon an idea for an Amber Alert-like state notification system  Jay Alerts  which would disseminate to body shops and garages information about cars that have been involved in hit-and-run crashes.

In 2017, State Sen. Anthony Williams introduced legislation to bring Pooles vision to life. The bill has languished in the Senate ever since.

State Rep. Morgan Cephas plans to introduce similar legislation in the House. CBS News has reported that PennDot estimated it would cost about $375,000 to create a Jay Alerts system, a process that would take just 10 months to complete.

Every time you turn on the news or look at the paper, you see stories about hit-and-runs, Poole said. It hurts my heart.
Trump campaign official Chris LaCivita's remarks come as tensions rise between Democrats and Republicans during the recount of Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate race. Read more

Chris LaCivita, President-elect Donald Trumps co-campaign manager, suggested on X Sunday evening that Bucks County commissioners, including board chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia, will go to jail because of their decision to defy a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling on mail ballots.

Democratic-led election boards  including in Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, and Centre Counties  decided to count undated ballots, despite a pair of rulings from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court barring their inclusion.

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The states high court issued another ruling Monday afternoon, reaffirming that these ballots will not count.

The attempt by the boards to count the ballots came under national scrutiny as Pennsylvanias U.S. Senate race went into an automatic recount under state law. Republican Dave McCormick, who was declared the winner by the Associated Press, leads Democratic Sen. Bob Casey by less than half a percentage point.

Republicans have accused Caseys campaign, without evidence, of coordinating with Democratic-led election boards in an effort to to reverse the outcome of the race by voting to include the ballots against the court order. Democratic officials framed their efforts as intended to ensure voters voices are heard, despite the errors or omissions.

Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat, who also cast a vote last week to count provisional ballots where voters did not sign in one of two necessary boxes,said Monday that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reaffirming its ruling provided clarity and is exactly what I was hoping for.

Ellis-Marseglia has made national headlines recently for comments she made last week regarding counting ballots deemed deficient.

I think we all know that precedent by a court doesnt matter anymore in this country, Ellis-Marseglia said last week.

People violate laws any time they want, she said. So, for me, if I violate this law its because I want a court to pay attention. Theres nothing more important than counting votes.

In a brief interview Monday evening, Ellis-Marseglia said the backlash from her comments are a misinterpretation of inartfully worded statement on my part, but taken completely out of context.

I apologize for all the upset and confusion it caused, and I am just glad that we are where we are today with the ruling, she added.

On Michael Smerconishs SiriusXM podcast Monday, Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija, who has also supported counting ballots deemed deficient, said he disagreed with Ellis-Marseglias reasoning that precedent is not important.

Thats not my stance at all, said Makhija, an election attorney and chair of the countys election board. My stance is the Constitution requires us to count the ballots of lawfully eligible registered voters, and yes, if theres an issue thats immaterial  that shouldnt throw out someones fundamental right.

Despite LaCivitas rhetoric, its highly unlikely that anyone would go to jail over the dispute, which would be resolved in civil court. On Friday, the McCormick campaign lodged a lawsuit against the Philadelphia Board of Commissioners  similar to ones the campaign has filed in Bucks and Centre Counties  for defying the Pennsylvania Supreme Courts orders about undated or incorrectly dated ballots.

RNC cochair Michael Whatley said on a call with reporters Monday that the RNC plans to pursue legal action against the commissioners, arguing they will face serious consequences for their brazen betrayal of the publics trust.

Ellis-Marseglia said she had no response to LaCivitas post, which comes amid a broader push from Republicans pressuring Casey to concede the race.

His post was in response to Steven Law, CEO of the Senate Leadership Fund, a GOP super PAC, who reposted an image of financial contributions from Ellis-Marseglias PAC to Caseys reelection bid.

This year, the PAC made a $800 total contribution to Bob Casey for Senate Inc. and another total $800 contribution to the Casey Keystone Victory Fund. Law, noting these contributions, said the boards decision to count undated ballots is metastasizing into a RICO scheme.

It is normal for Democrats, like Ellis-Marseglia, to donate to other Democrats campaigns.

In a PennLive guest editorial Monday, Casey reasserted his reason for staying in the race and allowing the recount process to move forward.

Pennsylvanians deserve to have their voices heard, and the worth of someones vote is not determined by how long it takes to be counted, he wrote. When a Pennsylvanian takes the time to cast a legal vote, often waiting in long lines and taking time away from their work and family, they deserve to have their vote counted, whether it is the first ballot counted or the last.

Staff writer Julia Terruso contributed to this article.

This story has been updated with comments from Diane Ellis-Marseglia.
WASHINGTON  As President-elect Donald Trump moves to set up a more forceful presidency than in his first term, he is choosing loyalists for his Cabinet and considering a tool known as recess appointments to skip over Senate confirmations for even some of the most powerful positions in U.S. government.

Trump has demanded that Republican leaders in the Senate, who will hold a majority in the chamber next year, agree to allow recess appointments. It would be a significant shift in power away from the Senate, but Trump is returning to Washington with almost total support from his party, including the more traditional Republicans who still hold sway in the chamber.

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Their commitment, however, is being tested now that Trump has turned to picked people outside the Republican Party mainstream like former Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii for top positions.

It quickly became apparent last week that figures like Gaetz, who Trump announced as his choice for attorney general, may struggle to gain majority support from the Senate, even though Republicans will enjoy a 53-seat majority. But that may not matter if Trump is able to use recess appointments.

How do recess appointments work?

The Senate, as set up by the U.S. Constitution, holds an important role in confirming  or rejecting  high-level officials like Cabinet positions, judges and ambassadors. Its part of the governments checks and balances that ensures the president does not get to unilaterally rule. However, there is a clause in the Constitution that allows presidents to fill out their administrations while the Senate is in recess.

 READ MORE: Who has Trump picked for his cabinet and administration so far? A running list.

During the nations early history, Congress would take months-long breaks from Washington, and presidents could use recess appointments to avoid having an important job go unfilled. But more recently, the process of recess appointments has been featured in partisan fights with the president.

President Bill Clinton made 139 recess appointments and President George W. Bush made 171, though neither used the process for top-level Cabinet positions, according to the Congressional Research Service. President Barack Obama tried to continue the practice, using it 32 times, but a 2014 Supreme Court ruling put a check on the presidents power to make recess appointments.

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Senate has to recess or adjourn for 10 days before a president can make unilateral appointments. Thats resulted in a practice where the Senate  even during weeks-long breaks from Washington  still holds pro forma sessions where one senator opens and closes the chamber, but no legislative business is conducted.

The House also holds some power over recess appointments by refusing to allow the Senate to adjourn.

Why is Trump demanding recess appointments?

Trump envisions becoming a president who is much stronger and forceful than perhaps any before him.

While still president in 2020, Trump threatened to use recess appointments after Democrats had slowed the Senate from confirming his nominees. He threatened to use a presidential power in the Constitution to adjourn both chambers of Congress on extraordinary occasions and when there is a disagreement between the House and Senate on adjourning.

When Trump becomes president again next year, he will be working with Republicans who hold a majority in the House and Senate and are promising to back his agenda. But the demand for recess appointments allows Trump to flex his political power and potentially ram through even the most controversial choices for his administration.

Sen. John Thune, who was elected as the next Senate majority leader this week, is pledging to keep an aggressive schedule until his nominees are confirmed. Thune, a South Dakota Republican, is also not taking recess appointments off the table.

To allow Trump to make the appointments, Republican senators would have to pass a motion of adjournment with a simple majority vote, though Democrats would likely do everything in their power to prevent it. It is also not clear if such a move would be fully supported by GOP senators.

Would recess appointments work?

Its not clear. The announcements of Gaetz and Gabbard sputtered the Senate into life, with some GOP senators issuing reminders of the importance of their advise and consent role in choosing the presidents Cabinet.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who just days before suggested he may be open to allowing Trump to make recess appointments as he ran unsuccessfully for Senate leader, told reporters Thursday: Obviously, I dont think we should be circumventing the Senates responsibilities, but I think its premature to be talking about recess appointments right now.

Still, there are very few, if any, Republicans remaining who dare openly defy Trump. GOP senators are planning to begin hearings on Trumps Cabinet nominees as soon as the new Congress begins on Jan. 3.
TRENTON  New Jersey Democratic U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey announced Monday shes running for governor, saying its time to fix the states economy and make it more affordable.

Sherrill, a former federal prosecutor and U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, joins a crowded field of Democrats vying to succeed Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, whose second term expires after next years election. Murphy is barred by term limits from running again.

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In a video announcing her run, Sherrill introduced herself as a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and chopper pilot and leaned on her military experience.

I learned early on: In a crisis, the worst thing you can do is freeze, she said. You have to choose to lead, to follow, or get out of the way.

She went on to say in the video that the states economy needs to be fixed.

Lets make life more affordable for hardworking New Jerseyans, from health care to groceries to childcare, she said. These challenges arent new and its time to confront them head on.

Sherrill has represented the 11th District, which includes parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties, since her 2018 election during President-elect Donald Trumps first administrations midterm. Sherrill flipped the district from Republican control with former Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysens retirement and has been reelected three times since.

Before getting elected to Congress, she was a prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey. She served in the Navy from 1994 to 2003.

Sherrill joins fellow Democratic U.S. House member Josh Gottheimer, who announced his run for governor last week.

Also seeking the Democratic nod are Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, teachers union president Sean Spiller and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney.

Republicans are also lining up to run. Among them are state Sen. Jon Bramnick, former state legislator Jack Ciattarelli, former state Sen. Ed Durr and radio host Bill Spadea.

If Sherrill has to resign her House seat, state law calls for the governor to set a special election if the seat opens up 70 days before the election.

New Jersey and Virginia are the only states with races for governor next year.
The Associated Press has declared Republican David McCormick, left, the winner of Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate race, but Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey has refused to concede. Read more

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday issued a ruling reiterating its previous stance that undated or misdated mail ballots should not be counted in the 2024 election, dealing a blow to Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Caseys hopes that a recount and litigation will help him overcome his just over 17,000-vote deficit to Republican Dave McCormick as of Monday evening.

The 4-3 ruling, which was requested by the Republican Party and opposed by Caseys campaign, followed moves by elections officials in Democratic-controlled counties  including Philadelphia, Bucks, and Montgomery  to have the ballots counted despite the high court instructing them to exclude those votes earlier in the year. The ruling applies to all counties.

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 READ MORE: Undated mail ballots wont be counted in next weeks election, Pa. Supreme Court rules

Democrats in those counties and elsewhere have pushed to include mail ballots with defects related to the dates voters are required to write on them because the dates are not used by election administrators to determine whether ballots are legitimate. Instead, they only count ballots that are received between when the ballots are distributed and Election Day, making it impossible for a vote to be counted outside of that time frame regardless of what date a voter writes on the ballot.

Republicans have argued that those votes must be excluded from the count because state law requires voters to date their mail ballots. McCormicks campaign joined the GOP lawsuit after it was filed.

While the ruling settles how these types of ballots are handled this year, the longer legal battle may not be over because the court has not yet weighed in on the underlying question of whether rejecting undated ballots on what Democrats describe as a technicality constitutes a violation of rights guaranteed to voters by the state constitution.

In a ruling issued shortly before Election Day, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court found that it did, though that case centered on a special election held in Philadelphia earlier this year. The state Supreme Court stayed the lower courts decision before Election Day, deciding at the time that it was too close to the Nov. 5 vote for any last-minute changes to rules surrounding which votes should be counted.

Democratic Justices David Wecht and Kevin Dougherty were joined by Republican Justices Kevin Brobson and Sallie Updyke Mundy in the majority decision Monday. Democratic Justices Debra Todd, Christine Donohue, and Daniel McCaffery dissented.

In a concurring statement, Brobson said that it was up to the courts to determine the constitutionality of state election laws and that he wanted to disabuse local elections officials of the notion that they have the authority to ignore Election Code provisions that they believe are unconstitutional.

Wecht added in another concurrence, It is critical to the rule of law that individual counties and municipalities and their elected and appointed officials, like any other parties, obey orders of this Court.

The total number of ballots in question is likely well under 10,000 and would not be enough to erase Caseys deficit alone. But the three-term incumbent is also in legal fights with McCormicks team over how various counties have handled certain categories of provisional ballots across the state.

The Associated Press has called the race for McCormick, but Casey has declined to concede.

Casey campaign manager Tiernan Donohue said Monday that the Democrat wants to ensure all legitimate votes are counted and is being opposed by McCormicks campaign efforts to disenfranchise Pennsylvanians.

Senator Casey is fighting to ensure Pennsylvanians voices are heard and to protect their right to participate in our democracy  just like he has done throughout his entire career, Donohue said. Meanwhile, David McCormick and the national Republicans are working to throw out provisional ballots cast by eligible Pennsylvania voters and accepted by county boards.

McCormick spokesperson Elizabeth Gregory cast the ruling as a massive setback to Senator Caseys attempt to count illegal ballots.

Bucks County and others blatantly violated the law in an effort to help Senator Casey, Gregory said. Senator-elect McCormick is very pleased with this ruling and looks forward to taking the Oath of Office in a few short weeks.

Bucks commissioners comments became lightning rod

Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia became the target of GOP ire over the issue for voting to count disputed provisional ballots while saying, For me, if I violate this law, its because I want a court to pay attention.

Chris LaCivita, President-elect Donald Trumps campaign manager, even said Monday that Ellis-Marseglia and other Bucks County commissioners will go to jail for defying the Supreme Court.

 READ MORE: Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita suggests Bucks County commissioners will go to jail for counting undated mail ballots

Ellis-Marseglia said Monday she was glad the court clarified the undated mail ballot issue, which is separate from the provisional ballots question but also part of the ongoing Casey challenge.

This is exactly what I was hoping for, for the court to weigh in and give us clarity, Ellis-Marseglia said. We were under a stay, and now we have full clarity.

Ellis-Marseglia said the backlash against her is a misinterpretation of inartfully worded statement on my part, but taken completely out of context.

I apologize for all the upset and confusion it caused, and I am just glad that we are where we are today with the ruling, Ellis-Marseglia said.

Commissioner Bob Harvie, a Democrat who chairs Bucks Countys election board, said in a statement that Bucks will of course comply with the order, which offered precisely the clarity we were seeking.

Harvie said the undated mail ballots would have amounted to 326 more votes for Casey and 288 for McCormick.

These numbers make clear, as has been known by both parties, that these votes were never going to alter the outcome of this race, he said.

Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, broke his silence on the issues surrounding the Senate race recount following Mondays ruling and joined in criticism of Ellis-Marseglia and other county officials who defied the court.

Any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or do not matter is irresponsible and does damage to faith in our electoral process, Shapiro said. It is critical for counties and officials in both parties to respect it with both their rhetoric and their actions.

Shapiro, a former Montgomery County commissioner, said counties were damned if they did and damned if they didnt count undated ballots because of failures by the state legislature to address problems with state election law.

Philadelphias City Commissioners had voted 2-1 to count undated mail ballots, with Seth Bluestein, the lone Republican, voting against it. Commissioners Chair Omar Sabir could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.

Commissioner Lisa Deeley said in a statement that she was deeply disappointed that the court still hasnt ruled on the underlying issue of whether its unconstitutional to disenfranchise a voter for failing to correctly date their mail ballot envelope.

This question remains an open issue, she said. I will continue to fight, through every viable legal avenue, to make sure that we are enfranchising eligible voters, not disenfranchising.

Other fronts in the legal battle

The debate over undated mail ballots was just one of several legal fronts Casey and McCormicks campaigns have been at odds over.

Over the last several days, the McCormick campaign filed lawsuits appealing the inclusion of more than 1,800 provisional ballots, with almost all of them cast in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, and Delaware Counties.

Democrats, meanwhile, have filed appeals to count more than 3,000 provisional ballots that were initially excluded, including more than 2,000 from Philadelphia alone.

Provisional ballots are paper ballots that are cast by voters on Election Day when poll workers cannot confirm the voters are eligible to vote at the precincts where they appeared.

After Election Day, county election officials go through provisional ballots to determine whether the votes should be excluded, such as if the person was not a registered voter, or if they should be counted, such as someone who registered at the deadline and whose name had not yet appeared in the states database.

As was the case with mail ballots, the campaigns are fighting over technicalities including whether the precinct judges of elections and minority inspectors signed the ballots.

In some cases, Democrats are arguing that legitimate ballots could be disqualified due to poll worker error. Republicans are generally arguing for a letter-of-the-law interpretation of election rules, contending that ballots with defects must be excluded regardless of how those errors occurred.

Staff writers Jeremy Roebuck and Katie Bernard contributed to this article.
The familys favorite spot to hang out is the huge wraparound porch. Read more

Buying her parents beach house in Avalon in 2020 was a dream come true for Alex Anastasio. The three-story house with brown shingle siding was built in 1880 and had belonged to her family for three decades.

She and her husband, Paul, love the homes location on a peaceful street with an ocean view, but they mostly value its historical significance.

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We have always appreciated older homes, more craftsmanship, and their uniqueness, said Paul, owner of Optima Technology Associates in Harrisburg.

Alexs parents, Joe and Ellin Paquette, named the home Sand Spur, a nod to a home they previously owned in Florida.

In the late 19th century, Sand Spur would have been considered modest sized, said Shannon Nagle, assistant director of Collections and Technology for the Avalon Library and History Center. Unlike more elaborate houses owned by wealthy Philadelphians, Sand Spur is more of an example of a home built for a person with a technical, white-collar job, like a surveyor, that carries prestige but not wealth. We dont know that the house belonged to a surveyor, but its a good example.

In 2017, Sand Spur was the first home recognized by the Avalon Register of Historic Places, a coordinated effort by the Avalon Borough and the Avalon History Center.

A plaque announcing the honor is attached to the wall on the homes wraparound front porch. It is surrounded by many other original features, including a lamp that once operated with gas, the front door under a transom window, and a metal mailbox.

Owners through time

The Anastasios have worked continuously to learn about the homes history and those who lived there before.

While they dont know who built or first lived in the house, the couple had a lucky discovery during the pandemic. A descendant of the Weintraub family, who lived in the home circa 1910, presented a photo album to the history center with a wealth of information about the family and house.

The pictures showed sisters Sarah Louise, Helen, and Georgine Weintraub on the beach, boating, or enjoying other outdoor activities. Pictures, news clips, and family letters suggested the sisters involvement in the earliest womens rights movement.

The elder two sisters were born in Syria in 1861 and 1871 to Christian missionaries. The family returned to the United States in 1874 and settled in Philadelphia. Three more siblings, Georgine, Wistar, and Paul, were born in the 1870s.

Interested in medicine and womens health, Sarah Louise studied to be a doctor, graduating from Philadelphias Womens Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1882. She practiced medicine at the womens department of the Philadelphia County Prison, in the citys judicial system, and later went into private practice. Georgine taught in the Philadelphia County School System.

When I learned about the Weintraub family, I realized that was the name on the trunk in the attic, Alex recalled. My brother thinks that was Paul Weintraubs military trunk. Alex has since donated the trunk to the history center.

Another note appearing on their door during the pandemic shed light on another family occupying the home. Written by the grandson of Ed Weithammer, the owner from the 1920s to 1960s, it shared his childhood memories in the home.

His letter mentioned that they called the home the house at the end of the boardwalk because at the time, the boardwalk turned, extending several blocks west, ending in front of their home, Alex said. He was a teacher in Upper Darby and was a pioneer in organic farming.

Sand Spur today

The home features six bedrooms and three bathrooms and sleeps 12, perfect when the couples three sons, their wives, and five grandchildren come to visit.

The third-floor attic has a corner window that offers an ocean view. While the Anastasios added beds and comfortable furniture to make the room functional, it still preserves much of its 1880 roots. Vaulted ceilings feature original dark brown cedar beams extending to the floor.

The attics bathroom still has its original claw-foot bathtub and marble-topped sink with antique spigots and exposed pipes. Skylights above the tub bring in bright light.

The second floor includes four small bedrooms. Its been rumored that the home may have been a brothel in the late 1800s, and thats why there were many small rooms, Alex said.

The couple enjoy cooking in their small, but functional, kitchen. Though the stove is likely from the 1960s, the kitchen got a makeover soon after the couple bought the home. They removed the linoleum floor, refurbished the cabinet doors, and replaced the counters, sink, tile, and trim.

When renovating the kitchen, they saved the original doors. One was repurposed into a stylish barn door that covers the utility room, and the others were made into bed headboards.

The homes decor is an eclectic mix of historic pieces and beachy furniture. Alexs moms passion was shopping thrift stores along Route 9 for shabby chic decor.

She had so much fun and it was real cute, recalled Alex. I have a lot of things still here.

The familys favorite spot to hang out is the huge wraparound porch. They enjoy the delightful breezes and socializing with neighbors who walk by to chat.

Preserving history

Many of the homes original details also remain inside, including the heart pine floors, and hand-carved heart pine woodwork. The dining table has a label showing it was made in 1914, and antique kitchen utensils also remain.

In 1995, contractor Bob Penrose replaced the homes pilings with a sturdy foundation. He built a breakfast room addition, added a laundry room, and made other repairs to keep the house stable for the next century, Alex said.

Paul enjoys doing some of the less involved handiwork to keep the house in shape. In 2021, the couple ripped out all of the carpeting and restored the original heart pine floor. They have a lot of projects on the to-do list, wanting to keep the home true to its history while making it a comfortable, livable beach house.

We are married 40 years, and our first summer together we spent time in Avalon, recalled Alex, who lives in Camp Hill with Paul when not at the Shore. We fell in love with the town together, and our dream came true when we could afford the house and cherish the family memories of our children coming here when they were very young.
Built as the home of a wealthy family in 1900, this house on Station Avenue in Haddon Heights is being renovated by the Interfaith Homeless Outreach Council as a transitional residence for nine men working to rebuild their lives. Read more

A Haddon Heights mansion built by a woolen mill magnate in 1900 will be reborn in 2025 as Serenity House, a sober-living residence for men in transition to permanent housing.

The Interfaith Homeless Outreach Council purchased the property at Eighth and Station Avenues for $700,000 in August.

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Used since 1968 as a rooming house  low-income housing with shared bathrooms and a single room for each tenant, but no meal service  the building served a purpose, but had some issues, said borough Mayor Zach Houck.

The house is being restored, he said, adding that the state and the borough concluded that no zoning changes were required for the project to proceed. Our job now is to do everything in our power to make sure Serenity House is successful.

An estimated $300,000 to $400,000 in renovations are underway to provide living quarters for a full-time resident manager as well as nine men who were formerly homeless. The rooming house had 14 residents, including women as well as men, but no staff or on-site services.

We plan on being a good neighbor, an even better neighbor than the rooming house, and we hope our neighbors will realize what an excellent program this is, said Carol Dann, a founding IHOC board member.

At Serenity House, prospective residents will be screened and selected by IHOC, encouraged to find employment, and likely will stay for two years. There will be a curfew, as well as security cameras in common areas, and a range of other services as well.

When we first got here, there was some NIMBY reaction, said Bill Fumo, the board president of IHOC. The nonprofit was founded in 1989.

People can see were a far cry from a rooming house, Fumo said. There will be strict rules. There will be supervision.

Tony Pilarchik, the house manager, described the neighborhood reaction to the project as very mixed and includes people who want to help and people whod rather we not be here at all.

A work in progress

Fumo, Dann, and other leaders of the organization, as well as volunteers, donors, and neighborhood residents, attended an open house Thursday evening at the facility.

We still have a ways to go, Fumo said, as visitors toured the three floors, nine bedrooms, and multiple bathrooms.

Partitions that chopped the original living and dining rooms into oddly angled little rooms have been torn out, drop ceilings have been taken down, and a green-tiled fireplace has been uncovered. The first floor has been opened up from front to back and a new kitchen will be built where the original one was removed decades ago.

Transitional housing, in a sober environment, is a stepping stone, said case manager Sonya Jacobs, who has been with IHOC for 25 years.

Serenity House residents may come from treatment facilities, may not have a job, and may be behind on child support, she said. There can be many obstacles before they can get a job, save money, and save enough for a security deposit. Being here can help them get there.

Cautious optimism

Nancy Oliver and Stasia Palmer, friends and neighbors in the Eighth and Station neighborhood, attended Thursdays event.

Both said they have cautious optimism about Serenity House, but also have questions.

Men will be coming here from all over, Palmer said. We want to know what the monitoring will be, and what the rules will be, to make sure everything goes as it should. Because this house is in the center of our town, on the walking [routes] to all of our schools.

Said Oliver: Im viewing this as any new neighbor moving in, at this point. Im taking it as it comes. But it is nice that we can come in and see the property.

Haddon Heights resident Michael Westfield, who attended the open house with his wife and architectural practice partner Margaret Westfield, is a Serenity House fan.

Im a strong supporter of what theyre trying to do. Theyre an experienced organization, and I dont see anything that would raise eyebrows or cause concern, he said. Theyre trying to make this a special place.

Said Margaret Westfield, a historic preservation specialist: " I love that [IHOC] is saving so much of the original fabric of the house  the fireplace tile, the chestnut doors and moldings, the oilcloth floor cover. It will help people appreciate the character of what this house once was.

A long journey

J. Walter Levering, whose Camden woolen mill was at one time the largest of its kind in the world, built a grand house on the main street of the emerging railroad suburb of Haddon Heights at the turn of the 20th century.

Forty years later, the family residence had become the Haddon Hall Sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. It went on to operate as a nursing home in the 1950s and 60s and was converted into a rooming house in 1968 by an owner who lived there and rented rooms to single adults.

New Jersey licensed the property as a rooming house in 1982; and Joseph Duffin bought it in 1990 and rented rooms to 14 women and men. His last tenant moved out last week.

At the Serenity House event, several attendees pointed out that 802 Station Ave. has long been a place of caring, and healing, for people with medical conditions or other needs.

Craig Bickel, a volunteer who helped IHOC secure the property  and discovered a vintage wooden wheelchair in a storage area  said the artifact will be preserved.

To me, that wheelchair says it all, he said.
Working out may not exactly be a Thanksgiving Day priority. But it can be more than just a way to fill the time before a giant late-afternoon Thanksgiving dinner.

Turkey trots are a Thanksgiving morning tradition of taking a quick run or walk to help gear up for that share of turkey, macaroni and cheese, stuffing, and pie. Working out may not be your preferred way to spend Thanksgiving morning (who is going to cook that turkey?), but, if it is, there are many places where you can join a 5K run or a 1-mile walk to kick off the holiday. And many feature ways to give back to your community, too.

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Here are some turkey trots happening in the Philadelphia region this Thanksgiving.

With no chip timing, this race along the Moorestown High School Cross Country course keeps it low-key with plenty of friends and fun. Money raised from this trot has helped the cross-country teams build a trail to run on and supply uniforms. If 5Ks arent your thing, you can participate in a 1-mile fun run. Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. The yearly event also hosts a food drive in support of Moorestowns underserved youths, so you can also donate healthy breakfast foods and snacks like granola bars, applesauce, shelf-stable milk, and fruit cups.

350 Bridgeboro Road., Moorestown, N.J., 08057,  runsignup.com,  Nov. 28, 5K race starts at 9:30 a.m.

Youll want to get to this race early for the best part  the Saucony Turkey Toss. The person in both the male and female divisions who can throw a frozen bird the farthest and finish the 5K under 30 minutes (35 minutes for women) will win a pair of Saucony running shoes. A portion of the profits benefit a local homeless shelter. This event is being held in person on Thanksgiving Day and virtually. Sign up online.

101 College Dr., Pottstown, Pa. 19465,  runsignup.com,  Nov. 28, Race starts at 8:30 a.m.

One of the oldest turkey trots in the Philadelphia area, this 31st annual 5-mile race benefits Face to Face, a human services agency that provides meals, basic health care, legal and social services, computer training, and creative arts studios to local disadvantaged residents. If 5 miles is too much, you can also do a 1-mile fun run/walk. And if youre not looking to join large outdoor gatherings yet, this years trot has a virtual option, too. The races begin at 9 a.m.

Forbidden Drive at the intersection of Thomas Road and West Northwestern Avenue, Parking Lot #3.,  runsignup.com,  Nov. 28, registration at 7 to 8:30 a.m.

Gather your family and friends and wobble over to this popular 5K run and two-mile walk in Havertown, Royersford, Abington, and Philadelphia. Proceeds benefit the YMCA Financial Assistance Program, helping those in need become a part of the Y family. For runners looking to extend their season, the in-person race will be chip timed. If you cant make it out, theres a virtual option.

891 N. Eagle Road, Havertown, Pa. 19083, and other locations,  215-220-9199,  ymcagobblewobble.org,  Nov. 28, Race starts at 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.

If you want to get a few miles in you before you go on your feeding frenzy, you can join the Bucks County Roadrunners in Langhorne. The course weaves from Summit Square Shopping Center through the streets of Middletown Township to Core Creek Park, so the scenery never gets boring. In addition to the classic 5K, theres also a 1-mile fun run. Pick up an advance packet beginning Nov. 23.

43 Summit Square Shopping Center, Langhorne, Pa. 19047,  runsignup.com,  Nov. 28, Race starts at 9 a.m.

Join the Medford Lakes Colony and run this 5K with all proceeds going toward creating ADA-compliant access to buildings, beaches, and pavilions in the area. The course features paved and trail terrain through the picturesque community of Medford Lakes. T-shirts and age group awards will be presented. Nonperishable food donations will be accepted in support of the Medford Lakes Lions Food Bank.

79 Tecumseh Trail, Medford, N.J., 08055,  runsignup.com,  Nov. 28, Race starts at 8:30 a.m.

At the Garnet Valley Turkey Trot, choose from a 5K varied terrain run/walk or a 1-mile paved walk and roll  wheelchairs and strollers welcome. The race will benefit the Healthy Kids Running Series, a nonprofit organization that combats childhood obesity by promoting a healthy lifestyle. Garnet Valleys trot registration is open now and ends at 9:10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

552 Smithbridge Road, Glen Mills, Pa. 19342,  runsignup.com,  Nov. 28, Race starts at 9 a.m.

The Cardinal John Foley Turkey Trot returns for its 18th annual run. Taking place on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, this is the only run on this list thats happening after Turkey Day. Runners can take one of three routes  the family fun walk, the 5K route, or the student 5K run. This year, the Tiny Trot is a new addition taking place before the start of the 5K run for a limited number (50) of CJF PS, prekindergarten, and kindergarten students.

Annunciation BVM Parish: 401 Brookline Blvd., Havertown, Pa. 19083,  runsignup.com,  Nov. 30, 5K race starts at 9 a.m.

Kick off Thanksgiving with the eighth annual Delco Turkey Trot. The race benefits the Nether Providence Elementary School PTO in Wallingford and all proceeds go back to the students. Run/walk in the 5K road race or the 1-mile Little Drumstick run. The family-friendly event allows strollers but no pets on the course. Sign up online.

Nether Providence Elementary School: 410 Moore Road, Wallingford, Pa. 19086,  bikesignup.com,  Nov. 28, 5K race starts at 9 a.m.

Celebrate the 23rd annual trot and raise funds for childhood cancer research on Thanksgiving Day. Take part in the 5K run, 2K walk, or kids fun run. Remember to leave your strollers and pets at home. Proceeds go to Cure4Cam Childhood Cancer Foundation.

Downingtown West High School gym, 445 Manor Ave., Downingtown, Pa. 19335,  runsignup.com,  Nov. 28, 5K race starts at 8:15 a.m. (7:40 a.m. for elite 5K runners)

Steven White and Kelly OShea contributed to this article.
The General Insurance Code Report recommended significant changes to the current code which will be wide and far reaching. This breakfast session will keep you up to date with what the key recommendations are, she said.
Central in this campaign is that popular iconic travel souvenir, the fridge magnet. This taps into the way we collect mementos to remember our own holidays. Although, weve given this one a twist. It tells the story of a holiday where things dont go to plan. Of course, it worked out in the end as they were covered by Southern Cross Travel Insurance, he said.
But the work is as much about listening as it is about leading. He said he is working with PIAs board of directors, led by Ariel Rivera, to craft a strategy that best supports independent insurance agents. Right now, I am meeting with as many people as possible, he said, underscoring efforts to understand the concerns of PIA members and leadership and identify areas for improvement.
The rulings coincide with broader regulatory proposals from Lara that aim to reform aspects of Proposition 103. These proposals, supported by segments of the insurance industry, include changes that critics argue could lead to significant rate increases for home, renter, auto, and small business insurance.
Witherington, who has been part of Manulifes executive leadership team since 2017, served as CFO for five years before his current role leading the companys Asia segment. With over 25 years of experience in insurance and financial services, he has held leadership roles at HSBC and AIA and spent a decade with KPMG in London and Hong Kong.
According to AM Bests 2023 ranking of the worlds 50 largest reinsurance groups, the company ranked fourth in total reinsurance service revenue among IFRS 17 reporters. The group benefits from its integration with Chaucer, which has been a key driver of revenue and earnings in its overseas property and casualty reinsurance segment.
According to RGA, the Aspire platform enables real-time data exchange between insurers and stakeholders while adhering to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for data security. The company also said that the platform supports greater efficiency in claims management and sustainability, which it says delivers significant value to insured members.
This post is part of a series sponsored by Selectsys.

In the fast-paced and ever-evolving insurance landscape, carriers, MGAs, and wholesalers are constantly seeking ways to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and streamline operations without sacrificing quality. This is where Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) comes into play as a strategic tool for scaling operations and optimizing insurance processes. Selectsys BPO offers a wide array of services across multiple lines of business, allowing organizations to focus on growth and innovation while we handle the day-to-day processes through our dedicated model.

Download Our Free Brochure 

Harnessing the Power of BPO with Selectsys: The Dedicated Model

What sets Selectsys BPO apart is our dedicated model, where our employees truly feel like an extension of your team. We ensure there is no brain drainour dedicated teams work exclusively for your organization, learning your processes, systems, and culture. This continuity means that Selectsys BPO employees become an integral part of your team, just as if they were remote employees of your carrier, MGA, or wholesaler.

This dedicated approach minimizes the disruption that often occurs with high turnover, ensuring that the expertise stays within your operations. This seamless integration ensures that your processes are executed with the same precision and care as if done in-house, but with the added benefit of reduced costs and increased operational efficiency.

Comprehensive BPO Processes: Simplifying Operations Across Agency Management Systems

Selectsys BPO supports a broad spectrum of insurance operations across multiple agency management systems, allowing us to deliver consistent, efficient results across all key functions. Below is an outline of the various processes we manage for carriers, MGAs, and wholesalers:

New Business Creation: Creating submissions, underwriting risk, and issuing policy documents. Renewals: Evaluating risks and issuing renewal offers. Notice of Cancellations: Sending formal cancellation notifications. Reinstatements: Restoring canceled policies. Non-Renewals: Managing policy non-renewals and communication. Conditional Renewals: Offering policy renewals with modified terms. Endorsements: Modifying existing policies. Cancellations: Handling mid-term policy cancellations. Audits: Reviewing actual exposure versus estimated exposure. Email Correspondence: Managing official communication with all parties. Policy Checking: Reviewing policies for accuracy before issuance. Rating: Calculating premiums based on risk assessment. Binds: Activating policies and providing coverage. Indexing: Organizing documents for easy retrieval. Binder Processing: Issuing temporary insurance contracts. Agency Statements: Summarizing financial transactions between agencies and carriers. Checks Processing: Handling premium and claims payments. Payments Processing: Managing premium collections and receipts. Inspections: Requesting and managing property inspections. Recommendations: Offering suggestions post-inspections. Loss Runs: Providing claim history reports. Reminder Notices: Sending reminders for renewals and payments. Quote Closeouts: Formal closure of non-accepted quotes. Quote Follow-Ups: Engaging clients to follow up on quotes. Renewal Proposal: Offering updated policy terms and premiums. Renewal Reminders: Reminding clients of upcoming renewals. Invoice Checklist: Verifying premium invoice accuracy. Direct Bill Uploads: Uploading billing data to carriers. Renewal Solicits: Reaching out to clients for policy renewals. Certificate of Insurance: Issuing proof of insurance coverage. Policy Packet Creation: Assembling policy documents for insured parties. Inspection Ordering: Managing third-party inspections. Premium Finance Agreements Processing: Handling premium financing terms. PIPS Shell Creation/Processing: Managing producer profiles and maintenance. Docs Indexing: Organizing policy and claims documents. Agency Statements Processing: Summarizing transactions between agencies and carriers. Email Correspondence: Handling policy lifecycle communications. Entering New Broker: Adding new broker information to systems. Activities and Follow-Ups: Tracking and managing tasks to completion. Quote Processing: Generating insurance quotes. Policy Updates: Handling policy modifications. Medical & Hospital Bills: Processing medical-related claims. Surplus Lines Filings: Filing documentation for non-standard policies. Gatekeeping: Managing access to sensitive data. Rewrites: Issuing new policies for existing clients. Inspection Closeouts: Finalizing inspection reports. Premium Finance Agreements: Setting up payment plans for policyholders. AOR/BOR: Managing Agent or Broker of Record changes. Declines: Handling policy application rejections. Invoice Tagging: Labeling invoices for accurate tracking.

How Selectsys Onboards New Clients: The 4D Approach

At Selectsys, we have streamlined our onboarding process into four key stages to ensure seamless integration and rapid execution:

Discover

During the discovery phase, we meticulously identify the specific process requirements and collaborate closely with subject matter experts to ensure a comprehensive understanding of your needs.

Document

Our documentation process is thorough and flexible, tailored to your preferences. Whether conducted onsite or offsite, we capture every detail of your existing processes to establish a clear roadmap for execution.

Dry Run

To ensure seamless integration, we conduct a dry run period typically lasting one week. This allows our team to familiarize themselves with the intricacies of your processes and optimize our approach for maximum efficiency.

Deliver

Upon achieving quality satisfaction, we swiftly transition into full-scale operations. With the groundwork laid and processes streamlined, we prioritize speed without compromising on the quality of our deliverables.

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How Selectsys Ensures Data Security

At Selectsys, we prioritize the security of our clients data by implementing strict and comprehensive security protocols at every level:

Encryption : All data is encrypted during transmission and storage, ensuring that sensitive information is protected.

: All data is encrypted during transmission and storage, ensuring that sensitive information is protected. Role-Based Access : We enforce strict access controls, ensuring only authorized personnel handle sensitive data.

: We enforce strict access controls, ensuring only authorized personnel handle sensitive data. Industry Compliance : Selectsys adheres to SOC 2 standards, ensuring our practices meet the highest industry security requirements.

: Selectsys adheres to standards, ensuring our practices meet the highest industry security requirements. Continuous Monitoring : We use advanced monitoring tools to track system activity, detecting and preventing unauthorized access.

: We use advanced monitoring tools to track system activity, detecting and preventing unauthorized access. Disaster Recovery : Our data is regularly backed up to secure, distributed locations with a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in place.

: Our data is regularly backed up to secure, distributed locations with a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in place. Employee Training: Ongoing training ensures our teams are updated on the latest security protocols and threats.

Why Choose Selectsys BPO for Your Insurance Operations?

Expertise Across Systems : We have vast experience working with various agency management systems such as MGA Systems, Vertafore, Applied Systems, and Guidewire, enabling us to integrate smoothly into your existing workflows.

: We have vast experience working with various agency management systems such as MGA Systems, Vertafore, Applied Systems, and Guidewire, enabling us to integrate smoothly into your existing workflows. Scalability : Whether youre a small MGA or a large carrier, our flexible model allows you to scale up or down as needed without compromising quality.

: Whether youre a small MGA or a large carrier, our flexible model allows you to scale up or down as needed without compromising quality. Cost-Efficiency : Outsourcing your business processes to Selectsys BPO not only reduces overhead costs but also allows your internal teams to focus on strategic growth initiatives.

: Outsourcing your business processes to Selectsys BPO not only reduces overhead costs but also allows your internal teams to focus on strategic growth initiatives. Reliability: With our dedicated teams, you get continuity and reliability, ensuring that institutional knowledge stays with your operation, avoiding frequent retraining or knowledge loss.

The Future of Insurance Operations

As insurance operations become more complex, the need for agile, efficient, and reliable support has never been greater. Selectsys BPO offers a solution tailored to the unique needs of carriers, MGAs, and wholesalers, empowering you to focus on growing your business while we handle the day-to-day complexities.

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Topics Carriers Insurance Wholesale
A judge has approved a $13 million settlement in a lawsuit over an unannounced active shooter drill at a Michigan psychiatric hospital for children, an event that terrified kids and staff and caused them to scramble for cover, text family and urgently call 911.

Someone at the front desk declared through a speaker system that two armed men were inside the state-run Hawthorn Center in suburban Detroit and that shots were fired, attorney Robin Wagner said.

It wasnt true, but the message on Dec. 21, 2022, set off a frenzy.

It was horrifying, Wagner said.

Everyone went into, Oh my God. This is the worst day of my life,  she said. People were hiding under their desks. They were barricading the doors, trying to figure out how to protect the children.

Fifty children at the hospital each will receive roughly $60,000. Among staff, 90 people will receive an average of more than $50,000, depending on their score on a trauma exam, Wagner said. Two dozen others will get smaller amounts.

The state recognized that this was really a bad decision and harmed a lot of people, she said of the drill.

Police apparently didnt know anything about a drill. Dozens of officers responding to 911 calls showed up at Hawthorn Center with body armor and high-powered weapons, anticipating the worst.

Two people who were told to pose as shooters were captured, Wagner said. They were not armed.

Court of Claims Judge James Redford approved the settlement on Oct. 4, records show. More than $3 million will go to attorneys in the case.

The state Department of Health and Human Services felt it was in the best interest of all involved parties to settle this matter, spokesperson Lynn Sutfin said Tuesday.

We regret that our patients, staff and community were negatively affected by the unfortunate incident in December 2022, she said.

Wagner said the drill was organized by the Hawthorn Centers safety director, who still works for the state. The hospital was subsequently closed for reasons unrelated to what happened.

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Michigan
Sothebys Inc. agreed to pay $6.25 million to settle a New York state lawsuit that accused it of advising wealthy clients they could avoid sales taxes by falsely claiming they were buying art for resale purposes.

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the deal in a statement Thursday. She said Sothebys employees from 2010 to 2020 encouraged clients to make the false claims even though they knew the purchases were actually for private collections or intended as gifts.

Sothebys intentionally broke the law to help its clients dodge millions of dollars in taxes, and now they are going to pay for it, James said. Every person and company in New York knows they are required to pay taxes, and when people break the rules, we all lose out.

James sued Sothebys in 2020, accusing the auction house of helping a shipping executive use a false resale certificate to dodge taxes. The state later expanded the case by including allegations involving seven additional collectors and numerous Sothebys employees from across the organization, including its tax department.

In a statement, Sothebys said that it admitted no wrongdoing in connection with the settlement and was committed to full compliance with the law.

These allegations relate to activity from many years ago  in some cases over a decade  and Sothebys provided much of the evidence which the AG used to obtain a settlement with the taxpayer referenced in the complaint six years ago, the auction house said in its statement.

Read More: Sothebys Helped More Rich Clients Dodge Sales Tax, NY AG Says

 2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Topics New York
A voluntary evacuation of homes over the weekend helped New York firefighters continue their progress in containing a state park wildfire near the New Jersey border.

The state requested that residents in about 165 homes in Warwick, New York evacuate on Saturday night to allow emergency apparatus and firefighters to operate uninterrupted. The town is about four miles from the New Jersey border.

The Jennings Creek wildfire in Sterling Forest State Park, which has burned more than 5,00 acres, was 88% contained by Sunday morning. However, it is still burning in the state forest.

Last nights voluntary evacuation was successful and allowed emergency apparatus and firefighters to operate uninterrupted through the night. The voluntary evacuation remains in place at least until tomorrow to allow for continued firefighting efforts, Orange County government officials said in a post Sunday morning.

Whats Behind New York Fires? Climate Change, Land Use and History

Officials said firefighters were able to protect structures and prevent a small section of fire that breached a containment linefrom advancing further. A New York State Parks employee lost his life responding to this fire.

The state continues to experience drought conditions and a record number of outdoor fires. The region has received almost no rainfall for more than seven weeks,

The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) has also been responding to fires in wooded areas of the city. FDNY says it has responded to 229 brush fires since October 29, the highest number in a two-week period in city history. That compares to just 200 in the entire month of October for the last three years.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has imposed a statewide burn ban until November 30 due to the increased fire risk.

Also, Suffolk County police reported the arrest of a Medford volunteer firefighter who police accused of intentionally setting a brush fire in a wooded area of Medford on Tuesday.

New York is not alone in its battles. New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts are also experiencing drought conditions and battling brush fires. They have also implemented burn bans.

In response to the historic increase in brush fires, NYPD Commissioner Robert S. Tucker announced the creation of a Brush Fire Task Force, comprised of fire marshals, fire inspectors, and tactical drone units. Tucker said the task force will help ensure rapid and effective responses to brush fires, conduct comprehensive investigations to help determine the cause and origin of each fire, and enhance data and information sharing to prevent fires from occurring.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire New York
Meta Platforms Inc. was hit with a 798 million ($841 million) fine by European Union regulators by tying its Facebook Marketplace service to the social network, the US tech giants first ever penalty for EU antitrust violations.

In a groundbreaking decision, the European Commission ordered Meta to stop tying its classified-ads service to Facebooks sprawling social media platform, and refrain from imposing unfair trading conditions on rival second-hand goods platforms.

Meta tied its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its personal social network Facebook and imposed unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers, EU antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, said. It did so to benefit its own service Facebook Marketplace.

The move adds to a spate of bad news for Meta. A US judge ruled that the Federal Trade Commissions antitrust lawsuit against the company can continue to trial on Wednesday, while Donald Trump was elected US president again. His victory helped propel the social networking app Bluesky, which competes with Metas Threads, to the top of Apple Inc.s US App Store.

Trump called Facebook an enemy of the people just eight months ago and suggested Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg should go to jail.

The EU fine is likely to be one of the final acts for Vestager, whos set to leave her post before the end of the year. Over the past decade, she has been one of Silicon Valleys toughest critics levying billions of euros in antitrust penalties, including over 8 billion in fines against Google.

The decision follows a probe into how Meta leverages Facebooks billions of users to squeeze out rivals. EU watchdogs said Menlo Park California-based Meta also used data from rival platforms that advertised on Facebook to boost its Marketplace service.

Meta vowed to appeal the decision at the blocs courts, a process that could take several years. It said the penalty ignores the realities of the thriving European market and shields large incumbent companies.

Meta shares fell as much as 1% after trading opened in New York. The company was earlier fined 110 million by the EU merger regulator for providing misleading information about its takeover of messaging service WhatsApp in 2017.

Amazon.com Inc. dodged EU fines in a similar case in 2022, targeting how the US ecommerce firm allegedly pillaged rivals sales data to unfairly favor its own products. Regulators accepted a number of proposals from Amazon, including a vow to stop using non-public data on independent sellers on its marketplace for its competing retail business.

Facebooks Marketplace has also been targeted by other regulators. It settled a probe with the UKs Competition and Markets Authority after agreeing to a slate of concessions.

Meta reported sales of $40.6 billion in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, a jump of 19% compared to a year earlier. In recent years, Meta has been working to balance huge outlays on technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality, while still trying to ensure that its core digital advertising business is still growing.

While the EU can levy fines of 10% of global sales, its penalties are usually much smaller and take into account severity of the allegations and the sub-markets involved.

Thats led to frustration among regulators and a clamor for tougher remedies, including more structural solutions. Like the US, the EU has been weighing a potential breakup of Alphabet Inc.s Google to allay concerns over its adtech dominance.

The new Digital Markets Act bolsters traditional antitrust law by placing strict guardrails on Silicon Valley firms.

The European Commission has kick-started probes into Google and Meta to vet their compliance with the DMA, while Apple Inc. is soon likely to face the blocs first fine for failing to step into line with the rules. This week Meta pitched changes to the way it targets users with ads on Facebook and Instagram, in order to offset an escalation in the investigation.

Photograph: The Meta logo on a laptop computer in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Photo credit: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Topics Europe
Global watchdogs will move to rein in leverage at non-banks early next year, the Financial Stability Board promised on Monday, more than a year after its chair signaled a probe into mounting borrowings at hedge funds, private capital markets and others.

By early 2025 the FSB will publish a consultation report with proposed policy recommendations for authorities to monitor vulnerabilities and use policy measures to address systemic risk from NBFI leverage, the FSB said in its annual report released ahead of this weeks meetings of the Group of 20 nations.

The Basel, Switzerland-based body was referring to the continued evolution and growth of non-bank financial intermediaries, a label that covers investment funds, insurance companies and others outside the banking sector that now hold almost half of the worlds financial assets. In particular, it called out private credit as an area of interest, owing to its rapid growth and increasing evidence of its connections with the banking system and with institutional investors.

Vulnerabilities in Non-Banks Leave Door Open to Shocks, G20 Watchdog Says

Regulators have escalated warnings about private credit valuations in recent months amid fears that funds are concealing the true health of their loan books. A boom in the so-called significant risk transfer market, where private credit funds have been assuming exposure to banks troubled loans, has prompted the International Monetary Fund to flag concerns over potential financial stability risks.

Private credit funds are exposed to credit risk, leverage and liquidity vulnerabilities, but their opacity makes it difficult to assess them, the FSB said, though it didnt specify any particular measures that might affect that sector.

Policy proposals from the FSB, which was founded in the aftermath of the great financial crisis to prevent future calamities, typically take years to be adopted by individual jurisdictions, and even then, their adoption can be patchy.

Vulnerabilities in NBFI, including pockets of hidden or excess leverage, remain a potential source of systemic risk, the FSB wrote. Combined with rich asset valuations in some markets, there is the potential for sharp price corrections in the event of a shock. Policy approaches need to be combined with improved monitoring to mitigate vulnerabilities.

In a letter to the G20, FSB Chair and Dutch central bank Governor Klaas Knot, implored global leaders to get behind the work on NBFIs, and to also follow through on promises already made, including implementing the final post-crisis bank capital rules.

Your continued support will be crucial in the period ahead as the FSB works through its members to advance policy work in key areas and to promote full, consistent, and timely implementation of agreed reforms, Knot said, warning that there was no room for complacency.

Knot, who completes his term in June, last month lamented the waning political support for financial regulation, and warned leaders at the IMF they could face economies in free fall if they failed to sharpen their focus.

The FSB published several measures on NBFI in 2024, including around liquidity mismatch in open-ended funds and enhancing non-banks preparedness to meet margin and collateral calls.

Photograph: Financial Stability Board Chair Klaas Knot; photo credit: Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.
Total insured losses from recent floods in Spain are expected to exceed 4 billion (US$4.2 billion), according to credit rating agency Morningstar DBRS.

This insured price tag includes losses absorbed by the Consorcio de Compensacion de Seguros (CCS), the state-backed insurer that steps in when policyholders face losses from extraordinary risks, such as acts of terrorism, rebellion, and natural disasters.

The CCS has estimated that total insured losses are likely to hit approximately, 3.5 billion ($3.7 billion), said Morningstar, with additional damages from the agriculture sector expected to be more than 160 million ($169 million), Morningstar said, quoting Aon estimates.

Spains Devastating Floods Will Cost Insurers Over $3.8 Billion

Insured losses to the agriculture sector are largely covered by Seguro Agrario Combinado, a form of co-insurance amongst private companies in which the CCS directly co-insures the risk, assuming a fixed quota share of 10%, and acts as an excess-of-loss reinsurer for the other co-insurers, Morningstar explained. Additional insured losses generated by risks not directly covered by the CCS will be covered by private insurance companies, although we consider the overall impact manageable for the sector.

Morningstar expects that the economic and insured losses generated by this event will be the largest in Spains history, with a significant number of vehicles, residential properties, businesses, and agricultural sites affected.

CCS has received 138,317 claims requests, of which 60% were related to motor vehicles, 32% were related to residential properties, 6% were related to small businesses, and 2% were related to industrial sites, said Morningstar, quoting a CCS press release issued on Nov. 8.

The CCS is supported by an equalisation reserve, which Morningstar said is sufficient to cover the estimated losses related to this extreme weather event. However, we expect rates to increase going forward to allow the CCS to gradually replenish the equalisation reserve. In our view, these increases will be easily absorbed by policyholders over time given the relatively small current value of the CCS surcharges in all Spanish insurance policies.

Morningstar noted that the CCS helps mitigate pricing volatility in the catastrophe insurance market, which might be subject to sharp rate increases or insufficient available coverage in the aftermath of costly extraordinary events, such as the one that recently occurred.

However, the ratings agency cautioned that the growing frequency and severity of natural catastrophes could become a test for the CCS current funding mechanism if its equalisation reserve reaches critical levels, rendering the mutualisation mechanism insufficient.

Photograph: A man walks through a street affected by floods in Valencia, Spain, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)

Related:

Topics Profit Loss Flood
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Smithfield Foods, one of the nations largest meat processors, has agreed to pay $2 million to resolve allegations of child labor violations at a plant in Minnesota, officials announced Thursday.

An investigation by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry found that the Smithfield Packaged Meats subsidiary employed at least 11 children at its plant in St. James ages 14 to 17 from April 2021 through April 2023, the agency said. Three of them began working for the company when they were 14, it said. Smithfield let nine of them work after allowable hours and had all 11 perform potentially dangerous work, the agency alleged.

As part of the settlement, Smithfield also agreed to steps to ensure future compliance with child labor laws. U.S. law prohibits companies from employing people younger than 18 to work in meat processing plants because of hazards.

State Labor Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach said the agreement sends a strong message to employers, including in the meat processing industry, that child labor violations will not be tolerated in Minnesota.

The Smithfield, Virginia-based company said in a statement that it denies knowingly hiring anyone under age 18 to work at the St. James plant, and that it did not admit liability under the settlement. The company said all 11 passed the federal E-Verify employment eligibility system by using false identification. Smithfield also said it takes a long list of proactive steps to enforce its policy prohibiting the employment of minors.

Smithfield is committed to maintaining a safe workplace and complying with all applicable employment laws and regulations, the company said. We wholeheartedly agree that individuals under the age of 18 have no place working in meatpacking or processing facilities.

The state agency said the $2 million administrative penalty is the largest it has recovered in a child labor enforcement action. It also ranks among the larger recent child labor settlements nationwide. It follows a $300,000 agreement that Minnesota reached last year with another meat processer, Tony Downs Food Co., after the agencys investigation found it employed children as young as 13 at its plant in Madelia.

Also last year, the U.S. Department of Labor levied over $1.5 million in civil penalties against one of the countrys largest cleaning services for food processing companies, Packers Sanitation Services Inc., after finding it employed more than 100 children in dangerous jobs at 13 meatpacking plants across the country.

After that investigation, the Biden administration urged U.S. meat processors to make sure they arent illegally hiring children for dangerous jobs. The call, in a letter by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to the 18 largest meat and poultry producers, was part of a broader crackdown on child labor. The Labor Department then reported a 69% increase since 2018 in the number of children being employed illegally in the U.S.

In other recent settlements, a Mississippi processing plant, Mar-Jac Poultry, agreed in August to a $165,000 settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor following the death of a 16-year-old boy. In May 2023, a Tennessee-based sanitation company, Fayette Janitorial Service LLC, agreed to pay nearly $650,000 in civil penalties after a federal investigation found it illegally hired at least two dozen children to clean dangerous meat processing facilities in Iowa and Virginia.

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  Several business owners at the struggling corner where George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020 are suing the city to demand it take over their properties and compensate them.

The owners of the Cup Foods convenience store and other businesses operating near 38th Street and Chicago Avenue argue that the citys failure to address deterioration and crime in the neighborhood has ruined their businesses and constitutes an unlawful taking of their property without just compensation, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported Thursday. Theyre seeking $30 million in damages.

The area, now known as George Floyd Square, has become a place of pilgrimage for social justice supporters from across the country, and the store has renamed itself Unity Foods. But business owners say they havent benefitted, while activists and officials remain divided over how to transform the intersection while keeping it as a permanent memorial.

Floyd died after a white officer pinned his neck to the pavement outside Cup Foods for 9 1/2 minutes despite the Black mans pleas of I cant breathe. The ensuing protests, which turned violent at times, tested the leadership of Gov. Tim Walz at one of the states most consequential moments, and sparking a nationwide reckoning over racism and police misconduct. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of murder.

The legal action, filed last week in Hennepin County District Court, argues that the businesses have lost revenue, real estate value, reputation, and tenant and rental income. It argues that the citys decisions led to higher crime and created a no go zone for police in the area. It replaces an earlier lawsuit by the businesses that was dismissed two months ago.

Michael Healey, the lawyer representing the businesses, told the Star Tribune there are two possible outcomes. The businesses could conceivably keep the property if a settlement is reached with the city on the diminished value, he said. The other possibility is that the city could begin the process of taking the properties and compensating the owners.

A city spokesperson said in a statement that while it cant comment on pending litigation, the city understands the challenges that residents and businesses have confronted in the wake of George Floyds murder.

Photo: A pedestrian passes buildings on East Lake Street that were destroyed during protests two days prior, Tuesday, June 2, 2020, in Minneapolis. Protests continued following the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on May 25.. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits
A federal judge in Texas on Friday permanently blocked a Biden administration rule that would have made about 4 million more salaried U.S. workers eligible for overtime pay.

U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan in Sherman, Texas, said the U.S. Department of Labor rule that took effect in July improperly bases eligibility for overtime pay on workers wages rather than their job duties.

The state of Texas and business groups representing a range of industries had filed lawsuits challenging the rule, which had been consolidated.

Jordan, who was appointed by Republican President-elect Donald Trump in his first term, struck down the rule after saying in June that it was likely invalid and temporarily blocking it from being applied to Texas state employees.

The rule would have required employers to pay overtime premiums to salaried workers who earn less than $1,128 per week, or about $58,600 per year, when they work more than 40 hours in a week, beginning Jan. 1, 2025, and it had temporarily raised the threshold to about $44,000 per year on July 1.

The previous threshold of about $35,500, which was set in 2019, will now be back in effect.

The Labor Department and the office of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

David French, executive vice president of the National Retail Federation, one of the groups that sued, said the rule would have curtailed retailers ability to offer greater benefits to lower-level salaried employees.

The Labor Department can seek review of the ruling in the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is widely regarded as the most conservative federal appeals court. But the incoming Trump administration could abandon any attempt to revive the rule.

Federal law exempts workers with executive, administrative, and professional (EAP) duties from receiving overtime pay, and the Labor Department has for decades used salary as one factor in deciding when that applies.

The Labor Department, in adopting the rule, said that lower-paid salaried workers often do the same jobs as hourly employees, but work more hours for no additional pay. The rule also established automatic increases in the salary threshold every three years to reflect wage growth.

Jordan on Friday agreed with Texas and the business groups that by substantially raising the salary level, the rule improperly jettisoned the duties requirement written into federal law.

The Department may impose some limitations on the scope of the EAP Exemptions operative terms, but it cannot enact rules that replace or swallow the meaning those terms have, Jordan wrote.

Topics Legislation
A U.S. labor board whose enforcement powers are being challenged in a series of lawsuits is set to defend itself from attacks by Amazon.com and Elon Musks SpaceX in a conservative U.S. appeals court, as the agency also braces for a potential overhaul under President-elect Donald Trump.

Amazon, SpaceX and many other companies are going on the offensive by suing the National Labor Relations Board in order to block it from pursuing cases accusing them of illegal labor practices, part of a broader onslaught by businesses and conservative groups on the administrative state.

The Amazon and SpaceX cases being heard by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday are among the first of more than two dozen similar lawsuits  which claim the NLRBs structure is unconstitutional  that have reached influential U.S. appeals courts.

Court rulings invalidating the agencys in-house proceedings could bring the boards work to a standstill. And they could potentially tee up review by the U.S. Supreme Court, whose conservative majority has in recent years reined in the powers of federal agencies.

The NLRB is the agency that enforces private-sector employees rights to advocate for better working conditions, organize, and join unions. The boards general counsel issues complaints accusing employers or unions of illegal practices, which are heard by administrative judges whose decisions can be reviewed by the five-member board.

Democratic President Joe Biden has proclaimed himself the most pro-union president in U.S. history and his appointees to the board have kept pace, issuing a series of rulings that have boosted union organizing and riled trade groups.

The challenges to the board come as unions are filing petitions to hold elections and winning them at rates not seen in decades. Companies including Amazon, Starbucks and EV maker Tesla, where Musk is chief executive, have frequently been in the agencys crosshairs as they have faced the first union campaigns in their history. Some of them are now pushing back by claiming the NLRBs enforcement proceedings are unlawful.

Trumps election to a second White House term could separately hobble the NLRB as the Republican and his supporters  including Musk, who has emerged as a top adviser to Trump  have vowed to curb the powers of administrative agencies.

Trumps appointees to the labor board may also be less inclined to vigorously defend it from legal attacks, including these lawsuits, and could be more likely to acquiesce to appeals courts that invalidate parts of its structure, experts said.

Trumps transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

PLAY HARD BALL

Amazon and SpaceX claim that the NLRBs five members appointed by the president are improperly shielded from being removed at will by the White House, and that the agencys administrative process violates the constitutional separation of powers and the companies right to a jury trial. SpaceX also says that the president should be able to fire administrative judges who hear board cases at will.

Amazon is seeking to block the NLRB from ruling on whether it must bargain with the first union in its history at a New York City warehouse. SpaceX is fighting an NLRB case accusing it of firing engineers critical of Musk. Each company has filed a second lawsuit against the NLRB stemming from separate board cases, which are also likely to end up at the 5th Circuit.

Amazon and SpaceX, which have denied wrongdoing in the underlying board cases, did not respond to requests for comment.

NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, a Biden appointee, said in a statement that the U.S. Supreme Court had upheld the agencys structure nearly 90 years ago and that despite the legal challenges, the board would continue to carry out its mission.

While the current challenges require the NLRB to expend scarce resources defending against them, weve seen that the results of these kinds of challenges is ultimately a delay in justice, but that ultimately justice does prevail, Abruzzo said.

A growing number of similar cases challenging the NLRBs structure has been filed in courts nationwide. But an outsized proportion of them, including the Amazon and SpaceX cases, had their start in federal courts in Texas. Those courts, overseen by the 5th Circuit, have become a favored destination for companies and conservative groups challenging the powers of U.S. agencies.

Critics, including the NLRB, call the practice judge shopping and have sought to curb it, including by asking judges to transfer cases out of Texas. Many of those same critics have accused companies suing the NLRB of seeking to distract from their violations of workers rights to advocate for better working conditions.

The 5th Circuit is widely considered the most conservative federal appeals court, with 12 of its 17 active judges appointed by Republican presidents, and has issued several rulings in recent years curbing federal agencies powers.

Its been this signal for employers that if you want to play hard ball, you go to the 5th Circuit, said Andrew Strom, a lawyer with a New York City-based affiliate of the Service Employees International Union.

Three Texas judges who recently blocked NLRB cases all cited a 5th Circuit decision in 2022 against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which has a similar structure to the labor board. The pending appeals will give the court a chance to extend that ruling, which has been rejected by other appeals courts, to the NLRB.

Even if the lawsuits ultimately fail, Amazon, SpaceX and other companies have already succeeded in indefinitely delaying board cases involving an array of alleged unlawful conduct, and more lawsuits are likely to follow.

Challenges to the NLRB have been less successful outside of Texas, with at least six judges in other states and Washington D.C., rejecting claims about the agencys structure.

Topics USA Aerospace
Elon Musk is ramping up his feud with Sam Altman, alleging in a court filing that OpenAI is trying to corner the market for generative artificial intelligence and sacrificing safety in a race to get ahead.

In a revised version of a lawsuit he filed in August, Musk highlighted antitrust concerns about OpenAIs journey from its nonprofit roots in 2015  when he and Altman worked together as founders  to its current effort to restructure as a for-profit company following billions of dollars in outside investment by Microsoft and others.

Musk, who launched his xAI startup last year, said OpenAI has now abandoned all pretense of proceeding as a charity to benefit humanity with a focus on openness and safety as it tries to complete its restructuring.

Microsoft and OpenAI, apparently unsatisfied with their monopoly, or near so, in generative artificial intelligence (AI) are now actively trying to eliminate competitors, such as xAI, by extracting promises from investors not to fund them, lawyers for the billionaire wrote in the amended complaint filed late Thursday in federal court in Oakland, California.

The revised suit lists 26 legal claims and runs 107 pages, compared with 15 claims in the 83-page original complaint.

In a statement Friday, OpenAI rejected the claims and provided a web link to a collection of emails it said showed Musk had previously supported the for-profit structure. Elons third attempt in less than a year to reframe his claims is even more baseless and overreaching than the previous ones, OpenAI said. His prior emails continue to speak for themselves.

Musks filing adds California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Microsoft as defendants. The company is in early talks with Bontas office over the process to change its corporate structure, Bloomberg News reported this month.

The restructuring is now in full swing with OpenAI and Microsoft having hired investment banks to negotiate Microsofts enormous stake and set a hard two-year deadline to complete the conversion, according to the revised complaint.

In a statement, a representative of Bontas office said, We are reviewing the lawsuit and will respond as appropriate in court.

Microsoft declined to comment.

To back up his claim that OpenAI is becoming more anticompetitive, Musk said in the filing that the company has attempted to starve competitors of AI talent by aggressively recruiting employees with offers of lavish compensation, and is on track to spend $1.5 billion on personnel for just 1,500 employees.

Musk also expressed concern that OpenAI has started to contract with the Department of Defense and removed a clause from its usage policies banning the use of its technology for activity that has a high risk of physical harm such as weapons development or military and warfare.

According to the filing, droves of security researchers are resigning in protest, or being forced out, and safety teams have been dissolved, all to make way for security personnel whose real job is to facilitate military contracting.

The case is Musk v Altman, 4:24-cv-04722, US District Court, Northern District of California (Oakland).

Photo: Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.
T-Mobile US Inc.s network was among those recently breached by Chinese hackers in an attack on multiple telecommunications companies.

T-Mobile is closely monitoring this industry-wide attack, a company spokesperson said Saturday in an emailed statement. We have not seen significant impacts to T-Mobile systems or data, and have no evidence of impacts to or exfiltration of any customer information others may have experienced. We will continue to monitor this closely, working with industry peers and the relevant authorities.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that Bellevue, Washington-based T-Mobiles systems were among those hacked.

US officials said this week that Chinese state-sponsored hackers perpetrated a broad and significant cyber-espionage campaign in which they breached multiple telcos. The hackers infiltrated the networks in an attempt to steal customer call records and compromise the communications belonging to a limited number of people in government and politics, officials said.

The FBI declined to comment on the T-Mobile hack, while the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency didnt respond to a request for comment outside of regular business hours.

China has no interest in interfering in other countries internal affairs through cyberspace, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Thursday.

AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. were among those breached over several months, the Journal reported last month. The hackers may have targeted the phones of Donald Trump, JD Vance and Trump family members, as well as members of Vice President Kamala Harris campaign staff and others, the New York Times had reported.

Photo: The T-Mobile headquarters in Bellevue, Washington./Bloomberg

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Topics Cyber China
Marsh McLennan said Friday it has completed the $7.75 billion acquisition of McGriff Insurance Services.

The purchase of Charlotte, North Carolina-based McGriff, founded in 1886, adds to Marsh McLennans position as the biggest U.S. broker, with $22.7 billion in revenue in 2023, according to AM Best.

John Doyle, president and CEO of Marsh McLennan, said McGriffs deep specialty and industry capabilities will strengthen Marsh McLennan Agencys value proposition and expand our reach in the growing middle market. Together, McGriff and MMA will deliver even greater value to clients.

Retail brokerage McGriff specializes in commercial property/casualtyincluding small business, cyber, and management liabilitysurety, employee benefits, alternative risk transfer programs, and personal lines insurance to businesses and individuals in the U.S.

As previously announced, McGriffs more than 3,500 employees, including CEO Read Davis, will join Marsh McLennan Agency and operate from existing locations. Davis said McGriff employees will gain access to expanded global resources and industry knowledge to build their career growth and bring innovative, actionable solutions to clients.

McGriff was an affiliate of private-equity backed TIH (formerly Truist Insurance Holdings). In May, Truist Financial Corporation completed a sale of its remaining stake in TIH, then the 10th largest insurance brokerage in the U.S. with $3.46 billion in 2023 revenue, to an investor group led by private equity firms Stone Point Capital and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. TIH insurance units now include CRC Insurance Services, Crump Life Insurance Services, and AmRisc.

According to the agreement, Marsh McLennan, through its Marsh McLennan Agency business, will assume a deferred tax asset valued at about $500 million.
After ditching two-thirds of its office space and selling its Chicago headquarters, Allstate Corp. realized that even employees who prefer working remotely still need a place to gather with their coworkers from time to time.

In the coming months, a quarter of the insurance giants 54,000 corporate employees in cities like Atlanta, Tampa and Minneapolis will be able to meet up with colleagues in offices booked by the day through a coworking platform called LiquidSpace. Others will work in traditional leased space where desks have been jettisoned for cozy cafes, quiet libraries and event spaces.

While companies like Amazon.com Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and United Parcel Service Inc., force staffers back to the office, and others remain fully remote, Allstate is trying to thread the needle with a mix of options that keep flexibility a priority but avoid asking workers to trudge into an office only to spend most of the day in front of their screens in virtual meetings.

Were building something new, said Lauren DeYoung, who, as Allstates workplace futurist, is spearheading the transition. When I talk to our people, theyre just so surprised were doing this, and trying something different.

Allstate says theres no going back to pre-pandemic days of vast offices around the US. The company slashed annual spending on corporate offices from $382 million in 2020 to $138 million this year, excluding the 7,100 local storefronts that individual agents own and operate.

Reason to Gather

Most of the ten Allstate employees who shuffled into a downtown Minneapolis conference room on a recent visit had never met before. When they entered, a whiteboard mistakenly welcomed employees of rival insurer Transamerica, not Allstate.

But employees quickly picked up on some of the value of being in person with their coworkers: I get stale working in my apartment, said Brittany Murphy, who usually works remotely on the companys social-media team.

They had gathered inside Coco, a coworking site located in the citys historic grain exchange building, to hear from Allstate Chief Executive Officer Tom Wilson about the importance of connections.

I hope we can start to get to know each other, identify opportunities for collaboration and have some of that office chat, said Sarah Springer, who usually works remotely in the companys data analytics department. But its early on.

While the employees communing over bagels that morning said they appreciated Allstates remote-first policy, which began during the pandemic, they had come to realize some shortcomings, like the lack of office mates to gossip and trade ideas.

Before the end of the day at Coco, Springer and other colleagues began coordinating follow up visits. Others planned a charity 5K run together, and there was talk of a happy hour later that evening.

You want me to commute to an office? Were open to that, as long as theres a reason, Springer said. If you want me to come in and sit on Zoom all day, theres no point to that.

Fewer Cubicles

Allstates shift to coworking reflects its acknowledgement that the pandemic changed white-collar work irrevocably  and the insurance industry is no different.

Customers are now comfortable buying and managing policies online, while tasks like generating quotes and assessing car-accident claims can now be done digitally in minutes, rather than taking hours in person. It used to be you got in a car accident, we drove out to your house, or we met you at a body shop, Wilson said at a recent investor conference. Today, you send us six pictures, and we do it in minutes. Adjusters can do over 20 [claims] a day, and pretty soon, the computer will do a bunch of them.

That digital transformation requires far fewer cubicles.

With hybrid-work now the norm at most white-collar organizations and office occupancy rates still stuck at around half of pre-pandemic levels in major US cities, firms have scrambled to jettison unneeded space.

Businesses now occupy 210 million fewer square feet than they did in April 2020, according to CoStar Group Inc., a commercial real-estate firm, and as of last year nearly two-thirds of them planned to make further reductions, according to Cushman & Wakefield. By contrast, there are now 7,538 coworking sites in the US as of October, up 22% over the past year, according to CoworkingCafe, a flex-space website.

Workspaces need to be different than what they were, Allstates DeYoung said. The days of cubicle farms are over.

As DeYoung tried to figure out what work needed to be done where, she discovered that employees needed more room for collaboration, but also quiet places to focus.

For example, Allstates office in Charlotte, North Carolina, now features a hushed, soundproof library where staff can study for their licensing exams, as well as nooks to grab snacks, and open space for bigger meetings.

On one floor, Jason Griffin, a senior manager in the complex-liability determination unit, shows new employees how to assess fault in collision claims. These newbies used to start off remotely, but so many struggled and quit that Griffin now requires them to be mostly in the office for the first few months. The in-person training helped slash voluntary turnover in Griffins department to 5% from about 35%.

The self-starter can work from home, Griffin said. But another person might need to be nudged along a little bit.

In other cities, the challenge is deciding if Allstate needs an office at all.

In places like Atlanta, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Columbus, Ohio, Allstate has between 100 and 1,000 employees  too few to justify an office lease, but enough that theres a need to come together once in a while for training, mentoring and team-building activities.

So DeYoung turned to Mark Gilbreath, founder and CEO of LiquidSpace, which offers more than 13,000 offices and meeting spaces globally.

LiquidSpace also counts big companies like wireless provider T-Mobile US as clients, which book daily locations in cities like Los Angeles where its shuttered offices, significantly reducing real estate costs in those areas. Amazon  which just told corporate staff they must soon be in the office five days a week  is also a big user of on-demand space in some markets. Gilbreath sees on-demand space being part of the mix of all big companies one day.

Its not just a real-estate play, Gilbreath said. They want to make this work.

Allstate has reduced its footprint from 12 million square feet to 4 million, but it still needs space in certain places at certain times. In some cities, we have people who do not have an easy way to know that other [colleagues] are even working in the area, DeYoung said. In those regions, we know that a five-year lease is not the right cost decision.

A coworking membership for 10 employees  the size of Allstates Septembergathering in Minneapolis  is more affordable than an equivalent office lease in 97% of 102 US cities, according to CoworkingCafe.

Colorful History

Allstates alliance with LiquidSpace represents a bet on a working style thats had its ups and downs in the US since a few Bay Area startup staffers rented space in a San Francisco feminist collective in 2005 and called the newfangled arrangement Coworking.

The fledging community grew and soon many laptop-toting creative types wanted to join the group, which relocated to larger digs the following year and eventually took up the new-age name Citizen Space.

Coworking existed long before WeWork was even an inkling of an idea, Tara Hunt, Citizen Spaces co-founder, said.

Similar communities soon sprouted in other cities. At the time, owners and managers of office real estate saw coworking as more of an oddity than an opportunity. Alex Hillman, founder of Indy Hall, a coworking group in Philadelphia, recalls the reaction when he explained to his first landlord that hed be offering use of his 1,200 square-foot, split-level Old City loft to people who didnt work for the same company but wanted to work from the same place: They thought we were insane.

When the 2008 financial crisis cratered real estate values, making space cheaper, coworking flourished. It allowed professionals and entrepreneurs to gather, swap ideas and socialize, with none of the politics and posturing of a traditional corporate office. It was a path out of the old way of doing work that didnt work for a lot of people, said Tony Bacigalupo, who co-founded Manhattans first coworking space in 2008.

Adam Neumann set up WeWorks first Manhattan locations in 2010 and over the next decade, gobbled up space as fast as SoftBank Ventures and other deep-pocketed backers could write checks. The coworking sector grew by an average of 22% each year, according to JLL.

WeWorks fall from grace dented the reputation of coworking just as Covid hit, emptying offices across the US.

But as companies crept back , they found landlords happy to cut all sorts of deals to entice them. Sometimes, those deals include free use of communal spaces shared by all tenants  coffee bars, fitness studios, conference rooms and auditoriums.

Today, its almost impossible for a landlord to provide a large office building without some flexible offering, said Despina Katsikakis, the global lead of Cushman & Wakefields Total Workplace consulting and research business. Coworking sites alsohave blossomed in small towns and suburbs as employers see the payback of reducing the financial and psychic drain of commuting.

But coworking isnt without challenges: While booking space is easy, its not always clear to employees whos showing up where and when. And given that these spaces are on demand, pricing is a little all over the place, said Mike Thomas, Allstates vice president of administration and real estate. A few Allstate employees also grumbled that the wi-fi can be clunky in certain locations.

Were still testing and learning, Thomas said. What if were wrong? We will figure it out. For years the saying used to be, Build it and they will come. Now, its Lets see where they go, and we will build there.'

Photo: Co-workers from Allstate gather in Minneapolis. Photographer: Tim Gruber/Bloomberg

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.
It was an inside job, one that cost an insurance company in Florida more than $1.1 million, authorities said.

Investigators with Floridas Department of Financial Services on Friday charged Rochell Green and Breana Ferguson, of the Jacksonville area, with orchestrating a scheme that sent 42 false insurance claims to the health insurer Aetna, DFS said in a statement.

The women, both employees of Aetna, became familiar with the claims process for hospital coverage, accident insurance and voluntary supplemental plans, the agency said. Each enrolled in the insurance plans and uploaded fake documents in support of their claims for procedures that did not happen and for patients that did not exist, Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis explained.

Its amazing the lengths bad actors will go to commit fraud and scam the system to make a quick buck. Kudos to my insurance fraud detectives for arresting these fraudsters and placing them behind bars where they belong, Patronis said in a bulletin.

Green, 40, reportedly began the scheme in 2019 and later asked Ferguson to help, splitting the proceeds on her claims payments, DFS noted. Green collected more than $408,000 in the scheme and Fergusons false claims produced some $736,000 in insurance payments, the agency said.

Green was arrested Oct. 25. Ferguson, age 34, was arrested Nov. 8. Both were booked into the Duval County Jail and released on bond. Duval County Sheriffs Office records show Green was charged in 2012 with attempting to cash a worthless check.

Topics Florida Numbers
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)  The president of a Kentucky plant that exploded earlier this week said the company is accountable for the accident and will pay damages to residents affected by the blast.

First and foremost, we are devastated by the accident that happened on Tuesday, said Ann Leonard, president of Givaudan Sense Color, during a call-in meeting with reporters Friday afternoon. We know this event has been felt deeply throughout the community, and believe me, we feel it too.

The afternoon explosion killed two workers and injured 11 other employees. Dozens of homes around the plant in eastern Louisville had their windows shattered, and the percussion from the blast knocked pictures off walls and cracked drywall in some homes.

One home directly across from the plant had a two-story high hunk of metal lodged against it.

Leonard said absolutely we are accountable for the explosion and pledged to pay damages to neighbors.

No cause has been identified for the explosion. Leonard said that will be determined by investigators, who now control the scene where the plant once stood.

She said Friday she was not aware of any equipment malfunctions before the explosion.

Some neighbors have said that the company should be relocated, but Leonard said Friday that Givaudan is currently focused on the well-being of its employees and the surrounding community. Louisvilles mayor has also said there may be a better location in the city for the plant, which also had a deadly explosion in 2003.

We have been part of this community for more than 70 years, Leonard said. We love Louisville, and would like to make a commitment to it. But again, its just very, very early stages.

Leonard said the plant has about 55 workers, and they will continue to be paid. The company has set up a crisis line for people to call and report damages, she said.

Federal, state and local investigators are looking into the explosion.

The plant made caramel colorings for the food industry by heating sugar and water and adding chemicals such as aqueous ammonia for some products, according to documents filed with the city of Louisville.

Photo: A massive piece of the Givaudan Color Sense plant landed on a house in Louisville. (AP Photo/Dylan Lovan)

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)  Firefighters in Kentuckys largest city rescued a construction worker on a demolition team who fell into a void Thursday and became trapped in rubble, requiring a tedious, hours-long operation to dig him out.

The rescue was shown live on local Louisville television stations hours after the worker fell into a hole and debris fell on top of him around noon. Paramedics were on hand to place the worker onto a stretcher, cover him with a blanket and transport him to an ambulance.

One rescue worker patted the worker on the back as he was being hoisted out.

Louisville Fire Chief Brian ONeill said the worker was conscious and alert when he was rescued after being completely buried 10 to 12 feet (3 to 3.7 meters) below ground. He said the worker hadnt been able to move but was able to communicate in Spanish with multilingual members of the team.

He was in a lot of pain, ONeill said. This is a pretty severe accident.

The worker was taken to the University of Louisville Hospital, where his injuries were being assessed.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg called it an incredibly difficult trench rescue, and said he had met with the victims mother to update her on his condition. The family was waiting to see the man at the hospital Thursday night.

A hospital spokesperson did not respond immediately to an email query about the workers condition.

The man had been part of a demolition team working at the site and fell into what the fire chief described as a void space. Five other workers were with him at the site of a former corrections building that is being demolished to make way for a medical campus.

The rescue team  specialized in trench rescue and confined space rescue  arrived within minutes, ONeill said.

He got very fortunate that he had a little bit of a void space around him, ONeill said. So he was able to breathe.

The fire chief said the worker was buried and pinned in place by gravel, dirt and large chunks of concrete, which required the rescue team to dig him out by hand, clearing the area around the mans arms and chest so he could receive medical aid. He said rescue workers also used a vacuum truck with a large pipe to suck up smaller debris, and they used propane tanks to push hot air into the hole to keep the worker warm.

We are moving tons and tons of debris by hand, by buckets, ONeill said, describing the process. Imagine a person at the bottom of a funnel. You have to shore up everything else thats going to keep cascading down to create a safe space and then continue to dig this person out.

Rescuers continued to work through Thursday evening after night fell. Officials had a crane and ladders going into the hole, which was several feet wide. The worker was freed around 8:30 p.m.

The fire chief called it a very long, very tedious, very slow-going process to do it safely, to make sure that you do not cause additional injury to the individual.

Once the firefighters got the worker out, it was a tempered celebration, ONeill said.

This is what our firefighters do, he said. This is why we took this job. We want to help people. And its not like the movies.

Earlier this week just a few miles away, a Louisville manufacturing plant exploded, killing two workers and damaging dozens of nearby homes. The cause of the explosion is not yet known.

Top photo: Members of the Louisville Metro Fire Department work to rescue a worker trapped under rubble at construction site in Louisville on Thursday. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Associated Press writer Anita Snow in Phoenix contributed reporting.

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Construction
A natural gas utility with more than 2 million customers in Arizona, Nevada and parts of California is being fined $2 million by regulators in Arizona over concerns about piping that is known to degrade in the heat.

The Arizona Corporation Commission announced that it reached a consent agreement with Southwest Gas that includes the civil penalty and requires more inspections.

At issue is piping that can degrade in locations with hot ambient temperatures. Federal regulators issued an advisory in 2012 alerting operators that the piping  known as Driscopipe polyethylene (PE) M7000 and M8000  could be susceptible to degradation.

It was reported that degradation and resulting leaks involved piping installed in the Southwest, particularly in the Mohave Desert region in Arizona, California and Nevada.

In Arizona, state investigators concluded that Southwest Gas failed to properly map where this type of piping had been installed.

Southwest Gas estimates there are more than 10,000 miles (16,100 kilometers) of the piping throughout Arizona. The utility says it has a plan to target high-risk areas for replacement or abandonment.

The agreement between state regulators and Southwest Gas stems from two separate incidents in 2021, including one in Chandler in which an explosion injured four people.

In addition to replacing or abandoning all newly discovered and previously unmapped spots that contain the defective piping, Southwest Gas must also notify regulators of any leaks.

An amendment to the agreement that was proposed by Corporation Commissioner Kevin Thompson made clear that the company would have to propose new rates  and win regulatory approval through an administrative process  if it wants to recoup from customers any of the costs associated with fulfilling the agreement.

This matter has been before the commission long enough and the approval of this settlement is a big step in the direction of maintaining public safety and holding the utility accountable, Thompson said. I dont believe customers should bear the entire responsibility for the mistakes of the manufacturer and their defective products, and I wish the utility would have pursued this path more aggressively when they had the chance.

Southwest Gas also agreed to increase leak patrols throughout the year.

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with a firm over claims of violations of hazardous waste regulations at the companys facility in Irvine, California.

Edwards Lifesciences LLC will pay a civil penalty of $250,000 and certify it is in full compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

Edwards Lifesciences makes medical devices at its Irvine facility, where it also generates hazardous waste that is temporarily stored on-site. In September 2021, the EPA reportedly inspected the facility and found the company violated air emission standards under the RCRA.

According to the EPA, the company did not follow rules for hazardous waste storage tanks, lacked a proper leak detection and secondary containment system and failed to record daily inspections of a hazardous waste tank. The company also reportedly did not comply with hazardous waste air emissions standards, failing to monitor a tank for fugitive solvent emissions.

Topics California Claims Pollution
US investment firm Strategic Value Partners (SVP) has confirmed it has reached an agreement to acquire Blanchardstown Shopping Centre from US bank Goldman Sachs.

Goldman Sachs offered the centre for sale last year. The Irish Examiner understands that the deal was worth 650m.

This selling price was expected to be lower but the final figure was not disclosed. The bank initially acquired the shopping centre from Blackstone in late 2020, when it was valued at about 750m.

In a statement, SVP said it is planning to make significant investments in the centre including enhancements to its food and beverage offerings.

SVP will work closely with Fingal County Council, existing tenants, and Falcon Asset Management to elevate the centres appeal and strengthen its position as a premier retail destination for visitors and tenants alike, the company said.

The centre covers 1.2 million square feet and contains 180 shops and restaurants.

Global Head of Real Estate at SVP Mike Ungari said their goal is to build on the facilitys strengths, and we are committed to ensuring Blanchardstown continues to set the benchmark for retail and leisure excellence in the region.

The acquisition is expected to complete prior to year-end, subject to regulatory approvals.
When he arrived in Ireland, Cole Curnew felt at home. Though he was almost 3,500km from his native Newfoundland, the mix of spiritual and historical connections between the two places immediately put him at ease.

I grew up listening to The Irish Rovers, The Dubliners, says the 24-year-old. Newfoundland music and Irish traditional music are very similar.

Then of course theres the accent. You can probably hear it in my voice a little and the Irish influence there from immigration is huge.

Cole is a member of the indigenous Qalipu first nation on his fathers side. As such, he always had an interest in the history of his people and the effects colonialism has had on them.

As a law student at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he recently took a course on Indigenous Governance where he came across the story of the Choctaw Native American Monument in Midleton, Co Cork, which commemorates the generosity and empathy shown by the native Choctaw people to Ireland during the Famine.

That monument represents solidarity with decolonisation movements across the globe, says Cole.

Cole Curnew

That story intrigued me and was another big thing that drew me here. One of the first things I did when I got here was go to Midleton and get my picture taken at the monument with my Grand Council flag.

Cole is set to spend four months in Ireland, taking various law courses at University College Cork. After almost seven years of intense study back home, he admits that he is a little gentler on himself when it comes to his study schedule. Since arriving in September, he has taken every opportunity to travel.

Its been fantastic, he says. People back home always ask me how Im enjoying it and I give them two guesses. They always guess right. The friendly nature of the people not just in Cork but across Ireland is quite something. Ive just come back from travelling around the UK for a week with friends and there is a big difference between here and there. People are more willing to help and theyre just friendlier.

The International Student Society in UCC is great too, he says. There are a lot of kindred spirits in there. I meet so many people from the US, Germany, the Netherlands and its been great learning from people from other cultures, and to be able to visit towns and cities in Ireland.

I mean, I was given the roll of the dice being from Newfoundland: There are only half a million of us and it is beautiful but I tell you, youre pretty lucky to be born here too just because of how friggin nice this country is.

Sense of community

Megan Bock

While Coles lilt might sound close to home, Megan Bocks accent is a little tougher to place. Though born in Texas, the agriculture student has lived all over the US.

These days, on the rare occasions she gets back to visit her mother, Chicago is where she rests her head.

I have lived here for five years and working in West Cork seems to have stuck with me, says the 28-year-old.

I already had a mixed-up accent coming here but thats just added to it. Its never been easy to tell where Im from.

Megan was studying animal science at Purdue University, Indiana, when she got the opportunity to study abroad for a year in Ireland. She found a position at University College Dublins research farm and was offered the chance to extend her stay.

I was an intern for three months and then they offered me a research assistant position for two years, she explains. As that wound down I started looking for my own masters or PhD and I found this one, a grazing trial study in Teagasc in Clonakilty, Cork. I took that offer in October 2021 and Ive been here ever since.

For her PhD, Megan is studying four groups of cows in Clonakilty that are grazing on four different grass and fertiliser treatments.

So I am measuring the grass production and quality of these swards, she explains. Then I am measuring the milk production and quality from the cows. So basically Im looking at what fertiliser rate allows you maintain overall production while reducing your fertiliser inputs and therefore levels of nitrogen which makes farming more sustainable and reduces the environmental impact.

Megan Bock

Having grown up in an agricultural environment in the American Midwest, Megan got something of a culture shock when she came to Ireland and saw vast swathes of cows freely munching grass in the Irish countryside.

Most of the agriculture Id be used to seeing around dairy would be indoors, she says. We feed all sorts of tillage, silage, and hay  even soya  and the cows wouldnt go outside at all. The only animals Id be used to seeing grazing were beef or sheep, and even at that it was a very different system. Seeing everything grass-based, thats been a big learning curve for me.

That learning has ramped up significantly with this PhD.

Megan has been busy and, as a result, she doesnt get to travel as much as she did when she first arrived.

That has slowed down a bit recently, she says. I still go on little road trips. I feel like I have been everywhere in Ireland. Ive been to the West coast loads of times and I love Donegal, thats probably my favourite county. Its amazing. Even county by county you can see the differences and I love the whole tribal vibe with the GAA. That sense of community. Even when you talk to farmers, theyd be a bit competitive from county to county. I love it.

The people are so nice and the culture is great fun and so different from America. Its a great country.

Freedom to be oneself

Amir Shahhosseini Angas

Though Amir Shahhosseini Angas agrees, he is not blind to the problems that students have in Ireland.

Im loving it, except for some situations, says the philosophy student. Housing and student funding is terrible but thats not just Ireland. It took me three and a half months to find a place. The housing situation is not just my own concern but its everyones concern. I knew it wasnt easy but I didnt expect that. UCC is a nice and friendly place in every aspect. Financially its a little tough. And I think maybe Ireland could do a little more to support students but well figure it out.

Though he had the opportunity to study at universities in Canada, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, Amir chose Ireland because he wanted to go to an English-speaking country where you can earn money while you study.

I also heard from several friends that Ireland is a friendly environment for immigrants, he says. As a gay man, I have far more freedom to be myself here. Im out here and have nothing to hide because I feel safe.

Amir Shahhosseini Angas

This, he says, is the bonus of being in Ireland. His main reason for being here is the opportunity it gives him to study what he loves.

Everything in Iran is quite old and frenetic, he says. You cant study philosophy without a background in philosophy. I studied architecture for example. I was able to come to Ireland because of the help and support of my supervisor, Dr Adam Loughnane, and the Scholars at Risk Foundation. That provided everything I needed. And Im really very grateful.
The cost of providing taxis to school children has doubled in just four years, but the Department of Education has refused to say where the money is going.

Figures released to the Irish Examiner by the department under Freedom of Information laws show the school transport scheme had a spend of 38m in 2020, but has reached nearly 80m for 2023 and is expected to top that this year.

However, the department has refused to show which businesses are benefitting from the increase, having been asked for the value of contracts handed out to individual suppliers. The request for information was refused, with the department saying that to release those figures could either reveal trade secrets or result in material financial loss for individual companies.

The figures released to the Irish Examiner show that in 2020, 37.9m was spent on the scheme, which is administered by Bus Eireann and sees smaller vehicles used to get children to school in places without bus services or where the childs needs are complex. This rose to 46.7m in 2021, to 63.3m in 2022 and 78.9m in 2023.

Government sources say they expect the 2024 figure to be above 80m. Of last years spend, some 17m was spent in Dublin and 15.7m in Cork. The increased expenditure has been put down to factors including covid measures and the expansion of the scheme due to cost of living measures.

The overall cost of school transport rose from 203.6m in 2018 to 384.02m in 2023.

'Important service'

Junior minister Colm Burke told the Dail that, in the 2023-24 school year, more than 163,600 children, including more than 136,000 pupils travelling on primary and post-primary services, 20,200 pupils with special educational needs and 7,400 pupils from Ukraine, were transported daily to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.

In a note, the department said that the scheme is an important service for families and children.

It says smaller vehicles are mainly used on the school transport scheme for children with special educational needs due to the often complex individual requirements of the children availing of transport for the scheme.

The scheme provides free school transport to children with diagnosed disabilities who meet the criteria.

All services are planned to meet the individual requirements of children travelling, with the majority of services operating on a door-to-door basis.

In arranging transport, Bus Eireann consider the specialised nature of transport provision for pupils with special educational needs under the School Transport Scheme.

The department said the number of children availing of the special educational needs scheme has increased from some 13,410 pupils in 2018 to over 21,053 pupils in the current school year.

The special educational needs scheme accounts for over 50% of the total cost of operating the school transport scheme.
The father of murder victim William Maughan said a search for his son's remains has yielded nothing so far and William and his partner Ana were discarded like a bag of rubbish.

Willie Maughan, aged 34 and his pregnant partner, Ana Varslavane, aged 21, are believed to have been killed by one of the feuding gangs in Drogheda, Co Louth, on April 14, 2015.

Last week, gardai launched a fresh search for their remains, on land close to the chief suspects former home in Gormanston, Co Meath.

Gang boss Cornelius Price, who has since died from brain cancer, and up to 10 members of his gang are believed to have been involved in the double murder.

Willies father Joe Maughan told the Irish Examiner: People know what happened and where the remains are.

I am 70 years of age, and you wont meet a stronger person than me, I work all the time, I get on with it and I have hope, there is always hope he said.

I went to the field where the search is going on with the gardai on Saturday with my wife Helen and my twins. There were many tears. But my wife too is a strong woman.

I looked around and said they were discarded like a bag of rubbish. But we are a strong family. We are a working family, and I believe in God, I go to Mass every day.

I pray all the time  I wont go to sleep unless I say my prayers and I pray they will find Willie and Ana," Mr Maughan said.

Nothing has come from the search, but it came about after someone gave information to the gardai. They are not searching Prices plot of land; they are searching around 100 yards away.

I dont know where Willie and Ana lie, but some people do and at least 10 were involved and there is not a word out of any of them.

The fresh search by gardai got under way on Friday and the Maughan family were informed. A piece of land in Balbriggan in north Co Dublin has been sealed off.

William Maughan and his girlfriend were living in a caravan in a compound owned by Cornelous Price at the time but wanted to return home to Tallaght in south Dublin.

The couple had been in Balbriggan on April 14 and got a taxi shortly after 2.30pm to Gormanston, where Mr Maughans mother was to collect them and their belongings.

He rang his mother at around 2.30pm, asking her to come to Gormanston, but when she got there just after 3 oclock there was no sign, said Mr Maughan.

He wanted out, he wanted to go, and he was killed.

Gardai carried out extensive investigations and searches at the time and the case was upgraded to murder in 2016.

It is a complete nightmare said Mr Maughan. I think of him begging for mercy. It was just such bad luck the whole thing.

I have hope though that someone will tell us where they are, I have fierce faith in God. If I missed Mass on Sunday morning, Id be there at 6pm that evening.

We attend the missing persons event every year, my wife spoke well at it one year and like all the other families with missing relatives, we just want to know where they are so we can lay them to rest.

We know whos behind it, but we just have to prove it, and we cant understand how people can do this to one another.

These searches are important, and we know searches are going on for Jo Jo Dullard too, its important that these cases are kept alive, and they keep looking.

Seven people have been arrested so far in connection with the case and the latest search is being carried out by the Garda investigation team supported by the Meath divisional search team and the Garda Technical Bureau.

Gardai said: The area of land will be searched and subject to excavation, technical and forensic examinations over the coming days.

Gardai continue to appeal to anyone with information in relation to the disappearance and murder of William Maughan and Anna Varslavane to speak with investigating gardai.
We Are China

A busy harvest season in the golden rice fields of E China's Jiangxi

People's Daily Online) 16:42, November 18, 2024

Villagers use harvesters to gather late rice in high-standard farmland in Huangping village, Chengtang township, Yifeng county, Yichun city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

Recently, in Huangping village, Yifeng county, east China's Jiangxi Province, villagers used harvesters to gather late rice in high-standard farmland.

In recent years, Yifeng county has implemented the "storing grain in land, storing grain in technology" strategy to strengthen the foundation of food security. By promoting the development of high-standard farmland, the county has established a series of well-equipped, contiguous plots with irrigation infrastructure, improving farmland irrigation and cultivation conditions. This initiative has led to higher grain yields, increased agricultural efficiency, and boosted farmers' incomes.

Villagers use harvesters to gather late rice in high-standard farmland in Huangping village, Chengtang township, Yifeng county, Yichun city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

Villagers use harvesters to gather late rice in high-standard farmland in Huangping village, Chengtang township, Yifeng county, Yichun city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

In Huangping village, Chengtang township, Yifeng county, Yichun city, east China's Jiangxi Province, contiguous high-standard farmland stretches across the area, interwoven with residential houses, creating a picturesque scene. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

In Huangping village, Chengtang township, Yifeng county, Yichun city, east China's Jiangxi Province, contiguous high-standard farmland stretches across the area, interwoven with residential houses, creating a picturesque scene. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

In Huangping village, Chengtang township, Yifeng county, Yichun city, east China's Jiangxi Province, contiguous high-standard farmland stretches across the area, interwoven with residential houses, creating a picturesque scene. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

In Huangping village, Chengtang township, Yifeng county, Yichun city, east China's Jiangxi Province, contiguous high-standard farmland stretches across the area, interwoven with residential houses, creating a picturesque scene. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

Intern Han Yifan contributed to this story.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
A young man who got involved in an assault on a 16-year-old in the car park of the Clonakilty Park Hotel has been released after five months in prison awaiting sentence.

Judge Dermot Sheehan backdated a sentence of two years to when 21-year-old Shane Stokes, of 8 St Anthonys Park, Dave McCarthy Rd, Hollyhill, Cork, went into custody and suspended the balance of it from now.

Defence barrister Paula McCarthy said Shane Stokes had no relevant previous convictions.

He should not have got involved. He felt under pressure to do so and made a spur-of-the-moment decision to become involved. He has never been in custody before this.

He paid 2,000 compensation. Given that he has spent five months in custody, I am asking you to suspend the balance of any sentence, Ms McCarthy said.

Stokes pleaded guilty to his part in the offence of assault causing harm carried out on May 6, 2023.

He also admitted production of a weapon, namely a glass Bulmers bottle.

Judge Sheehan noted from Garda Lawton that what should have been a happy day on a sunny afternoon was interrupted by the accused hitting the teenager over the head.

Judge Sheehan said: He played a full and active part in this cowardly attack on a 16-year-old child by two adults.

I will sentence him two years backdated to when he went into custody on June 17, Judge Sheehan said "I have seen how he got on in prison. He had not the best start in life.

He is married with a supportive wife. He seems to have learned his lesson.

Det Garda Dan Lordan investigated the attack which occurred in the car park of the Park Hotel in Clonakilty.

The injured party was sitting in the foyer of the hotel when he was approached by [Shane Stokess accomplice] and Shane Stokes.

"They attacked him. He tried to run away. They caught him in the car park.

He was struck with the bottle and kicked eight times while on the ground in the attack which was captured on CCTV.
A man who had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl  texting a friend to say she is about to become a woman  was sentenced to seven years in prison with the final 18 months suspended.

Judge Helen Boyle imposed that sentence on 34-year-old Patrick Rodgers, of Murmount Road, Mayfield, Cork, who pleaded guilty to the offence of engaging in sexual activity with a child under the age of 17.

The judge said that the child was intoxicated and vulnerable when she approached Mr Rodgers, who was 31 at the time, and she told him she was 15 and missing from home.

You took her to your home and proceeded to have sexual intercourse with her  You dropped her off at a bottle bank and left her alone  There was an abundance of evidence that you did know what age she was.

"This child who was lost, you exploited her in a cynical way. It is the most grave of this type of offence. You have a high level of culpability, Judge Boyle said.

The judge noted that his plea of guilty spared the injured party a trial.

It was stated in background reports on the accused that, after committing this crime, he became depressed and suicidal. And he was willing to engage in a sexual offenders programme.

At Cork Circuit Criminal Court, Detective Sergeant Clare Corcoran said that after Rodgers had sex with the girl at his home, he drove off to play golf, gave the victim a bottle of water and 10, and left her at a bottle bank, in the words of the victim, like nothing had happened".

Det Sgt Corcoran said the injured party had been drinking vodka on the day of the crime, had left home, got a bus to the outskirts of the city to an area with which she was unfamiliar, and then walked in the wrong direction. She approached a parked car for a light for a cigarette, announcing that she was 15 years old and had left home. The passenger left the scene and the defendant drove her to his home, buying Monster energy drinks at a garage on the way.

He brought her to his bedroom and undressed her before having sex with her on his bed, the detective sergeant testified at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Gardai later investigating the crime examined his phone and found texts between himself and the passenger who had left the car earlier. He sent his friend a picture of the girl drinking a mineral at his home. The friend texted: Remember now, you lunatic, she is only 15.

The defendant texted back, I heard 18, she is about to become a woman.

Victim impact statement

The teenager gave a victim impact statement which was read to the court. She recalled that she approached the car to get a lighter and she did not know the defendant.

He took me back to his house, and when it was over he dropped me at the side of the road like nothing had happened.

It has affected every part of my life that I never thought possible. The weight of it is overwhelming. More than once I attempted suicide. I lost a lot of friends. I felt like I was stuck in a place when everyone else was moving forward.

"I feel like I am trying to dig myself out of the same hole, with a feeling of worthlessness, feeling I am not good enough for anyone, lashing out at those closest to me.

I feel I am always waiting for something bad to happen. I was always very bright and happy in school but (after this in May 2021) I was falling behind, she said.

Jane Hyland senior counsel said: He is mortified at having engaged in this type of conduct. He found it difficult to accept almost that he had done this. He has expressed remorse very tangibly by pleading guilty and saving the victim re-traumatising that might come with a trial. He said he never intentionally set out to cause harm.
An articulate, intelligent, but vulnerable woman was caught openly dealing cannabis in West Cork and now she has been given a three-year suspended sentence.

Judge Helen Boyle imposed the sentence on 45-year-old Linda Burke, of no fixed address, at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Detective Garda David Barrett said that on September 12, 2022, the accused was observed at a bus stop in Bandon and it was believed that she was involved in the sale or supply of drugs in West Cork.

As a result of her suspicious behaviour, she was arrested and handed over her backpack which contained cannabis worth 9,000.

She admitted at interview that she travelled to West Cork to sell drugs she picked up in Cork city. She said that after selling in Bandon, she planned to take the drugs to other parts of West Cork to do the same.

She said that in the previous five weeks she had made 1,000 selling drugs.

Before setting off to West Cork she packaged the drugs and wrote the names of who the drugs were for on the bags.

Defence barrister Peter OFlynn said Ms Burke has mental health and addiction issues. She has seen her probation officer and attended for a period at Coolmine treatment centre, Mr OFlynn said, adding, She has done all she can since she was last before the court.

Judge Helen Boyle said: Certainly, it is a serious offence. But she is a woman with serious mental health issues and was arrested in Bandon in possession of 9,000 worth of cannabis for distribution  delivering drugs to people in west Cork who ordered it over the phone.

You had been seen by gardai engaging in this conduct. You were a delivery person for drugs for payment  albeit that you were a person with an addiction. Unusually, you have no previous convictions at all.

You have had a long engagement with the psychiatric services  effectively involved with them for some 20 years with a history of polysubstance misuse and self-harm.
The funeral Mass of a little girl who had campaigned for better health services for families coping with cancer has heard how she donated her hand to help others during her illness.

Lily Anna Sebestova, aged 10, from Tralee, Co Kerry, was diagnosed three years ago with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer, and sadly died on Friday.

Her family had helped raise funds for cancer research and had highlighted the long journeys they made from Kerry to Crumlin Childrens Hospital in Dublin throughout her treatment.

Lily Anna Sebestova's mum Lorraine told the congregation at the funeral in Tralee: 'She was an inspiration. From day one, she took on board what was given to her, and even though we cried, and we carried this pain, she did it. She donated her hand, she signed that paper in the hopes of changing lives. She did that.' Picture: RIP.ie

Speaking at her funeral in Our Lady and St Brendans Church in Tralee on Monday, her mother Lorraine said Lily was by far the biggest and best advocate for herself in her journey of cancer".

Her diagnosis did not stop her, she said. She had her hand amputated and by the time we got home the following morning she was down looking for pancakes and she was whisking the batter next to me.

She was an inspiration. From day one, she took on board what was given to her, and even though we cried, and we carried this pain, she did it.

She donated her hand, she signed that paper in the hopes of changing lives. She did that.

The Requiem Mass, which was partly celebrated in Slovakian for family online, heard how Lily who was a huge fan of skincare and make-up and was delighted to meet her idol Olivia Rodrigo at the 3 Arena in April.

Lorraine Sebestova and her daughter Lily Anna (9) for the Irish Cancer Society's International Childhood Cancer Day in February. Picture: Conor Healy/Picture It

The American stars song 'Drivers License' was also sung by a friend at the service.

The packed congregation lined up to comfort her heartbroken family including her mother Lorraine and father Jozef, and siblings Dean, Jack, Eli, Muireann, and Sabhadh.

Her mother also joked that she owed some people an apology for her daughters direct nature":

Myself and my husband, 10 years ago, gave birth to the sassiest little girl you could ever in your life meet. She was a little bit of a firecracker; she came out kicking and screaming and she lived her life that way wild and free.

People all over the world showed love for her and supported her.

"She might have been unfiltered, and you may have been on the receiving end of it, we apologise for that, she joked.

At the beginning, I felt I should wear this plaque saying I do apologise for my daughter. But by the time everyone got to know her, they kinda just knew the sassy girl that she was.

The Mass also heard how Lily was preparing for her next journey and even bought bracelets for her mother and aunt before she died.

Thats what our Lil did, said her mother.

She gave us all a little something, a little memory, and a little boost.

And all Ill ask of you is, to fight like a child.

 Lily Anna Sebestova's death notice on RIP.ie.
Update 4.20pm: Taoiseach Simon Harris has doubled down on his support of embattled election candidate John McGahon, as pressure comes on the Fine Gael senator to make a public statement.

Mr McGahon was acquitted in 2022 of assaulting Breen White outside a Dundalk nightclub in 2018, but the Fine Gael senator was found to be 65% civilly liable by a High Court jury.

Over the weekend, photos of Mr Whites injuries were published, leading to calls for Mr Harris to answer questions on Mr McGahons candidacy. Video has also been circulating on social media.

The Taoiseach said he has seen the video of the incident online, but he does not believe it is all of the footage as seen by the jury.

A jury looked at all of the footage, a judge looked at all of the footage and a jury acquitted John McGahon and that has to be the standard that we hold in terms of our criminal justice system, Mr Harris said.

What John McGahon did was clearly wrong, theres no doubt in relation to that at all, Mr Harris said.

But he was acquitted and he did put forward a self-defence defence in the court that was accepted by the jury.

Mr Harris rejected assertions that the incident would undercut Fine Gaels message of being tough on crime.

Green Party wants an extra bank holiday in July

Update 4.10pm: The Green Party is proposing an additional bank holiday be added to the calendar bringing Ireland up to 12 in line with the EU average.

The party championed the introduction of the February bank holiday, Roderic O'Gorman said, and if returned to government would push for one on the first weekend in July.

Mr O'Gorman was speaking as the party launched its plans to enhance the work/life balance including examining the prospect of a four-day work week.

It is an idea that is complicated and complex, he said, and the best way to explore these is with a Citizen's Assembly.

"What we are proposing is the Citizen's Assembly to tease out these issues, to examine it in detail. We are not talking about immediate implementation," Mr O'Gorman said.

Among the questions raised by the possibility of a shorter working week, is how the public service would engage with it and what rates of pay would be involved.

Mr O'Gorman acknowledged that many small businesses are currently struggling and said the party manifesto has measures to address those needs and the introduction of a short work week would be managed to ensure it does not increase the pressures on these businesses.

Bringing in a four-day work week would not require a referendum and would be a matter for the government of the day to consider the findings of the Citizen's Assembly.

Social Democrats leader pulls out of leaders' debate

Update 1.04pm: Holly Cairns will not be participating in Monday night's general election leaders' debate.

The Social Democrats leader is due to give birth in a matter of days and is unable to travel to Dublin to take part in the televised debate between the 10 party leaders.

As she cannot make the journey from Cork, deputy leader Cian O'Callaghan will take her place.

Earlier in the campaign, Mr O'Callaghan said that Ms Cairns would be leading the party into the election and that he would be supporting her.

"I'll certainly be helping during the election campaign, fulfilling some of the role that, in other circumstances, Holly would be able to do," said Mr O'Callaghan.

"But she is our leader, remains our leader, will be our leader throughout the campaign. She will be doing as much as she can but where I can help, I will."

Tonight marks the first leaders' debate of the three-week election campaign.

Holly Cairns. Picture: Anne Minihane

Read More Holly Cairns 'gutted' about likelihood of missing the end of election campaign

Tanaiste 'surprised' Simon Harris is continuing to back McGahon

Update 11am: Earlier, Tanaiste Micheal Martin has said he is surprised that the Taoiseach is continuing to back Mr McGahon.

From what weve seen over the weekend it was quite a vicious assault, or encounter put it that way, Mr Martin said, speaking on RTE Radio.

Its the video, if you see it  its online everywhere  it's quite shocking and the issue needs to be addressed.

Mr Martin said his party would not have run a candidate in the general election in the same situation as Mr McGahon, if we knew what is known now.

The Tanaiste added that there is a victim in this situation.

Striking to the head is very, very dangerous and thankfully here [it] didnt lead to worse consequences but it could have.

He added that the general public will ultimately decide who they want to represent them, when polling day arrives on November 29.

On Sunday, Mr Harris backed Mr McGahon, saying that the party would continue to canvas for him and that he was found not guilty in 2022.

Later, Mr Martin asked if Mr McGahon would have been picked for Fianna Fail. Mr Martin said he did not "want to be too judgmental" but said he would not have been picked.

Mr Martin stopped short of criticising the Taoiseach's judgement around Mr McGahon, but said he was "surprised" at how Mr Harris had "doubled down" on his support for the senator.

It's a matter for Fine Gael, a matter for the people of Louth. But I certainly was surprised by the decision to double down on his candidature, given what we know.

Mr Martin said that he was "shocked" when he had seen the video of the incident, saying that footage of Mr McGahon appearing to strike Mr White in the head was "very serious".

Mr Harris had been asked about Mr McGahon's candidacy ahead of his selection and said in July that Mr McGahon was remorseful over what had happened.

"There was clearly an incident, a scuffle, and he shouldnt have put himself in that scenario. It was not assault as it was deemed by a criminal court not to be, he said.

However, Mr Martin said that the incident was "anything but a scuffle". He did not say, however, whether he would be comfortable in a coalition where Mr McGahon was a Fine Gael minister. Mr Martin said that he would not prejudge the outcome of the election.

Meanwhile, Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe said that Mr McGahon was found not guilty in the 2022 criminal trial, but that any cases of violence were extremely regrettable.

I have to then look at the engagement that Ive had with him [McGahon] where in the aftermath of that criminal trial, I found somebody who works very hard at being a politician who has put his name in front of the people of Louth, Mr Donohoe said.

Asked about the civil case, Mr Donohoe said that Mr McGahon paid a significant fine  39,000 in damages  to Mr White.

it is still not for me to second guess the outcome from a criminal trial. He was acquitted, hes since paid a large fine for it, which he should do, Mr Donohoe told Newstalk.

From the engagement that Ive had with John over recent years, Ive found somebody that works very hard at his job who will be making the case to his constituents.
1. Fine Gael's John McGahon issue

The Taoiseach has doubled down on his support of embattled election candidate John McGahon, with Tanaiste Micheal Martin saying that the senator wouldn't have been a candidate for Fianna Fail.

Mr McGahon was acquitted in 2022 of assaulting Breen White outside a Dundalk nightclub in 2018, but the Fine Gael senator was found to be 65% civilly liable by a High Court jury.

Over the weekend, photos of Mr Whites injuries were published, leading to calls for Mr Harris to answer questions on Mr McGahons candidacy.

While Simon Harris has supported his Louth candidate, his government and opposition counterparts have increased the pressure on the senator to address the controversy.

2. SocDems pitch disability payments increase

The Social Democrats are proposing a new weekly 30 cost of disability payment, as the party pledges to introduce key reforms to existing disability laws.

Sinead Gibney, a candidate for the party in Dun Laoghaire, launched the policy, which includes the partys key red line for a senior minister in charge of disability.

The party is also promising to introduce a new statutory right to home care and personal assistance, as well as immediately signing the optional protocol of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

3. Bank holiday bonanza

The Green Party is proposing an additional bank holiday be added to the calendar bringing Ireland up to 12 in line with the EU average.

The party championed the introduction of the February bank holiday, Roderic O'Gorman said, and if returned to government would push for one on the first weekend in July.

Mr O'Gorman was speaking as the party launched its plans to enhance the work/life balance including examining the prospect of a four-day work week.

Bringing in a four-day work week would not require a referendum and would be a matter for the government of the day to consider the findings of the Citizen's Assembly.

4. PBP's NCT-style property check

People Before Profit joined the call to return a ban on no-fault evictions as part of its plans to address the 'Locked Out Generation' saying the measure was "shamefully" dropped by Fianna Fail and Fine Gael following the pandemic.

As well as a three-year rent freeze, the party proposes a cap on rents meaning no person would pay more than 25% of their monthly income on rent.

General election candidate Conor Reddy said there is little recourse for renters when they raise concerns about the standard of their home and so People Before Profit would introduce an "NCT-style system" for property standards.

5. Paschal Donohoe and 'unofficial politician' Gerry Hutch

Canvassing in Cork city centre on Monday, Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohue said that as a TD for Dublin Central he wasn't aware that veteran criminal figure Gerry The Monk Hutch, has been "an unofficial politician" for years.

"Well it is news to me if he has been," Mr Donohue said.

"What I instead have seen is a constituency that is full of strong and decent communities of people who work so hard to get a better life for themselves, for their families.

"I have also seen the awful harm that has been caused by drugs, that has been caused by organised crime, sometimes to the most vulnerable within our communities."

Mr Hutch is officially on the ballot in Dublin Central, having lodged his papers last week.

6. Fianna Fail insists it's not sexist

Fianna Fail TDs have made little secret of their belief that Helen McEntee hasn't done a good job as Justice Minister. Over the weekend, Willie O'Dea said that she had been the "worst Justice Minister in the history of the state", following criticism by Jim O'Callaghan.

Some in Fine Gael took this criticism to be loaded with sexist intent, but on Monday Micheal Martin hit back at the assertion, saying that comments by junior justice minister James Browne about his own legislative workload were not a dig at Ms McEntee's maternity leave periods.

Mr O'Callaghan, too, said that his criticism is purely weighted in policy.

All I was doing was I was pointing out that many of the successful measures that Minister McEntee implemented were on foot of proposals from myself and Fianna Fail.

I would make the same point had Charlie Flanagan been the minister for justice, so I dont think I should be precluded from making those points simply because the Minister is a female.
The announcement that Donald Trump has appointed Robert F Kennedy as the US secretary of health and human services has sent shock waves through the health and scientific community.

Kennedy ran as an independent presidential candidate before bowing out and supporting Trumps run in exchange for an influential position, so we have a pretty good idea of his positions on public health.

The main goal Mr Kennedy has trumpeted recently is to make America healthy again.

At face value, its a noble aim. Thats the essence of public health: How to reduce risk factors for disease and mortality at a population level and improve the quality of health and wellbeing.

But behind this slogan comes a darker, conspiracy-laden agenda.

As someone who has spent a lot of time researching global public health, these are the positions I believe could be the most dangerous.

Anti-vaxxer views

Kennedy is well known as a prominent anti-vaxxer. He has claimed that vaccines can cause autism, and also said that theres no vaccine that is safe and effective.

He called the covid vaccine the deadliest vaccine ever made.

None of these claims are true. Repeat studies have shown that the MMR vaccine does not cause autism, we have numerous safe and effective vaccines against childhood killers such as whooping cough and measles, and the covid vaccines have saved millions of lives globally.

Much of what he is saying is what people want to hear  being anti-vax is increasingly a way to build a fanbase.

I have seen this as a scientist: If you talk about childhood vaccinations, you get daily abuse.

If you talk about the dangers of vaccines, you can end up with a cult following, as Russell Brand and Andrew Wakefield have.

Its not even clear that Kennedy personally believes what hes saying  guests invited to a holiday party at his home in December 2021 were told to be vaccinated or tested for covid (he blamed his wife).

The big question is about how much harm he can do in the next few years as the man who oversees health agencies in the US.

Will he roll back budgetary allocations for vaccination campaigns? Eliminate research into new vaccines?

With avian flu continuing to spread in mammals and birds, will he support the stockpiling and rollout of H5N1 vaccines if necessary in a future outbreak or pandemic? If his appointment is approved, experts say that vaccines will be the first issue on the table.

The benefits of raw milk

Similarly, Kennedy has tweeted about the benefits of raw milk, which has become a bizarre Maga talking point generally.

Raw milk consumption is a risk factor for a number of dangerous illnesses, from e.coli to salmonella, but is even more worrying with the widespread infection of dairy herds in the US.

While pasteurisation has been shown to kill the H5N1 virus in milk and prevent its ability to infect, raw milk retains its pathogens.

This year, 24 cats who drank raw milk on a farm became infected by avian flu  12 died and 12 suffered from blindness, difficulty breathing, and other serious health problems.

This is when we need federal agencies to regulate what is being sold to the public and ensure clear communication of the health risks.

Instead, raw milk demand has gone up, with some vendors claiming that customers [are] asking for H5N1 milk because they want immunity from it. (Theres a certain irony in the logic behind vaccination  training our immune system in how to respond to a pathogen  being used in this situation.)

Anti-pharma conspiracy theories

Part of the problem of the make America healthy again campaign is it contains nuggets of truth within a larger false narrative.

We know that the prices charged by big pharma in the US are a problem but, instead of thinking it is a conspiracy to medicate the public when thats not in their best interests, its worth reflecting on how Britain managed to negotiate better prices.

This is where the government can have real power  ensuring fair prices for healthcare providers and individuals, and going after the extraordinary profit margins of pharmaceutical companies.

But instead of taking this on  for instance, Trump could have negotiated covid vaccine prices in his first presidency  it is easier to demonise all pharma companies.

Many of them, of course, play a valuable role in trialling and bringing drugs and vaccines to market. They just need to be regulated.

Taking on these ideas will be a challenge when their proponent is leading US health policy. How do you try to engage with those who believe things that are not true?

Its hard: A recent Nature study found the more time you spend on the internet trying to validate what is true and not true, the more you go down the rabbit hole of false information.

Those who believe outlandish theories are generally people who think they are more intelligent than the average person, have a lot of time to research on the internet, and are convinced that everyone else is being duped.

The US has a big health problem. Life expectancy is going dramatically backwards, covid killed a huge number of working-age Americans, and trust in the federal government is at 23%.

But the solution, if we look to healthier countries such as Denmark and South Korea, involves basic public health interventions, access to affordable medical care, and trust in government.

And not drinking raw milk.

Professor Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

Guardian
Many observers breathed a sigh of relief earlier this year when the mainstream, pro-EU alliance  of centre-left, centre-right and liberal parties  held on to its majority in the European parliament elections.

These parties, which have governed Europe for the past four decades, are to endorse Ursula von der Leyens new European Commission by the end of the month, with the declared goal of making the European economy greener, more competitive and more secure.

Yet behind this business as usual account of EU political power lies a different, less reassuring reality. Von der Leyens commission has not even taken office yet, but already the far right is punching well above its weight. And it will be emboldened by the return of Donald Trump to the White House.

The new European parliament, which has the job of endorsing the Von der Leyen 2.0 commission, is the most right wing in EU history.

More than half of its members are from Von der Leyens centre-right European Peoples party (EPP) and from far-right groups that include the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), which brings together Italian prime minister Giorgia Melonis party with more extreme far-right parties such as Frances (Reconquete) and the Sweden Democrats. There is also the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group, co-led by Marine Le Pen and Viktor Orban, and the even more extreme Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN), dominated by Germanys Alternative fur Deutschland.

The same is true for the other two main institutions that share executive power in Europe. More than half the members of the incoming EU commission (each proposed by one member state) and the EU council are from the right.

This rightward shift in the balance of power is unprecedented and could mean the end of the centrist majority that has governed Europe since the EUs creation. While Von der Leyen made public pledges in her first term to stick to the centre of politics, the incoming commission may be tempted to look to the right of the traditional EPP conservative bloc to pursue its political objectives.

Why is this? Coalitions in the EU parliament have historically been built issue by issue, and no commission has ever relied on a predetermined parliamentary majority during its five-year mandate.

This means that votes from the far right will probably offer a way for Von der Leyen to get some of her most conservative policies over the line, while maintaining the veneer of respectability provided by mainstream EU parties support

Since the incoming commission is neither politically committed nor accountable to its pro-EU mainstream alliance, the door remains open to cooperation with the far right. The combined strength of the three far-right groups (ECR, PfE and ESN) adds up to 187 of 720 seats in the parliament. This makes them a potent new ally for the EPP. In addition, the EU council, which is made up of heads of state, is dominated by 14 national governments led or supported by the right or far right, and they could force the commission to depart from its stated priorities.

For a taste of what may be to come, we only need look to earlier this year, when Von der Leyen, who was then outgoing commission president, capitulated to farmers protests  supported by the far right  and ditched the green deal.

Since then, a clear pattern to de-green EU policy has emerged. First came the pushback against the combustion engine ban, which requires all new cars to have zero CO2 emissions from 2035, followed by the delayed implementation of deforestation regulation, the watering down of the corporate sustainability directive, and the postponement of rules to make the common agricultural policy more environmentally friendly.

The mainstreams silent appropriation of the hard-right agenda is clear from Melonis Brothers of Italy party securing a vice-presidency of the EU parliament, along with several parliamentary committee chairs and potentially one EU commissioner.

Its true that Orbans PfE and the even more extreme Sovereignists remain officially excluded from joining forces with mainstream EU parties under the so-called cordon sanitaire  an unwritten agreement among centrist parties to exclude fringe forces on either end of the political spectrum. However, this did not prevent the EPP voting in September with all far-right groups on a resolution recognising Edmundo Gonzalez as Venezuelan president.

In fact, the firewall against the far right that operates across Europe has already been breached in the Czech Republic, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Sweden, where governing coalitions are made up of conservatives and far-right politicians

Several EPP leaders have had extensive contact with hard-right MEPs aligned with Meloni over the past year, and Von der Leyen has embraced Italys offshore deportation centres. In addition, the EPP refused to sign a declaration supported by the socialists, greens, liberals, and the left to keep the far right at bay at every level. This rang alarm bells, which are getting louder by the day.

All the nominated commissioners were interviewed over the past two weeks at a public hearing of the European parliament to see if they are up to the job. It could reject the entire slate of candidates. However, this is unlikely to happen, as it would significantly delay the new EU Commissions entry into office.

MEPs should not miss the opportunity to ask Von der Leyen  and her appointees  for clarity on one important question: which political majority will she rely on and respond to over the coming five years? A far-right majority of pro-Trump conservatives and formerly fringe actors, or mainstream political forces such as the socialists, liberals and greens? Her actions over the past few months only point in one direction. Welcome to the new Europe.

Alberto Alemanno is the Jean Monnet professor of EU law at HEC Paris and visiting democracy fellow and scholar at Harvard University.

The Guardian
Many of Hollywoods biggest stars gathered at the annual Governors Awards in Los Angeles to honour the late Quincy Jones, James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, filmmaker Richard Curtis and casting director Juliet Taylor.

The event put on by the film academys board of governors is a de-facto campaign stop for Oscar hopefuls as awards season gets under way.

The Governors Awards are often an emotional affair, but the 15th event took on an added sadness following Joness death on November 3.

Richard A Jones, Leslie Jones, Martina Jones, Rashida Jones, Quincy Jones III and Kenya Kinski-Jones with the honorary award for Quincy Jones during the 15th Governors Awards at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles (Chris Pizzello/AP)

The record producers family were not sure they wanted to attend the awards but decided to show up for the event in Hollywood for a celebration of his life and work with humour from Jamie Foxx, a rousing performance by Jennifer Hudson and a moment with his family: his daughter Rashida Jones even read the speech he had been working on up until a month ago.

We felt like we wanted to celebrate his beautiful life and career, she said.

His music has literally defined an entire century of culture spanning genres.

It was a moving end to a celebratory evening that had Hugh Grant roasting Curtis for getting a kind of Oscar and Daniel Craig celebrating the legacy of the James Bond films.

The audience in the Ray Dolby Ballroom was starrier than even the Oscars.

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson arrive at the Governors Awards in Los Angeles (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Everywhere you looked there were famous faces greeting one another: Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson at the bar ordering a margarita on the rocks; Jude Law and Kristen Wiig exchanging hellos; Zooey Deschanel sipping champagne; Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz Beckham wandering around; Saoirse Ronan and Elizabeth Olsen deep in conversation; Sharon Stone hugging Kieran Culkin; Jesse Eisenberg chatting with Elle Fanning; and Jeremy Strong taking a selfie with Guy Pearce.

Others remained near their seats, such as Jennifer Lawrence, June Squibb and Angelina Jolie, who attended alongside her son Knox Jolie-Pitt.

Angelina Jolie and Knox Leon Jolie-Pitt at the 15th Governors Awards (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

They sat beside her Maria director Pablo Larrain and across from His Three Daughters stars Natasha Lyonne and Olsen.

At another table, Barry Keoghan kept making his way to Margaret Qualleys side, squeezing in between her and Demi Moore.

Barry Keoghan was among those attending (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

But most of the schmoozing subsided for the main event.

With no television cameras or band to play anyone off during a speech, it is a night during which friends and colleagues can pay tribute to the years honorary Oscar recipients.

Broccoli and her brother Wilson followed in her fathers footsteps, receiving the rarely given Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award, celebrating the work of producers.

Barbara Broccoli, left, and Michael G Wilson accept the Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award during the 15th Governors Awards (Chris Pizzello/AP)

Albert Cubby Broccoli accepted his own trophy, then a bust of Thalberg, at the 1982 Academy Awards as they looked on from the audience.

Its heavier than I thought, Wilson said, holding the Oscar statuette.

Broccoli also commented on the importance of producers, a credit she said that lately is being handed out like party favours.

They got some gentle ribbing from Craig beforehand.

Broccoli, he said, cackles, I mean, crackles with passion.

Daniel Craig paid tribute to Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson (Chris Pizzello/AP)

But for a man who has always had a seemingly conflicted relationship with his Bond era, his admiration for them was evident.

I cant tell you how much I admire your integrity, Craig said.

These (Bond movies) are the most expensive independent films ever made.

Grant was less delicate but infinitely funnier paying tribute to Curtis, who has written for and directed him in many films including Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill and Love, Actually.

Would we call it an Oscar? Its a kind of Oscar, Grant said.

Hugh Grant presents Richard Curtis with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (Chris Pizzello/AP)

Its a better than nothing Oscar.

Curtis may be best known for his contributions to romantic comedies, but the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was for a lifetime of charitable work, which Grant said was annoying and frankly selfish.

In his acceptance speech, Curtis made a plea to the room to set aside a small portion of film budgets to hire an impact producer.

Nicole Kidman presented the honorary Oscar to Taylor, a casting director unaccustomed to being publicly celebrated for her contributions to cinema.

Nicole Kidman presented an honorary Oscar to casting director Juliet Taylor (Chris Pizzello/AP)

In her career of more than four decades, she cast classics such as Annie Hall, Working Girl, Sleepless In Seattle and Schindlers List.

Squibb, at the event with her Thelma director Josh Margolin, said that Taylor cast her in her first film, Woody Allens Alice.

I dont know if Id have a career in motion pictures without it, Squibb said.

While Taylor was excited about her award, she was even happier that her peers are soon going to be regularly recognised.

Juliet Taylor accepts an honorary award during the Governors Awards (Chris Pizzello/AP)

Starting with films released in 2025, the film academy will give a new competitive Oscar to casting directors.

There were many sombre references throughout the evening to the events of the last few weeks, although no-one speaking from the stage said anything much more specific.

Foxx, introducing the Quincy Jones tribute, did his own little impersonation of US President-elect Donald Trump.

Why is everyone so down on these few weeks, he said.

Jamie Foxx paid tribute to Quincy Jones (Chris Pizzello/AP)

Foxx quickly got back on track to speak about Jones, whose celebration closed out the evening on a cathartic note.

He was really excited to attend tonight, Rashida Jones said.

He has so many friends in this room. Well, actually, probably in every room to be honest because wherever he went he made connections with everyone.

Real ones. He knew how to stay present, to stay curious, to stay loving.

Jones invited the audience to listen on the way home, to go for the deepest cuts.

Martina Jones, from left, Rashida Jones, and Quincy Jones III accept a posthumous honorary award for Quincy Jones (Chris Pizzello/AP)

Theres an entire universe waiting in his seven decades of music, she said.

And while you listen, hear him, hear how he imbued love into every single second of music he made. That was his real legacy: Love.
Two London Metropolitan Police officers have been charged with sexually assaulting a woman while off duty.

Jerome Beasley, 41, and Luke Robinson, 39, who work in the forces Central West Command Unit, are set to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
President Joe Bidens decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles has been met with ominous warnings from Moscow, a hint of menace from Kyiv and nods of approval from some Western allies.

Mr Bidens shift in policy added an uncertain and potentially crucial new factor to the war on the eve of its 1,000-day milestone.

News of Mr Bidens change came on the day a Russian ballistic missile with cluster munitions struck a residential area of Sumy, a city in northern Ukraine, killing 11 people, including two children, and injuring 84 others.

A police officer evacuates an elderly resident following a Russian rocket attack that hit a multistorey apartment building in Sumy, Ukraine (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

On Monday, another Russian missile attack started fires in two apartment blocks in Odesa, in southern Ukraine.

At least eight people were killed and many more were injured, Ukrainian legislator Oleksii Honcharenko said in a video he posted on Telegram from the site of the attack.

Washington is easing limits on what Ukraine can strike with US-made weaponry, US officials told The Associated Press on Sunday, after months of ruling out such a move over fears of escalating the conflict and bringing about a direct confrontation between Russia and Nato.

The scope of the new firing guidelines is not clear.

But the change came after the US, South Korea and Nato said recently that North Korean troops are in Russia and are apparently being deployed to help the Russian army drive Ukrainian troops out of Russias Kursk border region.

Russia is also slowly pushing Ukraines outnumbered army backwards in the eastern Donetsk region.

It has also conducted a devastating and deadly aerial campaign against civilian areas in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday referred journalists to a statement made by Russian President Vladimir Putin in September, in which he said allowing Ukraine to target Russia would significantly raise the stakes in the conflict.

This fundamentally changes the modality of their involvement in the conflict

It would change the very nature of the conflict dramatically, Mr Putin said at the time.

This will mean that Nato countries  the United States and European countries  are at war with Russia.

Mr Peskov claimed that Western countries supplying long-range weapons also provide targeting services to Kyiv.

This fundamentally changes the modality of their involvement in the conflict, he said.

Last June, Mr Putin warned that Russia could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets in response to Nato allies allowing Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory.

He also reaffirmed Moscows readiness to use nuclear weapons if it sees a threat to its sovereignty.

US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office in about two months time, has raised uncertainty about whether his administration would continue the United States vital military support for Ukraine.

He has also vowed to quickly end the war.

I am deeply grateful to all our partners who support us with air defense systems and missiles. This is a truly global effort. Every time Russia carries out such attacks, it underscores how critical it is that partners dont leave systems like Patriot and others sitting idle in pic.twitter.com/4VZu4JpzxG  Volodymyr Zelenskyy /   (@ZelenskyyUa) November 17, 2024

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a muted response to the approval that he and his government have been requesting of Mr Biden for more than a year.

Today, much is being said in the media about us receiving permission for the relevant actions, Mr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Sunday.

But strikes are not made with words. Such things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves, he said.

The foreign minister of Nato member Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, said he is not opening the champagne yet as it remains unclear exactly what restrictions have been lifted and whether Ukraine has enough of the US weapons to make a difference.

Margus Tsahkna, the foreign minister of Estonia which is another Baltic country that fears a military threat from Russia, said easing restrictions on Ukraine was a good thing.

Firefighters extinguish a fire after a Russian rocket attack hit a multistorey apartment building in Sumy, Ukraine (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

We have been saying that from the beginning  that no restrictions must be put on the military support, he said at a meeting of senior European Union diplomats in Brussels.

And we need to understand that situation is more serious (than) it was even maybe like a couple of months ago.
An Israeli airstrike hit a densely populated residential area in Lebanons capital close to the UN headquarters, parliament, the prime ministers office and several embassies.

Lebanons state-run National News Agency said two missiles hit the area of Zoqaq al-Blat neighbourhood of Beirut.

The strike comes following reports that the US envoy has delayed his visit for ceasefire talks.

Civil defence workers extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut (Hassan Ammar/AP)

Ambulance sirens echoed through the area, but no official casualty figures have been released.

A reporter with The Associated Press at the scene described significant casualties on the street.

The target of the airstrike remains unclear, and the Israeli army did not issue a prior warning.

Many areas in central Beirut, including Zoqaq al-Blat, became a refuge for many people displaced by the ongoing conflict in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The strike also occurred near a Hussainiye, a Shia mosque.

It was the second consecutive day of Israeli strikes on central Beirut after more than a month-long pause.

Residents and rescuers gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut (Bilal Hussein/AP)

On Sunday, a strike in the area of Ras el-Nabaa killed Hezbollah media spokesperson Mohammed Afif, along with six other people, including a woman.

Later that day, four people were killed in a separate strike in the commercial district of Mar Elias. It remains unclear what the target of that strike was.

The Israeli military did not have immediate comment.

Minutes after the strike, Lebanons caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a post on X, All countries and decision-makers are required to end the bloody and destructive Israeli aggression on Lebanon and implement international resolutions, most notably Resolution 1701.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006, was intended to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon and end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

However, the resolutions full implementation has faced challenges from both sides.

The resolution is again on the table as part of an American proposal for a ceasefire deal, aiming to end 13 months of exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

Rescue workers search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut (Hussein Malla/AP)

Israeli forces would fully withdraw while the Lebanese army and Unifil  Hezbollah excluded  would be the exclusive armed presence south of Lebanons Litani River.

Also on Monday, Hezbollah launched dozens of projectiles against Israel.

A rocket that hit the northern Israeli city of Shfaram injured six people, one critically, and trapped one woman inside a building, according to Israels Magen David Adom rescue services.
Today

Cloudy with occasional rain late. Low 56F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.

Tonight

Cloudy with occasional rain late. Low 56F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.

Tomorrow

Showers and a possible thunderstorm in the morning will give way to partly cloudy skies late. A few storms may be severe. High near 70F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
Today

Showers developing late tonight with the possibility of a thunderstorm. Low 57F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.

Tonight

Showers developing late tonight with the possibility of a thunderstorm. Low 57F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.

Tomorrow

Showers likely along with a possible rumble of thunder in the morning, then partly cloudy late. A few storms may be severe. High 71F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
Nations have returned to the stalled UN climate negotiations, with hopes that G20 leaders meeting across the globe can galvanize support for a deal benefiting poorer nations.

At the midpoint of two weeks of discussions in a vast stadium in Azerbaijan, diplomats remain no closer to reaching an agreement that will determine the outcome of COP29.

Government ministers stepping in to lead the negotiations in Baku have until Friday to resolve the deadlock regarding how to finance the efforts of developing countries to combat global warming.

As pressure intensifies, G20 leaders are urged to endorse the stalled talks during their annual summit in Brazil.

Diplomats are still far from an agreement that will define the success or failure of COP29.

The spotlight is clearly on the G20. They account for 80 percent of global emissions, stated Mr. Guterres, who urged the group to lead by example.

Hosts facing challenges

The conference commenced under the shadow of Donald Trumps re-election in the U.S., and support efforts for the global climate fight faced further setbacks when Argentinas delegation withdrew from the summit.

The nearly 200 nations at COP29 are working to formulate a new agreement that ensures developing countries receive adequate funding to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and enhance their resilience against worsening climate impacts.

This will necessitate $1 trillion (948 billion) annually in external assistance by the end of the decade, as indicated by independent economists commissioned by the United Nations to evaluate the financial needs of developing nations, excluding China.

Countries vulnerable to climate change are seeking that a portion of this funding comes from developed nations, while donors assert they cannot shoulder this financial burden alone and that private sector involvement is essential.

Furthermore, they want wealthy emerging economies, particularly China, which are not obligated to provide climate finance, to contribute their fair share.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized that the spotlight is clearly on the G20.

The European Union is the largest contributor to international climate finance but faces political and budgetary constraints, potentially leaving it vulnerable if the U.S. under Mr. Trump declines to pay its share.

While negotiations in Baku have progressed slowly, a meeting between Chinese and European officials was regarded as a small beacon of hope amidst an otherwise challenging week.

The host country, Azerbaijan, lacks the diplomatic experience necessary at a time when many observe that critical leadership is needed to navigate what are viewed as the most intricate climate negotiations in years.

Azerbaijans president, Ilham Aliyev, has faced criticism for defending fossil fuels, and his provocative comments regarding Frances colonial past led to the cancellation of a planned attendance by Pariss climate envoy.

In addition to the financial deadlock, there is also contention surrounding whether countries at COP29 should reaffirm last years significant commitment to transition away from fossil fuels.

The debate over whether to add this topic to the official COP29 agenda caused a delay of several hours in the summits opening on the first day.

We are extremely disappointed that the initiatives aimed at reducing emissions were little more than a blank page at COP29, remarked Veronika Skolasztika Bagi, representing the EU.
Russia has stated that if the United States permits Ukraine to launch US missiles into Russian territory, this would signify direct US involvement in the conflict, claiming that President Joe Bidens administration is escalating the war.

For months, Russia has warned the West regarding its interpretation of such a decision, asserting that it would heighten the risk of confrontation with the US-led NATO alliance.

In response to inquiries about reports from the New York Times and Reuters indicating that Mr. Bidens administration had authorized long-range strikes, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov clarified that the reports lacked any official confirmation.

If such a decision has indeed been made and communicated to the Kyiv regime, it would represent a qualitatively new phase of tension and a new situation concerning US involvement in this conflict, Mr. Peskov remarked.

On September 12, Mr. Putin remarked that Western endorsement of such action would mean the direct involvement of NATO countries, the United States, and European nations in the war in Ukraine, given that NATOs military infrastructure and personnel would need to partake in the targeting and launching of those missiles.

It is clear that the outgoing administration in Washington aims to further exacerbate the situation and provoke additional tensions surrounding this conflict, Mr. Peskov asserted.

Reuters reported the Biden administrations decision yesterday, citing two US officials along with a source familiar with the situation. The New York Times also covered this development.

Both reports indicated that the action was, in part, a response to the reported arrival of North Korean soldiers in Russias Kursk region to assist in repelling a Ukrainian offensive.

Senior politicians in Russia have expressed their outrage regarding the reports.

A member of the Russian parliament, Maria Butina, claimed that the United States is jeopardizing the onset of World War III.

She expressed hope that Donald Trump would reverse the decision when he takes over from Mr. Biden in the New Year.

In late October, Mr. Putin stated that Russias defense ministry is exploring various responses if the United States and NATO allies aid Ukraine in striking deep within Russia using long-range Western missiles.

I believe some individuals in the United States might have nothing to lose for various reasons or are so out of touch that they simply do not care, said Ms. Butina, who served 15 months in a US prison for operating as an unregistered Russian agent and is now a member of the ruling United Russia party.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remarked that the long-range missiles would speak for themselves.

Today, many media outlets are stating that we have received permission to take appropriate actions. However, strikes are not announced with words. Such actions are not publicized. The missiles will speak for themselves, he said during his evening address yesterday.

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Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has shared his hope that EU members could agree to allow Ukraine to utilize arms to strike within Russia.

I have repeatedly stated that Ukraine should be able to use the arms we have provided to them, not just to defend against attacks, but also to target the attackers, Mr. Borrell mentioned ahead of a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

I sincerely believe this is necessary. Im confident we will discuss this again. I hope member states will reach an agreement on this matter.

Separately, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un accused the US and the West of utilizing the Ukrainian military as shock troops against Russia, potentially igniting a global conflict, according to state media.

South Korea and the US have accused the nuclear-capable North Korea of deploying over 10,000 soldiers to assist Russia in its fight against Ukraine, with analysts suggesting Mr. Kim is eager for advanced Russian technology and combat experience for his own troops in return.

North Korea has dismissed the deployment claims, and Mr. Kim did not acknowledge it during a speech to battalion commanders, as reported by the official Korean Central News Agency.

The US and its allies are using the situation in Ukraine to broaden the spectrum of their military interventions globally, Mr. Kim stated.

Read more: Latest Ukraine stories  US to allow Ukraine to fire its arms into Russia  officials

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Additionally, they are attempting to enhance their combat experience, with Ukraine being harnessed as shock troops against Russia, he asserted.

Washingtons ongoing military support for Ukraine raises concerns regarding World War III, he warned.

Mr. Kim pledged that his nation would bolster its nuclear defense without limits.

His warning follows South Koreas claim last week that North Korean forces have begun engaging in combat operations alongside Russian troops near the Ukrainian border.

Mr. Kim likely anticipates the likelihood of further deployments to support Russias campaign in Ukraine, stated Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification.

Last week, North Korea ratified a significant defense pact with Russia, formalizing months of increasing military collaboration between the two nations, which were Communist allies during the Cold War.

In exchange for sending troops, the West fears that Russia is providing North Korea with technological support that could further its nuclear weapons program.

The isolated state recently launched a series of ballistic missiles and tested a new solid-fuel ICBM.

The deployment of troops to Russia has prompted a shift in rhetoric from South Korea, which has traditionally resisted calls for lethal weapons provision to Kyiv but has recently suggested a possible change to its no-provision policy.
US President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Republican Brendan Carr, a critic of big tech backed by Elon Musk, to head the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), labeling him a warrior for free speech in an official statement.

According to Mr. Trump, Mr. Carr has fought against the regulatory lawfare that has stifled Americans freedoms and will put an end to the regulatory onslaught that has been debilitating Americas job creators and innovators, ensuring the FCC serves rural America.

Expressing his gratitude, Mr. Carr stated on Mr. Musks social media platform X that he was humbled and honored to assume the position of FCC chairman.

In another post yesterday, he remarked, We must dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights for everyday Americans.

Brendan Carr has developed a partnership with billionaire Elon Musk

Before this appointment, Mr. Carr was already serving as the senior Republican on the FCC, an independent body responsible for regulating licenses for television and radio, internet pricing, and other communication matters in the United States.

He has long been speculated to be a top candidate for the FCC chair position and has cultivated a partnership with billionaire Elon Musk, Mr. Trumps wealthiest supporter, whose Starlink satellite internet service could greatly benefit from access to federal funds.

As reported by The New York Times, Starlink was awarded an $885 million (839 million) grant from the FCC in late 2020, which was later rescinded by the Democrat-led commission due to the services inability to prove it would connect enough unserved rural households.

Mr. Carr vociferously opposed this decision, according to the newspaper.

He articulated in a Wall Street Journal op-ed last month, In my view, it amounted to nothing more than regulatory lawfare against one of the lefts primary targets: Mr. Musk.

Mr. Carr has also publicly supported the incoming Trump administrations pledges to reduce regulations and hold television networks accountable for perceived political bias.

Donald Trump has consistently advocated for revoking the licenses of major broadcasters like ABC, NBC, and CBS

Mr. Trump has consistently pushed for the revocation of licenses from major broadcasters, including ABC, NBC, and CBS.

During the 2024 campaign, he specifically targeted CBS, claiming its license should be revoked after the networks flagship news program 60 Minutes aired an interview with his Democratic challenger, Kamala Harris, while Mr. Trump declined to participate in a similar interview.

Additionally, Mr. Carr authored a chapter on the FCC in the contentious Project 2025 document, which outlined a vision for a potential second Trump administration, advocating for the regulation of major tech firms including Meta, Google, and Apple.

He suggested that the FCC should prioritize four key objectives: regulating big tech, enhancing national security, unleashing economic growth, and ensuring accountability within the FCC in the Heritage Foundations document.

Mr. Carr joined the FCC in 2012, and in 2017, during his first term, Mr. Trump appointed him as one of the agencys commissioners.

Prior to joining the FCC, Mr. Carr worked as a lawyer specializing in regulatory issues.
The United States has granted Ukraine permission to utilize US-made armaments, such as ATACMS rockets with a striking range of up to 306km, for operations deep within Russian territory, according to two US officials and a source familiar with the decision.

In September, President Vladimir Putin remarked that this decision would signify direct involvement of NATO countries in the ongoing conflict.

Below is a compilation of various weapon systems that Western nations initially hesitated to provide Ukraine but ultimately delivered.

ATACMS

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has consistently urged allies to equip his country with the capability to strike further behind Russian lines, a vital strategy for disrupting enemy logistics and command structures.

This was succeeded by the delivery of an extended-range variant of the ATACMS missile in early 2024, which boasts a range of up to 300km.

With US approval, Ukraine will now have the ability to target areas deep within Russia, most likely in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces still control significant territory, and where reports indicate North Korean troops are concentrated.

In August, analysts from the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War noted that numerous identified Russian military sites were within the ATACMS range.

However, it is probable that some military assets have been relocated deeper into Russia in anticipation of the US decision, despite logistical challenges.

F-16s

From the outset of the invasion, Ukraine has sought F-16 fighter jets to enhance its long-range strike capabilities and to intercept the cruise missiles that Moscow has launched deep into Ukraine.

Ukrainian pilots commenced training on these jets only in August 2023, following extensive negotiations among the allied coalition regarding the provision of aircraft or training.

Ukraine successfully received its first F-16s in July.

The urgency for completing the training process was high, and confirmation of the first planes arrival was announced on 31 July this year.

Since then, one aircraft has crashed during an attempt to engage Russian missiles targeting land locations in Ukraine.

Western Tanks

While Ukraines Eastern European allies supplied Soviet-era tanks at the initial stages of the invasion, Kyiv expressed a strong desire for Western-built tanks, such as the UKs Challenger 2 and Germanys Leopard 2, until their provision was approved after extensive negotiations in January 2023.

The coalition agreement to supply tanks faced delays due to Germanys concerns that such a move could be perceived as escalatory by Russia. Eventually, Germany consented to the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks from both its stockpiles and those of other nations.

Strikes on Russia

For more than two years, the United States refrained from permitting Ukraine to target Russia with any of its weaponry.

This stance shifted following a Russian offensive in May 2024 near the northwestern city of Kharkiv, prompted by pressures from Ukraine.

President Joe Biden secretly authorized Ukraine to utilize US-supplied weapons against military targets within Russia that were supporting the Kharkiv operation.
Review of Amin Saikal, How to Lose a War: The Story of Americas Intervention in Afghanistan (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2024).

Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment; Feature)  More than three years have passed since US troops left Afghanistan in August 2021, putting an end to an occupation that lasted two decades. With the Taliban back in power, the rights of women and girls have suffered a severe setback. Under the Talibans rule, they are no longer allowed to attend public secondary schools and universities. Last September, the fundamentalist group issued a religious code banning women from raising their voices or reciting the Quran in public.

Political and media freedoms have also been severely restricted, and poverty and unemployment have increased amid a massive withdrawal of foreign aid. The wars end has brought public security and access to rural areas has improved, but these benefits are often denied to the female half of society. Women are forbidden to travel long distances without a male chaperone.

Amin Saikal, an emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies at the Australian National University (ANU), is the author of How to Lose a War: The Story of Americas Intervention in Afghanistan. The US, explains Saikal, had traditionally paid limited attention to Afghanistan. This changed with the Soviet invasion of the country in 1979, after which the Carter administration approached Afghanistan as having strategic importance. Under Carters successor, Reagan, the US lavished Pakistan and the Mujahideen fighting the Soviets with military and financial assistance.

The Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989 gave way to a period of profound internal strife that culminated with the Talibans takeover of the country in 1996. Saikal defines the Clinton administrations approach to the Taliban as full of ambiguity.[1] On the one hand, it maintained informal contact with the group. On the other hand, it feared the Talibans alliance with Al-Qaeda, founded by former mujahidin Osama bin Laden. The 9/11 terrorist attacks, organized by bin Ladens terrorist organization, would put an end to this era of ambiguity.

According to Saikal, the Bush administrations decision to invade Afghanistan following 9/11 assumed that the Taliban and al-Qaeda could be defeated, and Afghanistan changed, with limited combat and economic investment. The light footprint approach, however, soon morphed into a heavy footprint one. Saikal lists several reasons for this. First, the US underestimated the complexity of intervening in Afghanistan. Second, the failure to capture or kill bin Laden at the beginning of the war led to an obsession with finding him. Third, the Bush administration greatly expanded its priorities in Afghanistan, where it now wanted to engage in democracy promotion and a war on terror.

Reflecting on two decades of war in Afghanistan, former Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt noted that after the Taliban were overthrown, there would have been a theoretical possibility for a political settlement including the fundamentalist group. But the US would not have accepted this, nor the Northern Alliance armed groups the US had supported to depose the Taliban, remarks Bildt.

It is highly doubtful that the US ever had a real chance at achieving its declared objectives in Afghanistan. Saikal, however, believes this was possible. According to him, a key problem was that Afghanistans conditions required from the outset a much larger appropriate military and reconstruction involvement than what unfolded.[2] The invasion of Iraq in 2003 led to an opposite trend, as the US transferred resources to the new war theater.



Amin Saikal, How to Lose a War: The Story of Americas Intervention in Afghanistan< (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2024). Click Here to Buy .

Saikal considers that the constitutional structure adopted by Afghanistan in 2004 had profound flaws because it created a system of government that was too centralized. The strong presidency established in the constitution led to the domination of the executive over the legislative and judicial powers. It was also responsible for a winner-takes-all mentality that left many strongmen with little formal power but the capacity to spoil the countrys politics and security. Saikal spares no criticism for the two men who presided over Afghanistan during this period, Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani.

About Karzai, Saikal writes that he invoked the constitution and stressed the importance of the rule of law only when they suited his political and power needs.[3] The emeritus professor describes Karzais government as highly corrupt, dysfunctional, and lacking a clear ideological project. Initially lauded in Western capitals, Afghanistans Western partners were only too happy to see Karzai leave his position in 2014. His successor, Ashraf Ghani, was elected after a voting process that saw even more fraud than the previous presidential election in 2009.

Secretary of State John Kerry engaged in a mediation effort between Ghani, the official winner of the 2014 election, and his opponent Abdullah Abdullah, who also claimed to have won the vote. The impasse was resolved in favor of Ghani, who had better connections in Western countries after having spent more than a decade of his life in the US. Ghani, explains Saikal, sought to present himself as a traditional Muslim and Afghan but ultimately could not be the man of the people.[4]

The new president also generated resentment among other ethnic groups when he surrounded himself with fellow Pashtuns. Ghani presided over a continuous loss of territories to the Taliban. Although he had promised never to leave the country, he abandoned Kabul as the Taliban were completing its conquest of Afghanistan in August 2021.

In his balance of twenty years of US presence in Afghanistan, Saikal notes that the countrys economy remained dependent on foreign aid, opium cultivation, and the black-market sector. Infrastructural projects and investments in the health and education sectors significantly improved the overall situation in the country. Still, the improvements bore no proportion with the money spent  $36 billion was allocated to governance and development, with smaller amounts for humanitarian aid, in a figure that does not include contributions by US allies.

US funds were misappropriated by both Americans and Afghans, while mismanagement, wastage, and corruption resulted in Afghanistan seeing only artificial, not structural, economic development.[5] The area where improvements were more significant, especially in comparison to the periods that preceded and followed the US intervention, was womens rights. Even so, the gains were too often restricted to urban areas.

The 2020 Doha Agreement between the US and the Taliban was the prelude to the US exit from Afghanistan. The negotiations, handled on behalf of the Trump administration by Zalmay Khalilzad (who had played a major role in Bushs Afghanistan policy), were disastrous, in Saikals words.[6] The emeritus professor argues that Khalilzad, under Trumps imperative, was so concerned about reaching a quick agreement that he made too many concessions considering that the Taliban did not have control over many areas of Afghanistan at that time.

Under the terms of the Doha Agreement, the US promised to withdraw from Afghanistan in fourteen months whereas the Taliban committed themselves not to attack US and allied troops. The Taliban also agreed not to allow terrorist groups to operate from Afghanistan after the US withdrawal. That they were not ready to keep this promise became evident when a US drone strike killed al-Qaidas leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in central Kabul one year after US troops had left Afghanistan.

How to Lose a War is the result of Saikals decades-long study of Afghanistans history and politics. He had access to some of the most prominent politicians and military men, both Afghan and foreign, who shaped Afghanistan during the last two decades. Saikal combines these insider sources with a clear analytical mind in a text that will prove a fruitful read not only for experts but also for those who have been following international politics less closely.

It would be a positive development if the book contributed to renewing the current conversation on Afghanistan, which has moved to the background since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and Israels war on Gaza. One of the current discussions concerning Afghanistan is how foreign governments, NGOs, and multilateral institutions should engage with the Taliban-led country. Saikal pays little attention to the topic in his book, but this is a debate that is likely to stay with us for a long time since there is no realistic chance of the Taliban losing power in the short term.

In his book The Return of the Taliban: Afghanistan after the Americans Left, Hassan Abbas argues that it is vital to acknowledge the difference between engagement and endorsement.[7] Abbas sees engagement as a way to better understand the interests and actions of the other side, in this case, the Taliban. Endorsement, on the contrary, would mean supporting the Talibans worldview. Whereas endorsement arises from affinity, engagement is born out of pragmatism. Abbas is convinced that engagement with the Taliban is possible and much-needed, even if the gains to be made are limited.

Graeme Smith, the Afghanistan Senior Analyst for the International Crisis Group, makes a similar argument. He notes that, when engaging the Taliban diplomatically, the rights of women and girls cannot be dropped from the conversation. At the same time, however, the international sanctions regime imposed on Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover has counter-productive results as they do not have much effect on the Taliban, but they do drive up rates of malnutrition among children and disease among vulnerable families, especially female-headed households that often struggle in a patriarchal society.

Smith reports that some European countries that publicly chastise the Taliban have sent discreet delegations to Afghanistan to confer about security issues. Calling the Taliban out for their transgressions while seeking to ease the suffering of the Afghan population and limiting the danger of international terrorism emerging from Afghanistan is a very complicated endeavor. It does not need to be hypocritical, though.

Notes

[1] Amin Saikal, How to Lose a War: The Story of Americas Intervention in Afghanistan (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2024), p. 61.

[2] Ibid., p. 201.

[3] Ibid., p. 107.

[4] Ibid., p. 129.

[5] Ibid, p. 169.

[6] Ibid., p. 214.

[7] Hassan Abbas, The Return of the Taliban: Afghanistan after the Americans Left (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2023), p. 210.
( Middle East Monitor )  The southern Gaza city of Khan Younis warned Saturday that a week-long fuel shortage has left more than 1.2 million residents and displaced individuals in the area without access to clean water, amid ongoing Israeli strikes, Anadolu Agency reports.

In a statement, the city government said: This persistent fuel stoppage has disrupted essential services, including the operation of water wells and desalination plants, leaving over 1.2 million citizens and displaced individuals in Khan Younis without potable and usable water.

The city also raised concerns about the suspension of sewage treatment facilities, warning that untreated wastewater could flood the streets, exacerbating the risk of environmental and health disasters, and facilitating the spread of diseases and epidemics.

Calling for immediate action, the city government urged the international community and human rights groups to urgently intervene to end the Israeli war on Gaza, which has destroyed all aspects of life. It further urged UN agencies to pressure Israel to resume fuel supplies and allow the entry of essential equipment and spare parts to prevent the complete collapse of public services.

The Israeli offensive against Gaza has continued for over 13 months, leaving more than 43,700 people dead and making the enclave nearly uninhabitable. The ongoing blockade has resulted in severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice due to its actions in Gaza.

Via Middle East Monitor .
$5 Million net @ $0.20/share with no commissions paid

Ron Kopas joins the Board of Directors

Kingston, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 18, 2024) - Delta Resources Limited (TSXV: DLTA) (OTC Pink: DTARF) (FSE: 6G01) ("Delta" or "The Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed its non-brokered private placement offering (the "Offering"), previously announced on November 8, 2024. The Company has issued 25,000,000 Charity Flow-Through Units (the "FT Units") for $0.20 per Charity Flow-Through Unit, for aggregate gross proceeds of $5,000,000 (the "Private Placement").

Each FT Unit consists of one flow-through common share of the Company ("FT Share") and one non-flow-through common share purchase warrant ("Warrant"), with each Warrant being exercisable to acquire an additional non-flow-through common share of the Company at $0.25 for 36 months from the date of issuance.

The gross proceeds raised from the issuance of the FT Units will be used to fund "Canadian exploration expenses" within the meaning of subsection 66.1(6) Income Tax Act (Canada).

All securities issued pursuant to the Private Placement are subject to a statutory four-month hold period in Canada. The Private Placement is subject to receipt of final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Ron Kopas Joins the Board of Directors

Delta is also pleased to announce the addition of Ron Kopas to the Board of Directors. Mr. Kopas has been a Founder, Director and Investor in many businesses internationally over his career. He has extensive experience growing businesses through building teams, adding capital (significant investors in his businesses have included Goldman Sachs and Fidelity) with strong partners and ensuring robust corporate governance to position businesses for further expansion.

Mr. Kopas most recently founded KSP Renewables Limited, where he developed a 350 million, 30MWe, 260,000 tonne/annum Energy Recovery Centre in Corby, England and successfully sold this in late 2022 to Covanta Europe (owned by EQT Infrastructure).

Mr. Kopas has considerable private equity and capital markets experience in both North America and Europe, particularly in the energy and resource sectors.

Formerly Corporate Financier at UBS Warburg (London) and KC Capital. Mr. Kopas has a BA from Dalhousie, Nova Scotia, Canada and an MBA from INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France.

"We are pleased to add Ron Kopas to our Board of Directors. Ron has an exceptional pedigree and is focused on success through strategic planning and corporate and financial governance. We are also very pleased to have such a high degree of insider participation on the back end of this important financing. Delta is sending a clear message to its investors that we believe in the quality of the Eureka Gold deposit as we are only scratching the surface with less than 30,000 metres drilled since the discovery was made in October 2022. Eureka now has a strike length of 2.5 kms and 300 metres of depth and remains open in all directions. We have since achieved a significant land position in the eastern Shebandowan Greenstone Belt in the past year through acquisition which we firmly believe has the potential for multiple additional gold deposits. We now have the funds to continue to expand Eureka and test several high priority targets at the property-scale." stated Andre Tessier, President and CEO at Delta Resources Limited.

The Board's participation in connection with the Private Placement is a "related party transaction" under the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange and Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company is relying on exemptions from the minority shareholder approval and formal valuation requirements applicable to the related party transactions under Sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a), respectively, of MI 61-101 as neither the fair market value of the FT Shares to be purchased on behalf of such insiders0 nor the consideration to be paid by them exceeds 25% of the Company's market capitalization.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About Delta Resources Limited

Delta Resources Limited is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on growing shareholder value through the exploration of two very high-potential gold and base-metal projects in Canada.

DELTA-1 is Delta's flagship project, where the company is building on a large gold inventory 50 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, Ontario, at surface and adjacent to the Trans-Canada highway. To date, the gold mineralization is defined over a strike length of 2.5 km, from surface to a vertical depth of 300 m. Highlights include drill intercepts such as 5.92 g/t Au over 31 m (incl. 14.8 g/t Au over 11.9 m), and 1.79 g/t Au over 128.5 m. The property covers 306 square kilometres where Delta has identified multiple corridors of intense alteration and deformation, on strike with, and to the south of the Eureka gold zone and that has yet to be thoroughly explored.

The DELTA-2 property covers 205 square kilometres in the prolific Chibougamau District of Quebec. The property holds excellent potential for gold-rich polymetallic VMS deposits as well as hydrothermal-gold deposits. Delta targets VMS deposits such as the LeMoine past producer where 0.76 Mt were mined between 1975 and 1983, grading 9.6% Zn, 4.2% Cu, 4.5 g/t Au and 84 g/t Ag.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DELTA RESOURCES LIMITED.

Andre C. Tessier

President, CEO and Director

www.deltaresources.ca

We seek safe harbor. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The TSX Venture Exchange has not approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information

Some statements contained in this news release are "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words and phrases (including negative or grammatical variations) or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and involves risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual facts to differ materially. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by management. The forward-looking information contained in this press release constitutes management's current estimates, as of the date of this press release, with respect to the matters covered thereby. We expect that these estimates will change as new information is received. While we may elect to update these estimates at any time, we do not undertake to update any estimate at any particular time or in response to any particular event.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 18, 2024) - Bold Ventures Inc. (TSXV: BOL) (the "Company" or "Bold") announces that it has staked 26 claims near Joutel, Quebec (with 4 claims pending), approximately 140 km northwest of the city of Val d'Or, Quebec. The claims are situated in the vicinity of Bold's former Joutel property, over which Bold flew an airborne VTEM survey in 2012. The new claims cover geophysical anomalies from the 2012 survey. Historical diamond drilling in this area has identified anomalous nickel, silver, copper, zinc and gold associated with geophysical anomalies. Click here for more details about the property.

Additionally, senior management of Bold and prospectors from Emerald Geological Services ("EGS") have completed a second phase of fall fieldwork in the Atikokan, Ontario area, including prospecting, soil sampling, and lake sediment sampling. Work was carried out on the Wilcorp, Burchell, and Traxxin properties during the first half of November. A week-long first phase of fieldwork in September of this year resulted in assays up to 16.3 g/t Au at Bold's Wilcorp property (Oct. 31st news release). The purpose of the recent program was to define 2025 trenching and drilling targets in historical areas of interest, based on rock assays, soil geochemistry, and geological data.

Areas of interest include the historical Eagle Prospect on the Wilcorp Property, the Traxxin Main Zone on the Traxxin Property, and northeast-trending gold-bearing structural corridors on the Burchell Lake Property. See Bold's corporate presentation for details about these high potential gold and copper-gold projects.

Adjacent to the Burchell Lake Property lies Goldshore Resources Inc.'s (GSHR) Moss Gold Project, which hosts the Moss Gold deposit. Goldshore recently raised $13.9 million (Oct. 29th GSHR News Release) which will be used in part to carry out exploration along mineralized trends west of the Burchell Lake property and striking onto the Burchell Lake Property (Oct. 10th GSHR News Release).

As a final point of interest, the President and Vice President, Exploration of Bold, Bruce MacLachlan and Coleman Robertson, will be attending two conferences in the second half of November: Quebec Mines + Energie in Quebec City from Nov 18th to Nov 21st, and the 2024 Yellowknife Geoscience Forum from November 25th to 28th.

Bold Ventures management believes our suite of Battery, Critical and Precious Metals exploration projects are an ideal combination of exploration potential meeting future demand. Our target commodities are comprised of: Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), Lead (Pb), Zinc (Zn), Gold (Au), Silver (Ag), Platinum (Pt), Palladium (Pd) and Chromium (Cr). The Critical Metals list and a description of the Provincial and Federal electrification plans are posted on the Bold Critical and Battery Minerals page.

The technical information in this news release was reviewed and approved by Coleman Robertson, B.Sc., P. Geo., Vice President, Exploration of Bold and a qualified person (QP) for the purposes of NI 43-101.

About Bold Ventures Inc.

The Company explores for Precious, Battery and Critical Metals in Canada. Bold is exploring properties located in active gold and battery metals camps in the Thunder Bay and Wawa regions of Ontario. Bold also holds significant assets located within and around the emerging multi-metals district dubbed the Ring of Fire region, located in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario.

"Bruce A MacLachlan"

Bruce MacLachlan

President and COO

Direct line: (705) 266-0847

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

"David B Graham"

David Graham

CEO

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This Press Release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. When used in this document, the words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are subject to such risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from the statements made, including those factors discussed in filings made by us with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties, such actual results of current exploration programs, the general risks associated with the mining industry, the price of gold and other metals, currency and interest rate fluctuations, increased competition and general economic and market factors, occur or should assumptions underlying the forward looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, or expected. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Shareholders are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
TORONTO / Nov 18, 2024 / Business Wire / Almonty Industries Inc. (Almonty or the Company) (TSX: AII / ASX: AII / OTCQX: ALMTF / Frankfurt: ALI.F), is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Fernando Vitorino as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of AKTC. In this role, Mr. Vitorino will oversee the Companys operations, drive operational excellence, and support AKTC in achieving its key operational and development objectives.

Fernando Vitorino brings over 30 years of experience in mine management and over 40 years in financial management, with a proven track record in leadership, process optimization, and strategic growth. He has had key roles with Anglo Group subsidiaries in Mozambique and South Africa. He then returned to Portugal in 1993 to join Beralt Tin and Wolfram at Almontys tungsten Panasqueira Mine, the oldest mining company in Portugal, progressing from Financial Controller to Financial Manager, and finally to General Manager, a position he held until 2013. Since then, he has been instrumental in managing general operations at Los Santos Mine while in operation as well as in care and maintenance, another Almonty tungsten mining operation located in Salamanca, in the western part of Spain, and at Almontys Valtreixal project, Sn-WO3 project in North Western Spain. Both companies are 100% owned subsidiaries of Almonty Industries Inc.

Fernando Vitorinos appointment reflects our commitment to strengthening our operations at the Sangdong Mine, stated Lewis Black, Chairman, President, and CEO of Almonty Industries. His strategic insight and operational acumen will play a key role in the swift progress in building the tungsten processing plant, the production of tungsten concentrates and the construction of the tungsten oxide plant.

I am thrilled to join AKTC at such an exciting time, stated Fernando Vitorino. I look forward to working with the team to advance our operational capabilities and expedite construction for processing plant operations before mid-2025. Currently, the construction and civil engineering progress at the processing plant has reached 53.23% as of November 14, 2024, achieved within approximately 90 days since the work commenced.

In line with its production goals, Almonty aims to begin producing tungsten concentrate at the Sangdong Mine in 2025 and has accelerated its plans to construct the tungsten oxide plant by late 2026.

The rapid expansion of the Sangdong Mine takes on greater significance in the current political and economic climate. With the new incoming U.S. Administration and the anticipated implementation of governance policies based on protectionism, a substantial tightening of regulations on China is expected. As a result, the likelihood of U.S. companies diversifying their supply chains for critical minerals will rise, making price increases for resources such as tungsten inevitable.

The Sangdong Mine will allow Almonty to supply over 10% of global tungsten consumption and meet 100% of South Koreas domestic demand, supporting advanced sectors like secondary batteries and semiconductors that rely on a stable supply of this critical mineral.

About Almonty

Almonty Industries Inc., based in Toronto, Canada, is a leader in tungsten mining, processing, and shipping with projects in Spain, Portugal, and South Korea. The Companys Sangdong Mine in South Korea is one of the worlds most substantial and high-grade tungsten deposits outside of China. Almonty is also developing the Valtreixal tin/tungsten project in Spain. For further information, please visit www.almonty.com or www.sedarplus.ca.

The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law and therefore persons in such jurisdictions into which this announcement is released, published or distributed should inform themselves about and observe such restrictions.

Neither the TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

When used in this press release, the words estimate, project, belief, anticipate, intend, expect, plan, predict, may or should and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. These statements and information are based on managements beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and reflect Almontys current expectations.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Almonty to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: any specific risks relating to fluctuations in the price of ammonium para tungstate (APT) from which the sale price of Almontys tungsten concentrate is derived, actual results of mining and exploration activities, environmental, economic and political risks of the jurisdictions in which Almontys operations are located and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, forecasts and assessments relating to Almontys business, credit and liquidity risks, hedging risk, competition in the mining industry, risks related to the market price of Almontys shares, the ability of Almonty to retain key management employees or procure the services of skilled and experienced personnel, risks related to claims and legal proceedings against Almonty and any of its operating mines, risks relating to unknown defects and impairments, risks related to the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, risks related to governmental regulations, including environmental regulations, risks related to international operations of Almonty, risks relating to exploration, development and operations at Almontys tungsten mines, the ability of Almonty to obtain and maintain necessary permits, the ability of Almonty to comply with applicable laws, regulations and permitting requirements, lack of suitable infrastructure and employees to support Almontys mining operations, uncertainty in the accuracy of mineral reserves and mineral resources estimates, production estimates from Almontys mining operations, inability to replace and expand mineral reserves, uncertainties related to title and indigenous rights with respect to mineral properties owned directly or indirectly by Almonty, the ability of Almonty to obtain adequate financing, the ability of Almonty to complete permitting, construction, development and expansion, challenges related to global financial conditions, risks related to future sales or issuance of equity securities, differences in the interpretation or application of tax laws and regulations or accounting policies and rules and acceptance of the TSX of the listing of Almonty shares on the TSX.

Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to, no material adverse change in the market price of ammonium para tungstate (APT), the continuing ability to fund or obtain funding for outstanding commitments, expectations regarding the resolution of legal and tax matters, no negative change to applicable laws, the ability to secure local contractors, employees and assistance as and when required and on reasonable terms, and such other assumptions and factors as are set out herein. Although Almonty has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results, level of activity, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and even if events or results described in the forward-looking statements are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, Almonty. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and are cautioned that actual outcomes may vary.

Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. Almonty cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on Almontys forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events.

Almonty has also assumed that material factors will not cause any forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors.

THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF ALMONTY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS PRESS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE ALMONTY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Koryx Copper Inc. (Koryx or the "Company") (TSX-V: KRY) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Heye Daun as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Trevor Faber as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Heye Daun will also retain his board position as Chairman and Pierre Leveille steps down as President and remains on the Board as Executive Director.

Heye Daun, incoming President & CEO of Koryx Copper commented: As Koryx has completed its private placement of $18M and being more than sufficiently financed to conduct Phase 2 of its drilling and study operations, I am honoured to be appointed President and CEO of the Company, which more accurately represents my day-to-day role of managing the Company. In addition, we are very pleased with the appointment of Trevor Faber as COO. Trevor is a highly experienced mining engineer and projects specialist with a wealth of experience especially in copper and base metals projects delivery in Africa. Trevor has a very strong reputation as a driven and skilled mining project manager and technical leader, and he is a major addition to our team.

We are also very pleased that Pierre Leveille remains involved with the Company in the capacity as Executive Director. He has lead the transition to the new Koryx and was instrumental in the transformation of the Company. After investing a very significant amount of our own capital into Koryx earlier in 2024, and with the continued strong financial support from family members and close associates, Alan Friedman and I together with the rest of the Board and executive management, look forward to leading and implementing our vision for Koryx Copper. That vision is to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of the Haib Copper Project as the next great copper development asset in Africa. We plan to achieve this by financing the company, building a competent management team and then permitting and advancing the project to construction readiness in as short a timeframe as possible.

Trevor Faber  Chief Operating Officer

Trevor is a Mining Engineer with over 30 years of experience in project development and the mining industry in Africa. He is the former CEO of Luma Africa; COO for Alphamin Resources and Project Manager of the Bisie Tin project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Trevor is also the former Projects and Operations Executive for Metorex and was the Project Manager of the Ruashi Copper/Cobalt Project and the Kinsenda Copper Project in the DRC; Technical Director for Ridge Mining and Project Manager of the Blue Ridge Platinum mine in South Africa. He holds a Bsc (Honors) Mining Engineering degree from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa.

Trevor will spend the next few months getting exposed to the complete breadth and depth of project work that has already been completed by prior operator since the 1970s plus the wide range of new activities which have been initiated and are being advanced by the existing Koryx technical team, led by Charles Creasy and Steve Burks (refer to the press release dated September 24, 2024), whilst he is completing the hand-over of his existing role at Luma.

Once that is completed, Trevors role will be to help organize and direct all Koryx technical activities, in conjunction with our strong team of in-house technical specialists and the group of external engineering and study groups who are already involved with the Haib project. Trevor will also be responsible for significantly growing our Namibian presence and infrastructure with a view to fast-tracking our drilling, study and corporate initiatives.

As part of this new role Trevor is expected to also spend a significant part of his time assisting in promoting the company and its projects to our local and international shareholders but also other Namibian stakeholders, especially the Namibian government and local authorities and communities, with a strong focus on responsible mining practices and building social license to operate.

Qualified Person

Mr. Dean Richards Pr.Sci.Nat., MGSSA  BSc. (Hons) Geology is the Qualified Person for the Haib Copper Project and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release and is a registered Professional Natural Scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (Pr. Sci. Nat. No. 400190/08) and a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

The resource estimates described below are more fully disclosed in the Company's current technical report titled NI 43-101 Technical Report  August 2024 Mineral Resource Estimate for the Haib Copper Project, Namibia dated effective August 31, 2024 and signed October 23, 2024 (the Report). The Report is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

About Koryx Copper Inc.

Koryx Copper Inc. is a Canadian copper development Company focused on advancing the 100% owned, Haib Copper Project in Namibia whilst also building a portfolio of copper exploration licenses in Zambia. Haib is a large and advanced (PEA-stage) copper/molybdenum porphyry deposit in southern Namibia with a long history of exploration and project development by multiple operators. More than 70,000m of drilling has been conducted at Haib since the 1970s with significant exploration programs led by companies including Falconbridge (1964), Rio Tinto (1975) and Teck (2014). Teck remains a strategic and supportive shareholder.

Mineralization at Haib is typical of a porphyry copper deposit. Porphyry copper deposits are a major global source of copper with the best-known examples being concentrated around the Pacific Rim, North America and South America. Haib is one of a few examples of a Paleoproterozoic porphyry copper deposit in the world and one of only two in southern Africa (both in Namibia). Due to its age, the deposit has been subjected to multiple metamorphic and deformation events, but still retains many of the classic mineralization and alteration features typical of these deposits. The mineralization is dominantly chalcopyrite with minor bornite and chalcocite present and only minor secondary copper minerals at surface due to the arid environment.

In addition to extensive drilling and metallurgical testing various technical studies have been completed at Haib to date. Haib has a current mineral resource of 414Mt @ 0.35% Cu for 1,459Mt of contained copper in the Indicated category and 345Mt @ 0.33% Cu for 1136Mt of contained copper in the Inferred category (0.25% Cu cut-off).

Further details are available on the Company's website at https://koryxcopper.com and under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

More information is available by contacting the Company:

Julia Becker

Corporate Communications

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

+1-604-785-0850

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the use of proceeds from the Company's recently completed financings and the future or prospects of the Company. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect ", "is expected ", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market, and economic risks, uncertainties, and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, other factors may cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the risk factors in the Company's most recent annual management discussion and analysis. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
VACAVILLE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / Athena Gold Corporation (CSE:ATHA) (OTCQB:AHNR) ("Athena" or the "Company") is pleased to report high-grade gold samples from its reconnaissance surface sampling program at its newly acquired Laird Lake project, located in Ontario's prolific Red Lake Gold District. The Laird Lake project, spanning 4,158 hectares and covering >10 km of Balmer-Confederation Assemblage contact, represents an underexplored portion of the Red Lake Gold District. The project is road-accessible and lies approximately 10 km west of West Red Lake Gold Mines' flagship Madsen mine, and 34 km northwest of Kinross Gold's Great Bear project.

"We are extremely pleased that our recent expansion into Ontario is already starting to bear fruit. To our knowledge, sample F733057, returning 56.5 g/t Au, is in line with some of the highest-grade surface grab samples publicly reported in the Red Lake Gold District," stated John Power, President & CEO of Athena Gold.

Highlights:

An initial six surface grab samples taken at the Laird Lake project in July 2024 confirmed mineralization over 2.2 km of strike length along the contact between the Balmer and Confederation Assemblages (Figure 1). Mineralization is open along strike to the east and west.

The Balmer-Confederation contact is believed to serve as a major structural control for gold mineralization in the Red Lake Gold District, with >90% of all gold ever mined in the camp occurring within approximately 300 m of this contact.

The highest-grade sample returned up to 56.5 g/t Au collected from a smoky quartz vein with blebby pyrite, chalcopyrite, and traces of visible gold (Figure 3).

Grab sample assays from additional prospecting work conducted in October 2024 remain pending, with results expected to be received by year-end.

The recent reconnaissance prospecting program is expected to guide a property-wide geochemistry survey, scheduled to commence in H1/2025, the results of which are anticipated to provide targets for Athena's initial drill program at Laird Lake.

A recently completed MSc. thesis on the Laird Lake project, suggested that Laird Lake represents the continuation of the same mineralized structure found at both the Madsen and Starratt-Olsen gold mines [i] now owned by West Red Lake Gold (2.5 Moz past-production, 1.7 Moz indicated, 0.4 Moz inferred) [ii] and was later displaced as far as 10 km west (Figure 2).

Figure 1: Map of Laird Lake, showing recent grab samples from July 2024 reconnaissance sampling program.

Figure 2: Map of Laird Lake and Madsen, showing mapped Balmer-Confederation contact and dextral Laird Lake Fault.

Geology:

Gold mineralization observed at Laird Lake occurs in discrete quartz veins hosted in volcanic rock, localized high-strain zones consisting of silicification and disseminated sulfides, and in more broad zones of strongly deformed banded iron formation up to 15 m wide characterized by gossan, fine-grained disseminated sulfides, and silicification. Gold-bearing zones exhibit a general east-west orientation and occur in both Balmer and Confederation Assemblage rocks. The initial grab sample results are described in detail below:

A sample of smoky quartz vein hosted in Balmer Assemblage volcanic rock containing blebby pyrite, chalcopyrite, and visible gold returned 56.5 g/t Au (F733057). This sample was taken approximately 50 m north of the contact with the Confederation Assemblage and was the most western sample collected. Two additional samples of gossaned and silicified volcanic host rock collected adjacent to the high-grade quartz vein returned 1.47 g/t Au and 2.40 g/t Au (F733056 and F733058, respectively).

A sample of strongly deformed banded iron formation (BIF) from the Balmer Assemblage containing fine-grained disseminated pyrite, and silicification returned 3.89 g/t Au (F733053), and was collected from an outcrop approximately 15 m in width and characterized by a strong overall deformation fabric with several high-strain zones of gossan, fine-grained pyrite, and silicification throughout. The outcrop is located approximately 60 m north of the Balmer-Confederation contact.

A sample of sulfide-bearing quartz vein hosted in the Confederation Assemblage returned 1.57 g/t Au (F733062). This sample was collected approximately 225 m south of the Balmer-Confederation contact.

A sample of sulfide-bearing quartz vein hosted in a high-strain zone within Confederation Assemblage returned 7.18 g/t Au (F733065). The high-strain zone is characterized by silicification, fine-grained disseminated sulfides, and lesser gossan. Refolded quartz veins were noted along the contact of the high-strain zone and volcanic host rock. This sample was collected approximately 180 m south of the Balmer-Confederation contact eastern-most sample collected.

Figure 3: Photographs of grab samples F733053 (left) and F733057 (right) from July 2024 prospecting at Laird Lake.

Figure 4: Photographs of outcrops for samples F733051-53 (left) and F733057 (right) from July 2024 at Laird Lake.

Future Drill Testing:

Laird Lake has been subject to only very limited historical exploration work, largely because the Balmer-Confederation contact was only mapped on Laird Lake in recent times as part of a MSc. research thesis. Importantly, >90% of all gold ever mined in the Red Lake Gold District is estimated to occur within 300 m of this contact. Athena's initial work programs are focused on understanding structural controls and potential splays off this contact that may host high-grade gold mineralization. Additional assays from the follow-up program that took place in October 2024 remain pending, with results expected by year-end. Athena plans to conduct a property wide gold-in-till geochemistry program in Spring 2025. Historical, high-resolution airborne magnetic and electromagnetic surveys highlighted several prospective targets within the Balmer Assemblage that have yet to be tested will be included in future drilling on the property, in addition to other targets generated from prospecting and geochemical programs.

About Our Laird Lake Project

The 4,158 ha Laird Lake property is situated 20km to the southwest of the town of Red Lake, Ontario. Red Lake is a prolific gold mining town in Northwestern Ontario that has seen over 30 Moz of gold produced. Importantly, >90% of the gold has come from within 300 m of the contact between the Balmer and Confederation Assemblages. The Laird Lake property is considered underexplored for gold, relative to much of the surrounding Red Lake Greenstone Belt, despite possessing over 10 km of strike length of the known gold-bearing contact between Balmer and Confederation Assemblage rocks. Also important is being nearby to several major gold production and exploration sites in the region:

34km to the Great Bear project (Kinross - 2.7 Moz indicated, and 3.9 Moz inferred) [iii];

11 km to the Madsen Mine (West Red Lake Gold - 1.7 Moz indicated, and 0.4 Moz inferred); and

28 km to the Red Lake Mine (Evolution Mining - 7.2 Moz indicated, and 4.5 Moz inferred) [iv].

Limited exploration activity at Laird Lake has demonstrated high-grade gold mineralization occurs in both Balmer and Confederation Assemblage rocks over several kilometers in proximity to the main Balmer-Confederation contact. The highest gold grades on the property show a strong correlation to high-strain zones characterized by the presence of silicification, disseminated sulfides, and gossan. The Laird Lake property is dominated by mafic to ultramafic metavolcanic rocks as well as lesser banded iron formation of the Balmer and Confederation Assemblages. Felsic to ultramafic intrusive units are also present throughout the property, most notably of which include the Killala-Baird Batholith to the north, and the Medicine Stone Lake Batholith to the south.

QA/QC

Analytical work for rock samples was completed by AGAT Laboratories, with sample preparation and geochemical analyses completed in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Samples were crushed before a 250-gram split was pulverized to better than 85% passing 75 microns. Rock samples were analyzed for gold by fire assay using a 50-gram charge with an atomic absorption spectroscopy finish. If assay results exceeded 10.0 g/t gold, the sample rejects are analyzed by 50-gram fire assay with a gravimetric finish. Sampling and analytical procedures are subject to a Quality Assurance and Quality Control program that includes duplicate samples and analytical standards.

Qualified Person

Technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Benjamin Kuzmich, P.Geo., a geoscientist and qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

About Athena Gold Corporation

Athena is engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets. Its objective is to locate and develop economic precious and base metal properties of merit and to conduct additional exploration drilling and studies on such projects.

For further information about Athena Gold Corporation, please visit www.athenagoldcorp.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

John C. Power

Chief Executive Officer and President

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US. securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding future exploration plans, future results from exploration, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "believes", "will", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", ''plans", "may", "should", ''potential", "scheduled", or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this press release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that there will be investor interest in future financings, market fundamentals will result in sustained precious metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future exploration and development of the Company's projects in a timely manner.

The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various risk factors as disclosed in the final long form prospectus of the Company dated August 31, 2021.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this press release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise.

[i] Geology and Geochemistry of the Laird Lake Property and Associated Gold Mineralization - https://www.lakeheadu.ca/programs/departments/geology/about/msc-theses/summaries/node/47164

[ii] Independent NI 43-101 Technical Report and Updated Mineral Resource Estimate - https://westredlakegold.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/26Apr24_-_PureGold_Mine_NI_43-101_Technical_Report_-_WRLG.pdf

[iii] Great Bear Gold Project Preliminary Economic Assessment - https://s2.q4cdn.com/496390694/files/doc_downloads/2024/09/Great_bear/Kinross-Great-Bear-PEA-TR-REVISED-FINAL-Sep-9-2024.pdf
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan--(Newsfile Corp. - November 18, 2024) - Core Nickel Corp. (CSE: CNCO) ("Core Nickel" or the "Company") is excited to announce that an airborne electromagnetic survey has identified 14 High Priority targets on its 100%-owned Halfway Lake Project (the "High Priority Targets"). The Halfway Lake Project is strategically located only 15 km from the Bucko Mill in the Thompson Nickel Belt, Manitoba (Figure 1). A section displaying the High Priority Targets is outlined in Figure 2.

The High Priority Targets include:

A target which confirms the extension of the conductive trend interpreted to host the Halfway Lake nickel deposit (historic estimate of 900,000 tonnes grading 1.2% nickel 1 ), located 600 metres to the northeast of the Company's Halfway Lake project ( Figure 2 )

), located 600 metres to the northeast of the Company's Halfway Lake project ( ) A target identified 150 m to the north of the W62 Zone, where the Company focused its inaugural drill program in the Winter of 2024 successfully intersecting 91 metres grading 0.37% Ni, from a vertical depth of approximately 120 metres ( Figure 3 )

) Three targets which occur on 2.4 km of conductive trends that have yet to be drill tested

Nine targets which are situated on under-explored conductor trends

Misty Urbatsch, CEO of Core Nickel, commented, "Our Halfway Lake Project is strategically located near the Halfway Lake Deposit, discovered in 1994 by Falconbridge through drilling of magnetic and electromagnetic anomalies. The VTEM survey has identified a high-priority target 900 meters southwest of the Halfway Lake Deposit that has yet to be drill-tested. The survey also highlighted a priority target 150 meters north of the historical W62 Zone, where Core Nickel conducted its inaugural drill program in early 2024. This program intersected 91 meters of mineralization grading 0.37% nickel from a depth of just 120 meters in the W62 Zone.

"The High Priority Targets further demonstrate the potential for discovering high-grade massive sulphide deposits on our claims. The 14 High Priority Targets identified from the VTEM survey show similar signatures to known deposits in the Thompson Belt and are all located within 35 km of the past-producing Bucko Mill and 90 km from Vale's operating Thompson Mill. With our recently completed financings, the Company is fully funded to begin drill testing these targets in early 2025."

Figure 1 - Regional map showing Core's Thompson Nickel Belt with inset of Halfway Lake Project

Helicopter-borne geophysical surveys, including time domain electromagnetics (VTEM) and horizontal magnetic gradiometer, were completed in July 2024 by Geotech Ltd. using the VTEM Plus geophysical system. The surveys covered the entire Halfway Lake (828 line-km) and Resting Lake (515 line-km) properties with a 100-metre line spacing, to obtain new coverage and refine historical EM survey results. The geophysical interpretation and integration to assist in the prioritization of drill targets was completed by Balch Exploration Consulting Inc.

Figure 2 - Oblique Section of the High Priority Targets

Figure 3 - Long section of the W62 zone looking northwest

The surveys successfully delineated several electromagnetic (EM) and magnetic anomalies on the Halfway Lake and Resting Lake projects, as illustrated in Figure 4 and Figure 5, respectively. The VTEM survey reveals a strong correlation between the interpreted geology and geophysical data, encompassing both electromagnetic and magnetic responses. The survey has outlined northeast-southwest trending magnetic lineaments associated with variably conductive electromagnetic responses which are associated with and extend along strike from historical nickel intersections and known nickel deposits.

Halfway Lake VTEM Results

Amongst the High Priority Targets on the Halfway Lake project, one has confirmed the presence of a modeled conductor interpreted as the extension of the host stratigraphy linked to the Halfway Lake nickel deposit, located to the northeast of the Company's Halfway Lake project. An additional High Priority Target was identified 150 m to the north of the historical W62 Zone, where the Company conducted a preliminary 3-hole drill program in early 2024. Historical drilling at the W62 zone revealed favorable results that were not adequately tested. Amongst the historical holes, drillhole W62-D completed in 1962, intersected a serpentinite body with three mineralized horizons; the main one contained 18.9 m at 0.68% Ni, including 3.05 m at 1.32% Ni. The Company's 2024 drilling was highlighted by drillhole HFW-002 which intersected 91 metres grading 0.37% Ni, from a vertical depth of approximately 120 metres. The Company believes the high priority target identified from the VTEM survey supports the prospectivity for expansion of the mineralized W62 zone.

In addition to the targets identified south of the Halfway Lake deposit and north of the W62 Zone, the survey also revealed 3 targets along 2.4 km of historically imaged conductors which remain to be drill tested, in addition to 9 targets along under-explored conductor trends, further demonstrating the prospectivity of these trends.

Figure 4 - Halfway Lake Project VTEM Conductors

Resting Lake VTEM Results

The Resting Lake Project, located 5 km from the Bucko Mill, encompasses three mineralized zones: the Resting deposit and Reed showing (both external to the property) and the Amax zone (internal). The Resting deposit is characterized by SE-dipping ultramafic lenses and includes drillhole LR072-29, which reported 15.6 m grading 1.35% Ni. The Reed occurrence consists of mineralized serpentinite containing disseminated sulphides with drill intercepts grading up to 2.86% Ni over 1.77 m in drillhole 31213. The AMAX zone is highlighted by drill hole MXR-68-7 that intersected 4.0 m grading 0.67% Ni. Interpretation of the VTEM results have indicated a high priority target to the north of the AMAX zone, in which the conductive trend appears to be magnetically linked to the Resting Lake deposit.

Figure 5 - Resting Lake Project VTEM Conductors

VTEM Results Summary

The VTEM survey results and interpretation have indicated numerous high priority target areas that have either been untested or inadequately tested by drilling. The Company believes there is a great opportunity to expand known zones of mineralization as well as test areas that have not previously been drilled. The high priority target areas will be drill tested as part of the Company's upcoming, fully funded 2025 winter drill program.

North Thompson (Mel, Hunter, and Odei River) Update

The Mel deposit was discovered in 1961 at a depth of 47 meters, based on testing of EM conductors identified to a depth of only 100 meters. Its relatively shallow depth made it accessible to earlier exploration methods, but deposits deeper than 100 meters would have been overlooked with older EM techniques. From 2000 to 2004, ground-based UTEM and AMT surveys were conducted across the Mel, Hunter, and Odei River properties, revealing numerous targets at depths greater than 100 meters (Figure 6). However, these targets were left untested due to a lack of funding from previous owners. Core Nickel plans to carry out a VTEM survey over the Mel and Odei River properties in the winter of 2024. This will assist in identifying new EM targets and refine those identified in the historical AMT and UTEM.

Figure 6 - Historical Geophysics on North Thompson Properties

About Core Nickel

Core Nickel Corp. is a junior nickel exploration company that controls 100% of five properties in the prolific nickel district, the Thompson Nickel Belt (TNB) in Northern Manitoba, Canada. The five properties consist of approximately 27,000 hectares of land that is proximal to existing infrastructure, including highways, railways, major hydroelectric transmission lines, and operating mills.

Map: Core Nickel's Thompson Nickel Belt Properties

Core Nickel has a large contiguous land package in the northern part of the TNB, situated approximately 16-20 km from the City of Thompson. Core Nickel's northern TNB projects consist of three properties: Mel, Hunter, and Odei River. The Mel property encompasses the Mel deposit, which is characterized by a historical NI-43-101 resource estimate with an indicated resource of 4.3 million tonnes at 0.875% nickel, equating to 82.5 million lbs contained nickel, and a historical inferred resource estimate of 1.0 million tonnes at 0.839% nickel, equating to 18.7 million pounds of contained nickel2. The target stratigraphy (Pipe Formation) that hosts the Mel deposit, and other deposits in the Thompson Nickel Belt, extend onto the Hunter and Odei River properties and drillhole intersections into the target stratigraphy on the Hunter project have successfully intersected elevated nickel.

The Company also holds two properties in the central TNB near Wabowden: Halfway Lake and Resting Lake. Both properties host the target Pipe Formation associated with known elevated nickel mineralization and are proximal to existing nickel deposits, mills, and other infrastructure.

The Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects for this news release is Caitlin Glew, P. Geo., Vice-President Exploration for Core Nickel Corp., who has reviewed and approved its contents.

References

1 (n.d.). https://www.canickel.com/satellite-deposits#satellited

2 "Technical Report on the Mel Deposit, Northern Manitoba" prepared for Victory Nickel Inc, Shane Naccashian (P. Geo.) of Wardrop Engineering Inc., March 9, 2007

Technical Disclosure

The historical results contained within this news release have been captured from Manitoba Integrated Mining and Quarrying System ("iMaQs") as available and may be incomplete or subject to minor location inaccuracies. Management cautions that historical results were collected and reported by past operators and have not been verified nor confirmed by a Qualified Person but form a basis for ongoing work on the subject properties.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Misty Urbatsch"

Misty Urbatsch

CEO, President and Director

Core Nickel Corp.

Also find us online:

Website: www.corenickel.com

X: https://x.com/CoreNickel

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulations services accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking information

All statements included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions made by the Company based on its experience, perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate in the circumstances. In addition, these statements involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will prove inaccurate, certain of which are beyond the Company's control. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to revise or update these forward-looking statements after the date hereof or revise them to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 18, 2024) - Quetzal Copper Corp. (TSXV: Q) ("Quetzal" or the "Company") a North American focused copper exploration company is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with Independent Trading Group ("ITG") to act as lead agent and sole bookrunner in connection with a "best efforts" private placement (the "Offering") for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $3,000,000 from the sale of the following:

up to 6,666,666 units of the Company (the "Units") at a price of $0.15 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000 from the sale of Units; and

up to 10,526,315 common shares of the Company (the "FT Shares", and together with the Units, the "Offered Securities") at a price of $0.19 per FT Share for gross proceeds of up to $2,000,000 from the sale of FT Shares. Each FT Share will be issued as a "flow-through share" within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada).

Each Unit issued under the Offering shall consist of one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Common Share") and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share at an exercise price of $0.25 per Common Share for a period of 24 months from the Closing Date (as defined below).

The Offered Securities will be offered by way of the "accredited investor" exemption under National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions in all the provinces of Canada. The Offered Securities will be subject to a statutory hold period in Canada ending on the date that is four months plus one day following the Closing Date. The Units may also be sold in offshore jurisdictions and in the United States on a private placement basis pursuant to one or more exemptions from the registration requirements of the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "U.S. Securities Act"), as amended.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of Units for exploration and development activities and general corporate purposes. The gross proceeds from the sale of the FT Shares will be used by the Company to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenses" that will qualify as "flow-through critical mineral mining expenditures" as such terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Qualifying Expenditures") related to the Company's Princeton, Big Kidd and Dot projects in British Columbia, Canada. All Qualifying Expenditures will be renounced in favour of the subscribers of the FT Shares effective December 31, 2024.

ITG will have an option (the "Agent's Option") to increase the size of the Offering by up to 15% through the sale of up to 999,999 additional Units at a price of $0.15 per Unit and 1,578,947 FT Shares at a price of $0.19 per FT Share. The Agent's Option is exercisable, in whole or in part, at any time up to 48 hours prior to the Closing Date.

The Offering is expected to close on or about December 18, 2024 (the "Closing Date"). Closing of the Offering is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, including any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for account or benefit of, U.S. Persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration requirements is available.

About Quetzal Copper

Quetzal is engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in British Columbia and Mexico. The Company's principal project, Princeton Copper, which adjoins Hudbay's Copper Mountain mine in southern British Columbia. Its Dot Project is located 20 km south of Teck Resources Highland Valley Mine. The Company currently has a portfolio of three properties located in British Columbia, Canada and one in Mexico.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CAUTIONARY AND FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. "Forward-looking information" includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the activities, events, or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including, without limitation, planned exploration activities. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, among others, statements relating to: obtaining the required regulatory approvals for the Offering; the expected Closing Date; completion of the Offering; the intended use of proceeds of the Offering; the Company's growth and business strategies; and the exploration and development of the Company's properties.

Such forward-looking information and statements are based on numerous assumptions, including among others, that the results of planned exploration activities are as anticipated, the anticipated cost of planned exploration activities, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms, that third party contractors, equipment and supplies and governmental and other approvals required to conduct the Company's planned exploration activities will be available on reasonable terms and in a timely manner. Although the assumptions made by the Company in providing forward-looking information or making forward-looking statements are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate.

Forward-looking information and statements also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual events or results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future events or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements, including, among others: negative operating cash flow and dependence on third party financing, uncertainty of additional financing, no known mineral reserves or resources, the limited operating history of the Company, aboriginal title and consultation issues, reliance on key management and other personnel, actual results of exploration activities being different than anticipated, changes in exploration programs based upon results, availability of third party contractors, availability of equipment and supplies, failure of equipment to operate as anticipated, accidents, effects of weather and other natural phenomena and other risks associated with the mineral exploration industry, environmental risks, changes in laws and regulations, community relations and delays in obtaining governmental or other approvals.

Although the Company has attempted to identify crucial factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information or implied by forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or reissue forward-looking information as a result of new information or events except as required by applicable securities laws.
Highlight Intercepts include 8.4m at 3.7% CuEq and 6.8m at 3.2% CuEq

New Copper-Zinc Lens Identified in Tesla Footwall

VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 18, 2024 /CNW/ - Foran Mining Corporation (TSX: FOM) (OTCQX: FMCXF) ("Foran" or the "Company") is pleased to announce further copper-rich assay results from two new holes drilled into the Tesla Zone, part of Foran's 100%-owned McIlvenna Bay Property (the "Project") in Saskatchewan. These holes were designed to infill two 200 x 300m gaps in the drill hole spacing near the southern known margins of the Tesla Zone. The holes successfully encountered multiple zones of mineralization as expected, confirming the continuity of the Tesla Zone.

Click Here to Watch Erin Carswell, Foran's VP Exploration, discuss the latest results.

The recent infill drilling program at the Tesla Zone was designed to improve confidence in its grade and continuity, while providing critical data for potential future resource estimates and potential operational expansion scenarios (see the Company's July 15, 2024 news release). Both drill holes intersected the main mineralized target, followed by thick, copper-rich sections with additional gold content, confirming consistent mineralization across the zone and suggesting areas of higher copper-gold grades. Notably, drill hole TS-24-34 uncovered new copper-zinc mineralization below the current Tesla lenses. This new opportunity highlights the opportunity of additional mineralized lenses, enhancing Tesla's growth prospects as it advances towards a potential future resource estimate.

Erin Carswell, Foran's Vice President, Exploration, commented: "This summer our exploration team experimented with new techniques that allowed us to drill Tesla effectively from its western side for the first time, reducing our reliance on ice drilling and providing an exciting glimpse of the southern Tesla 'footwall' rocks that we have not had before. As usual with the Tesla Zone, the surprises keep coming. In hole TS-24-34, this included the discovery of a new lens of mineralization sitting just below the main Tesla lenses at the southern end of the zone. In addition, the two holes presented in this release demonstrate yet again how robust the Tesla main lenses can be, boasting multiple zones of high-grade copper and high-grade zinc with pleasing thicknesses of mineralization. Recent results at Tesla underscore its remarkable continuity, unlocking possibilities for future value creation for our operations as we continue to explore this promising zone."

Key Highlights:

Hole TS-24-34 intersected two discrete zones of mineralization, including the expected Tesla Zone lenses plus an unexpected lower fault repetition of mineralized horizons. Highlights from the main Tesla lenses include: 6.8m of copper and zinc-rich massive sulphide grading 1.62% Cu, 4.84% Zn, 33.3 g/t Ag and 0.28 g/t Au (3.23% CuEq), which was followed by 8.4m of copper and gold-rich breccia and stringer mineralization grading 2.38% Cu, 0.96% Zn, 39.8 g/t Ag and 1.89 g/t Au (3.74% CuEq); as well as A further 22.2m of copper stringer mineralization grading 1.30% Cu, 0.87% Zn, 13.3 g/t Ag and 0.30 g/t Au (1.68% CuEq)

The TS-24-34 fault repetition included a thin but very high-grade massive sulphide unit followed by a copper stringer zone. Assays include: 1.7m of massive sulphide grading 4.37% Cu, 15.47% Zn, 27.1 g/t Ag and 0.28 g/t Au (8.90% CuEq), followed by 2.2m of copper stringer mineralization grading 1.52% Cu, 0.46% Zn, 5.9 g/t Ag and 0.01 g/t Au (1.55% CuEq), and 5.5m grading 1.11% Cu, 0.07% Zn, 7.1 g/t Ag and 0.01 g/t Au (1.07% CuEq).

Hole TS-24-29 intersected a wide zone of mineralization highlighted by: 2.4m of upper zinc-rich massive sulphide grading 0.64% Cu, 13.64% Zn 37.1 g/t Ag and 0.27 g/t Au (5.00% CuEq), followed by 26.2m of copper breccias and stringer mineralization grading 1.68% Cu, 1.18% Zn, 12.5 g/t Ag and 0.10 g/t Au (2.00% CuEq), including: 2.1m grading 4.11% Cu, 0.29% Zn, 24.0 g/t Ag and 0.02 g/t Au (3.96% CuEq) 6.2m grading 2.92% Cu, 1.16% Zn, 25.8 g/t Ag and 0.08 g/t Au (1.12% CuEq)

Planning is underway for an ice-based, infill winter drill program on Hanson Lake utilizing eight drill rigs, which is expected to commence in late-December.

Tesla Zone

Since its discovery in 2022, the Tesla Zone has grown into a significant mineralized body over 1,200m long and 500-700m wide, with 45 intersections (Figure 1) now defining multiple stacked lenses of copper-zinc sulphides and precious metal mineralization. These typically consist of zinc and/or copper-rich massive and semi-massive sulphides and associated copper-rich stringer mineralization and higher-grade breccia zones, plus emerging evidence for zones of gold-only mineralization. The Tesla mineralization currently remains open down dip and along strike for potential continued expansion in the future.

During Summer-Fall 2024, a total of approximately 10,810m of drilling was completed as a series of pilot holes and wedges from four main collars located in the southern part of the Tesla Zone, targeting larger gaps in the current drill hole spacing as we strive to confirm Tesla's continuity and tenor. Drill holes were collared on land covering approximately 300m of strike length of the zone and drilled from the footwall side using directional drilling to provide perpendicular intersections into the mineralized horizons. A total of seven Tesla pierce points were obtained during the Summer-Fall 2024 program.

This release presents the results of two significant drill holes (TS-24-29 and TS-24-34) from the summer infill drill program. These holes targeted two large gaps in the drilling measuring approximately 200m x 300m along strike and down dip respectively in both instances (Figure 2). Both were successful in confirming the continuity of mineralization in multiple lenses through the southern part of the Tesla Zone. TS-24-34 also intersected an unexpected interval of mineralization in a lower fault slice located below the southern end of the Tesla horizon, proximal to the Bridge Zone. This may correlate with deeper mineralization intersected sporadically in holes such as TS-23-11w2 and TS-24-290. A drilling density map is provided in Figure 2, which shows the locations of the intersections from the summer drill program relative to previous drilling and the importance of these holes for establishing continuity between wider-spaced drill holes.

TS-24-29

TS-24-29 targeted a 200m x 300m gap between existing drill holes where previous drilling had intersected significant zones of mineralization. The hole was drilled from the footwall side of the Tesla Zone, so it intersected the lenses in reverse stratigraphic order. TS-24-29 intersected the expected stratigraphy and mineralized horizons that match well with the surrounding drill holes. The results of TS-24-29 also match well with the results from previously released TS-24-30 (located approximately 200m to the northeast) that returned a combined 36.5m interval of stringer-style mineralization from the upper copper lens, followed directly downhole by the main massive sulphide lens and a thick zone of stringer/breccia-style copper mineralization (see Foran's October 7, 2024 news release). TS-24-29 intersected the same mineralized package, but in this location the lower copper lens was split into two separate lenses (measuring 9.9m and 26.2m respectively) by a late quartz-feldspar porphyry (QFP) dyke that intruded the stratigraphy from 1280.3-1283.5m. A cross section through the Tesla Zone showing the relationship of TS-24-29 with the surrounding drill holes is provided in figure 3 below.

In detail, TS-24-29 intersected a narrow copper stringer zone at the top of the mineralized interval that was 2.0m in length, grading 0.76% Cu and 0.26 g/t Au. This zone correlates with an upper copper lens that sits above the main massive sulphide lens as was seen in previously released TS-24-30 and throughout much of the Tesla Zone. Directly below the upper copper lens, a 2.4m horizon of massive to semi-massive sulphide was intersected grading 0.64% Cu, 13.64% Zn, 37.1 g/t Ag and 0.27 g/t Au, dominantly consisting of massive pyrite with strong fine-grained sphalerite in the groundmass and minor chalcopyrite mineralization in a strongly chlorite-altered host rock. Below the massive sulphides the hole intersected the lower copper lens, which in this case consisted of several wide copper-rich zones made up mostly of stringer-style mineralization with local breccia zones dominantly consisting of pyrite and chalcopyrite with minor pyrrhotite and sphalerite in a strongly foliated, chlorite and/or sericite altered felsic volcanic host rock. At this location, the lower copper lens is cut by a late QFP dyke which intruded the stratigraphy and effectively splits the lower copper zone into two lenses: a 26.2m interval grading 1.68% Cu followed by a 9.9m interval, below the dyke, grading 1.14% Cu.

Images of high-grade copper mineralization are shown in Figure 3 below, A cross section demonstrating the relationship of TS-24-29 to the surrounding drill holes is provided in Figure 4 on the following page, and detailed composite intervals from the 2024 summer drill program are provided in Table 1.

TS-24-34

TS-24-34 also targeted another large 200 x 300m gap between existing drill holes in an area of limited drilling near the southern end of Tesla. The hole successfully intersected the Tesla Zone in close proximity to the Bridge Zone. This drill hole not only intersected the main Tesla mineralized horizons confirming their continuity, but also intersected an additional zone of mineralization when compared to TS-24-29, which appears to represent faulted offset and a repeat of the Tesla mineralization in an interpreted lower fault slice that is likely related to the folding and faulting that emplaced the Tesla Zone in its current position relative to McIlvenna Bay. This additional zone of mineralization was also intersected in previously released drill hole TS-23-11w2 (see Foran's May 25, 2023 news release) which intersected a similar contiguous zone of mineralization, consisting of massive sulphide and stringer-style mineralization approximately 350m further downdip that graded 1.93% Cu,1.78% Zn and 31.0 g/t Ag over 4.4m (Figure 6). Additional drilling will be required in this area to define the extent of this mineralized horizon and the relationship of this fault slice with Tesla and the Bridge Zone.

Overall, TS-24-34 intersected a 6.8m interval of the main lens massive sulphide at the stratigraphic top of the Tesla Zone, dominantly consisting of massive pyrite with lesser chalcopyrite and sphalerite in a strongly chlorite altered host rock which graded 1.62% copper and 4.84% zinc. Directly below the massive sulphide, the hole intersected a zone of strong breccia and stringer sulphides over 8.4m which contained significant copper and gold mineralization, grading 2.38% copper and 1.89 g/t Au. This interval speaks to the potential that exists at Tesla to intersect additional high-grade copper-gold intervals as infill drilling continues. This copper-gold intersection was followed by a second broad zone of dominantly stringer-style mineralization over 22.2m, which graded 1.30% copper. Finally, TS-24-34 intersected an additional mineralized horizon in the footwall below Tesla. This footwall mineralization is generally hosted in strongly foliated and locally brecciated units and shows a similar combination of stringer-style mineralization and massive sulphide as seen at Tesla itself, including 1.7m of massive sulphide grading 4.37% copper and 15.47% zinc, followed by multiple narrow zones of breccia and stringer-style copper mineralization below, including: 2.2m grading 1.52% copper, 5.5m grading 1.11% copper and 3.9m grading 0.63% copper.

Photos of the mineralization are shown in Figure 5 and a cross section showing the relationship between TS-24-34 and the surrounding drill holes is provided in Figure 6 below and detailed composite intervals from the 2024 summer drill program are provided in Table 1.

Table 1  2024 Summer Tesla Assay Results (*Denotes Previously Released)

Hole Zone From_m To_m Interval_m Cu % Zn % Ag g/t Au g/t CuEq % TS-24-29 CS 1270.4 1280.3 9.9 1.14 0.17 6.2 0.01 1.12 TS-24-29 CS 1283.5 1309.7 26.2 1.68 1.18 12.5 0.10 2.00 Including CS 1284.5 1286.6 2.1 4.11 0.29 24.0 0.02 3.96 And CS 1291.5 1297.7 6.2 2.92 1.16 25.8 0.08 3.17 TS-24-29 CS 1315.7 1320.1 4.3 0.89 0.62 27.6 0.34 1.32 TS-24-29 MS 1320.1 1322.4 2.4 0.64 13.64 27.6 0.27 5.00 TS-24-29 CS 1322.4 1324.4 2.0 0.76 0.49 12.8 0.26 1.05 TS-24-30* CS 1273.6 1304.8 31.2 2.40 0.48 19.2 0.51 2.72 Including CS 1278.9 1283.0 4.1 4.68 0.56 31.5 1.03 5.18 TS-24-30* MS 1304.8 1308.2 3.4 4.29 8.21 55.5 0.03 6.64 TS-24-30* CS 1308.2 1310.1 1.9 1.91 3.66 38.2 0.02 3.02 TS-24-34 CS 954.9 960.4 5.5 1.11 0.07 7.1 0.01 1.07 TS-24-34 CS 964.1 966.3 2.2 1.52 0.46 5.9 0.01 1.55 TS-24-34 CS 969.3 970.8 1.5 1.11 0.10 4.9 0.003 1.06 TS-24-34 CS 973.8 977.7 3.9 0.63 0.34 4.7 0.004 0.70 TS-24-34 CS 1003.5 1005.1 1.7 1.06 0.18 2.2 0.01 1.04 TS-24-34 CS 1068.2 1069.2 1.0 1.95 0.06 7.6 0.003 1.83 TS-24-34 MS 1108.2 1109.8 1.7 4.37 15.47 27.1 0.28 8.90 TS-24-34 CS 1109.8 1111.8 2.0 0.71 0.90 5.4 0.10 1.00 TS-24-34 CS 1148.1 1154.3 6.2 0.66 0.45 6.1 0.04 0.78 TS-24-34 CS 1164.9 1187.1 22.2 1.30 0.87 13.3 0.30 1.68 Including CS 1173.9 1180.7 6.9 1.69 1.16 19.1 0.40 2.20 And CS 1185.7 1187.1 1.5 2.68 1.15 25.3 0.73 3.32 TS-24-34 CS 1193.7 1202.1 8.4 2.38 0.96 39.8 1.89 3.74 Including CS 1195.6 1198.5 2.9 1.78 0.35 51.8 3.20 3.82 TS-24-34 MS 1202.1 1208.8 6.8 1.62 4.84 33.3 0.28 3.23 Including MS 1204.7 1208.8 4.2 2.01 7.59 45.2 0.32 4.50

Note 1: Composite widths are presented as core lengths. Additional drilling will be required to confirm the geometry of the mineralized zones, but generally true widths are thought to be 80-85% of core length. Intervals generally composited using a 0.5% Cu cut-off grade in stringer zone. Copper Equivalent values calculated using metal prices of $4.00/lb Cu, $1.50/lb Zn, $20.00/ounce Ag and $1,800/ounce Au and LOM metallurgical recovery rates derived from test work on blended ores for the McIlvenna Bay Deposit completed as part of our April 2022 Feasibility Study: 91.1% Cu, 79.8% Zn, 88.6% Au and 62.3% Ag (MS  massive / semi-massive sulphide, CS  Copper Stockwork/Stringer, QV  quartz-carbonate-albite alteration/veining). To date no metallurgical test work has been completed on the Tesla Zone or Bridge Zone mineralization.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Drilling was completed using NQ size diamond drill core and core was logged by employees of the Company. During the logging process, mineralized intersections were marked for sampling and given unique sample numbers. Sampled intervals were sawn in half using a diamond blade saw. One half of the sawn core was placed in a plastic bag with the sample tag and sealed, while the second half was returned to the core box for storage on site. Sample assays are performed by the Saskatchewan Research Council ("SRC") Geoanalytical Laboratory in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. SRC is a Canadian accredited laboratory (ISO/IEC 17025:2017) and independent of Foran. Analysis for Ag, Cu, Pb and Zn is performed using ICP-OES after total multi-acid digestion. Au analysis is completed by fire assay with ICP-OES finish and any samples which return results greater than 1.0 g/t Au are re-run using gravimetric finish. A complete suite of QA/QC reference materials (standards, blanks, and duplicates) are included in each batch of samples processed by the laboratory. The results of the assaying of the QA/QC material included in each batch are tracked to ensure the integrity of the assay data.

Qualified Person

Mr. Roger March, P. Geo., Principal Geoscientist for Foran, is the Qualified Person for all technical information herein and has reviewed and approved the technical information in this release.

About Foran Mining

Foran Mining is a copper-zinc-gold-silver exploration and development company, committed to supporting a greener future, empowering communities and creating circular economies which create value for all our stakeholders, while also safeguarding the environment. The McIlvenna Bay Project is located entirely within the documented traditional territory of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, comprises the infrastructure and works related to development and advanced exploration activities of the Company, and hosts the McIlvenna Bay Deposit and Tesla Zone. The Company also owns the Bigstone Deposit, a resource-development stage deposit located 25 km southwest of the McIlvenna Bay Property.

The McIlvenna Bay Deposit is a copper-zinc-gold-silver rich VHMS deposit intended to be the centre of a new mining camp in a prolific district that has already been producing for 100 years. The McIlvenna Bay Property sits just 65 km West of Flin Flon, Manitoba, and is part of the world class Flin Flon Greenstone Belt that extends from Snow Lake, Manitoba, through Flin Flon to Foran's ground in eastern Saskatchewan, a distance of over 225 km.

The McIlvenna Bay Deposit is the largest undeveloped VHMS deposit in the region. The Company announced the results from its NI 43-101 compliant Technical Report on the 2022 Feasibility Study for the McIlvenna Bay Deposit ("2022 Feasibility Study") on February 28, 2022, outlining that current Mineral Reserves would potentially support an 18-year mine life producing an average of 65 million pounds of copper equivalent annually. The Company filed the 2022 Feasibility Study on April 14, 2022, with an effective date of February 28, 2022. The Company also filed a NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Bigstone Deposit resource estimate on January 21, 2021, as amended on February 1, 2022. Investors are encouraged to consult the full text of these technical reports which may be found on the Company's profile on www.sedarplus.ca.

The Company's head office is located at 409 Granville Street, Suite 904, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6C 1T2. Common Shares of the Company are listed for trading on the TSX under the symbol "FOM" and on the OTCQX under the symbol "FMCXF".

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, as defined under applicable securities laws (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements"). These statements relate to future events or to the future performance of Foran Mining Corporation and reflect management's expectations and assumptions as of the date hereof or as of the date of such forward looking statement. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited, statements regarding our objectives and our strategies to achieve such objectives; our beliefs, plans, estimates, projections and intentions, and similar statements concerning anticipated future events; as well as specific statements in respect of our exploration plan's focus and objectives, including regarding targets, rigs, timing, drilling at certain locations, leveraging existing knowledge for further exploration, and expected results; our plan to conduct an ice-based infill winter drill program on Hanson Lake; our ability to unlock opportunities through exploration; our continued expansion and delineation of the Tesla Zone and Bridge Zone; our drilling pipeline; our understanding and interpretation of geology and mineralization, including in respect of the Tesla Zone and Bridge Zone; the continuity of mineralization and other characteristics; the expectation that we will identify mineralization in certain areas; statements made in the video that is hyperlinked herein; our infill drilling program at Tesla Zone, including its design and objectives; our ability to gather critical data in respect of the Tesla Zone for potential future resource estimates and operational expansion scenarios; our identification of areas with high copper-gold grades and of new mineralized lenses; our drilling techniques; our intention to continue exploring the Tesla Zone; Tesla remaining open down dip and along strike for potential expansion; the relationship between Tesla and the Bridge Zone; our commitment to support a greener future, empower communities and create circular economies which create value for all our stakeholders while safeguarding the environment; expectations regarding our development and advanced exploration activities; and expectations, assumptions and targets in respect of our 2022 Feasibility Study. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release speak only as of the date of this news release or as of the date specified in such statement.

Inherent in forward-looking statements are known and unknown risks, estimates, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. These factors include management's belief or expectations relating to the following and, in certain cases, management's response with regard to the following: the Company's reliance on the McIlvenna Bay Property; the Company is exposed to risks related to mineral resources exploration and development; the Company has no history of mineral production; the Company's operations are subject to extensive environmental, health and safety regulations; mining operations involve hazards and risks; and the additional risks identified in our filings with Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR+ in Canada (available at www.sedarplus.ca). The forward-looking statements contained in this news release reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic and regulatory uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include the availability of funds for the Company's projects; availability of equipment; sustained labour stability with no labour-related disruptions; all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals are received in a timely manner; and the ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described or intended.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and should note that the assumptions and risk factors discussed in this press release are not exhaustive. Actual results and developments are likely to differ, and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied by the forward looking statements contained in this press release. All forward-looking statements herein are qualified by this cautionary statement. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. If the Company does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements, unless required by law. Additional information about these assumptions, risks and uncertainties is contained in our filings with securities regulators.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ascot Resources Ltd. (TSX: AOT; OTCQX: AOTVF) (Ascot or the Company) is pleased to announce that the Company has closed the previously announced senior secured debt financing and amendments (the Debt Financing), including approximately US$7.5 million from Sprott Private Resource Streaming and Royalty (B) Corp, (Sprott Streaming). In addition, the Companys secured creditors, including Sprott Streaming and Nebari Gold Fund 1, LP, Nebari Natural Resources Credit Fund II, LP and Nebari Collateral Agent LLC (together Nebari), have extended the waiver and forbearance agreements previously granted until May 31, 2025. Further information is available in the Companys news releases dated October 30, 2024 and November 11, 2024.

Concurrently, the Company closed its previously announced best-efforts private placement offering (the Equity Financing, and together with the Debt Financing, the Financings) of common shares of the Company (the Common Shares). The Equity Financing was conducted by a syndicate of agents co-led by Desjardins Capital Markets and BMO Capital Markets and included Raymond James Ltd. and Velocity Trade Capital Ltd. Under the Equity Financing, the Company issued a total of 262,500,000 Common Shares at a price of C$0.16 per Common Share, for gross proceeds of approximately C$42 million. Ccori Apu S.A.C acquired 86,500,000 Common Shares pursuant to the Equity Financing, an additional 250,000 Common Shares from the amount disclosed in the news release dated November 11, 2024.

In connection with the Debt Financing, the Company issued 824,901 Common Shares to Sprott Streaming and 8,766,875 Common Shares to Nebari.

The net proceeds of the Financings will be used to advance the development of the Premier Northern Lights mine (PNL), restart the mill and restart the Big Missouri mine (BM) from the current state of care and maintenance.

Derek White, President and CEO, commented: "We commend our financing partners Sprott Streaming and Nebari for their cooperation and timely closing for this financing and forbearance. We express our gratitude to our existing shareholders who participated in the equity financing, including our largest shareholder Ccori Apu S.A.C., and Equinox Partners LLP and other long-term shareholders whose support is very much appreciated. The Company is focused on completing the development of our second mine, Premier Northern Lights, and has agreed to a focused development program with its mining contractor, Procon Mining & Tunneling Ltd, so that mill operations can restart in Q2 of 2025. With both the Premier Northern Lights and Big Missouri mines feeding the mill, Ascot anticipates it can sustainably deliver enough ore feed to profitably run the operation.

Early Warning

In connection with the foregoing, Nebari agreed to an amended and restated convertible credit facility (the Convertible Facility) and an amended and restated cost overrun agreement (the COF) each dated November 18, 2024, resulting in Nebari Partners, LLC, as investment Manager, together with Nebari Gold Fund 1, LP, Nebari Natural Resources Credit Fund II, LP and Nebari Natural Resources AIV II, LP (collectively, the Acquiror), acquiring ownership of the following securities: (i) the Convertible Facility; (ii) 25,767,777 amended and restated Common Share purchase warrants of Ascot issued pursuant to the Convertible Facility (the Prepayment Warrants); (iii) 10,164,528 amended and restated Common Share purchase warrants of Ascot issued pursuant to the COF (the COF Warrants); and (iv) 8,766,875 Common Shares of Ascot issued as a result of the COF (the Alignment Shares).

Prior to the transactions specified in this press release, the Acquiror owned and controlled no Common Shares of Ascot but did own convertible securities that if exercised would result in the Acquiror owning less than 10% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of the Company. Following completion of the transactions, the Acquiror now owns and controls the Convertible Facility, Prepayment Warrants, COF Warrants and Alignment Shares, representing 8,766,875 Common Shares (or 0.89% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares) on a non-diluted basis or 121,211,611 Common Shares (or 11.08% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares) on a converted/exercised partially diluted basis (this does not factor in the conversion of interest to Common Shares). This is based on the exchange rate of US to Canadian dollars on November 14, 2024. As well, this does not account for the Prepayment Warrants as they are only exercisable if the Convertible Facility is redeemed in certain circumstances via a cash payment.

The securities indicated in this press release were not acquired though the facilities of any market for securities of the Company as they were issued directly by Ascot. This transaction was completed by the Acquiror for investment purposes and the Acquiror may increase or decrease its investments in the Company at any time, or continue to maintain its current investment position, depending on market conditions or any other relevant factor.

No new consideration was paid for the amendments to the Credit Facility and the COF, and the Acquiror relied on Section 2.3 of National Instrument 45-106  Prospectus Exemptions on the basis that the Acquiror is an accredited investor as defined therein.

This portion of the press release is included pursuant to National Instrument 62-103  Take-Over Bids and Special Transactions, which also requires an early warning report to be filed on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.com) containing additional information with respect to the foregoing matters. A copy of the related early warning report may be obtained on Ascots SEDAR+ profile.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Ascot Resources Ltd.

Derek C. White

President & CEO

For further information contact:

Derek White/Carol Li

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

778-725-1060 ext 1010

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act) or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws.

About Ascot

Ascot is a Canadian mining company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, and its shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the ticker AOT and on the OTCQX under the ticker AOTVF. Ascot is the 100% owner of the Premier Gold mine, which poured first gold in April 2024 and is located on Nisgaa Nation Treaty Lands, in the prolific Golden Triangle of northwestern British Columbia.

For more information about the Company, please refer to the Companys profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca or visit the Companys web site at www.ascotgold.com.

The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 2, 2022) - Li3 Lithium Corp. (TSXV: LILI) (the " Company ") is pleased to announce that it has commenced trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the new name "Li3 Lithium Corp." under the new ticker symbol of "LILI" following its name change from... Read More
VANCOUVER, BC --(Marketwired - January 31, 2017) - Excelsior Mining Corp. (TSX VENTURE: MIN) (FRANKFURT: 3XS) (OTCQX: EXMGF) ("Excelsior" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received final approval for its common shares to be listed and commence trading on the Toronto Stock... Read More
Israel launched a wave of air strikes on Hezbollah bastions in Beirut and south Lebanon on Saturday, a day after Lebanese officials said they were studying a US truce proposal.

An Israeli strike on neighbouring Syria earlier this week killed two senior figures in Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian militant group which has fought alongside Hamas in Gaza confirmed.

Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad are all backed by Israel's arch-enemy Iran, which said Friday it supported a swift end to the nearly two-month war in Lebanon.

Since September 23, Israel has escalated its bombing of targets in Lebanon, later sending in ground troops after almost a year of limited, cross-border exchanges of fire begun by Hezbollah militants over the Gaza war.

Israel's military chief, in comments issued on Saturday, said Hezbollah has already "paid a big price" but Israel will keep fighting until tens of thousands of its residents displaced from the north can return safely.

"We will continue to fight, to implement plans, to go further, conduct deep strikes, and hit Hezbollah very hard," Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said on a visit earlier in the week to the Kfar Kila area of south Lebanon.

AFPTV footage showed fresh strikes Saturday on the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, after Israel's military called on residents to evacuate.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported four strikes during the day and a further "heavy strike" in the early evening.

The Israeli military said aircraft had targeted "a weapons storage facility" and a Hezbollah "command centre".

In Lebanon's east, the health ministry said an Israeli strike in the Bekaa Valley killed six people including three children.

Hezbollah said it fired a guided missile which set an Israeli tank ablaze in the southwest Lebanon village of Shamaa, about five kilometres (three miles) from the border.

Israel announced the death of a soldier in southern Lebanon, bringing to 48 the number killed in fighting with Hezbollah.

- Synagogue hit -

In eastern Lebanon, funerals were held for 14 civil defence staff killed in an Israeli strike on Thursday.

"They weren't involved with any (armed) party... they were just waiting to answer calls for help," said Ali al-Zein, a relative of one of the dead.

Hezbollah claimed several rocket attacks on northern Israel, targeting military sites including a naval base in the Haifa area.

Israel's military reported a "heavy rocket barrage" on Haifa and said a synagogue was hit, injuring two civilians.

Lebanese authorities say more than 3,452 people have been killed since October last year, with most casualties recorded since September.

In Hamas-run Gaza, the Israeli military said it continued operations in the northern areas of Jabalia and Beit Lahia, the targets of an intense offensive since early October.

Israel said its renewed operations aimed to stop Hamas from regrouping.

A UN-backed assessment on November 9 warned famine was imminent in northern Gaza, amid the increased hostilities and a near-halt in food aid.

Israel has pushed back against a 172-page Human Rights Watch report this week that said its displacement of Gazans amounts to a "crime against humanity", as well as findings from a UN Special Committee that pointed to warfare practices that "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide".

A foreign ministry spokesman dismissed the HRW report as "completely false", while the United States -- Israel's main military supplier -- said accusations of genocide "are certainly unfounded".

The Gaza health ministry on Saturday said the overall death toll in more than 13 months of war has reached 43,799.

The majority of the dead are civilians, according to ministry figures which the United Nations considers reliable.

- 'Massive explosion' -

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Demonstrators in Tel Aviv on Saturday reiterated demands that the government reach a deal to free dozens of hostages still held in Gaza.

The protest came a week after mediator Qatar suspended its role until Hamas and Israel show "seriousness" in truce and hostage-release talks.

In Gaza, the civil defence agency reported 24 people killed in strikes across the territory on Saturday.

In Rafah, Jamil al-Masry told AFP a house was hit, causing "a massive explosion".

"We went to the house, only to find it in ruins, with fire raging and smoke and dust everywhere."

In a rare claim of responsibility for a strike on Syria, Israel said it targeted the Islamic Jihad group on Thursday.

A statement from the group on Saturday confirmed that "prominent leader" Abdel Aziz Minawi and external relations chief Rasmi Yusuf Abu Issa were killed in the air raid on Qudsaya, in the Damascus area.

Islamic Jihad still holds several Israeli hostages taken during the October 7 attack.

With diplomacy aimed at ending the Gaza war stalled, a top government official in Beirut said on Friday that US ambassador Lisa Johnson had presented a 13-point proposal to halt the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

It includes a 60-day truce, during which Lebanon will deploy troops to the border. The official added that Israel has yet to respond to the plan.

A second Lebanese official, who also requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said he was "optimistic" about the talks.

burs/kir/it/srm
Israel launched a wave of air strikes on Hezbollah bastions in Beirut and south Lebanon on Saturday, as the Iran-backed militants said they fired on several Israeli military bases around the coastal city of Haifa.

Israel's military reported a "heavy rocket barrage" on Haifa and said a synagogue was hit, wounding two civilians.

A military statement shortly before midnight said Hezbollah had fired around 80 projectiles at the country Saturday.

Israel has escalated its bombing of Lebanon since September 23 and has since sent in ground troops, following almost a year of limited, cross-border exchanges of fire begun by Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in support of Hamas in Gaza.

In the Palestinian territory, where Hamas's attack on Israel triggered the war, the civil defence agency reported 24 people killed in strikes Saturday.

Security services in Israel said two flares landed near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in the town of Caesarea, south of Haifa, but he was not home.

The incident comes about a month after a drone targeted the same residence, which Hezbollah claimed.

Israel's military chief said Saturday Hezbollah had already "paid a big price" but Israel will keep fighting until tens of thousands of its residents displaced from the north can return safely.

AFPTV footage showed fresh strikes Saturday on the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, after Israel's military told residents to leave.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported a series of strikes.

The Israeli military said aircraft had targeted "a weapons storage facility" and a Hezbollah "command centre".

- Lebanon rescuers mourned -

The NNA also reported strikes on the southern city of Tyre, including in a neighbourhood near UNESCO-listed ancient ruins. Israel's military late Saturday said it had hit Hezbollah facilities in the Tyre area.

In Lebanon's east, the health ministry said an Israeli strike in the Bekaa Valley had killed six people including three children.

Hezbollah said it fired a guided missile that set an Israeli tank ablaze in the southwest Lebanon village of Shamaa, about five kilometres (three miles) from the border.

Late Saturday, Hezbollah said it had targeted five military bases including the Stella Maris naval base.

In eastern Lebanon, funerals were held for 14 civil defence staff killed in an Israeli strike on Thursday.

"They weren't involved with any (armed) party... they were just waiting to answer calls for help," said Ali al-Zein, a relative of one of the dead.

Lebanese authorities say more than 3,452 people have been killed since October last year, with most casualties recorded since September.

Israel announced the death of a soldier in southern Lebanon, bringing to 48 the number killed fighting Hezbollah.

In Hamas-run Gaza, the Israeli military said it had continued operations in the northern areas of Jabalia and Beit Lahia, the targets of an intense offensive since early October.

- North Gaza -

Israel said its renewed operations were aimed at stopping Hamas from regrouping.

A UN-backed assessment on November 9 warned famine was imminent in northern Gaza, amid the increased hostilities and a near-halt in food aid.

Israel has pushed back against a 172-page Human Rights Watch report this week that said its mass displacement of Gazans amounts to a "crime against humanity", as well as findings from a UN Special Committee pointing warfare practices "consistent with the characteristics of genocide".

A foreign ministry spokesman dismissed the HRW report as "completely false", while the United States -- Israel's main military supplier -- said accusations of genocide "are certainly unfounded".

The Gaza health ministry on Saturday said the overall death toll in more than 13 months of war had reached 43,799.

The majority of the dead are civilians, according to ministry figures, which the United Nations considers reliable.

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

- Tel Aviv protest -

Demonstrators in Tel Aviv on Saturday reiterated demands that the government reach a deal to free dozens of hostages still held in Gaza.

The protest came a week after mediator Qatar suspended its role until Hamas and Israel show "seriousness" in truce and hostage-release talks.

In a rare claim of responsibility for a strike on Syria, Israel said it had targeted the Islamic Jihad group on Thursday.

A statement from the group on Saturday confirmed that "prominent leader" Abdel Aziz Minawi and external relations chief Rasmi Yusuf Abu Issa had been killed in the air raid on Qudsaya, in the Damascus area.

Islamic Jihad still holds several Israeli hostages taken during the October 7 attack.

Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad are all backed by Israel's arch-enemy Iran, which said Friday it supported a swift end to the nearly two-month war in Lebanon.

With diplomacy aimed at ending the Gaza war stalled, a top government official in Beirut said Friday that US ambassador Lisa Johnson had presented a 13-point proposal to halt the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

It includes a 60-day truce, during which Lebanon would deploy troops to the border. Israel has yet to respond to the plan, the official added.

burs-jj/rsc
Israel issued evacuation orders Sunday for parts of south Beirut where it is targeting Hezbollah militants, hours after the Iran-backed group said it fired on several Israeli military bases around the coastal city of Haifa.

Israel ordered residents of three areas in the capital's southern suburbs to leave ahead of planned strikes on multiple buildings, in a warning published on X by military spokesman Avichay Adraee.

Further south, overnight Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling hit the flashpoint southern town of Khiam, some six kilometres (four miles) from the border, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported early Sunday.

The bombardment came after Israel's military reported a "heavy rocket barrage" on Haifa late Saturday and said a synagogue was hit, wounding two civilians.

Israel has escalated its bombing of Lebanon since September 23 and has since sent in ground troops, following almost a year of limited, cross-border exchanges of fire begun by Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in support of Hamas in Gaza.

In the Palestinian territory, where Hamas's attack on Israel triggered the war, the civil defence agency reported 24 people killed in strikes Saturday.

Security services in Israel said two flares landed near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in the town of Caesarea, south of Haifa, but he was not home.

The incident comes about a month after a drone targeted the same residence, which Hezbollah claimed.

Israel's military chief said Saturday Hezbollah had already "paid a big price", but Israel will keep fighting until tens of thousands of its residents displaced from the north can return safely.

AFPTV footage showed fresh strikes Saturday on the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, after Israel's military told residents to leave.

The Israeli military said aircraft had targeted "a weapons storage facility" and a Hezbollah "command centre".

Hezbollah fired around 80 projectiles at Israel on Saturday, the military said.

- Lebanon rescuers mourned -

Israeli forces also shelled the area along the Litani River, which flows across southern Lebanon, NNA said Sunday.

The agency earlier reported strikes on the southern city of Tyre, including in a neighbourhood near UNESCO-listed ancient ruins. Israel's military late Saturday said it had hit Hezbollah facilities in the Tyre area.

In Lebanon's east, the health ministry said an Israeli strike in the Bekaa Valley killed six people including three children.

Hezbollah said it fired a guided missile that set an Israeli tank ablaze in the southwest Lebanon village of Shamaa, about five kilometres from the border.

Late Saturday, Hezbollah said it had targeted five military bases including the Stella Maris naval base.

In eastern Lebanon, funerals were held for 14 civil defence staff killed in an Israeli strike on Thursday.

"They weren't involved with any (armed) party... they were just waiting to answer calls for help," said Ali al-Zein, a relative of one of the dead.

Lebanese authorities say more than 3,452 people have been killed since October last year, with most casualties recorded since September.

Israel announced the death of a soldier in southern Lebanon, bringing to 48 the number killed fighting Hezbollah.

- Imminent famine -

In Hamas-run Gaza, the Israeli military said it had continued operations in the northern areas of Jabalia and Beit Lahia, the targets of an intense offensive since early October.

Israel said its renewed operations were aimed at stopping Hamas from regrouping.

A UN-backed assessment on November 9 warned famine was imminent in northern Gaza, amid the increased hostilities and a near-halt in food aid.

Israel has pushed back against a 172-page Human Rights Watch report this week that said its mass displacement of Gazans amounts to a "crime against humanity", as well as findings from a UN Special Committee pointing warfare practices "consistent with the characteristics of genocide".

A foreign ministry spokesman dismissed the HRW report as "completely false", while the United States -- Israel's main military supplier -- said accusations of genocide "are certainly unfounded".

The Gaza health ministry on Saturday said the overall death toll in more than 13 months of war had reached 43,799.

The majority of the dead are civilians, according to ministry figures, which the United Nations considers reliable.

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

- Tel Aviv protest -

Demonstrators in Tel Aviv on Saturday reiterated demands that the government reach a deal to free dozens of hostages still held in Gaza.

The protest came a week after mediator Qatar suspended its role until Hamas and Israel show "seriousness" in truce and hostage-release talks.

In a rare claim of responsibility for a strike on Syria, Israel said it had targeted the Islamic Jihad group on Thursday.

A statement from the group on Saturday confirmed that "prominent leader" Abdel Aziz Minawi and external relations chief Rasmi Yusuf Abu Issa had been killed in the air raid on Qudsaya, in the Damascus area.

Islamic Jihad still holds several Israeli hostages taken during the October 7 attack.

Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad are all backed by Israel's arch-enemy Iran, which said Friday it supported a swift end to the nearly two-month war in Lebanon.

With diplomacy aimed at ending the Gaza war stalled, a top government official in Beirut said Friday that US ambassador Lisa Johnson had presented a 13-point proposal to halt the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

It includes a 60-day truce, during which Lebanon would deploy troops to the border. Israel has yet to respond to the plan, the official added.

burs/rsc/fox
An Israeli strike hit south Beirut on Sunday where the military said it targeted Hezbollah, hours after the Iran-backed group said it fired on Israeli bases around the city of Haifa.

A column of smoke rose over the capital's southern suburbs, AFPTV footage showed, following a warning from the Israeli military for residents to evacuate three areas.

Further south, overnight Israeli airstrikes and artillery shelling hit the flashpoint southern town of Khiam, some six kilometres (four miles) from the border, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported early Sunday.

The bombardment came after Israel's military reported a "heavy rocket barrage" on Haifa late Saturday and said a synagogue was hit, wounding two civilians.

Israel has escalated its bombing of Lebanon since September 23 and has since sent in ground troops, following almost a year of limited, cross-border exchanges of fire begun by Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in support of Hamas in Gaza.

In the Palestinian territory, where Hamas's attack on Israel triggered the war, the civil defence agency reported 24 people killed in strikes Saturday.

Police in Israel said three suspects were arrested after two flares landed near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in the town of Caesarea, south of Haifa, but he was not home.

The incident comes about a month after a drone targeted the same residence, which Hezbollah claimed.

Israel's military chief said Saturday Hezbollah had already "paid a big price", but Israel will keep fighting until tens of thousands of its residents displaced from the north can return safely.

Beirut's southern suburbs were veiled in smoke Sunday, following repeated Israeli bombardment a day earlier of the Hezbollah stronghold.

The Israeli military said aircraft had targeted "a weapons storage facility" and a Hezbollah "command centre".

Hezbollah fired around 80 projectiles at Israel on Saturday, the military said.

- Lebanon rescuers mourned -

Israeli forces also shelled the area along the Litani River, which flows across southern Lebanon, NNA said Sunday.

The agency earlier reported strikes on the southern city of Tyre, including in a neighbourhood near UNESCO-listed ancient ruins. Israel's military late Saturday said it had hit Hezbollah facilities in the Tyre area.

In Lebanon's east, the health ministry said an Israeli strike in the Bekaa Valley killed six people including three children.

Hezbollah said it fired a guided missile that set an Israeli tank ablaze in the southwest Lebanon village of Shamaa, about five kilometres from the border.

Late Saturday, Hezbollah said it had targeted five military bases including the Stella Maris naval base.

In eastern Lebanon, funerals were held for 14 civil defence staff killed in an Israeli strike on Thursday.

"They weren't involved with any (armed) party... they were just waiting to answer calls for help," said Ali al-Zein, a relative of one of the dead.

Lebanese authorities say more than 3,452 people have been killed since October last year, with most casualties recorded since September.

Israel announced the death of a soldier in southern Lebanon, bringing to 48 the number killed fighting Hezbollah.

- Imminent famine -

In Hamas-run Gaza, the Israeli military said it had continued operations in the northern areas of Jabalia and Beit Lahia, the targets of an intense offensive since early October.

Israel said its renewed operations were aimed at stopping Hamas from regrouping.

A UN-backed assessment on November 9 warned famine was imminent in northern Gaza, amid the increased hostilities and a near-halt in food aid.

Israel has pushed back against a 172-page Human Rights Watch report this week that said its mass displacement of Gazans amounts to a "crime against humanity", as well as findings from a UN Special Committee pointing to warfare practices "consistent with the characteristics of genocide".

A foreign ministry spokesman dismissed the HRW report as "completely false", while the United States -- Israel's main military supplier -- said accusations of genocide "are certainly unfounded".

The Gaza health ministry on Saturday said the overall death toll in more than 13 months of war had reached 43,799.

The majority of the dead are civilians, according to ministry figures, which the United Nations considers reliable.

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Demonstrators in Tel Aviv on Saturday reiterated demands that the government reach a deal to free dozens of hostages still held in Gaza.

The protest came a week after mediator Qatar suspended its role until Hamas and Israel show "seriousness" in truce and hostage-release talks.

burs/rsc/jsa
Israeli strikes killed dozens in Gaza Sunday, the civil defence there said, and also hit a central Beirut district where a Lebanese source reported the death of Hezbollah's spokesman in one raid.

Israel has been fighting on two fronts since September, intensifying attacks on Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah after nearly a year of cross-border clashes alongside its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

A Lebanese security source said Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif was killed in a strike on Beirut's Ras al-Nabaa district, one of relatively few attacks outside the group's strongholds. Israel's military declined to comment.

A year after the Gaza war was triggered by Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attacks, Israel launched a major assault in the north of the Palestinian territory which it said was meant to stop militants from regrouping there.

In the latest violence in besieged Gaza, the civil defence agency said Israeli air raids killed at least 46 people.

The deadliest strike, in the middle of the night in Beit Lahia in the north, killed 26 people, including women and children, and left at least 59 others buried under the rubble, civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said.

"We heard the Israeli strike, and the whole area was shaking," said Jaber Ghabayen, whose family lived in the razed building.

"I was at a relatives' place, and we all thought that death was near," he told AFP.

Bassal said three separate attacks on refugee camps in central Gaza killed 15 people, and an Israeli drone strike on the southern city of Rafah killed five.

Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry on Sunday said the overall death toll in more than 13 months of war had reached 43,846.

The majority of the dead are civilians, according to ministry figures, which the United Nations considers reliable.

The October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

- Hezbollah official killed -

On Israel's second front in the north, the Lebanese security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hezbollah's Afif was killed in a strike on a central Beirut building which houses the office of the Lebanese branch of Syria's ruling Baath party.

Ali Hijazi, secretary-general of the Lebanese branch, "confirmed the death of Hezbollah media official" Afif, the official National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Lebanese state media earlier said the Israeli strike on Ras al-Nabaa district killed at least one person and wounded three.

Previous strikes claimed by Israel have killed senior Hezbollah officials, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah in late September.

AFPTV footage showed several strikes hit Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold earlier, after the Israeli military warned people to evacuate.

Columns of smoke rose over the southern suburbs, where Lebanon's only international airport is located.

One raid "completely destroyed a 12-storey residential building" in the Chiyah district, the NNA said.

Further south, the NNA reported seven strikes on Jibsheet village in less than two hours, with more attacks on villages closer to the border with Israel.

The Israeli army said about 20 projectiles were seen crossing from Lebanon into Israel on Sunday, and that some were intercepted.

The UN force in Lebanon said in a statement peacekeepers were fired upon around 40 times on Saturday, probably by "non-state actor" individuals who tried to prevent a patrol from passing in the south. No injuries were reported.

Israel has escalated its bombing of Lebanon since September 23 and has since sent in ground troops, following almost a year of limited exchanges of fire begun by Hezbollah militants in support of Hamas in Gaza.

- Gaza famine alert -

Several Israeli strikes in recent weeks on Baalbek in Lebanon's east and Tyre in the south -- both Hezbollah strongholds -- hit close to ancient Roman ruins designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

A petition published Sunday ahead of a crucial UNESCO meeting and signed by 300 prominent cultural figures, including archaeologists and academics, called on the United Nations to safeguard Lebanon's heritage and establish "no-target zones".

Lebanese authorities say more than 3,452 people have been killed since October last year, with most casualties recorded since September.

Israel says 48 soldiers have been killed fighting Hezbollah.

A UN-backed assessment on November 9 warned famine was imminent in northern Gaza, amid the increased hostilities and a near-halt in food aid.

Jordan and Qatar urged "immediate" action to "end the unprecedented humanitarian disaster in northern Gaza", their foreign ministers said in a joint statement Sunday, blaming "Israel's failure to allow aid to enter".

Israel has pushed back against a UN Special Committee report this week pointing to warfare practices "consistent with the characteristics of genocide", with a foreign ministry spokesman dismissing the panel's findings as "false claims".

In Israel, police said they arrested three suspects over flares shot near the home of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the central city of Caesarea, while he was away.

Also on Saturday in Tel Aviv, demonstrators reiterated demands that the government reach a deal to free dozens of hostages still held in Gaza.

Qatar last week said it had suspended its mediator role until Hamas and Israel show "seriousness" in truce and hostage-release talks.

burs-dv/ami/srm
Pope Francis for the first time tackled claims of Israel's ongoing "genocide" of Palestinians in Gaza in extracts from a forthcoming book published Sunday, urging further investigation into whether Israel's actions meet the definition.

Titled "Hope Never Disappoints. Pilgrims Towards a Better World", the book includes his latest and most forthright intervention into the more than year-long war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.

"According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of genocide," the pontiff wrote in extracts published on the front of Italy's La Stampa daily on Sunday.

"It should be studied carefully to determine whether (the situation) corresponds to the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies," he added.

The Argentine pontiff has frequently deplored the number of victims of Israel's operations in Gaza, with the territory's Hamas-run health ministry putting the toll at least 43,846 people, most of them civilians.

But his call for a probe marks the first time he has publicly used the term genocide -- without endorsing it -- in the context of Israeli military operations in the Palestinian territory.

Israel's embassy to the Vatican responded later Sunday with a post on X, quoting its ambassador Yaron Sideman.

"There was a genocidal massacre on 7 October 2023 of Israeli citizens, and since then, Israel has exercised its right of self-defense against attempts from seven different fronts to kill its citizens," said the statement.

"Any attempt to call it by any other name is singling out the Jewish State."

- 'Pray for peace' -

On the pope's account on X Sunday, he wrote: "Let us #PrayTogether for peace: in martyred Ukraine, in Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, and Sudan.

"War dehumanizes, leading us to tolerate unacceptable crimes. May leaders listen to the cry of the people who long for peace."

The new book by the pope comes out Tuesday in Italy, Spain and Latin America, with other releases elsewhere due later.

On Thursday, a United Nations Special Committee judged Israel's conduct of warfare in Gaza "consistent with the characteristics of genocide", accusing the country of "using starvation as a method of war".

Its conclusions have already been condemned by Israel's key backer the United States.

It is, however, not the first time that Israel has been the subject of genocide accusations since the start of the war.

South Africa brought a genocide case before the International Court of Justice with the support of several countries, including Turkey, Spain and Mexico.

Francis has also frequently called for the return of the Israeli hostages taken by Palestinian Islamist militants on October 7.

That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people on the Israeli side, the majority of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on Israeli official figures.

Hamas fighters also took 251 people hostage that day, with 97 still held in the Palestinian territory including 34 the Israeli army says are dead.

On Thursday, the 87-year-old pope received 16 former hostages freed after months of captivity in Gaza.

gab/jj/gv

X
Israel condemned the United Nations for what it described as "anti-Israel fabrications" after a UN committee said its warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide.

"The UN is breaking its own record when it comes to biased reports, singling-out Israel and anti-Israel fabrications," the foreign ministry said late on Saturday.

The UN special committee said in a report that Israel was "intentionally causing death, starvation and serious injury" in the Gaza Strip, accusing it of "using starvation as a method of war".

But the ministry dismissed the accusations as "false claims".

"The... report is an appalling example of the transformation of the UN into an organisation which is used as a pawn by terrorists who attack civilians in a democratic state," it said in a statement shared by spokesman Oren Marmorstein on X.

The UN committee had said "through its siege over Gaza, obstruction of humanitarian aid, alongside targeted attacks and killing of civilians and aid workers, despite repeated UN appeals, binding orders from the International Court of Justice and resolutions of the Security Council, Israel is intentionally causing death, starvation and serious injury".

Israel's foreign ministry, however, insisted its "activities are directed solely at dismantling Hamas's terror capabilities".

The United States, Israel's biggest supporter, rejected the UN committee's charges, which it said were "unfounded".

This is not the first time Israel has faced accusations of genocide, with a case brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December arguing its conduct in Gaza breaches the UN's Genocide Convention -- a claim Israel has strongly denied the accusation.

The Israeli ministry said it was Hamas which uses "civilians as human shields" and that Israel was not targeting the people of Gaza.

"Israel remains fully committed to facilitating the continuous flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza," the ministry added.

Aid groups, including UN agencies, frequently say they face major obstacles, particularly administrative problems, in carrying out their activities in the Palestinian territory, which is in the grip of a humanitarian crisis.

The report was prepared by a special United Nations committee, created in 1968 and tasked with investigating Israeli practices in the occupied Palestinian territories, after Israel took control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip a year earlier.

It is due to be presented to the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday.

The war in Gaza began after Hamas's unprecedented October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which resulted in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry on Sunday said the overall death toll in more than 13 months of war had reached 43,846.
For nearly a year, the four accused - Azor Kalite, Charfadine Moussa, Antar Hamat and Oscar Wordjonodrogba - have regularly sat in the box of the Special Criminal Court (CPS) in Bangui to answer the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ndele, a town located 650 kilometres north-east of Bangui.

The civil party opened the closing arguments on Monday 4 November 2024. Albert Panda, one of the victims two lawyers, said he had been in Ndele for ten days to gather the victims' expectations and requests for the trial. More than six hundred people have expressed a desire to become civil parties, he says in the courtroom. This shows the impact that this conflict has had on the civilian population of Ndele, which has about ten thousand inhabitants.

Panda recalled the origins of the events in Ndele, characterised by reprisals between two ethnic groups (the Goula and the Rounga), mostly present in the rebel movement, the Popular Front for the Rebirth of the Central African Republic (Front populaire pour la renaissance de la Centrafrique - FPRC). For the lawyer, it all started with the assassination of a Goula general, Issa Issaka Aubin, in circumstances that shocked his entire community. Thats when the Goula response began to take shape. It resulted in the attack on 29 April 2020 at the Ndele market. It was therefore a planned and coordinated attack, he states. Thus, for the civil party, the responsibility of the defendants in the attack is clearly established.

I ask your court to find Azor Kalite, Charfadine Moussa, Antar Hamat and Oscar Wordjonodrogba guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, concludes Panda.

Sentences requested: 20 to 30 years imprisonment

The Special Public Prosecutors Office took to the stage on Tuesday 5 November 2024. In his closing arguments, Alain Tolmo, the first national deputy special prosecutor, called for a 30-year prison sentence for Kalite. He asked the court to sentence the other three defendants to 20 years in prison. All four were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

To justify the difference between the sentences requested, the prosecution referred to the principal or accessory nature of the crimes. For the special prosecutor, Kalite is the principal perpetrator. He solicited, encouraged, federated and psychologically influenced combatants to commit a crime. This was done with a well-defined intention and a well-developed plan.

The public prosecutor outlined Kalites background. He started out as a tracker, working in nature reserves and guiding tourists during their visit to Ndele in 1997. After working there for four years, he was recruited into the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) in 2001, where he was part of the presidential security force until 2003. A military instructor in Bouar in 2008-2009, he joined the Seleka rebellion in 2012. Following the fall of its leader, Michel Djotodjia, Kalite moved to Bria and continued to work in a branch of the FPRC rebellion. He then became chief of staff of a dissident branch of the movement after the death of Issa Issaka.

Tolmo explains that when he was arrested on 19 May 2020, along with other fighters, Kalite was in possession of seven Kalashnikovs, three machine guns, a bag of magazines, 350 rounds of ammunition and a yellow armband, the distinctive sign of the Goula during the clashes. And with all this equipment, he came to lie to your court, that he had come to Ndele on a humanitarian mission. If only we had found sugar packs in his hands, the prosecutor quips. Tolmo brandishes another piece of evidence: during the armed conflict between FPRC's Goula and Rounga factions, Azor Kalite told AFP on 7 March 2020 in his capacity as Goula chief: our brothers in Ndele were forced to leave the field. By tomorrow, we will take back the town. How is he going to take back the town? asks the prosecutor.

Alain Tolmo, First National Deputy Prosecutor of the Special Criminal Court. Photo:  Special Criminal Court

Azor Kalite, the mastermind?

In his closing argument, Tolmo quotes a statement made by Kalite to the investigators: I came with around 30 people. They are all young people. They are desperate. They have lost their fathers and mothers. At the moment, there are 11,000 people whom Im still protecting. The others are part of the Goula community and are defending the same cause. We were all in the village to defend the population. The prosecutor is surprised that the accused has refused to sign the minutes of his hearing. He says he thought it was just a chat. But in the prosecutors view, the judiciary police officer had informed him that it was indeed an interrogation.

According to the prosecution, on the morning of 29 April 2020, witnesses saw Kalite leaving the closeby village of Lemena in the company of FPRC leaders in the direction of Ndele. Other Goula fighters have stated that he was fighting with them. And that the idea of wearing yellow armbands and strips of cloth came from him. Azor Kalite was also involved in implementing the fighters plan of attack in the field. Regarding these issues, he had told the investigators to whom he had talked first: we had all the means at our disposal: hunting weapons, weapons of war, AK47s, DMKs, home-made weapons, rocket launchers, 12-caliber shotguns... which we had taken back from the Runga. Afterwards, on 29 April 2020, we realised that in order to scare Abdoulaye Hissene [FPRC commander in chief at the time and considered to be behind the attacks against the Goula], we needed to go to Ndele. We came just to prove to him that we too can do harm. And harm was done, says the prosecutor.

Charfadine Moussa, the right hand man?

According to the prosecution, Charfadine Moussa and Kalite launched the attack on the Ndele market on 29 April 2020. A Goula from Birao, resident in Bria and considered to be one of the FPRCs influential colonels, Moussa was arrested in Ndele in the company of Kalite and in possession of two weapons. The prosecution notes that Moussa has constantly changed his statements. He says one thing and its opposite. You will draw the consequences, Mr President !

One witness stated that on 26 and 27 April 2020, he was in Lemena, on the outskirts of Ndele. On 29 April 2020, he was in Ndele. In his statement to the investigators, Moussa said that he had answered Kalites call to come to the rescue of the Goula community attacked by the Rounga.

Was Wordjonodrogba really absent?

Oumar Oscar Wordjonodrogba, an ethnic Goula and member of the FPRC like the other three co-defendants, maintains that he did not take part in the fighting at Ndele. However, he indicated that Kalite, Moussa and Antar Hamat, who had arrived a week before the attack on Ndele, met at the house of a certain Atair English (who was prosecuted but did not appear in court) to plan the attack of 29 April 2020. However, telephone records locate Wordjonodrogba in Ndele during all the attacks, from where he had several telephone exchanges (calls and text messages) with Kalite.

Did Antar Hamat participate in the attack?

A member of the FPRC and also an ethnic Goula, Hamat was arrested with the other co-defendants, in possession of a weapon. But he does not recall whether he bought it or it was given to him. The prosecution deplores a lack of consistency in his statements, but is convinced that Hamat was present among the Goula fighters alongside Kalite. Witnesses have confirmed that he took part in the attack, said the public prosecutor.

According to Romaric Kpangba, the deputy public prosecutor, the Ndele market was not a military target and the people present were unarmed. This attack alone left 29 people dead, dozens injured and around a hundred shops were burnt and looted. According to Kpangba, murders (a crime against humanity and a war crime), inhuman and persecution acts (a crime against humanity), attacks against the civilian population (a war crime and a crime against humanity) and looting (a war crime) were committed. Kpangba points out that FPRC Goula fighters attacked the predominantly Rounga neighbourhoods of Ndele and the central market on at least two occasions. These acts of violence resulted in several deaths by gunshot wounds, victims who were civilians and not taking part in the fighting. More than fifty bodies were buried in mass graves during the first two attacks, while 29 civilians lost their lives in the third attack.

In the light of the above, Tolmo concludes, the Special Prosecutor notes that the individual responsibilities of Azor Kalite, Charfadine Moussa, Oumar Oscar Wordjonodrogba and Antar Hamat can be established beyond any reasonable doubt as co-perpetrators.

The defence lawyers on the same line: acquittal

None of the defence lawyers pleaded guilty. All argue either that their clients were not in Ndele at the time of the crimes, or that they had come to help their relatives attacked by the Rounga. The defence deplores the lack of evidence, and disputes the viability of the minutes of the hearing of the accused.

According to Marius Bangati, Wordjonodrogbas lawyer, any record obtained in violation of the conventions ratified by the CAR, including torture, is likely to be excluded from the proceedings, he says, pointing out that his client had been tied up, placed in a container and questioned in the absence of a lawyer and an interpreter. For Bangati, of all the witnesses who appeared before the court, none demonstrated the presence of Oumar Oscar Wordjonodrogba during the attack on 29 April 2020. We cannot simply focus on the fact that he is from the Goula ethnic group, that he was apprehended with the others and the fact that he had a weapon in his possession, to ask the Court to sentence him to 20 years in prison. Bangati concludes by asking his client to be acquitted outright, since he has had no involvement whatsoever in the attack on Ndele on 29 April 2020.

Claudine Bagaza, Hamats lawyer, accuses the Central African State of having done nothing to prevent these crimes from happening. She is also calling for the exclusion of the minutes and the acquittal of her client because, in her view, there is no evidence to show that Antar Hamat has killed, pillaged or mutilated people etc. On the contrary, nine witnesses testified that he had helped people in difficulty.

Fleury Hotto also called for an acquittal on behalf of Moussa. Hotto considered that the acts of murder, extermination, slavery, enforced disappearance, illegal imprisonment and torture had not been proven in this case. In particular, he stated that there was no evidence that his client had taken part in the acts of deportation of which he is accused, pointing out that the inhabitants themselves had left the neighbourhood for their personal safety, which did not amount to forced deportation.

Go and find the real culprits

Guy Antoine Dangavo, Kalites lawyer, then took the floor. Witnesses called by the prosecution have clearly stated that they never saw Kalite in Ndele. The witnesses do not mention Kalite, but speak of other assailants. During their statements, they said that they had heard. That they were not there. You need to take a step back from these statements, Mr. President. The people brought before your court are not the actual people. The prosecution needs to search elsewhere, he insists.

As for Kalites role as coordinator, his lawyer says that he was a coordinator, but as part of the disarmament programme. And if the prosecution refers to the weapons seized from the accused, Dangavo retorts that his client is a soldier, that it is a service weapon and that when he was arrested, his magazine was still intact. He had not fired a single bullet. Dangavo follows his colleagues and asks his client be acquitted for lack of evidence.

In accordance with procedure, the defendants were given the floor for their final words. All say that everything had been said by their lawyers. I have done nothing. I demand my release, each of the defendants said in turn. The court has reserved the case for judgement on 13 December 2024.




Monday, November 18, 2024 - A young forex trader identified as Evance Akoko alias Akoko Billionaire was reportedly found dead last night in Nairobi.

Akoko lived a flashy lifestyle which he displayed on social media and owned a fleet of guzzlers, despite his young age.

He was also a frequent reveller in lavish city clubs where he used to buy expensive liquor and flaunt wads of cash.

He claimed that he was dealing with forex trading, crypto and other online businesses.

Reports indicate that he was still a student at Kirinyaga University

The deceaseds friend Denno Bright, who was also a forex trader, died a month ago during a vacation in Mombasa.

He had booked a three-bedroom Airbnb with his friends, only for his lifeless body to be discovered after a drinking spree.

Brights death was also shrouded in mystery.

Below are photos of the deceased forex trader.





















The Kenyan DAILY POST.




Monday, November 18, 2024 - Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli has revealed his role in the sacking of ex-Acting Social Health Authority (SHA) CEO Elijah Wachira.

In a statement, Atwoli disclosed that his role as COTU boss and subsequent position on the SHA board made him one of the decision-makers in the ouster of Wachira.

I represent workers on the SHA board. This Tuesday I was part of those people who made changes by showing the acting CEO the way out, he disclosed.

Atwoli further called for patience from Kenyans as the government aims to fully transition citizens into the new health funding model.

Kenyans must give the authority (SHA) some time to put its house in an effective manner of providing essential services to Kenyans. As we continue putting things in line, we need the support of Kenyans, he asserted.

Wachira was this week sent on a 90-day compulsory leave by the SHA board. Robert Ingasira, the Financial Services Director, was picked to take his place.

A letter by SHA Chairperson Dr. Abdi Mohamed directed Wachira to proceed on leave immediately to allow for investigations into his professional conduct.

The Board noted that SHA had been committed to clearing pending bills since it was rolled out as its first assignment towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) but Wachiras actions went against its efforts.

Wachira was further accused of bungling the transition from NHIF to SHA, as well as frustrating outstanding debt payments to health facilities.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Sunday, November 17, 2024 - Social media has been awash with reports that two people were arrested after being found sleeping in President William Rutos bed in State House, Mombasa.

A widely circulated screenshot on Sunday, November 17, 204 indicated that the alleged trespassers identified as Pius Maina and Julius Muthomi were found sleeping in the king-size bed before being arrested.

It was alleged that guards were alerted after the cooks heard loud snoring sounds from the bedroom.

Thieves Maina & Muthoni arrested sleeping in President Rutos King Size bed at State House Mombasa.

They broke in from an open window just to feel how comfortable a Presidents bed is they said.

No other items were damaged or stolen. Guards were alerted after the cooks heard loud snoring sounds from the bedroom, the screenshot noted.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has dismissed the poster as fake news.

According to DCI, the two were arrested on November 11, 2024, by the OCS Central Police Station, Mombasa, for the offense of handling suspected stolen properties, following a tip-off from members of the public.

In the operation conducted at the Rio building along Digo Road, 51 mobile phones, and several laptops among other items worth over Sh1.2 million were recovered.

Both the exhibits and the suspects were escorted to the Station and legal action taken.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.




Monday, November 18, 2024 - Nairobi County Governor, Johnson Sakaja, has urged Kenyans to give President William Ruto more time to implement his manifesto.

Speaking at St Anne and Joachim Catholic Church in Soweto on Sunday, Sakaja emphasised that Ruto had only been in office for two years.

The county chief said that previous presidents like the late Daniel Moi, late Mwai Kibaki, and Uhuru Kenyatta also took years to build their legacies, citing some roads that were constructed under their leadership.

"Let us be patient. We need to give Ruto time. He has only been president for two years. The late Mwai Kibaki built Thika Road in his fifth year. Expressway was built during retired president Uhuru Kenyatta's ninth year," he said.

Sakaja revealed that residents of Murang'a had been complaining about the Mau Mau Road, which had been non-existent for 60 years, pressuring the president to take action and have it constructed.

"I was in Murang'a recently and people were complaining about the Mau Mau Road.

"However, four presidents have come and gone without constructing the road but all the blame is now on Ruto after just two years. Is that really fair?

"In just two years you want him to solve a problem that has been there for 60 years," he added.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Monday, November 18, 2024  Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has come to the defense of President William Ruto, urging Kenyans to give him time to work on his manifesto.

Speaking at St Anne and Joachim Catholic Church in Soweto yesterday, Sakaja emphasised that Ruto had only been in office for two years and faulted Kenyans for judging him harshly.

He highlighted that previous presidents also took years to build their legacies, citing some roads that were constructed under their leadership.

"Let us be patient. We need to give Ruto time. He has only been president for two years. The late Mwai Kibaki built Thika Road in his fifth year.

"Expressway was done during retired president Uhuru Kenyatta's ninth year," he said.

Sakaja revealed that residents of Murang'a had been complaining about the Mau Mau Road, which had been non-existent for 60 years, pressuring the president to take action and have it constructed.

"I was in Murang'a recently and people were complaining about the Mau Mau Road. However, four presidents have come and gone without constructing the road but all the blame is now on Ruto after just two years.

"Is that really fair? In just two years you want him to solve a problem that has been there for 60 years," he added.

Sakajas remarks comes days after Catholic Bishops accused Ruto of engaging in lies and reneging on his campaign promises.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Monday, November 18, 2024 - Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua made an impromptu visit at a Nyama Choma joint in Kenol, Muranga as he was driving to the city after attending a church function in Embu on Saturday.

In the video, Kenyans are seen rushing to greet Gachagua and welcome him to the popular Nyama Choma joint located along the busy Sagana-Nairobi highway.

Everyone in the vicinity wanted to shake Gachaguas hand, giving his security a hard time.

The former DP was accompanied by leaders allied to him among them Githunguri MP Gathoni Wa Muchomba.

Gachagua has been resonating well with Kenyans after he was kicked out of office, following his impeachment by both Parliament and the Senate.

While the majority of leaders allied to UDA have been facing resistance from the electorate, Gachagua has been getting a warm reception in all the places he visits, especially in the Mt Kenya region.

Watch the video.

Gachagua Gets Warm Reception After Making An Impromptu Visit At A Nyama Choma Joint pic.twitter.com/PA4DGSs3EE  DAILY POST  (@dailypost_ke) November 18, 2024

The Kenyan DAILY POST.




Monday, November 18, 2024 - Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has blasted President William Ruto and his allies for attacking Catholic Church bishops after they called out his administration last week.

Immediately after they exposed Rutos failures, Ruto and his cog attacked the bishops, terming them as useless and labeling some as tribalists.

But speaking on Sunday during a church service in Kerarapon, Kajiado County, Gachagua said the government should listen to religious leaders and avoid repeating the mistakes of former President Daniel Arap Moi.

Let us respect the freedom of worship, the freedom of expression, and the freedom of speech, Gachagua stated.

He added, We want the churches to be allowed to spread the gospel without fear, intimidation, or interference from anyone.

Gachagua stated that he was happy that the Head of State had committed to address the issues raised by the Catholic bishops.

I am happy that yesterday President William Ruto acknowledged that the Catholic bishops had raised some issues and he committed to listen to them for them to be addressed.

"That is the way to go, Gachagua remarked.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Monday, November 18, 2024 - The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has called out Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka for allegedly misleading Kenyans about a planned livestock vaccination campaign.

Kalonzo called on Kenyans and the international community to reject the vaccination plan.

The Azimio leader claimed that the vaccination plan was part of a bigger agenda by multinational companies to introduce GMO meats to the market.

According to Kalonzo, the vaccines to be used in the nationwide exercise were procured from companies with interests in GMO foods.

He alleged that the vaccination was, therefore, an experiment aimed at taming the population of cows in the country.

However, Agriculture CS Andrew Karanja has stepped in to address concerns surrounding the nationwide livestock vaccination plan.

According to Karanja, the initiative was motivated by the global demand for animal products, thus the need to maintain the health and wellness of livestock in the country.

The CS stated that the vaccination drive targeted 22 million cattle against foot and mouth disease (FMD) and 50 million sheep and goats against PPR.

He further assured that the vaccines are secure and would be supplied by the Kenya Vaccine Production Institute (KEVEVAPI), which he added has been certified by Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and approved by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH).

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Monday, November 18, 2024 - Lawyer Miguna Miguna has predicted a humiliating defeat for President William Ruto come 2027, citing the frosty reception Ruto received during Bishop Peter Kimani's ordination ceremony in Embu on Saturday.

According to Miguna, Rutos popularity has declined in several regions as the country approaches the 2027 General Election, as a result, he may never be re-elected.

Despite Rutos efforts to woo Opposition strongholds by partnering with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and appointing ODM politicians to his Cabinet, Miguna doubts this strategy will gain him substantial support in Nyanza and Western regions.

"Ruto is so unpopular all over Kenya, that even an injured monkey would defeat him in an election.

Let no one deceive you that Luos or Luhyas will rescue him from the inevitable defeat and jail.

Nyanzaespecially the Luo Nationwill never support William Ruto. Dont be deceived by noise.

Its irretrievably over for Ruto," he stated.

Following the Embu incident, Miguna criticised the Kenya Kwanza administration for failing to address the pressing issues facing the country.

"Kenyans should graduate from booing tyrannical looters at public events to chasing them away.

"Dont allow them to address you. Thats a duty and the only language they understand," he said.

Migunas remarks reflect growing political discontent, raising questions about Rutos strategy to maintain his support base.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Monday, November 18, 2024 - The latest opinion poll conducted online has shown the man who is likely to be the sixth President of Kenya during the 2027 presidential election.

President William Ruto, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, and former Interior Cabinet Secretary, Fred Matiangi, are among Kenyans who are likely to compete during the 2027 presidential election.

Blogger Rodgers Kipembe Mpuru asked Kenyans on Monday who they would choose as President in the 2027 election from among four potential candidates.

More than 7000 Kenyans participated in the poll and 59.7 percent of Kenyans said they would support Matiangi who is in political exile in the United States.

Kalonzo emerged second with 23.2 percent while Ruto came in third place with 11.3 percent.

Raila Odinga came last with only 5.8 percent backing his candidature.

Here is the screenshot of the poll.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.




Monday, November 18, 2024 - Narc Kenya chairperson, Martha Karua, has dismissed claims that the 2007 presidential election was rigged in favour of late former President Mwai Kibaki.

During an interview on Citizen TV on Monday, Karua insisted that Kibaki did not steal ODM leader Raila Odinga's votes in the highly contested election.

Karua said that even though the Kriegler report in 2008 said it was not clear who won the election, the electoral commission's results showed Kibaki emerged victorious.

She noted that, based on the findings of the Kriegler report, the late president defeated Raila but by a small margin.

"What Kriegler said is that both sides were guilty of inflating the votes, so it wouldn't make sense to even try to find out who won, meaning that the electoral rules had been violated in such a big way that really you may not be able to get to the bottom of the matter.

"But if you're asking from the votes Kivuitu announced, I'll tell you straight, Kibaki won. And I'll tell you also that there was a group, and Kriegler is public, anybody can read, he had a very small margin," Karua said.

According to Karua, another analysis by a top US professor also pointed to the fact that Kibaki won the 2007 presidential election.

She added that it is unfair for people to continue claiming Raila's votes were stolen in 2007.

"There's another group from the US, a top professor. They also tried to remove what they saw as excessive votes from either side, like if any polling station had above 80%.

"Using that method to audit the election, they still found Kibaki had won by a small margin. So who is fooling who when we keep on hearing the narrative of a stolen election?" she posed.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Monday, November 18, 2024 - Mumias East Member of Parliament Peter Salaysa has reportedly been kicked out of a boys WhatsApp club for misbehaving.

Word has it that the youthful MP has been leaking information about the members' weekend rendezvous with university girls.

Salaysa was removed from the group after it was discovered that he gives the young women information about where the lawmakers are partying.

The group members complained that the beauties only show up to consume expensive brands of liquor and extort them before disappearing without reciprocating.

The boys WhatsApp group which consists of MPs is notorious for engaging university students for wild house parties.

This is how Sunday Nation reported the gist.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.




Monday, November 18, 2024  Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has criticized President William Ruto and his Kenya Kwanza allies for attacking Catholic Bishops after they spoke out against his administration.

This is after the Bishops accused Ruto of unfulfilled promises and lying to Kenyans.

In a scathing speech, Gachagua cautioned Ruto and his UDA minions against targeting church leaders, drawing parallels to similar actions he observed during the late President Daniel Arap Moi's regime.

"That culture of being arrogant and abusive to religious leaders was there in the 1990s during Moi's regime," Gachagua said.

"I can see the same pattern and we all know what the consequences were.

"Let's be humble. Let's allow our spiritual leaders to chastise us in love. To correct us when we are wrong. Let us accord respect to our church leaders," he added.

At the same time, Gachagua took a jab at Ruto, warning him that power is transient.

"You think you have too much power because you are in government. Be very careful so history does not repeat itself," he said.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Monday, November 18, 2024 - Religious leaders from the Nyanza region have today issued a statement condemning President William Ruto's administration.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, the clerics said they are disturbed with how Ruto is governing the country and vowed to mobilise Kenyans for civil disobedience over alleged oppression, and mismanagement by the state.

The presser by Luo Nyanza clerics comes days after the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) faulted the Kenya Kwanza government for its inefficiency.

Led by their chair, Archbishop Maurice Muhatia of Kisumu, the bishops accused the political class of turning a deaf ear to key concerns raised by Kenyans, including over taxation, unemployment, disturbing gaps in the implementation of the CBC education system, and the transition from NHIF to the Social Health Authority (SHA).

We have made clear statements many times in the recent past, with very little response from the government.

"Despite the calmness we are experiencing, there is a lot of anxiety and most people are losing trust in the government," said Muhatia.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Monday, November 19, 2024 - President William Ruto has moved to silence the criticism by the Catholic Bishops after he donated Ksh5.3 million to Soweto Catholic Church in Nairobi.

Speaking yesterday during a church service, Ruto promised to give Ksh300,000 towards the purchase of childrens uniforms and Ksh5 million for the construction of the priest's house.

I will give them (children) a new uniform. I will give them Ksh300,000 to buy uniforms. I will also buy the choir a new uniform before I leave. But your job is to sing to God, not humans, Ruto stated.

The chairman has also informed me that you are building the fathers house. I will give Ksh5 million on Monday or Tuesday. However, I will audit that money.

Ruto also promised to deliver a bus to the church in January.

The move comes barely a week after Catholic Bishops accused Ruto and his government of corruption, lies, abductions, and unfulfilled promises.

The remarks triggered a barrage of responses and counterattacks from Ruto and his Kenya Kwanza administration.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Monday, November 18, 2024  The Anglican Church in Kilifi County is under fire after some clergy members appeared to back President William Ruto's administration despite allegations of corruption, extrajudicial killings, and other malpractices linked to the government.

Speaking during the death anniversary of the Kilifi North MPs father, Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) Bishop Reuben Katite, called out their Catholic counterparts for publicly criticizing Rutos government over Social Health Authority (SHA) rollout challenges, extra-judicial killings, corruption, and rampant abductions.

According to Katite, it was disrespectful of the bishops to bring up the matter publicly instead of sitting down with the President and talking it out.

Even religious leaders who know the Bible well stood and said they dont think this government is chosen by God and they know very well that leadership comes from God, he stated.

Instead of praying for the things that are going wrong to be corrected they choose to say that this government is not even chosen by God. How can that be?

Similar sentiments were echoed by Senate Speaker Amason Kingi and South Mugirango Member of Parliament (MP) Sylvanus Osoro.

Bishops, the respect that the world gives you, if you see a naked man, dont call the neighbours like what was done recently, Kingi stated.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Monday, November 18,2024 - The entry of former Interior Cabinet Secretary, Fred Matiangi into the 2027 presidential race has caused panic in the ruling Kenya Kwanza Alliance, going by how some bloggers and sycophants have reacted.

On Monday, one of the local dailies reported that Matiangi, who went to exile after President William Ruto took power in 2022, is assembling a fierce communication team to lead his presidential bid in 2027.

The daily said that Matiangi has sought the services of a communication firm headed by Ex Mossad agent Ari Ben-Menashe who was the man behind the victory of Botswana President Duma Boko early this month.

Following the revelations, some pro-government bloggers led by Kileleshwa Ward MCA, Robert Alai, and lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi started watering down Matiangis bid, saying he is a thief of public money.

Here are their comments.

He was one of the most corrupt and arrogant ministers Kenya ever had. He used police to persecute political opponents and ensured that many were abducted and rivers and streams all over the country were flowing with bodies each day.

"But those who claim to hate corruption, abductions, and disrespect for court orders think he should be the president. Just say that you hate Ruto for personal reasons. Dont give us the Matiangi nonsense, Alai wrote on X.

Some STUPID Kenyans will say Kenya is not a country that gives its citizens opportunities to dream, to grow, to make money, and to achieve the impossible.

"Look at Dr. Fred Matiang'i... a few years ago he was a struggling Literature Lecturer at Kenyatta University teaching themes on books like Chinua Achebe's "Things fall apart" and Grace Ogot's "Land Without Thunder" earning a measly salary of about Kshs 40k a month...then Uhuru Kenyatta "blessed him..."trained him and showed him the way".

"Today, he is thinking of running a world-class campaign to become your next president and is willing to bankroll his campaign with his "own" billions...and then some Kenyans will cry "ati Kenya akuna opportunities"...

"The opportunities are there in plenty... good people...join the government and help yourself and your family...GO/START STEALING...Stop being poor. Go steal from your country and loot it. Everybody does it (CSs, PSs, MPs, Senators, Judges, Parastatals heads, governors...) Why not you?Ahmednasir Abdullahi stated on X

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Monday, November 18, 2024 - Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua sent a message to the people of Embu after a bittersweet event during the installation of Rev. Peter Kimani as Catholic Bishop.

In an unexpected twist of fate, Rigathi Gachagua found himself sharing the stage with President William Ruto, his successor Kithure Kindiki, and former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Gachagua was seated at a separate tent from other dignitaries, albeit next to other leaders including his die-hard ally Githunguri Member of Parliament Gathoni Wamuchomba.

There were no pleasantries exchanged between Gachagua and the Head of State - which clearly showed that there was no love lost between the two parties, one month after the former was impeached.

Embu Governor Cecily Mbarire, who was the host of the event, gave all notable leaders a chance to address the crowd, except Gachagua, who lived up to his vow a few weeks ago where he claimed people from his region tend to stay quiet and peaceful when wronged.

When he rose to speak, Ruto also completely failed to acknowledge Gachaguas presence and instead focused on more pressing issues in his speech.

However, despite the gloom, Gachagua received a thunderous reception from the hundreds of ordinary Kenyans in attendance.

Through his social media, Gachagua acknowledged the Embu crowd as he sent them a message of appreciation.

Thank you so much the people of Embu for the love and warm reception. I love you too, Gachagua declared while sharing a video of the thunderous applause he received during the event.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Monday, November 18, 2024 - The government of President William Ruto, through the Ministry of Interior, announced the suspension of online passport booking to hasten the collection of thousands of critical documents.

In a notice, the Directorate of Immigration advised Kenyans who applied for the passports to collect their documents from the station where they submitted their application.

According to the Immigration Department, there were about 65,000 uncollected passports with Nairobi, Mombasa, Embu, Kisii, Eldoret, and Kisumu leading in the number of centres with uncollected passports.

To support the travel requirements of Kenyans seeking job opportunities outside the country, the government revealed that it had set up dedicated migrant labour counters to fast-track passport applications.

Applicants seeking job opportunities outside the country and in demand of a passport were urged to attach the relevant proof to support the application.

Additionally, the government also noted it had expanded its passport issuance capacity by investing in advanced printers and deploying more staff to meet an ever-growing demand for services.

To further ease the collection of the passports and reduce pressure on workers at Nyayo House Headquarters, the government announced that it opened regional Immigration offices in Kericho and Bungoma to reduce pressure on Nyayo House headquarters.

According to the government, additional regional offices would soon be opened in Garissa, Nyeri, and Machakos.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Monday, November 18, 2024 - Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has urged President William Ruto's administration to focus on delivering services to Kenyans instead of engaging in a blame game

Speaking during the 100-year celebration of mission work at PCEA Kerarapon Church in Kajiado North, Gachagua said he is now at ease, as no one blames him for the countrys problems.

The former Mathira MP likened his current stance to that of retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, saying he is now "watching from the sidelines" as the Kenya Kwanza government navigates its challenges.

"I have no stress. I am very relaxed because no one is blaming me for the problems in Kenya. Let others take responsibility. Just as our former President Uhuru Kenyatta said, I am also listening to the radio and watching television. Let us wait and see how things unfold," Gachagua stated.

The former second in command further called on President William Ruto and his administration to address stalled roads, high taxation, and economic issues, stating that these should now be resolved if he was previously the cause of their delay.

"If I was the one who caused the high taxes, why not reduce them now?

"All these stalled projectsif I was the one who stopped them, why not complete them now?" Gachagua posed.

The Kenyan DAILY POST
The latest Child Law Project report highlights the States failure to safeguard children in care, said Cllr Chris Pender, who has been pressing the government on this crisis.

As the Social Democrats candidate for Kildare South in the upcoming General Election, Cllr Pender claimed he had long campaigned for a full root and branch review of the child care system.

This report is a painful reminder of the ongoing crisis in our child care system, and it is a crisis the government has repeatedly failed to address despite urgent calls for reform, he said.

In 2019, I, along with my branch, tabled a motion to push for a full review of the systems failings  one that would put childrens voices and welfare at its core, but since then, the situation has only deteriorated.

Key concerns from the report include children as young as four in residential care due to a lack of foster carers, critical shortages in special care beds, and a lack of aftercare support. The report also highlights that almost 20 per cent of children in care currently have no allocated social worker, and unaccompanied minors lack clear legislative protections.

The governments inaction has left a broken system that fails our most vulnerable, he continued.

In contrast, countries like Scotland have successfully implemented a transformative review to embed love, support, and real opportunities for children within their care systems. Irelands children deserve the same commitment. Cllr Pender reiterated his call for the next administration to make comprehensive reform a priority.

Irelands children cannot wait any longer.

We need a child care system that genuinely listens to, supports, and prepares children for adulthood.

The Government has ignored this issue for too long, and this report must now act as a wake-up call.
Eva Osborne

As we approach a general election, many of us have started to think about our priorities and the main issues we want addressed.

For Nathan Murphy, the Vice President for Campaigns at the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), the main problems affecting young people are glaringly obvious.

Murphy called for those contesting in the general election to shift their focus to Ireland's young people, stating that Budget 2025 failed to do this.

"As we seen from the Budget, the government might as well have handed a plane ticket to every person with their Leaving Cert results," he said.

"Theres no hope for young people at the moment. Theres no hope of owning your own home, or of going to college or university without financial strain.

"We need a government that actually cares about the young people of Ireland. Weve seen the issues that are happening with health and housing. Theyre not working. We need drastic change, and we need a government that will bring that change."

According to research from the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), more than seven in 10 Irish young people aged 18-24 are considering moving abroad because they think they would enjoy a better quality of life elsewhere.

Housing

Murphy said the biggest problem facing third-level students while they study, and after they graduate, is housing.

The biggest problem at the moment is accommodation. Were seeing more and more students commuting to college every single day, and were seeing less and less commitment from the current government to actually solving the student accommodation crisis," he said.

We especially need affordable student accommodation. The building of that is something that students are definitely looking for parties to promise.

Having to live at home is another big (problem). Were seeing the housing crisis. Were seeing barely any social or affordable homes being built. Its all being snapped up by vulture funds.

"We have 160,000 vacant properties across the country and people are paying less than 300 a year on the vacant property tax. Accommodation is the biggest issue facing young people at the moment."

Murphy said the accommodation and housing crises are pushing people to commute - which brings its own range of issues.

Problems with commuting include firstly the lack of availability of public transport. Thats a big one. We now see this new rail plan that theyre trying to implement by 2050, but thats 25 years away.

"We're also seeing colleges talking about getting rid of on-campus parking. Thats not feasible for students that need to commute to college by car. When I was going to college, it would take me an hour on public transport, but its only a 15-minute drive.

We call for free public transport for students because were seeing students that cant get accommodation commuting from Cork to Dublin every day, and theyre spending upwards of 600 a month just on train tickets.

Weve heard of students buying tents because they werent able to commute home, or they werent able to stay somewhere. Students are sleeping in cars. Its shocking at the moment, the availability of accommodation, and it all comes down to lack of transport then as well."

Political engagement

For young people to get the outcome they want from the next general election, they need to engage, inform themselves, and vote.

"We can see from the Budget that its very much favoured towards older generations because they know young people dont vote for them, and it was a strategic way of them using the Budget to garner more voters for themselves while pricing young people out of actually living in Ireland," Murphy said.

Young people need to look at whats happened over the past 10, 20, 100 years and how our country is at the moment.

"Look at the way the current government have messed around with students, have not cared about students needs, not cared about young people, and think hard to yourself: Is that what I want to happen for myself going forward? For my children? For their children?

"Look towards opposition parties. While I'm not saying support one opposition party, or two or three, just look into their policies.

"Some might say: 'They're all the same' and 'what's the point of voting?' But if you're not happy with the way things are now, you need to go out and vote, because the government know that young people won't vote so they'll stay in.

"So we need young people to get out, get active and actually vote for who they want."
Abbott today marked the official opening of its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Kilkenny, Ireland with a ceremony attended by An Taoiseach, Simon Harris, TD, and Abbott Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Robert Ford.

The site is a global manufacturing centre of excellence for Abbotts diabetes care business and will employ more than 800 people.

The Kilkenny facility is part of a 440 million investment in Ireland, which includes a significant expansion of the companys Donegal site, where a further 200 jobs are being created. The new 30,000-square metre Kilkenny facility is producing FreeStyle Libre 3 sensors, the worlds smallest sensors and latest generation in Abbotts world-leading continuous glucose monitoring portfolio for people living with diabetes.

Speaking at the event, An Taoiseach, Simon Harris, TD, said, "Abbott, which has been in Ireland since 1946, is one of the longest-established global companies and largest employers in our country. This latest investment is a further vote of confidence in Ireland as a location for world-class advanced manufacturing and healthcare businesses. With the opening of this new site, Ireland is now at the global centre of diabetes care."

"This is our latest commitment to providing innovative care and supporting people with diabetes to live healthier lives," said Robert Ford, Chairman and CEO, Abbott. "The state-of-the-art Kilkenny facility will have the highest production of Libre sensors in the world to help meet the growing global demand for our world-leading FreeStyle Libre portfolio. Ireland plays a crucial role in helping Abbott deliver on our purpose, with 10 sites across all four provinces supporting our work in diagnostics, medical devices and nutrition."

"During its 78-year legacy, Abbott has brought substantial economic and employment benefits to Ireland," said Michael Lohan, Chief Executive Officer, IDA Ireland. "I am delighted to join the company today to celebrate the official opening of its 10th site in Ireland where its FreeStyle Libre 3 glucose monitoring system will be produced. The decision by Abbott to establish in Kilkenny exemplifies IDA Irelands continued commitment to winning jobs and investments in regional locations. I congratulate the Irish and global teams at Abbott on this investment and wish them every continued success in their operations here."

Abbotts Kilkenny facility was built with sustainability in mind. The site is fully electric, powered by six air-to-water heat pumps, has nearly 600 solar panels on the roof and features tanks for collecting rainwater to use onsite.

Demonstrating its further commitment to Ireland, Abbott is announcing a new $100,000 grant to The Ireland Funds. The grant, which will be run by The Funds scholarship wing, No Mind Left Behind, will fund three 2024 Leaving Certificate graduates, enabling them to take up third-level education. The scholarship recipients are all from local DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) schools including Colaiste Mhuire, Grennan College and Castlecomer Community School. All students are pursuing their education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects, which aligns with Abbotts drive to support more young people into STEM careers.
Clare Hughes, owner of CF Pharma (including Telenostic Ltd), will represent her home country of Kilkenny at the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards, set to take place on Thursday, November 28.

The event, which will take place in Powerscourt Hotel, Co Wicklow, will see Clare, who is a finalist in the 'Established' category, join 23 other finalists from across Ireland at the awards, which are a standout showcase of entrepreneurship.

Clare's company, CF Pharma, manufactures a range of novel specific health food supplements, medical device formulations, and advanced topical dermatological solutions for both human and animal healthcare.

This years EY Entrepreneur Of The Year programme launched in January 2024 and received more than 200 nominations, the highest ever in the programmes history.

Awards will be presented across three categories: Emerging, Established, and International, with one overall winner selected as the 2024 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year.

Additionally, a sustainability award will be presented to the finalist making the most significant contribution towards environmental sustainability through their business.

READ MORE: Kilkenny gardai spot a number of eye-catching events on High Street

The overall winner will travel to Monaco in June 2025 to represent Ireland at the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year  2025 awards.

The 24 shortlisted entrepreneurs span a range of sectors including technology, energy, healthcare, hospitality, consumer products, engineering and gaming.

Collectively, this group of world-class business leaders is already generating annual revenues of more than 700 million, while also employing over 4,000 people.

Ahead of the exciting awards, Roger Wallace, Partner Lead for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year programme said, "Our 24 finalists are an outstanding cohort of entrepreneurs, achieving remarkable success both in Ireland and globally. They represent a wide range of backgrounds and lead inspiring, cutting-edge businesses that are creating innovative products, services and solutions in their respective industries. On a personal note, it has been an honour to spend time with the 24 fantastic finalists over the course of this years programme and learn more about them and their businesses. I wish them all the very best of luck.

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year programme is a global recognition programme run in 145 cities in more than 60 countries. Currently in its 27th year in Ireland, the programme works to recognise, promote, and build a supportive community around Irelands high-growth entrepreneurs and is considered one of the strongest programmes globally.

The awards will be broadcast on YouTube and RTE television on Thursday, November 28.
Xi calls on China, Britain to adopt rational, objective perspective on each other's development

Xinhua) 21:29, November 18, 2024

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Nov. 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- China and Britain should adopt a rational and objective perspective on each other's development, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday.

Xi made the remarks when meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit.

The two countries should enhance strategic communication and deepen political mutual trust to ensure a steady, substantial, and enduring development of bilateral relations, he said.

Noting that the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, Xi said that China and Britain, both as permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and major global economies, share the responsibilities of advancing their respective national development and addressing global challenges.

Both countries should stick to their strategic partnership, adhere to the principles of mutual respect, open cooperation, and mutual learning, strive for mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, and jointly write the next chapter of healthy and stable development of bilateral relations, he added.

Xi said that while the two countries differ in history, culture, values, and social systems, they share extensive common interests.

The two countries enjoy vast space for cooperation in such areas as trade and investment, clean energy, financial services, healthcare and people's well-being, which should be further expanded to better benefit the people of both nations, he added.

China and Britain should promote political solutions to global issues, strengthen global governance on artificial intelligence, and contribute to world economic growth and the common development of all countries, he said.

Starmer said that Britain and China share extensive common interests and bear significant responsibilities in addressing global challenges and safeguarding world peace and development, adding that an enduring and strong bilateral relationship is vital not only for the two countries but also for the world at large.

The British side hopes to strengthen dialogue with China, enhance mutual understanding and carry out exchanges and cooperation in a wide range of areas, including economy and trade, technology, finance, healthcare, education, and addressing climate change, in a spirit of mutual respect, equality and candor, said Starmer.

Both countries are committed to multilateralism, and Britain stands ready to enhance multilateral communication and coordination with China to push for political solutions to regional hotspot issues, he added.

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Nov. 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Partly cloudy skies. Gusty winds during the evening. Low 23F. NNW winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Gusty winds during the evening. Low 23F. NNW winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 10 to 15 mph.
Attention-grabbing, but copyright concerns persist

By Park Jin-hai

Korea's first artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drama, "Kiss Lighting  Ghost Cupid," is generating buzz ahead of its premiere scheduled for Dec. 4, with a pre-release on YouTube.

It is a part of the "K-Village Project," a joint venture between SBS Medianet and the Korea Foundation for Cooperation of Large & Small Business, Rural Affairs. The unique romance story, to be aired on SBS M, revolves around a ghost named Wooyeon (played by Jung Hyuk), who assists people in finding love.

What sets it apart is the use of AI to write the screenplay and create visuals. According to the production company, Kings Creative, the director initially wrote a rough outline, which was then refined using ChatGPT. The resulting ideas were discussed in meetings before the writer finalized the script. For the visuals, AI tools such as HeyGen, ElevenLabs and Midjourney were used to generate images.

Korea is witnessing an increasing adoption of AI in drama production, extending beyond this project. In April, another broadcaster, MBC C&I, launched a program to select 12 new creators and develop dramas using generative AI and extended reality (XR) technologies. Of the 12, nine were produced as pilot episodes and were first screened for invited guests at the "Prompt: NEXT DRAMA Screening Day" in October. These pilots were later publicly shown during the AI Content Festival 2024.

Experts say that one of the biggest advantages of using AI in drama and film production is the significant reduction in time and costs, making it possible for anyone to become a movie or drama creator.

According to Jung In-su, a producer at Kings Creative, AI drastically simplifies processes that once required significant time and effort. For instance, changing someones face on screen previously meant spending several nights rendering and meticulously cleaning up skin. With AI, however, you can easily experiment with different options to achieve the desired result. Additionally, generating countless illustrations with AI costs less than 100,000 won ($72) per month, compared to the 200,000-300,000 won typically charged for a single human-created illustration.

Yang Eek-jun, a producer at Mateo AI Studio, which won the grand prize at the 1st Korea International AI Film Festival this year with the film "Mateo," said, "Weve entered an era where creators can be liberated from the constraints of capital and technology thanks to AI.

"If you make a short film with your own money and it doesn't get into a film festival or attract attention, then regardless of your passion, you have to take a break for a year or two, simply because it costs so much money," Yang said during the 2024 Immersive Day conference on AI and the future of creativity at Korea National University of Arts in Seongbuk District, northern Seoul, Friday.

"But now that AI is here, we can make films at home with just our time and effort. I believe we're in a great era where we can make films whenever we want and then compete again. In fact, for those of us who create content, I think this is more important than AI dominating humanity."

Jung at Kings Creative noted that AI empowers people to create images and videos that were previously unimaginable.

"Starting from the script, everything ultimately relies on big data. AI can access information that we might forget, and while we search for data and develop ideas, AI generates text based on facts and the directions we provide," Jung said. He added that many writers and directors he knows frequently use ChatGPT for research, treating it much like an encyclopedia.

Promise and challenges



Although the U.S. and China dominate the AI service market, Korea has a competitive edge when it comes to leveraging the technology for content creation, as the country's robust telecommunications and computer infrastructure offer a significant advantage, according to producer Lee Sang-wook of MBC C&I.

However, with AI technology advancing at such a rapid pace, Yang at Mateo AI Studio emphasized that strong storytelling has become even more crucial amid the overwhelming flood of content.

"Creating an AI-featured film, typically at least 80 minutes, is the biggest concern, as AI-generated content often fails to maintain audience engagement beyond the first minute. With attention spans waning so quickly, we question whether we can sustain viewer interest for an entire 80-minute film. This is our greatest challenge and a new frontier for us," he said.

Yang also noted that the global AI content market is grappling with significant copyright challenges, highlighting the risks of unintentionally infringing upon existing works, using animation as an example.

"When we experimented with animation, we noticed similarities between our work and that of studios like Pixar and Disney. This underscores the significant copyright challenges we face. We're closely monitoring legal developments in this area," he said.

Lee Seung-ki, an attorney at Lee & Law Partners, emphasized the complex legal landscape particularly surrounding copyright ownership.

"AI dramas and films present a unique challenge, as AI, rather than humans, is driving the creative process. This raises questions about copyright ownership, especially given the collaborative nature of AI-assisted projects involving writers, directors and engineers," the legal expert said.

"AI companies may claim rights not only over their technology but also over the content created with it, potentially leading to legal disputes between AI firms and creators. To address these risks, AI companies might require contracts specifying intellectual property rights before licensing their technology for drama and film production. Alternatively, partnerships between AI companies and drama producers could be established to share profits generated by AI-optimized production tools."
By Lee Kyung-min

The prosecution raided the headquarters of Woori Financial Group and its bank subsidiary to search for and seize evidence on Monday in an expanded probe into poorly granted loans of over 35 billion won ($25 million) under the unchallenged reign of the group's former Chairman Son Tae-seung.

This is the latest development in a slew of mismanagement scandals at the troubled financial group, blighted significantly by the overall lack of internal control measures despite continued employee embezzlement and poor oversight of lending protocols.

Further blemishing the group is Sunday's report of 2.5 billion won in poorly granted loans to a customer buying property in March. It raises Woori's irregularity this year to four, among a dozen questionable lax lending practices at the bank over the past few years.

Most at stake is the group's long-awaited acquisition of Tongyang Life and ABL Life, certain to be revisited due to escalating scrutiny from the investigative and financial supervisory authorities.

According to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, a team of investigators was sent to the headquarters in central Seoul.

They searched for records of loans, approvals and electronic data at the bank's loan department, offices of the bank CEO Cho Byung-kyu and group Chairman Yim Jong-yong.

It came less than three months after the previous one in August on the bank headquarters and branches, as well as the homes of four figures involved. Included were the homes of Son and a circle of his then-loyal subordinates.

The development followed the conclusion of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) that the remaining outstanding balance of troubled loans came to 30.4 billion won, as of July 19. Over 88 percent, or 26.9 billion won, is backed by collateral but is nonperforming. Up to 15.8 billion won will be unrecoverable, according to Woori Bank.

The investigation gained momentum after the prosecution imposed an overseas travel ban on Son, identifying him as a suspect rather than a witness. Three Son loyalists under suspecion of expediting the loans have been indicted on charges of bribery over the past two months. Whether the former chairman will be summoned for questioning before a potential indictment remains to be seen.

The FSS extended the inspection period for Woori by a week, citing the need for tightened monitoring in light of the latest 2.5 billion won loan irregularity.

However, the scope of the scrutiny is highly likely to include the acquisition of two life insurers, focusing on capital adequacy ratios, among other compliance issues.

The bank said the 2.5 billion won loan was granted to a customer who falsified records on the collateral to increase the amount borrowable.

The bank conducted an investigation after it was made aware of the incident. It plans to file a criminal complaint against the customer soon.
Yoo vows optimal solution when deposit protection limit doubles

By Jun Ji-hye

Yoo Jae-hoon, chairman and president of the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. (KDIC), urged the National Assembly to work to promptly introduce the financial stability account, which was shelved during the previous Assembly.

A financial stability account is a policy that utilizes funds within the KDIC to proactively provide financial support to institutions facing temporary difficulties during a liquidity crisis.

The financial authorities and the state-run agency have been working to persuade the Assembly to introduce the account, but some opposition lawmakers have advocated a cautious approach, claiming that the Financial Services Commission (FSC) should take the oversight role for the system.

During a year-end press conference in Seoul, Yoo said many advanced countries around the world have operated such a system for over a decade, and Korea also temporarily implemented a similar system during the financial crisis of 2008.

It is not new to us but an essential measure, Yoo said.

The KDIC chief underscored that just because the nation is not currently in a financial crisis does not mean the need for the account has diminished.

Considering Koreas geopolitical role, international dynamics and the recent economic and financial environment, I believe the introduction of this system is more crucial than ever. Preparing for an unforeseen crisis by implementing the account now is a more stable approach. This would ensure its availability for immediate use during an urgent crisis, he said.

He vowed to thoroughly review technical concerns regarding the introduction of the system in collaboration with related government agencies.

FSC Chairman Kim Byoung-hwan made a similar argument during an Assembly audit on Oct. 24. He said that although the financial market in Korea is currently not unstable enough to require the introduction of the account, it is precisely when the market is stable that the system should be implemented.

Regarding the recent agreement between the ruling and opposition parties to raise the deposit protection limit to 100 million won ($71,700), Yoo said the remaining issue is determining the specifics of its implementation. He vowed to carefully consider the pros and cons of different alternatives and practical measures to implement an optimal solution.

In order to address any concerns or negative impacts regarding the increase in the deposit protection limit, I will provide a detailed explanation going forward, he said.

Based on the Nov. 13 agreement between the rival parties, the amendment to the Depositor Protection Act, which raises the deposit protection limit from the current 50 million won to 100 million won, is expected to be passed at the Assembly plenary session as early as Nov. 28.

The deposit protection system ensures that the KDIC protects a specific amount of both principal and interest for individual depositors in the event of a financial institutions bankruptcy. The limit, initially set at 50 million won in 2001, considering the per capita GDP at the time, has remained unchanged for 24 years, and now it is set to double.

If this limit is raised, it will be inevitable to increase the insurance premiums collected by the KDIC from financial institutions, which fund the deposit insurance system. As the amount of deposit insurance payouts in case of a crisis will increase, the KDIC will need to collect higher premiums from financial institutions to expand the fund.

Yoo highlighted the role of his agency, promising to focus on stabilizing the financial market and protecting the vulnerable in the new and challenging environment.

Globally, there are many non-deposit financial products in addition to deposits. We will continuously monitor whether there are any loopholes or blind spots within the scope of protection provided, and ensure that no person suffers losses as a result, Yoo said.

He also unveiled plans to strengthen the KDICs preparedness in the securities and insurance sectors as much as in the deposit sector.
By Park Han-sol

In all its languages, (Han Kangs) The Vegetarian is a work which invites a particularly personal form of reading  among a particular kind of reader  sick women who refuse to be well in a world that violates and debilitates; impressionable young girls mocked for their fannishness; anyone who might defiantly reclaim some of the labels given to Yeong-hye  crazy, excessive, hysterical, muses translator Deborah Smith in her short essay, Reflecting on Han Kang.

Smiths reflection, penned for the upcoming issue of Korean Literature Now, a quarterly publication by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea), comes in the wake of Hans historic Nobel Prize in literature win this year.

In 2015, she introduced Hans unflinchingly visceral novel about a middle-aged housewife whose decision to quit eating meat upends her life and those around her to the anglophone world through her translation. The following year, the two shared the International Booker Prize for the work.

When The Vegetarian was first published in Korea in 2007, it occupied the fringes of mainstream recognition, largely dismissed by the male-dominated literary establishment as too extreme and bizarre.

I am one of the many women who have found Yeong-hyes story to be neither extreme nor bizarre. Like her sister In-hye, I almost envy her magnificent irresponsibility, Smith writes.

One key concern in her translation process was how Yeong-hyes defiant rejection of food and her body, rooted in the context of Korea, would be understood in the anglosphere. She sought to shield the narrative from the reductive and frankly racist reading of passive Asian woman struggles against (uniquely Asian) patriarchy, a prevalent trope she was acutely aware of while working on the text.

After The Vegetarian, Smith went on to render more of Hans profoundly affecting works into English, including Human Acts, The White Book and Greek Lessons.

For her, the process of reading and translating the Nobel laureates writing was akin to finding myself arrested by razor-sharp images which arise from the text without being directly described there. And these moments, she reflects, are what deepened her understanding of why I became a translator in the first place.

Human Acts, a harrowing exploration of the military juntas brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1980 Gwangju and its enduring ripple effects, brims with such incisive, sensory images.

And decades after the portrayed event, its narrative still remains profoundly resonant, as Gwangju has become another name for whatever is forcibly isolated, beaten down and brutalized, for all that has been mutilated beyond repair.

It has been personally moving for me to encounter so many readers connecting Gwangju to Gaza, Smith shares. I am inspired by their committed, intelligent reading to use my royalties from Human Acts to support Palestinian liberation.

Reflecting on Han Kang will appear in the winter issue of Korean Literature Now, set for release on Dec. 1.

The issue will also feature interviews with other translators who have brought Hans works to readers worldwide, including Paige Aniyah Morris, Mariko Saito, Park Ok-kyoung, Choi Kyung-ran and Yoon Sun-me.

Read the full text of Reflecting on Han Kang here.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for bolstering the country's nuclear forces "without limitation" and completing war preparations, accusing South Korea, the United States and Japan of threatening regional peace through military cooperation.

Kim made the remark during the 4th Conference of Battalion Commanders and Political Instructors of the Korean People's Army (KPA) on Friday, the final day of the two-day event held in Pyongyang, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Monday. It marked the first such conference in 10 years.

The North's leader called for military officials to focus on completing war preparations, stressing the need to bolster its nuclear forces to accomplish a mission to deter war and stage a preemptive attack in case of emergency.

"We will strengthen our self-defense power, centered on nuclear forces, without limitation, not being content (with our current level) and ceaselessly," Kim said at his speech.

He described the trilateral military cooperation among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan as a "critical" factor threatening peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Kim accused the U.S. of transforming its alliance with South Korea into "a complete nuclear alliance" and hastily launching "an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization" by strengthening trilateral military cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo.

"As a result, U.S.-led military alliances have expanded into a larger scope to include Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, and the brunt of its invasion is now focusing on none other than our nation, the U.S.' most hostile enemy and the foe in its longest war," Kim said.

"Under the current subjective, objective circumstances, completing war preparations is the most urgent task that cannot be delayed by a single day," he noted.

The North Korean leader also claimed that the U.S. and the West have been staging a war against Russia, using Ukraine as "shock troops," to gain battlefield experience and expand the scope of their military intervention worldwide, according to the KCNA.

"U.S. war merchants, sustaining wars by continuing their military assistance to Ukraine and Israel ... are fueling fears that the third World War could occur and escalating the situation to a more dangerous level," he said.

Kim, however, did not mention North Korea's deployment of troops to Russia to support its war with Ukraine.

North Korea's top military echelon joined the meeting alongside Kim, including No Kwang-chol, defense minister; Ri Yong-gil, chief of the KPA general staff; and Jong Kyong-thaek, director of the military's General Political Bureau, the KNCA said.

Kim's speech marks the first time he has personally criticized the U.S. since former U.S. President Donald Trump won the election to secure a second term earlier this month.

Citing Kim's defense of Russia's war against Ukraine, a high-level official at South Korea's unification ministry said that the country may have hosted the event "to discipline the sentiment within the military amid the news of the troop dispatch becoming known to the military and society."

Kim's speech also came as the leaders of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan held a trilateral summit on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru on Friday (local time) and condemned North Korea's deepening military cooperation with Russia.

South Korea and the U.S. have confirmed that North Korean soldiers have engaged in combat operations against Ukrainian forces in Russia's western Kursk border region. (Yonhap)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is attempting to extend his hereditary power into a fourth generation, but a military coup over the matter is unlikely, a former North Korean diplomat said Monday.

Ri Il-gyu, a former political affairs counselor at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba who defected to South Korea last year, made the point in his presentation materials for a discussion in Seoul on North Korea's human rights.

In recent years, the North's Kim has frequently had his daughter, believed to be Ju-ae, accompany him at major public events, sparking speculation that he may be grooming her to succeed him as the next leader.

Ri described the public appearances of Kim's daughter and the media's use of the term "respected" for her as an "apparent intention" to solidify a four-generation transfer of his hereditary rule to his offspring.

Younger generations in North Korea, exposed to South Korean pop culture and other influences, may oppose the third hereditary power transfer. However, Kim, fully aware of this, is intensifying public scrutiny and control, he argued.

"As long as there is no emergency incident, such as Kim Jong-un's death or a military attack from outside, the Kim regime may retain its relative stability," Ri noted.

He also said it is too early to confirm the daughter as Kim's successor, adding that Kim may be using her public appearances to send a clear message to the public that his offspring will inherit his leadership.

South Korea's spy agency said in January that Ju-ae appears to be Kim's "most likely successor," marking the agency's first assessment of her possible succession in the reclusive regime. (Yonhap)
South Korea to pursue denuclearization of North Korea with Trump administration: unification ministry

By Kwak Yeon-soo

South Korea believes the chances of Pyongyang and Washington resuming dialogue without Seouls involvement under a second Trump administration are low, given the strengthened South Korea-U.S. alliance and the significant changes in the geopolitical landscape since Donald Trumps first presidency, the government said, Monday.

The comment from the Ministry of Unification came amid speculation that Trump may seek another round of bilateral talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, similar to those during his first presidency. There are also suggestions that, this time, the Yoon Suk Yeol government, which has taken a tougher stance against the Kim regime, could be sidelined.

However, the ministry said such a situation is unlikely to occur, emphasizing that South Korea will play a leading role in any potential resumption of dialogue.

It will be difficult for both the U.S. and North Korea to resume dialogue without South Korea. Since the South Korea-U.S. alliance is stronger than ever, I believe the unification ministry will not be overlooked, a senior ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

The second Trump administration would be different from the first, given the geopolitical challenges, including North Koreas troop deployment to Russia. North Koreas two hostile states policy, the abolishment of agencies handling inter-Korean affairs, and ongoing provocations all suggest that the role of the unification ministry is crucial, the official added.

Regarding Kims statement on Monday calling for the unrestrained bolstering of nuclear forces and completing war preparations, the official said the remarks are aimed at fueling hostility toward South Korea and strengthening internal military morale, as rumors have been circulating in the North about troop deployments to the Ukraine war.

The ministry said while unification is a national mission, it cannot be achieved independently and requires cooperation from the international community.

The government will work closely with the incoming U.S. administration to bring change and pursue the denuclearization of North Korea. We will continue to move toward the goal of unification by accelerating the implementation of the Aug. 15 Unification Doctrine, Vice Unification Minister Kim Soo-kyung said during a press conference at Government Complex Seoul.

The doctrine, announced by Yoon, includes initiatives to pursue a free, unified Korean Peninsula.

The process of persuading the international community of the legitimacy of unification is also important, Kim added.

The ministry said it is reviewing measures to reclaim loans granted to North Korea for the construction of inter-Korean roads and rail lines after the North destroyed them in October.

On Oct. 15, North Korea destroyed the northern sections of two inter-Korean roads  the Gyeongui Road in the western border region and the Donghae Road along the east coast  in an apparent effort to sever all ties with South Korea and formalize a hostile, two-state system on the Korean Peninsula.

We will seek the collection of loans extended to North Korea, although there are concerns the country may refuse to repay them following its detonation of inter-Korean roads and rail lines, the ministry official said.

From 2002 to 2008, South Korea provided 180 billion won ($129 million) in loans to North Korea for the construction of roads and railways along the two inter-Korean routes.

The ministry will also seek to establish a North Korea freedom and human rights fund to actively support nongovernmental efforts that promote freedom and human rights in the North. The fund is intended to officially support private organizations in openly discussing North Korea's human rights issues. The government also vowed to launch the North Korean Human Rights Foundation. The foundation has remained inactive for eight years due to the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea blocking the nomination process for the leadership position.
President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday to attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit, a multilateral forum representing the world's major economies.

Yoon flew from Lima to Rio de Janeiro to participate in the G20 summit slated for Monday and Tuesday, which marks Yoon's third consecutive attendance at the summit.

On the first day, Yoon will join the launch of the Global Alliance for Hunger and Poverty and outline Korea's contributions to combat global hunger.

On Tuesday, he will propose global initiatives to combat climate change and accelerate the transition to clean energy during a G20 session.

During the main sessions, Yoon plans to address the issue of military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, emphasizing the need for international solidarity to uphold a rules-based global order, his office said.

He will also propose initiatives and commitments aimed at addressing hunger and poverty, drawing from Korea's experience of transforming from a poor nation into one of the world's major economies following the 1950-53 Korean War.

On the sidelines of the summit, Yoon will meet with other leaders of MIKTA, a grouping of middle-power countries that includes Korea, Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey and Australia, and hold bilateral talks.

The G20 includes 19 major economies, the European Union and the African Union. It represents 85 percent of the global gross domestic product, 75 percent of international trade and around 80 percent of the world's population.

This year's gathering has extended invitations to the largest number of participants, with 17 guest countries and 15 international organizations. (Yonhap)President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday to attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit, a multilateral forum representing the world's major economies.

Yoon flew from Lima to Rio de Janeiro to participate in the G20 summit slated for Monday and Tuesday.

On the first day, Yoon will join the launch of the Global Alliance for Hunger and Poverty and outline South Korea's contributions to addressing global hunger.

On Tuesday, he will propose global initiatives to combat climate change and accelerate the transition to clean energy during a G20 session.

The G20 includes 19 major economies, the European Union and the African Union. It represents 85 percent of the global gross domestic product, 75 percent of international trade and around 80 percent of the world's population. (Yonhap)
A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine has arrived at a major southeastern naval base Monday to replenish supplies and provide rest for crew members, South Korea's Navy said.

The 6,000-ton USS Columbia entered the naval base in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, earlier in the day, according to the Navy.

The Navy said it plans to conduct friendly exchange activities with the crew members of the Los Angeles-class attack submarine during their stay in the country, as part of efforts to bolster the combined defense posture between the allies' naval forces.

The U.S. submarine's arrival came amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula following North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile last month and continued sending of trash-carrying balloons across the border.

It also came around two months after the Virginia-class attack submarine USS Vermont visited Busan for replenishment purposes in September. (Yonhap)
President Yoon Suk Yeol said South Korea's relations with the United States and China are not about choosing sides, pledging to working closely with both great powers amid Donald Trump's imminent return to the White House, according to interviews published Monday.

Yoon expressed hope for constructive relations between Washington and Beijing in a written interview with Brazilian newspapers  Folha de S.Paulo and O Globo  as he visited Rio de Janeiro to attend the Group of 20 summit.

While reaffirming the South Korea-U.S. alliance as the foundation of the country's diplomacy, Yoon highlighted efforts to maintain dialogue with China and foster relations that contribute to regional peace and stability.

"The United States and China are, for Korea, very important cooperation partners. Therefore, I do not believe that it is a case of choosing one country or the other," Yoon said in an interview with Folha de S.Paulo.

In another interview with O Globo, Yoon said he hopes U.S.-China relations will evolve in a way that contributes to the stability and development of the international community, adding South Korea will "work closely with both countries in this process."

Since taking office in May 2022, Yoon has strengthened the security alliance with Washington in response to growing North Korean threats, while carefully managing relations with China, South Korea's largest trading partner.

Now, he faces challenges of navigating the intensifying great power rivalry under the incoming Trump administration, which is expected to take a more hawkish stance on Beijing.

Amid complex geopolitical competition, Yoon underscored the need for fair and mutually beneficial cooperation and competition, while upholding the international norms and rules.

"The coexistence of cooperation and competitiveness in the international community is inevitable," Yoon said in the interview with O Globo. "What is important is that such competitiveness and cooperation take place in compliance with international norms and rules."

Looking ahead, Yoon expressed optimism about working with Trump, particularly in expanding strategic cooperation beyond security to include key areas, such as the economy, supply chains, advanced technologies and energy.

"I am confident that as members of this alliance, both I and the President-elect of the United States will work together not only for the citizens of our countries, but also for global peace and prosperity," Yoon was quoted as saying by O Globo. (Yonhap)
Govt accelerates efforts to bring in non-Koreans for broader range of jobs

By Jung Min-ho

Korea is stepping up efforts to attract more foreign workers across a wider range of sectors as the government aims to increase the proportion of non-Koreans in the countrys workforce in response to growing labor shortages, according to government officials, Monday.

The latest sector under government review is the bus industry. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said it is evaluating a proposal from the Seoul Metropolitan Government to expand E-9 visa eligibility to allow hiring foreign workers to drive certain types of buses operating in the capital.

A chronic shortage of bus drivers prompted the city government to submit the proposal last month, according to a senior official in its immigration policy department.

It is just one of many sectors that need more foreign workers amid a scarcity of labor. Over many months, we have asked the central government to expand work permits, the official told The Korea Times. We are also seeking cooperation in other service industries including elderly care.

Under consideration are called "maeul" buses, which translates directly to village buses. Officially known as "town buses," these vehicles operate on short routes, connecting people to major bus stops and subway stations. For many drivers, working as a maeul bus driver is seen as a stepping stone to employment at larger, better-paying bus companies, which contributes to the particularly acute driver shortage faced by town bus operators.

The proposal comes as the city government seeks to expand a program of importing Filipino caregivers as a national initiative after the end of a six-month pilot period in February 2025. A director of that program told The Korea Times that her team is currently gathering feedback from parents who have used the service, as city officials plan to increase the number of foreign nannies from the current 100 to 1,200.

For the caregiver program, the government is also considering expanding the number of partner countries. Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are among those under review.

In its latest proposal, the city government requested the ministry to add town bus driving to the list of sectors eligible for E-9 (nonprofessional employment) visas. Currently, the visa program covers sectors such as manufacturing, fishing, farming, and a limited number of service industries. The city government also urged the ministry to extend the work period for E-9 visa holders from the current three years to five years.

The city governments move is in line with the policy direction of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it would seek to expand E-7-3 visas to hire foreign workers for positions that require high-level skills, such as specialists handling concrete or steel bars.

Currently, foreign workers are allowed to perform unskilled tasks in the construction sector, such as cleaning or carrying building materials.

Shunned by young Koreans as difficult work, the construction industry has struggled to fill the labor gap left by retiring workers in recent years. According to a report published on Sept. 2 by the Construction Workers Mutual Aid Association, the average age of its workers was 51.8.

During an event on Aug. 12 marking the 20th anniversary of the Employment Permit System, a government initiative aimed at addressing labor shortages in specific industries by allowing foreign workers from designated countries to work in Korea, the Ministry of Labor pledged to continue to expand it as part of its solution to address a shortage of workers.
A new long-range radar system developed with homegrown technology has been approved for combat suitability, the state arms procurement agency said Monday, with the equipment expected to bolster surveillance of aircraft in the country's air defense identification zone (KADIZ).

The new radar system is capable of conducting around-the-clock surveillance in KADIZ and transmitting real-time data to the Air Force's Master Control and Reporting Center, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said.

The approval comes after DAPA signed an agreement with Korean defense firm LIG Nex1 in February 2021 to develop the homegrown long-range radar system and conducted an 18-month-long assessment for combat suitability.

"The assessment confirmed it satisfied all requirements of the Air Force with top-notch performance in detection distance, probability and accuracy," DAPA said in a release.

With the latest development, Korea has become one of the few countries, along with the United States, France, Italy and Spain, that can manufacture long-range radar systems with homegrown technology, it added.

The new equipment is set to go into production in 2026 to replace outdated models. (Yonhap)
Arms agency signs MOUs with Peru to strengthen defense cooperation

By Anna J. Park

A Korean-developed long-range radar has successfully secured a combat suitability certification, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Monday.

The state-run arms agency explained that the domestically developed radar is a critical component of the country's air defense system, as it is responsible for detecting and tracking aircraft within the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) 24 hours a day, all year around. The radar system transmits captured data in real time to the Republic of Korea (ROK) Air Force's Master Control and Reporting Center, ensuring prompt air defense operations.

The new long-range radar received combat suitability certification, following periods of design research, prototype production and an additional year and a half of testing and evaluation. This process began after DAPA signed a system development contract with LIG Nex1 in February 2021.

"The new long-range radar has been confirmed to meet the Air Force's performance requirements and has demonstrated world-class capabilities in detection range, probability, as well as accuracy," a DAPA official said.

With the research and development phase completed for the long-range radar, South Korea has become one of the few countries in the world capable of independently designing and producing long-range radars.

Currently, only a small number of countries, including the U.S., France, Italy and Spain, possess the advanced capability to produce radars using their own domestic technologies. This R&D effort has also secured various other essential technologies related to radar production and operation, such as large antenna design and manufacturing, heat dissipation technology and the optimization of signal concentration.

DAPA plans to kickstart mass production of the long-range radars in 2026, aiming to replace outdated radars with new ones. The current long-range radars operated by the ROK Air Force are U.S.-made equipment introduced prior to the 1990s, and they have become severely outdated.

The arms procurement agency also announced earlier in the day that South Korea and Peru signed three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation in Lima on Saturday (local time). This comes as President Yoon Suk Yeol made an official visit to Peru for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

The agreements followed a meeting between DAPA Minister Seok Jong-gun and Peruvian Defense Minister Walter Astudillo, in which they agreed to expand collaboration in the ground, sea and air defense sectors.

Specifically, the MOUs include a comprehensive cooperation framework for ground equipment, joint development of naval submarines and joint production of KF-21 jets.

In the ground sector, Hyundai Rotem signed a comprehensive agreement with the Peruvian Army Arsenal or FAME S.A.C.  Peru's military weapons manufacturing institution  for ground weapons, including K2 tanks and wheeled armored vehicles.

In the maritime sector, Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Peru's state-owned SIMA shipyard to jointly develop submarines. The MOU is part of the Peruvian Navy's efforts to replace aging vessels and strengthen cooperation between the two companies.

In the air sector, Korea Aerospace Industries signed an agreement with SEMAN, Peru's state-owned aerospace company, for the local joint production of KF-21 components. Peru had previously acquired 20 KT-1P aircraft in 2012, with 16 of them being assembled locally by SEMAN to promote the development of Peru's aviation industry.

"The signing of the agreements between Peru and Korean defense companies has laid the foundation for comprehensive medium- to long-term defense cooperation across the ground, sea and air sectors between the two countries. It is expected that this would lead to the expansion of defense cooperation in the Latin American region," Seok said.
Former President Moon Jae-in's daughter will be referred to the prosecution this week for possible indictment on charges of drunk driving, Seoul's police chief said Monday.

Kim Bong-sik, commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, told reporters that the legal review is almost complete for Moon Da-hye, accused of causing a collision with a taxi in Seoul's Itaewon district in early October while driving under the influence of alcohol.

Her referral to the prosecution will be completed as soon as possible within this week, Kim said.

The police are reportedly considering charging the younger Moon with dangerous driving resulting in injury.

Regarding her separate charge of illegally operating a house-sharing business, Kim said the police are now coordinating the date of questioning with Moon's side.

She is accused of running an Airbnb business for the past two years at a house under her name in western Jeju without official registration in violation of the Public Health Control Act. (Yonhap)
By KTimes

Students at Seoul Women's University staged protests by spray-painting messages on campus buildings, criticizing the universitys official response to a professor accused of sexual harassment.

The university announced plans to seek damages for the property damage caused during the demonstrations.

Photos shared on Monday in online communities showed red spray-painted phrases like Expel sexual offender and This is not a hostess bar on the exterior walls and floors of campus buildings. Banners with messages such as Listen to the students anger and Protect the students of Seoul Womens University were also hung around campus.

The protests stemmed from dissatisfaction with the university's response to a sexual misconduct case. In July 2022, a professor from the humanities department was accused of sexually harassing and assaulting students. Following an investigation, the professor was disciplined with a three-month pay reduction in September, a measure students criticized as being "too lenient."

Students demanded stronger protective measures for victims and the removal of the accused from campus. Tensions escalated when the accused professor filed a defamation lawsuit against the students who had publicly criticized him, prompting the spray-paint protests.

The university issued a warning on Thursday, stating, If further damage to university property incurs costs, those responsible will face personal and material liability, including compensation claims.

During the university's entrance essay exams on Saturday, visiting prospective students and their families encountered the signs related to the ongoing dispute. In a statement posted at the exam site, university President Seung Hyun-woo apologized, saying, We deeply regret being unable to welcome you with a clean and beautiful campus.

The statement also addressed the protests, explaining that the university is in dialogue with students regarding their demands for stricter disciplinary action against the professor. The administration noted it has refrained from removing the protest materials to respect the students voices.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.
The Seoul city government said Monday it will push to hire foreigners as "maeul" bus drivers to cope with a chronic manpower shortage in the transportation sector.

Maeul buses, or village buses in English, operate on very short routes within local areas to connect residents to nearby major bus stops and subway stations. The bus industry has long called for the need to introduce foreign drivers due to a labor shortage.

Complying with the demand, the Seoul city government said it asked the Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) on Oct. 28 to expand the range of non-professional employment (E-9) visas to include the transportation industry. It also recommended that the work period for foreign drivers with the E-9 visa be extended from three years to five years.

The OPC has reportedly forwarded the policy recommendation to the Ministry of Employment and Labor for review.

"It is not easy to secure manpower for maeul bus drivers. The aging of maeul bus drivers is also a serious problem," a city government official said. "If the labor ministry resolves the visa issue within this year, a pilot project is expected to be launched next year."

The labor ministry said it will carefully review the visa issue in consideration of the qualifications, skills and nature of work required for the city bus transportation industry.

The E-9 visa is issued to non-professional foreign employees in manufacturing, agriculture, livestock and other industries.

Even now, it is possible for foreigners to work as bus drivers through the work and visit (H-2) visa or overseas Korean (F-4) visa. With the F-4 visa issued only for foreign nationals of Korean descent or marriage immigrants, however, the percentage of foreigners among Seoul's maeul bus drivers is less than 2 percent. (Yonhap)
By Lee Hae-rin

The protests by students against Dongduk Women's University's possible transition to a co-educational institution have escalated into a wider gender conflict, spilling beyond the campus. According to students and officials on Monday, the protests have sparked an anti-feminist backlash.

On Nov. 4, it was made public that Dongduk Women's University was discussing whether to admit male students, and in response students have been staging intense protests since Nov. 11, occupying the main building and boycotting classes altogether.

Man on Solidarity, a mens rights activist organization that is known to be anti-feminist, reported to police that it would hold a rally in front of Dongduk Women's University for a month from Nov. 16.

The group has been criticized for targeting and harassing female activists. Its YouTube channel garnered over 150,000 subscribers within two months since launching in June 2021 and has over 543,000 followers as of Monday.

Bae In-gyu, head of the group, referred to the students of Dongduk Women's University as rioters on his YouTube channel and said, "After the rally, I will identify the rioters and file a complaint with the police."

A post threatening a deadly attack on Dongduk Women's University was also posted on social media on Nov. 12, prompting the police to launch an investigation.

In addition, the Jongam Police Station in Seoul is investigating two men in their 20s for allegedly sneaking into the university campus on Nov. 16. They reportedly said they were curious about the situation at Dongduk Women's University."

On Nov. 14, a man in his 20s was arrested after trespassing on campus in the middle of the night and scuffling with security guards.

In addition, Rep. Lee Jun-seok of the minor conservative Reform Party criticized the protest, calling it an "illegitimate protest."

Calling the protest uncivilized, the lawmaker said, Nov. 14, "Just as the act of trying to fulfill one's will by holding the common people on Line 4 hostage is non-civilization, an act that threatens the right to study and safety of other students occurred in the violence at Dongduk Women's University." With this statement, Lee tried to draw a comparison between the protests for mobility rights by a disability advocacy group and the recent actions of the university's student protesters.

Rep. Lee also claimed that the student protests stemmed from radical feminism.

"Feminism should talk about inclusion and coexistence, but South Korea's radical feminism, which uses isolation and exclusion as weapons, has already reached the end of the offensive (when the military is no longer capable of carrying out operations due to exhaustion of power)," he said.

The school announced on Nov. 15 that the damage caused by the protest is estimated to be between 2.44 billion won ($1.74 million) and 5.44 billion won.

"The school feels sorry for the students who are affected by this situation," the announcement read.

"The university authorities are doing their utmost to restore order within the school and protect the right to learn, but a lot of damage is occurring  If you need personal protection or if there is a situation where your right to learn is violated, please report it to the school."

In response, the student council of Dongduk Women's University, which led the sit-in, also expressed its position.

"On the afternoon of Nov. 14, the student council received a document from the university claiming 330 million won in damages," the statement read.

"The university should immediately stop intimidating students by citing financial problems for which students are bound to be vulnerable."
Rival parties intensified their attacks on each other Monday as they weighed the significance of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung's sentence to a suspended prison term.

Lee of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) was found guilty last Friday of making false statements during the 2021-22 presidential campaign as a candidate with the intent of winning the election.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced him to one year in prison, suspended for two years, a ruling that if upheld will strip him of his parliamentary seat and bar him from running in the next presidential election in 2027.

During a DP Supreme Council meeting Monday, Lee accused the prosecution of disturbing order in the country by abusing its power, covering up crimes and unfairly exercising its authority.

"If the prosecution can't do a proper job, it's only natural that a special counsel should be appointed to defend the legal processes and legal order that are being damaged," he said.

Lee was apparently referring to his party's push to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee, namely her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme and her alleged interference in party politics.

"The president's veto is expected, but this country is not in the sole ownership of the president," he said. "Because the overwhelming majority of the people wish for a special counsel, we will do our best to realize a special counsel in line with the wishes of the sovereign."

The ruling People Power Party (PPP), however, called for a swift conclusion of Lee's trials.

In addition to the conviction for making false statements during the presidential campaign, Lee is standing three trials on charges of a suborning a former mayoral secretary to make false court testimony in his favor, corruption in connection with development projects in Seongnam and involvement in an illegal cash transfer of US$8 million to North Korea.

The ruling on the perjury subornation case is due out next Monday.

"Chairman Lee will continue to face guilty rulings," PPP leader Han Dong-hoon said during a party Supreme Council meeting.

Citing stipulations in law that an appellate ruling and a final ruling should both be made within three months, Han said the trials should be "finalized quickly."

PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho, meanwhile, expressed alarm that the DP has taken to the streets of Seoul every weekend to join protesters in denouncing the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and gone so far as to attack the judiciary with language such as "crazy ruling" and "judicial murder" in reference to last week's ruling.

"What Chairman Lee and the Democratic Party of Korea should do is stop its 'asphalt politics' of shielding crime, wait humbly for the judiciary's judgment and take responsibility for the ruling," Choo said during the meeting. (Yonhap)
The veterans ministry said Monday it will host a major campaign honoring independence fighters next year to mark the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

"The ministry plans to push for a nationwide campaign so that the public can remember and pay gratitude to the sacrifice and devotion of independence fighters, and so that such noble value could be wholly passed on to future generations," Vice Veterans Minister Lee Hee-wan said in a policy briefing.

In the briefing held to review key feats of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration in the area of veterans affairs, Lee said the ministry will push to introduce a fair and swift compensation system for veterans.

The ministry plans to raise compensation fees to the highest level for war veterans and build new national cemeteries for fallen veterans, he added.

Formerly a government agency, the veterans ministry was officially launched as a ministry in June 2023, in a show of Seoul's renewed commitment to commemorating and honoring those who sacrificed themselves for the nation. (Yonhap)
Mutual efforts to needed to improve relations

In a significant diplomatic development, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru.

The discussions signaled a potential warming of relations between the two nations, which have been strained in recent years. Key topics included the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and accelerating progress on a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries. Despite the positive signals, restoring ties will require concerted mutual efforts to address shared challenges and harness opportunities for cooperation.

Xi described the current state of China-South Korea relations as progressing steadily, highlighting significant shifts in global and regional dynamics since their last meeting in 2022. While his positive assessment suggests a forward-looking outlook, underlying tensions continue to strain bilateral ties. These issues include sensitive topics such as Taiwan, the deployment of the U.S.-led THAAD missile defense system in South Korea, and Chinas perceived interference in Seouls foreign policy. Relations were further soured by controversial remarks from former Chinese Ambassador to South Korea, Xing Haiming, who appeared to pressure the Yoon administration into aligning more closely with China.

Despite these challenges, communication between Seoul and Beijing has remained active. The two countries managed to resume a trilateral summit between South Korea, Japan, and China in May, for the first time in over four years. This diplomatic breakthrough reflects the recognition by both nations of the importance of continued engagement, despite ongoing political disagreements.

Chinas recent diplomatic gestures suggest an intention to improve relations with South Korea. Last month, Beijing introduced a visa waiver for South Korean visitors, marking the first such move since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992. While this initiative can be viewed as an economic strategy to boost Chinas tourism and revitalize its domestic consumer markets, it also serves as a diplomatic gesture intended to ease tensions. The visa exemption highlights Chinas desire to strengthen people-to-people exchanges and foster goodwill, signaling a readiness to move past recent strains in the relationship.

Moreover, China appointed Dai Bing, its deputy representative to the United Nations, as its new ambassador to South Korea. Dais higher rank compared to his predecessor, Xing Haiming, along with his extensive diplomatic experience, reflects Chinas seriousness about strengthening ties with Seoul. The diplomatic reshuffle indicates Beijings interest in cultivating a more stable and constructive relationship with South Korea, particularly in the context of shifting geopolitical dynamics.

One of the driving forces behind Chinas recent outreach to Seoul is the growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. North Koreas decision to send combat troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine has raised alarms in Seoul, Washington, and Beijing alike. Both South Korea and China view this alliance as a destabilizing factor in East Asia. Chinas efforts to improve relations with South Korea may, in part, be motivated by a desire to counterbalance the growing ties between Pyongyang and Moscow. A united front between South Korea and China on this issue could help promote greater regional security and stability.

Looking ahead, a highly anticipated visit by the Chinese leader to South Korea in 2025, coinciding with the APEC summit in Gyeongju, is expected to mark a significant milestone in the bilateral relationship. This visit offers a unique opportunity to expand cooperation in areas such as trade, security, and cultural exchanges. It could also serve as a platform for both leaders to address sensitive issues and chart a new path forward for China-South Korea relations. A successful visit by Xi would likely serve as a key moment in restoring trust and solidifying long-term diplomatic ties between the two countries.

For South Korea, improving relations with China is increasingly important, particularly in light of the evolving dynamics with the United States. The possibility of a more confrontational stance from Washington under a second Trump administration makes it imperative for Seoul to diversify its diplomatic options. Strengthening ties with Beijing could serve as a hedge against potential disruptions in the U.S.-South Korea alliance.

In order for the bilateral relationship to flourish, both South Korea and China must prioritize proactive diplomacy. China should take a more active role in fostering peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in East Asia, while South Korea should continue to engage with Beijing on mutual interests such as trade, security, and regional stability. This requires sustained efforts to open new avenues for cooperation and find common ground on key issues.

With global and regional security dynamics constantly evolving, South Korea and China must work together to overcome past tensions and build a more stable, constructive partnership. The time is ripe for both nations to make the effort to improve ties for the benefit of regional peace and prosperity.
By Nam Hyun-woo

As U.S. President-elect Donald Trump set to wield tougher economic measures against China, an optimistic outlook is emerging that Korean display makers may benefit from hefty tariffs on products exported by their Chinese rivals.

According to data from the Korea Display Industry Association, Korea's market share in the global display market stood at 33.4 percent in 2023, trailing China's 47.9 percent. Since losing the top spot to China in 2021, the gap between the two countries has been widening due to the rise of Chinese firms.

Since Chinese display makers took the lead in the LCD market, Korean firms have quickly lowered their reliance on LCDs and focused on OLEDs, as their technologies are still years ahead of their Chinese rivals.

However, the gap between the two countries in OLEDs is also narrowing quickly as Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and other Chinese smartphone makers increasingly use displays manufactured by their compatriots.

According to data from market tracker Omdia, Chinese firms accounted for 49.7 percent of global OLED shipments in the first quarter of this year, surpassing Korean firms, which held a 49 percent share.

In the first quarter of last year, Korean and Chinese companies held market shares of 62.3 percent and 36.6 percent, respectively, maintaining a 25.7 percentage point gap. However, this gap was completely reversed within just a year.

Trump's pledge to impose a 60 percent tariff on Chinese imports and a 10 to 20 percent tariff on goods from other regions is offering some relief to Korean display makers.

"The OLED competition largely hinges on Apple's devices, as the U.S. tech giant continues seeking ways to lower its costs by using panels from (China's) BOE," an industry official said. "If the tariffs are realized, companies like Samsung Display or LG Display could secure price competitiveness over BOE."

As part of its efforts to improve cost efficiency, Apple selected BOE and LG Display as the suppliers for the iPhone SE4, and industry officials said there are chances that BOE panels may be used for the main iPhone series.

With no major U.S. competitors existing for Samsung Display and LG Display, hefty tariffs or other restrictions against BOE may prompt Apple to reconsider adding the Chinese vendor to its supply chain, possibly changing its supplier for the iPhone SE4 panels.

Along with Trump's economic policies, the Republicans' sweeping victory in the U.S. House is also a positive signal for the Korean display makers.

On Sept. 24, John Moolenaar, chairman of the U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, urged the Pentagon to blacklist Chinese LCD and OLED makers, specifying BOE. Moolenaar won his reelection in Michigan.

"In LCD, the industry's legacy technology, the Chinese share of global production capacity has grown from zero percent in 2004 to 72 percent today, and non-PRC manufacturers are rapidly exiting the market due to their inability to compete," Moolenaar wrote in the letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

"A similar evolution is now underway in OLED, the current generation of display technology; Chinese share of global production capacity has grown from 1 percent in 2014 to 51 percent today."

Industry officials estimate that if this restriction is realized in the Trump administration, it may emulate the case of Huawei. In 2019, Huawei delivered 241 million smartphones, but that number plummeted to 4.3 million in 2021 after Trump signed an executive order in May 2019 to block Chinese telecommunications companies and then-Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross placed Huawei on a blacklist.

The general outlook for the Korean display makers is positive in the second Trump administration, but their lack of manufacturing presence on U.S. soil is viewed as a looming risk.

After scaling down its manufacturing facilities in China, Samsung Display is relying heavily on its Vietnamese plant for assembly processes, investing 2.4 trillion won ($1.72 billion) into the plant. LG Display also reportedly won local approvals recently for adding $1 billion to its investment into its plant in Hai Phong, Vietnam.
By Park Jae-hyuk

HD Hyundai has been pushing for joint development of submarines with SIMA, a Peruvian state-owned shipyard, following their agreement to construct surface vessels for the South American countrys navy to replace its outdated warships.

The Korean conglomerate said Monday that one of its shipbuilding units, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with SIMA on the sidelines of the 2024 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, Saturday (local time), for their bilateral cooperation in the submarine sector.

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte also attended the MOU signing ceremony and autographed the nameplates to be attached to naval vessels under joint construction by HD HHI and SIMA in Peru.

Based on the MOU, HD HHI and SIMA plan to develop submarines tailored for the Peruvian Navy.

Additionally, HD HHI will help modernize SIMA and strengthen cooperation with the Peruvian government for follow-up projects.

HD HHI set up a local office in Peru in September and sent equipment and components last month to build warships for the Peruvian Navy.

This came after HD HHI and SIMA signed a 640.6 billion won ($460 million) contract to build one 3,400-ton frigate, one 2,200-ton offshore patrol vessel (OPV), two 1,400-ton amphibious warfare ships and four warships for the South American countrys navy.

The deal is the largest among naval ship orders that any Latin American country has placed with a Korean company so far.

HD HHI also became a strategic partner of the Peruvian government and navy for the next 15 years.

As a result, the company was chosen as the preferred bidder to additionally build five frigates, three OPVs and two amphibious warfare ships for the Peruvian Navy.

The Korean shipbuilder emphasized that the achievement was the result of its cooperation with the Ministry of National Defense, the Republic of Korea Navy, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the Korea Coast Guard, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Embassy of Korea in Peru and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.
The government has designated Korea Zinc's high-nickel precursor manufacturing process as a national core technology amid a tussle for control of the world's biggest refined zinc producer, the company said Monday.

Korea Zinc has been in a monthslong battle to fend off a takeover bid by its largest shareholder Young Poong Corp. and private equity fund MBK Partners The Young Poong side initiated the takeover battle on Sept. 13 by launching a tender offer for an additional stake in Korea Zinc.

In response, Korea Zinc conducted a massive stock buyback and asked the government to add its high-nickel precursor technology to the list of national core and high-tech strategic technologies, a company spokesperson said by phone.

Companies with such designation require government approval in case of an acquisition by a foreign company, safeguarding them for economic and security reasons.

Both Korea Zinc and Young Poong welcomed the government's decision.

"The government officially acknowledged that any technology leaks (involving Korea Zinc's high-nickel precursor processing) to foreign entities would have a significant adverse effect on the Korean economy," Korea Zinc said in a statement.

Young Poong said it, as the largest shareholder, will keep the smelter's core technologies from being leaked to overseas companies.

The designation by the industry ministry came days after Korea Zinc scrapped its 2.5 trillion-won ($1.8 billion) share sale plan taken issue with by the Financial Supervisory Service. The regulator cited a lack of details in the decision-making process could damage the interests of existing shareholders.

The rights issue plan was widely seen as part of Korea Zinc's efforts to secure more treasury stocks with voting rights to win the takeover battle with the Young Poong camp.

Currently, Young Poong and MBK collectively own a 39.83 percent stake in Korea Zinc, while Korea Zinc Chairman Choi Yun-beom and related parties hold a 35.4 percent stake in the smelter.

Korea Zinc, with the support of Bain Capital, plans to hold a shareholders meeting within this year to end the battle, with focus on drumming up support from institutional investors, including the National Pension Service and small shareholders.

Korea Zinc is widely expected to use its status funded by the state to protect vital industries to garner further support at the shareholders meeting.

High-nickel precursors are crucial in the manufacturing of battery cathodes, which are essential for electric vehicles and energy storage systems. (Yonhap)
R&D proves effects on blood sugar, prostate

By Ko Dong-hwan

Korea Ginseng Corp. (KGC) is strengthening its research and development efforts on ginseng and its key nutritional benefits to create new health supplements, including its latest products designed to support blood sugar control and prostate health, the country's largest ginseng company said Monday.

The maker, with its signature brand JungKwanJang, emphasized that the scientific innovations driving its popular products reflect the company's advanced R&D capabilities. These achievements reinforce the company's commitment to maintaining its leadership in the international ginseng market.

KGC has validated ginseng's nutritional benefits in lowering blood sugar levels, earning certification from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The ministry confirmed ginseng's efficacy in improving insulin resistance and carbohydrate metabolism.

The approval led the company to launch GLPro, its new brand, last month, introducing a lineup of products focusing on blood sugar control. The brand quickly became a success, selling over 10,000 products within two weeks  a record-breaking feat for a single sub-brand in JungKwanJang's 125-year history, according to the company.

Before GLPro, KGC developed ginseng oil, which the ministry approved in 2022 for its prostate health benefits. The company promoted this as a groundbreaking nutritional discovery.

In August 2023, the company launched new products incorporating this ingredient, with batches selling out six times. Additionally, KGC received ministry approval for a new formulation combining natural ingredients shown to be effective in addressing "male menopause."

KGC attributed these breakthroughs to the JungKwanJang R&D Global Center and its more than 130 researchers. Located in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, the facility is certified by the Ministry of Science and ICT for its extensive research on saponin, a key component of ginseng.

It has also maintained annual certification from the Korea Laboratory Accreditation Scheme for 15 consecutive years, ensuring its research meets international standards.

With overseas subsidiaries in the United States, China, Taiwan and Japan, KGC exports around 250 products to 40 countries. The company has also expanded its R&D presence internationally, with research centers in Shanghai and Fullerton, California, focusing on developing localized health supplements such as Everytime and HongSamWon to cater to international consumers.

According to market monitoring agency Euromonitor International's 2023 report, KGC topped market shares and sales in the global ginseng market for 10 straight years.
Hyundai Motor, HD Hyundai, Doosan will be absent from 2025 edition of tech show

By Lee Min-hyung

Fewer Korean tech firms are willing to expand their promotional spending for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), opting instead to hold their own events without paying the enormous costs associated with participating in the worlds largest tech fair early next year, industry officials said Monday.

Hyundai Motor Group has decided not to participate in CES 2025, citing the event as "unnecessary and redundant" for the second consecutive year. The automaker feels there is no need to rush the promotion of its new vehicle lineups by setting up a booth.

The global carmaker took part in this year's edition and shared its long-term growth strategy, focused on hydrogen and software-driven mobility. The vision remains unchanged and the company continues to join multiple global auto shows where it showcases its strategic models.

The group may have made the decision under the judgment that it is unnecessary to participate in the fair, with its high marketing costs, as the auto industry is less sensitive to trends, compared to the IT and consumer devices makers, a tech industry official said.

The carmaker's enhanced global profile has also reduced its motivation to allocate a special budget for the tech exhibition. In 2023, the company rose to become one of the top three automakers worldwide by vehicle sales.

Hyundai Motor Group participated in the CES each year between 2009 and 2020 but skipped the 2021 edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also decided not to promote its products in the 2023 edition.

Other heavy industry players also follow in the footsteps of Hyundai Motor Group by skipping next year's CES.

HD Hyundai showcased its latest construction equipment technologies at CES 2024 with a large booth in Las Vegas, but the company plans to skip the event next year, citing a similar rationale to Hyundai Motor Group.

Doosan Group showcased its technological capabilities at CES for the first time in 2020 and has since participated every other year. However, the company will not allocate funds for CES 2025, as it is currently prioritizing the completion of its ongoing corporate governance reform.

Another official from a tech firm here mentioned that an increasing number of the aforementioned and existing Korean companies are becoming less interested in CES, as their stronger global presence has made the event's promotional impact less significant.

For instance, Hyundai Motors global presence about a decade ago was much less influential than now, the official said.

Most companies have to hype up their technological advancements when they are less known, but once they grow to reach a globally-influential level, they do not have to stick to promoting themselves at such global events as the CES.

Several top U.S. tech firms, including Apple and Tesla, have opted out of CES, choosing instead to host their own events. This trend reflects their market influence, showing they remain unaffected even if they don't attend major global tech fairs.
President Joe Biden's administration has allowed Ukraine to use U.S.  made weapons to strike deep into Russia, two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the decision said on Sunday, in a significant reversal of Washington's policy in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the coming days, the sources said, without revealing details due to operational security concerns.

The move comes two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20 and follows months of pleas by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy to allow Ukraine's military to use U.S. weapons to hit Russian military targets far from its border.

The change comes largely in response to Russia's deployment of North Korean ground troops to supplement its own forces, a development that has caused alarm in Washington and Kyiv, a U.S. official and a source familiar with the decision said.

Zelenskiyy said in his evening address that the missiles would "speak for themselves."

"Today, many in the media are saying that we have received permission to take appropriate actions," he said. "But strikes are not made with words. Such things are not announced."

The White House and U.S. State Department declined to comment.

There was no immediate response from the Kremlin, which has warned that it would see a move to loosen the limits on Ukraine's use of U.S. weapons as a major escalation.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian upper house's international affairs committee, said Washington's decision to let Kyiv strike deep into Russia could lead to "World War Three".

"The West has decided on such a level of escalation that it could end with the Ukrainian statehood in complete ruins by morning," Andrei Klishas, a senior member of the Federation Council, Russia's upper chamber of parliament, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine's first deep strikes are likely to be carried out using ATACMS rockets, which have a range of up to 190 miles (306 km), according to the sources.

While some U.S. officials have expressed skepticism that allowing long-range strikes will change the war's overall trajectory, the decision could help Ukraine at a moment when Russian forces are making gains and possibly put Kyiv in a better negotiating position when and if ceasefire talks happen.

It is not clear if Trump will reverse Biden's decision when he takes office. Trump has long criticized the scale of U.S. financial and military aid to Ukraine and has vowed to end the war quickly, without explaining how.

A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But one of Trump's closest foreign policy advisers, Richard Grenell, criticized the decision.

"Escalating the wars before he leaves office," Grenell said, in an X post responding to the news.

Some congressional Republicans had urged Biden to loosen the rules on how Ukraine can use U.S.  provided weapons.

Since Trump's Nov. 5 victory, senior Biden administration officials have repeatedly said they would use the remaining time to ensure Ukraine can fight effectively next year or negotiate peace with Russia from a "position of strength".

'Way too late'

The U.S. believes more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia and that most of them have moved to the Kursk region and have begun to engage in combat operations.

Russia is advancing at its fastest rate since 2022 despite taking heavy losses, and Ukraine said it had clashed with some of those North Korean troops deployed to Kursk.

Stretched by personnel shortages, Ukrainian forces have lost some of the ground they captured in an August incursion into Kursk that Zelenskiyy said could serve as a bargaining chip.

"Removing targeting restrictions will allow the Ukrainians to stop fighting with one hand tied behind their back," Alex Plitsas, senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, said.

"However, like everything else, I believe history will say the decision came way too late. Just like the ATACMS, HIMARS, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Abrams tanks and F-16. They were all needed much sooner," he added.

Despite Zelenskiyy's pleas, the White House had been reluctant to allow U.S.  supplied weapons to be used to strike targets deep inside Russia for fear this could ratchet up the conflict.

Republican U.S. Representative Mike Turner, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that Bidens decision was long overdue and that there were still too many restrictions on Ukraine.

But he added: This first step will put pressure on Vladimir Putin as President-elect Trump returns to the White House and works to end this war.

Kyiv's other allies have been supplying weapons but with restrictions on how and when they can be used inside Russia, out of concern such strikes could prompt retaliation that draws NATO countries into the war or provokes a nuclear conflict.

Poland's foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, also called the move a response to North Korea's involvement.

"President Biden responded to the entry of North Korean troops into the war and the massive Russian missile strike in a language that V. Putin understands - by removing restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western missiles," Sikorski said on X. (Reuters)
Sweden on Monday began sending some five million pamphlets to residents urging them to prepare for the possibility of war, as neighbouring Finland launched a new preparedness website.

Both Sweden and Finland dropped decades of military non-alignment to join the U.S.-led military alliance NATO in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Since the start of the war, Stockholm has repeatedly urged Swedes to prepare both mentally and logistically for the possibility of war, citing the serious security situation in its vicinity.

The booklet "If Crisis or War Comes," sent by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), contains information about how to prepare for emergencies such as war, natural disasters, or cyber attacks.

It is an updated version of a pamphlet that Sweden has issued five times since World War II.

The previous version sent out in 2018 made headlines, as it was the first time it had been sent to Swedes since 1961 at the height of the Cold War.

"The security situation is serious and we all need to strengthen our resilience to face various crises and ultimately war," MSB director Mikael Frisell said in a statement.

The 32-page document outlines with simple illustrations the threats facing the Nordic nation, including military conflict, natural disasters, and cyber and terror attacks.

It includes tips for preparedness, such as keeping non-perishable food in stock and storing water.

MSB said the updated 2024 version had a stronger focus on preparation for war.

Over the next two weeks 5.2 million copies will be sent to Swedish households.

The brochure is available in print in both Swedish and English and digital versions are available in several other languages  including Arabic, Farsi, Ukrainian, Polish, Somali and Finnish.

Sweden's former army chief Micael Byden alarmed many of his compatriots in January when he urged them to consider their own preparedness.

"Swedes have to mentally prepare for war," he said.

Also on Monday, the government in Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia, launched a website gathering information on preparedness for different crises. (AFP)
Angola, IN (46703)

Today

Periods of rain. Rain may be heavy late. Low 43F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Rain may be heavy late. Low 43F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected.
Claire Henry and Niamh ODonoghue

A man who carried out a vicious assault on two American tourists in their late 60s in the elevator of a Dublin hotel, threatening to rape the woman and kill her husband, has been jailed for two years.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Sean Dunne (26) pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing harm against a man and woman on April 7th, 2023, at the Ashling Hotel, Parkgate Street, Dublin.

Dunne, of St Catherines Foyer, Marrowbone Lane, Dublin, has 10 previous convictions for offences including threatening and abusive behaviour, breach of a barring order, and criminal damage.

Ms Justice Sarah Berkeley described it as a vicious assault on a married couple who were visiting from the US.

She sentenced Dunne to two-and-a-half years with the final six months suspended and backdated it to April 2023 for time spent in custody.

Garda Stephen Lawlor told Michael Horrigan BL, prosecuting, that he was on mobile patrol on the night in question. He received a call about an alleged assault just after 9pm.

When he arrived at the hotel, he saw one man, who was later identified as Dunne, being restrained on the corridor floor. He also noted blood on the carpet.

The court heard that Dunne was arrested and cautioned at the scene and placed in a garda van. Gardai spoke with both injured parties, an American couple aged in their sixties. They said they had returned to the hotel after eating dinner locally.

They went to the hotel bar and ordered a drink before getting into the lift. Dunne also entered the elevator.

Gda Lawlor said Dunne told the woman that he was going to rape her and kill him, indicating her husband. He then struck the woman in the mouth and began to attack her husband. The woman pressed the panic button.

When the door of the elevator opened, the woman screamed for help, and two others came to their assistance.

The court heard that Dunne was still attacking the man, and there was blood everywhere. As Dunne was being subdued by onlookers, he continued to say that he was going to kill the man. The man fell to his knees and was shaking.

The couple received treatment at the scene from the emergency services but did not require hospital treatment.

The woman told gardai that this was an unprovoked attack. The court heard that this was the couples last night in Ireland, and they returned to the United States the following day. Images of the injuries sustained by both injured parties were handed to the court.

Dunne was interviewed but denied that he assaulted either of the injured parties. He has been in custody since April 2023. Dunne took a trial date but pleaded in advance of his trial.

Gda Lawlor agreed with defending counsel that this was a frenzied attack and that Dunne had not known the couple.

The garda agreed with counsel that Dunne exhibited signs of someone going through a psychotic break and that he suffers from schizophrenia, which was diagnosed in 2020.

The court heard that Dunne had been homeless and turned to addictive substances. Since he went into custody, he has been doing very well, and his mental health has improved significantly.

Dunne is currently on medication. He is off all addictive substances and is tested regularly in prison.

On the last hearing date in June, Judge Berkeley had ordered the probation services to carry out a report and adjourned the case for sentencing.

Passing sentence, Judge Berkeley said the victims were in their late 60s and much older than the accused.

The judge noted Dunne had been diagnosed with schizophrenia but also chose to use illicit substances.

She placed the offending in the middle upper range but took account of his guilty plea.

The judge said she was imposing two-and-a-half years but would suspend the final six months and ordered him to engage with probation services.

I have a real concern in relation to this man, said the judge who noted he had a history of not taking his medication and of using illicit substances.

Dunne who has been in custody since April 2023 will have served most of his detention and is shortly due for release.

The judge also ordered he undergo 18 months post-release supervision and to follow all recommendations and advice in relation to treatment.

He is also to follow all recommendations of the probation services and keep them informed in relation to his contact details and whereabouts.
By Cillian Sherlock, PA

The leader of Fianna Fail has said he is shocked by video footage of Fine Gael candidate John McGahon engaged in an altercation in which another man was injured.

Micheal Martin said Mr McGahon would not be running in the election if he was a member of Fianna Fail.

This comes after Taoiseach Simon Harris said Fine Gael will continue to canvass for Mr McGahon despite photos showing injuries the man suffered following an altercation with the Louth candidate in 2018.

Simon Harris said his party will continue to canvass for John McGahon (Brian Lawless/PA)

Mr McGahon was found not guilty of assaulting Breen White outside a Dundalk nightclub in a criminal case two years ago, but a High Court civil action found him liable earlier this year, with Mr White awarded a sum of damages against Mr McGahon.

Photos were published in a Sunday newspaper showing the extent of the facial injuries suffered by Mr White.

Over the weekend, Mr Harris said his party will continue to back Mr McGahon: These matters were all examined in a court of law.

A jury sat in Louth. A jury looked at the CCTV, a jury looked at images.

A defence was put forward, a defence of self-defence was put forward, and a jury found him not guilty.

Mr Martin said to reporters on Monday he did not want to be too judgmental but added: It was a vicious attack and incident from what I saw on video.

We all have to examine, reflect and be honest about it: If we were in the same situation, I dont think he would be a candidate.

Asked if it called Mr Harriss judgement into question, Mr Martin said he was surprised but added that it was ultimately a matter for Fine Gael and voters in Louth.

He said: I certainly was surprised by the decision to double down on his candidature given what we now know.

Mr Martin said strikes to the head, as depicted in the video, can lead to bad consequences and that it was fortunate Mr Whites injuries were not worse.

The injuries were very severe, there is a victim here and he feels he hasnt been listened to.

Asked about Mr Harris previously depicting the incident as a scuffle, Mr Martin said: It was anything but a scuffle  I presume the Taoiseach hadnt seen the video  it was quite vicious.
PRNewswire

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 18: As part of its mission to champion India's Oral Health journey, Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited, the country's leading Oral Care brand, has announced the launch of its transformative Oral Health Movement. The Movement will cascade Oral Health awareness among millions of Indians and prompt action in partnership with the Indian Dental Association's 50K strong dentist network.

Also Read | 'Rakkayie' Teaser: IN10 Media Network Unveils Lady Superstar Nayanthara in a Thrilling Period-Action Adventure Directed by Senthil Nallasamy (Watch Video).

This unique AI-enabled initiative aims to encourage Indians to prioritize their Oral Health, while leveraging technology to bridge the gap between the awareness and accessibility of Oral Healthcare in India. This initiative aligns with Colgate's commitment to elevate India's Oral Health status through ecosystem building and science-led innovations, positioning Oral Care as a significant priority and contributor to the nation's overall health.

At the heart of this movement is an AI dental screening tool developed in partnership with Logy.AI, which allows users to receive an instant AI generated dental screening report through a simple WhatsApp interaction. Available in 9 leading Indian languages, anyone can participate by scanning the QR code on the recent Colgate product packs or by dialing 8806088060, answering a few questions, and uploading three images of their mouth to receive a free AI-powered dental screening report.

Also Read | 8 Most Dangerous Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria in the World.

Furthermore, Colgate has partnered with the Indian Dental Association (IDA) to activate a network of 50,000 dentists to support the Movement and offer free dentist consultations to people post the tool-based screening. To ensure widespread reach, the Movement aims to cover multiple touchpoints like retail stores, educational institutions and corporates across multiple cities in India.

Commenting on the Movement, Prabha Narasimhan, Managing Director & CEO of Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited, said, "At our core, is the mission to improve the Oral Health of everyone in India. This is both our fundamental responsibility and a tremendous privilege. The #ColgateOralHealthMovement is a significant step towards this long-standing commitment. We firmly believe that Oral Health is essential to overall well-being and through our AI-powered Oral Health Movement we are democratizing awareness and access to Oral Care. This action will enable millions of Indians to take charge of their Oral Health in the comfort of their own homes, and pave the way for a healthy population and healthy nation. We are grateful to our partners who are helping us reach millions of Indian homes to make Oral Health a part of their overall health focus."

The company's flagship education program, Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures (BSBF) has gone strength to strength in India, reaching over 180 million school children since 1976. The program focuses on inculcating the right Oral Care habits, awareness about tobacco prevention and the need for good nutrition. This year, the BSBF program achieved significant milestones partnering with the State Governments of Uttar Pradesh and Goa to extend the reach of this flagship in-school, additionally aiming to positively impact Oral Health awareness amongst over 2 crore children in Uttar Pradesh and over 2 lakh children in Goa.

90% of Indians suffer from Oral Health issues* and yet, 80% of urban Indians don't brush twice daily and a mere 9% visit a dentist in a year.

A comprehensive pan-India study conducted by Colgate and Kantar in 2023 underscores why prioritizing Oral Health is the need of the hour.

* According to the study, in the North of India, only 10% of the region visits the dentist each year. However, the region also reports that 18% people experience toothaches, while 14% face gum problems.

* Further, East India reports that only 8% visit the dentist each year. However, the region also reports that 27% people experience toothaches, while 21% suffer from sensitivity concerns and 15% have cavities. Notably, 22% of East India faces gum issues, which is 60% higher than the national rate.

* While South India is more conscious about their Oral Health, only 9% visit the dentist in a year, 14% experience toothache.

* Lastly, West India reports higher instances of advanced dental procedures, with 10% of dentist visits a year. That being said, currently 14% experience tooth sensitivity while 16% are facing toothaches according to the study.

Through the power of partnerships, Colgate's Oral Health Movement will leverage an extensive network for maximum impact. Apart from its partnership with the Indian Dental Association (IDA), the company will collaborate with a significant number of retail customers, educational institutes, housing societies, bus stations and corporates for on-site free dental screenings.

The Oral Health Movement is accompanied by a mass media campaign, rolled out across television and digital platforms urging people to take dental screenings, supported by nationwide on-ground activations and influencer partnerships. Through this multi-faceted approach, Colgate aims to reach millions of Indians.

For more information about Colgate's Oral Health Movement and to participate in the AI-enabled dental screening, scan the QR code given.

*Dental camp study by Kantar in 2019

About Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited:

Colgate-Palmolive is a caring, innovative growth company that is reimagining a healthier future for all people, and the planet. Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited is the market leader in Oral Care in the country, committed to delivering sustainable, profitable growth for its shareholders, while fostering an inclusive workplace for its people. With a primary focus on science-led innovations in Oral Care & Personal Care in the Indian market, the company is recognized for its leadership and innovative efforts in advancing sustainability and community well-being. Among its recent accomplishments, the company has made significant strides in reducing plastic waste and promoting recyclability, conserving water and energy at its manufacturing facilities, empowering women with financial and digital literacy and enhancing children's oral health through the Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures program.

For more information about Colgate's global business and how it is building a future to smile about, visit: www.colgatepalmolive.co.in

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India PR Distribution

Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) [India], November 18: NIT Jamshedpur is hosting 2nd Industry-Academia Conclave from Nov 15-17 2024. Yesterday the conclave was inaugurated by the Governor of Jharkhand Santosh Gangwar.

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Day 2 Highlights

Day two of the Conclave featured panel discussions of four national and industry relevant topics and participation of schools in model presentations on themes leading to "Vikshit Bharat -Vikshit Jharkhand" -the theme of the conclave.

Also Read | Aaqib Javed Appointed Interim White-Ball Head Coach of Pakistan Cricket Team Until ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

The panel discussion on the topic "Strategic Approach for Social Development and Responsibility by Academic- Corporate Partnership" featured participation by industry academia stalwarts, Prof. Dheeraj Kumar (Dy. Director, IIT-ISM-Dhanbad), Dr. Deepak Mishra (ISRO), Satyanarayana Nanda (Head CSR, TSLPL) Dr. Aradhana Ray (Owner, Laxmi Associates) Ramdas Katre(VP-Jindal Power Ltd) and Gaurav Anand (Founder, Swachhtapukare-Foundation). The panel members highlighted need for strategic alignment between Academia-Industry-Government for achieving "Vikshit Bharat - Vikshit Jharkhand". They dwelt on most successful models for collaborative project-designs and their implementation. They also suggested various methods and metrics to evaluate the impact of such tri-party projects. Panel also highlighted the role of government policy in achieving impactful implementation of these social development projects. They discussed on PPP mode of project implementation for capacity building and training to achieve "Vikshit Bharat" goal.

The other panel discussion featured the topic "Exploring Real World application of Industry 4: Robotics, IOT and Cyber-physical-systems for Sustainable Manufacturing". The panel members included Prof. A. Elayaperumal, (Director-NIT-Nagaland), Dr Salim G Purushothaman, (ED Braithwaite & Co.Ltd), Prof. Prabhat Kumar (NIT-Patna), Prof. Rajesh Tiwari (Principal, RVSCET-Jamshedpur), Manowar Ismail (Sr. General Manager-DVC), Dr. Rohit Anand (CEO Rosa Technology Private Limited), and Kunal Ghosh (Founder, VSD-Bangalore). Panel's discussion was focused on Industry 4.0 technologies for sustainable manufacturing using Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and cyber-physical systems technologies. Industry 4.0 is signalling a change in the traditional manufacturing landscape which encompasses three technological trends driving this transformation: connectivity, intelligence and flexible automation. Industry 4.0 converges Information Technology and Operational Technology to create a cyber-physical environment leading to emergence of digital solutions and advanced technologies associated with Industry 4.0. The panel concluded that "Vikshit Bharat- 2047" can be achieved with adoption of Industry 4.0 paradigms by industry within Jharkhand and across India.

One another panel discussion on topic "Cost, Benefit and Adoption of Digital Twin in Smart Manufacturing: An Industry 5.0 Perspective" was between eminent panellists as Prof. Shubhasish Bhoumick (IIEST-Shibpur), Prof. Atul Krishna Banik (NIT-Durgapur), Debi Prasad Dash (Former GM-Indian-Railways), Rajeev Shukla, (Managing Partner, Himalaya Enterprises), Jayadev Patasani (Plant Head, RKF Ltd) and Anumita Sen Gupta (Unit Head, TSTI). The panel dwelt upon the Challenges in Adopting Digital Twins in Smart Manufacturing setup in India. Further they discussed the role of innovation in the field of Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Virtual Reality in the development of digital twin technology for various industrial products, processes, and services. The panel further also proposed the use of digital twin in education leading to more effective teaching-learning outcome in institutes/ universities.

A Model Presentation competition in which 800+ students applied, however screened to 300 students with 90 models representing 70+ schools and colleges from across the country was a key event. Participants demonstrated a variety of innovative projects, including models on sustainable smart technologies, robotics, and applications of IoT, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence. The award ceremony, with prizes worth Rs1 lakh, recognised outstanding models with distinctions for the winner(Aastha Kumari and Shatakshi of Holy Cross School, Bokaro) 1st Runner-up(Anjali Sharma, Saragya Singh, Krish Verma of DPS Bokaro), 2nd Runner-up(Tuhin Dutta, Kumar Atharv of DAV Bistupur). The model competition was inaugurated by Prof. Amit Patra, Chief Guest and Dr.Subhrakamal Dutta & Adm A.K.Verma attended as Guest of Honour. The ceremony also featured Prof. Goutam Sutradhar, Director of NIT Jamshedpur, alongside esteemed faculty members including Sanjay, Satish Kumar, Dinesh Kumar, Suravi Pal, Subhadeep Metya, Jayendra Kumar, Ratnesh Mishra, Mayank Srivastava and Kunal Singh.

One another panel discussion on topic "Innovation-Driven IPR In India: Recent Development And Challenges" was held among many eminent panellist as Prof. Amit Patra (Director-IIT BHU), Prof. Amit Kumar (NIT-Patna), Dr. Sohini Banarjee (IISWBM-Kolkata), and Dr. Manoj Kumar (JC Group). The panel discussed the role of IP and innovation in achieving the goal of "Viksit Bharat" through "Viksit Jharkhand". The Panel also discussed innovation and IP Creation in Technologies related to AI, Blockchain and Metaverse and also discusses the need of guiding innovators to protect their IP.

Cultural night saw Prof. Goutam Sutradhar performance on one of his favourite musical instruments followed by dance, song acting and band perfomances by students of NIT Jamshedpur to wrap the night up with a Fashion Show.

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New Delhi [India], November 18 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be visiting Gujarat on Tuesday to attend several key events across the state linking multiple sectors, including postal services, law enforcement, agriculture, and environmental sustainability.

The day will begin with the inauguration of the Gandhinagar Postage Stamp Exhibition "Phila Vista 2024" at Dandi Kutir, Mahatma Mandir. The exhibition will showcase a collection of rare and commemorative stamps, drawing philatelists and enthusiasts from across the region.

Also Read | Mumbai: 2 Men Pose As Mahanagar Gas Employees, Run Away With Gold Jewellery in Ghatkopar, Booked.

The Minister will later attend the 50th All India Police Science Conference at the National Defence University in Gandhinagar. This conference is expected to bring together law enforcement officials, experts, and policymakers to discuss advancements in policing and public safety.

In the afternoon, Shah will inaugurate a state-of-the-art animal feed plant at Sabar Dairy in Himatnagar, which boasts a production capacity of 800 metric tons. The inauguration will be a significant milestone in Gujarat's agricultural and dairy sector.

Also Read | Kailash Gahlot Joins BJP: Former Delhi Minister Joins Bharatiya Janata Party Day After Quitting Arvind Kejriwal-Led AAP (Watch Video).

The final event of the day will be the inauguration of Shela Lake in Shela, Sanand. The newly developed lake is expected to enhance the region's environmental and recreational landscape.This visit reflects the government's focus on development across multiple sectors, including postal services, law enforcement, agriculture, and environmental sustainability.

Earlier, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday convened a high-level meeting with senior officials in the national capital to assess the security situation in Manipur.

Sources indicated that the Home Minister has planned to hold a detailed review meeting on Monday to address the concerns and strategies surrounding the fragile security scenario that has gripped Manipur in recent days.

The situation in Manipur has seen heightened tensions, prompting the government to take proactive steps in monitoring and managing regional stability. (ANI)

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New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Monday said that the Centre's online public grievance redressal system will be further modernised using next-generation technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Addressing a National Workshop on Effective Redressal of Public Grievances through a virtual platform, Singh highlighted that the average time for grievance resolution has dropped from 30 days to just 13 days and it "will soon be reduced further".

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The Minister of State for Personnel underscored this achievement as a testament to the government's commitment to responsive and citizen-centric governance under leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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Singh said the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), launched in 2007, has undergone ten-step reforms that have revolutionised grievance management.

These advancements have resulted in over 1,16,000 grievances being registered in October 2024 alone, with pending grievances reduced to 53,897 in central secretariat, said a statement issued by the Personnel Ministry.

For 28 consecutive months, central secretariats have resolved over one lakh grievances each month, the minister said, adding that such bench marks underscore the effectiveness of the system.

Singh also announced the introduction of next-generation technology powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to further modernise the grievance redressal system.

These tools aim to make the process more user-friendly, efficient, and aligned with citizens' expectations, ultimately enhancing their ease of living, the statement read.

The minister emphasised the strategic significance of public grievances as a direct reflection of citizens' feedback on government services and policies.

Over 51,000 new users joined CPGRAMS in 2024, indicating its growing reach and reliability, he said.

These achievements, he added, demonstrate the government's focus on measurable outcomes and citizen satisfaction.

"We are committed to not just resolving grievances faster but also ensuring systemic reforms to prevent them from arising in the first place," Singh said.

The workshop witnessed participation from senior officials, ministry representatives, and key stakeholders who deliberated on further refining grievance redressal mechanisms for a citizen-friendly governance ecosystem, the statement said.

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New Delhi [India], November 18 (ANI): The Delhi unit BJP has formed the 'aarop patra' committee, under the leadership of Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, to continuously highlight and attack the alleged failures of the Aam Aadmi Party. The first meeting of this committee was also held on Monday, where Delhi BJP's Assembly Election In-Charge Baijayant Panda provided guidelines and direction to all present members.

MLA Vijender Gupta while talking to ANI said that Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi is fully supporting Rohingya Muslims and using them as a vote bank. "Today I have written a letter on this subject to Delhi Chief Minister Atishi. Delhi government is getting votes on the basis of their illegal documents. This is dangerous and a matter of concern for the people of Delhi. We will not let Delhi become Bangladesh and we have warned the Delhi government, somehow the encroachment of Rohingya Muslims is increasing and the Delhi government is being negligent and all these things have been written in the letter. Delhi government should take action on this matter. I have also raised the illegal encroachment case of Rohingya Muslims in the House. Delhi Lieutenant Governor has also written a letter to all the agencies on this issue, but even after that Delhi government has not taken any action on this whole matter," Vijender Gupta said.

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The meeting was attended by Harsh Malhotra, Convenor of the Delhi Assembly Election Operations Committee; Co-Convenor Dushyant Gautam; National Secretary Manjinder Singh Sirsa, former MP Ramesh Bidhuri; State Secretary Harish Khurana; and other members.

Talking with ANI the BJP sources said that issues ranging from Ghazipur landfill to broken roads, health, safety, pollution and settling Rohingya Muslims in Delhi have been discussed today.

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The first meeting of the Delhi BJP's Manifesto Committee for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections was held at the residence of Committee Convenor and Member of Parliament Ramvir Singh Bidhuri.

National General Secretary Dushyant Gautam provided guidance during the meeting and shared his experiences with manifestos from other states under his charge.

In a meeting lasting over three hours, members of the Manifesto Committee, including Harsh Vardhan, Vijay Goel, Sardar Arvinder Singh Lovely, Satish Upadhyay, Meenakashi Lekhi, Parvesh Sahib Singh, Ajay Mahawar, Praveen Shankar Kapoor, Rajkumar Phulwaria, Neetu Dabas, and Abhishek Tandon, discussed issues concerning various sections of society. The committee began the process of shortlisting the key points for the manifesto. (ANI)

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New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Monday sought the stand of the CBI on pleas by former Union minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram seeking to defer arguments on framing of charges in the INX media case.

Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri issued notice to the investigating agency on the petitions and said "let response be filed".

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The senior counsel appearing for the two Congress leaders argued that the arguments on framing of charges ought not to commence before the trial court as the investigation was still pending.

CBI's counsel said there was sufficient material to show "demand of bribe" and framing of charges should not be stopped on account of any pending investigation.

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The CBI had registered its case on May 15, 2017, alleging irregularities in a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to the INX Media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during P Chidambaram's tenure as finance minister.

In the pleas before the high court, Chidambaram and Karti, who were represented by senior advocate Sidharth Luthra and advocate Akshat Gupta, have assailed a trial court order refusing to defer the arguments of charge.

Luthra said the chargesheet filed by the CBI in the case was incomplete and the accused persons were yet to be given access to all the material collected by the agency as probe on certain aspects was going on.

"You have been doing investigation since 2017. If you choose to be lackadaisical, should I proceed to argue on charge? It can't be an unfair battle," he said.

Karti, in his plea, said the necessity of further investigation being concluded before consideration of charge impacts his right to fair trial under Article 21 of the Constitution.

"The Ld. Special Judge failed to appreciate that the alleged offence pertains to a period of 2007-08, for which, the said FIR was registered by the CBI on 15.05.2017. Thereafter, the chargesheet in relation to the said FIR was filed on 17.10.2019, after investigation for over 2.5 years," the plea stated.

It said more than 17 years have lapsed since the period of the alleged offence and about seven years have lapsed since the commencement of investigation. Yet further investigation remains pending even as on date, it said.

"The Ld. Special Judge failed to appreciate that further investigation cannot be a never ending or an endless exercise as it has the effect of delaying the proceedings and, thereby, violating the right to fair and speedy trial, which includes the right to fair and speedy investigation, under Article 21 of the Constitution," added the plea.

P Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI in the INX Media corruption case on August 21, 2019. On October 16 that year, the ED arrested him in a related money laundering case.

Six days later, on October 22, 2019, the apex court granted bail to Chidambaram in the case lodged by the CBI. In the ED case, he got bail on December 4, 2019.

Karti Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI in February 2018 and he was granted bail in March 2018 in the INX Media corruption case.

The matter would be heard next on November 29.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], November 18 (ANI): Amid worsening air quality in the national capital, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that the meeting of senior officers of departments concerned at 12 noon for implementation of GRAP IV was rescheduled for later on Monday. He alleged that the HoDs were negligent and no senior official arrived at the meeting.

Gopal Rai says, "After a rise in the pollution level in Delhi, we had called a meeting of senior officers of departments concerned at 12 noon for implementation of GRAP IV. But there is such negligence that despite the pollution level rising to such dangerous levels, no senior officer reached the meeting."

Also Read | Manipur Violence: Government Schools, Colleges Closed Till November 19 Amid Curfew in Imphal.

He urged the senior officials to be present at the meeting.

"Neither the Transport Commissioner nor MCD Commissioner or Principal Secretary PWD or Special Commissioner Traffic or important HoDs of various meeting arrived for the meeting. So, we had to cancel the meeting. We have sent notices to these leaders once again for a 3 pm meeting," he further added.

Also Read | Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Rahul Gandhi Meets Dharavi Artisans, Slams Gautam Adanis Role in Redevelopment.

Meanwhile, eleven flights bound to land at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital were diverted to different cities on Monday due to adverse weather and smog conditions causing low visiblilty.

These flights were diverted under the 'Captain Minima' operating procedures, which refers to the minimum operating standards that pilots must meet for landing, and these standards can lead to diversions if adverse weather conditions prevent compliance.

The Delhi Airport this morning issued an advisory for passengers informing flight operations may get affected but 'Low Visibility Procedures' were still in progress at the airport.

The air quality level in the national capital plunged to 'severe plus' levels. According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 1 pm was 490 in the national capital.

According to CPCB data, the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at Dwarka Sector 8 is 500, Ashok Vihar is 497, Mundka is 495, Patparganj is 495, Anand Vihar is 495, Sonia Vihar at 491, RK Puram is 483, Chandani Chowk is 466 and ITO is 447, as of 12 pm.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) imposed the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage 4 in Delhi NCR from today. This decision was taken after Delhi's daily average AQI rose sharply to 441 by 4 PM on Sunday, and further escalated to 457 by 7 PM which prompted an emergency meeting of the GRAP Sub-Committee.

The Stage-IV response encompasses an 8-point action plan designed to mitigate the pollution crisis. Key measures include banning the entry of trucks into Delhi, except for the ones carrying essential commodities or providing essential services. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Amravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], November 18 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has condemned the tragic deaths of two Hindu girls, aged 15 and 17, in Pakistan's Islamkot area. The girls, identified as Hema and Venti, were found hanging from a tree.

The incident has caused outrage and fear among local Hindus. Kalyan also expressed concerns over the atrocities faced by Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

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https://x.com/PawanKalyan/status/1858192232446116122

"It pains a lot to see, our Hindu sisters in Pakistan going through such atrocities and losing their lives. Every time I see such news about the plight of Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh, it pains me deeply. I pray for Hema and Venti's departed souls with tears," Andhra Pradesh Deputy CM said on X.

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He was responding to information posted by "INSIGHT UK" which reported that two Hindu girls, aged 15 and 17 years old, were found hanging from a tree in Pakistan's Islamkot. Insight UK also questioned the failure of international bodies like the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to address such incidents.

https://x.com/INSIGHTUK2/status/1857846765140983962

"In Islamkot, Tharparkar, a tragic incident occurred where two young Hindu girls, Hema and Venti, aged 15 and 17, were found hanging from a tree. This event has instilled a state of fear in the local area. Hindus across the world are outraged and concerned over the safety and rights of Hindus and other minorities in Pakistan who face relentless persuasion from Islamists," Insight UK posted on X.

Insight UK describes itself as a social movement addressing issues concerning British Hindus and Indians in the United Kingdom.

Earlier in the month, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had condemned the attacks on the Hindu community in Chittagong, Bangladesh and said that such actions would only create more tensions in the community.

Jaiswal, during a weekly media briefing, urged the Bangladesh government to ensure the safety of Hindus. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Nuh, November 18: In response to worsening air pollution, the Nuh Administration has declared holidays for schools up to Class 5 from November 18 to November 22, according to an official order.

As per the order from the office of the District Elementary Education Officer of Nuh, the holiday has been declared in all government, semi-government, and private schools in the Nuh district of Haryana. Haryana School Holiday: Government Orders Temporary Closure of Schools up to Class 5 for Health and Safety of Students in View of Rising Pollution.

The administration has directed all Block Education Officers to strictly implement the orders in their respective blocks. The order reads, "In compliance with the letter no. 1/5-2019 (ACD 12) dated 16-11-2024 of Director General, Elementary Education Haryana, Panchkula and telephone message dated 17-11-2024 received from Deputy Commissioner's Office, Nuh. In view of the high air pollution in District Nuh, the holiday is declared from 18-11-2024 to 22-11-2024 in all government / semi-government / private schools up to class V (class 1 to 5). All Block Education Officers, District Nuh are instructed to ensure that all government / semi-government / private schools up to class V do not remain open during the holiday. These holidays will be valid only for students. The above orders should be strictly followed."

Meanwhile, a thick layer of smog engulfed the Karnal city of Haryana on Monday as the air quality continues to deteriorate. A layer of fog also shrouded the Ambala city as the winter set in. School Holiday in Delhi: Education Minister Atishi Announces All Schools in National Capital To Remain Closed on August 1 As Heavy Rainfall Lashes City.

According to the data of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) as of 8 am, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Karnal reached 259, categorised as 'very poor' while the AQI in Ambala is 177, categorised as 'moderate'. Air pollution is continually increasing in various states, with the AQI of Jalandhar, Punjab reaching 211, categorised as 'poor'. A layer of haze loomed over the city as air quality continued to deteriorate.

Meanwhile, the air quality worsened in Delhi on Monday morning and a thick blanket of smog engulfed several parts of the city. The air quality level plunged to 'severe plus' levels. According to the CPCB, the Air Quality Index recorded at 8 am was 484 in the national capital.

As the pollution level in Delhi continued to rise over the past few weeks, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) imposed the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage 4 in Delhi NCR from today, after the Air Quality Index (AQI) reached to 'severe plus' category.

This decision was taken after Delhi's daily average AQI rose sharply to 441 by 4 PM on Sunday, and further escalated to 457 by 7 PM which prompted an emergency meeting of the GRAP Sub-Committee. The Stage-IV response encompasses an 8-point action plan designed to mitigate the pollution crisis. Key measures include banning the entry of trucks into Delhi, except for the ones carrying essential commodities or providing essential services.

LNG/CNG/electric and BS-VI diesel trucks will still be permitted. Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) registered outside Delhi will also be restricted from entering, except those powered by electric, CNG, or BS-VI diesel engines. Delhi-registered BS-IV and below diesel-operated medium and heavy goods vehicles will be prohibited from operating, except for those carrying essential services.

The Sub-Committee has also extended the ban on construction and demolition activities to include public infrastructure projects like highways, roads, flyovers, and power transmission lines.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], November 18 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party leader and in-charge of the party's National IT Department, Amit Malviya, on Monday, criticised the Congress party's 'hypocrisy' over their stance on the Adani Group, pointing to past investments and agreements made with the corporate conglomerate by Congress-ruled states.

Taking to social media platform X, Malviya referenced Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's recent "public admission of accepting money" from the Adani Group on November 10, 2024, pointing out that this acknowledgment contradicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's repeated criticism of the Adani Group.

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He further highlighted that the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, led by Uddhav Thackeray, had signed the deal with the Adani Group for the redevelopment of Dharavi, under terms that were later adjusted to protect the interests of Mumbai residents.

Malviya also brought up the connection between Adani and Robert Vadra, the businessman and husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, suggesting that it was important for Rahul Gandhi to recognise the contradictions in his party's actions.

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"On 10th Nov 2024, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy publicly acknowledged accepting money from the Adani Group," Malviya stated in a post on X.

"Today, Rahul Gandhi was ranting against the same corporate group. Besides, there is a long list of investments and MoUs signed by Congress-ruled states with the Adani Group in the last ten years alone. It was in fact the UddhavThackeray-led MVA that signed off Dharavi's redevelopment project to the Adani Group on extremely liberal terms, which the MahaYuti had to tighten later to protect the interests of Mumbai and residents of Dharavi. Not to forget close links between Adani and Robert Vadra," he added.

"Rahul Gandhi must understand that he stands exposed," Malviya further stated.

Malviya's statement comes following Rahul Gandhi's recent criticism during a press conference on Monday where he criticised Gautam Adani and his interest in redevelopment projects in Dharavi, arguing that corporate control over land in Mumbai would change the city's character and divert resources away from the public.

"On one side, Adani ji is there eyeing Dharavi and Maharashtra's money. The target of changing the nature of Mumbai, and on the other hand, we have farmers and youth who are dreaming, and the Maharashtra government is breaking their dreams," Gandhi said.

The Congress leader also mocked PM Modi's remark of "Ek hain to safe hain" with a safe and from that pulled out two posters. One showed PM Modi with Gautam Adani with "ek hain to safe hain" written on it and another shows the map of Dharavi with "Dharavi ka bhavisha safe nahi" written on it. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Dakshina Kannada, November 18: Police have arrested the owner and the manager of a resort in Mangaluru, in connection with the drowning of three students from Mysuru at a private beach resort, a senior police official said.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Manohar, the owner of the Vazco Resort located in Ullal limits near Mangaluru, and Bharath, the resort's manager. Mangaluru: 3 BTech Students Drown in Swimming Pool at Vazco Resort Near Ullal Beach in Karnataka, Probe Launched.

"In the drowning incident of 3 students from Mysore at Vazco resort of Ullala limits two people 1) Manohar(owner) and Bharath(manager) have been arrested. Further investigation is taken up," Mangalore police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal said.

Three students from Mysuru - Keerthana (21), Nishita (21) and Parvathy (20) - were found dead in the swimming pool of the Vazco resort a day after they arrived on November 16. Bengaluru Shocker: 5-Year-Old Boy Drowns After Falling Into Pit of Under-Construction Building in Kadugodi.

"Three young women from Mysore lost their lives in the swimming pool at a private beach resort in Ullal, on the outskirts of Mangaluru. The victims, identified as Keerthana (21), Nishitha (21), and Parvathi (20), had checked into the resort on November 16 and were found dead in the swimming pool the following morning," Mangaluru Police Commissioner, Anupam Agrawal said. Further investigation is underway.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mysuru (Karnataka) [India], November 18 (ANI): Karnataka Home Affairs Minister G Parameshwara on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of continuing Operation Lotus in the state. He said that the BJP was still trying to buy MLAs and held these attempts as being "true" based on the statement made by the Chief Minister.

"BJP is still trying to buy legislators. They keep trying to do this. It might be true because the chief minister has said it is being done in crores. We will investigate the matter if we get the correct document. Why not investigate if the record is found? BJP is known for Operation Lotus. They are experts in this," said Parameshwara while talking to the media.

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Reacting to the Lokayukta clearing the previous BJP government in Karnataka of allegations regarding a 40 per cent commission scheme, Minister Parameshwara said that he would read the report first and would examine the basis of the decision taken by the Lokayukta.

Reacting to the alleged "racist" remarks made by his colleague Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, senior Congress leader Parameshwara said that Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar himself said that his statement was a burden to the party.

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"If the KPCC president reports to the party's disciplinary committee, the disciplinary chairman Rahim Khan can take action. I was earlier a chairman of the AICC Disciplinary Committee. At that time, we used to summon the leaders who made statements that were harmful to the party, no matter how big they were. If necessary, we suspended them. The KPCC president can bring this matter to the notice of the Disciplinary Committee. Party leaders said that Zameer's statement is having some effect on the election," said Parameshwara.

This comes after Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that the statement made by Zameer Khan was wrong and informed that he had already apologised for the same. However, Deputy CM Shivakumar also downplayed Khan's "Kaalia" remark against Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy while blaming the BJP for creating "controversy."

"Kumaraswamy and Zameer Ahmed are the closest of friends. Has Kumaraswamy given any statement on this? BJP people are only trying to create controversy. They both are in true love. For more than 20 years they have been in love. They will speak whatever they want for their love," Shivakumar told reporters.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Khan tendered his apology for his remark against Kumaraswamy.

"I apologise if my statement has offended anyone. Earlier, when I was with him, he used to affectionately call me 'kulla' (short) and I used to call him 'black'. I am ready to apologize if my statement offended anyone," Khan told reporters in Mysuru on Tuesday.

Khan said that his remarks will not have an impact on the by-election results in the state.

"It's not an issue on which I need to resign. My statement has been interpreted differently. My statement will not affect the election," he said. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu a 'Silofar Panchamrit Kalash', officials said on Monday, describing the pot as a stunning example of traditional craftsmanship from Kolhapur in Maharashtra.

This 'kalash', they added, is made from high-quality silver, shaped with skill and precision. It features elegant engravings typical of Kolhapur's renowned metal work, with motifs that often include floral patterns, deities and traditional designs.

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The handle of the 'kalash' and the lid are crafted to provide ease of use during religious ceremonies, where 'panchamrit' -- a sacred mixture of milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar -- is served, they said.

Modi had arrived in Nigerian capital Abuja early Sunday on the first trip to the country by an Indian prime minister after a gap of 17 years. He is currently on a five-day tour of three countries and reached Brazil earlier on Monday to attend the G20 summit.

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi Mocks BJP's Slogan 'Ek Rahenge Toh Safe Rahenge', Says 'If PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Ambani Are Ek, Then They Are Safe'.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Imphal (Manipur) [India], November 18 (ANI): Amid the ongoing violence in Manipur, the Manipur police on Sunday imposed a curfew in both districts of Imphal until further notice.

This comes after six people were found dead. Following the incident, the Manipur government suspended internet in seven districts.

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The authorities have imposed a curfew in Imphal West and Imphal East in light of the recent tense situation here. Sparse movements of vehicles can be seen on the streets with deplotment of security personnel. The security has been tightened outside the Chief Minister Biren Singh's residence and Raj Bhavan.

Meanwhile, The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has expressed deep concern over the ongoing unrest in Manipur, which has led to the loss of five lives, widespread displacement of communities, and the destruction of ancestral properties.

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In the release, it stated, "We strongly condemn the violence and urge all stakeholders to prioritize dialogue, reconciliation and peacebuilding efforts. The current situation is not only destabilizing for the people of Manipur but poses a serious threat to the harmony and security of the entire Northeastern region."

The committee urged the Union government to take immediate and decisive actions to restore law and order.

"The NPCC calls upon the Government of India to take immediate and decisive steps to restore Law and Order, address the underlying causes of the conflict, and ensure the safety and dignity of all citizens it is essential to provide adequate support for those affected, including displaced families, and to rebuild trust among the diverse communities present," the statement read.

The NPCC appealed to the people of Manipur to refrain from violence and work collectively towards unity and peace.

Manipur police officials have arrested 23 individuals who were part of the mob involved in the alleged "ransacking and arson of the houses," said Manipur Police on Sunday.

These individuals were arrested from Imphal East, Imphal West, and Bishnupur districts of the state. Additionally, the police officials have recovered one .32 pistol, seven rounds of SBBL, and eight mobile phones from their possession, the police said.

Amid the escalation in the state, a total curfew has been imposed in Imphal until further orders. Following this, the government immediately suspended Internet and mobile data services for two days.

Violence erupted in Manipur on May 3 last year following clashes during a rally organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) to protest against the demand for the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe category. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
No fundamental conflict of interests exists between China, Australia, says Xi

Xinhua) 21:43, November 18, 2024

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Nov. 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- There is no fundamental conflict of interests between China and Australia, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday.

Xi made the remarks when meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Xi said that as long as the two sides adhere to mutual respect, treat each other as equals, and seek common ground while shelving differences, China-Australia relations will surely develop well.

In his meeting with Albanese, Xi also called on China and Australia to strengthen coordination and cooperation and oppose protectionism.

Noting that both China and Australia are supporters and defenders of economic globalization and free trade, he urged the two sides to promote the sharing of opportunities and benefits among various countries via opening up, so as to realize common development.

Xi also said he is ready to work with the Australian side to build a more mature, stable, and fruitful comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Australia to inject more stability and certainty into the region and the world.

Xi pointed out that in November last year, he and Albanese had in-depth communication in Beijing on strategic, overall, and directional issues concerning the long-term development of China-Australia relations.

Over the past year and more, the two countries have maintained close communication and exchanges at all levels, actively promoted the implementation of the important consensus reached between the two leaders, and achieved positive progress, Xi said.

Xi pointed out that more than 250 Australian companies participated in this year's China International Import Expo, a record high, which is a "vote of confidence" by Australian companies in China's economy and cooperation between the two countries.

Noting that the two sides should be firm in expanding the pattern of mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation, Xi said China is willing to import more quality Australian products, encourage Chinese companies to invest and do business in Australia, and hope that Australia will provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.

Albanese said he is very glad to meet with President Xi again on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Australia-China comprehensive strategic partnership.

Since his visit to China last year, Albanese said, the Australia-China relationship has made encouraging progress in various areas, including trade, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples.

The Australian side stays committed to the one-China policy, opposes "decoupling," advocates promoting economic globalization, and hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in such areas as energy transition and climate change, he said.

Noting that China's development has made important contributions to the long-term stability and growth of the Asia-Pacific region, Albanese said that Australia appreciates China's important role in APEC and other multilateral mechanisms, supports China's role as the host of APEC in 2026, and stands ready to strengthen multilateral communication with China to promote regional peace, stability, prosperity and development.

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Nov. 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Kohima (Nagaland) [India], November 18 (ANI): The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has expressed deep concern over the ongoing unrest in Manipur, which has led to the loss of five lives, widespread displacement of communities, and the destruction of ancestral properties.

In the release, it stated, saying "We strongly condemn the violence and urge all stakeholders to prioritize dialogue, reconciliation and peacebuilding efforts. The current situation is not only destabilizing for the people of Manipur but poses a serious threat to the harmony and security of the entire Northeastern region."

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The committee urged the Union government to take immediate and decisive actions to restore law and order.

"The NPCC calls upon the Government of India to take immediate and decisive steps to restore Law and Order, address the underlying causes of the conflict, and ensure the safety and dignity of all citizens it is essential to provide adequate support for those affected, including displaced families, and to rebuild trust among the diverse communities present," reads the statement.

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The NPCC appealed to the people of Manipur to refrain from violence and work collectively towards unity and peace.

According to the statement, it said "We appeal to the people of Manipur to refrain from violence and work collectively towards Unity and Peace Let us remember that the strength of the Northeast lies in its diversity and shared aspiration for development and prosperity. The NPCC stands in solidarity with the people of Manipur, our people during this difficult line and reaffirm its commitment to fostering peace and mutual understanding across the region."

Meanwhile, amid the escalation in the state, a total curfew was imposed on Saturday in Imphal.

Following this, the government immediately suspended Internet and mobile data services for two days.

Violence erupted in Manipur on May 3 last year following clashes during a rally organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) to protest against the demand for the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe category. (ANI)

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New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday directed President Droupadi Murmu's secretary to place before her the mercy petition of death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted in the 1995 assassination case of then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, for consideration.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai, P K Mishra and K V Viswanathan requested the President to consider the plea within two weeks.

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"Inspite of the matter being specifically kept today none appeared for Union of India. The bench assembled only for this case," the bench said.

"On the last date the matter was adjourned to enable the Union to take instructions from the office of the President as to by when will mercy plea be decided. Taking into consideration that the petitioner is on a death row, we direct the secretary to the President of India to place the matter before the President with a request to consider the same within two weeks from today," the bench said.

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The matter will now be heard on December 5.

On September 25, the top court had sought responses from the Centre, the Punjab government and the administration of the Union Territory of Chandigarh on Rajoana's plea.

The then Punjab chief minister and 16 others were killed in a blast at the entrance of the civil secretariat in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995.

A special court sentenced Rajoana to death in July 2007.

Rajoana has said that a mercy petition under Article 72 of the Constitution was moved by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on his behalf in March 2012.

On May 3 last year, the apex court had refused to commute his death sentence and said the competent authority could deal with his mercy plea.

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Khammam (Telangana) [India], November 18 (ANI): A faculty member of a government medical college in Telangana's Khammam district was booked for allegedly taking a student to a barber shop and getting his head tonsured, police said on Monday.

According to officials, a first-year student at Khammam Government Medical College sported a "Chinese-style" haircut and came to the college. Initially, some seniors in the institute's hostel told the first-year student that this hairstyle was not proper for a medical college student and asked him to get it trimmed.

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Following the incident, an assistant professor, who is also the Boys' Hostel Anti-Ragging Committee Officer, got to know about the issue and took the student to a salon and got his head tonsured.

The incident that happened on November 12 has sparked criticism, prompting the college officials to relieve the assistant professor from hostel duties. The incident has also been brought to the attention of the Director of Medical Education.

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According to police, a case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), SC/ST, and Ragging Act. (ANI)

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Hyderabad, Nov 18 (PTI) Telangana government has issued orders sanctioning Rs 205 crore for acquiring over 280 acres of land for the development of Mamnoor Airport at Warangal, after GMR Group which manages Hyderabad Airport issued "No Objection" certificate for operation of the aerodrome.

According to the GO issued on Sunday, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in July 2022, informed the state government that it is ready to develop Warangal Airport for A-320 type of aircraft for IFR (instrument flight rules) operations and is ready to bear the infrastructure cost, operational and maintenance of the proposed airport.

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A master plan has been prepared for the operation of A-320 type of aircraft for which an additional land measuring 253 acres is required from the state government of Telangana, free of cost and free from all encumbrances.

The AAI also wanted the state government to take up the proposal and expedite handing over of the required land to the airports body and no objection certificate from Hyderabad International Airport Ltd.

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As per the concession agreement between GMR Group which manages Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here and the Ministry of Civil Aviation no new or existing airport shall be permitted by GoI to be developed as, or improved or upgraded into, a domestic or international airport within an aerial distance of 150 km of the Hyderabad Airport before the 25th anniversary of the opening date.

Mamnoor is located about 175 km from Hyderabad Airport by road.

"Government hereby permits the District Collector Warangal to acquire the land, admiring an extent of Ac 280.30 gts for development of Mamnoor airport and also sanction Rs 250 crore for land acquisition purpose and is directed to conclude land acquisition proceedings at the earliest," the order said.

The government also ordered the Collector to acquire additional land of 253 acres and hand it over to AAI for expansion of the runway.

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New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) The government looks to revolutionise the maritime sector by 2047 with an investment of Rs 80 lakh crore to enhance port capacity, shipping, ship building and inland waterways, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on Monday.

Addressing 'Sagarmanthan - The Great Oceans Dialogue', Sonowal said key projects include the Vizhinjam International Seaport in Kerala, new mega ports at Vadhavan in Maharashtra, and Galathea Bay in Nicobar.

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"By 2047, India targets a port handling capacity of 10,000 million metric tons per annum, leveraging strategic trade routes through initiatives like the India-Middle East- Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) and the International North-South Transport Corridor," he said.

The Ports Shipping and Waterways minister further said reviving its shipbuilding legacy, India is constructing the National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal while advancing clean-fuel shipbuilding to meet future sustainability goals.

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Sonowal further said the ministry is also preparing to build future ships that run on clean fuels like ammonia, hydrogen, and electric, capable of traversing brown, green, and blue waters.

Also speaking at the event, a Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), Sanjeev Sanyal, said, "Our goal is to position ourselves at the forefront of the maritime sector."

Noting that India has the technology, the young workers, the trade volume, the steel and the coastline, he said the country should aspire in 10 years to build 10-12 per cent of the world's ships and own/flag 8 per cent.

On the sidelines of Sagarmanthan, Sonowal participated in a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Greece, Christos Stylianides.

The two leaders discussed an array of topics and agreed to deepen the maritime relationship between the two countries.

Both the leaders agreed to expand trade from the existing USD 1.94 billions to doubling it by focussing on broadening, increasing, and balancing by 2030.

Speaking after the meeting, Sonowal said,"India is working with Greece to expand economic cooperation with the European Union market."

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Canberra, Nov 18 (AP) Australian senators on Monday voted to censure an Indigenous colleague who yelled at King Charles III during a reception in Parliament House last month.

The censure of independent Sen. Lidia Thorpe is a symbolic gesture that records her colleagues' disapproval of her conduct during the first visit to Australia by a British monarch in 13 years.

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The motion was carried 46 votes to 12.

Government leader in the Senate Penny Wong said Thorpe's outburst sought to incite outrage and grievance.

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This is part of a trend that we do see internationally which, quite frankly, we do not need here in Australia, Wong told the Senate.

Thorpe launched an expletive-laden rant at Charles following his speech during his visit to Canberra and Sydney.

You are not our king. You are not sovereign, Thorpe yelled at Charles as she was led by security guards from the reception.

You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us: our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people, she added.

Following her censure, Thorpe said she would repeat her rant if Charles returned.

If the colonizing king were to come to my country again, our country, then I'll do it again, Thorpe told reporters.

And I will keep doing it. I will resist colonization in this country. I swear my allegiance to the real sovereigns of these lands; First Peoples are the real sovereigns. You don't have some random king rock up and say he's sovereign, she added.

Sen. Mehreen Faruqi, a member of the minor Greens party, opposed the censure motion.

The bubble of white privilege that encapsulates this parliament is a systemic issue, Faruqi said. That's why we are here today, debating a Black senator being censured for telling the truth of the British crown's genocide on First Nations people and telling it the way she wants to."

The vote took place before Thorpe arrived on a flight from Melbourne. Thorpe said she had wanted to be in Parliament for the vote but government senators refused to wait.

Indigenous people account for fewer than 4% of Australia's population and are the nation's most disadvantaged ethnic group. (AP)

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Rio de Janeiro, Nov 18 (AP) With Brazil preparing to host the Group of 20 summit, it appears unlikely the leading rich and developing nations will sign on to a meaningful declaration regarding geopolitics: The meeting Monday and Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro is overshadowed by two major wars and Donald Trump's recent election victory.

Heightened global tensions and uncertainty about an incoming Trump administration have tempered any expectations for a strongly worded statement addressing the conflicts in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine. Experts instead anticipate a final document focused on social issues like the eradication of hunger  one of Brazil's priorities  even if it aims to include at least a mention of the ongoing wars.

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Brazilian diplomacy has been strongly engaged in this task, but to expect a substantively strong and consensual declaration in a year like 2024 with two serious international conflicts is to set the bar very high, said Cristiane Lucena Carneiro, an international relations professor at the University of Sao Paulo.

After Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvathwarted far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro's reelection bid in 2022, there was some excitement in the international community at the prospect of the leftist leader and savvy diplomat  who Barack Obama once called the most popular politician on Earth  hosting the G20. Bolsonaro had little personal interest in international summits, let foreign policy be guided by ideology and clashed with several leaders, including France's Emmanuel Macron. Lula took office and often quoted a catchphrase: Brazil is back."

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Brazil under Lula has reverted to its decades-old principle of non-alignment to carve out a policy that best safeguards its interests in an increasingly multipolar world. That involves talking to all parties, which experts say gave Brazil a privileged position to host a summit such as the G20.

But his administration's foreign policy has at times raised eyebrows. A Brazil-China peace plan for Russia and Ukraine doesn't call for Russia's withdrawal from Ukraine and has been slammed by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And Lula sparked a diplomatic incident with Israel after comparing its actions in Gaza to the Holocaust.

Donald Trump's win in the US presidential election earlier this month and the imminent return of an America First doctrine may also hamper the diplomatic spirit needed for broad agreement on divisive issues.

If we have one certainty, it is regarding Donald Trump's skepticism towards multilateralism, Carneiro said.

Two officials from Brazil and one from another G20 nation say Argentine negotiators are standing in the way of a joint declaration. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly. Two of them said Argentina's negotiators have raised several objections to the draft. They most vehemently oppose a clause calling for a global tax on the super-rich  which they had previously accepted, in July  and another promoting gender equality.

Ambassador Mauricio Lyrio, Brazil's key negotiator at G20, told journalists on Nov. 8 that the leaders' final declaration should address the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, but that diplomats were still discussing how to reach universally acceptable language.

The main message, naturally, is that we need to achieve peace not only regarding these conflicts but all conflicts, he said in the capital Brasilia, adding that Lula's launch of a global alliance against hunger and poverty on Monday is just as important as the final statement.

The leaders' declaration will be the crowning achievement. But, at the same time, as instructed by the president himself, we have a G20 focused on concrete actions, such as the launch of a Global Alliance Against Hunger, with a package of very concrete social programmes and innovative mechanisms to meet the resources needed for implementing them.

Lula, a former trade unionist who hails from a humble background, made the fight against hunger a priority during his first two terms as president (2003-2010) both at home and abroad. The number of undernourished Brazilians fell by more than 80% in 10 years, according to a 2014 UN report.

Lula's hunger alliance is the only one of Brazil's primary aims for a G20 declaration that will be obtained, according to Thomas Traumann, a former government minister and a political consultant based in Rio.

Brazil wanted a global deal to fight poverty, a project to finance green transition and some consensus over a global tax for the super rich. Only the first one has survived, Traumann said.

President Joe Biden will attend the summit after a stop in Lima for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and then travel on to Manaus, a city in Brazil's Amazon rainforest. It will be the first time a sitting American president sets foot in the Amazon, and the trip's objective is to highlight commitment to environmental protection and respect for local cultures, according to a Nov 12 statement from the US Embassy in Brazil.

White House officials insist that Biden's visits to APEC and the G20 will be substantive, with talks on climate issues, global infrastructure, counter-narcotic efforts and one-on-one meetings with global leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Those officials say Biden also will use the summits to press allies to keep up support for Ukraine as it tries to fend off Russia's invasion and not lose sight of finding an end to the wars in Lebanon and Gaza.

Any commitments Biden makes may be overturned by the next White House administration, according to Danielle Ayres, an international relations professor at the Federal University of Santa Catarina.

It would mean Trump would have to be proactive and say the US is not going to do something to which it signed up for internationally, Ayres said. That has a cost. It generates insecurity, a bad perception on behalf of the international community towards Trump.

Trump's election may also cause other countries to look toward China as a more reliable partner. Xi Jinping's inauguration of the Chancay megaport in Peru on Thursday was perhaps the clearest sign of Latin America's reorientation. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet Xi Monday, the first meeting between British and Chinese leaders since 2018. Starmer's office says the UK leader is seeking to repair relations with Beijing after years of acrimony over human rights, Hong Kong and what UK officials say are Beijing's attempts to exert influence on British politics.

A notable absentee at the G20 will be Russia's President Vladimir Putin, against whom the International Criminal Court has issued a warrant that obliges member states to arrest him, and Russia's delegation will be led by Sergey Lavrov. Israel is not a G20 member.

The latest G20 meetings were somewhat depleted and became just another moment for bilateral meetings of heads of government. As Putin is out, Lula managed Ukraine not to be a topic, just as much as Israel. But Trump's election takes from Lula the chance of being the star on the stage, Traumann said. (AP)

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Rio de Janeiro, November 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was welcomed by Brazilian Vedic scholars chanting Sanskrit mantras upon his arrival in Brazil for the G20 summit on Monday.

The group of Vedic scholars, comprising men and women of all ages, sang melodious Sanskrit shlokas in PM Modi's presence. They were dressed in traditional Indian attire, and the Prime Minister keenly listened to their harmonious recitation. PM Modi in Brazil: Brazilian Vedic Scholars Chant Vedic Mantras, Indian Diaspora Raises 'Modi Modi' Slogans To Give Warm Welcome to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Rio de Janeiro (Watch Video).

Brazil Welcomes PM Modi With Vedic Chants

#WATCH | Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian Vedic scholars to chant Vedic mantras in front of PM Modi; rehearsal underway During the second leg of his three-nation tour, PM Modi will attend the 19th G20 Leaders Summit in Brazil, scheduled on November 18 and November 19. pic.twitter.com/yEZ3qerDIS  ANI (@ANI) November 17, 2024

According to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs, there is significant interest in India's culture, religion, performing arts, and philosophy in Brazil. Organizations like the Ramakrishna Mission, ISKCON, Satya Sai Baba, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and the Bhakti Vedanta Foundation have active chapters in Brazil. Indian philosophy and spirituality were among the first aspects of Indian culture to influence Brazil, resonating with the country's colourful folkloric traditions and joyous festivities.

Upon PM Modi's arrival at Hotel Nacional, he received a warm welcome, including a traditional Dandiya ceremony performed by dancers in vibrant Gujarati attire. Members of the Indian diaspora greeted him with gifts, waved Indian flags, and displayed his pictures to express their enthusiasm for his visit. PM Modi Brazil Visit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Lands in Rio de Janeiro To Attend G2O Leaders Summit (See Pics and Video).

Speaking to ANI, the Vedic scholars underlined the influence of the Vedas on their lives. "I started about 10 years ago, I could not see any meaning in my life at the time. When I started studying Vedas I realised who I am. I am a little bit nervous but I am happy," Jenifer Scholles, a Vedic scholar said.

Vedic scholar Jonas Masetti also known as Acharya Vishwanatha said, "Many people in Brazil connect with Vedic culture and Indian culture. The first time they hear mantras, they feel a lot of joy and peace in their hearts. Many students learn Sanskrit, mantras, stories of Ramayan and Mahabharat."

PM Modi is in Brazil to attend the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit, scheduled for November 18 and 19. As a Troika member, India is playing a significant role in shaping the agenda, building on the momentum from its own G20 presidency last year.

In a statement, PM Modi expressed optimism about Brazil's leadership in continuing the focus on the Global South's priorities. "Last year, India's successful Presidency elevated the G20 to people's G20 and mainstreamed the priorities of the Global South. This year, Brazil has built upon India's legacy. I look forward to meaningful discussions aligned with our vision of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future,'" he said. PM Modi also plans to use the summit to strengthen bilateral ties with other world leaders.

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Jerusalem, Nov 18 (AP) Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed eight people, including two children aged 7 and 9 and their parents, Palestinian officials said Monday.

A third child, 10 years old, was wounded in an overnight strike on a tent where displaced people were sheltering in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to the Civil Defence, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government. An Associated Press reporter saw the children's bodies at nearby Nasser Hospital.

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A separate strike early Monday killed four people, including a woman and a child, in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

The Israeli military blames civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing militants of hiding among civilians and fighting from residential areas. It rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.

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The war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 43,800 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. They do not distinguish between militants and civilians but say most of those killed are women and children. The fighting has left some 76 people dead in Israel, including 31 soldiers.

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Lebanon will convey its positive response to a US cease-fire proposal, minister says

BEIRUT  A government minister close to Hezbollah says Lebanon will convey its positive position on a United States-backed cease-fire proposal this week.

The Biden administration is trying to halt the war between Israel and the militant group after months of sputtering cease-fire efforts.

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who is mediating for the militants, is expected to meet with US envoy Amos Hochstein in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday.

Labour Minister Mostafa Bayram, who met with Berri on Monday, said Hezbollah's function is to make sure the (Israeli) aggression fails to achieve its goals, while negotiation is for the state and the government.

A Western diplomat familiar with the talks told The Associated Press there is a sense of cautious optimism.

Diplomatic efforts are converging towards a cease-fire, but it's still in the hands and heads of key players to decide if it's in their interest or not to stop things right now, said the diplomat, who was not authorised to brief media and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

The efforts are aimed at reestablishing a UN buffer zone in southern Lebanon established after the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. Israel is said to be pushing for guarantees it can continue to act militarily against Hezbollah if needed, a demand the Lebanese are unlikely to accept.

Turkey denies overflight permission for a plane carrying Israel's president

ANKARA  Turkey has denied Israeli President Isaac Herzog's plane the right to use its airspace, preventing him from travelling to Azerbaijan, the Turkish state-run news agency reported.

The Anadolu Agency report late Sunday said Israeli authorities requested permission for the plane to access the Turkish airspace on its way to Baku, Azerbaijan, where Herzog was scheduled to attend the COP29 conference on climate change.

The agency based its report on unnamed Turkish officials. It did not say when the permission was denied. A statement from Herzog's office said the decision to cancel the president's trip to Baku was due to the situation assessment and for security reasons." It did not comment on the Turkish report.

Turkey has emerged as one of the strongest critics of Israel's military actions in Gaza and Lebanon. It has suspended trade relations with Israel, accused the country of genocide and voiced support to Hamas.

Children and their parents among 8 killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza, officials say

KHAN YOUNIS  Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed eight people, including two children aged 7 and 9 and their parents, Palestinian officials said. A third child, 10 years old, was wounded in the same strike.

The Civil Defence, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government, said Monday that the two children were killed in an overnight strike on a tent where displaced people were sheltering in the southern city of Khan Younis.

An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies at nearby Nasser Hospital. The two children were beheaded by the blast and their remains were placed in one body bag.

A separate strike early Monday killed four people, including a woman and a child, in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

The Israeli military blames civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing militants of hiding among civilians and fighting from residential areas. It rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.

The war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 43,800 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. They do not distinguish between militants and civilians but say most of those killed are women and children. (AP)

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Baku (Azerbaijan), Nov 18 (PTI) India on Monday urged developed nations to eliminate intellectual property barriers to technology transfer and refrain from unfair trade practices that hinder climate action in developing countries.

The appeal came during a high-level ministerial roundtable on pre-2030 ambition at the UN climate talks in Baku.

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India's environment secretary Leena Nandan said rich nations taking the lead in cutting emissions and achieving net-zero by 2030 is essential to build a stronger, sustainable future.

The official said that innovative technologies are critical for a low-carbon future but said they must be made accessible to developing countries.

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Developing countries need solutions like clean energy and carbon removal, but barriers like intellectual property rights make it hard for them to access these technologies, Nandan said.

COP29 should come up with practical solutions to make technology affordable, adaptable, and relevant for developing countries, she added. India asked developed countries to close the massive climate finance gap delaying climate action in developing countries.

"Trillions of dollars are needed for clean energy projects, disaster-resilient infrastructure, and climate adaptation... It should be ensured that deviation from least-cost development pathways committed by developing countries are fully met though public finance by developed countries.

"Not doing so puts additional cost on people in developing countries bearing a disproportionate burden of climate change without having caused the problem," Nandan said.

A new climate finance package to help developing nations reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change is the top priority of this year's UN climate talks.

With climate impacts worsening, developing countries need at least USD 1.3 trillion every year in financial support. They argue this should come from developed countries' government funding, not from the private sector, which is driven by profit and not accountable to the UN climate process.

India also raised strong objections to unilateral trade measures like the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which it said unfairly shifts the costs of climate action to poorer nations.

These measures hurt international cooperation and add financial burdens to developing countries, Nandan warned.

The CBAM is the EU's proposed tax on energy-intensive products like iron, steel, cement, fertilizers, and aluminum imported from countries such as India and China.

The bloc claims that this mechanism creates fair competition for domestic goods, which must meet stricter environmental standards, and helps reduce emissions from imports.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last month termed CBAM "unilateral and arbitrary" and said such measures could potentially harm India's industries and disrupt the balance in international trade.

According to Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment, CBAM will impose an additional 25 per cent tax on carbon-intensive goods exported from India to the EU. This tax burden would represent 0.05 per cent of the country's GDP.

During a high-level ministerial dialogue on just transition, the secretary said that "just transition" is about fairness and climate justice.

Developed countries must take responsibility for their historical emissions and support the development needs of poorer nations. Principles like equity and "common but differentiated responsibilities" (CBDRRC) must guide global action, she said.

Pointing out the vast inequalities in energy use, Nandan said India's per capita energy consumption is only one-third of the global average and far less than in developed countries. Development remains the top priority for the Global South, where many people lack basic access to energy and infrastructure, she said.

Developed nations should achieve net-zero emissions by 2030 to free up carbon space for developing countries and reduce transition costs for poorer nations. The carbon debt owed by rich nations for their overuse of resources is worth trillions and should be monetized, the secretary said.

India also highlighted that global emissions could peak by 2030, as the 2024 NDC synthesis report projects that emissions will be 2.6 per cent lower in 2030 compared to 2019 levels.

This is achievable if all countries work together. But for this to happen, developing nations need access to finance, technology, and capacity-building support, it said.

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Balochistan [Pakistan], November 18 (ANI): The Baloch Yakjehti Committee condemned the Pakistan Coast Guard for firing at a Baloch vehicle carrying fuel on Sunday, highlighting growing brutalities against the border dwellers.

In a post on X, the BYC stated, "Yesterday, a tragic incident unfolded in Panwan Jewani, District Gwadar, where the paramilitary force Coast Guard opened fire directly on a vehicle carrying fuel. Fortunately, the driver survived, but the vehicle was burned to ashes".

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The BYC further added that the locals of Panwan town blocked the main road in response to the attack. The Coast Guard and local administration made false promises to grant concessions to the victims as more than 24 hours have passed but nothing has been done to provide any concession.

The BYC highlighted, "It is a well-recognized reality that the people of Balochistan lack economic incentives and a basic economic structure. They are heavily reliant on border trade, which has long been an integral part of Baloch culture. The region is mired in poverty, with the majority of the population living below the poverty line. In such dire circumstances, where many struggle to afford even two meals a day, state atrocities and oppression only exacerbate their suffering. Daily, border dwellers face humiliation and torture, violating their fundamental rights to income and sustainability".

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In its post on X, BYC observed, "The ongoing oppression by the Pakistan forces has aggravated the miseries faced by the Baloch people. These people struggle to get proper education, health and food facilities. Under such woeful circumstances, the Pakistani forces commit atrocities against such innocent people".

The BYC said that it "stands in solidarity with the border community and is in support of peaceful trade opportunities for every individual in Balochistan who is dependent on the border for basic amenities".

The BYC further lamented, "The genocidal policies manifesting as unlawful cruelty and barbarism must be brought to an end." (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Hyderabad [Pakistan], November 18 (ANI): Farmers' organisations in Sindh have joined forces under the Anti Canals Action Committee to protest the federal government's plan to construct six new canals on the Indus River.

At a press conference in Hyderabad, leaders from the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA), Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB), and Sindh Abadgar Ittehad (SAI) collectively rejected the proposal, claiming it would exacerbate the region's existing water crisis, the Express Tribune reported.

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Syed Meeran Muhammad Shah, head of the SCA, criticised the project, stating, "Water isn't available in the system, yet the centre wants to irrigate hundreds of thousands of acres of barren lands. This is incomprehensible."

He grieved the declining water levels below the Kotri barrage, which he claimed had devastated lakes, aquifers, and the delta in several districts of Sindh.

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He further alleged that the construction of the Cholistan canal was already progressing without proper approvals. "The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved the canals without considering flaws in the project," Shah said, adding that the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) had issued water availability certificates based on hypothetical estimations.

Shah expressed alarm over plans to irrigate 1.2 million acres of land in Punjab by constructing the 176-kilometer-long Cholistan canal at a cost of PKR 240 billion, noting that water shortages could lead to cuts in other Punjab canals, reported the Express Tribune.

He also mentioned that a protest campaign led by Sindh's agrarians would begin on November 23 and continue across the province until December 11.

Shah's concerns were echoed by Mahmood Nawaz Shah of the SAB, who criticised other canal projects, including the Jalalpur, Thal, Raini, Kachhi, and Upper Chinar canals. He pointed out that international lenders like the Asian Development Bank had already suspended funding for the Jalalpur canal due to opposition.

Sindh nationalists also held demonstrations across the province, denouncing the canal projects as part of a larger scheme to deprive Sindh of its rightful share of water. Qaumi Awami Tehreek President Ayaz Latif Palijo addressed a rally in Hyderabad, accusing institutions like IRSA, CDWP, and the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) of bias against Sindh.

"Sindh is being turned into an arid land. Where are the elected MNAs, MPAs, and ministers of Sindh?" Palijo questioned, adding that Sindh's nationalist parties would continue to oppose the projects, the Expres Tribune reported.

The Sindh government has reportedly assured farmers it would resist the projects in the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and other forums. Farmers' leaders also announced plans to engage with project financiers to dissuade them from supporting the controversial initiatives. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Rio de Janeiro, November 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched down in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro on Monday on the second leg of his three-nation visit to attend the 19th edition of the G20 Leaders' Summit. PM Modi was received by Indian delegates led by Indian Ambassador to Brazil Suresh Reddy.

In a post on X, PM Modi expressed his anticipation to engage in the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with world leaders. "Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders," PM Modi said. PM Narendra Modi Concludes 'Productive' Nigeria Visit, Leaves for Brazil to Attend G20 Summit.

PM Modi Arrives in Brazil to Attend G20 Summit

Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders. pic.twitter.com/bBG4ruVfOd  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 18, 2024

PM Modi Lands in Rio de Janeiro

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi lands in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. During the second leg of his three-nation tour, PM Modi will attend the 19th G20 Leaders Summit in Brazil, scheduled on November 18 and November 19. (Video source - ANI/DD News) pic.twitter.com/5it1R8cpXP  ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2024

The Prime Minister also shared pictures of his welcome at the airport. The Indian diaspora was buzzing with excitement to greet PM Modi. They could be seen waving Indian flags and pictures of the Prime Minister. Speaking to ANI ahead of PM Modi's arrival, one of the diaspora members said, "We are excited for this moment. We wanted to meet the leader of one of the largest democracies in the world."

Another member said that it's an honour to see PM. "It's an honour to see him in person. It is a proud moment for us," she said. PM Modi arrived in Brazil after concluding his first leg visit to Nigeria where he held fruitful discussions with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, focusing on strengthening their partnership in sectors like defence, technology, health, and education. PM Narendra Modi Receives Nigeria's Prestigious GCON Award, Dedicates It to 140 Crore Indians (Watch Videos).

The two leaders also agreed to work together to meet the development aspirations of the Global South. Additionally, India announced it would send 20 tons of humanitarian aid to support Nigeria's flood relief efforts. In the G20 summit, India, as a Troika member, will play a significant role in shaping the agenda, building on the momentum from its own G20 presidency. Brazil is expected to maintain the focus on Global South priorities, ensuring continuity and progress on key issues.

PM Modi stated earlier that after India's successful presidency at the G20 Summit last year, Brazil is expected to continue efforts to advance the Global South's priorities. "In Brazil, I will attend the 19th G-20 Summit as a Troika member. Last year, India's successful Presidency elevated the G-20 to people's G-20 and mainstreamed the priorities of the Global South into its Agenda. This year, Brazil has built upon India's legacy. I look forward to meaningful discussions in keeping with our vision of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future.' I will also use the opportunity to exchange views on furthering bilateral cooperation with several other leaders," PM Modi said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
London, Nov 18 (PTI) The UK police investigating the murder of 24-year-old Harshita Brella, whose body was recovered from a car boot in east London, have launched a manhunt for her Indian-origin husband who they suspect fled the country after killing his wife earlier this month.

In an updated statement from the Northamptonshire Police on Sunday, Chief Inspector Paul Cash said more than 60 detectives were working on the case as the force released an image of Pankaj Lamba, the accused husband, in an appeal for information.

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"Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba," Cash said.

"We suspect Lamba transported Harshita's body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car. We believe he has now fled the country More than 60 detectives are working on the case and are continuing to follow numerous lines of inquiry, including house to house, property searches, CCTV (cameras) and ANPR (automatic number plate recognition). We are, of course, continuing to appeal for any information that will help us piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita," he added.

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Earlier, the Northamptonshire Police had named the woman found dead in the boot of a car in London as Harshita Brella as they launched a murder inquiry over the weekend.

The force said it had received a call on Wednesday regarding concerns for Brella's welfare and officers were deployed to her home address at Skegness Walk in Corby, Northamptonshire.

After getting no answer, the police launched a missing person investigation and fast-track enquiries were made that led to the discovery of the victim's body inside the boot of a vehicle on Brisbane Road in the Ilford area of east London in the early hours of Thursday. A post-mortem was conducted at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday.

"First of all, I want to express my heartfelt condolences to everyone who loved Harshita Brella," said Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell, senior investigating officer from the East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU).

"She was a young woman in her early 20s with her whole life ahead of her and it is absolutely tragic that her life has been cut short in this way. Detectives from EMSOU and the Northamptonshire Police are working around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place," he said.

Investigators believe Brella was killed in a "targeted incident" as they appealed to anyone who may have information about the incident to come forward.

"Although we believe Harshita was attacked by someone known to her, we are keeping an open mind, and would appeal to anyone who knew her to contact us with any relevant information they may have. If you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all," he said.

The police said officers were satisfied there was no wider risk to the public as a result of this incident.

However, extra patrols will be taking place in Corby in the coming days for reassurance purposes. As is mandatory, the Northamptonshire Police has also made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to previous contact between the police force and the victim.

"Shortly after midnight on the morning of Thursday, November 14, the Met was contacted by officers from the Northamptonshire Police, raising concerns for the welfare of a woman who was believed to be in a car in the east London area," a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said.

"The car was located parked in Brisbane Road, Ilford, and the body of a 24-year-old woman was found inside the vehicle," the spokesperson said.

The police investigators are now working to establish the connection between Brella going missing from her home in Corby, around 145 kilometres north of London, and being found dead in a car in the UK capital days later.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Abu Dhabi [UAE], November 18 (ANI/WAM): Rabdan Academy has launched the Specialised Translation in Defence and Security programme. The programme aims to qualify national translators with expertise in simultaneous and consecutive translation, specifically for field training within the security and defence sectors.

As the first programme of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa region, it offers up to 40 accredited hours, which are recognised within the national qualifications framework. Rabdan Academy, an officially accredited training provider by the National Qualifications Centre, offers the programme to eligible participants from national entities.

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The Academy will enable national entities to nominate their employees with a bachelor's degree or higher to participate in the programme, subject to specific terms and criteria.

Participation is open to UAE nationals who meet specific criteria, including holding a family book, a bachelor's degree or higher, an age range of 22-40 years, an IELTS score of 6-6.5, completion of national service for males, an EmSAT Arabic score of at least 1400, and a high level of physical fitness.

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Dr. Muna Abdulla Balfaqeeh, Director of Vocational Education Affairs at Rabdan Academy, highlighted that the programme supports the integration of cutting-edge technologies and advancements in defence and security industries. It enhances military training by accurately and professionally transferring global experiences, ensuring confidentiality and privacy in the military context.

Balfaqeeh added that training UAE nationals in this critical field aligns with Rabdan Academy's mission to deliver comprehensive learning and development services that bolster the professional development system across safety, security, defence, emergency preparedness, and crisis management sectors. It also supports the nation's capacity to face regional and global challenges.

The five-month programme includes theoretical courses such as English for military purposes, military language in the UAE context, Arabic translation skills, and simultaneous and consecutive interpretation exercises within the military framework. Participants will also engage in practical field training, shadowing experienced interpreters to gain hands-on experience in military and security translation.

Developed by Rabdan Academy's Vocational Education Affairs Division, the programme is designed to enhance the professional capabilities of security and defence personnel, equipping national institutions with highly qualified translators in accordance with the highest quality standards. (ANI/WAM)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
United Nations, Nov 18 (AP) Russia vetoed a UN resolution Monday calling for an immediate cease-fire in the war between Sudan's military and paramilitary forces and delivery of humanitarian aid to millions in desperate need.

Russia's ally China supported the resolution sponsored by the United Kingdom and Sierra Leone, along with all other U.N. Security Council members, but Moscow's veto doomed the measure.

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UK Foreign Minister David Lammy, who chaired the meeting, told the council afterward: This Russian veto is a disgrace.  While Britain works with our African partners, Russia vetoes their will.

Sudan plunged into conflict in April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders erupted in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to other regions, including western Darfur, which was wracked by bloodshed and atrocities in 2003. The U.N. recently warned that Sudan has been pushed to the brink of famine.

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Last week, U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo accused allies of Sudan's warring forces of enabling the slaughter that has killed more than 24,000 people and created the world's worst displacement crisis.

U.S. President Joe Biden echoed those concerns Monday at the G20 meeting in Brazil.

On Sudan, we're seeing one of the world's most serious humanitarian crises  eight million people on the brink of famine," he said. This deserves our collective outrage and our collective attention. External actors must stop arming the parties.

Biden urged one voice to tell the rival forces: 'Stop tearing your country apart. Stop blocking aid to the Sudanese people. Stop the violence.

Russia's deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky told the Security Council that Moscow vetoed the resolution because it should be solely the government of Sudan that should be responsible for what happens in the country.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield retorted: It is shocking that Russia has vetoed an effort to save lives, though perhaps it shouldn't be.

She added that "for months, Russia has obstructed and obfuscated, standing in the way of council action to address the catastrophic situation in Sudan and playing ... both sides of the conflict, to advance its own political objectives at the expense of Sudanese lives.

Sudan has accused the United Arab Emirates of arming the RSF, which the UAE denies. The RSF has also reportedly received support from Russia's Wagner mercenary group. And U.N. experts said in a report earlier this year that the RSF received support from Arab-allied communities and new military supply lines running through Chad, Libya and South Sudan.

As for the government, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, who led a military takeover of Sudan in 2021, has received Russian support and is a close ally of neighboring Egypt and its president, former army chief Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. In February, Sudan's foreign minister held talks in Tehran with his Iranian counterpart amid unconfirmed reports of drone purchases for government forces. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Bihar [India], November 18 (ANI): A Tibetan parliamentary delegation, comprising Parliamentarians Tenpa Yarphel and Lopon Thupten Gyaltsen, called for robust support for Tibet during the 'Tibet Mukti Sadhana Aur Bharat-China Sambandh' conference in Patna on November 16-17, 2024.

The event, organised by the India Tibet Friendship Society and the Jagjivan Ram Institute of Parliamentary Studies and Research, gathered prominent figures to discuss India-China relations, with particular attention to the Tibet issue, as reported by the Central Tibetan Administration.

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Addressing the conference, MP Lopon Thupten Gyaltsen emphasised the critical need for India's support for Tibet amidst the ongoing geopolitical tensions between India and China. He invoked Tibet's historical independence, referencing the 1914 Shimla Convention and Tibet's participation as an independent nation in the 1947 Asian Relations Conference in Delhi.

MP Gyaltsen asserted that prior to China's occupation of Tibet, the Indo-Tibetan border remained peaceful, without military presence. He advocated for the re-establishment of Tibet as a neutral and peaceful buffer zone between India and China, highlighting its potential to bolster regional security and stability.

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Underscoring the profound cultural, spiritual, and historical ties between Tibet and India, MP Gyaltsen noted the influence of Tibetan Buddhism, rooted in ancient Indian spiritual traditions, on the Himalayan region's cultural and religious landscape.

He urged India to play an active role in preserving Tibetan religious practices and cultural heritage, emphasising that Tibetans in exile and the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) rely heavily on India for refuge and protection of their traditions and way of life.

In a stirring appeal, MP Gyaltsen called for formal recognition of the Dalai Lama's contributions to Tibet and the world. He proposed awarding the Dalai Lama the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.

According to MP Gyaltsen, "Such an award would be a significant gesture of solidarity from India and would inspire pride among Tibetans, the Himalayan peoples, and His Holiness's global following."

The Dalai Lama, a globally revered spiritual leader, remains a symbol of Tibet's nonviolent resistance to Chinese oppression.

The Tibet-China conflict, a complex geopolitical dispute, revolves around national sovereignty, human rights, and cultural identity. At its heart lies Tibet's political status, its relationship with China, and the rights of Tibetans under Chinese governance. The issue carries significant historical, cultural, and political implications and continues to attract global attention without resolution. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mumbai, November 18: Senior Congress leader and Maharashtra assembly poll candidate Arif Naseem Khan has said there are many chief ministerial faces in the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the alliance will taken a decision on it after the election results are announced.

In an interview to PTI, the former four-term MLA Khan also claimed the Mahayuti government's flagship Ladki Bahin scheme for women will not be a game changer as people in the state know the "real face" of the BJP and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Defeat Ajit Pawars Faction in Big Way in Polls, NCP (SP) Supremo Sharad Pawar Tells Voters.

He asserted the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was united and set to defeat the BJP-led Mahayuti government, which he claimed has turned immensely unpopular. The state assembly polls are scheduled on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23.

Khan, who is contesting from Chandivali assembly seat in Mumbai, said the MVA was united and will decide on the chief minister after the elections results are out. "The Congress never contests election by declaring a 'CM face', we always fight on the name of development, ideology. There are many faces in the MVA alliance, but after the election, all parties of the coalition will meet and decide on the next chief minister," he said.

Khan said the Ladki Bahin scheme, that provides Rs 1,500 as monthly assistance to women, will not be a game-changer, belying claims of the ruling coalition. The Ladki Bahin scheme was launched after the Lok Sabha elections to assuage voters' anger towards the Mahayuti government, he said.

"People are angry with this government. Even schemes such as Ladki Bahin will do them no good," claimed Khan. "Ladki Bahin will not be a game changer. People in Maharashtra know the real face of the BJP and Shinde and are well aware of their lies," he added.

The electors will teach a lesson to the BJP-led coalition in the upcoming elections, he said. The BJP and its leadership resorted to raising communal pitch in the election campaign as they realised that their development agenda was not clicking with voters, the Congress leader claimed.

Khan lost the 2019 assembly elections by a slender margin of 409 votes to Shiv Sena leader Dilip Landed, who aligned with CM Shinde after the party split in 2022. The Shiv Sena-BJP coalition led by Shinde came to power in June 2022 after the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government. Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Raj Thackeray Promises 'Glorious' State if MNS Comes to Power.

"We are getting good support and will win the elections with a huge majority. The Maha Vikas Aghadi is set to form government," Khan asserted. The Congress leader, who held key portfolios in the previous state governments, was upset when the party failed to field a single Muslim candidate in Mumbai in the Lok Sabha elections held in May this year.

Out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance won 17, while the MVA comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP(SP) won 30. "We are going to see a repeat of the Lok Sabha elections in the assembly polls. There is so much anger among the people who are fed up with the current government," Khan said. He accused the BJP of raising slogans such as 'batenge toh katenge' (divided we fall) to polarise voters in its favour.

"If you see the BJP's past, they have indulged in corruption every election. They did not have any answers to problems facing the people. Hence, they fight elections in the name of Hindustan-Pakistan, Hindu-Muslim, kabrastan, love jihad. They are doing it just for polarisation of votes," he alleged. Khan said he was working on an agenda to make his Chandivali constituency and the rest of Mumbai drug-free.

"I know the city's problems very well because I have worked as the suburban district's guardian minister and minister of state for home (urban). There are many issues in this constituency including law and order situation, drug peddling is on the rise," he said.

The Congress candidate said his politics was based on development work and he has always spoken about injustice to the poor. "People know me very well, I always work for people, it doesn't matter who is Hindu who is Muslim," Khan said.
Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna, known for their Telugu films, impressed the audience at the 'Pushpa 2: The Rule' trailer launch in Patna with their Hindi speaking skills. The actors welcomed the audience in Hindi, despite their primary language being Telugu.
Former Telangana Digital Media director and social media activist Dileep Konatham has reportedly been arrested by the Hyderabad Cybercrime police on Monday. While the exact reasons for the arrest were yet to be ascertained, he is suspected to have been arrested for his recent posts criticising the State government and particularly Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy over the failed promises of the Congress. Konatham, known for his vocal presence on social media, has been actively raising concerns regarding the government's performance, with a focus on the failure to deliver on key election promises. His arrest has sparked speculation about the growing tension between activists and authorities over free speech and online criticism.

Dileep Konatham Arrested

Former Telangana Digital Media director and social media activist, Dileep Konatham, has reportedly been arrested by the Hyderabad Cybercrime police on Monday. While the exact reasons for the arrest were yet to be ascertained, he is suspected to have been arrested for his recent pic.twitter.com/ljQ8nQKKC4  Srinivas Reddy K (@KSriniReddy) November 18, 2024

(SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter (X), Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
Vijender Gupta, the Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, on November 18, wrote a letter to Chief Minister Atishi, expressing his concerns over the alleged illegal settlement of Rohingya migrants in Delhi. In the letter dated November 18, 2024, Gupta accuses the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of actively facilitating these illegal settlements, which he claims undermine the Constitution, national security, and the integrity of Indias democracy. Gupta questions the AAP governments silence on the issue and suggests that it could be a political strategy aimed at appeasing a particular vote bank. He warns that such actions represent a violation of electoral laws and pose a direct threat to national security. BJP's Vijender Gupta Declares Assets Worth Rs 1.48 Cr in Poll Affidavit.

Vijender Gupta Accuses AAP of Facilitating Illegal Rohingya Settlements in Delhi

Virender Gupta, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, wrote a letter to Chief Minister Atishi highlighting concerns over the infiltration of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/jfTe7Ww7mc  IANS (@ians_india) November 18, 2024

(SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter (X), Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
Q: Were heading into the drink-too-much holiday season. Can you offer me any suggestions on how to make sure I dont overdo it this year? -- Jack H., Columbia, Missouri

A: Binge drinking, intensification of alcohol-use disorders, and simply drinking too much are common problems during the holidays, when parties and get-togethers at work, with friends and family. are often fueled with alcohol. The potential health hazards are real.

Even short bouts of over-indulgence can inflame the liver, aggravate existing medical conditions such as obesity, heart disease or diabetes, and increase the risk of falling or other injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that from 2018 to 2022, almost 30% of fatal car accidents involved a drunk driver. But during the holidays, it jumped up to 37%. (Other substances, such as cannabis, are also often involved.)

What can you do to avoid over-indulging?

Making sure you get exercise every day can keep you focused on staying healthy and make it unpleasant to feel headachy the morning after. And if you struggle with alcohol-use disorder, a new study in PlosOne shows that 30 to 60 minutes of exercise daily reduces alcohol dependence and elevates mood as it improves cardiac function. Theres also emerging info that GLP1s like Ozempic and Mounjaro may help tamp down abuse of alcohol or other drugs.

Its also smart to drink a glass of water or a mocktail between alcoholic beverages -- or stick with mocktails throughout the get-together.

Always eat healthy food (avoid fried and sweet foods and those loaded with saturated fats) before and while youre having a drink. For great recipes, check out Dr. Mikes What to Eat When Cookbook.

Hang out with folks who are moderate drinkers or abstainers and support your effort to not overdo it.

For more support, check out Dr. Ozs blogs The Pros and Cons of Alcohol and The Health Risks of Alcohol and How to Protect Liver Function on iHerb.com/blog.

* * *

Dr. Mike Roizen is the founder of www.longevityplaybook.com, and Dr. Mehmet Oz is global advisor to www.iHerb.com, the worlds leading online health store. Roizen and Oz are chief wellness officer emeritus at Cleveland Clinic and professor emeritus at Columbia University, respectively.

(c)2024 Michael Roizen, M.D.

Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
A 77-year-old Monroe County man has pleaded guilty in the 2022 shooting death of a 67-year-old man at a Lehigh Township home, authorities said.

William Arthur Strunk of Strousdburg initially was charged with felony criminal homicide; misdemeanor possessing an instrument of a crime; and misdemeanor carrying a firearm without a license. However, court records show those charges have since been withdrawn. Strunk during a hearing Friday before Northampton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Paula A. Roscioli entered a guilty plea for third-degree murder in the death of Michael Austin Powers.

Strunk was arrested in March 2023 after a nine-month investigation. The guilty plea was announced Monday morning by the Northampton County District Attorneys Office. District Attorney Stephen G. Baratta said the plea came as the case was scheduled to begin trial Monday.

Strunk admitted on the morning of June 27, 2022, he was inside Powers home and fired the fatal shots that killed Powers, the Northampton County District Attorneys Office announced Monday morning.

Strunk remains incarcerated at Northampton County Prison after being denied bail in the case. Alexandria J. Crouthamel, co-counsel who previously represented Strunk with current public defender Theodore Skaarup, told lehighvalleylive.com pleading guilty was the right move for Strunk.

I think the plea was favorable for him given his age and the facts, she said Monday.

The case unfolded when Pennsylvania State Police on June 29, 2022, were called for a welfare check on Powers. Investigators found Powers dead in his home in the 4500 block of Lower Three Mile Lane.

Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek then said he pronounced Powers dead at the scene and ruled the death a homicide. Investigators had said Powers had multiple gunshot wounds, and his cause of death was gunshot wounds to his chest and mouth. State police said bullets removed from Powers body were .38/.357 caliber.

Investigators in March raided Strunks apartment on Ann Street in Stroudsburg, seizing a .38-caliber handgun and a box of ammunition in the home, court records stated. Investigators didnt reveal a motive to the shooting. However, Strunk in an interview at the Monroe County District Attorneys Office after the raid reportedly confessed to shooting Powers four times and killing him, court records state.

Strunk on Jan. 14 is due back in court for his sentencing. He faces up to 40 years in state prison.

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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
A Bethlehem teen accused of shooting and killing a 30-year-old man in a drug deal gone bad now is headed for trial in the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas.

Gianni Santini, 17, of the 1770 block of Callone Avenue, is facing felony criminal homicide; felony aggravated assault and two counts felony robbery charges, as well as firearms and weapons offenses, authorities said. Santini on Sept. 27  a day after the incident  surrendered to police and is being charged as an adult in the case.

All charges against Santini were bound Nov. 13 for county court after he waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Santini will face trial unless a plea is entered or the case is disposed of in another way. Bail was denied in the case following a preliminary arraignment in September before District Judge Vivian I. Zumas.

Santini remains incarcerated at Northampton County Prison. Allentown-based attorney, John Waldron, who previously represented Santini, told lehighvalleylive.com on Monday he is no longer involved in the case. Upper Saucon-based attorney Mark Heinrich, now representing Santini, couldnt immediately be reached for comment Monday morning.

The Northampton County District Attorneys Office announced the pending trial Monday morning. Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta praised the quick work of city police in taking Santini into custody.

The arrest came only hours after Bethlehem police obtained an arrest warrant, Baratta said in a news release.

The shooting happened shortly before 11:30 p.m. Sept. 26 as Santini met 30-year-old Altaron Amir Robinson of Easton and another 21-year-old woman from Allentown in the 1900 block of Butztown Road, the affidavit of probable cause states.

The incident happened on the street, near Governor Wolf Elementary School. The trio agreed to meet to exchange $320 in cash for marijuana outside the school, according to city police. The male victim and Santini arranged the deal over social media, text messages and Facetime and didnt know each other prior to the meeting, court records state.

The female victim reported to investigators she watched as Santini walked on the sidewalk of the north side of the elementary school, along the east side of the building. He crossed the grass into the street and over to her silver Mercedes-Benz, she reported. She was parked outside the school with Robinson in the drivers seat and she was in the front passenger seat, court records state.

Robinson told Santini to get into the back passenger seat behind him, which he did before pointing a handgun at the womans head, court records state. Santini then allegedly pointed the gun at Robinson. The woman handed over two designer purses and the bagged marijuana, city police said.

Santini then got out of the car and began to run, according to police. Robinson chased after Santini, tackled him to the ground and the pair tussled before the female victim heard two gunshots, according to police.

Santini then fled while the woman called 911, court records state. Responding investigators seized two spent 9 mm casings and one live round, as well as a perm cap Santini was seen on video surveillance footage wearing to cover his head and glasses, authorities said.

Police issued a warrant for Santinis arrest on Sept. 27. It came after a relative of Santini reported the teen was a possible suspect. Bethlehem Area School District shut down Governor Wolf Elementary School that day as police investigated. Crime scene tape Thursday evening could be seen around the schools property.

Robinson was taken to St. Lukes University Hospital in Fountain Hill, where he was later pronounced dead by the Lehigh County Coroners Office. An autopsy determined Robinsons death was caused by a gunshot wound to the head and the manner was ruled a homicide by Lehigh County Coroner Daniel A. Buglio.

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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
Vince Spaits grew up close to Coplay Creek, and hes been fishing there and in other Lehigh River tributaries for well over 40 years.

Hes never seen water levels as low as they are right now amid unrelenting drought conditions.

With no quenching rain yet assured, the situation has sparked wildfires, generated fire warnings and burn bans, and led to calls for water conservation across eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The impacts on the ecosystem of local waterways could take years to repair, according to members of the Lehigh River Stocking Association. Spaits, the nonprofit organizations vice president, walked the Coplay on Nov. 10 and found entire stretches of the creek completely dry. There were hundreds of dead fish across a variety of species, including sunfish, white suckers, shiners and dace.

I even found a somewhat large eel, and I found trout, the Whitehall Township resident said, stressing the unseen impacts that extend to plant life, and the macro-invertebrates and benthic organisms the fish rely on as food: They survive in the water, they need the water to live and breathe, and without water they die very quickly.

A fish lies dead Nov. 10, 2024, in the dry bed of Coplay Creek in Whitehall Township, amid unrelenting drought conditions, in this photo provided by Vince Spaits.Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com

Raccoons and heron were seen feeding on the carcasses, but Spaits worries about what the loss of fish will mean in the longer term for the ecosystems food chain.

Everything that lives in there, when it dries out completely it kills it, and it will take a while for that to rebound, said Tom Gyory, the stocking associations treasurer and manager of its co-op nursery in North Whitehall Township.

The Lehigh Valleys official rainfall measurement has totaled 1.61 inches since Sept. 1, including a record-low 0.02 of an inch in October and the 0.29 of an inch that fell Nov. 10-11. The prior days measurable rainfall came Oct. 24, with about 0.01 of an inch, and Sept. 29 with 0.03 of an inch.

The precipitation deficit as of Friday totaled 8.78 inches since Sept. 1 and 5.44 inches for the year, compared to normal levels.

Thats quite a bit to ask for all at once, said Mike Lee, lead meteorologist for the National Weather Services regional forecast office in Mount Holly, New Jersey. And to get there, ideally wed have a couple of systems come in and drop a couple of inches at a time.

We are not getting those 5 inches of rainfall in a week or maybe the next two weeks, he told lehighvalleylive.com last Tuesday, pointing to a ridging pattern that has been favoring high pressure across the area.

The weather service forecast for Lehigh Valley International Airport, where the official measurements are recorded, calls for a 40% chance of showers Wednesday night into Thursday this week.

Michael Schott submitted this photo of the Schoeneck Creek completely dry Nov. 3, 2024, along North Liberty Street in Nazareth. Hed never seen in dry in 10 years of living in the area.Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com

The Lehigh River Stocking Association is coming off a 2024 season that saw the worst mortality ever at its nursery pond, according to Gyory. One of about 150 co-op nurseries that raise fingerlings supplied by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, the pond a couple of 100 yards from the Lehigh lost about half of its 2,000 springtime trout. Fish and Boat sent out a biologist, who diagnosed a common bacterial infection, and supplied antibiotic-medicated fish feed as well as replaced the 1,000 or so trout that had died, Gyory said.

Today, the drought is cutting flows to the pond, making it more stagnant than normal with increased levels of fish effluent, Gyory said: Right now were still worried that its going to cause more mortality.

Founded in 1991, the association stocks 27 miles of the Lehigh from Northampton to Jim Thorpe.

Whats really nice is we see some natural reproduction going on in the Lehigh, Gyory said. We see small brown trout that we know were born there, so its really been becoming a destination fishery  people come from all over to fish in the Lehigh now.

Spaitss observations of the Lehigh, compared to its tributaries, are that its levels remain sufficient for fish to find spots to ride out the drought. Thats also the hope of Brian Wagner, chairman of the Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited Conservation Committee.

The trout kind of know what to do, how to survive, so theyll go to the areas where theyre getting the proper habitat and things like that, Wagner told lehighvalleylive.com.

Bushkill Creek is running low Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, through Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center in Bushkill Township.Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com

Wagner has been noticing Lehigh Valley streams that are spring-fed doing OK, while freestone streams with less spring-fed recharge are getting pretty low and skinny-looking.

He doesnt fish as much this time of year, he said, since its the spawning season for species like brown and brook trout. Visitors to streams might spot oval areas called redds where a female trout has cleaned away the gravel to make a little pit where her eggs will be deposited for the male to fertilize.

The drought has not impacted Pennsylvanias fall trout stocking, as the last of the years 3.2 million trout stocked by the Fish and Boat Commission were released, spokesman Mike Parker said. Co-op nurseries like the Lehigh River Stocking Association release a million more. Its been a slightly different story in New Jersey, where low-flow conditions on rivers and streams delayed the fall stocking of some 20,000 rainbows averaging 14-16 inches in length and up to 1,000 broodstock trout that are 3-year-old rainbows averaging 18-22 inches, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

One impact of the drought on Pennsylvania fishing is occurring in the Lake Erie area, according to the Fish and Boat Commission. For decades, the commission has stocked about a million nursery-raised steelhead trout annually in the 20 or so streams that flow into Lake Erie, where they then grow to adulthood before returning to their nascent stream to spawn.

This is the time of year when people fish for steelhead, Parker said, as the spawning run kicks off in fall and continues through winter into early spring.

Steelhead fishing, however, is reliant on rainfall, and low-flow conditions can result in the trout getting stuck in spots rather than continuing their run upstream. Parker urges steelhead anglers planning a trip to Lake Erie to be aware that conditions havent been ideal for a strong steelhead run.

Elsewhere in the state, fall can make for great fishing of species like bass, catfish, walleyes and muskies as they are eating more  and are more responsive to bait  before they become less active over winter, according to Parker.

The dry spell has led to drought declarations this month in 35 Pennsylvania counties and a drought warning in New Jersey. Dozens of public water suppliers in Pennsylvania have asked users to conserve water.

The reservoir in New Jerseys Spruce Run Recreation Area off Interstate 78 outside Clinton is noticeably low, as water has been released there and at nearby Round Valleys reservoir to augment the low flow in the Raritan River that is the primary source of water for New Jersey Water Supply Authority customers, according to Executive Director Marc Brooks.

Visitors to Spruce Run have observed old foundations and wells visible as the water level has receded.

And once things like this happen, its a long road back, Spaits, from the Lehigh River Stocking Association, said of the historic drought conditions. And even federal and state agencies cant do much to put bugs back into the river. That has to happen in a natural way and over time.

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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
An American man was remanded in custody accused of killing his father at a luxury hotel in Laois last week.

Henry McGowan (30) of 114 Clinton Street, Brooklyn, New York appeared before Portlaoise via videolink today(Monday, November 18).

He is charged with the murder of John McGowan at The Lodge, Ballyfin Demesne, Ballyfin on November 12, 2024

Solicitor Barry Fitzgerald said the accused was being held in a secure part of Cloverhill Prison.

The defendant, who was wearing a grey sweatshirt, confirmed that he could hear and see court on the video link.

There is consent for a further remand in custody for service of the book of evidence, said Mr Fitzgerald, who noted the book was unlikely to be ready by the next remand date in a fortnight.

Detective Garda Gerard Galwey asked that the defendant be produced on the next date as he wished to amend the charge sheet.

Judge Susan Fay agreed to the remand and to have the defendant produced at the next date on December 2. The defendant replied 'thank you' when the brief hearing ended.
The leader of Fianna Fail has said he is shocked by video footage showing Fine Gael candidate John McGahon in an altercation in which another man was injured.

Micheal Martin said Mr McGahon would not be running in the election if he was a member of Fianna Fail, while Green Party leader Roderic OGorman urged caution over cancelling election candidates.

Taoiseach Simon Harris has continued to defend Fine Gaels decision to select Mr McGahon as an election candidate for Louth despite photos showing injuries suffered by the man after the incident in 2018.

Mr McGahon was found not guilty of assaulting Breen White outside a Dundalk nightclub in a criminal case two years ago but a High Court civil action earlier this year found him liable, with Mr White awarded a sum of damages against Mr McGahon.

Photos were published in a Sunday newspaper showing the facial injuries suffered by Mr White.

Mr Harris said he had seen a video of the incident on the internet, but added that he did not believe it was the full footage.

He added that the jury saw all the footage before acquitting Mr McGahon.

Political parties will say what they wish to say at an election, and obviously theres a very competitive election going on in Co Louth and Im very conscious of that, he told the media in Dublin.

The reality of the situation is all of these issues were litigated in front of a court. A jury sat, a jury looked at all of the evidence, all of the CCTV, all of the photos.

A defence of self-defence was put forward in the court, and John McGahon was acquitted by a jury of his peers.

Of course, if he had not been acquitted, if hed been found guilty by a criminal court, wed be in a very different situation.

He added: Its interesting, these facts have been known for a very long period of time, and obviously, now that theres an election and theres a focus in relation to this, but ultimately (it will) be up to the people of Louth to decide, but John McGahon was duly selected in Louth after being acquitted by a jury of his peers of assault.

Mr Martin said to reporters on Monday he did not want to be too judgmental but added: It was a vicious attack and incident from what I saw on video.

We all have to examine, reflect and be honest about it: If we were in the same situation, I dont think he would be a candidate.

Asked if it called Mr Harriss judgement into question, Mr Martin said he was surprised but added that it was ultimately a matter for Fine Gael and voters in Louth.

He said: I certainly was surprised by the decision to double down on his candidature given what we now know.

Mr Martin said strikes to the head, as depicted in the video, can lead to bad consequences and that it was fortunate Mr Whites injuries were not worse.

The injuries were very severe, there is a victim here and he feels he hasnt been listened to.

Asked about Mr Harris previously depicting the incident as a scuffle, Mr Martin said: It was anything but a scuffle  I presume the Taoiseach hadnt seen the video  it was quite vicious.

Minister for Children Mr OGorman said it was up to the voters in Louth to decide whether the seriousness of this assault is disqualifying for Senator McGahon.

I think ultimately we leave these decisions to the voters in the areas, he said.

I think we should be very careful about, you know, cancelling who can rule and who can contest a general election. Its an essential part of our democracy, but Ive always relied on the Irish people to exercise their good judgment in terms of the candidates that they elect.

Asked if he would be happy to work with Mr McGahon if there was another coalition with Fine Gael and the Greens, he said: If Senator McGahon is elected by the people of Louth, I think ultimately thats their decision.

The issue has arisen in the second of the three-week general election campaign.

All parties bar Sinn Fein and the Social Democrats have published their general election manifestos, making pledges on housing, childcare and on how to spend the 14 billion Apple tax money.

Ten party leaders are to take part in the first televised leaders debate of the election campaign on Monday evening.

RTE will host the debate from 9.35pm between Mr Harris, Mr Martin, Mr OGorman, Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald, Labour leader Ivana Bacik, People Before Profits Richard Boyd Barrett, Independent Irelands Michael Collins, Aontu leader Peadar Toibin, and Joan Collins of Right to Change.

The Social Democrats deputy leader Cian OCallaghan is to step in for leader Holly Cairns, who is due to give birth this week.

Speaking ahead of the debate, Mr Harris said: Theres not nearly enough focus being paid in this election debate to the economy. I personally think there should be a debate scheduled on the economy.

Theres lots of discussions about how to spend money, not nearly enough discussion in relation to the economy.

Asked whether Fine Gael was trying to give out policies in their manifesto for everyone in the audience, Mr Harris said not at all.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) issued a recall on Thursday, November 14, of a popular children's toy, due to fears that there is a risk of choking present.

Flying Tiger Copenhagen is a Danish variety store chain, which sells a multitude of different products, both for children and adults.

The brand, which is home to 23 shops across Ireland, as well as a large web store, is recalling their 'Hairband with light and veil dark unicorn' product.

The risk reported to the CCPC is choking, as the lid of the battery box in not securely fastened. This means the batteries could be accessible, and become a potential choking hazard for small children.

There are approximately 49 affected products throughout the Republic of Ireland, with the affected products being on sale from September 2024.

The item number is 3056915. The barcode is 0200030569151. All batches are affected.

READ MORE: Met Eireann issues new weather warning for entire country amid snow and ice

Customers should stop using this product immediately and keep it out of the reach of children.

Consumers are encouraged to return the toy to their nearest Flying Tiger Copenhagen store for a full refund.

Alternatively, Flying Tigers customer care can be contacted here.
The Green Party has called for a Citizens Assembly on a four-day work week in order to comb through issues such as peoples pay and its effect on the public service.

Childrens Minister Roderic OGorman said it should be held after the planned citizens assembly on education, suggesting the second year in government with legislation implemented in the third year of government.

He said that flexible and remote work had achieved a better work-life balance for people, but it was now time to take the next steps forward.

He said that figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) suggests about a quarter of workers feel they get inadequate amount of leisure time and time with their families.

Mr OGorman said this limited spare time has health, mental health and social impacts.

A Citizens Assembly was warranted because there were complexities to the suggestion, he added, particularly for the hospitality and public sectors.

It also raised questions on what people should be paid to work a four-day week.

Fundamentally, we want to continue this effort to broaden out access to leisure time, broaden out access to caring time and benefit from the technological changes, AI changes, and make sure that those changes are benefiting workers in the same way that theyre often benefiting their companies, he said on Monday.

The party is also pledging to hold an extra bank holiday in July.

This would bring Irelands total number of bank holidays up to 12, which is the European average.

Asked whether the four-day proposal was a bid to attract voters back to the Green Party, after they had fallen from 7% support in the general election to around 3-4% in current polls, Mr OGorman said no I dont think so.

I think it speaks to the work weve already done with this government in terms of trying to help workers balance their work-life responsibilities with their caring responsibilities as well.

So its consistent with the work-life balance act that I introduced, its consistent with the extension of breastfeeding breaks that I introduced, and its consistent with the introduction of the February bank holiday, which the Green Party championed.

Asked about the possible challenges of a four-day work week, he added: Were not talking about immediate implementation. Were talking about discussing it with social partners, see what are the benefits, see how we can support it.

The four-day week and bank holiday proposals were highlighted in the Green Partys election manifesto.

The party also proposed expanding the right to request flexible working to all workers, and not just those in caring roles; to transpose and legislate for the provisions of the EU Pay Transparency Directive, and to implement a living wage.

Other Green Party election pledges contained in its manifesto include spending 10 billion euros on public transport, a tax on business class flights and private jets, and a State-led childcare system.

It said it would oversee 50,000-53,000 new homes built a year, 15,000 of which would be affordable and 12,000 social; and create a means testing agency to simplify access to public services.
Irelands premier and deputy premier again made clear their opposition to entering any coalition government with Sinn Fein in the first major TV debate of the Irish General Election campaign.

Standing together in the RTE studio, after a random draw placed them side by side, Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris and Tanaiste and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin were asked about their intentions if both secured a mandate to return to government.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fail served together for the first time in the last administration, a historic coalition that brought together two parties forged from opposing sides of Irelands civil war of the 1920s.

The Green Party served as a junior partner in the government.

Sinn Fein won the popular vote in 2020 but a failure to run enough candidates meant it did not secure sufficient seats in the Dail to give it a realistic chance of forming a government.

Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald is hoping to secure a breakthrough on polling day on November 29 that would see her party enter government south of the border.

As the debate involving 10 party leaders and deputy leaders began on Monday night, Mr Harris ruled out a coalition with Sinn Fein.

I dont mean that in any sort of pejorative sense, its just being honest with the electorate, he said.

I think its important to tell people where you stand on a policy basis and give people choices.

If people vote for Sinn Fein to be in government, thats their choice, but my party doesnt wish to be a part of any such government.

Mr Martin was asked the same question.

He said there were major policy differences between Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein.

Theyre not serious when it comes to pro-enterprise policies, he said.

They opposed our entry into the European Union and every treaty since.

Ms McDonald insisted it was for the electorate to decide which party had a pathway to power.

I think this election is potentially a historic one, she said.

Because for the very first time, there is the choice, the opportunity of a government led by neither Fine Gael nor Fianna Fail, but rather led by Sinn Fein.

Green Party leader Roderic OGorman said his party had delivered in government and said they had spoken to Sinn Fein on policy priorities after the last general election but it wasnt clear to us that there was an alternative government available at that period.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik said people were looking for constructive change and said she would speak to like minded centre-left parties.

We have significant policy differences in Labour with the three biggest parties, she said.

Social Democrats deputy leader Cian OCallaghan said they would speak to all the parties after the election.

Aontu leader Peadar Toibin prompted protestations when he said: I just think its incredible.

Were about 10 minutes in, and nobodys been able to give a straight answer at this stage.

He added that they would not go into government with Fine Gael, accusing them of having incinerated peoples money through waste or the Greens, due to the damage thats been done to rural Ireland in terms of the pressure put on farmers.

He also called Fianna Fail an empty hollow husk and said of Sinn Fein we dont know what they stand for.

Michael Collins said Independent Ireland would not whip its TDs on moral issues, but they would on a programme for government, and said they would not rule out any party.

People Before Profits Richard Boyd Barrett said that they wanted to end 100 years of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael rule and see a left government for the first time in the history of this state.

He said there should be a left alliance, to which Ms Bacik agreed, before Joan Collins of Right To Change said she would speak to all left progressive groups who are a serious current.
Laois secondary school teachers will stage a walk out at lunchtime on Tuesday in protest of changes to the senior cycle.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) have partnered with the Teacher's Union of Ireland (TUI) to stage this walk out, involving a combined total of 30,000 teachers.

The schools are calling for a delay to the changes within the senior cycle curriculum, which are due to begin in September of 2025. The protest will take place at lunch time on Tuesday November 19, over the lunch period so classes may remain undisturbed.

Teachers across Ireland are opposed to these sudden changes, protesting the fast-paced redevelopment.

"This campaign is being driven by teachers in order to protect the standards and quality of the Irish education system," the unions declared in a joined statement.

"Our members will support change that is sufficiently resourced and is of educational benefit. Regrettably, our experience to date has cause for concern and has resulted in this campaign to seek a postponement".

The groups are calling for "comprehensive and fully informed in-service training" for teachers,

Schools around the country staging a walkout to call for a delay to changes to the senior cycle.

In September of 2023, Minister for Education Norma Foley announced that the overhaul through the Senior Cycle Redevelopment programme would take place two years earlier than the 2027 date originally planned.

The new system has been accelerated to come into effect in 2025 through three stages, with each stage expected to take between 12 to 18 months to complete, with some overlap between stages.

Protests next Tuesday are held to fight this acceleration, calling for a delay in the implementation of changes to Senior Cycle education.

Minister for Education Norma Foley recently launched the two new Senior Cycle subjects: Leaving Certificate Drama, Film and Theatre Studies; and Climate Action and Sustainable Development.
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Rethink Ireland, in partnership with State Street and the Department of Rural and Community Development, has today launched the 1.37 million Breaking Barriers Fund to support projects and organisations tackling discrimination and inequality in education and employment. This three-year fund will support diverse workplace initiatives and sustainable employment and education programmes that remove barriers for people from marginalised or minority backgrounds.

Not-for-profit organisations that provide greater access and opportunity to education and employability for people of different ethnic backgrounds, migrants, refugees, and the Traveller community can apply for this new fund. Awardees will receive support in the form of a cash grant and a place on Rethink Irelands Accelerator Programme, to strengthen their operations, increase their social impact, and ensure organisational sustainability.

Commenting on the Breaking Barriers Fund, Deirdre Mortell, CEO of Rethink Ireland, said: Education and employment are vital pathways to building an equal Ireland, but discrimination continues to block these paths for too many people. Our industry research shows us that diverse workplaces are more innovative and build stronger communities. However, talented people from minority backgrounds continue to face significant barriers to entry and advancement in the workplace. Through the Breaking Barriers Fund, we're backing organisations actively challenging discrimination and creating real opportunities for minority communities across the country. Our generous donors share our vision and by working together, we're working towards an Ireland where talent and potential can flourish, regardless of background.

Terri Dempsey, CEO and Country Head at State Street Ireland, said: At State Street we are particularly proud of our community impact in Ireland. Having previously partnered with Rethink Ireland on the Ability to Work Fund, which supported people with disabilities on pathways to employment, we are privileged to continue our support in the fight against discrimination and inequality. Now, through the Breaking Barriers Fund, our shared aim is to further enable those who champion and empower all communities in such an impactful way. Our purpose at State Street is to help create better outcomes for our people, investors, and the communities around us, and we are proud that this partnership with Rethink Ireland is part of that purpose.

The Great Care Co-op, a previous awardee on Rethink Irelands Equality Fund, is a worker-owned home care cooperative co-founded by a group of migrant women to provide fair and equitable employment for women working in Irelands care sector. Nelia Rareza, Co-founder and Board Chairperson of The Great Care Co-op said:

As migrant women working in home care, we witnessed firsthand the dual impact of discrimination: poor working conditions for carers and compromised care quality for clients. Rethink Ireland's Equality Fund provided us with cash grants and an Accelerator Programme to help us scale up our model as Ireland's first worker-owned care cooperative, where migrant women make decisions rather than just provide care.

With Rethink Ireland's support, we've grown to operate three care hubs, created 25 sustainable care jobs with improved pay and pensions, and delivered over 10,000 hours of home support. This has improved outcomes for 31 clients and their families, while increasing care consistency and reliability. Our carer-led Board, with 57% migrant women representation, ensures we stay true to our mission of empowering care workers.

What began as a small group with a vision has evolved into a thriving cooperative that is changing the way home care is delivered, empowering both carers and clients to thrive together.

Eligible organisations across Ireland are encouraged to apply by visiting rethinkireland.ie. The closing date for applications is 10 January 2025.

The Breaking Barriers Fund is made possible through the collaboration of Rethink Ireland and philanthropic partners, the State Street Foundation and the Department of Rural and Community Development via the Dormant Accounts Fund.
Popular fashion brand Jack & Jones has opened a new store in Kildare Village, bringing its unique mix of modern and classic menswear to one of Ireland's top shopping destinations.

Photo: Aishling Conway

The store officially opened last Thursday, offering a fresh and stylish shopping experience for customers looking for quality and versatile fashion.

Renowned for its blend of laid-back essentials and sophisticated styles, Jack & Jones provides a wide range of menswear, from casual jeans to tailored pieces.

Designed with the modern man in mind, the brand continues to deliver timeless wardrobe staples alongside the latest fashion trends.

Patrick Hegarty, Owner of the Jack & Jones store in Kildare Village, shared his excitement: "We are thrilled to open in Kildare Village, a destination known for its excellent shopping experience. Jack & Jones has always been about creating fashionable, high-quality clothing, and we look forward to welcoming both our loyal customers and first-time visitors to the store."

To celebrate the opening and the festive shopping season, Jack & Jones is launching an exclusive Black Friday event.

From Thursday, 21 November, to Monday, 2 December, customers visiting the Kildare Village store can enjoy an additional 20% off everything as part of the Black Friday event. Its the perfect opportunity to discover stylish menswear at fantastic prices, just in time for Christmas.

This exciting offer, available for a limited time only, promises an extra surprise for customers when they visit the store. Dont miss the chance to explore the latest collections and find your new wardrobe favourites at Jack Jones Kildare Village!
eir, Irelands leading telecommunications provider, has released its first ever comprehensive Economic and Social Impact Report, which highlights that the company has invested almost 1.7 billion in telecommunications infrastructure in the last six years, supporting Ireland to become one of the most digitally connected countries in Europe.

eir has also announced a further 500 million investment to expand its fibre network across Ireland, reinforcing its commitment to enhancing nationwide connectivity.

eir has also announced that 65,206 homes and businesses across Kildare can now access gigabit fibre broadband, according to new data from its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband roll-out programme. The fibre build project is already 80% complete in Kildare with 65,206 homes and businesses now having access to high-speed fibre connection, following investment of 42.4 million into the Kildare network. On completion, the network will serve 81,185 premises across the county of Kildare, facilitating broadband speeds up to 100 times faster than a traditional copper network.

In addition to its substantial investment in Fibre across County Kildare, eir has made a multi million euro investment to upgrade 99 mobile sites across County Kildare over the past 4 years. This investment provides over 99% 4G coverage in the county through the eir mobile and GoMo brands, enabling high quality mobile voice and data experiences.

eir is also supporting the Governments National Broadband Plan in County Kildare through the use of several thousand of its poles to facilitate the rollout of rural fibre.

The report has found that eir plays a pivotal role in advancing digital inclusion across Ireland, supporting 172 billion in digital economic activity with its expansive network. eir's continued investments, in tandem with the Governments National Broadband Plan, aim to ensure that by the end of 2028, every home and business in Ireland - covering over 2.4 million premises - will have access to high-speed gigabit broadband. This effort promises to bring transformative connectivity to communities nationwide, empowering Irelands digital future.

Key findings from the Report:

eir has invested 1.664 billion in Ireland since 2018, supporting substantial infrastructure development.

In 2023, eirs capital expenditure was 288 million, consistent with previous years.

eir employs 3,170 people directly across Ireland, creating approximately 4,755 indirect and induced jobs nationwide.

eirs broadband infrastructure underpins 172 billion in Ireland's economic activity, essential to the country's digital economy.

eirs investments help Ireland rank among the top five EU countries in the Digital Economy and Society Index.

eir aims to provide gigabit fibre connectivity to 1.9 million homes and businesses throughout Ireland. To date, this network is already available to more than 1.3 million premises, with almost 500,000 homes and businesses now connected.

Speaking at todays launch, Oliver Loomes, CEO of eir, said A digitally inclusive economy and society are crucial for Irelands future. With an additional 500 million committed investment in our communications infrastructure, eir is committed to strengthening this foundation. This report not only highlights our direct contributions to the Irish economy through employment and investment but also our broader impact in enabling the digital economy. Our extensive network infrastructure is essential to Irelands digital transformation, supporting both EU and national strategies that prioritise digitalisation for societal, economic, and environmental advancement. eirs infrastructure underpins 172 billion in economic activity across Ireland."

Also speaking at the launch of the report, Associate Professor Emeritus of Economics, Anthony Foley, of Dublin City University Business School, and author of the Report, What we have found in conducting this research is that a cutting-edge digital network infrastructure is the foundation of a flourishing digital economy and society. The globalisation and FDI aspects of the Irish economy mean that broadband infrastructure and services, and international digital connectivity are significant competitiveness issues. Ireland is a very open economy. There is a continuing need to match, and ideally exceed, international broadband capability.

The Report also underscores eirs commitment to sustainability, with the rollout of a full-fibre network to 84% of Irish homes and businesses playing a pivotal role in reducing carbon emissions and improving network resilience against climate-related storms.

Through ongoing infrastructure investments, a focus on sustainability, and promoting digital inclusion, eir is shaping Ireland's digital future and eir's further 500 million network investment will fuel innovation, enhance connectivity, and create new opportunities for businesses and communities across the country.
As part of RTE's coverage of the General Election 2024 campaign, the first of two definitive leaders' debates will air this Monday night, featruing ten party leaders.

Upfront with Katie Hannon will host the largest ever leaders debate with ten political party leaders taking part in the live debate in RTE, aired live on RTE One and the RTE Player.

Journalist Katie Hannon will be asking the important questions as ten leading politicians vying for votes in General Election 2024 set out their stall before Ireland goes to the polls.

Speaking ahead of the live broadcast, presenter Katie Hannon said: I'm looking forward to moderating the biggest ever television leaders debate on Monday night. This is the only opportunity there will be during this election campaign to see all ten party leaders debate with each other and make their pitch for our votes. Well be asking the questions that people want answered on their polices and promises and ensuring that voters know where every party stands on the key issues before they head to the polls on 29th November.

EXPLAINER: When is it officially too cold to work as Ireland prepares for snow blast?

The ten political party leaders joining Katie on stage for the major two-hour live debate will be:

Ivana Bacik, Leader of the Labour Party

Richard Boyd Barrett, Leader of People Before Profit

Joan Collins, Leader of Right to Change

Michael Collins, Leader of Independent Ireland

Simon Harris, Leader of Fine Gael

Micheal Martin, Leader of Fianna Fail

Mary Lou McDonald, Leader of Sinn Fein

Cian OCallaghan, Deputy Leader of Social Democrats

Roderic OGorman, Leader of the Green Party

Peadar Toibin, Leader of Aontu

Watch RTE Upfront with Katie Hannon Party Leaders debate at 9.35pm on Monday, November 18. The programme will be available to watch live on RTE One, RTE News channel and worldwide on the RTE Player.
Fine Gael and Labour have launched their own General Election manifestos, with pledges made around tax cuts, housing, health and baby savings accounts.

Fine Gael launched its manifesto on Sunday afternoon, pledging to cut taxes by 7 billion euro and the establishment of a savings account for every newborn in Ireland, which will have a state contribution of 1,000 euro.

As part of its manifesto, Labour said parents would be able to take a full year of parental leave, as well as introducing pay-related maternity benefit.

It has proposed that mothers on maternity leave will receive social welfare benefits related to their pay rather than a weekly flat rate, and they have also pledged a public sector childcare scheme.

Labour want to build a better Ireland, together.  We will build affordable homes, end the scourge of low pay and protect welfare from inflation. We will ensure that every child has a school place and the care they need. Let's #BuildBetterTogether. https://t.co/RdcLjdPEEL pic.twitter.com/BWtQtJffxl  The Labour Party (@labour) November 17, 2024

The Building Better Together manifesto sets six core missions on housing, work, climate, the cost of living, health, and a charter for childrens rights.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fail and Fine Gaels daily mud-throwing continued, with Minister for Finance Jack Chambers raising concerns about his coalition partners General Election manifesto.

The Fianna Fail politician claimed it does not allow for public sector pay increases or higher employment in the healthcare sector.

Mr Chambers said there are significant promises on so many measures in the lengthy document.

He said that his first analysis of its measures suggests it has not accounted for a new public sector pay deal.

Mr Chambers claimed it proposes to underfund the public sector pay deal, impacting over 400,000 workers across the country and also claimed its health proposals would lead to a five-year restriction on health posts.

They need to be clarified with public servants about whether there is going to be a pay freeze under their proposals over the next number of years, or whether theyre going to fund a proper public sector pay deal to support public servants and public services across the economy, Mr Chambers added.

A Sinn Fein led Government will put money back in peoples pockets. We will not hike up prices again and again and again. If you want cheaper petrol and diesel prices you have to vote for Sinn Fein. We will reverse the last two increases to tax on fuel which were imposed by pic.twitter.com/T2rD9HJcmw  Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) November 17, 2024

He also stated that he has concerns on how Fine Gael has appeared not to have accounted for the need for increased recruitment in the health service.

We need to support public services and grow recruitment in our health service, and that doesnt appear to be reflected in the document published by Fine Gael today, he added.

We cannot have a recruitment embargo in out health service and Id have concerns from an initial reading of the Fine Gael document on health service recruitment in particular, he said.

Meanwhile, the Sinn Fein leader has pledged to cut the price of petrol and diesel over the next five years.

Mary Lou McDonald said that Ireland has the highest taxes in Europe on petrol and diesel.

Since 2020, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have added 12 euros to a tank of fuel, and they have committed to increase it again by a further 7 euros a tank over the next five years, she said at an event in Dublin on Sunday.

That is 12 cents on every litre of fuel. We in Sinn Fein are going to stop that.

A Sinn Fein-led government will cut the price of petrol and diesel to help workers and families who are still struggling with the cost of living, and this will be a permanent reduction over the lifetime of the next government.

This will save drivers an average of 7 euros on every tank of petrol. In order to give people immediate relief, we will also reverse the August and October increases, which added six cents to petrol and five-and-a-half cents to diesel.

We will also offset the toll increases due to come into effect on the first of January, at a cost of 8 million euros. The cost-of-living crisis isnt over.
The driver of a van injured in a single vehicle collision in county Kerry has died in hospital.

Gardai continue to appeal for witnesses following the serious road traffic collision at Ballinskelligs.

At approximately 2am on Sunday, November 17, gardai and emergency services responded to the incident involving a van on a local road at Kilurly, Ballinskelligs.

The driver, a man in his 20s, was seriously injured and brought to University Hospital Kerry. He has since passed away.

Two other occupants of the van were assessed at the scene but did not require hospital treatment.

EXPLAINER: When is it officially too cold to work as Ireland prepares for snow blast?

The scene of the collision remains preserved for examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators (FCI) and local traffic diversions are in place.

Gardai continue to appeal for witnesses to this collision to come forward.

Additionally, any road users with dash-cam footage from the area at the time of the incident are asked to contact investigating Gardai.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Killarney Garda Station 064 6671160, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
With less than two weeks until the election, the proposed Air Pollution (Amendment) Bill, which could severely limit the use of turf and other solid fuels, has become a key issue for rural voters.

Aidan Wynne, PRO of the Turf Cutters of Ireland, recently voiced frustration over this draft legislation targeting solid fuel burning. The new law, proposed on August 8, 2024, aims to end the use of earth, coal, wood, and other solid fuelsa move Wynne warns will leave rural Irish communities freezing.

According to Wynne, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claims 1,600 Irish deaths are linked to air pollution from solid fuels, but he disputes the numbers. Where are they getting these numbers from? They say 1,600 people die from solid fuels, but they cant even show us proof. They're numbers pulled outa the sky! He dismisses the data as unreliable and accuses the government of pushing the bill for political gain, with little regard for its impact on rural communities.

What is this going to do to our elderly? What are they supposed to do when its freezing outside? Wynne asks. Turf has been a lifeline for generations, but the governments push to end its use threatens to leave families without affordable heat, especially in rural areas where electric heating is costly and impractical.

Its fine to import briquettes from Germanywrapped in plastic, with no emissions labelbut they wont let us cut our own turf. Thats the double standard! he exclaims. Why punish us for something weve been doing for centuries? He argues that the government is not addressing the real causes of air pollution and is instead scapegoating rural families.

Wynne accused the government of using fear to push the legislation. How is the easiest way for somebody to control somebody? Put fear into them, he said. If you have no fuels, no timber, no turf, what are people going to do?

For Wynne, turf is not just a fuel but a fundamental right. He cited a 1963 Supreme Court ruling that classified turf as an agricultural product, arguing that the proposed restrictions ignore this precedent. The Minister acted without consulting the ruling of the land.

He linked the issue to broader concerns about Irelands governance and resource management. They sold our fishing rights, our gas and oil, our forests. Now the final lot to go is our land and our bogs, he warned.

Wynne reserved special criticism for the Green Party, describing their efforts as leaving a legacy of disaster in this country. He feels their push to electrify heating systems in homes is unrealistic, especially in rural areas. If they have brains, theyd be dangerous, he remarked, dismissing the idea that a complete switch to electricity is viable. As the election approaches, its clear that the turf ban will remain a key issue for rural voters.
The Sligo-Leitrim Garda division has seen a 19 percent decrease in burglaries, the biggest decrease in Garda divisions nationwide

The figures have been released by PhoneWatch, a home and business security company, who analysed the data.

There were 132 burglaries reported in the Sligo-Leitrim division over the past 12 months.

PhoneWatch analysed figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) Irish Crime Statistics Report.

The data reveals that 20 out of 27 Garda divisions have experienced an increase in burglaries.

Among these, the neighbouring Roscommon and Longford division saw a significant 55 percent rise, with 257 reported burglaries.

Nationally, burglaries have increased by nine percent with 9,858 incidents reported.

In 2023, a total of 839 crimes were reported across Leitrim's seven Garda stations, with five of the stations recording a decrease in crime.

Carrick-on-Shannon councillor Sean McGowan has praised the figure, calling it a positive sign. Cllr McGowan believes the decrease in burglaries is due to increased vigilance within the community.

There are text alert groups that are sent out through the Gardai and most communities and clubs have WhatsApp groups that send out warnings, he said.

People are vigilant then and watch out. If anyone sees anything suspicious Id always encourage them to go to the Gardai straight away.

The Gardai are certainly visible and if they see anything, theyre on top of it, he added.

PhoneWatch states that winter is a prime time for burglaries, with longer nights and shorter days.

PhoneWatch advises homeowners to enhance their security by locking all windows and doors and avoiding hiding keys under mats or other obvious spots.

They recommend leaving a light on when away to create the illusion that someone is home.

Additionally, valuables should be kept out of plain sight, and neighbours can be asked to collect post and bins during absences to maintain the appearance of someone being home. PhoneWatch also highlights the importance of installing a 24/7 monitored home alarm system to ensure protection, whether residents are at home or away.

READ MORE: Leitrim's Michelle Guckian receives national player of the year award
Global Times: Xi calls for open, interconnected paradigm for Asia-Pacific cooperation





BEIJING, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Asia-Pacific cooperation is confronted with challenges such as rising tendencies of geopolitics, unilateralism and protectionism, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Saturday at the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru, while proposing building an open and interconnected paradigm for Asia-Pacific cooperation.

In a speech at the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, Xi called for tearing down the walls impeding the flow of trade, investment, technology and services, and proposed upholding a universally beneficial and inclusive vision for Asia-Pacific development. The Chinese president also announced that China will host the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in 2026.

In his speech, Xi further called for making green innovation a catalyst for the Asia-Pacific, adding that China is developing new quality productive forces in light of actual conditions and deepening cooperation with interested parties on green innovation.

China's further development will provide new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large, said Xi, adding that China welcomes all parties to continue riding the "express train" of its development and grow together with the Chinese economy.

Promoting cooperation

In Lima, local officials and reporters hailed the Chinese president's trip as productive and pivotal in advancing inclusive, sustainable development across the Asia Pacific and globally, and making great contributions to regional and global cooperation.

"During his speech, he pointed out the need for inclusive and sustainable development. Those remarks conveyed China's vision of collaboration, in my view," Cinthia Velarde, political editor of Agencia Andina, an official news agency in Peru, told the Global Times on Saturday. "I think it is key, because China, with its rich cultural heritage, has much to offer and has proven to be at the forefront of cooperation with developing countries, such as Peru."

China's efforts to promote inclusive and sustainable development through fostering cooperation in the Asia Pacific and globally have also drawn praises from officials of the APEC Peru 2024.

"As APEC chair 2024, we are happy to host not only a very important delegation from China here in Peru, but also we are glad to have heard the message delivered this morning, the message of President Xi," Julia Torreblanca, chair of APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) 2024, told reporters, referring to a written speech made by Xi at the APEC CEO Summit on Friday.

In the speech, Xi called for efforts to steer economic globalization in the right direction, jointly promoting a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization to the benefit of various countries and communities.

Torreblanca said that the speech lays a foundation for enhanced collaboration, which aligns with ABAC and APEC's core principles, and bolsters commercial ties throughout the Asia-Pacific.

Also highlighting China's pivotal role at APEC and its contributions to regional and global cooperation is China's announcement of hosting the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in 2026. The announcement has raised expectations for China to advance economic and trade collaboration further.

APEC is an important economic cooperation mechanism in the Asia-Pacific. To advance Asia-Pacific cooperation, China took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility by offering to host APEC in 2026, which is welcomed by APEC members and received their endorsement at this year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Sunday.

China attaches great importance to Asia-Pacific cooperation and hosted APEC twice in 2001 and 2014. In 2026, China will host APEC for the third time. China stands ready to enhance communication and cooperation with other parties on hosting APEC in 2026 to jointly implement the Putrajaya Vision 2040, advance the building of an Asia-Pacific community and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, deliver more results through practical cooperation and inject fresh impetus into the economic growth of the Asia-Pacific and beyond, the spokesperson said.

"It will be, for me, an excellent opportunity to visit China in 2026," Fernando Carvallo, a host at Peruvian ration station RPP Noticias, told the Global Times on Saturday.

Carvallo said that the region should prioritize cooperation over geopolitical tension and rivalry. "Let's hope that in two years, we will be talking less about war, and less about competition, and much more about cooperation, in about trade," he said.

Velarde also noted that China's hosting of the APEC meeting in 2026 will highlight its commitment to openness and fostering cooperation.

"I believe that it is a central point and it is a significant opportunity for China to present itself to the 21 economies and to the world as a country with open doors, a country that says yes to cooperation - cooperation and social aid that developing countries, like Peru, need so much," Velarde said.

Xi also held a series of bilateral meetings on Friday local time in Peru, on the sidelines of the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting hosted in the capital Lima.

On Friday, Xi met with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, respectively. On Saturday, Xi met with US President Joe Biden.

Fruitful trip

In Lima, China-Peru bilateral talks also garnered significant attention over Xi's state visit to Peru, during which Xi held talks with Peruvian President Dina Boluarte.

During talks with Boluarte, Xi said that China is ready to work with Peru to build a new land-sea corridor between China and Latin America with Chancay Port as a starting point.

The corridor, which will connect the Inca Trail with the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, will open up a road of common prosperity and happiness for Peru and other Latin American and Caribbean countries.

The two heads of state also witnessed the signing of a Belt and Road cooperation plan and the protocol on upgrading the bilateral free trade agreement, and exchanged several bilateral cooperation documents spanning economy, trade, industrial investment, education, and green development.

In a significant event during Xi's visit, the two sides inaugurated the Chancay Port, a landmark Belt and Road Initiative project highlighting China-Peru collaboration.

In Peru, the Chancay Port has been celebrated as a pivotal development set to deepen economic and trade ties between China and Peru, while also further enhance the long-standing, deep bonds between the two peoples.

"Watching the extraordinary inauguration of the Chancay Port was deeply moving for everyone, even though it was a virtual ceremony," Julio Perez Alvan, president of Peruvian Association of Exporters, told the Global Times on Friday.

The expanding partnership between China and Peru, exemplified by the Chancay Port, holds immense significance for the broader Latin American region, Peruvian officials and experts said.

The Chinese president's visit to Peru is highly significant, especially for the inauguration of the Chancay Port, a pivotal development for both Peru and the wider Latin American region, Juan Jose Santivanez, interior minister of Peru, told the Global Times.

After Lima, Xi will attend the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro and pay a state visit to Brazil from November 17 to 21 at the invitation of President of the Federative Republic of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

SOURCE Global Times

18 november 2024 at 03:07

News published onand distributed by:
Sungrow Discusses Renewable Energy Innovations and Best Practices to Achieve Global Carbon Neutrality at COP29





BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 18, 2024 /CNW/ -- As COP29 kicked off under the theme "In Solidarity for a Green World", the event brought together global leaders, policymakers, and industry stakeholders from nearly 200 nations to advance climate action and sustainable development. Thompson Meng, Vice President of Sungrow PV & Storage Business Group, participated in a roundtable discussion on Driving Global Energy Transformation Through Effective Renewable Energy Industry Cooperation. He shared insights into key industry trends, and underlined Sungrow's commitment to achieving a zero-carbon world through renewable energy innovation.

Tackling the Energy Transition Challenges

In 2020, just 1.7% of the world's electricity was produced by solar and wind. Last year, solar and wind produced 13.4% of the world's electricity -- an all-time high. Solar and wind added more new energy to the global mix than any other source.[1]

At COP29, Meng outlined a powerful vision for the renewables' role as core energy resources. However, high levels of renewable energy penetration and the widespread power electronics usage pose challenges to grid stability and resilience. Furthermore, the increase in electric vehicle (EV) adoption, while a positive step towards reducing emissions, adds a level of demand-side fluctuation that current grids are not fully equipped to manage.

Meng emphasized that building a renewable-centered power system is essential for carbon neutrality. To ensure grid stability and resilience, the renewable energy systems must be equipped with the ability to provide inertia support, as well as frequency and voltage regulation. Consequently, grid-forming technologies are attracting growing attention within the industry, especially the solar and energy storage grid forming technologies.

Meng exampled an incident occurred on Christmas Eve 2023, when a high-voltage transmission line between the UK and France suddenly tripped, causing the UK grid to instantly lose 1 GW of power and leading to a frequency drop from 50 Hz to 49.3 Hz. At that time, wind power accounted for over 50% of the energy generation, leading to insufficient grid inertia support and exacerbating the rapid frequency drop.

In this incident, Sungrow's multiple grid-scale energy storage systems with grid-forming technologies responded within seconds, helping restore grid stability and preventing an extensive blackout. By participating in the frequency response market and responding dynamically to fluctuations, Sungrow's energy storage systems demonstrated their value in maintaining reliable grid operation.

Innovation and Best Practices

The unconditional commitment to innovation is key to move forward to a cleaner planet and meet the company's sustainability targets. Sungrow is very adamant that technical innovation is in its DNA and has cultivated a team of experienced R&D professionals with strong capabilities in innovation, driving the company's position as a leader in renewable energy. The company operates six research centers across Hefei, Shanghai, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Germany, and the Netherlands, ensuring a robust global R&D network. The growing demand for renewable energy infrastructure poses another challenge: ensuring the availability of scalable solutions. This extensive R&D network enables Sungrow to deliver competitive solutions in solar, wind, energy storage, EV equipment, and green hydrogen for a wide range of applications.

"We've learned how to capture renewable energy. What's more: We're doing it. By innovating both technology and business models, we're making clean energy more accessible and affordable worldwide, advancing a more equitable energy landscape," Meng added.

Sungrow's landmark projects exemplify how to address the technical and economic challenges of renewable integration. The NEOM Green Hydrogen Project in Saudi Arabia, for instance, is set to become one of the world's first hydrogen production facilities powered entirely by renewables. NEOM, a futuristic city in northwestern Saudi Arabia, aims to redefine sustainable urban development through advanced technology and clean energy. Sungrow is supplying 2.2 GW of PV inverters and a 600 MWh energy storage system to support this project, aligning with Saudi Arabia's vision for a green economy.

Additionally, Sungrow's 7.8 GWh battery storage project in Saudi Arabia, one of the largest globally, underscores the essential role of storage in stabilizing grids and managing renewable variability. The project will be supplied with Sungrow's latest innovation -- the liquid-cooled energy storage system PowerTitan 2.0.

The company has also supplied the host country -- Azerbaijian with the national first and largest utility-scale solar project. The plant provides clean energy to more than 110,000 homes.

Global-local approach

Energy systems transformation is one of the several era-defining megatrends that will shape our future. Sungrow, driven by its mission of providing "Clean power for all", plays a vital role in the energy transition.

Sungrow's global reach, with operations in over 170 countries, and its local teams that provide expert technical assistance and after-sales support with more than 490 service outlets, makes it possible to deliver tailored solutions to different markets. This global-local approach ensures that Sungrow's customers receive reliable, long-term support, helping them maximize the performance of their systems while contributing to the broader energy transition.

As the world continues to move toward a more sustainable energy future, Sungrow will remain at the forefront, driving innovation and supporting its partners in achieving cleaner, more efficient and more reliable power solutions for all.

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/esri/2024/11/12/cop-29-moving-beyond-aspirations/

About Sungrow

Sungrow, a global leader in renewable energy technology, has pioneered sustainable power solutions for over 27 years. As of June 2024, Sungrow has installed 605 GW of power electronic converters worldwide. The Company is recognized as the world's No. 1 on PV inverter shipments (S&P Global Commodity Insights) and the most bankable Asian energy storage company (BloombergNEF). Its innovations power clean energy projects in over 170 countries, supported by a network of 490 service outlets guaranteeing excellent customer experience. At Sungrow, we're committed to bridging to a sustainable future through cutting-edge technology and unparalleled service. For more information, please visit www.sungrowpower.com.

Contact:

Mina Zhang

[email protected]

SOURCE Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd.

18 november 2024 at 04:00

News published onand distributed by:
Newmont Announces Sale of Musselwhite for up to $850 Million





Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM, TSX: NGT, ASX: NEM, PNGX: NEM) ("Newmont" or the "Company") announced today that it has agreed to sell its Musselwhite operation in Ontario, Canada, to Orla Mining Ltd ("Orla") for up to $850 million in total consideration.

Under the terms of the agreement, Newmont will receive cash consideration of $810 million upon closing and up to $40 million1 in contingent payments. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, subject to certain conditions being satisfied.2 Upon closing the announced transactions, Newmont will have surpassed its target of delivering more than $2 billion in gross proceeds from non-core divestitures.

"We are pleased to be selling our Musselwhite operation to Orla and have full confidence that they will continue to operate responsibly, while maintaining strong partnerships with the mine's workforce and local and Indigenous communities," said Tom Palmer, Newmont's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Today's announcement signifies Newmont's continued progress toward building our go-forward portfolio and delivering on the transaction commitments we made at the beginning of the year. The announced divestitures are expected deliver up to $2.9 billion in gross proceeds to support Newmont's capital allocation priorities, which include strengthening our balance sheet and returning capital to shareholders."

Divestiture Program Progress

In February 2024, Newmont announced the intent to divest its non-core assets, including six operations and two projects from its Australian, Ghanaian, and North American business units. With definitive agreements in place to divest the assets in Australia, Ghana, and now Musselwhite, the Company is focused on completing the sales processes for its other North American non-core assets, which are expected to conclude in the first quarter of 2025.3

Total gross proceeds from transactions announced in 2024 to date are expected to be up to $2.9 billion. This includes $2.3 billion from non-core divestitures and $527 million from the sale of other investments, detailed as follows:

Up to $475 million from the sale of the Telfer operation and Newmont's 70% interest in the Havieron project;

Up to $1.0 billion from the sale of the Akyem operation;

Up to $850 million from the sale of the Musselwhite operation; and

$527 million from the completed sale of other investments, including the sale of the Lundin Gold stream credit facility and offtake agreement, and the monetization of Newmont's Batu Hijau contingent payments.

Capital Allocation

Newmont continues to leverage free cash flow from its operations and proceeds from divestitures to enhance long-term value for shareholders by repurchasing shares on a ratable basis. In line with this strategy, the Company has an aggregate $3 billion share repurchase program authorized for execution through October 2026.4

Since October 24, 2024, Newmont has repurchased 7.2 million shares, totaling $336 million. Since the program's inception5, Newmont has repurchased 22.4 million shares, amounting to $1.1 billion. This ongoing progress reflects Newmont's commitment to delivering meaningful returns and lasting value to shareholders.

Additionally, Newmont has made significant progress toward reaching its targeted debt balance of $8 billion, retiring approximately $500 million of debt in 2024 and demonstrating the Company's dedication to a disciplined and balanced approach to capital allocation.

Advisers and Counsel

In connection with the Musselwhite transaction, BMO Capital Markets acted as financial adviser and Goodmans LLP acted as legal adviser.

About Newmont

Newmont is the world's leading gold company and a producer of copper, zinc, lead, and silver. The Company's world-class portfolio of assets, prospects and talent is anchored in favorable mining jurisdictions in Africa, Australia, Latin America & Caribbean, North America, and Papua New Guinea. Newmont is the only gold producer listed in the S&P 500 Index and is widely recognized for its principled environmental, social, and governance practices. Newmont is an industry leader in value creation, supported by robust safety standards, superior execution, and technical expertise. Founded in 1921, the Company has been publicly traded since 1925.

At Newmont, our purpose is to create value and improve lives through sustainable and responsible mining. To learn more about Newmont's sustainability strategy and initiatives, go to www.newmont.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by such sections and other applicable laws. Where a forward-looking statement expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. However, such statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation, (i) expectations regarding outlook; (ii) statements regarding the sales of Musselwhite, Telfer and Havieron, and Akyem, including, without limitation, expectations regarding timing and closing of the pending transactions, including receipt of required approvals and satisfaction of closing conditions; (iii) expectations regarding receipt of consideration upon closing and receipt of any deferred contingent cash consideration in the future; (iv) expectations regarding use of sale proceeds, capital allocation priorities, and return capital to shareholders; (v) expectations regarding the progress of the divestiture program and the sale of assets which have been designated as assets held for sale; (vi) expectations regarding capital allocation, share repurchase programs and future share repurchases; and (vi) other statements regarding future events or results. Estimates or expectations of future events or results are based upon certain assumptions, which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions include, but are not limited to: (i) certain exchange rate assumptions approximately consistent with current levels; (ii) certain price assumptions for gold, copper, silver, zinc, lead and oil; and (iii) all closing conditions being satisfied.

Divestment Programs: Expectations regarding the divestment of assets held of sale are subject to risks and uncertainties. Based on a comprehensive review of the Company's portfolio of assets, the Company's announced a portfolio optimization program to divest six non-core assets and a development project in February 2024. The non-core assets to be divested include CC&V, Musselwhite, Porcupine, Eleonore, Telfer, and Akyem, and the Coffee development project. While the Company concluded that these non-core assets and the development project met the accounting requirements to be presented as held for sale there is a possibility that the assets held for sale may exceed one year, or not occur at all, due to events or circumstances beyond the Company's control. As of the date of this release, no binding agreements have been entered into with respect to the sale of CC&V, Porcupine, Eleonore or the Coffee development project. The closing of the Telfer/Havieron sale remains conditional on satisfaction of certain conditions including: (i) Newmont and Greatland receiving approval for the transaction from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB); (ii) transfer of key approvals and tenements; (iii) assignment of key contracts and leases; (iv) obtaining specific environmental licenses; (iv) restart of operations at Telfer following remediation of TSF8; and (v) other customary closing conditions. Under the terms of the agreement, expected gross proceeds of up to $475 million, which include cash consideration of $207.5 million, due upon on closing, equity consideration of $167.5 million in the form of Greatland shares, to be issued upon closing and deferred contingent cash consideration of up to $100 million. No assurance can be provided with respect to deferred consideration which may be payable to Newmont in cash through a gold price linked payment structure with a 50% price upside participation by Newmont in respect of gold produced from Havieron for 5 calendar years following the declaration of commercial production, subject to a hurdle price of $1,850/oz. Deferred consideration for the relevant year will be equal to 50% x (market price ? hurdle price) x sum of total gold sold for the relevant year (inc. dore and concentrate), subject to the annual cap and the total cap. See the September 10, 2024 press release, available on Newmont's website, for further details re the agreement to divest Telfer and Havieron. The closing of the Akyem transaction remains subject to the satisfaction of certain customary conditions precedent, including but not limited to, the purchaser obtaining the necessary filings, approvals, or registrations from the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the People's Republic of China, and the parties receipt of a no objections letter from the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources of the Republic of Ghana. A failure to satisfy these conditions precedent would delay and/or prevent closing of the transaction. Similarly, receipt of $900 million in cash consideration is subject to closing of the transaction, and an additional $100 million in cash consideration is expected to be paid after the earliest to occur of the ratification of the extended eastern mining lease by the Parliament of Ghana, the ratification of a replacement mining lease to the extended eastern mining lease by the Parliament of Ghana and the five-year anniversary of the closing date. The purchase price payable at the closing is subject to adjustments for closing cash, working capital, inventory, finished goods inventory, and other customary purchase price adjustment items. See the October 8, 2024 press release, available on Newmont's website, for further details re the agreement to divest Akyem. As noted in the footnotes to this press release, the closing of the Musselwhite sale remains subject to purchaser shareholder approval, no material adverse changes, completion of the pre-closing reorganization and key regulatory approvals, including Canadian Competition Act. No assurances can be provided with respect to the timing of closing or receipt of contingent consideration.

Share Repurchase Programs: Investors are reminded that that the extent to which the Company repurchases its shares, and the timing of such repurchases, will depend upon a variety of factors, including trading volume, market conditions, legal requirements, business conditions and other factors. The repurchase program may be discontinued at any time, and the program does not obligate the Company to acquire any specific number of shares of its common stock or to repurchase the full authorized amount. Consequently, the Board of Directors may revise or terminate such share repurchase authorization in the future.

For a discussion of risks and other factors that might impact future looking statements and future results, see the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on February 29, 2024, under the heading "Risk Factors", and other factors identified in the Company's reports filed with the SEC, available on the SEC website or at www.newmont.com. The Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly revisions to any "forward-looking statement," including, without limitation, outlook, to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Investors should not assume that any lack of update to a previously issued "forward-looking statement" constitutes a reaffirmation of that statement.

1 Up to a maximum $40 million in contingent consideration may be payable to Newmont in cash in two separate payments of $20 million based on a gold price linked payment structure as follows: a first payment of $20.0 million should the gold price average >$2,900/oz for a full year period following transaction closing and a second payment of $20.0 million should the gold price average >$3,000/oz for a full year period in the second year following transaction closing.

2 Closing conditions include: (i) Orla shareholder approval, (ii) no material adverse change and no transaction-related litigation, (iii) the completion of the pre-closing reorganization, and (iv) regulatory approvals, including Canadian Competition Act. See cautionary statement at the end of this release regarding forward-looking statements.

3 See cautionary statement at end of this release regarding forward-looking statements, including expectations regarding divestments and proceeds.

4 In February 2024, the Board of Directors authorized a $1billion stock repurchase program to repurchase shares of outstanding common stock to provide returns to shareholders. In October 2024, the Board authorized an additional $2 billion share repurchase program to be executed at the Company's discretion, utilizing open market repurchases to occur from time to time throughout the next 24 months. See cautionary statement at end of this release.

5 Includes share repurchases completed through November 15, 2024.

18 november 2024 at 07:00

News published onand distributed by:
David Roche to Chair Libraro, Where Every Story Deserves Discovery





LONDON, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Libraro, a community-driven platform reshaping manuscript discovery in publishing, announces the appointment of David Roche as Chairman alongside the closing of an initial 500,000 investment from Ayre Ventures as part of a new funding round, capped at 2m. This builds on Libraro's earlier 2 million pre-seed round, which secured patents for the platform's manuscript protection and rights management technology.

London Book Fair Chair and former Borders CEO David Roche believes he's found publishing's next game-changer. "I've seen countless start-ups promising the holy grail of discoverability for authors and readers, but none have come close?until now," says Roche, who joins Libraro as Chairman. "Libraro brings together a community of readers and writers with inclusivity at its heart. Readers play an active role in deciding what gets published, expanding the gatekeeping process based on real demand. It's a shift that can only benefit both authors and readers."

With 30 years in publishing, Roche has witnessed the industry's evolution firsthand, with pivotal roles as CEO of Borders & BOOKS etc., Group Sales and Marketing Director at HarperCollins, board positions at Waterstones and HMV, and as chair of New Writing North and a trustee of BookTrust, as well as being a published author. Currently non-executive Chair of the London Book Fair and Senior Advisor to PEN International, Roche is recognised as a transformative figure with a deep commitment to innovation.

Roche sees Libraro as a complement to the publishing industry, not a competitor. "By broadening the ways stories are discovered and shared, Libraro is creating genuine opportunities for talented authors while supporting the industry's mission to connect meaningful work with audiences. Libraro's tools bridge emerging voices and the established literary landscape."

Libraro's growing leadership team is ready to drive its vision forward. Paul Manning joins as Chief Marketing Officer, bringing over two decades of experience as a multi-award-winning Creative Director. He has led creative teams at BBH, Imagination, and other top West-End agencies, shaping campaigns for brands like Canon, Virgin, and Jaguar Land Rover. Through his agency, Outfly, founded in 2010, he has guided hundreds of technology innovators and scale-ups to success.

The leadership team is further strengthened by CFO Sead Haxhijaha, whose financial strategy expertise has driven sustainable growth for numerous scale-ups. As founder of Solid Accountants, he brings valuable operational insight to Libraro's publishing innovation.

"This team will help realise our vision of supporting the publishing industry with enhanced manuscript discovery tools," says Arsim Shillova, Co-Founder and CEO. "Our platform helps publishers and agents identify promising manuscripts through reader engagement data while enabling writers to connect meaningfully with audiences. Libraro opens pathways for emerging voices and creates new opportunities for the literary community, without replacing traditional roles."

Libraro empowers writers with reader engagement insights and full ownership of their work. Publishers and agents can securely explore promising manuscripts, while established writers gain valuable audience insights to enhance their publishing journey. Readers and writers earn tokenised rewards, redeemable for exclusive events, showcases, and collaborations?creating a lively, inclusive literary community where everyone's contributions are valued.

The company is now inviting the literary community to join its journey by investing in its upcoming Crowdcube campaign. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of publishing discovery. To learn more, visit https://www.crowdcube.com/early-access/libraro

Notes to Editors:

Founded in 2023 within the Block Dojo incubator, Libraro is a community-driven platform that connects readers, writers, and publishers to discover fresh voices and create new opportunities for emerging authors. At the heart of Libraro's technology is blockchain, which ensures the security and transparency of intellectual property rights. By leveraging this technology, we protect authors' work and offer a trusted environment for collaboration, making Libraro a pioneer in safeguarding creative content in the digital age. Led by Arsim Shillova, who brings 25 years of experience commercialising technology solutions for global organisations, including space tech companies like Airbus and ESA, and whose own journey began with playwriting, Libraro enhances book discoverability through crowd-reading and data insights. With plans to expand its industry partnerships, Libraro is preparing for a full platform launch in early January. Learn more at www.libraro.io.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2560725/Libraro_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Libraro

18 november 2024 at 11:51

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Participants at the opening of the workshop in Ganta, Nimba County
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TWO young people from Limerick were honoured at this years National Garda Youth Awards for their contributions to their communities

An Garda Siochana held its annual awards ceremony on Saturday, November 16, recognising exceptional young people aged 13-21 who have positively contributed to their community.

Liam Costelloe and Aisling Sexton represented Limerick, receiving the Special Achievement Award and Individual Award, respectively.

One week before Liam Costelloe was due to begin secondary school, his life changed forever when his doctor told him that a brain tumour had been found pressing onto his optic nerve.

Just days later, Liam was undergoing emergency surgery to remove the tumour.

Following his operation, Liam and his family were relieved thinking that the worst was behind them, when he began to suffer from debilitating headaches and he had a seizure.

He was diagnosed with meningitis, and later that evening he developed swelling in his brain and paralysis to his left side, resulting in an emergency surgery.

He was admitted to Intensive Care where he spent four days on life support, and required two further operations that week to stabilise his condition.

Making it through these three invasive surgeries was just half the battle. Once he was in the clear, Liam began rehabilitation where he slowly learned how to walk again.

Despite these hardships, he was determined to return to school after his October midterm break, and see his friends again in person.

Liam has now returned to full-time attendance at Colaiste Chiaran in Croom, and has re-joined his schools hurling team.

Liams perseverance has proven that recovery is not just a physical process, but a mental one too and to watch his continued progress is motivation for us all, a spokesperson for An Garda Siochana said.

READ MORE: Minister for Health officially opens new St Camillus Community Nursing Unit

When Aisling Sextons mother Mary developed a serious lung condition and her health deteriorated, she devoted herself to providing the care her mother needed.

Aisling, from Derraulin in Bruree, stepped up and was there throughout the many months that Mary recovered in ICU and learned to walk and talk again.

Her hard work didnt just stop at providing care and unconditional support - she knew that without proper funding, the increasing medical expenses would be impossible for her family to cover.

Aisling began a grassroots campaign to fundraise the money needed to cover essential bills and adapt the family home to aid her mothers health.

She raised over 30,000 through walks and tractor runs, while studying for her Leaving Certificate.

Todays award is not the first for Aisling, having been the recipient of the Limerick Family Carer of the Year in 2023 - but nothing speaks more to her character than the love and care she continues to show to all those close to her.

This years event took place at the Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise and acknowledged the remarkable contributions made in a number of Garda Divisions which included Limerick, Clare/Tipperary, Cork, Dublin, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny/Carlow, Mayo/Roscommon/Longford, Laois/Offaly, Westmeath and Wexford.

The Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris presented each of the 24 awards.

Speaking at the ceremony, Assistant Commissioner for Road Safety and Community Engagement, Paula Hilman said, "Our Garda National Youth Awards are about recognising the incredible work done by young people in communities all over Ireland for the sake of others.

"They often dont get enough credit for the variety of challenges they face in todays society and particularly for how they responded to the difficulties they encounter, but they support one another and help their communities with great enthusiasm.

"Each one of this years recipients demonstrate all that is wonderful about our young people, and as Gardai we are so proud of their hard work. We hope the Garda National Youth Awards are a fitting acknowledgement of the positive and meaningful contribution that these young people are making to society.
EIGHT people have been arrested and charged with alleged public order offences following a pro-Palestinian protest at Shannon Airport this Sunday.

The protest was against "the Irish Governments failure to enact its own rules and stop the transportation of weapons bound for Israel through Shannon airport and surrounding Irish airspace", according to a statement from Dublin For Gaza, and was attended by pro-Palestinian groups from across Clare and Ireland.

Footage and images shared on social media appear to show protestors and Public Order Unit officers engaged in scuffles during the protest outside Shannon Airport on Sunday, November 17.

The eight people, four men and four women ranging in age from 21 to 56 years, were arrested for "offences contrary to the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994", according to a statement from An Garda Siochana.

All eight have since been charged to appear before the District Court at a later date.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Clare BDS (@clarebds)

"An Garda Siochana put in place appropriate and proportionate policing plan to monitor a public gathering in the vicinity of Shannon Airport on Sunday, November 17," the statement from gardai continued.

"Any Garda response in relation to evolving events is in keeping with a community policing model and graduated policing response taking into account relevant legislation and public safety.

Read Also: University of Limerick scraps development of north campus expansion in Clare

"Ireland is a constitutional democracy and there is a constitutional right for citizens to express freely their convictions and opinions and to assemble peaceably, subject to statutory provisions.

"An Garda Siochana respects the right of citizens to exercise their constitutional rights; exercising such rights does not extend to committing breaches of statutory law," the statement concluded.

Shannon Airport today. Get the US military out of our airport and Israeli weapons out of our airspace. End Irelands complicity with apartheid Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people. #USMilitaryOutOfShannon #FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/uKafO1rLHo  ZazaFL (@ZazaFL) November 17, 2024

A spokesperson for Shannon Airport said that "there were no disruptions to airport operations" during the protest on Sunday.

"An Garda Siochana implemented planned road diversions, which allowed passengers to access the airport without issue."

"Passengers had been advised via the airport's social media channels in the days leading up to the event to allow extra time for their journey. All flights at the airport operated on schedule, and there were no delays or cancellations as a result of the event," they said after the protest ended around 6pm on Sunday.
THE BEST man in a wedding admitted to speeding and showing off prior to a road traffic collision which killed the groom hours before he was due to be married.

The bride-to-be said in her victim impact statement: "It should have been the happiest day of our lives together and looking forward to the future but instead it was a nightmare."

Shane Harty, aged 21, of Tola Park, Shannon, Co Clare pleaded guilty to careless driving causing the death of Myles Harty, aged 20, of Friary Court, Askeaton at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court last month.

Shane Harty was before Judge Colin Daly for sentencing this Monday afternoon. Many in the body of the court wept openly during the hearing.

Myles Hartys bride-to-be and mother of his son, Kate Quilligan (pictured below with the late Myles), sat beside the deceaseds parents Miley and Margaret Harty.

Prosecuting barrister Lily Buckley BL, instructed by State Solicitor Brendan Gill, outlined the evidence with the assistance of Sergeant Patricia Ryan.

Ms Buckley said that very tragically the collision happened around 1am on the R518 between Rathkeale and Askeaton on August 21, 2021 - the morning of Myles Hartys wedding day.

The accused - Shane Harty - was to be the best man at his wedding, said Ms Buckley.

The prosecuting barrister said Shane Harty and Myles Harty, who are cousins, knew the stretch of road well and were going to a 24-hour shop. Shane Harty was driving, Myles Harty was in the passenger seat. Earlier that day they had been in the city collecting suits and making arrangements for the wedding amid an air of excitement.

The court heard the Skoda Octavia left the road, hit a drystone wall, travelled upside down and hit a telephone pole which unfortunately impacted the head of Myles Harty. The medical evidence was that Myles Harty suffered head injuries incompatible with life and his death would have been rapid if not instantaneous.

Ms Buckley said there were no alcohol or drugs in the systems of Shane Harty or Myles Harty and they were both wearing seat belts.

A forensic collision investigator could not calculate the speed the car was travelling at but the damage caused to the Skoda, the height it reached in the air, breaking the telephone pole and the distance it travelled "would suggest the vehicle was travelling at over 80kmph" which is the speed limit on that stretch of road.

Shane Harty told gardai during an interview that he was travelling at 80kmph the last time he looked before the collision. When gardai put it to him, in a later interview, that he was speeding at the time he lost control, Shane Harty replied: No doubt.

Shane Harty admitted to gardai that earlier in the journey he had been showing off.

Im sorry it happened. It shouldnt have happened, said Shane Harty to investigating officers.

Ms Buckley said Shane Harty has no previous convictions.

The prosecuting barrister then read out victim impact statements on behalf of Myles Hartys parents - Miley and Margaret - and fiancee Kate Quilligan.

Myles Hartys parents said that their son was preparing for his wedding day which everyone was looking forward to.

Since this accident we have missed his presence so much as he was always a joy to have around our house. Myles always had a big beautiful smile on his face and he always kept his family happy, said his parents.

They said the loss of their son has caused grave pain which will never leave our hearts.

Kate Quilligan, who called her son Miley in memory of his late father, said in her victim impact statement that every day she wakes up she feels like she is reliving the nightmare of the early morning of August 21, 2021.

It should have been the happiest day of our lives together and looking forward to the future but instead it was a nightmare.

It has sadly shattered many lives and has robbed our son Miley of his father. Words will never express my sadness, empty heart and sad lonely days ahead without Myles.

"I pray every day he gives me the strength to go on in life without him and be both mammy and daddy to our beautiful son Miley. I promise you our son will make you proud, said Ms Quilligan, in her victim impact statement.

READ MORE: All-Ireland winner 'crippled' in horrific collision in Limerick had to learn to walk again

Brian McInerney SC, instructed by solicitor Michael ODonnell, represented Shane Harty.

Mr McInerney read out letters of apology written by Shane Harty to Myles Hartys parents and Kate Quilligan.

Shane Harty said he wrote the letters with the deepest sympathy. He said Myles Harty was a very special person, had a great personality and sense of humour.

He was my best friend. I wish I could turn back time but I cant. Im so sorry for the loss of your loving son, wrote Shane Harty.

In the letter to Kate Quilligan, Shane Harty said he was so sorry for the loss of your fiance and father of your son.

The day should have been your dream day and then spend the rest of your life with Myles. Instead you had to face the loss of Myles and Miley lost his father. I know Myles was very special to you and he would have been a great father to Miley. Im very sorry. My sincere condolences to you Kate and your son Miley, wrote Shane Harty.

Mr McInerney said it is a tragic case.

In mitigation, counsel referred to the absence of alcohol or intoxicant, no defects in the vehicle, Shane Harty had a full licence and insurance, co-operated with gardai, has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty and is genuinely remorseful.

Mr McInerney said the forensic collision investigator could not calculate the speed of the vehicle.

It is a heavy burden to carry. He is serving a life sentence as he has to carry it every waking moment, said Mr McInerney.

The defence barrister also spoke of the Christian charity of Myles Hartys parents and fiancee Kate Quilligan.

Judge Colin Daly said he is going to take the matter under consideration and adjourned sentencing until next Monday, November 25.
A MILESTONE in the development of one of Limericks most beloved communities has been marked as the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD officially opened the new Community Nursing Unit at St Camillus Hospital today.

St Camillus Community Nursing Unit is a 75-bed project being completed in two phases to replace existing long-stay beds on the hospital complex.

Speaking as he met residents at the new St Camillus CNU this Monday, Minister Donnelly said: It was a pleasure to attend and open St Camillus CNU today and to meet so many of the residents. This is an impressive new building with 50 residential beds. Phase Two will see a further 25 residential beds completed in 2026. This is a good day for healthcare in the Mid-West and is part of a number of new developments in train that will improve and expand capacity in the region.

With the first phase of construction works having been completed earlier this year, 50 residents have moved into their new home on the Aisling and Saoirse Units.

Construction works on the second phase are currently underway to provide 25 further CNU beds. The estimated total project cost is 31 million.

This investment has allowed St Camillus residents to move from largely multi-occupancy accommodation that was no longer fit-for-purpose into a bright, new and spacious modern environment and a choice of outdoor recreation areas. Most residents are in single rooms although shared accommodation is available according to residents preferences.

Registered with HIQA in June 2024, the new St Camillus CNU meets the needs of older persons who are of low, medium, high or maximum dependency. Each resident is recognised as an individual and a person-centred approach is taken to establish their needs and care pathways to assist them in maximising their activities of daily living. The care team consists of a Director of Nursing and assistant directors of nursing; a medical officer; clinical nurse managers and staff nurses; multi-task attendants; healthcare assistants and allied health professionals.

The names of the two new 25-bedded residential units, Saoirse and Aisling, were selected by the residents, who have been actively involved in planning and designing their new home.

READ MORE: Limerick Twenty Thirty announces departure of CEO

Noreen Murphy, from Farranshone, Limerick, was once a volunteer for St Camillus but came to live there herself three years ago as a resident on the old Sarsfield Unit.

Noreen was among the residents consulted on their preferences for their new home.

You couldnt compare it, said Noreen. It has everything you could want. You have your own room; your own bathroom. It is so spacious and yet so compact with everything in easy reach. Everything has been thought of. We came from what was basically a condemned building into this and it was a piece of heaven. If there was something wrong, I would be the first to say it. There is one thing that has stayed the same though and that is the most important thing of all. The staff are everything here. They have been so good and so kind to me. Everybody is on first names terms: doctors, nurses everyone - and it is like home.

Built in 1841 as a workhouse, St Camillus Hospital forms part of the fabric of Limericks rich history.

Set up in its current function in 1933, St Camillus operates 33 consultant-led rehabilitation beds in addition to its residential services. A Day Hospital provides services to the local community which includes diagnostics for both of its rehabilitation units and Integrated Care Programme for Older People (ICPOP) services. There is an ECHO service on site and a bone health service under the governance of a consultant with two DEXA machines.

Regional Executive Officer, HSE Mid West, Sandra Broderick, said: St Camillus has a proud history of providing excellent services to older people in Limerick. The ongoing development of ICPOP and the expansion of diagnostic and other services designed to keep our older citizens well, is in keeping with that tradition.

At the heart of that community are the residents at St Camillus CNU and it has been our privilege to partner with them in delivering this beautiful new building, which meets the most modern standards around infection control and building regulations, while remaining sensitive to the heritage of the site and, above all, is a place our residents are proud to call home.

Director of Nursing, St Camillus Hospital, Sian Rowe McCormack, said: It was important to us that residents, their families, and our staff were consulted and involved in planning and delivering the new CNU from the outset. Throughout the construction phase, residents and staff have continued to live and work here on site. Construction work is ongoing as we move to the second phase and we are grateful to all residents, staff and our neighbours for sticking with us during the disruption.

The new CNU provides residents with a living environment that maintains their independence, health and wellbeing; a safe therapeutic setting in which the rights, privacy, dignity and confidentiality of residents are respected; an environment in which staff can provide a high standard of care in line with evidence-based best practice; and one delivered with the involvement of family and friends in creating and contributing to a happy, homely atmosphere.
COPD Support Ireland is embarking on a nationwide roadshow to spread the word about Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) to mark World COPD Day.

The COPD & Me Roadshow will visit the Crescent Shopping Centre in Limerick city on Tuesday, November 19, between 9:30am and 11:30am ahead of World COPD Day on Wednesday, November 20.

The health initiative will see a team of COPD health professionals offering free spirometry testing.

Spirometry is a simple and painless breathing test where a person breathes into a device called a spirometer, which measures the amount of air a person can blow out of their lungs in one second, and the total amount of air a person can blow out, to see if there is an obstruction to breathing air out of the lungs.

The test will be performed by a respiratory physiologist, with a specialist healthcare professional also on hand to provide health information and advise people on next steps.

COPD Support Ireland advises anyone with symptoms of breathlessness and ongoing cough, with or without phlegm, to ask their GP about having a spirometry test performed.

GP practices in many places around the country now have direct access to HSE Spirometry Services testing in their local Integrated Care Hubs.

A new booklet, COPD & Me, has also been published by COPD Support Ireland. An essential guide to living with COPD, the booklet is full of information, advice and tips, from diagnosis and treatment, to exercise and nutrition, to mental health and well-being.

For full details of all roadshow dates and locations countrywide, or to download or order a copy of the COPD & Me booklet, visit www.copd.ie

Latest figures show that between 2020 and 2022, there were 1,145 hospital admissions of people from Limerick due to COPD.

According to the National Healthcare Quality Reporting System Report 2021/2022, it is estimated that there are 380,000 people living with COPD in Ireland, yet only 110,000 people are thought to have had a formal diagnosis.

Marie Hennessy, a Corbally native, was diagnosed with COPD in 2004.

READ MORE: Minister for Health officially opens new St Camillus Community Nursing Unit

She explained: Initially, I was put on an inhaler, with a second inhaler to use when necessary. Over the years other medications were added. I also take a low-dose antibiotic each morning and I use saline in my nebuliser twice a day. I get several chest infections throughout the year which necessitates me going on antibiotics and steroids.

I have a very supportive family and a very dedicated GP. I have been lucky in that my condition has not deteriorated to any great extent over the years and has not interfered too much with my lifestyle. It is only this year that I notice a shortness of breath after moderate exercise, she continued.

I still take walks but I might have to stop for a rest along the way. I attend a COPD group for exercise each week. I also sing in a choir which is very beneficial for breathing. I am in a number of other groups which helps my mental health too.

Marie is a member of the Limerick COPD Support Group.

Associate professor Stanley Miller, consultant respiratory physician and chair of COPD Support Ireland, explains COPD, its symptoms, and diagnosis: COPD is an umbrella term that includes both emphysema, which is damage to the air sacs in the lungs, and chronic bronchitis, which is inflammation of the airways. This is where air moves into the lungs reasonably well, but there is difficulty or obstruction to the air moving out of the lungs efficiently, which causes people with COPD to feel breathless. The diagnosis of COPD is made by identifying the symptoms of shortness of breath and long-standing cough, with or without phlegm, along with a risk factor such as smoking, and then confirming the diagnosis with a breathing test called spirometry.

While COPD is not curable, it is treatable. Specialist HSE respiratory teams in Integrated Care Hubs are helping thousands of people with COPD to be treated closer to home. By combining health professional management with self-management strategies, people with COPD can go a long way to living the life they wish to live.

Joan Johnston, general manager, COPD Support Ireland, urged people to become more familiar with the symptoms of COPD, and to get checked out if they have concerns: We know that so many people have COPD in this country, yet the vast majority have no idea. This is possibly because they are putting symptoms down to getting older or because they are in the early stages of disease and symptoms are not yet obvious to them. However, we do know that early diagnosis means we can do more to improve quality of life. Too many people are suffering unnecessarily and dying prematurely from a disease that is preventable and treatable.

Thats why World COPD Day is so important in shining a spotlight on this disease and highlighting what we can do to mind ourselves better if we have a breathing problem. If you have ongoing breathlessness and a cough, with or without phlegm, do get checked out by your GP and ask about a spirometry breathing test. If you receive, or have already had a diagnosis of COPD, Id encourage you to join COPD Support Ireland. There is so much we can offer to support you.

Anyone worried about COPD can call the COPD Advice Line on Freefone 1800 832 146 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) to receive a call back from a respiratory health professional who can answer questions and refer people to local supports.

The COPD & Me Roadshow is supported by GSK, Vitalograph, AstraZeneca & A Menarini.
A SECOND date has been added for The Wolfe Tones at Thomond Park Stadium next year.

Due to unprecedented public demand, The Wolfe Tones will play an extra date in Limerick on Friday, July 11, 2025.

The band enjoyed a sell-out success for The Wolfe Tones' monumental Thomond Park Stadium final show on Sunday, july 13 and have added the extra date.

Tickets for the extra date go on sale this Friday, November 22 at 9am.

The Wolfe Tones reflected on this remarkable outpouring of love from fans across Ireland. They said: We have been completely overwhelmed by the response to our Thomond Park Stadium show, which sold out in record time!

We are truly humbled by the incredible demand to see The Wolfe Tones live, and its an honour to bring our music to such an iconic venue. Due to the incredible demand, we are delighted to announce a second date on July 11.

We look forward to sharing another unforgettable night with our fans, said Brian Warfield of The Wolfe Tones.

READ MORE: University of Limerick Drama Society shine light on women's stories in charity performance

These two major outdoor concerts promise to make a unforgettable July weekend for fans in Limerick, while also providing a huge economic boost to the city.

With their legacy spanning over six extraordinary decades, The Wolfe Tones are said to be overjoyed and genuinely moved by the outpouring response.

Tickets 49.90 and 59.90 are subject to 12.5% Ticketmaster service charge per ticket (max 10.50). Under 16's must be accompanied by an adult. Standing is for over 14s only.

To celebrate this announcement, ticket purchasers for their eagerly awaited sold-out date on Sunday, July 13, will be rewarded with access to a limited Priority Presale link for their friends and family for the Friday, July 11, ahead of the general on sale.

Reward subject to availability andvalid for all Ticketmaster verified opt-in account holders.

Should customers wish to rebook their ticket for the additional new date they can avail of Ticketmasters rebook and refund system before 5pm this Thursday, November 21, subject to availability.
Bobby Singleton has been appointed as the new Deputy Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

He replaces Mark Hamilton, who announced his retirement in September.

Policing Board chair Mukesh Sharma made the announcement after the appointment was approved by Justice Minister Naomi Long.

Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said it was a super appointment.

Mr Sharma said: I am pleased to confirm that Bobby Singleton has been appointed as the new Deputy Chief Constable of the PSNI.

We look forward to working with him in this key position of support to the Chief Constable.

Mr Singleton had previously applied for the position of chief constable in the force, but lost out to Mr Boutcher when he was appointed last year.

Mr Singleton joined the PSNI as one of the first student officers in November 2001.

Over the course of the last 23 years he has gained a range of policing experience in uniform community policing roles, public order and public safety command and as a detective investigating sexual violence, terrorism and other serious and organised crime.

He has most recently served one of the PSNIs assistant chief constables.

Mr Boutcher said: This is great news for the PSNI.

Bobby is dedicated to policing in Northern Ireland and he brings a wealth of knowledge, skill, leadership and experience to the job.

He is already a key member of our leadership team having joined the PSNI in the first intake of recruits after its formation.

Like myself, I know that Bobby truly understands the importance and responsibility that comes with this role and what a privilege it is to be a part of this organisation.

This is a super appointment.

Mr Hamilton announced his retirement earlier this year after three decades in policing. During his time as deputy chief constable the PSNI dealt with controversies including a major data leak and a Belfast High Court ruling which found that the disciplining of two junior officers over an arrest at a Troubles memorial event had been unlawful.

The Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, passed a vote of no confidence in Mr Hamilton and two other senior staff over their handling of the latter issue.

Paying tribute to Mr Hamilton, Mr Boutcher said: Mark has spent 30 years of his life working to make the people of Northern Ireland safe.

I wish him well for his retirement.

Mr Boutcher also thanked Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd who undertook the role of temporary Deputy Chief Constable for the past 12 months.

The appointment panel for the role was made up of Mr Sharma and Policing Board members Trevor Clarke, Gerry Kelly, Kate Laverty and Peter McReynolds.
Silicon Valleys venture-capital firms are having an easy time finding promising startups to back. The hard part is cashing out.

Last year, U.S. venture firms returned $26 billion worth of shares back to their investors, the lowest amount since 2011, according to the data provider PitchBook. Startup investors say 2024 has continued the trend, with high levels of investment and few acquisition deals or initial public offerings.

Weve raised a lot of money, and weve given very little back," Thomas Laffont, co-founder of investment firm Coatue Management, said at a recent conference. We are bleeding cash as an industry."

Last year, U.S. venture firms invested $60 billion more than they collected, the highest such deficit in PitchBooks 26 years of data. As a result, the investors that back VC firms, such as university endowments and pension funds, arent seeing the type of profits the industry has long delivered.

The decline is particularly notable because the past three years have been the highest three on record for total VC firm investments since 1998as far as back as the PitchBook data goes.

Much of that money has recently gone to artificial-intelligence startupsa white-hot space in which valuations are rising fast and companies quickly burn through cash to develop new technology.

Some venture capitalists say one hope for change is that the incoming Trump administration might loosen regulations and spur more dealmaking, in part by installing business-friendly regulators. President Bidens Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan has been a particular thorn in the side of tech dealmakers.

Many investors are making the bet that this administration is going to take a free market approach to M&A," said Alex Clayton, a partner at Meritech Capital. Whether theyre right or not, time will tell."

IPO freeze

Startups historically had to go public a few years after their founding to raise larger sums of money unavailable in the private market. Public listings were also the only way for employees to sell their shares.

But venture firms themselves have made IPOs less necessary. Many have swelled in size in recent years, allowing them to bankroll startups indefinitely while also buying out employee shares in so-called tender offers.

At the same time, tech startups lack the same allure they once had for public investors, who are instead enjoying huge returns coming from established tech giants that have soared in value thanks to AI.

There are currently more than 1,400 startups valued at $1 billion or moreso-called unicornsaccording to a recent presentation from Coatue. All have investors waiting to get rich.

There are companies that are 13, 14, 15 years old. This is beyond any historic standard. And there are over a thousand of them." said Bill Gurley, a partner at the venture firm Benchmark.

Even if tech IPOs returned to their historic pace, it would take more than 20 years for all of them to go public, Coatue estimated.

After OpenAI raised a record $6.6 billion last month, valuing it at $157 billion, investors were clamoring for the startup to head toward an exit.

I hope and expect that the next step for OpenAI would be to go public," said Brad Gerstner, the founder of the investment firm Altimeter, at a Seattle tech conference. His firm invested $250 million in the round.

There are a few bright spots. The software startup ServiceTitan is planning to go public in December, according to people familiar with the matter, while Swedish fintech Klarna filed for a U.S. IPO last week. Both companies are backed by Silicon Valley venture firms.

Acquisition standstill

Acquisitions have slowed to a near-standstill as potential buyers have been scared off after seeing increasingly aggressive regulators block recent deals.

Last December, Adobe scuttled its $20 billion acquisition of the design startup Figma after saying it didnt see a clear path to regulatory approval. A few months later, Figma completed a tender offer that bought out early employees and investors, alleviating pressure to go public.

This summer, negotiations for Google to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz for $23 billion ended in part because of concerns about the time it would take a deal to clear regulatory hurdles, The Wall Street Journal reported. The startup recently agreed to do a tender offer for employees valuing it at $16 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

To get around the crunch, venture firms are getting creative. Some are shopping around their startups to private-equity buyers, while others are buying out their own stakes in startups to deliver profits to their investors.

In September, Sequoia Capital bought $861 million of its own shares in payments company Stripe held by a set of funds it launched over a decade ago. This allowed investors in the older funds to earn a profit, while Sequoia is holding the shares through a newer set of funds. Sequoia first backed Stripe in 2010.

Stripe is the third-most-valuable U.S. startup after SpaceX and OpenAI. It raised $6.5 billion last year in a round that valued it at $50 billion, allowing it to delay a widely anticipated public listing. In February, Stripe and some of its investors agreed to buy over $1 billion of shares from current and former employees.

Corrie Driebusch and Becky Peterson contributed to this article.

Write to Berber Jin at berber.jin@wsj.com
Bengaluru/Mumbai: Tiger Global-backed Geniemode is looking to raise about 500 crore from new and existing investors in a mix of primary and secondary transactions, three people familiar with the matter told Mint .

The round is expected to happen at a higher valuation of $350 million and new investors, including private equity firm Multiples and Nandan Nilekanis venture capital firm Fundamentum, are also evaluating the asset," one of the people cited earlier said on the condition of anonymity. The person added that the company is speaking to various investors to put together the round.

While the round is largely primary, there will also be a secondary component, a second person said, adding that this is likely to be the companys largest fundraise so far. In a secondary transaction, shareholders sell their stakes to other existing or new investors, and no new capital is injected into the company.

Geniemodes co-founder Tanuj Gangwani denied the details and called them incorrect and speculative. Multiples and Fundamentum did not immediately respond to Mints requests for a comment.

Read more: On a mission to change consumer behaviour, grow premium offerings: Colgate-Palmolives Prabha Narasimhan

The new capital infusion comes about two years after the startup raised $28 million in its series B funding round in April 2022 at a valuation of $154 million, data from Tracxn showed. Geniemode is backed by prominent investors including Tiger Global, Info Edge Ventures and other angel investors including Zomatos founder Deepinder Goyal and fintech startup Creds Kunal Shah.

Growth trajectory

Founded in 2021 by Gangwani and Amit Sharma, Geniemode is a sourcing platform for business-to-business buyers in furniture, home textile, apparels, and accessories. It provides a tech-powered supply chain platform for buyers and manufacturers across these categories. Some of its immediate competitors include Global-e, which is listed, and unlisted startups such as Flow and Samarkand Global.

Read more: Indian edtech startups niche down into nursing, allied healthcare upskilling

It has over 100 buyers and 250 suppliers across 16 countries and claims to grow 25% every month, according to its official website. It has manufacturers across India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia and handles various aspects of supply chain management including logistics, warehousing and deliveries.

In FY23, the companys revenues surged to 220.4 crore from 13.8 crore a year earlier. Its losses widened to 81 crore from 10.8 crore in FY22, Tracxn data showed.
Alphabet's Google has been fined 3.8 million roubles (31,000) by a Russian district court for failing to remove content deemed illegal under Russian regulations, reported Reuters.

As per the wire, this penalty forms part of an ongoing series of measures by Russia against foreign technology companies, which are frequently ordered to comply with local content removal laws. Although individual fines tend to be relatively modest, they reflect a persistent effort to enforce compliance from global platforms.

In parallel, Google CEO Sundar Pichai addressed the companys challenges during a recent earnings call, including the ongoing antitrust scrutiny in the United States. When questioned about the proposed remedies stemming from the Department of Justices (DoJ) lawsuit, Pichai expressed confidence in Googles legal stance and emphasised the companys unwavering commitment to innovation and accessibility.

We plan to vigorously defend these cases. Some of the early proposals from the DoJ are far-reaching and could have unintended consequences, particularly for the dynamic tech sector and American leadership within it, Pichai remarked, as reported byThe Times of India.

Despite the legal challenges, Pichai refrained from outlining specific strategies to address potential restrictions on contracts related to Google Search. Instead, he reiterated the companys position as a leader in search technology.

"It is not appropriate for me to speculate, given the ongoing litigation. However, stepping back, weve achieved our success through deeply motivated efforts, and we continue to do so," he stated.

"People have chosen us because they view it as the best product, be it consumers or partners. And we have a long track record of working hard to make sure our products are easily available to users as possible across all platforms. So all that approach and all the learnings over the years, I think, we all be - will give us a strong foundation," Pichai added.

Google, one of the worlds largest technology firms, is currently navigating a complex regulatory landscape, with scrutiny in multiple jurisdictions. While Pichais comments signal resilience, the outcomes of these legal battles could have far-reaching implications for the company and the wider tech industry.
(Bloomberg) -- When the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma recently sought to finance a casino between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, it turned to Banco Santander SA to find investors.

Spains biggest bank would have been an unlikely bookrunner several years ago, when it counted on one hand the leveraged loans it arranged in the US. But after a hiring spree that included dozens of former investment bankers from Credit Suisses Wall Street outpost, Santander has been rapidly climbing the league tables, with more than a hundred deals in the US this year already.

The new recruits and the flurry of transactions theyre reeling in are starting to reshape the retail-lending giant, whose stock has lost a third of its value under the decade-long tenure of Chairman Ana Botin. In what is arguably its biggest Wall Street expansion ever, the firm acquired Amherst Pierpoint Securities for $600 million about three years ago and has since added hundreds of investment bankers in the US and UK, with some 200 joining since early last year.

With that bet come some growing pains, including significant upfront expenses. While the recruits are making inroads into businesses such as leveraged finance, some of their pay packages far exceed what longtime staffers get, leading to consternation at a firm where consumer and commercial lending remain the heart of the business, according to people familiar with the matter.

The number of material risk takers making at least 1 million has more than doubled in three years. Thats adding to pressure on investment bank profit, with the units US arm reporting a pretax loss last quarter.

This story is based on conversations with about a dozen people who have insight into the Spanish lenders effort to expand the investment bank. They asked for anonymity discussing internal matters.

Over the past 18 months, we have strengthened our US team significantly, said a spokesperson for Santander. By combining this additional, complementary, expertise with the scale of the Santander network, we are delivering new products and services and deepening relationships with clients across the group.

For much of its 167-year history, Santander was a regional lender few outside northern Spain had heard of. Ana Botins late father Emilio Botin transformed it into an intercontinental powerhouse with dozens of acquisitions in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Poland, the UK and US. Investment banking, however, remained an afterthought.

Not so for Ana Botin, 64, who started her career at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 1980s. She joined Santander at the age of 28 and took over from her late father in 2014. Under her leadership, Santander brought in Jose Linares, who now runs the investment bank, and Hector Grisi, a former Credit Suisse banker who eventually became chief executive officer.

Both are playing a key role in the effort to reshape Santanders securities and advisory business. Linares, an ex-JPMorgan banker, oversaw the purchase of Amherst Pierpoint, one of 25 primary dealers for the Federal Reserve. The deal strengthened its position in fixed income and provided it with access to more than 1,300 institutional investors.

It also kicked off an expansion in US investment banking that was turbocharged by the dismantling of Credit Suisses investment bank. The Swiss banks troubles afforded Santander an opportunity to hire a slew of talent, including in New York. Among them are Steve Geller, the former head of M&A at Credit Suisse, and leveraged finance banker Jeff Cohen, who spent more than two decades there. David Hermer, who oversaw equity and debt capital markets for the Swiss firm, now runs Santanders investment bank in the US.

At the same time, a number of Santanders veterans departed. They include Frederic Hauteville, the former head of corporate and investment banking for France and Benelux, Javier Sobrini, who oversaw energy infrastructure, and Jorge Gil. Alexandra MacMahon, the head of Santanders investment bank in the UK, recently left to join ING Groep NV.

The new hires helped Santander post 6.26 billion revenue in the investment bank during the first nine months of this year, or almost 14% of the groups top line. That compares with a little over 10% five years earlier. The business is Santanders second-most important contributor to profit, after retail and commercial banking.

Profit at the unit, however, declined almost 5% in the first nine months as expenses rose. The US investment bank reported a pretax loss.

Analysts have said expanding the investment bank may help lift Santanders share price. RBC analyst Benjamin Toms estimated in May that the investment banking unit alone is worth about 18 billion, or a quarter of the banks total market capitalization.

The unit is a material tailwind to the banks future story, Toms wrote. Management have the sensible ambition to be the most profitable rather than the largest in the business.

Santander has said it doesnt want to take on the biggest Wall Street banks head-to-head. It said last year that it planned to double the size of its investment banking operations in the US, where it employed around 900 staff at the time. That figure has since grown to about 1,300, including support staff. Not all of them are new hires. Areas where the firm says its making inroads include merger advisory, equity and debt capital markets.

One business where Santander has been particularly busy is leveraged finance, overseen by former Credit Suisse banker Cohen, with help from Jonathan Moneypenny and Max Lipkind, who also came from the Swiss bank. After their appointment, some existing staffers transferred to new positions as the unit expanded and more Credit Suisse bankers joined.Then-head of US syndication, Paul McDonald, moved into origination. Another senior Credit Suisse banker, Craig Jeffers, took on the syndication role, according to a person familiar with the matter and their LinkedIn profiles. Santander also hired Joel Kent as head of leveraged finance trading, Bloomberg reported.

Cohen, Jeffers, Moneypenny, McDonald, Kent and Lipkind didnt respond to requests for comment.

With mergers and acquisitions still stuck in a lull and leveraged buyouts struggling to make a comeback, one business Santander has been focusing on is helping companies refinance or reprice their debt. It has done 110 leveraged loan deals in the US this year so far, including some for new acquisitions, compared with 21 in the same period a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The $200 million debt deal in Oklahoma for which Santander had been sounding out investors has since priced. The proceeds will go to pay for the construction of a new resort branded as a Harrahs casino, Bloomberg reported.

With Donald Trump returning to the White House, bankers are expecting a revival in deals and buyouts. That could revive demand for new financings, which have been hard to come by until now as most borrowers were focused on refinancings.

Despite those pressures, the Spanish lender is keen to ensure its culture doesnt change and clients remain the driver of new business, said two of the people. While many of the top investment bankers are ex-Credit Suisse, the risk committee that decides on large deals is mostly composed of legacy Santander bankers.

For Botin, expanding the investment bank is only one leg of a larger effort to grow in the US. Santander recently launched its digital branch Openbank in the worlds largest economy, which could help boost deposits, a cheap source of funding.

Im not going to take many customers from JPMorgan, Botin said in October. But I do hope to get a few.

--With assistance from Manuel Baigorri, Laura Noonan, Todd Gillespie and Jeannine Amodeo.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Apple manufacturer Foxconn has instructed the hiring agents who help recruit iPhone assembly workers in India to remove age, gender, and marital status criteria along with the company's name from job advertisements, Reuters reported on Monday, November 18, quoting three people familiar with the development.

The instructions for ads were: Don't mention the unmarried requirement, don't mention age, nor male or female either, said one person cited in the report.

The company did not respond to the news agency's questions about the instructions to the recruiters and whether or not it had ended restrictions on the employment of married women for the iPhone assembly job roles. Apple Inc. refused to comment on similar questions. Both Foxconn and Apple earlier said that Foxconn hired married women in India, as per the report.

The agency reviewed an advertisement for a smartphone assembly position that did not mention Foxconn's name, age, gender, or marital criteria. The advertisement listed benefits: Air-conditioned workplace, free transport, canteen facility, free hostel and a monthly salary of 14,974 rupees, or nearly $177," according to the agency report.

The advertisement text matched nine Foxconn vendor ads that the agency reviewed in October. As per the report, some of those ads were in Tamil, posted on the walls, and circulated on WhatsApp.

Also Read | Foxconn plans to invest 424 crore in semiconductor JV with HCL

Even though the ads did not identify the employer, two out of three vendor sources told the agency that the advertisements were from Foxconn.

Foxconn gives us the ads to run for hiring. We only use those, a manager at hiring agency Proodle told the news agency. Eight out of 12 hiring vendors of Foxconn refused to discuss the hiring practices.

One vendor, Groveman Global, advertised in 2023 for mobile manufacturing jobs for unmarried women aged 18 to 32. This language was absent in three new Groveman ads that the agency reviewed last month.

A Groveman's office representative refused to comment on the changes, as per the report.

Foxconn Investigation Foxconn's move comes after an investigation by the news agency on June 25 revealed that the iPhone maker excluded married women from jobs at its main India iPhone assembly plant even though it relaxed the practice during high-production periods.

Foxconn employs thousands of women at the iPhone factory in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, but it outsources the recruitment of assembly-line workers to third-party recruiters. These agents scout and screen eligible candidates, who are then interviewed and selected by Foxconn, as per the report.

According to the agency's June review, Foxconn's ads through the Indian hiring vendors between January 2023 and May 2024 said only unmarried women of specified ages were eligible for smartphone assembly roles, breaching Apple and Foxconn's anti-discrimination policies.

Foxconn HR executives directed many of the Indian recruiters to standardise recruitment materials in accordance with templates provided by the company, two people who were aware of the development told the news agency.

The HR executives cited media reports of the company's hiring practices and warned us not to use Foxconn's name in any ads going forward, and told us our contracts would be terminated if we did, one of the agents told the news agency.

Also Read | Foxconn building the worlds largest manufacturing facility for Nvidia

Apple's India move Apple has been positioning India as an alternative to China for product manufacturing amid the rising tension between the United States and China. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government views Foxconn's iPhone factory and Apple's broader supply chain as a move up in the economic value chain.

After the June story, the Indian government ordered federal and state investigations into hiring practices at the Foxconn plant. The labour officials visited the facility in July and interviewed company executives, but the findings were not made public information, as per the report.

The Tamil Nadu state government refused to provide a copy of the investigation report made under India's Right to Information Act, citing confidentiality, as per the agency report.

Central and state officials did not respond to the agency's queries about the outcome of their investigation into Foxconn's hiring practices.

Media scrutiny of Foxconn's employment practices had necessitated changes to job advertising because of the reputational impact on the company and its client, Apple, said Dilip Cherian, a communications consultant and co-founder of a public relations firm Perfect Relations, reported the agency.

It is yet to be seen whether this move represents a real change of heart or just a cosmetic and appropriately legal response to the fact that they have been called out, Cherian told the news agency.
PARIS (AP)  French farmers are mobilizing for widespread protests on Monday targeting the EU-Mercosur trade agreement. Backed by their government, they argue the deal threatens their livelihoods by allowing a surge of South American agricultural imports produced under less stringent environmental standards.

Protests are planned nationwide, including gatherings at prefectures and traffic circles. One group blocked a highway south of Paris on Sunday night with tractors, and scattered actions have been held recently leading up to this week's protests.

The European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc, composed of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, reached an initial agreement in 2019, but negotiations stumbled due to opposition from farmers and some European governments, specifically France.

It is unacceptable as it stands, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who agrees with the logic of the farmers who have fueled the protests.

It is unthinkable that will we impose particularly tough restrictions on your industrial and agricultural sectors, that we would not demand likewise from our commercial partners, including the Paris climate accords or a number of environmental rules, he said.

But France's hands might be tied.

The new protests come amid fears the agreement could be finalized at the G20 summit in Brazil on Nov. 18-19, or in the coming weeks. A partial EU-Mercosur deal, with many of the unsavory parts for French farmers, could be agreed to over their heads since France does not hold veto power.

Other nations like Germany and Spain would like to see a far-reaching deal with their South American counterparts.

There is a certain mythology surrounding Mercosur, said Spanish Farm Minister Luis Planas Puchades, who argues there is more at stake than just farming.

Is the European Union interested, at this moment, in closing in on itself? he asked ahead of an EU farm ministerial meeting on Monday. Or is it interested, in this particular geopolitical context that we are experiencing, and especially after the North American election, in expanding the network of our trade agreements with third countries to maintain our economic and commercial influence as well? I think the answer is very clear.

Leading the charge of the new protests are unions like FNSEA and Young Farmers, who oppose provisions such as duty-free imports of beef, poultry and sugar, which they say create unfair competition. Coordination Rurale, a union linked to the far right, has promised an agricultural revolt, including food freight blockades beginning Tuesday in Auch and Agen, in southwestern France.

Proponents of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement argue that it would significantly boost economic ties between Europe and South America by eliminating tariffs on European exports, notably for machinery, chemicals and cars, thereby enhancing market access and creating lucrative opportunities for European businesses.

Earlier this year, farmers staged protests across France and elsewhere in Europe, blocking roads and buildings to protest EU regulations and financial problems, demand fairer agricultural policies and oppose the trade agreement.

French Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard has publicly opposed the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, citing risks of deforestation and health concerns linked to hormone-treated meat.

In an interview with TF1, she said: We dont want this agreement because its harmful. It will bring in products, including substances banned in Europe, at the cost of deforestation. It will unfairly compete with our domestic production.

President Emmanuel Macron has also criticized the agreement unless South American producers meet EU standards.
Daksh Gupta, the Indian American CEO of San Francisco-based artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Greptile, has said he received death threats and job applications after posting about the company's long workweeks.

In a long text post on X (formerly Twitter), Gupta doubled down on his company's strategy regarding employee work hours and called out hate directed towards him from the social discussion site Reddit.

Gupta came under fire for revealing that he only hired candidates after informing them that the company has no work-life balance and asked for advice for some obvious pitfall Im missing.

CEO Tells Candidates: 'No Work-Life Balance' In a post on X on November 9, Gupta wrote, Recently I started telling candidates right in the first interview that Greptile offers no work-life-balance, typical workdays start at 9 AM and end at 11 PM, often later, and we work Saturdays, sometimes also Sundays. I emphasize the environment is high stress, and there is no tolerance for poor work. It felt wrong to do this at first, but Im convinced now that the transparency is good, and Id much rather people know this from the get-go rather than find out on their first day. Curious if other people do this and if theres some obvious pitfall Im missing."

The post made its way from X to other social media sites, including Reddit and LinkedIn. It generated lots of discussions on company culture, work hours and striking the right balance, with Gupta catching jabs for his outlook on the issue.

CEO Defends Stance: '20% death threats and 80% job applications' A day later, Gupta took to X again to defend himself and shared that his initial post led to responses which included death threats and job applications.

He wrote, Now that this is on the front page of Reddit and my inbox is 20% death threats and 80% job applications, heres a follow up: to everyone who is overworked and underpaid at their software jobs esp outside the US, I feel for you, and Im sorry this struck a nerve. The people that work here had 6-fig 20 hr/week jobs before this, and can go back to them any time. It might be hard to believe but there exist people that want this, while a minority. the transparency exists to identify them(SIC).

He added, This way of working isnt supposed to be forever because it isnt sustainable. Its the first year or two of a startup, which is like reaching escape velocity. Like people said in the comments, as we mature, well hire older, more experienced people who have families and cant work 100 hours a week, and naturally, we would adapt like any good organization. This is NOT meant to be prescriptive. There are brilliant people who run successful companies full of brilliant people who dont push themselves this hard. Many others started the way we are starting.

He also called out Indians online for the hate posts, saying, lot of indian hate coming from this post so i want to clarify that i am like this not because im indian but because im san franciscan. (sic)

Gupta's defence was met with many people questioning if he learnt anything from the previous responses on why work-life balance is essential, while others were more supportive, saying that taking up a job is each candidate's choice.
Shares of Honasa Consumer plunged 20% on Monday to drop below its listing price as analysts cut price targets after the company reported a weaker-than-expected financial performance in the September quarter, hurt by slow growth in its flagship brand Mamaearth.

The company, also the parent of brands including Aqualogica and The Derma Co, reported a loss of 18.5 crore against a profit of 29.4 crore in the year-ago period, while revenue from operations fell to 461 crore from 496 crore a year earlier.

The recent shift in distribution strategy from super stockists to direct distributors resulted in higher-than-expected costs, Honasa co-founder Varun Alagh said during the Q2 earnings call last week. But its the slowdown in Mamaearth sales that has left investors wondering what would fuel the next level of growth for the countrys largest digital-first beauty and personal care brand.

Also read | Honasa to implement structural changes for Mamaearth following weak Q2 results

Brokerage firm Emkay Global cut Honasas target price by 50% to 300 on account of significant distribution challenges and waning demand in key markets. Honasa is experiencing significant challenges, including reduced operating leverage and higher competition. We foresee a steep decline in FY25 earnings and a slow recovery trajectory into FY26," the brokerage said.

The journey from a 1,000 crore brand to 2,000 crore brand is not easy. It never was," Satish Meena, adviser at Datum Intelligence, told Mint. Honasa will perhaps have to become comfortable with the fact that its first and flagship brand may not be its biggest and fastest growing brand going forward."

Alagh, however, disagrees that the brand has hit a ceiling. In fact, he believes Mamaearth has the potential to be the No. 1 skincare brand in the next five to seven years, he told analysts during the companys post-earnings call last week.

While the pace of growth may be lower, it is sustainable growth. And from a long-term perspective, we still believe theres a long way to go for the brand to hit a ceiling," Alagh said.

Mint analyses Mamaearths challenges and how Honasa can put it back on track.

Overcrowding

Mamaearth grew rapidly on the back of its onion hair care range, nearly tripling its revenues in the last two years.

The brand invested considerable resources in carefully building out its distribution strategy, bagging gross margins of about 70%, considered best-in-class among direct-to-consumer brands and in line with large fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) makers like Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) and Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care Ltd.

However, the low entry barriers in the beauty and personal care category prompted an influx of a host of new brands, aiming to break through to the Indian diaspora by offering products on parity with international standards.

Moreover, the lack of proprietary formulations and abundance of contract manufacturers making me-too products has left little to no differentiation, making customer retention a tall ask, according to Datums Meena.

Mamaearth is in the price range between mass and premium, which is highly competitive," Meena said. Any category dealing with multiple income groups can be tough to crack."

In July, Mint reported that Mamaearths distributors had raised concerns over excessive inventory the company had dispatched to the market and delays in replacing damaged, unsold and expired stock. In an interview with Mint the following month, Honasas Alagh said that the company is working on bringing down the inventory holding period from 90 to 40 days with a distribution strategy shift titled Project Neev.

Mamaearths distribution strategy involved super stockists, a set of intermediaries who would distribute products sourced from the company to sub-stockists and select retailers. However, Alagh had said in the Q4 FY24 earnings call that dealing with super stockists resulted in poor-quality sales and lack of data. So under Project Neev, the company shifted to a direct distribution model seeking more control.

Also read | Mamaearth parent expects distribution strategy change to impact revenue in FY25

However, the implementation of Project Neev cost the company nearly 70 crore in the September quarter, further denting its performance and leading to a loss during the quarter. With much of the transition completed, Honasa expects the momentum in Mamaearth to gradually recover over the coming quarters, Alagh told analysts last week.

The offline channel accounts for more than 35% of Honasas overall sales.

Mamaearth is banking on its offline strategy, but its not going to be easy. For offline to work well, distributors and retailers also need to push the product and sell to the customer," Datums Meena said. Plus, Mamaearth needs to be the top-of-mind product for customers, which isnt necessarily the case, especially with so many brands already operating in the same category at the same or lower price point."

Investment bank JPMorgan had said in a September report that Mamaearths growth prospects were being challenged by increased competition in third-party marketplaces and a soft demand environment. The new brands are driving growth though their offline channel acceptance is yet to be proven, which is crucial for margin expansion. Valuations are demanding, in our view, amidst downside risk to revenue/earnings," the report said.

Evolving brands

Honasa now plans to make significant adjustments to its product lineup, marketing approach and investment allocation across categories to revive growth for Mamaearth.

The model we were trying to execute was similar to what has worked in the past. We have realized that we need to make strong tweaks in the product mix and be sharper on investment allocation where we think we have gone too wide. We need to narrow our focus to a few categories and go deep within the hero SKUs (stockkeeping units)," Alagh said.

Alagh emphasized the companys commitment to course correction, with a focus on piloting regional and category-specific strategies to bring Mamaearth back to a strong growth path."

To be sure, the slowdown in urban consumption has impacted numerous consumer brands, including sector giants HUL and Nestle India Ltd, both of which saw their Q2 revenue growth stagnate and profits dip.

Also read | Fashion is going green, but the journey is slow

Honasas focus on gaining and sustaining market share in categories rather than brands could help the company grow, according to Datums Meena. Some categories like active ingredients are high in demand and offer growth opportunities. This may not necessarily come from Mamaearth, but from other emerging portfolio brands like The Derma Co and Dr Sheths. The idea is to capture mindshare. Thats the only thing that can build sustainable growth," he added.

Analysts at investment bank Jefferies agree. We too are disappointed with the outcome and have taken down estimates sharply. The shares are likely to sell off next week, not giving holders an easy option to exit, given low liquidity," they said in a report on Friday. Given our positive view on founders, who we think are committed to getting the business back on track, we do not think there is a case to turn negative on the business, after the stock gaps down. We retain Buy with a lower PT (price target) of 425."

Honasa is not the first to go through this pain. History suggests that companies do come back on track, and we are hopeful," Jefferies report said. In this context, it is useful to note that several large FMCG firms have gone through distribution realignment, despite decades of existence."
(Bloomberg) -- The Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved a revised congestion pricing plan for Manhattan that President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to terminate once he takes office.

The board of the MTA, which runs the citys transit system and is implementing the new toll, voted 12 to 1 Monday to begin the program, which officials anticipate will provide $15 billion to modernize a more than 100-year-old system.

Transit has to be preserved and expanded and improved or New York aint gonna be New York, Janno Lieber, the MTAs chief executive officer, said during the board meeting. New York couldnt exist without it.

The program will charge E-ZPass motorists entering south of Manhattans 60th Street $9 during peak hours, which is from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, with E-ZPass trucks paying $14.40 during those hours. Vehicles without an E-ZPass would pay more.

Drivers already paying tolls on the Lincoln, Holland, Queens-Midtown or Brooklyn-Battery tunnels will receive discounts during peak times to help lower the new fee. Fares will also be significantly cheaper when driving overnight with E-ZPass passenger cars paying $2.25 and trucks paying $3.60. Under the new plan, taxi passengers would pay $0.75 per trip, while customers riding in a for-hire vehicle such as Uber and Lyft would pay $1.50.

The vote comes after Governor Kathy Hochul abruptly halted the plan weeks before it was set to begin on June 30 and follows Trumps win earlier this month. The president-elect opposes the initiative and earlier this year said he would terminate it the first week after returning to the White House.

US Representative Jerry Nadler, who was at the board meeting to show his support, said Trump needs to understand the benefits of the program.

It will provide funding for the mass transit that the region depends on, Nadler told reporters before the start of the board meeting. It will save lives by increasing the speed of fire engines to fires and of ambulances to hospitals. It will save lives by reducing the asthma in the air. Those are all reasons that he should  that everybody should  support it.

The new revenue will help update subway signals from the 1930s, make stations more accessible, pay for new electric buses and extend the Second Avenue subway to Harlem.

Opponents of the program say it will hurt businesses in the tolled zone and put a strain on lower-income commuters and families that have to drive into the area.

Hochul last week restarted the program, which is the first of its kind in the US, and slashed its pricing structure by 40% to help ease costs for working families and small businesses. The $9 fee will gradually increase to the original $15 charge in 2031. Drivers are set to begin paying the toll on Jan. 5.

Hochul and the MTA now need the Federal Highway Administration to approve the $9 tolling structure and to sign a value pricing pilot program agreement with the state and the city.

Even if the federal approvals come through in time, congestion pricing faces several lawsuits. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has sued and is seeking a longer environmental review process, even with the lower $9 fee.

The MTA will borrow against the new tolling revenue to raise $15 billion for infrastructure. Officials expect the initiative will also curb traffic, reduce pollution in Manhattan and encourage more people to take mass transit to get to work, school and appointments.

(Updates story throughout with details from MTA meeting. An earlier version corrected the time of peak hours.)

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
(Bloomberg) -- The energy trader seeking to buy UK gas assets from Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp. was sued over allegations that he diverted money from an Iranian petrochemical company that was later banned from doing business in the US.

Francesco Mazzagatti is accused in a London lawsuit of profiting from an indirect ownership of Mehr Petrochemical Co., an Iranian maker of plastic resin. The US Treasury said last year that Mehr was at the heart of a vast shadow banking network that helped other companies continue to do business on behalf of the Iranian regime.

The London lawsuit was filed in August by Alliance Petrochemical Investment, a Singaporean company that owns a controlling stake in Mehr. It accuses Mazzagatti of distributing the Iranian companys products and secretly retaining his stake even after the company was sanctioned by US authorities last year.

Mazzagatti denies the allegations and said that he never controlled Mehr, and calls the complaint part of a vexatious campaign by Arshiya Jahanpour, a former business partner who he says actually runs API.

Mr. Mazzagatti is not subject to any inquiry or scrutiny as a result of any dealings with Mehr, his spokesperson said in an email. The Financial Times reported details of the lawsuit earlier.

Mazzagattis Viaro Energy Ltd. is seeking regulatory approval for a set of deals with Shell and Exxon off the Scottish coast that the company said would give it control of about 5% of the UKs total gas output. The acquisition, if approved, would hand Viaro ownership of the backbone of the UKs energy production and security, the company said when the deal was announced in July.

The Shell and Exxon transactions, which include 11 offshore facilities, are subject to approval from the UKs North Sea Transition Authority. The NSTA can consider the fitness of a licensee as part of that process. Mazzagatti says he has been regularly communicating with the regulator.

The London lawsuit focuses on allegations that Mazzagatti effectively ran API, saying he directed the company even after stepping down from the board in September 2020. He dealt with Mehr on the basis that he remained CEO of API, the suit says.

$143 Million

API is suing for $143 million, plus damages, saying that Mazzagatti diverted money from the sale of Mehr products to a separate corporate vehicle he set up in the UAE.

Mazzagatti is accused of misconduct through at least 2021. At a meeting that year, he produced a faked bank document bearing a false account balance, according to the filing. The suit also separately accuses him of profiting from forged signatures.

Mr. Mazzagatti continued to act as CEO, the board continued to be accustomed to acting at his direction, and the management of the company acted at his direction, the current directors of API said in the lawsuit.

The two sides disagree about a wide range of issues, including whether Mazzagatti ever served as CEO of API. Mazzagatti says he was simply a board director.

Mazzagattis lawyers said that Jahanpour, a onetime close friend, actually ran the company and that Mazzagatti had always intended to divest himself of the shareholding in API before the sanctions took effect.

Milan Case

Mazzagatti separately faces a Milan criminal trial, where he is one of about a half dozen defendants facing charges related to a corruption case that has been dragging on for months. In a narrow part of the case, Mazzagatti is accused of using proceeds from an allegedly fraudulent deal with Eni SpA to buy the stake in API.

Other Italian criminal charges relating to the attempted delivery of oil from Iran were dismissed by a judge. Mazzagatti denies the allegations and Viaro said in July that the company expects the rest of case against him to be dropped.

Mehr was hit with the US restrictions in March 2023, in a move blocking any US dealings with the firm.

According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, any foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitates transactions with the company could also find itself subject to enforcement action.

OFAC said Mehrs products were marketed through a web of companies that generated billions of dollars for the Iranian government. The Mehr network helped Irans Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial Co. market millions of dollars of high-density polyethylene produced by Mehr to third-party buyers for delivery to Turkey and Asia, according to the regulator.

API used its lawsuit to lay out how Mazzagatti allegedly acquired the Mehr stake and raised questions about whether he tried to conceal it after the US sanctions were imposed.

Mazzagatti says he never intended to keep his stake in API after buying it through a Hong Kong company in July 2018 and that he transferred 50% to a Jahanpour family firm a few months later.

Five days after the sanctions, Mazzagatti formally transferred his stake in the Hong Kong company that owned the remaining 50% of API, called Petrochemicals Industries Ltd., also known as PIL.

The sale went to a company in the United Arab Emirates called Sonic Investment Ltd., which is owned by a friend of Mazzagatti who lives in Dubai. According to API, Mazzagatti had tried to transfer the shares to Sonic months earlier for a nominal consideration.

It is therefore to be inferred that PIL remains under the control and ultimate beneficial ownership of Mr. Mazzagatti, API said in the lawsuit.

Mazzagattis friend, Najla Baccouche, said that she and her husband are involved in commodities trading and had been attempting to acquire PIL and Mehr before the sanctions. In an email to Bloomberg, she said that she hasnt been able to pay Mazzagatti because she has been unable to gain access to APIs profits.

None of us expected the matter to escalate to the degree that it has, creating issues for everyone involved, Baccouche said.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Semiconductor chip manufacturer Polymatech Electronics will spend close to $300 million in closing two acquisitions within the next few months in the US and France as it expands its presence globally.

Polymatech Electronics founder Eswara Rao Nandam told Mint that the acquisitions will be funded through a mix of internal accruals and external investments from potential equity investors.

We will be expanding our US semiconductor fabrication facility planned for next year and there will be an acquisition in Grenoble, France, which will get crystallised within the next three to four weeks. For both these facilities, about $200-300 million will be needed," he said.

In August, Polymatech's wholly-owned subsidiary, Artificial Electronics Intelligent Materials Pte Ltd in Singapore acquired California-based Nisene Technology Group which is one of the oldest makers of integrated circuits built on silicon and silicon carbide wafer. Polymatech currently makes sapphire-based semiconductors. Nandam elaborated that equity investment is expected to come into Nisene for expanding this facility which will make silicon carbide and sapphire wafers, high-performance Central Processing Units (CPUs), and Graphics Processing Unit (GPUs) for computers and mobiles.

Weve been approached by some US funds for investment into Nisene and the minimum ticket size will be about $50-100 million," Nandam added. The company is looking at technology acquisitions in the UK.

Raising wafer tech capabilities

The acquisitions will enable multi-wafer technology abilities with the company giving it an edge over global competitors. Making different kinds of opto-semiconductor chips, also called photonics, on wafers ranging from silicon, silicon carbide and gallium nitride, Polymatech competes with OSRAM GmbH, Broadcom Inc, Samsung, Lite-On Technology, Lumileds Holdings, Toshiba Electronic Devices and Storage Corporation, among other global players.

The Chennai-based company designs, manufactures, packages, and assembles semiconductor chips and chip modules for various applications, including medical, agriculture, large-area lighting, PCs, laptops, and cell phone backlights. It also exports to the US, UK and the Middle East.

The company continues to plan for a 1,500 crore IPO but is likely to take it up after the acquisitions are completed. Promoters, including Nandam, hold around 80% of Polymatech, with 2.6% owned by Nav Capital Emerging Star Fund. Mint reported earlier this year that the company planned to raise twice the amount it had planned earlier and will re-file with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) within this year.

Nandam said that since Polymatech had expanded operations from its two manufacturing units in Chennai to Singapore, Bahrain, US and Europe through different companies, it was undertaking a restructuring to bring the companies under one holding entity.

We have mandated KPMG for structuring, and they will be representing us, to the merchant bankers. Wherever we have plants, all those financials have to be brought and consolidated into Polymatech India. It will take six to seven months," he said, noting that the prospectus will be filed after that.

Also Read: Telecom firms ask govt to do away with fees on AGR

Polymatech's revenue nearly doubled to 1,200 crore in FY24 from around 650 crore in FY23. In FY22, its revenue was at 125.87 crore. The company expects to double its revenues every year driven by the anticipated rise in chip demand in the coming years. Besides, it has expanded its chip packaging capacity by 1 billion units in FY24.

Key Takeaways
With its near-universal penetration, Colgate-Palmolive India is synonymous with oral care in India. However, the company is not resting on its laurels. It has embarked on a mission to change consumer behaviour and grow its premium offerings. In a conversation with Mint , Prabha Narasimhan, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) at Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd, discussed the launch of the year-round Oral Health Movement, the growing focus on premiumization and the challenges of marketing in a diverse nation like India.

Edited excerpts:

Colgate enjoys near-universal awareness in India. How challenging is it to drive further growth and adoption?

A decade ago, oral care penetration in India was around 85%. Today, its close to universal. The challenge now is driving behaviour changeencouraging people to adopt habits like brushing twice a day, replacing toothbrushes every three to four months and visiting dentists regularly. Changing consumer behaviour is a long-term endeavour, but it aligns with our mission of ensuring better oral health for every Indian.

Is the Oral Health Movement central to this mission?

Earlier, we ran initiatives like Oral Health Month, which offered free dentist checkups. Now, weve expanded this into a year-round Oral Health Movement. This initiative combines technology, awareness and accessibility. For example, our partnership with Logy AI allows consumers to assess their oral health using image recognition via WhatsApp. This is followed up with free oral health assessments through over 50,000 dentists across 1,300 cities. Through initiatives like free oral health assessments and easy appointment setups with over 50,000 dentists, we aim to reposition dentists as agents of prevention, not just problem solvers for critical issues. Additionally, campaigns like Brush at Night" and our Bright Smiles, Bright Futures" programme, which reached 10 million children this year, ensure that oral hygiene awareness is a continuous effort. With this always-on approach, we aim to create sustained engagement and accessibility for consumers.

Also read | We strictly adhere to regulations and promote responsibly: Diageos Varun Koorichh

How does the Oral Health Movement integrate with your marketing strategy?

The Oral Health Movement is integral to our marketing efforts. For instance, we are placing QR codes on 600 million packs, making oral health tools easily accessible to consumers. Television continues to play a significant role in driving nationwide campaigns that promote behaviours like brushing twice daily. On the digital front, data from initiatives like Logy AI allows us to create personalized recommendations and engage more effectively with consumers. Combining broad reach with personalized engagement ensures that our marketing efforts resonate across diverse demographics. Advertising and promotion form a significant part of our strategy.

What proportion of your marketing budget is allocated to these efforts?

We spend about 14% of our turnover on advertising and promotions. A substantial portion of this will be spent on the Oral Health Movement, as its central to both our mission and business strategy.

Premiumization is an important focus for Colgate. What is your strategy to grow this segment?

Premiumization is the second pillar of our growth strategy, and it absolutely needs to go up. Currently, only about 14% of the oral care category falls into the premium segment, which lags behind categories like skincare and haircare. Our goal is to grow our premium business at least two to three times faster than our overall business. This growth is driven by products like Colgate Total, which caters to advanced daily oral care and is a global flagship with numerous patents. Whitening solutions, such as our Visible White Purple toothpaste that delivers instant whitening, are designed to tap into beauty-conscious consumers. Additionally, our therapeutic solutions, which address specific dental issues, benefit from the strong network of dentists weve built over 87 years in India.

Also read | Ads are an interruption if they arent entertaining, they wont resonate: Lemonns Devam Sardana

Consumers often buy toothpaste for specific benefits, whether its freshness, gum health or whitening. Our job is to position Colgate products as the clear choice for those needs, ensuring strong recall for each segment.

With rising digital and quick-commerce trends, how is Colgate adapting?

Quick commerce complements us well because it favours a tight assortment where we dominate. About 6% of our business comes from e-commerce, with quick commerce contributing 20% of that. This channel is growing at eight times the pace of our overall business, making it market share- and margin-accretive. Additionally, our understanding of regional preferences allows us to work with quick-commerce platforms to ensure the right assortment is available in the right localities, which further strengthens our position in this channel.

Rural India presents unique challenges. How are you tailoring your approach there?

Rural India is particularly important, as per capita oral care consumption in these areas is about half of urban levels. To address this, we are scaling our Bright Smiles, Bright Futures" programme to reach more schoolchildren, partnering with state governments in Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Goa to integrate oral hygiene education into school curriculums, and piloting communication strategies to encourage daily brushing habits. We are also piloting new communication strategies to encourage daily brushing habits in rural areas, recognizing the unique behavioural and cultural nuances in these regions. These efforts are focused on driving behavioural changes in rural areas, where brushing frequency tends to be lower than in urban households.

Also read | India among top 5 markets for WPP globally, will be among top 3 in coming years, says country head

Whats your vision for oral care in India?

We aspire to see every Indian brushing twice daily, replacing toothbrushes every four months and visiting dentists regularly. With the right tools, consistent engagement and growing awareness, we believe this vision is achievable in the near future.
India's urban labour market demonstrated steady gains in July-September, with rising workforce participation and a slight dip in unemployment, according to recent data.

Urban unemployment rate, a key indicator of joblessness, fell to 6.4% in July-September, down from 6.6% a year prior, as per data from the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Monday.

For males, the unemployment rate declined from 6.0% to 5.7%, while for females, it dropped from 8.6% to 8.4%.

The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in urban areasthe proportion of those aged 15 and above actively engaged in or seeking workrose to 50.4% during the July-September 2024 period, up from 49.3% a year earlier. Male LFPR saw an increase from 73.8% to 75.0%, indicating a positive trend, while female LFPR rose modestly to 25.5% from 24%.

Similarly, the Worker Population Ratio (WPR), representing the employed share of the 15-and-over population, showed an improvement. The urban WPR climbed to 47.2%, up from 46.0% the previous year. Among males, WPR rose from 69.4% to 70.7%, while for females, it rose from 21.9% to 23.4%.

These figures underscore a gradual recovery in the urban labour market, driven by economic revival and policy measures.

Nationally, however, unemployment rates edged up slightly, with the overall rate (urban and rural combined) for those aged 15 and above inching to 3.2% in July 2023June 2024, from 3.1% a year ago.

Looking separately at gender trends, male unemployment declined marginally from 3.3% to 3.2%, whereas female unemployment rose from 2.9% to 3.2%.

Also read | Generating jobs in Indias highly segmented labour market will be a long haul
Assembly Election 2024: Enforcement agencies under the Election Commission of India (ECI) have seized cash, liquor, drugs, freebies and other inducements worth over 1,000 crore in the ongoing elections to the Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assemblies and bypolls in other states.

Overall, 858 crores worth of seizures have been reported for the states of Maharashtra and Jharkhand, which is seven times the seizures done during the assembly elections in these two states in 2019, the poll panel said.

Also Read | Why Vidarbha is key to political power in Maharashtra | Explained

In 2019 Assembly elections, Maharashtra recorded seizures worth 103.61 crores while for Jharkhand it was 18.76 crores.

Campaigning ends today Campaigning for phase 2 of Jaharkhand and single-phase Maharashtra election ended on Monday.

Elections to 81-member Jharkhand assembly is taking place in two phases. First phase for 43 seats was held on November 13. The second phase for the remaining 38 seats will be held on November 20, the same day when all 288 seats of Maharashtra will go to polls. The results of both these states will be declared on November 23.

Apart from assembly elections, bypolls for 48 assembly constituencies and two Lok Sabha seats are also being held.

Ganja plants worth  4.51 Cr In Maharashtra, seizures were recorded in all cohorts across all districts, much higher than previous assembly elections. This includes seizure of 3.70 crores of cash from a suspicious Jeep in Wada police station area in Palghar district. In another incident, in Jamod seat of Buldhana district, 4500 kg of Ganja plants worth 4.51 crores were seized. In Raigad, 5.20 crores worth of silver bars were seized.

In Maharashtra, theBharatiya Janata Party(BJP), which in alliance with Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena under the rulingMahayutibanner, is contesting against the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), the NCP (Sharad Pawar) and the Congress.

In Jharkhand, 2.26 crore worth of illegal mining material was seized in Rajmahal assembly seat of Sahibganj district, the poll panel said. Similarly, in Daltoganj, 687 kg of poppy straw was seized while in Hazaribagh, 48.18 kg of Marijuana was seized, the poll panel said.

The Election Commission attributed the record seizure to extensive monitoring which, it said, started months before the announcement of poll dates in October.

The contest in Jharkhand is between the rulingJharkhand Mukti Morcha-led INDIA bloc and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Former Delhi government minister, Kailash Gahlot joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on November 18, Monday  months ahead of assembly polls in the national capital. Gahlot resigned from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Chief Minister Atishi-led government on Sunday.

Gahlot joined the BJP, in the presence of Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and other BJP leaders including Jay Panda in Delhi. Gahlot, a two-time MLA from Najafgarh seat, was a senior minister in the Delhi government before resigning.

Gahlot's resignation from AAP signals deeper rifts within the Arvind Kejriwal-led party ahead of crucial assembly polls scheduled early in 2025.

Gahlot, the Transport minister in the Atishi-led AAP government, is the second serving minister to quit Arvind Kejriwal-led party and government this year. On April 10, social welfare minister Raaj Kumar Anandresigned.

Speculation about Gahlot's rift with the party were rife for quite some time now. He did not take part in party's campaign in recently-held Haryana elections.

In his resignation letter, Gahlot cited "dwindling credibility" of AAP on the issue of cleaning of Yamuna and 'Sheeshmahal' - a term used by the BJP for the chief minister's renovated residence as reasons for his resignation.

The Washing Machine Jibe Kejriwal commented on Gahlot's resignation on MondayHe is free, he can go wherever he wants," the AAP chief said during a press briefing where Congress leader and former MLA Sumesh Shokeen joined the the party.

AAP took 'Modi Washing Machine' jibe at the opposition BJP over Gahlot's switch.

Kailash Gahlot's resignation is a part of BJP's dirty politics and controversy. Kailash Gahlot was being pressured through ED-CBI raids and he is speaking as per the BJP's script. The ModiWashing Machinehas been activated ahead of Delhi elections. Now many leaders will be taken into BJP through this, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said after Gahlot's resignation on Sunday.

Elections to the 70-member Delhi assembly are due in February 2025. AAP won the assembly polls in 2020 and 2015.

"Some people must be thinking that this decision was taken overnight and under someone's pressure. I want to tell them that I have never done anything under anyone's pressure till date...I am hearing that an attempt is being made to build a narrative that it was done under the pressure of ED and CBI but all this is wrong..." Gahlot said after joining the BJP
The campaigning for the second phase of the Jharkhand Assembly Election ends today. The voting for 38 seats in the second phase of the polls will be held on November 20.

The polling for the first phase of the Jharkhand Assembly Election was held for 43 seats on November 13. The counting of votes of the 81-member Jharkhand assembly will be held on November 23, along with that of Maharashtra.

Also Read | EC asks Jharkhand BJP to remove social media post violating code of conduct

The contest in Jharkhand is between the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led INDIA bloc and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

INDIA bloc alliesthe JMM and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)have voiced concerns about the Congress party's weak campaign in the state. The worry stems from the fact that the party's top leaders campaigned only in the seats where the party candidates were in the fray. The Congress party didn't campaign for the INDIA bloc allies.

The Congress is contesting 30 assembly seats in the 81-member house. Seventeen of these seats voted in the first phase on November 13. Chief Minister Hemant Soren-led JMM is contesting 42 seats, the RJD six, and the CPI(ML)(L) three.

Also Read | Mallikarjun Kharge says Jharkhand Election Phase 1 voting indicates...

The Congress allies have said that even in the seats where the Congress has fielded candidates, the campaign was half-hearted. The Congress manifesto came a day before phase one of polling on November 13. In fact, the BJP lodged a campaign with the Election Commission against the Congress for releasing its manifesto in the silence periodthe 48 hours before the polling begins.

Rahul Gandhi addresses rallies JMM leaders Hemant Soren and his wife Kalpana Soren have held 60 rallies together in Jharkhand. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has addressed seven meetings until Friday. Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge has addressed four more.

Seeing the share of the Congress in the alliance (seat-sharing pact), its leaders should have addressed more rallies, a JMM leader was quoted as saying in Indian Express. The leaders wondered if the Congress got more seats in proportion to its strength in the state.

Seeing the share of the Congress in the alliance, its leaders should have addressed more rallies.
A comprehensive health insurance plan that covers the entire gamut of treatments is something that customers look forward to while buying a policy. Now, Galaxy Health Insurance Company, offers coverage for a whole host of treatments from surrogacy, oocyte donor expenses and organ transplantationall under its Galaxy Promise Signature plan.

There will be no change in the premium till the insured makes a claim or up to 55 years of age whichever is earlier. Assisted Reproduction Treatment is covered up to 5 lakh. Under this, surrogacy and oocyte donor expenses are covered. The plan offers the insured the option of a No claim discount in the place of No claim bonus which is usually given by insurers in a claim-free year. The no-claim discount is 2%-4% depending on the sum insured.

Here are the salient features of the product: Both the husband and wife should be covered under this policy for a minimum period of two years continuously either under individual or floater plans to claim the benefits of Assisted Reproduction Treatment (ART). The insurer will pay for one Assisted Reproduction Treatment cycle in a policy year.

The surrogate mother and oocyte donor should be 25 years to 35 years of age and the proposer has to be one of the intending couples. The proposal for insurance must be made 30 days before the embryo transfer for the surrogate mother and/or 30 days before ovarian stimulation for the oocyte donor. Proposer must be one of the intending couples, Galaxy Health Insurance said.

Automatic restoration of sum insured is not available for Assisted Reproduction Treatment. Pre and post treatment expenses are also excluded. Pre and post-natal care and delivery expenses for the surrogate mother are not payable.

After completion of a 36 months period, surrogacy cover will be excluded for the surrogate mother and all other coverage will continue. After completion of a 12-months period, oocyte donor cover will be excluded for the oocyte donor and all other coverage will continue, Galaxy Health Insurance, a standalone health insurance company promoted by the Chennai-based TVS Group and V Jagannathan, the founder of Star Health and Allied Insurance Company, said.

Also Read | Mint Explainer: What falling total fertility rate will mean for India

The coverage excludes payment for services rendered to a surrogate, costs associated with cryopreservation and storage of sperm, eggs and embryos, selective termination of an embryo, surgery/procedures that enhances fertility like Tubal Occlusion, Bariatric Surgery, Diagnostic Laparoscopy with Ovarian Drilling and such other similar surgery/procedures.

Intending couples, the surrogate mother and the surrogacy clinic must comply with the Surrogacy Act and ART Act. Surrogacy and oocyte donation should be carried out in a recognized centre registered with the National ART and Surrogacy Registry at https://artsurrogacy.gov.in/, the company said. The same applies for oocyte donors also.

The policy also covers maternity expenses of up to 2 lakh or 10% of the sum insured, whichever is less. It offers cover for the new born baby for up to 5 lakh or 10% of the sum insured whichever is less. The waiting period is two years for the floater policy and four years for single woman policy for the first delivery. There is no waiting period for subsequent deliveries. The insurer covers cataract expenses up to the full sum insured amount under the plan.

Here are some of the other features of the policy: Insta Care Cover Asthma, blood pressure, cholesterol covered from 31st day

No co-payment is required Automatic restoration: Unlimited restoration of sum insured (applicable for same disease/ different diseases)

Consumables and other charges:68 consumables plus admission, record and insurance processing charges are covered

Cumulative bonus: 100% of the sum insured will be provided, if no claims are made in the first year of the policy. 25% of sum insured will be provided for every subsequent claim free year subject to a maximum of 500%.

Also Read | Empowering Senior Citizens: The Crucial Role of Health Insurance in India

All day care procedures are covered Home care treatment: Covered up to 10% of sum insured or maximum up to 5 lakh whichever is less.

Family size: Covered up to 2A+3C. (Two adults plus three children). Parents can be covered as a separate unit.

Sum insured options: 5 lakh, 7.5 lakh, 10 lakh, 15 lakh, 20 lakh, 25 lakh, 50 lakh and 1 crore. The policy term is for one-year, two years and three years.

Entry age: Adult18 years to 65 years. Dependent Children16 days to 25 years.

Room rent: Sum insured 5 lakh to 20 lakh covered up to Deluxe room. Sum insured 25 lakh and aboveCovered up to any room.

Pre-existing diseases: Specified disease from 24 months to 18 months* and pre-existing disease from 36 months to 25 months*. The waiting period can be reduced to 24 months or 12 months on payment of additional premium. * (* applicable for Signature plan, 3 years term).

Pre and post hospitalisation cover:90 days and 180 days respectively.

Domiciliary hospitalisation: Covered up to sum insured, second medical opinion is also covered.

Hospice care: Covered up to 10% of sum insured or maximum up to 5 lakh whichever is less.

Organ transplantation: Covered up to sum insured.

No claim discount in-lieu of cumulative bonus: Sum insured of 5 lakh & 7.5 lakh- 3% of sum insured, 10 lakh & above - 1%.

Organ donor expenses for insured: Covered up to sum insured, if the insured donates organs.

For donor: Additional sum insured, covered up to basic sum insured for any complications that necessitate a Redo surgery/ ICU admission.

Air ambulance: Covered up to 10% of sum insured or maximum up to 2.5 lakh.

Modern treatment and robotic surgeries: Covered up to sum insured.

Road ambulance: Covered up to actuals.
The State-owned renewable energy giant on Monday raised around 3,960 crore from investors in its anchor round, according to an exchange filing, ahead of the company's proposed initial public offering (IPO).

As per the exchange filing, the company has allocated 36,66,66,666 or 36.66 crore equity shares to the anchor investors at an allocation price of 108 per share to 107 anchor investors (including mutual funds) at a face value of 10 per share.

The investor pool for the NTPC Green Energy IPO includes New World Fund, Goldman Sachs India, Government of Singapore, Life Insurance Corporation of India, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, Nippon India Mutual Fund, Kotak Mutual Fund, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and SBI Life Insurance. These were, among others, to invest in the public issue.

As per the exchange data filing, Life Insurance Corporation of India at 12.63 per cent, New World Fund at 5.29 per cent, Goldman Sachs India at 5.70 per cent, Government of Singapore at 5.31 per cent, we're the top anchor investors in the issue.

The renewable energy firm also said that 39.65 per cent allocation to the anchor investors was allocated to 16 domestic mutual funds through a total of 72 schemes, according to the exchange filing.

About NTPC Green Energy IPO NTPC Green Energy Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC Ltd, the government-owned power generating company. The renewable energy generation firm specialises in completing projects using both organic and inorganic methods.

The company plans to use the proceeds from the public issue to invest in its wholly-owned subsidiary, NTPC Renewable Energy Limited (NREL). NTPC Green Energy also plans to repay or prepay certain outstanding borrowings in full or in part and use the remaining for general corporate purposes.

The company has set the price band of the IPO at the range of 102 to 108 per equity share with a face value of 10 per share.

The grey market premium (GMP) for the public issue is 0.70 per share, as of November 18. With the shares at the upper price band of the IPO, the issue is expected to be listed at 108.7 per share, a premium of 0.65 per cent, according to Investorgain.com.
ArisInfra Solutions IPO: ArisInfra Solutions Limited received the green signal from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch its initial public offering (IPO). The company submitted its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) to the market regulator on August 14, 2024.

ArisInfra Solutions Limited is a business-to-business (B2B) firm which uses technology to simplify and digitise the procurement process for construction materials. The company sources materials from a network of vendors and supplies them to real estate and infrastructure developers and contractors.

The company supplies materials such as Steel GI pipes, MS wire, MS TMT Bars, soil, sand, OPC, and wall putty. According to its website, ArisInfra Solutions has supplied 1.5 lakh mts of Bauxite to Kalaburagi in Karnataka, 10 mts of MS TMT Bars 8mm Straight, and 500 cubic metres of 10mm aggregate to the Konkan Division.

ArisInfra Solutions IPO Details ArisInfra Solutions Limited aims to raise 600 crore through the public issue, offering a fresh issue for a face value of 2 per share.

The company aims to use the proceeds raised from the public issue to repay or partially repay certain outstanding borrowings, estimated at 204.60 crore. ArisInfra plans to use 177 crore to fund its working capital needs.

The company is also looking to invest 48 crore in its subsidiary, Buildmex-Infra Private Limited, to support the firm's working capital requirements. ArisInfra is also looking to purchase shares from the existing shareholders of its subsidiary, ArisUnitern Re Solutions Private Limited, for 20.40 crore and use the remaining funds for general corporate purposes and potential unidentified inorganic acquisitions.

JM Financial Limited, IIFL Securities Limited, and Nuvama Wealth Management Limited are the book runners for the public issue, while LinkIntime is the registrar of the offer.

Mint reported earlier that popular investors like Siddharth Shah, co-founder of Pharmeasy holds a 1.4 per cent stake in the company.
Zinka Logistics Solution IPO: The initial public offering (IPO) of Zinka Logistics Solution Limited hit the Indian primary market on 13th November 2024 and will remain open until 18th November 2024. This means investors have just one day to apply for the public issue worth 1,114.72 crore. The digital platform for truck operations, which owns the BlackBuck App, has fixed the Zinka Logistics Solution IPO price band at 259 to 273 per equity share. After two days of bidding, Zinka Logistics Solution's IPO subscription status suggests that investors have shown tepid interest in the book build issue, a mix of fresh shares and offers for sale (OFS). Meanwhile, Zinka Logistics Solution Limited shares are still trading at par in the grey market. According to stock market observers, Zinka Logistics Solution shares are neither trading at a premium nor discount.

Zinka Logistics Solution IPO GMP today As mentioned above, Zinka Logistics Solution IPO GMP (Grey Market Today) is zero. This means company shares are trading at par in the grey market today. Observers said that weak sentiments on Dalal Street and weak global cues have weighed the grey market sentiments regarding Zinka Logistics Solution IPO. Market observers added that at-par trade in the grey market is a good sign because the stock may move upside down when there is a trend reversal on Dalal Street. They said that par listing should not worry investors as Zinka Logistics Solution IPO GMP has tumbled from around 25 after the opening of the Zinka Logistics Solution IPO subscription.

Zinka Logistics Solution IPO subscription status By 3:30 PM on day 3 of bidding, the public issues had been subscribed 1.70 times, the retail portion 1.51 times, and the NII segment 0.21 times. The QIB portion of the public issue had been booked 2.53 times.

Infographic: Courtesy mintgenie

Zinka Logistics Solution IPO review Anand Rathi has given a 'subscribe' tag to the public offer, saying, "In terms of the financial aspect, from being a loss-making entity, the company turned profitable in Q1FY25. At the upper price band, the company is valuing at Mcap/Sales of 16.2x on an FY24 basis with a market cap of 48,178 million post-issue of equity shares. On the valuation front, the company is fairly priced. Therefore, we recommend a "SUBSCRIBE - Long term" rating for the IPO."

Marwadi Shares and Finance has also assigned a 'buy' tag to the book build issue, saying, "Considering the FY24 Sales of 2,969 Cr, the company is going to list at an MCap/Sales of 16.2x with a market cap of 4,818 Cr, whereas its peer namely C.E. Infosystems is trading at MCap/Sales of 28.6x. We assign a "Subscribe" rating to this IPO as the company has India's largest digital platform for truck operators and an omnichannel distribution network that drives sales. Also, it is available at a reasonable valuation compared to its peer."
The September quarter (Q2FY25) results of FSN E-commerce Ventures Ltd, the parent of Nykaa, showcased robust growth in the beauty business, while fashion was sluggishmirroring a trend seen in the previous few quarters.

Revenues increased 24% year-on-year to 1,875 crore, and the Ebitda margin at 5.5% was slightly below estimates. Beauty gross merchandise value (GMV) growth was stellar at 29% with Hot Pink Sale attracting 23 million unique visitors over 10 days, pushing order volumes up 24%. Average order value (AOV) was up 2%. The beauty segment-owned brands GMV growth was striking at 48%, led by strong growth in Dot & Key and Kay Beauty. Ebitda is short for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

Still, higher marketing and sales expenses meant that the beauty contribution margin as a percentage of net sales value fell 110 basis points (bps) on-year to 22%. Kotak Institutional Equities flagged concerns over sustained high spending. It warned of risks from quick commerce companies expanding their product portfolios and adding brands, which may eventually put pressure on Nykaas fulfilment costs.

Margin pressure

Kotak has trimmed its FY25-27 Ebitda estimates by 6-9% as it assumes lower profitability in the beauty business on account of higher marketing spends, sales and distribution expenses, and a slightly higher loss run-rate for the eB2B business.

In Q2, Nykaas eB2B superstore saw 862bps improvement in contribution margin to -11%. Meanwhile, fashion segment GMV growth was relatively much slower at about 10% perhaps owing to subdued demand from a delayed festive season. Fashion AOV was up 10%, but the number of orders was down 4%. Fashion contribution margin was up 440bps to 9.4% due to higher marketing and service-related income. The onboarding sneaker giant Foot Locker signals an intent to revitalize the segment, although the runway to profitability could be long for fashion.

Given muted demand conditions, Nykaas stock is down 26% from its 52-week high of 229.80 apiece, seen on 23 August. The company is optimistic about demand prospects in the second half of FY25 (H2FY25), backed by the festive and wedding seasons. But can the festive season be a turning point for Nykaa in H2FY25 remains to be seen.

Nykaa may see strong tailwinds in H2FY25 owing to festivities and weddings, but elevated retailer-funded discounting from horizontal platforms continues to be a near-term challenge," said a Nomura report.

Investors will watch if Nykaas beauty segment retains its edge amid rising competition.
Stock market today: India's biggest private lender, HDFC Bank, appointed Santhosh Iyengar Keshavan as an Additional (Independent) Director on its Board for a three-year term. The appointment, approved during the banks Board meeting on Monday, November 18 is set to strengthen the bank's leadership with Keshavans extensive global experience in finance and technology.

Keshavan, currently the Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Voya Financial Inc., brings over 30 years of expertise in areas such as digital transformation, cybersecurity, and risk management. His career spans key leadership roles in renowned organisations, including Regions Financial Corp and Fidelity Investments.

Following the announcement, there was an increase in HDFC Banks share price. The stock climbed from 1,692.75 on November 14 to 1,718.90 on November 18, reflecting market optimism about the bank's strategic moves and leadership strengthening.

HDFC Bank share price was trading in the green, up 1.32 per cent at 1,715.10 around 10:17 am on NSE today. The company enjoys a market capitalisation of 13,10,839.69 crore. HDFC Bank stock price last hits its 52-week high of 1,794, on July 3, 2024. The stock was among the top gainers on the benchmark indices today.

Highlighting the importance of the appointment, HDFC Bank stated that Keshavans background aligns with its vision of leveraging technology and innovation to enhance banking services. He is not linked to any other director or key managerial personnel of the bank, ensuring independent oversight.

Keshavans appointment will be placed before the shareholders for their approval. The bank confirmed that he meets all regulatory requirements and is not barred by any authority.

About Santhosh Iyengar Keshavan Keshavans career is marked by significant achievements, including leading digital and operational transformations at Voya Financial. He has also played critical roles in driving mergers, optimising costs, and enhancing customer experiences in previous organizations.

The addition of Keshavan to HDFC Banks Board underscores its commitment to robust corporate governance and strategic innovation.
Multibagger stock: Shares of Blue Cloud Softech Solutions Limited, a tech-driven company based in Hyderabad, hit the upper circuit limit on Monday, November 18 on the back of impressive Q2FY25 results and key corporate developments.

Blue Cloud Softech share price hit its 5 per cent upper circuit at 144.20 on the BSE today. The company enjoys a market capitalisation of 3,145.59 crore.

Blue Cloud Softech stock price has given a multibagger return of 147.12 per cent on a year-to-date (YTD) basis.

Blue Cloud Softech's financial performance In its board meeting on November 14, 2024, the company approved the unaudited financial results for the quarter and half-year ended September 30, 2024. The results showcased remarkable growth, with net sales climbing to 23,527.36 lakh in Q2FY25, a significant rise from 8,687.29 lakh in Q2FY24. Total income from operations for the first half of FY25 stood at 46,683.93 lakh, a massive jump compared to 12,141.53 lakh during the same period last year.

The companys profit before tax for the quarter surged to 1,557.13 lakh, up from 294.52 lakh in the previous year. Net profit from continuing operations rose to 1,134.94 lakh. Earnings per share (EPS) also saw a significant rise, reaching 0.52 for Q2FY25, compared to 0.16 in Q2FY24.

Adding to investor optimism was the announcement of a strategic leadership change. Blue Cloud appointed Venkata Seshavataram Varada as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to lead financial planning and compliance. His extensive experience in capital management and strategic negotiations is expected to drive sustainable growth.

Blue Cloud Softechs stock has been on a consistent upward trajectory throughout 2024. The 150% YTD return has solidified its position as a multi-bagger, attracting both retail and institutional investors.
Neelam Linens and Garments IPO listing: Neelam Linens and Garments shares made a decent debut on the bourses on Monday, November 18 as they listed at 40.05 on NSE SME, a premium of 66.87 percent over the issue price of 24.

Neelam Linens' SME initial public offering (IPO), valued at 13 crore, was open for subscription from November 8 to November 12. The health insurance services provider's shares were priced in the range of 20-24 per share for the issue.

Following the three days of bidding, Neelam Linens IPO closed with robust demand, garnering 91.97 times bids. The IPO received bids for 33.16 crore shares against 36 lakh shares on offer. The retail investor segment was booked 57.82 times, while the non-institutional investors (NII) category was bid a massive 273.47 times. The qualified institutional buyers (QIB) portion was subscribed 15.40 times.

About the IPO Neelam Linens IPO was entirely a fresh issue of 54.18 lakh shares. There was no offer for sale (OFS) component. The company raised 3.69 crore from anchor investors on November 7, 2024.

Retail investors could apply with a minimum lot size of 6,000 shares, requiring a minimum investment of 1.44 lakh. The company intends to utilize the proceeds of the issue to meet the following objects: Funding capital expenditure requirement of our Company towards the purchase of Embroidery Machines for expansion; Prepayment or repayment of all or a portion of certain outstanding borrowings availed by the Company; General corporate purpose.

Of the net offer, upto 20 percent is reserved for qualified institutional bidders (QIBs). Non-institutional investors (NIIs) and retail investors will have allocations of upto 15 percent and 34 percent of the net offer, respectively.

Expert Global Consultants Private Limited is the book running lead manager of the Neelam Linens and Garments IPO, while Purva Sharegistry India Pvt Ltd is the registrar for the issue. The market maker for Neelam Linens and Garments IPO is Globalworth Securities.

"The company is engaged in a highly competitive and fragmented segment of processing and trading in home furnishings and related services. It is also dealing in sale of import licenses. The company posted static but inconsistent financial performances so far. Its debt equity ratio of 3.12 as of June 30, 2024 raises major concern. Based on FY25 super annualized earnings, the issue appears fully priced. There is no harm in skipping this High Risk/Low Return offer, said Dilip Davda of Chittorgarh.com with an 'avoid' rating.

About the Company Founded in 2010, Neelam Linens and Garments (India) Limited specializes in manufacturing and exporting premium soft home fashion products globally. The company's diverse product portfolio includes bedsheets, pillow covers, duvet covers, towels, rugs, shirts, and various garments, primarily catering to discount retail outlets. It supplies high-thread-count bedding and towel products to distributors and retail stores in markets like the USA and Australia. Additionally, Neelam Linens engages in trading licenses, purchasing from exporters and selling to importers to generate margins on price differences.

For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, the company saw a slight revenue decline of 0.63%, while its profit after tax (PAT) increased by 3.43% compared to the previous fiscal year.
The Indian stock market benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, are likely to open lower on Monday tracking weak global market cues,

The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a gap-down start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 23,500 level, a discount of nearly 100 points from the Nifty futures previous close.

Indian markets were closed on Friday on account of Guru Nanak Jayanti.

On Thursday, the domestic equity market indices extended losses for the sixth consecutive session.

The Sensex declined 110.64 points to close at 77,580.31, while the Nifty 50 settled 26.35 points, or 0.11%, lower at 23,532.70.

Nifty 50 formed a small negative candle on the daily chart with a long upper and minor lower shadow.

Technically, though this pattern looks like a doji type candle pattern, but not a classical one. Normally, such doji candle formations after a reasonable decline or near the key supports are considered as an impending reversal signals post confirmation. Nifty 50 is now placed just below the crucial 200-day EMA (Exponential Moving Average) at 23,540, said Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.

Also Read | Indian stock market: 10 key things that changed for market over weekend

According to him, previously, this MA has offered significant reversals and upside rally during 26th October and 4th June period. The Nifty slowing down the negative momentum below 200-day EMA on Thursday may be a good sign, but the market needs to show more evidence to consider for potential upside reversal.

Nifty on the weekly chart formed a long bear candle, which is nearing the next important support of the intermediate ascending trend line around 23,300 levels. The underlying trend of the Nifty continues to be negative. Though there are some signs of oversold nature, still there is no confirmation of any crucial reversal pattern forming at the lows, Shetti said.

He believes a decisive slide below 23,500 is expected to drag Nifty 50 down to 23,200 - 23,000 levels by next week. However, a sustainable move above 23,700 - 23,800 levels could open chances of sizable upside bounce in the market.

Heres what to expect from Nifty 50 and Bank Nifty today:

Nifty 50 Prediction Nifty 50 continued its decline amidst range movement on November14 and closed the day lower by 26 points.

On Thursday, Nifty closed near its 200-day EMA, forming a gravestone doji like pattern on the daily chart, signaling bearish sentiment. This suggests a sell on rise approach as the index hovers in an oversold zone near a key EMA level. A bounce is likely, but it should be seen as an opportunity to sell. If Nifty 50 breaks below the 200-day EMA, selling pressure could intensify. The index has support at 23,450, with resistance expected at 23,650, framing the short-term trading range, said Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities.

VLA Ambala, Co-Founder of Stock Market Today highlighted that the Nifty 50 is trading 10.75% below its record high between 2 September 2024 and 24 September 2024, and in the latest session, it closed at its 200-day EMA.

Notably, the current trend suggests a dip of another 3-5% within a few weeks. These trends have triggered a pullback, during which I urge traders to plan their activities carefully. In the next session, we can expect Nifty 50 to gain support between 23,330 and 23,150 and face resistance around 23,630 and 23,728, Ambala said.

Bank Nifty Prediction Bank Nifty index gained 91.20 points, or 0.18%, to close at 50,179.55 on Thursday, forming an Inverted Hammer candlestick pattern.

For Bank Nifty traders, the 200 day SMA or 49,750 would be the key support zone. If it sustains above the same, then it could move up till 50,900 - 51,200. However, below 49,750 or 200 day SMA the sentiment could change. Below which it could slip till 49,300 - 49,000, said Amol Athawale, VP-Technical Research, Kotak Securities.

He suggests short-term traders to remain cautious and be very selective as there is a risk of getting trapped at lower levels.
Reliance share price: Shares of India's largest company by market capitalisation, Reliance Industries, have underperformed the Nifty 50 over the past year. While Reliance's stock has gained 7 per cent, the Nifty 50 has delivered a significant 19 per cent return during the same period. However, experts believe Reliance could be poised for a turnaround, citing emerging value in its new energy business as a key growth driver.

Reliance share price trend The heavyweight stock has underperformed in recent months. After hitting a 52-week high of 1,608.80 on July 8 this year, it has faced consistent profit booking.

On a monthly basis, the stock fell 4 per cent in July, followed by a modest 0.3 per cent gain in August. However, it resumed its downward trend in September, declining 2 per cent, followed by a sharp 10 per cent drop in October. So far in November, it is down another 5 per cent.

The fall in the stock could be attributed to the company's declining profit and profit margin.

Also Read | Reliance Industries loses over 4 lakh crore in market cap on earnings dismay

For the September quarter of the current financial year, the company reported a 3.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline in its Q2FY25 consolidated net profit to 19,101 crore from 19,820 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

The company reported a 2 per cent YoY decline in EBITDA to 43,934 crore, while the EBITDA margin shrank by 50 bps to 17 per cent.

What should investors do? Experts find this stock buy-worthy for the long term. Global brokerage firm CLSA recently maintained its outperform rating on the stock with a target price of 1,650. CLSAs bullish stance is based on its belief that the market is ignoring Reliances new energy business worth $40 billion.

However, the brokerage cited potential negative triggers such as delay in the start of new energy projects, extension of low growth for Reliance Retail beyond 2-3 quarters, and lack of proof of monetisation of its 5G capex.

Also Read | RIL preparing for Jio IPO next year, retail business to go public much later

Let's take a look at what experts have to say about the stock:

Fundamental views Atul Parakh, CEO of Bigul Reliance Industries has recently made recent advancements in its new renewable energy venture with an innovative strategy.

Reliance is now looking forward to an exciting journey of developing a gigantic 20GW solar Gigafactory, where cell-to-module production will begin in the coming months.

This is a time of surpassing significance because India intends to increase its solar capacity from 91GW to an ambitious 280GW by 2030.

Reliance is committed to green energy as it aims to make this new venture as huge as its substantial business in oil-to-chemicals within five to seven years.

One can refer to this transition from a giant energy company to a forward-looking group as evidence of its adaptability and vision for a sustainable future, said Parakh.

Technical views Jigar S. Patel, Senior Manager of Equity Research at Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers Reliance has been following a textbook Elliott Wave 5-wave structure on the daily chart since March 2023. This impulsive rally came to a decisive conclusion in July 2024, marking the end of the fifth wave and initiating a corrective ABC phase.

Such corrections are typical after the completion of a 5-wave cycle and often retrace to significant Fibonacci levels.

Currently, the ongoing correction appears to be approaching a critical support zone in the 1,220-1,240 range, aligning with the 61.8 per cent Fibonacci retracement level of the entire 5-wave structure.

This level is important as it typically serves as a strong support during corrective phases, indicating the potential for base formation. Moreover, these levels coincide with the completion of a bullish Crab harmonic pattern, further strengthening the case for a reversal.

"Given this confluence of technical indicators, traders can consider initiating long positions in the 1,220-1,230 range, placing a protective stop loss below 1,175 to manage risk. The anticipated upside target for this trade is around 1,360, offering a favourable risk-to-reward ratio as the stock is poised to resume its upward trajectory following the correction," said Patel.

Mandar Bhojane, Equity Research Analyst, Choice Broking Reliance Industries reflects a bearish trend characterized by a pattern of lower highs and lower lows, indicating sustained selling pressure.

This downtrend is likely to persist until the stock approaches a key support zone between 1,240 and 1,200. This zone could provide a potential buying opportunity if clear reversal signals emerge.

The stock is trading below its 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), which reinforces the ongoing bearish sentiment.

Additionally, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 28.63, signalling oversold conditions. This suggests that the selling momentum might be overextended, increasing the probability of a short-term reversal or an upward bounce.

If Reliance holds above 1,285 and demonstrates a reversal pattern, it may present an attractive buying opportunity for investors. A long position can be considered with a target range of 1,355 to 1,400. To effectively manage risk, placing a stop-loss at 1,197 is advisable to safeguard against further downside, said Bhojane.

"Investors should monitor price action closely near the support and resistance levels and confirm reversal patterns before entering any positions," Bhojane said.

Read all market-related news here
Swiggy and Zomato: The focus on food delivery companies has intensified over the past few weeks, particularly with Swiggy making its debut on the Indian stock market. With Zomato as its only competitor, investors are starting to assess both businesses to determine which one presents a better investment opportunity.

A recent report from JM Financial indicates that while India's online food delivery market is projected to grow at a robust CAGR of around 20% in the near future, the chances of new competition disrupting the market seem minimal at present. This is largely because quick commerce (QC) represents a more lucrative opportunity compared to food delivery. It is anticipated that food-tech companies will likely prioritize their QC initiatives, given that significant differentiation in food delivery is not expected. This dynamic should lead to steady growth in gross order value (GOV) (CAGR of 18-22%) and a gradual shift towards sustainable profitability (4-5% of GOV) for both established players.

While on an absolute basis Swiggy offers decent upside, we would prefer Zomato if asked to pick only one due to its superior execution in the past and market leadership across key segments. We, however, suggest that investors play both (preferably with higher weightage for Zomato), as in any case both are likely to be amongst the fastest growing consumption names and could, therefore, outperform the broader market returns, said JM Financial in its report.

Nevertheless, market analysts highlight several key factors to consider that also provide a clearer understanding of each business and assist in gaining perspectives that go beyond just the competitive landscape.

Share price in Focus Swiggy share price

On Wednesday, November 13, Swiggy share price opened at 420 per share on the NSE, which is 7.69% higher than its issue price of 390. At the same time, on the BSE, Swiggy share price started at 412 each, rising 5.64% compared to the issue price.

According to the Stock Edge app, by the close of November 13, Swiggy's delivery levels were at 49.9%, whereas on Thursday, November 14, they dropped to 22.1%. Market analysts noted that the delivery volume decreased compared to the volume on the listing day, and there has been a reduction in both overall volume and percentage, leading to a decline in stock value. This indicates that the grey market influence was evident yesterday, with certain vested interests trying to maintain higher prices on the opening day. However, on Thursday, there was a lack of interest since the initial day effects had faded.

Zomato share price

Zomato share price, which debuted on Friday, July 23, 2021, has seen an increase of 132% since it began trading. According to data from Trendlyne, the stock price has climbed by 122.37% and has surpassed its sector's performance by 81.77% over the last year.

Also Read | Breakout stocks to buy or sell: Sumeet Bagadia recommends 5 shares to buy today

An aspect to consider beyond competition Mohit Gulati, the CIO and managing partner of ITI Growth Opportunities Fund explained that choosing between Zomato and Swiggy is challenging because the competition between them is extremely close. From a pure discount perspective, Swiggy clearly stands out. However, when it comes to operational efficiency and the path to profitability, Zomato is the clear leader.

My concerns about the delivery space go beyond just this rivalry. The intense competition from well-funded players like Zepto, Tata BigBasket, Flipkart, and eventually Amazon and Reliance could put significant pressure on the already thin margins for both Swiggy and Zomato, added Gulati.

Additionally, while quick commerce (Q Com) has become a service we all enjoy, it is negatively impacting the livelihoods of around 2.4 crore Indian families who are employed by Kirana stores, meaning close to 10 crore Indians now have to find a way to survive this fierce competition. Any strict regulations against quick commerce could drastically change the dynamics of the industry for everyone involved.

Zomato is well-placed to gain advantages Arun Kejriwal, the founder of Kejriwal Research and Investment Services favours Zomato over Swiggy based on facts collected by Kejriwal as he differentiates between the two.

In essence, Zomato is positioned to benefit, considering that its business model is quite resilient and it has been generating profits for a few consecutive quarters. Recently, it was announced that Zomato will enter the Futures & Options market starting from November 27. With its entry into F&O, investors can carry their positions on the stock without needing to pay the full cash amount upfront. Additionally, there are speculations that it might be included in the Nifty 50 during the index rebalancing in February. Regardless of whether it gets added to the Nifty 50 or not, this topic will likely resurface repeatedly until February, acting as a favourable catalyst. These elements highlight the positive outlook for Zomato.

A downside for Swiggy is that one segment of its business, the dine-out service, is not profitable and is actually incurring losses, which could put pressure on the overall operations of the company. There is limited action they can take since there is no distinct revenue source from this segment; users must be app members to utilise the service, and income is generated through subscriptions paid by users and advertising revenue from participating hotels. This situation appears to be a losing venture, and there doesnt seem to be much the company can do to improve it.

Growth catalysts are identical for both In his comparison of the Swiggy to Zomato, Prashanth Tapse, Senior Vice President of Research at Mehta Equities, indicates that he plans to invest 70% of his funds into Swiggy, as the capital raised from the new IPO can improve its operational performance. He assigns 30% to Zomato, acknowledging that it has already demonstrated its capabilities and is leading the industry in growth. By choosing to invest in both companies, he intends to take advantage of the sector's expansion instead of confining himself to a single investment. Both companies target the same market, implying that their growth catalysts are also identical.
We Are China

Xi attends 19th G20 Summit

Xinhua) 21:46, November 18, 2024

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 19th G20 Summit here on Monday.

The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty was launched at the first session of the summit.

Xi arrived here Sunday for the summit and a state visit to Brazil.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Q. I am a civil engineer working with a construction company in Pune, my wife is a scientist working with a bio-medical start-up in Pune. We have been invested in largecap and midcap mutual funds for the past 8 years. We now wish to invest in other categories of mutual funds. Markets have been choppy in recent months, and some of my acquaintances have suggested we invest in arbitrage mutual funds given the market conditions. However, we are not familiar with arbitrage funds. Can you please elaborate on what are arbitrage mutual funds, how they are different from largecap mutual funds and what are the pros and cons of investing in arbitrage mutual funds? Jitesh Karmarkar, Pune, Maharashtra

Introduction In the ever-evolving landscape of financial investments, arbitrage mutual funds have emerged as a popular choice for investors seeking low-risk returns. These funds leverage price differences in various markets to generate profits, making them an attractive option for those looking to balance risk and reward. Let's delve into the intricacies of arbitrage mutual funds in India and understand why they might be a suitable addition to your investment portfolio.

What are arbitrage mutual funds? Arbitrage mutual funds are a type of hybrid fund that aims to exploit price differentials between the cash (spot) market and the futures market or the price difference between the price of a security on different stock exchanges. By simultaneously buying and selling securities in these markets, these funds lock in profit in a relatively low-risk manner. The primary objective is to capitalise on the price discrepancies that arise due to market inefficiencies.

How do they work? The working mechanism of arbitrage mutual funds involves a few key steps:

Market neutral strategy: Arbitrage mutual funds employ a market-neutral strategy, meaning they can generate returns irrespective of market direction. Whether the market is bullish or bearish, these funds can exploit price differentials to generate profits. This makes them ideal for choppy markets where predicting market movements is challenging.

Low risk: One of the primary advantages of arbitrage mutual funds is their low-risk nature. Since the transactions are executed simultaneously in different markets, the risk associated with price fluctuations is minimal. This makes them a safe investment option compared to other equity funds, especially during periods of high volatility.

Stable returns: Arbitrage funds offer relatively stable returns, which are not significantly affected by market volatility. This stability is particularly appealing to investors who prefer predictable outcomes over high-risk, high-reward scenarios. In a choppy market, where prices can swing wildly, the stability of arbitrage funds can provide a sense of security.

Difference between largecap and arbitrage mutual funds Difference in investment strategy: Arbitrage mutual funds: These funds capitalise on price differences between the cash and futures markets. The strategy involves simultaneous buying and selling of securities to lock in profits, making them market-neutral.

Largecap mutual funds: These funds invest in largecap companies with strong market positions. The strategy focuses on long-term growth and capital appreciation by investing in well-established companies.

Difference in risk profile: Arbitrage mutual funds: They are considered relatively low-risk investments due to their market-neutral strategy. The simultaneous transactions minimise the impact of market volatility.

Largecap mutual funds: While they are less risky compared to mid-cap and small-cap funds, they still carry market risk. The performance of largecap funds is influenced by the overall market conditions and the performance of the underlying companies.

Difference in returns: Arbitrage mutual funds: These funds offer relatively stable returns, which are not significantly affected by market volatility. However, the return potential is generally lower compared to equity funds.

Largecap mutual funds: These funds have the potential for higher returns due to their investment in large, financially stable companies. The returns are linked to the performance of the stock market and the growth of the invested companies.

Difference in liquidity: Arbitrage mutual funds: These funds are highly liquid, allowing investors to redeem their investments easily without significant delays or penalties.

Largecap mutual funds: These funds are also liquid, but the liquidity can be influenced by market conditions and the performance of the underlying stocks.

Difference in investment horizon: Arbitrage mutual funds: Suitable for short to medium-term investment horizons, making them ideal for parking surplus funds.

Largecap mutual funds: Best suited for long-term investment horizons (5 years or more) to benefit from the growth potential of largecap companies.

Pros of investing in arbitrage mutual funds Relatively low risk: One of the primary advantages of arbitrage mutual funds is their low-risk nature. Since the transactions are executed simultaneously in different markets, the risk associated with price fluctuations is minimal. This makes them a safe investment option compared to other equity funds.

Stable returns: Arbitrage funds offer relatively stable returns, which are not significantly affected by market volatility. This stability is particularly appealing to investors who prefer predictable outcomes over high-risk, high-reward scenarios.

Liquidity: These funds are highly liquid, allowing investors to redeem their investments easily. This liquidity ensures that investors can access their funds when needed without significant delays or penalties.

Diversification: Arbitrage mutual funds provide diversification benefits by investing in a mix of equity and derivative instruments. This diversification helps in spreading risk and enhancing the overall stability of the investment portfolio.

Market-neutral strategy: The market-neutral strategy employed by arbitrage funds ensures that they can generate returns irrespective of market direction. Whether the market is bullish or bearish, these funds can exploit price differentials to generate profits.

Professional management: Arbitrage mutual funds are managed by professional fund managers who have the expertise to identify and capitalise on arbitrage opportunities. This professional management adds an extra layer of security and confidence for investors.

Also Read | What are banking and financial service sectoral funds and its pros and cons?

Cons of investing in arbitrage mutual funds When it comes to sector-specific funds, such as those focusing on banking and financial services, investors should be aware of the unique set of challenges they may face such as the ones enumerated below:

Limited returns: One of the primary disadvantages of arbitrage mutual funds is their limited return potential. Since these funds primarily exploit price differences between the cash and futures markets, the returns are generally lower compared to pure equity funds especially over the long term. Investors seeking high returns over the long term may find arbitrage funds less appealing.

Market dependency: Although arbitrage funds are designed to be market-neutral, their performance can still be affected by market conditions. During periods of low volatility, the opportunities for arbitrage may be limited, resulting in lower returns. Conversely, in highly volatile markets, the risk of mispricing can increase, potentially impacting the fund's performance.

Tax implications: While arbitrage funds are taxed as equity funds, which can be beneficial, there are still tax implications to consider. Short-term capital gains (STCG) are taxed at 15%, which can be a significant amount.

Complexity: Arbitrage mutual funds involve complex trading strategies that may not be easily understood by all investors. The simultaneous buying and selling of securities in different markets require a high level of expertise and understanding of market dynamics. This complexity can be a deterrent for novice investors who prefer simpler investment options.

Costs and fees: Arbitrage funds often come with higher costs and fees compared to other mutual funds. The frequent trading required to exploit arbitrage opportunities can lead to higher transaction costs. Additionally, the management fees for these funds can be higher due to the specialised skills required to manage them effectively.

Liquidity risk: While arbitrage funds are generally considered liquid, there can be instances where liquidity becomes an issue. During periods of market stress or low trading volumes, it may be challenging to execute trades at desired prices, potentially impacting the fund's performance.

Arbitrage mutual funds offer a unique investment opportunity with several benefits, but they also come with their share of drawbacks. Limited returns, market dependency, tax implications, complexity, costs, liquidity risk, and limited growth potential are some of the cons that investors should consider. By understanding these potential downsides, investors can make informed decisions and choose the investment options that best align with their financial goals and risk tolerance.

Who should invest in them? Arbitrage mutual funds are ideal for:

Short to medium-term investors: If you have a short to medium-term investment horizon (3-6 months), arbitrage mutual funds can be a suitable option for parking your surplus funds. They offer liquidity and relatively stable returns, making them ideal for short-term financial goals.

Investors seeking diversification: Arbitrage mutual funds provide diversification benefits by investing in a mix of equity and derivative instruments. This diversification helps in spreading risk and enhancing the overall stability of your investment portfolio.

Performance and returns Several mutual funds houses in India have launched arbitrage mutual funds in India, especially in the recent past. This allows investors to diversify their portfolio by investing in a class of mutual funds following a unique investment strategy. Here are the top 5 arbitrage mutual funds (direct schemes) ranked based on their 3-year performance.

S.No. Name Expense Ratio 3-Year Return (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) 1. Invesco India Arbitrage Fund 0.39% 7.27% 2. Kotak Equity Arbitrage Fund 0.43 7.04% 3. Edelweiss Arbitrage Fund 0.39% 6.98% 4. SBI Arbitrage Opportunities Fund 0.42% 6.89% 5. Tata Arbitrage Fund 0.3% 6.89%

Source: AMFI website. All data as of 14 November 2024.

Note: Past performance is not an indication of future returns.

How are they taxed? Before the Budget 2024, arbitrage mutual funds were taxed as equity funds, this meant that:

Short-Term Capital Gains (STCG): Gains from investments held for less than a year were taxed at 15%.

Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG): Gains from investments held for more than a year were taxed at 10% for gains exceeding 1 lakh.

Changes introduced in 2024 The Union Budget 2024 has brought several changes to the taxation of mutual funds, including arbitrage funds. Here are the key changes:

Increased STCG tax rate: The short-term capital gains tax rate on arbitrage funds has been increased from 15% to 20%. This change means that investors will now face a higher tax burden on gains from investments held for less than a year.

Revised LTCG tax rate: The long-term capital gains tax rate has been raised to 12.5%. This change affects gains from investments held for more than a year, reducing the tax efficiency of arbitrage funds.

Rationalized holding periods: The holding periods for short-term and long-term capital gains have been rationalised to 12 and 24 months, respectively. This means that all listed securities will be classified as long-term if held for over 12 months, while other asset classes will be classified as long-term if held for more than 24 months.

The changes introduced in Budget 2024 have several implications for investors in arbitrage mutual funds:

Higher tax burden: The increase in STCG tax rate to 20% means that investors will now have to pay more tax on gains from short-term investments. This reduces the net returns from arbitrage funds, making them less attractive for short-term parking of funds.

Reduced tax efficiency: The revised LTCG tax rate of 12.5% also impacts the tax efficiency of arbitrage funds. While the long-term gains are still taxed at a lower rate compared to short-term gains, the increase in tax rate reduces the overall tax advantage.

Conclusion Arbitrage mutual funds offer a compelling combination of low risk, stable returns, and tax efficiency, making them an attractive option for a wide range of investors. By understanding your investment goals and risk tolerance, you can determine if arbitrage mutual funds are the right fit for your portfolio.
Air passengers faced difficulties on Monday, November 18, due to thick smog and poor air quality in the national capital, Delhi. Amid the deteriorating air quality, airlines, including Air India, Spice Jet and IndiGo, have issued advisories informing passengers about possible delays in scheduled flights.

Air India informed travellers that the persisting smog might impact scheduled flights. The airline advised passengers to leave early for the airport due to traffic.

"Poor visibility in Delhi and some parts of Northern India are affecting flight operations to and from Delhi today. Guests are advised to start early for the airport, as slow traffic may delay your movement.

You are requested to check your flight status before heading to the airport by clicking here: https://airindia.com/in/en/manage/flight-status.html," Air India wrote on X.

Indigo asked the travellers to check their flight status in case of a delay in scheduled flights.

Also Read | Delhi-NCR to implement GRAP Stage 4 restrictions from Monday as AQI worsens

#6ETravelAdvisory: Fog is currently affecting visibility in Delhi, which may result in slow moving traffic and delays in flight schedules. We recommend allowing extra travel time and checking flight status before starting your journey, Indigo wrote on X.

Similarly, SpiceJet warned travellers about a possible flight delay due to Delhi's weather.

#WeatherUpdate: Due to poor visibility in Delhi (DEL), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status via https://shorturl.at/6KfRe," SpiceJet said on X.

Also Read | Delhi-NCR to implement GRAP Stage 4 restrictions from Monday as AQI worsens

In a separate post the airline said, #WeatherUpdate: Due to poor visibility in Amritsar (ATQ), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status.

The air quality in Delhi fell drastically on Monday, with an Air Quality Index of 484 from 8 am to 490 by 1 pm. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), places such as Dwarka, Najafgarh, Nehru Nagar, and Mundka reported a maximum AQI level of 500.

Earlier, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) also issued an advisory on rising pollution levels.
New Delhi: Highlighting four essential aspects of global climate action, Leena Nandan, secretary of the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) at COP29 on Monday, said the pre-2030 period is an opportunity to enhance global climate action through climate finance to reduce emissions and meet net zero.

The conditional elements of the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) need to be implemented, which depends mostly on access to enhanced financial resources, technology transfer and technical cooperation, and capacity-building support; and the availability of market-based mechanisms, Nandan added.

This comes as current national climate plans fall miles short of what is needed to stop global warming from crippling every economy, and wrecking billions of lives and livelihoods across every country.

The UNEP Emissions Gap Report last month concluded that immediate action is necessary to meet the Paris Agreement goals, but it also shows that it is still possible to limit global heating to 1.5C.

The report looked at how much nations must promise to cut off greenhouse gases, and deliver, in the next round of NDCs, due for submission in early 2025 ahead of COP30 in Brazil. Cuts of 42% are needed by 2030 and 57% by 2035 to get on track for 1.5C.

Also read: COP29: Climate tax on oil giants could fuel billions to UN fund, says report According to the 2024 Nationally Determined Contributions Synthesis report, the cumulative carbon dioxide emissions between 2020 and 2030 are likely to use up 86% of the remaining carbon budget.

The report does not paint a gloomy picture. One hundred and ninety five parties have submitted their NDCs with 180 having updated them. In 2030, total global GHG emissions are estimated to be around 2.6% lower than in 2019, indicating the possibility of global emissions peaking before 2030. With the next NDCs due next year, these figures can only improve further.

Therefore, Our discussions and deliberations are happening at a crucial time to act decisively. The pre-2030 period is an opportunity. It is an opportunity to enhance global climate action, Nandan said in a statement at the 2024 Annual High-level Ministerial Roundtable on pre-2030 Ambition, of UNFCCCs CoP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. It also requires a focus on equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC), climate justice in science, policy and practice, ensuring that developing nations are not burdened with the failures of mitigation actions of pre-2020 regime, and that climate solutions are both effective and just.

Achieving net-zero India asserted that this ambitious action-oriented approach hinges on bold actions from those parties who are obligated to take the lead in economy-wide emission reductions. Achieving net-zero by the developed countries will set the foundation for a more sustainable and resilient world in this critical decade and the decades to come.

To achieve net zero, India which targets to meet it by 2070 highlighted four important aspects of global climate action for UNFCCC parties.

Also read: India calls out developed countries over stalled progress on climate issues at COP29 Pre-2030 ambition requires enhancement of international cooperation, in terms of positive and measurable results such as identification of cost-effective and scalable mitigation opportunities. However, international cooperation has been uneven, with some countries shifting to unilateral measures resulting in passing off financial burdens of mitigation actions on to developing nations. There is a need to recognise the negative impacts on developing nations due to such unilateral trade measures in the context of climate change, the MoEFCC secretary said.

CoP29 should come with tangible and meaningful outcomes on deployment of technology to the developing countries, Nandan said, adding, climate finance is central for enabling and implementing climate actions.

CoP29 is a milestone CoP for climate finance. It should ensure the long pending commitments from developed nations for providing substantial financial resources are made and that such climate finance is equitable and accessible.

The first global stocktake of progress towards implementation of the Paris Agreement highlights a significant gap in financing for climate action, particularly in developing countries.

In another development, Nandan at the Second Annual High-Level Ministerial Round Table on Just Transition, at CoP29, said Indias interpretation of Just Transitions is far broader than the narrow framing of the questions.

Also read: India to pitch for grants and concessional loans, instead of investments, at COP29 At CoP27, it was decided that the issues of just transition are not very narrow but are linked to wider economic and social aspects of the transition, among others. The denial of international equity narrows our domestic options and poses further challenges to our objectives of achieving immediate, rapid, and sustained access to development opportunities and affects the most vulnerable communities in our countries the most, she added.
Seven Indian fishermen were rescued from Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) boat PMS Nusrat after a two-hour chase by an Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ship.

The incident took place on Sunday in the mid-sea off the Gujarat coast near the maritime boundary between the two countries.

The fishermen from the Indian fishing boat Kal Bhairav, which was damaged and sunk, were kept on the Pakistani ship near the maritime boundary after they were apprehended.

The Indian Coast Guard team on Agrim ship, deployed close to the maritime boundary line, swung into action after it received a distress signal from the Indian fishing boat (IFB) operating near the No-Fishing Zone (NFZ) in the afternoon.

The PMSA ship attempted to retreat. However, the ICG intercepted the vessel from Pakistan and persuaded personnel on board to release the seven Indian fishermen they had apprehended.

The officials clearly told them that under no condition, it would allow the Pakistani ship to take away Indian fishermen from fishing boat Kaal Bhairav from Indian waters, reported ANI quoting defence officials.

Officials said that Agrim was after the Pakistani ship for over two hours to rescue the Indian fishermen.

"At approximately 15:30 pm, an ICG ship on patrol received a distress call from an Indian fishing boat operating near the NFZ. The call reported that another Indian fishing boat, Kal Bhairav, had been intercepted by a PMSA vessel, and seven Indian crew members on board had been apprehended," reported PTI quoting a statement from the ICG.

The ICG ship was able to retrieve the seven fishermen safely, who were all found to be in stable medical condition.

The Indian ship returned to the Okha harbour on Monday.
In a terrifying incident in Bengaluru, a woman alleged that she was spanked by a biker while she was walking home with her boyfriend at night.

The victim screamed at first, but within seconds, her vision was blurred, and she froze. The woman recounted her ordeal in a post on the social media platform Reddit.

The incident took place at night when the woman, along with her boyfriend, was returning from Church Street to her home on Horamavu Main Road. She has not mentioned the day of the incident.

Detailing the incident, the woman said: I was returning from Church Street to my home which is in Horamavu Main road with my boyfriend. We were returning from Auto and when we almost reached home, we thought well grab a smoke and then walk home. It was hardly 300 metres. 3 men in a bike passed us and the one sitting behind spanked me. They sped up after this (sic).

Also Read | Robbers hypnotise Jaipur woman in her home, steal her belongings

I was so shocked because I never expected to experience this in a city like Bangalore. My family lives in Noida and the only explanation I give to them for not returning home permanently is that Bangalore is safe for women and I can roam around freely at any hour. This incident shattered the image I had of the city completely. I feel terrified, scared and even guilty that this happened, she said.

Also Read | Pregnant woman forced to clean blood from MP hospital bed after husbands death

The woman blamed herself for this incident, for wearing a skirt and walking home at night in Bengaluru.

Being an open minded, secure woman, somehow I blamed myself. For not seeing this coming. I blamed myself for wearing a skirt and walking home at night. I cant stop thinking about the fact that I just couldnt do anything. I couldnt see their faces, couldnt note down their bike number. I screamed at first but then within seconds my vision blurred and I froze, she said.
Travelers in Delhi faced disruptions early on Monday, November 18, due to dense fog and deteriorating air quality, leading airlines and authorities to issue warnings. IndiGo Airlines advised passengers to plan their travel carefully, citing delays caused by slow-moving traffic and reduced visibility.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), IndiGo stated, "Fog is currently affecting visibility in Delhi, which may result in slow-moving traffic and delays in flight schedules. We recommend allowing extra travel time and checking flight status before starting your journey. Safe travels!"

Delhi Airport on Low Visibility Procedures The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) also issued a passenger advisory regarding the fog. "Low Visibility Procedures are in progress at Delhi Airport. All flight operations are presently normal. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information," DIAL confirmed in a statement shared by ANI.

Despite the visibility challenges, flight operations remained normal, though delays are expected if conditions persist.

Air Pollution Worsens: GRAP Stage IV Enforced Adding to the travel woes, Delhis air quality plunged into the 'Severe+' category on Sunday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeding 450 by evening. The city recorded an AQI of 457, triggering emergency measures under Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

The measures, effective from 8 AM on November 18, include an 8-point action plan to combat pollution. These steps include banning non-essential truck traffic into Delhi, halting construction activities, and stricter enforcement of restrictions already under Stages I, II, and III.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the "severe" category air poses risks to healthy individuals and severely impacts those with existing health conditions.
The Supreme Court has ordered all Delhi-NCR governments to ensure strict implementation of GRAP Stage IV rules amid rising air pollution levels. The curbs will remain in place even if air quality index falls below the severe plus mark of 450. Authorities have also been asked to take a call on halting physical classes for all students up to Class 12.

All the relevant state authorities have been asked to immediately form monitoring teams and also set up a grievance redressal mechanism to report violations of the step. The Delhi-NCR administrations have been asked to take a call on the steps outlined in GRAP Stage IV and place them before the SC ahead of the next hearing.

"We direct restrictions under stage 4 of GRAP to continue even if AQI level falls below 450," the bench said.

The developments came even as 11 flights were diverted and many others delayed at Delhi airport on Monday morning due to poor visibility. The city and its surrounding areas have been shrouded in dense fog  amplified by bad weather conditions and alarmingly high pollution levels. The India Meteorological Department also issued an orange alert due to the foggy conditions.

Only CAT III trained pilots are allowed to take off or land planes at very low visibility conditions. Both SpiceJet and IndiGo issued travel advisories via social media on Monday morning as several flights were diverted to nearby cities and several routes faced delay.

Dozens of trains have also been affected  including long-distance routes such as the New Delhi-Kochuveli Express, Jammu Sampark Kranti, AP Express, Jammu Rajdhani and Goa Sampark Kranti. Some were delayed by several hours as Indian Railways tackled the low visibility issue.

The Delhi-NCR region began implementing additional restrictions from Monday morning amid worsening air quality. The decision was taken during an emergency meeting on Sunday evening as the AQI crossed into the severe plus category. Delhi became the second-most polluted city in the country on Sunday evening with an AQI of 457 by 7:00 pm. The situation has continued to worsen  with the AQI hitting 491 at 2:00 pm on Monday.
A priest in Telangana was hospitalised on Monday after suffering serious injuries in an explosion. The incident took place near a temple on Laxmiguda Road in the Rangareddy area of the state while the priest was cleaning the premises near the temple.

According to reports, the blast occurred around 10:30 am on Monday and spurred panic among locals. Temple priest Sugunaram was clearing away some garbage and vegetation from the pavement near the Praja Prathi Sri Sri Yade Mata Mandir premises. The Rajender Nagar ACP told ANI that he was taken to the hospital with severe injuries and reportedly remains in a critical condition.

An investigation remains underway.

The cause of the blast remains unclear at this time and an investigation has been launched into the matter. Samples from the site were collected and sent to a laboratory for analysis.

Police officials and the bomb detection squad were rushed to the site soon after the explosion and all possible angles are being probed.

Security has also been heightened in the area.

Also Read | Maharashtra ambulance explosion: Pregnant woman escapes oxygen cylinder blast

The incident comes mere hours after 40 people were injured during a cylinder blast in Madhya Pradesh. Dozens were hospitalised with burn injuries in Chhattarpur after the explosion at a chaat stall. Officials said some people had sustained 40% injuries but none were in a serious condition.

A small cyclinder blast occurred at a chat centre. On orders of the SDM, the injured were taken to the district hospital, the cost of which will be borne by the district administration, Upper Collector Milind Kumar Nagdev.

23 people with burn injuries have been brought to the hospital. After being administered first aid, the patients have now been shifted to the normal ward... Some patients have come with 40 per cent burn injuries but none of them are in serious condition, added Chief Medical Officer RP Gupta.
New Delhi: A little over three years since its 2021 launch, PM Gati Shakti may soon go global with as many as three neighbouring countries showing an interest in the platform and the government planning to showcase the technology in Europe and the US.

India is offering the technology platform to all friendly neighbouring countries, two people told Mint.

We are offering Gati Shakti to friendly countries and there is interest from three countries. We also plan to showcase it to countries in the developed world, who have made investments into the country. We want to show the developed world the improvements that we have made in infrastructure planning, which will also help their investments, said one of them, a senior government official, who did not want to be identified.

Also read | Govt plans to take PM Gati Shakti global, starting with India's neighbours PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan may first be offered to neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, for planning and execution of certain cross border infrastructure projects before a separate product is developed for overseas project planning and execution to be implemented on the framework developed for domestic projects.

Master plan showcased An Indian delegation visited Nepal last year to showcase the master plan. It was also shown to Bangladesh at the invitation of the government there. Similarly, Gati Shakti has been showcased to 30 countries in Central Asia and South East Asia. The official said that the tool has also been showcased at the UN ESCAP (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) Conference in Hong Kong, the Asia Pacific Business Forum last year and the G-20 meeting in Delhi last September.

The plan is also to offer PM Gati Shakti model to countries where India is already implementing projects. Later, other interested countries could be offered this integrated planning and execution tool. The master plan is going to be portrayed as a unique product, using state of the art technology and one of its kind in the world which is going to reform the governance, especially of project implementation and management.

The officials quoted above said that countries looking to get on board the Indian system may also get limited access to the PM Gati Shakti portal to get first-hand experience of how projects are brought from the drawing board to actual execution bringing together an integrated planning tool.

The second official explained that India is offering the technology knowhow to run the platform and also the processes, experience and learnings that the country learnt through its implementation. The aim is to assist other countries streamline their infrastructure planning processes by establishing an integrated digital tool.

Helping neighbours Analsyts say this will help neighbouring countries.

"Our neighbours would benefit from similar master plans for their districts, and the know-how for quick implementation. They would be able to plan and execute their connectivity projects with right-of-way for better logistics, as also location identification for social infra. So many solutions and innovations in India can be shared with the Global South, including African and Asian nations. Such innovations would be equally relevant for OECD members and G20 members. Beyond Gati Shakti, another example is the UPI mobile payment system," said Shailesh Pathak, former CEO, L&T Infra Dev Projects Ltd.

PM Gati Shakti is a digital platform to bring 16 ministries, including railways and roadways, together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects. This platform helps in the planning of infrastructure project and suggests alternatives that require minimal approvals.

Reportedly, Gati Shakti helped reduce the number of No-Objection Certificates required for a coastal road road project in Gujarat to 13 from 28. Till September-end, it has assessed over 208 major infrastructure projects, estimated at over $180 billion.

Also read | Oil ministry to save costs on pipelines using Gati Shakti Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the the Brics summit last month, offered Gati Shakti to member countries.

We have established a digital platform called the Gati-Shakti portal to rapidly expand multi-modal connectivity in India. This has helped in integrated infrastructure development planning and implementation and has reduced logistics costs. We will be happy to share our experiences with all of you, Modi said in his speech at the plenary of the 16th Brics summit.

Brics comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. There is, however, no interest from any Brics member country yet, official added.

An email sent to the commerce ministry did not elicit any immediate response.
A medical student in Gujarat passed away on Saturday after extensive ragging at GMERS Medical College. The 18-year-old first-year MBBS student fell unconscious after being made to stand for three hours by his seniors. An FIR claims that a group of second year students had subjected their juniors to mental and physical torture.

The student was rushed to the hospital after he collapsed, and attempts to revive him failed and he was declared dead. His classmates said Anil Methaniya died after being made to stand for three hours and introduce himself before seniors at the college hostel, said the Dean  Dr Hardik Shah.

They have been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other offences. The college anti-ragging committee has also initiated a probe and assured strict action against the miscreants.

Also Read | Bizarre! Gujarat man declared dead shows up at his own memorial service

The incident took place at a hostel of the GMERS Medical College and Hospital at Dharpur in Patan on Saturday night.

According to a PTI report, the group of juniors had been forced to stand for nearly three hours and introduce themselves to eight senior students. A case of accidental death has been filed and the police have also registered an FIR against 15 second year students.

They forced us to keep standing and asked us not to get agitated. At last, a student, who was also standing with us, fell unconscious. We rushed him to a hospital where he died, one of the students told the publication anonymously.

The FIR alleges that they had subjected the junior students to mental and physical torture" during the ragging. The second year students have been suspended from their hostel and barred from academic activities in college until further orders.

Meanwhile an unrelated incident from Telangana saw four students of the Government Medical College in Nalgonda district suspended for ragging their juniors. The incident took place at the boys hostel on November 11  with five students from Kerala being ragged physically by seniors.
Manipur Violence: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday launched an attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over fresh violence in Manipur and alleged that vested interests were at play.

Addressing a press conference in Ranchi, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Union home minister was not taking an interest in containing Manipur violence.

Everyone knows what is happening in Manipur. The prime minister has not gone there yet. I have gone to Manipur. We have asked the government to stop the violence, but that is not happening. Someone has a vested interest, said Gandhi.

Stating that peace should be restored, the Congress leader added, The home minister should do his work, but for some reason, he is not doing his work.

Gandhi claimed that Bharatiya Janata Party people spread hatred, which is why 'aag lagti hai'.

"Aag ko sirf Congress mita sakti hain' (only Congress can douse the fire) because we talk about love, brotherhood," added Gandhi.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah convened a high-level meeting with senior officials in the national capital and assessed the security situation in Manipur.

Amit Shah has reportedly directed security officials to focus on restoring peace and order in Manipur as soon as possible.

The Centre has decided to send an additional 50 CAPF companies comprising more than 5,000 personnel to Manipur in view of the "challenging" security and law and order situation.

An additional 50 companies have been ordered to be rushed to Manipur by this week. While 35 units will be drawn from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the rest will be from the Border Security Force (BSF), reported PTI quoting sources.

Earlier in the day, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh also demanded that the prime minister should visit the strife-torn state.

"From May 3, 2023, Manipur is burning and Prime Minister Modi visits various countries of the world, gives sermons, but could not find time to visit Manipur. So, our first demand is that the PM should take time out before the Parliament session to visit Manipur and meet political parties, politicians, civil society groups, and people in relief camps there," Ramesh said.
New Delhi: The Centre has decided to scrap the windfall tax, a levy imposed on local production of crude oil and exports of petrol, diesel and jet fuel, at a time of subdued oil prices.

A decision to this effect has been taken at the top level in the government, and the finance ministry may shortly issue an order, two people familiar with the development said.

Windfall tax was imposed in 2022, as a surge in oil prices to multi-year highs in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war allowed oil and gas companies to make windfall profits. The tax is levied in the form of a special additional excise duty, and as additional excise duty or road and infrastructure cess on the export of fuel. It is reviewed every fortnight, based on their average prices in the preceding two weeks.

Also read | Windfall tax on petroleum crude slashed to 'zero' with effect from THIS date

"The petroleum ministry recently wrote to the finance ministry and sought scrapping of the levy. With oil prices remaining subdued, there is not much significance in the levy anymore," said one of the two people quoted above.

Queries emailed on Thursday to the petroleum and finance ministries remained unanswered.

Outlived utility

The decision to scrap the windfall tax has been guided by the governments view that this levy has outlived its utility. Since domestic oil producers and refiners are allowed to realize global prices from the Indian market, windfall tax fetches a share of the profits of the oil companies to the government.

Windfall tax on crude oil produced in the country was lowered to zero on 18 September from 1,850 a tonne that was in force in the first fortnight of the month.

In line with the softening global oil prices, the government has gradually dialled back all the elements of the windfall tax, but businesses expect certainty in taxation by doing away with the fortnightly review and revision altogether. Businesses consider the tax regime before entering oil exploration, production and refining, sectors requiring hefty capital investment.

The road and infrastructure cess on exported diesel has been kept at zero from 4 March 2023, and the special additional excise duty on it has been lowered to zero from 1 March, 2024. The special additional excise duty on exported jet fuel has been set at zero from 2 January 2024 from Re 1 a litre earlier. The road and infrastructure cess as well as the special additional excise duty on export of petrol was brought down to zero from 19 July 2022. The government had also exempted petrol, diesel and jet fuel exported from special economic zones from windfall tax from 20 July 2022 onwards.

Scrapping the windfall tax on exported finished petroleum products is beneficial for Indian exporters competing in the world market," said Abhishek Jain, indirect tax head and partner at KPMG.

Crude oil prices have remained subdued in the past few months. Since August, it has stayed below the $80 a barrel mark, and the highest level in the past one year is about $89 per barrel. This is despite the prolonged production cuts by the OPEC+ alliance. The January contract of Brent last traded at $71.04 per barrel, lower by 2.09% from its previous close.

Oil market outlook weak

The planned withdrawal of the levy comes at a time when the outlook for the global oil market is largely weak, and prices are not seen surging near the all-time high levels reached in 2022 anytime soon.

Rating agency ICRA on 14 November projected that global crude oil demand growth would decelerate significantly from pre-covid levels, primarily due to the muted demand from China, the world's second-largest oil consumer. It anticipates that this downtrend signals that crude markets may be entering a tipping zone, characterized by weakening growth dynamics owing to accelerating electrification.

Girishkumar Kadam, senior vice-president and group head, corporate ratings, ICRA Ltd, said: Weakening Chinese demand, impacted by factors like large scale renewable capacity addition, burgeoning electric vehicle sales, prolonged real estate slump, vast national high-speed rail network, substantial share of LNG and electric trucks and an ageing population  may be a drag on global oil prices. The crude oil demand growth going forward is likely to significantly trail the pre-Covid historical average annual growth rate."
Kanakadasa Jayanthi, a public holiday in Karnataka, is being celebrated on Monday, November 18th, this year. The day commemorates the birth anniversary of the renowned poet and social reformer Shri Kanakadasa and is observedby the Government of Karnataka.

This occasion falls on the 18th day of the Kartik month according to the Hindu lunar calendar. Shri Kanakadasa, a prominent figure in Carnatic music, was a gifted poet, composer, and social reformer.

His contributions to Carnatic music and his influence on the tradition are widely recognized, and he is remembered for his efforts to promote social equality and spirituality through his writings and compositions.

History Kanakadasa (15091606) was a revered saint, poet, philosopher, and one of the greatest devotees of Lord Krishna (Vishnu) from Karnataka, India. He followed the Dvaita Vedanta philosophy of Madhvacharya and was a disciple of the famous scholar and saint Vyasatirtha.

Kanakadasa is often referred to as Daasashreshta Kanakadasa, meaning the greatest of the devotees, and he is best known for his devotional compositions in Kannada, including keertanas (hymns) and ugabhogas (songs), which became an integral part of Carnatic music. His works expressed deep devotion to Lord Krishna and emphasized simplicity, accessibility, and spirituality.

Contributions Kanakadasa's devotion was expressed through his simple yet profound Kannada compositions, which broke away from the traditional norms of high Sanskrit and connected directly with the people. He composed hymns that celebrated the glory of Lord Krishna and highlighted social issues such as the importance of humility, devotion, and social justice.

Kanakadasas music and poetry focused on themes of devotion to Lord Krishna, promoting love and equality among all people, irrespective of caste or social status. His works were also a strong critique of the rigid caste system and other social injustices of the time, challenging the social hierarchy by focusing on devotion and inner purity.

He is particularly remembered for the Keertanas (devotional songs) and Ugabhogas (spontaneous lyrical compositions) he composed for Carnatic music, many of which remain popular in classical music traditions today.

Spiritual Transformation A pivotal moment in Kanakadasa's life came after he was injured in battle. Seeking solace from his pain, he turned to chanting the name of Lord Hari (Krishna), hoping to find peace.

Kanakadasa and the "Kanaka Dwara" Legend One of the most famous stories associated with Kanakadasa involves his devotion to Lord Krishna. It is said that when Kanakadasa visited the temple of Krishna in Udupi, he was not allowed to enter because of his low caste. Deeply hurt, Kanakadasa sat outside the temple and composed a devotional song. Moved by his unwavering devotion, Lord Krishna is said to have turned the idol around so that Kanakadasa could have a vision of the deity. This moment is said to symbolize divine grace and equality for all, regardless of caste.

Philosophy and Influence Kanakadasa's philosophical outlook was influenced by Madhvacharyas Dvaita Vedanta, which emphasizes the duality between the individual soul (Atman) and the supreme soul (Brahman, or Vishnu). His teachings focused on the importance of devotion (bhakti) to God, the need for humility, and the idea that everyone, regardless of their social background, could attain salvation through sincere devotion to Lord Krishna.
New Delhi: The debate on laboratory-grown meat, dairy, and egg products may soon be settled, with the issue reaching Indias apex food regulator, three people aware of the development said. The development comes in the backdrop of concerns about public health, food security and ecological sustainability.

While the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has put in place a regulatory framework for plant-based protein products, manufacturers and sellers of fermentation-derived and cultivated protein products have been operating in a regulatory void.

A representation has been made by former Union minister Maneka Gandhis People for Animals-Public Policy Foundation (PAPPF) to FSSAI for framing regulations, according to a 13 November communication to FSSAI reviewed by Mint.

We have asked FSSAI to make standards," Gandhi said in an emailed response to Mint's queries.

We have received presentation on cellular meat from them," an FSSAI official confirmed, requesting anonymity. Any decision by the food regulator would help decide the trajectory of fermentation-derived and cultivated meat, dairy, and egg products in the country.

The development assumes significance given that India is home to more than 15 companies focused on cultivated meat and fermentation-derived smart protein products, with several Indian start-ups planning to take these products to the market and planning to apply for regulatory approvals.

This also comes at a time of growing interest from global firms in this space in India, even as the US, the EU, Singapore and Israel issue regulations for cultivated and fermentation-derived proteins.

Also read | Nestle eyes lab-grown meat market to tap future growth

About 8 years ago, the union ministry of health and family welfare had initiated a project to make cellular meat," Gandhi said in her emailed response. The project was given to the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad. All over the world, dozens of companies have started making cellular meat and milk, and it is on sale in Singapore and in many other places. The advantage of this meat is that meat eaters can eat real meat free from animal cruelty and disease free."

Queries emailed to FSSAI remained unanswered till press time.

Globally, these products fall under the category of alternative proteins. In India, they are referred to as smart proteins, and can be produced with less land, water, and energy, and emit fewer emissions than animal-based products. Smart proteins are also free of antibiotics, which reduces the risk of zoonotic disease.

Mixed response

Experts said that lab-grown meat could capture 10-15% of the traditional animal meat industry's market share. However, it may not sustain in the long run.

There is scope for lab-grown meat in India, as the new generation appears to have a sense of awareness regarding it," said Deepak Chavan, a senior poultry and farming analyst, adding that China and the US have taken the lead in lab-grown meat, while India lags behind.

Considering the prevalence of protein malnutrition among Indians and the challenges in the growth of plant-based and animal-based protein industries, the lab-grown meat industry shows significant potential for growth in the future," Chavan said.

On the other hand, Suresh Chitturi, managing director of Srinivasa Farms said cellular meat may not be successful in India.

The point is that many of these claims which these people are making about lab-grown meat is not fulfilled, particularly, the environmental impact," Chitturi said, adding that no country has been able to scale up production at a mass scale.

People who dont want to eat meat will also not think of eating meat-like products," Chitturi added. The product may give similar taste and texture but not the nutrition. However, people who are meat eaters may give it a try but not continue it for long."

Kiran Ahuja, manager of vegan projects at animal rights organization PETA India said that lab-grown meat is a promising futuristic idea that could save billions of animals lives with meat created from cells in a laboratory rather than slaughtered animals.

Lab-grown meat is safe as it is cultivated in a sterile and controlled environment, unlike meat from terrified, slaughtered animals," Ahuja said. Mentioning that cultured meat could help end pandemics, she said that traditional meat production exposes humans to unsanitary conditions and creates enabling environment for bacteria and zoonotic diseases to grow.

SARS, bird flu, swine flu and, likely, covid-19 have links to the treatment of animals used for food, demonstrating the serious public health risks posed by these practices," she added.

What PAPPF said

In the communication to FSSAI, PAPPF trustee and member secretary Gauri Maulekhi said, In India, where the balance between urbanization, rising food and protein demands, public health concerns, and ecological sustainability is delicate, fermentation-derived and cultivated products present a timely and promising solution."

Maulekhi added in the communication that despite their growing relevance, fermentation-derived and cultivated products face several regulatory challenges that limit their potential in India. Indian companies need guidelines on regulatory requirements, particularly for cultivated meat," the communication said.

Also read | BIS tightens screws on food hygiene standards

Last month, PAPPF hosted an event in New Delhi to showcase such products to the CEO of FSSAI and industry stakeholders. The lab-grown meat are cultivated from animal tissues in laboratory without slaughtering of animals. India has an opportunity to be the leader in cultivated meat. It is sustainable and will meet the smart protein goals," Maulekhi told Mint.

Indian meat market

The issue assumes significance as India has the worlds largest livestock population. The country is the largest producer of buffalo meat, second largest producer of goat meat, and ranks fifth in poultry meat production, according to the ministry of animal husbandry and dairying.

Data from the ministry showed that in 2022-23, India produced around 2.1 million tonnes of cattle, 13.6 million tonnes buffaloes, 73.7 million tonnes sheep, 9.3 million tonnes pigs and 331.5 million poultry meat.

According to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, India's exports of animal products in 2023-24 was worth $4.5 billion, which included buffalo meat worth $3.7 billion, poultry meat worth $184.58 million, and sheep or goat meat of $77.68 million.

Puja Das contributed to this story
Former Maharashtra Minister and NCP-SP leader Anil Deshmukh suffered injuries after his car was attacked with stones near Nagpur.

The visuals of the former minister bleeding from head have gone viral on social media platforms.

Deshmukh has been rushed to the nearby hospital for further treatment.

The incident occurred near Belphata on the Jalalkheda Road near Katol around 8 pm when Deshmukh was returning after attending a meeting at Narkhed village in Katol Assembly Constituency from where his son Salil is contesting the state assembly election on NCP-SP's ticket against BJP's Charansingh Thakur.

Also Read | Why Vidarbha is key to political power in Maharashtra | Explained

Deshmukh, who sustained injuries during the attack, was immediately rushed to the Katol Civil Hospital, police said.

Confirming the incident, Nagpur Rural Superintendent of Police, Harssh Poddar, said that senior officers were rushed to the spot.

"An investigation has begun. Police are trying to identify those responsible for the attack," reported PTI quoting Poddar.

'Gangsters have got free rein' Reacting to the attack, NCP-SP leader and MP Supriya Sule said that this is a very unfortunate and outrageous incident. We all condemn this attack. This state has never had the mentality to attack in this manner during elections. This state is a democratic state. But during the time of BJP, the law and order situation in the state, especially in Nagpur district, has deteriorated and gangsters have got free rein.

Sule demanded that the attackers and their masterminds should be thoroughly investigated and brought to justice.

'BJPs failure is glaring' A cowardly attack on senior NCP leader Anil Deshmukh ji by miscreants is deeply unfortunate and condemnable. Maharashtra has always upheld democratic values, but such incidents show the decline of law & order. We demand swift action to arrest the attackers & their masterminds. BJPs failure is glaring!, said SP MLA Rais Shaikh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the opening session of the G20 Summit on Monday and flagged the food, fuel and fertilizer crisis caused by global conflicts. He also met with US President Joe Biden and Singapore PM Lawrence Wong on the sidelines of the event in Brazil. Modi also noted that the people centric decisions taken during the previous Summit in Delhi had been taken forward during the Brazilian presidency.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty during the opening session on Monday. He also met with US President Joe Biden and other key leaders at the event.

With POTUS Joe Biden at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Always a delight to meet him, Modi wrote on X alongside a photo of the two leaders.
Rio De Janeiro, Nov 19 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met world leaders, including from Italy, Indonesia and Portugal on the sidelines of the G20 Summit here and discussed ways to improve and strengthen ties.

Modi arrived here on Sunday after concluding a two-day trip to Nigeria.

Prime Minister Modi on Monday met his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni and they discussed ways to deepen ties in defence, security, trade and technology.

"Glad to have met Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the Rio de Janeiro G20 Summit. Our talks centred around deepening ties in defence, security, trade and technology. We also talked about how to boost cooperation in culture, education and other such areas. India-Italy friendship can greatly contribute to a better planet," Modi posted on X.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also posted on X about their meeting, "Strategic Partnership going strong! PM @narendramodi met PM @GiorgiaMeloni of Italy on the sidelines of the #G20Brazil Summit in Rio."

"Both leaders welcomed the India-Italy Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-29 to further elevate and give impetus to the longstanding India-Italy bilateral ties," the MEA posted.

He also met Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto during the G20 Summit in Brazil and both the leaders discussed ways to improve ties in security, healthcare.

"Delighted to meet President Prabowo Subianto during the G20 Summit in Brazil. This year is special as we are marking 75 years of India-Indonesia diplomatic relations. Our talks focussed on improving ties in commerce, security, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and more. @prabowo," Modi posted on X along with pictures.

"Commemorating 75 years of warm and friendly ties! PM @narendramodi met President Prabowo Subianto @prabowo of Indonesia on the sidelines of the #G20Brazil Summit," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) posted on X.

"PM congratulated President Prabowo and assured him of Indias full support. Both leaders discussed ways to work together for further strengthening the India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, in existing domains as well as expand it to newer areas," the post further read.

Modi also met his counterpart from Portugal and talks between both the leaders focussed on adding more vigour to the economic linkages between the two countries.

"Had a very good meeting with Prime Minister of Portugal, Mr. Luis Montenegro. India cherishes the long-standing ties with Portugal. Our talks focussed on adding more vigour to our economic linkages. Sectors like renewable energy and green hydrogen offer many opportunities for collaboration. We also talked about strong defence relations, people-to-people linkages and other such subjects," Modi posted on X.

"PM @narendramodi met PM @Lmontenegropm of Portugal today, on the sidelines of the #G20Brazil Summit in Rio. Both sides deliberated on further strengthening India-Portugal bilateral ties, including in areas of the economy, renewable energy, defence and people to people ties & cooperation in multilateral fora.," the MEA posted on X.

During the G20 Summit, IMF deputy managing director Gita Gopinath also met Prime Minister Modi.

"Great to meet Prime Minister @narendramodi at the G20 summit in Rio. He conveyed the many successes of India in reducing hunger and poverty. Numerous creative initiatives for the world to learn from," India-born economist Gopinath posted on X.

To her post, Modi replied," India stands committed to promoting food security and eliminating poverty. We will build on our successes and harness our collective strength and resources to ensure a brighter future for all."

Earlier in the day, he met US President Joe Biden and briefly interacted with him.

It is not immediately known what transpired between Modi and Biden.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plans to launch an affordable, local cloud data storage pilot programme in 2025, for financial firms, Reuters reported, citing two sources. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative by a major central bank.

India's cloud services market was estimated to be at $8.3 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow up to $24.2 billion by 2028. But it is largely dominated by foreign players. The RBI's new initiative will use local IT companies and compete with global providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, it added.

We want to start implementing on a smaller scale in the next few months, said one source, identified only as a senior executive working on the project.

Livemint could not independently verify the report.

Project Details: We Do Know So Far? According to the sources, the RBI's research department, known as the Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS), will steer the initial work. It will later be developed in partnership with one or more private tech companies.

According to the source, the pilot will be expanded in phases over the next few years and will cater to the budgets of smaller banks and financial services companies. EY has been appointed as an advisor to the project.

The second source told the news agency that the project's funding is set to come from the RBI's $2.72 billion asset development fund, with later-stage equity funds to be invited.

The report added that the cost of the project could not be determined, and no details have yet been officially confirmed. Further, the RBI did not respond to queries.

Data Localisation Key Notably, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had in December 2023 said that the central bank intends to set up a public cloud for the financial services industry.

The move is being viewed as a push for localisation of payments and financial data, as per the report. It said that as per a procurement document published on the IFTAS website in October, the RBI has only invited incorporated Indian companies with prior cloud solutions experience to bid for the project.

We have a humongous amount of interest (from private players who want to partner). A significant number of IT companies, as well as Indian cloud services companies, have expressed their interest, the source added.

($1 = 84.4240 Indian rupees)
Dileep Konatham, a key member of K Chandrashekar Rao's Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Telangana's former Digital Media Director, has reportedly been arrested for spreading misinformation.

According to reports, Konatham was arrested by the Hyderabad Cybercrime police on Monday.

However, the exact reason behind his arrest is yet to be ascertained.

Also Read | Diljit Dosanjh gets notice from Telangana govt for Dil-Luminati Hyderabad show

A few days ago, Konatham made a post criticising the state government as well as Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.

Telangana is not a dictatorship to file cases on journalists for writing such investigative news articles. Hope @RahulGandhi takes note of the draconian government Revanth Reddy is running in Telangana!, Konatham said in a post on X.

He further added that As a protest on filing case against @shankar_journo, Request all BRS Social Media warriors to please post this news article on their timeline. Lets see how many people can this Scamgress government arrest!

However, before his arrest, Konatham posted a photograph of himself standing next to the statue of a lion, and said, Sar par qafan bandh ke chalne waale, mauth se nahi darthe.

In September, Dileep was questioned by the city police over his social media post on the alleged assault on a tribal woman in Asifabad district.

Stating that Dileep has been "arrested", former Minister and senior BRS leader T Harish Rao said the Congress government should stop vindictive activities.

"We strongly condemn the arrest of Telangana activist @KonathamDileep. We demand immediate release," Harish Rao said in a post on 'X'.

In a post on X, BRS leader Balka Suman said, I strongly condemn the arrest of @KonathamDileep today in Hyderabad. The present Congress government boasts about Indiramma PrajaPalana, but arrests people repeatedly for just questioning.

Last week, Hyderabad police questioned former BRS MLA Jaipal Yadav after he appeared before them following a summon related to the phone-tapping investigation.

He is the second ex-MLA to be questioned about allegations of illegal phone interceptions during the previous BRS regime.

Since March 13, the Hyderabad police have arrested three suspended officers and a retired Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), accused of tampering with intelligence data and engaging in phone tapping.
From Sensex ending in red to Anmol Bishnoi's arrest in US to pollution worsening in Delhi to Kailash Gahlot joining BJP, here are today's top stories.

Nifty 50, Sensex extend slide to 7th straight session, post longest losing run since February 2023 The Indian benchmark indices closed in the red yet again on Monday, November 18, extending their losing streak to the seventh consecutive session. This marks the longest losing streak since February 2023, as the bears appear to have a firm grip on the market, leaving little room for the bulls to make a move. READ MORE

Zinka Logistics Solutions IPO subscribed 1.86 times on Day 3; Check GMP, subscription status, other details Zinka Logistics Solutions IPO: The Flipkart-backed initial public offering (IPO) of Zinka Logistics Solutions Limited opened for subscription on Wednesday, November 13, and closed after the market session on Monday, November 18. The IPO was subscribed 1.86 times on the third and final day of the bidding process, as investors bid for 4.19 crore equity shares compared to the 2.25 crore shares on offer. READ MORE

IPO frenzy fizzling out: Whats behind low subscription rates, tepid listings? IPO buzz fizzling out: Despite the ongoing excitement surrounding initial public offerings (IPOs), a sense of fatigue appears to be creeping into the IPO market recently. So far in November, Afcons Infrastructure Ltd (2.6x), Sagility India Ltd (3.2x), Swiggy Ltd (3.6x), ACME Solar Holdings Ltd (2.8x), and Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company Ltd (1.8x) have struggled to achieve full subscriptions during the bidding period, with all offers settling at less than 4x bids. Further, the issues lately have been experiencing lacklustre listings. READ MORE

Anmol Bishnoi, brother of Lawrence Bishnoi and accused in Baba Siddique murder, arrested in US: Report Anmol Bishnoi, the brother of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, has been arrested in the United States, said media reports. The development comes days after Mumbai police sent a proposal for extradition of jailed gangster Lawrence's younger brother following the US authorities informing his presence in their country. READ MORE

MakeMyTrip to acquire Happay from CRED, eyes corporate travel leadership Online travel company MakeMyTrip said on Monday that it will acquire Happay Expense Management Platform from CRED. With the acquisition, MakeMyTrip aims to become the go-to platform for comprehensive corporate travel and expense management solutions.We have consistently outpaced industry growth in the corporate travel sector over the past few years by focusing on innovation and seamless user experience, MakeMyTrip said in a statement. READ MORE

Delhi pollution: 11 flights diverted, delayed at airport; SC says GRAP-4 curbs to continue in NCR till further orders The Supreme Court has ordered all Delhi-NCR governments to ensure strict implementation of GRAP Stage IV rules amid rising air pollution levels. The curbs will remain in place even if air quality index falls below the severe plus mark of 450. Authorities have also been asked to take a call on halting physical classes for all students up to Class 12. READ MORE

Air India, Spice Jet and IndiGo issue advisories as Delhis worsening air quality disrupts flight schedules Air passengers faced difficulties on Monday, November 18, due to thick smog and poor air quality in the national capital, Delhi. Amid the deteriorating air quality, airlines, including Air India, Spice Jet and IndiGo, have issued advisories informing passengers about possible delays in scheduled flights. READ MORE
India International Trade Fair 2024: The 43rd India International Trade Fair (IITF) is underway at the Bharat Mandapam Complex in New Delhi. Running until 27 November, this annual event is a key platform for small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), non-government organizations, artisans, and self-help groups to showcase their products and services to the public and the business community.

This years fair theme, Viksit Bharat @2047, highlights Indias vision for growth and development leading up to the countrys centenary of independence. The fair aims to foster innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaboration as India strides toward a more developed and self-reliant future.

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the event, which will take place from November 14 to 27, celebrates India's diverse culture, trade, and innovation and provides a global platform for business and collaboration.

During the opening ceremony, Goyal announced that the government aims to develop the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) into a world-class agency that showcases India's industry and value chain as a single entity.

Here is all you need to know about IITF 2024:

The fair promises a wide variety of exhibits from both local Indian companies and international participants, ensuring there is something for everyone.

Ticketing:

Online Tickets can be purchased through:

Momentum 2.0 Delhi Sarathi app

Bharat Mandapam app

Official ITPO website: www.indiatradefair.com

DMRC website: www.itpo.autope.in

QR codes on these platforms provide a fast, secure way to purchase tickets.

Offline Tickets are available at 55 designated Delhi Metro stations, including major stops like Shiv Vihar, Samaypur Badli, Shaheed Sthal New Bus Adda, and Inderlok.

Ticket Prices: Business Days (Nov 1418):

General tickets: 150

Kids tickets: 60

Public Days (Nov 19 onwards):

General tickets: 80

Kids tickets: 40

Location:

Pragati Maidan, Delhi

Nearest Metro: Supreme Court Metro Station

Entrances: Gates 3 and 4 (Bhairon Marg), Gates 6 and 10 (Mathura Road)

Operating Hours: The fair will be open daily from 9:30 AM to 7:30 PM, giving ample time for visitors to explore the wide range of exhibits.

Earlier, reflecting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of "Viksit Bharat," Goyal applauded IITF's theme, "Viksit Bharat @2047," which envisions a prosperous, self-reliant India by 2047. He emphasized promoting digital transactions at trade events and mentioned plans for kiosk installations to facilitate smooth transactions.

This year's IITF spans a massive 107,000 square meters, featuring over 3,500 exhibitors from India and abroad. Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are Partner States, while Jharkhand is the Focus State, showcasing their culture, trade potential, and products.

Participants include representatives from 33 states and union territories, 49 central ministries, and major private firms like Titan, Jindal Steel & Power, JSW Steel, Relaxo, and Hawkins.

International exhibitors from countries such as China, Egypt, Iran, South Korea, and the UAE add a global dimension to the fair. IITF stands as one of South Asia's largest trade events, fostering both business-to-business and business-to-consumer interactions.
The Union Health Secretary issues a fresh advisory on Monday amid a steady rise in air pollution levels. Parts of the Delhi-NCR region have crossed well into the severe plus category with an AQI near the 500 mark. The missive released on Monday evening also included recommendations for States and UTs to strengthen existing health systems and raise awareness among vulnerable groups.

Delhi became the second-most polluted city in the country on Sunday evening with an AQI of 457 by 7:00 pm. The situation has continued to worsen  with the AQI hitting 494 at 4:00 pm on Monday. Authories in the Delhi-NCR region have now implemented fresh restrictions under Stage IV of a Graded Response Action Plan. The decision was taken during an emergency meeting on Sunday evening as the AQI crossed into the severe plus category.

Air quality in the 'severe' category or worse can have an adverse effect on both healthy individuals and people who already have medical conditions.

Meanwhile the Supreme Court passed an order on Monday afternoon calling for implementation of the new rules by all Delhi-NCR governments. The state authorities have been asked to immediately form monitoring teams and also set up a grievance redressal mechanism to report violations of the step. Authorities have also been asked to take a call on halting physical classes for all students up to Class 12.

The curbs will remain in place even if air quality index falls below the severe plus mark of 450.

Chief Minister Atishi cited stubble burning as a key reason behind the hazardous air quality in Delhi during a presser on Monday. Stubble burning in neighbouring states (after the paddy crop is harvested) plays a key role in the annual air pollution spike. Atishi said the BJP-led central government has been doing politics over the issue of pollution but has taken no step to check stubble burning in states like Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh  all ruled by the saffron party.
The major Indian ports of Paradip and Vishakhapatnam will be connected to the Chennai-Vladivostok maritime corridor to increase efficiency in oil and gas supply, said union ports, shipping and waterways minister Sarabananda Sonowal.

Speaking at the Sagarmanthan conclave on Monday in New Delhi to discuss global maritime affairs, Sonowal said the Vishakhapatnam and Paradip ports would be brought into the fray to strengthen the India-Russia trade in crude oil and natural gas.

Also read | India to use Russian rail to bring Mongolian coking coal to Vladivostok "Trade on the Vladivostok-Chennai corridor has started, ships have started coming in. All our ports in the Bay of Bengal such as Vizag and Paradip have been connected to this trade route," said Sonowal.

The Chennai-Vladivostok route connects India's south eastern court to Russia's far east, and is a strategic alternative to the more commonly-used Red Sea route, which is currently unstable due to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Cementing terms He said his ministry was working on cementing the terms set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in government talks with Greece, which holds a significant portion of global maritime activity.

"By tonnage, Greece has the top of the ship-owning capicity," Sonowal told reporters at Sagarmanthan, a global summit organised by the ministry along with the Observer Research Foundation.

Also read | Maritime corridor, trade on Shringlas Russia visit agenda The addition of more ports in the India-Russia corridor comes as the government focuses on the India-Middle East-Europe (IMEC) Economic Corridor and the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
(Bloomberg) -- Italys center-left won back the central Italian region of Umbria in local elections in a blow for Prime Minister Giorgia Melonis coalition.

The center-left candidate Stefania Proietti, an engineer and current mayor of Assisi, won over the right-wing incumbent from the League party Donatella Tesei, who has been governing the region for the past five years, marking a rare double win for center-left parties over the Premiers coalition.

In a separate race, in the left-wing stronghold of Emilia-Romagna, incumbent Michele de Pascale prevailed over the rights Elena Ugolini.

I would like to extend my best wishes for the new presidents of the Umbria Region, Stefania Proietti, and the Emilia-Romagna Region, Michele de Pascale, Giorgia Meloni said in a post on X.

This marks a setback for Meloni who has so far won most local elections including last months vote in the Liguria region.

Meloni has firmly held power since her 2022 election governing over a stable coalition, a rarity in Italy, formerly known for its revolving door governments. She has repeatedly said she wants to remain in her post for the full five-year term.

Markets have rewarded that stability and her efforts at a moderate economic policy with spreads between Italian and German 10-year bonds, a measure of risk, currently below 130 basis points.

The vote may help reinvigorate an opposition that has had trouble getting traction with voters. It could also cause some cracks in Melonis governing coalition, which includes her own Brothers of Italy party, the anti-migrant League helmed by the mercurial Matteo Salvini and the center-right Forza Italia party led by former EU commissioner Antonio Tajani.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Bengaluru traffic has often been the talk of the town, with netizens cracking jokes and memes about it. However, in an unusual incident, the internet reacted bitterly after a woman compared a 149 hour drive in Russia to Bengaluru traffic.

The original post, accompanied by a map, claimed, You can drive for 149 hours across Russia and still be in Russia. A Bengaluru woman, who goes by the name of Anagha on X, reposted the same, stating "You can do that in Bangalore traffic too."

Netizens offended by Bengaluru traffic joke The woman's retort had several netizens fuming on the social media platform X. "Not always the jokes are good, this attitude must stop, If that was the case you could not have posted by sitting in 4 walled room. It is not different from any cities also and also bringing any Indian city by Indian is unwarranted," commented one user.

Bengaluru is way better than Paris, London, Dhaka, Jakarta, wrote another user.

A third user elaborated about how Bengaluru traffic was much more controlled as compared to other metros like Mumbai and Delhi. Why always degrade Bangalore? Did you travel in other cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, poona? Bangalore traffic is much more controlled than any other City traffic. Good and check, commented the user.

Yours is a megacity. Naturally, like all megacities, the traffic congestion around the world is similar. Your city provides jobs to millions. Your city is the only city known worldwide. Please dont mock it, commented another user

Meanwhile, several other users joined in to mock Bengaluru's traffic with hilarious memes and gifs. While one posted an Ed Sheeran gif, to highlight that the electronic capital's traffic was brutal, another user commented that it was just a light hearted joke.

Also Read | Bluru woman abuses auto driver after he confronts her over ride cancellation
A US-based CEO has come under fire for dismissing 99 employees through a harsh Slack message. The mass firing, triggered by employees failing to attend a company meeting, has sparked outrage and speculation online.

The incident gained traction after an intern shared the CEOs fiery message on Reddit. The intern, who had only joined the company an hour earlier, claimed he was among those terminated. He posted the Slack message on the popular subreddit Recruiting Hell, where it quickly went viral.

The CEO, identified as Baldvin, began his message with a sharp reprimand, accusing employees of breaching their contractual obligations. "For those of you who did not show up to the meeting this morning, consider this your official notice: you're all fired," the message read.

Also Read | How working abroad gives young Indians a headstart in creating wealth back home

Baldvin stated that the employees absence demonstrated a lack of seriousness and professionalism. "Out of 110 people, only 11 were present this morning. Those 11 get to stay. The rest of you are terminated," he declared.

Also Read | The terrifying perils of appeasing a warlike Russia

The CEO further instructed the fired employees to return all the company property, log out of accounts, and leave the Slack workspace immediately. He ended the message with an expletive-laden directive: Get the f*** out of my business right now.

Online backlash The drastic firing by the CEO drew criticism and confusion from Reddit users. Many speculated that poor communication might have led to the employees absence. Did the CEO even inform them properly? I cant imagine 99 people just ignoring a meeting, one commenter questioned.

Others theorized deeper issues, such as financial troubles or ulterior motives behind the firings. This feels like a setup to downsize without severance, a user suggested.
Samay Raina's YouTube show India's Got Latent has gained popularity for pushing the boundaries with its edgy and often dark humour. Meanwhile, the social media users were not happy when a contestant appeared to mock actor Deepika Padukone's battle with depression in the recent episode.

In the latest episode, Samay Raina was joined by Tanmay Bhat, Raghu Ram, neurologist Dr Sid Warrier, and Balraj Singh Ghai. During the episode, a contestant named Bunty Banerjee cracked a joke referring to the birth of Deepika and Ranveer Singh's daughter Dua.

Also Read | Did Pakistan PM use VPN to congratulate Donald Trump on X?

"Deepika Padukone also became a mother recently, right. Great, now she knows what depression really looks like," she says in the clip.

Following this, the camera panned to the show's creator, Samay and other panellists, including Raghu Ram and Tanmay Bhat, laughing and exclaiming in disbelief.

While Tanmay buries his head in his hands before looking at Samay and laughing. Samay, too, laughs and applauds the joke.

The contestant added, "I am not trying to insult breakup-wala depression," before pausing and adding, I am.

After this netizens were divided and spoke up.

Also Read | Woman surprised over insane prices in Mumbai after visiting Singapore

Here are a few reactions: One wrote, "These indian stand up comedians are never including women. Depression isn't always about break up. This isn't the depression Olympics. I was depressed for a long time during and after my neet preparation because I couldn't clear it. As a single child there was immense pressure by my parents which led to stress and depression."

Another wrote, "Making fun of someones clinical depression is disgusting, but its even worse coming from a woman, all in the name of comedy. The lengths some people go to for male validation are truly pathetic. And what does she mean by 'now she knows what real depression looks like now that shes a mother'? Does she think postpartum depression is a joke?!"

"Sorry, what was funny here?! Or are we hyping up this mid level comedy? Whats actually funny is Rajiv standing in the corner like her bodyguard," commented the third.

A fourth commented, "Deepika was one of the first mainstream actress who talked loudly about depression. I remember when she spoke about it I felt seen! Many dont understand that irrespective how good things are going, its hard to control how you feel."
US Congressman-elect Suhas Subramanyam has expressed strong opposition to imposing tariffs on Indian imports, warning that such a move could trigger a trade war between the two countries.

This came amid growing concerns over the possibility of higher tariffs on Indian exports under the incoming Trump administration.

I don't support (imposing) tariffs on India. I think that would be really bad. It would lead to a trade war. And I don't think it's good for either country, Subramanyam told PTI in an interview.

Ahead of his election as U.S. President, Donald Trump criticized India's tariff structure and suggested imposing reciprocal taxes on countries like China and India. As Trump prepares to assume office, there is growing concern that his administration may impose higher tariffs on Indian exports, potentially straining trade relations between the two nations.

There's a lot of businesses that do really great work in India and a lot of Indian companies are expanding to the US. So the more our countries work together economically, the stronger we'll be, Subramanyam said.

Getting ready to be sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives, which plays a key role in shaping the foreign policy of the United States, Subramanyam said he wants to be someone who promotes democracy around the world. India, for instance, is one of the largest democracies, and the US-India relationship is very important to both countries, he said.

Who is Suhas Subramanyam? Suhas Subramanyam, 38, has become the sixth Indian-American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, joining fellow Indian-American lawmakers Dr. Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, and Shri Thanedar in the so-called "Samosa Caucus." Subramanyam, who was elected from Virginia's 10th Congressional District, is the first Indian-American to represent the East Coast in Congress.

In addition to his victory, Subramanyam has also advocated for a comprehensive overhaul of the US immigration system.

I'm hearing a lot about immigration, especially people on H-1B visas trying to get a path to citizenship and a Green Card at least. And at least a change of status," Subramanyam said.

"We need an immigration system overhaul in the United States. We need to focus on legal immigration. There's a lot of talk about undocumented immigrants, and I certainly support securing our border, but we need to do more than just that, he said.

Subramanyam said he would also oppose any move by the incoming Trump administration to cut large-scale federal jobs and is looking to be a champion of the federal workforce.

"I want to make sure as they look at the government overhaul that's being proposed, that doesn't mean firing federal workers or cancelling federal contracts, he said.

He said he looks forward to being a champion for the federal workforce in Virginia.

"I will oppose any efforts (of the incoming administration to cut federal jobs), he said.
Sofia Richie, social media personality and model, surprised fans when she revealed on the Therapuss podcast that her 5-month-old daughter, Eloise, already has her own phone.

The disclosure, made during an interview with podcast host Shane, sparked a heated debate on social media platform X.

Eloise has a little baby phone, Shane joked during the show, recounting his playful text exchanges with the infant. Richie, 26, confirmed the claim with a laugh, saying, She does!

Shane elaborated on his interactions with Eloise, sharing how he regularly sends her cheerful messages. I say, Good morning, Eloise! he said.

However, Richie clarified that the baby doesnt actually use the device herself. Instead, Whoever is with Eloise gets the phone, she explained, implying the texts are answered on her daughters behalf.

The revelation quickly ignited a firestorm of reactions online, with many users expressing disbelief and disapproval at the idea of giving a phone to a baby.

Social media backlash While Richie didnt elaborate on why Eloise has a phone, the incident has reignited conversations about parenting in the digital age. Critics argue that children are being exposed to technology too early, raising concerns about its impact on development and family dynamics.

Comments poured in criticizing the move, with many questioning the logic behind it:

Unbelievable, one commenter wrote, expressing disbelief. Another called the move horrible and psychotic, criticizing the idea of giving a phone to an infant. That is so sad and stupid! She is 5 months! another comment read, reflecting frustration over what some see as misplaced parenting priorities.
The United Kingdom police have launched a manhunt for an Indian-origin man accused of murdering his 24-year-old wife, Harshita Brella, whose body was recovered from a car boot in east London last week.

The police suspect that the accused, who killed his wife earlier this month, has fled the country.

Northamptonshire Police Chief Inspector Paul Cash said in a statement on Sunday that more than 60 detectives were working on the case as the force released an image of Pankaj Lamba, the accused husband, in an appeal for information.

Also Read | Shocking video shows man accused of killing family escape interrogation room

Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband, Pankaj Lamba, Cash said.

We suspect Lamba transported Harshita's body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car. We believe he has now fled the country More than 60 detectives are working on the case and are continuing to follow numerous lines of inquiry, including house to house, property searches, CCTV (cameras) and ANPR (automatic number plate recognition). We are, of course, continuing to appeal for any information that will help us piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita, he added.

The Northamptonshire police said it had received a call on Wednesday regarding concerns for the womans welfare and officers were deployed at her home address at Skegness Walk in Corby, Northamptonshire.

After getting no answer, the police launched a missing person investigation and fast-track enquiries were made that led to the discovery of the victim's body inside the boot of a vehicle on Brisbane Road in the Ilford area of east London in the early hours of Thursday. A post-mortem on the womans body was conducted at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday.

First of all, I want to express my heartfelt condolences to everyone who loved Harshita Brella, said Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell, senior investigating officer from the East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU).

She was a young woman in her early 20s with her whole life ahead of her and it is absolutely tragic that her life has been cut short in this way. Detectives from EMSOU and the Northamptonshire Police are working around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place, he added.
Bangladesh is seeking the extradition of ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was overthrown during a revolution in August and fled to India, according to interim leader Muhammad Yunus.

Dhaka has already issued an arrest warrant for the 77-year-old Hasina, who was last seen arriving in India after escaping by helicopter as crowds stormed her palace.

Sheikh Hasina has been summoned to appear in a Dhaka court on Monday to face charges of "massacres, killings, and crimes against humanity," but she remains in exile in India. Interim leader Muhammad Yunus stated that his administration is focused on ensuring that those responsible for suppressing the protests that led to Hasina's ouster are held accountable.

Several former ministers from Hasina's government, who have been detained, are also expected to appear in court to face similar charges.

We have already taken initiatives to try those responsible for enforced disappearances, murders, and the mass killings during the July-August uprising, Yunus said on Sunday.

The 84-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner was appointed to lead the government as "chief advisor" on August 9, days after the end of Hasina's 15 years of iron-fisted rule.

Yunus, in a speech to the nation marking 100 days in power since a student-led revolution, said he had spoken to Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

"We will seek the extradition of the ousted autocrat from India," Yunus said, referring to Hasina.

Earlier this month, Bangladesh said it would request an Interpol "red notice" alert for fugitive leaders of Hasina's regime.

Red notices issued by the global police body alert law enforcement agencies worldwide about fugitives.

India is a member of Interpol, but the red notice does not mean New Delhi must hand Hasina over.

Member countries can apply their own laws in deciding whether to arrest a person, according to the group, which organises police cooperation between 196 member countries, AFP reported.

Yunus is leading a temporary administration to tackle what he has called the "extremely tough" challenge of restoring democratic institutions in the South Asian nation of around 170 million people.

He also begged the country's "patience" to prepare for the much-awaited poll, vowing an election commission would be formed "within a few days".

But Yunus said he could not give a timeframe for the elections, saying it was dependent on a raft of reforms.

"I promise that we will hold the much-anticipated election once the necessary and essential reforms are complete," he said in the broadcast.

"I request your patience until then. We aim to build an electoral system that will endure for decades. For this, we need some time."

Crisis Group analyst Thomas Kean has called the challenge facing Yunus "monumental", warning of that "cracks are emerging in the fragile alliance" that pushed him into power.

"For now, Yunus and his colleagues have widespread support, but popular expectations are double-edged," the thinktank said in a report on Thursday.

"If the interim administration falters in making reforms, the outcome is likely to be an early election with little progress; in the worst-case scenario, the military could assume power."
Donald Trump Jr. alleged that the Biden administration was using US support for Ukraine as a means to initiate a major conflict before his father, Donald Trump, potentially returns to the presidency in January.

This comes as President Joe Biden, 81, authorized Ukrainian forces to use American-supplied long-range missiles for strikes within Russian territory, marking a significant shift from his previous focus on conflict reduction.

President Joe Biden's authorization allows Ukrainian forces to deploy U.S.-manufactured Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) in the Kursk region, located along the northeastern border between Russia and Ukraine. These missiles, with a range of around 190 miles and significant explosive power, are expected to be used in strategic strikes. Ukraine, which has been seeking permission for months to use American missiles, expressed readiness to deploy the newly authorized weapons following significant military setbacks.

Meanwhile, China reiterated its call for a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine on Monday, following Washington's approval for Kyiv to use long-range U.S. missiles against military targets inside Russia. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian urged the cooling down of the situation as soon as possible, emphasizing the need for an early ceasefire and a political solution during a regular briefing, AFP reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russia launched a large-scale assault on Ukraine, firing a total of 120 missiles and 90 drones. The attack included various types of drones, including Iranian-made Shaheds, as well as cruise, ballistic, and aircraft-launched missiles.

According to Ukraine's air force, Ukrainian defences successfully intercepted 144 of the 210 airborne targets, shooting down a significant portion of the incoming threats during the assault.
A security breach near Windsor Castle has raised concerns after masked raiders broke into the estate late at night while Prince William, Kate Middleton and their three children were asleep at Adelaide Cottage, The Irish Sun reported.

The incident occurred at Shaw Farm, a working farm within the castles security zone. Two masked individuals scaled a 6ft fence and stole a black Isuzu pick-up truck and a red quad bike from a barn. They escaped by ramming a stolen vehicle through a security gate, causing significant damage.

Prince George (11), Princess Charlotte (9) and Prince Louis (6) were believed to be at Adelaide Cottage with their parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, just five minutes away from the crime scene. The royal family often uses the damaged gate, raising concerns about the estates security measures.

Sources suggest the raiders had been observing the area for some time. They appeared to know the exact location of the vehicles and the best time to escape without being caught.

Also Read | Prince Harry finds spot in TIME100 Climate 2024 list, brother William left out

They would have to have known the vehicles were stored there before they broke in and known when was the best time to get and escape without being caught. So they must have been watching Windsor Castle for a while, a source told the publication.

Alarms were in place, but the break-in was only discovered when the thieves crashed through the gate during their escape.

Thames Valley Police confirmed the incident, stating that the burglary occurred around 11:45 pm on October 13. The suspects fled towards the Old Windsor and Datchet area. While no arrests have been made, investigations are ongoing.

Also Read | Kate Middleton joins Prince William in first formal appearance | See photos

This breach comes amidst criticism of security arrangements at Windsor Castle. Armed police were removed from two public entrances due to a shortage of officers and to create a more welcoming environment for tourists. Armed officers now primarily patrol during events like the Changing of the Guard.

Previous security scares Previous security scares at Windsor Castle include a 2021 Christmas Day incident where an armed intruder attempted to harm Queen Elizabeth II. Another incident in February 2023 involved a man arrested for trespassing near King Charles residence.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a rousing welcome from the Indian diaspora upon his arrival in Rio de Janeiro for the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, Deeply touched by the warm and lively welcome from the Indian community upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro. Their energy reflects the affection that binds us across continents.

PM Modi was greeted at his hotel with a vibrant dandiya ceremony performed by dancers dressed in traditional Gujarati attire, celebrating his arrival with cultural fervour. Adding a spiritual touch to the occasion, Vedic scholars chanted Vedic mantras to welcome the Prime Minister. Members of the diaspora also presented him with gifts as a gesture of respect and admiration.

The Indian Prime Minister landed in Brazil after completing the first leg of his three-nation tour in Nigeria. In Rio de Janeiro, he was received by Indian officials, including Indian Ambassador to Brazil Suresh Reddy.

The Indian diaspora gathered in large numbers, waving flags and carrying pictures of the Prime Minister, expressing their enthusiasm. Speaking to ANI, a diaspora member remarked, "We are excited for this moment. We wanted to meet the leader of one of the largest democracies in the world." Another member said, "It's an honour to see him in person. It is a proud moment for us."

Earlier, PM Modi shared his anticipation for the summit, posting, "Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders." The summit holds special significance as India, a Troika member, plays a key role in shaping the agenda while passing the presidency baton to Brazil.

During his visit to Nigeria, PM Modi held discussions with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, focusing on cooperation in defence, health, technology, and education. India also announced a humanitarian aid package of 20 tons to assist Nigeria's flood relief efforts.
Renowned Russian ballet dancer Vladimir Shklyarov has died at the age of 39 after falling from the fifth floor of a building on Saturday. Shklyarov was taking painkillers for a back injury and was supposed to undergo spinal surgery on Monday, spokesperson Anna Kasatkina told Russian media.

A federal investigation has been started to look into the cause of death; however, the preliminary cause is said to be an accident, The Guardian reported, citing Russian media.

Also Read | The terrifying perils of appeasing a warlike Russia

Shklyaroov was born in St Petersburg in 1985. He joined the Mariinsky Theatre in 2003, where he became the principal dancer in 2011, the highest position in the company.

Mariinsky Theatre extended condolences on Shyklarov's death and called it a huge loss.

Our condolences to the artists family, loved ones, friends and all the numerous admirers of his work and talent  he forever inscribed his name in the history of world ballet, The Guardian reported, citing the company.

Shklyarov has been featured in many popular productions such as Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Christopher Wheeldons Alice in Wonderland and Don Quixote in his 20-year-long career. He has performed worldwide in places such as the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and the Royal Opera House in London.

He married Maria Shirinkina, a fellow dancer at the Mariinsky Theatre. He has two children with her.

Shklyarov had been very vocal against Russia's invasion of Ukraine in an Instagram post in 2022, which was later deleted, according to the report. He stated his opposition to all kinds of military actions.

It is impossible to watch everything that is happening today without tears, Shklyarov had said in the post.

Russian dancers extended their condolences on Shklyarov's death. Irina Baranovskaya called his death a stupid, unbearable accident on Telegram, the report said.

Baranovskaya said Shklyarov had gone out to the balcony to get some air and smoke when he lost balance. The balcony was very narrow, she said.

This tragedy brings only tears and sadnesss  This is the tragedy for our theatre, our common grief, feeling of emptiness," Diana Vishneva, a Mariinsky dancer, wrote.

You were the favourite partner  My beautiful Romeo, my brave Prince in Cinderella," she added.

An extraordinary artist whose grace and passion inspired audiences worldwide," American Ballet Theater wrote. Shklyarov was a guest performer for the theatre.
Two soldiers were caught in a compromising position inside the cockpit of an Apache AH-64 attack helicopter during a routine maintenance check, according to mirror.co.uk report.

The incident occurred at the Otterburn range in Northumberland, where UK army ground crew had just completed a night service of the 8.5 million Apache helicopter, part of the Army Air Corps' 653 Squadron. When the crew approached the helicopter to fit rain covers, they noticed strange movements and unusual noises coming from the cockpit, the news report said. Upon further inspection, they discovered two soldiersthe male soldier was in uniform, while the female was in civilian clothesengaged in sexual activity, it added.

Intoxicated soldiers found half-naked According to the Military Aviation Authority's report, both soldiers appeared intoxicated and were found partially undressed in the rear cockpit. The male soldier was in uniform, while the female was in civilian attire. Both were naked from the waist down. They were immediately ordered to exit the helicopter, get dressed, and were detained until their units arrived to take control.

Also Read | US Says North Korean Troops Are Engaged in Fight Against Ukraine

Soldiers from different units involved Although the incident took place in a helicopter assigned to 653 Squadron, the two soldiers were believed to be from the Royal Artillery. The report indicated that the soldiers were held until their respective commands arrived.

Also Read | British businesses thriving in India

Investigation and safety measures The breach prompted a swift response from the chain of command, with the safety report stressing the seriousness of the situation, the report mentioned. Following the discovery, orders were given to implement stronger security measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Indian citizens are hesitatingly capitalist. Perhaps because of this, Indian politicians are unhesitatingly statist.

There are many reasons for this. Independent India was born as a poor country with universal adult franchise. Most developed democracies widened the right to vote only after getting rich.

Capitalism works best when the institutional structures of a developed economy ensure equality of opportunity, fair competition and a hefty price for violating rules.

For capitalism to work for a large majority of people, you need institutions to encode and enforce the rules, and prosperity to fund the welfare payments required to uplift specific disadvantaged segments of the population.

Given the imperatives of a large and poor electorate, if a political economy becomes redistributive too early, then the wealth pie and institutions do not grow large and robust enough for the job.

Since Independence, Indias quandary has been just this. While nearly 400 million people have been elevated from abject poverty, any surplus has been distributed even before widespread prosperity could emerge.

This column, the sixth in the series on the quantity to quality reforms required for India to achieve upper-income status, tackles the pervasive but hard-to-grasp issue of statism. For decades, governments on both sides of the political aisle in India have harboured a deep suspicion of the private sector.

This suspicion runs so deep and nuanced that an intricate framework of rules amounting to a chastity belt has left even well-meaning companies exhausted with compliance requirements.

The unfortunate flip side of the coin is that to escape this dirigiste system, a few companies appear to have curried favour with rent-seekers in the Central and state governments, leading to suspicions and allegations of crony-capitalism.

The Indian political economy, at the central and state levels, has time and again reached for interventionist solutions rather than structural reforms.

The only major exception was in 1991-92, when with our economic back against the proverbial balance-of-payments wall, India enacted a series of liberalizing reforms that generally unshackled the economy by delicensing industry and slashing customs tariffs, among other major moves, in particular.

Despite that, reforms in the areas of foreign direct investment (FDI), disinvestment and factor markets in need of structural changes were halting and painfully gradual. Even when the going was good, 20 years ago, Indias approach to free trade was ambivalent; we wanted it to be free on the other side but subsidized (and sometimes low quality) on ours.

The still-pervasive caste system has only compounded this problem. Even though labour mobility, particularly for urban jobs, has mitigated the problem a little bit, the societal misallocation of resources and attendant low productivity that results are contributors to mistrust of a meritocratic capitalist system.

Unfortunately, the distribution of learning, opportunity, production, capital and credit still functions in a manner that is discriminatory of certain castes.

One academic study has shown that if the borrowing capacity of firms owned by lower-ranked castes are set equal to their higher-caste counterparts, direct labour productivity would rise by nearly 6% and additionally total factor productivity (TFP) by 3.1%.

Indias approach to rule-making has also crossed a tipping point. Rules are stacked upon rules, so much so that master circulars" have to be issued to make some semblance of sense. Agencies enforce not only these de jure elements but also a set of de facto edicts that arise from a paternalistic and anti-fraud mindset.

For some reason, our authorities are unable to prosecute specific wrongdoers. We operate in a paraphrased version of an old adage: criminal conduct is by a few firms, but the compliance cost is socialized for everyone to bear.

Indias hope of becoming an upper middle-income country cannot be realized in this environment of statism, because it will fail the cause of deepening prosperity throughout the population. Intricate rule-based regulation must give way to framework regulation.

There will be fewer red lines to monitor, fewer frivolous reasons to threaten company officials with jail, and fewer line items of cost for compliance, all of which will flow to the improvement of productivity at the micro-level and prosperity at the macro one.

The state must more specifically and convincingly prosecute wrong doers, but enable and encourage those that follow the law. Agencies must clearly separate their regulatory, development and implementation functions. Ideally, most of them would give up their implementation function to the private sector.

Of course, some amount of welfarism is still required, but that can be done in a fair and targeted manner.

The state has a very important role to play as a standards setter and enabler of fair competition.

If the state were to function as an enlightened referee, rather than as umpire, player and promotion board, then individual actors would innovate and contribute much more to an economy that could underpin an inclusive and prosperous country.

P.S: This disposition to admire, and almost worship, the rich and the powerful, and to despise, or at least, to neglect persons of mean condition, is the great and most universal cause of corruption of our moral sentiments," said Adam Smith in his book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments.
Indonesia, for decades a natural partner to the US because of similar defence priorities and democratic values, has in recent years drifted more toward China, drawn by its economic support.

A potentially more insular American foreign policy under President-elect Donald Trump is pushing Jakarta even closer to Beijing. The worlds fourth most-populous country would be wise to keep its options open.

Newly elected President Prabowo Subianto made a strategic blunder during his first foreign visit since his inauguration in October. He and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke about shared ambitions and mutual trusta signal to Washington on this growing partnership.

Beijing wants to position itself as a natural ally of countries in the Global South, competing with US influence with its cheque-book. Southeast Asian nations like Indonesia have played it smart, balancing the two to ensure local interests remain paramount.

On his trip, though, Prabowo broke with decades of careful foreign policy by reportedly agreeing to joint development with China in the South China Sea, potentially legitimizing Beijings claims to almost all of the contested waterway.

This sets a dangerous precedent. Chinese coastguard ships have entered waters disputed by other nationsmost recently Indonesiato show whos in charge. In the past, Jakarta has responded by expanding its military bases to better control who traverses its seas.

The South China Sea is home to huge reserves of oil, gas and fish. About 60% of maritime trade passes through the Indo-Pacific and Indonesia strategically straddles the gateway between the two oceans. Freedom of navigation is essential to regional security.

The Indonesian ministry of foreign affairs has attempted to backtrack on Prabowos agreement, issuing a vague statement saying it doesnt officially back Chinas ownership claims. But the damage has been done.

Prabowo didnt really have to sign on to all of those clauses to convince China to keep assisting Indonesia economically," Evan Laksmana, senior fellow with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told me. Based on whats in the public domain, Indonesia has agreed to many of the points that Beijing wants, which his predecessor, President Joko Widodo, never needed to do."

The economy is a big driver of the Beijing-Jakarta relationship. Under Jokowi, as the former leader is commonly known, China became Indonesias biggest trading partner, and a major source of investment. Indonesia has benefited from the Belt and Road Initiative, with Chinese money building key infrastructure projects.

The nickel industry has also enjoyed the largesse of Chinese firms helping to turn the country into a global player in the sector. Prabowo is keen to build on Jokowis success, but relying on funds from Beijing comes with strings attached.

Jakarta may feel pressured to soften its stance on Chinese workers by letting more in, despite the new presidents complaints during his campaign that there were too many of them.

It could also end up overtly siding with China, diluting Jakartas opposition to its growing presence in the South China Sea. That will lead to tensions with claimants like the Philippines and Vietnam, which oppose Chinas buildup of military infrastructure and increasing confrontation.

Prabowo is also courting the US, but it isnt clear how much and what kind of engagement Trump will have with Southeast Asias largest economy, under what is likely to be a haphazard foreign policy approach. Prabowo had congratulated him in a phone call, publicizing the conversation on social media.

Prabowo would be wise to be patient and remember he doesnt need to take sides. During the first Trump presidency, Jakarta and Washington shared an underwhelming relationship, something the new leader could improve, given historical military links.

Prabowo should also leverage Indonesias strategic importance by continuing to seek economic benefits from China, while pushing back on territorial and sovereignty issues. There is strength in unity; working with partners in Asean like Manila and Hanoi would help.

Elevating Jakartas strategic partnership with the US without becoming a proxy for American interests in Southeast Asia is possible even in what is likely to be an ill-defined American foreign-policy environment. It will require deft diplomacy, but also a clear message the archipelago is not in anyones pocket.

Indonesias voice carries weight. For decades, the bedrock of Jakartas approach to international affairs has been to pursue a self-reliant and independent foreign policy. Changing that would risk not only the nations sovereignty, but also stability across Southeast Asia. BLOOMBERG
Indias GDP growth of 8.2% in 2023-24, amid global headwinds and market volatility, is more than just an economic indicator. It represents our nations resilience and readiness for transformation.

As we chart our course towards becoming a developed nation by 2047, Indian industrys vision of Viksit Bharat demands aspirational thinking and decisive, coordinated actions across government, industry and all other stakeholders.

Our journey towards a $30 trillion economy rests on four transformations: First, making India the next big factory for the world with a robust micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) ecosystem.

Also read: Viksit Bharat will get closer as family philanthropy gains momentum

Second, accelerating farm prosperity through modernization. Third, driving sustainability through decarbonization and electric mobility. And fourth, unleashing women-led growth.

The magnitude of our challenges matches the scale of our ambition. In manufacturing, our path is clear. We must achieve self-reliance in 80% of strategic sub-sectors, while expanding our global manufacturing share to 5%.

This demands a comprehensive ecosystem transformation focused on the twin objectives of empowering MSMEs with robust quality, safety and sustainable systems, and creating a large pool of skilled manpower aligned with emerging needs, especially in new fields of digital technology like artificial intelligence.

These transformative ambitions demand coordinated policy action. Indian industry is pushing for localization of printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs), which are critical to electronic devices today. FICCI has submitted a detailed roadmap to the government for localizing PCBAs in various application areas like consumer electronics, telecom, IT, etc.

Besides, the industry is working with the government to update curriculums at ITIs for digital skills at the shop-floor level. Collaborations have been forged with premier institutes to provide MSME leaders training on scaling up and business continuity. We have also suggested a national framework for setting up industrial parks that go by global norms on sustainable practices.

In agriculture, doubling exports to 8 trillion is our aim. To support the achievement of this target, we have initiatives to drive farm mechanization through digital and AI solutions, including a plan to improve water efficiency through micro-irrigation initiatives that involves upskilling rural youth and women entrepreneurs.

Also read: Mint Quick Edit Welcome realism on Viksit Bharat

The private sector is also involved in horticulture cluster development and supporting sustainable-farming methods that increase productivity. Besides, we are engaged in linking the private sector with government institutions to establish R&D collaboration networks for agriculture.

The policy support we require includes a One Nation, One Licence system to streamline and standardize licencing requirements across states. Additionally, leveraging geospatial analytics and geo-tagged data from both public and private sources will enhance soil health management across India.

For environmental sustainability, we have set ambitious targets for electric vehicle (EV) adoption: over 30% of the 4-wheeler market and more than 80% of all 2-wheelers sold. To achieve this, we are focusing on two critical policy fronts.

First, the industry is asking the government to develop a comprehensive charging infrastructure roadmap; we have shared one that covers capital expenditure requirements and prioritizes key cities and highways. This will help EV penetration across the country. We also plan an awareness campaign to promote EV adoption.

On the industrial decarbonization front, industry advocates enabling Article 6.2/6.4 mechanisms under the Paris Agreement for carbon-capture missions to get underway in line with Indias green hydrogen initiative. Additionally, we are exploring policy mechanisms for small modular reactors to accelerate our energy transition.

For women-led growth, our goals centre on transforming workplace representation and enhancing capabilities and employability. We aim to have women comprise 20% of boards and 30% of leadership roles. Policies could be made to support corporate champions that identify and adopt skilling centres to skill women in manufacturing roles.

Simultaneously, an online platform can be created to connect corporate skilling programmes directly with interested women. Lastly, a public-private partnership is required to create a robust home care ecosystem that will allow more women to take up employment.

Our initial achievements fuel my optimism. At FICCI, we have started over 100 concrete initiatives with over 500 industry CEOs and 30-plus ministries working in concert. In the process, we realized that both the government and industry are keen and determined to work together to achieve goals. Industry is keen to play its role, but may require some enablers.

That said, the path to Viksit Bharat demands sustained momentum and unwavering commitment. As one of India top business chambers, FICCI stands ready to catalyse this transformation, bridging the government visions with industry action.

Foundations laid for the four transformations will accelerate Indias journey towards developed-nation status. Industrys collective determination and proven ability to execute projects makes me confident that we will achieve and exceed our ambitious goals. Let us seize this moment and opportunity to reshape Indias destiny.

The author is president, FICCI and group chief executive officer as well as managing director, Mahindra Group
After 12 years, the Congress party has finally recognised Balasaheb Thackeray's legacy, according to Milind Deora, a leader of the Shiv Sena led by Shinde.In addition, Deora is the party's nominee for the November 20 elections in Maharashtra's Worli assembly constituency.

Deora said in a post on X that he had suggested to the UPA government in 2012 that a day of national mourning is observed in honour of Balasaheb but that his proposal had been "blocked by certain elements" within the alliance.

Also Read | Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Will banks remain open or closed on voting

On the anniversary of the senior leader's passing on Sunday, Deora also posted a remembrance photo of Balasaheb Thackeray.

"I welcome Congress finally acknowledging Balasaheb Thackeray's legacy after 12 years. In 2012, as a Union Minister from Mumbai, I proposed that the UPA declare a day of national mourning for Balasaheb. While then PM Dr Manmohan Singh seemed supportive, the idea was blocked by certain elements within the alliance," Deora said.

Also Read | Govinda cuts short campaign trail as he fell sick, month after bullet injury

Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), came under heavy fire from Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday, who accused him of depending on the Congress vote bank for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.

"The Congress's vote bank belongs to Uddhav Thackeray. Congress was solely responsible for the small increase in the Lok Sabha elections. Speaking on India Today TV, the Chief Minister declared, "We have the support of the Shiv Sena's base voters."

Maharashtra Election Date 2024 Voting for all 288 seats of the Maharashtra legislative assembly will be held in a single phase on November 20. As many as 4,140 candidates are in the fray for these seats. The state has about 9.63 crore eligible voters, including 4.97 crore male voters and 4.66 crore female voters. Votes will be counted on November 23.

In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena secured 56, and Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP won 122 seats, Shiv Sena 63, and Congress 42.
A messy fight over who should be President-elect Donald Trumps Treasury secretary has played out privately at Mar-a-Lago in recent days. It all spilled into public view on Saturday.

Two of Trumps most powerful allies, Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., used social media to signal their support for billionaire businessman Howard Lutnick to lead Treasury, as Trump continues to deliberate on the crucial post.

Musks support for Lutnick even went as far as to discredit another finalist for the job, investor Scott Bessent, whom Trump has expressed great admiration for and who is considered a top contender. Late Friday, it appeared Lutnick had begun to fall out of the running for the job, people familiar with the matter said, prompting Musk and Kennedy to make their cases in public on Saturday.

The last-minute burst of public support for Lutnick, the chief executive of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, puts pressure on Trump to choose him amid a fierce public and private lobbying campaign over the job that has pitted Lutnick against Bessent. Musk and Kennedy collectively have nearly 210 million followers on the social-media platform X.

Musk, who has been advising Trump on personnel, wrote on X, his social-media platform, that Lutnick would enact change."

Musk wrote: Would be interesting to hear more people weigh in on this for @realDonaldTrump to consider feedback. My view fwiw is that Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change. Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we need change one way or another."

Asked for comment, Trump transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, President-elect Trump is making decisions on who will serve in his second Administration. Those decisions will continue to be announced by him when they are made."

A spokeswoman for Bessent didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Musk didnt return emails seeking comment.

Since winning the election, Trump has announced more than two dozen members of his incoming administration. On Saturday, he said he would tap Liberty Energy Chief Executive Chris Wright to lead the Energy Department.

The fight over Treasury secretary has become a proxy battle over the direction of Trumps second term, with Bessent emerging as the clear favorite among some who prefer a more steady approach and Lutnick winning the backing of many of Trumps more die-hard supporters.

Trumps next Treasury secretary could be one of the most consequential members of his cabinet. The Treasury chief would play a central role in crafting the 2025 tax overhaul legislation. This person would also likely be a key interlocutor with foreign leaders when it comes to trade negotiations. Musk has emerged as one of Trumps top advisers on foreign and domestic policy, particularly on the federal budget, and Musks relationship with this Treasury pick could go a long way toward determining how successful a budget overhaul might be.

The push by Musk on social media coincides with a behind-the-scenes effort by the Tesla CEO and his allies to see Lutnick become Treasury secretary. In private meetings, Musk has been weighing in to Trump on who should serve in the role, according to people familiar with the matter.

Musk, some of the people explained, has argued to Trump that if Lutnick were to become Treasury secretary he would be someone who can work better with financial institutions, including the big banks on Wall Street. Earlier this week, Lutnick caught wind from Trumps allies that he might not end up becoming Treasury secretary and turned to Musk to help him try to get the job, these people said. Lutnick didnt ask Musk to publicly endorse him, another person said.

Musks public support for Lutnick comes after Bessents supporters reached out to the SpaceX CEO for an endorsement of their preferred candidate for Treasury secretary, one of the people familiar with the matter said.

Musk has been in close proximity to Lutnick ever since Election Day. The two have been photographed together in meetings with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

Lutnicks having allies close to Trump and on the ground at his private club gives him a potential advantage over Bessent when it comes to the larger campaign for Treasury secretary. But Bessent, the founder of the investment firm Key Square Capital Management, has also spent time at Mar-a-Lago and met with the president.

Kennedy, who Trump tapped this week to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, wrote on X on Saturday afternoon that Bitcoin will have no stronger advocate" than Lutnick.

Bitcoin advocates have complained about the Biden administrations attempts to rein in and regulate the cryptocurrency market. After initially dismissing Bitcoin, Trump during the campaign embraced it and said he would do more to promote it. The price of Bitcoin has hit new highs since Trumps election.

Under Lutnicks leadership, Cantor Fitzgerald has embraced cryptocurrency, which many large companies avoid, endearing him to the crypto industry and its allies. Cantor Fitzgerald manages most of the stablecoin Tethers reserve assets, including more than $80 billion of Treasurys. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that the federal government is investigating Tether for possible violations of sanctions and anti-money-laundering rules.

Lutnicks alliance with Musk has led to an endorsement of another technology executive and Trump ally: Palmer Luckey, the founder of defense technology company Anduril Industries. Luckey on X pointed to Bessents past work with an investment fund founded by George Soros and alleged the longtime investor isnt a fan of Trumps policies. Bessent was the chief investment officer at Soros Fund Management from 2011 to 2015.

Alignment with the agenda America voted for is of utmost importance this time around," Luckey said. Bessent worked for Soros for a decade and doesnt even agree with Trumps policy proposals."

For his part, Trump lavished praise on Bessent during the presidential campaign, saying he was one of the most brilliant men on Wall Street" and that he was respected by everybody."

Bessent and his allies have launched a lobbying campaign of their own. Bessent has won the endorsement of some of Trumps economic advisers, including former National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow, who the president-elect briefly considered for top economic position in his second term.

Kyle Bass, an investor and longtime critic of Chinas leadership, told the Journal in a text message that he thinks Lutnick is going to try to take too much attention away from Trumps accomplishments as president if hes selected as Treasury secretary.

Bessent is the clear choice for Treasury secretary. Lutnick should have a great and important position but the producer shouldnt be the star of the movie," Bass said.

Fellow investor James Fishback told the Journal in a statement that he too believes it should be Bessent, not Lutnick, as Treasury secretary. Scott Bessent would be an outstanding choice to help drive prosperity for American businesses and workers," he said.

Bessent has defended Trumps agenda on television and in recent op-eds. After some of his critics argued to Trumps advisers that Bessent hadnt sufficiently signaled support for the president-elects pledge to impose a series of stiff tariffs, the longtime investor wrote an op-ed for Fox News praising them.

For months, economic commentators parroted the Harris campaigns misleading talking point that tariffs are a sales tax," Bessent wrote this week, pushing back on concerns that tariffs will raise prices for consumers. Like much of economists conventional wisdom, this view is fundamentally incorrect."

All of the jockeying has at times annoyed Trump and his senior aides, according to people familiar with the matter, prompting some close to him to wonder whether the president-elect will choose a different candidate altogether. Among those Trumps advisers have discussed for the job: Apollo Global Management Chief Executive Marc Rowan.

Write to Brian Schwartz at brian.schwartz@wsj.com and Andrew Restuccia at andrew.restuccia@wsj.com
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that the Maharashtra election is an election of ideologies and an election between 1-2 billionaires and the poor.

Rahul Gandhi said that the Maharashtra election is an election of ideologies and an election between 1-2 billionaires and the poor. The billionaires want the land of Mumbai to go into their hands. The estimate is that 1 lakh crores will be given to 1 billionaire, he added.

Congress leader further noted, Our thinking is that Maharashtra, the farmers of Maharashtra, the poor, the unemployed, the youth need help...We will deposit 3000 in every woman's bank account for free, there will be bus travel for women and farmers, loans up to 3 lakh will be waived, 7,000 per quintal for soybean...We are getting the caste census done in Telangana, Karnataka, andwe will get it done in Maharashtra.

Moreover, he promised to remove the 50 per cent cap on reservations and conduct a caste-based survey in the country. Caste census is the biggest issue before us and we will get it done; it is our central pillar, Gandhi said at a press conference in Mumbai.

The Congress leader said that 7 lakh crore projects including Foxconn and Airbus were shifted to Gujarat from Maharashtra. This led to youth in Maharashtra losing out on jobs, he added. The Maha Vikas Aghadi government will protect the interests of the people of Maharashtra, he said. The entire political machinery was twisted to help one person in Dharavi redevelopment scheme in Mumbai, Gandhi said.

Mocking PM Modis slogan 'Ek hai toh safe hai', Gandhi brought a safe to the press conference and pulled out a poster of Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani, and said, They are safe till they are together.

The Maharashtra assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with votes for all 288 constituencies to be counted on November 23.
IN BARRACKS SQUARE in old Helsinki stands an unusual monument to a war. A towering sculpture of a soldiers winter snowsuit, its polished steel body is pierced with large round holes, as if still standing after a strafing by cannon fire. It is Finlands national memorial to the winter war of 1939-40. During that conflict, Finnish troops withstood a huge Soviet force for 105 days, inflicting heavy casualties on the invaders before succumbing to the Red Armys larger numbers. The Soviet Union imposed harsh terms, taking 10% of its neighbours territory. Peace proved fragile, and Finland was soon swept up into the second world war, fighting with Nazi Germany against the Soviet Red Army from 1941-44.

Unveiled in 2017, the memorials message is more timely than ever. The winter war has new resonance for Finns. Their country has known 80 years of peace. It boasts one of Europes most capable armies, backed by extensive military service for young men and large reserves. Yet even after ditching decades of neutrality to join NATO in April 2023, Finland remains haunted by Russia, its former imperial ruler and neighbour along a 1,340km shared border. When Russia attacked Ukraine it was as if Finlands wars were happening yesterday," says a member of Finlands tight-knit establishment. Indeed, this old hand worries about younger Finns being too bold" in denouncing Russia. Membership of the European Union and NATO is all very well. But Finland is a small country whose fate has often been decided by great powers, and Russia will always be there. We know that the big guys can always agree things above our head. We can always be alone."

This is a moment for all Europe to ponder that memorial in a Helsinki square. For that battered, but still-recognisable uniformhollow and headless, with the sky visible through its many holespresents an important question. What can a country afford to lose, and what must it preserve, and still be true to itself?

When the cold war divided Europe, Finland made many sacrifices to survive as an independent nation. To preserve its capitalist system and parliamentary democracy, it became a neutral buffer state between the West and the Soviet Union. Until 1956 the Soviet navy was allowed to lease a base on the Finnish coast, within artillery range of Helsinki. KGB officers meddled shamelessly in Finlands politics and society (though some Finnish officials and military officers quietly sent intelligence to the West, too). Bound by treaty to take Soviet security interests into account, the countrys compromised form of sovereignty was dubbed Finlandisation" by critics. Finnish defenders of close relations with the USSR described their mission as co-operating without losing ones soul".

Today, Finlandisation is back, this time as a model for Ukraines post-war relations with Russia. On a doomed peace mission to Moscow, days before Russias invasion in 2022, Frances President Emmanuel Macron called Finlandisation one of the options on the table" for Ukraine. Mr Macron might not use the term now, for his line on Russian aggression has hardened greatly since then. But if the war ends soon, as Americas president-elect Donald Trump insists it must, leaders in Kyiv can expect pressure from many quarters to make painful compromises. A loss of some territory will surely be one price of peace. Then will come a hard question: how to secure Ukraines sovereignty in the future. Some Western governments may put their faith in deterrence of Russia, encouraging Ukraine to build a strong army and economy and to align its political system with European values. Other world leaders may push Ukraine to appease its neighbour by declaring itself neutral and accepting a place in Russias sphere of influence.

In Helsinki, foreign-policy thinkers have strong views on those seemingly opposite approaches to security, because cold-war Finland tried both at the same time. Finland maintained armed forces strong enough to make Soviet leaders recoil from the potential costs of trying to occupy the country formally. At the same time, it bought peace with many compromises, some of which look distinctly shabby in hindsight. In Helsinki today, the term Finlandisation is taken as a slur.

Realism but not fatalism

Circumstances imposed foreign-policy realism on Finland. The countrys survival could not be taken for granted in the late 1940s. It focused on preserving the essential elements of its sovereignty, without provoking the superpower next door. But this was realism with a purpose, rather than defeatism. Finland turned its agrarian economy into an industrial powerhouse and worked hard to expand its trade with Nordic neighbours and the wider world. The country signed a free-trade pact with Europe in the 1970s, despite growling opposition from Moscow. The post-war history of Finland saw a step-by-step inching of our way towards the West", says Hiski Haukkala, a former chief of staff to Finlands president and incoming director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. If a Ukraine peace is predicated on allowing Russia to dictate the terms, that would not be the Finnish lesson," he adds. That would be capitulation."

A plaque next to the winter-war memorial offers a strikingly geopolitical take on those long-ago horrors. It blames the conflict on Hitler and Stalins secret agreement in 1939 to push Finland into the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union". The loss of over 25,000 Finnish lives is presented as an investment in a better tomorrow: a sacrifice to preserve Finlands independence, freedom and potential to develop into the Nordic welfare state that it is known as today". Finland did not choose its geography. Buteven in its darkest hourit fought to choose its own fate. Literal Finlandisation would be a terrible model for Ukraine, turning it into a Russian satellite. But Finlands sense of itself as a nation, and its will to survive, is an example worth studying.

 2024, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
American tech giant Googles native AI model, Gemini, will reportedly not be integrated with iPhones for at least another year, according to recent developments. While Apple had initially hinted at a broader collaboration with multiple AI platforms, the tech giant appears to be prioritising its partnership with OpenAIs ChatGPT for now.

In a report from Bloombergs Mark Gurman, Apple Intelligence  the companys AI suite  is not likely to integrate ChatGPT when it rolls out globally in December. Notably, Gurman speculates that Apples delay in incorporating Gemini into its AI ecosystem could be intentional, allowing OpenAI an exclusive operational window.

According to the media reports, this development follows earlier announcements at Apples Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024, where Craig Federighi, Apples Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, teased the possibility of Apple Intelligence integrating with other AI models, including Gemini. However, according to Gurmans latest insights, Geminis integration with iOS is not expected until 2025.

The December update, iOS 18.2, is all geared up to bring Apple Intelligence to all compatible iPhones. However, its initial release will reportedly exclude Europe and China. Expansion into European Union countries is reportedly slated for April 2025, while a Chinese release is expected to coincide with iOS 19 in October 2025.

As per the report from Gurman, there are also unanswered questions about whether the California based Apples exclusive focus on ChatGPT stems from contractual obligations with OpenAI or a strategic decision, as Apple is not paying OpenAI for the integration.
Apple is working on releasing the AirTag 2 around the middle of next year, according to a report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. While the AirTag 2 is expected to retain much of its predecessor's design, it could feature three noteworthy improvements.

The first AirTag, launched in early 2021 with the codename B389, was met with considerable success. Although there were earlier rumours suggesting that a new AirTag model could arrive this year, Gurman, who has a strong track record of reporting Apple-related news, states that the AirTag 2 (model number B589) has progressed through manufacturing tests and Apple is now reportedly ready to bring it to market next year.

AirTag 2 to come with 3 key improvements: Apple is said to be improving the range of the AirTag 2, upgrading the wireless chip onboard, and making privacy-related improvements. The Cupertino-based tech giant is also reportedly considering removing the speaker from the AirTag to reduce instances of the device being used for stalking.

Gurman also states that Apple is planning to launch a smart home command center similar to the Google Nest Hub and Amazon Echo Hub, which could be released alongside the AirTag 2 next year. Meanwhile, earlier rumors have confirmed Apple's plans to launch the iPhone SE 4, new iPad variants, and updated Mac models next year.

As Apple gears up for these hardware launches, it is also enhancing the Find My functionality in iPhones. Just last week, Apple released a new Find My feature with iOS 18.2 developer beta 2, allowing users to share the location of their lost itemseven with people outside Apple's ecosystem. This means if you lose an item with an AirTag attached, its now easier to track it by sharing a link with authorities and friends, without worrying about the operating system their phone uses.
Bluesky the social media rival to Elon Musk's X and Meta's Threads is finally having its moment with millions of users in bound to the platform while its biggest rival witnesses the record number of deactivations. The platform has provided an avenue to users who have been disenchanted with various changes brought in Elon Musk to X and his crystal clear political leaning towards Donald Trump.

What is Bluesky? While Bluesky is perhaps the biggest competitor to X today, that wasn't always the case. In fact, Bluesky started as a project under Jack Dorsey's Twitter with the motive of creating a decentralized social network. Later on, it transitionted to an independent entity in 2021 with Jay Graber serving as its CEO.

However, with Elon Musk acquiring Twitter in 2022, the company cut all ties with Bluesky. The platform later revealed having received $23 million of funding in two rounds. Jack Dorsey also distanced himself away from the company, stating that he was making some of the mistakes with Bluesky when he was at Twitter.

Initially, Bluesky started as an invite-only platform but opened up to all users in February this year. Since then, while the platform has continued to be in limelight, it never looked threatening to either X or Threads.

The week-long ban on X in Brazil in August provided Bluesky the perfect opportunity to stand as its rival. The platform gained 2.6 million users when X remained inaccessible in Latin America's largest country. The platform gained 500,000 users on another day in October when Elon Musk rolled out a change for X that would allow blocked users to see public posts of the user they have blocked by.

However, the ultimate lime light moment for Bluesky as its biggest rival X saw a massive exodus of users after Donald Trump's victory in US elections. According to Similarweb data, X had record 42.3 million users visiting it on US Election Day followed by a record number of deactivations. Around 1.8 million users left the owned platform between November 5 and November 12.

This proved to be the ultimate test for Bluesky that saw its all time users more than double from around 9 million in early Septmeber to over 19 million as of writing this article.

Is Bluesky ahead of Threads as main Twitter/X rival? Bluesky received more web visits than Threads immediately after the US elections. It also quickly became the top free app on iOS, leaving behind Threads, ChatGPT, TikTok and the rest.

However, Threads continues to lead in terms of app usage after the elections. Moreover, Instagram head Adam Mosseri recently confirmed that Threads had gained over 15 million users in the first half of 2024, almost the lifetime userbase of Bluesky.
Apache Pizza Longford is celebrating its first anniversary this week, marking a successful year of serving the community with great customer service, and, of course, delicious pizzas!

Talwinder Singh, franchisee of Apache Pizza Longford, said, "Weve had an amazing year here in Longford, and we want to thank everyone who has supported us along the way,"

"Its been a pleasure serving the local community, and were excited to celebrate with some great offers for our customers," he added.

Due to this amazing achievement, from this Monday, November 18 until Sunday, November 24, customers of Apache can enjoy fantastic deals including, Any Large Pizza for only 7.99 and, Any Large Kebab for only 4.99.

Please note, these deals are collection only.

The store, which was the 200th of the chain to open in Ireland, is located behind Dealz, at Unit 1, Weavers Hall, Market Square, Townparks, Longford, N39 AF80.

The celebrations aren't done here! Visit the Apache Pizza Longford Facebook page every day this week for a chance to win the competition, which will see 7 winners over the next 7 days.

Apache Pizza is owned by Food Delivery Brands, the largest and most geographically diversified pizza delivery master franchise in the world by store numbers, and by OKR Group, Irelands leading QSR franchise operator.

Join Apache Pizza Longford this week to celebrate, enjoy some great pizza, and take advantage of the special anniversary deals!

*Sponsored Content
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: November 18 2024

Long Island contractor donates 120 turkeys and fixings as part of annual donation to Bellport-based mobile food pantry.

In the spirit of giving this Thanksgiving season, King Quality Roofing and Siding is once again partnering with Lighthouse Mission to support Long Island families in need. This year, King Quality is donating 120 turkeys and fixings, which will be distributed to local families on Monday, November 25 at 12:30 p.m. at 565 Portion Road in Lake Ronkonkoma. In addition to the donation, 20 King Quality employees will volunteer to hand out the holiday meals.

For the past ten years, King Quality has donated Thanksgiving meals to the Bellport-based mobile food pantry. This annual initiative is part of King Quality Cares, the contractor's philanthropic arm dedicated to supporting charities and community organizations in Long Island. Lighthouse Mission, which has served Long Island families since 1992, is the areas largest mobile food pantry, providing "Hope Beyond the Food" to those facing hardship across nine Suffolk County locations.

Everyone at King Quality looks forward to our annual tradition of handing out meals and helping to make Thanksgiving a little brighter for Long Island families, said CEO Jeff Brett. Were honored to team up with Lighthouse Mission and support their meaningful work of not just providing food but also bringing hope to neighbors who need it most.

To date, Lighthouse Mission has distributed more than 4,000 Thanksgiving meals and turkeys to local families, but the need continues to grow as more Long Islanders experience food insecurity.

"Were so thankful for King Qualitys annual commitment to provide meals and hope to neighbors in need this Thanksgiving, said Pastor Jim Ryan of Lighthouse Mission. This year, were seeing a surge in food demand across Long Island and encourage others to consider donating food or funds to help struggling families this holiday season and beyond."

Those interested in supporting Lighthouse Mission can visit LighthouseGive.com to make a donation.

About King Quality Roofing and Siding, Inc.

King Quality assembles the most reputable, dependable, quality-driven, and award-winning team of roofing, siding, and window contractors in Long Island and Westchester. The company provides its customers with a one-of-a-kind home, an experience and result fit for a king or queen, and peace of mind for a lifetime. King Quality Cares mission is to build awareness of charities and community organizations across Long Island and the important work that they do through strategic and targeted pro bono marketing support. For more information, visit https://www.kingquality.com.
Goodman: Kek's Wrath, 78"x67"x3", Oil on Wood, 2023-4 Download Image: Web

Carrying the Lycoming College Art Gallery through the holidays will be the Colleges 2024-25 Art Faculty Show, opening on Friday Dec. 6 with a gallery talk at 5:30 p.m. The show is free and open to the public and will run through Feb. 7. The annual show will feature the works of the following faculty artists:

Seth Goodman

Seth Goodman, associate professor of art at Lycoming College, will show paintings that connect to the social and political dysfunction of our times. Goodman explores celebrity and class worship, the culture wars, and the politics of disinformation. His paintings poetically unearth truths that hide just beyond the folly and the fiction of the topical movements of the day.

Goodman teaches painting, drawing, 2-D design, digital art, and graphic design. He exhibits his paintings, drawings and mixed-media work internationally. His recent solo exhibition this summer at 105 Henry Street in New York City showcased a number of his recent major works.

Andrea M. McDonough

Andrea M. McDonough, Ed.D., is a secondary art educator and K-12 art curriculum coordinator for the Williamsport Area School District. She supports the art and education departments at Lycoming College and leads graduate students at The Art of Education University. McDonough is a successful grant writer with a passion for public art and the promotion of social and emotional learning through mindfulness and creativity. She holds a Pennsylvania K-12 Art Education Certificate and a Pennsylvania PK-12 Supervisory Certificate in Curriculum and Instruction.

McDonoughs current work is a continued exploration of art as mediation. Each piece or series of works embraces intuitive creation and experimentation with varied media. This process-based approach yields unexpected results and nurtures the habit of mindful art-making.

Manuel Moreno-Lee

My work focuses on narrative-driven stories and themes of culture, nature, technology, and human identity using a wide range of mediums. While I prefer working on traditional techniques to create my films, the exploration of new technologies is essential in the development and creative process.

Manuel Moreno-Lee, assistant professor of digital art, earned his B.F.A. from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, and his M.F.A. from Rochester Institute of Technology in Film and Animation. Moreno-Lee is a 3D generalist and artist whose work has been screened at festivals globally, winning several awards. As a freelance animator, he has worked in Boston, San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Rochester, N.Y. He works in a wide range of mediums to create narrative-driven work in both 2D and 3D.

Andreas Rentsch

For the past 12 years, Ive been photographing extensively at Caumsett State Park on Long Island. My first project there was The Wanderer movie, composed of 2,800 still images. The work is both an homage to early German Expressionist cinematography and a remembrance of a kindred spirit that went through life endlessly searching.

In 2020, I collaborated with concert pianist Andreas Klein, projecting 80 photographs from my Wanderer series - many created specifically for that performance - while he played Sergei Prokofiev's Sonata No. 7.

This October, I was awarded an artist residency at Caumsett State Park, where I revisited The Wanderer figure, this time using a process entirely new to me: lumen printing. This method involves placing objects on traditional photo paper and exposing it to sunlight for 1 to 3 hours. Lumen printing is challenging to control; it feels like alchemy, and thats what fascinates me.

Andreas Rentsch teaches photography at Lycoming College. Having grown up on a prison compound where his father was the warden, Andreas work is an ongoing exploration of the connection of fate, geography and politics in the direction of justice.

His work is in many museum collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts, in Houston, Texas, the Musee de la Photographie, in Charleroi, Belgium, Musee de lElysee, in Lausanne, Switzerland and the Museum at Checkpoint Charlie, in Berlin, Germany. His exhibits have spanned the globe. He is a recipient of two New York Foundation for the Arts fellowships and two grants from the Polaroid Corporation. He earned the 2012 Goldberger Award from Stony Brook University.

The prestigious photography magazine, Aperture, published one of his portfolios. Other pieces have been published in numerous books and magazines including The Polaroid Project, book published as part of four museum exhibitions (2017), Better Photography, 13 Iconic Photographers on the Self Portrait, Mumbai, India (2016) and other journals. In 2014, he was featured on Push/Pause FIOS Cable TV, In the Art Studio with Andreas Rentsch, and in art reviews by the New York Times, USA Today and other prominent media outlets around the world.

Howard Tran

Howard Tran, the Logan A. Richmond Endowed Professor, teaches sculpture, drawing, figure modeling and ceramics at Lycoming College. He received his M.F.A. in sculpture from Boston University. Tran exhibits his sculpture, painting, and mixed media work nationally.

Art at Lycoming College

The Lycoming College Art Gallery, located in downtown Williamsport at 25 W. Fourth St., contributes to the citys arts culture and allows the College to become more involved with the surrounding community. Lycoming Art students have the opportunity to interact with visiting artists and learn first-hand the inner workings of an art gallery. The gallery is open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 4-8 p.m. For more information, please visit the gallery online at: https://www.lycoming.edu/art/gallery/22-23.aspx.
Global holiday home rental company Airbnb has urged Barcelona's mayor to rethink a widening crackdown on short-term rentals, arguing that it only benefits the hotel sector while failing to address overtourism and a housing crisis.

"The only winner from Barcelona's war on short-term rentals is the hotel industry," Airbnb's head of Policy for Spain and Portugal, Sara Rodriguez, wrote in a letter to Mayor Jaume Collboni sent over the weekend and seen by Reuters.

Barcelona city hall did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In June, Collboni announced a plan to shut all short-term rentals by 2028 to contain soaring rents for residents. The measure is being challenged in courts.

Airbnb argued in its letter that none of Barcelona's earlier measures that had imposed strict limits on new tourist accommodation licences in the city centre since 2014 proved to be effective.

"A decade later, official data shows that while short-term rentals numbers have fallen, challenges related to housing and over-tourism are worse than ever," it said.

It cited official data showing long-term rents have soared more than 70% and the average price of a hotel room has increased by more than 60%, even as the number of short-term rental homes halved to 8,842 last year from 2020 levels.

Meanwhile, it argued, Spain has built fewer houses in the past decade than at any time since 1970 despite a sharp increase in demand, also pointing to official data showing that vacant homes outnumbered short-term rentals eight to one in Barcelona.

"Policies that address this issue (vacant homes) are more likely to boost affordable housing supply than clamping down on Airbnb," the company said, adding that it had removed over 7,000 listings from its platform since 2018 in Barcelona.

While Collboni has said he will keep a ban on building new hotels in the city centre, he wants new hotel capacity elsewhere in Barcelona.

Spain's travel industry association Exceltur, which groups major hotel chains, travel agents, tour operators and airlines, has lobbied for strong regulation on short-term rental platforms since 2022, describing the boom of holiday homes as "out of control" in Spanish cities.

A number of other cities such as Madrid and Malaga have also applied restrictions this year.
President Joe Biden and the first family will be on Nantucket again this year for their Thanksgiving vacation, continuing a tradition dating back to the mid-1970s.

The Secret Service put in its order for 200-plus turkey dinners with Faregrounds Restaurant owners Bill and Kim Puder this week.

Its an honor, and were privileged to do it. Weve enjoyed serving him and his family and his details all these years, Kim Puder said this week.

The Puders have been serving Biden and his family since long before he was president. The first time they cooked a Thanksgiving meal for him was when Biden was a senator from Delaware, 27 years ago.

Since Biden has been president, the first family has had its Thanksgiving meal prepared by a private chef, but the Puders have been feeding Secret Service agents in the presidents detail, cooking about 150 meals to go and about 60 or 70 that will be eaten by off-duty agents in the restaurant Thanksgiving Day.

Its been more work than just feeding the Biden family for the holiday  on top of the 200-plus meals the restaurant serves to the public on the holiday  but to the Puders it means just the same.

Theres a few more people that were feeding, Kim Puder said. But theyre very kind, and theyre very appreciative.

This years visit will be Bidens last as a sitting president as he concludes his four-year term. He has just a couple of months left in the Oval Office before president-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated in January.

The Puders dont think this will be the last time they see Biden, however.

Hell still be coming after this year. Hes still our customer. An average Joe, Bill Puder said.

Nantucket police Lt. Angus MacVicar said the White House has told him the president and his support staff are coming but he could not share when the Bidens are expected to arrive on-island. No changes are planned for this years visit, he said.

During his time as president and vice president under Barack Obama, Biden and his family have tended to arrive on the island the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and stay through the weekend.

Their requests from us are no different than last year, MacVicar said.

The first family, including the president and first lady, children Hunter and Ashley and grandson Beau, last year stayed at the waterfront Abrams Point compound of Carlyle Group co-founder and prominent Washington, D.C. philanthropist David Rubenstein, where they are again expected to stay during their visit.

The Bidens were seen downtown on multiple days during their visit last year, shopping, having lunch and taking in the festivities, including the Main Street tree-lighting.

In many ways, Bidens annual family visit to the island was the same as it has been since the beginning of his presidency.

But the backdrop of the Israeli-Hamas hostilities in the Middle East made the visit markedly different.

Security was noticeably tighter during the presidents downtown visits, with a greater distance maintained between the public and the first family than in past years. More Secret Service agents, several of them with high-powered weapons, were noticeably visible on Main Street.

A small group of pro-Palestinian protesters unfurled banners reading Free Palestine and End Apartheid at the Main Street tree-lighting, and a larger gathering formed at the Milestone Rotary before heading downtown. A handful of pro-Israel supporters also stood across the rotary, holding American and Israeli flags.

The president also appeared to take part in his own Cold Turkey Plunge last year. He was seen wrapped in a towel on the beach at Abrams Point in a photo posted on X by his granddaughter Naomi with the caption, Annual Biden fam polar bear plunge.

Biden took part in the Atheneums Cold Turkey Plunge fundraiser on several occasions before he became president, venturing into the water at Childrens Beach with hundreds of others on Thanksgiving morning.

Before boarding the plane to leave the island last year, the president and first lady spoke briefly with Bill and Kim Puder and their niece Sharon Leary, along with several state troopers.

MacVicar said he expects about the same level of disruption to normal island activities as years past.

The Inquirer and Mirror on Nantucket is a news partner of MassLive.com. To subscribe to The Inquirer and Mirror, click here.
Legendary Rock Band The Goo Goo Dolls announced their 2025 Summer Anthem tour, which will stop in Boston, MA, this summer.

The rock band will kick off the tour in Phoenix, Arizona on July 13, 2025, and will hit 39 cities across the United States, wrapping up in Missouri on September 12. Tickets will go on sale on Friday, November 22 but those who dont want to wait can shop for tickets online using reliable third-party ticket sellers like StubHub, VividSeats and SeatGeek.

*New customers who purchase tickets through VividSeats can get $20 off a $200+ ticket order by using the promo code MassLive20 at checkout.*

The tour marks the 30th anniversary of their beloved album A Boy Named Goo.

The tour will feature multiple hits from the Goo Goo Dolls decades-long career, including songs from the bands 2022 album Chaos in Bloom and their upcoming 15th studio album.

The Goo Goo Dolls consists of guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik and bassist/vocalist Robby Taka. The group originally formed as Sex Maggots in 1985 before adopting the name Goo Goo Dolls in 1998.

As of Monday, November 18, the cheapest tickets to the Boston, MA show at the LeaderBank Pavilion on July 29 are, $62 on StubHub, $83 on VividSeats and $87 on SeatGeek.

Below is a look at the full Summer Anthem 2025 tour with links to purchase tickets:
Attleboro police are asking for the publics help in finding a 33-year-old man who faces several criminal charges in connection with a shooting on Saturday.

The man, identified by police as Jacob Lacourse, is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who sees Lacourse should not approach him, police said.

Police say he has connections to addresses in Attleboro and Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

On Saturday at around 2:30 p.m., Attleboro police went to an area of Oakland Avenue for a report of a shooting. A 58-year-old was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Anyone who encounters Lacourse should call 911, police said. Anyone with information about his whereabouts should call Attleboro police at 508-222-1212.
Authorities have identified a Boston woman who was found stabbed at Ramsay Park over the weekend, police said.

Celia Simmons, 65, died after police found her Saturday, Nov. 16 at 1917 Washington St. hurt with multiple stab wounds, authorities said. She was treated by first responders at the park before she was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 11:40 p.m.

Boston police officers are investigating this incident, police said. They encourage anyone with more information to contact them at 617-343-4470.

Community members wishing to assist in this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS or by texting the word TIP to CRIME (27463), the police said. The Boston Police Department will stringently guard and protect the identities of all those who wish to help this investigation in an anonymous manner.
An outbreak of E. coli linked to consuming bagged carrots has resulted in dozens of illnesses, hospitalizations and one death.

The Food and Drug Administration issued a recall on 15 brands of bagged carrots sold across 18 states and various markets  including Wegmans, Trader Joes and more after the outbreak.

So far, there has been one reported illness in Massachusetts.

The outbreak resulted in a total of one death, 15 hospitalizations and 39 infections, according to the FDA.

Select pages of whole and baby carrots were sold by Grimmway Farms under various brand names.

Baby organic carrots included in the recall have a range of best by dates ranging from Sept. 11, to Nov. 12, 2024.

Baby carrots included in the recall:

Brand Bag size Use by date 365 12oz, 1 lb, 2lb Sep. 11 - Nov.2, 2024 Bunny Luv 1 lb, 2lb, 3lb, 5lb Sep. 11 -Nov. 12, 2024 Cal-Organic 12oz, 1lb, 2lb, 2pk/2lbs Sept. 11 -Nov. 2, 2024 Compliments 1lb Sept. 14 - Oct. 24, 2024 Full Circle 1lb Sept. 14 - Nov. 2, 2024 Good & Gather 12oz, 1lb Sept. 14 - Nov. 2, 2024 GreenWise 1lb Sept. 11 - Oct. 26, 2024 Grimmway Farms 25lb bag Sept. 11 - Oct. 3, 2024 Marketside 12oz, 1lb, 2lb Sept. 11 - Nov. 2, 2024 Natures Promise 1lb Sept. 13 - Oct. 25, 2024 O-Organics 12 oz, 1lb, 2lb Sept. 11 - Nov. 2, 2024 Presidents Choice 1lb, 2lb Sept. 11 - Nov. 2, 2024 Raleys 1lb Sept. 14 - Oct. 23, 2024 Simple Truth 1lb, 2lb Sept. 14 - Nov. 2, 2024 Sprouts 1lb, 2lb Sept. 13 - Nov. 4, 2024 Trader Joes 1lb Sept. 13 - Nov. 4, 2024 Wegmans 12oz, 1lb, 2lb Sept. 14 - Nov. 2, 2024 Wholesome Pantry 1lb, 2lb Sep. 16 - Nov. 7, 2024

Whole carrots included in the recall were available for purchase in stores between Aug. 14, through Oct. 23, 2024. No best by dates are listed on the whole carrots bags.

Whole carrots included in the recall:

Brand Bag size 365 1lb, 2lb, 5lb Bunny Luv 1lb, 2lb, 5lb, 10ln, 25lb Cal-Organic 1lb, 2lb, 5lb, 6lb, 10lb, 25lb Compliments 2lb Full Circle 1lb, 2lb, 5lb Good & Gather 2lb GreenWise 1lb, 25lb Marketside 2lb Natures Promise 1lb, 5lb O-Organics 1lb, 2lb, 5lb, 10lb Presidents Choice 2lb Simple Truth 1lb, 2lb, 5lb Trader Joes 1lb Wegmans 1lb, 2lb, 5lb Wholesome Pantry 1lb, 2lb, 5lb

Though these products are likely no longer in stores for sale, the FDA said some consumers may still have them in their homes.

If so, consumers are advised not to eat any recalled carrots, check their refrigerators and freezers for recalled products and throw them away.

Consumers should also wash any items and surfaces that may have come in contact with the recalled products.

Most people infected by E. coli show symptoms three to four days after swallowing the bacteria and tend to recover without treatment after five to seven days.

E. coli breakout, recalled carrotsFDA, CDC

While the most common symptoms include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody) and vomiting, potential long-term problems can include kidney problems.

The FDA encourages people who may be infected to visit their doctor if they have diarrhea and a fever or 102 Fahrenheit or higher and signs of dehydration.
Editors note: This article was updated at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 18, 2024 to include more details.

A former Winthrop police lieutenant pleaded guilty Monday to numerous child abuse charges tied to the sexual exploitation of a child he knew.

James Feeley, 57, abused the child over about a year-and-a-half-long period when they were between 10 and 11 years old.

Feeley, who worked in the police department for about two decades, appeared in court Monday morning wearing a brown hoodie, his hands shackled together.

During the hearing, he told Judge James Budreau he was, pleading guilty for very vile acts I committed.

Prosecutor Benjamin Hui said Feeleys abuse of the child came to light on Christmas Eve 2023 when the then-11-year-old reported to a relative they were being abused.

After the abuse came to light, Feeley traveled to his parents gravesite in Winthrop that night armed with a handgun and indicated he was suicidal.

Feeleys brother called top Winthrop police officials to the graveyard, where he made what Hui described as numerous admissions. He was arrested on Dec. 26.

Feeley acknowledged in later interviews with investigators sexually assaulting the child on five or six occasions.

After Hui laid out the accusations against Feeley, a judge asked Feeley if the facts were correct.

Unfortunately, yes, he said, his voice steady.

Feeley was sentenced to four to six years in prison. He pleaded guilty to seven counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and a single charge of rape and abuse of a child. He will be required to register as a sex offender.

He was initially indicted on a charge of aggravated rape of a child, but as part of his plea agreement, the charge was reduced.

Feeley will also serve five years probation, with conditions that included seeking sexual offender treatment and having no contact with the victim.

After Budreau set Feeleys sentence, he told the former police lieutenant his guilty plea was a step toward healing for his family.

Theres a long journey ahead for you, Budreau said before Feeley was led out of the courtroom.

Asked in January about Feeleys employment status, Winthrop Police Chief Terence Delehanty said the department had severed our ties with the longtime officer.

The states police oversight board has also suspended Feeleys license to work in law enforcement pending the outcome of his court case.

Material from previous MassLive stories was used in this report.
SOUTHWICK  With the holiday season in full swing, the Our Community Food Pantry has been chosen by the Big Y in town to receive a portion of the sales of its reusable bags through the end of November.

We are very grateful to be chosen for this unique fundraiser, said the pantrys Director Sally Munson.
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As part of Energy Day at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan (COP29), The Rockefeller Foundation announced $US10.9 million to advance African-led clean energy solutions.

The philanthropic organization will invest $2.1 million to create the African Energy Futures Initiative; $3 million into the African School of Regulation; $400,000 to launch the inaugural Clean Cooking Delivery Unit in Kenya; $300,000 to help integrate off-grid solar into national electrification strategies in nearly two dozen countries; and $5 million to advance the Government of the Republic of Zambias effort to deploy over 1,000 mini grids in rural communities.

This announcement comes on the heels of The Rockefeller Foundation and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planets (GEAPP) initial $10 million commitment to providing technical assistance funding for new energy transition projects in 11 African countries and across the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), in support of Mission 300, a World Bank Group and African Development Bank (AfDB) led initiative.

 Africas leadership is paving the way for a sustainable energy future on the continent and around the world,  said William Asiko, Vice President and head of The Rockefeller Foundations Africa Regional Office.  From mini grids to clean cooking solutions, from policies to regulations, The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to partner with African leaders to scale innovations that can transform vulnerable peoples lives and livelihoods. 

The Rockefeller Foundation calculates that across 72 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America & the Caribbean, and the Middle East, there is an 8,700 terawatt-hour (TWh)  Green Power Gap,  which represents the renewable energy capacity that must be generated by 2050 for these countries to meet both global development and climate goals. And while an energy transition is already taking hold in many advanced and emerging markets, 42 of the 72 countries are in sub-Saharan Africa, which is home to approximately 600 million people living without electricity, while a significantly large population lack access to affordable and reliable energy.

African-Led Clean Energy Solutions:

Creating the African Climate Energy Futures Initiative (AEFI)  Supported by an initial $2.1 million grant from The Rockefeller Foundation, the African Climate Foundation (ACF) launched the AEFI, a new funding and technical assistance platform focused on African-led and African-designed energy transition solutions. AEFI aims to provide multi-year funding to centers of excellence for energy systems modeling and analysis in Africa. In consultation with leading energy modeling experts and African organizations and with additional funding support from Schmidt Sciences and The Rockefeller Foundation, the Energy for Growth Hub led the design of the initiative and secured initial resources for the AEFI. Initially incubated within the Cape Town, South Africa-based ACF, which is the first African-led re-granter working at the nexus of climate and development on the continent, AEFI is actively seeking additional funding partners to support its ambitious vision.

Saliem Fakir, Executive Director of the ACF, said:

 We are excited about the AEFI. We aim to build indigenous capacity in energy planning, modeling, and economic analysis across the continent. This aligns perfectly with the ACFs approach to climate development investment platforms, as we move towards practical implementation. Our focus is on using knowledge and expertise to drive real change. Our new motto, from policy to implementation, reflects our commitment to solution-orientated action. 

Supporting the African School of Regulation (ASR)  Building upon its initial $1 million to help the ASR officially launch during the 2023 Africa Climate Summit, The Rockefeller Foundation is providing an additional $3 million to enable ASR to become a hub of excellence for energy regulation and policy on the continent. With the objective of promoting sustainable, reliable, and affordable energy access across Africa, ASR is currently incubating in the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) headquartered in Accra, Ghana. In addition to The Rockefeller Foundation, ASR is backed by a range of technical and resource partners, including The Enel Foundation, EUI via the Florence School of Regulation (FSR), Energy Nexus Network (TENN), GEAPP, Pan African University Institute of Water and Energy Sciences (PAUWES), the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and the University of Cape Town (UCT) via the Power Futures Lab.

Dr. Frederick Nyang, Director of the ASR, said:

 We are delighted to secure support for the second phase of ASRs development, which will focus on establishing the ASR as a recognised centre of excellence for energy policy and regulation. We aim to deliver continent-wide reach for our activities, focused on research and training that enhance the regulatory environment, foster innovation, and support the transition to sustainable energy systems. 

Launching Clean Cooking Delivery Unit in Kenya  With nearly 2.3 billion globally lacking access to clean, modern, and affordable cooking solutions, the related environmental, health, social, and economic costs are vast, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where about 70% of households have no choice but to rely on polluting fuels such as charcoal and wood to cook their meals. The Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) designed the Delivery Units Network, a platform of Clean Cooking Delivery Units comprised of small, high-performing teams set up at the highest levels of government with the mandate to offer policy advisory and implementation advisory support across government. The Rockefeller Foundations $400,000 grant to CCA, via The UN Foundation, will help launch the inaugural Clean Cooking Delivery Unit in Kenya, that will serve as a model for scaling similar initiatives across the continent, including Nigeria, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone as initial focus countries.

Samiksha Nair, Chief Strategy Officer of CCA, said:

 The Delivery Units Network is an opportunity for CCA to support and amplify an African-led agenda on one of the continents most pressing climate, health, and energy challenges. We look forward to working with heads of state, ministers, climate envoys, and other leaders as they prioritize this issue, unlock financing at scale, and commit to delivering meaningful results at a national level. 

Integrating off-grid solar into national electrification strategies  Off-Grid solar is the least cost solution to reaching almost half of the global population that needs to be electrified by 2030, 85% of whom will reside in Africa, according to the 2024 Off-Grid Solar Market Trends Report, published by the World Banks ESMAP and GOGLA. With $300,000 in funding from The Rockefeller Foundation, GOGLA is working with African governments and national renewable energy associations in almost two dozen countries to integrate off-grid solar into national electrification strategies through targeted trainings, peer-to-peer learning sessions, and technical assistance. The two organizations are also collaborating to increase awareness and funding support for the off-grid solar sector. In addition, The Rockefeller Foundation was a sponsor of GOGLAs flagship Global Off-Grid Solar Forum & Expo in Nairobi that brought together over 1,600 delegates from across the sector to discuss key challenges and solutions most critical to advancing the industry.

Sarah Malm, Executive Director of GOGLA, said:

 Access to clean, low-cost renewable energy in Africa underpins economic development, creates jobs, builds climate resilience, powers digital connectivity, and supports food security. At GOGLA we work with The Rockefeller Foundation to advocate for the hardest to reach populations and build the political will and technical capacity of national governments to accelerate access to clean renewable energy. 

Supporting Zambias 1,000 Mini Grid Initiative  In support of the Government of the Republic of Zambias Presidential Initiative with the objective to deploy over 1,000 mini-grids across rural Zambia, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) have designed a two-phased approach to address the unique characteristics of the Zambian mini-grid market and rural electrification challenges in collaboration with The Rockefeller Foundation. With $5 million in funding from The Rockefeller Foundation, SEforALL, via the UN Office for Project Service (UNOPS), will support the disbursement of a financing incentive that will go to private sector developers on a performance-based contract to help prioritize productive uses and public institution energy demand, while providing critical technical assistance to the key government agencies administering the program. By helping to to address rural electrification challenges unique to Zambia, this collaboration aims to accelerate the governments efforts to electrify 1,000 rural communities with distributed renewable energy (DRE) technology, stimulating growth in crucial sectors and reaching one million people over the coming years.

Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and Co-Chair of UN-Energy, said:
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A senior county council engineer has said a long sought-after bypass for Ballinrobe may not be opened until 2033.

The slow progress on the bypass was greeted with dismay by local representatives at the monthly meeting of Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District, which heard that the town is in gridlock.

A bypass for the town was first formally proposed in 2008 but was later scrapped due to lack of funding. At the start of this year, an employee was appointed to Mayo County Council to work on the proposed bypass, which remains at the Phase 0 Scope & Pre-Appraisal stage.

A project/programme outline document has been submitted to TII for approval. Any progress on the project in 2025 would depend on the funding available to TII and the resources made available to Mayo County Councils National Roads Design Office.

Paul Hyland, Senior Engineer with the National Roads Design Office, said that, if approved, the Ballinrobe bypass could open between 2025 and 2033.

Local representatives have already approved a traffic management plan for Ballinrobe which saw traffic lights installed at the end of Glebe Street.

Cllr Damien Ryan, Cathaoirleach of Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District, described the traffic issue in the town as chronic and called on [Transport Infrastructure Ireland] TII to step up to the mark and approve the project.

The Fianna Fail councillor described recently installed traffic lights as a success but said their benefit would be outlived by 2025 or 2026 at the latest.

Weve gone as far as we can with traffic adjustments in the town. There is no town in Ireland thats as chronic with traffic as Ballinrobe, said Cllr Ryan.

Cllr Michael Burke echoed Cllr Ryans sentiments, warning that lives may be lost if emergency vehicles were stalled in traffic during an emergency.

Cllr Burke said the towns traffic problem was compounded by the amount of heavy goods vehicles using the town.

Independent general election candidate Cllr Patsy OBrien said that Ballinrobe was one of the worst towns in the country for traffic.

We note that Adare is getting its full attention [for a new bypass]...and of course, because the Ryder Cup is coming there they are going to have all guns blazing and its supposed to be all finished by 2027. Its a pity we hadnt the Ryder Cup in Ballinrobe and wed probably have it done as well, Cllr OBrien remarked.

Mr Hyland said that his office had prepared a report on the matter for TII but said that resources within the National Roads Design Office would be a bigger challenge

Im not necessarily pointing the blame on that for some of the projects that havent developed, but it is a realistic challenge to be able to progress it, he said.

Mr Hylands office is currently working on over 20 projects throughout Mayo. He said that TII funding was currently at maximum but said the amount of funding allocated to the Ballinrobe bypass was irrelevant at present. Mr Hyland was referring to the 25,000 currently allocated to the project.

There is no point in allocating our office 10 million for the Ballinrobe bypass, because until we get planning [permission], until we get consent for the planning and the CPO of the land, its irrelevant what money we have.
Exporting to China makes more money, says vendor at a market in Lima, amid growing agricultural trade

14:16, November 15, 2024 By Wang Cong, Tang Ya and Yun Tianhua ( Global Times

Percy Pena Angeles, a vendor at the Mercado Lobaton market in Lima, capital of Peru, talks with reporters on November 13, 2024. (Wang Cong/GT)

As China and Peru are set to deepen bilateral ties during upcoming high-level events, Peruvian officials and agricultural businesses are seeking to further expand agricultural cooperation with China, leveraging various joint efforts to boost trade.

Agriculture has become a highlight of booming economic and trade cooperation. In interviews with the Global Times on Wednesday (local time), agricultural businesses stressed the importance of the vast Chinese market for Peruvian exports and expressed optimism for greater opportunities.

At the Mercado Lobaton, one of the largest markets in the Peruvian capital of Lima where many locals come to buy their daily groceries, the potential for greater cooperation between China and Peru in agricultural trade was on vivid display, as numerous packages of fresh vegetables and fruits were neatly put in boxes, indicating Peru's status as a major agricultural producer.

On a bustling Wednesday morning, while vendors were busy selling products to local residents, some were also evidently paying close attention to consumers across the Pacific Ocean in the Chinese market, where demand for high-quality vegetables and fruits remains strong.

"This is for export to China," Percy Pena Angeles, a vendor at the market, told the Global Times in Spanish, while pointing to a bag of blueberries. He also showed chili peppers and garlic bulbs that are exported to China.

When asked whether selling agricultural products for local consumers at the market makes more money or exporting to China makes more, Angeles raised both of his hands in a gesture of counting money and said without any hesitation: "Export!"

Angeles' great interest in the Chinese market is shared by many Peruvian farmers, according to Joseph Cruz Soriano, a distinguished Peruvian Sinologist. "Many farmers in the country want to export to China," Soriano told the Global Times in an interview.

Despite the profitable export business, Angeles also raised an issue with Peru's agricultural exports to China at the moment. "Products need to be shipped to Panama before being exported to Chinese and European markets," he said.

However, that's about to change, with the Chancay Port set to start operations soon, Angeles said, adding that he expects greater China-Peru cooperation as direct cross-Pacific shipping operations between China and Peru will make it much easier to export to China.

Built and operated by Chinese companies, the Chancay Port is a new flagship project under the Belt and Road Initiative. The use of the port will cut the transportation time of goods exported from South America to the Asian market from 35 days to 25 days.

For Peruvian agricultural exporters, the operation of the Chancay Port means their products will arrive in China faster and at a lower cost, which will significantly boost the volume.

In an interview with El Comercio, a Peruvian newspaper, on Wednesday, Angel Manero, Peru's minister of Agrarian Development and Irrigation, said that the trend is that in 20 years, China will become Peru's main agro-export market.

The South American country's agricultural exports to China could increase by 20 percent over the following years through the Port of Chancay, Manero said, according to a translation of the Spanish-language report in El Comercio.

In addition to the operation of Chancay, another major step taken by the two countries could also offer a huge boost to Peru's exports to China. In June, the two countries announced the substantive completion of negotiations on upgrading their free trade agreement (FTA).

Thanks to the FTA, which took effect in 2010, Peru's trade with China, including agricultural exports, has surged. It has become the largest supplier of blueberries and avocados to China, with products such as quinoa, grapes, maca, and alpaca wool, among others, gaining popularity in the Chinese market.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
Xi eyes closer China-Brazil ties, calls for multi-polar world ahead of G20 summit

Xinhua) 22:06, November 18, 2024

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Upon arriving in Brazil for the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit and a state visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping said he looks forward to further enhancing China-Brazil relations and is ready to work with all parties for an equal and orderly multi-polar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

Xi made the remarks in a written statement on Sunday, voicing expectations to have an in-depth exchange of views with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on promoting synergy of the two countries' development strategies, as well as international and regional issues of common interest.

Looking ahead to the G20 Leaders' Summit, Xi expressed hope that the G20 would play a greater role as an important platform for international economic cooperation.

HISTORICAL JUNCTURE

As China and Brazil celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year, relations between the two countries stand at an important historical juncture of building on past achievements and forging ahead, Xi said in the written statement.

Over the past 50 years, China-Brazil relations have withstood the test of a changing international landscape and become increasingly mature and vibrant, Xi said in a signed article published in Brazilian media outlet Folha de S. Paulo on Sunday.

In recent years, China and Brazil have continued to deepen political mutual trust, yielded fruitful results in practical cooperation, achieved flourishing people-to-people and cultural cooperation, and showed new vitality of the times in the traditional friendship, Xi said.

The two countries have also jointly made the just voice of the Global South in the international arena and made important contributions to promoting world peace and development, Xi added.

The dynamic relationship between China and Brazil has not only boosted their respective development but also contributed significantly to world peace and stability, having become a model for major developing countries to develop win-win cooperation and pursue a shared future, Xi said.

In a world undergoing an accelerating transformation unseen in a century, Xi said the two countries should stay the course of friendly relations, foster new growth drivers for mutually beneficial cooperation, solidify the foundation of people-to-people friendship, strengthen solidarity, support each other and fulfill their responsibilities as major countries.

"We must work together with others in the Global South to resolutely safeguard the developing nations' common interests, address global challenges through cooperation, and promote a global governance system that is fairer and more equitable," he said.

Xi said he believes his visit will further strengthen the two countries' strategic mutual trust, deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields and usher in a new "golden 50 years" for China-Brazil relations.

GREATER ROLE

This year's G20 Leaders' Summit, scheduled for Nov. 18-19, marks the first gathering of its kind since the accession of the African Union as a full member, a historic milestone that strengthens the voice of the Global South.

Envisioning a greater role for G20, Xi said he is ready to work with all parties to discuss plans and seek development, jointly advocate an equal and orderly multi-polar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

Javier Miranda, former president of Uruguay's Broad Front party, expressed his hope that this summit will mark a significant step toward building a multi-polar world -- one that fosters dialogue.

In a world fraught with wars and conflicts, the commitment to dialogue stands as one goal of this G20 meeting, he told Xinhua.

After taking over the G20 presidency, Brazil has established the summit theme as "Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet." Key priorities outlined by the Brazilian government include combating hunger, poverty, and inequality, advancing sustainable development, and driving reforms in global governance.

To build a just world, the G20 has to honor the principles of mutual respect, equal-footed cooperation and mutual benefit, and support Global South countries in achieving greater development, Xi said in the signed article.

"Development must be placed at the center of G20 cooperation," said the Chinese president, noting it is important to press ahead with the reform of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization and to increase the representation and voice of the Global South.

To build a sustainable planet, the G20 has to promote sustainable production and lifestyle as a way to achieve harmony between humanity and nature, Xi said.

Xi also pledged China's active support for the initiative of a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty proposed by Brazilian President Lula.

"As we gather at the G20 to address critical global issues such as governance, hunger, sustainability, and the environment, we recognize the crucial role of our partnership with China," said Rodrigo Castro, deputy secretary for Major Events and Promotion Actions of the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro.

Many of the solutions to address challenges faced by developing nations stem from ideas and practices already implemented in China, Castro said. "For us Brazilians who are hosting the G20 ... we are very proud to welcome the president and the entire Chinese delegation."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
by Tanya Gazdik , November 17, 2024

General Motors laid off roughly 1,000 people globally on Friday via an early morning email as part of a reorganizing effort.

The affected employees will receive a payment equal to their wages and benefits through Jan. 14, 2025, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed with the state, according to The Detroit News. In total, 507 employees working at the Global Technical Center or assigned to work there were let go, according to the notice. The cuts included 34 employees working in aftersales engineering, 40 working in engineering operations, 26 in manufacturing engineering and 24 in sales operations.

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These layoffs follow an August layoff affecting more than 1,000 salaried employees working in its software and services organization.

The workers, mostly white collar, were notified about the decisions early Friday, according to The Associated Press. GM has about 150,000 employees worldwide, with the largest group at its technical center in the Detroit suburb of Warren, Michigan. The company had 76,000 white-collar workers worldwide at the end of last year.

The company confirmed the layoffs but gave few details.

A statement said the company needs to optimize for speed and excellence. This includes operating with efficiency, ensuring we have the right team structure and focusing on our top priorities.

Some of those laid off had decades of service to the automaker, yet received the news of their dismissal in a generic-sounding 5 a.m. email.

One employee, who worked multiple decades at GM, told the Detroit Free Press on Friday he received an email in the early morning hours that started with, We are facing the difficult decision to say goodbye to some of our colleagues, according to the newspaper. "It referenced simplifying the business, but did not offer him a reason for his specific termination or details about severance pay. He asked to not be named due to the sensitivity of the situation and not yet getting a severance package, but he said he had years of top-rated performance reviews so he'd be shocked to learn if he was let go due to his performance.

A majority of those affected were in suburban Detroit at the automakers global technical center in Warren. A small number of hourly workers were also laid off.

Some were due to poor performance, while others were part of a review to reorganize priorities by the automaker, according to the person, who agreed to speak about the decision on the condition of anonymity, according to NBC News.

The United Auto Workers union expressed dismay over the layoffs.

"GM is trying to cut around 50 UAW jobs when they're making record profits, Mike Booth, who is the UAW vice president, told the Detroit Free Press. We will fight for our laid off members with the full force of our contract.
by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, November 17, 2024

Publicis Groupes Leo Burnett is shutting down its Detroit office (located in nearby Troy, MI) at the end the year.

The action affects 79 employees and follows the agencys loss of a significant portion of its General Motors business earlier this year.

advertisement advertisement As required by Michigan law, the agency notified the state of its intention to close the office and layoff its employees in a letter dated November 1. The agency indicated in the letter that the closing will take place on or about Dec. 31.
by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, November 18, 2024

Ad Results Media has tapped media agency veteran Craig Stein to be its new senior vice president of media planning.

The agency is a specialist in audio and podcast media, working with brands like Molson Coors, BetterHelp, ZipRecruiter and Liquid Death.

advertisement advertisement Based in New York, Stein will work with audio creators and clients across audio strategy, media planning and buying, performance, and measurement.

Stein joins ARM with over two decades of experience at both independent agencies and global networks, working with brands like Google, Airbnb, American Express and Unilever.
by Teresa Buyikian , November 18, 2024

Guinness generally conjures images of the lush Emerald Isle, the beers Ireland home base in Dublin since 1759. But the launch of Guinness Fornio Stout honors the beers little-known African heritage, as well as bringing awareness to the Brewing for Impact effort.

The Guinness Fonio Stout, a collaboration with Brooklyn Brewery, is a limited-edition beer, described as a Guinness stout with a flavorful combination of roasted coffee, chocolate, and tropical fruit flavors, per the brand. The brew was a collaborative initiative inspired by Brooklyn Brewery Brewmaster Garrett Oliver's work with the ancient West African grain fonio.

Right now the limited edition stout, with an ABV of 6.2%, is only available in the greater New York area, northern New Jersey and select regional chains until the end of the year. The use of the African grain fonio isnt the beers only connection to Africa; as revealed in the promotional video for the campaign, seen here, the beer makers first location outside Ireland was a brewery in West Africa.

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The vibrant design on the Fornio Stout can was created by Haitian American artist Kervin Brisseaux, and celebrates Guinness's centuries-long history in Africa, blended with the cultural heartbeats of Brooklyn. Illustrations include a taxicab blended with subway cars and fonio grains.

"Fonio Stout is an example of the magic that comes from blending the right amount of heritage and innovation," said Joyce He, Guinness brand director, in the announcement. "Bringing our brewers together with Garrett Oliver and artist Kervin Brisseaux is a celebration that represents our commitment to pushing boundaries of creativity in brewing and cultivating social impact on a global level."

In addition to the online video, Guinness is promoting the new stout via social media and exclusive dining events in New York and surrounding areas.

Brewing for Impact is a global initiative by breweries to drive social change through beer. The organization was created after Oliver's work with fonio, and in addition to Guinness includes brewing partners such as Maison Kalao from Senegal, Carlsberg from Denmark, Russian River from the U.S. and Jing-A from China. In 2024, each brewery created a new beer with fonio, which helps support West African farmers, who are predominantly women.

Guinness has also donated $10,000 via its Guinness Gives Back Fund to the Michael James Foundation for Brewing and Distilling, also founded by Oliver, which helps fund education and career advancement for people of color in the distilling and brewing industry.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, November 18, 2024

TikTok on Monday told a federal judge it may ask the Supreme Court to review a lower court decision reviving a lawsuit by the mother of a 10-year-old girl who died after attempting a blackout challenge she allegedly saw on the service.

The lower court ruling, issued by a three-judge panel of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, said Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act doesn't protect TikTok from liability for editorial decisions about how to display content created by users. Section 230 generally immunizes web companies from liability over material posted by third parties.

On Monday, TikTok asked U.S. District Court Judge Paul Diamond in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to temporarily halt proceedings until at least January 21 -- the company's deadline for seeking Supreme Court review.

While TikTok said it hasn't yet decided whether to ask the Supreme Court to intervene, the company also said the case was an obvious candidate for review, noting that other appellate judges have ruled that Section 230 immunizes companies from liability for recommendations. The company specifically noted that the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2019 that Section 230 protected Meta from a lawsuit alleging that its algorithmic recommendations helped fuel terrorism.

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The Supreme Court is therefore likely to grant [review] in the event that TikTok decides to seek it, the company wrote. It therefore makes little sense to proceed with this case until TikTok decides whether to seek Supreme Court review and the Supreme Court decides whether to accept a petition if filed.

The company's request comes in a lawsuit by Tawainna Anderson, mother of Nylah Anderson who died in December 2021 after attempting the blackout challenge. That challenge, which was then circulating on TikTok, showed people strangling themselves.

Tawainna Anderson raised several claims in her 2022 complaint against TikTok, including that its service is dangerously defective due to its algorithm.

Diamond initially dismissed the suit, ruling that TikTok was protected by Section 230. He said in a written opinion that Anderson's claims about TikTok were inextricably linked to its role as a publisher of content created by users.

Anderson then appealed to the 3rd Circuit, which revived the case in an opinion written by Circuit Judge Patty Shwartz and joined by Peter Phipps. Circuit Judge Paul Matey partially concurred in a separate opinion.

Shwartz wrote that TikTok's algorithmic curation of users' speech is TikTok's own expressive activity, and therefore not protected by Section 230.

Some industry observers and legal experts said at the time that the ruling effectively guts Section 230 in the 3rd Circuit, which covers Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.

TikTok -- backed by numerous outside groups, including the Interactive Advertising Bureau -- then asked the 3rd Circuit to reconsider that ruling. The IAB and others argued in a friend-of-the-court brief that the decision destabilizes established law in ways that threaten profound consequences for countless websites across the Internet --and their users.

Last month, the 3rd Circuit rejected the request for reconsideration, setting up TikTok's possible appeal to the Supreme Court.

Andersen's lawyer objected to TikTok's request for a stay, calling it a stall tactic.

TikToks petition for a writ of certiorari has not been filed, and TikTok wont even commit to whether it will be, counsel wrote. The attorney added that a stay would be appropriate if the Supreme Court ultimately agrees to hear the case.
AI can now detect early-stage liver disease, improving patient outcomes.

  Trusted Source

AI Finds Undiagnosed Liver Disease in Early Stages



Go to source Trusted Source

Artificial Intelligence: A Game-Changer in Liver Health



#Artificial_intelligence is revolutionizing healthcare! New #AI tools are helping detect #liverdisease early, improving patient outcomes. 

AI Finds Undiagnosed Liver Disease in Early Stages - (https://www.aasld.org/ai-finds-undiagnosed-liver-disease-early-stages)

Liver disease, treatable if caught early, often goes undetected until later stages. However, a new study reveals that an AI-powered algorithm can accurately detect early-stage metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) using electronic health records ().A significant proportion of patients who meet criteria for MASLD go undiagnosed, said Ariana Stuart MD, a resident at University of Washington Internal Medicine Residency Program and lead author of the study. This is concerning because delays in early diagnosis increase the likelihood of progression to advanced liver disease.Researchers used an AI algorithm to analyze imaging findings in electronic health records from three sites within the University of Washington Medical System to identify patients who met the criteria for MASLD, the most common form of liver disease, affecting 4.5 million adults in the United States. While 834 patients met the criteria, only 137 actually had an official MASLD-associated diagnosis in their record. This left 83% of patients undiagnosed even when data in their electronic health record showed they met the criteria for MASLD.People should not interpret our findings as a lack of primary care training or management, Stuart said. Instead, our study shows how AI can complement physician workflow to address the limitations of traditional clinical practice.MASLD occurs when fat isnt managed properly in the liver and is often associated with other common diseases such as obesity, Type-2 diabetes, and abnormal cholesterol levels. Early diagnosis of MASLD is key because it can quickly progress to more severe forms of liver disease, but many individuals in this early stage are asymptomatic, making diagnosis challenging.Source-Eurekalert
Children born to mothers taking antiseizure medications during pregnancy are at increased risk of autism or intellectual disability, with some drugs posing more risk than others.

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Antiseizure medication use during pregnancy and children's neurodevelopmental outcomes



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Did You Know?

Fewer than 10% of medicines approved since 1980 have enough information to determine their safety during pregnancy. This is because pregnant people are often not included in studies that determine the safety of new medicines. #medindia #pregnancy #medicines

Fewer than 10% of medicines approved since 1980 have enough information to determine their safety during pregnancy. This is because pregnant people are often not included in studies that determine the safety of new medicines. #medindia #pregnancy #medicines

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Study Overview: Data from Over Three Million Children

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Topiramate Exposure Associated with Higher Risk of Intellectual Disability

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Study Results Challenge Earlier Findings on ADHD and Antiseizure Drugs

The Need for Personalized Medication Plans

Consistent Findings Across Research on Valproate, Topiramate, and Carbamazepine

Consulting with Physicians Crucial for Pregnant or Preconception Patients

Antiseizure medication use during pregnancy and children's neurodevelopmental outcomes - (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-53813-1)

New research from Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health suggests that children born to mothers who use antiseizure medications for managing seizures and psychiatric disorders during pregnancy may have a higher risk of developing neurodevelopmental conditions ().A recent study, which analyzed data from over three million children in the UK and Sweden, including 17,495 who were exposed to antiseizure medications during pregnancy, found that children exposed to the antiseizure drugin uterohave an increased risk of autism or intellectual disability compared to those exposed to other antiseizure medications. However, the study linked exposure towith specific neurodevelopmental issues. These findings were published this month inHowever, the absolute risk of neurodevelopmental outcomes in offspring is low, the researchers caution, regardless of the antiseizure drug regimen. Compared to children unexposed to antiseizure medications, those exposed to the drug topiramate during pregnancy weremore likely to be diagnosed with intellectual disability, which raises their risk to 2.1% by age 12. In comparison with other drugs available, the authors found very little data suggesting that the drug lamotrigine in pregnancy increases the risk of neurodevelopmental issues in offspring.Our findings suggest that while certain medications may pose some risk, lamotrigine may be a less risky option, said co-senior author Brian K. Lee, Ph.D., a professor at the Dornsife School of Public Health. Active monitoring of any antiseizure medication is critical to ensure safety and effectiveness, particularly during pregnancy.This study contrasts earlier studies in that it did not find a statistically significant link between topiramate or levetiracetam and ADHD in children, regardless of whether the birthing parent had an epilepsy diagnosis.According to the researchers, the data does not argue against the use of antiseizure medications in patients who benefit but rather encourages these patients to have a conversation with their doctor to determine if their course of treatment is most appropriate for them.Decisions should be made that are tailored to individual patients, said co-lead author Paul Madley-Dowd, Ph.D., a research fellow at the University of Bristol. Stopping antiseizure medications can cause individual harm and harm to offspring, so these conversations always need to happen with a clinician.This study supports findings from previous research that link the antiseizure drugs valproate, topiramate, and carbamazepine with neurodevelopmental diagnoses in offspring, such as autism, intellectual disability and ADHD. Previous studies in smaller populations also link in utero exposure to these drugs with neurodevelopmental outcomes in offspring, such as ones linking topiramate and intellectual disability, and those associating valproate and lower IQ.The study utilized data on drug prescriptions in the United Kingdom, and dispensation and self-reported data on drug use in Sweden, as well as electronic health records data for diagnoses. The authors conducted a sibling analysis to help minimize the influence of other factors, such as the severity of diagnosis and underlying genetics, that may influence the results.The link between these drugs and childrens neurodevelopmental outcomes is there, even if the risk isnt much higher than it is in the unexposed population, said co-lead author Viktor H. Ahlqvist, a postdoctoral researcher at Karolinska Institutet. If youre pregnant or trying to become pregnant, and taking one of these medications, it may be worth talking with your physician to make sure youre taking the best medicine for your needs, while minimizing risk to future children.Despite the studys large sample size, the authors say patients could benefit from further research from multiple countries on the safety of these drugs as the landscape of options available to patients changes.Source-Eurekalert
MANAUS, Brazil (AP)  President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to strike deeper inside Russia, easing limitations on the weapons as Russia deploys thousands of North Korean troops to reinforce its war, according to a U.S. official and three people familiar with the matter.

The decision allowing Kyiv to use the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMs, for attacks farther inside Russia comes as President Vladimir Putin positions North Korean troops along Ukraine's northern border to try to reclaim hundreds of miles of territory seized by Ukrainian forces.

Biden's move also follows the presidential election victory of Donald Trump, who has said he would bring about a swift end to the war and raised uncertainty about whether his administration would continue the United States' vital military support for Ukraine.

The longer-range missiles are likely to be used in response to North Korea's decision to support Putin's invasion of Ukraine, according to one of the people. The official and the people familiar with the matter were not authorized to discuss the decision publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and many of his Western supporters have been pressing Biden for months to allow Ukraine to strike military targets deeper inside Russia with Western-supplied missiles, saying the U.S. ban had made it impossible for Ukraine to try to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical grids.

Some supporters have argued that the limitation and other U.S. constraints could cost Ukraine the war. The debate has become a source of disagreement among Ukraines NATO allies.

Biden had remained opposed, determined to hold the line against any escalation that he felt could draw the U.S. and other NATO members into direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.

News of Biden's decision followed meetings over the last two days with the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China where North Korean troops were central to the talks, which took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.

Biden did not mention the decision during a speech at a stop to the Amazon rainforest in Brazil on his way to the Group of 20 summit.

Asked about the decision, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a press conference that the bodys position is to avoid a permanent deterioration of the war in Ukraine.

We want peace, we want fair peace, Guterres said on Sunday ahead of the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. He didn't elaborate.

Russia on Sunday launched a massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine, described by officials as the largest in recent months, targeting energy infrastructure and killing civilians.

North Korea has provided thousands of troops to Russia to help Moscow try to claw back land in the Kursk border region that Ukraine seized this year. The introduction of North Korean troops to the conflict comes as Moscow has seen a favorable shift in momentum. Trump has signaled that he could push Ukraine to agree to give up some land seized by Russia to find an end to the conflict.

As many as 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia, according to U.S., South Korean and Ukrainian assessments. U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials say North Korea also has provided Russia with significant amounts of munitions to replenish its dwindling weapons stockpiles.

Trump, who takes office in January, spoke for months as a candidate about wanting Russias war in Ukraine to be over, but he mostly ducked questions about whether he wanted U.S. ally Ukraine to win.

He also repeatedly slammed the Biden administration for giving Kyiv tens of billions of dollars in aid. His victory has Ukraines international backers worrying that any rushed settlement would mostly benefit Putin.

America is Ukraines most valuable ally in the war, providing more than $56.2 billion in security assistance since Russian forces invaded in February 2022.

Worried about Russias response, however, the Biden administration repeatedly has delayed providing some specific advanced weapons sought by Ukraine, agreeing only under pressure from Kyiv, its supporters and in consultation with allies.

That includes initially refusing Zelenskyys pleas for advanced tanks, Patriot air defense systems and F-16 fighter jets, among other systems.

The White House agreed in May to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weaponry for limited strikes just across the border with Russia.

___

Long, Miller, Knickmeyer and Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Will Weissert in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON  A former U.S. Army soldier who was court-martialed for fatally shooting a handcuffed civilian in Iraq two decades ago was sentenced on Monday to more than four years in prison for his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Edward Richmond Jr. attacked police officers with a metal baton during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. Richmond, 41, of Geismar, Louisiana, said he immediately regretted his actions that day.

It was wrong. It was foolish. It was not thought-out. It was spur of the moment, Richmond said before U.S. District Judge John Bates sentenced him to four years and three months behind bars.

The judge said Richmond appeared to be genuinely remorseful for joining one of the most violent episodes of the Capitol riot  a clash between rioters and outnumbered officers inside a tunnel entrance.

Your conduct was pretty terrible. You've recognized that, Bates said.

More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the Capitol riot. More than 650 of them have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years.

Several Jan. 6 riot defendants have asked judges to pause their cases until after President-elect Donald Trump takes office, citing his campaign vow to pardon supporters who stormed the Capitol after his Stop the Steal rally near the White House on Jan. 6. Judges have largely rejected those requests and forged ahead with plea hearings and sentencings as scheduled.

Richmond didn't ask for his sentencing to be delayed. His lawyer, John McLindon, said after the hearing that such a request seemed like a waste of time.

Prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of five years and three months for Richmond, who will get credit for roughly nine months that he already has served in jail since his arrest.

Richmond was wearing a helmet, goggles and other military-style tactical gear when he attended then-President Trump's Stop the Steal rally near the White House on Jan. 6. After marching to the Capitol, he joined other rioters in a heave ho push against police officers guarding a tunnel entrance.

Richmond carried a police shield into the crowd and then returned to the mouth of the tunnel, where he attacked officers with a retractable metal baton, hitting their shields.

Before leaving, Richmond passed along a wooden board for rioters to use against police as a makeshift weapon. He also carried out office furniture from a broken window.

He pumped it up in the air several times over his head and shouted, drawing huge cheers from the crowd and spurring the rioters on in their violent attack against police, a prosecutor wrote.

Richmond was arrested in January and pleaded guilty to an assault charge in August.

Richmond was 20 when an Army court-martial panel convicted him of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced him to three years of military confinement for killing a handcuffed Iraqi civilian near Taal Al Jai in February 2004. Richmond was incarcerated at Fort Sill in Oklahoma and also received a dishonorable discharge from the Army.

The Army said Richmond used a rifle to fatally shoot Muhamad Husain Kadir, a cow herder, in the back of the head from about six feet away after the man stumbled. During Monday's sentencing, Richmond told the judge that a superior officer had told him to shoot the man if he moved again.

It was a mistake, Richmond said. It was a mistake by a young soldier.
Marines with Skin Condition Affecting Mostly Black Men Could Now Be Booted Under New Policy

A new Marine Corps policy says troops with a genetic skin condition that can cause pain and scarring from shaving and mainly...
The Astros and Daikin Comfort Technologies North America have reached agreement on a 15-year naming rights for the teams downtown ballpark, the team announced (video link via X). Beginning in 2025, Houstons Minute Maid Park will be renamed Daikin Park. The new name will remain in place through the 2039 season.

We are excited to be partnering with Daikin for our ballparks naming rights, owner Jim Crane said in a statement Monday morning. Daikin is an international company that proudly calls the Greater Houston area its North American home. The Houston Astros and Daikin share the same values, a commitment to excellence and a desire to give back to our local community.

The Houston Chronicles Matt Kawahara reports that the prior 28-year naming deal with Minute Maid Co. had been slated to run through the 2029 season but was ended early for yet-unknown reasons. That agreement paid the Astros an estimated $170MM over the life of the deal, per Kawahara. Minute Maid remains a marketing partner but will no longer claim those naming rights. Its not yet clear how much of that estimated $170MM was yet to be paid out or how the new naming rights agreement will impact revenues.

The teams lease at the current ballpark runs through 2050, so its possible therell be at least one additional new name somewhere down the road. Of course, the Astros and Daikin could agree to an extension of the new naming rights agreement at a later date.
LANSING, MI  Beavers are considered ecological architects, but certain conservationists are worried there can be too many in some areas of Michigan.

State wildlife and fisheries managers recently heard from multiple trout fishery advocates raising concerns about what they argue is an overabundance of beavers living in Michigans wilderness. The trouble is that trout species require cold, swiftly moving waters to thrive, but too many beaver dams in a stream may slow the water and raise its temperatures, driving the trout away.

Interest in hunting has waned in recent years, but the number of fur trappers plummeted. It means animals like beaver have largely flourished in Northern Lower Michigan, where there are no wolves  their primary predator  to keep them in check.

Now officials at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources are being asked to change regulations to make it easier for trout conservationists to trap beaver in the places where the large rodents proliferated so successfully that theyve negatively impacted trout streams.

I think theres maybe concern from some of the stakeholder groups, the trout management groups or trout angling groups, just wanting to ensure that in those areas where they feel like there are issues  that beaver are negatively impacting trout  that theyll be able to remove dams, said Cody Norton, DNR wildlife biologist.

State officials in recent years updated internal beaver policies, one for agencies like road commissions, and a second for when beaver abundance runs loggerheads with trout habitat.

Beavers can now more easily be killed because of nuisance problems, but greater scrutiny for issues in trout streams to be addressed, said angling advocate Bryan Burroughs, executive director of nonprofit Michigan Trout Unlimited.

It makes dealing with the problem even more challenging, he said, especially since recreational trapping diminished from past decades and beaver-made dams have been stacking up on Up North rivers.

As examples, advocates recently explained to the Michigan Natural Resources Commission that as many as 16 beaver dams built up over the years in a single four-mile stretch of the Upper main branch of the Black River in Cheboygan County. Nine were counted in a one mile stretch of the North Branch of the Manistee River in Kalkaska County.

It has occurred over the last 20 years, and literally none of us have the resources to just go clear the deck of them. Were just picking priority areas where its really causing severe problems on fisheries that cant handle it, Burroughs said.

If I found a river that was 60 degrees in the summer and I found a beaver dam or two that was warming it by a degree, Id be like, Yep, thats not our priority.

But Burroughs said its problematic when a 68-degree river is warmed to 72 or 73 degrees, beyond what trout can tolerate. Thats where we got to deal with it, he said.

Natural Resources Commission member John Walters, of Gaylord, said he found it concerning how there are different sets of rules for private property owners and conservation groups.

Related articles:

Beavers, rabbits, squirrels added to Michigan nuisance kill list

Yes, there are beavers on Beaver Island

Dam it, theyre back! Beavers return to creek at University of Michigan
Any given Sunday can turn record-setting for this Detroit Lions offense.

The Lions beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 52-6, on Sunday as they set team records for total yards (644) and margin of victory (46).

They also went to 9-1 for the first time since 1934 and won their eighth straight game in a season for the first time since that season.

Heres whats being said nationally after the Lions latest dominant win:

Jared Goff and NFC-leading Lions score at will in 52-6 win over Jaguars -- Associated Press

Beat the teams that matter. Annihilate the ones that dont. The Lions are a machine.  Kyle Brandt, Good Morning Football

You wont believe these ridiculous numbers that show Detroit Lions' dominance  Yahoo! Sports

Jaguars on doorstep of major changes after Lions put up 50 points, hand them worst loss in franchise history  CBS Sports

Guys, The Detroit Lions are the best team in the NFL.  Robert Griffin III

Detroit Lions' rushing attack breaks NFL record in Week 11 vs. Jaguars  Sporting News

Jacksonville Jaguars embarrassed, lose 52-6 to Detroit Lions amid coaching change rumors -- Florida Times-Union
OXFORD, MI -- Nearly three years after the Nov. 30, 2021, Oxford High School shooting in Michigan, parents of victims are demanding a new investigation by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Nessel said the Oxford Community Schools Board of Education, Sheriff Michael Bouchard and Prosecutor Karen McDonald previously rejected her offices offers to conduct an investigation, although she is still willing to conduct one.

This really isnt about there being some bombshell hidden, said Steve St. Juliana, the father of 14-year-old shooting victim Hana St. Juliana. What were here today trying to drive is looking at the big picture and how do we fix broken pieces of the system itself.

The parents and other stakeholders believe a comprehensive investigation conducted by the AGs Office could help to head off future school shootings and increase the accountability of school districts and their administrators across Michigan -- and possibly the nation.

RELATED: From bad dreams to missed meals: How more frequent school threats are upending kids lives

Victims, parents of victims, school board officials, law enforcement and politicians joined for a press conference in Oxford Monday, Nov. 18. Nessel responded to the parents' request a short time later.

While my department has renewed the terms of what a proper investigation would require, weve never withdrawn that offer, Nessel said. I want to be clear that this offer was intended to be an investigation into the procedures, policies and response leading to that fatal day and following.

Nessel said previous offers were soundly rejected by the school board, sheriff and prosecutor.

The sheriff flat out said, absolutely not, Nessel said. I asked the Oakland County prosecutor if they desired or were interested in our help.

I offered it over and over and over again. Each time, the Oakland County prosecutor refused.

Sheriff Bouchard and representatives for the prosecutors office were in attendance when parents requested the AG investigation.

In order to complete an investigation, Nessel said her office requires an invitation to investigate from Oakland County law enforcement. It would also require the school board to waive attorney-client privilege and for the prosecutor and sheriff to turn over all investigative documents their offices have compiled related to the shooting investigation and resulting prosecution, including any correspondence, testimony, transcripts and many more types of evidence, Nessel said.

The parents who spoke on Monday did not identify specific changes they are hoping will result from further investigation.

Thats the whole point of the investigation, St. Juliana said. I can give you opinions on things that I think are common sense, things that could help, but the point of this is to base what were going to do on data.

Details about what led up to the school shooting, including failures by school administrators and the parents, have been revealed through multiple criminal prosecutions, civil lawsuits and an external investigation conducted a private, third-party firm.

We know that there is a lot more there, St. Juliana said. Theres a lot of details that have come out but that have been kind of pushed to the side and glossed over. And, honestly, what has come out, nothing has been done with it.

The Michigan AG in 2022 offered to conduct a full investigation into the shooting and criticized the then-school board for rejecting her offer.

In a May 11, 2022 statement, Nessel said: I am deeply disappointed by the school boards repeated rejection of my offers to perform an independent and thorough review of the systems and procedures in the days leading up to and on November 30, 2021. My goal is not to assign blame but to help identify ways to improve school safety for Oxford and all schools in Michigan. The school boards unwillingness to partner with my department on this effort flies in the face of transparency. The rejection sends a message that the board is more focused on limiting liability than responding to the loud outcry from the Oxford community to deliver greater peace of mind to the students, parents and educators that lived through this traumatic event.

The Oxford Community Schools Board of Education in August approved a resolution asking the state Legislature to fund a full investigation, including but not limited to the emergency response, relevant events and agencies before, during, and after the tragedy.

The time for excuses has passed, St. Juliana said. We need out state leadership to take action to prevent more Michigan students becoming victims to this epidemic.

The slain Oxford High students were: Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; and Justin Shilling, 17. Six students and a teacher also survived gunshot wounds.

RELATED: How to talk to your kids about school safety threats

Shooter Ethan Crumbley, 18, is serving a mandatory life prison sentence after pleading guilty to 24 felonies, including four counts of first-degree murder, in October 2022.

The parents, James Crumbley, 48, and Jennifer Crumbley, were each convicted of four counts of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced in April to between 10 and 15 years in prison for negligence related to purchasing and failing to secure the gun used by their son to commit his crimes.
ANN ARBOR, MI  No hate! Not here!

That message was chanted by about two dozen people who gathered Sunday afternoon, Nov. 17, for a counterprotest in response to Saturdays White Lives Matter demonstration outside Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

Several carried brooms as they symbolically swept the grounds clean on Sunday, at one point spontaneously singing All You Need is Love by the Beatles.

Lets get every last bit out so it does not take root in the cracks in the brick  not in this city, not anywhere, Ann Arbor resident Jaime Moore, one of the organizers, told the crowd through a megaphone.

A counterprotest against white supremacy outside Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Nov. 17, 2024. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

The symbolic demonstration was the least they could do after what happened Saturday, Moore said.

Theres the right to freedom of speech. I believe in that, but we also know when its wrong, she said. We cant sit back and just let it go. We have to step up and say and do something now.

Their signs with messages such as Racism has no home here, Nazis are not welcome here, All lives cant matter until Black lives matter and Love not hate drew supportive honks, thumbs up and thanks from drivers passing by.

According to globalextremism.net, White Lives Matter is an international white supremacist movement that has organized protests across the United States and Europe.

I just keep seeing it on the rise, and I feel like a do-nothing approach allows it to live and breed and spread, said Ann Arbor resident Amanda Shutko, another of Sundays counterprotest organizers.

She got the idea to bring brooms and sweep the area clean after seeing residents do the same in Howell over the summer after a white supremacist demonstration there.

I thought what a great, symbolic, peaceful way to say we dont want that here, Shutko said.

Her hope is it inspires people to come together and do more to stand up against white supremacy, she said.

A counterprotest against white supremacy outside Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Nov. 17, 2024. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

Fliers were handed out Sunday with links to resources for residents to learn more about how they can join the fight.

I really do believe that we as the white people in the community have a lot of work to do to shut down this kind of behavior, and I really do think it falls on us, Moore said.

And again, I think this is not the response  this is the beginning of the response. And this is the awareness that you need to know that its actually happening.

Amy Johnson said she traveled from Fowlerville to take part in Sundays event and planned to attend another counterprotest in Howell next Saturday, Nov. 23.

Im sweeping the stench of the Nazis out, she said as she joined in sweeping outside the Big House. And what Id like to say is, if not now, when? We have to stand together. This is America. We do not want Nazis here.

Noting Saturdays demonstrators wore masks and Sundays crowd didnt, she added, Look at all these beautiful faces here. Nobodys afraid to show their face.

Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Ann Arbor daily newsletter.
BAY CITY, MI  Police are investigating the death of a woman, killed when a vehicle struck her in the parking lot of a Bay City homeless shelter.

About 4:40 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 14, police responded to the Good Samaritan Rescue Mission, 713 Ninth St., for a reported vehicle-pedestrian collision.

Officers determined 31-year-old Jessica Yax, who had been staying at the shelter, was walking through the parking lot when she slipped and fell. A vehicle then struck her.

Emergency responders pronounced Yax deceased at the scene.

The person driving the vehicle, a 58-year-old Saginaw resident, remained at the scene and has been cooperating with investigators. Police do not believe speed or alcohol were factors in the crash, nor have they issued any citations to the driver.

Once police finish their probe, they will forward reports to the Bay County Prosecutors Office for review, as is standard.

Police are asking anyone with information on the incident to call them at 989-892-8571 or Bay County Central Dispatchs non-emergency line at 989-892-9551. Tipsters can also provide information anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-422-5245, by downloading the P3 mobile app, or by visiting P3Tips.com.
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Dr. Lena Tran new Columbia College President View Photo

Columbia, CA  The Columbia College Academic Senate, which represents the faculty at the school, has again passed a Vote of No Confidence resolution regarding President, Dr. Lena Tran.

We reported earlier that a similar action was taken last month. However, the Academic Senate discovered that an error was made in the voting process at the previous meeting, so the first reading was repeated on November 15. It passed with 16 yes votes, one no, and five abstentions.

This time, wording was added calling for Dr. Trans resignation or removal from her position. The group cites that a growing number of staff, including those in leadership roles, have taken leaves, or left the college permanently, due to inhospitable working conditions. In addition, they state that concerns have been communicated to the Yosemite Community College District Chancellor Henry Yong, as well as the YCCD Board of Trustees, and there have been no notable changes.

Longtime Columbia College staff member, Dr. Adrienne Seegers, was one of the staff members who proposed the Vote of No Confidence. She states that she is, unwilling to see more people with a lifelong commitment to the college leave due to Dr. Trans leadership.

Seegers adds, On our small campus, we cannot afford to lose a single high-quality employee. We will be unable to maintain our long track record of excellent student service if we cant retain staff, including our leaders.

The colleges Classified Senate will vote on a similar resolution of No Confidence on December 13.

Dr. Tran earlier submitted a myMotherLode.com blog in response to last months Vote of No Confidence and you can read it by clicking here. She highlighted some of the accomplishments over her two and a half years of leadership, including $20 million in grants received, strengthening professional development opportunities, expanded partnerships with groups like CAL Fire, recent national recognition, and increasing enrollment.

Dr. Trans employment is overseen by the YCCD Board of Directors, so the Vote of No Confidence was done as a statement expressing the sentiments of staff members.
Harare  Despite posting zero profits from its business units, the ruling ZANU PF party has reportedly spent nearly US$50,000 on its Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology workshops. This initiative, seen as a requirement for employment in the civil service, has raised eyebrows among many Zimbabweans.

The partys push for citizens to attend the ideology school is part of a broader agenda to instil its narrative on Zimbabwes history. Recently, councillors from various municipalities were reportedly compelled to attend these workshops, with local governments directed to finance their participation.

According to a ZANU PF central committee report presented at the partys annual conference in Bulawayo in October, the ruling party has been grappling with poor performance from its business ventures. The report stated, The party did not receive any dividend from party investments during the current financial year.

This financial strain is attributed to several factors, including the adverse effects of the El Nino-induced drought. The report highlighted, This year, the party has been operating under a difficult financial situation due to the negative effects of the El Nino-induced drought. Despite these challenges, the party claims to have mobilised financial resources to support its initiatives.

The financial details revealed in the report show that ZANU PF allocated US$49,568 to the School of Ideology, while it spent US$2.7 million on salaries. The partys income from various sources included ZiG 13,493 and US$77,817 from membership and subscription fees, along with ZiG 47,883,500 under the Political Parties Finances Act. Additionally, ZANU PF received US$8.1 million through donations.

While the partys income appears substantial, its expenditures were notably high, totalling US$6.5 million and ZiG 10,578,189. The report detailed various spending categories, including US$21,768 on the council of elders, US$27,000 on disciplinary committee meetings, and US$57,101 on refreshments, travel, and accommodation for the administrative department.

Significantly, US$708,000 was used for a restructuring exercise, and US$496,000 was spent on external relations. Noteworthily, the party allocated US$33,000 for propaganda and US$22,000 for bank charges, in addition to US$26,000 on DSTV subscriptions.

In response to its financial hurdles, ZANU PF established a fundraising committee aimed at boosting its resources. Chaired by businessman Phillip Chiyangwa, the committee includes members such as gold dealer Scott Sakupwanya, youth deputy secretary John Paradza, Supa Mandiwanzira, Vetty Kaseke, and Patience Tapomwa. The report highlighted, The fundraising committee is doing some sterling fundraising efforts towards funding party programmes inclusive of the national peoples conference.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who once oversaw the decline of the ZANU PF business empire during his tenure as party treasurer-general and secretary for administration, now faces growing scrutiny regarding the partys financial management.

Despite the ongoing financial struggles, ZANU PF has continued to make significant expenditures, including the purchase of luxury vehicles, which has sparked criticism from various quarters. Observers question the priorities of a party struggling to maintain profitability in its business units while simultaneously investing heavily in high-end cars and propaganda efforts.

As ZANU PF navigates these financial challenges, its focus on ideological training and propaganda raises concerns about the partys long-term sustainability and commitment to addressing the pressing issues facing Zimbabweans today.

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Harare  Civil servants across the nation have begun to receive part of their annual bonuses as the Government follows through on its commitment to pay a 13th cheque. Observations from The Herald indicate that since last Friday, banks and major supermarkets have been bustling with activity as civil servants withdraw their bonuses and indulge in shopping sprees.

The Government announced earlier this month that bonus payments would commence in November. The security services were the first group to receive their bonuses, followed by employees in the health and education sectors, with the remainder of the civil service set to follow. As in previous years, traditional leaders and their messengers will also benefit from these annual bonuses.

In an interview, Mr Simon Masanga, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, confirmed the Governments strategy. We agreed that bonuses were going to be spread over two months, that was the initial plan that we made and agreed upon, he stated.

Cecelia Alexander, president of the Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (ZCPSTU), also acknowledged that civil servants have started receiving their bonuses. Yes, civil servants have started receiving their bonuses, members of the uniformed forces were the first to receive and we are expecting teachers to start receiving their portion this week, she noted.

Mrs Alexander praised the Government for fulfilling its promise, stating, We are happy with what Government has done because they did what they said they would do during the National Joint Negotiating Council meeting. This sentiment reflects a broader satisfaction among public sector workers regarding the Governments commitment to their welfare.

In Bulawayo, reports from our sister paper, Chronicle, confirmed that security and health sector employees began receiving their bonuses last week. Apex Council secretary-general David Dzatsunga expressed appreciation for the timely payments, saying, Yes, civil servants started receiving their bonuses, the 50 percent as mentioned by the Government. Uniformed forces got theirs today and the next will be education and the last will be the rest of the civil servants.

This month, civil servants will receive the first bonus payment, amounting to 50 percent of the total bonus, which will be disbursed alongside their November salaries. The remaining balance is expected to be paid in December. This staggered payment approach aims to alleviate pressure on the banking system and reduce long queues at banks.

While the timely payment of bonuses has been welcomed, Dzatsunga emphasised the need for continued improvements in civil servants welfare. We appreciate that civil servants got their bonuses but there is a lot that needs to be done to improve their welfare. Come next year we will continue to engage the Government so that we get to US$840 that we want, he said.

Over the years, the Government has made various commitments to enhance the conditions of service for public sector workers, including initiatives for affordable transport, housing, and duty rebates on motor vehicles. Relations between the Government and civil servants have noticeably improved, largely due to the willingness of both parties to engage in constructive dialogue.

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By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

Bird Song of the Day

Northern Mockingbird, Cape Island  Crewe House, Cape May, New Jersey, United States. Night-singing from a single perch in the neighbors hedge at night; I walked right up and recorded it from just a few meters away. Lots of variety!

Bird brain from the age of dinosaurs reveals roots of avian intelligence (press release) [University of Cambridge]. Researchers have identified a remarkably well-preserved fossil bird, roughly the size of a starling, from the Mesozoic Era. The complete skull has been preserved almost intact: a rarity for any fossil bird, but particularly for one so ancient, making this one of the most significant finds of its kind. The extraordinary three-dimensional preservation of the skull allowed the researchers, led by the University of Cambridge and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, to digitally reconstruct the brain of the bird Navaornis had a larger cerebrum than Archaeopteryx, suggesting it had more advanced cognitive capabilities than the earliest bird-like dinosaurs. However, most areas of its brain, like the cerebellum, were less developed, suggesting that it hadnt yet evolved the complex flight control mechanisms of modern birds Modern birds have some of the most advanced cognitive capabilities in the animal kingdom, comparable only with mammals, said Professor Daniel Field from Cambridges Department of Earth Sciences, senior author of the research. But scientists have struggled to understand how and when the unique brains and remarkable intelligence of birds evolvedthe field has been awaiting the discovery of a fossil exactly like this one.'  Neat! (The original from Nature, which I cannot translate into English.)

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In Case You Might Miss

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Politics

So many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital. Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles

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Trump Transition

House Probe Into Matt Gaetz Relies On Witnesses DOJ Found Lacked Credibility [Mollie Hemingway, The Federalist]. The deck: A convicted felon said he was paying the legal fees of Matt Gaetzs accuser and controlling her. More: Among the many powerful figures in Washington, D.C. opposed to the Gaetz nomination are some who are attempting to thwart it by releasing a report from the House Ethics Committee that will attempt to tie Gaetz to salacious allegations involving child sex trafficking. The report comes years after DOJ dropped its investigation into the same claims on the grounds that the two central witnesses had serious credibility issues. Yet these are the same two central witnesses the House Ethics Committee has relied on for its critical report of Gaetzthe same report it is leaking to compliant reporters as part of a coordinated effort to thwart his nomination as President-elect Donald Trumps next attorney general. The politicized employees at DOJ have shown themselves willing to explore novel legal theories and bend federal rules to the breaking point in pursuit of their most reviled political opponents, most notably former and future President Trump. Gaetz has a reputation as one of the most tenacious cross-examiners of DOJ officials from his perch on the House Judiciary Committee. Yet even the DOJ was unwilling to exploit Greenbergs unsubstantiated claims  apart from leaking them to the press to hurt Gaetzs reputation. They announced their closure of the investigation in 2022.  Worth reading in full for detail on the accuser. * * * Here Come Trumps Concentration Camps [The Tyee]. From Canada. [T]he stocks of private prison corporations have risen since the election, signalling that investors anticipate a flood of federal money to pay for building migrant detention centres. Whatever they might be called, concentration camps will be necessary under this new administration. Project 2025, the dossier of policy proposals to substantially overhaul the American federal government authored by Trumps supporters, has a chapter on homeland security and border control. It calls for a significant increase in detention space, noting about 100,000 beds would be needed on a daily basis  up from around 60,000 at present. Even if 100,000 deportees could be arrested every day and flown out the next day, it would take 110 days to ship 11 million people out of the United States. (And with perhaps 200 passengers per flight, that would require 500 passenger jets daily, or their equivalent in trains and buses.) Theyd stay in camps until their flight was called.  Lets assume, as immigrants do, that only undocumented immigrants who are guilty of having committed crimes (other than being undocumented) are targeted. In 2018, the illegal immigrant criminal conviction rate was 782 per 100,000 illegal immigrants. Assuming we have 11,000,000 immigrants, that rate implies 86,020 deportees (430 flights in total, not 500 daily for 110 days). Now, I personally dont think our government should be creating a three-ring binder for how to round people up and put them in detention facilities, because once we use that binder for one purpose, well pull it out and use it for other purposes; I imagine any small-government conservative would agree (Of all the works of Sauron, the only fair). It seems to me that this issue would be better addressed through law enforcement at the firm, not law enforcement on the streets, despite any squawking from the American gentry who tend to do such hiring. Yves takes a look at our operational capacity for this project, and has other suggestions here. The entire issue is a good litmus test not only for Trump, but for his staff. Flaky pie-crust loons or nah? NOTE The 13,099 Illegal Immigrant Murderers talking point thats running around is a mess, per Cato.

2024 Post Mortem

Deploy the Blame Cannons! EXCLUSIVEIts a blood bath: Inside the White House blame game as backstabbing staffers and score-settling pundits rock a Democratic Party in crisis [Daily Mail]. Fun stuff. This caught my eye: As that same former Biden staffer put it: [Obamas staffers were] signed up as the saviors of the campaign only to run outdated Obama-era playbooks for a candidate that wasnt Obama.' And: In the end, no matter who ends up with the blame, the Democratic Party will have to move on to [hopefully not] survive. A new generation of ambitious Democrats are already said to be plotting their 2028 campaigns  governors such as Californias Gavin Newsom, Michigans Gretchen Whitmer and Marylands Wes Moore.  Thats the bench for 2028? Really? Stature is not a word that comes to mind. John Fetterman says Democrats need to stop freaking out over everything Trump does (interview) [NBC]. Ive said this before, its like, clutch those pearls harder and scold louder  thats not going to win, Fetterman, D-Pa., said. And thats been demonstrated in this cycle.' Fascinating to see clutch those pearls make it into mainstream, idiomatic English; clutch your pearls and head for the fainting couch was a trope I encountered as a blogger c. 2003 (on the Democrat side. I dont think Republicans clutch their pearls, but what do they do instead? Grab their guns?). Fetterman on the Democrat loss in PA: [FETTERMAN:] I pointed out there were two very incredibly unique situations, and one of them was the assassination [attempt].  [T]his never happened when its the year of an election and when the individual survived. And he responded in a very distinctive way of fight, fight, fight, and it created very powerful kind of imagery. And I felt, Hey, thats definitely going to make things even more difficult. And then [Elon] Musk. Surrogates are common in our business, but someone like that is different, and Ive maintained that he can move the needle, and I do believe he did  thats why weve lost two of our colleagues in the House, and weve lost every row office statewide, as well.  I dont like Fetterman much on policy, but hes worth listening to for the campaign he ran. (Fetterman tactfully doesnt mention the Shapiro v. Walz controversy, but I think Shapiro would have gone down in the face of fight, fight, fight also. There was absolutely no way the Pennsylvania Republicans were going to lose that race. * * * From New Jersey to Hawaii, Trump made inroads in surprising places in his path to the White House [Associated Press]. Common themes emerged in the AP VoteCast data. Voters were most likely to see the economy and immigration as top issues facing the country. More voters said their familys financial situation was falling behind, compared with 2020. When they voted, Trump supporters were thinking about high prices for gas, groceries and other goods and the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Democrats Defeat [Adam Tooze, London Review of Books (AG)]. Let me pull out some salient paragraphs: The defining feature of US politics in the current era is how small the margins are. This election saw large movements in specific groups: Latino men to Trump; college graduates to Harris; better-off voters to the Democrats; working-class Americans to the Republicans. But it remains a matter of a few percentage points, with the vast majority of the electorate entrenched in two camps and most of the country barely contested. What moves those voters who do change their minds from election to election remains obscure. And: But in terms of defending existing rights and power positions, in terms of retaining the possibility of further change, in terms of preventing the worst, what was at stake on 5 November were the 270 seats in the electoral college. And to have a decent chance of winning them, it was not necessary to build a historic progressive bloc. It was necessary to run a competent campaign and to field candidates capable of presenting Americas reality, both its promises and its challenges, in language that was compelling and reassuring at the same time. Biden and Harris both failed to do that, and Bidens outrageous refusal to step aside until the last moment robbed the party of any chance of finding a stronger candidate.  I always enjoy Tooze, but for some reason this article reminded me of nobody so much as David Brooks (and his Irish setter, Moral Hazard). The trope that popped into my head was You cant buff a turd is fractal. Is any kind of problem-solving in this environment really possible? Democratic turnout plummeted in 2024  but only in safe states [Semafor]. The vast majority of votes from this election have been counted, with just a few million ballots outstanding in western states. Total turnout is on track to fall just short of 2020, well ahead of some observers expectations on Election Night, when conspiracy theories about more than 10 million missing Biden voters flourished among Democrats. Harris will win fewer votes than President Joe Biden did four years ago  but the decline was significantly steeper in safely red or blue states than in swing states. Where there was no national campaign spending on turnout, and where voters knew that they were unlikely to change the outcome, Harris ran further behind Biden.

Campaign Finance

Political Ads Cant Buy the Presidency [Bloomberg]. The deck: Democrats outspent Republicans by more than $300 million in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. Yet Harris won none of the swing states where the vast majority of spending went. More: Money doesnt win US elections, but it often helps. In bids for the Senate, the candidate who spends the most is typically the victor. That pattern held this year: In 21 of 33 Senate races, the candidate who spent the most on advertisinggenerally the major expenditure for a campaignwas the winner. The link between spending and winning has always been weaker in presidential contests. Given that turnout had a large impact on election outcomes in 2024, [Adam Bonica, a professor of political science at Stanford University] suggests that, in the future, both parties should consider rethinking their spending. Maybe its not advertising they need to do, he says. Maybe they should be putting more of the resources into mobilization and registration and party building.'  Money cant win an election if you set it on fire and throw it into the air! Oprah town hall cost Harris campaign far more than initially claimed: report [FOX]. A new report revealed Vice President Kamala Harris presidential campaign paid more than double what was previously reported for the Oprah Winfrey town hall event. FEC filings, first reported by the Washington Examiner, show the Harris campaign made two $500,000 payments to Winfreys Harpo Productions on Oct. 15, a month after Winfreys town hall with Harris and weeks before the pair appeared at a Harris Philadelphia rally. Now, two sources have told The New York Times the full price of the event with Winfrey was closer to $2.5 million. The bulk of the extravagant spending reportedly went to celebrity appearances and performances and influencer partnerships meant to boost campaign events. And: Winfrey, a billionaire, insisted she was paid nothing when confronted by TMZ. A Harpo Productions spokesperson acknowledged to Variety that the company took money from the campaign but claimed it was for production costs. Oprah Winfrey was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo, the spokesperson said.  I dont know how Hollywood accounting works, but that statement seems carefully engineered to me.

Republican Funhouse

An Appeal to Democratic Voters [Patria with Steve Cortes]. [H]ere are the three most compelling reasons to at least consider joining our America First cause  and to vote Republican into the future. (1) The Democrat Leadership Disrespects You. (2) The GOP Is Now the Party of Workers; (3) The Democratic Party Obsesses with Social Radicalism.  I think of workers is telling. Of, as opposed to of, by, and for, which would imply quite a different party. League of American Workers President: Arizonans realize that the American Dream has become out of reach' [Grand Canyon Times]. Steve Cortes, president and founder of the League of American Workers (LAW), today said that poll results released by his organization show Arizona voters no longer feel the American Dream is reachable. That poll showed 84% of Arizona voters say families in the state cannot live on a single income.  More on the League of American Workers.

Spook Country

CISA Director Jen Easterly to depart on Inauguration Day [NextGov]. Jen Easterly, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agencys stalwart champion and a figurehead among cybersecurity and intelligence community practitioners, will leave her post Jan. 20 next year when President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated back into the White House, people familiar with her plans said The future of CISA in an incoming Trump administration remains uncertain, as GOP allegations of censorship stemming from CISAs interactions with social media companies  claims that Easterly has adamantly refuted  played a prominent role in a recent Supreme Court case, which the Biden administration ultimately won.  More on Easterly here.

Democrats en Deshabille

Axelrod: Democrats Cant Approach Working People Like Missionaries And Say, Were Here To Help You Become More Like Us' [RealClearPolitics]. I do have concerns about the way the Democratic Party relates to working-class voters in this country. The only group that Democrats gained within the election on Tuesday was White college graduates, and among working-class voters, there was a significant decline. The only group they won among Democrats won were people who make more than a hundred thousand dollars a year. You cant win national elections that way, and it certainly shouldnt be that way for a party that fashions itself as the party of working people.  Not fashions itself. Fancies itself.

Syndemics

I am in earnest  I will not equivocate  I will not excuse  I will not retreat a single inch  AND I WILL BE HEARD. William Lloyd Garrison

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Covid Resources, United States (National): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot ; includes many counties; Wastewater Scan, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); Iowa COVID-19 Tracker (in IA, but national data). Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts (especially on hospitalization by city).

Lambert here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To update any entry, do feel free to contact me at the address given with the plants. Please put COVID in the subject line. Thank you!

Resources, United States (Local): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin, dashboard; Stanford, wastewater; Oakland, wastewater); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater reports); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur dAlene; dashboard, Spokane County); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); KS (dashboard; wastewater, Lawrence); KY (dashboard, Louisville); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MN (dashboard); MO (wastewater); MS (dashboard); MT (dashboard) ; NC (dashboard); ND (dashboard; wastewater); NE (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NJ (dashboard); NM (dashboard); NV (dashboard; wastewater, Southern NV); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); OK (dashboard); OR (dashboard) ; PA (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); SD (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); UT (wastewater); VA (wastewater); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV ( wastewater ); WY ( wastewater ).

Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (Government of Canada).

Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usees); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).

Hat tips to helpful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, KF, KidDoc, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3).

Stay safe out there!

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TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts
While the US election was underway, Russian officials, when asked, repeatedly said that it would not matter much to them who won, since they believed it will not change outcomes in Ukraine and probably not US-Russia relations generally. However, angry and panicked European leader have made clear they think otherwise. And Biden petulantly and recklessly over the weekend authorizing long-range missile strikes into Russia, which does cross a genuine Russian red line and puts the US directly at war with Russia, does make a difference even if that move will not stop or even slow Russia from prevailing in Ukraine. Russia has said if the US took that step, that American assets all over the world were targets. Given how long this threat has been in play, Russia probably has a very good idea of where some punches could do the most damage.

Well look briefly at this show of US belligerence, which Trump can roll back as soon as he assumes office, and look at some additional ways Trump back in power might make a difference.

The long-range missiles authorization illustrates that the steady Russian attrition and occasional very stern warnings had managed to keep the US and Ukraine from doing anything too reckless (if you omit the US destroying the Nord Stream pipeline and Ukraine, the Kakhovka dam, which in the long term are actually detrimental to their own interests). The prospect of Trump accelerating the end of the war, as we are seeing, has focused a lot of minds and is producing some flailing about.

Nevertheless, Russia remains in control of how far it takes the conflict, in terms of territorial occupation. Could Trump, or different EU conduct as a result of Trump, wind up changing Russian calculations?

If Trump is unwilling or unable to get the EU to support Ukraine neutrality, as in No NATO evah in Ukraine (and that failure still seems baked in), Russia still faces dilemma of having to deal with the problem of a generally unfriendly western Ukraine at the end of the war. Taking it means much higher subordination and reconstruction costs, as well as potentially alienating some of Russias economic allies in BRICS; leaving western Ukraine to its own devices assures it becoming NATO-lite and among other things, NATO putting missiles there, if nothing else, out of spite.

However, as we will discuss, Russia might be able to improve the optics with comrades-in-all-but-arms by explicitly drawing its occupation model from the Allies with Germany at the end of World War II.1

Later wWell discuss one path for ending the war that the Trump Administration might wind up opening up, but we think the odds of it coming about are exceedingly low. One solution the problem of How to credibly insure Ukraine neutrality in the face of persistent Collective West bad faith? would be for Turkiye and Hungary to provide security guarantees. Turkiye is colorable due to having the biggest NATO forces near the theater; Hungary could be included or volunteer by virtue of its president Orban having discussed peace prospects with Zelensky, Putin, Trump, and Xi. Either state could veto a future effort to get a rump Ukraine into NATO.

Having two NATO members guarantee Ukraines neutrality means they would be expected (ideally required) to vote against any Ukraine ascension to NATO.

Well recap below the near-impossibility of a negotiated outcome; even diplomacy advocate Alexander Mercouris has concluded that Russia will impose terms. But if there were any way for Russia not to have to occupy Ukraine or leave Western Ukraine as a festering wound, it would be a tidier solution all around.3

Lets first consider the US long range missiles escalation and then take a broader look.

US Authorizes Long-Range Missile Strikes into Russia

The New York Times broke the story and recites the bizarre justification that the (almost certainly a Ukraine propaganda creation) participation of North Korean forces in the Russian defense of Kursk amounts to an escalation. The story admits that this move wont do much to help Ukraine:

While the officials said they do not expect the shift to fundamentally alter the course of the war, one of the goals of the policy change, they said, is to send a message to the North Koreans that their forces are vulnerable and that they should not send more of them.

Remember, Ukraine depends on the US to operate the missiles, here ATACMS, and for targeting, so the Russians are correct to depict these attacks as made by the US.

Scott Ritter unpacks the implications. Do click through to read the entire tweet:2

The Biden administration just gave Ukraine the green light to use US-made and provided ATACMS missiles against Russian targets inside Russian territory, including Kursk.

It should be noted that the US, together with NATO, helped plan and execute the Ukrainian incursion into  Scott Ritter (@RealScottRitter) November 17, 2024

Russia Still Has Its Losing the Peace Problem

Odds favor that the Biden efforts at Trump sabotage dont make much difference in the end, or may even work to some advantage to Russia (as in justifying tit for tat retaliation, say in the Middle East).

But Russia has no obvious answers to what to do with Ukraine, even with its position continuing to improve as it further weakens Ukraine, US and NATO combat capabilities.

Without belaboring the history, the US is strategically overextended. Its underestimation of Russia led to the US enlisting allies, including ones not even in the theater, to send weapons to Ukraine, resulting in stocks all among them being reduced to low levels. Continuing supplies to Ukraine are now coming from globally inadequate new production, plus forays into couch cushions turning up some quarters.

Current conventional wisdom is that one of two things is likely to exhaust Ukraine even before the firepower gap with Russia makes continued fighting impossible. The New York Times reported at the start of November that the Pentagon view was that Ukraine has enough manpower to carry on only for another six to twelve months.

Power shortages over the winter could represent a second breaking point, not just for the military but for government operations and civil society. La Nina has the potential to bring a cold winter to Europe. Russia has just launched another punishing round of electric system strikes. And when a grid is damaged, more demand (here from cold weather) can also produce additional breakage.

Trumps open antipathy toward NATO, or at least the US spending much to support it, compounds the difficulty of keeping Project Ukraine going. Some have suggested that one way for Trump to deliver on his Ill end the war in one day/Ill end it before I take office is to halt US involvement, as in no more US funding and weapons deliveries. The war would be over as far as US voters are concerned. And NATO has admitted that it would have trouble carrying on if the US cut the air supply.

Both US Russia hawks and European governments clearly fear Trump will walk away from the Ukraine conflict, witness the scramble to Trump proof it. But this comes when European economies are weak and government spending for social safety nets is already under pressure. Its not hard to argue that the German government fell due to a fight over Ukraine spending.4 Finance Minister Christian Lindner refused to go along with prime minister Olaf Scholzs pressure for more ambitious spending, which Linder said was a demand to pause the constitutional debt brake. Scholz sacked Linder and Linder pulled his party out of the coalition, producing in not too short order the scheduling of new elections.

However, Russia still faces the same dilemma. Putin, out of his general caution, would almost certainly prefer not to take any more of Ukraine than necessary. However, Russias paramount goal is securing Ukraines neutrality. Leaving anything more than an itty rump Ukraine will almost assure European meddling, if nothing else out of wounded pride. And if the Democrats come back into power in 2028, they would join in.

So What About an Occupation?

So a lasting resolution would seem to require Russia to subjugate all of Ukraine, even though that would contradict one of Putins earlier pledges, that Russia would not go where it was not wanted. Of course, depending on how things break, such as a government collapse, Russia could position itself as stabilizing an otherwise chaotic and lawless situation. Regardless, Russia would want to move into any vacuum if at all possible.

But Better than alternatives can be Way short of ideal. Recall how Russia handled the integration of Crimea and the four oblasts into Russia, that Russia scheduled referenda on joining Russia. The resulting approvals were credible, despite Western whinging, by virtue of those areas historically backing Russia-friendly national candidates. This mechanism is also important for establishing legitimacy in the eyes of Russias allies, who are still not entirely comfortable with Russia continuing to take more and more of Ukraine.

Other oblasts that are both ethnically Russian and strategically valuable like Kharkiv and Odessa would similarly be likely to vote in favor of joining Russia in the event of a Ukraine military/political collapse or other development that allows Russia to force a surrender.5

So what model would Russia use to deal with captured and presumed not terribly friendly territory? John Helmer suggested one, which we thought could be taken even further, that of a great big de-electrified zone. It would come to resemble the Unorganized Territory of Maine, which has very low population density, consisting nearly entirely of men with beards, as in hardy survivalists.

Another could be how the Allies handled Germany after its unconditional surrender in World War II. I confess only to having just started to look at this topic and would welcome links to good academic treatments. However, a quick look at Wikipedia shows some precedents that might be useful to Russia, such as for a 10 year occupation:6

In the west, the occupation continued until 5 May 1955, when the General Treaty (German: Deutschlandvertrag) entered into force. However, upon the creation of the Federal Republic in May 1949, the military governors were replaced by civilian high commissioners, whose powers lay somewhere between those of a governor and those of an ambassador. When the Deutschlandvertrag became law, the occupation ended, the western occupation zones ceased to exist, and the high commissioners were replaced by normal ambassadors. West Germany was also allowed to build a military, and the Bundeswehr, or Federal Defense Force, was established on 12 November 1955.

And:

Despite the grants of general sovereignty to both German states in 1955, full and unrestricted sovereignty under international law was not enjoyed by any German government until after the reunification of Germany in October 1990. Though West Germany was effectively independent, the western Allies maintained limited legal jurisdiction over Germany as a whole in respect of West Germany and Berlin. At the same time, East Germany progressed from being a satellite state of the Soviet Union to increasing independence of action; while still deferring in matters of security to Soviet authority. The provisions of the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, also known as the Two-plus-Four Treaty, granting full sovereign powers to Germany did not become law until 15 March 1991, after all of the participating governments had ratified the treaty. As envisaged by the Treaty, the last occupation troops departed from Germany when the Russian presence was terminated in 1994, although the Belgian Forces in Germany stayed in German territory until the end of 2005.

These approaches would not reduce hard and human costs to Russia, which already has serious labor shortages. But it would legitimate a generous time window for sorting things out.

Negotiations?

Even with the exit of the extreme Putin-hating Biden and his replacement Trump wrapped up in his self-image as a master deal-maker, its hard to see how negotiations get off the ground, let alone get anywhere. Admittedly, all the speculation about Trump trying to negotiate with Putin or otherwise press for talks will elevate expectations among Russias BRICS supporters, pretty much all of whom dont like the conflict even if they accept Russias justifications. So Putin will be under even more pressure to make good on his oft-made promise to enter into talks if approached.

However, many if not most Russians are persuaded that negotiating with the duplicitous West is asking to be betrayed. Given Americas openly two-faced conduct in Palestine and with China (among many example), theres ongoing confirmation of these concerns.

Interestingly, Putin appears to have cut off the Talk to the [dishonest] organ grinder rather than the monkey in his recent talk with German prime minister Olaf Scholz. From the Kremlin readout:

Speaking on the prospects for reaching a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict, the President of Russia pointed out that the Russian side had never rejected and was still open to resuming the talks broken off by the Kiev regime.

So Putin has now thrown down a marker about process, not just substance. Not only is the bare minimum starting point Istanbul, adjusted for new realities (no NATO membership, limits on Ukraines military, and now Russia incorporating the four oblasts into Russia) but the procedure is Russia negotiating with Ukraine, not the US or NATO. Not that NATO actually can negotiate; despite the appearances of solidity, its a very weak coalition with member states retaining autonomy on pretty much everything, including whether to respond to an Article 5 violation. Thats why, for instance, each state decided (even in the face of peer pressure and US arm-twisting) independently what if anything in the way of arms to send to Ukraine.

This process requirement, of dealing with Ukraine, works to Russias advantage in multiple ways:

Russia did not agree to a ceasefire as part of Istanbul. It kept prosecuting the war. So even in the remote event that formal discussions were to start, Russian can keep attritting Ukraine (albeit likely at a less aggressive pace because optics) Zelensky is opposed to negotiations and even if he had the occasional thought about relenting, the high odds of him quickly being assassinated by Banderites would restore his faith Russia has bona fide procedural objections that need to be cleared before any talks with Ukraine could begin. First is the Constitutional amendment that Ukraine will not negotiate with Russia as long as Putin is president. That would need to be set aside. Second is that Zelensky cannot make binding commitments because he is not the legitimate leader of Ukraine Even if the US and NATO somehow bribe Zelensky to leave and then Ukraine holds presidential elections, the expected timing, per a recent Economist piece, is May 2025. There is not likely to be much of a functioning Ukraine by then. And the Western, or at least EU, preferred replacements, former general Zaluzhny or former president Poroshenko, would be as opposed to making minimal necessary concessions as Zelensky. Plus Zaluzhny is a hard core Banderite and would be unacceptable to Russia

This is a long-winded way of saying that even if Russia feels it is in its interest to play along with shape of the table discussions, Ukraines collapse is pretty certain to advance faster than they will.

So in other words, as they like to say in Maine, there seems to be no way to get there from here, in terms of the idea of having some NATO members individually guarantee Ukraine security. 7 If they were independent-minded ones like Turkiye and Hungary, that deal would allow them to stand up to later pressure, if it came, to vote for rump Ukraine entry into NATO. Donald Trump would also get some satisfaction from end-running EU/NATO schemes to thwart his desire to bring the Ukraine war to a close.

However, it remains that the end-phases of a war which can generate the most reckless behavior. The US used the pretext of the difficulty of subduing Japan for its deadly demonstration of its nuclear weapons. Scott Ritter likes to point out that the Germany inflicted the highest personnel losses on the Allies in the last month of World War II. Here, so far, the reckless Biden gambit of authorizing long-range strikes into Russia can presumably be walked back, with a hoped-for result of no lasting escalation, by the Trump team. So so far, the recklessness can be contained to the political realm. But with the UK and EU also determined to throw spanners, will we be so lucky as to have that continue?

_____

1 Recall Russia is legalistic and used the same procedure that the US created with Kosovo to justify its invasion of Ukraine as defense of an ally per a mutual defense pact (the ally here being the newly-recognized breakaway Donbass republics).

2 Ritters remark that if Trump were to try to undermine the Biden provocation, that it would be an unprecedented act, is not correct. Richard Nixon, as a candidate, not even President elect, engaged in an arguably more egregious interference with a sitting President via sabotaging the Paris peace talks.

3 Of course, the last thing the Western establishment wants is a tidy solution.

4 It is frustrating but predictable that the mainstream press and commentary glosses over the fact that the EUs economic distress is the direct result of its actions. The US led Europe down what John Mearsheimer calls the primrose path, by convincing itself and its EU camp followers that Russia would quickly collapse under economic sanctions and that if Russians were dragooned into fighting, theyd run away as soon as they faced Western wunderwaffen and ubermenschen. When that did not work out, Plan B largely amounted to doing Plan A harder, including blowing up the Nordstream pipelines. Yet the Anglosphere and one assumes the mainstream European press depicts high energy prices and the resulting economic weakness and rising citizen unhappiness as if they just happened, as opposed were the result of actions to cut off Europe from cheap Russian energy. Michael Hudson has argued that the US embarked on this path to weaken Europe.

5 Russia does have the Who signs the document? problem. Putin and others have pointed out that Zelensky is no longer the legitimate president of Ukraine since his term has expired. Putin discussed that the Russian reading of the Ukraine constitution is that the executive power then falls to the head of the Rada, but Ukraine needs to make the determination.

6 Recall that Russia promised war crimes trials, another post World War II fixture. There are apparently more than enough ugly videos of Ukraine soldiers torturing Russian POWs to make the charges stick with Russias economic allies. That would help reinforce the notion that Ukraine has done plenty to merit Third Reich treatments.

7 Due to this post already getting a bit long, I have had to skip over why NATO entering into security guarantees, even if the big members were to have a Damascene conversion, is also vanishingly unlikely. I am not sure if that initiative would require unanimity; recall the Balts and probably the UK would remain opposed to any resolution of the war where any of pre-2014 Ukraine is recognized as part of Russia. So that could prove to be an insuperable obstacle.

In addition, I believe that many of the governance and operation issues that Auerelien raised in his fine essay, NATOs Phantom Armies, on why a NATO intervention in Ukraine was pretty much impossible, would also apply to a peacekeeping force on the scale needed for Ukraine (even if Russia were to trust NATO as a peacekeeper; it would probably require the participation of friendlies like China). Confirming my suspicions, Wikipedia list only Bosina-Herzgovinia and Serbia-Kosovo as peacekeeping missions. That of course does not mean that some NATO members might form a coalition of the willing but brand it as NATO.
Yves here. We are sure to see more articles along these lines, with more refined analyses, as the details of Trump energy sanctions emerge. This piece is still helpful as an early quick take.

Some minor issues: we recently published another OilPrice piece that argued that Trumps Drill, baby, drill wont get as far as the Administration like because the shale industry is being careful, as in return-conscious, about making investments.

Similarly, the author gets harrumph-y about China violating US sanctions on Iran. UN energy and financial sanctions on Iran (ex weapons sales, those expired in 2020) were lifted in 2016 as part of the JCPOA. The US exiting the JCOPA did not restore UN sanctions; the US instead imposed its own. Only UN sanctions are legal under international law. So China is within its rights to thumb its nose at these US sanctions, although it is at risk, as with US and EU sanctions against Russia, of having its banks targeted with secondary sanctions.

By Felicity Bradstock, a freelance writer specialising in Energy and Finance. Originally published at OilPrice

Trumps second term is likely to see a return to stricter energy sanctions on Iran, Venezuela, and Russia.

The US is in a strong position to enforce sanctions due to record-high oil and gas production.

Stricter sanctions could disrupt global oil markets, increase geopolitical tensions, and prompt retaliation from China.

The U.S. continues to uphold sanctions on several countries including Iran, Venezuela, and Russia. While the Biden administration eased sanctions on Venezuelan energy at the beginning of the year, and Iran has been able to increasingly circumvent sanctions, there was no clear path to bringing the sanctions to a total stop. Now, with the election of Donald Trump as President for a second non-consecutive term, U.S. energy sanctions could become stricter as he focuses on boosting domestic oil and gas output and strengthening controls on these countries.

On his campaign trail, Trump repeatedly vowed to impose stricter sanctions on Iranian and Venezuelan crude, which could lead to a decrease in the global oil supply and drive up prices. Conceptually, the impact of a potential second Trump term on oil prices is ambiguous, with some short-term downside risk to Iran oil supply  and thus upside price risk, Goldman Sachs commodities analysts wrote in a research note. But medium-term downside risk to oil demand and thus oil prices from downside risk to global GDP from a potential escalation in trade tensions.

Having often shouted the phrase drill baby, drill at his rallies, Trump is expected to double down on his support for U.S. oil and gas production. The uncertainty over new licenses seen during Bidens term in office will be a thing of the past, as oil and gas companies pursue more exploration activities to maintain their record levels of crude and gas output. The U.S. is the worlds biggest oil producer, contributing 22 percent of the worlds crude, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

While oil and gas output was growing to record highs under Biden, restrictions were also eased on energy from sanctioned countries, such as Iran and Venezuela. Iran is now producing around 3.5 million bpd of crude and exporting 1.8 million bpd, despite the continued sanctions. This is a significant increase from the amount being produced when Trump was in power, which fell to an official low of around 400,000 bpd under his previous administrations maximum pressure campaign.

We are already starting to see a change in the trend with Iranian oil, with exports falling due to the complex geopolitical situation in the Middle East. Irans exports are expected to decrease even further under the new Trump administration as the stricter imposition of sanctions is to be expected. This week, Trump selected U.S. Senator Marco Rubio  who has long pushed for a tougher U.S. policy on Iran and China  as secretary of state for his new government. Bob McNally, the president of Rapidan Energy, stated, Senator Rubio has a consistent and strong record as a hawk on Iran, Venezuela, and China. McNally added that Rubio will zealously implement President-elect Trumps plans to exert pressure on Irans crude exports, nearly all which go to China.

China has increased its import of discounted energy supplies from U.S.-sanctioned countries, including Iran, Venezuela and Russia, by blatantly circumventing sanctions in recent years. China has used special routes, ghost tankers, and other clandestine tactics to increase its imports of crude from these countries, and, as sanctions have loosened, it has imported oil and gas via more conventional routes.

Russia overtook Saudi Arabia to become Chinas biggest crude supplier in 2023, shipping 2.14 million barrels per day of oil to the Asian giant. China also reported importing 11 percent more crude from Iran in the first three months of 2024 than during the same period in 2023. This could present an issue as Trump attempts to impose stricter sanctions, potentially prompting China to retaliate if its energy supplies are disrupted.

Nevertheless, Trump has doubled down on his plans for stricter sanctions on all three countries. In October, Venezuelas oil exports rose to 950,000 barrels per day, a four-year high. However, Jose Cardenas, Washington strategic consultant and lobbyist, explained, Revoking the oil licenses would send a powerful signal to not only Maduro, the opposition, the EU, and others that the U.S. is serious about a democratic transition taking place in Venezuela. Any move to further strengthen sanctions on Venezuela would likely push the South American country closer to Iran and China, which could cause geopolitical tensions for the U.S. and its allies.

When it comes to Russia, Ian Bremmer, the president of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, said, What I am hearing from Trump advisors is that Trump would be prepared to put much tougher sanctions against them, if Russia rejects a peace deal. As the U.S. has increased its natural gas output significantly over the last few years, and its allies have secured alternative gas supplies, it leaves Trump in a strong position to enforce strict sanctions on Russian energy.

Based on what Trump said during his campaign trail and the people that he is appointing to key government positions, it seems likely that he will impose stricter energy sanctions on Iran, Venezuela, and Russia when he takes office. The U.S. is in a strong position to do this as its oil and gas output stands at an all-time high. However, stricter sanctions could lead China to retaliate, as its energy supply chains become disrupted. It could also encourage Venezuela and Iran to deepen their ties with one another, thereby creating greater geopolitical unrest.
Picks from the Past: American Museum Journal, May 1909

The Darwin Celebration

The one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Charles Robert Darwin and the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species were celebrated by the New York Academy of Sciences on February twelfth at the American Museum of Natural History. The occasion was made memorable by the unveiling of a bronze bust of Darwin, the Academys gift to the Museum; also by the dedication of the Synoptic Hall of the Museum as The Darwin Hall of Invertebrate Zoology, with the unveiling or bronze tablets thus inscribed at either side of the entrance from the Hall of Forestry. The bust was presented by the Academys president, Charles Finney Cox, and was accepted on behalf of the trustees of the Museum by President Henry Fairfield Osborn.

The bust is pronounced by those who knew Darwin personally, and by his sons in England, who have seen photographs of the clay model, the best portrait in the round of the great naturalist ever made. It is the work of William Couper, sculptured from photographs taken when Darwin was fifty years old, at the time of the publication of The Origin of Species. President Osborns acceptance of the bust, as a valuable work of art and as an expression of appreciation by the New York Academy of both the technical and the directly educational work of the Museum, gives this impressive likeness of Darwin permanent place in the Darwin Hall of Invertebrate Zoology. Here it will stand to testify to Charles Darwins method of scientific study, namely, a humble and direct approach to nature, in self-reliance and with independence of thinking. The speakers of the afternoon, representing Geology, Botany and Zoology, and each claiming Darwin as the inspiration to freedom or thought in the given science, were Professors John James Stevenson, Nathaniel Lord Britton and Hermon Carey Bumpus.

But a few years ago, even to consider the question of evolution was held to be irrational and immoral, not only by the world at large, but also by the intellectual world, with the exception of a small body of scientists. The change has come since the appearance of The Origin of Species in 1859, and outside of the scientific centers at Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, New Haven and New York, it has seemed to come slowly; but the effect has been cumulative, and to-day thinkers in all lines accept the fact of evolution. In the first ten years after 1859, many of the older scientists ignored or fought the doctrine bitterly. Even Agassiz remained on the side of the creation of each species as we find it. Asa Gray, however, who knew Darwin personally and who had published a review of The Origin of Species before a copy reached America, stood firmly not only for the theory of evolution, but also for that which Darwinism signifies, the theory of Natural Selection as the working process of evolution. He inspired the younger men in the Boston scientific center, Shaler, Verrill, Packard, Morse, Hyatt, Mien and Scudder, and through their influence enthusiasm for Darwinism grew until a climax was reached in 1876. Since that date every biological worker in the country has found [in] his research an item to strengthen belief in evolution, and also, it is true, often to expose some weakness or mend some flaw in the doctrine of Natural Selection.

Darwin, however, did not consider his work faultless, final or complete. In his day the general theory of evolution was already well established in many scientists minds, due to the work of anatomists such as Lamarck and Cuvier. Darwin marshalled the facts that the world could then give, to formulate dearly and boldly a possible explanation of the method by which evolution had produced existing life forms. From the geometric increase in numbers due to the normal rate of reproduction of plants and animals, there resulted a struggle for existence, a three-fold struggle (1) with the environment, which not only brought the animal the ordinary exigencies of life, but also perhaps presented suddenly wholly new problems due to some geological change during the earths history, (2) with members of the same species in search of homes and food and (3) with direct enemies. Since all forms vary at birth, some were less well fitted for the struggle than others; they died for lack of food or were killed by enemies; those better fitted survived. Thus the best fitted for life in a given region became the parents of the next generation, and, if the environmental conditions remained unchanged for many generations, heredity brought about a better adapted race, a nature selected race, and, what is the important and contested point, a new variety or species, that is, a race different from the ancestral one. Thus, according to Darwinism, new species come about through slow, minute and cumulative changes. One of the strongest pieces of work done since Darwins time, that of Hugo de Vries, proves that species may come into existence abruptly also, by large changes or mutations, de Vries holding that the mutation theory supplements Natural Selection but does not supplant it.

Whether, however, Darwinism lives in the future, or fails under the critical scrutiny of the army of working scientists and in the light of a vast aggregation of new facts, Darwins position of eminence cannot be assailed. He stands for supreme service to mankind in that he forced into the world of organized knowledge love of truth and abhorrence of slavery to tradition. He was a great seer in a scientific world where practically all was new ground. He was a naturalist, one of the few deserving the name, with masterly grasp of all known facts in the various branches of natural science. Since his time each of these branches, botany, zoology, geology, has grown until it seems that no one mind can comprehend the details of even one of them. The result is that to-day every man is working on his chosen problem, and often the field of that problem is extremely limited, though it involves weighty principles.

Will there come a second Darwin, again to grasp all nature in clear mental vision? His task would be the same as was Darwins, though far more difficult because of the larger body of knowledge,to accept and organize all accumulated information, while at the same time holding his own opinions and formulating his own theories. The work of the new Darwin would marshall to the front or banish to oblivion the many tangled theories of the present, and all so clearly and convincingly that there would be forced upon him who reads a repetition of the effect of The Origin of Species, the conviction that, after all, the task was an easy one for there could be no other conclusion.

An important feature of the celebration is the special exhibition in the Hall of Forestry and the new Darwin Hall comprising carefully selected specimens and groups of specimens bearing upon the Darwinian theory of Evolution through Natural Selection; also a valuable collection of Darwiniana consisting of letters, writings and portraits of Charles Darwin, as well as a series of photographs of Darwins contemporaries. The exhibition is open free to the public and will remain in place till March 12.
Erdogan says Turkey will no longer continue or develop relations with Israel

All ties between Turkey and Israel were severed this week after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan confirmed to journalists that the relationship is over.

"The government of the Republic of Turkey, under the leadership of Tayyip Erdogan, will not continue or develop relations with Israel," Erdogan told the press while aboard his personal airplane following visits to Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.

"[Our ruling coalition] is resolute in its decision to cut ties with Israel, and we will maintain this stance in the future as well. We, as the Republic of Turkey and its government, have currently severed all relations with Israel."

Back in May, Turkey imposed a trade embargo on Israel, though this was something of a smokescreen as Turkey simply hid its trade relations with Israel under the guise of delivering goods to "Palestine."

From now on, the only relations that Turkey and Israel will have together are the diplomatic kind as necessary for continuity of government. Everything else is now off limits, including the presence of a Turkish ambassador in Tel Aviv and an Israeli ambassador in Ankara.

(Related: Did you know that Turkey and 51 other nations are now calling for a global arms embargo on Israel?)

Erdogan to do everything he can to hold Netanyahu accountable

Turkey also plans to take further action against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his military actions in Gaza. International human rights groups almost uniformly agree that Israel is committing a Palestinian genocide in the embattled enclave.

Turkey is a participant in the ongoing genocide case currently moving through the International Court of Justice (ICJ). That case supports the existence of Palestine and advocates for a global arms embargo against Tel Aviv.

At least 52 countries, one of them Turkey, are right now on board with the arms embargo initiative, which aims to stop all further shipments of weapons and ammunition to Israel from anywhere in the world.

"We recently submitted our formal letter regarding this initiative to the president of the United Nations Security Council and the secretary-general of the United Nations," Erdogan confirmed.

"During our summit in Riyadh, a decision was made to invite all organizations and members of the Arab League to sign this letter."

Relations between Turkey and Israel deteriorated to an unsustainable level following a September 2023 meeting between Erdogan and Netanyahu that sought reconciliation between the two nations. Then October 7 happened and all bets were off.

Erdogan says he recognizes that Netanyahu is in the wrong and that Turkey will do whatever it can to hold Netanyahu accountable for crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

Ankara is becoming increasingly critical of the Netanyahu regime in the year since October 7. Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost voter support in the recent elections over its weak response to the war in Gaza. Now, Erdogan is trying to step up the rhetoric, at least, and time will tell if he truly means business in a literal sense.

"As usual, a double game by the populist Erdogan that diverts the public's attention in his country from very serious problems in the Turkish economy," wrote a commenter claiming to be from the region about how there is more here than meets the eye.

"It is enough to enter any supermarket or pharmacy store or many other places in Israel to see that there are lots of cheap Turkish products. Talks apart, actions apart."

Another piped in that this latest move by Erdogan will make it harder for Israel to send aid to Turkey the next time there is a major earthquake or other humanitarian disaster.

Israel is becoming increasingly isolated on the world stage. Learn more at Prophecy.news.

Sources for this article include:

MiddleEastEye.net

NaturalNews.com
Gaetz appointment as U.S. attorney general triggers PANIC in the Washington D.C. swamp

President-elect Donald Trump's decision to announce U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as the new head of the Department of Justice (DOJ) has sent the Swamp creatures in Washington, D.C. panicking

The real estate mogul made the announcement Wednesday, Nov. 13, on his Truth Social platform. Trump remarked that Gaetz would "end weaponized government, protect our borders, dismantle criminal organizations and restore Americans' badly-shattered faith and confidence in the Justice Department" if the Florida congressman is confirmed as the next U.S. attorney general. (Related: Rep. Gaetz leading charge to dismantle illegal government mass surveillance scheme.)

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters Wednesday evening that Gaetz offered his resignation from the House of Representatives in a letter. However, it has not yet gone into effect as it has not been announced on the House floor.

"I think out of deference to us, [Gaetz] issued his resignation letter effective immediately," said the speaker. "That caught us by surprise a little bit, but I asked him what the reasoning was. He said, 'Well, you can't have too many absences.'"

According to NBC News, a special election will be held to fill Gaetz's now-vacant seat. "Under Florida state law, there's about an eight-week period to select and fill a vacant seat," Johnson remarked.

The mainstream media outlet continued that Gaetz's selection came as a surprise to many in the DOJ and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) under it. One senior FBI official said they hoped "three or four senators" wouldn't confirm him.

DOJ officials called Trump's choice "insane," arguing that the Florida congressman was the least-qualified nominee in the history of the department. One senior DOJ official called the idea of Gaetz becoming U.S. attorney general "laughable," adding that he "shouldn't be confirmable."

Lawmakers on both sides of the fence also slam Gaetz being picked as AG

InfoWars reported that some lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties have expressed disappointment over Trump's choice to lead the DOJ.

U.S. Rep. and now U.S. Senator-elect Adam Schiff (D-CA) sounded off against the GOP congressman. Schiff is notable for being the main figure pushing the now-debunked lie that Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election.

The Democrat wrote: "First, the Supreme Court granted a president immunity for weaponizing the Justice Department? Now Trump wants to appoint Gaetz as [attorney general]?"

"Confirming him would mean affirming the worst potential abuses of [the] DOJ. He must be rejected by the Senate."

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) called Gaetz's nomination as a "red alert moment for American democracy." Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AL) described Gaetz as "not a serious candidate" for the position he was named to.

Even the mainstream media is reacting to the news of Gaetz's appointment terribly. "The general vibe on [Capitol Hill] right now is WTF," MSNBC correspondent Julie Tserkin reported. "People are shocked at the news of Gaetz especially."

"I cannot imagine why someone would vote to confirm Gaetz for host at Red Lobster, never mind attorney general of the United States," wrote Jonah Goldberg of The Dispatch. Former Fox News host Geraldo Rivera, who is now with NewsNation, called the Florida congressman a "douche" and described him as a "bad" choice to lead the DOJ.

"The Deep State Democrats, RINO Republicans and legacy media figures are melting down over the prospect of Gaetz running the Justice Department given his past advocacy for dismantling the weaponization of government," InfoWars noted.

"When the DC elite are spiraling into a complete meltdown, that's a signal Gaetz is probably the perfect individual to bring accountability to those who weaponized the justice system."

Head over to BigGovernment.news for similar stories.

Watch U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) confirming that Matt Gaetz was picked as the next U.S. attorney general by President-elect Trump, which is his right to do.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Trump appoints Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy to head new DOGE "Manhattan Project" to optimize "government efficiency."

Trump names campaign manager and former Big Pharma lobbyist Susie Wiles as his chief of staff.

Trump to appoint Stephen Miller as his deputy chief of staff for policy.

Trump picks pro-war Zionist shill Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary.

Sources include:

InfoWars.com

NBCNews.com

Brighteon.com
Jury awards $12m to Catholic remote worker who was fired for refusing COVID-19 vaccine

A Michigan woman who was fired for not getting a COVID-19 vaccine has been awarded $12 million in a religious discrimination lawsuit.

The woman, 66-year-old Lisa Domski, was working as an IT specialist for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, which instituted a mandatory vaccine policy for all employees in October 2021.

As a devout Catholic, Domski followed the companys instructions for applying for a religious exemption on the grounds that the jabs in circulation at that time had been made using fetal cells obtained from abortions. She submitted a written statement explaining her religious beliefs in detail, along with contact information for her parish and priest; the company never followed up with them.

In the letter, she expressed that getting the vaccine would be a terrible sin and distance my relationship with God.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan denied her request and then threatened to fire her if she didnt comply. A steadfast Domski refused to give in to their demands, and she was placed on a nearly month-long unpaid leave before being fired in January 2022, ending her nearly four-decade career with the insurer. She was just one of 250 employees who the company fired after seeking a religious exemption.

Domski, who worked 75 percent of her job from home prior to the pandemic, became fully remote during the pandemic, making her employers insistence on getting jabbed even more nonsensical. This is something her lawyer brought up, pointing out that there was no need to require a fully remote worker to get jabbed when customers and contractors who went to their physical place of business did not need the vaccine.

Her attorney, Jon Marko, said: This was a woman who was working from home in her basement office who wasnt a threat to anybody and was completely fulfilling all of her job obligations for 38 years. They made up their minds that they were going to discriminate against people who had sincerely held religious beliefs.

The jury found that the insurer was engaging in unlawful religious discrimination and violated state and federal laws against it. She was awarded $10 million in punitive damages, along with $1 million in noneconomic damages and $1.7 million in lost wages. The insurer said they were disappointed by the verdict and are currently reviewing their legal options. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan denied three out of every four requests for religious exemptions to its vaccine mandate.

Numerous religious discrimination lawsuits filed across the nation over COVID-19 vaccine mandates

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee recently found itself on the losing side of a similar lawsuit, paying a $700,000 settlement to a Tennessee woman who was also fired for her refusal to comply with a vaccine mandate.

According to the jury in that case, the employee proved her refusal was based on a sincerely held religious belief and that, like Domski, she was mostly working remotely before the pandemic.

Even if you want to be generous and assume that Blue Cross Blue Shield was not aware at the time that the vaccines did not prevent the transmission of the virus, there is absolutely no public health justification for requiring a woman working in her basement to get jabbed.

Thousands of people across the nation have filed lawsuits against their employers after being denied an exemption from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, with many cases involving religious objections. Last month, a jury awarded six Bay Area Rapid Transit employees in San Francisco $1 million each after being denied religious accommodations, while 500 workers who were denied exemptions from the Illinois-based NorthShore University Health System were given a $10.3 million settlement.

Sources for this article include:

TheDailyBell.com

NYPost.com
GASLIGHTING: Mainstream media claims Trump supporters pose a bigger threat of election-related violence than the radical left

The way things are in the U.S. right now, it feels like the public has been the subject of intensive gaslighting for the last nine years.

The minute President-elect Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president in New York City in 2015, the media-political complex focused on turning him and his supporters into targets.

Mainstream media has also worked to portray Trump, his associates and his supporters into a modern-day version of the Third Reich. To do this, the media cherry-picked his statements, aired them without context and used them to paint him as another Adolf Hitler.

Additionally, Trump's political opposition used those cherry-picked statements against him, even though they have been debunked, and pushed them as the truth.

Some recent examples include Liz Cheney, a disgraced former congresswoman and RINO (Republican in name only) who turned from the number three Republican in the White House to a rabid anti-Trump zealot.

At a rally before the election, Trump was talking about Cheneys reputation as a "radical war hawk." He suggested that Cheney she would feel differently "when the guns are trained on her face."

"You know they're all war hawks when theyre sitting in Washington in a nice building saying, oh gee, well lets send 10,000 troops right into the mouth of the enemy," added Trump.

Mainstream media and anti-Trump Democrats took Trumps words and twisted them, with the media now saying that Trump was suggesting that Cheney should face a firing squad. But listening to what he really said will reveal that Trump didn't say that.

Democrats also took advantage of these edited remarks and used them to suggest that Trump and his supporters are committing political violence. But in reality, out of the two presidential candidates, only Trump was the intended target of two assassination attempts.

In the past few weeks and despite those two assassination attempts, Kamala Harris, her vice presidential running mate Tim Walz and other leftist Democrats and mainstream media, continued to compare Trump to Hitler, who was behind the deaths of millions of Jews. (Related: National Guard units mobilized as states brace for potential unrest that may happen before Jan 20th.)

Prior to the presidential election, the gaslighting reached its boiling point. The Democrats have been responsible for an overwhelming amount of the political violence in America over the past eight years. But despite proof to the contrary, the complicit mainstream media still portray Republicans as a threat to democracy.

Mainstream media ignoring election-related violence perpetrated by the radical left

Julie Kelly, an independent journalist, has worked tirelessly to cover the persecution of innocent participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol incident.

Kelly also discussed how Democrats and the mainstream media are conveniently suffering from "amnesia" about cases of election-related violence spurred on by "supporters of their own party." She also suggested that it was as if "American history ceased to exist in any meaningful way before that date; nothing that happened before January 6 matters."

But Kelly doesn't want America to forget. She posted about the pattern of violence committed by the radical left, which is ignored by the mainstream media.

Several days of protests in at least 52 cities after Trump was elected.

In Portland, Oregon, three days of intense violence occurred and police declared a riot. Anti-Trump radicals attacked police, vandalized buildings and set buildings on fire.

More than 7,000 rioters wreaked havoc on the streets of Oakland, California, on Nov. 9, 2016. Rioters threw Molotov cocktails, rocks and fireworks at police.

On Nov. 10, 2016, in Omaha, Nebraska, a mob fought with police. At least two persons were arrested for obstructing justice.

Days later on Nov. 12, 2016, an anti-Trump demonstration in Indianapolis turned violent. Protesters threw rocks at police and seven protesters were arrested while two police officers were injured.

These demonstrations and riots continued until Inauguration Day, added Kelly.

Students walked out of classes and protesters surrounded Trump properties in Chicago, New York and Washington D.C. There were also reports about violent clashes with police.

On Jan. 20, 2017, Trump's inauguration day, a violent riot was reported in Washington, D.C. Protesters with links to Antifa lit cars and set businesses on fire several blocks away from the U.S. Capitol, where inauguration ceremonies were taking place. At least 200 rioters were arrested and six officers were injured.

However, the DOJ dropped charges against all the 2017 rioters.

Kelly concluded that these incidents only "prove the opposite of what Democrats and the media want the public to believe: they, not Trump supporters, represent the real threat for 'political violence.'"

Go to Trump.news for more stories about President-elect Donald Trump.

Watch the video below as Trump talks about how important it is to end the wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

AOC encourages radical Left to protest outside Chicago Trump Hotel not even 24 hours after Election Day.

Gender-confused Democrat ARRESTED for saying he wanted to shoot Trump.

Kamala Harris campaign advisor deletes X account after blaming Biden for loss.

Would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh warns from prison that victory for former president will spell "the end of democracy."

Sources include:

LawEnforcementToday.com

USAToday.com

PBS.org

Brighteon.com
Police raid German pensioners home, drag him to court for retweeting meme mocking Green minister as idiot

Free speech is dead in Germany after police arrested a 64-year-old Bavarian pensioner for retweeting a meme of Green Economy Minister Robert Habeck in which Habeck is described as an "idiot."

For the "crime" of upsetting Habeck and his minions, the pensioner had his home raided by law enforcement, which arrested him for a "politically motivated right-wing crime."

According to the Bamberg prosecutor's office, what the pensioner did constitutes a federal criminal offense of "hatred."

"At a time that cannot currently be specified in more detail in the days or weeks before June 20, 2024, the accused published an image file using the account that shows a portrait of Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck with the title 'Schwachkopf PROFESSIONAL,' based on the advertising campaign of the Schwarzkopf company, in order to generally defame Robert Habeck and to make it more difficult for him to work as a member of the federal government," reads the official statement from the prosecutor's office about the "crime."

"Schwachkopf," by the way, is a German word that closely translates as "idiot" in English.

(Related: Did you know that the so-called "green revolution" is destroying Germany's economy, which is now in economic bloodbath territory?)

Green rival party AfD reposts same meme

To capture the world's attention about this act of blatant fascism by Germany's government, Alternative for Germany (AfD), the rival political party of the Greens, reposted the same "criminal" meme along with the following English-translated statement:

"While Habeck presents himself as a 'people-friendly' candidate for chancellor, his critics are being relentlessly pursued. They do not shy away from conducting house searches on sleeping families just because the father of the family shared this Schwachkopf graphic. This is what would happen to Germany under a Chancellor Habeck: the complete restriction of freedom of expression by a children's book author who displayed maximum incompetence for three and a half years, but still feels called to greater things."

In a statement to the Nius news outlet, the pensioner expressed that he never imagined "that it would come to this," adding that this has "definite GDR flavor," GDR flavor referring to communist East Germany and its Stasi police force of old.

According to Nius, what happened to the pensioner was celebrated, in a sense, as part of a national "day of action against hate postings, warning social media users their homes would be searched and electronic devices confiscated" if they were caught sharing offensive memes.

"In over 90 investigations, more than 50 homes were searched, and there were 127 police actions in total," Nius reported about the "criminal police officers" who were "deployed across Germany" to crack down on online free speech.

"When the police are at the door, every perpetrator realizes that hate crimes have consequences," threatened Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on X/Twitter following the raid and arrest.

This is hardly the first time that German citizens have been persecuted for criticizing the Green Party. Business man Michael Much had his house searched and personal property confiscated after he was identified as having put up posters around town mocking Habeck, Green Party leader Ricarda Lang and other members of Germany's federal government.

In that case, Much was set free after the court system determined that his posters were a legitimate form of free speech. The question remains: what will happen to the pensioner?

On X/Twitter, one German user mocked the situation by suggesting that if Habeck is doing this to his critics, he must be giving awards to his kiss-ups.

"Anyone who publicly compliments Habeck will immediately receive 100 EUR VAT-free from the government!" this user joked.

More related news can be found at Fascism.news.

Sources for this article include:

RMX.news

NaturalNews.com
Trump says theres no other choice: mass deportations must happen swiftly

During a chat withthis past week, President-elect Donald Trump revealed that his incoming administration has "no choice" but to carry out mass deportations of illegal aliens right out of the gate  and no matter the cost.

When asked how much it will cost to carry out his plan for mass deportations, which is scheduled to commence on Day One right after the inauguration, Trump responded with this:

"It's not a question of a price tag. Really, we have no choice."

"When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries. And now they're going to go back to those countries because they're not staying here. There is no price tag."

While on the campaign trail, Trump pledged to America that he will remove the roughly 11 million people, officially speaking, who are currently living in the U.S. without permission  though Trump says the true number is closer to 21 million illegals.

"We obviously have to make the border strong and powerful, and we have to  at the same time, we want people to come into our country," Trump continued about the need for some legal immigrants but not the overwhelming hordes of illegals that are tearing apart the fabric of America.

"And, you know, I'm not somebody that says, 'No, you can't come in.' We want people to come in."

(Related: Trump is already encountering resistance with career money master Jerome Powell of the private Federal Reserve, who says he will not resign even if Trump tells him to leave.)

Trump's mass deportations could cost $315 billion, warns nonprofit

The biggest concern about Trump's plan for mass deportations seems to be the price tag. The American Immigration Council says it could cost as much as $315 billion to do what Trump is proposing.

Democrats are likewise upset about the plan, though they would be regardless since it came from Trump.

Both Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance say the benefits of the mass deportations plan far exceed the costs, not to mention the longstanding economic benefits of cleaning up the country and sealing the border to only allow legal immigration.

"Kicking out illegal immigrants who are competing for those homes" would help to bring down housing costs, for instance. Vance made this claim back on October 1 as part of Trump's campaign.

Some economists are skeptical, though, that housing prices will budge much from the plan. The real problem, they say, stems from anti-growth policies that for a very long time have resulted in the massive underbuilding of homes all across the United States.

Another problem, of course, is America's corrupt financial system, which at the current time is a Ponzi scheme run by a private central bank cartel called the Federal Reserve that prints fiat paper "money" out of thin air, massively diluting the pool of U.S. dollars and eating away at Americans' buying power through the theft of their labor.

All of this and more deserves serious attention from the incoming Trump administration that will hopefully work to restore sound money policies that will ultimately prevent any private central bank from ever again taking over and becoming a national parasite on the fruit of Americans' labor.

"Don't let the mainstream media fool you: U.S. citizens are overwhelmingly for mass deportations," one commenter wrote, warning Americans not to fall for the inevitable sob story reporting from the mainstream media about how families are "being separated" because of Trump's mass deportations.

"The current administration has never given a reason as to why they opened the border in the first place," wrote another. "They wanted to change America culturally, economically, politically, and geographically."

The latest news about all things Trump can be found at Trump.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com
Prominent UK journalist investigated for hate incident over year-old, deleted X post

A journalist for the London Telegraph got an unpleasant surprise when UK police knocked on her door to question her about a tweet she posted a year ago.

As outrageous as this may sound, the paper reports that Essex Police acknowledged officers launched an investigation under the Public Order Act 1986s Section 17 pertaining to material that is likely or intended to cause racial hatred.

A spokesperson for the police said: Were investigating a report passed to us by another force. The report relates to a social media post which was subsequently removed.

The journalist in question, award-winning writer Allison Pearson, described the situation as Kafkaesque. She was visited by officers at 9:40 in the morning on Remembrance Sunday and told she was accused of a non-crime hate incident.

Officers told her it was related to a post she made on X one year ago, but they did not tell her which specific post they were referring to. However, she tweeted frequently about the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel around that time, in addition to covering contentious pro-Palestinian protests that were held in London.

Officers didnt give her a lot of details beyond saying that she is being accused of racial hatred by an unnamed accuser  but shes not allowed to call the person an accuser.

She stated that when she asked the police constable to tell her the name of her accuser, he said: Its not the accuser. Theyre called the victim.

She asked how she can defend herself without knowing what offense she is being accused of or who is accusing her, and the two policemen who visited her seemed just as confused about the situation as she was.

Pearson said that the visit from police took her completely off guard.

She stated: I was definitely shocked. Astonished. That too. Upset. How could I not be? Its never nice having the police at the door if youre a law-abiding person, because police at the door can mean only one of two things: tragedy or trouble.

The situation was even more surprising because none of her followers had complained about the nature of her posts before.

I have hundreds of black and Asian followers on X/Twitter, none of them ever suggested Id said something bad or hateful. Besides, who decides where you set the bar for whats offensive? she added.

This is supposed to be 2024 not 1984, yet the police officers seemed to be operating according to the George Orwell operational manual.

Widespread outrage over unreasonable investigation

X owner Elon Musk has already weighed in on the situation, writing: This needs to stop.

UK Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp also spoke out against the investigation, saying that police were wasting time and resources by pursuing journalists expressing their opinions. He added that police should be policing real crimes rather than thought crimes and that freedom of expression should be protected.

MP Nigel Farage also commented on Pearsons situation, saying: This is Orwellian in the extreme.

The backlash has been so strong that the UK Home Office is now reviewing how police handle non-crime hate incidents, with the official spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying that it should only be done where proportionate and necessary to prevent serious crimes stemming from them in the future.

The Home Office is now reviewing guidelines for these incidents to ensure they do not distract police from going after other crimes and that they do not violate peoples free speech rights.

The UK police watchdog warned this fall that police were recording too many hate crimes, focusing on disputes that involved hurt feelings, and taking actions that contradict common sense.

Sources for this article include:

Modernity.news

Telegraph.co.uk

Telegraph.co.uk
Ukraine denies reports from think tank that it is months away from developing a NUCLEAR WEAPON

Ukraine has denied reports suggesting it could develop a nuclear weapon soon , following claims by a Ukrainian military think tank.

The report, published by the Ukrainian think tank and nongovernmental organization the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies, claimed that Kyiv could use spent nuclear fuel from its remaining nuclear reactors to create a rudimentary nuclear bomb.

The think tank's paper, which was reportedly shared with defense officials in Kyiv, argued that if Ukraine lost Western support, developing a basic nuclear bomb could act as a deterrent or bargaining chip in the ongoing conflict with Russia. The report estimated that Ukraine's nuclear reactors could produce enough plutonium to build "hundreds of warheads" with a tactical yield of several kilotons.

The think tank argued that creating a simple atomic bomb would not be difficult, citing advances in technology since World War II's Manhattan Project. However, Ukraine has made it clear that it is not pursuing such capabilities, noting that its relationship with the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ensures its nuclear activities remain peaceful and transparent.

Despite the relatively small size of such rudimentary nuclear weapons, the paper claimed it would be capable of destroying key Russian military facilities, such as airbases or logistics hubs.

Oleksii Yizhak, the report's author, argued that even a small nuclear device could have significant strategic value. "That would be enough to destroy an entire Russian airbase or concentrated military, industrial or logistics installations," he said.

Valentyn Badrak, the director of the think tank, described the war with Russia as an existential struggle for Ukraine.

"If the Russians take Ukraine, millions of Ukrainians will be killed under occupation," he said. "There are millions of us who would rather face death than go to the gulags."

Ukraine claims it has no intention of pursuing nuclear weapons development

Despite the think tank's claims, Ukraines government swiftly rejected the idea of pursuing nuclear weapons.

Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reiterated the countrys commitment to non-proliferation, stating: "We do not possess, develop or intend to acquire nuclear weapons." (Related: Zelensky tries to bully NATO into letting Ukraine join, or he threatens to acquire nuclear weapons.)

Tykhyi emphasized that Ukraine works closely with the IAEA and is fully transparent about its nuclear activities, ruling out the use of nuclear materials for military purposes.

"Ukraine's security is guaranteed through international cooperation, and we remain committed to our obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," Tykhyi added.

Speculation surrounding Ukraine's nuclear options intensified in October when President Volodymyr Zelensky remarked that Ukraine might need to pursue nuclear capabilities or join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for protection.

Although Zelensky later clarified that Ukraine was not seeking nuclear weapons, his comments highlighted the security challenges the country faces amid Russia's invasion.

In 1994, Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal under the Budapest Memorandum in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S., the United Kingdom and Russia. However, Kyiv views these guarantees as being widely ineffective in light of the fact that Moscow has already claimed and occupied a significant portion of internationally recognized Ukrainian territory.

Watch this clip of Alex Jones warning that the West may give Ukraine nuclear weapons.

This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

West not taking seriously enough the threat of a nuclear attack by Moscow, warns former Russian president.

IT'S COMING: Russia initiates NUCLEAR drills simulating retaliatory strikes on West.

Trump blames Biden, Zelensky for Ukraine conflict, warns of WWIII with Russia.

"We f----d it up:" Biden admits Obama failed when he didn't prevent Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014.

West fears Russia has given Iran NUCLEAR BOMB SECRETS in exchange for missiles to attack Ukraine.

Sources include:

The-Sun.com

KyivIndependent.com

Brighteon.com
Rising global temperatures are fueling an alarming increase in dengue fever cases, a mosquito-borne illness that can lead to severe health complications or death.

A recent study suggests that nearly 20% of dengue infections worldwide are linked to climate change, with projections indicating that figure could triple by 2050 if greenhouse gas emissions continue unchecked.

Rising Temperatures Could Trigger 150% Dengue Surge

The study analyzed 1.5 million dengue cases in 21 countries across Asia and the Americas, all regions where the disease is endemic. Researchers found that rising temperatures create conditions ideal for the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries dengue.

Warmer climates speed up mosquito reproduction and the virus's multiplication inside the mosquito, leading to higher transmission rates. The study identified a temperature "sweet spot" of around 84F (29C), where dengue transmission peaks.

According to USA Today, this warming trend is particularly concerning for regions like Peru, Mexico, and Brazil, where optimal temperatures for dengue are becoming more common. In these areas, infections could surge by more than 150% in the coming decades.

Conversely, in extremely hot regions, such as parts of southern Vietnam, mosquito populations may decline due to temperatures exceeding 86F (30C), which shortens the mosquitoes' lifespans.

The US is also seeing a rise in locally transmitted cases, with infections reported in California, Texas, Florida, and Arizona. While dengue is not yet endemic to U.S. states, warming conditions could enable the virus to spread more widely.

Public health officials warn that the combination of rising global temperatures and increased international travel could further accelerate the spread of dengue across temperate regions.

READ MORE : Global Plastic Pileup Could Be Halted With Four Policies, California Study Finds

Climate Action and Mosquito Control Key to Prevention

Efforts to combat this growing threat include reducing carbon emissions to mitigate global warming, which researchers estimate could prevent millions of future cases.

Preventative measures like controlling mosquito breeding grounds and promoting public health responses are also crucial, Live Science said.

Urbanization, poverty, and deforestation contribute to creating mosquito-friendly environments, particularly in regions lacking proper sanitation and housing.

Promising solutions include introducing Wolbachia bacteria into mosquito populations, a method shown to significantly reduce dengue transmission in parts of Brazil. However, such interventions require time and consistent implementation to have a lasting impact.

Experts stress that addressing dengue's spread must be part of broader climate change mitigation efforts.

Protecting vulnerable communities and strengthening healthcare systems will be vital as the planet continues to warm. Simple actions like wearing protective clothing and using insect repellents can also help individuals avoid infection.

As dengue cases rise globally, the connection between climate change and public health becomes ever clearer, underscoring the urgent need for both environmental and medical interventions.
A remarkable discovery has surfaced from the depths of the Solomon Islands' waters-a coral so immense it can be seen from space.

Found by the National Geographic Pristine Seas team, this colossal coral, known as Pavona clavus, is now recognized as the largest in the world.

Diver Discovers World's Largest Coral, Mistaken for Shipwreck, Beneath Solomon Islands

The find occurred during an expedition when researchers initially mistook the structure for a shipwreck. Upon further investigation by a diver, it turned out to be a thriving coral formation, estimated to be 300 years old.

This extraordinary organism spans 34 meters in width, 32 meters in length, and over 5 meters in height, dwarfing the previous record-holder, "Big Momma," located in American Samoa, ABC News reported.

More than just a massive structure, the coral is a bustling ecosystem, home to countless marine species like fish, crabs, and shrimps. Its layers hold an invaluable historical record of ocean conditions spanning centuries.

Marine ecologist Enric Sala described the discovery as monumental, comparing it to finding the world's tallest tree.

This coral is a single, living organism made up of billions of tiny polyps working together to build and maintain this vibrant underwater habitat. Unlike traditional coral reefs that comprise multiple colonies, this coral stands alone as a testament to nature's wonders.

Solomon Islands Coral Diversity at Risk as Climate Change Threatens Marine Ecosystems

The Solomon Islands, located in the biodiversity-rich Coral Triangle, host the second-highest coral diversity on Earth.

This region plays a vital role in supporting marine life and protecting coastal communities. According to Ronnie Posala, a fisheries officer in the Solomon Islands, corals serve as natural barriers, defending shores from powerful storms and waves.

However, these ecosystems are under threat. Rising ocean temperatures, pollution, and unsustainable fishing practices have caused widespread coral bleaching and degradation.

Scientists warn that without significant action to curb climate change, coral reefs worldwide could disappear by the end of the century, according to Earth.com.

Despite the challenges, this discovery provides optimism. Coral scientist Eric Brown noted that while nearby shallow reefs have suffered due to warming seas, this massive coral thriving in deeper waters offers hope.

Its resilience suggests that deeper-water corals might survive where shallower ones fail, offering potential strategies for preserving vulnerable reef systems.

The newly uncovered giant coral highlights both the fragility and resilience of marine ecosystems.

As threats to coral reefs grow, this discovery serves as a reminder of the urgent need to protect these vital habitats. For the Solomon Islands and the world, it reinforces the importance of safeguarding our oceans for future generations.
Amman, Nov 18 : Jordan's tourism revenue for the first 10 months of this year reached $6.1 billion, down 4.4 per cent from the same period last year, the state-owned Al Mamlaka TV reported.

According to official figures, this decline is attributed to a 6.6-per cent drop in the number of tourists, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The main reason for the decline in tourism is the cancellation of many flights by European airlines to Jordan due to the war in Gaza and Lebanon," Ilham Saeed, an economic news editor and analyst, told Xinhua.

The regional conditions forced airlines to cancel flights, leading to significant cancellations by tourist groups from Europe, he said.

"It is essential to diversify tourism markets and attract tourists from other countries such as China and major East Asian markets as an alternative," Saeed said, adding that Jordan is safe and stable and the country needs to reach out to new markets.
New Delhi, Nov 18 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi was warmly welcomed by the Indian community after he arrived in Brazil's capital Rio de Janeiro on Monday.

The Prime Minister shared pictures of his welcome by the community. He wrote on his X handle that the energy reflected the affection.

"Deeply touched by the warm and lively welcome from the Indian community upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro. Their energy reflects the affection that binds us across continents," the Prime Minister wrote.

In the pictures, the Indian diaspora members could be seen waving Indian flags and showing some photos to the Prime Minister. And some showed him their paintings and other memorabilia.

Earlier, PM Modi arrived in Brazil after concluding his first leg visit to Nigeria where he held discussions with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, focusing on strengthening partnerships in sectors like defence, technology, health, and education.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Rio de Janeiro to participate in the G20 Summit hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

In a post on the social media platform X, PM Modi stated, "Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders."

India is a key member of the G20 Troika, alongside Brazil and South Africa, and has been actively shaping the discussions at the ongoing summit.

During the Summit on Monday, the Prime Minister will put forward Indias positions on various issues of global importance, building on the outcomes from the G20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration and Voice of the Global South Summits hosted by India in the past two years.

"On the sidelines of the G20 Summit, the Prime Minister is expected to meet several leaders," the MEA said earlier on Friday.

Following the G20 Summit, Prime Minister Modi will travel to Georgetown, the first visit to Guyana by an Indian PM since 1968.

During the November 19-21 visit at the invitation of the Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Prime Minister Modi will not only hold bilateral discussions and meet other senior leaders of Guyana but also address the Parliament of Guyana and a gathering of the Indian diaspora.

Last year, Ali visited India as the Chief Guest at the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held in Indore, where he was also awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman.

"In Georgetown, Guyana, the Prime Minister will also participate in the Second CARICOM-India Summit and hold meetings with leaders of CARICOM member countries to further enhance Indias long-standing friendship with the region," the MEA mentioned.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : Telugu superstar Allu Arjun and actress Rashmika Mandanna, who are set to reprise their iconic roles in the upcoming movie, Pushpa 2: The Rule, impressed the audience in Patna with their linguistic skills in Hindi considering both the actors work in south Indian cinema and Hindi is not their first language.

The actors attended the mega trailer launch of Pushpa 2: The Rule in Patna, and welcomed the audience.

Allu spoke to a huge crowd present at the event and entertained them with his efforts in Hindi. He said, My salute to the land of Bihar. I have come to Bihar for the first time. Thank you so much for your love and welcome. Pushpa never bows down, but for the first time today, Pushpa will bow down for your love. I have come here for the first time on this great land of Bihar. Im really touched by the love that you have showered upon us and thank you is not enough for that. I bow my head in front of you all for your love.

Rashmika, who is a bit more fluent in Hindi spoke with the audience at the event, and also tendered an apology for running a little behind the time for the unveiling of the trailer.

The actress said in Hindi, Thank you. I would like to welcome all of you to Pushpa's Srivalli, at the 'Pushpa 2' trailer launch event. I know that we have taken a little more time, but I can promise you that it's all worth it. After two years of hard work, you are all going to see the world of Pushpa, so I am very happy.

Meanwhile, Pushpa 2: The Rule, which is a sequel to the 2021 box-office juggernaut Pushpa: The Rise, is set to release in theatres on December 5, 2024.
New Delhi, Nov 18 : Former England captain Michael Vaughan has questioned over Indias decision to forgo a traditional warm-up match ahead of the much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Indias approach marks a departure from their previous two tours Down Under, where they played competitive warm-up matches against local teams to acclimatise to Australian conditions. In both the 2018/19 and 2020/21 tours, India utilised these games to prepare for the series, ultimately achieving historic Test victories on Australian soil.

However, this time around, Indias first competitive outing will be the opening Test against Australia at Perth Stadium, starting Friday.

Vaughan questioned whether India had adequately prepared for the challenge of facing Australia in their own backyard and expressed bemusement at the BCCI's choice to cancel a three-day intra-squad game at the WACA in favour of net sessions and match simulations.

I cant get my head around a team like India only wanting to play an intra-squad game leading into a series against Australia. I just cant see how you get yourself in that competitive mindset of consequence by playing an intra-squad game. Time will tell," Vaughan told Fox Sports.

The former England skipper pointed out the value of playing at the WACA, which offers similar bounce and pace to the Optus Stadium pitch in Perth, as a crucial opportunity missed.

"These players have a different kind of mindset to what we had. Whereas we probably needed more games, theyre playing 12 months of the year and think they can react and adapt quickly. But itll be intriguing to see how both sets of players settle on that first day when theyre playing the longer form," Vaughan added.

India isnt alone in bypassing warm-up games on overseas tours. Australia similarly skipped practice matches ahead of last years tours to India and England, citing scheduling issues.

'Looking at it through an English mindset, go and beat the Aussie A team, hammer them, Vaughan said, referencing Englands approach during their victorious 2010/11 Ashes campaign. "Set the marker down that you mean business. Thats what I would be doing if I was England."

With no practice matches to fine-tune their game plans, the Indian teams adaptability and readiness will be tested from the first ball at Perth Stadium. For Vaughan, the outcome of this gamble could set the tone for the series.

"Its a bold decision. If they start well, itll look like a masterstroke. If not, questions will be asked about their preparation, he concluded.

The first Test between Australia and India begins Friday at Perth.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : The upcoming Kangana Ranaut-starrer period drama Emergency is now set to release on January 17 next year after receiving the censor clearance.

On Monday, Kangana took to her Instagram, and shared a poster from the film which shows its pivotal characters.

She wrote in the caption, 17th January 2025  The epic saga of the nations most powerful woman and the moment that altered Indias destiny. #Emergency  Unveils Only in cinemas.

The film, set during the period of Emergency in the 1970s imposed by the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The film promises to offer a gripping exploration of one of the most spoken about chapters in Indian democracy.

The film is written, directed, and headlined by Kangana Ranaut, and it marks her second directorial after Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi.

The film features a powerful ensemble cast, including Anupam Kher, Mahima Chaudhary, Milind Soman, Shreyas Talpade, Vishak Nair, and the late Satish Kaushik. Each actor plays a pivotal role in bringing the nuanced political and personal dynamics of the era to the screen.

Produced by Zee Studios, Manikarnika Films and Renu Pitti, Emergency has its music composed by Sanchit Balhara and G.V. Prakash Kumar, with dialogues and screenplay crafted by Ritesh Shah.

Earlier, Kangana had shared a heartwarming photo on social media celebrating the festival of Bhai Dooj with her brothers. On Sunday, the actress posted a sweet photo of herself giving blessings to her brothers, Akshat and Karan. In the image, Kangana radiated joy as she smiled while posing for the candid click. In the caption, she simply wrote, #bhaidooj. She also added Asha Bhosles iconic track Mere Bhaiya, Mere Chanda. In a follow-up post, the Tanu Weds Manu star is seen feeding sweets to her brother while holding a pooja thali.

She wrote in the caption, Do you know that #bhaidooj is a festival where sisters vow to protect the dignity, pride, and overall well-being of their brothers? Missed you @varunranaut. The actress wore an elegant suit for the occasion.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : Filmmaker Karan Johar recently discussed the complex dynamics of ego in relationships and how, sometimes, the "loser" ends up being the true winner.

On Monday, KJo took to his Instagram Stories to share a note that read, In a war of ego, the loser always wins. Known for his striking presence on social media, Karan has been sharing cryptic posts lately.

A few days ago, he posted an inspiring quote about surrounding oneself with the best people. The note read, Surround yourself with the best people you can find, but also know how to be happy alone. He also shared a philosophical post about "avoiding conversations," writing, The conversation you are avoiding is the one you need the most.

On the professional front, Johar recently unveiled his upcoming project Chand Mera Dil, featuring Ananya Panday and Lakshya Lalwani. Directed by Vivek Soni, the film is slated for release in theaters next year. Sharing the first poster of the film, Karan wrote, We have two chands ready to bring an intense & passionate love story like no other!!! Pyaar mein thoda paagal hona hi padta hai... Chand Mera Dil, starring Ananya Panday & Lakshya. Directed by Vivek Soni. Coming to cinemas in 2025.

In the first poster, Ananya and Lakshya are seen hiding behind a blanket, while in the second, they are sitting together on a bed.

Chand Mera Dil is the fourth film announced by Dharma Productions in collaboration with Lakshya, following the releases of Dostana 2, Bedhadak, and Kill.

Recently, Karan Johars production Kal Ho Naa Ho was re-released in theaters. On Sunday, the director-producer took to his Instagram Stories to share the movie poster, expressing his gratitude for the continued interest in the film, even 21 years after its release.

For the caption, Karan wrote, So heartening to see full shows of our film 21 years later. Watching people dance and repeat dialogues of the film in cinemas is so gratifying.

Kal Ho Naa Ho starred Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Sushma Seth, Reema Lagoo, Lillete Dubey, Delnaaz Irani, and Jaya Bachchan.
New Delhi, Nov 18 : Legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar highlighted Virat Kohlis previous consistent performances on Adelaide and Perth grounds, adding that his past success against Australia in these venues will give him the extra bit of confidence during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

Kohli averages just 22.72 in his six Test matches this year, way below than his average of 54.08 in Tests in Australia and his overall career average of 47.83. He comes into his fifth Australia tour after making just 91 runs in Indias 3-0 series defeat to New Zealand at home earlier this month.

Kohli had hit 116 - first Test hundred at Adelaide in January 2012, followed by making 115 and 141 at the same venue in 2014, where he captained India for the first time in Tests. The former skipper also made 123, the first Test hundred by an Indian batter in the new Perth Stadium in 2018, where he eventually led India to 2-1 series victory, their first-ever Test series win in Australia.

"Because he hasn't got runs against New Zealand, he'll be very, very hungry. Even in that Adelaide Test match, where in the second innings we got all out for 36, in the first innings, Kohli got 70 plus, if I recall correctly, before being run out. He's consistently performed at Adelaide, so it's a familiar ground for him.

And before Adelaide, it's Perth, where he played one of the finest Test centuries in 2018-19. A terrific hundred. Having performed on these grounds, he'll feel that extra bit of confidence. Of course, you need a bit of luck at the start, but if he gets off to a good start, he will get big runs," said Gavaskar to Star Sports.

Sanjay Manjrekar, the former India batter, also provided his perspective on how Australian bowlers comprising captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon might challenge Kohli, especially testing him in outside the off-stump channel, when the series begins in Perth on November 22.

"I think Virat knows exactly what's going to be planned. They'll start with that line outside the off stump and gauge what his mindset is. These days, he often leaves balls outside off and looks to drive anything pitched up. Australia might also try to cramp him for room and attack his body since he likes to get forward.

This was a tactic New Zealand used effectively. If he's focused on balls outside off stump, bowlers like Josh Hazlewood might target that typical Vernon Philander line on middle stump. Australia will test various strategies, and Virat Kohli is fully aware of that," he said.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : Actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who is currently touring the US, paused his New York show after an audience member threw dollars on stage.

A video of the incident has gone viral on social media. In the clip, the actor is seen performing when a fan suddenly throws a pile of dollars on stage as a token of appreciation for his electrifying performance.

The Bala actor paused his performance and kindly asked the audience member to use the money to make a donation to a charity instead. In the video, Khurrana can be heard saying, Bro, don't make such gestures. Don't do this, please. You can donate this to charity or do something good with it, but please don't do this. Love you for this love, but please donate it to charity without telling anyone.

One of the audience members posted the video on Instagram and wrote, Its disheartening to see such a disrespectful act at a live concert. During Ayushmann Khurranas recent NYC performance, a fan threw a bunch of dollars on stage while he was singing. Instead of enjoying the music, this individual chose to flaunt their wealth in a tasteless manner.

The post continued, Ayushmann, known for his humility and grace, paused the show and politely requested the audience to consider donating to charity instead of such frivolous gestures. His response was not only classy but also highlighted the importance of using wealth for good. Lets hope this incident serves as a reminder to everyone attending live events to respect the artists and the experience for all.

Khurrana kicked off his US tour with his band Ayushmann Bhava in Chicago on November 14. He and his band will tour four other cities, including New York, San Jose, New Jersey, and Dallas, until November 24.

In a statement, Khurrana shared, As an artist, I always look forward to connecting with people who appreciate my music and movies. I like to see their reactions firsthand. I have tried, very carefully, to nurture them through my work and my efforts in reaching out to them. Making music and touring is definitely one big opportunity for me to meet people, interact, and engage with them while showing them who I am, what my core is, through my music. Moreover, I have also done musicals in college, so this is like homecoming for me!
Solan, Nov 18 : Two vegetable varieties developed by the Department of Vegetable Sciences at Dr Y. S.

Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry at Nauni have been recognised as top-performing varieties for their consistent performance at the national level. The temperate carrot variety called Solan Shresth and the French bean variety Lakshmi ban were officially released by the Central Variety Release Committee (CVRC) in New Delhi.

The performance of these varieties was presented by Dr Rajesh Kumar, Project Coordinator of the All India Coordinated Research Project on Vegetable Crops (AICRP VC), at the national release event. Both Lakshami and Solan Shresth were praised for their outstanding performance across multiple regions, the university said in a statement.

The Lakshami bean variety has been recommended for cultivation in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, while Solan Shresth is suitable for parts of Punjab and Bihar.

These varieties were developed by the university in 1992 and 2016, respectively, and tested under the AICRP on vegetable crops from 2017 and 2019 before being approved for national release.

Ramesh Kumar Bhardwaj, breeder and Principal Investigator at the Solan Centre of AICRP (VC), explained that both varieties performed consistently over three years of testing. Their results were recognised at the 39th and 41st Annual Group Meetings of AICRP held in Varanasi and Srinagar.

Scientists Sandeep Kansal, D. K. Mehta, Kuldeep Thakur, and Rakesh have contributed significantly to the maintenance and mass multiplication of seeds for these varieties.

Director of Research, Sanjeev Chauhan, highlighted the qualities of Solan Shresth, a carrot variety known for its long, attractive, orange-coloured, cylindrical roots with self-cores. It matures early, is smooth with non-hairy roots, and is rich in beta-carotene.

Solan Shresth is resistant to common diseases and pests, and its average root weight is 255-265 g, yielding 225-275 quintals per hectare of marketable produce.

Similarly, Lakshami, the French bean cultivar, produces two to three long, attractive, stringless green pods per node, maturing in 65 to 70 days. It offers a high marketable yield of 150-200 quintals per hectare, with mature seeds that are white with light yellow stripes.

University Vice Chancellor Rajeshwar Singh Chandel praised the contributions of the scientists, noting that the Solan Centre of AICRP has brought great recognition to the university.

He emphasised that the success of these varieties, particularly in terms of their excellent performance and cost-effectiveness, will greatly benefit small and marginal farmers. Both varieties are open-pollinated, making them more accessible to farmers compared to expensive hybrid seeds.
Colombo, Nov 18 : Sri Lanka's newly-appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath assumed duties at the Foreign Ministry, a few hours after 21 cabinet ministers were sworn in before Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday morning at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

As a Member of Parliament, Herath has represented the Gampaha District since 2000. At the recently concluded General election, he was re-elected, obtaining the highest ever number of preferential votes in Parliamentary election history, in Sri Lanka.

Herath had also previously served as the Minister of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage, and immediately prior to re-election, he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Kelaniya.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, who is currently in Brazil for the G20 Summit, also congratulated Herath on his reappointment.

"Felicitations to Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Vijitha Herath on his re-appointment. Look forward to working together to further strengthen our historic bonds of friendship and deepen our wide-ranging partnership for mutual benefit," the EAM posted on X, earlier in the day.

The External Affairs Minister had held detailed discussions with the Lankan Foreign Minister during his visit to Colombo, last month.

Jaishankar, the first high-level foreign dignitary to visit the island nation after Dissanayake assumed office on September 22, had highlighted that, as its closest maritime neighbour and a time-tested friend, India continues to play a major role in Sri Lanka's recovery from its worst-ever economic crisis.

"Concluded wide ranging and detailed talks with FM Vijitha Herath today in Colombo. Congratulated him once again on his new responsibilities. Reviewed various dimensions of India-Sri Lanka partnership. Assured him of India's continued support to Sri Lanka's economic rebuilding. Our Neighbourhood First Policy and Sagar outlook will always guide the advancement of India-Sri Lanka ties," said EAM Jaishankar.

The EAM had assured Herath that India's ongoing development assistance to Sri Lanka through projects of Sri Lankan priority will continue. He had also emphasised that India has offered to modernize the Kankesanthurai port through a grant to the tune of USD 61.5 million.

Jaishankar conveyed to the new Lankan Foreign Minister that payments for seven completed Line of Credit projects to the tune of USD 20 million could be converted into grants. He also said that India has decided to gift 22 diesel locomotives to the Sri Lankan Railways.

After Dissanayake won the September 21 presidential election, he governed with a cabinet composed of Harini Amarasuriya and Vijitha Herath.

The new cabinet ministers were chosen among the 159 members of parliament from the National People's Power (NPP) elected in the November 14 parliamentary election.

This is the first time a political party has won two-thirds of the majority in parliament since the introduction of the proportional representation system.

"The Cabinet is made up of 21 members, with the Ministries of Defence, Finance, Planning, and Digital Economy coming under my direct responsibility," Dissanayake said on Monday.
Baku, Nov 18 : The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate), the largest global coalition at the intersection of food security and climate change, spearheaded by the UAE and the US, on Monday announced nearly double the investments, partners, and Innovation Sprints in transformative climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation.

The announcements were made at the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 29), hosted in Baku in Azerbaijan under the theme In Solidarity for a Green World.

The investment increase comprises $16.7 billion from 56 government partners, including India, and $12.5 billion from the accelerated investments of 129 Innovation Sprint Partners, driving change in climate-smart agriculture and food systems.

AIM for Climate partners turn ambition into action, driving climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation to tackle the climate crisis, build resilience, and deliver co-benefits for people and the planet.

Building on a record year at COP28, investments have surged from $17 billion to an unprecedented $29.2 billion, over a 2020 baseline.

The addition of 52 new Innovation Sprints, bringing the total to 129, further underscores AIM for Climates transformative impact.

With AIM for Climate expanding from 600 to over 800 partners worldwide, the initiative reflects the urgency and strength of its mission.

The growing number of high-impact, private-sector, and public-private partnership-led projects deliver solutions to todays climate and food challenges.

Aligned with COP 29s priorities of climate finance, emission reduction, and developing adaptive solutions for climate-related loss and damage, these initiatives focus on one or more of AIM for Climates focal areas: smallholder farmers in low and middle-income countries; emerging technologies; agroecological research; and methane reduction.

AIM for Climates India impact is substantial, with $500 million alone being directed toward climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation in India.

These investments demonstrate AIM for Climates commitment to supporting climate resilience and food security in India and beyond.

AIM for Climate Innovation Sprint Partners in India Varahas initiative aims to deliver $500 million in benefits to smallholder farmers in developing countries by 2025.

By integrating farmers into the global carbon market, Varaha supports sustainable agriculture, improves livelihoods, and plans to remove 18 million tonnes of CO2 across four million acres.

Using remote sensing, Machine Learning, and biogeochemical models, Varaha promotes regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, and nature-based solutions, advancing climate resilience and carbon sequestration in India.

Phyla sprint scales ecosystem restoration through climate-resilient agroforestry, with a focus on establishing pongamia and biodiverse agroforestry systems across Sub-Saharan Africa and India. The initiative will regenerate degraded lands while producing feedstock for biofuel, plant-based proteins, and sustainable food and fiber crops.

Through strategic collaborations, Phyla aims to catalyse $400 million in new investments, fostering a regenerative finance model that unites food security with energy sustainability.

As AIM for Climate prepares to sunset in 2025, its partners are urged to build on achievements by institutionalising progress for a resilient, food-secure future.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
Chennai, Nov 18 : Tamil superstar Vijay's recently-formed party, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), refuted media reports suggesting a possible alliance with Tamil Nadu's principal opposition party, the AIADMK, for the next Assembly elections.

In a statement, TVK General Secretary N. Anand termed the reports as baseless speculation and stressed that his party is committed to contesting the 2026 Assembly elections independently.



A potential alliance with the AIADMK gained traction after Vijay, in his first public rally at Vikkaravandi in Villupuram, declared that the ruling DMK was the TVKs political adversary, while the BJP was its ideological opponent.



Anand, who is also a former MLA from Puducherry, said: "With the intention of hindering the rise of TVK, a major Tamil daily has published completely untrue information about an alliance between the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and the AIADMK, based on baseless claims. This news is completely false, without evidence or foundation."



He urged the public to disregard such reports, reiterating that the TVK is preparing to secure a decisive victory in the 2026 elections.



"The political path of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam is for the pure benefit of Tamil people. The aim of TVK is to follow the ideology proposed by our leader, achieve massive victory through peoples support, and form a good government for the people," Anand added.



At the inaugural rally of the TVK on October 27 in Villupuram, Vijay outlined the partys ideology, which "combines Dravidian ideals with Tamil nationalism". The party emphasises equality, social justice, and secularism.



Speculation about a possible alliance with AIADMK had also been fueled by reports that Vijay held discussions with AIADMK leaders, allegedly seeking the Deputy Chief Ministers post and 60 seats in the 2026 elections.



The TVK In its executive council meeting held at the party headquarters in Chennai, passed 29 unanimous resolutions. The party said that it was opposed to BJPs One Nation, One Election proposal. It also criticised the DMK for delaying the state-wide caste-based census and also for the abolition of NEET and a return to state-controlled admissions.



Calling for a revert to the monthly electricity billing system, Vijay has urged TVK cadres to counter criticisms constructively and respectfully, even on social media.



He also announced a statewide yatra starting December 2 in Coimbatore, which will conclude with a massive public gathering in Tirunelveli on December 27. The actor-turned-politician aims to connect with people, share his vision, and gather public opinions during the tour. The inaugural rally at Vikkaravandi drew over 300,000 attendees, marking a significant moment in Tamil Nadu politics. Vijay used the platform to criticise the DMK as a family-centric party exploiting the Dravidian identity for personal gain and condemned the BJP for divisive politics.



The Tamil superstar had then called upon his party cadres to be honest and adopt their respectful and factual approaches when addressing criticisms from political rivals, including Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) leader Seeman, who recently criticised him.




Rio de Janeiro, Nov 18 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi was warmly welcomed by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as world's most influential leaders converged on Rio de Janeiro's bayside museum of modern art for the two-day 19th G20 Summit on Monday.

"Looking forward to the proceedings at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Thankful to President Lula for the warm welcome," PM Modi posted on X after exchanging greetings with the Brazilian President.

As he entered the venue, PM Modi also met several world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the World Bank President Ajay Banga.

Besides the leaders of the 19 member countries and the European Union, the Summit is witnessing participation of the African Union for the first time after getting inducted as a full member of the grouping during the New Delhi G20 Summit, last year.

Brazil has also invited 18 guest countries, five each from Africa, Latin America and Asia; and three countries from Europe. There are also 15 international organisations that are attending the Rio Summit.

"The G20 has emerged as the primary forum for international economic cooperation and on issues of global significance. It provides an opportunity for leaders of the 21 largest economies in the world, representing about 88% of global GDP, 78% of international trade and nearly three quarters of the world's population, to come together and discuss key issues impacting the world such as progress on Sustainable Development Goals, multilateral reforms, tackling environmental and climate challenges, debt sustainability, bridging the global digital divide, the energy transition and emerging technologies," said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri before PM's departure, last week.

'Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet' has been Brazil's G20 theme with three key priorities, including social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty, energy transitions and the promotion of sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental dimensions and reform of global governance institutions.

The flagship deliverable of the Brazilian Presidency is the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, which will be launched during the Inaugural Session of the Rio Summit. This will be an initiative that is open to non-G20 countries as well, as also national, regional and international organisations, regional and multilateral development banks, civil society organizations and philanthropic institutions. There are three pillars under this Alliance and India will be joining the national and knowledge pillars of this Alliance.

The main sessions will be followed by a closing ceremony where the Presidency of the G20 will be handed over by President Lula of Brazil to South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa, capping a run of four Emerging Markets and Developing Economy (EMDE) countries, holding the Presidency in succession of the G20, starting with Indonesia, India, Brazil and South Africa, next year.

Misri has emphasised that the Rio Summit remains significant for India in particular as it looks at continuity of priorities from the New Delhi Summit, where a number of issues of interest, especially to emerging markets and developing economies were discussed.

"Last year at the G20, as you would recall, we had come out with the G20 Deccan High Level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition which align with the main priority of the Brazilian Presidency this year. Reform of multilateral institutions fit for the 21st century was another key priority of our Presidency and this is again being taken forward by Brazil this year. And the G20 leaders called for better, bigger and more effective multilateral development banks during the New Delhi Summit, found resonance globally and is being carried forward this year through the G20 roadmap for better, bigger and more effective MDBs and this is a roadmap that will be endorsed by the leaders at the Rio Summit," the Foreign Secretary had mentioned during a briefing before PM Modi's three-nation tour.

This is Prime Minister Modi's third official visit to Brazil, having travelled to the country in 2014 and 2019, also for the BRICS Summits.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : Bollywood actor Aayush Sharma, who was recently seen in the theatrical movie Ruslaan, is celebrating his 10th marriage anniversary with Arpita Khan Sharma.

On Monday, the actor took to his Instagram, and shared a series of pictures featuring his wife and their kids.

He wrote in the caption, Congratulations Mrs. @arpitakhansharma for successfully completing a decade of togetherness. If I could I would have awarded you with the highest honour for handling my madness day in and day out. Happy Anniversary.

One of the pictures shows Aayush planting a peck on Arpitas cheek. In another picture, the couple can be seen posing next to a lit wooden board with Happy 10th Anniversary Mr and Mrs Sharma", written over it. In the picture, while Aayush was dressed in a black shirt with white pants, Arpita donned a black dress. Their daughter Ayat joined them in another picture wherein Ayush is seen kissing Arpita on her forehead. They are also seen cutting a cake.

Arpita and Aayush exchanged wedding vows on November 18, 2014, in an extravagant ceremony at the Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad.

The whos who of Bollywood attended the wedding festivities. It was also the first time when Bollywood heavyweights Shah Rukh Khan and Arpitas brother Salman Khan reunited in true Karan Arjun style after their public spat in 2008 during Katrina Kaifs birthday.

For her wedding day, Arpita had donned a maroon lehenga by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla. Aayush opted for a sherwani designed by the local Hyderabadi Makhdoom Brothers. After their wedding in Hyderabad, the couple hosted a grand reception in Mumbai.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. Snow may mix in. Low 33F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers. Snow may mix in. Low 33F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Exposure to blue light, like that from smartphones or tablets, may accelerate bone growth and bone age, leading to early puberty in rats. This research, presented at the 62nd Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting in Liverpool, sheds light on how the use of blue light-emitting devices could impact growth and development and raises important questions about the long-term health effects in children, who are increasingly exposed to screens from a young age.

As children grow and develop, long bones such as the femur progressively elongate at each end. These growing ends  areas of smooth, elastic cartilage known as 'growth plates'  eventually solidify which stops growth in height. Girls generally stop growing and reach their maximum height between ages 14 and 16, while boys finish their growth between 16 and 18 years of age. However, in recent years, several studies have reported a rise in early puberty in both girls and boys, in which they might grow quickly at first but often stop growing earlier than usual. One factor may be the increased use of blue light-emitting devices.

In this study, researchers from Gazi University in Turkey examined 18 male and 18 female rats aged 21-days-old, equally divided into three groups of six and exposed to either a normal light cycle, six hours or 12 hours of blue light until the first signs of puberty. They measured their length and femurs and found that the rats exposed to blue light had a faster growth, particularly in their bones, and started puberty earlier compared to those in standard light conditions.

Previous research from the same group has also shown that rats exposed to blue light have a higher risk of early puberty. However, this association has never been studied in bone growth and pubertal development before.

This is the first study to show how blue light could potentially influence physical growth and development, prompting further research into the effects of modern screen exposure on children's growth." Dr. Aylin Klnc Ugurlu, lead researcher

Although Dr. Klnc Ugurlu warned: "As this a rat study, we cannot be sure that these findings would be replicated in children but our data suggest that prolonged exposure to blue light accelerates both the physical growth and maturation of the growth plate, leading to early puberty."

"While the increased growth may sound beneficial, our study also found that blue light exposure led to earlier structural changes in the growth plates of the rats' bones, suggesting an impact on long-term bone age," said Dr. Klnc Ugurlu. "This means their bones matured too soon which could potentially cause them to be shorter than average as adults."

The researchers are now planning to investigate how blue light exposure before puberty affects height and skeletal development in adult rats. "We want to explore the long-term effects of pre-pubertal blue light exposure and find out whether certain exposure durations or intensities have reversible or permanent effects on the skeleton later in life," said Dr. Klnc Ugurlu. "Ultimately, this research could lead to preventative measures for safe screen use during childhood development."
The rod-shaped tuberculosis (TB) bacterium, which the World Health Organization has once again ranked as the top infectious disease killer globally, is the first single-celled organism ever observed to maintain a consistent growth rate throughout its life cycle. These findings, reported by Tufts University School of Medicine researchers on November 15 in the journal Nature Microbiology, overturn core beliefs of bacterial cell biology and hint at why the deadly pathogen so readily outmaneuvers our immune system and antibiotics.

"The most basic thing you can study in bacteria is how they grow and divide, yet our study reveals that the TB pathogen is playing by a completely different set of rules compared to easier-to-study model organisms," said Bree Aldridge, a professor of molecular biology and microbiology at the School of Medicine and a professor of biomedical engineering at the School of Engineering, as well as one of the paper's co-senior authors along with Ariel Amir of the Weizmann Institute of Science.

TB bacteria are successful at surviving in humans because some parts of the infection can quickly evolve within their host, allowing these outliers to avoid detection or resist treatment. If someone has TB, it takes months of various antibiotics to be cured, and even then, this approach is only successful in 85% of patients. Aldridge and her colleagues hypothesize that gaps in our understanding of the basic biology behind this phenomenon have been holding back the development of more effective treatments.

Getting answers, however, proved to be slow and meticulous work. Postdoctoral fellow Christin (Eun Seon) Chung at the School of Medicine, one of the paper's first authors, spent three years in a specialized facility equipped to handle high-risk pathogens observing the behavior of individual TB cells. Because TB bacteria double every ~24 hours (compared to 20 minutes for several model bacterial species), Aldridge's team needed to develop and deploy new microscopy methods to film the microbe over week-long periods. Chung analyzed the footage and tracked each TB bacterium and their progeny manually as they are also notoriously small and prone to move about, so automated analysis could not be used.

These experiments showed that the TB bacterium doesn't follow expected patterns of cell growth. In other bacterial species, growth is exponential, which means cells grow slower when they are smaller. For TB bacteria, growth rates can be the same whether they are newly born (and small) or far along in their cell cycle and soon to divide.

This is the first reported organism that can do this. TB's behavior challenges fundamental bacterial biology as it's been thought that ribosomes - which are sites of protein synthesis in the cell - drive cell growth rates, but our work suggests that something else may be happening in TB bacteria that raises new questions about its growth control." Christin (Eun Seon) Chung, Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Medicine, Tufts University

In addition to reporting that there is extensive variation in growth behaviors among the individual bacterial cells, the team discovered another new growth behavior of TB bacteria: they can also begin growing from either end after being born. This was unexpected as related bacteria only start growing from the end opposite of where they pinched off their mother cell at division.

Together, the observations reveal that TB microbes use alternative strategies to increase variability among their offspring, challenging previous assumptions based on faster-growing and more uniform model organisms. Aldridge says the study will help her lab and other research teams better understand and exploit these mechanisms for treatment purposes.

"A lot of basic microbiology research is done in fast-growing model organisms, and while they're models for a reason, that doesn't make them representatives of other types of bacteria," said Aldridge. "There's an enormous diversity of life that we're not studying at the fundamental level and this work demonstrates why we need to study the pathogens themselves."

Prathitha Kar of Harvard University, the other co-first author on the paper, and Maliwan Kamkaew, formerly of Tufts University School of Medicine, also contributed to the work.
Swedish young men who went through late puberty during adolescence are more likely to use healthcare services later in life, according to research presented at the 62nd Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting in Liverpool. The findings of this long-term study suggest that delayed puberty in boys may have harmful effects on their health in adulthood and could potentially lead to new follow-up healthcare routines in the future.

Puberty in boys typically starts between the ages of 9 and 14. However, about 2% of boys have delayed puberty, in which puberty does not begin by age 14. In most cases, delayed puberty is constitutional  a pattern of growth and development that runs in families  and these boys are generally healthy who will eventually go through puberty in time. Nevertheless, delayed puberty can lead to feelings of sadness and anxiety in boys and their long-term health outcomes have not been adequately investigated.

In this study, researchers from Orebro University and Karolinska Institutet examined 1,245 Swedish men, born between 1991 and 1993, who were diagnosed with delayed puberty at the ages of 14-17 years old. They followed these men from the age of 18 until they reached about 30 years old, comparing them to 12,450 men without early or delayed puberty, and found that men who went through delayed puberty were 1.05 times more likely to visit a hospital, 1.2 times more likely to be admitted to hospital and almost twice more likely to be prescribed medications. Men who underwent puberty late did not have any added mortality risk.

To our knowledge this is the first nationwide study to address long-term health consequences of delayed puberty in boys." Dr. Maria Lodefalk, lead researcher from Orebro University

Dr. Lodefalk added: "We showed that delayed puberty in boys is associated with a higher frequency of healthcare consumption and needs in young adulthood, indicating that male delayed puberty is not harmless, despite often being constitutional."

"Even though the increased risks are small in some cases, they are statistically significant and important to know and treat", she said.

"Now we need to carefully follow up on these patients and further investigations of this increased need of healthcare are warranted," continued Dr Lodefalk. "The next step in our research is to dig deeper into our rich data and find out which diagnoses and medications are more common in men who had delayed puberty and at what ages exactly. We are also looking at the social and economic impacts that may arise from having a delayed puberty in the same study population."
An electronic letter, or nudge, highlighting the cardiovascular benefits of influenza vaccines improved vaccination rates among more than 2 million adultswith a greater impact on those who have had a heart attackacross three clinical trials spanning the most-recent, two consecutive influenza seasons in Denmark. This was the finding of late-breaking science presented today at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2024. The meeting, Nov. 16-18, 2024, in Chicago, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science. This research is simultaneously published today Journal of the American Medical Association - Cardiology (JAMA Cardiology).

The American Heart Association and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend annual flu vaccination for nearly all people ages 6 months and older including those with heart disease, with rare exceptions. Influenza vaccination, also known as a flu shot, is critical in preventing the flu and its related complications. In addition to its effects on preventing infection, routine flu vaccination has also been shown to reduce major cardiovascular health problems in people with a prior heart attack.

Yearly influenza vaccines help prevent influenza infection and, in patients with a heart attack, are potentially cardioprotective. However, there are large gaps in implementing this effective therapy, and novel, scalable strategies to improve flu vaccination rates are needed." Ankeet Bhatt, M.D., M.B.A., Sc.M., study's lead author, cardiologist at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center, research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research, and adjunct professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California

In Denmark, about 80% of older adults get flu shots, while only about 40% of younger adults with chronic diseases get flu shots, Bhatt added.

In the U.S., 2023-2024 flu season, about 45% of adults and 55% of children received at least one dose of the flu vaccine, according to the CDC.

To identify which outreach methods might help increase how many people get the flu vaccine, the study authors evaluated whether electronic letter-based reminders would improve vaccine use in a broad population including older adults and those with chronic medical disease during two recent flu seasons in Denmark.

The researchers conducted three national clinical trials: NUDGE-FLU; NUDGE-FLU-2; and NUDGE-FLU CHRONIC during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 flu seasons. Each trial assessed a series of behavioral science-informed nudges, delivered via a governmental electronic email/letter system. Participants were selected randomly to receive one of the email letters encouraging flu vaccination or no email reminder/standard of care. An electronic letter explaining the potential cardiovascular benefits of flu shots was more effective at increasing vaccination rates.

The study found:

Compared to usual care, people who received any of the nudge email letters had higher rates of vaccination: an improvement of 1.8% among heart attack survivors and an increase of 1.3% among adults without a history of heart attack.

A message that explained the potential cardiovascular benefits of flu shots was more effective, leading to a 3.9% increase in vaccination among people with a history of heart attack compared to a 2% increase for those with no heart attack history.

Among heart attack survivors, an email focused on cardiovascular benefits was even more successful among those who were not vaccinated in the previous flu season. People in this subcategory had a flu vaccine improvement rate of nearly 14% compared to an improvement in heart attack survivors who were previously vaccinated of only about 1.5%.

In one of the trials (NUDGE-FLU-CHRONIC), the nudge highlighting cardiovascular benefits was even more effective among younger adults with a recent heart attack, 26% increase vs. 14% increase, respectively. "These particularly important groups, those not previously vaccinated and those with a recent heart attack, may represent groups with the greatest cardiovascular protection to gain from vaccination," Bhatt said.

"The data suggest that cardiovascular focused messaging was effective across a broad population; this strategy should be considered as part of a suite of strategies to improve cardiovascular prevention and encourage flu vaccination among high-risk patients, including those with a history of heart attack," Bhatt said. "Notably, this strategy alone did not close all implementation gaps for flu vaccination. Other strategies in addition to messaging-based intervention need to be tested to fully close this important prevention gap in at-risk patients."

Given the encouraging results across this large population over two recent flu seasons, this low-cost, scalable strategy, particularly if validated in other global healthcare contexts, should be considered for population-level outreach globally to improve flu vaccination rates across health care systems and countries, he said.

A limitation of the research is that it's based on a prespecified, secondary analysis across the trials, meaning the studies were not solely dedicated to answering this question alone. In addition, especially among older adults, flu vaccination rates in Denmark were high; vaccination rates may be much lower in other parts of the world. Whether that changes the effectiveness of this strategy in populations with lower vaccination rates requires further study, and validation efforts are already under way in the United States, Bhatt said.

Study details, background and design:
Researchers have developed a mindfulness therapy tailored specifically to appeal to teenagers to help them cope with increasing levels of depression and mental health problems.

The approach teaches participants to tune into and manage negative thought patterns that can trigger or maintain depression, and allow them instead to focus on the present moment.

Developed by teams at the University of Cambridge and King's College London, the ATTEND programme  Adolescents and carers using mindfulness Therapy To END depression  also includes sessions for parents and guardians, ensuring a family-centred approach to tackling the problem. The programme is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

Depression among teenagers is a serious issue in the UK, affecting approximately 140,000 young people aged 15-19. Only about 35,000 receive treatment, and of these 14,000 do not respond to the treatment while an additional 8,000 relapse after initial success. This highlights an urgent need for more effective and sustainable solutions.

Too many young people struggle with their mental health but fail to get the support they need through the NHS. Even among those who do receive support, the treatment doesn't work effectively enough for more than half of them. We know that adult mindfulness courses can help people living with depression, but what might work for an adult is likely to be different from what will work for a teenager. That's why we've developed a more 'teen-friendly' therapy that's more engaging and, we hope, more effective." Professor Tamsin Ford, Head of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge

Professor Ford and colleagues from King's College London and the Universities of Exeter and Surrey have developed Mindfulness for Adolescents and Carers, a programme based on the highly-regarded Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).

MBCT is an evidence-based treatment recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for adults with recurrent depression. It combines mindfulness techniques with cognitive behavioural approaches to help individuals avoid relapse. Professor Ford and colleagues have been adapting MBCT to make it more engaging and effective for teenagers.

With the new course, teenagers will attend eight weekly skills-based sessions delivered either in person or online in groups. The ATTEND programme is also working with families to design an app that helps participants reinforce the skills they learn between sessions.

Unlike traditional MBCT, Mindfulness for Adolescents and Carers includes sessions for both teens and their parents or carers. There are also more movement breaks, shorter skills practice sessions, snacks, and teen-friendly activities.

Professor Patrick Smith, Professor of Clinical Psychology at King's College London, said: "Supporting a teenager with depression can be incredibly challenging for families. Parents often struggle to know how to best help their children. That's why our course offers separate, parallel training for parents or carers alongside the teens' sessions. We hope this will help parents better understand and support their child's recovery, while also potentially improving their own mental health and family relationships."

While MBCT is well-established for adults, its effectiveness for teenagers is still being explored. The ATTEND programme is a large-scale trial across England that aims to assess whether Mindfulness for Adolescents and Carers is more effective than the current NHS treatments available for depression.

The team aims to recruit 480 teenagers and their parents, half of whom will participate in the mindfulness groups, while the other half continue with their usual care. The researchers will be looking at outcomes such as recovery rates, relapse prevention, and cost-effectiveness compared with standard approaches.

Professor Ford added: "Although our main goal is to see whether our mindfulness course can help teenagers recover from low mood or depression and prevent relapses, we're also interested in the benefits it might provide to their carers.

"Equally importantly, we want to see whether this approach  if effective  could be integrated into NHS services. This would ensure that it's accessible to many more teenagers who are struggling with their mental health."

Young people and parents who have experienced depression have been involved in the design of the ATTEND programme from the beginning. Their input has ensured that the programme is tailored to the needs of families and is engaging for both teens and their carers.

How to get involved

The ATTEND team is currently recruiting 15- to 18-year-olds experiencing depression or low mood, who have received some treatment but have not fully recovered, to participate in the trial in Cambridge and Peterborough, London, Devon, Sussex, Nottingham, and Oxford. Participants are also offered a financial incentive of 60 each for completing the study.

If you or someone you know is interested in participating, please visit the ATTEND study website for more information.

"If we can get in early, then we can save people future pain"

Kat Nellist knows exactly what it is like to experience anxiety and depression when you're young. Even by the age of eight years old, she was receiving counseling.

"I couldn't really remember a time where I didn't have it," she says.

Kat was very anxious and found it hard to make friends. She struggled to focus on school work and didn't get involved in school activities. "All those sorts of things, like a sense of achievement and a social circle, if you don't have them in your life, then it's hard to keep yourself going. It makes it worse and worse, because you withdraw from everything, and that makes you even sadder. It was a bad spiral."

Kat received a formal diagnosis of anxiety and depression in her pre-teens and tried different types of therapies, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), also known as 'talking therapy', but struggled to connect with her therapist, an experience not uncommon, she says.

When she was 15, she was offered mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). It was an eight-week group-based activity. Group meetings may sound daunting for someone who suffers from anxiety, but she says it meant she was able to meet people similar to herself, which conversely helped reduce her anxiety.

"CBT is about trying to distance yourself from your thoughts and realising that your thoughts don't have to control your feelings," she says. "It teaches you that you don't have to interact with your thoughts. It allows you to recognise negative thought patterns when they occur, whether that's negative 'self-talk' or feeling that something small will be the end of the world. You learn to say to yourself, 'I'm having this thought pattern, but that doesn't mean I have to believe it. It's a thought, it's not a fact.'"

MBCT takes this a step further and teaches the individual to allow the negative thoughts to come and go and to be present in the current moment, for example when enjoying time with friends.

"It teaches you to think 'Well, that's a really sad thought, but I'd rather attend to the thing I'm busy doing. Because right now, I don't need to get pulled down that little spiral and I can actually continue enjoying my coffee.'"

Importantly, too, the course helped improve Kat's relationship with her parents. "When you're a teenager, there's always a bit of friction between you and your mum and dad. That's just what being a teenager is. But [MBCT] improved that relationship, which improved my life in every way."

Now in her mid-twenties, Kat is studying for a degree in Psychology at Goldsmith's, University of London. She still has negative thoughts, but has learned to live with them. "I still use the coping mechanisms that I learned as a teenager to cope with struggles I have as an adult. You don't stop having problems entirely, they're just very different life problems."

She is determined that her experience can help others, and as such is the patient and public involvement co-lead for the ATTEND study, which she has helped design.

"My main role is making sure that we consider young people's feelings throughout the project. The whole thing needs to be teenager-centred," she says.

"Teenagers can often get neglected. There's a lot of help for young children and a lot of help for adults, but sometimes when you're in your mid-teens you can slip through the cracks a little bit. It's an important time to intervene because that is when a lot of mental health problems start to arise. If we can get in early, then we can save people future pain and give them more support."
A quick finger prick and a few drops of blood on a card that can be sent in regular mail. This approach could soon make Alzheimer's testing much more accessible worldwide. A European study led by researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, is paving the way for this method.

The biomarkers measured in this test have been developed over a long period and have shown strong performance - initially in cerebrospinal fluid, then in venous blood samples, and now in blood from superficial vessels in the finger.

The new test involves collecting one or two drops of blood from a finger prick onto a special card, which immediately separates blood cells from the plasma. After approximately 15 minutes, once the card has dried, it is sent by regular mail to a laboratory, where modern high-sensitivity techniques are used to analyze it.

As effective as venous blood sampling

The current study includes capillary blood samples from 203 people who underwent the finger prick test at one of five memory clinics in Europe. The simple test kit was then mailed to the neurochemistry department at the University of Gothenburg, where established biomarkers for Alzheimer's, such as pTau217, were analyzed.

The results were presented at the CTAD (Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease) conference in Madrid, Spain, on October 30, 2024, by Hanna Huber, a researcher at the University of Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Academy:

The simple capillary blood test works almost as well as venous samples, but unlike traditional blood tests, this new test does not require transport on dry ice. This could significantly increase accessibility to Alzheimer's testing in countries and regions lacking the infrastructure needed for high-sensitivity analyses." Hanna Huber, researcher, University of Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Academy

The test could potentially be implemented within a few years. A new European study is already underway to examine whether the test can be self-administered, allowing individuals to prick their own finger and mail the sample to a lab without the need for healthcare personnel.

Early detection

The test comes at a fitting time alongside the development of Alzheimer's treatments, with the drug lecanemab already approved in numerous countries outside the EU. These treatments require early disease detection to be effective.

The test opens up possibilities for new research breakthroughs on Alzheimer's disease, including its genetic profile and its prevalence across global populations. However, researchers emphasize that the test is not intended for general screening of the population. The World Health Organization (WHO) currently advises against general screening for Alzheimer's disease, as treatment options have historically been limited, making such screening ethically unsubstantiated.

The study utilizes the blood collection cards CapitainerSEP10 and Telimmune.
In March, newly installed Social Security chief Martin O'Malley criticized agency "injustices" that "shock our shared sense of equity and good conscience as Americans."

He promised to overhaul the Social Security Administration's often heavy-handed efforts to claw back money that millions of recipients  including people who are living in poverty, are elderly, or have disabilities  were allegedly overpaid, as described by a KFF Health News and Cox Media Group investigation last year.

"Innocent people can be badly hurt," O'Malley said at the time.

Nearly eight months since he appeared before Congress and announced a series of policy changes, and with two months left in his term, O'Malley's effort to fix the system has made inroads but remains a work in progress.

For instance, one change, moving away from withholding 100% of people's monthly Social Security benefits to recover alleged overpayments, has been a major improvement, say advocates for beneficiaries.

"It is a tremendous change," said Kate Lang of Justice in Aging, who called it "life-changing for many people."

The number of people from whom the Social Security Administration was withholding full monthly benefits to recoup money declined sharply  from about 46,000 in January to about 7,000 in September, the agency said.

Asked to clarify whether those numbers and others provided for this article covered all programs administered by the agency, the SSA press office did not respond.

Another potentially significant change  relieving beneficiaries of having to prove that an overpayment was not their fault  has not been implemented. The agency said it is working on that.

Meanwhile, the agency seems to be looking to Congress to take the lead on a change some observers see as crucial: limiting how far back the government can reach to recover an alleged overpayment.

Barbara Hubbell of Watkins Glen, New York, called the absence of a statute of limitations "despicable." Hubbell said her mother was held liable for $43,000 because of an SSA error going back 19 years.

"In what universe is that even legal?" Hubbell said. Paying down the overpayment balance left her mother "essentially penniless," she added.

In response to questions for this article, Social Security spokesperson Mark Hinkle said legislation is "the best and fastest way" to set a time limit.

Establishing a statute of limitations was not among the policy changes O'Malley announced in his March congressional testimony. In an interview at the time, he said he expected an announcement on it "within the next couple few months." It could probably be done by regulation, without an act of Congress, he said.

Speaking generally, Hinkle said the agency has "made substantial progress on overpayments," reducing the hardship they cause, and "continues to work diligently" to update policies.

The agency is underfunded, he added, is at a near 50-year low in staffing, and could do better with more employees. The SSA did not respond to requests for an interview with O'Malley.

O'Malley announced the policy changes after KFF Health News and Cox Media Group jointly published and broadcast investigative reporting on the damage overpayments and clawbacks have done to millions of beneficiaries.

When O'Malley, a former Democratic governor of Maryland, presented his plans to three congressional committees in March, lawmakers greeted him with rare bipartisan praise. But the past several months have shown how hard it can be to turn around a federal bureaucracy that is massive, complex, deeply dysfunctional, and, as it says, understaffed.

Now O'Malley's time may be running out.

Lang of Justice in Aging, among the advocacy groups that have been meeting with O'Malley and other Social Security officials, said she appreciates how much the commissioner has achieved in a short time. But she added that O'Malley has "not been interested in hearing about our feelings that things have fallen short."

One long-standing policy O'Malley set out to change involves the burden of proof. When the Social Security Administration alleges someone has been overpaid and demands the money back, the burden is on the beneficiary to prove they were not at fault.

Cecilia Malone, 24, a beneficiary in Lithonia, Georgia, said she and her parents spent hundreds of hours trying to get errors corrected. "Why is the burden on us to 'prove' we weren't overpaid?" Malone said.

It can be exceedingly difficult for beneficiaries to appeal a decision. The alleged overpayments, which can reach tens of thousands of dollars or more, often span years. And people struggling just to survive may have extra difficulty producing financial records from long ago.

What's more, in letters demanding repayment, the government does not typically spell out its case against the beneficiary  making it hard to mount a defense.

Testifying before House and Senate committees in March, O'Malley promised to shift the burden of proof.

"That should be on the agency," he said.

The agency expects to finalize "guidance" on the subject "in the coming months," Hinkle said.

The agency points to reduced wait times and other improvements in a phone system known to leave beneficiaries on hold. "In September, we answered calls to our national 800 number in an average of 11 minutes  a tremendous improvement from 42 minutes one year ago," Hinkle said.

Still, in response to a nonrepresentative survey by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group focused on overpayments, about half of respondents who said they contacted the agency by phone since April rated that experience as "poor," and few rated it "good" or "excellent."

The survey was sent to about 600 people who had contacted KFF Health News to share their overpayment stories since September 2023. Almost 200 people answered the survey in September and October of this year.

Most of those who said they contacted the agency by mail since April rated their experience as "poor."

Jennifer Campbell, 60, a beneficiary in Nelsonville, Ohio, said in late October that she was still waiting for someone at the agency to follow up as described during a phone call in May.

"VERY POOR customer service!!!!!" Campbell wrote.

"Nearly impossible to get a hold of someone," wrote Kathryn Duff of Colorado Springs, Colorado, who has been helping a disabled family member.

Letters from SSA have left Duff mystified. One was postmarked July 9, 2024, but dated more than two years earlier. Another, dated Aug. 18, 2024, said her family member was overpaid $31,635.80 in benefits from the Supplemental Security Income program, which provides money to people with little or no income or other resources who are disabled, blind, or at least 65. But Duff said her relative never received SSI benefits.

What's more, for the dates in question, payments listed in the letter to back up the agency's math didn't come close to $31,635.80; they totaled about a quarter of that amount.

Regarding the 100% clawbacks, O'Malley in March said it's "unconscionable that someone would find themselves facing homelessness or unable to pay bills, because Social Security withheld their entire payment for recovery of an overpayment."

He said that, starting March 25, if a beneficiary doesn't respond to a new overpayment notice, the agency would default to withholding 10%. The agency warned of "a short transition period."

That change wasn't automated until June 25, Hinkle said.

The number of people newly placed in full withholding plummeted from 6,771 in February to 51 in September, according to data the agency provided.

SSA said it would notify recipients they could request reduced withholding if it was already clawing back more than 10% of their monthly checks.

Nonetheless, dozens of beneficiaries or their family members told KFF Health News and Cox Media Group they hadn't heard they could request reduced withholding. Among those who did ask, roughly half said their requests were approved.

According to the SSA, there has been almost a 20% decline in the number of people facing clawbacks of more than 10% but less than 100% of their monthly checks  from 141,316 as of March 8 to 114,950 as of Oct. 25, agency spokesperson Nicole Tiggemann said.

Meanwhile, the number of people from whom the agency was withholding exactly 10% soared more than fortyfold  from just over 5,000 to well over 200,000. And the number of beneficiaries having any benefits withheld to recover an overpayment increased from almost 600,000 to almost 785,000, according to data Tiggemann provided.

Lorraine Anne Davis, 72, of Houston, said she hasn't received her monthly Social Security payment since June due to an alleged overpayment. Her Medicare premium was being deducted from her monthly benefit, so she's been left to pay that out-of-pocket.

Davis said she's going to need a kidney transplant and had been trying to save money for when she'd be unable to work.

A letter from the SSA dated April 8, 2024, two weeks after the new 10% withholding policy was slated to take effect, said it had overpaid her $13,538 and demanded she pay it back within 30 days.

Apparently, the SSA hadn't accounted for a pension Davis receives from overseas; Davis said she disclosed it when she filed for benefits.

In a letter to her dated June 29, the agency said that, under its new policy, it would change the withholding to only 10% if she asked.

Davis said she asked by phone repeatedly, and to no avail.

"Nobody seems to know what's going on" and "no one seems to be able to help you," Davis said. "You're just held captive."

In October, the agency said she'd receive a payment  in March 2025.

Marley Presiado, a research assistant on the Public Opinion and Survey Research team at KFF, contributed to this report.

Do you have an experience with Social Security overpayments you'd like to share? Click here to contact our reporting team.
As world leaders arrive in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the G20 Summit this weekend, the city's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue will be illuminated in the color teal. The Brazilian advocates behind this effort are among many around the globe joining the World Health Organization (WHO) to mobilize efforts on a worldwide "Day of Action for Cervical Cancer Elimination." Other countries are marking the day with campaigns to provide human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and screening, launching new health policies to align with the world's first-ever effort to eliminate a cancer, and raising awareness in communities.

Four years ago to the day, 194 countries resolved to eliminate cervical cancer and WHO launched a global strategy. Since then, significant progress has been made. At least 144 countries have introduced the HPV vaccine, over 60 countries now include HPV testing in their cervical screening programmes and 83 countries include surgical-care services for cervical cancer in health-benefit packages.

I thank all the health workers who are playing a critical role in this global effort. While we are making progress, we still face huge inequities, with women in low-income countries bearing most of the burden. Only with strong leadership and sustained investment can we achieve our shared goal of equitable access for communities most in need." Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General

Marking this campaign for the fourth year, governments, partners and civil society are organizing various activities and commitments. These include:

Chile will announce a pilot for self-collection with HPV testing, which will be incorporated as part of its health care reform and universal primary health care.

will announce a pilot for self-collection with HPV testing, which will be incorporated as part of its health care reform and universal primary health care. China: Medical schools and hospitals will host a series of academic lectures, health runs, and illuminations to raise awareness across 31 cities.

Medical schools and hospitals will host a series of academic lectures, health runs, and illuminations to raise awareness across 31 cities. Democratic Republic of the Congo will host a 3-day forum to launch a national strategy for cervical cancer elimination, concluding with a march through Kinshasa for cervical cancer awareness.

will host a 3-day forum to launch a national strategy for cervical cancer elimination, concluding with a march through Kinshasa for cervical cancer awareness. Ethiopia, with support from Gavi, will launch an HPV vaccination campaign aiming to reach over 7 million girls.

with support from Gavi, will launch an HPV vaccination campaign aiming to reach over 7 million girls. India: Civil society groups in different states will host a series of activities that include awareness campaigns and trainings for health-care professionals.

Civil society groups in different states will host a series of activities that include awareness campaigns and trainings for health-care professionals. Ireland will launch its Action Plan to achieve cervical cancer elimination, one year after announcing its goal to achieve this milestone by 2040 on the Day of Action in 2023.

will launch its Action Plan to achieve cervical cancer elimination, one year after announcing its goal to achieve this milestone by 2040 on the Day of Action in 2023. Japan's Ministry of Health, local municipalities, and hospitals will illuminate over 70 landmarks across the country during their annual Teal Blue Campaign.

Ministry of Health, local municipalities, and hospitals will illuminate over 70 landmarks across the country during their annual Teal Blue Campaign. Nigeria will raise awareness through advocacy led by the Nigerian First Ladies Against Cancer.

will raise awareness through advocacy led by the Nigerian First Ladies Against Cancer. Rwanda will announce its goal to reach the 90-70-90 targets by the year 2027, three years ahead of the WHO goal.

will announce its goal to reach the 90-70-90 targets by the year 2027, three years ahead of the WHO goal. South Africa's Department of Health will roll out health provider trainings in 3 provinces.

Push for better tests

WHO is launching new guidance on Target Product Profiles (TPPs) for HPV screening tests. This technical product outlines preferred standards for new HPV tests. The tests should be able to function even in remote areas in low- and middle-income country settings where disease burden is highest. The TPPs highlight the importance of tests that give women the option to collect their own samples for testing; and the value of tools that enable HPV testing in settings closer to where women receive care.

The new publication aims to support innovation in the HPV testing market, emphasizing high-performance, low-cost, and accessible solutions, particularly transformative in resource-limited settings.
Watch: New-gen Renault Testing Video Surfaced on Internet, Launching Soon

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 11:49 IST

The vehicle was spotted with a fully redesigned avatar, featuring updated bumpers, a new set of alloy wheels, new taillights, and a new side profile.

Upcoming Renault Duster. (File photo)

The Renault Duster is all set to make a comeback in the Indian market! Yes, it is true! A fully updated model, complying with all the emission norms, is expected to arrive in the Indian market by next year. The customers can expect it in both 5 and 7-seater configurations.

Ahead of the official release, the SUV has been spied first the time in the country during the testing phase. Even a viral clip surfaced on the internet, revealing overall style and some important details about the vehicle.

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Watch Video Here

Heres What Spy Shots Say

According to reports, the upcoming Duster has been spotted in Kerala in heavy camouflage. The images suggest that the brand aims to revive its portfolio and dominate the segment with its upcoming offerings.

The vehicle was spotted with a fully redesigned avatar, featuring updated bumpers, a new set of alloy wheels, new taillights, and a new side profile. Despite flaunting multiple enhancements and updates from outside, the company somehow has retained its old aesthetic and muscularity.

Front Profile

The front fascia has not yet been revealed as the vehicle was spied from the back only. However, we feel that the model is likely to get a fully LED headlight setup, stylish DRLs, and a huge grill at the front.

Engine and Rivals

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It has been reported that the upcoming SUV will arrive in the country in a petrol version only. The company might use a 1,332cc, four-cylinder petrol engine that is likely to generate the maximum power in two states  130 Bhp/240 Nm and 150 Bhp/250 Nm.

Once launched, it will compete with some of the hot-selling products in the country such as the Hyundai Screta, Kia Seltos, and Maruti Brezza among others.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 11:30 IST
Telangana: Mamnoor Airport in Warangal Set to Begin Operations After Years of Delay

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 13:12 IST

Mamnoor Airport, once considered Indias largest pre-Independence airport, has been non-operational for over 40 years.

Established in 1930, it pre-dates Hyderabad's Begumpet Airport and served as a vital hub for both civilian and military use. (Photo: Swarajya)

After years of delays, the long-awaited Mamnoor Airport in Warangal is now on track to become a reality.

The Telangana State government has approved Rs. 205 crore for the acquisition of 280.30 acres of land required for the airports expansion, as per Telangana Today.

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Located about 170 km from Hyderabads Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Mamnoor will be the first of six planned airports in Telangana to start operating under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS-Udan).

The state government has authorised the Warangal District Collector to acquire the necessary land for the airports development. This includes land in surrounding villages such as Gadipally, Gunturpally, Nakkalapally, and Mamnoor itself.

In addition, Rs. 205 crore has been allocated for the land acquisition process. The Collector is also tasked with handing over 253 acres of land to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for runway expansion.

The project received a boost after the Rajiv Gandhi Hyderabad International Airport Limited issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the operation of Mamnoor Airport, clearing the way for the AAI to begin development.

The Roads and Buildings Department has asked the AAI to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the airports construction.

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Mamnoor airfield, which once covered 1,140 acres, now only has 693 acres available due to encroachment. Under the previous BRS government, discussions were held to revive the airport, with a proposal for Rs. 1,200 crore and an additional 300 acres for runway expansion. Despite a few setbacks, such as the GMR withdrawing its contract, the state government remains committed to the project.

Mamnoor Airport, once Indias largest pre-Independence airport, has been inactive for over 40 years. Established in 1930, it predates Hyderabads Begumpet Airport and was a key site for both civilian and military aviation.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 13:12 IST
Govt Likely To Extend RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das' Term For Second Time: Report

Published By :

Reuters

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 18:17 IST

The move would make him the longest-serving chief of the Reserve Bank of India since the 1960s.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. (File Photo)

The Indian government is likely to extend the term of central bank governor Shaktikanta Das for a second time, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, an unprecedented move that would make him the longest serving chief since the 1960s.

Das was one of the most trusted bureaucrats in Prime Minister Narendra Modis administration before he was appointed to lead the Reserve Bank of India in December 2018, at a time when the relationship between the government and the regulator was tumultuous.

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Das, whose current term is due to end on Dec. 10, has already been the RBIs governor for longer than the typical five-year maximum of recent decades and a further extension would make him the longest-serving since Benegal Rama Rau, who filled the role for 7-1/2 years between 1949 and 1957.

Two government sources with direct knowledge of the matter said no other candidates are being considered at this point nor had any selection committee been set up, with Das term likely to be extended for at least another year.

The decision is due to be announced after polling in Maharashtra state elections is complete, a third source, also with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The countrys Election Commission bars the ruling party from making ad-hoc appointments that could affect voter behaviour.

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The finance ministry, prime ministers office and the central bank did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

The three sources, who did not wish to be identified due to the confidential nature of the matter, said the final decision would be taken by the Prime Minister.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 18:17 IST
When venom enters the human body, it can prevent the body from functioning by shutting down everything from the nervous system to the circulatory system to the muscular system. Marine animals use venom either to kill their prey before they eat it or to defend themselves against their predators.

1. Box Jellyfish

" " Box jellyfish. Humberto Ramirez / Getty Images

Pale blue, transparent with a top shaped like a cube, box jellyfish are beautiful creatures. But their many tentacles, that can be up to 10 feet (3 meters) long, are covered with tiny darts filled with poison, and their venom takes only a few minutes to cause paralysis, cardiac arrest or death.

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The deadliest and largest box jellyfish is Chironex fleckeri, also known as the Australian box jellyfish.

2. Irukandji jellyfish

" " Irukandji jellyfish. Samuel J Coe / Getty Images

These venomous jellyfish, found in the waters of Australia, are only the size of a thumbnail.

The Irukandji jellyfish has, understandably, developed the reputation of being an invisible killer.

The initial sting may feel harmless, but half an hour to an hour later, it can cause a condition called Irukandji syndrome.

Trust us, you seriously don't want to play around with Irukandji syndrome.

It can lead to cramping, burning, nausea or brain hemorrhages.

If you, like the vast majority of people, want to minimize your risk of exposure to those unpleasant symptoms, you'll want to keep a close eye on weather reports before swimming Down Under.

3. Blue-ringed Octopus

" " Blue-ringed octopus. Belive... / Getty Images

The blue-ringed octopus is yellow with blue rings that glow like a warning light when it's threatened. Though it's typically smaller than a human hand, it's one of the most venomous sea creatures in the world.

Its venom contains the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (TXX), which can shut down the human respiratory system and cause heart failure. But the most frightening detail is that no existing antivenom can treat its bite.

4. Stonefish

" " Stonefish. Emma Holman / Getty Images

Declared the most venomous fish by the Guinness World Records, stonefish are typically found in the Indo-Pacific region at the bottom of the sea.

It's not an aggressive fish, but its rocky, bumpy texture camouflages it along the sand and coral reefs. If an unsuspecting victim steps on it, the stonefish will release its sharp dorsal spines that contain a lethal amount of venom.

5. Cone Snails

" " Cone snail. Tammy616 / Getty Images

Cone snails, which are found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, capture their prey with their venomous, harpoon-like teeth that they jab rapidly and repeatedly into their victims. Though they usually don't attack humans unless they are stepped on, their venom can kill a person with one prick.

6. Beaked Sea Snakes

" " Sea snake. Alexandra Ozerova / Shutterstock

Sea snake venom is 10 times more potent than the venom of a cobra. The beaked sea snake, one of the few sea snakes that are known to be aggressive, accounts for about 90 percent of human deaths from sea snake bites.

7. Puffer Fish

" " Puffer fish. Stephen Frink / Getty Images

Puffer fish are named as such because, when threatened, they ingest a huge amount of water and air into their elastic stomachs and inflate into a spiky ball multiple times its size.

They also carry the same TXX neurotoxin as the blue-ringed octopus  enough of it to kill 30 humans. Called "fugu" in Japan, puffer fish is a delicacy, but this dish can be deadly if not prepared safely.

8. Flower Urchin

" " Flower urchin. LITTLE DINOSAUR / Getty Images

This sea creature are covered in feelers that look like a bouquet of flower petals. When threatened, the petals snap shut and inject venom into victims.

The flower urchin was named the most dangerous sea urchin in the Guinness World Records because its venom can quickly cause intense pain, respiratory problems or paralysis and cause the victim to drown.

9. Lionfish

" " Lionfish. Reinhard Dirscherl / Getty Images

Lionfish are striking sea creatures, with their brown and white stripes and long pectoral fins that fan out like a lion's mane. They also have long venomous spines that carry deadly poison, making them one of the most dangerous fish in the ocean.

In addition to being a danger to its prey, lionfish are also an invasive species that threaten coral reefs and other marine ecosystems.

10. Stingrays

" " Stingrays. TheFamilyGnome / Shutterstock

Stingrays are generally safe and peaceful ocean creatures, but if they are threatened, they have venomous barbs along their tail that can pierce through human skin. The stingray that unexpectedly killed "The Crocodile Hunter" host Steve Irwin punctured his heart and lungs through his chest.
55th GST Council Meeting Scheduled for December 21 in Jaisalmer: What to Expect?

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 17:27 IST

The 55th meeting of the GST Council will be held on 21 December, 2024 at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan

55th GST Council Meeting.

The 55th GST Council meeting will be conducted on December 21, 2024, at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The GST Council, which is headed by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprises representatives of all states and UTs, is the apex decision-making body for indirect taxes in India.

The 55th meeting of the GST Council will be held on 21 December, 2024 at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan," the GST Council said in a post on X on Monday.

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In the meeting, the GST Council is likely to discuss the GoMs decision to exempt health insurance premiums up to Rs 5 lakh coverage and term life insurance premiums. The GoM also proposed to cut tax rates on 20-litre packaged drinking water bottles, bicycles and exercise notebooks to 5 per cent, apart from suggesting a higher 28 per cent tax on high-end wristwatches and shoes.

Last month, the group of ministers, headed by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, proposed to reduce rates on several items and hike on many, and the overall rejig is expected to yield a revenue surplus of Rs 22,000 crore.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 17:13 IST
Delhi School Holidays: All Classes, Except 10 & 12, Suspended Due To Pollution

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 09:06 IST

All classes will take place online until further orders, Delhi CM Atishi has informed. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has announced Stage 4 of GRAP

The air quality in Delhi remained in the severe category for the past five days (PTI Image)

The Delhi government announced the closure of all schools except for classes 10th and 12th on Sunday due to air pollution. All classes will take place online until further orders, Delhi CM Atishi has informed on the microblogging site X. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has announced Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). The air quality in Delhi remained in the severe" category for the past five days which prompted authorities to impose stringent anti-pollution measures starting Monday.

With the imposition of GRAP-4 from tomorrow, physical classes shall be discontinued for all students, apart from Class 10 and 12. All schools will hold online classes, until further orders," said the minister.

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With the imposition of GRAP-4 from tmrw, physical classes shall be discontinued for all students, apart from Class 10 and 12. All schools will hold online classes, until further orders. Atishi (@AtishiAAP) November 17, 2024

The Haryana government had also issued an order in this regard on Saturday due to increasing pollution. All the Deputy Commissioners were authorised to assess the level of pollution in their respective districts and temporarily close classes up to class five in schools. The Public Relations Department of the state government said that a letter has been written to all the District Deputy Commissioners by the Directorate of School Education in this regard.

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Sonipat District Deputy Commissioner Dr. Manoj Kumar issued orders to close schools up to class five on Monday due to poor air quality in the district. Online classes will continue during this time, he added. There is no update regarding the schools of Faridabad and Gurugram yet. The local administration has yet to decide whether the schools will remain closed or open. Students can contact their schools in this regard.

The condition of air pollution in Noida and Ghaziabad too is poor. At present, no orders or instructions have been issued regarding the closure of schools or online classes. Parents and children may contact their school regarding the same.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 08:50 IST
Indian Students In Canada Can Now Work Up To 24 Hours Per Week

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 10:47 IST

Marc Miller stated that students are required to apply for and receive approval for a new study permit before changing institutions.

Students who are full-time students at a designated learning institution are eligible to work off campus (Representative/File Photo)

Canada has revised the working hours for international students. They can now work up to 24 hours per week outside campus, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller has announced. The minister further stated students are required to apply for and receive approval for a new study permit before changing institutions.

Who Are Eligible?

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 Students who are full-time students at a designated learning institution (DLI).

 Students enrolled in either a post-secondary academic, vocational, or professional training programme or a secondary-level vocational training programme (Quebec only).

 The study programme must be at least six months

 Must obtain a Social Insurance Number (SIN).

Those enrolled only in an English or French as a Second Language (ESL/FSL) programme are not eligible to apply. Those taking general interest courses too are ineligible. Only those taking courses required to be accepted into a full-time programme can work off campus.

Working off campus helps international students gain work experience and offset some of their expenses. As international students arrive in Canada, we want them to be prepared for life here and have the support they need to succeed. However, first and foremost, people coming to Canada as students must be here to study, not work. We will continue working to protect the integrity of our student programme," Miller had said earlier.

ALSO READ | Canada To UK, 5 Countries Indian Students Prefer For Higher Studies

Canada has done away with the popular Student Direct Stream (SDS) starting November 8, thereby, ending a fast-track study permit process that helped thousands of international students quickly secure visas. Launched in 2018, the Student Direct Stream (SDS) provided faster processing for eligible post-secondary students.

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The SDS was opened to legal residents of Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Vietnam. Prospective university students from Nigeria had a similar process with the Nigeria Student Express (NSE).

Prospective students are invited to apply through the regular study permit stream, which accepts Guaranteed Investment Certificates as proof of financial support. Canada will continue to welcome international students from all around the world," it explained.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 10:36 IST
Congress' Rahul Gandhi Mocks PM Modi's 'Ek Hai Toh Safe Hai' Slogan

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 15:03 IST

The "Ek hai toh safe hai slogan primarily serves to help Adani acquire Rs one lakh crore land through the Dharavi redevelopment project, Rahul Gandhi claimed.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (Image: PTI/File)

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday brought a safe to his press conference in Mumbai, to mock Prime Minister Narendra Modis Ek hai toh safe hai slogan.

Claiming a link between the slogan and the Dharavi redevelopment project being given to the Adani Group, Gandhi pulled out two posters from the safe, one featuring a picture of industrialist Gautam Adani and PM Modi with the caption "Ek hai toh Safe hai," and another showing a map of the project.

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Gandhi said the November 20 Maharashtra assembly election is a contest between billionaires and the poor, adding that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government would prioritize farmers, the underprivileged, and the unemployed.

The "Ek hai toh safe hai" slogan primarily serves to help Adani acquire Rs one lakh crore land through the Dharavi redevelopment project, he claimed.

"Narendra Modis slogan is: If we are united, we are safe. The question is: who is safe," Gandhi said.

The Congress leader criticised the tendering process in the Dharavi redevelopment project, suggesting it was designed to protect Adanis interests.

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The interests of Dharavi residents were overlooked to protect the industrialists interests, Gandhi said. The Maha Vikas Aghadi and Congress will ensure the rightful land is returned to the poor residents of Dharavi, he added.

Gandhi also accused central agencies of pressuring industrialists to surrender their projects to government-favoured business figures.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 15:03 IST
Congresss Rs 7,000 Per Quintal Soybean Promise Questioned After Karnataka Prices Remain Low

Reported By :

News18.com

Edited By: Apoorva Misra



Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 16:19 IST

In recent years, soybean cultivation has expanded significantly in Marathwada, North Maharashtra, and Vidarbha, making it a key campaign issue

Globally, 350 million tons of soybean is produced annually, with India contributing around 10 million tons. (PTI)

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Parliament, recently promised a price of Rs 7,000 per quintal for soybean during his campaign rallies in Maharashtras Vidarbha.

However, in Karnataka, where Congress is in power, soybean farmers are reportedly receiving only around Rs 3,751 per quintal in the markets  Rs 1,141 below the Minimum Support Price (MSP). This disparity has raised questions about the credibility of Congresss promises, with critics accusing the party of misleading farmers for electoral gains.

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Farmers have challenged Congress to first ensure Rs 7,000 for soybean in Karnataka before making lofty promises in Maharashtra. Meanwhile, BJP leaders have also targeted Congress over the low prices in Karnataka.

Globally, 350 million tons of soybean is produced annually, with India contributing around 10 million tons. Madhya Pradesh leads in soybean cultivation, with over 55 lakh hectares under cultivation, followed by Maharashtra with over 45 lakh hectares. Madhya Pradesh produces approximately 50.60 lakh tons, while Maharashtra produces 40-45 lakh tons annually. In recent years, soybean cultivation has expanded significantly in Marathwada, North Maharashtra, and Vidarbha, according to studies. Recognising its importance, Congress has made soybean prices a key issue in its campaign against the Mahayuti government.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge recently visited Tivsa in Amravati district and reiterated the promise. However, as a farmer, I checked the soybean prices across the country, and nowhere in Karnataka are farmers getting Rs 7,000. In Gulbarga, Kharges home district, soybean prices hover around Rs 3,800 per quintal. Despite this, the Karnataka government has not intervened, neither procuring soybeans nor implementing a price difference scheme," MP Dr Anil Bonde said.

Criticising Kharge, he said: Kharge is misleading people for electoral gains while ignoring the plight of farmers in his own district. BJPs deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis provided Rs 5,000 per hectare assistance to soybean farmers and is now planning a Bhavantar scheme to deposit the price difference directly into farmers accounts. Kharge should advise Karnatakas Congress CM to implement similar measures."

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During his campaign, Rahul Gandhi had criticised the Mahayuti government and raised the promised price for soybean from Rs 6,000 per quintal (as announced by the Mahayuti) to Rs 7,000 per quintal. However, the rhetoric appears to overlook the reality in Karnataka where Congress is in power.

In Bidar districts Basava Kalyan and Gulbarga markets, soybean is being sold at approximately Rs 3,751 per quintal, and in some cases, even lower. Bonde has demanded that Congress prove its sincerity by ensuring Rs 7,000 per quintal for soybean in Karnataka before making promises to Maharashtra farmers and misleading them.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 16:19 IST
Jharkhand Election: Curtains Come Down On Campaigning For Last Phase Of Assembly Polls

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 20:23 IST

The ruling JMM-led INDIA bloc and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance are engaged in a fierce battle in the elections in the state, the first phase of which was held on November 13

In the 2019 assembly elections, the contest was close, with the JMM winning 30 seats and the BJP securing 25, down from 37 in 2014. The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance won a comfortable majority with 47 seats. (Photo: PTI file)

Campaign drew to a close on Monday for the second and final phase of Jharkhand assembly elections to be held on November 20, when 38 of the total 81 seats go to polls.

The ruling JMM-led INDIA bloc and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance are engaged in a fierce battle in the elections in the state, the first phase of which was held on November 13.

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Star campaigners of both camps including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president JP Nadda, and Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi canvassed for their respective party nominees during the campaigning.

Eighteen of the 38 constituencies going to polls fall in the Santhal Paragana region comprising six districts. The NDA has been alleging during electioneering that large-scale infiltration took place in Santhal Paragana during the past five years of the JMM-led regime.

A total of 1.23 crore voters including 60.79 lakh women and 147 third gender voters are eligible to participate in the voting on Wednesday.

Altogether 528 candidates  472 men, 55 women and a third gender person  are in the fray in 38 seats.

Prominent among the candidates include Chief Minister Hemant Soren, his wife Kalpana Soren (both JMM), his sister-in-law Sita Soren (BJP), state BJP president and ex-CM Babulal Marandi, Assembly Speaker Ravindra Nath Mahto (JMM), AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto and Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri (BJP).

Out of the 38, eight are reserved for scheduled tribes and three for scheduled castes.

A total of 14,218 polling stations have been set up in both rural and urban areas for the second and final phase of elections. Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar said all preparations for voting have been completed. Polling personnel will be dispatched to their polling stations on Tuesday.

In the second phase, voting will be held on November 20 from 7 am to 5 pm. However, in 31 booths, the voting time will end at 4 pm, though people standing in the queue at that time will be able to vote.

The responsibility of the entire voting process at 239 polling stations will be on the hands of women, Kumar said, adding that 22 booths will be manned by persons with disabilities (PwDs).

He said since the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct, a total of Rs 196 crore worth of illegal material and cash has been seized.

Both the NDA and INDIA bloc pulled out all the stops to ensure their victories in the upcoming elections with the former concentrating on infiltration, corruption and scams" while the latter focused on tribal rights and welfare issues and how they were being harassed.

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Key factors that are likely to influence the election include the BJPs central welfare schemes and the arrest and subsequent bail of Soren by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ruling alliance claims the arrest was politically motivated, as Soren was detained in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land fraud.

In the 2019 assembly elections, the contest was close, with the JMM winning 30 seats and the BJP securing 25, down from 37 in 2014. The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance won a comfortable majority with 47 seats.

Location : Ranchi, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 20:23 IST
'Will Attack...': Uddhav Warns Fadnavis, BJP Leaders Over 'Batenge Toh Katenge' Slogan | Video

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 13:01 IST

Uddhav Thackeray has reacted sharply to the slogans used by BJP leaders in the poll campaign in Maharashtra.

Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray (PTI Image)

Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray has warned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including Devendra Fadnavis, over their Batenge Toh Katenge" slogan, stating we will attack those who try to harm Mumbai".

Nobody should cast an eye on Mumbai. Jo hamla karega, usko kaatenge (Will attack those who try to harm Mumbai.)," he said at a rally in the city.

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Uddhav warned the BJP leaders that if the situation worsens in Mumbai, he will take drastic action.

Mumbai, Maharashtra: In response to BJPs slogans, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray warned BJP leaders, including Devendra Fadnavis, that if the situation worsens in Mumbai, he will take drastic action pic.twitter.com/XJfGBxI149 IANS (@ians_india) November 18, 2024

The BJP has revolved its election campaign in Maharashtra and Jharkhand around the call to unite the SC-ST and OBC communities through the Ek Hai Toh Safe Hai" and Batenge Toh Katenge" slogans.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi had used the Ek Hai Toh Safe Hai" slogan at a Maharashtra rally while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had coined the Batenge Toh Katenge" slogan during the Haryana election campaign. Both slogans have remained the core of BJPs campaign in Maharashtra and Jharkhand as the party attempts to unite the Hindu votes.

Maharashtra will go to Assembly polls in a single phase on November 20, and the counting of votes will take place on November 23.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 12:58 IST
Maharashtra Election: Ban On Alcohol Sales In Mumbai, Other Cities On These Dates | Details

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 20:33 IST

As per the election body, the restrictions will begin on November 18 and end on November 23, which is also the counting day.

On November 19, a complete ban on alcohol will be enforced, with all shops ordered to close for the day. (PTI file photo)

In view of the November 20 assembly elections in Maharashtra, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has imposed restrictions on the sale of alcohol across the state.

The dry days will apply to Mumbai and other cities in Maharashtra.

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As per the election body, the restrictions will begin on November 18 and end on November 23, which is also the counting day.

On November 19, a complete ban on alcohol will be enforced, with all shops ordered to close for the day. On the other days, there are time restrictions on alcohol sales. Below is the full schedule provided by the ECI:

November 18 : Alcohol sales prohibited from 6 pm onwards.

: Alcohol sales prohibited from 6 pm onwards. November 19 : Total ban on alcohol for the entire day.

: Total ban on alcohol for the entire day. November 20 : Alcohol sales banned till 6 pm.

: Alcohol sales banned till 6 pm. November 23: Alcohol sales banned till 6 pm (counting day).

In addition to the alcohol ban, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has declared November 20 a holiday for all businesses and offices under its jurisdiction. The BMC has also instructed employers not to deduct pay or impose penalties on employees who take the day off to vote, Hindustan Times reported.

About 2024 Maharashtra assembly election:

Maharashtra will vote on November 20 for its 288 assembly seats. The state is divided into several regions, with Western Maharashtra accounting for 70 seats, Vidarbha 62, Marathwada 46, Thane-Konkan 39, Mumbai 36, and North Maharashtra 35.

This election sees two major alliances: Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Mahayuti consists mainly of the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), and the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), while MVA includes Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction).

The Mahayuti alliance is banking on its popular schemes, such as Majhi Ladki Bahin," aimed at supporting women, to help it retain power. However, the opposition has accused the Mahayuti of polarising voters along religious lines, partly due to the use of slogans like Batenge toh Katenge" and Ek Hai Toh Safe Hai."

However, not all BJP allies supported these slogans. Ajit Pawar distanced himself from them, while Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis attempted to clarify their meaning, causing confusion within the ruling alliance.

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Meanwhile, the MVA alliance has countered the ruling combines rhetoric by focusing on issues such as a caste-based census, social justice, and the protection of the Constitution, aiming to appeal to voters who feel neglected by the current government.

(With inputs from PTI)

Location : Maharashtra, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 20:30 IST
Maharashtra Poll Campaign Ends, Stage Set For Mahayuti Vs MVA On Nov 20

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 19:11 IST

With the political landscape more fragmented than ever before, this assembly election will be the biggest test of the splits in two major regional parties  Shiv Sena and NCP  in the last two years

The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is vying to retain power and the opposition MVA combine is hoping for a strong comeback. (Image: PTI/File)

Top leaders of the six major parties in Maharashtra ended the campaigning for the high-stakes assembly election on Monday. The highlight of the day: the Pawar versus Pawar poll rally in Baramati, which will be the most anticipated battle as the state votes on November 20.

With the political landscape more fragmented than ever before, this election will be the biggest test of the splits in two major regional parties  Shiv Sena and NCP  in the last two years.

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The last day of campaigning saw Chief Minister Eknath Shinde addressing four rallies in and around Thane, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at five rallies, including the Baramati one, and Sharad Pawar in Baramati and three other rallies. The other deputy CM, Devendra Fadnavis, addressed rallies in his Nagpur Southwest constituency.

The ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is vying to retain power and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) combine is hoping for a strong comeback. The election campaign saw prominent leaders like Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and many Union ministers crisscrossing the state to garner votes for their candidates.

WHAT ARE THE KEY ISSUES?

The ruling Mahayuti is banking on its popular schemes like Majhi Ladki Bahin for women helping it retain power. The BJPs use of slogans like Batenge toh katenge" and Ek hain toh safe hain" prompted the opposition parties to accuse the Mahayuti of polarising voters along religious lines. The MVA slammed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanaths and PM Modis use of these two slogans.

But, not all the BJP allies supported these slogans. Ajit Pawar distanced himself from them following which Fadnavis attempted to clarify the meaning of the slogans, leading to confusion within the ruling alliance.

ALSO READ | Mahayuti Vs Maha Vikas Aghadi: Who Has Promised What To Maharashtra Voters? Explained

The MVA alliance countered the ruling combines rhetoric by focusing on issues like caste-based census, social justice, and protecting the Constitution. The opposition aimed to appeal to voters who felt neglected by the government.

Ahead of the elections, the BJP launched a new ad campaign attacking the opposition and urging people to Say No to Congress". The ad campaign highlighted various incidents from the past, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, and incidents like the lynching of sadhus at Palghar.

WHAT IS THE PARTY-WISE SITUATION?

The major parties in the fray are the BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena as part of the ruling alliance Mahayuti, and the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) as constituents of the MVA.

The BJP is contesting the elections in 149 seats, Shiv Sena is in the fray in 81 seats, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP has fielded candidates in 59 constituencies. The Congress has fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) 95, and NCP (SP) has put up 86 candidates.

Smaller parties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), are also contesting, with the former fielding 237 candidates and the latter 17.

WHAT DO THE ELECTION FIGURES LOOK LIKE?

A total of 4,136 candidates are in the fray for the assembly elections for the 288-seat Maharashtra legislative assembly. The number of candidates has increased by 28 per cent this time compared to the 2019 assembly polls.

Among these candidates, 2,086 are independents. Rebels are in the fray in over 150 constituencies, with candidates from the Mahayuti and MVA contesting against their partys official nominees.

ALSO READ | Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: The List Of 288 MLAs From 2019, Know Your Legislator

The number of registered voters has increased to 9,63,69,410, up from 8,94,46,211 in 2019, with addition of 69,23,199 new voters. An election official said this rise is due to special enrolment drives focused on younger and first-time voters. The number of first-time voters, aged 18-19, is now 20,93,206, the official said.

The state electorate also includes 6,36,278 voters with disabilities and 1,16,355 voters from the armed forces. Of the total electorate, 12,43,192 voters are over the age of 85, with as many as 47,716 centenarians, according to the official.

There will be 1,00,186 polling booths in Maharashtra this time, compared to 96,654 booths in the 2019 assembly elections. This increase is due to the rise in the number of voters. Around six lakh state government employees will be involved in election duties.

ALSO READ | Maharashtra Election 2024 Key Candidates: Thackerays To Pawars, The 20 Big Fights

Here are some key contests to watch out for:

Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) v Praful Vinodrao Gudadhe (Congress) in Nagpur South West: Fadnavis became the youngest mayor of Nagpur in 1997, and has won continuously from this constituency in the assembly election for five terms since 1999. They now want to see him as the CM or the BJP chief. He will take on Praful Gudadhe of the Congress, who is hoping anti-incumbency will help him win.

Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena) v Kedar Dighe (Sena UBT) in Kopri-Pachpakhadi: Pitted against his mentor, the late Anand Dighes nephew Kedar Dighe, Shinde is confident of retaining his bastion in Thane. He was first elected as an MLA from Thane in 2004 and, after the Kopri-Pachpakhadi assembly seat was made, he won three consecutive terms in 2009, 2014 and 2019.

Ajit Pawar (NCP) v Yugendra Pawar (NCP Sharad Pawar) in Baramati: After the Supriya Sule versus Sunetra Pawar during the Lok Sabha election, Baramati is set to witness another Pawar family battle. Ajit Pawar, the loyal face of Baramati and deputy CM, will take on his nephew Yugendra Pawar, the son of his younger brother Shrinivas aka Bapu, who has the support of Pawar senior. While Ajit Pawar remains confident of retaining the bastion, Sule is throwing her weight behind Yugendra to ensure another win for Pawar senior.

Aaditya Thackeray (Sena UBT) v Milind Deora (Shiv Sena) in Worli: In 2019, Aaditya Thackeray became the first from his family to venture into electoral politics by contesting from the seat in Mumbai. While the win then against NCP-supported Suresh Mane was easy, this time he will face Milind Deora of the Shinde Sena. While Aaditya is confident Deora, a former Congress leader and Union minister, is being called a sacrificial lamb" of sorts. Also in the fray is MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande.

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Zeeshan Siddique (NCP) v Varun Sardesai (Sena UBT) in Bandra East: Sardesai, the nephew of Uddhav Thackeray, is taking on Zeeshan Siddique, who is riding on a sympathy wave after the murder of his father and NCP leader Baba Siddique. Throughout his campaign in the Muslim-dominated seat, he has sought justice for his father. The seat, which houses the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), is especially important for the Thackerays as it houses Matoshree. The MNS has pitched former Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Trupti Sawant, while Kunal Sarmalkar from Shinde Sena is contesting as an independent.

(With PTI inputs)

First Published: November 18, 2024, 17:29 IST
Maharashtra Polls: Congress, Rahul Gandhi Banking On Caste & Constitution To Work Again

Reported By :

News18.com

Edited By: Oindrila Mukherjee



Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 22:36 IST

The Congress, still bruised by its shocking defeat in Haryana, is hopeful of undoing that debacle by winning the second largest state in India and wants to replicate its Lok Sabha success

Congress leader and LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi speaks during 'Constitution Samman Sammelan', in Kolhapur. (Image: PTI)

A little more than 24 hours left for polling in Maharashtra, political parties are applying every trick in the book to ensure a win. The Congress, still bruised by its shocking defeat in Haryana, is hopeful of undoing that debacle by winning the second largest state in India. It wants to replicate what it thinks clicked for it during the Lok Sabha elections.

What shocked the BJP was its poor performance in Marathwada and parts of Vidarbha regions. Its calculation is that it was hurt by two factors: one, that it could not beat the effect of the message  Samvidhan khatre mein hai  by the Congress. The copies of the Constitution held by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi only added to this traction.

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The BJP, of course, is taking no chances this time. This is why Union minister Kiren Rijiju was made to campaign against this narrative in the Buddhist belt, which follows Father of the Constitution BR Ambedkar.

ALSO READ | Rahul Gandhi Mocks PM Modis Ek Hain Toh Safe Hain Slogan, BJP Hits Back

But, in a caste-obsessed state like Maharashtra, the other narrative that worked for the INDIA bloc during the general elections was reservation. Gandhi has made caste survey and reservation his fulcrum. So much so, that he has gone to the extent of saying he will ensure that the 50 per cent cap is breached and more reservation granted.

This has been used by the BJP, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to make the point that the Congress MP is keen on ending reservation. But, the Gandhi scion used his press conference on the last day of campaigning to undo this perception, in the hope that what worked during the Lok Sabha polls will help him now as well.

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I am committed to ensure that a caste survey is done. This will ensure and reveal the exact number of people belonging to different castes," he said, adding that Modi was lying when he suggested that he wanted to end reservation.

But some cynics feel that what may have clicked during Lok Sabha may not in the assembly polls. But, the Congress as well as Rahul Gandhi do not want to take any chances.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 22:30 IST
BEIJING, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- China's trade with Brazil soared 9.9 percent in the first 10 months of 2024 from the same period last year, underpinning the deepening economic and trade ties between the two countries.

The growth rate was 4.7 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of China's foreign trade, as shown by the General Administration of Customs data released on Sunday.

China's trade with Brazil hit 1.14 trillion yuan (158.33 billion U.S. dollars) from January to October, including 432.08 billion yuan in exports and 708.15 billion yuan in imports, both registering steady growth.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of China-Brazil diplomatic ties. Over the past half-century, the two nations have made fruitful achievements in economic and trade cooperation and significant progress in bilateral economic and trade ties.

China has been Brazil's largest trading partner and export destination for the past 15 consecutive years, while Brazil has long been China's top trading partner in Latin America.

With the deepening economic and trade cooperation, more quality products from Brazil are entering the Chinese market. In the first 10 months, China's share in Brazil's exports of soybeans and iron ore exceeded 70 percent, while in pulp and crude oil, the share surpassed 40 percent.

More quality industrial products from China are entering Brazil. China exported intermediate goods worth 216.86 billion yuan to Brazil in the first 10 months, up 11.8 percent year on year, accounting for half of China's total export value to Brazil.
The bizarre-looking sea animal has the fins and body of a shark, but the flattened head and ventral mouth of a ray.

Aussies have responded in awe after a rarely-seen creature that exhibits the characteristics of both sharks and rays washed ashore at a popular west coast waterway at the weekend.

On social media on Saturday, a stunned beachgoer posted photos of the bizarre-looking fish, which has the fins and body of a shark, but the flattened head and ventral mouth of a ray.

The deceased animal was found on the sand at Coogee Beach in Perth, sparking an influx of responses from curious locals who didn't quite know what to make of it. Some said the animal looked alien-like, while others questioned how it arrived at the spot.

Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Leo Guida of the Australian Marine Conservation Society identified the species as a bottlenose wedgefish  or white-spotted guitarfish  which he said are critically endangered around the world, but incidentally thrive in Australian waters.

The strange sea creature is critically endangered around the world, but survives in Australian waters. Source: Facebook/David Fitzpatrick

Critically endangered species thrives in Aussie waters

"Australia is a global 'lifeboat' for this species. They aren't threatened in Australian waters but are critically endangered globally, including immediately next door in South East Asia," he told Yahoo.

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"Commercial trawlers in Australia have 'turtle excluder devices' which have an escape hatch at the top of a trawl net that large wedgefish can escape through, and this has greatly reduced the numbers of them killed in Australian waters."

Guida explained the red colouring seen in the photos is in fact bruising. "The fish has been dead for a little while and the blood is internally pooling along its underside thanks to gravity," he said.

Bottlenose wedgefish are part of the family rhinidae, commonly known as wedge fish, and while aesthetically they do boast features that resemble both sharks and rays, they are not hybrids.

Their mouths is located on the underside of their body, similar to rays. But, they have the body of a shark. Source: Facebook/David Fitzpatrick

Instead, they belong to a group of cartilaginous fish known as elasmobranchs, which includes both sharks and rays. Bottlenose wedgefish are critically endangered due to overfishing and habitat destruction, with their fins highly valued in the shark fin trade.

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Coastal development, pollution, and habitat degradation (like the destruction of mangroves and seagrass beds) have reduced the areas where wedgefish can thrive. Like many elasmobranchs, wedgefish have a slow growth rate, late sexual maturity, and produce few offspring, making it difficult for populations to recover from declines.

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Maharashtras Ladki Bahin Outshines Karnatakas Gruhalakshmi: BJPs Chitra Wagh

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 17:38 IST

The Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shinde Sena and NCP (Ajit Pawar), is banking on the Ladki Bahin scheme to win Maharashtra polls

Chitra Wagh posted a video of women and child development minister of Karnataka on X. (X)

While Maharashtra governments Ladki Bahin scheme, introduced by the Mahayuti alliance, has emerged as a model of inclusivity and empowerment for women, Karnatakas Gruhalakshmi Programme  launched by the Congress-led government  has a restrictive approach of providing benefits to only one woman per household, according to Chitra Wagh, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader.

Wagh posted a video of women and child development minister of Karnataka Laxmi Hebbalkar on microblogging website X, where she was seen saying: Under the Gruhalakshmi Scheme, only one woman in the household  whether it is the mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, or sister-in-law  can avail of the benefits."

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The Mahayuti, comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shinde Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar), is banking on the scheme to win the Maharashtra assembly elections. Maharashtra will vote on November 20 and the results will be out on November 23.

              (   )          ,              pic.twitter.com/OORYWBU1My  Chitra Kishor Wagh (@ChitraKWagh) November 18, 2024

EMPOWERMENT THROUGH EQUALITY

The Ladki Bahin scheme has benefited over 20 million women across Maharashtra. By allowing multiple beneficiaries in the same household, the programme addresses the diverse needs of women without creating conflicts. This inclusive approach empowers women to make independent decisions, improving their financial stability and overall well-being.

Take, for instance, a family in Nagpur where the grandmother, daughter-in-law, both receive benefits under the scheme. This financial aid has brought peace to our home," says one of the beneficiaries. Each of us uses the funds for our individual needs  whether its education, healthcare, or small business ventures  without any disputes or competition."

CRITICISM OF KARNATAKAS APPROACH

Critics argue that limiting benefits to a single woman per household undermines the programmes potential for meaningful empowerment in Karnataka. This one-size-fits-all approach disregards the unique challenges faced by women in larger families and fails to promote harmony within households.

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WANT EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL

Chitra Wagh has urged Maharashtras women to recognise the importance of the Ladki Bahin scheme in ensuring equal opportunities for all. If Congress comes to power, only one woman per family will receive benefits, just like in Karnataka," she cautioned.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 12:41 IST
Mahayuti Vs Maha Vikas Aghadi: Who Has Promised What To Maharashtra Voters? Explained

Curated By :

News18.com

Edited By: Shilpy Bisht



Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 17:23 IST

Jobs, women empowerment, Maratha reservation and infrastructure are top issues in Maharashtra this election. Let us look at what MVA and Mahayuti have pledged to the voters

Both Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi have promised new industrial projects and filling up of vacancies in state government to provide employment. (Photo: PTI)

Unemployment, infrastructure, farmers distress and Maratha reservation have emerged as top issues that the political parties in Maharashtra have promised to resolve this election.

A pre-poll survey conducted by MIT-SOG-Lokniti-CSDS indicated that jobs was the top concern for one in every four voters in Maharashtra.

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Let us look at the promises and pledges made by the political parties as the states goes to the polls on November 20 to elect 288 members of the Legislative Assembly.

What Has Mahayuti Promised?

The Mahayuti government comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) released their manifesto on November 10, promising anti-conversion law, farm loan waivers, cash handouts of Rs 2,100 to women, and a monthly Rs 10,000 stipend for a million young people.

The 25-point vision document was released by home minister Amit Shah along with deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union minister Piyush Goyal. It promised 2.5 million jobs and a programme to supply kitchen essentials spices and oil to low-income families.

The manifesto also mentioned to increase benefits for farmers under the states Kisan Samman Yojana from Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000, as well as a price support scheme in alignment with the MSP to cover price variations of up to 20%".

The Mahayuti also promised to provide kitchen essentials, including rice, jowar, groundnut oil, salt, sugar, turmeric, mustard and red chilli powder every month to low-income families under the new Akshay Anna Yojana.

What Has Maha Vikas Aghadi Promised?

The Shiv Sena (UBT) has promised to scrap the existing 50% limit on reservations and stop the project to redevelop the slum neighbourhood of Dharavi in Mumbai.

The election manifesto released by party chief Uddhav Thackeray on November 7 focused on affordable housing policy to keep pace with the citys rapid urbanisation.

He said if elected the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will scrap the planned cluster development of Koliwadas and Goathans  the fishing communitys homes and villages.

The alliance also promised to fill up 250,000 vacancies in the Maharashtra government within 100 days, create 1.25 million jobs in the state over five years, provide subsidized cooking gas cylinders and electricity to poor, provide a minimum support price to onion and tomato farmers and develop a Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Corridor passing through all villages.

The five poll guarantees by MVA include a monthly dole of Rs 3,000 for poor women, debt waiver of up to Rs 3 lakh for farmers, Rs 4,000 per month for unemployed youth, Rs 25 lakh health insurance and free medicines for all families.

Focusing on women voters, the MVA manifesto promises six cooking gas cylinders per year for women consumers at a subsidised rate of Rs 500, free travel for women by state transport buses, free cervical vaccines for girls aged 9-16 years, a Rs 100,000 dole for girls upon reaching 18 years of age, and two optional days of leave for women per month during their menstrual cycle.

The MVA will frame a Nirbhaya Maharashtra policy and conduct a safety audit in schools to prevent sexual assault and molestation incidents.

A youth commission and new education policy will be introduced to ensure smooth functioning of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission, and declare results within 45 days of exams.

Besides the debt waiver of up to Rs 3 lakh, the MVA promised to promote cultivation of millets, provide a minimum support price for onions and tomatoes and their processing industries.

What Does The MNS Manifesto Say?

Raj Thackeray, who released the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), said his party will not only promise what they will do, but will also show how it would fulfill its promises.

The MNS election manifesto does not promise any sops or freebies but mentions childcare, employment, good education, shelter and food to Maharashtrians. It also addresses issues on solid waste management, open spaces, sewage treatment, bio-diversity and industrial and commercial policy.

The manifesto also highlights promoting Marathi pride, use of the language in all spheres, conservation of forts and promotion of traditional sports.

What Are The Top Issues In Maharashtra?

Women Empowerment: The Maharashtra government implemented the Ladki Bahin scheme, providing Rs 1,500 per month to women aged 21-65 who earn less than Rs 2.5 lakh or less annually. The number of beneficiaries under the scheme are roughly 2 crore. Women voters comprise 48.7% of the total electorate, that is, around 4.67 crore registered female voters. The percentage of women voting in the 2014 assembly elections was 61.69%, while in 2019, the number of women voters was 4,27,05,777.

Maratha Reservation & Caste: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil has criticised the BJP for excluding Marathas from the OBC quota. Thus, the Mahayuti government is wooing other communities such as tribals and OBCs by setting up new corporations for underrepresented groups like Agris, Vani-Vani, Lohar, Shimpi and Gavali. The Maratha reservation issue is quite prominent in rural Marathwada, Marathas constitute nearly 33% of the states population. After Maharashtra came into being in 1960, out of its 20 chief ministers, 12, including Eknath Shinde, are from the Maratha community. The Bombay High Court in 2018 ruled that 16% quota granted by the state was not justifiable, and reduced it to 12% in education and 13% in government jobs, as recommended by the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission.

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Jobs: Unemployment remains a pressing issue in the state. All parties have promised new industrial projects and filling up of vacancies in state government to the Maharashtra voters. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) of India 2023-24 estimates the states urban unemployment to be at 5.2%, against 4.6% in the previous year. With respect to overall unemployment rate, Maharashtra clocked 3.3% in 2023-24, more or less the same as the national unemployment rate of 3.2% for the same period.

Agrarian Distress: Farmer suicide continues to be a big issue in Maharashtra, with 2,851 famers ending their lives in 2023. The situation is stark in the drought-prone Marathwada region, where 430 farmers have committed suicide in the first half of 2024 alone, according to government data. The ruling government has announced several relief measures, including Rs 6,000 aid under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme. It has also waived electricity bills for farmers using water pumps of less than 7.5 hp. Rahul Gandhi announced on November 12 that if the INDIA alliance comes to power in Maharashtra, it would ensure fair prices for soybean and cotton farmers.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 17:12 IST
What Is Polluting Delhis Air? Here Are The Major Contributors In Capital & NCR| Explained

Curated By :

News18.com

Edited By: Shilpy Bisht



Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 09:59 IST

According to the latest emission inventory prepared by TERI, vehicles are the single largest contributor of pollution in Delhi, tailpipe emissions from two-wheelers form the major chunk of vehicular pollution

Among vehicular sources in NCR, two-wheelers are the largest contributors to PM2.5 (31%) and CO (51%), while buses contribute the most to Nox (34%). (PTI Photo)

Delhis air pollution is not abating, in fact, the air quality has deteriorated since last week so much so that the government has imposed GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) Stage IV measures.

It is understood the increase in the number of air pollutants is causing the worsening of the pollution in the Delhi-NCR. A 2021 emission inventory  the latest version released by TERI  has underlined the major sources of air pollution in real-time.

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What Is Emission Inventory?

The Emission Inventory records the emissions from different sources for a city or a region for that year. The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) prepared the draft 2021 report, which estimates emissions from different sources of pollution within Delhi, and not from outside.

Who Are The Major Polluters?

The report says while vehicles are the single largest contributor of pollution in Delhi, tailpipe emissions from two-wheelers form the major chunk of vehicular pollution.

The draft report lists six major pollutants, of which, vehicles are the largest contributor to three.

Vehicles are the largest emitters of PM2.5 in Delhi, with around 47% or 9.6 kt/year (kilotonnes per year) of the total estimated PM2.5 emission of 20.32 kt/year. This was followed by road dust (20%, 4.09 kt/year of PM2.5). Vehicles are also the largest emitters of nitrogen oxides (Nox), contributing 78% or 119.6 kt/year to the estimated Nox load of 153.53 kt/year, and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), contributing around 49% (88.02 kt/year) of the total load of 180.52 kt/year.

Fuelwood is another pollutant mentioned in the report. the average per capita consumption of fuelwood and LPG in slum households of Delhi was 560 kg and 45 kg respectively during 2021." Where fuelwood contributes around 0.8 kt/year to PM2.5 levels and 1.1 kt/year to PM10 in Delhi, LPG contributes 0.2 kt/year to PM2.5 and PM10 each, the report estimates.

What About NCR?

In the NCR, which includes Delhi, 13 districts of Haryana, eight districts of Uttar Pradesh and two districts of Rajasthan, the major source of particulate matter is industries, contributing 41% to PM10, 44% to PM2.5, followed by stone crushers (22% to PM10, 19% in PM2.5).

Power plants in NCR contribute immensely to SO2, that is, around 46%, while transport emits carbon monoxide (97%), VOCs (58%), and Nox (66%).

Among vehicular sources in the NCR as well, two-wheelers are the largest contributors to PM2.5 (31%) and CO (51%), while buses contribute the most to Nox (34%).

The Commission for Air Quality Management had ordered that the use of coal for industrial and domestic purposes will be banned in areas with PNG supply from October 2022. The emission inventory includes the sources of pollution before the ban on coal was imposed.

What Are Other Emission Inventories?

Delhi has three emission inventories: IIT Kanpur, SAFAR and TERI.

The IIT Kanpur inventory based on the data collected in 2013-14 and submitted to the Delhi government in 2016 found industrial emissions in Delhi forming a large chunk of gaseous pollutants and PM, as mentioned in a report by The Indian Express.

According to a latest study by IIT Kanpur in April 2024, inside Delhi, ammonium chloride and organic aerosols from traffic, residential heating, and industrial activities are key contributors to air pollution. Outside Delhi, emissions from agricultural burning and secondary organic aerosols formed from these emissions are more prevalent. Contributing to the problem is the incomplete burning of fuels like wood, dung, coal, and petrol.

An emission inventory developed by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorologys System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) in 2018 pointed to transport as the largest source of PM2.5 (41%) and Nox (76%), while dust was the largest contributor of PM10 (55%).

The TERI inventory in 2016, which was part of a report prepared for the Ministry of Heavy Industries, identified transport as the largest contributor of PM2.5 (39%) and Nox (81%) in Delhi.

What is Particulate Matter?

Ambient particulate matter (PM) is composed of all the solid and liquid particles suspended in air including dust, pollen, soot, smoke, and liquid droplets.

Particle pollution is produced by both primary and secondary sources. Primary particulate matter is emitted directly from construction sites, wildfires, wood burning, gravel pits, agricultural activities, and dusty roads.

Secondary particulate matter is formed in the atmosphere through complex chemical reactions. PM2.5 precursors such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), sulfur dioxides (SO2), and ammonia contribute to the formation of secondary fine particulates. Precursors that lead to the formation of PM2.5 are emitted by a variety of sources, including power plants, industry, vehicles, small businesses, buildings, and homes.

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The smaller the pollutants, the more harmful they are to a human body, causing respiratory problems. Particulate matter (PM) 2.5, which is an atmospheric particulate matter of a diameter smaller than 2.5 micrometres (or around 3% of the diameter of a human hair), can easily bypass nose and throat and can easily enter the circulatory system. The particles can lead to chronic diseases like asthma, hearth attack, bronchitis and other respiratory problems.

Exposure to PM10 and PM2.5 can lead to numerous problems including inflammation and damage to lung tissue, worsening asthma symptoms, nonfatal heart attacks and arrhythmias and premature death.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 09:59 IST
Why Ukraine Attack On Russia With US Missiles Could Lead To World War 3 | Explained

Curated By :

News18.com

Edited By: Shilpy Bisht



Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 15:25 IST

Washington had refused to allow missile strikes against Russia as it feared escalation. But the policy reversal comes two months before Donald Trump, who is skeptical of the US aid to Ukraine, will take over the White House

President Vladimir Putin said in September that the West would be fighting Russia directly if it allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles. (Reuters/ Illustration by Shubhangi Sharma)

The outgoing Joe Biden administration has permitted Ukraine to use US-made ATACMS missiles for limited strikes inside Russia. Such escalation could lead to World War III, according to Russian lawmakers.

Washington had previously refused to allow such strikes against Russia as it feared escalation. But the policy reversal comes two months before Donald Trump, who is sceptical of US aid to Ukraine, will take over the White House in January.

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Trumps team also suspects that the incoming US administration will allow Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons inside Russia.

Trump has reiterated quite a few times before taking over the presidency that he would end wars in Ukraine and the Middle East in his second term.

What Is Russias Warning Against Ukraines Missile Use?

The West has decided on such a level of escalation that it could end with the Ukrainian statehood in complete ruins by morning," Andrei Klishas, a senior member of the Federation Council, Russias upper chamber of parliament, said on the Telegram messaging app, as quoted by Reuters.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian upper houses international affairs committee, said that Moscows response will be immediate. This would be a very big step towards World War 3", TASS state news agency quoted Dzhabarov as saying.

Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the State Duma lower houses foreign affairs committee, said US-authorised strikes by Kyiv on Russia with ATACMS missiles would lead to the toughest response, Russian news agencies reported.

President Vladimir Putin had earlier said in September that the West would be fighting Russia directly if it allowed Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles, a move he said would alter the nature and scope of the conflict.

Why Has Biden Made This Decision?

President Biden has always opposed the use of US weapons against Russia, fearing that it would drag the US and its NATO allies into a direct confrontation with Russia.

But Biden has relented, after momentum shifted towards Russia. The current move by the US tells Ukraine that it will support its efforts to hold on to a small chunk of Russian territory, which could be used as a bargaining chip" for any possible negotiations in the future, as per a report by the BBC.

Reports suggest that Bidens decision will enable Britain and France to grant Ukraine permission to use long-range Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia.

Neither the UK nor France has responded to Bidens decision.

What Does Trump Think?

The President-elect has not said he would continue the policy, but some of his aides have already criticised financial and military aid to Ukraine.

Donald Trump Jr, Trumps son, wrote on social media: The military industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get World War Three going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives."

Trumps Vice-President-elect JD Vance said the US should not provide any more military aid to Ukraine.

Many Ukrainian officials fear that Trump will cut off the arms supply when he takes over as president in January.

What Are ATACMS That Can Be Used Against Russia?

The ATACMS (pronounced attack ems") are manufactured by Lockheed Martin, and are some of the most powerful ballistic missiles provided to Ukraine.

With a warhead containing about 375 pounds of explosives, the missile can strike targets 190 miles away, and can fly much higher in the atmosphere than artillery rockets.

ATACMS can be fired from the HIMARS mobile launchers that the US has provided Ukraine, as well as from older M270 launchers sent from Britain and Germany.

The ATACMS missile was developed in the 1980s to destroy high-value Soviet targets deep behind enemy lines, according to The New York Times.

The missiles are likely to be initially employed against Russian and North Korean troops to support Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region of western Russia, according to US officials, The Times quoted.

Why Did The US Wait?

Since the time when the Ukraine war started in February 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded for weapons that can hit even deeper into Russian-held territory, and eventually Russia.

The US had provided Ukraine with ATACMS last year, but forbade its use against Russia as it feared that Putin might respond by escalating. Were trying to avoid World War III," Biden has said.

Zelensky has justified the need for such weapons as it would be crucial for Ukraines wider counteroffensive. He insisted that he has no plans to use them against Russia or target civilians.

What Could Be The Impact?

The missiles will help Ukraine strike targets inside Russia, most likely around the Kursk region, where the Ukrainian army holds over 1,000 sq km of territory.

In return, Ukraine can expect a counter-offensive by the Russian and North Korean troops to regain territory in Kursk.

Reports suggest that Russia has already moved its military equipment such as jets to airfields further inside Russia in anticipation of such a decision.

When Did the US Use ATACMS In Combat?

The US military fired 30 ATACMS in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm against Iraqs medium-range ballistic missile launchers and surface-to-air missile sites.

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According to The New York Times, the first-generation ATACMS could fly about 100 miles and released 950 bomblets.

In the 2003 invasion, the US Army also fired more than 400 of the bomblet-carrying tactical missiles in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 13:13 IST
Centre May Send More Troops To Manipur, Ground Assessment To Decide Big Steps | Exclusive

Reported By :

News18.com

Edited By: Apoorva Misra



Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 09:33 IST

Sources within the Manipur government have confirmed that the 20 companies sent by the Union government last week will not be sufficient, given the current tense situation in the state

According to sources, preparations for sending additional troops are already in progress. (PTI)

Additional troops are likely to be deployed in Manipur  which is on the boil again  after a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

According to sources, preparations for sending additional troops are already in progress. Sources within the Manipur government have confirmed that the 20 companies sent by the Union government last week will not be sufficient, given the current tense situation in the state.

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Sources also hinted that following Shahs meeting, the Centre may take major steps based on ground assessment. A senior government official told News18 that once the troops arrive, companies of CAPFs will be deployed evenly in both the hilly and valley areas to maintain law and order, with a particular focus on the valley.

Currently, in Jiribam district, which is the epicentre of recent violence, several companies have been deployed, and platoons have been sent to nearby areas that might witness further attacks. The Meitei and Kuki communities are opposing the deployment of forces. More troops will arrive in Manipur after receiving official communication," a top-level official aware of the development told News18.

Meanwhile, DG CRPF Anish Dayal, who was asked to rush to Manipur, will assess the situation and report back to the Home Ministry. Sources suggest that Dayal will brief Shah about the situation, which will guide further action after a detailed discussion with local top officials. The DG CRPF will also visit the tense areas and assess the deployment of forces.

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It is expected that in the meeting chaired by Shah with Dayal, a discussion will take place on the letter sent by the Manipur government requesting the withdrawal of the Centres decision to expand the operational area of the Army by extending AFSPA to six police stations in the state.

Meanwhile, the political crisis in the Manipur government is also visible after the Conrad Sangma-led National Peoples Party (NPP) withdrew its support to the BJP-led Manipur government headed by N Biren Singh on Sunday. The NPP expressed deep concern" over the prevailing law and order situation in the North-eastern state. The Meghalaya chief minister criticised his Manipur counterpart for failing to quell the unrest, which has seen violence between Meitei and Kuki-Zo groups. This violence has led to months of unrest and severely disrupted normal life in the state.

Location : Imphal, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 09:33 IST
Class 7 Student In Tamil Nadu Sets World Record With Yoga On Nails

Curated By :

Translation Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 20:22 IST

At the conclusion of her performance, Jeridisha was presented with a certificate and medal to commemorate her new world record.

Jeridisha set a world record by performing 50 yoga asanas in 20 minutes while sitting on nails.

In a remarkable achievement that garnered widespread attention, Class 7 student Jeridisha set a new world record for performing 50 yoga asanas in just 20 minutes  while sitting on a bed of iron nails. The extraordinary feat took place at the Nobel World Record event held at SRV Public School in Tamil Nadus Namakkal district and has since captured the imagination of many.

A Record-Breaking Display of Skill and Determination

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Jeridishas performance was nothing short of spectacular. In front of a captivated audience, she demonstrated remarkable control and flexibility, executing difficult yoga postures such as Padmasana, Yoga Mudra, Parvatasana, Vajrasana, and Chakrasana with apparent ease. The presence of Hemalatha, Director of the Nobel World Record organisation, and Manokaran, Secretary of the SRV Group, added to the significance of the event.

At the conclusion of her performance, Jeridisha was presented with a certificate and medal to commemorate her new world record, an achievement that has filled her school, teachers, and family with immense pride. The schools principal congratulated her, praising her dedication and resilience.

A Passion for Yoga with a Purpose

Speaking after her record-breaking performance, Jeridisha expressed deep gratitude towards her parents, attributing much of her success to their unwavering support and encouragement. My parents are the main reason behind my success. They always believed in me and motivated me to push my limits," she said.

This is not the first time Jeridisha has made headlines. Previously, she set another world record by performing yoga asanas while balancing on a coconut. This act was designed to raise awareness about pressing social issues, particularly the safety of women and the need to combat sexual violence. Jeridisha views yoga not only as a means to achieve physical and mental well-being but also as a powerful tool for social change.

Promoting Womens Safety Through Yoga

Jeridisha clarified that her latest achievement, though impressive, was not solely about breaking records. My true aim is to raise awareness about womens safety and their rights. I want to make sure that my achievements also contribute to a larger cause," she said. The young yogini expressed her determination to continue using her platform to promote social issues and hoped to inspire others to join her in advocating for womens safety.

A Role Model for the Youth

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Jeridishas story is fast becoming an inspiration for young people across the district, and beyond. Her dedication, perseverance, and focus on making a difference in society serve as a powerful message to all those who aspire to achieve greatness. She has shown that with confidence and hard work, even the most difficult goals can be realised.

Her achievement has also drawn attention to the growing importance of yoga among the younger generation. It serves as a reminder that yoga not only contributes to physical fitness but also promotes mental peace and spiritual well-being. Jeridishas feat is expected to inspire more young people to take up yoga as an integral part of their lives.

Location : Tamil Nadu, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 20:22 IST
Drunk Guest Ploughs Car Into Baaraat After Tense Exchange Over Firecrackers; 1 Dead, 7 Critical

Curated By :

Translation Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 11:44 IST

The joyous wedding procession descended into chaos, when an individual, reportedly under the influence of alcohol, recklessly drove his car into the wedding procession

Due to the severity of their injuries, all victims were subsequently transferred to hospitals in Dausa and Jaipur. (News18 Hindi)

A shocking incident has unfolded in Ladpura village in Dausa district of Rajasthan, where a wedding celebration took a tragic turn.

On Sunday night, a joyous wedding procession descended into chaos, when an individual, reportedly under the influence of alcohol, recklessly drove his car into the wedding procession, injuring eight people. Golu Meena, a resident of Ladpura, tragically lost his life in the incident. The remaining seven injured individuals are currently battling critical injuries.

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Dispute Over Crackers

Disturbing videos of the incident have been circulating on social media, capturing the horrifying sequence of events. The wedding of Kailash Meenas daughter saw the arrival of the baaraat from Bhagwatpura in Tonk. As the procession advanced with music and dance, a group of intoxicated young men began recklessly setting off fireworks.

Their actions escalated, with some placing large fireworks on the bonnet of a car and others igniting them in their hands.

A dispute erupted between groups within the procession over the crackers. The argument escalated, leading one individual to react in a fit of rage, driving his car recklessly into the crowd. The car ploughed into people in its path, instantly turning the joyous atmosphere into one of horror and despair.

Victims Referred to Jaipur and Dausa

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MLA Ramvilas Meena, who was present at the wedding, personally transported the injured to Lalsot Hospital in his own vehicle. Due to the severity of their injuries, all victims were subsequently transferred to hospitals in Dausa and Jaipur.

By Monday morning, 17-year-old Golu Meena succumbed to his injuries. The remaining seven individuals are in critical condition. Following the incident, the car driver fled the scene and the police are currently searching for him.

Location : Dausa, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 11:44 IST
Ex-Maharashtra Minister Anil Deshmukh Injured In Stone Pelting, NCP Slams BJP Govt

Curated By :

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Last Updated: November 19, 2024, 01:27 IST

Unidentified assailants hurled stones at Deshmukh's vehicle at 8 pm when he was returning to Katol and he was rushed to a hospital.

Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh was attacked on the last day of campaigning for Maharashtra Assembly elections. (Photo: X)

Former Maharashtra Home Minister and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Anil Deshmukh was seriously injured after stones were hurled at his car in Nagpur district on Monday night, police said. The incident occurred on the last day of campaigning for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.

The incident occurred around 8 pm when Deshmukh was returning to Katol after attending a meeting in Narkhed village. Some unidentified persons threw stones at Deshmukhs car near Belphata on the Jalalkheda Road near Katol. Deshmukh, who sustained injuries during the attack, was immediately rushed to the Katol Civil Hospital, police said.

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Nagpur Rural Superintendent of Police, Harssh Poddar, confirmed the incident. He said senior officers were rushed to the spot. An investigation has begun. Police are trying to identify those responsible for the attack," he said.

NCP Leaders Condemn Attack, Slam BJP Govt

Hundreds of Deshmukhs supporters gathered on the spot and demanded action over the attack. Several NCP leaders from Sharad Pawars faction condemned the attack and slammed the BJP-led government in Maharashtra. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced an inquiry will take place regarding this matter.

In the state, the rule of law has completely collapsed. The very essence of democracy is being trampled upon. An example of this was seen today during the conclusion of the election rally, when a cowardly attack took place on former Home Minister of the state and senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Anil Deshmukh, as he was returning home," said the NCP.

      .     .                           .  pic.twitter.com/vo8U3uoqoH Nationalist Congress Party  Sharadchandra Pawar (@NCPspeaks) November 18, 2024

Senior party leader Sanjay Raut called it a cowardly" attack in the backyard of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and asked him to respond on the matter.

Former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh was attacked by a cowardly murderer in Home Minister Fadnavis Nagpur. What is Fadnavis reaction to this? This is a political attack. Ex-minister Baba Siddique was killed in Mumbai and an attempt is made to kill ex-home minister in Nagpur," Raut said on X.

NCP Working President Supriya Sule called it a unfortunate and outrageous" incident. This state has never had the mentality to attack in this manner during elections. This state is a democratic state. But during the time of BJP, the law and order situation in the state, especially in Nagpur district, has deteriorated and gangsters have got free reign," she said.

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Deshmukhs son Salil Deshmukh is contesting from the Katol assembly constituency on the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) ticket against BJPs Charansingh Thakur.

(with agency inputs)

First Published: November 18, 2024, 22:37 IST
Made To Stand For Hours, MBBS Student Collapses To Death During Ragging In Gujarat

Curated By :

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Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 11:59 IST

An eyewitness said that the junior students were made to stand for hours by seniors, during which the medical student collapsed.

Student allegedly dies due to ragging (Image: X/Dipankar Kumar Das)

A medical student died in Gujarats Patan district after allegedly being made to stand for three hours as part of ragging by seniors, an official said on Sunday.

The incident took place on Saturday after which the college initiated an investigation.

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The 18-year-old first-year MBBS student, identified as Anil Methaniya, fell unconscious after allegedly being made to stand for a long period of time and died at a hostel of the GMERS Medical College and Hospital at Dharpur in Patan on Saturday night, according to the dean, Dr Hardik Shah.

Dean Assures Strict Action

The student was rushed to the hospital after he collapsed, and attempts to revive him failed and he was declared dead. His classmates said Methaniya died after being made to stand for three hours and introduce himself before seniors at the college hostel," Shah informed.

The dean said that a probe into the incident has been launched by the anti-ragging committee of the college. He assured strict action against the seniors if they were found guilty of ragging.

The body of the deceased was sent for postmortem and a case of accidental death was filed, an official from the Balisana police station informed.

Eyewitness Account

According to a first-year medical student, around 8 senior students forced a group of junior ones to stand for nearly three hours and give their introduction one by one.

They forced us to keep standing and asked us not to get agitated. At last, a student, who was also standing with us, fell unconscious. We rushed him to a hospital where he died," he said on condition of anonymity.

The deceaseds cousin told the media later that the family hoped to get justice from the college and the government.

I received a call from my uncle that my cousin was hospitalised after falling unconscious. When I arrived here, I learnt that he had died," said Dharmendra Methaniya.

We are waiting for the postmortem report to find out the exact cause of death. We have found out that some third-year students made him stand for two-three hours as part of ragging due to which he felt dizzy and fell down," he added.

Police File FIR Against Seniors

The police registered an FIR against 15 students, all in their second year, of college.

They allegedly made the juniors subject to mental and physical torture" during the ragging, according to the FIR.

The police have booked them for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other offences.

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The accused students were suspended from their hostel and barred from academic activities in college until further orders, officials said.

(With PTI inputs)

Location : Patan, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 08:24 IST
HC Allows Sale Of Himachal Bhavan In Delhi As Govt Fails To Clear Power Firms Dues

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 23:35 IST

The court directed the Principal Secretary of the Power Department in the state to conduct a fact-finding inquiry to identify the officials responsible for the negligence

(Image via X/@rameshpathania)

The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Monday issued an order attaching Himachal Bhavan in Delhi after the Congress-led Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government failed to pay electricity dues amounting to around Rs 150 crore.

Himachal Bhavan is located at Mandi House in the national capital.

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The court has also directed the Principal Secretary of the Power Department to conduct a fact-finding inquiry to identify the officials responsible for the negligence that led to this situation.

The courts decision comes after the Sukhu government ignored previous orders to repay Rs 64 crore, which has now increased to nearly Rs 150 crore due to interest.

The courts decision comes after the state governments failure to comply with a previous order to repay Rs 64 crore, which has now grown to nearly Rs 150 crore due to interest.

Sources said that the case relates to the 400 MW Seli Hydro Project on the Chenab River in Lahaul-Spiti.

In earlier proceedings, the government was ordered to return the Rs 64 crore, plus 7 per cent interest, which had been deposited by the company.

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The court had previously warned the government that failure to repay the dues would lead to serious consequences. It also emphasised that the funds involved were from the state treasury.

With the latest decision, the court has now allowed the company to auction Himachal Bhavan to recover the outstanding amount.

Location : Himachal Pradesh, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 23:11 IST
Australians along the east coast are finding the bodies of short-tailed shearwaters, months after their migration period ended.

Short-tailed shearwater birds are still turning up dead in large numbers along Australia's east and south coasts. Source: Reddit

More dead birds have been spotted lining Australia's east coast beaches "for kilometres" after a marine scientist told Yahoo News earlier this month migratory species are suffering from the region's warming oceans.

New photos captured at Cronulla Beach in Sydney's south on the weekend show dozens of deceased short-tailed shearwaters dotting the shoreline, partially covered in sand. It's a scene hundreds of people across NSW and Victoria have shared on social media in recent weeks.

And while wildlife authorities say it is typical for this time of year as the birds make their annual migration from the northern hemisphere, research group Adrift Lab is frustrated "reputable organisations" continually blame long-distance migration for the birds dying, deeming it "normal" or "natural".

"This has almost nothing to do with migration, we can't stress that enough," marine scientist and Adrift volunteer Jennifer Laver told Yahoo following earlier reports this month.

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"If it was natural, if it was just exhaustion due to migration, then we should actually see this as a widespread annual phenomenon and in thousands of other highly migratory species," she said.

Shearwaters arrive on Aussie shores starving, scientist says

Laver says warmer than average waters are wiping out their food source and by the time the birds get to Australia they are starving.

"What we know is that the Tasman Sea is an ocean warming hotspot. It's warming between two and four times faster than anywhere else," she said. "And what that suggests, very strongly, is that if birds die when water is warm, more birds are going to die in more years."

Government officials say the birds' death form part of a natural phenomenon, but some experts point the blame at climate change. Source: Reddit

Many casualties after birds' annual 15,000km migration

While many locals living in coastal areas in both NSW and Victoria are quite familiar with the sight of the dead birds, some concerned passersby still remain shocked when stumbling across the masses. Authorities say due to the birds' stable population numbers  in excess of 18 million globally  the deaths don't have too much of an impact on the species overall.

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Short-tailed shearwaters largely migrate from Alaska, about 15,000 kilometres away in North America, to their breeding grounds throughout Bass Strait and the Victorian coastline. And while much of their habitat has been destroyed for coastal developments, thousands of essential breeding burrows are now protected.

Incredibly, the birds make this journey largely without stopping. Some experts say the individuals that wash ashore on beaches are those unable to make the entire journey, whether it be due to age or illness, meaning that only the fittest arrive at their destination to breed.

NSW Department of Environment senior threatened species scientist Nicholas Carlile told Yahoo News Australia this month the deaths during migration are a natural pressure the birds face during the journey.

"It is part of the natural process that we have within our ocean environments, which by their very nature are stochastic," he said. "So there is huge variation with food availability." He believes that despite the pressure of climate change and changing food resources, shearwaters will adapt.

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But Laver disagrees.

"The death of thousands of long-lived sentinel species is a warning. It is dangerous to normalise this."

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Hindu Seers Urge Sanatan Believers In Maharashtra To Vote For BJP

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 19, 2024, 01:25 IST

The debate of 'vote jihad' vs 'dharma-yuddh of votes' erupted after a controversial video of Islamic scholar Sajjad Nomani.

Hindu seers have condemned Islamic scholar Sajjad Nomani's controversial remarks and appealed Hindus to unite and vote for the BJP in Maharashtra.

Ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections, a group of Hindu seers have appealed to Sanatana believers to unite and vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that works to protect the values of Sanatana Dharma.

The BJP has alleged vote jihad in the Assembly elections as Islamic clerics appealed Muslims to vote for the Congress and other parties in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The row erupted over a controversial video of Islamic scholar Sajjid Nomani, where he apparently called for capturing" the Maharashtra government and boycotting Muslims who had voted for the BJP.

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How Hindu Seers Reacted To Vote Jihad?

Trishul Singh, a head priest in Vrindavans Maheshwar Dham, said if Muslim leaders are appealing to people to vote in favour of an anti-Hindutva government", then Hindus should also come together and vote for a pro-Hindutva government that works for Sanatana Dharma.

This would be our priority. The truth should be accepted. Today, there are conspiracies to establish an anti-Hindutva government. We appeal to Hindus to vote for a pro-Hindutva government," he said.

Saurabh Gaur, the President of Dharam Raksha Sangha, also denounced the support for vote jihad among Muslim voters. If the Muslim community can come together and vote against Hindus, I would also appeal to my Hindu community to mobilise and vote for Hindu-supporting parties to defeat the anti-Hindu brigade of Muslims," he said.

Other seers also echoed similar sentiments, accusing Muslim clerics of trying to mislead the voters to ensure that people who support the values of Sanatana Dharma dont win. Vote jihad is important, but for Hindus. I appeal to all Hindus to consider our responsibility and the welfare of the country before voting," said a woman seer.

Another priest accused Nomani of threatening voters who are willing to vote for the BJP. If this is their choice, I would appeal to all Sanatani and Hindu communities to unite and vote for the BJP for their state, country and Sanatana Dharma. Its now or never. Hindus should unite now," he said

BJP Seeks ECI Action Against Nomani

Maharashtras Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis attacked Nomani for his divisive remarks and accused the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of attempting to divide voters on religious lines. Only by standing together can we ensure our safety and stability. If theres a vote jihad, we must counter it with a dharma-yuddh of votes," he said in a rally in Khadakwasla last week.

Fadnavis also brought attention to a 17-point charter reportedly submitted by the Ulama Council to the MVA. He described some demands as dangerous", including a proposed 10 per cent reservation for Muslims and the withdrawal of cases against Muslim youth involved in riots between 2012 and 2024.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya spoke in Mumbai about filing a complaint against Sajjad Nomani, a member of the Working Executive Committee of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), which is supporting the MVA alliance in the Assembly election. The matter involves Maulana Khalilur Rahman Sajjad Nomani, who has started making hate speeches, calling for jihad. He also advocates for the social boycott of Muslim voters who supported the BJP," Somaiya said.

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Somaiya claimed that Nomanis speeches shared on YouTube, aim to prevent the BJP from winning in Maharashtra by inciting hatred and division. He also alleged that these statements violate the Election Commissions code of conduct.

(with agency inputs)

First Published: November 19, 2024, 00:12 IST
How JMM-Led Government Paralysed Jharkhands Growth | Analysis

Written By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 17:31 IST

Under the JMM government, Jharkhand witnessed a significant decline in job creation and economic growth, says BJP

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren during a public meeting ahead of the state Assembly elections, in Khunti. (Image: PTI)

Jharkhand is a story from growth to stagnation during the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) tenure. This is the election plank of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Jharkhand, as PM Narendra Modi in one of his election campaigns aptly put that tribal welfare has always been a priority for the BJP-led NDA government, and he was satisfied by the development of tribal areas under the Aspirational Districts Programme.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh also explained the full meaning of JMM as the Jam Kar Malai Maro" party. The state government and union Ministries data had ample in store to prove that under the NDA government, Jharkhand saw a remarkable increase in per capita income, growing by 32% between 2014-15 and 2018-19. However, the JMM governments mismanagement led to a significant decline in growth rates, bringing it down to 18% between 2018-19 and 2022-23. Similarly, the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) also reflected this decline, falling from a robust growth rate of 23% under NDA to just 12% under JMMs tenure.

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Under the JMM government, Jharkhand has witnessed a significant decline in job creation and economic growth. Jharkhand, which was once on the path to progress under the NDA, is now struggling with corruption, inefficiency, and a lack of vision. Hemant Soren-led JMM government has turned a blind eye to the aspirations of Jharkhands youth, failing to deliver on its promises and reversing the positive trends set by the NDA government. This drastic slowdown shows that the current government has failed to deliver.

Decline in Job Creation

The JMM governments neglect is evident in Jharkhands formal job market. According to EPFO annual report data, between 201920 and 202223, only 45.5 lakh formal sector jobs were created, a sharp decline from the 64.2 lakh jobs created under the NDA from 201415 to 201819, representing a drop of 29.13%. There has also been a drastic fall in placements through employment exchanges in Jharkhand. The current JMM government has failed to use transparent mechanisms, such as digital portals and employment exchanges, to promote job creation. Placements through employment exchanges fell from 10,450 under the NDA to a dismal 1,420 under the JMM. Also, there has been a significant dip in registration by job seekers from 4.60 lakh under the NDA government to 2.04 lakh under the JMM government.

Under the Hemant Soren-led JMM governments tenure, the BJP believes it has been Na Rahi Naukri, Na Mila Rozgar"  a tenure marked by corruption and a lack of intent to create meaningful employment opportunities. Non-farm employment decreased in Jharkhand under the JMM government. Instead of fostering job creation, the JMM government has been involved in illegal mining activities and various scams, jeopardising economic development. The NDA-led government efforts to increase non-farm employment were reversed, as non-farm job creation under the JMM government stagnated at 50% in 202324, down from 57.22% in 201819.

Employment Share by Farm & Non-Farm Sector

Under the NDA, there was a notable increase in employment in the manufacturing sector. However, this trend has been reversed under JMMs rule, with the number of people employed in manufacturing declining significantly from 2,38,472 jobs in 201819 to 2,11,954 jobs in 2021-22, the JMM government demonstrating its inability to sustain growth in crucial sectors.

Lack of Innovation and Start-Up Culture

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The JMM government has also failed to foster a start-up culture in Jharkhand. The state ranks a lowly 19th among all states and UTs in terms of the number of registered start-ups, with just 1,305 start-ups contributing 0.93% to the total number in India. In a country where innovation and entrepreneurship are key to economic growth, Jharkhand, under the JMM, has been left behind with no significant presence in the start-up ecosystem.

To conclude, it is evident that the JMM government has failed to build on the progress made by the NDA government. Thats what the BJP is accusing the JMM of: instead of driving Jharkhand towards prosperity, the state is moving backward under the JMM with corruption, scams, incompetence, and broken promises.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 16:03 IST
'Remove Marital Status, Age In iPhone Job Ads': Foxconn To Indian Recruiters, Says Report

Published By :

Reuters

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 12:43 IST

Foxconn has asked hiring agents that help recruit iPhone assembly workers in India to remove age, gender, and marital status criteria, a report has suggested.

A poster in Tamil language advertises smartphone assembly roles, outside a shop in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai (Photo: Reuters)

Apple supplier Foxconn has ordered the hiring agents that help recruit iPhone assembly workers in India to remove age, gender and marital criteria as well as the manufacturers name in job advertisements, according to three people familiar with the matter and almost a dozen ads reviewed by Reuters.

The moves follow a Reuters investigation published on June 25, which found that Foxconn excluded married women from jobs at its main India iPhone assembly plant, though it relaxed the practice during high-production periods.

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Foxconn, which employs thousands of women at the iPhone factory at Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, outsources recruitment of assembly-line workers to third-party vendors. These agents scout for and screen candidates, who ultimately are interviewed and selected by Foxconn.

For the June story, Reuters reviewed job ads posted by Foxconns Indian hiring vendors between January 2023 and May 2024 which stated that only unmarried women of specified ages were eligible for smartphone assembly roles, contravening Apple and Foxconn anti-discrimination policies.

Days after the storys publication, Foxconn HR executives instructed many of the Indian vendors to standardize recruitment materials in accordance with templates provided by the company, two of the three hiring agency sources told Reuters. They also told the vendors not to speak to the media, these people said.

At a meeting in late June, Foxconn HR executives cited media coverage of the companys hiring practices and warned us not to use Foxconns name in any ads going forward, and told us our contracts would be terminated if we did," one agent said.

The instructions for ads were: Dont mention the unmarried requirement, dont mention age, nor male or female either," said the person, who like the other sources spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of backlash from Foxconn.

Foxconn did not respond to Reuters questions about its directives to recruiters, nor whether it had ended restrictions on the employment of married women for iPhone assembly roles. Apple declined to comment on similar questions. Both companies have previously said that Foxconn hires married women in India.

Reuters could not independently determine whether Foxconn had begun to hire greater numbers of married women for the roles in question. But recent changes to advertising content aligned with the recruiters accounts.

One new Foxconn template ad reviewed by Reuters described smartphone assembly positions but made no mention of Foxconn, nor age, gender or marital criteria. It listed benefits: Air conditioned workplace, free transport, canteen facility, free hostel" and a monthly salary of 14,974 rupees, or about $177.

In October, Reuters visited Sriperumbudur and reviewed nine Foxconn vendor ads, some in the Tamil language, that were posted on walls and circulated on WhatsApp. The text matched the template provided to the vendors.

While the ads didnt identify the employer, two of the three vendor sources said they were for Foxconn smartphone assembly positions.

Foxconn gives us the ads to run for hiring. We only use those," a manager at hiring agency Proodle told Reuters.

Reuters visited the offices of 12 Foxconn hiring vendors, eight of which declined to discuss its practices.

One vendor, Groveman Global, had advertised in 2023 for unmarried women aged 18 to 32 for mobile manufacturing jobs. This language was absent in three new Groveman ads that Reuters reviewed last month.

A representative at Grovemans office declined to comment on the changes.

Apple has been positioning India as an alternative manufacturing base to China amid tensions between Beijing and Washington. Prime Minister Narendra Modis government views Foxconns iPhone factory and Apples broader supply chain in India as helping the country move up the economic value chain.

Following Reuters earlier story, Modis government ordered federal and state investigations into hiring practices at the Foxconn plant.

Labour officials visited the facility in July and interviewed company executives, but neither Modis government nor state officials in Tamil Nadu made the findings public. The state government rejected a Reuters request for a copy of the investigation report made under Indias Right to Information Act, citing confidentiality.

Federal and state officials did not respond to Reuters questions about the outcome of their probes of Foxconn.

Dilip Cherian, a communications consultant and co-founder of Indian public relations firm Perfect Relations, said media scrutiny of Foxconns employment practices had necessitated changes to job advertising because of the reputational impact on the company and its client, Apple.

Still, it remained to be seen whether this move represents a real change of heart or just a cosmetic and appropriately legal response to the fact that they have been called out," added Cherian, who told Reuters he does not work with Apple or Foxconn.

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During a visit to India in August, Foxconn Chairman Young Liu said married women greatly contribute to the efforts of what were doing here."

He also met with Modi, who said on X at the time that the pair discussed the Taiwan-headquartered companys investment plans in India.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 12:43 IST
Jhansi Medical College Fire: One More Rescued Child Dies Due to 'Illness'

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 19:29 IST

The fire broke out unexpectedly in the NICU late Friday night, where 49 children were being treated. While 39 children were saved, 10 had tragically died due to suffocation or burns

Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday ordered a three-tier probe into the Jhansi hospital fire incident. (Image/News18)

A child who was among the 39 rescued from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) fire at Jhansis Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College has succumbed, hospital officials said on Monday.

A senior officer of the medical college, however, said this death on Sunday night was due to illness and not related to the fire incident. Earlier on Sunday, another child who was among those rescued had died during treatment.

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Dr. Narendra Singh Sengar, the Principal of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, Of the 39 children rescued from the NICU fire on Friday night, one more has died. Vishal and Muskans child was born in Jalaun. He was referred here from Jalaun due to absent-cry. He also had hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. The child died due to the illness and has nothing related to the fire incident."

Sengar recounted that the fire broke out unexpectedly in the NICU late Friday night, where 49 children were being treated. While 39 children were saved, 10 had tragically died due to suffocation or burns.

He added that 37 children are still under treatment.

Dr. Sengar also said that the Director-General of Health and Medical Services, along with his team, visited the medical college on Monday to investigate the incident. The inspection included a thorough review of the fire-affected NICU.

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When asked about the extent of the damages, Dr. Sengar said, It is currently very difficult to estimate the total losses caused by the fire." The fire, which broke out in the NICU of one of the major medical facilities in the Bundelkhand region of UP, has sparked concerns over safety protocols in healthcare institutions. The investigation into the cause of the fire and accountability for the tragedy is ongoing.

The Uttar Pradesh government had on Saturday formed a four-member committee to investigate the hospital fire. The panel has been tasked with identifying the cause of the fire and determining whether there was any negligence. The government has sought its report within seven days.

Location : Jhansi, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 19:29 IST
Karnataka Tragedy: Two Women Try To Save Friend From Drowning In Pool, All Three Die

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 10:03 IST

According to the police, they had come on a pleasure trip to the beach resort 'Vazco' on November 16, and were staying there.

Police said that there were security lapses on the resort's part | Image/Representative

Three women allegedly drowned in a swimming pool at a resort near Ullal beach here on Sunday, police said.

The deceased have been identified as Nishita M D (21), Parvati S (20) and Keerthana N (21)  all from Mysuru.

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According to the police, they had come on a pleasure trip to the beach resort Vazco on November 16, and were staying there.

Initially, Nishita is said to have entered the pool despite not knowing how to swim. Parvati jumped in when her friend showed signs of distress and tried to save her, but she, too, could not get out. Later, Keerthana tried to save them, but soon all of them drowned and died.

None of them knew about swimming and there was no lifeguard present on duty at that point in time, according to the police.

Ullal police are investigating.

The CCTV visuals of the incident show women desperately trying to rescue themselves and seeking help, before drowning. No one could be seen around the pool.

Mangaluru Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal, who visited the spot, speaking to reporters said all the three, who were final year engineering students from Mysuru, had died of accidental drowning".

Noting that certain safety conditions need to be followed at resorts with swimming pools like  having life-saving equipment, lifeguards, mentioning the depth, among others, he said, as per primary information after verifying of the spot, there were lapses, as none of these were in place.on inquiring police were informed that seven employees were on duty at the resort."

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There are lapses, as CCTV footage shows women shouting for help, but no one responds or comes near the pool, the Commissioner said, and added that were there no one to help or were staff less, it needs to be looked into."

According to official sources, the authorities have sealed the resort and measures will be taken to temporarily suspend the trade license and other tourism related permits issued to it.

Location : Karnataka, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 09:56 IST
Manipur Gunfight To Abductions And Killings: NIA Takes Over 3 Jiribam Cases

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 17:37 IST

Home minister Amit Shah reviewed the situation with the security grid on Sunday and did a follow-up meeting on Monday

Vehicles set on fire during violent protests in Manipur on Saturday. (PTI File)

Amid the ongoing tension in Manipur, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe into three cases related to Jiribam violence from the state police. NIA officials said the agency has started the probe from November 13.

Meitei militants allegedly severely tortured and burnt to death a 31-year-old Hamar woman at her village home on November 8. Local officials believe that the trigger for the current cycle of violence in Jiribam was this murder.

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State FIR Number 80(11)2024 of Jiribam police station dated 08.11.2024 pertaining to murder of woman at Jiribam by fully armed militants has been taken over by the NIA," an agency official said.

The NIA will also investigate the abduction of 10 people from the Borokbera camp and subsequent discovery of six bodies. Six people had gone missing from the Meitei camp after the gunfight between the CRPF and alleged Hamar militants. The camp, which houses more than 100 Meitei villagers who have been displaced owing to the violence since June last year, is surrounded by 5 CRPF posts.

#WATCH | Manipur authorities have imposed a curfew in Imphal West and Imphal East in light of the recent tense situation here.Sparse movements of vehicles seen on streets, security personnel deployed. Security tightened outside Manipur CM N. Biren Singhs residence and Raj pic.twitter.com/GK4DtymSxy  News18 (@CNNnews18) November 18, 2024

State FIR Number 30(11) of Borobekra police station dated 11.11.2024 pertaining to attack on CRPF post at A-company, 20th Battalion, located at Jakuradhor Karong and Borobekra, Jiribam by armed militants and state FIR No. 29(11) of Borobekra police station dated 11.11.2024 pertaining to burning of houses and killing of civilian at Borobekra, have been taken over by the NIA," an official confirmed.

According to sources, the NIA will probe the alleged conspiracy behind the attack on the Borobekra police station on November 11. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) gunned down 10 alleged Hamar militants after this attack. The Kuki- Zo-Hamar groups have claimed that those killed were village volunteers who were murdered in cold blood".

A spokesperson of the MHA had said on November 16 that important cases have been handed over to the NIA for effective investigation".

The MHA, in a statement, has requested public to maintain peace and not believe rumours and cooperate with the security forces to maintain law and order in Manipur".

Twenty companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed after the recent spate of violence. Officials indicated that more troops could be sent to ensure law and order in both Meitei-dominated Imogal valley and Kuki-dominated hills.

#BreakingNews | Amid unrest in Manipur, Amit Shah to chair high-level meeting. govt sources reveal to CNN-News18, additional troops to be deployed in the worst hit parts of Manipur. Curfew imposed @AnkurSharma__ @KamalikaSengupt with @GrihaAtul #ManipurUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/xvmoAOkWr6 News18 (@CNNnews18) November 18, 2024

SECURITY REVIEW

Home minister Amit Shah reviewed the situation with the security grid on Sunday and did a follow-up meeting on Monday.

Officials told CNN-News18 that a decision has been taken to deploy additional 50 companies of paramilitary forces. The home minister reviewed paramilitary and state police deployment and also asked the state and central forces as to how peace could be restored," an MHA official said .

Specific instructions have been given and a review was done to check on the progress of implementation," said another official.

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Anis Dayal Singh, DG CRPF, is stationed in Imphal to ensure better coordination with other forces, even as CRPF faces hostility from hill-based tribal groups.

The Centre has asked security forces deployed in Manipur to take necessary steps to restore order and peace and initiate strict action against anyone trying to indulge in violent and disruptive activities.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 13:18 IST
Manipur MLA Builds Bunker At Home, Hoards Arms Amid Attacks On Politicians In Volatile State

Reported By :

CNN-News18

Edited By: Apoorva Misra



Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 16:06 IST

Leishangthem Susindro Meitei said his PSO was in hospital after being attacked and while everyone wanted peace, he had taken the step in self-defence

Khurai MLA Leishangthem Susindro Meitei has built a bunker in his house and kept weapons for self-defence. (News18)

The volatile situation in Manipur has forced even politicians to take steps to defend themselves as irate mobs attack them and torch their houses in a fresh wave of violence in the state.

PHE minister and Khurai MLA Leishangthem Susindro Meitei has built a bunker in his house and kept weapons for self-defence as so far, protesters have attacked houses of 17 MLAs, including ministers and chief minister N Biren Singh.

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Politicians say while security forces have been deployed, there is a general feeling of insecurity in the state.

Speaking to News18, Meitei said: The situation is not good. My PSO has been hit and is in hospital. The BSF jawan repsonsible for my security has also been shot. We have to protect ourselves. Therefore, I have built a bunker in my house. We want peace but if attacked, we have to retaliate."

Another MLA whose house was attacked told News18: We have more security in place now. If miscreants come, we will act according to law."

After the recoveries of five bodies of women and children who had gone missing in the valley, Meiteis are outraged and have decided to take matters into their own hands.

The state has also become politically volatile after NPP withdrew support from the government. Meanwhile, BJP MLAs will hold a meeting with chief minister N Biren Singh at 6pm on Monday to find the way forward and possible intervention from Delhi.

The Centre has decided to send an additional 50 CAPF companies comprising more than 5,000 personnel to Manipur in view of the challenging" security and law and order situation.

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This comes after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) rushed 20 additional CAPF companies, 15 from the CRPF and five from the BSF, to the state following an order issued on November 12 after violence broke out in Jiribam district and spread to other places.

An additional 50 companies have been ordered to be rushed to Manipur by this week. While 35 units will be drawn from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the rest will be from the Border Security Force (BSF), the sources said.

Location : Manipur, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 16:06 IST
Amit Shah To Hold Another High-Level Meeting; BJP MLAs To Meet Manipur CM Amid Unrest

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 09:47 IST

Manipur Violence News: Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the security situation in Manipur yesterday, November 17.

Manipur Violence: Union Home Minister Amit Shah yesterday reviewed Manipur security situation | File Photo (ANI)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who cancelled his election rallies in Maharashtra to review the Manipur security situation yesterday, is expected to hold another round of detailed meetings with top MHA officials today.

Large-scale violence erupted in parts of the Imphal Valley districts on Saturday as mobs attacked the residences of several MLAs and destroyed property over the recovery of bodies of women and children.

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Yesterday, Shah reviewed the security situation in Manipur and directed the MHA officials to take all possible steps to ensure peace in the Northeastern state.

The Home Ministry said that the security forces have been directed to take necessary steps to restore order and peace in Manipur as the security situation in the state has remained fragile for the past few days.

It further stated that armed miscreants from both communities in conflict have been indulging in violence, leading to loss of life and disruption of public order.

Strict action will be taken against anyone attempting to indulge in violent or disruptive activities," the ministry said in a statement.

BJP MLAs To Hold Meeting

The BJP MLAs are expected to hold a review meeting on the Manipur situation with Chief Minister N Biren Singh today at 6 pm at the latters residence, officials aware of the matter said.

It comes a day after the Conrad Sangma-led National Peoples Party (NPP) withdrew its support to the BJP-led Manipur government led by N Biren Singh.

The Meghalaya chief minister blamed his Manipur counterpart for failing to quell the unrest in his state where violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups has led to months of unrest and has adversely impacted normal life in the state.

Curfew In Imphal, Internet Suspended

In view of the violent protests, a total curfew was imposed in the towns of Imphal West and Imphal East and internet services were suspended in parts of the state.

The state officials informed that in fresh orders, they have imposed internet restrictions in the Jiribam and Pherazwal districts of Manipur for the next two days.

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Total curfew has been immediately clamped in the town until further orders. Internet and mobile data services have been suspended for 02 days immediately. SsP/ COs have been deployed on the ground to manage the law-and-order situation," the Manipur Police said.

Since May last year, at least 250 people have lost their lives, and 60,000 have been displaced in Manipur due to inter-communal clashes over government grants and quotas in jobs and education.

Location : Manipur, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 09:08 IST
'Sabarmati Report Defies Ecosystem With Courage': Amit Shah Lauds Film On Godhra Tragedy

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 14:06 IST

Sabarmati Report is a film based on Godhra train tragedy. After PM Modi's endorsement of the film, Amit Shah has also lauded it.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah (PTI Image)

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed The Sabarmati Report, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday lashed out at the ecosystem" stating that the film exposes the truth behind the fateful episode to broad daylight".

Shah said that the ecosystem cannot keep the truth at bay forever no matter how hard it tries.

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No matter how hard a powerful ecosystem tries, it cannot keep the truth hidden in darkness forever. The film #SabarmatiReport defies the ecosystem with unparalleled courage and exposes the truth behind the fateful episode to broad daylight," the Home Minister said.

No matter how hard a powerful ecosystem tries, it cannot keep the truth hidden in darkness forever.The film #SabarmatiReport defies the ecosystem with unparalleled courage and exposes the truth behind the fateful episode to broad daylight. https://t.co/AnVsuCSNwi  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) November 18, 2024

The film is based on the February 27, 2002 incident when 59 people, including 10 children, were burnt to death in a train by a mob at Godhra in Gujarat.

PM Modi Lauds Sabarmati Report

PM Modi, who is currently on a three-nation visit, endorsed the film on Sunday stating that fake narrative" regarding things can last for a short time and the facts have come out through this film.

Well said. It is good that this truth is coming out, and that too in a way common people can see it. A fake narrative can persist only for a limited period of time. Eventually, the facts will always come out," PM Modi tweeted.

Well said. It is good that this truth is coming out, and that too in a way common people can see it.A fake narrative can persist only for a limited period of time. Eventually, the facts will always come out! https://t.co/8XXo5hQe2y  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 17, 2024

What Is Godhra Train Tragedy?

Narendra Modi was sworn in as the chief minister of Gujarat in 2001 and it was not even a year since when on February 27, 2002, four compartments with the S6 bogey of a train carrying Karsevaks who were returning from a religious event in Ayodhya were set on fire.

The train was running from Bihars Muzaffarpur to Gujarats Ahmedabad.

The eyewitness account revealed that as the train departed Godhra, emergency brakes were pulled and mobs attacked the train from outside and set the bogey on fire, killing 59 people.

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The incident is widely termed as the trigger for the 2002 Godhra riots.

There have been several films made on the riots, however, The Sabarmati Report seems to be the first such film that attempts to portray the painful episode in which 59 human lives were burnt to smoke.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 13:30 IST
From Overtalking To PDA, 5 Mistakes To Avoid While Meeting Your In-Laws For The First Time

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Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 13:27 IST

Following these five simple tips can help you make a great first impression on your in-laws. The key lies in being respectful towards the elderly.

A first impression can be changed over time, but it's always wise to begin with a healthy foundation.

The Indian matrimonial system is not just about the bride and the groom but involves winning the approval of your in-laws. Meeting your in-laws for the first time is a crucial part of your wedding journey, and may determine your relationship with them. It can also impact your dynamics with your partner. Gestures and conversation in the meeting can make or break your first impression with your in-laws.

If youre about to meet your in-laws for the first time, we have prepared a list of list of 5 mistakes you must avoid while meeting your in-laws for the first time:

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Dont Be Late

During a recent appearance on the Great Indian Kapil Show, philanthropist and author Sudha Murty shared a sneak peek into her love story with Infosys founder Narayana Murty. She said her father, a college professor got a bad first impression of her husband as he was two hours late while meeting him for the first time. This highlighted the fact that being late can ruin your chances of making a first good impression with your partners parents. Many elderly people are particular about time and may consider you irresponsible if you get late on the first meet.

Listen More

If you tend to talk more than you listen and end up talking too much about yourself, your in-laws are bound to reject you as a snob. It is important to present yourself as a humble person who is genuinely interested in keeping their ward happy and safe. You can ask a few questions about your in-laws likes and choices, which might work in your favour.

Avoid PDA

While the modern world allows free expression of love, public displays of affection in front of Indian parents are a big no! If you tend to engage in it, it would present you as disrespectful and ill-mannered. Make sure to maintain a distance from your partner in front of your in-laws.

Show Respect Towards Their Culture

Indian society is a diverse fabric of several cultures and customs. While your upbringing may be completely different, make sure to give space to your partners background too. A gift related to their ethnic roots can be considered a thoughtful choice. Moreover, you can show interest in their traditions and customs that would reassure your in-laws that youre a person with a healthy approach.

Offer To Help

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Offer help to your future in-laws so that you do not appear lazy. Subtly ask your partner beforehand before intruding in their kitchen and other spaces. If they decline, graciously accept their hospitality and do not push them.

While a first impression can be changed over time, having a healthy beginning is always a good idea. You can ace the first meeting with your in-laws by avoiding these simple mistakes.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 13:23 IST
Locals and rough sleepers have long been at odds over Brisbane's growing tent cities. Now council has stepped in.

Safety is a major concern for those living in Brisbane's tent cities, with occupants being forced to spray their shelters with messages begging others to leave them alone. Source: Facebook/Northwest Community Group

Council and police will work together to crack down on "anti-social behaviour" across multiple homeless camps and tent cities in one East Coast state, after locals complained about a string of recent dangerous and violent incidents.

Brisbane is well-known for its densely populated tent cities, which anti-homelessness advocates say are increasing in prevalence as the nation continues to grapple with the devastating cost of living and housing crises.

Now, Brisbane City Council (BCC) and Queensland Police Service (QPS) have vowed to work together to clamp down on dangerous and illegal activity at the camps after residents argued there have been multiple recent "reports of stabbings, significant drug use and brawls spilling out into traffic in broad daylight".

A QPS spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia officers will patrol known homeless camps to ensure public safety. "The Queensland Police Service is committed to ensuring Brisbane residents are safe and acknowledges the complexity of homelessness," the spokesperson told Yahoo.

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"Police, the BCC and various partner agencies and NGOs engage proactively to support rough sleepers and where possible assist with transitioning people into more suitable options. This collaboration is in addition to proactive patrols police conduct throughout community spaces to ensure safety and to prevent or disrupt any anti-social behaviour."

Paul Slater runs the Northwest Community Group and manages a makeshift tent community in Musgrave Park in Brisbane's south. Source: Facebook/Northwest Community Group

Previously speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Paul Slater, who runs the Northwest Community Group and manages a makeshift "tent city" in Musgrave Park, in Brisbane's south, said he's struggling to keep up with the enormous demand for his services, which he said has dramatically increased this year.

Slater gets dozens of messages every week from those seeking help and has supplied over 500 tents to battling Australians this year alone. He said this reflects that "within the last couple of decades, there's been an absolute failure on all levels of government" when it comes to social housing.

"It's clear to me we're in an emergency situation," he told Yahoo.

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"I've got people calling me multiple times per day, sleeping on concrete with nowhere to go, no emergency accommodation," he previously told Yahoo. But despite obvious lack of adequate public housing in the city, locals living nearby some of these homeless camps say they are "concerned" about "parks becoming no-go zones", citing safety fears.

Locals at odds with rough sleepers in Brisbane

Resident David Mech told the ABC he has repeatedly complained to council about the state of homeless camps in the inner city. He said he'd like to see public camping made a crime, suggesting there should be a select campsite in Brisbane where rough sleepers are allowed, but prohibited everywhere else.

"You should be able to walk to the grocery store with your children without them having to see people who are often unkempt, very smelly, oftentimes shouting obscenities," he said. "The regular residents of Brisbane have a right in my view to an aesthetically beautiful, clean city."

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But Slater rubbished the idea. "This is all a great distraction from the fact that there is a massive shortage of emergency accommodation and adequate housing for these people," he said.

"[Many of these people] have already gone through trauma and institutionalisation, and increased police presence is unlikely to help them."

There dozens of tents set up in Musgrave Park in South Brisbane. Source: Supplied/ Paul Slater

Dire figures paint grim picture of housing crisis in Australia

Meanwhile, concerning new research has painted a grim picture of homelessness in Australia more broadly, revealing up to 3.2 million in total are one negative shock away from homelessness.

These figures have drastically increased by 63 per cent since 2016, with the proportionate of at-risk people with wages and incomes increasing. A new landmark report from Impact Economics and Homelessness NSW titled "Call Unanswered" found that between 2016 to 2022 the number of Australians in danger of falling into homeless had increased from 1.5 to 2 million, to 2.7m to 3.2m.

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As a result, specialist homelessness services like youth and domestic and family violence refuges, and crisis accommodation have been pushed to breaking point, with organisations forced to leave phones and urgent emails unanswered, and doors closed during operating hours in order to cope with demand.

Homelessness Australia chief executive Kate Colvin said the increasing rents has resulted in a much "broader population" of Australians needing homelessness services, including an uptick in people with employment and wages.

"The proportion of client who have a waged income has increased from 9 per cent in 2018-29 to 11.7 per cent in 2022-23. In 2018-19 the proportion of clients who had no income at all was 9.2 per cent and thats up to 9.7 per cent," she said.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

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Maldives Reimagined: From Romantic Getaway to a Multi-Generational Paradise

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 13:09 IST

Maldives is undergoing a transformation, catering not only to couples but also to families of all sizes, including children, parents, and even grandparents

Sonam Kapoors Maldives Photo Dump Is All About Family, Fun And Food. (Photo Credits: Instagram)

For years, the Maldives stood out as a dream escape for honeymooners and couples seeking intimate retreats by turquoise waters and serene, white-sand beaches. However, this idyllic destination is undergoing a transformation, catering not only to couples but also to families of all sizes, including children, parents, and even grandparents. With resorts and tourism providers expanding to meet multi-generational needs, the Maldives is fast becoming a shared paradise for diverse age groups.

The Shift to Multi-Generational Travel

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Over the past few years, the Maldives has seen a marked shift in its traveler demographic. Today, theres a growing preference for multi-generational travel, with families looking for destinations that offer experiences for everyonefrom the youngest members to the oldest. This evolution is due to several key factors, including rising interest in quality family time, a demand for unique experiences that can engage all ages, and the Maldives ability to cater to varied interests.

According to Pickyourtrail data, family travel to the Maldives has surged in recent years. Around 2020, 80% of their customers visiting the Maldives were honeymooners; now, this is around 60% as more families choose this destination. Weve also observed a 70% increase in senior citizen travelers (60+ age) and a 30% rise in trips involving children under 18, year-over-year. This shift highlights a trend where young adults are increasingly traveling with both their parents and kids, making the Maldives an appealing destination for all ages."

Evolving Preferences and Experiences

Historically, couples and honeymooners made up the primary market for the Maldives. Exclusive resorts, adults-only areas, and secluded villas were the major attractions. In contrast, todays offerings include family-oriented resorts with dedicated kids clubs, teen zones, and even nanny services that allow adults to relax while children enjoy safe, supervised fun. For instance, interactive kids clubs offer activities like arts and crafts, beach games, and cooking classes, while teens might enjoy marine biology lessons or adventure excursions. Resorts now include family suites and villas, designed to accommodate larger groups.

Top Destinations for Families

Certain islands and resorts are emerging as favorites for family travel, balancing both luxurious relaxation and age-appropriate activities. From underwater adventures to local village tours, these destinations are creating a truly immersive, intergenerational experience.

Top family-friendly resorts and islands now attracting families include Dhigufaru, NH Kuda Rah, Cocogiri, and Adaaran Select Meedhupparu, which offer everything from family suites to reef snorkeling adventures. These destinations balance luxurious relaxation with age-appropriate activities, providing underwater adventures, local village tours, and more to create a truly immersive, intergenerational experience.

Factors Fueling the Rise in Multi-Generational Travel

Key drivers behind this trend include the growing preference for bonding vacations, a shift in how people value time with extended family, and the range of experiences the Maldives can now offer to different age groups. Families today seek destinations that allow them to experience new cultures, food, and nature together, while also having tailored activities that appeal to different age brackets. The Maldives, with its balance of relaxation and activity, meets these needs seamlessly.

Budget Insights: Families vs. Couples

Interestingly, family budgets for trips to the Maldives are now on par with or even exceed those of couples, due to the larger group size and the need for activities that cater to a variety of interests. This trend reflects how families are increasingly willing to invest in experiences that create lasting memories.

The average family travel budget to the Maldives is now approaching the spending levels of couples. While honeymoon spending per person has traditionally been higherabout 28% more than family travelthis gap has narrowed to around 15% over the past three years, reflecting families growing willingness to invest in diverse experiences that create lasting memories.

A Changing Traveler Demographic

Demographically, the influx of multi-generational travellers includes families from all over the world, particularly from regions that have cultural ties to family-oriented travel. The growing popularity of the Maldives among such travelers points to the potential for new and inclusive experiences in the years to come.

Looking Ahead: A Haven for All Generations

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The Maldives has reimagined itself not just as a romantic paradise but as a destination that fosters togetherness across generations. As new experiences continue to be tailored for families and larger groups, this island haven promises a unique, inclusive getaway that redefines luxury in the heart of nature.

In the words of Hari Ganapathy, co-founder, Pickyourtrail, The Maldives has transformed from a romantic retreat into a destination that resonates with travelers of all ages, from young children to grandparents. Its inspiring to witness a place once famed for intimate getaways now embracing the warmth and connection of family travel. At Pickyourtrail, were proud to craft these unforgettable experiences that allow families to bond and create lasting memories in one of the worlds most beautiful settings."

First Published: November 18, 2024, 13:09 IST
The Growing Concern of Glaucoma in Children: WHY Early Detection is Crucial

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 07:00 IST

Managing glaucoma in children involves a combination of medical and surgical approaches tailored to the individual needs of the patient

Glaucoma in children is a serious but often overlooked condition

In recent times, there has been a noticeable uptick in glaucoma cases among children. Glaucoma, traditionally associated with adults, is a serious eye condition that damages the optic nerve. It occurs when fluid accumulates in the front part of the eye, leading to increased pressure. Glaucoma can affect one or both eyes, and if not diagnosed early, it can lead to permanent vision impairment.

Understanding the importance of early detection, potential interventions, and preventive measures can help mitigate the impact of this condition on young lives. This helps us diagnose congenital glaucoma, which could be present at birth, infantile glaucoma occurring in the first year of life, and juvenile glaucoma occurring in children older than three years. Unlike adult glaucoma, which is often related to aging and other health conditions, pediatric glaucoma is frequently associated with genetic mutations, developmental anomalies, or secondary conditions affecting the eyes or the entire body. Glaucoma can also occur in children as a result of eye injuries. Dr Meena Menon, Consultant, Glaucoma Services, Sankara Eye Hospital shares the growing concern of glaucoma in children.

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Why Awareness is Crucial?

Research reports suggest that more than 90% of glaucoma cases in the country go undetected, resulting in irreversible blindness annually. Therefore, it is critical to underline the significance of routine eye examinations, which can result in early detection and preservation of vision. Parents should be educated to conduct regular eye examinations for their children to detect any changes in their vision patterns. Many parents and caregivers are unaware that children can develop glaucoma. This lack of knowledge can lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment, resulting in irreversible vision loss.

Early Detection Can Prevent Permanent Blindness

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Parents should take their child to an ophthalmologist if they notice any of the following symptoms:

Excessive and frequent unexplained tearing Light sensitivity; children with glaucoma may exhibit discomfort in bright light Enlarged eyes Cloudy corneas; a hazy or cloudy appearance of the cornea Behavioral changes; reluctance to engage in visual activities Persistent eye rubbingRegular eye examinations, particularly for children with a family history of glaucoma or other risk factors, are essential. Managing glaucoma in children involves a combination of medical and surgical approaches tailored to the individual needs of the patient. Key strategies include medication such as eye drops or oral medications to reduce intraocular pressure, with consistent administration and monitoring crucial for effectiveness. Various surgical options like trabeculotomy or goniotomy may be necessary to relieve pressure and preserve vision, and advances in surgical techniques have improved outcomes for pediatric glaucoma. Regular monitoring through continuous follow-up appointments is essential to track progression and customize treatment plans, including regular eye pressure measurements, visual field tests, and optic nerve evaluations. Protective measures, such as encouraging the use of protective eyewear during activities that pose a risk of eye injury, can prevent trauma-related glaucoma. Additionally, providing supportive resources like vision therapy, educational support, and counseling can help children with glaucoma adapt to their visual challenges and succeed academically and socially. Glaucoma in children is a serious but often overlooked condition. Heightened awareness, early detection, and proactive management are critical to preventing blindness and ensuring a better quality of life for affected children. Parents, healthcare providers, and educators must work together to recognize the signs, seek timely medical advice, and implement appropriate treatments. By prioritizing the eye health of children, we can ensure a colorful future for our children.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 07:00 IST
Why Is Kanakadasa Jayanti A Bank Holiday In Karnataka? Facts About The Poet, Philosopher, And Musician

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Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 08:02 IST

Kanaka Dasa was a key figure in the Bhakti movement who opposed strict caste-based systems in places of worship, prevalent back at that time.

The Karnataka Government has declared the birth anniversary of Kanaka Dasa a public holiday.(File pic)

Every year, Karnataka observes Kanakadasa Jayanti as a public holiday in remembrance of the poet and saint Kanaka Dasa. Kanaka Dasa was a poet, composer and philosopher from the 16th century who played a significant role in the Indian Bhakti movement.

According to the Hindu Lunar Calendar, Kanakadasa Jayanti is celebrated on the eighteenth day of Kartik Month. For Kannadigas, the occasion is a day of devotion and spiritual significance, marked by prayers and rituals performed in temples and homes. This year, Kanakadasa Jayanti falls on November 18.

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Why is Kanakadasa Jayanti celebrated?

A significant figure in the literary world, Kanaka Dasa raised social awareness through his writings. He opposed the caste system and socioeconomic inequalities. He composed Ramadhaanya Charite, which addressed the issue of class division. In his kirtans, Kanaka Dasa promoted equality for people from all walks of life, which were frequently parodies of social topics.

The Karnataka Government has declared the birth anniversary of Kanaka Dasa a public holiday. Government agencies, universities, schools and banks are closed on this day. Cultural events are planned and people offer flowers to Kanakadasas paintings and idols.

Facts On Kanaka Dasa

Kanaka Dasa was born on December 3, 1509. He was originally called Thimmappa Nayaka.

Kanaka Dasas Carnatic-style compositions are held in high acclaim.

He wrote all of his songs under the pen name Kaaginele Adikeshava.

Some of his well-known compositions are Ramadhaanya Charite, Haribhakthisara, Nalacharithre, Mohanatarangini and Nrisimhastava.

Born in a Kuruba (shepherd) family, Kanaka Dasa was a warrior before he became a saint.

Kanaka Dasas devotees believe that he gave up being a warrior after miraculously surviving grave injuries in a battle.

Kanaka Dasas life underwent a significant spiritual shift after meeting Saint Vyasatheertha, the leader of the Krishna Math in Udupi.

Inspired by Vyasatheerthas teachings, he gave up all of his materialistic pursuits and committed his life to devotion.

Later on, he also followed in Vyasatheerthas footsteps and studied Hindu philosophy and texts.

Kanaka Dasa was a key figure in the Bhakti movement who opposed strict caste-based systems in places of worship, prevalent back at that time.

Since most songs of faith were in the Sanskrit language which was inaccessible to the masses, Kanaka Dasa and fellow writers-composers Purandaradasa and Haridasa composed kirtans in the Kannada language so that the ordinary people could understand them.

His songs defied the norms and caste distinction.

Kanaka Dasa was a devotee of Lord Krishna.

He became an important member of the Dasakoota  a community of Haridasas.

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Haridasas are devotees of Lord Krishna devotees who dedicate their entire lives to spirituality and music.

Kanaka Dasa passed away in 1606.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 06:00 IST
Actor Arjun Sarja Honoured With Doctorate From MGR University In Chennai

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Local News Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 18:26 IST

Arjun Sarja was honoured with the doctorate award, in the presence of many professors.

Arjun Sarja is happy and elated to receive this honorary award.

Action King Arjun Sarja needs no introduction to the audiences in the South. Even for the Telugu audiences, he is a familiar face. The actor delivered numerous hits in his career as a lead actor. Later, he switched his career to become a character artist and lived up to his reputation throughout his career. Now, the MGR University (Chennai) honoured him with a doctorate. The event took place yesterday. Arjun was invited to the event in a grand manner. Arjun was honoured with the doctorate award, in the presence of many professors. Later, they felicitated the actor with great respect.

Arjun is happy and elated to receive this honorary doctorate award. The university jury has picked him for his outstanding achievements which goes beyond his film career. Apart from his contributions to the film industry, Arjun Sarja has also been actively involved in spiritual and social service activities.

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Arjuns last biggie was Leo, starring Thalapathy Vijay. The star actor will next be seen in Vidaa Muyarchi. He will also be coming up with his directorial debut in Telugu and Kannada.

Arjun Sarja is all set to helm his next directorial venture, Seetha Payana, a trilingual project to be made in Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu. The film, which will be produced under his home banner Sree Raam Films International, features Niranjan Sudhindra, the nephew of Kannada superstar Upendra, in the lead. Reports suggest that Arjun Sarjas daughter, Aishwarya Arjun, will be playing the female lead, marking another collaboration between the father-daughter duo after Prema Baraha (2018).

This announcement comes just days after the release of Martin, a film that has gained significant attention, with Arjun Sarja contributing the story for his nephew Dhruva Sarjas action-packed venture. Arjuns last directorial project, Prema Baraha, also saw him cast his daughter Aishwarya alongside Kannada TV star Chandan Kumar. The film was released in Tamil as Sollividava.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 18:26 IST
Dhanush's Reaction To Nayanthara, Vignesh Dating On NRD Sets Goes Viral: 'Do You Have Any Shame...'

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Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 23:17 IST

Radhika Sarathkumar recalls how Dhanush revealed Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan's romance on Naanum Rowdy Dhaan sets during filming.

Radhika Sarathkumar also starred in Naanum Rowdy Dhaan.

Netflixs Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairytale, released on November 18, takes a deep dive into Nayantharas life, career, and her relationship with husband Vignesh Shivan. The documentary also sheds light on how the couple fell in love during the making of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, a film produced by Dhanush.

While narrating their love story, Nayanthara shared that she found Vignesh cute" while he was directing Vijay Sethupathi on the Pondicherry sets. She revealed that after finishing her portions, she texted Vignesh saying she missed being on set. However, Vignesh, assuming she was joking, initially dismissed the idea of them dating.

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Actress Radhika Sarathkumar, who played Vijay Sethupathis mother in the film, recalled the moment she found out about the romance, and it was none other than Dhanush who broke the news to her.

Radhika shared in the documentary, It was Dhanush who called me and said, Sister, do you have any shame at all? I was like, What is he saying? He asked, Arent you aware of whats happening? Dont you know that Wikki and Nayan are dating? I said, What the hell are you saying? I knew nothing.'"

Dhanush, as the films producer, played a significant role in bringing the couple together. However, this relationship has now become the subject of a legal tussle between Nayanthara and Dhanush.

In an open letter, Nayanthara accused Dhanush of refusing to allow her to use clips from Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in her documentary. She claimed his legal team demanded Rs 10 crore for three seconds of behind-the-scenes footage used in the trailer. Following this, Dhanushs legal team issued a 24-hour ultimatum to remove the footage, escalating the tension between the two parties.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 23:17 IST
Dhinam Dhinamum, First Single From Viduthalai Part 2, Out Now

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Local News Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 16:36 IST

Ilaiyaraaja, the legendary musician has not just composed the songs, but also turned into a lyricist for the song.

The song depicts the love story of the lead couple.

Viduthalai Part 2, the long-awaited sequel to the acclaimed Vetrimaaran-directorial Viduthalai, is gearing up for a December 2024 release. Ahead of the grand theatrical release, the makers of the film recently treated cinephiles by dropping the much-awaited first single from the film, on social media. Vijay Sethupathi and Manju Warrier, the lead pair of Viduthalai Part 2 make an appearance in the romantic melody Dhinam Dhinamum, which is written, composed, and sung by legendary musician, Ilaiyaraaja.

The highly anticipated first single from Vetrimaarans Viduthalai Part 2 is out on social media and is now winning the hearts of Tamil music enthusiasts. Ilaiyaraaja, the legendary musician has not just composed the songs, but also turned into a lyricist yet again, for the romantic melody featuring Vijay Sethupathi and Manju Warrier. The veteran music composer has also sung the soothing melody, along with Ananya Bhat.

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The Dhinam Dhinamum song from Viduthalai Part 2 depicts the love story of the lead couple, played by Vijay Sethupathi and Manju Warrier. The lyrical video narrates their journey from being a young couple in love, to life partners, and the parents of three children. The soothing melody subtly conveys the immense mutual love, respect, and companionship between the couple, as they face life together. Manju Warrier and Vijay Sethupathis fresh onscreen chemistry is the biggest highlight of the song.

Viduthalai, co-written and directed by Vetrimaaran, revolves around a rookie cop who is torn between his uniform and peoples movement against oppression. Popular actor Soori made his debut in lead roles with Viduthalai (the movie is available for streaming on Zee5 and OTTplay Premium). The second part, on the other hand, revolves around the life of Makkal Padai leader Perumal, played by Vijay Sethupathi. Manju Warrier appears in the role of Perumals wife, in the film.

Soori, Bhavani Sre, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Rajiv Menon, Anurag Kashyap, Ken Karunas, Ilavarasu, Balaji Sakthivel, and others essay the supporting roles in Viduthalai Part 2. Ilaiyaraaja composed the songs and the original score for the film. R Velraj is the director of photography. R Ramar handles the editing. The highly anticipated project, jointly bankrolled by Grass Root Film Company and RS Infotainment, is slated to be released in theatres on December 20, 2024.

Location : Kochi [Cochin], India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 16:36 IST
'I Would Always Be Late': Martin Scorsese Reveals Why He Wasnt The Best Altar Boy

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Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 16:31 IST

Martin Scorsese shared memories from his early years as an altar boy in Church and admitted that he wasnt always the most punctual.

As a child, Martin Scorsese was intrigued by the statues of saints around the cathedral. (Photo Credits: Instagram)

Martin Scorsese is set to release a deeply personal project inspired by his childhood in New York City. For years, Scorsese has been fascinated by the figures he saw around St. Patricks Old Cathedral and now, the filmmaker is bringing his vision to life in an eight part docuseries, Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints. Ahead of the release, Scorsese shared memories from his early years as an altar boy and admitted that he wasnt always the most punctual. I wasnt so great at it," he confessed, while recalling how he used to arrive late for 7 am Mass. Despite the challenges, his time in the church left a deep impact on him, especially during High Mass celebrations.

Speaking to People, Scorsese said, I wasnt so great at it. It was very hard for me to be there on time for the 7:00 Mass. I would always be late. The priest had to say, You cant go on like this." Despite that, he remained an altar boy for years. For his upcoming documentary, the filmmaker spent more time at the cathedral and reflecting on his childhood experiences, he says, Its amazing the impact of being back there while the High Mass was being celebrated."

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Growing up, Martin Scorsese was very much intrigued by the statues of saints he saw around the cathedral. He found himself wondering Who are these people? And why are they elevated, so to speak, to something special, sainthood? Were these saints human?" As a child, he thought they might be more than just human because of their holy lives and miracles they have performed. This curiosity stayed with him, which influenced his work as well.

In his docuseries Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints, the filmmaker focuses on several historical figures, such as Joan of Arc, John the Baptist, Maximilian Kolbe, Francis of Assisi and Mary Magdalene, among others. As per New York Times, he explained that after making Raging Bull, he felt it was the right time to explore the lives of saints. While many people think saints are superhuman, the truth is they are simply human beings who showed remarkable qualities. Throughout the series, Scorsese has shared how faith and sacrifice are key themes. He believes that these struggles toward faith have always been an important part of his work.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 16:31 IST
Nayanthara Beyond The Fairytale Review: A Lazy Retelling Of Lady Superstars Complex, Audacious Journey

Written By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 11:19 IST

Thankfully, Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairytale isn't a complete eulogy. But she deserves a better, longer retelling of her story.

Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairytale is streaming on Netflix.

Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairytale U/A 2.5/5 18 November 2024|Tamil, English 1 hrs 22 mins | Documentary Starring: Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan Director: Amith Krishnan Platform: Netflix Watch Trailer

Nayanthara Beyond The Fairytale Review: Her journey from Diana Kurien to Nayanthara is truly one for the books. From the by-lanes of Thiruvalla, she  as part of a jewellery commercial  became the cover girl of Vanitha magazine and finally made her way to the big screen with the Malayalam film, Manassinakkare (2003). And ever since, there has been no looking back. Nayanthara carved a niche for herself in an industry that was and is largely dominated by male stars but she eventually emerged as the Lady Superstar with throngs of fans revering her. One of the highest-paid female actors, Nayanthara soared so that her contemporaries could walk.

Her peers call her a powerful force to reckon with. Rana Daggubati calls her a thug. And Radhika Sarathkumar states that Nayantharas journey hasnt been easy. However, Netflixs Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairytale hardly bears a testament to Radhikas words. This documentary is no deep dive into her heavily-guarded personal and professional life. Its all too frothy. In the end, it turns out to be a rose-tinted representation of an outsider, who climbed the pinnacle of glory as if its a piece of cake. It doesnt do justice to the perseverance, resilience, struggles and torment Nayanthara displayed and endured throughout her career.

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But thankfully, Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairytale isnt an out-and-out eulogy. The makers bring in a plethora of film fraternity members to talk about this Lady Superstar. Sathyan Anthikad, K Balachanders daughter Pushpa Kandaswamy, Vishnuvardhan, Krish Jagarlamudi, Atlee, Vijay Sethupathi and Nagarjuna share their personal experiences of her. But its Nagarjuna who attempts to open the floodgates and give a sneak peek of Nayantharas troubled dating life during the shoot of their Telugu film, Boss (2006). And this becomes a prelude to an even more turbulent phase of her life  her first marriage.

This is where Nayanthara, her mother and her industry friends open up on her much-talked-about marriage with Prabhu Deva following which she stayed away from films for the next two years. Its hinted that the filmmaker-choreographer didnt want her to pursue a career post marriage and she accepted his demands. This came after her film, Shri Rama Jayam (2011), which led to wide protests against her. The public strongly reacted against Nayantharas casting as Goddess Sita and accused her of stealing another womans man. For context, Prabhu Deva was already married to Ramlath when romance brewed between him and Nayanthara.

Perhaps, the makers chose to not sensationalise her life and thats why they resorted to playing extremely safe. They refrained from delving into these lows that eventually went on to create and define Nayanthara 2.0. Landing a film with Mohanlal soon after her debut, being fat-shamed during Ghajini (2005), undergoing a complete image makeover and transitioning into a bikini babe from a saree-clad Indian woman with Billa (2007) and cementing her position as a powerhouse performer with Kolamaavu Kokila (2018), are nuggets of information, all available on Google.

Theres nothing new or unknown that this documentary unravels. After all, at 1 hour 22 minutes, how much can one pack in and portray? Nayanthara deserves a better and longer retelling of her life story. However, its good to see women actors like Tamannaah, Taapsee Pannu and Parvathy Thiruvothu sharing their appreciation and respect for Nayanthara for doing things her way and inspiring a whole generation with her hushed heroism. Only if the documentary chronicled the same! The other thing that stands out is the prelude to her D-Day and the wedding itself with Vignesh Shivan, who she met during the making of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in 2015.

After keeping their relationship under wraps for some time, the lovebirds made it public in 2017 at an award show in Singapore. On June 9, 2022, they finally tied the knot in Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort & Spa  after their nuptial plans at Tirupati Lord Venkateswara temple didnt work out  in the presence of their family, friends and industry bigwigs like Shah Rukh Khan, Rajinikanth, Mani Ratnam, Suriya, Jyothika and Atlee, among others.

We hear Nayanthara and Vigneshs love story, up close and personal and how she became Nayan from Nayanthara maam for him. If not for Vignesh, we wouldnt have known what a big foodie she is! They further spill the beans on how they resolve fights and how despite being soulmates, theyre chalk and cheese. Its truly endearing! We wish the opening scene that takes place a few days before their wedding was as candid (and not so structured like a film scene) as their testimonies we get to eventually see through the course of the narrative.

But did this need a documentary? Not really. A wedding video or a podcast would suffice. By the end of it, the documentary ends up trivialising the journey and the upheavals in Nayantharas life. This is a life and a career that needs celebration. Nayanthara broke the glass ceiling and completely changed the narrative for women in mainstream cinema. She fought the bitterest public perceptions and emerged victorious. She perhaps also went through an unhappy marriage that broke her, leading her to sacrifice the one thing she loves the most  movies. And a cinematic and complex story like this deserves multi-layered nuance, which is something that Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairytale largely misses.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 11:19 IST
Vijay Deverakonda Gives Shout Out To Rashmika Mandanna And Allu Arjun's Pushpa 2 Trailer

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Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 11:08 IST

Vijay Deverakonda praised Pushpa 2: The Rule trailer, which features his rumoured lady love Rashmika Mandanna alongside Allu Arjun and Fahadh Faasil.

Pushpa 2: The Rule will hit theatres on December 5. (Photo Credits: Instagram)

Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda have long been the subject of dating rumours, especially since their on-screen chemistry in Geetha Govindam. While both have consistently referred to each other as close friends, their unwavering support for one anothers work has fueled speculation about their relationship. Recently, Vijay took to Instagram to share his excitement for the Pushpa 2: The Rule trailer, which stars Rashmika alongside Allu Arjun and Fahadh Faasil. He described the trailer as Wild." Rashmika, touched by his support, responded with heart emojis in the comments.

Ahead of the Pushpa 2: The Rule trailers online release, the cast gathered in Patna for the launch event, where they witnessed an overwhelming response to the film, particularly from audiences outside the Telugu States. The movie picks up from where the first part ended and is expected to bring even more intensity with the introduction of new characters. After the trailers release, Vijay Deverakonda shared the trailer link on his Instagram story, writing, Wild. Love Love Love it," while tagging the cast and director Sukumar. Rashmika Mandanna, touched by his post, responded with, Wild it is," along with several pink heart emojis.

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Pushpa 2: The Rule promises to be an intense cat-and-mouse chase between gangsters and authorities battling smugglers. A standout feature is a sneak peek of Sreeleelas high-energy dance number, bound to captivate audiences. Fans of Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna can look forward to more of their sizzling chemistry, which was a highlight of the first film. The trailer also delves deeper into Fahadh Faasils character, Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat, who had a limited presence in the first part.

The Pushpa 2: The Rule trailers have already made a massive impact, with the Telugu trailer amassing 40 million views and the Hindi version hitting 28 million within the first 24 hours of release. Additionally, the trailer was launched in multiple languages, including Bengali, Malayalam, and Tamil. Directed by Sukumar, the highly anticipated film is set to hit theatres on December 5.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 11:08 IST
When Dhanush Played Cupid For Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan: 'Sir Made Me Narrate Naanum Rowdy Dhaan...'

Curated By :

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Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 09:45 IST

Nayanthara and Dhanush's friendship has taken a sour turn due to her documentary footage.

Vignesh Shivan and Nayanthara slammed Dhanush.

Although things have taken a sour turn between Nayanthara and Dhanush, the two superstars used to be good friends and had a significant impact on each others lives. Dhanush played cupid for Nayanthara and her husband Vignesh Shivan after he made him narrate the story of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan to the lady superstar.

In an interview with Hello Magazine, Vignesh said, Dhanush sir made me narrate the story (of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan) to Nayan (Nayanthara). She liked it. Once she came on board, I was able to cast actor Vijay Sethupathi, who was initially not keen to do this film. He was not convinced about the script. But he agreed after Nayan said yes. The movie paved the way for me to spend a lot of time around her. We got involved within a year."

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Nayanthara said that during the early days of their relationship, they were trying to figure out whether they were compatible or not. However, things happened organically with them. She added, It was very organic we just went with the flow. After three months, we both knew that this was it."

Nayanthara and Vignesh announced their engagement in 2021. They later got married on June 9, 2022. They had an intimate yet lavish wedding ceremony in Mahabalipuram, near Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Many big names like Rajinikanth, Shah Rukh Khan, Ajith and Vijay Sethupathi attended their wedding. The couple then welcomed twin sons, Ulag and Uyir, via surrogacy in October 2022.

However, despite this close connection, Nayanthara and Dhanush are not on good terms with each other anymore due to her documentary. Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairy Tale is a Netflix documentary which celebrates the actress journey in finding her love and professional superstardom.

Recently, Nayanthara penned down an open letter for Dhanush and blasted him for refusing an NOC to use elements from their 2015 film Naanum Rowdy Dhaan. She mentioned that during the making of her Netflix documentary, she had asked for permission from Dhanush to use visuals from their 2015 movie. However, Dhanush refused to grant her permission and instead sent her a legal notice, demanding Rs 10 crore in damages. Later, Vignesh Shivan, who is the director of Naanum Rowdy Dhaan, also came out in support of her superstar wife. He shared the controversial BTS clip on his Instagram story and mocked Dhanushs legal notice.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 09:45 IST
It was only after the pieces of shell were painstakingly removed from their plaster base that scientists found out they had something new.

These pieces of a long-extinct turtle had formed part of a display. Researchers have just discovered they're part of an entirely new species. Source: Gavin Dally

For decades a cluster of fossilised bones had drawn little attention as they sat on display in the corner of an Aussie museum. Discovered in the 1990s, the turtle shell pieces had been used in a permanent exhibition about the nations ancient wildlife.

But after researchers at the Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory scraped away at the glue and plaster that had been fastening them together, they made an incredible discovery. The pieces were actually from an extinct species that had never been described before.

Dr Adam Yates, a senior curator at the museum, explained to Yahoo News more is understood about the turtles than when the bones were originally painstakingly cut from the rock and placed in the exhibition.

Part of what stopped the shell from being re-looked was that the broken bits were glued to a base to assemble it into a moderately complete shell. And that obscured the ventral view, he said.

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I asked for it to be taken off display and then spent months slowly and carefully chipping away the plaster base to re-expose the ventral side.

Significant variation discovered in ancient turtle shell

Differentiating turtle species requires expertise because it often comes down to documenting tiny variations between shells, so researchers need to be able to see them from multiple angles.

Just like human skulls, turtle shells are made of multiple bones that are sutured together. One of those bones is called the first costal, which like a lot of the shell is a modified rib, Yates said.

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The newly discovered species would have appeared similar to modern Australian snapping turtles. Source: Getty

Photos of the bones were sent overseas, where they were examined by US-based reptile expert Mehdi Joseph-Ouni. He identified that the bone had "complicated patterns" that were unlike those seen in other turtle species, so it was given a new name, Elseya mudburra.

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Yates said, It's not going to mean a lot to someone who doesn't deeply know about the anatomy of turtle shells, but it is enough for us to recognise beyond doubt that these are different from anything alive today or fossilised.

What did the ancient turtle eat?

The turtle lived 14 million years ago in Australias Top End and probably became extinct as the continent became drier. It was found at the Bullock Creek fossil site where evolutionarily significant fossil marsupial, bird, lungfish and other reptile specimens have been found.

After the turtle shell pieces were removed from the plaster (A), it was possible to see the underside of the shell (B). Source: Australian Journal of Taxonomy

The new species is a type of Elseya or snapping turtle, which is not dissimilar to its distant cousins we see in rivers today, although it is 40 cm long and considered to be quite large. The predatory creature was likely mostly carnivorous, eating fish and crustaceans, but also the odd plant.

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The North American snapping turtle is totally different. These are northern tropical, short-necked turtles, with a powerful set of jaws, Yates added.

Elseya mudburra was one of two new species described in the Australian Journal of Taxonomy. The other bones had also been held in the museums collection for several years, with their significance only now discovered. It has been named Elseya camfieldensis.

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Write Mind | Between Generosity And Prudence: Navigating Indias Immigration Dilemma

Written By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 12:09 IST

The debate on illegal immigration in India is not about abdicating the idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam but about reinterpreting it for the 21st century

The TISS report shows that the immigration crisis has put unsustainable pressure on Mumbai's already overstretched infrastructure. (Image for representation: AP/File)

Indias civilisational ethos is built around the philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam", a Sanskrit phrase from the Maha Upanishad meaning the world is one family." This principle of oneness has been the guiding force for India to welcome diverse throngs huddling our lands for centuries, from the Jews who came to Bharat over 2000 years ago to the Parsis who fled persecution in Persia. The national motto Unity in Diversity" is a testament to Indias acceptance of plurality.

But the recent influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar, especially into cities like Mumbai, has raised a debate that has made us cynics, if not question this very ethos. One group argues that untoward and unfettered immigration is a threat to national security, overburdens public resources and upsets the demographic balance. This may seem to go against Indias tradition of inclusivity, but an incisive look at the data crunched in a recent report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) reveals the complexity of the issue.

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The TISS report Illegal Immigrants to Mumbai: Socio-economic and Political Consequences is a data-driven analysis of the impact of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants on Indias financial capital. The study shows that these immigrants, mostly Muslims, have settled in 94 pockets and strategic choke points across Mumbai and have contributed to a disproportionate increase in the Muslim population. According to the reports projections, by 2051, the Hindu population in Mumbai could decline to less than 54 per cent and the Muslim population could rise to around 30 per cent.

The report also highlights the economic consequences of illegal immigration. It notes that illegal immigrants who are willing to work for lower wages are displacing local workers in sectors like construction, domestic work and street vending. Moreover, the burden on public services like healthcare, education and sanitation is huge, as illegal immigrants are using these services without contributing to the tax base.

Illegal immigrants without proper documents and background checks are vulnerable to being drawn into criminal networks, drug trafficking, sex rackets or even terrorist organisations. The TISS study shows that 9 per cent of the illegal immigrants surveyed are involved in smuggling, 7 per cent in drug trafficking, and a whopping 23 per cent in prostitution. The report says, Illegal migrants are more quickly integrated into informal labour markets, and many rely on informal households and social networks for economic survival. It points out the cyclical nature of illegal immigrants and its link with the cycle of crime in Mumbai."

The changing public opinion on immigration, globally, is a warning sign. The phrase import third world, become third world" sums up the growing concerns on the socio-economic and cultural impact of uncontrolled immigration. Countries like the US, UK and Germany have seen a backlash against immigration with demands for tighter border control and a more rigorous vetting process. The recent results of the American presidential election, entailing a landslide victory for Donald Trump, are a testament to the rise in nationalism and concerns over illicit immigration across the globe. India, with its porous borders and complex socio-political landscape, is more vulnerable to the destabilising impact of illegal immigration.

Lets not forget that opposing illegal immigration doesnt mean being xenophobic or intolerant. The TISS report says the issue is not about religion or ethnicity; its about upholding the rule of law, national security and fair distribution of resources. The Indian government has a responsibility to look after its citizens and ensure that the growth and development of the country benefits all Indians, regardless of their faith or background.

This demographic change has serious socio-political implications. Social cohesion is a major worry. The report highlights that cultural differences between immigrants and locals breed mistrust and create fissures and social divides in communities." It further states, As immigrants compete for resources, social disparities widen and discrimination and stereotypes against them grow."

The report observes, The unchecked influx of Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants has turned slums into overcrowded and unsanitary hubs and exacerbated the conditions of the poor of the city." Many illegal immigrants get housing and services through forged documents and political patronage, and this leads to accusations of Vote-Jihad politics." This erodes the integrity of the democratic process and creates resentment among local residents who feel their interests are being ignored. The report further states, Nationalist sentiment grows as immigration policy polarizes with accusations of political manipulation to get immigrant votes."

Also, the report highlights the impact of illegal immigration on urban infrastructure and public resources. It states, Public infrastructure projects stall as city planners struggle to cope with the pressure of unchecked immigration." The report further notes immigrant enclaves isolated from the rest of the city reinforce social segregation, resist integration and create no-go zones.". The pressure on healthcare services is more alarming. The report observes, Immigrants using public health insurance strain Mumbais already overburdened healthcare system and leave locals with fewer resources." It further adds, Inadequate waste management in overcrowded immigrant areas leads to pollution and health risks spreading across the city."

The TISS report is a part of a larger conversation. The solid data-crunching analyses the impact of illegal immigration on Mumbai and compels us to face the harsh realities the city faces. Recent attempts to address the issue of illegal immigration, such as the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), were met with a litany of acrimonious and vitriolic protests. These measures were portrayed as communal but are intended to tackle the elephant in the room: the need for a more robust and transparent immigration system.

But this doesnt mean India should ignore the needy or renege on its human rights commitments. The approach to immigration should be based on a strong legal framework that balances empathy with practicality. Emboldening border security, streamlining the deportation process of illegal immigrants, and dismantling human trafficking networks are essential steps. At the same time, India ought to engage with its neighbours, particularly Bangladesh and Myanmar, to escalate the issue of illegal immigration.

In conclusion, the debate on illegal immigration in India is not about abdicating the idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam but about reinterpreting it for the 21st century. This requires an honest and nuanced conversation that goes beyond rhetoric and political posturing.

top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Yuvraj Pokharna is an independent journalist and columnist. He tweets with @iyuvrajpokharna. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 12:07 IST
Kailash Gahlot Rebuts AAP's 'Conspiracy' Charge After Joining BJP: 'No Pressure On Me'

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 13:24 IST

Former AAP leader Kailash Gahlot joined the BJP on November 18, ending a day of speculation about his next political move after resignation.

Ex-AAP leader Kailash Gahlot joins BJP | Image/PTI

Former Delhi minister and senior AAP leader Kailash Gahlot, who resigned from the party on November 17, joined the BJP this afternoon and said this political move was not taken under any pressure".

The remark came after AAP alleged that Gahlot had no option" but to leave the party as he came under pressure after Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax raids, which were held against him many times in the last five years.

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I have joined BJP today. This was not an easy decision for me. I have been working for AAP and the people of Delhi since Anna Hazares time. Some may think that I made this decision under pressure, but I want to clarify that I have never done anything under anyones pressure," Gahlot remarked.

#WATCH | Delhi: Former Delhi Minister and AAP leader Kailash Gahlot joins BJP, in the presence of Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and other BJP leaders. pic.twitter.com/l2Ol8Umxe1 ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2024

Ending a day of speculation about his next political move, the Najafgarh MLA joined the party in the presence of former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva and other top leaders.

Kejriwal Reacts To Gahlots Exit

Kejriwal on Monday broke his silence on the resignation of party leader Gahlot, saying He is free, he can go wherever he wants." The remarks came during a press briefing where Congress leader and former MLA Sumesh Shokeen joined the AAP.

#WATCH | On being asked if former AAP leader Kailash Gahlot is joining BJP today, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal says He is free, he can go wherever he wants" pic.twitter.com/HyjOC1qZuW ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2024

The AAP, which faced a major jolt ahead of the Delhi Assembly election next year, accused the BJP of conspiring against their leaders" by putting them under pressure using central probe agencies.

AAP Finds Gahlots Replacement

AAP announced that Raghuvinder Shokeen, the MLA from Nangloi Jat, will now be added to the Delhi Cabinet replacing Gahlot, who held several portfolios, including Transport, Administrative Reforms, Information & Technology, Home and Women & Child Development.

Gahlot, once a close aide of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, resigned from the council of ministers yesterday with immediate effect. Later, Delhi CM Atishi accepted his resignation.

AAP Alleges Agency Pressure

After Gahlot resigned from the party, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said, Kailash Gahlot has been raided by the ED, Income Tax many times. He was part of the government for five years, and the BJP was continuously conspiring against him, he was left with no other option but to go with the BJP."

VIDEO | Kailash Gahlot has been raided by the ED, Income Tax many times. He was part of the government for five years, and the BJP was continuously conspiring against him, he was left with no other option but to go with the BJP. The BJP tries this, they get successful sometimes, pic.twitter.com/QQ4L4Aipj8 Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 17, 2024

Gahlot submitted his resignation from AAP to Kejriwal, stating that he had no option but to step down due to the embarrassing and awkward controversies" linked to the party.

Last year, then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was accused of spending Rs 45 crore" on the renovation of his official residence, which the BJP named as Sheesh Mahal" in an apparent jibe.

The Najafgarh MLA, Gahlot, referred to the Sheesh Mahal" controversy and said that it has made everyone doubt whether they still believe in being Aam Aadmi (Common Man).

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Gahlots exit comes weeks after party Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal turned rebel, although she remains an MP from the party. The assembly polls are due in Delhi in the next few weeks as the term of the current assembly will end in February 2025.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 10:57 IST
Kailash Gahlots Exit Not The First Time Kejriwal Has Lost A Cabinet Minister Ahead Of Polls

Reported By :

News18.com

Edited By: Apoorva Misra



Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 12:39 IST

Among the losses the AAP suffered in the recent past are a Jat leader (Kailash Gahlot) and two Dalit faces (Rajendra Pal Gautam and Raaj Kumar Anand) apart from a Gujjar (Kartar Singh Tanwar)

The setbacks to AAP come at a time the city is gearing up for assembly elections, which are expected around January-February. (PTI)

Switching sides has been a practice in political parties for ages that becomes more prominent around election time and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is no different.

On Sunday, party leader Kailash Gahlot quit his cabinet post and the AAP. The party was not surprised but said Gahlot was under pressure from the BJP as he was facing investigations from central agencies.

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In April 2024, then cabinet minister Raaj Kumar Anand had resigned from the party and cabinet amid allegations of corruption.

The AAP, on Anands exit too, had said he was under pressure from investigative agencies. Anand first went to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in May and, weeks later, joined the BJP in July. The same day in July, AAPs Chhatarpur MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar also joined the saffron party.

Joining the list was Dalit leader Rajendra Pal Gautam who was a cabinet minister in Delhi. Gautam resigned from the cabinet in October 2022 amid allegations of attending a mass conversion event. In September 2024, he left the party and joined the Congress.

Another name that jumped ship was that of Kapil Mishra who was removed from his post in 2017, making way for Gahlot and Gautam in the cabinet. Mishra moved to BJP and is currently the vice-president of the state unit. Anand had got space in the cabinet after Gautam resigned.

Among the losses the AAP suffered in the recent past are a Jat leader (Gahlot) and two Dalit faces (Gautam and Anand) apart from a Gujjar (Tanwar). Also, all these were sitting MLAs of AAP, some registering a victory two-three times.

Among the list of blows to AAP is also its Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal who although has not quit the party but has turned vocal against it, highlighting its failures and inability to fulfil promises, similar to what Gahlot wrote in his resignation.

The setbacks to AAP come at a time the city is gearing up for assembly elections. The term of the current assembly ends in February 2025 and the elections are likely to be held around January-February.

The AAP will aim for a third complete term after its back-to-back landslide victories in 2015 and 2020 when the party bagged more than 60 seats out of 70 in Delhi assembly.

On the other hand, the BJP, which has been out of power in the city since 1998, will also try hard to win the city back.

While the decision of its MLAs and ministers to switch sides may damage the partys prospects in the 2025 polls, the party is busy celebrating the arrival of BJP leaders into its fold.

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On Sunday, prominent Purvanchali leader and two-time MLA from Delhis Kirari constituency Anil Jha joined the AAP. Kejriwal welcomed him into the party, carefully avoiding speaking about Gahlot while addressing the media. While Gahlot is yet to announce his next move, AAP is confident that he will switch sides to BJP.

Earlier this month, three-time South Delhi MLA Brahm Singh Tanwar and former Laxmi Nagar councillor BB Tyagi also joined the AAP from BJP.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 12:39 IST
Lost Confidence: BJP Ally Sangma Calls For CM Birens Resignation Over Manipur Violence

Curated By :

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Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 18:41 IST

Sangma stated that the NPP was open to working with the Manipur government if there was a "change in leadership" and a clear plan to restore peace

Meghalaya Chief Minister and National Peoples Party (NPP) president Conrad Sangma. (File image via X)

Meghalaya Chief Minister and National Peoples Party (NPP) president Conrad Sangma on Monday said his party decided to withdraw support from the BJP-led Manipur government because the NPP have lost confidence" in Chief Minister N. Biren Singhs leadership over the worsening violence and unrest in the state.

We felt strongly that seeing the suffering of the people and overall situation not improving any further, we have lost confidence in the current leadership of Biren Singh there that we would not be able to move forward and it will be difficult for NPP to support the Biren Singh Govt," Sangma said.

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#WATCH | NPP (National Peoples Party) withdrew its support to the Manipur Government on 17th November, with immediate effect.In Shillong, Meghalaya CM and NPP chief Conrad Sangma says, We are hopeful that serious note should be taken about whats happening in Manipur and pic.twitter.com/MxI7yP95Yz  ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2024

Sangma further added that the NPP was open to working with the Manipur government if there was a change in leadership" and a clear plan to restore peace.

If we see that there is a change in the leadership and we see that there is a positive step forward, and if we see that there is a plan to move forward to find resolution and we can constructively cooperate and contribute to ensuring that peace and normalcy would return, then we are happy to be working. But we will the situation," he added.

Sangmas comments came a day after his party, the NPP, which is the second-largest ally in the ruling coalition in Manipur, announced its decision to withdraw support from the BJP-led government.

The party cited its deep concern" over the worsening law and order situation in the violence-hit state. Both the NPP and BJP are part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition.

We strongly feel that the Manipur State Government under the leadership of Shri Biren Singh has completely failed to resolve the crisis and restore normalcy. Keeping the current situation in mind, the National Peoples Party has decided to withdraw its support to the Biren Singh led Government in the State of Manipur, with immediate effect," Sangma said in a statement on Sunday.

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Manipur, which has been grappling with ethnic strife since May last year, remains volatile following protests and violence after the bodies of women and children were recovered. Six people have been missing from a displaced persons camp in Jiribam since Monday, following a gunfight between militants and security forces that resulted in the deaths of 10 insurgents.

The bodies of two women and a child were recovered from the Barak River in Jiribam on Saturday, while three other bodies, including those of a woman and two children, were found the previous Friday night.

Location : Shillong, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 16:54 IST
Rahul Gandhi Mocks PM Modi's 'Ek Hain Toh Safe Hain' Slogan, BJP Hits Back

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 18:31 IST

After Rahul Gandhi's swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modis Ek hai toh safe hai' slogan, the BJP hit back at the Congress leader on Monday, calling him chota popat which it claimed was coined by Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray to mock him.

Rahul Gandhi pulled out two posters from a safe he had brought to his press conference in Mumbai  one featuring a picture of industrialist Gautam Adani and PM Modi along with the caption Ek hai toh Safe hai and another showing a map of the project. (Photo: X/RahulGandhi)

After Rahul Gandhis swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modis Ek hai toh safe hai slogan, the BJP hit back at the Congress leader on Monday, calling him chota popat" which it claimed was coined by Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray to mock him.

The party also slammed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge over his poisonous snakes should be killed" barb, saying it shows the partys Emergency mindset which likens rivals to snakes and incites violence against them.

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Earlier in the day, claiming a link between the BJPs slogan and the Dharavi redevelopment project being given to the Adani Group, Gandhi pulled out two posters from a safe he had brought to his press conference in Mumbai  one featuring a picture of industrialist Gautam Adani and PM Modi along with the caption Ek hai toh Safe hai" and another showing a map of the project.

It was a very low-level press conference. Bringing a safe and creating drama around it, holding of this kind of press conference by the so-called top leader of the so-called national party does not suit Rahul Gandhi and the Congress," BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra said reacting to Gandhis jibe.

Today I say this from this platform and in Rahul Gandhis language that Chota popat ne kiya hei Congress ko chaupat (he has ruined the Congress). His name is Rahul Gandhi," the BJP leader said.

I saw an interview of Bal Thackeray where he referred to Rahul Gandhi as chota popat. From today onwards, Rahul Gandhis name is going to be chota popat. This name will now be there on every childs lips in Maharashtra," he said.

Safe  ?1         ?  Unsafe  ?   , , ,    , ,     -                  pic.twitter.com/bRLYBGYUd2  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 18, 2024

The BJP also criticised Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Addressing a rally in Sangli on the penultimate day before the campaigning for the Maharashtra assembly polls concluded, Kharge used the killing the poisonous snake" analogy in his speech.

If there is anything which is politically the most dangerous in India is the BJP and RSS. They are like poison. If a snake bites, the person (who is bitten) dies such a poisonous snake should be killed," said Kharge.

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Flaying Kharge over his remarks, Patra said, The BJP condemns it".

It is the mindset of Emergency because of which you liken your rivals with snakes and incite violence by calling for killing them," he said, asserting that Gandhi and the Congress will get a befitting reply from people on November 23, when election results in Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly polls will be declared.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 18:31 IST
Vijay To Contest 2026 Tamil Nadu Elections From A Seat In Dharmapuri District?

Curated By :

Translation Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 13:16 IST

During a meeting of the Dharmapuri district advisory team, district president Siva said that Vijay was considering contesting in one of the five assembly constituencies.

Whether Vijays candidacy will shift the political balance in Dharmapuri and across Tamil Nadu remains to be seen. (PTI Photo)

In a twist to Tamil Nadus political landscape, sources suggest that actor-turned-politician Vijay is gearing up to contest in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. According to sources, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has already started laying the groundwork for the upcoming state assembly polls, with significant focus on local issues and engaging with the electorate. During a meeting of the Dharmapuri district advisory team on Sunday, district president Siva said that Vijay was considering contesting in one of the five assembly constituencies in the region, further raising speculations about the actors electoral ambitions.

In recent years, Tamil Nadus political scene has been dominated by a two-party contest, with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) regularly alternating in power. While many still see the DMK and AIADMK as the main political forces, the entry of TVK has introduced new uncertainties about the distribution of votes and possible alliances. Since his announcement, Vijay has been actively building his political base, drawing attention with his public statements and policy announcements. His growing influence suggests that the upcoming election may no longer be a straightforward battle between the two major parties, but could involve multiple contenders vying for power.

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During its Sunday meeting, the TVK criticised the MK Stalin-led state government over issues of law and order, urging it to take immediate action on several key fronts. The party called for the long-awaited caste survey to be conducted, demanded the cancellation of the controversial Parandur airport project, and pressed for a time-bound closure of liquor outlets across the state. In a broader political statement, the TVK voiced strong opposition to the BJP-led central government, condemning the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, currently under review by a Joint Parliamentary Committee. The party described the bill as an attack on federalism" and called for its immediate withdrawal.

Further challenging the Centres policies, the TVK rejected the One Nation, One Election proposal, labelling it a direct threat to democratic values. The party strongly condemned any attempt to implement this plan, arguing that it undermined the federal structure and the democratic process. In its first meeting of district office bearers and executive committee members, TVK focused on strengthening its organisational framework and reaching out to the public.

The meeting culminated in the passage of 26 key resolutions. Among these, the party reiterated its support for the scrapping of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and called for a transfer of education from the concurrent list to the state list of the Constitution. The TVK emphasised its commitment to secularism and social justice, positioning itself as an advocate for unity and harmony among the people of Tamil Nadu.

With Tamil Nadus next Assembly elections just two years away, all major political parties have begun mobilising their resources, but this time, the political environment promises to be different. For the first time in decades, the absence of two of Tamil Nadus most iconic political figures  AIADMKs Jayalalithaa and DMKs Karunanidhi  has created an unfamiliar vacuum in state politics.

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In the 2021 state assembly elections, Edappadi Palaniswami led the AIADMK government, while the DMK, under MK Stalin, formed a strong alliance and emerged victorious. Since taking office, Chief Minister MK Stalins leadership has seen the state through more than three years of governance, with the remaining tenure of his first term now eagerly awaited by the electorate. This time around, Tamil Nadu voters will be casting their ballots in a political environment shaped by the performance of the DMK government, as well as the political trajectory of other emerging parties, most notably Vijays.

Whether Vijays candidacy will shift the political balance in Dharmapuri and across the state remains to be seen, but it is clear that his role in the 2026 Assembly elections could prove to be a game-changer for Tamil Nadu politics.

Location : Tamil Nadu, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 13:16 IST
Samsung Galaxy S25 Launch Date Leaked: Here's When It Might Be Announced

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 08:30 IST

Samsung Galaxy S25 launch is just a few months away now as the company looks to brings its new flagship to the market.

Samsung's next flagship lineup could four models in 2025

Samsung Galaxy S25 is not a very hidden secret anymore but even then were yet to hear the brand confirm the name and its existence. However, more leaks have come through recently, which even talks about the possible Galaxy S25 series launch date and that applies for markets like India as well. The new flagship phone is going to be Samsungs bet against the Pixel 9 and the iPhone 16 series in the market, and the excitement is slowly building for its debut.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Launch Date Details: What We Know

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Reports from South Korea, which is Samsungs home market, suggests the new Galaxy S25 series launch in 2025 could happen around January 22. If the date given here is true, then we could be looking at Samsung launching the new flagships a few weeks earlier than its usual timelines in the last few years. The date mentioned in the report is January 22 and 23 which is dependent on which country you are living in. It is likely that Samsung will launch its new flagships in the Indian market on January 22.

The new Galaxy Sseries lineup is expected to have the usual Galaxy S25, S25 Plus and the S25 Ultra. Having said that, we have been hearing about the possible addition of the Galaxy S25 Slim model next year, which might probably happen later in 2025.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Launch News: More Details

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So why is Samsung looking for an earlier launch than before? Well, the first big reason could be the introduction of the Android 15-based One UI 7 version which has been delayed till early 2025. Samsung would definitely want the new premium phones to come with the new version out of the box, something that Google couldnt manage with the Pixel 9 models this year.

Also, the new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset will slowly be making its way to the market in the coming weeks, and the company would ideally want to be in the first few names to do that. Conflicting reports have talked about Samsung going with its Exynos SoC for the regular S25 phones, but we wont be surprised to see the company opt for Qualcomms new flagship artillery.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 08:30 IST
Boss Sacks 99 Employees On Slack After They Miss Morning Meeting: 'Only 11 Will Stay'

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 10:25 IST

A boss fired 99 out of 110 employees over a long Slack message after they skipped a morning meeting.

The CEO of a US-based company fired 99 employees over Slack. (Representative image/Pexels)

In todays episode of angry bosses firing their employees, a CEO of a US-based company sacked not just one or two but almost his entire team after they failed to attend a morning meeting. Baldvin, visibly irate, conveyed the mass firing through a blunt Slack message, telling the employees to get the f*** out of his business".

For those of you who did not show up to the meeting this morning, consider this your official notice: youre all fired," the CEO told his employees in a Slack message sent to a group named 9-3 pm All the Musicians Club".

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He elaborated, You failed to do what you agreed to, you failed to complete your part of the contract, and you failed to show up to the meetings you were supposed to attend and work for."

Read| Gen Z Employees Ill Be On Leave Email To Indian Boss Is Viral

I will cancel all agreements between us. Please return anything you have, sign out of all accounts, and remove yourself from this Slack immediately," Baldvin further instructed his employees.

He emphasised that he had offered his employees a chance to make their lives better", but theyve clearly failed to seize it. You have shown me that you dont take this seriously," he added.

Out of 110 people, only 11 were present this morning. Those 11 get to stay. The rest of you are terminated," Baldvin stated bluntly on Slack.

Take a look at the message that Baldvin sent to his employees over Slack:

The intern, who shared a screenshot of the CEOs Slack message, stated that they had joined the company as an intern but was fired just an hour later. Responding to one Redditor who asked if the intern joined the meeting, the intern wrote, I received no notice of a meeting. In the Slack workspace, they didnt give me access to the division I was supposed to end up at."

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Also Read| Indian Boss Baffled As Junior Employee WhatsApps About Late Login After Doing Overtime

When another asked if the company fired the intern as well, they replied, I went to a meeting with the group leaders so they could sort everything out. From the group meeting alone, they complained a lot about the CEO. It was bad when the manager literally said that the CEO was a bad CEO. I didnt get fired. I just deactivated my slack account and left."

First Published: November 18, 2024, 10:19 IST
Chhattisgarh Man Threatens To Commit Suicide After Wife Refuses Money For Alcohol

Curated By :

Local News Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 13:24 IST

The man climbed about 60 feet up in the high-tension tower.

The man named Karan, 26, is a resident of Dadar.

In a shocking revelation, a youth started blackmailing his wife after climbing a tower of high tension line in Dadar Basti of Manikpur police post in Korba district (Chhattisgarh). The youth asked his wife to give him Rs 500 to drink alcohol, and when his wife refused, he climbed onto the tower and started shouting loudly and threatening to commit suicide. The man named Karan, 26, is a resident of Dadar. He climbed about 60 feet up in the high-tension tower. However, this incident brought chaos among the local residents as they were constantly persuading him to come down. They even said that they would give him the money, while some promised to get him a bottle of alcohol. However, this scene continued for an hour.

Upon hearing the news, his mother rushed to the scene and pleaded with him to come down, but this only made him more upset, and he climbed even higher. The locals quickly alerted the Manikpur outpost police. Outpost in-charge Naveen Patel arrived with his team and began persuading the man to come down. However, the young mans behaviour was unpredictable, sometimes he would agree to come down, and sometimes he would climb back up moments later. After much effort and time, the police successfully convinced him to come down, bringing relief to everyone present.

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It is reported that the man was intoxicated during the incident. His family is frustrated with his repeated behaviour under the influence of alcohol. This time, his actions could have cost him his life. Outpost in-charge Naveen Patel stated that the police acted promptly, preventing a potentially dangerous situation. The man was eventually sent home safely.

On a similar note, four girls have been booked for abetment to suicide after the death of a 24-year-old Dilip Kumar, who had ended his life due to the rape threat by one of these girls in the Mohanlalganj area of the Uttar Pradesh capital. The incident had come to light when some people passed near the site and saw the man hanging from the tree with a rope tied around his neck.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 13:24 IST
Chinese Tourists 'Can't Believe' Xiaomeisha Sea World Has A 'Fake' Whale Shark

Curated By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 17:13 IST

Each robotic whale shark may cost millions of yuan, though the amount is way less than the expenses required to maintain a living shark.

A robotic whale shark was unveiled at Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park in 2022. (Photo Credits: Instagram)

A tourist aquarium in China has reportedly faced backlash for showcasing a robotic whale shark instead of a real one. Several videos were uploaded on social media where a life-size artificial whale shark could be spotted gliding through the blue water at the Xiaomeisha Sea World in Shenzhen. The aquarium has attracted massive crowds since it was reopened in October. Many tourists who visited the place to see a real whale shark were left heartbroken after encountering the robotic creature. Some people, however, loved the innovative approach and hailed the aquarium authority for the whales realistic design.

Each ticket for the Xiaomeisha Sea World reportedly costs 230 yuan ( nearly Rs 2680). A large number of tourists who visited the aquarium in recent times have reportedly sought a refund of the entry fee. They shared their grievances on the aquariums page on Dazhong Dianping, a review service operated by Meituan, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

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One such individual wrote on the platform, I cannot believe the whale shark is fake. Its outrageous to charge over 200 yuan for a ticket," as per the Chinese outlet. Another person threatened to have the place shut down", referring to the robotic whale.

On the contrary, a tourist showed a thumbs-up to the aquarium authority for the unique idea. Its a wonderful alternative to showcase large marine creatures without imprisoning them in a tank. Rather than obscuring the whale sharks true identity from visitors, the aquarium should embrace this opportunity to educate the public on the importance of animal protection," he wrote (via SCMP).

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The Xiaomeisha Sea World is not the first Chinese aquarium to have a robotic whale shark. A similar thing was unveiled at the Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park in 2022, according to the National Business Daily. These artificial creatures have been specially designed to imitate the movement of real whale sharks.

Each robotic whale shark may cost millions of yuan. This amount, however, is way less than the expenses required to maintain a living shark. To keep the largest fish, an aquarium authority may need more than 100 million yuan (almost 14 million dollars). Though whale sharks have a lifespan of 80-130 years in seawater, in an aquarium, they cant survive more than five years.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 17:13 IST
Veteran broadcaster Alan Jones is facing dozens of charges after allegedly indecently assaulting a series of victims over a near-20-year period.

The 83-year-old, once one of Australia's most powerful media figures, was taken into a police station in the back of an unmarked car on Monday morning to answer historical allegations involving eight people.

The complex, months-long police investigation culminated in his arrest as investigators searched his luxurious unit overlooking Sydney Harbour at Circular Quay.

Investigators later confirmed he had been charged with 24 offences, including 11 counts of aggravated indecent assault where the alleged victim was under his authority.

Jones also faces nine counts of assault with act of indecency, two counts of sexually touching a person without consent and another two counts of common assault.

Alan Jones is transferred to Day Street Police Station in Sydney. Source: NewsWire / Dylan Coker

Jones was granted conditional bail to appear before Downing Centre Local Court on December 18.

The youngest of the complainants was 17 when the alleged assault took place, police said.

Jones' arrest followed a months-long investigation into allegations aired in Nine newspapers the talkback host repeatedly used positions of power to abuse young men.

Authorities anticipated other alleged victims could come forward following Jones' arrest, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb earlier said.

"This is a result of a very long, thorough, protracted investigation  I did visit the strike force some weeks and months ago to look at the work that they have been doing, it is very complex and protracted," she said.

"There's no such thing as a matter that's too old to be investigated ... what I'd say to victims is that there is no better time to come forward than now and you will be listened to and we will take your matter seriously."

In December 2023, Jones' lawyer Mark O'Brien denied the allegations on his client's behalf.
How This US Bakery Owner Found One Of His Customers Was Her Biological Son

Curated By :

Local News Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 12:38 IST

According to reports, this story is about a bakery in Chicago, USA, named 'Give Me Some Sugah'.

The bakery is run by an elderly woman.

An American man recently got the shock of his life. He got a call from a bakery owner, who claims to be his real mother. After hearing the news, the person felt as if the ground had been pulled out from under his feet. The bakery is run by an elderly woman. He used to buy choco chip cookies and lemon bars whenever he visited the bakery. According to reports, this story is about a bakery in Chicago, USA, named Give Me Some Sugah run by a 67-year-old woman named Lenore Lindsey. In 2022, 50-year-old Vamarr Hunter was talking to a friend on the phone when he suddenly received a call from the bakery where he always bought his food. This bakery is located near his home. Hunter immediately picked up the call and asked Lindsey why she had called.

However, after calling him, Lindsey told him something that left him shocked. She said that she is the real mother. When Hunter was 35 years old, he got to know that he was adopted and his biological mother was someone else. From that moment, he began to feel like a guest in his own home. In March 2022, he got the idea of finding his real mother through DNA testing. He contacted a genetic genealogist in California, who used the Ancestry website to build his family tree and found his mother. But, Hunter knew Lindsey for years, and met her almost every day at the bakery, but he had no idea she was his mother. Once he found out, he started calling her Mom and a strong bond quickly formed between the two. He even quit his job to help his mother run her bakery business.

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Lindsay revealed that she gave birth to Hunter when she was 17 years old, and therefore, as she was young, it became difficult for him to raise the child alone, due to which she handed over her child to an orphanage. Later, she also gave birth to a daughter, who is now 40 years old. Nevertheless, she received a call from the same genealogist who revealed to her about her real son who was searching for her, and after getting the number she called him.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 12:38 IST
IITian Thanks Tech Company For Dream House, Internet Thinks Its Generational Wealth

Curated By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 19:05 IST

The techie shared a picture of his luxurious house. With a huge gate, coupled with enormous windows and spacious balconies, one can only imagine how amazing the interiors would look.

The techie did his graduation from IIT Kharagpur. (Photo Credit: X)

India has become a global technological hub and the credit goes to its tech boom. Needless to mention the advancement of technology has been a major factor in the countrys economic expansion. Entrepreneurship, innovation and a highly qualified workforce have contributed immensely to the gradual rise of IT sectors and software industries. The result? An increased GDP and more job opportunities. Metropolitan cities like Hyderabad, Pune and Bengaluru have become significant tech hubs, fostering startups and drawing in foreign direct investment. Amid this, a Bengaluru-based techie has been facing online backlash after he thanked his tech job for enabling him to build a home. Many naysayers claimed that it was his generational wealth" that helped him to pay for the house.

On November 13, Animesh Chouhan, an IIT Kharagpur pass-out and an employee of a finance company, expressed his gratitude to his tech firm on X (formerly Twitter) for giving him his dream home. He shared a picture on the microblogging platform featuring his sprawling three-storey house. With a huge gate, coupled with enormous windows and spacious balconies, one can only imagine how amazing the interiors would look. Animesh credited his position as a software engineer for making the dream a reality. Thank you Python" read his side note.

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Thank you Python  pic.twitter.com/Sr4U3uYQpd Animesh Chouhan (@animeshsingh38) November 13, 2024

Soon after the post surfaced on the internet, the techie was met with harsh comments.

It is not Python it is your generational wealth," said a user.

its not python its ur generational wealth kkkkkkkk (@kkkkkkkk_kds) November 13, 2024

Say thank you (to your) father or grandfather" for working hard and making this house," pointed out another.

Say thankyou "father or grandfather" for working hard and made this house Vishal M (@BMoviesscenes) November 14, 2024

A person took a dig at the houses architecture and commented, Shows that even though Python helps, it does not, when it comes to improving an eye for art and design."

Shows that even though python helps, it doesn't, when it comes to improving an eye for art and design. S (@SB94331) November 14, 2024

Not everyone had negative things to say. A few also congratulated Animesh.

Congratulations Animesh. Thats a beautiful home. Whenever you get time, do share your room pictures (if you want to)," came a sweet remark.

Congratulations Animesh. That's a beautiful home. Whenever you get time, do share your room pictures (if you want to). Vivek Naskar (@vivek_naskar) November 14, 2024

Echoing a similar sentiment a person noted, Congrats, Animesh! The house looks amazing!"

Congrats, Animesh! The house looks amazing!  Creative Kiran  (@kiran_stories) November 15, 2024

That is some achievement buddy," congratulated a well-wisher.

That is some achievement buddy Onkar Ojha (@OnkarOjha4) November 13, 2024

Here is what this individual had to say: Congratulations. Looks amazing, and may you build so many more in the future."

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Congratulations. Looks amazing, and may you build so many more in the future.  Sai Vishal Kannan (@saivishal1997) November 15, 2024

So far, the post has garnered over 1.3 million views.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 19:05 IST
In Another Solo Appearance, Meghan Markle Spotted Dancing With Friends At US Event

Curated By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 16:52 IST

Meghan Markle was seen dancing at an event, though her husband, Prince Harry, was absent.

(Photo Credits: Instagram/@mayabrenner)

Meghan Markle was spotted having a blast with her close friends at a celebration in Los Angeles on Thursday evening, November 15. The event marked the launch of a new haircare line, Highbrow Hippie, created by Markles friend and hair colourist, Kadi Lee, and her business partner Myka Harris. According to a report in the New York Post, Markle, who has invested in the line, joined in the festivities at Gjelina restaurant in Venice, California. However, Prince Harry didnt join her for the celebrations.

For the occasion, the Duchess of Sussex wore a strapless black outfit paired with matching heels, and her hair was styled in soft curls. As the night unfolded, Markle reportedly took to the dance floor and even joined a gospel choir that performed at the event. A clip shared by jeweller Maya Brenner on Instagram Stories showed Markle enjoying the moment as she danced alongside her squad including hairstylist Serge Normant and makeup artist Daniel Martin.

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Normant, who created Markles bridal hairstyle for her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, is believed to have introduced the former actress to Lee. Markle has long supported Lee, praising the Highbrow Hippie brand for its focus on hair wellness.

Kadi has a mastery of hair health, and her Highbrow Hippie collection is a perfect reflection of that. I am so proud to invest in her as a friend and as a female founder," Markle told InStyle magazine.

Markle has previously flaunted her dance skills during a tour in Colombia with Prince Harry in August. A video shared by Harpers Bazaar editor Bianca Betancourt at the time captured the Suits actress dancing with locals at the Centro Nacional de las Artes Delia Zapata Olivella. She wore a beautiful maroon and gold embroidered Johanna Ortiz dress paired with Jimmy Choo sandals. Markle can be seen enjoying herself during the engagement.

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In October, Markle made several solo appearances, including attending the #HalfTheStory event and walking the red carpet at the Childrens Hospital LA Gala. More recently, on November 8, she and Prince Harry appeared together in a video message for the Global Ministerial Conference on Violence Against Children, which was held in Colombia. In the video, Prince Harry highlighted the need to prioritise childrens online safety while Markle talked about the challenges of digital connectivity.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got married in May 2018. The couple is parents to son Archie, 5, and daughter Lilibet, 3.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 16:52 IST
Meet Daisy, The AI Granny Developed By British Company To Waste Scammers Time

Curated By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 16:14 IST

Virgin Media O2, a British telecom company, has introduced Daisy, an AI chatbot designed to resemble a kind grandmother, to tackle scammers.

Daisy looks like a sweet granny with grey hair and glasses. (Photo Credits: YouTube)

Phone call and text message scams are increasingly becoming a major concern, making it tougher than ever to distinguish between genuine and fake messages. To tackle this issue, British telecom company Virgin Media O2 has come up with an innovative solution. Meet Daisya human-like chatbot crafted to outwit scammers. Modelled after a friendly, chatty grandmother, Daisy keeps scammers engaged in lengthy conversations, effectively wasting their time and protecting potential victims.

In a video shared by the company on YouTube, Daisy is shown as a photorealistic elderly woman with grey hair, glasses and a landline phone. Daisy looks sweet but doesnt go on her looks as she is sharp enough to disrupt scammers plans. Instead of providing sensitive details, she distracts them with amusing stories about her cat Fluffy, her love for knitting or family members. At times, she even shares fake bank details to confuse them further.

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One scammer, frustrated after an hour, said, Its nearly been an hour!" Daisy responded cheerfully, Gosh, how time flies."

While theyre busy talking to me they cant be scamming you, and lets face it, dear, Ive got all the time in the world," Daisy says in the video.

According to Forbes, Daisy automates the practice of scambaiting," which usually involves individuals pretending to be victims to waste scammers time. It also helps uncover their tricks, gather useful details for law enforcement and even disrupt their devices.

Unlike human scam baiters, who need breaks for daily activities like eating and sleeping, Daisy can always be on the phone. She can talk to fraudsters nonstop and keep them busy in pointless conversations that ultimately leave them frustrated. Daisy uses advanced AI systems that can listen, convert speech to text and then use a custom large language model to respond. A character personality" layer was crafted in such way so that it resembles a sweet British granny. To make Daisy sound authentic, the London-based creative agency, VCCP Faith, took inspiration from the grandmother of one of their team members while developing her voice.

Virgin Media O2s anti-fraud team has added Daisys number to scammer contact lists.

By tricking the criminals into thinking they were defrauding a real person and playing on scammers biases about older people, Daisy has prevented them from targeting real victims and, most importantly, has exposed the common tactics used so customers can better protect themselves," O2 said in a statement as quoted by Forbes.

Many social media users lauded the initiative by the company aimed at tackling scamming incidents.

One commenter wrote, One of the BEST uses of AI I have seen. This needs much more advertisement."

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Another added, Yo, whoever thought about this to improve the company image has to be promoted or deserves a raise at least. This is gold."

This is the best usage of AI so far!" someone remarked.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 16:03 IST
Middle Class Cant Afford: Father On Daughters Rs 4.27 Lakh School Fees For Class 1

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 13:38 IST

A man from Jaipur said that even those earning Rs 20 lakh a year may struggle to afford schools charging over Rs 4 lakh in annual fees for their kids.

Jaipur: Fee structure of a school that went viral on social media. (Image: X/@rishsamjain)

Good education is a luxury  which middle class can not afford," lamented a father on X (formerly known as Twitter) after going through the fee structure of a school in Jaipur he was considering for his daughters admission in Class 1. Rishabh Jain shared the fee structure and revealed that the fees for the entire year would amount to Rs 4.27 lakh. This is the price of quality education in India. Can you afford it even if you earn 20 lakh a year?" he added.

My daughter will start Grade 1 next year, and this is the fee structure of one of the schools we are considering in our city. Note that other good schools also have similar fees," Jain elaborated in his post.

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He even shared a breakdown of the school fees: Registration charges: 2,000; admission fees: 40,000; caution money (refundable): 5,000; annual school fees: 2,52,000; bus charges: 1,08,000; books & uniform: 20,000. Total: 4,27,000 per year!"

Read| Planning To Open School: Bengaluru Man On Nursery School Charging Over 1.5 Lakh Fees

Jain pointed out that even individuals earning Rs 20 lakh a year are unlikely to afford sending their children to a good school, adding, 50% of your $20k income is extorted by the government in form of Income Tax, GST, VAT on petrol, Road tax, Toll Tax, Professional tax, Capital Gain, Land Registry charges and so on. Then you still have to pay for term insurance, health insurance premiums, and PF, NPS for an old age pension. At 20L income you fall in the highest 30% + CESS tax bracket, do not qualify for government schemes, and do not receive any freebies or loan waivers like rich."

In the remaining 10L, either you can have food, clothes, pay rent or EMIs, and save something or you can pay school fees for your two kids. Decide!" he concluded.

Take a look at the fee structure of the school here:

Good education is a luxury  which middle class can not affordMy daughter will start Grade 1 next year, and this is the fee structure of one of the schools we are considering in our city. Note that other good schools also have similar fees.  Registration Charges: 2,000- pic.twitter.com/TvLql7mhOZ  RJ  Rishabh Jain (@rishsamjain) November 17, 2024

The post, since being shared a day ago on the microblogging platform, went viral with over a million views. It also attracted a lot of comments. While some sided with the fathers concerns over school fees, others presented contrasting perspectives.

One user noted, Biggest irony in all this is that Schools in India can be run only as Non profit as they are given govt land and other facilities at subsidised prices. Yet parents are made to pay by their teeth. Such parents seek exclusivity in such schools and a mark of status symbol so most of them reluctantly accept atrocious fee structure. Even they understand that such high fees do not justify such costs often speak out against them but end of the day decide to live with it."

This is almost 1-1.2 Cr spent in 12 years. Too high. Middle class cannot afford such high fees. This is a serious issue and needs deliberation on how this can be controlled else the quality of education being imparted to kids would decline," said another.

Also Read| Gurugram Man Complains About Schools Fee Hike After Paying Rs 30K a Month For Son in Class 3

A third commented, You are still lucky that your city still have some quality education options although too much costly. I am living in Sagar (Tier 4 type city in MP). I dont even have such options here even if I have financial means. Can homeschooling be considered as an alternative?"

Unless youre going for an extra luxury school, you would find good ones around 1-1.25L per year. Thats like 10k a month," expressed a fourth.

A fifth joined, Add some more misc things like school trips, fancy dress competitions, science experiments and tuition (private tutors)."

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Quality education should never be a luxury. It should be a basic right, especially for those in need," chimed in a sixth.

A seventh declared, Higher fees doesnt mean good education always."

First Published: November 18, 2024, 13:38 IST
Thailand Woman Sentenced To 235 Years In Jail For Gold Theft

Curated By :

Local News Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 11:24 IST

The woman named Somjit Khumduang used to work in a jewellery shop in Khon Kaen area of north-eastern Thailand.

The woman stole from the shop 47 times.

A Thai woman has been sentenced to 235 years in jail for dozens of thefts of gold ornaments from her employers shop. The woman stole jewellery from the same shop in which she used to work. When the shop owner checked the CCTV camera, he came to know that the woman had stolen not 1-2 but 47 times. According to the report, the jewellery shop was located in the Khon Kaen area of north-eastern Thailand, in which a woman named Somjit Khumduang used to work. The shop owner began to suspect her of stealing jewellery from the shop. When he checked the CCTV camera of his shop, he found that the woman had started stealing jewellery from 2021. Overall, she has done stealing a total of 47 times.

As per reports, the owner suspected the woman of stealing jewellery 2 months ago, when a gold necklace fell from her clothes. In her defence, the woman said that it must have accidentally fallen into her pocket when she was standing near the shops display counter. The shop owner claimed that the woman had stolen goods worth 5 lakh pounds (more than 6 crore rupees).

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After further investigation, the police claimed that the woman bought land with the stolen goods, bought many other valuables, and shared a photo of a new bike and jewellery in a Facebook post. The surprising thing is that the woman had been working in that shop for 10 years, due to which the owner had repeatedly told her that if she returned whatever she had stolen, then he would not take any legal action.

The woman had returned only things worth up to Rs 1 crore. After that, the police arrested the woman. The most shocking thing is that the court has sentenced the woman to 235 years of imprisonment.

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However, a few days back, in a daring heist caught on camera, two women stole a diamond-studded gold ring from a jewellery shop in Madhya Pradeshs Gwalior. The theft came to light when the shop owner reviewed the CCTV footage and shared it on social media. He told the women to return the stolen ring, following which he lodged a complaint with the police.

The Kotwali police have registered a case of theft, and a search for the accused women is underway.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 11:24 IST
This Woman Won Rs 20 Crore Lottery in 2005. Everything Went To Hell After That

Curated By :

Translation Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 16:12 IST

Within just a few years, Laras dreams were shattered by a series of devastating events.

At the time of her win, Lara was living a modest life with her husband Roger and their young daughter, Ruby.

For many, winning the lottery is the ultimate dream  an instant ticket to wealth and a life of luxury. But for Lara Griffiths, a woman from West Yorkshire, United Kingdom, winning a 1.8 million jackpot (approximately Rs 20 crore) in 2005 became the beginning of a nightmarish journey that would see her lose everything.

At the time of her win, Lara was living a modest life with her husband Roger and their young daughter, Ruby. The couple, both in their 30s, had no idea that their lives were about to be turned upside down. Lara, who was working as a teacher, and Roger, an IT manager, were suddenly thrust into a world of unimaginable wealth. The couple, unsure of how to handle their newfound fortune, plunged headfirst into a lavish lifestyle. They quit their jobs, bought a 450,000 house (around Rs 4.8 crore), and indulged in extravagant trips to glamorous destinations like Dubai, Florida, and France. They also bought a beauty salon worth 150,000 (around Rs 1.6 crore).

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But the fairy tale took a dark turn. Within just a few years, Laras dreams were shattered by a series of devastating events. In December 2010, their luxurious home was destroyed by a catastrophic fire. The blaze raged for three days, leaving the family homeless and with nothing to show for their earlier success. We lost everything  our belongings, our memories, everything," Lara recalls. For eight months, the family had to live in hotels and with Laras mother while their home was being rebuilt.

Though they managed to move back into their house by mid-2011, things only worsened. Laras marriage to Roger fell apart shortly after, and by 2013, their relationship ended in divorce. The emotional toll was immense. The next two years were an absolute nightmare," Lara recalls. I had to care for my children while dealing with heartbreak and financial ruin." When the divorce was finalised in December 2013, Lara was left with nothing. The once-wealthy couple had to sell their house and the beauty salon, and they were soon living without the luxury they had once enjoyed.

The impact of the fire and the collapse of her marriage haunted Lara, especially on her daughter Ruby, who still struggles with the traumatic memory of the fire. My daughter gets anxious sometimes, and I can see that the fire still haunts her," says Lara, her voice tinged with sadness. Its something we can never forget."

By the time everything was sold, Lara found herself financially destitute, struggling to provide for her children. Despite her personal suffering, Lara didnt give up. She persevered, refusing to let her circumstances define her. Now, Lara lives in a modest home with her mother and her two daughters, Ruby, now 20, and Kitty, 17. Though life remains difficult, she refuses to let go of her determination to care for her children.

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Looking back on her incredible journey, Lara has come to terms with the fact that life isnt always fair, even after winning millions. Ive been through some very tough times, but I dont have any regrets," she says. I like my life now, even though its not what I expected it to be. Ive learned a lot about myself and what really matters."

Laras story serves as a poignant reminder that wealth does not guarantee happiness, and sometimes, the price of fortune can be far higher than anyone imagines.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 16:12 IST
'Throw Light On Revolt Of 1857': Students Literal Response Leaves Internet In Stitches

Curated By :

Translation Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 18:03 IST

Rather than providing a detailed historical account of the revolt, the student opted for a far more literal approach.

The question, in Hindi language, asked to throw light on the Revolt of 1857.

A history exam answer sheet from a student took the internet by storm, leaving both social media users and the teacher in utter disbelief. The question, in Hindi language, asked to throw light on the Revolt of 1857," but the students interpretation of the phrase was far from conventional, turning the exam paper into an instant viral sensation.

The students response, which is now circulating widely online, left people howling with laughter. Rather than providing a detailed historical account of the revolt, the student opted for a far more literal approach. In response to the instruction to throw light," the pupil drew a picture of a torch, with its beam directly illuminating the words Revolt of 1857" in Hindi.

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While the answer may not have been what the teacher was expecting, it certainly stands out for its creativity" and literal take on the exam question. The image of a torch shining light on the revolution quickly became a humorous and relatable moment for many whove seen it online.

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The students innovative approach to the age-old question not only sparked laughter but also raised eyebrows about the boundaries of creativity in academic responses. Social media users flooded the post with their amused reactions, many wondering how a student could come up with such an unusual (and arguably clever) take on a history exam.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 17:56 IST
Watch: Terrifying Turbulence On Miami-Bound Flight Sends Passengers Flying Off Seats

Curated By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 10:23 IST

The crew prioritised safety, rerouting to Copenhagen for technicians to inspect the aircraft for damage.

No serious injuries were reported. (Representative Image)

A terrifying incident took place mid-air on a Miami-bound Scandinavian Airlines flight, leaving passengers scared and shouting. The flight, which departed from Stockholm at 12:55 PM local time on Thursday (November 14), faced such severe turbulence over Greenland that it was forced to turn back and return to Copenhagen. Video footage from the chaos has been circulating on social media, showing the harrowing moments when the plane shook violently, flinging passengers and their belongings into the air.

The clip that has gone viral shows passengers screaming in panic as food trays and carry-on items litter the aisles. One passenger, sharing their terror online, wrote, Thought we would die."

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Watch it here:

 #BreakingNow A video from #SK957 cabin as extreme turbulence hit a SAS A330 over Greenland,throwing unbuckled passengers into the ceiling.This incident highlights how turbulence can occur without warning,making seatbelts essential for passenger safety. https://t.co/iYVA4IIUER pic.twitter.com/S4kCaKwnn0 Antony Ochieng,KE (@Turbinetraveler) November 15, 2024

Initially scheduled to arrive in Miami by 5:45 PM, the flight became a nine-hour ordeal back to Europe, with 254 passengers and crew members onboard. Despite the frightening ordeal, a spokesperson for Scandinavian Airlines confirmed that no serious injuries occurred. Following such turbulence, standard safety procedures require a thorough inspection of the aircraft," the spokesperson explained to the New York Post.

The turbulence forced the crew to prioritise safety, rerouting to Copenhagen to allow technicians to examine the aircraft for potential damage. Reports revealed that continuing the journey to Miami was not feasible, as the US airport lacked the resources and personnel necessary for such inspections. Aviation protocols demand detailed checks after an aircraft experiences severe turbulence, ensuring its airworthiness before it can resume operations.

Passengers, understandably shaken, were reportedly put up in hotels overnight while Scandinavian Airlines arranged alternative flights by Friday morning. The sudden change of plans may have disrupted their journeys, but safety remained the airlines top priority.

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This isnt the first time Scandinavian Airlines has faced unusual in-flight disruptions. Back in September, a Norway-to-Malaga flight had to make an unexpected stop in Copenhagennot because of turbulence, but due to a rodent, reports New York Post. A mouse, reportedly found in a passengers meal, started scurrying around the cabin. Airline policies strictly prohibit rodents on flights because they can damage electrical wiring, forcing the pilot to land as a precaution.

Reference links: https://nypost.com/2024/11/15/world-news/terrifying-video-shows-passengers-screaming-in-fear-when-severe-turbulence-kicks-them-from-their-seats-forces-plane-to-u-turn/

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 10:23 IST
'World Weirdest Phobia' Leads Swedish Minister To Ban Bananas At Official Events

Curated By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 16:21 IST

This unusual phobia is mostly triggered by visual or olfactory exposure and can be related to childhood trauma.

Bananaphobia can also treated through certain psychological interventions. (Photo Credits: X)

Swedens Gender Equality Minister, Paulina Brandberg, is said to have a phobia" of bananas which has prompted the administration to follow certain protocols during her official visits. The news was broken by a Swedish outlet Expressen which reportedly got the information from some leaked emails. In those documents, Beandbergs staff revealed that she had a strong allergy to bananas and thats why the fruit should be removed from event venues.

Brandberg later addressed the topic during an interaction with Expressen, claiming that she is not allergic to bananas but has a phobia. The symptoms, however, may sometimes seem reminiscent of allergy. According to Brandberg, this condition has made a great impact on her health and she has been undergoing treatment to overcome it.

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Earlier in 2020, Brandberg shared a random post about this issue on X (formerly Twitter) with the title Worlds weirdest phobia of bananas," the Money Control report claimed. The post, however, has already been taken down from the microblogging platform.

The condition, medically known as bananaphobia", may be quite rare but it can lead to severe symptoms. People battling this issue may experience nausea and anxiety when they encounter bananas.

This unusual phobia is mostly triggered by visual or olfactory exposure and can be related to childhood trauma. It can be caused by some other factors which may seem hard to determine. Brandbergs representatives might have deemed it as an allergy" so that the event organisers dont get confused.

Brandberg, however, is not the only known person to have this rare condition. Teresa Carvalho, a Social Democratic MP and legal policy spokesperson, is the one who can also relate to the Swedish minister.

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Shedding light on her suffering from the same ailment, Carvalho shared a post on X where she also showed sympathy for Brandberg. We may have had many tough debates about working conditions, but on this issue, we stand united against a common enemy," Carvalho wrote.

Similar to any other phobia, bananaphobia" can also be treated through certain psychological interventions. Patients are recommended to undergo Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) which can help them overcome the negative thoughts associated with the fruit.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 16:21 IST
X Users Shift Focus To Other Platforms Since Donald Trump's Win, Is Elon Musk The Reason?

Curated By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 13:04 IST

At the time of taking over the X platform, Musk insisted, Twitter deserves public trust and it must be politically neutral."

Elon Musk allegedly used X to promote the election campaigns of Donald Trump. (Photo Credits: X)

Many users have reportedly turned their back on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) since the result of the US Presidential Elections was declared earlier this month. Some claim the reason behind this mass abandonment to be Elon Musk who took control of the microblogging site earlier in April 2022. Those who have quit X recently were allegedly not happy with Musk using the platform to promote political campaigns for the newly elected president Donald Trump. When the American businessman acquired X, he had pledged to keep the site free from hate speech and politically neutral.

Musk supposedly broke the promise by showing his support for Trump through X posts ahead of the election. He was also seen attending several rallies of the Republican Party. Musk was also accused of spreading misinformation on the social media platform to show Trump in a good light.

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Irked by these alleged gestures, hundreds of thousands of X users have left the platform to join Bluesky, a report by Hindustan Times claimed. At the time of taking over the X platform, Musk insisted, Twitter deserves public trust and it must be politically neutral, which effectively means upsetting the far right and the far left equally."

The Tesla CEO even said, Trump would be 82 at the end of his term, which is too old to be chief executive of anything, let alone the United States of America." Everything seems to have changed now. After Trump became the 47th US president, he took Musk on board as one of his executives.

As part of the new government, Elon Musk will oversee the Department of Government Efficiency. He was also captured in Trumps family photos as Uncle Elon" ahead of the election.

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Given the friendship between the two Americans, experts suspect that Musk may choose to merge X with Trumps Truth Social Premium"  another US-based social media platform where Trump is a dominant shareholder.

Truth Social has gained massive profit since Trump was elected the president for the second time this year. With shares surging by 35 percent, the companys value has reportedly reached $9 billion. Parallelly, Trumps 114.75 million shares are currently estimated to be worth more than $5 billion.

Location : Delhi, India

First Published: November 18, 2024, 13:04 IST
Bangladesh Receives First Direct Cargo Shipment From Pakistan In Possible Shift In Relations

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 21:21 IST

Bangladesh's chief adviser Muhammad Yunus had earlier held meetings with Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and other leaders, but not PM Modi.

The shipment marked a potential shift in Bangladesh's relations with Pakistan under Muhammad Yunus. (Reuters)

Pakistans first direct cargo ship to Bangladesh since its 1971 independence docked at the southeastern Chittagong Port last week, signalling a shift in foreign relations under the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.

To my knowledge, this was the first cargo ship that came directly from Karachi, mainly carrying raw materials for our textile and ceramic industries," an official of the Chittagong Port Authority said.

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He, however, added that the ship began its voyage from the UAE with its destination being Indonesia and made a stopover in Karachi to load cargo for Bangladesh. Some of the containers also carried goods from Dubai.

In 1971, West Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) fought. This war led to the creation of an independent state known as Bangladesh.

Officials said the ship, MV Yuan Xian Fa Zhong, arrived at Chittagong Port on November 13 and left soon after unloading the cargo from Pakistan. Earlier, cargo from Pakistan was shipped from a third country like Sri Lanka, Singapore or Malaysia through feeder vessels.

A commerce ministry official familiar with the process said direct cargo transport from Pakistan reduces the price of commodities and quickens the shipment process.

Pakistans High Commissioner to Bangladesh Syed Ahmed Maroof called the voyage a step toward boosting more integrated and trade network across the region." Leading foreign relations expert Professor Imtiaz Ahmed said that from an economic point of view it is surprising to me why there were no direct shipments to and from Pakistan so far since the two countries are engaged in trade relations despite strained political relations".

But, he said, as far as regional and geopolitical politics were concerned, you should not do anything annoying other major countries like India, a reference to Yunuss comments that he wanted to revive the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

In diplomacy, we need inclusion instead of alienating anyoneIf India wants, SAARC will revive, if it does not want to, it will remain inactive as it is now and even if you want to form a new regional alliance discarding India, you have to consider as well if other countries would like to discard a giant elephant," Ahmed said.

On India-Bangladesh ties after the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina regime, the analyst said, I think what is going on now is a temporary phenomenon and eventually Dhaka-Delhi ties should be on the right track for mutual benefit".

During the recent UN General Assembly in New York, Yunus held meetings with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other regional leaders, but an expected meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not take place.

Yunus, who assumed the office as the Chief Adviser of the interim government on August 8, three days after the ouster of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a student-led mass upsurge, on Sunday said Dhaka would seek her repatriation from India to stand trial.

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It is very clear that the interim government, because of its concerns about its partnership with India, would want to take a bit of a different approach to Pakistan," director of the Wilson Centers South Asia Institute Michael Kugelman said in a recent media interview.

Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was unwilling to strengthen ties with Pakistan due to its lack of a full apology for the 1971 war. His daughter, Hasina, in 2022, denied Pakistans request for the Chinese-built frigate warship PNS Taimur to dock at Chittagong Port.

Location : Dhaka, Bangladesh

First Published: November 18, 2024, 21:21 IST
Biden Allows Ukraine To Use Weapons Sent By US To Strike Russia

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 08:24 IST

Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the coming days, the sources said, without revealing details due to operational security concerns.

US President Joe Biden's administration has lifted weapons restrictions on Ukraine. (Image: AP)

President Joe Bidens administration has allowed Ukraine to use U.S.-made weapons to strike deep into Russia, two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the decision said on Sunday, in a significant reversal of Washingtons policy in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the coming days, the sources said, without revealing details due to operational security concerns.

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The move comes two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20 and follows months of pleas by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to allow Ukraines military to use U.S. weapons to hit Russian military targets far from its border.

The change comes largely in response to Russias deployment of North Korean ground troops to supplement its own forces, a development that has caused alarm in Washington and Kyiv, a U.S. official and a source familiar with the decision said.

Zelenskiy said in his evening address that the missiles would "speak for themselves."

Today, many in the media are saying that we have received permission to take appropriate actions," he said. "But strikes are not made with words. Such things are not announced."

The White House and U.S. State Department declined to comment.

There was no immediate response from the Kremlin, which has warned that it would see a move to loosen the limits on Ukraines use of U.S. weapons as a major escalation.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian upper houses international affairs committee, said Washingtons decision to let Kyiv strike deep into Russia could lead to "World War Three".

The West has decided on such a level of escalation that it could end with the Ukrainian statehood in complete ruins by morning," Andrei Klishas, a senior member of the Federation Council, Russias upper chamber of parliament, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraines first deep strikes are likely to be carried out using ATACMS rockets, which have a range of up to 190 miles (306 km), according to the sources.

While some U.S. officials have expressed skepticism that allowing long-range strikes will change the wars overall trajectory, the decision could help Ukraine at a moment when Russian forces are making gains and possibly put Kyiv in a better negotiating position when and if ceasefire talks happen.

It is not clear if Trump will reverse Bidens decision when he takes office. Trump has long criticized the scale of U.S. financial and military aid to Ukraine and has vowed to end the war quickly, without explaining how.

A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But one of Trumps closest foreign policy advisers, Richard Grenell, criticized the decision.

Escalating the wars before he leaves office," Grenell said, in an X post responding to the news.

Some congressional Republicans had urged Biden to loosen the rules on how Ukraine can use U.S.-provided weapons.

Since Trumps Nov. 5 victory, senior Biden administration officials have repeatedly said they would use the remaining time to ensure Ukraine can fight effectively next year or negotiate peace with Russia from a "position of strength".

WAY TOO LATE

The U.S. believes more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia and that most of them have moved to the Kursk region and have begun to engage in combat operations.

Russia is advancing at its fastest rate since 2022 despite taking heavy losses, and Ukraine said it had clashed with some of those North Korean troops deployed to Kursk.

Stretched by personnel shortages, Ukrainian forces have lost some of the ground they captured in an August incursion into Kursk that Zelenskiy said could serve as a bargaining chip.

"Removing targeting restrictions will allow the Ukrainians to stop fighting with one hand tied behind their back," Alex Plitsas, senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, said.

However, like everything else, I believe history will say the decision came way too late. Just like the ATACMS, HIMARS, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Abrams tanks and F-16. They were all needed much sooner," he added.

Despite Zelenskiys pleas, the White House had been reluctant to allow U.S.-supplied weapons to be used to strike targets deep inside Russia for fear this could ratchet up the conflict.

Republican U.S. Representative Mike Turner, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that Bidens decision was long overdue and that there were still too many restrictions on Ukraine.

But he added: This first step will put pressure on Vladimir Putin as President-elect Trump returns to the White House and works to end this war."

Kyivs other allies have been supplying weapons but with restrictions on how and when they can be used inside Russia, out of concern such strikes could prompt retaliation that draws NATO countries into the war or provokes a nuclear conflict.

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Polands foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, also called the move a response to North Koreas involvement.

President Biden responded to the entry of North Korean troops into the war and the massive Russian missile strike in a language that V. Putin understands  by removing restrictions on Ukraines use of Western missiles," Sikorski said on X.

Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: November 18, 2024, 08:22 IST
24-Year-Old Woman Found Murdered In Car Boot In London, Indian-Origin Husband Absconding

Published By :

PTI

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 09:52 IST

The UK police are investigating the murder of 24-year-old Harshita Brella, whose body was found in a car boot in east London, and have launched a manhunt for her Indian-origin husband.

Images show 24-year-old Harshita Brella (L)/her husband Pankaj Lamba (R) (Source: Northamptonshire Police/Facebook)

The UK police investigating the murder of 24-year-old Harshita Brella, whose body was recovered from a car boot in east London, have launched a manhunt for her Indian-origin husband who they suspect fled the country after killing his wife earlier this month.

In an updated statement from the Northamptonshire Police on Sunday, Chief Inspector Paul Cash said more than 60 detectives were working on the case as the force released an image of Pankaj Lamba, the accused husband, in an appeal for information.

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Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba," Cash said.

We suspect Lamba transported Harshitas body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car. We believe he has now fled the country More than 60 detectives are working on the case and are continuing to follow numerous lines of inquiry, including house-to-house, property searches, CCTV (cameras) and ANPR (automatic number plate recognition). We are, of course, continuing to appeal for any information that will help us piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita," he added.

Earlier, the Northamptonshire Police had named the woman found dead in the boot of a car in London as Harshita Brella as they launched a murder inquiry over the weekend.

The force said it had received a call on Wednesday regarding concerns for Brellas welfare and officers were deployed to her home address at Skegness Walk in Corby, Northamptonshire.

After getting no answer, the police launched a missing person investigation and fast-track enquiries were made that led to the discovery of the victims body inside the boot of a vehicle on Brisbane Road in the Ilford area of east London in the early hours of Thursday. A post-mortem was conducted at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday.

First of all, I want to express my heartfelt condolences to everyone who loved Harshita Brella," said Detective Chief Inspector Johnny Campbell, senior investigating officer from the East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU).

She was a young woman in her early 20s with her whole life ahead of her and it is absolutely tragic that her life has been cut short in this way. Detectives from EMSOU and the Northamptonshire Police are working around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place," he said.

Investigators believe Brella was killed in a targeted incident" as they appealed to anyone who may have information about the incident to come forward.

Although we believe Harshita was attacked by someone known to her, we are keeping an open mind, and would appeal to anyone who knew her to contact us with any relevant information they may have. If you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all," he said.

The police said officers were satisfied there was no wider risk to the public as a result of this incident.

However, extra patrols will be taking place in Corby in the coming days for reassurance purposes. As is mandatory, the Northamptonshire Police has also made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to previous contact between the police force and the victim.

Shortly after midnight on the morning of Thursday, November 14, the Met was contacted by officers from the Northamptonshire Police, raising concerns for the welfare of a woman who was believed to be in a car in the east London area," a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said.

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The car was located parked in Brisbane Road, Ilford, and the body of a 24-year-old woman was found inside the vehicle," the spokesperson said.

The police investigators are now working to establish the connection between Brella going missing from her home in Corby, around 145 kilometres north of London, and being found dead in a car in the UK capital days later.

Location : London, United Kingdom (UK)

First Published: November 18, 2024, 09:52 IST
Invaders: Viral Video Shows Khalistan Sympathiser Targeting Canadians | Exclusive

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 17:54 IST

In a video of a religious procession in Surrey, Khalistan supporter and YouTuber Indi Jaswal is allegedly seen asking Canadians to go to Europe or England

A still from Indi Jaswal's video. (X/YouTube)

After their anti-India rhetoric, Khalistani extremists in Canada are now targeting Canadians.

In a video that went viral recently, Indi Jaswal, a YouTuber, is allegedly seen making inflammatory remarks during a Nagar Kirtan procession in Surrey, British Columbia. Indian intelligence agencies called this the new normal" in the country.

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In the two-minute video, Jaswal is allegedly seen asking local Canadians to go back to Europe or other countries like England. You are invaders. This is our country. All of you should go back," he purportedly says.

WHO IS INDI JASWAL?

According to sources, Jaswal is often seen with all Khalistani supporters. He is present in almost every protest in front of Vancouver councillors office

Jaswal received his Canadian citizenship a few months ago.

Sources said Jaswal is also close to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh.

WHAT INDIAN INTELLIGENCE SOURCES SAY

Sources said, Khalistanis are slowly capturing everything. In the absence of proper control, these groups are taking control from local Canadians too. Hindus are asked for money for protection. Now, they have started to issue threats to locals in their colonies."

PAKISTANs ISI, CANADA, INDIA

News18 recently reported how theimprint of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and support of the Trudeau-led government is clearly visible in the activities of Khalistani terrorists in Canada.

The Trudeau government has allowed Khalistani protests and referendums and even given shelter to known criminals, said sources. It is surprising for a developed country like Canada not to cooperate with probes. They have more than 20 probes and LRs are pending from India," they said.

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The ties between the two countries got strained with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau recently naming Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma as a person of interest in an investigation, without naming the case. A person of interest means a suspect who is not arrested. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) strongly rejected the Trudeau governments claims, calling them preposterous imputations". Trudeau later admitted that he had not provided India with concrete proof regarding the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil while testifying before the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions in Ottawa, bolstering Indias claims.

India-Canada ties soured after Trudeau last September said that Ottawa was actively pursuing credible allegations" that Indian agents were potentially linked to the killing of Nijjar. New Delhi had rejected the allegations and asked Ottawa to furnish proof.

First Published: November 18, 2024, 17:24 IST
Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei In Coma? But His Office Shares Pic Meeting Envoy

Curated By :

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Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 11:08 IST

The image posted on Khamenei's X account shows him in his office talking to Irans Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon on Sunday. (Image: X/@Khamenei_fa)

Amid reports that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seriously ill, the Iranian Supreme Leader on Sunday published a picture of himself meeting an Iranian ambassador. The picture attracted huge attention as it was posted amid widespread unsourced reports on social media that he was in a coma.

The image posted on Khameneis X account shows him in his office talking to Irans Ambassador Mojtaba Amani in Lebanon. Notably, Amani was injured in Beirut in Israels September pager attacks against the Hezbollah terror group.

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Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, met and talked with Mr Mojtaba Amani, the veteran ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Lebanon, at noon today, on the sidelines of his daily meetings," the post read.

Mojtaba Amani, Irans ambassador to Lebanon, was among nearly 3,000 people who were injured when pagers and walkie-talkies used by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group exploded in Lebanon in September.

Notably, the picture came amid multiple media reports recently claiming that the 85-year-old leader was ill and had, therefore, nominated his 55-year-old son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as his successor in a secret meeting. Meanwhile, several speculative reports suggested that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has slipped into coma.

Khameneis First Public Sermon In 5 Years

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In October, amid rising tensions with Israel, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave his first sermon in five years after Iran launched 180 missiles targeting crucial infrastructure in Israel.

Holding a gun while speaking, the Iran leader declared that Israel would not prevail against Hamas or Hezbollah. In his speech, he also praised Hassan Nasrallah, the former chief of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.

Location : Iran

First Published: November 18, 2024, 11:06 IST
Netanyahu Says Israels Strike Hit 'Specific Component' Of Irans Nuclear Programme

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Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 22:39 IST

Speaking in the Knesset, Netanyahu said the attack had degraded Irans defence and missile production capabilities.

Experts believe Benjamin Netanyahu removed defence minister Yoav Gallant over disagreements on the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews, release of hostages and national inquiry into the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023. (Photo: Reuters File)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that Israels strike on Iran in October had hit a specific component" of the countrys nuclear programme.

Speaking in the Knesset, Netanyahu said the attack had degraded Irans defence and missile production capabilities, The Times of Israel reported.

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Its not a secret," Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament. There is a specific component in their nuclear program that was hit in this attack." He, however, made it clear that the strike did not block Irans path to developing nuclear weapons.

ALSO READ: Mission Fulfilled: Israel Carries Out Strikes Against Iran Military Targets In 3 Waves

The strike, carried out on October 26, was conducted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who had stated that the attack was in response to months of continuous attacks" from Iran.

In an official statement, the IDF had said, In response to months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the State of Israel  right now the Israel Defense Forces is conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran."

In contrast, Iran downplayed the airstrike, claiming it caused only limited damage. While condemning the attack, Iran said it recognises its responsibilities towards regional peace and security".

The Iranian military had stated that Israeli warplanes had used very light warheads" to target border radar systems in the provinces of Ilam, Khuzestan, and around Tehran.

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At the time, several experts had also suggested that Israels strike could have significantly impaired Irans retaliatory firepower and its ability to replenish military stocks.

Netanyahu had warned that Iran was seeking to build a stockpile" of nuclear bombs. He stated, Iran is striving to develop a stockpile of nuclear bombs to destroy us, equipped with long-range missiles, intercontinental missiles that Iran is trying to develop."

Location : Israel

First Published: November 18, 2024, 22:10 IST
Modi Brazil Visit: PM Thanks Brazil For 'Lively Welcome' In Rio de Janeiro Ahead Of G20 Summit

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Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 13:41 IST

PM Narendra Modi in Brazil News Updates: PM Modi arrived in the Rio de Janerio for G20 Summit after wrapping up his visit to Nigeria.

PM Modi arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. (Image: X/@narendramodi)

PM Narendra Modi Brazil Visit Latest Updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Brazil on Monday after a productive visit to Nigeria to attend the two-day G20 Summit. Soon after his arrival, he was welcomed by the people of Brazil with Sanskrit chants.

#WATCH | People from Brazil welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Rio de Janeiro, with Sanskrit chants. pic.twitter.com/i8VX6BiPZb ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2024

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Thanking the people of Brazil for the lively welcome, PM Modi on X wrote, Deeply touched by the warm and lively welcome from the Indian community upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro. Their energy reflects the affection that binds us across continents."

Deeply touched by the warm and lively welcome from the Indian community upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro. Their energy reflects the affection that binds us across continents. pic.twitter.com/hvA6GGKE9l Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 18, 2024

PM Modi arrived in Rio de Janeiro after wrapping up his visit to Nigeria, where he held bilateral talks with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and interacted with the Indian community.

PM Modi Arrives In Brazil

Sharing pictures, PM Modi took to X and wrote, Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders."

Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders. pic.twitter.com/bBG4ruVfOd Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 18, 2024

In Brazil, PM Modi will attend the 19th G20 Summit as a member of the Troika. India is part of the G20 Troika along with Brazil and South Africa.

Alongside the India Prime Minister, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden will be among the leaders attending the Rio de Janeiro summit on November 18 and 19.

PM Modis Three-Nation Visit

In the third and final leg of his trip, Modi will visit Guyana from November 19 to 21 at the invitation of President Mohamed Irfaan Ali. It will be the first-ever visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Guyana in more than 50 years.

PM Modi said in his departure statement on Saturday, This year, Brazil has built upon Indias legacy. I look forward to meaningful discussions in keeping with our vision of One Earth, One Family, One Future. I will also use the opportunity to exchange views on furthering bilateral cooperation with several other leaders."

Induction of the 55-nation African Union as a permanent member of the G20 and managing to produce a leaders declaration overcoming deep divisions over the Ukraine conflict were seen as major milestones of Indias G20 presidency last year.

During his visit to Nigeria, PM Modi was conferred with the countrys national award, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), making him only the second foreign dignitary to receive the distinction.

This was the 17th international award conferred on Modi by a country. Queen Elizabeth II is the only other foreign dignitary to be conferred with the GCON.

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Modis visit to Nigeria was the first trip to the West African country by an Indian prime minister after 17 years.

(With inputs from agency)

Location : Brazil

First Published: November 18, 2024, 07:25 IST
'Pouring Oil On Fire': Russia Seethes As Bidens Missile Move Ups The Ukraine Stakes

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Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 19:30 IST

Russia had earlier warned that any such decision by the US would mean that Washington and NATO were in direct confrontation with Moscow.

Putin had changed Russia's nuclear doctrine which threatened retaliation against any attack aided by a nuclear-powered country. (Reuters)

Outgoing US President Joe Bidens administration has allowed Ukraine to use US-made long-range weapons to strike Russia, a significant move that has stoked fears of an escalation into the war and a significant reversal of Washingtons policy in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

For months, Russia had warned against such a step by the United States, saying that it would risk a confrontation between Moscow and the US-led NATO alliance. The move also comes before US President-elect Donald Trump, who has been sceptical of the US aid to Ukraine and vowed to bring an immediate end to the war, takes office.

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Biden had been hesitant against such a move, fearing it would drag the United States and NATO into a direct confrontation with Russia, while Ukraine has been asking permission for months. However, the stakes of the battle have sharply changed, with Russia launching a massive missile attack that killed eight people in Odesa and another village in the east Donetsk region falling to Russian troops.

World War III: How Russia Reacted To Bidens Decision?

Bidens decision to allow Ukraine to strike deep within Russia has sparked a furious response from Moscow. The Kremlin on Monday said any such decision would mean the US was directly involved in the conflict and accused Bidens administration of escalating the war.

When asked about the reports, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the reports were not based on any official statements. If such a decision was indeed formulated and brought to the Kyiv regime, then this is a qualitatively new round of tension and a qualitatively new situation from the point of view of US involvement in this conflict," Peskov said.

Peskov accused the United States of pouring fuel to the fire and continuing to stoke tension around this conflict". Meanwhile, Russian senator Vladimir Dzhabarov called it an unprecedented step towards World War III". However, there has been no official reaction from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In September, Putin had warned that if the US approved the use of long-range weapons, Moscow would view it as the direct participation" of NATO-allied countries in the Ukraine war. He also hinted at arming Western adversaries to strike targets in NATO countries. Putin also changed Russias nuclear doctrine to say that any conventional attack on Russia aided by any nuclear powered could be considered to be a joint attack on Russia.

ALSO READ: Why Ukraine Attack On Russia With US Missiles Could Lead To World War 3 | Explained

One Russian official close to the Kremlin told Reuters that the US move, if confirmed, would not change the outcome of the war. Russian lawmaker Maria Butina expressed hope the incoming Trump administration would reverse the escalatory move that risks a third World War.

How The World Reacted To US Move?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted reports of the US approval of the long-range weapons in a video statement on X, but said such strikes are not carried out with words". These things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves," he said further.

I am deeply grateful to all our partners who support us with air defense systems and missiles. This is a truly global effort. Every time Russia carries out such attacks, it underscores how critical it is that partners dont leave systems like Patriot and others sitting idle in pic.twitter.com/4VZu4JpzxG Volodymyr Zelenskyy /   (@ZelenskyyUa) November 17, 2024

Meanwhile, Polish President Andrzej Duda on Monday praised it as a necessary" step that may become a decisive moment in the war. This decision was very necessary  Russia sees that Ukraine enjoys strong support and that the Wests position is unyielding and determined. Its a very important, potentially decisive moment in this war," he told journalists.

However, Germany has declined to provide long-range weapons to Ukraine, BBC reported citing a German government spokesperson after the US decision came to the spotlight. Germany has been Ukraines second-highest donor of military aid to Kyiv, but Chancellor Olaf Scholzs recent talks with Putin may have factored in the decision.

Germanys decision was criticised by Duda, who accused Scholz of looking for opportunities to reach some agreement with Russia to buy energy resources from Moscow. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk had also criticised Scholz, saying that no-one will stop Putin with phone calls".

While there has been no word from the UK and France, both countries had been in favour of allowing Ukraine to hit Russian targets with long-range missiles. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot recalled President Emmanuel Macrons stance in May regarding the French missiles. Bidens decision is also expected to open the door for Ukraine to use Britains Storm Shadow missiles into Russia.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said he was not opening champagne just yet" as it was unknown how many rockets the Ukrainians had and whether they had enough to impact the battlefield.

Will Bidens Decision Alter The Course Of The War?

The significant decision to allow Ukraine to use ATACMS rockets, which have a range of up to 190 miles, comes largely in response to Russias alleged deployment of North Korean forces to supplement its forces, which sparked alarm in Washington and Kyiv. Zelenskyy has long asked allies to allow it to strike deeper in Russian lines.

However, analysts say that while the approval could help Ukraine defend their foothold in Russias Kursk region, it may come too late to change the course of the war. The decision comes late, and like other decisions in this vein, it may be too late to substantially change the course of the fighting," Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, told Reuters.

Moreover, there is a limited supply of ATACMS that Ukraine can receive, which will factor heavily into the amount of resources Kyiv needs to maintain its control of Kursk, according to CNN. Ukraine said Russia has amassed as many as 50,000 troops in the region accompanied by 11,000 North Korean troops. Beyond that, it is unlikely that Ukraine will receive enough missiles to get an advantage in the war.

How this decision would impact the war would also largely depend on Donald Trumps policies when he takes office on January 20. Trump, who is likely to take charge when the stakes of the war may have gotten significantly higher, has promised to end the war swiftly while he and his allies have criticised US military provisions to aid Ukraines war.

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There is much uncertainty on whether Russia seeks a full-blown conflict with NATO or the US, but a possible counteroffensive cannot be ruled out, Russia has already moved their assets in preparation for Bidens decision and has reportedly expanded missile production, as shown in satellite images. Military analysts say the delays in approving long-range missiles have given Moscow time to recover from earlier failures and reinforce defences in occupying territories.

(with agency inputs)

Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: November 18, 2024, 19:08 IST
'Proud British Citizen With Good Indian Values': Sudha Murty Praises Son-In-Law Rishi Sunak

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Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 10:04 IST

Murty's statement came as she joined Sunak and her daughter Akshata Murty as the guest of honour at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans annual Diwali gala in London.

Sudha Murty praises Rishi Sunak's Indian cultural values in London. (File Photo)

Well-known author and Rajya Sabha MP Sudha Murty spoke of her pride in son-in-law and former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for embodying good Indian cultural values".

Murtys statement came as she joined Sunak and her daughter Akshata Murty as the guest of honour at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans annual Diwali gala in London on Saturday evening.

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Rishi Sunaks parents  Usha and Yashvir Sunak  were also present in the audience as Bhavan UK students showcased a variety of Indian classical music and dance forms.

I always believe when you are abroad, your parents must do two things: one is good education, which gives you wings in return and you can fly anywhere and settle; the second is great culture, your origin which is Indian origin or roots which you can get at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan along with your parents," said Murty as she delivered her keynote address.

I want to congratulate Ushaji, my sambandhi and a good friend of mine, who gave her son Rishi Sunak, former prime minister, a great route to identify with the culture, making him a proud British citizen as well as [having] good Indian cultural values," she said.

The philanthropist further went on to appeal to the British Indian community to enable the work of Bhavan UKs cultural activities, mentally, physically and financially".

You must send your children here to understand Indian culture because when you grow old you go towards your roots that gap is addressed by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, so you have to help them in every way to survive," said Murthy.

Murty presented mementoes to the team behind the centres many activities since the 1970s.

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The students and teachers showcased their Kuchipudi, Kathak and Bharatanatyam skills at the annual Diwali celebration as they appealed for donations from the British Indian community to enhance their summer school and scholarship offerings.

(With inputs from PTI)

Location : United Kingdom (UK)

First Published: November 18, 2024, 10:04 IST
The two words uttered by a police officer before he fatally tasered a 95-year-old woman suggest he was fed up, impatient, and not prepared to wait any longer, a court has been told.

Clare Nowland died of injuries sustained when Senior Constable Kristian White discharged his Taser at her chest in Yallambee Lodge nursing home in Cooma on May 17 last year.

The police officer is facing trial in the NSW Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to manslaughter over the great-grandmothers death in rural NSW.

The 34-year-old does not dispute that he discharged the weapon that caused Mrs Nowlands death, but his lawyers argue it was a proportionate reaction to the risk she posed by holding a knife.

On Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC alleged Constable White had acted either negligently or employed a criminal or dangerous use of force when he killed the 95-year-old.

Kristian White is on trial over allegations he killed Clare Nowland when he tasered her in May 2023. Picture: NewsWire

In his closing statement, he argued Constable White breached the duty of care he owed to the 95-year-old because his actions involved such a high risk that really serious bodily harm would occur to Mrs Nowland.

Mr Hatfield said the officers actions amounted to manslaughter because it was a use of force that was not reasonably necessary to do his job and it was dangerous because a reasonable person in his position would have realised that the act exposed Mrs Nowland to a risk of serious injury.

You might think that footage of what happened outside the nurses room speaks for itself, the Crown prosecutor suggested to the jurors.

He noted Constable White had been told Mrs Nowland was a 95-year-old woman with dementia who used a walking frame and was carrying knives.

Footage shows Mrs Nowland slowly inching towards a doorway while relying on her walking frame and carrying a knife.

Constable White can be heard warning her repeatedly to stop and put down the knife, but the elderly dementia patient continued and held up the knife when approached.

Stop, just  Nah, bugger it, the police officer said before deploying his Taser at her chest.

Got her  grab it.

The Crown prosecutor said the phrase bugger it suggested he was fed up, impatient, not prepared to wait any longer before he pulled the trigger.

In an incident report written after the fatal incident, the police officer recorded that he deployed his Taser because he felt a violent confrontation was imminent.

Read more here.
Masked Men Break Into Windsor Castle; Smash Through Security Gate, Scale Fence, Steal 2 Vehicles

Curated By :

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Last Updated: November 18, 2024, 19:10 IST

King Charles and Queen Camilla were not inside at the time of the incident but Prince William and his family were believed to be at Adelaide Cottage, which is part of the sprawling estate

This is not the first time Windsor Castle  the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world  has faced a security threat. (Image: @MarioNawfal/X)

You would assume that Windsor Castle would be among the most heavily guarded locations in the UK. But, not even this royal residence could withstand a security breach as two masked men reportedly broke into it and stole two vehicles from a barn last month.

And that, too, when the Prince and Princess of Wales  William and Catherine  along with their three children, were believed to be at Adelaide Cottage, which is part of the sprawling estate. King Charles and Queen Camilla, however, were not inside at the time of the incident, which was reported by the Sun newspaper on Monday. CNN said King Charles was in Scotland and did not return to London until the following day.

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According to the Sun, the two men used a stolen truck to break through a security gate at night and then scaled a six-foot fence. Local police said officers were called to a report of a burglary on Crown Estate land in Windsor, west of London, just before midnight on October 13. They added that the burglary was reported around 11.45 pm (5.15 am IST the next day).

Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Isuzu pickup and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area," Thames Valley Police said in an emailed statement. No arrests have been made at this stage and an investigation is ongoing."

Buckingham Palace declined to comment and told CNN it never comments on security matters, as did Kensington Palace. This is, however, not the first time Windsor Castle  the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world  has faced a security threat.

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On Christmas Day in 2021, authorities had arrested a man with a crossbow in the grounds of the castle who said he had wanted to kill Queen Elizabeth, who was in residence at the time. She was unharmed, although the intrusion sparked serious questions about palace security, especially when it emerged that her repeated attempts to summon help were ignored. Jaswant Singh Chail, who was 19 when he attempted to kill the Queen, was sentenced to nine years in jail in 2023.

(With agency inputs)

Location : London, United Kingdom (UK)

First Published: November 18, 2024, 19:00 IST
Up to 800,000 young drivers in one state will now be able to access their licences digitally, joining 1.2 million other motorists.

Hundreds of thousands of learner and provisional drivers will be able to access digitalised licences from Tuesday. Source: VicRoads/Getty

Up to 800,000 learner and provisional drivers will soon have electronic access to their licence from Tuesday in one state's bid to make "it easier for them to go about their lives".

In Victoria from today (Tuesday), hundreds and thousands of L and P-platers will be able to access their licences digitally, joining the 1.2 million motorists in the state who already have the capability, which launched in May of this year.

The state government said while digital licences are optional, feedback from the public has been overwhelmingly positive and it expects hundreds of thousands of sign-ups in the coming days.

The newly digitalised document has a "highly secure, timed QR code" that can be scanned by businesses and other authorities to verify authenticity and prevent fraudulent use. Digital licences also detail when a licence has been cancelled or suspended, the government said in a statement.

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A Department of Government Services spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia it will continue to expand the services and features offered through the app, including adding more cards to the digital wallet in time. They said more than half of all Victorians have the Service Victoria app installed on their phone as it stands.

Digitalised licences aimed at simplifying life for learner drivers

Victoria Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne said the initiative aims to simplify life for young and learning drivers in the state. "Whether thats driving around, going to a gig, or collecting a parcel," she said.

"Weve seen more than 1.2 million Victorians access their licence on their phones since we launched this technology in May, and Im sure well continue to see a strong take up from our younger drivers."

Millions around Victoria no longer need to worry about forgetting their physical licence. Source: Getty

The licences can also be updated in real-time if there are changes to conditions or personal information such as home addresses.

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The state government is working with venues to ensure licences are compatible with major scanning technology  "increasing ease" of use for both customers and venues across Victoria.

Drivers looking to sign up for the program have been told to visit the VicRoads or Service Victoria websites to find out more.

Victoria unveiled digital licences for fully licensed drivers earlier this year, following successful launches from governments in most other states and territories.

The move  which followed several other states including NSW, Queensland and South Australia  comes in the wake of a six-month trial in which 15,000 Ballarat residents downloaded their licences to the Service Victoria or myVicRoads app.

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There are more than 4.5 million fully licensed drivers in the state that are eligible.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

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A Russian strike on a nine-story building in the city of Sumy in northern Ukraine killed eight people and wounded dozens, an official said Sunday, as Russia launched a massive drone and missile attack described by officials as the largest in recent months. Among the eight killed in Sumy, 24 miles from the border with Russia, were two children, said Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko. More than 400 people were evacuated from the building, the AP reports. The rescuers were checking every apartment looking for people who might still be in the damaged building.

The drone and missile attack, which targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure, came as fears are mounting about Moscow's intentions to devastate Ukraine's power generation capacity ahead of the winter. Earlier, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia had launched a total of 120 missiles and 90 drones in a large-scale attack across Ukraine. Various types of drones were deployed, he said, including Iranian-made Shaheds, as well as cruise, ballistic, and aircraft-launched ballistic missiles. Ukrainian defenses shot down 144 out of a total of 210 air targets, Ukraine's air force reported later on Sunday.

The combined drone and missile attack was the most powerful in three months, according to the head of Kyiv's City Military Administration, Serhii Popko. Russia's Defense Ministry on Sunday acknowledged carrying out a "mass" missile and drone attack on "critical energy infrastructure" in Ukraine, but claimed all targeted facilities were tied to Kyiv's military industry. Although Ukraine's nuclear plants were not directly impacted, several electrical substations on which they depend suffered further damage, the UN's nuclear energy watchdog said in a statement Sunday. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, only two of Ukraine's nine operational reactors continue to generate power at full capacity. (Also Sunday, President Biden authorized for the first time the use of US-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine to strike inside Russia.)
Malala Yousafzai, the crusading activist who has been fighting for the rights of women and girls since childhood, says she's been shocked at how quickly those rights have been eroded in Afghanistan since the Taliban retook control in 2021. "I never imagined that the rights of women would be compromised so easily," the 27-year-old tells the BBC, reflecting on the morality laws that have stripped women and girls of dozens of rights relating to everything from travel and education to clothing, singing, and even making eye contact. "The restrictions are just so extreme that it does not even make sense to anybody." It was in neighboring Pakistan where Yousafzai was shot by a member of the Taliban as she sat on a school bus at age 15.
Two ex-police officers in Missouri were indicted separately this week and accused of similar crimespulling over women and searching their phones to find nude photos. Former Missouri State Highway Patrol officer David McKnight, 39, and former Florissant officer Julian Alcala, 29, face federal charges that accuse them of depriving the rights of several women, as well as destroying evidence, reports the AP. A rep for the FBI's St. Louis office tells CNN that the cases aren't linked, calling them "a matter of coincidence."

Case No. 1: McKnight, 39, victimized nine women between September 2023 and Aug. 19, his indictment said, per the AP. According to the indictment, McKnight would typically pull over a woman for a traffic violation and tell her he needed to look at her phone to either verify identity or confirm insurance coverage. McKnight then searched the phones and used his own phone to photograph nude pictures he found, the indictment said. McKnight was arrested by patrol investigators on Aug. 21 and resigned five days later, according to patrol Capt. Scott White. McKnight pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on Thursday.

McKnight, 39, victimized nine women between September 2023 and Aug. 19, his indictment said, per the AP. According to the indictment, McKnight would typically pull over a woman for a traffic violation and tell her he needed to look at her phone to either verify identity or confirm insurance coverage. McKnight then searched the phones and used his own phone to photograph nude pictures he found, the indictment said. McKnight was arrested by patrol investigators on Aug. 21 and resigned five days later, according to patrol Capt. Scott White. McKnight pleaded not guilty during a court appearance on Thursday. Case No. 2: Alcala was accused of crimes involving 20 women between Feb. 6 and May 18; five of the alleged crimes happened on the same day. Alcala confiscated phones from women under the auspices of confirming insurance coverage and vehicle registration, per his indictment. Like McKnight, he was accused of searching the phones for nude photos, then using his own phone to take pictures. The indictment said Alcala also found a video on one victim's phone and texted the video to his own phone. He's also named in four lawsuits filed against him and the suburb of Florissant. Alcala had been with the department since January 2023. He resigned in June amid an FBI investigation and pleaded not guilty on Friday.

Alcala was accused of crimes involving 20 women between Feb. 6 and May 18; five of the alleged crimes happened on the same day. Alcala confiscated phones from women under the auspices of confirming insurance coverage and vehicle registration, per his indictment. Like McKnight, he was accused of searching the phones for nude photos, then using his own phone to take pictures. The indictment said Alcala also found a video on one victim's phone and texted the video to his own phone. He's also named in four lawsuits filed against him and the suburb of Florissant. Alcala had been with the department since January 2023. He resigned in June amid an FBI investigation and pleaded not guilty on Friday. Speaking out: One of McKnight's alleged victims, Emily Northern, tells KFVS that when McKnight pulled her over for expired tags, he took her phone, which had an e-copy of her insurance card, back to his patrol car for nearly 15 minutes. When she got it back, she says she noticed he'd been in her photos folder for five minutes, as well as spent time in her Snapchat, texts, and settings. "It was really violating," she says.

One of McKnight's alleged victims, Emily Northern, tells KFVS that when McKnight pulled her over for expired tags, he took her phone, which had an e-copy of her insurance card, back to his patrol car for nearly 15 minutes. When she got it back, she says she noticed he'd been in her photos folder for five minutes, as well as spent time in her Snapchat, texts, and settings. "It was really violating," she says. Reaction: "We are disgusted at this behavior, which is a complete betrayal of the values we uphold and in no way reflects the professionalism and integrity of our dedicated officers," the Florissant Police Department said in a statement regarding Alcala. As for McKnight, White simply said that officers "are held to high standards, and if it is determined that those standards were not met, they are held accountable."

(More police officers stories.)
The Justice Department is opening a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of an Illinois woman inside her own home by a sheriff's deputy. Sonya Massey, 36, was killed by former Sangamon County deputy Sean Grayson in July amid an exchange over a pot of boiling water. Grayson is white, and Massey was Black. Details of the incident raise "serious concerns" about how the sheriff's office interacts with Black people and those having mental health problems, according to a Justice Department letter to the county cited by CNN . The department is requesting all records related to the shooting, per the AP .

Grayson, who has been charged with murder and fired as a deputy, says he feared for his safety because of the boiling water. Massey had called police to report a prowler, and Grayson and his partner searched outside before following Massey inside. As she handled the pot of water at the stove, she twice said to the deputies, "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus," per the New York Times. Grayson ordered her to drop the pot and shot her when she did not. The previous day, Grayson's mother had called 911 seeking help because she said her daughter was having a mental breakdown. (More Sonya Massey stories.)
Per NPR, which takes an in-depth look at positions Carr has taken and what he might do as FCC chair, Carr has turned in recent years from "a relatively conventional Republican with a pro-corporate outlook" to an embracer of "Trumpian themes about social media, tech, and television companies." He authored the FCC portion of the controversial Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's suggested plan for a then-hypothetical second Trump term. In his announcement, Trump said Carr "has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans' Freedoms, and held back our Economy." But he won't have a GOP majority at the commission right away; Trump will first need to nominate a third Republican, who must then be confirmed by the Senate. (More Federal Communications Commission stories.)
A group of 32 American students have been selected to attend the University of Oxford as part of the prestigious Rhodes scholar program in an international class representing more than 70 nations, reports the AP. The program provides scholarships covering all expenses at England's storied university. Nearly 3,000 US students applied to pursue graduate degrees beginning in October 2025, the Office of the American Secretary of the Rhodes Trust in McLean, Virginia, said Sunday. Some of the recipients:
An investigation in Las Vegas is underway after a local dad who called 911 over a break-in at his home was shot to death by police when they responded to the call. Per a release from Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, reports started pouring in early Tuesday about a shooting on Wine River Drive. Those included one from 43-year-old Brandon Durham, who'd stated "multiple people were outside shooting" and that he was barricading himself in his bathroom with his teen daughter, Koren told reporters on Thursday, per NBC News .

When cops arrived, "they observed damage to the house and could hear screaming coming from inside the residence," per the police release. The release notes that Officer Alexander Bookman then kicked in the front door and entered the home, finding Durham, in his underwear, struggling with a female suspect, who was wearing a red hoodie. "Hey, drop the knife," Bookman can be heard saying on bodycam footage shown by police Thursday, per NBC. Bookman fired his gun a couple of seconds after that, apparently striking Durham.

A criminal complaint seen by KSNV indicated that 31-year-old suspect Alejandra Boudreauxwho Koren notes had some sort of relationship with Durhamapparently wanted to be shot by police, in what's commonly called "suicide by cop." Boudreaux was arrested at the scene and faces charges of home invasion with a deadly weapon; assault with a deadly weapon that constitutes domestic violence; willful or wanton disregard of safety of persons resulting in death; and child abuse, neglect, or endangerment. She's set to appear in court on Monday.

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"The loss of life in any type of incident like this is always tragic, and it's something we take very seriously," Koren says, per NBC. She notes that an investigation continues into the Bookman's use of force, including his "threat perception" in the moment. Meanwhile, Durham's 15-year-old daughter, Isabella, says that police treated her dad like he was the suspect. "I want justice for my father," she tells KSNV. Diane Wright, Durham's sister, said at the family's own Thursday presser, per KLAS: "My brother is dead because a police officer was not properly trained." Others weigh in here. (More police shooting stories.)
In 2018, a century after his grandmother's beloved older brother was killed in France during the closing days of World War I, Joby Warrick wrote about his efforts to find out what had happened to Marine Pvt. Foster Stevens. Warrick says he received a "powerful response" from readersbut he wasn't expecting to hear a detailed account of his great-uncle's death in the voice of a man who was there. He says he received a letter from Ohio man Byron Scarbrough, saying, "My grandfather was Private James Scarbrough, 83rd Company 3/6, and he considered Foster one of his very best friends."

In what Warrick calls a "jaw-dropping series of coincidences," James Scarbrough, who had long been silent about his wartime experiences, opened up to his grandson in the years before his death, recounting memories including his friendship with Stevens, who was assigned to his rifle company in June 1918, two months after he arrived in France. "We both liked to raise hell, hunt, and fish," Scarbrough said. "We were like two peas in a pod." Byron Scarbrough taped many of the conversations, including the one in which his grandfather, who died in 1989, finally spoke about Stevens' death after a 1985 visit to a war cemetery in France.

Scarbrough said Stevens, who had been by his side in many battles, was killed by shrapnel during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, which historians consider the biggest battle US troops have ever been involved in. Stevens was one of more than 26,000 American soldiers killed in the offensive.

Scarbrough said Stevens was thrown from his foxhole by a German shell that landed moments before the trench whistle gave the signal to attack. "A piece of shrapnel the size of a silver dollar had gone in his mouth and out the back of his neck," he said. "I was as grieved and shocked as a man could be."

Scarbrough said he returned to the site that night. "I scooped him up. I sat there with him all night, trying to find the words, not knowing what to say, as if he could hear me," he said. "It was the longest night of the war for me."

He said he buried his friend at sunrise. "I dug him a grave, stepped down and laid my friend there," he said. "Throwing that first shovel of dirt on him hurt me more than throwing dirt on my own father's face." Stevens was later reburied in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in northeast France. More than 14,000 Americans are buried there, including almost 500 doughboys who were never identified.

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Stevens died on Nov. 2, 1918, but his family didn't get the telegram until Nov. 30 that year, weeks after the Nov. 11 armistice, Warrick writes at the Washington Post. His family had celebrated the end of the war, believing the 25-year-old would soon return. More than a century later, relatives were "initially awestruck" by the story Byron Scarbrough shared and "later came to see it as a gift and to see the storyteller as a long-lost family friend," Stevens writes. "For the first time, the Stevens family knew what had happened on Nov. 2, 1918. More important, we knew that someone was with Foster Stevens at the end and saw to his burial." Click for the full piece. (More World War I stories.)
Donald Trump has made clear to aides that he's sticking with Fox host Pete Hegseth as his pick for defense secretary amid allegations of a sexual assault, reports the New York Times. The newspaper's Maggie Haberman reports that Trump spoke with Hegseth a few days ago, after the Trump team first learned of the 2017 incident. Hegseth has acknowledged that he paid an undisclosed amount to the woman as part of a financial settlement that includes a non-disclosure clause. Police in Monterey, California, investigated the allegations at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa but brought no charges. Hegseth maintained the sex in his hotel room was consensual, but a friend of the woman sent the Trump team a detailed memo outlining their encounter and disputing that.
OnlyFans models Bonnie Blue (left and far right) and Annie Knight will be attending a schoolies event this year. Source: Instagram/BonnieBlue

OnlyFans model Bonnie Blue says she has arrived at a schoolies event despite her Australian visa being revoked at the start of the month. However, her exact location and whether it is in Australia has been kept secret.

The adult content creator, 25, has travelled from the UK to a popular schoolies destination where many Aussie teens will be celebrating the end of their exams. Yahoo News understands she has intentionally withheld her whereabouts, and is relying on word-of-mouth referrals to get in touch with anyone interested in engaging with her and filming X-rated content. She is also expected to appear at popular schoolies events to network with attendees.

Yahoo News understands the location was chosen to avoid authorities being aggravated by her behaviour  after she explicitly announced her wish to pleasure "barely legal 18-year-olds" on video for her OnlyFans account.

OnlyFans models drop hints about their secret schoolies location

Alongside Annie Knight, an Aussie OnlyFans model, Bonnie is dropping hints of her location on social media to engage with those who want to meet her and participate in content which she will later upload to her OnlyFans account.

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"Okay, we're at schoolies and we thought we'd give you a little clue of where we're going to be tomorrow. See you soon boys," Bonnie said in a video posted, standing on a beach with Annie.

The pair have further hinted at their secret schoolies location with a joint photo on Instagram. The caption read, "Feel Intrigued, Join In"  leaving many to believe they are in Fiji based on the first letters of each word.

Another hint from Bonnie suggests a more specific location, sharing an Instagram photo and caption with a plant emoji and the word "island" afterwards, with several Fiji islands synonymous with schoolies.

Fiji is "by far" the most popular overseas schoolies destination, according to Cover-More Travel Insurance.

Bonnie (left) and Annie are dropping hints on their location on social media. Source: Instagram/BonnieBlue

Timeline of Bonnie Blue's schoolies controversy

This will be Bonnie's second consecutive schoolies attendance after she joined several other OnlyFans models last year on the Gold Coast to film X-rated content with teens.

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After she announced a similar plan this year, she received a wave of backlash from some Aussies who strongly disagreed with her behaviour, generating over 20,000 signatures in a petition to have her Australian visa revoked. The frenzy sparked a reaction from the Gold Coast mayor, with Tom Tate urging schoolies to not risk their reputation or future careers by engaging with the "cougars".

Bonnie's Australian visa was then revoked, with reports suggesting her outward admission of her work intentions online was in breach of her visitor visa.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

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A criminal network stretching from India to Canada made money smuggling families seeking better lives in the United Statesincluding an Indian family of four who died in gusting snow and bone-chilling temperatures two years ago, federal prosecutors plan to argue at a trial starting Monday in Minnesota. Prosecutors have accused Indian national Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, of running the scheme and Steve Shand, 50, of Florida of waiting in a truck for 11 migrants, including the couple and two children who died after they tried to walk across the border to the US.

Jagdish Patel, 39, died along with his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s, and with their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi, and their 3-year-old son, Dharmik. Patel is a common Indian surname and the victims were not related to Harshkumar Patel, who has pleaded not guilty, as has Shand. The family, from the village of Dingucha in Gujarat state, is believed to have spent hours wandering fields in blizzard conditions as the wind chill reached minus 36 Fahrenheit. Canadian authorities found the Patels' frozen bodies on the morning of Jan. 19, 2022. Jagdish Patel was holding Dharmik, who was wrapped in a blanket.

Federal prosecutors say Patel and Shand were part of an operation that scouted clients in India, got them Canadian student visas, arranged transportation, and smuggled them into the US, mostly through Washington state or Minnesota. The US Border Patrol arrested more than 14,000 Indians on the Canadian border in the year ending Sept. 30. By 2022, the Pew Research Center estimates there were more than 725,000 Indians living illegally in the US, behind only Mexicans and El Salvadorans.

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Over a five-week period, court documents say, Patel and Shand often communicated about the bitter cold as they smuggled five groups of Indians over a quiet stretch of border. One night in December 2021, Shand messaged Patel that it was "cold as hell" while waiting to pick up one group, the documents say. "They going to be alive when they get here?" he allegedly wrote. During the last trip in January, Shand had messaged Patel, saying: "Make sure everyone is dressed for the blizzard conditions, please," according to prosecutors. Prosecutors say Shand told investigators that Patel paid him about $25,000 for the five trips. (More migrant stories.)
President Biden has made a major policy reversal by allowing Ukraine to fire US ballistic missiles against Russia. The Kremlin has issued a critical response, though skeptics wonder if the policy shift comes too late to have much benefit for Ukraine. Coverage:

The missiles: They're called Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, and are pronounced "attack 'ems," per the New York Times. The US has until now forbidden Ukraine to use the short-range ballistic missiles, which can hit targets about 190 miles away. The newspaper notes they are often called "long-range" missiles, but they are technically of the short-range variety, with nowhere near the range of, say, cruise missiles.
President-elect Trump confirmed his intention to use the military for mass deportations in a post on Truth Social around 4am Monday. He responded to a post about the policy from Tom Fitton, longtime president of the conservative group Judicial Watch, with a single word: "TRUE!!!" In the Nov. 8 post Trump replied to, Fitton wrote that there were reports the incoming Trump administration was "prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program."

Last year, Trump adviser Stephen Miller told the New York Times that military funds would be used to build "vast holding facilities that would function as staging centers." Miller will be deputy chief of policy in the incoming administration. Other immigration hardliners in the new administration include Todd Homan, former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, who will serve as "border czar." Trump said last week that Homan "will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin."

On Monday, Homan told Fox News that he plans to "take the handcuffs off ICE" and that the priority is to "arrest the bad guys first." He said, however, that there are a lot of "what-ifs" and ICE will need more resources, including help from the Department of Defense, ABC News reports. "So, I've been asked a thousand times, how many people can you remove the first year? Well, how many agents do I have?" he said. "How many buses do I have? How much money do I have for airplanes? Right? Can DOD assist? Because DOD can take a lot off our plate." (More President-elect Trump stories.)
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Mahir Haneef

TDT| Manama

In a vivid display of solidarity and shared heritage, the Kingdom of Bahrain has illuminated its skyline with the vibrant colours of the Omani flag. This gesture comes as the Sultanate of Oman celebrates the 54th anniversary of its National Day, a milestone that resonates deeply within the region.

Across Bahrain, iconic buildings and vital installations shimmered with the red, white, and green hues of the Omani flag, offering a striking tribute to the enduring bonds between the two nations. From the bustling capital of Manama to quieter corners of the Kingdom, the glowing lights were more than an aesthetic spectacle; they symbolized a relationship rooted in history, shared values, and mutual respect.

The coordinated effort by Bahraini authorities underscores the significance of the National Day, not just as a celebration for Oman, but as a regional acknowledgment of the Sultanates achievements and its steadfast role in Gulf cooperation. The decoration of key facilities - public and private - signifies Bahrain's commitment to reinforcing the unity that binds the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

This annual celebration, cherished across Oman as a reflection of the Sultanates cultural heritage and progress, finds a poignant echo in Bahrains participation. For Bahrainis, the lights are a reminder of the brotherly ties that transcend borders, a testament to a partnership nurtured over decades of shared history and common aspirations.

Yet, the celebration also invites reflection on the broader narrative of Gulf unity. In an era marked by shifting alliances and growing complexities, such gestures of goodwill serve as a reaffirmation of the values that underpin regional collaboration. As Bahrain joins Oman in its moment of pride, it sends a resounding message: the Gulf is strongest when its bonds are celebrated and its unity illuminated for the world to see.

In the days leading up to Omans National Day, Bahrains streets were abuzz with admiration for its sister nation. Social media platforms overflowed with images and videos of the lit-up buildings, a digital manifestation of the physical tribute unfolding across Bahrains cityscapes. Citizens of both nations shared in the moment, expressing gratitude for the ties that make such gestures not only possible but deeply meaningful.

As the Sultanate of Oman commemorates its National Day, Bahrains participation stands as a luminous chapter in the ongoing story of Gulf brotherhood. The glowing buildings are more than just a tribute; they are a pledge to continue building a future defined by cooperation, respect, and shared prosperity.
During the day you won't see anything but tumbleweeds, cattle and dingoes. But when the sun goes down the landscape becomes magical.

Sixty visual and acoustic monitoring sites have been set up across a property in western Queensland. Source: Richard Seaton

Acoustic and visual surveillance devices at a six-million-hectare farm have picked up signs of something incredible. During the day, the only signs of life on the western Queensland property are wandering cattle, the odd dingo, and tumbleweeds, and theres little indication its home to a thriving tapestry of rare and unusual tiny creatures.

It's pretty flat. It looks desolate when you're out there. But as soon as the sun goes down, the place comes to life, Hayden de Villiers a field ecologist with Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) explained to Yahoo News.

Traditional monitoring of the outback landscape had been a challenge because most native animals are afraid of humans. Walking through the property, animals will take notice of you. Theyre usually fairly skittish, and they'll take off, de Villiers said.

But the 60 electronic monitoring systems don't have the problem of frightening wildlife away. And they are protected from livestock by tall fences, and powered by solar panels which can collect data for months. Theyll continuously run until the SD card fills up, de Villiers said.

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What did the monitoring cameras find? Ecologists set up monitoring stations at NAPCos Coorbaulka Station in June 2024. Source: Richard Seaton/AWC

Tiny predator found to be 'unexpectedly' thriving

Data has only been downloaded from eight of the AWCs cameras at the North Australian Pastoral Company station. And most of the images captured were of the tumbleweeds that have been dominating the landscape during the dry season.

But excitingly, theyve also snapped small nocturnal predators with large upright ears, known as Kowari.

"There seems to be a healthy population of them, which was unexpected," de Villiers said. "That's been the highlight so far, but as we continue to search for more creatures out there, it'll probably get even more exciting."

Small marsupial bilbies have also been spotted. They once occupied most of semi-arid Australia, but foxes and cats have picked them off, and livestock has eroded its habitat, meaning it has been obliterated from 80 per cent of its former range.

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It is only when the sun goes down that the landscape springs to life. Source: Brad Leue/AWC

Researchers now searching for elusive bird

AWC CEO Tim Allard said with 44 per cent of Australia covered by pastoral land, working with leaseholders is key to securing the future of Australias threatened wildlife. "Assessing the extant conservation values of NAPCos properties is first priority of the partnership as this data will enable us to assess the benefits of different land management options for biodiversity," he said.

Sadly, feral cats were spotted sitting in the nests of native birds. Source: Richard Seaton/AWC

The pilot survey began in May 2023, but its only now that the data is beginning to be analysed. By using AI, researchers were able to quickly weed out images that didnt show the rare and endangered species they were searching for.

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They hope to also find evidence of the plains wanderer, a shy, ground-based bird thats endemic to Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia. It's federally listed as critically endangered and estimates suggest between 250 and 1,000 now survive in the wild.

While it's wildlife that AWC is working to monitor, they have also made some disturbing finds. Invasive cats were photographed occupying the nests of raptors that live along the creek line, highlighting the need to bring the predators under control.

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TDT| Manama

Email: ashen@newsofbahrain.com

The Kingdom of Bahrain marked a historic moment today as Her Excellency Fatima bint Jaffer Al Sairafi, Minister of Tourism, inaugurated the Middle Easts first-ever edition of the World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism.

Addressing the gathering at Exhibition World Bahrain, she described the event as a transformative milestone, emphasizing its alignment with Bahrains Tourism Strategy 2022-2026.

Opening her remarks, Al Sairafi expressed gratitude to the leadership of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for their unwavering support in making this event a reality. She also thanked the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for selecting Bahrain as host, underscoring the Kingdoms dedication to advancing tourism and showcasing its cultural heritage and diverse culinary traditions.

This forum serves as an exceptional platform for global dialogue and cooperation in gastronomy tourism, Al Sairafi noted, emphasizing the sectors growing importance as a global economic driver. She highlighted Bahrains recent successes, with the tourism sector seeing a 25% increase in visitor numbers and a 32% rise in revenues in 2023, alongside a 10.7% growth in the accommodation and food services sectors.

Al Sairafi celebrated the forums diverse participation, with experts from 50 countries and over 500 delegates gathering to share insights and best practices. This exchange of perspectives enriches our discussions and inspires innovative solutions, she said, calling for a collaborative approach to amplify the potential of gastronomy tourism.

Describing gastronomy as more than an industry, Al Sairafi framed it as a bridge that connects cultures, celebrates diversity, and empowers communities. She urged participants to seize the opportunity to foster innovation and sustainability, emphasizing the need for an interconnected future where gastronomy tourism plays a pivotal role.

As we shape the future of gastronomy tourism, we must work together to create a more inclusive and sustainable sector that benefits not just our region, but the global community as a whole, she concluded.

The forum, which runs through November 19th, is expected to leave a lasting imprint on Bahrains tourism landscape, showcasing the Kingdoms commitment to global collaboration and its vision of using gastronomy as a driver for economic and cultural development.
Ashen Tharaka

TDT| Manama

Delivering a spirited address at the inaugural session of the 9th UN World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism in Bahrain, Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), celebrated the historic occasion of hosting the forum in the Middle East for the first time.

"This is the best forum you can attend," Pololikashvili declared, reflecting on the evolution of the Gastronomy Tourism Forum since its inception nine years ago. He highlighted the growing interest and diversity in gastronomy tourism, which has transformed from a focus on food preparation to a broader platform incorporating technology, innovation, and cultural exchange.

"We have brought the world closer here in Bahrain," Pololikashvili remarked, noting the presence of over 600 participants from 50 countries, representing all continents. He emphasized the power of gastronomy to connect cultures and promote destinations, stating, "Gastronomy can make people fall in love with your country. It shows the culture and beauty of your nation."

Pololikashvili underscored the forums role in promoting lesser-known culinary traditions, such as African and Middle Eastern gastronomy, which he said remain underrepresented globally. "Middle Eastern gastronomy, like its culture, deserves to be more widely recognized," he said, describing the forum in Bahrain as a "historical step" in showcasing the regions culinary heritage to the world.

He also highlighted the UNWTO's efforts to promote gastronomy tourism on a regional level, referencing the first Asia-Pacific Gastronomy Forum held in Cebu, Philippines, and initiatives in Africa, including Zambia and Zimbabwe, to spotlight local cuisines.

Expressing gratitude to Bahrains Minister of Tourism, H.E. Fatima bint Jaffer Al Sairafi, and her team, Pololikashvili commended the Kingdoms hospitality, cultural authenticity, and leadership in hosting the forum. "We are right to have chosen Bahrain for this historic forum. Its a unique, mysterious, and wonderful country," he said, urging participants to explore Bahrains culinary offerings and forge connections with its people.

The forum, which has gathered global leaders, experts, and stakeholders, continues to explore how gastronomy can drive tourism, promote sustainability, and enhance cultural understanding. Pololikashvili concluded with warm wishes for Oman on its National Day, suggesting that the Middle Easts gastronomic journey could extend to other regional nations in the years ahead.

With this landmark event, Bahrain is positioned as a key player in the global gastronomy tourism landscape, paving the way for the Middle East to take its rightful place on the world culinary stage.
TORONTO, Nov. 18, 2024 /CNW/ - Retail Council of Canada (RCC) is proud to announce its partnership with Machool, an innovative shipping platform that leverages tech and AI technology to provide retailers with customized, cost-effective, and sustainable shipping solutions.

With 50% of consumers now expecting free and fast shipping*, Machool helps retailers of all sizes streamline logistics and secure top rates with no volume commitments.

Shipping made easy with Machool and RCC (CNW Group/Retail Council of Canada)

"Shipping is more than just moving products  it's an opportunity to enhance customer experience, meet business goals, and drive growth," said Santo Ligotti, Retail Council of Canada's VP Marketing and Member Services. "Machool's tech and AI platform allows retailers to compare real-time shipping rates, align shipping choices with their strategic goals, and access unbeatable rates, leveraging RCC's collective buying power across 20+ shipping partners".

"We're thrilled to partner with the Retail Council of Canada," said Kamyar Asadibeiky, CEO, President & Founder of Machool Technologies Ltd. "At Machool, we're committed to providing innovative shipping solutions that truly benefit retailers from coast to coast. Our tech and AI-driven platform moves beyond the traditional 'more volume, better rates' approach, delivering seamless, hassle-free shipping at the best rates for every member. From small shops to large retailers, Machool is here to support businesses across Canada with reliable, cost-effective shipping strategies."

With the holiday season approaching, Machool's platform is an essential tool for retailers. Its features empower retailers to:

Compare and Save : Compare real-time rates across multiple partners to find the fastest, greenest, or most cost-effective solution .





: Compare real-time rates across multiple partners to find the fastest, greenest, or most cost-effective solution Access the Best Rates, With No Commitment : Take advantage of pre-negotiated rates without any volume requirements.





: Take advantage of pre-negotiated rates without any volume requirements. Easily Integrate : Effortlessly connect e-commerce platforms via API or plugin to start shipping online with no fees.





: Effortlessly connect e-commerce platforms via API or plugin to start shipping online with no fees. Gain Complete Control: Manage tracking, invoicing, and reporting in one place with advanced tools, and customize Machool's portal to match a retailer's brand with white label solutions.

Machool is free to join with no license fees.

For more information or to sign up, visit https://www.retailcouncil.org/membership/machool-rcc/.

*RCC X Leger 2024 Holiday Shopping Survey

About Machool

Machool is an AI driven dynamic technology platform that transforms the way businesses manage shipping and logistics. With access to a diverse network of trusted carriers, Machool empowers businesses to simplify and optimize their shipping operations, from small e-commerce companies to large retailers. Through the Machool platform, users can seamlessly compare rates, manage shipments, and access exclusive discounts, ensuring cost-effectiveness and scalability for their logistics needs.

Machool is dedicated to providing flexible, reliable solutions, fostering strong partnerships to support Canadian and global businesses alike. Notably, Machool's recent collaborations with industry leaders like Air Canada Cargo highlight its commitment to delivering enhanced e-commerce services that respond to a rapidly changing market. Headquartered in Canada, Machool's mission is to empower businesses with the tools they need to connect with customers worldwide efficiently. https://www.machool.com/

About Retail Council of Canada

Retail is Canada's largest private-sector employer with over 2.3 million Canadians working in our industry. This sector is a major economic contributor, generating more than $93 billion annually in wages and employee benefits. In 2023, core retail sales (excluding vehicles and gasoline) exceeded $502 billion. Retail Council of Canada (RCC) members account for more than two-thirds of these core retail sales and 95 per cent of the grocery market. Our membership extends across the country, embracing over 54,000 storefronts in diverse formats such as department, grocery, specialty, discount, independent retailers, online merchants, and quick service restaurants. As the Voice of Retail in Canada, RCC, a not-for-profit, industry-funded association, proudly represents retail businesses of all sizes, from small independents to large national chains, in communities nationwide. retailcouncil.org.

SOURCE Retail Council of Canada

Santo Ligotti, Vice President, Marketing and Member Services, [email protected]
PALO ALTO, CA, Nov. 16, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, concluded a visit to Palo Alto, California, where he met with business and tech leaders.

The Minister met with the CEO and Founder of Plug and Play, one of the world's most active startup accelerators. He also met with the CEO and Founder of Groq, a company specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) chip technology.

Minister Champagne also met with key members of the C100, a not-for-profit association of over 400 Canadian expatriates advancing tech entrepreneurship in the Silicon Valley area.

While in Silicon Valley, Minister Champagne took the opportunity to visit the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit, which is designed to accelerate the adoption of cutting-edge commercial technologies by the U.S. military.

The Minister was also a guest speaker at the Trilateral Commission's North American Group meeting where he was interviewed on a panel by Michael Duffy, Opinions editor at large of The Washington Post.

Quote

"Coming on the heels of the launch of the Canadian AI Safety Institute, this visit to Silicon Valley was a great opportunity to engage with tech leaders and entrepreneurs. As AI and other emerging technologies reshape national security, the economy and society at large, Canada will continue to play a central role in strengthening North America's long-term competitiveness."

 The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

Associated links

Stay connected

Find more services and information on the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada website.

Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media.

X (Twitter): @ISED_CA | Facebook: Canadian Innovation | Instagram: @cdninnovation | LinkedIn: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Contacts: Audrey Milette, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, [email protected]; Media Relations, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, [email protected]
Starting today until Nov. 24 , 100 per cent of the proceeds from each Holiday Smile Cookie sold will be donated to local charities and community groups across Canada , including Tim Hortons Foundation Camps.

, 100 per cent of the proceeds from each Holiday Smile Cookie sold will be donated to local charities and community groups across , including Tim Hortons Foundation Camps. Last year, Tims guests helped raise $9.8 million through the inaugural Holiday Smile Cookie campaign.

through the inaugural Holiday Smile Cookie campaign. The Tim Hortons Holiday Smile Cookie is a delicious white chocolate sugar cookie infused with red and green sprinkles and hand-decorated with a white icing smile face.

TORONTO, Nov. 18, 2024 /CNW/ - Tim Hortons second-annual Holiday Smile Cookie campaign is back today until Nov. 24 with 100 per cent of proceeds donated to local charities and community groups, including Tim Hortons Foundation Camps.

"Supporting communities is at the heart of the Tim Hortons brand and there's no better time than the holiday season for us to rally with guests, Tims restaurant owners and team members to spread kindness right across Canada," says Axel Schwan, President of Tim Hortons.

Tim Hortons Holiday Smile Cookie campaign is here, with 100% of proceeds donated to local charities and community groups, including Tim Hortons Foundation Camps (CNW Group/Tim Hortons)

"Since 1996, Canadians have shown incredible support for our iconic Smile Cookie program, which has now raised over $129 million for charities and community groups. Last year we launched the inaugural Holiday Smile Cookie campaign and it was an amazing success, raising $9.8 million. We're looking forward to serving Canadians millions of hand-decorated Holiday Smile Cookies starting today and together supporting over 400 local charities and community groups, including Tim Hortons Foundation Camps."

The mission for Tim Hortons Foundation Camps is to provide life-changing opportunities for underserved youth across Canada to help them reach their full potential. Over 320,000 youth have been supported through multi-year development programs in the foundation's 50-year history.

"We cannot thank Canadians enough for their support and generosity throughout Holiday Smile Cookie week! Each cookie holds the power to change the life of someone in your community," says Caroline Barham, President of Tim Hortons Foundation Camps, and Western Canada Restaurant Owner. "With 100% of proceeds donated to local charities and Tim Hortons Foundation Camps, even the smallest bites make the biggest difference!"

Visit timhortons.ca/holiday-smile-cookie to learn about the local charity or community group being supported in your region along with Tim Hortons Foundation Camps.

ABOUT TIM HORTONS

In 1964, the first Tim Hortons restaurant in Hamilton, Ontario opened its doors and Canadians have been ordering Tim Hortons iconic Original Blend coffee, Double-Double coffees, Donuts and Timbits in the years since. Over nearly 60 years, Tim Hortons has captured the hearts and taste buds of Canadians and has become synonymous with serving Canada's favourite coffee. Tim Hortons is Canada's largest restaurant chain operating in the quick service industry with nearly 4,000 restaurants across the country. More than a coffee and bake shop, Tim Hortons is part of the Canadian fabric and guests can enjoy hot and cold specialty beverages  including lattes, cappuccinos and espressos, teas and our famous Iced Capps  alongside delicious breakfast, sandwiches, wraps, soups and more. Tim Hortons has more than 5,700 restaurants in Canada, the United States and around the world. For more information on Tim Hortons visit TimHortons.ca.

SOURCE Tim Hortons

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The wreck of a US warship sunk in a World War II battle dubbed one of the bravest ever stands by a US Navy vessel has been found in the depths of the Pacific, US and Australian officials announced Monday.

Known as the dancing mouse due to its slippery movements in that final, fatal fight with the Imperial Japanese Navy, the destroyer USS Edsall went down off the coast of Australia in 1942, under the command of Lt. Joshua Nix.

Joshua Nix and his crew fought valiantly, evading 1,400 shells from Japanese battleships and cruisers before being attacked by 26 carrier dive bombers, taking only one fatal hit, US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy said Monday in announcing the find of the Edsalls wreck.

Speaking alongside Kennedy, Australias chief of navy, Vice Adm. Mark Hammond, said the wreck was found with the help of advanced hydrographic survey capabilities aboard naval support ship MV Stoker.

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Hammond also praised the Edsall crew for fighting a string of battles to help protect Australia during the early days of World War II before the vessel sunk on March 1, 1942.

On that day, a Japanese carrier-based plane spotted the US destroyer around 200 miles south-southeast of Christmas Island, according to an account of the Edsalls final battle on the website of the US Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC).

Japanese Vice Adm. Chuichi Nagumo was reportedly incensed that the US warship was spotted within 16 miles of his forces and ordered them immediately to intercept, according to the NHHC account by director Samuel Cox.

USS EDSALL (DD-219), 1920-42. - Naval History and Heritage Command

The old US destroyer  Edsall was commissioned in 1920  and its 4-inch guns would prove to be no match for the newer Japanese fleet with bigger guns and dozens of aircraft carrying 500-pound bombs.

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Nixs position was hopeless from the moment Edsall was sighted, Cox wrote.

But the captain of the US destroyer didnt give up.

As a last gesture of defiance, like the famous cartoon of the little mouse flipping the bird at a huge screaming eagle, Lieutenant Nix chose to make a fight of it, Cox wrote.

He had the destroyer lay a smokescreen, execute course changes and change speeds to evade the Japanese shells while launching torpedoes that narrowly missed one Japanese warship.

After seeing Edsall evade more than a thousand 14-inch and 8-inch shells, Japanese commanders ordered dozens of dive bombers from their three aircraft carriers to strike, according to Coxs account, which he wrote was derived from Japanese sources.

At least one hit Edsall, and the ship began to lose its ability to maneuver.

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With fires raging and the ship settling and losing way, Lieutenant Nix pointed the bow of Edsall at the Japanese surface ships in his last act of defiance and ordered ship abandoned, Cox wrote.

The Japanese warships then turned their big guns on the disabled destroyer, finally sinking it.

But Nixs maneuvers drew the respect of Japanese witnesses, Cox wrote.

According to a Japanese observer, Edsall performed like a Japanese dancing mouse (a popular domesticated pet in Japan, also known as waltzing mice or whirler for its manic and bizarre movements), the US naval historian wrote.

Dont give up the ship

Following the announcement of the wrecks discovery, officials were effusive in their praise of Nix.

The commanding officer of Edsall lived up to the U.S. Navy tenet, Dont give up the ship, even when faced with overwhelming odds, the US chief of naval operations, Adm. Lisa Franchetti, said in a statement Monday.

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The wreck of this ship is a hallowed site, serving as a marker for the 185 U.S. Navy personnel and 31 U.S. Army Air Force pilots aboard at the time, almost all of whom were lost when Edsall succumbed to her battle damage.

While most of those aboard the Edsall died at sea that day, some were rescued from the water by the Japanese and taken prisoner.

After the wars end, six decapitated bodies found in graves on Celebes Island (now Sulawesi, Indonesia) were identified as those of Edsall crew members. Five more bodies found in the graves were not identified but were believed to be those of US pilots who had been aboard the ship, according to Coxs account.

He called the story of the Edsall one of the most gallant and valorous actions in the history of the U.S. Navy.

Historian and author Trent Hone cited Edsalls ultimate battle as the most courageous independent action by a US Navy surface ship in combat, in a 2020 survey by the US Naval Institutes Proceedings magazine.

Franchetti said Monday that the story of the Edsall, both in its defense of Australia in 1942 and in the cooperation shown by the two allies in finding the wreck this year, shows the strength of that trans-Pacific alliance.

The discovery highlighted the current AUKUS partnership, between the US, Australia and the United Kingdom, she said.

A key component of AUKUS is the development of the most cutting-edge underwater technologies of the type that enabled the discovery of Edsall in the vastness of the Indian Ocean, something not possible just a few years ago, Franchetti said.

That ability helps ensure our collective capability to preserve the peace, respond in crisis, and win decisively in war, if called, she added.

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Beijing (Gasgoo)- On November 15, Changan KAICHENG (also known as "Kaicene"), the commercial vehicle brand under Changan Automobile, launched its new brand strategy at the Auto Guangzhou 2024, accelerating its transformation into a digital new energy commercial vehicle technology brand.

Photo credit: KAICHENG

Leveraging Changan Automobile's technical expertise, KAICHENG aims to integrate cost-effective, advanced technologies into commercial vehicles, bridging the gap between passenger and commercial vehicle innovation.

In response to evolving market demands and industry challenges, KAICHENG introduced a refreshed brand identity. Traditional Changan-branded commercial vehicles will retain the current "sun" logo and continue to provide fuel-efficient, reliable products. Meanwhile, the KAICHENG brand is adopting a new "cube" logo to symbolize innovation and will focus exclusively on launching new energy vehicle models starting in 2025.

Photo credit: KAICHENG

Specifically, KAICHENG's first product under this new strategy, the V919, is slated for release in the first quarter of 2025. Over the next three years, the company plans to introduce more than six additional new energy vehicle models.

Central to this transformation is the K01 architecture, KAICHENG's first native digital new energy commercial vehicle platform. Featuring cutting-edge technologies such as decoupled design, hardware-software separation, and vehicle-cloud integration, the K01 architecture reduces R&D cycles by one year, cuts R&D costs by 40%, and boosts manufacturing efficiency by 30%.

Additionally, the K01 platform enables innovations like smart cockpits and digital chassis, offering light vans and pickups with experiences akin to that of smart passenger vehicles. Notably, KAICHENG is opening the K01 architecture to industry collaboration, supporting partners across the value chain through vehicle development, platform licensing, and ecosystem services to drive efficiency across the sector.
IF NOVEMBER 17 IS YOUR BIRTHDAY: Your popularity may increase a notch or two during the next two to three weeks. You may receive extra social invitations, make valuable connections, or be held in high esteem by your peer group. Consider filling your social calendar for December when gatherings and holiday excursions are a tradition. A take charge attitude and good sportsmanship could set in during January as healthy competitions may be happening. Romantic yearnings and fantasies might be on your mind in late January when you could enjoy a vacation or time off with a loved one. Write down your most inspiring ideas, as they may have value in the future even if it may not seem possible to act on them. Maintain a low profile in early February when you may lack important details for certain negotiations. Think twice before implementing new strategies and financial tactics at that time.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A brilliant idea might easily come your way this week. Picture it as a tiny seed of what could grow. Nurture it with love, water it with curiosity, and watch it thrive. Who knows? It could be the blueprint for your future empire.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Good communication may lead to contentment. The truth may be embellished or exaggerated but it could still be charming. Consider using more compassion if people decide to lean on you for advice or life guidance.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Encouragement and understanding could help you be a better person. While someone else may be busy keeping the fire alive, you might find yourself footing the bill. All your senses may feel improved except your business sense.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Indulging in a hobby or becoming consumed by a new study may be like a human espresso shot for your ambitions. Be mindful of spending money on things you dont need and consider focusing on investing for the long haul.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Take the time to truly listen. When someone shares their thoughts or concerns, show them genuine interest. Consider asking follow-up questions and acknowledge their feelings. Sometimes, people just need an empathetic ear.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Being a people pleaser might sometimes feel like trying to walk through a social minefield. Express gratitude for everyones efforts, even for routine tasks. Feeling appreciated could boost your morale and confidence.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Youre not here to fit into anyone elses mold, so consider boldly showing off your intelligence. Youre the artisanal meal of existence with unique, flavorful, and satisfying ideas that could make people feel more loved and at home.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Inspiration can strike at the most unexpected moments. Someone close might fuel your ambitions in the week ahead and even pick up the tab. Be careful not to get distracted by the social scene when crucial discussions are needed.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Your choices might be fulfilling and bring great contentment. You may be inspired to showcase your thoughts about important subjects. Consider giving advice or new opportunities that come your way a fair chance.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Take a moment to embrace a clear vision of a contented and fulfilling life. Bring up your goals and aspirations. Picture yourself lounging somewhere relaxing, sipping a refreshing beverage, and basking in the warm glow of life satisfaction.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Someone else might see the big picture and bring it to your attention. Giving in may bring acceptance and respect just as you are. Consider taking time to connect with your inner thoughts and drown out any outside distractions.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Inspiration is like finding a hidden treasure chest in the attic of your mind. The week ahead might bring lots of stimulation. Whether its through reading, meditation, or rubbing shoulders with others, continue nurturing your curiosity.

BIRTHDAY STAR: Actor Leslie Bibb was born in Bismarck, North Dakota, on this date in 1973. This birthday star currently portrays Dinah Donahue on the series Palm Royale. She also played Viv on American Housewife and shes appeared on episodes of Gods Favorite Idiot, Love Life, and Jupiters Legacy. Bibbs film resume includes roles in The Babysitter: Killer Queen, Law Abiding Citizen, and Iron Man.

_______

Timing affects outcomes. Explore the power of actionable astrology with Helenas personalized Star-Timer calendars: https://bit.ly/4eClZHS

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A 56-year-old Atlantic City man has pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated sexual assault stemming from a 2022 attack at the citys bus terminal, authorities said.

Eric Williams admitted Wednesday to sexually assaulting a woman in the lobby of the Atlantic City Bus Terminal on May 19, 2022.

Authorities said the woman was asleep during the assault, which was captured on the terminals surveillance camera, leading to Williams arrest.

Under the terms of a plea agreement, prosecutors are recommending a 12-year sentence in New Jersey State Prison, with Williams required to serve 85% of his term before being eligible for parole.

After release, he will be required to register as a sex offender under Megans Law and will face parole supervision for life. Sentencing is scheduled for March 19, 2025, before Judge Pamela DArcy.

The investigation was conducted by the New Jersey Transit Police Department, Atlantic City Police Department, and the prosecutors office.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Spirit Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday after a string of quarterly losses, increased competition from other low-cost carriers, debt and multiple failed mergers.

Spirit was in trouble ever since the companys merger with JetBlue failed to materialize, according to a news release from JetBlue in March.

As part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy agreement, its existing bondholders committed $350 million in equity investment as well as $300 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to keep the airline afloat through the bankruptcy process.

Meanwhile, Spirit Airlines is expecting to be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange as it deals with its debt woes.

If youre wondering if your upcoming holiday travel plans are affected by this change, you dont have to worry. The airline said in a statement that it expects to continue its flights throughout Chapter 11. Customers can still book, fly and accrue frequent flyer miles without a hitch.

The bankruptcy filing follows news that three Spirit Airlines planes were hit with gunfire while landing at Port-au-Princes airport in Haiti. The FAA decided to ban flights to the country, which is under a Level 4 travel advisory that urges U.S. citizens not to travel there.

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Katherine Rodriguez can be reached at krodriguez@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips.
Director Kevin Smith teased that some Dogma-related news would be descending from the heavens Sunday for the 25th anniversary of the films release.

He has long lamented how his star-studded 1999 film is just not available on any streaming service.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck lead the cast of Dogma as fallen angels Loki and Bartleby. Joining them are Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Alan Rickman, Chris Rock, George Carlin, Janeane Garofalo, Jason Mewes and Smith (as Jay and Silent Bob) and Alanis Morissette as the Almighty.

For years, disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob Weinstein refused to give up the rights to the New Jersey-set comedy and thwarted Smiths attempts to buy those rights.

But another company has since bought the rights from Miramax and plans to re-release the movie in theaters in 2025. Smith is onboard to tour with the resurrection of the film, just like hes done with his recent movies.

Now for the latest news: Smith has started work on a potential Dogma 2.

The director, fresh off his emotional induction to the New Jersey Hall of Fame, which aired Saturday night, made the announcement Sunday at Vulture Festival in Los Angeles.

READ MORE: Kevin Smith on The 4:30 Movie, his N.J. theater and his childhood worshipping the screen

While Deadline reported that Affleck and Damon were attached to the project, Smith clarified the status of the sequel Sunday.

To be fair, I said I started writing a sequel in my head on Thursday night, the director said on X (formerly Twitter). So a Dogma sequel script is eventually happening but that doesnt mean a movie is getting made necessarily. And while I plan to include Bartleby and Loki, Ive not spoken to Ben or Matt about it yet.

Smith, 54, is clearly excited to return to those characters, given the fact that the original film is no longer the property of the Weinsteins.

Some people will be like, Dont f---ing touch it. Youll ruin it, Smith said at the LA event, per Vulture. And Im here to tell you: I will. Im f---ing tickled. I found a way in.

He famously applied his Catholic education to the screenplay of the R-rated movie, released in November 1999. And there have been little touches of Dogma in Smiths other work.

READ MORE: See what Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd, Kevin Smith and more said at N.J. Hall of Fame ceremony

Damon previously reprised his Dogma character, Loki, in Smiths 2019 film Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.

The former angel of death shares that he was banished to Earth to live as Jason Bourne.

I guess you could say I was born again, Damon says in the movie. And what youre looking at now is my re-Bourne identity.

Smith previously said that before Harvey Weinstein became the subject of allegations of sexual assault that fueled the 2017 rise in the #MeToo movement, he turned down Weinsteins offer to make a Dogma sequel.

And earlier this year, Smith pulled an April Fools prank, saying that Dogma was getting remastered, when in truth, it wasnt even available for digital purchase.

Smiths most recent film, The 4:30 Movie, released in September, is an 80s-set tribute to his teen years, complete with homage to young love and his other love  the movies.

He both filmed the movie and premiered it at SModcastle Cinemas in Atlantic Highlands, site of his childhood movie theater, which he teamed up with friends to buy in 2022. Smith, who grew up in Highlands and mainly resides in California, now lives above the theater when hes in Jersey.

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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup.
A South Jersey man is accused of stabbing a student of a local high school during a fight that he instigated between him and two other teenage boys leaving the building, according to police.

Police arrested Augustine Bucco outside Paulsboro High School after the student was stabbed several times in the chest Saturday morning, according to police reports shared by the Gloucester County Prosecutors Office.

Bucco is charged with second-degree aggravated assault, as well as third and fourth-degree weapons offenses, police said in court documents.
Jersey City has awarded more than $11.5 million for architectural work for its Pompidou modern art museum project since 2018 and Monday night the city was expected to authorize $407,500 more.

The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA), the agency handling city spending for the building of the art/community/event space, has awarded the Netherlands-based firm OMA at least $11.6 million since a $400,000 contract was awarded in 2018, three years before the museum was announced.
Hey there New Jersey. Heres your audio update highlighting a school privacy breach involving sex ed, a beloved New Jersey hardware store closing after 107 years and local opposition to a Jersey Shore floodwall.

Plus, well tell you about a popular Jersey Shore bars last call.

Listen by clicking the player above and read more about those stories at the accompanying links.

This audio presentation is an editorially-curated selection of stories, selected by an editor, and then summarized and read aloud by artificial intelligence. Some variations in pronunciation, tone or diction may result.

We want to know what you think! All feedback is valuable. After youve listened, take our 3-question survey here to let us know what you think.

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A lot of people want to live in Montclair and consider it a special place. I grew up there and have owned a home in Montclair since 2009. Our town has a fascinating mix of people from all walks of life, which enriches us and enlarges our perspectives.

We also are very lucky that the Tenants Organization of Montclair (TOOM) advocacy group successfully secured rent control, starting in May 2022. The ordinance caps annual rent increases at 4% (and 2.5% for seniors 65+) for many of the rental units in town.

Thats incredibly important, because rents are already significantly higher in Montclair than most other towns in NJ. Without rent control, wed become a victim of our own success, and quickly price out people with more modest incomes, becoming more homogenous every year.

Its also important for building continuity among generations  a place where people can comfortably age and where young families can find a home.

I encourage everyone in town to learn more about rent control and tell your friends and neighbors about it. Not all renters or landlords are aware, and new people move to town every day. TOOM also does a tremendous job of outreach, and they are always looking for volunteers.

I encourage other towns in New Jersey to follow Montclairs lead. Especially now, when some towns are suing to avoid building affordable housing, the right thing to do is to increase and preserve affordable housing. We need a good mix of places for people in every kind of situation to live in stability and safety.

And, even though Montclair is, and will remain, special, what I really want is for every town to be a special and desirable place to live.

Noemi Giszpenc, Montclair

3 steps to better ballots

The League of Women Voters of Monmouth County calls for a fair, neutral, and accessible New Jersey ballot design that does not exert undue influence over voters selections. Courts have invalidated the previous format, with respect to one 2024 primary ballot, because of the county line, which allowed political party chairs to put their chosen candidates in higher-visibility columns.

A select Assembly committee is working on its recommended version of a new ballot. It must create a fair ballot design offering candidates an equal opportunity to be elected.

To accomplish this, we need three things:

1) A clear and easy-to-understand ballot without unnecessary design elements influencing voters choices.

2) A ballot prioritizing the needs of first-time voters, voters with limited English proficiency, and voters with disabilities and expanded language access.

3) A neutral ballot ensuring fair elections. Advantages must not be given to party-backed candidates. The order of candidates should be automated and randomized by voting precinct.

To achieve a truly transparent redesign process, more public hearings must be held and announced weeks in advance. Proposed legislation reflecting the will of the voters should be shared with the public with ample notice and opportunity to comment on the legislation.

We urge the Legislature to prioritize these changes and create a fair and transparent voting environment honoring voters and the democratic process.

Evelyn C. Murphy, president, League of Women Voters of Monmouth County

Editors note: After a scheduled Monday evening session (Nov. 18) in Atlantic County, the Assembly Select Committee on Ballot Design has put one additional hearing on its schedule, a remote session on Dec. 2, starting at 6 p.m.

Authoritarians survive by creating enemies

Ken Franks vitriol-filled letter (Dems recent woke history haunts them) begins by claiming that expressing an unpopular opinion like his own leads to being ostracized, cut off and labeled, by the left wing  and he doesnt like it.

He spends the rest of his missive hurling invective at those who think all perverse behavior must be adopted as normal, with an apparent emphasis on transgender people.

Franks letter effectively does the same ostracizing, cutting off and labeling of a community he doesnt understand and poses no threat to him or anyone else. How about live and let live?

Authoritarians can only survive by creating enemies out of marginalized groups, a tactic long practiced by Nazis, fascists, and other authoritarian movements. Read the history of the 20th century.

Total power over others is the goal of authoritarians. Cruelty is a means to that power. Once an authoritarian is unleashed, no group is safe from the lust for power, and there will be no end to the cruelty.

David R. Nelson, Lawrenceville

Bombs were dropped for a reason

The Chicago Tribune article Its time Americans look closely at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, about the atomic bombs dropped on those cities, was a tough read. The article was published recently in the Star-Ledgers opinion section.

What happened in those Japanese cities was truly horrible  but it didnt happen in a vacuum. The United States didnt just decide to drop the bombs for no reason. Our country was attacked, kicking off our involvement in World War II.

The overall result was the same as the aftermath of the Hamas terrorist attack of Oct. 7, 2023, in Israel  and Israels response to it in Gaza. The lesson is: Dont mess with anyone unless you are willing to accept the consequences.

War is ugly and lots of innocent people pay the price. Its an axiom thats been true since the beginning of time.

Steve Niforatos, Newark

A game of Xs and Os?

In regard to Paul Mulshines recent column, Where did the Democrats go wrong? X marks the spot, does Mulshine really believe that the Democrats use of the gender-neutral term LatinX was what drove Hispanic voters into the arms of the Republicans this year?

Polls showed that Hispanic people prefer the more traditional LatinO, even though it specifically refers to males.

Im guessing that voters in that community who moved to the right, and the GOP, really do prefer LatinO, with an O, as in machismO, over the female form LatinA. Thats with anA, as in KamalA.

Can you spell S-E-X-I-S-M? I believe thats the X-word that really made the difference?

Kathleen Meyer, Scotch Plains

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This is a red alert for sick people who need care: If you have heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, mental illness or any other health condition, watch out.

About 133 million Americans could lose protections for their pre-existing conditions under the new Trump administration, losing coverage altogether or facing exorbitant fees that are impossible for many of them to pay.

The threat we now face is no great mystery. We know Donald Trumps history. He tried to kill the Affordable Care Act over and over, and now his running mate, J.D. Vance, is pushing the idea of deregulating insurance markets by allowing insurers to assign people to separate risk pools, based on their health prospects.

That means healthy people would pay less, and sick people would pay more. As Vance puts it, the Trump administration would not have a one-size-fits-all approach that puts a lot of people into the same insurance pools, into the same risk pools. Instead, theyd allow people with similar health situations to be in the same risk pools.

Translation: Older Americans and sick people would be screwed. Theyd be pushed into the highest risk pool with a different plan and higher premiums. Insurers may even be allowed to deny coverage to people with cancer or effectively cut them out entirely by charging them a million dollars a year for a plan.

The ACA made that illegal. It saved people with pre-existing conditions by putting everyone into the same insurance pool, paying the same premium when youre healthy as when you became sick. But the only way that works is if you have enough people who are currently healthy to subsidize those who are sick; if you start segregating those pools, the whole thing falls apart.

And keep in mind: We all travel from one pool to another. Do you want to lose your coverage  or your life savings  when the bad diagnosis arrives?

It would leave people with pre-existing conditions unprotected, Larry Levitt, the executive vice president for health policy at KFF, confirms.

Well no doubt see other forms of sabotage as well, the same tactics Trump used previously to undercut the ACA. Like slashing advertising for the marketplaces, shortening the time to enroll in plans and cutting out spending on navigators who help Americans choose their coverage. Or putting shoddy plans on the market that are essentially fake insurance.

One irony is that this is a knife at the throat of Trumps own constituents. It is the working class that relies most heavily on the ACA. And aside from stripping away protections for those who are sick, Trump and allies like Speaker Mike Johnson are discussing massive changes to Obamacare, the first of which could be allowing the enhanced subsidies signed into law by President Biden to expire in 2025.

That simply is not a priority for Republicans, even before Trump arrived. Now that they have swept the election, they intend to extend Trumps tax cuts for the rich, which could cost trillions, and will be looking for cuts to pay for that. Trump has said that Medicare and Social Security are off the table. Defense is likely off the table, too, Levitt notes. So that leaves Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act as big targets for cuts.

Nearly three million rural Americans, a stronghold for Trump, have ACA plans, while more than 12 million have Medicaid coverage. Heres what their future could look like:

Working class people will pay about $1,000 more per year . Thats what it will cost for their ACA coverage, on average, if the Trump administration allows the federal subsidies to expire at the end of 2025 as expected, researchers say. Republican-led states will see some of the steepest premium increases, according to KFF. Southern states have seen the biggest surge in sign-ups for coverage since the subsidies became available, so would be hurt the most.

Millions of Trumps own supporters will lose coverage. Many will be kicked off when these subsidies expire next year. In New Jersey alone, about 75,000 people will immediately lose their insurance, New Jersey Policy Perspective estimates. And if Medicaid gets cut as well, millions more will lose coverage: Almost half of children and 1 in 5 adults rely on Medicaid in small towns and rural areas nationally. Even in relatively affluent Ocean County, which went heavily for Trump, more than 160,000 people are in our states Medicaid program.

Going after Medicaid is a signature move for Republicans  never mind that it covers mostly kids and moms, and primarily spends on the elderly and disabled.

But have no fear, a certified kook will be there to contain any damage now that Trump has chosen RFK Jr. to lead the nearly $2 trillion federal agency that administers Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. He can scoop up what remains of our health care system and stash it with the rest of the roadkill in his freezer.

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Police are investigating after hundreds of donations to a New Jersey Catholic dioceses annual appeal were reported missing after being left in FedEx drop box in Clifton last month.

On Oct. 30 and 31, three packages of envelopes containing responses for the Diocese of Patersons appeal were placed in a drop box, but never arrived at their destination, church officials said in a letter to the community.

The packages contained responses from roughly 1,700 parishioners, and officials believe 500 of the missing responses contained cash, checks and credit card information.

Unfortunately, the packages never arrived at their destination, and the tracking number for each package used to monitor the location was never entered, making it impossible to know their current whereabouts, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney of the Diocese of Paterson and Timothy J. Potter, the dioceses chief development officer said in the letter.

The other 1,200 responses did not contain physical checks, cash or any credit card information, officials said. Donor information is not at risk of being compromised from those responses.

But church officials said because the 500 missing envelopes were unopened - per the churchs policy - before being placed in the FedEx box, they cant identify the donors.

The dioceses administrative office is located in Clifton. Police declined to specify the FedEx drop box location, citing an active investigation.

The Clifton Police Department is currently investigating a report of missing packages from the Diocese of Paterson, which has its administrative office in the City of Clifton, said Lt. Robert Anderson. Multiple packages, each containing numerous smaller items, were intended to be shipped via placement in a commercial carrier drop box, but the packages did not arrive at their destination.

The missing items include financial donations and financial and personal information of many people, he said.

The incident is actively being investigated by detectives, who are working with the Diocese of Paterson to locate the missing items and mitigate the potential for misuse of the financial and personal information contained in the packages, Anderson said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Clifton Police at 973-470-5908.

FedEx did not respond to a request for comment.

The annual appeal asks parishioners to help fund ministries through Catholic Charities agencies, involves forwarding pledges and gifts to a third-party firm that specializes in processing and recording donations, church officials said.

This is a common practice used by many dioceses and non-profits to ensure there is an independent, arms-length distance between the office that conducts a fundraising effort and the funds that come in, officials said. This type of separation is a best practice from a financial standpoint.

The diocese had been using the unnamed third-party firm for more than a decade without issue.

Church officials said they believe the missing responses were received in their office between Oct. 28 and Oct. 31. Anything received before or after the date was not impacted.

Because of our sense of responsibility to you and out of an abundance of caution, we suggest that you monitor your credit card activity or checking account to make sure there are no irregularities, officials said in the letter.

Church officials also said theyve been in constant contact with FedEx about the missing donations. They immediately stopped using the drop box.

While we continue to look for an explanation for this distressing situation, we are not ruling out foul play, and law enforcement authorities have been notified, officials said. Please also note that we immediately changed our procedure and now bring all packages to a FedEx store where we watch it get scanned and receive a receipt and tracking information.

Church officials said they hope the incident does not deter people from supporting the appeal and the churchs ministry moving forward.

Giving to charity should be a joyful experience, so it is distressing that an action beyond our control may have impacted even a small number of our faithful supporters, officials said. What makes this even more upsetting is a concern that this could impact those who want to give to the Diocesan Ministries Appeal but may now be hesitant.

This has the unintended effect of impacting funding to the important and vital ministries in our Diocese, such as Catholic Charities, where the need is so great, they said. We hope that this does not deter the faithful from supporting our Appeal, especially now that a solution is in place to ensure the tracking of every package.

People with questions or concerns should contact the dioceses development office at 973-777-8818 at ext. 215, church officials said.

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With Gasgoo Daily, we will offer daily important automotive news in China. For those we have reported, the title of the piece will include a hyperlink, which will provide detailed information.

Xiaomi EV so far delivers over 100,000 Xiaomi SU7 vehicles

Xiaomi's founder and CEO Lei Jun announced on November 18 that the cumulative deliveries for the Xiaomi SU7 vehicle model have surpassed 100,000 units. Given that the company has already achieved its previously set annual delivery target, it now aims to deliver 130,000 SU7 vehicles this year.

Photo credit: Weibo@Lei_Jun

ZEEKR completes delivery of first 100 ZEEKR X vehicles in Hong Kong

Geelys premium new energy vehicle brand ZEEKR recently disclosed that the delivery process of the first batch of 100 units of the ZEEKR X model has been completed in Hong Kong. In addition, the ZEEKR 009 model will start local delivery soon.

Hongqi's Tiangong 08 all-electric SUV starts presale

FAW Group's passenger car brand Hongqi recently kicked off presale for the Tiangong 08 all-electric SUV model, which starts at 239,800 yuan. Positioned as a mid-to-large-sized luxury SUV, the Tiangong 08 is the first model to ride of Hongqis Tiangong platform.

XPENG enters UK market by signing dealership agreement with IML

Chinese smart electric vehicle maker XPENG recently entered into a partnership with International Motors Ltd. (IML), a renowned automotive dealer group in Europe, according to a post on XPENG's WeChat account. The agreement designates IML as XPENG's official distributor in the UK, a market long considered a crucial gateway for Chinese automakers entering Europe.

AVATR allies with NIO for charging network access

On November 15, AVATR, the premium new energy vehicle brand jointly developed by Changan Automobile, Huawei, and CATL, announced a strategic partnership with electric vehicle maker NIO, granting its users full access to NIO's expansive charging network.

NavInfo inaugurates second headquarters in Hefei, Anhui

On November 16, smart mobility service provider NavInfo officially inaugurated its second headquarters, which is located in Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province, marking a significant milestone in its expansion and commitment to automotive intelligence.

IM Motors, NVIDIA, Momenta to co-pioneer DRIVE AGX Thor chip in mass-produced intelligent driving systems

On November 15, IM Motors, NVIDIA, and Momenta announced their collaboration to develop one of the industry's first mass-produced intelligent driving solutions based on the DRIVE AGX Thor chip. The system will debut in IM Motors' production vehicles in 2025, enhancing the IM AD platform's capabilities.

Changan KAICHENG launches strategic shift to digital new energy commercial vehicles

On November 15, Changan KAICHENG (also known as "Kaicene"), the commercial vehicle brand under Changan Automobile, launched its new brand strategy at the Auto Guangzhou 2024, accelerating its transformation into a digital new energy commercial vehicle technology brand.

Dongfeng Nissan partners with Momenta to launch advanced intelligent driving solutions

On November 15, Dongfeng Nissan announced a strategic partnership with autonomous driving solution provider Momenta at the Auto Guangzhou 2024. The duo aims to develop advanced intelligent driving solutions based on an end-to-end intelligent driving large model.
CNN anchor Jake Tapper pressed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) whether morals are still important to the Republican Party amid President-elect Donald Trumps latest picks for his Cabinet.

Tapper asked Johnson Sunday on CNNs State of the Union about Trumps latest Cabinet picks, including tapping Fox News host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for Attorney General and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services Secretary.

Tapper pressed Johnson on whether its important for Trumps nominees to have good moral character in their personal lives. All three of these picks have been accused of sexual misconductaccusations that some say could disqualify them from the positions.

So, just to take a step back, because you and I have known each other for a long time, youre a man of faith, youre a man of God, youre a man of family, Tapper said.

With some of these nominees, Gaetz, Hegseth, RFK Jr., I wonder, does it matter anymore for Republicans to think of leaders as people who are moral in their personal lives? Is that still important to the Republican Party?

Jake Tapper: Youre a man of faith, God, family with some of these nominees (Gaetz, Hegseth, RFK), I wonder  does it matter any more to Republicans if their leaders are moral in their personal lives?



Mike Johnson: Sure! It's an important issue for anyone in leadership... pic.twitter.com/AcoTlcc51t  Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) November 17, 2024

Johnson sidestepped the question, insisting that Trumps nominees are meant to break the status quo.

Sure. Its an important issue for anyone in leadership, Johnson responded.

This is what I will say about the nominees that the president has put forward, is that they are persons who will shake up the status quo. And I think what the American people have believed and what they have delivered with the mandate in this election is demand that we shake up the status quo. Its not working for the American people, he said.



So you used the term in the opening about how these are disrupters. They are. I think thats by design. Any president has the right to name their own Cabinet, to nominate persons that they think will fulfill their agenda. And the people that are on this list will do that. They will go into the agencies that theyre being asked to lead and they will reform them, he added.

Johnson noted that they are going to see a warm embrace of all the new folks who came into the Republican Party in this election cycle.

His comments come as Hegseth and Gaetz have been under fire in recent days due to accusations of sexual misconduct brought against them. Hegseth was accused of sexual assault in 2017 in California, which local officials investigated at the time but brought no charges against him.

Meanwhile, Gaetz has faced numerous investigations for years looking into whether he violated federal sex-trafficking laws and for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old girl. He has denied any wrongdoing.

However, Gaetz resigned from the House after he was tapped to be Attorney General and reportedly just days before a House Ethics Committee report was to be released. The committee was looking into the allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.

While some GOP senators have demanded access to the report, Johnson has said that the report should not be released.

The speaker of the House is not involved in Ethics Committee work, cant be, shouldnt be, because the speaker cant put a thumb on the scale or have anything to do with that. So I have no idea what the contents of this report would be, Johnson said Sunday of the Ethics report.

I didnt even know about it, Jake, until the middle of this week, when it was announced in the press. What I have said with regard to the report is that it should not come out. And why? Because Matt Gaetz resigned from Congress. He is no longer a member, he added.
President-elect Donald Trumps border czar, Tom Homan, is warning Democrats to get in line with the incoming administrations plans for mass deportations.

Game on, Homan said in an interview on Fox News in response to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus opposition to Trumps plans. Democratic Congresswoman Nanette Diaz Barragan made the statement late last week.

Shame on her, Homan said.

Homan is Trumps former acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director. Hes known as a tough-talking former Border Patrol agent who worked his way up to head the agency in 2017 and 2018. He was never confirmed by the Senate, and his new role does not require it.

At the National Conservatism Conference in Washington earlier this year, Homan said that while he thinks the government needed to prioritize national security threats, no ones off the table. If youre here illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.

He also said: Youve got my word. Trump comes back in January, Ill be in his heels coming back, and I will run the biggest deportation operation this countrys ever seen.

Trump has long vowed the mass deportation of people living in the country illegally, but logistical and financial challenges make that difficult to carry out.

ICE has about 41,500 detention beds at any one time, and countries have to agree to take back their citizens  which is not always a given, especially for those with which the U.S. has no diplomatic relations, like Venezuela.

Former President Barack Obama carried out 432,000 deportations in 2013, the highest annual total since records were kept. Deportations under Trump never topped 350,000.

Homan started his career in 1984 as a Border Patrol agent before moving to ICE. He was a relatively low-key but influential figure on immigration enforcement in the Obama administration, heading ICEs Enforcement and Removal Operations arm  tasked with tracking down people who dont have the right to be in the country and removing them.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.
CNNs Harry Enten is continuing to break down President-elect Donald Trumps decisive victory earlier this month by explaining Monday that his popular vote margin is narrowing.

Trump clinched the White House over Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this month by sweeping the seven battleground states. He also won the popular vote, but Enten emphasized on Monday that Trumps margin was the weakest since the 2000 presidential election.

Trump's mandate? It's very shallow. Trump's now under 50% in the popular vote. His margin ranks 44 of 51 since 1824.



Weak coattails: 4 Dems won for Senate in states Trump won. (It was 0 in 2016 & 2020.)



The GOP is on track for smallest House majority since there were 50 states. pic.twitter.com/FaE80nk4T6  (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) November 18, 2024

Look, if you look historically speaking, Donald Trump is now under 50 percent in the national popular vote, barely under 50 percent, but he is under 50 percent. I want to take a look and compare it. Compare his popular vote victory to those historically speaking over the last 200 years. His popular vote victory ranks 44th out of 51. That aint exactly strong. Some might argue that is Weak! Weak! Weak! in the words of Tony Blair, Enten told CNNs John Berman.

In fact, his popular vote win at this point is the weakest, going all the way back to, you have to go all the way back to 2000 to find a weaker one, a smaller popular vote victory than Donald Trump currently has. So, yeah, Trump has won the popular vote, but it aint all that, he added.

Berman noted that former President George W. Bushs victory in 2004, former President Barack Obamas victories in 2008 and 2012 and President Joe Bidens victory in 2020 all had larger popular vote margins.

Enten then explained that Trump has short coattails in the 2024 election, pointing out that four Democrats won or are leading in Senate seats in states that Trump won.

Again, you have to go all the way back since the early 2000s to find a historical note that matches whats going on right now. So yeah, Donald Trump won, but there arent exactly all that many Republicans, or at least fewer than you expect historically, who rode around in that victory car with him, he said.

He also emphasized that the House is slated to have a historically small majority for Republicans.

The GOP would have a record small majority, if the current House results hold. The GOP would be a 221, the Democrats would be at 214. You have to go all the way back before there were 50 states in the union to find a smaller majority for the incoming House majority that Republicans currently hold right now at 221, he said.

And of course, that could drop lower if Stefanik, Waltz or others leave the House Republican majority, which at this point seems quite likely, he noted. Trump has tapped at least three Republican House lawmakers to join his administration so far, which could threaten the Republican majority.
Washington lawmakers will meet this week to discuss an internal report on President-elect Donald Trumps pick for attorney general that could be a hurdle to his confirmation if its released to the public.

MSNBC is reporting the House Ethics Committee will meet on Wednesday to discuss the report on Matt Gaetz. The bipartisan Ethics panel is under enormous pressure as it weighs what to do about its years-long probe into sexual misconduct and other allegations against Gaetz, who resigned from Congress on Wednesday after Trump announced him as his nominee for attorney general.

It is standard practice for the Ethics Committee to end investigations when members of Congress depart on the grounds that they lack jurisdiction to continue. But the circumstances with Gaetz are hardly standard, given his potential role in Trumps Cabinet. Senators saying the panels material must see the light of day so that they can fully vet his nomination.

JUST IN: The House Ethics Committee will meet on Wednesday to discuss its Matt Gaetz report, a source familiar with the meeting confirmed to NBC News.  MSNBC (@MSNBC) November 18, 2024

The sequence and timing of Mr. Gaetzs resignation from the House raises serious questions about the contents of the House Ethics Committee report, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Thursday. We cannot allow this valuable information from a bipartisan investigation to be hidden from the American people.

Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and said last year that the Justice Departments separate investigation against him into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls ended with no federal charges.

The rules of the House have always been that a former member is beyond the jurisdiction of the Ethics committee, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said. And so I dont think thats relevant.

But Republican and Democratic senators alike on the Judiciary Committee that would review Gaetzs attorney general nomination have called for the report to be made available to them.

I think its going to be material in the proceedings, said Sen. Thomas Tillis, a North Carolina Republican.

Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said, I think there should not be any limitation on the Senate Judiciary Committees investigation, including whatever the House Ethics Committee has generated.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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A former teacher at two private schools in Sussex County was sentenced last week to 10 years in state prison for secretly recording upskirt images of students.

Michael F. Wagner, 41, was sentenced Thursday by Judge Michael C. Gaus and will be required to serve at least 85% of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

Wagner, who taught at Pope John XXIII Regional High School and Reverend George A. Brown Memorial School, forfeited his teaching license and will be subject to lifetime parole supervision and Megans Law registration, according to acting Sussex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray.

Wagner pleaded guilty on May 10 to first-degree child endangerment and second-degree manufacturing of child sexual abuse material.

During the course of the investigation, police found hundreds of videos and pictures of numerous students taken by Wagner, who would position the electronic device in such a way as to capture and record the underclothing of female students, the prosecutors office said in a news release after the guilty plea.

Authorities said a joint investigation by Sparta police and the prosecutors office began in October 2022 when a teacher overheard students discussing Wagner recording them during class.

Analysis of Wagners cellphone, computers and hard drives uncovered hundreds of videos and photos secretly taken of students without their consent, as well as other materials depicting the sexual exploitation of children, investigators said.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Deivi Garcia, a former top pitching prospect with the Yankees, is headed to the National League for the first time.

The right-hander signed a minor-league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.

Garcia is coming off another disappointing season, his first full year outside of the Yankees organization. He posted a 7.07 ERA across 14 innings with the White Sox in 2024. Over 40 games at the Triple-A level with Chicago, Garcias numbers werent too much better. He had a 6.18 ERA in 40 appearances.

The Yankees moved on from Garcia last summer, designating him for assignment in August of 2023.

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RESTORING THE GLORY

Not too long ago, Garcia and Clarke Schmidt were both viewed as the top two pitching prospects in the Yankees system. Both made their MLB debuts during the shortened season in 2020, flashing some of their potential. While Schmidt has since carved out a role for himself in pinstripes, continuing to develop into an effective big-league starter, Garcia quickly dropped down on the depth chart of prospects in the upper levels of the minor-league system.

All told, Garcia made only 10 appearances with the Yankees in the big leagues from 2020 through this past season, pitching to a 4.84 ERA. In his career, the right-hander has a ghastly 6.31 ERA over parts of five seasons in Triple-A.

A change of scenery could be what Garcia needs. Hes still only 25 and as much as his career hasnt gone according to plan thus far, the Brewers will have a chance to bring the best out of him next spring. Milwaukee opens the 2025 season against the Yankees in the Bronx next March.

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Max Goodman may be reached at mgoodman@njadvancemedia.com.
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Beijing (Gasgoo)- On November 15, AVATR, the premium new energy vehicle brand jointly developed by Changan Automobile, Huawei, and CATL, announced a strategic partnership with electric vehicle maker NIO, granting its users full access to NIO's expansive charging network.

Photo credit: AVATR

Effective the same day, AVATR users can locate and utilize NIO's charging stations across China via the AVATR app, significantly enhancing charging convenience and efficiency.

Photo credit: AVATR

NIO has been aggressively expanding its energy replenishment network in 2024, forging partnerships with automakers such as Chery, MHERO, Huawei's Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance, Hongqi, DEEPAL, AION, IM Motors, ZEEKR, Lotus, Cadillac, Buick, and XPENG to enable charging interoperability.

As of October 31, NIO has established a robust infrastructure, covering an extensive battery-swapping network along 7 north-south and 9 east-west expressways, as well as across 12 major metropolitan clusters in China. Its facilities include 2,621 battery swap stations and 23,969 charging piles, with over 5,661 million battery swaps performed.
New Orleans police on the scene of a mass shooting during a second line parade in the 1800 block Almonaster Avenue in New Orleans that left nine people wounded on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. A second shooting along the route on the Almonaster bridge left two dead and a third wounded, the NOPD said.
Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Despite the disaster that was Netflixs presentation of the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight on Friday night, the streamer isnt getting out of the live programming business anytime soon.

In fact, were only a few weeks away from Netflix becoming the weekly home of WWE Raw when its right deal with the pro wrestling giant kicks in at the start of the new year.

And while we already knew the first Raw on Netflix would be taking place on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, were now learning new details about what the event will entail. Appearing at ComplexCon in Las Vegas over the weekend, WWE chief operating officer Paul Triple H Levesque announced that the Jan. 6 edition of Raw will take place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles  WWEs first-ever event at the Los Angeles Clippers new home.

Levesque made the announcement alongside rapper Travis Scott, who it was also revealed will be providing a new theme song for Raw. As expected, WWE is pulling out all of the stops for the highly anticipated episode, with John Cena, Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, CM Punk and Bianca Belair among the superstars advertised for the event.

And while he isnt explicitly advertised  as he rarely is  its worth noting that Dwayne The Rock Johnson is also featured in a video promo WWE released for Raws Netflix debut.

WWEs upcoming partnership with Netflix was first announced this past January as a part of the pro wrestling companys latest round of media rights deals. The $5 billion deal will make Netflix the home of WWEs weekly flagship show for the next 10 years, with options reportedly in place for the streamer to potentially extend the deal even further.

In the months since announcing its impending partnership with Netflix, WWE has repeatedly referred to the deal as a game-changer. In just a few weeks, well find out what that might mean and how prepared the streamer is to host live programming on a weekly basis.

[WWE]
A petition has been launched by the Liberal Democrats to protect Post Office services in Bideford town centre, following news that the Main Post Office could face closure.

The political party has described the potential closure as a kick in the teeth for regeneration, demonstrating the crucial role the Post Office plays in the community.

The party explained that unlike franchise-operated branches in Northam, East-the-Water, and Bideford Old Town, the Bideford branch is one of 115 wholly owned Post Offices nationwide.

It operates Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm, offering essential services such as passport and licence applications, Parcelforce, and foreign currency exchange.

Councillor Teresa Tinsley expressed her concerns, saying: This makes no sense. The Post Office has been filling a vital gap left by bank closures. It provides vital services to the community and drives footfall in the town centre. Its a kick in the teeth for regeneration. We need to safeguard the full range of services at the heart of our community.

Phil Hutty, Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson for Torridge and Tavistock, added:The Post Office is a vital service in the heart of Bideford. It can't be left without the essential services provided to so many people across our area.

Residents have voiced their frustration online, citing the loss of banks in the area and the Post Offices role in supporting local commerce. Comments included:

They've shut all but one bank in town, telling us to use the Post Office instead, so what will they advise people do now?

There's no justification on closing it as no matter what day or time there's a queue. At Christmas they queue across the pavement!

When they closed HSBC bank the staff were on hand to promote the Post Office. This is what brings people into the town who spend money at the local shops. Don't let this happen.

If the closure goes ahead, the nearest Main Post Office would be in Barnstaple, leaving Bideford residents without a full-service branch.

The Lib Dem petition can be signed at: https://www.twdld.org.uk/campaigns/save-bideford-post-office
North Devon Council has been allocated 30,422 from a 10m national emergency fund to support rough sleepers through winter 2024-25.

The funding, part of a government initiative targeting local authorities facing the greatest pressures, aims to ensure access to safe and warm beds during the colder months.

The councils Enhanced Outreach team, which works with specialists including healthcare providers and addiction support, will use the grant to bolster services aimed at breaking the cycle of homelessness and helping individuals find permanent housing.

Councillor Graham M Bell, Lead Member for Housing, said: We are grateful to receive this funding, which will make a real difference in our efforts to support rough sleepers as winter approaches. However, it highlights the need for fixed funding to enable long-term solutions to homelessness and ensure no one is left out in the cold over Christmas.

The funding must be used by March 2025 and will support the councils partnership with the Freedom Center, providing shelter and reintegration support for vulnerable residents.

Residents concerned about rough sleepers are encouraged to report through the StreetLink website.

Those at risk of homelessness can contact North Devon Council at 01271 388870 or via email at customerservices@northdevon.gov.uk.
Andrew Blum

So you or your agency are looking for new business or a potential piece of business finds you. Great. But what if it is an industry or a person whose personal views or their businesses go against what you or your agency believe in?



I am sure at some time, many of us in the PR business have had to work for a client who is either borderline questionable, or even toxic, or you dont believe in what they do or say. But PR is a business. Turning away too many clients is not good.



There are three ways this issue can come up:



First, you work for a companys PR department, and they have a customer or client you dont approve of. Second, you work for an agency, or you are the head of an agency and there is a belief that a prospective client isnt right for your agency or enough employees dont like what the client stands for. And finally, you run your own agency or consultancy, and you dont like who the prospective client is but at the same time, you need to run a business.



What do you do and how do you handle each of these?



Well, the odds are that if you do PR for a company or an agency, if you dont like their customers or clients, you still will need to do PR on work relating to them. If the boss says so, you do it.



When I directed PR in-house for a company and for agencies on a consulting basis, I couldnt say well, no, I dont like that client, so I dont want to do any PR for them. But if you are the head of an agency or in a leadership position you might have a say in a decision to turn down or accept a particular client.



As the PR Director at the above company, I was looking to hire an outside agency for a high-profile, controversial client to deal with a torrent of media and negative press. I reached out to a major agency I knew and they turned it down  he was too toxic. I understood; there were already hundreds of stories about the client  99.99% negative.



On the flip side, that client and some other high-profile clients of the company I worked for actually turned out to be challenging and fascinating PR projects. Because I did not agree with what they stood for, I might have turned them down as clients if this was during my time as an outside consultant.

As a PR consultant, its easier to turn down a prospective client because it is only me making decisions. I have turned down several but again, I still need to run a business.



There were a couple of high-profile me too men  one of them who was all over the U.S. and international media  who I turned down. They were too vile for me, and I didnt want them spilling over into my own reputation.



The other side of the coin is when you get to work with clients you agree with personally. Since late 2023, I directed PR for four books each about a different slice of the Trump era  one was about the four indictments of Trump, one was about the 2020 fake electors scheme, another was about the lack of GOP courage in standing up to Trump, and the last was by an anti-Trump podcaster.



You cant always be so lucky in having PR clients who believe as you do.



So, in deciding if you should work for a questionable client ask yourself: Is the client a fit for your agency? Will doing PR for them help or hurt your own PR reputation? Can you live with yourself if you work for them? Are they paying enough to make it worthwhile?



Tough choices.

***

Andrew Blum is a PR consultant and media trainer and principal of AJB Communications. He directed PR for former New York Governor Pataki from 2007 to 2013, and directed crisis PR in the criminal cases of former U.S. presidential candidate John Edwards and DC lobbyist Jack Abramoff. He also has directed PR for several books about the 2020 and 2024 elections. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @ajbcomms
Qorvis will provide strategic communications services for the first-ever International Conjoined Twins Conference, set for Nov. 24-25 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The session will emphasize the need to address the condition of conjoined twins, advocate for their treatment and care, and promote their well-being and social inclusion.

A group of twins who have undergone separation surgeries will attend the conference, along with their families.

Health organizations, researchers, and specialists from throughout the world also will be in attendance.

A panel will discuss the physiological, psychological and social consequences of separation surgeries.

The United Nations has declared Nov. 24 World Conjoined Twins Day, and plans to observe it every year.

On behalf of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, Qorvis will promote the confab via social media and traditional media, paid promotion and on-the-ground activities. It will receive a $312K fee for the effort.

Saudi Arabia is a world leader in the matter of conjoined twins.

Since 1990, the Saudi Conjoined Twins Programme has reviewed 139 cases from 26 countries and successfully separated 61 pairs of twins.
Met Eireann has issued a Snow and Ice Warning for multiple counties as temperatures are set to plummet across Ireland in the coming days.

Met Eireann has issued as Status Yellow - Snow-Ice warning for Cavan, Donegal and Leitrim that warns that snowfall accumulations are possible this evening and overnight

The warning is in place from 7pm on Monday until 8am on Tuesday.

The UK Met Office has also issued a Yellow Snow and Ice Warning for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry

According to Met Eireann, the weather in the coming days is set to be cold with frost and icy patches and there will be wintry showers for some.

The full Met Eireann weather forecast for the coming days is as follows

MONDAY

Rain will spread across Munster, Connacht and Leinster this morning, extending into Ulster this afternoon and evening. It will be heavy at times, turning to sleet or snow in parts of Ulster and north Connacht later this evening. Afternoon highs of 3 to 6 degrees over the northern half of the country and 7 to 12 degrees elsewhere in light to moderate easterly or variable winds.

TONIGHT

Cloudy tonight with continued outbreaks of rain, turning to sleet and snow in parts of Ulster and north Connacht with some accumulations possible. Becoming dry in north Ulster by dawn with frost and ice developing. Lowest temperatures of 0 to 4 degrees generally, a little milder in Munster and south Leinster. Moderate easterly winds over the northern half of the country and fresh to strong westerly winds further south.

TUESDAY

Tomorrow morning outbreaks of rain, sleet and snow will move southwards, turning mainly to rain and sleet before clearing to the south during the afternoon. Sunny spells will follow with scattered wintry showers in the north towards evening. Highest temperatures of 2 to 5 degrees generally and from 5 to 8 degrees in Munster. Moderate to fresh easterly winds for most, fresh to strong westerly in Munster, will veer northerly and ease moderate behind the rain.

Tuesday night will be dry in most areas with clear spells. Wintry showers will affect northern parts of Ulster and Connacht. Lowest temperatures of -3 to +1 degrees with frost and icy patches.

Wednesday will be cold and mainly dry with sunny spells. Frost will gradually clear, but will linger in some sheltered areas. Some wintry showers, mainly in western and north parts of Connacht and Ulster. Highs of 3 to 5 degrees generally, with mostly moderate west to northwest winds.

Wednesday night will be dry and clear in many parts but scattered wintry showers will continue in parts of the west and north. Lowest temperatures of -3 to +1 degrees with frost and icy patches and mainly light to moderate northwest or variable breezes.

Thursday: Frost and ice will again be slow to thaw, perhaps lingering all day in some parts. Many areas will be dry and cold with spells of sunshine but scattered showers of rain, hail, sleet and snow will affect western and northern parts. Afternoon highs of 2 to 5 degrees with mostly moderate northwest winds, fresh at times near coasts.
(Xinhua) Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Saturday that the Taiwan question, democracy and human rights, China's path and system, and China's development right are four red lines for China, which must not be challenged or crossed.

In his meeting with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru, Xi also said that the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques are the political foundation of China-US relations.

These are the most important guardrails and safety nets for China-US relations, he said, adding that it is important not to challenge red lines and paramount principles.

Xi said that contradictions and differences between two major countries like China and the United States are unavoidable, but one side should not undermine the core interests of the other, let alone seek conflict or confrontation.




The Golden Bauhinia Square in China's Hong Kong, July 14, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Sunday strongly disapproved of and rejected the recent biased and misleading remarks made by some foreign governments, politicians, officials and the media, etc, on HKSAR's work in safeguarding national security and Lai Chee-ying's case, with a HKSAR Government spokesperson saying any attempt to interfere with the judicial proceedings in the HKSAR by means of political power, in order to procure a defendant's evasion of the criminal justice process, is a blatant act undermining the rule of law of Hong Kong.

We urge that foreign individuals and entities should respect the judicial system of Hong Kong and should not interfere with the trials in Hong Kong, a HKSAR Government spokesman said. The suggestion that any persons or organizations with certain backgrounds should be immune from legal sanctions for their illegal acts and activities is tantamount to granting such persons privileges to break the law and is totally contrary to the spirit of the rule of law, said the spokesperson.

The spokesman also said that Hong Kong's rule of law and independent judicial power are guaranteed under the Basic Law, which specifically provides that the judicial power, including that of final adjudication, vested with the HKSAR, is to be exercised by the Judiciary independently, free from any interference. All cases are handled strictly on the basis of evidence and in accordance with the law. All defendants will receive a fair trial strictly in accordance with laws applicable to Hong Kong and as protected by the Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights.

The spokesman stressed that national security is the top priority of any country and it is an international practice to enact legislation to safeguard national security. Western countries including the UK and the US are no exception.

The Hong Kong National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance clearly stipulate that human rights shall be respected and protected in safeguarding national security in the HKSAR, and that the rights and freedoms that Hong Kong residents enjoy under the Basic Law and the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as applied to Hong Kong, including freedom of speech and of the press, shall be protected in accordance with the law, the spokesman said.

The HKSAR Government pointed out that Hong Kong has always welcomed normal business exchanges, economic activities and people-to-people exchanges with different economies.

On economic and trade cooperation in particular, the HKSAR Government spokesman said that as one of the most open economies in the world, Hong Kong firmly supports free and open trade, and a multilateral trading system. "We hope to develop fair and free trade relations and promote mutually beneficial outcomes based on the principle of mutual respect. At the same time, we will strive to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Hong Kong businesses," the spokesman said.

The spokesman stressed that the HKSAR Government will continue to exchange views with representatives of different governments and organizations on issues of mutual concern under the principles of mutual respect and equality, facilitate co-operation, exchanges and communication among different parties, and promote Hong Kong's distinctive advantage of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under one country, two systems.

Global Times


Ravi Karunanayake nominated as NDF national list MP

Posted by Editor on November 18, 2024 - 2:29 pm

Ravi Karunanayake has been nominated for a National List MP position by the New Democratic Front (NDF) party.

The General Secretary of the NDF, Ms. Shyamila Perera, has officially informed the Election Commission of Sri Lanka of this nomination in writing.

The NDF secured two National List MP positions in the 2024 parliamentary election, and one of these positions has been proposed for former minister Ravi Karunanayake.


U.S. Lifts Restrictions, Allows Ukraine To Strike Deeper Inside Russia With Long-Range Missiles Reports say President Joe Biden has lifted restrictions, allowing Ukraine to use U.S. weapons for long-range strikes inside ...

(Image by YouTube, Channel: Times Of India) Details DMCA



President Joe Biden and Ukraine President Vladimir Zelensky (undated photo)

According to un-named Biden administration officials the president has lifted restrictions on the Zelensky regime in Ukraine to use ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) to strike deep into Russian territory. [1]

These missiles have a range of up to 190 miles. They can't reach Moscow but could be used to attack Russian "missile brigades, storage facilities, radar installations, airfields used to stage attack helicopters, ammunition warehouses and logistic hubs."

For months Zelensky has been pushing Biden to lift restrictions on the use of the ATACMS. Prior to this latest development Ukraine could only strike targets within its own territory which included Crimea as well as the four other areas in eastern Ukraine that held referendums choosing to join the Russian Federation-which Ukraine and the US don't recognize.

This move by the lame duck Biden administration is a serious escalation of the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that such an escalation by NATO would mean it would be a direct participant in the war as Ukraine doesn't possess the technological expertise to launch these missiles without western personnel directly involved.

He also warned Russia would take retaliatory measures in response to such an escalation.

The Times piece mentioned Russia's recent attack on Ukraine's electrical power grid plus North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian troops in the country as the reasons for Biden's ATACMS decision.

Neither Russia or North Korea has responded to the allegations suggested by the Times.

Though Russia and North Korea have made military agreements Russia alone is winning the war in Ukraine. Why would they need North Korean troops directly involved in the conflict?

Getting back to Biden's ATACMS escalation some Republican lawmakers have condemned the move as a serious escalation with just two months left before Trump returns to the Oval Office.

As this is being written Trump himself has not commented on Biden's decision, though once in office he could rescind Biden's move with a stroke of a pen.

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(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
"In September, UN member states adopted an important, wide-ranging document designed to reaffirm the UN Charter, reinvigorate multilateralism, boost implementation of existing commitments, and advance concrete solutions to global challenges, including the existential threats posed by nuclear weapons," said the Arms Control Association's Darryl Kimball in his story "Confronting the Threats Posed by Threats of Nuclear Use".

In the "Pact for the Future", UN member states expressed their "deep concern" over the state of nuclear disarmament. They reaffirmed support for the common goal of a world free of nuclear weapons to fulfill the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty objectives. They also agreed on the need to "take all steps to prevent nuclear war". UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized that the pact represents the "first agreed multilateral support for nuclear disarmament in more than a decade". At a time of unprecedented geopolitical division, the pact's five core nuclearnorms-- no nuclear use, no threats of use, no nuclear testing, no nuclear weapons buildups, and nonproliferation-- represent an essential breakthrough that all states, particularly the US, must build on through specific, sustained actions.

Russian leaders continue to warn that they may resort to using nuclear weapons if the US or other allies of Ukraine cross Russia's redlines for nuclear use; all states need to fulfill their pledges to "make every effort" to avert the danger of nuclear war. Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and his warnings of possible nuclear weapons use in response to non-nuclear threats have raised the specter of a nuclear conflict in ways not seen in the post-Cold War era.

During his 2020 presidential campaign, President Joe Biden pledged to adopt a policy where the "sole purpose" of nuclear weapons is to deter nuclear weapons use. Unfortunately, once Biden was in the White House, his 2022 Nuclear Posture Review fell short of his pledges; as with Russia's formal nuclear weapons declaratory policy, Biden's policy retains the option of using nuclear weapons to respond to non-nuclear threats under extreme circumstances.

Any US President should do more to reinforce the global norm against nuclear weapons use. Rather than trying to distinguish between Russia's irresponsible nuclear threat rhetoric and its own nuclear deterrence signaling, the US should join non-nuclear-weapon states that condemn nuclear use and threats of nuclear use of any kind as dangerous, disproportionate, and illegal.

Donald Trump will be sworn in as President in January. His foreign policy is isolationist. In his first term, he was an isolationist who conceded much to the military-industrial complex. Trump said he wants a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine, a commitment the American people are growing tired of. Perhaps a negotiated settlement will end the Ukraine war. If so, will Russia adhere to international norms and maybe cooperate with the US on nuclear arms control? It remains to be seen. If a ceasefire represents a resting period, then Russia will initiate another rampage, and there will be no lasting peace.

The next President will have to work with America's allies and its foes to control the number of nuclear weapons in the world. I doubt Trump's isolationism will help much in this regard. The Middle East is another hot spot in the world. Right now, some are worried about Iran developing nuclear weapons as a method of countering Israel's power. What will happen if Iran develops nuclear weapons? Saudi Arabia and several other Arab powers will acquire nuclear weapons, and proliferation will spread around the region. This represents another problem for the Trump administration.

China's Xi Jinping stated his country should be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. China and Russia are in the same orbit. Naturally, if China takes this path, there will be no cooperation between the great powers. What do we need to do in the future to prevent war between the great powers? It will take diplomatic engagement, promotion of international norms, and great power balancing. Can we do this under Trumpian isolationism? I don't think so. We're far from Franklin Roosevelt's method of keeping the peace, the Four Policemen, or great power cooperation, but if we're smart, we'll find a way to recreate this method of security peace.

Jason Sibert is the Lead Writer of the Peace Economy Project
The volunteers of Milton Keynes Community Cardio-pulmonary Group, based in Whaddon Way, Bletchley, have been awarded The King's Award for Voluntary Service for 2024. This is the highest award a local group of volunteers can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE. Representatives of Milton Keynes Community Cardio-pulmonary Group will receive the award from Countess Howe, Lord-Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, in due course. In addition, two volunteers from Milton 
This 8th International Ayurveda Congress is organised and hosted by D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth, Pune, and co-organised by the International Maharishi AyurVeda Foundation, The Netherlands; the All-India Ayurvedic Congress, New Delhi; and the International Academy of Ayurved, Pune. It is an international forum of Ayurveda scholars with many internationally renowned speakers. This Congress is a forum for leading international experts and professionals in Ayurveda to share their works and expand their scope 
If you normally travel around the metro area during nighttime hours you may need to adjust your commute this week due to bridge work happening on the Interstate and Marquam bridges.

All northbound lanes of the Interstate Bridge will close 10 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18 as crews work on maintenance of a support pier.



The Oregon Department of Transportation said the closure will begin at 10 p.m. with all northbound lanes expected to reopen by 5 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19. Drivers will be able to exit at Jantzen Beach to avoid the blocked bridge.



The sidewalk on the northbound span will also close, but the sidewalk on the southbound span will remain open to pedestrians and bicyclists.



If youre heading into Vancouver or points north in Washington on Monday night, you will need to detour to Interstate 84 east to Interstate 205 north across the Glenn Jackson Bridge.

Southbound I-5 drivers will need to use I-405 overnight Monday-Thursday, Nov. 18-21, to avoid the closure over the Marquam Bridge. Ryan Fernandez/The Oregonian

Marquam Bridge

Marquam Bridge inspections require lower deck overnight closures that started Sunday, Nov. 17 and will continue 9 p.m.-5 a.m. nightly through Thursday, Nov. 21.

Crews will close the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 as it crosses the Marquam Bridge for routine inspections. The closure also requires some lane restrictions on the connecting ramps to and from Interstate 405.

Southbound drivers should use I-405 southbound to reconnect with I-5 south of the bridge during the overnight hours through Thursday.

These projects may be delayed due to inclement weather. Check with TripCheck.com for updates.
Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty stood in the lobby of her citys first dedicated homeless shelter Friday and did not mince words.

In government, we often let ourselves off the hook, Beaty said. When a problem seems too big or unsolvable, the U.S. Army veteran said, theres a temptation to ignore it or fail to tackle it with urgency.

To combat that attitude when it comes to addressing Beavertons homelessness problems, Beaty said she urged her staff to focus intently on the next meaningful step rather than trying to solve the whole problem at once. Thats how the mayor came to be welcoming visitors to a former mattress store that the city remodeled into a 60-bed adult homeless shelter, complete with solar panels and a meditation room for people who need a quiet moment to themselves.

Bought and refurbished with $4.8 million from Metros homeless services tax and $9 million in federal and state funding, the new shelter boasts polished concrete floors, custom-made beds that are wider than a typical twin and even an indoor Norfolk Island pine with its own skylight. Each private sleeping pod contains locked storage space and a curtain that can be pulled shut at night.

Individual sleeping quarters in Beaverton's first purpose-built homeless shelter, seen here during a media tour on Fri., Nov. 15, 2024. The facility opens on Monday. Dave Killen / The Oregonian

The shelter is part of the renewed regional focus on combatting homelessness in the Portland area thats driven, in part, by the 2020 Metro homeless services tax on businesses and high income earners. Previously, the only shelter in Beaverton was at a community center that wasnt designed as a place for people to eat, sleep and bathe, city officials said.

Beavertons new shelter will be open year round, 24 hours a day beginning next month. Men and women will sleep in separate dormitories. Pets are welcome. On site staff will provide mental health counseling, employment opportunities and life skills programming, among other services.

Opting for bunk beds and open sleeping areas would have doubled the number of people the shelter could serve, but that wasnt the goal, said Sara King, a senior project manager with the city of Beaverton.

Its more important to have quality for fewer people than as many people as possible, King said.

A flex space will likely host the shelters first artist in residence, who also contributed a stunning mural in the entryway.

I think thats a pretty unique feature, King said of the art program. Local artist Damon Smyth will work with those living in the shelter to determine what kind of art they will create. There are already spots set up to hang residents artwork.

A covered area beneath solar panels is among the amenities of the courtyard behind Beaverton's first purpose-built homeless shelter, seen here before it opened.Dave Killen / The Oregonian

Energy Trust of Oregon provided consultation and technical expertise to make the space as energy efficient as possible, said Shelly Carlton, a senior program manager at Energy Trust. Carlton said the trauma-informed design features, like having two doors to most rooms, no sharp corners and soft lighting, melded well with energy efficiency standards, like incorporating natural light and creating a space that is easy to heat and cool.

The energy efficiency of the building will also lower its operating costs, Carlton said.

The shelter also offers an outdoor space with a pet relief area, bike parking and sheltered seating with a partition that allows smokers a covered place to sit while blocking fumes from the rest of the pavilion.

The shelter will be run by a service provider called Open Door HousingWorks, a Hillsboro-based housing nonprofit started in 1984. Ongoing operations will be paid for by Washington County with funds from the Metro homeless services tax.

Beatty hopes the citys efforts to combat homelessness might one day free up the new building to act as a college dorm or fill some other new purpose.

I would love for this not to be a homeless shelter in the future, Beaty said. But, she acknowledged, theres always people that have a need.

Spots are available at Beavertons new adult shelter through the countys Community Connect referral system, which can be reached by calling 503-640-3263 or emailing communityconnect@caowash.org.

One of the shower rooms in Beaverton's first dedicated homeless shelter.Dave Killen / The Oregonian

Lillian Mongeau Hughes covers homelessness and mental health for The Oregonian. Email her with tips or questions at lmhughes@oregonian.com. Or follow her on Blue Sky at @lmonghughes.bsky.social or X at @lrmongeau.

Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe
Oregon ski resorts took advantage of this years early season snowfall to achieve their earliest openings in years, though an atmospheric river bearing down on the region puts a question mark on what conditions will look like by next weekend.

Timberline Resort opened for limited operations on the weekend after Halloween and for daily operations on Saturday, Nov. 9. Mt. Hood Meadows and Mt. Bachelor followed suit Friday, both opening for season previews. A limited number of lifts were operating this weekend, to be followed by temporary closures as both resorts gear up, weather permitting, for daily operations  Mt. Hood Meadows on Thursday and Mt. Bachelor on Nov. 29.

That weather is still an open question. Forecasters were calling for heavy snow Sunday afternoon into Monday, with up to 18 inches expected on mountain passes and more at higher elevations. Monday and Tuesday could be big powder days at Timberline, which is open daily and was reporting five inches of new snow by Sunday afternoon.

But things could get muckier as the week proceeds.

The National Weather Service says an atmospheric river will push into the region Tuesday, bringing plentiful moisture and somewhat higher temperatures with it. The exact path and duration are still uncertain, as are snow levels and the form precipitation will take as the system scrapes over the Cascades. Forecasters say the latest models show the heaviest moisture pushing south into southern Oregon and northern California during the initial mid-week surge, then swinging back north late Thursday into Friday.

A worst-case scenario, the weather service said Sunday, would be seven to 12 inches of rain in the mountains, putting a big damper on skiers early season fun. The best case scenario, meanwhile, would see two to four inches in the mountains, some falling as heavy, wet snow.

Greg Pack, president of Mt. Hood Meadows, said in an email that the resort saw about 1,000 visitors for opening day Friday and was expecting double that Saturday. It was the resorts earliest opening in 15 years.

Not too worried about the weather, Pack said. Looks like it should hold out with some additional snow but well be sticking with our plan to close after Sunday and reopen Thursday for seven day a week operations.

Mt. Bachelor, meanwhile, opened Friday for passholders only, its earliest opening since 1998. It plans to reopen to the public next weekend and begin daily operations Nov.29.

- Ted Sickinger is a reporter on the investigations team. Reach him at 503-221-8505, tsickinger@oregonian.com or @tedsickinger

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SCA Appoints Petteri Kalela as the New Manager of Containerboard and Pulp Businesses

Petteri Kalela Petteri Kalela

Nov. 18, 2024 - SCA has appointed Petteri Kalela as new manager of the business areas Containerboard and Pulp and member of the group management, effective no later than June 1, 2025. He succeeds Mats Nordlander, who will leave SCA at the turn of the year.

During the transition period from the turn of the year until Kalela takes office, President and CEO Ulf Larsson will function as head of the Containerboard and Massa business areas.

Kalela has extensive experience in the forest industry and has held several leading business roles in Europe and Asia.

"Petteri Kalela will be a valuable addition to SCA's group management and as head of the business areas Containerboard and Pulp," said SCA's President and CEO, Ulf Larsson. "We look forward to welcoming him in the first half of 2025."

From 1996 and 2023, Kalela worked for UPM in various roles in production, sales, supply chain and in leading positions in Europe, as well as five years as head of UPM Specialty Paper in China. Since 2023, he held the position of Senior Vice President at Huhtamaki Fiber & Food Service Europe.

Kalela holds a civil engineering degree from the Helsinki University of Technology and a master's degree from the Helsinki School of Economics.

With headquarters in Sundsvall, Sweden, SCA offers packaging paper, pulp, wood products, renewable energy, services for forest owners and efficient transport solutions.

SOURCE: SCA
Colombian lawmakers on Wednesday approved a bill that effectively bans child marriage (those involving children under the age of 18).

The ban marks the end of a 17-year campaign wherein lawmakers pushed and failed eight times to get the bill through the South American country's House and Senate. The bill's passing occurred following a five-hour debate.

The legislation, called "They are Girls, Not Wives," makes Colombia one of the 12 countries out of the 33 in Latin America and the Caribbean to prohibit child marriages, according to The Guardian.

How Does the Ban Work?

Under the new legislation, minors may not be married even if they receive consent from their parents. Minors will also no longer be deemed to be in an "informal marital union" if they cohabit with their partner for two years.

Furthermore, the law would prohibit higher authorities, such as judges and notaries, from legalizing marriages involving anyone under the age of 18. There are no legal exceptions to the bill, which means even tribes where child marriages are used as a rite of passage for girls are subject to the law. The Wayuu tribe, for example, marries off their young girls after their first menstrual cycle.

To date, there are 4.5 million girls and women in Colombia who were married before they turned 18. Of those, at least 1 million married before they were 15, per data from UNICEF.

Child marriages can be detrimental to the health and wellness of young girls. UNICEF data show that they are more vulnerable to domestic violence and less likely to complete their education. They are also at higher risk of complications in pregnancy and childbirth.

In addition to banning child marriage, the bill will also require the creation and introduction of policies, including education, to address the root cause of marriages involving minors.

When Will the Bill Go into Effect?

After passing Colombia's House and Senate, the bill will now be sent to the table of President Gustavo Petro. While he is widely expected to ratify the bill, it is unclear when Petro will sign the legislation into law.
At a glance Expert's Rating Pros Long battery life (nearly 24 hours in our test)

Beautiful AMOLED display

Solid 2-in-1 design with included S Pen

No software compatibility concerns, as with ARM laptops Cons Multithreaded performance is on the low side

Keyboard isnt the most comfortable

A little expensive Our Verdict The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 is an excellent 2-in-1 laptop with long battery life thanks to Intels Lunar Lake hardware. But Lunar Lakes focus on battery life comes at a cost, and this hardware doesnt excel at multi-threaded CPU performance. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today

The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 is one of the first laptops to arrive with Intels new Lunar Lake hardware. Under the hood, Lunar Lake delivers serious power efficiency improvements over previous-generation Intel Meteor Lake-powered laptops. Samsung also provides an excellent 16-inch laptop for Lunar Lake to shine, complete with a beautiful AMOLED touchscreen along with a 360-degree hinge and stylus for some 2-in-1 action. However, the keyboard isnt as nice as the display.

Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360: Specs

The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 includes an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V CPU. This is an Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) processor, also known as Lunar Lake. It includes eight cores: Four performance cores and four low-power efficiency cores, integrated Intel Arc graphics, and an NPU that delivers up to 47 trillion operations per second (TOPS) of performance, which is enough to meet Microsofts Copilot+ PC requirements.

Samsung loaned us a review unit with a different hardware configuration than the model its currently selling. Our review unit had 32GB of RAM along with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor. Samsung isnt currently selling that configuration. The machine Samsung is selling has 16GB of RAM along with an Intel Core Ultra 7 256V processor. Samsung is selling that model for $1,699.

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 258V

Intel Core Ultra 7 258V Memory: 32GB LPDDR5X RAM

32GB LPDDR5X RAM Graphics/GPU: Intel Arc 140V integrated graphics

Intel Arc 140V integrated graphics NPU: Intel AI Boost (47 TOPS)

Intel AI Boost (47 TOPS) Display: 16-inch 28801800 AMOLED touchscreen with 120Hz refresh rate

16-inch 28801800 AMOLED touchscreen with 120Hz refresh rate Storage: 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD

1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Webcam: 1080p camera

1080p camera Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C), 1x USB Type-A (USB 3.2), 1x HDMI 2.1a, 1x microSD card reader, 1x combo headphone jack

2x Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C), 1x USB Type-A (USB 3.2), 1x HDMI 2.1a, 1x microSD card reader, 1x combo headphone jack Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4

Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 Biometrics: Fingerprint reader for Windows Hello

Fingerprint reader for Windows Hello Battery capacity: 76 Watt-hours

76 Watt-hours Dimensions: 13.99 x 9.93 x 0.50 inches

13.99 x 9.93 x 0.50 inches Weight: 3.73 pounds

3.73 pounds MSRP: $1,699

For many people, the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 is exactly what the doctor ordered: A traditional Intel-powered laptop that can run x86 software with no compatibility concerns, incredibly long battery life, and even more graphics horsepower than you might expect.

Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360: Design and build quality

IDG / Chris Hoffman

The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360s design is very similar to the recent Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge I also reviewed. Its a 16-inch almost-all-metal design that feels nice and premium thanks to all the solid aluminum in its chassis. Its all silver or gray with a black bezel around the screen and black keys on the keyboard.

At 3.73 pounds, this isnt the absolute lightest laptop, but its a very reasonable weight for a 16-inch all-metal machine. Thats especially true when you consider that this is a 2-in-1 machine with a touchscreen and included S Pen stylus along with a 360-degree hinge that lets you rotate the screen open the entire way. The hinge is solid and works well without a lot of wobble, even when you adjust or open the laptop with one hand.

Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360: Keyboard and trackpad

IDG / Chris Hoffman

The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 has a full-size keyboard complete with a number pad on the right side of the laptop and a white backlight. Its a chiclet-style keyboard that feels okay to type on, and I had no trouble quickly getting up to speed on it  which is the real test for a laptop keyboard. However, the key travel is on the shallow side. The keyboard doesnt feel as premium as the rest of the machine.

Like on that Snapdragon-powered Samsung Galaxy laptop, this machine has an absolutely huge trackpad that sits below the keyboard, off-center, and to the left side. The trackpad feels nice and smooth to use, and that huge surface is nice while youre using the trackpad. Still, its not as premium-feeling as the haptic trackpad found on the Surface Laptop 7. (To be fair, haptic trackpads are still hard to come by.)

The biggest issue with the layout is visible in the photos here. This is a big 16-inch laptop, and the layout of the trackpad and keyboard pushes the typical keyboard area to the top-left area of the keyboard tray. Its unlike many other laptops Ive used, and you may prefer a keyboard without a number pad and a smaller trackpad.

Still, the layout isnt as awkward as it may look in photos. Palm rejection works well, and I had no problem typing quickly at speed once I figured out the right place to rest my hands on the keyboard.

Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360: Display and speakers

IDG / Chris Hoffman

The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360s display is a highlight. This laptop includes 3K (28801800 resolution) AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. It looks beautiful, as OLED displays tend to, with beautiful vivid colors and a good amount of brightness. The AMOLED technology likely helps this machine squeeze more battery life from its hardware.

Samsung also says this screen has an anti-reflective coating. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked outside on a sunny day, especially since OLED screens with glossy coatings tend to struggle in that scenario.

Its also a touchscreen that supports stylus input, complete with an included S Pen  thankfully, thats bundled and not sold separately. Between that and the 360-degree hinge, this is a great machine for drawing, notes, and other pen-related 2-in-1 tasks. The S Pen input works well, with a pleasantly rubbery feeling that provides varying levels of pressure. It feels nice and smooth and tactile, not like youre dragging hard plastic against a screen.

This machine has solid speakers for a laptop: Loud, clear, and without as much bass as youll find in dedicated speakers or headphones.

Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 includes a 1080p webcam that produces a fine image. I found the image quality was better outdoors in natural light, and it wasnt quite as good indoors. While this is far from the best webcam Ive used on a laptop, its still usable enough for online meetings. Thanks to the NPU, this machine also offers Windows Studio Effects so you can activate features like forced eye contact and background blur in any application you use your webcam with.

Theres no physical webcam privacy shutter, however, which is a shame  thats always a nice privacy feature to have.

The integrated microphone has great audio quality, however. I have no criticisms to level there. The microphone is exactly what Id hope to find in a laptop like this one.

The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 includes a fingerprint reader for Windows Hello biometric sign-in. Its located at the top-right corner of the keyboard, above the Num Lock key, and it doubles as the power button. It works well, but I do wish this machine also had an IR camera for facial recognition.

Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360: Connectivity

IDG / Chris Hoffman

The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 offers a reasonable selection of ports. On the left side, it offers two Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C) ports along with a HDMI 2.1 port. Bear in mind that this laptop charges via USB-C, so one of those ports will be used for charging.

On the right side, this machine has a single USB Type-A port (USB 3.2), a microSD card reader, and a combo headphone jack.

Overall, its a reasonable selection. Some people will want more USB-C ports, others will want more USB Type-A ports, and some will want extra ports like an Ethernet jack for a wired network connection. Luckily, you can always add a dongle.

This laptop also has great wireless connectivity and supports the latest Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 standards. These are now standard as part of Intels Lunar Lake package, and its great to see modern laptops start to deliver Wi-Fi 7 compatibility out of the box.

Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360: Performance

The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 delivered great performance in day-to-day desktop productivity applications, where I used it largely on battery power. Thats exactly what I hoped to see.

As always, we ran the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 through our standard benchmarks to see how it performs.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

First, we run PCMark 10 to get an idea of overall system performance. With an overall PCMark 10 score of 7,220, the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 beat the Dell Inspiron 16 with its previous-generation Core Ultra Series 1 (Meteor Lake) CPU.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor in this laptop was also faster than the Core Ultra 7 256V chip found in the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition, another Lunar Lake-powered machine we recently reviewed.

However, it wasnt as fast in raw performance as the AMD Ryzen AI-powered machines I recently reviewed, including the Asus ProArt PX13 and HP OmniBook Ultra 14.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

Next, we run Cinebench R20. This is a heavily multithreaded benchmark that focuses on overall CPU performance. Its a quick benchmark, so cooling under extended workloads isnt a factor. But, since its heavily multithreaded, CPUs with more cores have a huge advantage.

The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 delivered a multithreaded score of 4355 here. Intels Lunar Lake processors just dont do well in this benchmark. Thats no huge surprise, as this benchmark is all about multithreaded performance. They have only eight cores, split between four performance cores and four efficient cores. The AMD Ryzen 9 HX 370 and 375 processors in this comparison have twelve cores.

This isnt representative of real-world desktop application use  these machines dont feel like theyre running at half the speed of a machine with a recent AMD processor in normal desktop use! However, these processors just arent built for maximum performance in heavily multithreaded applications. But Lunar Lake does deliver longer battery life than those AMD Ryzen AI-powered machines in our testing.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

We also run an encode with Handbrake. This is another heavily multithreaded benchmark, but it runs over an extended period. This demands the laptops cooling kick in, and many laptops will throttle and slow down under load.

The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 completed the encode process in 1445 seconds, or just over 24 minutes. Once again, Lunar Lake just isnt doing particularly great on these heavily multithreaded benchmarks.

Its worth remembering that the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 is a 16-inch laptop, just like the Dell Inspiron 16 Plus were comparing it against. This machine delivers better battery life and its about three-quarters of a pound lighter. But that Dell, with its older CPU, delivers better raw CPU performance.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

Next, we run a graphical benchmark. This isnt a gaming laptop, but its still good to check how the GPU performs. We run 3DMark Time Spy, a graphical benchmark that focuses on GPU performance.

With a 3DMark Time Spy score of 4,409, this machine delivered good performance for integrated graphics! The Intel Arc 140V integrated graphics in this machine beat the Radeon 890M integrated graphics in that AMD Ryzen AI 9 chip. It was only outclassed by laptops with discrete NVIDIA GPUs.

Overall, performance is okay for a laptop like this one, as long as youre not doing heavily multithreaded CPU-hungry activities. And the graphics performance is very good for integrated graphics. But while the raw performance doesnt stand out in multi-threaded CPU benchmarks, the entire package comes together and becomes compelling when you turn to battery life.

Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360: Battery life

The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 includes a 76-watt-hour battery. In day-to-day PC usage, battery life was excellent, and the laptop just kept on going. After the mixed experience I had with Intel Meteor Lake-powered laptops, Im so happy that laptops with the latest processors  Intels Lunar Lake, AMDs Ryzen AI, and Qualcomms Snapdragon X  all deliver reasonable battery life.

But Intel hasnt just caught up. Lunar Lake delivered some eye-popping battery life numbers in our standard benchmark. Thats especially impressive on this particular machine since OLED displays tend to be power-hungry.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

To benchmark the battery life, we play a 4K copy of Tears of Steel on repeat on Windows 11 with airplane mode enabled until the laptop suspends itself. This is a best-case scenario for any laptop since local video playback is so efficient, and real battery life in day-to-day use is always going to be less than this.

We set the screen to 250 nits of brightness for our battery benchmarks, and its worth noting that this machines OLED display provides a bit of an advantage, as OLED screens use less power to display the black bars around the video. (However, OLED displays also tend to be power-hungry).

In our battery life benchmark, the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 ran for an average of 1,401 minutes. Thats nearly 23 and a half hours. Thats far above what the recent AMD Ryzen AI 9-powered machines delivered. And its longer than the Snapdragon-powered Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge lasted when I tested it, although that machine had a smaller battery.

With battery life numbers like these, its hard to criticize the performance! Youre making a trade-off and trading some multi-threaded performance for a big battery life bump. For many people, that will be well worth it.

Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360: Conclusion

In PCWorlds review of Intel Lunar Lake, we said Intels latest hardware delivers great battery life, mediocre performance, [and] surprisingly decent gaming.

Thats exactly what youre getting here, along with a very nice laptop body: An absolutely beautiful AMOLED display, a solid chassis with lots of metal, and a 2-in-1 experience with a touch screen plus an S Pen. I just wish the keyboard was a little more comfortable, with some more key travel and a tweaked layout.

Still, for many people, this machine is exactly what the doctor ordered: A traditional Intel-powered laptop that can run x86 software with no compatibility concerns, incredibly long battery life, and even more graphics horsepower than you might expect. And day-to-day PC performance in web browsers, office applications, and typical productivity tools is perfectly fine!

If youre looking for more raw CPU performance, especially in multithreaded applications, a Lunar Lake machine like this one isnt the right fit. You may want to check out a gaming laptop or something with AMDs latest hardware.

The price will be a little high for some people. This is designed to be a more premium laptop, and at $1,699 its priced like it. Thats on the high side for a laptop, but the package delivers: Long battery life, a big and beautiful OLED display, and a 2-in-1 experience with an included S Pen. (Many less expensive laptops dont include a pen, even if they support one.) This machine provides a lot of value if thats what youre looking for.
One of the best laptops weve reviewed this year is on sale this Black Friday for a jaw-dropping price: the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge is down to $800 at Best Buy, a stunning $550 off its $1,350 MSRP.

In our review of the Book4 Edge, laptop expert Chris Hoffman gave it a 4-star rating, appreciating its long battery life, its gorgeous display, and its cutting-edge Snapdragon X Elite processor.

Admittedly, he was testing the 16-inch version with a 1TB SSD, while this one thats on sale is the 14-inch version sporting half the storage space. Even so, this is a powerful laptop that can tackle any task you throw at it with that high-end CPU and 16GB of RAM.

Furthermore, the 4K AMOLED display makes using this laptop a pleasure day in and day out, delivering vibrant colors and great contrast.

The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge is a great laptop, theres no doubt about it. The display is absolutely beautiful, the design is solid aluminum, and its extremely thin and light. Yet, thanks to the Snapdragon X Elite hardware, this machine can run for a very long time on a charge even while using a more power-hungry OLED screen.

Laptops rarely go for $550 off, and thats doubly true for impressive laptops like this one. Dont miss out on the chance to get this Samsung Copilot+ laptop for $800 at Best Buy with this amazing deal.

This is a crazy good deal for a crazy good laptop
Google just announced that it has started equipping its online document editing tool Google Docs with new AI features.

Googles own AI tool, called Gemini alongside OpenAIs ChatGPT and Microsofts Copilot, has been able to generate images for a while now, but soon youll be able to use Gemini to create AI-generated images directly within Google Docs itself.

Google

If you frequently use Google Docs, whether for personal use or as part of a larger team, and if you often need images and illustrations to support your text, this feature will boost your productivity.

When you want to insert an AI-generated image into Google Docs, simply go to the Insert menu, then select Cover image > Help me create an image. Youll then be able to describe what you want the image to be and choose from several different visual styles and formats.

Gemini will then use the Imagen 3 AI model to generate a few different versions of the image that you can choose from.

Google

The new image-generating AI feature began rolling out to Google Docs users in the Rapid Release domain on Friday, November 15, 2024. Google will later start rolling out the feature to all other Scheduled Release domain users starting on Monday, December 16, 2024.

To use the image generation in Google Docs, youll need to pay for a Gemini Business, Gemini Enterprise, Gemini Education, Gemini Education Premium, or Google One AI Premium subscription.
Over the past week, many users around the world have received extortion emails sent via the Microsoft 365 Message Center.

These emails are demanding users to pay $2,000 worth of cryptocurrency to a specific address, under the threat of stealth nude webcam photos of them being leaked to family members, friends, and colleagues.

Normally, these kinds of emails are supposed to get caught by spam filters, but because theyre being sent via an official Microsoft address, theyve managed to get through the eye of the needle.

Its not entirely clear how these hackers managed to send the extortion emails as of this writing, but according to BleepingComputer, the incident is currently being investigated by Microsoft.

If you ever receive this kind of blackmail email, never pay out any money under any circumstance. If you do, theres a high risk that youll be flagged as a susceptible victim and repeatedly blackmailed for more and more money, again and again, until youre broke.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/12/lucy-calkins-child-literacy-teaching-methodology/680394/

Heres a clear and focused explanation of Units of Study and why it has been considered essential, supported by examples:

Why Units of Study Was Considered Essential

Lucy Calkins Units of Study has been a cornerstone of literacy instruction in thousands of U.S. schools, widely praised for its emphasis on fostering a love for reading and writing. Heres why it gained prominence and examples of its impact:

1. Emphasis on Student-Centered Learning

Units of Study encourages children to see themselves as readers and writers, building intrinsic motivation.

Example: Instead of rote memorization or drills, students in Units of Study classrooms often explore books they choose themselves, sparking personal interest in reading. A child who loves animals might read books about wildlife, creating a meaningful connection to literacy.

2. Focus on Writing Workshops

Calkins curriculum introduced a workshop model where students actively write, revise, and share their work.

Example: A teacher might guide students through crafting a personal narrative, helping them brainstorm ideas, draft their stories, and polish them into finished pieces. This process fosters creativity and self-expression.

3. Balance Between Skill and Joy

Calkins argued that technical skills like grammar and spelling should support, not overshadow, the enjoyment of reading and writing.

Example: In classrooms using Units of Study, students might learn punctuation rules in the context of editing their stories, making the lessons more engaging and practical.

4. Teacher Empowerment

The curriculum provides teachers with flexible resources to adapt lessons to their students needs, rather than enforcing rigid scripts.

Example: A teacher in a bilingual classroom might tailor Units of Study to support English learners, incorporating vocabulary exercises alongside storytelling.

5. Integration into Major School Systems

The curriculum was adopted widely, particularly in New York City public schools, setting a model for others.

Example: NYC schools saw Units of Study as a solution to improve literacy in diverse classrooms, using its methods to inspire reluctant readers and writers.

Criticism and the Changing Landscape

While Units of Study has faced scrutiny for its limited focus on phonics, its core principlesemphasizing the joy of learning and empowering teachersremain influential. Supporters argue that striking a balance between its strengths and science-backed strategies like phonics could preserve its value in literacy education.

This focuses on Units of Studys practical applications and why it became essential in education, with concrete examples for clarity.

***

Education: How One Woman Became the Scapegoat for Americas Reading Crisis

Lucy Calkins was an education superstar. Now shes cast as the reason a generation of students struggles to read. Can she reclaim her good name?

By Helen Lewis

Photographs by Jeff Brown for The Atlantic

November 13, 2024

A Legacy of Educational Influence

Until a couple of years ago, Lucy Calkins was revered by American teachers and parents alike. Her curriculum, Units of Study, was widely adopted in thousands of U.S. schools to teach children reading and writing. Two decades ago, her core philosophythat children learn best when they love reading, and that teachers should inspire that lovebecame the foundation of New York Citys public school curriculum.

Her influence extended far beyond NYC through her institute at Columbia Universitys Teachers College and her publishers teaching materials. For many educators, using her methods was synonymous with teaching Lucy.

Mounting Criticism and the Fall from Grace

However, at 72, Calkins faces mounting criticism that threatens to undo her lifes work. A 2020 report by a nonprofit described Units of Study as beautifully crafted but unlikely to lead to literacy success for all of Americas public schoolchildren.

This criticism became louder after the release of the 2022 American Public Media podcast, Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong. Reporter Emily Hanford accused Calkins of contributing to a widespread reading crisis in America.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, conducted by the Department of Education, roughly one-third of fourth and eighth graders were unable to read at a basic level for their age in 2022. Sold a Story attributed part of the crisis to an unscientific idea embedded in Calkins' approachthat early readers didnt need to sound out words.

The Debate Over Cueing vs. Phonics

Calkins' methods encouraged children to rely on the cueing system, where they deduce words using context clues, first letters, or illustrations instead of phonics-based decoding (e.g., breaking cat into cuh-ah-tuh). Critics argue this system left many children struggling and frustrated, with poor literacy outcomes.

Hanford contended that teachers reliance on this method hindered progress in addressing America's literacy challenges.

Can Lucy Calkins Reclaim Her Legacy?

With her reputation tarnished and her curriculum under fire, Calkins finds herself at a crossroads. As education reform discussions intensify, the question remains: Can she adapt her approach and reclaim her status as a pioneer in literacy education?
A marketing and supply chain company is laying off dozens of employees in Lancaster and Lebanon counties.

DAS Companies has filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry informing the state it is laying off approximately 100 employees at its warehouses at1875 Zeager Road and 48 Industrial Road in West Donegal Township, Lancaster County, near Elizabethtown, and at 724 Lawn Road in South Londonderry Township, Lebanon County, near Palmyra. The company said the exact number of layoffs is not known.

The layoffs will take place on Dec. 31.

The company said in the WARN notice that the layoffs are due to an anticipated reduction in business and a corporate-wide reorganization.

Lebanon County-based DAS Companies designs, imports, and distributes truck and auto supplies, travel gear, and mobile electronics.

The WARN Act is federal legislation that offers protection to workers, their families, and communities by requiring employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of a covered-business closing and covered-business mass layoff. The WARN notice was dated Nov. 1.
Widener University Commonwealth Law School has launched the Center for Equity and Justice.

The center at the law school in Susquehanna Township will serve as a hub for legal research and education, providing law students with hands-on experience in addressing societal issues such as economic justice, criminal legal system reform, and community-police relations.

The establishment of the Center for Equity and Justice is not just a new unit for our law school; it is a powerful commitment to equality and social justice, Andre Douglas Pond Cummings, dean of the law school, said in a news release. We recognize that the legal system fails at times to serve marginalized communities, and through this center, we are determined to empower our students to confront these challenges head-on. Together, we will work tirelessly to dismantle barriers and promote equal opportunity for all.

The school said a significant part of the centers mission is to address the ongoing disparities in representation within the legal profession.

One of the most glaring inequalities we still see is the underrepresentation of people of color and first-generation college students within the legal profession, Cummings said. While African Americans make up 14% of the U.S. population, only about 5% of attorneys are African American. The numbers are similarly disproportionate for other underrepresented groups, including first-generation students. These center programs are about empowering students to not just enter the legal profession, but to thrive in it.

Professor Kellyn McGee was appointed as the faculty director of the Center for Equity and Justice.

The center embodies our belief that education must be coupled with action, McGee said in a news release. Our students will engage directly with communities facing significant challenges, gaining invaluable experience while making a difference. This is an opportunity for them to be on the front lines of social justice, developing the skills and passion needed to effect real change.

The Center for Equity and Justice will focus on several key areas of advocacy:

Pathway and Guided Journey Plus Programs: The Pathway Program and Guided Journey Plus are two initiatives designed to dismantle barriers to legal education for historically marginalized communities. These programs aim to level the playing field by providing intensive LSAT preparation and holistic support to students who have the potential to succeed but face systemic challenges.

The Pathway Program, a 12-week Law School Admissions Test, or LSAT, prep course supported by a $40,000 grant from the Law School Admission Council offers free instruction to students in Pennsylvania and Arkansas.

The Guided Journey Plus program in partnership with the Law School Admission Council through a $65,000 grant, serves 450 aspiring law students nationwide. This 12-week initiative provides small, supportive cohorts with intensive LSAT prep, targeting first-generation, rural, and students of color.

Enhanced Community Policing Project: In partnership with a major Fortune 500 corporation, this project analyzes policing practices in low-income and communities of color, with the goal of improving community-police relations and creating fairer enforcement practices. Research will focus on retail theft of necessitysuch as food and baby diapersand how law enforcement should justly address such incidents in the retail sector.

Economic Justice Initiatives: The Center for Equity and Justice plans to collaborate with community development financial institutions to provide small business loans to formerly incarcerated individuals and marginalized populations. By promoting entrepreneurship, the center aims to lift people out of poverty and empower them to rebuild their lives.

Student Fellowships: The center will offer paid fellowships to contribute to key initiatives, including the Pathway Program and the Enhanced Community Policing Project, gaining hands-on experience that bridges the gap between classroom theory and real-world application.

We are trying to promote equity in different aspects where lawyers work and where the law is, McGee said. We hope that the students in our programs will see the commitment to equity and justice, take that with them into their legal careers, and make a lasting difference.

A launch event was held on Thursday.
NEW ORLEANS (AP)  Two people were killed and 10 others were wounded in two separate shootings along a parade route and celebration on Sunday, authorities said. There were no immediate arrests.

Officers responding to reports of gunfire shortly after 3:30 p.m. on an avenue in the citys St. Roch neighborhood found eight victims with gunshot wounds, according to a news release from the New Orleans Police Department. All eight were taken to hospitals in unknown condition. Police later said a ninth wounded person arrived at a hospital via a private car.

About 45 minutes later, police received another report of gunfire as revelers were crossing the Almonaster Avenue Bridge, just over half a mile (.8 km) to the north. One person died at the scene and another died at a hospital, police said. A third victim was driven to a hospital in a private vehicle and is in stable condition, police said.

No arrests were announced and no suspect information was released. The St. Roch neighborhood is outside the citys French Quarter that is popular with tourists, located several blocks northeast of the quarter.

The Almonaster Bridge was closed in both directions during the investigation.

Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said detectives didnt immediately know if the incidents were related.

They were ... different kinds of approaches, she said of the shootings, which occurred in the area where a second line, a celebration following a parade, was taking place. The second line is one NOLA.com reported

New Orleans Police block the Almonaster Avenue Bridge after a deadly shooting during a second line celebration in New Orleans, Sunday Nov. 17, 2024. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)AP

It is a wonderful event, and we want to keep it a wonderful event, Kirkpatrick told NOLA.com.

It was the second major shooting in the South since gunfire marred a homecoming weekend at Tuskegee University in Alabama on Nov. 10, leaving one person dead and injuring 16 others, a dozen of them by gunfire, authorities said.
A Harrisburg man convicted of killing a teenager he wrongly thought stole his motorbike learned Monday morning he will spend around a quarter of a century in prison.

Miguel Sliger-Rivera, 38, fatally shot 17-year-old TayAndre Warren on November 26, 2022. Warren was riding the motorbike stolen from Sliger-Rivera, who followed the sounds of it until he came upon the teen.
Jenny Mollen ignited backlash on social media because she got on a flight while she was infected with head lice.

Now, shes itching to make sure everyone knows the circumstances surrounding her choice to get on the plane.

According to the actress, 45, she didnt realize she had head lice until she was already on the five-hour flight.

Mollen, whose husband is American Pie actor Jason Biggs, took to Instagram on Oct. 29 to share a video of herself with a clear plastic bag over her head and appeared to be sitting in the first-class section of the plane.

Her traveling companion, a woman named Caroline, looked in her hair and discovered that she had lice, Mollen explained.

Im on a plane with Caroline, and she just looked at my head, she said in the video. And remember when I told you last week that I said my head was itchy and I thought I was having perimenopause symptoms?

But to her surprise, that wasnt the case. Mollen inched closer to the camera and said, Guess what? I have [expletive] lice.

Mollen went on to say that while she suspects who she got the head lice from, she didnt want to call that person out.

But she knows who she is, the Dinner and a Movie star added with a laugh. I cant even deal. This is insane, you guys.

Mollen said shed never had lice before, and thought the problem was due to perimenopause, when a decrease in estrogen can lead to itchy, dry skin around the body. Mollen said her head had been itching for about two weeks at that point.

She then mentioned that the flight was five hours and that the plastic bag on her head came with the headphones she was given by a flight attendant. She also added that her companion Caroline was afraid of her, as Caroline jokingly raised a privacy screen between them.

Im not saying for sure you have lice, Im just saying theres absolutely no way you dont - Caroline, the videos caption reads.

The actress followers flocked to the comment section of the video and heavily criticized her for boarding the plane when infected with head lice.

Why are you on a plane with lice???????? one wrote.

Another user chimed in, adding: Well I certainly would not be on a plane with untreated lice announcing it. Not cool.

Another user agreed, adding, Could you imagine paying for first class to get lice? Im shook.

I will NEVER not wear a hoodie when I fly now !! Thank you for introducing a brand-new fear of mine now - catching lice on a plane, someone else wrote.

The following day, Mollen shared a video of herself receiving lice treatment, saying her home and two sons, Lazlo, 5, and Sid, 8, were also infested. Meanwhile, her husband got away with like two eggs, she said.

The airplane seat  thats a bummer for the person who sits there next, she said in the follow-up video.

I want to be clear. I didnt know I had lice until I was on the airplane, adding that shed been itching her scalp for about three weeks, but chalked it up to perimenopause.

Lets just blame my husband for not looking closely enough at my head, Mollen said. Because Id said to him, Do I have lice? Do you see anything? And he said, No. Turns out I did have lice.

The world is on fire, but me finding out I had lice while stuck on an airplane (two weeks ago) is A TOP STORY, Mollen then said in an Instagram post on Friday, commenting on Peoples article about the incident.

Its not clear how common head lice are, but they are most often seen in young children and their households, with an estimated 6 million to 12 million infestations a year in children between 3 and 11 years old, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lice are spread by direct  head-to-head contact, according to the Mayo Clinic. it could also be spread via items that an infested person has used, like hats, combs, brushes, towels, pillows, beds or even stuffed animals.

Along with over-the-counter or prescription medication, head lice can be treated by combing wet hair with a fine-toothed nit comb, to potentially remove lice and some nits.
Sundance Head returned to social media Sunday, just two days after he was shot and life-flighted to a hospital in Tyler, Texas.

The country music star and winner of The Voice Season 11 spoke directly to his fans.

I wanted to come on and tell you that Im still alive, thankfully, Head said in a video he shared to Facebook. Thanks to the good Lord above, and the wonderful first responders that helped me as well as the trauma team at UT Tyler. They did a wonderful job and they helped keep me alive. I was sure that I was going to die. It was one of the craziest things that ever happened to me, and Im going to elaborate on this more. I have a wonderful story to tell you about this if there is any such thing as being shot and coming out with some kind of positive thing, I really do have one. Im going to have to do it in parts so that it gets out here.

The 46-year-old said he still had the bullet in him.

Im in a lot of pain, he said. I was shot accidentally in the stomach. I was alone. It was one of the craziest things that could have possibly happened. If we could relive this thing and do it 999,000 more times it would never happen.

Heads wife, Misty, posted updates on his Facebook page on Friday and Saturday.

She revealed that Head was in Texas hunting at his ranch, when he reached into his Jeep to retrieve a handgun. As he was pulling the handgun out of the Jeep, she said, he dropped it causing it to discharge into his abdomen.

She said her husband then took off down the driveway out to the main road to flag a car down for help. 10 cars later someone turned around to help and called 911. In his video on Sunday, Head thanked the men who stopped to help him.

I dont think I was going to make it, he said. I was bleeding out right there.

Luckily, Head being a chubbier guy might have helped save him, per Misty. She wrote that him being on the bigger side was a good thing. Bullet is in his fatty tissue.

Whatever the case, the close call was not lost on him.

I am thankful to be alive, he said in the video. I have a lot of life left, and that is what I was telling these ladies and gentleman that was trying to keep me alive during this process.
Things are heating up with Chanel Banks.

The former missing Blue Bloods" actress, also known for her roles in Gossip Girl and Twelve, has since been found safe but questions are still swirling about her disappearance and why she seemingly wanted to hightail it away from her family.

On Sunday evening, Banks took to Instagram Stories to seemingly give folks a peek at her side of the story, including the fact that she plans to go live on YouTube sometime today.

The screenshot Banks posted was of what seems to be inside her own home in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

Look: 1. The dog and my things were (surprise) in my home  that I SHARE with my husband = DOG GOOD DOG WAS NEVER LEFT ALONE, she wrote in the post. 2. Pictures of my husband & I are temporarily hidden due to the outlandish accusations that were lobbed at him for this fake missing person campaign.

3. Yes, I do have a moderator now on here who is recording every single comment and harassment for multiple police departments so yeeeeah, she continued. Keep it up. turns out #imtheRIGHTone. So honored and proud to be a voice for victim abuse. Be brave! Reach out and message me, I want to start a group where we can all come together.

And Im done now. Until my YOUTUBE LIVE TOMORROW, where all the triggered fingers can put their conspiracy theories to pasture., she concluded.

In another post, she included a lengthy written text against a black screen, saying that shes now bulletproof and isnt playing nice anymore.

I said Im Christian, Im not Jesus. Im more of a warrior than a hugger. And after what Ive been through, Im bulletproof now. Im not playing nice anymore. Now that Ive got my freedom, I will never ever let anyone PRETEND to opress me or my beliefs ever again.

Hopefully after this ordeal with me, you understand that you never know what someone else is going through. Shame on anyone who makes fun of someone crying out in pain at a place of worship (which this time was a gym) pray for those crying out. Dont shame them. Some of you chose the wrong side a little too quickly and youre beginning to see that now, she concluded.

The posts come after Banks posted a short video to YouTube Thursday night and announced that she was filming a television interview.

As you can see, I am alive, Banks said while getting her makeup done in preparation for the interview with a soon-to-be-announced television station.

That came after a string of stories were posted to Banks personal Instagram account on Wednesday, indicating that Banks was safe, although she accused her family of abuse.

Please do not donate to any GoFundMe that says I am missing, one post read. I am not missing.

On Wednesday, when announcing that she was alive and well, Banks posted on Instagram that she took a trip to Texas to be baptized by her favorite pastor and wanted to escape her mothers family who had reported her as missing. She also accused her family of being fame hungry and said she her stepfather had sexually abused her.

The escape also confirmed what her husband, Carlos Jimenez, told KTLA.

She had decided she didnt want to talk to the family anymore due to past issues that they had, Jimenez recently told KTLA during a phone interview.

One post also said that Banks and her husbands family were pursuing a conservatorship.

Banks' Instagram account is verified and was created in April 2021. The account includes clips from Gossip Girl and snapshots of Jimenez.

As previously reported, her family filed a missing persons report with the Los Angeles Police Department after the actress disappeared from her apartment three weeks ago. But on Nov. 11 she was found in Texas and, according to authorities, no foul play was involved.

She is fine, LAPD spokesperson Charles Miller told People magazine. No danger. She is OK. She has been taken out of the missing person system for us and we have closed our investigation.

No additional details were available.

Banks' family, however, disagreed with the finding, and even slammed TMZ for reporting that the actress was found.

TMZ IS REPORTING FAKE NEWS, her cousin, Danielle-Tori Singh, wrote on Facebook.

But since the actress came forward with her own video on YouTube, the GoFundMe her cousin organized was taken down late Thursday night.

Singh posted on Facebook that the family confirmed that Banks was found three hours before that video was posted.

Then, after confirming that Banks was found alive, Singh said all donations that were made to the now-deleted GoFundMe would be refunded. Turns out, thousands were raised, per KTLA.

The 36-year-old is now considered found by authorities and is no longer listed as missing.

This all began when Singh, who flew to California to search for Banks, recently told KTLA that she hadnt heard from Banks since late October. Banks mother, Judy Singh, also flew to L.A. from New York to help with the search.

Once she learned that Banks phone was dead and that her car and dog were still at her Playa Vista apartment, she contacted the police.

The family then launched the GoFundMe page that was organized by Singh to help with search efforts.

After Banks was found by authorities, the family didnt believe that to be true and was under the impression that she was being impersonated.

In a lengthy video posted to Facebook, Singh said she had seen captured footage from Texas police showing an altercation with a person authorities said was Banks. The woman appeared to be skinnier than Banks and was wearing clothes the actress wouldnt, Singh said.

Singh said she didnt believe the woman was her cousin, due to police identifying the woman who had Banks New York drivers license, which Singh said is a decade old and had expired.

Banks said her communication with Singh was infrequent, but Singh has since denied that claim with screenshots of text messages supposedly exchanged with the actress.
By Mike Newall, The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)

For nearly a century, a swashbuckling-style pair of gloves rested in a reliquary in the University of Pennsylvania library. Far from lost, but largely forgotten, the mystical gauntlets were disturbed over the decades only by the awestruck scholars and devotees who came to ponder, What if?

After all, it couldnt be true. They couldnt really have belonged to the great writer, the Bard himself. They couldnt really have been William Shakespeares gloves.

Or could they?

Recently, the enduring mystery surrounding Shakespeares gloves has taken on new life. Earlier this year, two Penn researchers at the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts endeavored to discern the true provenance of the stately-looking silver leather gloves with silver and gold brocade that have long been a source of literary curiosity.

The duos' dogged detective work and rigorous scientific testing revealed tantalizing new details. Their digging has also cast new light on the uniquely Philadelphia story attached to the gloves, a Shakespearean tale with Philly twists that, like the gloves, were largely lost to time.

I dont want to ruin the dream that they could have belonged to Shakespeare, said Alicia Meyer, a curator of research at the Kislak Center, who spearheaded the effort. Theres no reason to think they couldnt have, except that its so wild and crazy.

Few relics survive

Few relics tied to Shakespeare, who shuffled off the mortal coil in 1616 at age 51 or 52, have survived the centuries. Objects dating to Shakespeares lifetime, including dice, pottery, and buttons, have been displayed at the writers birthplace and family home in Stratford-upon-Avon in England. A signet ring, which possibly belonged to Shakespeare, was unearthed in 1810 in a church field near his home. The writers signature is extremely rare, existing only in legal documents.

Perhaps the biggest prize for Shakespeare trophy hunters could be the great writers skull, which some historians believe was stolen by grave robbers some 200 years ago, and never found.

Skull aside, theres just not a lot out there.

In terms of Shakespeares stuff, we dont have it in the way we want it, Meyer said. And thats not rare for the time period.

That Penn may possess a Shakespearean grail is no surprise. Its Shakespeare collections, derived mostly from the donated archive of Horace Howard Furness, are world-renowned.

Furness, a Philadelphian who died in 1912, was the greatest Shakespearean scholar of his time. He edited the first Variorum Edition of Shakespeare, a herculean tome annotating nearly every line of Shakespeares plays with hundreds of years of literary and historical references.

Its bananas, Meyer said. Now, we google these things.

Among the Shakespearean jewels found at Penns H.H. Furness Memorial Library is a copy of the First Folio, an anthology of his plays published shortly after his death on leather-bound rag paper. Theres also a third edition of Hamlet, printed in 1611, one of only 19 copies in the world. The school boasts other Shakespeare relics, including logs cut from a mulberry tree said to have grown in Shakespeares home, and a small box cut from the same wood.

But nothing like the gloves. They caused a stir when Furness' son donated them, along with the rest of his fathers Shakespearean trove, in 1931.

Experts were wading through the traditions and statements of witnesses who over the centuries gave statements about the gloves, Meyer said.

But when early 20th-century scholars could provide no definitive answer, the gloves were stored in a wood and glass box outfitted with a pillow of red satin. The regal case was constructed in the workshop of Furness' brother, the famous architect Frank Furness.

It was sort of laid to rest here in the library, Meyer said.

Reconnecting the threads

Meyer, who was a fellow at Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington before joining the Kislak Center last year, broke out the gloves in April to show the students of Penn professor and Shakespearean scholar Zachary Lesser.

We were all like, Ah, everyone thinks these are Shakespeares gloves; that cant possibly be true. And I was looking at them for a really long time, and thought, its actually extremely rare for people to have so confidently said that they were Shakespeares in the past. Thats what caught my eye. I thought it was weird that this story exists.

So Meyer began digging, reconnecting the threads that brought the gloves to Philadelphia and Penn in the first place.

According to lore, the mayor of Stratford-upon-Avon had given them to English actor David Garrick in the 18th century when the star made a pilgrimage to Shakespeares hometown. The town gifted them to Garrick, the Laurence Olivier of his day, Meyer said, as a thank you for returning the playwright to popularity. Garrick eventually gave them to actress Sarah Siddons, a great tragedienne of the time. Not to be out-regifted, Siddons later gave them to British actress and abolitionist Fanny Kemble, who settled in Philadelphia.

The worship of relics is not the most exalted form of human devotion but the meanest garment that ever clipped he whom we love, Kemble wrote Furness, when she gifted him the gloves as a thank you for his toil on the variorum.

Shes basically saying, We dont want to worship objects, but here are Shakespeares gloves, Meyer said, with a smile.

Kemble, though, signed her note, with a maddeningly cautious caveat: They may be genuine.

Even Furness was skeptical, Meyer said. They were serious people and wanted to do their due diligence.

Searching for clues

Still, the gloves became a cherished relic. In 1937, noted British Shakespearean actor Maurice Evans made his own pilgrimage to behold the gloves. Seizing the moment, the thespian boldly slipped on the centuries-old gloves. A perhaps nervous and quick-thinking librarian informed the actor that anyone who dared wear them was cursed to die in a year.

(Meyer did not find any other mention of a curse in her glove research. Evans, who would later go on to star on the screen, including in the Planet of the Apes films, died over 50 years later.)

Meyer enlisted the help of conservation librarian Tessa Gadomski. She brought the gloves down to Penns Steven Miller Conservation Laboratory to study them with technology normally used to treat and care for the schools rare books and papers.

Examining the gloves under ultraviolet light, Gadomski searched for clues of any postindustrial materials, which would show the gloves were likely made or repaired after Shakespeares time. And found none.

Next, she used x-ray fluorescence technology (XRF), testing the gloves with a handheld spectrometer  imagine a superheros ray gun  to determine the elemental building blocks of the gloves. She searched for signs of chromium or titanium, commonly used in 18th- and 19th-century tanning techniques. Again, she found none.

So really just ruling out anything that was not from that time, she said.

From a visual analysis, Gadomski concluded the gloves were likely made from sheepskin.

That would make a lot of sense for the time period were thinking about, she said. And that part of the world.

While the takeaways from the tests were slightly less definitive than Gadomski and Meyer would have liked, they also didnt prove that the gloves couldnt be Shakespeares.

It does tell us that the materials can be from Shakespeares time, Gadomski said. Its still a possibility.

100 missing years

It would fit that Shakespeare would own a pair of fancy mitts. Clothes, as he once famously wrote, make the man. His plays made the money. His father was a glove maker. Plus, it was common for rich patrons to donate clothes, and even gloves, to theater troupes for costumes, Meyer said.

What remains unknown, Lesser pointed out, is the whereabouts of the gloves for the hundred-plus years between Shakespeares death and when they were given to Garrick.

Lesser understands the almost religious-pull the gloves would hold if they were indeed Shakespeares.

There is a kind of mystical connection to the person, he said. If he really wore them, then we feel like were somehow in the presence of him.

But in his heart of hearts, he feels its a long shot that theyll ever truly know.

Still, he said, the gloves, and the allure attached to them, show the powerful grip of Shakespeare through the ages.

Im interested in them as a testament to the history of the love of Shakespeare  the history of Shakespeare as a cultural icon, he said. I think theyre important in thinking about when and why and how Shakespeare become an icon of genius. The gloves are part of the story.

The researchers hope the renewed attention could unearth some historical evidence potentially buried in some attic or archive that could definitively tie the gloves to the hands of perhaps the greatest writer the world has ever known.

It would be very special, Meyer said. You can see why the dream is there. The story is there. The dream is there.
A fish thats seen as a sign of impending disaster has washed up on a beach in California.

In fact, its the second one to be spotted in just the past few months.

SFGATE reports how the oarfish  which is an incredibly rare sea creature that can stretch up to 12 feet in length  was spotted on the sand of Grandview Beach in Encinitas a couple of weeks ago.

According to a Facebook post published by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, this oarfishs appearance comes just three months after another was found in La Jolla. The specimen was recovered by NOAA Fisheries Service and taken to the Southwest Fisheries Science Center for further observation.

As for why people consider the oarfish to be a doomsday fish, NBC News explains that  as oarfish typically dwell in the deep ocean  the appearance of one suggests a coming natural disaster like an earthquake. About 20, for example, washed up prior to an earthquake in Japan in 2011, the countrys worst on record.

However, the same NBC News article states how a 2019 study conducted by Japanese researchers found no solid evidence linking oarfish to these disasters.

Nevertheless, Facebook comments pointing to the contrary abound.

the change in habit of these fish is due to the currents of the tectonic plates of the ring of fire and although scientists know it, no measures are taken for the population that would be affected in the event of a disaster, reads one Facebook comment.

With a simple habitat check, you could figure it out. This is studied in the second semester of marine biology.

However, the true explanation behind the oarfishs appearance may not be as fire-and-brimstone.

It may have to do with changes in ocean conditions and increased numbers of oarfish off our coast, said Ben Frable, manager of the Scripps Oceanography Marine Vertebrate Collection, via the Facebook post. Many researchers have suggested this as to why deep-water fish strand on beaches.

Sometimes it may be linked to broader shifts such as the El Nino and La Nina cycle but this is not always the case. There was a weak El Nino earlier this year. This wash-up coincided with the recent red tide and Santa Ana winds last week but many variables could lead to these strandings.
A large-scale poaching scheme is unfolding in Wisconsin.

And now a woman is facing charges in connection with the investigation into the scheme.

NBC 26 reports how over 100 deer were illegally killed across Fond du Lac between spring 2023 and this past summer. Investigators have stated that three 16-year-old males are involved in the case and would shoot these deer at night from a car.

The same article says that Jessica Kroening  a 36-year-old resident of Brownsville, Dodge County  admitted last month that she would shine a light out of a car window so a teen could shoot deer.

According to WTAQ, cops were called to a Campbellsport home in July due to foul smells emanating from garbage bags behind the residence. The source of the smell, it turned out, was deer heads in the bags.

WTAQ said that the owner of the property  who had been in a relationship with Kroening  informed police of the juveniles poaching activities.

Daily Dodge said that Kroening has been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a child, illegal deer shining and resisting a conservation warden. With regards to the latter charge, WTAQ adds Kroening threw a phone into a river rather than allow authorities to examine it for evidence.

An initial court appearance for Kroening has been scheduled for Dec. 2. The teenage boy along with two other minors have also been charged with poaching deer and other animals.
The beloved Trans-Siberian Orchestra will perform five concerts in Pennsylvania in the coming week including in State College and Hershey.

The Lost Christmas Eve show will be in State College on Thursday, Nov. 21; Hershey on Saturday, Nov. 23; and Wilkes-Barre on Sunday, Nov. 24.

Were bringing an ALL-NEW version of The Lost Christmas Eve - the final chapter of TSOs Christmas trilogy - out to you on tour this year. Filled with fan-favorites, this story proves that its never too late, the orchestra said.

Fans can buy tickets here (prices are as of the time of this publication):

7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21 - Bryce Jordan Center, State College

3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 - the Giant Center, Hershey

7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 - the Giant Center, Hershey

2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24 - Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre

7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 24 - Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre

The orchestra also will perform at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, and 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
By Cassidy Alexander, Ernie Suggs and Ashley Ahn, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (TNS)

Nathaniel Smith was having dinner with his 24-year-old niece when her phone buzzed with a text message.

It buzzes all day, but this time, something was different.

She said, Look what I got, and showed it to me, said Smith, the founder and CEO of the Partnership for Southern Equity, an Atlanta nonprofit.

The message said she had been selected to be a house slave at the nearest plantation. Be ready at 8 a.m. sharp on Monday.

Smiths niece is one of perhaps hundreds of mostly young Black people across the country who reported receiving racist text messages in the wake of the Nov. 5 election. Many were college students.

The text messages have since continued, according to the FBI. The agency said Friday that the recipients have expanded to include high school students, as well as Latino and LGBTQ+ communities. Some of these recipients said they were told to join a reeducation camp or were selected for deportation, according to the Friday news release.

Although we have not received reports of violent acts stemming from these offensive messages, we are evaluating all reported incidents and engaging with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, the FBI said. We are also sharing information with our law enforcement partners and community, academia, and faith leaders.

There have also been emails communicating similar messages, the FBI said.

I feel that historically, people who dont want Black people to be free have utilized fear to control our emotions about our commitment to being free, said Smith, who posted a screenshot of his nieces text on Facebook. This is horrible and my prayer is that incidents like this wont increase as a result of Trumps election.

William Hines, a central Pa. resident, said he received this text message at around 2:15 p.m. Nov. 6, 2024.Image courtesy of William Hines

The Southern Poverty Law Center said it was investigating the messages received by students in Alabama and Georgia, according to a Nov. 7 news release. The NAACP said that messages were received in nine states, The New York Times reported. Pennsylvania is among them.

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said the alarming text messages are the result of electing a president who, historically has embraced and at times encouraged hate.

These messages represent an alarming increase in vile and abhorrent rhetoric from racist groups across the country, who now feel emboldened to spread hate and stoke the flames of fear that many of us are feeling after (the) election results, he said in a statement. These actions are not normal. And we refuse to let them be normalized.

Many of the text messages say the recipient has been selected to pick cotton on a plantation, according to the FBI. Another message was reported saying that the recipient had been selected to become a slave on Jan. 21, the day after the presidential inauguration.

The text sent to young Black people, including students at Alabama State University and the University of Alabama, is a public spectacle of hatred and racism that makes a mockery of our civil rights history, said Margaret Huang, SPLC president and CEO. Hate speech has no place in the South or in our nation.

Students began receiving the text messages on Nov. 6, the day after the election. Early that morning, The Associated Press declared Donald Trump the winner of the presidential election, capping off several contentious months of campaigning. Exit polls showed that 13% of Black voters cast their ballots for Trump in the election, the lowest percentage among any racial demographic group.
Guy Fieri had about as perfect of a quote as you will get for a story like this.

Its like a movie, he told PEOPLE Magazine. But its real.

That came after news broke that he and rock legend Sammy Hagar were hit hard recently when two trucks carrying their Santo Tequila were hijacked and have gone missing in Laredo, Texas.

Per People, the truck were carrying 440 cases of the booze, which it said comes out to 24,240 bottles.

Fieri and Hagar are partners in the business.

Weve worked so hard, Fieri told People. This is our best year weve ever had in Santo. WE just had all the momentum, and now whatevers on the shelf is all people are going to get.

Fieri said Santos distiller is now working overtime to get more out, but expects the busy holiday season to be thin.

Our distiller is an independent distiller whos dependent on our sales for his livelihood and that of his team, Santo president Dan Butkus said. My sales team, my marketing team, the entire Santo Spirits team is dependent upon these sale. Thats sort of the piece thats most hurtful to me. Weve got to support these people both at the distillery and in the U.S. and we cant do it right now without the revenue from these cases.

One truck of the tequila was Pennsylvania bound while the other was headed for California. Neither showed up.

Butkus told PEOPLE it was the strangest thing Ive ever seen in the spirits industry over 25 years.

Two of our trucks, four days apart, to be stolen, its so out of the ordinary, out of the norm, that were wondering why our trucks may have been targeted, he said.

Fieri told PEOPLE he believes someone could be trying to break the momentum.

Among the stolen tequila was a specially-made extra anejo, that takes 39 months to make. Fieri said the company plans to offer a $10,000 reward for that because its like the crown jewel of the company.
The state recently awarded a number of grants for projects in Cumberland County

Rep. Thomas Kutz (R-Cumberland) announced last month that $3.7 million in combined grant funding from the Local Share Account and Public School Facility Improvement grant programs were approved by the Commonwealth Financing Authority.

The Local Share Account grants included:

Silver Spring Township was awarded $101,840 for infrastructure improvements related to the renovation of the historic Junkin House, which will eventually serve as a museum.

Silver Spring Township was awarded $600,000 to construct a new public works building. The funds will be used to construct and engineer a 700,000 square-foot building, salt shed and fueling station.

Greenlight Operation was awarded $148,225 for purchases related to their restoration house, which will aid victims of human trafficking.

South Middleton Township Municipal Authority was awarded $90,000 to improve water and sewer services.

Lower Allen Township was awarded $457,466 for the Peyton Walker Foundation to purchase Automated External Defibrillators for distribution to volunteers as part of its 4-Minute City Initiative.

Local Share Account grants are for projects in the public interest that improve the quality of life of citizens in the community. Eligible projects must be owned and maintained by an eligible applicant or a nonprofit organization. Eligible applicants include: Pennsylvania counties, municipalities, municipal authorities, economic development agencies, redevelopment authorities, land banks and councils of government.

The Public School Facility Improvement grants included:

Cumberland Perry Area Career and Technology Center awarded $330,000 to replace its HVAC system. The funds will be used for purchasing new equipment and installation.

Mechanicsburg Area Middle School was awarded $1 million to replace and improve its HVAC cooling system. The funds will be used for construction.

Boiling Springs High School was awarded $1 million to replace windows and complete internet connectivity projects. The funds will be used to purchase and install equipment, as well as cover construction and engineering costs.

The Public School Facility Improvement Grant Program provides grants to public school districts and area career and technical schools for eligible facility improvement projects. Funds may be used for the following activities: roof repairs and roof replacement; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment; boilers and controls; plumbing systems; energy-saving projects; health and safety upgrades; emergencies; accessibility projects; internet connectivity; demolition and window repairs and window replacement.

Cumberland County is among the fastest-growing counties in the Commonwealth, and our existing infrastructure needs to be improved or expanded upon to accommodate new residents, Kutz said in a news release.
By Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

WASHINGTON  President-elect Donald Trumps plan to execute mass deportations of immigrants in the U.S. illegally will involve the military and a national emergency declaration, he confirmed Monday.

In a Nov. 8 post on Trumps social media platform Truth Social, Tom Fitton, who leads the conservative legal group Judicial Watch, wrote: GOOD NEWS: Reports are the incoming @RealDonaldTrump administration prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.

Trump responded early Monday: TRUE!!!

A spokesperson for the Trump transition team didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

During his first term, Trump bypassed Congress to divert Pentagon funds to expand the border wall by declaring a national emergency. President Biden terminated the emergency order just after he took office in 2021.

Mass deportations were one of Trumps top campaign promises  he said he would go after at least 15 million people who are in the U.S. illegally, though its not known whether the total number of undocumented immigrants is that high. On the campaign trail, Trump said his strategy would rely on military troops, friendly state and local law enforcement and wartime powers.

Trump chose Tom Homan, previously the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to oversee deportations as his border czar. Homan promised to resume workplace immigration raids and prioritize immigrants who pose threats to public safety and national security for deportation.
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Spotlight on Responsible Gambling as Safer Gambling Week 2024 Begins

PokerNews Staff Copy link

From November 18th to 24th, countries across Europe will participate in Safer Gambling Week 2024, a vital cross-continent initiative designed to raise awareness about responsible gambling.

This annual campaign unites the gambling industry, government bodies, and charities in a shared mission to promote safer gambling practices while providing essential tools and support for those in need.

At PokerNews, were proud to champion this important message, highlighting key safer gambling principles and ensuring our readers know where to find support, no matter where they are in the world.

Key topics at the heart of Safer Gambling Week 2024 include:

Remember...

It's good to set yourself limits.

Gambling is not a way to make money.

Its good to take a break.

Friends and family are more important than gambling.

Additionally, the campaign highlights the safer gambling tools available to players, including:

Set your time and deposit limits

Self-exclude from gambling

Block gambling websites

Limit the gambling content you see

Block gambling payments with your bank

This year's edition will see Europe present a united front, with the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) teaming up with the British Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) to collectively promote responsible practices between November 18th-24th.

Never chase losses Never chase losses Always set limits Always set limits Take regular breaks Take regular breaks Responsible Gambling

PokerNews Reinforces Our Commitment to Safer Gambling

At PokerNews, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to enjoy gambling safely and responsibly. Our mission is to educate, empower, and support players in making informed choices.

As of December 2023, PokerNews parent company, Flutter, has invested $101 million in developing and promoting safer gambling initiatives. These efforts are centered around the Play Well strategy, which is a key part of Flutters commitment to player protection.

Speaking about the Play Well strategy, Sue Albion, Flutter's Director of Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs, said, Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, and Play Well is our commitment to their wellbeing... Play Well is absolutely core to our business strategy.

Flutter is also working towards a significant goal: by 2030, the company aims to have 75% of its customers actively using a Play Well tool, demonstrating a proactive approach to player safety.

Reflecting on Safer Gambling Week 2024, Mark Powell-Bevan, Director of PokerNews, stated, We are proud to support Safer Gambling Week 2024 and are dedicated to promoting responsible gambling practices that prioritize the well-being of our readers.

He added, Through education and resources, we aim to empower our global audience to make informed decisions and enjoy their gambling experiences responsibly.

Curious to learn more about Flutter's Play Well strategy? Watch the video below:

Safer Gambling Advice & Support

Are you worried about your gambling?

A range of free, confidential tools are available right now that can help you regain control.

Call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133

Visit Gamstop to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites - www.gamstop.co.uk

Visit GamCare - www.gamcare.org.uk

Visit Gamble Aware - www.begambleaware.org

PokerNews encourages players to gamble responsibly at all times . Please visit the link for further information on PokerNews' commitment to Responsible Gambling.

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12 APT Phu Quoc 2024 Events Break the Tour's Records

Matthew Pitt Senior Editor Copy link

If there was ever any doubt that the Asian Poker Tour (APT) is the premier live poker tour in Asia, you only have to look at the numbers from the recent APT Phu Quoc 2024 festival in Vietnam. Each APT stop seems to smash records, and Phu Quoc continued that trend, with some impressive figures generated during the ten-day festival.

Across the 78 trophy events, some 5,938 entries were processed and VND 104,420,824,349 (US$4,111,055) in prize money awarded. Amazingly, those numbers represent an 86% increase over the same series held in 2023, making it the most successful APT Phu Quoc festival in the APT's history.

Although the festival did not set any new tour country or international records, 12 events set new highs for Phu Quoc tournaments. The Main Event was one of those dozen record-breaking APT Phu Quoc tournaments. It drew in 795 entrants, who created a prize pool worth the equivalent of almost $1.4 million, some 40% more than the advertised guarantee.

Jinlong Hu

Online WSOP bracelet winner, Jinlong Hu of China came out on top and got his hands on US$185,430 after defeating South Korea's Junseok Oh heads-up, resigning the runner-up to a US$112,795 consolation prize. The victory saw Hu, which came at his fourth APT final Main Event final table, rise to 59th place in China's all-time money list.

The other seven finalists captured prizes worth between US$13,860 and $79,725.

Rank Player Country Prize (VND) Prize (USD) 1 Jinlong Hu China 4,710,000,000 $185,430 2 Junseok Oh South Korea 2,865,000,000 $112,795 3 Do Tien Vu Vietnam 2,025,000,000 $79,725 4 Truong Thang Minh Australia 1,525,000,000 $60,040 5 David Erquiaga Phillipines 1,202,500,000 $47,340 6 Wang Haozhao China 902,500,000 $35,530 7 Deepankur Gupta India 642,500,000 $25,295 8 Chuhao Zhang China 445,000,000 $17,520 9 Pham Ngoc Quoc Bao Vietnam 352,000,000 $13,860

Jason Lau

Jason Lau of Malaysia triumphed in the APT High Roller, which saw 139 high rollers create a VND 9,707,760,000 (US$382,195) prize pool, the largest ever high roller at the Phu Quoc stop. Having reached the final table of the APT High Roller in Manila and Taipei, Lau made it a case of third time lucky as he bulldozed his way to an impressive victory worth $91,730.

Lau's haul pushed his live poker tournament earnings closer to $350,000, and his rankings in Malaysia's all-time money list to 34th place.

Rank Player Country Prize (VND) Prize (USD) 1 Jason Lau Malaysia 2,329,880,000 $91,730 2 Yu Chung "Nevan" Chang Taiwan 1,582,360,000 $62,300 3 Amit Kaushik India 1,043,580,000 $41,085 4 Seon Ooi Malaysia 862,050,000 $33,940 5 Biao Guo China 692,160,000 $27,250 6 Hayato Kitajima Japan 542,660,000 $21,365 7 Jennifer Cassell Australia 406,760,000 $16,015 8 Yita Choong Australia 300,940,000 $11,850 9 Phanlert Sukothachartnant Thailand 232,990,000 $9,170

The APT Phu Quoc 2024 was the last scheduled festival of the year, meaning the staff who work tirelessly behind the scene get to enjoy some much deserved downtime. However, a teaser post on the APT website suggests the 2025 schedule is not far from being released, leaving players wondering where the tour will head in the New Year. On this latest showing, Phu Quoc is nailed on to be one of the stops in 2025.

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Sinead Davenport has been nursing a short stack throughout the entirety of Day 2, but her stack is now starting to lift off thanks to the American Airlines.

Davenport was on the button and got her stack of just under 600,000 into the middle preflop, and David Ledden put her at risk from the small blind .

Sinead Davenport: AA

David Ledden: 99

Davenport was rewarded for her patience as the 61066J runout kept her aces in the lead, which left her with a stack of around 1,200,000!
The excitement reached fever pitch at Dusk Till Dawn as the field in the UK and Ireland Poker Tour Nottingham Main Event was dramatically reduced from 193 hopefuls to just 21 players over the course of Day 2.

Leading the charge into the third and final day is Michael Casson, whose explosive finish saw him bag an impressive 4,165,000 chips, securing the top spot on the leaderboard. Casson's electrifying journey to the chip lead, including pivotal moments where fortune favored him, sets the stage for a thrilling finale.

Each of the remaining players has locked up a guaranteed payout of 6,310, but all eyes are fixed on the ultimate prize of 201,900, which awaits the eventual champion. With the stakes at an all-time high, the final day promises to be full of adrenaline.

End of Day Top Ten Chip Counts

Place Player Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Michael Casson United Kingdom 4,165,000 69 2 Jean-Emmanuel Lhuillier United Kingdom 3,235,000 54 3 Christopher Brammer United Kingdom 3,190,000 53 4 Arian Kashani Iran 2,970,000 50 5 Matthew Kerry United Kingdom 2,575,000 43 6 Justin Tsui United Kingdom 2,160,000 36 7 Connor Lewis United Kingdom 1,995,000 33 8 Marvis Cooper United Kingdom 1,895,000 32 9 Stephen Ayres United Kingdom 1,750,000 29 10 Steven Lewzey United Kingdom 1,670,000 28

At one point, it didn't seem likely that Casson would even make Day 3 at all as his pocket jacks were all-in against the pocket aces of Marvis Cooper. However, a jack on the flop gave Casson the victory, and set him on his way.

Moments later Casson was involved again, but this time it was he who had the aces. Roni Tal opened, and then four-bet shoved with pocket nines, only to be snapped off by the best starting hand in poker of Casson. This time, the board didn't bring any surprises, and Casson catapulted himself to the summit of the leaderboard.

Jean-Emmanuel Lhuillier bagged up the second-biggest stack of 3,235,000, largely thanks to an epic hero call he made against Philip Joyce during the penultimate level of Day 2. Joyce had check-shoved the river as a bluff, and Lhuillier, after being put on the clock, called with just one second remaining on his countdown.

Christopher Brammer

Another familiar name to make Day 3 is bracelet-winner Christopher Brammer, who rounded out the podium spots with 3,190,000 chips. Brammer surged into an early chip lead and maintained his stack throughout the day, and will certainly be a threat on the final day.

Four PokerStars qualifiers made it through to the last day of play with Arian Kashani leading them with 2,970,000 chips. Connor Lewis (1,995,000), Stephen Ayres (1,750,000), and the previously mentioned Joyce (1,040,000) complete the quartet, who all made it into the Main Event via PokerStars.

Day 3 starts at noon on Monday, November 18 with blinds resuming at Level 27 - 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 big blind ante. The average stack sits at just over 1,800,000, which is around 30 big blinds.

Once the final table is reached, the action will be streamed on the DTD Player channel on YouTube.

As always, PokerNews will be on hand to deliver all of the latest action from the felt inside Dusk Till Dawn, as the Main Event plays down to a champion.
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Cloudy this evening with thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 64F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Cloudy this evening with thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 64F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Gary Davis, 69, smoked most of his adult life and struggled to give up cigarettes but got his final motivation after he was diagnosed with lung cancer and his surgeon told him he had to quit or he couldn't get a needed procedure.

When he got home from that visit, the smoking cessation drug he had ordered was waiting for him.

"I said, right, that must be a sign telling me 'Quit smoking,' " Davis said. "And I did."

Not only did it improve his health but his quick action potentially added years to his life despite the cancer.

A new study found that those like Davis who quit within three months of their cancer diagnosis had a 26 percent reduction in early death compared to those who kept smoking and those quitters lived on average nearly two years longer. As the annual Great American Smokeout Day approaches on Nov. 21, when smokers are urged to quit for at least a day, there is new evidence it has a powerful effect on health even for cancer patients.

It also provides fresh evidence that doctors and cancer centers need to redouble efforts to help their patients give up the habit.

The study in JAMA Oncology looked at more than 4,500 current smokers who received a cancer diagnosis at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and then were also referred to smoking cessation therapy, between January 2006 and March 2022. The vast majority of those who were able to quit within six months of diagnosis lived nearly two years longer than those who continued to smoke and longer than those who quit later.

"Quitting smoking after a cancer diagnosis can really improve survival across cancer as a whole, and the earlier a person quits in their journey as a cancer survivor, the better," said Dr. Graham Warren, vice chair for research in Radiation Oncology at the Medical University of South Carolina Hollings Cancer Center and senior author on the study.

There is also a danger to not quitting, he said. Continuing to smoke increases the chance that the cancer treatment will fail by about 60 percent, he said. Cigarette smoke contains chemicals that activate cancer pathways and can increase resistance to treatments like radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
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Introducing a newly formed council focused on driving positive changes across the financial crime risk and compliance space.PHOENIX, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 /i3strategies, a market research and strategy consultant with niche expertise in financial crime risk and compliance, is pleased to announce the formation of ExCo, an industry group of former and current board-appointed BSA Officers.ExCo, by i3strategiesWhat is ExCo, by i3strategies?ExCo is an Executive Council comprised of members who have held the board-appointed BSA Officer (or equivalent title) designation and are active contributors in the financial crime risk and compliance space.Why was ExCo created?ExCo was created in early 2024 by a small group of former BSA Officers who recognized a need for a platform to promote necessary change in the financial crime risk and compliance space. Collective thoughts from extremely accomplished and experienced BSA Officers could drive change in areas like legislation, policy, and technology adoption. Throughout 2024, the ideas, purpose, and objectives of ExCo have taken shape and evolved from an initial four into 15 founding members today.Who's involved in ExCo?The founding members are both former and current BSA Officers (or equivalent title), primarily from North America. Members collectively represent hundreds of years of experience, with the average tenure in the space exceeding 20 years. The diversity among members spans both traditional and decentralized finance, large and mid-size banks, payment companies, marketplaces, crypto exchanges, and FinTechs. Moreover, most members have experiences beyond their BSA Officer roles as consultants, regulators, law enforcement officials, RegTech founders, and services firm entrepreneurs.While many coalitions, groups, and gatherings offer extraordinary thought leadership in this space -- ExCo offers an unparalleled level of policy, operational, and technology perspective from its founding members.What to expect from ExCo?Most of ExCo's work will be done privately through quarterly meetings and gatherings amongst its members. However, future insights, commentary, and events will be brought into the public domain beginning in 2025. A core objective of ExCo is to promote the importance, responsibilities, and elevation of the role of the BSA Officer (or equivalent title).Please visit ExCo, by i3strategies and subscribe for updates."As co-chair of ExCo, I am honored to be part of this important initiative that brings together accomplished and forward-thinking past and present BSA Officers in the financial crime risk and compliance field. ExCo provides a unique platform where our collective experience can foster transformative change in areas crucial to the industry, including policy, technology, and operational practices. Together, we aim to not only advance the role of the BSA Officer but to actively shape a more resilient financial crimes ecosystem." -- Mike Florence, Co-Chair (Current Founder, RiskSlate)"Improving financial crime risk and compliance requires new ideas that spark even more creativity. ExCo is an ideal forum where people with a wide range of experience and perspectives can pose ideas, get honest feedback, and present something new and innovative to the industry." -- David Caruso, Co-Chair (Current VP, Financial Crime Compliance at WorkFusion)About i3strategiesFounded in 2015, i3strategies is the leading market research and strategy consultant with niche experience in the financial crime risk and compliance space.Contact InformationVic MaculaitisFounder and Managing Partnervicmaculaitis@ i3strategies.us 4809098191David CarusoVP, Financial Crime Compliancedcaruso@ workfusion.com 202-641-7485Mike FlorenceFounderaml@ mikeflorence.com 630-862-7016SOURCE: i3strategiesView the original press release on newswire.com
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In collaboration with Toronto Metropolitan University, the Government of Canada will invest $3.9M CAD in the Malaysia Cybersecurity Center of Excellence to strengthen cybersecurity partnerships and expertise in the region through skills training opportunities, including for womenWATERLOO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 17, 2024 / At the APEC Leaders' Summit, BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB)(TSX:BB), expressed its gratitude for the Government of Canada's announcement to invest $3.9 million (CAD) in Malaysia. This funding will support cybersecurity training programs and threat intelligence initiatives aimed at strengthening capacity building and enhancing overall cyber resilience in Southeast Asia.Canada's support will be delivered by BlackBerry in partnership with the Toronto Metropolitan University's (TMU's) Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst ("Catalyst"), with a goal to train 3,500 cyber-defenders from Malaysia and other ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member countries. This initiative furthers global public-private sector collaboration in the battle against rising digital threats, is aligned with Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy, and establishes Malaysia as a hub of regional cybersecurity excellence in Southeast Asia.Support from the Government of Canada will include the design, development, and delivery of a comprehensive cybersecurity curriculum, including dedicated programs for women, expanding what is already on offer at the world-class Malaysia Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (CCoE) in Cyberjaya. The aim is to help more men and womentake advantage of the region's most in-demand cybersecurity roles and establish the CCoE as a regional destination for learning and intelligence-sharing, enabling government and industry to better prevent, deter and respond to emerging cyber threats and coordinate responses to incidents that may impact operational resilience and national security.Courses supported by the Government of Canada at the Malaysia CCoE will include role-based education and specialist tracks as well as Certifications for Leadership in Cybersecurity and Women in Cybersecurity Leadership courses. In line with Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy, which aims to invest in and connect people, funding from the Government will also support scholarships and bursaries for Malaysians and regional participants to enroll in courses at the CCoE and earn globally-recognized industry certifications in cybersecurity.Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim during the opening of the center on March 26 said, "Being more than a facility to help train and upskill our national cyber workforce, the Cyber Security Center of Excellence has the potential to be an international destination to address emerging cyber threats. We can bring together Malaysian and Canadian universities, research institutions and skilled practitioners to share knowledge, threat intelligence and jointly develop methods and strategies to strengthen national and regional cyber-resilience." The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada said, "Cybersecurity is a pillar of Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy. It is also a shared challenge that countries around the world need to tackle together. With our government's investment in Malaysia's Cybersecurity Center of Excellence in collaboration with BlackBerry, Canada will share cyber-expertise, train the cyber workforce across ASEAN countries, increase public-private sector collaboration, and strengthen our collective capacity to counter, deter and respond to cyber threats." BlackBerry CEO, John Giamatteo, added, "BlackBerry is honored to partner with the Governments of Malaysia, Canada, and Toronto Metropolitan University's Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst to establish the Malaysia Cybersecurity Center of Excellence. As the beating heart of the region's cyber-threat defense capabilities, this world-class facility helps train and upskill Malaysian and regional cyber workforces, and is also an international destination to address emerging cyber threats and coordinate regional incident response. In a growing digital economy, no matter how advanced your cybersecurity arsenal is, nations must have a well-trained cyber-workforce to bolster their front lines of defense." "We are delighted that Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst at Toronto Metropolitan University is partnering with the Government of Canada and BlackBerry to deliver cybersecurity skills training in this vital region for international security, which now more than ever must include technology security," said Dr. Mohamed Lachemi, Toronto Metropolitan University's President and Vice Chancellor. "Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy is a critical effort to build democratic resilience and advance Canada's democratic values internationally. As one of Canada's leaders in cybersecurity training, the Catalyst at TMU is perfectly positioned to collaborate with the Government of Canada and BlackBerry in advancing this cause." The news comes just twelve months after BlackBerry and the Malaysian Government announced a long-term software and services agreement designed to strengthen the nation's cybersecurity posture and upskill regional digital workforces with advanced cybersecurity technology and training at a dedicated facility. In collaboration with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the world-class Malaysia CCoE opened on March 26, 2024.For more information on the Cybersecurity Center of Excellence and the courses available, please visit here. For the currently available course information, please visit here.The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, and to the left, the Hon. Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development.##About Rogers Cybersecure CatalystRogers Cybersecure Catalyst is Toronto Metropolitan University's national center for training, innovation and collaboration in cybersecurity. Headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, and offering programs and services across Canada, the Catalyst empowers individuals and organizations to seize the opportunities and tackle the challenges of cybersecurity. Together with our partners and collaborators, we work to realize a vision of healthy democracies and thriving societies, powered by secure digital technologies. Through our groundbreaking training and certification programs; unique innovation programming for start-ups and scale-ups; first-of-its-kind cyber range; and wide-ranging public education programs, the Catalyst helps drive Canada's global competitiveness in cybersecurity.About BlackBerryBlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company'
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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / Retained executive search firm Caldwell (TSX:CWL)(OTCQX:CWLPF) today announced a major enhancement to its industrial and automotive recruiting capabilities with the addition of Matt Stencil as a partner in the firm's Industrial Practice.Matt Stencil, experienced automotive and industrial manufacturing executive recruiter, joins Caldwell's Industrial Practice. "Matt brings a wealth of knowledge and a proven track record in the industrial sector," said Dave Winston, managing partner of Caldwell's Industrial Practice. "His ability to bridge the gap between current organizational talent and future potential is exactly what we need to drive our practice forward, especially as we expand our capabilities in the automotive sector. We are excited to have him on board and look forward to the positive impact he will make." Mr. Stencil focuses on recruiting executives for companies in the automotive, industrial manufacturing and chemicals space. With over 20 years of experience advising boards and the C-suite on matters of talent acquisition, human resources and operations, he helps companies across what is often a chasm between where their organizational talent is and where it could be.Mr. Stencil joins Caldwell from a leading global executive search firm, where he worked with clients in the industrial markets and was a member of the Board/CEO, Human Resources, and Supply Chain Operations functional practices. Earlier in his career, Mr. Stencil was a partner with Gallup Consulting, where he managed a multi-million-dollar portfolio of Fortune 500 clients, leading multiple and complex workplace and marketplace consulting engagements.A former Scarlet & Grey scholar, Mr. Stencil holds a BA in psychology from The Ohio State University. He also holds graduate degrees across disciplines including an MBA from Colorado State University with an emphasis on business strategy and marketing, and a Master of Science in psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi.In addition to other civic interests, Mr. Stencil is an Eagle Scout and has been an active volunteer with Boy Scouts of America. He is also a former member of the St. Edward High School Fathers' Club, and former Trustee with LifeAct, a Cleveland-area teen suicide prevention non-profit."We continue to make strategic additions of top-tier, content-driven partners who strengthen our capabilities and expand our market presence to better serve our clients," said Chris Beck, chief executive officer. "Matt's command of the automotive and industrial market is extensive and we look forward to offering our clients an even broader, more integrated solution." About CaldwellCaldwell is a leading retained executive search firm connecting clients with transformational talent. Together with IQTalent, we are a technology-powered talent acquisition firm specializing in recruitment at all levels. Through the two distinct brands - Caldwell and IQTalent- the firm leverages the latest innovations in AI to offer an integrated spectrum of services delivered by teams with deep knowledge in their respective areas. Services include candidate research and sourcing through to full recruitment at the professional, executive and board levels, as well as a suite of talent strategy and assessment tools that can help clients hire the right people, then manage and inspire them to achieve maximum business results.Caldwell's common shares are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:CWL) and trade on the OTCQX Market (OTCQX:CWLPF). Please visit our website at www.caldwell.com for further information.For further information, please contact:Caroline LomotVice President, Marketing & CommunicationsCaldwellclomot@ caldwell.com +1 516 830 3535SOURCE: Caldwell Partners International, Inc.
MoU with PT PLN (Persero) and KfW (Germany) to develop Pumped Storage Hydropower Plant (PLTA) and Transmission

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov 16, 2024 - (ACN Newswire) - The Indonesian Government, through Special Presidential Envoy of the Republic of Indonesia Hashim Djojohadikusumo, announced EUR 1.2 billion in green funding for the Indonesian power sector from German state development bank Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) at the COP29 World Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Wednesday (11/13). The conference runs through Friday (11/22).The agreement was marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between PT PLN (Persero) and KfW to support Indonesia's energy transition towards self-sufficiency with the development of various green power and clean energy projects, centered on the Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Power Plant (PLTA) and transmission network connecting with green power plants.Hashim emphasized that the government is committed to accelerating the energy transition. By fostering collaborations at the global level, the shift towards renewable energy is expected to support energy self-sufficiency and drive national economic growth. "We have developed a new strategy over the next five years to achieve a minimum of 8% sustainable economic growth," Hashim affirmed.He stated that the development of clean energy sources is crucial for enhancing industrial competitiveness. Over the next 15 years, Indonesia's renewable energy generation capacity is targeted to increase by 75% from the total addition of 100 gigawatts (GW) in electricity capacity."We will be a major country fulfilling our responsibility to protect the environments future. We deeply appreciate the established international cooperation as a joint effort toward reaching the Net Zero Emissions (NZE) target," Hashim explained.PLN President Director Darmawan Prasodjo expressed full support for the governments initiatives in advancing the energy transition. Various collaborations and initiatives have been implemented by PLN to ensure the success of sustainable electricity projects. Darmawan noted that KfW's involvement in PLNs green projects is expected to attract more international partners to collaborate.This will create a synergy of sustainable strategic, technical, and investment collaboration in global climate action. "This collaboration signifies PLN's proactive steps in expanding international partnerships to enhance national energy self-sufficiency in line with global climate actions," Darmawan stated.KfW Group's Sustainability Officer, Jurgen Kern, explained the KfW support for Indonesia represents Germany's commitment to international cooperation for green transformation. Further, Jurgen highlighted that PLN is at the center of Indonesias energy transition. PLN is strongly committed to greening the energy sector while ensuring reliable energy access."Therefore, we believe that Indonesia and Germany can continue strengthening their partnership in the energy sector, especially in clean energy projects like geothermal, hydropower, and transmission. Achieving the NZE target requires solid collaboration and partnership," Jurgen said.- Antara, for PT PLN (Persero), https://web.pln.co.id/en/sustainability/sustainability/ - Indonesia: https://indonesia.go.id/ , KfW Germany: https://www.kfw.de/kfw.de-2.html
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Partnership to Deliver Powerful Market Intelligence to Financial Sector ClientsCHANDLER, ARIZ. / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 /DBSI, a leading financial transformation firm, announces a strategic partnership with The Long Group, merging DBSI's comprehensive design-build expertise with The Long Group's advanced analytics and branch performance forecasting capabilities.The partnership will provide financial institutions with comprehensive analytics for branch location decisions, market demand assessment, and performance forecasting. Through The Long Group's suite of proprietary tools, including MarketLab and BranchLab, DBSI clients will gain access to detailed market analysis and performance metrics that span 30+ years of financial sector data."This partnership transforms how financial institutions can approach branch network decisions," said Tom Long, founder and principal of The Long Group. "Our predictive analytics platform combined with DBSI's transformation expertise creates a comprehensive solution for banks and credit unions to make informed location and design choices based on consumer behavior data." As digital and physical banking channels continue to evolve, financial institutions face increasing pressure to optimize their branch networks and deliver exceptional customer experiences. This partnership between DBSI and The Long Group addresses these challenges by combining advanced market intelligence with innovative design solutions, enabling data-driven transformation strategies that respond to evolving consumer preferences."Our collaboration with The Long Group amplifies DBSI's ability to deliver calculated, transformative solutions in the financial sector. By integrating their robust analytics into our design and implementation processes, we're not just transforming branches - we're empowering our clients to make strategic decisions that align with evolving consumer behaviors and market dynamics. This partnership represents a significant leap forward in our mission to revolutionize retail banking experiences," stated EJ Kritz, EXO at DBSI.For more information about this partnership and how it can benefit your financial institution, visit DBSI's website or contact info@ dbsi-inc.com About The Long GroupThe Long Group is a financial sector thought leader providing business intelligence, analytics, and strategic guidance to financial institutions. For over three decades, the firm has developed industry benchmarks and predictive analytics platforms that drive performance. The Long Group's proprietary database offers comprehensive insights into product ownership, financial journeys, purchase intent, and channel utilization. Through turnkey solutions, The Long Group enables financial institutions of all sizes to broaden existing relationships, enhance prospecting capabilities, and develop future-focused strategies. The firm's data-driven approach helps organizations capture revenue, sculpt balance sheets, and drive earnings through actionable market intelligence.Contact InformationStephanie HollandPR & Content Strategistpr@ dbsi-inc.com 480-320-0718Related FilesDBSI Elevates Branch Transformation with The Long Group AllianceSOURCE: DBSIView the original press release on newswire.com
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Effective Jan. 2025, Callahan Will Lead the Global OrganizationOKLAHOMA CITY, OK / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / Feed the Children, a leading anti-hunger organization, announced today that Emily Callahan has been named the new President and CEO for the global organization. In her new role she'll be responsible for guiding the organization as it embarks on its new strategic plan. She will lead the organization as it grows globally with new partners and serves more children and families around the world.Emily Callahan Callahan is a native Oklahoman and visionary C-suite executive who has spent over 25 years working across the nonprofit and corporate sector to build global movements that raise billions to save millions worldwide. Most recently she was the chief marketing officer of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. There, she helped increase revenue from $600M to more than $2.5B in 50+ consecutive quarters of growth and led St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to becoming the Most Trusted Brand of any brand in America per Morning Consult."Emily brings new perspective to the work of Feed the Children," said Mike Hogan, chairman of the board for Feed the Children. "Her deep experience in growth and transformation will elevate our impact as we continue to focus on significant hunger issues we have around the world. We're excited for how she'll move Feed the Children forward as we celebrate 50 years of impact." Prior to her work at ALSAC, she was SVP of Global Marketing & Networks at Susan G. Komen, where she helped double revenue and led operations with oversight of 124+ independently incorporated affiliates. She has served as vice chair for ANA (the Association of National Advertisers), vice chair for the Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing and is a founder and chair of The Memphis Brand, one of the nation's only place-based branding initiatives."As a native Oklahoman, it is the honor of a lifetime to return home to join Feed the Children, reconnecting with my community and serving alongside our partners, children and families around the world," said Emily Callahan, named President and CEO of Feed the Children. "Together, we can be a powerful movement, raising significant funds and awareness to expand the mission, reach and impact of Feed the Children globally to improve the lives of thousands of children and families who need us most." Callahan has been recognized with the CMO Club's CMO Officers Award, PR Week's Hall of Femme, and the Dallas and Memphis Business Journals' 40 Under 40 lists for her impactful work.About Feed the ChildrenFeed the Children is committed to ending childhood hunger. We believe that no child should go to bed hungry, and so we provide children and families in the U.S. and around the world with the food and essentials kids need to grow and thrive.Through our programs and partnerships, we feed children today while helping their families and communities build resilient futures. In addition to food, we distribute household and personal care items across the United States to help parents and caregivers maintain stable, food-secure households. Internationally, we expand access to nutritious meals, safe water, improved hygiene and training in sustainable living. Responsible stewards of our resources, we are driven to pursue innovative, holistic and child-focused solutions to the complex challenges of hunger, food insecurity and poverty.For children everywhere, we believe that having enough to eat is a fundamental right.Feed the Children | no child should go to bed hungryContact InformationCarrie SnodgrassSr. Communications & PR Managercarrie.snodgrass@feedthechildren.org (405) 213-9757Kelly FreyDirector of Communications & PRkelly.frey@feedthechildren.org (405) 945-4064SOURCE: Feed the Children
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KANSAS CITY, KS / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / Glow Sauna Studios, a recognized leader in holistic wellness, is pleased to announce a new multi-unit agreement, in Metro Kansas City, with the first location opening in Overland Park, KS. Danielle, Charles, Jace, and Anakin make up the Osgood family of entrepreneurs. This new venture underscores the family's commitment to bringing impactful, natural health solutions to their community.The wellness market continues to grow as consumers seek natural, effective approaches to health. Recognizing this demand, the Osgood's family jumped on the opportunity and is excited to introduce Glow Sauna Studios to Overland Park, KS. The locations will provide an inviting space where clients can experience the rejuvenating benefits of infrared sauna therapy, which offers relaxation, detoxification, and support for overall wellness.Danielle has taught fitness for years and remarked, "The world is so demanding of our time. I want to offer a therapy that will improve overall health while remaining an easy time commitment." Scheduled to open in late Q1 of 2025, Glow Sauna Studios in Overland Park will bring the unique benefits of infrared sauna services to a broad clientele, creating a community hub dedicated to accessible, transformative wellness."Health and wellness have always been core to our values," said Charles. "With Glow Sauna Studios, we aim to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our community members by offering natural wellness options." "We are excited to welcome another family of entrepreneurs to the Glow Sauna family," said founder Josh Terzo. "This multi-unit expansion highlights the growing appeal of our concept rooted in simplicity and community health." Glow Sauna Studios' franchise model offers comprehensive support, a scalable business structure, and a successful roadmap for franchisees. As the brand continues to grow, Glow remains dedicated to partnering with enthusiastic entrepreneurs eager to bring innovative wellness solutions to their communities.Glow Sauna Studios is on the lookout for visionary entrepreneurs eager to own and manage multiple locations in this booming market. For more information about this exciting franchise opportunity, please visit https://glowfranchise.com or contact us at franchise@ glowsaunastudios.com About Glow Sauna StudiosGlow Sauna Studios is a health and wellness franchise that provides innovative infrared saunas, red light therapy, and related services aimed at enhancing community well-being. Committed to delivering top-notch services and revitalizing experiences, Glow Sauna Studios operates locations nationwide.For media inquiries or interview requests, please contact:Josh TerzoPresident & FounderGlow Sauna StudiosEmail: jterzo@ glowsaunastudios.com SOURCE: Glow Sauna Studios
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Donations will support families Baby2Baby serves in Nevada, New York, North Carolina and OregonCHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / GREATER THAN, a leading family hydration brand committed to natural and superior nourishment of the mind and body since 2010, announces its support for Baby2Baby, a national nonprofit that provides children living in poverty with the basic necessities that every child deserves, serving over one million children annually across the U.S.GREATER THAN has donated tens of thousands of their 32-oz beverage cartons to Baby2Baby and their partners City Harvest, BackPack Beginnings, PDX Diaper Bank, and Baby's Bounty."Hydration and nutrition is a fundamental need for everyone, and we're proud to partner with Baby2Baby to provide this essential resource," said Jon Sider, CEO of GREATER THAN. "As a family-run company, we understand the challenges families face, and our goal is to empower them to thrive, which starts with hydration. Together with Baby2Baby, we can support the health and hydration of thousands of children and families in need." In response to evolving consumer needs, GREATER THAN recently transitioned its product line to 11.2-oz. cartons and discontinued the 32-oz. size. In alignment with its sustainability pledge, the company donated the 32-oz. beverage cartons to Baby2Baby, helping to minimize waste while addressing the needs of the families the nonprofit serves."As a mother of two and the President of GREATER THAN, I understand firsthand the vital role nourishment and hydration play in the well-being of both children and families," said Heather Howell. "I have worked at large companies that would discard products after packaging changes. It never crossed our mind to do something like that. This incredible team organized truckloads of shipments and created a long-lasting collaboration with Baby2Baby, reaching as many moms and families as possible who need a boost to nourish their minds and bodies. This has been incredibly rewarding for us all." This shared dedication to both sustainability and community support is at the heart of GREATER THAN's mission."We are committed to sustainability and community impact to promote a healthier planet for future generations," continued Sider. "Our partnership with Baby2Baby not only reduces waste but also expands our reach and provides vital resources to those in need, reinforcing our shared vision of a stronger, healthier future for families." GREATER THAN beverages are crafted with natural ingredients, low in sugar, and enriched with essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. The beverages have proven to offer various health benefits, including energy boosts, immune support, hydration, relief from muscle cramps, lactation assistance, gut health, mood enhancement and hormone balance.For more information about GREATER THAN, visit https://drinkgt.com/ Click hereto learn more about Baby2Baby.CONTACT:Tristin Schifferdecker, PriceWeber502.599.6142 tschifferdecker@ priceweber.com SOURCE: GREATER THAN
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SURREY, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / Gungnir Resources Inc. (TSXV:GUG)(OTC PINK:ASWRF) ("Gungnir" or the "Company") shareholders approved all the resolutions put before them at the Company's Annual General Meeting (the "AGM") held on November 15, 2024 in Surrey, BC.At the AGM, shareholders voted in favour of resolutions to:Set the number of Directors at four (93.77%);Re-elect Jari Paakki, Chris Robbins, Todd Keast and Garett Macdonald as Directors for the ensuing year (all > 93.59%);Appoint DeVisser Gray, LLP as the auditors for the ensuing year and authorize the Directors to fix the auditor's remuneration (94.54%); andApprove the Company's Stock Option 10% rolling plan (90.31%).Following the AGM, the Board of Directors re-appointed Mr. Jari Paakki as CEO and Mr. Chris Robbins as CFO and Corporate Secretary of the Company. The Board of Directors would like to thank the shareholders for their ongoing support.About Gungnir ResourcesGungnir Resources Inc. is a Canadian-based TSX-V listed mineral exploration company (GUG:TSXV)(ASWRF:OTCPK) with gold and base metal projects in northern Sweden. Gungnir's assets include two nickel-copper-cobalt deposits, Lappvattnet and Rormyrberget, both with updated nickel resources, the Knaften-Hemberget project which hosts a developing intrusion-hosted gold system, a newly discovered gold target at Hemberget, and secondary VMS-style mineralization and copper-nickel targets. Further information about the Company and its properties may be found at www.gungnirresources.com or at www.sedar.com On behalf of the Board, Jari Paakki, CEO and DirectorFor further information contact:Head Office/Investor RelationsPhone: +1-604-683-0484Email: corporatecommunications@ gungnirresources.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Forward-Looking Information:Certain statements made herein may contain forward-looking statements or information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved", or the negative of these words or comparable terminology. By their very nature forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual performance of the Company to be materially different from any anticipated performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of estimates and assumptions and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements or information. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying estimates and assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements or information. For example, there is no certainty, that any economically viable mineral deposit will be located on the properties, that the Company will receive or be able to raise sufficient capital to complete all of its exploration programs or that the transaction will complete as anticipated. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements or information. Gungnir does not expect to update forward-looking statements or information continually as conditions change, except as may be required by securities law.SOURCE: Gungnir Resources Inc.
PR-Inside.com: 2024-11-18 16:59:13

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Dr. Peti Vainio to become Executive ChairmanDr. Evis Hursever to become CEOScott Barry to become COOMarty Sutter to become Founding PartnerNEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / EW Healthcare Partners, a trans-Atlantic healthcare private equity firm, today announced that it has appointed Dr. Petri Vainio as Executive Chairman, Dr. Evis Hursever as CEO, Scott Barry as COO, and Marty Sutter as Founding Partner.Petri Vainio, M.D., Ph.D., has served as Chairman of the firm's Executive Committee since 2015 and has helped to raise three growth equity funds and one continuation fund, representing over $2 billion of capital. Dr. Vainio will chair the firm's Investment Committee.Evis Hursever, Ph.D., joined EW in 2011 and currently serves as Managing Director as well as a member of the Investment Committee. Since joining EW, Dr. Hursever has been instrumental in building the firm's investment practice, playing a key role in several successful investments, including the sale of EUSA Pharma to Recordati for $825M and the sale of Cognate BioServices to Charles River Laboratories for $875M. She is currently leading the firm's investments in ABL, Boiron, and Germfree in the US, and Grundium and Majorelle in Europe. In her new role, Dr. Hursever will lead EW's investment practice and team.Scott Barry joined EW in 2006 and currently serves as a Managing Director as well as a member of the Investment Committee. Scott has taken on increasing responsibility over the last few years in EW's finance, legal, regulatory, compliance and administrative activities and will now formally lead these functions.Marty Sutter is a Co-Founder of EW and currently serves as a Managing Director as well as a member of the Investment Committee. He will focus his time on originating and leading successful investments, including his current role in leading the firm's investments in Bioventus, MiMedx and Prolacta.Petri Vainio commented: "Evis has been a key leader of EW's investment practice for several years and has led many of the firm's most successful growth buy-out investments, both in Europe and in the U.S. Evis' promotion is a well-deserved recognition of the value she has created for the firm, our portfolio companies, and our investors. I look forward to continuing to work closely together with Evis and Scott to build EW into one of the leading trans-Atlantic healthcare-focused private equity firms." "I am excited to lead the next chapter in the evolution of EW," said Evis Hursever. "We have the great privilege of investing in and owning numerous fast-growing companies that make a difference in thousands of patients' lives. I look forward to leading the EW investment team and partnering with the owners and managers of the next generation of companies transforming healthcare." About EW Healthcare PartnersWith over $2 billion of capital raised since 2014, EW Healthcare Partners seeks to make growth equity investments in fast-growing commercial-stage healthcare companies in the pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostics, and technology-enabled services sectors in the United States and Europe. EW Healthcare Partners has a singular commitment to the healthcare industry and has been a long-term investor in numerous healthcare companies, ranging across sectors, stages, and geographies. The team of senior investment professionals, operating partners and advisors is based in New York, London, and Houston. For more information, see https://www.ewhealthcare.com Contact Information:Anne DeMaretInvestor Relationshouston@ ewhealthcare.com (713) 294-9716SOURCE: EW Healthcare PartnersView the original press release on newswire.com
PR-Inside.com: 2024-11-18 15:01:43

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MARKHAM, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / Liberty Tax and Digital Commerce Bank ("DCBank"), a Canadian leader in digital payment solutions for corporate online banking, are excited to announce a new partnership to provide DCBank and Liberty Tax clients access to premium income tax and other services and refunds loaded onto digital or physical Mastercard cards and through Interac e-Transfer.Liberty Tax Through this innovative partnership, clients will be able to avoid cheque cashing fees, make online purchases, and have immediate access to funds at merchants worldwide. DCBank is committed to providing solutions that offer clients efficiency, flexibility, and convenience when it comes to client banking and payment needs. DCBank intends to develop a unique mobile application for Liberty Tax clients enabling them to manage their tax refunds, cards and Interac e-Transfer payments."We look forward to providing DCBank clients, who haven't filed with us, great in-person and remote tax preparation services," said Scott Terrell, CEO, Liberty Tax. "The ability to have tax refunds instantly loaded to a digital bank card that's synced to your Apple Wallet or Google Wallet will be great for clients who need their refund money fast. Having this new card and Interac e-Transfer as a funding option elevates our ability to serve every Liberty Tax customer who does business with us." DCBank CEO, Jeffrey Smith, added, "Having a partner like Liberty Tax with over 25 years of tax industry experience is a great fit for our clients. The bank card and Interac e-Transfer services we supply will have a ton of great features at a low cost that extend benefits beyond the tax season; especially for clients without an existing Mastercard card or bank account." The Liberty Tax and DCBank partnership is set to launch in time for 2025 tax preparation within Liberty Tax's Canadian locations, providing clients with a convenient solution for receiving their tax refund. For more information about the partnership and the services offered, please visit www.libertytax.ca and www.dcbank.ca About Liberty TaxSince 1997, Liberty Tax has helped millions of tax filers. Liberty Tax has 2,200+ retail branches and 12,000+ tax professionals across the United States and Canada. The Liberty Tax mission is to be trusted locally and respected nationally as the best choice for professional tax services.About Digital Commerce BankDigital Commerce Bank is a Schedule 1 Canadian Bank focused on technology and delivering robust and secure payment technologies. DCBank's technology-driven platform provides innovative payment and banking solutions to its corporate clients, enabling businesses to offer their own financial and payment solutions. DCBank's proprietary banking-as-a-service and payment solutions, as well as straightforward APIs, offer clients efficiency, flexibility, and convenience when it comes to integrating services directly to a business' product. DCBank is a member of Payments Canada, and is a principle member of Interac, Visa and Mastercard.For more information about Digital Commerce Bank, please visit www.dcbank.ca Contact InformationMarketing TeamMarketing Managermarketing.support@libtax.com 866.871.1040Amanda J. ShowalterPresidentamanda@ dcbank.ca 587-885-2158SOURCE: Liberty TaxView the original press release on newswire.com
PR-Inside.com: 2024-11-18 20:45:33

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Plug & Charge technology from Lynkwell and Hubject, leveraging Hubject's existing functionality, is being validated with charger and vehicle OEMs at CharIN's Testival event from November 19 - 21, showcasing the real-world applications of this future-ready technology.SCHENECTADY, NY / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / Lynkwell,a leading innovator in electric vehicle (EV) software, hardware and infrastructure, today announced a strategic initiative with e-mobility pioneer Hubject to bring Plug & Charge technology to EV charging networks across North America. As a backend provider with a strong base in the U.S., Lynkwell is uniquely positioned to drive the rollout of this next-generation solution across North America.The new Plug & Charge capability, currently fully functional in real-world testing environments, is designed to deliver an enhanced charging experience. Leveraging cutting-edge security and communication protocols, this technology enables EV drivers to initiate charging simply by plugging in-no card swipes, app logins, or payment prompts required.With more than 2.6 million Plug & Charge-ready vehicles already on the market and more on the horizon, this collaboration marks a significant step toward the standardization of EV charging and the reduction of barriers to EV adoption. Lynkwell and Hubject are leveraging their combined strengths to drive interoperability, ensuring electric vehicles and charging stations work seamlessly together across different manufacturers, all while upholding the highest security standards.Lynkwell and Hubject will demonstrate their Plug & Charge capability by validating with charger and vehicle OEMs at CharIN's Testival event from November 19 to 21 in San Bernardino, Calif. This high-profile event serves as a critical forum for industry stakeholders to test and fine-tune interoperability across different EVs and charging stations, ensuring that the Plug & Charge technology meets rigorous standards for secure and efficient operation in real-world applications. Combining core competencies like those of Lynkwell and Hubject to bring validated solutions to market reflects a broader imperative within the EV charging landscape: moving beyond outdated, fragmented approaches to accelerate the deployment of truly integrated solutions."Hubject is aligned with Lynkwell's strategic vision, and the results of our collaboration are driving these technologies forward ahead of the North American market's current adoption timeline," said Schuyler Poukish, CEO, of Lynkwell. "Combining our interoperability platform with Hubject's proven track record of leading such innovations internationally, we are bringing these next-generation solutions into the market and directing U.S. EV infrastructure towards a more viable development model. This Plug & Charge rollout is not only an achievement for Lynkwell, but it makes the solution accessible to all of our compliant hardware, network, and automotive partners, and all of our customers - representing a significant step forward in supporting the technology's application across the industry." "Lynkwell continues to innovate and grow within the North American charging space," said Amit Bhonsle, Head of Product, Hubject North America. "Their commitment to reliability complements Hubject's mission of enabling a seamless and secure charging experience for all EV drivers." Plug & Charge technology is a rapidly advancing feature within the EV industry, with leading automakers such as Ford, the Volkswagen Group and BMW enabling their vehicles to accept this technology. This latest development from Lynkwell and Hubject underscores a shared vision for a more accessible e-mobility ecosystem by establishing a standardized communication protocol between EVs and charging stations. The deployment of Plug & Charge technology not only validates the capabilities of both Hubject's and Lynkwell's systems, but also ensures greater interoperability, benefiting both the current and future landscape of the industry.To see Plug & Charge technology and a range of other innovative features in action, join Lynkwell and Hubject at CharIN's Testival event in San Bernardino, Calif., from November 19-21, where industry leaders are showcasing and validating the latest advancements in EV charging technology.About LynkwellLynkwell is a leading energy infrastructure development company focused on connecting renewable generation, battery storage, utilities, and microgrids with next-generation fueling technologies via its Lynkwell X-Change platform. Ranked as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States for the last three years, Lynkwell's leadership is bolstered by its top 10 nationwide cloud-based EV charging software platform which hosts dozens of EV charging networks and manages 10,000 assets. With a curated catalog of more than 500 products from leading global OEMs plus its own XLynk charger, Lynkwell's unique combination of full deployment solutions and energy integrations gives all clean energy stakeholders the power to thrive. Since 2016, the company has been instrumental in establishing private and public charging solutions and supporting infrastructure to empower America's growing clean energy revolution. Visit lynkwell.com to learn more.About HubjectHubject simplifies the charging of electric vehicles. Its eRoaming platform connects original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), charge point operators (CPOs), and eMobility service providers (EMPs) to provide standardised access to a charging infrastructure regardless of any network. Hubject has established the world's largest eMobility charging network for electric vehicles by connecting over 1,000,000 charging points and more than 2,250 B2B partners across 63 countries and four continents. In addition, Hubject is a trusted consulting partner for the eMobility sector, advising automotive manufacturers, charging providers and other EV-related businesses looking to launch eMobility services or implement Plug&Charge using ISO15118-2 and ISO15118-20. Hubject delivers end-to-end eMobility solutions to power a positive, greener environmental future. Hubject was founded in 2012 to design, develop and implement a borderless eRoaming solution through a joint venture of the BMW Group, Bosch, EnBW, Enel X Way, E.ON, Mercedes-Benz, Siemens, and the Volkswagen Group. Hubject's global headquarters is in Berlin, with North American and Asia Pacific subsidiaries based in Los Angeles, Shanghai and Singapore. For more information, please visit https://www.hubject.com/ Lynkwell Media Contact:Mallory Insyxiengmay, content managerEmail:mallory@ lynkwell.comPhone: 518-261-0238Hubject Media
PR-Inside.com: 2024-11-18 10:20:24

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A Strategic Alliance for French Breakthrough Innovation :This joint venture, to be headquartered in France, represents a significant step toward a new era of decentralized applications and digital finance, including the launch of the world's first Web3 Ready computers in 2025.The ambitions of this new entity :Compete with market leaders valued in billions of euros.Go public on the North American stock market to enhance visibility and reach.Integrate advanced cryptographic security: devices designed to withstand quantum threats and deliver superior cybersecurity against future digital challenges.PARIS, FRANCE / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / Metavisio - THOMSON Computing (FR00140066X4; ticker:ALTHO) and IO FinNet, a pioneering American company specializing in Web3 solutions, announce the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) to establish a new, independent company. The joint venture (JV) will be headquartered in France, with ownership equally split, 50/50, between the two companies.This visionary collaboration aims to revolutionize the computing landscape with the launch of the world's first Web3 Ready computers. A true breakthrough innovation, these devices will redefine standards for digital security and computing performance, featuring cutting-edge technologies such as advanced cryptographic security and decentralized infrastructure.The JV has ambitious objectives, including targeting a public listing on the North American stock market in 2025, offering investors a unique opportunity to engage with a globally significant project positioned to lead the decentralized digital era.A strategic joint venture for breakthrough innovationIn a world undergoing rapid technological transformation, Metavisio - THOMSON Computing and IO FinNet are joining forces to usher in a new era in computing with revolutionary Web3 solutions. This collaboration is built on a shared ambition: to transform standards for security, digital sovereignty, and computing performance.Together, the two partners will unveil the world's first Web3 Ready computers, combining cutting-edge technologies with a decentralized vision for computing. This joint venture, based in France, offers a strategic opportunity to position the country as a technological leader in Web3 and digital innovation.A global ambition supported by a North American Market listingThis pivotal step will fund the development and commercialization of revolutionary products while strengthening France's position on the international stage for decentralized technologies.Why this Alliance mattersIn a world where data has become "the new oil," this collaboration addresses critical challenges:Enhanced Security: With technologies like Web3 OS and MPC cryptography, the devices will provide unparalleled protection against cyber threats, including quantum attacks.Digital Sovereignty: By offering decentralized infrastructure, this joint venture will empower users to regain control over their data and digital identities.Market Opportunities: The Web3 sector is rapidly growing, with the global market projected to reach $81.5 billion by 2030, alongside the current $244 billion hardware market.Blockchain technology is expanding across industries, with companies such as LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (LVMUY), Tesla, Inc. (TSLA), Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN), MicroStrategy Incorporated (MSTR), Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), IBM Corporation (IBM), Oracle Corporation (ORCL), L'Oreal S.A. ( OR.PA) , TotalEnergies SE (TTE), Bitcoin (via Grayscale Bitcoin Trust - GBTC) et Ethereum Foundation (via Grayscale Ethereum Trust - ETHE), Riot Platforms, Inc. (RIOT) adopting its solutions.Blockchain technologies could boost the global economy US$1.76 trillion by 2030 through raising levels of tracking, tracing and trust. (PwC source)According to a report published by McKinsey & Co in June 2024, the tokenized real world asset sector is touted to reach nearly $4 trillion by 2030.Partnership for innovationStephan Francais, CEO of Metavisio - THOMSON Computing, stated: "We are very proud to partner with IO FinNet to revolutionize the hardware industry with the world's first line of computers natively integrated with Web3. This historic collaboration will position France as a central player in digital innovation. Gregory Pepin, CEO of IO FinNet, added: "This joint venture represents a decisive step forward. By combining our expertise, we aim to transform how the world interacts with technology while propelling France to the forefront of Web3 leadership. Next stepsLegal Finalization by January 2025: Definitive agreements formalizing the joint venture will be signed.Pre-IPO Fundraising: A strategic funding round will accelerate technological development and market entry.North American Market Listing: Targeted for 2025, the listing will bolster visibility and credibility for the new entity.Financial impact for Metavisio - THOMSON ComputingThis joint venture provides Metavisio - THOMSON Computing with a unique opportunity to optimize its financing structure. External capital dedicated to the Web3 project will allow the company to focus its resources on other strategic activities.Upcoming announcementsFurther details about this visionary initiative will be shared in the coming weeks. An exclusive webinar will reveal the technological innovations and strategic milestones of this project.About IO FinNetHeadquartered in the United States and valued at $175 million (based on its latest funding round in June 2024), IO FinNet is an innovative technology company specializing in blockchain and multiparty computation (MPC). It develops advanced security solutions and robust infrastructure for modern finance and other industries. With expertise in cryptographic security and a focus on innovation, IO FinNet aims to become a leading player in the global digital network.For more information, visit www.iofinnet.com About Metavisio - THOMSON ComputingMetavisio - THOMSON Computing - THOMSON Computing (FR00140066X4; Ticker: ALTHO), is a French company specializing in the research, design, and sale of laptops under the THOMSON Computing brand. Established in 2013, Metavisio - THOMSON Computing offers a range of products featuring "the latest technologies at the best prices. Metavisio - THOMSON Computing s eligible for the PEA-PME scheme and holds the Innovative Company (FCPI) qualification.For more information, visit www.metavisio.eu Contact for Investors and Media inquiriesGabriel RAFATYmetavisio@ aimpact.net AIMPACTDisclaimer on Securities and Investment InformationThis press release does not constitute an
PR-Inside.com: 2024-11-18 17:01:34

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Tickets go on sale December 1, 2024, for the 2025 Pageant of the Masters, featuring iconic California art and landmarks reimagined through live "living pictures." Performances run nightly from July 5 to August 29, 2025, at the Festival of Arts in Laguna Beach, CA.LAGUNA BEACH, CA / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / The Festival of Arts is thrilled to announce tickets for the highly anticipated 2025 Pageant of the Masters production, themed "Gold Coast: Treasures of California," will be available for purchase starting December 1, 2024. This brand-new production will lead audiences on a coastal journey, showcasing California's rich history and artistic legacy through "living pictures" that transform iconic paintings and sculptures into live stage art. Performances will take place nightly from July 5 to August 29, 2025. Tickets start at $47 and may be purchased online at www.PageantTickets.com or by phone at (800) 487-3378.Lee Blair, "Mary by the Sea, Overlooking Palos Verdes" (1934) One of several artworks to be re-created in the 2025 Pageant of the Masters. Image courtesy of The Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University, Orange, CA. "Gold Coast" marks a new chapter for the Pageant, with a theme featuring a collection of masterpieces from California's most prestigious museums and iconic monuments from the state's most recognizable cities. This fresh perspective will re-imagine iconic works from around the Golden State, breathing new life into paintings, sculptures, photographs, and other works of art that capture the state's diverse heritage and scenic beauty."California is home to exceptional art museums and landmarks, each one offering treasures that tell the story of our state," shared Pageant Director Diane Challis Davy. Describing her inspiration for this year's theme, she added "After visiting the Hilbert Museum, I felt inspired to celebrate California's artistic contributions and to encourage audiences to explore the gems in their own backyard." Highlights include Claude Monet's "In the Woods at Giverny" from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and Diego Rivera's striking mural, "Allegory of California," in San Francisco. The Norton Simon Museum will be represented with Edgar Degas' famous bronze sculpture, "Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen." From Hearst Castle, audiences will marvel at Emmanuel Fremiet's gilt bronze "Chariot of Minerva" and the Roman Pool sculptures, designed by Julia Morgan.These iconic pieces are just part of the unforgettable experience awaiting audiences at the 2025 Pageant of the Masters. Set in the stunning 2,600-seat Irvine Bowl amphitheater, the production will unfold beneath Laguna Beach's starry skies. Featuring live music, captivating narration, and breathtaking illusions, next summer's Pageant will deliver a dynamic and visually stunning performance, bringing together California's rich artistic history and the magic of live theater in a way never seen before.The 2025 Pageant of the Masters production "Gold Coast: Treasures of California" will run nightly from July 5 through August 29, 2025. Early ticket purchase is recommended. The Pageant is highly sought after and draws art enthusiasts from around the world. Advance tickets go on sale December 1, 2024, starting at $47 (price includes services charges). For updates, follow the Festival on social media @FestivalPageant and visit www.foapom.com Contact InformationSharbie HiguchiDirector of Marketing and Public Relations, Festival of Artssharbie.higuchi@foapom.com 949-464-4282Victoria WalkerPR Consultant, Victori Solutionsvictoria@ victorisolutions.com 949-239-9220SOURCE: Festival of Arts of Laguna BeachView the original press release on newswire.com
PR-Inside.com: 2024-11-18 15:01:22

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Petcare Industry Leader Celebrates Winner at the 30th Annual Cat Writers' Association AwardsAUSTIN, TX / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / Pet King Brands, Inc., a U.S.-based company specializing in veterinarian-approved, enzymatic pet health products, proudly announces the winner of the ZYMOX Feline Skin and Ear Care Award presented at the 30th Annual Cat Writers' Association (CWA) Conference.The award was presented to Iris Zinck for her exceptional article, "Groomed to Purr-fection," published in Cat Talk magazine. Zinck's work highlights the importance of grooming in feline care. In addition to receiving the prestigious MUSE Medallion, the hallmark of excellence in cat-related media, Zinck was also awarded a custom-engraved crystal plaque courtesy of Pet King Brands."Supporting the Cat Writers' Association allows us to recognize the incredible talent and dedication of individuals like Iris Zinck, who inspire better care for cats through education and storytelling," stated Debra Decker, Marketing Director at Pet King Brands. "At Pet King Brands, we're passionate about improving the lives of pets and their families, and this award reflects our commitment to promoting excellence in feline health and wellness." The Cat Writers' Association (CWA), founded in 1992, is an international organization that promotes excellence in written, visual, and audio media coverage of cats. Through its awards programs, resources, and annual conference, CWA supports a vibrant community of creators working to enhance the well-being of cats.This year's CWA Conference celebrated its 30th anniversary with a virtual conference. The event serves as a hub for creativity and advocacy in the feline space, highlighting the latest trends, research, and advancements in cat care.Pet King Brands extends its congratulations to Iris Zinck and all the winners celebrated at this year's milestone event. Visit zymox.com for more information about Pet King Brands' complete line of innovative pet health products and where to purchase them.About Pet King BrandsPet King Brands, the maker of ZYMOX Ear and Skin products, Oratene Brushless Oral Care, Equine Defense, and ZYLAFEN, is a leader in veterinarian-approved pet products made in the USA. Focused on the health and wellness of small and large animals of all ages, the products utilize the Power of the LP3 Enzyme System and have been Resolving Ear, Skin, and Oral Conditions for Over 25 Years. Led by President and Founder Pamela Bosco, who first introduced ZYMOX in 1998 with the help of her bioscientist brother Michael Pellico, Pet King Brands has revolutionized the way people care for animals' ears, skin, and mouth, offering solutions that are gentle to the animal, easy to administer, and free of harsh chemicals and antibiotics.Contact InformationDebra DeckerDirector of Marketingddecker@ petkingbrands.com 8177139200SOURCE: Pet King BrandsView the original press release on newswire.com
PR-Inside.com: 2024-11-19 00:00:22

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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 /PPX Mining Corp. (TSXV:PPX)(BVL:PPX)(the "Company" or "PPX", including its Peruvian subsidiaries) is pleased to announce the subscription of a contract with JPC EC for the construction of leaching tanks for the 350 tn. per day beneficiation plant that the Company started to build at the Igor Project in La Libertad, Peru.The agreement specifies the construction and assembly of seven 23'x 20' agitation tanks, one 23'x 20' oxidation tank, and two detoxification tanks. JPC EC completed the plant's engineering in 2023-2024 to secure environmental and construction permits. With extensive experience in assembling these tanks, JPC EC has been developing industrial projects focused on mining in Peru since 1993.The construction of the leaching tanks is a critical component of the beneficiation plant for processing oxidized gold ore. The Company is confident that the contracted firms, SERTECPET (previously announced) and JPC EC, will work collaboratively to ensure the rapid construction of PPX's beneficiation plant.About PPX Mining CorpPPX Mining Corp. ( TSX.V: PPX.V, BVL: PPX) is a Canadian-based mining company with assets in northern Peru. Igor, the Company's 100%-owned flagship gold and silver project, is located in the prolific Northern Peru gold belt in eastern La Libertad Department.On behalf of the Board of DirectorsJohn Thomas Chief Executive Officer 82 Richmond Street EastToronto, Ontario M5C 1P1Canada416-361-0737Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Cautionary StatementThis press release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, "forward-looking statements") as such terms are defined by applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to statements regarding test results, future plans or management estimates. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business plans and financial performance and often contain words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," and "intend,", statements that an action or event "may," "might," "could," "should," "would" or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond the Company's control, and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to many various factors. Such uncertainties and risks include, among others, delays in obtaining or inability to obtain any required regulatory approvals, if applicable. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company cannot guarantee that the events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. The timing of events and circumstances and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, one should not place undue reliance on forward- looking statements. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of today's date, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or publicly revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by law.SOURCE: PPX Mining Corp.
PR-Inside.com: 2024-11-18 12:00:15

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NORTH READING, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / Fifth-grade students from North Reading Public School District in Massachusetts achieved the best test scores in the state on this year's Massachusetts Common Assessment Program for Science (MCAS). The school district ranks first in the state, considered one of the best in the nation for public education, for elementary science this year. The North Reading Public School District is partnered with KnowAtom, a Massachusetts company and nationwide provider of K-8 Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-based curricula.KnowAtom Students Figure Out Phenomena In North Reading, science means students figure out phenomena taking on the role of scientists and engineers, developing key knowledge, dispositions, and skills to participate in STEM careers."The commitment of our district's science leaders and educators supported with access to KnowAtom's high-quality instructional materials provide amazing learning opportunities for all students. We take great pride in our students' experiences and celebrate their curiosity and ability to utilize science practices to solve real life problems," said Dr. Sean Killeen, North Reading's Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning.Students from J. Turner Hood School scored highest on the MCAS of the district's three elementary schools, with 91% of students meeting or exceeding state proficiency levels and no students ranking in the lowest category of "not meeting expectations." In all, 87% of the district's fifth-grade students met or exceeded proficiency expectations, placing it first in the state among districts with 30 or more students tested. Only 44% of Massachusetts students statewide met or exceeded proficiency levels (MCAS Data, 2024). The North Reading Public School District uses KnowAtom's hands-on science curriculum, which is student and phenomena-driven, designed to meet Massachusetts Science and Technology Engineering Frameworks entirely hands-on screens-off."We are once again so proud of our students and teachers for this great achievement in elementary science that is also reflected in our scores in middle and high school," said Dr. Patrick Daly, Superintendent of North Reading Public Schools. "We dedicate time in our schedule for science, provide educators with high-quality curriculum materials, benefit from tremendous STEM leadership, first-rate educators, and parents who support our students by engaging in science activities and extracurriculars. There is community-wide support for our STEM programs in North Reading and we are very pleased with the outstanding student results." The district's 2024 test results represent a 5-point increase over the previous year and a 7-point increase since 2021. In 2024, Consumer Affairs ranked Massachusetts the best in the country for public education, noting that "the state has the best fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math scores in the country on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests" (Consumer Affairs, 2024)."With a focus on bringing together a team of highly qualified teachers, classroom methods that help create a culture of thinking, and administration that maintains a vision for quality science instruction, the North Reading Public School District has shown exceptional success yet again. We congratulate our long-term partners for ranking first in Massachusetts," said Francis Vigeant, CEO of KnowAtom. "KnowAtom partner school districts regularly rank top in the country for science. It takes both teaching and administrative excellence to develop top-performing students across multiple schools year after year, and the North Reading teaching community is more than good, they're exceptional!"About KnowAtom KnowAtom makes real science possible in every K-8 classroom. We provide a complete, high-quality K-8 solution designed for mastery of the Next Generation Science Standards: fully designed professional grade curriculum, integrated hands-on material kits, and targeted professional development. Our research-based, classroom-tested tools and techniques bring students' ideas to life with hands-on materials and technology.Explore more at www.knowatom.com Contact Information Nicole LanouePress Contactnlanoue@ knowatom.com 617-475-3475 x2002SOURCE: KnowAtomView the original press release on newswire.com
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NANJING, CHINA / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / The 8th Annual "Gratitude: Nanking Safety Zone" International Peace Hiking Ceremony kicked off on November 16 in Nanjing, the capital city of east China's Jiangsu Province. Over 200 participants from China and abroad gathered in the Suiyuan campus of Nanjing Normal University to commemorate the humanitarian efforts of foreign nationals who sheltered Chinese refugees."Gratitude: Nanking Safety Zone" Int'l Peace Hiking Kicks off in E.China Nanjing City Peace hiking participants gathered at the former residence of John Rabe to place flowers with respect.In November 1937, Minnie Vautrin and more than 20 other foreigners established the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone, providing sanctuary for over 250,000 Chinese refugees during the Nanjing Massacre.The 8.7-kilometer route of peace hiking passed through significant historical sites, including the Suiyuan Campus of Nanjing Normal University, former residence of John Rabe, Gulou Hospital, and the former location of the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone.Liu Liu, daughter of Nanjing Massacre survivor Liu Minsheng, told the participants: "My father took refuge at the Ginling College Refugee Shelter. He always remembered international friends like Minnie Vautrin with deep gratitude." Employees from Siemens and BSH Home Appliances gathered at the former residence of John Rabe to place flowers. During the Nanjing Massacre, Rabe's residence became a refugee shelter, housing more than 600 people at its peak. Zhou Feng, Director of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, and Jin Shifeng, senior vice president of BSH Home Appliances Greater China, jointly watered a stem of zijin grass, a symbol of peace.Participants visited the former committee site, examining historical correspondence and reports exchanged between the Safety Zone Committee and Japanese diplomats. At the event's conclusion, participants penned wishes for peace on postcards and placed them in a "time capsule" at the finish line on the Suiyuan Campus.Hexu Yuanjing, a doctoral student from School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University, and also a guide along the route, shared that "Through this walk, we deeply feel the humanity and compassion demonstrated by international friends, and we rediscover the unique warmth and charm of Nanjing. This is a truly meaningful experience." The event was organized by the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders and the National Memory and International Peace Research Institute. Participants include descendants of Nanjing Massacre survivors, representatives of the Red Cross Societies of Jiangsu and Nanjing, Staff from John Rabe and International Safety Zone Memorial Hall, corporate representatives, Zijin Grass volunteer service team members, and students from several universities in Nanjing.Contact InformationGrace ShiPRgraceshi@ xinhuanetus.com 6465712146SOURCE: John Rabe and International Safety Zone Memorial HallView the original press release on newswire.com
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Wolfram and UATX launch first-of-its-kind collaboration to revolutionize STEM education and university capabilitiesAUSTIN, TX / ACCESSWIRE / November 18, 2024 / The University of Austin (UATX) is pleased to announce its partnership with Wolfram Research, a global leader in computation and AI technology and solutions. This collaboration will be the first with Wolfram and higher-education in partnership to deliver an advanced 21st-century STEM curriculum grounded in real-world applications, interdisciplinary learning and modern computing."This partnership between UATX and Wolfram Research will be a game-changer for university mathematics education," said David Ruth, Dean of the Center for STEM at UATX. "Students will study complex problems in relevant context, concentrating more of their thinking on modeling problems and interpreting solutions while employing computers heavily for computationally-intensive tasks. This approach not only equips them as quantitative thinkers but also enhances their learning journey along the way." A foundational component of the program is a rigorous, computation-driven mathematics curriculum emphasizing real-world modeling and context-driven learning, reinforcing UATX's commitment to transforming STEM education."UATX is the first university bold enough to take on fundamentally fixing math education," says Conrad Wolfram, European cofounder and CEO of Wolfram Research and founder of computerbasedmath.org . "Deep mathematical or computational thinking is key to the arsenal of capabilities needed by transformative thinkers, problem-solvers and leaders-and everyone-as we power into the AI age. The Wolfram-UATX partnership marries together the vision, the technology, and education environment to set the new STEM standards that are both critical and deliverable." About UATX: The University of Austin (UATX) is a private, nonsectarian liberal arts university in Austin, Texas. It has established a campus in downtown Austin's Scarbrough Building and enrolled its first undergraduate cohort in September 2024. UATX seeks to prepare thoughtful and ethical innovators, builders, leaders, public servants, and citizens through open inquiry and civil discourse. You can find more information about UATX here.About Wolfram: Wolfram Research is one of the world's most respected technology companies - as well as a powerhouse of scientific, educational and technical innovation. As a pioneer in computation and computational knowledge, Wolfram has pursued a long-term vision to develop the science, technology, tools and services to make computation an ever-more-potent force in today's and tomorrow's world.Contact InformationBridget LewisSenior Account Executivebridget@ javelindc.com 7027732111SOURCE: University of AustinView the original press release on newswire.com
The project aims to empower pedestrians and community groups to inform local leaders about dangerous streets and crosswalks. The safety reviews started November 14 in Albany, Rochester and New York City and on Long Island. Others have since been conducted in Syracuse and Poughkeepsie, and more will be done in Buffalo and in Suffolk and Nassau counties by the time the project ends this Friday, November 22.

Local and state officials and community advocates joined AARP New York staff and volunteers at various sites to kick off the audits, which have received extensive news coverage in the Rochester, Albany, New York City and Long Island media markets.

In 2023, 265 pedestrians were killed in New York State, and 11,798 people were injured after being struck by a motor vehicle, according to the New York State Governor's Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC), with older adults having the highest fatality rate. Older pedestrians are more likely to die from their injuries when struck due to the inherent fragility associated with the aging process.

"This is unacceptable," said AARP State Director Beth Finkel. "It's imperative that we make these streets safer for pedestrians of all ages. That's why we're out here, taking a close look at intersections. Everyone should have the freedom to walk around their neighborhood safely."

"We invite others to take part and complete a walk audit in their neighborhoods. The process is easy and only takes a few minutes, using a simple form available at aarp.org/nywalks. Share your results with AARP to be included in a report for government officials or take them to your local leaders."

A walk audit is an activity in which participants observe and evaluate the walkability of a location to identify and document if and how pedestrians can safely travel along a street, navigate an intersection and get from points A to B and C and so on. Walk audits are part of AARP's nationwide Livable Communities program, which seeks to support older adults in living their best lives at any age by working with local and state leaders.

Unfortunately, many communities were built to accommodate cars, not pedestrians. Walkability is an important issue to AARP New York because older adults  along with people of color and residents of low-income communities  are disproportionately victims of fatal motor vehicle crashes involving pedestrians.

The age groups 60 to 70 had the largest percentage of pedestrian fatalities (23%) in 2023, with age group 60 to 64 having the highest fatality rate (3.18 per 100,000 population).

This month, well over 100 walk audits will be completed by AARP staff and volunteers across the state. The public is welcome to conduct their own walk audits and send the results to AARP New York. Residents and community groups can download the audit kit and find more information at aarp.org/nywalks.

New York State Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley: "Safe and walkable streets that accommodate people of all ages and abilities are a necessary component of the state's efforts to create livable and equitable communities. The Department of State works to transform communities and downtowns throughout the state with programs like the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, NY Forward and many others. We congratulate AARP on their efforts to bring attention to pedestrian safety and community livability."

State Senator Liz Krueger said: "Safe, walkable streets are one of my top priorities as an elected official representing Manhattan. We need to recommit to Vision Zero and enact proactive solutions at the state and local government levels to ensure that every New Yorker can move safely through our city, without fear of being hit by distracted drivers."

New York State Office for the Aging Director Greg Olsen: "Walking, whether for recreational purposes or to go places, is a great way to feel a part of your community, overcome social isolation, and improve your health. Research also shows that older adults are more likely to be seriously injured in road traffic accidents, and injuries to pedestrians are among the top ten causes of injury-related hospital admissions and fatalities for almost all age groups," said "New York has long fostered age-friendly community initiatives through the state's Master Plan for Aging and other efforts to make our public spaces safer for all. AARP's walk audits complement these efforts, activating individuals of all ages to promote pedestrian safety and make their communities better places to live, work and play. Get out and participate today."

State Senator Dean Murray of East Patchogue, Suffolk County: "Whether it's through road design changes, changing traffic patterns or even through legislative changes, we need to do all we can to ensure that our roadways are safe for vehicles AND pedestrians. I want to thank AARP, Vision Long Island and especially the dozens of local residents who came out to conduct the 'walk audits' to identify the changes that are necessary to make our roads as safe as possible."

Kathryn Carroll, Disability and Program Coordinator, Association on Aging in New York: "Area agencies on aging provide services that promote the independence of older adults and support caregivers. When neighborhoods are walkable  attractive, accessible, safe  everyone can more easily stay connected and access resources in the community. Connectedness and access are crucial to meeting older adults' needs."

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan: "I commend AARP for their dedication to the safety of pedestrians. People in the city rely on all forms of transportation, and we must ensure that our pedestrians and bicyclists are safe from those who choose to drive recklessly. The City of Albany is dedicated to improving the safety and accessibility of our streets. We installed speed cameras in school zones, enhanced traffic calming measures and pedestrian safety features on some of our busiest roads and are lowering the speed limit to 25 mph effective January 1, 2025. Thank you again to AARP for their advocacy and conducting this audit."

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said: "Maintaining and improving Manhattan's walkability is important for pedestrians of all ages, but particularly seniors. These walk audits will make our sidewalks and streets safer. Thank you to the AARP staff and volunteers who are diligently conducting the audits."

Cody Donahue, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Reconnect Rochester: "People are more likely to walk in their neighborhoods when the conditions of the sidewalks, crossings and roads make them feel it is safe to do so. AARP has provided an important tool for safe streets advocates to document current conditions and share findings with local government and decision makers who may be in a position to improve safety and walkability."

Connect with AARP New York on X: @AARPNY and Facebook: AARP New York

About AARP

AARP is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to the more than 100 million Americans 50-plus and their families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also works for individuals in the marketplace by sparking new solutions and allowing carefully chosen, high-quality products and services to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the nation's largest circulation publications, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org/about-aarp/, www.aarp.org/espanol or follow @AARP, @AARPenEspanol and @AARPadvocates on social media.

SOURCE AARP New York

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The FreezeM-Agroloop collaboration introduces a cost-effective alternative offering for the insect farming industry. This decoupled model offers a scalable, efficient, and streamlined solution that sets a new standard for both growth and sustainability. FreezeM will supply Agroloop with PauseM on a weekly basis from its breeding hub in Germany, which operates in collaboration with Hermetia GmbH, a pioneer in the BSF industry with decades of proven experience in large-scale insect breeding. Each PauseM unit contains pre-counted, life-cycle suspended BSF neonates, that can be stocked and used according to Agroloop's production plan of BSF based products. FreezeM's breeding-as-a-service solution allows Agroloop to operate seamlessly without an on-site breeding unit, significantly improving operational efficiency, reducing risks and costs, and enabling Agroloop to focus on its core mission: bioconversion of organic side streams into high-quality BSF protein, oil, and fertilizer at scale.

Rigorous testing and benchmarking conducted by Agroloop have shown that PauseM is the ultimate solution for outsourced breeding, delivering superior operational consistency, and higher production yields than any other breeding methods available today. By outsourcing the breeding process, Agroloop can produce protein more effectively and at a lower cost compared to parallel vertically integrated facilities, making this model a game-changer for the insect farming industry.

To further enhance productivity, the parties have jointly developed an Automated PauseM Deployment System, which is capable of inserting up to 4,000 PauseM units, corresponding to 200 million BSF neonate larvae, into the production line on a daily basis. This automated solution facilitates scalability and efficiency at Agroloop's first-of-its-kind factory, allowing for higher production volumes with minimal manual intervention.

"Our collaboration with Agroloop marks a new era for BSF farming," said Yuval Gilad, CEO and Co-Founder of FreezeM. "By decoupling breeding from production with PauseM, we're offering a solution that overcomes the major bottlenecks of the traditional vertically integrated approach. We're confident this model will set a new standard for the insect farming industry as a whole."

"After extensive research, choosing PauseM as our outsourced breeding solution brings our vision to life." said Rajmond Percze, CEO and Co-Founder of Agroloop. "It became clear that the next generation of insect farming requires innovation and pioneering solutions to ensure efficient operations and financially viable production. Our collaboration with FreezeM enables us to meet growing global demand and drive business growth."

About FreezeM

Founded in 2018, FreezeM is a global science and technology leader in Black Soldier Fly (BSF) breeding, a spin-off from the Weizmann Institute of Science. Its flagship product, PauseM, enables scalable, high-quality insect farming through its fully outsourced breeding-as-a-service model. FreezeM's mission, 'Making Insect Farming Simple,' is realized through its novel breeding solutions for the BSF industry. PauseM is already commercialized, currently produced in two breeding hubs in Germany and Israel, and has been extensively validated by leading BSF industry players in various production models and scales.

About Agroloop

Agroloop is a producer of animal-derived feed protein based on local resources and operating in a circular system. We specialize exclusively in the rearing and processing of black soldier fly larvae, as feed materials derived from this species provide the most functional benefits to feed and pet food manufacturers. Given that the by-products (feed fat and organic fertilizer) generated during feed protein production are also valuable products, we operate our 13,000 m automated factory virtually waste-free. The icing on the cake is that, compared to conventional protein sources, we can produce our products with a significantly smaller ecological footprint per kilogram. There is no need for vast hectares of arable land, no fertilizers or pesticides, and much lower drinking water and energy requirements than conventional production. Even in this initial phase, we are already the most significant alternative feed protein plant in Central Europe, and with the planned expansions, we aim to become one of the leaders in Europe.

Media contact:

Peter Gorne

[email protected]

TEL +34 637 854 902

Images for download: https://www.freezem.com/resources/#news

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SOURCE FreezeM; Agroloop Hungary Ltd.
The Only Company in Aviation Aftermarket to Achieve this Certification

CHANDLER, Ariz., Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- AvAir , a leading inventory solutions provider in the aviation aftermarket is proud to announce it is officially Climate Neutral Certified. AvAir joins the growing movement of companies achieving the Climate Neutral Certified standard, the first company in the aviation industry, by measuring 12 months of greenhouse gas emissions, taking action on reduction plans, and compensating the brand footprint with eligible-verified credits.

AvAir is Now Climate Neutral Certified

Climate Neutral Certified is the leading consumer label for climate neutrality. It is earned by organizations that have chosen to be accountable for the greenhouse gas emissions generated in the production, operations, and shipping of goods and services.

"We are extremely proud to receive this certificate and be Climate Neutral Certified," said Tyler Botthof, vice president of operations at AvAir. "As a company, we have committed to removing nearly 7,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions which is equal to driving 1,500 gas-powered cars for one year and taking steps to continue to reduce carbon dioxide emissions that are a result of the company's and team's actions."

"Climate Neutral Certified companies are demonstrating immediate action on climate change is possible and essential," says Austin Whitman, CEO of Change Climate. "Climate Neutral Certified brands have built a powerful movement that gives companies and consumers meaningful ways to act on climatetoday. They are leading the way, taking immediate voluntary action to address their carbon emissions, and engaging their consumers around this important issue like never before."

Change Climate's certification label builds on internationally recognized standards for carbon measurement and neutrality. All certified brands must measure cradle-to-customer greenhouse gas emissions each year to maintain certification. Then commit to reduction action plans to cut future emissions within a 12-24 month timeline. Finally, certified brands must invest in verified carbon credits to compensate for all of its emissions.

In addition to this comprehensive evaluation and commitment, AvAir is working with the leading environmental service and solutions provider in North America, WM to invest, improve and build upon its sustainability strategy and endeavor. AvAir is assessing its processes and data to benchmark procurement, waste, water, energy, fuel, transportation and other potential contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.

"AvAir is modeling what companies can do when they lean into environmental commitments," said Eric Dixon, vice president, sustainability & environmental solutions, WM. "WM is thrilled to support AvAir's sustainability agenda, which authentically aligns with our company's sustainability ambitions. For over two years, we've helped AvAir better understand its environmental footprint, from procurement and waste generation to transportation and utilities. This certification demonstrates how they go beyond measurement and continue to take action to reduce the company's impacts. On top of these initiatives, AvAir has also supported the WM Phoenix Open's Working for Tomorrow Fund, helping finance water restoration and renewable energy projects on Tribal Nations land right here in Arizona. We look forward to continuing this collaboration and seeing what's next for AvAir."

AvAir is headquartered in Chandler, Ariz. with operations in Dublin, Ireland. It has been named Parts Supplier of the Year for four consecutive years from 2021 through 2024 by Airline Economics, the leading industry trade publication. It has also been recognized for its work in sustainability by The Aviation 100 two years in a row, AvAir received the Environmental Sustainability award.

To learn more about AvAir visit AvAir.aero. To learn more about AvAir's certification data on Change Climate's website visit https://explore.changeclimate.org/brand/avair .

Learn more about Change Climate and its community of certified brands at www.changeclimate.org.

About AvAir

Founded in 2000, Arizona-based AvAir is a global leader in the aviation aftermarket, providing customized inventory solutions for airlines, OEMs, and MROs. AvAir has been named Parts Supplier of the Year for 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 by Airline Economics, the leading industry trade publication. It has also been recognized for its work in sustainability by The Aviation 100, AvAir received the Environmental Sustainability award. For more about AvAir, visit AvAir.aero .

ABOUT CLIMATE NEUTRAL

A 501(c)3 nonprofit, Change Climate leads a global movement of individuals and companies to eliminate carbon emissions. Our label, Climate Neutral Certified, is a trusted, independent standard for climate neutrality. It empowers consumers to find brands that are leading on immediate climate action. All companies that get certified must reduce and compensate for all of their emissions from making and delivering products and services. Change Climate works with over 400 companies and their label can be found on millions of products worldwide. Join us at changeclimate.org.

Contact: Claire Natale

claire @evolveprandmarketing.com

202.294.5999

SOURCE AvAir
NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Report with the AI impact on market trends - The global composite decking market size is estimated to grow by USD 2.82 billion from 2024-2028, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 14.04% during the forecast period. Revival of construction industry is driving market growth, with a trend towards rising adoption of prefabricated construction solutions. However, availability of substitutes for composite decking poses a challenge.Key market players include APR Composites, Buyrite Enterprises Ltd., Compagnie de Saint Gobain, DuraLife Decking and Railing Systems, Fortress Iron LP, Fortune Brands Innovations Inc., Genova Products Inc., Green Bay Decking, Nanjing Xuhua Sundi New Building Materials Co. Ltd., NewTechWood America Inc., Oakio Plastic Wood Building Materials Co. Ltd., Shanghai Seven Trust Industry Co. Ltd., Shubh Composites, TAMKO Building Products LLC, The AZEK Co. Inc., Trex Co. Inc., TruNorth International Corp., UFP Industries Inc., UPM Kymmene Corp., and Wallong Technology Co. Ltd..

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Composite Decking Market 2024-2028

Key insights into market evolution with AI-powered analysis. Explore trends, segmentation, and growth drivers- View Free Sample PDF

Composite Decking Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2023 Historic period 2018 - 2022 Forecast period 2024-2028 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 14.04% Market growth 2024-2028 USD 2.82 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 13.5 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution North America at 32% Key countries US, Canada, China, UK, and Germany Key companies profiled APR Composites, Buyrite Enterprises Ltd., Compagnie de Saint Gobain, DuraLife Decking and Railing Systems, Fortress Iron LP, Fortune Brands Innovations Inc., Genova Products Inc., Green Bay Decking, Nanjing Xuhua Sundi New Building Materials Co. Ltd., NewTechWood America Inc., Oakio Plastic Wood Building Materials Co. Ltd., Shanghai Seven Trust Industry Co. Ltd., Shubh Composites, TAMKO Building Products LLC, The AZEK Co. Inc., Trex Co. Inc., TruNorth International Corp., UFP Industries Inc., UPM Kymmene Corp., and Wallong Technology Co. Ltd.

Market Driver

Composite decking is a popular choice for homeowners and contractors seeking weather-resistant, low-maintenance outdoor living solutions. The market for composite decking is thriving, with varieties like capped composite decking offering a protective shell against fading, staining, and scratching. Homeowners appreciate the load-bearing capacity and resistance to foot traffic, making it an ideal option for high-use areas. Industry executives report a shift in trend towards composite decking, as more clients seek sustainable options. Capped composite decking comes in various color options and resin types, including PVC and HDPE. The form and segmentation of composite decking include railings, which offer low thermal expansion and resistance to slip. However, raw material costs and regulatory harvesting concerns can be restraining factors. Notable players in the market include Cardinal Building Products, Green Bay Decking, Fiberon, and MoistureShield. In interviews with industry associations, executives discuss the rise in demand for composite decking, with some offering luxury lines like Transcend Lineage. The bottom line: composite decking offers design flexibility, sustainability, and durability, making it a top choice for building and construction projects.

The prefabricated construction industry, specifically composite decking, is experiencing significant growth due to its cost-effective and time-saving advantages. In this process, various building components are manufactured in a controlled environment and transported to the construction site for assembly. Quality and design standards are key priorities in prefabricated construction to address the challenges of site-built homes. New prefabricated buildings often surpass conventional residences in aspects such as durability and energy efficiency. Compliance with codes such as the US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Code or the International Residential Code (IRC) ensures safety and reliability.

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Market Challenges

Composite decking is a popular choice for homeowners and contractors seeking low-maintenance, weather-resistant outdoor living solutions. However, the market faces challenges. Capped composite decking, with its protective shell, addresses concerns of fading, staining, and scratching. Yet, load-bearing capacity and foot traffic can be restricting factors. Homeowners value color options and resistance to slip, while contractors prioritize load-bearing capacity and low thermal expansion. Sustainability is a growing concern, with industry associations advocating for eco-friendly resin types. Executives from leading brands like Cardinal Building Products, Green Bay Decking, Fiberon, and MoistureShield share insights. Data triangulation reveals a shift in trend from natural wood to composite decking. Raw material costs and product offerings impact the bottom line. The rise in demand for composite decking railing and luxury lines, such as Transcend Lineage, presents opportunities. Harvesting and regulatory issues can pose restraining factors. Understanding resin types, form, and segmentation is crucial for success in the building and construction industry.

Composite decking is a popular choice for exterior home decoration due to its durability and attractive appearance. However, concrete flooring is an affordable alternative that can withstand heavy stress and pressure. Although the surface of concrete is not as smooth as composite or timber, it is a cost-effective option that can last longer with proper maintenance. Tiles and fiber cement decking are other alternatives, each offering unique benefits. Tiles can be customized for aesthetic appeal, while cement decking provides good resistance to heat and moisture, making it suitable for hot and humid climates. The demand for these alternatives may be lower than composite decking, but their wide availability and affordability are increasing their popularity.

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Segment Overview

This composite decking market report extensively covers market segmentation by

Application

1.1 Residential

1.2 Non-residential

Type

2.1 Polyethylene

2.2 Polypropylene

2.3 Polyvinyl chloride

2.4 Others

Geography

3.1 North America

3.2 Europe

3.3 APAC

3.4 South America

3.5 Middle East and Africa

1.1 Residential- The residential segment of the composite decking market is anticipated to experience significant growth due to the increase in residential construction activities in the US, Europe, and Asia Pacific (APAC) regions. Factors such as increasing disposable incomes, urbanization, and government initiatives are driving the demand for new residential constructions and public infrastructure in countries like China, India, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The recovery of the global housing market in the US, Canada, Germany, and Spain is also expected to fuel the demand for composite decking. In the US, the residential building industry has benefited from expansionary monetary policies and record-low mortgage rates, leading to an increase in housing demand. Additionally, growing investments by countries like the US and Germany for remodeling and renovation of residential buildings will further boost the market growth. The Middle Eastern region, particularly the UAE, is also witnessing in residential construction activities, with projects like Azizi Developments' Riviera Reve in Dubai, which includes 25 luxury buildings and over 5,000 houses, contributing to the market expansion. Despite the temporary halt of residential construction activities due to COVID-19 lockdowns, the long-term growth prospects of the market remain positive, driven by the factors mentioned above.

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Research Analysis

Composite decking is a popular choice for homeowners and contractors due to its durability and low maintenance properties. This building material is made from a combination of natural wood fibers and plastic resins, creating varieties such as capped composite decking with a protective shell. While initial costs may be higher than natural wood, composite decking offers benefits like resistance to fading, staining, scratching, and high load-bearing capacity. Resin types used in composite decking include polyethylene and polypropylene, with a shift in trend towards the latter due to its superior performance. Composite decking railing is also available, offering a cohesive look for outdoor spaces. Other advantages include low thermal expansion, resistance to slip, and color stability. Raw material costs and segmentation, including form (solid or hollow), have influenced product offerings from companies like Cardinal Building Products, Green Bay Decking, Fiberon, and MoistureShield. The building and construction industry has seen a rise in demand for composite decking due to its benefits, while the requirement for natural wood is lessening due to harvesting and regulatory concerns.

Market Research Overview

Composite decking is a popular choice for homeowners and contractors seeking low-maintenance, weather-resistant solutions for their outdoor living spaces. This market offers various varieties, including capped composite decking with a protective shell, to ensure durability against fading, staining, scratching, and high foot traffic. Composite decking is known for its load-bearing capacity and resistance to slip, making it an ideal option for both residential and commercial projects. The shift in trend towards sustainable materials has boosted the composite decking market. Resin types, form, and segmentation are key factors influencing product offerings. Capped composite decking, with its low thermal expansion and color stability, is a top choice for clients seeking design versatility. However, raw material costs and color fading can be restraining factors. Interviews with industry executives reveal a rise in demand for composite decking railings and luxury lines. The Building and Construction Industry Association and other industry associations provide valuable data triangulation on market trends. The Transcend Lineage and other luxury composite decking lines cater to the growing demand for high-end, long-lasting outdoor living solutions.

Table of Contents:

1 Executive Summary

2 Market Landscape

3 Market Sizing

4 Historic Market Size

5 Five Forces Analysis

6 Market Segmentation

Application

Residential



Non-residential

Type

Polyethylene



Polypropylene



Polyvinyl Chloride



Others

Geography

North America



Europe



APAC



South America



Middle East And Africa

7 Customer Landscape

8 Geographic Landscape

9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10 Company Landscape

11 Company Analysis

12 Appendix

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
Proprietary hybrid system marks crucial step-change, expected to deliver new floor for future growth in wheat yield, productivity

INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In advance of its Investor Day, Corteva today announced a revolutionary breakthrough in one of the world's most important staple crops  wheat  a first-of-its kind, proprietary non-GMO hybrid technology. While other crops like corn have exponentially benefited from hybrid technology over the years, challenges with wheat production systems have presented barriers to consistently and cost-effectively leveraging such game-changing technology  ultimately limiting the ability to deliver meaningful yield improvements.

Corteva's breakthrough hybrid wheat technology could:

Increase yield potential by 10% 1 , while using the same amount of land and resources, providing significant promise for both farmers and global food security;

providing significant promise for both farmers and global food security; Be more resistant to drought : research trials show Corteva's hybrid wheat can yield roughly 20% higher 2 than elite varieties in water-stressed environments, which would help farmers better adapt to the impacts of a changing climate.

: research trials show Corteva's hybrid wheat can yield roughly 20% higher than elite varieties in water-stressed environments, which would help farmers better adapt to the impacts of a changing climate. Accelerate the speed to market of new elite germplasm by increasing the scale of parent seed production over competitors' technology.

"Pioneer introduced hybrid corn in the 1920s, and since then our technology has helped achieve more than 600% increases in average yields3," said Corteva Chief Technology and Digital Officer Sam Eathington. "With our new, one-of-a-kind proprietary technology for wheat, we're now similarly poised to bring the revolutionary benefits and yield potential of hybridization to yet another core crop."

Hybrid seeds are created by crossing two genetically different parents  to ultimately produce more resilient, higher yielding plants for farmers. Unlike other wheat hybridization systems which rely on older technology, Corteva's all-new proprietary technology has been shown in trials to work in 100% of wheat germplasm -- enabling more rapid genetic gains and delivery of seed at a commercial scale.

Cultivated for over 10,000 years, wheat is grown on about 550 million acres, providing food for hundreds of millions of people and accounting for 20% of calories consumed worldwide. Wheat is the third largest row crop In North America, grown on more than 60 million acres.

Corteva plans to launch hybrid Hard Red Winter wheat as early as 2027 in North America, adding to its portfolio over time.

About Corteva Agriscience

Corteva, Inc. (NYSE: CTVA) is a global pure-play agriculture company that combines industry-leading innovation, high-touch customer engagement and operational execution to profitably deliver solutions for the world's most pressing agriculture challenges. Corteva generates advantaged market preference through its unique distribution strategy, together with its balanced and globally diverse mix of seed and crop protection products and services. With some of the most recognized brands in agriculture and a technology pipeline well positioned to drive growth, the company is committed to maximizing productivity for farmers, while working with stakeholders throughout the food system as it fulfills its promise to enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come. More information can be found at www.corteva.com.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain estimates and forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and may be identified by their use of words like "could," "potential," "may," "plans," "expects," "will," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," or other words of similar meaning. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about Corteva's expectations related to regulatory approvals, product development and commercialization, product offerings and product, financial or sustainability performance are forward-looking statements. Corteva disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except as required by applicable law. A detailed discussion of some of the significant risks and uncertainties which may cause results and events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements or other estimates is included in the "Risk Factors" section of Corteva's Annual Report on Form 10-K, and as modified by subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K.

1 Internal yield trial testing; 2 years of testing with 6-10 locations/year in each of the market classes. Hard Red Winter testing in NE, KS, CO, OK.

2 Internal yield trial testing; 2 years of testing with 6-10 locations/year in each of the market classes. Hard Red Winter testing in NE, KS, CO, OK.

3 Assumes average corn yields in the 1920s of roughly 26 bu/A (according to the Plant & Soil Sciences eLibrary at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln) and average corn yield in 2023 of roughly 183 bu/A (according to USDA data) and yields on Pioneer corn hybrids commonly reaching 200 bu/A and more.

SOURCE Corteva, Inc.
Multi-Brand Restaurant Platform Acquires Midwest-Style Pizza Concept with Over 20 Locations, Plans to Launch Nationwide Expansion Through Franchising

CHICAGO, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Craveworthy Brands ("Craveworthy")  the innovative multi-brand restaurant company and franchisor  announced today that it has acquired Fresh Brothers Pizza ("Fresh Brothers,") a California-based pizza brand which has over 20 existing locations throughout the state of California.

Founded in 2008, Fresh Brothers brings a Midwest-style with a California twist, emphasizing quality and freshness at each location in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego. Known for its handmade dough crafted daily, vine-ripened tomato sauce, pure cheese without additives and premium meats, Fresh Brothers also offers inclusive options for vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free guests, pioneering the use of plant-based protein on pizza. The menu extends beyond pizza to include salads, baked wings, fresh knots and sliders.

"Fresh Brothers is a perfect fit for Craveworthy as we expand our roots from the Midwest to the West Coast" Post this

Backed by a deep understanding of market dynamics and a commitment to operational excellence, Craveworthy is uniquely positioned to guide Fresh Brothers' journey from its Southern California foundation to nationwide expansion, using a franchise model that balances consistency with local appeal. This program will empower franchise partners with the tools and support needed to succeed in the evolving restaurant landscape.

The acquisition of Fresh Brothers follows Craveworthy's recent launch of Global Taste Brands, a joint venture designed to introduce and franchise international QSR and fast casual concepts in the U.S. With Fresh Brothers joining Craveworthy's portfolio, these strategic moves underscore a growth path rooted in true value, innovation and enriched guest experiences across various culinary segments.

LEADERSHIP COMMENTARY

"Fresh Brothers is a perfect fit for Craveworthy as we expand our roots from the Midwest to the West Coast with our first brick-and-mortar pizza brand," said Gregg Majewski, CEO and Founder of Craveworthy Brands. "With over 20 locations and a commitment to the best quality ingredients, Fresh Brothers puts a unique spin on an all-time favorite consumer category by offering inclusive menu options that appeal to today's diverse dining preferences."

"We're incredibly proud to have been stewards of such an iconic Southern California brand," said Peter J. Nolan of Nolan Capital, Investment Partner in Fresh Brothers. "With Craveworthy's expertise and resources, we're confident Fresh Brothers will continue to expand and deliver a best-in-class experience to its customers. We look forward to cheering them on as they enter this next chapter of growth."

"This acquisition not only diversifies our brand portfolio but strengthens our commitment to thoughtful growth, bringing something truly special to our guests and future franchise partners," concluded Majewski.

TRANSACTION ADVISORS

Nolan Capital served as the investment partner to Fresh Brothers. It is the family office of Peter J. Nolan in Southern California. Nolan Capital originates, executes and manages investments in private companies, real estate and other investments on behalf of the Nolan family.

Morgan Kingston Advisors, LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to Fresh Brothers. Morgan Kingston Advisors is a boutique investment bank focused on identifying and unlocking value for middle market restaurant companies. Securities offered through M&A Securities Group, member FINRA/SIPC.

Harrington Park Advisors served as exclusive financial advisor to Craveworthy Brands. Harrington Park Advisors is a leading boutique investment bank focused on restaurants and consumer services companies.

Amundsen Davis served as legal counsel to Craveworthy Brands. Amundsen Davis is a full-service business law firm based in Chicago. The firm handles the transactional, labor and employment and litigation needs of companies across the U.S.

For more information about Craveworthy Brands, please visit www.craveworthybrands.com. For more information about Fresh Brothers, please visit https://www.freshbrothers.com. For more about the franchise opportunities, please visit www.craveworthybrands.com/franchising.

ABOUT CRAVEWORTHY BRANDS

Craveworthy Brands, the parent company of Bd's Mongolian Grill, Dirty Dough, Fresh Brothers Pizza, Flat Top Grill, Genghis Grill, Krafted Burger Bar + Tap, Lucky Cat Poke Co., Nomad Dawgs, Pastizza Pizza & Pasta, Scramblin' Ed's, Sigri Indian BBQ, Soom Soom Mediterranean, The Budlong Southern Chicken and Wing It On!, is dedicated to invigorating and supercharging legacy brands while nurturing and growing emerging brands. The company brings together diverse, yet complementary brands and an accomplished, veteran leadership team in the growing culinary space. In addition to building and operating leading restaurant brands, Craveworthy Brands is active in the communities it serves and creates exciting career opportunities for its team members. Bridging the distinctive individuality of its concepts with a shared culture and spirit of collaboration, the Company's goal is to create truly unique and craveworthy experiences every day, every shift and at every turn. Learn more about Craveworthy and its brands at CraveworthyBrands.com.

ABOUT FRESH BROTHERS PIZZA

Based in Los Angeles since 2008, Fresh Brothers Pizza lives up to its name of crafting the freshest pizza. With more than 20 locations throughout California, Fresh Brothers sources only the highest quality ingredients with all-natural and handmade dough produced daily, with no artificial ingredients, preservatives or fillers. Fresh Brothers was the first pizzeria to serve plant-based meat and offers specialty pizzas with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options. Its menu features signature pizzas, mouthwatering salads, flavorful baked wings, fresh knots and tasty sliders. Learn more about Fresh Brothers at https://www.freshbrothers.com.

SOURCE Craveworthy Brands
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Deputy , the global people platform for hourly work, invites the world to celebrate the third annual International Shift Worker Sunday . Established in 2022 by Deputy, this global holiday honors and supports the essential contributions of shift  or hourly  workers who are the backbone of our society, and keep our world running beyond the 9-to-5. From night shifts in hospitals to early morning coffee runs, delivering holiday packages, and caring for seniors, these workers make up 80% of the global workforce. Deputy continues shining a light on their dedication, saying thank you, and recognizing the critical roles they play in society.

"Hourly workers are the heart and soul of our economy, but unfortunately, our work data shows that nearly half of this population feels undervalued and would like more recognition at work," said Silvija Martincevic, CEO of Deputy. "We also see that more than 25% of shift workers are working multiple jobs to make ends meet  from nurses, to baristas, delivery drivers, warehouse workers, hotel workers, and many more. Over 102 million shifts were worked on Deputy this year alone, and now it is more important than ever to show our appreciation and gratitude to those who power our world. Shift Worker Sunday is a reminder for all of us to recognize the impact of these everyday heroes."

As Black Friday approaches, new data from Deputy highlights the critical role hourly workers play in sustaining the busy holiday season. In the U.S. retail sector, shifts are expected to surge by 527% and hours worked by 254%, with hospitality and service industries experiencing similar jumps. This dramatic increase underscores the demanding, round-the-clock efforts these workers put in to meet seasonal demand  efforts that are often overlooked.

To reinforce its message of gratitude to the shift work community, Deputy is proud to announce that it is rolling out its first Shift Worker Sunday Sweepstakes - giving one hourly worker a chance to win $5,000. Open to California residents 18 and older, who are employed on an hourly basis, this sweepstakes invites eligible participants to join the movement of recognition, gratitude, and advocacy. For entry details, visit [ https://www.deputy.com/shift-worker-sunday/california-competition ], and submit your entry by 11:59 p.m. PST on Nov. 23, 2024.

Deputy invites the public to celebrate Shift Worker Sunday by showing appreciation and support to the shift work community via the following initiatives:

Celebrate : Give a shout-out to an hourly worker in your community on social media with #ShiftWorkerSunday.

: Give a shout-out to an hourly worker in your community on social media with #ShiftWorkerSunday. Thank : Leave a generous tip or share a kind word with hourly workers you interact with.

: Leave a generous tip or share a kind word with hourly workers you interact with. Share: Spread awareness of the challenges and value of hourly work by reposting stories or articles .

About Deputy:

Deputy is the global workforce management platform for hourly work. Its intuitive software strengthens employer-employee connections, streamlines compliance obligations, and revolutionizes how hourly workers and businesses operate together, creating workplaces that thrive. Over 365,000 workplaces use Deputy to create better work-life experiences for 1.4 million scheduled workers globally. Visit www.deputy.com , or find us on Twitter , Facebook , the App Store or Google Play for more information.

SOURCE Deputy
ENCINO, Calif., Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- EverBank, N.A., a national specialty bank serving clients across the United States, today proudly announced the opening of its first West Coast financial center in Encino, Calif., marking a significant milestone in the bank's expansion into the California market.

The financial center will serve the Encino area by offering a full suite of EverBank's consumer and business banking products and services to residents and businesses in Encino and nearby communities, including Sherman Oaks, Tarzana and Woodland Hills. Staffed by a dedicated team of experienced bankers and led by branch manager Alfred Ovasapyan, the financial center will deliver a seamless blend of personal service and high-performance banking solutions.

"The opening of our financial center in Encino underscores EverBank's commitment to building relationships in the communities we serve," said Greg Seibly, EverBank's CEO. "As we expand across California, we're focused on introducing EverBank's performance-driven, client centric products and services to even more consumer and commercial clients, delivering financial advantage everyone deserves from their bank."

The Encino financial center is part of EverBank's strategic expansion into California, anchored by the bank's West Coast hub office in Irvine, Calif., which is home to many of the bank's senior leaders. EverBank's financial center growth in California is led by Patrick Nygren, Head of Retail Banking, and a veteran Los Angeles banker, along with Regional Manager Brian Gilpatrick, who oversees retail operations across the state.

Later this year, EverBank will open a second West Coast financial center in Roseville, Calif., delivering consumer and commercial banking solutions to clients in the Sacramento region. In 2025, EverBank will significantly expand its financial center network in the Bay Area, metro Los Angeles and Orange County when it completes the acquisition of Sterling Bank & Trust, FSB. The acquisition, which was announced in September and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025, includes 25 Sterling Bank branches in California.

EverBank also is expanding its commercial lending and business banking services across California, including the recent launch of EverBank's Southern California Commercial Banking division and the launch earlier this year of the bank's Multifamily Lending business, focused sharply on the California market.

"There's so much room for growth and opportunity in Southern California, and we're proud to help clients tap into that advantage as we join the Encino and greater regional community," said Patrick Nygren. "With a dedicated, knowledgeable team on the ground, we're bringing a fresh approach to banking to the region  focused on innovation, accessibility and deeply personalized services that support the growth of local individuals and businesses."

The new financial center is located at 15903 Ventura Blvd, Encino, Calif. 91436. For more information about the Encino financial center including hours of operation, please visit https://www.everbank.com/locations.

About EverBank

EverBank, N.A. ("EverBank") is a nationwide specialty bank providing high-value products and services to consumer and commercial clients nationwide. As a pioneer in online banking, we offer convenient digital access for clients 24/7, in addition to phone banking services and a network of financial centers across Florida. EverBank's commitment is to deliver to our clients high-performing, high-yield solutions backed by exceptional service, always giving them the advantage they expect, to make the most of their money. Visit everbank.com or connect and interact with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or X (formerly Twitter). EverBank is a Member FDIC.

Media Contact

Michael Cosgrove

[email protected]

(904) 612-4160

SOURCE EverBank, N.A.
LIMA, Peru, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- With the international community increasingly at risk of being torn apart by the centrifugal force generated by the black hole at its center, Brazil making "Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet" the priorities for the G20 Summit it is hosting in Rio de Janeiro on Monday and Tuesday is a timely attempt to refocus the attention of the participating leaders on the common challenges countries are facing and what should be common goals.

With the attainment of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as the objective, it is essential to forge a truly global partnership so as to make global development more resilient and inclusive.

That requires the G20 countries to honor the principles of mutual respect, equal-footed cooperation and mutual benefit, as Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote in a signed article published by Folha de S. Paulo on Sunday.

To build a fairer world, it is important to press ahead with the reform of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization so that they do not disadvantage the Global South.

The G20 members should be the standard-bearers for reforms of these international organizations and the United Nations so that they embrace true multilateralism and uphold fairness and justice.

With most major stakeholders among them, the G20 members are obliged to take advantage of the Rio summit to coordinate macroeconomic policy to create an open, inclusive and nondiscriminatory environment for international economic cooperation.

As a grouping consisting of both developed and developing countries, the G20 Summit provides major players on the world stage with a good platform to seek breakthroughs in advancing international cooperation in such areas as the elimination of poverty and hunger, and realizing worldwide green and low-carbon development.

Whether or not the G20 members can play their due roles to the full will have a direct bearing on whether a just and sustainable future is secured.

That's why UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday urged the G20 leaders gathering in Rio de Janeiro to rescue the stalled UN climate talks in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku by showing "leadership" on cutting emissions, urging them to set aside their geopolitical disputes and self calculations for the common good.

They should also step up to the plate and push for a quick de-escalation of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. To make that happen, they need to join hands to try and create the conditions conducive to achieving comprehensive and sustainable cease-fire and ease the humanitarian crises.

The harsh challenges faced by the world should prompt the G20 members to lay aside their disputes, practice a bottom-line thinking and bear the big picture in mind to make the Rio summit a solution-oriented gathering, demonstrating true leadership, responsibility and vision.

China is willing to work with all G20 members to build an equal and orderly multipolar world, and promote economic globalization that is inclusive, balanced and sustainable.

It highly commends and will actively support Brazil's initiative of placing fighting hunger and poverty high on the summit's agenda and its proposal for the establishment of a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. That China has also supported the African Union becoming a member of the G20 grouping shows its commitment to that cause.

As President Xi wrote in his signed article, 32 years ago, the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro produced important outcomes such as Agenda 21. Let's join him in hoping that the G20's Rio summit will "provide stronger momentum and greater confidence for global sustainable development".

SOURCE China Daily
BEIJING, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Yangtze and Amazon, two of the world's greatest rivers, have continuously nurtured thriving nations and splendid civilizations.

Today, they also symbolize the enduring friendship between China and Brazil.

Recently, Enrique Teixeira, former deputy Mayor of Campinas, Sao Paulo State, and more than 100 friendly personages from the Brazil-China Friendship Association, the Sao Paulo University, the Sao Paulo State University, and the Copacabana Fort Orchestra in Rio de Janeiro wrote to Chinese President Xi Jinping respectively, thanking the Chinese government, enterprises, and universities for their contributions to China-Brazil friendly exchanges and the improvement of local people's livelihoods, the Xinhua News Agency reported on November 11.

In a reply letter to friendly personages from all walks of life in Brazil, President Xi encouraged them to continuously contribute to the China-Brazil friendship.

Xi said that he is glad to see that the China-Brazil friendship has been passed on from generation to generation, adding that over the past 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China and Brazil have marched forward hand in hand, sharing weal and woe, and have forged a friendship spanning mountains and oceans.

He voiced hope that people from all walks of life in the two countries will play a positive role in promoting the continuous development of China-Brazil relations and making the China-Brazil friendship flow unceasingly like the Yangtze River and the Amazon River.

An invitation letter

Ahead of Xi's visit to Brazil, the Confucius Institute at the Sao Paulo State University compiled a booklet, which was titled "An Invitation from Brazil: 50 Letters to President Xi Jinping."

"We aim to convey our respect and admiration for China, the Chinese people, and President Xi through this booklet," Luis Antonio Paulino, director of the institute, told the Global Times. "We eagerly anticipate President Xi's visit, are confident that his state visit will elevate the friendship between Brazil and China to new heights."

Established in November 2008, the Confucius Institute at the Sao Paulo State University is the first of its kind in Brazil, jointly founded by the Sao Paulo State University and Hubei University in Central China.

The Confucius Institute has registered over 23,000 students, with 16 teaching centers spread across 13 cities in Sao Paulo State and across Brazil.

Verena Veludo Papacidero is a local teacher at the Confucius Institute of the Sao Paulo State University. She said that the imagery of a "friendship transcending mountains and seas" and the metaphor of "flowing ceaselessly like the Yangtze and Amazon rivers" vividly underscore the close ties and immense potential for cooperation between the two nations in areas like culture and education.

In his letter, Xi said that China is willing to work with Brazil to enrich the friendship between the two countries in the new era, make China-Brazil relations a good example of solidarity, coordination, common development and mutual benefit among major developing countries, and make greater contributions to the cause of peace and progress of mankind, Xi said.

He said Brazilian friends are welcome to visit China more often and experience for themselves the myriad sights of Chinese modernization.

Jao Pedro is a student at the Confucius Institute at the Sao Paulo State University who wrote a letter to President Xi. He expressed his hope that Xi could visit his school some day. "China's influence in Brazil is growing. I believe the relationship between China and Brazil will get deeper," he said.

Bruno Moreira Silva, another author of the letters, also looks forward to visiting China and hopes to use his expertise to enhance exchanges between the two countries. "In 2025, I will study in China, and I am determined to learn more about this country, which is both ancient and modern."

Notes of harmony

Marcia Melchior, founder and director of the Orquestra Forte de Copacabana, told the Global Times that Xi's reply letter made her feel "deeply honored and moved."

"His reply was a testament to the significance of cultural exchanges and the mutual respect between Brazil and China. It reinforced the idea that our mission resonates beyond borders and that our efforts to connect young musicians to broader cultural experiences are recognized at the highest level," she said.

"This recognition inspires us to pursue greater goals. Knowing that he values the cultural connection we're building motivates our entire team and young musicians to keep striving for excellence," she said.

The Orquestra Forte de Copacabana was found in 2011 and based at the historic Forte de Copacabana in Brazil, with an aim to transform the lives of young people from vulnerable communities through music and education.

The orchestra has had a sponsorship from a Chinese petroleum company since 2022, which according to Melchior, allows them to embrace Chinese culture.

"This support has been instrumental in helping us grow and strengthen our mission, and it has forged a significant cultural bond between us and Chinese people," she said.

The Brazilian musician views the current bilateral relations between China and Brazil as "incredibly dynamic and mutually enriching, especially in the realm of cultural exchange."

"Looking forward, I believe this partnership has tremendous potential to grow. My hope is that we continue expanding cultural, educational, and artistic exchanges, creating more platforms for artists, musicians, and students to connect, learn, and inspire each other. With the support of leaders from both countries, I envision our bilateral ties becoming even stronger, with cultural projects playing a key role in bringing our peoples closer," she said.

"We are proud to be part of this journey and look forward to contributing to the future of Brazil-China relations," she noted.

From seed to bloom

About 200 years ago, the first group of Chinese tea farmers traveled across the ocean to grow and teach the art of tea in Brazil. The seed of friendship they sowed back then has grown tall and borne fruit. The friendship between the people has always been a driving force for the growth of China-Brazil relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said on November 12, when asked to share more details about Xi's reply to letters from friendly personages in Brazil, which received extensive and positive response.

As two of the world's major developing countries, China and Brazil should take on the mantle of historical duty and responsibilities, and work together with others in the Global South to resolutely safeguard the developing nations' common interests, to address global challenges through cooperation, and to promote a global governance system that is fairer and more equitable, President Xi said in a signed article published on Sunday in Brazilian media outlet Folha de S. Paulo.

The two countries should make their distinctive contribution to world peace, stability and common development, Xi said in the article.

Just as a well-tended tea plant matures and yields richer leaves over time, the bond between China and Brazil, nurtured by mutual understanding and cooperation, is expected to grow even stronger, making the friendship as enduring as the Yangtze and Amazon rivers.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202411/1323241.shtml

SOURCE Global Times
All organizational changes are effective Dec. 16, 2024.

"The leadership changes announced today reflect a team that is well-equipped to guide the company towards long-term success. Their expertise, leadership and dedication personify our commitment to excellence, performance and customer value. Their extensive experience will be vital as we continue to enhance the grid across our footprint," said CEO Linda Apsey.

In his role as vice president, ITC Holdings Corp., and president, ITC Michigan, Charles Marshall will be responsible for the ITCTransmission and METC operating companies. Prior to this role, he was vice president, transmission planning. He joined ITC as an associate engineer in 2004, and his experiences range from regulatory policy and stakeholder relations to project engineering and business unit planning. Marshall was appointed to the Michigan Infrastructure Council in 2024 for a three-year term. He previously served as a member of the Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO) Board of Directors from January 2021  December 2023. He earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Michigan Technological University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan-Flint.

In his role as vice president, transmission planning, Vinit Gupta will be responsible for identifying all transmission system needs and developing system solutions to ensure the reliable and economic delivery of electricity to customers across ITC's four operating subsidiaries. He previously served as vice president, operations. Prior to joining ITC in 2013, he worked at Entergy in operations, IT, NERC compliance and transmission and distribution substation maintenance areas Mr. Gupta is a Board Member of the North American Transmission Forum (NATF). Also, he is the Investor Owned Utility sector representative of NERC Reliability and Security Technical Committee (RSTC). Gupta earned a Bachelor of Engineering in electrical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India and a Master of Sciences in electrical engineering from Kansas State University. He is a NERC certified system operator.

In her role as vice president, operations, Brenda Houtz will be responsible for operations control room and system operations that support ITC's four operating companies, and will be the company's NERC Compliance Officer. She previously served as ITC's director of real time operations. Houtz has over 20 years of experience in the utility industry. Prior to joining ITC in 2023, she was executive director  operations for Consumers Energy. Her background includes vast experience with Operations, NERC compliance and field operations. Houtz currently serves on the NERC Regional Entity Midwest Reliability Organization (MRO) Board of Directors. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Huntington University and a Master of Business Administration in Strategic Leadership from Spring Arbor University. Houtz is a NERC certified system operator.

In the newly created role as vice president, supply chain and general services, Timothy Greenen will oversee ITC's supply chain, safety and security functions. He previously served as director, operations engineering and director, asset management. Greenen has been with ITC since 2004 and has more than 25 years of experience in the utility industry. He earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Oakland University and a Master of Science in electrical engineering from Wayne State University. Greenen is a registered professional engineer in the State of Michigan.

About ITC Holdings Corp.

ITC Holdings Corp. is the largest independent electricity transmission company in the United States. ITC provides transmission grid solutions to improve reliability, expand access to markets, allow new generating resources to interconnect to its systems and lower the overall cost of delivered energy. Through its regulated operating subsidiaries ITCTransmission, Michigan Electric Transmission Company, ITC Midwest and ITC Great Plains, ITC owns and operates high-voltage transmission infrastructure in Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. These systems serve a combined peak load exceeding 23,000 megawatts along 16,000 circuit miles of transmission line, supported by 750 employees and 900 contractors. ITC is based in Novi, Michigan. For further information visit www.itc-holdings.com. ITC is a subsidiary of Fortis Inc., a leader in the North American regulated electric and gas utility industry.

SOURCE ITC Holdings Corp.

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LONG BEACH, Calif., Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Long Beach attorney Robin D. Perry has been honored by the Long Beach Bar as the 2024 Lawyer of the Year. He will be recognized at the Association's 108th Annual Installation Dinner & Awards Ceremony on Thursday, February 27, 2025, at the Long Beach Hyatt Regency.

Robin Perry is one of Long Beach's premier attorneys with a focus on criminal defense, personal injury and business law. For more than 25 years, Perry has owned The Law Offices of Robin D. Perry & Associates, in which he has earned a reputation as a dedicated advocate, providing strategic legal counsel across a broad range of legal matters.

He is a past-president of the Long Beach Bar Association and currently serves on its Board of Governors. He's also a past-president of the Long Beach Civil Service Commission and has served in varying capacities for non-profits in and around Long Beach, CA.

Robin and his firm have obtained various seven-figure settlements for individual and corporate clients, such as obtaining a $1.275 million settlement on behalf of the family of a man struck and killed by a truck driver. He also took part in obtaining a $13 million settlement on behalf of the family of a woman killed by a school safety officer in Long Beach.

The Lawyer of the Year award is one of the highest honors given by the Long Beach Bar Association, recognizing an attorney who exemplifies leadership, professionalism, and service to the legal profession and the broader community.

"I am deeply honored to be recognized by my colleagues at the Long Beach Bar Association," said Perry. "This award reflects not only my efforts but the hard work and dedication of my team at The Law Offices of Robin D. Perry & Associates. We are committed to providing exceptional legal services to our clients and supporting the Long Beach community."

About The Law Offices of Robin D. Perry & Associates

The Law Offices of Robin D. Perry & Associates is a respected law firm in Long Beach, CA, specializing in business litigation, employment law, criminal defense, personal injury, and code enforcement defense for businesses. For more information, visit https://www.lordp.net/.

SOURCE Law Offices of Robin D. Perry & Associates
This new model for staking and trading ETH validators is set to solve liquidity challenges and shows a clear pathway to a 100% stake ratio for North American asset managers.

TORONTO, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Northstake A/S, the virtual asset service provider offering compliant staking products for institutions, has demonstrated a new staking model that allows asset managers to trade their ETH validators on a marketplace with industry-leading market makers, including GSR, Nonco, DV Chain and Keyrock.

Northstake's ETH validator marketplace allows asset managers to trade ETH validators at a competitive liquidity premium compared to credit or liquid staking derivatives, helping to solve the industry challenge of contingent liquidity. The marketplace enables Northstake's institutional clients to liquidate their ETH validator nodes in a matter of hours.

The first trade of a validator on Northstake's ETH validator marketplace has been completed by 3iQ Corp, the Canadian investment fund manager which has been a front-runner in digital assets launching their first global 3iQ Ether Staking ETF (TSX: ETHQ) in 2023 and through Tetra Trust as a custodian.

Greg Benhaim, Executive Vice President for Products at 3iQ, said: "3iQ believes that by adding liquidity to our ETF validators, we can unlock the full return potential of ETH for our customers. With strong participation from market makers and sufficient liquidity depth, there's an opportunity to stake the entirety of the ETF's assets, maximizing its value. Northstake is currently the leading solution in addressing this need for ETFs."

In solving persistent issues with contingent liquidity, Northstake will unlock ETH staking opportunities for its clients. Currently, only 28% (approx) of ETH's total supply is being staked, representing missed opportunities for asset managers and investors, particularly those with spot ETH ETF positions. Northstake aims to enable ETH total return products and to become the backbone for an institutional-grade ETH total return token.

Jesper Johansen, CEO of Northstake A/S, said: "Our solution solves the contingent liquidity problem in a regulatory compliant way when staking ETH. This sets a new standard for how institutions should consider incorporating staking in their funds. The evidence and data we generate will provide a clear regulatory pathway for North American-based ETF issuers incorporating staking in their regulatory filings. Ultimately, our aim is to transform spot ETF into total return products"

This news follows the announcements of 3iQ, CoinFund, CoinDesk Indices, DV Chain, Nonco, Keyrock and GSR joining Northstake's tokenized staking initiative earlier in 2024. Continuing its trajectory of strong growth, Northstake is now actively onboarding global ETF providers and market makers.

Jesper Johansen, CEO & Founder of Northstake, and Greg Benhaim, Executive Vice President for Products at 3iQ, are available for interviews.

About Northstake A/S

Northstake A/S is a regulated, EU-based virtual asset service provider offering compliant staking products to institutions. Northstake has demonstrated a new staking model allowing institutional investors to trade Eth validators on a marketplace with industry-leading market markers. Northstake aims to build a tokenized Eth validator marketplace for institutions. Northstake A/S (VASP, FTID: 17520) is regulated under the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (DFSA). To learn more visit www.northstake.dk

About 3iQ

Founded in 2012, 3iQ is one of the world's leading digital asset investment fund managers, offering investors convenient and familiar investment products to gain exposure to digital assets. 3iQ was the first Canadian investment fund manager to offer public bitcoin investment funds: The Bitcoin Fund (TSX: QBTC) (TSX: QBTC.U) and the 3iQ Bitcoin ETF (TSX: BTCQ) (TSX: BTCQ.U), as well as public ether investment funds: The Ether Fund (TSX: QETH.UN) (TSX: QETH.U) and the 3iQ Ether Staking ETF (TSX: ETHQ) (TSX: ETHQ.U). To learn more about 3iQ, https://3iq.io/.

SOURCE Northstake
READING, Pa., Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Penske Truck Leasing is lighting up a new solar-powered initiative seeking to boost efficiency, minimize energy costs, and reduce emissions initially at select truck leasing, truck rental, and truck maintenance locations in the U.S. with the installation and activation of its first-ever rooftop solar-powered systems.

Penske Truck Leasing facility with solar panels

The company's new state-of-the-art facility in Channahon, Illinois, is now fully operational, and is predominantly powered by an onsite photovoltaic (PV) solar system, expected to generate roughly 80% of the building's energy needs at 200 KW capacity. Any remaining required energy will be supplied by the local utility provider.

A Grand Rapids, Michigan, location will be active in the coming months and Penske's Linden, New Jersey, location is expected to go online in 2025. These facilities are also new state-of-the-art locations.

The new facilities incorporating solar systems in Channahon, Illinois, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Linden, New Jersey, are part of the company's LEED building program.

Under a power purchase agreement with Sunrock Distributed Generation, seven additional Penske facilities in California are expected to be retrofitted with new PV solar systems in the next year, which are expected to yield roughly 600 KW of renewable energy across all locations. These facilities are located in Fresno, Hayward, La Mirada, National City, Riverside, San Diego and San Leandro.

Penske is collaborating with San Francisco-based ForeFront Power as its lead project consultant on this solar initiative.

"Our solar program is an important piece of our renewable energy strategy and ForeFront Power continues to be an outstanding partner in helping us bring these projects to fruition," said Drew Cullen, senior vice president of fuels and facility services at Penske. "These investments will allow us to directly generate our own renewable energy to power our locations and continue to support our customers with sustainable solutions."

On average, four solar panel-powered Penske Truck Leasing facilities will generate an estimated 1-million-kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy annually and will result in an emissions avoidance of 442 metric tons (MT) CO2e, which is equal to powering nearly 90 homes for one year.

"The initiative to install solar systems at our locations is a part of our company's LEED-certified facilities process," explained Ivet Taneva, Penske vice president of environmental affairs. "Investing in solar has considerable economic impacts for our operations as well as the environmental benefits of further reducing emissions related to electricity use."

Penske Truck Leasing is a Penske Transportation Solutions company headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania. A leading provider of innovative transportation solutions, Penske operates and maintains more than 437,000 vehicles and serves its customers from nearly 1,000 maintenance facilities and more than 2,500 truck rental locations across North America. Solutions from Penske include full-service truck leasing, fleet maintenance, truck rentals, used trucks, and a comprehensive array of technologies to keep the world moving forward. Visit pensketruckleasing.com for more information.

SOURCE Penske Truck Leasing
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Quaker Houghton ("the Company"; NYSE: KWR) announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Joseph Berquist as Chief Executive Officer and President, and a member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Berquist, who succeeds Andy Tometich as Chief Executive Officer and President, most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for Quaker Houghton.

Michael F. Barry, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Quaker Houghton commented, "I want to thank Andy for his three years of leadership at Quaker Houghton. His outside perspective and experiences were valuable to help position the Company for future growth. The Board's plan since my retirement has been, ultimately, to have a CEO with detailed working knowledge and experience with our specific industry, customers, and products. That detailed familiarity with the business will help drive shareholder value as we grow through organic market share gains as well as acquisitions."

Mr. Barry continued, "Joe has demonstrated exceptional leadership at Quaker Houghton throughout his career. Having personally worked with Joe for more than 25 years, I know him to be a highly regarded leader with an indisputable knowledge and passion for this industry, our customers, and our people. His vision and proven track record in delivering above-market growth for Quaker Houghton is precisely what is needed as the Company enters this next chapter."

"I am honored to have the confidence of our Board of Directors to lead this organization at such an exciting time for Quaker Houghton", Mr. Berquist said. "I look forward to continuing to work alongside my remarkable colleagues to enhance Quaker Houghton's position as the trusted global leader in industrial process fluids and services. We have a strong foundation and proven business model with an opportunity to add scale, strengthen our culture, and deliver long-term sustainable value to our customers and our shareholders."

Since joining Quaker Houghton in 1997, Mr. Berquist has been instrumental in the execution of the Company's growth. In 2008, he was promoted to the Company's executive leadership team as Managing Director North America, where he drove several consecutive years of revenue and profitability improvement. Mr. Berquist successfully co-led the integration planning of the 2019 Quaker Houghton combination, a transaction that nearly doubled the Company's size, and generated synergies in excess of $80M. During his tenure, he has been involved in executing 24 of the Company's acquisitions. In 2019, Mr. Berquist assumed the role of Chief Strategy Officer, where he led the organization's strategy development. In 2023, Mr. Berquist was appointed to the newly created position of Executive Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer with commercial responsibility over all Quaker Houghton's global businesses.

About Quaker Houghton

Quaker Houghton is the global leader in industrial process fluids. With a presence around the world, including operations in over 25 countries, our customers include thousands of the world's most advanced and specialized steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, offshore, container, mining, and metalworking companies. Our high-performing, innovative and sustainable solutions are backed by best-in-class technology, deep process knowledge and customized services. With approximately 4,400 employees, including chemists, engineers and industry experts, we partner with our customers to improve their operations so they can run even more efficiently, even more effectively, whatever comes next. Quaker Houghton is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, located near Philadelphia in the United States. Visit quakerhoughton.com to learn more.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that fall under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These forward-looking statements include statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, intentions, financial condition, results of operations, future performance, and business, and statements that include the words "may," "could," "should," "would," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "outlook, "target", "possible", "potential", "plan" or similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements on assumptions, projections and expectations about future events that we believe are reasonable based on currently available information. Our forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about the Company and its operations that are subject to change based on various important factors, some of which are beyond our control and could cause our actual results to differ materially from expected and historical results. Therefore, we caution you not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. For more information regarding these risks and uncertainties as well as certain additional risks that we face, refer to the Risk Factors section, which appears in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and in subsequent reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not intend to, and we disclaim any duty or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information or future events or for any other reason. This discussion is provided as permitted by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

SOURCE Quaker Houghton
BEIJING, Nov. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by chinadiplomacy.org.cn on the Global South's growing economic influence:

The Center for Geoeconomics for the Global South in Dubai and the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies (ACCWS) in China recently collaborated on research highlighting the growing significance of the Global South in international power dynamics.

As part of the ACCWS' knowledge-sharing project, the research is organized into four sections, namely the conceptual framework, economic landscape, strategic behavior and policy recommendations. It explores how Global South countries are employing economic strategies and geopolitical interests to pursue their respective goals in a multipolar world.

The research also examines how emerging economies in the Global South leverage infrastructure, investments, and trade to enhance their global influence. It also addresses challenges like debt dependency.

According to the research, the term "Global South" refers to a collective of countries, mainly in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, all of which share a history of being subjected to colonialism and economic exploitation. These nations play a crucial role in global affairs, accounting for over 40% of the world's GDP and housing a significant portion of the global population. Countries like China, India, and Brazil wield considerable influence within this collective.

The research points out that the Global South is gaining prominence through its economic strength and strategic initiatives, such as the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. Meanwhile, regional organizations like the ASEAN are also promoting cooperation among these countries.

However, the research argues that while regional cooperation holds promise, Global South nations encounter issues such as inequality and weak institutions.

The research concludes that the Global South is poised to play a crucial role in global governance. Its emergence as a geopolitical force hinges on balancing short-term economic gains with long-term sustainability. A coordinated geoeconomic strategy will be essential for achieving equitable development and enhancing autonomy within the global system.

SOURCE chinadiplomacy.org.cn
Single dose of RN0191 achieved up to 95% individual maximum and 87% mean maximum PCSK9 reduction, and up to 74% individual maximum and 56% mean maximal LDL-C lowering

Robust and sustainable treatment effects support at least bi-annual dosing regimen

Best-in-class potential of novel PCSK9 siRNA RN0191 supports further development as single agent or combination to further reduce atherosclerosis cardiovascular risk

SHANGHAI, Nov. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rona Therapeutics, a leader in innovative RNA-based therapies, today presented positive results from the Phase 1 clinical trial of RN0191 at the American Heart Association's (AHA) Annual Scientific Sessions in Chicago, IL, November 16th, 2024. RN0191 is a proprietary GalNAc conjugated PCSK9 siRNA designed to significantly lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and other lipid parameters.

The Ph1 study was a randomized, single-dose ascending, placebo-controlled study to evaluate safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in healthy subjects with elevated LDL-C. The demographics included adults aged 18 to 60 years, spanning a BMI range of 19-30 kg/m2. All results are based on data in the database as of Oct. 14, 2024. A total of 32 subjects were randomized and treated with RN0191 from 60mg to 600mg, respectively. The baseline LDL-C mean level was ranging from 110-130 mg/dL.

After a single-dose subcutaneous injection, RN0191 showed a favorable safety profile with no serious adverse events and only mild, transient adverse events reported across all dose- levels. Dose-dependent, significant and durable changes in PCSK9, LDL-C and other lipid parameters were observed (see table below).

Mean maximum reduction of PCSK9 >85% and LDL-C >55% have been achieved. Significant and durable LDL-C reduction is achieved up to 42% through Day180, supporting a bi-annual dosing regimen for future development

Significant lowering of ApoB, Lp(a), non-HDL-C and total cholesterol are also noted

Remarkable treatment effects with reduction of PCSK9, LDL-C and the other lipid parameters maintained to 6 months.

Table. Percentage change from baseline of PCSK9 and LDL-C level after single dose of RN0191

Placebo 60mg 200mg 400mg 600mg PCSK9









Mean Maximum Change (%) -10 % -64 % -79 % -86 % -87 % (Days post injection) (8) (15) (29) (22) (57) Mean Change (%), Day 85 -4 % -33 % -69 % -79 % -83 % Individual Maximum Change (%) -50 % -81 % -87 % -91 % -95 % LDL-C









Mean Maximum Change (%) -6 % -23 % -48 % -56 % -51 % (Days post injection) (85) (57) (29) (71) (22) Mean Change (%), Day 85 -6 % -20 % -36 % -47 % -45 % Individual Maximum Change (%) -20 % -63 % -61 % -71 % -74 %

Stella Shi, CEO of Rona Therapeutics, shared, "We are thrilled to report that RN0191 has demonstrated best-in-class PCSK9 siRNA potential. These results highlight RN0191's potential as a transformative siRNA therapy for global patients with elevated LDL-C, a major risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease either as single agent therapy or as combinatory backbone to improve cardiovascular outcome. "

About Rona Therapeutics

Rona Therapeutics is a global leader in nucleic acid innovative drug platform company, specializing in the treatment of metabolic diseases and neurological diseases. Rona Therapeutics is always committed to developing the best and first-in-class siRNA drugs with differentiation and innovation to address unmet needs and improve outcome in cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and MASH. In addition, Rona Therapeutics is unlocking potential of extra-hepatic delivery for neurological disorders and adipose/muscle delivery or various metabolic syndromes.

For Further information,

Please visit: www.ronatherapeutics.com or contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Rona Therapeutics
NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Domino's Pizza, Inc. ("Domino's" or the "Company") (NYSE: DPZ) and certain officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and docketed under 24-cv-12477, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired Domino's securities between December 7, 2023 and July 17, 2024, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants' violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.

If you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise acquired Domino's securities during the Class Period, you have until November 19, 2024 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

Domino's, through its subsidiaries, operates as a global pizza company in three segments: U.S. Stores, International Franchise, and Supply Chain. Domino's offers pizzas and other food products under the Domino's brand name through Company-owned and franchised stores. The Company's largest "master franchisee"i.e., a franchisee that is charged with developing a geographical area and may profit by sub-franchising and selling food and equipment to those sub-franchiseesis Domino's Pizza Enterprises ("DPE"). As of December 31, 2023, DPE operated 3,840 stores in 12 international markets, accounting for approximately 28% of the Company's international store count and 19% of its global store count.

In December 2023, Domino's hosted its 2023 Investor Day, during which Defendants provided new long-term guidance of "1,100+" annual global net store growth for the years 2024 to 2028.

The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) DPE, the Company's largest master franchisee, was experiencing significant challenges with respect to both new store openings and closures of existing stores; (ii) as a result, Domino's was unlikely to meet its own previously issued long-term guidance for annual global net store growth; (iii) accordingly, Domino's business and/or financial prospects were overstated; and (iv) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On July 18, 2024, Domino's issued a press release announcing its Q2 2024 financial results. Among other items, Domino's disclosed that it "expects it will fall 175 to 275 stores below its 2024 goal of 925+ net stores in international primarily as a result of challenges in both openings and closures being faced by Domino's Pizza Enterprises ('DPE'), one of its master franchisees." Accordingly, "[t]he Company is temporarily suspending its guidance metric of 1,100+ global net stores until the full effect of DPE's store opens and closures on international net store growth are known." On an earnings call held that same day to discuss the Company's Q2 2024 results (the "Q2 2024 Earnings Call"), the Company's Chief Financial Officer Defendant Sandeep Reddy further revealed that the long-term guidance announced at the 2023 Investor Day did not accurately reflect the extent of DPE's challenges with respect to new store openings and closures of existing stores.

On this news, Domino's stock price fell $64.23 per share, or 13.57%, to close at $409.04 per share on July 18, 2024.

Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.

Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

Danielle Peyton

Pomerantz LLP

[email protected]

646-581-9980 ext. 7980

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Virtuoso, the global network renowned for luxury and experiential travel, is uniquely positioned to identify travel trends shaping the year ahead. The 2025 Virtuoso Luxe Report once again draws insights from Virtuoso's industry-leading travel agencies and advisors across 58 countries to determine what's now and next for in-the-know travelers.

In 2025, Virtuoso clients will continue to prioritize exploration and personalized experiences, while maximizing value without compromising quality. Luxury travelers are willing to spend more but are mindful of rising costs, making guidance from their trusted travel advisor crucial. Half of advisors surveyed anticipate a slight rise in travel demand next year, with 20 percent expecting a significant increase. Additionally, 55 percent predict a modest uptick in spending per trip, while 28 percent believe pricing will remain steady.

The Luxe Report identified five key trends for 2025:

Ice-olated Escapes: "Coolcations" continue as travelers request cold-weather destinations to escape rising temperatures and crowds. Antarctica , with its expanding cruise options, has surged in popularity, climbing from fifth place last year to second among the top destinations to watch. Norway and Iceland also rank in the top five, reemphasizing the trend toward northern Europe . Climate change drives this shift, with nearly half of advisors reporting their clients are altering plans due to its effects. Seventy-eight percent of advisors say clients are opting for shoulder season or off-peak travel, while 76 percent favor destinations with milder weather  up five points from last year.



Sailing Solo: Travelers seeking freedom and flexibility have no hesitation going it alone, and expedition, ocean and river cruises rank among the top solo experiences for next year. Promoting personal growth and self-reliance, cruising lets individuals navigate new adventures at their own pace, while also enjoying camaraderie with other passengers if desired. Many cruise lines now cater to solo voyagers with special deals, dedicated hosts and social activities, making it easier to connect with fellow passengers.



Born to be Mild: Adventure and wellness continue as significant motivators, but upscale travelers are pursuing a harmonious balance of exhilaration and relaxation. While some venture to the extremes of Antarctica and Alaska , others are drawn to Morocco , Costa Rica and Bhutan , where physical activity meets holistic wellness. These "softer" adventures cultivate personal accomplishment and give travelers the chance to unwind, leaving them refreshed for their next big adventure.



You Tell Me Travel: Travelers are finding inspiration in documentaries, books, beloved films and recommendations from friends and family. TikTok remains a powerful influence, delivering rapid-fire clips of destinations previously overlooked. Yet nothing rivals the expertise of travel advisors, who report their clients are now reaching out to ask, "Where to next?" rather than naming a specific destination.



Palate and Place: Culinary experiences have become a crucial element of luxury travel, and globetrotters are prioritizing gastronomic discoveries that showcase authentic flavors and unique traditions of the places they visit  think food tours, hidden markets and one-of-a-kind eateries. As a result, some advisors spend weeks, even months, curating the ideal culinary immersion for clients to savor.

Findings from the 2025 Virtuoso Luxe Report, including top countries and favorite cities, can be found here.

More than 2,200 surveyed travel advisors contributed their extensive knowledge, professional experience and client insights to the 2025 Luxe Report of top trends. For more information on Virtuoso, please visit www.virtuoso.com.

About Virtuoso

Virtuoso is the leading global travel agency network specializing in luxury and experiential travel. This by-invitation-only organization comprises over 1,200 travel agency locations with more than 20,000 travel advisors in 58 countries throughout North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. Drawing upon its preferred relationships with 2,300 of the world's best hotels and resorts, cruise lines, airlines, tour companies and premier destinations, the network provides its upscale clientele with exclusive amenities, rare experiences and privileged access. Normalized annual sales of (U.S.) $35 billion make Virtuoso a powerhouse in the luxury travel industry. For more information, visit www.virtuoso.com.

Media Contacts:

Misty Belles, Virtuoso  Vice President, Global Public Relations

+1.202.553.8817 / [email protected]

Lauren Wintemberg

Alice Marshall Public Relations  Vice President

+1.212.861.4031 / [email protected]

SOURCE Virtuoso
An Epic 1-Day Pass with access to world-class resorts like Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Park City Mountain and Whistler Blackcomb is $123 for adults ($65 for kids), providing up to $206 savings compared to the cost of purchasing a 1-day lift ticket in resort. An Epic 1-Day Pass to Keystone and Crested Butte in Colorado; Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood in Tahoe; and Stowe, Okemo, Mount Snow and Hunter in the Northeast, is $98 for adults ($48 for kids). For resorts in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and New Hampshire, an Epic 1-Day Pass is $61 for adults ($32 for kids).

With Epic Day Pass, the price per day decreases the more days a guest plans to ski or ride, up to seven days, with the option to choose which resorts they want to visit. Guests can also add peak day access when building their Pass for an additional charge. All Pass Holders receive 20% off group ski and ride school lessons, on-mountain food and beverage, lodging, equipment rentals, and more with Epic Mountain Rewards.

"We know how important value and flexibility is to our guests as they plan for the winter ahead," said Courtney Goldstein, chief marketing officer for Vail Resorts. "That's why we created the Epic Day Pass, so skiers and riders can build their own Pass to use at their favorite mountain resorts, lock in incredible savings compared to the cost of lift tickets, and then decide later when and where to ski and ride."

All Epic Passes go off sale December 2  including the full Epic Pass ($1,107 adult, $546 kids), Epic Local Pass ($859 adults, $417 kids), Epic Military Pass ($223), plus Epic Local College Pass ($720), Adaptive Pass ($492) and regional Passes like the Northeast Value Pass ($652 adults, $458 college). Guests visiting any of Vail Resorts' 37 North American destinations can store their Pass on their phone and get scanned hands-free at the lift with Mobile Pass on the My Epic app.

Locking in a Pass now provides Pass Holders immediate savings on lodging this winter. During the upcoming lodging Cyber Sale, Pass Holders can save up to 30% on room rates across Vail Resorts' portfolio of hotels and vacation rentals conveniently located near the mountains. Pass Holders get the maximum savings and early access to the sale starting November 25, with public access starting November 26. The sale is eligible to book through December 3. Minimum night stay requirements and other terms and conditions apply.

New across 12 of Vail Resorts' destination locations is My Epic Gear. Better than renting and easier than owning, My Epic Gear offers the latest premium skis, snowboards, and boots, delivered slopeside or to where guests are staying in resort. My Epic Gear is available at Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Crested Butte, Whistler Blackcomb, Park City Mountain, Heavenly, Northstar, Stowe, Okemo, and Mount Snow. The entire experience, from gear selection to daily slopeside pick-up and drop-off, is managed in the My Epic app. Memberships are $50 for the 2024/25 season, with a daily usage fee of $55 for adults and $45 for kids (3-12).

Also new this winter, guests at four Colorado resorts will have access to My Epic Assistant in the My Epic app. My Epic Assistant couples the power of AI with resort experts, offering a convenient tool to ask questions anytime, anywhere about Vail Mountain, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone.

Check out all Epic Passes on epicpass.com before they go off sale on December 2. No reservations will be required at any resort, except Telluride Ski Resort. Passes are non-refundable except through Epic Coverage. Lift tickets will be limited this season across all 37 North American resorts.

2024/25 Epic Pass Offerings and Pricing

Pass Price Resort Access Epic Day Pass Varies Skiers and riders can build their own Pass  choosing from three levels of resort access, one to seven days, and whether to include Restricted Peak Dates. Examples:  All Resorts Access : Ski/ride resorts like Vail Mountain, Breckenridge, Park City Mountain and Whistler Blackcomb  32 Resorts Access : Ski/ride resorts like Keystone, Heavenly and Stowe  22 Resorts Access : Ski/ride local ski areas like Hunter Mountain, Seven Springs and Wildcat Epic Pass $1,107 Unlimited, unrestricted access to 42 resorts including Whistler Blackcomb, Vail Mountain, Park City Mountain, Breckenridge, Stowe and more. With additional partner resorts like Telluride, Epic Pass unlocks access to more than 80 resorts worldwide. Epic Local Pass $859 Unlimited, unrestricted access to 29 resorts coast to coast  including Breckenridge and Keystone. Also includes access to resorts like Park City Mountain, Heavenly and Stowe, and 10 total days at Vail Mountain, Beaver Creek and Whistler Blackcomb. Northeast Value Pass $652 Access to 21 resorts across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, including Stowe, Mount Snow, and Okemo in Vermont; Hunter Mountain in New York; Wildcat, Attitash, Crotched, Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire; Seven Springs, Liberty, Whitetail, Roundtop in Pennsylvania and more. Epic Military Pass $223 Unlimited, unrestricted access to 42 resorts for active and retired military and their dependents. Epic Military Veteran Pass $610 Unlimited, unrestricted access to 42 resorts for veterans and their dependents. Epic Adaptive Passes $492 Unlimited, unrestricted access to 42 resorts for skiers and riders with permanent disabilities.

About Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN)

Vail Resorts is a network of the best destination and close-to-home ski resorts in the world including Vail Mountain, Breckenridge, Park City Mountain, Whistler Blackcomb, Stowe, and 32 additional resorts across North America; Andermatt-Sedrun and Crans-Montana Mountain Resort in Switzerland; and Perisher, Hotham, and Falls Creek in Australia  all available on the company's industry-changing Epic Pass. We are passionate about providing an Experience of a Lifetime to our team members and guests, and our EpicPromise is to reach a zero net operating footprint by 2030, support our employees and communities, and broaden engagement in our sport. Our company owns and/or manages a collection of elegant hotels under the RockResorts brand, a portfolio of vacation rentals, condominiums and branded hotels located in close proximity to our mountain destinations, as well as the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Vail Resorts Retail operates more than 250 retail and rental locations across North America. Learn more about our company at www.VailResorts.com or discover our resorts and pass options at www.EpicPass.com.

Media Images: Linked HERE

SOURCE Vail Resorts, Inc.
KeAira Hudsons eldest daughter rode next to her mother in the front passenger seat on the way to school. Her 5-year-old sister and 6-month-old brother were in the back seat.

Beneath her jacket, her mother wore a bulletproof vest, the 12-year-old told a jury Monday.

Young daughters will play role in murder trial of their mother's estranged husband A jury will be able to hear about statements made by Keaira Hudson's daughters when testimony in Adam R. Bennefield Sr.'s murder trial begins next week. Bennefield is accused of murdering Hudson in front of her children on Oct. 5, 2022.

The ride to school that morning ended quickly, just around the corner from her grandmothers house  where Hudson and her three children had spent the night  when the girls stepfather, Adam R. Bennefield Sr., crashed into their SUV.

He got out of his pickup, approached her mother and smashed the window on the drivers side door with a long gun, the girl told the jury, as she wiped tears from her eyes.

Then he shot her in her head, said the girl, who was 9 years old at the time.

Hudsons daughter took the stand Monday as Bennefields murder trial began in State Supreme Court. Bennefield is accused of fatally shooting Hudson, 30, with a shotgun at about 8:30 a.m. Oct. 5, 2022, at the intersection of Richlawn and Shawnee avenues.

Bennefields trial, which is expected to wrap up by the end of the week, is scheduled to continue Tuesday.

A day before the killing, a Cheektowaga town justice issued an order of protection meant to help protect Hudson from Bennefield, who was accused of assaulting her about a week earlier.

In addition to a second-degree murder charge, Bennefield also faces three child endangerment charges and one count of aggravated criminal contempt in the trial before Justice M. William Boller.

Colleen Curtin Gable, senior trial counsel for the Erie County District Attorneys Office, told the jury that Bennefield had been waiting in his pickup on Shawnee Avenue recording videos of himself complaining about Hudson in the hours before her slaying. From about 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., he recorded videos complaining about how he was being mistreated by Hudson, the prosecutor said.

Lawsuit blames Cheektowaga police for not preventing fatal shooting When Keaira Hudson met with Cheektowaga police two days before she was killed, she told them her estranged husband wasn't going to let her make it out of the house alive, according to a new lawsuit.

His phone, with those recordings on them, was later found in his abandoned pickup, and cellular data puts the phone on Shawnee Avenue at the time, Curtin Gable said.

This case is not complicated, Curtin Gable said during her opening statement. Tragic, yes, but not complicated.

Seven of Hudsons family members and friends, including her sister, came to court to observe the proceedings Monday. Bennefields parents also attended the first day of trial.

In addition to witness testimony, jurors watched video from a home surveillance camera positioned about four houses from the intersection, footage that captured the entire incident. The video had no audio, and the distance between the camera and the shooting did not allow clear identification of the shooter.

Paul G. Dell, Bennefields defense attorney, told the jury not to be swayed by emotion and that his clients presumption of innocence continues unless and until every element of the charged crimes is proven.

Details emerge in alleged domestic homicide in Buffalo as defense seeks to exclude evidence Five police officers took the stand Thursday, and their testimony revealed more about what Adam Bennefield, 45, allegedly did in the days before the slaying of his estranged wife.

We know what happened is brutal and wrong, Dell said during his 2-minute opening statement. Thats not what this case is about.

The trials first witness was James Riggins, a fire marshal for the Buffalo Fire Department, who lived on Richlawn at the time of the homicide. He was off-duty at the time and the security cameras that captured what happened came from his home.

He got a phone call from his sister and went outside after he heard about what happened, Riggins testified.

He went to the scene on foot and by the time he got there, the only vehicle present was Hudsons SUV. The body of the woman on the drivers seat, who he noticed was wearing a bulletproof vest, had no pulse, he told the jury.

Though he was trained in life-saving techniques, he was unable to perform any, Riggins said.

Jurors were briefly shown a photograph of Hudsons body in the vehicle after the shooting.

After leaving the scene, the pickup driver who killed Hudson was able to evade Buffalo police. A short time after the killing, Buffalo police found Bennefields pickup abandoned under a pedestrian footbridge on Humboldt Parkway. Bennefield was arrested Oct. 12, 2022, near Bissell and Walden avenues by members of a U.S. Marshals fugitive task force.

The task force received information from a tip provided to Buffalo homicide detectives that Bennefield may be in the area of St. Lukes Mission of Mercy on Sycamore Street. The tipster said Bennefield was wearing tan pants and may have been riding a pink bicycle, Buffalo Police Detective Joseph Paszkiewicz told the jury. Paszkiewicz, who was assigned to the task force, saw a man matching Bennefields description in that area on a pink bicycle, and task force members took him into custody, he testified.

April Chapman, another Richlawn Avenue resident, heard a loud crash from inside her home the morning of Oct. 5, 2022. While she was looking out the window, she heard gunshots.

In her bathrobe and slippers, she went outside. She could hear children crying. She went to the SUV and brought the children inside her home, she testified.

She asked the children who was responsible for what happened.

The younger daughter said, Daddy, Chapman told the jury.

Then, Chapman said, the older daughter said his name: Adam Bennefield.
Faizabad, Nov 18 : Police have arrested two persons on the charge of killing a bear in northern Afghanistan's Badakhshan province.

The step was taken to ensure wild animals safety and natural beauty, Provincial Director for Environmental Protection Qari Faiz Rahman Ibrahimi said.

After killing a brown bear in the mountainous Darwaz district a week ago, the killers took a picture with the dead animal and posted it on social media, the official said.

The Afghan caretaker government has banned deforestation, hunting wild animals and birds to protect the environment and natural beauty in the country, Xinhua news agency reported.
The asylum-seekers who have called two hotels in Cheektowaga and one in Amherst home for the past year and a half will be moving by the end of the year.

Some will be placed in permanent housing through a coordinated entry program run by Jewish Family Services. Others may find housing on their own or stay with friends or family in another part of the country. For others, they have the option of boarding a bus back to New York City where they can stay temporarily while they decide whats next.

One year later, asylum-seekers are making Western New York home The region's many refugee resettlement agencies came together to welcome, care for and support the asylum-seekers. Soon, those who remain in the hotels will have the opportunity to move into housing in the community.

But they will no longer have their stays at the hotels paid for by New York City.

Last year, New York City sent hundreds of migrants to communities in five counties across upstate New York and paid for them to live in hotels. At the time, the city was overwhelmed by asylum-seekers sent from the southern border and ran out of room to house the thousands of migrants.

More than 600 asylees were sent to Erie County.

Now, New York City is winding down its hotel program across the state as its contract with DocGo  the private company hired by the city to coordinate and pay for transportation, housing, food and other resettlement expenses for asylees  expires at the end of the year.

Locally, Jewish Family Services is working with New York City officials to manage a coordinated entry program that provides services, including housing and case management, to the asylum-seekers.

The local refugee resettlement agency announced in May that it intended to enter into a contract with New York City. Last week, Jewish Family Services began placing people in apartments in Western New York, CEO Molly Carr said in an interview with The Buffalo News.

Carr said so far, Jewish Family Services has secured housing for a small amount of asylees and her agency is actively pursuing additional options. She did not provide a specific number of people placed into housing yet because its a very dynamic process that is moving rapidly.

We had a bit of a pause that we were waiting to get through, Carr said. This is new work. Its a different approach to working with a population. And of course, we are working with government agencies, so it took a little bit longer than wed hoped, but we are positively moving forward at this point.

About 500 people are living in the hotels and Jewish Family Services staff will work with all of them to see if they are a fit for the housing program, Carr said.

Getting people out of hotels

Though New York City is no longer paying for the hotels, the city is paying Jewish Family Services to support the asylum-seekers and help them find places to live.

State Sen. Sean Ryan, D-Buffalo, worked with Jewish Family Services and other local social service organizations to establish the housing program.

We presented a model where New York City could save a lot of money by not paying hotels and private operators and instead try to resettle people through the existing, established networks, Ryan said.

Jewish Family Services of Western New York plans to aid asylum-seekers through entry program A plan is in the works to get 539 asylum-seekers out of three local hotels and integrated into the regional community nearly a year after they first arrived in Erie County from New York City.

This is a one-time project to address the needs to the asylees and the funding for this program will not be renewed in the future, Carr said.

When Jewish Family Services first announced the housing program, Carr said the contract was worth $22.4 million. On Tuesday, Carr would not comment on the final cost, as the agency is still finalizing the contract.

Though Jewish Family Services entered into the agreement with New York City months ago, the money for that contract did not flow until just recently, Ryan said.

Jewish Family Services was given the go-ahead to start placing asylum-seekers in housing last week. The agencys first priority is getting families with children out of the hotels, Carr said.

The goal of the coordinated entry program is to help the asylum-seekers become self-sufficient.

We want to set people up for success in the long term, said Lauren Maguire, vice president of development and community engagement at Jewish Family Services. A lot of times, people just need a little bit of support to get started.

Rent will be covered for those migrants who need it as they wait to obtain work authorization and employment. Once they start working and can afford housing costs, they will take over paying the rent, Carr said.

William Fowler, deputy press secretary for the New York City Mayors Office, said in an email to The Buffalo News that the goal is to get everyone who is eligible into housing before the hotel option ends next month.

...thanks to our resettlement efforts, intensive case management, and national-leading Asylum Application Help Center, more than 165,000 migrants have left our shelter system and taken their next steps towards self-sufficiency, reads a statement from New York City Hall. Our partnership with Jewish Family Services of Western New York marks a continuation of this work. As the city consolidates its operations, our staff will be on hand to help guests plan for next steps.

Benjamin Swanekamp, chief of staff to the Erie County executive, said buses will arrive in Cheektowaga and Amherst the week of Dec. 16 to bring people back to New York City who choose to leave.

(Asylum-seekers) are free to leave Western New York, go anywhere else they want or stay in Western New York, Ryan said. But as of Dec. 31, DocGo will no longer be paying hotel rent.

An audit by the New York City Comptrollers Office found DocGos contract with the city was mismanaged. The company wasted millions of dollars on unused hotels, unauthorized subcontractors and provided moldy, unsafe rooms for asylum-seekers, the audit said.

Hotel living has been problematic

Hotels are not meant for long-term housing, Carr said. The people living there want to become part of the community and long for their own spaces to call home where they can prepare their own food and manage their daily needs, she said.

The mental well-being of children and families are critically important to their long-term success, Carr said. Not being in stable housing has an impact. Its the start to the healing process for many of the people we work with.

Jewish Family Services said an assault at the Amherst hotel Tuesday evening points to the urgency of its work.

Three people were injured, including a young girl who was stabbed, after a fight.

Anghely N. Llamozas-Perez, 23, a resident at the hotel, was charged with second-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He is being held in jail without bail.

The girl was taken to Oishei Childrens Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. A 32-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man suffered defensive wounds from the knife, according to Amherst police.

In a statement released following the incident, Jewish Family Services said those living in the hotels are on edge because they are frustrated, scared and uncertain about their futures.

This most recent incident just reinforces the urgent need to get people out of hotels and into better living conditions, the statement reads. There is no excuse for these incidents, but this is the result of when so many people are congregated in these types of living conditions.

Since the asylum-seekers arrived last year, residents have been voicing concerns about public safety. Migrants living at the hotels have been charged with sex crimes, violent assaults, shoplifting and property damage. Immigration was a major issue in recent local Cheektowaga elections that saw Republicans prevail over Democrats in the town.

Cheektowaga turned red. A Democratic Assembly incumbent lost. The reason may have been immigration Erie County Republican Committee Chairman Michael Kracker said the placement of asylum-seekers in Cheektowaga contributed to the elections of Pat Chludzinski and Anthony Filipski.

But, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Justice, immigrants, both documented and undocumented, commit felonies at a lower rate than native-born Americans.

Those who have been working with local asylum-seekers say they are an overall positive addition to Western New York.

Immigrants have contributed to economic and population growth in the region. The 2020 U.S. Census showed Buffalos population grew for the first time in 70 years due to the addition of refugees and immigrants in the community.

For example, vacant housing was a longtime problem on Buffalos West Side. But as immigrants settled in Western New York, they started moving into and fixing up those properties and opened businesses in vacant storefronts, said Ryan.

Helping people in need is something we should be doing, Ryan said. In this instance, helping people in need is the right thing to do, but it also has a very positive economic impact.

Seeking donations, landlords

Carr said Jewish Family Services is looking for more landlords who are willing to rent to asylum-seekers.

The agency is looking for homes of all sizes that are accessible by public transportation, but Carr noted that the individuals will sign leases.

Family seeking asylum from Ecuador thankful, optimistic about future in Buffalo "It really was hard for us to leave our country, but it was necessary in order to save the life of every person in our family," the father said.

About 120 migrant children are enrolled in Maryvale and Sweet Home schools. Carr said her organization cant promise that families with children will be put into housing in those same districts, as getting families into permanent housing is the first priority.

But if children do need to switch schools, Jewish Family Services will help with the transition and make sure families are connected to resources within the school district.

The agency also will help people furnish their new homes and obtain basic necessities. Jewish Family Services is accepting donations for new and gently used household items, cleaning supplies and toiletries.

We have an opportunity to treat a population of people in a respectful way and allow them to get their feet under them so that they can be part of our community, Carr said. And I think what were doing here is a really unique and beautiful thing.

For more information on ways to support the coordinated entry program, visit jfswny.org/coordinated-entry-program.
Baghdad, Nov 18 : Three members of the Peshmerga, the military of the Kurdistan Regional Government, including two colonels, were killed in a roadside bomb blast in Salahudin province north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

The bomb, planted earlier by the Islamic State (IS) group near the town of Tuz Khurmatu in eastern Salahudin, went off when a joint patrol from the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga passed near it, Mohammed al-Bazi from the provincial police command told Xinhua.

The blast also wounded three Iraqi army soldiers, Xinhua news agency reported.

The security situation in Iraq has improved since the defeat of the IS in 2017.

However, IS remnants have since sneaked into urban centers, deserts, and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.
Rio De Janeiro, Nov 18 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday to participate in the G20 Summit hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

In a post on the social media platform X, PM Modi stated, "Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders."

India is a key member of the G20 Troika, alongside Brazil and South Africa, and has been actively shaping the discussions at the ongoing summit.

During the Summit on Monday, the Prime Minister will put forward Indiaas positions on various issues of global importance and build on the outcomes from the G20 New Delhi Leadersa Declaration and Voice of the Global South Summits which were hosted by India in the past two years.

"On the sidelines of the G20 Summit, the Prime Minister is expected to meet several leaders," the MEA said earlier on Friday.

Following the G20 Summit, Prime Minister Modi will travel to Georgetown which would be the first visit to Guyana by an Indian PM since 1968.

During the November 19-21 visit at the invitation of the Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Prime Minister Modi will not only hold bilateral discussions and meet other senior leaders of Guyana but also address the Parliament of Guyana and a gathering of the Indian diaspora.

Last year, Ali had visited India as the Chief Guest at the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held in Indore, where he was also awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman.

"In Georgetown, Guyana, the Prime Minister will also participate in the Second CARICOM-India Summit and hold meetings with leaders of CARICOM member countries to further enhance Indiaas long-standing friendship with the region," the MEA mentioned.
Beirut, Nov 18 : At least five people were killed and three others injured in Israeli attacks on the town of al-Mari in the Hasbaya District in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese military and medical sources.

At least two Lebanese soldiers were killed and two others wounded in Israeli artillery shelling targeting a Lebanese army post in al-Mari, a responsible source in the Lebanese army intelligence told Xinhua.

The Lebanese army also confirmed the attack in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.

Ambulances from the Lebanese Red Cross transported the casualties to Hasbaya Governmental Hospital, Lebanese security sources told Xinhua.

In a separate incident, an Israeli raid on a farm in al-Mari killed three people and wounded a fourth, according to a source in the Lebanese Red Cross.

Since September 23, the Israeli army has leveled up its air attack on Lebanon in an escalation of conflict with Hezbollah. In early October, Israel initiated a ground operation across its northern border into Lebanon.

According to the Lebanese health ministry, the death toll from Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon since the beginning of the war on October 8, 2023, has reached 3,452, with injuries up to 14,664.
Jerusalem, Nov 18 : An aide to Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu is suspected of leaking classified documents to a European newspaper to sway public opinion against demonstrations supporting a ceasefire-for-hostage deal with Hamas.

The Magistrate's Court in the Israeli city of Rishon LeZion eased a gag order on Sunday, revealing new details about the case, which has triggered a political scandal and sent shockwaves through the Israeli political sphere, Xinhua news agency reported.

Eli Feldstein, a media advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been arrested and interrogated by the Shin Bet internal security agency. Three additional security personnel, whose names remain undisclosed, have also been detained in connection with the case.

Feldstein's detention was extended by five days on Sunday, and he is expected to face charges next week, according to the court. The documents allegedly came into Feldstein's possession via an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reserve officer, who is also a suspect in the investigation.

According to the court, Feldstein allegedly leaked the classified materials to portray Yahya Sinwar, the late Hamas leader, as unwilling to agree to a ceasefire deal that would also secure hostage release.

After an Israeli military censor blocked the publication of the documents on an Israeli TV channel, Feldstein bypassed local censorship by providing the material to Germany's Bild newspaper. He then encouraged Israeli reporters to publish follow-up stories after the Bild broke the news.

Feldstein had the documents since June but leaked them in early September, after IDF forces retrieved the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in Gaza in late August. These hostages, taken during Hamas's attack on October 7, 2024, were killed by their captors shortly before Israeli troops reached them.

The incident has intensified criticism of Netanyahu over his failure to secure the release of the hostages, with nationwide protests calling on the government to secure a ceasefire with Hamas to facilitate a broader hostage release. Over the past months, Netanyahu has repeatedly blamed Sinwar for obstructing a deal.
Jerusalem, Nov 18 : Two Israeli soldiers were killed and another seriously wounded in the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said.

The two soldiers, members of the Kfir Brigade infantry unit, "fell during combat," according to a military statement. The third soldier, also from the Kfir Brigade, sustained severe injuries in the same incident, Xinhua news agency reported.

Ynet, an Israeli news site, reported that the fatalities occurred during clashes with militants in the area of Jabalia. Israeli forces have killed dozens of Palestinians in the area, asserting that the operations are intended to prevent Hamas from regrouping.

Since the onset of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in October 2023, 798 Israeli soldiers have been killed in its ongoing multi-front combat.
New Delhi, Nov 18 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi was warmly welcomed by the Indian community after he arrived in Brazil's capital Rio de Janeiro on Monday.

The Prime Minister shared pictures of his welcome by the community. He wrote on his X handle that the energy reflected the affection.

"Deeply touched by the warm and lively welcome from the Indian community upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro. Their energy reflects the affection that binds us across continents," the Prime Minister wrote.

In the pictures, the Indian diaspora members could be seen waving Indian flags and showing some photos to the Prime Minister. And some showed him their paintings and other memorabilia.

Earlier, PM Modi arrived in Brazil after concluding his first leg visit to Nigeria where he held discussions with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, focusing on strengthening partnerships in sectors like defence, technology, health, and education.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Rio de Janeiro to participate in the G20 Summit hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

In a post on the social media platform X, PM Modi stated, "Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders."

India is a key member of the G20 Troika, alongside Brazil and South Africa, and has been actively shaping the discussions at the ongoing summit.

During the Summit on Monday, the Prime Minister will put forward Indiaas positions on various issues of global importance, building on the outcomes from the G20 New Delhi Leadersa Declaration and Voice of the Global South Summits hosted by India in the past two years.

"On the sidelines of the G20 Summit, the Prime Minister is expected to meet several leaders," the MEA said earlier on Friday.

Following the G20 Summit, Prime Minister Modi will travel to Georgetown, the first visit to Guyana by an Indian PM since 1968.

During the November 19-21 visit at the invitation of the Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Prime Minister Modi will not only hold bilateral discussions and meet other senior leaders of Guyana but also address the Parliament of Guyana and a gathering of the Indian diaspora.

Last year, Ali visited India as the Chief Guest at the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held in Indore, where he was also awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman.

"In Georgetown, Guyana, the Prime Minister will also participate in the Second CARICOM-India Summit and hold meetings with leaders of CARICOM member countries to further enhance Indiaas long-standing friendship with the region," the MEA mentioned.
Rio De Janeiro, Nov 18 : South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit, a multilateral forum representing the world's major economies.

Yoon flew from Lima to Rio de Janeiro to participate in the G20 summit slated for Monday and Tuesday, Yonhap new agency reported.

On the first day, Yoon will join the launch of the Global Alliance for Hunger and Poverty and outline South Korea's contributions to addressing global hunger.

On Tuesday, he will propose global initiatives to combat climate change and accelerate the transition to clean energy during a G20 session.

The G20 includes 19 major economies, the European Union and the African Union. It represents 85 per cent of the global gross domestic product, 75 per cent of international trade and around 80 per cent of the world's population.
Rio De Janeiro, Nov 18 : Brazilian forward Neymar could return to his original club Santos next year following an injury-hit spell with Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal, according to media reports in the South American country.

Santos president Marcelo Teixeira will meet with Neymar's father and manager, Neymar Santos Sr, next week to discuss conditions of a possible move, Globo Esporte reported.

Neymar's Al-Hilal contract is due to expire next July but the 32-year-old could terminate his contract earlier, paving the way for a possible return to Santos in January, the news outlet said, according to Xinhua.

It added that efforts to end Neymar's contract early were "highly complex" due to financial clauses and marketing commitments.

Neymar has made just seven appearances across all competitions for Al-Hilal since joining the club from Paris Saint-Germain in August 2023.

He completed his 12-month recovery from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in October, only to suffer a leg muscle injury in his second game back.

Earlier this month, Teixeira told Brazil's Estadao newspaper that Santos had a "concrete project" for the No. 10 to return to the club.

Neymar made 225 appearances for Santos and scored 136 goals before his high profile move to Barcelona in 2013. He is Brazil's all-time leading scorer with 79 goals in 128 international games.
Chennai, Nov 18 : With Tamil Nadu receiving substantial rainfall since the onset of the northeast monsoon on October 17, nearly 90 reservoirs in the state are now over 60 per cent full.

The state's 90 reservoirs currently hold 143.804 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of water, accounting for 64.11 per cent of their total capacity of 224.297 tmcft as of Sunday.

Officials from the Water Resources Department (WRD) stated that this is significantly higher than the same period last year when the storage level stood at just 79.514 tmcft (35.58 per cent).

The Mettur reservoir, a key water source, reached 62,140 mcft of storage on Sunday, marking a 384 per cent increase compared to the same time in 2023. Similarly, the Bhavanisagar reservoir recorded 21,141 tmcft of storage, reflecting a 210 per cent rise from the previous year.

WRD officials highlighted that these reservoirs are vital for irrigation in the region. They also noted that higher rainfall and increased inflows from Karnataka have contributed to the improved storage levels.

Between June and October, Karnataka was mandated by the Supreme Court to release 134.2284 tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu.

However, due to heavy rainfall in the Cauvery River's catchment areas, Karnataka released 221.1125 tmcft - 86.8842 tmcft more than required.

In contrast, Tamil Nadu received only 53.7209 tmcft during the same period in 2023. Officials expect additional water to be available to meet drinking water needs during the summer season.

To mitigate potential flooding, WRD plans to release water through surplus channels in a controlled manner.

Farmers in the Cauvery Delta region told IANS that the state government must release water from these reservoirs as agricultural activities could be carried out during the summer.

According to UV Pasupathy, leader of the Cauvery Delta Farmers Association, there are three agricultural seasons in the Delta districts.

However, due to water shortages, farmers typically cultivate only twice a year, leaving the summer season fallow.

"With proper water management, we could cultivate during all three seasons, including summer," said Pasupathy.

He suggested that the government plan for water releases during the summer to enable farmers to grow short-term crops like black gram.

Despite the good rainfall this year, farmers expressed concerns about the lack of infrastructure to store excess water.

They pointed out the absence of channels or linkages between irrigation tanks and reservoirs, which hinders effective water storage and management.

The Delta farmers have called on the government to create infrastructure linking reservoirs and irrigation tanks to ensure better water storage and to meet future agricultural and drinking water needs.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : Actor Kartik Aaryan joined Punjabi sensation Diljit Dosanjh during his show in Ahmedabad. The two were seen dancing and hugging while they were on stage.

Kartik took to Instagram, where he shared a string of images featuring the two stars. The first picture had Diljit and Kartik raising their hands as they were colour coordinated in black outfits.

In the next image, Kartik hugged Diljit from the back.

The duo looked at each other and smiled in the third photograph. Kartik and Diljit also performed and hugged each other on the stage.

The post was captioned: "Vibe (Call Me Hand Emoji).

A video is doing the rounds on social media, where Diljit is heard singing "Hare Krishna Hare Ram" from Kartik's last film "Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3," which also stars Madhuri Dixit, Vidya Balan and Triptii Dimri among many others.

Diljit performed in Ahmedabad on November 17. His next stop is Lucknow after which he will be performing in Pune, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Indore and Chandigarh. His tour will conclude on December 29 in Guwahati.

The Punjabi sensation had given a befitting reply to Telangana government during his concert on Saturday. The Telangana government had sent him a notice instructing him to not perform songs that promote alcohol, drugs, and violence.

In a video Diljit was heard saying: "Koi bahar se kalakaar ayega woh jo marzi gaa k jaaye, jo marzi kare koi tension nahi hai. Lekin apna kalakaar ghar aa raha hai, usme tainu pareshani, taang adani hai. Par main bhi ek baat bata doon, Dosanjh ka rab hai, main nahi chhodunga (If an artist comes from outside the country, they can sing anything, do anything, there are no worries. But when an Indian artist sings, then you have a problem; you have to interfere. But let me tell you, there is God. I won't let this go)."

"Kai logo ko toh digest nahi horaha ki itne bade shows ho kyu rahe hai? Yeh ticket 2 minute mein bik kaise jaati hai. Bro, main bohut der se kaam kar raha hoon. Main ek din mein famous nahi hua (Some people aren't able to digest why such big shows are happening. How are these tickets getting sold in two minutes? Bro, I've been working for a long time. I didn't become famous in one day)."

According to NDTV, several clips from Diljit's Hyderabad concert went viral on social media, as he tweaked the lyrics of a bunch of his famous songs, following the government's directive.
Port Sudan, Nov 18 : The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) said that 150 fighters of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were killed in a battle in El Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur State in western Sudan.

"Our forces have been engaged in a continued battle for more than two hours southeast of El Fasher," the command of the SAF's 6th Infantry Division in El Fasher said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Several militia bases have been captured so far, with enemy casualties estimated at 150," the statement added, noting that the SAF units were making significant advancement.

The RSF has not yet commented on the battle.

Sudan has been engulfed in a devastating conflict between the SAF and the RSF since mid-April 2023. The deadly conflict has resulted in over 24,850 deaths and displaced more than 14 million people, according to estimates by international organisations.
New Delhi, Nov 18 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed his gratitude for a memorable welcome in Rio de Janeiro.

Taking to his X handle, PM Modi posted a video of his arrival at the airport and the warm welcome by the Indian community.

PM Modi wrote, "A celebration of Indian culture in Brazil! Gratitude for a memorable welcome in Rio de Janeiroa"

The Prime Minister is in Rio de Janeiro to participate in the G20 Summit hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

At the airport, the Indian community expressed their enthusiasm for PM Modi's visit, waving Indian flags, displaying his pictures, singing welcome songs and presenting a folk dance. Some sought PM Modi's autograph which he gave.

The Prime Minister also shared pictures of his welcome by the diaspora. "Deeply touched by the warm and lively welcome from the Indian community upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro. Their energy reflects the affection that binds us across continents," the Prime Minister posted on X.

Earlier, PM Modi arrived in Brazil after concluding his first leg visit to Nigeria where he held discussions with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, focusing on strengthening partnerships in sectors like defence, technology, health, and education.

In a post on the social media platform X, PM Modi stated, "Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders."

India is a key member of the G20 Troika, alongside Brazil and South Africa, and has been actively shaping the discussions at the ongoing summit.

During the Summit on Monday, the Prime Minister will put forward Indiaas positions on various issues of global importance building on the outcomes from the G20 New Delhi Leadersa Declaration and Voice of the Global South Summits hosted by India in the past two years.

"On the sidelines of the G20 Summit, the Prime Minister is expected to meet several leaders," the MEA said earlier on Friday.

Following the G20 Summit, Prime Minister Modi will travel to Georgetown which would be the first visit to Guyana by an Indian PM since 1968.

During the November 19-21 visit at the invitation of the Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Prime Minister Modi will not only hold bilateral discussions and meet other senior leaders of Guyana but also address the Parliament of Guyana and a gathering of the Indian diaspora.

Last year, Ali visited India as the Chief Guest at the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held in Indore, where he was also awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman.

"In Georgetown, Guyana, the Prime Minister will also participate in the Second CARICOM-India Summit and hold meetings with leaders of CARICOM member countries to further enhance Indiaas long-standing friendship with the region," the MEA mentioned.
Srinagar, Nov 18 : Cold tightened its grip on Kashmir Valley as higher reaches recorded night temperatures below the freezing point with Srinagar city recording 2 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature.

The Meteorological (MeT) department officials said on Monday that the minimum temperature was minus 3 and 2.6 degrees Celsius in Gulmarg and Pahalgam hill stations respectively.

Srinagar city recorded 2 degrees as the minimum night temperature and Kupwara recorded 0.2 degrees as the lowest night temperature.

Jammu city recorded 11 degrees, Katra 11.2, Batote 6.1, Banihal 8.2 and Bhaderwah 3.6 as the minimum temperature.

The mighty Chinar trees continue to shed their leaves after changing colour from green to crimson and finally yellow. The falling leaves herald the arrival of winter in Kashmir.

Crystal-clear water in streams, springs and wells flows gently after giving up its roaring travel of the summer months. Ducks and swans swim over the local water bodies fending for themselves as farmers busy themselves with storing grain for the winter months.

Locals store dried vegetables, including brinjals, tomatoes and pumpkins, to be used during the lean winter months when fresh vegetables are difficult to come by.

Long tweet over-garments called the aPheransa are the choice winter wear of the people.

An earthen firepot woven in willow wicker containing embers called the aKangria is the best bet for a Kashmiri to keep body and soul together when even day temperatures hover around zero degrees Celsius.

Lakes, rivers and other water bodies in the Valley have started receiving the avian visitors. Thousands of migratory birds arrive here by the end of October each year to spend winter months away from the bone-chilling cold of their summer homes in Siberia, China and Eastern Europe.
Seoul, Nov 18 : A new long-range radar system developed with homegrown technology has been approved for combat suitability, South Korea's arms procurement agency said Monday.

Its equipment is expected to bolster surveillance of aircraft in the country's air defence identification zone (KADIZ).

The new radar system is capable of conducting around-the-clock surveillance in KADIZ and transmitting real-time data to the Air Force's Master Control and Reporting Center, Yonhap news agency reported quoting the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

The approval comes after DAPA signed an agreement with South Korean defence firm LIG Nex1 in February 2021 to develop the homegrown long-range radar system and conducted an 18-month-long assessment for combat suitability.

"The assessment confirmed it satisfied all requirements of the Air Force with top-notch performance in detection distance, probability and accuracy," DAPA said in a release.

With the latest development, South Korea has become one of the few countries, along with the US, France, Italy and Spain, that can manufacture long-range radar systems with homegrown technology, it added.

The new equipment is set to go into production in 2026 to replace outdated models.
Jerusalem, Nov 18 : Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Monday claimed responsibility for an airstrike in central Beirut that killed Mohammed Afif, the Chief Propagandist and Spokesperson of Hezbollah.

According to the Israeli military, Afif was a senior Hezbollah military operative who maintained contact with high-ranking officials and was "directly involved in advancing and executing Hezbollahas terrorist activities against Israel."

"Messages broadcast by Afif to the Lebanese media glorified and incited terrorist activities against Israel, and he was responsible for numerous psychological operations targeting the Israeli public," the IDF said in a post on X, confirming Afif's elimination.

The security forces added that Afif's impact on the terrorist organisation proves that he was directly involved in Hezbollah's terrorist activity against the State of Israel.

According to the Israeli military, Afif joined Hezbollah in the 1980s and served as a media advisor to the group's late leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated by Israel in late September.

The airstrike targeted a multi-story building in the Ras al-Nabaa district without prior evacuation warnings, resulting in at least four fatalities, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

According to Lebanese media reports, Israeli warplanes attacked the office located between the area of Ras al-Nabaa and the Sodeco Square commercial centre with two air-to-surface missiles after the Ba'ath Party received a call from the Israeli army asking it to evacuate the building hosting the party.

Since September 23, the Israeli army has levelled up its air attack on Lebanon in an escalation of conflict with Hezbollah. In early October, Israel initiated a ground operation across its northern border into Lebanon.
Seoul, Nov 18 : The chief of South Korea's arms procurement agency has met Peru's defence minister and discussed ways to expand their arms industry cooperation on the ground, sea and air, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Monday.

The meeting between DAPA Minister Seok Jong-gun and Peru's Defence Minister Walter Astudillo in Lima on Saturday (local time) came as President Yoon Suk Yeol visited Peru for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Yonhap news agency reported.

In a separate summit held with his Peruvian counterpart, Dina Boluarte, on the sidelines of the APEC gathering, the leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in the defence industry and the mineral sector, with Yoon and Boluarte hailing the defence partnership as a "milestone in advancing the comprehensive strategic relationship."

During the ministerial meeting, Seok reaffirmed Seoul's willingness to support the implementation of arms deals for naval vessels and armoured vehicles built by South Korean defence firms, as well as potential additional deals.

In April, South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries signed a $460 million contract to build four warships for the Peruvian Navy jointly with a local shipyard, followed by a $60 million deal by South Korea's Hyundai Rotem and STX to supply 30 units of armoured vehicles.

Seok also briefed Astudillo on South Korea's homegrown KF-21 fighter jet and Surion utility helicopter, according to DAPA.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : Actor Arjun Kapoor, who is the owner of Speed Demons Delhi team of Indian Racing Festival, shared some speed-filled moments from the tracks.

Arjun took to Instagram, where he shared a video from the Indian Racing Festival. In the clip, he is seen meeting fans, watching the race, sitting in a race car and signing autographs.

"What a season it's been! Full of adrenaline, speed, and incredible moments on and off the track. Can't wait to do it all again next season! #SpeedMeetsSpirit #IndianRacingFestival #IndianRacingLeague #F4IC #IndianF4," he wrote as the caption.

On the film front, the actor is currently basking in the success of his latest release "Singham Again", which released on Diwali. The film stars Ajay Devgn in the title role, alongside Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Tiger Shroff, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, and Jackie Shroff. It is the fifth installment of Shetty's Cop Universe franchise. The movie has been given a spin of Ramayana.

Director Rohit Shetty was overjoyed as "Singham Again" became his 10th and fastest Rs. 100 crore movie.

Rohit took to Instagram, where he shared photographs of the films that have crossed the Rs. 100 crore benchmark, which includes "Singham Again", "Sooryavanshi", "Simmba", "Golmaal Again", "Diwale", "Singham Returns", "Chennai Express", "Bol Bachchan", "Singham" and "Golmaal 3".

The filmmaker captioned the post, "SINGHAM AGAIN my 10th and fastest 100 cr film. For the past 16 films one thing that has remained constant is your love, thank you for all the support and love, humbled".

Arjun had said that his character Danger Lanka feels like he is connecting to the roots of where my career began in 2012 with "Ishaqzaade."

"Coming back with a character like Danger Lanka feels like I'm connecting to the roots of where my career began, since I played Parma in Ishaqzaade, another intense role," Arjun said.

The actor is over-the-moon to see the kind of reaction he is getting for playing the antagonist in the Rohit Shetty-starrer.

"The response to Danger Lanka has been nothing short of heartening; fans seem to enjoy this raw, unapologetic side of me,' said the actor.

"Every role shapes you, and this one's reminded me of the fire that started it all. I owe it to the audience for embracing this transformation and joining me on this journey."

Arjun expressed his gratitude to Rohit Shetty for "trusting" him with the character of Danger Lanka.

The actor added: "And, of course, I'm grateful to Rohit sir for trusting me with this character and helping me bring this new and improved version to life!"
Seoul, Nov 18 : South Korea's standards agency said on Monday it plans to develop 39 new international standards in the semiconductor sector by 2031 to bolster its competitive edge in the field.

The road map was unveiled by the Korea Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) during an industry forum, as part of a broader strategy aimed at gaining an early lead in the global semiconductor market.

KATS outlined its objective to develop more than 15 new international standards in semiconductor technologies by 2027, with a total of 39 standards to be established by 2031.

"We will support the efforts of experts from academia, industry and research to secure South Korea's technological leadership in semiconductors through active international standardization efforts," said Oh Kwang-hae, the head of KATS.

To strengthen the foundation for international standardization, KATS is working with the United States through a joint standards development initiative.

Earlier, KATS signed a memorandum of understanding with its U.S. counterparts, the American National Standards Institute and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to promote bilateral cooperation on international and regional platforms.

Meanwhile, with former US President Donald Trump's successful re-election to the White House, South Korean industries with major investments in America may be expected to realign their US business strategies amid an anticipated shift in Washington's economic and trade policies.

Korea Ratings, a corporate ratings agency in Seoul, predicted in a recent report that while fully repealing the CHIPS Act could be difficult, Trump may offer stronger support for American companies, thus reducing subsidies for companies of allies and close partners.

South Korea plans to strengthen inter-ministerial coordination to address uncertainties surrounding trade policies under the incoming Trump administration.
New Delhi, Nov 18 : Former England captain Michael Vaughan has questioned over India's decision to forgo a traditional warm-up match ahead of the much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

India's approach marks a departure from their previous two tours Down Under, where they played competitive warm-up matches against local teams to acclimatise to Australian conditions. In both the 2018/19 and 2020/21 tours, India utilised these games to prepare for the series, ultimately achieving historic Test victories on Australian soil.

However, this time around, India's first competitive outing will be the opening Test against Australia at Perth Stadium, starting Friday.

Vaughan questioned whether India had adequately prepared for the challenge of facing Australia in their own backyard and expressed bemusement at the BCCI's choice to cancel a three-day intra-squad game at the WACA in favour of net sessions and match simulations.

"I can't get my head around a team like India only wanting to play an intra-squad game leading into a series against Australia. I just can't see how you get yourself in that competitive mindset of consequence by playing an intra-squad game. Time will tell," Vaughan told Fox Sports.

The former England skipper pointed out the value of playing at the WACA, which offers similar bounce and pace to the Optus Stadium pitch in Perth, as a crucial opportunity missed.

"These players have a different kind of mindset to what we had. Whereas we probably needed more games, they're playing 12 months of the year and think they can react and adapt quickly. But it'll be intriguing to see how both sets of players settle on that first day when they're playing the longer form," Vaughan added.

India isn't alone in bypassing warm-up games on overseas tours. Australia similarly skipped practice matches ahead of last year's tours to India and England, citing scheduling issues.

'Looking at it through an English mindset, go and beat the Aussie A team, hammer them," Vaughan said, referencing England's approach during their victorious 2010/11 Ashes campaign. "Set the marker down that you mean business. That's what I would be doing if I was England."

With no practice matches to fine-tune their game plans, the Indian team's adaptability and readiness will be tested from the first ball at Perth Stadium. For Vaughan, the outcome of this gamble could set the tone for the series.

"It's a bold decision. If they start well, it'll look like a masterstroke. If not, questions will be asked about their preparation," he concluded.

The first Test between Australia and India begins Friday at Perth.
New Delhi, Nov 18 : The Centre's campaign to ease life for pensioners has made considerable progress with over 77 lakh Digital Life Certificates (DLCs) being issued to them nationwide by the end of second week of its launch, it was announced on Monday.

As many as 1,77,153 pensioners covered under the Digital Life Certificate (DLC) Campaign 3.0 are above 90 years old while 17,212 pensioners are in the 8090 years category, according to an official statement.

Advanced authentication methods such as face recognition contributed to 24 lakh certificates, making up 34 per cent of the total DLCs generated, official figures show.

The aged pensioners were able to submit the DLCs from the comfort of their home or in offices or bank branches located close by.

The SBI and PNB banks are leading the campaign by generating more than 9 lakh DLCs by the end of second week of the month-long campaign, while Canara Bank and Central Bank of India registered impressive performances by generating 1 lakh and 57,000 DLCs, respectively.

State-wise, Maharashtra led the way with over 10 lakh certificates generated, followed by Tamil Nadu and West Bengal 6 lakh each. Uttar Pradesh has also done well with more than 5 lakh DLCs.

The campaign is being held in 800 cities and towns from November 1-30 with 1575 camps being set up at these sites. As many as 1.8 lakh postmen have also been deployed across the country to help implement the campaign.

Launched on November 6, it aims to bring convenience and accessibility to pensioners across the nation with the participation of banking institutions, and government agencies to work towards a digitally empowered India.

"Jeevan Pramaan is the vision of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for digital empowerment of pensioners. All key stakeholders  Pension disbursing banks, Department of Pensions and Pensioners Welfare, Controller General of Defence Accounts, Ministry of Railways, Department of Telecom, Department of Posts, IIPB, UIDAI and Pensioners Welfare Associations are working with whole of government approach to realise the vision of Digital Empowerment of Pensioners," the statement said.

The Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare has stepped up efforts to create awareness amongst all pensioners regarding DLC-Face Authentication technique through banners and posters placed strategically in offices and all bank branches as well as ATMs.

All banks have created a team of dedicated staff at their branches having downloaded the desired apps in their smartphones for submission of life certificates by the pensioners.

In case, the pensioners are not able to visit the branches due to old age or illness, bank officials are visiting their homes to help them out, according to the government.

IANS

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Jaipur, Nov 18 : Two miscreants, who had fired on a Congress leader and her husband recently, were left injured in an encounter with police late on Sunday night, said police officials on Monday morning.

As per Bhilwara Superintendent of Police, Dharmendra Singh Yadav, "A few miscreants fired on a couple a few days ago over a property dispute and fled. The couple got a complaint filed. The police got a tip-off about the whereabouts of the miscreants and reached a location near Manrop Harni Mahadev temple on Sunday where the accused opened fired on the police party.

aThe police also returned fire which left two miscreants injured as they received bullet injuries. They were shifted to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital where they are undergoing treatment."

SP Dharmendra Singh Yadav and other officers reached Mahatma Gandhi Hospital soon after the incident.

As per the officials, Kamlesh Khati, Rahul Sen and a few others fired at and attacked the house of Congress leader Pushpa Surana and Vidyasagar Surana in Neelkanth Colony of Kotwali police station area on November 6 over a land dispute.

The accused had been absconding for the last 12 days after committing the crime.

Now, the police are searching for the other accomplices of the accused.

A total of four miscreants entered the house of Pushpa Surana and Vidyasagar Surana on the evening of November 6 and fired at them, however, the bullet missed the target.

The main accused Baluram Jat was an acquaintance of this family and also used to deliver milk to the house.

Jat was angry as Surana had allegedly sold land to someone else.

SP Dharmendra Singh formed an SIT which was searching for the accused. Now, the search for two more accused is on, said officials.
Baku, Nov 18 : Where does the world stand now on negotiations at the UN climate conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, that is focussed heavily on securing a new climate finance target for countries most vulnerable to climate impacts and what should we expect from week two in Baku?

"Failure is not an option," blasted UN boss Antonio Guterres at the G20 summit late on Sunday.

"Last week was tough. It's probably dawning on the COP29 hosts that they need to up their game. More on that on Monday when the main plenary opens. The sands of time are running out, with just over 100 hours left on the clock," remarked an independent observer.

Guterres took aim at those deliberately trying to undermine COP (Conference of Parties) and climate action more generally: "We must also fight the coordinated disinformation campaigns impeding global progress on climate change, ranging from outright denial to greenwashing, to harassment of climate scientists."

Reports from Rio late on Sunday suggest Saudi Arabia's fingerprints were over efforts to delete key paragraphs backing the COP28 deal to quit fossil fuels.

At the COP29, cash is key. Bolivia's intervention offered a clue on why this kicked off: "It is a finance COP, we expect developed countries to deliver, but not much so far. The Baku talks are now stuck in a form of circular firing squad, where unless there's a sign that finance talks can progress, other negotiation streams face paralysis. Officials decided not to press the red 'rule 16' button, but the scope for further progress on GHG cuts in Baku seems limited, unless the finance track makes progress, and sharpish."

"On releasing cash to boost Baku, expectations are low as leaders are claiming they don't want to prejudge the COP29 talks, irrespective of how helpful a positive sign from major countries would be at this point," remarked the observer.

The stakes: First, a new climate finance deal for developing countries; second, a new wave of 2035 climate targets ahead of a February 2025 deadline; and third, a signal that tackling climate change is game on, despite Donald Trump's election win.

The COP29 Presidency led by Mukhtar Babayev, who led Azerbaijan's delegation to five previous COPs, will need all his wiles this week as the pressure mounts.

A letter to governments over the weekend calls for "renewed determination, a spirit of compromise", before adding, "the world is looking to us for leadership, courage, and results".

Of course landing a new global finance deal at a time of global fiscal crisis and rampant populism was never going to be easy.

Climate activist Harjeet Singh, Global Engagement Director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, told IANS, "As COP29 reaches its midpoint, it's appalling to see climate finance negotiations at a standstill.

"Wealthy nations continue to treat critical climate finance as mere investments, ignoring that these funds are a lifeline for vulnerable countries grappling with the worst impacts of climate change."

He said their failure to commit to an ambitious climate finance target, through grants, not loans, "jeopardises the entire conference and reflects a troubling preference for safeguarding their own interests over supporting global equity."

"This week, developed countries must step up, commit to climate finance in the trillions, and recognise that true support means funding for transitioning away from fossil fuels, adaptation, and addressing loss and damage, not empty promises," Singh added.

Will there be a deal on climate finance? Will it finish on time on Friday? Only time will tell.

The second part of the high-level segment will take place on November 19 and 20. This will be for parties whose heads of state and governments did not deliver a national statement during the first part.

India's Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh will be leading a 19-member delegation and deliver India's national statement at the high-level segment in the second segment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav had attended COP28 last year in Dubai.

India has so far played a key role in shaping global climate finance frameworks to address the urgent funding needed for both mitigation and adaptation efforts.

At Baku, India is seeking the New Collective Quantified Goal, a framework that aims to replace the annual commitment of $100 billion by 2020 made by developed countries in 2009 -- a target met only once, in 2022.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
Jalgaon : , Nov 18 (IANS) A veteran NCP-SP leader Eknath Khadse, who quit BJP in 2020 blaming the leadership for his neglect, on Monday announced his retirement from electoral politics citing health issues.

However, in an emotional appeal to the voters from Muktainagar Assembly seat in Maharashtra, Khadse, who was all set for his 'ghar wapsi' to BJP but dropped the idea due to lack of formal offer, urged the voters to elect his daughter and NCP-SP nominee Rohini Khadse, who is pitted against the Shiv Sena candidate Chandrakant Patil.

During the 2019 elections, Rohini Khadse, who was the BJP nominee, lost to Chandrakant Patil who was then elected as an Independent.

"I have been in politics for many years. I participated with the public during their good and bad times while helping them all without looking at their castes and religions. Nowadays, I am not keeping well. The God Almighty will only decide whether I will be able to see the next election or not. But I sincerely appeal to you to elect Rohini Khadse in the present elections," said Khadse.

His appeal comes when Rohini Khadse as an NCP-SP nominee is locked in a fierce battle against Shiv Sena nominee Chandrakant Patil. Incidentally, Khadseas daughter-in-law and Union Minister of State Raksha Khadse has actively campaigned against her sister-in-law while appealing to the voters to elect the MahaYuti nominee Chandrakant Patil.

Khadse by announcing his decision to retire from electoral politics has also hinted that Rohini Khadse and not daughter-in-law Raksha Khadse as his heir apparent in politics. Besides, he has also reiterated that going back to BJP is a closed chapter for him and he will remain in the Sharad Pawar-led NCP. Incidentally, Rohini Khadse is the president of NCP-SPas women's wing and has also ruled out the possibility of re-joining the BJP.

Muktainagar taluka has always been a BJP stronghold except for the 2019 elections when Chandrakant Patil, a former Shiv Sena leader, won the seat as an Independent who was then supported by NCP (united). In the changed political scenario, Khadse and his daughter are heavily banking on the support of cadres of NCP-SP, Shiv Sena UBT and Congress. Eknath Khadse, who had worked for over four decades as an OBC leader to consolidate BJPas position in North Maharashtra in particular and other parts of the state, hopes to lure his well-wishers even from BJP.

On the other hand, Chandrakant Patil is hoping to cash in on the work that he carried out during his tenure with strong support from the MahaYuti partners. He is also banking on the strong support from Eknath Khadseas rival and BJP Minister Girish Mahajan and the BJPas poll machinery in particular along with the strength of Shiv Sena and NCP. Due to Chief Minister Eknath Shindeas insistence, Chandrakant Patil, who had filed his nomination as an Independent, joined Shiv Sena and entered the electoral fray as the Eknath Shinde faction nominee. Shinde has made Chandrakant Patilas victory a prestige issue.

The conflict over Maratha-OBC reservations, lack of availability of jobs to the locals, water scarcity and problems for the commuters travelling in the State Transport buses are some of the major issues that came up during campaigning. Chandrakant Patil downplayed Khadse senioras dominance in the constituency saying that he will win on the development plank. On the other hand, Rohini Khadse claimed that she would emerge victorious due to the peopleas support and also because of her fatheras legacy.

(Sanjay Jog can be contacted at sanjay.j@ians.in)
Budapest, Nov 18 : Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta faces yet another selection headache as Leandro Trossard was forced off with an apparent injury during Belgium's Nations League clash against Israel.

Budapest, Nov 18 (IANS) Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta faces yet another selection headache as Leandro Trossard was forced off with an apparent injury during Belgiumas Nations League clash against Israel.

Trossard, who has become a key component in Arsenalas attacking lineup, is a recent entrant in already significant injury list that includes five other first-team players. His availability for the club's upcoming Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest looks doubtful.

The Belgian forward, who has featured in 15 of Arsenal's 17 matches this season, limped off in the 37th minute after moving uncomfortably for several minutes and was subatituted by the 21-year-old Johan Bakayoko. This blow comes after Trossard played the full 90 minutes in Belgiumas defeat to Italy just days earlier.

The timing could not be worse for Arteta, who is already grappling with injuries to key players, including Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice. Long-term absentees Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White, and Takehiro Tomiyasu further complicate Arsenalas situation, leaving the Gunners with a depleted squad ahead of their weekend fixture.

Trossard has been instrumental since joining from Brighton in January 2023, contributing 20 goals and 13 assists across competitions. His absence could severely impact Arsenalas attacking threat, forcing Arteta to experiment with a makeshift lineup once again.

While Arsenalas injury woes continue to pile up, captain Martin Odegaardas return to full fitness offers a glimmer of hope. The Norwegian midfielder skipped international duty to focus on recovery and is expected to lead the team against Nottingham Forest.
Canberra, Nov 18 : Australian businesses will be forced to accept cash as payment for essential goods and services under a government mandate.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones on Monday announced that, from 2026, businesses will be legally required to accept cash and coins when selling essential goods, including groceries and fuel.

"People are increasingly using digital payment methods, but there is an ongoing place for cash in our society," they said in a joint statement.

"Mandating cash for essential purchases, such as groceries and fuel, means those who rely on cash will not be left behind. For many Australians, cash is more than a payment; it's a lifeline."

The use of cash in Australia fell during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from the central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), showed that cash accounted for 13 per cent of all consumer payments in 2022, down from over 20 per cent in 2019, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to the government, 94 per cent of Australian businesses still accept cash, and 1.5 million Australians use cash for more than 80 per cent of their purchases.

Under current law, businesses are not required to accept cash but, if they do not, must offer an alternative payment method with no fees for the customer.

Chalmers and Jones said that the Treasury would undertake consultations to determine what will qualify as essential goods and services and which businesses will be forced to accept cash, with some small businesses to be exempt from the mandate.

Final details of the mandate will be announced in 2025, but the government said that it expects it to apply to supermarkets, banks, pharmacies, and petrol stations, as well as providers of utilities and health services.

Chalmers and Jones also on Monday announced the government's plan to phase out cheques as legal tender. Under the plan, cheques will stop being issued by June 2028 and stop being accepted by September 2029.
New Delhi, Nov 18 : BJP leader Gourav Vallabh on Monday condemned Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge for his recent remarks likening the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to poison.

Vallabh accused Kharge of using "indecent language" that tarnishes his long-standing political career.

Addressing a rally on Sunday, Kharge had described the BJP and RSS as "politically the most dangerous" in the country, equating them to poison.

"If there is anything politically most dangerous in India, it is the BJP and RSS. They are like poison. If a snake bites, the person dies. Such a poisonous snake should be killed," Kharge had said.

Responding to the remarks, Vallabh criticised Congress chief Kharge for allegedly succumbing to pressure from Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, suggesting it would harm the party's electoral prospects.

"I completely condemn the statement of Mallikarjun Kharge. Today, Kharge is reading a speech written by Rahul Gandhi. How can such an experienced leader use such indecent language? I feel pity that he is being forced to tarnish the dignity of his 50 years of political life under pressure from Rahul Gandhi," Vallabh told IANS.

Vallabh expressed confidence that voters in Jharkhand and Maharashtra would reject the Congress in the upcoming elections.

"I believe that on November 20, the voters of Jharkhand and Maharashtra will respond decisively to such objectionable, insulting, and cheap statements by pressing the 'lotus' button," he said.

He further advised Kharge to avoid following LoP Rahul Gandhi's directives. "Mr. Kharge, I urge you not to read speeches written by Rahul Gandhi. The goodwill you've built over 50 years of political service is now in question because of him," Vallabh added.

The BJP has criticised the Congress chief for allegedly making inflammatory statements, arguing that such remarks only expose that the INDIA bloc is hopeless ahead of the election outcomes.
Bengaluru, Nov 18 : Karnataka Congress MLA Ravi Ganiga has stated that the BJP is offering Rs 100 crore to Congress MLAs to bring down the ruling government in the state. He added that he has evidence in this regard which will be released soon.

Speaking to media in Mandya on Monday, Ravi Ganiga stated, that the BJP, in desperation to form government in Karnataka, has started making an offer of Rs 100 crore for Congress MLAs. "The BJP leaders are scared of going to jail as one after the other scams involving them are coming to light," he charged.

They have spoken with Congress MLAs in hotels, airports and guest houses. "The BJP leaders have attempted to lure Kittur MLA Babu (Babasaheb Patil) and Chikkamagaluru MLA H. D. Thammaiah. We have evidence of audio, video records, CCTV records. I will release the documents related to 'Operation Lotus' by the BJP sooner," MLA Ravi Ganiga stated.

"The BJP is trying to bring down the Congress government at any cost. The BJP has the money made while being in power in the previous term. The Central government also has huge money and they are making efforts to purchase 60 MLAs required to form their government," MLA claimed.

They are making big offers to MLAs and 30 of them have been offered ministerial posts. The BJP leaders are even telling them that they just want their government to be formed and their leaders won't care much about the posts, he alleged.

When asked whether he got an offer from BJP, MLA Ravi Ganiga stated that they won't touch him as they know that he will expose everything. "I am getting information and updates from my friends and colleagues," he maintained.

Meanwhile, Congress MLA Babasaheb Patil has clarified that he has not received any offer from BJP. "No BJP leader had contacted me. I don't know why MLA Ravi Ganiga has issued a statement taking my name. I have not got any offer," he stated.

Earlier, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah claimed that BJP is making offers to 50 Congress MLAs with Rs 50 crore to topple his government. BJP State President B. Y. Vijayendra, denying the charge chided CM Siddaramaiah that his own party leaders who are dreaming of getting the CM's post are giving offers to their party MLAs.
New Delhi, Nov 18 : Kailash Gahlot, former Delhi minister and senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, a day after quitting Arvind Kejriwal-led party.

Gahlot joined the BJP at party headquarters in presence of senior BJP leaders including Manohar Lal Khattar, Jay Panda, Anil Baluni, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva and more.

Gahlot, AAP's Jat face in the capital and MLA from Najafgarh constituency twice, was minister in AAP government since 2017 and held charge of key portfolios including home, transport, IT and women and child development departments.

In his resignation letter addressed to AAP convenor Arvind, Gahlot cited unfulfilled promises and recent controversies as the reasons behind the move.

His resignation from the Council of Ministers was also accepted by CM Atishi with immediate effect.

Gahlot, in his resignation letter, claimed the party had drifted from its core values.

"Today, AAP faces grave challenges... to the values that brought us together," he wrote.

In his resignation letter, the 50-year-old leader pointed to "grave challenges" within AAP and also lamented that the 'values which brought them together was getting lost in politics'.

"Political ambitions have overtaken our commitment towards people, leaving many promises unfulfilled. Take for example the Yamuna, which we had promised to transform into a clean river, but never got around to doing it. Now the Yamuna River is perhaps even more polluted than ever before," he wrote.

In the letter, he also addressed controversy surrounding Arvind Kejriwal's bungalow, which his rivals termed it 'Sheeshmahal'.

Gahlot said, "There are several embarrassing and bizarre issues like Sheeshmahal, which have now led people to question whether we still believe in being the party of the common man."

He further stated that the continuous tussle between the Delhi government and the Centre has hindered the city's progress.

"It is now clear that if the Delhi government spends most of its time fighting with the Centre, real progress for Delhi is not possible," Gahlot added.

Gahlot's resignation from AAP came as a big blow for the AAP, particularly in light of Assembly elections, scheduled in February next year.

---IANS

mr/
Kolkata, Nov 18 : Former deputy superintendent of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital Akhktar Ali, regarded as the whistleblower in the case of financial irregularities at the same hospital, has now started the process of moving the Calcutta High Court against similar irregularities at another state-run hospital.

Based on Alias petition, a single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court had ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation into the matter of financial irregularities at R.G. Kar. Later, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) also made a suo motu entry into the matter by filing an enforcement case information report (ECIR).

Now, the same whistleblower has started the process of moving the court against the illegal termination of health and security workers at Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital and then recruiting their alternatives against hefty commissions.

According to Ali, the health and security workers at Murshidabad Medical College who rendered relentless services during the Covid-19 pandemic period were suddenly relieved of their duties with promises that they would be reinstated at a later stage.

However, he added, instead of reinstating them, the hospital authorities made fresh appointments for their replacement and in the process, there had been several irregularities, including recruitment against the commission.

Now Ali has decided to file a petition at the court on behalf of those who were illegally terminated from services. His counsel, as claimed by him, has already started the process of collecting the documents and papers required to file the petition.

Ali also claimed that like R.G. Kar, he had also brought the irregularities at Murshidabad Medical College to the notice of the West Bengal health department first in 2022 and then to the anti-corruption department.

However, since none of the departments acted or initiated a probe on the basis of his complaints now he has decided to move the court in the matter.

Ali first came to the limelight after a single judge bench of the Calcutta High Court based on his petition ordered the CBI probe in the matter of financial irregularities at R.G.Kar when Sandip Ghosh was at the helm of affairs.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : Filmmaker Karan Johar recently discussed the complex dynamics of ego in relationships and how, sometimes, the "loser" ends up being the true winner.

On Monday, KJo took to his Instagram Stories to share a note that read, "In a war of ego, the loser always wins." Known for his striking presence on social media, Karan has been sharing cryptic posts lately.

A few days ago, he posted an inspiring quote about surrounding oneself with the best people. The note read, "Surround yourself with the best people you can find, but also know how to be happy alone." He also shared a philosophical post about "avoiding conversations," writing, "The conversation you are avoiding is the one you need the most."

On the professional front, Johar recently unveiled his upcoming project "Chand Mera Dil", featuring Ananya Panday and Lakshya Lalwani. Directed by Vivek Soni, the film is slated for release in theaters next year. Sharing the first poster of the film, Karan wrote, "We have two chands ready to bring an intense & passionate love story like no other!!! Pyaar mein thoda paagal hona hi padta hai... Chand Mera Dil, starring Ananya Panday & Lakshya. Directed by Vivek Soni. Coming to cinemas in 2025."

In the first poster, Ananya and Lakshya are seen hiding behind a blanket, while in the second, they are sitting together on a bed.

"Chand Mera Dil" is the fourth film announced by Dharma Productions in collaboration with Lakshya, following the releases of "Dostana 2", "Bedhadak", and "Kill."

Recently, Karan Johar's production "Kal Ho Naa Ho" was re-released in theaters. On Sunday, the director-producer took to his Instagram Stories to share the movie poster, expressing his gratitude for the continued interest in the film, even 21 years after its release.

For the caption, Karan wrote, "So heartening to see full shows of our film 21 years later. Watching people dance and repeat dialogues of the film in cinemas is so gratifying."

"Kal Ho Naa Ho" starred Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Sushma Seth, Reema Lagoo, Lillete Dubey, Delnaaz Irani, and Jaya Bachchan.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
New Delhi, Nov 18 : Legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar highlighted Virat Kohli's previous consistent performances on Adelaide and Perth grounds, adding that his past success against Australia in these venues will give him the extra bit of confidence during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) Legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar highlighted Virat Kohlias previous consistent performances on Adelaide and Perth grounds, adding that his past success against Australia in these venues will give him the extra bit of confidence during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

Kohli averages just 22.72 in his six Test matches this year, way below than his average of 54.08 in Tests in Australia and his overall career average of 47.83. He comes into his fifth Australia tour after making just 91 runs in Indiaas 3-0 series defeat to New Zealand at home earlier this month.

Kohli had hit 116 - first Test hundred at Adelaide in January 2012, followed by making 115 and 141 at the same venue in 2014, where he captained India for the first time in Tests. The former skipper also made 123, the first Test hundred by an Indian batter in the new Perth Stadium in 2018, where he eventually led India to 2-1 series victory, their first-ever Test series win in Australia.

"Because he hasn't got runs against New Zealand, he'll be very, very hungry. Even in that Adelaide Test match, where in the second innings we got all out for 36, in the first innings, Kohli got 70 plus, if I recall correctly, before being run out. He's consistently performed at Adelaide, so it's a familiar ground for him.

aAnd before Adelaide, it's Perth, where he played one of the finest Test centuries in 2018-19. A terrific hundred. Having performed on these grounds, he'll feel that extra bit of confidence. Of course, you need a bit of luck at the start, but if he gets off to a good start, he will get big runs," said Gavaskar to Star Sports.

Sanjay Manjrekar, the former India batter, also provided his perspective on how Australian bowlers comprising captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon might challenge Kohli, especially testing him in outside the off-stump channel, when the series begins in Perth on November 22.

"I think Virat knows exactly what's going to be planned. They'll start with that line outside the off stump and gauge what his mindset is. These days, he often leaves balls outside off and looks to drive anything pitched up. Australia might also try to cramp him for room and attack his body since he likes to get forward.

aThis was a tactic New Zealand used effectively. If he's focused on balls outside off stump, bowlers like Josh Hazlewood might target that typical Vernon Philander line on middle stump. Australia will test various strategies, and Virat Kohli is fully aware of that," he said.
Islamabad, Nov 18 : Several prominent Pakistani think tanks, policymakers and top government officials have been forced to re-strategise their position and reassess the terms of their relationship with the United States under the incoming Trump administration.

Trump has already announced several names of his new Cabinet with key positions, giving an indirect message to Islamabad that it may not be on his priority list in comparison to New Delhi.

The list includes Secretary of Defence, State, National Security Advisor and the CIA chief who have been critical of Pakistan in the past and have had a more considerate view of India.

Pakistani policymakers are keeping a close eye on Trumpas choices, indicating the future foreign policy of the US administration. It is believed that Pakistan may not be on the priority list of Trump administration and the US foreign policy.

Senator Marvo Rubio, who has been nominated as the next US Secretary of State, had introduced a bill that supported India and rang alarm bells in Pakistan Army headquarters in Rawalpindi.

The 'US-India Defense Cooperation Act' introduced in the Senate by Rubio called for an extended defence cooperation with India to tackle the increasing influence of China in the region. The bill proposed that India should be treated at par with allies, including Japan, Israel, South Korea and NATO, on technology transfers. It also suggested that New Delhi should be provided with security assistance through collaboration in defence, technology, economic investments and civil space.

Rubioas proposed bill also mentioned Pakistan's involvement in sponsoring terrorism against India through various proxy groups, suggesting that Islamabad should not be provided with any US security assistance.

The other important pick by Donald Trump is Mike Waltz, nominated as the National Security Advisor. Waltz has also been critical of Pakistan in the past, calling for putting more pressure on Islamabad to eliminate cross-border terrorism.

Trumpas Cabinet nomination also includes Tulsi Gabbard for the key post of US National Intelligence Director. Tulsi had not only backed India during the February 2019 stand-off between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack but also has been vocal about Islamabad harbouring Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, who was killed in a US Navy Seals operation in Abbottabad, back in 2011.

John Ratcliffe, who is going to head the CIA, has served as the Director of US National Intelligence during Trumpas first term and is known to keep a hawk's eye on Iran and China.

Analysts reckon that all the significant nominations made by Trump do not augur well for the US-Pak relationship going forward. They foresee that the Shehbaz Sharif-led government will face a major challenge at the hands of the Trump administration.

Last week, Pakistanas Army Chief General Asim Munir said that Islamabad would not become part of any bloc in any conflict, a statement that experts believe is an indirect message to the incoming Trump administration.

Government sources also revealed that it has already started reaching out to Trumpas team and is working towards establishing early contacts with the incoming administration.
Patna, Nov 18 : Two persons of a family have been brutally murdered with a sharp edge weapon in Bihar's Nalanda district. The accused then set them on fire.

The murder took place late on Sunday night.

The incident unfolded in Dongi village under the jurisdiction of Chabilapur police station in Nalanda. Two members of a family, Vijay Prasad and his wife Kanti Devi, were found murdered in alarming circumstances.

The situation came to light when their son, Vipin Kumar, arrived at the house and discovered his parents lying on the bed amidst a fire in the bedroom. Shocked by the scene, Kumar raised an alarm, summoning neighbours for help, but by then, the victims were charred in the intense fire.

Vipin Kumar stated, "I live in another house in the village. When I reached my father's house, I found it ransacked, and there was a fire in the bedroom. Blood was all over the place and coming out from the drain."

After the incident, a large crowd gathered at the house for assistance. They managed to retrieve the charred bodies of Vijay Prasad and Kanti Devi.

A team from Chabilapur police station arrived at the scene at around 6 a.m. on Monday and began an investigation into the matter.

Murli Manohar Azad, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Chabilapur police station, stated, "We are recording the statements of the victim's son and neighbours regarding the incident. The exact cause of the incident has not been determined yet. The victims, the husband and his wife were living together in the house, while their son resides in another house in the village."

"We have recovered the dead bodies and sent them for postmortem. As the bodies were completely charred, the postmortem reports would clarify the nature of wounds," Azad said.

The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are working to uncover the circumstances behind the fire and the incident.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : Actress Kiara Advani has hilariously revealed how one can tell she is a proud Sindhi.

Kiara took to her Instagram stories, where she shared a picture of her toothbrush. What catches the eye in the picture is that her toothbrush is in the hues of gold. The actress too can be seen in the bathroom mirror holding the phone to click the picture of her shimmery toothbrush.

"Tell me you're a Sindhi without telling me you're a Sindhi," she wrote as the caption.

Kiara is a proud Sindhi and has often shared pictures of her home-cooked meals. Last years she had given a sneak-peek into her plate of authentic Sindhi food, which Sindhi curry, aloo tuk, and bhindi fry.

Talking about her work life, Kiara is all set to be seen in the Ram Charan-starrer "Game Changer". Ahead of the teaser launch, the wife of Sidharth Malhotra shared a poster where she could be seen sitting on a chair with water surrounding her. The actress looked every-inch a mermaid as she donned a blue outfit with scalloped details.

"Game Changer", which is directed by Shankar Shanmugam, will have Ram Charan in the role of an IAS officer who fights against corrupt politicians while advocating for fair elections.

Bankrolled by Dil Raju and Sirish, with a storyline by Karthik Subbaraj and writing by SU Venkatesan and Vivek. The film is co-produced by Harshit, the action choreography is by Anbariv, with dance sequences directed by Prabhu Deva, Ganesh Acharya, Prem Rakshit, Bosco Martis, Jhony, and Sandy.

The songs "Raa Macha Macha" and "Jaragandi" have already been unveiled from the film. "Game Changer" is slated to hit theatres on January 10, 2025.

That's not it as Kiara will also be seen in "War 2" alongside Hrithik Roshan and NTR Jr. The film is the sequel to the 2019 movie "War" directed by Siddharth Anand.
Sahibganj : , Nov 18 (IANS) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that once the BJP formed the government in Jharkhand, Bangladeshi infiltrators and Rohingyas, who are taking over the rights of locals in Santhal Pargana region, will be kicked out.

He said this while addressing a rally in the Rajmahal Assembly constituency of Jharkhand on Monday.

Talking about the impact of a double-engine government, CM Yogi asserted that states under the BJP rule have no place for infiltrators. He hit out at the current Jharkhand government, alleging that it has turned the state into a stronghold for Rohingya Muslims.

"I have come to tell you one thing. In Uttar Pradesh, where we have a double-engine government, there are no infiltrators, and no one dares to slaughter cows or disrespect our daughters. If anyone dares, he is booked a one-way ticket to Yamraj. The JMM-Congress government cannot do this," CM Yogi said.

Training guns at the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress, he accused their leaders of corruption. Referring to recent raids, the CM alleged, "People of Jharkhand are poor, but crores of rupees were discovered at the residence of Alamgir Alam, a Minister in the JMM-led government, as well as at the house of a Congress MP. Was this money Congress', RJD's, or JMM's? This was money sent by Modi ji for Jharkhand's development, but these leaders looted it."

The UP CM assured voters that after the counting of votes on November 23, those responsible for corruption would be held accountable.

According to him, voting surveys from the first phase of the election, covering 43 seats, indicate that the BJP-led NDA is on track to secure a two-thirds majority. "BJP governments bring good governance and eliminate lawlessness," he asserted.

Recalling his tenure as a Member of Parliament during the formation of Jharkhand, CM Yogi attacked Congress and the RJD for initially opposing the state's creation. "Today, both parties are misleading the state by aligning with JMM," he alleged.

Discussing the BJP's election manifesto, he highlighted the party's promises such as permanent housing for 21 lakh people, a monthly stipend of Rs 2,100 under the Gogo Didi scheme for women, unemployment benefits of Rs 2,000 per month for graduates and post-graduates, and Rs 5,000 per month under the PM Internship Scheme.

He said the party has also pledged 2.87 lakh government jobs for Jharkhand's youth and free sand for house construction to every family.

CM Yogi urged the public, "We must stay united, division will only lead to our downfall. Leaders who divide society along caste lines are enemies of the nation. We must move forward with the vision of a developed India."

He appealed to voters to support BJP candidate Anant Ojha in the Rajmahal constituency (ST).
New Delhi, Nov 18 : As the air in Delhi turned toxic on Monday, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi hit out at the Central government's alleged inaction and uncontrolled stubble burning in Madhya Pradesh and other neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana for pushing the entire North India, including the national Capital, into a state of medical emergency.

Addressing mediapersons, the Delhi Chief Minister asked the Centre to stop indulging in politics and take concrete steps to address the problem that has impacted all north Indian states, including those ruled by the BJP.

Looking to shift the blame for the city's toxic air on the BJP-led central government, she said, "I want the Central government to tell the people if it has taken even a single step in the last seven years to control the menace of stubble burning."

"What steps has the Central government taken in the past seven years to check stubble burning in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh," she said.

To prove her point that the problem was not limited to Delhi, CM Atishi read out information from a Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report indicating that since Sunday evening cities like Ghaziabad, Noida, Hapur and Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh, Gurugram, Hisar, Dharuhera and Bahadurgarh in Haryana and even Churu in Rajasthan, have been battling bad air.

She credited Punjab, another AAP ruled state, for containing crop residue burning but alleged all other states in the north have failed to do so.

"If the Punjab government can reduce stubble burning, why are these incidents increasing in other states?" asked Atishi, claiming that in Punjab this year 8,404 farm fires were reported, as compared to 36,650 fires in 2023 and 71,300 fires in 2021.

Training her guns on the Madhya Pradesh government, she said between September 15 and September 17 about 9,600 stubble burning incidents took place there.

"Over 700 incidents of stubble burning are occurring daily in Madhya Pradesh, which is contributing to severe air quality. If you look at the air quality in other cities, it has also reached very poor and severe levels," she said.

"The Central government has to take the lead and adopt a collective approach for tackling the problem as the toxic air impacts elderly and children from all parties in all states," she said, calling for an end to politics over the issue and an early solution.

The Chief Minister's media briefing coincided with Delhi BJP's protest in central Delhi where its leaders distributed free air masks to people near Krishi Bhawan Metro Station.

In a public appeal, Delhi BJP chief Sachdeva asked Delhiites to remain indoors and use masks for the next one week till the GRAP Stage IV provisions remain in force.

CM Atishi responded to the mask distribution by the BJP by saying there was no need to do politics over the issue.

"If Punjab can control the problem, so can others. Why are farm fires increasing in Haryana, UP and MP?" she asked and said that cities in BJP-ruled states were also experiencing severe air quality.

According to the CPCB, the majority of Delhi's 39 monitoring stations recorded AQI readings above 450.

Neighbouring regions reported varying levels of air pollution, Noida's air was in the 'very poor' category with an AQI of 384, Faridabad registered 'poor' at 320, while Ghaziabad and Gurugram faced 'severe' conditions with AQIs of 400 and 446, respectively.
Seoul, Nov 18 : South Korea's unification ministry said Monday it is reviewing measures to reclaim loans granted to North Korea for building inter-Korean roads and train tracks after the North blew them up in October.

The unification ministry unveiled the tentative measures as part of its policy plan for the second half of President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration, which is now at the midpoint of his five-year term, Yonhap news agency reported.

On October 15, North Korea demolished parts of the roads and train tracks connected to South Korea -- the Gyeongui Line in the western border region and the Donghae Line along the east coast -- in its latest display of escalating hostility toward the South.

The unification ministry said a review is under way, in collaboration with other related ministries, to seek the collection of loans to North Korea amid concerns the country may refuse to repay them following its detonation of inter-Korean roads and train tracks.

From 2002-2008, South Korea provided in-kind loans worth $132.9 million to North Korea to construct roads and train tracks along the two inter-Korean lines.

"As the size of the loans has not been finalised due to procedural matters, the ministry is reviewing whether finalisation can be done now and whether action can be taken immediately to recover the loans without a grace period," a ministry official said.

Under the policy plan, the ministry will also seek to increase assistance to North Korean defectors, including through a revision bill, currently pending in the National Assembly, aimed at providing tax cuts to companies that employ North Korean defectors who have settled in South Korea.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : Actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who is currently touring the US, paused his New York show after an audience member threw dollars on stage.

A video of the incident has gone viral on social media. In the clip, the actor is seen performing when a fan suddenly throws a pile of dollars on stage as a token of appreciation for his electrifying performance.

The 'Bala' actor paused his performance and kindly asked the audience member to use the money to make a donation to a charity instead. In the video, Khurrana can be heard saying, "Bro, don't make such gestures. Don't do this, please. You can donate this to charity or do something good with it, but please don't do this. Love you for this love, but please donate it to charity without telling anyone."

One of the audience members posted the video on Instagram and wrote, "It's disheartening to see such a disrespectful act at a live concert. During Ayushmann Khurrana's recent NYC performance, a fan threw a bunch of dollars on stage while he was singing. Instead of enjoying the music, this individual chose to flaunt their wealth in a tasteless manner."

The post continued, "Ayushmann, known for his humility and grace, paused the show and politely requested the audience to consider donating to charity instead of such frivolous gestures. His response was not only classy but also highlighted the importance of using wealth for good. Let's hope this incident serves as a reminder to everyone attending live events to respect the artists and the experience for all."

Khurrana kicked off his US tour with his band Ayushmann Bhava in Chicago on November 14. He and his band will tour four other cities, including New York, San Jose, New Jersey, and Dallas, until November 24.

In a statement, Khurrana shared, "As an artist, I always look forward to connecting with people who appreciate my music and movies. I like to see their reactions firsthand. I have tried, very carefully, to nurture them through my work and my efforts in reaching out to them. Making music and touring is definitely one big opportunity for me to meet people, interact, and engage with them while showing them who I am, what my core is, through my music. Moreover, I have also done musicals in college, so this is like homecoming for me!"
New Delhi, Nov 18 : The worsening air quality in the national capital, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) breaching the 450 mark (severe plus) category on Monday, has drawn sharp condemnation and protest from all quarters. Robert Vadra, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi's husband and a leading entrepreneur took to social media, raised concerns over deteriorating air quality and slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi as well as BJP-ruled Centre over the city's hazardous air pollution.

"It is appalling to see the BJP and the AAP turn the safety and well-being of Delhi's citizens into the subject matter of their own political slugfest," Vadra said in a Facebook post.

He termed it a 'battle for survival' and said that poisonous air is an 'indiscriminate killer' as it doesn't discriminate between anyone's caste or religion. "There is no battle of ideologies to win here. It is simply a question of survival. Poisoned air doesn't care which caste or religion you belong to. It is an undiscriminating killer. The time to lay down a roadmap is now. The road to a solution starts with us," he wrote.

He demanded that such an 'alarming' situation does call for keeping aside political differences and working together for the common cause. "This is an avoidable problem, and one that it is about time we came together in a productive discourse. If we genuinely put together the considerable resources and talent at our disposal to good use we can actually come up with solutions," he wrote.

Vadra also cited the example of China and its technology-driven apparatus in curbing air pollution. He said that it was time that the ruling dispensations (AAP and BJP) avoid bickering and work towards deploying 'sustainable solutions.'

"China has been able to drastically reduce its smog levels by employing such techniques as massive windmill style fans (to dissipate smog cover). I read that the Delhi Government was planning on using helicopters to artificially seed rain clouds. it is time we deploy these imaginative solutions. I am certain that bright environmental scholars already have these solutions in mind. Bickering and political point scoring does nothing for no one. We also need long-term sustainable solutions to ensure something like this doesn't continue to happen every year," he wrote in FB post.

Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of former Congress President Sonia Gandhi did mention the previous (read UPA) government's environmental-friendly decisions and called for effecting a transition towards electric vehicles.

"The previous Government imposed energy efficiency standards on air conditioners, fridges and other electronic appliances. This in turn led to a drastic cut in electricity consumption. We need more electric cars and buses. We need better solutions for our farmers. It is a one-time cost for the Government to purchase the machines which can turn husk into safe and non-toxic refuse," he remarked.
New Delhi, Nov 18 : India is projected to be the fastest growing economy among the G20 countries with a 7 per cent GDP growth rate for 2024, followed by Indonesia in the second spot with 5 per cent while China is ranked third with an economic growth rate of 4.8 per cent.

"India takes the lead in the G20 with an impressive 7 per cent GDP growth rate projected for 2024! This achievement highlights India's robust economy, showcasing its resilience and fast-paced growth amidst global challenges," a MyGov post on X said after the rankings were released at the ongoing G20 summit in Brazil.

Russia has been ranked fourth on the list with a projected GDP growth rate of 3.6 per cent, followed by summit host, Brazil (3 per cent) in the 5th spot.

The African region comes next with 3 per cent while the US is placed at the 7th spot with its projected GDP growth at 2.8 per cent.

Among the western powers, Canada is expected to grow at 1.3 per cent, followed by Australia at 1.2 per cent. France, the EU, and the UK have been clubbed in the 1.1 per cent slow growth category while Italy is expected to grow at an even slower pace of 0.7 per cent, followed by Japan at 0.3 per cent.

Germany is seen as the worst performer among the advanced countries with a projected growth rate of zero.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived to a warm welcome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the G20 2024 which is being held on November 18 and 19.

The focus of the summit, being held amid the ongoing climate crisis and conflict in the Middle East and Europe, is on the fight against hunger, poverty and inequality; sustainable development and global governance reforms. All 19 G20 member states - Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Russia, Turkiye, UK and the USA and the European Union a" are attending the two-day summit.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A Tsholotsho man is currently fighting for his life at Mpilo Central Hospital after being attacked by a hippopotamus at a local dam in Chief Tategulu, Matabeleland North province. The victim, identified as Lathi Nyathi, was reportedly injured during the incident which occurred earlier this week.Ward 21 Councillor Felix Tshuma confirmed the attack, highlighting the ongoing water crisis that has forced villagers to share water sources with animals. "I have heard about the attack at the dam this week, and we plan to visit the victim at Mpilo Hospital," said Tshuma. "The challenge is that there is a serious shortage of water, and villagers are left with no choice but to share water with wildlife, including the hippopotamus that resides at the dam."Tshuma noted that the village's boreholes have dried up, exacerbating the already dire water situation. While this is the first reported attack, the presence of the hippopotamus at the dam has raised concerns about safety for the villagers who rely on these water sources.Tsholotsho Rural District Council Chairperson Rophas Ndlovu, also serving as the council spokesperson, said the local Campfire management is making arrangements to support the family and help cover the medical expenses for Nyathi's treatment.Attempts to reach Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson Tinashe Farawo for further comments on the incident were unsuccessful.The attack underscores the growing risks faced by rural communities in areas with limited access to safe water, as they are forced to share vital resources with dangerous wildlife.
Kolkata, Nov 18 : The total number of arrests in the cyber-forgery related to the transfer of the West Bengal government's dole amount to higher secondary students in the state for the purchase of tablets reached 21 on Monday, the state police said.

The last three arrests on this count have been made from Siliguri in Darjeeling district. One of the last three arrested is a primary teacher attached to a state-run school in the North Dinajpur district.

The last three arrests, state police sources said, were in connection with the forgery where the victims were some higher secondary students of a state-run school located at Sarsuna in the southern outskirts.

The money transferred from the state government exchequer for the purchase of tabs was transferred to different bank accounts instead of the bank accounts of the genuine beneficiaries.

As per the latest information available, the investigating officials have reached the base of such cyber-forgery which was operating from Chopra in North Dinajpur district. Their style of operations had been somewhat similar to that conducted by the Jamtara gang operating out of the Jharkhand district.

Because of numerous incidents of phishing across the country with Jamtara being the base, the place is often nicknamed as the "phishing capital" of the country.

Last week following the order of Director General of West Bengal Police Rajeev Kumar, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to probe the tab scam.

The joint investigation monitoring team comprised top officials from the state police who are monitoring the progress of the investigation on a daily basis.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had already assured that students who did not receive the money because of the cyber fraud will surely receive it. She also claimed that the process of sending money to their bank accounts had also started.
Jammu, Nov 18 : In a shocking act, a man in J&K's Udhampur went on a rampage in his in-laws' house, allegedly killing his mother-in-law and injuring his wife and his sister-in-law, police said on Monday.

Police said that Suresh Kumar of Kiya village in Ramnagar area of Udhampur attacked his family members with a sharp-edged weapon late on Sunday.

"He fled from the scene of the crime, leaving his mother-in-law Shanti Devi, wife Lalita and sister-in-law, Anju Devi in a pool of blood. Shanti Devi was declared brought dead by the doctors at the local hospital while the other two women were referred for treatment to the district hospital in Udhampur town," a police official said, adding that a case has been registered in the crime and efforts have been intensified to nab the absconding accused.

"Brother-in-law of the accused, Rakesh, told police that the accused was under the influence of alcohol when he came to their home and axed Rakeshas mother to death and injured his wife and sister-in-law. Rakesh further said that his sister, who is Suresh Kumaras wife, had a fight over some issue with her husband a few days back and he was now pressing her to return," the police official said.

Investigators are now collecting material evidence from the scene of the crime and also gathering circumstantial evidence to establish their case against the accused so that he gets a befitting punishment in the court of law.
New Delhi, Nov 18 : Raghuvinder Shokeen, the AAP legislator from Nangloi Jat, was inducted into the Delhi Cabinet on Monday, a day after another Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot resigned from the cabinet as well as the party, citing corruption issues.

Introducing Shokeen, 57, AAP leader Manish Sisodia said that the party convenor Arvind Kejriwal has hand-picked him to fill the vacancy created by Gahlot's exit.

Shokeen's entry into the Cabinet appears to be AAP's attempt to keep Jat voters from rural Delhi happy by maintaining the community's representation in Chief Minister Atishi's team.

Shokeen, a civil engineer who has served as MCD councillor twice, thanked AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal for the opportunity to serve the public as a minister and attacked the BJP for its anti-Jat actions during the farmers' protest and wrestlers' agitation.

"The BJP has been dividing the Jat community. In Haryana, the BJP fought the election on the plank of Jat versus others," he said, adding that the AAP always serves all communities.

Asked about Gahlot's decision to join the BJP, Sisodia said, "If he wishes to work with the BJP while maintaining that dignity, we cannot say anything. It is his decision. Where he wants to contest from or which party he wants to stay in  every person has their own choice."

In another development aimed at strengthening the AAP's connect with rural and Jat voters, Kejriwal inducted a Congress leader Sumesh Shokeen into the party on Monday.

Kejriwal used the opportunity to highlight how voters in 'Delhi Dehat' did not feel being part of Delhi city under the previous Congress government. "After we came to power, we raised the crop compensation rate to Rs 20,000 per acre and fulfilled villagers' demands by building sewage treatment plants, playgrounds, stadium, schools, mohalla clinics, hospital, and roads."

Aiming to woo rural voters ahead of the Assembly elections in February, the former Delhi Chief Minister said, "Under our government, tremendous amount of development has been carried out in rural areas."

Welcoming Sumesh Shokeen, Kejriwal said his induction into the party will add to AAP's popularity in rural areas.

The AAP's decisions to elevate a Jat MLA to the post of Delhi Cabinet Minister and inducting another into the party from the Congress appear to be a part of strategy to undo the damage caused by the exit of Gahlot, who joined the BJP on Monday.

In Delhi, Jats account for 5 per cent of the entire population, mainly spread across northern and western rural belts. Considering their significance in the electoral arena, about 10 per cent of legislators in the 70-member Delhi Assembly have always been from the community since 2008.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : Barely 72 hours before the state Assembly elections, 8-time Congress MLA from Sangamner (Ahmednagar) Vijay 'Balasaheb' B. Thorat has claimed that he is 'a reluctant contestant' this time as he was planning to 'hang up his' electoral boots but had to bow before the party's wishes.

The statement by Thorat, 71, came at a campaign rally Sunday night in his constituency which was attended by Nationalist Congress Party (SP) Working President Supriya Sule and other leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), and more allies.

"Honestly speaking, I was not at all keen to contest the 2024 elections I had informed even the top party leaders in New Delhi. But they insisted that I would have to be with them this time. So I agreed," said the lawyer-turned-politician Thorat in his usual soft style, currently serving as the Congress Legislative Party Leader.

Wondering why they were so persuasive, he surmised it was probably because he could take along all legislators and the party also needed such a person to contest, as the audience recalled NCP (SP) President Sharad Pawar's broad hints last week that "Thorat was poised to bag a big responsibility".

Otherwise, Thorat said that another candidate was all prepared to contest with the party ticket, and now he is facing elections for the 9th consecutive time from Sangamner -- where he is pitted against ruling MahaYuti nominee Amol Khatal-Patil of the Shiv Sena.

The constituency was represented once by his father Bhausaheb Thorat (1978) for the Congress, then Balasaheb Thorat stood as an Independent (1985), and subsequently he romped home seven times more as a Congress candidate from Sangamner, with his daughter Jayashree Thorat now cutting her political teeth here.

In her address, Sule described him as a 'civilized, social person and what an ideal elder brother should be" -- which many suspected was a sharp jibe at her brash cousin, the Nationalist Congress Party President and Deputy CM Ajit A. Pawar.

"I have not just come to campaign for Thorat I want the dreams you have seen should be fulfilled The state needs good leadership My desire is also the same for which I shall pray to Shirdi Saibaba and Lord Pandurang (Pandharpur in Solapur district)," Sule declared, indirectly alluding to her father's statement in Ahmednagar last week.

Sule recalled how, whenever there was any problem in the government, "Sharad Pawar Saheb would first call Thorat and the issue would be resolved" -- amid speculation that the Sangamner stalwart could be considered for the state top post this time.

Thorat took the opportunity to lambast the Bharatiya Janata Party's Guardian Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, who is contesting from the adjoining Shirdi Assembly constituency for the seventh consecutive time.

The Congress leader accused Vikhe-Patil of fomenting poll violence that has left many of his (Thorat's) workers injured and demanded that the police must immediately identify the culprits and take strong action against them, "failing which we shall do the needful".

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: qnajmi@gmail.com)
Mumbai, Nov 18 : After Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded "The Sabarmati Report" for its gripping narrative, Home Minister Amit Shah also praised the film for its bold and uncompromising depiction of events.

Taking to his social media handles, the Home Minister praised Vikrant Massey and Raashii Khanna starrer saying the movie defies the ecosystem with unparalleled courage and exposes the truth. Amit Shah wrote, "No matter how hard a powerful ecosystem tries, it cannot keep the truth hidden in darkness forever. The film #SabarmatiReport defies the ecosystem with unparalleled courage and exposes the truth behind the fateful episode to broad daylight."

Ektaa Kapoor was quick to take note of Shah's kind words and shared his post on her Instagram handle with the caption, Heartfelt thanks for your loving words and appreciation. #TheSabarmatiReport #Grateful #TruthWillPrevail."

On November 18, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded "The Sabarmati Report" for its effort in uncovering the truth. Responding to an X user who tagged him with the film's trailer, the Prime Minister praised the movie for shedding light on the events surrounding the 2002 Godhra train tragedy.

Highlighting the importance of bringing facts to light, PM Modi, who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time of the train burning, wrote, "Well said. It is good that this truth is coming out, and that too in a way common people can see it. A fake narrative can persist only for a limited period of time. Eventually, the facts will always come out!"

PM Modi supported Alok Bhatt's post, where Bhatt described the film as a must-watch.

Giving four reasons for watching the movie, he wrote, "Why I feel the film #SabarmatiReport is a must-watch. Let me share my views. The effort is particularly commendable because it brings out the important truth of one of the most shameful events in our recent history. The makers of the film handled this issue with a lot of sensitivity and dignity."

Responding to Modi's post, Ektaa shared a screenshot of the PM's tweet and wrote in Hindi, "Respected Prime Minister, thank you very much for your positive words on #TheSabarmatiReport. Your appreciation on #TheSabarmatiReport proves that we are on the right track. And thank you for the love and support! History is witness that whether it is a country or a person, it is only by falling. No matter how long the cycle of lies, the truth changes it."

"The Sabarmati Report" explores the events leading up to the 2002 Godhra train burning incident. Presented by Balaji Motion Pictures, and produced by Vikir Films, the film also features Ridhi Dogra in a pivotal role.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Monday termed as baseless the remarks made by Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray on the BJP's slogan "Batenge To Katenge".

Speaking to IANS, Athawale defended the slogan, stating that it solely focuses on the unity of all the communities in the nation.

Thackeray had warned BJP leaders, including Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, that any harm to Mumbai would be met with drastic action. Speaking in Marathi, Thackeray stated, "If something happens in Mumbai, we will cut you."

Countering this, Athawale said, "Our slogan focuses on unity, bringing all communities together, including Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. We are not against anyone, including Muslims. Uddhav Thackeray is making baseless statements."

Athawale stressed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies have benefitted all communities, including Muslims.

"PM Modi's schemes and policies prove that we are not against Muslims. The Muslim community should understand this and not fall for the divisive politics of the Congress, which nearly destroyed the nation," he added.

Athawale also expressed optimism about the Mahayuti alliance's success in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.

"The atmosphere is in favour of the Mahayuti. Unlike the Lok Sabha elections, this election will not be fought based on reservations but on development. The situation in Maharashtra is very positive. I have visited Vidarbha, Marathwada, West Maharashtra, North Maharashtra, and many places in Mumbai as well," he said.

He predicted a strong performance by the alliance, saying: "I expect us to win up to 170 Assembly constituencies. Additionally, I am confident that the Mahayuti will form the government in the state again."

Athawale also criticised Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge for his recent comments about the BJP and RSS.

"Congress has always made baseless statements to further its politics, influencing Dalits and Muslims for vote bank purposes," Athawale said.

He argued that the BJP has worked to unite society, stating, "Under PM Modi's vision of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas,' people have witnessed significant development during the BJP's tenure, unlike during Congress rule."

Athawale concluded by saying, "Congress and its leaders, including Kharge, have a history of misleading the public and spreading false narratives to divide the nation. In contrast, we are working towards societal unity and development."
New Delhi/Bhopal/Bengaluru, Nov 18 : As the government ordered a detailed probe into Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric over its consumer complaint redressal practices, there is no respite for several of its customers, who on Monday detailed their ordeal with its electric two-wheelers.

Despite the EV firm writing to the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) that 99.1 per cent of the 10,644 complaints against its service and other issues on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) were resolved, the plight of its customers is far from over.

Bhopal-based Vipin Sharma told IANS that he had bought an Ola S1 Pro e-scooter one and a half years ago.

"The scooter stops while running and frequently hangs, and needs to be restarted again and again. In the previous service, I got the vehicle repaired after one and a half months. Since the day I bought an Ola Electric e-scooter, I have had it serviced five times. There are already very few Ola service centres in Bhopal so you can understand my situation," Sharma lamented.

Ola Electric customers in Varanasi were very upset at endless visits to its service centre, facing trouble with its battery as well as software.

"It has not even been a year since I bought Ola Electric S1 Air but its battery has failed three times. There are several problems with its software. It crashes, due to which, the vehicle gets hanged. Since local mechanics cannot fix it, I have to take it to the service centre and once it is at the service centre, the e-scooter stands there for at least a week to a month's time," Vishal, a Varanasi-based lawyer, told IANS.

Badal Jaiswal from the holy city bought an Ola Electric scooter in May last year. "There are several problems with the software and the quality of service. One has to wait for months at the Ola Electric service centre for parts, and its parts are also expensive," he added.

Customers in Bengaluru are also a worried lot.

Sohan, who has been using an Ola Electric scooter for the past year, told IANS that there are durability as well as software issues with the vehicle.

"E-scooter stopping midway is a common issue as the screen gets blacked out during driving. It also causes trouble during rainy days. Build quality is poor which can also be improved," he told IANS.

Last week, the CCPA ordered a detailed probe into Ola Electric over consumer complaints. The consumer watchdog, led by Nidhi Khare, asked the Director General of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to probe the matter. The BIS chief has been asked to submit the report within 15 days.

The EV company was handed over a show-cause notice by the CCPA over alleged violations of consumer rights. If Ola Electric's claims fail to satisfy the regulator, it may face legal action and reportedly lose the subsidies its electric vehicles are eligible for under the PM Electric DRIVE Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme.

Ola Electric's shares closed at Rs 68.93 apiece on Monday. The company reported a huge 43 per cent increase in net loss at Rs 495 crore in the July-September period (Q2 FY25), from Rs 347 crore in the previous quarter (Q1 FY25).

--IANS

na/vd
Phnom Penh, Nov 18 : Cambodia on Monday hosted the first-ever Southeast Asian school meals coalition summit in Siem Reap province, aiming at driving human capital development and food systems transformation, said a joint press release.

The three-day summit, organised under the global School Meals Coalition, has brought together high-level stakeholders from Southeast Asian nations, alongside representatives from China, Japan, and South Korea, Xinhua news agency reported.

"It represents a crucial opportunity for Southeast Asian nations to collaborate on policies that promote children's health, education, and future potential through sustainable school meals initiatives," the press release said.

"It aims to ensure that every child in Southeast Asia and beyond receives a healthy and nutritious school meal every day by 2030," it added.

Currently, the Cambodian government, through the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, is supporting a national Home-Grown School Feeding program in almost two-thirds of all the target schools, with a commitment to reach 1,114 schools, benefiting more than 300,000 students by 2028.

Cambodian Minister of Education, Youth and Sport Hang Chuon Naron said the summit was a crucial platform for governments and partners to come together, exchange best practices, and reaffirm commitments to providing nutritious meals for young learners, thus leveraging the school meal program as a social protection instrument.

"This summit underscores Cambodia's dedication to nurturing human capital, fostering economic growth, and ensuring the well-being of children," he said.

The summit's agenda included discussions on improving the quality and efficiency of school meals and nutrition programs, strengthening policy frameworks, enhancing sustainable financing mechanisms, and fostering multi-sectoral coordination.
Colombo, Nov 18 : Sri Lanka's newly-appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath assumed duties at the Foreign Ministry, a few hours after 21 cabinet ministers were sworn in before Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday morning at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

As a Member of Parliament, Herath has represented the Gampaha District since 2000. At the recently concluded General election, he was re-elected, obtaining the highest ever number of preferential votes in Parliamentary election history, in Sri Lanka.

Herath had also previously served as the Minister of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage, and immediately prior to re-election, he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Kelaniya.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar, who is currently in Brazil for the G20 Summit, also congratulated Herath on his reappointment.

"Felicitations to Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Vijitha Herath on his re-appointment. Look forward to working together to further strengthen our historic bonds of friendship and deepen our wide-ranging partnership for mutual benefit," the EAM posted on X, earlier in the day.

The External Affairs Minister had held detailed discussions with the Lankan Foreign Minister during his visit to Colombo, last month.

Jaishankar, the first high-level foreign dignitary to visit the island nation after Dissanayake assumed office on September 22, had highlighted that, as its closest maritime neighbour and a time-tested friend, India continues to play a major role in Sri Lanka's recovery from its worst-ever economic crisis.

"Concluded wide ranging and detailed talks with FM Vijitha Herath today in Colombo. Congratulated him once again on his new responsibilities. Reviewed various dimensions of India-Sri Lanka partnership. Assured him of India's continued support to Sri Lanka's economic rebuilding. Our Neighbourhood First Policy and Sagar outlook will always guide the advancement of India-Sri Lanka ties," said EAM Jaishankar.

The EAM had assured Herath that Indiaas ongoing development assistance to Sri Lanka through projects of Sri Lankan priority will continue. He had also emphasised that India has offered to modernize the Kankesanthurai port through a grant to the tune of USD 61.5 million.

Jaishankar conveyed to the new Lankan Foreign Minister that payments for seven completed Line of Credit projects to the tune of USD 20 million could be converted into grants. He also said that India has decided to gift 22 diesel locomotives to the Sri Lankan Railways.

After Dissanayake won the September 21 presidential election, he governed with a cabinet composed of Harini Amarasuriya and Vijitha Herath.

The new cabinet ministers were chosen among the 159 members of parliament from the National People's Power (NPP) elected in the November 14 parliamentary election.

This is the first time a political party has won two-thirds of the majority in parliament since the introduction of the proportional representation system.

"The Cabinet is made up of 21 members, with the Ministries of Defence, Finance, Planning, and Digital Economy coming under my direct responsibility," Dissanayake said on Monday.
Malaga, Nov 18 : Rafael Nadal has said that he is focusing on helping the team win the Davis Cup in the final tournament of his illustrious career and is not paying much attention to his retirement. Nadal has confirmed the Davis Cup will be the final event of his remarkable career which saw him win 22 Grand Slam titles.

"I'm not here to retire. I'm here to help the team win. It's my last week in a team competition and the most important thing is to help the team," Nadal told reporters on Monday.

The former World No.1 has played only seven tournaments this year after battling injuries over the past couple of seasons. He last competed at the Paris Olympics, where he fell in the second round to Novak Djokovic. "The emotions will come at the end. Before and after I will be focused on what I have to do. I feel good, I've been thinking about it for quite some time. I've been trying to give myself a chance and I decided over time. I'm enjoying the week, I'm not paying much attention to the retirement thing," he added.

Spain, which have won six Davis Cup titles -- four of which Nadal has played a part in -- will face the Netherlands in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. If Spain beat the Netherlands, they will be up against Germany or Canada on Friday. The final takes place on Sunday. A 92-time tour-level champion, who spent 209 weeks at No. 1 in the ATP Rankings, Nadal has been one of the leading lights on the ATP Tour since turning pro in 2001. His 22 Grand Slam titles tally includes a record 14 crowns at the Roland Garros.

He also has four US Open titles and has won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon twice. Nadal also won Olympic singles and doubles gold and helped Spain to five Davis Cup titles, most recently in 2019.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Council of Chiefs President, Chief Mtshane Khumalo, has expressed deep concerns over the government's lack of support for the country's traditional leaders, particularly in the performance of their duties.Speaking at the Local Government and Public Works strategic planning workshop last week, Khumalo criticized the government for failing to adequately support chiefs and their offices. He called on the government to build proper offices for traditional leaders, noting that the current lack of infrastructure has hampered their ability to carry out their responsibilities effectively."The monies come in late, and when they do, it is only meagre amounts," Khumalo said, highlighting the financial struggles faced by traditional leaders. He also pointed out the neglect of their vehicles, which are often not serviced, making it difficult for them to attend meetings and fulfill their duties.Khumalo revealed that some provinces have been unable to hold statutory meetings due to withheld funds, with four provinces reportedly unable to convene meetings as required. This lack of financial support, he emphasized, is affecting the functioning of traditional leadership across the country.However, Khumalo did acknowledge a positive development, praising the government for making efforts to streamline the payment of village heads by using banks instead of requiring them to line up at District Development Coordinators' offices.His comments come at a time when there has been growing public concern over the government's allocation of resources, particularly its focus on providing traditional leaders with luxury vehicles while millions of Zimbabweans face hunger and inadequate access to basic services. Critics argue that these funds could be better spent on improving the country's crumbling health services or addressing the broader issues of poor service delivery in government institutions.Khumalo's remarks underscore the frustration felt by many traditional leaders, who continue to face challenges in performing their duties effectively due to inadequate government support.
Centre to launch campaign linking sanitation with human rights on Tuesday. Image Source: IANS

New Delhi, Nov 18 : The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs is expected to launch the Hamara Shauchalay: Hamara Samman campaign on the occasion of World Toilet Day, it said on Monday.

World Toilet Day is celebrated annually on November 19 to raise global awareness and action to emphasise the importance of safe and accessible toilet facilities as part of UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goal 6: Ensuring water and sanitation for all by 2030.

In India, the day will serve as a pivotal moment to reinforce efforts toward sustaining the nation's Open Defecation Free (ODF) status.

"This year, India is going to launch the campaign "Hamara Shauchalay: Hamara Samman", which will commence on November 19 and culminate on Human Rights Day, December 10, linking sanitation with human rights and the universal need for dignity and privacy, especially for women and girls," the Ministry said.

As part of the campaign, the government has directed all States and Union Territories to conduct ground-level surveys to identify existing gaps and expedite the construction of Individual Household Latrines (IHHLs).

In addition, village-level registration drives and camps are being organised to ensure that all eligible beneficiaries receive timely sanction orders for toilet construction.

Launched in 2014, the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) has been a cornerstone of India's efforts to improve sanitation and eliminate open defecation.

While the SBM's village mission led to the construction of over 11.73 crore household toilets, resulting in more than 5.57 lakh ODF Plus villages, in urban areas it facilitated the construction of 63.63 lakh household latrines and over 6.36 lakh community and public toilets.

Globally, the theme this year is 'Toilets - A Place for Peace', and the day highlights the indispensable role of proper toilet facilities in maintaining public and environmental health by preventing the spread of deadly diseases such as cholera.

"There is a desperate need for sanitation services with 3.5 billion people still living without safely managed sanitation and 419 million practising open defecation around the world," the Ministry said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Ahmedabad, Nov 18 : A court here has denied bail to journalist Mahesh Langa in a GST fraud case, observing that the offence alleged against him is serious and the offence being an economic one, affects the economy of the nation.

Additional Sessions Judge Hemangkumar Girishkumar Pandya said the applicant has fraudulently obtained GST credit of Rs 6,61,416 and is not entitled to bail.

"Economic offences constitute a class apart and need to be visited with a different approach in the matter of bail. The economic offence of having deep-rooted conspiracies and involving huge loss of public funds needs to be viewed seriously," the judge added.

The court said economic offences have serious repercussions on the development of the country as a whole and in the last few years, the country has been seeing an alarming rise in white-collar crimes which has affected the fibre of the country's economic structure.

Earlier on October 30, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate had turned down the journalist's bail plea, observing there was prima facie evidence of his active involvement in the conspiracy to cheat the government as well as the possibility of his tampering with evidence if released.

Langa has been in custody since October due to an alleged goods and services tax scam, with an FIR registered on October 7 by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch based on a complaint from the Central GST. A second FIR was filed against him in Gandhinagar on October 23, following the alleged recovery of documents related to the Gujarat Maritime Board.

According to the Director General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), the October 7 FIR also names shell company, Dhruvi Enterprises, and 12 other companies associated with it.

As per details of the facts which have been uncovered in the investigation by the Ahmedabad Police so far, the companies had used such forged bills for the purpose of cheating the government exchequer by falsely claiming input tax credits in order to evade GST dues. As per the report of DGGI, similar credentials such as mobile numbers, PAN cards, etc, were used to make another 220 suspected shell companies.

Searches were carried out at 19 places across the state in the districts of Bhavnagar, Surat, Junagadh, Rajkot, Ahmedabad, etc.

"So far, we have seized 29 computers, 38 mobiles, seven laptops and several documents and have sent them for forensic analysis. Further investigation is ongoing," the Ahmedabad Police said.
Jaipur, Nov 18 : Days after violence erupted after an Independent candidate slapped a Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) on the day of the bypolls in Deoli-Uniara Assembly, Rajasthan Minister Kirodi Lal Meena on Monday accused the Congress of instigating the violence that took place in Tonk district.

Kirodi Lal Meena on Monday claimed that the party sought to "spark communal disturbances" in the state for political gains.

The unrest began after Naresh Meena, a Congress-rebel-turned Independent candidate was arrested for assaulting an election official during bypolls in the Deoli-Uniara Assembly constituency.

The 44-year-old candidate slapped SDM Amit Chaudhary outside a polling booth, leading to high drama.

Naresh Meena was taken into custody on Thursday afternoon, which escalated tensions in the village of Samrawata. Violence broke out as his supporters clashed with law enforcement authorities, resulting in stone pelting, vehicle arson, and widespread chaos. At least 60 people were detained after the violence broke out and the region remains under heightened security.

Naresh Meena had been suspended by the Congress following disputes with the party over its choice of candidate for the Deoli-Uniara Assembly bypoll.

Speaking to IANS, BJP leader Kirodi Lal Meena alleged that the Congress had orchestrated the unrest.

"Naresh Meena was seeking a ticket for the Deoli-Uniara Assembly bypoll. When he didn't get it, some Congress members encouraged him to contest independently, which ultimately led to this violence. The Congress is so hungry for power that it can stoop to any level," he said.

"Congress intentionally tried to create disturbances to destabilise the government. Because of them, a peaceful region is now engulfed in violence. I am confident that Congress was behind this incident," he further stated.

Calling for a thorough investigation, he said, "It is essential to determine who is responsible for this violence. The slapping incident and subsequent unrest were highly inappropriate. Election Commission officials are tasked with ensuring peaceful elections, and when candidates disrupt the process, it undermines democracy."

Kirodi Lal Meena also mentioned his visit to Samrawata in the aftermath of the violence.

"I was overseeing elections in Dausa, hence I couldn't reach immediately. However, I visited the village the next day to assess the situation and meet the affected residents. I also introduced them to the Minister of State for Home Affairs. Tomorrow, I will ensure they meet the Chief Minister," he said.

The minister condemned the attack on the law enforcement authorities and urged the Election Commission to take strict measures to ensure peace during elections. He emphasised that the rule of law must prevail to maintain the democratic process in the state.
Guwahati, Nov 18 : Congress MP Rakibul Hussain on Monday alleged that Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma used the police and administration to get votes in favour of the BJP.

He said, "CM Himanta Biswa Sarma misused the power of state administration and police in the recently concluded by-elections to gain votes for his party. However, the people have understood the misrule by the BJP government and they have supported the Congress party in the elections."

Hussain also claimed that Sarma will lose his Chief Minister's position as the BJP is set to concede defeat in the next Assembly polls which is scheduled in 2026.

"It is sure that the BJP will be ousted from power in the 2026 Assembly elections. Voters are fed up with this government and anti-people policies of Himanta Biswa Sarma. He will get a befitting reply in the EVMs in 2026. Congress will return to power in Assam," he added.

Five Assembly constituencies -- Dholai, Samaguri, Behali, Bongaigaon, and Sidli fell vacant after the incumbent legislators were elected to the Lok Sabha this year.

The Dholai Assembly constituency is reserved for the Scheduled Caste (SC) community and the Sidli seat is reserved for the Scheduled Tribe (ST).

Except in Samaguri, where Congress heavyweight Rakibul Hussain has been winning since 2001, the rest of the four seats are with the BJP-led alliance.

The BJP has fielded candidates in three seats -- Dholai, Samaguri and Behali.

Diplu Ranjan Sarma contested in Samaguri while Diganta Ghatowar and Nihar Ranjan Das were fielded by the BJP in Behali and Dholai Assembly segments respectively.

BJP's former cabinet minister Parimal Suklabaidya successfully contested in the Silchar Lok Sabha seat and his earlier Assembly seat Dholai got vacant. Another senior BJP leader Ranjit Dutta, who represented the Behali Assembly seat, was elected to the Lower House of the parliament.

Rakibul Hussain defeated the three-time AIUDF MP and party chief Badruddin Ajmal in the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat with a margin of more than 10 lakh votes reinforcing his status as a five-time legislator from Samuguri Assembly seat.

The ally of the BJP-- Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) contested polls in the Bongaigaon Assembly constituency while United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) gave a ticket to Nirmal Kumar Brahma in Sidli seat, who is the current district president of the party in Chirang.

The Samaguri Assembly constituency has witnessed sporadic pre-poll violence with supporters of the BJP and Congress clashing with each other on several occasions.
Patna, Nov 18 : Seven police personnel, including the in-charge of the Anti-Liquor Task Force (ALTF), Home Guard jawans, and a driver, were arrested in Bihar's Vaishali district for their involvement in a liquor-related case following directives from Vaishali Superintendent of Police (SP) Har Kishor Rai.

The arrested officers, who were part of the Anti-Liquor Task Force (ALTF), are now facing legal proceedings, as a case has been registered against them.

The arrests were made after a joint raid led by Mahua SDPO Saurabh Suman and Mahua police, acting on SP Rai's instructions.

During the raid, authorities recovered a substantial quantity of alcohol from the residences of the ALTF officials. The seizure included 32 litres of country-made liquor and one bottle of Indian-made foreign liquor.

Additionally, the foreign liquor bottle was traced back to a consignment previously seized in the Patepur police station area.

SP Har Kishor Rai, who informed the media about the incident, revealed that the ALTF Team 3, operating under the Mahua police station, had allegedly stolen liquor seized during raids.

The alleged personnel either consumed the stolen liquor themselves or sold it illegally. During the raid, police recovered both country-made and foreign liquor from the possession of the accused.

The alleged police officers are identified as SI Nisar Ahmed, HC Mukesh Kumar, Constable Priya Rani, Home Guard jawans Rampravesh Singh, Ratnesh Kumar and Driver Mantosh Kumar.

An FIR has been registered against all seven personnel, and they are currently in custody as further legal action is underway.

SP Rai's decisive action underscores the seriousness of the offence and reflects efforts to reinforce integrity in the enforcement of Bihar's strict prohibition policy.
Jaipur, Nov 18 : Rajasthan High Court on Monday stayed the posting of sub-inspectors selected in the SI Recruitment Exam-2021.

The High Court stayed the passing out parade of trainee SIs and ordered to maintain the status quo in the entire matter.

As per the fresh orders, the SI selected in the SI recruitment 2021 will not be given any postings. A single bench of Justice Sameer Jain announced the order to stay the posting.

While giving the verdict on the petition of Kailash Chand Sharma and others, the High Court observed, "There will be no passing out parade of the selected trainee SI of 2021 while the petition is pending."

Advocate Harendra Neel pleaded on behalf of the petitioner.

The petitioners' lawyer Harendra Neel argued in the court that an FIR was registered in Pali regarding the paper leak in the SI Recruitment Exam-2021 on the very first day.

"Soon after, cases were filed on paper leaks in different districts. However, the then state government started SI training, giving appointments in 2023," they added.

The paper leak in the SI recruitment exam was shared in detail in the court. It was argued on behalf of the petitioners that in 2024, SOG registered a case against it while two RPSC members were involved in it. More than 50 trainee SIs have been arrested.

The lawyer of the petitioners argued that after the massive fraud in the SI recruitment, SOG and Police Headquarters recommended its cancellation, but the government formed a committee which failed in deliverance.

It was also mentioned that the paper went to around 150 candidates 30 days before the SI Recruitment Examination-2021 exam. From the Additional Advocate General to different experts, everyone had recommended the cancellation of this recruitment.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : Mumbai's animal lovers remained in mourning on Monday even as police worked overtime to narrow down on the killers of 14 stray dogs whose carcasses were recovered on November 9 in Kandivali West. Sources said four suspects had been detained.

While the final post-mortem report of the carcasses was awaited, police sources confirmed the use of sharp-edged weapons to chop the stray dogs' bodies into pieces. Food poisoning before the gory crime has also not been ruled out yet.

Police have scanned the footage of CCTV cameras around the Mangalmay Tower in Sai Nagar but the effort has not yielded much information about the movement of stray dogs on the day of the incident, sources said.

Sources said four suspects had been detained, a development confirmed by an activist who claimed to be aware of the progress in the probe.

Area residents, most of them feeders of the slain stray dogs, have been holding protests and demanding speedy action in the shocking case of cruelty against animals. A candle march was organised on Sunday to demand justice for the canines.

One of the residents hinted that some people in the area did not like feeding stray dogs.

Mumbai Police have registered a case under section 325 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) dealing with committing mischief by killing any animal. The offence is punishable with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both.

Heena Lambachiya, a resident of the Mangalmay Tower, was the first to notice the body of a dog in a gunny bag in the drain on November 9. She along with Ashish Busa, office-bearer of the building's society, approached the police to file the FIR at Kandivali police station.

Dogs' body parts, stuffed in sacks, continued to be discovered over the next few days from the drain.

A stray feeder from Andheri, who joined area residents in the protest, said, "We came to show solidarity with residents of Mangalmay Tower. We are demanding strict action against the culprits."

Calling it an inhuman act, she sought swift action against the culprits.

Roshan Pathak, a social activist, who joined the protest march demanded swift action against the culprits. "Enhancement of fines for cruelty against animals is the only way of creating deterrence against it," he said.

Apart from the FIR under BNS section 325, a case under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 has also been filed over the incident.
Ranchi, Nov 18 : Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (LoP), Rahul Gandhi, at a press conference here on Monday, said that the caste census will fundamentally change the country's politics and social systems and all classes in India will get justice.

Describing the importance of data in today's time, Rahul Gandhi said that the census would reveal the extent of participation of Backward Classes, Dalits, and tribals in India's power structures and institutions.

"Once we have accurate data, we can develop policies to ensure justice for all sections," he said.

According to him, the current lack of data on Backward Classes hinders effective policymaking and equitable distribution.

LoP Gandhi noted that Congress-led state governments, like those in Karnataka and Telangana, are already engaging with citizens to discuss what questions should be included in the caste census.

Rahul Gandhi stressed that this consultative approach ensures that people's voices are reflected in the process.

"We have a complete road map, and we are getting valuable suggestions on how to structure this census," the LoP added.

Rahul Gandhi pointed out that while approximately 50 per cent of India's population is from the Backward Classes -- 15 per cent are Dalits, and 8 per cent are tribals -- but the extent of their representation in key institutions is unknown.

"Once this data is available, we can justify expanding the current 50 per cent reservation cap," Rahul Gandhi said.

The LoP also addressed allegations from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who claimed that Rahul Gandhi opposes reservations.

"I fully support reservations," Gandhi reiterated, accusing the Prime Minister of evading questions about conducting a caste census to better implement reservation policies.

For Jharkhand, he pledged to increase reservation quotas -- raising tribal reservation from 26 per cent to 28 per cent, Dalit quota from 12 per cent to 14 per cent, and Backward Class reservation from 14 per cent to 27 per cent.

Rahul Gandhi slammed the BJP for labeling tribals as "forest dwellers," calling it an insult, and accused the party of holding anti-tribal sentiments.

LoP Gandhi alleged that the BJP has tried to intimidate Jharkhand's Chief Minister Hemant Soren with false charges to undermine his governance. He claimed that the central government has withheld Rs 1.36 lakh crore from Jharkhand, which should be allocated for land compensation and coal royalties. "This money belongs to the state's Backward Classes, Dalits, and tribals, and should be used for their development," Rahul Gandhi said.

Addressing questions about welfare schemes, he defended the Congress' plans to provide financial support to the poor, stating that labeling these as "freebies" is insulting. "Government waives large debts of industrialists and billionaires, but not of the poor," Rahul Gandhi added.

"Under our government in Jharkhand, a monthly payment of Rs 2,500 to women, gas cylinders at Rs 450, seven kg of grain per person monthly, and an increased Minimum Support Price (MSP) on paddy from Rs 2,400 to Rs 3,200 per quintal will be given," Rahul Gandhi said.

Rahul Gandhi also outlined healthcare plan of Rs 15 lakh health insurance scheme for Jharkhand and creating 10 lakh jobs over the next five years in the state.

When questioned about unfulfilled promises of job creation by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Gandhi blamed the BJP for obstructing Soren's efforts. He argued that national job growth has stagnated due to the BJP government's flawed policies, such as demonetisation and the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Calling the elections in Jharkhand as a battle of ideologies, Rahul Gandhi stated, "On one side, there are those who want to save the Constitution and increase reservation, and on the other, the RSS, which seeks to destroy the Constitution."

Regarding the continued violence in Manipur, Rahul Gandhi expressed concern over the lack of intervention from the Prime Minister. "We walked 4,000 km during the Bharat Jodo Yatra with the message of love. The BJP, on the other hand, spreads hatred, which has ignited the current unrest," he remarked.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : After nearly a month, the cacophony, heat and dust of the poll campaign ended for the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly elections with a choice of two alliances - ruling MahaYuti and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi - vying to be the favourites of the voters, here on Monday.

Mumbai, Nov 18 (IANS) After nearly a month, the cacophony, heat and dust of the poll campaign ended for the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly elections with a choice of two alliances a" ruling MahaYuti and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi a" vying to be the favourites of the voters, here on Monday.

The MahaYuti comprises Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party-Nationalist Congress Party and the MVA is made of Congress-Shiv Sena (UBT)-Nationalist Congress Party (SP); and both sides have a motley of their smaller partner-parties.

The electioneering saw bigwigs from the MVA swooping on the state, led by Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra, and several state Chief Ministers trooping here.

Others were NCP (SP) President Sharad Pawar, Working President Supriya Sule, state chief Jayant Patil, National GS Jitendra Awhad; SS (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray, Aditya Thackeray, Arvind Sawant, Sushma Andhare, state Congress chief Nana F. Patole and many more from all the parties.

The overall campaigning witnessed was no-holds-barred a" with parties screaming hoarse with promises on the freebies, sops, jobs, loan waivers, monetary assistance, showing dreams of bright days ahead, releasing mouth-watering Manifestos, combined or separate, and trying to overdo the offerings from the ruling MahaYuti side.

There were verbal duels galore a" direct or snide personal attacks, questioning each otheras political credentials, some lower-lung leaders from the ruling dispensation resorted to language ranging from the crass to unprintable, that left even the male crowds red-faced, one woman and the all-round tamasha continued in full swing.

The top leaders also doled out assurances on possible key candidates who could be rewarded with better prospects to ensure their election, some tugging at the votersa emotions, vowing to fulfil promises in the name of mothers-sisters-daughters, expressed angst over the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Sindhudurg (August 26) to prick the MahaYuti, dares and threats, et al.

Coming six months after the Lok Sabha elections, the MVA partners appeared a tad more confident in tackling the political onslaught of the ruling alliance, but were somewhat stumped when the latter whipped out new slogans like abatenge to katengea, aek hain to safe haina and avote-jihada.

After the initial stupor, the MVA hit back with full vigour accusing the rulers of brazen attempts to polarise the voters, fomenting caste-communal tussles, and dividing the society, forcing the ruling side to soften its tempo a bit, as a rage built up on the social media.

According to MVA leaders, the campaign calendar had around eight major rallies by Kharge, seven by Rahul Gandhi, four including a road show by Priyanka Gandhi, Thackeray and Sharad Pawar newly two dozen each, besides many more meetings by Sule, Patole, Patil, Awhad, Andhare and more, zipping around the state in small aircraft or helicopters.

There were guest appearances by out-state Congress leaders like Chief Minister of Karnataka (Siddaramaiah), Telangana (Revanth Reddy), Himachal Pradesh (Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu), former chief ministers, deputy chief ministers from different states, plus top leaders including Ramesh Chennithala, K. C. Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Randeep S. Surjewala and more, plus INDIA Bloc allies from Samajwadi Party, CPI, CPI-M, PWP, AAP, and others filling up the gaps in the campaign.

As per the Election Commission of India data, a little over 9.50 crore voters comprising 5,00,22,739 males, 4,69,96, 279 females, 6,101 transgenders, shall exercise their franchise on Wednesday.

These include 6,41,425 persons with disabilities, 116,170 service voters, 22,22,704 young or first-time voters, a staggering 47,389 centenarians across the state, 12,40,919 aged above 85, plus others in the upper age groups.

The biggest chunk of voters is the ayoutha (218,15,278 - aged 30-40), besides 207,30,598 (aged 40-50), 1,88,45,005 (aged 20-30), 1,56,10,794 (50-60), who will cast their votes in 100,186 polling centres in the state, comprising 57,582 (rural) and 42,604 (urban).

The Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) a" which organised a major, multi-pronged drive to ensure voter turnout in different ways like awareness camps, cycle rallies, walkathons, training camps, etc., said it is fully prepared for the state afestival of democracya this time also along with tight security deployed all over to ensure free and fair elections.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: qnajmi@gmail.com)
Rewari, Nov 18 : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar paid a visit to Haryana's Rewari during the weekend to attend the wedding festivities of his Personal Security Officer (PSO)'s son Piyush Yadav. The Chief Minister arrived at the venue from Patna, amid the presence of a large number of police personnel and was accompanied by his son Nishant Kumar.

Rewari, Nov 18 (IANS) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar paid a visit to Haryanaas Rewari during the weekend to attend the wedding festivities of his Personal Security Officer (PSO)as son Piyush Yadav. The Chief Minister arrived at the venue from Patna, amid the presence of a large number of police personnel and was accompanied by his son Nishant Kumar.

Those close to the Chief Minister said that it was a special gesture by the Bihar CM to extend blessings to the bride and bridegroom while also keeping up a promise that he made to his PSO Paramvir Yadav, twenty-four years ago.

Paramvir Yadav, a native of Bhurthal village in Haryana, has been deputed as Nitish Kumaras PSO and has been in the good books of the Chief Minister for a long time. He sought the Bihar CMas blessings for his engineer son Piyush Yadav to which he readily obliged. In fact, this was a promise made by the Chief Minister, two decades ago.

On Sunday, the tilak ceremony of PSOas son Piyush Yadav was underway at a farmhouse near the Rewari-Rohtak highway toll plaza. While the festivities for atilaka ceremony were underway, the Bihar Chief Minister arrived at the venue bypassing official protocols and leaving the guests pleasantly surprised.

The Chief Minister extended blessings to groom Piyush Yadav and wished a bright future for the couple. PSO Paramvir Yadav and his family members also got photos snapped with the Bihar CM to get the moment itched in memory.

While the festivities doubled with the participation of Bihar CM, what caught everyoneas attention was the presence of Nitish Kumaras son Nishant Kumar. It was Nishantas first visit to Haryana, with his father. He thanked the PSOas family as well as the people of Haryana for giving a warm welcome.

Nishant Kumar is usually not seen accompanying his CM father, either at official or public functions but his latest appearance with the latter has led to strong murmurs within political circles. Some commentators are speculating about Nishant's likely political foray while others see it as the duo coming together for a family function.
When Jerry Jacobson travels, he wears a Leinenkugels T-shirt as a conversation starter.

He looks forward to chatting with people who recognize the brand. Sometimes they share stories of trips to Chippewa Falls. Strangers might even give him a passing thumbs-up when they see the Leinenkugel name, he said.

Jacobson is president of Northwestern Bank, and a highly active area philanthropist. Hes also a big fan of Leinenkugels.

Chippewa Falls has gained recognition from around the world for being home of Leinies, as the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. is affectionately known.

The brewery gives residents both a sense of pride and also a financial boost as Leinie fans come to Chippewa Falls to see where the beer originated, Jacobson said.

That bond is set to be broken, as Molson Coors, Leinenkugels parent company, plans to cease operations at the historic brewery Jan. 17.

Beer-making family 'upset'

The Leinenkugel family is frustrated by the decision.

John Leinenkugel, sales and marketing brand ambassador and fifth generation family member said the Leinenkugels are dealing with a range of emotions.

I've spoken to everybody, and our family is disappointed. We are devastated. We are upset and we're sad. John said. There are family members buried in the cemetery on top of the hill, above the brewery grounds, that started this company over 157 years ago.

"Some of them mortgaged their homes, their livelihoods after prohibition, when the government tried to end the production of alcohol. They did that to make sure Leinenkugels survived.

Matt Leinenkugel said, The entire situation has been heartbreaking on so many levels, in a text to The Chippewa Herald Thursday.

Community representatives are left to wonder what the loss will mean for the city's reputation and identity.

Chippewa Falls and Leinenkugels

The city has a close association with the Leinenkugels brand, beer and family and has benefited from the Leinie Lodge and brewery operations. Leinie Lodge brings in roughly 125,000 visitors a year, according to retired company president Dick Leinenkugel in 2022.

People sitting in a bar in California have looked at the beer label and seen Made in Chippewa Falls so I think it's one of those things that brings Chippewa regard, builds Chippewas reputation, Chippewa Area History Center Museum Director Frank Smoot said. Chippewa has projected this as its identity out to the broader world. So that's going to be a loss, for sure.

Jacobson said he hopes officials will find a way to maintain the brewery's tourism appeal.

I do worry that if there is not brewery tours with beer being brewed that the allure will wear off after some years, but I am hopeful that management will still keep the historic buildings kept up and this will encourage a different type of tourist to see the way it was done 150 years ago, Jacobson said.

The relationship between city and company has brought success to the area and helped shape its reputation.

Chippewa has its own identity, to its people here, and that's very complicated, but I think generally, really positive. People have a deep attachment to Chippewa Falls. Even people who have left and been gone for decades, sort of pine for it, Smoot said.

Looking back to inform the future

He thinks locals have a deep sense of pride in certain businesses of known in the region that have helped shape the citys sense of purpose. The loss of a staple such as brewing at Leinenkugels caught many off guard.

But the city has a long history of reinventing itself and keeping up with the times.

When logging was declining the local business people set about finding new industries to bring to the area to provide jobs and services for the community, said Wendy Sullivan, who was Oktoberfest Festmeisterin in 2023.

Sullivan is also involved with the Chippewa County Genealogical Society and the Chippewa Area History Center.

Through the guidance of the Chippewa Falls Chamber of Commerce, Mayor (Greg) Hoffman and the city council, our city planner, Chippewa Falls Main Street, etc. Chippewa Falls has a vision for embracing their history while still keeping up with what's current, Sullivan said. They understand the value in honoring our history.

The county Genealogical Society's library, where Sullivan spends a lot of time, is officially known as The Casper Genealogy & History Research Library. It is named in honor of Bill Casper  a grandson of Jacob Leinenkugel  and his wife, Gertrude.

Through my research of local history at the library, the Leinenkugel family consistently shows up in the day-to-day happenings of Chippewa Falls, Sullivan said. Not only did they operate a successful brewery, but every generation has supported their community by being involved in public service and community growth, sometimes in a public role but often quietly in the background.

Sullivan said Leinenkugels is deeply enmeshed in locals lives and that, hopefully, will not change.

Chippewa so identifies with Leinenkugel's and even though other businesses and industries have come and gone, it seemed like the brewery would always be a part of our community, Sullivan said.

Businesses old and new

Chippewa Falls Mayor Hoffman said hes had a lot of conversations about Leinenkugel's since the brewery closure announcement and is struck by how few people recall that it was sold in 1988.

36 years ago? No. No. That can't be, people say to me. People either they don't remember or they choose not to remember. They chose to remember the Leinie's ads and the campfires and jumping off docks  how much fun it was, Hoffman said Thursday.

Hoffman said while the loss is a shame, Chippewa Falls is resilient.

We have so many other things going on, and the people remain as always part of the fabric of this community, Hoffman said.

GO Chippewa County said the area has plenty of other offerings.

While the brewery closure is significant, it is one piece of our broader story. Chippewa Falls and the county holds a diverse array of attractions that collectively contributed to $184 million of economic impact from tourism in 2023.

Hoffman said the city has 18 or 19 companies operating that have been in business for more than a century.

But Chippewa Falls has faced some losses of renowned businesses over the years.

As far as the outside world is concerned there are a couple of things that sort of make people understand that Chippewa was a place on a map, Smoot said. One of those things is Leinenkugels and another would be Cray computing.

Cray Computers built some of the most advanced computers in the world. It was founded by Seymour Cray in 1972.

The company has been bought, sold and reformed many times and was purchased by Hewlett Packard in 2019, according to the Center for Land Use Interpretation.

Cray research is now a part of HPE, and I bet you, half of the people in the city don't even realize that Cray is no longer Cray. They have this romance of Cray, Hoffman said. They remember Cray, remember the big computers  4,000 people working and how wonderful it was. But what happened to Cray? Disassembled and things started getting wobbly.

Smoot said Chippewa Falls has held onto older companies longer than its neighboring cities and towns.

As the Midwest has homogenized and mom-and-pop shops have faced increasing competition from supersized box stores, Chippewa Falls has resisted the pressure to throw in the towel on historic companies, Smoot said.

Its happening much later in Chippewa Falls than it happened in either Menomonie and Eau Claire. We have kept those broad national incursions at bay, Smoot said.

While Chippewa Falls has faced some business shutdowns and changes over the years, it has also seen ample growth. Chippewa Crossing Boulevard, for example, has seen the additions of a Taco Bell, Culvers, Kwik Trip, Festival Foods, Caribou Coffee hut and a new Riverstone Suites hotel built in the past 18 months.

Market on River, which is owned by the Wisconsin Farmers Union, is opening a slew of new small businesses, apartments and eateries at its River Street facility downtown.

But most of those companies dont have the historic significance of Leinenkugels, Smoot said.

Chippewa has done a great job of resisting the pressure; out with the old in with the new, Smoot said. We want growth. But the newer companies will never replace something like Leinenkugels. They are good additions, but no substitute.

Jacobson said despite the challenges, Chippewa Falls is pro-business and will find a way forward.
Ranchi, Nov 18 : Campaigning for the high-stakes second and final phase of Jharkhand Assembly elections ended on Monday evening. Voters will head to the polling booths on November 20 to decide the fate of candidates across 38 constituencies. These include 18 seats from Santhal Pargana, another 18 from North Chotanagpur, and two from South Chotanagpur divisions.

Out of these 38 seats, eight are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs), three for Scheduled Castes (SCs), and the remaining 27 are general category seats.

Prominent candidates in the fray include Chief Minister Hemant Soren (JMM) contesting from Barhait, state BJP president and former CM Babulal Marandi from Dhanwar, and JMM star campaigner Kalpana Soren from Gandey.

Other notable contenders include Assembly Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato (JMM) from Nala, Leader of Opposition Amar Bauri from Chandankiyari, Congress leaders Deepika Pandey Singh in Mahagama, Irfan Ansari in Jamtara, and Hafizul Hasan in Madhupur.

AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto will contest from Silli, while Hemant Soren's brother, Basant Soren, is contesting from Dumka.

In the 2019 elections, the JMM had won the maximum number of seats, 13, in these constituencies, followed by BJP with 12. The Congress secured eight seats, while Jharkhand Vikas Morcha and AJSU Party won two each, and the CPI-ML secured one seat.

This phase has 528 candidates vying for the votes of 1,23,58,195 registered voters. A total of 14,218 polling stations have been set up, with polling teams reaching their destinations by the evening of November 19.

Due to security concerns, 31 polling stations have been classified as highly sensitive and will operate from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., while other polling stations will remain open until 5 p.m.

Chief Electoral Officer K. Ravi Kumar highlighted special arrangements that have been made for this phase, including 48 model polling booths, 239 women-managed polling stations, 22 booths staffed by disabled workers, and 26 youth-managed stations.

On the final day of campaigning, high-profile leaders from both the BJP-NDA and INDIA bloc held over 20 public meetings. Key figures included UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Chirag Paswan, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, alongside opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi, Hemant Soren, and Kalpana Soren.

With the campaign officially concluded, Chief Electoral Officer K. Ravi Kumar said that all political persons who are not voters in the area must leave immediately. Authorities will take strict action against any violators found in the constituency in the silent period.
Baku, Nov 18 : The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate), the largest global coalition at the intersection of food security and climate change, spearheaded by the UAE and the US, on Monday announced nearly double the investments, partners, and Innovation Sprints in transformative climate-smart agriculture and food systems' innovation.

Baku, Nov 18 (IANS) The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate), the largest global coalition at the intersection of food security and climate change, spearheaded by the UAE and the US, on Monday announced nearly double the investments, partners, and Innovation Sprints in transformative climate-smart agriculture and food systemsa innovation.

The announcements were made at the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 29), hosted in Baku in Azerbaijan under the theme aIn Solidarity for a Green World.a

The investment increase comprises $16.7 billion from 56 government partners, including India, and $12.5 billion from the accelerated investments of 129 Innovation Sprint Partners, driving change in climate-smart agriculture and food systems.

AIM for Climate partners turn ambition into action, driving climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation to tackle the climate crisis, build resilience, and deliver co-benefits for people and the planet.

Building on a record year at COP28, investments have surged from $17 billion to an unprecedented $29.2 billion, over a 2020 baseline.

The addition of 52 new Innovation Sprints, bringing the total to 129, further underscores AIM for Climateas transformative impact.

With AIM for Climate expanding from 600 to over 800 partners worldwide, the initiative reflects the urgency and strength of its mission.

The growing number of high-impact, private-sector, and public-private partnership-led projects deliver solutions to todayas climate and food challenges.

Aligned with COP 29as priorities of climate finance, emission reduction, and developing adaptive solutions for climate-related loss and damage, these initiatives focus on one or more of AIM for Climateas focal areas: smallholder farmers in low and middle-income countries; emerging technologies; agroecological research; and methane reduction.

AIM for Climateas India impact is substantial, with $500 million alone being directed toward climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation in India.

These investments demonstrate AIM for Climateas commitment to supporting climate resilience and food security in India and beyond.

AIM for Climate Innovation Sprint Partners in India Varahaas initiative aims to deliver $500 million in benefits to smallholder farmers in developing countries by 2025.

By integrating farmers into the global carbon market, Varaha supports sustainable agriculture, improves livelihoods, and plans to remove 18 million tonnes of CO2 across four million acres.

Using remote sensing, Machine Learning, and biogeochemical models, Varaha promotes regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, and nature-based solutions, advancing climate resilience and carbon sequestration in India.

Phyla sprint scales ecosystem restoration through climate-resilient agroforestry, with a focus on establishing pongamia and biodiverse agroforestry systems across Sub-Saharan Africa and India. The initiative will regenerate degraded lands while producing feedstock for biofuel, plant-based proteins, and sustainable food and fiber crops.

Through strategic collaborations, Phyla aims to catalyse $400 million in new investments, fostering a regenerative finance model that unites food security with energy sustainability.

As AIM for Climate prepares to sunset in 2025, its partners are urged to build on achievements by institutionalising progress for a resilient, food-secure future.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
Chandigarh, Nov 18 : Farmer unions -- the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha - on Monday announced to march on foot towards Delhi on December 6 over demands, including a legal guarantee law for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) on crops.

Chandigarh, Nov 18 (IANS) Farmer unions -- the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha  on Monday announced to march on foot towards Delhi on December 6 over demands, including a legal guarantee law for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) on crops.

Sarwan Singh Pandher told the media here that Jagjit Singh Dalewal, another farmer leader, will go on a fast-unto-death protest at Khanauri, the border of Punjab and Haryana, from November 26.

The announcement to start the march towards the national capital came after two attempts to reach Delhi by farmer groups on February 13 and February 21 were stopped by police.

"Farmers have been sitting at the borders of Shambhu and Khanauri since February 13. The last meeting with the government took place on February 18 and remained inconclusive," Pandher said.

He said the government seemed not bothered about their demands.

"They are just doing lip service that they are worried about farmers' welfare but in reality, they are not bothered at all. Nearly 30 farmers have died while sitting at the 'dharna' spots of Shambhu and Khanauri since mid-February, and Shubhkaran Singh was killed due to firing by security forces from the Haryana side when farmers were trying to cross the border at Khanauri," he said.

"We will be moving towards Delhi in groups which will be led by our senior leadersThe farmers will without trollies and we now want a space to protest at Delhi," he added.

Another farmer leader Guramneet Mangat said: "Since there is multi-layer barricading at the Shambhu border, we will go in groups on foot. The Haryana government and the Centre have stated several times that we can go to Delhi by foot."

In the February 21 protest, a young farmer Shubkaran Singh lost his life at the Khanauri border, besides many others were injured during clashes between farmers and the police.

In February, the farmers were stopped at the Punjab-Haryana borders at Shambhu and Khanauri, where they have been holding sit-ins since then.
Gurugram, Nov 18 : A 28-year-old has been arrested for allegedly killing a man with a stone over a fight during a wedding ceremony here in Gurugram on Monday, police said.

The victim was identified as Arun Kumar (28) a resident of Subhash Park, Uttam Nagar in Delhi.

According to the police, they received information from Gurugram Civil Hospital regarding the death of the victim due to injuries sustained in a fight.

Upon information, the police team of Police Station Sector-9A, Gurugram, reached the hospital, and after inspecting the body of the deceased, they kept the body in the mortuary for post-mortem.

The brother-in-law of the deceased told the police that on the intervening night of 17/18, Arun had come to the Community Center at Basai village in Gurugram, with his other friends to attend a wedding ceremony, where Arun had an altercation with a person.

"During the function, the accused hit Arun with a stone due to which Arun received serious injuries behind his head and he died in the hospital," he told the police.

Following a complaint, a case was registered under the relevant sections at Sector-9A, Police Station Gurugram.

During the investigation, the police apprehended the accused, Nitin alias Naitik alias Machhar, a resident of Uttam Nagar, Delhi, on Monday.

"During police interrogation, it was found that the deceased and the accused had come to attend a wedding ceremony in Basai village in Gurugram. While dancing at the wedding, they had an altercation over something, on which the accused hit the victim with a stone, which resulted in the victim's death," Sandeep Kumar, spokesperson of the Gurugram Police, said.

Kumar said the accused has been produced before a court on Monday for further legal proceedings. The reason behind the incident will be known during police investigation, he said.
Chennai, Nov 18 : Tamil superstar Vijay's recently-formed party, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), refuted media reports suggesting a possible alliance with Tamil Nadu's principal opposition party, the AIADMK, for the next Assembly elections.

In a statement, TVK General Secretary N. Anand termed the reports as baseless speculation and stressed that his party is committed to contesting the 2026 Assembly elections independently.

A potential alliance with the AIADMK gained traction after Vijay, in his first public rally at Vikkaravandi in Villupuram, declared that the ruling DMK was the TVK's political adversary, while the BJP was its ideological opponent.

Anand, who is also a former MLA from Puducherry, said: "With the intention of hindering the rise of TVK, a major Tamil daily has published completely untrue information about an alliance between the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam and the AIADMK, based on baseless claims. This news is completely false, without evidence or foundation."

He urged the public to disregard such reports, reiterating that the TVK is preparing to secure a decisive victory in the 2026 elections.

"The political path of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam is for the pure benefit of Tamil people. The aim of TVK is to follow the ideology proposed by our leader, achieve massive victory through people's support, and form a good government for the people," Anand added.

At the inaugural rally of the TVK on October 27 in Villupuram, Vijay outlined the party's ideology, which "combines Dravidian ideals with Tamil nationalism". The party emphasises equality, social justice, and secularism.

Speculation about a possible alliance with AIADMK had also been fueled by reports that Vijay held discussions with AIADMK leaders, allegedly seeking the Deputy Chief Minister's post and 60 seats in the 2026 elections.

The TVK In its executive council meeting held at the party headquarters in Chennai, passed 29 unanimous resolutions. The party said that it was opposed to BJP's "One Nation, One Election" proposal. It also criticised the DMK for delaying the state-wide caste-based census and also for the abolition of NEET and a return to state-controlled admissions.

Calling for a revert to the monthly electricity billing system, Vijay has urged TVK cadres to counter criticisms constructively and respectfully, even on social media.

He also announced a statewide yatra starting December 2 in Coimbatore, which will conclude with a massive public gathering in Tirunelveli on December 27. The actor-turned-politician aims to connect with people, share his vision, and gather public opinions during the tour. The inaugural rally at Vikkaravandi drew over 300,000 attendees, marking a significant moment in Tamil Nadu politics. Vijay used the platform to criticise the DMK as a family-centric party exploiting the Dravidian identity for personal gain and condemned the BJP for divisive politics.

The Tamil superstar had then called upon his party cadres to be honest and adopt their respectful and factual approaches when addressing criticisms from political rivals, including Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) leader Seeman, who recently criticised him.

--IANS

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Mumbai, Nov 18 : The high-octane campaigning for the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections ended on Monday as the MahaYuti comprising BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP hopes to weather the anti-incumbency and come back to power while the Maha Vikas Aghadi consisting of Congress, Shiv Sena UBT and NCP-SP is optimistic to repeat its Lok Sabha performance defeating the grand alliance.

Nearly 9.70 crore voters including 47,389 from the age group of 100-150 are eligible to exercise their voting right on November 20. A total of 4,136 candidates from 158 parties and independents are in the electoral fray during the current elections. The polling will take place at 1,00,186 polling stations.

The BJP-led MahaYuti alliance has approached the voters based on two and half years of the state government's work making a strong pitch for support for continuity in the state's development story. It projected the Maha Vikas Aghadi as one who puts brakes and roadblocks in the state's development while arguing that after the MahaYuti came to power key infrastructure projects including Samruddhi Marg, Mumbai Metro, Mumbai Coastal Road and Atal Setu were completed while launching several other projects. The MahaYuti also painted the state's pre-eminence in attracting domestic and foreign direct investments during its tenure while blaming the Maha Vikas Aghadi for the state losing its ranking during its tenure.

The grand alliance is riding on the charisma and popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the state government's freebies including welfare and development schemes worth Rs 1 lakh crore with a focus on the Ladki Bahin Yojana. The MahaYuti has promised to increase the pace of the state's development laying emphasis on inclusiveness through its 10 guarantees including the rise in monthly benefit to Rs 2,100 from Rs 1,500 under Ladki Bahin Yojana, waiver of farmers' loans, price stabilisation for essential commodities, creation of 25 lakh jobs with a monthly tuition aid of Rs 10,000 for 10 lakh students through specialised training programmes, focus on solar and renewable energy and making Maharashtra a $1 trillion economy.

The MahaYuti also targeted the Maha Vikas Aghadi government over the issues of scams, irregularities in handling Corona and loss of major investments to other states during its two-and-a-half-year rule.

The MahaYuti had roped in central leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BJP President JP Nadda apart from state deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who held more than 150 rallies crisscrossing Maharashtra. The Prime Minister and Home Minister asserted that MahaYuti means Speed and when MahaYuti is there progress of the state is ensured. The PM and HM in particular projected the Maha Vikas Aghadi anti-development while strongly projecting the alliance as pro pro-growth alliance.

Adityanath raked up the issue of Batenge to Katenge urging the voters, especially from the Hindu community "Don't be divided, as you will be safe only if you are united." The Prime Minister came out with the Ek Hai toh Safe Hai slogan while cautioning the voters of the Congress party's alleged conspiracy to divide the people on the basis of caste and religion. In addition, the BJP also flagged off the "vote jihad" which was also opposed by the Ajit Pawar faction.

However, NCP, a crucial ally in the MahaYuti, took strong objection against these slogans saying that it won't work in Maharashtra which is progressive in its thinking. The Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was the first to express his displeasure saying that his party would not compromise on its ideology based on the thoughts of social reformists including Chhatrapati Shivaji, Mahatma Phule, Shau Maharaj and BR Ambedkar. Party nominee and former minister Nawab Malik, who has been nominated by NCP despite BJP's strong objection, slammed the BJP saying that religion-based politics is short-lived, reminding that after the Babri Masjid demolition, the Kalyan Singh government did not last.

On the other hand, the Maha Vikas Aghadi has appealed to the voters to vote out the MahaYuti alliance for the flight of capital and investments, farmers' plight especially in the wake of increasing farmers suicides, lower prices of cotton and soybean against the guaranteed ones, lack of jobs for youth and educated, rise in cases of molestation and rapes, deteriorating law and order, rampant corruption, collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji statue in Sindhudurg district and its surrender before the Delhi seat. The Maha Vikas Aghadi came out with a "Traitors' Report" against the MahaYuti especially to focus on the manner in which BJP engineered splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP threatening actions from the central probe agencies.

The opposition targeted the MahaYuti government for the increase in the revenue and fiscal deficits especially due to dole outs and rising debt burden. They also alleged corruption and exchange of money during the award of various contracts that were done by carrying out "non-transparent" tendering processes.

Moreover, the Maha Vikas Aghadi cornered the MahaYuti over the issue of change in the Constitution and the scrapping of reservations as done during the general elections. It squarely blamed the MahaYuti for not addressing the issues with regard to the reservation of Maratha and OBCs, Dhangar communities by accusing it of using them for their political gains.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi in a bid to checkmate the MahaYuti in its Panchsutri (five-point manifesto) announced the Mahalakshmi Scheme promising a monthly aid of Rs 3,000 to women and free travel in state transport buses. This apart, the Maha Vikas Aghadi announced a monthly aid of Rs 4,000 to unemployed youth, a waiver in crop loans up to Rs 3 lakh and an incentive of Rs 50,000 for those who are repaying the farm loans regularly.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi also assured caste census and removal of the 50 per cent reservation limit which is to address the quota demands from Maratha, Dhangar, OBCs and Muslim communities. It has also assured free medicines and medical insurance of Rs 25 lakh. It also promised the voters that the government would not help a select few industrialists but take pro-development decisions while safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders.

The Shiv Sena UBT in particular announced the construction of Chhatrapati Shivaji's temple in every district.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi ran its campaign by bringing in Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar and his daughter Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya Thackeray, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy in addition to state leaders such as Balasaheb Thorat, Nana Patole (Congress), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena UBT) and Amol Kolhe (NCP-SP). They promised a guaranteed price of Rs 7,000 per quintal to soybeans while attacking the MahaYuti and the BJP-led NDA government for its neglect of soybean farmers especially when they had to sell soybean at Rs 3,500-Rs 4,100 per quintal against the guaranteed price of Rs 4,892 per quintal. They also criticised the MahaYuti for promising a price of Rs 6,000 per quintal for soybean saying that it has been promised in the 2013 and 2019 elections also.

Kharge, Pawar and Thackeray in their rallies lashed out at the BJP for its Batenge Toh Katenge and Ek Hai to Safe Hai slogans saying that it was done to polarise the voters.

Both MahaYuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi by and large succeeded in calming the rebels but they still fear that some of the rebels which are still in the fray may eat into the votes of their official nominees. The role of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi will also decide the fate of the nominees of MahaYuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi.

Despite claims and counterclaims and also personal attacks, the Assembly election has turned out to be a prestige battle for MahaYuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi.

Sanjay Jog can be contacted at sanjay.j@ians.in
Bengaluru, Nov 18 : Karnataka Minister for RDPR and IT, BT Priyank Kharge said on Monday that the previous BJP government has not got a clean chit in the 40 per cent commission case by the Lokayukta.

Kharge said that the Lokayukta conducted an investigation regarding one work of BBMP PlayGround. "This is not a clean chit for a 40 per cent commission allegation. This also does not mean that the charges are ruled out. Due to the untimely death of the person who made the allegations, the evidence could not be found and the allegations could not be proved," he said.

The minister said that when the investigating officer went to the residence of R Ambikapathy, he had died, adding that his son did not have any information regarding the allegations made by his father.

"The officer came back after obtaining the death certificate. Ambikapathy and other office bearers of the Contractors' Association had made allegations regarding commissions in PWD, health, housing, higher education, minor irrigation and other departments," the minister said.

He said that they had also made corruption charges against former minister and BJP MLA Munirathna.

"They also made charges of corruption regarding the construction of a hospital in Pavagada. However, the BJP government had handed over the investigation of only the BBMP East playground," said Kharge.

He added that the investigation was handed over on March 27, 2023, by the BJP government. "Why did the BJP government not hand over other allegations for investigation despite the complaint," he said.

The minister said that the investigating officers have mentioned in the report that due to the death of Ambikapathy. "The allegations made by him were not proved. The investigation was conducted on one of the allegations and it is not a clean chit to the BJP government in the 40 per cent commission case," said Kharge.

He said that the BJP government has not bothered to probe other serious allegations, adding that Justice Nagamohan Das Commission is probing the 40 per cent commission scam and the report by this commission will bring out the truth regarding 40 per cent commission charges.

"The allegations regarding PSI scam, Gangakalyana scam, KKRB scam, Covid scam and other scams were rejected by the BJP. But, in the investigation the charges are proved in the preliminary probe," Kharge said.

Karnataka BJP chief B.Y. Vijayendra said on Saturday that 40 per cent of commission charges against the previous BJP government are outright lies as now established by the Lokayukta investigation.

IANS

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Bhubaneswar, Nov 18 : Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has invited the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Gan Kim Yong to attend the Utkarsh Odisha - the Make in Odisha Conclave scheduled to be held in January 2025.

The high-level delegation led by CM Majhi and Industry Minister Sampad Charan Swain on the second day of their four-day visit to Singapore on Monday met various ministers of the Southeast Asian country and prominent investors.

As per a press statement, the delegation attended the first G2G meeting with Gan Kim Yong, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade & Commerce, in Singapore. During the meeting, CM Majhi apprised the Deputy PM about the rich maritime history of Odisha and Boita Bandana, the traditional Odia maritime and naval festival.

"The Hon'ble Chief Minister extended an invitation to Singaporean companies through the Deputy Prime Minister's Office to explore opportunities in Odisha and assured him a smooth and supportive investment experience. The Hon'ble Chief Minister and Hon'ble Industries Minister also invited the Deputy Prime Minister to visit Odisha for the Utkarsh Odisha: Make in Odisha Conclave 2025," reads the statement.

The delegation also met with Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore.

The Chief Minister during the meeting discussed the active cooperation of the Government of Singapore and ITEES that has helped establish the "World Skill Centre in Odisha" which is a shining example of a successful partnership.

CM Majhi expressed the need for more partnerships in the field of "Urban Mobility", 'Green Shipping Corridor and the Chemicals and Petrochemicals Complex' between Odisha and Singapore.

CM Majhi and Industry Minister Swain also invited the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Singapore to participate in the Utkarsh Odisha: Make in Odisha Conclave 2025 and for Singapore to participate as a country of focus during the conclave.

The focus was on key sectors of industrial growth and skill development.

The second day of the delegation began with a detailed tour of the Surbana Jurong Petrochemicals Complex, where the delegation saw the world-class infrastructure that has made Surbana Jurong a global leader in petrochemical processing. The government further asserted that by leveraging insights from Singapore's petrochemicals ecosystem, Odisha aims to further enhance its own Petroleum, Chemicals, and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) at Paradip.

"As the Chief Minister of Odisha, witnessing the world-class infrastructure at the Jurong Petrochemicals Complex is truly inspiring. Odisha, strategically located on India's eastern seaboard, is rapidly emerging as a premier investment destination in the Bay of Bengal region, especially in petrochemicals. The developments at Paradip and other port-based hubs are key drivers for this growth," said CM Majhi.

The Chief Minister also held a one-to-one meeting with Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore to discuss innovations in the fintech sector, especially from the perspective of Odisha's growing economy.

The day ended with a formal discussion with the travelling business delegation from Odisha regarding business-to-business partnerships between Singaporean and Odia firms.
Kolkata, Nov 18 : West Bengal Police on Monday arrested Sujal Prasad, the prime accused behind the murder of Ashok Sau, a local Trinamool Congress leader in North 24 Parganas district.

The Commissioner of Barrackpore Police Commiserate said that the accused was arrested from a hideout at Baruipara near Jagatdal.

Four people including Sujal have been arrested regarding the case. The cops of Barrackpore Police Commiserate are carrying out massive search operations to nab a couple of other accused individuals behind the murder.

Sources said that Sujal's elder brother Aakash Prasad was murdered at the same spot in 2020 and it was suspected that the slain Trinamool Congress leader was behind that murder.

"Possibly, the murder of Sau was revenge killing," said a commiserate official.

Sujal has a history of criminal records and was currently out on bail during which he planned the murder of Sau.

On November 13, there were reports of a shootout at Jagatdal adjacent to the Naihati Assembly constituency, which was one of the six Assembly constituencies where the polling was underway.

In the shootout, Sau, a former ward president of Trinamool Congress of ward number 12 of the local Bhatpara Municipality was severely injured. He was rushed to a local hospital where he died.
Srinagar, Nov 18 : Uttar Pradesh Police on Monday arrested a Pakistan-trained Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terrorist after 31 years with the assistance of J&K Police from Budgam district.

Officials said that Nazir Ahmad Wani was involved in two cases registered in Saharanpur (UP) in 1993 and 1994. He is accused of hurling a grenade at a police party and injuring personnel.

He also created a fake identity card under Hizbul's directions.

"His background is being checked as the arrest takes place after 31 years of FIR registration," officials said.

He was earlier arrested and bailed out in the grenade case while a chargesheet was filed in absentia in the forgery case.

"In the forgery case, a charge sheet was filed in absentia of the accused, thereafter the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) issued a warrant against the accused," officials said.

Surprisingly, Wani had unsuccessfully contested assembly elections from Budgam on an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ticket.

"The accused was located and handed over to the police party under proper formalities," officials said.

J&K L-G has directed the security forces to go for hot pursuit of terrorists, terror associates and terror sympathisers so that the entire ecosystem of terror is dismantled.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Nov 18 : The GST Council will hold its next meeting in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer on December 21, during which it is likely to take a decision on exempting or lowering the GST rate on health and life insurance.

New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) The GST Council will hold its next meeting in Rajasthanas Jaisalmer on December 21, during which it is likely to take a decision on exempting or lowering the GST rate on health and life insurance.

The council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, may also take up the issue of rationalising GST rates on a number of goods consumed by the common man such as bottled drinking water and notebooks for students, to bring them under the 5 per cent slab from 12 per cent at present.

The GST Council has asked the Group of Ministers (GoM) to finalise the report on the GST rate on insurance by the October-end.

After the GoM meeting on health and life insurance, the council met last month and arrived at a broad consensus on exempting GST on insurance premiums paid for life insurance policies, and senior citizens' health insurance.

GST on premiums paid by individuals, other than senior citizens, for health insurance of up to Rs 5 lakh, is proposed to be exempted. However, 18 per cent GST will continue on premiums paid for policies with health insurance cover of over Rs 5 lakh.

The GoM on GST rate rationalisation also has suggested that the council rework tax rates on goods such as packaged drinking water, bicycles, exercise notebooks, luxury wristwatches, and shoes.

The GoM on rate rationalisation proposed reducing GST on packaged drinking water of 20 litres and above to 5 per cent from 18 per cent. If the GoM's recommendation is accepted by the GST council, GST on bicycles costing less than Rs 10,000 will be reduced to 5 per cent from 12 per cent while GST on notebooks used by students will be reduced to 5 per cent from 12 per cent.

The GoM also proposed increasing GST on shoes priced above Rs 15,000 from 18 per cent to 28 per cent. It also proposed raising GST on wristwatches costing above Rs 25,000 from 18 per cent to 28 per cent.

Currently, GST is a four-slab regime. Essential items are either exempted or taxed at 5 per cent while luxury goods face a 28 per cent levy. The 12 and 18 per cent slabs are positioned between the two.
New Delhi, Nov 18 : The Centre's high-level Network Planning Group (NPG) met on Monday to evaluate eight major infrastructure projects in the country including the Imphal - Kakching - Lamkhai Road on NH-137A.

New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) The Centreas high-level Network Planning Group (NPG) met on Monday to evaluate eight major infrastructure projects in the country including the Imphal - Kakching - Lamkhai Road on NH-137A.

An official statement said that this 44.517 km road improvement project, being implemented by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, aims to connect Imphal, the state capital, with Kakching, an emerging agricultural and trade hub. Strategically located within Manipuras Indo-Myanmar corridor, the project is expected to enhance access to the Moreh border trade point and integrate with the Asian Highway Network.

The upgraded NH-137A is anticipated to reduce travel time, support the movement of agricultural produce, and improve connectivity to Loktak Lake, a major tourist destination.

By strengthening socio-economic linkages, the project is likely to boost small-scale industries, facilitate trade, and create opportunities for cross-border commerce.

The NPG evaluated all eight projects based on the principles of PM GatiShakti: integrated development of multimodal infrastructure, last-mile connectivity to economic and social nodes, intermodal connectivity, and synchronised project implementation.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for PMO, Dr. Jitendra Singh began his visit to the Northeast states at Namsai district in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday, marking a significant push for development under the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP).

The three-day visit aims to assess progress, address challenges, and bolster efforts to transform the region into a model of inclusive growth.

Soon after his arrival, the Union Minister, accompanied by the Deputy Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Chowna Mein, convened a high-level meeting of the administration to review "Performance Indicators" of the peripheral Northeast district of Namsai.

The visit aligns with a recent directive by Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging Union Ministers to spend at least 48 hours in aspirational districts, emphasising proactive involvement in evaluating progress and guiding future development strategies. This initiative aims to ensure that the parameters of these districts are comparable to the best-performing regions within the state and across the country.

During the visit, the Minister reviewed the efficiency of administrative mechanisms and the performance indicators used to monitor development in the district.

By closely examining key sectors like health, nutrition, education, and basic infrastructure, the goal is to identify areas that require immediate attention and long-term strategies for improvement.
Chandigarh, Nov 18 : The Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD) working committee on Monday unanimously appealed to party President Sukhbir Badal to reconsider his resignation, asserting that if he did not accept its request, the entire committee would resign en masse.

The committee, while expressing confidence in his leadership, said he should continue to steer the party as its President.

"This is the need of the hour," it said in a resolution.

The committee members also asserted that they were aware that a conspiracy had been hatched against the party and that its main purpose was to render the party leaderless.

"We will not allow such a conspiracy to succeed at any cost. Sukhbir Badal is our leader and will continue to be our leader."

Briefing the media about the meeting, Working President Balwinder Bhunder said: "The members conveyed their sentiments forcefully and did not mince their words while praising the services of Sukhbir Badal and conveying that the party needed his services even more so at this crucial juncture. This is why they stood up collectively in one voice and asserted that they would also tender their resignation in case the President did not withdraw the same."

Bhunder said he had been flooded by calls from district presidents, Shiromani committee members, and Youth Akali Dal and Istri Akali Dal members for the last two days.

"Some members have already forwarded their resignations to me to express solidarity with the party President. All these persons are perturbed at the sudden turn of events and have expressed their anguish to me personally. The leaders have told me they want to convey their sentiments to the party. Accordingly, I have decided to convene formal meetings of district presidents, constituency in-charges and Shiromani committee members to hear their viewpoint and arrive at a broader consensus on this critical issue," he said.

The working committee also expressed shock at the manner in which the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and the Central government were colluding to dilute Punjabas right over Chandigarh. It also took umbrage to the evasive statement of the Punjab Governor, who is the Administrator of Chandigarh, that the decision to allot land to Haryana in Chandigarh for a separate Assembly had not been taken yet.

"The Administrator should state point blank that he would not grant permission for the same instead of coming out with diplomatic statements due to the ongoing by-elections in Punjab."

The committee also condemned the AAP government for failing to give a no-objection certificate in the Supreme Court on the last date of the hearing to facilitate the release of death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana on parole. It said the AAP government in Delhi had also played with the sentiments of the Sikh community by first promising Devenderpal Singh Bhullar would be released and then rejecting his special remission plea seven times.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : Comedian Kapil Sharma took to social media to wish his "humsafar," Ginni Chatrath, on her birthday.

Mumbai, Nov 18 (IANS) Comedian Kapil Sharma took to social media to wish his "humsafar," Ginni Chatrath, on her birthday.

Taking to his Instagram handle, he shared a couple of their photos and wrote in the caption, "Happy birthday meri humsafar @ginnichatrath." In the first image, Kapil and Ginni are seen sitting together and posing for the camera. In the next one, the couple is sharing a laugh in a private jet. Both look dapper in stylish outfits, setting major relationship goals.

In the final photo, Kapil and Ginni are seen striking a pose with a plane in the backdrop.

Fans and celebrities flooded the comments section with birthday wishes for Ginni. Actor Vindu Dara Singh wrote, "Wahe Guru Ji bless you and your family prah! Happy birthday to bhabhi." Rajiv Thakur commented, "Many many happy returns of the day. May God bless you with good health and happiness always." Punjabi actor Sukshinder Shinda wrote, "Happy birthday ji God bless you both."

Kapil and Ginni tied the knot on December 12, 2018, in a traditional Punjabi ceremony in Jalandhar, Punjab. Their grand wedding was attended by close friends and family, followed by a lavish reception in Mumbai.

Last year, they celebrated their fifth anniversary. Kapil shared a mushy photo of them walking hand in hand on social media, captioning it, "5 saal kab nikal gye pata hi nahin chala, aise lagta hai jaise abhi 50 saal pehle ki baat hai. Happy anniversary Mrs. Sharma @ginnichatrath. Love and happiness always #blessings."

Kapil and Ginni became parents to a baby girl, Anayra, in December 2019. The couple welcomed their second child, a baby boy, in 2021.

Announcing the good news, Kapil wrote, "Namaskaar. We are blessed with a baby boy this early morning. By the grace of God, both the baby and mother are fine. Thank you so much for all the love, blessings, and prayers. Love you all - Ginni and Kapil. #gratitude."
Hyderabad, Nov 18 : The victims of alleged forceful land acquisition in Lagacharla village in Telangana's Vikarabad district on Monday complained to the National Human Rights Commission, SC/ST Commission, and Women's Commission about police atrocities.

Hyderabad, Nov 18 (IANS) The victims of alleged forceful land acquisition in Lagacharla village in Telanganaas Vikarabad district on Monday complained to the National Human Rights Commission, SC/ST Commission, and Womenas Commission about police atrocities.

Tribal women, farmers, and marginalised communities highlighted the alleged oppressive measures by the state government.

Accompanied by the leaders of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), they met the officials of the three panels in New Delhi and complained about midnight raids, arrests, and harassment and demanded justice.

Police arrested several people for their alleged involvement in the attack on Vikarabad District Collector and other officials at Lagacharla village on November 11 during the public hearing on the proposed aPharma Villagea, a cluster of pharma companies.

Former BRS MLA Patnam Narender Reddy is among those arrested. The ruling Congress party has blamed BRS for the attack on officials while the latter attributed it to the arevolt by peoplea in Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddyas constituency.

The villagers alleged that they were being forced to leave their lands. They said police were harassing them and even assaulting women.

They alleged that late-night police operations involved cutting off electricity, forcefully entering homes, and detaining male members indiscriminately. They said police harassed women, including pregnant women. Some alleged sexual misconduct. Villagers claim they were assaulted, threatened, and humiliated. Many male members have fled the village in fear, while others remain untraceable.

Addressing a press conference along with the victims, BRS working President K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) accused the Congress-led administration of oppressing marginalised tribal communities and highlighted the hypocrisy of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress leadership.

"Rahul Gandhi often talks about protecting the welfare of farmers, tribals, and women. Yet, his own party's Chief Minister, Revanth Reddy, presides over atrocities in Telangana. Are the cries of tribal women and farmers in Kodangal inaudible to Rahul Gandhi?" KTR asked.

He called out Congressas duplicity, emphasising how the same party that claims to oppose crony capitalism is now grabbing tribal lands to facilitate private projects. "Rahul Gandhi criticises Crony Capitalism but is silent on Revanth Reddy's pharma land-grabbing. This is Congress' double standard," he added.

KTR questioned the silence of national leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the Telangana atrocities. "Is Telangana invisible to national leaders? Does the plight of tribals in Lagacharla not deserve the same attention as incidents in Manipur or Dharavi?" he asked.

He urged both the BJP and Congress to break their silence and address these pressing issues. "Rahul Gandhi claims to be a friend of the marginalised, but his actions show otherwise. Revanth Reddy's tyranny must end, and Rahul Gandhi must hold his Chief Minister accountable," he demanded.

The victims warned that if justice is delayed, they would camp in Delhi until their demands are met.

BRS MLC Satyavati Rathod expressed solidarity with the victims, stating, "The Congress government has crossed all limits of tyranny. The Chief Minister's brother threatens farmers with death if they refuse to surrender their lands. Women and children are not spared from this brutality."

She emphasised that the BRS party will provide unwavering support to the victims. "We will not rest until justice is delivered. The entire nation must know about the atrocities happening in Telangana under Congress rule," she declared.
New Delhi, Nov 18 : The CBI recovered 800 gm of gold and registered a disproportionate assets case on Sunday against a Senior Section Engineer of East Central Railway, Patna, an official statement said on Monday.

The accused was booked on the basis of communication from Superintendent of Police, Buxar, alleging that during the course of police patrolling a four-wheeler was intercepted at the toll plaza Dalsagar.

It was alleged that during a search of the personal belongings of the car occupant - Senior Section Engineer - a jeans trouser was found which contained a small gunny bag in which eight gold bars, each of 100 grams of 99.50 fine gold with a total weight of 800 grams, were recovered.

Further, it was alleged that the accused could not produce a receipt/ voucher for having purchased the same nor could he explain the possession of the same. The said vehicle along with the driver and accused were brought to the police station.

Earlier, a divisional railway manager of East Coast Railway, Visakhapatnam, and two others were booked by the CBI in a corruption case that involved the collection of bribes by the official for speedy clearance of payments against vendors' bills and lowering of penalty for lax work.

DRM Saurabh Prasad was booked after he planned a meeting on Saturday at a pizza restaurant in Mumbai with officials of two companies to discuss the delivery of a Rs 25 lakh bribe.

Others booked in the case included Sanil Rathod, proprietor, DN Marketing, Mumbai and Anand Bhagat, director, HRK Solutions. The two companies were also named as accused in the FIR. In addition to these, Hindustan Fibre Glass Works Pvt. Ltd was also booked.

The companies were executing a project for Indian Railways involving heavy repairs, renovation and refurbishment of wagons.

The railway official had demanded a bribe to lower the penalty imposed on the companies and clear their pending bills.

"The aforesaid information discloses commission of cognizable offence(s) U/s 61(2) of BNS 2023 /w Sections 7, 8, 9, 10 & 12 of PC Act 1988 (As amended in 2018) and substantive offences thereof," said a verification report of the federal agency after it got a complaint checked.

The FIR said the source earlier informed that the DRM had extended favour by clearing the pending bill of Hindustan Fibre Glass Works Pvt. Ltd. in late October 2024, and the final penalty levied was much lower than what was initially assessed by the Railway authorities.
Rio De Janeiro, Nov 18 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi was warmly welcomed by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as world's most influential leaders converged on Rio de Janeiro's bayside museum of modern art for the two-day 19th G20 Summit on Monday.

"Looking forward to the proceedings at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Thankful to President Lula for the warm welcome," PM Modi posted on X after exchanging greetings with the Brazilian President.

As he entered the venue, PM Modi also met several world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, UN Secretary General AntAnio Guterres and the World Bank President Ajay Banga.

Besides the leaders of the 19 member countries and the European Union, the Summit is witnessing participation of the African Union for the first time after getting inducted as a full member of the grouping during the New Delhi G20 Summit, last year.

Brazil has also invited 18 guest countries, five each from Africa, Latin America and Asia; and three countries from Europe. There are also 15 international organisations that are attending the Rio Summit.

"The G20 has emerged as the primary forum for international economic cooperation and on issues of global significance. It provides an opportunity for leaders of the 21 largest economies in the world, representing about 88% of global GDP, 78% of international trade and nearly three quarters of the world's population, to come together and discuss key issues impacting the world such as progress on Sustainable Development Goals, multilateral reforms, tackling environmental and climate challenges, debt sustainability, bridging the global digital divide, the energy transition and emerging technologies," said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri before PM's departure, last week.

'Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet' has been Brazil's G20 theme with three key priorities, including social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty, energy transitions and the promotion of sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental dimensions and reform of global governance institutions.

The flagship deliverable of the Brazilian Presidency is the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, which will be launched during the Inaugural Session of the Rio Summit. This will be an initiative that is open to non-G20 countries as well, as also national, regional and international organisations, regional and multilateral development banks, civil society organizations and philanthropic institutions. There are three pillars under this Alliance and India will be joining the national and knowledge pillars of this Alliance.

The main sessions will be followed by a closing ceremony where the Presidency of the G20 will be handed over by President Lula of Brazil to South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa, capping a run of four Emerging Markets and Developing Economy (EMDE) countries, holding the Presidency in succession of the G20, starting with Indonesia, India, Brazil and South Africa, next year.

Misri has emphasised that the Rio Summit remains significant for India in particular as it looks at continuity of priorities from the New Delhi Summit, where a number of issues of interest, especially to emerging markets and developing economies were discussed.

"Last year at the G20, as you would recall, we had come out with the G20 Deccan High Level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition which align with the main priority of the Brazilian Presidency this year. aReform of multilateral institutions fit for the 21st centurya was another key priority of our Presidency and this is again being taken forward by Brazil this year. And the G20 leaders called for better, bigger and more effective multilateral development banks during the New Delhi Summit, found resonance globally and is being carried forward this year through the G20 roadmap for better, bigger and more effective MDBs and this is a roadmap that will be endorsed by the leaders at the Rio Summit," the Foreign Secretary had mentioned during a briefing before PM Modi's three-nation tour.

This is Prime Minister Modi's third official visit to Brazil, having travelled to the country in 2014 and 2019, also for the BRICS Summits.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : On Nayanthara's birthday, her husband and director Vignesh Shivan shared an unseen clip from her documentary that had been left out of the Netflix series due to copyright concerns.

Continuing his stand against Dhanush's refusal to allow the use of footage from "Naanum Rowdy Dhaan" in the documentary "Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairytale", Vignesh had earlier posted behind-the-scenes content from the film's sets on his Instagram stories. On Monday, the filmmaker penned a sweet message for his wife on his Instagram stories. Along with the note, their Netflix documentary 'Nayanthara: Beyond the Fairytale' was displayed, while the song 'Kannaana Kanne' from "Naanum Rowdy Dhaan" was playing in the background.

In his lengthy birthday post, Vignesh expressed hope that one day people would understand the couple's point of view on the matter. He wrote, "when there is love . We don't need anything else thank you for defining what Love is ! Your face , your heart , your behaviour  every minute of your life after we met has been dedicated to me my uyir ! There can be no one like you ! @nayanthara my thangamey , who can only love soooooo purely & deeeply ! The fact that you are honest  that fact that you are strong .. the Fact that you demand respect  the fact that you are kind and vulnerable too makes you the most unique character I have ever come across in my life."

The director added, "I always admire you ! You always inspire me  ! The way I look upto you , the way I love you I keep trying to express it in all the ways i can ! I hope it comes across to you Every part of my life after I met u has been sooo beautiful as much as your heart! 10 years back when I knew we were in love .. all I wanted was a lifetime with you with utmost happiness , with a lot of babies , with amazing moments filled with a lot of positivity with a lot of good people around us!"

"And to realise that we have come this far making all our dreams come true  and seeing a nice slice of our blessed life coming on an Global platform like Netflix  makes me feel soooo satisfied and happily overwhelmed ! There are so many of my lines that failed to be a part of the documentary for reasons the world knows ! Yes it's painful that it's not on Netflix ! But it can always reach people with all the other options the world has given to us ! And may be some day , some day , some good day People will really understand where we are coming from !! I hope ! That day comes soon ! Here's one version that you actually haven't seen my uyir. This is a voice over version that couldn't make it due to copyright issues but here it is for you ! Love you my uyir," the post further read.

Vignesh Shivan's post comes after Dhanush's lawyer issued a statement threatening to initiate legal action against Nayanthara if the contentious content, which allegedly infringes on his copyright of the film "Naanum Rowdy Dhaan", is not removed within 24 hours.
Jaipur, Nov 18 : Rajasthan BJP said on Monday that Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi needs to understand politics and study the concept of the nation.

"Despite being the LoP, Rahul Gandhi talks about factless, baseless and unimportant things. He still needs to understand politics and the concept of the nations," said Rajasthan BJP chief Madan Rathore.

He said that while the BJP talks about staying united, Congress always talks about dividing the country and the society while promoting the policy of appeasement.

"PM Modi who considers 140 crore Indians of the country as one, treats them as members of his family, talks about uniting the society and does not talk about religion and society, but speaks of uniting them. What problem can anyone have if the communities in the country stay united? If these communities stay united, the country will be safe, but if the society disintegrates, it will break," he said.

He added that everyone knows who is working to divide society today". Congress has always worked to break and divide the country. BJP emphasises the slogan of 'stay united, stay safe' so that citizens come up with nationalism, everyone should have a sense of dedication towards this country," he claimed.

He said that PM Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat have clearly said that 'we do not have any objection to anyone's method of worship, but people should have a sense of nationalism, patriotism and dedication towards the country and a sense of intimacy too'.

"My advice to Rahul Gandhi is that he should sit with our senior leaders and try to understand about nation. There is no need to divert this topic towards industrialists, he needs to understand the concept of politics and the country," he claimed.
Baku, Nov 18 : India on Monday sought access to enhanced financial resources, technology transfer and technical cooperation, and capacity-building support, besides the availability of market-based mechanisms.

Speaking at the high-level ministerial roundtable on pre-2030 ambition at the 29th session of the climate change conference of parties (COP29) being held from November 11-22 in Azerbaijan's capital Baku, Leena Nandan, Secretary with India's Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Climate, said, "We are in this crucial COP on finance."

"It is an opportunity for the developed countries to ensure the success of this COP and foster trust to realise important milestones in climate ambitions by 2030."

Achieving net zero by the developed countries would set the foundation for a more sustainable and resilient world in this critical decade and the decades to come, she said.

"It also requires a focus on equity, common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, climate justice in science, policy and practice, ensuring that developing nations are not burdened with the failures of mitigation actions of the pre-2020 regime and that climate solutions are both effective and just."

The deputy leader of the Indian delegation highlighted four important aspects of global climate action, which Parties (nations) must address: First, there is a need for scaling up innovative actions through barrier and restrictions-free technology transfer.

"New technologies and solutions are needed to drive the transition to a low-carbon economy. However, innovation in areas like clean energy, carbon removal, etc., is still in the early stages and there are barriers to scaling and transfer to developing nations.

"India is calling attention to the importance of knowledge and technology transfer without Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) restrictions for green technologies, and we are emphasising the need for overcoming IPR barriers.

"COP29 should come with tangible and meaningful outcomes on deployment of technology to the developing countries. We are particularly keen that the technology implementation program should be able to address the significant gaps in technology deployment by enabling access to affordable, adaptable, and locally relevant technologies."

She said that climate finance is central to enabling and implementing climate actions. The first global stocktake of progress towards implementation of the Paris Agreement has highlighted that there is a significant gap in financing for climate action, particularly in developing countries.

She said promoting the deployment of clean energy, disaster-resilient infrastructure, and adaptation projects requires trillions of dollars.

"Climate finance should ensure that the deviation from their least-cost development pathways committed by the developing countries is fully met through the public climate finance from the developed countries. Not doing so, puts additional cost on the people in developing countries, who have been, otherwise, subjected disproportionately to the impacts of climate change, without having caused the problem in the first place."

Saying this summit is a milestone COP for climate finance, she said: "It should ensure the long-pending commitments from developed nations for providing substantial financial resources are made and that such climate finance is equitable and accessible."

Third, she batted for enhancing International cooperation. The pre-2030 ambition requires the enhancement of international cooperation, in terms of positive and measurable results such as the identification of cost-effective and scalable mitigation opportunities.

However, international cooperation has been uneven, with some countries shifting to unilateral measures resulting in passing off financial burdens of mitigation actions onto developing nations.

"There is a need to recognise the negative impacts on developing nations due to such unilateral trade measures in the context of climate change."

India said the 2024 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) Synthesis Report does not pose a gloomy picture altogether.

"A total of 195 parties have submitted their NDCs with 180 having updated them. In 2030, total global GHG emissions are estimated to be around 2.6 per cent lower than in 2019, indicating the possibility of global emissions peaking before 2030. It will be safe to assume that all parties have come together to achieve this important milestone in the fight against climate change."

"With the next NDC due next year, these figures can only improve further," an optimist Nandan added.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
New Delhi, Nov 18 : Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal on Monday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for bringing the PMAY scheme for the people to make their dream of owning a pucca house true.

He also inaugurated a national workshop on Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban 2.0 (PMAY-U 2.0), organised by the ministry in partnership with Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO).

The minister highlighted features of the PMAY-U 2.0 scheme, its impact on the economy and allied sectors and the potential to create more than 3 crore estimated employment opportunities.

He emphasised on effective implementation of PMAY-U 2.0 and responsive governance so that the benefits reach the last mile, impacting every eligible family positively.

Manohar Lal said, "Everyone dreams of having a home, and your own house brings a lot of happiness in your lives. The Prime Minister brought the PMAY scheme for the people to make their dream of owning a pucca house a reality. I salute the Prime Minister for this visionary scheme to transform the lives of people."

The event was attended by Kuldip Narayan, Joint Secretary and Mission Director (JS&MD), Housing for All (HFA), Sanjay Kulshrestha, Chairman and Managing Director, HUDCO, and senior officials of the ministry. Principal Secretaries and Secretaries of different States/UTs, PMAY-U Mission Directors of States/UTs also participated in the workshop.

The minister said that States/UTs have played a pivotal role in the successful implementation of PMAY-U. He added that their tireless efforts are also required in the implementation of PMAY-U 2.0.

The workshop, around the theme of implementation of PMAY-U 2.0, saw the participation of more than 250 officials and various stakeholders related to the affordable housing sector.

The objective of this workshop was to disseminate PMAY-U 2.0, its approach, and methodologies and effectively articulate the roadmap for the scheme's implementation across the urban areas of the country.

The national workshop fostered knowledge exchange, provided a common platform for all stakeholders to come together and network for effective and smooth implementation of PMAY-U 2.0 and encouraged the dissemination of best practices adopted by States/UTs, paving the way for a more robust, sustainable and inclusive affordable housing ecosystem in India.

PMAY-U 2.0 is currently in the implementation phase with more than 25 States/UTs having signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with MoHUA.

Officials from States/UTs exchanged the MoAs with the ministry in the presence of the Union Minister. It marked a significant step towards ensuring the successful implementation of the scheme to provide affordable housing to people.
New Delhi, Nov 18 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday gifted Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu a 'Silofar Panchamrit Kalash'. The conventional craftwork in the form of a 'metal pot' represents the traditional craftsmanship of Maharashtra's Kolhapur, said officials.

New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday gifted Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu a 'Silofar Panchamrit Kalash'. The conventional craftwork in the form of a ametal pota represents the traditional craftsmanship of Maharashtraas Kolhapur, said officials.

The Silofar Panchamrit Kalash is made from high-quality silver, and shaped with skill and precision. It features elegant engravings typical of Kolhapur's renowned metalwork, with motifs that often include floral patterns, deities, and traditional Kolhapur designs.

The Kalash's handle and lid have also been crafted to provide ease of use during religious ceremonies where Panchamrit a" a sacred mixture of milk, curd, ghee, honey, and sugar is served.

PM Modi presented the gift to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as he held wide-ranging talks, during his recent visit to Abuja.

Earlier, Nigeria conferred the national honour of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The award citation noted that under PM Modias visionary leadership, India has been positioned as a global powerhouse and his transformative governance has fostered unity, peace and shared prosperity for all.

"Nigeria values its excellent relationship with India, and we work to deepen and broaden the same to the mutual benefit of our two friendly countries. You represent a very strong commitment in democratic values and norms. You have been doing a good job historically, winning three consecutive elections in a complex society is a feat that we respect so much," said Tinubu.

PM Modi thanked President Tinubu and the people of Nigeria for the honour, which he dedicated to the people of India and to the longstanding friendship between India and Nigeria.

Notably, PM Modi is the first foreign leader to be conferred with this award since 1969, when Queen Elizabeth received Nigeria's highest national honour.

PM Modi also announced that India will be sending 20 tonnes of relief supplies for Nigerian people hit by last month's floods.
Chennai, Nov 18 : Tamil actor Kasthuri Shankar, arrested for controversial remarks against the Telugu community, has filed a bail application in a magistrate court in Egmore, Chennai.

Kasthuri was arrested by the Egmore Special Police Team from the Hyderabad residence of Telugu film producer Hari Krishnan on Saturday night after the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court rejected her anticipatory bail plea.

She is currently lodged in Puzhal Central Prison.

Kasthuri was brought to Chennai by road and interrogated for an hour at Chintadripet Police Station on Sunday.

Later, she was produced before the Chennai magistrate court, which remanded her to judicial custody until November 29.

Her bail application is scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday.

Police sources revealed that Kasthuri had been hiding at Hari Krishnan's residence in Hyderabad and had allegedly used his mobile phone to communicate with her family and legal counsel.

She has been charged under Sections 191 and 192 of the BNS Act of 2023, which address hate speech and targeting of the Telugu community.

The controversy stems from remarks Kasthuri allegedly made at a Brahmin gathering in Chennai on November 3.

She reportedly claimed that Telugu-speaking people in Tamil Nadu were descendants of courtesans who had come to serve Tamil kings 300 years ago and were now asserting Tamil origins.

Her comments sparked widespread criticism, leading a member of the Naidu Mahajana Sangam's State Executive Committee to file an FIR against her. In response to the backlash, Kasthuri issued an apology on social media platform X, stating that "false news" was being spread by "Tamil Nadu's Goebbels and the anti-Hindu DMK network."

She expressed her love and loyalty to the Telugu community, asserting that the people of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana would not believe such narratives.

On November 14, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court dismissed her anticipatory bail plea. Justice Anand Venkatesh described her comments as "unwarranted" and deemed her apology inadequate, as it did not directly address the offensive remarks against Telugu women.

The court noted that Kasthuri "should have refrained from speaking against the women of the Telugu community." Kasthuri argued that the FIR was politically motivated and accused the ruling DMK government of exhibiting an "intolerant and vindictive attitude" towards her.

She maintained that her remarks did not incite unrest or provoke the Telugu community and claimed that they were intended to expose the DMK's "outsider politics," which she argued stigmatises Brahmins while overlooking historical migrations into Tamil Nadu.

Kasthuri clarified that her comments referred to "staff of consorts," not "descendants of consorts," citing historical references, including statements by late DMK leader M. Karunanidhi about the migration of artisans and musicians.

She further accused the DMK of promoting "Brahmin persecution, Sanatana opposition, and Hindu god humiliation," labelling their stance as "anti-Hindu, anti-Brahmin, and anti-Sanatana." Kasthuri, who actively campaigned for the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, faced criticism from her own party.

The BJP distanced itself from her remarks and condemned her statements.
Chennai, Nov 18 : The Madras High Court is considering the formation of an inter-departmental monitoring committee to ensure a drug-free Tamil Nadu.

A division bench comprising Justices D. Krishnakumar and P.B. Balaji suggested that a senior officer, holding the rank of a government secretary, be appointed as the chairperson of the committee.

The court noted significant efforts by the Tamil Nadu police in addressing drug-related crimes.

In 2023, 1,727 cases were registered under the NDPS Act, leading to the arrest of 2,262 suspects and the seizure of, 7,236 kg of ganja, 45 ml of ganja oil, 2 kg of hashish oil, 40,464 ganja chocolates, and 93.610 kg of other drugs.

By September 2024, 675 additional NDPS Act cases had been filed, resulting in 902 arrests and the seizure of 2,720 kg of ganja; 3,458 ganja chocolates; and 7.319 kg of other drugs.

Additionally, 368 vehicles used for drug transportation were seized between January 2023 and September 2024.

The division bench requested the names of officers from both the central and state governments who could serve on the committee.

Additional Solicitor General A.R.L. Sundaresan, representing the central government, and Additional Advocate General J. Ravindran, representing the state government, assured the court that the list of officers would be submitted in a sealed cover by November 21.

The proposed monitoring committee would oversee the performance of the Enforcement Bureau-Crime Investigation Department (EB-CID) and make recommendations to the state government to curb the sale of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

The court also directed the Directors of School Education and Collegiate Education to issue circulars instructing all schools and colleges to: display notice boards highlighting the consequences of using and selling drugs such as ganja, opiates, cannabis, cocaine, opium, morphine, and heroin.

The court directed that the notice bird must also Include details about the punishments under the NDPS Act, 1985, and prominently mention the stateas toll-free helpline number, 10581.

The court wanted the authorities of educational institutions to install complaint boxes on their campuses to report drug-related issues.

The court urged educational authorities, legal aid services, Scouts, and the National Cadet Corps (NCC) to organise regular awareness programs about the dangers of drug use.

It also directed for periodic inspections by educational authorities and police in and around schools and colleges.

A crackdown on the sale of prohibited substances within 100 meters of educational institutions by police and local authorities.

The division bench emphasised the need for stringent and collaborative efforts to tackle the growing drug menace and ensure a safe environment for students across Tamil Nadu.
Rio De Janeiro, Nov 18 : Less than 24 hours after he asserted in Nigeria's Abuja that stepping out of the comfort zone, innovating and creating new paths has now become the very essence of today's India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday told the gathering of world's most influential leaders converged in Rio de Janeiro for the G20 Summit that the main reason for India's success lies in his government's 'back to basics' and 'march to the future' approach.

Addressing the G20 session on 'Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty' at the bayside museum of modern art during the two-day 19th G20 Summit, Prime Minister Modi emphasised that the "people centric decisions" taken at the G20 Summit in New Delhi last year have been taken forward during Brazil's Presidency.

"It is a matter of great satisfaction that we prioritised SDG goals. We focused on Inclusive development, women led development, and youth power. And gave wings to the hopes and aspirations of the Global South. It is clear that One Earth One Family One Future, is as relevant at this summit as it was last year," said PM Modi in his remarks at the session.

Sharing "Indiaas experiences and success stories", PM Modi spotlighted that India has lifted 250 million people out of poverty over the last 10 years.

"Over 800 million people are being given food grains free of cost. 550 million people are benefiting from the worldas biggest health insurance scheme. Now, 60 million senior citizens, over the age of 70, will also be able to benefit from free health insurance. Maintaining our focus on Women led development and social inclusion, over 300 million women micro entrepreneurs have been linked to banks and given access to credit.

"Under the worldas largest crop insurance scheme, over 40 million farmers have received benefits worth 20 billion US dollars. Under the farmers scheme, assistance worth over 40 billion dollars has been given to 110 million farmers. Institutional credit worth 300 billion US dollars is being given to farmers," he added.

PM Modi remarked that India is not only ensuring food security but also focusing on nutrition.

"The Saksham Anganwadi and Nutrition 2.0 campaign which is an Integrated Nutrition Support Programme, focuses in particular on nutrition for pregnant women, newborn babies, children under the age of six, and adolescent girls. Through the Mid Day Meal scheme special attention is being paid to the nutritional needs of school going children," he maintained.

PM Modi told the gathering of world leaders that India is also contributing to global food security.

"We have provided humanitarian assistance to Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, recently. The main reason for our success is our approach: aback to basicsa and amarch to the futurea. We have focused not only on natural farming and organic farming but also on new technologies. We have focused on sustainable agriculture, protection of the environment, nutrition and food security by promoting Sri Ann or millets," the Prime Minister stated.

He detailed that India has developed over 2000 climate resilient crop varieties and also started the 'Digital Agriculture Mission' while at the same time the digital public Infrastructure-enabled social and financial inclusion.

"With the Aspirational Districts and Blocks project we created a new model for inclusive development that strengthens the weakest link," he said.

Prime Minister Modi insisted that India supports Brazilas initiative for a 'Global Alliance against hunger and poverty' as it is an important step towards the implementation of the Deccan High level principles for food security, adopted at the New Delhi Summit.

Batting once again for the developing countries at a global forum, PM Modi said that countries of the Global south are most adversely impacted by the food, fuel and fertilizer crisis caused by global conflicts.

"So our discussions can only be successful when we keep in mind the challenges and priorities of the Global south. And just as we amplified the voice of the Global south by granting permanent membership of G20 to the African Union during the New Delhi Summit, we will reform institutions of global governance," he stated.

Besides the leaders of the 19 member countries and the European Union, the Summit is witnessing participation of the African Union for the first time after getting inducted as a full member of the grouping during the New Delhi G20 Summit, last year.

Brazil has also invited 18 guest countries, five each from Africa, Latin America and Asia; and three countries from Europe. There are also 15 international organisations that are attending the Rio Summit.
Mumbai, Nov 18 : Bollywood actor Aayush Sharma, who was recently seen in the theatrical movie 'Ruslaan', is celebrating his 10th marriage anniversary with Arpita Khan Sharma.

On Monday, the actor took to his Instagram, and shared a series of pictures featuring his wife and their kids.

He wrote in the caption, "Congratulations Mrs. @arpitakhansharma for successfully completing a decade of togetherness. If I could I would have awarded you with the highest honour for handling my madness day in and day out. Happy Anniversary".

One of the pictures shows Aayush planting a peck on Arpita's cheek. In another picture, the couple can be seen posing next to a lit wooden board with "Happy 10th Anniversary Mr and Mrs Sharma", written over it. In the picture, while Aayush was dressed in a black shirt with white pants, Arpita donned a black dress. Their daughter Ayat joined them in another picture wherein Ayush is seen kissing Arpita on her forehead. They are also seen cutting a cake.

Arpita and Aayush exchanged wedding vows on November 18, 2014, in an extravagant ceremony at the Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad.

The who's who of Bollywood attended the wedding festivities. It was also the first time when Bollywood heavyweights Shah Rukh Khan and Arpita's brother Salman Khan reunited in true 'Karan Arjun' style after their public spat in 2008 during Katrina Kaif's birthday.

For her wedding day, Arpita had donned a maroon lehenga by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla. Aayush opted for a sherwani designed by the local Hyderabadi Makhdoom Brothers. After their wedding in Hyderabad, the couple hosted a grand reception in Mumbai.
Palghar : , Nov 18 (IANS) In a final appeal, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge issued a clarion call to the people of Maharashtra to throw out the Bharatiya Janata Party-backed MahaYuti 'khokhe' government in the state, here on Monday.

Addressing a huge rally in Vasai town here, he took a swipe at the MahaYuti, saying "50 khokhe (slang for crore rupees), Ekdum Okay" - referring to the (undivided) Shiv Sena split with a faction led by Eknath Shinde walking out in June 2022 to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi of former CM Uddhav Thackeray.

Shinde, backed by the BJP later became the CM along with Devendra Fadnavis as the Deputy CM, and a year later in July 2023, even the (undivided) Nationalist Congress Party broke up with Ajit Pawar joining the MahaYuti as a second Deputy CM.

Urging the people to vote out the MahaYuti regime, Kharge cited a series of unfulfilled promises, pursuing poor economic policies and creating huge distress among all sections of society, while training guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Modi never waived off the small debts of the poor farmers but he has written off all the big bank loans of his rich friends. If the helpless farmers are unable to repay, the banks seize and auction off their farmlands, but when it comes to the wealthy, the PM waives off Rs 16 lakh crore," thundered Kharge.

Targeting the PM's slogan of 'sabka saath, sabka vikaas', the Congress chief reiterated that actually he has only engaged in doing 'satyanaash' (destruction) for all the people in the country.

Kharge listed the failed promises of creating two crore jobs every year, bringing back all the black money stashed abroad and distributing Rs 15 lakhs into every Indian's bank accounts, doubling the income of farmers but actually they are now deprived of even the minimum support prices, free gas cylinders which never came, etc.

"The PM has all the time to visit foreign countries, but he has never gone to Manipur which has been raging for the past one-and-half years. The BJP is indulging in disruptive politics through contentious slogans like 'batenge toh katenge', 'ek hain toh safe hain', 'vote-jihad', etc. But it is actually the BJP and Modi who are dividing the people for their politics," roared Kharge.

He brought forth the PM's pet projects like the track record of the ambitious bullet train which has been languishing for 11 years, a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj the PM inaugurated in Sindhudurg which crashed in barely eight months, leakages in Parliament and the Lord Ram Temple in Ayodhya, among others.

Invoking the icons like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Kharge said the MVA is committed to following their ideals and unite the society fragments on caste and religion lines.

Here he brought up the MVA's Manifesto  'Maharashtranama,' inspired by the Chhatrapati -- which aims at the welfare of all sections of the people including the poor, women, unemployed youth, farmers, the senior citizens and the ill with a slew of benefits awaiting them.

This was the closing rally of the Congress  and 9th addressed by Kharge -- as campaigning ended this evening for the November 20 state Assembly elections.
Baku, Nov 18 : The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) on Monday announced $8 million of funding for 12 projects across 17 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) under its Infrastructure for Resilient Island States initiative.

Amit Prothi, CDRI Director General, said: "Small Island Developing States are vulnerable due to their geographic location and small size. Giving due consideration to the need for urgent action, we are announcing 12 new projects as part of CDRI's commitment to make infrastructure resilient and protect lives and livelihoods, in line with the ambition outlined in the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS."

Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York in September 2019, the CDRI is a partnership of national governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms, the private sector, and academia that aims to promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks in support of sustainable development.

The 12 projects announced today will support Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Comoros, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Kiribati, Maldives, Mauritius, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Seychelles, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Timor-Leste, Tonga, and Vanuatu.

CDRI's Infrastructure for Resilient Island States initiative is funded by Australia, India, the UK, and the EU through donations totalling $40 million to CDRI's IRAF MultiPartner Trust Fund. This announcement brings the total number of SIDS projects funded by CDRI under this initiative to 23.

Philip Green, Australian High Commissioner to India said: "The Australian government is committed to addressing the climate challenges facing our region and amplifying the voices of Small Island Developing States, the custodians of our world's oceans. This is why Australia is committing $10 million over 10 years to the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States Initiative which will support projects in the Pacific and other vulnerable regions and strengthen their resilience to climate change and infrastructure risks."

Leena Nandan, Secretary, of the Indian Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said: "Small Island Developing States are at the frontlines of the climate crisis, impacted by extreme climate events that they are least responsible for. Their efforts to build resilience and thrive in the face of existential challenges posed by extreme weather events require decisive collective action and multilateral cooperation at the international level for stronger climate action.

"India remains committed to partnering with SIDS to enable access to climate finance and technical assistance in the face of increasing disaster risks. CDRI's Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States is a special programme for the resilient prosperity of all SIDS that emerged from the government of India's efforts to leave no one behind."

Lindy Cameron, British High Commissioner to India, said: "I welcome the announcement of projects selected for support under the second cohort of the Infrastructure for Resilient Island States as part of COP29. From its launch at COP26, the programme has made a great start in protecting vulnerable nations from climate change.

"I hope that CDRI can build on this momentum and accelerate its global efforts to make infrastructure more resilient. The UK is proud to partner with CDRI and India in this programme and to support nations where lives and livelihoods are threatened due to the climate crisis."

--IANS

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Tirupati, Nov 18 : The darshan time at Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple here will be reduced from 20-30 hours to just 2-3 hours by using advanced technology including Artificial Intelligence, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Board announced after its maiden meeting under new Chairman B.R. Naidu on Monday.

The TTD board, which manages the affairs of the famous hill shrine, took some important decisions.

TTD board chief, along with Executive Officer J. Syamala Rao, later briefed the media about the decisions taken at the meeting. It reversed some decisions and decided to review some other decisions taken by the earlier boards during the last five years of YSR Congress Party rule.

The board will write a letter to the state government to make an appropriate decision about the non-Hindus working in Tirumala.

Soon after taking over as TTD Chairman recently, Naidu had said that only Hindus should work in the TTD. It also decided to ensure that no political statements are made in Tirumala.

"If necessary, legal action will be taken against those making such statements as well as those who propagate them," it said.

The board gave its nod to dispense with the Tourism Corporations Darshan quota of various states after a thorough examination of the complaints regarding irregularities in the issue of SED tickets under this category.

Keeping in view the safety of TTD deposits, a decision will be taken in the next board meeting to deposit them in the nationalised banks by withdrawing the already deposited ones from private banks.

The TTD, which was recently rocked by the allegations of using ghee adulterated with animal fat in the laddu prasadam, decided to use ghee of high quality. The board decided to merge the Srivani Trust into the TTD account and consider the possibility of changing its name while continuing the scheme.

The TTD under YSRCP rule had formed the trust to propagate the Hindu religion besides the construction of Sri Venkateswara temples across the country. The then-opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Jana Sena had alleged misappropriation of trust funds. Then Leader of the Opposition Chandrababu Naidu had claimed that the trust money was diverted as the donors were not issued receipts.
New Delhi, Nov 18 : Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for initiating various initiatives for the Sikh community, including the operationalisation of the Kartarpur Corridor.

"From opening of the Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, to painting the fundamental teaching of Sikhism  'Ek Onkar' on an @airindia aircraft that began operations between Sri Amritsar Sahib & London (Stansted) from 31st Oct 2019 when I was the Civil Aviation Minister, a host of initiatives were implemented under the leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji to celebrate the auspicious 550th Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji in the most befitting manner," the Union Minister wrote on X.

The Kartarpur Corridor in Punjabi is a visa-free border crossing and religious corridor, connecting the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, near Narowal in Pakistan to Gurudwara Dera Baba Nanak, in India's Gurdaspur district of Punjab.

The crossing allows devotees from India to visit the gurdwara in Kartarpur, Pakistan, 4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles) from the IndiaPakistan border on the Pakistani side without a visa.

The Kartarpur Corridor was first proposed in early 1999 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan respectively at that time, as part of the DelhiLahore Bus diplomacy.

On 26 November 2018, the foundation stone was laid down on the Indian side by Prime Minister Narendra Modi; two days later, then-Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan did the same for the Pakistani side.

The corridor was completed for the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak, on 12 November 2019.

The national carrier Air India had also painted "Ik Onkar" on one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner to mark the 550th birthday of Guru Nanak in 2022.

Ek Onkar means "God is One". The symbol is an emblem of the Sikh religion and is found on Gurdwaras (Sikh temples) around the world.
Kochi, Nov 18 : Kerala has set a target of attracting investments worth Rs 1,000 crore in the Ayurveda sector before the Invest Kerala Global Summit, which will be held in the port city in February.

Industries Minister P. Rajeev made the announcement at the sectoral meeting on aAyurveda and Pharmaceuticalsa, which was organised by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) here as a build-up to next yearas summit.

He interacted with Ayurveda entrepreneurs and requested the support of the stakeholders and their associations to achieve the target. As the entrepreneurs called for establishing institutes to teach non-degree courses in this field, the minister assured that such courses would not fail to get approved.

Getting approval for courses for pharmacists and therapists would not be difficult, he said.

"There are huge investment opportunities in the Ayurveda sector in Kerala. The industries department will extend all support to the entrepreneurs to overcome practical difficulties," Rajeev said.

"With the advent of modern technology, the least job loss is in the ayurvedic sector. Hence, this sector can generate employment opportunities. Ayurveda is an area where local communities can find employment," the minister added.

Experts taking part in the meeting hailed the tremendous support the state government gave to protect the credibility of Ayurveda, who wished that innovation and modern technology should be integrated into Ayurveda without compromising on traditional and heritage elements.

Over the years, the mainstay of Kerala tourism has been the hugely popular Ayurveda packages being offered across the state especially where the tourists flock in large numbers. Incidentally at the hugely popular signature event of Kerala Tourism, held every other year, the Kerala Tourism Mart which took place here last month, ayurveda was the most discussed tourism product of the state. Tour operators from Russia and Europe, after seeing the Ayurveda product spread that is on offer in Kerala, have promised to promote such packages in their countries.
Jaipur, Nov 18 : Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari said on Monday that Jaipur is one of the best and planned cities in the world.

"Jaipur is one of the best and most planned cities in the world. It is included in the UNESCO World Heritage. The city was founded by Sawai Jai Singh II on 18 November 1727 in a completely scientific manner and on the basis of Vastushastra. The architectural planning of this magnificent and wonderful city was done by Vidyadhar Bhattacharya," the Deputy Chief Minister said on the occasion of the 297th Foundation Day of Jaipur city.

She said that Sawai Jai Singh II was an expert in astronomy, adding that the establishment of Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is a great example.

"Jaipur will soon complete 300 years of its establishment. The wide roads here still facilitate smooth transportation. The drainage system here is still working effectively. Jaipur's Hawa Mahal, City Palace, markets, squares, and temples are all great examples of magnificent and modern city planning," the Deputy Chief Minister said.

She added that researchers from all over the world do research on the city planning of Jaipur, adding that every year, a large number of tourists visit here.

"Everyone is amazed and surprised to see the city planning of Jaipur. It is a matter of pride that Jaipur is a world heritage city. It is a matter of pride that Jaipur holds a special place in the world tourism map," the Deputy Chief Minister said.

She also officially started the event by lighting the lamp along with the Mayor of Municipal Corporation Greater Jaipur, Saumya Gurjar.

Folk artists delivered mesmerising performances of Dhol, Nagada, Shehnai, Kachhi Ghori dance, singing and folk dances.

Cultural Committee President Durgesh Nandini, councillors and a large number of common people were present in this event of Jaipur Sthapna.
Hyderabad, Nov 18 : Police on Monday arrested Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) social media activist Konatham Dileep for some alleged objectionable posts criticising the Congress government in the state but the court refused to send him to judicial custody.

The police arrested Dilpee and took him to Osmania General Hospital for a medical check-up. He was later produced before a magistrate, who rejected the remand petition.

Dileep, who was the Telangana digital media director under the previous BRS government, slammed the government for the illegal arrest. He said this was the third time he was arrested by police but the courts quashed cases against him.

He said he was given relief by the High Court when he was arrested earlier for social media posts. "They are violating the High Court order," he told media persons while being taken to the court.

The social media activist also claimed that he did not make any confession statement but police wrote whatever they liked. "I have not accepted any of the allegations made against me. I have not committed any crime. They are foisting the case only for questioning the government," he said.

Dileep said he was not afraid of cases and would continue to question the government.

BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao has strongly condemned Dileep's arrest. He said Dileep was called for questioning and illegally arrested. He questioned the Revanth Reddy government about how many times it would kill democracy with illegal arrests.

KTR said Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was resorting to undemocratic measures as the BRS was exposing the failures of the Congress government. He said such arrests can't suppress the voice. "This illegal arrest has once again proved that Indiramma Rajyam means emergency days of Indira Gandhi," he said.

KTR also alleged that these illegal arrests and false cases under Revanth Reddy's rules were reminding the tyranny in united Andhra Pradesh. He made it clear that BRS is not scared of illegal arrests and threats.
Patna, Nov 18 : Independent MP from Purnea, Pappu Yadav, has allegedly received a life-threatening call via WhatsApp and a text message originating from a number linked to Pakistan.

In these messages, the sender claimed to be a member of the notorious Lawrance Bishnoi gang, threatening to attack Yadav before his birthday scheduled on December 24. The caller also mentioned that his associates are allegedly roaming near Yadav's house and office, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Independent MP Pappu Yadav has responded defiantly to recent threats allegedly made by a self-proclaimed member of the Lawrance Bishnoi gang. The individual behind the threats claimed that their men were closely monitoring Yadav's movements, his house, and his office, and would attack him at the first opportunity unless Yadav apologised to Lawrance Bishnoi.

In his response, Pappu Yadav warned the caller to refrain from involving his family in their threats. He stated firmly, "Your fight is with me and my ideology, not my family. If you have the courage, confront me directly."

Yadav made it clear that his principles and political stance would not be swayed by intimidation.

"I have sent the letter along with the recordings of calls and messages to the Union Home Minister to analyse it. Taking appropriate action or not is his call," Yadav said.

Yadav also accused the BJP of orchestrating the threats, calling it part of a broader conspiracy against him.

"There is no need for additional security for me. I am capable of protecting myself. I am currently busy with the election campaign in Jharkhand, holding multiple meetings daily, and will soon return to Bihar. If anyone wants to kill me, come," Yadav said.

Yadav invited those threatening him to act openly, declaring, "Choose a certain place and time, if you have the passion to kill, come."

He emphasised that his struggle and ideology are personal matters and warned that dragging his family into the conflict would lead to intensified opposition.
Guwahati, Nov 18 : The ceremonial inauguration of Skill Yatra, a skill awareness initiative by the Assam Skill Development Mission to attract school and college students in the state was held in Kokrajhar on Monday, officials said.

The event was organised at the Girls' College Auditorium Hall in Kokrajhar. According to an official statement, this programme aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of making India the "Skill Capital of the World."

"The Skill Yatra aims to raise awareness about skill development opportunities and equip youth with essential skills for employment, empowering them to build better careers," the statement added.

A senior official said that the "Skill Yatra" targets students from Class 9 to degree level in government schools and colleges.

"It is designed to raise awareness about skill-based education and inform students about diverse opportunities within and outside the state," he added.

A key feature of the programme is the Skill Yatra Van, which was flagged off by the Additional District Commissioner of Kokrajhar, Kabita Deka, and other guests during the event.

The van will travel across the region, conducting psychometric tests to assess students' interests and aptitudes in various skills. These online tests will help students identify potential career paths based on their interests, followed by counselling sessions that will provide guidance on available livelihood opportunities and career options.

Kabita Deka emphasised the evolving career landscape, particularly for women. She highlighted how traditional job roles, such as teaching and nursing, are no longer the only career paths available to women.

With increasing competition for government jobs, government officials pointed out that acquiring specific skills can significantly enhance employability.

She urged students to identify their strengths and interests to make informed decisions about their career paths.

She stressed that the Skill Yatra programme would provide students with the tools to embark on a journey of continuous learning and professional growth while fostering a supportive community of educators, industry experts, and professionals.

The event was attended by Dhajen Basumatary, District Training Officer of Kokrajhar, Dr. Dimacha D. Mwchahary, Principal of Kokrajhar Government College, Dr. Ada Ram Basumatary, Principal of Girls' College, Kokrajhar, along with officials, students, and teachers.
Imphal, Nov 18 : The Naga Peoples' Front (NPF), an old ally of the BJP-led government in Manipur, on Monday praised the state government led by Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and said that the government is doing its best to control the situation.

NPF's Manipur unit President Awangbow Newmai asserted that the state government is doing its best to control the situation since the ethnic strife began in Manipur in May last year.

The decision of the NPF, which has five MLAs in the 60-member Manipur assembly, is significant a day after the National People's Party (NPP) with seven MLAs withdrew its support from the BJP-led government.

Newmai, who along with another NPF MLA Khashim Vashum are cabinet ministers in the 12-member council of ministry headed by Chief Minister Singh, said that "some miscreants were also killed in Jiribam" after they attacked the security forces on November 11.

"The government and the law enforcing agencies have tried their best to rescue the innocent three children and three women from the captivity of the militants, but unfortunately, the government could not save the lives of the six people. None can claim that the government did nothing to protect the lives and properties of the people," the minister told the media, adding that the NPF is one of the oldest constituents of the NDA and at this juncture, there is no question of withdrawing support from the government.

"We have to work together to bring a solution to the ethnic crisis and to restore peace and normalcy for the all-round development of Manipur," the NPF leader said.

The NPP led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma withdrew its support from the Biren Singh-led government on Sunday claiming that "the state government completely failed to resolve the crisis and restore normalcy" in the northeastern state.

The withdrawal of support by the NPP would not have any impact on the stability of the BJP-led government, as the saffron party enjoys an absolute majority with its 32 MLAs.

The BJP government also has the support of five MLAs of the NPF, six Janata Dal (United) and three independent legislators.

However, ever since the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3 last year, 10 tribal MLAs, including seven BJP legislators, have been boycotting the Assembly and demanding a separate administration or Union Territory for the tribals in Manipur.
Former pharmacist and debut author Jane Yangs new sweeping historical novel, The Lotus Shoes (Park Row Books, Jan. 2025), is being compared to such classics as Memoirs of a Geisha and Pachinko. PW talked with the author about how her own family history impacted the novel's portrayal of the relationship between a young woman and her maidservant in 19th-century China.

Before you became a novelist, you had a scientific career as a pharmacist and clinical researcher. What inspired you to start writing fiction?

To answer this question, I must first tell you about my family background. In Vietnam, my parents owned a flourishing small business: life was comfortable. At 44, Dad had little incentive to start over in another country, but Mum wanted her children to grow up in a democracy. As always, Dad indulged her. With the Vietnamese dong being so low in relative value, Dad sold everything we owned to pay for our airfares to Australia. Once here, Dad labored the rest of his working years in a die-casting factory while Mum sewed garments for as little as 50 cents apiece.

As soon as I could read, I adored stories and wanted, one day, to write one of my own. But, growing up poor, I was terrified of povertythe rows between my parents about bills, the cost of food and uniforms, the upkeep of our tiny, dilapidated weatherboard house dominated my childhood. Since the pursuit of writing was unthinkable, I never tried, never even indulged in daydreamingto dwell on the impossible would have made reality harder to bear. Ive inserted this part of myself into The Lotus Shoes. When asked about her dreams, Little Flower says, I keep them pruned like a punzoi, the Cantonese word for bonsai. I needed a secure job with a regular income. Knowing what Dad had sacrificed for our family, I also felt obligated to make him proudhaving a pharmacist as a daughter was a badge of honor in our community.

I credit my husband with encouraging me to explore writing. His financial support also allowed me to reduce my work hours, freeing up time to write. Without him, The Lotus Shoes wouldnt exist.

How did your family history influence this book?

Both of my grandmothers were storytellers. From my maa maa, my paternal grandmother, I learned about foot-binding. In 1800s China, bound feet were considered an essential accomplishment for all respectable women; only girls from the poorest families kept their natural feet. Without bound feet, also called golden lilies, a womans marriage prospects and social standing would be severely diminished. Maa Maa used to tell me that a perfect pair of golden lilies was the ultimate act of a mothers love: only a woman with exceptional resolve could endure the horrors of inflicting pain on her daughter for the sake of securing the childs future. Maa Maa also told me about Autumn Moons extraordinary fate. Despite having natural feet and against all odds, this distant great aunts genius in embroidery allowed her to marry into a genteel family. It is tempting to think of the past as a monolith, but stories like Autumn Moons are proof of exceptions. Autumn Moon possessed a quiet resolve: though she was small and delicate, she commanded respect, even among men. Little Flower is modeled on her.

My maternal grandmother, Po Po, loathed the patriarchy and longed to take the sor hei vows and join a celibate sisterhood. This phenomenal feminist movement is central to the second half of The Lotus Shoes.

How did you go about the process of creating characters and building a world that is rooted in the stories of real people and events but is its own fictional creation?

Before I started writing The Lotus Shoes, I often read interviews where authors said their characters spoke to them, that theyve a life of their own. To my science-trained mindset, this used to sound a bit like a clever but hollow marketing ploy. As a writer, Im a plotterI plan every scene, and almost every setting is based on research. When it comes to historical correctness, Im obsessive and often terrified that I will get a detail wrong. Initially, I couldnt understand how characters and plot could diverge from the authors intention. I even worried that my extended family would read the book and get upset if I didnt portray our forebears in a way that resonated with them. But after the first draft, I started to relax. Im still a stickler for historical accuracy, but I care less about pleasing everyone. With this liberating approach, once Ive spent enough time with my characters, they do leap off the page! Often, they even morph from my initial conception in ways that surprise and delight me. Im happy to eat humble pie: characters can and do write their own stories.

The characters' points of view are very different from a contemporary readersfor example, the idea that the women with natural feet would be jealous of the women with bound feet. How did you get yourself into their mindset?

Since I was 15, Ive been a huge fan of historical fiction. I still remember the day I found a tattered copy of Pride and Prejudice in my school library. That Penguin cover featured a head-and-shoulders portrait of a young lady against a dark background. My friends barely glanced at it, but I was drawn to the mystery behind her large, languid eyes. Who was she? What was her world like? What would she say if she could speak? Historical fiction often exposes and acclimatizes readers to vastly foreign cultural normswell before I typed the first sentence of The Lotus Shoes, Id had years of exposure to bygone viewpoints. Whether these stories are set during the witch-burning era of medieval Europe or among ancient human sacrifices, they all explore the psychological impulses that still drive our behaviors today. With this reading background, I found it relatively easy to inhabit my characters worldview. Lets take beauty and status as an example. The vast majority of women have always strived to adopt the beauty norms of their time. Tudor ladies whitened their faces with poisonous lead paint, while their Victorian counterparts practiced tight lacing. Today, Botox and fillers are all the rage. Bound feet are, of course, perhaps the most extreme form of body modification in the name of beauty, but Little Flower and Linjings struggles are familiar and relatable. Like us, they crave acceptance and admiration.

The novel reads quickly, which is interesting because both characters have very little agency in their lives. How did you manage to maintain this pace given that you were dealing with characters who had such limited options?

Im thrilled to hear that you found The Lotus Shoes an energetic readthank you! But most of the credit belongs to my agent, Madeleine Milburn, and editors across Sphere, Park Row, and HarperCollins Canada. Little Flower and Linjings lack of agency is at odds with the novels pace, I agree. When working with such oppressed characters, there is a risk of the story becoming slow, plagued by an excess of internal dialogue. My team encouraged me to focus on the push-and-pull dynamics between Little Flower and Linjing, to see them as antagonists for each other. Although they must submit to the harsh rules that govern their roles, they still have the power to influence the trajectory of each others lives. The tension created by their polar-opposite goals is the engine that propels the story at a clipping pace.

One of the two central characters, Little Flower, is exceptionally skilled at embroidery, and it presents life-changing opportunities for her. How significant was this skill for real-life women in 19th-century China?

Before my research confirmed my maa maas claims about Autumn Moons fate, I had some doubts, wondering whether Grandma had exaggerated some of the facts or missed some key points. How could needlework alone be so transformative? Womens lives and voices are not well documentedthis is the case in China and across most culturesbut there are revealing breadcrumbs scattered across historical sources. For example, The Way of Embroidery published in 1821 instructed women to find a quiet, clean, and bright corner as unsullied as the embroiderers mind. It also viewed embroidery as a moral cultivation for women on par with masculine pursuits like literature and calligraphy. In terms of artifacts, historical photographs contain images of antique embroidered shoes stitched onto tasseled silk mats. These tiny display shoes were presented to guests during weddings as proof of a brides prowess in needlework. In The Lotus Shoes, the pressure to create exquisite gift shoes is a major source of anxiety for Linjing, whose color blindness makes it impossible for her to master intricate patterns. Though Autumn Moons exceptional good fortune was likely one in a million, Im convinced that embroidery played a pivotal and sometimes life-changing role in the lives of 19th-century Chinese women.

The Lotus Shoes delves into a little-known piece of history called the celibate sisterhood. Would you explain what that is and how you learned about it?

My po po used to speak longingly about the celibate sisterhood. In her stories, life in the sisterhood was idyllic: fear, loneliness, and rivalry did not exist. In the late 19th-century, the silk-reeling industry exploded in the Pearl River Delta of China. The delicate work needed nimble, slender fingers. For the first time in history, young women could earn a substantial income. Soon, groups of them formed collectives and built sanctuaries where they could live in relative independence, as long as they took the sor hei vows and remained celibate. Any sister who lost her virginity would be executed by drowning. According to Po Po and my own research, almost all the sisters entered the sisterhood to escape an arranged marriage, though some also feared endless pregnancies and wanted control over their bodies.

Po Po was born in 1930, and by the time she learned about the sor hei sisters, the movement was already on the decline. The sisterhood relied on the high wages of silk reeling to sustain their independencethis industry collapsed in the aftermath of the Great Depression, forcing many sor hei sisters to migrate. Most traveled to Hong Kong or Singapore to become amahs, female servants. Those women have largely all passed away, but readers who have visited those cities in previous decades, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, may remember seeing amahs with a single long braid or a simple chignon, dressed in the uniform of a white Chinese blouse paired with simple black, loose trousers. They were most likely sor hei sisters.

Your publisher has already sold several international editions of The Lotus Shoes. Why do you think it appeals across cultures?

At the heart of the story are womens struggles and triumphs in a world where they are starved of rights and choices, a subject of great interest to readers across the globe. Themes like power and class barriers are also central to the narrative drive of this story, as they are in modern life. As a species, we share many admirable traits, like compassion and a tendency to pursue justice. At the same time, competition and rivalry exist as long as there is a scarcity of resources and opportunities. Though the setting and cultural norms of The Lotus Shoes are worlds apart from our contemporary societies, the characters conflicts, motivations, and choices are very relatable to modern readers across cultures. I believe weve all, at some point in our professional and private lives, experienced similar struggles. Perhaps some of us have suffered at the hands of adversaries like Linjing, or maybe we were the ones who chose advancement over solidarity.

The complex bond between Little Flower and Linjing, one that occasionally mimics the intimacy of sisters, is likely another appealing aspect of the novel. Due to the seismic imbalance of power between their social standings, their relationship flounderedin the absence of equality, it is exceedingly rare for two people to establish a truly meaningful relationship, be they friends or lovers. This is a universal theme that is as relevant today, across the world, as it was in 1800s China.
In another sign of the changing economics of distribution in the publishing industry, independent distributor National Book Network (NBN) will close next year, with its approximately 150 clients offered the chance to move to Simon & Schuster Distribution Services. Following the collapse of Small Press Distribution in March, the pending exit of NBN from the distribution business leaves Independent Publishers Group as the remaining independent distributor of significant size in the United States, although a number of smaller distributors, including Asterism Books and Itasca Books, have grown their client lists in the wake of the closure of SPD.

NBN was founded in 1986 by Jed Lyons to distribute books from another Lyonsrun company, Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, as well as titles from other independent presses. The academic division of Rowman & Littlefield was sold to Bloomsbury Publishing earlier this year, leaving the trade publisher, Globe Pequot, the sole publisher controlled by Lyons.

In a letter sent to clients by NBN president Jason Brockwell, the company explained that, with the sale of the academic business, we have concluded that remaining a standalone distribution business is no longer viable. As a result, Globe Pequot will become a client of S&S in the second half of 2025, and S&S will handle all of Globes North American sales through its Jackson, Tenn., facilities. Stressing that S&S is not buying NBN, the letter explained that the companys current clients can move to S&S under the same financial terms now in effect in your existing NBN contract. This applies to both print and digital sales.

The letter noted that S&S has more resources than NBN has, including a large national field sales force, a gift sales team, and a special sales organization with a broad reach. As part of the agreement, NBN and S&S will cover the costs of packing and transferring client inventory to Jackson next year.

NBN receivables balance will be honored as a new receivable is created at Simon & Schuster, the letter continues. Your existing fees for sales and distribution, returns processing, inventory storage, returns reserve and most ancillary fees will not change, but you will be asked to sign a new Simon & Schuster sales and distribution agreement. Should you decide to take your business elsewhere, the termination language in your NBN contract will apply.

The letter added that S&S has expressed a desire to hire all members of our NBN sales team. We anticipate that your primary points-of-contact will remain the same throughout the transition process. In addition, NBN's warehouses in Blue Ridge Summit, Pa., and Hagerstown, Md., will remain open until at least the end of next year.

Ive long watched and admired what Jed Lyons has built, both with Globe Pequot and the family of client publishers at NBN. Im honored and excited at the chance to partner with Globe Pequot and the stellar independent publishers under the NBN umbrella, said S&S distribution head Michael Perlman.

Though the agreement with S&S to offer clients the chance to move distribution there is rather unique, NBN is just the latest in the long-running story of independents disappearing from the distribution business either by way of sale or bankruptcy. That segment of the industry is now ruled by the distribution arms of Penguin Random House, S&S, Hachette, and Macmillan, as well as the distribution division of Ingram Content Group, Ingram Publisher Services. Given the changing landscape, NBN, like other independent distributors, had found it difficult to match the economies of scale that the big players have because of their size.

"It is bittersweet to contemplate the closure of NBN, which we launched almost 40 years ago," Lyons told PW. "It has been a good run, and I will always be proud of our role in helping hundreds of scrappy entrepreneurs succeedmany of them becoming leaders in todays independent publishers universe.
Having neutralized key leaders of Irans proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, Israel appears to be preparing its long-anticipated retaliation against the Islamic Republic itself. Although currently limiting attacks to military assets, many are still demanding that Israel show restraint, warning against escalation with Iran and its terrorist proxies, who have promised revenge, leaving many worried that Iran will attempt something drastic. Israel, however, appears to be ignoring Western leaders demandsas they should. Calls for ceasefire or similar restraint might appeal to Western sensibilities, but they reveal a profound misunderstanding of the cultural dynamics at play between Israel and Iran. This dangerous cultural imperialism will not only fail to bring peace but could provoke Iran to escalate and expand its terrorist activities.

Unlike the modern West, which is rooted in a dignity culture emphasizing human beings innate worth, Iran, like much of the Middle East, has a culture of honor, where survival depends on being perceived as a formidable opponent. We see this play out when Iran and its proxies engage in honor killings and long-standing blood feuds  such as the ongoing tension between Palestinian Arabs and Jews. Whereas these types of behaviors are nearly incomprehensible to dignity-minded Westerners, honor cultures take an at all costs approach to conflict and view concepts like proportionality or surrender as weakness. Winning takes precedence over the preservation of humanity, a sentiment exemplified by the late Yahya Sinwar, who, when asked about the potential consequences of attacking Israel, described 100,000 innocent Gazans deaths as worth it.

Israel has long understood this cultural reality and has responded accordingly, exemplified by their de-escalation through escalation strategy currently employed against Hezbollah and Hamas. Prior to October 7th, this approach of consistent, swift and brutal retaliation had earned Israel respect within the region, paving the way for normalization with former adversaries through efforts like the Abraham Accords and even talks with Saudi Arabia. Even after October 7th, honor-based strategies have still proven effective, with Israel decimating the leadership of both Hezbollah and Hamas, including not only Sinwar, but his fellow terrorists and Iranian proxies, Ismail Haniyeh and Hassan Nasrallah, all of whom had evaded capture for decades, thereby proving Israels toughness and correspondingly earning its neighbors (admittedly quiet) respect. Indeed, Israels continuing to use honor-based strategies will likely have a similar normalization effect as the nations victories in the Yom Kippur war and similar previous engagements have done.

Although Western leaders praise the outcomes of Israels honor-based strategies, they continuously against escalation and demand proportionality in response to constant missile barrages, mass shootings, and threats of annihilation. Western leaders treat the term ceasefire like a panacea, ignoring that Hamas broke a ceasefire on October 7th, 2023. Western politicians even demanded Israel not enter Rafah, claiming it wasnt worth the cost, only for Israel to discover that Hamas had hidden hostages there, and that Yahya Sinwar, the architect of October 7th, was hiding there to escape justice.

By insisting that Israel establish peace on dignity-based terms, Western leaders are embracing a delusion Iran holds a western view on human dignity. But Iran is very different from the Western armies who called for a Christmas truce in December, 1914. Iran is not waging a war of dignity, but of honor and blood.

Iran views Israels very existence as an insult that demands retaliation, making reasoning with Iran and its proxies impossible. Similarly, Iranian proxies like Hamas routinely break the rules of war, including willingly sacrificing their own civilians. In an honor logic, civilians lives are worth the cost of avenging the insult of Israels existence. Such casual disregard for life is alien to a culture of dignity. From the perspective of Western leaders, Israels tactics  such as mass pager detonations and aerial bombardment of terrorists embedded in former hospitals or schools  seem excessive and vengeful.

Were Israels enemies open to negotiating peace, they would have had enough several bombardments ago. Instead, even as their leaders dropping like flies, Iran and its proxy groups continue to attack Israel, refuse to release the remaining hostages, and promise to continue hostilities.

This lack of cultural literacy has implications beyond alienating allies. Western leaders insistence on applying dignity norms in honor contexts signals that America is weak and vulnerable to exploitation. This has been seen in Iran not only fomenting social unrest in the U.S. through funding anti-Israel protests, but even planning to assassinate incumbent President Trump and his aides. If Western Leaders continue ignoring the honor-based realities at work here, the Wests political credibility will not be the only casualty.

With both Hamas and Hezbollah crippled, there is an opportunity for peace in the Middle East that Western leaders should help facilitate. This cannot be done if the West remains blinded by cultural imperialism, insisting on restraint and compromise when strength is needed. Western leaders must allow Israel to respond forcefully to Iran, rather than advocating for premature ceasefires that only embolden Israels enemies.

Ending conflict in the Middle East requires recognizing that in honor cultures, any lasting peace must be built on strength and toughness. To facilitate this peace, Western leadersincluding both the current and incoming American presidential administrationsmust prioritize an approach that effectively navigates the cultural landscape of the region, rather than trying to force their own culturally-derived perspectives on ceasefires or escalation. Otherwise, this conflict will only intensify, and Israel will not be the only democracy to suffer.

Dr. Aaron Pomerantz is a social psychologist and postdoctoral research fellow at Rice University's Doerr Institute for New Leaders, where he studies destructive leadership and strategies for developing more ethical and effective leaders.
What is it about H&K? Does any other mainstream gunmaker have their legendary reputation? Just think about it. The full-page ads of the 80s with the Tier 1 operator coming out of the water with his piece of Teutonic steel. The first company to build a plastic wonder-nine, beating Gaston to the punch. (Yes, look it up.)

And how about the legendary mystique of The Gray Room? No other company has a sacred place of prototypes whose fans would give their left nut to visit. (Been there, and both my boys are intact.)

And then theres the MP5. Nuff said.

Sure, there are other iconic submachine guns. I love my Sterling SMG, in large part because I carried one in the British Territorial Army. Its a superb submachine gun  whether its the regular version made famous by Star Wars Stormtroopers who cant shoot, the integrally silenced version favored by our Argentine opponents during the Falklands conflict, or the cute little Para 7 with its Black & Decker foregrip (not kidding, you can look that up too).

The author back in the day with Sterling SMG.

Then, of course, the venerable Tommy gun is legendary, especially when fitted with the remarkable Cutts Compensator. As is the OG Hebrew Hammer, the Uzi. Just the image of Secret Service Agent Robert Wanko magically whipping out his Uzi when another president was shot is iconic in and of itself.

But when it comes to giggle-switch equipped pistol-caliber shoulder weapons, nothing can touch the Heckler & Kochs maschinenpistole nummer funf. Or can it?

From the iconic SAS Operation Nimrod raid broadcast live on TV, to the ultimate 80s action movie, Die Hard, this svelte gat has cemented itself as not only the counterterrorism weapon of choice of elite operators for decades, its also the Hollywood subgun, challenged in its popularity on screen perhaps only by the Deagle.

The MP5 and its variants have dominated the whole SMG and PDW class for more than half a century. The original HK54 was first designed in 1964 and deployed as the MP5 in 1966. That means that the gun, which is still so influential that even clones sell like hot cakes today, is 60 years old. Impressive.

But has the MP5 been usurped by another piece of HK unobtanium? And are we finally able to own the SMG thats even sexier than officer John McClanes great equalizer? Enter the MP7, or rather the T7 from Tommy Bostic.

Its hard to deny that the original MP7 has secured a place for itself as the gun that most users wanted but couldnt have. Why? For a couple of reasons. Firstly, its looks. The MP7 looks like its from a next age of firearms development.

Unlike the Sterling, you dont need to slap an OEG Single Point red dot on it, or an MG81 muzzle device to make it look at home on the Death Star or Han Solos belt. It is the future. Then, theres the fact that its associated with the most elite military units, such as DevGru or SEAL Team Six, and popularized in just about every first-person shooter video game.

If they use it, it must be uber-cool, right? And lastly, it was impossible for mere mortals to obtain. Until now.

Why the anemic 4.6mm weapon was deployed with our Tier 1 operators still eludes me. I get the original NATO spec sheet from 1989 was for a PDW for support troops and drivers that could defeat soft Soviet body armor, but HK took a whole decade to design and deploy it, by which time the Cold War was over and soft body armor wasnt an issue on the battlefield.

Then, theres the logic of a weapons loadout for a SEAL Team on GWOT deployment in Afghanistan or Iraq, pursuing Al-Qaeda HVTs. All would be armed with a main weapon and maybe a breacher or an abbreviated SAW, plus a sidearm.

So where does a PDW fit in thats much bulkier than the sidearm of choice and less effective on body armor than the operators main weapon? It is possible the tiptoe boys are also susceptible to acquisition by cool factor? Maybe someone can ask Oakley or Gatorz. But I did reach out to a former SEAL to ask where the MP7 fitted in originally for the boys from Dam Neck. He may, or may not be, the best-selling author of a phenomenal series of books that became The Terminal List TV series.

The great Jack Carr, who did not get to deploy with the 4.6mm, did however tell me that his fellow frogmen did have a specific niche for the subgun, and that was house clearing, loaded with subsonic ammo.

Yes, the small fast round is available in a load from RWS, with almost twice the bullet weight and designed for use with the excellent, dedicated B&T can. However, that role was super niche, and the gun became a sexy ornament once outside a Jihadi compound and when you needed a platform that has legs, so shorter M4 platforms with suppressors, like the MK18, would prevail.

Thats all history now. As is the unobtanium status of the MP7, and all thanks to one extraordinary Star Wars fan.

I first connected with Tommy Bostic via social media. I think Id seen his life-size, Star Wars Land Speeder and I just had to know more. Since then, Ive gotten to know this lovely man, had him on my radio show more than once and bought several of his guns. You see, building astrodroids and immaculate replicas of vehicles from the greatest sci-fi series wasnt enough for Tommy.

If HK and the German government didnt want to please the civilian market by allowing Americans to buy neutered semi-auto version of their coolest gats, TommyBuilt would create them for us here in America using OEM parts where possible and manufacturing the rest from scratch. Thats how Ive ended up with several of Tommys UMPs and G36s, including a special one Tommy made for me in .300BLK. But thats for another day.

MP7 along with other TommyBuilt creations.

During the last SHOT Show, I was at the Brugger & Thomet booth, chatting with Karl Brugger himself. Full disclosure, I love B&T because Karls attitude is: No ones doing it? So what? Ill do it! And there it was  a perfect clone of the MP7, but made in the U.S. and civilian legal, and there was the man responsible. After so many phone calls, texts, and emails, I finally got to meet the man who loves the coolest HK kit and Star Wars. (A man who is so dedicated to the guns he builds, that when I gouged my TB G36 in the gun safe, he refinished it and refused to even charge me postage.)

Thus, the pestering began, and recently paid off, as the Gorka collection was expanded with another TommyBuilt.

In fact, the hardest decision was what color to order my T7 in. I wanted black to be as original as possible, but couldnt commit, so I asked my young son, who for years carried his full-weight Umarex airsoft MP7 everywhere, and he made the right choice: Of course, you have to go with FDE, dad! Check out Tommys website for all the amazing and crazy finishes he has done. Need a Flecktarn G36, or maybe a Mandalorian-themed UMP? Hes your guy.

Let me be clear, my T7 isnt my new truck gun. And it probably shouldnt be yours either. Original MP7s do not have a good rep. The stocks are cruddy, the polymer is too thin in places and can break, and the round is defunct by todays standards  remember this was a PDW for radio operators and Intell REMFs. But thats not the point.

For decades, no one could buy an MP7 unless they could drop the price of a Raptor and had all the special papers. Thanks to amateur astro-mechanic and master fabricator, that time is over. I never thought Id have a 4.6 PDW, especially in FDE. And now I do, and my T7 is taking its privileged place in my safe next to my Bren Ten, my TT Pit Viper, and my Seventrees ASP. Unobtanium no more.

NEED MORE?
Two more insolvency petitions were filed by Sabarmati Aviation and JetAir 17 against budget carrier Spicejet at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday.

Photograph: Punit Paranjpe/Reuters

The NCLT issued a notice to the airline over the plea by operational creditor Sabarmati Aviation while asking another complainant, JetAir 17, to file additional documents in support of its claims of $27 million.

During the proceedings, senior advocate Krishnendu Datta representing SpiceJet submitted that a reply would be filed over the plea of Sabarmati Aviation.

However, he opposed the plea of JetAir 17 contending that their claims as an operational creditor are disputed.

In the matter of JetAir 17, the NCLT asked the company to file additional documents to support its claims as SpiceJet contended that it has not entered into a lease agreement with it.

JetAir 17, an Irish company, operates within the renting and leasing of air passenger transport equipment industry.

Dutta submitted that JetAir 17 is claiming its dues through Wilmington Trust, which had leased planes to SpiceJet.

However, there are no documents to show how JetAir 17 has inherited the interest from Wilmington.

Advocate Kunal Tandon, representing JetAir 17, submitted to NCLT that the low-cost carrier owes them over $27 million.

He further submitted that Wilmington had transferred its interest in the lease with SpiceJet to JetAir 17, after which it filed its claim here.

Earlier in September, the NCLT issued notices to SpiceJet over a plea by Techjockey Infotech, an operational creditor, claiming a default of nearly Rs 1.2 crore against software services availed by the low-cost air carrier.

In October, NCLT issued notices to Spicejet over pleas of aircraft lessor Falgu Aviation Leasing and Aviator ML 29641.

SpiceJet recently faced several insolvency petitions from creditors, including Willis Lease, Aircastle Ireland Ltd, Wilmington and Celestial Aviation at NCLT and the appellate tribunal NCLAT.

Several of them are still pending.
Clean air needs action all year round; and that it will work only if we act jointly and at scale, asserts Sunita Narain.

IMAGE: A metro train passes amid the thick layers of smog as the Air Quality Index reaches to 'severe' category as per the Central Pollution Control Board at Mayur Vihar Phase -1 in New Delhi, November 17, 2024. Photograph: Shrikant Singh/ANI Photo

It's that time of the year again, and people of Delhi and its neighbouring areas are waiting for the sky to fall -- literally. The cold is setting in.

With the slowing wind, the pollutants already in the air will settle down. We will not be able to breathe. We can only hope and pray that the wind and rain gods bring us relief.

This is because we have not done anything of consequence to combat pollution over the last year.

The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) was designed to be an emergency alert system, aimed to take urgent steps when pollution peaked.

It has become the only time we act, which, obviously, is too little and too late.

Now we are being told that the government will play god -- clouds will be seeded so that we can have rain to wash away the pollutants.

This is when it is well understood that pollutants get trapped in moisture, which could add to our misery.

IMAGE: India Gate amid the smog. Photograph: Sanjay Sharma/ANI Photo

So, let's get down to business and understand how we can reclaim the gains of pollution control.

First, let us have a quick recount of what has been done. The story begins in the 1990s, when the Centre for Science and Environment published its report Slow Murder, and put forward an agenda for action.

The key source of pollution (this should not surprise us now) was vehicles, the poor quality of fuel, and lack of emission standards for vehicle manufacturers to comply with.

By the late 1990s, the Supreme Court passed important directions, asking for improvement in fuel quality; mandating emission standards for vehicles (this was the beginning of Bharat Stage 1, 2, 3, 4, and now 6); and enhancing public transportation.

In 1998, the court ordered 11,000 buses. Some 26 years later, the city has not touched even half the number. But more on this later.

The introduction of compressed natural gas (CNG) was done as a leapfrog option -- instead of only cleaning up the quality of petrol and diesel, which would have taken another decade.

CNG provided quick relief. It was a game changer for that time.

Anyone who lived through Delhi in the early 2000s will tell you how contested the decision was.

But it made a difference. Today, when we are looking at the next transition to, say, electric vehicles, this leapfrog to CNG holds many lessons.

IMAGE: People pass a road amid deteriorating air quality. Photograph: Amit Sharma/ANI Photo

First, the technology challenge. No country had introduced CNG in vehicles on the scale Delhi proposed in the 1990s; there was also affordability concern.

This meant policy had to guide technology innovation -- from designing safety standards to bus prototypes.

Fiscal incentives were provided so that old buses and paratransit like three-wheelers could be scrapped and CNG vehicles be brought in.

The second was the implementation challenge and the need to work at scale.

This was not about bringing in a few CNG vehicles or buses; the court mandate was a complete switchover within two to three years.

This needed coordination and some tough decisions -- and at speed.

Today, Delhi has an ambitious plan for e-buses but it is just not taking shape or progressing at the speed required so that the growth of private vehicles can be stemmed.

In 2023, the number of private vehicles registered in the city doubled over the previous year; this, in spite of the fact that petrol and diesel prices are up and a substantial share of the household budget is spent on transportation.

The explosion of personal cars not only adds to the congestion but also negates all the expenditure on increasing roads and building flyovers and highways, and improvements in technology and fuel.

There are old vehicles that are still polluting; our scrapping programme has not been effective.

And even if new vehicles are cleaner, add too many of them and the benefits are lost. It is simple maths!

IMAGE: People pass through the hazy India Gate lawn amid thick smog. Photograph: Amit Sharma/ANI Photo

The second emission source in this battle for clean skies and clear lungs is the fuel that we burn -- from household chulhas to factories to thermal-power plants.

In most cases, it is biomass or coal.

The Supreme Court banned the use of pet coke -- the dirtiest of such fuels; the Delhi government banned the use of coal, which was later extended to the entire National Capital Region.

It was also agreed that thermal-power plants would clean up or shut down.

Action on this has been patchy, to say the least. The lesson from the transition to CNG is that people need alternatives for a ban to be effective.

When diesel buses were stopped, CNG supply had to be assured. It also had to be feasible in terms of cost.

The Supreme Court agreed that this needed fiscal measures to keep clean fuel cheaper than dirty fuel.

Now, even as coal is banned, the price of natural gas makes industry uncompetitive. It will not work.

I can go on. And I promise I will. The bottom line is to understand that clean air needs action all year round; and that it will work only if we act jointly and at scale.

Sunita Narain is at the Centre for Science and Environment.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
'One of our MLA's homes has already been attacked by the mob. This legislator was beaten. This MLA belongs to the Meitei community.'

'There is a complete collapse of law and order in Manipur.'

IMAGE: Protesters attack Manipur MLAs' houses in Imphal. Photograph: Screen grab/X

National People's Party National Secretary in-charge of political affairs and its 4-Kshetrigao MLA Sheikh Noorul Hassan tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com that the N Biren Singh government could possibly face a rebellion and if a floor test were to be taken, the chief minister will not muster enough support even from his own party MLAs.

NPP leader and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma in a letter written to BJP national President J P Nadda announced his party's withdrawal of support to the N Biren Singh government. With seven MLAs in the Manipur assemblyt, the NPP was the second biggest ally of the N Biren Singh government.

This development is unlikely to have any impact on the stability of the Manipur government as the Bharatiya Janata Party itself has 32 MLAs in the 60-member House.

"Prime Minister (Modi) must visit Manipur once. If he appeals to both the communities, then I believe personally that the general masses will believe that definitely there will be a concrete roadmap (by the central government) to help resolve the matter at the earliest," says Hassan.

Why has the NPP withdrawn support to the Biren Singh government?

In the last one week the law and order situation has further deteriorated and it has become worst.

Six persons including two infants were abducted by armed Kuki militants and their dead bodies were recovered from a river. The Manipur government couldn't protect the lives of innocents in the state.

In the last 18 months, under the leadership of Chief Minister N Biren Singh, the state government has completely failed and we could not see any roadmap ahead to bring the state back to normalcy and peace.

Law and order has gone for a toss and so we have to withdraw support; we have lost confidence in his (N Biren Singh's) leadership.

The law and order situation has deteriorated in the state since May 2023. Hasn't the NPP's withdrawal come too late and will it have any impact on the government in Manipur? What is the NPP trying to prove by withdrawal of support?

It is not too late because we have been cooperating with the state government as well as the central government (for restoring normalcy in the state) hoping that peace and normalcy will return to the state at the earliest.

We had met with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah twice. We have submitted a memorandum to him and the prime minister of India (Narendra Modi) to take whatever steps to bring back normalcy in the state.

We could not see any positive outcome and in the last one week we have seen the law and order has further deteriorated and the killing of two infants should be condemned in the strongest manner.

Seeing a huge public outcry and loss of confidence of the people in the chief minister we were left with no option but to withdraw support and express our deepest sense of respect and pay our homage to the dead.

We, as legislators, are also under public scrutiny.

We no more believe that the chief minister should continue to head the government.

Do you think the chief minister should resign?

He must step down because I don't think all the BJP MLAs will attend the meeting that he has called because he could not secure the lives and properties of the innocent, general public as well as the that of his own MLAs.

He has lost trust of the people of Manipur and so he must step down.

BJP MLA L Susindro Singh told Rediff.com that all the seven NPP MLAs don't agree with Conrad Sangma's decision to withdraw support. Is this true?

He is making a contradictory statement just to sow confusion in the minds of the people of Manipur.

We are an independent national political party and once the decision is taken at the highest level then we all follow. We are united and we have already withdrawn (support) because the letter of withdrawal has already gone to the governor (Lakshman Prasad Acharya), the speaker (Thokchom Satyabrata Singh) as well as to the chief minister.

But will it impact Biren Singh's government in Manipur?

Technically they have numbers, but practically they don't have numbers.

Many MLAs' houses are being attacked by Meiteis who are angry after the death of these six people including two infants. What's the situation in your constituency and also in other constituencies where violence is taking place?

The Manipur cabinet has asked for withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Protection Act from the jurisdiction of six police stations in Manipur. Do you agree with this demand?

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra D Modi at the inauguration of developmental projects along with Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh in Imphal, January 4, 2022. Photograph: ANI Photo

We should not look these two things together. Imposition of AFSPA in six police stations should not be mixed with what has been going on in Manipur for the last 18 months.

The law and order situation has already been in a very bad shape and there was no concrete step taken by the chief minister or the state government whatsoever.

The steps taken by the central government has also not bore any fruit; there was no positive impact or outcome. It was not reaching to the general public.

Imposing AFSPA in six police stations has nothing to do with the present scenario. By doing this the central government has ensured that no violence takes place between people of the hills and the valley.

This will stop armed people (from both communities) to fire at each other and provoke retaliatory violence and kill each other.

AFSPA will help control violence and bring some normalcy.

Do you welcome the imposition of AFSPA in the six police stations in Manipur?

The state government at an emergency cabinet meeting took this decision asking for withdrawal of AFSPA but that decision was not taken collectively; many of Biren Singh's cabinet ministers were absent when this meeting was held.

The opinions (on imposition of AFSPA) may differ from one (person) to another, but the problem is that we are not looking at things from a proper perspective.

We want peace and normalcy to return to Manipur at the earliest which the present chief minister has completely failed to do so. He has no roadmap. There is no plan in his hand.

He has already lost the trust of the public and at the same time the trust of his alliance partners.

There is a rebellion brewing among the BJP MLAs also; I don't think he is getting the support of the majority BJP MLAs.

Do you think because of this rebellion the Biren Singh government will collapse?

If a floor test (a vote of confidence on the floor of the House) is taken tomorrow, then I don't think that under his leadership the government can stand.

The need of the hour is a change of leadership or any other appropriate thing that the central BJP leadership feels will bring peace and normalcy to Manipur. That will be most welcome.

At the same time Prime Minister (Modi) must visit Manipur once.

If he appeals to both the communities, then I believe personally that the general masses will believe that definitely there will be a concrete roadmap (by the central government) to help resolve the matter at the earliest.

Did the NPP MLAs withdraw support because they also feared that mobs might attack their home as huge anger sweeps across the Meiteis in Manipur?

One of our MLA's homes has already been attacked by the mob. This legislator was beaten. It was never reported in what you call mainstream media. This MLA belongs to the Meitei community.

Houses of MLAs are being burned down and ransacked. There is a complete collapse of law and order in Manipur.
'The Kerala BJP leadership is doing the job of clerical staff. What the boss orders, they just follow them.'

IMAGE: Sandeep G Varier, who startled the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership in Kerala by crossing over to the Congress. All Photographs: Kind courtesy Sandeep G Varier/Facebook

People leaving the Congress or the CPI-M or AAP and joining the BJP is not news these days.

But a BJP leader leaving the party and joining the Congress is definitely NEWS.

That's why Sandeep G Varier, a BJP leader for the last two decades joining the Congress, is making headlines in Kerala.

"Just think what would have become of this country in the last 10 years if there was no Congress, if there was no Opposition... I would say the Congress was the safety valve for Indian democracy in the last ten years!," 38-year-old Sandeep Varier tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier (no relation).

Why did you join the BJP? What attracted you about the party?

In the post-liberalisation period, the country was facing so many issues, and there was a strong sentiment in India that the BJP would bring about a change and take India forward.

The trio of Vajpayee, Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were quite popular among the young of India at that time.

I too believed that the BJP could bring about a change in India.

That was what attracted me to the BJP.

After leaving the party, you said you didn't want to be a part of the politics of hatred and divisive politics practised by the BJP.

But you used the same language when you were with the party.

When did you start feeling that what the party practised was not right?

When I was the genuine spokesperson of the BJP, I had to follow the narrative built by the party.

But every time, I started speaking from my heart, the BJP started censoring me.

The state BJP?

Yes, the state leadership. There was a hatred campaign in Kerala about halal food initiated by the state BJP. It was a divisive campaign that abused a section of society.

For example, they said the restaurants owned a particular community sold halal food after spitting on it.

I was born in Malappuram district, I have many Muslim friends, and I grew up with them.

I felt the hatred campaign didn't make any sense, and it was not right to alienate anyone from society.

So, I wrote on Facebook that Hindus, Christians and Muslims cannot live together by propagating hatred, and that ours was a pluralistic society. I wrote that there should be an environment of harmony because we could not ban anyone from society.

A restaurant owned by a Hindu does not cater only to Hindus. Similarly, a restaurant owned by a Muslim is not for Muslims alone. Nobody asks your religion when you enter a restaurant.

I never spoke against the BJP or the leadership or their campaign in my post. I only said that ours was a pluralistic society, and we had no right to alienate anyone based on religion.

IMAGE: Sandeep G Varier joins the Congress.

How did your party respond to your Facebook post?

I was bullied by the hardliners. They forced me to withdraw the Facebook post. And I had to apologise.

Bullied in what way?

By the state leadership and also on social media.

I was banned from talking to the media for one whole year.

My view was that since Kerala society is very liberal, secular and progressive, you cannot follow the same politics you follow in north India.

You go to any street in Kerala, you will find a Hindu, Christian and a Muslim living there. Unlike in north India, there is no ghettoisation of religious communities here.

So, my opinion was that the BJP in Kerala should follow a more secular way of politics, as a party that is accessible to minorities also.

Is it not because the BJP wanted to stand out as a party that unites the Hindus and be different from the Congress or the Communist parties that they follow this kind of politics in Kerala?

That was my basic problem. Why do you want to use religion in your politics?

You can speak about corruption, you can speak about economic policies, you can speak about educational policies, you can speak about the problems youth face in Kerala... When there are so many issues to talk about, why bring in religion to politics?

But then that's the politics of the BJP...

Yes, that is the problem. I wanted the party to talk about the problems of common people. I felt only then the people of Kerala will agree with you.

You should speak politics every day in Kerala as the people of Kerala are highly politicised. They are highly intelligent, and you just cannot fool them.

They will not accept you when every time you open your mouth, it is to spread hatred.

What the Kerala BJP got wrong was they copy-pasted from north India.

Not just in Kerala, in South India also, people will not accept this kind of divisive politics and the politics of hatred especially in the name of food, dress, etc.

But if you speak genuine politics, they will accept you.

IMAGE: Sandeep G Varier campaigns for the Congress candidate.

Do you feel that is the reason why the BJP has not been able to win seats in Kerala though the vote share has been increasing?

The BJP had a better position in 2014 and the NDA got one member elected to the Lok Sabha from Kerala. There was one from Lakshadweep also.

And both were from the minority community.

At that time, the BJP leader was the honourable Goa Governor Sreedharan Pillai Sir, and he was the one and only secular face of the BJP in Kerala. But he was bullied by the current leadership.

Before this election, they were bullying Christians in Kerala describing them as people who came from some other planet to invade their territory.

But right now, they are indulging in a drama by going to the houses of Christians and giving them cakes. I know that they have no genuine love for the Christians.

When did you start feeling frustrated with the BJP?

My kind of politics is to do something good for the people, involving every member of society.

Instead, every morning, you open your mouth to spew venom at a community.

The central BJP is ignorant of Kerala politics. The Kerala BJP leadership is doing the job of clerical staff. What the boss orders, they just follow them.

You listen to Mann Ki Baat, take a photo and upload on social media and that's the BJP politics while other political parties visit the houses of people.

But they say that you left the party because you were denied a ticket in Palakkad...

It is not true. I never claimed a ticket for Palakkad or Wayanad.

In fact, I had told the party leader K Surendran that if the BJP wanted to win the election, Sobha Surendran should stand from Palakkad. If not her, Surendran himself should stand from Palakad.

I don't know how the central leadership looked at the assembly by-election. They chose someone (Krishnakumar) who had lost the Lok Sabha election four months ago.

How can you go and tell people, you defeated me four months back for the Lok Sabha but make me win now to the assembly? What logic do you see in this? Is it Chanakya tantra?

IMAGE: Sandeep Varier in Panakkad witnessing the transfer of a home care vehicle to the Parappur Pain & Palliative Centre run by the Hope Foundation.

Why did you decide to join the Congress?

I want the freedom to speak. I need a platform where democratic values are honoured. I want a platform where secular values are accepted. I thought the Congress will give me such a platform.

Did you contact the Congress, or did they approach you?

I can't reveal the details. Maybe later on in life, when I write my autobiography, I will talk about it!

The criticism against the Kerala state Congress party is that it is a divided house with too many leaders... Do you think you will feel frustrated there too?

The Congress is the grand old party of India. In my opinion, the party gives value to every opinion. The party has a very large pool of leaders, and the party gives them the freedom to air their opinion.

The basic right of a human being is the freedom to speak, and that is respected in the Congress.

If I wanted power or any benefits, I could have joined the CPI-M.

But I wanted to join the party that has democratic and nationalistic values, and I felt the Congress was the best option for me.

I don't want to be a part of an autocratic set-up. I want to be a part of a democratic set-up which gives you the freedom to speak.

How do you see Rahul Gandhi as a leader because he has been the favourite whipping boy of the BJP? Do you think he has emerged stronger after the Bharat Jodo Yatra?

Definitely. I believe every democracy needs a strong Opposition. Otherwise, it will turn to autocracy.

What happened in India from 2014 to 2024 was that India was slowly becoming an autocratic society.

There was no Opposition and legislation was coming without any proper discussion. Minorities were made to think that they were not part of this country.

But after the Bharat Jodo Yatra, India got the hope that there was someone who could question the autocratic government system in India.

After the yatra, Rahul Gandhi has emerged as a popular leader and an acceptable figure for all the sections of India.

I know personally how the system in the BJP works 24x7 to ridicule, humiliate and finish Rahul Gandhi from politics.

If anybody else was in Rahul Gandhi's place, he should have left much earlier. But this man worked continuously and tirelessly against the autocratic system and spoke for democratic values.

That's why lakhs of people walked with him during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.

People were walking with him unlike the autocratic leader who no one can approach.

Rahul brings hope of changing India.

How did the state Congress accept you?

I did not expect this kind of a unanimous welcome from them. Thousands of Congress workers were standing to receive me which I did not expect because of my past politics.

It was a surprise for me.

It was also a surprise for me when I went to meet Panakat Thangal, he was waiting for me with P K Kunjalikutty. The love and affection I got there really touched my heart.

I am really grateful for them for accepting me and taking me as a brother in 24 hours.

Now, I am very happy.

IMAGE: Sandeep Varier meets Indian Union Muslim League leaders.

Do you regret your time with the BJP?

I don't regret. In the last 20 years, I got a platform to serve the people, and I am happy for that opportunity.

But I am relieved now. Not just me but my family too. The biggest trauma for my family was, the BJP social media team started abusing my 84-year-old father who is an army veteran having fought three wars.

They asked my father, are you sure he is your son?

My wife was body shamed. What wrong has my wife done to receive such a treatment? She is not in politics.

I can never accept this kind of politics.

I would say they forced me to leave the BJP.

I want to tell them, like the famous saying 'Ningalenne Communistaki (You made me a Communist)] in Malayalam, I would say, 'Ningalenne Congress aaki! (You made me a Congressman!)'

They now say that if one Sandeep goes, hundred Sandeeps will come. Let hundred Sandeeps join the BJP. I don't have any problem with that. But I will say, please don't bully those Sandeeps.

I don't believe in a BJP-mukt Bharat because I believe that there should be good BJP, good CPM, good Congress for democracy to strive.

Just think what would have become of this country in the last 10 years if there was no Congress, if there was no Opposition...

I would say the Congress was the safety valve for Indian democracy in the last ten years!

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday reviewed the prevailing security situation and deployment of troops in Manipur for the second consecutive day and directed top officials to focus on restoring peace and order there as early as possible, sources said.

IMAGE: Cops check vehicles amid curfew following the recent violence, in Imphal, Manipur, November 18, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo

The Union home ministry is also rushing in about 5,000 paramilitary troops to Manipur to assist the state government in handling the current "volatile" situation.

The home minister reviewed the security situation in Manipur with top officials of the central and state governments, the sources said.

This was the second consecutive day that Shah reviewed the situation in Manipur.

He took stock of the deployment of central forces there and directed the officials to restore peace and order there as early as possible, they said.

The situation in the northeastern state, which has been reeling from ethnic strife since May last year, has been volatile following protests and violence after the recovery of bodies of women and children.

Irate mobs set fire to the residences of three more Bharatiya Janata Party legislators, one of whom is a senior minister, and a Congress MLA in various districts of Imphal Valley on Saturday night even as security forces foiled an attempt by agitators to storm the ancestral residence of Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

These incidents took place even as several restrictions were imposed after people, agitated by the killing of three women and three children by militants in Jiribam district, attacked the residences of three state ministers and six MLAs earlier on Saturday.

Enraged people torched the houses of PWD minister Govindas Konthoujam at Ningthoukhong, Hiyanglam's BJP MLA Y Radheshyam at Langmeidong Bazar, Wangjing Tentha's BJP MLA Paonam Brojen in Thoubal district and Khundrakpam's Congress MLA Th Lokeshwar in Imphal East district.

The legislators and their family members were not at home when the mobs stormed their residential compounds, vandalised properties and set the houses on fire, police said, adding the houses were partially burnt in the incidents.

On November 11, the Manipur police said 10 suspected militants were killed in a fierce gunfight with security forces after insurgents in camouflage uniforms and armed with sophisticated weapons fired indiscriminately at Borobekra police station and an adjacent Central Reserve Police Force camp at Jakuradhor in Jiribam.

Hours later, suspected militants allegedly abducted six civilians, including women and children from the same district, the police said.

On Saturday, the Union home ministry said all security forces deployed in Manipur have been directed to take necessary steps to restore order and peace in the state.

It said armed miscreants from both communities in conflict have been indulging in violence leading to unfortunate loss of lives and disruption in public order.

The home ministry said strict action would be initiated against anyone trying to indulge in violent and disruptive activities.

Seeing the fragile situation, the Centre on Thursday reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Manipur's six police station areas, including the violence-hit Jiribam.

More than 220 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.

It started after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

The ethnically diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by the clashes, witnessed violence after the mutilated body of a farmer was found in a field in June this year.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath intensified his criticism of the JMM-led coalition, accusing it of "indulging in dacoity" by looting natural resources and central funds sent by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also called upon Hindus to be united to be safe and asserted that after Ram Temple in Ayodhya it was time for a Krishna temple in Mathura.

IMAGE: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addresses an election rally. Photograph: ANI Photo

Addressing a poll rally at Nala in Jamtara, Adityanath said, "The JMM-led coalition has looted Jharkhand's natural resources and the central funds sent by Modi. It has also encouraged infiltration by Bangladeshi migrants and Rohingyas, posing a serious threat to 'beti, mati, roti' (daughter, land, and bread). Now, the bulldozer is on standby to reclaim the looted funds."

Adityanath alleged that illegal mining, including rampant extraction of sand, coal and forest resources, was flourishing under the protection of the ruling coalition, leaving Jharkhand hollowed out by mafia activities.

He accused the JMM-led government of providing support to infiltrators involved in "land jihad" and "love jihad" in Jharkhand, warning that such forces would not be spared if the NDA comes to power.

The Uttar Pradesh CM also took aim at the Congress-JMM alliance, claiming they had obstructed the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. "Now, they are playing with the lives of people in Jharkhand through their divisive politics," he said.

Adityanath said at least 10 lakh Hindus were massacred during partition in 1947 because Hindus were divided and urged them to be united to be safe.

"After Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, it's time for Krishna Kanhaiya Temple in Mathura," he asserted.
The Coast Guard has rescued seven Indian fishermen who were apprehended by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) in the mid-sea off the Gujarat coast and kept on their ship near the maritime boundary between the two countries, officials said on Monday.

Photograph: ANI Photo

The incident took place on Sunday when the Coast Guard received a distress signal from an Indian fishing boat (IFB) operating near the No-Fishing Zone (NFZ) in the afternoon, said an ICG release.

"At approximately 15:30 pm, an ICG ship on patrol received a distress call from an Indian fishing boat operating near the NFZ. The call reported that another Indian fishing boat, Kal Bhairav, had been intercepted by a PMSA vessel, and seven Indian crew members on board had been apprehended," said the release.

The Coast Guard immediately swung into action and sent its ship to the location near the India-Pakistan Maritime Boundary (IMBL).

Despite efforts by the PMSA ship to retreat, the ICG ship eventually intercepted the vessel from the neighbouring country and persuaded personnel on board to release the seven Indian fishermen they had apprehended, it said.

"The ICG ship was able to retrieve the seven fishermen safely, who were all found to be in stable medical condition. Unfortunately, the Indian fishing boat, Kal Bhairav, was reported to have been damaged and sunk during the incident," the release added.

The Indian ship returned to the Okha harbour on Monday where a joint investigation involving the ICG, the Gujarat police, intelligence agencies, and fisheries department was undertaken to probe the circumstances leading to the collision (between the PMSA vessel and IFB Kal Bhairav), and the subsequent rescue operation, said the release.
An eye of a man who succumbed to his bullet injuries in a state-run hospital in Patna was found missing hours after his death, with doctors blaming rats for gnawing it and the family members of the deceased suspecting foul play.

Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: ANI Photo

The state health department, which initiated an investigation into the matter, on Sunday evening suspended two nurses on the charges of negligence on their part.

Fantush Kumar, who was admitted to Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) in Patna after being shot at by unknown assailants on November 15, succumbed to his injuries on Friday night.

His body was kept on the ICU bed as post-mortem examination could not be conducted at night. The autopsy was conducted on Saturday morning.

"As the body was being brought from the morgue, we noticed that the left eye was missing and a surgical blade was lying on the stretcher beside the body," a family member said.

The family members alleged negligence and foul play, while some doctors suspected that rats might have gnawed the eye.

Speaking to reporters, NMCH medical superintendent Binod Kumar Singh said, "A medical team has been constituted to probe the matter. It's a serious issue and strict action must be taken against those found guilty."

"A group of doctors suspect that rats might have gnawed the eye. All aspects pertaining to the incident are being probed. We are also waiting for the autopsy report," he said.

"How the eye was gouged out can only be known after receiving the autopsy report. The hospital administration has also lodged a formal complaint with the Alamganj police station in this regard," the medical superintendent said.

Speaking to PTI on Sunday, Rajiv Kumar, Station House Officer (SHO) of Alamganj police station, said, "A case has been registered on the basis of a formal complaint filed by the hospital administration. We are examining the CCTV footage of the hospital and also sought clarifications from the doctors who performed the post-mortem examination. We are also examining family members of the deceased as well as other hospital staffers. The case is being investigated from all angles."

Family members of the deceased have not lodged any complaint so far.

Meanwhile, the state health department suspended two nurses on the charges of negligence on their part following the incident.

"Although the matter is being investigated by a high-level committee as well the police, based on the basis of preliminary findings, the department has ordered suspension of two nurses, who were on duty when the reported incident took place. Suspension has been ordered due to negligence on the part of nurses," Health Minister Mangal Pandey told PTI.

The minister, however, refused to elaborate on the nature of negligence allegedly committed by the nurses saying let the inquiry by the medical team as well the police complete.

Patna District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Singh said, "Strict action would be taken against the guilty. The district administration is monitoring the situation".
Jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's brother Anmol, wanted for the murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique and firing outside actor Salman Khan's Mumbai home, has been detained in the United States, the Mumbai police sources said on Monday.

IMAGE: Jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's brother Anmol, who has reportedly been detained in the US. Photograph: ANI Photo

Anmol, who was believed to be living in Canada and making regular travels to the US, is the younger brother of Lawrence Bishnoi, accused of running a global criminal syndicate despite being in jail.

Anmol Bishnoi is wanted in connection with several criminal cases, including the murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Maharashtra minister Siddique on October 12 in Mumbai's Bandra area.

He was also allegedly behind the firing outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan's home, located in the Bandra area, on April 14 this year, according to the sources.
Former Maharashtra home minister and Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar leader Anil Deshmukh was seriously injured after stones were hurled at his car in Nagpur district on Monday night, the police said.

IMAGE: NCP-SCP leader Anil Deshmukh injured in a stone pelting incident at Katol Jalalkheda Road in Nagpur, Maharashtra, November 18, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo

The incident occurred around 8 pm when Deshmukh was returning to Katol after attending a meeting in Narkhed village.

Some unidentified persons threw stones at Deshmukh's car near Belphata on the Jalalkheda Road near Katol.

Deshmukh, who sustained injuries during the attack, was immediately rushed to the Katol Civil Hospital, police said.

Nagpur Rural Superintendent of Police, Harssh Poddar, confirmed the incident. He said senior officers were rushed to the spot.

"An investigation has begun. The police are trying to identify those responsible for the attack," he said.

The incident occurred on the last day of campaigning for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.

Condemning the incident, NCP-SP spokesperson Vedprakash Arya sought a high-level inquiry and police protection for the former family's minister.

"Some people attacked Anil Deshmukh's car in Belfata Bhishnur in Katol, wherein Deshmukh received serious head injury. His treatment started in Katol but due to serious injury he is shifted to Nagpur for treatment," Arya said in a statement.

The Opposition is staring at a crushing defeat and, therefore, resorted to such a cowardly attack, he claimed.

Deshmukh's son Salil Deshmukh is contesting from the Katol assembly constituency on the NCP-SP ticket against Bharatiya Janata Party's Charansingh Thakur.
Nationalist Congress Party-SP supremo Sharad Pawar has cautioned his detractors that they should mess with anyone but him and appealed to voters to not just defeat those who rebelled under Ajit Pawar, but "defeat them big" in the Maharashtra assembly polls.

IMAGE: NCP-SP supremo Sharad Pawar. Photograph: @PawarSpeaks/X

Addressing a rally at Madha in Solapur district on Sunday ahead of the November 20 state polls, Sharad Pawar recounted an episode of defection that led to him losing the post of leader of opposition in the assembly almost five decades ago and his resolve that led to the defeat of all those who had backstabbed him.

"In the elections of 1980, 58 persons won polls from our party and I became leader of opposition. I had gone abroad and when I came back I realised Chief Minister AR Antulay saheb had done some miracle and 52 of the 58 MLAs had switched sides. I lost the post of LoP," he said.

"I did nothing (at the time). I just started reaching out to people across the state and worked hard for three years. In the next elections, I fielded young candidates against all 52 MLAs who had left me. I am proud of the people of Maharashtra that all 52 who left me were defeated," he told the gathering.

The 83-year-old former Union minister emphasised his status as an undefeated politician since he became an MLA in 1967 at the age of 27 and said, "I have my own experiences."

"The people who betrayed should be shown their place. Don't just defeat them, defeat them big," the former state chief minister said.

When the NCP-SP chief said a message should be sent across that one can mess with anyone but and took a pause, the crowd roared back chanting his name.

The Nationalist Congress Party founded by Sharad Pawar split in July last year after his nephew Ajit Pawar and eight MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-led government.

Following a decision by the Election Commission, Ajit Pawar got the party name and 'clock' symbol, while the faction headed by the octogenarian politician was named NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) with the 'man blowing tutari' as its symbol.

The NCP-SP has fielded Yugendra Pawar, Sharad Pawar's grandnephew, to take on NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in Baramati assembly seat.

Ajit Pawar has been MLA from Baramati since 1991.

In the Lok Sabha polls held earlier this year, Ajit Pawar fielded his wife Sunetra Pawar from Baramati parliamentary constituency against sitting MP Supriya Sule, the daughter of Sharad Pawar.

Sule defeated Sunetra Pawar comfortably and since then Ajit Pawar has often said fielding his wife against his cousin was a mistake.
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Monday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit abroad before the campaigning for the November 20 Maharashtra elections could end shows that he and the BJP have conceded defeat.

IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: @revanth_anumula

Addressing a press conference in Pune, Reddy dared the saffron party to prove its claim that the Congress government in the southern state did not fulfil its poll guarantees.

He said if the Centre wants to send a minister or committee to verify the fact, he is ready to send a plane from his state.

"Today is the last day of campaigning for the Maharashtra polls, and just before the last day, PM Modi left the country and went abroad. This shows that the BJP and Modiji have conceded defeat as the party exited the poll ground," he claimed.

The Congress leader further claimed that he saw the BJP's advertisements in newspapers, which showed that they would even break the country to win the elections.

He questioned PM Modi and the BJP about what they had done in the last 11 years they have been in power.

He said in 2014, the BJP promised to double the income of farmers and create two crore jobs annually and claimed that by 2020, every poor person in the country would get a house.

"Forget doubling the income of farmers. They brought three black farm bills, forcing cultivators to agitate around Delhi, and more than 700 farmers were martyred. PM Modi had to withdraw the bills and apologise to the farmers," he said.

He said Modi is talking about guarantees the Congress gave in Telangana, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, claiming that the states did not fulfil these promises.

"As the chief Minister of Telangana, I would like to dare PM Modi and BJP leaders that if you have the courage, form a central committee with a Union minister and send it to Telangana. If you don't have money, I will send a plane to Delhi or Mumbai, but you come and verify whether the guarantees are fulfilled," Reddy said.

The chief minister claimed that he waived farm loans up to Rs 2 lakh with a total worth of Rs 18,000 crore for 23 lakh farmers in 25 days of forming a government.

"In the last 10 months, we gave 50,000 government jobs in Telangana. You send a committee. I will gather people who received appointment letters, and you can count. If there is even one person less than 50,000, I will tender my apology," he said.
Campaigning for the bypolls to nine assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh concluded on Monday without the Samajwadi Party and the Congress holding a single joint campaign.

IMAGE: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath shows a victory sign along with BJP Phulpur assembly constituency bye-election candidate Deepak Patel and party leaders greet the gathering during an election rally, at Sahason in Prayagraj, November 17, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo

The leaders of both parties, however, claimed that "all is well" in the alliance and attributed the absence of joint rallies to Congress leaders being busy with "poll duties" in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, also up for bypolls on November 20.

BJP ally Rashtriya Lok Dal claimed there was a crack in the alliance.

"Barring the Samajwadi Party, the INDIA bloc was not visible on the ground. The Congress wasn't visible, because neither did it extend any help to the SP, nor was the SP willing to take any help from them," Rashtriya Lok Dal's UP unit chief Ramashish Rai told PTI.

The Congress on October 24 opted out of the bypoll and announced coordination committees the next day for all nine assembly seats, ostensibly to support the SP.

"Our cadres backed the SP fully in all seats but if you intend to ask about the leaders of both the parties not sharing dais during by-polls then that was because most of us have been campaigning in Maharashtra," UP Congress Committee chief Ajay Rai told PTI on phone from Maharashtra.

The SP campaign was spearheaded by its chief Akhilesh Yadav, and his uncles Ram Gopal Yadav and Shivpal Yadav.

"To the cynics, I must say all is well in the SP-Congress alliance. The Congress had set up coordination committees and this helped in coordination. The joint campaigns were missing due to leaders busy in assembly election campaigns in Maharashtra and Jharkhand," SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said.

"One shouldn't read too much into the absence of joint campaigns as the UP bypolls coincided with assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. I think the coordination between the two parties was fine at the ground level," Chaudhary said.

Congress Election Committee member PL Punia said the party stayed away from the fray because the main goal is to defeat the BJP.

"Our cadres indeed wanted the party to contest polls but at the same time, the larger goal was to ensure that our alliance kept the BJP away. That is why after opting out of the UP bypolls, the Congress fully backed the Samajwadi Party," he said.

The SP-Congress alliance was successful in limiting the BJP to 36 seats against the 43 seats SP 37, Congress six in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

However, after a surprise defeat in Haryana, the Congress decided to pull out from the bypoll contest in UP.

Immediately after the Haryana results, the SP unilaterally named candidates for some of the by-poll seats in UP, including those being considered by the Congress.

Nadeem Ashraf Jaisi, an old Congress hand who has since joined AAP, said the party's decision to not contest the bypolls was confusing at best.

"First, you hold 'Samvidhan Bachao Sankalp Sammelan' in all the by-poll bound constituencies, then give the impression that both the alliance partners would contest an equal number of seats before suddenly withdrawing from the contest. This is very confusing," Jaisi earlier told PTI.

The bypoll results will be announced on November 23.
The Bombay high court on Monday came down heavily on Maharashtra Crime Investigation Department for its lackadaisical probe into the killing of the Badlapur school sexual assault case accused in an alleged police shootout on September 23.

IMAGE: A massive protest at the Badlapur Railway Station against the alleged sexual assault incident with two girl children at a school, in Badlapur, in Thane, Maharashtra, August 20, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo

The probe into the case has been taken lightly and there are several lacunae, a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan observed.

The court also questioned lack of gunshot residue on the deceased Akshay Shinde's hands as well as no fingerprints on the bottle of water given to him and called these "unusual".

It pulled up the CID for delaying in collecting material that is to be submitted to the magistrate that is conducting an inquiry into the case. Under law, a magisterial inquiry is mandatory into cases of custodial deaths.

"Our endeavour is to find out the truth. Our endeavour is to see that every material is collected and placed before the magistrate and the probe is moving correctly. We want a fair probe," the bench said.

The court has to see to it that the investigation is carried out properly and if it is not done so then the question of why it was not done arises, the HC further said.

The court noted that if all material is not placed before the magistrate then the report would not be submitted in time.

"Why are you (CID) delaying the process by not providing details to the magistrate? You are still recording statements. We want all information to be given to magistrate as per law. The report was to come today and police is still recording statements," the HC said.

"See the manner in which the probe has been taken lightly. The magistrate is only going to see if the death was a custodial death or not. If the police does not even submit the proper material then how will the magistrate do its job," the court said.

The bench asked advocate general Birendra Saraf, appearing for the state CID, how long and how far he will go to justify the lacunae in the investigation.

"No expert is required to see and say the manner in which the probe is being carried out," the HC said.

The court directed the CID to ensure the probe in the case is completed in two weeks and all relevant material is submitted to the magistrate.

The court posted the matter for further hearing on December 2.

As per police, on September 23, Shinde snatched the gun of a police personnel while being taken from Taloja jail to Badlapur as part of a probe into another case filed against him. He fired three rounds and was grievously injured in retaliatory firing and was declared dead on arrival at a hospital. The incident took place at Mumbra Bypass in Thane district.

As per police, at the time of the incident, Shinde's handcuffs were removed as he had asked for water, which was given to him in a bottle inside the van.

The court on Monday, after perusing the forensic reports, said it was "unusual" that no gunshot residue was found on the deceased's hands and no fingerprints were found on the water bottles.

"This is something unusual. The residue remains on a person's hand for three to four days. Was proper effort taken to procure the sample," the court asked.

"Not a single fingerprint was found on any of the 12 bottles. How to believe this," the court said.

Shinde's father Anna Shinde had filed a petition in HC claiming his son was murdered in a fake encounter.

Last month, the HC directed the CID, which was assigned the probe by the state government, to submit all forensic reports as well as the medical report of the injured police officer.

Shinde, 24, was arrested in August for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls at a school in Badlapur at Thane district.
A Dalit student at Delhi University's Shaheed Bhagat Singh College has filed a police complaint alleging that its principal hurled casteist slurs and assaulted him after he was falsely accused of sending obscene messages on the official WhatsApp group of his department.

IMAGE: A view of the Delhi University's Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, New Delhi. Photograph: Courtesy SBEC online

Principal Arun Kumar Attri denied the allegations, claiming the student was being manipulated by a faculty member against whom an inquiry is underway for taking appointment and promotion on fake and fabricated experience certificate.

The allegations by the student have sparked protests by student groups.

Students from other universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University gathered at the college on Monday demanding the principal's resignation.

The third-year BA Hindi Honours student claimed the incident caused him mental trauma and defamation.

He has also written to the University vice-chancellor and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, seeking action against those involved.

In his complaint, the student detailed the events, stating that on October 24, a classmate's phone was allegedly hacked, and objectionable content, including links to obscene videos, was shared in the department's WhatsApp group.

He claimed to have helped fix the classmate's phone to prevent further misuse. However, during a preliminary investigation initiated by the principal he was accused by some students of sending the messages.

"Despite my full cooperation, I was subjected to intense scrutiny, including having my phone searched without my consent, which violated my right to privacy," he stated in the letter.

The student alleged that some teachers pressured him to admit to the allegations and threatened him with expulsion.

"When I refused to accept the false charges, Principal Arun Kumar Attri physically assaulted me. He also made casteist remarks, asking why I disclosed my Dalit identity and threatened to expel me if I spoke about the incident," the letter claimed.

The student added that he faced severe humiliation when he returned to college, with peers treating him as a criminal, which affected his mental health.

"These actions have hurt my self-esteem. I am under immense mental tension and have even had suicidal thoughts," he wrote, requesting urgent legal action.

However, Principal Attri said the allegations are "completely false" and the complaint is an attempt to malign him and the college.

The allegations of casteist slurs and assault are completely false. The student was found guilty by a disciplinary committee of sending obscene messages and hacking WhatsApp accounts. However, to protect his career, the college refrained from filing a cyber cell complaint and instead counselled him, warning him for the future. This complaint is an attempt to malign me and the college, Attri told PTI.

The All India Students Association unit of JNU and DU gheraoed the principal's office on Monday in Shaheed Bhagat Singh College demanding action.

The protests reportedly disrupted classes, prompting the college to announce a shift to online teaching.

In a notification, the administration cited "deteriorating air pollution" as the reason for the move.
The Kolkata police on Monday brought RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder accused Sanjay Roy to Sealdah court in a vehicle but kept blowing its horn to prevent journalists from hearing his voice.

IMAGE: People take part in a protest rally demanding justice for the victim of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital incident, in Kolkata. Photograph: ANI Photo

Roy had made certain remarks against former Kolkata police commissioner Vineet Goyal and claimed his innocence when he was being taken out of the prison van before being produced before Sealdah court on November 11, the opening day of the trial.

To prevent Roy from speaking during Monday's appearance, the police constantly honked the vehicle's horn as he was escorted to the court building, eyewitnesses said.

Monday marked the fifth day that Roy had been presented before the court as part of the ongoing trial, which is being heard in-camera on a day-to-day basis.

Three persons deposed before the court during the day, sources said.

So far, 12 witnesses have testified in the trial, which is being conducted under additional district and sessions judge Anirban Das.

The Central Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case following an order from the Calcutta high court.

The body of the on-duty doctor, who had been working at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, was discovered in the seminar room of the facility on August 9.

The crime led to nationwide outrage and prolonged protests by junior doctors in Kolkata, demanding justice for the victim.

Former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital Sandip Ghosh and erstwhile officer in-charge of Tala police station Abhijit Mondal were produced before another judge of the court during the day.

The additional chief judicial magistrate extended the judicial remand of Ghosh and Mondal till December 2 after hearing the lawyers of both parties.

They were arrested by the CBI on the charge of alleged tampering of evidence in the rape-murder case.
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Alana Stevenson writes from Charlotte, Vermont. The opinions expressed by columnists and op-ed writers do not necessarily reflect the views of Vermont News & Media.
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John Greenberg writes from Marlboro. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Vermont News & Media.
Indias competition regulator has ordered WhatsApp to cease sharing data for advertising purposes with other Meta-owned applications for five years and fined the US tech giant US$24.5 million for antitrust violations.

Reuters reported that the violation pertains to WhatsApps 2021 privacy policy, which enabled data sharing with Meta units such as Facebook and Instagram, sparking backlash at the time.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) stated: Sharing of user data collected on WhatsApp with other Meta companies for purposes other than for providing WhatsApp service shall not be made a condition for users to access WhatsApp service in India.

Technology giants are facing increased scrutiny as India considers introducing an EU-style antitrust law. The Indian government is currently reviewing a report from a panel established by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, which recommends the introduction of a Digital Competition Bill to strengthen the countrys existing antitrust framework.
Gus Gilmore, the CEO of soon to be disestablished national vocational training provider Te Pukenga, has been meeting with major partners to reassure them over the future of programmes they are supporting.

Te Pukenga forged a series of such partnerships with organisations including Apple, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft as well as the New Zealand Air Force, Fonterra, Air New Zealand and the Ministry of Social Development.

Responding to a question about the future of the partnerships in August, Gilmore told Parliaments education and workforce committee Te Pukenga had been meeting with its partners to explain what was happening to vocational education and training in New Zealand.

Obviously, the domestic-based ones have a much greater understanding of whats going on, Gilmore said, according to a transcript of the committee hearing published last month.

I met with the vice-president from Apple for Asia Pacific three weeks ago in Unitec and they were quite concerned.

We explained and talked them through what the changes meant and reassured them that our delivery on the ground and that really important programme we have with them in Northland will continue.
US President Donald Trump has urged Russia to agree to a 30-day cease-fire, warning he would slap additional sanctions on the country if it refused the US proposal, as Moscow made more gains on the battlefield.



"Russia has no way out but cease-fire. If needed we will sanction it, but I hope we won't need to," Trump told reporters at the White House on March 12.



"In a financial sense we can do very unpleasant, very bad things, devastating for Russia, but I don't want to," he said.



His comments come a day after Kyiv agreed to the temporary cease-fire following nine hours of talks with Trump administration officials in Saudi Arabia.



Trump has made ending Russia's more than three-year full-scale invasion of Ukraine a top priority since taking office for a second term less than two months ago, quickly dispatching his top officials to Moscow and Kyiv to prepare the groundwork for peace talks.



He has used Washington's significant leverage over Ukraine -- namely military aid and intelligence sharing -- to get Kyiv to agree to the cease-fire proposal, which if implemented, would leave almost 20 percent of the country in Russia's hands for the time being, at least.



But Trump lacks that type of leverage with Russia, which has navigated sweeping US and European sanctions placed on its economy following the invasion much better than most experts forecasted.

Putin may seek to drag out talks with the US over a cease-fire to improve Russia's position on the battlefield and hence at the negotiating table when and if Moscow and Kyiv hammer out a peace deal.

As Trump spoke at the White House, Putin was visiting troops in Russia's Kursk region, where fierce fighting is currently taking place and Moscow's forces are advancing.

Ukraine seized a swath of the Kursk region in a stealth incursion in August seen as an effort to divert Russian forces from eastern Ukraine and use the territory as a bargaining chip during any peace talks.

That strategy is now at risk of failing as Russian forces slowly push the Ukrainians out of Kursk. Russians forces have retaken more than half the territory initially captured by Ukraine.

Putin's visit to Kursk was his first since the incursion and signals the momentum Russia has in that theater of the war. The Kremlin leader urged his troops to retake the region in its entirety "as soon as possible."

Ukraine's top military commander, General Oleksandr Syrskiy, said that fighting continued in and around Sudzha, the largest town in the part of the region that Ukraine occupied.

Unconfirmed reports on March 12 indicated that Ukraine has begun to draw back units as Russian officials claimed their troops had captured more settlements, including Sudzha.

"Despite increased pressure from the Russian and North Korean forces, we will maintain the defense of the Kursk region as long as it is appropriate and necessary," Syrskiy wrote on Telegram.

In a Facebook post, Syrskiy said that saving soldiers lives is a priority and that Ukrainian troops "maneuver to more favorable positions, if necessary," wording often used top describe a retreat.

Concessions?

Trump hinted that Ukraine would have to make concessions on land, something more and more experts say is inevitable given Russia's momentum on the battlefield.

"When we talk cease-fire [with Ukraine], we talked land, who's withdrawing -- we discussed a lot of things [with Ukraine]," Trump said.

"We don't want to waste time, people are dying. Russia is not in the best situation now. I hope [Putin] gets a cease-fire."

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the cease-fire proposal and said he hoped it would be used as a draft for a lasting peace deal that included security guarantees for Ukraine.

"It's now up to Russia what is next," he said at a March 12 press conference, and whether "it wants to continue its aggression against Ukraine or not."

On the streets of Kyiv, some Ukrainians told RFE/RL's Current Time that they doubted whether Russia would sign on to, and adhere to, a cease-fire deal.

"I'm not sure what to say, but it all seems implausible, frankly speaking," said one Kyiv man, while a woman in the capital said the cease-fire talks were "meaningless without Russia taking part."

Moscow has so far declined to comment on the specifics of the proposal for the 30-day cease-fire, and it's unclear whether Putin has made up his mind on the agreement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was "carefully studying" the joint US-Ukraine statement issued following the Jeddah talks and will wait to comment until Russian negotiators receive more detailed information from Washington. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who represented the United States at the talks, said Washington "will have contact with Russians" today.

Trump on March 11 said he would soon speak with Putin to secure his commitment. Mike Waltz, the White House national-security adviser, spoke with his Russian counterpart on March 12, while Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff also planned to travel to Moscow, possibly to meet Putin.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe held a phone call with Sergei Naryshkin, director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, late on March 11, the Interfax news agency reported.

Rubio told reporters on March 12 in first comments since leaving the talks in Jeddah that the United States hoped to have a positive answer from Russia toward the cease-fire deal and "strongly urge[s] Russians to end all hostilities.

Konstantin Kosachev, an influential lawmaker in Russia's upper house of parliament, seemed to imply that Moscow would not simply accept the US-backed ceasefire proposal but attach conditions, taking into account that Russian forces have the momentum on the battlefield.

"Russia is advancing, and therefore it will be different with Russia," Kosachyov said in a Telegram post.

"Any agreements (with all understanding of the need for compromise) will be on our terms, not American," he said. "And this is not boasting, but an understanding that real agreements are still being written there, on the front line. Which Washington should also understand."

Rubio also said Ukraine will need a strong deterrent to prevent future attacks and that Europeans will "need to be involved in this regard." He added that further discussions would need to tackle to topic of the European Union lifting sanctions on the Russian economy.

"I would imagine that in any negotiation, if we get there, hopefully with the Russians, they will raise these European sanctions that have been imposed upon them," Rubio said.

Moscow has so far been against a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated Russia's position during an interview with three right-wing US bloggers that it will under no conditions accept the presence of NATO forces in Ukraine.

Minerals Deal

Washington and Kyiv could sign a framework agreement as early as this week on sharing the revenue generated from Ukraine's mineral resources.

Trump and Zelenskyy intended to sign the deal during their meeting at the Oval Office on February 28. However, the two got into a heated, public exchange over security guarantees for Ukraine and the meeting was abruptly ended without any deal.

Rubio cautioned that he "would not couch [the] minerals deal as a security guarantee." But he added that "if the United States has a vested economic interest thats generating revenue for our people as well as for the people of Ukraine, wed have a vested interest in protecting it if it were to be challenged or threatened."

The parade of comments come after Russia and Ukraine traded air attacks overnight just hours after Kyiv agreed to accept the cease-fire proposal.

Two Russian missile strikes hit the central Ukrainian city of Kryviy Rih on March 12, killing one person, while a separate attack killed four crew members of a cargo ship near the southern port city of Odesa.

Russia's Defense Ministry said its air-defense systems shot down six drones overnight on March 12, one over Ukraine's Russia-annexed Crimea and five over the Black Sea. The Krymsky Veter Telegram channel reported loud explosions and air-raid sirens over Crimean towns and near Russian military sites.

The United States announced after the talks in Saudi Arabia that it would immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and restore military aid to Ukraine, which could be a boost to Ukrainian forces. Ukraine's battlefield positions have been under heavy pressure, particularly in Russia's Kursk region.
With a deep background as a disinformation expert, Felix Kartte is a senior fellow at the German-based Mercator Foundation and a senior adviser at Reset, an NGO that researches social media's impact on democracy.

In the past, Kartte worked at StratCom, the EU diplomatic service's strategic communications division. While there, he helped craft EU policy on countering digital threats.

In an interview with RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, Kartte talks about the tactics authoritarian regimes such as Russia use to spread disinformation globally, highlighting recent malign efforts in Moldova during its presidential election and referendum on integration into the European Union.

RFE/RL: You've detailed how suspected Russian actors allegedly bribed politicians, bought votes, and spread deepfake videos targeting Moldovan President Maia Sandu during the recent vote and referendum. Sandu herself called it an "unprecedented attack on democracy." Could you discuss some of the specifics of this Kremlin-backed campaign?

Felix Kartte: There's plenty of reporting in international media detailing these tactics. For instance, in the weeks before the elections, Moldovan authorities found large sums of cash on passengers returning from Moscow through indirect flights, amounts that raised suspicion due to their frequency and scale. In one single day, authorities seized $1.5 million, suspecting it was intended for political influence.

Moldova's chief of police told the BBC that, as of early October, nearly 130,000 Moldovan voters had received payments linked to this scheme, representing around 10 percent of Moldova's active electorate. The country's chief anti-corruption officer also traced suspicious cash flows linked to fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, who is now living in Russia. She noted Shor had been directing funds to influence voters to oppose Moldova's pro-EU referendum and its path toward European integration.

Sources linked to the Kremlin also infiltrated social networks in Moldova. For instance, they spread deepfakes -- artificially generated videos that are now cheap and easy to produce.

In one such video, Sandu was allegedly shown as mocking the poverty of the country's citizens. In another fake video, which Sandu had to publicly debunk in her New Year's speech, she was falsely shown as banning Moldovans from drinking berry-infused tea, a drink that many Moldovans love.

These are standard cases of disinformation -- tactics designed to sow distrust and fuel anger against democratic governments.

RFE/RL: You've written about the "mirror tactic" that authoritarian regimes like Russia employ in their disinformation campaigns. Could you explain how that works?

Kartte: Sure, "mirror politics" is a tactic where a propagandist accuses opponents of the very behaviors or strategies they themselves are engaging in. The Kremlin frequently uses this tactic to confuse audiences and deflect blame. For instance, Kremlin propaganda often accuses Ukraine and the West of engaging in "Nazi" behavior and attempting to destabilize Russia, when it is, of course, the Kremlin itself that tries to wipe out the democratic governments of foreign countries, destabilize, and subdue societies.

Similarly, the Kremlin keeps accusing "the West" or particular groups such as LGBTIQ of "interfering" in Russia, when it is obviously Russia that is interfering and meddling in other countries' elections and media. This is mirror politics in action -- the aim is to blur the lines between true and false, right and wrong, and to ultimately make people indifferent to who governs them, because they can no longer see a difference between democracy and autocracy.

This tactic is effective, in some countries more than in others. For instance, in Slovakia, public support for NATO membership decreased from 72 percent to 58 percent. According to the [Slovak-based] think tank GLOBSEC, the majority [of people] in Slovakia no longer attributes primary responsibility for the war in Ukraine to Russia.

RFE/RL: How does Russia exploit its war against Ukraine in its disinformation campaigns?

Kartte: As I mentioned, Russia's full-scale [2022 invasion] of Ukraine was both preceded and accompanied by a comprehensive disinformation campaign aimed at misportraying Ukraine as a "Nazi regime" and creating false pretenses for the invasion. A key aim of Russian disinformation has been to undermine public support for Ukraine in Western countries like the U.S. or Germany.

For instance, the so-called "Doppelganger" campaign spreads pro-Russian narratives through fake websites and social media accounts, even spoofing credible news outlets to gain traction. Key themes include questioning the effectiveness of sanctions on Russia, amplifying negative sentiments toward Ukrainian leaders, and stoking fears about Ukrainian refugees in Europe.

RFE/RL: How does conservative rhetoric fit into Russian disinformation efforts?

Kartte: Russian propaganda often leverages conservative rhetoric, focusing on themes like "woke-ism," family values, and LGBTIQ rights to resonate with conservative citizens in Europe who may feel societal changes threaten traditional norms. A prominent example is the "Gayrope" narrative, framing Europe's tolerance as moral decay and a threat to family values.

In this context, [Russian President] Vladimir Putin is portrayed as a strongman who can "save" Europe from what is labeled as the "woke virus," echoing the portrayals of figures like [President-elect] Donald Trump in the United States.

Of course, the Kremlin's interest in these conservative values is purely strategic. The Russian government and its illiberal allies across Europe, far from genuinely defending traditional values, pose a threat to core conservative pillars such as the European peace order, free markets, and even Christian values such as honesty, compassion, and humility.

The Kremlin's strategy aims to manipulate socially conservative audiences and appeals to those who feel overwhelmed by societal changes, while simultaneously blurring the lines between traditional center-right parties and far-right extremists. It invokes common conservative concerns to capture center-right audiences, and then feeds them with content that fuels anxiety and hostility.

Russia's aim here is ultimately to strengthen extremist political parties that have a pro-Russian agenda -- at the expense of traditional conservative parties.

RFE/RL: How crucial is technology, namely artificial intelligence, in disinformation campaigns today?

Kartte: I believe we often overestimate the role of new technologies like AI in disinformation. Consider the U.S. election: According to U.S. authorities, Russia interfered in the electoral process by sponsoring domestic U.S. YouTube influencers to spread pro-Russian content, notably supporting Trump.

While these influence operations are costly and effective, they don't primarily rely on AI tools like ChatGPT. The real harm stems not from AI itself but from Russia's bad intentions and the significant resources it devotes to disinformation.

RFE/RL: How prepared is Europe to counter disinformation campaigns? What could be done better?

Kartte: The EU has taken substantial steps to combat disinformation, including establishing a dedicated task force at its diplomatic service over a decade ago, supporting independent media and researchers, and regulating social media platforms.

Yet, Russian propaganda continues to stay a step ahead by masking its origins through intermediaries and commercial entities, complicating attribution. Additionally, some political parties within the EU actively propagate pro-Russian narratives, making effective countermeasures more challenging and highlighting the complexity of tackling disinformation within the EU's own borders.

This transcript is an abridged version of a text interview carried out through LinkedIn.
Global connectivity provider Angola Cables is reportedly planning to expand into Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to cash in on Africa's growing appetite for digital infrastructure  provided regulators make it easier to roll out that infrastructure.

According to ITWeb Africa, Sudhir Juggernath  the CEO of Angola Cables subsidiary TelCables Southern and East Africa  said that Angola Cables will go the partnership route to enter those markets, rather than via acquisitions.

"We want to enter into untapped markets in terms of growth and digital productivity, he told told ITWeb Africa at last weeks Africa Tech Festival 2024 event. We want to empower [Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe] with our internet connectivity."

Juggernath said Angola Cables is keen to expand as various African markets look to accelerate their digital economies and bridge their respective digital divides, which will require dependable and scalable digital infrastructure to support them, the report said.

However, Juggernath observed, that will also require regulators to streamline infrastructure deployments, the report added.

Regulators need to make it easier for carriers and ISPs to deploy fibre faster or connectivity to the unconnected. Its about making it easier to lay fibre, making it easier to run fibre through a town, he said. Make it easy to put up Wi-Fi terminals or put up towers.
WASHINGTON -- There has been little to cheer about in Ukraine this fall.

Russia has been seizing territory in eastern Ukraine at the fastest clip in more than 2 1/2 years, just as its ally North Korea sends thousands of fresh troops to the front.

Meanwhile, the United States -- Ukraine's biggest backer in its war with Russia -- just elected as its next leader Donald Trump, who has criticized large-scale aid to Ukraine. That has raised fears that a future lack of U.S. support could lead to Kyiv being forced to concede territory in exchange for peace.

There are also concerns that Ukraine's European partners appear too divided to fill the potential U.S. void.

But just as the prospects of a brutal winter grow with the launch of a new Russian counteroffensive, Ukraine has seemingly secured one of its biggest military requests. According to multiple U.S. media reports, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has finally given Kyiv the green light to strike inside Russia with powerful, U.S. long-range weapons.

"This is a message to the Kremlin that we're not just folding up our tents and waiting for Trump, that the United States has not quit," retired U.S. Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, who commanded U.S. Army forces in Europe from 2014 to 2017, told RFE/RL.

Cautious About Escalation

The move also opens the door for Britain and France to follow suit, potentially enabling Ukraine to deal Russia a blow at a critical moment in the war. Ukraine is seeking to hold onto territorial gains in Russia's Kursk region that could be crucial to any future negotiations.

Kyiv had been pleading with the Biden administration for months to grant permission for deep strikes to destroy airfields hosting the Russian bombers and fighter jets that are terrorizing Ukraine.

Earlier this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia was dropping as many as 3,000 glide bombs on Ukraine every month. Those bombs have decimated Ukraine's forces, destroyed its infrastructure, and opened the door to Moscow's seizure of territory.

The Biden administration, which had been cautious about the delivery of powerful weapons systems to Ukraine since the war began, has previously rejected Kyiv's request amid concern it would trigger Russian escalation. The administration had also blocked the U.K. from granting permission for long-range strikes because its Storm Shadow cruise missiles also use U.S. parts.

Some experts suggested that the Biden administration was also concerned the Trump campaign could use the issue of deep-strike permission to stoke fears of a wider war ahead of the November 5 election. Trump ran on a promise to end the war soon after taking office.

The reported White House decision to permit deep strikes comes a day after Russia launched 210 missiles and drones into Ukraine, one of the largest aerial attacks by Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

It also comes as Russia has reportedly deployed 50,000 men to retake Kursk, including thousands of North Korean troops. Military analysts have suggested that Putin wants to regain full control of the region before Trump takes power on January 20 to strengthen its bargaining position.

Likely Impact

The battlefield impact of the deep-strike permission will depend on how many ATACMS -- missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers -- and other allied long-range missiles Ukraine is given and what restrictions are placed on their use. The New York Times and The Washington Post reported that Ukraine is being limited to striking the Kursk region.

Following the Biden administration's announcement, the French daily Le Figaro reported that the U.K. and France said they, too, would allow Ukraine to use their Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles to strike inside Russia. That will put pressure on Germany, which has so far refused to deliver its Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

Colby Badhwar, a Canadian-based defense analyst who has written extensively about ATACMS, says the United States had about 2,400 of the long-range missiles in stock as of December 2023, roughly half of which were expired. He says more than 500 ATACMS have been added to the stockpile over the past year. However, he says the Pentagon has been hesitant to supply them in large numbers.

Manpower Issues

Retired Lieutenant General Hodges said Ukraine could undermine Russia's ongoing counteroffensive in Kursk with a healthy supply of missiles.

"You can defeat mass if you have enough precision weapons that can destroy headquarters, logistics, and artillery," he said.

Earlier this year, as rumors heated up that the United States might grant the use of ATACMS inside Russia, the Kremlin began moving some of its military assets out of their range.

Badhwar said in a tweet that there are still plenty of Russian military assets within striking distance.

Yet even successful ATACMS strikes won't address Ukraine's main problem on the battlefield, something the United States and its NATO allies can't really help with -- manpower.

Ukraine moved late to step up recruitment and is now struggling to attract and train enough men to repel the constant Russian troop assaults. Although Russia is losing as many as 1,500 men a day -- more than Ukraine -- the Kremlin is still able to replenish its forces.
As industries worldwide accelerate digital transformation in an AI-driven era, resilient, high-speed networks have become essential.

At the recent Net5.5G Intelligent IP Network Summit during the 2024 Ultra-Broadband Forum (UBBF) in Istanbul, industry leaders discussed the future of IP networks in the AI age. Insights from industry organizations and leading carriers highlighted the roadmap for Net5.5G, emphasizing commercial and technical advancements needed to achieve it. Initiatives like the Net5.5G Pioneer Program reflect the industrys commitment to developing adaptive, high-performance networks that meet the demands of intelligent connectivity.

Laying the Foundation for an AI-Driven Future

Huawei set the tone with a forward-looking vision for carrier networks in the AI era. Leon Wang, President of Huaweis Data Communication Product Line, emphasized the transformative potential of Net5.5G to drive digital and economic growth. Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly maturing, with industries worldwide adopting AI. By 2030, AI is projected to add over $15 trillion to the global economy, Wang noted, underscoring the need for advanced IP networks to support these developments. This growth opens new business opportunities for carriers, driven by innovations like Net5.5G.





Leon Wang, President of Data Communication Product Line, Huawei

Wang also highlighted the success of Huaweis earlier Net Falcon 5G network, launched at UBBF the previous year, now supporting 14 carriers across 20 countries, driving revenue and operational efficiency. He explained how these deployments have boosted revenue by expanding service options and reducing costs. Leading carriers are now exploring elastic network structures, private LANs, and intelligent services to create new growth opportunities, he added, urging attendees to view Net5.5G as a catalyst for digital transformation.

Navigating Network Challenges in the AI Age

Global leaders expanded on this vision, sharing insights into network demands shaped by AI. Martin Creaner, Director General of the World Broadband Association (WBBA), highlighted that applications like the metaverse, AI-generated content (AIGC), and autonomous vehicles dramatically increase bandwidth demands, outpacing traditional networks. Differentiated experiences on networks are essential as these services become more central to daily life, Creaner remarked, stressing that AI-ready networks need both high speed and robust security.





Martin Creaner, Director General of the World Broadband Association (WBBA)

Reflecting this necessity, WBBAs launch of the Net5.5G Pioneer Program offers carriers a roadmap to embrace end-to-end infrastructure for future needs. Building a global Net5.5G network is essential to support innovations that require real-time responsiveness and strong security, Creaner emphasized.

Building Blocks of Net5.5G: Speed, Flexibility, and Intelligence

Xu Huan, Huaweis Vice President of Router Domain, elaborated on the unique demands AI applications place on network infrastructure. He illustrated how emerging technologies, such as AI glasses and autonomous taxis, generate enormous data loads, requiring ultra-reliable, high-speed connections. Imagine AI glasses analyzing and displaying cooking recipes based on the contents of a fridge. Each interaction could generate up to 1GB of data per millisecond, Xu explained, underscoring the bandwidth-intensive nature of these applications. Autonomous taxis, he noted, require near-zero latencydown to 13 millisecondsfor safe remote intervention, generating up to 50GB of data daily per vehicle.





Xu Huan, Vice President of Router Domain in the Data Communication Product Line, Huawei

Addressing these challenges, Xu presented Huaweis vision for Net5.5G which rests on three core technical pillars: ultra-broadband capabilities, Segment Routing over IPv6 (SRv6) based network slicing, and advanced automation with intelligent management.

With SRv6, were enabling networks to adapt in real-time, delivering stable, low-latency connections essential for AI applications in both consumer and enterprise sectors, Xu stated.

Xu also highlighted Huaweis Network as a Service approach, which provides ubiquitous ultra-broadband access, and autonomous vehicles, 400GE/800GE transport, and AI-oriented unified data storage. Our vision for SRv6 goes beyond connectivityits about enabling monetization, optimizing user experience, and opening doors to new business opportunities, he added.





Mehmet Durmus, Associate Director of IP/MPLS Core and Data Center Networks at Turkcell

Mehmet Durmus, Associate Director of IP/MPLS Core and Data Center Networks at Turkcell, discussed Turkcell's focus on building a resilient, scalable IP backbone. He emphasized Turkcell's use of 400GE technologies and exploration of 800GE, aiming not only to increase network capacity but also to improve efficiency. Durmus explained that Turkcells roadmap includes SRv6 to enhance network automation, reduce latency, and ensure reliability for AI-driven applications aligning with Huaweis NaaS model. With automation, were building a network that doesnt just reactit anticipates needs, ensuring minimal disruptions and peak efficiency, he noted.

Industry Leaders on Adopting Net5.5G Innovations

At the summit, several carriers presented their Net5.5G deployment strategies, sharing how they leverage Net5.5Gs capabilities to improve performance, create new revenue streams, and adapt to the rising demands of intelligent applications.

Durmus elaborated on Turkcells adoption of 400GE, SRv6, and Network Digital Map, noting, The demand for ultra-broadband and low-latency connections is at the heart of our strategy. With Huaweis support, were building a network thats capable of handling high-quality AI-powered applications at scale, enhancing digital experiences for our users across Turkiye.





Mehmet Durmus, Associate Director of IP / MPLS Core and Data Center Networks at Turkcell

Ibrahim Senyonga, General Manager for MTNs Enterprise Business, introduced MTNs partnership with Huawei for Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions. As we enter the AI era, the need for secure, resilient connections is more crucial than ever, he said. Our partnership with Huawei enables us to lead in providing network solutions that meet these new demands in sectors from finance to healthcare.





Ibrahim Senyonga, General Manager of Enterprise Business, MTN

Driving Digital Transformation Across Regions

The summit also emphasized the role of Net5.5G in digital transformation across regions like the Middle East and Africa. Mohamed Ben Amor, Director General of the Arab ICT Organization (AICTO), discussed AICTOs efforts to advance Net5.5G through the Arab IPv6 Council. Our mission is to build an interconnected digital infrastructure that supports economic growth and social equity, Ben Amor stated.





Mohamed Ben Amor, Director General Manager, the Arab ICT Organization (AICTO)

This council is part of the Arab Horizon 2030 vision, aiming to bridge digital divides across the Arab world. Working with Huawei and other partners allows us to accelerate Net5.5G deployment and make AI applications accessible to businesses and communities alike, Ben Amor said.

Accelerating Adoption with the Net5.5G Pioneer Program

The summits closing session featured the launch of the Net5.5G Pioneer Program, a global initiative by WBBA to accelerate Net5.5Gs commercial rollout. The program promotes collaboration and knowledge-sharing to advance digital infrastructure. Huawei and WBBA emphasized the program as a way for operators to explore Net5.5Gs potential while developing the infrastructure required for AI-driven applications.





To honor early adopters, Huawei hosted an award ceremony recognizing over ten carriers for pioneering Net5.5G deployment. This event underscored the commitment of industry leaders to transform network standards, making intelligent, adaptable IP networks that meet the needs of modern digital economies.

Conclusion: Envisioning the Next Era of Intelligent Connectivity

The Net5.5G Intelligent IP Network Summit reinforced a core message: the future of connectivity requires networks that are not only high-performing but also intelligent and adaptive. Huaweis Net5.5G framework, with SRv6, ultra-broadband transport, and automation, offers a clear pathway for carriers to remain competitive. As networks evolve, they will be poised to anticipate user needs, empowering a future of seamless, intelligent connectivity.

With initiatives like the Net5.5G Pioneer Program and continued collaboration among industry leaders, the telecommunications industry is setting the stage for a world where networks support the demands of intelligent, data-intensive applications. The summit marks a pivotal step in realizing a future where connectivity empowers every facet of digital life, meeting the demands of AI-driven transformation with resilience, adaptability, and performance.
November 18, 2024 UPDATE

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsflash

Newsroom, 18.11.2024, 20:00

VISIT  The president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, on Monday visited the Documentation Centre for Displacement, Expulsion, Reconciliation in Berlin on the sidelines on his visit to Germany. The visit highlights peoples suffering from war, a time when mans fundamental rights are ignored, the president said. On Sunday, Klaus Iohannis addressed the Bundestag as part of a ceremony devoted to the Victims of War and Dictatorship Remembrance Day. The fall of the Berlin Wall 35 years ago encouraged Romanians to fight for freedom, while the fall of the Iron Curtain allowed Romania to return to the family of European democracies, the president said. Klaus Iohannis met with his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and discussed security topics and the support the two countries provide to Ukraine. His meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz tackled Romanias full Schengen accession.

ROMANIA AND NATO  Romanias Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, on Monday met the European Parliament president, Roberta Metsola, on the sidelines of his visit to Brussels, marking the start of a new Parliament session and the adoption of the 2024-2029 Strategic Agenda. Joint projects highlighted by Prime Minister Ciolacu for the upcoming period include supporting a promising EU budget post-2025 that should foster competitiveness and internal convergence. The Prime Minister also met with the European Council president-elect, Antonio Costa. Also on Monday, Marcel Ciolacu met with NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, on whom he called to deploy additional Allied troops to Romania, a decision he has called vital for a robust deterrence in the face of Russian challenges, also with a view to consolidating NATOs presence on the Eastern Flank, in the extended Black Sea region. Romania has already allotted 2.5% of the GDP to defense spending this year and will continue to prioritize investments in defense over the coming period as well, the Prime Minister told the NATO Secretary General. Romania will continue to provide multidimensional support to Ukraine and to the Republic of Moldova, Marcel Ciolacu also said.

SCHENGEN  Romanias Interior Minister, Catalin Predoiu, held talks in Vienna with his Austrian counterpart, Gerhard Karner, ahead of the informal meeting that will take place in Budapest at the end of this week, where Romanias Schengen extension will be discussed. Romania will continue to take action to combat illegal migration and cross-border crime, through a preemptive approach, the Bucharest official said. According to Brussels sources, the Ministers of Internal Affairs from Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria will hold preliminary talks in the Hungarian capital regarding the date when Romania and Bulgaria would join Schengen with their land borders as well.

EU-FAC  Romanias Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminita Odobescu, on Monday attended the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting in Brussels. On the sidelines of the event, she took part in a working meeting of EU Foreign Ministers with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, Mihai Popsoi. The meeting occasioned in-depth discussions regarding the results of the presidential election and the referendum for European integration in the Republic of Moldova, with an emphasis on Russias hybrid attacks in this context, by means of which it tried to undermine the democratic electoral process and hijack the European course of this country. Minister Odobescu congratulated the authorities of the Republic of Moldova for the very good organization of the presidential election and the constitutional referendum, expressing satisfaction for the new mandate obtained by president Maia Sandu. Minister Odobescu emphasized Romanias determination to continue the active and consistent support for the Republic of Moldova at all levels of cooperation. (VP)
35 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall

Preserving the memory of the victims of wars and of those persecuted for their faith is a duty, said the president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, in Berlin.

Klaus Iohannis, speech in the Bundestag on the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of War and Dictatorship (Photo: presidency.ro)

Daniela Budu, 18.11.2024, 13:50

The fall of the Berlin Wall, 35 years ago, represented for Romanians an encouragement in their fight for freedom, and the removal of the Iron Curtain made it possible for Romania to return to the family of European democracies, President Klaus Iohannis said in Berlin. On a visit to Germany, the Romanian head of state gave a speech in the Federal Parliament, during a ceremony organized on the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of War and Dictatorship. In the context, he emphasized the fact that for 35 years, Romania has been a free country, following the December 1989 Revolution. He said, in his speech in the Bundestag, that after the Second World War, European democratic values and the European economic model were sources of inspiration for international partners. He drew attention, however, to the fact that, unfortunately, it became obvious that some totalitarian regimes fear of the attractiveness of European values made the Union be perceived as a threat, stressing that Romania had warned in advance of the risk to Europes security posed by the aggressiveness of dictatorial regimes.

Klaus Iohannis said that Unfortunately, the mechanisms of propaganda and disinformation are spreading again today, because dictatorial regimes count on the fact that a lie told often enough becomes the truth. We see this revolting reality in Russias aggression against Ukraine. We stand by the Ukrainian people, who courageously and heroically opposed the invasion dictated by the Kremlin, defying the force and brutality of Russian imperialism. The support of our states and the international community is vital to finally ensuring a just and lasting peace, in full agreement with the UN Charter and international law, said Klaus Iohannis.

These risks, Klaus Iohannis added, are also an important reason why we advocate for strengthening the resilience of the Republic of Moldova, the state most affected by this war, after Ukraine. He said that We also remain firmly committed to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova on the path of joining the European Union, President Iohannis emphasized. According to him, preserving the memory of the victims of wars and totalitarianism, as well as of those persecuted for their faith, for searching justice and freedom, is a duty and a form of justice. We must always keep in mind that forgetting the past leads to the repetition of historys mistakes or the perpetuation of injustice. This forgetfulness represents an ever-increasing danger, Klaus Iohannis said.

At the same time, he expressed his admiration for the care with which the German state understands to focus on the appropriate knowledge of history, especially by the younger generations. He stated that in Romania we are also making serious efforts so that young people should learn in schools about the mistakes of the past and be aware of them, so as not to repeat them. On the other hand, Klaus Iohannis assured Germany that it would continue to find in Romania a partner deeply dedicated to European values, ready to work for the strengthening of the European Union and for these values of freedom and democracy to be protected and accepted, both in the neighborhood and globally. (LS)
Oil prices traded higher on Monday after settling sharply lower on Friday due to persistent concerns of weak demand in China, the world's largest importer of crude, and forecasts of a global oil surplus.

Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.6 percent to $71.48 in European trade while WTI crude futures were up half a percent at $67.23.

Investors weighed the risk of supply disruptions after fighting between Russia and Ukraine intensified over the weekend.

A "massive" Russian missile and drone attack has targeted power infrastructure across Ukraine, the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory with long-range missiles supplied by the U.S. has sparked a furious response in Russia, with Russian senator Vladimir Dzhabarov calling it "an unprecedented step towards World War Three".

The change in stance follows Russia's deployment of North Korean ground troops to supplement its own forces, a development that has caused alarm in Washington and Kyiv.

The Russian president had said he would consider strikes by U.S.-made weapons on Russian soil as the direct involvement of Nato in the conflict.

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Market Analysis
The first known case of clade I mpox in the United States has been confirmed in California.

The California Department of Public Health said the new case has been confirmed through laboratory testing, and that it is related to an ongoing outbreak of clade I mpox in Central and Eastern Africa.

The risk of clade I mpox to the public remains low, and there continue to be sporadic clade II mpox cases in the United States, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a press release.

The case was diagnosed in a person who recently traveled from Eastern Africa, CDC said, without disclosing the identity of the infected person. The individual was treated shortly after returning to the United States at a local medical facility and released. Since then, the person has isolated at home, is not on treatment specific for mpox, and symptoms are improving, CDC said.

Based on their travel history and symptoms, patient specimens were tested and confirmed for the presence of clade I monkeypox virus. Specimens are being sent to CDC for additional viral characterization. Additionally, CDC is working with the state to identify and follow up with potential contacts.

CDC made it clear that casual contact, like one might have during travel, is unlikely to pose significant risks for transmission of mpox.

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Business News
Leaders of the G20 group of developed economies will gather for its 19th Summit in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro on Monday.

The first session of the two-day G20 Summit will be held at Museu de Arte Moderna do in Rio de Janeiro at 8:20 AM ET.

It will be the first G20 summit to be held in Brazil, and the first full summit with the African Union as a member.

G20 Brazil has put three main agenda priorities for the G20 dialogue in 2024: Social inclusion and the fight against hunger; Energy transition and sustainable development in its social, economic and environmental aspects; and Reform of the global governance institutions.

The member nations have reached a fragile consensus on climate finance that had eluded U.N. climate change talks in Azerbaijan, Reuters reported quoting sources.

Addressing a news conference on the eve of the opening of the Summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the G20 group of developed economies must be at the forefront of global efforts to bring about peace, climate action, fairer international financial institutions and equitable access to emerging technologies.

"I have come to Rio with a simple message: G20 leaders must lead," he told reporters on Sunday.

"G20 countries - by definition - have tremendous economic clout. They wield massive diplomatic leverage. They must use it to tackle key global problems."

Guterres arrived in Rio from the COP29 UN climate conference underway in Baku, Azerbaijan.

He stressed the need for countries to "race much faster to tackle fundamental common challenges" such as the climate crisis, raging conflicts, rising impunity, growing inequality, and stalled progress in addressing hunger and poverty.

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Business News
The United Kingdom has successfully test-fired its cutting-edge SPEAR mini-cruise missile Sunday.

SPEAR, which is a next generation turbojet-powered miniature cruise missile, successfully completed the trial after being fired from a BAE Systems-operated Typhoon jet at Vidsel range in Sweden. This was the first time the weapons system had been fired against a target, signifying a major leap forward in the program's development.

SPEAR autonomously navigated to the target via customisable routes before using its advanced all-weather radar seeker to map the target area, and using the radio-frequency imagery to successfully engage it. The trial used a telemetry unit instead of a live warhead.

Each missile can hit targets from 100 kilometers away and is designed to be used against a range of targets, including air defenses, ships, tanks, defended structures and fast-moving vehicles. Once in service it will be fitted to Britain's F-35B fighter jets and allow the military to strike targets both from land and Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard said, "the successful trial of the pioneering SPEAR missile marks a significant leap forward in UK Armed Forces' capabilities, ensuring our Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel are equipped with cutting-edge to protect our nation."

This achievement not only strengthens national defense capabilities but also boosts the UK , by supporting high-skilled jobs and innovation.

F-35B jets will be able to carry up to eight SPEAR missiles at a time, providing the next generation of long-range air-to-surface missiles. This guided firing trial marks a critical milestone in the development of the SPEAR program, which provides the next generation of stand-off air-to-surface missiles for Suppression of Enemy Air Defences missions in challenging and complex operating environments.

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Business News
Crypto market sentiment turned volatile even as anticipation of a crypto-friendly regulatory regime in the U.S. heightened. Overall crypto market capitalization has slipped 0.36 percent overnight and is currently at $3.03 trillion.

Bitcoin slipped 0.77 percent overnight to trade at $89,899.58, around 4 percent below the all-time high. The original cryptocurrency touched a high of $92,194.36 and a low of $88,741.67 in the past 24 hours. Weekly gains are at 9.6 percent whereas gains over the 30-day horizon are close to 32 percent. Gains in 2024 are at 112 percent.

Data from Farside Investors showed outflows from Bitcoin Spot ETF products in the U.S declining to $370 million from $401 million on Thursday. No ETF recorded net inflows on Friday.

Ethereum slipped 0.76 percent in the past 24 hours to trade at $3,076.88, around 37 percent below the previous peak. Weekly losses are at 2.9 percent. Gains over the 30-day horizon are at 16.6 percent whereas year-to-date gains are a little less than 35 percent.

Data from Farside Investors on Ethereum Spot ETF products in the U.S. showed net outflows of $60 million on Friday as compared with $3 million on Thursday.

4th ranked Solana (SOL) gained 3.1 percent overnight and 9.5 percent in the past week to trade at $239.61.

5th ranked BNB (BNB) slipped 1.6 percent overnight and 0.4 percent in the past week. BNB is currently trading at $616.82.

6th ranked XRP (XRP) has added 2.71 percent overnight to trade at $1.13. The cryptocurrency issued by Ripple Labs has jumped close to 95 percent in the past week. Gains exceed 84 percent on a year-to-date basis.

7th ranked Dogecoin (DOGE) declined 0.6 percent overnight to trade at $0.3608. DOGE has added 24 percent in the past week and more than 300 percent in 2024.

9th ranked Cardano (ADA) gained 1.2 percent overnight to trade at $0.7319. ADA is currently trading 76 percent below the record high till date.

10th ranked TRON (TRX) added 2.7 percent overnight to trade at $ 0.2021. TRX has gained 22.5 percent in the past week. The trading price is 33 percent below the cryptocurrency's all-time high.

28th ranked Hedera (HBAR) topped overnight gains with a surge of close to 28 percent.



20th ranked Stellar (KLM) and 32nd ranked Mantra (OM), both gained more than 18 percent.

77th ranked Goatseus Maximus (GOAT) that has declined 17.8 percent is the greatest laggard on an overnight basis.

Amidst persisting post-election market momentum and hopes of a crypto-friendly regulatory regime in the U.S., inflows to digital asset investment products recorded a massive jump in the past week. The CoinShares' Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly report showed inflows of $2.2 billion during the week ended November 16, rising from $1.98 billion during the week ended November 8. Year-to-date flows have increased to record high of $33.5 billion. According to the report, Bitcoin topped flows by asset, iShares ETF topped flows by provider and United States topped flows by country during the past week.

Bitcoin-based products dominated with inflows of $1.5 billion. Ethereum-based products recorded inflows of $646 million. Short Bitcoin products recorded inflows of $48.5 million. Solana followed with inflows of $23.9 million. Multi-asset products however recorded outflows of $19.4 million.

Close to 83 percent of the cumulative AUM of $135.9 billion is attributed to Bitcoin products that account for an AUM of $112.8 billion. Bitcoin's dominance of crypto market is much lower, at around 59 percent.

AUM of Ethereum products stood at $13.3 billion. Multi-asset portfolios command assets under management of $6.5 billion. An AUM of $1.8 billion is attributed to Solana-based products and $601 million to Binance-based products.

The provider-wise analysis of flows inter alia shows inflows of $2.2 billion to iShares ETF. Ark 21Shares recorded outflows of $153 million followed by Grayscale Investments that recorded outflows of $108 million. Bitwise ETF and CoinShares XBT, both recorded outflows of more than $60 million.

iShares ETF tops with a cumulative AUM of $43.4 billion implying a share of close to 32 percent. Though year-to-date outflows exceed $19.9 billion, Grayscale Investments still accounts for an AUM of $27.4 billion, which is 20.16 percent of the cumulative AUM of $135.9 billion. Fidelity commands an AUM of $17.4 billion, followed by ARK 21Shares and 21Shares that have both mobilized assets under management of more than $4.1 billion.

The top 3 viz iShares, Grayscale Investments and Fidelity account for more than 64.8 percent of the total AUM.

The country-wise analysis shows weekly inflows of $2.21 billion to United States. Hong Kong recorded inflows of $27 million followed by Australia that recorded inflows of $18.3 million.

Sweden topped outflows with $58.1 million followed by Brazil that recorded outflows of $10.5 million.

2024 has been a super year for digital asset investment products with inflows of $33.5 billion. Bitcoin ETF frenzy and expectations of pro-crypto policies from the new Trump administration boosted inflows to the United States which has seen year-to-date inflows of $33.42 billion. Switzerland has recorded inflows of $688 million followed by Hong Kong with inflows of $352 million and Brazil with inflows of $190 million. Sweden, Canada and Germany have recorded negative flows over the year-to-date period.

Of the cumulative AUM of $135.9 billion, $105.3 billion or 77.5 percent is in United States. Switzerland follows with AUM of $6.4 billion whereas Canada accounts for an AUM of $5.96 billion. Germany accounts for an AUM of $5.11 billion followed by Sweden with an AUM of $3.75 billion.



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Kia is getting ready to launch the new gen Seltos next year  Ahead of that testing has started in South Korea

Kias next-gen Seltos, first launched in 2019, is gearing up for a significant transformation set for a 2025 debut. Recent spy shots offer a closer look at the upcoming model, showcasing updated LED lighting elements and design refinements that align with Kias contemporary aesthetics.

Latest Spy Shots of 2025 Kia Seltos Hybrid

The heavily camouflaged test vehicle provides intriguing glimpses of whats to come. Latest spy shots are credited to Shorts Car from South Korea.

Modern LED Signature: The spy images reveal a fresh take on the front and rear LED lights. The headlights feature a sleek design with vertical daytime running lights (DRLs), hinting at a bolder, more premium look. The rear showcases a striking LED tail light pattern, emphasizing Kias commitment to sharp, futuristic styling.

New Turn Indicators and Alloys The presence of advanced LED turn signals adds to the modern touch, suggesting an emphasis on improved visibility and safety. The new alloy wheel design is a noticeable change, bringing a sportier edge that matches the overall aggressive stance of the SUV.

Evolving Design Language

While the camouflaged bodywork conceals many elements, the silhouette suggests that Kia is blending the rugged profile of the Seltos with styling cues from its electric vehicle lineup. The tail light structure, which bears resemblance to the EV5, indicates a unified design theme that connects Kias ICE and EV models.

Although interiors have not been spied in latest spy shots, thanks to earlier leaks we know that next-gen Seltos will carry over inspiration from the EV3s cabin layout. This will include a two-tone interior with vibrant accents, enhancing passenger appeal. Anticipated features include ambient lighting and a potential shift from the traditional 3-spoke steering wheel to a more sophisticated 2-spoke design.

Hybrid and Advanced Powertrain Options

Apart from the existing range of petrol and diesel engine options, 2025 Kia Seltos is reportedly going to also get a 1.6-litre hybrid powertrain, generating approximately 141 hp, similar to the Hyundai Kona Hybrid. This version is likely to come with AWD setup as well. India launch could take place around Diwali 2025. Upon launch in India, it will rival the likes of Hyundai Creta, Maruti Grand Vitara, Toyota Hyryder, Tata Curvv, etc.
While Toyotas version of this vehicle is confirmed, Maruti eVX is highly to launch first and will be a global product

Indias leading car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki, is poised to take the wraps off its first-ever electric car. It will be the production version of eVX Concept and the production-spec model stays loyal to original design. The latest spy shots of eVX suggest that there is a slight possibility of it being a Toyota version. Lets take a look.

Maruti eVX Clear Spy Shots

While Maruti Suzuki is a strong advocate in demanding tax benefits to strong hybrid vehicles, the company is also interested in pure EVs. The company is set to launch their first-ever pure EV soon and it will spawn a Toyota counterpart as well, as confirmed by the company recently.

Production of this electric SUV will commence in Q2 of calendar year 2025. The company has also confirmed that this electric SUV will come with 4WD capability, something that is not seen with the current crop of compact electric SUVs like MG ZS EV and Tata Curvv EV and upcoming Hyundai Creta EV.

The recent spy shots are some of the clearest till date, credited to True Car Advice. Thus showing great details about this upcoming vehicle. This will be a global vehicle and will be sold in many export markets like Europe under Suzuki brand. Production will happen in Maruti Suzukis Gujarat plant.

Overall silhouette looks like it is a giant S-Presso with a slight sloping roofline. While the recent test mule was fully camouflaged, it showed a few design elements. For starters, it gets production-spec lighting at the front and rear matching with previous spy shots seen both in India and abroad.

There are production-spec wheels too, but with an interesting twist. These wheels are 5-spoke unit with a slotted design where aerodynamic covers will fit on top. So, the same alloy wheel can be used for both Maruti and Toyota with just different aerodynamic covers, which is a smart touch.

What to expect?

Except for the fascia and tail lights, both Marutis and Toyotas version of this EV might look identical. Similar to how Ertiga-Rumion, Baleno-Glanza, Grand Vitara-Urban Cruiser Hyryder, Fronx-Urban Cruiser Taisor and Innova Hycross-Invicto have been executed. Like a typical badge-engineering exercise.

Battery size can go up to 60 kWh in size and quote a range of up to 500 km on a single charge. It will have 4WD option as confirmed by the company recently. Floating centre console, premium interiors, ADAS, 360-degree camera are some of the notable attributes expected from this vehicle. Production will commence in Q2 of calendar year 2025 at Maruti Suzukis Gujarat plant.

Source
China Mobile Pakistan (CMPak), which operates under the Zong 4G brand, says that it is now logging 7 billion recharge transactions per month via its digital channels, which now account for 40% of prepaid recharges.

Zong 4G first launched its digital customer channels in 2017 as a way for its subscribers to top up their prepaid accounts without having to physically go to retail shops or merchants. Digital options currently include banking apps, fintech apps and websites.

Wasi Ansari, Zong 4Gs director of sales and distribution, said the 7 billion recharges milestone was a testament to the growth of Zongs digital strategy.

Over the past seven years, the Alternate Channel has grown exponentially, now holding a 40% volume share in total recharge volume and delivering a YTD growth of 29.81% this year, he said in a statement.

Zong is Pakistans second largest mobile network with 49 million subscribers, behind Veon-owned Jazz, which had 71.4 million subscribers as of May 2024.

In July, Zong 4G said it had deployed over 400 new 4G sites across Pakistan in the first half of this year whilst also completing an extensive network modernisation project to address capacity challenges.

Zong also recently expanded its service coverage to Pakistans northern region of Gilgit Baltistan, with 59 4G sites being rolled out in over 15 cities. As of August 2024, services were already accessible to residents in Gilgit, Astore, Skardu, and Hunza.
Ransomware is one of the worlds most pervasive and damaging cyber threats. This is particularly true when we consider that hospitals and health care-related facilities are some of the favorite targets of these ransomware criminals.

According to Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, cyber criminals launch ransomware attacks at the digital infrastructure of health facilities, disrupt or shut them down, and demand payment for ending the attack. They believe that the greater the threat to patient safety, confidentiality and service disruptions, the more likely and faster they are to be paid the ransom they can demand.

Ransomware attacks will continue, and perpetrators will thrive, as long as ransoms are being paid and criminals can evade capture, particularly by fleeing across borders, said Anne Neuberger, U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor.

Ransomware attacks are attractive to cybercriminals because of the large individual ransom payments. For a group like BlackCat, which received more than $420 million in ransom payments since 2019, this is a thriving business.

To end this scourge, said Anne Neuberger, States should not knowingly allow their territory to be used for internationally wrongful acts using information and communications technologies. At the same time, they must mitigate malicious activity directed from their territory toward another state.

So when ransomware [actors] in one state target critical infrastructure like hospitals in another, it is incumbent on the first state to take action to investigate and mitigate that activity  especially when they have been asked to do so.

Yet some states  most notably Russia  continue to allow ransomware actors to operate from their territory with impunity, even after they have been asked to rein it in, said Anne Neuberger. The developer and administrator of the cybercriminal gang LockBit is Russian national Dimitry Khoroshev.

Instead of adhering to its UN commitments, Russia continues to harbor these criminals. The United States implores states not to follow Russias practice in protecting international cybercriminals and reiterates our request for states to follow the Framework for Responsible State Behavior in Cyberspace as a matter of upholding international peace and security.

We issue today a call to action, said Deputy National Security Advisor Neuberger. Countries that experience a ransomware attack against a hospital should inform the country of origin of the attack and request that they take action in line with their UN commitments regarding responsible state behavior in cyberspace.
The insecurity crisis continues in Haiti. Flights from the United States to Haiti have been banned by the Federal Aviation Authority for a month, after jetliners were recently hit by gunfire while trying to land in Port-au-Prince. Because of the shootings, the airport is closed until November 18, delaying much needed humanitarian aid and personnel.

Meanwhile the political situation remains rocky. On November 10, Haitis Transitional Presidential Council, the TPC, signed a decree removing interim Prime Minister Garry Conille from office. The TPC was established in April to guide Haiti toward democratic governance and new elections. The TPC replaced Conille, who had served for six months, with Alix Didier Fils-Aime, former president of Haitis Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In a statement, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller thanked the former prime minister for his distinguished service to his country. Mr. Miller said, The United States recognizes that the Transitional Presidential Council in Haiti and Prime Minister Garry Conille were unable to move forward in a constructive manner, and we take note of the TPCs decision to name his successor. The United States looks forward to working with newly appointed Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils- Aime and the TPC to advance progress against urgent priorities in the coming months.

Mr. Miller welcomed the commitment by the TPC and new prime minister for a joint action plan that outlines their vision to improve security and governance, and to set a path toward free and fair elections.

Haiti has been in the grip of increasing gang violence for years. In September 2024, the UN Security Council renewed the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to Haiti for 12 months to help Haitis police quell the lawlessness.

State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said the United States is squarely focused on addressing the crisis in Haiti:

The MSS mission continues to make headway in refining mission strategy, focusing on interoperability with the Haitian National Police. We intend to provide nearly $628 million in financial and in-kind support to the MSS mission. This would include armored vehicles, radios, night-vision goggles, and drones.

We look forward to working with the newly appointed prime minister, said Deputy Spokesperson Patel. And the acute needs of the Haitian people  requires the transitional government to prioritize governance and political interests, and well continue to be deeply engaged on this.
Polar vortices are present in planetary atmospheres, from the Earth-like rocky planets to Jupiter- and Saturn-like gas giants. However, not much is known about their existence and characteristics on our Sun due to the present lack of direct observations at the poles. Unlike planetary atmospheres, the subsurface layers of the Sun are highly influenced by the presence of magnetic fields. New research shows that solar cycle magnetic fields provide a mechanism for the formation of polar vortices in the Sun.

No one can say for certain what is happening at the solar poles, said Dr. Mausumi Dikpati, a senior scientist with the High Altitude Observatory at NSF-National Center for Atmospheric Research.

But this new research gives us an intriguing look at what we might expect to find when we are able, for the first time, to observe the solar poles.

The likely presence of some kind of polar vortices on the Sun does not come as a surprise.

These spinning formations develop in fluids that surround a rotating body due to the Coriolis force, and they have been observed on the majority of planets in our Solar System.

On Earth, a vortex spins high in the atmosphere around both the north and south poles.

When those vortices are stable, they keep frigid air locked at the poles, but when they weaken and become unstable, they allow that cold air to seep toward the equator, causing cold air outbreaks in the midlatitudes.

NASAs Juno mission returned breathtaking images of polar vortices on Jupiter, showing eight tightly packed swirls around the gas giants north pole and five around its south.

The polar vortices on Saturn, seen by NASAs Cassini spacecraft, are hexagonally shaped in the north pole and more circular in the south.

These differences offer scientists clues into the makeup and dynamics of each planets atmosphere.

Polar vortices have also been observed in Mars, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturns moon Titan, so in some ways, the fact that the Sun (also a rotating body surrounded by a fluid) would have such features may be obvious.

But the Sun is also fundamentally different from the planets and moons that possess atmospheres: the plasma that surrounds the Sun is magnetic.

How that magnetism might influence the formation and evolution of solar polar vortices  or whether they form at all  is a mystery because humanity has never sent a mission into space that can observe the Suns poles.

In fact our observations of the Sun are limited to views of the face of the Sun as it points toward Earth and only offers hints at what might be transpiring at the poles.

Since astronomers have never observed the Suns poles, the study authors relied on computer models to fill in the blanks about what solar polar vortices might look like.

What they found is that the Sun is likely to indeed have a unique pattern of polar vortices that evolves as the solar cycle unfolds and depends on the strength of any particular cycle.

In the simulations, a tight ring of polar vortices forms at around 55 degrees latitude  the equivalent of Earths Arctic circle  at the same time that a phenomenon called the rush to the poles begins.

At the maximum of each solar cycle, the magnetic field at the Suns poles disappears and is replaced with a magnetic field of opposite polarity.

This flip-flop is preceded by a rush to the poles when the field of opposite polarity begins to travel from about 55 degrees in latitude poleward.

After forming, the vortices head toward the poles in a tightening ring, shedding vortices as the circle closes, eventually leaving only a pair of vortices directly abutting the poles before they disappear altogether at solar maximum.

How many vortices form and their configuration as they move toward the poles changes with the strength of the solar cycle.

These simulations offer a missing piece to the puzzle of how the Suns magnetic field behaves near the poles and may help answer some fundamental questions about the Suns solar cycles.

For example, in the past many scientists have used the strength of the magnetic field that rushes to the poles as a proxy for how strong the upcoming solar cycle is likely to be.

But the mechanism for how those things might connect, if at all, is not clear.

The simulations also offer information that may be used for planning future missions to observe the Sun.

Namely, the results indicate that some form of polar vortices should be observable during all parts of the solar cycle except during the solar maximum.

You could launch a solar mission, and it could arrive to observe the poles at completely the wrong time, said Dr. Scott McIntosh, also from the High Altitude Observatory at NSF-National Center for Atmospheric Research.

The Solar Orbiter, a cooperative mission between NASA and ESA, could give researchers their first glimpse of the solar poles, but the first look will be close to solar maximum.

The scientists note that a mission designed to observe the poles and to give researchers multiple, simultaneous viewpoints of the Sun could help them answer many long-held questions about the Suns magnetic fields.

Our conceptual boundary now is that we are operating with only one viewpoint, Dr. McIntosh said.

To make significant progress, we must have the observations we need to test our hypotheses and confirm whether simulations like these are correct.

The results appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

_____

Mausumi Dikpati et al. 2024. A magnetohydrodynamic mechanism for the formation of solar polar vortices. PNAS 121 (47): e2415157121; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2415157121
Drugmaker AstraZeneca said on Monday that its Tagrisso asset had received a recommendation for EU approval on the back of LAURA Phase III trial results, which revealed it had extended median progression-free survival to more than three years.

AstraZeneca said Tagrisso had been recommended for approval in the EU by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use for patients with unresectable epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated lung cancer.

The FTSE 100-listed group stated trial results had shown Tagrisso reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 84% compared to placebo. Median progression-free survival was 39.1 months in patients treated with Tagrisso versus 5.6 months for the placebo.

AstraZeneca's Susan Galbraith said: "Today's news reinforces Tagrisso as the backbone therapy in EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer, meeting the critical unmet need for an effective targeted treatment option in the unresectable setting.

"Tagrisso has now demonstrated its benefit across all stages of EGFR-mutated lung cancer, representing a pivotal step in transforming care for patients who are urgently in need of innovative therapies that can help extend their lives."

As of 0910 GMT, AstraZeneca shares were down 1.14% at 9,864.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Scientific instrument company Judges Scientific has slashed its profit guidance for the full year on the back of delays in the timing of certain orders.

Judges Scientific had said back in July that 2024 adjusted earnings per share would be 5-10% below the company-compiled consensus forecast at the time of 384.6p, indicating a level of 346.14p to 365.37p, down from 374.6p in 2023.

On Monday, this guidance was cut to just 270p to 300p, with orders having "not yet recovered to the growth path traditional for our group".

Several of Judges Scientific's businesses experienced a challenging first half, as reported at the interim results in September, due to difficult market conditions and the deferral of some projects into the second half or beyond.

"As anticipated, H2 will show progress compared to H1. However, achievement of the expectations for the full year, which were revised downwards in July, was reliant upon the crystallisation and delivery of certain orders. We now believe these will not all occur in time to deliver against the expectations before the end of the year," the company said.

As of the end of October, orders were up 4.2% on an organic basis from last year, which includes a large coring contract by the Geotek division, which will start in 2025. When excluding this contract, order intake would be 1.6% down.

"In spite of the disappointing trading performance, the board is confident that the long-term growth drivers of our business remain solid," the company said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his gratitude for a memorable welcome in Rio de Janeiro.

Taking to his X handle, PM Modi posted a video of his arrival at the airport and the warm welcome by the Indian community.

PM Modi wrote, 'A celebration of Indian culture in Brazil! Gratitude for a memorable welcome in Rio de Janeiro'

The Prime Minister is in Rio de Janeiro to participate in the G20 Summit hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

At the airport, the Indian community expressed their enthusiasm for PM Modi's visit, waving Indian flags, displaying his pictures, singing welcome songs and presenting a folk dance. Some sought PM Modi's autograph which he gave.

The Prime Minister also shared pictures of his welcome by the diaspora. "Deeply touched by the warm and lively welcome from the Indian community upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro. Their energy reflects the affection that binds us across continents", the Prime Minister posted on X.

Earlier, PM Modi arrived in Brazil after concluding his first leg visit to Nigeria where he held discussions with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, focusing on strengthening partnerships in sectors like defence, technology, health, and education.

In a post on the social media platform X, PM Modi stated, "Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders".

India is a key member of the G20 Troika, alongside Brazil and South Africa, and has been actively shaping the discussions at the ongoing summit.

During the Summit on Monday, the Prime Minister will put forward Indias positions on various issues of global importance building on the outcomes from the G20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration and Voice of the Global South Summits hosted by India in the past two years.

"On the sidelines of the G20 Summit, the Prime Minister is expected to meet several leaders", the MEA said earlier on Friday.

G20 Summit, Prime Minister Modi will travel to Georgetown which would be the first visit to Guyana by an Indian PM since 1968. Following the, Prime Minister Modi will travel to Georgetown which would be the first visit to Guyana by an Indian PM since 1968.

During the November 19-21 visit at the invitation of the Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Prime Minister Modi will not only hold bilateral discussions and meet other senior leaders of Guyana but also address the Parliament of Guyana and a gathering of the Indian diaspora

Last year, Ali visited India as the Chief Guest at the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held in Indore, where he was also awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman.

"In Georgetown, Guyana, the Prime Minister will also participate in the Second CARICOM-India Summit and hold meetings with leaders of CARICOM member countries to further enhance Indias long-standing friendship with the region", the MEA mentioned.
Hexagon, the global leader in digital reality solutions that combine sensor, software, and autonomous technologies, today announced that Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence India has signed a business partnership with Bangalore-based computational software company Simyog Technology to bring SimYogs Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) simulation to customers in India.

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence will take SimYogs Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) simulation software to customers in India. Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) contribute to a significant percentage of electronic/electrical hardware compliance failures in the verification stage. This leads to loss of revenue due to a delay in time-to-market or cancelled projects and often increase the Bill-of-Materials (BoM), due to extra components added for a late-stage fix.

Ever since its origins from the prestigious IISc, Simyog has built an impressive array of innovative products. The team has made some great strides, backed by investors like Bosch, Mela Ventures, Ideaspring Capital and 1crowd. SimYog products are already in use at several top 10 semiconductor, Tier-1, OEM and Defence companies, said Sridhar Dharmarajan, Executive Vice President & Managing Director, Hexagon. Thats why we believe that SimYog is a great partner for us at Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence. We look forward to creating a win-win situation for us and our customers.

As a partner, Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence will help SimYog expand its footprint in India by leveraging its extensive sales network and creating a marketing ecosystem. This will help our customers comply with this critical need and mitigate the risks arising out of EMI/ EMC.

Hexagons reputation for excellence and their industry-leading products aligns perfectly with our mission to enable agile for hardware design and provide cutting-edge Multiphysics solutions to the electronics and automotive industries, said Dipanjan Gope, Chief Executive Officer, Simyog. We are honoured to partner with Hexagon and confident that this partnership will allow us to showcase our offerings to new customers.

SimYogs flagship product, Compliance-scope (CompScope), is the worlds first 'Virtual EMI/EMC laboratory' for predicting the Radiation Emissions (RE), Conducted Emissions (CE), Radiation Immunity (RI), and Conducted Immunity (CI) compliance tests. Users can predict EMC performance at an early design stage, before a prototype is generated, diagnose and fix the problem in design, therefore saving significant time-to-market and bill of materials (BoM) costs.

SimYogs product line-up includes SEM-Scope, a specialised EMI/EMC simulation tool for integration-level testing, and MAX-Scope, a general-purpose 3D full-wave EM solver. These solutions, combined with Hexagons industry-leading technology and support, will empower engineers to optimise their designs and achieve superior performance.
IIT Ropar proudly participated in VIVIBHA 2024, a distinguished three-day national conference organized by Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal (BSM) at SGT University, Gurugram. Themed 'Vision for Viksit Bharat', the event celebrated Indias rich cultural legacy while highlighting pioneering research and innovations that are shaping a self-sustaining nation.

The IIT Ropar TIF - AWaDH stall garnered considerable attention, particularly from Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Education, who interacted with the team to explore the showcased innovations. Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, Director of IIT Ropar, also extended his support. In a significant achievement, AWaDH was awarded the Best Stall in the Academia category, recognizing the excellence and societal impact of its presented research.

As part of the 'Research to Realisation' exhibition, the IIT Ropar Technology and Innovation Foundation - AWaDH Agriculture and Water Technology Development Hub showcased its transformative technologies that promote sustainable solutions in agriculture, water management, and environmental conservation. Key innovations on display included Moohsense: An AI-driven livestock management system; Digital Entomologist: A biodiversity monitoring tool; Nanobubble Technology for Water Purification; Air Sense: Advanced air quality sensors, and Soil Health Monitoring System: Precision farming tools for improved productivity.
India has successfully tested a long-range hypersonic missile off the coast of Odisha. Such an advancement in its defense capabilities places India in an elite league of nations possessing this cutting-edge weapon, that can strike at very high speeds and evade most air defenses.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described the missile test on Saturday under the country's first long-range hypersonic mission as a 'stupendous' achievement and a 'historic moment'.

The missile, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is designed to carry various payloads for ranges greater than 1,500 km, an official readout said.

"India has achieved a major milestone by successfully conducting flight trial of long range hypersonic missile from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off-the-coast of Odisha", Singh said on his social media handle.

"This is a historic moment and this significant achievement has put our country in the group of select nations having capabilities of such critical and advanced military technologies", he said.

Generally, the hypersonic missiles, capable of carrying conventional explosives or nuclear warheads, can fly in the range of five times the speed of sound (Mach 5 which is roughly 1,220 km) per hour at sea level. However, some advanced versions of hypersonic missiles can even fly at the speed of over 15 mach.

At present, Russia and China are way ahead in developing hypersonic missiles while the US is in the process of developing a range of such weapons under an ambitious programme.

Several other countries, including France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Iran, and Israel, are also pursuing projects to develop hypersonic missile systems.

Defence Minister Singh also congratulated the DRDO, the armed forces and the industry for the 'stupendous' achievement. The defence ministry said the missile was tracked by various range systems, deployed in multiple domains.

"The flight data obtained from down range ship stations confirmed the successful terminal maneuvers and impact with high degree of accuracy", it said in the readout.

This missile has been indigenously developed by the laboratories of the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile complex, Hyderabad along with various other DRDO laboratories and industry partners. The flight-trial was carried out in the presence of senior scientists of DRDO and officers of the armed forces.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend today's meeting in the Brazilian city of Rio De Janeiro. Additionally, he would be holding one-to-one meetings with global leaders on the sidelines of the summit.

Some of the leaders who are reportedly attending the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro today and tomorrow would include Mr Modi, US President Joe Biden, and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Prime Minister Modi arrived in Brazil today. The visit forms part of his 3-nation tour. India, Brazil, and South Africa form the G20 Troika and have been active participants in the deliberations at the ongoing G20 Summit.

These commitments are to be delivered on during the event by articulating India's perspectives on several pressing global issues and building forward on the G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration and summits for the Voice of the Global South hosted by India in the last few years.

The theme for the G20 Summit this year would be 'Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet' wherein Brazil would keep center stage the issues relating to social inclusion, poverty, sustainable development, and reform of global governance institutions.

This summit is significant as it would continue from the agenda set by India last year. Last year, India had done a clean sweep by hosting the G20 Summit at New Delhi in September, scoring a major diplomatic victory by convincing global leaders on a common ground to include the Russia-Ukraine war in the New Delhi Declaration.

A huge milestone for India as Chair: she brought the African Union into the G20 bloc, which marked a major push to voice the priorities of the Global South on a global stage.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin urged for an increase in the state's share of central taxes to 50%, highlighting concerns over reduced fund devolution and the growing financial strain caused by centrally-sponsored schemes.

Speaking to the Chairman and members of the 16th Finance Commission at the Secretariat in Chennai, Stalin emphasised the need for a revised fiscal framework that supports developing states like Tamil Nadu. He argued that allocating additional funds to high-performing states would enhance Indias overall development and economic strength.

A new approach should ensure that developing states are not adversely affected by reduced central allocations. Steps must be taken to strengthen Indias federal structure, Stalin said. He urged the Commission to frame recommendations that meet Tamil Nadus aspirations and facilitate its contributions to India becoming an economic superpower.

The Chief Minister raised concerns about the gap between the 15th Finance Commission's recommendation of a 41% revenue share for states and the actual average devolution of 33.16% over the past four years. He pointed out that this discrepancy, coupled with reduced central allocations for joint projects and rising implementation costs, has further strained state finances.

This burden on states can be eased by increasing the Centres share to 50%, which would also enable states to manage their finances with greater autonomy, Stalin asserted.

He also noted the disproportionate fiscal responsibility borne by Tamil Nadu in addressing natural calamities, infrastructure rebuilding, and funding social security schemes. The Chief Minister stressed that a decline in central allocations could hinder development efforts, impacting not only Tamil Nadu but also the countrys overall economic growth.

Stalin appealed to the Commission to adopt a strategy that prioritises equitable funding, allowing states to sustain their development trajectory and meet the needs of their populations.
President-elect Donald Trump named critic of the Biden administration's telecom policies and Big Tech Brendan Carr to Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, he said in a statement.

45-year-old Carr is currently the top Republican on the FCC, the independent agency that regulates telecommunications.

A fierce critic of the FCC's decision not to finalize nearly $900 million in broadband subsidies for Elon Musk's SpaceX satellite internet unit Starlink, Commerce Department's $42 billion broadband infrastructure program, and President Joe Biden's spectrum policy.

Last week, Carr wrote to Meta's Facebook, Alphabet's Google, Apple and Microsoft saying they had taken steps to censor Americans. Carr said on Sunday the FCC must 'restore free speech rights for everyday Americans'.

Carr criticized NBC for letting Harris appear on 'Saturday Night Live' just before the election.

Trump in his first term requested the FCC to withdraw broadcasting licenses; then FCC Chairman Ajit Pai dismissed the request "the FCC does not have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on the content".

The FCC issues eight-year licenses to individual broadcast stations, not to broadcast networks.

In 2022, Carr, a tough critic of China, made history by becoming the first FCC commissioner to visit Taiwan. He had been a long-time proponent of the FCC's hard line toward Chinese telecom companies.

Carr was a bitter opponent of the April decision by the FCC to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules that the commission repealed during the first Trump administration. The Biden FCC rules were put on hold by a federal appeals court.

Trump nominated Carr for the FCC in his first term in January, 2017, after his service as the general counsel to the FCC.

Republican nominee to replace one of the five members of the commission for the agency to be wholly its control. The new administration needs to submit ato replace one of the five members of the commission for the agency to be wholly its control.

Carr is a warrior for Free Speech, and has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans Freedoms, and held back our Economy, Trump said in a statement.
Doltru (L) demonstrates weaving skill for an apprentice at her workshop in Dege County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 3, 2024.

Women in the Nayo family have excellent weaving skills. They can weave high-quality textiles using wool from yak and sheep. Doltru, born in Maisu Town of Dege County in 1960, is the inheritor and promoter of the Nayo family's weaving craft. With the help of her daughter Tashi Chogtso, the products of Nayo's workshop grow in abundance and popularity. On the western Sichuan plateau, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, there are many traditional Tibetan craftsmen. Through inheritance and innovation, their handicrafts go out from the plateau to the domestic and overseas markets. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

Doltru (front) weaves textiles at her workshop in Dege County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 3, 2024.

Women in the Nayo family have excellent weaving skills. They can weave high-quality textiles using wool from yak and sheep. Doltru, born in Maisu Town of Dege County in 1960, is the inheritor and promoter of the Nayo family's weaving craft. With the help of her daughter Tashi Chogtso, the products of Nayo's workshop grow in abundance and popularity. On the western Sichuan plateau, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, there are many traditional Tibetan craftsmen. Through inheritance and innovation, their handicrafts go out from the plateau to the domestic and overseas markets. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

Doltru is pictured at her workshop in Dege County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 3, 2024.

Women in the Nayo family have excellent weaving skills. They can weave high-quality textiles using wool from yak and sheep. Doltru, born in Maisu Town of Dege County in 1960, is the inheritor and promoter of the Nayo family's weaving craft. With the help of her daughter Tashi Chogtso, the products of Nayo's workshop grow in abundance and popularity. On the western Sichuan plateau, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, there are many traditional Tibetan craftsmen. Through inheritance and innovation, their handicrafts go out from the plateau to the domestic and overseas markets. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

Doltru weaves textiles at her workshop in Dege County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 3, 2024.

Women in the Nayo family have excellent weaving skills. They can weave high-quality textiles using wool from yak and sheep. Doltru, born in Maisu Town of Dege County in 1960, is the inheritor and promoter of the Nayo family's weaving craft. With the help of her daughter Tashi Chogtso, the products of Nayo's workshop grow in abundance and popularity. On the western Sichuan plateau, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, there are many traditional Tibetan craftsmen. Through inheritance and innovation, their handicrafts go out from the plateau to the domestic and overseas markets. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

Dawa Dakpa (R) gives instruction to an apprentice during a training session in Dege County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 3, 2024.

Dawa Dakpa was born into a family of craftsmen who have been carrying on the Lima Bronze casting technique for about 200 years in Maisu Town of Dege County. Dawa Dakpa learned from his father Nyima when he was young, becoming the seventh generation inheritor of the Lima Bronze casting technique. He is also the representative inheritor of "Tibetan metal forging skills" in Garze Prefecture, Sichuan Province. On the western Sichuan plateau, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, there are many traditional Tibetan craftsmen. Through inheritance and innovation, their handicrafts go out from the plateau to the domestic and overseas markets. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

Dawa Dakpa checks a new wax mould for making Lima Bronze product in Dege County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 3, 2024.

Dawa Dakpa was born into a family of craftsmen who have been carrying on the Lima Bronze casting technique for about 200 years in Maisu Town of Dege County. Dawa Dakpa learned from his father Nyima when he was young, becoming the seventh generation inheritor of the Lima Bronze casting technique. He is also the representative inheritor of "Tibetan metal forging skills" in Garze Prefecture, Sichuan Province. On the western Sichuan plateau, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, there are many traditional Tibetan craftsmen. Through inheritance and innovation, their handicrafts go out from the plateau to the domestic and overseas markets. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

Dawa Dakpa washes a product for further processing in Dege County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 3, 2024.

Dawa Dakpa was born into a family of craftsmen who have been carrying on the Lima Bronze casting technique for about 200 years in Maisu Town of Dege County. Dawa Dakpa learned from his father Nyima when he was young, becoming the seventh generation inheritor of the Lima Bronze casting technique. He is also the representative inheritor of "Tibetan metal forging skills" in Garze Prefecture, Sichuan Province. On the western Sichuan plateau, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, there are many traditional Tibetan craftsmen. Through inheritance and innovation, their handicrafts go out from the plateau to the domestic and overseas markets. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

Dawa Dakpa shows a product using Lima Bronze casting technique in Dege County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 3, 2024.

Dawa Dakpa was born into a family of craftsmen who have been carrying on the Lima Bronze casting technique for about 200 years in Maisu Town of Dege County. Dawa Dakpa learned from his father Nyima when he was young, becoming the seventh generation inheritor of the Lima Bronze casting technique. He is also the representative inheritor of "Tibetan metal forging skills" in Garze Prefecture, Sichuan Province. On the western Sichuan plateau, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, there are many traditional Tibetan craftsmen. Through inheritance and innovation, their handicrafts go out from the plateau to the domestic and overseas markets. (Xinhua/Shen Bohan)

Tashi Wang looks at Xianhu, a string instrument, at home in Batang County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 5, 2024.

Xianzi dance is a popular art form in Batang County. The 66-year-old Tashi Wang, a master of Xianhu string instrument, is the provincial inheritor of Batang Xianzi dance. In order to protect and inherit Xianzi dance and Xianhu making skills, Tashi Wang built a Xianhu making workshop in his house, and performed in various activities to demonstrate the rhythm of Xianhu and the charm of Xianzi dance. On the western Sichuan plateau, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, there are many traditional Tibetan craftsmen. Through inheritance and innovation, their handicrafts go out from the plateau to the domestic and overseas markets. (Xinhua/Xu Bingjie)

Tashi Wang (1st R) performs during Batang Xianzi dance in Batang County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 5, 2024.

Xianzi dance is a popular art form in Batang County. The 66-year-old Tashi Wang, a master of Xianhu string instrument, is the provincial inheritor of Batang Xianzi dance. In order to protect and inherit Xianzi dance and Xianhu making skills, Tashi Wang built a Xianhu making workshop in his house, and performed in various activities to demonstrate the rhythm of Xianhu and the charm of Xianzi dance. On the western Sichuan plateau, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, there are many traditional Tibetan craftsmen. Through inheritance and innovation, their handicrafts go out from the plateau to the domestic and overseas markets. (Xinhua/Xu Bingjie)

Tashi Wang is pictured in Batang County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 5, 2024.

Xianzi dance is a popular art form in Batang County. The 66-year-old Tashi Wang, a master of Xianhu string instrument, is the provincial inheritor of Batang Xianzi dance. In order to protect and inherit Xianzi dance and Xianhu making skills, Tashi Wang built a Xianhu making workshop in his house, and performed in various activities to demonstrate the rhythm of Xianhu and the charm of Xianzi dance. On the western Sichuan plateau, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, there are many traditional Tibetan craftsmen. Through inheritance and innovation, their handicrafts go out from the plateau to the domestic and overseas markets. (Xinhua/Chu Jiayin)

Tashi Wang performs during Batang Xianzi dance in Batang County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 5, 2024.

Xianzi dance is a popular art form in Batang County. The 66-year-old Tashi Wang, a master of Xianhu string instrument, is the provincial inheritor of Batang Xianzi dance. In order to protect and inherit Xianzi dance and Xianhu making skills, Tashi Wang built a Xianhu making workshop in his house, and performed in various activities to demonstrate the rhythm of Xianhu and the charm of Xianzi dance. On the western Sichuan plateau, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, there are many traditional Tibetan craftsmen. Through inheritance and innovation, their handicrafts go out from the plateau to the domestic and overseas markets. (Xinhua/Chu Jiayin)

Kunga Lobdue packages black pottery products for delivery in Maisu Town of Dege County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 3, 2024.

Kunga Lobdue, 39, is the inheritor of Sichuan provincial intangible cultural heritage "Maisu black pottery" and the founder of Maisu black pottery workshop. He has been busy making black pottery products for a catering company recently. On the western Sichuan plateau, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, there are many traditional Tibetan craftsmen. Through inheritance and innovation, their handicrafts go out from the plateau to the domestic and overseas markets. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

Kunga Lobdue double-checks black pottery products for delivery in Maisu Town of Dege County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 3, 2024.

Kunga Lobdue, 39, is the inheritor of Sichuan provincial intangible cultural heritage "Maisu black pottery" and the founder of Maisu black pottery workshop. He has been busy making black pottery products for a catering company recently. On the western Sichuan plateau, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, there are many traditional Tibetan craftsmen. Through inheritance and innovation, their handicrafts go out from the plateau to the domestic and overseas markets. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

Kunga Lobdue shows a black pottery product in Maisu Town of Dege County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 3, 2024.

Kunga Lobdue, 39, is the inheritor of Sichuan provincial intangible cultural heritage "Maisu black pottery" and the founder of Maisu black pottery workshop. He has been busy making black pottery products for a catering company recently. On the western Sichuan plateau, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, there are many traditional Tibetan craftsmen. Through inheritance and innovation, their handicrafts go out from the plateau to the domestic and overseas markets. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

Kunga Lobdue (2nd L) makes black pottery product in Maisu Town of Dege County of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Nov. 3, 2024.

Kunga Lobdue, 39, is the inheritor of Sichuan provincial intangible cultural heritage "Maisu black pottery" and the founder of Maisu black pottery workshop. He has been busy making black pottery products for a catering company recently. On the western Sichuan plateau, with an average altitude of more than 3,000 meters, there are many traditional Tibetan craftsmen. Through inheritance and innovation, their handicrafts go out from the plateau to the domestic and overseas markets. (Xinhua/Wang Xi)

Editor: WXY
NEW YORK (AP)  A man stabbed three people across a swath of Manhattan on Monday morning, killing two and critically wounding the third without uttering a word to his victims, officials said.

The 51-year-old suspect was in police custody after being found with blood on his clothes and the two kitchen knives he was carrying, authorities said. The suspects and victims names werent immediately released.

Three New Yorkers. Unprovoked attacks that left us searching for answers on how something like this could happen, Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference.

Investigators were working to understand what propelled the rampage, which happened within 2 1/2 hours.

- The scene at East 42nd Street where a 36-year-old woman was stabbed multiple times near the United Nations headquarters on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. A man stabbed three people across a swath of Manhattan on Monday morning, killing two and critically wounding the third without uttering a word to his victims, officials said. (Staten Island Advance/Steve Zaffarano) Steve ZaffaranoSteve Zaffarano

No words exchanged. No property taken. Just attacked, viciously, said Joseph Kenny, the New York Police Departments chief of detectives. He just walked up to them and began to attack them with the knives.

The first stabbing, on West 19th Street, killed a 36-year-old construction worker who was standing by his work site near the Hudson River a little before 8:30 a.m.

About two hours later and across the island of Manhattan, a 68-year-old man was attacked while fishing in the East River near East 30th Street.

Both men died, Kenny said.

The suspect then apparently traveled north near the riverfront. Around 10:55 a.m., a 36-year-old woman was stabbed multiple times near the United Nations headquarters on East 42nd Street, Kenny said. She is hospitalized in critical condition.

- The scene at East 42nd Street where a 36-year-old woman was stabbed multiple times near the United Nations headquarters on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. A man stabbed three people across a swath of Manhattan on Monday morning, killing two and critically wounding the third without uttering a word to his victims, officials said. (Staten Island Advance/Steve Zaffarano) Steve ZaffaranoSteve Zaffarano

A passing cabdriver saw the third attack and alerted police on nearby First Avenue and East 46th Street, officials said. An officer soon apprehended the suspect.

The bloodshed happened in a major city where, like in others, crime has taken a prominent place in political discourse and everyday concerns in the years since pandemic lockdowns emptied streets and spurred disorder. Killings in New York City so far in 2024 have declined 14% in two years, but serious assaults are up about 12%, according to police statistics.

Some recent stabbings in public places have drawn attention, including a fatal attack at the Coney Island subway station just weeks ago.

Adams, a Democrat, called Mondays violence a clear, clear example of failures in the criminal justice system and elsewhere.

The suspect in Mondays rampage, who apparently is homeless, had been sentenced in a criminal case a few months ago and was arrested in a grand larceny case last month, officials said.

This image released by the New York City Police Department shows a knife that was recovered at a stabbing in New York, Monday Nov. 18, 2024. (New York City Police Department via AP)AP

The rampage came three years after a string of stabbings at various points along a subway line killed two people and wounded two others within a few hours.

In 2019, four people who were sleeping in doorways and sidewalks in Chinatown were beaten to death, and a fifth was seriously injured, early one Saturday morning.

- The scene at East 42nd Street where a 36-year-old woman was stabbed multiple times near the United Nations headquarters on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. A man stabbed three people across a swath of Manhattan on Monday morning, killing two and critically wounding the third without uttering a word to his victims, officials said. (Staten Island Advance/Steve Zaffarano) Steve ZaffaranoSteve Zaffarano
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has suspended all flights to Haiti for the next 30 days as gang violence spirals out of control.

Last week, gangs fired shots at three planes, including a Spirit Airlines jet attempting to land in Port-au-Prince, according to CBS News. A flight attendant was injured, and the airport was forced to shut down.

JetBlue also found damage from a bullet on one of its planes returning from Haiti during a post-flight inspection in New York.

An American Airlines flight from Haitis main airport was also hit by gunfire, according to the airline and a pilot union memo obtained by CNN. American Airlines has suspended flights until Feb. 12.

The recent shootings occurred amid a wave of chaos in Haiti, just as a new prime minister, Alix Didier Fils-Aime, was sworn in after Garry Connille was removed from office following a tumultuous six-month term.

Since January, around 3,600 people have been killed in the unrest, and more than 500,000 have been displaced.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric reported that on Monday there were at least 20 armed clashes and numerous roadblocks, significantly hindering aid efforts. The United Nations has temporarily paused flights to Haiti.

You will have seen that following a Spirit Airlines was shot at on its final approach at the airport in Port-au-Prince, the airport has now been closed until 18 November, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a Tuesday briefing.

(AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo)AP

LEVEL 4 - DO NOT TRAVEL

Once a popular travel destination for cruise ships and Caribbean tourists, Haiti is now under the U.S. State Departments highest travel advisory  a Level 4 Do Not Travel warning due to escalating gang violence.

The State Department reports that Haiti has been under a state of emergency since March, citing incidents of robbery, carjackings, sexual assaults, widespread kidnappings, as well as mob killings and attacks.

Last Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince issued a security alert, warning about gang-led efforts to disrupt travel in and out of the capital. The alert emphasized violent incidents affecting roads, ports and airports.

The security situation in Haiti remains unpredictable and dangerous, the embassy advised. Traveling within the country carries significant risks, and the U.S. government cannot guarantee your safety when traveling to airports, border crossings, or during any local travel.

Assess your personal safety carefully before making travel plans in Haiti. Only consider traveling or leaving Haiti if you are confident it is safe for you.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Mayor Eric Adams announced a pair of updated migrant policies Monday he said will save taxpayers money and help the newly-arriving asylum seekers become self-sufficient.

Migrant families with children in school from kindergarten through sixth grade will be allowed to stay in the shelter system longer than the current deadlines at the same location, and the city will launch a new centralized mail center for the new migrants.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  During the holiday season, you may be planning to send or ship gifts to loved ones through the mail.

Thats why, earlier this month, the United States Postal Inspection Service introduced its Dont Get Snowed holiday campaign, providing tips to keep everyone safe from dangerous holiday scams.

These alerts will appear on the USPS and Inspection Service websites and Inspection Service social media. You may also see them via digital ads, billboards and commuter bus ads in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C.

While it may seem obvious which parcels should and should not be sent through the mail, there are a few things the USPS said it would prefer you didnt send at all.

One warning is simple  Customers should never send cash in the mail."

Although its not illegal to send cash in the mail, it is risky and it may get stolen. Then, theres nothing anyone can do about it.

Instead, the USPIS urged that customers use a money order or avoid mailing funds altogether by securing electronic transfers like mobile app payments or wire transfers.

Your money order receipt will help you track your payment and show proof of value in case the money order gets lost, stolen, or damaged, the warning stated.

You can send checks in the mail. But that also creates issues.

If you do choose to mail a check, you should never make it out to cash or leave it blank. And always wrap it in paper before mailing it to make it harder for thieves to tell whats inside.
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An artist makes handmade shawls during the Lok Mela Festival in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, Nov. 13, 2024. The annual folk festival, known as Lok Mela, is held in Pakistani capital Islamabad from Nov. 8 to 17. The ten-day event provides a platform for the artists across the country to present their artistic works and performances. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

An artist makes wooden handicrafts during the Lok Mela Festival in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, Nov. 13, 2024. The annual folk festival, known as Lok Mela, is held in Pakistani capital Islamabad from Nov. 8 to 17. The ten-day event provides a platform for the artists across the country to present their artistic works and performances. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

People visit the Lok Mela Festival in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, Nov. 13, 2024. The annual folk festival, known as Lok Mela, is held in Pakistani capital Islamabad from Nov. 8 to 17. The ten-day event provides a platform for the artists across the country to present their artistic works and performances. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

An artist paints on a cup during the Lok Mela Festival in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, Nov. 13, 2024. The annual folk festival, known as Lok Mela, is held in Pakistani capital Islamabad from Nov. 8 to 17. The ten-day event provides a platform for the artists across the country to present their artistic works and performances. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

Artists perform during the Lok Mela Festival in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, Nov. 13, 2024. The annual folk festival, known as Lok Mela, is held in Pakistani capital Islamabad from Nov. 8 to 17. The ten-day event provides a platform for the artists across the country to present their artistic works and performances. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

Editor: WXY
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The summer before my last year of high school saw me drifting like a manatee in outer suburbia. My friends were all away or working, but I was in stasis. I stayed indoors with the curtains drawn against the sun, book in hand and radio on to drown out the sounds of lawn-mowing or clarinet practice. I could dream myself away to exotic places; all I had to do was concentrate.

In yoga, the drishti gaze is when you find a focal point to stare at so that you can block out everything else. My teenage drishti, if not aimed at a page or a screen, was often fixed on some far-away, indistinct desirable thing. The unattainable, the illusory.

I had my models: W. Somerset Maughams 1944 novel The Razors Edge was one. I read it that summer  I thought Maugham had the most writerly of writers names. I found the story sophisticated, languid, sad and mystical. It had important lessons to impart about the lure of the unattainable, but Im not sure I learned them. Time passed. Thirty years! Then a random article brought the novel back to my attention and I decided it was time for a re-read.

Going back to cultural objects is self-soothing and self-seeking: I am looking for something lost, or trying to locate a feeling. Cultural theorist Svetlana Boym wrote about two kinds of nostalgia: restorative nostalgia, which is an attempt to restore the past, and reflective nostalgia, which focuses on longing, loss and the instability of memory. I dont want to be 17 again  that starry-eyed slacker!  but neither would I wish that self away. I like Maria Popovas analogy that we are all our ages stacked within the current self like Russian nesting dolls, not to be outgrown but to be tenderly incorporated.

The print in my old paperback of The Razors Edge was tiny. Eventually, I gave up and bought the audiobook. Then for weeks I was walking around with a plummy British accent in my ears, and yearning in my heart. In the novel everyone yearns all the time: Larry wants to know the meaning of life, Isabel wants Larry, Gray wants Isabel, Sophie wants her husband and child back, Elliot wants a title, and Maugham, our tour-guide/narrator, wants only to tell and keep telling. Maugham plays himself in the book, and offers a disclaimer in the first chapter: everything he writes is true, except for the parts where hes made things up, to give liveliness and verisimilitude to scenes that would have been ineffective if they had merely been recounted.

Somerset Maugham in 1948, four years after the release of The Razors Edge. Credit: Getty Images

The novel starts in Chicago in 1919 with Maugham meeting his old friend Elliot Templeton at a dinner. Hes introduced to his sister Mrs Bradley, her daughter Isabel and her set, including wealthy Gray Maturin, bookish Sophie and Isabels fiance Larry Darrell, who has come back from the war a changed man. Instead of taking a job from Grays father, Larry has decided to loaf. Isabel cant fathom living on $3000 a year, and so she marries Gray  a marriage of convenience.
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Eating outGood Food Guide 2025 Back with a bang: The restaurants with new hats (and lost hats) in The Age Good Food Guide 2025 An iconic fine diner reclaims its three-hat status, high-profile operators take hits, and omakase restaurants rise and fall. Tomas Telegramma November 19, 2024 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

This article appears in The Age Good Food Guide 2025 collection. See all stories .

Whos up and whos down in 2025? Nine Full list of hats

All the award winners Stakes were high at The Age Good Food Guide 2025 Awards on Monday night as some trailblazing restaurants were celebrated while others  including some of the citys enduring favourites  took a tumble, losing their coveted chef hats. After going in the Guide unscored last year, amid a $3 million refurb, the sky-high Vue de Monde has rejoined the three-hat hall of fame, reclaiming its place on Melbournes dining leaderboard with food as good as ever, but an experience a little less buttoned-up.

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Vue de Monde is absolutely back with a bang, says Guide editor Ellen Fraser. This is high-calibre fine dining unlike anything else in the world  and it is astonishingly delicious. The floor team strikes that magic balance of fine-tuned and laid-back. And the refreshed room is even more worthy of the incredible outlook. The arc was similar for Torquays Samesyn, re-emerging from an overhaul with a thrilling zero-waste philosophy (and no bin!) that elevated it from one hat to two. On the flip side are several high-profile demotions. Rinaldo Di Stasios eponymous CBD restaurant Di Stasio Citta fell from two hats to one  as did Stephen Nairns Chapel Street bistro Omnia. Sibling venue Yugen Dining lost its hat, as did Shannon Martinezs mark-making vegan diner, following a recent transition to the more casual Smith & Daughters Social Club. Other losses included Bistro Gitan, Il Bacaro and Tonka. The decision to remove a hat is never made lightly, particularly at such a tough time for restaurants, says fellow Guide editor Emma Breheny.

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Some venues may still be ironing out the kinks after a major chef or concept change just prior to the Guide going to print, says Fraser. Some that scored highly on opening have fallen out of step with diners expectations today. Ultimately, our responsibility is to the diner, and recommending venues beyond just the hottest new openings. The experience and the price tag need to match up. A selection of nigiri at Sushi On. Supplied Theres been oscillation in the omakase landscape as well, where sophisticated Japanese set menus easily cost upwards of $200. Kews Sushi On and South Yarras Aoi Tsuki raised the (sushi) bar this year  both ascending from one hat to two  while Fitzroy newcomer Shusai Mijo, praised for its comparative value, debuted with a hat. Omakase dining is undoubtedly one of the biggest forces in Melbourne dining right now, says Breheny. More venues are bringing their own approach to the genre after the three-hatted Minamishima in Richmond set the standard nearly 10 years ago. If you love sushi, your time is now. City omakase restaurants did not fare so well, though, including the W Hotels dining centrepiece, Warabi, and The Chefs Table at Kisume, which both dropped from two hats to one.

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Lobster served tableside at Society restaurant in Collins Street. Its half of a one-two punch for Lucas Restaurants, with this years de-hatting of Grill Americano. But its 80 Collins flagship Society is flying high, with two hats once again. Meanwhile, a raft of restaurants have been bestowed with a hat for the first time, including Dainty on Toorak, following the Sichuan stalwarts significant renovation, Filipino firecracker Askal, Chinese institution Supreme J Kitchen and the plant-based Patsys. What impresses us most is when a venue has a compelling singular vision and delivers on that, says Fraser. Were excited to recognise places that are the best in their category or forging an entirely fresh path. Bar Olo in Carlton has a vintage vibe. Simon Schluter

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Cause for celebration also extends to newly hatted neighbourhood wine-diners such as Bar Olo and Bar Bellamy in Carlton, and Bar Magnolia in Brunswick. There are neighbourhood losses, too, with hats gone from La Pinta in Reservoir and The Recreation in Fitzroy North. In the regions, single hats have been lost at Cape and Oakridge  but gained by Geelongs Songbird, the reimagination of Igni; Alburys fun-loving Norma; and Ballarats refined Babae. Dining outside the city continues to delight us, with more styles, price points and cuisines joining the big-ticket restaurants that are well known, says Breheny. Its an exciting time to eat out in many different parts of Victoria. The Age Good Food Guide 2025, featuring more than 500 reviews, is on sale for $14.95 from newsagents, supermarkets and at thestore.com.au.

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The new Good Food app, featuring Good Food Guide reviews, recipes and food news, is now available to download. Its available as a standalone subscription and as part of our Premium Digital packages for subscribers. Premium Digital subscribers can download the Good Food app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store now. The ultimate guide to the Good Food Guide

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Review Eating outEastwood Missed the CWA scones at the Easter Show? This hidden spot serves them up all year round The CWA Tea Rooms offer sweet and simple pleasures such as raisin toast, tea and a biscuit, a glass of milk or cordial  and of course  those famous scones, all for just a few dollars. Lenny Ann Low November 19, 2024 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

1 / 8 Branch president Margery East shows off clothes made by the crafty ladies. Louise Kennerley 2 / 8 Two scones with jam and cream cost just $3.50. Louise Kennerley 3 / 8 Raisin toast is a perennial favourite. Louise Kennerley 4 / 8 The tea rooms offer a tranquil spot to take a break. Louise Kennerley 5 / 8 All are welcome for a cuppa and connection. Louise Kennerley 6 / 8 Louise Kennerley 7 / 8 A glass of milk costs $1, or a glass of cordial 50. Louise Kennerley 8 / 8 Locals come in for a catch-up. Louise Kennerley Previous Slide Next Slide Cafe$$$$ Like the annual and popular Country Womens Association Tea Rooms at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, visiting the CWAs scone-fuelled equivalent at its Eastwood-Epping branch brings simple joys. Housed in the Eastwood Womens Rest Centre, the CWAs only tearooms in Sydney is a place of charity, resourcefulness and hardworking volunteers. Two scones with jam and cream cost just $3.50. Louise Kennerley

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It is also a place where a person can have a Devonshire tea  two scones with a pot of tea or coffee and dishes of jam and cream  for $6. Although, on Thursday, that might be $6.50 because date scones are also available, and their price is 50 more. You can have a glass of milk for $1 or a glass of cordial for 50. A lot of people living on their own love to come in and have a tea or coffee, have a bit of a chat. Margery East, CWA You can have two scones with jam and cream for $3.50. Two takeaway scones are $2 (date $2.50). In this hurly-burly world, there may be nothing more civil, reassuring or uplifting than eating a CWA scone in a CWA tearoom.

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At the Eastwood-Epping branchs rooms, tables are decorated with flowers and triangular paper napkins in holders. There are shelves and cabinets stocked with member-made jams, pickles, handmade clothing, knitwear, accessories and crafts. There are shelves of donated secondhand books and garlands of crocheted flags. Most are for sale. Along with the food and drinks, they raise money to support women and their families in country areas, as well as local charities and hospitals. Scones are made in the rest centres kitchen by CWA members each morning. All are welcome for a cuppa and connection. Louise Kennerley They are unfalteringly light and soft, easily opened without a knife before spreading with member-made jams. Todays picks  plum, apricot or strawberry  are all perfectly set, generously fruity and entirely at home on a scone. Add a teaspoonful of whipped cream on top and revel in its goodness.

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Each order, whether scones only, a Devonshire tea or simply a pot of tea or coffee with a cup and saucer and a jug of milk, is served on a tray. Plates are embossed with the CWA logo. The menu, which lists various organisations the CWAs fundraising and events support and work with, also offers raisin toast and biscuits. All these things are prepared and served by volunteers. Cheery, efficient and aproned, they not only give their time for a cause, they are also people with whom you can have a long chat about anything. Raisin toast is a perennial favourite. Louise Kennerley Margery East, the president of the CWA Eastwood-Epping branch, says the branch was set up in 1926 when the surrounding area was mainly dairies, orchards and small farms.

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Ive worked here for 10 to 15 years, she says. Its somewhere where you can provide a support place for people in the community. A lot of people living on their own love to come in and have a tea or coffee, have a bit of a chat. Theres a lot of people who also come to Eastwood and drop in before or after medical appointments or their shopping. There are also baby changing facilities and, in the air-conditioning, respite from warm climes. Many people also come to buy jams, chutney and pickles. Today, there is only one jar of grapefruit jam after a weekend stall for the Granny Smith Festival cleared stock. Photo: Louise Kennerley Some of us will have to set to and start making more jam again, East says. We all have our particular jam varieties.

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Weve also got a number of what I call crafty ladies who really keep us well supplied with handmade hats and aprons and lovely bags. Theres knitted teapot covers, childrens knitwear and theres somebody who makes little dolls dresses too. The CWA tearooms are also a lesson in living productively and within our means. East says any scones not sold (a rare occurrence) are wrapped for the freezer. A sign on the preserves shelf asks for the return of the jars and decorative fabric tops for reuse. Time stands still here. Conversations are had without a sense of rush. The scones are very, very good. The low-down Address: Womens Rest Centre on Hillview Road, Eastwood (behind Eastwood Library) Open: Tue-Fri 10am-3pm Vibe: Traditional tearooms run by Country Womens Association volunteers in a light-filled building stocked with jams, pickles and handmade clothing, knitwear, accessories and craft Cost: $12 for a Devonshire tea (for two)

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It might seem an innocuous tome, but when the Oxford Australian Law Dictionary was found in a NSW District Court jury room in Sydney, it derailed a criminal trial.

The book had been brought into the jury room by a woman dubbed Juror M. It was discovered last month by two court officers when they were cleaning the room a week into the trial.

A woman dubbed Juror M brought the book into the jury room, the NSW District Court heard. Credit: Rhett Wyman, Monique Westermann

The case became the eighth criminal trial in less than two years to be aborted in NSW owing to juror misconduct, costing taxpayers thousands of dollars in wasted expenses, including daily allowances for jurors, and exacting an emotional toll on the central figures in the trial.

The 12-person jury had been given the standard warning not to undertake any form of research or inquiry relating to the case or the law and told to direct any questions about the evidence, the law or procedures to the judge via a written note handed to the court officer.
His brain is a f---ing industry, his manager, the late Harry M. Miller, told me, while trying to describe the river of words that was Jones, a man as comfortable talking about the last race at Caulfield as discoursing on the Bard. The November 1998 Good Weekend cover portrays Alan Jones for a profile by David Leser. Credit: Fairfax There was nothing  and no one  that seemed to faze him. At one private dinner party on Sydneys waterfront one evening, he saw fit to lecture then-prime minister John Howard on law and order, protectionism and the Asian economies. DONT YOU KNOW WHO I AM? he was often heard yelling. I AM ALAN JONES. And that was my challenge: to discover who Alan Jones was. At best, he was a brilliant, electrifying figure, capable of great generosity to those he liked, and, yes, sometimes they were troubled, young male athletes. At his worst, he was an intimidating, aggressive presence and almost certainly the most sued person in the Australian media at that time.

During the 4 hours I sat with him in the firelit den of his three-storey inner-city warehouse, I tried a number of times to get him to open up about both his sexuality and alleged abuse of power. I did so partly because during my research Id heard numerous stories, beginning with his days as a teacher at Brisbane Grammar and The Kings School in Sydney, where hed had spectacular collisions with parents, students and other teachers. Loading Jones played favourites and in the case of Kings also liked to give certain students private tuition, an impulse that caused great consternation among his fellow teachers. One housemaster even climbed a tree on consecutive nights with a camera, hoping to capture incriminating evidence. What an absurdity, Jones told me when I put that to him at the time. Thats nonsense stuff. Except it wasnt. In subsequent years, Jones continued to be the subject of stage-door whispers over his sexuality, and not just because hed been arrested in 1988 in a London toilet on charges of indecency. (The charges were later dropped and costs were awarded to Jones.)

Jones treatment of some of his staff, particularly women, gave rise to accusations of misogyny that would later reach fever pitch with his attacks on Australias first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, and New Zealands third female prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. In 2011, Jones said Gillard (together with then-Greens leader Bob Brown) should be shoved in a chaff bag and hauled out to sea. In 2019, he launched an on-air tirade against Ardern, suggesting Australias then-prime minister Scott Morrison shove a sock down [her] throat. Who was this man who ruled the airwaves, who preached the virtues of courtesy and civility, but who could then subject others to towering rages and invective? I AM NOT SHOUTING, he was heard shouting at employees. Alan Jones photographed at his Sydney home in March 2011. Credit: Wade Laube In all my weeks of investigating Jones life and career, I never learnt of one enduring, intimate relationship he might have enjoyed. As far as I could determine, this helped explain his anger, his divisiveness and the furious schedule he maintained, one that only allowed him three hours of sleep a night.

In my naivety, or hubris, or both, I wanted to explore this with him because I believed that, notwithstanding the difficulties in doing so, if you couldnt own your sexuality, if you couldnt live  as much as possible  a truly authentic life, you might end up on a path towards self-destruction. (Which is not to say that being comfortable with ones own sexuality precludes a person from being an abuser.) Loading But when I tried to raise the matter with him, he invoked the nuclear warships principle. I think that ones private life is a bit like nuclear warships, he said. I mean, you dont sort of tell people, do you, whether theyre loaded with nuclear weapons or not? I suggested to Jones that in light of his propensity to help young men in need, the English language needed more words for love. I suggested that Greek was more expansive on this question and that perhaps he, like many Australian men, suffered from the constraints of English. (Yes, I know, I tied myself up in knots.)

I think that what you seem to be suggesting, he replied, is that there is a tendency ... when people assist to believe that there is some motive for that assistance. But you cant really ever get into the business of lying awake at night worrying about the motives that people attribute to you. Me: I take that point and I mean this with all due respect, but ever since the London toilet incident youve been dogged ... with all sorts of scuttlebutt about your sexuality. Can I just ask you to put on the record now ... Jones: Youre going to ask me a nuclear warship question. Me: Im going to ask you are you gay or not? Jones: Ive never confirmed or denied anything  And I dont believe people should be asked to in relation to their private lives.

Me: Well, I understand why you would consider my question a violation of that right to privacy or an imposition ... Jones: Absolutely. Me: But can I put to you ..., and then I surmised that this was an example of Pulcinellas secret, the term sometimes used for an open secret that everyone knows about. Did that concern him? Broadcaster Alan Jones at his home in December 2023. Credit: Nine No, how could it? he replied. There are many things that are said about a lot of people, and youve got to get on with your life and youve got to be convinced of the validity of what you do.

A quarter of a century later, with Jones arrest in Sydney, the question is not whether he is gay or not, its whether hes broken the law and, in the process, profoundly damaged the lives of a number of his alleged victims. Back in 1988, his arrest in London seemed to be a life-altering moment. Ive never said this before, he told me, but I spent most of my life being a victor, and that was one period in my life when I was the victim. Its a silly thing to say, but I think in many ways Im most probably, I hope, a better person. I think Im more tolerant, less judgmental, because I think things can be said about people and done to people which can be very damaging to them, and I think its good to stand back and think again. David Leser is an author and journalist. He is a regular contributor to and former staff writer with Good Weekend.
The police officer who Tasered 95-year-old Clare Nowland as she held a knife in a NSW nursing home has told his trial he believed the great-grandmother intended to strike out and his actions were justified, but he is devastated that she later died.

Senior Constable Kristian James Samuel White has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of Nowland, whom he Tasered as she stood with her walking frame inside the Yallambee Lodge nursing home in Cooma on May 17, 2023. Nowland suffered head injuries and died a week later.

Kristian White outside the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney during his manslaughter trial. Credit: Kate Geraghty

White, 34, gave evidence on Monday at the second week of his trial in the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney.

White, his colleague  then acting sergeant Jessica Pank  and two paramedics responded to a triple-zero call from a nurse reporting a very aggressive resident raising two little knives at staff.
He has stayed loyal to the brand, even after his old Landcruiser turned out to be a lemon. Apart from that Landcruiser, theyre tried and tested  and theyre reliable, he said, adding that his dual-cab Hilux ute was ideal for his work, his young family, and camping trips. When we found out [my partner] Larissa was pregnant with our second child, I bought the Hilux. The Ford Ranger, Hyundai i30 and Nissan Navara are the only non-Japanese vehicles in the top 10.

However, the data reveals there is a divide between inner and outer suburbs in the Toyota of choice. The Toyota Corolla is the preferred car in 51 inner-city postcodes. Two areas buck the Toyota trend, but not the preference for Japanese cars. Drive through the streets of Camp Hill, Carina and Carindale (postcode 4152) or Albany Creek and Bridgeman Downs (postcode 4035) and you are more likely to see a Mazda 3 than any other car. John Dawes, a professor of marketing at the University of South Australia, said buyers often consider one or two car brands at most. People dont search around as much as you would think. The repeat purchase rate is about 50 per cent, and its a bit higher if you drive a popular car. Its known as the double-jeopardy pattern  big brands get more loyalty, Dawes said.

He said Toyotas popularity in Brisbane could be a hangover of decades-old buying habits, with people turning to imported cars because Queensland was never a big car manufacturing state like Victoria and South Australia. Loading Dawes said research showed that a persons proximity to car dealerships was also a key factor in their vehicle choice. This theory supported Toyotas success in the local market, he said. Its almost impossible to think about buying a car and not have Toyota come into your mind, Dawes said. The 4000 postcode (Brisbane City) is the other outlier. The Ford Ranger is the most common vehicle there, but this may be the result of businesses registering their fleet of company cars to the CBD postcode.

Luxury cars are most likely found on the Glitter Strip of Surfers Paradise (postcode 4217). The beachside postcode has more Porsches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Aston Martins than any other area of Queensland. There are 541 Porsches registered in the Surfers Paradise, Main Beach and Chevron Island postcode (including 173 Porsche Macans, 167 Porsche Cayennes and 100 Porsche 911s), 46 Ferraris, 31 Lamborghinis and 31 Aston Martins. However, this could be partly attributed to a cluster of luxury car dealerships in the area. There are at least 10 DeLoreans registered in Queensland  the car that transported Doc Brown and Marty McFly to the year 1955 in Back To The Future  and at least six Goggomobils, the German microcar best known for featuring in a 1990s Yellow Pages TV advertisement.
In 2024, Ukraine was able to reduce the burden on the borders of neighboring countries and returned to historical logistics routes - 88% of all agricultural products are shipped through Ukrainian ports, said Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitaliy Koval at a meeting of the Council on Agriculture and Fisheries (AGRIFISH) in Brussels.

"We are ready to be predictable and honest in our approaches. It is important for us to extend preferences for trade in agricultural products after June 2025, for the period until the end of the war and the transition period after it. I asked fellow ministers to support us on this issue," he wrote on Telegram.

Koval reminded the EU agricultural ministers that Ukraine is a large market for European goods used in agricultural production. For example, the import component in the entire Ukrainian agricultural sector is 61%, or $10 billion. These are seeds, plant protection products, machinery, fertilizers. In addition, the import of finished European products to Ukraine amounted to $6.95 billion.

The minister emphasized that Ukrainian and European farmers work in conditions of unequal competition - under shelling, constant threat of crop destruction, warehouses without electricity - but at the same time ensure food security for Ukraine and other countries in need. Therefore, Ukraine is a partner for Europe, not a threat, Koval emphasized.

He also raised the issue of disinformation and asked fellow ministers to debunk the myths that the enemy is spreading in the information field, in particular that Ukrainian products allegedly flood European markets, while in fact they make up only a small part of total consumption in Europe.

"Once again I thanked the European partners for their support. I urged them to remember that food is about peace, security and development. Ukraine is about friendship and strengthening the EU. I am sure that only together we can do more," Koval summed up.
Two torture charges have been dropped as part of a case for two Channel Seven identities accused of abusing children.

The Queensland couple, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are facing dozens of charges between them, with one accused of rape, and the other of torture.

But on Monday in a local Brisbane court, Magistrate Stuart Shearer dismissed two torture charges against the man, after the prosecution conceded there was not enough evidence. The man still faces several other charges including assault.

The man and woman were contestants on a Channel Seven reality show, but cannot be identified for legal reasons. Credit: Nine News

The couple appeared for the second day of their committal hearing, where the woman took notes in a notepad. She faces dozens of charges, including torture, rape, and sexual assault.
Keicha Day often has to fight back a rising wave of resentment when driving down the Henty Highway in western Victoria to visit her elderly mother.

Its a similar feeling when she walks through Henty Park with her two children or along Henty Street in her home town of Portland. The resentment can resurface when strolling past one of the numerous Henty monuments or down to Henty Park Beach.

Keicha Day beside the Henty Highway. Credit: Justin McManus

The Gunditjmara and Yorta Yorta woman is preparing for that anger to simmer again on Tuesday, which marks 190 years since British colonist Edward Henty arrived in Portland, followed by two of his brothers. Hentys arrival is considered the beginning of the first settlement in Victoria.

But Day said recognition of Indigenous people was largely absent in the coastal town.
The Fair Work Commission will decide whether to intervene in an increasingly bitter pay dispute between Victoria Police and the union that represents the states 17,000 officers.

The Police Association Victoria is demanding a 24 per cent pay rise over four years and the introduction of new 8.5-hour shifts, which would give officers an extra 14 days off a year.

Police Association members and Victoria Police have been in a long-running dispute over pay. Credit: Eddie Jim

However, Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius told a commission hearing on Monday that force command had not been authorised by the Allan government to increase its original offer of 4 per cent, which union members rejected in June.

Cornelius said negotiations with the police union had reached an impasse and there was no prospect of a resolution.
It takes just five minutes for this warehouse to put together a 50-item supermarket order.

With 700 robots, artificial intelligence and 1000 employees, Coles new 24-hour customer fulfilment centre in western Melbourne is busier and higher-tech than your average supermarket.

The hive at the Coles customer fulfilment centre, where robots collect products at great speed. Credit: Penny Stephens

Coles spent $400 million building automated customer fulfilment centres in Melbourne and Sydney after COVID sped up digital sales. Before 2020, fewer than 4 per cent of Coles supermarket sales were online; now, close to 11 per cent of weekly, top-up and last-minute grocery orders are digital.

Not long ago, online orders for Coles deliveries in Melbourne were assembled by local stores. Now, every next-day online delivery order for greater Melbourne is assembled and dispatched from this warehouse, which can send out 10,000 orders a day. Coles said the new customer fulfilment centres produced orders that were more accurate and more likely to be delivered on time, and reduced congestion in local stores.
We bring you the stories of womens lives lost in Australia in recent years. Some of the cases featured are still before the courts.

Vicky Apostolopoulos lit up every room she entered. She was always smiling and eager to help, and her door was open to anyone who needed her.

She was just so wholesome and just honest with everything, and always positive, a friend said. Every time she saw someone, there was nothing other than her being positive.

Melbourne mother of two Vicky Apostolopoulos in 2017. Credit: Facebook

Every time anyone wanted anything, she said, Come over, Ill make you something to eat, and well talk about it.

She was just always that type of person who wanted to support everyone as much as she could.
Resolute Mining has inked an agreement to hand over more than $247 million to ensure the release of its chief executive and two staff members being held by Malis military junta.

In a statement to the ASX on Monday, the gold miner confirmed it had executed the agreement as part of its ongoing discussions with the Malis military-led government about the future of its operations in the African country.

Resolute Mining chief executive Terry Holohan is detained in a hotel in Bamako. Credit: Resolute website

The deal, set out as a protocol, stipulates the migration of the companys assets to Malis new mining code and provides that outstanding claims against the company are settled  including tax, custom levies and maintenance of offshore accounts.

The Australian-headquartered miner confirmed it had already handed over about US$80 million (AUD$123 million) to the government from existing cash reserves and would make a further US$80 million payment in coming months.
Perth woman Donna Nelson entered a Tokyo court on the first morning of her drugs trial in tears and handcuffs as prosecutors alleged she was caught in a Japanese airport with 1.9 kilograms of methamphetamine in her luggage.

Nelson sat just metres away from family members who she has not been able to speak to for almost two years, and appeared much thinner than when she left Perth in January last year.

A sketch of Donna Nelson in court in Japan on the first day of her drug trial. Credit: Yoshitaka Enomoto

She was in tears at times, but also smiled brightly when she saw her three-year-old grandson.

Nelson was arrested at Japans Narita International Airport just outside Tokyo when customs officials allegedly found the drugs hidden in a double-bottom suitcase she was carrying.
Were bringing our blog to a close for the day, thank you for joining us.

Scroll back to read some of the highlights from todays news, including the shock revelation that Grace Piscopo, the Instagram model former girlfriend of Andre Rebelo, was being called as a witness by the defence in his high-profile murder trial.

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Piscopo, who shares a young son with Rebelo, was asked on the stand about the couples financial position, and the money she earned from her modelling work.

The states case against Rebelo alleges he killed his mother to cash in on life insurance policies he took out in her name because he was in dire financial straits.

In other court news  this time overseas in Japan  the drug smuggling trial of Perth grandmother Donna Nelson has begun.

Nelson entered the Tokyo court in handcuffs and was reunited with her daughters, who she hasnt seen for two years.

Meanwhile, WA last week passed legislation enshrining some of the strictest rules on novice drivers in the country. But Premier Roger Cook says more restrictions could be on the way.

Thanks again for tuning in. Scroll back through the blog to see more highlights from the days headlines, and well see you again tomorrow morning for more news you need to know.
Departing United States ambassador Caroline Kennedy has rubbished the controversial scientific views of her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Donald Trumps choice to lead Americas premier public health agency.

In a farewell speech at the National Press Club, Kennedy also made a full-throated defence of the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine pact, describing it as an existential investment in Australias sovereignty and way of life, and predicted she would see a female US president in her lifetime.

Caroline Kennedy says her cousins views on healthcare are not shared by the rest of the political dynasty. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

Asked whether her cousin, widely known as RFK Jr, risked tarnishing the Kennedy familys legacy as Trumps selection to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Kennedy said: I think Bobby Kennedys views on vaccines are dangerous, but I dont think that most Americans share them, so well just have to wait and see what happens ... I grew up with him, so Ive known all this for a long time; others are just getting to know him.

RFK Jr has linked vaccines to autism  a discredited theory long rejected by scientists  and promised that a Trump administration would advise all US water systems to remove fluoride from public water.
As political figures ducked for cover rather than comment publicly about Alan Jones arrest and subsequent charges, an encrypted social media chatroom called Restoring Your Liberal Party was running hot.

The former vice president of the federal Liberal Party, Teena McQueen, was vociferous in Jones defence.

Its absolute bullshit, she wrote on WhatsApp in response to a message from fellow group member George Szabo, a Sydney lawyer and active Liberal member, who had simply reported Alan Jones arrested. About to be charged.

McQueen  whom this masthead attempted to contact for comment  was last reported partying at the weekend at Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort, where she and her current employer, Gina Rinehart, had celebrated the hosts US presidential election win.
The number of deaths in Sumy as a result of a missile attack by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on November 17 increased to 11 people, Acting Mayor Artiom Kobzar said in a comment to Suspilne.

According to him, "the number of injured people in Sumy has increased to 68, including ten children."

"As a sign of mourning for the dead, Days of mourning have been declared in Sumy city territorial community on November 18 and 19," Kobzar wrote on Facebook.
Rio de Janeiro: Chinese President Xi Jinping has acknowledged the twists and turns in his governments relations with Australia during a meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that sought to cement a strategic partnership that has been rocked by trade disputes.

Xi told Albanese there had been a turnaround in relations in recent times and held out the prospect of expanding the economic ties, without using his public remarks to reflect on the previous governments and old disputes.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the G20 summit. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

But the positive message came with a statement that Australia should shelve differences with China if it wanted relations to develop well.

Albanese held the formal talks with Xi at the Chinese leaders hotel in Rio de Janeiro before both leaders arrived at the G20 summit being held in the city on Monday and Tuesday.
The billions of dollars generated by Queenslands hefty coal royalty rates are a short-term sugar hit that isnt in the states long-term best interests, a mining boss has warned.

BHP Australia president Geraldine Slattery told a Brisbane business leaders forum on Monday that Queenslands coal royalty scheme was the worlds highest, making investment in the Sunshine State a difficult decision.

BHP has five metallurgical coal mines in Queensland  the state that accounts for 56 per cent of the nations coal production.

The Goonyella Riverside coal mine in Queensland. Credit: Peter Braig

Royalties have propped up state government coffers since they were reintroduced by the former Labor government in 2022.
A drunk man was hit and killed by a car after being denied help by Melbournes sobering-up service because no male staff were rostered on at the centre.

An investigation into the root cause of the 34-year-olds death in June has prompted an overhaul of the rostering system at the Collingwood facility, which is managed by cohealth.

Police investigate after the man was hit and killed by a car in Wyndham Vale on June 28. Credit: Wayne Taylor

The community health provider was called in the early hours of June 28 after the man was found lying on the road in Wyndham Vale in Melbournes outer south-western suburbs.

Based on the clients history, it was determined that a referral to the sobering centre was not appropriate, and Victoria Police was subsequently informed, a cohealth spokeswoman said in a statement to The Age, extending sympathies to the mans family and loved ones.
The developer behind a luxury apartment tower next to Melbournes Metro Tunnel rail project is suing the Allan government for $20 million in compensation after part of its land was acquired for the new Anzac train station.

Developer Peter Devitt is one of the founders of Melbourne building giant L.U. Simon and, with son Kane, now runs a company developing the $300 million project on the corner of Toorak and St Kilda roads.

The $300 million, 15-storey luxury apartment complex The Muse. Credit: Joe Armao

Their plans for the project  known as The Muse, being built by L.U. Simon  were hit by the Metro Tunnel project in 2020 and they claim it has cost them millions of dollars in construction costs.

The Victorian government used its compulsory acquisition powers to purchase about 450 square metres of below-ground land off the project. The project sits on a block totalling 3549 square metres.
The Wests Tigers have agreed to terms on a three-year deal with prop forward Terrell May after he was granted an immediate release from the Sydney Roosters.

The Tigers have edged out St George Illawarra for Mays services on a lucrative deal that will see him remain at the joint venture club until at least the end of 2027.

May informed St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan of his decision on Monday morning.

The news is a significant boost for the Tigers, who have been looking for a front-rower for the past few months.
Ever since the giant Disney corporation brought its enchanting brand of magic to the high seas aboard Disney Cruise Line (DCL) in 1998, with Captain Mickey Mouse at the helm, its been plain sailing.

The Disney fleet has since grown to five mid-size ships (with more to come) which resemble floating versions of the entertainment giants famous theme parks, fun-packed with full-on entertainment programs.

Disneys cruise ships are a bit like floating versions of its theme parks.

Elegant decor and classical styling brings an upscale feel that gives a nod to the golden age of sea travel, building on Disneys appeal, which extends beyond youngsters, who make up its natural audience, to grown-ups who can enjoy the surprisingly-extensive child-free areas on each ship. On-board attractions  water-coaster rides, nightly Disney-themed musicals, artwork that bursts into life and a real-time talking turtle  exemplify the innovative twists this legendary brand is renowned for.

Such frills translate into cruises that are generally higher priced than other family-friendly lines, but such is the cost of tapping into a world where onboard experiences are sprinkled with fairy dust.
It is one of the most emotionally stirring experiences Ive had anywhere.

We are gathered on the banks of the Chamberlain River in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia in the garden of El Questro homestead, the famed cattle property that is now one of Australias most celebrated luxury lodges.

Profound: Mary OReeri tells her story.

Over two hours, proud Ngarinyin man Nelson OReeri, his wife, Mary and daughter Shonelle captivate us with stories, music, and smoking and cleansing ceremonies significant to the Wandjina people, traditional owners of the land.

Ive taken part in a few Indigenous experiences over the years, but this is by far the most profound. The familys storytelling is thrilling, uplifting and wrenching.
Rome: Italy has approved the Australian governments extradition request for the prime suspect in the Easey Street murders, Perry Kouroumblis, to be transferred from a Rome prison to face charges in Australia.

Serena Tucci, the court-appointed lawyer representing Kouroumblis, said on Monday that Italys Justice Minister Carlo Nordio had agreed to Australias extradition request, and Kouroumblis had been informed of the decision at Romes Regina Coeli prison, where he has been held since his arrest on September 19.

Perry Kouroumblis says he wants to return to Australia to clear his name.

The Italian government has granted the Australian governments request for Perry Kouroumblis to be extradited, Tucci told this masthead.

The request was approved by the justice minister, and the Australian authorities have been notified. Kouroumblis has also been informed.
Washington: For the first time, the Biden administration has authorised Ukraine to use US-supplied ballistic missiles for attacks inside Russia, marking a major policy shift.

The missiles are known as Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS (pronounced attack ems). They are likely to be initially employed against Russian and North Korean troops to support Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region of western Russia, according to US officials.

Ukraine has been lobbying the United States for years to receive the authorisation, which comes in the final months of the Biden administration. President-elect Donald Trump has said he will seek a quick end to the war in Ukraine.

A Ukrainian artillery crew with the Bureviy Brigade fires on a Russian position, in the Luhansk region of Ukraine. President Joe Biden has authorised the first use of US-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine for strikes inside Russia. Credit: Finbarr OReilly/The New York Times

What do these missiles do?
The world is made up of herbivores and carnivores, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a speech this month. Europe, he said, was a plant-eater. And the meat-eaters are circling.

Until now, most Western nations have been content to live peaceful lives with minimal military capability because the biggest of them has offered to protect the others by maintaining a war-like vigilance. That, of course, was the US.

Illustration by Dionne Gain

Under the eagles wing, post-war Europe and Japan became so relaxed that they adopted a pacifist stance. They relinquished any effective offensive combat capability to the point where they were declared to be the worlds first postmodern states, together with New Zealand, which sheltered behind Australia, in the categorisation by the British diplomat Robert Cooper. These pacifists were full herbivores.

But almost all Western democracies, including Australia and Canada, also allowed themselves to stand down. Their statecraft and their defence forces operated on the assumption that war between the great powers was an artefact of history and if anything went wrong, America would deal with it. People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf, according to a quote attributed to George Orwell. America was the rough man of the West.
After Russian strike, only two of nine reactors at Ukrainian NPPs operating at 100% capacity  IAEA

Ukraine's operating NPPs reduced their electricity production on Sunday morning as a precaution against a massive combined Russian shelling aimed at energy infrastructure, which further worsened nuclear safety, said Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"Although the NPPs - Khmelnytsky, Rivne and Pivdennoukrainsk  were not directly impacted and did not shut down, several electrical substations on which they depend suffered further damage during the strikes... The main power lines from four of the substations were disconnected. At the moment, only two of the countrys nine operational reactors currently generate electricity at 100 percent capacity," the agency reported on its website.

It is specified that of the nine reactors of the three NPPs currently operating, six reduced their capacity in the morning hours - from just over 40% of their maximum capacity to over 90%. All NPPs continued to receive power from an external source.

It is indicated that the main power lines from four substations were disconnected.

Grossi discussed the consequences of the Russian strike with the head of the national regulator of Ukraine, and now the issue of the need for another inspection of the substations by IAEA teams will be decided. The head of the agency recalled that his employees visited seven substations located outside the NPPs across the country in September-October to assess the damage from the attacks in August.

It is specified that the IAEA teams located at the NPP heard the air defense system working, and at the Khmelnytsky NPP, the agency team heard a loud explosion. At the Rivne NPP, two 330 kV power lines were unavailable.

"The countrys energy infrastructure is extremely vulnerable, directly impacting nuclear safety and security. We are still assessing the full extent of the damage. At this critical time, I reiterate the importance of adhering to the seven indispensable pillars for nuclear safety and security during the conflict, in particular pillar four that states there must be a secure off-site power supply from the grid for all nuclear sites," Director General Grossi said.
There is something in this city, in the imperial capital, thats changed over the last 48 hours, Steve Bannon, the self-styled agitator and former Trump White House strategist, said on his podcast last week. It is a sense that theres been a seismic shift in the political culture. And, hey, I think they know were not going back. At least some in Washington fooled themselves into assuming that Trump would not go as far as his campaign trail rhetoric. They sighed in relief when he named Senator Marco Rubio (Republican-Florida) to be secretary of state instead of Richard Grenell, a combative conservative who argued this year that it was necessary to have a son of a bitch as the secretary of state. One of Trumps superpowers, however, has been acting as if he were more popular than he really is. But then came the nominations of Matt Gaetz for attorney general, Robert F Kennedy Jr for secretary of health and human services, Pete Hegseth for defence secretary and Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence. Republicans gasped out loud at news of Gaetzs selection. Even the editorial board of Rupert Murdochs New York Post called Kennedy nuts on a lot of fronts. And the Trump camp was surprised to learn that Hegseth paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault as part of a settlement agreement, though he insists it was a consensual encounter. Supporters of President-elect Donald Trump participate in a victory parade on Sunday. Credit: AP

David Marchick, a co-author of The Peaceful Transfer of Power, a history of presidential transitions, and dean of the Kogod School of Business at American University, called the collection of choices unlike any before. This is like the Star Wars bar scene of nominees, he said. Trumps camp has made clear, he added, that its a serious strategy to blow out the government as an institution because of their belief that its become too big, too powerful and represents the deep state. Loading Don Baer, a former White House communications director under President Bill Clinton, said Trump was challenging the foundations of the American system. This is a huge moment for Washington, in all sorts of ways, he said. Trump, he added, is amplifying the populist resentment that has grown since the days of the financial crash of 2008 rather than trying to ameliorate it. The eruption in Washington is a goal as he tries to tear down the system, not something to tamp down.

What hes doing now with these appointments is, You all jump up and down and tear your hair out, but you know what? These are the people Im going to do it with, and I like that it aggravates you, Baer said. Pete Hegseth interviews then President Donald Trump at the White House in 2017. Credit: AP Amid all the hair-tearing-out, other consequential moves by Trump have attracted less attention. In tapping Elon Musk to head a new department of government efficiency along with Vivek Ramaswamy, Trump has handed vast influence over the federal government to a billionaire who profits from billions of dollars in government contracts. And while heads turned at Gaetzs nomination, Trump tapped three of his own defence lawyers from his various criminal cases to take other top Justice Department positions, pretty much guaranteeing that he never has to worry about scrutiny from federal prosecutors over the next four years. It is a mark of how much has changed since Trumps first term that appointees who once generated uproar are now slipping by without much protest. He has learnt how to move the spectrum of outrage.

When Trump first tried to appoint John Ratcliffe, a Texas Republican congressman, as director of national intelligence in his previous term, Senate Republicans deemed him too partisan and forced him to withdraw. Trump responded by making Grenell the acting intelligence director, which horrified establishment Republicans so much that they eventually confirmed Ratcliffe after all. Now Ratcliffe has been chosen for CIA director and is seen as a relatively reassuring pick compared with the others. Loading Indeed, some Republicans assume that Trump put forward some of the more contentious nominees to draw attention from the others, making Gaetz, for instance, a possible sacrificial lamb who can be blocked while the rest slip through. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing, but he hopes to prevent the release of a House ethics committee report into his past. Gaetz wont get confirmed. Everybody knows that, former speaker Kevin McCarthy, the Republican from California toppled last year by Gaetz and other GOP insurgents, said on Bloomberg Television on Friday. He added: Its a good deflection from others. Others disagreed. Thats not whats happening, Sarah Matthews, a former deputy White House press secretary for Trump who broke with him, said on MSNBC. He is drunk on power right now because he feels like he was given a mandate by winning the popular vote.

In fact, it is not much of a mandate. While Trump won the popular vote for the first time in three tries, he garnered just 50.1 per cent nationally, according to the latest tabulation by The New York Times, just 1.8 percentage points ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris. When the slow-counting blue giant of California finally finishes tallying its votes, that margin is likely to shrink a bit more. The Cook Report already calculates that his percentage has fallen below 50 per cent, meaning he did not win a majority. Wherever it eventually falls, Trumps margin of victory in the national popular vote will be one of the smallest in history. Since 1888, only two other presidents who won both the Electoral College and the popular vote had smaller margins of victory: John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Richard Nixon in 1968. (Both Trump in 2016 and George W Bush in 2000 won the Electoral College, and therefore the presidency, without winning the popular vote.) Loading Trump can boast that he increased his margin in the Electoral College, winning 312 votes this year to the 306 he garnered eight years ago. But according to nearly complete totals, he secured his most recent victory by a cumulative 237,000 votes in three states that, had they gone the other way, would have meant victory for Harris.

Moreover, Trump won with modest coattails, unlike, say, Lyndon B Johnson in 1964 or Ronald Reagan in 1980, who each swept dozens of their fellow party members into Congress. By comparison, Trump helped Republicans gain four seats in the Senate, enough to take control of the chamber, certainly a major victory. But he failed to bring with him Republican Senate candidates in four of five battleground states where he campaigned the most and won. Moreover, with races still to be called, Republicans held on to the House but did not build on their razor-thin majority. One of Trumps superpowers, however, has been acting as if he were more popular than he really is. Despite his modest margins, he has exhibited more dominance of his own party than any president in modern times. And his Senate recess demand will test just how far that dominance will go. The recess appointment power in the Constitution was designed to let a president temporarily fill vacancies while Congress was out of town in an era when it took weeks or months to travel to Washington. But Trump wants to use the power to sidestep the Senates constitutional duty to advise and consent to appointments. Loading

At any the other time, it would be hard to imagine the Senate voluntarily surrendering power to a president like that, even one from the same party. But Senate Republican leaders did not rule out the idea after Trump broached it, and it may be the only way to get Gaetz and some of the others through. Even if senators do not agree, some conservatives have warned that Trump may try to employ a little-used provision in the Constitution allowing him to force a recess. Trump has promised to be a dictator on day one but has already started before day one, said Tom Daschle, a former Senate Democratic leader from South Dakota. This is a major test to our system of checks and balances. The Congress must demonstrate its commitment to its constitutional role. And it is critical that it does it now. Failure to do so is an acknowledgment that the presidents promise will become the reality. Under the rules, a recess appointee can stay in place until the end of the next congressional session, meaning until December 2026, or almost two years. Given Trumps historically short patience with appointees, that means he could have people in key departments for as long as he typically might have them without ever being subjected to Senate confirmation. According to figures from Marchick, the average tenure for a cabinet secretary in Trumps first term other than Treasury, Commerce and Housing and Urban Development was 1.8 years. For the key security agencies  Defence, Justice and Homeland Security  the average term was 10.5 months. None of these candidates, Im sure, were vetted, Marchick said of the latest nominees. Its all just spontaneous decisions by Trump and then announcement by tweet. No process, no interviews, no vetting, just chaos. He had a mandate to deal with the price of eggs. The question is: did the mandate extend to this craziness?
PHILIPSBURG:--- Following the heavy rains this past week, the Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Development, Environment, and Infrastructure (VROMI) Patrice Gumbs wishes to thank all first responders, including the fire department, police, and especially the workers of VROMI-Yard for their steadfast efforts over the past week; and to the general population for their patience which, as the Ministry continues to clean and work towards improving our infrastructure, is much appreciated.



The island experienced the effects of a cold front, which normally doesnt come this far south. This, mixed with an area of moisture, led to substantial rainfall. The Minister indicated that the impact of this rain was amplified by the general lack of drainage, something that he has been very vocal about since taking office.

The current infrastructure has not grown at the same rate as development has; current drainage is not designed for the high density of buildings or the manner in which we build into the hills, often times relying on water to just run down the roads, whereas it would naturally soak into the ground," stated Gumbs. Similar sentiments have been expressed for years by the various environmental organizations on the island, as well as the Meteorological Office, as it relates to the infrastructure being able to keep up with changes in climate and weather patterns.

Over the course of the week, VROMI civil servants have been busy managing the water levels of the Great Salt Pond and the Fresh Water Pond. Clean-up efforts began in earnest around midnight on November 11th with the lowering of the levels of the pond. The VROMI team, including the Secretary General and the Minister, were on hand well up until 7 AM, before proceeding to the official Saint Martin Day events at 8 AM. The teams were busy assisting people trapped in their cars, compiling preliminary assessments, and removing debris from roads. In many areas including Ebenezer, Cay Hill, Cole Bay, Pelican/Simpsonbay, and Beacon Hill, the Ministry arranged septic trucks to pump water out, noting that this was more to mitigate the impact of the rains, and can no longer be the way in which flood prone areas are managed. A long-term solution is needed. Residents of these areas have been complaining for years about issues including erosion and drainage. In the Great Bay basin which experiences particularly bad flooding.

Contrary to circulating misinformation, the floodgates, allowing water to flow from the fresh pond into the Great Salt Pond, were in fact opened on November 11. The stormwater pumps, which pump water from the Great Salt Pond into Great Bay via a canal and which was out of service since Hurricane Irma, was epaired in July of this year and unfortunately broke down late Wednesday evening. They were quickly repaired and put back into service on Friday afternoon. During this period, the Great Bay Channel was opened to allow the outflow of water towards the sea. The Ministry will soon receive a subsidy for the purchase of a new storm pump and is in the process of upgrading the site with new sheet piles. It was discovered in August 2024 that the sheet piles are at the end of their lifespan, meaning that running the pumps for prolonged periods could mean the country runs the risk of losing the pumps, in the event of a platform collapse. This aging infrastructure means that the pumps, while working, arent able to efficiently pump water out, underscoring the need for structured maintenance of critical infrastructure.

Gumbs condemned statements made throughout the week on the lack of cleaning of drains and waterways as a cause of the severe flooding. This is a played out, old school, and rather unfortunate attempt by some politicians and their mouthpieces alike to take advantage of a crisis, to the detriment of the population. The awarding of the trench contracts, a decision that I took in August of this year, allowed for a comprehensive cleaning of all waterways for the first time in over 3 years which further mitigated the impact that this past weeks flooding couldve had. Within two months weve managed to tackle many of the larger drains and work is continuing."

Furthermore, Gumbs has been critical of the hard surfacing project, a good initiative to concrete all side roads, but one which lacked drainage plans and proper outlets, and only sends the problem (dirt, water and debris) further down the road. This can be seen especially in Cole Bay, where connections onto and off of Union Road have moved flooding from the main into people's yards and homes.

Minister Gumbs stated, "we often speak of resilience but have yet to institutionalize it. The potholes didnt appear this week, nor did our drainage issues and concerns about how we build and the impact on natural waterways and potential increase for erosion and landslides, as we saw in many areas this week. While rains are ongoing, the Ministry and other first responders are unable to assist as they risk putting their lives in danger and potentially making a situation worse.

Gumbs asked the population to exercise caution especially in the use of roadways. We are all very aware of the state of roads, noting that new potholes emerged with the passing of the rain and many others, already present, have increased in size. A large number of these are on roads earmarked for repair but the amount of rain over the past three weeks has slowed down the rate at which this work is undertaken."

The Ministry of VROMI will be making very drastic changes in what will be allowed going forward where it pertains to development. While this may mean that in cases of both private and public land people wont be able to build as they wish, the limitation and potential increased costs of building are outweighed by the safety, quality, and peace of mind it will bring to the population as a whole. The impact of this rain on homes, infrastructure, and the economy is testament to the fact that tough choices have to be made.

"These wont be popular decisions, but they will be the right ones. Gumbs stated.
On the occasion of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2024, the World Bank launched a Regional Opinion Essay Competition open to youth across the Caribbean aged 18 to 29. The winner will have the opportunity to visit the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and participate in the global World Bank Youth Summit.

According to the World Banks forthcoming Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Report on jobs and poverty, in many parts of the region, having a job is no longer a guaranteed path out of poverty. Despite significant progress, in 2023, one in four people in the region still lived below the poverty line. The regions economic fragility and the prevalence of low-quality jobs have kept millions trapped in poverty.

The essay topic, "Job Poverty in the Caribbean: Is there a jobs and skills shortage in your country or the wider Caribbean? How does this challenge contribute to poverty, and what can be done to address it?" encourages participants to explore the complex relationship between employment, skills development, and poverty reduction in the Caribbean.

Eligibility and Submission Guidelines:

The competition is open to Caribbean youth aged 18 to 29 years

Essays should be no longer than 1,500 words , written in English, and submitted in PDF format .

, written in English, and submitted in . Submissions must be original and unpublished, with plagiarism leading to disqualification.

The submission deadline is December 7, 2024, at 11:59 PM (Jamaica time). Entries should be sent via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , with the subject line "Essay Competition Submission."

Awards and Prizes:

Winners of the competition will receive the following prizes, including the chance to engage with World Bank leadership:

1st Place : A trip to Washington, D.C., to participate in the World Bank Youth Summit, a one-on-one engagement with World Bank Caribbean Leadership, recognition on the World Banks online platforms, and a certificate of achievement. The winning essay will also be published online at the discretion of the judges.

: A trip to Washington, D.C., to participate in the World Bank Youth Summit, a one-on-one engagement with World Bank Caribbean Leadership, recognition on the World Banks online platforms, and a certificate of achievement. The winning essay will also be published online at the discretion of the judges. 2nd Place : A trip to Jamaica, where the World Banks Caribbean office is based, along with online recognition and a certificate of achievement. The essay will also be considered for publication.

: A trip to Jamaica, where the World Banks Caribbean office is based, along with online recognition and a certificate of achievement. The essay will also be considered for publication. 3rd Place: A one-on-one meeting with the World Bank Representative for the candidates home country, online recognition, a certificate of achievement, and potential publication of their essay.

As the region continues its efforts to reduce poverty, there is a need for better jobs, not just more jobs, to drive meaningful change. Our goal is to engage young peoplethe leaders of tomorrowto share their perspectives and contribute to the development of solutions that address job quality and skills alignment in the Caribbean, said Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Director for the Caribbean. By amplifying their voices, we aim to foster a collaborative approach to shaping a brighter economic future for all.

This competition is part of the World Banks ongoing efforts to engage with youth in the region and encourage innovative thinking on development challenges.

For more details on the competition, submission guidelines, or to participate, please visit (website) or contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Justice Lyndon Lewis, representing the Government of St. Maarten, in collaboration with the Government of the Netherlands and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), has officially signed an agreement to initiate Phase 2 of the New Prison Project. This phase, supported by a joint investment of $52 million USD from St. Maarten and the Dutch Ministry of Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations, marks a pivotal transition to the construction of a state-of-the-art correctional facility designed to meet the highest international standards.

"For the past four years, we have worked tirelessly to reach this moment. Phase 1, which began in the second quarter of 2023, focused on design and procurement and is nearing completion. Todays signing for Phase 2 signifies more than just a project milestoneit represents an urgent commitment to address our nations pressing needs. The current prison no longer serves the demands of our justice system, making this advancement critical for our countrys safety and progress, Lewis said.

State Secretary for Digitalization and Kingdom Relations of The Netherlands Zsolt Szabo said: "The robust program of requirements formulated by UNOPS guarantees that the construction will meet the necessary standards. It will comply with the specific needs within the local context of Sint Maarten, as well as the human rights standards required in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The construction of this prison will contribute to more effective, safe, and humane detention conditions in the long term. This next step also paves the way for increased cell capacity on the island. It means that everyone sentenced to prison will serve their time. This aligns seamlessly with one of the key pillars of our Kingdom, which I also consider one of the priorities of my policy: good governance. I am pleased we signed this agreement, as I believe it will be beneficial for all concerned. Of course, continued close collaboration is essential to ensure the prisons opening.

The project reflects a commitment to enhancing human rights, dignity, and rehabilitation. Designed with a focus on social, gender, and environmental considerations, the facility will incorporate cutting-edge features to ensure both security and support for inmates' reintegration. It will include spaces for education, health care, family visits, professional workshops, and recreationreinforcing a holistic approach to rehabilitation.

UNOPS will manage the project to align with Sustainable Development Goal #16, emphasizing good governance and effective resource utilization. Deputy Regional Director Giuseppe Mancinelli highlighted the organizations principles: "This facility is designed to provide a safe and dignified environment for all, while ensuring public resources are used efficiently. Phase 1 resulted in significant savings, and Phase 2 will continue to prioritize sustainability, transparency, and equity."

Phase 2 spans approximately 35 months. Construction begins in 2025, with the first stage operational by mid-2026 and final completion expected by late 2027.

Joanna Kazana, UN Resident Coordinator, reiterated the projects transformative impact:

"This initiative exemplifies the UNs close partnership with Sint Maarten to advance the Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring no one is left behind. It combines security with opportunities for growth, fostering a system of justice that is both humane and effective."
In Sumy, the Russians hit with ballistic missiles in cluster munitions, as a result of hits, 84 wounded, including 11 children, the regional military administration reported on the consequences of the enemy's missile strikes on November 17-18 on a densely populated residential neighborhood and critical infrastructure facilities.

"As a result of the Russian attack, 84 people received injuries of varying severity, 11 of them children. There are 11 people in intensive care, six of them are children. Eleven people were killed, two of them children," the message says.

The Regional Military Administration also clarified: "Russian inhumans have used ballistic missiles in cluster munitions, which have a great destructive effect."

The elimination of the consequences continues. The operational response headquarters has been deployed. All necessary assistance is provided to people.

Earlier, Acting Mayor Artiom Kobzar reported that the number of people killed in Sumy as a result of a missile attack by the Russian Armed Forces on November 17 increased to 11 people, 68 wounded, including ten children.
Germany to send 4,000 AI-guided drones to Ukraine



Berlin, Nov 18 (AFP) Nov 18, 2024



Germany on Monday said that it was delivering 4,000 AI-guided drones to Ukraine, even as it has refused to send Kyiv the long-range Taurus missile system.

Berlin has been the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion.

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters at an event in Bavaria that the drones being provided "were directed and supported by artificial intelligence" and that they could "take out the enemy's electronic drone defences".

The drones "can be delivered very quickly" and could be "deployed 30-40 kilometres (19-25 miles) behind the front line and hit combat posts, logistics hubs among other targets", Pistorius said.

Along some parts of the front line in Ukraine, such a distance would reach into Russian territory.

Berlin had announced in June its intention to deliver drones to Ukraine but had not given details on their specifications.

Despite the unmanned aerial vehicles being nicknamed "mini-Taurus" by the German media, the government was careful to point out they don't have the same range.

"These are tactical drones with a restricted range," defence ministry spokesman Natalie Jenning told reporters at a government press conference on Monday.

"There is no connection to the Taurus (system) as has been sketched out in some of the media coverage," she added.

The current government headed by Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz has refused to supply Ukraine with the Taurus system, fearing that the move could draw Russia and the West into a more direct conflict.

Kyiv's repeated appeals for the missiles, which have a reach of more than 500 kilometres (310 miles), have been in vain.

The government on Monday stressed that its position was unchanged, despite US President Joe Biden's decision Sunday to allow Ukraine to use long-range US missiles to strike targets inside Russia.

Scholz's continued resistance comes despite Russian forces having made rapid gains in recent weeks, and Moscow's decision to deploy North Korean troops to aid its war effort.

Some in the chancellor's own government have contradicted his stance.

Vice-Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who will lead the Green party into a snap general election in February, said that he would deliver the Taurus system to Ukraine if he were chancellor.

The main opposition party, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which is currently leading in opinion polls, has also said it is in favour of sending the missiles to Kyiv.
Israel strikes central Beirut: state media



Beirut, Lebanon, Nov 18 (AFP) Nov 18, 2024



An Israeli air strike hit a central neighbourhood of the capital Beirut on Monday, state media said, in the third such attack since Sunday.

"Enemy aircraft targeted the vicinity of al-Zahraa Husseiniya in the Zuqaq al-Blat area in Beirut, with two missiles," Lebanon's official National News Agency said, referring to a Shiite Muslim place of worship.

A security official, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, had earlier also confirmed the strike to AFP.

The densely-populated working class district of Zuqaq al-Blat has welcomed many displaced people who fled Israeli strikes on Lebanon's south and east, as well as south Beirut -- areas where Iran-backed Hezbollah holds sway.

An AFP correspondent in a nearby area heard two blasts, while reporters in another part of Beirut heard ambulance sirens.

Lebanese authorities say more than 3,510 people have been killed since Hezbollah-Israel clashes began in October last year, with most casualties recorded since war erupted in September.
Germany to send Ukraine drones but no long-range missiles



Berlin, Nov 18 (AFP) Nov 18, 2024



Germany on Monday said that it was delivering 4,000 AI-guided drones to Ukraine, as Chancellor Olaf Scholz stood by a decision not to send Kyiv long-range Taurus missiles.

Scholz has faced renewed pressure to hand the weapons system over to Ukraine, after US President Joe Biden gave Kyiv the green light to use US missiles against military targets in Russia itself.

Kyiv has repeatedly urged Germany to send it Taurus missiles, which have a reach of more than 500 kilometres (310 miles) -- a plea Berlin has steadfastly refused.

"I have explained very clearly why I do not think it is right to supply Taurus cruise missiles," Scholz said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil.

Scholz said it was important to support Ukraine's defence against Russia's full-scale invasion while acting "prudently".

The missiles could only be used if "responsibility for targeting" was shared, Scholz said, a move he has previously stressed would risk drawing Germany directly into the war.

"That is something that I cannot take responsibility for," Scholz said Monday in Rio de Janeiro.

"We have a clear understanding that the powerful weapons we have supplied so far, the long-range artillery, the rocket launchers, cannot be used to penetrate deep into the Russian hinterland."

Berlin has been the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion and said earlier Monday it would supply Kyiv with 4,000 AI-guided drones.

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters at an event in the German state of Bavaria that the drones being provided could "take out the enemy's electronic drone defences".

The drones "can be delivered very quickly" and could be "deployed 30-40 kilometres (19-25 miles) behind the front line and hit combat posts, logistics hubs among other targets", Pistorius said.

Along some parts of the front line in Ukraine, such a distance would reach into Russian territory.

Despite the unmanned aerial vehicles being nicknamed "mini-Taurus" by the German media, the government was careful to point out they do not have the same range.

"These are tactical drones with a restricted range," defence ministry spokesman Natalie Jenning told reporters at a press conference on Monday.

"There is no connection to the Taurus (system) as has been sketched out in some of the media coverage," she added.
France and the United Kingdom allowed Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory with their SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles, following the U.S. agreement to long-range attacks by the Armed Forces with ATACMS missiles, Le Figaro reports.

It is noted that this decision was made two months before the transfer of power between U.S. President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who is suspected of wanting to reduce support for Ukraine.

"The decision was expected. The French and British allowed Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory with their SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles," the report says.

At the same time, the publication emphasizes that the decision of the United States to "give the green light to the use of long-range missiles" is decisive.

"This decision is an important change in the conduct of Ukrainian operations, in which there will be more American missiles than Franco-British ones," the text says.

Earlier, the New York Times, citing unnamed American officials, reported that U.S. President Joseph Biden, two months before the end of his presidential term, for the first time allowed the Ukrainian military to use a system known as ATACMS to protect its troops in Kursk region of the Russian Federation in response to the Russian Federation's decision to engage North Korean troops.
90s girl band star confesses she is homeless and has been living in her car for three years

90s music star is homeless and been living in her car for three years
The song was written and produced at great speed, with recording and mixing happening over a period of just 24 hours. When it was released on December 7, 1984 it shot straight to No. 1 in the UK charts and stayed there for five weeks. Within a year it had raised a reported 8 million in aid for Ethiopia. Geldof went toe-to-toe with Maragaret Thatcher and her Conservative government for refusing to waive VAT on the record sales, resulting in the agreement for the government to donate the equivalent of the VAT on Band Aid sales to charity.
I urge anyone listening to or reading this statement, that if you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all.
A source said: They [the perpetrators] would have had to have known the vehicles were stored there before they broke in and known when was the best time to escape without being caught.
Its the ministers who can go to those red lines and in some cases, Im sure in this case, some will have to beyond their red lines to get an agreement.
One of the largest and most dangerous Russian strikes in the entire war, which the Russian Federation inflicted on energy and critical infrastructure, using two hundred and ten drones and missiles at once, in particular hypersonic and aeroballistic, demonstrates that Russia has "such diplomacy," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an evening video message.

And this is the answer to all those who wanted to achieve something with Putin through conversations, phone calls, hugs  appeasement. Today, this dove of peace sent us yet another barrage of Kinzhal and Kalibr missiles. Thats his diplomacy. His language is treachery. For nearly a thousand days now, Russia has been doing the same thing. And we must defend ourselves against it. We need to be strong. Time should be invested not in talking to someone in Moscow, but in really forcing Russia to end the war, the head of state stressed.

Zelenskyy thanked all the air defense soldiers, Air forces, mobile fire groups, and all the defenders who provide "the opportunity to shoot down all this Russian evil," and also noted the effectiveness of the air defense systems provided by the allies.

Once again, Patriot systems performed brilliantly today. The F16s also showed their worth intercepting missiles. Special thanks to all our partners who help us with air defense systems and missiles. This is truly a global effort. Every time such Russian strikes take place, we see how important it is that our partners do not leave Patriots and other systems in warehouses somewhere, but transfer them to exactly those people who can protect lives and need them, he noted.

The President stressed that Ukraine had not yet received all the necessary systems from its partners, but work on this continues. Once we have whats needed, repelling these attacks will be even more comprehensive, he assured.

Zelenskyy stated that todays Russian attack caused injuries in Lviv region, in Kyiv, in Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and Zaporizhia regions. He also expressed condolences to all the families and loved ones.

We will definitely respond to the occupier. And we must withstand the pressure now. Any pressure. Any strikes. So that next year, we can achieve our goal. So that we achieve peace, the President summed up.
We reiterate our call on Iran to cease its support for Russias illegal war in Ukraine which continues to bring devastation to the Ukrainian people. We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.
I think on one hand it shows the desperation of Russia, but its got serious implications for European security [] and for Indo-Pacific security and thats why I think we need to double down on shoring up our support for Ukraine and thats top of my agenda for the G20.
Mr Glen told PA: In light of the Prime Ministers desire to pursue closer economic relations with China, many will want reassurances that they are committed to protecting the critical genomics data industry from the security and privacy risks posed by over exposure to foreign companies.
Shadow Foreign Office minister Alicia Kearns told the PA news agency: On Keirs first call with Xi he didnt raise the case of British national Jimmy Lai, and it is quite something now to hold a bilateral meeting with Xi the same week Jimmy will finally be taken out of the torture of private detention only to appear in a show trial whose sole purpose is to prop up Xi and entrench their attempt at strangling media freedoms and basic human rights in Hong Kong.
In a statement ahead of the summit, the Prime Minister said: It is in the UKs best interests to engage on the global stage  whether thats building strong and fruitful partnerships with our closest allies or being frank with those whose values differ from our own.
Sir Keir, who is the first UK Prime Minister to meet Mr Xi since 2018, also suggested a full UK-China meeting in London or Beijing as part of his desire for consistent and durable ties between the two countries
North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine but no countries have sent soldiers to support Ukraine  although many Nato countries have sent military and humanitarian aid. Despite the UKs significant aid donations to Ukraine, in February 2022, when the Russian invasion began, then Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey said there would be no active role for British or Nato soldiers in the country.
I wish to commend the victims and their bravery in coming forward. [They] have now got the ability to have a voice. This is what they've been asking for.
The move marks a major US policy shift, just as Mr Biden is about to leave office, and has led to criticism from his opponents - including Donald Trump Junior who said using the missiles could spark World War III.
Xi says looking forward to further enhancing China-Brazil ties

Xinhua) 08:26, November 18, 2024

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Nov. 17, 2024. Xi arrived here Sunday for the 19th G20 Summit and a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday said he looks forward to having an in-depth exchange of views with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on further enhancing China-Brazil relations, promoting synergy of the two countries' development strategies, as well as international and regional issues of common interest.

Xi made the remarks in a written statement upon his arrival in Brazil for the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit and a state visit to the country at the invitation of President Lula. Xi also extended sincere greetings and best wishes to the government and people of Brazil.

Noting that he has visited Brazil four times and witnessed the development and changes in the country over the past 30 years, Xi said he feels very close to Brazil as he again stepped onto this passionate land.

China and Brazil are like-minded friends with the same aspirations and good partners forging ahead hand in hand, Xi said. Although separated by oceans, China and Brazil, two major developing countries in the eastern and western hemispheres respectively, are attracted to each other and echo each other at a distance, he said.

In recent years, the two countries have continued to deepen political mutual trust, yielded fruitful results in practical cooperation, achieved flourishing people-to-people and cultural cooperation, and showed new vitality of the times in the traditional friendship, Xi said.

China and Brazil have also jointly made the just voice of the Global South in the international arena and made important contributions to promoting world peace and development, Xi added.

As China and Brazil celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year, relations between the two countries stand at an important historical juncture of building on past achievements and forging ahead, he said.

Xi said he believes the visit will further strengthen the two countries' strategic mutual trust, deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields and usher in a new "golden 50 years" for China-Brazil relations.

Looking forward to attending the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit, Xi said he is ready to work with all parties to discuss plans and seek development, jointly advocate an equal and orderly multi-polar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and promote the G20 to continue to play a greater role as an important platform for international economic cooperation.

Xi arrived here from Lima, where he attended the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and paid a state visit to Peru.

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Rio de Janeiro for the 19th G20 Summit and a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Nov. 17, 2024. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

People welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Nov. 17, 2024. Xi arrived here Sunday for the 19th G20 Summit and a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. (Xinhua/Li Yan)

People welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Nov. 17, 2024. Xi arrived here Sunday for the 19th G20 Summit and a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. (Xinhua/Li Yan)

People bid farewell to Chinese President Xi Jinping on his way to the airport in Lima, Peru, Nov. 17, 2024. Xi left Lima on Sunday after attending the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and paying a state visit to the Republic of Peru. (Xinhua/Bi Xiaoyang)

People wave the national flags of China and Peru by the road as Chinese President Xi Jinping leaves for the airport in Lima, Peru, Nov. 17, 2024. Xi left Lima on Sunday after attending the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and paying a state visit to the Republic of Peru. (Xinhua/Bi Xiaoyang)

People bid farewell to Chinese President Xi Jinping on his way to the airport in Lima, Peru, Nov. 17, 2024. Xi left Lima on Sunday after attending the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and paying a state visit to the Republic of Peru. (Xinhua/Bi Xiaoyang)

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
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Right now, Democrats are asking despairingly what, if anything, can constrain Donald Trump from doing whatever he wants in his second term. And Republicans may be assuming optimistically that, with the Senate and the House in his pocket, there will be little to stand in the president-elect's way. I have some good news and some bad news for each group.

Democracy means the rule of the people, and the people have spoken in electing Trump. Constitutional democracy means democracy with constraints. And the constraints we have now are weaker than they have ever been. The classic limits on a president's domestic power include Congress , the courts, fear of impeachment, fear of prosecution, government bureaucracy, and the financial markets, with press and public opinion somewhere in the backdrop. Nearly all of these, except the markets, are substantially weaker for Trump than they have been for any other modern second-term president. None, however, has been absolutely eliminated, and all will matter for shaping Trump's presidency.

What follows is a primer on Trump's limits  which is also, at a deeper level, an account of what constitutional democracy looks like at this particularly delicate moment in the history of the American republic.

The Legislature

The legislative branch is the obvious place to start. Republicans will have narrow majorities in the Senate and the House, a similar situation to the start of Trump's first term in 2017. And any president needs Congress to pass major legislation.

But Trump ran for office without proposing any specific, major legislative program that would require congressional approval. If he decides to proceed mostly through executive orders, it would limit Congress' leverage in a second Trump term.

Some of his suggestions, like eliminating the income tax, would certainly demand both houses of Congress be on board, and it could be difficult to get their acquiescence given the massive fiscal shortfalls such a plan would create. But Trump may never have really intended to make such a transformational step. And he will have no trouble getting majorities in both houses to approve tax cuts.

You might think that Trump's tariffs would require legislative action. Congress , not the president, has the constitutional right to set import duties. But Congress gave away many of its powers on tariffs years ago. A range of laws authorize the president to impose tariffs when he finds various conditions to be met. And according to Trump's last administration, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, the president can invoke emergency powers to impose tariffs entirely on his own. Congress could reverse those tariffs, but only by a two-thirds majority in both houses. It's unclear whether the IEEPA could be used to impose tariffs on, say, Mexico . But when Richard Nixon imposed a tariff using similar emergency powers under a predecessor statute, an appeals courts upheld the action.

And it's worth noting that the incoming Congress will be substantially more MAGA-oriented than the Republican Congress of 2017 to 2019. There may be much more support for Trump's most extreme actions now than in the past. Indeed, rather than checking Trump, some in Congress may want to press Trump to be even more radical than he would choose to be on his own  for instance, by passing a national abortion ban that Trump has said he would not support.

Congress , of course, also has some oversight power over executive branch actions. But it's unlikely to use those powers to investigate the Trump administration if Republicans retain their majorities. Regardless, oversight only works if anyone cares what congressional investigations uncover. Trump doesn't care, and very probably, neither does a majority of the public.

Impeachment is the other constitutional tool that the framers gave to Congress to constrain a president who blatantly violates the rule of law. Yet impeachment, I am sorry to say, is now effectively dead as a meaningful tool, at least with regard to Trump. Trump was impeached twice  first for his attempt to get Ukraine to target Joe Biden before the 2020 election and second for his role in the violence of Jan. 6, 2021 . Unashamed, Trump fought back and twice avoided removal by the Senate .

Trump's reelection strongly indicates that most of the American public doesn't care about impeachment where Trump is concerned. Ask yourself: if Democrats win the House, what conduct would merit a third impeachment  and what conduct would at this point shock the public? Maybe there's something Trump could do that would ignite righteous indignation among his supporters. But at this point, it's hard to imagine what that would be.

The Courts

According to the design of the Constitution , the judiciary is the other branch that's supposed to check the president. And in a second Trump term, the courts will perhaps the best avenue to limit Trump's wilder impulses.

In Trump's first term, the courts did reasonably well at constraining his actions when they were demonstrably in violation of federal law. Trump had to reformulate his Muslim travel ban multiple times before the Supreme Court upheld a version of it. After that, the courts gave him less latitude. He was blocked from corrupting the US census, for example, and from rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.

It's true that Trump later went on to appoint a massive number of very conservative judges to the federal bench, and that in at least some courtrooms, there will now be less resistance to Trump's more extreme actions. However, at the Supreme Court , despite Trump's three appointments, there are still at least three conservative justices who would probably be prepared to join the court's liberals to block presidential actions that are clearly lawless  Chief Justice John Roberts , Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett .

The other way the legal system can limit a president's behavior is if he fears that his associates might be criminally prosecuted  or that he himself might be prosecuted after leaving office. But it seems fair to say that Trump's Department of Justice will not be investigating any part of his administration for overreach. That was obvious even before he announced plans to nominate Florida Representative Matt Gaetz to be attorney general.

As for Trump himself, he has now lived through what most ex-presidents would have considered the nightmare scenario of being in criminal jeopardy. He responded by weaponizing the prosecutions against him and winning reelection  as well as winning a major grant of presidential immunity from the Supreme Court . Together, those developments have all but eliminated the threat of further federal criminal prosecution. (His state criminal convictions in New York remain, at least for now, but no one seriously believes he will serve any jail time in connection with them.) The upshot is that he can now be fairly unconcerned about further criminal prosecution.

Civil Servants

The career civil servants who make the government work on a day-to-day basis  the people whom Trump has denounced as the deep state  are another candidate for limiting Trump's ability to do whatever he wants. Famously, some civil servants claimed during Trump's first term that they were working to hinder Trump's policies from within the administration with the protection of their lifetime appointments.

Certainly, Trump believes that his efficacy was limited by the bureaucracy in his first term. That's why he has a plan to fire many senior civil servants and presumably put the fear of God into whomever he chooses to keep on.

That plan goes by the name of Schedule F. According to the Civil Service Act of 1978, civil service protections don't extend to any federal employee "whose position has been determined to be of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making or policy-advocating character." Late in his first term, Trump issued an executive order that created an authority to reclassify some civil servants as belonging to this legal category, placing them under the Schedule F rubric. The plan was then to fire them if they didn't toe the Trump line. No one knows exactly how many people Trump planned to reclassify, because in the end, the provision was never exercised.

Now Trump has promised to bring back Schedule F. If he does, there will be a major legal fight about it. It seems likely that, if Trump wins that fight, some meaningful number of key career civil servants will choose to resign. That would be principled, but would also ensure that they would no longer be in a position to limit any especially reckless or lawless actions.

One potential constraint on Trump would be that, if he were to lose a huge number of civil servants, running the government would become difficult  thus making it harder to enact any policies of any kind. But a breakdown in government efficacy is hardly something to root for.

The Media, the Markets and the Masses

Now that we've exhausted the main governmental mechanisms for restraining Trump, what's left are the nongovernmental institutions like the press, the markets and public opinion.

There has never been a president who was less constrained by what the press has to say about him. The underlying reasons for his ability to escape the consequences of press condemnation are complex and manifold. They started with his celebrity status; extended to the country's political polarization; and were consolidated by social media and the rise of channels like YouTube and podcasts, which together have the capacity to cut out the legacy press from the formation of public opinion.

At a personal level, Trump likely doesn't enjoy being attacked by major media outlets. Perhaps some news stories would be sufficiently heartrending to affect policy, like when 2018 reporting about family separations at the border appeared to spur the administration to roll back that policy. But it will be hard to see how anyone could think the press will meaningfully limit his actions. He can govern without Fox News .

Trump does care about what the financial markets think of his policies, though. What's more, the markets pretty clearly also believe that Trump is listening. That's the only rational explanation for why the markets would respond so positively to Trump's reelection when his most consistent economic messages have been self-destructive tariffs and wanting to meddle with the Fed. Those changes would scare the markets if investors truly believed Trump would achieve them. Yet if Trump is just floating ideas, and willing to reverse course in the face of market jitters, then there's less for investors to worry about.

On the one hand, it's a good thing the markets are capable of checking some of Trump's more dangerous ideas. On the other, financial markets aren't designed to preserve democratic institutions, and care about democracy only insofar as it provides a stable set of structures to facilitate the accumulation of capital. As we know from the example of China , capital can be deployed  and grow  in the absence of democracy. A democracy that's relying on the financial markets to keep the president in check is a democracy that has squandered most of the mechanisms the framers put in place to preserve it.

Ultimately, then, we come to public opinion. The sad, sad truth is that the public can only constrain a president if the public possesses what the framers called political virtue: the values, understanding, and attention necessary to make good judgments. Richard Nixon was a second-term president when he resigned in the face of his anticipated shame at being impeached and perhaps tried criminally. That shame was connected to his perception that the public  and members of his own party  were horrified by his conduct in the Watergate scandal.

Where the public no longer is capable of feeling shock or horror, no possibility of shame exists for any president. Of course, Trump himself seems remarkably free of shame; but that is merely incidental in a world where the public can't be counted on to think he should be ashamed.

The authors of the US Constitution did not want their fragile new republic to rest on the private virtues of public figures. That's why they designed a system of checks and balances. We can't keep eroding those checks and expect our democracy to come through unscathed.

(COMMENT, BELOW)

Noah Feldman, a Bloomberg View columnist, is a professor of constitutional and international law at Harvard University and the author of six books, most recently "Cool War: The Future of Global Competition."
Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk highly appreciated the proposal voiced by Deputy Foreign Minister Sharyn Haskel to transfer to Ukraine any Russian-made weapons seized by the IDF in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, the Times of Israel reports.

I welcome the proposal and hope that the State of Israel approves it. The weapons made in Russia, which are in the hands of the terrorist organizations, prove that Russia supports and encourages Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas and all those who aim to kill Israeli citizens and soldiers. What else needs to happen in order for the State of Israel to wake up and realize that Russia acts aggressively against Israel behind the scenes, through the partners of the axis of evil, and that Ukraine and Israel are exactly fighting the same enemies, Korniychuk said.

It is noted that the Israeli government refused to send weapons to Ukraine throughout the war, and despite Haskel's suggestions, there is no sign that the policy will change.
Representatives for the theatre told the media that while on painkillers, he fell from the fifth storey of a building in St Petersburg. The ballet company said in a statement: This is a huge loss not only for the theatre's staff but for all of contemporary ballet.
If the 1.5 million figure is correct, then it is a sign of the inflation of appearance fees offered on the show as Noel Edmonds was once the highest earner with 600,000. The presenter took the fee in 2019, despite lasting only one week in the jungle.
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, has said that the Russian strike on residential buildings in Odesa was deliberately inflicted by the Russians.

"In Odesa, Russians killed people with a targeted attack on civilian infrastructure. The Russian assassins are no longer even hiding their intentions," Yermak wrote on the Telegram channel on Monday.

As reported, on November 18, the Russian occupiers launched a missile attack on residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in Odesa, there are dead and injured.
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Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said, on Monday, during the meeting he had with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, on the occasion of his visit to Brussels, that there is a need "more than ever" of an "ambitious, coherent and solidarity" European agenda between the member states, as well as "action in the interest of citizens", inform agerpres.ro.

According to a Government's release, Prime Minister Ciolacu congratulated Roberta Metsola for her reconfirmation as President of the European Parliament after the June 2024 elections, reiterating the readiness to continue the excellent institutional collaboration that has been achieved so far, in the context of the beginning of a new institutional cycle at European level, as well as the adoption of the new Strategic Agenda for the period 2024-2029.

"There is a need more than ever for an ambitious European agenda, for coherence and solidarity between the member states, as well as action in the interest of the citizens. Romania will continue to support the activity of the European institutions, of the new European Parliament, to contribute actively and in spirit constructively, as it has done until now, in strengthening the Union, through cooperation within the institutional triangle European Parliament - Commission - Council", stated Marcel Ciolacu, quoted in the press release.

The common objectives pointed out by the Romanian prime minister, for the next period, aim at supporting an ambitious European post-2025 budget, which will support both the competitiveness of the European Union and the process of internal convergence, reducing the gaps between regions and social groups, maintaining the major role of the cohesion policy and the common agricultural policy, ensuring a fair green transition for all, according to the press release.

Also, the prime minister specified that the objective of full accession to the Schengen Area this year remains a fundamental one, recalling the constant support that the European official gave to Romania in this process.

"We particularly appreciate your constant support for Romania's full accession to the Schengen Area, an objective whose full completion we want to achieve very soon", said the head of the Romanian Government.

A major priority for Romania, Prime Minister Ciolacu also pointed out, is the advancement of strategic connectivity projects to the Black Sea. At the same time, the prime minister reiterated Romania's firm commitment to supporting the European path of the Republic of Moldova, as well as Ukraine's European prospects.

Also, Ciolacu mentioned the continuation of comprehensive and multidimensional support for Ukraine, stressing that a European strategy can support national objectives regarding the reconstruction of the neighboring country, but also global food security, connectivity and trade.

"The prime minister emphasized the need to strengthen the actions in the field of defense, by promoting effective and inclusive solutions in terms of industry, innovation and financial support, complementarity with NATO remaining essential. In the same context, the prime minister sent a message of unity regarding pursuing the objective of strengthening the transatlantic relationship", the press release states.

In the context of the visit to Brussels, the prime minister also had a meeting with the president-elect of the European Council, Antonio Costa, on Monday.
Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship, and Tourism Radu Oprea on Monday said the energy price cap should be maintained even after March 2025, until the government finds the right solutions to ensure that energy prices remain low, told Agerpres.

Radu Oprea presented, in a press conference at the headquarters of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the economic measures included in the party's governance programme for the period 2025-2028.

"I believe that the energy price cap must continue even after March 2025, until we find the correct solutions to ensure that energy prices are low. Greater production capacity in Romania certainly means lower prices, as market economy laws teach us. (...) We will have investments of over 120 billion euros, investments that must go into the Romanian industry, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, but at the same time, they must go into energy because affordable energy prices will make the difference in Romania's competitiveness and the competitiveness of Romanian companies," Oprea said.

He specified that among the first such investments are the gas power plants in Mintia and Iernut.

According to the minister, the offshore drilling platform for Black Sea gas is "on schedule," which ensures that "Romgaz, together with Petrom, will bring Black Sea gas to the surface on time, as planned, by the end of 2026."

"We must continue to support the competitiveness of the Romanian economy, small and medium-sized enterprises, protect vulnerable consumers, and household consumers. The continuation of the price cap could be this solution. The main reason why European companies, Romanian companies, SMEs, and large companies lose their competitiveness is the high cost of energy. Romania has a great chance because of its energy mix, which includes hydro, gas, nuclear, and renewable energy. This mix, with significant investments behind it, will mean affordable energy in Romania," explained the minister of Economy.

The Social Democratic Party (PSD) governance programme includes state aid schemes of at least 1 billion euros for energy-intensive industries, which will support the cement, chemical fertilizers, glass, and cement industries, all large energy-consuming sectors, Radu Oprea added.
Photo: https://www.facebook.com/RedCrossUkraine

Volunteers of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) have deployed a mobile heating station for victims of the Russian missile strike on Sumy.

Volunteers from the Sumy regional emergency response team of the Ukrainian Red Cross were on the scene from the outset. They provided first aid and psychological first aid to the victims, transported the injured to hospitals, and set up a mobile heating unit, where they remained on duty around the clock, URCS said on Facebook Monday.

On Sunday, URCS volunteers also worked in Mykolaiv and Rivne to eliminate the consequences of the morning massive Russian air attack.

"Mykolaiv At the scene, the team of the Mykolaiv regional rapid response unit of the Ukrainian Red Cross provided assistance together with rescuers, medics and police officers," the URCS reported.

The volunteers of the Rivne regional rapid response unit of the URCS provided assistance to two victims, transported two people to relatives, and also provided hot meals to residents of damaged houses and rescuers.

As reported, the army of the Russian Federation on Sunday evening hit a densely populated residential neighborhood and critical infrastructure facilities of Sumy with ballistic missiles in cluster equipment. As a result of the missile attack, 11 people were killed and 84 injured.

Due to the Russian missile attack on Mykolaiv on Sunday morning, two people were killed and six injured.
Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu will participate on Monday in the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the EU member states - the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), which will be held in Brussels.

The agenda of the meeting includes: Russia's aggression against Ukraine, developments in Georgia, EU-US relations in the context of the presidential elections, the situation in the Middle East, and the security situation in the Horn of Africa, according to a press release of the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE).

On the sidelines of the Foreign Affairs Council, there will be an informal working breakfast with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova Mihai Popsoi, initiated by Romania and Lithuania.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Russia's aggression against Ukraine will be discussed in the context of developments on the ground and the continued multidimensional support of the EU for Ukraine, with a focus on military aspects and support for the protection of critical infrastructure, especially energy infrastructure, as well as sanctions against Russia, but also Iran, which provides ballistic support to this state. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha will intervene via video conference.

Also, the discussions on Georgia will take place in the context of the political situation following the parliamentary elections on October 26, 2024, and reports of irregularities in their organisation. The debate will focus on possible EU response measures, alongside supporting Georgia's return to the path of European integration.

EU-US relations will be discussed in the context of the results of the US presidential elections on November 5, 2024, and the implications for the dynamics of dialogue and cooperation between the two sides, the press release also reads.

Regarding the situation in the Middle East, recent developments on the ground will be discussed, with a focus on the need for regional de-escalation, as well as the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

The discussion on the security situation in the Horn of Africa will focus on the future African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, the quoted source pointed out.
Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, accompanied by a government delegation including the minister of foreign affairs, Luminita Odobescu, and the Minister of Defence, Angel Tilvar, will be in Brussels on Monday, on a working visit during which he will have meetings with the new secretary general of NATO, Mark Rutte, the president-elect of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, according to a Government press release.

"The meeting I will have (...) with the new NATO secretary general confirms the importance that the North Atlantic Alliance and Mr. Mark Rutte attach to Romania and its defining role in the defence of the Eastern Flank. NATO membership guarantees the security of Romania and Romanian citizens. The Romanian people are deeply attached to the Euro-Atlantic values. Strengthening relations with NATO and with partners in the European Union represents a pillar on which we build our security, defence and development," stated prime minister Ciolacu, quoted in the press release.

Following the meeting, the Romanian prime minister and the NATO chief will hold joint press statements, according to the programme announced by the Government.

The head of Executive will also have a meeting with Romanian experts and members of the Permanent Delegation of Romania at the headquarters of the North Atlantic Alliance.

The visit to Brussels of the delegation led by PM Marcel Ciolacu also takes place against the backdrop of the beginning of a new institutional cycle at European level, following the European Parliament elections held in June, as well as the adoption of the new Strategic Agenda for the period 2024-2029, the same source specifies.

In this context, prime minister Ciolacu is to have a meeting with the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, with whom he will discuss, in addition to current issues of European interest, the approach of Romania's perspective of full accession to the Schengen Area.

The visit's agenda will also include a meeting with the president-elect of the European Council, Antonio Costa, according to the press release.

The Romanian government delegation traveling to Brussels also includes the honorary advisor to the prime minister and vice-president of the European Parliament, Victor Negrescu.
Romania's National Day will be celebrated in Alba Iulia on December 1, when the parliamentary elections take place, with the same events as in previous years, with the exception of the popular meal, according to the program published on Monday by to the local administration, inform agerpres.ro.

The events dedicated to the celebration of Romania's National Day and the 106th anniversary of the Greater Union of 1918 will begin on Wednesday, November 20, with the hoisting of a huge flag, with a message of welcome, on the bell tower of the Reunification Cathedral, followed by "Grateful Homeland - The Bells of the Reunification", an activity carried out in all administrative-territorial units of county as a sign of respect towards the representatives of electoral circles, guilds, religious denominations, national guards, the press and the Romanians summoned for the Assembly of December 1, 1918.

On Thursday and Friday there will be a national symposium dedicated to Romania's National Day, "Unity, continuity and independence in the history of the Romanian people", the 44th edition, and on Saturday, the Cross of the Union, the 55th edition, and the International Exhibition of statical Models, 19th edition.

Next week will debut with a street exhibition of photographic art dedicated to Romania's National Day, author Vasile Sarb.

On Sunday, December 1, in the first part of the day one can visit the temporary exhibition "Roots and symbols. The art of Romanian tradition", the "December 1" Book Fair, the 4th edition, where book launches will take place, and one can attend a moment of historical reenactment, but also at a Te-Deum. At noon there will be daytime fireworks, after which the Resolution of the National Assembly from Alba Iulia will be read.

At 14:00 a military parade dedicated to Romania's National Day is scheduled.

In the evening there will be an extraordinary folklore show, "Alba Unites Romania", with artists from all historical areas of Romania, and at the end a fireworks show.

Last week, the Government approved the allocation of 894,000 RON from the budget reserve fund for the organization of the events in Alba Iulia dedicated to the National Day.
Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) prosecutors and officers of the Iasi Brigade for Combating Organised Crime are carrying out 50 house searches on Monday in Iasi, Bucharest, Galati, Pascani, and Podu Iloaiei, as part of several cases involving drug trafficking and psychoactive substances, mostly occurring within school environments.

According to a press release from DIICOT, the investigations target 40 individuals, the majority of whom are students and pupils from educational institutions in Iasi County. The authorities have conducted extensive documentation and investigation activities aimed at combating the trafficking of prohibited substances.

The hearings will take place at the DIICOT - Iasi Territorial Service, targeting both the perpetrators and approximately 70 consumers, most of whom are students.

The investigations have been supported by the Iasi County School Inspectorate, the Iasi General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection (DGASPC), and the St. Maria Children's Hospital, which monitors cases of minors intoxicated due to the consumption of illegal substances.

At the same time, DIICOT prosecutors from the Vaslui Territorial Office, together with officers from the Vaslui Organised Crime Combat Service, are conducting four house searches in the municipality of Barlad, in a case related to the trafficking of psychoactive substances.

The evidence gathered revealed that, throughout this year, four individuals have repeatedly sold psychoactive substances to consumers, particularly students from educational institutions in the Barlad municipality.

Hearings in this case will take place at the DIICOT - Vaslui Territorial Office.

According to the release, this large-scale operation, alongside similar actions carried out by DIICOT prosecutors, represents a prompt and sustained response to combat drug trafficking and consumption among students. It also serves as a wake-up call to raise awareness of the scale of this phenomenon and the need to stop it through joint efforts from the entire community, particularly parents, teachers, and other authorities responsible for prevention.
From elegant dinners and lavish buffets to whole roasted turkeys, sides and much, much more ready to serve at your own dining-room table, St. Louis restaurants have you covered this Thanksgiving (Nov. 28).

The online version of this list will be updated until Thanksgiving. If your restaurant will be offering dine-in service on Thanksgiving or takeout food for the holiday  or both  and you would like to be included on the Post-Dispatch's list, please email me at ifroeb@post-dispatch.com with Thanksgiving as the subject.

Price, availability and other details are subject to change. Unless noted, prices do not include tax or gratuity. Contact the restaurant directly for the most up-to-date information.

612 North

Where 612 North Second Street  More info 314-899-0612; 612north.com  Takeout Heat-and-serve turkey dinner with sides and dessert for two ($64.95), four ($119.95) or eight ($219.95); order online by 6 p.m. Nov. 24 for pickup Nov. 26-27 at 612 North, Washington University location of Kimchi Guys (282 Skinker Boulevard) or all locations of the Drunken Fish

Adams Smokehouse

Where 2819 Watson Road  More info 314-875-9890; adamssmokehouse.com  Takeout Whole smoked turkey breast with sides ($79.99) or a la carte ($62.99), whole smoked chicken ($19.50) and ribs by the slab ($28.49); meal packages and a-la-carte smoked meats by the pound and sides also available; order online for pickup 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 27

Alchemy Bakery (Tai Davis)

Where 500 North Grand Boulevard  More info tai-davis.com  Takeout Desserts for 10 or more; order online by Nov. 21 for pickup 1-6 p.m. Nov. 26-27

Aris Restaurant

Where 3101 Hampton Avenue  More info 314-644-4264  Dine-in Thanksgiving meal, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; $28.95 for adults, $13.95 for children; reservations requested

The Art of Entertaining

Where 8796 Big Bend Boulevard, Webster Groves  More info 314-963-9899; theaofe.com  Takeout Sliced turkey breast dinner with sides and dessert for three to four ($135), six to seven ($200) or 10 to 12 ($395); meal package for 10 to 12 with whole raw turkey ($360) also available; a-la-carte turkey, sides and dessert also available; call to order for pickup Nov. 27 (dinner packages) or Nov. 23-26 and Nov. 29-30 (a-la-carte items)

Bandanas Bar-B-Q

Where Multiple locations  More info 636-537-8200; bandanasbbq.com  Takeout Barbecue dinner with sides ($99.99); call or email catering@bandanasbbq.com to order

Beast Craft BBQ Co.

Where 20 South Belt West, Belleville  More info 618-257-9000; beastcraftbbq.com  Takeout A-la-carte whole smoked turkey ($79.99), smoked turkey breast ($79.99), whole brisket ($174.99), bone-in ham ($99.99), sliced brisket and family-sized sides and desserts; order online for pickup 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 28

Big Sky Cafe

Where 47 South Old Orchard Avenue, Webster Groves  More info 314-962-5757; bigskycafe.net  Takeout Turkey ($78), pot roast ($80.50) or salmon ($82.50) for four to six, $78; a-la-carte family-style salads, sides and desserts for four to six also available; order online by Nov. 21 for pickup Nov. 23 or Nov. 26-27.

Bishops Post

Where 16125 Chesterfield Parkway West, Chesterfield  More info 636-536-9404; bishopspost.com  Dine-in Brunch buffet, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; $50 for adults, $18 for children 12 and under, free for children 5 and under

The Blue Duck

Where 2661 Sutton Boulevard, Maplewood  More info 314-769-9940; blueduckstl.com  Takeout Turkey pot pie dinner with sides for one ($40) or six to eight ($160); a-la-carte pot pie, family-style sides and desserts also available; order online for pickup Nov. 27

Bob Evans

Where Multiple locations  More info bobevans.com  Dine-in Call specific location for hours  Takeout Roasted turkey or smoked ham dinner with sides for four (turkey $94.99, ham $84.99) or eight (turkey $124.99, ham $114.99); roasted turkey and smoked ham dinner with sides for eight to 10, $159.99; pot roast dinner with sides for eight to 10, $164.99; order online

Bogarts Smokehouse

Where 1627 South Ninth Street  More info 314-621-3107; bogartssmokehouse.com  Takeout Smoked turkey breast ($54) for six to eight or bacon-wrapped ham ($80) for 10-12; call to order or order in-person for pickup by 3 p.m. Nov. 26-27

Bolyards Meat & Provisions

Where 2733 Sutton Boulevard, Maplewood  More info 314-647-2567; bolyardsmeat.com  Takeout Fresh, unbrined Buttonwood Farm turkeys, $7.25 per pound; DIY brine kits available, $20; a-la-carte sides also available; order online for pickup Nov. 25-26 (with DIY brine kit) or Nov. 25-27 (without DIY brine kit)

Brick House Tavern + Tap

Where 2 McBride & Son Center Drive, Chesterfield  More info 636-536-6291  Dine-in Open 4-11 p.m.

Bricktops

Where 10342 Clayton Road, Frontenac  More info 314-567-6300; bricktops.com/st-louis  Dine-in Thanksgiving dinner; $40 per person, $10 for children; full dinner menu also available  Takeout Roast turkey dinner with sides for four ($180) or eight ($360); prime rib dinner with sides for eight to 10 ($350); beef wellington dinner with sides for eight to 10 ($450); order by phone or online by 5 p.m. Nov. 25

Brio Italian Grille

Where 1601 South Lindbergh Boulevard, Frontenac  More info 314-432-4410; brioitalian.com  Dine-In Thanksgiving dinner; regular menu also available; reservations recommended  Takeout Thanksgiving feast for one ($39.99), four to five ($120), or eight to 10 ($238); order online for pickup (pickup days vary by order)

Bristol Seafood Grill

Where 11801 Olive Boulevard, Creve Coeur  More info 314-567-0272; bristolseafoodgrill.com  Dine-in Three-course roasted turkey dinner, 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; $46 for adults, $22 for children 12 and under; limited regular menu also available

Where 2314 Technology Drive, OFallon, Missouri  More info 636-625-6350; bristolseafoodgrill.com  Dine-in Three-course roasted turkey dinner, 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; $46 for adults, $22 for children 12 and under; limited regular menu also available

Butlers Pantry

Where 1414 Park Avenue  More info 314-664-7680; butlerspantry.com  Takeout Thanksgiving buffet dinner for 10-12 ($700); additional a-la-carte desserts available; order by phone or online for pickup or delivery by Nov. 27

Cafe La Vie

Where Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton, 7730 Bonhomme Avenue, Clayton  More info 314-863-0400; cafelaviestlouis.com  Dine-in A-la-carte Thanksgiving meal, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; regular menu also available; reservations recommended

The Capital Grille

Where 101 South Hanley Road, Clayton  More info 314-725-0930; thecapitalgrille.com  Dine-in Open for dine-in; reservations recommended  Takeout Sides for four, $135; order online for pickup 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 27 or 9-11 a.m. Nov. 28

Casa Don Alfonso

Where The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis, 100 Carondelet Plaza, Clayton  More info 314-719-1496; casadonalfonsostlouis.com  Dine-in Brunch buffet, 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; $105 for adults, $55 for children 12 and under; three-course dinner from 6 p.m.; $85 per person

Chandler Hill Vineyards (SOLD OUT)

Where 596 Defiance Road, Defiance  More info 636-798-2675; chandlerhillvineyards.com  Dine-in Family-style Thanksgiving dinner, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; $45 for adults, $24 for children 12 and under, free for children 5 and under; reservations required; SOLD OUT as of Nov. 14

Chicken Scratch

Where The Food Hall at City Foundry, 3730 Foundry Way  More info chxscratchstl.com  Takeout Whole rotisserie-cooked turkey dinner with sides ($300); dinner with two rotisserie-cooked chickens and sides ($175); a-la-carte rotisserie turkey ($150) and chickens and family-style sides also available; order online for pickup Nov. 27

Where 9900 Manchester Road, Glendale  More info chxscratchstl.com  Takeout Whole rotisserie-cooked turkey dinner with sides ($300); dinner with two rotisserie-cooked chickens and sides ($175); a-la-carte rotisserie turkey ($150) and chickens and family-style sides also available; order online for pickup Nov. 27

Clara Bs Kitchen Table

Where LongStory Coffee, 732 South Illinois, Belleville  More info 618-416-1812; clarabs.com  Takeout Stuffed turkey breast ($75), porchetta ($75) smoked beef short rib ($105) and stuffed polenta ($45) main course; a-la-carte family-style appetizers, sides and desserts also available; order online

Clark & Bourbon

Where Live! by Loews St. Louis, 799 Clark Avenue  More info 314-597-9650; clarkandbourbon.com  Dine-in Thanksgiving brunch buffet, seatings 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; $65 per person, $24 for children; reservations available via Resy

Cooper's Hawk Restaurant & Winery

Where 1146 Town and Country Crossing Drive, Town and Country  More info 636-489-0059; chwinery.com  Dine-in Open for dine-in  Takeout Thanksgiving dinner for 6, $199.99; order online by Nov. 21 for pickup Nov. 27-28

Where 5300 North Service Road, St. Peters  More info 636-534-0088; chwinery.com  Dine-in Open for dine-in  Takeout Thanksgiving dinner for 6, $199.99; order online by Nov. 21 for pickup Nov. 27-28

Cracker Barrel

Where Multiple locations  More info crackerbarrel.com  Dine-in Call specific location for hours  Takeout Heat-and-serve roasted turkey breast dinners for four to six ($119.99) or eight to 10 ($184.99); a-la-carte desserts also available; individual takeout dinner with turkey ($17.99), chicken and dumplings ($10.49) or country vegetable plate ($10.59); order online for pickup Nov. 23-Dec. 1 (meal packages) or Nov. 28 (individual plates)

Dalies Smokehouse

Where 2951 Dougherty Ferry Road, Valley Park  More info 636-529-1898; daliessmokehouse.com  Takeout Whole smoked turkey or bacon-wrapped ham dinner with sides for eight to 10, $110; a-la-carte meats and sides also available; order by Nov. 22 for pickup 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Nov. 26-27

DeLish Emporium

Where 2929 South Jefferson Avenue  More info delishemporium.com  Takeout A-la-carte desserts; order online by Nov. 24 for pickup Nov. 27

Dierbergs

Where Multiple locations  More info dierbergs.com  Takeout Thanksgiving meal with sides for eight to 10 with roasted turkey ($159.99), smoked turkey breast ($160.99), uncooked turkey ($139.99), or roasted turkey breast ($84.99); ham, prime rib and other meal packages and turkey meal for one ($13.99) also available; order online

Eckerts Farm

Where 951 South Green Mount Road, Belleville  More info 618-233-0513; eckerts.com  Takeout Whole fruit and pumpkin pies; order online

Eclipse Restaurant (SOLD OUT)

Where Moonrise Hotel, 6177 Delmar Boulevard  More info 314-721-1111; moonrisehotel.com.com  Dine-in Thanksgiving buffet; $60 per person, $20 for children; SOLD OUT as of Nov. 14

EdgeWild Restaurant & Winery

Where 550 Chesterfield Center, Chesterfield  More info 636-532-0550; edgewildwinery.com  Dine-In Thanksgiving buffet, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; $43.95 for adults; $15.95 for children 12 and under; free for children 6 and under; call for reservations

Flavor 360

Where 2200 Yale Avenue, Maplewood  More info flavor360.square.site; 314-781-7722  Takeout A-la-carte side dishes and desserts; order online for pickup Nov. 26-27

Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar

Where 1855 South Lindbergh Boulevard, Frontenac  More info 314-567-7610; flemingssteakhouse.com  Dine-in Three-course dinner, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; regular menu also available; reservations recommended  Takeout Thanksgiving meal for six with turkey ($260) or beef tenderloin ($420) with sides and dessert; a-la-carte turkey ($125), beef tenderloin ($285), sides, salads and desserts also available; order online

Fridas and Station No. 3 (Vegan)

Where 622 North and South Road, University City  More info 314-727-6500; eatatfridas.com  Takeout Vegan feast with housemade turkey seitan and sides and dessert for one, $36; order online for pickup 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Nov. 27 at Fridas, 4-9 p.m. Nov. 27 at Station No. 3 in Benton Park (1956 Utah Street) or 11 a.m.-8 p.m. at Station No. 3 in Kirkwood (10463 Manchester Road)

Gallaghers Restaurant

Where 114 West Mill Street, Waterloo  More info 618-939-9933; gallagherswaterloo.com  Dine-in Family-style Thanksgiving dinner, seatings at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. or 5 p.m.; $35 for adults, $19 for children; reservations available online

GastroPit

Where 4948 Southwest Avenue  More info 314-664-9954; gastropit-stl.com  Takeout Smoked turkey dinner with sides and dessert for six to eight ($255) or 15-20 ($355); whole smoked turkey ($75) and other a-la-carte meats, family-style sides and desserts also available; order online for pickup Nov. 27-28

Golden Corral

Where Multiple locations  More info goldencorral.com  Dine-in Call specific location for dine-in availability and hours  Takeout Dinner featuring whole roasted turkey ($119.99), glazed ham ($119.99) or pork roast ($119.99) with sides and dessert, $99.99; a-la-carte dishes also available; order online or by phone

Gourmet to Go

Where 9828 Clayton Road, Ladue, and 1865 Craig Road, Maryland Heights  More info 314-205-1151; gourmettogo.com  Takeout Whole, ready-to-roast turkey dinner with sides and desserts for 12, $442.89; a-la-carte turkey, sides and desserts also available; call to order for pickup or delivery Nov. 27

Grace Meat + Three

Where 4270 Manchester Avenue  More info 314-533-2700; stlgrace.com  Takeout Ready-to-cook whole turkey ($75) and turkey breast ($60); smoked prime rib ($180); a-la-carte family-style sides and desserts also available; order online for pickup noon-5 p.m. Nov. 27

Innsbrook Resort

Where 596 Aspen Way Drive, Innsbrook  More info 636-928-3366; innsbrook-resort.com  Dine-in Thanksgiving buffet, seatings at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; $39 for adults, $16 for children 12 and under, free for children 5 and under; reservations with credit card required

J. Gilberts Wood-Fired Steaks & Seafood

Where West County Center, 80 West County Center Drive, Des Peres  More info 314-965-4600; jgilberts.com/stlouis  Dine-in Three-course Thanksgiving dinner, 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; $46 for adults, $22 for children 12 and under; limited regular menu also available

Kenricks Meat & Catering

Where 4324 Weber Road, south St. Louis County  More info 314-631-2440; kenricks.com  Takeout Whole roasted turkey or boneless turkey breast dinner with sides for 12-14 ($219.99); a-la-carte turkey, turkey breast, sides and desserts also available; order online or by phone

Knead Bakehouse + Provisions

Where 3467 Hampton Avenue  More info 314-376-4361; kneadbakehouse.com  Takeout Pies and bread; order online for pickup Nov. 23-27

Landrys Seafood House

Where Union Station, 1820 Market Street  More info 314-231-4040  Dine-in Open with regular menu; reservations available online

LeGrand's Market & Catering

Where 4414 Donovan Avenue  More info 314-353-6128; legrandsmarket.com  Takeout Sliced turkey dinner with sides for four, $60; individual dinner, $14.99; a-la-carte uncooked and cooked turkey and family-style sides also available; call to order

The Lemp Mansion

Where 3322 DeMenil Place  More info 314-664-8024; lempmansion.com  Dine-in Turkey dinner with sides and dessert; $49.95 per person; call for reservations

Lilianas Italian Kitchen

Where 11836 Tesson Ferry Road, south St. Louis County  More info 314-729-1800; lilianasitaliankitchen.com  Takeout Roasted turkey dinner with sides, $24.95 per person (minimum four orders); call to order by Nov. 26 for pickup Nov. 27-28

Where 3891 Mid Rivers Mall Drive, Cottleville  More info 636-477-5550; lilianascottleville.com  Takeout Roasted turkey dinner with sides, $24.95 per person (minimum four orders); call to order by Nov. 26

Maggianos Little Italy

Where 2 The Boulevard, Richmond Heights  More info 314-824-2420; maggianos.com  Dine-in Open; reservations available online

Maggie's Lunchbox

Where 867 Horan Drive, Fenton  More info 636-326-4411; maggieslunchbox.com  Takeout A-la-carte pies and desserts; order online by Nov. 22 for pickup 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 26-27

McArthur's Bakery

Where 3055 Lemay Ferry Road, south St. Louis County  More info 314-894-0900; mcarthurs.com  Takeout A-la-carte pies and other baked goods; order online or by phone

Mimis Cafe

Where 17240 Chesterfield Airport Road, Chesterfield  More info 636-530-4510; mimiscafe.com  Dine-in Open, call for details  Takeout Heat-and-serve dinner with turkey or ham dinner ($179.99 each) or turkey and ham ($219.99) with sides and dessert for eight to 10; a-la-carte family-style sides and desserts also available; order online for pickup Nov. 20-27

Mortons the Steakhouse

Where Horseshoe St. Louis, 999 North Second Street  More info 314-725-4008; mortons.com/location/mortons-the-steakhouse-st-louis-mo  Dine-in Four-course turkey dinner; $69 per person; reservations available online  Takeout Turkey dinner with sides and dessert for four, $189; order online by 9 p.m. Nov. 25 for pickup 1-7 p.m. Nov. 27

Nathaniel Reid Bakery

Where 11243 Manchester Road, Kirkwood  More info 314-858-1019; nrbakery.com/thanksgiving  Takeout Desserts and other baked goods; order online by 4 p.m. Nov. 20 for pickup Nov. 23-27

Niche Food Group

Where Pastaria Deli & Wine, 7734 Forsyth Boulevard, Clayton  More info nichefoodgroup.store  Takeout Whole pies, quiche and other baked goods; order online at nichefoodgroup.store by Nov. 25 for pickup at Pastaria or Pastaria Deli & Wine Nov. 26-27.

Oceano Bistro

Where 44 North Brentwood Boulevard, Clayton  More info 314-721-9400  Dine-in Thanksgiving specials and limited menu, noon-8 p.m.; reservations recommended

Onesto Pizza & Trattoria

Where 5401 Finkman Street  More info 314-802-8333; onestopizza.com  Takeout Heat-and-serve smoked turkey dinner with sides, $250; a-la-carte smoked turkey ($115), family-style sides, desserts and sangria also available; order by Nov. 18 for pickup 4-9 p.m. Nov. 27

The Parkmoor Drive-In

Where 220 West Lockwood Avenue, Webster Groves  More info 314-938-5554; theparkmoor.com  Takeout Whole pumpkin, apple, pecan and cherry pies; call to order before Nov. 20 for pickup Nov. 27

Pietros

Where 3801 Watson Road  More info 314-645-9263; pietrosdining.com  Dine-in Turkey dinner with sides and dessert, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; $34.95 for adults, $16.95 for children 10 and under; limited regular menu also available; reservations required

Pint Size Bakery

Where 3133 Watson Road  More info 314-645-7142; pintsizebakeryholidaymenu.square.site  Takeout Pies and quiche; order by Nov. 21 for pickup Nov. 27

The Regency Conference Center

Where 400 Regency Park, OFallon, Illinois  More info 618-624-9999; theregencyofallon.com  Takeout Turkey dinner (roasted or uncooked) with sides for eight-10, $50; a-la-carte additional turkey entree and sides also available; order online or by phone by noon Nov. 25 for pickup 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 27 (uncooked turkey) or 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 28 (cooked turkey)

Russells Cafe & Bakery

Where 5400 Murdoch Avenue  More info 314-553-9994; russells-cafe-bakery.myshopify.com/collections/thanksgiving  Takeout A-la-carte pies, cakes and other desserts; order online for pickup after 11 a.m. Nov. 27

Where 952 Brookwood Center, Fenton  More info 636-343-8900; russells-cafe-bakery.myshopify.com/collections/thanksgiving  Takeout A-la-carte pies, cakes and other desserts; order online for pickup after 11 a.m. Nov. 27

Russos Gourmet Express

Where 9904 Page Avenue, Overland  More info 314-427-4955; russosgourmetexpress.com  Takeout Thanksgiving buffet, $17.95 per person (minimum 20 people); a-la-carte large-serving turkey, sides and desserts also available; order online

Ruths Chris Steak House

Where Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch, 315 Chestnut Street  More info 314-259-3200; ruthschris.com/st-louis  Dine-in Open, call for details

Where 16493 Wild Horse Creek Road, Chesterfield  More info 636-730-2200; ruthschris.com/chesterfield  Dine-in Open, call for details

St. Louis Rotisserie Restaurant & Catering Co.

Where 12414 Olive Boulevard, Creve Coeur  More info 314-504-9098; stlouisrotisserie.com  Takeout Whole turkey with sides for eight to 10, $269; a-la-carte whole turkeys, turkey breasts and ham also available; order by phone

Salt + Smoke

Where 6525 Delmar Boulevard, University City  More info 314-727-0200; saltandsmokebbq.com  Takeout Whole smoked turkey ($119.99) and whole smoked brisket ($159.99); a-la-carte family-style sides available; order online for pickup at Delmar Loop location 10 a.m.-noon Nov. 28

Sharpshooter Pit and Grill

Where 8135 Gravois Road, south St. Louis County  More info 314-353-4745; banggoodbbq.com  Takeout Smoked turkey dinner with sides for two to four ($125), six to eight ($180), 14 to 16 ($260) or 20-22 ($325); call to order

Shortys Smokehouse

Where 121 South Main Street, Waterloo  More info 618-939-7665; facebook.com/shortyssmokehouse  Takeout Heat-and-serve smoked turkey breast for eight to 12, $70; order via Facebook message for pickup 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 27

Sister Cities Cajun

Where 3550 South Broadway  More info 314-405-0447; sistercitiescajun.com  Dine-in Open noon-6 p.m.  Takeout Roast turkey dinner with sides and dessert for one, $38; order online for pickup noon-6 p.m. Nov. 28

Smokee Mos BBQ

Where 606 Jeffco Boulevard, Arnold  More info 636-296-2111; smokeemosarnoldbbq.com  Takeout A-la-carte smoked whole turkey, boneless turkey breast and beef brisket, family-style sides and Blue Owl Bakery desserts; call to order

The Smokehouse Market

Where 16806 Chesterfield Airport Road, Chesterfield  More info 636-532-3314; smokehousemarket.com  Takeout Oven-roasted turkey breast ($15.99 per pound), smoked whole turkey ($8.99 per pound), smoked bone-in ($12.99 per pound) or boneless ($15.99 per pound) turkey breast, smoked sugar-cured boneless ham ($10.99 per pound) and more a-la-carte meat cuts, seafood, family-style sides, quiche, breads and pies; order in person for pickup Nov. 25-27

SqWires Restaurant

Where 1415 South 18th Street  More info 314-865-3522; sqwires.com  Takeout Thanksgiving dinner with sliced turkey breast, $37 per person; a-la-carte whole roasted turkey breast ($105) and family-style sides and desserts also available; order online for pickup 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Nov. 27

Straubs

Where Multiple locations  More info catering.straubs.com  Takeout Whole roasted or smoked turkey dinner with sides for six to eight, $175; turkey breast dinner for four to five ($135), two ($70) or one ($25); a-la-carte whole roasted or smoked turkey ($100), whole or sliced turkey breast, uncooked turkey breast and appetizers, sides and desserts also available; order online by 9 p.m. Nov. 21 for pickup Nov. 26-27 (cooked turkey) or Nov. 23-27 (uncooked turkey)

Sugaree Baking Co.

Where 1242 Tamm Avenue  More info 314-645-5496; sugareebaking.com  Takeout Pies and other baked goods; order online by Nov. 20 for pickup Nov. 27; see website for ordering details

Sugarfire Pie

Where 9200 Olive Boulevard, Olivette  More info 314-736-6300; sugarfirepie.com  Takeout Pumpkin, pecan and other whole pies, $28.99 each; call to order by Nov. 22

Sugarfire Smoke House

Where Multiple locations  More info sugarfiresmokehouse.com  Takeout Whole smoked turkey, $12.99 per pound; smoked turkey breasts ($18.99 per pound) and a-la-carte side dishes and meats by the pound also available; call specific location to order by Nov. 24

Sunset 44 Bistro

Where 118 West Adams Avenue, Kirkwood  More info 314-965-6644  Dine-in Roasted turkey plate and other a-la-carte dishes, noon-7 p.m.; call for reservations

Super Smokers BBQ + Cajun

Where 1567 West Fifth Street, Eureka  More info 636-938-9742; supersmokers.com  Takeout Sliced turkey dinner with sides for two to four, $49.99; whole smoked turkey dinner with sides for eight to 10, $149.99; a-la-carte whole smoked turkey ($74.99), whole smoked beef brisket ($149.99), other main courses, family-style sides and bread pudding available; order online by Nov. 22 for pickup Nov. 26-27

SweetArt (Plant-based)

Where 2203 South 39th Street  More info 314-771-4278; sweetartstl.com  Takeout A-la-carte whole pies also available; order online for pickup noon-6 p.m. Nov. 27; Thanksgiving plates will be available for order online Nov. 27

Trolley Stop Bakery

Where 67 Forum Shopping Center, Chesterfield  More info 314-295-4898;

trolleystopbakery.com/thanksgiving-pies-1  Takeout Takeout quiche, pies, desserts, and other baked goods; order by 5 p.m. Nov. 25 for pickup Nov. 26-27

Tucanos Brazilian Grill

Where 1520 South Fifth Street, Suite 100, St. Charles  More info 636-724-4499; tucanos.com  Dine-in Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, sides and dessert and regular churrascaria menu, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; reservations strongly recommended  Takeout Roasted or deep-fried turkey ($139.99), turkey breast ($154.99) or turkey and beef ($169.99) dinner with sides and dessert; order online for pickup Nov. 28

Union Loafers

Where 1629 Tower Grove Avenue  More info 314-833-6111; unionloafers.com  Takeout Bread and dinner rolls; order online for pickup Nov. 27

Walnut Grill

Where 10797 Sunset Hills Plaza, Sunset Hills  More info 314-858-9392; eatwalnut.com  Dine-in Thanksgiving buffet, 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m.; $34.95 for adults, $16.95 for children  Takeout Turkey dinner with sides for four, $109.95; a-la-carte turkey and sides also available; order online by Nov. 20

White Box Catering

Where 1250 Strassner Drive, Brentwood  More info 314-420-5977; whiteboxcatering.com  Takeout Heat-and-serve turkey dinner with sides and dessert, $20 per person; family-style brunch ($14 per person) also available; order by Nov. 24 for pickup or delivery 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 27

Winslows Table

Where 7213 Delmar Boulevard, University City  More info 314-725-7559; winslowstable.com  Takeout A-la-carte family-style sides and desserts; order online for pickup Nov. 27

Yolklore

Where 8958 Watson Road, Crestwood  More info 314-270-8538; yolklore.com  Takeout Uncooked Buttonwood Farms turkeys, whole pies, gooey butter cake and other desserts and bread rolls also available; order online for pickup Nov. 23 (turkeys) and Nov. 27 (baked goods)
CLAYTON  A judge will decide by the end of the week whether to temporarily remove a St. Louis County councilman from office over accusations he violated Missouris nepotism ban.

Special Assistant Prosecutor Rachel Smith argued before a judge Monday that Councilman Dennis Hancock, a Fenton Republican, should be removed, at least temporarily, because he hired his stepdaughter as his aide earlier this year. But Hancocks attorney, Kimberly Mathis, said Circuit Judge John N. Borbonus shouldnt decide until Hancock can make his defense.

Theres no process for appointing a replacement if Hancock is removed temporarily, said Rene Artman, chair of the St. Louis County Republican Central Committee. That would leave voters in District 3, which includes Fenton, Manchester, and Town and Country, without a voice on the council indefinitely. It could also clear the way for County Executive Sam Page to pick a favorite to replace outgoing Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, who won election to Congress earlier this month.

I hope it doesnt come to that because the people elected Dennis Hancock, and he has a right to serve, Artman said.

But Hancocks participation on the council is legally questionable, said Smith, who was appointed by Bell to handle the case. The Missouri constitution clearly prohibits elected officials from hiring a relative, prosecutors have argued. And upon hiring a relative, the elected official forfeits his or her office.

If the court rules Hancock violated the state constitution, any of his votes could be called into question, exposing the county to legal liability, Smith argued in court.

Hancocks attorney argued public officials havent been removed in other cases involving nepotism. Gerard Jerry Carmody, a special prosecutor in St. Louis, was allowed to make his defense in a 2019 nepotism case and was never removed from office as the court made decisions, Mathis said. A judge eventually ruled Carmody didnt violate the nepotism ban.

This case isnt the same, Smith countered. The judge in Carmodys case ruled the court hired his two adult children to work on a grand jury investigation, not Carmody himself. In Hancocks case, the councilman hired his daughter directly, Smith said.

Thats clear, Smith said.

Mathis also questioned whether Smith could legally represent the prosecuting attorneys office. Shes working for free, a violation of state laws that say prosecutors must be paid, Mathis said. The rules aim to prevent private attorneys from influencing prosecutors.

Smith, an attorney for the Warren County prosecutors office, said its common for counties to exchange attorneys in cases where the prosecutor wants to eliminate any appearance of political influence. It happened in 2018 when then-St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch appointed the St. Charles County prosecutor to handle a case that sought to remove Councilman Ernie Trakas. But in Hancocks case, Smith reports to Bell and is not in charge of the case, said Bell spokesman Chris King.

Then theres the issue of Hancocks legal representation.

Last week, Page vetoed a bill the County Council passed in late October to pay Hancocks legal fees with taxpayer money. Mathis said she doesnt work for free and isnt sure if Hancock would have counsel to represent him.

Some members of the council have objected to the county covering Hancocks costs and think he should pay with his own money.

Choosing Bells successor

Political insiders allied with Hancock say the whole case aims to give Page a chance to pick a favorite to replace Bell before a new, anti-Page supermajority is seated on the council in January.

Page opened applications for the job in early November. Page spokesman Doug Moore said last week the county executive will continue reviewing applicants and probably name a replacement in the next couple of weeks.

At last weeks regular council meeting, Page mentioned the application process and asked councilmembers if they had any questions. He also said he would like for councilmembers to meet with him individually to discuss the next prosecuting attorney, so we can work together to make sure we have a good person leading the prosecutors office. No one asked any questions.

Artman, the GOP committee chair, isnt convinced by Pages appeal.

I think the Page administration is doing a Hail Mary trying to get through whatever they can, Artman said.

Moore, Pages spokesman, declined to comment.

New council members

In late August, Bells office filed in court to have Hancock removed. A judge signed an order that temporarily removed Hancock from office, but another judge overrode that order and reinstated Hancock to the council.

A petition from Bells office said Hancocks stepdaughter, Hollie Galati, started work on Aug. 19 at a salary of $24.88 per hour. Hancock has said he didnt know he was barred from hiring relatives and that Galatis new hire paperwork hadnt gone through. After they found out her hire wasnt allowed, Galati decided not to take the job and agreed not to be paid for a weeks work.

Two newly elected councilmembers are not Page allies  Republican Mike Archer, of unincorporated South County, and Democrat Gretchen Bangert, of Florissant. They will make up a six-member, veto-proof majority on the seven-person council, with only Democrat Lisa Clancy, of Maplewood, remaining a staunch Page ally.

If Hancock is removed permanently, the GOP central committee could appoint a replacement to fill in until a special election can be held.
Photo: https://www.facebook.com/zelenskyy.official

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited the location of the 25th separate airborne Sycheslav brigade in Pokrovsk, which is defending the town.

I spoke with the defenders and presented them with awards. This is a tense and challenging direction. It is only thanks to the strength of our warriors that the East has not been completely occupied by Russia. The enemy is confronted every day. I thank our warriors for their unwavering courage, Zelenskyy said on X Monday.

According to the President's press service, the head of state received a report from Brigade Commander Yevhen Lasiichuk on developments in the area of their responsibility and the security situation in Pokrovsk. Yevhen Lasiichuk reported on the tactics of the Russian occupiers in conducting small-group assaults and countermeasures, interaction with adjacent units, and the experience of using equipment provided by partners.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also received a report from the Commander of the Operational Tactical Group Donetsk, Oleksandr Lutsenko, on the overall situation in the operational area of his troops and details on the defense of Kurakhove and other key areas.

The President spoke to the Sergeants of the brigades defending Donetsk region and congratulated them on Sergeant's Day. He honored Junior Sergeant Vitaliy Havrylenko, Chief Sergeant Andriy Hryn, Sergeant Artur Maskevych, Sergeant Kostiantyn Ploskonos with the Crosses of Military Merit.

"It is very important that you stay safe, because without you, Ukraine will definitely not survive. I am grateful for your courage, your experience," Zelenskyy said.
Spirit Airlines said Monday that it has filed for bankruptcy protection and will attempt to reboot as it struggles to recover from the pandemic-caused swoon in travel and a failed attempt to sell the airline to JetBlue.

Spirit, the biggest U.S. budget airline, has lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020 and faces looming debt payments totaling more than $1 billion over the next year.

Spirit said it expects to operate as normal as it works its way through a prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy process and that customers can continue to book and fly without interruption.

Shares of Miramar, Florida-based Spirit dropped 25% on Friday, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the airline was discussing terms of a possible bankruptcy filing with its bondholders. It was just the latest in a series of blows that have sent the stock crashing down by 97% since late 2018  when Spirit was still making money.

CEO Ted Christie confirmed in August that Spirit was talking to advisers of its bondholders about the upcoming debt maturities. He called the discussions a priority, and said the airline was trying to get the best deal it could as quickly as possible.

"The chatter in the market about Spirit is notable, but we are not distracted," he told investors during an earnings call. "We are focused on refinancing our debt, improving our overall liquidity position, deploying our new reimagined product into the market, and growing our loyalty programs."

People are still flying on Spirit Airlines. They're just not paying as much.

In the first six months of this year, Spirit passengers flew 2% more than they did in the same period last year. However, they are paying 10% less per mile, and revenue per mile from fares is down nearly 20%, contributing to Spirit's red ink.

It's not a new trend. Spirit failed to return to profitability when the coronavirus pandemic eased and travel rebounded. There are several reasons behind the slump.

Spirit's costs, especially for labor, have risen. The biggest U.S. airlines have snagged some of Spirit's budget-conscious customers by offering their own brand of bare-bones tickets. And fares for U.S. leisure travel  Spirit's core business  have sagged because of a glut of new flights.

The premium end of the air-travel market has surged while Spirit's traditional no-frills end has stagnated. So this summer, Spirit decided to sell bundled fares that include a bigger seat, priority boarding, free bags, internet service and snacks and drinks. That is a huge change from Spirit's longtime strategy of luring customers with rock-bottom fares and forcing them to pay extra for things such as bringing a carry-on bag or ordering a soda.

In a highly unusual move, Spirit plans to cut its October-through-December schedule by nearly 20%, compared with the same period last year, which analysts say should help prop up fares. But that will help rivals more than it will boost Spirit. Analysts from Deutsche Bank and Raymond James say that Frontier, JetBlue and Southwest would benefit the most because of their overlap with Spirit on many routes.

Spirit has also been plagued by required repairs to Pratt & Whitney engines, which is forcing the airline to ground dozens of its Airbus jets. Spirit has cited the recall as it furloughed pilots.

The aircraft fleet is relatively young, which has made Spirit an attractive takeover target.

Frontier Airlines tried to merge with Spirit in 2022 but was outbid by JetBlue. However, the Justice Department sued to block the $3.8 billion deal, saying it would drive up prices for Spirit customers who depend on low fares, and a federal judge agreed in January. JetBlue and Spirit dropped their merger two months later.

U.S. airline bankruptcies were common in the 1990s and 2000s, as airlines struggled with fierce competition, high labor costs and sudden spikes in the price of jet fuel. PanAm, TWA, Northwest, Continental, United and Delta were swept up. Some liquidated, while others used favorable laws to renegotiate debts such as aircraft leases and keep flying.

The last bankruptcy by a major U.S. carrier ended when American Airlines emerged from Chapter 11 protection and simultaneously merged with US Airways in December 2013.

What are the top airlines in the U.S.? Reliability, safety, comfort and overall service quality Top U.S. Airlines for Reliability Top Flights for the Travel Experience Best Flights for Cost and Reach Best Options for Loyalty Bottom Line
ADRE, Chad  Crossing into Chad, the 27-year-old thought shed left the horrors of Sudans war behind: the bodies she ran over while fleeing, the screams of girls being raped, the disappearance of her husband when gunmen attacked. But now she says she has faced more suffering  being forced as a refugee to have sex to get by.

She cradled her 7-week-old son, who she asserted was the child of an aid worker who promised her money in exchange for sex.

The children were crying. We ran out of food," she said of her four other children. He abused my situation. She and other women who spoke to The Associated Press requested anonymity because they feared retribution.

Some Sudanese women and girls assert that men, including those meant to protect them such as humanitarian workers and local security forces, have sexually exploited them in Chads displacement sites, offering money, easier access to assistance and jobs. Such sexual exploitation in Chad is a crime.

Hundreds of thousands of people, most of them women, have streamed into Chad to escape Sudans civil war, which has killed over 20,000 people. Aid groups struggle to support them in growing displacement sites.

Three women spoke with the AP in the town of Adre near the Sudanese border. A Sudanese psychologist shared the accounts of seven other women and girls who either refused to speak directly with a reporter or were no longer in touch with her. The AP could not confirm their accounts.

Daral-Salam Omar, the psychologist, said all the seven told her they went along with the offers of benefits in exchange for sex out of necessity. Some sought her help because they became pregnant and couldnt seek an abortion at a clinic for fear of being shunned by their community, she said.

They were psychologically destroyed. Imagine a woman getting pregnant without a husband amid this situation, Omar said.

Sexual exploitation during large humanitarian crises is not uncommon, especially in displacement sites. Aid groups have long struggled to combat the issue. They cite a lack of reporting by women, not enough funds to respond and a focus on first providing basic necessities.

The U.N. refugee agency said it doesnt publish data on cases, citing the confidentiality and safety of victims.

People seeking protection should never have to make choices driven by survival, experts said. Nidhi Kapur, who works on preventing sexual exploitation and abuse in emergency contexts, said exploitation represents a deep failure by the aid community.

Yewande Odia, the United Nations Populations Fund representative in Chad, said sexual exploitation is a serious violation. U.N. agencies said displacement camps have safe spaces where women can gather, along with awareness sessions, a free hotline and feedback boxes to report abuse anonymously.

Yet many of the Sudanese women said they werent aware of the hotline, and some said using the boxes would draw unwanted attention.

The Sudanese woman with the newborn said she was afraid to report the aid worker for fear hed turn her in to police.

She said she approached the aid worker, a Sudanese man, after searching for jobs to buy basic necessities like soap. She asked him for money. He said hed give her cash but only in exchange for sex.

They slept together for months, she said, and he paid the equivalent of about $12 each time. After she had the baby, he gave her a one-time payment of approximately $65 but denied it was his, she said.

The man was a Sudanese laborer for Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, she said.

Two other Sudanese women said Chadian men working at MSF sites one wearing MSF clothing  solicited them after they applied for work with the organization. The men took their phone numbers and repeatedly called, saying theyd give them jobs for sex. Both women said they refused.

Christopher Lockyear, MSFs secretary general, said the organization was not aware of the allegations and wanted to investigate. Asking for money or sex in exchange for access to care or a job is a clear violation of our behavioral commitments," he said.

MSF would not say how many such cases had been reported among Sudanese refugees in Chad. Last year, out of 714 complaints made about MSF staff behavior where it works globally, 264 were confirmed to be cases of abuse or inappropriate behavior including sexual exploitation, abuse of power and bullying, Lockyear said.

Lockyear said MSF is creating a pool of investigators at the global level to enhance its ability to pursue allegations.

One woman told the AP that a man with another aid group also exploited her, but she was unable to identify the organization. Omar, the psychologist, said several of the women told her they were exploited by aid workers, local and international. She gave no evidence to back up the claims.

Another woman, one of the two who alleged they were approached after seeking work with MSF, said she also refused a local policeman who approached her and promised an extra food ration card if she went to his house.

Ali Mahamat Sebey, the head official for Adre, said police are not allowed inside the camps and asserted that allegations against them of exploitation were false. With the growing influx of people, however, its hard to protect everyone, he said.

The women said they just want to feel safe, adding that access to jobs would lessen their vulnerability.

After most of her family was killed or abducted in Sudans Darfur region last year, one 19-year-old sought refuge in Chad. She didnt have enough money to support the nieces and nephews in her care. She got a job at a restaurant in the camp but when she asked her Sudanese boss for a raise, he agreed on the condition of sex.

The money he paid was more than six times her salary. But when she got pregnant with his child, the man fled, she asserted. She rubbed her growing belly.

If we had enough, we wouldnt have to go out and lose our dignity," she said.
November 18, 2024: Iran has long been the Persian Gulf superpower. The name of the Gulf is an example of that dominance. One of the things all Iranians can agree on is that for thousands of years Iran was often its own worst enemy. It was internal squabbles that weakened the mighty Persian empire 2,500 years ago so that the Greeks, led by Alexander the Great could do the impossible and conquer the Persian/Iranian Empire. Same situation 1,500 years ago when the Arabs, inspired by their new Islaimic religion, did the impossible and conquered the Persian Empire. At that point the Iranians were still recovering from the Greek conquest. It took several decades for the Persians to abandon their ancient Zoroastrian faith and many pretended to accept Islam while continuing to quietly practice Zoroastrianism. Currently only about 40 percent of Iranians consider themselves Moslems and most adhere to other faiths, including the ancient Iranian Zoroastrianism. Iranians dont care what their leaders, a religious dictatorship, think and the Iranian leaders quietly go along with this subterfuge.

Many Iranians believe Iran has not recovered from the Arab conquest and the Islam is more at fault than the Arabs. Many Iranians now believe that, without the internal squabbling, Iran could have avoided damage done by the Greek, Arab, Mongol and Western invasions. The moderates pay attention to history and the radicals dont. But when radicals do look closely at the past, they often become moderates and that is how the moderates are winning.

Another reason is demographics. The generation that lived through the 1979 revolution and subsequent ruinous war with Iraq is no longer the majority. The current generation sees religious dictatorship for what it was, a coup by the Islamic radicals that were part of the movement that overthrew the Persian monarchy and used the Iraqi invasion as an excuse to replace the promised democracy with a religious dictatorship. The senior clerics and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/IRGC leaders know this is a threat because opinion polls have shown, for several years now, more Iranians are abandoning Islam and many are secretly adopting other religions or no religion at all. The clerics can label this as blasphemy, a crime punishable by death if done openly.

Iranian use of denial is not restricted to the current government, but is a national survival trait that makes sense in many situations. Fewer Iranians are showing up at mosques or religious schools. If pressed by a local cleric they plead poverty and the need to work more just to feed their families. The local clerics understand there is a lot of truth to this and that Islam is losing a lot of believers for very practical reasons. This is reported to senior clerics and eventually reaches the Council of Guardians. This group of elderly Shia clerics appear, on the surface, as wise and caring holy men. The reality is that the Guardians preside over a corrupt and incompetent bureaucracy and senior clergy, and Iranians are out in the streets calling them out on this.

Meanwhile Iran is consorting with Turkey and Russia, two ancient enemies, in order to maintain a position of power in the Middle East. This region has long been fought over and occupied by Turks and Iranians. It was a major achievement for Russia, which lost its own empire in 1991, to take on the Ottoman Empire that was destroyed in the early 1920s and the former Persian Empire. A century ago the growing economic importance of oil began changing the Middle Eastern political landscape. The Ottomans lost access to oil and the Iranians got a minority share of it. Most of the oil is now owned by Arabs, former subjects of the Ottomans and Persians. To defend their new wealth the Arabs made alliances with their biggest customers, the new superpowers in Europe, the United States and now China. Despite all that Russia, Turkey and Iran still want to play empire builders. This led to the three former foes becoming allies. It has been an unstable and unpredictable partnership but Russia still sees itself as the key player. Turkey and Iran quietly oppose these Russian plans.

Meanwhile Iranians continue to honor their Persian ancestors. In 2016 thousands of Iranians gathered in Pasargadae, 800 kilometers south of Tehran to celebrate the birthday of Cyrus the Great, considered the founder of the Persian Empire 2,500 years ago. The religious dictatorship that has run Iran since the 1980s quietly tries to discourage this sort of thing, without giving it a lot of publicity. That has proved increasingly difficult. This is a problem because this form of Iranian nationalism appeals to all Iranians to one degree or another but particularly to royalists and democrats who want to keep religion out of government.

The Greeks still honor Alexander the Great and want to celebrate the battle of Gaugamela with a monument outside the Iraqi city of Mosul. The battle took place 2,340 years ago when Alexander defeated a Persian army and destroyed the Persian empire that stretched from modern Turkey to modern Pakistan. The Iraqis were enthusiastic about the idea, even though the defeated Persian army contained a lot of Arabs. For the Iraqis, the big thing is that the battle represented a major defeat for Iran. Even though most Iraqis share the Shia form of Islam with Iran, the Iranians are not Arabs, but an Indo-European people related to Indians and Europeans. Iran has long menaced, invaded and generally beat on the Arabs, and is now threatening the Arab world again. So anything that celebrates anyone smashing Iranian power, is something to be encouraged. Eight years after Gaugamela, Alexander was dead, and what is now Iraq became part of a kingdom ruled by one of Alexander's generals. The Greeks soon left, and the Iranians didn't.
This portrait of Pvt. Foster Stevens belongs to Post reporter Joby Warrick, Stevenss grandnephew. Stevens was killed in France during the waning days of World War I. (Warrick family photo)

They had fought together at Belleau Wood, clawing their way through enemy-infested thickets in a battle that became legendary in the Marine Corps. They had clung to the sides of the same shell hole under a fierce artillery barrage at Soissons and charged uphill against machine-gun fire on the chalky slopes of Blanc Mont Ridge.

Through five months of combat, they had been the survivors: the 83rd Companys old men, though still in their 20s. Along the way, Marine Pvts. Jim Scarbrough and Foster Stevens had gone from being squad mates and comrades to best friends.

Well just soldier through this, me and you, Stevens had said in his mild North Carolina drawl as he put an arm around Scarbrough after a fierce nighttime skirmish with German defenders in June 1918. Ill be right here.

Then came Nov. 2 and the start of the Great Wars last major assault. The day would begin before sunrise for the battle-weary Marines. For Scarbrough, it would end with a grief-filled encounter in the gloom of the battlefield after dark, and a searing memory that would be borne in secret for decades. It would take a century, and a chance discovery, before the secret abruptly revealed itself to a family that had been shattered by that days events, then left to ponder and search in vain for answers.

That family was mine.

Incoming artillery fire

As the morning unfolded, the two friends had taken their positions in neighboring foxholes, close enough to keep an eye on each other. There was a last-minute scurrying as the company lieutenant made adjustments to the lines. Scarbrough scampered to a new spot a few yards away, brushing past his friend as the rows of men in olive-drab uniforms waited for the trench whistles to signal the start of the attack.

Then came the shriek of incoming artillery fire. Scarbrough, a lanky factory worker from Ohio, jumped into another foxhole and hugged the dirt.

One of the German rounds landed so close that it violently shook the ground. According to his detailed account years later, Scarbrough poked his head up to see how his friend was doing. In the smoke and dust, he could see that Stevens had been thrown out of his foxhole by the explosion. He was lying with his arms and legs oddly twisted, like those of a discarded doll.

When I got up, Scarbrough said, I saw the saddest thing I saw the whole war.

Circumstances unknown

The awful scene that Scarbrough witnessed was one that Stevenss kin would know only in their imaginations. A tragedy had struck the family in the waning days of World War I, but the circumstances were unknown. It was an unsettling mystery that was handed down through three generations, and eventually to me. Marine Pvt. Foster Stevens was my great-uncle, my paternal grandmothers beloved older brother.

One of the few tangible legacies of his life and service was a military portrait that my grandmother kept on display in her living room in a hamlet outside Goldsboro, North Carolina. She grieved over her brother throughout her life and rarely spoke about him. His personal effects were destroyed when a fire ravaged the family homestead in the 1940s.

For the children and grandchildren of Ina Stevens Warrick, most of what was known about her brother was summed up in two lines engraved in brass on a plaque beneath his portrait. They read: 83rd Co. US Marines, Killed in Action 1918.

We also knew that the date of his death carried a particular poignancy: It had happened just nine days before the war ended.

After my grandmother died, the portrait came to occupy a spot in my office. For years, every workday began with an encounter with the young Marine, his somber gaze and folded hands gently reminding me of the questions I had never been able to answer.

In the summer of 2018, I traveled across France in an attempt to reconstruct what had happened. I consulted books and military historians, and I searched through military archives filled with maps and handwritten notes from a century ago. In the rolling farmland of eastern France, I traced the path of his unit  the 83rd Company, 3rd Battalion of the 6th Marine Regiment  through now-serene villages where men had fought on Stevenss last day.

The research uncovered new clues and led to a long Washington Post article describing my search. But as the centennial of World War Is final battle came and went, I convinced myself that the details of Foster Stevenss final day were forever lost to time.

Until, suddenly, they werent.

Filling in the blanks

The last of the blanks were filled in partly by my great-uncles personal service records, copies of the originals from government archives. Tucked among the yellowed pages was a surprise: The telegram notifying the family of his fate was dated Nov. 30, 1918  19 days after the signing of the armistice.

In one of fates cruel twists, the family had celebrated the news of the wars end on Nov. 11, only to learn weeks later that Stevens would not be coming home.

Jim Scarbrough visits Stevenss grave in 1985 at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in France, where the body was moved after being exhumed from a battlefield grave. (Byron Scarbrough)

My Post essay recounted this discovery and details of that mostly forgotten final battle in what became known as the Meuse-Argonne offensive. The article generated a powerful response, including emails and letters from hundreds of readers  many of whom shared stories about relatives who served in the war. The letters kept coming for more than a year.

Then, in late 2019, a note arrived that literally jolted me out of my chair.

A reader from Ohio was writing to tell me that Foster Stevens was a name familiar to his family. The writer attached a photo of a lanky elderly man with white hair looking down at my great-uncles tombstone in France.

My grandfather was Private James Scarbrough, 83rd Company 3/6, the Ohio man wrote, and he considered Foster one of his very best friends.

As Scarbroughs grandson, Byron Scarbrough, explained it, not only was Jim Scarbrough close to my great-uncle but he also had been nearby when he was killed. In what seemed to be a jaw-dropping series of coincidences, he had witnessed Stevenss last moments, and that memory had been preserved and recorded on paper and audiotapes that still existed decades after Scarbroughs death in 1989.

Now, a century later, Scarbrough was speaking through his descendants to tell a story about Foster Stevens that no one in my family had ever heard.

Marine Pvt. Jim Scarbrough before his deployment to France in 1918. (Family photo)

Searing memories of combat

Jim Scarbrough survived the war, but he never quite got over it.

Searing memories of those months in combat stayed with him throughout his adulthood, and he struggled with what would now be termed posttraumatic stress disorder. Scarbroughs self-remedy, according to grandson Byron, was to clam up.

After returning home, the Tennessee native and former laborer at a Cincinnati Crisco factory got a job as a firefighter for a railroad company, and later as a crane operator who helped build bridges as well as corvette ships for the Navy in World War II. He developed a particular bond with Byron, who often stayed with the old veteran and learned to fish and hunt at his side.

Byron Scarbrough knew about his grandfathers wartime service and sometimes asked about it, to little avail.

I was a Marine, he told his grandson.

Thats all there was, initially, Byron Scarbrough told me in a long conversation about his grandfather. He didnt want to talk about it.

But one day, Byron picked up a book about Belleau Wood, an iconic battle and a legendary, if costly, American victory. He began reading parts of the book aloud to his grandfather, who, to his surprise, began chiming in with details.

The 3rd Battalion commander, Maj. Berton Sibley? He knew the man, Scarbrough told his grandson.

The famed charge by Marines across a wheat field? He was there.

At one point, Byrons father, Don, came in with a cassette recorder and placed it on the table where grandfather and grandson were talking.

He, little by little, started to open up, Byron Scarbrough said. He talked about who these people were, and places where they kicked off. What it was like crossing the wheat field at Belleau Wood. The instance in which he got wounded there.

Over many long sessions in the 1980s, a stack of tapes and written notes began to accumulate. Eventually, in 2005  as many of the tapes were beginning to physically deteriorate  Byron Scarbrough would weave the narratives into a book, based entirely on his grandfathers memories and told in his voice. It is at times a harrowing read, filled with stories of poison-gas attacks and of young men suffering and dying. But one of the running themes is camaraderie: Scarbrough told stories of officers and Marines hed known, what they did during battles and on the occasional idle days in between.

One name came up often. Stevens had arrived with a unit of replacement troops around the midpoint of the month-long battle of Belleau Wood. The ruddy-faced North Carolinian was assigned to Scarbroughs rifle squad, and the two often bunked in the same tent.

In Scarbroughs account, the newcomer was quickly welcomed by the men as a soldiers soldier: a cool professional in battle, but with a wicked sense of humor and a personality as warm as a southern breeze. The two hit it off, discovering they had much in common.

We were both from the mid-South, both had big families we were far from, both fiercely independent, Jim Scarbrough told his grandson. We both liked to raise hell, hunt and fish. We were like two peas in a pod.

It was only a short time before I considered Foster my best friend, and I his.

In the stories Scarbrough told years later, Stevenss name was most often invoked in describing lighthearted antics away from the front. The veteran recounted how the two friends got into trouble for trying to shoot and cook an owl, or when they tried tossing grenades into a pond to catch fish. But he always kept his more painful memories about Stevens locked away, his grandson said.

That changed abruptly on a single night in 1985, when Scarbrough was touring France with his family to visit military cemeteries and old battlefields he had known during the war.

As they strolled through the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, a massive military graveyard for 14,200 U.S. war dead near the French-Belgian border, the old private began scanning the stones for Stevenss grave. When he found it, he stood silently for several moments, the pain clearly etched on his face. He touched Stevenss stone lightly.

Later, in a rented camper van that served as the familys mobile hotel, he told the story of what had happened to his friend.

I havent talked about this, well, ever, he said.

Battle orders botched

On the morning of the Nov. 2 attack, the 83rd Company ran into problems before the shooting started. An officer, still new to the unit, had botched the battle orders, putting teams in the wrong places. Scarbrough was normally a rifle-squad leader and Foster was the lead grenadier, but their roles had been reversed.

A more seasoned officer recognized the mix-up. Scarbrough and Stevens were ordered to revert to their accustomed roles, and Scarbrough gladly complied. He began trotting back to his usual post, slipping past Stevens in his foxhole along the way.

Then the shelling started from the German side.

I hollered for all my boys to get their heads down and looked out across our spread, Scarbrough said. Just then, one shell came in shorter than the others and landed right amongst us. I grabbed to hold on to the earth, as it shook us pretty hard.

Thats when he looked up and saw Stevens sprawled on the ground.

He ran to his friend, daring to hope. But in an instant, he could see what had happened. As he stood, briefly frozen, the trench whistles sounded the signal to attack.

I lifted Fosters limp neck and supported his head, like he could feel something. A piece of shrapnel the size of a silver dollar had gone in his mouth and out the back of his neck.

The shells were still falling, and his unit was on the move. But for a long moment, none of it registered.

I was as grieved and shocked as a man could be, he said. Foster and I had stuck together as much as possible. Every engagement, I knew I had someone looking out for me, and he knew I was looking out for him.

The day was a triumph for the Americans. The Marines smashed the German lines near the village of Bayonville and continued driving northward toward the German border. They captured tanks, artillery and hundreds of prisoners and sent thousands of enemy soldiers streaming from the front.

But Scarbrough would remember very little of it.

As night fell, he stole away from his unit and retraced his steps until he found Stevenss body, still in the same spot near his foxhole.

I scooped him up. I sat there with him all night, trying to find the words, not knowing what to say, as if he could hear me, Scarbrough said. It was the longest night of the war for me.

The next morning, as the sun came up, he picked up a shovel.

I dug him a grave, stepped down and laid my friend there, he said. Throwing that first shovel of dirt on him hurt me more than throwing dirt on my own fathers face.

World War I veteran James Scarbrough sits for a photograph in front of his son, Don Scarbrough, left, and grandson Byron Scarbrough after a visit to the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in eastern France in 1985. (Family photo)

Story never repeated

As far as is known, Scarbrough never repeated the story after that night with his family in the camper van near the cemetery in eastern France. He never was able to locate Stevenss relatives to let them know what had happened. Instead, he kept it to himself for years  up until the day he decided to place the memory in the custody of his grandson, who, decades later, happened on an opportunity to relay the facts to my family.

Byron Scarbrough is 58 and runs a small business in eastern Ohio. Were only a few years apart, and weve discovered that we, like our veteran forebears, have much in common, including a lifelong desire to preserve the memory of our doughboys. All my cousins - the grandnephews and grandnieces of Foster Stevens  were initially awestruck by the story Byron Scarbrough shared with us. We later came to see it as a gift and to see the storyteller as a long-lost family friend. For the first time, the Stevens family knew what had happened on Nov. 2, 1918. More important, we knew that someone was with Foster Stevens at the end and saw to his burial.

As he later explained it to me, Byron Scarbrough came to see the story as a kind of debt: an unspoken and enduring obligation between two comrades whose deep friendship was forged in battle, in a place thousands of miles from their homes.

Jim Scarbrough was unable to pay the debt in his lifetime. But the act of sharing his memories and allowing them to be recorded and preserved had, in effect, empowered his grandson to speak for him.

He felt it was very important to relay this to me, Byron Scarbrough told me. Foster was my grandfathers best friend. My grandfather was my best friend. And we both had kind of the same rules. So it was important for me to tell this story to Fosters family.

Friendship, he said, is a thing that transcends time.
An F-35C Lightning II with Strike Fighter Squadron 147 lands at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Nov. 17, 2024, after a deployment aboard the USS George Washington. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan  Carrier Air Wing 5, the aviation arm of the USS George Washington, arrived home Sunday at this air base with a new addition, a squadron of advanced F-35C Lightning II multirole fighters.

Strike Fighter Squadron 147, the Argonauts, is the first unit of F-35C aircraft stationed in Japan, although other variants of the Lightning II are well-known here, squadron commander Cmdr. Christopher Case told Stars and Stripes during a flightline briefing.

With the F-35B that has operated in Iwakuni for quite some time and then with Japan getting their own F-35A/B, the F-35 program is not new to Japan, he said.

An F-35C Lightning II with Strike Fighter Squadron 147 parks at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Nov. 17, 2024, after a deployment aboard the USS George Washington. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)

The C variant of the fifth-generation fighter is equipped with larger, foldable wings and arresting gear designed for arrested landings. Its additional fuel capacity allows it to fly farther and longer than other variants, according to its maker, Lockheed Martin.

Otherwise, the F-35C is very similar to all the other F-35 models in its capabilities, maintenance requirements and the noise it makes, Case said.

The 147th replaced the F/A-18E Super Hornets of Strike Fighter Squadron 115, one of a broader upgrade of U.S. fighter aircraft stationed in Japan.

We are essentially a very similar overall footprint to the squadron that just left, Case said. What we bring is effectively a very similar footprint in terms of both aircraft numbers as well as folks and the families that are over here with us.

An F-35C assigned to the 147th made history Oct. 2 as the first to land on the George Washington while deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet, according to the Navy.

Squadron aircraft also flew from the carrier as the George Washington made its way around Central and South America earlier this year en route to its new posting at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, the Navy said Nov. 5. The carrier is expected there soon.

An F/A-18E Super Hornet with Strike Fighter Squadron 195 taxis at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Nov. 17, 2024, after returning from a deployment on the USS George Washington. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)

Another new Navy unit in the carrier wing, Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron 30, with four CMV-22B Ospreys, arrived at MCAS Iwakuni on Nov. 9, squadron pilot Lt. Blake Barber told Stars and Stripes on the flight line Sunday.

The CMV-22B  the Navys version of the Osprey  carries cargo and personnel to and from the carrier and replaces the C-2A Greyhound. The aircrafts larger fuel tanks give it longer range, and its tiltrotor engines allow it to take off and land vertically from the flight deck like a helicopter but fly with the speed of a fixed-wing plane.

A CMV-22B Osprey assigned to Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron 30 takes off from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Nov. 17, 2024. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)

However, a series of fatal accidents shadowed the Osprey until Nov. 29, when an Air Force CV-22 crashed offshore of southern Japan, killing all eight aboard. All U.S. and Japanese military Ospreys were grounded for three months during the accident investigation. The aircraft were cleared to fly again in March.

Barber referred questions about the Osprey safety to the Navys Task Force 70.

We will support the carrier whenever it needs us to, he said. Otherwise, we will be conducting training missions.
Several customers saw fraudulent charges posted to their accounts after shopping at the exchange and other business on Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. (Pixabay)

KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa  The 18th Wing has warned its community to beware of credit and debit card fraud following reports of unexplained charges billed to cardholders who shopped at Kadena businesses.

Shoppers at the air base should monitor their online accounts and report fraudulent activity to their bank or credit card companies, law enforcement and the FBI, according to a post on Kadenas official Facebook page Thursday. The wing also recommends monitoring credit reports and enrolling in identity theft protection.

Several customers saw fraudulent charges ranging from a few cents to thousands of dollars posted to their accounts after shopping at the Army and Air Force Exchange Service and other on-base businesses, they recently told Stars and Stripes.

The problem may be part of a widespread financial institution breach, according to the wings Facebook post.

The fraudulent charges were paid to Amazon, Walmart, Afterpay and the California Department of Motor Vehicles, among others, three cardholders said by phone and email Friday.

Kaily Watson, 26, a paralegal and Air Force spouse, said her Chase Bank debit card was charged $10 from somewhere in Wisconsin in July or August, but the bank caught it, replaced her card and refunded the money.

It seems to only be occurring on Kadena, she said. I have not confirmed with anybody or seen anybody say this has happened at [Marine Corps Camp] Foster or [Camp] Shields or anywhere else.

Marine Lance Cpl. Zenestina Perez, 20, said she and her husband, also a Marine, received five fraudulent charges totaling $300 on their Navy Federal Credit Union debit cards around 8 p.m. Thursday after shopping at the Kadena commissary.

We since have received our money back but are very disappointed and hesitant to use our cards on base, she said.

The 18th Security Forces Squadron and Air Force Office of Special Investigations found these cases go beyond Kadena Air Base, 18th Wing spokeswoman Maj. Alli Stormer said by email Friday. The first reports arose in late October, she said in a follow-up message.

No malicious activity showed up in a check of radio frequence identification scanners and AAFES terminals at Kadena, wing commander Brig. Gen. Nicholas Evans told Stars and Stripes on Saturday during the Kadena Special Olympics.

Security forces and Air Force investigators are comparing data with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies on Okinawa, Evans said.

At least from what we can do  our limited resources  theres no kind of smoking gun, if you will, that says, This is the place; this is the charge, he said. Its kind of widespread.

The loss prevention department at AAFES, after a thorough review, found no evidence of fraudulent activity specific to Exchange stores or services, AAFES spokesman Christopher Ward said by email Saturday.

Ward said standalone payment devices used by retail concessions at Kadena were replaced between late last year and March, and AAFES began replacing retail, food and tablet pin pads in February.

The devices do not store customer information, he said.

Evans said people should be no more concerned than you are any other time about using their cards at Kadena. Everyone should always check their bank statements and work with their banks whenever they notice suspicious charges, and practice good cyber security.

Theres 50,000 service members and their families here on Okinawa, and were talking numbers somewhere in 10s to 20s, is kind of our initial guess right now of how many cases are across the island, he said.
President of Poland Andrzej Duda has condemned the recent phone conversation between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Vladimir Putin.

"I doubt that the conversation between the German Chancellor and V. Putin was agreed with the allies. Russia is brutally attacking Ukraine, and one of the leaders of European countries, with a strong economy, is holding talks with the aggressor. I think this is a mistake," he said on the X social network on Monday.

Duda also welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to allow the Armed Forces of Ukraine fire ATACMS missiles deep into the territory of Russia.

"It was very necessary and it is good that it was issued. Russia clearly sees that Ukraine receives support from Western countries," he said.
Congress gave the Department of Defense an Oct. 1 deadline to stop using aqueous firefighting foam to fight fires. That deadline was extended to Oct. 1, 2025. (Mackenzie Richardson/U.S. Air Force)

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan  The U.S. military has destroyed its last supplies of toxic firefighting foam at installations in Japan, according to the Tokyo-based command.

The aqueous firefighting foam stored at Yokota and two installations on Okinawa was incinerated at licensed disposal facilities in Japan, U.S. Forces Japan announced in a statement Thursday.

Congress in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act gave the Department of Defense an Oct. 1 deadline to stop using the foam to fight fires. That deadline was extended to Oct. 1, 2025, according to the USFJ statement on its website.

The US installations in Japan have met the deadline for legacy [aqueous firefighting foam] replacement, the statement said.

The foam contains PFAS, a class of chemicals linked to an increased risk of certain tumors of the liver, testicles, breasts and pancreas, according to the American Cancer Society. The Environmental Protection Agency has said that no level of PFAS is safe in drinking water.

PFAS and its components, PFOS and PFOA, are also found in a wide variety of consumer products, including nonstick cookware and stain-resistant clothing and fabrics.

The synthetic compounds, sometimes called forever chemicals, accumulate in the body over time, according to the EPA.

The U.S. disposed of the remaining foam, which was no longer used for fighting fires, at Yokota, an airlift hub and USFJs headquarters in western Tokyo; and on Okinawa at Kadena Air Base and an Army petroleum, oil and lubricants depot, according to USFJ.

The Army depot will convert to water fire-suppression systems, according to the statement.

The military has replaced the toxic firefighting foam with a new formulation that does not contain PFOS and PFOA as a raw material.

U.S. installations are in the process of acquiring fluorine-free foam, or F3, which contains no PFAS compounds, according to USFJ.

US installations will either change to the new F3 or convert the remaining fire systems to water suppression by the deadline, the commands statement said.

Japanese military facilities, including those co-based with U.S. forces, have disposed of all firefighting foams containing PFOS, USFJs statement said. Those installations include Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and Misawa Air Base.

It is [the U.S. governments] understanding these firefighting foams were replaced with products confirmed by the manufacturers not to contain PFOS as a raw material, the statement said.

In recent years, Japanese municipal or prefectural authorities have complained of spills or suspected leaks of toxic foam or tainted wastewater at Misawa, Yokota, Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Yokosuka Naval Base and the Armys Sagamihara General Depot, among other sites.
A boil water notice due to bacterial contamination has been extended to 35 communities in the Birkenfeld District. This includes the city of Baumholder but not the U.S. Army garrison there. (Stars and Stripes)

A boil water notice due to bacterial contamination has been extended to 35 communities near the U.S. Armys posts at Baumholder, Birkenfeld District officials announced Sunday.

The Armys drinking water supply is separate and unaffected by the order, service officials said in a message Friday, when the first 12 areas were put under notice. This is the second such warning from the district since August.

Many service members, civilian workers and their families live in the rural villages and towns near the installations, where in the coming years the Army is moving its special operations forces from Stuttgart, along with supporting commands.

New construction and renovations at the bases are expected to cost approximately $1 billion.

On Sunday, the following villages in the Birkenfeld association of municipalities were added to the notice: Siesbach, Rotsweiler-Nockental, Wilzenberg-Hussweiler, Meckenbach, Achtelsbach, Dambach, Hoppstadten-Weiersbach with the districts of Neubrucke, Ellweiler and Gimbweiler.

In the Herrstein/Rhaunen community, Niederworresbach has been under the boil water notice since Thursday. Several more areas were added Sunday: Herborn, Veitsrodt, Oberworresbach, Vollmersbach, Morschied, Herrstein, Niederhosenbach, Oberhosenbach, Breitenthal, Hettenrodt, Mackenrodt, Kirschweiler and Weiden.

Most of Baumholders association of 14 communities were put under the boil water notice Friday. Only the villages of Reichenbach and Frauenberg were exempted because they receive their water from a different source, according to the Idar-Oberstein health department order.

The boil water notice in the affected areas applies to any water used for drinking or meal preparation, including rinsing of food containers. Water used for brushing teeth or medical care also should be boiled, according to a Birkenfeld District statement.

In August, Birkenfeld issued a similar notice for 53 municipalities after enterococcus bacteria found in a water treatment at Herrstein-Rhaunen indicated fecal contamination. The boil water order continued for days as workers tested the water.
Rescue workers at the site of a Russian strike in the town of Bilopillya, near Russian border in Sumy region, on Aug. 18, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Genya Savilov, AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

(Tribune News Service)  After almost 1,000 days resisting the Russian invasion, Ukraines allies are pushing Volodymyr Zelenskyy to consider new ways to lure Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table as they seek an end to the fighting.

Donald Trump will return to the White House in January pledging a quick end to the war. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Putin to engage in peace talks during a phone call on Friday. Frances Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that hell speak to the Russian leader when the time is right.

Two European officials said there is an increasingly recognition that Zelenskyy will have to compromise with Putin because it has become clear that neither side can secure a decisive victory.

On the eve of the G-20, which will be President Joe Bidens last in office, the U.S. decided to authorize long-range missile strikes on Russian territory in response to North Korea ramping up support for Putin. The idea behind that shift is also that it will help bolster Zelenskyys position before Trump takes office so that he can approach eventual negotiations with a strengthened hand.

The Kremlin condemned the U.S. decision and Putins spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that allowing Ukrainians to use these Army Tactical Missile Systems would trigger a new round of tension, the state-run Tass news service reported.

Zelenskyy has long pleaded with allies to allow the use of western weapons to strike military targets deep inside Russia. But he was caught off guard when the decision was leaked on Sunday: Such things shouldnt be announced, he said in a video address. The permission also falls short of Ukraines expectations by only allowing for strikes to be conducted against targets in the Kursk region, according to people familiar with the matter, who declined to be named.

The White House didnt explicitly confirm the decision, but deputy national security advisor John Finer said the deployment of North Korean troops into the war had escalated matters. Weve been clear to the Russians that we would respond to that, he said.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the latest NATO member to want to get in on the discussion. Hes set to present his proposal to freeze the conflict on current lines when Group of 20 leaders meet in Rio de Janeiro Monday, according to people familiar with his plans.

The sudden clamor for a settlement shows the renewed urgency from Ukraines allies who are trying to get ahead of Trumps return and the possibility of drastic cuts in U.S. support. With North Korean troops entering the fray on the Russian side, there is growing appetite to halt a conflict which has brought destruction to vast tracts of Ukraine, consumed hundreds of billions of dollars in financial aid and foreign weapons and upended geopolitical relationships in Europe and around the world.

Putin, though, has shown little inclination to consider a truce, despite massive Russian military casualties. The Russian leader told Scholz last week that he has always been open to talks but that any agreement would have to take into account Russias security concerns and its territorial gains. The Kremlin is likely to interpret the growing pressure on Zelenskyy as evidence that its attritional strategy is paying off.

China and Brazil, who will also be at the summit in Rio, have been calling for an international conference involving both sides since May.

Zelenskyy was turned away from the G-20 after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ignored his increasingly desperate appeals for an invitation. Putin opted not to attend, saying last month that his presence would disrupt the summit because of an arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes issued by the International Criminal Court.

The language on Ukraine in the near-final communique will make Zelenskyy and his G-7 allies unhappy. Its similar to what had been agreed last year in New Delhi when the condemnation of Russias invasion was dropped to his consternation.

Over the weekend, Russia launched one of its largest missile and drone strikes that disrupted power and water supplies but at the G-20 there is opposition even to a call to stop bombarding energy infrastructure  something that had made it in the 2023 statement.

Zelenskyys own formula for peace is based on obtaining a clear path to NATO membership and security guarantees for protection until it joins.

Erdogan will propose, by contrast, that Zelenskyy agrees to delay discussions on joining the alliance for at least 10 years as a concession to Putin, according to people briefed on his thinking, asking not to be named talking about private conversations.

The Turkish proposal envisages the creation of a demilitarized zone in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine where Russia has controlled large swathes of territory since 2014. Erdogan will suggest that international troops could be deployed there as an additional guarantee and that Ukraine would be assured of military supplies to compensate for agreeing to be left out of NATO.

Turkish officials recognize that such a proposal will be difficult for Ukraine to accept, but they believe its the most realistic approach. They would aim to park discussions about the long-term fate of occupied territories to focus on securing a stable ceasefire first.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said those details arent accurate, without elaborating. Turkey supports initiatives to end the war, he added.

The overall formula might appeal to some of Kyivs allies who are queasy that full NATO membership for Ukraine would risk bringing them into direct conflict with the Kremlin.

Western thinking has shifted since North Korean troops appeared on the battlefield to support Putins forces and that shaped Bidens views on potentially allowing missile strikes on Russia. Assessments by some G-20 nations suggest North Korea could eventually send Russia as many as 100,000 troops.

Erdogan hopes he may be able to convince Zelenskyy to attend peace talks in Istanbul because hes seen intelligence suggesting that Ukraine could lose a lot more territory in the next few months unless the fighting is halted, according to the people briefed on his thinking. But the outlook on the battlefield also offers Putin an incentive to keep fighting.

No matter what Putin says, he doesnt want peace and is not ready to negotiate it, Macron told reporters on the tarmac in Buenos Aires as he prepared to depart for Rio. Putins intention is to intensify the combat, weve seen this for weeks.

With assistance from Samy Adghirni, Julien Ponthus and Firat Kozok.

2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Visit bloomberg.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Two dead, two wounded as occupiers shell housing district in Kostiantynivka

Two people were killed and another two were wounded as a result of Russia's attack on a housing district of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, on Monday, the public liaison office of Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office has said.

"On November 18, 2024, the Russian troops shelled Kostiantynivka from cannon artillery. Multi-apartment building came under fire. As a result of the enemy attack, a woman, 61, and a man, 68, died of fatal injuries during resuscitation efforts. In addition, a 46-year-old resident of the town and an 89-year-old elderly woman, were injured. They received medical aid," it said.

According to the prosecutor's office, those injured were outside at the moment of the attack.

Also, the facades of houses and cars were damaged.

Prosecutors are taking all necessary measures to document war crimes committed by the Russian armed forces. A pre-trial investigation has been launched into the criminal proceedings on war crimes (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Sources say that in some cases, the young criminals have been posting videos of their crimes on social media and the concern is they are becoming increasingly violent and emboldened

Gardai are becoming increasingly concerned about a surge in hijacking incidents, especially in the capitals north inner city where a gang are using knives and other weapons to target motorcyclists and e-scooter users at traffic lights.

Officers are attempting to identify the criminals who travel around the city on motorbikes or mopeds and follow their targets before they pounce.

Sources say that in some cases, the young criminals have been posting videos of their crimes on social media and the concern is they are becoming increasingly violent and emboldened.

Apart from the obvious loss of property in these incidents, there is serious concern that a victim is going to be seriously injured, a source said.

A co-ordinated policing plan is needed to tackle this issue  at this stage it is not known what happens with the stolen vehicles once the criminals take possession of them.

O'Connell Street in Dublin. Photo: Getty

Gardai are becoming increasingly concerned about an increase in hijacking incidents

In one incident last month on Dorset Street, a female motorcyclist was the victim of a robbery when two men on a moped jumped off their vehicle and threatened her before speeding off on her bike.

Gardai believe the criminals on the moped had followed her from where she works on the southside of the city.

According to figures obtained by the Irish Independent, there have been over 140 hijacking incidents in Ireland so far this year, compared with a total of 128 last year and 123 in 2022.

In the latest attempted incident, a man was assaulted in the Clondalkin area in the early hours of last Tuesday morning when two men armed with a slash hook attempted to steal his car outside his home.

This is one of around 20 incidents that have happened mostly in Dublin since the start of last month, with no arrests in most cases.

Shots were fired during a hijacking incident in the Santry area last week when two criminals forced the owner of a van out of the vehicle and drove off in it.

No one was injured in the incident and it appears that the gunshots were fired in the air.

The hijacking of e-scooters and e-bikes has become much more prevalent throughout the year, with violence often used by the criminals involved in the incidents.

Late last month in the capitals south inner city, there was one e-scooter hijacking and another attempted hijacking in the space of just two days.

One victim was targeted by around 10 teenagers who threatened to throw him in the Grand Canal

In both cases the male victims were assaulted, with one man suffering an eye injury before his vehicle was stolen and the other being targeted by around 10 teenagers who threatened to throw him in the Grand Canal before fleeing without managing to take his e-scooter.

Last month, a disturbing incident happened in the Dun Laoghaire area, in which a mans high-speed electric bike was stolen by criminals who threatened him while they were armed with a bottle of acid and a knife.

Violence was also used in an incident in Coolock last month when a gang of up to a dozen men attempted to steal an e-scooter from a man who suffered head injuries when he was struck by an implement.

This is just one of a number of incidents in recent weeks where a large number of suspects have attempted to steal a vehicle or electric bike, including another in the north inner city last month where a victim was threatened with a knife when five men robbed his electric bike.
Dubbed the pizza pervert after he got a job delivering takeaways, Kitchener was handed his SOPO two years ago after he was found guilty of six counts of sexually touching a 13-year-old girl.

A convicted paedophile who recently had to flee his mothers Co Tyrone home due to an arson attack has admitted breaching his Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO).

While Gareth Kitchener did not attend Coleraine Magistrates Court on Monday, defence counsel Nadine Knight explained the 38-year-old was at the dentist having suffered from toothache for the past week.

She confirmed, however, that she could enter guilty pleas on behalf of creepy Kitchener, namely that he breached his SOPO by being at Phils Amusement Arcade on Main Street in Portrush on September 5 this year.

A judge can impose a SOPO when they are satisfied it is necessary and proportionate to protect the public from further offending.

Dubbed the pizza pervert after he got a job delivering takeaways, Kitchener was handed his SOPO two years ago after he was found guilty of six counts of sexually touching a 13-year-old girl.

Kitchener tried to claim an inappropriate message sent to the young girl had been sent by one of his young children, but a judge dismissed the claim.

He denied the charges and insisted the allegations had been fabricated. However, after the child gave evidence the judge was satisfied she was telling the truth.

More recently Kitchener has been in and out of various courts and just a few weeks ago, he was jailed for three months for a separate SOPO breach.

In one instance, Omagh Magistrates Court heard how police pulled Kitchener over for speeding on January 19 and discovered a boy in the passenger seat and while the child remained silent, Kitchener said he was his son. Kitcheners SOPO banned unsupervised contact with any child under 16.

Last August Kitchener had to flee Castlederg in Co Tyrone after vigilantes torched a caravan parked in his mothers driveway.

In court last Monday, Miss Knight confirmed that Kitchener, whose address is still listed at Main Street in Sixmilecross, is due to be sentenced for similar offending back in Omagh court in the new year once probation has compiled a fresh pre-sentence report.

District Judge Peter King ordered that the case be transferred to Omagh so that a judge there can deal with all matters.
Kurian, it was revealed, had consumed a combination of wine and whiskey before travelling to a friends house in Mullingar where he fell asleep on a sofa before getting behind the wheel and attempting to drive home.

Jaison Kurian was jailed for two-and-a-half years after the father of three pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to two young women following a near head on crash in county Longford in April 2023.

An unemployed father of three who crashed head-on into a car while more than two times over the legal limit, leaving two young women with life-changing injuries, has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Forty-six-year-old Jaison Kurian, of Ballyclare Court, Ballyleague, Co Roscommon, was handed down the sentence at a sitting of Longford Circuit Criminal Court on Friday following a collision at Drinan, Ballymahon, Co Longford on April 9, 2023.

The chef pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to Emer Gavigan and Ciara Fox in an incident that left both women in hospital with multiple injuries. Their car, which also had their friend Orla Keane as a passenger, was spun almost 360 degrees before crashing into a wall.

The court was told how Kurian had been on his way home with his VW Caddy van jammed to the gills with catering equipment having served food while attending two religious ceremonies in Multyfarnham and Mullingar.

Kurian, it was revealed, had consumed a combination of wine and whiskey before travelling to a friends house in Mullingar where he fell asleep on a sofa before getting behind the wheel and attempting to drive home.

The crash occurred along a straight stretch of R392 at around 3am when the three young women were returning to Ballymahon with Ms Gavigan serving the role of designated driver after the trio had enjoyed an evening of socialising in Longford town.

When gardai arrived at the scene, they found Ms Gavigans vehicle with substantial damage to its front with Ms Gavigan and Ms Fox slipping in and out of consciousness.

The pair were later brought to Tullamores Midland Regional Hospital with Ms Fox later being transferred to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin where she underwent brain surgery.

Ms Keane, who had been trapped, was freed from the wreckage by passing motorist Dessie OReilly.

The court was told a roadside breath test carried out on Kurian returned a reading of 48mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath, putting Kurian at more than two times over the legal limit to drive.

Kurian gave a voluntary caution statement to gardai some four weeks later during which he claimed the strength of Ms Gavigans headlights had impaired his sight, something which was exacerbated by tyre pressure loss to a rear tyre which caused his van to veer to the right.

A Garda Forensic Collision investigation, the court heard, discounted those claims with its findings determining Kurian had failed to observe lane discipline and crossed over a continuous white line leading to an almost head-on collision.

It was also found that Kurian had been travelling between 70km/hr to 73km/hr at the time of the crash, a speed which was in excess of the designated 60km/hr limit.

Jaison Kurian was jailed for two-and-a-half years after the father of three pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm to two young women following a near head on crash in county Longford in April 2023.

In a series of powerful and hard-hitting victim impact statements, all three women took to the stand to relay how the collision and its aftermath had impacted their lives both physically and psychologically.

Ms Gavigan told of how the actions of a careless and incompetent stranger had turned her life upside down in an instant, causing her to forego her dreams of becoming a staff nurse and leaving her with a traumatic brain injury.

Since being so badly injured in the crash I have not and dont believe I can participate in sporting activities, she said.

Both of my arms resemble that of an Ikea instruction (manual). I have numerous plates, screws, nuts and bolts in my body and have a new found fear of falling. Due to the absolute selfishness of this individual I have had to answer to a narrative I did not ask to be involved in.

My life continues to revolve around the actions of this pathetic individual on that disastrous night.

They were sentiments which were echoed by her friend, Ms Fox. She said the head trauma she sustained in the crash had been compounded by an underlying metabolic condition that hindered her recovery.

Those challenges had also resulted in her missing the final year of her college studies and in a state of mind whereby she was routinely watching the clock for her next painkiller.

Ms Fox also hit out at how she was still haunted on a daily basis by Kurians failure to come to their aid while both she and Ms Gavigan lay unconscious.

I will always be grateful that Emer, Orla and myself lived to tell the tale, but its a story we shouldnt have to tell, she movingly put it.

Twenty-three-year-old school teacher Orla Keane was equally candid in giving her evidence and, like her two friends, said her own future aspirations were almost cut short by the actions of the accused.

All of these hopes and dreams were very nearly taken away by the reckless and irresponsible actions of the driver that night, a man who knowingly got into a car while intoxicated and he left our families fearing the worst, she said.

The court was also told that while Kurian had no previous convictions, he had received a six month driving ban after picking up a Fixed Charge Penalty Notice (FCPN) when he was found to be over the limit while at the wheel in May 2021.

In defence, Dara Foynes SC, said her clients exposure to alcohol only became a feature once he moved to Ireland, adding that his wife was someone who abstained from it.

She said despite the nature of Kurians driving, there was no egregious speed involved, claiming that he had, in fact, been slowing down at the time.

Ms Foynes said Kurian had previously worked in a nursing home before becoming the primary caregiver to his three children.

She also noted a probation report which cited Kurian to be at moderate risk of reoffending, adding how he had also taken demonstrable steps to address his alcohol predilections by attending 12 counselling sessions in the process.

Three letters of apology, penned by Kurian were also handed into court, transcripts Shane Geraghty BL, for the State, said all three women were unwilling to accept.

Kurians 14-year-old daughter Juliette broke down in the witness box, adding: I know what my dad did was really wrong and I hope one day you will be able to find a way to forgive my dad.

That was preceded by Kurian, himself, who speaking through an interpreter expressed his own remorse with the words: I am sorry.

In delivering his verdict, Judge Kenneth Connolly said he had been left utterly stunned how Mss Gavigan and her front seat passenger Ms Fox survived the crash after its impact had left their car terrifyingly decimated and with its front footwell all but removed.

He also praised the efforts of both gardai and emergency services who tended to the stricken women at the scene and hailed hero of the moment, Mr OReilly for his role in pulling Ms Keane from the wreckage.

Judge Connolly said the aggravating factors the court had to consider were Kurians level of intoxication while driving, the severity of the collision and the relevance of a previous driving disqualification, a penalty he said Kurian had clearly not learned from.

In mitigation, he said Kurian had been described as someone who was an otherwise decent individual with no previous convictions and who the court was told had undertaken charity work.

His remorse and a number of character testimonials offered up, underlining that mindset, were other factors the court was obliged to consider in passing sentence, added Judge Connolly.

He said the incident was one which attracted a headline sentence of five years and three months on both counts of dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm.

That term, he said, after mitigation was factored in, was one which could be reduced to three years and nine months with the final 15 months being suspended.

The suspended nature of that sentence, which resulted in an effective two and a half year custodial sentence being handed down, also saw Kurian being disqualified from driving for six years.
Michael Quinn, Cara Close, Priorswood, Coolock, Dublin 15, pleaded guilty to four charges on the indictment

A 24-year-old man who targeted users of the Grindr dating app to rob them has appeared before Dundalk Circuit Court.

Michael Quinn, Cara Close, Priorswood, Coolock, Dublin 15, pleaded guilty to four charges on the indictment.

He was remanded in custody to next January for finalisation and informed that he will be serving a sentence in prison.

The offending occurred in Dundalk over a three-week period in June and July of 2023 and involved three victims. At the time the defendant was living with his girlfriend at an address in Muirhevnamor.

He would contact the other men and arrange to meet. On each occasion he produced a knife. In one instance he took out two knives before demanding his victims wallet and phone.

Mr Quinn, who has previous convictions in Ireland and the UK, has been on remand since July 22 last year, two days after the last attack.

He pleaded guilty to robbing Victim A on June 24, 2023, of an iPhone, mobile phone, driving licence and bank cards, and falsely imprisoning him.

He admitted assaulting Victim B causing him harm on the following July 18, and robbing Victim C two days later of 60 cash and a Revolut card.

Detective Sergeant Mick Sheridan said that Victim A matched with a person on Grindr, and they arranged to meet at the injured partys home.

At 10.32am he received a phone call that James was at his front door. Victim A was satisfied it was the same person who had sent him photos.

They went to his bedroom and after some small talk the defendant, James, took off his jacket and took out a large kitchen knife and a large screwdriver and demanded money.

He took the other mans wallet and began searching the bedroom. Victim As phone revealed he had 600 in his Revolut account and Michael Quinn demanded that they drive to an ATM.

They left the house together, the accused wiping the door handle with a sleeve on the way out.

Det Sgt Sheridan continued that the two men got into the victims car. The other man drove though it appeared he couldnt drive. He crashed into a wall.

He threatened to shove a knife into the other mans leg if he screamed or moved and would cut him from ear to ear.

The car had another minor crash. The passenger was doing his best to alert members of the public. Mr Quinn picked up on this and threatened to kill him.

At the Long Walk Victim A managed to jump out after the vehicle collided with another car. He ran away leaving the defendant driving the stolen vehicle.

The man alerted Gardai from a cafe.

It was discovered that the Revolut card had been used to make purchases shortly after noon.

He was left without two mobile phones, his wallet and driving licence. He sustained a scrape on his right arm.

The court heard that Victim B exchanged photos on Grindr with a man called John.

They met on July 18, 2023, at a public location on Avenue Road. Victim B was satisfied it was the same person in the photos.

They walked along Avenue Road until going into an alley where John produced two knives and grabbed the other man in a headlock, demanding his wallet and phone.

He suffered marks and cuts to his cheek and an ear. He was able to break free and ran to a nearby shop where he raised the alarm.

His assailant followed him some of the way and said, Youre dead.

CCTV was obtained. The injured man saw paramedics. He didnt go to hospital.

Det Sgt Sheridan said that Victim C was messaging a person on the app who described himself as John. They arranged to meet at a public place on Avenue Road around 8.15pm on July 20, 2023.

When Mr Quinn approached, this man denied being there to meet him. He chickened out.

They re-engaged and met a short distance away, the defendant getting into the front passenger seat of the other mans car.

They ended up driving towards Tom Bellew Avenue and down a cul de sac at Mr Quinns direction. He then produced a knife and demanded money and bank cards. The other man handed over 60 cash and AIB and Revolut cards.

His phone was handed over to clear the cloud but was not taken.

Victim C managed to undo his seatbelt and began shouting for help.

The defendant got out of the car and walked away down an alley.

Det Sgt Sheridan said that the next day one of his colleagues, Garda Colm Compton observed a person matching Michael Quinns description and stopped him.

He provided a different name, address and date of birth. The officer got a smell of suspected cannabis from this man who admitted taking cannabis on occasion and that he would have been in trouble with Gardai before.

There was no such record, and he was detained for a drugs search.

At the garda station he maintained that those were his details. He said he lived with his girlfriend in Muirhevnamor.

When investigators went to the address a woman there confirmed she was the girlfriend of Michael Quinn. She didnt know his date of birth.

He was initially arrested for hijacking. He made no admissions.

The defendant said he previously used the name Anthony. He could have five different names at any one time. He was only a short time in Dundalk.

In a Victim Impact Statement, Victim A outlined how he had been on cloud nine the night before he was attacked in his home and driven away in his car.

He had met former work colleagues who complimented him on how well he looked.

He got a lift home where he checked the Grindr app. He saw that someone had messaged him first. It was usually the other way around.

I thought, why not meet this guy.? Ive nothing to lose.

I was very, very wrong. He took my love for life, my confidence, my independence.

This man added that he had gone from the high of Mount Everest to the lowest parts of the Atlantic Ocean in a matter of hours. His life changed forever.

He said the missing presence in his life was a partner.

The other man pulled out a knife and all changed. He was professional and diligent in his work.

There is not a day goes by I dont think about you.

He recounted that on a subsequent date when he met someone in public he was paralysed when they suggested going for a drive.

He didnt sleep for months after the event in question and didnt eat for weeks. He didnt go back to the room for weeks.

I dont think I will ever get over this.

The man said all the financial losses, including his car which was found crashed and written off, came out of his own pocket.

He described how dating in general was hard, harder still in a small pool.

He was still lonely and found it difficult seeing friends settle down.

Apps are a toxic place where I found myself often but were a source of hope. Events have thought me you can never hope.

Victim B, in his statement, recounted how he became isolated in his room. He stopped going for walks and going down Avenue Road.

He went straight home after work, would no longer go out to have fun, and was nervous to meet new people.

Victim C said he believed it was a genuine connection (with the other man) but it was one of the most terrifying of his life. He spoke of a sense of betrayal.

Its hard to describe how deeply it affected me. When he produced the knife everything changed, and my life was turned upside down.

Every breath felt like my last. I didnt know if I would make it out alive. I never experienced anything like it before. It has left wounds deeper than anyone can see.

I live with constant anxiety. Ordinary things now fill me with dread. I am ashamed and embarrassed. I feel I will never be able to stop looking over my shoulder. Its hard to trust people.

The man said it made him realise how vulnerable the LGBTQ community is.

He feared the world wasnt safe for people like him, the statement continued.

He was plagued by nightmares and flashbacks. The incident had left a permanent mark on his life.

None of the victims were in court.

The court heard that Michael Quinn had previous convictions in Ireland, including for assault, assault causing harm, production of an article, burglary and theft.

He had two previous convictions in England for possession of cannabis and robbery in 2019 for which he received five-and-a-half years.

Defence counsel Stephen Faulkner said that the defendant was a member of the Travelling Community. He lived in Coolock and had resided in the UK.

He was the second eldest of three children. His parents divorced when he was at an early age, and he had no father figure.

Mr Quinn had suffered childhood trauma and attempted to drown out with drugs an incident which happened to him as a young child.

Documentation was handed into court, including letters from the defendant and his mother and correspondence from the woman who remained his partner.

He was remorseful for his actions and wanted to made amends and apologise.

Mr Quinn had been in custody on these matters since July 22, 2023.

Last February he received a sentence due to expire on June 6, 2025.

Mr Faulkner said that his client was eager to have the case finalised immediately.

Judge Dara Hayes remanded him in custody to January 16 for a probation report.

There will be a custodial sentence, clearly, the judge added.
Jobless father of three Andrew Masterson approached his 72-year-old victim while she was walking home

A pensioner was left extremely upset and in a state of shock after a jobless father of three followed and grabbed her handbag from behind in broad daylight moments after she had collected her pension.

Twenty-nine-year-old Andrew Masterson, Grange Village, Mullingar, Westmeath approached his 72-year-old victim while she was walking home along the Grange Heights area of the midlands town at 11am on March 2, 2024.

Masterson, who pleaded guilty to the theft of the womans black handbag, made off with 400 in cash, together with the victims mobile phone, purse, bank cards, pension book and a set of keys.

Sgt Orla Keenan, in delivering the States evidence, told of how Masterson ran away from the scene on foot and into a local housing estate.

She said Masterson was identified as the prime suspect after CCTV was gathered and downloaded by gardai.

Sgt Keenan said while the accused made certain admissions during interview and helped gardai retrieve the womans handbag, the 400 contained inside the handbag was missing.

The court was also furnished with a victim impact statement in an ordeal Sgt Keenan had left the elderly woman extremely upset and in a state of distress.

Upon casting her eye over its contents, Judge Bernadette Owens ordered Masterson to examine the womans testimony while reading out an excerpt that stated: I am sure he would not like anybody to have snatched his mums handbag and leave her in a state of shock.

Andrew Masterson left a pensioner in a "state of shock" after snatching her handbag in broad daylight moments after she had collected her weekly pension.

In finalising the States case, Sgt Keenan said Masterson had 22 previous convictions to his name, among which included offences for assault, theft, robbery, handling stolen property and possession of drugs.

Masterson also pleaded guilty to slashing three tyres and smashing the window of a car in a separate criminal damage incident at OGrowney Drive, Mullingar, Westmeath on May 20 last year.

Andrea Callan BL, defending, said there was no getting away from the extremely shocking crimes the court was now being asked to pass judgement on.

She offered up an apology to both of Mastersons victims, adding how their circumstances had come at a time when the accused was attempting to navigate his way through the breakdown of a relationship, challenges which caused him to drink to excess.

Ms Callan said Masterson had, to date, managed to garner 100 by way of compensation and asked the court for further time to allow him set aside more monies from his social welfare which had been temporarily stopped.

She said Masterson was hoping to secure seasonal work in a local factory in order to further strengthen that undertaking to the court.

Ms Callan added despite not wanting to push the boat out too far, there was merit in Mastersons assistance in aiding gardai to retrieve the stolen womans handbag.

Judge Owens said Masterson deserved credit for his guilty pleas, adding the court was also mindful of his criminal past.

She ordered the accused to return to court in December with the balance of monies owed to his elderly victim.

Judge Owens said should Masterson abide by those conditions, the court would consider affording him further time to amass compensation for the criminal damage incident before it considers directing a community service order.

In doing so, she warned the accused of the inevitable custodial ramifications that would result if Masterson failed to meet those terms.

If he doesnt have the 300 in court, the hammer is going to come down and it is going to come down without any doubt, she said.

Masterson was remanded on bail to a sitting of Mullingar District Court on December 12.
The 45-year-old man, who cant be named to protect the identity of his victims, had been charged with 185 counts of rape and sexual assault

A man who repeatedly raped his wife and then subjected the same sexual violence on his two young daughters in a breach of trust of his own flesh and blood has been jailed for 17 years.

The 45-year-old man, who cant be named to protect the identity of his victims, had been charged with 185 counts of rape and sexual assault. He pleaded guilty to sample counts and appeared before the Central Criminal Court in Cork this morning for sentencing.

His crimes covered a 15-year period. One of the mans daughters was raped from the age of nine until she was 16 whilst the other was raped from the age of nine until she was 11. One of the young women noted that inappropriate touching started after her she made her Holy Communion with the abuse escalating from that point.

Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring said that the man breached his position of trust in the family home to abuse vulnerable young girls and their mother in a cold campaign of rape and sexual assault from 2004 to 2019.

Ms Justice Ring said that the man had given no indication that he understood the devastating impact his deviant actions had had on his family.

She said that the eldest daughter was subjected to rapes by her father for seven years starting when she was just nine years old. The violation of her person occurred hundreds of times. One of her most traumatic memories involved being preyed upon as she slept.

The abuse of the mother and eldest daughter was reported to gardai in April of 2020. The man was still living in what was once his marital home. He was interviewed on five occasions and denied raping his eldest daughter. He even suggested that he might have sleep-walked in to bedrooms. This was in spite of significant and damning forensic evidence in the case.

Ms Justice Ring said that the sexual violence against his now ex-wife took place in a coercively controlled relationship where she became ever more isolated as the years progressed. Even when she became ill in the last few years of their marriage he continued to rape her. She was first raped by him in a hotel room following a wedding reception. He threatened to kill himself after she confronted him about it.

Ms Justice Ring said that the woman was raped three or four times a week for years. She learned not to react as it made him more excited. When she told him she planned to leave he threatened to kill himself or take their children away from her.

The man was listed to go on trial in relation to the rape of his second daughter last month. As in the previous cases he pleaded guilty at the latest opportunity he could do so. Ms Justice Ring said that this young woman, who is still a teen, was raped by her father from the age of nine to 11.

All three women gave victim impact statements to the judge. The eldest daughter recalled showering and scrubbing herself to the point of bleeding after being raped by him. It was the source of much distress to her that he once bought her lingerie for her birthday.

She said that she never felt safe as a child. However, she now has good and bad days and views herself as a survivor.

The mans ex-wife said that he robbed her of all of her confidence and self worth and that she blamed herself for what he had done to their daughters. She said that the emotional abuse continued even after she had left her husband. He told people in the locality of the allegations being made against him thereby depriving her and her daughters of the right to anonymity in relation to the crimes perpetrated upon them. She suffers from panic attacks following years of abuse.

The younger daughter of the man said that she was regularly raped from the age of nine to 11. She is still in her teens but does not feel like a normal teenager.

Ms Justice Ring said that the man even used the young girls pets as weapons when they left the family home. She now has new pets and is going to therapy. Ms Justice Ring wished all of the women well in the future having endured unspeakable behaviour whilst trapped in their family home.

Their determination to bring the case forward is to applauded. None of these women bear any blame. All that rests on the shoulder of (the named man.)

He coldly engaged in a campaign of rape and sexual assaults on his wife and daughters from 2004 to 2019 during which he threatened and manipulated his wife and daughters. It had devastating effects on the family. 

Ms Justice Ring said that in addition to vaginal and oral rape the use of a vibrator to rape his wife and daughters made the offences even more degrading and humiliating for the women.

The man, who is without previous convictions, was jailed for 18 and a half years with the final 18 months suspended. Ms Justice Ring directed that he follow all the conditions set out by the probation and welfare service following his release from prison.

The case was investigated by Det Sgt Elaine Scannell and Det Brian Morris of the Garda Protective Services Unit in Co Cork.

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Sean Dunne (26) pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing harm at the Ashling Hotel

A man who carried out a vicious assault on two American tourists in their late 60s in the elevator of a Dublin hotel, threatening to rape the woman and kill her husband, has been jailed for two years.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Sean Dunne (26), pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing harm against a man and woman on April 7, 2023, at the Ashling Hotel, Parkgate Street, Dublin.

Dunne, of St Catherines Foyer, Marrowbone Lane, Dublin, has 10 previous convictions for offences including threatening and abusive behaviour, breach of a barring order, and criminal damage.

Ms Justice Sarah Berkeley described it as a vicious assault on a married couple who were visiting from the US.

She sentenced Dunne to two-and-a-half years with the final six months suspended and backdated it to April 2023 for time spent in custody.

Garda Stephen Lawlor told Michael Horrigan BL, prosecuting, that he was on mobile patrol on the night in question. He received a call about an alleged assault just after 9 pm. When he arrived at the hotel, he saw one man, who was later identified as Dunne, being restrained on the corridor floor. He also noted blood on the carpet.

The court heard that Dunne was arrested and cautioned at the scene and placed into a garda van. Gardai spoke with both injured parties, an American couple aged in their sixties. They said they had returned to the hotel after eating dinner locally. They went to the hotel bar and ordered a drink before getting into the elevator. Dunne also entered the elevator.

Gda Lawlor said Dunne told the woman that he was going to rape her and kill him, indicating her husband. He then struck the woman in the mouth and began to attack her husband. The woman pressed the panic button. When the door of the elevator opened, the woman screamed for help, and two others came to their assistance.

The court heard that Dunne was still attacking the man, and there was blood everywhere. As Dunne was being subdued by onlookers, he continued to say that he was going to kill the man. The man fell to his knees and was shaking. The couple received treatment at the scene from the emergency services but did not require hospital treatment.

The woman told gardai that this was an unprovoked attack. The court heard that this was the couples last night in Ireland, and they returned to the United States the following day. Images of the injuries sustained by both injured parties were handed into the court.

Dunne was interviewed but denied that he assaulted either of the injured parties. He has been in custody since April 2023. Dunne took a trial date but pleaded in advance of his trial.

Gda Lawlor agreed with defending counsel that this was a frenzied attack and that Dunne had not known the couple.

The garda agreed with counsel that Dunne exhibited signs of someone going through a psychotic break and that he suffers from schizophrenia, which was diagnosed in 2020.

The court heard that Dunne had been homeless and turned to addictive substances. Since he went into custody, he has been doing very well, and his mental health has improved significantly.

Dunne is currently on medication. He is off all addictive substances and is tested regularly in prison.

On the last hearing date in June, Judge Berkeley had ordered the probation services to carry out a report and adjourned the case for sentencing.

Passing sentence, Judge Berkeley said the victims were in their late 60s and much older than the accused.

The judge noted Dunne had been diagnosed with schizophrenia but also chose to use illicit substances.

She placed the offending in the middle upper range but took account of his guilty plea.

The judge said she was imposing two-and-a-half years but would suspend the final six months and ordered him to engage with probation services.

I have a real concern in relation to this man, said the judge who noted he had a history of not taking his medication and of using illicit substances.

Dunne who has been in custody since April 2023 will have served most of his detention and is shortly due for release.

The judge also ordered he undergo 18 months post-release supervision and to follow all recommendations and advice in relation to treatment.

He is also to follow all recommendations of the probation services and keep them informed in relation to his contact details and whereabouts.
Solicitor Barry Fitzpatrick requested that the case be put back to December 2, for preparation of the Book of Evidence

An American man charged with the murder of his father at the five-star Ballyfin Demesne hotel in Co Laois last week, was remanded in custody for a further two weeks at Portlaoise District Court today.

Henry McGowan, 30, with an address in Brooklyn, New York, appeared via video link on Monday before Judge Susan Fay from Cloverhill Prison, where he is being held in custody in relation to the murder of John McGowan (60), also a US national.

Solicitor Barry Fitzpatrick requested that the case be put back to December 2, for preparation of the Book of Evidence. Judge Fay directed that Mr McGowan be remanded in custody until December 2 and that the Book of Evidence be produced on that day at Portlaoise District Court.

Wearing a grey sweater, Mr McGowan said thank you before the video link was ended.

The alleged incident happened at around 8pm on Tuesday, November 12, at the exclusive Ballyfin Demesne hotel, located about ten kilometres from Portlaoise.

The victim was found dead in the leisure area of the five-star hotel and was the victim of a sustained assault, gardai believe.
Martin OBrien (54) has a previous conviction for multiple sexual assault offences against a ten-year-old child

The wife of a man who repeatedly sexually assaulted the couples teenage babysitter 10 years ago took the stand to plead to the judge for leniency ahead of his sentence at the Central Criminal Court.

Martin OBrien (54) of Gurrane, Belclare, Tuam, Co Galway pleaded guilty to four charges of sexual assault on dates between June 1, 2012 and February 2014.

He has a previous conviction for multiple sexual assault offences against a ten-year-old child when he was between 13 and 14 years old. This conviction is under appeal and he had contested the case.

OBrien got an eight-month suspended sentence and was ordered to pay to the 16,000 to the victim in that case.

Carl Hanahoe SC, prosecuting, told the court that that victim, Aine McHugh, who was aged between 16 and 17 years old at the time, wishes to waive her anonymity in the case.

Ms McHugh read her victim impact statement at a previous hearing in July during which she described OBrien as sub-human, a monster and master manipulator who violated her in every way possible while she cared for his children.

Justice Kerida Naidoo had adjourned the case following evidence last July to allow for the preparation of reports in relation to sexual offenders treatment OBrien was undergoing.

At that earlier hearing prosecuting counsel, Timothy OLeary SC, told the court that Ms McHugh would often be left speaking to OBrien when he and his wife returned from a night out. He would stay up chatting to the teenager and give her alcohol.

She later told gardai she would stay over in the house, sleeping on the couch in the sitting room and OBrien would sexually assault her there, while his wife and children slept upstairs.

There were also two occasions when he sexually assaulted her in two different local pubs after she happened to see him on a night out.

Today OBriens wife, Leonie OBrien took the stand and told Colm Smyth SC, defending, that she had written a letter to the court that she would read out.

Ms OBrien said she would first like to address Ms McHugh and her family and said she was very saddened when she learned about the allegations. She said she has every sympathy for the family and what they have been through.

Martin OBrien. Photo: Sunday World

Ms OBrien told Mr Smyth that she is a healthcare professional and while she has grave concerns that there may be further negative press following her testimony in court, which could impact her work, she was willing to take the stand and read out the letter she had prepared for the sentence hearing.

I am writing to respectfully request leniency  while I understand the serious nature of the offence, Ms OBrien said adding that she wanted to put into context her husbands good character and family circumstances.

She said she has known OBrien since she was 11 years old and they have been married for 28 years with three children.

Ms OBrien described her husband as a wonderful, loving, caring and selfless father who is always putting others needs before his own. She said he has always been charitable and always been the first one to reach out to people in their hour of need  adding that he is thoughtful and kind.

She said they have suffered greatly as a family - I will go so far as to say it has been unimaginable - only one who has been through it can understand, Ms OBrien said.

Ms OBrien said she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer and is undergoing ongoing treatment as there is a high risk of re-occurrence. Her mother was also treated for lung cancer in December 2022 and has significant needs in terms of her care since then.

She explained that both her mother and her aunt rely on OBrien for care and said OBrien has lived on her aunts farm recently.

She said hateful signs or posters have been placed in areas around aunts home and said there has been malicious rumours and lies circulating around their own neighbourhood and her work place.

Ms OBrien clarified that this campaign has nothing to do with the victim or the current case but said the unrelenting and unrelated untruths have become too much for me to bear.

She accepted that the rumours go beyond what he has pleaded guilty to and have nothing to do with Ms McHugh or her family.

They are untruths about myself too, she said.

Finally, I would like to say he (OBrien) is genuinely remorseful for all the suffering he has brought, Ms OBrien said before she added that she trusts the judgement of Mr Justice Naidoo to also reflect on her familys suffering.

She said OBrien is a very much-loved father and husband and always will be the love of my life.

She also acknowledged that she is very concerned about Ms McHugh too  as a mother I can empathise and understand her suffering too.

Mr Justice Naidoo wished Ms OBrien well in her treatment before he adjourned the case to December 16 next for sentence.

OBrien also took the stand today. He told Mr Smyth he wanted to take the stand to apologise to Ms McHugh and the court for my actions.

He agreed that a letter he had written for the sentence hearing said he wished to express his deepest regret and remorse for the harm that I have caused. I understand my actions were unacceptable and had a major impact on (Ms McHughs) life and that of her family.

I am fully committed to making amends and righting the wrongs of the past, the letter continued.

He said he accepts that he had broken a trust that had been placed on him by sexually assaulting Ms McHugh while she was in his home.

OBrien agreed that he has taken steps to address (his) behaviour and has been attending a therapist.

Mr Smyth said a report from a forensic psychologist concluded that OBrien is at a low average risk of re-offending but recommended that he attend for individual therapy to ensure that he comes out of prison a better man.

OBrien agreed with Mr Smyth that posters have gone up in the area around where his wifes aunt lives saying no sex offenders wanted. He accepted that as he is living in a rural area that this is something he will continue to live with once he is out of prison.

A number of references were handed into court on behalf of OBrien, including from his mother-in-law and his wifes aunt, who were in court to make themselves available for cross-examination if needed.

Martin OBrien. Photo: Sunday World

The woman previously read her victim impact statement into the record. She described the man as sub-human, a monster, and a sexual predator with animalistic behaviour.

Ms McHugh said OBrien groomed her and did everything he could to break her down piece by piece. He has destroyed the life I hoped for, she said.

She said he repeatedly sexually assaulted her while she cared for his children and tried to protect them. He is a master manipulator, a bully  he violated me in every sense of the world.

She described his home as the house of horrors and said before she entered his home, her life was normal. She was outgoing and enjoyed playing music and swimming.

She said she grappled with insecurity and was anxious to gain independence, which the offer of babysitting for OBrien gave her. I innocently looked forward to earning money, but the life that I knew and loved would never be the same.

She said OBrien put effort into grooming me and described the sexual assaults on her as relentless.

She said OBrien also made comments about her body and appearance, using derogatory language and teasing her. He told her he discussed her weight with his own wife and how one member of her extended family agreed with him that they were concerned about the girls weight.

His objective was to isolate me and it worked. He knew I would feel ashamed and embarrassed, she said, adding she never went to discos because of her lack of confidence.

Ms McHugh said she can still smell him, can still feel him smothering her while he lay on top of her as he sexually assaulted her in his family home.

He clicked his fingers and whistled at me the way you would a dog. He treated me like an animal. I felt like an animal, she continued.

She began to refuse to babysit for OBrien, but her mother couldnt understand why she would not go. As far as her parents were concerned, the mans home was a safe place.

I felt trapped and completely powerless. That is where he wanted me, she said.

She spoke of how she felt she would be better off if he killed her.

She began to pull away from people because she felt unworthy of love, dirty and disgusting.

She said OBrien found ways to get to her and followed her and antagonised her, referring to the sexual assaults in the pubs. I was not safe anywhere, she said.

The best days of my life were stolen from me. I was battling alcohol and drug addiction. I did everything to try and remove myself from my own body, she continued adding she went to bed at night praying I would not wake up.

She said she distanced herself from her family. My anger was fuelled by self-hatred and self-loathing all because of what I endured at his hands.

I have lived my twenties in isolation. My sense of self and place has been stolen from me, Ms McHugh continued, before she said that her parents moved house as they had originally lived very close to O'Brien.

She spoke of how she struggled to cope in the years, months and weeks leading up to the trial date. It has taken so much from me and so much time from me.

She said on the day OBrien pleaded guilty, the sense of relief she felt was immense.

I did not win anything but it confirmed that the end was near, she continued adding that the mental, physical and emotional torture, she experienced was nearly over.

I have to live carrying the burden of what he did to me every day, she said adding that she does not go to certain places for fear of seeing him.

I cannot escape what he did to me, even when I go to sleep, she said. It has destroyed my life. Why didnt he just kill me?

What would I be like if he had not sexually abused me? she asked. I will carry the pain and trauma of this abuse forever.

He is a sub-human, a monster. I am handing everything over to him. I am returning every piece of shame and guilt back to him. They belong to him, Ms McHugh said.

She ended her statement thanking her parents, friends and partner and said she is intending to put effort into creating a future for herself.
Big Sherlock Holmes investigation here  a bottle of lemonade stolen.

Gerry The Monk Hutch has described how he was first brought to court and fined for stealing a bottle of lemonade at just eight years old.

In his first major interview on the Sunday Worlds Crime World podcast, he shares how he fell into petty crime as a youngster growing up in the now-demolished Corporation Buildings off Foley Street in Dublin city centre.

Families were packed into the tenement-style flats, including Hutch and his nine co-habiting family members, but residents were living in poverty.

The poor living conditions in the area without a doubt drove people to crime, he says, but it wasnt all bad.

I dont really remember a meal every night. To say you were hungry is probably an understatement. You were bloody starving, he tells Crime World hosts Nicola Tallant and Niall Donald in the second part of his exclusive interview.

Somebody would probably rob a milk truck or something and drive it into the buildings and everyone would be out taking a few bottles. Everyone would have milk then for a week.

But there were definitely loads of kids to play around with. Im sure there was plenty of lice to play around with, among other things.

You grew up that way with close protection from the kids around you. Everyone backed each other. Anyone could walk in and out of anyones house. If there was a bit of dinner in someones house, you got a bit of it as well.

At just eight years old, Hutch had his first run-in with the law after his family moved a few streets away to Summerhill.

He had stolen a bottle of lemonade off the back of a Taylor Keith truck  his first serious crime.

I robbed a bottle of lemonade and a cop saw me, ran over and grabbed me on the radio and a squad car came down with a siren on it and everything.

Big Sherlock Holmes investigation here  a bottle of lemonade stolen, Hutch jokes.

My mother came down before the police car, I remember, and she offered to pay for it.

However, he was charged and brought to the former Childrens Court in Dublin Castle, where he was convicted and received a 1 fine.

His court appearance was followed by a brief hiatus from criminal activity, but he got back into trouble as a youngster, spending a year at St Laurence's Industrial School in Finglas before hitting his teenage years.

In the 1970s, at the age of 15, Hutch ended up in Mountjoy Prison for the first time after a string of robberies and car thefts, which he admits was terrifying.

He broke into several shops during his youth as he believed shopkeepers to be rich, but there were some crimes that were completely off the table for him.

Hutch explains: There were certain things you could do and certain things you couldnt do.

If I was charged with robbing a handbag or snatching it out of a car, Id get my f**king head chopped off.

There was no way Id have ever broken into a car and robbed someones handbag or broke into a house.

I broke into loads of shops. I broke into shops on Moore Street, butcher shops, took everything, but I never broke into a persons house and never took a womans handbag.

I was actually out one day, a gang of us were walking up town and one of the lads was after nicking a purse. There was four of us and he got 20 in it. A fiver each.

I said, I dont want the fiver. I cant take that. I dont know where it came from; I just couldnt take it.

There was one other rule he had to follow, he says.

When you broke into a butchers shop, you could take the meat, take what you like, take the takings that were in the till. You couldnt touch the poor box. You couldnt take that, no matter how bad it was.

That was for the poor. Like, we were poor, but they were really poor.

Gerry The Monk Hutchs interview is available now on Crime World wherever you get your podcast and on YouTube for viewing. Like and subscribe.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed into law bill No. 11225 amending some laws of Ukraine to improve procedures for conducting medical and social expert assessment.

According to the bill card published on the Verkhovna Rada website, the head of state signed the document on November 18.

As reported, on October 29, the Verkhovna Rada approved a bill on improving the work of medical and social expert commissions (MSEC).

According to the document, information on the results of MSEC will be entered into the electronic health care system to simplify doctors' access to the data and speed up decision-making.
Paul Renwick sent at least nine payments to streamers in the Philippines for access to these live feeds between December 2017 and September 2018.

A man has been jailed in the UK after paying thousands of pounds to watch live streams of children being sexually abused in the Philippines.

Paul Renwick (60) was arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in August 2021 after an investigation identified that his account was being used to make a number of payments to money service bureaus in the Philippines.

He had been communicating with facilitators of live streams, paying money to watch and direct children being sexually abused, some of whom were as young as seven.

Renwick sent at least nine payments to streamers in the Philippines for access to these live feeds between December 2017 and September 2018.

According to the NCA, there is evidence to suggest that he has been paying to watch this abuse since 2005, spending at least 7,000 on payments.

In interview, he agreed that he had sent money over to the Philippines for what he described as live sex shows but said he believed those involved in the streams were over 18. He also admitted to being sexually interested in girls aged between 12 and 14 years old.

More than 300 indecent images of children were discovered on his devices following forensic examination  45 in Category A, 70 in Category B, 172 in Category C, 22 prohibited, and 22 extreme images.

Renwick appeared at Northampton Crown Court and pleaded guilty to three counts of paying for sexual services of a child and three counts of making indecent photographs of a child, one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image and one count of possessing prohibited images of children.

He was sentenced to six years in prison with a 12-month extended license period and an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order at the same court today, 18 November.

Danny Waywell, NCA senior investigating officer, said: "Our investigation evidenced that Paul Renwick was a prolific offender, directing and paying for the sexual abuse of children since 2005.

"Renwick may have thought that the distance between him and the abuse meant he could operate without detection, but the NCA's work with partners overseas has uncovered the scale of his crimes.

"The NCA will continue to bring criminals like Renwick to justice and pursue those who have any involvement in the abuse of children."
The body was found on Sunday, November 17, at Claddagh Quay

Gardai are investigating after a mans body was discovered in Galway city at the weekend.

The body was found on Sunday, November 17, at Claddagh Quay and was taken to University Hospital Galway where a post-mortem examination will take place.

Gardai are investigating all the circumstances surrounding the discovery.

A spokesperson for An Garda Siochana said: Gardai are investigating all the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body of a man at Claddagh Quay in Galway on Sunday, November 17, 2024.

The mans body was removed from the scene to University Hospital Galway.

A post-mortem examination will take place in due course, the results of which will determine the course of the garda investigation.
Myles Harty, whose son Miley was born a few months after he died, suffered catastrophic head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene

Myles Harty and Kate Quilligan were due to be married on the morning of the fatal crash

A man was killed just hours before his wedding when a telephone pole smashed through the front windscreen of a car, causing him catastrophic head injuries, a court heard this evening.

Groom-to-be Myles Miley Harty, (20), from Askeaton, Co Limerick, was fatally injured while travelling as a front-seat passenger in a Skoda Octavia that was driven by his best man and cousin, Shane Harty.

The car left the Askeaton to Rathkeale road and struck a wall, ditch and a pole, between midnight and 1am on August 21, 2021.

The car became airborne after striking the wall and went into a roll as it collided with the ditch before impacting with the telephone pole, Limerick Circuit Criminal Court heard.

Myles Harty, whose son Miley was born a few months after he died, suffered catastrophic head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The harrowing evidence of the fatal collision, as well as emotional victim impact statements written by the deceaseds parents and fiancee, Kate Quilligan, were shared at Shane Hartys sentencing hearing on Monday.

Prosecuting barrister, Lilly Buckley, said that the force of the inverted car crashing into the telephone pole was such that the pole broke at its base and travelled trough the car and impacted on the head of Myles Harty which obviously led to significant head injuries.

Shane Harty was initially charged with one count of dangerous driving causing Mr Hartys death, however a week prior to his trial, the State accepted a guilty plea offered by the defendant to one count of a lesser offence of careless driving causing Mr Hartys death, which carries a sentence of a maximum of two years in jail and or a 10,000 fine.

The crash occurred as Shane Harty and Myles Harty and another cousin, Daniel Harty, were traveling in Shane Hartys car to a local shop after the three close relatives had been shopping in Limerick City earlier as part of their final preparations for Myles Hartys wedding to Ms Quilligan.

It was a road the three men had regularly travelled at night, Ms Buckley said.

Following the collision, Shane Harty (21) of Tola Park, Shannon, Co Clare, admitted to gardai that he had been speeding and showing off as he drove the three men shortly before the crash.

When gardai put it to Harty that there is no doubt that at the time you lost control of the car you were speeding, he agreed and replied, no doubt.

Harty told gardai he regretted everything and he would have driven a lot slower if he had the opportunity to go back in time to the morning in question, Im sorry it happened, it shouldnt have happened, he told gardai.

Shane Harty: Photo: Brendan Gleeson

Ms Buckley said a garda forensic collision investigator who examined the scene had not been able to determine the exact pre-collision speed of the car but he was of the view that the circumstances involved strongly suggested that it [the car] was traveling above the speed limit of 80kmh.

No other vehicle was involved, the road conditions were good, and the car was in good working order, it was heard.

The car eventually came to a stop lying on its roof, a distance of 22.9 metres from where it left the road.

A postmortem report stated Myles Harty suffered non-survivable head injuries after sustaining multiple complex facial and skulls fractures when the telephone poll impacted his head.

Ms Buckley fought back tears while reading out emotional victim impact statements written by Ms Quilligan, and Margaret and Myles Harty Snr, the deceaseds parents, who were present in the court.

Ms Quilligan and members of her late fiancees family wept in court as her impact statement was read by Ms Buckley.

Every morning I wake up I relive the nightmare of that day. It will never leave my mind, her statement read.

It should have been the happiest day of my life it has shattered so many lives and robbed our son, Miley, of his father.

Margaret and Myles Harty Snr wrote that things will never be the same after their sons sudden death.

Myles was preparing for his wedding day, but he never got the chance to celebrate his special day, they said.

Myles always had a big beautiful smile on his face, he is a big loss for us all He went out that night and told us, Ill be back in five minutes, but he never returned.

In letters written to the deceaseds loved ones, Shane Harty offered his sincere apologies and sympathies and he said he had lost his best friend in the collision.

I wish I could turn back time, added the defendant.

Shane Hartys barrister, senior counsel Brian McInerney, asked the sentencing judge, Colin Daly, to consider a number of mitigating factors in his judgement.

Mr McInerney said Shane Harty was genuinely remorseful, had no previous convictions, had a clean drivers licence, had cooperated with gardai, and he had no traces of alcohol or drugs in his system at the time of the collision.

Whatever sentence is imposed by the court, he [Shane Harty] has a heavy burden, he is already serving a life sentence of that burden every waking moment of his life, Mr McInerney said.

Judge Daly said he needed more time to consider his sentence, and he remanded Shane Harty on continuing bail to appear before Limerick Circuit Court for final judgement on Monday, November 25.
The Health and Safety Authority have been made aware of the incident and have started an investigation

A construction worker has been rushed to hospital following a workplace incident in Co Donegal.

The man was rushed to Letterkenny University Hospital after the incident which took place shortly after 8am.

The Health and Safety Authority have been made aware of the incident and have started an investigation into the accident.

Gardai and the emergency services attended the scene of the accident which took place on a construction site in the Killylastin area of Letterkenny.

The exact cause of the accident is not yet known.

The man is still being treated in hospital for his injuries but they are not understood to be life-threatening.
The row within Castlegore Loyal Orange Lodge 922 in Co. Antrim has been brought out into the open after details were revealed by the Sunday World in September

There has been another twist in a bitter dispute which has torn apart an Orange Order lodge.

The business of Orange lodges is usually kept firmly behind closed doors.

However, the row within Castlegore Loyal Orange Lodge 922 in Co. Antrim has been brought out into the open after details were revealed by the Sunday World in September.

It is understood the tensions at the lodge are related to how it is being managed.

There have also been claims of some elderly members of the lodge, which was set up more than 100 years ago, being verbally abused after they raised concerns around governance issues.

The dispute allegedly came to a head in October 2023 during a heated meeting in Castlegore Orange hall, near Ballymena.

Since then, the lodge has not held any meetings, despite it being a requirement for Orange lodges to meet every month.

The divisions are so deep the Castlegore lodge did not officially take part in this years July 12th celebrations, the highlight of the year for the Orange Order.

Castlegore Orange Hall

However, some members of the lodge did march on The Twelfth with other lodges.

The Sunday World has now learned several senior members of the Castlegore lodge were removed from their roles at a special meeting organised last month to discuss the continuing dispute.

The meeting was held at a separate Orange hall in Co. Antrim.

A source said there was a lot of anger around the outcome of the meeting and how it was conducted.

This meeting was held on a Monday night and the rules state members must receive seven days notice, said the source.

However, some of the senior members were only told about the meeting on the day it was being held.

This was obviously an attempt to get rid of anyone raising concerns.

Sources close to the Castlegore dispute say the matter has been raised at the highest level of the Orange Order but claim nothing has been done about it.

The Orange Order, which was set up in 1795 to promote the principles of the reformed Protestant faith, is run on a pyramid system, from the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland at the top to local lodges at the bottom.

Each lodge elects its own officers, who are responsible for all aspects of running the organisation.

A lodge also sends six representatives to a district lodge, of which there are 126 in Ireland.

The Castlegore lodge is part of Ballymena District LOL No.8.

Sources said the Castlegore dispute was brought up at a meeting of the Ballymena district in May this year.

During the meeting, which we have been told was attended by up to 40 people, a letter was read out about the concerns of some members of the Castlegore lodge.

Rev Mervyn Gibson

A source said the meeting was told there has been harsh criticism of Castlegore lodge members who have raised concerns about how the lodge is allegedly being run.

They claimed they had been told to stop digging.

The Sunday World contacted the Ballymena District in connection with the issues raised at the May meeting.

We asked a series of questions about the meeting and if any further action is planned in relation to the dispute with Castlegore lodge.

In response, a spokesperson for the Ballymena lodge said: Ballymena District LOL No.8 do not comment on any individual lodge matters or any matters relating to individual lodges or members.

District lodges within the Orange Order send representatives to one of the 12 County Grand Lodges across the country.

The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland (GOLI), which is made up of around 250 members from around the county is the highest level within the organisation.

A source said the Castlegore dispute had been raised with GOLI Grand Secretary, Reverend Mervyn Gibson, the organisations most prominent figure.

Mr Gibson was contacted and asked if he was aware of the dispute at the Castlegore lodge and if any efforts had been made by the Orange Order leadership to address the row.

He passed our questions on to the GOLIs press officer, who sent the Sunday World a statement which said: The Orange Institution does not comment on any internal issues.
Weather Eye

with John Maunder

This week over 60,000 people will attend COP 29, the 29th gathering of the Conference of the Parties dealing with climate change.

In contrast, 39 years ago a small group of 100 scientists met in the small town of Villach in Austria to begin talks on climate change which in effect was, in the minds of many people, the original pre-runner of the COP meetings.

So 39 years on, what has changed. Of the many climate science meetings I have been to, the most significant, at least in terms of climate change, was the UN sponsored International Conference held in the beautiful town of Villach, Austria.

One hundred experts from 30 countries attended the meeting (in contrast to the sixty to eighty thousand plus who now attend such meetings), and I was privileged to be the only New Zealander invited.

We were all there as experts - and not representing our respective organisations - in various fields of science, endeavouring to do the best we could in looking at the complexities of climate change and climate science.

This conference predated by three years the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The first session of the IPCC was held in Geneva in November 1988.

Among the principal findings of the 1985 Villach Conference was that "while other factors, such as aerosol concentration, changes in solar energy input, and changes in vegetation, may also influence climate, greenhouse gases are likely to be the most important cause of climate change over the next century.

At that time, even though I was partly responsible for the writing of the above paragraph, I along with some of my colleagues, had some misgivings about this phrase, and in particular the almost overall emphasis on greenhouse gases compared with the natural causes of climate change, and in particular the role of the oceans, the sun , and the volcanoes.

These natural causes of climate change are discussed at length in my new book 'Climate Change: Nature is in control". (available from Amazon).

Additionally, my 1986 book "'The Uncertainty Business : Risks and Opportunities in Weather and Climate focused on the opportunities provided to humanity in regards to all aspects of the climate... whether it be cold or hot, or wet or dry, or something in-between.

Nevertheless, within a year of the 1985 Villach Conference human-induced global warming' caught the imagination of much of the world. Indeed today, not an hour goes by without some mention of global warming', 'climate change', 'emission trading scheme's etc., all terms which up until 1980's were the preserve of academic text books.

Thirty ears ago, it was inconceivable that any Government in the world would have a 'Minister of Climate Change; indeed back then, as weather forecasters and climatologists we just got on with our job of making the best possible weather forecast and providing the best climate advice to all those who requested information, without guidance or interference from the government of the day.

How things have changed is evident in the continuing series of COP meetings.

*******************

For further information about a wide range of weather/climate matters see my new book Climate Change : Nature is in control" The book is available through the web site amazon.com.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA), the peak body for New Zealand's tourism sector, has expressed strong support for proposals aimed at modernising the countrys conservation management system.

On Friday, the Department of Conservation released two discussion documents for public consultation, which outline a range of initiatives designed to protect New Zealands natural environment while fostering sustainable tourism growth and regional economic development.

Among the key proposals is a plan to streamline the process for obtaining concessions to operate on public conservation land, a move TIA has welcomed.

The current concession system has been widely criticised for being slow, complex, and inflexible, and TIA is advocating for a more transparent and efficient process that provides greater certainty for tourism operators.

CAP Zipline. Photo: TIA.

TIA Chief Executive Rebecca Ingram highlighted the importance of modernising the concession system to ensure that it supports both conservation goals and the tourism industrys needs.

We know that the concession system has been broken for some time. We are driven to ensure the process for obtaining a concession is clearer, faster, and more flexible. It should also provide greater certainty for operators, Ingram said.

Another proposal under consideration is the introduction of access charges for some public conservation areas.

While Ingram acknowledged the need for additional funding to manage conservation efforts, she emphasised that the impact of these charges must be considered alongside other existing funding sources, such as the $100 International Visitor Levy (IVL), which is expected to generate millions of dollars for conservation and visitor management.

Theres a great deal to digest, and we will be carefully reviewing the proposals before preparing our submission. Its also important that the consideration of access charging takes into account the substantial revenue already being generated through the IVL, Ingram said.

TIA has called on its members to engage with the consultation process, which will help shape the future of conservation land management in New Zealand.

Tourism Industry Aotearoa is the leading industry body for New Zealand's tourism sector.

With approximately 1,200 member businesses across the country, TIA represents all sectors of the tourism industry, from small owner-operators to major international corporates.

TIA is dedicated to promoting the sustainability of New Zealands tourism industry and has led the implementation of the Tourism Sustainability Commitment, encouraging businesses to contribute positively to the environment, economy, and local communities.

TIA also runs major industry events, including TRENZ, the New Zealand Tourism Awards, and Tourism Summit Aotearoa.

For more information on the consultation and to view the governments proposal documents, visit the DOC website  www.doc.govt.nz.
The 2024 Bay of Plenty Times Christmas Appeal is off to a roaring start, with the generous Tauranga community donating thousands of dollars and hundreds of items to the Tauranga Community Foodbank in the first week.

The annual six-week appeal kicked off on November 9, supported by The Hits Bay of Plenty 95.0FM.

As of 8am Friday, the foodbank had received a total of $10,853.93 in donated food and money. This breaks down to $9,446.93 in cash donations and 469 grocery items, valued at an average $3 each by the foodbank.

This is ahead of the same time last year when $9047.50 had been donated through $7670 cash donations and 551 food items.

Last years appeal resulted in $251,663.50 in donations  $168,651 in cash and 33,205 food items valued at $2.50 each, totalling $83,012.50.

General manager Nicki Goodwin said the foodbank can feel a buzz with many people and businesses reaching out to see how they can help.

A lot of bulk donations have been made of things like cereal, muesli bars, other treats and some amazing fresh produce.

We have even had a [cattle] beast donated that we will make into mince, which is just fantastic.

Goodwin said that at the same time, the foodbank had been busy with people needing support with food and extra volunteers to get the job done.

Over the past year, Tauranga Community Foodbank had supported 24,434 people, up about 9.5% on the year before.

They came from 7862 households and included more than 12,000 children.

Throughout the year, the foodbank has 60 volunteers coming in week-to-week, which swells to between 80-100 volunteers per week leading up to Christmas.

Collectively the volunteers gave back more than 15,000 hours of work to the foodbank, which Goodwin said was an amazing amount.

They come in here for nothing and are working so hard and making such a difference, we are incredibly grateful to those volunteers, Goodwin said.

For this years appeal, Goodwins goal was to match or surpass last years donation value at a time when theres been some real hardship created through the cost of housing.

She has seen increased needs in people requiring regular long-term support to get through a financial change of circumstances.

The cost of living for average and beneficiary households has increased by 3.8% in the 12 months to September, according to Stats NZ.

Goodwin said the continued rising need for the foodbank came down to people not having enough money after paying for housing.

Were seeing people whose income barely covers just the housing, never mind anything else, and there are people who are struggling which means we will be there to support them for as long as it is needed.

The last official donation day for the Christmas Appeal is Tuesday, December 23, and any items donated are welcome, even if theyre not on the wish list. Cash donations are also welcome.

Tauranga Community Foodbank Wish List 2024
Starting in the UK, a parkrun T-shirt is travelling the world and made its way to Tauranga for Bethlehems weekly parkrun at Gordon Carmichael Reserve.

Parkrun is a free community event where you can run, walk, jog, volunteer or spectate every Saturday morning at 8am.

It involves a 5km course and is held in locations around the world. There are currently 53 locations just in New Zealand.

Owner of the travelling T-shirt, John Richards, has completed 520 parkruns at 49 different places.

With all the crap going on in the world, one thing that connects us all who love parkrun is that on a Saturday morning, a bunch of people from all over the place run 5km.



The world roaming parkrun shirt has visited more than 11 different countries around the world. Photo supplied.



Richards said participants do it for all sorts of reasons.

Fun, training, mental health, it doesnt matter. Its all about enjoying yourselves.

In 2023 after he completed a parkrun in Woodbank, UK he thought it would be a cool idea to get his parkrun shirt travelling around all the different UK parkruns gathering signatures of those who have participated.

The movement quickly gained traction and the T-shirt travelled to many countries around the world, including Wales, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Japan, Germany and Scotland before making its way to New Zealand.

It first arrived in Rotorua, before moving on to Tauranga and then heading for the South Island.

After the T-shirts travels in New Zealand, theres hope it will be taken to Singapore or South Africa to continue its global travels.

Parkrun has grown since its first event in Teddington, UK on October 2, 2004. Its now happening every Saturday across 23 different countries and more than 2000 locations, of which three are in Tauranga.

Theres the Gordon Carmichael Reserve parkrun in Bethlehem, Tauranga parkrun at Kopurererua Valley Reserve, and the Gordon Spratt Reserve parkrun in Papamoa.

Whakatane run director James Steele and his children. Photo / Supplied.

Lesley Warner-Bird is one of the run directors of the Gordon Carmichael Reserve parkrun.

She is looking for someone who can take the T-shirt to South Africa or Singapore to continue its international journey.

When the T-shirt finally arrived in Bethlehem on Saturday, November 9, the run participants took photos and signed the shirt before it was taken to Whakatane and then to the South Island, to Queenstown and Wanaka.

Its been travelling for 18 months now, said Warner-Bird.

She said the Gordon Carmichael Reserve parkrun usually has around 100 people participating.

Whakatane run director James Steele. Photo / Supplied.

Parkrun is very inclusive, so if anyone feels like joining us, we have the event every Saturday at 8am.

For more information about parkrun visit the website at www.parkrun.co.nz
Zespris counter-seasonal Zespri Global Supply programme is underway, supporting our efforts to deliver 12-month supply to key customers in key markets, to build the Zespri brand and to deliver strong, sustainable grower returns in an increasingly competitive kiwifruit category.

This year Zespri is expecting to sell more than 26 million trays, or more than 93,000 tonnes, of kiwifruit from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea, and Japan.

Zespri Executive Officer  Northern Hemisphere Supply, Nick Kirton sad following the completion of sales of New Zealand SunGold, the ZGS season has kicked off in Europe.

Our Japan and Korea markets are also set to shift to ZGS SunGold in the coming weeks, with the US and China to follow in December.

For Zespri Green we expect to sell more than seven million trays from Italy and Greece this season with sales getting underway as soon as New Zealand sales have wrapped up in the coming weeks.

Were looking forward to providing customers and consumers with high-quality, great-tasting kiwifruit as we move from New Zealand-grown to Northern Hemisphere-grown fruit Zespri branded kiwifruit.

ZGS plays a critical role in our efforts to provide customers and consumers with premium Zespri Kiwifruit for all 12 months of the year, helping maintain shelf space until the New Zealand season starts again, and supporting returns for our New Zealand and offshore growers.

Zespris Global Supply programme was established around 25 years ago and involves working with around 1,500 Zespri growers offshore.

In response to increasing demand and intensifying competition, Zespri is currently asking New Zealand kiwifruit growers to support the expansion of its ZGS business via a Producer Vote.

Voting launched on November 11 and is open until midday on Thursday, December 5, with growers being asked to support the allocation of up to 420 additional hectares of SunGold Kiwifruit per year over six years across Italy, France, Japan, South Korea, and Greece, subject to annual review by the Zespri Board to confirm forecast demand remains ahead of supply and the provision of annual reporting to growers.

The proposal has been co-developed with the industry following an extensive engagement process.

An overview of the 2024 Producer Vote is available here. Eligible producers can cast their votes at www.electionz.com/zespri24. Results will be announced in mid-December.
Photo: https://www.president.gov.ua/news/all

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has inspected the construction of fortifications in Donetsk region and held a meeting on the security situation in the region.

"Donetsk region. The construction of fortifications and a meeting on the region's life support. Security is a priority. Today, I checked the course of the construction of fortification structures," he said on the Telegram channel on Monday.

According to the head of state, most of the planned structures are already equipped. He thanked everyone "involved in this important work."

The President's press service said that in Kramatorsk, Zelenskyy held a meeting with Head of Donetsk Regional Military Administration Vadym Filashkin and Commander of the Operational Tactical Group Luhansk, Major General Mykhailo Drapaty. The latter reported on the situation in key areas of the frontline, the use of various types of tactical drones and electronic warfare equipment.

"The President also was briefed on the construction of fortifications and mine barriers to strengthen the defense of the region. The head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration noted that, in addition to military engineering units, specialists from various regions of Ukraine and Ukrzaliznytsia are also involved in the work," the press service said.

Zelenskyy inspected the process of fortification construction in the Pokrovsk direction, where the majority of the planned 600 objects have already been completed.

The head of state spoke with the builders and thanked them for their work.

Filashkin delivered a separate report on the socio-economic situation in the region and the evacuation of children from certain areas.

"According to him, about 324,000 people live in the government-controlled area of the Donetsk region. More than 318,000 Ukrainians, including 37,000 children, have been displaced during the mandatory evacuation," the press service said.

The meeting also addressed the progress of the heating season, in particular, 86% of the planned heating stations are operational. Most apartment buildings, healthcare and education facilities have heat. At the same time, it is impossible to start the heating season in the Pokrovsk territorial community for residents of apartment buildings.
3.02pm Update: Police are expecting traffic, on foot and in vehicles, to get heavy in Wellington once again as Hikoi mo te Tiriti departs Parliament and the CBD.

Wellington District Commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell is urging attendees to be patient as the large crowd disperses.

Movement may be slow so we encourage everyone to take care, and follow the directions of Police or partner agencies.

Those returning to Waitangi Park are being directed down Bunny Street towards the waterfront.

Were also expecting a large number of people to begin leaving the city, meaning congestion on our roads.

Again, patience is the key.

1.05pm Update: Parliament grounds has reached capacity as more than 35,000 people are estimated to be participating in the Hikoi mo te Tiriti.

As part of planning, the traffic management plan in place around the Parliamentary precinct is steering the overflow crowd into closed streets around Parliament.

The tail end of the hikoi has travelled through Courtenay Place and is now heading down Willis Street.

Courtenay Place and Taranaki Street have reopened to the public and traffic is flowing.

Bowen Street, Molesworth Street and Lambton Quay are currently closed, as Police and partner agencies deal with the high volume of people.

The hikoi is running as planned, and Police continue to maintain the ability to scale up our response if required.

Hikoi mo te Tiriti continues to be a peaceful event, said Wellington District Commander Superintendent Corrie Parnell.

The hikoi has travelled through Wellingtons CBD.

"We are pleased to continue to report no issues.

Members of the public can expect to see a continued Police presence across the city, to ensure the safety of those involved in the hikoi as well as other members of the community.

Participants are expected to be on Parliament grounds until mid-afternoon, before heading back to Waitangi Park for an event to conclude the day.

Superintendent Parnell is reminding the community that delays will continue through the afternoon.

We ask everyone to remain aware of the disruption through the city as the afternoon progresses and ask that everybody exercises patience to ensure safety."

Police near Parliament. Photo/NZ Police.

11.27am update: The remainder of the crowd has departed Waitangi Park, as Hikoi mo te Tiriti continues towards Parliament.

The front of the hikoi is currently entering Lambton Quay, while the last of the group is heading towards Courtenay Place from Waitangi Park, said Police in a statement.

Traffic management is in place throughout the city to ensure the safety of all those involved in the hikoi, as well as other members of our community.

A crowd of approximately 4000 people is already on Parliament grounds awaiting the arrival of the hikoi.

The hikoi continues to be uneventful with no reported issues.

10.15am update: More than 15,000 people are estimated to have arrived at Waitangi Park and are preparing to depart for their Hikoi mo te Tiriti through Wellington CBD to Parliament.

The Hikoi is scheduled to leave Waitangi Park at 10am and is expected to arrive at Parliament around midday.

Police continue to report no significant issues from the morning as the crowds gathered.

Traffic management plans are in place through the city to ensure a safe arrival and limit traffic disruption through the Golden Mile.

Over 2000 people have already assembled on Parliament grounds ahead of the hikoi arrival.

Earlier, 9.45am: Traffic heading into Wellington City has eased, however motorists should continue to expect significant delays in the city, said a police spokesperson.

"Hikoi mo te Tiriti has reached Waitangi Park, with Police reporting no issues from this mornings movements.

"Another group of about 2000 people from the Hutt Valley began arriving at the Wellington Railway Station at around 8:30am."

The hikoi is expected to begin their walk to Parliament along the Golden Mile (Courtenay Place, Manners Street, Willis Street and Lambton Quay) at 9am.
Alekk M. Saanders Monday, 18 November 2024, 15:17 Compartir

Many think the Caesar salad originates from Rome and is named after the legendary emperor Julius, but that is actually just a popular myth, or rather one of several myths.

The Italian Mediterranean influence is, however, evident. It is believed that the salad was created by an Italian migrant who owned restaurants in Mexico and the United States in the first half of the last century. The restaurateur's name was Cesare (Caesar) Cardini, and this fact explains the salad's name.

From the past

Indeed, the story goes that Cardini lived in California and ran Caesars restaurant in San Diego. However, he began losing customers during The Prohibition Era, lasting from 1920 to 1933 when the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages were banned in the USA. So, to circumvent restrictions and avoid bankruptcy, he moved Caesar's 30 kilometres from San Diego to the Mexican city of Tijuana. The move benefited the restaurateur as he was able to attract customers from both sides of the border, including, as some sources mention, Charles Chaplin, who was rumoured to go to Tijuana for a drink or two.

During the Independence Day rush in July 1924, kitchen supplies were depleted, and Caesar Cardini made do with what he had - romaine lettuce, chicken, egg, croutons, Parmesan and Worcestershire sauce

The occasion for this year's 100th anniversary of the salad was prompted by Caesar's daughter, Rosa, who once revealed that her father had invented the salad in 1924. She said that during the Independence Day rush in July 1924, kitchen supplies were depleted, and since it was a weekend, not many shops were open to stock up on the necessary ingredients. Cardini made do with what he had - romaine lettuce, chicken, egg, croutons, Parmesan and Worcestershire sauce. So, by improvising, he created a dish that delighted his customers and that continued to be a success even when the ingredients for a traditional salad were available again.

Other stories say that the salad was made by Alessandro Cardini, Caesar Cardini's brother, and that it used to be called Aviator's Salad because it was made for aviators travelling during the Dry Period. Moreover, several of Cardini's employees later also claimed that they were the ones who invented the dish.

Incidentally, in many places in the United States you can still read that Caesar salad was born in the kitchen of New York's Waldof Astoria restaurant, while others claim that the famous salad originated in a mafia casino in Atlantic City.

To the present

They say in Andalucia that any time of the year is good for a refreshing salad. Just as the Caesar salad has several spellings, including the most official Cesar, Cesar, and Cesare, its recipe also varies widely. Even its chicken version doesn't adhere to a single recipe. Frequently, restaurants in Andalucia offer the salad with roast chicken, with crispy chicken in batter or with a little chicken breast marinated in paprika. However, all chefs emphasise that the secret of the delicious dish is in the creamy sauce with a slight note of anchovies and mustard.

Frequently, restaurants in Andalucia offer the salad with roast chicken, with crispy chicken in batter or with a little chicken breast marinated in paprika

In fact, the original recipe calls for Worcestershire sauce, which can be considered the indirect British contribution to the famous salad. This fermented liquid condiment was invented by pharmacists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins in Worcester, during the first half of the 19th century. Worcestershire sauce was used directly as a condiment for steaks, hamburgers, and other prepared foods, as well as for flavouring cocktails. A century ago, Caesar Cardini used the sauce to dress his spontaneous salad.

In fact, the original recipe calls for Worcestershire sauce, which can be considered the indirect British contribution to the famous salad

Nowadays, many different ingredients are used in preparing a salad presented as Caesars. However, the base of the green salad is romaine lettuce. Many Costa del Sol restaurants use local lettuce. It turns out that about 33,000 hectares of lettuce are grown in Spain, of which about a third is devoted to romaine lettuce. Along with Toledo, Barcelona and Murcia, Malaga is the main producer of romaine lettuce. It is good to know because choosing local products benefits the environment and the country's economy. Even the cheese - Parmesan (the officially named Parmigiano Reggiano) - can easily be substituted with others produced in Spain.

Even the cheese - Parmesan (the officially named Parmigiano Reggiano) - can easily be substituted with others produced in Spain

For example, Galmesano... This Galician cheese has almost the same name and flavour as Parmigiano. It is made in the same way as its Italian counterpart in the Alps: from cow's milk with a long maturation period of 14 months. It has a sweet, nutty, caramel flavour and a grainy texture.

Mahon cheese from the island of Menorca has an aged and firmer version produced by Son Mercer de Baix. This cow cheese may surprise you with its slightly sour flavour, salty and spicy background and those crystals for which we love Parmesan so much.

Even Manchego cheese, best known to foreigners, can be used to make a Caesar salad. Yes, it is made from sheep's milk, but a very mature Manchego - Anejo - gives you what you expect from any Caesar salad.
He sold a company to Google, worked at Meta and Spotify, was involved in the creation of Pokemon Go! and is now leading the development of new markets at Freepik as he lives between San Francisco and Malaga

Nuria Triguero Malaga Monday, 18 November 2024, 16:51 Compartir

Jose Florido is a prime example of Malaga's "golden generation" of tech entrepreneurs, a group that includes other local experts such as Bernardo Quintero, Manu Heredia, Luis Hernandez, Pepe Dominguez, Alejandro Blanes and his friend, business partner and current boss Joaquin Cuenca (originally from Alicante, but part of the Malaga tech scene).

These are (seemingly) ordinary people who, thanks to their talent, passion for technology and entrepreneurial drive, have achieved extraordinary feats- creating companies from scratch and selling them to Google or being sought after by Silicon Valley's tech giants.

Florido's CV includes big names like Google, Meta and Spotify, and for over a decade, he has lived in Berkeley, California, with his family, all of whom hold US citizenship. However, today, he works for a Malaga-based company: Freepik.

Florido has held the position of Chief Market Development Officer at the Malaga-based company for the past year and a half. In this role, he is responsible for market development at the company, which aims to become the global leader in AI-driven solutions to "democratise design and creativity". The primary focus of this expansion is the United States, where Freepik opened an office a year and a half ago to accelerate its growth in this highly competitive market.

Florido still considers Berkeley his primary residence, but now that he works at Freepik, he spends more time in Malaga. This year, his children started school here, although they will probably finish in the US. The family has always been somewhat nomadic: this summer, they were in China and they have also lived in Germany. As a result, their children speak four languages.

The reason Florido and his family have been based in Malaga for the past few months is that he has been leading the organisation of Upscale Conf, an event organised by Freepik. The conference will take place in Malaga this Tuesday and Wednesday (19 and 20 November), bringing together 500 people from across Europe to discuss the impact of generative AI on design and the visual arts. "We want it to become a leading event for Europe, and we were adamant it had to be held in Malaga," he said.

"It was once unthinkable for a company like Freepik to exist in Malaga"

Florido left Malaga twenty years ago and now enjoys reconnecting with his city, which he said has "changed a lot". When he left, the city was a tech desert: there were only a few people working on their own projects (Uptodown, Agapea, Todocoleccion, VirusTotal) and the PTA (Andalusian Technology Park) was still in its early stages, with salaries barely reaching 1,000. "Anyone wanting to do something in tech had to move to Madrid or Barcelona, or even abroad," stated Florido, adding that it was "unthinkable to have a company like Freepik here".

Aware of the challenges caused by Malaga's rapid growth, such as the housing crisis, Florido chooses to have an optimistic outlook: "It has given many people the opportunity to build a career without having to leave. Not just in terms of the salaries, but by being able to work with cutting-edge technology, build a team and compete on the global stage," However, he said that there is still a long way to go: "We are still small; there is much more to be done to develop the ecosystem and reach the level of cities like Barcelona," he said.

Jose Florido is well-versed in the subject, as very few people in Malaga have a deeper understanding of how Silicon Valley and the tech giants operate. After all, he has worked for several of them. The first name on his CV is Google, a company he made history with through the legendary sale of Panoramio.

Panoramio, for those too young or too old to remember, was like a Wikipedia for the world in images - a collaborative project that captivated millions of photography enthusiasts around the world. It was created by three friends, Joaquin Cuenca, Jose Florido and Eduardo Manchon, without any investment. In 2007, a year after turning down their first offer, they sold Panoramio to Google and joined the international company.

Zurich was their first destination after the acquisition, but after three years, Florido moved to Mountain View with his wife, Ana Belen Ramos, who also worked at Google. Together, as well as being a couple, they have always been a creative and entrepreneurial duo: while at unviersity, they created a design and web development studio, and for the past ten years, they have co-led it; its name is Wepoke and they describe it as a "laboratory for web and mobile ideas and projects".

The team behind Pokemon Go!

At Google's headquarters, Florido joined the Maps team. One day, the vice-president of this division, John Hanke, invited him to join a small group of six people working on something new: a project within Google called Niantic, which aimed to create augmented reality games using Maps. This was the seed that eventually led to Pokemon Go! "The first famous game we launched was Ingress, which was already very similar to what would later become Pokemon Go! but with aliens against humans," stated Florido.

Florido left Google before Niantic became an independent company (now worth 5 billion dollars) as he wanted to go back to being his own boss. Throughout his career, he has balanced working for large multinational companies with running his own projects. He spent eight years juggling Wepoke and raising his children, and in 2020, he decided to re-enter the job market. He made a big return as Facebook hired him as Product Design Manager in the Integrity team, a department that grew to 400 employees - from engineers to former CIA agents - dedicated to improving content moderation and responding to crises and fake news. The company was particularly concerned about the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which had raised serious issues around data privacy.

Tackling disinformation and crime at Meta

Florido's time at Meta was brief, just a year and a half, before he was recruited by Spotify in 2022, but it was an intense experience nonetheless. "I had to go to Singapore for two weeks to cover the Philippine elections. We set up an office with a hundred people, and there was a huge screen where we monitored news to spot suspicious content," he said. In his role in the Integrity department, he also helped identify and report networks involved in human trafficking, fraud, paramilitary groups and child exploitation.

Freepik: The middle ground

After dealing with these serious issues, the Malaga native moved to Spotify, a paradise for design and creativity where he also took a major step forward in his career by becoming Director of Product Design. He then left the company a year and a half ago to return (professionally, if not entirely physically) to Malaga, where he reunited with his friend and former Panoramio business partner Joaquin Cuenca.

At Freepik, Florido has found a balance between the scale of a large corporation and the agility of a startup. "It's a company with a strong culture, and although it's now a considerable size, it still allows me to be involved in high-level decisions while staying close to the user and the product. It retains the spirit of a startup, but at the same time, we're making an impact just like larger companies."

Florido highlighted the "incredible transformation" Freepik has undergone over the past year and a half. "We used to aim to be the world's largest collection of graphic resources, but now we're striving for something much bigger: offering people a completely new way to create content using technology and democratising design and creativity."
Jennie Rhodes Malaga Friday, 15 November 2024, 13:49 | Updated 17:54h. Compartir

The Hospital Noble located on Plaza General Torrijos near the port of Malaga owes its existence to the legacy of Dr Joseph William Noble, an English doctor and Member of Parliament (MP) who died of cholera while on holiday in the city on 6 January 1861.

As cholera ravished Malaga Dr Noble went to attend to a guest suffering from the disease in the Alameda inn where they were both staying and fell victim to it himself.

It is not clear how long Noble stayed in Malaga although it was long enough for his wife and daughters to decide to use some of their inheritance to build a hospital to help local residents.

The idea behind the hospital was, in addition to helping the residents of La Malagueta, that it would also care for seafarers and fishermen of different nationalities arriving in the port of Malaga.

Municipal building

The neo-Gothic building has a long corridor off which are the various consulting and operating rooms and there is a large arch under which a stone slab is located with the words 'Hospital Noble'.

On 24 September 1870 the Municipal charity commission took possession of the building and it is currently used as municipal offices.

In April 2024 SUR reported on a meeting which took place to discuss returning the building to its original use. According to president of La Malagueta residents' association, Mari Angeles Ramirez, the plans were first mooted in 1990, when the late socialist mayor Pedro Aparicio promised them that it would be used as a health centre.

Zoom Dr Noble's grave in the English cemetery, Malaga. English Cemetery

As well as his work as a doctor, Noble was elected as a Liberal MP for Leicester at the 1859 general election with a majority of 20 votes. He held the seat until his death.

His family bought Dannets Hall in Leicester and Noble Street, where the hall was located before it was demolished in 1862, was named after him. Dr Joseph Noble is buried in the English cemetery in Malaga.
Euegnio Cabezas Axarquia Monday, 18 November 2024, 11:50 Compartir

The powerful Dana storm that swept through much of Malaga province and particularly affected Benamargosa in the Axarquia on Wednesday 13 November saw a historic episode of torrential rainfall in the Cuevas and Solano rivers as they pass through the village of Comares in the Axarquia, on the eastern side of the province.

There are no official rain gauges in the area, neither from the Junta de Andalucia's Hidrosur network nor from Spain's state wetaher agency Aemet. However, some local residents recorded up to 268mm in just eight hours, between 8am and 4pm according to the mayor of Comares, Jose Miguel Ruiz. This flooding has not been seen here for more than 35 years, it is a consequence of climate change," said the mayor.

Candelaria Robles, a 69-year-old resident of Comares, registered 202.8mm in just 16 hours in her rain gauge, although between 1pm and 4pm it was around 150mm. "I have never seen anything like this in my life," she said. The diversion tunnels to La Vinuela reservoir from both dams have a diameter of more than three metres.

The rainfall in the area was double the maximum recorded in the last three decades, according to residents of Comares, and the torrent swept through orchards and subtropical farms in the areas of Llano de la Almendra, Huerta Ranea, Los Perez, Los Hijanos, Los Gallegos and Salto del Negro, which belongs to Cutar.

In addition, around twenty houses were damaged, at least two of which have structural damage, according to the spokesperson for Avanza Comares and former mayor, Eva Aguilar.

Zoom Candelaria Robles' rain gauge. SUR

The Junta de Andalucia was keen to refute messages spread on social media that the dam had been opened up to its floodgates during the recent storm and that this had generated danger for nearby towns, as implied by a message spread on social media and even amplified by some media, the regional government said.

It went on to say, Such messages, with photographs or videos, were sometimes accompanied by alarmist texts such as the following: They are releasing water as if there were no tomorrow at the La Solana dam, Comares, Malaga. Overflowing of the river due to the opening of the dam. Massive flooding.

The dam shown in the video is the La Cueva near Comares. It is a spillway fixed lip dam which has no floodgates. In terms of its function, it is a diversion dam, with a capacity of approximately one cubic hectometre. When it reaches the indicated level it diverts water through pipes or tunnels to its reference reservoir, which is La Vinuela (165 cubic hectometres, and which is currently at approximately 21% of its capacity).

On 13 November, when it was observed that this situation could occur, the Juntas water service decided to transfer water, which functioned normally, the regional government said.
Scores on New Yorks statewide assessment tests in math improved during the 2023-2024 school year, but scores declined in English language arts, according to new data.

Statewide, 54% of students tested proficient in math last year, up 2 percentage points from the previous year. A total of 46% were proficient in ELA, down 2 percentage points.

The state Education Department released assessment test scores for the 2023-2024 school year Thursday. Students in grades three through eight take the tests every year.

The testing has been controversial at times. Parents and teachers have long questioned how effective the scores are and whether the problems they can cause for some districts are really worth it.

You can use the search tool below to search proficiency levels on assessment tests in school districts across New York in both math and ELA. The database includes scores for every year since 2017 for each grade level and for grades three through eight combined.

No tests were given in 2020. Tests in 2021 were optional. That year, only 42% of students took the English test and about 40% took the math test. In a typical year, more than 80% of students take the test, according to the New York State Department of Education.

For 2023 and 2024, the math data includes combined scores for grades 6 through 8 that reflect performance on both the standard state assessment tests and any Regents exams taken by students in those grades. Scores on the standard assessment tests only are also included.

The database only includes entries for which the state had data. The Education Department doesnt release numbers in categories with extremely small numbers of students.

If you cant see the search tool, click here to open it in a new window.

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598
Mamma Mia! star Amanda Seyfried now calls Upstate New York home after spending years in Hollywood.

The Oscar-nominated actress told Forbes magazine in a new interview that she moved from Los Angeles to New York City years ago, but then found the home she was looking for at a farmhouse in the Catskills region. Now married with two children, she calls it the best decision and essential for my mental health.

I moved upstate long before I had a family. Staying here was the best decision for privacy, peace and nature. It offers a more balanced life than the city does, Seyfried, 38, said.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Seyfried is still happily acting. Her credits include Mean Girls, Les Miserables, Lovelace, Jennifers Body, Dear John, and the Hudson Valley-set Things Seen & Heard, plus upcoming roles in The Housemaid opposite Sydney Sweeney and a TV series, Long Bright River.

But when shes not acting, shes happily taking care of different animals including an Australian Shepherd dog named Finn. She calls the farm life exhilarating and now sees trips to NYC as fun getaways.

The next day Ill be home and even happier in my boots in the mud feeding the animals, she told Forbes.

MORE:

Amanda Seyfried visits Upstate NY bookstore to support author of mystery set in Adirondacks
After a memorable first weekend in Toronto, Taylor Swift will keep the excitement going with three more concerts at Rogers Centre from November 21 to 23, for a total of six nights.

During the first three performances of her second-to-last stop on the blockbuster Eras Tour, Swift attracted a crowd of nearly 49,000 fans each night, including celebrities like Mariska Hargitay and Zooey Deschanel.

Surprise songs included:

Night one : My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys/This Is Why We Cant Have Nice Things mashup and False God"/Tis the Damn Season mashup

Night two : I Dont Wanna Live Forever/Mine mashup and evermore/Peter mashup

Night three: Us/Out Of The Woods mashup with Gracie Abrams and Youre On Your Own Kid/long story short mashup

If you were among those who missed out on the fun, theres still an opportunity to secure your tickets before the Eras Tour wraps up on December 8.

Instead of combing through every resale site for every tour date trying to find the best seats for the best prices, weve done the hard work for you.

Where to find cheapest Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets

Throughout the Eras Tour, the cheapest last-minute tickets for Swifts concerts have been on secondary market platforms such as Vivid Seats, SeatGeek and StubHub, which offer verified tickets with buyer guarantees.

Heres a look at the best prices available for Toronto (before fees):

Thursday, November 21

Upper level: $1,126 on Vivid Seats | $1,141 on StubHub | $1,119 on SeatGeek

Lower level: $1,205 on Vivid Seats | $1,774 on StubHub | $1,221 on SeatGeek

Floor: $1,831 on Vivid Seats | $1,951 on StubHub | $2,077 on SeatGeek

Friday, November 22

Upper level: $1,201 on Vivid Seats | $1,238 on StubHub | $1,251 on SeatGeek

Lower level: $1,312 on Vivid Seats | $1,833 on StubHub | $2,003 on SeatGeek

Floor: $1,770 on Vivid Seats | $1,774 on StubHub | $1,836 on SeatGeek

Saturday, November 23

Upper level: $1,299 on Vivid Seats | $1,469 on StubHub | $1,301 on SeatGeek

Lower level: $1,513 on Vivid Seats | $1,919 on StubHub | $1,919 on SeatGeek

Floor: $1,882 on Vivid Seats | $1,981 on StubHub | $1,961 on SeatGeek

Prices and availability are noted at the time of publishing and are subject to change and additional fees.

Related: Taylor Swift Eras Tour 2024 final shows: How much are tickets?

What is Taylor Swifts setlist?

The 46-song setlist includes songs from Lover, Fearless, Red, Speak Now, Reputation, Folklore/Evermore, 1989, The Tortured Poets Department and Midnights, in that order.

A complete list of songs is available on setlist.fm.

Where else is Taylor Swift playing?

After Toronto, Swift will play three final shows in Vancouver, BC on December 6-8. The cheapest tickets for her final shows can be purchased through Vivid Seats, SeatGeek and StubHub.

Cant get enough live music? Swift isnt the only touring artist. Check out other favorites who know how to put on an unforgettable show, including Tate McRae, Billie Eilish, Oasis, Tyler Childers and Dua Lipa.
The number of people killed as a result of an enemy missile attack on a housing area in Sumy on the night of November 17 increased to twelve, Sumy Regional Military Administration has said on Monday.

"The number of people killed as a result of the missile strike against Sumy increased to twelve. All relevant services continue operations to clear the aftermath," the head of the administration, Volodymyr Artiukh, said.

As of 14:00, another victim was reported. Thus, the Russian occupation troops killed twelve people, including two children. Eighty-four residents of the damaged multi-apartment buildings, including twelve children, sustained injuries of varying severity. They are receiving medical care.

"One child has been transported to the capital. He needs a specialized surgery, and doctors are doing their best to save the life," the official said.

According to the regional administration, around ten brigades of volunteer and public organizations, as well as municipal services are engaged in the operations to clear the aftermath of the attack. A total of 2,200 windows in more than 1,000 apartments were damaged as a result of the attack.

As reported, the Russian occupation army struck a densely populated housing area and critical infrastructure of Sumy by a ballistic missile with cluster munitions on Sunday night. Earlier, eleven dead and 84 injured were reported.
New York  Steve Bannon s border wall fundraising trial was postponed to February as prosecutors disclosed Monday that the former Trump White House strategist himself once suggested the nonprofit venture was a scam.

Bannon  who recently finished serving federal prison time for a contempt of Congress conviction  had been due to go on trial next month on state charges related to the defunct We Build The Wall campaign. He has pleaded not guilty.

Launched in 2018, the fundraiser rapidly raised more than $20 million and privately built a few miles (kilometers) of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border. But it soon ran into trouble with the International Boundary and Water Commission, came under federal investigation and drew criticism from then-President Donald Trump, the Republican whose policy the charity was founded to support.

Early on in the campaign, Bannon pooh-poohed it, prosecutors said at a court hearing Monday.

Isnt this a scam? You cant build the wall for this much money, Bannon wrote in an email, according to prosecutor Jeffrey Levinson. He said Bannon went on to chastise the efforts organizers for soliciting peoples hard-earned money to pursue what he saw as an implausible plan.

Yet Bannon changed his mind and got involved with WeBuildTheWall Inc. because he saw an opportunity to advance and make money for his own, separate not-for-profit group, Levinson said.

Bannon, who had served as Trumps 2016 campaign CEO and White House adviser, chaired the wall charitys advisory board.

Bannon was not in court for Mondays hearing but listened in virtually. He did not speak except to say, yes, maam when asked whether he understood he must be in court when jury selection starts Feb. 25. Prosecutors asked Monday for an anonymous jury, but no decision has been made.

Bannon, who turns 71 next week, faces state charges including conspiracy and money laundering and has called them nonsense. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, brought the charges after Trump pardoned Bannon in a similar federal prosecution that was in its early stages.

Until Monday, jury selection was due to start Dec. 9.

The case revolves around money paid to Brian Kolfage, a disabled military veteran who launched the campaign. He promised the public that he would not take a penny of compensation from the money poured in from 325,000 donors.

But, as Kolfage eventually admitted in a federal case that sent him to prison, he pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars. About $140,000 of his secret salary was funneled through Bannons own organization, Citizens of the American Republic, or COAR, prosecutors say.

And COAR got and kept hundreds of thousands of dollars more from WeBuildTheWall during a period when Bannons group was haggling with credit card company American Express over paying down a $612,000 balance, Levinson told the judge Monday.

How much cash do we have??? We need more cash from the wall, he quoted Bannon as writing to one of his associates in February 2019.

Prosecutors dont claim Bannon stole the money from the wall charity or from his own. But they say the transactions help explain his motive to participate in the alleged scheme.

Helping to pay Kolfages salary ultimately helped the defendant personally, Levinson said.

Bannons lawyers say COAR was being paid for work performed.

He was entitled to the money. COAR was entitled to the money, and they were free to spend it on a credit card bill or to give some of it to Kolfage, defense lawyer John Carman said.

He argued that the credit card matter was irrelevant, saying prosecutors were just trying to make Bannon look shady to jurors.

Theyll think, What a big AmEx bill. I wonder whether those are legitimate COAR expenses? Carman said.

Not necessarily in this county, Manhattan Judge April Newbauer countered, but well see.

She ruled prosecutors can present the evidence at trial. Defense lawyers have said they now need a financial expert to address it.

With both sides' witness lists now potentially expanding for various reasons, Newbauer pushed the trial back to Feb. 25 but warned it would not be bumped again.

Bannon went to prison for snubbing a congressional subpoena in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack investigation. Bannon, who called himself a political prisoner, is appealing his conviction.
Robust Dairying for Future Challenges

The Teagasc National Dairy Conference will take place at Limerick Racecourse in Patrickwell, county Limerick on Wednesday, 27 November

Pictured at the launch of the Teagasc National Dairy Conference on 'Robust dairy farming for future challenges' which takes place on Wednesday 27th November in Limerick Racecourse, Patrickswell, Co. Limerick are Stuart Childs, Teagasc dairy specialist, John Macnamara, Chairman Grass10, Tim Doody, Teagasc advisor, Adrian Bourke, Teagasc advisor, dairy farmer Michael Carroll, Granagh, Co Limerick, Majella Moloney, Teagasc Regional Manager Kerry/Limerick, dairy farmers Denis and Robert O'Dea, Kilteely, Co Limerick. Picture: O'Gorman Photography.

The theme of the conference is Robust Dairying for Future Challenges and will aim to deliver solutions to the future challenges faced by Irish dairy farmers. Following difficult grazing seasons in the last few years, the conference will address the challenges at farm level in the early session Achieving Grazing Objectives in Real World Conditions.

Aine Murray of Teagasc Moorepark and Donal Patton of Teagasc Ballyhaise will discuss managing grazing in challenging conditions. Limerick dairy farmer Michael Carroll, joint winner of the Nutrient Management Category of the Sustainable Grassland Farmer of the Year 2023, will then explain how he manages his farm to achieve the grazing targets at the different stages of the year with a particular focus on challenging periods in the shoulders of the year such as those experienced in Autumn of 2023 and Spring of 2024.

The difficult grazing seasons have also coincided with reduction in nitrogen allowances on Irish dairy farms and the second session on Nutrient Use on Dairy Farms  improving margins at lower environmental impact will address this concern. Patrick Forrestal, Teagasc researcher in Johnstown Castle will examine the performance of protected urea.

Professor Pat Dillon, Director of Research at Teagasc, will outline the main actions that dairy farmers need to take to address Irish water quality. Finally, another award winning Limerick dairy farmer, John Macnamara, will outline how he is trying to farm to deliver better nitrogen use efficiency.

Workshops on a number of important topics will be the order of the day after lunch. People attending will choose 3 options from the following 6 topics.

Reducing TB risk in dairy herds Meeting herd feed requirements for winter and spring Lessons learned from the Clover150 Programme in 2024 Controlling Dairy Production Costs in 2025 Successful use of Sexed Semen in Irish Dairy Herds Managing calves for better health outcomes

Speaking at the launch of the conference, Stuart Childs, Teagasc Dairy Specialist said; It has been a challenging 12-18 month period on Irish dairy farms due to weather challenges, associated impacts on animal performance, and the subsequent financial challenges from low output and low milk price. Thankfully, the recent weather and upturn in prices has helped to improve overall sentiment on the ground. This conference is aimed at addressing issues that people encountered in the last 12-18 months, and are likely to encounter again in the future. We hope that farmers will take something from the day that will better equip them to deal with any of those challenges in the years ahead.

Also speaking at the launch, Teagasc Regional Advisory Manager in Kerry/Limerick, Majella Moloney said; We are delighted to welcome dairy farmers and industry personnel from all the country, and further afield, to Limerick for the Teagasc National Dairy Conference. The format of the day and the line-up of speakers will make for very interesting debate on the solutions to challenges facing the dairy industry over the next few years. We encourage early booking to make sure you get the workshops of most interest to you.
krrisdrive BHPian

Join Date: Apr 2024 Location: Mumbai Posts: 121 Thanked: 313 Times

Re: Toyota Innova Hycross Review Finding BluRay



The Why:

Trusty Figo neared 10 years in 2023. Though it is still fun to drive, aging is inevitable and growing kids means more space, eventually lead us to our hunt for our next car. As per the conventional graduation from hatchback, we started with sedans. Slavia was the front runner followed by Honda City. However, due to overwhelming brands and models in market, we passed a little and did a logical analysis of our need and possible candidates. The process of selection continued along with model reviews mostly based on internet.



The How:

We did the analysis on three part.

First, the need for up-gradation are clearly identified.

Second, the brands are analyzed and rated on a 5 point scale.

Third, the cars are analyzed and rated against our needs. Wherever possible, real-world numbers are used instead of rating scale.



A) We started with 'why', everyone in the family had a say and 'logically' concluded that a car is needed with what are we looking for in the new car.





B) All brands manufacturing at India are listed and we did a fare rating against the important elements in terms of owing a car. Of course, most of the rating are based on my T-BHP interactions. Toyota, Suzuki, Honda and Kia were the leaders as per our analysis





C) All possible cars are listed for the third analysis and the rating done against our need. Finally, the HyCross and Invicto emerged as the preferred ones. Mostly, the Seat/Boot flexibility and FE tilted the scale towards them.







The Which:

Once the model was finalized, we went through innumerable YT videos and finally landing on T-BHP. I literally read each posts in this thread while taking TDs multiple times to observe points remarked by T-BHPians. Finally, we zeroed on VX-8 seater, as we are not keen on sunroof and every other feature (excluding ADAS) can be added on later per our convenience.



The Whom:

For dealership, though we started with Wasan  Panvel, we also checked with Millinium Kalyan and Lakozy Thane with separate TDs, but ultimately settling on the home turf. What I observed is that all these dealers are neither ignoring you nor over committing, just that it felt like a B2B transaction.



The When:

Finally, we booked VX-8S in Blackish Ageha in 22 April, the day I got BHP membership approval, and joined the invisible waiting list. On paper, the committed delivery was March 25. But verbally committed within 6 month. Since already I knew the waiting list game, I reverted to them only in August and to my surprise they offered one within a couple of days. However, I was skeptical and let it pass.



Again it was offered in November and I went ahead for delivery.



Typically, the allocation process starts in 1st week of the month when dealers get allocation list from TKML for the month. Dealer then posted in WA group and I confirmed. Paid some amount and processed loan through them but in my preferred bank. VIN details were received by end October when vehicle started moving from TKML, Bangalore factory. Meanwhile, completed accessory list with my preference though there was some push back to get their standard accessory also. Once vehicle landed at Mumbai, planned for PDI. Utilized Zekardo for PDI.







After successful PDI, cleared loan disbursal. Insurance took long to negotiate. Dealership offered Toyota Protect through Chola MS and I pursued HDFC with features almost same. There was a lot of push back from their insurance team, however finally they offered with lower amount.







After almost 6-month wait, BluRay (nickname selected after a mini contest within the family) was delivered on 13th Nov. to our content, with 12 KM on the ODO.





Thanks to the 3489 posts in this thread, the car never felt alien. Each feature reminded a BHPian who either lauded or regretted it.

My initial observations:

1) Apple Car Play (wired) connected effortlessly and Music, Map and Calls are experienced to be top notch.

2) Even the connected car App Toyota iConnect, which was activated on Day 1 by the dealer, collecting and showing exact data.

3) I didnt felt lack of power while driving in city. Yet to drive on highway.

4) Horn also felt OK for me.

5) MID settings done and working precisely.

6) Toyota dashcam working good.

7) Even headlights are also throwing adequate illumination.





There are few additional accessories, like side step, GFX mat and ZX brown leather seat covers, I will be opting either during 1-month service or outside.

Thanks for this thread and its contributors, BluRay is home and will be there for a looooong time!







(Its funny that when we parked BluRay in front of Figo, this is how she looked !!)





The Whos:

My earlier skepticism on delivery process were cleared by T-BHPians, thanks to dezrskb, PrasadS, CEF_Beasts, in sharing their booking insights.

My SA Mr. Akshay tagged along with us on all our requests, scepticism and bridged us with their internal teams to make it happen.

Thanks to PrasadS for Zekardo PDI details



Parting with a pic of BluRay in the wild during its maiden run.

Trusty Figo neared 10 years in 2023. Though it is still fun to drive, aging is inevitable and growing kids means more space, eventually lead us to our hunt for our next car. As per the conventional graduation from hatchback, we started with sedans. Slavia was the front runner followed by Honda City. However, due to overwhelming brands and models in market, we passed a little and did a logical analysis of our need and possible candidates. The process of selection continued along with model reviews mostly based on internet.We did the analysis on three part.First, the need for up-gradation are clearly identified.Second, the brands are analyzed and rated on a 5 point scale.Third, the cars are analyzed and rated against our needs. Wherever possible, real-world numbers are used instead of rating scale.A) We started with 'why', everyone in the family had a say and 'logically' concluded that a car is needed with what are we looking for in the new car. B) All brands manufacturing at India are listed and we did a fare rating against the important elements in terms of owing a car. Of course, most of the rating are based on my T-BHP interactions. Toyota, Suzuki, Honda and Kia were the leaders as per our analysisC) All possible cars are listed for the third analysis and the rating done against our need. Finally, the HyCross and Invicto emerged as the preferred ones. Mostly, the Seat/Boot flexibility and FE tilted the scale towards them.Once the model was finalized, we went through innumerable YT videos and finally landing on T-BHP. I literally read each posts in this thread while taking TDs multiple times to observe points remarked by T-BHPians. Finally, we zeroed on VX-8 seater, as we are not keen on sunroof and every other feature (excluding ADAS) can be added on later per our convenience.For dealership, though we started with Wasan  Panvel, we also checked with Millinium Kalyan and Lakozy Thane with separate TDs, but ultimately settling on the home turf. What I observed is that all these dealers are neither ignoring you nor over committing, just that it felt like a B2B transaction.Finally, we booked VX-8S in Blackish Ageha in 22 April,, and joined the invisible waiting list. On paper, the committed delivery was March 25. But verbally committed within 6 month. Since already I knew the waiting list game, I reverted to them only in August and to my surprise they offered one within a couple of days. However, I was skeptical and let it pass.Again it was offered in November and I went ahead for delivery.Typically, the allocation process starts in 1st week of the month when dealers get allocation list from TKML for the month. Dealer then posted in WA group and I confirmed. Paid some amount and processed loan through them but in my preferred bank. VIN details were received by end October when vehicle started moving from TKML, Bangalore factory. Meanwhile, completed accessory list with my preference though there was some push back to get their standard accessory also. Once vehicle landed at Mumbai, planned for PDI. Utilized Zekardo for PDI.After successful PDI, cleared loan disbursal. Insurance took long to negotiate. Dealership offered Toyota Protect through Chola MS and I pursued HDFC with features almost same. There was a lot of push back from their insurance team, however finally they offered with lower amount.After almost 6-month wait, BluRay (nickname selected after a mini contest within the family) was delivered on 13th Nov. to our content, with 12 KM on the ODO.Thanks to the 3489 posts in this thread, the car never felt alien. Each feature reminded a BHPian who either lauded or regretted it.My initial observations:1) Apple Car Play (wired) connected effortlessly and Music, Map and Calls are experienced to be top notch.2) Even the connected car App Toyota iConnect, which was activated on Day 1 by the dealer, collecting and showing exact data.3) I didnt felt lack of power while driving in city. Yet to drive on highway.4) Horn also felt OK for me.5) MID settings done and working precisely.6) Toyota dashcam working good.7) Even headlights are also throwing adequate illumination.There are few additional accessories, like side step, GFX mat and ZX brown leather seat covers, I will be opting either during 1-month service or outside.(Its funny that when we parked BluRay in front of Figo, this is how she looked !!)My earlier skepticism on delivery process were cleared by T-BHPians, thanks to dezrskb, PrasadS, CEF_Beasts, in sharing their booking insights.My SA Mr. Akshay tagged along with us on all our requests, scepticism and bridged us with their internal teams to make it happen.Thanks to PrasadS for Zekardo PDI detailsParting with a pic of BluRay in the wild during its maiden run.
pyrodrive BHPian



Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: guwahati Posts: 218 Thanked: 1,390 Times

Re: Naxos, a different Greek island experience.

We started our drive to the base of the mountain while it was still dark, and did part of the 1 hr 20 min drive before dawn and we began the climb just before sunrise.



Drive up towards the mountains





A friendly warning at the beginning.. ignored of course!





At first the trail was easy and paved.





Then the climb starts.



After some time we reached the cave of Zeus. As the mythology goes, this is where the king of Gods, Zeus grew up. Hidden from the eyes of his father Cronos, who wanted him dead because he was destined to be overthrown by one of his sons.





The cave was quite deep, and mobile flashlights were grossly inadequate to illuminate even a part of it. I could smell the sickly sour smell of bat excreta and feel the damp floor, and decided not to explore the cave further, and continued the climb.

An hour later, the climb still continued over rocks and stinging nettles, but now the views were fantastic.









Edge of the seat. Literally!





Some more climbing.





Some goats hopping from rock to rock oblivious to the views.



Nearly there.







Top ! This was the peak where Zeus received his thunderbolt from a great eagle and it felt special to set foot on it ourselves, the wind also threatening to knock us down.





The descent was a bit tricky. The trail was marked by occasional blotches of red paint on rocks but while returning we couldn't find any! we roamed the slopes for another hour trying to find the trail, but having no success, tried to descend directly. But there was a wide belt of very thorny bushes blocking our way down and we couldn't find a way over or around it. Eventually we had to climb back up again and take a different but well marked trail down by the other side of the mountain. All good, but the problem was that our car was parked at the base of the trek on the other side of the mountain and we had descended on the opposite side . Tired and hungry we had to walk another 5 kms with the midday sun on our backs to find the car!



These bushes had very sharp thorns, no going down this way, so back up again.



The different route down. This trail was quite well marked and much easier than the one we used to come up, but was slightly longer and it misses the cave of Zas.





The 5 km extra walk back to the other side of the mountain where we parked the car, inspite of climbing the mountain for best part of 6 hrs, we somehow found the stamina to do most of it in a run/jog.



The rest of the evening was spent in Chora town, with a trekker's appetite for supper. The seafood in the port town is great and the place has a cool vibe to it and active till late night.





Port side road, full of cafes and shops.









Mind your head, or it might hit an octopus. Actually my wife just did !





A hub of activities, even at 11 pm.



It was midnight when we began the 45 min drive to the village. What a day!



Next morning after a home cooked breakfast we prepared to bid goodbye to this lovely island. It was overcast and we were already feeling nostalgic!



Something romantic about clothes drying in the sea breeze under overcast skies





We drove to the port, returned the car and took the ferry to Athens. But having already stayed in central Athens for 3 days, we opted to stay in the beach town of Salaminos for our final night in Greece. The next chapter will be in Istanbul.



Few more random pics from naxos..



Exploring some remote villages.



Along dusty roads.





Grapes drying in the hot mediterranean sun and turning to raisins in the vines.









Some more beaches along the rugged coast





Numerous alleyways in Chora town. Small shops with friendly residents.





It's a shoe shop, and guess that's the owner lounging among his wares.





Blending into the painting, at the back of a cafe, Chora.









Impressive portion sizes, If not for all the hiking and trekking, we would surely have gained a few kgs! On the third day here we planned to do a hike to mount Zas, the highest peak of all of the cyclades.We started our drive to the base of the mountain while it was still dark, and did part of the 1 hr 20 min drive before dawn and we began the climb just before sunrise.Drive up towards the mountainsA friendly warning at the beginning.. ignored of course!At first the trail was easy and paved.Then the climb starts.After some time we reached the cave of Zeus. As the mythology goes, this is where the king of Gods, Zeus grew up. Hidden from the eyes of his father Cronos, who wanted him dead because he was destined to be overthrown by one of his sons.The cave was quite deep, and mobile flashlights were grossly inadequate to illuminate even a part of it. I could smell the sickly sour smell of bat excreta and feel the damp floor, and decided not to explore the cave further, and continued the climb.An hour later, the climb still continued over rocks and stinging nettles, but now the views were fantastic.Edge of the seat. Literally!Some more climbing.Some goats hopping from rock to rock oblivious to the views.Nearly there.Top ! This was the peak where Zeus received his thunderbolt from a great eagle and it felt special to set foot on it ourselves, the wind also threatening to knock us down.The descent was a bit tricky. The trail was marked by occasional blotches of red paint on rocks but while returning we couldn't find any! we roamed the slopes for another hour trying to find the trail, but having no success, tried to descend directly. But there was a wide belt of very thorny bushes blocking our way down and we couldn't find a way over or around it. Eventually we had to climb back up again and take a different but well marked trail down by the other side of the mountain. All good, but the problem was that our car was parked at the base of the trek on the other side of the mountain and we had descended on the opposite side . Tired and hungry we had to walk another 5 kms with the midday sun on our backs to find the car!These bushes had very sharp thorns, no going down this way, so back up again.The different route down. This trail was quite well marked and much easier than the one we used to come up, but was slightly longer and it misses the cave of Zas.The 5 km extra walk back to the other side of the mountain where we parked the car, inspite of climbing the mountain for best part of 6 hrs, we somehow found the stamina to do most of it in a run/jog.The rest of the evening was spent in Chora town, with a trekker's appetite for supper. The seafood in the port town is great and the place has a cool vibe to it and active till late night.Port side road, full of cafes and shops.Mind your head, or it might hit an octopus. Actually my wife just did !A hub of activities, even at 11 pm.It was midnight when we began the 45 min drive to the village. What a day!Next morning after a home cooked breakfast we prepared to bid goodbye to this lovely island. It was overcast and we were already feeling nostalgic!Something romantic about clothes drying in the sea breeze under overcast skiesWe drove to the port, returned the car and took the ferry to Athens. But having already stayed in central Athens for 3 days, we opted to stay in the beach town of Salaminos for our final night in Greece. The next chapter will be in Istanbul.Few more random pics from naxos..Exploring some remote villages.Along dusty roads.Grapes drying in the hot mediterranean sun and turning to raisins in the vines.Some more beaches along the rugged coastNumerous alleyways in Chora town. Small shops with friendly residents.It's a shoe shop, and guess that's the owner lounging among his wares.Blending into the painting, at the back of a cafe, Chora.Impressive portion sizes, If not for all the hiking and trekking, we would surely have gained a few kgs! Last edited by pyrodrive : 17th November 2024 at 09:51 .
amitnair BHPian

Join Date: Nov 2020 Location: TRV/BLR Posts: 42 Thanked: 132 Times

Re: Our Gujarat roadtrip



After sumptuous breakfast, we left for Dwarka. The coastal route was good. Enroute we crossed Madhavpur beach, but didnt get down due to scorching sun. There were options for camel ride. Perhaps good place for evenings.



We didnt take any coffee/tea breaks. Made steady progress and soon reached outskirts of Dwarka. Had lunch at Honest Dwarka beside the highway. We had our reservations at Club Mahindra Dwarka. Reached there by 2pm. After taking some rest, drove to Beyt Dwarka. It took an hour to reach Sudarshan Setu. Roads from Dwarka to Beyt is bad. Along the route, noticed many abandoned boats that were probably used for ferrying people from Okha to Beyt until a year back. Once we crossed Sudarshan Setu, we were surprised to see mad rush (probably due to Diwali holidays + it was a Saturday). It was chaotic. Police had barricaded the entry and the only option was to head to nearby parking space. It was messy. It was 5.30pm when we reached there. Seeing the mad rush, we didnt want to get stuck there and miss darshan at Dwarkadish Temple. So instead of heading to Beyt parking, we managed to find a way out of there and headed back to Dwarka.



There was lot of rush at Dwarka (few kms from the temple) and police was not allowing entry to many roads. And google was rerouting us continuously. Luckily, we had spotted a big parking facility of Dwarkadish Temple while on our way to Beyt. So quickly searched for that in gmaps and went there. Parking there wasnt well managed. No fastag based entry, parking ticket was managed manually and hence there was delay and no lane discipline. We saw many cars returning from that point. We waited and eventually got the parking tickets. From the parking space, its a 20+ mins walk to temple or you can avail auto to cover that distance. Mobile, smart watch and car key fobs are again not allowed inside temple and are to be deposited at locker. This facility and chappal storage are just beside the temple. There was lot of rush for darshan. Ladies queue was less, so wifey took that lane. Myself and son were in the gents queue. People were randomly getting into the queue and there was constant push & pull. It took us some 1 hour to reach get darshan. And we were able to pray really well.







After darshan, did little bit of shopping in nearby store, had dinner and headed back to Club Mahindra.





Road conditions  Somnath to Dwarka had good roads (combination of 2 & 4 laned). Dwarka to Beyt road condition is bad.







Day 4  Dwarka to Dholavira; 430km



We started by 8am. Had breakfast enroute. We had to make a deviation to Jamnagar town to get my sons spectacle repaired. And hence the delayed start from Dwarka so that we reach Jamnagar by only 10am so that the optical shop opens. Got the spectacle repaired quickly and continued to Dholavira.



Enroute we passed through Reliance petroleum and Nayara petroleum facilities. The compound of Nayara is beside the highway and it was very vast.



Road condition was good and we were able to progress fast. The plan was to have lunch at Honest restaurant Avadh, instead opted for Dominos (in the same complex). From there, the route taken was via Rapar-Balasar-Dholavira. There was heavy cattle movement in this area. And we got stuck at multiple places .





After a while, we started seeing salt lake. Stopped intermittently for photo sessions.





We had booked our stay at Dholavira Village Resort. Bhunga huts. Reached there by 6.30pm.



The resort has about 12 to 13 Bhungas (few of them are air conditioned). Its neat, well managed, very good staff and yummy food. Its owned/managed by a person who happens to be principal of local school. I had initially booked via Agoda. Agoda started sending spam email requests for transferring money to resort account. I called the resort to check and they confirmed not having received the booking intimation from Agoda and the account details werent theirs. I cancelled that booking and booked via booking.com only to find out later from the resort that the rates at booking.com were inflated. So cancelled that as well and booked directly with the resort (inclusive of breakfast and dinner). Pls ensure that you make accommodation booking with food included as there are just one or two restaurants at Dholavira.



We had taken airconditioned Bhunga and it was neat and spacious to put an extra bed. There is power fluctuation in Dholavira and hence a/c might not be very effective during the late evenings and but it stabilizes post 11pm. The food was great as well.





Please note that only Vodafone and Jio works here. We had Airtel SIMs in our phones. Airtel signal was intermittently available in some parts of Road to Haeven. But signal strength was low.



Also please tank up your vehicle either at Rapar or Balasar. Next pump is only at Khavda. Even at Khavda, there is just one IOC pump that ran dry when we went. But they had stock ready the next day.







Day 5  Road to Haeven, Kalo Dungar, White desert; 250km



Woke up bit early. Sun was just rising.









Ready to explore the day





Road to Heaven was constructed prior to G20 Summit last year. This road connects Dholavira to Khavda. A good portion of the salt lake closer to Dholavira is dry when we visited. And its all white till the horizon and it was very beautiful. Only few areas are open where you can get down to the lake. We played frizbee there for sometime, it was too windy. Took many photos and videos to hearts content.

















We then proceeded to Kalo Dungar. Enroute we stopped at Magnetic hill point where we tried the anti-gravity phenomenon. Our car rolled back uphill in neutral . That was a wonderful experience.



We then wanted to see the famous white desert(Rann). Was curious to know how thats different or special from the white lake that we saw at Road to Haeven. On the way, we stopped for lunch at Greens restaurant. Food was okay, but restroom was a disaster. Not at all recommended. There werent any other food joints in that stretch that we could find from gmap.



After Greens, google routed us via Khavda-Dhordo road which was in very bad shape and was narrow. The road has huge humps and craters. There were very few cars/SUVs in that road. But lot of heavy vehicles were taking this route. While returning, we took another road that connected us to state highway at Bhirandiara.



We had taken online permit for Rann, and that helped to avoid the queue at the checkpost. After BSF check, its 5 minutes drive to white dessert.





The lake was brown in colour, which meant that its still not dry. It turns white once its completely dry. There are options to take ride on camel cart or camel ride. We took a camel ride. I was at the back seat and it was scary when camel got up and later when it knelt down. If you dont hold properly, you could easily fall off to the front.



We saw the preparations were going on for Rann Utsav that starts on Nov 11.



We returned to Dholavira. The road from Khavda to Dholavira is good, but very narrow, not wide enough for two vehicles to pass. So all vehicles have to slow down, move the left tyres outside the tarred surface. And need to be careful as the road edges are sharp and the mud surface is very bumpy. Same challenge if you are stuck behind a slow moving vehicle and difficult to overtake. Hence the travel time was much more than one would anticipate.



While returning to Dholavira, I wanted to refuel. As I mentioned earlier, the only fuel station in Kutch area is the Khavda IOC. That evening, the pump ran out of petrol. But we had just about sufficient fuel to take us to Dholavira and also for the next days travel within Dholavira and back to Khavda. We refuelled next day and the low fuel warning had turned ON by then.





Day 6  Dholavira (Harappa Civilization UNESCO World Heritage Centre & Wood Fossil Park), Nirona, Bhuj; 200km



We checked out from our accommodation at Dholavira. Todays plan was to visit Harappa Civilization UNESCO World Heritage Centre & Wood Fossil Park in Dholavira and then to Nirona (famous for Rogan painting) and night halt at Bhuj.



Harappa centre was very close to the resort, while Wood Fossil park was ~10km away. So we first went to the fossil park. Enroute we crossed Harappa centre.



After we crossed Harappa centre, there was zero traffic and nobody/locals to be seen. We started to wonder if its an isolated place and if its worth going to Fossil Park. At one point, there was direction board which said right for Fossil Park and straight for sunset point.





We took the right. It was kacha rasta from there on. We crossed the entry arch. The gate was ajar, no staff/security. Road condition deteriorated further. We kept going slowly to ensure no underbody hits. After ~250m+, we started climbing uphill and from the top of that we saw an amazing view of the Kutch salt lake. It was vast and the view from the top of the hill was breathtaking. We were glad that we didnt return half way through. That road leads to the parking space.







Wood fossil park is at one edge of Dholavira at the shore of Kutch lake. There were many migratory birds. There were hardly 2-3 families there, and one local guy who noted down visitor details. Otherwise there werent any officials nor security staff. Lot of wood fossil formations can be seen. We strolled a bit in the banks of the lake. We spent about an hour there and came to Harappa centre.



Wood fossil park

















serious discussion going on









Entry to park

















At Harappa, please ensure that you take a guide (who are available at the entrance) who can explain the details. They charge INR500. We really liked the Harappan site, the meticulous planning that the then generation did and the infrastructure that was developed & managed. They had an efficient water retention system and water drainage system to avert floods. New age hi-tech cities are struggling to control floods.



Harappa site





One of the many water storage areas







to be continued... Day3  Somnath to Dwarka (including Beyt Dwarka); 310kmAfter sumptuous breakfast, we left for Dwarka. The coastal route was good. Enroute we crossed Madhavpur beach, but didnt get down due to scorching sun. There were options for camel ride. Perhaps good place for evenings.We didnt take any coffee/tea breaks. Made steady progress and soon reached outskirts of Dwarka. Had lunch at Honest Dwarka beside the highway. We had our reservations at Club Mahindra Dwarka. Reached there by 2pm. After taking some rest, drove to Beyt Dwarka. It took an hour to reach Sudarshan Setu. Roads from Dwarka to Beyt is bad. Along the route, noticed many abandoned boats that were probably used for ferrying people from Okha to Beyt until a year back. Once we crossed Sudarshan Setu, we were surprised to see mad rush (probably due to Diwali holidays + it was a Saturday). It was chaotic. Police had barricaded the entry and the only option was to head to nearby parking space. It was messy. It was 5.30pm when we reached there. Seeing the mad rush, we didnt want to get stuck there and miss darshan at Dwarkadish Temple. So instead of heading to Beyt parking, we managed to find a way out of there and headed back to Dwarka.There was lot of rush at Dwarka (few kms from the temple) and police was not allowing entry to many roads. And google was rerouting us continuously. Luckily, we had spotted a big parking facility of Dwarkadish Temple while on our way to Beyt. So quickly searched for that in gmaps and went there. Parking there wasnt well managed. No fastag based entry, parking ticket was managed manually and hence there was delay and no lane discipline. We saw many cars returning from that point. We waited and eventually got the parking tickets. From the parking space, its a 20+ mins walk to temple or you can avail auto to cover that distance. Mobile, smart watch and car key fobs are again not allowed inside temple and are to be deposited at locker. This facility and chappal storage are just beside the temple. There was lot of rush for darshan. Ladies queue was less, so wifey took that lane. Myself and son were in the gents queue. People were randomly getting into the queue and there was constant push & pull. It took us some 1 hour to reach get darshan. And we were able to pray really well.After darshan, did little bit of shopping in nearby store, had dinner and headed back to Club Mahindra. Somnath to Dwarka had good roads (combination of 2 & 4 laned). Dwarka to Beyt road condition is bad.Day 4  Dwarka to Dholavira; 430kmWe started by 8am. Had breakfast enroute. We had to make a deviation to Jamnagar town to get my sons spectacle repaired. And hence the delayed start from Dwarka so that we reach Jamnagar by only 10am so that the optical shop opens. Got the spectacle repaired quickly and continued to Dholavira.Enroute we passed through Reliance petroleum and Nayara petroleum facilities. The compound of Nayara is beside the highway and it was very vast.Road condition was good and we were able to progress fast. The plan was to have lunch at Honest restaurant Avadh, instead opted for Dominos (in the same complex). From there, the route taken was via Rapar-Balasar-Dholavira. There was heavy cattle movement in this area. And we got stuck at multiple places .After a while, we started seeing salt lake. Stopped intermittently for photo sessions.We had booked our stay at Dholavira Village Resort. Bhunga huts. Reached there by 6.30pm.The resort has about 12 to 13 Bhungas (few of them are air conditioned). Its neat, well managed, very good staff and yummy food. Its owned/managed by a person who happens to be principal of local school. I had initially booked via Agoda. Agoda started sending spam email requests for transferring money to resort account. I called the resort to check and they confirmed not having received the booking intimation from Agoda and the account details werent theirs. I cancelled that booking and booked via booking.com only to find out later from the resort that the rates at booking.com were inflated. So cancelled that as well and booked directly with the resort (inclusive of breakfast and dinner). Pls ensure that you make accommodation booking with food included as there are just one or two restaurants at Dholavira.We had taken airconditioned Bhunga and it was neat and spacious to put an extra bed. There is power fluctuation in Dholavira and hence a/c might not be very effective during the late evenings and but it stabilizes post 11pm. The food was great as well.Please note that only Vodafone and Jio works here. We had Airtel SIMs in our phones. Airtel signal was intermittently available in some parts of Road to Haeven. But signal strength was low.Also please tank up your vehicle either at Rapar or Balasar. Next pump is only at Khavda. Even at Khavda, there is just one IOC pump that ran dry when we went. But they had stock ready the next day.Day 5  Road to Haeven, Kalo Dungar, White desert; 250kmWoke up bit early. Sun was just rising.Ready to explore the dayRoad to Heaven was constructed prior to G20 Summit last year. This road connects Dholavira to Khavda. A good portion of the salt lake closer to Dholavira is dry when we visited. And its all white till the horizon and it was very beautiful. Only few areas are open where you can get down to the lake. We played frizbee there for sometime, it was too windy. Took many photos and videos to hearts content.We then proceeded to Kalo Dungar. Enroute we stopped at Magnetic hill point where we tried the anti-gravity phenomenon. Our car rolled back uphill in neutral . That was a wonderful experience.We then wanted to see the famous white desert(Rann). Was curious to know how thats different or special from the white lake that we saw at Road to Haeven. On the way, we stopped for lunch at Greens restaurant. Food was okay, but restroom was a disaster. Not at all recommended. There werent any other food joints in that stretch that we could find from gmap.After Greens, google routed us via Khavda-Dhordo road which was in very bad shape and was narrow. The road has huge humps and craters. There were very few cars/SUVs in that road. But lot of heavy vehicles were taking this route. While returning, we took another road that connected us to state highway at Bhirandiara.We had taken online permit for Rann, and that helped to avoid the queue at the checkpost. After BSF check, its 5 minutes drive to white dessert.The lake was brown in colour, which meant that its still not dry. It turns white once its completely dry. There are options to take ride on camel cart or camel ride. We took a camel ride. I was at the back seat and it was scary when camel got up and later when it knelt down. If you dont hold properly, you could easily fall off to the front.We saw the preparations were going on for Rann Utsav that starts on Nov 11.We returned to Dholavira. The road from Khavda to Dholavira is good, but very narrow, not wide enough for two vehicles to pass. So all vehicles have to slow down, move the left tyres outside the tarred surface. And need to be careful as the road edges are sharp and the mud surface is very bumpy. Same challenge if you are stuck behind a slow moving vehicle and difficult to overtake. Hence the travel time was much more than one would anticipate.While returning to Dholavira, I wanted to refuel. As I mentioned earlier, the only fuel station in Kutch area is the Khavda IOC. That evening, the pump ran out of petrol. But we had just about sufficient fuel to take us to Dholavira and also for the next days travel within Dholavira and back to Khavda. We refuelled next day and the low fuel warning had turned ON by then.Day 6  Dholavira (Harappa Civilization UNESCO World Heritage Centre & Wood Fossil Park), Nirona, Bhuj; 200kmWe checked out from our accommodation at Dholavira. Todays plan was to visit Harappa Civilization UNESCO World Heritage Centre & Wood Fossil Park in Dholavira and then to Nirona (famous for Rogan painting) and night halt at Bhuj.Harappa centre was very close to the resort, while Wood Fossil park was ~10km away. So we first went to the fossil park. Enroute we crossed Harappa centre.After we crossed Harappa centre, there was zero traffic and nobody/locals to be seen. We started to wonder if its an isolated place and if its worth going to Fossil Park. At one point, there was direction board which said right for Fossil Park and straight for sunset point.We took the right. It was kacha rasta from there on. We crossed the entry arch. The gate was ajar, no staff/security. Road condition deteriorated further. We kept going slowly to ensure no underbody hits. After ~250m+, we started climbing uphill and from the top of that we saw an amazing view of the Kutch salt lake. It was vast and the view from the top of the hill was breathtaking. We were glad that we didnt return half way through. That road leads to the parking space.Wood fossil park is at one edge of Dholavira at the shore of Kutch lake. There were many migratory birds. There were hardly 2-3 families there, and one local guy who noted down visitor details. Otherwise there werent any officials nor security staff. Lot of wood fossil formations can be seen. We strolled a bit in the banks of the lake. We spent about an hour there and came to Harappa centre.Wood fossil parkserious discussion going onEntry to parkAt Harappa, please ensure that you take a guide (who are available at the entrance) who can explain the details. They charge INR500. We really liked the Harappan site, the meticulous planning that the then generation did and the infrastructure that was developed & managed. They had an efficient water retention system and water drainage system to avert floods. New age hi-tech cities are struggling to control floods.Harappa siteOne of the many water storage areasto be continued... Last edited by amitnair : 17th November 2024 at 15:49 .
In brief: Nvidia's skyrocketing success over the last few years has been down to the company's hardware dominating the lucrative AI market. With its next-gen Blackwell AI chips, however, Team Green is experiencing some rare slip-ups. Having already been delayed, new reports say the GPUs are experiencing overheating issues when installed in high-capacity server racks.

Claims that Blackwell GPUs designed for AI tasks and HPC are overheating come from sources who spoke to The Information.

The problem occurs when the chips are integrated into Nvidia's customized server racks that house 72 processors, which consume up to 120kW per rack. Nvidia has reportedly told suppliers to redesign the racks on several occasions to try to address the problem by improving the cooling. Unfortunately, this is further delaying Blackwell's launch.

Overheating can not only severely impact the performance of the chips, but also has the potential to damage the very expensive hardware.

Nvidia is playing down the report. Speaking to Reuters, a spokesperson said the company is working with leading cloud providers and that engineering redesigns are normal and to be expected.

It was reported in August that the Blackwell AI chips were facing significant delays due to design flaws discovered late in manufacturing. Manufacturer TSMC identified an issue in the processor die connecting two Blackwell GPUs on the GB100 and GB200 chips that caused warping and system failures. These chips employ TSMC's CoWoS-L packaging, which utilizes an RDL interposer with local silicon interconnect bridges to achieve data transfer rates of about 10 TB/s. The problem arose from a mismatch in thermal expansion properties between various components, causing system warping and failure.

Nvidia had to alter the chips' top metal layers and bump structures to fix the previous Blackwell problem, delaying the chips' mass production date to the end of October and shipping time to late January  they were originally slated to ship in the second quarter of 2024.

We still don't know if the latest problem with Blackwell will cause any further shipment delays. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has described demand for Blackwell as being "insane," so another setback would come as a huge blow to customers such as Microsoft, Google, and Meta.
Nauseda after conversation with Trump: Lithuania to continue to work with USA to contain Russia

Following a phone conversation with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda assured that Lithuania will continue to cooperate with the U.S. "to contain Russia and solve problems created by China."

"Spoke on the phone with Donald Trump. Emphasized that strategic partnership with the U.S. is Lithuania's top priority. The United States' presence is vital for security in the transatlantic area.," Nauseda said on the X social network on Monday.

"Lithuania will continue working with the U.S. to contain Russia and address the challenges posed by China," Nauseda said.
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years.TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust

What just happened? LG has officially unveiled the 480Hz OLED monitor it teased back at CES. The $999 LG UltraGear GX7 model packs a QHD (2,560 x 1,440) WOLED display, DisplayPort 2.1 connectivity, and several other features that should please gamers who want the best of both worlds: the picture quality of OLED and the blistering speeds of a 480Hz refresh rate.

The 27-inch 27GX790A was one of several LG monitors on show at CES in January. LG has now made the official unveil, revealing more specs, the price, and a release window as the monitor goes up for pre-order.

LG says the 480Hz refresh rate makes this the fastest QHD OLED monitor available. We reviewed the 32-inch LG 32GS95UE in April, a 4K WOLED monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate and a 480Hz Mode, though the latter operates at 1080p.

Some of the 27GX790A's other specs include a 0.03ms GTG response time, 98.5% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut, a 1.5 million:1 contrast ratio, and both VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification and the highest VESA ClearMR tier. There's also support for Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro.

The monitor uses LG Display's META technology that the company says increases brightness and offers improved viewing angles while emitting the lowest level of blue light in the industry. Lower blue light reduces eye fatigue and eliminates flickers, enabling gamers to enjoy long, stress-free gaming sessions.

Connectivity-wise, there's the aforementioned DisplayPort 2.1 alongside HDMI 2.1, USB3.0 (1 up, 2 down), and a 4-pole headphone jack that supports DTS Headphone:X.

Another feature that LG seems proud of is the monitor's Anti-Glare & Low Reflection (AGLR) Coating, which the company claims provides a more comfortable gaming experience in brighter rooms, enabling gamers to see what's happening on screen without difficulty.

The 27GX790A's is now available to pre-order from LG's website. It's priced at $999 and is due to start shipping from December 30.

For comparison, the MSI MPG 271QRX, a 27-inch QD-OLED monitor with a 360Hz refresh rate and a 1440p display, has an MSRP of $800. The LG 32GS95UE, meanwhile, is around $1,099. If you want something even faster (and smaller), the 24-inch BenQ Zowie XL2586X, which can reach 540Hz on its 1080p TN LCD panel, is $1,000.
In a nutshell: Everyone is complaining about how Microsoft does business in the cloud, and the Federal Trade Commission has finally decided to step in. While the Commission has not formally opened an investigation, hopes are that the exchange of power between the outgoing and incoming presidential administrations won't hinder efforts.

The FTC is considering opening a new investigation into Microsoft, a company accused time and time again of employing anticompetitive practices to hinder competitors in the lucrative cloud business. Unnamed sources spilled the beans to the Financial Times, stating that the federal agency asked industry players for relevant feedback before deciding to start a formal probe.

Redmond competitors told the FTC that Microsoft is forcing customers to use its Azure platform by using unlawful practices to block third-party cloud services. Microsoft is allegedly making Office 365 products incompatible with other cloud platforms and requiring costly exit fees for customers considering leaving Azure.

The FTC investigation would also look into alleged minimum spending contracts that Microsoft offers to companies at significant discounts if they agree to a certain spending level. The US agency listened to feedback from public cloud providers, and competitors highlighted that some software licensing practices were forcing customers to stay on Azure in perpetuity.

This investigation will be the last major initiative by FTC Chair Lina Khan, who has served as the youngest chair (35) since President Joe Biden appointed her in 2021. Khan was particularly active against Big Tech's anticompetitive behavior, stating that her agency was going after the "mob bosses" in the technology business rather than the "henchman" at the bottom.

When President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20, 2025, Khan's tenure at the FTC will likely end. Fortunately, the fight against technology giants is one of the few political issues that attracts bipartisan support in Washington. So, a new FTC boss could continue Khan's investigation against Microsoft and other technology monopolists in the future.

Redmond is one of the "Big Three" ventures in the cloud business, fighting for market share with Amazon and Google. In 2023, Google alleged that Microsoft abused its dominant position to gain an anti-competitive advantage in the European cloud sector. Microsoft reacted by accusing Google of funding "shadow campaigns" by hostile lobbying organizations to undermine its position with EU regulatory authorities.
A hot potato: Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy is once again facing criticism for talking about the benefits of working every hour that you're awake. The Indian entrepreneur, who previously called for young people to work 70-hour weeks, has doubled down on this comment by stating he does not "believe in work-life balance."

In October 2023, Murthy suggested that young people work twelve-hour days for the "next 20 years, 50 years, whatever it is," out of a sense of duty to the nation and to support future generations. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi can work 100 hours per week, as do his cabinet ministers; therefore, citizens should show their appreciation by doing the same.

Murthy's appeal comes despite the fact that working 70-hour weeks violates Indian labor laws and is considered illegal in the country.

Murthy doubled down on his views in January. At the recent CNBC Global Leadership Summit, he was asked if he still stood by his 70-hour-week proposal. "Absolutely," he said. "I don't believe in work-life balance [] I have not changed my view; I will take this with me to my grave," he told CNBC-TV18.

"I don't believe in work-life balance," declares Infosys' Narayana Murthy as he defends his infamous '70-hour work-week' comment while talking to Shereen Bhan at CNBC TV18's Global Leadership Summit#CNBCTV18GLS #CNBCTV18at25 #cnbctv18digital @ShereenBhan pic.twitter.com/Hcrej8DUkw  CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) November 14, 2024

Murthy seems to have an equal amount of hatred for taking weekends off as he does for spending a day not working until you pass out. He expressed his lament when companies moved from a six-day work week to a five-day work week in 1986.

"I was not very happy with that. I think in this country, we have to work very hard because there is no substitute for hard work even if you're the most intelligent guy," he said.

Murthy, who is the father-in-law of former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, highlighted post-WW2 Japan and Germany as shining examples of hard work and high productivity. "We owe it to the poor people to work hard and make the quality of their life a little bit better," he said.

Murthy said that he used to go into the office at 6.20 a.m. every day and go home at 8.30 p.m.  14 hours each day  for six and a half days a week until he retired.

When asked if he regretted not spending more time with his children instead of working, he said quality was more important than quantity, and that the hour and a half to two hours he spent with the children at dinner when he returned home were "lots of fun."

There have been plenty of studies that show working excessive amounts of hours can harm productivity rather than increase it. In Japan, there have been cases of people dying from overwork, leading the country to introduce measures to prevent this practice.

In August, Infosys made headlines for allegedly stringing along thousands of recent engineering graduates for years after extending job offers and making them go through weeks of unpaid training. The company was also criticized for forcing employees back to the office in April.
The many plans by Donald J. Trump to restructure the United States government marked its beginning today when he named the new official to lead the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr. There has been a massive focus on replacing current agency heads and purge of any traces of the Biden administration according to reported plans, but this marked the first significant move under the election comeback winner.

Carr is known for being affiliated with Elon Musk and received support from the tech CEO in his significant government campaigns, and this includes "freedom" for Americans in access to the multimedia industry.

Trump Names Brendan Carr as the New FCC Chair

President-elect Donald J. Trump's latest purge of government officials has already begun, and the latest to see an appointment is Brendan Carr, a Republican FCC Commissioner who will now lead the agency next year. The official statement was shared by Carr via X, and he welcomed the position appointed to him by the soon-to-be POTUS, to serve the nation.

Trump revealed in his statement that he previously nominated Carr to the FCC as a Commissioner back in 2017, and the renowned official was confirmed unanimously by the US Senate for his FCC position thrice.

Under this latest appointment, Carr is now given the chance to lead the FCC as its chairperson who will champion "Americans' Freedom, according to Trump, and will also make significant changes to the agency.

Carr: American Freedom, End Regulatory Issues

Trump revealed that one of the biggest focuses of Carr in his career in the FCC is "Free Speech," but apart from that he will be the key to "end the regulatory onslaught" that has prevented the country's "job creators and innovators."

It was also revealed by Carr via a post that in his role, he will fight against the "censorship cartel" which he previously used before to refer to Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook (Meta), and more. Carr then reaffirmed that under his rule, he would focus on restoring free speech.

The FCC's Recent Efforts Under Biden

Trump is known for being the one to end net neutrality in the country back in 2018 when he first appointed Ajit Pai as the new chair, best known for making it his top priority to kill this ruling. However, under President Biden's administration, the FCC worked to restore net neutrality earlier this year when it saw a split vote among commissioners, headed by Anna M. Gomez.

Moreover, it was also during this term that AI robocalls were officially declared illegal in the United States, making it a punishable offense should operators of said fake calls be caught using the technology to scam people. This was amidst the aftermath of the AI-generated robocalls emulating POTUS Biden's voice which advised the public to refrain from voting in New Hampshire.

The latest under the FCC was to require all smartphones to offer hearing aid compatibility which will allow those that need it to easily connect their devices to all kinds or brands of cellular devices. Now, Trump has made another ramping decision that will reshape the FCC, with Brendan Carr now tasked to lead the Commission under the new term and is already focusing on massive changes coming.
The US Secret Service has introduced an unlikely, high-tech addition to its security: a robotic dog named Spot, built by Boston Dynamics.

Just recently, it was photographed patrolling the boundary of President-elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Spot is quickly becoming the most fascinating recent addition to modern security operations, but just a word of caution: don't just pet it like your neighbor's dog.

Spot: The New Aide in Security Enhancement

The robotic dog is one of several advanced technological advancements that are being introduced in an effort to enhance security. Unlike most general security systems, Spot has capabilities that enable it to operate as an extremely efficient monitoring tool for vast areas, BBC reports.

It is equipped with advanced sensors and surveillance technology, which makes it a perfect addition to the operations of the Secret Service. Spot can easily move through tight spaces, climb stairs, and even open doors when operating remotely controlled or following a pre-programmed route.

Though Spot does not arm itself, it has programming that identifies possible threats, therefore making the overall security of the premises better.

"Safeguarding the president-elect is a top priority," Anthony Guglielmi, US Secret Service chief of communications, told BBC.

Secret Service to Utilize Robot Dogs For Protection

Considering heightened threats of security breaches, the Secret Service now includes robotic dogs. The situation has worsened since there have been attempts that appear to be assassinations targeted at Donald Trump, one during a rally in Pennsylvania and another at Mar-a-Lago in 2022.

Ron Williams, a former Secret Service agent, termed it that the Secret Service is now preferring more whiz tools that will detect and deter threats much more efficiently.

According to Williams, the dogs can cover so much ground more than a human patrol in big and open areas. For instance, Spot can do better when it comes to security.

Do Not Pet Robotic Dogs on the Prowl

It's not only the US Secret Service that is investing in robotic dogs. These versatile robots have been deployed by police departments and armies all over the world.

For instance, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania's bomb squad uses Spot to survey suspected explosives, while the New York Police Department bought robotic dogs after heated debates regarding surveillance overreach and privacy violations.

In Ukraine, Spot has been applied in reconnaissance in the country's ongoing battle with Russia. Still, do not pet them since they can carry dangerous weapons.

The Technology Behind Spot

The advanced design of the robot enables Spot to have amazing capabilities.

According to engineering experts, engineering ability permits a remote joystick control or the robot can automatically walk through its predefined routes. Its agility and withstanding endurance make Spot carry out tasks that are impossible or too dangerous for humans to do.

Engineering professor Missy Cummings at George Mason University points out, as an example, that Spot's sensors and cameras can be disabled by something as simple as Aqua Net hairspray.

Although Spot turns out to be a good asset as a tool for monitoring and security, for example, as experts Melissa Michelson say, these robots will never completely replace human agents.

Michelson said that these robot dogs remain dependent on human control even though they are capable of doing things beyond what we can do.

The US Secret Service has deployed Spot in a new move from which security matters in high-risk areas will never be the same again. Whereas robotic dogs like Spot can match any surveillance capacity, they are by no means a substitute for human security agents.

Still, they complement human endeavors fully so that security operations become more efficient and reach further.
In a big business move, it is said that Tata Electronics has bought a majority stake in iPhone manufacturing by Taiwanese manufacturer Pegatron in India.

This establishes the Indian-based company at an all-time significant mark as the company continues to increase its share in iPhone manufacturing. A closer look at this strategic move and what it means for both Apple and India's manufacturing map is shown below.

Tata Expands Footprint in iPhone Manufacturing

According to Gadgets 360, Tata Electronics will own 60% of the joint venture, which will assume the day-to-day management of Pegatron's iPhone plant located in Chennai, India.

Pegatron, an important supplier for Apple, retains the remaining 40% and continues its technical support. The acquisition is a part of Tata's larger plan to strengthen its iPhone production capabilities in the country.

This occurs at a time when multinational companies, including Apple, have decided to relocate diversified manufacturing from China due to increasing geopolitical tensions and its accompanying uncertainty in trade.

Tata is now positioning itself as a leading player in the global supply chain for companies like Apple by acquiring control of Pegatron's plant, which happens to be one of India's biggest iPhone contract manufacturers.

Change in Pegatron Strategy

Pegatron's decision to gradually cease operations and sell its sole iPhone manufacturing facility in India is at the tail-end of several strategic realignments aimed at reducing dependence on Apple.

The Taiwanese company has had immense pressure, largely due to advocates of diversification, who have long recommended moving beyond China as part of the supply chain, which also relates to Pegatron's current push.

Apple has been manufacturing iPhones through Pegatron, Foxconn, and Wistron for quite some time.

But now, with the growing tension between the US and China, Apple is aggressively looking for alternative options where it can diversify its business to reduce its dependency on Chinese manufacturing.

The acquisition of Pegatron's plant will form an integral part of Apple's long-term strategy for increasing the supply chain in India.

India is Expected to Be a Big Apple Market

One of the critical steps for Tata in its expansionist march through the iPhone manufacturing business is buying the Pegatron plant. It already has an iPhone assembly unit in Karnataka, which it bought from Wistron back in 2022.

Besides this, the Tata group is also building another iPhone unit in Hosur in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Pegatron, now owned by Tata, makes its total number of iPhone production plants in India three, thus becoming a tough competitor to the Foxconn company.

Pegatron employs 10,000 workers at its Chennai facility and produces 5 million iPhones a year. This will be the third large hub for iPhone production in India, as Tata increases its stake in the global supply chain of iPhones.

As per Reuters, analysts say India is likely to account for 20-25% of iPhone shipments in 2024, up significantly from 12-14% last year. This will also coincide with the interest of Apple in having more products outside China.

Effects on India's Tech Industry and Workforce

The takeover of Pegatron by Tata will make Tata strong in the supply chain worldwide and will bring dynamism to the overall tech manufacturing system in India.

iPhone production lines are to expand in India and more jobs are expected to be born, mainly in the southern states where Tata operates its plants. Inevitably, with demand for skilled labor in manufacturing continuing to grow fast in the tech sector, the deal might just become the golden opportunity needed to make India thrive as a global manufacturing hub.

In a nutshell, the Tata Electronics deal to take a majority stake in Pegatron's iPhone plant is an important development for Apple's global supply chain. The more India features in the making of tech stuff, Tata is even better positioned to assume a much more significant role in Apple operations at the same time contributing to a broader expansion of the Indian tech industry.
A German court ruled in a landmark judgment that Facebook users whose personal data was accessed lawfully between 2018 and 2019 are entitled to compensation, irrespective of whether they can prove financial loss.

Meta Fails to Defend Data Leak Case Versus German Court

The German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ruled on Monday, Nov. 18 that private people who lose control over their data through unauthorized access are authorized to claim damages.

As a result, this judgment will allow thousands of German Facebook users to claim damages from the platform for having failed to protect their data after a massive breach of the social network's security, Bloomberg reports.

Previous Facebook Data Breach Was Massive

The second data breach that occurred between 2018 and 2019 was through third parties guessing phone numbers to access Facebook users' accounts.

Facebook friend search, which enabled users to discover and connect with people with matching phone numbers, was reportedly associated with the breach. Thus, unauthorized access opened up much sensitive personal information and raised alarms on the platform's security measures.

Approximately six million Facebook users in Germany were impacted by the breach, which was followed by widespread outcry about privacy and the company's failure to protect user data.

As a consequence, various claimants filed lawsuits requesting compensation against Meta, Facebook's parent company, according to Reuters.

The Court Ruling on Compensation

Historically, the lower court had rejected such claims for damages, and the BGH's recent judgment was needed to re-orient this previous practice of dismissal, indicating that specific financial damage does not have to be proven in order to be compensated by a user.

Just losing one's control over personal data is enough, so the breach of the principle of privacy may easily lead to grave repercussions for the users.

In the case of a claimant who filed an action for 1,000 euros ($1,056) damages, the Supreme Court remarked that an amount of compensation of at least 100 euros would be sufficient since there was no concrete financial loss proved.

Meta was scathing in its criticism of the court rulings. A spokesperson noted that the BGH ruling is contrary to case law recently established by the European Court of Justice which is Europe's apex court. That notwithstanding, the tech giant is now staring at the possibility of paying back victims whose data was leaked in the breach.

The court also ordered the lower court to reassess the transparency and readability of Facebook's terms of use. This will determine if the users applied their informed consent for the use of their data by Facebook, which might complicate the situation even further for Meta.

The German court had been closely watching Facebook for the past years. In 2016, it fined the social media app $109,000 for failing to tackle intellectual property concerns.

Just earlier this month, South Korea fined Meta $15.67 million after it learned that the company collected and took user data without permission.

What's worse, Meta only had a vague set of policies about user data collection. This has added fuel to the fire, pushing Korea to press charges against the company.
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News outlets called the last outstanding U.S. Senate race this week for Democrat Ruben Gallego of Arizona. That gives Republicans a 53-47 edge in the chamber after picking up four seats.

And suddenly there's silence from Democrats on eliminating the filibuster and packing the Supreme Court. Apparently it wasn't about principle and preserving "democracy," after all. Who knew?

For the past few years, progressives have been agitating to change the rules in the Senate to allow passage of controversial bills by a simple majority vote. In 2021, 100 House Democrats signed a letter urging their Senate brethren to kill the filibuster, which allows senators to hold up legislation unless 60 of their colleagues prefer otherwise. "We cannot let a procedural tool that can be abolished stand in the way of justice, prosperity and equity," the letter insisted.

In fact, the movement had nothing to do with "justice, prosperity and equity" and everything to do with a raw power grab that would allow Democrats to enact a number of radical proposals, including statehood for Washington, D.C., expanding the Supreme Court and killing the Electoral College.

Heading into last week's election, most Senate Democrats  including Nevada's Jacky Rosen  made clear their intention to bury the filibuster if their party kept the White House and the upper chamber.

But that was then, and this is now.

The website Fast Company reported this week that it contacted a dozen Democratic senators who had voiced support for ending the filibuster and "none responded." In addition, Fix Our Senate, a coalition of left-wing groups that demanded an end to the filibuster, has "shut down its website."

Notably, one of the signers of the 2021 House letter, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat and chair of the Progressive Caucus, said at a news conference last week, "Am I championing getting rid of the filibuster now when the (GOP) has the trifecta? No. But had we had the trifecta, I would have been."

Political hypocrisy reaches a new low. As an amusing thought experiment, imagine the response from Rep. Jayapal and her fellow travelers if Republicans  in the spirit of bipartisanship  said they would soon neuter the filibuster and add six seats to the Supreme Court.

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is stepping down as his party's leader, said last week that the "filibuster will stand" under the GOP majority. As outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., stabilizes our democracy, promotes bipartisan cooperation and protects our nation from partisan whiplash and dysfunction."

Progressives vilified him and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., for standing firm against their party's efforts to erode minority power. After the election rout, they should send them both gift baskets.

(COMMENT, BELOW)
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov discussed plans for 2025, key areas of cooperation and industry development with Ukrainian missile manufacturers.

"Missile Program. Progressing. Today, I held an important meeting with Ukrainian missile manufacturers. We discussed plans for 2025, key areas of collaboration, and the overall development of the industry," he said on Facebook.

Umerov said on April 13, 2022, the Neptune missile system destroyed the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva cruiser which "became a historic moment showcased the power of our national missile weaponry."

"We are now scaling up Ukrainian missile production. The first 100 missiles have already been produced this year. Serial production of R-360 Neptune cruise missiles has been successfully expanded, with upgrades enabling strikes at longer distances," the minister said.

He also said new drone missiles are being developed, in particular, "Palianytsa," which is an example of successful cooperation between the state and the private sector.

"We are also advancing partnerships with international allies in this field. Thank you to everyone contributing to our victory with Ukrainian missiles that are striking the enemy. Together, we are making Ukraine stronger," Umerov said.
EU says to 'lead' on climate finance but others must join



Baku, Nov 18 (AFP) Nov 18, 2024



The EU would take the lead in providing money for poor countries to fight global warming but all wealthy polluters had "a responsibility to contribute", the bloc's climate envoy said Monday.

The European Union is the biggest contributor of money to help developing countries cope with climate change but want major emerging economies like China to also chip in.

Nations are supposed to reach a new agreement at the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan to boost funding for climate action in poorer countries.

But the talks are deadlocked over who should pay, how much, and the structure of any new finance deal.

"We will continue to lead, to do our fair share, and even more than our fair share, as we've always done," EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told reporters in Baku.

But "with affluence comes responsibility", he added.

"Others have a responsibility to contribute based on their emissions and based on their economic growth."

Beijing has rejected suggestions it should contribute to the global pot to help the world's poorest countries adapt to climate change and wean off fossil fuels.

China pays climate finance on its own terms but is not obligated to contribute under the Paris agreement signed in 2015.

The Baku negotiations made little ground in the opening week and nations have been urged to pick up the pace in the second half.

Hoekstra called on COP29 hosts Azerbaijan "to lead and to steer us in the direction of a safe landing ground".

Azerbaijan lacks diplomatic experience at a time when COP observers say crucial leadership is needed to steer what some see as the most complex climate negotiations in years.
Denmark's major parties agree carbon tax on livestock



Copenhagen, Nov 18 (AFP) Nov 18, 2024



Denmark's government said Monday that the country's major parties had agreed on the details of the world's first carbon tax on emissions by livestock, to be introduced in 2030.

"We will be the first country in the world that introduces a CO2 tax on agriculture," Climate Minister Lars Aagaard said at a press conference.

The tax is part of a vast agriculture plan called the Green Tripartite, hammered out by the government with part of the opposition and representatives of livestock farmers, industry and trade unions.

From 2030, methane emissions caused by flatulence from cattle and pigs will be taxed at a rate of 300 kroner ($42) per tonne of CO2 equivalent, a sum gradually rising to 750 kroner by 2035.

However, a basic deduction of 60 percent means the real tax rates will be 120 kroner per tonne emitted in 2030 and 300 kroner in 2035.

Under the Green Tripartite plan, nitrogen emissions would also be reduced by 13,780 tonnes annually from 2027, in a bid to restore Denmark's coasts and fjords.

Oxygen depletion in Danish water catchments is at an alarmingly high level, the statement said.

The Green Tripartite Ministry called the accord "the biggest change to the Danish landscape in over 100 years".

"Danish nature will change in a way we have not seen since the wetlands were drained in 1864," Green Tripartite Minister Jeppe Bruus said.

Around 60 percent of Denmark's territory is currently cultivated, making it the country with the highest share of cultivated land, together with Bangladesh, according to a Danish parliamentary report.

Ten percent of cultivated land will be converted to natural habitat, including 140,000 hectares (345,000 acres) currently cultivated on climate-damaging lowland soils.

The plan also calls for 250,000 hectares of forest to be planted, "enough to go 38 times around the planet", Bruus said.

"When you travel through the country, it is a difference that will be visible and felt," his ministry said.

The agreement allocates around 43 billion kroner for the restructuring.

The legislation still must be approved by a vote in parliament, for which no date has been set.

Among the main critics of the plan are right-wing populist parties, including the Danish People's Party (DF), environmentalist groups such as Greenpeace have said the plan is not ambitious enough.

"The agreement is harmful to Denmark's economy and makes it more expensive to be a Dane, but doesn't help the climate since Denmark's CO2 emissions are minimal on a global scale," DF party leader Morten Messerschmidt said.

"Lots of people are going to lose their jobs. I find it difficult to see the smartness of this CO2 tax," Denmark Democrats MP Karina Adsbol wrote on X.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting on security and the social situation in the region as part of his trip to Kupiansk (Kharkiv region).

"I held a meeting on security and social issues. Protecting Kharkiv region from UABs, providing heat and light, evacuating people. The operational situation, the needs of our brigades and increasing their capabilities in relation to drones and electronic warfare," Zelenskyy said in Telegram channel on Monday.

The president also awarded state awards to the best sergeants in the Starobilsk operational-tactical group. "I talked to the fighters. It is always an honor. Thank you for your service, soldiers, for everything you do to protect our state," the head of state said.

According to the presidential press service, in Kupiansk he visited the location of the 14th separate mechanized brigade named after Prince Roman the Great, where he met with the city's defenders and held a meeting with the commander of the Starobilsk operational-tactical group Serhiy Perets, Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine, Minister for the Development of Communities and Territories Oleksiy Kuleba and Head of Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleh Synehubov.

"The head of state heard a report by Serhiy Perets on the operational situation in the area of responsibility of his group, as well as on repelling the recent attempt by Russian forces to break through to Kupiansk and taking many of its participants prisoner," according to the press release.

In addition, the meeting participants discussed in detail the brigades' needs for drones and the sources of their provision by the state and the resources of the brigades themselves.

The president also spoke with soldiers of the 14th Mechanized Brigade "Prince Roman the Great" and the brigade commander Yaroslav Sydoriv. Zelenskyy presented the defenders with the Order of Courage of the second and third degrees. "I want to congratulate you on Sergeant's Day, wish you health and victory. Thank you to your loved ones and relatives for supporting you. This is very important. To your parents  for raising such worthy, brave, strong Ukrainians. Take care of yourself, please," the president said, addressing the soldiers.
Fico calls Biden's decision to authorize strikes with US weapons on Russian territory as escalation of conflict

Head of the Slovak government Robert Fico does not share the position of the United States, which, according to media reports, gave Kyiv permission to use U.S. weapons to strike deep into Russia.

"As the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic, I categorically disagree with the decision of U.S. President Biden to authorize the use of American long-range warheads on targets on the territory of Russia with the clear goal of completely disrupting or delaying peace negotiations," Slovak prime minister said in a statement published on his Facebook page on Monday.

He said he had instructed the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the head of the Ministry of Defense "not to support this American decision at any international forum or in any way."

Fico called this "an unprecedented escalation of tension" and said the West wants the war in Ukraine to continue. Moreover, in his opinion, "the EU is not capable of independently formulating fundamental foreign policy positions."
After smoothing out a funding disagreement with the Twiggy Forest-owned Wyloo Holdings, rare earths developer Hastings Technology Metals says its $150m investment in a Canadian magnet manufacturer, Neo Performance Materials, is starting to hit its straps.

Back in 2022, Hastings, which has been developing the Yangibana rare earths mine in WA, borrowed $150m from Wyloo by way of an exchangeable note to pick up a 21.5 per cent stake in Neo, the only western manufacturer of rare earths magnets outside of China.

Groundbreaking ceremony at Neo Performance Materials sinter magnet manufacturing plant in Narva, Estonia. Hastings Technology Metals executive chairman Charles Lew in attendance (fourth from right).

The purchase was made on the back of a vision being developed by Hastings Chairman and major financial backer Charles Lew that could eventually see both companies merged to create a vertically integrated mine-to-magnet international powerhouse  the only company of its kind outside of China.

At the time Neo was sourcing rare earths out of Russia, but hostilities in Ukraine led western Governments to impose trade sanctions on Russia, which then put Hastings massive rare earths deposit in Western Australia firmly in the frame.
The woman who dubbed herself the Crocodile of Wall Street and Razzlekhan in rap videos was ordered to serve 18 months behind bars for helping her hacker husband launder cryptocurrency he stole from the Bitfinex exchange.

Heather Morgan, 34, was sentenced on Monday in Washington federal court. Last week, her husband, Ilya Lichtenstein, got five years in prison for his role in the scheme, which stemmed from his 2016 hack of the exchange and the theft of bitcoin currently worth billions of dollars. Both pleaded guilty last year.

Morgan was living with Lichtenstein when he hacked Bitfinex in 2016. Credit: Instagram/@heatherreyhan

Morgan wasnt involved in the hack, and her husband said he recruited her to help hide the loot hed stolen. They could have faced more prison time, but he agreed to aid the US in other crypto prosecutions and she persuaded him to co-operate with the authorities.

Your actions were deliberate and involved elaborate and extensive planning, US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly told Morgan while noting that the defendant appeared genuinely remorseful and unlikely to be a repeat offender.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)  bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites evolving to become resistant to the antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics that once killed them  is one of the worlds top health threats, says the World Health Organisation (WHO). Its estimated that by 2050 it could cause the deaths of up to 10,000 Australians a year  and 10 million people worldwide.

The WHO has warned of the world entering a post-antibiotic era, in which the drugs that we have come to rely on are far less effective.

Its a prospect that Andrew Bowskill, co-chair of the Australian Antimicrobial Resistance Network (AAMRNet), says would be disastrous for human health.

Its like losing 100 years of medical progress... Bowskill says. A simple scratch could once again kill you.

Everything from minor surgeries to giving birth would become riskier, Bowskill says. Our whole health and medical system basically relies on antibiotics as the backstop to clean up the infection complications that can happen.

Pipeline running dry

The reason microbes are winning the race against medicine is basically twofold: firstly, we have been using antibiotics too liberally, and secondly, too few new antibiotics are being developed.

Australia, like most developed countries, is taking a One Health approach to tackling AMR by promoting antimicrobial stewardship (the responsible use of antimicrobials) not just in human health, but in animal health and agriculture, and the food and environmental sectors.

But when it comes to the new antibiotics, the cupboard is looking worryingly bare.

The WHO says the clinical pipeline of new antimicrobials is almost dry; in 2021 only 27 antibiotics that address WHO bacterial priority pathogens were in clinical development, of which only six were classified as innovative.

Funding model

Anne Harris, the managing director of Pfizer Australia and New Zealand, says the current market for antimicrobials is unsustainable.

The way antimicrobials are funded is not working for patients or research companies, Harris says. It takes on average US$2.6B to progress a medicine or vaccine from early-stage research through clinical trials to a commercialised product. This incorporates the development cost of molecules that are not successful, with only 12 per cent of new molecules that enter clinical trials eventually receiving regulatory approval.

Antimicrobials are different to other medicines, as they need to be used responsibly in a restricted manner to avoid accelerating the development of resistant bacteria. This leads to an unsustainable return on the research and development (R&D) required to make these treatments.

In its Breakthrough Nation report, Pfizer calls for new funding incentives to make the development of antimicrobials viable.

The UK has shown whats possible. It recently expanded a program thats been dubbed a Netflix model for funding antimicrobials: just as Netflix subscribers pay a monthly fee rather than a fee per movie, the UK government paid 10 million per year per drug, based on the value of the drug to the health system, regardless of how many were sold.

Bowskill says the AAMRNet has estimated that a payment of $12.5M per drug per year would be about right if Australia wanted to create a market for antimicrobials and do its fair share in the global battle against AMR.

Australia may be about to adopt something similar. As part of an overhaul of the way Australia conducts Health Technology Assessment (HTA)  the system that is used to determine which medicines are publicly funded and in what circumstances, the HTA Policy and Methods Review, recommended the adoption of a subscription model similar to the UK.

This is not just for antimicrobials: this is the case for all innovative medicines. The full value of innovative medicines must be recognised in a re-designed system. Australian patients deserve faster access, Harris says.

As a nation, we wait three to four times longer to access medicines when compared to people in similar countries  many are not brought to Australia at all. The system needs bold reform and greater investment to continue to meet the needs of Australians - a system that delivers equitable access to the latest medical technologies within 60 days of TGA registration.

She says that now it is up to the Government to implement changes that will open the door for accelerated and sustainable access to medicines for patients.

To learn more, visit www.pfizer.com.au
Cant help thinking that Mike Tyson could still go by his old Kid Dynamite handle in the Gulf Country region, as George Zivkovic of Northmead explains: A win for ageism that upstages the Tyson fight/farce. Australias oldest jockey, 71-year-old Keith Ballard, landed a fairytale winner with his last ride at Mount Isa on Saturday after 55 years in the saddle. His career as a jockey netted 1789 winners from 9578 rides.

George Manojlovics riparian reference to the Volga ones (C8) reminded me of when I flippantly described an actress as a bit of a vulgarian because of her use of somewhat vulgar language, says Evan Bailey of Glebe. A younger member of the family innocently asked, Where is Vulgaria?.

Thank you, Kerry Kyriacou [C8], you have solved a 50-year mystery, reveals Christine Stewart of Glebe. We were having dinner with my cousin who was a music lover and had music playing in the next room. We were mystified when a glass vase suddenly split in two. Obviously, the soprano must have hit a high C.

John Dawson of North Parramatta lost his temper too: Anyone else remember short-lived city shops that served deliciously cold orange juice in tempered glass glasses that, if lightly tapped together on clearing, left customers with tiny glass cubes in their hair?

The glass farce did, however, give Warwick Sherman of Huntleys Point a chance to flex his considerable comedic savvy: We were on an Amazon cruise and on the final day, a friend, and well-known sports commentator, was showering when the glass door shattered, causing minor cuts to his face and body. When he appeared post triage, I said: So, Gordon, you really did come down in the last shower.
The International Working Group on Sanctions against Russia, led by the Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and Director of the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), Ambassador Michael McFaul, has issued a new working document "The Path Forward on Energy Sanctions: Toolkit to Step Up Pressure on Russia in 2025."

As reported by the presidential press service on Monday, the document analyzes the results of applying sanctions to Russian energy exports and provides recommendations for further increasing sanctions pressure.

"We see that the existing sanctions against the Russian energy sector are not enough. Revenues from the sale of Russian oil and gas continue to be used by the aggressor state to finance the war. We need tougher restrictions and effective control over their observance," Yermak said.

In the presented document, experts insist on strengthening control over compliance with the price ceiling for Russian oil and adding more tankers of the "shadow fleet" to the sanctions lists.

In addition, the potential effect of reducing the maximum price for Russian oil was analyzed, in particular, according to calculations, a price reduction of $10 per barrel will entail a loss of $17 billion in export revenues for Russia per year.

It is also noted that the EU needs to completely refuse to import Russian oil and natural gas, as well as petroleum products from Russian raw materials supplied to the bloc's states from third countries.

According to experts, it is important to introduce sanctions against Rosatom, which will allow Europe and the United States to finally get rid of their dependence on Russian nuclear fuel.

"The plan proposed by the International Sanctions Group is comprehensive, clear and effective. Our goal is to ensure the adoption and implementation of these proposals by as many countries as possible. This is what we work on every day with our partners," advisor and commissioner of the President of Ukraine on Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk said.
Promised new hospitals gone missing The Victorian ALP promised at the last election to build new hospitals to service the increasing demands for medical care. We now know that existing hospitals do not have enough money to meet their operational costs. How were they going to honour this promise? Christine Baker, Rosanna

Re  Assaults on hospital workers soar to record high , 17/11. There is no denying that sky-rocketing threats, abuse and assaults of hospital staff are fuelled by psychostimulant use, alcohol-driven disinhibition, the epidemic of mental health crises, long wait times and ambulance ramping. As a frontline emergency doctor of 30 years, the elephant in the room is the pervasive de-valuation of our under-appreciated and over-utilised 24/7 public hospital system. There is a deep problem when the worried well treat precious resources such as the ambulance service like a free Uber ride, or expect to be seen immediately in the ED for a small scratch or a puff of smoke blown into their eye at a bar. The acute health care made available to all-comers at no direct cost so that Australia has universal access to free care is non-negotiable to provide a safety net for the whole community. Open access to anyone who enters the ED also means we shoot ourselves in the foot when a precious resource that is available around the clock has its worth denigrated by those who dont value or respect it. Perhaps we need education in school that teaches kids to respect and judiciously use our hospitals only for serious illness and injury. Dr Joseph Ting, Carina, Qld

Root problem is lack of respect for healthworkers

Violence against healthcare workers is prevalent everywhere in the healthcare system, not only in hospitals, not only committed by the mentally unwell and drug-affected, and not only against nurses and midwives Violent assaults on hospital workers, 18/11.

It affects everyone in health including receptionists and nurses in community clinics, clerical and administrative staff, doctors, paramedics and allied health workers. It is a spectrum of behaviour and is not just violence, but includes sarcastic remarks, put-downs, unreasonable demands, swearing, shouting.

The root cause is lack of respect for healthcare workers as humans. The contrasting two headlines (17/11) about violence against doctors when its extreme only with Calls to name and shame dodgy doctors, is part of the disrespect.

The majority of healthcare workers are trying to do their best. The extremes grow from the communitys sense of being justified in displaying bad behaviour.

Dr Felicity Heale, Middle Park

State government ignores the basics

The Age reports 25,000 serious cases of assault have occurred in our hospitals over the last year. This does not come as a surprise in Melbourne where hardly a day goes by without a bashing or a miscreant excessively speeding down a freeway, only to be almost immediately bailed. Our unhappy police force has to go on strike, and what will happen when teachers soon put in for a justifiable pay rise? Our hospitals are running out of cash, while schools and roads are in poor shape.

At the extreme, there seems to be a growing malaise in the community that this government with its fixation on enormously expensive, unsubstantiated projects will not listen to community concerns. Instead, it seems to ignore the trivial fact that Victorias debt will reach the staggering level of $175 billion.

On top of this, is the Age report State quietly puts $9.6b on credit card (18/11).

The premiers common response is we are getting on with the job. She should focus on what the community desperately needs now. Get back to basics.

Tony Davidson, Glen Waverley

THE FORUM

Private nurse inequity

I am a perioperative nurse at St Vincents Private Hospital in Fitzroy.

Recently, the state government passed a 28.4 per cent pay increase for public sector nurses over the next four years. Private hospital nurses will not receive this increase. Traditionally, whatever the public sector achieved in its EBA, the private sector would match. This time, we are being told that St Vincents simply does not have the money (noting the recent $180 million refurbishment of our Fitzroy campus).

For years, public nurses and public patients have also benefited from nurse and midwife-to-patient ratios that ensure safe working conditions and staffing levels. Few private hospitals in Victoria have ratios. This means private nurses are being asked to care for more patients than their public counterparts for less money, and without the same benefits.

Unless something changes  starting with the health funds providing much-needed money to the private sector  there will be no private nurses left. More private hospitals will close, and more strain will be placed on our already stretched public hospitals.

We are taking protected industrial action as a last resort. We simply want what public nurses in this state will receive. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Tina Duparc, Doreen

Vape blame

Your investigation (Big vape: How Chinese multinationals and organised crime fuelled a public health crisis, 17/11) describes the enormity of the problem that vapes have become  including the justifiable disquiet of pharmacists. Laying the blame at the feet of the federal government and suggesting it was Albanese government policy  even hinting at bribery  is totally unfair, however, while giving a free pass to both the Greens and the opposition. The very same report later states: The government watered down its prescription-only model in a deal with the Greens ...

The deal with the Greens was presumably the only way any legislation curbing the previous free-for-all was likely to occur. Why isnt accountability for the mess being directed where it belongs?

Liz Levy, Suffolk Park, NSW
Its that time of year when hats get doled out at The Age Good Food Guide awards to the food industrys best restaurants and chefs.

But one person remains publicly unhappy about a system that aims to provide independent food reviews to paying customers: Attica chef and owner Ben Shewry.

Attica owner-chef Ben Shewry. Credit: Simon Schluter

Readers may recall Kiwi-born Shewry just published his memoir, Uses For Obsession, in which he lit a bombe Alaska under the critics  including from The Age  who judge his cooking. He also called out food guides for their oppressive review system.

Shewry, of course, has been widely lauded for his modern Australian restaurant in Ripponlea, which held the coveted top ranking of three hats for a decade. He remained quiet on any concerns about the system during this period.
A federal Coalition push to withdraw funding from the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) has exposed policy differences within the state and federal Liberals about how to proceed with the $35 billion project.

Liberal frontbencher Dan Tehan sparked internal ructions on Monday when he said he would introduce a petition in federal parliament urging the Albanese government to abandon its support for the rail loop and instead put the money towards fixing regional and rural road networks.

An early works site for the Suburban Rail Loop. Credit: Paul Jeffers

However, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton appeared to then walk back the position, telling Sky News reports that he would make the SRL a central issue at the upcoming federal election, and calls for it to be ditched were inaccurate.

Were happy to provide support to projects, but not if the state government has no hope of putting their own money in, he said.
Journalist Thom Cannell Goes Tire Testing At Treadwell Tire (Discount Tire)

Need Tires?

Our Treadwell Experience

By Thom Cannell

Senior Editor and Technology Desk Lead

Michigan Bureau

The Auto Channel

Does your car, truck or SUV need tires right now? Or are you planning for winter ice and snow or next summers sweltering heat? Are you willing to spend several minutes to get the best tires for your vehicle, location and driving style and perhaps save money?

Your quest for the perfect tire has an answer, a solution based on data and experience  and its free.

We were recently hosted by Discount Tire, a 1,200-store chain. Though located in the Midwest, weve used Discount Tire often, with no understanding how massive the company is. We visited their test facilityTreadwell, former Cooper Tire multi-arena test track in Pearsall, Texas, jammed with wet-and -dry skid pads, an oval track, a boulder-crawl, wet 30 traction hill, mud-traction pit, durability test areas and trail handling off-road test areas. Treadwell is devoted to one mission, testing tires for your safety. We dont sell tires, said CEO Dean Muglia, We empower customers and help tire manufacturers make better tires.







Treadwell Research Park is near San Antonio, TX, covering 900 acres with multiple buildings dedicated to your driving safety. For instance, in all the tires weve tested, including visits to tracks belonging to BFGoodrich, Continental, Goodyear and Michelin, we have never tested wet traction tire-to-tire, back-to-back, or experienced similar dry traction and road noise tests. Weve not compared different brands wet-and-dry braking, noise and high-speed evasion tire-to-tire, and absolutely never felt the difference between a new tire and a well-worn tire. We did, its eye-opening and destructive of several cherished illusions.

On a wet skid pad driving identical BMW 330s, the difference in acceleration-traction, evasion, under-and -oversteer of competitive tires was astounding and boldly in-our-face. That test between a Michelin and a Goodyear tire convinced us that the Michelin was the tire to buyuntil an engineer said Well, the Michelin is three-season and great in the wet, but not nearly as good in snow and ice as the Goodyear. Wow! There remains a reason for All Season tires.

We had similar experiences on the dry oval doing 70-0 ABS panic stops in the wet and in the dry (106 versus 146+ in one instance), evaluating noise from harsh surfaces and the thump produced by potholes. Have you ever considered how steering loads increase in turns, how much steering lock you need to add to hold a line? Again, the tire that made us happiest on a hot Texas summer day not be the best tire for a Midwesterner in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

More fun, and far more subjective, was stopping a Jeep on a 30 slope to see if that tire and 2WD would propel us upwards. Typically not, though we only tested one tire to understand this test. The same for a boulder crawl which, having actually done so on many trails, is a brutal test of vehicle, spotter, tire and conditions.

Off road, on sandy high-speed trails rutted and rocky, there wasnt time to test A-to-B for traction, or mud chugging, or pulling out of muddy water up slick rock. Jeeps on 37 tires are great fun, until our driving caught us out and swiped a nearby scrub oak. We attribute that to being in normal automatic drive and a tire with less-than-perfect side grip, or driver error.

Why does Discount Tire devote its resources for a test track (operated by Smithers Material Science and Engineering  Smithers operates globally and this facility is for rent 100+ days per year to tire manufacturers)? Their answer, To cut through the marketing and make Discount Tire a trusted expert, according to David Ginsberg, Chief Corporate and Strategy Officer for Discount Tire, who helped design Treadwell, Customers are often unsure of what they need, how to balance cost, tire life, handling and fuel economy. Treadwell (their online selection tool) solves problems and lets customers prioritize how they drive for where and when they drive. Tom Williams chief experience officer noted that people dont like buying tires. We can provide piece of mind, consistency, and often will recommend a less-expensive tire based on their driving habits and location.

Tires are not, as were led to believe by marketing, perfect in every situation. They are complex objects designed around specific trade-offs and explicit compromises. Great traction means more wear; better wet traction may deliver slightly longer dry braking; the best snow/ice tires dont last through a hot summer.

A majority of Discount Tire stores are in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Many others are located in the Midwest, all are company owned and all provide free tire-related services. Unlike other chains (Goodyear and Firestone come to mind) they dont perform engine repairs, oil changes or do transmission work. Discount Tire fixes flats, adds air, performs tire balancing and rotationfree! Yes, no charge for these often-costly services. Chief tire guy Dr. John Baldwin told us We're trying to help our customers maximize their investment, which (helps us) in the long run. We've done that for decades because we can help, we can inspect your tires, wheels, TPMS, lug nuts, windshield wipers, all are products we offer.

Part of the companys mission is to make transparent to customers not only what tire manufacturers claim, but what the real world delivers. Does the guarantee of 45,000 miles mean youll get that typical 3.5 years of use? Or will you, like others with that specific tire and wheel size on a particular vehicle average lessor more? The Treadwell tool, online or in-store, will tell you. And you can arrange priorities to suit your driving. Are you more interested in wet traction then dry, fuel economy than wear? Beyond this tire selection tool, the company pioneered a laser-based hand-held scan tool that examines the tread of your tires every visit. This builds a profile for you to judge when to buy new tires (TIP if you live in frequent rain: its when 4/1000s of tread remain, which is a full 2/1000s greater (above) the wear bars.)



How does Discount Tire understand the performance of worn tires? They grind tread from new tires and re-test them! John explained We want to Discount Tire to get the point across of What is your safety margin during the life of the tire as it wears, because most people don't think about that. Rather, they think I have 6/1000s and maybe thats good enough. Weve been able to make (tire buying and tires in general) a lot more transparent to both customers and manufacturers. We are trying to eliminate the mystery of tires, and tire buying.
Close-up Of Latest NHTSA Recalls November 18, 2024







Washington DC November 18, 2024; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety recall that may affect your vehicle.

The following may apply to one or more of your vehicles if your vehicle is listed below. Click on the NHTSA Recall ID Number below to read more about the safety issue and the reason for the recall.

To find out if your specific passenger vehicle is included in the recall, use our VIN Look-up Tool.

NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V797 Manufacturer : General Motors, LLC Subject : Rear Wheel Lock-Up from Transmission Valve failure Make Model Model Years CADILLAC ESCALADE 2021 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV 2021 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 1500 2020-2022 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 2500 2020-2022 CHEVROLET SILVERADO 3500 2020-2022 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 2021 CHEVROLET TAHOE 2021 GMC SIERRA 1500 2020-2022 GMC SIERRA 2500 2020-2022 GMC SIERRA 3500 2020-2022 GMC YUKON 2021 GMC YUKON XL 2021 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V825 Manufacturer : Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) Subject : Driveshaft Bearings May Fail Make Model Model Years HONDA Metropolitan 2016-2025 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V827 Manufacturer : Rivian Automotive, LLC Subject : Deactivated Exterior Lighting Make Model Model Years RIVIAN R1S 2025 RIVIAN R1T 2025 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V832 Manufacturer : Tesla, Inc. Subject : Inverter Fault May Cause Loss of Drive Power Make Model Model Years TESLA CYBERTRUCK 2024 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V833 Manufacturer : Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. Subject : Improperly Welded Head Pipe May Crack Make Model Model Years KAWASAKI NINJA 7 HYBRID 2024 KAWASAKI Z7 HYBRID 2024 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V835 Manufacturer : Polestar Automotive USA, Inc. Subject : Brake Pedal May Detach from Brake Booster Make Model Model Years POLESTAR POLESTAR 1 2020 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V836 Manufacturer : Lucid USA, Inc. Subject : Short Wiring Harness May Cause Loss of Drive Power Make Model Model Years LUCID AIR 2024-2025 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V837 Manufacturer : PJ Trailers Subject : Air Ride Brake Axle Installed Incorrectly Make Model Model Years PJ TRAILERS LD 2024-2025 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V838 Manufacturer : Chrysler (FCA US, LLC) Subject : Vehicle Rollaway Due to ABS Malfunction Make Model Model Years DODGE DURANGO 2018-2019 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE 2018-2019 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V839 Manufacturer : General Motors, LLC Subject : Incorrect Software in Transmission Control Module Make Model Model Years CHEVROLET EXPRESS 2022-2023 GMC SAVANA 2022-2023 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V840 Manufacturer : Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC Subject : Upper Suspension Arm May Detach Make Model Model Years LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER 2014-2016 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V841 Manufacturer : Corp. Micro Bird, Inc. Subject : Ignition May Fail To Detect Locked Exit/FMVSS217 Make Model Model Years MICRO BIRD T-SERIES 2022-2024 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V842 Manufacturer : Corp. Micro Bird, Inc. Subject : Ignition May Fail To Detect Locked Exit/FMVSS217 Make Model Model Years MICRO BIRD CT-SERIES 2023 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V843 Manufacturer : Hyundai Motor America Subject : Sunshade May Operate Unexpectedly/FMVSS 118 Make Model Model Years HYUNDAI SANTA FE 2024 HYUNDAI SANTA FE HYBRID 2024 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V844 Manufacturer : Nikola Corporation Subject : Instrument Panel Failure/FMVSS 101 Make Model Model Years NIKOLA TRE BEV 2022-2023 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V845 Manufacturer : Winnebago Towable Subject : Solar Panel May Detach While In Transit Make Model Model Years WINNEBAGO HIKE 2022 WINNEBAGO MICRO MINNIE FLX 2022 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V846 Manufacturer : Forest River, Inc. Subject : Solar Panel Wiring May Melt and Cause Fire Make Model Model Years AURORA ART24RBS 2025 AURORA ART26ATH-300 2025 AURORA ART28BHS-300 2024-2025 CATALINA CAT243RBSLE 2025 CATALINA CAT263BHSCKLE-300 2024-2025 CATALINA CAT26TH-300 2025 CATALINA CAT283EPIC-300 2024-2025 CATALINA CAT293QBCKLE-300 2024-2025 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V847 Manufacturer : Forest River, Inc. Subject : Incorrect Wiring Can Melt and Short Make Model Model Years FOREST RIVER IMPRESSION 2021-2025 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V848 Manufacturer : Ford Motor Company Subject : Bracket May Damage Fuel Line and Cause Leak Make Model Model Years FORD RANGER 2024 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V849 Manufacturer : VANCRAFT LLC Subject : Incorrect Seat Belt Hardware May Fail/FMVSS 209 Make Model Model Years VANCRAFT VANCRAFT CAMPERVAN 2002-2006 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V850 Manufacturer : Ford Motor Company Subject : Passenger Air Bag May Deploy Incorrectly/FMVSS 208 Make Model Model Years FORD ESCAPE 2024-2025 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V851 Manufacturer : Ford Motor Company Subject : Incorrectly Installed Engine Cup Plug May Leak Oil Make Model Model Years FORD EXPEDITION 2024 FORD F-150 2024-2025 LINCOLN NAVIGATOR 2024 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V852 Manufacturer : Ford Motor Company Subject : Missing Dashboard Air Bag Warning Label/FMVSS 208 Make Model Model Years FORD ESCAPE 2020-2024 FORD EXPEDITION 2018-2024 FORD EXPLORER 2020-2025 FORD F-150 2018-2024 LINCOLN AVIATOR 2020-2025 LINCOLN CORSAIR 2020-2024 LINCOLN NAVIGATOR 2018-2024 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V854 Manufacturer : VANCRAFT LLC Subject : Missing OCCC and Altered Cert Labels/FMVSS110, 567 Make Model Model Years VANCRAFT ALLTREK 2023-2024 VANCRAFT LWB 2014-2023 VANCRAFT LWB XL 2023 VANCRAFT ROVER 2023-2024 VANCRAFT ROVER XL 2023-2024 VANCRAFT SWB 2014-2023 VANCRAFT VANCRAFT CAMPERVAN 2002-2006 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V855 Manufacturer : VANCRAFT LLC Subject : Seat Anchorage System May Fail/FMVSS 207, 209 Make Model Model Years VANCRAFT ALLTREK 2023-2024 VANCRAFT LWB 2014-2023 VANCRAFT LWB XL 2023 VANCRAFT ROVER 2023-2024 VANCRAFT ROVER XL 2023-2024 VANCRAFT SWB 2014-2023 NHTSA Recall ID Number : 24V856 Manufacturer : BMW of North America, LLC Subject : Incorrectly Assembled Right-Side Curtain Air Bag Make Model Model Years BMW X3 2025

What is a recall?

When a manufacturer or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) determines that a vehicle creates an unreasonable risk to safety or fails to meet minimum safety standards, the manufacturer is required to fix that vehicle at no cost to the owner. That can be done by repairing it, replacing it, offering a refund (for equipment) or, in rare cases, repurchasing the car.

What should I do if my vehicle is included in this recall?

If your vehicle is included in this recall, it is very important that you get it fixed as soon as possible given the potential danger to you and your passengers if it is not addressed. You should receive a separate letter in the mail from the vehicle manufacturer, notifying you of the recall and explaining when the remedy will be available, whom to contact to repair your vehicle, and to remind you that the repair will be done at no charge to you. If you believe your vehicle is included in the recall, but you do not receive a letter in the mail from the vehicle manufacturer, please call NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236, or contact your vehicle manufacturer or dealership.

Thank you for your attention to this important safety matter and for your commitment to helping save lives on America's roadways.

Additional Resources

Understanding Vehicle Recalls

Recalls FAQ
Photo: AP

U.S. President Joe Biden called on the G20 countries at the summit in Brazil to support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"The United States strongly supports Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Everyone around this table, in my view, should as well," he said during the first plenary session of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.

He said Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine has led to the worst food crisis in human history.

Biden said all must work to end the conflicts and crises that undermine progress on food security around the world.

Speaking about the situation in Gaza, the U.S. leader said Israel has the right to defend itself, and the United States is the world leader in providing humanitarian aid to Gaza. Biden urged the United States will continue to seek a ceasefire agreement that will ensure the security of Israel and the security of Gaza and its home, and will end the suffering of the Palestinian people and their children. He asked everyone to increase pressure on Hamas, which is currently refusing to accept that deal.
Actress Kasthuri produced in court, lodged in jail





CHENNAI :

ACTRESS Kasthuri, who made a remark on the Telugu-speaking people of Tamil Naduthatstoked a controversy, was produced beforeacourt here on Sunday, which remanded her to judicial custody. She was arrested from Hyderabad on November 16 by a Chennai police team after the Madras High Court Madurai bench days ago rejected her anticipatory bail petition. While the actress, soon after the row, withdrew her remarks and also apologised,complaints were filed, in the meanwhile, against her with police. A Chennai police team traced herto a film producers house in Hyderabad and effected the arrest.

She was brought to Chennai and produced before a magistrate court at Egmore here which remanded her to judicial custody till November 29.Later, she was lodged in the Puzhal central prison. Tamil nationalist, Naam Tamizhar Katchi chief Seeman wondered the necessity to arrest and im prison her even after she apologised. The crux of her recent allegation that triggered a row was that some Telugu speaking people, who had come to the state centuries ago t observe the then rulers, were now claiming to be Tamils. According to the actress, such people, who subscribe to a particular political ideology, though claim themselves to be Tamils despitetheirTeluguorigin,donot consider Tamil Brahmins as Tamils. That was the reason why they chose the identity of Dravidian andcould not chooseTamil, for theirideology. Theactresslevelled that allegation while speaking in support of Brahmins at aprotest here onNovember 3.
Fadnavis campaign rally in Nagpur South-West gets rousing welcome





Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis waving to supporters during his campaign rally on Sunday. Prof Jogendra Kawade and others also are seen.

Staff Reporter :

The roads were decorated with colorful flags and garlands of balloons, saffron strips, welcome arches, cutouts and rangolis to welcome the campaign rally taken out by Deputy Chief Minister and BJP candidate for Assembly polls of Nagpur South-West Devendra Fadnavis. At many places, women stood in rows with garlands, flowers and plates of praise. The huge crowd gathered on both sides was showering flowers on Devabhau as well as the rally workers. Colourful flags were being flown through paper blower machines. Flowers were showered through JCBs too. Overwhelmed by the unprecedented welcome from the people, Fadnavis was greeting and thanking the people. As the campaign for the Assembly elections entered its final phase, Devendra Fadnavis made a tremendous show of strength through a campaign rally on Sunday.

Due to this show of strength, the entire area including Jaitala and the surrounding areas became BJP-friendly. The campaign chariot in the rally had leaders including Devendra Fadnavis, Amruta Fadnavis, Peoples Republican Party Founder and President Prof Jogendra Kawade, former Mayor Nanda Jichkar, Maharashtra Pradesh Vice-President Yuva Morcha Parendra Patle. A large number of BJP and Peoples Republican Party workers participated in the campaign rally with vehicles in front and behind this campaign chariot. The rally started from Ekatmata Nagar. Earlier, a large number of workers had gathered there for the rally.

As soon as Fadnavis arrived, the local citizens gave a warm welcome to Fadnavis. After visiting the local Sheetala Mata Mandir, Fadnavis participated in the rally. Fireworks were also set off. After this, the citizens in the settlements of Jaitala welcomed the campaign rally with great enthusiasm. Placards thanking Fadnavis for the development work done in their respective settlements were shining in the hands of citizens. People were shouting slogans in support of him and giving Fadnavis confidence of a huge victory. Citizens gave response to the campaign rally in places like Date Layout, Zade Layout, Prasad Nagar, Anand Nagar, Indraprastha Nagar, Pannase Layout, Manish Layout, Sonegaon Lake area, HB Estate, Sahakar Nagar, Jaiprakash Nagar, Tapovan, Rahul Nagar, Somalwada, Ujjwal Nagar. Former Mayor Sandeep Joshi, Maharashtra State Vice-President Sanjay Bhende, Rajiv Hadap, former Corporator Meenakshi Telgote, Pallavi Shyamkule, Vanita Dandekar, Election Chief Prakash Bhoyar, South West President Ritesh Gawande, Vijay Raut, Ishwar Dhengale, Yuva Morcha President Nagesh Satravane, Chhotu Borikar, Kishore Wankhede, as well as Varsha Chaudhary, Pramod Vyas were participating in the campaign rally and managing it. Due to this loud bike rally, the discussion of BJPs show of power was going on in the entire Jaitala area and the surrounding areas.
Photo: president.gov.ua

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday, upon arrival at the G20 summit, repeated his position that he is against the supply of Taurus air-launched cruise missiles to Ukraine, since Germany would also have to participate in their guidance, N-tv said.

"This is not something I can be responsible for and would like to," the chancellor said.

He also spoke out against lifting restrictions on the use of German weapons supplied to Ukraine. An exception was made in the defense of Kharkiv, the chancellor said. "But this does not change the basic principles that are important to me," he said.

In addition, Scholz considers the phone conversation between him and Vladimir Putin to be the right step.

"The Chancellor defended the telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to him, it would have been right to hold a conversation, even if one could then only tell partner countries that nothing has changed in Putin's view of the war," the television channel reports.
IRATE MOBS GO BERSERK IN MANIPUR Houses of 4 more MLAs torched in Manipur, agitators attempt to storm CMs ancestral residence





IMPHAL :

IRATE mobs set fire to the residences of three more BJP legislators, one of whom is a senior minister, and a Congress MLA in various districts of Imphal Valley even as security forces foiled the attempt of agitators to storm the ancestral residence of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, officials said. The fresh incidents of violent protests took place on Saturday night even as indefinite curfew was clamped after people, agitated by the killing of three women and children each by militants in Jiribam district, attacked the residences of three State Ministers and six MLAs earlier on Saturday. Enraged people torched the houses of PWD Minister Govindas Konthoujam at Ningthoukhong, Hiyanglams BJP MLA Y Radheshyam at Langmeidong Bazar, Wangjing Tenthas BJP MLA Paonam Brojen in Thoubal district and Khundrakpams Congress MLA Th Lokeshwar in Imphal East district, the officials said.

The legislators and their family members were not at home when the angry mob stormed their residential compounds, vandalised properties and set the houses on fire, police said, adding the houses were partiallyburntintheincidents. Fire services rushed to the spots and doused the blaze beforetheflamesengulfedthe entire houses. On Saturdaynight, protesters also advanced towards Biren Singhs ancestral residenceatLuwangshangbamin ImphalEastbutwerestopped short of 100-200 metres by security forces. Security personnel,including Assam Rifles, BSF and State forces, fired severalrounds of tear gas shells, rubber bullets to disperse the protesters and foiled the attempt to damage Singhs house, officials said.

Later,protestersburnttyres on the main road leading to Biren Singhs residence and piled iron roads to prevent vehicular movement. Protests continued till around11pminMantripukhri area, some 3-4 km from the CMs ancestral home. Officials told PTIthatmany of the protesters had come in vehicles from other constituencies, and not from Heingang Assembly seat, which the CM represented. OnSundaymorning,thesituation remained calm but tense in all five districts of ImphalValley,whereanindefinitecurfewhasbeenimposed and internet services suspended following violent protests afterthe discovery of thebodiesofsixpersons,three women and children each, allegedly abducted and killed by militants in Jiribam. Piles of burnt debris remainedontheroadsofState capitalImphal, a day afterthe violent protests.

BJP DELIBERATELY WANTS MANIPURTOBURN: KHARGE: As fresh violence eruptedinManipur,Congress president MallikarjunKharge on Sunday alleged the ruling party deliberately wants the border state to burn as "it serves their hateful divisive politics". Kharge said the people of state will never forgive or forget that Prime Minister Narendra Modi left them to fend for themselves and never setfootintheir state toheal their miseries. @narendramodi ji, Under your doubleenginegovernments, 'neither Manipur is one, nor is Manipur Safe', the Congress president said in a post on X.

Manipur urges Centre to withdraw AFSPA

IMPHAL,

Nov 17 (PTI)

THE Manipur Government has request- ed the Centre to review and withdraw AFSPA from areas falling under the jurisdiction of six police stations in the State, an official said. The Centre has reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 in Manipurs six police station areas, including violence-hit Jiribam. A letter from the Joint Secretary (Home) to the Centre on Saturday, mentioned that the State Cabinet has deliberated upon the sam (reimposition of AFSPA) in its meeting held on November 15 and has decided to recommend to the Central Government to review and withdraw the said declarationofareasfallingunder the jurisdiction of six police stations in the State as disturbed areas under Section 3 of AFSPA 1958.Itis accordingly requested to kindly review and withdraw the notification dated 14- 11-2024 in public interest, it said. The Ministry of Home AffairshadonNovember14reimposed AFSPA in areas falling under Sekmai PS and Lamsang PSinImphalWestdistrict,Lamlai in Imphal East, Moirang in Bishnupur, Leimakhong in KangpokpiandJiribaminJiribam district.

Amit Shah reviews security situation

NEW DELHI,

Nov 17 (PTI)

UNION Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday reviewed the security situa- tion in Manipur and directed top secu- rity officials to take all possible steps to ensure peace in the Northeastern State, sources said. Shah held the meeting soon after he returned from Maharashtra after cancelling his election rallies there. The Home Minister reviewed the security situation in Manipur with top security officials and directed them to take all possible steps to ensure peace, the sources said
TVS Raider celebrates 7 million sales milestone





Business Reporter :

TVS, a leading global automaker that operates in the two and three-wheeler segments, on Saturday announced launch of a newvariant theTVS Raider iG0 to celebrate surpassing one million sales milestone for this brand. TVS Raider is the most awarded and tech loaded 125 cc motorcycle, that has redefined industry standards since its launch. In Nagpur, the launchingwasheldinpresenceofAchal Gandhi, Managing Director,AK Gandhi Auto Private Limited; Rishav Raj, Territory Manager, TVS; Anil Dabli, General Manager, AKG; and others. The newly launched TVS Raider boasts of the boost mode, a category first feature enabled by iG0 Assist technology. To commemorate this milestone, the TVS Raider has launched the fastest 125 cc motorcycle in the segment, further exemplifying its commitment to cutting-edge technology. Speaking of the new launch, Rishav Raj, Territory Manager - Sales, TVS said, TVS Raider just got evenmoreWICKED.

The segment first Boost mode delivers additional0.55Nmof torqueand 10 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency. Our GenZ riders care most about the acceleration and mileage and the newTVS Raider delivers on both. Also the snazzy Nardo grey colour, paired with red alloys will continue to set apartthestylequotientofourriders. Its this unrelenting focus ondelighting our riders that hasensured that the TVS Raider hasalready surpassed a7millioncountin theshortestperiod.Thiskind of brand love is humblingand energizing. For details, visit A K Gandhi Auto Private Limited, 30, Yashwant Stadium, Dhantoli, Nagpur.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. The Republic of Azerbaijan, as an active and responsible party to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and very well known for the promotion of ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious tolerance and respect worldwide, has closely cooperated with the Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention during the fifth cycle of the country-specific monitoring, Trend reports via Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

Following the submission of the report for this cycle, the Committee delegation visited Azerbaijan. Along with representatives from numerous relevant state institutions, they met with representatives of national minorities in the regions. They also held meetings at the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) and with minority NGOs.

While the Fifth Opinion of the Advisory Committee, published on November 18, 2024, acknowledges the government's efforts in implementing the Convention, the Committee's specific approach raises serious questions, as many of the conclusions lack substantiation and do not accurately reflect the realities on the ground. The Opinion overlooked and ignored many positive national achievements, successful national policies, reforms, and initiatives.

Furthermore, the majority of politicized claims regarding the developments that occurred after the anti-terror measures of September 2023 extend beyond the scope of the fifth monitoring cycle. Since Azerbaijans Fifth State Report contains relevant data for the period of 20172022, as well as remarks that the Convention could not be implemented in the reporting period due to ongoing military occupation and lack of legitimate sovereign control of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the areas where Armenian ethnicities reside, the Advisory Committees claims fall outside its mandate to assess the implementation of the Convention within a specific timeframe.

When planning for the fragile post-conflict period after the end of military occupation of a part of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which had prevented the government from fully applying the Framework Convention to people of Armenian descent living there, the Advisory Committee should not have rushed to make decisions and should have been extra careful not to upset the already fragile process.

Unfortunately, the committee arbitrarily expanded the scope of its assessment beyond the mandated timeframe, demonstrating a politically motivated and biased approach.

The Advisory Committees selective approachfocusing on the Armenian ethnic group while neglecting othersand its overreliance on information from unidentified sources without specifying the relevant examples further demonstrate a predisposed approach by the committee.

Many false claims are unacceptable, including the misinterpretation of relevant decisions from the International Court of Justice and evaluations that significantly differ from the opinion of the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe. These claims pertain to matters unrelated to the Committee's field of expertise and mandate, such as the situation around the Lachin road or the migration of ethnic Armenians from the Karabakh region to Armenia.

Reiterating that the Framework Convention not only safeguards the rights of individuals belonging to national minorities, but also upholds the rule of law, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and constitutional structure of the respective states, is crucial. Despite this, the Opinion unilaterally mentions the need to protect the rights of ethnic Armenian residents and ignores the obligation of persons belonging to that category to comply with the legislation of Azerbaijan.

Another matter of significant concern is the inconsistent application of the standards to the Member States. Regrettably, the Committee treats some countries differently despite their similar minority rights situations. The committee continues to ignore the rights of Azerbaijanis who faced forcible expulsion from their native lands in Armenia due to ethnic cleansing policies.

Moreover, the evaluation of the overall human rights situation in the country goes beyond the mandate of the Advisory Committee and the scope of the Convention, while also lacking a clear connection with the purpose and objectives of the Opinion. In this regard, the call by the Advisory Committee to revise the Law on Media and the Law on NGOs is neither relevant nor adequate.

The protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms and ensuring a decent standard of living for its citizens is the supreme goal of the state. Azerbaijan has taken and continues to take consistent measures in this direction.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. The COP29 roundtable on greening education and enhancing climate literacy metrics is being held with the participation of ministers - the 2nd annual meeting of the Greening Education Partnership, Trend reports.

Azerbaijan's Minister of Science and Education Emin Amrullayev stated that as COP29 chair Azerbaijan proposes to include climate change awareness as a measurable component within PISA [International Program for the Evaluation of Students' Educational Achievement] assessments.

Education is not just a pathway to understanding, it is a mechanism for significant change and building resilience. We are proud to work with international partners such as UNESCO, the OECD, and the Partnership for Environmental Education. UNESCO's broad initiative to green education systems, including greening curricula and schools, is raising awareness of climate change at all levels. The annual meeting of the Partnership for Environmental Education is a testament to our shared commitment to building more resilient and climate-resilient education systems around the world. As chair of COP29, we propose to include climate change awareness as a measurable component within PISA assessments. This project goes beyond measuring student knowledge. It will help us understand how well students understand and interact in the context of climate issues. Using this information, we will be able to develop better policies and teaching strategies that prepare young people for future challenges. The PISA platform is already a trusted global benchmark, and the new focus on climate literacy has the potential to spark change around the world, he said.

Turkish Education Minister Yusuf Tekin declared that Turkiye has developed an education strategy that supports the transition to a green economy, creates opportunities for green employment, and improves the skills of the workforce in environmentally sensitive sectors.

We in Turkiye are making efforts to integrate the themes of this meeting into our education system. Last year, we made several changes in our education programs based on international reports and indicators. Perhaps the most important of these changes was our endeavor to educate a generation that will be capable of protecting the environment, with a special focus on climate change. We have incorporated ideas that emphasize the need to protect the fundamental values and achievements of humanity into the content of all our curricula and lessons to create awareness and sensitivity among children about these issues, he said.

According to him, the changes Turkiye has made to the curriculum are particularly important in terms of building resilience to climate change and sustainable development in the context of education and human development.

UNICEF Deputy Executive Director for Partnerships Kitty van der Heijden noted that it is necessary to insist that the NCQG (new collective quantitative goal) takes into account the needs of children and focuses on social services.

It is clear that climate topics need to be integrated into school curricula. Not because education ministers or organizations like UNICEF want it, but because all countries are signatories to the Paris Agreement. Article 12 of this agreement is quite clear. Beyond secondary education, we need to look at the practical vocational skills that young people need to get involved in climate issues. Young people do not want to sit idle, they want to work and be part of the green economy that is inevitably becoming a reality. That is where climate investments should be directed.

Currently, only 2.4 percent of climate investments are in some way child-sensitive. All countries, including ministers of education, need to insist that the NCQG (new collective quantitative target) is child-sensitive and focuses on the social services on which they depend. Otherwise, we will only talk but not take concrete action, she said.

ISESCO's Director General Salim bin Muhammad Al-Malik, for his part, stated that the ISESCO pavilion at COP29 officially launched the first framework for the implementation of green education in the Islamic world.

The green agenda in education has received particular attention in recent years at the global level, especially with the recent third ISESCO Conference of Ministers of Education in October 2024 in Oman. The first framework for implementing green education in the Islamic world, developed with our partners at the University of Cambridge, offers recommendations and policies aligned with four pillars: curriculum, teachers, schools, and communities focused on green education partnerships following the Education Transformation Summit. I am happy to report that these recommendations were adopted with the agreement of measurable short and long-term goals for the transition to green education in our member countries. I am also happy to report that just an hour ago, this framework was officially launched at the ISESCO Pavilion, he emphasized.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. The ministerial roundtable on global climate transparency was held within COP29, Trend reports.

According to COP29 President, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan's Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) is ready to be submitted this week.

Raising ambition requires the development of clear plans to maintain the 1.5-degree target through nationally determined contributions, national adaptation plans, and biennial transparency reports (BTRs). Transparency has been a priority for the COP29 presidency since the beginning of this process. Today, I would like to focus on the biennial transparency reports and how the COP29 presidency is supporting transparency in climate action. Transparency builds trust and confidence in the international process. It keeps us accountable and fosters ambition for climate action. First, access to reliable data helps assess progress on mitigation, adaptation, and the implementation of means of support. This builds support and guides national climate action. I am pleased to report that Azerbaijan's biennial transparency report is ready for submission this week. Transparency also helps countries better understand their potential for climate action and identify their needs. This provides the necessary information to direct support to countries in need, including vulnerable communities. This means targeted support in areas where additional action and investment is needed, he emphasized.

Babayev stated that the Baku Declaration on Global Climate Transparency will be presented today.

I am also proud to present the Baku Declaration on Global Climate Transparency. The Declaration emphasizes our collective determination to promote transparency and international cooperation. The Declaration works in tandem with the Baku Transparency Platform. On the one hand, we reaffirm our commitment to transparency in climate action. On the other hand, we are creating a platform for concrete actions in support of transparency processes, he emphasized.

Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Noura Hamladji stated that 11 countries have submitted their Biennial Transparency Reports (BTR).

This year marks the full operationalization of the Enhanced Transparency Framework under the Paris Agreement. The first biennial transparency reports have been submitted. Here are the countries that have been leaders in submitting these reports: Andorra, Guyana, Panama, Japan, Spain, Turkiye, Kazakhstan, Germany, the Maldives, the Netherlands, and Singapore. These countries are really setting a good example for others.

Bi-annual transparency reports provide a solid evidence base that enables governments to refine and strengthen climate policies. They record achievements, identify gaps, and indicate where additional effort and resources are needed. These reports provide a comprehensive picture of our collective progress and show where we need to focus additional action and support. We recognize that the process of preparing and submitting these reports can be challenging, especially for developing countries, she stressed.
Bank Respublika Secures Green Loan from the Dutch Development Bank

During the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), Bank Respublika, one of the largest commercial banks in the country, and the Dutch Development Bank (FMO) signed a significant loan agreement to finance green projects in Azerbaijan.

According to the agreement, the international financial institution will provide the Bank with a loan in Azerbaijani manats (AZN), equivalent to 40 million USD, with a term of four years.

Notably, this is the first green loan allocated by FMO to an Azerbaijani bank. The loan will contribute to the country's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2035.

Michael Jongeneel, CEO at FMO, commented: We are very excited to continue our partnership with Bank Respublika with a green loan. This investment marks a pivotal step in promoting green finance in Azerbaijan. We thank Bank Respublika for their trust and willingness to We look forward to seeing the positive impact of these funds on the local economy and the environment.

"First and foremost, I would like to emphasize that we are very pleased to sign this agreement during COP29, which is being held in Azerbaijan. It demonstrates our commitment to combating climate change and supporting sustainable development. The signing of such a substantial agreement with our long-standing and important partner, FMO, underscores the trust in Bank Respublika as a reliable financial institution and highlights our readiness to support entrepreneurs in growing their businesses with eco-friendly technologies. We thank our partners for their cooperation and are confident that this agreement will enhance opportunities to promote green business projects in the country", - noted Tariyel Ismayilov, Chairman of the Management Board of Bank Respublika.

For more detailed information, please visit the official website of the bank, check the banks pages on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, or contact the Banks Call Center at 144.
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When one considers Donald Trump's Cabinet selections announced thus far, there are a few themes that emerge.

One discernible theme, which has been the subject of constant teeth-gnashing all week, is the unorthodox or perhaps outright surprising nature of some of the picks. Tulsi Gabbard, tapped as our next director of national intelligence, is not a career spy. Pete Hegseth, Trump's inspired choice to be our next secretary of defense, is not a company man who steadily worked his way up through the Pentagon's labyrinthine bureaucracy. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., tapped to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, is a famously iconoclastic figure. And if you had consummate "Florida man" Matt Gaetz on your bingo card as Trump's pick for U.S. attorney general, then you're quite a bit more prescient than me.

But there is at least one other clearly discernible theme that emerges when one considers all those who Trump has picked to surround himself with: Many of these people are young.

Gabbard is 43. Hegseth 44. Gaetz is 42. Elise Stefanik, Trump's pick for ambassador to the United Nations, is 40. Lee Zeldin, Trump's pick for Environmental Protection Agency administrator, is 44. Vivek Ramaswamy, who will manage the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency alongside Elon Musk, is 39. Marco Rubio, Trump's pick for secretary of state, isn't exactly an old geezer at 53; ditto his fellow Floridian Michael Waltz, Trump's pick for national security advisor, who is 50. And lest we forget, Trump's own running mate and soon-to-be vice president, JD Vance, just turned 40 a few months ago.

That is a lot of high-ranking young  or at least comparatively young  people. And there are still many top positions in the second Trump administration that remain unannounced, raising the distinct possibility of even more young blood getting tapped for powerful leadership positions. What exactly is going on here?

Trump, it seems, is not merely interested this time around in draining the swamp once and for all. He will not be content with just finishing the unfinished work of truly making America great again. Rather, he has a greater goal in mind: He is trying to foster an intergenerational legacy and solidify MAGA as America's dominant early-to-mid-21st-century political movement.

American history has often been defined by political movements that dominate not merely a singular eponymous presidency but a broader epoch. There was the protectionist "American System" of Henry Clay. There was Jacksonian populism. There was the era of the welfare state, epitomized by Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. There was the laissez-faire "Washington Consensus" of the late-20th-century Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton presidencies.

Now, Trump wants MAGA to be the defining political movement of our own era.

And why not? Trump has already secured the most racially, ethnically and religiously diverse winning presidential coalition in modern Republican Party history. He has made historical inroads with Hispanic voters, Black men and voters under the age of 35  the very groups that formed the core of Barack Obama's own twice-victorious presidential coalition. He has managed to maintain an economic appeal to everyone from billionaire entrepreneurs like Musk to Sean O'Brien, the Teamsters president who gave a primetime speech at this summer's Republican National Convention. There are already numerous high-profile former Democrats, such as Gabbard and RFK Jr., who have been tapped to Cabinet-level posts.

Obama's one-time "coalition of the ascendant" has, in fact, descended. It has crashed and burned, and the modern Democratic Party is nothing less than vanquished. And what has risen in its stead? That would be the movement that delivered Republicans their first national popular vote win in two decades: MAGA.

The more pressing question is: What exactly will MAGA actually be in the years  and decades  ahead?

Above all, MAGA means nothing more than pragmatism  good old-fashioned common sense. It means an immigration policy that prioritizes cultural preservation and wage earners' bank accounts  not corporate fat cats. It means a trade policy that prioritizes rejuvenating American manufacturing and reshoring  or at least "ally-shoring"  critical supply chains. It means a greater push toward reforming America's sclerotic labor system, perhaps even abandoning it outright for European-style sectoral bargaining. It means a foreign policy laser-focused on soberly securing America's national interest  not romanticizing democracy promotion or the pursuit of liberal universalism.

Call it the common-sense coalition. But whatever you want to call MAGA, it's young. It's a generational, legacy-defining play for Trump, and it's here to stay. And that is a very good thing for the future of these once-and-future-great United States.

(COMMENT, BELOW)

Josh Hammer is senior editor-at-large at Newsweek, a research fellow with the Edmund Burke Foundation, counsel and policy advisor for the Internet Accountability Project, a syndicated columnist through Creators and a contributing editor for Anchoring Truths


Photo: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. On November 18, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met with Anton Siluanov, Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation, and Leonid Slutsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party faction in the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Trend reports.

The meeting underscored the successful development of bilateral relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Russian Federation across various fields, including the economic one. The importance of the meeting in discussing future cooperation prospects was highlighted.

They noted the increase in trade turnover and the use of national currencies for transactions as clear indicators of strengthening ties between the two nations.
Photo: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to the Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq Al Said on the occasion of the National Day of the Sultanate of Oman, Trend reports.

"Your Majesty,

On behalf of myself and the people of Azerbaijan, I sincerely congratulate you and, through you, your entire people on the occasion of the national holiday of the Sultanate of Oman.

On this festive day, I wish you robust health and happiness, and the friendly people of Oman everlasting peace and prosperity," the letter reads.
Neocolonialism. The word may sound like a relic of the Cold War, but in reality, its a modern phenomenon where old colonial powers repackage imperialist practices to fit the globalized world. Despite the much-publicized decolonization movements of the 20th century, countries like France and the Netherlands have mastered the art of retaining influence over their former colonies. From economic strangleholds to cultural dominance, these nations continue to shape the destinies of independent states under the guise of partnership and diplomacy.

For many, the colonial era feels like a distant chapter in history books. Yet its specter continues to haunt the corridors of power in Paris and The Hague. Beneath the rhetoric of equality and freedom, these European states have reinvented their imperial playbook. The question is: why does Europe cling so tightly to its colonial traditions, and what does this mean for global power dynamics?

Imperial Roots: Conquest by Ideology

The seeds of European imperialism were sown in the 15th century, in the aftermath of Columbus' famed discovery of the Americas. France and the Netherlands, eager to carve out their share of the New World, embarked on a relentless campaign of conquest, cloaked in state-sanctioned ideologies. Initially justified by claims of religious superiority and racial hierarchies, later colonial ventures were sold to the public as noble missions to spread democracy and civilization.

France, one of the grandest colonial empires, exemplifies this legacy. Its ventures in Africa were framed under the lofty banner of the "civilizing mission." This ideology masked the brutal reality: relentless resource extraction and the exploitation of local populations. In the 1930s, French President Gaston Doumergue bluntly stated that colonies were indispensable for Frances global standing. This imperial mindset laid the groundwork for policies that still define French foreign relations today.

World War II: A Turning Point? Not Quite.

The Second World War could have been a reckoning for Europes colonial powers, as both France and the Netherlands were humbled by German occupation. But instead of confronting their colonial crimes, they doubled down on their empires. Colonial troops and resources played a pivotal role in the Allied victory, yet their contributions were buried beneath European nationalism.

Take Algeria and Morocco, for instance. Thousands of soldiers from these nations fought valiantly to liberate France, only to be sidelined in the official narrative. The empire that had exploited them in life discarded them in history.

Romanticizing Empire: Education as a Tool

Colonialism didnt just vanishit was rebranded, sanitized, and even celebrated. Educational curriculums in France continue to paint a rosy picture of its colonial exploits. In 2019, a school in Rennes introduced lessons on the "benefits of colonial conquests," sparking outrage among African communities. This wasnt an isolated caseit reflects a broader reluctance to confront the darker truths of history.

The Netherlands follows a similar script. Its colonial narrative often reduces native populations to passive beneficiaries of Dutch "civilization." Conveniently omitted are the massacres, cultural erasures, and systemic oppression that were hallmarks of Dutch imperial rule.

Modern Ambitions: Old Tricks in New Packaging

The colonial mindset didnt disappearit evolved. France and the Netherlands have adapted their imperial tactics to the 21st century, ensuring their influence remains intact.

Take Frances sprawling Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the second largest in the world. Its not just a strategic asset; its a vestige of its colonial past. Frances Indo-Pacific strategy, which includes territories like Djibouti and French Polynesia, is aimed at countering China and shoring up its global clout.

Or consider Emmanuel Macrons controversial 2020 visit to Lebanon after the Beirut port explosion. Macron didnt just offer aidhe demanded political reforms, a move critics slammed as neo-imperial meddling. It was a stark reminder that France still sees itself as the big brother of its former colonies.

Political Hypocrisy and Europes Colonial Blind Spot

Calls for accountability over colonial crimes are getting louder, especially from the Global South. But Europes response has been tepid at best. Instead of reckoning with its past, it relies on political maneuvering to deflect criticism.

Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev put it bluntly: the European Parliaments silence on the colonial atrocities of France and the Netherlands reeks of double standards and political corruption. Its hard to disagree when the same institutions that champion human rights refuse to confront their own historical complicity.

A Shifting World Order: The Old Empires Under Siege

Europes dominance isnt what it used to be. The global economy is pivoting toward the Pacific, and blocs like BRICS are challenging the Wests monopoly on power. France and the Netherlands, clinging to their outdated imperial frameworks, risk being left behind.

This is most evident in Africa, where resentment against neocolonial practices is boiling over. Countries like Mali and Burkina Faso are rejecting French military presence and demanding a renegotiation of economic ties. The message is clear: the Global South is no longer content to play by Europes rules.

Breaking the Chains of Neocolonialism

The fight against neocolonialism isnt just a struggle for sovereigntyits a battle for dignity. For nations in the Global South, breaking free from Europes lingering grip requires political will and global solidarity. The stakes are high, but so is the potential for a more equitable world order.

Europes Reckoning: Time to Choose

The clock is ticking for Europes former empires. To regain credibility on the world stage, they must confront the ghosts of their colonial past. This means more than acknowledging historical crimesit demands meaningful reparations and a commitment to equality.

The alternative? A continued slide into irrelevance as the world moves on. Europes colonial nostalgia may have served its ambitions in the past, but in todays interconnected world, cooperation and mutual respect are the only viable paths forward. The future isnt about clinging to old hierarchiesits about building new partnerships rooted in fairness and shared progress.

The question is, will Europe finally learn the lesson? Or will it remain shackled to the very legacy it claims to have left behind?

France: From Colonial Empire to Francafrique

France once ruled one of the most extensive colonial empires, spanning Africa, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and Oceania. After World War II, under pressure from rising anti-colonial movements, it formally relinquished control over its colonies. Yet, this decolonization was more illusion than reality.

Instead of severing ties, France created Francafrique, a system that preserved its dominance through carefully crafted economic and political mechanisms:

Financial Control: The CFA franc, a currency imposed on 14 African nations, is pegged to the euro and controlled by the French Treasury, ensuring French oversight of African monetary policies.

Military Presence: France maintains a network of permanent military bases and frequently conducts operations, from Mali to the Central African Republic, under the pretense of counterterrorism.

Political Influence: Paris openly supports regimes loyal to its interests while sidelining alternative political movements that might disrupt the status quo.

The Netherlands: The Long Shadow of the Dutch East India Company

The Dutch colonial legacy is inseparable from its brutal domination of Indonesia, Suriname, and the Dutch Antilles. While formal independence came for these territories in the mid-20th century, the Netherlands retained a tight economic grip on its former colonies.

Indonesia: Decades of Dutch colonial exploitation left Indonesia with widespread poverty and social disarray. The scars of resource extraction and cultural suppression still run deep.

Suriname: Despite gaining independence in 1975, Suriname remains tied to Amsterdam through lopsided trade relationships and restrictive credit programs.

The Netherlands colonial past, epitomized by the Dutch East India Company, has left a lasting legacy of unequal relationships, with modern neocolonial practices sustaining Dutch influence under the guise of cooperation.

Why Does Neocolonialism Persist?

Economic Benefits

Resource Riches: Africa and Asia boast vast reserves of oil, gas, gold, diamonds, and critical minerals. France and the Netherlands exploit these resources through trade deals and financial mechanisms that ensure the lions share of profits flows back to Europe.

Corporate Profit: Dutch corporations like Shell and Unilever dominate industries in former colonies, perpetuating economic dependency and creating cycles of debt.

Geopolitical Influence

Frances Role as the Protector: France leverages international platforms, such as La Francophonie, to solidify its role as the cultural and political guardian of its former colonies.

Dutch Aid Programs: Under the banner of development and humanitarian aid, the Netherlands reinforces economic dependency while presenting itself as a benevolent partner.

Cultural and Linguistic Imperialism

France and the Netherlands continue to use language and culture as tools of control. French remains a compulsory subject in schools across many African nations, while Dutch cultural narratives overshadow local histories in Suriname and Indonesia.

Modern Neocolonialism in Action

France: Tools of Control

CFA Franc:

Tied to the euro, this currency robs African countries of monetary independence. In 2023, 14 nations using the CFA franc were forced to hold 50% of their reserves in the French Central Bank.

The system costs these nations an estimated $15 billion annually in lost financial sovereignty.

Military Interventions:

Over the past two decades, France has carried out over 50 military operations in Africa, often branded as counterterrorism efforts. Critics argue these missions primarily serve corporate interests and protect French economic stakes.

Resource Control:

Companies like TotalEnergies reap massive profits from oil and gas exploitation in Africa, often at the expense of local communities.

Netherlands: Economic Dominance

Corporate Power:

Multinational giants like Shell and Unilever continue to exploit natural resources and cheap labor across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.

Offshore Havens:

The Netherlands remains a global tax haven, allowing profits from former colonies to flow back to Europe while depriving those countries of much-needed revenue.

Suriname:

The Netherlands extended $500 million in loans to Suriname in 2023, enforcing stringent conditions that limit the nations economic independence.

Resistance Grows: A New Era of Defiance

The Global South is no longer willing to tolerate Europes veiled imperialism. In Africa, countries like Mali and Burkina Faso are pushing back, expelling French troops and demanding the renegotiation of exploitative agreements. Similarly, leaders in Latin America and Asia are calling for an end to economic dependency on Western powers.

This growing resistance underscores a broader global shift. The rise of alliances like BRICS and the Pacific regions economic ascent challenge the old world order, forcing former colonial powers to reckon with their diminishing influence.

The Ghost of Empire: A Crossroads for Europe

For Europe, the writing is on the wall. Clinging to colonial-era practices not only damages its credibility but also undermines its relevance in a rapidly changing world.

To move forward, France, the Netherlands, and other former imperial powers must confront their past with sincerity. This means acknowledging colonial crimes, offering reparations, and rethinking relationships with former colonies as partnerships of equals.

The choice is clear: continue down the path of neocolonialism and face growing global resistance, or embrace a future rooted in mutual respect and equitable cooperation. The world is watchingand waiting for Europe to decide.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. In a recent article, La Gazette du Caucase criticized France's decision to boycott COP29 in Baku, citing the influence of French Armenian organizations and political posturing, Trend reports.

La Gazette du Caucase highlighted that France's absence, justified by political disagreements, conceals a broader campaign led by influential French Armenian groups. French President Emmanuel Macron initially announced he would not attend, delegating participation to Minister for Ecological Transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher, who also ultimately boycotted the event.

"Behind this diplomatic snub lies the pressure exerted by French Armenian organizations, amplified by figures like Senator Yannick Jadot, who accused Azerbaijan of pursuing a so-called "ethnic cleansing policy" against Armenians," the article noted. It further mentioned similar rhetoric from Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and Republican MP Laurent Wauquiez, while segments of the French media criticized Azerbaijans hosting of COP29.

La Gazette du Caucase directly countered these narratives, emphasizing that "contrary to claims by individuals like Patrick Cohen of France Inter, who called Azerbaijan a dictatorship, visits to the country reveal a secular, multicultural society where openness and unity prevail".

The publication underscored the historical context often ignored in French commentary. "It is essential to recall that Armenian forces invaded Azerbaijani territory nearly 30 years ago, creating an unrecognized "republic" in violation of international law. The 2020 war has liberated these territories, paving the way for reconstruction and the return of displaced people," it stated.

The article also criticized the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs for issuing a travel warning about Azerbaijan, dismissing it as unfounded. "French travelers who visit Azerbaijan experience a warm welcome and a profound appreciation for French culture," the piece observed.

La Gazette du Caucase concluded that France's actions, framed as support for Armenia, risk emboldening extremists rather than fostering peace. "By boycotting COP29 and backing arms deliveries to Yerevan, France signals preparation for further conflict instead of advocating for a fair and lasting peace," the article concluded.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Persons intentionally causing large-scale, long-term, and severe damage to the ecosystem will find themselves behind bars for a stretch of 10 to 15 years, Trend reports.

In this regard, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has signed a law amending the Criminal Code.

Under the amendments, the concept of "ecocide" was added to the Criminal Code.

On this account, the large-scale annihilation of flora or fauna, degradation of air, soil, or aquatic ecosystems, along with deliberate actions that inflict damage on the environment, resulting in an ecological catastrophe or presenting a tangible risk of such a catastrophe, will incur penalties of incarceration ranging from 10 to 15 years.

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The Stark Museum of Art proudly announces the winners of its annual College Juried Art Exhibition, showcasing the exceptional talent of 15 student artists from Lamar University and McNeese State University. The exhibition, on view now through Dec. 20, features works selected by a distinguished juror and highlights creativity across various mediums.

This year's Best of Show Award was presented to Taylor Balsano from Lamar University for her thought-provoking piece, "Untitled," which juxtaposes a bear (symbolizing nature) against a wallpaper-like background (representing the human-built environment). The juror praised the piece's compelling contrast between nature and humanity, noting its evocative and layered meaning. Balsano received a $500 Blick Art Materials gift certificate for her accomplishment.

In addition, two Honorable Mentions were awarded:

 Nelly Gonzalez Chan of McNeese State University for her painting, "Circle of Life," which the juror described as "striking at first glance" and visually captivating, inviting viewers to analyze each element within the "vanitas" composition.

 Angela de la Rosa of Lamar University for her untitled painting, celebrated by the juror for its impactful color palette, which conveys a uniquely alternative tone.

Each Honorable Mention recipient received a $100 Blick Art Materials gift certificate, courtesy of Blick Art Materials.

The 2024 College Juried Art Exhibition features the following 15 artists:

 Taylor Balsano, Lamar University, Best of Show

 Angela de la Rosa, Lamar University, Honorable Mention

 Nelly Gonzalez Chan, McNeese State University, Honorable Mention

 Madelyn Benoit, McNeese State University

 Ciara Broussard, Lamar University

 Abigail Brumett, McNeese State University

 Logan Comeaux, Lamar University

 Rachel Durham, Lamar University

 Taylor Hess, McNeese State University

 Nya James, McNeese State University

 Kate Lawrence, Lamar University

 Brandon Morales, Lamar University

 Willie Sandles, Lamar University

 Gabrielle Sensat, Lamar University

 Samina Shaikh, Lamar University

The Stark Museum of Art invites the public to view this year's College Juried Art Exhibition and celebrate the creativity and skill of these rising artists. For more information about the Stark Museum of Art, please visit starkmuseum.org.

The Stark Museum of Art is located at 712 Green Avenue in downtown Orange, Texas and open Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the museum is free of charge.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov conferred with Pere Joan Sampietro, Vice President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, during his visit to Azerbaijan for the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), Trend reports.

The meeting discussed issues on the agenda of cooperation between Azerbaijan and OSCE, the regional situation, as well as prospects of cooperation within COP29.

The sides noted that the existence of intensive dialog between our country and the OSCE PA is a matter of satisfaction; parliamentary diplomacy, including mutual visits within this framework, is important in terms of discussing issues of common interest.

Moreover, it was stated that climate change threatens human security and sustainable development, and promoting efforts to overcome the consequences of climate change observed in our region and in the world and supporting the most vulnerable groups in this direction is a priority of the country's chairmanship in COP29. The presidency's negotiation process yielded significant successes, particularly the agreement on Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement and the annual increase in climate finance commitments by financial institutions from $75 billion to $170 billion.

The meeting also provided information on the history of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, the consequences of the occupation, the current situation and realities in the region in the post-conflict period, as well as the progress of the peace process in the region.

The Vice President congratulated Azerbaijan on its chairmanship in COP29 and wished success in this activity. It was noted that great importance is attached to the efforts to combat climate change within the OSCE.

The sides also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest during the meeting.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Chetna Nand Singh, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Asansol Division, Eastern Railway, conducted a series of inspections and meetings today to address infrastructure and passenger service improvements. At Simultala station, the DRM met with public representatives to discuss developmental issues related to passenger amenities and infrastructure upgrades.

Representatives shared their concerns and suggestions, and the DRM assured them of timely action. He also inspected the Integrated Power Supply (IPS) Room, reviewing the functionality and maintenance of power supply systems critical for uninterrupted signalling operations. Shri Singh emphasised the importance of regular upkeep and strict adherence to safety protocols. The DRM then proceeded to Narganjo station, inspecting ongoing development works and interacting with station staff. Discussions focused on measures to enhance cleanliness and passenger convenience.

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The DRM reviewed the station premises, including platforms, to identify areas requiring immediate attention. The day began with a window trailing inspection of the Simultala-Jhajha-Jasidih section, covering operational and safety aspects. The inspection started at Simultala and concluded at Jasidih, focusing on track conditions, infrastructure, and safety protocols. At Jasidih station, a detailed review of passenger amenities, station facilities, and operational arrangements was conducted.

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Additionally, during the visit to Jhajha, the DRM interacted with station staff regarding the interchange of goods trains, ensuring the smooth and efficient handling of freight operations. These activities aim to address local needs, enhance passenger satisfaction, and improve railway infrastructure for the benefit of the travelling public.
Following the alleged attempt on the life of Trinamul Congress councillor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Sushanta Ghosh, a resident of Kasba, police continued their investigations, with divers being deployed in a canal to search for a second weapon. The search has been ongoing since morning and continued for 40 minutes, as investigators believe that another firearm might have been brought along to either kill or intimidate Mr Ghosh.

They suspect that the weapon could have been discarded in the canal. Mr Ghosh is the councillor of Ward No. 108 of the KMC. The alleged murder attempt took place on Friday but failed. One revelation after another is emerging in the shooting incident. A land dispute theory has also come to light. It is alleged that hired contract killers attempted to shoot and kill Mr Ghosh. Police on Sunday deployed divers to search the Shantipally canal, located just 80 metres away from Sushanta Ghoshs house in Chakraborty Para, Rajdanga. On Friday, two miscreants arrived on a scooter in front of Mr Ghoshs house. One of them, seated at the back, dismounted and aimed a pistol at the councillor. The assailant tried to fire twice, but the weapon malfunctioned. When the miscreant attempted to escape, Mr Ghosh and his associates caught him and handed him over to police.

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However, the scooter driver managed to escape and remains at large. Investigators suspect that the driver was also armed and might have discarded his pistol while fleeing near the canal. This has led the police to search the canal for the missing weapon, though it has yet to be found. Following this, police personnel began searching the adjacent jungle for the weapon. After combing through the jungle, the search extended to an abandoned construction site near the canal. So far, police have arrested three individuals in connection with the attempted murder. On the day of the incident, they apprehended the alleged shooter, Yuvraj Singh. The next morning, they arrested a taxi driver, Ahmed Khan, accused of transporting the shooters to various locations from Howrah Station. On Saturday, police arrested Afroz Khan, alias Gulzar, one of the main conspirators, from Galsi in East Burdwan. He was reportedly trying to flee to Bihar.

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Jeevan Pramaan is the vision of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Digital Empowerment of Pensioners. All key stakeholders  Pension disbursing banks, Department of Pensions and Pensioners Welfare, Controller General of Defence Accounts, Ministry of Railways, Department of Telecom, Department of Posts, IIPB, UIDAI and Pensioners Welfare Associations are working with whole of government approach to realise the vision of Digital Empowerment of Pensioners.

The Department of Pensions and Pensioners Welfare launched the Nation-wide Digital Life Certificate Campaign 3.0 for Digital Empowerment of Pensioners here earlier this month. The DLC Campaign 3.0 is being held in 800 cities and towns of India from November 1-30.

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As many as 1,575 camps have been held from November 1-17 in 800 districts and 1.8 lakh postmen deployed across the country.

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As a result, Digital Life Certificate (DLC) Campaign 3.0 has made remarkable progress by the end of the 2nd second week, achieving significant milestones in its mission to bring convenience and accessibility to pensioners across the nation. The campaign has successfully generated over 77 lakh Digital Life Certificates by the end of 2nd week of launch of the 3.0 Campaign, out of which about 1,77,153 pensioners above 90 years old and 17,212 pensioners between 80- 90 years category could submit their DLCs from the comfort of their home/locations/offices/branches.

This incredible momentum underscores the commitment of pensioners, banking institutions, and government agencies towards a digitally empowered India. A lot of excitement has been observed amongst all the stakeholders, particularly sick and very old pensioners at all the locations.

In this campaign, the department is putting all efforts to create awareness amongst all pensioners regarding DLC-Face Authentication technique by way of banners / posters placed strategically in offices and all Bank Branches / ATMs. All Banks have created a team of dedicated staff at their branches having downloaded the desired apps in their smartphones who are using this technology extensively for submission of Life Certificates by the pensioners. In case, the pensioners are not able to visit the Branches due to old age/illness/weakness, the Bank officials are also visiting their homes/hospitals for the above purpose.

The Pensioners Welfare Associations are extending their full support to the campaign. Their representatives are motivating the pensioners to visit the nearby camp locations and submit their DLCs. The officials from Department of Pension & Pensioners Welfare are also visiting major locations through-out the Country to assist pensioners in use of various digital modes to submit their Life Certificates and monitoring the progress very closely.

Key highlights of the campaign include Mega Camps. As part of the Campaign, 4 Mega camps have been organised, 2 in Delhi (4-5 November), 1 in Bengaluru (8 November) and 1 in Hyderabad (12 November) involving all stakeholders.

SBI and PNB are leading the campaign by generating more than 9 lakh DLCs by the end of 2nd week of the month-long Campaign, while Canara Bank and Central Bank of India registered impressive performances by generating 1.57 lakh DLCs respectively.

In the State-Wise Progress, Maharashtra led the way with over 10 lakh certificates generated, followed by Tamilnadu and West Bengal 6 lakh each. Uttar Pradesh has also done well with more than 5 lakh DLCs.

In the Departmental Contributions, the Defence Department stood out with a 21 lakh DLCs, while the Telecom Department generated an impressive 3.1 lakh DLCs. Civil Departments also contributed significantly with over 3.4 lakh certificates generated.

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) generated 4.4 lakh DLCs by the end of 2nd week of the campaign. IPPB has played a key role in delivering doorstep delivery of services and advanced authentication methods such as Face Recognition contributed to 24 lakh certificates, making up 34 per cent of the total DLCs generated.

There is 204 fold increase in DLCs submitted through Face Authentication under DLC Campaign 3.0.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Monday said that the state government has intensified its efforts to curb air pollution amid the worsening air quality of the national capital, and instructed the Health Department to form a Special Task Force in wake of health risks related to the escalated bad air situation.

He announced the implementation of restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plans stage- IV (GRAP- IV) in response to this crisis. He expressed strong concern over the central governments alleged inaction, particularly aiming at the silence of the Union Environment Minister and the refusal of the BJP-led government to take responsibility.

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He emphasized the alarming rise in pollution levels, which have been exacerbated by stubble burning and other factors, with several areas recording very high AQI readings surpassing 400. The Delhi minister stated, The entire North India has now fallen into the grip of severe pollution. Elderly people are facing difficulty in breathing, and schools for children are being forced to close. Peoples lives are being continuously impacted negatively by this.

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He accused the BJP- led centre of not taking the step to convene a meeting with IIT Kanpur to analyze and prepare for emergency measures such as artificial rain to clear the smog. He said, This delay has left Delhis residents to suffer the dire consequences of pollution, and even now, theres no sign of proactive steps from the central government.

Rai further said, The BJP have left half of India in a state of medical emergency, remaining silent without taking action. They neither speak nor act, nor do they allow others to act. This is unacceptable.The Delhi minister said that the state government is doing everything within its capacity to address the problem, and urged the centre to take necessary actions.

Emergency measures must be implemented immediately to protect North India from the devastating impact of this pollution, Rai said.

Rai further highlighted the severity of the situation, noting, In North India, Bahadurgarhs AQI has reached 477, Bhiwani 468, Churus 472, Gurugrams 448, and Dharuhera 410. Pollutions impact, combined with the changing weather, is becoming increasingly deadly across North India, he added.

According to Rai, with the implementation of GRAP- IV in Delhi, under which the entry of large trucks and BS-IV diesel vehicles has been banned, and all types of construction and demolition activities have been completely restricted. Only CNG, electric, BS-VI diesel, and commercial vehicles providing essential goods and services will be exempted, he added.

According to Rai, All schools have been closed, except for classes 10 and 12. Instructions have been given to provide masks to students. Guidelines have been issued for this. The Health Department has been directed to form a special task force to ensure the treatment of pollution-related patients.

He further mentioned that in the month of August, he had written to the Union Environment Minister regarding the situation, and now with reduced wind speeds and thick smog over the region, the outcomes of the inaction are being witnessed.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 19. An award ceremony and photo exhibition for the international photo competition "Earth Through Childrens Eyes" was held the Heydar Aliyev Center, Trend reports.

The event was attended by Assistant to the President Anar Alakbarov, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and founder of the IDEA Public Union, Leyla Aliyeva, head of Baku Media Center Arzu Aliyeva, ICESCO Director-General Salim bin Mohammed AlMalik, and prominent cultural and scientific figures.

The project was organized by the IDEA (International Dialogue for Environmental Action) Public Union, supported by the COP29 Azerbaijan Operating Company, and initiated by renowned photographer Reza Deghati and his Reza Visual Academy.

Leyla Aliyeva highlighted that the exhibition showcases the beauty of the planet and the challenges it faces through the eyes of children. "Their perspectives are filled with compassion, understanding, and sensitivity. I believe that we all have an innate desire to protect nature. This exhibition reminds us to pause, take a deep breath, and reconnect with the essence of life and nature. Children are not only our future; they are our present. They are the ones who truly know how to live in the moment, she stated.

Reza Deghati, the projects initiator, noted that the exhibition aims to draw attention to nature and its preservation through the eyes of children. He emphasized that despite his six decades in photography, he was amazed by the children's images focused on nature. "We showed these pictures to adults so they could understand the children's message. Lets heed the words of children, as they call everyone to love and protect nature. I trust that this call will resonate deeply with all," he said.

UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan, Vladanka Andreeva, expressed her pleasure in participating, emphasizing the importance of ensuring a healthy planet for future generations and commending the collaborative efforts with IDEA and photographer Reza.

COP29's Azerbaijani youth climate champion, Leyla Hasanova, shared her pride in being part of the jury, urging people to cherish and protect nature. We wish to leave a green world as a legacy and hope our children will live in a more sustainable and greener environment, she added.

Certificates were presented to participating children, followed by a tour of the exhibition showcasing the winning and other notable photographs.

The competition, held from October 11 to November 2 for participants aged up to 18, aimed to raise awareness of climate issues and encourage youth to share their views on nature's beauty and the challenges of pollution and climate change.

Under the slogan "I love nature, I fear pollution," the contest saw submissions of around 3,000 photos. Fourteen finalists were awarded, with winners in the 10-18 age category from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Malta claiming first, second, and third places, respectively. Participants from Bangladesh, the UK, Iran, Ireland, and Myanmar received special recognition for their creative and thought-provoking images.

In the under-10 category, finalists from France, Iran, Switzerland, and Turkiye were honored for their outstanding entries, while a young photographer from Azerbaijan received a special award as the host country representative from the jury, Reza Visual Academy, Degati Agency, and Webistan.

The contest attracted participants from over 50 countries, including the USA, Germany, UAE, China, Denmark, France, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, Norway, and others, with themes centered on raising climate change awareness, emphasizing solutions, and fostering shared responsibility for protecting the planet.
Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta on Monday slammed the AAP government over the issue of illegal immigrants, saying national security cannot be sacrificed at the altar of political opportunism.

Cornering the AAP government, Gupta on Monday wrote a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Atishi asking her to immediately act over the matter.

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In a letter addressed to Atishi, the Leader of Opposition said the AAP governments role in facilitating the illegal settlement of Rohingya immigrants in the national capital has raised serious concerns among the citizens of this city and across the nation.

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It appears that the AAP is actively aiding and abetting a process that undermines our Constitution, compromises national security, and endangers the integrity of our democracy, he alleged.

Stating that the reports of Rohingya immigrants encroaching on public roads, sidewalks, and parks under the watch of her administration paint a disturbing picture, Gupta said, Even more alarming are revelations that efforts are underway to issue voter IDs to these illegal immigrants based on fake documents and adopting manipulative processes.

He said this brazen attempt to legitimise their presence and provide them with democratic rights reserved for Indian citizens is nothing short of a betrayal of the nation.

The Leader of Opposition also posed a volley of questions to the Chief Minister over the matter.

Why is the AAP government silent on this issue? Is this a calculated political move to appease a specific vote bank at the expense of national security? Granting voter IDs to illegal immigrants is not just a violation of the law, it is a direct attack on the sanctity of our electoral system. By turning a blind eye to this issue, your government is complicit in a process that threatens to destabilize the social fabric of Delhi and the nation, he said.

Stating that national security cannot be sacrificed at the altar of political opportunism, Gupta said any attempts to legalise these illegal migrants through backdoor manipulations will be met with staunch opposition.

The AAP government must immediately halt these activities, take strict action against illegal encroachments by Rohingya immigrants, and ensure that no unauthorised person is issued identity documents. If your government fails to act decisively, we will be compelled to escalate this issue through legal, administrative, and public platforms to protect the interests of Delhi and the nation, he said.

Gupta said the people of Delhi will not tolerate a government that compromises their safety, their resources, and their democratic rights.
Three elephants were allegedly electrocuted after coming in contact with live wire traps laid by poachers in forest areas of Odishas Sambalpur district, a senior forest official said on Monday.

The live wire trap might have been laid out by suspected poachers for the killing of wild elephants. Besides, the farmers in these areas also resort to lay live wire to protect the croplands from wild animals intrusion. All possible angles leading to the elephants death are being examined, added the official.

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Carcasses of these animals, including two adults and a calf, were spotted in Buramal under Naktideul forest range.

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Ironically the forest officials had recently conducted an elephant census. However, they failed to detect the live wire trap, which demonstrates negligence on their part to do the forest patrolling to track the elephants, said Odisha Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Susanta Nanda.

The preliminary inquiry report furnished by the divisional forest officer insinuates negligence in performing duty by forest personnel. Besides, the Discoms also apparently did not install the poles at the proper height in the elephant habitat to protect the animals from electrocution. A departmental inquiry has been ordered into the elephant electrocution, Nanda further stated.

If the field staff had detected the live wire trap, the elephant death could easily have been avoided. This apart, the low-slung overhead electric cables were spotted at the spot.

The postmortem of the carcasses will be conducted. Search operation is on to nab the suspected poachers, added the official.

Live wire poaching traps, sagging overhead lines and electrified fences result in electrocution of these national heritage animals.

Majority of the elephant electrocution deaths are attributed to live wire poaching. Since 2010, around 120 electrocution deaths of elephants have been reported in Odisha. The shrinkage of forest cover, which used to be the habitation corridors of elephants, has led these animals to stray into village areas in search of food. This is resulting in man-elephant conflict and fatalities of protected animals, including elephants, said conservationists.

The Orissa High Court had directed the power distribution companies (Discoms) in 2023 to initiate corrective measures to arrest the electrocution of wild elephants in the State.

Elephant deaths keep occurring at regular intervals as power distribution infrastructures inside forest are not maintained in time. The pachyderms also perish as farmers in villages, hit by elephant depredation, illegally draw power from these overhead cables to create live wire fences around their crop fields. The poachers linked to the ivory smuggling gang also lay live wire traps to kill the male elephants, said conservationists.

Earlier this month, the State government had ordered an investigation into the unnatural deaths of at least 50 elephants in the state this year. The State is home to as many as 2,098 elephants in 38 Forest Divisions as per the latest census of these animals.
The Supreme Court on Monday put on hold its order passed earlier in the morning asking the Secretary to the President of India Droupadi Murmu to place the mercy petition of death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana before the President with a request to consider it within two weeks.

Rajoana was awarded the death sentence for his involvement in the assassination of the then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh on August 31, 1995 at Chandigarh.

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The order asking the Secretary to the President Murmu to place before the President, Rajoanas mercy petition with a request to consider it within two weeks was put on hold later in the day after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta in a mentioning urged the bench that the order should not be given effect to as there are sensitivities involved in the issue and that it be heard on Friday  November 22, 2024.

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The matter will now be heard on Monday  November 25, 2024.

In the morning, the Central government was not represented in the hearing by a special bench comprising Justice BT Gavai, Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice KV Viswanathan.

Earlier in the morning a special bench comprising Justice Gavai, Justice Mishra and Justice Viswanathan had said that if mercy petition was not considered within the time stipulated, it will consider the petition for granting interim relief.

At the outset of the hearing, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for Rajoana told the bench that the government said that it is not the right time to decide the issue. When then after his life is over? This is not a case of national security, senior advocate told the bench.

The bench in the morning hearing had questioned non-representation of the central government before it and said that the special bench was constituted for this purpose only and the court had deferred the hearing on the matter on the last occasion only because the Centre had sought some time.

Advocate appearing for the Punjab government told the bench that the Central government had stated earlier that there is a national threat if he is released. In the last hearing of the matter on November 4, the Supreme court had asked both the Central and the Punjab governments to clarify their position on the mercy petition by Rajoana.

The bench then in its order noted, The bench has been specifically assembled only for this matter. On the last date, the matter was adjourned so as to enable the Union of India to take instruction from the office of the President of India as to within how much period the mercy petition of the petitioner (Balwant Singh Rajoana) would be decided. We therefore direct, Secretary, the President of India to place the matter before the President within a request to consider the same within two weeks from today. We clarify that in the event no decision is taken on the next date, we will consider the prayers made by the petitioner for interim relief.

Thereafter the bench posted the matter for hearing on December 5 at 10.30 am.

The top court was hearing the plea of petitioner death-row convict Rajoana for release from jail. On November 4, the top court had said that they would only consider Rajoanas plea seeking release only after hearing the central and the Punjab governments.

Rajoana, a sympathizer of the militant group Babbar Khalsa, has sought the commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment on the grounds of extraordinary and inordinate delay of one year and four months in deciding his mercy petition, which remains pending before the President of India.

Rajoana has sought consequential release on the grounds that he has undergone a total sentence of 28 years and eight months as of date, of which 17 years have been served as a death row convict in an 8 x 10 capital punishment cell, including 2.5 years in solitary confinement.

The convict, Balwant Singh Rajoana, was sentenced to death for the murder of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, who died in a bomb explosion in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995.
As the final day of campaigning in Maharashtras upcoming elections draws to a close, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Monday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, suggesting that the BJP had accepted defeat by his absence from the campaign trail.

Speaking to reporters in Pune, Reddy said Modis week-long international tour is evidence of the BJP leaving the electoral battlefield.

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Today is the last day for campaigning in Maharashtra. PM Modi has left the country. This means that BJP and PM Modi have accepted their defeat and they have left the battlefield, Reddy said.

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He added, I saw some advertisements by the BJP in newspapers today, they are trying to divide the country to win elections Staying the Prime Minister for three terms and 11 years, PM Modi has nothing to say about the works he has done.

Reddys remarks come as the Prime Minister left on Saturday for the week-long tour to Nigeria, Brazil and Guyana, during which he will hold high-level meetings with global leaders.

Modis visit to Nigeria, at the invitation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, marks his first trip to the West African nation. During the visit, the Prime Minister was awarded with Nigerias second highest civilian award.

On the second leg of his tour, Modi will head to Brazil to attend the 19th G-20 Summit.

Indias role as a Troika member will be highlighted at the summit, following the success of last years G-20 Presidency, which focused on elevating the priorities of the Global South.

Voting for Maharashtra and second phase of voting for Jharkhand will take place on November 20. Counting will take place on November 23.
Blaming stubble burning for severe air pollution across northern India, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi lamented that an average adult is gasping for breath while children and the elderly, who are particularly vulnerable to the toxic fumes, have to depend on medical assistance.

Acknowledging that the people of Delhi are in great distress in the wake of the unprecedented air pollution in the city, the Delhi CM said, I received phone calls throughout last night from some who needed to admit their elderly parents to hospitals with breathing difficulties and others who had to rush for asthma inhalers for their young ones late at night.

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CM Atishi wrote on her X handle: All of North India has been plunged into a medical emergency as stubble burning continues unchecked across the country. All cities across the country  in UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, MP and Delhi  are reeling under severe levels of pollution.

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She urged the Centre to take immediate steps to reduce stubble-burning incidence.

Atishi hit out at the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre for its alleged inaction against the farm fires which, she claimed, have been on the rise across the northern parts of the country pushing the air quality towards dangerous levels.

Addressing a press conference, Atishi said the elderly citizens are bearing the brunt literally gasping for breath in the toxic atmospheric pollution while children are forced to rely on inhalers and steroids.

Atishi held Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh squarely responsible for the surge in stubble-burning incidents over the past 6-7 years. As for Punjab, she claimed that the AAP-ruled state stands out as the sole exception in this regard. In Punjab, she said, crop residue burning incidents have witnessed a decline of 80 per cent, from 73,300 in 2021 to 8,404 in 2024.

CM Atishi pointed out that Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of stubble-burning incidents with 9,600 cases recorded between September 15 and November 17. This has pushed air quality in its cities to hazardous levels, she added.

If the Punjab government can reduce stubble burning, why cant other states, she asked the Central government.
Congress, on Monday, slammed the BJP-led government in Manipur and the Centre for the situation in Manipur stating that there is complete anarchy under the double-engine government in the northeastern state.

The party renewed its advice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the strife-torn state.

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It may be mentioned here that the ethnic clashes that erupted in the state of Manipur on May 3 last year continued unabated. Hundreds of people have lost their lives while thousands have been forced to take refuge in relief camps.

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Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, along with Manipur Congress chief K Meghachandra, state in-charge Girish Chodankar, Congress general secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh pointed out that the state of Manipur has been burning since May 3 last year. Thousands of people have been displaced from their homes and many were killed as the double-engine government miserably failed in maintaining law and order there, he said.

Cornering the prime minister for not visiting the troubled state, Ramesh said, Narendra Modi goes to different countries of the world and gives sermons but has not visited Manipur till date. He should take time off to visit the state at least now.

Echoing similar sentiments, Manipur Congress chief Meghachandra said, The most unprecedented turmoil is happening in Manipur. In the absence of law and order, there is total anarchy under the double-engine government. Abduction and killing of innocent citizens have become common. Women, children, and, babies are particularly vulnerable to the ongoing violence.

Quoting from Modis 2017 speech delivered in Manipur that those who cant ensure peace in the state had no right to govern it, he asked the prime minister if his double-engine government is ensuring peace, maintaining the law and order. Is it (the government) protecting the lives and property of the Manipur people? Why is the prime minister neglecting the state, he wondered.

The state has been burning for months, but he (Modi) never utters a word on it. The prime minister must ask the Chief Minister (N Biren Singh) to step down as he has no right to continue going by the standards set by him in 2017, Meghachandra added.

He said if the prime minister is unable to visit Manipur, he should give an appointment to the leaders of all parties of the state to meet him in the national capital.
The Election Commission officials on Tuesday inspected the bags of NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule at a helipad in Manjari, Hadapsar, Pune, in a move that comes amid the oppositions allegations of bias in poll monitoring.

Sule, a prominent opposition leader, was reportedly traveling to address election rallies in the area when the officials checked her belongings.

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The inspection follows allegations by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, who accused the BJP and its allies of using cash to influence voters. Speaking to reporters earlier this month, Raut raised questions about the impartiality of the Election Commission, claiming that substantial sums of money are being funneled into constituencies linked to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis.

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Raut said, The Election Commission does its job. You check our cars, planes, and everything. If you carry out this work impartially, we have no problem. But in Maharashtra, where Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar, and BJP are contesting the election, Rs 25 crore has already been taken there.

He alleged that similar incidents occurred during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, where 20-20 bags of cash were transported via helicopters, claiming they had video evidence to support the accusations.

Raut also questioned whether the convoys of BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, face similar scrutiny. Do you stop the convoys of Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar, Narendra Modi, and Amit Shah and check them? he asked.

The campaigning for the Assembly elections in Maharashtra ends on Monday, with the voting scheduled for November 20. The counting of votes will take place on November 23 and the results will also likely be announced the same day.
Expressing serious concern over the continued decrease in the allocation of the states share from the tax revenue, Chief Minister and ruling DMK president MK Stalin on Monday urged the Finance Commission to enhance it to 50 per cent from the present 41 per cent and said the present method appears to be punishing a developed state like Tamil Nadu.

At a meeting with the Chairperson and members of the 16th Finance Commission, the Chief Minister called for a new model of sharing tax revenue which does not hinder the growth of developed states. Share from the central tax pool should be uniform unlike the current system which affects the effective functioning of the state, he said, adding that Tamil Nadu which had faced natural disasters, finds it very difficult to earmark funds for developmental works.

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In his address, Stalin drew attention to three important challenges that the state has been facing: impact of natural disasters, rise in the elderly population and the demands of rapid urbanisation. Natural disasters like cyclones and torrential rains have not only deprived the people of their property and livelihood but have caused huge damage to public infrastructure.

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The steady increase in the elderly population has its impact on the states demography, the Chief Minister said and pointed out that the average age of the population as of now stood at 36.4 years, which is 9.5 years higher when compared to Uttar Pradesh. By the time the XVI Finance Commission completes its tenure, the average age of the population in Tamil Nadu would be 38.5 years. It would by then emerge as the state with the highest elderly population in the country, he explained adding that in such a situation, it becomes necessary to provide timely social welfare measures for the elderly without which the state could not continue the developmental path.

On the state witnessing rapid urbanisation, Stalin said this posed a significant challenge in mobilising and allocating funds for creating necessary urban infrastructure and providing basic amenities. With land and water resources being limited, he requested the Finance Commission to recommend more funds for urban local bodies like Chennai.

Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission Arvind Panagariya and the members are on a four-day visit to the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday explained to top world leaders how the countries of the Global South have been most adversely impacted by the food, fuel and fertilizer crisis due to ongoing conflicts.

Speaking at the G20 Summit in Brazil on Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty, he said the gathering of the top leaders can only be successful if the challenges and priorities of the Global South are kept in mind.

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And just as we amplified the voice of the Global south by granting permanent membership of G20 to the African Union during the New Delhi Summit, we will reform institutions of global governance, the PM said.

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Sharing with the G20 leaders Indias experiences, Mr Modi said the country has lifted 250 million people out of poverty over the last ten years. Over 800 million people are being given food grains free of cost. 550 million people are benefiting from the worlds biggest health insurance scheme. Now, 60 million senior citizens, over the age of 70, will also be able to benefit from free health insurance, he added.

The PM said that over 300 million women micro entrepreneurs have been linked to banks and given access to credit. Under the worlds largest crop insurance scheme, over 40 million farmers have received benefits worth $20 billion, he added.

Under the farmers scheme, assistance worth over 40 billion dollars has been given to 110 million farmers, he said, adding institutional credit worth 300 billion US dollars is being given to farmers.

India is not only ensuring food security but also focusing on Nutrition. The Saksham Anganwadi and Nutrition 2.0 campaign, which is an Integrated Nutrition Support Programme, focuses in particular on nutrition for pregnant women, newborn babies, children under the age of 6, and adolescent girls, he added.

The PM said that through the Mid Day Meal scheme special attention is being paid to the nutritional needs of school going children. India is also contributing to global food security.

The main reason for our success is our approach: back to basics and march to the future. We have focused not only on natural farming and organic farming but also on new technologies. We have focused on sustainable agriculture, protection of the environment, nutrition and food security by promoting Sri Ann or millets, the PM said.

He said India has developed over 2000 climate resilient crop varieties and has started the Digital Agriculture Mission. The countrys Digital public Infrastructure enabled social and financial inclusion.

With the Aspirational Districts and Blocks project we created a new model for inclusive development that strengthens the weakest link, he added

Earlier, the PM arrived in Brazil to a rousing welcome on the second leg of his three-nation visit to attend the G20 Summit. The PM reached Rio de Janeiro after concluding a successful visit to Nigeria.

The celebrations outside the hotel, where he will stay, included a traditional dandiya ceremony with dancers dressed in vibrant Gujarati attire, as well as chants of Vedic mantras performed by Brazilian scholars. Members of the diaspora waved the Indian tricolour and chanted Modi, Modi as soon as he arrived at the hotel.

In a social media post on X, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lands in the vibrant city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to attend the G20 Brazil Summit. It also shared pictures of PM Modis welcome at the airport.

On his official X handle, the PM wrote, Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders. In Brazil, he will attend the 19th G20 Summit as a member of the Troika. India is part of the G20 Troika along with Brazil and South Africa.

Besides Mr Modi, the summit is to be attended by top world leaders, including US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
J&K Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra on Monday asked the partys block presidents to defend the basic idea of India which is under attack by BJP -RSS combine in present times more vigorously than ever before.

Addressing the block presidents of various districts of Jammu region, he said that the congress philosophy is based on the basic idea of India, which believes in unity in diversity. The basic idea of India is under attack by BJP-RSS combine and other communal and divisive forces which is dangerous for the unity of pluralistic India, he charged. Karra told them that they are the backbone of the party and the most important functionaries of the party at grass root level.

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The PCC chief held a day-long interaction with the block presidents of various districts of Jammu region including Jammu Urban, Jammu Rural, Kathua, Udhampur, Reasi and Sunderbani in Rajouri. The interaction lasted for over five hours in which the PCC president took the feedback about the organizational affairs & party structure at the grassroot level. He heard the views of each and every block president and assured them to take necessary steps to strengthen the organization.

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He stressed that it is the prime duty of Congress party and its workers in every nook and corner of the country to counter the fake and false propaganda of the BJP-RSS against the basic idea of India and against secular ideology being promoted by our leadership.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. A key meeting on "Caspian Sea Water Decline in Light of Climate Change" took place at the national pavilion of Azerbaijan as part of the ongoing COP29 in Baku, Trend reports.

The session, organized jointly by Azerbaijans Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and the Secretariat of the Framework Convention "Caspian Sea Water Decline in Light of Climate Change," brought together officials from Caspian littoral statesAzerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistanas well as the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and representatives from other international organizations.

In her address, Azerbaijan's Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Umayra Taghiyeva, highlighted the significant decline in Caspian Sea water levels in recent years due to climate change, emphasizing the need for regional cooperation to preserve this unique ecosystem.

She underlined the importance of joint efforts by experts from the Caspian states to comprehensively study changes in water levels and develop adaptive measures.

During the event, UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen presented a report titled "Caspian Sea Water Level Fluctuations and Climate Change," which was prepared in collaboration with Azerbaijans Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources.

Representatives from the World Bank and the Green Climate Fund also participated in the discussions, presenting on related topics.

The session concluded with the adoption of the "Declaration of Ministers and Senior Officials of Caspian States on Enhancing Cooperation Regarding the Decline of Caspian Sea Water Levels".

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action  was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

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Sustained agitation by villagers of Kappatralla and surrounding villages in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh has forced the state government to declare that there would be no exploration for uranium in this area. However, the villagers want an Assembly resolution to be passed so that the issue of mining uranium can be put to rest once for all.

Their skepticism comes from the fact that the locals were kept completely unaware of the borewells dug in the Kappatralla Reserve Forest area to assess the availability of Uranium. S R Sarma, a resident of Kappatralla village, known for faction feuds said that there was almost no information in the public domain about the investigations by the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) apart from a mention of boreholes and the possibility of finding higher-grade Uranium in a scientific paper published in 2019.

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Also, a reply about exploring indigenous sources of Uranium in the Rajya Sabha mentioned Kappatralla among the areas where AMD had initiated exploration for Uranium.

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As the reports of Uranium exploration in Kappatralla spread, there was a campaign by civil society to make people aware of the devastation caused by Uranium mining might wreck their lives and livelihoods. They need not look far but at the devastation faced by the villagers of Tummalapalle in neighbouring Kadapa district due to the contamination of groundwater through Uranium tailing ponds.

In this area where Uranium Corporation of India Limited continues to mine Uranium, there have been several protests by local communities who complain about battling health problems, low crop productivity and livestock problems.

In Kappatralla, the campaign by community members resulted in severe protests in Kurnool where people blocked the highway and refused to attend a meeting called by district authorities. The state government was concerned Since it is an area dominated by factional politics and the local MLA belongs to YSRCP, the authorities did not want the protest to go on and endanger law and order, said a local leader. The state government through the SP and DM announced that there would be no exploration of Uranium in Kappatralla.

According to a memo issued by the special chief secretary of Forest and Environment Department of the AP government wherein the collector & district magistrate, Kurnool district, while stating uproar and agitation by the villages of Kappatralla and surrounding villages, have requested to issue necessary instructions on the processing of the subject proposal as the surrounding villagers  of the Devanakonda Mandal, Kurnool district is strongly agitating against drilling of 68 boreholes in Kappatralla RF, Gundlakonda beat, Pattikonda section, Adoni range  for prospecting of Uranium minerals and creating law and order problem in Devanakonda mandal of Kurnool district.

The Principal Chief conservator of Forests( PCCF and Head of Forest Force (HoFF) is, therefore, requested not to take any further action on the processing of the proposal until further orders from the government.

However, community leaders are now demanding that the state government adopt a resolution in the Assembly as the BRS did against Uranium mining in Nalgonda district in Telangana. Right now, the state government has only asked to not process the proposal for the time being. The government should pass a resolution in the Assembly against any further exploration of Uranium and put the matter to rest, said Sarma.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday announced that the state government plans to file a lawsuit against Prime Minister Narendra Modis allegations that the Congress-led government in Karnataka is looting the state and using those funds to finance its election campaign in Maharashtra.

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Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, CM Siddaramaiah vehemently denied the allegations, calling them a lie aimed at misleading the public for political gain.

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PM Modi is telling lies to mislead the people and secure votes for his party. We will examine the legal options available and are planning to file a suit against these baseless claims, he said.

The controversy erupted earlier this month when Prime Minister Modi, during a rally in poll-bound Maharashtra, accused the Congress of looting the people of Karnataka.

He alleged that the state government was using the proceeds of this alleged loot to fund its election campaign in Maharashtra.

In Karnataka, Congress lied to the people, asking for their votes. After forming the government, they failed to deliver on their promises. Instead, they are running an extortion campaign, Modi said.

Every day, new scams are being uncovered in Karnataka, which means the Congress is looting people in broad daylight. They are using this stolen money to fund their Maharashtra elections campaign.

To counter the BJPs narrative, the Congress had earlier this month organised a press conference featuring Chief Ministers of Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnatakas Deputy Chief Minister.

They rejected the BJPs claims, highlighting the works done by them in their respective states and presenting a report card on the fulfillment of key election promises.
BJP president J P Nadda on Monday announced the emergence of a new political culture in Maharashtra, attributing it to Prime Minister Narendra Modis leadership.

Speaking at an election rally in Navi Mumbai, he said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) are delivering on their promises, offering transparent governance.

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Nadda also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly misleading the public about constitutional interpretations, accusing the party of granting religious-based reservations in Karnataka. He praised Modis economic policies, noting Indias economic ascent to the worlds fifth largest economy from the 12th position a decade ago.

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He also voiced discontent over Uddhav Thackerays partnership with the Congress, asserting that Maharashtra would not pardon such alliances that deviate from original party ideologies for political gain.

Under the leadership of Modi ji, Mahayuti and NDA have created a new culture, a new definition of politics. Today our government is doing the politics of whatever was said has been done and what was not said has also been done, Nadda said.

The BJP president said the world is seeing a ray of hope in PM Modi on the economic policy front.

Indias economy was 12th largest 10 years ago; PM Modi made it the fifth largest, he said.

In Maharashtra, the BJP-led Mahayuti is a rising sun which will give light to Maharashtra whereas the Maha Vikas Aghadi is going to push Maharashtra into darkness, he said. The Mahayuti is committed to the development of Maharashtra, whereas Maha Vikas Aghadi will increase your troubles further, he added.

Maharashtra will never forgive you (Uddhav Thackeray) for the way you have compromised with the Congress by putting aside your fathers ideas for the sake of power, he added.
On the final day of the campaign for the assembly elections in Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched a scathing attack on the Congress, the JMM, and the RJD, accusing them of derailing the development envisioned by Atal Bihari Vajpayee for Jharkhand, leaving the resource-rich state lagging in progress.

While Jharkhands people remained poor, mountains of cash were discovered in the homes of leaders from these parties. Crores were seized from Congress MP and JMM minister Alamgir and his staffso much so that counting machines overheated, requiring 70 machines to handle it. This money was meant for Jharkhands development, sent by Modi ji, he said.

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Adityanath stated that every looted penny would be recovered and redirected to benefit the people of Jharkhand while infiltrators would be kicked out of the state after the NDA government comes to power.

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Highlighting the illegal activities in Rajmahal, Sahibganj, and surrounding areas, he accused the opposition of turning these regions into safe havens for Bangladeshi infiltrators and Rohingya Muslims. In BJP-led double-engine governments, there is no place for infiltrators, riots, curfews, or hooliganismonly good governance and prosperity, he emphasized.

Drawing parallels between Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, Yogi said, Under the double-engine government in UP, infiltration, cow slaughter, and crimes against women are unthinkable. Anyone attempting such acts is guaranteed a one-way ticket to Yamraj.

He asserted that only the BJP alliance could deliver on these promises, neither Congress nor the JMM.

the Uttar Pradesh chief minister vehemently pointed out that the first phase of voting signals the formation of a BJP-led NDA government with a clear majority, securing more than two-thirds of the seats in the state elections.

Addressing a crowd, the CM emphasised the Modi guarantee stating that once the BJP government assumes power in Jharkhand on November 23, 21 lakh families will be provided with PM housing, and 1.5 lakh government jobs will be advertised.

He urged voters to prevent the entry of infiltrators into the state, assuring that once the BJP is in power, these intruders will be driven out of the state and their leaders will be held accountable for their misdeeds. Bate The, Tou Kate The. Ab Batna Nahi Hai, he said cautioning against leaders who divide society on caste, calling them enemies of the nation.

Yogi further criticised the Opposition for allowing infiltration and illegal activities in Jharkhand, stating that while such actions were common before 2014, they no longer occur in India today.

He pointed out that while illegal mining and the sand mafia are destroying Jharkhands resources, the people continue to struggle. In UP, strict action is taken against the mafia, he said.

He also highlighted how the mining, coal, forest, and land mafias are exploiting Jharkhand, pushing citizens into poverty and ruining the lives of its youth. Under the JMM government, he claimed, the state faces a crisis over basic needs such as food, safety, and land.

The CM also made a spiritual appeal to the people of Deoghar, saying, Every pebble of Deoghar is Shankar. He called for a true devotee of Baba to win in Babas city. Attacking the opposition again, Yogi accused the JMM, Congress, and RJD of putting political interests above the welfare of the people, creating insecurity and dishonoring women.

They are promoting love jihad and occupying land in the name of land jihad. There is no such thing in UP. If anyone dares to do this, they will face consequences, he asserted.

Yogi also praised MP Nishikant Dubey for his efforts and recalled the BJPs commitment to building the Ram Janmabhoomi temple. When we said we would build the Ram Mandir, they opposed us, but we have built it. Now, Baba Vishwanath and Krishna Kanhaiya will also not remain silent, he declared, reaffirming the BJPs commitment to religious and cultural development.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said the conferment of Nigerias national award Grand Commander of the Order of Niger on Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a recognition of his leadership in furthering partnerships with the Global South. The award also underlines the special ties between India and Nigeria.

The minister said he was privileged to witness the conferment of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger on Mr Modi.

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A recognition of PM Modis leadership and commitment in furthering partnerships with the Global South. Also underlines the special ties of friendship between India and Nigeria, he said in a post on X.

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In a ceremony at the State House, Nigeria President Bola Ahmed Tinubu conferred Grand Commander of the Order of Niger on PM Modi for his statesmanship and stellar contribution to fostering India-Nigeria ties. The award citation notes that under the PMs visionary leadership, India has been positioned as a global powerhouse, and his transformative governance has fostered unity, peace and shared prosperity for all.

While accepting the award, PM Modi dedicated the honour to the people of India and to the longstanding, historical friendship between India and Nigeria.
The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) of actor-turned nets Vijay on Monday dismissed as mere rumour and unfounded speculation of an alliance with the opposition AIADMK and asserted that the party is the prime political force to dethrone the DMK from power in the coming assembly poll.

Forming a government by securing a massive mandate to work for the betterment of the state is the partys political stand as declared by Vijay at the maiden state conference. Rumours and speculations of the patry tying up with the AIADMK are utterly false and totally baseless, TVK General Secretary Bussy N Anand said in a statement posted on his X handle.

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Such reports in the media are spread with an ulterior motive to divert the massive support that the party is gaining across the state as it is seen as the only prime political force to bring about a change of government in the 2026 assembly poll, read the statement, released with the concurrence of Vijay, the partys founder president. Warning those who are spreading such speculations in the garb of media persons, the statement said people would reject and discredit them.

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The statement assumes significance since Vijay, in his address at the conference on October 27, had avoided any reference to the AIADMK while identifying the BJP as the partys ideological enemy and the ruling DMK as the political adversary.

This had given rise to speculation that the TVK considered the AIADMK as a potential ally. AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami too had issued a dictat to his party leaders to refrain from any criticism of Vijay and the TVK.

Rumours and speculations were rife about Vijay demanding Deputy Chief Ministers post for tying up with the AIADMK. Allowing this would undermine the TVKs credibility as the alternative to the DMK. Hence the need to put them at rest.
A seven-day national workshop on Self-Reliance in Health Protection was organized jointly by the Department of Philosophy and Sanskrit at Patanjali University. The workshop was inaugurated by the Vice-Chancellor Acharya Balkrishna.

The chief patron of the workshop, Prof. Sadhvi Devpriya, the chief guest, Prof. Narayan P. from the National Sanskrit University, Tirupati, and special guests Dr. Anita Rajpal from Hindu College, Delhi, and Dr. Babita Sharma from Gurukul Kangri University, shared their insights during the event.

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Workshop coordinator Dr. Gautam R. stated that the workshop includes the participation of 20 students from Central Sanskrit University, Devprayag, and 60 students from Patanjali University. The workshop will train students in techniques such as yoga, Ayurveda, naturopathy, and acupressure to maintain personal health.

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Dr. Gautam further shared that the Departments of Philosophy and Sanskrit have received three major projects. Under the guidance of Prof. Sadhvi Devpriya, the first project involves integrating Sanskrit, Ayurveda, Yoga, and Tantra studies into the curriculum.

The second project, led by Dr. Gautam, focuses on an evening Sanskrit course. The third project, directed by Dr. Swami Parmarthadev, explores the role of Upanishads in addressing post-COVID global challenges.

The event was graced by the presence of several dignitaries, including Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof. Mayank Agrawal, ODL Director Prof. Satyendra Mittal, Registrar Dr. Praveen Punia, Dr. Manohar Lal Arya, Dr. Swami Parmarthadev, Swami Arshadev, Prof. K.N.S. Yadav, Prof. A.K. Singh, Prof. Omnarayan Tiwari, Dr. Ganesh Pandya, Dr. Pragyanadev, Dr. Sanwar Singh, Dr. Vaishali, Dr. Alka, and Dr. Bhagirathi, among others.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday attended the G20 Summit of top global leaders at Rio de Janeiro to explain to the international community Indias position on various global developments and pressing issues.

The summit began this morning with Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva welcoming the participating leaders at the Museum of Modern Art. He received PM Modi with a warm hug and the two leaders chatted for a few minutes before the Indian leader entered the main hall.

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Looking forward to the proceedings at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Thankful to President Lula for the warm welcome, Mr Modi wrote on X.

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Apart from the heads of member states, representatives of international organisations are participating in various sessions of the summit and deliberate on the priority areas of this years declaration.

The theme of the summit is Building a just and sustainable world and the sessions to be held over the new two days are a reflection of that.

On day 1, the inaugural session will have the global leaders discussing the Global Alliance on Hunger and Poverty, the initiative taken under the Brazilian Presidency. The second session of the day will be on one of the most critical issues of Reforms of Global Governance Institutions.

Earlier, the PM arrived in Brazil to a rousing welcome on the second leg of his three-nation visit to attend the G20 Summit. The PM reached Rio de Janeiro after concluding a successful visit to Nigeria.

The celebrations outside the hotel, where he will stay, included a traditional dandiya ceremony with dancers dressed in vibrant Gujarati attire, as well as chants of Vedic mantras performed by Brazilian scholars. Members of the diaspora waved the Indian tricolour and chanted Modi, Modi as soon as he arrived at the hotel.

In a social media post on X, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lands in the vibrant city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to attend the G20 Brazil Summit. It also shared pictures of PM Modis welcome at the airport.

On his official X handle, the PM wrote, Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders. In Brazil, he will attend the 19th G20 Summit as a member of the Troika. India is part of the G20 Troika along with Brazil and South Africa.

Besides Mr Modi, the summit is to be attended by top world leaders, including US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

This year, Brazil has built upon Indias legacy. I look forward to meaningful discussions in keeping with our vision of One Earth, One Family, One Future. I will also use the opportunity to exchange views on furthering bilateral cooperation with several other leaders, the PM said ahead of his three-nation tour.

Induction of the 55-nation African Union as a permanent member of the G20 and managing to produce a leaders declaration overcoming deep divisions over the Ukraine conflict were seen as major milestones of Indias G20 presidency last year.

The high-level delegation accompanying the PM includes External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and others.

After attending the G-20 Summit, the PM will visit Guyana from November 19-21 at the invitation of President Mohamed Irfaan Ali. It will be the first-ever visit of an Indian PM to Guyana in more than 50 years.

During his visit to Nigeria, PM Modi was conferred with the countrys national award, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), making him only the second foreign dignitary to receive the distinction. This was the 17th international award conferred on PM Modi by a country. Queen Elizabeth II is the only other foreign dignitary to be conferred with the award.
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Punjab Sibin C has announced that all preparations for the bye-elections for the four Punjab Assembly seats have been completed to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections.

Sharing the information, he stated that 6,481 Punjab Police personnel and officials along with 17 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have been deployed to ensure safe and peaceful elections. Additionally, 3868 polling staff have been assigned duties for the smooth management of the polling process. He mentioned that 10-Dera Baba Nanak constituency has 193,376 voters, with 241 polling stations in total, out of which 61 are critical polling stations and 701 polling staff members are deployed.

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As of now, 19 complaints regarding violations of the election code have been received, out of which 17 complaints have been resolved. During this period, Rs 25.40 crore has been seized as per the guidelines of Election Commission. The counting of votes for the 10-Dera Baba Nanak constituency will take place in 18 rounds on November 23rd at Sukhjinder Group of Institutes, Engineering Wing, Hardochhanni Road, Gurdaspur.

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The 44-Chabbewal (SC) constituency has 159,432 voters, with 205 polling stations in total, and 50 critical polling stations and a total of 1044 staff members are deployed here. Further 35 complaints regarding violations of the election code have been received, out of which 30 complaints have been resolved. During this period, Rs 60,000 has been seized by the district administration. The vote counting for 44-Chabbewal (SC) will take place in 15 rounds at Rayat & Bahra Group of Institutes, Chandigarh Road, Hoshiarpur.

Furthermore, 84-Gidderbaha has 166,731 voters, with 173 polling stations, of which 96 are critical and a total of 1,148 staff members are working here. During the moral code of conduct 24 complaints related to election code violations have been received, out of which 11 complaints have been resolved and Rs 4.70 lakh has been seized. The vote counting for 84-Gidderbaha will be held in 13 rounds at Government Senior Secondary School (Boys) Bharu Road, Gidderbaha.

While 103-Barnala constituency has 177,426 voters, and 212 polling stations, with 37 being critical and 975 polling staff has been deployed. Since the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct, seven complaints regarding violations have been received out of which five complaints have been resolved and a total of Rs 55.50 lakh has been seized. The counting of votes for 103-Barnala will take place in 16 rounds at SD College of Education, Barnala.

Sibin C stated that the polling is scheduled for November 20 from 7 am to 6 pm, with the counting of votes on November 23. He appealed to all voters in the four constituencies to exercise their right to vote without any fear and inducement.
In a controversial move, the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad on Monday demanded that Muslims should not be allowed to enter the Maha Kumbh area in Uttar Pradesh.

Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad president Ravindra Puri said the entry of Muslims should be prohibited in Mahakumbh. If this is not done, the religion of sages and saints may get disturbed.

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Muslims can try to corrupt the religion of saints and ascetics with adulterated food items, he told reporters here.

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He also questioned whether any non-Muslim or Hindu can go to Mecca or set up shop there. If not, Muslims should not get entry here as well because Mahakumbh is the biggest gathering and great festival of Sanatan Dharma, he added.

Mahant Ravindra Puri said saints, mahatmas and ascetics are coming from all over the country to Mahakumbh. Anything can be added to prasad, tea, coffee, sweets or other food items that may affect their religious faith.

If this is discovered, a dispute may arise. Such cases have come to light in many states and such videos have also gone viral on social media, he added.

Taking a lesson from this, there is a need to be alert and impose a ban. Muslims should set up shops selling other goods but they should not be allowed to sell food items, he demanded.
In line with its commitment to social responsibility and affordability, Nar successfully concluded an international environmental training program for journalists. Organized by the Azerbaijan Journalists' Network, the program culminated in the presentation of international eco-certificates to participants. This initiative enhanced media representatives' readiness for their active participation in the ongoing COP29 conference.

Following two days of online sessions, the training concluded with an in-person meeting featuring Tais Gadea Lara, a distinguished international expert on environmental issues and a regular contributor to COP conferences. During the session, Lara engaged with media professionals to exchange insights, share reflections on the COP29 conference hosted by Azerbaijan, and address their questions.

The three-day training equipped media representatives with in-depth knowledge on global warming, the design of climate change projects, and effective budget management. These skills have empowered journalists to engage more deeply with the topics discussed at COP29 and to deliver professional, impactful reporting on environmental issues.

Through this initiative, Nar reaffirms its dedication to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles and underscores the media's critical role in fostering awareness and driving action on climate change. For more information about Nar's corporate social responsibility initiatives, click here.

Nar currently provides high-quality communication services to 2.2 million subscribers. Nar has been the leading mobile operator in the country according to the Net Promoter Score for the last 5 years. The mobile operator adheres to a customer-centric strategy and provides excellent service at an affordable price.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said that the state government has decided to secure the services of 1.2 lakh employees engaged under the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN) and outsourcing policy until their retirement and for this, the Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Bill, 2024 has been passed in the Vidhan Sabha.

Furthermore, a separate bill would be introduced to secure the services of employees having a monthly salary above Rs 50,000 per month, said the Chief Minister while replying to the questions raised by the Opposition regarding this Bill in the ongoing session of the Vidhan Sabha here on Monday.

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Chief Minister Saini said that during the Congress tenure, employees engaged through outsourcing policy were exploited. Contractors did not pay full wages, and any employee who raised their voice was terminated, causing distress to employees. However, the present state government has introduced systematic changes to correct these flawed policies. As part of this effort, the government established the HKRNL on April 1, 2022.

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He said that the Nigam not only ensures complete transparency in the recruitment process, but has also saved the employees working on the outsourcing from the exploitation of the contractors.

The Chief Minister said that all the contractual employees already working were ported into this system, and new deployment was also made with utmost transparency.

The Chief Minister said that the state government has set parameters under the Deployment of Contractual Policy, giving weightage based on unemployment in a household, age, and skills. This initiative has helped youth from economically weaker families secure jobs, said Chief Minister Saini.

Divulging the details regarding reservations being given in the deployments made through HKRNL, the Chief Minister stated that 28 percent reservation was provided to Scheduled Castes, benefitting 37,404 youth. Similarly, 32 percent reservation was given to the Backward Classes, helping 41,376 youth to secure deployment, while 53,993 youth from the General category were also deployed.

The Chief Minister said that apart from the deployment process being done through the Nigam, the state government will soon start the recruitment of the 2 lakh regular posts in a transparent manner, without Parchi Kharchi.

He also said that the government is considering measures to ensure job security for employees working in universities and are getting monthly remuneration of above Rs 50,000. He assured that no injustice will be done to them.

The Chief Minister said that before the elections, the Opposition used to make tall claims that if they came to power, they would abolish the HKRNL. However, our government has ensured complete job security for all contractual employees so that they can play a vital role in Haryanas development, said Chief Minister Saini.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a critical technology that has applications in myriad domains like microeconomics, biotech, and Internet-of-things (IoT).

It is not just a buzzword but one of the huge breakthroughs of the modern era that aims to alter the way we interact with everyday objects. This generative AI accessibility means that, for the first time ever, anyone in an organisation can use advanced technology to innovate their workflows and this unlocks entirely new possibilities at an individual or organisational level. Every aspect of intelligence and every structure of the learning process can be described very precisely in a way that teaches a machine how to simulate it, at which point Artificial Intelligence (AI) was established as a new field of study and research and generated extraordinary expectations.

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AI is the ability of a machine to imitate human functions such as reasoning, learning, planning and creativity. AI systems are able to adapt their behaviour to some extent by analysing the effects of previous actions and operating autonomously. Some AI technologies have been around for over 50 years, but increased computing power, the availability of enormous amounts of data, and new algorithms have led to major advances in AI in recent years. Artificial intelligence is considered a central element of the digital transformation of society. But, artificial intelligence also represents an opportunity for our societies to become more socially and environmentally fair and sustainable through regulatory systems of public scrutiny and control.

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The key question raised here is: will AI be of help to create an equal society? Higher education and knowledge production globally continue to be highly unequal, with the Euro-American epistemic hegemony and domination rooted in colonialism and white supremacy being presented as the real and universal knowledge. At the same time, other worldviews, largely from the Global South, continue to be side-lined and presented as something of lesser value and relevance. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have found that ChatGPT, currently one of the most popular generative AI platforms, is heavily biased when it comes to cultural values.

It promotes American norms and values and often presents them as universal when asked to provide responses about concepts and other countries and cultures. This way, the researchers argue, ChatGPT acts as a cultural imperialist tool that the United States, through its companies, uses to promote its values. If that be so, AI will only perpetuate the division, not prevent it. As the journalist and New York University academic Professor Meredith Broussard points out, better data is not the solution as long as the world remains riddled with systemic racism, sexism, ableism, patriarchy and other bigotries and social ills. Without systemic and structural societal change in the real world, would cleaning up the data that is fed into the AI platforms solve the problems?

A recent UNESCO paper on AI and education highlights that education is  and should remain  a deeply human act, rooted in social interaction. Every other aspect of intelligence and every structure of the learning process can be described very precisely in a way that teaches a machine how to simulate it. The question that arises is what makes knowledge production different? We can forget about human intelligence and critical thinking if we rely on AI to give us summaries of texts and materials. The purpose of education cannot be learning to write prompts and then reading summaries given to us by chatbots.

(The writer is former Dean, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow.)
Indian civilization is one of the most ancient in the world. It has a unique cultural and spiritual fragrance gifted by great seers, saints, kings, acharyas, and visionaries. Their timeless advice is enshrined in the ancient Indian scriptures. Ancient Indians knew the art and science of management and Indian scriptures are a testimony to this. Scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, and the Mahabharata speak volumes about the management excellence of Lord Krishna. King Janaka, Arjuna, Vidura, Bhis hma, and the list is only indicative. They were front runners in the management of affairs of their times.

Their management styles showed enough poignancy to complement and supplement the present-day management concepts. Indian scriptures are a treasure house of philosophy and offer vital guidelines on psychology, sociology, political science, social psychology, human behaviour and modern-day management concepts. Resurging focus on spirituality, yoga and meditation in management has made the scriptural knowledge all the more relevant for modern-day managers. Add to it, deteriorating ethics and degrading values in society and the time is ripe for Indian managers to imbibe management concepts from these scriptures. The Indian style of functioning is different from the Western style, and that makes it imperative for managers to provide Indian uniqueness to management.

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Admittedly, Western and Japanese management styles are not irrelevant for Indian managers but these can at best serve as nutritional supplements. The basic food should come from Indian scriptures ~ experiences, culled from Indian sentiments and sensitivities rooted in these scriptures. Present day managers are well versed in technicalities of Western management concepts. They have modern infrastructure to support them but equally important is the Knowledge of SelfManagement. Arjuna was adamant, confused, fragmented, disjuncted and collapsed exactly when he was supposed to perform.

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Although he was a highly qualified warrior (his area of specialisation) and equipped with the best weapons (infrastructure in a modern context), yet he emotionally involved himself with the consequences of war (attachment with results) which did not speak well of a person of his stature. Scriptures label an emotionally immature person who refuses to perform when the time comes as a Tamasic and indolent personality (Tamasic mentality). Arjuna felt deluded and confused because of poor self-management.

A modern manager suffering from the Arjuna Syndrome would behave like Arjuna. He has premier educational degrees and infrastructure at work to support him. Nevertheless, his inner self stays turbulent and does not let him concentrate on work. Further, he works with an eye on rewards (Rajasic work efforts, Tamasic Mentality and attachment to rewards). Results are neither encouraging for the manager nor fruitful for the organisation. He suffers from poor physical and mental health. His work potential is grossly underutilised. He loses confidence in himself and trust in others.

Interpersonal relationships at work suffer. Business imperatives of globalisation and the quickening pace of obsolescence call for a fluid, horizontal de-structured organisation which eastern thinking with its emphasis on internal resources facilitates. The root of Indian management is the Pantheism concept ~ the oneness of God and the Universe. The universe, and all in it, is interconnected. While Western management has taken notice of the Law of Karma, the principle of detachment, yoga and meditation from Indian scriptures, the Indian management fraternity is still wanting. Management curriculums in Indian B-schools are based on Western thoughts, concepts and corporate experiences.

Todays students become managers of tomorrow. Thriving on Western management concepts, they come across the problems of Indianizing their knowledge. Ignoring Indian sentiments and culture makes management students confused in actual work situations where they have to deal with employees and coming to work with Indianized work habits such as late coming, false commitments, gossiping, wasting time at the workplace, nepotism, and other questionable work ethics. Management in action is a holistic process. Nowhere in our education, least of all in our management training, is it taught as a holistic process. We are told to be rational and to concentrate on analysis.

This fragmentation of the mind into analysis or rationality and emotions creates a gap in our values. In the words of Lord Curzon, Though educated in a Western curriculum, you should remain Indians, true to your own beliefs, your own traditions, and your own people. The need of the hour is to develop a India-centric management style. For this to happen, scriptures need to be explored for In dianized management wisdom. To justify the relevance of Indian management, Swami Somes warananda, then President of Vivekananda Centre for Indian Management, Indore, along with his team conducted experiments in different public and private sector companies.

Through their studies, Swami Someswarananda and team could convince that a new approach is needed in industries and organisations to come out with desirable results. Studies and experiments were conducted with company workers both in public and private sector undertakings. And in places like Pune, Trivandrum, Delhi, Baroda and Chennai the responses were very encouraging. It would be prudent to share here some of their findings. It was found that at the workers level there was lack of self-confidence and self-respect. There was a dearth of autonomy.

There were not many contributions from unions. In the public sector, to give importance to concern for workers, customer-centric issues were neglected. While the powerful union members created stubbornness and arrogance, they could not inculcate self-respect. Equally important to point out is that autonomy was never practised as it is the leaders, not workers, who had a voice in management. The Vedanta gospel of Aham Brahmasmi (I am full of immense potential) played a pivotal role in their studies and experiments. Workers told the team they thought of themselves as ordinary human beings ~ a smelter, a fitter, a driver, a crane operator etc.

It was equally disheartening to note that their supervisors and bosses did not want them to use their brain or heart. When they were made to realise that each and every one of them had infinite potential, it worked miracles. The purpose was to develop in them self-respect. It is indeed unfortunate that in the present system an extraordinary human being is made ordinary. An area of management known as Job enrichment is a debatable concept. Can I always get a job of my liking? Shall I always depend on external stimuli to get myself motivated from time to time? While Transactional Analysis has its own justifications do I always require positive strokes? If I have to depend on positive strokes, it will make me psychologically dependent. This is where Vedanta comes in and talks about mind enrichment.

The million-dollar question is can I make any job, whatever I do, interesting? And that is karma yoga. Another area that draws attention is the modern-day corporate training programme. Majority of the training initiatives revolve around preparing a performance oriented employee and manager. The issue is that in all these Management Development Programmes the participants are considered as Managers and Executives only. The facilitator rarely understands that the participant is also a parent, a friend, a relative and above all a citizen. If a training programme is to be unified, systematic, comprehensive and integrated, then there is a need for all these aspects to be integrated. Else it will remain one sided. From the teachings of Vedanta we learn about the concept of advaita that asks us to see the person in totality.

Emotional Intelligence of late has gained popularity. The idea is to give importance not only to the intellect but also to the emotions, values, beliefs and actions. The roots can be traced through Vedanta that suggests the path of jnana, bhakti and karma. To be successful one needs to coordinate the intellect (jnana), emotions (bhakti) and action (karma). Thus training programmes must involve participants in discussions (this helps them to grow intellectually and be creative). The next step is to adopt techniques of meditation to remove mental blocks. Finally, the action takes place. Thus, when all these three are integrated ~ jnana, bhakti and karma ~ the learning generates impactful results. One burning issue is job hopping. Employers complain that employees are not committed to their organisations. This is because money is the sole criteria and a job is considered as a means to earn money.

Unless a philosophy does not guide people, the trend will continue. Vedanta has an answer to this. Its teachings state that work is a means to grow. In Karma yoga, Lord Krishna preached that unless there is a deeper meaning to work, efforts are in vain. Vivekananda also chronicles the same through his lectures and discourses. Indian management thus suggests an alternative to Western concepts. According to the Indian ethos, effective supervision is to supervise the growth of people. More autonomy and creative opportunities will not only make them more productive but motivated and committed. Insights gained through concepts of Indian management go to the roots of holistic development of the tremendous human potential that lies untapped. They give us intellectual conviction that the ultimate aim of work is perfection and autonomy, and not merely monetary benefits and profits. If we can inculcate Indian values and ethos in our executives, managers and corporate captains, unselfishness will become the path to achieve the goal.

(The writer is with the Eastern Institute for Integrated Learning in Management, Kolkata)
Indias decision to seek the extradition of alleged Khalistani separatist Arshdeep Singh Gill, also known as Arsh Dalla, from Canada represents a significant step in its efforts to combat transnational terrorism and organised crime. Accused of masterminding numerous criminal and terrorist activities, Dallas arrest in Canada presents both an opportunity and a challenge for India as it seeks justice for over 50 alleged crimes ranging from murder to terror financing. The extradition process is rarely straightforward, particularly when geopolitics and legal complexities intersect.

India has faced hurdles in securing the extradition of individuals involved in criminal activities abroad, especially from countries like Canada, where diplomatic ties have been strained over the Khalistan movement. Despite this, Dallas arrest is an opening for India to push for stronger collaboration on international crime. While the arrest may appear as a breakthrough, securing Dallas extradition is far from guaranteed. Extradition treaties require both countries to adhere to rigorous legal procedures, ensuring the suspects human rights are not compromised and that sufficient evidence of wrongdoing exists. Canadas earlier reluctance to act on Indias requests for provisional arrests suggests that the road ahead could be long and fraught with legal manoeuvring.

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Adding to the challenge are the political undercurrents between the two nations. Canada has often been criticised for its leniency toward elements that advocate Khalistani separatism, a stance that has complicated bilateral ties. Any delay or perceived lack of commitment to extradition could further strain relations, especially as India remains resolute in its stance against secessionist threats. Despite these challenges, the situation also presents a critical opportunity. By demonstrating transparency and providing robust evidence, India can reinforce its credibility in seeking international legal cooperation.

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Evidence of Dallas financial transactions, properties, and links to terror activities has already been shared with Canadian authorities, signaling Indias preparedness to meet the standards of international law. If Canada reciprocates by approving the extradition, it could set a precedent for addressing such cases more efficiently in the future. This would not only serve justice but also affirm both nations commitment to fighting global terrorism and organised crime, transcending political differences. Successfully extraditing Dalla would be a watershed moment for India. It would bring a notorious criminal to justice, dismantling part of the Khalistan Tiger Forces operational framework and deterring others from following similar paths.

Additionally, it would strengthen public confidence in Indias ability to address international threats that impact domestic security. Arsh Dallas extradition case is more than a legal pursuit; it is a litmus test of Indias resolve to counter terrorism and hold perpetrators accountable, no matter where they operate. Success in this endeavour could redefine how India navigates the complexities of transnational crime and enhance its global standing as a nation committed to justice and security. But, first, there is the little matter of a Canadian Prime Minister to deal with.
Sri Lanka has taken a decisive step toward reshaping its political and economic trajectory. The resounding victory of President Anura Kumara Dissanayakes Marxist-leaning National Peoples Power (NPP) coalition in this weeks general election signals a clear rejection of entrenched family dynasties and a hunger for transformative governance. With a two-thirds parliamentary majority, the NPP now faces the dual challenge of meeting the high expectations of the people while steering the country through a precarious economic recovery.

This election represents a dramatic shift in Sri Lankas political culture. Voters from across the island, including minority Tamil regions historically sceptical of centralised power, have rallied behind Mr Dissanayakes message of equity, poverty alleviation, and systemic reform. The election results are not just a mandate for change but a demand for tangible action to address deep-seated issues like corruption, inequality, and a high cost of living. The sweeping rejection of political dynasties ~ most notably the Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe families ~ reflects a collective demand for clean governance and accountability. The Rajapaksa family, which dominated Sri Lanka for over a decade with multiple members holding power, saw their party reduced to just three parliamentary seats. Similarly, the coalition backed by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe managed a meagre five seats.

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This marks a definitive end to their dominance and an embrace of fresh leadership under Mr Dissanayake. The Presidents promises to cut taxes, boost welfare spending, and support local businesses resonate with citizens still grappling with the fallout of a devastating economic crisis. However, these goals come with significant risks. The countrys economic recovery is tethered to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout programme that requires stringent fiscal discipline. Altering the terms of this agreement, as suggested by the new administration, could jeopardise future funding and stall progress toward financial stability. Balancing populist promises with the realities of fiscal management will be the governments defining challenge. Beyond economic policy, the new governments inexperience in governance poses another hurdle.

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With many coalition members untested in legislative and executive roles, translating electoral momentum into effective policy execution will require strategic planning and capacity building. The absence of seasoned administrators could slow reforms at a time when swift and decisive action is critical. The decisive rejection of political dynasties underscores a voter desire for systemic reform. While structural changes like abolishing the executive presidency ~ often linked to abuse of power ~ are not immediate priorities, they could further align governance with democratic ideals over time. The road ahead for Sri Lanka is fraught with complexity. Economic recovery, while underway, remains fragile, and political missteps could erode the trust that voters have placed in this new government. Yet, the unprecedented mandate offers a unique opportunity to redefine the nations path. If Mr Dissanayake and his coalition can deliver on their promises without undermining economic stability, they could set a transformative precedent for South Asia. This election marks more than a shift in leadership ~ it is a moment of reckoning
The United States confirmed its first case of clade I mpox, a more aggressive strain, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced.

The person diagnosed in the state of California recently travelled from Eastern Africa and was treated shortly after returning to the United States at a local medical facility and released, reports Xinhua news agency.

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The centre on Saturday said that the new strain mpoxs risk to the general US public remains low, while the new case is related to an ongoing outbreak of clade I mpox in Central and Eastern Africa.

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Since release, the affected person has been isolated at home and is not on treatment specific for mpox, and symptoms are improving, according to the agency.

Clade II mpox, another strain primarily responsible for the global outbreak in 2022, has been circulating in the United States since then.

The agency advised the public to avoid close contact with people with symptoms of mpox or their used materials and to get vaccinated.

According to the agency, people with mpox often get a rash that may be located on hands, feet, chest, face, mouth and/or near the genitals, including the penis, testicles, labia, vagina, and anus. The incubation period is three to 17 days.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. The Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) has continued demining operations in the country's liberated territories on November 1117, a source in ANAMA told Trend.

The source said that 126 anti-personnel and 29 anti-tank mines, as well as 483 unexploded ordnances, were found and defused in Tartar, Aghdam, Aghdara, Lachin, Fuzuli, Shusha, Khojaly, Khankendi, Kalbajar, Khojavand, Jabrayil, Gubadli, and Zangilan in the reporting period.

Meanwhile, 972.6 hectares of land have been cleared of mines, added the source.

Note that the demining operations were carried out jointly with the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the State Border Service of Azerbaijan, and four private companies.

Following the liberation of its lands, Azerbaijan began operations in November 2020 to clean its lands of mines, booby traps, and other weaponry left behind by illegal Armenian forces.

Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Job Title: Movement Control Assistant (UN High School Diploma Jobs)

Organisation: United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)

Duty Station: Entebbe, Uganda

Job Opening Number: 247349

Reports to: Movement Control Officer

About the Company:

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) was set up in 2011, with the objective to consolidate peace and security, and help establish conditions for development in the Republic of South Sudan, with a view to strengthening the capacity of the Government of South Sudan to govern effectively and democratically and establish good relations with its neighbours.

Key Duties and Responsibilities: Within delegated authority, the Movement Control Assistant will be responsible for the following duties:

Receives and registers cargo movement requests for air/ground transportation.

Receives supplies from different sections, arranges for transportation and follows up from delivery to destination.

Coordinates transportation of cargo by air and/or road with Air Operations and Transport Section, respectively.

Ensures proper and safe storage of inbound and outbound cargo.

Ensures proper packing and marking of cargo items, including dangerous goods.

Informs appropriate consignees on delivery of items.

Provides technical advice and guidance to personnel involved in cargo movements.

Compiles and maintains cargo statistics related to air/ground movements.

Coordinates work of outsources loaders at the airport.

Prepares cargo manifest and ensures its distribution to all concerned parties.

Facilitates embarking/disembarking of passengers at the airport, and loading/unloading of cargo.

Ensures that loading of the aircraft is conducted in accordance with the published daily schedule and cargo manifest.

Checks in passengers against passenger manifest, issues boarding passes and organizes passengers transfer for aircraft boarding.

Performs pre-boarding briefing for passengers and monitors the safety briefing performed by the aircrew.

Facilitates immigration and customs formalities for passengers.

Ensures that passengers baggage is weighted, measures, labeled, manifested and loaded into the aircraft.

Ensures the General Release from Liability form (waiver) for non-UN passengers is in place and retained before boarding.

Reports time of take-off and landing of UN aircraft to Air Operations Center.

Receives the Aviation Risk management check list from aircrews and informs Air Operations center of safety concerns if any.

Ensures established procedures are in place and aviation safety regulations are followed.

Provides assistance to VIP passengers, if required.

Carries out duties in Passenger Booking, if required.

Performs the flight monitor duties or other duties as and when required.

Important note: The post requires the incumbent to work shifts or alternate schedules which will include weekends and evenings.







Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

Education:

High school diploma or High school certificate required.

Job  Specific Qualification:

Valid driving license is required.

Valid certification in the use of IATA rules and procedures for the transportation of dangerous goods is required.

Work Experience:

Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in movement control, multi-modal transportation, airline operations are required. The minimum year of relevant experience is reduced to three (3) for candidates who possess a first-level university degree or higher

Experience preparing cargo manifests/documentation relating to at least two modes of transportation is required.

Knowledge in Electronic Cargo Booking System (e-CBS) is required.

Experience driving at the air side/apron is required.

Experience liaising with local authorities and freight forwarders on cargo related matters is desirable.

Languages: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required.

Competencies:

Professionalism: Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work. Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals. Solicits input by genuinely valuing others ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others. Places team agenda before personal agenda. Supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position. Shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals. Solicits input by genuinely valuing others ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others. Places team agenda before personal agenda. Supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position. Shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings. Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively. Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately. Asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication. Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

How to Apply:

All suitably qualified and interested candidates desiring to serve the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in the aforementioned capacity should express their interest by visiting the UN recruitment website and clicking Apply Now.

Click Here

Deadline: 17th December 2024

For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline

Date Posted 2024-11-18T13:30 Valid Through 2024-12-18T00:00 Employment Type FULL_TIME Hiring Organization United Nations Mission in South Sudan Job Location Entebbe, Entebbe, Entebbe, 0256, Uganda

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The ongoing COP29 summit may just end up without a declaration and for all practical purposes a failure, but India will still be hoping to salvage something of strategic interest out of the globes premier, and wobbly, climate change conference.

With the US elections throwing up a Donald Trump, a known naysayer of climate change who in all likelihood chuck the crucial Paris Agreement goals once he takes over in January, incumbent Joe Biden has skipped the summit  so have many European Union leaders. This, and the very fact that the venue is Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, a petro-state whose dictator Ilham Aliyev describes oil as a gift from god (or the fact that the previous COP also took place in an oil economy, in Abu Dhabi in the UAE) has weighed heavy in the minds of global climate activists and even statesmen and diplomats. Flagging these issues, as well as slow progress in climate negotiations, a letter signed by many former COP organisers as well as former UN secretary-general Ban ki Moon described the COP summits as no longer fit for purpose and called for its fundamental overhaul.

Be that as it may be, India is still hoping for progress in issues close to its heart, including the increase of climate financing target from the previously decided $100 billion to at least $1.3 trillion annually.

COP29 presents India with a vital and unparalleled opportunity to assume a leadership role in global climate negotiations, said Manish Dabkara, chairman and managing director of EKI Energy Services, a leading carbon credit developer and supplier globally. G77 & Chian, including India, has called for a substantial increase to $1.3 trillion annually, far exceeding the current $100 billion pledge, to adequately support the climate mitigation needs of developing nations.

With the current commitment falling short, India maintains that financing responsibilities should remain with developed countries due to their historical emissions contributions, rejecting any shift toward contributions based on economic capacity or emissions profiles, he added. Environment ministry has confirmed through a statement that India has officially mooted this proposal through its lead negotiator and joint secretary Naresh Pal Gangwar. Though supported by nations like China, this proposal is expected to run into rough weather with the western bloc.

The finalisation of Chapter 6 of the Paris Agreement, setting in motion carbon markets, is another area New Delhi has a strategic interest in, considering that India has already updated its list of eligible technologies under Article 6.4 to leverage these opportunities, alongside potential technology transfer and capacity-building benefits.

This could open new revenue streams for India through carbon credits from renewable projects like biogas, reforestation, and sustainable agriculture, said Piyush Sohani, country director, Sistema.bio, a company which converts organic waste into renewable biogas.

Finalising Article 6 will mark an important achievement for global climate policy, offering countries and businesses a unified platform to contribute toward ambitious climate goals while unlocking new economic opportunities in the carbon market, added Dabkara of EKI.

While India will overall try to establish its position as a voice of the global south by calling for equitable climate action whereby developing nations do not bear disproportionate climate mitigation costs, it is not clear whether it will bring up the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism tax on products from polluting industries that European Union plans to impose from next year, and which is expected to impact many Indian exports to the region. The fact that neither PM Modi nor even the environment minister Bhupinder Yadav, nor many of their counterparts from EU are present will prove to be an impediment.
With Donald Trump getting elected as US president, his largest donor Elon Musk's micro-blogging site X is seeing an exodus of users. Bluesky reportedly added one million new users following the US elections results as X takes a right-wing focus.

Earlier, when Brazil banned X, more than three million users joined Bluesky within a week.

ALSO READ: Is Elon Musks Trump love hurting X? Over 1 million users join Bluesky, Instagrams Threads in 24 hours

Why are users leaving X not joining Threads?

Experts believe that users leaving X are choosing Bluesky over Threads due to its design. Bluesky mobile app looks similar to X, which is no surprise considering its origin within Twitter.

bluesky's user count grew by another million today



welcome to all 19M of you https://t.co/x6v5YW0WFT pic.twitter.com/FtCvcyyr20  bluesky (@bluesky) November 18, 2024

Amid Bluesky's emergence, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Threads would start testing customised topic-based feeds. Threads still stands tall as X's biggest rival with more than 275 million active users.

Who owns Bluesky?

Bluesky is primarily owned by its CEO Jay Graber. Jabber inventor Jeremie Miller, Techdirt founder Mike Masnickand Blockchain Capital general partner Kinjal Shah are on its board.

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey set up the project within the company in 2019. In 2021, Bluesky became an independent company before parting ways in 2022.

How is Bluesky different from X?

Bluesky is similar to X in some ways as it allows users to post, reply and message each other on a vertical interface.

Unlike X, Bluesky allows users to moderate their experience, including choosing the algorithm that allow them to customise feeds. It also lets users keep their website addresses as user handles and thereby acting a verification tool.

Bluesky also allows users to see posts of public accounts that have blocked them.
US President Joe Biden authorised Ukraine to use US-supplied missilesArmy Tactical Missile System (ATACMs) by Lockheed Martinto conduct limited strikes deep inside Russia even as Moscow has been targetting Ukraine's infrastructure with drone and missile attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pressing Biden for months to allow Ukraine to strike military targets deeper inside Russia with Western-supplied missiles.

The move comes even as President Vladimir Putin positioned North Korean troops along Ukraine's northern border in an attempt to reclaim hundreds of miles of territory seized by Ukrainian forces.

ALSO READ: Russian MPs cry 'World War-3' as Biden authorises Ukraine to strike Kursk with US ATACMS

For more than a year, Ukraine has been using US-supplied ATACMs to hit Russian targets in occupied Ukrainian territory, including military positions in the Zaporizhzhia region. However, Kyiv did not have the US sanction to use them inside Russia as there were fears that using them to hit targets inside Russia would lead to an escalation of the conflict.

All about ATACMS

Capable of travelling up to 300km, these ballistic missiles will now allow Ukraine to target Russian military bases, ammunition storage, and defence and other infrastructure like Kerch Bridge, which links Crimea to mainland Russia.

A conventional surface-to-surface artillery weapon system capable of striking targets well beyond the range of existing Army cannons, rockets and other missiles, ATACMs are fired from the MLRS family of launchers.

These long-range, guided missile comes with an improved guidance package with GPS, and carries a WDU18, 500-lb class blast fragmentation warhead.

How will use of ATACMs impact the Russia-Ukraine conflict?

Although the missiles may not alter the course of war, as Russia has moved its military equipment like jets deeper inside Russia, it will surely boost the morale of the Ukrainian forces.

BBC quoted a Western diplomat as saying that although strikes using these ballistic missiles may not be decisive, "it is an overdue symbolic decision to raise the stakes and demonstrate military support to Ukraine."

ALSO READ: Inside Russia's plan to mix deadly new weapon among decoy drones in Ukraine

"It can raise the war cost for Russia," the diplomat said.

According to a recent study, hundreds of known Russian military infrastructures are in the range of ATACMs.

"The redeployment of Russian aircraft from 16 Russian air bases in range of ATACMs does not reduce the importance of allowing Ukraine to use ATACMs against hundreds of other Russian military objects, however, nor does the reportedly small number of ATACMs the US has provided," according to a study by ISW.

Meanwhile, reports also suggest that the Pentagon said there are not too many of these ATACMs that the US can provide to Ukraine, suggesting that the impact that Ukraine will make with these missiles would be limited.
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On January 3, 2020, the Trump administration conducted a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport, killing Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani.

Soleimani had a long record of waging surrogate wars against Americans, especially during the Iraq conflict and its aftermath.

After the Trump cancellation of the Iran Deal, followed by U.S. sanctions, Soleimani reportedly stepped up violence against regional American bases  most of which Trump himself ironically wished to remove.

A few days later, Iran staged a performance-art retaliatory strike against Americans in Iraq and Syria, assuming Trump had no desire for a wider Middle East war.

So, Iran launched 12 missiles that hit two U.S. airbases in Iraq. Supposedly, Tehran had warned the Trump administration of the impending attacks that killed no Americans. Later reports, however, suggested that some Americans suffered concussions, while more damage was done to the bases than was initially disclosed.

Nonetheless, this Iranian interlude seemed to reflect Trump's agenda of avoiding "endless wars" in the Middle East while restoring deterrence that prevented, not prompted, full-scale conflicts.

Yet in a second Trump administration, rethreading the deterrence needle without getting into major wars may become far more challenging. The world of today is far more dangerous than when Trump left in 2021.

An inept Biden administration has utterly destroyed U.S. deterrence abroad through both actual and symbolic disasters: the Chinese dressing down of U.S. diplomats in Anchorage; the humiliating skedaddle from Afghanistan; the brazen flight of a Chinese spy balloon across the U.S.; the invasion of Ukraine by Russia; the October 7, 2023 massacre of 1,200 Israelis; the serial Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea; the visible restraint of Israel from fully replying to Iranian missile attacks on its homeland; and renewed bellicosity on the part of both North Korea and China toward American allies such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Of course, a second-term Trump must radically reform the Pentagon and beef up the military while warning enemies of the consequences to follow from any unwise aggression.

But if opponents believe such admonitions remain only vocal threats, then empty verbiage surely will erode deterrence further such as President Joe Biden's serial and empty braggadocio, "Don't!"

Biden's past theatrical finger-shaking translated into aggressors like Russian President Vladimir Putin going into Ukraine, Iran sending missiles into Israel, and the Houthis serially hitting shipping in the Red Sea.

Given the past messes of the Iraqi, Libyan, and Syrian interventions, and the catastrophic Biden humiliation in Afghanistan, Trump in 2024 is much more emphatic about the need to avoid such overseas dead-end entanglements or even the gratuitous use of force that historically can sometimes lead to tit-for-tat entanglements.

Still, Trump's selection of JD Vance as vice president, along with Tulsi Gabbard, RFK, Jr., and Tucker Carlson as close advisors, coupled with the announcements that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and prior U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley will not be in the administration, may be misinterpreted by scheming foreign adversaries as proof of Trump neo-isolationism.

Moreover, the U.S. is battered by an unsustainable $37 trillion national debt and a nonexistent southern border that saw 12 million illegal aliens enter with impunity.

So, the use of force abroad is now often seen in a zero-sum fashion as coming at the expense of unaddressed American needs at home.

Moreover, a woke, manpower-short military has not achieved strategic advantages from wars abroad, while disparaging and alienating the very working-class recruits who disproportionately fight and die in them.

Recently, even as President-elect Trump's inner circle emphasized an end to endless conflicts, Trump warned Putin not to escalate his attacks against Ukraine. Yet that advice was followed by a Russian massive drone onslaught against civilian Ukrainian targets.

Putin no doubt wishes to encourage American enemies to test Trump's deterrent rhetoric against his campaign's domestic promises to mind America's own business at home.

Is there a way to square the deterrence circle?

Trump will have to speak clearly and softly while carrying a club. And for the first few months of his administration, he will be tested as never before to make it clear to Iran and its terrorist surrogates, China, North Korea, and Russia that aggression against U.S. interests will be swiftly and quietly met with disproportionate and overwhelming repercussions.

Yet Trump will likely have to rely on drones, missiles, and air strikes and not on major engagements, to deter enemies from aggression  and his domestic critics from claiming he turned into a globalist interventionist.

He is not.

Trump remains a Jacksonian. But such deterrence entails warning from time to time the reckless and adventurous abroad that our allies have no better friend than America and our adversaries no worse enemy.

In other words, Trump must remind Americans only by periodically deterring enemies can he prevent endless wars.

( Hanson's latest book is "The Dying Citizen" from Basic Books. Buy it in hardcover at a 58% discount! by clicking here or order in KINDLE edition at a 41% discount by clicking here. Sales help fund JWR.)

(COMMENT, BELOW)

Victor Davis Hanson is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow in Residence in Classics and Military History at the Hoover Institution, a professor of classics emeritus at California State University at Fresno, and a nationally syndicated columnist for Tribune Media Services.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 19. The heads of the Health Ministries of Azerbaijan and Georgia met within the framework of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku, Trend reports.

In his speech, Health Minister Teymur Musayev highlighted that the rich historical and cultural tapestry of the Azerbaijani and Georgian peoples forms the bedrock of the bonds between the two nations. The Minister pointed out that the bonds of friendship between our countries stretch back through the sands of time, rooted deep in history. The importance of high-level mutual visits in strengthening the bonds between Azerbaijan and Georgia was highlighted.

Friendly relations between the heads of state make an invaluable contribution to the development and strengthening of close cooperation between our countries in many directions, Musayev stated.

In his speech, the Azerbaijani minister also highlighted the untapped goldmine for fostering ties between Azerbaijan and Georgia in the realm of health care. The minister mentioned that the stage is set for a fruitful exchange of cutting-edge methods and practical scientific know-how in the realm of ongoing professional development for medical specialists.

The significance and pertinence of the matters brought to light during COP29 were also underscored. Musayev pointed out that the global medical community has a crucial role to play in tackling the fallout from climate change and lending a hand in bolstering health security.

To wrap it all up, the Azerbaijani Minister put his cards on the table, showing faith in the bright future of bilateral cooperation.

In turn, Minister of Labor, Health, and Social Protection Mikheil Sarjveladze emphasized the high level of bilateral ties and noted that our countries have historical, traditionally friendly relations.

Sarjveladze noted the high level of organization of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, stressing Azerbaijan's special role in shaping the COP29 agenda.

Furthermore, there was interest in establishing effective cooperation with the Azerbaijani Ministry of Health.

The meeting exchanged views on the training of qualified personnel in the field of healthcare and other issues of mutual interest.

The decision to hold COP29 in Azerbaijan was made on December 11 last year at the plenary session of COP 28 in Dubai.

The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will last until November 22, was opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. The event is the largest organized by Azerbaijan to date and is the first time the region has hosted the event in Azerbaijan.

The paramount eventa meeting of global leaders on climate actionoccurred during COP29 on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, the creation of climate finance will also contribute to meeting the 1.5C commitment by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
During the 14th trilateral defense minister's Meeting between the US, Japan, and Australia, the three countries finalised steps to further enhance defense cooperation and interoperability.

In a joint statement, the three sides outlined steps to increase intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance cooperation throughout the Indo-Pacific.

The three leadersSecretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, Japanese Defense Minister Nakatani Gen, and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marlesagreed to build advanced capabilities together, and improve operational coordination and information sharing.

ALSO READ: US, Philippines sign agreement to secure shared military intelligence, weapons technology

The three countries will also expand trilateral participation in key exercises, according to a US Defence Department release.

As part of the new initiatives, Japan will increase its participation in Exercise Southern Jackaroo and Exercise Talisman Sabre in Australia from next year. Australia, meanwhile, will participate in Exercise Orient Shield in 2025 and boost its participation in Exercises Yama Sakura, Keen Edge and Keen Sword.

The three leaders laid out steps to build advanced capabilities together, improve operational coordination and information sharing and demonstrate the presence of the US, Japan and Australia in the Indo-Pacific alongside key regional allies.

READ MORE: US is the greatest threat to space security, claims China; calls for end to arms race in the domain

"Today, more than ever, we are taking concrete actions that will deepen our trilateral cooperation, and the three of us are here to see the results firsthand," Austin said.

"Together we're continuing to build on the progress our three countries have achieved over the past four years, and I look forward to growing our partnership to endure well into the future, he added.
After US President Joe Biden gave Ukraine the permission to use the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMs) missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia, the focus has turned towards Storm Shadow -- a similar long-distance cruise missile supplied to Kyiv by London. The United States authorized the use of ATACMs by Ukraine as Russia has been targeting Ukraine's infrastructure with drone and missile attacks.

FULL REPORT | Can ATACMs help Ukraine win the war? All about Army Tactical Missile System that US allowed Ukraine use inside Russia?

For more than a year, Ukraine has been using US-supplied ATACMs to hit Russian targets in occupied Ukrainian territory. However, Kyiv so far did not have the US sanction to use them inside Russia. The arrival of North Korean troops to assist the Russian invasion army in the conflict in Kursk could be among the reasons that forced the White House to approve the broader use of ATACMs by Ukrainian soldiers.

NATO focus shifts to Storm Shadow missiles

Many in London now wonder if the United Kingdom would follow the path chosen by the United States and let Volodymyr Zelenskyy's country use the air-launched Storm Shadow missiles to perish targets inside Russian territory. If you are not familiar with the lethal English weapon system, here are a few basic things to know about Storm Shadow which has been crucial to Ukraine's war efforts for over a year now:

ALSO READ | Russian MPs cry 'World War-3' as Biden authorises Ukraine to strike Kursk with US ATACMS

It was in May 2023 that the United Kingdom confirmed the decision to arm Ukraine with the Storm Shadow missiles. Since then, Russian forces were dealt serious blows with the Anglo-French cruise missiles that possess a maximum range of around 250 km.

A Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG passing by on a low altitude. Exact date and time when this was filmed is unknown. pic.twitter.com/btkbDWm4m0  NOELREPORTS   (@NOELreports) September 19, 2023

Used by the French and English air forces during conflicts in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Libya, Storm Shadow missiles, called 'Scalp' by the French, are known for penetrating into the targets before detonating its main warhead. Thus, Russia's armoured bunkers and ammunition caches become vulnerable once these killer machines are in the air.

Storm Shadow missiles: A closer look

On impact, it penetrates the target before a delayed fuse detonates the main warhead. Powered by a turbo-jet engine, the 1,300kg-heavy missiles can cross 960 kmh speed limits when inbound. The deadly missiles are just over five metres in length and has a wingspan of three metres, The Independent said in a report.

ALSO READ | Inside Russia's plan to mix deadly new weapon among decoy drones in Ukraine

Once launched, these bad boys descend to a low cruising altitude powered by a turbojet engine. This reduces the chance of getting caught by enemy radar before its triple navigation system that uses Inertial Navigation, GPS (Global Positioning System) and Terrain Reference Navigation systems go online. This three-level system provides the weapon with a high degree of navigational precision, MBDA Systems claimed.

A costly war affair

Even single-seater fighter planes can be equipped with this weapon that has been in service since 2003. It is noteworthy that each Storm Shadow costs around one million US Dollars. Thus, the NATO allies had earlier instructed Kyiv to use them judiciously. According to the BBC, Ukraine used to fire Storm Shadow after ensuring Russian air defense systems remained busy. Attack drones are scattered to confuse the Russians and while they become busy gunning them down, the "costly" and more impactful Storm Shadows are strategically launched. At times, Ukraine even waits until the air defense systems run dry or have to reload before launching Shadows, the report added.

Before Storm Shadow managed to get to Moscow, Ukrainian drones are already there https://t.co/mhYTnoqFDu pic.twitter.com/gX3qmeuk3c  CyberUnknown (@CyberUnknown45) November 18, 2024

The missile is equipped with an imaging infrared seeker that is activated during the final target approach phase. During this stage, the missile climbs to a higher altitude to maximise the chances of hitting the target. Automatic target recognition algorithms then compare the real scene with the target impact point designated during the mission planning phase, in order to hit the target exactly where required, MBDA Systems further explained.
On November 11, Netflix released 'Rob Peace', a biographical flick directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor. The movie that hit theatres in August 2024 starring Jay Will, Mary J. Blige, and Camila Cabello, is based on Jeff Hobbs bestselling book, "The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace."

'Rob Peace' follows the tale of Robert DeShaun Peace, a man who was killed aged 30 in 2011 after a drug deal went wrong. Peace, who attended Yale University, crossed some difficult paths to attain academic greatness, all the while struggling to free his incarcerated father. His murder remains an unsolved puzzle as the shooter who claimed his life remains untraced.

Who was Rob Peace?

Robert, who was Rob for people he was close to, was born to Jackie and Skeet in 1980 in New Jersey's East Orange. Robert's intellectual capabilities were identified while he was still attending kindergarten and his parents concluded academics was his way ahead.

Tragedy struck the family in 1987 when Skeet was found guilty of the murder of Charlene Moore and Estella Moore. He was sentenced to life, making prison a part of little Peace's life. According to People portal, Rob Peace visited his father every weekend for more than a decade, while Skeet did his part by telephoning his son to ensure his focus on studies remained unwavering.

What happened to Rob Peace's father?

After turning 18, Rob started the legal battle to win his father his freedom. People reported that his efforts even managed to get Skeet out for a short period.

Rob Peace attended Yale University, majoring in molecular biophysics and biochemistry. While his academic expenses were covered by a benevolent businessman, the youngster took up a profession in crime to pay his father's lawyers. He used his dorm room to sell marijuana and allegedly saved up to $100,000, US media reports said.

However, Peace's legal battle didn't meet the preferred end as Skeet passed away in jail in 2006 after being diagnosed with brain cancer.

Rob Peace's murder: What we know

He became a Yale graduate in 2002 and became a biology teacher at St. Benedict's until 2007. He also worked in baggage handling at Newark International Airport during this period.

Many remember 'Teacher Rob' as someone who cared about the community and the kids of his friends.

Although the circumstances remain unclear, media reports said that he went back to the marijuana business in his 20s. This led to his killing in May 2011.

"Rob Peace" with Camila Cabello is the #4 most watched movie on Netflix US today. pic.twitter.com/FA6LawCw1E  Camila Charts (@CamilaCharts97) November 15, 2024

Rob Peace was shot to death in a grow house in Newark by an unidentified gunman. The New Jersey Police were able to recover marijuana and cash from the scene, reportedly influencing the conclusion that he was gunned down during a drug deal gone wrong.

According to Rob Peace's roommate from college who attended his funeral, the event was attended by no less than 400 people -- evidence of the marking impact he left on the lives of people.
The Awami Itehad Party (AIP) has appealed to the Government of India (GoI) for the release of its president, Engineer Rashid, who is an MP from Baramulla in north Kashmir.

This request comes ahead of the upcoming Parliament session scheduled for November 25. Rashid has been detained in Tihar jail since August 2019 after being arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a terror funding case. Rashid made history by winning the 2024 Lok Sabha elections for the Baramulla constituency from jail.

His sons, Abrar Rashid and Asrar Rashid, had launched an emotional campaign for him, urging people to vote for him for his release. AIP Chief Spokesperson Inam Un Nabi described this electoral success as a significant moment in India's democratic process and a testament to the people's unwavering faith in Rashids leadership.

It has been the desire of the people of north Kashmir since 2019 that their issues be represented by Engineer Rashid in Parliament, Nabi said. Although he narrowly missed victory in 2019, finishing in second place, he made history in 2024 by winning while still in Tihar Jail, Nabi said.

Nabi said the mandate is not symbolic but a reflection of the people's will. He said the Government of India must respect this democratic mandate by ensuring his release before the Parliament session begins. Nabi stressed the importance of Rashids presence in Parliament. His participation would enhance discussions and provide a vital platform for addressing the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the AIP leader said. As a grassroots leader and advocate for human rights and justice, his ongoing incarceration sends a negative message and undermines the democratic principles of the nation," he added.

The AIP has called on civil society, political leaders, and human rights organisations to support their demand for Rashids release. With the Parliament session approaching, attention turns to whether the Centre will respond to Rashids release.
The intense campaign for the largest round of polls after the Lok Sabha elections ended on a polarising note. During the current round, the assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand are being held apart from the bypolls in several states which are crucial for the incumbent chief ministers.

The outcome of these polls will reflect on the image of five chief ministers: Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra and Hemant Soren, Jharkhand; in the case of bypolls, high-stakes battle is being fought by Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh; Bhagwant Mann, Punjab and Bhajan Lal Sharma, Rajasthan.

The BJP started its campaign on a high note after victory in Haryana. The party which faced anti-incumbency along with its alliance partners in Maharashtra gained momentum as it tasted success in faraway Haryana. We managed to recover a lot in the state after Haryana, said a senior BJP leader. In Jharkhand, the Bharatiya Janata Party hopes it will do well against the Soren government.

The opposition INDIA bloc is putting up a strong fight. But hiccups in their campaign were noticed in the poll-bound states. Congress released its manifesto for Jharkhand, just a day ahead of the polling, during the no-campaign period. The run-up to the campaign was also marked by tussle over the candidate selection and seat distribution.

These polls will also be remembered as new slogans made their entry during the poll campaign. From Yogi Adityanaths polarising Batenge toh Katenge slogan to Prime Minister Narendra Modis ek hain toh safe hain added zing to the ruling partys campaign. The outcome of these polls will give an indication over the longevity of these new slogans which have the potential to set the narrative.

In Jharkhand, the BJP attacked the Soren government for allowing infiltration by the illegal Bangladeshi migrants who were changing the demography of the tribal-dominated state. The BJP hopes that it will help them win over the tribal vote bank as the residents versus the outsiders debate has resonance among the people.

If the BJP goes on to win both the states, then it would have comprehensively changed the previous sentiment over the setback suffered by the party during the Lok Sabha campaign.

There is a high amount of pressure on Congress also as it has to show numbers on the result day to signal it is in the fight. After a surprise loss in Haryana, groundworkers morale was shaken. Whether the grand old party has recovered from the loss will be known on November 23. If the INDIA bloc manages to do well, then the Congress will get more firepower at the national level.

While focus remains on the assembly polls, the bypolls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan are a prestige battle for the parties, particularly their chief ministers. Predictably, the CMs have spent extra time in the campaign to win these bypolls.

Another significant element of these bypolls was the elections for the Wayanad Lok Sabha, a seat vacated by Rahul Gandhi. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is making her debut during these polls. If she goes on to win as it is widely perceived, her presence in the Lok Sabha is likely to enliven the debate in the house. Being a good speaker, she would add energy to oppositions voice.

Seen in totality, this round of polls will be billed as a reflection of Modis appeal. A good show would certainly make the BJP confident for even the next polls in Delhi and Bihar in 2025.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav lauded the Bharatiya Janata Partys initiatives for women while campaigning in Mumbai for the assembly polls on Monday and asserted the saffron party-led alliance will win the election.

Talking about the Ladli Behna Yojana, under which eligible women get Rs 1,500 monthly, Yadav said that it symbolised the spirit of the Sanatan dharma which worshipped feminine power. Of the 200 countries in the world, Yadav said only India was referred to as 'Mother'. Of all the planets, only the Earth was referred to as Mother," he said further expanding it to include the invocation of Hindu Gods with the name of the Goddess coming first.

On the last day of campaigning for the assembly polls, the Madhya Pradesh CM addressed public meetings in Kalina, Dharavi, Sain Koliwada and Ghatkopar. Taking on the Congress, Yadav said that the BJP was the only party in which an ordinary worker could reach the highest post. In contrast, for the Congress, it was family first and all the top posts were occupied by members of one family.

He also accused Congress leaders of not visiting the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, saying that they even disliked the chants of Jai Shri Ram. He said that the Congress was scared that if it chanted the name of Ram, then there would also be talk about the Krishna temple in Mathura. But those who are of no use to Ram are of no use to anyone, Yadav said.

He spoke of his own governments initiative of celebrating all Hindu festivals, including Govardhan pooja and Geeta Jayanti, and the opposition of the Congress to these. He expressed hope that while the entire country was turning to the lotus (BJPs symbol), Maharashtra too would not be left behind. The lotus, Yadav said, would bloom in Maharashtra and as it was the flower offered to Goddesses Lakshmi; Deepawali would be celebrated with a BJP win in the state, the CM said.
In the wake of Delhi grappling with severe pollution, the Supreme Court on Monday questioned the government over the delay in implementation of the GRAP-IV curbs.

The SC said that it will not allow scaling down of the preventive measures without its prior permission.

Also read | Welcome to bad air dazeair pollution affects more than just lungs

A bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih noted that there was a delay in the implementation of preventive measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)- IV even after the air quality deteriorated to alarming levels.

Also read | Delhi chokes under severe pollution; low visibility procedures imposed in airport

The bench criticised the government for the delay and asked, "How can you take risks" in these matters relating to the application of GRAP-IV?

GRAP-IV is required to be invoked when the air quality index reaches between 300 and 400.

#WATCH | Air pollution | Delhi CM Atishi says, "...Stubble burning is happening in Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Central Government is sitting idle. Today, entire north India has been pushed into a medical emergency. Be it Delhi, Chandigarh, pic.twitter.com/GjayUtLkPf  ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2024

Also read | GRAP-IV curbs to be imposed in Delhi from Monday as air quality turns severe+

The court asked the government to detail the steps it has taken to curb the alarming rise of pollution levels.

"We won't allow scaling down of preventive measures under stage 4 even if AQI goes below 450. Stage 4 will continue till court permits," the bench said.

GRAP-IV curbs were imposed by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), effective from 8 am on Monday, including a ban on truck entry and a temporary halt on construction.

As per the order, no trucks would be allowed into Delhi except for those carrying essential items or using clean fuel.

Amid the worsening air quality, nine flights were diverted and many flights were delayed at the Delhi airport on Monday.

Eight flights were diverted to Jaipur and one to Dehradun.

According to the officials, the pilots were not trained for CAT III operations due to which flights had to be diverted.

"Low visibility procedures are in progress at Delhi airport. All flight operations are at present normal," Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) said.

Delhi CM blames stubble burning

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Monday said North India is facing a medical emergency due to hazardous air quality caused by stubble burning.

While addressing a press conference, Atishi said the BJP-led government has been doing politics over the issue of pollution and has not taken any steps to check stubble burning in states like Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh was injured after stones were hurled at his car by some unidentified people in Nagpur on Monday evening.

The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) leader was returning to Katol after attending a poll meeting in Narkhed when his car was attacked near Belphata on the Jalalkheda Road at 8 pm.

According to reports, a stone shattered the cars window and struck Deshmukh on his head. He suffered serious injuries and was immediately rushed to the Katol Civil Hospital, police said.

Video of Anil Deshmukh, former Minister, after the incident. He reportedly sustained injuries after a few individuals pelted stones at his car in Katol Legislative Assembly Constituency. He was on his way back after a public meeting in Narkhed. His son, Salil Deshmukh, is pic.twitter.com/C61IoqM2yr  Anjaya Anparthi (@anjaya1905) November 18, 2024

A video of the incident showed blood dripping from the former ministers head and blood stains all over his white kurta.

"An investigation has begun. Police are trying to identify those responsible for the attack," Nagpur Rural Superintendent of Police Harssh Poddar said.

Extremely worried and anxious! Wishing @AnilDeshmukhNCP ji a speedy recovery! pic.twitter.com/rckbSkXtA8  Supriya Sule (@supriya_sule) November 18, 2024

The incident occurred on the last day of campaigning for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections. Deshmukh's son Salil Deshmukh is contesting from Katol assembly constituency on the NCP (SP) ticket against BJP's Charansingh Thakur.

The NCP(SP) condemned the incident and termed it as an example for the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.

      .     .                           .  pic.twitter.com/vo8U3uoqoH  Nationalist Congress Party - Sharadchandra Pawar (@NCPspeaks) November 18, 2024

The Congress also condemned the attack and said the culprits should be arrested soon. The party also sought the intervention of the Election Commission.

"Law and order in the state has deteriorated and for fair and transparent elections, the Election Commission should intervene immediately and take steps to ensure that law and order remains smooth," said senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat.
The ruling Congress in Karnataka is accused of appeasement politics over its decision to allot 2,750 acres of government land for Muslim burial grounds. The Siddaramaiah government which is already facing the heat over the state Wakf Board issuing notices allegedly to reclaim the lands belonging to farmers, temples, schools, legislators and private individuals in the state, finds itself in a tight spot as pro-Hindu groups have dubbed the move as unfair and minority appeasement.

Last April, then deputy chief secretary had directed the revenue secretary to examine the 328 proposals seeking land for khabrastan and allocate 2,750 acres of government land or private land (after acquisition) across the districts of Bengaluru, Kalaburagi, Raichur, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan and Udupi.

During the review meeting of the state level task force on Wakf properties, the revenue department was directed to modify the khata (land record) of 21,767 properties to wakf and update the same in the Bhoomi app.

Karnataka: Warring BJP factions announce separate rallies against Waqf

Meanwhile, the pro-Hindu activists have demanded to know why the long pending demand to regularise the Hindu temple lands has fallen on deaf ears. Over 34,000 temples (C-category) built on government land have sought transfer of ownership rights of the land to the temple administration.

The Congress government is giving preferential treatment to minorities for the sake of votes. Why cant the Wakf board which owns more than 1.2 lakh acres provide land for the Muslim burial grounds?, said Sharan Pumpwell, a pro-Hindu activist.

Furore over Waqf reclamation efforts in Karnataka; BJP corners Siddaramaiah

According to Wakf minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, the state Wakf board owns 1.20 lakh acres of land, but only 23,000 acres are free of encroachment. The minister who conducted Wakf adalats and directed the officials to issue notices to reclaim the encroached Wakf lands, earned the wrath of not only the aggrieved landowners and the opposition parties, but also his partymen as the Wakf Board has issued notices to farmers, temples, schools, government buildings, lands owned by politicians and also historical monuments.

The farmers in north Karnataka districts have set the November 25 deadline to rectify the land records that have been modified as Wakf properties. The BJP and the JDS are preparing to launch a massive agitation across the state, and plan to raise the issue in the winter session of the Legislature that begins on December 9 at Belagavi.
The Karnataka governments efforts to weed out bogus BPL cards have caused panic among the people. While the opposition parties allege that paucity of funds due to the five guarantee schemes has compelled the ruling Congress to cancel the BPL cards, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah defended the move saying only the BPL cards of ineligible and bogus beneficiaries had been cancelled.



Karnataka, which claims to be one of the progressive states that contributes a large chunk of taxes to the central tax pool, has nearly 80 per cent of its population (of 6.5 crore) below the poverty line, going by the number of BPL cardholder families (4.5 crore) in the state.



The Congress government is incurring huge costs due to the guarantee schemes. So, it has planned to cut down the BPL beneficiaries and has already cancelled 11 lakh BPL cards in the state, alleged former minister and BJP MLA Sunil Kumar.



At many places, people who visited the ration shops run by the public distribution system to collect the monthly quota of free rice, were in for a shock as they were denied the food grains stating their BPL cards had been converted to APL cards. Some beneficiaries complained that their BPL cards had been wrongfully cancelled, while some said they were ready to give up the benefits under the guarantee scheme but needed the BPL card for other official purposes like availing subsidies in education, healthcare etc.



Food and Civil Supplies Minister K.H. Muniyappa, who held a review meeting last week, said the officials had noticed gross misuse of BPL cards by bogus beneficiaries and hence he had decided to weed out the ineligible persons.



We will only convert these BPL cards (of ineligible beneficiaries) to APL cards. Karnataka has a staggering 4.5 crore BPL cardholders against the total population of 6.5 crore. Politics apart, we should know that 80 per cent of the states population has BPL cards. In other South Indian states, less than 50 per cent of the states population has BPL cards. Many in the state have availed BPL cards though they are not eligible for it. We are transferring the ineligible BPL cardholders to APL beneficiaries list, said Muniyappa, adding that there was no dearth of funds for Anna Bhaghya scheme, which incurs a cost of Rs 650 crore every month and the scheme had an annual allocation of Rs 8,000 crore.

ALSO READ: Karnataka: BJP demands action against CM Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM Shivakumar for poll code violation

It may be recalled that the Congress government, which came to power in May 2023 had announced Anna Bhagya scheme (free rice scheme) as one of its five poll guarantees and decided to provide ten kilos of rice to each BPL card beneficiary. However, it failed to procure enough rice from the Centre and decided to give Rs 170 per BPL card beneficiary along with the five kilos of rice each being provided by the Centre.



Siddaramaiah, who was annoyed with the oppositions allegations, demanded to know which BJP-ruled state was providing free rice to BPL families. Do taxpayers or government employees need a BPL card? We are only trying to cancel the BPL cards of those who are not genuine beneficiaries, said the CM.



Meanwhile, Muniyappa clarified that the department would resume providing foodgrains to APL cardholders at subsidised rates after the PDS card revision is completed. The state has around 25.62 lakh APL cardholders at present and less than two lakh avail the subsidised foodgrains.



Interestingly, the previous BJP governments too had tried to clean up the bogus PDS cards to curb the misuse of BPL cards. However, the operation was discontinued following backlash from the people and vested interest groups.



Union minister Prahlad Joshi stated that the Centre had been spending Rs 2.11 lakh crore under the Food Security Act. The Centre is providing free foodgrains to 50 per cent of urban and 75 per cent of rural population under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana. The state government which promised to provide 10 kilos of rice is giving only five kilos. It is cutting corners in the guarantee scheme and the schemes are not reaching all the beneficiaries, said Joshi.



Meanwhile, a paper co-authored by Infosys char professor at ICRIER Ashok Gulati stated that nearly 28 per cent of foodgrains 20 million tonnes of rice and wheatsupplied by Food Corporation of India and state governments was not reaching the intended beneficiaries and the estimated loss to the exchequer was Rs 69,000 crore. So, plugging the leakage (through siphoning) in PDS, grain loss due to poor storage and weeding out bogus beneficiaries, especially the affording classes, could help make poverty alleviation more efficient and less of a burden on the exchequer.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. A series of meetings are underway at COP29, and we recently visited Turkiye's pavilion, which is showcasing its "Zero Waste" initiative. It is truly encouraging to see such a high-profile event being held in our brotherly nation, Azerbaijan, and to witness the conference being organized to such a high standard, said Yusuf Tekin, Turkiye's Minister of Education, Trend reports.

Speaking to reporters during his visit to the Turkish pavilion and the "Zero Waste" stand in the "Green Zone" at COP29, prepared by the Communications Directorate of the Turkish Presidency, Tekin furthered his opinions on the initiatives.

"Each of us carries the responsibility to leave a healthy world for future generations. Our children and grandchildren also have the right to inherit the world we live in today. COP29 is focused on raising awareness of these very issues. Throughout the conference, we have the opportunity to come together and find solutions to the pressing challenges that concern us all," he said.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action  was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 Presidency has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

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The November 20 byelection to nine seats in Uttar Pradesh is a direct contest between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party as the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), despite fighting on all seats, has been almost absent from the campaign trail.

The Samajwadi Partys success in the Lok Sabha election has forced the BJP to field more candidates from the Other Backward Castes. This includes Anujesh Singh from Karhal, Dharmraj Nishad from Katehri; Deepak Patel from Phulpur and Suchissmita Maurya from Majhawan.

The Samajwadi Party has fielded Muslim candidates in four out of the nine seats, Dalit candidates in two seats and OBCs in the remaining three.

The BSPs caste equations are also on point with two Muslims, two Brahmins, one Dalit and four OBC candidates. But Mayawati's party at best will play to split votes with no real hope of winning any of them.

One of the most interesting contests will be in Phulpur (Prayagraj) where the BJP is eyeing the Patel-Maurya caste combine to vote for its candidate. The Samajwadi Partys Mustafa Siddiqui on the other hand is eyeing the sizeable Yadav-Muslim vote bank. Phulpur has a traditional Congress support base hence the BJP has its task cut out.

Sihsamau should see a tilt towards the Samajwadi Party as the Solanki family has a prolonged connection with the voters. Party choice Naseem Solanki is playing the sympathy card by telling the voters that she has been forced to step out of home because her husband has been wrongfully imprisoned.

In Kundarki, BJPs Ramveer Singh faces an uphill battle against three time MLA Haji Rizwan. Here Chandrashekhars Aazad Samaj Party has fielded Chandbabu and this might divide the Turk vote and be a headache for the Samajwadi Party.

The BJP and RLD alliance has fielded a non-Muslim candidate for the Meerapur seat. Here. SP's Sumbul Rana will face a division of vote since the BSP, AIMIM and the Aazad Samaj Party have all fielded Muslim candidates. Jayant Chaudharys personal prestige will be tested on the seat.

The Majhawan contest has been made interesting by the faceoff between two women. The BSP had muddied the waters for the BJP by giving the ticket to a Brahmin candidate.

In Karhal, the win of the Samajwadi party seems a foregone conclusion because of the sentiment associated with Akhilesh Yadav who has vacated the seat.

In Khair, the BSPs Dalit candidate could play a spoiler for the opposition- just as it will in Ghaziabad.

The by-polls in UP will not only decide how strongly the party still holds sway, but will also decide how much the party will have to depend on its allies if it does not do well.
Amid the worsening security situation in Manipur, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh will be chairing a meeting with ministers and MLAs of the ruling NDA at 6 pm on Monday.

The meeting will review the developing law and order situation in the state.

ALSO READ | Manipur violence: Mob vandalises BJP, Congress offices after protester dies in clash with security forces

#WATCH | Ranchi: Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi says, "Everyone knows what is happening in Manipur. The Prime Minister has not gone there yet. I have gone to Manipur. We have asked the government to stop the violence. Someone has a vested interest. The Home Minister pic.twitter.com/8O3A9dSCGT  ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2024

The meeting comes a day after the National People's Party (NPP) withdrew support to the BJP-led government. The NPP has seven MLAs in the 60-member Manipur Assembly. NPP pointed out that the N. Biren Singh government completely failed to "resolve the crisis and restore normalcy" in the state.

ALSO READ | NPP withdraws support to BJP-led govt in violence-hit Manipur

Meanwhile, in a letter to the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), Ningthoujam Geoffrey, secretary to the CM, requested the influential body in Imphal Valley to refrain from taking up any violent form of agitation.

#WATCH | NPP (National People's Party) withdrew its support to the Manipur Government on 17th November, with immediate effect.



In Shillong, Meghalaya CM and NPP chief Conrad Sangma says, "...We are hopeful that serious note should be taken about what's happening in Manipur and pic.twitter.com/MxI7yP95Yz  ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2024

The request came after COCOMI members began their campaign of locking government office buildings in the Lamphel area in Imphal West district on Monday.

On Monday, Home Minister Amit Shah held a high-level meeting to review the security situation in Manipur. After the meeting, the central government decided to deploy an additional 50 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces, totalling over 5,000 personnel, to Manipur due to the challenging situation in the state.

NIA takes over three cases

#WATCH | Manipur authorities have imposed a curfew in Imphal West and Imphal East in light of the recent tense situation here.



Sparse movements of vehicles seen on streets, security personnel deployed. Security tightened outside the CM residence and Raj Bhavan. pic.twitter.com/mfpxJY3dSQ  ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2024

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over three Manipur violent cases. The cases include the murder of a woman in the Jiribam area by fully armed militants registered at the Jiribam Police Station and the burning of houses and the killing of a civilian at the Borobekra area registered at Borobekra Police Station.

Meanwhile, one person was killed in the clash between the security forces and protesters on Sunday night. According to the eyewitnesses, the person was killed in the firing by the security forces.

Agitators vandalised properties at Babupara in Jiribam police station demanding justice after three women and children were found dead.

According to the police, bodies of five missing persons have been found so far.

Congress demands Amit Shah's resignation

Amid a rise in violence, the Congress on Monday demanded Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the state before the Parliament session on November 25.

Congress general secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh urged PM Modi to meet an all-party delegation from Manipur.

While addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters, Ramesh also demanded the resignation of Shah and Manipur CM.

"From May 3, 2023, Manipur is burning and Prime Minister Modi visits various countries of the world, gives sermons, but could not find time to visit Manipur," he said.

In the wake of the curfew in the violence-hit areas, many shops, business establishments and pharmacies remained closed in Imphal Valley. Internet services were suspended after protesters vandalised and set ablaze items belonging to ministers and legislators.

A fresh wave of protests erupted in Manipur after six people went missing from a camp for displaced persons in Jiribam on Monday last week.
Fresh violence in Manipur between the security forces and a mob forced the police to open fire, killing one protester.

Though it's unclear who shot the person, eyewitnesses claimed that the firing came from the direction of the security forces.

The deceased has been identified as K. Athouba.

ALSO READ | Manipur on edge: Amit Shah reviews situation with top officials

The incident took place on Sunday when protesters were vandalising properties near Babupara in Jiribam police station.

Protests erupted in Manipur after three bodies, including women and children, believed to be abducted by militants, were recovered from the Jiri River.

ALSO READ | NPP withdraws support to BJP-led govt in violence-hit Manipur

#WATCH | NPP (National People's Party) withdrew its support to the Manipur Government on 17th November, with immediate effect.



In Shillong, Meghalaya CM and NPP chief Conrad Sangma says, "...We are hopeful that serious note should be taken about what's happening in Manipur and pic.twitter.com/MxI7yP95Yz  ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2024

The offices of the Congress and BJP, and a house belonging to Jiribam's Independent MLA were ransacked by a group of agitators as well.

Furniture, papers and many other household items were thrown out and made a bonfire out of them, said officials.

ALSO READ | Manipur: Angry mob targets CM Biren Singh's house; Rahul Gandhi urges PM Modi to visit strife-torn state

#WATCH | Manipur | Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Anish Dayal arrives at Imphal Airport. https://t.co/1uu6Yg2ajl pic.twitter.com/7pkBBzQgKB  ANI (@ANI) November 17, 2024

In another incident, the body of another man was found near Jiribam town on Sunday. However, the police are yet to ascertain the identity of the person.

In the wake of the curfew, many shops, business establishments and pharmacies remained closed in Imphal Valley. Internet services were suspended after protesters vandalised and set ablaze items belonging to ministers and legislators.

Security forces have intensified patrolling in parts of Imphal and increased deployment at the residences of legislators and ministers. Roads leading to the secretariat, BJP headquarters and Raj Bhavan were also heavily patrolled.

Amid fresh violence in Manipur, the National People's Party (NPP) on Sunday withdrew support from the BJP-led government, claiming that CM N. Biren Singh failed to "resolve the crisis and restore normalcy" in the state.

A fresh wave of protests was witnessed in Manipur after six missing people went missing from a camp for displaced persons in Jiribam on Monday last week. Those who went missing belonged to the Meitei community.

On Sunday, the bodies of two persons, believed to be among the six missing people from Jiribam, were found floating in the Barak River in neighbouring Cachar district of Assam.

According to the police, bodies of five missing persons have been found so far.

The state administration suspended internet services in seven districts after violent protests.
The National Task Force, set up by the Supreme Court to formulate safety protocols for medical professionals, has recommended against framing a separate central law for medicos safety. The NTF made the recommendation in a report submitted as part of an affidavit filed by the Centre in the apex court.

Earlier, the task force submitted an interim report at the apex court, suggesting measures to prevent physical and sexual violence against medical professionals. As per NTFs report, it has found laws enacted by various states and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 had provisions to initiate action on criminal acts against doctors and other health care professionals.

In its report, submitted as part of an affidavit filed by the Centre in the Supreme Court, the NTF observed that 24 states have already enacted laws to address violence against health care professionals while two states recently tabled bills on this regard. The task force observed that in states where there is no separate legislation, the BNS should be enforced immediately in cases of criminal acts against medicos.

It has been observed that state laws have adequate provisions to address day-to-day minor offences and serious offences can be addressed by BNS. A separate central law to deal with offences against health care professionals is, therefore, not required," PTI reported quoting the report of NTF.

The NTF has recommended short-term, medium and long-term measures for the protection of medical professionals at health care establishments. It said proper investigation must be ensured in criminal cases registered on acts against medicos to deter offenders.

The task force said a security committee should be formed in hospitals and adequate awareness must be given to women staff on Sexual Harassment electronic- Box. It also stressed the constitution of Internal Complaints Committee at hospitals.

The Supreme Court, which is hearing a suo motu case on the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, constituted the NTF comprising senior medical professionals and government officials to formulate safety protocols for medical professionals at hospitals. The 10-member team led by Surgeon Vice Admiral R.K. Sarian was advised by the apex court to formulate actionable protocols for preventing violence against medical professionals and for ensuring better working conditions for them.
Palakkad, often dubbed Keralas hottest district, lived up to its reputation earlier this year when it became the epicentre of the states first officially recognized heatwave. The IMD even issued an orange alert as temperatures soared. With the announcement of by-polls, the Palakkad assembly constituency has faced another kind of heatwavea political onewith the three major fronts locked in a fierce fight filled with allegations and counter-allegations. And today, as the public campaign for the by-pollspostponed by the EC due to the Kalpathi Chariot Festivalconcludes, communal equations have emerged as a key factor in the calculations of various fronts.

Palakkad is one of those unique constituencies in Kerala where one could see a strong triangular fight. With 1.21 lakh voters, the constituency includes the Palakkad Municipality and the villages of Pirayiri, Mathoor, and Kannadi. More than 80 per cent of the electorate is urban. The constituency has a significant share of Muslim votesAround 22.5 per cent of total voters.

Notably, the BJP dominates the municipal area, ruling the municipality with 28 of the 52 council seats under the NDA. In contrast, the rural belts favor the UDF and the LDF. The BJP, which finished second in the last two assembly elections, sees this by-poll as an opportunity to reopen its account in Kerala assembly. The by-election was triggered after Congress leader Shafi Parambil, who twice represented Palakkad, was elected as the MP for Vadakara in the general elections.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is chanelling her motherly instincts to win Wayanad

Internal strife has notably marred the campaigns of all three fronts. Following the announcement of Youth Congress state president Rahul Mankoottathil as the Congress candidate, around nine leaders defected from the Congress. Among them, P. Sarin, who headed the Congresss digital media cell, emerged as the LDF-backed independent candidate.

During the campaign phase, there were moments when Sarin and the CPI(M) leadership in Palakkad seemed to adopt conflicting positions. Additionally, an excerpt from the allegedly leaked autobiography of E.P. Jayarajanlater dismissed by him as a fabricated narrativeraised questions about whether the party leadership itself was divided on granting Sarin the seat.

In the BJP, internal disputes delayed the announcement of their candidate. Adding to the turmoil, firebrand leader Sandeep Warriera prominent BJP face in television debatessparked further unrest during the advanced phase of the campaign. Warriers departure, marked by his fiery criticism of the BJP as a party that sells hate, shocked many. Initially rumoured to be joining the CPI(M) or CPI, he instead joined the Congress, sending ripples across the political landscape.

Questions galore as Wayanad Lok Sabha bypoll witnesses low voter turnout

The Congress candidate, Rahul Mankoottathil, faced accusations of being an "outsider". A slew of additional allegations was also raised against the Congress by the BJP and CPI(M), including the "blue trolley bag controversy", with claims that Mankoottathil was using unaccounted money brought in a blue trolley bag for the election. But the controversy backfired. Towards the end of the campaign, the LDF and the BJP intensified their attacks, alleging that the Congress was receiving support from radical Islamists and the SDPI, the political wing of the now-banned PFI.

While campaigning for P. Sarin, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made a controversial comment, suggesting that Panakkad Thangal, supremo of Congress ally Indian Union Muslim League, was behaving like an affiliate of Jamaat-e-Islami. Meanwhile, MP A.A. Rahim alleged that the SDPI was campaigning for the UDF in mosques. BJP state president K. Surendran echoed this claim, asserting that the SDPI was campaigning in mosques for the UDF and alleging that the LDF was also receiving support from the People's Democratic Party (PDP), founded by Abdul Nasir Maudany.

E.P. Jayarajan's autobiography 'leak': CPI(M) leader alleges conspiracy, demands probe

Mankoottathil repeatedly faced media pressure to clarify whether he would reject SDPI support outright. On the campaigns final day, Surendran escalated his rhetoric, claiming the Congress was being hijacked by a special section of people, a veiled reference aimed at consolidating Hindu votes in the constituency, which consists of around 80 castes and subcastes.

The CPI(M), meanwhile, continues its post-general election strategy of positioning itself as a bulwark against communalism from both majority and minority communities. And, LDF leaders sharp criticism of Congress and IUML leaders suggests that unlike last time, LDF-leaning votes may not transfer to the UDF. And, if the BJP secures a victory in Palakkad, it could once again ignite accusations of deal politics.
Muhammad Yunus, the chief advisor of the interim government in Bangladesh, addressed the nation on Sunday on the completion of 100 days of his administration. The Nobel laureate discussed key issues, including efforts to revive the countrys economy, hold elections and ensure justice for everyone who suffered atrocities during the July-August protests.

Most importantly, Yunus highlighted the interim governments plan to extradite former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was forced to leave Bangladesh due to the protests, from India. He also dismissed reports about attacks on Hindu minorities as "exaggerated propaganda," attributing the sporadic incidents to political, not communal, motives.

The 84-year-old microcredit and microfinance pioneer highlighted Bangladesh's strengthening geopolitical relationships worldwide. Even though he did not put enough stress on it, during the 100 days of his leadership, Pakistan has notably emerged as the country with which Bangladesh's ties seem to have improved the most.

This marks a significant shift in relations between the two nations, which had reached a historic low under Hasina. Demanding an official apology from Pakistan, her administration prioritised justice for the 1971 Liberation War genocide, prosecuting razakars (Bangladeshis who collaborated with Pakistan) and banning the pro-Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami party with uncompromising resolve.

But recent developments during the interim governments 100 days in office suggest a shift toward reversing the former Prime Ministers policies. Here, we examine key actions that reflect Bangladeshs apparent desire to be a strong ally of Pakistan.

The 76th death anniversary of Muhammad Ali Jinnah was observed at the National Press Club in Dhaka ironically with Urdu poetry. Before the 1971 liberation war, the language movement against the imposition of Urdu as the official language had marked the first resistance by Bengalis against the Pakistani regime.

Participants in the event were seen praising the founder of Pakistan. In another tragic irony, a speaker claimed that Jinnah is the father of our nation and without Pakistan, Bangladesh would not exist today. Demands for Bangladeshs stronger ties with Pakistan and China were raised.

Under Hasina's leadership, events commemorating Jinnah's birth or death anniversaries and public expressions of admiration for him would have been unthinkable.

Aim to resolve 1971 issue

Nahid Islam, a key students protest coordinator against Hasina and an adviser to the current interim government, expressed desire to resolve the 1971 issue with Pakistan during his meeting with Pakistans High Commissioner, Syed Ahmed Maroof.

Nahids comments, made within a few weeks of Hasinas forceful exit, raised speculations about a potential shift in Bangladesh's stance on the Liberation War. The speculations were strengthened by the interim governments decision in October to cancel eight national holidays related to Bangladeshs independence and Mujibur Rahman.

Protesters during the July-August movement also destroyed his statues and memorabilia, and Nahid refused to recognise him as the father of the nation.

Bilateral trade

For the first time, Bangladesh and Pakistan established direct maritime connectivity when a cargo ship from Karachi arrived at Chattogram (formerly Chittagong) port last week. Since 1971, Pakistani cargo typically reached Bangladesh indirectly, with containers being offloaded in Sri Lanka and then transferred to other ships bound for Bangladesh.

Reports suggest that the two countries are planning a Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting to discuss enhancing trade and defence cooperation. A bilateral investment treaty may also be finalized during the JEC.

Arms from Pakistan

Following Hasinas departure, Bangladesh placed an order with Pakistans Ordnance Factories (POF) for 40,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, 2,000 tank ammunition units, 40 tons of RDX explosives, and 2,900 high-intensity projectiles.

Meanwhile, a viral video featured Dr. Shahiduzzaman, a professor of international relations at Dhaka University, advocating for a nuclear treaty with Pakistan as a safeguard against India.

Pakistan simplifies visa process: Earlier this month, Pakistans High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Syed Ahmed Maroof, announced free visas for Bangladeshis under business and visit categories. He added that Bangladeshis could now obtain visas directly at the immigration desk by submitting their application forms.
In a historic first, Israel deployed women soldiers in the offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon. It was a combat intelligence battalion including women IDF fighters that made advancements into southern Lebanon several weeks ago to achieve the histric first, army sources told the media.

IDF broke the news of the operation involving female combatants after the unit safely made it back after the operation. Many of the women fighters who joined the mission were in their early 20s, reports suggest.

The order for the deployment of the combat intelligence battalion inside southern Lebanon was given by Northern Command chief Major-General Ori Gordin, The Jerusalem Post said in a report.

ALSO READ | 'I am at peace with...' What IDF soldier, 21, killed in Gaza by Hamas told granny in last letter before death

One of the combatants who was part of the mission told The Jerusalem Post that they successfully entered areas untouched by the IDF forces since the Second Lebanon War of 2006.

IDF's combat intelligence battalion is Lebanon war

According to Israeli media reports, the combat intelligence battalion, consisting of female soldiers, had been stationed near the Syrian border and in the Mount Dov region ever since the war broke out.

ALSO READ | Who was Mohammed Afif? Hezbollah media chief killed in IDF strike on Lebanese Baath party HQ

The battalion's primary responsibility is intelligence gathering. They are tasked with spotting Hezbollah operatives and their hideouts. Tank units on the ground and the Israeli Air Force depend on these inputs to bring down targets -- mostly buildings. The unit always keeps tabs on Hezbollah activities and holds an ever-updating chart of targets, both individuals and infrastructure.

Female Israel soldiers's operation in Lebanon: As it happened

After having succesfully completed several such missions, the IDF tasked the women with an important intelligence gathering mission. This time, however, they were asked to infiltrate enemy territory. The primary objective was to gather as much intelligence as possible on targets in the area without giving away their location, a 21-year-old corporal, who was part of the team, told media back at home.

Carrying observation equipment, weapons, and other heavy supplies that weighed almost half their body weight, the female operatives moved slightly less than two kilometers into Lebanon on foot, the Corporal told TJP. Since it was vital to remain undetected, they were not airdropped or supported by vehicles, she explained.

Thrilling details of a daring military operation

Trekking and sometimes crawling to avoid detection, the IDF women established a position in a field close to the targets. They maintained camouflage while deploying the heavy equipment on their shoulders to gather intelligence "near a village with known Hezbollah activity". They took vital photographs of Hezbollah's anti-tank missile sites and hideout buildings in the area. They confirmed exact coordinates for the colleagues to later launch pinpoint strikes.

ALSO READ | After Hezbollah drone strike, Netanyahu's home targeted again in flare attack

While they were tasked to remain in the area for at least 24 hours, the mission was cut short by 12 hours as a fire broke out in the area. Taking no chance, the seniors asked the young women to fall back to safety. Again, they had to cover the distance on foot and had to retreat through dense vegetation, TJP quoted a soldier in the team as saying.

Did they accomplish the mission?

According to the IDF, the mission was a roaring success. The Hezbollah anti-tank missile sites and shelter buildings soon came under heavy guided tank fire, purely based on cordinates and photographs gathered by the unit. IDF helicopters reduced to rubble some of the buildings in the village that were used to store weapons by the Iran-backed outfit, the report added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday briefly interacted with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G20 summit in their first exchanges following the American presidential election.

It is not immediately known what transpired between Modi and Biden.

"With @POTUS Joe Biden at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Always a delight to meet him," Modi posted on 'X' with a photo of the interaction.

At the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, spoke at the Session on the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty. This is an important subject and success in this sector will contribute greatly towards sustainable progress. During my remarks, I talked about Indias efforts, notably how we pic.twitter.com/tHXzLIJkM2  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 18, 2024

In the photo, Modi and Biden were seen holding each other's hands and engaged in a discussion.

There is no clarity yet on a bilateral meeting between Modi and Biden on the margins of the G20 summit in this Brazilian city.

If there are no structured talks between the two leaders on the margin of the G20 summit, then the brief encounter could be their last one-on-one interaction before Biden hands over the US presidency to Republican leader Donald Trump next month.

In the US presidential election held on November 5, 78-year-old Trump pulled off an incredible comeback, handing a crushing defeat to Democratic Party nominee Kamala Harris.

Trump's inauguration is scheduled for January 20 at the White House in Washington DC.

Modi began his visit to Brazil after concluding a two-day trip to Nigeria.

The G20 summit is expected to deliberate on pressing global issues such as addressing poverty, hunger and combating climate change.

The leaders of the influential grouping are also expected to deliberate on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the situation in Gaza.
Hours after reports emerged that US President Joe Biden has authorised Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied ballistic missiles for attacks inside Russia, lawmakers in Moscow have reacted to the decision, stating this could escalate the conflict in Ukraine, leading to World War Three.

Biden's major policy change that came at the fag end of his Presidency will now allow Kyiv the first use of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to defend its troops in the Kursk region of western Russia, according to The New York Times.

The reports added that his advisors are divided over the decision that came supposedly in reaction to Russia's move to bring in North Korean troops to fight Ukraine in Kursk.

However, the Russian lawmakers reacted that Biden's policy change meant that Ukrainian ruin was imminent. Andrei Klishas, a senior member of Russia's upper chamber of parliament, took to Telegram to post that the West has "decided on such a level of escalation that it could end with the Ukrainian statehood in complete ruins by morning."

Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian upper house's international affairs committee, told TASS agency that Moscow's response will be immediate. "This is a very big step towards the start of World War Three," the agency quoted Dzhabarov as saying.

Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the State Duma lower house's foreign affairs committee, too said that the move could invite a tougher response. "Strikes with U.S. missiles deep into Russian regions will inevitably entail a serious escalation, which threatens to lead to much more serious consequences," TASS news agency quoted Slutsky as saying.

The destruction of a modern russian BMD-4 IFV in the Kursk region.



: Air Assault Forces Command pic.twitter.com/3qQb4M9H0G  Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 16, 2024

Has Zelenskyy responded

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine has not yet confirmed the NYT report on Biden's policy change but hinted in vague terms that "the number of missiles used to strike Russia" is the more important fact than the authorisation.

"Today, many in the media are talking about the fact that we have received permission to take appropriate actions," Zelensky said. "But blows are not inflicted with words. Such things are not announced. The rockets will speak for themselves."

It is expected that the Ukrainians could use the ATACMS missiles to hit Russian and North Korean troop concentrations in Kursk. These troops are deployed by Russia so that it can retake the land from Ukraine before entering any negotiations. Ukraine is hoping to defend its troops so that they would be able to trade any Russian territory they hold in Kursk for Ukrainian territory held by Russia. If Russia succeeds in retaking Kursks, Ukraine would have nothing in hand to trade for.
US President Joe Biden's decision to let Ukraine use US-supplied, long-range missiles inside Russia has created an uproar in Moscow, which has termed the move escalation and "catastrophic". While Russian lawmakers and media have lashed out at President Joe Biden and the West, one person maintains a stoic silence. It is none other than Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin has so far not responded to the new development as the world anticipates how he would react if an American missile kills Russian soldiers on Russian soil.

The Russian President may not take the decision lightly. Many in the White House, who weren't enthusiastic about Biden's decision, fear that Putin might widen the war if the US allows Kyiv to use the missiles against Russia.

Putin has earlier warned, repeatedly, that the West would be "playing with fire" if they ever allowed Ukraine to lob ballistic missiles at Russia. The Russian President made it clear in no uncertain terms that Moscow would view it as the "direct participation" of NATO in the war, considering that operating such weapons would require trained personnel (in this case, the US).

"It would substantially change the very essence, the nature of the conflict. This will mean that NATO countries, the USA and European states, are fighting with Russia," Putin said in September.

He has also threatened to change the Russian nuclear doctrine, which stipulates that Russia considers nuclear weapons to be exclusively a means of deterrence. As per the policy, a non-nuclear power like Ukraine seeking the help of a nuclear power (like the US) to take on Russia can "warrant a nuclear response".

The Russian President has already dropped hints that the Kremlin might consider supplying weapons of the "same class" to Western adversaries to strike Western targets abroad.

Belarusian President and Putin's close ally Alexander Lukashenko echoed his words when he told a BBC interview that Putin might get his revenge by supplying long-range Bastion missiles to Houthi [rebels]. "What happens if an aircraft carrier is hit? A British or American one. What then?"

However, many eyes are currently on US President-Elect Donald Trump too on whether he would allow Ukraine to do so once he takes over as the President. Trump has repeatedly said that he would end the war without providing details.

Many Russian media houses are also pinning their hopes on Trump to revise the decision. Izvestia newspaper quoted a Russian military expert who said "the Russian armed forces had already [previously] intercepted ATACMS missiles during attacks on the Crimean shore" and speculated that "President-elect Trump might "revise" the decision.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. The Chairperson of the Azerbaijani-American Organizations Alliance, Minavvar Vahabova, has sent a congratulatory letter to Donald Trump on his re-election as President of the United States, Trend reports via the State Committee on Work with Diaspora.

The letter highlights that Trump's victory is a strong reflection of his political views and his belief in what he has done and will continue to do for the American people.

The letter also expressed the community's commitment to contributing to the sustained success of the U.S., particularly through its activities in fields such as science, technology, education, business, and others.

The message also underscored the ongoing strong ties between the U.S. and Azerbaijan, with the Azerbaijani diaspora committed to deepening this collaboration.

The address reiterated the community's dedication to the ideals of peace, democracy, and mutual respect and expressed hope for a future of even closer partnership and shared achievements.

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Hours after reports suggested that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 85, was in a coma, Iran has released a picture of the Supreme Leader.

Khamenei's X handle posted a photo taken during his meeting with Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, on Sunday.

                    pic.twitter.com/ctIRbi9bVA  KHAMENEI.IR |   (@Khamenei_fa) November 17, 2024

Reports claimed that Khamenei, 85, was in a coma and his second son, Mojtaba Khamenei, 55, was nominated as his successor. A final call regarding the succession will be taken by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Photos circulating online purportedly showed Khamenei in a hospital bed. However, misinformation researcher Tai Hagin said the viral pictures were taken in 2014.

There are currently many unsourced reports claiming Ali Khamenei, the current Supreme Leader of Iran, is in a coma.

Accompanying these reports are "leaked" or "unconfirmed" images - Used to give the unsourced reports credibility.



These images aren't recent - They are from 2014 pic.twitter.com/kT5iXRApD6  Tal Hagin (@talhagin) November 16, 2024

This comes three weeks after New York Times reported that Khamenei was "seriously ill" and that there was confusion regarding his successor. A day before that, Israel had attacked Iranian missile facilities in a retaliatory attack.

Ebrahim Raisi, former Iranian President, who died in May, was the potential successor to Khamenei. However, after his death, Mojtaba was nominated as the sucessor.

Khamenei had fallen ill in September 2022, following which his public appearances were cancelled. The current Supreme Leader has been in power since August 6, 1989, after his predecessor, Ruhollah Khamenei, passed away.

Khamenei, who is the longest serving head of state in the Middle East, was the Iranian president before he took over as the Supreme Leader.
Amid reports of Iran's Supreme Leader's ill health, his son Mojtaba Khamenei is, reportedly, set to take over the position.

Mojtaba Khamenei is the second son of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Over the past two years, Mojtaba's growing influence within the regime has been evident.

Also read | What happened to Ayatollah Khamenei? Iran releases images after reports say Supreme Leader is in coma

Though he has not made many public visits, he plays a commanding role in the Office of the Supreme Leader.

He is recognised for his alleged role in suppressing the 2009 post-election protests. In 2021, he was granted the title of Ayatollah, fulfilling the constitutional requirements for the role of Supreme Leader.

Also read | Who will succeed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei? Iran Supreme Leader is 'seriously ill': Report

Born in 1969, Mojtaba joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after finishing secondary school in 1987. He served in IRGC at the close of the Iran-Iraq War.

At the beginning of the 21st century, he enjoyed strong connections not only within the IRGC but also with Iran's top clerics.

The decision of Khamenei's successor was reportedly taken during a secretive meeting of the Assembly of Experts. The secret meeting was held in September at the request of the 85-year-old leader. The 60-member assembly allegedly faced significant pressure to reach a unanimous decision, including threats from Khamenei and his representatives.

The Iran International report says the decision was kept secret to avoid public backlash. "The assembly resolved to maintain maximum secrecy over the decision due to fears of widespread public protests," it stated.

Many reports that circulated on social media suggested that the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has fallen into a coma. Hours after the reports, Iran released pictures of the Supreme Leader with Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, on Sunday.

According to sources, the report claims Khamenei plans to transfer power to his son while still alive to ensure a smooth transition and avoid opposition.
The Israel Defense Forces nad Hezbollah confirmed that Mohammed Afif, the media releation chief of the Iran-backed militant group, was killed in a strike in the Lebanese capital.

The IDF airstrike hit a building in the Ras al-Naba neighbourhood of Beirut. The building reportedly housed the Arab socialist Baath party's office.

Who was Mohammed Afif?

ELIMINATED: Chief Propagandist and Spokesperson of Hezbollah, Mohammed Afif



Afif was a senior Hezbollah military operative, in contact with senior officials and directly involved in advancing and executing Hezbollahs terrorist activities against Israel.



Messages broadcasted pic.twitter.com/Iw3WFynSIz  Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 17, 2024

Mohammed Afif al-Naboulsi, the Hezbollah media relations chief, had been hosting Hezbollah press conferences during the ongoing conflict with Israel. He also handled Hezbollah-owned Al-Manar TV station before he became its top media official.

He was last seen in the public last Monday when he gave a press conference in Beirut. In October, Afif said, "Our will is firm and our determination is strong. The bombing des not scare us nor the threats."

He came under Israel radar in September following the killing of the group's former secretary general Hassan Nasrallah. Israel said Afif broadcast messages that glorified and incited terrorist activities against Israel and that he launched "psychological terror operations" against the people of Israel.

Israel invaded Lebanon on October 1 a week before the first anniversary of Hamas attack. Over 3,400 people have been killed in Lebanon so far.
New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) Over 10,000 steel user units are facing a crisis due to prolonged port delays and burdensome regulatory requirements, and the government should look at streamlining import processes and digitise systems to help the sector, think tank GTRI said on Monday.

The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) also said that policies aimed at protecting domestic steelmakers, including import restrictions and quality control measures, have unintentionally penalised industries dependent on imported steel.

Over 10,000 units are struggling with operational and financial challenges, threatening their production and export capabilities, it added.

It also said that Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) need careful scrutiny as some FTAs allow Indian firms to partner with foreign producers and re-import steel at concessional rates, raising concerns about competition.

"Port delays and red tape are choking India's steel user industries. Over 10,000 steel user units face financial strain due to delays at ports and unclear regulatory requirements. Essential imports for manufacturing industries face excessive scrutiny," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said.

To monitor imports, the government introduced the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS), requiring detailed declarations before goods arrive.

Additionally, Quality Control Orders (QCOs) mandate registration with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for specific steel products.

However, he said, Customs has extended these requirements indiscriminately, demanding BIS No Objection Certificates (NOCs) even for items outside the QCO's scope.

"This creates confusion, delays, and added costs, as BIS rarely issues NOCs promptly. Compounding the problem, the Steel Ministry's Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) for registering consignments often malfunctions, further delaying clearances," Srivastava said.

India's steel user industry urged the government to ensure clear, transparent, and efficient processes.

If import restrictions are necessary, the GTRI said, they should be implemented through well-defined policies rather than procedural roadblocks.

To ensure the growth and competitiveness of both steelmakers and steel user industries, the government should take steps such as streamlining import processes, digitizing systems, and focusing on the domestic production of high-quality specialty steel are critical.

"Without these measures, policy-induced bottlenecks could harm the broader economy and undermine India's aspirations for global manufacturing leadership," the think tank said, adding QCOs should be mandatory only for steel made domestically in sufficient quantities and there is a need to revamp SIMS.

India's steel industry can be divided into two categories -- steelmaking firms and steel-user industries. The user industries use steel to create value-added products like flat and long steel items, specialty steel, stainless steel, and fabricated components.
NEW DELHI and SINGAPORE, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Compport, one of Asia's fastest growing compensation software providers, proudly welcomes Krish Shankar to its Board of Advisors.



With nearly four decades of experience leading human resources functions across some of the world's most renowned organizations, Krish brings unparalleled expertise and insight to Compport's mission of transforming compensation practices worldwide.



Compport has steadily established a strong presence in the compensation technology space, with solid foundations in India and Southeast Asia and a growing footprint in North America and the EU. As pay transparency and equity become increasingly critical topics, Compport is passionately committed to empowering organizations, to create fair and competitive rewards structures. With its highly configurable and competent modular solutions, Compport is setting new standards and redefining the future of compensation management, globally.



Krish Shankar, a distinguished and inspirational human resources leader, brings extensive experience across diverse industries, including technology, telecommunications, and consumer goods. He has held pivotal HR leadership roles at prominent organizations, such as Bharti Airtel, Philips, and Hindustan Unilever, where he played a role in shaping their future and served as a true inspiration to many HR colleagues. Most recently, Krish served as the Group Head of Human Resource Development at Infosys. He served as President of the National HRD Network in India (20192021) and was honoured with XLRI's Distinguished Alumni Award, in 2019. He is the author of Catalyse: Power up Your People Ecosystem, a key resource for HR leaders, offering insights on building strong organizational culture and talent ecosystems.



"We are honoured and thrilled to welcome Krish to our Board of Advisors," said Sachin Bajaj, Founder & CEO of Compport. "The addition of Krish Shankar, a highly experienced leader in the technology and consumer industries, as a board advisor brings invaluable expertise. His deep understanding of HR and the rewards domain will enhance Compport's ability to deliver solutions that are both highly responsive and tailored to the evolving needs of our clients, ensuring they remain competitive and agile in today's complex compensation landscape."



Navneet Rattan, Compport's COO, Partner and Global Product Head, highlighted Krish's impact on the Indian market: "Krish's leadership will be pivotal, as we elevate HR practices in India and beyond. With his guidance, Compport will advance its mission to set new benchmarks in compensation technology."



"Having closely observed Compport's impressive journey, I am excited to join the advisory board. I look forward to contributing to Compport's vision of transforming compensation on a global scale through innovative technology  delivering solutions that make transparency and equity attainable and aligned with the expectations of today's workforce worldwide," said Krish Shankar.



As Compport continues to scale its global footprint and enhance its suite of solutions, Krish's deep expertise will play a pivotal role in driving their innovation and excellence.



His contribution will strengthen Compport's commitment to empowering companies worldwide, with powerful tools to build fair, transparent, and competitive reward strategies that inspire and motivate talent in today's dynamic landscape.



About Compport



Compport is a leading SaaS platform providing advanced compensation and people analytics software. It is used in 35+ countries and trusted by some of the world's largest organizations. The platform is incredibly configurable and supports a full range of rewards processes, including annual and ad-hoc salary reviews, bonus structuring, total rewards statements, sales incentives, long-term incentives (LTI), and pay equity initiatives. With Compport, HR and total rewards leaders can efficiently design, budget, and forecast compensation plans, while empowering managers to digitally review and communicate pay details  all in one seamless platform.



For media inquiries, please contact:



Akash Bhat

Head of Marketing, Compport

akash.bhat@compport.com



Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2559103/KrishShankarCompport.jpg



Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2345356/4556195/Compport_Logo.jpg



(Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PRNewswire and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR

PWR
New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) Shares of Honasa Consumer Ltd, which owns FMCG brands such as Mamaearth and The Derma Co, tumbled 20 per cent on Monday after the firm reported a consolidated loss of Rs 18.57 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2024 on account of inventory correction.

The stock slumped 20 per cent to Rs 295.80 -- the lower circuit limit -- on the BSE.

At the NSE, it tanked 19.99 per cent to hit the lowest trading permissible limit for the day at Rs 297.25.

It had reported a profit after tax of Rs 29.43 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.

Honasa Consumer's revenue from operations was down 6.9 per cent to Rs 461.82 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal.

"Revenue in Q2 stood at Rs 462 crore reflecting around 6.9 per cent growth, while revenue adjusted for inventory correction was Rs 525 crore with the growth rate of 5.7 per cent," Honasa Consumer said in its earnings statement.

Chairman and CEO Varun Alagh said over the past few months, Honasa Consumer has been working to optimise its distribution model.

"In this quarter, we have taken strategic steps towards transitioning from super-stockists to direct distributors in the top 50 cities. This transition has impacted our revenue and profits, leading to a slowdown for Mamaearth," he said.
New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) Apollo Radiology International (ARI), a unit of Apollo Hospitals, on Monday said it has acquired radiology reporting wing of UK's InHealth Group.

The acquisition solidifies the company's commitment to addressing the critical shortage of radiologists worldwide, enhancing access to quality diagnostic services across the UK and globally, it said in a statement.

Apollo Radiology International (ARI) is projected to report over two million scans annually, covering 24 countries and continuing to serve over 200 healthcare organisations.

Together, ARI and InHealth aim to extend reporting services across a wider network of NHS-partners in the UK, addressing critical gaps in radiology staffing and providing patients with accurate, timely diagnosis, it said.

"Together, we are poised to address the global radiologist shortage while delivering exceptional quality service," ARI CEO and Medical Director Sreenivasa Raju Kalidindi said.

InHealth CEO Geoff Searle said both organisations share an approach which puts quality at the heart of all their services.
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 18 (PTI) Kerala will host a two-day global investment meet here from January 29 eyeing a transformational leap in the state's industrial sector.



Titled 'Vizhinjam Conclave 2024: Global Investment Summit', a first-of-its-kind initiative promises to redefine the scope of industrial and economic development by leveraging the untapped potential of the Vizhinjam International Seaport here.



The summit aims to generate significant employment opportunitiesup to ten times the direct jobs created by the port itselfthrough associated industries and infrastructure, an official statement said on Monday.



It is also expected to position Kerala as a critical node in the global supply chain, fostering growth in tourism, hospitality, manufacturing, non-conventional energy, and fisheries, among other sectors, it said.



Organised by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited (VISL) in collaboration with the Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI), the conclave will offer Kerala an opportunity to diversify its industrial base while aligning with Indias maritime ambitions.



The event will feature comprehensive discussions on investment avenues such as container freight stations, logistics parks, equipment repair units, and warehousing facilities, it said.



The Outer Area Growth Corridor Project, envisioned as an industrial hub, will be another focal point for discussions, underscoring the ports potential to catalyse economic activity in its vicinity.



The conclave will provide one-on-one interactions between delegates and business leaders, along with sessions on investor-centric policies and benefits, aimed at fostering confidence and collaboration.



Special mentoring sessions are planned to encourage Kerala-based enterprises and start-ups to scale up their presence in port-driven industries, it said.



Efforts to engage and integrate local communities into this industrial shift will be a key agenda of the two-day conclave.



Representatives from industries operating in connection with prominent ports across India will share insights and best practices, while international delegates are expected to explore collaborative opportunities, making the conclave a truly global platform, the statement added.
New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) Padam Singh and Heera Devi, two octogenarians from an Uttarakhand village and now the unlikely stars of director Vinod Kapri's "Pyre", are embarking on a new adventure in life.

Singh and Devi are currently en route to the Estonian capital Tallin for the world premiere of the film on Tuesday at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2024. It is their first ride in a plane as well as their first foreign trip, according to Kapri.

"Pyre", billed as a melancholic ballad of an undying love in a dying land, has been chosen in the Official Selection - Competition section at the 28th edition of the movie gala.

The Hindi-language film is set in the Himalayan Mountain range and features Padam Singh (Singh) and Tulsi (Devi) as an elderly couple who live in isolation in a mountain village whose residents have moved away to big cities in search of livelihood.

For "Pyre", Kapri cast two local residents: Singh, a retired Indian Army soldier, and Devi, a farmer, neither of whom had ever acted in a film before. Both hail from Berinag Tehsil in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district.

The filmmaker, who accompanied Singh and Devi to Tallinn for the film festival, shared a post on his official X page on Monday.

"#AamaBubu of #Uttarakhand. Off to #Tallinn @TallinnBNFF Their first flight Journey, First foreign trip. World premiere of @PyreFilm!" he wrote on the microblogging site.

Kapri shared a video of Singh and Devi being escorted into the airport on wheelchairs. He also posted a picture of the duo smiling for the camera as they sat in the plane.

"Pyre" is the only Indian entry in the Official Competition category of the prestigious film gala, held annually in Estonias capital, Tallinn.

"In the Himalayan Mountain range, a rural village loses its inhabitants to the city's allure while an elderly couple, Padam Singh and Tulsi, live in desolate isolation. Their days are filled with routine and occasional humour as they mask their loneliness.

"Their son's absence gnaws at them, and when a letter arrives promising his return, it reignites their hearts with joy and anticipation. However, the reunion does not unfold as expected, shattering their hopes. As the film climaxes, the spectator is confronted with a more rueful plight, deeply engaging the audience's empathy," read the film's official synopsis.

The film is inspired by a true story of an elderly couple Kapri met in 2017 in Munsyari, a village affected by migration in Uttarakhand. The couple's bond left a deep impact on him, prompting him to make "Pyre".

Kapri and his wife, Sakshi Joshi, have produced the movie independently through Bhagirathi Films. Legendary lyricist Gulzar has penned a song for the film.

The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, which started on November 8, will come to a close on November 24.
Istanbul, Nov 18 (AP) Doctors, nurses and an ambulance driver are among 47 people on trial accused of causing the deaths of 10 infants as part of an alleged scheme to defraud Turkey's social security system.

The defendants are accused of transferring babies to neonatal units of 19 private hospitals where the infants were allegedly kept for prolonged and sometimes unnecessary treatments. At least 10 newborns are alleged to have died in the past year due to neglect or malpractice in facilities that were unprepared to treat them.

Prosecutors at the trial, which opened in Istanbul on Monday, say the defendants also falsified reports to make the babies' condition appear more serious with the aim obtaining payments from the social security institution.

The main defendants have denied any wrongdoing, insisting they made the best possible decisions and face punishment for unavoidable unwanted outcomes.

The case, which emerged last month, has sparked public outrage and calls for a greater oversight of the health care system. Authorities have since revoked the licenses and closed nine of the 19 hospitals that were implicated in the scandal.

Dr Firat Sari, the main defendant who operated the neonatal intensive care units of several private hospitals in Istanbul, is facing a sentence of up to 583 years in prison.

He is charged with establishing an organisation with the aim of committing a crime, defrauding public institutions, forgery of official documents, and homicide by negligence.

During questioning by prosecutors, Sari denied accusations that the babies were not given the proper care, that the neonatal units were understaffed or that his employees were not appropriately qualified, according to a 1,400-page indictment.

He told prosecutors: Everything is in accordance with procedures.

The case has led to calls for the resignation of Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu, who was the Istanbul provincial health director at the time some of the deaths occurred. Ozgur Ozel, the main opposition party leader, has called for all hospitals involved to be seized by the state and nationalized.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said those responsible for the deaths would be severely punished but warned against placing all the blame on the country's health care system.

We will not allow our health care community to be battered because of a few rotten apples, said Erdogan.

Over 350 families have petitioned prosecutors or other state institutions for an investigation into deaths of their loved ones. (AP) SCY

SCY
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. A new Sunday school has opened at the Azerbaijan House in Prague, Trend reports via the State Committee on Work with Diaspora.

"Of course, we want the second and third generations of Azerbaijanis to be attached to their culture. Of course, this is not an easy task. First of all, they must speak the Azerbaijani language. Of course, it is possible to keep the Azerbaijani language alive only in families, but it is not enough. Therefore, we are always ready to help open Azerbaijani schools and Sunday schools. In fact, we are already doing that. Perhaps we need to do it more organized manner because the mother tongue is a crucial factor. The native language brings all Azerbaijani citizens closer together," President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in his address at the V Congress of World Azerbaijanis in Shusha city, on the matter.

Following the directives and recommendations of the head of state, Azerbaijan has been expanding Sunday schools in various countries. The newly established school in Prague (Czech Republic) is part of this initiative. Children of different age groups will study the Azerbaijani language, history, and culture at the school.

The State Committee on Work with Diaspora has provided all necessary educational materials and visual aids for the school and recruited qualified teachers living in Prague. Conditions for teaching and learning have been set up to accommodate dozens of students.

Leila Begim Jafarova, head of Azerbaijan House in Prague, which opened in November 6 this year, stated that the opening of the school is an important event for the Azerbaijani community in the Czech Republic.

One of the parents, Lamiya Akhundova, a mother of three children, expressed her enthusiasm: "My children are very eager to master the Azerbaijani language. They are excited to take part in the Sunday school."

To note, over 100 Sunday schools operate around the world, serving Azerbaijani children and youth abroad, as well as foreigners who appreciate Azerbaijan. These schools are part of a broader network of Azerbaijan Houses in 18 countries, where Sunday schools continue to thrive.

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Peshawar, Nov 18 (PTI) Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has said he would discuss with the top military leadership the November 24 protest march planned by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party and its ongoing tension with the establishment in the upcoming Apex Committee meeting.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called a meeting of the Apex Committee on Tuesday. The meeting will be attended by Army Chief Gen Asim Munir, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief, Military Intelligence DG, Intelligence Bureau DG, all provincial chief ministers, key federal ministers, and others as its members to discuss the law and order situation with special reference to the surging incidents of terrorism.

Terrorist attacks have increased in recent weeks, particularly in the KP and Balochistan provinces. In October, 48 terrorist attacks were reported, resulting in 100 deaths.

Gandapur, when approached by the media, said he would attend the top-level apex committee meeting.

When asked if he would discuss the November 24 protest march of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) and issues relating to jailed former premier Imran Khan in the meeting, he said: "I will not discuss politics. Neither do we need anybodys permission to hold the protest march.

He, however, said when you discuss the law and order situation and the National Action Plan, then the situation faced by Khan and PTI is bound to be discussed. He said he would raise these issues. He disclosed that he has been discussing these issues in the past apex body meetings.

Referring to the ongoing tensions between the PTI and the establishment, he said this situation was not in favour of anyone. "Its neither in the interest of PTI nor that of Pakistan and the institution, he said, adding such issues need to be resolved.

The chief minister talked about the hardships faced by the PTI and its leadership. When asked about Khans aggressive tone against the institution and its top leadership, Gandapur first denied it. But when reminded of what the founder chairman has been saying, he said when you put someone in jail for so long, he would speak.

In such a situation, PTIs protest march to Islamabad on November 24 becomes an issue of concern for security agencies and is, therefore, expected to be discussed by the top civil-military leadership.
London, Nov 18 (PTI) Masked burglars stole farm vehicles from King Charles IIIs sprawling Windsor Castle estate, which is also home to Prince William and Kate Middletons family cottage, UK police confirmed on Monday.

According to a report in The Sun newspaper, two men scaled a six-foot fence on the night of October 13 and used a stolen truck to break through a security gate while the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children George, Charlotte and Louis, slept at their Adelaide Cottage home on the estate.

The two masked burglars then fled with a pick-up truck and a quad bike that were stored in a barn.

"At around 11.45pm on Sunday 13 October, we received a report of burglary at a property on Crown Estate land near to the A308 in Windsor, Thames Valley Police said in a statement.

"Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Isuzu pick-up and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area. No arrests have been made at this stage and an investigation is ongoing," the statement said.

While Buckingham Palace has not commented on the reports, sources indicated that the King and Queen Camilla were not in their castle residence at the time.

However, all senior royals have their own special police protection and there is not believed to have been any direct danger to any of the royals who were on the Windsor estate, about 40km west of London.

The 15,800-acre royal estate includes working farms, conservation areas, Windsor Great Park and famous royal landmarks such as Windsor Castle, a popular tourist attraction.

The burglary last month marks another security breach of the grounds after a British Sikh man climbed a fence at Windsor Castle armed with a loaded crossbow and claimed he wanted to kill Queen Elizabeth II back in December 2021.

Jaswant Singh Chail has since been handed a nine-year custodial sentence for treason, possession of an offensive weapon and making threats to kill. Chail claimed he wanted to assassinate the late monarch as revenge for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, according to a social media video that emerged soon after his arrest.
Dakar, Nov 18 (AP) Australia's Resolute Mining said Monday it would pay $160 million to Mali's ruling junta to resolve a tax dispute, more than a week after the company's CEO and two other executives were detained in the West African country.

Earlier this month, the Australian gold mining company's CEO Terence Holohan and the two others were detained in Mali's capital Bamako on Nov. 8 as they were visiting the country for talks over an unspecified dispute. The government did not say why they were detained.

Andrew Wray, the company's non-executive chairman, said in a statement published on Resolute Mining's website that all claims against the company made by Malian authorities, including those related to tax, customs levies, maintenance and management of offshore accounts are settled.

The company will pay Mali $80 million from existing cash reserves," with an additional payment of $80 million in the coming months," he added.

Resolute said the companies three executives were safe and well, and that it was working with Mali's authorities for their release.

The Australian company has been working for years at Mali's Syama gold mine, a large-scale operation in the country's southwest. It holds an 80% stake in mine, while the Malian government holds the remaining 20%.

The arrest is the latest controversy in Mali's foreign-dominated and crucial mining sector, increasingly scrutinized by the military authorities. Four employees of Canadian company Barrick Gold also were detained for days in September.

Mali is one of Africa's leading gold producers, but has struggled for many years with jihadi violence and high levels of poverty and hunger. The military seized power in 2020 and since then the junta has placed foreign mining companies under growing pressure as it seeks to shore up the government's revenues. (AP)



AMS
Colombo, Nov 18 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka on Monday appointed a 21-member Cabinet in the new NPP government, keeping with his pre-election promise to streamline the governance system and ease the burden on taxpayers.

The National People's Power (NPP) has been advocating a smaller government to reduce costs for the public. Since the NPP won the presidential election in September, the government functioned with just 3 ministers, including the President.

As per the island nation's Constitution, there is a provision for appointing a 30-member Cabinet.

Dissanayaka retained the finance and defence portfolios, while appointing 12 new parliament members to key positions and entrusting eight veteran members, who have served since 2000, with significant responsibilities.

Among the fresh faces in the Cabinet are five academic professors.

Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya who holds the education portfolio and Saroja Savithri Paulraj who has the women's and child affairs portfolio are the two women members in the Cabinet. Paulraj, a minority Tamil from the Sinhala majority south, was involved in the party's long struggle.

A significant feature of the swearing-in ceremony was the fisheries minister Ramalingam Chandrasekaran, who took his oath in Tamil, highlighting the representation of the minority community in the new government.

The new parliament will convene on Thursday.

The NPP led by Dissanayake swept the parliamentary elections held on Thursday by winning a two-thirds majority. It also dominated the Jaffna electoral district - the heartland of the nations Tamil minority. The NPP won a near 62 per cent of the vote 2/3rd majority of 159 seats in the 225-member assembly, a feat which has no parallels since 1989.

Addressing the new Cabinet, Dissanayake said, We will not abuse the large power given to us, make no mistake about it. We trust you will uphold that there will be limits to the power.

Dissanayaka said most of his members are not new to politics despite being new to the parliament and the Cabinet.

For decades you fought hard in our battles to gain power. We were judged before the elections on our correct political slogans and political path. But from now on, we will be judged as to how we act true to our slogans, he stressed.

The NPP's victory in the parliamentary election has created many firsts and records. It received 61.56 per cent of the total votes counted. The previous best was 60.33 per cent by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa's party in the 2010 election. The NPP won the highest number of polling divisions, 152 out of 168, the previous best was Rajapaksas 136.

It also won the highest number of districts 21 out of 22, the previous best was 19 by Rajapaksa in 2010. It has the highest number of 159 parliamentary seats over Rajapaksas 145 in 2020.

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the mother party of the NPP, had led two violent armed struggles in 1971 and 1987-90 to overthrow the then government. The party entered the democratic mainstream in 1994 and never looked back since then while shedding its violent past, including a campaign against India's interventions in the minority Tamil issue in Sri Lanka.
Chiba (Japan), Nov 18 (AP) An Australian accused of smuggling amphetamines in a suitcase appeared in a Japanese court on Monday nearly two years after her arrest, saying she is innocent and that she was tricked into carrying them as part of an online romance scam.

Donna Nelson from Perth, Australia, was arrested at Japan's Narita International Airport just outside Tokyo when customs officials found about 2 kg (4.4 pounds) of stimulants, or phenylaminopropane, hidden in a double-bottom suitcase she was carrying.

Nelson, 58, said she received the suitcase from an acquaintance of a man she met on social media in 2020, and brought it from Laos to Tokyo as instructed. She was supposed to meet up with the man in Japan but he never showed up, according to prosecutors.

She was arrested on the spot and later charged with violating the stimulants control and customs laws. She has been in custody for nearly two years.

Monday's trial comes just weeks after the recent acquittal of an 88-year-old former boxer, Iwao Hakamada, who was on death row for about half a century on wrongful murder convictions. That case rekindled concerns about Japan's largely closed-door investigation processes and lengthy trials.

Nelson, in a brief statement at the Chiba District Court near Tokyo, said she did not know the drugs were hidden in the suitcase and that she was carrying them for a man she thought she loved. The man told her he was the Nigerian owner of a fashion business and paid for her trip to Japan via Laos, her lawyers said.

Prosecutors acknowledged the case is linked to a romance scam but accused Nelson of smuggling the drugs, claiming she knew the contents of the suitcase.

A verdict is expected on Dec 4.

Nelson entered the courtroom escorted by a pair of uniformed guards who removed her handcuffs and a rope around her waist as she took a seat to stand trial. She repeatedly looked toward her daughters who were seated in the audience.

It was an emotional moment for her and her family to see each other for the first time since her arrest.

One of Nelson's daughters, Kristal Hilaire, said she wants the court to know her mother is a good person.

She thought she was coming to Japan for her love story. She didn't have any other intentions other than that. And that's what we need everyone to know and hear at the court this week, Hilaire said.

The daughter added that the family is just trying to be strong because when mom locks her eyes with us, I want her to feel our strength and that she will feed off that.

Nelson's lawyer Rie Nishida said that customs officials' limited English-language ability might have led to mistranslations and the accusation that Nelson knew what she was carrying.

In Monday's trial, a customs official testified that his colleague was mainly asking questions to Nelson in English but ended up calling an interpreter and what she had said earlier was only summed up in Japanese during an interview that was not recorded.

Nishida asked the judges and a jury panel of citizens to carefully listen to Nelson, who she said was finally given a capable court interpreter, to make a fair judgement. (AP) SCY

SCY
Colombo, Nov 18 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will visit India at the invitation of the Indian government in mid-December, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said on Monday.

He will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar who became the first foreign dignitary to call on Dissanayake when he was elected President in September had extended the invitation.

Jaishankar visited Sri Lanka in October since the National Peoples Power (NPP) government led by Dissanayake came to power on September 23.

Herath who retained his foreign ministry portfolio in the first Cabinet of Dissanayake after his landslide victory in the parliamentary election held last week said the new government was intent on improving Sri Lankas relations with the world in their bid to effect a renaissance in the island's governance.

In April 2022, the island nation declared its first-ever sovereign default since gaining Independence from Britain in 1948. The unprecedented financial crisis led the then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to quit office in 2022 amid civil unrest.

India had then pitched in with about USD 4 billion in assistance to enable the island nation to recover from a deep economic crisis after it announced the default on over USD 51 billion in foreign loans.

Sri Lanka is Indias key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and occupies a special place in its initiatives such as SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the Neighbourhood First Policy.

While in Opposition, Dissanayake had expressed his reservations about some of the Indian projects, especially the sustainable energy projects run by the Adani Group.

In the run-up to the election, Dissanayake had pledged to annul those projects if voted to power, claiming that the projects were inimical to Sri Lankan interests.
Kathmandu, Nov 18 (PTI) Nepal and India on Monday agreed to enhance their coordination to ensure a smooth movement of citizens of both countries across the open borders.

This was agreed during the 8th Nepal-India Border Security Coordination meeting chaired by Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Director General Amrit Mohan Prasad and Armed Police Force of Nepal chief Raju Aryal.

"The two sides had a productive discussion and agreed to enhance their coordination to ensure a smooth movement of citizens of both countries across the open borders," the Embassy of India in Nepal said in a post on X.

The three-day high-level security meeting concluded on Monday, underlining the need to effectively control cross-border criminal activities, according to Nepalese officials.

"Both sides agreed to make border security further effective and take measures to curb cross-border criminal activities through joint efforts, Home Ministry spokesperson Rishiram Tiwari told the media here.

Nepal shares a border of over 1,850 km with five Indian states  Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Meerut, Nov 17 (PTI) A truck ran over three people of a family riding a motorcycle near Karnaval Gate, killing them on the spot, police on Sunday said.

The victims were identified as Upasana, 18, Manisha, 22, and Sunil Kashyap, 45, all of them natives of Ratangarhi village in Sardhana town.

The family was on its way to a wedding in Sardhana when the accident took place, an officer said.

Superintendent of Police (Rural) Rakesh Kumar Mishra said the truck is yet to be traced.

"The incident occurred near Karnaval Gate, where a sugarcane-laden trolley had broken down and was parked on a roadside.

"The bike rider, attempting to avoid the trolley, lost control and crashed into it. As they fell, a truck coming from behind ran over them, killing all three on the spot," he said.

In the wake of the incident, angry villagers blocked the road for several hours, demanding the arrest of the truck driver.

The demonstration caused a heavy jam on either side of the road as police tried to placate the villagers.

Police are looking for the truck driver who decamped after the incident.
Indore, Nov 18 (PTI) Expressing anger over the destruction of Rabi crops by nilgai in western Madhya Pradesh, two outfits representing farmers sought nod from the state government to kill them.

Nilgai is the largest antelope in Asia and is mainly diurnal (active during the day).

However, an animal welfare organisation opposed this demand and said non-violent options should be adopted to keep nilgai away from agricultural fields.

"Farmers of Indore and other districts of western Madhya Pradesh are distressed by nilgai. They are destroying wheat, gram, potatoes, peas, garlic, onion and other crops. Farmers are helpless. The state government should allow farmers to kill nilgai to protect their crops," Bablu Jadhav, president of Bharatiya Kisan Mazdoor Sena, told PTI.

"Farmers are up all night guarding their fields. These animals completely eat up the tur (pigeon pea) crop. Many farmers have found it appropriate to sow other crops instead," he added.

Ram Swaroop Mantri, convener of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha in Malwa-Nimar region of western Madhya Pradesh, also supported the demand and warned of a mass movement if the state government does not provide relief from this menace.

Indore Forest Divisional Officer (DFO) MS Solanki said he has not received any formal letter from the farmers regarding this demand to kill nilgai.

"On receiving any such letter, it will be sent to the Forest Department's headquarters in Bhopal to seek guidance," he added.

Meanwhile, animal welfare organization 'People for Animals' has objected to the demand.

"Due to the shrinking forest area, nilgai are moving towards human settlements. In such a situation, killing them or causing any harm to them would be completely wrong." said Priyanshu Jain, president of the organisation's Indore unit.

To keep nilgai away from their fields, farmers should play loud music or burst crackers, Jain added.
Nashik, Nov 18 (PTI) The security personnel deployed to conduct free and fair assembly polls in Nashik in Maharashtra includes 550 home guards from neighbouring Gujarat, an official said.

Campaigning for the November 20 polls ended at 6pm on Monday. Results will be declared on November 23.

"There are 15 assembly seats in the district. The police deployment includes top officials, 54 police inspectors, 134 ASIs and PSIs, 2,317 constables, 450 Maharashtra home guards and 550 Gujarat home guards. We also have 130 Civil Defence Force volunteers, two teams of Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), two teams of Riot Control Squad and three teams of Quick Response Team (QRT)," he said.

In addition to it, one company and one platoon of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) and four companies and one platoon of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will be deployed, he added.

"There are 50,61,185 voters in the district. Out of these 26,14,096 are men, 24,46,968 women and 121 transgenders. There are 8,796 service electors in the district. We have set up 4,922 polling stations, of which webcasting facilities will be available in 3,280 polling stations. A total of 136 polling stations have been designated as critical, including 61 in Chandwad and 57 in Nandgaon," another official said.

All efforts will be taken to ensure increase in voting percentage, Collector Jalaj Sharma said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. The event on the occasion of Victory Day was held at the Azerbaijan House located in Krakow (Poland) with the support of the State Committee for Work with Diaspora, the Azerbaijani Embassy in Poland, and the Cultural Association of World Azerbaijanis "Khari Bulbul," Trend reports via the Azerbaijan's State Committee for Work with Diaspora.

It was noted that the event started with the singing of the National Anthem of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Representative of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Poland Orkhan Aliyev and chairman of the Khari Bulbul Association Sedat Shamilli noted the historical significance of Victory Day inscribed with golden letters in the modern history of Azerbaijan.

Subsequently, the movie We Dedicated to the 44-day Second Karabakh War was presented. The event closed with reflections on the achievements of the sons of the Fatherland who secured victory for the Azerbaijani people, with a discussion on communicating Azerbaijan's truths to the global community.

To note, the Azerbaijan House in Krakow, with the support of the State Committee for Diaspora Work, consistently conducts events, courses, and initiatives for Azerbaijanis residing in Poland.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Ratnagiri), Nov 18 (PTI) Grazing his goats on a desolated red laterite stone plateau with dry yellow grass at Barsu village in Ratnagiri, Bhalchandra Shelke stops by the prehistoric petroglyphs which have been declared as protected monuments.



It is at Barsu in Rajapur taluka of coastal Ratnagiri district and neighbouring villages that the Maharashtra government has earmarked land for a multibillion dollar refinery project which is now a centre of protests -- both for the refinery and against it.

The protests also have a political dimension and the refinery project is a poll issue here ahead of the November 20 state assembly elections.

Those who oppose it claim the government wants to forcibly take land for the project in the region, known for its cashew and mango plantations, and the ones who support it cite the lack of development and employment opportunities in the region leading to migration.

Not very far from Barsu is the proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant -- slated to be the biggest atomic power park in the world if all goes according to plan -- which had also witnessed protests. In 2011, a protestor there was hit by a police bullet.



Around 15,000 acres of land in and around Barsu is proposed to be acquired in Goval, Shivne, Dhutpapeshwar (Barsu), Devche Ghotne, Solgaon villages for the refinery project.



While the BJP-led Centre and the then Devendra Fadnavis government in the state had approved the site for refinery in Nanar, his successor Uddhav Thackeray scrapped it and proposed Barsu and neighbouring villages as the new site.



But after the locals objected to it, Thackeray's party, which is now in opposition, has been against it.

Speaking at a rally in Ratnagiri recently, former CM Thackeray said projects like refinery will not be allowed in Konkan once the Maha Vikas Aghadi comes to power in the state.





On the other hand, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde last week said it was the MVA government that gave nod to the project. He said the project will not be implemented with force or without a consensus from locals.



Shelke, who owns five acres of land in Barsu, told PTI, "We are against the refinery project. Shouldn't we know what the project is all about? Why is our land being taken? How much compensation are you (government) going to give us for our land? You should discuss it with the us."



His one son works as a security guard in Mumbai and another son operates an auto-rickshaw in the village area.



Shivne village resident Amol Bole, who owns mango and cashew orchards on seven-eight acres of land, said, "We do not want any chemical project but we are welcome to other projects like IT Park, food processing (units). We need environment-friendly projects here."



Kiran Samant, the Shiv Sena candidate from Rajapur, said two new projects of Rs 25,000 crore are to come up in his constituency but the work could not be expedited due to the model code of conduct in place currently.

"These are green projects and will not cause any harm here," Samant said.



There are other takers for the project as well.



Local resident Vinayak Kadam said, "The refinery will also bring ancillary industries. It will create jobs, good education and health facilities and stop migration of youth to cities, which is rampant in this region."



Kadam, who has mango and cashew orchards outside the notified area of refinery, rued that his sons reside in Kolhapur for education, indicating migration of youth from the region.



Sunil Rane, a doctor by profession and resident of neighbouring Nate village, was once a vehement critic of the Jaitapur power plant but now supports the refinery project.



"Our children have to go to Mumbai and Pune for jobs and education. If there are industries here, the youth will not migrate to cities," he opined.



Rane also pointed out to villages where only senior citizens reside, reflecting the migration of the younger generation to cities.

Notably, the Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (RRPCL), a joint venture company, was formed in 2017 by three national oil companies, namely Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited.





It proposes to implement an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex on the west coast of Maharashtra.

The Saudi Aramco (SA) and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, the two global oil and gas majors, have also expressed their intent to partner in this project.
Mumbai, Nov 18 (PTI) Following are the top stories from the Western Region at 1700 HRS.













BOM12 MH-POLLS-LD RAHUL

* We will break 50 per cent cap on reservations: Rahul Gandhi





Mumbai: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday promised to remove the 50 per cent cap on reservations and conduct a caste census in the country. *















BOM23 MH-POLLS-RAHUL-SAFE

* Rahul Gandhi mocks PM Modi's 'Ek hai toh safe hai' slogan





Mumbai: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday brought a safe to his press conference in Mumbai, to mock Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Ek hai toh safe hai' slogan. *





BOM21 MH-POLLS-NADDA





* NDA has created a new culture of politics, says J P Nadda





Navi Mumbai: The NDA and BJP-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra have created a new culture and a new definition of politics under PM Modis leadership, party president J P Nadda said on Monday. *















BOM2 MH-COURT-AKHTAR-ACQUITTAL

* RSS remarks case: Lyricist Javed Akhtar acquitted as complainant withdraws case





Mumbai: A Mumbai court has acquitted veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar in a defamation case against him over his alleged objectionable remarks on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as the complainant has withdrawn the case.



















BOM28 MH-POLLS-SHARAD PAWAR-FARMERS

Campaigning for Rohit Pawar, NCP (SP) chief slams Shinde govt for farm crisis, suicides







Mumbai: NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar on Monday said the Mahayuti government had failed to address Maharashtra's agrarian crisis and claimed more than 20,000 farmers had ended their lives under the Eknath Shinde dispensation.































BOM26 MH-HC-POLLS-PHONES

No illegality in ban on mobile phones at polling booths: HC





Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday said there was no illegality in the Election Commission of India's decision prohibiting the use of mobile phones at polling booths in the upcoming state assembly elections.



















BOM24 MH-POLL-BHUJBAL

Maharashtra polls: NCP leader Bhujbal distances himself from 'Batenge toh Katenge' poll pitch





Yevla: Veteran OBC leader and Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who belongs to NCP, has distanced himself from the BJP's 'batenge toh katenge' poll pitch and asserted that the Mahayuti government will retain power with a good majority.

















BOM20 MH-POLLS-REDDY

PM's visit abroad before end of Maharashtra campaign shows he has conceded defeat: Reddy



Pune: Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Monday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit abroad before the campaigning for the November 20 Maharashtra elections could end shows that he and the BJP have conceded defeat.



















BOM9 GJ-RAGGING-DEATH-FIR

FIR against 15 seniors after death of MBBS student due to ragging in Gujarat





Patan (Gujarat): Police have registered an FIR against 15 students of a medical college in Gujarat's Patan district following the death of an 18-year-old student who was allegedly ragged by them, officials said on Monday.















LGB1 MH-HC-DGP-PIL

No urgent hearing on plea against appointment of Rashmi Shukla as DGP: HC





Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday refused an urgent hearing on a public interest litigation challenging the appointment of Rashmi Shukla as Maharashtra's director general of police while claiming it to be arbitrary and illegal.











BOM25 MH-POLLS-GADKARI-CONG

Congress started loss-making ventures, neglected villages: Gadkari





Gondia (Maharashtra): Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday slammed the Congress for launching loss-making ventures, neglecting villages and depriving the country of real development during its tenure in power. ***
Ahmedabad, Nov 18 (PTI) Themes ranging from community policing to AI in the criminal justice system and from the future of blockchain technology in policing to radicalisation in prisons will be discussed at the 50th All India Police Science Conference in Gandhinagar over the next two days.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate the golden jubilee edition of the conference, organised by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) and hosted by Rashtriya Raksha University, an official said on Monday.

Experts from various fields come under one platform to find solutions to challenges the law enforcement agencies face at the annual conference, Rekha Lohani, Inspector General in the BPR&D, told media persons.

This conference will have eight themes ranging from community policing to AI in the criminal justice system, and from the future of blockchain technology in policing to radicalisation in prisons, Lohani said.

"The themes are selected after consulting various stakeholders, and only after we get suggestions and ideas from a spectrum of organisations, we collaborate to finalise themes that are deliberated," Lohani added.

The application of forensics in new criminal law, policing in smart cities and community policing in tribal and border areas as well as the role of police in disaster risk reduction are among other themes that will be discussed at the event.

Shah will attend the inaugural event as the chief guest with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel as the special guest.

He will also release a compendium a compilation of the best research papers from domain experts - on the occasion, Lohani said.

"There is a wide spectrum of people who will be participating in each of the sessions to brainstorm over various challenges that law enforcement agencies face. On the sidelines of the conference, we will also organise a police-tech expo in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry," the IG said.

As many as 45 companies from the private sector will display equipment and gadgets developed to aid law enforcement agencies in tackling challenges, she added.

The conference will bring together around 250 participants from the Central and state police forces, prisons and correctional services, social scientists, forensic experts, academicians and other stakeholders.

CBI Director Praveen Sood will be the chief guest for the valedictory function on Wednesday.
Arwal (Bihar), Nov 18 (PTI) A 12-year-old boy sustained a serious eye injury after being allegedly beaten by his teacher at a school in Bihar's Arwal district for not completing his homework, police said on Monday.

Police have registered a case against the teacher and the management of the private school in the districts Umairabad area following a complaint by the victim's family.

The boy, a class 5 student, is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Patna.

Speaking to reporters, victim Amit Raj said, "I sustained a severe injury to my left eye when my teacher started beating me with a stick for not doing my homework on November 13. I told my parents, and they immediately took me to the hospital for treatment."

Family members of the victim said the boy was referred to a Patna hospital for more specialised care. They also claimed that doctors had informed them the eye injury was serious in nature.

Arwal SP Rajendra Kumar Bheelsaid, "Amits family members lodged a complaint with police on Sunday against the teacher and the management of the school. A case has been registered for causing injury to the student. The matter is under investigation."
New Delhi, Nov 17 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah will on Monday hold a key meeting to review the security situation in Manipur and is expected to chalk out a strategy to handle the "volatile" situation in the northeastern state, sources said.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Deka, among other top officials, are expected to attend the meeting, they said.

Shah also took stock of the security situation in Manipur on Sunday after cancelling his election rallies in Maharashtra.

The situation in Manipur, which has been reeling from ethnic strife since May last year, has been volatile following protests and violence after the recovery of bodies of women and children.

Shah will hold a key meeting and review the situation in Manipur on Monday. He is likely to give directions for handling the current "volatile" situation in the state, the sources said.

Irate mobs set fire to the residences of three more BJP legislators, one of whom is a senior minister, and a Congress MLA in various districts of Imphal Valley on Saturday night even as security forces foiled an attempt by agitators to storm the ancestral residence of Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

These incidents took place even as an indefinite curfew was clamped after people, agitated by the killing of three women and three children by militants in Jiribam district, attacked the residences of three state ministers and six MLAs earlier on Saturday.

Enraged people torched the houses of PWD Minister Govindas Konthoujam at Ningthoukhong, Hiyanglam's BJP MLA Y Radheshyam at Langmeidong Bazar, Wangjing Tentha's BJP MLA Paonam Brojen in Thoubal district and Khundrakpam's Congress MLA Th Lokeshwar in Imphal East district.

The legislators and their family members were not at home when the mobs stormed their residential compounds, vandalised properties and set the houses on fire, police said, adding the houses were partially burnt in the incidents.

On November 11, Manipur Police said 10 suspected militants were killed in a fierce gunfight with security forces after insurgents in camouflage uniforms and armed with sophisticated weapons fired indiscriminately at Borobekra police station and an adjacent CRPF camp at Jakuradhor in Jiribam.

Hours later, suspected militants allegedly abducted six civilians, including women and children from the same district, police said.

On Saturday, the Union home ministry said all security forces deployed in Manipur have been directed to take necessary steps to restore order and peace in the state.

It said armed miscreants from both communities in conflict have been indulging in violence leading to unfortunate loss of lives and disruption in public order.

The home ministry said strict action would be initiated against anyone trying to indulge in violent and disruptive activities. Seeing the fragile situation, the Centre on Thursday reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Manipur's six police station areas, including the violence-hit Jiribam.

More than 220 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.

It started after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The ethnically diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by the clashes, witnessed violence after the mutilated body of a farmer was found in a field in June this year.
Chandigarh, Nov 18 (PTI) All government and private hospitals must provide accurate data on dengue cases, or else face action, Haryana health Minister Arti Rao said on Monday.

She said her department is taking all steps to prevent an increase in the number of dengue cases in the state.

Fogging is being done periodically in the affected areas to reduce dengue incidents, she said.

There has been a significant reduction in dengue cases in the state's 22 districts as compared to last year.

In 2023, there were 8,081 dengue cases, which were reduced to 4,634 this year, the minister informed the assembly, responding to the calling attention motion of the opposition on the issue of dengue.

Opposition INLD and Congress members in their notices sought the government's response on dengue cases and the farmers allegedly not getting timely supply of the DAP fertilisers.

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said there was no shortage of DAP or urea fertiliser in the state.

Rao said reporting of the vector-borne diseases has been made mandatory by all hospitals and laboratories of the state.

If any hospital, whether government or private, shows negligence in reporting clear data on dengue, strict action will be taken immediately, she said.

Dengue tests are being conducted free of cost, with 27 government labs, at least one in each district, currently functioning, she said.

A total of 1,13,667 dengue tests have been conducted in the state till November 11, 2024 and 196 wards and 1,022 beds have been kept reserved for dengue patients at government hospitals, she said.

Under the Haryana Municipal Bye-Laws (Control of Vector-Borne Diseases), 1,03,485 notices were issued till October 15 to the owners of premises where mosquito breeding was detected repeatedly.

More than 6,900 localities were covered under fogging repeatedly (743 wards, 466 sectors, 1,870 colonies in urban areas and 2,078 villages and 1,763 localities) till October 15, Rao said.

The Department of Urban Local Bodies and Panchayats conducted fogging using 5,606 hand-operated and 43 vehicle-mounted machines, the minister said.

Responding to a question on the shortage of doctors, Rao said an exam is being conducted by the PGI (Rohtak) on December 1 to fill 777 vacancies.

Saini said given the changing weather, directions have been issued to speed up the fogging across the state.

He urged residents to ensure the cleaning of stagnant water which may have collected in flower pots or coolers in their homes.

Indian National Lok Dal MLA Aditya Devi Lal claimed the farmers were forced to stage a dharna on roads because of a shortage of DAP fertiliser.

Congress MLA Aftab Ahmed said when farmers need fertiliser for crop sowing, they can't find it, despite the government saying otherwise.

Thus attacked, Saini said, "Being a farmer's son, I deeply understand the challenges farmers face regarding the availability of fertiliser. For November, a total of 1,10,200 metric tons of DAP has been allocated."

On the availability of DAP stock in Sirsa, Saini informed the House that on October 1, the initial stock of DAP in Sirsa was 1,063 metric tons, and as of November 18, there were 2,217 metric tons of it available.

In Hisar district, there are still 2,087 metric tons of DAP available, he said.
New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) The Supreme Court Collegium on Monday recommended appointment of Justice D Krishnakumar, currently serving as a judge of the Madras High Court, as the chief justice of the Manipur High Court.

The Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and comprising Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant, took the decision in a meeting held on Monday.

A vacancy in the office of the chief justice of the High Court of Manipur would arise consequent upon the retirement of Justice Siddharth Mridul on November 21, 2024. Therefore, appointment to that office is required to be made, the Collegium noted.

"It is proposed to appoint Mr. Justice D Krishnakumar, presently serving as a Judge of the Madras High Court, as the Chief Justice of High Court of Manipur with effect from the date on which the incumbent Chief Justice demits office on retirement," it said.

"Mr. Justice D. Krishnakumar was appointed as a Judge of the Madras High Court on 07th April 2016 and is due to retire on 21st May 2025.

"He is the senior-most puisne Judge in his parent High Court and belongs to a Backward Community. Before his elevation as a Judge of the High Court, he had extensive practice in civil, Constitutional and service matters in the High Court, with specialisation in Constitutional law," it added.

The Collegium noted that Justice Krishnakumar is a competent judge with sound legal acumen and is endowed with high level of integrity and honesty.

"While recommending the name of Mr. Justice D. Krishnakumar, the Collegium has also taken into consideration the fact that at present there is only one Chief Justice from the Madras High Court among the Chief Justices of the High Courts.

"Having regard to all relevant factors, the Collegium is of the considered view that Mr. Justice D. Krishnakumar is fit and suitable in all respects for being appointed as the Chief Justice of High Court of Manipur," it said.

"The Collegium, therefore, resolves to recommend that Justice D Krishnakumar be appointed as the Chief Justice of High Court of Manipur consequent upon the retirement of Mr. Justice Siddharth Mridul on 21st November 2024," it said.
New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday granted the last opportunity to the Bihar government to file its response to a PIL that raised concerns about the safety and longevity of bridges in Bihar after several of them collapsed in recent months.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar also sought the response of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) on the PIL filed by lawyer Brajesh Singh.

It considered the fact that the notices were issued to various authorities on the PIL on July 29 this year.

The Bihar government is granted six weeks to file the response. This is the last opportunity, the bench said, adding that the petitioner will have to file his rejoinder four weeks after the authorities file their replies.

The bench has now listed the plea for hearing on February 15, 2025.

Earlier, the petitioner moved the court seeking its nod to bring on record various news reports and additional documents to highlight the dilapidated condition of bridges in Bihar.

The court, on July 29 this year, sought responses from the Bihar government and others, including the National Highway Authorities of India (NHAI), on the PIL.

On November 4, it agreed to hear the PIL that raised concerns about the safety and longevity of bridges in Bihar after several of them collapsed in recent months.

Singh on November 14 filed an interim application in his pending PILs seeking to bring on record as many as 15 news reports relating to poor conditions of bridges in the state.

I have filed an IA (interim application) for placing additional documents before the concerned bench as in the state of Bihar the bridges and culverts are still in dilapidated conditions and they are collapsing on a routine basis, Singh said.

He referred to a recent incident in Bihar's Nalanda district where an 18-year-old boy died after falling into the river from a dilapidated bridge.

The lawyer said the state government and the NHAI have not filed their responses despite the top court issuing the notices in July.

He claimed that on November 3 an under-construction bridge collapsed in Darbhanga district and the company concerned was seen removing the debris in the night secretly.

The PIL sought directions for a structural audit and setting up of an expert panel to identify bridges that can be either strengthened or demolished based on its findings.

Besides the state and the NHAI, the top court had also issued notices to the road construction department's additional chief secretary, Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Limited chairperson and rural works department's additional chief secretary.

Ten incidents of bridge collapse have been reported in Bihar's Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj districts during May, June and July this year. Many claimed that heavy rainfall might have led to the incidents.

The PIL raised concerns about the safety and longevity of the bridges in the state that usually witnesses heavy rains and floods during the Monsoon.

Besides setting up a high-level expert panel, it also sought real-time monitoring of the bridges as per the parameters laid by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

The petitioner highlighted that Bihar is the most flood-prone state in India. The total flood-affected area in the state is 68,800 square km which is 73.06 per cent of its total geographical area, he mentioned.

"Hence, such routine accrual of the incident of falling bridges in Bihar is more disastrous as the lives of people at large are at stake. Therefore, the urgent intervention of this court is required to save the lives of people, as the under-construction bridges before its (their) accomplishment collapsed routinely," the plea read.

In view of the bridge collapse incidents, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed the road construction and rural works departments to conduct a survey of all old bridges in the state and identify those in need of immediate repair.
New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the chief secretary to implement a slew of measures recommended by the heads of various departments to deal with the menace of stray dogs and monkeys in the national capital.

The high court said the chief recommendations mentioned in the minutes of the meeting chaired by the city's top bureaucrat were fair and reasonable.

The court had earlier passed the directions including asking the chief secretary to convene a meeting with the heads of various authorities to take steps to make Delhi a safe place for children, disabled and elderly persons and protect them from the menace of stray animals.

"The chief secretary is directed to implement the short-term and long-term measures in accordance with law by issuing directions to specific authorities in a time-bound manner.

"The chief secretary shall ensure that the Animal Birth Control Rules and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Dog Breeding and Marketing Rules) Rules are also complied with," a bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said.

The bench asked the chief secretary to file an action taken report within three weeks and listed the matter for further hearing on December 9.

The court was hearing a batch of pleas on the issue of stray dogs and monkeys attacking citizens including differently-abled people.

It had earlier directed the Delhi chief secretary to convene a meeting, to be attended by the heads of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Cantonment Board and forest department, to devise a mechanism to deal with the issue.

It should also be attended by the secretary of the Animal Welfare Board of Delhi, the animal husbandry department of the Delhi government, the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), petitioners' lawyers Rahul Bajaj and Amar Jain and activist Gauri Maulekhi, the court had said.

The minutes of the meeting, filed by Delhi government standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi, stated that deliberations were made on issues like animal control laws, registration of ABC centres, geo-tagging or micro-chipping animals, environmental modifications, healthcare and veterinary support, public awareness and education and protective measures for vulnerable groups.

The minutes stated that safeguarding vulnerable groups from stray animals requires coordinated, humane and long-term solutions. A balance between protecting public safety and respecting animal rights is crucial, it said.

"By combining legal enforcement, public education, environmental modifications and healthcare solutions, communities can create a safer environment for everyone, especially for those who are most at risk.

"By implementing these measures, Delhi can reduce the risk of stray animals and promote a safer and more compassionate environment for all," it added.

It was decided in the meeting that starting with hospitals, public parks and schools, a safer environment can be created for vulnerable groups and pave the way for comprehensive stray animals management in the city.

The high court had in October directed authorities to shift all the monkeys of the national capital to the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary on priority. It had said stray animals cannot be allowed to take over the city.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) plea moved by NGO Dhananjay Sanjogta Foundation, represented by Bajaj, who is visually impaired. The plea said besides the attacks, there is a lack of an enabling framework for the use of therapy or service animals by persons with disabilities.

Bajaj submitted that the Animal Birth Control Rules are in violation of the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) Act as those fail to address the issue of stray animal attacks on the differently-abled, who are incapable of defending themselves.

The white cane used by the visually impaired resembles a stick that the animals perceive as a threat and therefore, attack, he added.

The bench had said PwDs have a fundamental right to walk on the city streets and some people have this notion that specially-abled persons do not have any right.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. The impact of climate change on people's health is already being felt in all corners of the world, Azerbaijani Health Minister Teymur Musayev said at a high-level roundtable on climate and health within COP29, Trend reports.

These impacts threaten not only the well-being of people but also the sustainability of health systems, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Today we are taking an important step forward in our collective commitment to confront these challenges. Today, we will sign a Letter of Intent to establish the Baku COP Climate and Health Coalition on Succession of Chairs. This coalition, whose leadership includes our valued partners - the United Kingdom, Egypt, the UAE, Brazil, and the United Kingdom - alongside Azerbaijan, represents unprecedented international cooperation.

Together with the World Health Organization, we are committed to keeping climate change and health at the top of the global agenda. The new coalition will provide the continuity and platform needed to strengthen these efforts, maximize their impact, and bring together stakeholders from governments, international organizations, civil society, academia, and the private sector, Musayev said.

The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
A federal judge in Texas has blocked a new rule from the Biden administration that would have expanded access to overtime pay to millions more salaried workers across the U.S.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan sided with the state of Texas and a group of business organizations that argued the Labor Department exceeded its authority when it finalized a rule earlier this year to significantly expand overtime pay for salaried workers  ruling that the department could not prioritize employee wages over job duties when determining eligibility.

Under the federal law, nearly all hourly workers in the U.S. are entitled to overtime pay after 40 hours a week. But many salaried workers are exempt from that requirement  unless they earn below a certain level.

The Labor Departments now-scuttled rule would have marked the biggest increase to that cap in decades. Employers were required pay overtime to salaried workers who make less than $43,888 a year in certain executive, administrative and professional roles as of July 1  and that was set to rise to $58,656 next year.

The Labor Department estimated that an additional 4 million lower-paid salary workers would become eligible for overtime protections in the first year under the new rule. An additional 292,900 higher-compensated workers were also expected to get overtime entitlements through separate threshold increases.

Now, the previous threshold of $35,568  which was set in 2019 under the Trump administration  is poised to go back into effect.

A spokesperson for the Labor Department did not immediately comment when reached by The Associated Press Friday. It was unclear if the department would attempt to appeal the decision from Jordan, who was nominated to his seat by Republican President-elect Donald Trump during his first term.

At the time of the rules finalization in April, acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su stated that the administration was following through on our promise to raise the bar  noting that it was unacceptable for lower-paid salaried workers to do the same job as their hourly counterparts with no additional pay.

Following the finalization of this years rule, legal challenges bubbled up. A handful of trade groups argued the move would harm businesses and lead to costs that would potentially result in employers needing to cut jobs or limit their workers hours.

David French, executive vice president of government relations for the National Retail Federation  one of the groups that challenged the Labor Departments rule  maintained in a statement Friday that the changes would have curtailed retailers ability to offer the most flexible, generous and tailored benefits packages to lower-level exempt employees across the industry.

Fridays ruling is a bit of deja vu. In 2016, an Obama-era effort to similarly expand overtime pay eligibility was ultimately shot down in court after facing pushback from some business leaders and Republican politicians.

The Trump adminstration later brought a smaller raise through, marking the first increase since 2004. Advocates pushing for higher overtime pay have stressed that its far from enough  arguing that too many salaried workers are still cheated out of their time  but potential changes under Trumps upcoming second term are unlikely to meet the level of those demands.

(AP)
A new poll by the non-partisan Jewish Electorate Institute (JEI) reveals that President-elect Donald Trump garnered modest gains among Jewish voters in the 2024 presidential election compared to his performance in 2020. The survey, conducted between October 30 and November 8, showed Vice President Kamala Harris receiving 71% of the Jewish vote to Trumps 26%.

Jewish voters continue to support Democratic candidates by a substantial margin, while Republicans have made modest gains in recent cycles, JEI stated. The Democratic Partys performance among Jewish voters in 2024 marked its weakest showing since 2012, with declines ranging from 4 to 11 percentage points over the last decade, depending on the survey.

The poll, commissioned by JEI and conducted by the Mellman Group, highlighted denominational divides in the Jewish vote. Orthodox Jews overwhelmingly supported Trump, with 74% backing the Republican candidate. In contrast, Reform, Conservative, and non-denominational Jews strongly supported Harris, at 84%, 75%, and 70%, respectively.

Support for Trump was particularly pronounced among Jewish voters who cited Israel as a key issue. Nearly half of respondents (48%) believed Trump would be more supportive of Israel than President Joe Biden, a notable factor influencing their votes.

National trends reflected broad support for Democrats among non-Orthodox Jews, making them one of the partys most reliable constituencies. However, the broader electorate saw significant shifts toward Trump, particularly among Hispanic voters, who swung toward the Republican candidate by 25 percentage points compared to 2020, according to Edison Research.

Exit polls and state-specific surveys presented conflicting views on Trumps gains. Fox News voter analysis reported Trump winning 32% of the Jewish vote nationwidehis best performance among Jewish voters and the strongest for a Republican since George H.W. Bush in 1988. Meanwhile, a poll commissioned by the Orthodox Unions Teach Coalition suggested tighter races in battleground states, with Harris winning by only 7 points among Jewish voters in Pennsylvania and 8 points in New York.

These mixed results have led to competing interpretations. Progressive Jewish group J Street praised the continued Democratic majority among Jewish voters, while Teach Coalition argued that Jewish votes are increasingly up for grabs in key swing states.

Trumps handling of the war between Israel and Hamas emerged as a defining issue. A Pew Research Center survey found that 75% of Trump supporters believed he had clearly explained his plans on the conflict, compared to just 57% of Harris supporters who felt the same about her.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
A couple of weeks ago, the Rebbe of Karlin was at the Kosel with thousands of his Chassidim. He davened there in heartfelt prayer for an hour.

I remember my mother aleha hashalom vividly recalling the Six Day War, where it was her, my uncle, my sister and me in a bomb shelter in Yerushalayim. She would convey such depth of feeling. Join me for a moment.

Picture yourself standing there in 1967, your heart pounding as history unfolds before your eyes. After two thousand years of exile, tears, and prayers whispered in foreign lands, the Temple Mount returned to Jewish hands. In those moments of divine intervention, miracles blazed across Jerusalem like shooting stars. A bomb fell on the Mirrer Yeshiva  and by Hashems grace, remained silent. But the greatest miracle of all was the return of our beloved Kosel, our precious Wall, which for nineteen agonizing years had been forbidden to us, its stones yearning for our touch just as we yearned to press our foreheads against its ancient surface.

Imagine  the Temple Mount, the beating heart of creation itself, where heaven and earth kiss, where the very air vibrates with divine energy. The Kosel stands as our last physical link to that ineffable holiness, its worn stones having absorbed millions of tears throughout the centuries. They call it the Wailing Wall, but oh, how much more it is than that  it is our witness, our confidant, our eternal guardian. Each year, on the 28th of Iyar, we celebrate Yom Yerushalayim, but do we truly grasp the magnitude of what was restored to us?

Consider this breathtaking truth: According to the Emek HaMelech, the prayers whispered against these stones by Jerusalems righteous souls are what sustains our very world. Their tears, their supplications, their deepest hopes pressed into these ancient stones  this is what keeps our universe from crumbling. Every stone, every crevice holds within it the power of survival, of continuance, of hope.

The Midrash reveals to us a secret that should make our souls tremble: the Shechina, Hashems Divine Presence, has never left the Western Wall. Never. Through exile, through destruction, through centuries of darkness, that holy light has remained, waiting, watching, protecting. The Alshich teaches us that this continuous presence is Hashems promise made tangible  a divine guarantee of our ultimate redemption.

Yet this place of transcendent hope is also one of profound mourning. When we approach and see it for the first time, we perform Kriyah  rending our garments near our hearts, a physical expression of our souls anguish. This tear is left forever imperfect, never to be fully repaired, just as our hearts remain incomplete without the Temple. The Mishna Brurah tells us that upon first seeing Jerusalem in its current state, we should abstain from meat and wine  for how can we feast when our spiritual home lies in ruins?

With sovereignty comes sacred responsibility. The holiness of this place demands our vigilance, our respect, our unwavering commitment to its sanctity. The ancient Greeks knew this  an archaeological discovery reveals their warning inscription, forbidding entry to the inner sanctum. Even today, this obligation burns bright, calling us to preserve and protect.

When we pray at the Kosel, we must remember that these stones, though holy, are not our focus  they are the gateway to something far greater. As Rav Chaim Kanievsky teaches us, we dont face the Wall directly, but angle ourselves toward the Holy of Holies, reaching past the physical to touch the infinite.

The debate over pilgrimages to this holy site echoes through the centuries. While the Rambam saw the mitzvah as suspended without the Temple, others  the Tashbatz, the Sdei Chemed, the Chasam Sopher  felt the calling remains. Rav Elyashiv exemplified this devotion, making his way to the Kosel every holiday, even in his advanced years. His dedication reminds us that every step toward these stones is a step toward redemption.

Today, we can touch these stones, press our prayers into their ancient surface, feel the pulse of history and holiness beneath our fingertips. This is not just a privilege  it is a calling, a responsibility, a chance to be part of the unbroken chain of Jewish devotion that stretches back to the dawn of our people.

Let every visit to the Kosel be a homecoming, every Tefillah or Tehillim a thread in the tapestry of our redemption, every tear a promise that we have not forgotten, and never will. For in these stones lies not just our past, but our future, our hope, our eternal bond with the Divine. Stand before the Kosel, and feel the weight of generations upon your shoulders, the whisper of destiny in your ears, and the promise of geulah in your heart.

Thank you, Karliner Rebbe, thank you.

The author can be reached at [email protected]
Reworded by Rabbi Yair Hoffman from a Vaad given and printed in 5784. Klal Yisroel is blessed that we have Gedolei Torah such as Moreinu HaGaon HaRav Olshin shlita. This thought on the parsha has been adapted for easier comprehension. To subscribe to a weekly parsha sheet on the topic of Integrity from the parsha please send the word Subscribe to [email protected].

At the beginning of Parshas Chayei Sarah, the Torah tells us Sarah died in Kiryas Arba, which is Hebron, in Canaan, and Avrohom Avinu came to eulogize Sarah and weep for her. The pasuk makes it clear that Avrohom Avinu wasnt at home in Hebron with Sarah at the time of her death. The Ramban explains that after the Akeidah, Avrohom didnt return to his home in Hebron. Instead, he traveled to his Eshel in Beer Sheva to give thanks for the miracle he had just experienced. Avrohom Avinu had just witnessed the survival of Yitzchok and went directly to his Eshel to thank Hashem for this miracle.

The Fundamental Question

Rav Meir Soloveitchik raises a compelling question regarding Avrohom Avinus choice of location. Why didnt Avrohom give thanks on Har Moriah itself, the place that Yaakov would later refer to as the Gateway to Heaven? Surely he knew that this was the best place of prayer. Why would he travel to Beer Sheva to thank Hashem?

Understanding Avrohom Avinus Choice

Rav Meir explains that while Avrohom Avinu could indeed have given thanks right there on Mount Moriah, he specifically wanted to thank Hashem in public    . He therefore went to his Eshel, a place where travelers from around the world passed through, ensuring his gratitude would be expressed publicly. However, the Rambans language to his Eshel  suggests there was more to this choice. He didnt just go to any public place; he went specifically to his Eshel. This detail reveals a deeper dimension to Avrohom Avinus gratitude.

The Nature of True Gratitude The Prayer of Nishmas

In the Tefilah of Nishmas, we express the limitless nature of our obligation to thank Hashem through some powerful metaphors: (1) Even if our mouths were as full of song as the sea itself, (2) our tongues as rich with melody as the countless waves, (3) our lips as expansive with praise as the breadth of the heavens, (4) our eyes as radiant as the sun and moon, (5) our hands spread as wide as eagles wings in the sky, and (6) our feet as swift as deer  even then, we would be unable to thank Hashem adequately for even one of the millions of favors done for our ancestors and for us. The inclusion of physical attributes like hands and feet presents a puzzle. While the role of the mouth and tongue in offering praise is obvious, how do hands and feet participate in expressing gratitude? This question leads us to the teachings of the Chovos HaLevavos, who says that true gratitude must extend beyond verbal expression to encompass action and service.

In his introduction to Shaar Avodas HaElokim, he writes that an intellectual person will clearly understand his obligation to accept divine service through reason and logic alone. This is in addition to all the proofs that Hashem showed us and the incredible miracles performed during the Exodus from Egypt, at Har Sinai, and throughout the years in the desert.

He teaches that the more benefits one receives from Hashem, the more one must increase and improve his divine service. This principle is demonstrated through the laws of Maaser (tithing). The Torah commands one must give a tenth of his produce. Thus, someone who receives one hundred kur of grain must give ten kur, while someone who receives ten kur gives one kur. If the person with one hundred kur gives only nine and a half, they are punished, while the person who has ten and gives one is rewarded.

This same principle applies to every aspect of divine service. When people receive specific benefits from Hashem that others dont have, they have a particular obligation to enhance their service to Hashem. This concept applies not just to individuals but to families and nations as well.

Historical Examples and Their Significance The Complainers in the Desert  The case of the misonenim (complainers) in the desert illustrates the severity of failing to recognize divine kindness. These individuals were severely punished because they focused solely on their complaints while failing to acknowledge the extraordinary benefits they were receiving. As the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Shneur ztl, frequently taught, their punishment was particularly harsh because they failed to see and feel all the incredible kindnesses that Hashem had done for them. By focusing on the complaints, they undermined a fundamental principle of divine service and deprived themselves of one of the greatest motivators for serving Hashem.

Dovid HaMelechs Institution of 100 Blessings

During Dovid HaMelechs time, a plague struck Klal Yisroel, claiming one hundred lives daily. In response, David instituted the requirement to recite one hundred blessings each day. The Levush explains that this wasnt an arbitrary response but was based on divine inspiration. Through ruach hakodesh (divine inspiration), David perceived that the plague resulted from insufficient recognition and blessing of Hashem for His constant kindnesses. The Levush further explains that these hundred blessings were established in accordance with the natural order of the day  corresponding to the consistent flow of divine goodness that each person receives through daily life. There is a blessing for every kindness, for every gift, for every moment of the day. As the pasuk states, blessed is Hashem, day by day. We must bless Hashem consistently, just as He consistently blesses us. The failure to maintain this recognition and gratitude had brought about the terrible plague.

The Miracle of Jewish Survival

Rav Yaakov Emden presents a new perspective on Jewish survival through history. He notes that we are the nation of exile, the wandering sheep who have endured unspeakable troubles for thousands of years. No other nation has been persecuted as we have. Throughout history, mighty nations and empires have stood against us to destroy us completely  a pattern we continue to witness today. Their hatred, rooted in jealousy, has caused us endless suffering.

Yet remarkably, while great nations and empires of antiquity  the Babylonians, Romans, and Greeks  have vanished completely, the Jewish people, who cleave to Hashem, remain alive and well. Through all the incredibly long years of this terrible exile, not even one letter or vowel mark of the Torah has been changed. We havent abandoned even one word of the Sages teachings. The entire Torah remains completely intact, unaffected by time. Rav Yaakov Emden makes an astounding declaration: By his life, he swears that when he contemplates these wonders  the miracle of our survival and the preservation of Torah in its pure form  he realizes they are greater than all the miracles Hashem performed for us in Egypt, in the desert, and in the Land of Israel. Moreover, he adds that the longer the exile continues, the more obvious and truthful this miracle becomes, and the more recognizable its greatness becomes.

The Promise of Greater Miracles

This understanding helps resolve the Rambans question about Hashems promise after the sin of the Golden Calf:  Hashem promises to perform wonders that had never been seen before. The Ramban questions how this could be possible, given that the greatest miracles  the ten plagues and the splitting of the Red Sea  had already occurred. Rav Shach explains, based on Rav Yaakov Emdens insight, that Hashem was promising an even greater miracle: the survival of the Jewish people and the Torah throughout thousands of years of exile. This miracle grows greater and more apparent as the exile lengthens and becomes more difficult, surpassing even the spectacular miracles of the Exodus.

Contemporary Application

Our obligation today is multifaceted. We must recognize both the personal blessings we receive and the ongoing national miracle of Jewish survival. As the Chovos HaLevavos teaches, this recognition must extend beyond verbal expression to impact our actions and service. The sages tell us we must constantly ask ourselves, What did our forefathers do that made Hashem desire them so much? We must strive to reach their level, as expressed in the saying  When will my deeds reach the level of our forefathers deeds?

From Avrohom Avinus example, we learn to respond to divine kindness with increased service. Just as he rushed to his Eshel to thank Hashem through enhanced service, we must thank Hashem for our daily miracles of survival. This is particularly crucial during times of trouble. While we must certainly pray for those who suffer, we must simultaneously express gratitude for all the kindnesses we receive  both personal and national  through more Torah study, more focused prayer, and increased dedication to Mitzvos and Chessed. This comprehensive approach to gratitude, combining recognition with action, not only follows Avrohoms example but fulfills our obligation during both times of blessing and challenge. Through such proper thanks, we may merit salvation from our current troubles.

If you are interested in receiving these regularly and wish to help please contact Yairhoffman2@gmail
Canadian security forces have foiled an Iranian plot to assassinate Irwin Cotler, a prominent Jewish former politician and human rights advocate, The Globe and Mail reported Monday. Cotler, 84, served as Canadas justice minister and attorney general from 2003 to 2006 and has been an outspoken critic of the Iranian regime.

On October 26, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) warned Cotler of an imminent threat of assassination within 48 hours by Iranian agents, according to sources cited by the newspaper. Authorities reportedly identified two suspects but have not disclosed whether they were apprehended or fled. The threat level was reportedly downgraded last week. The RCMP has not commented publicly on the case.

Since the October 7 Hamas-led attacks in Israel, Cotler has been under 24/7 RCMP protection, including bulletproof vehicles and armed bodyguards.

Cotler, founder of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, has been a vocal advocate for listing Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist entity. He has also represented Iranian political prisoners and championed Holocaust remembrance and combatting antisemitism during his tenure as Canadas special envoy from 2020 to 2023.

In an earlier interview, Cotler warned that democracies like Canada underestimate the threat posed by Iran. These threats remind us of the dangers posed by regimes that target dissidents and advocates for human rights worldwide, he said.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed plans to declare a national emergency to enable the use of military assets for what he promises will be the largest deportation effort in U.S. history.

Responding to reports on Truth Social, Trump enthusiastically affirmed the strategy. Judicial Watchs Tom Fitton posted, GOOD NEWS: Reports are the incoming @RealDonaldTrump administration prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program. Trump replied simply, TRUE!!!

The president-elect has repeatedly vowed to prioritize the border crisis, with deportations set to begin immediately after he takes office on January 20. Trumps plan includes invoking the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to dismantle criminal gangs and remove foreign nationals deemed a threat to the United States.

To oversee the ambitious effort, Trump has appointed former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chief Tom Homan as the new border czar. Homan has pledged swift and decisive action, saying, Public safety threats and national security threats will be the priority because they have to be, they pose the most danger in this country.

Legal challenges are expected over the use of active-duty military in domestic enforcement, as restricted by the Posse Comitatus Act. However, Trumps team points out that the National Guard could lawfully assist in such efforts.

The administrations plan underscores Trumps commitment to reversing what he calls the Biden invasion, securing both the southern and northern borders, and restoring order to the nations immigration system.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President-elect Donald Trump and former senior White House adviser, is reportedly set to have a significant, albeit unofficial, role in shaping U.S. Middle East policy during Trumps second term. Despite not holding a formal position within the administration, Kushners established relationships in the region could make him a central figure in diplomatic efforts, according to a CNN report on Friday.

Kushners deep ties to Gulf leaders and Israeli officials, cultivated during Trumps first term, have positioned him as a trusted intermediary. A Middle Eastern diplomat told CNN, No one on the incoming team has what Jared has, and that is trust. Jared earned it, he didnt have it at the beginning. He earned it. That takes time to build.

An Israeli source familiar with Kushners prior work echoed this sentiment, highlighting the value of his enduring relationships. Friendships are forever in this region. My assumption is that his role is much more in his hands than anybody elses, the source said.

After stepping away from politics following the 2020 election, Kushner founded an investment firm backed by Gulf sovereign wealth funds, including a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund. These financial connections, coupled with his rapport with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, could enable Kushner to facilitate backchannel communications.

Kushner is widely credited for his role in brokering the 2020 Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations. The second Trump administration is expected to prioritize expanding these agreements, with a potential landmark normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia at the forefront of its foreign policy agenda.

Kushners involvement, even without an official title, could streamline U.S. efforts in the Middle East. His established trust with regional leaders may prove vital in advancing Trumps diplomatic ambitions. As one diplomat noted, Friendships and trust are the currency of diplomacy here.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
New details have emerged about a significant security breach within the Israeli Prime Ministers Office, involving the alleged leak of highly sensitive documents to the German newspaper Bild. The documents, reportedly aimed at influencing public opinion on hostage negotiations in Gaza, were allegedly leaked by Eli Feldstein, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Feldstein has been in detention since October 27, and the case is under investigation by the IDF and Israeli authorities.

The scandal traces back to June 2024, when a noncommissioned IDF officer in the reserves allegedly transferred classified intelligence documents to Feldstein. In late August, after Hamas murdered six high-profile hostages, protests surged in Israel, demanding the government expedite a deal to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza. Feldstein reportedly used the classified documents to counter the criticism aimed at Netanyahus handling of the negotiations.

In September, Feldstein allegedly leaked the material to Israeli journalists. When the Israeli military censor blocked the publication due to the sensitivity of the information, Feldstein turned to the foreign press. He reportedly shared the documents with Bild, a German tabloid, and subsequently encouraged Israeli journalists to publish follow-up reports based on Bilds coverage.

Investigators believe Feldstein sought to bolster Netanyahus narrative that the protests demanding a hostage deal were empowering Hamas and complicating negotiations. The leaked documents purportedly painted Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as obstructing the talks, thereby deflecting blame from Netanyahu. Critics argue that the move endangered war efforts and national security.

The IDF assessed that the leak had the potential to harm military objectives in Gaza, particularly those aimed at rescuing hostages, and could jeopardize broader security operations against Hamas. The sensitive nature of the material raised concerns about severe damage to Israels security and strategic interests.

A gag order on the case was lifted by the Rishon Lezion Magistrates Court, allowing details of the investigation to be made public. Feldstein faces charges of leaking classified information with the intent of influencing public opinion. While Prime Minister Netanyahu is not a suspect, the controversy has drawn attention to the internal handling of sensitive information within his administration.

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has ordered a comprehensive investigation into the leaks origins, underscoring the seriousness of the breach. The noncommissioned officer who initially transferred the documents is also under scrutiny for their role in the incident.

The investigation continues as authorities work to determine the full extent of the leaks impact and the motivations behind Feldsteins actions.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Dozens of Charedi protesters from the kehilla of Rabbi Tzvi Friedman demonstrated Sunday evening on Jabotinsky Street in Bnei Brak against the enforcement of mandatory military service. The protest follows the distribution of thousands of draft orders to yeshiva students starting today. Protesters blocked the intersection and clashed with police.

At one point, police declared the demonstration illegal before taking action to disperse the protest. Despite the warning, protesters escalated into violent behavior, shouting inflammatory remarks such as Nazis and other derogatory terms at police officers. Mounted police units were deployed to clear the roadway, and officers arrested one individual for disorderly conduct.

The demonstration caused significant traffic disruptions in the area. Police urged drivers to avoid the area and use alternate routes.

The Israel Police issued a statement saying: The police will not tolerate public disturbances, obstruction of freedom of movement, or any behavior that endangers public safety.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
The US Air Force has recognized the valor of its pilots, aircrews, and support personnel for their critical role in thwarting a large-scale Iranian-led rocket and drone assault on Israel earlier this year. The attacks, which occurred on April 13-14, marked one of the largest air-to-air enemy engagements in over 50 years.

The ceremony, held last week at Britains Royal Air Force (RAF) Lakenheath station, celebrated the achievements of the 494th Fighter Squadron and the 494th Fighter Generation Squadron. Air Force personnel were lauded for intercepting and neutralizing hundreds of rockets and drones launched from Iran and Houthi-controlled regions of Yemen. Their efforts helped protect Israel during the coordinated strike.

F-15E fighter jets, deployed from the UK-based RAF Lakenheath to the US Central Commands operational region, played a crucial role. Over the course of the night, the jets conducted 154 sorties, engaging enemy threats in a high-stakes defense mission. President Joe Biden personally praised the Air Force personnel in a phone call during the event, underscoring their extraordinary contributions.

The ceremony saw several notable awards, including two Silver Starsthe US Air Forces third-highest honor for valor. Maj. Benjamin Coffey and Capt. Lacie Hester received the prestigious awards for their actions during the mission. Capt. Hester made history as the first woman in the Air Force to receive a Silver Star, and only the 10th woman in the Department of Defense to achieve the honor.

The mission faced intense challenges, including severe aircraft emergencies and falling debris caused by hostile fire. Coffey and Hester engaged enemy drones at low altitude in complete darkness, using their F-15Es air-to-air gatling gun after exhausting their missile supply. We all fell into an execution rhythm: call, shoot, and confirm the target was destroyed before we moved on to the next task we had to accomplish to keep everyone safe, said Lt. Col. Timothy Causey, the 494th Fighter Squadron commander.

In total, US forces eliminated more than 80 drones from Iran or Yemen during the operation. The attack, in retaliation for the killing of two Iranian generals in a Damascus strike attributed to Israel, involved over 300 rockets and drones. Israeli air defenses, working in conjunction with US-led coalition forces, managed to intercept most of the threats. While damage in Israel was minimal, some injuries were reported, including a young Bedouin girl who was critically injured by falling shrapnel.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Head of the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan Aydin Safikhanli participated in a side event on Ensuring children's health rights in the context of climate change within COP29, Trend reports.

According to the information, during his speech at the event, the Head of the Office noted that reliable protection and safeguarding of children's rights is one of the main directions of the Ombudsman's activity.

The Chief of Staff informed about the latest amendments made to the Constitutional Law On the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) of the Republic of Azerbaijan, informed about the expansion of the mandate of the Ombudsman for the protection of children's rights in several other spheres, noting that monitoring groups were established in the institution on the initiative of the Ombudsman following the enshrined powers.

Safikhanli noted that, as every year, this year the Ombudsman announced Child Rights Month from October 20 through November 20, and for the first time this year educational activities related to the rights of the child were organized in educational institutions in the territories liberated from occupation within the framework of the month.

The Chief of Staff said that climate change is one of the main factors negatively affecting the effective realization of human rights, including the rights of the child.

Noting that deliberate pollution of the environment and committing environmental crimes also hurt children's health, Safikhanli spoke about the environmental crimes committed by Armenia during the occupation of Azerbaijani territories. He noted that the mines buried by Armenia in our lands even today pose a danger to the life and health of the civilian population, more than 3400 people, 358 of whom are children, have fallen victim to mines since the First Karabakh War.

The Head of the Office also said that during the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories, the environment and biodiversity were seriously damaged, ecocide was committed, various rare species of plants and animals were destroyed, and water sources were polluted with harmful substances.

He emphasized that the nuclear power plant (NPP) in Armenia, which, despite its unsuitability for proper operation, continues to function and seriously pollutes the environment, has become a potential source of danger not only for Azerbaijan and Armenia but also for the whole region. Repeatedly addressing the relevant international organizations, the Azerbaijani Ombudsperson also spoke about this.

The Chief of Staff urged the international community not to remain indifferent to these crimes, which threaten the ecological security of humankind as well as grossly violate the right to a healthy environment.

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Israeli President Isaac Herzogs office issued a statement on Motzei Shabbos that his scheduled trip to COP29, the climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, was canceled due to security reasons.

Herzog was scheduled to fly to Baku on Israels Wings of Zion plane on Tuesday for a visit of only several hours.

However, Ynet reported on Sunday that a report on an Azeri news site that is considered the governments mouthpiece claims that the real reason for Herzogs cancellation is Turkeys refusal to allow Wings of Zion to fly in its airspace en route to the meeting. Azeri officials were not pleased by Israels statement blaming Herzogs canceled trip on security reasons and tried to have it changed via diplomatic channels.

Azeri officials confirmed the veracity of the report to Ynet.

A senior Azeri Foreign Affairs official spoke to Caliber News about the incident saying, Unfortunately, intensive negotiations through diplomatic channels that lasted for several days did not yield results. Azerbaijan has created appropriate conditions for the participation of all parties in the climate conference, but the situation surrounding the Israeli presidents visit arose for reasons beyond our countrys control.

He added that Azerbaijan often hosts major regional and global events and guarantees a high level of security.

It is not an exaggeration to say that Baku is one of the safest cities in the world, he claimed. This is confirmed by the fact that a large number of Israeli officials have come to Azerbaijan, including President Herzog himself, who visited Baku on May 30 of this year. Prime Minister Netanyahu also came to Azerbaijan for a one-day visit in 2016.

Unprecedented security measures are also being taken in preparation for the conference in connection with the arrival of tens of thousands of guests and about 100 world leaders and heads of high-ranking delegations to the country.

Israeli ministers who attended the conference did so on commercial flights through Georgia and it is unclear why Herzog did not take advantage of that option.

It should be noted that as Israel is subject to international boycotts and Israelis and Jews fear walking the streets of Europe, it seems that no one is concerned about the Talibans violation of human rights in Afghanistan. An official Taliban delegation attended the climate conference but no protests were held.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Families of American victims of the October 7 Hamas-led attacks have filed a lawsuit in a U.S. federal court against Iran and terror organizations associated with it, alleging Tehrans direct involvement in the massacre. The suit includes secret documents showing Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) funneling millions of dollars to Hamas.

Attorney Gary Osen, representing several plaintiffs, cited a 2022 document revealing discussions between senior Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Khalil al-Hayya about a mutual defense agreement with other Iran-backed groups. The document reportedly shows Hamas requested $7 million monthly from Iran to mobilize and prepare for confrontations, with funds allegedly used to plan the October 7 attack, according to The New York Times.

The suit names Iran, the IRGC, Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine but excludes Qatar, Turkey, and Yemens Houthi rebels, despite references to Hamas funding from these nations.

Among the 37 families in the lawsuit is Yechiel Leiter, Israels incoming ambassador to the U.S., whose son Moshe was killed in battle in Gaza. The families, including relatives of those killed, kidnapped, or emotionally impacted, seek financial compensation under the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and Anti-Terrorism Act.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
A disturbing incident occurred last weekend in Cyprus when an IDF reservist who completed his reserve duty was targeted by a Cypriot anti-Israel organization after he shared his arrival on the island on social media.

The organization called for his arrest, claiming war crimes, Yisrael Hayom reported on Monday.

Israeli security officials identified the threat and warned the soldier. He was quickly returned to Israel to thwart his arrest.

On Sunday, Israels Foreign Ministry issued a warning to Israelis in Greece to avoid certain areas, including the area of the Israeli embassy in Athens, as well as Aristotle University in Thessaloniki and the US consulate in the city. The warning added that Israelis should conceal Israel and Jewish symbols.

The reason for the warning is that Sunday was November 17, which is marked in Greece each year as the commemoration of the Athens Polytechnic uprising, a massive student demonstration against the Greek military junta in 1973 that ended in bloodshed on November 17. The military junta ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974.

Thousands of Greek students in Athens and Thessaloniki participated in the protests, with some waving Palestinian flags and screaming about genocide. In Athens, the students marched to the US Embassy and then continued to the Israeli embassy.

The U.S. Embassy also issued a warning to US citizens in Greece, saying that some past demonstrations have turned violent and have involved destruction of property.

Israels warning to Israelis in Greece was lifted after Sundays protests were over. However, it should be noted that Israels National Security had previously designated Greece as a Level 2 threat, which means there are concerns about occasional or random threats against Israelis and Jews. This warning is still in effect.

Israeli media outlets spoke to Israelis living in Greece who said that they have no issues with local Greeks and generally feel safe but are cautious in areas where Muslim immigrants frequent.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
US Senate Majority Leader-elect Senator John Thune (R-SD) said that the Senate will sanction the International Criminal Court at the Hague if it doesnt halt its twisted pursuit of arrest warrants against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, which ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan filed at the same time as those of Hamas leaders, equating the war crimes of murderous terror leaders with the democratically elected leader of the only democracy in the Middle East.

Thune, who will enter his new position in January, stated on Sunday: If the ICC and its prosecutor do not reverse their outrageous and unlawful actions to pursue arrest warrants against Israeli officials, the Senate should immediately pass sanctions legislation, as the House has already done on a bipartisan basis.

He added: If Majority Leader Schumer does not act, the Senate Republican majority will stand with our key ally Israel and make this  and other supportive legislation  a top priority in the next Congress.

Although Schumer and President Joe Biden condemned the ICCs move, they failed to take action against the court.

In a poetic twist of justice, the morally depraved Khan is now facing his own probe after a female aide accused him of inappropriate behavior and abuse over a prolonged period as well as coercive behavior and abuse of authority.

Unsurprisingly, the courts watchdog closed the case within five days, but last week, the ICCs governing body said it would pursue an external investigation against Khan.

However, since then, the ICC has become embroiled in a major scandal as serious concerns have arisen regarding the integrity of even the external probe due to Khans links to the investigative body, the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), a watchdog that oversees probes of UN agencies.

According to a report by The Guardian, the concerns have been raised at the highest level of the court, with one concern relating to Khans wife, Shyamala Alagendra, who previously worked at OIOS, has deep connections there, and also allegedly acted highly inappropriately following the claims against her husband, including contacting the victim directly.

Another conflict of interest is that the OIOSs director of its investigations unit previously worked closely with Khan at the UN, serving as one of his top officials for several years.

The ICCs pursuit of an external probe is partially due to the pressure and scrutiny that the court has been under following Khans issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders.

Reuters reported in July that on May 20, the same day that Khan made a surprise request for warrants to arrest Netanyahu, former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders, he suddenly canceled a scheduled trip to Israel to collect evidence on the decision.

Reuters spoke to eight people with direct knowledge of the matter, who said that plans for the visit had been discussed for months with US officials. The trip was intended to allow Israeli officials to present their position regarding the allegation of war crimes and for Khan and his team to collect evidence. Apparently, Khan decided that he didnt need any evidence for his antisemitic claims.

In August, the Daily Telegraph reported that the organization UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) threatened to charge Khan, a British lawyer, with professional misconduct. The organization sent a lengthy and detailed letter to Khan refuting all his accusations against Netanyahu and Gallant and wrote detailed evidence proving his allegations false. The letter stressed that if Khan does not retract his request for the arrest warrants, which contain false information, he will have violated professional codes for English barristers and it will report him.

Khans lack of integrity knows no bounds. In the wake of the new allegations against him by his aide, he suggested that the claims are due to a campaign against him [i.e. by pro-Israel forums]. However, the allegations pre-date his case against Israel and according to The Guardian, officials who work with him do not believe the allegations are tied to any external plot.

Thunes statement regarding the ICCs pursuit of Israel received widespread support:

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
The Biden administration is still imposing obstacles and delays in the transfer of offensive weapons to its ally Israel in its war against its enemies in Gaza and Lebanon, Walla reported on Monday morning, quoting IDF sources.

Despite the pressure of Israeli senior diplomatic and security officials on the Biden administration, there are still difficulties described as delays and even a grey embargo.

IDF sources said that officials made it clear to the Israeli side that the administration is receiving criticism for American weaponry harming civilians in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, hence the delays. They do not explain the delay in transferring 150 bulldozers to the engineering forces.

Defense Ministry officials told Walla that the sensitive situation was brought to the attention of President-elect Donald Trump, who said he would revoke all barriers to the transfer of weapons to Israel as soon as he entered office.

Channel 12 also reported that Trumps transition team has assured Israel that Trump will lift all delays and embargoes on arms and military equipment shipments to Israel on his very first day of office.

Meanwhile, the IDF has been forced to economize its use of arms as it engages with its enemies on seven fronts, including two active battlefronts.

It should be noted that as Biden imposes an arms embargo on Israel, the IDF has eliminated a number of terror leaders from Hezbollah and Hamas who are on the US wanted list for the murder of US citizens.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Attorney Amit Aisman made a rare appearance in the Knesset on Monday and several MKs and bereaved parents utilized the opportunity to tell the Attorney-General exactly what they think of her and demand she resign.

Baharav-Miara only appeared in the Knesset after Simcha Rothman, the chairman of the Knesset Constitution Committee, demanded that she does so, as mandated by law. The government has been trying to advance measures against the soaring crime and murder rate in the Arab-Israeli sector but Baharav-Miara refuses to support the government, thwarting it from passing a bill to allow the use of spyware against organized crime unless it uses it against white-collar crimes as well [which would face separate legal issues]. Apparently, saving lives, including those of children, is not a priority for her.

Committee Chairman Simcha Rothman said: I demanded that the Attorney-General appear as required by law, after three months during which her responses to the committees requests for information were ignored. The Attorney-General simply chooses to disregard the law time and again, refusing to appear before the committee and present the data as requested. This is at a time when crime in Arab society is escalating and people are being killed. The Attorney-General is simply violating the law and not providing accountability to the Knesset and the public as is mandated.

Likud MK Moshe Saada also slammed Baharav-Miara, saying: There is no enforcement of the law. There is a sense that there is no justice. You and Amit Aisman normalize incitement against the prime minister. Words kill. You allow threats against the prime minister of Israel. Its clear to you that during your watch there will be acts. The entire public will pay for your actions. I hear from the prosecution, as someone who comes from there, that there is no trust in the prosecutors, neither in you Aisman nor in you Gali.

Gali, if you have any integrity left toward the public  hand over your keys and resign. If you dont do this, I expect the government to act tomorrow to remove you.

At the beginning of the Knesset meeting, representatives of the families of the hostages and fallen soldiers spoke. Galia Cohen, whose daughter Hadar, Hyd, was murdered on October 7 at the Nova music festival, cried out in pain as she addressed Baharav-Miara and Aisman: How can you put the welfare of our enemies over the welfare of our soldiers? We are fighting monsters. Where are your Jewish neshamot? They all have blood on their hands, there are no innocent civilians. We need to think only about ourselves and let the world and the international courts scream.

You are binding our childrens hands and preventing them from fighting. Whoever doesnt allow soldiers to shoot in times of danger has the blood of the fallen soldiers on their hands. I am in mourning, but the blood of my daughters blood is screaming Ima, dont stop.'

What is with the Nukhba terrorists mattresses and fruits? [This was a reference to a hearing the Supreme Court hearing regarding the Nukbah terrorists prison conditions.] How is it that they are still alive and our children are in the ground? Do what needs to be done and dont engage in all sorts of legal debates. Its time for justice.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Iran has reportedly urged Hezbollah to accept a ceasefire agreement with Israel amid ongoing U.S.-led efforts to end hostilities, The New York Times reported over the weekend. Ali Larijani, senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, conveyed Tehrans support during a November 15 meeting in Beirut with senior Lebanese officials, including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Larijani reportedly assured Hezbollah of Iranian assistance in rebuilding its forces and infrastructure after the war, while urging the group to retreat north of the Litani River in accordance with U.N. Resolution 1701.

Hezbollah has launched 16,000 rockets, missiles, and drones at Israel since joining the war in support of Hamas on October 8, but it has suffered significant setbacks. Israeli strikes have depleted over 80% of Hezbollahs long-range rockets, and assassinations have decimated its leadership, including Hassan Nasrallah.

The U.S. proposal, presented by Ambassador Lisa Johnson, includes a 60-day truce and the redeployment of Lebanese Armed Forces to the border, with oversight by the U.S. and Britain. Israel insists on maintaining operational freedom in Lebanon, while Hezbollah demands restrictions on Israeli military actions.

U.S. President Joe Bidens envoy, Amos Hochstein, is set to visit Beirut for further talks, while Israeli officials are engaging with both Bidens team and President-elect Donald Trump to secure a ceasefire deal. If diplomacy fails, Israel may further escalate ground operations in Lebanon.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
The Knessets Economic Affairs Committee will meet Monday to consider amendments to Israels Aviation Services Law, following requests from airline companies struggling with losses due to the ongoing conflict. Foreign carriers suspended flights to Israel over a year ago, significantly reducing travel options and increasing ticket prices on local airlines.

The Aviation Services Law, also known as the Tibi Law, requires airlines to compensate passengers for canceled or delayed flights or provide alternative arrangements. Modeled after EU regulations, the law has come under fire from airlines, which claim it imposes unsustainable financial burdens during the conflict. Airlines are pushing to suspend the law retroactively from the wars onset and shorten the notice period for cancellations without compensation from 14 to three days. They also propose implementing price controls on substitute flight tickets.

Major international carriers, including American Airlines, have halted operations to Israel, with some, like Ryanair, citing millions in compensation payouts. American Airlines has announced it will not resume service to Tel Aviv until at least September 2025.

El Al remains the sole carrier operating direct flights to the U.S., but Israir CEO Uri Sirkis hinted that amendments to the law could enable his airline to launch U.S. flights this winter, easing financial strain and increasing travel options for Israelis.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Sunday that he would not allow Hamas to regain power in Gaza under any circumstances, according to Israel National News. The only thing that Hamas wants is a deal that ends the war and for the IDF to leave the Strip in order to return to power, Netanyahu said. I am not ready to allow that under any circumstance.

Netanyahu reportedly insisted that Hamas interprets Israeli pressure as a sign it can hold out for a more favorable deal. Security officials have warned that this approach could jeopardize the lives of hostages held by the terror group.

In the meeting, Netanyahu instructed the security establishment to present him with a plan by Thursday to replace Hamas in the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza, according to the report. Weve struck Hamas militarily, but we havent harmed their ruling capabilities enough, he said, according to Channel 12.

Netanyahu also addressed ongoing negotiations in Lebanon, expressing skepticism about reaching an effective agreement. He reiterated Israels insistence on maintaining operational freedom against Hezbollah, though mediating countries reportedly do not support these demands.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Avigdor Lieberman shamelessly besmirched Gedolei Yisrael and tried to incite anger against the Chareidi sector on Monday.

Lapid spoke at a meeting of the Yesh Atid and Yisrael Beiteinu parties, saying: The Israeli government is always trying to scare us and warn us about a civil rebellion. There is already a civil rebellion in Israel. When the Yated Neeman calls on the Chareidim to refuse to comply with recruitment orders  that is civil rebellion. When the demonstrators in Bnei Brak and Jerusalem shout We would rather die than enlist, while IDF soldiers are dying every day, that is civil rebellion. When HaRav Hirsch says, It is a mitzvah to be a draft dodger, that is civil rebellion.

Lapid continued: Section 109 of the Penal Code states: Whoever incites or persuades a person obligated to serve in the armed forces not to serve or not to appear for military action, shall be punished with five years in prison. Whoever incites or persuades a person serving in the armed forces to desert from military service or from military action, or assists him in desertion, shall be punished with seven years in prison.

There is no other name for what is happening now except civil rebellionthe only civil rebellion currently occurring in Israel is under the auspices of the government. Civil disobedience against the IDF and its soldiers, against the law, against the authority of the state. The Israeli government, instead of stopping this, encourages it. It encourages evasion, refusal, and civil disobediencethis is not a full right-wing government, this is the government of evasion. This is the government of deserters. This is the government of those fleeing from battle, he claimed.

The 7,000 orders that began to be issued yesterday are just the beginning. Every Chareidi young man of conscription age should receive an order just like our children. Those who dont show up to the enlistment centers will not receive a license, will not receive a passport, will not receive a single dollar from the state budget. It is time for the state to act like a state. It is time for the civil rebellion to stop.

Lieberman, of course, joyfully joined in the incitement, telling the press at the meeting that being a draft dodger is not a mitzvah, its a chillul Hashem.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
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The North-South divide is, as readers of Mrs Gaskell well know, nothing new.

The UK is one of the most geographically unequal countries in the developed world on some measures. Attempts to iron out regional disparities have been going on since the 1930s.

The Thatcher government was accused of dismantling heavy industry without providing sufficient support for the communities that relied on steel and coal. By contrast, levelling up and wooing Red Wall voters was a cornerstone of the Conservatives' 2019 successful election campaign.

In February 2022, the Tories produced a white paper setting out 12 steps for improving performance and reducing inequality. All good stuff, apart from the fact nothing much has happened.

If Rachel Reeves is to get the growth she needs after hammering the nation with tax rises, this has to change. As MP for Leeds West and Pudsey, she should be well aware of how unevenly prosperity is spread and of the North's wasted potential. London is on a separate plane to the rest of the country. It benefits from a concentration of resources and from being the focus of decision-making.

Change of direction: As MP for Leeds West and Pudsey, Rachel Reeves should be well aware of how unevenly prosperity is spread and of the North's wasted potential

Getting on your bike, as recommended by Norman Tebbit, is not the answer: property prices are prohibitive for many.

In Germany, France and other developed countries, this phenomenon is much less pronounced: in the US, Austin in Texas is the fastest growing conurbation.

Sir Nigel Wilson, chairman of Canary Wharf group and a north-easterner, points out that if Britain's secondary metropolitan areas such as Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow had grown at the same rate as London in recent decades, then the UK economy would be 120billion richer.

People in the regions often feel remote from the City of London and feel it does nothing for them.

The credit crisis provoked distrust towards traders and bankers that still lingers. Mass bank branch closures  the most visible manifestation for most people of the financial services industry  has not helped, as it has removed another point of direct connection.

Yet the City, nowadays a metaphorical construct rather than a physical location, is key to regenerating the regions.

An executive at the UK arm of French bank Societe Generale told me proudly last week of its support for the Net Zero Teesside Power and Northern Endurance Partnership to create the UK's first decarbonised industrial cluster. That is just one example. There is plenty of capital available to fund growth throughout the UK. Some 6trillion is stashed in pension funds and various other forms of savings scheme.

The Chancellor's plan to create a handful of mega funds out of more than 80 existing local authority pension schemes sitting on 360billion of assets is a good one, provided she can actually pull it off.

Larger funds will be better able to invest in the infrastructure projects the country needs and in other higher risk, but potentially higher reward areas such as tech start-ups. It is also an opportunity to engage savers with their pensions.

If people knew some of their savings were being channelled into, say, a project to improve the local rail service or to back start-ups creating jobs in their area, it might encourage them to pay in more and create a virtuous circle.

Pension providers could tell savers much more about where their money is going and generate a sense of excitement about projects around the country.

Instead, their communications are incomprehensible and tedious. They must try harder.
The owner of Pizza Hut's UK business is mulling over the sale of some of its restaurants as it scrambles to raise funds to absorb tax hikes announced in last month's Budget.

Heart With Smart (HWS), which operates Pizza Hut's 140 dine-in restaurants in the UK, wants to raise 10m to invest in touch-screen ordering machines and remote table ordering to reduce its reliance on low-wage staff, who will become more expensive to employ after the rise in employers' national insurance contributions.

The extra cash could come from existing HWS investors or the sale of part of the business.

Innovation: Heart With Smart, which operates Pizza Hut's 140 dine-in restaurants in the UK, wants to raise 10m to invest in touch-screen ordering machines and remote table ordering

HWS employs around 3,000 people. It licenses the Pizza Hut name from Yum! Brands.

A deal to raise the extra funding is expected within the next few months, Sky News reported.

Some of Britain's biggest employers have warned that the Chancellor's tax hikes could lead to job losses.

The Mail on Sunday revealed that the UK top-ten firms, which between them provide more than 1m jobs, will owe the Treasury over 1billion in extra tax.
Close Brothers has until Friday to appeal a court ruling that has sent shockwaves through the motor finance sector and beyond.

The bank  founded in 1878  was rocked by a verdict from the Court of Appeal, which ruled last month that commissions paid between banks and brokers on car deals may be unlawful because they were not clearly flagged to the customer.

The case centered on 'discretionary commission arrangements' used by the motor finance industry before they were banned in 2021.

The shock judgement has raised fears lenders could be on the hook for up to 16billion in compensation payouts, which would make it the biggest misselling scandal since payment protection insurance (PPI) which cost banks 50billion. There are also concerns the contagion could spread to other forms of consumer credit such as home and car insurance.

The news sent shares in Close Brothers into a deeper tailspin. They have fallen by almost three-quarters this year to value the bank at just 324m.

Shock: Close Brothers was rocked by a verdict from the Court of Appeal, which ruled that commissions paid between banks and brokers on car deals may be unlawful

Car finance accounts for about a fifth of loans made by the lender, which has 3m customers and 4,000 employees.

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets reckon the final redress bill for the bank could be 640m in the event of a 'bad outcome'.

Close Brothers, which holds its annual shareholders' meeting on Thursday, has sold its wealth management arm as part of a 400m plan to conserve capital.

The bank says it intends to appeal to the Supreme Court, but has yet to do so.

The Financial Conduct Authority is concerned that the car finance market will collapse if banks stop making loans to customers. But it also fears the freeze could extend to other areas where kickbacks are paid, such as car and home insurance, potentially causing another credit crunch.

Lloyds, which owns motor finance provider Black Horse, has set aside 450m to cover the potential cost of an investigation into car finance deals.

And Santander has delayed its results because of uncertainty about the court verdict.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. We are concerned about the lack of climate finance for countries and communities that need it most, Michelle Yonetani, Senior Policy Officer, Special Adviser to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said during a panel session on Addressing climate vulnerability: promoting a comprehensive and equitable approach to climate action on the sidelines of the COP29 Parliamentary Meeting, co-organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

"When we talk about the refugee problem, we need to take into account everyone affected by it. And we are asking everyone to start changing, to understand this complexity, to acknowledge it, and at the same time to really change our thinking, to really focus on implementation, on solutions. And there are several key factors that contribute to this action. First of all, it is factual information. Although we already have a significant database, more information is needed about what is happening at the national and local levels.

High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, present at the COP29 Leaders' Summit, presented the new UNHCR report, which is the result of collaboration with some 13 expert organizations and researchers, leading academics, and refugee-led organizations, helping to bring together the evidence needed to ensure refugee safety," she said.

Michelle Yonetani noted that, according to the report, of the estimated 120 million internally displaced people worldwide, people forcibly displaced by conflict and persecution, three out of four currently live in communities that are exposed to high or extreme impacts of climate change.

"Countries like Sudan, Haiti, Myanmar, Ethiopia, and so on. Combining the data and modeling results, we also found that the number of countries exposed to extreme climate-related hazards is expected to increase to 65 in 2040. And most of these countries are hosting displaced people.

Financing is a major topic of discussion here at COP29. What really worries us is the lack of funding for the countries and communities where it is most needed to address the growing inequities linked to the climate crisis, she added.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Iran has prepared proposals for inter-parliamentary activities in the field of climate, a representative of the Iranian Parliament, Rahmatullah Nowruz said speaking at a panel session on "Navigating human mobility and climate change: addressing climate-induced migration and displacement" on the sidelines of the COP29 Parliamentary Meeting, jointly organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

"The role of parliaments in these matters is extremely important. Parliaments can strengthen cooperation, share experience in drafting legislation, increase the adaptive capacity of states to climate change, and cooperate in natural resource management, codifying international norms, and developing programs within the framework of parliamentary diplomacy. The Islamic Republic of Iran has prepared a proposal for inter-parliamentary activities, which will be presented later," he said.

Novruz noted that six migration routes pass through Iran, which creates special challenges for the country. "Climate change is a result of industrialization in developed countries, environmental destruction, and armed conflicts. These factors have led to numerous problems," he added.

"Iran hosts millions of Afghan refugees, and our country spends more than $10 billion annually to support them. The international community must take this issue seriously. In addition, climate change and environmental challenges are exacerbated by the construction of dams on rivers located on the border between Iran and Afghanistan. This particularly affects the residents of Sistan and Baluchestan province, which requires urgent measures," he said.
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I'm a proud, first-generation, college-educated and gay Mexican American with undocumented family in the United States, including a mother who was previously deported to Mexico, and I experienced homelessness as a child. I am everything Democrats claim to support, right?

Wrong.

Democrats have accepted a progressive platform, ignoring decades worth of change and focusing on erroneous issues. They have built campaigns on a foundation of misleading airs and fake vibes.

Voting for Donald Trump does not make me racist, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic or any other "ist" and "ic" I've been called. I, along with more than half of the voting public in America, am sick of the self-righteous and label-obsessed left alienating us over differing opinions.

In her concession speech, Vice President Kamala Harris claimed to have built strong coalitions. What she did was the opposite. She did not motivate enough Black voters, Latino voters, Asian voters, Jewish voters, union voters and female voters to cast their ballots for her. Fewer women voted for Harris than they did Joe Biden, even with abortion being a top issue. To the very end, Harris ignored the data; she ignored what voters needed.

The party spent the last four years demonizing men and blaming us for all of society's ills. Then they spent several months drinking beer, releasing camo hats and attempting to "love" guns to desperately win our votes. Former President Barack Obama noticed Black men were not falling in line, so he resorted to shaming his "brothers," essentially saying they were sexist, even though Black men supported Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Which leads us to Latinos. Democrats, we are not Latinx or Latine; we are Latinos and Latinas. Stop trying to change our language and our culture. The Biden-Harris administration's disastrous handling of the southern border was one of the major issues for most Americans. Americans in Chicago and around the U.S. watched how veterans and other homeless and needy citizens suffered as local governments spent billions for newly arrived migrants. Americans saw Trump secure the border without any congressional approval.

Seeing my undocumented family members, who have been in the U.S. for more than 20 years, work, pay taxes and buy their own homes with zero benefits, then watching millions of new migrants skip the line with government-funded help, only inflamed me and other Latinos like me. When my mother came to America as a single mother of two, she did not get any benefits. This election became personal. It was about my family!

My concerns go beyond just immigration. I am a U.S.-born Mexican American. We are the youngest demographic in the U.S. What matters to me and many Latinos like me are obtaining jobs, paying for the costs of living, buying a home, growing and helping our families, and making sure the American Dream is attainable and still alive. Over the last four years, all of that has become harder. If you think it hasn't or haven't felt it, consider yourself blessed. This situation clearly upset many other Latinos who broke from generational loyalty to Democrats.

It was also rich to have Democratic leaders such as Michele Obama, whose personal worth is reportedly tens of millions, say that rich people take more than their fair share. She was sandwiched between billionaires Gov. JB Pritzker and Oprah Winfrey at the DNC in Chicago. Pritzker even taunted Trump on not being a "real billionaire," which was extremely unrelatable. Billionaire Mark Cuban also hit the campaign trail for Harris. Billionaire and megastar Taylor Swift, who endorsed Harris, at least gracefully encouraged everyone to do their own research, which I highly respect. Compare that to the Republican National Convention, where Trump had everyday people speak about experiences most of us worry about  the cost of groceries, safety, jobs and the border crisis.

Democrats, please look into your hearts again. Your progressive policies are crumbling your own base. Even in Chicago, Trump gained ground in Latino wards, and he lost in Illinois by only 9 percentage points. Chicago and Illinois are supposed to be a deeply blue city and state, respectively. This was a message to Democrats; they need to listen.

In a recent news conference in response to the election, Pritzker told Trump, "You come for my people, you come through me." Governor, switch that energy to the criminals who are holding up Illinoisans at gunpoint, committing smash-and-grab robberies, stealing cars in record numbers, and committing homicides, home invasions, theft and more. Where has this protection been over the last four years?

If Pritzker doesn't change his messaging, he will not fare well in any other political aspirations he may have.

I am very proud to be a Christian, gay Mexican American who voted for Trump. No, I don't hate myself. With Republicans about to sweep the White House, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House after obtaining a conservative majority on the Supreme Court, Democrats desperately need to answer the 2 a.m. wakeup call Clinton never answered. The political pendulum will swing toward Democrats again. It's inevitable. Single-party rule is never ideal for America. We love compromise, and we need compromise.

This election, voters canceled the wokeism of the extreme left. As of now, the person who is taking care of us, listening to us  the regular folks  where we can see and feel it, is the soon-to-be 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump.

J. Marcos Peterson is a Chicagoland native, a Latino of Mexican descent and an LGBTQ+ leader. His career, from public to private sectors, is defined by his commitment to impactful change across industries through strategic and positive influence.

(COMMENT, BELOW)




BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. At COP29, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) signed a financing agreement of $160 million for its first private-sector renewable energy project in Azerbaijan, marking a major step in expanding green infrastructure across the Caucasus region, Trend reports.

Partnering with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC (Masdar), the investment will finance development, construction, operation, and maintenance of two solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants: the 315 MWAC Banka Solar PV Power Plant (Banka Solar) and the 445 MWAC Bilasuvar Solar PV Power Plant (Bilasuvar Solar). SOCAR Green, nominated by the Government of Azerbaijan, joins as Masdars local partner, underscoring Azerbaijans commitment to a low-carbon future. The Asian Development Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are also involved as co-financiers.

The project marks AIIBs first private-sector renewable energy initiative in Azerbaijan, aligning with AIIBs Green Infrastructure thematic priority and supporting the Banks Corporate and Energy Sector strategies. The solar PV plant is expected to deliver clean, affordable electricity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 757,000 metric tonnes of CO-equivalent annually, and create significant local employment. The project will also help Azerbaijan meet its climate targets under the Paris Agreement and updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

With this project, AIIB is committed to supporting Azerbaijans ambitious energy transition, leveraging solar resources to create sustainable energy infrastructure and assist the country in achieving its climate goals, said Najeeb Haider, AIIBs Director General for Project and Corporate Finance Clients, Global. This financing underscores AIIBs commitment to mobilizing private capital to expand renewable energy projects and secure a sustainable future for Azerbaijan and the region.

Aligned with the joint MDB principles for Climate Mitigation Finance Tracking, the project qualifies as 100% mitigation finance. It has undergone rigorous climate-risk assessments to ensure alignment with both the Paris Agreement and Azerbaijans National Adaptation Plan.

The transaction represents AIIBs third project in Azerbaijan and its first non-sovereign-backed loan in the country, demonstrating the Banks commitment to diversifying its portfolio and strengthening renewable infrastructure across the Caucasus. To date, AIIB has financed seven projects in the Caucasus, covering sectors such as energy and transport, with a focus on sustainable infrastructure to support regions long-term growth and resilience.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Equinor has signed a two-year firm contract with Northern Ocean Wind AS to deploy the mobile rig Deepsea Bollsta on the Norwegian continental shelf, with a contract value of approximately $335 million for the firm period, Trend reports.

According to the producer, the operation is slated to begin in the latter part of 2025, with an option for five additional one-year extensions.

The contract marks a significant step in Equinors continued investment in maintaining high production levels from its Norwegian assets through 2035, supplying critical energy to Europe. Kjetil Hove, Executive Vice President for Exploration and Production Norway (EPN), emphasized the company's commitment to maximizing resources: "Our ability to continuously drill new wells is at the heart of our strategy. The Norwegian continental shelf still holds substantial untapped potential, both in our existing fields and through promising exploration opportunities."

Northern Ocean Wind AS, part of Northern Ocean Ltd., will have the Deepsea Bollsta rig operated by Odfjell Drilling, which currently manages three other rigs for Equinor: Deepsea Aberdeen, Deepsea Atlantic, and Deepsea Stavanger. While Deepsea Bollsta is currently operating in Namibia, it has a strong track record in Norway.

Erik Kirkemo, Senior Vice President for Drilling and Well, expressed his satisfaction with the continued partnership with Odfjell Drilling, which he described as having a robust safety and performance culture. This collaboration adds flexible capacity to our drilling portfolio. With an average of 25 active drilling operations on the Norwegian continental shelf, we aim to drill 50-70 increased recovery wells and 20-30 exploration wells annually moving forward, said Kirkemo.

The Deepsea Bollsta is a sixth-generation, winterized mobile rig designed for harsh environments, capable of operating in challenging conditions on the Norwegian continental shelf.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. A ministerial roundtable on "Sustainable and Digital Middle Corridor and Beyond" will take place on November 20 as part of the COP29 conference, focusing on the latest advancements, initiatives to promote sustainability, and the digitalization of the Middle Corridor and other international transport routes, Trend reports via the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport.

The roundtable will provide a platform for detailed discussions on the development of sustainable and reliable transport networks. It aims to foster collaboration among stakeholders to enhance the Middle Corridor as an efficient, sustainable, and digital transport route, while also strengthening regional cooperation to improve climate performance.

The roundtable's conclusions will help shape regional discussions on digital and sustainable transportation routes in the future.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. The high-level event on "International Aviation and Climate Change" will be held in Baku on November 20 within COP29, Trend reports.

The event, which will be organized by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), will convene ministers, government officials, industry leaders, and stakeholders to engage in an important dialogue on the latest developments in the decarbonization of international aviation.

The event will focus on the following issues:

- staying ahead of global action to reduce emissions from the aviation industry;

- opportunities for ICAO Member States and the aviation industry to collaborate with other stakeholders and financial institutions to achieve Net Zero by 2050;

- the emerging need to further develop international policies and frameworks aimed at reducing civil aviation emissions;

- the most important areas that industry, academia, governments, and international organizations should focus on to achieve Net Zero.

To note, this event will be held on Transport Day, and the panel discussions are open to anyone with accreditation to enter the COP29 Blue Zone.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 19. Snam has finalized the installation of the mooring deck for the BW Singapore floating LNG terminal off Ravenna, marking a major milestone in boosting Italys energy security, Trend reports.

According to the producer, the terminal will arrive by late 2024 and start operations in early 2025, adding 5 bcm of annual regasification capacity - 40 percent of Italys gas demand - aligning with diversification goals set during the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

The deck, weighing 2,800 tonnes, manages gas flow to the national grid. Environmental monitoring is ongoing, involving 20 organizations and 200 offshore monitoring stations.

We have reached yet another important milestone, in this complex operation that will help us meet the deadlines set for this infrastructure, and a key element to consolidate national and European energy security targets, also considering the progressive evolution of gas flows - commented Snam CEO, Stefano Venier. LNG now covers a quarter of the national gas supply, and with the commissioning of BW Singapore, we will have volumes equal to what Italy was receiving from Russia in 2021, allowing for a further diversification of the system.

The 1 billion euro project has generated economic benefits, with 30 percent of investments benefiting the Ravenna region and up to 1,200 people employed during peak construction.
The online reactionary take in this instance is to blame women for taking nudes in the first place.

However . . .

According to the indictments, there's reasonable cause to suspect two Missouri law enforcement officials of a SERIOUS betrayal of trust.

More importantly . . .When it comes to traffic stops and without any warrant, there probably isn't any reason to allow police to search a phone . . . Especially given that the government, the Chinese & clever stalkers are pretty much tracking it all the time anyhoo.



Here are deets of report and the case moves forward . . .



"In both cases, federal prosecutors allege the officers asked women for their phones  ostensibly to check their insurance coverage, vehicle registration or identification  and then searched the womens phones for nude images, the US attorneys office for Missouris eastern district asserts in the indictments. In two cases, ONE LAW ENFORCEMENT SUSPECT also took the phones of alleged victims after arresting them.



"The officers then used their personal cell phones to take photos of nude images they found  often images of the women, but in a few cases images of other people, the indictments say. Images of the nude photos were found on the mens phones and on SUSPECT'S iCloud account, according to the indictments.



"While the indictments dont specify how the men came under suspicion, the attorney for one of the alleged victims has said she reported an incident to the FBI, and one of the alleged victims has said she reported him to his supervisor."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Two Missouri officers asked women for their phones at traffic stops - then stole nude images, authorities say | CNN A former Missouri police officer and a former Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper have both been indicted on civil rights violations and accused of taking nude images from women's phones during traffic stops.

Former Florissant police officer pleads not guilty while facing 21 counts in nude photo-stealing scandal A former Florissant police officer is facing 21 federal charges relating to a scandal involving nude photos he's accused of stealing. Here's what we know.

Missouri police officers accused of taking nude photos from women's phones during traffic stops: "Complete betrayal" David McKnight and Julian Alcala allegedly searched the phones for nude photos, then used their own phones to take pictures.

Developing . . .
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Azerbaijan and Chinese TBEA Co., Ltd. have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of renewable energy, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov wrote about this on his X page, Trend reports.

"We signed a Memorandum of Understanding on renewable energy during a meeting with the delegation led by Nan Hu, Board Member and President of International Business of TBEA Co., Ltd. The agreement covers cooperation on the provision of ultra-high voltage DC and AC products, the production of high-tech energy equipment, the establishment of a data center, and participation in regional green energy connectivity projects," the publication reads.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. The UN Secretariat urges countries to use the Baku Global Platform for Climate Transparency, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Noura Hamladji said during the COP29 ministerial roundtable on global climate transparency, Trend reports.

"The UN Secretariat on Climate Change, in close collaboration with the COP29 Presidency and partners, has worked tirelessly to provide support and build the capacity of countries across all regions.

We have developed new tools for reporting and review procedures. We have trained 2,000 experts and provided recommendations to facilitate the reporting process.

I express my gratitude to the President of COP29, Minister Mukhtar Babayev, and his team for making transparency a priority and creating the Global Climate Transparency Platform (BTP). This initiative will enhance participation in the Enhanced Transparency Framework and provide support to developing countries," she added.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It's the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in the country.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action - was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Delta farmers, researchers to review 2024 season

Photo by Phil Kaspari

Straw is baled after the barley harvest in Delta Junction in September 2024.

Learn about current research into cover crops, small grain varieties, nutritional shifts in grass and livestock health at the 2024 Delta Harvest Wrap-Up.

Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agricultures Agricultural Research Service and the University of Alaska Fairbanks Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station will discuss their findings with Interior Alaska farmers, producers and residents during the annual gathering.

The event is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 21, from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Delta Career Advancement Center, 1696 N. Clearwater Ave., Delta Junction.

For more information, contact Eve Karczmarczyk at 907-895-4215 or eekarczmarczyk@alaska.edu. Accommodation requests related to a disability should be made five business days in advance to Karczmarczyk. Language access services, such as interpretation or translation of vital information, will be provided free of charge to individuals with limited English proficiency upon request to amnorris2@alaska.edu.

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In a first, Pope calls for probe to determine if Israel committing genocide in Gaza

In another major setback for the far right Zionist regime of Benjamin Netanyahu, Pope Francis has called for investigation to determine if Israel is committing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza

Monday November 18, 2024 10:13 AM , ummid.com News Network

Rome: In another major setback for the far right Zionist regime of Benjamin Netanyahu, Pope Francis has called for investigation to determine if Israel is committing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide, the Pope said in an interview which is part of the book by Hernan Reyes Alcaide, according to Assciated Press.

We should investigate carefully to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies, the Pope said according to the excerpts of the book published Sunday by the Italian daily La Stampa.

Saudi stand on "Gaza Genocide"

The Popes assertion came a week after Saudi Arabia Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salman, while addressing the Arab-Islamic Summit 2024 called without mincing words that Israel is committing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

The Israeli occupation forces have killed close to 44,000 Palestinians since October 07, 2023 as per the official figures. Unofficial reports and independent sources have said the death toll in Gaza is more than 300,000 as the bodies of those buried under the debris were not recovered.

A UN probe last month had concluded more than 70% of those killed by Israel in Gaza are women and children. The UN further said Israel " intentionally and deliberately " killed civilians in Gaza.

Cases against Israel at ICJ, ICC

The Netanyahu led extremist regime is already facing charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has also sought arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister ( now sacked ) Yoav Gallant accusing them of committing war crimes.

In a related development, Wikipedia has added the article Gaza Genocide to the List of Genocides marking a new step in the challenging process of awareness raising for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This decision came after several heated discussions among Wikipedia editors regarding the appropriateness of including this term, as reported by the Jewish Journal.

Earlier, a number of academicians and several world countries including China, Russia, Brazil, and South Africa - the petitioner against Israeli regime at the ICJ , have accused the Zionist regime in Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

Pope Francis has repeatedly expressed his concerns over the "serious humanitarian situation in Gaza" and calling multiple times for "immediate ceasefire".

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Fortis Mumbai survey finds widespread antibiotics use without consultation

A latest survey conducted by Fortis Hospitals has revealed widespread consumption of antibiotics without the necessary consultation with physicians, consequently leading to rise in Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

Monday November 18, 2024 3:08 PM , Aneeqa Sabahat Faizee, ummid.com

Mumbai: A latest survey conducted by Fortis Hospitals has revealed widespread consumption of antibiotics without the necessary consultation with physicians, consequently leading to rise in Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

"Consumption of antibiotics is widespread and often self-regulated, which leads to a rise in Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)", Fortis Hospitals said noting that India has one of the highest infectious disease burdens in the world.

What is AMR?

AMR occurs when microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites mutate in ways that render the medications used to cure the infections they cause ineffective.

A 2023 study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) revealed an alarming trend of increasing antibiotic resistance and decreasing effectiveness of commonly used antibiotics against pathogenic bacteria.

"Fortis Hospitals Mumbai, conducted this survey to understand antibiotic usage among citizens", the hospital said.

The survey which was conducted across 30 days, and saw participation from across Mumbai, bringing forth insightful findings about people's understanding of antibiotic resistance, its use and risks.

"The findings underscore the urgent need to promote responsible antibiotic use and readiness to seek advice from healthcare professionals", Fortis Hospitals said.

Key Findings of the Survey

43% respondents stated that they consulted their doctor before taking any over-the-counter (OTC) antibiotics that may interact with their on-going course of medication

53% respondents stated that they shared antibiotics with family or friends, if they show similar symptoms

39% respondents stated that they completed the full course of antibiotics prescribed by the doctor, and did not stop mid-way (after getting better)

61% respondents stated that they discussed their antibiotic use with their doctors only during routine health check-ups (annual checks), or if a follow-up was mandated

40% respondents stated that they were unaware of the potential consequences of not completing an antibiotic course (as per prescription)

'Judicious use of antibiotics must be encouraged'

Commenting on the findings of the survey, Dr S. Narayani, Business Head-Fortis Hospitals Maharashtra, warned against consupmtion of antibiotics without medical advice.

This survey sheds light on the widespread consumption of antibiotics without consultation. Self-medication based on limited knowledge has contributed to the crisis of growing antimicrobial resistance, one that must be tackled on war footing", Dr Narayani said.

"Through this survey, that also commemorates World AMR Awareness Week 2024 (Nov 18-24), we aim to enable judicious use of antibiotics and encourage people to seek medical advice. By doing so, we hope to ensure that antibiotics, which are a critical line of treatment, remain effective for future generations, Dr Narayani added.

"Not a one-size-fits-all solution"

Dr Anita Mathew, Director-Internal Medicine, Fortis Hospital, Mulund, emphasised that antibiotics are not a one-size-fits-all solution. They need to be tailored based on the infection site and the bacteria we suspect.

For conditions like the flu, which is caused by a virus and not bacteria, antibiotics are not effective! Since flu is self-limiting, it typically resolves on its own without the need for antibiotics. It is imperative that we educate patients about judicious antibiotic use, and to steer clear of OTC antibiotic consumption when not necessary. This can help prevent antibiotic resistance in our present and future population.

"A growing threat"

Dr Kirti Sabnis, Infectious Disease Specialist, Fortis Hospital, Kalyan who assessed the findings, said that antimicrobial resistance is a growing threat that is more serious than we currently realize.

"If we fail to manage it effectively, we risk losing the ability to treat infections with existing antibiotics in the future. Therefore, antibiotics should be used judiciously and only when prescribed by a healthcare professional. It's also crucial to complete the full course of antibiotics as prescribed, since stopping early can allow bacteria to survive, potentially leading to resistance and re-emergence of stronger, more difficult-to-treat infections", Dr Kirti said.

"People need to be aware that vaccinations are not just for children, but also for adults, especially those with comorbidities like Diabetes, Obesity, Liver disease, or autoimmune disorders, for which they might be on steroids One must follow their doctors vaccination recommendations to help prevent recurrent infections due to low immunity, Dr Kirti added.

"No magic bullets"

Dr Rohini Kelkar, Sr. Consultant-Hospital Infection Control, SL Raheja Hospital, Mahim-A Fortis Associate, said, Majority of common illnesses are caused by viruses. They are usually, mild, self-limiting, and do not require or respond to antibiotics. Gravely, antibiotics are being used in majority of the circumstances as self-medication or magic bullets."

"This adds to the development of resistant bacteria, and when there is serious bacterial infection, the antibiotics dont respond. Use antibiotics wisely for the right patient, right time, and only after appropriate diagnosis of bacterial infection, she said.

Analyzing the findings, Dr Farah Ingale, Director-Internal Medicine, Hiranandani Hospital, Vashi-A Fortis Network Hospital, said the survey has highlighted a stark rate of non-compliance with prescribed antibiotic courses and self-medication with OTC antibiotics in the general populace.

"Only 39% of patients have admitted to completing their full antibiotic regimen, and just 43% consult their doctor before using OTC antibiotics; as a medical professional I find these figures concerning", Dr Farah said.

"It's crucial that we educate patients on the importance of adhering to prescribed treatments and seeking professional guidance before opting for antibiotics", she added.

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Will COP29 be able to deliver?

Azerbaijan, the host of this years 29th Conference of the Parties (COP), is tasked with the limited goal of rallying countries around a target for annual financial aid for developing nations facing the rising costs of climate change

Monday November 18, 2024 11:34 AM , Asad Mirza

The delegates at the on-going COP29 are expected to deliver new solutions to save the world from a climate catastrophe, but these expectations instead of focussing on climate warriors, should pressurise the developed world holding its purse strings tight, to loosen them and spend for what it has already destroyed in the race for advancement through industrialisation.

Last week, the worlds biggest annual climate conference kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan. This years UN climate summit is struggling to focus attention on the health of the planet, with turbulent geopolitics, a confrontational host and the re-election of US climate skeptic Donald Trump stealing the limelight.

The annual conference that aims to produce global agreements to limit the warming which is tipping the world towards climate catastrophe is becoming a forum of frustration for negotiators seeking a finance deal.

Oil producer Azerbaijan, the host of this years 29th Conference of the Parties (COP), is tasked with the limited goal of rallying countries around a target for annual financial aid for developing nations facing the rising costs of climate change.

It is a mandate that pales in comparison with the agenda for next years confabulations in Brazils Amazon rainforest, where governments will chart a course for the next decade. But it is considered all-important for many countries ahead of Brazils COP30 and achieving it requires subtle diplomatic skills.

The trickiest issue facing the climate negotiations at COP29, goes by the fancy name of the new collective quantified goal (NCQG), as it sounds more dignified than a climate dereliction fun to be funded by the developed world. The NCQG is meant to replace the longstanding goal of an annual spending $100bn a year on climate finance from richer countries to poorer ones. It is supposed to be in place by next year, when all countries are expected to say what they are going to do to cut emissions in the next ten years.

A report in The Economist says that the good news is that in many of these countries, a little help from public financing can go a long way towards luring investors and cutting down borrowing costs.

Another trickier issue is how to disburse this fund? The Economists report says that a package of bilateral deals between rich and developing countries would expose funding to geopolitical whims and make it hard to track total commitments. It would probably be wasteful, too, as rich-world governments seek a return on their investments by demanding that the money is used to purchase their own equipment.

The Economists report further says that it would be wiser to entrust the World Bank with such a mission. That would require the lender to grow: the ETCs recommended climate-finance pot is worth about six times what the bank doles out in a year.

The bank would need a mighty capital injection, too. Geopolitical tensions complicate the task. Two stumbling blocks seem to be China, which is unlikely to be more generous without more of a say, and America, which refuses to give up its veto over the institutions decisions.

A report in Forbes says that experts feel that sticking with the status quo would be a huge wasted opportunity. Rich countries would get a much bigger bang for their buck - in terms of global emissions reductions - by spending money in the Global South.

In real terms COP29 is expected to build on the carbon market groundwork laid in prior COPs, aiming for a regulatory framework that ensures real, measurable emissions cuts. The International Institute for Sustainable Development says that clearer guidelines are essential for a functional and fair carbon market.

COP29 could be a decisive moment for determining how carbon markets can become a reliable tool for financing climate action or whether they will remain mired in regulatory uncertainty.

In communicating priorities for COP29, the United Nations outlined the importance of ensuring that vulnerable countries have access to resources without bureaucratic delays. Climate-driven economic losses are estimated in the hundreds of billions annually, and without improved climate funding, vulnerable countries face extreme financial strain.

In Baku, discussions are expected to focus on setting up the funds governance structure, mobilising resources, and scaling-up the fund to close the gap between current pledges and actual needs. It is expected that any progress on adaptation and loss-and-damage could bring life-changing support for millions of people worldwide, providing an essential safety net as climate impacts intensify.

Meanwhile, India expressed serious concern about the progress the COP29 made during the week. A GoI statement stated:

We have seen no progress in matters that are critical for developing countries. Our part of the world is facing some of the worst impacts of climate change, with far lower capacity to recover from those impacts or to adapt to the changes to the climatic system for which we are not responsible.

India stressed that the Mitigation Ambition and Implementation Work Programme (MWP at Sharm Al-Sheikh was established with specific mandate that it shall be operationalised through focused exchanges of views, information and ideas, noting that the outcomes of the work programme will be non-prescriptive, non-punitive, facilitative, respectful of national sovereignty and national circumstances, while taking into account the nationally determined nature of nationally determined contributions and will not impose new targets or goal.

Expressing frustration on the unwillingness to engage on this issue by the Developed countries during the past week, India asserted that those with the highest capacity to take climate action have continuously shifted goalposts, delayed climate action, and consumed a highly disproportionate share of the global carbon budget.

But these solutions require integration within wider climate policies and identifying areas where real action is needed. COP29 will likely see a stronger emphasis on nature-positive initiatives, which not only support carbon sequestration but also enhance resilience against climate impacts like floods and droughts.

As noted by the World Economic Forum, protecting nature is essential for sustaining the worlds carbon sinks, including forests, which currently absorb about 7.6 billion metric tons of CO each year. Recognising and scaling nature-based solutions would play a role in closing the emissions gap and offer numerous co-benefits for ecosystems and biodiversity.

On November 12th, multilateral development lenders including the World Bank pledged to increase their climate finance to $120bn by 2030 (including $42bn for adaptation). In Baku, any breakdown of talks over climate finance would be an abdication of responsibilities by the developed world. It would also be a massive failure of imagination, if delegates are unable to thrash out a workable formula at this years COP.

In the face of accelerating climate impacts, COP29 offers a critical opportunity for countries to act decisively. It is one of the last chances left to limit global warming below potentially catastrophic levels. From ramping up national commitments to refining the structure of carbon markets, there is much work to be done.

(The writer, Asad Mirza, is a New Delhi-based senior commentator on national, international, defence and strategic affairs, environmental issues, an interfaith practitioner, and a media consultant.)

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Japan will cooperate with Azerbaijan in preparing biennial transparency reports (BTR) for developing countries and improve their quality, Japanese Environment Minister Keiichiro Asao said during the COP29 ministerial roundtable on global climate transparency, Trend reports.

"In particular, we'll focus on three main areas to promote the improvement of global transparency.

The first is the timely submission of the national BTR (Biennial Transparency Report) as a good example. Japan submitted its BTR to the UNFCCC Secretariat last month, at the request of Azerbaijan, becoming the first developed country to do so.

Japan's BTR is a full-format document that contains detailed information on greenhouse gas inventories, progress on mitigation and adaptation measures, as well as specific allocation of funds and support. Therefore, it can serve as a model for all countries.

Furthermore, in the process of creating its BTR, Japan used the follow-up mechanism within its Mitigation Action Plan, which operates under the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle, involving all government agencies. We'll share the experience of preparing quality BTR reports worldwide, including both content and preparation processes," he stated.

According to him, the second contribution is the development of BTR preparation capacity in developing countries.

"For many years, Japan has contributed to improving the quality of inventories in various countries through the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Working Group in Asia. Here, we also provide detailed, hands-on training based on the needs of each country in collaboration with Japanese experts from the National Institute for Environmental Studies.

The third contribution is supporting the improvement of transparency quality through satellite technologies. Japan operates a series of greenhouse gas observing satellites (GOSAT), which monitor carbon dioxide and methane concentrations on a global scale.

Moreover, we are developing methods for verifying greenhouse gas emissions at the national and regional levels using data from these observations. We are already supporting verification using GOSAT data for greenhouse gas inventories in Mongolia and India," he added.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action - was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Japan supports the Baku Platform for Global Climate Transparency, the country's Environment Minister Keiichiro Asao said during the COP29 ministerial roundtable on global climate transparency today, Trend reports.

"The world may undergo many changes, which is why parties must ensure transparency and demonstrate their efforts. By the end of this year, parties are required to submit their biennial transparency reports (BTR), which describe their greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, progress on mitigation and adaptation, as well as the status of financing and support.

This, along with specific Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the global stocktake, will ensure the implementation of the three key components of the Paris Agreement.

The BTR process doesn't end with the submission of the report. Through subsequent technical reviews and facilitative dialogues, all parties can learn from each other and improve their climate policies. It may be difficult to prepare a perfect BTR from the outset, but it is important to submit it as early as possible and improve its quality every two years to enhance transparency.

Recognizing the importance of increasing transparency, Japan supports the Baku Platform for Global BTR in Azerbaijan," he added.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action - was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
A Venezuelan migrant, accused of killing University of Georgia (UGA) nursing student Laken Riley which Trump used as a weapon during his campaign, is about to face trial in Georgia.

Known as Jose Antonio Ibarra, the undocumented immigrant already faced multiple charges to his name besides the recent murder, with Republican lawmakers blaming the Biden administration for allowing him to remain in the country despite his criminal history.

In a report by BBC, Riley went on a morning run and failed to return in February 2024. The 22-year-old UGA nursing student was eventually found, but lifeless in a wooded area on the UGA campus.

Her death became a central issue in the US immigration debate, especially during the 2024 presidential election.

Strong Case Against Migrant Suspect

For the upcoming trial, prosecutors have presented evidence, including forensic data, video footage, and digital evidence, to prove that Ibarra killed Riley.

The case detailed that Ibarra attacked Riley, allegedly using a rock to bash her skull after she fought back. Evidence from Riley's smartwatch shows she struggled to survive before her death.

Security footage also shows Ibarra discarding bloodied clothes and gloves, with prosecutors claiming that Ibarra's DNA was present under Riley's fingernail and his thumbprint on her phone, which she attempted to use to call for help.

The Venezuelan migrant denied his role in Riley's murder, with his defense team disputing the evidence, arguing that it only circumstantially links him to the crime. They claim that while it is clear Riley was murdered, there is not enough conclusive proof that Ibarra was the killer.

The upcoming case is being tried by a judge, as Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial.

Now, Republican lawmakers have pointed to the case as evidence of the dangers posed by illegal immigration as Riley's murder has fueled discussions about border security and immigration policies, per Barron's. They claim that Ibarra's criminal history and his ability to stay in the U.S. were a result of lax immigration enforcement by the Biden administration. These claims were heavily discussed during the election campaign, with President-elect Donald Trump using Riley's name to highlight his stance on stricter border policies.
November 18 2024

A historic terrace fronting Dunblane Cathedral is to be returned to residential use following the closure of the Old Churches House hotel on Kirk Street.

Alistair Forbes Architect has been commissioned by a local applicant to fashion three family houses from the property, including a B-listed Georgian manse joined by two listed terraces dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. A B-listed chapel likely dating from the 16th century is also included in the plans.

In a statement, the applicant wrote: "Scottish Churches House dates from the 1700s and forms a terrace of buildings within the Dunblane Cathedral square. Designed and originally used as housing, the buildings have been adapted and utilised for a range of functions including as a religious study centre and since 2013 a hotel, office space and gym.

"The applicants have purchased the buildings following the hotel operators intention to close the business. Their aim is to return the buildings back into residential use through a design approach that will enable the terrace to be read as a series of distinct but integrated buildings as originally designed and to respect the setting and character of the Cathedral Square."

Interventions revolve around reinstating the original vertical party wall subdivision and replacing roof lights with period-accurate dormers. At the northern end of the terrace horizontal windows will be swapped out for vertical variants to match existing with a new main entrance to the rear behind a new render canopy.
November 18 2024

The University of Strathclyde has revealed plans to transform its derelict former student union building on John Street into a digital, business and social hub.

The Charles Huang Advanced Technology & Innovation Centre (CHATIC) has been made possible by a 30m donation by Dr Charles Huang, founder of private equity firm Pasaca Capital, to radically reimagine the space.

CHATIC will offer space for businesses to co-locate on campus as well as a range of facilities for health and technological research in addition to a social innovation hub.

Professor Sir Jim McDonald, principal & vice-chancellor of Strathclyde, said: I am delighted that CHATIC will facilitate new opportunities to: partner and innovate with industry; enhance research capabilities by actively developing our research leaders of the future; grow entrepreneurial and social innovation opportunities open to staff, students and the wider community; and, it will create opportunities for our students to engage with industry research partners."

Due for completion in 2026 the refurbishment by HLM will bring all 10 floors of the 1959 building up to date, employing an estimated 67% less carbon than a comparable new build.
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Nov, 2024) Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Monday highlighted the importance of addressing global challenges such as climate change, energy sustainability and food security while discussing future cooperation between Pakistan and the United States.

Addressing an event organized by USAID to mark the longstanding US infrastructure development support to Pakistan, he called for collaborative research in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and modern infrastructure to build a more resilient future.

He also stressed the need for engaging the vibrant Pakistani diaspora in the United States to strengthen cultural, academic and economic ties between the two countries, a news release said.

Pakistan, with its strategic location at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia, and the middle East, is a natural partner for the United States in promoting regional connectivity and economic integration, Ahsan Iqbal said.

The minister expressed optimism about revitalizing the US Pakistan partnership under the new US administration, stating that mutual respect and constructive engagement was the key to addressing shared challenges and unlocking new opportunities for growth.

He reiterated Pakistans commitment to building a future of peace, prosperity and progress in collaboration with the United States.

He said significant contributions of the United States to Pakistans infrastructure projects reflected on the enduring strategic importance of the bilateral relationship, and outlined a roadmap for future cooperation under the leadership of the new US President.

The minister highlighted the historical foundation of US-Pakistan relations, which began with defense cooperation and evolved into a robust development partnership.

He stressed the importance of fostering a new dimension of collaboration focused on education, infrastructure and economic development to address emerging global challenges.

In line with the vision of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, he said, Pakistan would establish friendly and cordial relations with all nations, particularly the United States, which always stood for justice and humanity.

Ahsan Iqbal lauded the transformational impact of United State supported infrastructure projects in Pakistan, citing the iconic Mangla and Tarbela dams that continued to serve as lifelines for the agriculture and energy sectors. He also mentioned US funded initiatives in healthcare, education and transportation sectors, which significantly improved the quality of life for millions.

He viewed these projects not only addressed Pakistans immediate needs but also laid the foundation for long-term sustainable growth.

The minister also recalled the US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor, launched during the PMLN government tenure of 2013-18, describing it as a critical initiative to strengthen academic and research collaborations.

He acknowledged the Fulbright Scholarship program, the largest in the world for Pakistan, as a transformative opportunity that empowered thousands of Pakistanis to contribute meaningfully to national progress.

Ahsan Iqbal underscored the potential for expanding bilateral trade, which exceeded $6.5 billion in 2023, and called for enhanced market access and joint ventures in key sectors such as information technology, agriculture and manufacturing.

US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome and USAID Mission Director Veeraya (Kate) Somvongsir, who were also present at the event, highlighted the achievements of the US-Pakistan relationship over the past seven decades and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation.
IIOJK-based National Conference (NC) President and ex "Chief Minister" of the Indian Illegally occupied Jammu & Kashmir state, Dr Farooq Abdullah has bitterly criticized the hardliner BJP for its apparent lack of concern for Jammu, accusing the party of neglecting the region's development

MIRPUR ( AJK) : (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point news - 18th Nov, 2024) IIOJK-based National Conference (NC) President and ex "Chief Minister" of the Indian Illegally occupied Jammu & Kashmir state, Dr Farooq Abdullah has bitterly criticized the hardliner BJP for its apparent lack of concern for Jammu, accusing the party of neglecting the region's development.

Speaking at a function in occupied Srinagar late,Sunday, Abdullah pointed to issues like poor road conditions, unreliable power supply, high unemployment, toll plazas, job outsourcing, mining activities, and the rise of large retail chains as evidence of the BJPs indifference in the Jammu region, says a report reaching here on Monday from the line of control.

He questioned the BJP's unfulfilled promises, asking where the promised jobs, roads, schools, and hospitals were after nearly a decade.

Abdullah asserted that under the leadership of "Chief Minister" Omar Abdullah, a "democratic government" in the IIOJK would ensure comprehensive development in Jammu.

He also underscored the significance of the 'Darbar Move,' an old tradition that was discontinued by Delhi's installed "lieutenant governor-led administration" in 2021, the report said.

This practice, the report underlined, involved the occupird state "government" functioning alternately in Srinagar and Jammu every six months and was seen as a symbol of unity between the two regions.

Abdullah stressed that this tradition not only promoted unity but also supported economic and community relations.

Farooq Abdullah expressed disappointment saying that the BJP viewed the 'Darbar Move' as a hindrance to its agenda, resulting in its cessation.

He asserted that an NC-led "government" under Omar Abdullah would work to revive this tradition to. what he asserted bridge divisions and foster unity.

He underlined the importance of embracing Jammu and Kashmir's diversity, with the aim of achieving development and harmony across the entire region of IIOJK state, the report revealed.

APP/AHR.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Singapore pledges its strong support for the Baku Global Climate Transparency Platform, said Grace Fu Hai Yien, Singapores Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Trend reports.

Speaking at the COP29 ministerial roundtable on global climate transparency in Baku today, the minister welcomed the platform.

"We are pleased that the COP29 presidency has made climate transparency a key priority of this conference, and we would like to express our support for the launch of the Baku Global Climate Transparency Platform. This platform underscores the critically important role of transparency in building mutual trust and enhancing international cooperation on global climate action," she said.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action  was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference on Monday called on India to release all political prisoners, including the Hurriyat leadership, and repeal repressive laws to foster a conducive environment for dialogue to resolve the longstanding dispute

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Nov, 2024) The All Parties Hurriyat Conference on Monday called on India to release all political prisoners, including the Hurriyat leadership, and repeal repressive laws to foster a conducive environment for dialogue to resolve the longstanding dispute.

APHC spokesman Abdul Rashid Minhas talking to Kashmir Media Service over phone from Srinagar emphasized that Jammu and Kashmir is a United Nations-recognized disputed territory. He asserted that the BJP-led Indian governments unconstitutional actions of August 5, 2019, and its policies targeting Kashmir cannot alter this reality.

Minhas reminded India of its commitment to the UN, which passed resolutions mandating the settlement of the Kashmir dispute through a plebiscite. He criticized the UNs prolonged inaction on implementing these resolutions, resulting in decades of suffering for the Kashmiri people.

The spokesman reiterated APHCs demand from the Indian government to release detained Kashmiri leaders, revoke draconian laws, and create a peaceful atmosphere for meaningful dialogue. Kashmiris do not support confrontation or conflict. We yearn for peace and advocate a peaceful resolution to this prolonged issue, he added.

The APHC spokesman called on the global body to take urgent notice of the deteriorating human rights situation in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the grave abuses committed by Indian forces.

The APHC stressed that international involvement is essential for achieving a just, honorable, and lasting solution to the

Kashmir conflict.
LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Nov, 2024) A special visit of Javed Manzil (Allama Iqbal Museum) was organized on Monday for foreign delegates who participated in the ongoing International Iqbal Conference.

According to official sources here, the visit was organized as per the direction of Punjab Tourism Secretary Farid Ahmad Tarar. The foreign delegates were taken to Iqbal Museum via tourism bus service.

Archaeology Director Muhammad Hassan and Iqbal Museum Curator Hamid Nazir welcomed the delegates as per the direction of Punjab Archeology Director General Zaheer Abbass Malik.

During the visit, the foreign delegates were shown historic rooms of Iqbal's residence, items used by him and unique documents. A briefing on Iqbal's poetry, philosophy and his role in the Pakistan movement was given to the the delegates. They lauded the role of the archaeology department in conserving the heritage.

The visit aimed at highlighting Iqbal's vision at the international level along with cultural and historic importance of the country.
PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Nov, 2024) Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur on Monday expressed dissatisfaction and dismay over delay in resolving public complaints registered on Ikhtiyar Awam Ka portal and warned strict action for negligence.

Presiding over a meeting here at CM secretariat to review the status of public complaints the CM instructed that complaints from previous administrations also be shifted to the Ikhtiyar Awam Ka portal to ensure resolution without discrimination.

A statement issued here after the meeting said that he emphasized the importance of transparency and efficiency, stating, "The timely and satisfactory resolution of public complaints was the responsibility of officials, and any failure would not be tolerated."

During the meeting, the CM was briefed on the progress made so far. Officials reported that the portal had received 6,242 complaints, out of which 2,559 had been resolved while 3,683 complaints were in progress.

The briefing revealed that relief provided to 1,200 citizens, while 757 others received partial relief through the platform.

It said that 13,384 citizens were registered on the portal including around 300 women, adding that 1458 complaints were registered from Peshawar, 405 Mardan, 363 Bannu, 335 Dera Ismail Khan, 344 Abbottabad, 277 Mansehra, 237 Charsadda, 235 Hari Pur, 223 Swabi, and 185 Lower Dir.

The portal received 1966 complaints against, 1040 education, 876 Implementation of public agenda, 602 corruption and 539 law and order.

The CM Gandapur reaffirmed his commitment to personally oversee the resolution of public grievances, ensuring citizens receive satisfactory outcomes. He urged the public to make greater use of the portal, emphasizing that their genuine concerns would be addressed.

He directed the officials concerned to enhance the portals effectiveness and make it user friendly besides facilitating overseas Pakistanis to register complaints and ensuring their resolution.

He also instructed to launch awareness campaigns on social media to encourage public use of the platform for resolution of their problems.
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Nov, 2024) Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs, Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, has said that Pakistan's ports have been significantly improved, and many companies have signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to invest in Pakistan's industry.

The Minister, who participated in the Global Maritime Trade Summit organized by the International Chamber of Shipping, expressed his gratitude for the invitation.

He thanked the Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping, Emmanuel Grimaldi, and the Hong Kong Transport and Shipping Department.

In his speech, the Minister stated, "About 90% of global trade depends on the shipping industry. He emphasized that Pakistan's ports have been significantly improved."

"Due to these improvements, Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Company, Hutchison, and Abu Dhabi Ports Company have signed memoranda of understanding and agreements to invest in Pakistan's maritime sector and shipping industry," he said.

Sheikh also invited other international shipping companies to invest in Pakistan.

He said, "Pakistan's geographical location is of great strategic importance, as it provides easy access for transporting goods to China, Central Asian countries, and the middle East."

The minister said, "Our deep ports at Port Qasim and Gwadar have significant handling capacity, but the current transportation is less than half of their potential.

This is in contrast to nearby ports like Dubai, Jebel Ali, and Salalah, which are quite busy."

Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh also highlighted, "The ongoing rapid development at Gwadar Port, with hopes that it will soon be fully operational. Recently, the federal cabinet directed that 50% of trade will be routed through this port."

"This port is of immense importance for trade with China, Russia, Hong Kong, and other countries," he emphasized.

He said, "Pakistan is making its maritime sector environmentally friendly in line with the standards set by the International Maritime Organization."

"Pakistan is among the countries with less than 1% carbon emissions globally, yet it is one of the top ten countries most affected by climate change. Despite this, Pakistan is striving to transition to carbon-free ships and is actively implementing a decarbonization policy," Sheikh mentioned.

"Pakistan has recently signed the Hong Kong Convention and will make every effort to transition the shipping industry to green energy under this agreement to minimize pollution," he noted.

"A new maritime policy will be introduced either later this year or at the beginning of next year. Under this policy, foreign investors will be provided with tax incentives and other facilities, Sheikh reiterated.
A group of students from Quaid-i-Azam University visited Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) Headquarters here on Monday, where they were briefed about the working of the news agency

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Nov, 2024) A group of students from Quaid-i-Azam University visited Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) Headquarters here on Monday, where they were briefed about the working of the news agency.

The educational tour by the students of the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies (DSS) was aimed at learning about APPs news production through its various platforms including text, photo and video services.

Managing Director Muhammad Asim Khichi giving an overview of APP highlighted its role as a strategic media entity that defined the contours of national narrative in the best interest of Pakistan.

Besides countering fake propaganda, he said, APP focused on disseminating authentic and credible content without indulging in the practice of sensationalism.

He apprised the students of APPs national and international outreach through its team of professional journalists covering diverse areas by using modern news-filing system.

The MD APP also responded to the queries of students led by QAUs visiting faculty Shazia Mehboob on issues relating to media in the perspective of national security and how APP maintained a balance while covering varying political scenarios.

The students took a tour to APPs various sections including Central News Desk, English Reporting, Foreign & Economic Desks, urdu News Service, Video News Service, Studios, and Data Centre to enhance their learning experience.

APPs Executive Director Sabeen Usman Khattak, Director News Shumaila Andleeb, Director Video News Rub Nawaz Bajwa, Director Crime Rasheed Malik, Director IT Adnan Bokhari, and other officials were present.
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HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Nov, 2024) Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) Tandojam hosted a celebration of cultural and spiritual excellence by organizing a Qirat, speech, and Naat competitions.

The event, showcasing the vibrant talent of its students, was organized by the Student Talent Engagement Program (STEP) in collaboration with the department of Islamic and Pakistan Studies.

The SAU spokesperson informed that in the Qirat Competition, Shahzaib Ali Akbar clinched the first position, followed by Hammadullah in second and Abdul Samad in third. The speech competition crowned Muhammad Subhan Khokhar as the winner, with Falak Tarique securing second place and Muhammad Faisal taking third.

Meanwhile, in the Naat Competition, Muhammad Hamza secured the top spot, with Manthar Ali and Ali Raza earning second and third positions, respectively.

Addressing the participants, the Vice Chancellor Dr. Fateh Mari lauded STEP and the organizers for their efforts to foster students spiritual growth and community engagement.

"Sindh Agriculture University is home to extraordinary talent.

Events like these reflect our dedication to nurturing holistic growth by providing platforms for students to excel in various dimensions.

He also highlighted the establishment of 11 student societies within the university to encourage active participation in extracurricular activities.

Prof. Dr. Pir Ahmed Naqi Shah emphasized the significance of integrating religious, geographical, social, and humanitarian engagements alongside scientific education. Engr. Zaheer Ahmed Khan, Focal Person of STEP, expressed gratitude to the Vice Chancellor and distinguished guests for their support, while appreciating the collaborative efforts of faculty members, students, and the media team in ensuring the event's success.

The Dean of the Faculty of Crop Protection, Prof. Dr. Manzoor Ali Abro, Prof. Dr. Abdul Mubeen Lodhi, Dr. Imtiaz Nizamani, Prof. Abdul Muneeb Brohi, Dr. Muneer Ahmed Mangrio, Dr. Irfan Shaikh, Dr. Qamar Jogi, Dr. Abdul Wahid Baloch, and Anwar Hussain Khanzada, and a large gathering of faculty members and students attended the event.
President COP29, Mukhtar Babayev on Monday emphasised on the parties to expedite their efforts for reaching consensus on the critical agenda items of the conference as it's half the way to the achievements so far and much has to be done for mutually agreed deliverable, especially by the G20 countries to demonstrate leadership in spearheading climate action for saving the planet facing existential threat due to climate change

BAKU, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Nov, 2024) President COP29, Mukhtar Babayev on Monday emphasised on the parties to expedite their efforts for reaching consensus on the critical agenda items of the conference as it's half the way to the achievements so far and much has to be done for mutually agreed deliverable, especially by the G20 countries to demonstrate leadership in spearheading climate action for saving the planet facing existential threat due to climate change.

The second week opening plenary of the 29th meeting of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has set the stage for what promises to be a pivotal week in global climate negotiations.

President COP29, Babayev, flanked by UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, COP29 technical leads, and Youth Climate Change Champion Layla Hasanova, held a press conference at the Karabakh Room of the COP29 venue to outline the progress made so far and address ongoing challenges in the climate talks.

President Babayev kicked off the session by celebrating the significant strides made on the first day of COP29. He highlighted the successful adoption of the agenda, as well as the resolution of longstanding differences among parties.

Notably, he pointed to the agreement on Article 6.4, which focuses on carbon markets, and the adoption of Article 6.8 on non-market approaches to climate action.

Babayev said, We have achieved important milestones, but we still have a long way to go. Today, we passed the first test on day one with the adoption of the agenda, but we must continue to push forward.

He said, Our discussions are moving faster, but there are still pressing issues like climate finance and loss and damage that demand our full attention.

He also underscored the urgency for political leaders to engage in meaningful negotiations, urging major economies like Brazil and the UK to step up their leadership and help reach a fair and transparent deal.

Politicians have the power to drive this process forward. It is time for courage and leadership, Babayev emphasized. He specifically called on G20 countries to demonstrate a strong commitment to addressing the climate crisis, warning that without their active participation, the global climate response would remain insufficient.

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell echoed Babayevs sentiments, emphasizing the need for faster action to meet global climate commitments. Progress has been made, especially in the area of carbon markets, but we still have a lot of work to do, he said.

Stiell stressed that climate finance, often seen as a charity, must be recognized as a critical investment for vulnerable countries.

He also reiterated the importance of collaboration and inclusivity, noting that the negotiations must move beyond siloed approaches and focus on creating a unified global response.

He said, The Finance package is vital, and its up to the parties to decide how it will take shape.

The package should not only meet current needs but also help set the foundation for future climate resilience.

On Youth Day at COP29, Layla Hasanova, the COP29 Youth Climate Change Champion, stressed on the critical importance of involving young people in climate negotiations. She highlighted the disproportionate impact of climate change on youth, who already face the brunt of environmental degradation.

She said, Climate action is not just about the futureits about the present. Young people are already experiencing the impacts of climate change, and we must ensure their voices are heard.

Hasanova also called for increased financial resources for climate action, noting that only 2.4% of global climate finance currently reaches children and youthan insufficient amount to address their needs. We are working with the UNFCCC to ensure youth have a central role in the presidencys agenda, she added.

As the conference continues, COP29 Technical leader, Harry Veruls and Chairman of the SBI, Nabeel Munir emphasized the need for strong commitments across key areas, including mitigation, finance, and capacity building. Veruls lauded the progress on carbon market mechanisms, but cautioned that more needs to be done to operationalize them fully.

By the end of the week, we must deliver on these agreements. Consensus is critical, Veruls said.

Munir, for his part, stressed the importance of inclusivity and transparency in reaching balanced outcomes. He emphasized that the process should not be a contest of who blinks first, but a collective effort to secure lasting commitments for future generations.

Babayev reiterated his call for the G20 countrieswho represent 75% of global GDP and a significant portion of global emissionsto take a more proactive role in addressing the climate crisis. He said, Its time for the G20 to demonstrate leadership and put climate action at the center of their agenda.

He also noted that oil-producing countries are making progress on decarbonization efforts and that they have a critical role to play in the green energy transition.

As COP29 enters its critical final week, the pressure is mounting for negotiators to resolve contentious issues, including climate finance, loss and damage, and the operationalization of key agreements like the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG).

Babayevs team, working around the clock, is focused on consolidating commitments and ensuring that all parties reach a unanimous decision on key outcomes.

With global attention on the proceedings in Baku, the next few days will be crucial in shaping the worlds collective response to the climate crisis. As Babayev concluded, This is our moment to show leadership and deliver the solutions our planet so urgently needs.

The outcomes of COP29 will set the tone for the coming decade of climate action, and the world will be watching closely.
United Nations, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Nov, 2024) Russia on Monday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate end to hostilities in Sudan, where a war between two rival generals has been raging since April 2023.

A draft of the resolution prepared by Britain and Sierra Leone, which was seen by AFP, had called on both sides to "immediately cease hostilities" and begin talks on "a national ceasefire."

Chairing a meeting of the council at UN headquarters, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the Russian decision a "disgrace" and angrily denounced Moscow's deputy UN ambassador, who ignored the remarks while looking at his phone.

"One country stood in the way of the council speaking with one voice. One country is the blocker," Lammy added in a speech that saw him repeatedly say "shame on Putin," referring to the Russian president.

The UN Security Council has been largely paralyzed in its ability to deal with conflicts from Ukraine to Gaza because of splits between permanent members, notably Russia and the United States.

A decision by US President Joe Biden to allow Ukraine to use long-range American-made missiles to strike inside Russia, reported for the first time on Sunday, has further ratcheted up tensions between the two powers.

American ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield denounced Russia for standing in the way of "actions to save lives in the world's worst humanitarian crisis."

But Russia's deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said the resolution had a "post-colonial flavoring" and accused Britain of expending "a lot of effort to delete from the text any mention of the legitimate authorities of Sudan."

In a statement, the Sudanese foreign ministry said it was "welcoming Russia's veto," adding that it viewed the gesture as "support for the independence and unity of Sudan and its national institutions."

Sudan has been ravaged by fighting between the regular army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who seized power in a 2021 coup, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by his one-time deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

Before Monday's vote, a diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity that Russia had appeared to become "visibly more aligned" with General Burhan's camp during negotiations over the draft.

During previous votes on Sudan in the Security Council, Moscow had abstained.

- Civilian toll -

The draft had called on member states to avoid any "external interference which foments conflict and instability" and urged all sides to respect an embargo against arms transfers to Darfur.

The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 11 million people, including 3.1 million who have fled the country, according to UN figures.

Recent weeks have seen violence flare up again, with each camp seemingly "convinced they can prevail on the battlefield," Rosemary DiCarlo, UN under-secretary-general for political affairs, said recently.

The fighting has taken a high toll among civilians, with some 26 million people facing severe food shortages and both sides exchanging accusations of sexual violence.

Against that backdrop, the draft resolution called on both parties to "fully implement" commitments made in 2023 to protect civilians, to "halt and prevent conflict-related sexual violence," and to allow "rapid, safe, unhindered" humanitarian access into and throughout Sudan.

Even if it had been adopted, it was unclear what effect the Sudan resolution would have produced.

A resolution in March calling for an "immediate" ceasefire during the month of Ramadan had little impact.

And a council demand in July for the RSF to end its "siege" of the city of El-Fasher, where thousands of civilians were trapped, was similarly ignored.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Turkiye supports the initiative of the COP29 Presidency to launch the Baku Global Platform, the country's Climate Change Directorate Chief Halil Hasar said during the COP29 ministerial roundtable on global climate transparency today, Trend reports.

This platform aims to provide the necessary support to developing countries and parties in the implementation of the Strengthened Transparency Framework. We'll be pleased to share the lessons and experiences that we have acquired in the reporting process under the Baku Global Climate Transparency Platform, he emphasized.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action - was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

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Vietnam Briefing has developed into a premium source for insight on doing business in Vietnam. It publishes business news concerning foreign direct investment into Vietnam, including the most important tax, legal and accounting issues. The Vietnam Briefing Magazine was first published in 2009, and is contributed to by investment professionals based in Vietnam.
Beirut schools were closed Monday after six people  including the media relations chief for Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon  were killed in airstrikes in the central part of the city a day earlier.

The strikes prompted the education ministry to shut schools and higher education institutions in the Beirut area for two days.

Hezbollah spokesperson Mohammad Afif was among four people killed in the Ras al-Nabaa district, Hezbollah and the Israeli military said.

Israel has rarely hit senior Hezbollah personnel who do not have clear military roles, and its air strikes have mostly targeted Beirut's southern suburbs where the group has its heaviest presence, Reuters reported.

Israel Defense Forces issued a statement about the precise, intelligence-based strike that killed Afif.

Since the beginning of the war, Afif wielded significant influence over Hezbollah's military operations. He was in contact with senior officials and directly involved in advancing and executing Hezbollahs terrorist activities against Israel, IDF said. Moreover, Afif directed Hezbollah operatives to gather footage from the field, to be used for Hezbollah's propaganda and psychological terror.

A second strike in central Beirut killed two people and wounded 22 in Mar Elias.

"Israeli warplanes launched a strike on the Mar Elias area," the official National News Agency said of the densely packed district that also houses people displaced by the conflict.

Eleven other people were killed in southern Lebanon Sunday, Agence France-Presse reported.

Deaths in Gaza

An Israeli strike in a tent sheltering displaced people in Gazas Khan Younis killed two children and their parents overnight, Palestinian officials said Monday.

The dead children were aged 7 and 9, and a 10-year-old child was also wounded, Civil Defense officials said.

On Sunday, Gaza's civil defense agency said 34 people were killed, including children, and dozens were missing after an Israeli air strike hit a five-story residential building in Beit Lahia.

"The chances of rescuing more wounded are decreasing because of the continuous shooting and artillery shelling," civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

The war in Gaza began with the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, during which the militants killed about 1,200 people and took 250 hostage. Hamas is still holding about 100 hostages, with a third of them believed to be dead.

Israels counteroffensive has killed nearly 44,000 Palestinians, with women and children more than half the verified total, according to the Gaza health ministry.

After months of rocket fire and airstrikes between Hezbollah and Israel, the fighting expanded in Lebanon mid-September. More than 3,200 Lebanese have been killed, most of them in the past six weeks.

Both Hezbollah and Hamas have been designated as terrorist organizations by the United States.

Information from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse was used in this report.
President Joe Biden is requesting nearly $100 billion in emergency disaster aid after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and other natural disasters, telling lawmakers that the money is "urgently needed."

The letter Monday to House Speaker Mike Johnson comes as lawmakers meet during a lame-duck session to finish key priorities before making way for a new Congress and the incoming Trump administration. Biden said he has met firsthand with those harmed by the storms and he heard what residents and businesses needed from the federal government.

"Additional resources are critical to continue to support these communities," Biden said.

The largest share of the money, about $40 billion, would go to the main disaster relief fund at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Biden said the fund would face a shortfall this budget year without additional money. He said that would not only affect the agency's ability to provide lifesaving assistance to survivors, but also would slow recovery efforts from prior disasters.

An additional $24 billion would help farmers that have experienced crop or livestock losses, and $12 billion would go toward community development block grants administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Some $8 billion more would help rebuild and repair highways and bridges in more than 40 states and territories. The administration is also seeking $4 billion for long-term water system upgrades to mitigate future damage from natural disasters. Several other agencies would also receive emergency funds if Congress agrees to the request.

Lawmakers were expecting a hefty number from the administration. Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, said Congress will evaluate the request and "we'll make sure we deliver for the hurricane victims and the people that have suffered from that."

The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to hear Wednesday from the heads of several of the government agencies that would receive funding through Biden's request. It's possible that emergency aid could be attached to any spending bill designed to keep federal agencies operating after current funding expires Dec. 20.

Biden noted that Congress had provided more than $90 billion in aid after Hurricane Katrina nearly two decades ago, and more than $50 billion after Hurricane Sandy in 2013. He urged Congress to take "immediate action."

"Just as the Congress acted then, it is our sworn duty now to deliver the necessary resources to ensure that everyone in communities reeling from Hurricanes Helene and Milton  and those still recovering from previous disasters  have the Federal resources they need and deserve," Biden wrote.
An emerging group of farmers and growers in Chile, known as seed guardians, aim to protect the traditional crops of their ancestors, keeping them safe from industrial agriculture and genetic modification.

The guardians collect, trade and plant hundreds of seeds to preserve forgotten varieties of tomatoes, corn and other vegetables that were historically farmed by the indigenous Mapuche people.

One such guardian, Ana Yanez, said the varieties the guardians aim to save are dwindling due to changing environments or farmers opting for higher-yield varieties.

"We are rescuing the seeds and knowledge of our ancestors," said Delfin Toro, another guardian. "How they harvested, how they sowed, the dynamics of the moon, when to plant, when to harvest."

The guardians are finding clients at high-end restaurants.

Pablo Caceres, a seed guardian and chef at Vik Winery's Pavilion restaurant in the Millahue Valley in central Chile, said he normally finds no more than five varieties of tomatoes at markets and fairs.

"This year we'll have 26 varieties of tomatoes and we think that there are more than 200," Caceres said.

This diversification could also help crops adapt to new terrain and areas affected by a changing climate. Ricardo Pertuze, an agronomist at the University of Chile, said new varieties are needed when climate change makes a crop's current location unsuitable.

The genetic diversity the guardians are collecting are essential to find those varieties, Pertuze said.

Wilson Hugo, an official at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, said the trend of safeguarding traditional seeds exists in other nations such as India, China, sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in countries of the former Soviet Union.

"We have to congratulate them and support them and that's probably not enough," Hugo said. "We need more of them. We need to do more of this kind of work."
China has been ramping up pressure on its neighbors, the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam, attempting to force them to cede their maritime claims in the resource-rich South China Sea.

China uses an arbitrary boundary drawn by Beijing, the so-called nine-dash line, to claim the bulk of the sea, while portraying its opponents defending their rights under international law as aggressors.

Tensions are particularly high between China and the Philippines.

Philippines Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on November 12, his country had become the victim of Chinese aggression.

"What we see is an increasing demand by Beijing for us to concede our sovereign rights in the area.

Frequent reports of Chinese Coast Guard ships ramming Philippines vessels, deploying water cannons and military-grade lasers against them underscore Teodoros allegations.

Yet Beijing claims it is the Philippines, not China, who is ratcheting up tensions.

When Reuters asked Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian about Teodoros allegations, Lin replied:

Every escalation between China and the Philippines  without exception  has been caused by Philippine provocations and violation of Chinas sovereignty. Calm will return once the Philippines stops those activities.

That is false.

In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague rejected Chinas sweeping claims to the South China Sea, ruling they violated the Philippines' rights to its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and territorial waters.

While signatory to the treaty, China has ignored that ruling and disregarded the Philippines rights under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which outlines the territorial waters of Chinas neighbors.

On November 8, the Philippines signed measures reinforcing their internationally recognized rights over the countrys maritime zones.

China responded by repeating the false claim that the 2016 Hague ruling is illegal, null and void, and accused the United States of inciting the Philippines to provoke unrest in the South China Sea.

On November 10, Beijing published geographic coordinates of straight baselines for the Scarborough Shoal, a maritime feature, which lies 220 kilometers east of the Philippines island of Luzon.

Baselines refer to the low water mark along a coast from which a territorial sea is measured. The territorial sea stretches 12 nautical miles from the baseline of a coastal state.

China seized the Scarborough Shoal in 2012 and maintains a blockade there. On November 13, China held air and sea combat drills around the shoal.

China has routinely drawn so-called straight baselines around maritime features in the South China Sea, used to determine the territorial waters of archipelagic states, like the Philippines, who are made up of one or more groups of islands.

Experts say Chinas strategy contravenes UNCLOS.

The U.S. Navy has long contended that China, recognized as a coastal, not archipelagic state under UNCLOS, has no legal right to establish baselines around entire dispersed island groups.

With these baselines, China has attempted to claim more internal waters, territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, and continental shelf than it is entitled to under international law, the U.S. Navy said.

Gunther Handl, a professor of international law at Tulane University, agreed, telling VOA in 2021 that China had no right to claim offshore islands as an archipelago.

The Hague Tribunal further found that the Scarborough Shoal, like other hide-tide features in the Spratly Islands, are legally rocks, not islands, and do not generate entitlements to an exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.

While the tribunal also found that both China and the Philippines have traditional fishing rights at the shoal, and that China had violated its duty to respect the traditional fishing rights of Philippine fishermen by halting access to the Shoal after May 2012.

China continues to deny the Philippines those rights.

The Philippines has also accused Chinese fighter jets of endangering the lives of a Philippine Air Force personnel flying near Scarborough Shoal.

Chinas aggressive actions extend beyond to other parts of the sea.

In September, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel rammed a Philippines Coast Guard ship with a 60 Minutes crew on board which was traveling to Sabina Shoal.

Sabina Shoal is located 150 kilometers west of the Philippine province of Palawan, well within its EEZ.

China has repeatedly harassed Philippines ships operating near Sabina Shoal, actions which the U.S. and its Western allies called unsafe, unlawful, and aggressive.

Beijing, denying the Philippines rights under UNCLOS, claims Sabina Shoal and the water around it are Chinese territory.

The Philippines filed 189 diplomatic protests with China from July 1, 2022, to November 12, 2024, citing Beijings encroachments on the Philippines sovereignty and other aggression actions.

The Philippines has turned to the U.S., a treaty ally, to shore up its security. That has included the U.S.s deployment of a mid-range Typhoon missile system to the Philippines in April, which set off alarm bells in Beijing.

On November 14, China called deployment of the missile system a dangerous move and a serious provocation that could spark an arms race in this region.
Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a range of measures to boost global development in his remarks Monday at G20 Summit meetings in Rio de Janeiro  highlighting Beijings support for its global infrastructure project, the Belt and Road, and a joint technology initiative to support so-called Global South nations.

Xi said the Open Science International Cooperation Initiative would be spearheaded by China, Brazil, South Africa and the African Union to ensure that technological advances benefit less developed, underdeveloped and developing nations.

"China supports the G20 in carrying out practical cooperation for the benefit of the Global South," Xi said, according to state news agency Xinhua. He also said China expects imports from developing countries to top $8 trillion between now and 2030.

The Global South generally refers to countries listed as developing by the United Nations but also includes China and several wealthy Gulf states. In recent years, China and Russia have stepped up their use of the grouping to highlight efforts to support the developing world and grow the political, military and economic influence.

Beyond advocating for the Global South, China is also using the G20 summit to bolster its bilateral ties, meeting with the leaders from Britain and Australia on Monday, as well as host Brazil.

Xis meeting on Monday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was a first for the two countries since 2018. Both sides were enthusiastic about building positive relations, despite a growing range of differences from security to human rights concerns.

During his meeting with Xi, Starmer said he wants relations between the two countries to be consistent, durable and respectful. He also stressed that Britain is committed to the rule of law.

Ties between Britain and China have been strained in recent years over a range of issues, including the case of Hong Kong media tycoon and British national Jimmy Lai, who is currently on trial in the port city, a former British colony.

Starmer raised Lais case directly during his meeting with Xi on Monday.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, Xi told Starmer that the two countries have the potential for more cooperation and should open up new prospects for China-U.K. ties.

During his meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Xi lauded what he called the "positive progress" in ties, according to Chinese state media. Much like Beijings relations with Britain, ties between Australia and China have been strained in recent years.

After the G20 summit, Xi will pay a state visit to Brazil in honor of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
With just two months remaining in President Joe Bidens administration, the United States is ramping up financial, military and diplomatic support for Kyivs effort to defend itself against Russian aggression.

At the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Biden and leaders of 20 of the worlds largest economies are meeting, U.S. officials are pushing for the strongest possible language on Ukraine, deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told VOA during a briefing Monday.

Western diplomats have renewed their push for stronger criticism on Moscow following Russias weekend airstrike, its largest on Ukrainian territory in months.

Theyve also warned that increased Russian war efforts could have a destabilizing effect beyond Europe. Earlier this month, the U.S. and Ukraine announced that North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops to help Moscow reclaim territory seized by Ukraine in Russias Kursk region.

However, the final leaders' statement did not include the language the U.S. pushed for. It highlights human suffering and the negative impacts of the war in Ukraine to the global economy without any condemnation to Russia. On Gaza, it called for cease-fire in Gaza and in Lebanon and commitment to the two-state solution, without mentioning Israels right to defend itself.

Finer acknowledges that finding a consensus on global conflicts is elusive given the diversity of the G20. In addition to mostly like-minded countries of the G7, the G20 also includes Russia, China and nations of the Global South.

Ever since the G20 summit in Bali in 2022  held months after Moscows invasion of Ukraine  the global grouping has faced challenges hammering out a response to the conflict.

Long-range missiles authorized

The U.S. has been surging its military assistance to Kyiv. It is also authorizing Ukraine to use American-supplied long-range missiles to strike inside Russia, according to media reports quoting officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Finer declined to confirm but said it is consistent with the U.S. approach of tailoring its response to meet developments on the ground to allow the Ukrainians to continue to defend their territory and their sovereignty.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that if true, authorization for Kyiv to strike inside Russia with U.S. long-range missiles, will mark a qualitatively new round of tensions and level of Washington's involvement in the Ukraine conflict.

Last week in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sought to reassure European allies that Biden is committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and January 20, the date of President-elect Donald Trumps inauguration.

Trump has been critical of using American taxpayers money to help Kyiv. Without providing details, Trump often boasts he can swiftly end the war  a statement that many in Europe fear would mean forcing Ukraine to capitulate.

Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he wants a just end to the war, and that a swift end means losses. On Saturday, he told Ukrainian public radio that under the Trump administration, the war will end faster.

This is their approach, the promise to their country, he said. And for them, it is also very important.

At the State Department, spokesperson Matthew Miller told VOA during Mondays briefing that the U.S. seeks an end to the war in Ukraine that upholds the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty, while ensuring it does not reward a dictator intent on seizing land by force.

The sentiment is shared by many European leaders, but they may ultimately be forced to accept a new political reality.

No government in Europe is going to officially endorse a land-for-peace deal at this point. Its diplomatically and legally impossible to do that, said Edward Hunter Christie, a former NATO official and now senior research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.

Behind the scenes, however, some European leaders believe Ukraines chances are not strong enough, Christie told VOA, especially if the U.S. under Trump does not continue its assistance to Ukraine.

The U.S. is racing to disburse $20 billion as part of a Biden-driven G7 initiative agreed in June to provide Kyiv with $50 billion in loans. The funds are to be paid back using interest income from Russian assets frozen in Western financial institutions.

A senior administration official briefing reporters in Rio told VOA they are working full speed to get the loan disbursed before the end of the year.

Climate change, poverty alleviation

G20 host Brazil has worked to keep the focus of talks away from global conflicts and more on addressing divisions in the ongoing U.N. conference on climate change in Azerbaijan, as well as accelerating efforts to reduce global hunger and poverty  an initiative championed by summit host President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Lulas approach to resist pressures from the G7 and the rest of the G20 on Ukraine and Gaza reflects Brazils strategy of multi-alignment in an increasingly fragmented global landscape, said Bruna Santos, director at the Wilson Centers Brazil Institute.

However, neutrality risks alienating all sides in an increasingly polarized world, Santos told VOA.

Negotiators in Rio have also been struggling to find consensus on shared language on climate financing, said diplomatic sources who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations.

Western nations have been pushing for China and wealthy Middle Eastern countries to join them in contributing to global funds for climate change mitigation  a proposal resisted by Brazil and other member countries of the Global South.

Another Lula proposal, a 2% tax on the super-rich that Brazil says can potentially generate up to $250 billion per year to help the worlds poor, has also met new resistance.

Argentinian right-wing President Javier Milei rejected the proposal after visiting Trump at his Florida residence, the first foreign leader to visit the president-elect.

Mileis rejection is an example of how as president-elect, Trump has already affected dynamics among world leaders and upended Bidens international priorities.



The senior administration told VOA that the U.S. was really supportive of Lulas proposal, which was very much in line with the fiscal policy Biden has pushed in his term.

In the G20 joint statement released Tuesday, leaders agreed to work to ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed.



State Department bureau chief Nike Ching contributed to this report.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. The special representative of the President of Russia for relations with international organizations to achieve sustainable development goals Boris Titov will address the upcoming sessions of the UN Climate Change Conference 2024 (COP29) in Azerbaijans Baku, Trend reports.

Titov is scheduled to speak on November 18 at the session titled "Climate Cooperation of BRICS Businesses  2024 and Future Prospects".

He will also address the session on November 21 on the "Sakhalin Climate Experiment: Results and Prospects for International Cooperation".

The discussion of the Sakhalin experiment is being presented at the UN conference for the first time after three years of its implementation.

This is one of the attempts to simulate, in a local setting, the carbon unit market that has been widely discussed. It is not the first attempt, but it is effective and certainly interesting for our colleagues from other countries, Titov said.

He emphasized that there are very few examples globally where CO2 emissions reporting is so thoroughly managed across all areas of human activity within a region. For Russia, it is especially important that the Sakhalin experiment takes place in a region where the fuel and energy sector plays a pivotal role.

Its crucial for us to develop an effective mechanism for reducing emissions without harming the extractive industries. I believe this experience has great practical value not only for Russia but also for others, he added.

The Sakhalin Climate Experiment aims to achieve carbon neutrality in the region by 2025, where greenhouse gas emissions are balanced by their absorption. It also seeks to establish a system for emissions trading that could later be scaled to other regions of Russia.

Enterprises that fail to meet the set emissions quotas have two options: they can either purchase the necessary carbon units from climate projects or pay a fine for every ton of CO2 emitted beyond the allowable limit. The first carbon trading auctions on Sakhalin are expected to take place in 2025.
The Netherlands' foreign minister, whose ministry oversees export restrictions on top computer chip equipment maker ASML, said on Monday that China-Russia trade was "directly affecting" European security.

NATO views China as a "decisive enabler" of Russia in its war against Ukraine, given that Chinese firms are selling goods that end up as components in Russian weapons, including drones, Caspar Veldkamp said before a meeting with European Union foreign ministers in Brussels.

"I raised this twice with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and I think as Europeans we should all do this, because this is something that China should be realizing: it is directly affecting European security," Veldkamp said.

In cooperation with the United States, the Dutch government has rolled out a series of progressively tighter export restrictions preventing ASML from shipping its most advanced technology to Chinese chipmakers.

ASML dominates the market for lithography tools, which are essential for making the circuitry of computer chips.

Despite the restrictions, China has still been the largest market for ASML and other top U.S. and Japanese equipment makers over the past year and a half, as Chinese firms expand capacity to make older chips not covered by restrictions, but still adequate for many military purposes.

ASML tool sales to Chinese firms reached a record $2.94 billion in the third quarter, though the company forecasts a decline in 2025.

Veldkamp said he would discuss what to do about Chinese support for Russia with other EU foreign ministers on Monday.

"We are discussing anything regarding foreign assistance to Russia in its war in Ukraine, be it Iran, be it North Korea, be it China," he said.
Many in Ukraine see the Biden administrations decision to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russian territory as a turning point in the war but welcome it with a mix of gratitude and frustration.

"Strikes are not made with words," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address. "The missiles will speak for themselves."

His tone reflects the high stakes involved in this decision, which comes as Ukraine braces for intensified Russian offensives following the reported deployment of 12,000 North Korean troops to bolster Moscows efforts.

Ukrainian officials and analysts see the U.S. authorization as a crucial move, allowing Ukraine to target key military installations in Russia, particularly in the Kursk region, where new threats are emerging. However, Andriy Zagorodnyuk, former Minister of Defense (20192020) and adviser to the government, said the delay in granting such permissions has cost Ukraine dearly.

"Ukraine has been asking for this for years, not months," Zagorodnyuk told VOA. "The administrations fear of escalation led to an overcautious approach. This reactive, piecemeal strategy  responding to Russian provocations rather than implementing a comprehensive plan  has not brought us closer to resolving the war. Instead, it has allowed Russia to escalate further."

Critical stage

The decision follows an escalation of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraines civilian infrastructure, yet the timing raises questions about the long-term strategy of Western allies.

Mark Voyger, director of the master's program in Global Management at American University Kyiv, emphasized the operational and psychological importance of the decision. "Operationally, these missiles can target Russian storage facilities, command centers, and even North Korean troops preparing for offensive actions," Voyger explained.

"Better late than never, the time for inaction and ... psychological [self-constraint] due to some presumed fear of escalation is over." Voyger highlighted the risks of delay. "This decision should have been made earlier to save lives and give Ukraine a stronger hand on the battlefield. The reactive approach only emboldens Russia to escalate further."

Zagorodnyuk echoed these sentiments, warning that the U.S. policy of incremental aid has hindered Ukraines ability to gain the upper hand. "This piecemeal strategy, like doing little steps, step by step, as a reaction [to] some escalation from Russia's side, is, first of all, escalatory itself. And secondly, [it] is not bringing us to any resolution of the war. Because we [are] essentially supporting Russia escalating the war.

Russian reaction

Moscow condemned the U.S. decision as an escalation of U.S. involvement in the war and warned of serious consequences.

"If such a decision was really formulated and brought to the attention of the Kyiv regime, then, of course, this is a qualitatively new round of tension and a qualitatively new situation in terms of the involvement of the United States in this conflict," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media.

Russian state media have amplified narratives accusing the U.S. of directly fueling the conflict, potentially laying the groundwork for further rhetorical or military escalations.

US leadership transition

The approaching U.S. transfer of power adds another layer of uncertainty.

There are fears in Kyiv that Washingtons critical support will be reversed, following President-elect Donald Trumps campaign promises to end the war quickly with no clear outline of a strategy.

"Unlike [U.S. President Joe] Biden, Trump immediately announced his ultimate goal to stop the war. The question is  how is he going to do that?" Zagorodnyuk said. While Ukrainians would welcome an end to the war, some people suggest all kinds of concessions from Ukraine, which he said, is not going to stop the war."

In a VOA interview, Voyger added that the Biden administrations timing of this decision might reflect concerns about securing support for Ukraine before a potential political shift. "If a new administration pulls back on military aid or restricts Ukraines ability to strike, it could significantly weaken Ukraines position on the battlefield and at the negotiating table," he said.

Stopping the war

Both analysts agree that stopping the war needs a robust and proactive Western strategy. This includes providing Ukraine with sufficient long-range missiles, expanding the scope of permissible targets, and ensuring consistent support regardless of political changes in Washington.

"The West needs to empower Ukraine to not just defend itself, but to achieve the operational success that forces Russia to reconsider its aggression, Voyger said.

Zagorodnyuk agrees the only way to force Russian President Vladimir Putin into serious negotiations is to put him in a position where he risks losing not just on the battlefield but also his hold on power. "The ideal situation for Ukraine would be that NATO allies, and first of all the United States, would provide us with the means to reach the effect [of] Putin [and Russia] losing its operations.

Ukraine can successfully do a series of counteroffensive operations [that] would bring Putin to a situation where he would understand that unless he stops the war, he would be losing tremendously, and that would impact his regime and his power.
Nearly three years after a couple from India and their two young children froze to death while trying to cross the border from Canada into the U.S., two men went on trial Monday on human smuggling charges, accused of being part of a criminal network that stretched around the world.

Prosecutors say Indian national Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, ran part of the scheme and recruited Steve Shand, 50, of Florida, to shuttle migrants across the border. Both men have pleaded not guilty in federal court in Minnesota. They're standing trial before U.S. District Judge John Tunheim, with proceedings expected to last about five days. They each face four counts related to human smuggling.

On January 19, 2022, Shand was allegedly waiting in a truck for 11 migrants, including the family of four from the village of Dingucha in Gujarat state. Prosecutors say 39-year-old Jagdish Patel; his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s; the couple's 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi; and 3-year-old son, Dharmik, died after spending hours wandering fields in blizzard conditions as the wind chill reached minus 36 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 38 Celsius).

Prosecutors say when Jagdish Patel's body was found, he was holding Dharmik, who was wrapped in a blanket.

Before jury selection began Monday morning, defense attorneys objected to prosecutors plan to show seven photos of the frozen bodies of Jagdish Patel and his family, including close-up images of the children.

Shand's attorney, Aaron Morrison, said the heart-wrenching images could cause extreme prejudice to the jury and asked for the photos to be removed as evidence.

Prosecutors argued the photos were necessary to show the family was not adequately prepared by Shand and Harshkumar Patel for the frigid conditions.

Tunheim allowed the images to remain evidence.

Patel is a common Indian surname and the victims were not related to Harshkumar Patel. Federal prosecutors say Harshkumar Patel and Shand were part of an operation that scouted clients in India, got them Canadian student visas, arranged transportation and smuggled them into the U.S., mostly through Washington state or Minnesota.

The U.S. Border Patrol arrested more than 14,000 Indians on the Canadian border in the year ending this Sept. 30. By 2022, the Pew Research Center estimates more than 725,000 Indians were living illegally in the U.S., behind only Mexicans and El Salvadorans.

Harshkumar Patels attorney, Thomas Leinenweber, told The Associated Press that his client came to America to escape poverty and build a better life for himself and now "stands unjustly accused of participating in this horrible crime. He has faith in the justice system of his adopted country and believes that the truth will come out at the trial. Attorneys for Shand did not return messages.

Court documents filed by prosecutors show Patel was in the U.S. illegally after being refused a U.S. visa at least five times, and that he recruited Shand at a casino near their homes in Deltona, Florida, just north of Orlando.

Over a five-week period, court documents say, Patel and Shand often communicated about the bitter cold as they smuggled five groups of Indians over a quiet stretch of border. One night in December 2021, Shand messaged Patel that it was cold as hell while waiting to pick up one group, the documents say.

They going to be alive when they get here? he allegedly wrote.

During the last trip in January, Shand had messaged Patel, saying: Make sure everyone is dressed for the blizzard conditions, please, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors say Shand told investigators that Patel paid him about $25,000 for the five trips.

Jagdish Patel grew up in Dingucha. He and his family lived with his parents. The couple were schoolteachers, according to local news reports.

Satveer Chaudhary is a Minneapolis-based immigration attorney who has helped migrants exploited by motel owners, many of them Gujaratis. He said smugglers and shady business interests promised many migrants an American dream that doesnt exist when they arrive.

The promises of the almighty dollar lead many people to take unwarranted risks with their own dignity, and as were finding out here, their own lives, Chaudhary said.
The Pentagon dismissed a new round of Russian accusations that the United States is pushing the war in Ukraine into ever more dangerous territory as reckless rhetoric, calling out Moscow and its allies for escalating tensions.

U.S. defense officials Monday declined to confirm media reports that President Joe Biden has decided to allow Kyiv to use Washington-supplied, long-range missiles to strike deeper inside Russian territory. But they said Moscow has no grounds for any complaints.

"What's adding fuel to the fire is the fact that DPRK [Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea] soldiers are now entering a fight, said Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh, in response to a question from VOA.

"We're talking about North Korean soldiers being used to take sovereign territory, Ukrainian sovereign territory, and continue to push this war forward, Singh said. That certainly we view as escalatory."

The U.S. estimates that there are at least 11,000 North Koreans troops moving into the Kursk region in southern Russia, which Ukraine captured in a surprise attack in August and still holds.

Singh said Monday, We have every expectation that they would be engaging in combat operations.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov slammed the reported U.S. decision on long-range missiles earlier Monday, saying it marks a "new spiral of tensions and a qualitatively new situation from the point of view of the U.S.'s engagement in the conflict.

Peskov claimed that Western countries supplying long-range weapons also provide targeting services to Kyiv. "This fundamentally changes the modality of their involvement in the conflict," Peskov said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin did not comment publicly, but Peskov referred journalists to a Putin statement in September, in which he said allowing Ukraine to target Russia would significantly raise the stakes in the conflict.

It would change "the very nature of the conflict dramatically," Putin said at the time. "This will mean that NATO countries  the United States and European countries  are at war with Russia."

Singh, however, pushed back, calling the Russian threats reckless.

"Any type of nuclear saber rattling is incredibly dangerous, she said, adding, "It's something that we're going to continue to monitor, but we haven't seen any changes to their [nuclear] posture."

Russian officials have previously suggested that increased support for Ukraine by the U.S. and NATO could allow Moscow to respond with nuclear weapons.

Until now, the United States had allowed Ukraine to deploy shorter-range American weapons, like the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems the U.S. donated in the first months of the war, to hit Russian targets over the border from Ukraine's Kharkiv region. The range of these rockets was around 80 kilometers, but the Biden decision will allow the use of Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, rockets that can reach targets of up to about 300 kilometers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had lobbied Washington for months to be allowed to use the longer-range rockets against military targets deep inside Russia, contending they were needed to hit rocket arsenals and other weaponry being stored by Russia before their use targeting Ukraines cities and electrical grids.

Biden, until now, had resisted allowing use of the longer-range missiles for fear it would escalate the war and tensions with the U.S.-led NATO military alliance. But North Koreas deployment of troops to fight alongside Moscows forces alarmed Washington.

ATACMS are long-range guided missiles produced by U.S. aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin. The missiles carry a 227-kilogram fragmentation warhead and are tough to intercept due to their high speed.

The rockets are fitted with a specialized GPS and carry cluster munitions. When the clusters open in the air, hundreds of bomblets are released rather than a single warhead.

Whether the Biden decision to supply the missiles  and how many  remains in place when President-elect Donald Trump takes office January 20 is uncertain. Trump has expressed skepticism about continued U.S. support for Ukraine, declining during a September political debate to say that he wanted Ukraine to win the war.

Trump has claimed he would broker an end to the war before he takes office but not said how he would accomplish that.

The president-elect has not commented publicly on the Biden decision to supply Ukraine with the longer-range missiles, but his son, Donald Trump Jr., quickly criticized it.

The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives, he said on social media.

Bidens policy shift came as a Russian ballistic missile with cluster munitions on Sunday evening struck a residential area of Sumy, a city in northern Ukraine, killing 11 people, including two children, and injuring 84 others.

On Monday, another Russian missile attack started fires in two apartment blocks in Odesa, in southern Ukraine. At least eight people were killed and 18 were injured, including a child, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said.

The Sumy attack on Sunday followed a massive Russian bombardment of Ukraines power infrastructure earlier in the day.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its allies should focus on really forcing Russia to end the war.

Today marked one of the largest and most dangerous Russian attacks in the entire war  210 drones and missiles launched simultaneously  including hypersonic and aeroballistic ones, Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Sunday.

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
United Nations climate talks resumed Monday with negotiators urged to make progress on a stalled-out deal that could see developing countries get more money to spend on clean energy and adapting to climate-charged weather extremes.

U.N. Climate Change executive secretary Simon Stiell called for countries to "cut the theatrics and get down to real business."

"We will only get the job done if Parties are prepared to step forward in parallel, bringing us closer to common ground," Stiell said to a room of delegates in Baku, Azerbaijan. "I know we can get this done."

Climate and environment ministers from around the world have arrived at the summit to help push the talks forward.

"Politicians have the power to reach a fair and ambitious deal," said COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev at a press conference at the venue. "They must deliver and engage immediately and constructively."

Climate cash is still a sticking point

Talks in Baku are focused on getting more climate cash for developing countries to transition away from fossil fuels, adapt to climate change and pay for damages caused by extreme weather. But countries are far apart on how much money that will require.

A group of developing nations last week put the sum at $1.3 trillion, while rich countries are yet to name a figure. Several experts estimated that the money needed for climate finance is around $1 trillion.

"We all know it is never easy in politics and in international politics to talk about money, but the cost of action today is, as a matter of fact, much lower than the cost of inaction," said Wopke Hoekstra, the EU climate commissioner at press conference.

"We will continue to lead to do our fair share and even more than our fair share, as we've always done," he said. But Hoekstra added that "others have a responsibility to contribute based on their emissions and based on their economic growth too."

Teresa Anderson, the Global Lead on Climate Justice at ActionAid International, was skeptical about rich countries' intentions.

"The concern is that the pressure to add developing countries to the list of contributors is not, in fact, about raising more money for frontline countries," Anderson said. "Rich countries are just trying to point the finger and have an excuse to provide less finance. That's not the way to address runaway climate breakdown, and is a distraction from the real issues at stake."

Rachel Cleetus from the Union of Concerned Scientists said $1 trillion in global climate funds "is going to look like a bargain five, 10 years from now."

"We're going to wonder why we didn't take that and run with it," she said, citing a multitude of costly recent extreme weather events from flooding in Spain to hurricanes Helene and Milton in the United States.

Robert Habeck, Germany's climate and economic affairs minister said rich nations shouldn't try to stop developing nations from producing more energy, but it has to come from cleaner sources.

"They have the same right to create same work, same education and health system," he said. "On other hand, if we're they are doing the same as we did for 100 years of burning fossil energy, that is completely messed up."

Climate watchers keep an eye on Rio and Paris

Meanwhile, the world's biggest decision makers are halfway around the world as another major summit convenes. Brazil is hosting the Group of 20 summit, which runs Nov. 18-19, bringing together many of the world's largest economies. Climate change  among other major topics like rising global tensions and poverty  will be on the agenda.

COP President Babayev said the world "cannot succeed" in its climate goals without G20 nations.

"We urge them to use the G20 meeting to send a positive signal of their commitment to addressing the climate crisis. We want them to provide clear mandates to deliver," he said.

Harjeet Singh, global engagement director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, said G20 nations "cannot turn their backs on the reality of their historical emissions and the responsibility that comes with it."

"They must commit to trillions in public finance," he said.

Also on Monday, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has been mulling a proposal to cut public spending for foreign fossil fuel projects. The OECD  made up of 38 member countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan and Germany  are discussing a deal that could prevent up to $40 billion worth of carbon-polluting projects.

At COP29, activists are protesting the U.S., South Korea, Japan, and Turkey who they say are the key holdouts preventing the agreement in Paris from being finalized.

"It's of critical importance that President Biden comes out in support. We know it's really important that he lands a deal that Trump cannot undo. This can be really important for Biden's legacy," said Lauri van der Burg, Global Public Finance Lead at Oil Change international. "If he comes around, this will help mount pressure on other laggards including Korea, Turkey and Japan."
The Philippines and the United States signed on Monday a military intelligence-sharing deal in a further deepening of defense ties between the two nations facing common security challenges in the region.

Visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signed the agreement with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, at Manila's military headquarters where both officials also broke ground for a combined coordination center that will facilitate collaboration between their armed forces.

Called the General Security of Military Information Agreement or GSOMIA, the pact allows both countries to share classified military information securely.

"Not only will this allow the Philippines access to higher capabilities and big-ticket items from the United States, it will also open opportunities to pursue similar agreements with like-minded nations," said Philippines' defense ministry spokesperson Arsenio Andolong.

Security engagements between the United States and the Philippines have deepened under President Joe Biden and his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr., with both leaders keen to counter what they see as China's aggressive policies in the South China Sea and near Taiwan.

The two countries have a mutual defense treaty dating back to 1951, which could be invoked if either side came under attack, including in the South China Sea.

"I want to start by underscoring our ironclad commitment to the Philippines," Austin said during the groundbreaking ceremony for the coordination center.

Austin said the coordination center should enable real-time information sharing between the two defense treaty allies and boost interoperability.

It will be a place where our forces can work side by side to respond to regional challenges," Austin said.

The Philippines has expressed confidence the alliance will remain strong under incoming U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.

Both the Philippines and the United States face increasingly aggressive actions from China in the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship-borne commerce, which it claims almost entirely as its own.

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague said China's claims had no legal basis, siding with the Philippines, which brought the case.

But China has rejected the ruling, leading to a series of sea and air confrontations with the Philippines that have turned the highly strategic South China Sea into a potential flashpoint between Washington and Beijing.

"The United States' presence in the Indo Pacific region is essential for maintaining peace and stability in this region," Teodoro said during the inauguration, echoing previous remarks made by Marcos.
After a monthslong delay, the national security trial of pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai is due to resume Wednesday in Hong Kong amid continued calls for his immediate release.

Founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, Lai has been held in solitary confinement since late 2020. His trial began in December 2023 and was initially estimated to last about 80 days.

Lai, 77, is expected to take the stand for the first time once the trial restarts.

Lais son Sebastien has been a staunch advocate for his fathers release. A top concern for Sebastien is the severe toll that years of solitary confinement have taken on his father.

Given his age, given the fact that he is in the conditions that hes in, theres a danger to his life, and he could  it breaks my heart to say this  but he could pass away at any moment, he told VOA in September.

The trial, which rights groups have decried as bogus, has been adjourned since July. Lai, a British national, is standing trial on charges of collusion with foreign forces and sedition, which he rejects.

The charges are widely viewed as politically motivated, but if convicted, Lai faces life in prison.

Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, head of Lais international legal team, said she expects the trial to continue into 2025.

In any case, that would be very serious. But when youre dealing with an elderly, diabetic prisoner, its a travesty, Gallagher told VOA in September.

Last week, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention determined that Lai is unlawfully and arbitrarily detained in Hong Kong and has called for his immediate release.

And in September, Lais international legal team made an urgent appeal to the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, alleging that Lai was being denied specialized medical care for diabetes.

Last month, a Hong Kong government spokesperson rejected what they described as unreasonable smears that Lai is not receiving adequate medical care and said Hong Kong is underpinned by the rule of law.

Hong Kong authorities have also previously denied that Lais trial is unfair.

The journalists plight has come to symbolize the rapid deterioration of press freedom and the broader impact on civil liberties in Hong Kong following the implementation in 2020 of Beijings harsh national security law.

Lais case resonates with many Hong Kongers, multiple rights experts told VOA, because the one-time billionaire had the means to flee Hong Kong and avoid prison, but he instead chose to stay and fight for freedom.

Hes doing it for the spirit of freedom, for the city, for the future of Hong Kong people  not for himself at all, Yaqiu Wang, China research director at Freedom House, told VOA.

Although the United Kingdom has called for Lais release, the British government has faced criticism from rights groups and activists who say it isnt doing enough to advocate on behalf of Lai.

On Monday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised concerns about Lai in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

We are concerned by reports of Jimmy Lais deterioration, Starmer said at the beginning of the meeting.

And earlier this month, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with Sebastien Lai.

We will continue to press for his immediate release and for consular access, Lammy said in a later statement about the senior Lai.

Lais trial is set to resume one day after dozens of prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists are sentenced in the largest case under the national security law. On Tuesday, 45 activists are scheduled to be sentenced under the harsh law.

The activists were among 47 people charged with conspiracy to commit subversion in 2021 for their involvement in an unofficial primary election to select opposition candidates.

Although Lais trial appears to be far from over, Sebastien Lai says he tries to remain optimistic.

Im sure Ill see my father again, Sebastien said, and I wont stop until he is free.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct Jimmy Lai's age.
Demonstrators in Georgia's capital have set up tents on a central thoroughfare and vowed Monday to stay around the clock to demand new parliamentary elections in the country.

The October 26 election kept the governing Georgian Dream party in power, but opponents say the vote was rigged with Russia's assistance. Many Georgians viewed the election as a referendum on the country's effort to join the European Union. Several large protests have been held since then.

President Salome Zourabichvili, who has rejected the official results, declared on Monday that she would appeal the vote results to the Constitutional Court. Zourabichvili, who holds a mostly ceremonial position, has said Georgia has fallen victim to pressure from Moscow against joining the EU.

Critics have accused Georgian Dream, established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia, of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.

On Sunday, demonstrators closed an avenue leading into the center of Tbilisi. Nika Melia, leader of Coalition for Change, one of the opposition groups, voiced hope that the protests around the clock will mark "the beginning of the intense, strong protest movement that will finish with the fall of Ivanishvili's regime."

The EU suspended Georgia's membership application process indefinitely in June after the country's parliament passed a law requiring organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as "pursuing the interest of a foreign power," similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government.

The Central Election Commission said Georgian Dream won about 54% of the vote in October. Its leaders have rejected opposition claims of vote fraud. European election observers said the election took place in a "divisive" atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.
A Russian attack on Ukraines northeast city of Sumy killed 11 people and injured at least 89, Ukrainian officials said.

"Sunday evening for the city of Sumy became hell, a tragedy that Russia brought to our land," military administrator Volodymyr Artyukh said in a post on the Telegram messaging channel.

Sumy regional prosecutors said the attack damaged 90 apartments, 28 cars, two educational institutions and 13 buildings.

The attack followed a massive Russian bombardment of Ukraines power infrastructure earlier in the day, as well as news reports that the United States granted clearance for Ukraine to use long-range U.S. weapons to hit military targets in Russia.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country and its allies should focus on really forcing Russia to end the war.

Today marked one of the largest and most dangerous Russian attacks in the entire war - 210 drones and missiles launched simultaneously  including hypersonic and aeroballistic ones, Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.

Zelenskyy has long been lobbying for permission to use the Army Tactical Missile System, known by its initials ATACMS, to hit targets inside Russia. He said in his address that negotiating with Russian President Vladimir Putin is not an effective strategy to end the war.

This is the answer to all those who wanted to achieve something with Putin through conversations, phone calls, hugs  appeasement. Today, this dove of peace sent us yet another barrage of Kinzhal and Kalibr missiles. Thats his diplomacy. His language is treachery, Zelenskyy said.

Long-range capabilities

President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied missiles to strike deeper inside Russia, easing limitations on the longer range weapons as Russia deploys up to 12,000 North Korean troops to reinforce its war, according to a U.S. official and three other people familiar with the matter, the Associated Press reported.

In recent weeks, Putin has positioned troops  including those from North Korea - along the northern border of Ukraine in a push to regain territory.

Biden had been opposed to any escalation of the war in Ukraine, and Putin has said Moscow could provide long-range weapons for others to hit Western targets if NATO allies allow Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory.

But Zelenskyy has argued that the restriction on long-range weapons has hampered Ukraines defense against Russian attacks. Long-range capabilities, he said, are a key component of Ukraines victory plan.

Today, theres a lot of talk in the media about us receiving permission for respective actions. But strikes are not carried out with words. Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak for themselves, Zelensky said. They certainly will.

Russia downs 59 drones

Meanwhile, Russia shot down 59 Ukranian drones overnight, according to the Russian defense ministry.

"During the past night, attempts by the Kyiv regime to carry out terrorist UAV attacks against targets on the territory of the Russian Federation were thwarted," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said most of the drones were shot down across three regions bordering Ukraine: 45 in Bryansk, six in Kursk and three in Belgorod, Agence France-Presse reported.

Three drones were intercepted in the region of Tula, south of the capital, while two others were downed over the Moscow region.

Ukraine's air force said on Monday that it shot down eight out of 11 Russian drones during an overnight attack.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Press.
Muhammad Awad and his family are among dozens who escaped Sudan's Tuti island earlier this year amid a siege by the Rapid Support Forces, finding refuge at a shelter after surviving for months on scant food and the risk of disease.

The island in the middle of the Nile serves as a microcosm for the devastation unleashed by a war that began in April 2023.

More than 61,000 people are estimated to have died in Khartoum state during the first 14 months of Sudans war, significantly more than previously recorded, according to a new report.

Activists report that the RSF charged people large sums to evacuate them.

"There is no good food, and there's a lot of diseases, there is no sleep, no safety," Awad said, holding one of his children at the shelter for displaced residents in Omdurman, an army-controlled refuge.

The island is one of 14 places across Sudan at risk of famine, according to experts. Dengue fever has ravaged Tuti, a close-knit farming community.

Sarah Siraj, a mother who left with her two children, said six or seven people were dying daily, and that she was only able to have her children treated for dengue, a mosquito-borne disease, once she reached Omdurman.

Charity kitchens have been forced to close in Tuti and elsewhere in the capital Khartoum due to lack of funding and supplies, and high prices.

Rabeea Abdel Gader, a nutrition guide, has been treating newly arrived families at a city shelter.

"We ask the mother about what they eat.... Sometimes the mother responds with her tears. She cannot reply because of their conditions," she said.

The RSF did not respond to a request for comment by Reuters.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. The eighth day of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) has kicked off today in Baku, Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

The major event has brought together representatives, leaders, and climate experts from around the world.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action  was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

Trend offers interesting footage from the eighth day of COP29:

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
In the past two months, more than half a million people have fled into Syria from Lebanon, many of them refugees who initially fled the Syrian war. Those returning to Idlib, the last rebel stronghold in Syria, say they are escaping to a place that is only a little safer than Lebanon, without homes, jobs or humanitarian aid waiting for them. Heather Murdock reports from Istanbul with Moawia Atrash in Idlib, Syria. Additional camera work by Ahmad Fallaha.
Two of U.S. President-elect Donald Trumps key nominations  Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and former lawmaker Matt Gaetz as attorney general -- have become embroiled in sex controversies that could threaten their Senate confirmations to serve in Trumps Cabinet.



Hegseth, 44, paid an undisclosed amount to a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017 to avert the threat of what he viewed as a baseless claim becoming public, his lawyer, Tim Parlatore, told U.S. news media this weekend.



Gaetz, 42, resigned abruptly last week from the House of Representatives near the end of his fourth two-year term, just days before the House Ethics Committee was nearing conclusion of an investigation into whether he had had sex with a 17-year-old girl and engaged in illicit drug use. Some lawmakers have described Gaetz showing nude cellphone pictures of his sexual conquests in the House chamber.



Gaetz has denied the allegations and federal authorities had earlier this year decided not to bring charges.

Hegseths lawyer, Parlatore, described Hegseths hotel sexual encounter with the woman after a Republican womens event in Monterey, California, in 2017 as consensual. Local police, after an investigation, did not file any charges.



Parlatore told The Washington Post that Hegseth settled the womans claim a few years later because he believed the filing of her threatened lawsuit would result in his immediate termination from Fox, where he was the popular host of a weekend talk show.



"He was falsely accused, and my position is that he was the victim of blackmail," Parlatore told The Associated Press, calling it a case of "successful extortion." The womans name has not been made public, and U.S. news media do not usually disclose the names of alleged sexual assault victims without their consent.



Parlatores statements to news outlets came after a woman who said she is a friend of the accuser sent a detailed memo to the Trump transition several days ago detailing the Hegseth incident with his accuser. The accuser alleged that Hegseth had raped her after drinking at a hotel bar.



Trump so far has stood by Hegseth, an unconventional selection as the Pentagon chief.



Some Democratic and Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about Hegseths lack of a managerial background, either at the Defense Department or at a business. The Pentagon chief would oversee more than 2 million U.S. troops and a civilian work force of nearly 800,000 people.



In addition, some critics have raised concerns about a large tattoo on Hegseths upper right chest, which he characterizes as a Christian symbol, a Jerusalem cross, but what his critics say is a white nationalist symbol. Hegseth told one interviewer that he was removed by superiors from a National Guard detail handling security for President Joe Bidens inauguration in 2021 for fear that he was an extremist because of the tattoo.



When the allegations against Hegseth first emerged, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung contended that Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations. We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get started on Day One to Make America Safe and Great Again.

Even though voters in his Florida district had just reelected him to a fifth term, Gaetz resigned from his office Wednesday, ending the investigation.



Several U.S. senators, Republicans and Democrats alike, are seeking access to the House Ethics Committee findings in the Gaetz investigation as they carry out their constitutionally mandated advice and consent role in reviewing Cabinet nominees made by an incoming president.



House Speaker Mike Johnson, the leader of the narrow Republican majority in the chamber, is balking at the release of what he told CNNs State of the Union show was a report in rough draft form.



Johnson contended that no ethics report should be made public because Gaetz is no longer a member of Congress, although there have been instances where that has occurred in the past.



He said senators reviewing the Gaetz nomination as the countrys top law enforcement official will have a vigorous review and vetting process but that they did not need to see the House Ethics Committees report. Some senators have suggested they could move to subpoena it if it is not turned over to them voluntarily.



Trump has also stood by Gaetzs nomination, but the president-elect also has sought  with little success so far  to get the Senate, in Republican control come January when he takes office, to agree to recess at times so he can name and install his Cabinet members without the need for contentious and time-consuming confirmation hearings.

Also Sunday, Trump named Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the new chairman of the agency.

The FCC is an independent agency that is overseen by Congress, and tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband.

Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC's general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
The U.K. government hit Iran with new sanctions Monday for sending ballistic missiles and other weapons to Russia to support the war against Ukraine.

The Foreign Office said it would freeze assets for Irans national airline and its state-owned shipping company that helped transfer weapons. The state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) will face an asset freeze for its role in supplying weapons to Russia for use on the battlefield against Ukraine, Britain said.

Britain will also sanction the Russian cargo ship Port Olya-3 that delivered the missiles from Iran.

Irans attempts to undermine global security are dangerous and unacceptable," Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement in advance of announcing the sanctions at the U.N. Security Council. Alongside our international partners, we were clear that any transfer of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia would face a significant response."

The announcement came on the eve of the 1,000th day of the war in Ukraine and the day after U.S. President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use missiles supplied by Washington to strike deeper inside Russia.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at the G20 summit in Brazil that we need to double down to support Ukraine as long as necessary.

The asset freezes will restrict Iran Airs ability to operate direct services to and from the United Kingdom and will prevent U.K. citizens or businesses from financial dealings with those entities, the office said.

The actions follow a previous round of sanctions against Iran and Russia that Britain announced in September alongside Germany and France.
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Russia launched a massive airstrike campaign against neighboring Ukraine on Sunday. Local officials say several people died and the power system suffered severe damage. VOAs Arash Arabasadi has more.
Key Takeaways

An AI program can help spot undetected cases of early fatty liver disease

The AI found hundreds of undiagnosed cases among a set of health records

About 83% of patients with fatty liver disease hadnt been diagnosed

MONDAY, Nov. 18, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- AI can help doctors diagnose early cases of fatty liver disease, a new study says.

An AI program trained to spot a leading type of the disease, called metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), unearthed hundreds of undiagnosed cases among the electronic health records of patients within the University of Washington Medical System, researchers report.

A significant proportion of patients who meet criteria for MASLD go undiagnosed, said lead researcher Dr. Ariana Stuart, a resident at the University of Washington in Seattle. This is concerning because delays in early diagnosis increase the likelihood of progression to advanced liver disease.

In the study, the AI program identified 834 patients whose imaging scans indicated they had fatty liver disease, but only 137 had a formal diagnosis in their medical record.

That means that 83% of patients with fatty liver disease remained undiagnosed, even though data already in their electronic health record supported such a diagnosis, researchers said.

Stuart presented the study Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in San Diego. Such research should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

People should not interpret our findings as a lack of primary care training or management, Stuart said in a meeting news release. Instead, our study shows how AI can complement physician workflow to address the limitations of traditional clinical practice.

As many as 42% of U.S. adults have some form of fatty liver disease, according to another study, published earlier this month in the journal Nature Communications Medicine.

Obesity, drinking and type 2 diabetes are the main drivers behind fatty liver disease, the earlier study reported.

If left untreated, fatty liver disease can lead to scarring of the liver and increase a persons risk of liver disease and liver cancer.

Early diagnosis of fatty liver disease is key to preventing its progression to more severe disease, Stuart noted.

More information

The Cleveland Clinic has more about metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease.

SOURCE: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, news release, Nov 16, 2024

What This Means For You

People who are overweight or obese should talk to their doctor about testing for fatty liver disease.
Key Takeaways

Some parents are struggling to deal with their kids anger

One in seven say their kids get angrier than children around them, and four in 10 say anger has caused their child trouble

Seven in 10 parents worry they sometimes set a bad example of handling anger

MONDAY, Nov. 18, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Angry outbursts are common among children, as siblings squabble and kids protest the unfairness of rules like screen time limits.

Now, a new survey shows that many parents struggle to manage their kids anger, and some even suspect theyre not providing a good example themselves.

Seven in 10 parents think they sometimes don't handle anger well and their kids may model that behavior, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Childrens Hospital National Poll on Childrens Health.

One in seven parents think their kids get angrier than peers the same age, and four in 10 say their child has experienced negative consequences when angry, the poll found.

Children often react intensely to minor frustrations since theyre still building emotional regulation skills. Without guidance on how to express these feelings appropriately, it can lead to disruptive behaviors, problems at school and strained relationships, said Mott Poll co-director Sarah Clark.

Parents play an important role in teaching children how to process and manage their anger productively, Clark added in a hospital news release. But some parents may need guidance themselves on the best strategies to do this.

More parents of boys than girls said their child has gotten angry enough to hurt themselves or others, have problems with friends or get in trouble at school, the poll found.

However, parents may not always use effective strategies to address a childs anger. In fact, the poll found that only one in three parents said they've received any advice about helping kids learn anger management.

Even though more than three-fifths say their kids school has teachers or counselors to help children manage anger, less than half say the school provides information for parents on the topic.

Children who feel or express emotions strongly may feel different from others, and if they are shamed for their anger, it could make it much worse, Clark said. Its important for parents to let children know that getting angry does not make them a bad person and that they just need to learn to manage it."

Parents said strategies that help children process anger include:

Cool-off activities like drawing, counting to 10 or deep breathing

Physical outlets like ripping paper or squeezing a stress ball

Providing a friendly ear so they have a chance to vent and be heard

For many children, effective strategies involve taking some type of break from the momentary frustration, allowing the opportunity to calm down and regain control, Clark said. Theres no magic strategy that works for every child, so its helpful for parents to seek out different sources of information and advice and try different approaches.

Parents can also help prevent angry outbursts by making sure they get enough sleep and exercise, identifying and avoiding anger triggers like feelings of fear or disappointment and avoiding over-scheduling.

Anger is often a secondary emotion or a response to underlying feelings, Clark said. Understanding this may help adults approach situations with empathy and patience.

Parents also should take the time to praise kids when they handle their anger constructively, Clark added.

Rewarding children for successfully managing a frustrating situation can send a positive message, Clark said. However, punishing a child for getting angry or frustrated will be ineffective unless parents emphasize the importance of using strategies to manage their frustration.

Some children have temperaments that make them more prone to frustration, leading to quicker and more intense reactions, Clark added.

Finally, parents should keep in mind that their children likely face different challenges and frustrations at school than at home, Clark said.

At school, children have less control. Theyre around peers, dont have their own space, are forced to follow someone elses schedule, and they cant avoid things that make them upset, Clark said. Its important for parents to understand how their children express emotions in this environment outside of home.

School conferences can provide parents insight into how their kid handles day-to-day frustrations, and could inform teachers of anger-management strategies that work at home and might be adapted to the school setting, Clark said.

More information

The Child Mind Institute has more on anger management in children.

SOURCE: University of Michigan, news release, Nov. 18, 2024

What This Means For You

Parents can help their kids learn appropriate anger management techniques.
Dune: Prophecy The Hidden Hand Season 1 Episode 1 Editors Rating 3 stars * * * Previous Next   Previous Episode Next Episode  Photo: Attila Szvacsek/HBO

Until Denis Villeneuve came along, adapting Frank Herberts novel Dune into a workable movie seemed like an impossible dream, nobly attempted once by David Lynch under the supervision of producers Dino and Raffaella De Laurentiis but to little critical or commercial success. If anything, the idea of adapting Dune was always more compelling than actually doing it, which is why Alejandro Jodorowskys extraordinary vision for the film, preserved in the documentary Jodorowskys Dune, stands as its greatest incarnation, a theoretical mind trip with music by Pink Floyd, visual effects by Dan OBannon and H.R. Giger, and a proposed cast that included Salvador Dali, Orson Welles, Mick Jagger, and Udo Kier in major roles. (Jodorowsky was set to cast his own son as Paul Atreides, which is just one of the thousand hubristic reasons that funding was pulled.)

The trouble with Dune as a movie is that Herberts book is both a thrilling space adventure, full of palace intrigue and giant sandworms, and a hallucinatory freakout on a galactic scale, and its rare for any one director to have the capacity to do both at once. (Lynch wasnt a bad choice, honestly. With greater resources and control, his Dune might have been a masterpiece.) Villeneuve solved the Dune problem by mastering the space adventure side of the equation and replacing the books more mystical aspects with an imposing, thunderous world-building that overwhelmed you with scale. To some extent, you dont love the Villeneuve movies so much as feel defeated by them, like the freaks from House Harkonnen had landed their ship in your backyard.

Inspired by Herberts book and Sisterhood of Dune, a prequel novel by Herberts eldest son Brian and Kevin J. Anderson, Dune: Prophecy burned through multiple creative teams  that drama is detailed crisply in Noel Murrays curtain-raiser in the New York Times  before settling with showrunner Alison Schapker. Despite the many hands involved, this first episode of Dune: Prophecy makes the conservative choice to follow the Villeneuve visual template (if not the audio one) and build it out into a Game of Thronesstyle series of warring houses and interstellar political intrigue. Thats creeping awfully far from the soul of Dune  having not read any of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Andersons prequel novels, perhaps the creeping starts there  and its hard to see evidence so far of the allegorical weight of Herberts original novel, with its veiled references to the fight over oil and jihadists in the Middle East. Maybe some notable themes will surface as the show unfolds, but its such a heavy lift to get it off the ground that some patience may be necessary.

At the same time, mission drift is baked into Dune: Prophecy, which is about the best-laid plans of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood 10,000 years before they engineered the birth of Paul Atreides. (Its basically like the Charlie Day Conspiracy meme from Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia if the bulletin board were the size of the Green Monster at Fenway Park.) In the context of Herberts Dune, the multi-millennia-long conspiracy in human engineering necessary to yield a messianic hero of startling apocalyptic power sounds supercool, giving Paul a Chosen One stature of virtually unparalleled magnitude. But Dune: Prophecy reveals the obvious, which is that humans are imperfect and often at cross-purposes and its a miracle we can come together to make a club sandwich, much less create the defining force of the universe.

To her credit, however, Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson) has a strong, clear vision, and she refuses to let anyone shake her from it  which, given her familys reputation, casts the Bene Gesserit plot in a dark shadow. In her opening narration, Valya seethes at the historical accounts of recent history, where House Atreides was credited with leading humankinds successful rebellion against the thinking machines that enslaved them while her great-grandfather reputedly abandoned the fight. Valya sees the Bene Gesserits mission as a means to redeem the Harkonnen name  spoiler alert: It doesnt  but the whole idea of the Sisterhood is that its members have no greater allegiance to any group outside of their own. The relationships they foster and the alliances they form are always in line with the overarching plan.

In The Hidden Hand, that plan is to have a genetic stake in a royal bloodline, specifically that of Princess Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina), heir to the Golden Lion throne currently occupied by Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong), whos in charge of managing the spice harvest on the planet Arrakis. Against his own best judgment, Corrino has made an arrangement with House Richese to marry off Ynez to the very young prince Pruwet, which would help secure a fleet of fighters to hold off the attacks that have stalled the harvesters on Arrakis. Though Ynez goes through with the exceedingly awkward ceremony, it will take a while for Purwet to grow into the marriage itself and in the meantime, she intends to join the Bene Gesserit as an acolyte, adding its mystical and philosophical teachings to the combat skills shes been honing on her own. Valya and her sister Tula (Olivia Williams) have high hopes for their new recruit, who Valya is convinced is part of the prophecy, but Sister Kasha, whos mentored Ynez under Corrino, has been gripped by disturbing portents of things to come.

The episode sets the table for a lot of drama to come, including the introduction of Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel), the unlikely survivor of a devastating attack on Corrinos soldiers on Arrakis. Desmond comes back from the desert planet, insisting that the ambush was not from the native Fremon but from insurgents from allied houses. (For what its worth, Kasha, a trained TruthSayer for Emperor Corrino, feels that Desmond isnt lying.) In the most dramatic moment of the hour  a sequence that echoes the middle-of-the-night attack that wipes out House Atreides in Dune: Part One  Desmond breaks up the new marriage by scorching young Purwet to death with his mind, with Kasha suffering a similar fate simultaneously.

Theres a war hiding in plain sight, he tells the poor boy before killing him. Winning a war requires a great sacrifice. And yours wont be in vain. With this, Desmond would seem to put himself in opposition to the Sisterhood, and his psychic powers, affirmed in footage Corrino sees of him summoning a sandworm, makes him formidable. Yet even as Kasha dies right in front of her, Valya seems more enlightened than discouraged, as if the path that the Bene Gesserits founder put her on had been clarified rather than laid to waste. Such is the power of faith, which Valya has in abundance  nearly as much as her ruthlessness.

It remains to be seen whether Dune: Prophecy will gather momentum from the shocking deaths that close this debut episode, which often labors under the weight of all its character introductions and reams of exposition. Thats part of the Dune trap  moviegoers for the 1984 version were greeted with a glossary of terminology  but so far, the show doesnt have the magisterial wonder of the Villeneuve films to give it a boost. Much like Desmond Hart, itll have to crawl its ways out of the sand.

Kwisatz Haderachs

 Mirroring the jihadist bloodbath that haunts Paul Atreides, the series is offering the threat of Tiran-Arafel, a destructive force that gives some urgency to the engineering that the Bene Gesserit are working on. Ten thousand years is a bit too long a wait for a payoff.

 Humility is the foundation of our virtues. The mind of man is holy. Thou shalt not disfigure the soul. Those are the words of Dorotea, who doesnt share Valyas interpretation of Bene Gesserit founder Raquella Berto-Aniruls wishes and, lets say, loses out in this vigorous exchange of ideals. Young Valyas use of the Voice to get Dorotea to stick a dagger in her own throat signals that violence and megalomania have more of a role than humility in the group going forward.

 The acolytes who will welcome Ynez into the fold all get a brief introduction here, but of the group, only Sister Jen (Faoileann Cunningham), who tells a wild story about killing a captor and both of her parents as a child, stands out. A love triangle between Ynez and two handsome young men is also touched on too lightly to make much of an impression.

 May the Richese seed find purchase in royal wombs. As wedding toasts go, this gets a zero out of ten.

 I see, Mother. I see. Its the mark of a true cult that when reality doesnt conform to the vision they offer, they just shift to another vision.

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Keeping pace with Hollywoods perpetual awards horserace. Sign up for the newsletter here. The official awards campaign trail starts at the Governors Awards, and Barry Keoghan was definitely there. Photo: Gilbert Flores/Variety/Getty Images

Of all the Academys awards-season events, the Governors Awards tends to be the least musty. Everyones in high spirits because nobody loses any trophies here  they just collect their already announced honors. The elitism that shapes later Oscar-campaign weeks hasnt yet taken hold, which means anyone promoting a generally respected movie can anticipate an invitation. (This isnt the exclusive Nominees Luncheon that will happen in February.) But its still a moment to be seen on the trail to eventual motion-picture glory. To put it simply, its a nonPitch Perfectrelated event where both Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson are present and Nicole Kidman is also featured.

The reception begins at a reasonable 5 p.m., and even before anyone has had time to get drunk, the evening is a schmoozy, gossipy affair during which celebrities, industry insiders, and journalists speak loudly about the movies that will and wont be feted in the coming months. Snippets of conversation taken out of context play like a parody of Hollywood: Omar Apollo asks someone, You saw Challengers twice? Another guest claims that an unnamed film is Megalopolis all over again. Matthew Belloni of The Town asks a 12-year-old girl if she liked Dune, (she hasnt seen it), while a nearby Guy Pearce fan lobbies hard for his performance in The Brutalist, explaining, Sometimes its just time. At 5:34, the crowd is parted by an assistant and a 95-year-old June Squibb, who makes a grand entrance on a wheelchair.

The most effective handshaker of the night is far and away Sing Sing actor Colman Domingo, who, when hes meeting someones wife, has a remarkable ability to look her in the eyes with warmth and express how excited he is to meet her. Then, 30 seconds later, hell have moved on and be talking to, say, Nina Garcia. Hes always on the best-dressed list, Garcia tells a friend, touching one of the many brooches on Domingos jacket. Meanwhile, a woman is shouting about one of the few yet-to-be-released films of 2024. I cant believe the movie is coming out this year, she says. When I came on the job, they told me the budget is $25 million, her conversation partner exclaims. You cant do a period piece for fucking $25 million. The movie better be fucking good, another group member adds.

The DJ plays a lot of 90s R&B with Janet Jackson melding right into Mariah Carey as the guests transition into the dinner portion of the night. Some of the last guests to find their way into the dining room are Angelina Jolie, wearing a fabulous cape, and her son Knox. Do you have to use the bathroom? Jolie asks her son. At 6:30, Academy President Janet Yang begins the ceremony with a speech that Barry Keoghan, seated toward the back, amusingly talks through. Throughout the night, Keoghan is a hyperactive presence, at one point asking an event worker to take a photo of him and Paul Mescal on his phone while Saoirse Ronan waits close by.

At 7:11, Domingo introduces the award recipients and mentions Donald Trump without mentioning Donald Trump: Tonight we will inspire each other to just keep going, he says. Am I right? This year, the trophies are going to Juliet Taylor  making her the first casting director to ever receive an Oscar, ahead of a competitive casting category getting added to the ceremony in 2026  James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, British rom-com maestro Richard Curtis, and Quincy Jones, who was offered the distinction before he died earlier this month. When discussing Jones, Domingo solemnly quotes the song Tomorrow, and in the distance theres the sound of glass clattering at a neighboring table, which turns out to be Keoghan attempting to reach something.

Taylor gets the first segment of the night, ushered on by Kidman. Suddenly, Woody Allen, who was instrumental in Taylors career, is speaking during a video segment. I cant tell you what an honor and joy it has been to have been a lifelong friend of Allens, Taylor says when she arrives onstage. One person Whoo!s and another claps. When she mentions Steven Spielberg, there are a million audible Mmmms.

Daniel Craig, promoting his movie Queer, introduces Broccoli and Wilson. You came here tonight to find out who the next James Bond is, Craig tells the audience. Hes not in this room. Or maybe he is. Dont look at me. A video narrated by Michelle Yeoh plays next, including a section about how important choosing the next Bond is. When Broccoli and Wilson come onstage to give their acceptance speeches, Wilson goes first and reads diligently from the teleprompter. Broccolis speech, however, isnt on the tiny screen, leading me to half-believe she is actually announcing the next Bond. She does not. They leave the stage with the question hanging over everyone.

Curtis is up next, receiving the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Hes introduced by Heretics Hugh Grant, who kills so hard that Belloni tweets that he should host the Oscars someday. He takes several British jabs at Curtis, claiming the honorary Oscar is a better-than-nothing Oscar; changes a mud-wrestling joke that appears on the teleprompter with the name Judi Dench to Maggie Smith; then finally tells Curtis they must work together again. I was so curious how Hugh Grant was going to turn his infamously unsatisfactory character to present me with this award. And it turns out he didnt bother, Curtis responds, to much laughter. The rest of his speech is serious, and he takes time to implore the studio heads in the room to hire impact producers. Some people clap for that.

Finally, the night closes out with tributes to Jones. Jamie Foxx goes first, doing a shockingly accurate Trump impression and then saluting the Jones-produced The Color Purple, especially the first one!, which earns some uncomfortable laughter. A choir led by Jennifer Hudson takes the stage, and finally Joness daughter Rashida Jones reads the speech that her father intended to give and tells everyone to listen to his lesser-known work.

As the crowd filters out, Natasha Lyonne asks Sharon Stone to take a picture of her in front of an Oscar statue with Azazel Jacobs. Stone tells Jacobs to smile, to show us how lucky you are! Hes the director of the film, Lyonne replies, referring to His Three Daughters. Were both lucky.

Two men in drab suits mill about, lightly gabbing. Every single one of those speeches was heartfelt emotionally, says one. Its everything, says the other, that the Oscars is not.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Azerbaijan plays an important role and greatly contributes to the provision of biennial transparency reports (BTRs), COP29 Lead Negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev told reporters on the sidelines of COP29 today, Trend reports.

"Overall, transparency in climate action is one of the key elements. The main point is that countries are obligated to submit declarations of their goals every five years, outlining their ambitions for the next five years and developing plans for their implementation.

Transparency reports are documents that assess the effectiveness of the implementation of these plans every two years. Azerbaijan will present such reports for the first time this year. Since the beginning of the year, we have prioritized BTRs, actively working with various countries, and today many of them have already submitted their reports or will do so by the end of the year.

In this regard, Azerbaijan plays an important role and makes a significant contribution, which is highly appreciated by other countries. To accelerate this process, we proposed adopting a declaration, which has already been approved and is supported by various countries. The main essence of this declaration is that, in the coming years, necessary training and technical support will be provided through the Baku Transparency Platform.

This process requires time and significant resources. Azerbaijan's initiative is also supported by Western donor countries. In the coming years, assistance to countries will be provided through this support and Azerbaijan's own resources," emphasized Rafiyev.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action - was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
The Sam/Joel relationship is arguably the headliner when talking about why Somebody Somewhere is such a winner of a show. Its proof that this series understands and cares about how deeply important platonic friendships are. (And the on-screen chemistry between Bridget Everett and Jeff Hiller is unmatched, which doesnt hurt.) But if youve been sleeping on how lovely and complex and relatable Sam and Tricias sibling relationship is, oh, I hope What if it spreads? woke you right up from that mistake. When we first met the Miller sisters in season one, they could barely stand to be around each other, but because theyve been through some pretty shitty stuff together  the loss of their sister Holly, Tricias divorce, everything thats gone down with their parents  theyve come to rely on one another. And yes, that support includes both wiping away tears when your sister is crying over feelings for a guy and also one sister inspecting the others vagina for venereal diseases. The bonds of sisterhood contain multitudes.

If you need a quick refresher on the dynamic between Sam and Tricia, look no further than when Tricia rolls up in her Escalade 45 minutes earlier than she told Sam, sipping on her giant Stanley cup, and demands her sister get in the car so they can get to the Great Plains Event Expo in Kansas City early  this is important! Sam says of course, and then proceeds to move as slowly as humanly possible while getting ready, just to get under her sisters skin. In her defense, Sam really did work up a sweat with those Billy Blanks tae-bo workouts (change is hard, but she is following doctors orders!), and the Event Expo isnt really her scene; this is for Tricia to get inspired and to network  she is manifesting all over the Midwest, remember  and Sam is just there for support. She makes it very clear: These are your people, they terrify me, way too many teeth.

And yet, the whole setup gives Sam and Tricia a lot of time to bond. Sam has some weird news to share: She found love letters their mom wrote to their dad stashed away at the house. They are both appropriately horrified and angry that they never got to see this side of their parents relationship, instead enduring only the toxic parts. Sam readily admits that its why her attitude toward marriage is so fucked. She has a lot of insecurities around dating, but being damaged from watching her own parents relationship certainly doesnt help.

Hey, speaking of being damaged by people from your youth, we should talk about Joel and Brads little storyline in this episode. Sam isnt alone in being dragged to an event she would like zero part of in the name of supporting a person she loves; while shes at the expo, Joel is attending a mens Bible book club with Brad. Theyre discussing grace and aging and Ive never wanted to jump into a river and let it carry me away more, to be honest. Joel isnt thrilled about the theme either, but its not his biggest concern. Mostly, hes worried about being in a space with just men. Any place without women does sound terrifying, he tells Sam.

He relays his fears to Brad, someone who, Joel says, is so good at fitting in with the guys. Joel could never do that. Its muscle memory for me, Brad tells him. Hes older than Joel and comes from a time where he didnt have a choice but to attempt to fit into a very narrow definition of masculinity. Somebody Somewhere is a show that excels at subtly, never hitting you over the head with the point its trying to make and instead letting the great character work thats been building for three seasons do its work. Its definitely the case here, as the show not only explores how the age difference between Joel and Brad shapes their relationship, but also how growing up as gay men in relatively different eras has shaped them as individuals. Like so many scenes on this show, this one is quiet yet effective. And also like so many scenes on this show, it ends by reminding us this is a comedy, too, and Im sorry but if Tim Bagley isnt nominated for all the awards for his work this season  a few weeks ago singing his sweet little heart out, this week becoming the absolute dorkiest road-rage monster  there is no justice in this world.

The conversation in the car also perfectly tees up the interaction Joel has with a man named Brett at the Bible group. We havent learned a ton about Joels experience growing up other than a little info about how he tried to hide who he was, but never could, and you can imagine how scary that could have been for a gay kid growing up in Manhattan, Kansas. And then who should walk into the study group but Joels old high school bully. We dont need to know any of the details to immediately understand that Joel still carries a lot of pain from whatever went down. Brett apologizes and Joel tries to brush it off with an its fine, even though he is clearly crying. And while I dont expect the two to have any sort of additional healing, the moment has a gorgeous effect on our Joel.

Back in the car, after Brad asks him if hes okay, he finally speaks up about the things he needs to make their relationship work, things hes been hiding from Brad. He needs to spend more time with his friends. He needs to be allowed to load the dishwasher. He needs to put pictures of the people he loves on the refrigerator. These are not complicated asks, but they are important to Joel  things that have perhaps healed some of that childhood trauma, things that make him happy or make him feel safe. If just letting the man load the dishwasher can do all that, as insane as his technique might be, you let the man load the dishwasher. And Brad gets that. All Joel had to do was ask. Life is too short, my babies.

Sam and Tricia find out whats on the other side of being open and vulnerable with each other, too. And I mean really vulnerable. I guess I mean really open, too, when you think about logistics.

The Expo is going great. All of Tricias manifesting is paying off. Shes learning so much, shes making plans for Country Club Mitchs big event, and she is even cozying up with the big star of the event, Cathleen-with-a-C, or the Joanna Gaines of the Midwest. This is her time, baby! She feels alive. She feels untouchable. She feels so alive and untouchable that she doesnt force Sam to go up and do karaoke at the big mixer and instead she grabs the mic. Tricia is on top of the world.

Until shes on the toilet. And there is burning. So much burning. She is beside herself wondering what this could be. Maybe its just a UTI, she wonders. But all of us, Sam and Tricia included, know its not a UTI even before Sam crosses the boundary in a sister bond that you can never go back from and takes a look at Tricias vagina to see whats happening down there. Its like half a second before Sam can indeed confirm, there is no way thats a UTI. Upon further research, Sam thinks its chlamydia, which really isnt so, so bad in the grand scheme of STDs.

Tricia is raging. Who couldve given this to her?! How could this have happened?! And then it dawns on her: Rick. Yes, that Rick.

Sam is outraged! Tricia is outraged! We are all outraged! Apparently, Rick stopped by recently and gave Tricia a whole song and dance about how much he misses her and she felt bad and also drunk. The cut to Tricia in the shower absolutely ranting about Ricks dirty dick is perfection. Mary Catherine Garrison in this entire sequence is perfection. Sam getting grossed out when Tricia flings her underwear out the shower door and it lands on Sams foot, also perfection. You dont think this episode could get better and then Somebody Somewhere deftly moves from this pitch-perfect comedy bit into something surprising and lovely, and honestly, any show that can swing this easily from making me cry from laughter into making me cry because emotions, well, thats the kind of show I want to tuck myself into forever and ever.

The Miller sisters are in bed quietly processing the events of the day. While things have calmed down over the diseased twat situation  a trip to urgent care in the morning is on the schedule  Tricia can see something is on Sams mind. The whole conversation that follows not only illustrates just how far these sisters have come in their relationship, but really honors it. Sam fesses up that she is angsting about a guy, but knows that nothing will ever come of it because, well, nothing ever comes of it. She wants Tricia, who refuses to accept Sam giving up on herself before she even starts, to be serious. But Tricia is being serious. She thinks Sam should just ask him out  whats the worst that could happen? Sam probably has a running list of the terrible things that could happen were she to put herself out there, but Tricia pushes back. Theres nothing to be scared of. Nobody knows what theyre doing. Nobody. You just do it, she tells her sister. None of this is said with any kind of judgment or condescension  you can see how much Tricia wishes her sister would bet on herself for once. When Sam starts crying and brushes off the tears as stupid, Tricia wipes them away and makes sure she knows how not stupid any of this is.

In true Miller sister  and Somebody Somewhere  form, were not ending on tears. The conversation turns to giggles about manifesting what you want for yourself and questions about whether or not Tricia manifested her little STD gift. The next morning, Sam teases Tricia about the antibiotics she has to take for her new friend and Tricia teases Sam about the fact that the guy she is unraveling about is Iceland, because yes, of course she snooped on her sisters phone. But theres also this great acknowledgement about how much Sam and Tricia take care of each other. You know these two didnt have any type of relationship with each other that even resembled this when they were younger, so the fact that they get a shot at it now is such a gift. And not in the sarcastic way like Tricias STD gift, but, like, an actual gift. You get it.

Tender Moments

 Joel to Brad when he offers to drive home after Joels emotional encounter: I dont think I can risk a road rage incident when Im feeling this fragile. Im stealing that line and using it even in non-vehicle related situations.

 Not to like, belabor the point (the point being that Mary Catherine Garrison is incredible in this episode), but the way Garrison yells the phrase waving that dirty dick all over town should be studied. Thats art.

 Ending the episode with Salt-N-Pepas None of Your Business? Just when I thought I couldnt love this show any more.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Climate change demands a thorough reevaluation of our way of life, said Giuseppe Valditara, Italy's Minister of Education, at the High-level Meeting on Investing in Human Development for a Climate Resilient Future as part of COP29 in Baku, Trend reports.

He emphasized that in this context, education plays a pivotal role in acquiring knowledge and raising awareness.

"Scientific and cultural knowledge, as well as the necessary skills, are crucial for people to discern true from false information and foster tolerance. We believe in the scientific approach. For us, economic growth and environmental protection must go hand in hand.

We must focus on safeguarding health, education, the bioeconomy, and the preservation of biodiversity and ecosystems for the sake of future generations," he added.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action  was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

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A total of 15 candidates will appear on the ballot for the 2024 General Election in Waterford on voting day, Friday, November 29.

The nominations period for candidates to appear on the ballot passed last Saturday with five more candidates running in the election this year compared to in 2020.

Sinn Fein will be running two candidates, with sitting TD and Sinn Fein health spokesperson Deputy David Cullinane being joined by the party's councillor for Dungarvan and Lismore Cllr Conor McGuinness.

Fianna Fail will be represented on the ballot by the current Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for Mental Health and Older People Mary Butler.

Primary school teacher and the Green Party Whip Deputy Marc O Cathasaigh is also seeking back-to-back electoral success.

Senator John Cummins is seeking election into the higher parliament as the candidate for Fine Gael.

Deputy Matt Shanahan, part of the Regional Group of TDs, who received the third most first preference votes in 2020, is one of five independent TDs who will feature on the ballot.

The other independents are; self-employed Mark O'Neill, former Rabharta candidate Killian Mangan, hospitality worker Aaron Joyce, and South East Technological University economics and finance lecturer Frank Conway.

The Labour Party will be represented by Sadhbh ONeill, an environmental activist, lecturer and columnist who previously served as a local councillor in Dublin from 1991.

Current Waterford City East Councillor Mary Roche will be representing the Social Democrats.

Database consultant John D Walsh will be contesting the election on behalf of the Irish People Party, while Dr Ronan Cleary will represent Aontu and Patrick Curtin is running for People Before Profit.

As part of our election coverage, Waterford News & Star will be interviewing all of the candidates appearing on the ballot to help inform your choices on November 29.

You can check if you are registered to vote at checktheregister.ie or if you need to update your address. Your polling card will be mailed out to you ahead of voting day and it will tell you which of the polling stations to are eligible you vote.
Killian Mangan is an independent candidate running in the Waterford constituency who is promising a very different approach to the other candidates.

A self-described progressive independent candidate, the professional video game designer is looking to bring his experiences of direct democracy in Barcelona and Scotland to Waterford.

Mr Mangan is running under three main topics, democratisation, decentralisation, and decarbonisation, which he believes will address the deficit position Waterford finds itself in.

Time and time again Waterford tries the same approach [] my approach is very different, he said, identifying Ireland as the second most centralised country in the OECD.

The reason Waterford has been left so behind is that we live in a really centralised system  where everything has been centralised around the national government [in Dublin].

Decentralisation, thats the solution.

He wants to drive more decision-making capacity into the regions themselves, calling for a focus on a systemic way; that is the key to us having the power to change things ourselves.

Mangan, who is a communications officer for CATU (Community Action Tenants Union) says he "feels the housing crisis every day" as he is forced to live at home with his parents.

"We are a generation locked out from society," he said.

He is calling for the introduction of "proper rent controls", saying that they had worked in most other countries around us.

Asked who he would join a government with if elected, Mangan ruled out Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, saying, They have failed our generation so much and had forced his generation to emigrate.

I will not even speak to any far-right or fascist candidates, the independent candidate said, They corrupt democracy and destroy it.

He said his big hope is a government coalition from the left, such as Labour, Social Democrats and Greens.

WATCH FULL INTERVIEW HERE
Thousands of people came to the Deise last weekend to witness the official opening of Winterval and to welcome in Waterford as European City of Christmas 2024.

Excitement was at fever pitch as the city transformed into a veritable winter wonderland.

The festivities kicked off on Friday, November 15, with the official turning on of the Christmas lights on Broad Street. On Saturday, the carnival atmosphere continued with a parade that incorporated plenty of Spraoi street theatrics, and a spectacular fireworks and light show on The Mall. Winterval, Ireland's largest Christmas festival, will continue in the city until December 23.

A young Winterval reveller soaks up the atmosphere in Waterford, the European City of Christmas 2024. Photo: Noel Browne

Waterford is the official European City of Christmas for 2024, alongside Czech city Brno, the European Capital of Christmas.

To celebrate these achievements, there will be a digital portal connecting both festive cities, located in the Apple Market.

Winterval has come a long way since its inception over a decade ago.

Festival organisers John Grubb and Trevor Darmody said: Waterford has for the last 12 years been delivering an incredible Christmas festival, building from humble beginnings with big ambitions to become Ireland's Christmas capital, to an even bigger festival with global ambitions."

The organisers are thrilled that Waterford now holds "the much sought after status as a European City of Christmas - a designation and title that remains with Waterford from here onwards".

Santa and his elves all ready for Winterval action. Photo: Noel Browne

"We have already seen the impact of this recognition since it was announced in December 2023 as international visitor numbers and international media visits to Waterford this year have already spiked."

They added: "We are very much looking forward to further growing our European links as we open a Gateway, which will digitally connect Waterford as the European City of Christmas to Brno in the Czech Republic next Friday, November 22, when the first exchange will take place between Waterford and our friends in Brno.

CEO of Waterford Chamber, Gerald Hurley, told Waterford News & Star: "It was wonderful to see such a huge crowd celebrate the official opening of Winterval and credit to all the team behind the festival for such a spectacular launch. It was fantastic to see so many people getting into the festive spirit and celebrating Waterford as the European City of Christmas."

Noting the opportunities and uptick for local businesses, Mr Hurley said: "We now want to see that footfall continue every weekend as it presents a huge opportunity for the business community in terms of the shop local campaign."

A scene from the parade on Saturday evening, heralding Waterford as European City of Christmas 2024. Photo: Noel Browne

He continued: "It has been a tough year with the cost of doing business at an all-time high, so we want to ensure our retailers finish the year on a positive note. This will help us continue to develop a vibrant city centre, secure and create jobs, and enhance the offering for all."

This year will see the return of the Think Waterford First Gift Card, which proved a strong success in years past.

Mr Hurley said: "One of the easiest and most impactful ways to support local businesses this holiday season is through the Think Waterford First Gift Card. This prepaid Mastercard allows customers to shop and dine in over 130 local businesses, ensuring that every euro spent stays within the community.

"For companies planning festive rewards and gifts, the Waterford Gift Card offers a simple, meaningful way to thank employees and customers while boosting the local economy."
The Granville Hotel scooped the Gold Award in the Historic City Hotel category of the Historic Hotels of Europe Awards.

The hotel was commended for its upholding of Irish heritage and history, along with its exceptional service for visitors.

The Granville is one of the oldest hotels in Ireland, and was the birthplace of Irish revolutionary Thomas Francis Meagher.

The premises was also the headquarters for the Bianconi family, who set up Irelands first public transport system in the 19th century.

The Historic Hotels of Europe awards, held this year at the scenic Chateau Liblice in Czechia, celebrate properties across Europe that exemplify cultural preservation and hospitality.

Philip Erskine, Business Development Manager at the Granville Hotel, who attended the awards alongside general manager Michael Skehan, said of the honour: "Working at the Granville Hotel is truly special. You feel the weight of history in every corner of the building, and its a privilege to be part of a place with such strong ties to Irish heritage.

He continued: "For the Cusack family, who own the hotel, preserving this history has always been a passion. This award is a testament to their commitment and to the significance of the Granville in Irelands story."
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on G20 leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro on November 17 to take a leading role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to support climate negotiations taking place simultaneously in Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

"A successful outcome at COP29 is still possible, but it will require leadership and compromise from the G20 countries," Guterres, who has been attending the summit of the world's largest economies since November 18, said at a press conference in Brazil.

Guterres also stressed the importance of a $1 trillion agreement for climate investments in developing countries, which is central to the discussions in Baku.

"The G20 countries, responsible for 80 percent of global emissions, must lead this process," he added.

US President Joe Biden, addressing the issue, announced that his administration had allocated $11 billion for bilateral climate financing this year. He also referred to President Donald Trump, who will assume office in two months, and underscored that the clean energy revolution led by his government is an irreversible process.

Brazils Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva, noted that it is essential for G20 participants to "do their homework and support the progress of COP29 negotiations in Baku".

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action  was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

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After months of build-up, Winterval 2024 officially opened in Waterford on Friday evening, November 15, when throngs of people gathered on Broad Street and John Roberts Square for the switching of the Yuletide lights.

Doing the honours were Santa Claus and Mayor of Waterford City and County Cllr. Jason Murphy, turning on the lights to the strains of Wizard classic, "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday."

Santa arrives in dramatic fashion for Winterval.

The city centre was a hive of excitement, with the many Winterval stalls now open for business, from huts offering everything from wooden Viking shields to Polish bruschetta.

Hundreds of people came out to Ireland's oldest city to see the grand event.

Parade

On Saturday evening, a spectacular parade took place along the Mall, travelling the time-honoured Spraoi route from Johnstown - with plenty of trademark Spraoi antics and creatures.

A character from the parade marking the commencement of Waterford as European City of Christmas. Photo: Noel Browne

The parade, said to be the largest Christmas parade of its kind in Ireland, featured the big draws of the festival, including the Winterval Mini-Express train, Trash Test Dummies, the cast of Waterford Panto and the delightful Waterford Viking elves, a giant Brick Boy Lego man, the WAMA Postbox collection elves and much more.

Following the parade, a spectacular special effects display was showcased from the natural stage setting of Bishop's Palace, and audiences were awed with sounds, light, and colour displays projected onto the stunning building facade.

There were awe-inspiring musical performances from the roof of the Theatre Royal from Kayleigh Quinlan, accompanied by an orchestra led by Killian Browne, while beats from the Big Bang drumming band got the crowds dancing in the streets.

Festival Highlights

Festival favourites, such as the Winterval Illuminates Lightshow on Arundel Square, the ice rink on the city's Quayside, as well as the vintage Ferris wheel at Arundel Square, the vintage carousel in John Roberts Square, the Port of Waterford Eye and the Winterval Mini Express train, are all back for this year's programme of events.

Also included are Elf workshops, Polish Christmas, Santa's VR sleigh ride in Cathedral Square, the ever-popular helter skelter, and more.

Santa takes centre stage at the festival, of course, residing in the City's medieval caverns underneath the stunning Medieval Museum in the Viking Triangle.

The festival organisers also pointed out that "over half of the programme is free of charge".

Waterfords Viking heritage is also well represented with a wonderful Viking Yule Village hosted by Deise Medieval every Sunday in Blackfriars Church.
Francis Paul Malone from Ferrybank, Waterford and a survivor of the Siege of Jadotville, died on Monday, November 18.

The 82-year-old passed away in the company of his family at University Hospital Waterford.

Paul will be sadly missed by his wife Christine, his children Niamh, David, Philip, Tony, Dermot and Helena, his wider family, neighbours and a wide circle of friends.

He was predeceased by his parents Charles and Kathleen, brothers George and Maurice, sister Kathleen and his first wife Nuala.

As part of the A Company 35th Battalion of the Irish Defence Forces, then-Private Malone survived the Siege of Jadotville and time as a prisoner of war in what is now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Siege of Jadotville was a seven-day siege in 1961 where around 150 Irish soldiers, operating as part of a United Nations Operation, were besieged at the UN base near the mining town of Jadotville in Congo.

The small Irish force was attacked by 3,000 forces from the secessionist State of Katanga.

They fought valiantly with the siege only ending when the Irish soldiers ran out of ammunition and water and were forced to surrender.

The captured Irish soldiers were held as prisoners of war for a month before being freed.

Francis Paul Malone was one of the last remaining members of the peacekeeping mission.

He will be reposing in Powers Funeral Home, Ferrybank on Wednesday, November 20, from 5pm.

His funeral mass will take place at The Sacred Heart Church, Ferrybank on Thursday, November 21, at 10am.
Tramore Coastguard Station: Deise Dogs

Theatre Vamps are at it again with another brand new play from the quill of Derek Flynn that owes its origin buried somewhere deep inside Reservoir Dogs.

Its a simple enough plotline. Three old Waterford Crystal pals plan to stage a robbery to fund expensive medical treatment in the USA for one of their wives. The luckless pals enlist the assistance of a former blower whos got a cunning plan to come up with the dosh. Theyll rob it. What could be simpler?

Wellll a lot really. The hapless trio of thick-as-a-plank Kieran (Gary Deasy), exasperated-know-all Dean ((Jamie Power), desperate husband Kieran (Kieran Walsh) along with overwhelming-Elvis-impersonator-and-chief-schemer Pa (Derek Flynn) couldnt swipe a hat from a blind man in a coma.

BUT Pas got the perfect heist Well knock off Reginalds Tower and nick everything Viking swords, ancient parchments, jewels, crowns and the Huegenot recipe for blaas!

On the scale of bad ideas that runs from zero to invading Russia in the winter, this was 228.

The plan is a sinch, really. Apparently, medieval pirates dug tunnels everywhere, including a tunnel under the river from Ferrybank to Reginalds Tower.

So declares Pa with a chest exploding with pride well crawl across the tunnel, come up through the trapdoor in the Tower, grab everything and Bobs your uncle.

Sadly, its more a case of Roberts yer aunty for Pinhead Pas daft dodge.

Expert Pas thought of evvvrything. Code names for the gang  Barronstrand, Ballybeg, Hillview. And hes a delegator whos off on a massive power-trip. Thicko Kieran will get the guns "wha Pa...GUNS?... and Dean will look after the disguises.

Of course, Kieran manages to buy just one toy popgun with vivid orange handles, while Deans journey to Penneys to buy tights as head masks becomes a journey into his inner self as he finds hes terrified of being seen in Penneys knicker and tights section.

Everything goes according to plan. Wellll sort of. The fab fours journey on all fours into the Tower is a hoot and treasure is at hand  a toy sword and a plastic crown  but the tide has risen and the tunnel is blocked off. The boys are penned in. To make matters worse, the armed unit of the trigger-happy Gardai have arrived  with real guns  and crowds have gathered. Pa  whose ego is the size of Massachusetts  has run out of ideas.

The full house at the Coastguard never stops laughing. Its a romp for the quartet of actors who clearly enjoy the fun as much as the audience. Deise Dogs has all the elements of farce. Things go wrong in quite complicated but nevertheless believable ways. Catastrophe lands on catastrophe and, somehow, leads to a third.

Zany characters and a victim, a storyline from rent-a-plot that wouldnt pass muster at a Montessori school, more in-and-outs than youd find with an over-wound cuckoo clock, along with an ending that seems impossible to resolve.

Nevertheless, the underdogs emerge as heroes (dont ask just go and see it!).

Derek Flynn writes, acts and directs and the four actors play the daft plotline for all its worth. The play is now on tour around the South East.

Well worth the ticket.
REVIEW Footloose at St Pauls Community School

School shows are precious. The bond thats formed between cast members is a forever clasp and the connection between staff, students and community is a magic that lasts far beyond school years. Whenever I meet cast from our student shows, the musical is a forever topic for everyone.

St. Pauls Community College certainly put on the Ritz for parents, siblings, family and friends with a first-class production of Footloose  the Musical. Its a good choice for a school show as the cast are all teenagers struggling with adults that seldom allow them to breathe and where the freedom to enjoy themselves comes with strict guidelines.

When Ren (Dylan Ryan/Scott Kirwin) finds that he and his mum Ethel (Nicole Lynagh/Grace Collins) are moving from Chicago to a small farming town, hes seriously underwhelmed. Hes even more underwhelmed when he finds local preacher Rev Shaw Moore (Jordan Arikan/Jack Dixon) has his own personal line to God and has brow-beaten the local council into banning dancing for teens.

His rebellious daughter Ariel (Isla Rose/Cara Regan) has her sights set on Ren and drama ensues between all three.

Its not often that we find serious drama in a musical that focuses on teen problems but the St Pauls production team  headed up by award-winning director/choreographer Jack Cunningham and Musical Directors Ms. Larkin, Ms. Callery and Ms. Malone  are blessed with a young cast that really captures the drama of the moment, along with the comedy of the hour. Two separate casts of principals ensures that theres lots of talent on show over the week.

Zara Ekodizies singing as Rev Shaws wife Vi (also, Elena Cutric) is a highlight, as is the combination of gossipy teens Tia Power-Rockett, Grace Laffan and Shanice Cullinane Hullet (also Ava Regan, Charli Hearne and Amber Griffin) who drive the comedy onwards. Evan OKeefe Reid (also, Daniel OSullivan Westpal) is full of knockabout fun as hillbilly Willard Hullitt whos neither blessed with brains or birds.

Dylan Ryan and Isla Rice are both convincing as young lovers Ren and Ariel (also Scott Kirwan and Cara Regan). They carry the storyline, their duets were loving and truthful and both blended seamlessly into the big chorus numbers.

Jack Cunninghams choreography always carries that zing of confidence and is the highlight of the show. Large casts of dancers move easily in and out across the stagem and avoid that sense of overcrowding that can easily happen with a school show that frequently has a cast the size of Gladiator.

Well done to St Pauls Community School on a thoroughly entertaining night out with Footloose  a show that celebrates the wisdom of listening to young people while guiding them with a warm heart and an open mind.
A small sponge cake topped with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry is the crux of a political skirmish between Whoopi Goldberg and a 146-year-old Staten Island bakery.

Goldberg said Holtermanns Bakery, in the heart of New York Citys reddest borough, refused to fill an order placed under her name, perhaps because of her liberal politics.

Vice President Kamala Harris chats with Whoopi Goldberg in a commercial break during her appearance on The View last month. Credit: AP

The bakerys owner said it wasnt personal and that politics had nothing to do with it.

Now, the bakerys phone is ringing off the hook, and customers are lining up to show their support for a Staten Island institution  and their opposition to Goldberg.
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 Google searches are delivering Australians into the arms of fraudsters, as websites and advertisements belonging to scammers are prominently served up to users on the worlds most popular search engine. In some instances, Google searches provide some scam victims false reassurance that they are investing in legitimate companies. Once theyve lost their money, scam victims searching for help on Google are then being shown ads that direct them to a new set of criminals, known as recovery scammers, who claim they can retrieve peoples lost money for a fee, but instead disappear with the cash. The findings are part of a months-long investigation into how investment scammers use some of the worlds biggest tech companies to find victims. This masthead found that Google presents scam sites to users, even after those scams were the subject of explicit government warnings. This scam website was the first result that came up in a Google search for Bitcoin Evolution. The site instantly connected this masthead to scammers. One example is the scam platform Bitcoin Evolution, which was blacklisted by the UKs Financial Conduct Authority in 2020. In March, Australian authorities placed it on an investor alert list, declaring it not to be trusted.

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But this month, when this masthead used Google to search for Bitcoin Evolution, the first result that came up was not an official notification, but two Bitcoin Evolution scam websites. Loading Registering a phone number with one of the websites resulted in a near-immediate call from a scammer. Invest just $300 and make daily profits of 10 to 15 per cent, the fraudster promised. I dont want you to expect that tomorrow youre going to buy a new house, for sure not, its making only $2000 [or] $3000 by the end of the month, said the conman. The whole idea is that you dont need to spend time on a mobile computer, and you can check your account once a day, once a week, once a month. Fleeced of $700,000 Based on a Google search alone, it can be difficult for Australians to tell if potential investment companies are real or a scam. Results are sometimes muddied by the presence of scam platforms, fake reviews and fake news articles or blogs promoting scams.

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Swav, a Melbourne man who didnt want to use his last name for privacy reasons, was connected to overseas criminals through an advertisement that appeared on his Facebook feed in spring 2020. Although he didnt realise it at the time, the celebrities who appeared in the ad providing endorsements were fakes, computer-modified replicas of the famous person. Melbourne man Swav had about $700,000 stolen from him in a sophisticated investment scam. This masthead revealed on Saturday that Meta, owner of Facebook, takes money for these celeb-bait scam ads, despite the ads promoting notorious fraudulent investment platforms and coming from accounts that were clearly not legitimate investment companies. Swav was just one day into the con, and had only handed over $1500, when he noticed a contradiction in the scammers sales pitch. It piqued his suspicion, and when he hung up, he began doing a bit more research. I started to search intensively about this company to verify if they are legit, he recalled. I searched on Google  but most of the reviews were positive. Over the following nine months, the fraudster from a platform called StocksCM stole close to $700,000 from him.

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Loading This masthead tested Google results based on searches for 100 entities recently added to the Australian Securities and Investment Commissions (ASIC) investor alert list. The list includes the names of known scam platforms and businesses targeting Australian consumers without holding the appropriate licences. It showed that Google was failing to block websites for even these publicised rorts. In the first page of results, Google returned 101 links to websites for platforms using the same names as the blacklisted entities. The search results also featured 10 Google ads directly promoting scam brands named in ASICs warning list. Google was accepting money to run ads for the Immediate Connect, Immediate Edge and Immediate Vortex scam platforms, all on ASICs alert list.

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Ten out of the top 14 Google results that appeared in a search for Immediate Connect were likely scam platforms, including the top four results, which were all sponsored links for the scam. Ready to start your journey? Immediate Connect gives you access to worldwide markets. Invest with confidence and safety, says the website linked to one of the scam ads, which appeared as the top search result for Immediate Connect. Landing pages like this are typically not run by the scammers themselves, according to investigators and criminal insiders, but by groups known as affiliate marketers, which specialise in creating advertisements and websites that collect the details of potential victims, and then sell them to scamming syndicates. Googles ad library shows that the advertiser behind the Immediate Connect ad, registered to the UK, was behind at least another eight ads being shown to Australian Google users, and about 200 Google ads worldwide. They included similar advertisements targeting Google users in Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Canada, Austria, France, Spain, Poland and other countries. After being contacted by this masthead, Google said it was running checks on the advertiser and would take action in accordance with its policies including removing ads.

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Young John fell in love with the coal trains clinking through Birmingham. Less the rolling stock than the mystery words on each carriage, incantations like Nantyglo and Senghenydd. Mix those with classical Greek, which the boy learnt at 11, plus the meter of Old English, and Tolkien was destined to conlang.

Construct a new language, in other words. Make new words, in other words. Other tongues, too, from Elvish to Dwarvish. Add a splash of Old Norse into the recipe, the Icelandic sagas, and soon Middle-earth was taking shape, word by invented word.

Sometimes its words that help make make-believe more believable. Clockwise from left: The Mandalorian, The Lord of the Rings, Avatar and The Sims. Credit:

Yet even before academia, J. R. R. was dabbling in DIY languages. Stuff like Novbosh (the new nonsense, he called it) or Fonwegian, a loose Scandi-salad. By the time The Hobbit surfaced in 1937, Tolkiens gift for imaginary glossaries was luminous. Those old coal cars now carried whole kingdoms.

Conlangs bear such power, the knack to whisk you elsewhere, be that Essos in Game of Thrones (via Dothraki) or remote planets. Eavesdrop Navi from Avatar, say, and youre mentally landing on Pandora, the realm its blue residents call Eywaeveng.
Bad Sisters

Apple TV+



The second season of Apples hit Irish family-murder-drama-comedy (famurdramedy?) opens with a literal cliffhanger: four of the five Garvey sisters are in a car teetering on the edge of a seaside precipice.

But the way they screech in panic, and in unison, as the boot pops open of its own accord is oddly reassuring: we may be dealing with matters of life and death here, but nothing should be taken too seriously.

The Garvey clan returns for a second season of Bad Sisters. Credit: Apple TV+

It takes until the last of its eight episodes for Bad Sisters to reveal what is in that boot and how it got there. Along the way you might occasionally wonder why were even here at all; season one was just so perfectly formed and complete in itself that any more is surely superfluous. But by the end of its arc, Bad Sisters Mk II has just about earned its right to exist.
It was a wave like no other. The Indian Ocean tsunami claimed 225,000 lives as it crashed over 14 countries. It shot forth with energy equivalent to 23,000 Hiroshima bombs.

These numbers, while important to understanding the catastrophe, may take a while to grasp. Whats more immediate and haunting are the tears of a mother crying as she remembers holding her baby tight until the raging water ripped him away.

Surfer David Lines reflects on the loss and devastation of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Credit: National Geographic / Duane McClunie / Richard Ing

Survivors of the Boxing Day tsunami, 20 years ago, recount their stories in Tsunami: Race Against Time. Its not easy watching, but by personalising the centurys deadliest natural disaster, the documentary puts it in context. It also highlights the lack of warning systems then, which has since been ameliorated.

My instinct when I joined was, well, let me look at the archive, says director Daniel Bogado. You dont need anything else. You just need the archive and the old testimony. Anything else is counterproductive because its getting in the way of stuff thats extraordinary.
Extreme temperatures are accelerating a global crisis of maternal mortality, doubling the rate of miscarriage in the hottest countries while dramatically increasing the risk of still- or premature birth. More than 100,000 pregnancies are lost every year due to flooding alone, and thats only in the 33 countries studied for a recent report in the journal Nature Communications.

This disturbing reality is deeply personal for me as the US diplomatic envoy for the Republic of Chad, a country thats reeling from a cataclysmic flood affecting 1.7 million people. It is also suffering from a fivefold surge of mpox infections in Africa.

Children should have the world in their hands, but will they? Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

But this is just the tip of the rapidly melting iceberg. From Florida and California to Chad and Peru, soaring heat and compounding natural disasters are causing women to lose babies to heart-related illnesses, mosquito-borne viruses and other fetal abnormalities at record rates.

But as world leaders assemble at the COP29 climate summit, women and children are being ignored. Of the 119 countries that have submitted climate commitments to the UN, only 27 include any action relating to  what I am calling  a burgeoning maternalcide. Unless we act now, this decline in maternal and newborn health could fundamentally alter the very fabric of our society, catalysing a social, economic and health crisis unlike anything humanity has endured before.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. The countries subjected to colonization are suffering from environmental problems, Kenyan MP Stephen Mutinda Mule said at the Solidarity for a Colonial-Free and Green Future event at COP29 in Baku, Trend reports.

He observed that COP29 beckons for the emancipation of communities, shackled like forgotten colonies of the world's nations, from the chains of oppression, while also seeking the lifeblood of funding to heal the wounds of our planet's climate crisis.

Minor communities are the most impacted by climate change. Colonial legislators are informing people about the outcomes of COP29 and legislation aimed at leveraging climate funding, he added.

The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) opened on November 11. COP29, which is being held at the Baku Olympic Stadium, will continue until November 22. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region it is being held in Azerbaijan.

The key expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance.

A comprehensive suite of 14 groundbreaking initiatives has been strategically proposed by the COP29 Presidency.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Parents will not be able to give consent for their children to use social media under a blanket ban proposed by the Albanese government.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced everyone under the age of 16 would be included in the ban, which has sparked concerns kids will be barred from health and education information while others claim it will protect their mental health.

However, Labor is yet to specify which social media companies would be captured. While Instagram, TikTok and X  formerly Twitter  are likely to be affected, others may be exempt.

In a Labor partyroom meeting today, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland was asked if parents would be allowed to consent to their children being on social media at a younger age. She responded: No.

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Rowland said people using social media would not have to upload proof of identity directly to those platforms when minimum age requirements kick in. The government wants 12 months of consultation to figure out exactly how the ban will be enforced.

The opposition is the only party arguing that people should upload 100 points of ID and give it to TikTok, she told the meeting.

AAP
Labors controversial laws to cap the number of foreign students in Australia have been torpedoed by the Coalition and the Greens, who joined to defeat one of the federal governments core policies for bringing down immigration levels.

The opposition on Monday announced it would block Labors legislation despite this year saying it supported student caps, leading Education Minister Jason Clare to label Coalition leader Peter Dutton a fraud and adding heat to a looming election fight over immigration.

Education Minister Jason Clare says Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is a fraud over his immigration stance. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Coalition sources said they would reveal their mechanism to drive down student numbers before the election after frontbenchers Sarah Henderson, James Paterson and Dan Tehan derided Labors plan as a piecemeal approach that would only serve to compound this crisis of the governments making.

Their stance guarantees Labors proposal to limit the number of international students next year to 270,000 will fail, dealing a blow to the governments efforts to bring down immigration levels by controlling the intake of Australias largest temporary migrant cohort. The Greens have also vowed to oppose the bill, calling it racist and saying it scapegoats international students for the housing crisis.
Fringe senator Ralph Babet has pulled down a social media post spouting a string of racist and homophobic slurs after the Senate voted overwhelmingly to condemn his behaviour, claiming it could have been taken out of context.

The Senate issued a separate censure, which is a formal reprimand with no tangible consequences, to independent senator Lidia Thorpe on Monday for her Indigenous rights protest against King Charles III during his visit to parliament last month.

In a post on X this month, Babet, who represents mining magnate Clive Palmers United Australia Party, declared he would say phaggot [sic], retard and n----r.

We are sick of you woke ass clowns, Babet posted. Cry more. Write an article. Tweet about me. No one cares what you think.
One of the WA Liberals staunchest pro-life advocates Nick Goiran has brushed aside internal party concerns that abortion will flare up as a state election issue as he prepares to speak alongside some of the pro-life movements most controversial figures in Sydney.

Goiran will speak at the National Life Summit next month, organised by South Australian anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe alongside Katters Australian Party MP Robbie Katter.

Liberal upper house MP Nick Goiran. Credit: Nathan Hondros

The anti-abortion stance of several Queensland Liberal MPs was thrust into the states recent election campaign after Katter vowed to introduce a private members bill to wind back abortion laws in the sunshine state. The Queensland Liberals poor handling of the issue was credited with reducing Labors expected haemorrhaging of votes in metro Brisbane seats.

A WA Liberal insider not authorised to speak publicly said the party was worried a similar abortion debate could flare up in WA and drown out the Liberals efforts to focus on other areas like cost of living and justice.
Alarmingly, intelligence also suggests the Russian military has assembled a force of 50,000 soldiers , including North Korean troops, as it prepares an assault aimed at reclaiming territory seized by Ukraine in the Kursk region of Russia.

November 19 marks 1000 days since Russias invasion, a sobering milestone in a war littered with other grim records. In August, US officials estimated Russia had suffered 300,000 casualties, made up of 120,000 deaths and 180,000 injured. Ukraine is said to have lost about 70,000, with at least 120,000 wounded.

However, the means by which the 47th US president plans to end the bloodshed triggered by Vladimir Putin is not at all clear. And that is why so many Ukrainians  including in Australia  are filled with dread and anxiety.

The return of Donald Trump to the Oval Office has thrown a new focus on Russias appalling invasion of Ukraine, which can only be a good thing.

In a new interview, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the war would end sooner once Trump became US president than it otherwise would have. He said he was prepared to do everything possible to end the conflict through diplomatic means.

Throughout his campaign, Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, had cast strong doubts on continued US commitment to Kyiv. He has said the $US61 billion ($94.4 billion) in military aid that Washington has sent to Ukraine was a drain on American resources. The conflict has been ongoing for more than 2 years, following the large-scale invasion of Russian forces in February 2022.

Trump was clear that he would not tolerate the status quo with the USs support of Ukraine when he this week nominated Republican senator Marco Rubio for secretary of state. Rubio previously said the war had reached a stalemate. Trumps pick for defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has also said he believes the US is spending too much money on the fight.

As Europe correspondent Rob Harris reports, the path ahead is perilous. Putin has previously said peace is possible only if Kyiv formally renounces any plans to join NATO. He also demanded Ukraine surrender four regions in the south and east of the country, as well as Crimea, which Zelensky has so far refused to contemplate.

Trump has suggested he would halt US aid if Zelensky refuses to negotiate a ceasefire with Moscow. But if Putin rejects peace proposals, Trump has said he could instead ramp up weapons deliveries to Ukraine.
And this is the answer to everyone who tried to achieve something with Putin through talks, phone calls, hugs and appeasement, Zelensky said. The comment appeared to be a dig at German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who spoke on Friday with Putin in the first such call with a sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years. In Mykolaiv, as a result of a drone attack, two people were killed and six others were injured, including two children. Two more people were killed in the Odesa region, where the attack damaged energy infrastructure and disrupted power and water supplies, said Oleh Kiper, the local governor. Both victims were employees of Ukraines state-owned power grid operator, Ukrenergo, the company said hours later. The combined drone and missile attack was the most powerful in three months, said the head of Kyivs City Military Administration, Serhii Popko.

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a psychologist helps a woman who lost her home in a Russian missile attack in the Odesa region of Ukraine on Sunday. Credit: AP Bidens decision to allow Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons deeper inside Russia follows months of requests by Zelensky to allow Ukraines military to hit Russian military targets far from its border. The change follows Russias deployment of North Korean ground troops to supplement its own forces, a development that has caused alarm in Washington and Kyiv. The first deep strikes are likely to be carried out using ATACMS rockets, which have a range of up to 306 kilometres, sources say. Loading

While some US officials have expressed scepticism that allowing long-range strikes would change the wars overall trajectory, the decision could help Ukraine just as Russian forces are making gains, and possibly put Kyiv in a better negotiating position when and if ceasefire talks take place. Some Ukraine supporters have argued that the US constraints on long-range weapons could cost Ukraine the war. The debate has become a source of disagreement among Ukraines NATO allies. Biden had remained opposed, determined to hold the line against any escalation that he felt could draw the US and other NATO members into direct conflict with Russia. It is not clear if President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, will reverse Bidens decision. Trump has long criticised the scale of US financial and military aid to Ukraine and has vowed to end the war quickly, without explaining how; Trump has said he would seek a quick deal between Ukraine and Russia. Still, some congressional Republicans have urged Biden to loosen the rules.

The capability would most likely be used first in the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukraine is fighting against North Korean troops as well as Moscows forces, sources told Bloomberg on condition of anonymity. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office in September. Credit: AP Moscow, with Pyongyangs help, has been trying to dislodge Ukrainian forces from Kursk after they captured some areas in a surprise incursion earlier this year. Some leaders will most likely raise the issue of North Korean military involvement, including with China, at the G20 leaders summit in Brazil this week. Pyongyang has also supported Russia with millions of rounds of artillery ammunition and other weapons. The US is expected to adopt more sanctions against North Korea before Biden leaves office, some of the people said. Russia has warned that it would see a move to loosen the limits on Ukraines use of US weapons as a major escalation.
Speaking on Fox News on Friday (AEDT), Homan said the new administration was determined to carry out the policy and that he would meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago this weekend to put the final touches on the plan. Chinese migrants wait to be processed after crossing the US-Mexico border near Jacumba Hot Springs, California in May. Credit: AP Part of it is likely to involve expanding detention facilities, revoking protections for migrants covered by President Joe Bidens humanitarian parole programs, and reinstating the so-called remain in Mexico program, which requires migrants to stay in Mexico during their immigration proceedings in the US. But Homan added: We gotta have the resources to do the job. Ive been asked 1000 times how many people can you remove in the first year? Well, how many agents do I have? How many buses do I have? How much money do I have for airplanes? ... But I can tell you now, President Trump is committed to whatever he can to get us the money we need. While states are not legally allowed to block federal agents from carrying out their duties, Democratic governors have made it clear that they will resist attempts at overreach by the Trump administration.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, for example, said his state would assist in removing dangerous and violent criminals, but in terms of undocumented immigrants more broadly, what we dont want is red state National Guard moving into blue states to try to enforce this kind of mass deportation. Loading That is illegal. We want to push back on that and make sure that were not allowing that to happen. And I wont let it happen in the state of Illinois, he told PBS. Immigration lawyers and civil liberty groups are also bracing for a fight. The American Civil Liberties Union has more than 15 immigration officers in its national office who have spent the past year preparing for the possible return of a Trump administration. The League of United Latin American Citizens, the nations oldest Latino civil rights organisation, plans to hold 100 town hall meetings across the country to speak to communities about their concerns and will seek to educate undocumented immigrants about their legal rights.

Trump watches as Tom Homan speaks at a primary election night party in January. Credit: AP For example, they do not have to open the door if a warrant isnt properly addressed in their name to the proper address, Juan Proano, the groups chief executive, told this masthead. There is still very much due process that is part of this, and were taking it upon ourselves to educate them. Trumps push to use emergency powers for the military to carry out mass deportations comes as he continues to round out his cabinet. Over the past 24 hours, he has nominated Brendan Carr to head the Federal Communications Commission, an independent agency that regulates TV and radio broadcasters, telephone and internet service providers and satellites.

Carr has been a strong supporter of Elon Musk and his companies  particularly Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX that provides satellite internet services  and is a co-author of the Project 2025 presidential transition plan that Trump claimed he knew nothing about. Loading The president-elect has nominated Sean Duffy, a former Republican congressman from Wisconsin and a former Fox News contributor, to be his transport secretary. He will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion programs] for pilots and air traffic controllers, Trump said of Duffy, who was also a cast member of MTVs reality TV show, The Real World. The deportation of illegal immigrants was central to Trumps election victory over Kamala Harris, but it is by no means a new policy.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Azerbaijan, as COP29 President, proposes to include climate change awareness as a measured component within PISA [Program for International Student Assessment], the country's Minister of Science and Education Emin Amrullayev said during the COP29 Ministerial Roundtable on Greening Education and Enhancing Climate Literacy Metric 2nd Annual Meeting of the Greening Education Partnership today, Trend reports.

"Education is not just a path to understanding; it is a mechanism for significant change and strengthening resilience. We are proud of our collaboration with international partners such as UNESCO, the OECD, and the Partnership for Environmental Education. UNESCO's broad initiative to green education systems, including greening curricula and schools, helps raise awareness of climate change at all levels.

The annual meeting of the Partnership for Environmental Education is a testament to our shared commitment to creating more sustainable and climate-resilient education systems worldwide.

As the COP29 President, we propose including climate change awareness as a measurable component within PISA evaluations. This project goes beyond measuring student knowledge. It will help us understand how well students are aware of and engage with climate issues.

By using this information, we can develop more effective policies and teaching strategies that prepare young people for future challenges. The PISA platform is already a reliable global benchmark, and the new focus on climate literacy has the potential to bring about change worldwide," he added.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action - was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
From 28 to 31 October 2024, the World Customs Organisation (WCO), through the Trade Facilitation and Customs Modernization Programme for Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa 2020-2024 (Sida-WCO TFCM Programme), delivered a follow-up capacity-building mission to Office Burundais des Recettes (OBR) in Bujumbura, Burundi, in the area of Authorised Economic Operator (AEO), a key component of trade facilitation and security. The mission aimed to build the internal capacity of the relevant OBR officials and equip them with the knowledge to improve the existing AEO programme launched in 2014. This highly interactive and engaging workshop was a follow-up to capacity-building support provided to OBR officers using the WCO E-Learning platform (CLiKC!), conducted between 1 and 30 September 2024. This blended capacity-building effort ensured the onsite engagements built on and augmented existing internal knowledge and skills.

Under the guidance of two WCO technical and operational advisors from Turkiye and Morocco, specialised in AEO programmes, the mission brought together representatives from various OBR units (AEO team, risk analysis, border management services, auditors, surveillance). The participants held in-depth discussions on the challenges facing the current programme, alignment with the AEO criteria defined in the SAFE Framework of Standards, the monitoring and renewal of AEO certificates, the inclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the enhancement of facilities granted, the risk management of the AEO programme, as well as the presentation of the experience and best practices of the AEO experts' Customs administrations.

A visit to an AEO-certified company allowed participants to observe first-hand the implementation of AEO criteria on site and to gauge the degree of satisfaction of the said company with the advantages granted and their effective implementation on the ground.

This collaborative effort between the WCO and OBR represents a significant step towards improving trade facilitation, promoting business competitiveness and economic growth and strengthening security and safety measures in Burundi.

For more information on WCO capacity building, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Relations between Turkic states are developing rapidly across all areas of public and political life, said Aygun Aliyeva, Executive Director of the Azerbaijani Agency for State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Trend reports.

Speaking at the Turkic States NGO Forum as part of COP29, Aliyeva highlighted the importance of the event, which coincided with the COP29 thematic day dedicated to "human capital".

"Hosting the forum of NGOs representing Turkic states on this significant day of COP29 dedicated to human capital is crucial. As President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has emphasized, the 21st century must be a century of progress of the Turkic world. In this context, strengthening human capital is the key to achieving long-term development across the Turkic region and effectively addressing the environmental challenges it faces together," she said.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action  was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
The News in Brief Monday, November 18, 2024

On Sunday, November 17, the "Reclaim Your Vote" rally, organized by the local observer mission My Vote and opposition coalitions, culminated in front of the Parliament building. Simultaneously, the Coalition for Change, a political force that passed the 5% election threshold, set up tents near Tbilisi State University, announcing plans to remain there for 24 hours.The protests began around 18:00 local time with multiple marches converging on Rustaveli Avenue. One group, led by the Coalition for Change, departed from Vake Park; another, organized by the Strong Georgia coalition, started at Marjanishvili metro; and a student-led march began from Chavchavadze Avenue. All marches headed toward the Parliament building, where Rustaveli Avenue was blocked once again.Observers of the October 26 parliamentary elections spoke to the crowd on Rustaveli Avenue, sharing firsthand accounts of alleged electoral fraud.As the Coalition for Change march approached Tbilisi State University, halfway between Vake Park and the Parliament building, leaders announced their decision to pause on Chavchavadze Avenue, which was already blocked to traffic. They began setting up tents near the university, committing to a peaceful 24-hour protest.The atmosphere remained calm, with police refraining from intervening as tents were erected. Later in the evening, protesters from Rustaveli Avenue joined the university camp. Opposition leaders periodically addressed the growing crowd, reiterating their commitment to peaceful demonstrations throughout the night.Two men convicted of assaulting journalists during the violent July 5 homophobic attacks of 2021 in Tbilisi have been released early from prison. Davit Kutaladze and Tornike Davlasheridze, who were sentenced in 2022 for their roles in the attacks, were reportedly freed under amnesty.The violence targeted media workers, including the late TV Pirveli cameraman Lekso Lashkarava, who died shortly after the attacks, as well as other journalists and cameramen. Initially sentenced to five years, the Tbilisi Court of Appeal reduced their sentences to four years and overturned charges of group violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.The decision sparked outrage among civil society groups. The Media Advocacy Coalition described the ruling as "alarming," warning it threatens media freedom. The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association criticized the lack of accountability, stating that it emboldens hate groups and weakens protections for journalists.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. The first framework for introducing 'green' education in the Islamic world has been officially launched at the COP29 ISESCO Pavilion, the organization's Director General Salim bin Mohammed Al-Malik said during the COP29 Ministerial Roundtable on Greening Education and Enhancing Climate Literacy Metric - 2nd Annual Meeting of the Greening Education Partnership today, Trend reports.

"The 'green' agenda in education has received special attention in recent years at the global level, especially within the recently held third Conference of Education Ministers of ISESCO in October 2024 in Oman. The first framework for implementing 'green' education in the Islamic world, developed in collaboration with our partners from the University of Cambridge, offers recommendations and policies aligned with four key areas: curricula, teachers, schools, and communities, focused on partnerships in green education after the Education Transformation Summit.

I'm pleased to announce that these recommendations were adopted with measurable short-term and long-term goals for transitioning to green education in our member countries," he stressed.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action - was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Festivals  Bihar  Sonepur Mela

Sonepur Mela

Time: November

Significance: Cattle Fair

Date: 20.11.2024 - 5.12.2024

The famed cattle fair is held at Sonepur, 30kms from Patna in Northern Bihar on the banks of the River Ganga. During this month-long fair, cattle decorated for the occasion throng the venues of the town.

The full moon day of the month of Kartik (November) is regarded as one of the most auspicious days for the Hindus. Sonepur situated on the confluence of the holy rivers Ganga and Gandak, has the reverence of a blessed ground. A bath at the confluence and a visit to the Hariharnath temple here is the aim for thousands of devotees on the Kartika Purnima day. The 'Hariharnath Kshetra Mela' is now more known for the cattle fair held during this time.

Gajendhra Moksha legend is associated with the temple in Sonepur. It involves the story of king Indrayamuna and the Gandharva chief Huhu, who were turned into an elephant and a crocodile respectively by the curse of great sages Agasthya and Dewala muni. One day the elephant's leg was caught by the crocodile. It is said that both of them fought hard for many years with their herds. But ultimately the King Elephant weakened and prayed to the supreme god Vishnu (Hari) to save him. Vishnu heard his prayer and cut down the crocodile with his 'Chakra'. But the touch of the chakra released Huhu from the curse. Vishnu also released Indrayamuna from his curse and took him to his aboard 'Vaikuntha'.

The sprawling mela ground here with the pulsating market has the widest possible range of cattle and commodities. The array of shops sells all sorts of merchandise. One of the most attractive sight is the elephants lined up for sale. Sonepur Fair is the only one of its kind where such a large number of elephants are sold. These are purchased mainly by forest departments and people involved with logging operations. Apart from elephants, a large number of cattle and horses are also brought to the fair for sale. Various folk shows, games and jugglers can be seen in the fair.

How to get there

Air : Nearest Airport is at Patna, 30 km from Sonepur. Patna is linked to all major cities by Indian Airlines and Sahara flights.
Leesville, LA (71446)

Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 49F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 49F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. As part of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), discussions were hosted on the topic "Restoring Absheron Lakes: A Pathway to Climate Resilience and Sustainable Water Management" at Azerbaijans national pavilion, Trend reports.

The event featured key figures such as the Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Office for the Countries, Azerbaijan's Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, representatives from the World Bank and Witteveen+Bos firm, as well as delegates from the Clean City OJSC and other relevant bodies.

The discussions aimed to enhance international support for Azerbaijan's national efforts to restore the Absheron Lakes and promote the contribution of such projects to global environmental goals.

The meeting highlighted the work already completed to improve the ecological condition of the Absheron Lakes, alongside plans for further restoration efforts. The importance of rehabilitating the lakes was emphasized in the context of achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Information was shared about the second phase of the Boyukshor Lake restoration project, as well as planned activities for the restoration of the Zigh Lake. The significant role of these lakes in urban life was also discussed.

The Absheron Lake restoration projects, which align with Baku's General Plan through 2040, were evaluated by experts as a crucial part of the city's sustainable development and ecological improvement.

The projects, along with efforts to create large green zones and improve water resource management, are seen as top priorities for enhancing Bakus climate stability and safeguarding the environment.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action  was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Well known local historian Dr Michael OConnor will present a public lecture this Thursday, November 21st, in Christ Church, Castlebar to mark the 200th anniversary of the decision to re-construct this Protestant Church built on the Mall.

The church dates from 1739 and the renovations were carried out between 1800 and 1828. This is one of four churches in the Aughaval Union of Church of Ireland parishes in the United Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe.

The lecture will commence at 7.30pm and Rev Suzanne Cousins, rector of the group of parishes, says that anyone interested in the history of this fine building is very welcome to attend.

We are delighted to have Dr OConnor share his research with us and all are welcome to come along and perhaps bring a friend."

Tea will be served following the lecture.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. The Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), in collaboration with Greening Education and UNESCO, is developing a global monitoring panel to track progress in green education, the organization's Director General Salim bin Mohammed Al-Malik said during the COP29 Ministerial Roundtable on Greening Education and Enhancing Climate Literacy Metric - 2nd Annual Meeting of the Greening Education Partnership today, Trend reports.

"It is a great honor for me to announce that ISESCO, in partnership with Greening Education and UNESCO, is developing a global monitoring dashboard to track progress in green education. The launch of this digital platform is planned for COP30 next year. Accessible worldwide, the dashboard will provide governments and policymakers with the tools to effectively plan and make informed decisions to achieve the 2030 goals and drive further sustainable and inclusive development. ISESCO is committed to being an integral part of this journey and looks forward to collaborating with all stakeholders to bring this vision to life," Al-Malik said.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action  was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Developing nations are least responsible for climate change but cop it worst

Since the Industrial Revolution, country after country has turned to fossil fuels to power their transport and industry.

Now the bill is coming due. Huge volumes of long-buried carbon are in the atmosphere, warming the planet. Climate disasters are arriving more often and getting worse.

But the pain from climate change is not distributed fairly. Developing nations are suffering the worst, despite emitting far fewer greenhouse gases. To date, two regions  Europe and North America  have contributed fully 60% of the worlds total emissions. This has made them much richer, but at a cost borne largely by those of us in the Global South.

This injustice will be in the spotlight this week, as leaders and diplomats gather in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the yearly United Nations climate talks. Climate finance is high on the agenda  specifically, the vexed question of who pays.

Who is responsible for climate change?

Historically, North America and Europe are the highest emitters.

Asias emissions have grown sharply in recent decades, due to its high population size, sustained economic growth in China and high emitting, oil-reliant Gulf states.

By contrast, Africa and South America are each only responsible for 3% of the worlds total emissions over time.

This is a necessarily simplistic picture. It hides, for instance, which companies and organisations emitted most in Europe and North America, as well as which income groups emit most.

But even at this level, it is increasingly clear the wealthiest people in the world are the highest emitters  including the rich who live in the Global South.

This unequal distribution of emissions gave rise to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities in international environmental law in the 1990s.

This phrase speaks to the common responsibility to tackle climate change, the fact some nations have contributed less to the problem and some much more, and that some can respond more easily to the threat.

The idea was first articulated in the 1992 Rio Declaration on sustainable development. It was featured in the 1996 Kyoto Protocol on climate change and the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Pain for the poor

Until very recently, economic growth went hand in hand with using ever more fossil fuels.

The problem is the benefits were localised (an industry booms, a country gets wealthier), the environmental cost was deferred until later, and the damage would be borne more widely.

If fast-growing countries like Ethiopia, and Indonesia took the same route, climate change would get even worse and the world would blow through its shrinking carbon budget.

This is just one of many cruel twists of fate. As the damage done by climate change intensifies, developing countries have to spend more of their budgets on maintaining the status quo  repairing broken bridges, keeping farmers afloat  and less on improving the lives of their citizens.

Climate change also poses major financial risks to developing nations. To cope with more and worse disasters, governments have to borrow more. More of their budgets have to go towards servicing debt, leaving less for everything else.

Right now, millions are going hungry in southern Africa, after an unprecedented drought devastated crops. Zimbabwe has lost 80% of its crops, Zambia 70%.

In 2022, catastrophic floods in Pakistan forced almost 8 million people to leave their homes and forced another 20 million to seek immediate humanitarian aid.

These disasters are bad enough. But they can also disrupt national climate efforts. The hydroelectric Kariba Dam has long provided low-carbon power to Zambia and Zimbabwe. But the water level has dropped sharply due to the drought. In September, the dam stopped generating electricity  and brought power cuts across both nations. In response, the governments have looked to solar and even coal.

The Kariba dam between Zambia and Zimbabwe has been turned off, as water levels were too low to generate power. Keith Syse/Shutterstock

Who pays for loss and damage?

Adapting to climate change can only go so far. In response, nations in the Global South have sought recognition of the disproportionate loss and damage they were suffering.

In 2013, the world community set up the Warsaw Mechanism for Loss and Damage in a bid to tackle this injustice.

It took a decade of negotiation, stalling and delay before agreement was reached to create the Loss and Damage Fund at last years COP climate talks. It will be hosted in the World Bank at first. No funds have yet flowed.

This years COP meeting has been dubbed the finance COP. On the table will be how to structure this fund. One challenge will be securing funding, given contributions are voluntary and the Green Climate Fund and Adaptation Fund are also seeking funding for mitigation and adaptation projects.

At present, pledges come to a meagre US$661 billion. Wealthier countries have consistently tried to avoid liability for climate change and have blocked the use of terms such as compensation or reparation.

Will we see progress?

In 2009, nations agreed to fund climate change adaptation and mitigation at $100 billion a year. This figure has now been reached.

The top item at this years climate talks will be setting a bigger goal for these climate funds. We dont know yet whether loss and damage will be included alongside adaptation (living with it) and mitigation (preventing it). Leaders and activists in the Global South have called for a much larger sum for loss and damage, starting at $724 billion per year.

Climate change is already costing poor nations a great deal of money, estimated at $100 to $500 billion in damage each year.

If this years COP is to correct this injustice, funding must be in line with expected costs. Funding should flow largely as grants, rather than loans. And wealthy nations should also contribute towards the loss and damage already being suffered.

Unfortunately, were unlikely to see this happen if history is any guide. The COP discussions will be overshadowed by the election of Donald Trump, who has promised to give fossil fuel companies free rein.

Even so, these talks offer an important way to get wealthy nations to pay attention to the very real damage done by climate change, far from the headlines. Persistence and advocacy may still pay off.

Read more: COP29: who pays for climate action in developing nations  and how much  becomes more urgent
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. The Baku Initiative Group has organized a silent protest rally against nuclear tests in colonial territories in the COP29 Blue Zone, Trend reports.

The rally participants against the impact of colonization on the environment, the consequences of nuclear weapons, and demanded the right to live in a healthy environment.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action - was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Baku Initiative Group held a conference on decolonization and a green future within the framework of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), Trend reports.

According to the information, the event Solidarity for decolonization and green future held by Baku Initiative Group (BIG) in the pavilion of the National NGO Forum in Green Zone was attended by deputies of colonized Mali, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Djibouti, Togo, Mauritania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Cameroon, heads of non-governmental organizations, politicians, eco-activists, and human rights activists.

At the event, devoted to environmental problems in former colonies, opinions were exchanged on the best ways to achieve a green and foreign-free future for the African continent. Discussions touched upon the negative impacts of colonialism in those regions, sustainable development, and the promotion of ecological recovery and stability.

Participants described the continuation of the colonial policies of several states and condemned their attempts to implement new manifestations of colonialism. It was emphasized that France was expelled from the Sahel region of Africa because of colonial policies. The event stated the importance of decolonizing regions still under colonial oppression.

Speakers stated that colonialism had left a deep mark on Africa, and its effects are still being felt today. They noted that climate change was one of the greatest challenges facing the continent. The links between the colonial past and the current climate crisis in Africa were multifaceted and required detailed analysis. It has been reported that colonial powers turned African countries into suppliers of raw materials and cheap labor, preventing the development of local industry and agriculture. These policies made the economies of former and present colonial countries dependent on exports and vulnerable to external shocks as well as climate change. The colonizers' use of unsustainable land management practices, such as planting monocultures and deforestation, led to soil degradation and lower crop yields. This, in turn, increased the vulnerability of African countries to drought and other extreme weather events. Many African countries have become major exporters of oil and gas, increasing their dependence on fossil fuels and slowing the transition to renewable energy. Climate change is causing more frequent and severe droughts and floods, with negative impacts on agriculture, food security, and the economy as a whole. It causes problems such as rising sea levels, the spread of disease, and migration.

To note, this BIG event was organized within the framework of the grant competition COP29: International Initiatives announced jointly by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the State Support Agency for NGOs.

In the framework of the event, a video about the activities of the Baku Initiative Group (BIG) was screened. An exhibition of photos depicting the negative consequences of French nuclear tests in African countries was organized, and it was emphasized that these tests left a toxic legacy in the regions where they were conducted.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action  was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 Presidency has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. NGOs from eight countries, all part of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) and holding observer status, gathered under one roof for a forum on collaborative climate initiatives during COP29 in the Green Zone, Trend reports.

The forum saw a gathering of representatives from civil society institutions hailing from Azerbaijan, Turkiye, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and Turkmenistan.

The Turkic Countries Climate Initiatives Forum on Human Capital was organized by the State Support Agency for Non-Governmental Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan National Forum of NGOs.

The member of the COP29 Organizing Committee, Executive Director of the Agency for State Support of NGOs Aygun Aliyeva, noted that for the first time, NGOs of Turkic states started to organize at this level to achieve a common goal.

MPs Ramil Hasan and Gulshan Pashayeva emphasized the importance of joint activities.

Chairperson of the Committee on Civil Society Affairs of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan Gulbara Sultanova noted the importance of Azerbaijan's successful accession to COP29 for the entire Turkic world, calling the expansion of cooperation in this process and within NGOs an important event.

The chairman of the board of the National Association of Non-Governmental Non-Profit Organizations of the Republic of Uzbekistan Kamoliddin Ishanhokayev stated that the II Forum of Cooperation between Uzbek-Azerbaijani NGOs will be held in December this year, and this is another manifestation of deepening ties.

The forum then continued with panel discussions.

The first panel "Climate Change and Human Capital: the Role of civil society institutions of Turkic States" moderated by Agil Jamal, Chairman of the Public Association "Common Values", Latif Akca, responsible representative of the Administration of the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on work with NGOs, Mustafa Janer, representative of the Center for Political, Economic and Social Research of Turkiye (SETA); and Mustafa Jahner, Chairman of the Association of Women and Girls of Uzbekistan Nasiba Miradilova, ecologist from Uzbekistan Bunyod Abdullayev, spoke at the first panel "Climate change and human capital: the role of civil society institutions of Turkic states".

The second panel, "The Role of Civil Society in Involving Youth in Climate Issues in the Turkic States," featured various presentations by Sumeyye Ceylan, Deputy Chairperson of the Turkish Yesilay Society, Elnura Isabekova, founder of the "Civic Ideas Foundation," implementing the project of the Youth Parliament of Kyrgyzstan, David Biro, member of the Hungarian representation of the Organization of Turkic States, Shirin Abidova, Head of the Volunteers Union of Uzbekistan.

To wrap it all up, the representatives of the Turkic states tipped their hats to Azerbaijan for pulling off a COP event for the first time in the Turkic world, expressing their pride in this remarkable achievement. It was observed that in the blink of an eye, the top-notch organizational efforts have turned into yet another feather in the cap of the Azerbaijani state.

The Organization of Turkic States (OTS), previously known as the Turkic Council or the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, is an intergovernmental entity that includes all but one of the internationally recognized Turkic sovereign nations. The primary objective is to foster extensive collaboration among the Turkic nations. The General Secretariat of OTS is situated in Istanbul, Turkiye.

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An aerial drone photo taken on July 19, 2024 shows the view of Azheke Village in Yuanyang County of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. Seven villages in China have been honored as Best Tourism Villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) in its 2024 selection, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Announced at a UN Tourism meeting held in Cartagena, Colombia on Friday Beijing Time, the seven new additions bring the total number of Chinese villages recognized as Best Tourism Villages to 15, making China the country with the highest number of villages holding this title. The seven Chinese villages picked by UN Tourism this year are Azheke Village in Yunnan, Guanyang Village in Fujian, Shibadong Village in Hunan, Taoping Village in Sichuan, Xiaogang Village in Anhui, Xitou Village in Zhejiang and Yandunjiao Village in Shandong. [Photo by Zhang Yan/Xinhua]

BEIJING, Nov. 15 (Xinhua)  Seven villages in China have been honored as Best Tourism Villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) in its 2024 selection, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Announced at a UN Tourism meeting held in Cartagena, Colombia on Friday Beijing Time, the seven new additions bring the total number of Chinese villages recognized as Best Tourism Villages to 15, making China the country with the highest number of villages holding this title.

The seven Chinese villages picked by UN Tourism this year are Azheke Village in Yunnan, Guanyang Village in Fujian, Shibadong Village in Hunan, Taoping Village in Sichuan, Xiaogang Village in Anhui, Xitou Village in Zhejiang and Yandunjiao Village in Shandong.

Spanning eastern, central and western regions of the country, these villages are highly representative in terms of geography, culture and development models -- highlighting the remarkable achievements of rural tourism development across China.

For example, Yunnan's Azheke Village, nestled in the heart of the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has embraced a unique approach to tourism development. Villagers have contributed resources such as terraces, houses and traditional ways of life, creating a model of collective participation and shared prosperity.

Shibadong Village in Hunan, meanwhile, serves as a landmark in China's poverty reduction efforts. It is the birthplace of the concept of "targeted poverty alleviation" -- a key strategy that enabled China to lift nearly 100 million people out of poverty. By integrating culture and tourism to drive new momentum for rural development, the once-impoverished village now showcases China's rural revitalization success to the world.

Anhui's Xiaogang, a village where China's rural reform began over four decades ago, is another location making strides on its new journey toward achieving rural revitalization. Today, visitors from across the globe can witness the profound changes China has undergone by exploring this village.

To promote rural tourism, UN Tourism launched the Best Tourism Villages project in 2021 to recognize villages across the world that are leading the way in nurturing rural areas and preserving landscapes, cultural diversity, local values and culinary traditions.

An aerial drone photo taken on April 24, 2024 shows the view of Azheke Village in Yuanyang County of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. Seven villages in China have been honored as Best Tourism Villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) in its 2024 selection, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. [Photo by Zhang Yan/Xinhua]

Students and tourists sketch at the Yunshuiyao scenic spot in Guanyang Village of Nanjing County, southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug. 17, 2021. [Xinhua/Song Weiwei]

Tourists visit Guanyang Village of Nanjing County, southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug. 17, 2021. [Xinhua/Song Weiwei]

An aerial drone photo taken on Oct. 10, 2023 shows the view of Shibadong Village of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, central China's Hunan Province. [Xinhua/Chen Sihan]

An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 24, 2022 shows a view of the snow-covered Shibadong Village of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, central China's Hunan Province. [Photo by Long Enze/Xinhua]

An aerial drone photo taken on Sept. 13, 2023 shows a view of Taoping Village in Lixian County of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Sichuan Province. [Xinhua/Wang Xi]

Villagers do needlework in front of their house in Taoping Village in Lixian County of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Sept. 13, 2023. [Xinhua/Wang Xi]

An aerial drone photo taken on Sept. 27, 2024 shows the view of Xiaogang Village in Fengyang County of Chuzhou, east China's Anhui Province. [Xinhua/Zhang Duan]

An aerial drone photo taken on Sept. 26, 2024 shows the view of Xiaogang Village in Fengyang County of Chuzhou, east China's Anhui Province. [Xinhua/Zhang Duan]

An aerial drone photo taken on Sept. 24, 2019 shows a view of Xitou Village of Longquan City in Lishui, east China's Zhejiang Province. [Photo by Zhang Yougang/Xinhua]

Longquan celadon wares are displayed at an exhibition in Xitou Village of Longquan City in Lishui, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 13, 2023. [Photo by Zhang Yougang/Xinhua]

An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 7, 2024 shows a view of Yandunjiao Village of Rongcheng, east China's Shandong Province. [Photo by Li Xinjun/Xinhua]

This photo taken on Dec. 17, 2023 shows a view of the snow-covered Yandunjiao Village of Rongcheng, east China's Shandong Province. [Photo by Li Xinjun/Xinhua]

(Source: Xinhua)

Editor: Wang Shasha
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers an important speech under the title "Shouldering Responsibility to Our Times And Jointly Promoting Asia-Pacific Development" at the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting at the Lima Convention Center in Lima, Peru, Nov. 16, 2024. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi]

China is set to play host again with a significant mission: to unite Asia-Pacific economies to champion open economic and trade cooperation while rejecting protectionist and confrontational trade tactics.

LIMA, Nov. 17 (Xinhua)  Chinese President Xi Jinping announced on Saturday that China will host the 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and is ready to work with all parties to deepen Asia-Pacific cooperation.

He made the remarks when addressing the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting held in the Peruvian capital. Under this year's theme of Empower, Include, Grow, APEC members agreed to work towards an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community at a time of mounting challenges and uncertainties.

China's hosting of the 2026 APEC summit underscores its advocacy for openness and cooperation, serving as a tangible step toward strengthening Asia-Pacific solidarity and fostering an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future.

It is expected to play a positive and pivotal role in building broader consensus and deliver more tangible results for regional connectivity and a more balanced, sustainable, and inclusive growth of Asia-Pacific and beyond.

Workers gather near a poster at the G20 summit venue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Nov. 16, 2024. [Xinhua/Wang Tiancong]

Close Bond with APEC

It will mark the third time China has hosted APEC. When China first hosted the APEC summit in 2001, it was poised to join the World Trade Organization, signaling its readiness to step fully into the global economic arena.

By the time China hosted APEC again in 2014, the country had become an economic powerhouse, driving global growth through deepened integration into the world economy.

Now, China is set to play host again with a significant mission: to unite Asia-Pacific economies to champion open economic and trade cooperation while rejecting protectionist and confrontational trade tactics.

To advance Asia-Pacific cooperation, China took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility by offering to host APEC in 2026, which is welcomed by APEC members and has received their endorsement at this year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Saturday.

"We look forward to working with all parties to deepen Asia-Pacific cooperation to the benefit of the peoples in the region," Xi said during his speech.

China's previous experience in hosting APEC demonstrates its ability to build consensus, said Carlos Vasquez, 2024 chair of APEC senior officials ambassador.

"China played a very important role along with some other very important economies ... to gain consensus again from the very beginning in the APEC year 2024 here in Peru," said Vasquez.

Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan, executive director of the Islamabad-based Centre of South Asia and International Studies, said it is foreseeable that China will further share the achievements of its policies of openness, modernization, digitalization, and qualitative industrial development. He expressed the hope that Chinese policymakers will share new befitting propositions, plans, and initiatives to enhance regional and global economic integration and foster international cooperation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers an important speech under the title "Shouldering Responsibility to Our Times And Jointly Promoting Asia-Pacific Development" at the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting at the Lima Convention Center in Lima, Peru, Nov. 16, 2024. [Xinhua/Xie Huanchi]

Call for Better Asia-Pacific Development

During his speech, Xi urged APEC economies to "act in solidarity and cooperation to meet the challenges, fully deliver on the Putrajaya Vision 2040, build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future, and start a new era in Asia-Pacific development."

The Putrajaya Vision 2040, adopted by APEC leaders in 2020, envisions "an open, dynamic, resilient, and peaceful Asia-Pacific community by 2040, for the prosperity of all our people and future generations."

This vision of shared prosperity and enduring stability faces growing challenges. Geopolitical tensions, coupled with economic disruptions fueled by unilateralism, protectionism, and attempts at "decoupling" and "de-risking," have placed unprecedented strain on the region's stability and growth.

"We should stay committed to multilateralism and an open economy, firmly uphold the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, fully reactivate APEC's role as an incubator of global economic and trade rules, and advance regional economic integration and connectivity," said Xi.

He also emphasized the need to make green innovation a catalyst for the Asia-Pacific and called on APEC members to increase support for developing economies and disadvantaged groups and work together to grow the pie and distribute it equitably to allow more economies and people to benefit from development.

Neo Letswalo, a researcher at the Department of Politics and International Relations in South Africa's University of Johannesburg, said APEC members should foster more regional integration efforts, starting with establishing joint commitments to enhancing free trade, decarbonization and investments, as "strong economic interdependency prevents conflict and tension."

In the views of Khan, "Xi's suggestions facilitate a positive, productive, and participatory trading system, producing win-win situations for every country in the Asia-Pacific."

Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders and representatives from APEC member economies pose for a group photo in Lima, Peru, Nov. 16, 2024. [Xinhua/Huang Jingwen]

Commitment to Shared Future

For the past three decades, APEC members have joined hands towards closer cooperation and deeper regional integration, making Asia-Pacific the world's most dynamic and promising economic powerhouse, as well as a key driving force for global growth and poverty reduction.

Today, the world looks different. It is gripped by anemic growth and confronted with challenges such as unilateralism and protectionism. China, which has made great strides in economic growth and social development since its reform and opening up over 40 years ago, has offered and will continue to provide solutions to these problems.

Opening up is a distinct hallmark of Chinese modernization, and China has remained committed to opening its door wider to the world.

China continues to implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership against high standards, and is also working actively to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, Xi said.

"China welcomes all parties to continue riding the 'express train' of its development and grow together with the Chinese economy so that we can all contribute to the modernization of all countries featuring peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation and common prosperity," he added.

In interviews with Xinhua, Asia-Pacific experts and officials noted that China's remarkable success through high-quality opening up has given it a deep understanding of the importance of an open global economic system and the critical need to advance multilateral and win-win cooperation.

As a major country in the Asia-Pacific, China "has consistently adhered to a development path that aligns with APEC's spirit of openness, inclusiveness, and mutual benefit," said Woo Su-keun, director of the Institute of East Asian Studies of Korea.

"It is more important for countries to demonstrate strong leadership through concrete actions rather than words," Woo said.

For Ong Chong Yi, executive director of the Malaysian think tank Belt and Road Initiative Caucus for Asia-Pacific, China has opened its market to provide development opportunities for countries in the region, driving inclusive economic growth within the Asia-Pacific.

"At the same time, China actively supports infrastructure development in developing nations, enhancing connectivity and economic and social inclusivity across the region. These efforts create more opportunities for shared progress and prosperity," he said.

(Source: Xinhua)

Editor: Wang Shasha
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Nov. 17, 2024. Xi arrived here Sunday for the 19th G20 Summit and a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. [Xinhua/Li Xueren]

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 17 (Xinhua)  Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday said he looks forward to having an in-depth exchange of views with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on further enhancing China-Brazil relations, promoting synergy of the two countries' development strategies, as well as international and regional issues of common interest.

Xi made the remarks in a written statement upon his arrival in Brazil for the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit and a state visit to the country at the invitation of President Lula. Xi also extended sincere greetings and best wishes to the government and people of Brazil.

Noting that he has visited Brazil four times and witnessed the development and changes in the country over the past 30 years, Xi said he feels very close to Brazil as he again stepped onto this passionate land.

China and Brazil are like-minded friends with the same aspirations and good partners forging ahead hand in hand, Xi said. Although separated by oceans, China and Brazil, two major developing countries in the eastern and western hemispheres respectively, are attracted to each other and echo each other at a distance, he said.

In recent years, the two countries have continued to deepen political mutual trust, yielded fruitful results in practical cooperation, achieved flourishing people-to-people and cultural cooperation, and showed new vitality of the times in the traditional friendship, Xi said.

China and Brazil have also jointly made the just voice of the Global South in the international arena and made important contributions to promoting world peace and development, Xi added.

As China and Brazil celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year, relations between the two countries stand at an important historical juncture of building on past achievements and forging ahead, he said.

Xi said he believes the visit will further strengthen the two countries' strategic mutual trust, deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields and usher in a new "golden 50 years" for China-Brazil relations.

Looking forward to attending the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit, Xi said he is ready to work with all parties to discuss plans and seek development, jointly advocate an equal and orderly multi-polar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and promote the G20 to continue to play a greater role as an important platform for international economic cooperation.

Xi arrived here from Lima, where he attended the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and paid a state visit to Peru.

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Rio de Janeiro for the 19th G20 Summit and a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Nov. 17, 2024. [Xinhua/Ding Haitao]

People welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Nov. 17, 2024. Xi arrived here Sunday for the 19th G20 Summit and a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. [Xinhua/Li Yan]

People welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Nov. 17, 2024. Xi arrived here Sunday for the 19th G20 Summit and a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. [Xinhua/Li Yan]

People bid farewell to Chinese President Xi Jinping on his way to the airport in Lima, Peru, Nov. 17, 2024. Xi left Lima on Sunday after attending the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and paying a state visit to the Republic of Peru. [Xinhua/Bi Xiaoyang]

People wave the national flags of China and Peru by the road as Chinese President Xi Jinping leaves for the airport in Lima, Peru, Nov. 17, 2024. Xi left Lima on Sunday after attending the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and paying a state visit to the Republic of Peru. [Xinhua/Bi Xiaoyang]

People bid farewell to Chinese President Xi Jinping on his way to the airport in Lima, Peru, Nov. 17, 2024. Xi left Lima on Sunday after attending the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and paying a state visit to the Republic of Peru. [Xinhua/Bi Xiaoyang]

(Source: Xinhua)

Editor: Wang Shasha
Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the opening ceremony of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 4, 2016. [Xinhua/Li Tao]

BEIJING, Nov. 17 (Xinhua)  As a representative mix of the world's major economies, the Group of Twenty (G20) has become the premier forum the world looks up to today in moments of global economic turmoil and crisis.

With a thorough grasp of the G20's unique role, Chinese President Xi Jinping has consistently championed the G20's joint efforts to follow the spirit of sailing in the same boat and join hands to live up to their respective duty.

"All G20 members should take the responsibility inherent in being major international and regional players, and should lead by example in promoting development of all nations, improving the well-being for the whole mankind, and advancing progress of the entire world," he once said.

Now as Xi joins other leaders for the 19th G20 summit in Brazil, the international community is keen to see how they will address the great uncertainties troubling today's world, particularly what solutions China will propose for building a better future for all.

When G20 leaders gathered for their first summit in November 2008 in Washington, they were struggling to cope with an unprecedented global financial meltdown. By championing a collective drive, the group helped steer the global economy away from the brink of an abyss and put it onto the path of recovery.

Over the past few years, China has joined other G20 members in tackling another major crisis, the most serious global pandemic in a century and ensuing economic slump. This time the battle is even more onerous. As Xi observed, the impact was even worse than that of the 2008 maelstrom.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 16th G20 Leaders' Summit via video link in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 31, 2021. [Xinhua/Yue Yuewei]

To rejuvenate post-pandemic global economic recovery, Xi called on all G20 members to rise to the challenge, enhance international macro-economic policy coordination, jointly stabilize global industrial and supply chains, and reduce trade barriers, including tariffs.

"It is imperative that we apply the right prescriptions to address both symptoms and root causes of the problems we face," he said at the 2021 G20 summit.

Xi's multi-pronged measures "are systematic, comprehensive and focused," said Lu Feng, an emeritus professor of economics at Peking University. "They have enriched G20's policy toolkit, and enhanced its proactivity and foresight in governing global economy."

One of the key problems the G20 members jointly addressed was the debt burden that was straining low-income countries' resources for fighting the pandemic and safeguarding lives. In April 2020, the G20 announced a Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) to help vulnerable countries, an exceptional financial safety net that was extended through December 2021.

Under Xi's leadership, China implemented the G20's DSSI in all respects, and suspended the largest amount of debt service payment among all G20 members.

"China fulfilled its role fairly well as a responsible G20 stakeholder" in helping address African countries' sovereign debt problem, said a report by the China Africa Research Initiative at the Johns Hopkins University, a program dedicated to understanding the political and economic aspects of China-Africa relations.

(Source: Xinhua)

Editor: Wang Shasha


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BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. Clean Energy Jabrayil LLC and Baku Steel Company have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on a solar power project aimed at supplying renewable energy to Baku Steel Company via the central grid network, Trend reports.

The project, which involves the development of a 100 MW solar power plant in the Soltanli village of Jabrayil, consists of two parts: Shams and Horizon solar stations, each with a 50 MW capacity. The solar power generated will be used to meet the energy needs of the local manufacturing sector. The energy from both solar plants will be supplied to Baku Steel Company, along with other offtakers.

The solar plants will be developed by two dedicated investment vehicles, Enerso Jabrayil, a Nobel Energy subsidiary and Clean Energy Jabrayil by Clean Energy Investment LLC, each committed to driving green energy initiatives.

This initiative supports Azerbaijan's green energy transition strategy and contributes to the country's sustainable development goals.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. 'Green' jobs will greatly foster environmental protection, Georgian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Mikhail Sarjveladze said at a COP29 high-level trilateral roundtable on green activities and skills today, Trend reports.

He highlighted that these jobs cover the new and budding 'green' sectors.

"In Georgia, we see a growing demand for skilled workers in these fields. One of the main priorities of the ministry is to provide government-funded employment services and support especially vulnerable groups of workers. I want to emphasize that 'green' jobs are also a pathway to a sustainable and prosperous future.

By investing in the workforce and closely collaborating with our international partners, we are laying the foundation that aligns economic growth with environmental responsibility. Together, we can ensure the inclusivity of the transition to a green economy and create opportunities for all of our workers," he added.

To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date, and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.

Within COP29, the highest level event - the summit of world leaders on climate action - was held on November 1213.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 chairmanship has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

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Dockworkers: Tell us what you think about the talks and what you are fighting for by filling out the form below! All submissions will be kept anonymous.

Container ships are docked at the Port of New York and New Jersey in Elizabeth, New Jersey, May 20, 2021. [AP Photo/Seth Wenig]

Contract negotiations between the International Longshoremens Association (ILA) and the US Maritime Alliance (USMX) broke down last week after only two days. The key issue in the negotiations to establish a new master contract for the East and Gulf Coast docks is automation, which companies are using to slash jobs and increase profits. For the moment, talks are on hold.

In a statement last week, the ILA said that talks broke down when management introduced their intent to implement semi-automation  a direct contradiction to their opening statement, where they assured us that neither full nor semi-automation would be on the table. USMX seeks to establish semi-automation in the new contract as a first step toward full automation in the future. Other unresolved issues include healthcare benefits for ILA members and retirees and container royalties.

The breakdown of talks is an exposure of the supposed victory declared by the ILA after shutting down a three day strike by 45,000 workers in October. The strike was shut down without a tentative agreement. Instead, the union apparatus touted a verbal agreement with USMX on a 62 percent pay raise as a victory and sent longshoremen back to work. The question of automation, along with all other questions, was left to be resolved after a 90 day extension of the old deal, which expires on January 15.

Dockworkers have vented their frustration with this betrayal on social media. Now we got a new president coming in who, based on who he is saying is gonna be in his administration (Elon [Musk]), isnt gonna be sympathetic to our fight against automation, wrote one worker. We agreed to revisit things after the inauguration  but it sure seems like we have a much worse negotiating position now. The worker ruefully pointed to the ILAs role. Seems like we got [betrayed] by the guys at the top who agreed to end the strike. We missed our opportunity!

Theres so much more at stake and needing negotiations, another worker commented. Getting pensions back, only allowing AI [artificial intelligence] cameras in trucks to be monitored for incidental issues, container royalty. The worker cited USMXs double-dealing on the question of automation as a reason for the strike. Its time for the longshoremen to finally get what theyre entitled to and stop settling for low deal bargains, this is what union dues are paid for!!!

Despite his foul-mouthed tirades and feigned militancy, ILA President Harold Daggett sought to end the strike at the first opportunity. The stoppage that began on October 1 was the first strike at East and Gulf Coast ports in almost 50 years; the ILA leadership has helped the operators slash jobs and suppress wages for decades.

With an annual salary of nearly $1 million, Daggett inhabits an entirely different social world than do the longshoremen he claims to represent. His material interests coincide with those of the carriers rather than those of the workers. Daggett would have prevented the recent strike entirely had not workers anger been so great.

To suspend the strike, Daggett collaborated not only with USMX, but also with the Biden administration. Through acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, Biden was intimately involved in negotiations. One reason for this involvement is that about half of the countrys ocean shipping flows through the East and Gulf Coast docks, making them vital to the US economy.

The ports are also essential to the war plans of US imperialism. One of Bidens central priorities has been the shipment of arms to Ukraine for NATOs proxy war against Russia. Another has been the continued supply of materiel to Israel as it commits genocide against the Palestinians, murders civilians in Lebanon and Syria and prepares for war against Iran. Determined to prevent a serious disruption to these wars and to the accumulation of corporate profit, Biden worked closely with the ILA and USMX to end the strike quickly.

The new January 15 deadline is only five days before the inauguration of President-Elect Donald Trump. Should talks fail and dockworkers resume their strike, Trump would be presented immediately with his first domestic crisis.

During the presidential campaign, Trump took advantage of the Democrats utter indifference to mass economic suffering to posture as a friend of workers. But Trumps election represents at bottom a violent realignment of the US political system with massive levels of inequality in the country.

His cabinet nominees, including Marco Rubio as secretary of state and Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense, make plain that Trump will pursue a policy of imperialist war that will be funded through unprecedented cuts to education and social programs. Moreover, Trumps nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a notorious promoter of quackery and opponent of vaccines, indicates that he plans a frontal assault on public health, even as the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic persists and the danger of H5N1 grows.

The ILA leadership will continue collaborating with Biden, and, if necessary, Trump to prevent a resumption of the strike or, failing that, to betray it as quickly as possible. Although the ILA did not endorse a presidential candidate, Daggett met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida last fall. Daggett said that Trump promised to support the ILA in its opposition to automated terminals. What this really means is that the ILA bureaucracy is prepared to work with Trump to crush rank-and-file opposition from below.

To prevent the betrayal that is being prepared behind closed doors, longshoremen must seize the initiative from the ILA leadership. Taking this step will require workers to organize a rank-and-file committee that is independent of the union apparatus and of both capitalist parties. In this way, dockworkers can control their own struggle democratically and coordinate their actions along the East and Gulf Coasts.

The intervention of the government in their struggle and the speed with which the strike was suspended in October reflect the tremendous power in dockworkers hands. They can gain even more support by reaching out to Canadian dockworkers, who now face binding arbitration after Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ordered them back to work last week to protect corporate profits. The East and Gulf Coast workers struggle is not only international, but also fundamentally political. It is inseparable from the fight to end the subordination of human life to profit and from the struggle for workers control over the economy.
A key demand of the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) in Sri Lanka is Repudiate all foreign debt! It is an essential component of the partys fight to mobilise the social power of the working class to defend its social and democratic rights and advance the fight for the socialist reorganisation of society.

During the partys interventionsincluding the SEPs campaigns in the recent presidential and parliamentary electionsseveral workers, university students and young people have raised important questions about this demand.

These include: Why is it necessary to reject the repayment of foreign debts? How can this be done? Wont the imperialist countries and international financial capital strongly oppose such action? How is it possible to withstand such formidable opposition?

These are legitimate questions that go to the heart of the partys socialist internationalist program based on the independent mobilisation of the working class.

The ongoing and unprecedented economic disaster that has engulfed Sri Lanka since early 2022 is fundamentally not a national crisis. Rather, it is a product and expression of a systemic crisis of global capitalism that was further exacerbated by the deadly COVID-19 pandemic and the US-NATO instigated war against Russia over Ukraine.

In December 2021, Sri Lankas foreign reserves plummeted to just $1.6 billion, leading the government of former President Gotabhaya Rajapakse to announce on April 12, 2022, that Sri Lanka was defaulting on all its foreign loans.

This was part of the Rajapakse governments continuing drive to heap the burden of the crisis on the workers and the poor by halting or curtailing access to essentials such as food, medicine and fuel and imposing power cuts. The mass popular uprising against unbearable living conditions that convulsed the island in AprilJuly 2022 forced Rajapakse to flee the country and resign.

A strike in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, April 28, 2022, demanding President Gotabaya Rajapakse resign. [AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena]

Nothing was resolved, however. Ranil Wickremesinghe, the lone UNP MP and a notorious pro-US stooge, was undemocratically installed as president by the discredited parliament after the trade unions and the fake-left Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) diverted the mass movement behind calls by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) for an interim government.

With SJB and JVP support, the Wickremesinghe government then negotiated a $US3 billion bailout loan with the US-dominated International Monetary Fund (IMF). Inevitably, the bailout was made conditional on the imposition of savage austerity measures aimed at making the masses pay for the crisis and a restructuring of Sri Lankan capitalism to make it an even greater source of lucrative profits for global investors.

In the less than two years since, taxes have been expanded and dramatically increased, prices for essential items sharply raised, tariffs hiked for electricity and water, and massive cuts made to vital public services, like education and health care.

As a result, government revenue has increased by 40 percent in the first eight months of this year compared to the same period in 2023.

Newly-elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has already reassured the IMF that his JVP/National Peoples Power (NPP) government will carry out its dictates.

What does this entail? Further savage austerity under the IMF program and for many, many years to come.

As per the IMFs diktats, the Dissanayake JVP/NPP government will be compelled to go much further than even Wickremesinghes. It is legally committed and politically pledged to continue imposing punishing tax and rate hikes, slashing government expenditure, and to completing the wholesale restructuring of state-owned enterprises begun under Wickremesinghe. The sell-off of state enterprises and services and the subordination of others to capitalist profit-making will result in the destruction of tens of thousands of jobs, across-the-board wages and pension cuts, and increased workloads.

Moreover, starting in 2028, under an agreement ratified by the JVP/NPP government within days of Dissanayakes election, Colombo will have to begin paying international bondholdersthose to whom Sri Lankas foreign debt is owedan estimated $5 billion per year for the following 15 years.

These are colossal sums to be extracted from working people. $5 billion is equal to about a third of the governments total current budget and represents well over 5 percent of current GDP.

Claims by Dissanyake and the JVP/NPP, that they will renegotiate the terms of the IMF loans to protect the poorest and most vulnerable sections of the population are a fantasy or, to be more precise, a monstrous fraud. In country after country, the IMF has exerted its enormous financial power, backed by all the major imperialist centres, to enforce its diktats. Any changes negotiated by the JVP/NPP government will be purely cosmetic.

We have seen this movie many times before in Sri Lanka and around the globe. Parties, whether nominally left or right, win election promising to alleviate socio-economic distress only to continue the policies of their predecessors. The most salient example in this regard is that of Syriza in Greecea party like the JVP promoted by the internal media as left-wing and anti-establishment. It won election in 2015 by exploiting mass popular anger to the austerity diktats of the European Union, only to impose more savage attacks on working people than its avowedly right-wing predecessors.

Dissanayake and the JVP/NPP are simply lying. In preparation for taking the reins of power, they have provided explicit assurances to the Sri Lankan bourgeoisie and Washington that they will enforce the program of the IMF and continue Wickremsignhes integration of Sri Lanka into the US-led, Indian-backed military-strategic offensive against China. Theirs is a right-wing capitalist regime, which like that of Wickremesinghe and Rajapakse, and capitalist governments around the world, will obey the dictates of the market and international finance capital.

Why is it necessary to oppose the IMF program in its entirety and repudiate all foreign debt? Quite simply, because otherwise the workers and rural toilers will suffer an enormous social regression. The demands of the IMF and the capitalist vultures who own Sri Lankas debt are incompatible with the basic needs of the masses. Already, poverty has soared and public services have been bled white. Large sections of working people are finding it impossible to adequately feed their families, let alone pay for their bills and health care and educational expenses for their children.

A father and son share a meal at their shanty in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, October 5, 2022. [AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena]

Moreover, why should working people pay for these debts? None of these loans were contracted by or for the workers and toilers. They were entered into by successive capitalist governments to finance the reactionary 26 year-long communal war against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. And in the wake of the enormous destruction caused by that war, to continue paying for a massive military-security apparatus and to rebuild infrastructureagain not for the benefit of workers and their families, but to offer highly profitable opportunities to investors.

Our demands to oppose all aspects of the IMF programfrom tariff hikes and budget cuts to privatisationand repudiate the foreign debt serves to concretise the necessity for the working class to take up a struggle against the Sri Lankan ruling elite and capitalism.

To whom are these demands addressed? Not to the JVP/NPP government, parliament or the opposition parties, all of which are organically incapable of challenging the prerogatives of international finance capital. Rather, they are addressed to the working class as a lever for mobilising it against the bankrupt capitalist order and all the representatives of the ruling class and in the fight for workers power.

They are an essential element in a series of demands aimed at the development of an independent movement of the working class, which must mobilise the rural masses behind it, in the struggle for a workers and peasants government to restructure society along socialist lines.

These demands are linked to the Socialist Equality Partys call for the formation of workers action committees independent of all agencies of the capitalist classits parties, their trade unions and fake-left groups such as the Frontline Socialist Party.

We are fighting to build a Democratic and Socialist Congress of Workers and Rural Masses based on elected delegates from their action committees. The parties of the ruling class have their parliament to form their government to oversee the exploitation of working people, including the imposition of savage IMF austerity. The workers and rural toilers need a forum in which they can articulate their class needs and organise a fight for a government that represents their class interests.

How could the foreign debt burden be repudiated? Through the establishment of a government of workers and peasants, as was accomplished in Russia through the working-class led 1917 October Revolution, which created the worlds first and only workers government to date. Among the very first acts of that governmentwhich was established on the basis of Soviets, democratically elected councils of workers and peasants, akin to the action committees the SEP is fighting to buildwas the repudiation of the debts of the Czarist autocracy and Russian bourgeoisie.

Then the critical question arises: wouldnt the imperialist powers and their agencies such as the IMF attempt to strangle such a government in Sri Lanka, including financially and through sanctions and other reprisals? Of course they would. But there is an even greater social force to which a workers and peasants government in Sri Lanka would necessarily appealthe international working class.

There is an essential lesson arising from the experience of the Soviet Union that needs to be indelibly burned into the memories of workers. The degeneration and destruction of the first workers state was not the consequence of socialism and Marxism, but of Stalinismthat is, the repudiation of international socialism on the basis of the reactionary program of socialism in one country. A careful study of the political lessons of the protracted struggle of the Trotskyist movement against Stalinism is critical preparation for the class battles ahead.

None of the enormous dangers facing the working class in Sri Lanka and around the worldwar, climate change, social counter-revolutioncan be combated, let alone resolved, within the framework of any one country. Working people in Sri Lanka are not alone in confronting the predatory activities of international finance capital.

As the WSWS article entitled Finance capital sucking the lifeblood out of impoverished countries has analysed, even the IMF in a recent report was forced to acknowledge that while finance capital is reaping benefits as it sucks in money like a giant vacuum cleaner, the masses are facing poverty, hunger and misery.

The objective basis for a unified struggle against international finance capital certainly exists. To cite just a few examples:

Since June this year, mass protests have convulsed Kenya involving hundreds of thousands of workers and youth opposed to the IMF-dictated austerity program being implemented by President William Ruto.

Bangladesh was swept by huge demonstrations in JulyAugust, forcing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to neighbouring India. Underlying the mass student protests was the decades-long IMF austerity programs that have created grinding poverty and unemployment.

Popular protests erupted in Pakistan in April and May and opposition is continuing against IMF dictated economic restructuring.

The upsurge of class struggle is not limited to the worlds poorest countries. At the centre of world imperialism, the US has accumulated the largest debt in the world. The incoming Trump administration is openly preparing a social counter-revolution against the working classto pay for US wars abroad and to boost the profits of the billionaire oligarchy. The strikes that have already erupted will only broaden as a result. Similar processes are also underway in Europe.

The critical lesson from the 2022 uprising in Sri Lanka, as well as of countless other struggles, is that without a thoroughly worked out program based on socialist internationalism such a movement, no matter how large and militant, will inevitably be dissipated and defeated.

The SEP in Sri Lanka and its sister parties of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), rooted in the historic struggle of Trotskyism against Stalinism, are building the necessary revolutionary leaderships to unify the international working class to abolish capitalism. The ICFI has initiated the International Workers Alliance of Rank and File Committees as the means of coordinating the struggles of workers around the world.

We urge workers and youth in Sri Lanka to take up this political fight and to join and build the SEP.
Wolfgang Weber, an outstanding fighter for Trotskyism and longtime National Committee member of the Socialist Equality Party (SGP), died on Saturday, November 16. He was 75 years old. His death is an immense loss for all comrades of the SGP and the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), many of whom have worked closely with him for decades, and several for even over half a century.

Wolfgang Weber speaking at a meeting against the genocide in Gaza in November 2023

Wolfgang came into contact with the Trotskyist movement in the early 1970s in Britain, where he spent several years as a visiting student. He was inspired by the great strike movement of the British workers at the time and the principled struggle of the British Trotskyists under the leadership of Gerry Healy. He used his student stay to intensively study the writings of Marx, Lenin and Trotsky.

Back in Germany, he became a member of the BSA (Bund Sozialistischer Arbeiter), the predecessor organisation of the SGP. When asked a few years later whether he would be willing to work full-time for the party, he quit his studies without hesitation and took over the editorship of the Neue Arbeiterpresse, our central organ at the time, for many years.

Based on Trotskys analysis, Wolfgang wrote many articles on the counter-revolutionary role of Stalinism. He was convinced that the struggle for socialism in the working class required a clear understanding of the emergence and development of the Stalinist bureaucracy.

When the ICFI broke in 1985/86 with the British Workers Revolutionary Party (WRP), which had opportunistically degenerated and moved closer to Stalinism, Wolfgang stood steadfastly on the ICFIs side.

In the early 1990s, his book, The GDR40 Years of Stalinism: A Contribution to the History of the GDR was published (available in German only). A few years earlier, he brought together his articles on the events in Poland in the book Solidarity in Poland 1980-81 and the Perspective of Political Revolution. He conducted a sharp polemic against the Pabloites betrayal of the Polish working class and also dealt with the reactionary positions of the WRP leadership.

Wolfgang played an important role in the ICFIs struggle to defend historical truth. Wolfgang seized the initiative when Robert Services defamatory biography of Trotsky, the falsifications of which David North had extensively refuted in his book In Defense of Leon Trotsky, was to be published in Germany. He contacted the well-known but by then already very elderly historian Professor Hermann Weber and discussed the issues with him. His interview with Professor Weber, Robert Service has written a diatribe, not a scientific polemic!, still impresses today.

Wolfgang persuaded twelve renowned historians to take a stand against Services diatribe, and Suhrkamp Verlag was forced to make extensive corrections and postpone the publication for over a year.

In addition to his tireless political work, Wolfgang was very interested in cultural issues. He took every opportunity to visit the theatre or opera and also brought these questions to the attention of workers.

In recent years, he struggled with cancer, but remained politically active and engaged until his last breath. Just a few days ago, he chaired a study group of IYSSE members and wanted to attend a meeting of the partys national committee.

Wolfgang Weber was an outstanding fighter who devoted his entire life to the service of the working class and the preparation of the socialist revolution.

Yes, we are saddened by the death of our comrade and friend. But his unshakable confidence in the strength of the working class and the importance of Trotskyism is also an example and incentive for us.

We will soon publish a detailed appreciation of his political life. We ask you to send letters of condolence to sgp@gleichheit.de.
A TikTok video of a UCLA astrophysics professor made homeless by unlivable wages has struck a nerve globally.

I was paid so poorly last year and currently that I was forced to move all of my belongings into a public storage unit and I can no longer live in my one-bedroom apartment in Westwood [UCLA-adjacent area], McKeown explained on a TikTok video which has garnered more than 1.6 million views.

McKeowns video has gone viral and the majority of comments show a healthy stream of support stemming from various workers and students around the globe.

Teachers should be one of the highest paid workers of society, one viewer said. For those who say well, you should get another job or in a different industry are missing the point, added another.

The World Socialist Web Site spoke with professor McKeown, who provided more insight on his current situation and his fight for fair compensation.

McKeown graduated from the University of California Irvine in 2022 with a PhD in physics and then did a year as a postdoc at UCI while he looked for a new job.

It took 10 months before he was hired as a full-time lecturer at UCLA in September of 2023. It was a lot longer than people said it would take, McKeown acknowledged.

McKeown entered the job optimistic: They said, this is a great role, the benefits are great, youll do wonderful. The pay seemed a little bit low for me, but I didnt have any experience living in Los Angeles. I lived in Irvine at the time in graduate housing. I asked if they had housing assistance and Per Kraus, the person who hired me, my supervisor, said no they didnt. So I found an apartment for $2,500 a month. It was the cheapest one that I could find.

I trusted them, he commented. I trusted that its a good school. Im not worried about this. Im just excited to have my job. Theyll probably give me a good raise and everything will work out

That trust was betrayed, as UCLA and the union had worked together to keep faculty wages stagnant, forcing him into a desperate financial situation.

McKeowns union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), plays a key role in maintaining this exploitative structure. McKeown pointed out that his salary was set by the union, not directly by UCLA, yet the AFT has done nothing to mobilize its members for meaningful action.

Moreover, the UC itself is facing a half-billion-dollar budget gap and the Board of Regents almost universally approved a tuition hike this week.

McKeown relied on his savings to make ends meet for the time being. By the time McKeown signed his new two-year contract with UCLA, his savings were completely dried up.

I asked to renegotiate my salary because I realized that I was in denial, that I wasnt being paid enough, and that I needed to negotiate with the department for a higher amount, McKeown said. I asked for $100,000 because technically I should be making more than $100,000.

I could not make $70,000 a year work, he added. Well in advance before I started making any of these TikTok videos, I told them, Im sorry, we have to renegotiate this. I want to keep teaching in person, but Im about to lose my apartment. They said, nope, were not going to do anything, no changes, go get a second job, go work somewhere else.

McKeown said that he instructs close to 300 to 400 students each semester and is an active researcher in quantum entanglement and partial measurement, which has applications in quantum computing.

I did the math, McKeown added. Each student pays about four to five thousand dollars in tuition to take my course. UCLA is making five million dollars off of my work. Im bringing five million dollars to the school as a result of my teaching. And I felt like it was a little weird that theyre paying me so poorly.

Shortly after his video became viral, McKeown relocated to a new residence in San Diego. Since he lost his previous apartment in LA, he had to move his classes online.

In response, UCLA administrators demanded McKeown return to teaching classes in person or take a leave of absence.

I cant teach in person, I have no place to stay and I have no refrigerator to keep my insulin cold, he told UCLA administrators.

McKeown says UCLA allowed him time to receive a doctors accommodation giving him permission to switch his classes online, which his doctor did approve.

Regardless, UCLA denied his doctors accommodation and retaliated against McKeown by placing him on forced paid leave. He explained that he is still unsure when and how much he will be paid and that he has been left in the dark throughout the entire process.

They did not warn me, nor did they warn my students that the classes were going to be taken away from me, McKeown said. They just took them away from me, removed the Canvas links, and so I could no longer reach my students and that was it. Just like that, without any warning, and put a different person in charge of teaching them.

McKeown spoke at length of how the outcome of his fight will set the bar for future professors and educators joining the field.

This is a huge crisis, McKeown stated. I got an email from a professor who is also living out of his car. He doesnt work at UCLA, he works at several community colleges and hes living out of his truck. He said that hes too embarrassed to speak about this in public but secretly that hes living out of his truck.

This is a disgrace. All of the graduate students are coming into a labor market where their dreams are being shattered. They get a PhD in physics and then they cant even use that PhD or use any of that knowledge that theyve acquired. Its like getting a degree in medicine, becoming a surgeon and then unable to practice surgery.

McKeown is demanding UCLA administrators such as Stuart Brown and Brian Keating step down.

They [Keating and Brown] are lowering the bar and the opportunities of pay for everyone, all to make themselves and the UCs richer. Its a total disgrace and I refuse to back down.

McKeown urged other educators in every country to join his fight for fair compensation despite the fear or threats of retaliation.

We have to use our rights as a democracy to voice our concerns and speak out. Most lecturers and people in my position are afraid to speak out and I dont blame them. They fear retaliation. But the more of us that stand together in this fight and speak out about this, the stronger our voices become.

Im setting a precedent, he said, and I believe that other people will join me in the future, and we will fight, and we will win fair wages for all of us professors and lecturing professors at the UCs and eventually the rest of the country and eventually the rest of the world.

All of these systems are intertwined. We live in a globalist world and our countries are more and more interconnected as the speed of communication increases. This battle and this victory doesnt just change things for us in our immediate vicinity. It changes things for everybody in the state of California, the United States, in China and the rest of the world.

Everybody, all the educated public and the professors in other countries are watching this too and theyre learning from it as well. This is not just a statewide movement or a national movement, this is a global movement to increase and properly compensate the work of high value educators such as myself and all fields that are taught, not just physics.
An article in the Age on Thursday raised troubling questions about the official statements of Victoria Police about the firebombing of a Burgertory restaurant in the Melbourne suburb of Caulfield on November 10 last year.

The victim of the attack, Hash Tayeh, is a prominent Palestinian-Australian who has been repeatedly targeted by Zionists for his forthright condemnations of the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Tayeh, along with store staff, stated that the Caulfield restaurant had, in the weeks preceding the bombing, been subjected to racist vilification and intimidation by Israeli supporters.

Hash Tayeh [Photo: Instagram/@kedzhifotowala]

Almost as soon as news of the arson was made public, however, Victoria Police declared that it was not politically motivated. The very day of the attack, Inspector Scott Dwyer stated: I want to tell people I am very confident that this is not linked to a religious or political incident.

At the time, the WSWS, along with other opponents of the genocide, noted the unusual character of these statements. At the very least, how could the police have been able to rule out a political motive so definitively under conditions where they did not know who the perpetrators of the attack were?

On January 31, police arrested two men, subsequently charging them with arson and a range of other offences in relation to the attack. The media crudely highlighted the African ancestry of the two alleged perpetrators, while representatives of Victoria Police again insisted that there was no political angle to the crime.

As court hearings proceeded, however, it emerged that the men had allegedly been paid for the crime and thus were acting as middle men for forces whose identity and motives are publicly unknown.

Thursdays report in the Age was based on a previously hidden 500-page brief of evidence against the accused prepared by the police and prosecutors. It revealed that Victoria Police had deployed undercover operatives to gather evidence against one of the alleged perpetrators, Habib Musa.

A summary in the brief of alleged conversations between Musa and the police operatives stated: The motivation behind the arson was related to the conflict overseas between Palestine and Israel. In addition, the Age reported Musa had outlined how many other offenders were allegedly involved in the attack, what they were paid and what evidence they believed they left behind.

It is hard to conceive of an innocent explanation for the complete contradiction between Musas alleged statement of motive and the public declarations of Victoria Police.

The Age does not indicate when the conversations between Musa and the police operatives occurred. But, given that he was arrested in January and has been denied bail since, it is likely that the encounters occurred at least ten months ago. As the Age noted, Musas comments about a political motive have not been revealed in any court hearings, including a July appearance at which police successfully fought off a bail application.

In a statement to the Age before the story was published, Victoria Police again maintained there was no political motive but would not elaborate or address the new material.

The alleged perpetrators have stated that they were paid $20,000. That, together with the seriousness of the attack, indicates a degree of coordination and determination that unquestionably poses an ongoing risk to the community.

In an open letter to Victoria Police published on X, Tayeh responded to the Age revelations describing them as having ripped open a wound thats been festering for over a year. Its a harsh reminder of the injustice Ive faceda justice system that has failed, a police force that has betrayed, and a community left vulnerable.

The firebombing, he wrote, had been an act of arson and hatred that should have been taken as a serious threat to our safety. And yet, despite the severity, police downplayed the attack, stubbornly refusing to classify it as a hate crime, and refusing to pursue justice on our behalf.

Tayeh noted that this was not a one off, but formed part of a pattern. He had repeatedly been targeted with violence and Victoria Police had repeatedly downplayed the incidents.

A pigs heart had been left at the door to Tayehs home in a disturbing act of intimidation. Tayeh stated that police had dismissed this as mere littering.

Then, in April Tayehs home was firebombed. He wrote that a molotov cocktail had erupted at the front door of the house, setting the entryway on fire beneath the room where my two-year-old child sleeps. I have CCTV footage of this, a blatant act of terror against my family, yet the police called it minor damage to a door. They downplayed an attack that could have killed my family as if it were nothingjust another incident to ignore. No arrests were ever made and the investigation has ended.

Victoria Police have not only displayed an indifference to what appears to be a concerted campaign of violence against Tayeh. They have themselves targeted him. In July, Tayeh was arrested and interrogated over allegations that he had breached the states Racial and Religious Tolerance Act.

Tayeh had delivered a speech at a weekly pro-Gaza demonstration in Melbourne, as he has on many occasions, and had used the chant All Zionists are terrorists. In his public addresses, Tayeh has repeatedly rejected the fraudulent identification of Zionism and Judaism, noting that the neo-colonial political ideology has nothing to do with the Jewish faith. He has spoken alongside and collaborated with Jewish opponents of the Israeli mass murder.

The questions about Tayehs treatment go beyond the role of the police. Given how high-profile the attacks against him have been and the unprecedented nature of his own arrest and questioning for hate crimes, political forces have undoubtedly been involved.

For more than a year, the federal Labor government has supported Israel politically, diplomatically and materially. While occasionally issuing weasel-words of concern over the mass deaths in Gaza, Labor has insisted on Israels right to defend itself, through the bombardment of defenceless Palestinians, the onslaught against Lebanon and the threats of war against Iran.

The Labor government in Victoria has been particularly vociferous in its backing of Israel, especially for a state administration. Premier Jacinta Allen has repeatedly taken to social media with deranged rants against pro-Palestinian protesters who she has slandered as antisemites and threats to social cohesion.

Politically, the downplaying of the attacks against Tayeh serve to reinforce the official narrative. Throughout the genocide, the entire political and media establishment have vilified supporters of the Palestinians. At the same time, the most vociferous and bellicose Zionist activists have been given endless uncritical coverage and have been presented as victims, without any evidence or even any incidents to point to. The campaign of terror against a prominent pro-Palestinian activist up-ends this narrative.

As Tayeh raised in his open letter, the inevitable question that emerges is what else are Victoria Police and other state agencies concealing about the attacks against him?
An avalanche of resignations has hit Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left), following the November 8 resignation of former leader Stefanos Kasselakis, who declared he is setting up his own party in Greece.

Five Syriza members of parliament immediately left to join Kasselakis new party. Then last week Syrizas central committee shrunk by a third after 107 Kasselakis loyalists resigned from the 300 strong body.

Stefanos Kasselakis, newly elected leader of main opposition party Syriza, speaks to supporters outside the party's headquarters in Athens, Greece, September 25, 2023. [AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis]

More MPs are expected to resign in the weeks ahead, stripping the party of its status as Greeces official opposition, to be replaced by the social democratic Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). At the time of writing Syriza has 31 deputiesthe same number as the once collapsed social democratic PASOK.

Syrizas popular support has also collapsed. In many polls it is now in fifth or sixth place, or even lower. One survey conducted by Real Polls last week has Syriza polling in eighth place, at 3.6 percent. There is a 3 percent threshold required to enter parliament. In second place at 16.7 percent is PASOK, which has benefited from Syrizas collapse and the fall in support for the ruling conservative New Democracy (ND), which is polling at 29.7 percent.

Syriza was first swept into power in 2015, with Alexis Tsipras promising to end the brutal austerity that had been imposed on the Greek working class at the behest of the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

This mandate was junked, culminating in the betrayal of the July 2015 referendum in which workers overwhelmingly rejected a third austerity package. One month later, Syriza and its junior coalition partner, the far-right Independent Greeks, agreed to an even more brutal austerity package with the EU/IMF. The next four years saw Syriza impose austerity more savage than that enforced by the previous social democratic and ND-led administrations.

Syriza haemorrhaged support among workers and youth, strengthening ND which defeated Syriza in the 2019 general election, before routing Tsipras party in the June 2023 election. In the latest election Syriza won 47 seatsjust over half its total in the previous parliament.

Following the resignation of Tsipras last year, Stefanos Kasselakis was elected as leader in September, winning nearly 57 percent of the memberships vote. Before his election Kasselakis was unknown in Greece with no links to Syriza. He had lived in the United States since the age of 14 where, besides running shipping businesses and working for Goldman Sachs, he volunteered for Joe Bidens 2008 presidential primary campaign and worked at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) thinktank.

His pitch to the affluent upper middle-class layers that make up Syrizas membership was that Syriza should build a big-tent party similar to the Democratic Party in the US. In an op-ed in the conservative Kathimerini last July he wrote, If the intention is to govern again, SYRIZA should just copy the US formula as soon as possible. Unequivocally embrace the political center as well; make clear that prudent fiscal management is non-negotiable; and showcase the management talent of its prospective cabinet. His election was welcomed by ND, with spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis hailing a serious and credible opposition, with Syriza taking a more realistic path.

Commenting on Kasselakis election the World Socialist Web Site wrote that with the popular support garnered eight years ago now evaporated, the partys political essence is coming to the surface. From a party serving bankers, Syriza has turned into a party directly led by a banker.

The WSWS placed Kasselakis election within the wider geopolitical context, noting that with two wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East, Kasselakis was parachuted into Greek politics with the active intervention of Washington to ensure that Athens pro-NATO alignment is maintained.

The first fruits of Kasselakis leadership was Syrizas statement in response to the Palestinian uprising launched from Gaza on October 7, which it condemned while expressing solidarity to the people of Israel. A few days later Kasselakis made a speech to the Federation of Industries (SEV) employers body where he declared that Syriza was passing in the next stage of its historic road, that of a modern Left that doesnt demonise the word capital but sees it as a tool of prosperity to reduce huge inequalities through strong growth.

His leadership began to unravel in October 2023, just one month after he was elected, in the fallout from an investigative report published in Greek daily I Efimerida Ton Syntakton laying bare his vicious anti-working class politics. The newspaper collated information in articles Kasselakis wrote for the right-wing Greek-American newspaper the National Herald between 2007 and 2015.

Expressing support for the sort of austerity policies that after 2010 would be implemented by successive PASOK, ND and Syriza governments, he wrote, Greece for some years needs the application of Reagans supply side economics.

In February 2012, at the height of the austerity attacks implemented by the coalition government of ND, PASOK and the far-right LAOS headed by unelected banker Loukas Papadimos, Kasselakis wrote approvingly of the lowering of the minimum wage. This was a positive measure that makes the country more competitive while at the same time keeps small businesses afloat. Kasselakis complained that the government was not going far enough. Referring to the sacking of 15,000 civil servants in 2012 he wrote that this seems like a very small number In my opinion, they should have already sacked many more people and invested the money in cutting taxes.

The revelations prompted the Umbrella faction of the party to release a statement voicing concern over the collective sense that we are participating in a party which is tending towards bearing no relation to the Left in any political sense. Everything that we knew about the character and social priorities of Syriza are changing violently and unilaterally.

The Umbrella forces were concerned that Syriza shift to the right left them too compromised under conditions of a growing wave of militancy among workers and youth. Umbrella was led by scoundrels including Nikos Filis, Panos Skourletis and Thodoris Dritsas, who all held senior ministerial positions and imposed brutal austerity in Syrizas government at various points between 2015 to 2019. By the end of November last year, 11 of Syrizas MPsincluding former finance minister and Umbrella leader Euclid Tsakalotoshad left to establish a new party, the New Left.

In this years European Elections in June, Syriza won just 14.7 percent of the votedown 6 percent from last years general election failing to benefit from the unpopularity of ND which got 28.6 percent compared with the 42 percent that gave it a second term in power.

This led to a motion of no confidence called against Kasselakis by 100 central committee members which stated that if we dont address directly and decisively the causes of [the partys crisis], it will continue to descend into introversion and disappoint all left-wing and progressive citizens. The motion passed and last month Kasselakis was barred by the central committee from seeking re-election in the leadership contest due November 24, amid ongoing revelations around his declared wealth and assets including his participation in offshore companies which is prohibited for leaders of political parties in Greece. Leadership candidate Pavlos Polakis stated that Kasselakis took us for a ride, adding someone who has companies based in the Marshall Islands cant be leader of Syriza. This is so much hot air from someone who was a Kasselakis supporter.

Syrizas demise is an indictment of pseudo-left forces around the world who cheered its rise to power, claiming it the way forward for the working class.

In 2012, Jeremy Corbyn, after returning from a trip to Greece, and three years before he became leader of Britains Labour Party, tweeted, A Syriza victory will open the way for an alternative to Bankers Europe. Impressed by their support when I was there. Hoping!.

In January 2015, just months before Corbyn took office, he and 25 MPs mainly from his Socialist Campaign Group, plus George Galloway, then the leader of the Respect Party, signed a parliamentary motion as Syriza took power, That this House welcomes the support for the Syriza party in Greece, which is committed to ending years of austerity and suffering on the Greek people and states its confidence in a government that will face down such pressures [from the EU and IMF] and defend the democratic choice of the people of Greece; and applauds Syrizas immediate priorities to end the austerity programme

As Labour leader Corbyn repeatedly submitted to the attacks by the Blairite wing of the party on issues where he had mass support, such as opposition to NATO and nuclear weapons. Aping Syriza, he instructed Labour run local councils to impose austerity cuts demanded by the Conservative government. This ended in his rout in the 2019 general election and eventual replacement as party leader by current Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Syrizas fate is mirrored in the collapse of all those pseudo-left forces internationally, who boasted they were working to the Syriza model, as they betrayed the struggles of workers and youth in defence of living standards and democratic rights. In December last year Podemos, Syrizas counterpart in Spain, left the coalition government it had formed with the social democratic PSOE in 2020 after its vote collapsed in the summer elections due to its austerity policies.

The International Committee of the Fourth Internationals writings on Syriza and other pseudo-left tendencies comprise the necessary theoretical arming of workers to take forward the fight for socialism.
On the fraudulent pretext of protecting the electoral system from control by billionaires, the Australian Labor government, backed by the Liberal-National Coalition, is seeking to rush through parliament a massive electoral bill within the next two weeksthe final parliamentary session for 2024.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton [Photo: X/@AlboMP, Facebook/Peter Dutton ]

Prepared for by months of behind-closed-doors negotiations between Labor and the Coalition, the legislation is yet another attempt to rescue the corporate political elite in the face of deepening popular disaffection with the entire ruling class program of austerity and war. It also imposes increasingly onerous imposts onto non-parliamentary parties which dont have the funds and manpower of the state-funded parties.

While the bill sets some formal limits on election campaign donations and spending, it would do nothing to halt the growing dominance of billionaire oligarchs and their corporations over the political system.

Not only could they evade limits by financing political campaigns via US-style funding outfits. It would have no impact on their control of the economy and the productive forces, the real source of power from which they effectively dictate the policies of any government.

Details of the 224-page bill were still to be publicly released on Monday morning, but enough is known from the Albanese governments last-minute media release on Friday, and selective media leaks, to identify the desperate and anti-democratic character of the proposed complex web of laws.

One of the bills key provisions is to try to more than double the amount of public funding at a future election for the two parties that have formed governments in Australia since World War II.

If they received the same level of votes in a post-2025 election as they did at the last federal election in 2022and that is a big ifLabor and the Coalition would reap a combined $140 million. That would be three-quarters of the proposed $90 million limit on each partys election spending.

By bipartisan agreement, they would become substantially state-funded parties.

This would be achieved by increasing public funding of parties from $3.35 to $5 a vote from July 2026. By one calculation, the two parties could expect their combined windfall to increase by $82.66 million to $140.01million.

That includes an estimated $16.53 million in new administrative support funding for existing members of parliament to deal with the added burden of complying with invasive new donation and spending disclosure provisions. House of Representatives members would receive $30,000 each, and senators would get $15,000 each, yet no such money would be available to other election candidates.

The supposed centrepiece of the bill is spending caps of $90 million for a federal political campaign, $800,000 for an individual electorate, and separate caps for each state and territory based on their size.

Caps of that size would allegedly prevent campaigns on the scale of the more than $120 million spent by mining magnate Clive Palmers United Australia Party in 2022. They would also curtail those of the six successful teal independents at the same election, who each spent more than $1 million, largely courtesy of the green industry-backed Climate 200 group.

However, the existing corporate-financed parliamentary parties, including the Greens, could avoid the $800,000 limit per electorate by effectively targeting their national spending to specific seats.

For example, a political party could spend on TV, newspaper and digital ads spruiking its leader and policies, but this would not count toward a $800,000 electorate limit unless a local candidate was named.

Groups not running in electionsassociated entities like trade unions or third parties such as GetUp, a social media entity, and Advance Australia, a far-right lobby groupwould be limited to spending $11 million on a federal election campaign. They could also evade that cap by funding general political advertising.

Donations or gifts from an individual donor would be capped at $20,000 a candidate for independents or per state division for political parties. Corporations or wealthy individuals could still donate an aggregate of 30 times the individual electorate gift capthat is, $600,000.

At the same time, the bill would lower the individual donation disclosure threshold from $16,300 to $1,000, resulting in the political alignment of many ordinary people being publicly disclosed.

A real-time disclosure regime would require parties to declare donations every month during a parliamentary term, down to every week during an election campaign and every day in the week before and after election day. That would impose an onerous burden on parties without parliamentary offices, staff and funding.

In the governments media release last Friday, Special Minister of State Don Farrell declared: The Australian electoral system should not work on the basis that the only people who can be elected into parliament are people who are sponsored by billionaires.

This is a sham. The countrys more than 150 billionaires headed the Australian Financial Reviews 2024 Rich 200 List. Those on the list controlled fortunes that swelled by 11 percent during 12 months to over $625 billion.

Together with their global counterparts and the transnational corporations and investment funds they control, this class dominates the economic and political system under capitalism, regardless of which party is in office.

At a brief press conference, Farrell, a life-long trade union bureaucrat turned MP, emphasised the bipartisan nature of the bill, supported by in-principle agreement with the Coalition.

Farrell made clear the Labor government intends to strengthen the two-party Westminster system inherited from Britain. He insisted it had served Australia federally very well for the last 125 years.

During that period, Labor and its trade union apparatuses have played the leading role in subjecting workers and youth to capitalist exploitation and suffering, including in two world wars, the 1930s Great Depression, the 2008 global financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and an historic cut in real wages over the past three years.

The bill will not even touch the surface of corporate political dominance. In the first place, donor caps can be sidestepped by funding through multiple entities, such as shell companies, limited partnerships and US-style political action committees (PACs).

In the recent US presidential election, more than $US4.5 billion in spending came from super PACs, on top of the $US1.6 billion officially raised by the Trump and Harris campaigns.

Nor do the proposed laws affect the wider media campaigns conducted by the major corporations and employers in their profiteering interests, whether it be to continue mining fossil fuels or keep decimating workers wages and conditions.

Another anti-democratic move

This bill is the second major such effort by the political establishment in recent years to shore up the existing set-up and prevent any alternative perspective, particularly a socialist one, from being presented in federal elections.

In the lead-up to the 2022 election, anti-democratic legislation was rushed through parliament by the then Coalition government with Labors wholehearted support. Political parties were stripped of their official registration unless they could demonstrate a membership of at least 1,500, suddenly trebling the previous requirement of 500.

Parties with existing parliamentary representation were exempted from these requirements. The others were given just three months to complete this task, during the COVID-19 pandemic which included lockdowns, making street campaigning irresponsible, reckless and, at times, illegal.

These laws also stripped voters of their democratic right to know who they were voting for, because parties that failed the new test could only stand candidates without their party name on the ballot papers.

There was concern in ruling circles that the deep dissatisfaction among broad sections of the population with the bipartisan pro-business offensive, dismantling of COVID safety measures, commitment to US-led wars and cuts to wages and social programs would find conscious electoral expression.

This process has accelerated since the Albanese Labor government barely scraped into office in May 2022, with Labors primary vote falling to a near-record low of less than 33 percent. Young people, workers and professionals have been shocked and appalled by Labors strident and bloodthirsty support for the genocide in Gaza.

Labor has allocated hundreds of billions of dollars for the AUKUS military pact, transforming the continent into a staging ground for a potential nuclear war against China, and backed the broader imperialist agenda, notably the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine. Working-class families are bearing the brunt of this cost through deep cuts to living standards, public health, education and basic social services.

This September, the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) successfully completed a six-month campaign throughout the working class to win 1,500 new SEP electoral members and submitted the required application for official party registration to the Australian Electoral Commission.

The campaign revealed a growing constituency of workers and young people seeking a genuine socialist alternative to the capitalist programs of Labor, Liberal, and the Greens, which all defend Australian and international imperialism.

At the same time, the SEP explained that there was no national solution to the political and social crisis, and no parliamentary road to socialism. The fight to regain ballot status was part of the International Committee of the Fourth Internationals broader fight for a unified global struggle against capitalism.

As the resolution adopted by the recent SEP national congress stated:

The entire parliamentary set-up has increasingly been reduced to a moth-eaten fig leaf, which has done nothing to oppose, much less obstruct, the whole gamut of war, budget austerity and authoritarianism. Parliament is increasingly exposed as a vehicle for enforcing and justifying the dictates of the corporate and financial elite. The critical issue is building an independent political movement of the working class, directed against the entire parliamentary framework. The perspective must be the establishment of a workers governmenta government of, for, and by the workers. Such a government would abolish the repressive agencies of the capitalist state, place the banks and the corporations under public ownership and democratic workers control, and encourage the transformation of economic and social life to meet the needs of the majority, not the profit interests of the financial elite.
With less than two months remaining in his term, US President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russia, crossing a red line that Russian President Vladimir Putin has said could lead to direct war between Russia and NATO.

A US Army soldier prepares the crane for loading the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) on to the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) in Queensland, Australia, July 26, 2023. [AP Photo/Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Dickson]

Biden has also authorized the long-range missiles to be used against North Korean troops allegedly deployed inside Russia, in what would be the first major attack using US weapons on North Korean troops since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

In coordinated statements to the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press and Reuters, the Biden administration said on Sunday that it would allow Ukraine to use the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to strike Russian and North Korean troops inside of Russias Kursk region, parts of which are occupied by Ukraine.

US officials made clear, however, that this announcement clears the path for American, British and French long-range weapons to be used to strike Russian cities even farther away from the front, including potentially the Russian capital.

The Biden administration has long been preparing to announce plans to carry out long-range strikes deep inside Russia, with the Guardian reporting in September that the decision had already been made to allow Ukraine to use [UK] Storm Shadow cruise missiles on targets inside Russia.

At the time, a decision was made to wait to make the announcement until after the election. The White House believed that a vote for Vice President Kamala Harris would create a mandate for the massive escalation of the war against Russia. The election resulted, however, in a victory for former President Donald Trump, who demagogically postured as an opponent of escalation in Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Biden met with Trump at the White House, where both men promised a smooth transition between the two administrations.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan indicated ahead of the meeting that a major subject of discussion would be the Ukraine war. President Biden will have the opportunity over the next 70 days to make the case to Congress and the incoming administration that the United States should not walk away from Ukraine, that walking away from Ukraine means more instability in Europe.

Biden certainly provided a detailed report on the planned escalation during the meeting with Trump, and there is no reason to believe that Trump raised objections.

The official position of the Biden White House before the election, outlined in an October 23 press briefing by White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre, is that President-elect Trump is a fascist who would be, as Jean-Pierre put it, a dictator on day one.

But the White House and the Democratic Party have dropped all opposition to the fascist policies of the new administration, with Biden vowing to do everything we can to make sure youre accommodated, what you need. In reality, the Biden administration has only one concern: ensuring that the United States wars, including first and foremost against Russia, continue smoothly.

To that end, the Biden administration is seeking to create facts on the ground leading to a major escalation of the war before Trump takes office.

Last Sunday, the White House authorized the deployment of US military contractors to Ukraine to maintain US weapons, effectively creating a tripwire in the event that US military contractors are killed in Russian airstrikes, which could be used as a pretext to massively expand US involvement in the war.

The major escalation of US involvement comes against the backdrop of a deepening crisis for the Ukrainian military. The Russian military, allegedly with the assistance of North Korean troops, is making significant advances on three fronts, while the Ukrainian military is suffering a major recruitment crisis amid soaring desertions.

It is impossible to overstate the reckless and escalatory implications of Bidens announcement this weekend.

In late September, in response to reports that the US would soon allow long-range strikes on Russian cities, Putin outlined proposed changes to Russias nuclear doctrine. Putin said that aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear-weapon state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear-weapon state, should be considered as a joint attack on the Russian Federation.

He continued, We reserve the right to use nuclear weapons in the event of aggression against Russia and Belarus.

The massive escalation by the Biden administration comes amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the Israeli bombing of Lebanon and increasingly open discussion of a Third World War in the US media.

Last month, Washington Post columnist George Will declared that World War III is already underway. The target of this war is todays axis: China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, Will wrote.

The lead essay in this months edition of Foreign Affairs declares: An era of limited war has ended; an age of comprehensive conflict has begun. Indeed, what the world is witnessing today is akin to what theorists in the past have called total war, in which combatants draw on vast resources, mobilize their societies, prioritize warfare over all other state activities, attack a broad variety of targets, and reshape their economies and those of other countries.

Despite demagogically posturing as an opponent of the Ukraine war, Trump was the first American president to authorize the large-scale provision of lethal weapons to Ukraine in 2019, helping to transform Ukraine into a NATO proxy and provoking the Russian invasion of February 2022. In 2018, the Trump administration unveiled a national security strategy that declared, Great power competitionnot terrorismis now the primary focus of US national security.

This strategy was implemented under the Biden administration through the escalation and instigation of the war against Russia in Ukraine.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 18. We know that green skills will support the transition to a green economy, and the Environment Act, which is legally binding, will help us achieve our goals across the country, the UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Nature) Mary Creagh said during a speech at a high-level tripartite roundtable on green jobs and skills, Trend reports.

She noted that the UK expects the economic transition to affect about 6.3 million jobs.

So it's a global issue, and we need international collaboration so everyone can succeed. We are setting up Skills England, a brand new organization to competently assess national and regional skills needs.

It will provide comprehensive learning support that meets those needs. It will also provide greater flexibility for learners and employers, she said.

The decision to hold COP29 in Azerbaijan was taken on December 11 last year at the plenary session of COP 28 in Dubai.

The 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will last until November 22, was opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. The event is the largest organized by Azerbaijan to date and is the first time the region has hosted the event in Azerbaijan.

The highest level event - a summit of world leaders on climate action - was held within COP29 on November 12-13.

The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance.

In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, the creation of climate finance will also contribute to meeting the 1.5C pledge by bringing everyone together.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for Conference of Parties and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 18. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has arrived in Serbia for an official visit, Trend reports.

Upon arrival at Belgrade Airport, President Tokayev was received by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

The visits central focus will be high-level discussions between the two presidents, aimed at exploring avenues for cooperation across various sectors. Key topics on the agenda include political dialogue, trade and economic partnerships, transportation and logistics development, and cultural and humanitarian exchanges.

Following the talks, the two leaders are expected to sign several bilateral agreements aimed at bolstering collaboration between the nations. President Tokayev is also scheduled to meet with Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic to discuss further areas of mutual interest.
Sean Combs with Jamal Barrow at the 1998 Grammy Awards. Arnaldo Magnani via Getty Images

Among the conspiracy theories and actual allegations against disgraced media mogul Sean Diddy Combs, the details that have maybe been on peoples minds the longest concern the night he and then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez were arrested after a 1999 nightclub shooting in New York.

Thats in part because while Combs also went on trial for the shooting, it was Jamal Barrow aka Shyne, a 19-year-old promising rap star under Combs Bad Boy Records, claiming his innocence, who was sentenced to jail for 10 years in 2001. He was charged with two counts of assault, reckless endangerment, and criminal possession of an illegal weapon.

And both Combs and Lopez walked away from the incident clean.

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Fans who were around then never forgot about this morsel of pop culture history. And a new generation has been itching to relitigate what happened now that theyre discussing Combs in a more damning light. Folks grew even more eager after statements Barrow made in April reflecting on that night in 99, amid mounting allegations against Combs that culminated in his arrest on sex trafficking and racketeering charges in September.

Everyone knew all along that I was the fall guy, Barrow said. But my political enemies and detractors try to make me into this criminal. But everyone knew that I was a young kid that took the fall. That was the story. Im just saying that I maintained my innocence all this time.

The empathy audiences have for Barrow and the disgust they feel toward Combs will likely be what drives them to watch The Honorable Shyne, Disney-ESPNS Andscapes new documentary following the rappers rise, fall, and rise again that premieres on Hulu on Nov. 18.

Thats particularly true given its timing. Its being released during an ongoing investigation of Combs while he sits in jail without bail, awaiting trial in May, and as multiple documentaries and docuseries on the mogul and the allegations against him are announced seemingly every day. Theres clearly a cultural appetite for the downfall of Combs. Thats understandable.

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Viewers coming into the film, directed by Marcus A. Clarke, might expect Barrow to finally and more explicitly bad mouth Combs and spill all the tea about what really happened that night in 99, despite never having done so before, even during his own trial.

Years after serving almost nine years in prison, Jamal Barrow aka Shyne became a politician in his native Belize. Courtesy of Hulu

For context, the rapper was deported back to his native Belize in 2009 after serving almost nine years in prison. In the decade and a half since his release, Barrow seemed to have moved on. He had converted to Judaism, changed his name to Moses and became the opposition leader of the House of Representatives in Belize.

So, audiences looking for something more sensationalized and anti-Combs could be disappointed with The Honorable Shyne.

Because the movie paints a far more complicated portrait of vindication, redemption and even forgiveness. It also makes you consider an uncomfortable question many recent tabloid-forward celebrity documentaries avoid: Is it us or is it Barrow that should be doing the forgiving?

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For all intents and purposes, few things about The Honorable Shyne are what you might expect or even want from it at times. Clarke  whos also helmed documentaries on rappers Future and Nas  and his team tell a story that generally doesnt cater to conjecture from the peanut gallery or a need to appease an audience chomping at the bit for salacious details.

But what we get is something more interesting  though, yes, including some WTF moments as you might have come to expect from any stories attached to Combs at this point.

The Honorable Shyne isnt really about Combs (also known then as Puffy and now as Diddy), though. Back in the late 90s and early 00s, the media did a pretty good job of referring to Barrow as Combs protege in reductive headlines for articles that were mostly about Combs legal troubles, when ultimately, it was Barrows life on the line. A documentary in 2024 doesnt need to repeat those same errors. And Clarke seems to understand that.

The director instead meets Barrow where hes at  literally in Belize fighting the good fight, and figuratively in a place of personal peace from his past  and tells the trajectory of his films flawed and fascinating eponymous figure.

"The Honorable Shyne" meets the rapper-turned-politician in a space of personal peace. Courtesy of Hulu

The Honorable Shyne features interviews with Barrows parents, musicians, music execs, friends from his time growing up in Flatbush, political peers in Belize, and people within Combs camp in the 90s and early 00s.

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Many of these interviews awkwardly take place on the sidewalks of Brooklyn, though perhaps to illustrate Barrows longtime connection to where he came from that, like him, has strikingly evolved. Other conversations, like ones with Faith Evans and N.O.R.E., are set in what appear to be studios.

The movie presents both allegations of the media moguls unsavory behavior and a complex look at a political rising star that appears to be in some ways just as much struggling with how hes perceived versus who he wants to be as he ever was.

Its around the 25-minute mark when it begins to build context around Combs relationship with Barrow, sparing no details about who Combs allegedly was during that period of his life and career (the Michael Jackson of hip-hop, Barrows manager Manny Halley says). As the film explores, the mogul eagerly pursued Barrow and his music, engaging in a bidding war during a golden era of hip-hop that turned (mostly male) lyricists like Shyne into superstar millionaires.

Daddys House was the name of the foundation Combs established in 1994 to help nurture underprivileged youth, interestingly hiring activist Sister Souljah as its executive director, but its repeated reference in The Honorable Shyne gives it another connotation.

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Early in the Combs segment of the film, Cheryl Fox, a former executive at Bad Boy plainly says, Puff ran Bad Boy, I mean, like he was the dad, and he was here to take care of everybody. She added later that, He wanted to always have the upper hand.

Later, Gene Deal, Combs former bodyguard, alludes to that same paternalistic name. He alleges in the film that as Combs anxiously awaited the verdict in his own trial following the shooting, he often accompanied the mogul to places of worship: We spent more time in the house of God than we did in Daddys House.

Combs leaves the state Supreme Court in Manhattan on Jan. 29, 2001, after the first day of his trial for possession of a weapon following a shooting at a nightclub in 1999. Newsday LLC via Getty Images

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Deal then alleges that during that time he also went with Combs to Central Park, where the mogul met with someone who advised him to reach into what Deal said appeared to be a dog cage. Deal alleged that Combs pulled out of it a bird that he threw into the air only for it to fall directly onto the ground, lifeless. And he claimed that the mogul then walked away.

Oh shit, there go Damien, Deal recalled thinking then, referencing the 1976 horror movie, The Omen.

That is the single most bizarre story told in the film that gives it an unwanted tabloid vibe that undercuts some of its strengths. Who knows how much of it is true, if any of it, but it certainly succeeds at portraying Combs in an excruciating light. As does this: Deal recounting the moguls alleged feelings toward Barrow while awaiting his own verdict on charges of gun possession and bribing a witness (Combs was acquitted).

He made everybody believe that it was Shynes fault, Deal says in the movie. Man, this dude looked me in my face and said, Man, I hate this motherfucker. Dont let nobody take pictures of me and this motherfucker. I hate him.

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Interwoven in this segment about Combs is a rather temperate Barrow, adding texture to the story with his perspective on his life as a child in Belize and beyond, at times while seated on a wicker chair in a dignified suit. He looks back on his past and his relationship to Combs with interesting clarity.

Barrow acknowledges his own hunger to get into the rap game as a teenager who got caught up in the streets before recognizing his own gift and an opportunity to make particularly his mother and Belize proud. As many of his friends verify, he then pursued that aggressively. But even amid his accumulating success, he couldnt truly get away from his past reputation.

With sharp context in the film from activists like minister Conrad Tillard, The Honorable Shyne also points to the belief some had then that record labels were encouraging young talent like Barrow to get involved in street tiffs in order to gain street cred. Barrow cosigns a version of this, more or less saying that he acted the part to get a record deal, including how he presented himself and the clothes he wore.

Hip-hop was founded on a drug culture, Barrow says in the movie. They all dressed like drug dealers.

Rapper David Banner (born Lavell Crump) wears a T-shirt in support of then-incarcerated rapper Shyne (born Jamal Barrow) on Aug. 9, 2004, in New York City. Julia Beverly via Getty Images

Thats a particularly jarring quote in the film that, firstly, isnt true and, secondly, conflates a style that is today rightly heralded and studied as an image of resistance with the wares of the drug epidemic. It also disparages himself and his accomplishments, even while celebrating and taking pride in his short-lived though legacy-establishing music, including songs like the megahit Bad Boyz (featuring Barrington Levy, who is also interviewed in the The Honorable Shyne).

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He bittersweetly looks back on making his first million with Bad Boy, and being able to buy both a Mercedes Benz and a Range Rover by the time he turned 21. One day hes in Flatbush, his childhood friend Derrik Castillo Jr. remembers in the film. The next day hes at the Trump hotel.

Barrow also reflects on ruffling feathers inside the Bad Boy camp with his uncanny similarity to the late Biggie Smalls voice, which angered members of the Junior M.A.F.I.A., his labelmates. So much so that shots were allegedly fired at Barrow.

All of this allegedly unsettled Combs, and drew a wedge between him and Barrow, providing some interesting context to something that might have been brewing long before the shooting.

But all of that is evidently an image and time period Barrow now looks back on in a more critical light. Still, he talks at length about the love he still has for his music, the friends and family that were in his corner when he realized others, including Combs, turned their backs on him, and the pain he felt and when his American Dream was cut short.

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So much of what Barrow says, though, is coated with a sense of duality that he doesnt seem to bother to reconcile in the film. That makes for an alluring watch. While none of the questions the interviewees in the film, including Barrow, are responding to are actually heard in the movie, its clear that the former rapper was prodded to answer to some of fans most lingering curiosities.

Like, his relationship with Combs, which will certainly be at the front of audiences minds as they watch The Honorable Shyne. Thats with good reason.

Barrow and Combs on stage at O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire One Night Only event on Nov. 07, 2023, in London, England. Samir Hussein via Getty Images

In 2012, not long after Barrow returned to Belize and made a new record that was widely panned, he did an interview with Hot 97 about it and how Combs is a creep.

He pretends to be sorry, he said in a clip also used in the documentary. Maybe he even wants to be sorry. But hes so much of a creep, he just cant find that part of himself. Like when he say, God is great, I think hes talking about himself. He thinks hes God. He has no accountability.

But in 2021, Combs helped Barrow secure a U.S. visa, so that the politician could meet with senators and congressmen to help strengthen relations between Belize and the U.S. And in 2022, Barrow did a surprise performance at the BET Awards in Los Angeles, as part of a segment honoring Combs with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Honorable Shyne rightly raises a question about that BET performance and presumed reconciliation then between Combs and Barrow.

It took a lot of years, Barrow explains in the film. But part of fixing it was fixing me, wasnt really about Puff. So, once I fixed myself, once I healed and once I was fully immersed in my purpose, then its not about anybody else. Thats a distraction.

That purpose, he goes on, is his responsibility to transform Belize and not focus on anybodys shortcomings.

While the film does a thoughtful job examining Barrows journey in Belizean politics, complete with a scope of the political landscape there and how honored both his family and peers hes managed to maintain in the hip-hop game are, it creates an intriguingly dichotomous portrait.

That feels honest but still frustrating. Thats partly because some of the people interviewed who criticized Barrow going to jail also praised his reunion with Combs. That was important to show that you can get past having a situation with somebody, Junior M.A.F.I.A.s Lil Cease says. If they can get past that, the new generation should be able to get past the little shit that goes on.

While it is uncertain throughout most of The Honorable Shyne when exactly the interviews all took place, thats crystallized with at least the interviews with Barrow that they occurred prior to Combs homes being raided in March.

"Everyone was partying and having a great time with Diddy while I was left to rot in prison, Jamal Barrow says in "The Honorable Shyne." KMazur via Getty Images

Almost immediately after showing footage of Barrow celebrating Combs on BET, The Honorable Shyne dramatically shifts tones with the politician walking back to the interview chair in slow motion as text materializes onscreen about the raids. It more importantly points out music producer Rodney Lil Rod Jones lawsuit in March which states that Combs allegedly confessed he was responsible for the 99 club shooting.

That transition in the film makes it seem like Barrow is going to wildly change his stance on his relationship with Combs. That doesnt really happen.

Instead, he doubles down on what he said before: I was absolutely set up to be the fall guy. So, this was shocking not because its true. Its shocking because its all finally coming to light and people believe it. Because when I said it, everyone was partying and having a great time with Diddy while I was left to rot in prison.

And to be clear, not only did Barrow always claim his innocence after the shooting, but the victim also named Combs then, even testifying that at his trial and claiming that still today.

So, none of what Barrow says at this point toward the end of the film is, as he put it, particularly shocking. What is, though, is that Barrow alleges that Combs called him amid Jones lawsuit and Barrow consequently speaking out about it in a press conference with Channel 5 Belize.

He was like, I just wanted to know were on the same page, Barrow said, recalling his conversation with Combs in The Honorable Shyne. I was like, Listen, you know that we werent good. You know that you destroyed my life. If it werent for you, I would have beat the case. I would have walked just like you.

As Shyne also says, Those are the facts. And theyre difficult to reconcile with the other fact that it took seeing Combs in a video that showed him brutalizing ex-girlfriend Cassie in 2016 to, as he puts it the movie, completely disassociate from him.

Or another fact that doesnt make it into the documentary: Following the U.S. election this year, Barrow took to his Instagram to congratulate the president-elect of the United States, Donald J. Trump, on his victory, and in another post directly following that congratulated current Vice President Kamala Harris for her historic and formidable Presidential candidacy.

While The Honorable Shyne dutifully helps illustrate a man who didnt portray my friends. I didnt get on the stand and snitch and get everyone else in trouble, it also presents someone who has often been of two minds. Choosing to forgive and sacrifice is, for him, conducive to someone with integrity, with honor, with character, with humanity.

Its just a really imperfect one.
Arizona girl, 10, sells prize chicks for $2,100  but then Chase froze her check, closed the account. Heres why

Some 10-year-olds sell cookies and lemonade to earn a bit of spending cash, but not Kinley Maner. Kinley, from Thatcher, Arizona, is earning money by raising and selling chickens at the local fair.

She really enjoyed it, had a lot of fun, learned a lot about chickens, her father, J.R. Maner told Arizonas Family On Your Side. It really taught her kind of strict obedience of being out there and taking care of an animal.

Don't miss

After showing her feathered friends at the Graham County Fair, Kinley, like many people who show animals at the fair, put them up for auction. When the bidding was over, Kinely managed to sell her six chickens for a whopping $2,100 and change, which her mother, Kali, electronically deposited into her bank account. A day later, however, Chase Bank froze the check and then closed Kali's account entirely. A year later, Kinley still hadn't received her profits.

Why would Chase freeze an account?

Kinleys mom spent several hours on the phone with Chase, trying to figure out what happened to the girls prize money and why her account had been closed. According to Kalli, Chase said when bank officials checked the phone number of the Small Stock Association, which issued the payment, it was out of service. That seemed suspicious to them, so they froze the funds and closed her account.

[Chases] ultimate response is that, sorry, Kinley is not going to get her money back, J.R. told reporters. And theres nothing we can do unless we can verify that check.

So, the man from the Small Stock Association who wrote the check went to Chase to verify it in person. According to the Maners, he went in three different times in an attempt to verify the check, but Chase said he could only verify it by phone.

Chase's actions in freezing Kinley's check and closing Kali's account align with standard bank practices for risk management and fraud prevention, especially under KYC (know your customer) and AML (anti-money laundering) regulations. When banks encounter checks from unfamiliar sources or suspect fraud, they may flag the transaction. Freezing funds and closing accounts is a protective measure used to prevent fraud or money laundering.
We did the math for you.

master1305 / Getty Images

When youre writing up your Thanksgiving shopping list, the turkey might give you the most pause. Should you go for fresh or frozen? Wet or dry brine? And  perhaps most important  what size should you buy to ensure that your guests go home with a full stomach and that youll have plenty of leftovers for turkey sandwiches? Whether youre hosting a small family affair or party of 15, heres a cheat sheet for exactly how much turkey you need per guest.

Related: 39 Showstopping Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes

So, how much turkey do you need?

Breana Killeen, a Food & Wine senior food editor who sells fresh and frozen turkeys from Killeen Crossroads Farm & Flowers in Shelburne, Vermont, recommends 1 to 1 pounds of turkey per guest, to account for the main event and leftovers. For about every pound of turkey, guests will get about eight to nine ounces of meat.

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Heres what that looks like:



What size turkey is best?

Both fresh and frozen turkeys come in a wide range of sizes, from 824 pounds. Killeen generally recommends a small-to-medium bird.

The perfect size for these birds is 1214 pounds, she says. It means a faster cooking time and that the meat is less likely to dry out, she adds. They also can fit on a regular sheet if you spatchcock them: her preferred method for yielding crisp skin and evenly cooked meat. That means you still have an oven rack for all your sides, like the stuffing and roasted veggies.

Related: 25 Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Of course, if you have a big crowd, a 1214 pound bird might not yield enough meat. While you can purchase a larger turkey, Killeen suggests making two smaller birds.

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I also usually make one in the oven and one smoked on the grill so you get the flavor of both, she says.

You can also opt for two proteins, like a turkey and a spiral-cut ham, to give your guests plenty of options  and meat.

How to use your leftover turkey

There are plenty of ways to extend the life of your Thanksgiving leftovers. First, reserve the neck, backbone, and stock to make a flavorful stock. Beyond turkey sandwiches, you can use leftover turkey for pot pies, tetrazzini, or  Killeens favorite  a creamy wild rice and turkey soup.



Related: Thanksgiving Leftovers Nachos
If seeing the northern lights is on your bucket list, Iceland is one of the best places to make that dream come true. The northern lights, or aurora borealis, have been mesmerizing people for centuries, from ancient cave dwellers to astronauts.

Well break down everything you need to know to experience the magic of the northern lights Iceland version, including top spots to see them, tips for optimal viewing, and how to capture those elusive lights on camera. So, if youre ready to chase the northern lights in Iceland, lets dive in.

What are the northern lights?

The formation of the northern lights starts with the sun, which is constantly sending streams of charged particles, known as solar wind, toward Earth. Luckily, our planet has a magnetic field that protects us from this solar wind by redirecting these particles around us. However, sometimes the magnetic field gets stretched and snaps back, sending particles streaming down toward Earths surface.

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When these charged particles collide with gasses in our upper atmosphere, like oxygen and nitrogen, they create tiny flashes of colored light. These flashes combine to paint the sky in stunning hues of green, pink, purple, and even red, creating the aurora we all know.

Auroras are typically only visible near Earths magnetic poles, meaning you need to be far north or south to catch them. Since Iceland is situated around 64 degrees north, its in prime aurora-viewing territory, making it a hotspot for travelers hoping to see this captivating display.

When is the best time to see the northern lights in Iceland?

If youre planning a trip to see the northern lights in Iceland, timing is key. The best months to catch them are from September to April, when the nights are the longest and darkest. While you may get lucky and spot a faint aurora as early as August, the lingering sunlight can make them harder to see. Winter, however, brings peak viewing conditions. Around the winter solstice on December 21, Iceland experiences up to 20 hours of darkness, making this the ideal time to catch a glimpse.

With Icelands long summer days and the midnight sun, auroras are barely visible from May through early August. But in fall and winter, the lights often make their appearance between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m., when the sky is at its darkest. Many travelers will spend these late hours stargazing, hoping to catch a glimpse of the northern lights. If you dont want to stay up all night, many hotels in Iceland offer a service where they will wake you up if the lights appear during the night.

Where can you see the northern lights in Iceland?

Olivier de Vaulx / The Manual

If conditions are right, you might catch the northern lights almost anywhere, but some spots are better than others. Since city lights can dim the auroras glow, heading away from populated areas, especially Reykjavik, boosts your chances of seeing those amazing colors.

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North Iceland is particularly promising for northern lights viewing due to its extended hours of darkness and clearer skies. Although Akureyri, the second-largest city in Iceland, has some light pollution, nearby natural spots like Asbyrgi Canyon offer ideal conditions for an aurora sighting.

Icelands south coast is another great option. One of the top locations there is Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, situated by the Vatnajokull glacier. Other iconic spots include Kirkjufell Mountain on the Snaefellsnes Peninsula and Thingvellir National Park in Southwest Iceland.

Can you see the northern lights in Reykjavik?

Even if youre only spending time in Reykjavik, youre still in luck! The northern lights can be visible from the capital, though youll need to find a dark area with minimal light pollution for the best experience. As in other parts of Iceland, clear skies are a must.

Reykjavik has several parks that offer great spots for aurora viewing. Grotta Lighthouse, located on the Seltjarnarnes peninsula, is one of the most popular, as it sits at the northwestern-most tip of the city, away from much of the city glow. Within the city center, Klambratun and Hljomskalagarur parks are both accessible on foot and provide a decent escape from the lights. And if you have a rental car, consider driving to Elliaardalur, a large nature area just outside of town, where the skies are even darker.

How to see the northern lights in Iceland

To make the most of your northern lights experience in Iceland, there are several ways you can go aurora hunting.

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Take a guided tour: Join a northern lights tour with local experts who know the best spots based on weather and aurora forecasts.

Stay at an aurora hotel: Some hotels in rural areas specialize in northern lights experiences.

Rent a car: If you want flexibility, rent a car and explore at your own pace.

Try a boat tour: Many boat tours take you out into the dark waters near Reykjavik or Akureyri, where youll have less light interference.

Taking photos of the northern lights

Olivier de Vaulx / The Manual

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Capturing the northern lights in Iceland is possible with both a professional camera and a smartphone, as long as youre equipped with a few tricks. If youre using a professional camera, bring along a tripod and a cable release; these will help keep your camera steady, so your photos dont end up blurry. For your settings, start by setting the ISO to around 1,600 and an aperture of f/2.8 or lower to allow as much light in as possible. A shutter speed of 10 to 20 seconds is usually a good starting point, but feel free to adjust depending on how bright the auroras are that night.

Capturing the auroras is also possible for smartphone photographers, especially with newer models. Using a tripod is still a good idea here, as it prevents shakiness. If youre using an iPhone, switch to the 1x lens for better quality and make sure night mode is enabled to maximize light capture. For Android users, consider using a manual camera app that lets you control the ISO and shutter speed to get clearer, more vibrant shots.

The post How to experience the magic of the northern lights in Iceland appeared first on The Manual.
No matter what the tap lineup looks like at your local craft beer bar these days, there are so many more beer styles to drink than IPA. If you like big, strong beers but are looking to break out of the hop overload of many of today's American offerings, a great place to start is Belgian styles like tripels. While the name tripel is pronounced just like the American spelling of triple, the beer itself is not the same as, say, a triple IPA. The beers were originally created by Trappist monks (those who follow the reformed branch of Roman Catholic Cistercians) and brewed very differently than IPAs. While a triple IPA is typically very hoppy and hazy, a Belgian tripel is a strong, golden-colored ale with a spicy flavor, moderate hops, and a crisp finish.

Perhaps the most famous example of a Belgian tripel comes from the Westmalle brewery (brouwerij in Dutch), which is in the northern Belgian province of Antwerp, but there are plenty of American examples to try in the States from breweries like Allagash Brewing Company (Portland, Maine), New Belgium Brewing (Fort Collins, Colorado), and Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, New York).

Read more: 18 Unusual Craft Cocktail Ingredients You Should Try At Least Once

How Tripel Got Its Name

A bottle of Belgian Tripel D'Anvers sits on a burlap sack. - Kristof Bellens/Shutterstock

Belgian breweries tend to brew only a few classic styles of beer, which might be how tripels got their name (though no one can truly agree on this). Trappist or abbey-style breweries (which are secular breweries that are not owned by Trappist monks) often have a simple lineup of beers known as singel, dubel, tripel, and quadrupel, which are categorized by strength. So while triple IPAs in America are considered triple strength in terms of both hops and alcohol, tripels in Belgian breweries are simply the third strongest beer in the lineup. Indeed, the level of increase between each category varies by monastery.

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Tripels are brewed with European Pilsner malt, which is pale and fermented with Trappist-style ale yeast strains (which are different from lager yeasts) that create spicy, tropical flavors like honey, banana, and citrus. Classic European varieties of hops are used to add bitterness and aroma, like Saaz and Styrian Golding, and they clock in at around 9 to 9.5 percent alcohol by volume. Many commercial examples are bottle conditioned, which means that they are carbonated by adding yeast and sugar to the bottle to create the bubbles. This is why you'll often see them packaged in thick glass bottles with a cork wrapped in a wire cage similar to a bottle of Champagne. Brouwerij Westmalle's Trappist Tripel is the benchmark example, but if you can't find it at your local bottle shop, look for Brewery Ommegang's Gnommegang, Allegash's Tripel, or New Belgium's Trippel. Once you get a taste for tripels, it'll open up your tastebuds to a whole new world of Belgian-style beers.

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Read the original article on Food Republic.
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD)  Gov. Jeff Landry announced that Louisiana will be awarding $1.355 billion in federal funding for broadband access in the state through the GUMBO 2.0 program.

The program was launched in August. The governors office talked about how the program will expand broadband access to 140,000 locations, including homes, businesses, schools, hospitals and law enforcement agencies.

In Mondays announcement, the governors office said 8,000 to 10,000 new jobs are estimated to be created through broadband investments. Officials said Louisiana companies will get an estimated $2 to $3 billion in new revenue.

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Louisiana is driving broadband for the rest of the country and delivering concrete, tangible results, said Landry. This historic investment in our states broadband infrastructure will transform communities across Louisiana, providing the connectivity our residents need to thrive in the modern economy. I want to thank the Louisiana Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity for their leadership in ensuring all Louisianians benefit from this great investment.

Public comments about the final proposal will be open from Nov. 18 to Dec. 10. Click here to submit public comments.

Louisiana lawmakers advance pay raise proposal for teachers, school support staff

Read statements from Louisiana leaders

Access to high-speed internet is essential for every small business owner, student, and worker, and Louisiana is taking the lead in addressing this need. Im proud to have played a key role in securing this funding and grateful to Governor Landry and our states swift action in putting $1.35 billion to work. Sen. Bill Cassidy

This is a game-changing moment for Louisiana and will help ensure all our residents have access to high-speed, reliable internet. By rapidly deploying these funds, were creating new economic opportunities, improving educational outcomes, and enhancing the delivery of critical healthcare services for families in every corner of our state. When I championed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, these are the results I was excited about. Congressman Troy A. Carter

Under Governor Landrys leadership, Louisiana is tackling our digital divide head-on with both speed and precision as we cement our status as the national leader in broadband deployment. The impact of this funding will ripple across every corner of our state, with all Louisianians having access to reliable high-speed internet that transforms how we access healthcare, pursue education and participate in our economy. ConnectLA Executive Director Veneeth Iyengar

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At the invitation of Premier of the State Council Li Qiang, Prime Minister of the Independent State of Samoa Fiame Naomi Mataafa will pay an official visit to China from November 20 to 28.



Xinhua News Agency: Can you share the program of the visit of Samoas Prime Minister and Chinas expectation for the visit?



Lin Jian: Samoa was one of the first Pacific Island countries to establish diplomatic ties with New China. The friendly ties between the two countries enjoy profound public support and deliver tangibly to the peoples of the two countries. Over the past half century of diplomatic relations, China and Samoa have maintained sound and steady growth in bilateral ties despite the changing international landscape. The two countries have been good friends supporting each other and good partners seeking common development. During the visit by Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa, leaders of the two countries will have in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and important issues of mutual interest and jointly chart the course for the growth of bilateral ties going forward.

Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of China-Samoa diplomatic relations, which face new opportunities for growth. Through this visit, China stands ready to deepen political mutual trust, expand practical cooperation, build closer cultural and people-to-people bond, and enhance mutual learning between civilizations with Samoa to further enrich the comprehensive strategic partnership and jointly build an even closer community with a shared future between China and Pacific Island countries.

CCTV: President Xi Jinping recently attended the 31st APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Lima, capital of Peru. Could you share more details? What initiatives and propositions did China put forward?



Lin Jian: On November 16 local time, the 31st APEC Economic Leaders Meeting was held in Lima. President Xi Jinping attended the meeting and delivered important remarks. He put forth three proposals to build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future, and start a new era in Asia-Pacific development.

First, we need to build an open and interconnected paradigm for Asia-Pacific cooperation. We should stay committed to multilateralism and an open economy, firmly uphold the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, advance regional economic integration and connectivity, and uphold stable and smooth industrial and supply chains. Second, we need to make green innovation a catalyst for the Asia-Pacific. We need to seize the opportunities presented by the new round of sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation, and strengthen exchanges and cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI), quantum information, life and health, and other frontier areas. We need to foster an open, fair, just and nondiscriminatory ecosystem for innovation, and promote a leapfrog development of productive forces across our region. We should prioritize ecological protection, promote resources conservation and their efficient use as well as green and low-carbon development, and push forward coordinated digital and green transformation and development to create new momentum and new drivers for Asia-Pacific development. Third, we need to uphold a universally beneficial and inclusive vision for Asia-Pacific development. We should strengthen economic and technical cooperation. We should increase support for developing economies and disadvantaged groups, and work together to grow the pie and distribute it equitably to allow more economies and people to benefit from development.

President Xi Jinping stressed that reform and opening up is a historic process in which China and the world achieve development and progress together. Chinas further development will provide new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large. China welcomes all parties to continue riding the express train of its development so that we can all contribute to the modernization of all countries featuring peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation and common prosperity.

This years APEC Economic Leaders Meeting endorsed Chinas 2026 APEC presidency. It will be the third time for China to host APEC. China looks forward to working with other parties to implement the Putrajaya Vision 2040 and deepen Asia-Pacific cooperation to the benefit of the peoples in the region.

AFP: Today, the US and the Philippines signed the General Security of Military Information Agreement, allowing the two countries to share classified information. How does China view this step given more frequent clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the South China Sea as well as territorial disputes?

Lin Jian: No military agreement, or defense and security cooperation, in whatever form, should target any third party or harm the interests of any third party. Nor should it undermine regional peace or exacerbate regional tensions. The only right choice for safeguarding national security and regional peace and stability is to uphold good-neighborliness and friendship and maintain strategic independence.

TASS: According to reports by the New York Times and Le Figaro, the US, the UK and France have authorized the use of long-range weapons by Ukraine for strikes inside Russia. Does China have any comment on this? Against such a backdrop, how does China see the prospect of peace talks?



Lin Jian: Chinas position on the Ukraine issue is consistent and clear. Realizing an early ceasefire and striving for political settlement serves the interest of all sides, and the biggest imperative is to promote deescalation as soon as possible. China always encourages and supports all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis, and stands ready to continue to play a constructive role in its own way for the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.

Reuters: The Australian and British governments have both announced that Chinese leader will meet with their leaders at the G20. Would you be able to confirm these meetings?



Lin Jian: On the bilateral meetings during the G20 Summit, we will release information in due course. Please stay tuned.

China Daily: You mentioned that President Xi Jinping made a written speech at the APEC CEO Summit, which received wide attention. We noted that economic globalization, as a keyword, appeared 13 times throughout the speech. What message do you think President Xis notions of economic globalization are sending to the world?



Lin Jian: Economic globalization is an objective requirement of growing social productive forces. It is a natural outcome of advancement in science and technology and a mighty historical trend. Despite headwinds and undertows, economic globalization has always been the general trend. The attempt to break up the interdependence of the world under all sorts of pretexts is nothing but backpedaling.

President Xi pointed out in the speech that the world is in a new period of turbulence and transformation. Despite the unbridled unilateralism and protectionism and an increasingly fragmented world economy, the driving forces for economic globalization still prevail. We should steer economic globalization in the right direction and see to it that economic globalization generates more positive outcomes. We should take innovation as the driving force for stronger growth of the world economy. We should keep pace with the times and reform the system of global economic governance. We should always take the people-centered approach and seek to settle imbalances in development. The Asia-Pacific should remain the locomotive of economic globalization and we should join hands to see to it that economic globalization is taken to a new phase that is more dynamic, inclusive and sustainable to the benefit of various countries and communities.

In this process, China will deepen reform comprehensively and continue to provide robust momentum for the world economy. It will advance high-quality development and continue to lead the efforts to improve the performance of the world economy. It will stay firmly on the path of green development and continue to be an important force for global green transition. It will build new, open and higher-standard economic systems and continue to share Chinas development opportunities with the world.

Helsingin Sanomat: European intelligence agency has got an information about the cooperation between China and Russia in the production of military drones. Are these drones used in Ukraine? Whats Chinas stance on it?



Lin Jian: We have responded to similar questions multiple times. I would like to reaffirm that on the Ukraine crisis, China upholds an objective and just position and has actively promoted peace talks, which stands in sharp contrast with certain countries who apply double standards and keep adding fuel to the fire on the Ukraine crisis. China handles the export of military products prudently and responsibly. We have never provided lethal weapons to any party of the conflict, and strictly control the export of military and dual-use drones in accordance with laws and regulations. We hope relevant countries and individuals will refrain from making baseless speculations and vilification against China.

Ukrinform News Agency: On Sunday, Russian military launched massive missiles and drones to attack the civilian energy infrastructure in Ukraine120 missiles and almost 100 drones. Power outages have started across Ukraine. Odesa, a large city and port on the Black Sea, is now without electricity, heating and drinking water. The same in several other cities and towns across Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians were left without heat and electricity when the weather outside is already frosty. Id like to ask you whether China can comment on Russias escalation of war?



Lin Jian: Chinas position on the Ukraine issue is consistent and clear. Parties concerned need to promote deescalation in a responsible manner and accumulate conditions for an early ceasefire and political settlement of the crisis.

PTI: Are there any bilateral meetings lined up that you can confirm on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil?



Lin Jian: Recently, President Xi Jinping met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the margins of the BRICS Summit held in Kazan. China stands ready to work with India to deliver on the important common understandings between the leaders of the two countries, step up communication and cooperation and enhance strategic mutual trust. On the specifics you mentioned, I have no information to offer.

Shenzhen TV: We noted that China and Southeast Asian countries have engaged in frequent interactions recently and in particular, the exchanges between heads of state and government reached another new height. Last Friday, on the margins of the 31st APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Peru, President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister of Singapore Lawrence Wong and Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Within a month, Premier Li Qiang, together with the heads of government from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam, attended the eighth Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Summit. Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang visited Singapore and co-chaired the China-Singapore bilateral cooperation mechanism meetings. Vice President Han Zheng visited Indonesia and Brunei. Indonesias newly elected President Prabowo Subianto and Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim visited China. Could you share some comment on this?



Lin Jian: The exchanges between China and Southeast Asian countries have recently reached another new height, which speaks to the common aspiration of regional countries for solidarity, cooperation and development, and demonstrates the robust growth of relations between China and neighboring countries.

China and Southeast Asian countries are good neighbors connected by mountains and rivers and sharing close cultural bond. We are also good partners with integrated interests and a shared future. Under the guidance of head-of-state diplomacy, the two sides have achieved fruitful outcomes in high-quality cooperation and made solid steps in building a community with a shared future. Important common understandings were reached between China and Indonesia on building a community with a shared future with regional and global influence. The building of a community with a shared future both bilaterally and multilaterally between China and Malaysia and Mekong countries reached a new level. Belt and Road cooperation plans were signed between China and Malaysia and between China and Singapore. The Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway was officially launched for a year, serving over six million passengers. The China-Laos Railway saw booming passenger travel as well as freight shipping, playing an increasingly important role as a golden route for transportation. Construction of Malaysias East Coast Rail Link made steady progress. The China-Laos-Thailand international freight train service was officially launched. The China-ASEAN FTA 3.0 Upgrade Negotiations were substantially concluded. Visa-free arrangement between China and Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Laos produced remarkable results, and the Lancang-Mekong visa policy was officially implemented. China and relevant countries reached important common understandings on properly putting maritime differences under control, enhancing maritime cooperation, speeding up consultations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea, and jointly keeping the South China Sea peaceful and stable.

Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific is the shared home of China and neighboring countries. China has all along put the neighborhood as a priority in the overall diplomacy. We stand ready to work with Southeast Asian countries to continue to uphold the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, engage in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, build a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home, further enhance mutual understanding and trust, deepen friendly ties, pursue common development and prosperity, provide strong impetus for our respective modernization process, and make greater contribution to regional peace and prosperity.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, November 18. Uzbekistan's foreign trade turnover with Lithuania amounted to $492.9 million from January through September of this year.

The data obtained by Trend from the country's Statistics Agency shows that this is 3.5 percent less compared to the same period last year ($510.6 million from January through September 2023).

Lithuania became one of the 15 largest trade partners of Uzbekistan during the mentioned period.

Uzbekistan's exports to Lithuania totaled $151.4 million, up 53.3 percent year-on-year ($98.7 million from January through September 2023).

In the meantime, Uzbekistan's imports from Lithuania reached $341.4 million from January through September 2024. This figure decreased by 17.1 percent compared to the same period last year ($411.9 million from January through September 2023).

To note, the volume of Uzbekistan's foreign trade turnover amounted to $48.2 billion in the period from January through September 2024. This indicator increased by 7.7 percent year-on-year ($44.7 billion from January through September 2023).
NEW YORK  The number of homeless students in New York City public schools peaked again last school year, according to a report released Monday  the second year in a row it reached an all-time high as immigrant families continued to seek asylum in the five boroughs.

More than 146,000 schoolkids slept in shelters or in the overcrowded homes of friends and extended family, an annual count from Advocates for Children of New York shows. With an increase of 23% since the year before, now about 1 in 8 children in the citys school system know how it feels to lack a place to call home.

It is unconscionable that, year after year, tens of thousands of students in this city dont have a permanent home, Jennifer Pringle, director of Advocates for Childrens students in temporary housing portfolio, said in a statement. While the city works to help families find permanent housing, it must also focus more attention on helping students succeed in school. School can be the key to breaking the cycle of homelessness, but so many children, especially those in shelters, continue to fall behind.

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Student homelessness was particularly concentrated in upper Manhattan, the southwest Bronx, and parts of northeast and central Brooklyn, following a yearslong trend, the report found. For comparison, the advocates said, there were more students without permanent housing than there are seats in Citi Field and Yankee Stadium combined, whose lack of stability is having a profound effect on their education.

When Aliyah Harriott moved into a shelter with her son, she was placed in the Bronx far away from the preschool he was attending for students with autism. He missed school for a week, until she found another program that would meet his needs. It would be another few weeks before he was placed on a school bus route, while she shuttled him to and from school. And even then, she could not find an after-school program for his age group and disability.

It really prevented me from obtaining a job, from being able to work while Im in the shelter, said Harriott, 24, a single mom who was staying at Jackson Avenue Family Residence in Mott Haven.

When youre in a shelter, they give you this letter that says youre mandated to work to obtain a [housing] voucher. In the same breath I had to let them know, I have to put my child somewhere safe, where hes being taken care of, to have that job youre talking about.

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Harriott and her son, whos now in the first grade at Public School 132 Garret A. Morgan, have since moved out of the shelter into public housing. She got a job this month helping children with disabilities in a residential program, which she described as what I wanted to do. But she wishes they received more support.

I wish they couldve understood more how hard it is being a single parent, Harriott said, how hard it is getting your kid in school. Yeah, school is free, but applying, finding what fits for your kid  every kid is different.

Chyann Tull, a spokeswoman for the public school system, said it has many supports in place for families in temporary housing, from field staff to assistance with enrollment, transportation and improved attendance. That may include some extra services not typically associated with classrooms  such as food and clothing donations, or hygiene supplies  that help students attend and succeed in school.

Last year, Tull added, the local school aid formula was revised to send additional dollars to schools enrolling homeless students.

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Our students who are experiencing homelessness are among our most vulnerable, and it is a continued priority at New York City Public Schools to provide them with the supports and resources they need to succeed in school, Tull said.

Advocates say students who are homeless face more obstacles to doing well in school than their classmates. The most recent data show half of all students in temporary housing  and more than two-thirds of students in shelters  were considered chronically absent during the 2022-23 school year. They also scored lower in reading and writing tests, and dropped out of high school at triple the rates of their peers.

Those trends have compelled the advocates to push for more state education funding, as lawmakers revisit the school aid calculation known as Foundation Aid. The formula, which directs dollars based on individual students needs, does not account for their housing status, like it does for students with disabilities or other vulnerable groups

Student homelessness has skyrocketed over the past decade, but right now, districts receive no additional per pupil funding from the state to help meet the educational needs of students in temporary housing, said Kim Sweet, executive director of Advocates for Children.

Its critical that New York update the Foundation Aid formula to better support todays students  including the roughly 1 in 8 students in New York City who do not have a permanent place to call home.
China has activated the world's most advanced hypergravity machine, aiming to deepen scientific understanding.

The system, featuring the largest hypergravity centrifuge, will be able to produce forces thousands of times stronger than Earth's gravity.

The Centrifugal Hypergravity and Interdisciplinary Experiment Facility (CHIEF) is located in Hangzhou, the capital of eastern Chinas Zhejiang province.

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Once fully operational, it will serve as a multidisciplinary platform to address complex engineering challenges. According to a Chinese online media outlet, Hangzhous government hailed its preliminary completion as a milestone in advancing hypergravity research.

"CHIEF will fill a void in super-large hyper-gravity experiment facilities in China. As an indispensable experimentation device, it will provide an advanced experiment platform and offer immense support for the development and verification of major engineering technologies as well as research into cutting-edge matter-related sciences," said Hangzhous government, in a statement earlier.

Furthering gravity research

Approved in 2018 by Chinas National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), CHIEF began construction in 2020 under Zhejiang Universitys guidance.

The facility will house three primary hypergravity centrifuges and 18 onboard units. These centrifuges, machines designed to spin containers rapidly, force heavier materials to the edges or bottom by creating hypergravity conditions, as reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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The first centrifuges main engine, resembling two massive arms holding experimental baskets, has been installed. According to the Hangzhou government, the fabrication of the remaining two centrifuges and 10 onboard units is underway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsERUq89EWU&pp=ygUfZ3Jhdml0eSBpbnRlcmVzdGluZyBlbmdpbmVlcmluZw%3D%3D

Hypergravity refers to forces greater than Earths standard gravity, or 1g. For context, astronauts re-entering Earths atmosphere in spacecraft experience hypergravity at 4g, equivalent to four times their body weight.

CHIEFs hypergravity centrifuges are considered groundbreaking tools for creating extreme physical conditions not typically encountered in everyday environments.

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These capabilities are expected to advance research across multiple disciplines, enabling scientists to simulate and analyze phenomena such as geological processes, material behaviors, and engineering challenges.

Future science hub

In 2019, Zhejiang University highlighted the proposal and design of the Centrifugal Hypergravity and Interdisciplinary Experiment Facility (CHIEF), emphasizing its potential to accelerate scientific research.

Led by Chen Yunmin, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the facility aims to simulate extreme conditions to tackle complex physics problems and support diverse engineering applications.

CHIEF will surpass the capabilities of the US Army Corps of Engineers hypergravity facility, which has a capacity of 1,200 g-t (gravity acceleration  tonne). Once completed, CHIEF will feature a capacity of 1,900 g-t, making it the most advanced facility of its kind, reports SCMP.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8gZRWJ4jSo&pp=ygUfZ3Jhdml0eSBpbnRlcmVzdGluZyBlbmdpbmVlcmluZw%3D%3D

The project includes six hypergravity experiment chambers, each dedicated to a specific area, such as slope and dam engineering, seismic geotechnics, deep-sea exploration, deep-earth studies, geological processes, and materials processing.

In deep-sea engineering, CHIEF will support research into natural gas hydrates, a potential clean energy source found in seabeds and beneath permafrost. By replicating and optimizing extraction processes, scientists aim to minimize risks and improve efficiency in harnessing this abundant resource.

CHIEF is listed in Chinas 13th Five-Year Plan (20162020) as one of ten key scientific infrastructures. It represents a major national investment of over 2 billion yuan (US$276.5 million).
Support for victims and survivors of domestic violence is available 24/7: 1-800-897-LINK (5465). If you or someone else is in immediate danger, or in an emergency, please call 911 immediately.

WEBER COUNTY, Utah (ABC4)  One man was killed in an officer-involved shooting at an apartment in West Haven City on Sunday, according to officials.

Officials responded to the scene after hearing reports of a disturbance at an apartment, where two people had been arguing, according to a Sunday night press release from the Weber County Sheriffs Office.

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Man arrested for stabbing victim after rummaging through victims car

The man involved in the incident allegedly damaged property, went back into an apartment, and barricaded himself inside with the other person he was arguing with, the sheriffs office said. Officials forced their way into the apartment after hearing a disturbance from inside, according to the press release.

The male brandished a knife and began to advance on the deputies, holding the knife, the sheriffs office said in the press release. Three deputies fired rounds at the male, resulting in his death.

The three deputies who fired at the man were placed on leave pending investigation, following standard practice and county policy after an officer-involved shooting. According to the press release, no other deputies or involved parties were injured in the incident.

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The Weber County Sheriffs Office indicated that the incident on Sunday night was a domestic violence situation.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased and emphasize the availability of resources for anyone in a dangerous domestic relationship, the sheriffs office said.

The sheriffs office did not provide any further information, as the investigation is ongoing.

This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post 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 ABC4 Utah.
PIQUA, Ohio (WDTN)  An alleged suspect is in custody after a person was shot in Piqua Sunday evening.

Police investigate Sunoco gas station after person shot

According to the Piqua Police Department, officers located a person on the 800 block of Brice Avenue suffering from a gun shot wound. Officers were dispatched to the area around 8:10 p.m.

The person was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

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The department announced later that evening that an alleged suspect was taken into custody.

An investigation of the incident is ongoing. Anyone with pertinent information is advised to call 937-440-9911.

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 WDTN.com.
The post $1 Million Worth of Guy Fieri and Sammy Hagars Tequila Hijacked in Double Heist appeared first on Consequence.

Guy Fieri and Sammy Hagars joint tequila business suffered a huge setback after two trucks carrying about $1 million worth of their Santo Tequila were hijacked in a double heist in Texas during the weekend of November 9th.

According to a representative of Hagar, via Fox News, the trucks were hijacked over the weekend in Laredo, just after crossing the border into the United States. A total of 4,040 cases of tequila (24,240 bottles), including Santo blanco, reposado, and a special extra anejo  which took 39 months to make  were stolen.

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Get Sammy Hagar Tickets Here

Hagars rep added that the double heist appears to be an organized crime effort where the trucks were illegally double brokered to different carriers who transferred the product to their trucks after crossing the border from Mexico into Texas. An incident report obtained by People stated that the company believes the GPS tracking signal we were monitoring was spoofed by a GPS emulator application used by the criminals.

Hagar, in a statement to Fox News Digital, commented, For a growing company like Santo, its really a shame for something like this to happen in the middle of our strongest year to date and right before the holidays!

The Red Rocker added, Anyone that knows business knows that this is a huge setback for any company in a hugely competitive market. But Guy and I will survive. Most of all, were glad that nobody was hurt during this crime.

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People reported that Santo president Dan Butkus estimates the total loss to be about $1 million along with a big hit to the companys supply chain.

Weve worked so hard, Fieri told People in a statement. This is our best year weve ever had in Santo. We just had all this momentum, and now whatevers on the shelf is all people are going to get.

Butkus called the theft the strangest thing hes witnessed in his 25-plus years in the spirits industry.

Two of our trucks, four days apart, to be stolen, its so out of the ordinary, out of the norm, that were wondering why our trucks may have been targeted, he said, adding: Its unlikely that theyll find these truckers. They probably rent the truck, get the bid, get the cargo, sell it, and then disappear. There are some phone lines we have from them that are already disconnected.

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Fieri told People that someone could be trying to break the momentum of Santo and hopes they can at least recover the extra anejo  the crown jewel of the company  you cant reproduce something that takes four years to make. They plan to put a $10,000 offer out for the batch.

Its like a movie  I never in a million years thought this was coming down the pike like this, Fieri said, but its real.

According to People, the Laredo Police Department, Los Angeles Cargo Criminal Apprehension Team, and the federal cargo theft prevention and recovery network CargoNet are investigating the theft.

In happier news, Hagar just announced a Las Vegas residency for his Best of All Worlds band featuring Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, and Kenny Aronoff. A Live Nation ticket pre-sale begins Wednesday (November 20th) at 10 a.m. PT using the code BEATS.

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$1 Million Worth of Guy Fieri and Sammy Hagars Tequila Hijacked in Double Heist

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Two people were killed and 11 others were hurt in two shootings that erupted 45 minutes apart near a second line parade in New Orleans on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

Ten were shot in the first incident and three were shot in the second, New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said Monday.

All of the injured victims are in stable condition, she said.

PHOTO: New Orleans police are investigating two Sunday afternoon shootings. (WGNO)

No arrests have been made, Kirkpatrick said.

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Authorities are investigating whether the shootings were related, Kirkpatrick said, noting that at least two guns were used.

The police department said it immediately shut down the second line, which is a type of parade with live brass band music.

PHOTO: New Orleans police are investigating two Sunday afternoon shootings. (WGNO)

MORE: 11-year-old among 3 arrested in string of armed robberies: Seattle police

About 100 officers were on the scene of the second line, which drew thousands of spectators on Sunday, and yet "the tragedy still occurred," Kirkpatrick said at a news conference.

New Orleans Councilman Eugene Green, who was at the second line, said "the New Orleans Police Department was well-represented before the second line, during and even following the second line and along the parade route."

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Second lines are a part of New Orleans culture "and will continue to be so," Kirkpatrick said. "But we have got to work together with the community to prevent any potential for violence."

2 killed, 11 hurt in 2 shootings near second line parades in New Orleans originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Nov. 17A 13-year-old from Pullman died in a crash involving five vehicles, including two semitrucks, Saturday on U.S. Highway 195, 3 miles north of Rosalia in Whitman County, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Zion Bischoff, a passenger, died from his injuries at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, WSP said in a news release.

At 7:20 a.m., Stephen Powers was driving south on the highway approaching Babb Road when he lost control on the ice, WSP said. The semitruck and trailer he was driving jackknifed across the northbound lanes and Stephen Bischoff, driving north in a 2023 Mazda CX-50 with Zion Bischoff, struck the semi in the northbound lane.

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The Mazda was pushed into another northbound lane, striking two other northbound vehicles, troopers said. Meanwhile, Powers' semi trailer struck another semi trailer, which was parked on the shoulder, and pushed the parked vehicle into a rock wall.

Stephen Bischoff, 44, of Pullman, was taken to Sacred Heart before being treated and released from the hospital, according to WSP. Stephen Bischoff was wearing a seat belt and Zion Bischoff was not.

No one else was injured.

Troopers are investigating potential charges against Powers, 68, of Spokane Valley. Drugs or alcohol were not involved.
AKRON, Ohio (WJW)  Akron police are investigating after a 13-year-old was held at gunpoint in a robbery on the way home from school.

It happened just before 4 p.m. Friday in the 600 block of Elma Street.

17-year-old Strongsville boy killed in crash

The victim told police a man with a gun approached him and demanded his phone. The suspect then ran from the scene, according to police.

The suspect was known to the victim, police say.

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Officers spotted the suspect riding in the passengers seat of a black Kia.

Two found dead in car near Cleveland Metroparks golf course

During a traffic stop, police say officers found a handgun, two extended magazines and some of the victims property.

Courtesy: Akron Police Department

The suspect in the case is 17. He is not being named due to his age.

He faces charges of aggravated robbery and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle.

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 8 Cleveland WJW.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  A 14-year-old was shot and killed in northeast Oklahoma City Saturday evening, police say.

According to the Oklahoma City Police Department, officers responded to the 700 block of NE Katherine Place around 8 p.m. after receiving reports of a shooting.

ORIGINAL STORY: One person killed in NE OKC shooting

Upon arrival, they found the victim, 14-year-old Jordan Gulley, hit and unresponsive. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he died.

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Officials say there have been no arrests as the investigation continues. Anyone with information is asked to call the Homicide Tip Line at 405-297-1200.

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.
Spain has arrested 14 people suspected of links to the powerful Mexican Sinaloa cartel as part of a kidnapping and murder probe, police said Sunday.

The ring busted by Spanish investigators was mainly made up of Mexican nationals. It was connected to the Sinaloa drug cartel, which is based in northwestern Mexico and has been shaken by weeks of gang infighting.

"The dismantled criminal network, which is based in Catalonia, is believed to be involved in the kidnapping and death of a man whose body was found in a wooded area" in the northeastern Spanish region in August, police said in a statement.

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The victim, whose nationality was not specified, allegedly worked with the gang and "had come from Italy for a meeting with several chiefs."

The victim's family in Kosovo reported his disappearance to the police after he was abducted between late May and June.

The family received a 240,000-euro ransom request ($253,000) and a total of $32,000 was paid in cryptocurrency.

The 14 detained suspects were allegedly involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping and murder, the statement also said. The detainees, 11 men and 3 women, are between 30 and 70 years old.

The Catalonia-based ring received shipments from Mexico containing clothes soaked with methamphetamine, which they then extracted in a Spanish lab, police added.

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The 14 arrests came just days after Spain arrested one of its top police officers after 20 million euros were found hidden in the walls of his house, as part of a probe into the country's largest-ever cocaine bust.

The Sinaloa cartel, which is named after the Mexican state where it originated, is one of the largest criminal organizations in the world. Two of its founders, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, are jailed in the United States.

Zambada, 76, was arrested on July 25 in the southern United States, where he landed with Joaquin Guzman Lopez, one of "El Chapo's" sons, who led a faction of the cartel known as the "Chapitos." The veteran drug trafficker has accused Lopez of kidnapping him and handing him over to U.S. law enforcement.

According to an indictment released by the U.S. Justice Department last year, the "Chapitos" and their cartel associates used corkscrews, electrocution and hot chiles to torture their rivals while some of their victims were "fed dead or alive to tigers." El Chapo's sons were among 28 Sinaloa cartel members charged in a massive fentanyl-trafficking investigation announced in April 2023.

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"El Chapo" is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison in Colorado after being convicted in 2019 on charges including drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons-related offenses.

Spiraling criminal violence, much of it linked to gang drug trafficking, has seen more than 450,000 people murdered in Mexico since 2006.

Combating Parkinson's with rock climbing

Cher opens up about life with Sonny

Extended interview: Cher
Twenty years ago, we turned to Google for answers. These days its Wikipedia. Tomorrow, ChatGPT? We decided to find out what AI thinks about watch companies, and then ask industry managers for their reactions. Pascal Raffy, owner of Bovet, gamely took up the challenge

ChatGPT: Pascal Raffy is a passionate entrepreneur in the wine sector, known for developing estates in France. He is associated with promoting the Pomerol appellation.

Pascal Raffy: Thats definitely not me! My interests are focused on family, nature and, perhaps, cultivating fine grape varieties. Like Haute Horlogerie, winemaking requires patience and dedication. Both are time-consuming arts.

The art of engraving  Bovet 1822

The history of Bovet watches dates back to 1822, when Edouard Bovet founded the company in Switzerland. The brand specialised in pocket watches prized by Chinese nobility. Bovet even opened a branch in Canton.

Thats correct, but it doesnt tell the whole story. Edouard Bovet was a visionary. He left Fleurier and travelled to London by various means, and then on to China. He had real courage. Thats why our timepieces often feature travel-related elements. The world time complication is particularly close to my heart.

Edouard Bovet  Bovet 1822

Travel is also about curiosity and openness to others. Thats why we listen carefully to our collectors and create personalised pieces. These now represent about two-thirds of the work carried out by our Ateliers dArt.

Id also emphasise the technical mastery of our calibres. It all stems from a collective effort  a symbiosis of individual talents that come together like an orchestral recital. Thats actually the inspiration behind our Recital collection.

The Recital 28 Prowess 1  Bovet 1822

Bovet watches may be purchased from official boutiques, authorised dealers, sites like Chrono24 or WatchBox, and at auction.

I can confirm that we currently have some 50 points of sale, including six of our own boutiques. Were aware of our timepieces being sold on Chrono24, but we dont have any specific agreement with WatchBox.

The Chateau de Motiers, Bovet's headquarters  Bovet 1822

We pay very little attention to auctions. Ive occasionally followed one if theres a connection with a charity close to my heart, often related to child protection, but thats the extent of it.

Bovet watches can be a good investment for several reasons: craftsmanship, quality, rarity, heritage, reputation, increasing demand.

Thats true, and its something were seeing more and more with our customised timepieces. Through this specialisation, which is deeply rooted in the Maisons history, we are able to strengthen the intrinsic values of fine watchmaking, which are very important to us.

Archive of Bovet Freres  Bovet 1822

I cant help you with buying a counterfeit Bovet, its illegal.

Bravo, ChatGPT! But thats not something Im worried about. Often, a good look at the bow is enough to spot a fake. Its an incredibly complex component that takes a long time to manufacture. And thats not even considering the movement, complications and finishes, which are far beyond the abilities of counterfeiters.

An engraver at his workbench  Bovet 1822

Bovet is considered a good company to work for, in terms of its expertise, corporate culture, prestige and atmosphere.

Its interesting that ChatGPT mentions corporate culture and atmosphere. These are difficult for an algorithm to measure! But its accurate. Our company isnt just a collection of individuals, its a team working in symbiosis, driven by values of fellowship and care for others. There isnt a single employee, no matter how talented, who could succeed without their colleagues. In fact, 60% of our artisans have been with us for 15 to 20 years. I believe thats the best possible testament to our corporate culture.
NEW YORK (PIX11)  More than 146,000 New York City public school students were homeless during the school year last year, record highs largely driven by the migrant crisis, according to Advocates for Children of New York.

About 1 in 8 children were homeless in the 2023-24 school year, a 23% jump from the 2022-23 academic year, according to the AFC data released on Monday.

While the numbers seen last year represent record highsdriven in part by the increase in the number of immigrant families and asylum seekers arriving in New York Citystudent homelessness is a longstanding challenge: 202324 was the ninth consecutive year in which more than 100,000 New York City public school students experienced homelessness, officials said.

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Of the 146,000 students, about 41% (60,395) spent time living in shelters while 54% were temporarily living with someone else, according to the AFC. Nearly 7,000 students were living in hotels, motels, or unsheltered.

Around 5% of students, or 1 in 20, slept in shelters at some point during the 202324 school year, officials said.

The Bronx and Manhattan had the highest rate of student homelessness, while the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bushwick and Brownswille were close behind, according to the data.

There are more students without a permanent place to call home than there are seats at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field combined, officials said.

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Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She has been with PIX11 News for two years. See more of her work here.

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MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now)  Police in Montgomery County said a teenage boy was taken into custody after he was allegedly involved in a brief police chase Monday morning.

According to the Montgomery County Department of Police (MCPD), just after 5:30 a.m. on Nov. 18, officers tried to initiate a traffic stop on two stolen vehicles in the Clara Downey Avenue and Doc Berlin Drive area.

Police said officers terminated their chase with one of the vehicles but continued pursuing the second vehicle.

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Man found shot on I-95 in Maryland, MSP investigating

MCPD said that during the pursuit, the suspects in the second vehicle got out and ran from the police. During this time, officers located a 16-year-old boy and took him into custody.

When officers searched the vehicle, they discovered a handgun.

The teen was taken to the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit and is being charged accordingly.

The investigation is ongoing.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  2025 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.

We remember and honor those 168 who lost their lives on April 19, 1995, when a bomb went off in front of the Murrah building in downtown Oklahoma City.

168 Days to remember those lost in the OKC bombing: Andrea Yvette Blanton. Image courtesy Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum.

We want to remember Andrea Yvette Blanton, while honoring those who survived and thanking those changed forever.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT)  An 18-month-old girl was injured in a shooting in the Wylam neighborhood Sunday night.

At around 6:45 p.m., South Precinct officers were dispatched to Childrens Hospital on a report of a child shot.

Early morning shooting in Birmingham leaves 1 dead

Preliminary investigation revealed a possible shootout in the area with the child caught in the crossfire while traveling in a vehicle. Officers believe the scene of the incident was at the 5-Way service station at 4800 8th Avenue Wylam. The victim was transported to Childrens Hospital in a private vehicle.

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The childs injuries were non-life-threatening.

BPD believes that the intended target of the shooting was an adult who was traveling with the 18-month-old.

Officers learned that an adult male, traveling in a separate vehicle, was also shot in the same incident. The second victim arrived at UAB Hospital by ambulance. BPD does not believe that he was an intended target.

No one is in custody at this time.

This is an ongoing investigation. Information will be provided as it becomes available.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42.
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WPRI)  Firefighters across Massachusetts were recognized Monday for their acts of heroism and service.

Two New Bedford firefighters were among the 100 who were honored at the 35th Annual Firefighter of the Year Award Ceremony at Mechanics Hall in Worcester.

Acting Lt. Brandon Medeiros and firefighter Steven Holzer are being hailed heroes after they saved a man with disabilities from a burning building last year.

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RELATED: New Bedford fire sparked by illicit recreational marijuana grow operation

The fire department said Medeiros and Holzer were among the first to respond to a house fire on Welcome Street last November. As flames and smoke shot out of the third story, they saw a man trying to escape from the rear stairwell.

Fire officials said the men immediately ran over and carried him to safety. Once he was in the hands of the paramedics, Medeiros and Holzer went back into the building to help extinguish the flames.

The man they saved was taken to the hospital where he recovered and was released.

Firefighters from Dartmouth, Attleboro and North Attleboro were also recognized at the ceremony.

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WATCH: Four Bristol County fire departments received group citations for meritorious conduct at the 35th annual Firefighter of the Year ceremony.

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MAYSVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56)  Two people are dead, one is in a Cincinnati hospital, and one person has been charged following a crash that involved multiple vehicles in Mason County on Saturday night.

According to the Kentucky State Police Department (KSP), troopers with Post 8 in Morehead were dispatched around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday to Highway 9 near the intersection of Slack Pike Road in response to a request from Mason County Dispatch for help with a deadly crash involving multiple vehicles.

7 dogs rescued over multiple days in Lexington after caller tells animal control about abandoned car full of dogs

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Law enforcement said that William Lee Johnny Darnell, 38, from McKinney, Texas, was driving west in a silver Nissan Xterra when he allegedly hit the rear of a Hyundai Sonata driven by Joshua Mark Wells, 39, of Germantown, who was driving with a passenger, Latasha Kay Wells, 44, also of Germantown. This crash reportedly caused Wells to enter the eastbound lane into the path of a Chevrolet Malibu driven by Marlena Arthur, 31, of Germantown.

Joshua and Latasha were both pronounced dead at the scene of the crash by the Mason County Coroners Office, per a news release.

Emergency personnel flew Arthur to the University of Cincinnati Hospital where she remains in the hospital and is listed in stable condition, KSP said.

Troopers reportedly arrested Darnell and charged him with:

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Vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol

Driving under the influence of alcohol  aggravated circumstances

First-degree assault

First-degree wanton endangerment

Possession of marijuana

Driving without a license

Failure to produce an insurance card

No registration receipt

No registration plates

Read more of the latest Kentucky news

Darnell was lodged in the Mason County Detention Center.

A GoFundMe was created for the Wells family. According to the fundraiser, they leave behind a daughter. To donate to the funeral costs and to give the daughter an amazing Christmas, click here to visit the donation page.

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An investigation into the crash remains ongoing.

Camille Hantla contributed to this story.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News.
Two women testified before the House Ethics Committee that former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) paid them for sex, according to the attorney representing them.

Joel Leppard, a Florida-based attorney, made the disclosure in an interview with ABC News that was published Monday. The article does not include the identities of his clients, both of whom are older than 18.

Leppard said the House Ethics Committee and his clients went one by one through a series of Venmo transactions.

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Thats correct, Leppard told ABC Newss Juju Chang when asked if both his clients testified that they were paid by Gaetz to have sex. The House was very clear about that and went through each. They essentially put the Venmo payments on the screen and asked about them. And my clients repeatedly testified, What was this payment for? Well that was for sex.

The revelation marks the latest piece of information Leppard has disclosed since President-elect Trump nominated Gaetz to serve as attorney general and the Florida Republican subsequently resigned from the House, halting the committees investigation of him.

Last week, Leppard told ABC News that one of his clients testified that she saw Gaetz having sex with a minor.

She testified in July of 2017, at this house party, she was walking out to the pool area, and she looked to her right, and she saw Rep. Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17, Leppard said.

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Leppard told ABC News that the client told the panel she believed Gaetz ended that sexual relationship when he learned the girl was a minor.

The House Ethics Committee  which is known for conducting its business in secrecy  had been investigating Gaetz on and off for roughly three years, probing whether he engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, among other allegations. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.

The Hill reached out to Gaetz for comment on Leppards remarks. Alex Pfeiffer, a spokesperson for Trumps transition, called the allegations baseless in a statement.

Matt Gaetz will be the next Attorney General. Hes the right man for the job and will end the weaponization of our justice system. These are baseless allegations intended to derail the second Trump administration, Pfeiffer said. The Biden Justice Department investigated Gaetz for years and cleared him of wrongdoing. The only people who went to prison over these allegations were those lying about Matt Gaetz.

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Gaetzs resignation from Congress has raised questions about whether the Ethics Committees highly anticipated report on the Florida Republican will become public. A number of lawmakers in both parties have called on the panel to release it  which would require a majority vote  but others, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), have pushed for it to remain private.

Leppard is one of the voices calling on the Ethics Committee to release its report. He said last week that, As the Senate considers former Rep. Gaetzs nomination for attorney general, several questions demand answers.

What if multiple credible witnesses provided evidence of behavior that would constitute serious criminal violations? he added.

Johnson, meanwhile, has argued that because Gaetz is no longer in Congress, and therefore no longer in the committees jurisdiction, its report is moot. He warned that releasing the body of work would open a Pandoras box of the panel releasing reports on individuals who no longer serve in the lower chamber.

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What I have said with regard to the report is that it should not come out. And why? Because Matt Gaetz resigned from Congress. He is no longer a member, Johnson told CNNs State of the Union in an interview Sunday. Theres a very important protocol and tradition and rule that we maintain that the House Ethics Committees jurisdiction does not extend to nonmembers of Congress. I think that would be a Pandoras box.

While releasing an Ethics Committee report after a lawmaker has departed the House is rare, it is not unprecedented; in 1987, the panel published its report on former Rep. William Boner (D-Tenn.) after he had left the chamber.

The House Ethics Committee is slated to meet Wednesday, a source told The Hill, and is likely to discuss the Gaetz report.

The Department of Justice investigated Gaetz on similar allegations but declined to charge him with any crimes in 2017, after its probe had concluded. Investigators had questioned if witnesses at the center of the case would be seen as credible before a jury, according to multiple outlets.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A 20-year-old man was killed in a weekend crash on Interstate 95 in Maine, state police said Monday.

Isaiah Mathieu, of Clinton, died in a single-vehicle crash in Benton on Sunday afternoon, state police said.

At approximately 4:17 p.m. Sunday, troopers responded to the area of mile marker 134, northbound on I-95 in Benton for the report of a single-vehicle crash off the right side of the roadway.

When troopers arrived, they found Mathieu, the driver and sole occupant of a 2004 Chevy Trax, dead at the scene, state police said.

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An initial investigation found that Mathieu failed to negotiate a bend in the roadway before going off the right side and striking a guardrail, state police said.

After striking the guardrail, the Chevy Trax had substantial damage before entering a ditch near the tree line, investigators said.

Investigators said speed and failure to negotiate the roadway are contributing factors in the crash, although the exact reason why Mathieu left the roadway remains unclear.

Troopers were assisted on scene by MaineDOT, the Clinton Fire Department, and Blanchards Towing.

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

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U.S. News and World Report released its annual list of the best places to retire in America.

It scored 150 US cities on their happiness, affordability, taxes, healthcare, and more.

Cities in the South and Midwest dominate, but some pricier metros residents love also made the list.

In 2020, as Daniel Mehalek started to think about life after his career in sales for Fortune 500 companies in the Chicago area, he bought a home in Bonita Springs, Florida.

Mehalek said that while homeowners', flood, and car insurance costs are higher in his chosen corner of the Sunshine State  north of Naples on Florida's west coast  other expenses, including taxes and gas, are lower than in Illinois.

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Most of all, he added, he and his wife are excited about the nice weather and laid-back lifestyle.

"We thought that in retirement, one of the things that we, along with neighbors, do is go by the beach and watch the sunset," Mehalek told Business Insider earlier this year. "We wanted to have an area that is calm, relaxing, and going to be safe."

Mehalek made a popular choice. Naples, Florida, ranked No. 1 on U.S. News and World Report's new list of the best places to retire. The publication scored 150 large cities based on six factors: affordability, happiness, desirability, retiree taxes, job market, and healthcare quality. Most of the top 25 spots  including Virginia Beach, Raleigh, North Carolina, and Huntsville, Alabama  are in the South, a region that tends to have a lower cost of living.

In a departure from prior years' list methodologies, happiness was weighted the most, with affordability close behind.

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"What we found this year is retirees seek a destination that will not only stretch their dollar, but is also a place for enjoyment," said Dawn Bradbury, assistant managing editor for real estate at U.S. News.

Prioritizing happiness means some more expensive places ranked higher on the list of best places to retire. Washington, DC, came in 12th, while San Francisco landed the 14th spot. New York City, which finished sixth last year, jumped up to third, getting a boost from its high scores in happiness, healthcare, and desirability.

Take Jim and Ellen Diamond, a retired couple in their 80s who were living in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, a suburb of New York City. They loved visiting so much that they decided to move there.

The Diamonds chose a luxury senior and assisted-living facility in Midtown Manhattan, swapping their four-bedroom house for a one-bedroom apartment. They were fine with giving up space because the city's convenience made this stage of their lives much easier.

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"Being here has eliminated a lot of tasks, like having a car and having it repaired," Jim Diamond told Business Insider in 2023. "There are a few stores we can walk to and get groceries."

Below are the 24 best places to retire in the US, according to U.S. News and World Report. The data for each city comes from the most recent US Census Bureau statistics.

24. Fort Myers, Florida

Fort Myers, Florida. Shutterstock

Population: 97,372

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 22.4%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $318,900

Median gross rent: $1,322

23. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma City. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock

Population: 702,767

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 13.1%

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Median value of owner-occupied units: $196,700

Median gross rent: $1,012

22. Seattle, Washington

Seattle. Caroline Purser / Getty Images

Population: 755,078

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 12.8%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $879,900

Median gross rent: $1,945

21. Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage, Alaska. Blue Poppy

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Population: 286,075

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 12%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $363,800

Median gross rent: $1,405

20. Melbourne, Florida

Melbourne, Florida. Brad McGinley Photography/Getty Images

Population: 86,890

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 21.5%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $247,300

Median gross rent: $1,303

19. Port St. Lucie, Florida

Port St. Lucie. Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Population: 245,021

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 21.4%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $292,900

Median gross rent: $1,684

18. Tampa, Florida

Tampa. John Coletti/Getty Images

Population: 403,364

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 13%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $333,200

Median gross rent: $1,422

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17. Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola. Bown Media/Shutterstock

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Population: 53,724

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 20.2%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $248,100

Median gross rent: $1,150

16. Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington. aceshot1/Shutterstock

Population: 320,154

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 14.2%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $247,900

Median gross rent: $1,065

15. South Bend, Indiana

South Bend. DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images

Population: 103,395

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 13.7%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $113,800

Median gross rent: $935

14. San Francisco, California

San Francisco. Nicholas Klein/Getty Images

Population: 808,988

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 16.7%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $1,348,700

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Median gross rent: $2,316

13. Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston. Pgiam/Getty Images

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Population: 155,369

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 16.3%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $438,900

Median gross rent: $1,517

12. Washington DC

Washington DC. Orhan Cam/Shutterstock

Population: 678,972

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 12.6%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $705,000

Median gross rent: $1,817

11. Green Bay, Wisconsin

Green Bay. JamesBrey/Getty Images

Population: 105,744

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 13.9%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $172,700

Median gross rent: $864

10. Fort Wayne, Indiana

Fort Wayne, Indiana. Jacob Boomsma/iStock/Getty Images

Population: 269,994

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 14.7%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $152,500

Median gross rent: $904

9. Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo by Mike Kline (notkalvin)/Getty Images

Population: 911,311

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 10.7%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $312,800

Median gross rent: $1,399

8. Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville, Alabama. Davel5957/Getty Images

Population: 225,564

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 16.2%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $236,300

Median gross rent: $1,020

7. Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville, Florida. Edwin Remsberg/Getty Images

Population: 985,843

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 14.4%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $243,000

Median gross rent: $1,281

6. Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina. Kenny McCartney/Getty Images

Population: 482,295

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 11.4%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $347,000

Median gross rent: $1,371

5. Boise, Idaho

Boise, Idaho. CSNafzger/Shutterstock

Population: 235,421

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 15.2%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $401,800

Median gross rent: $1,223

4. Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota, Florida. Suncoast Aerials

Population: 57,602

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 29.6%

Median value of owner-occupied units: 372,000

Median gross rent: $1,417

3. New York, New York

New York City. Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

Population: 8,258,035

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 15.5%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $732,100

Median gross rent: $1,714

2. Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach. Kyle Little

Population: 453,649

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 15%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $343,700

Median gross rent: $1,568

1. Naples, Florida

Naples, Florida. Shutterstock

Population: 19,704

Percent of the population 65 years and over: 54.6%

Median value of owner-occupied units: $1,200,100

Median gross rent: $1,601

Read the original article on Business Insider
This year's Miss Universe 2024 beauty pageant, which took place on November 16 in Mexico, was not without scandals. After the results were announced, the competition's viewers began to claim that the winner from Denmark, Victoria Kjr, stole the title from Suchat Chuangsri, a representative of Thailand.

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According to the Daily Mail, such opinions are actively expressed by fans of the competition on social media. According to them, the answers to the final questions of the Phuket (Thailand) native were more accurate than those of her competitors.

When asked what qualities a person should have to be a true leader, Suchat Chuangsri said: "Empathy, because no matter how good you are or what kind of education you have, at the end of the day, you need empathy to take care of your people."

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These words resonated strongly with the audience. So when Victoria Kier won, many angry comments began to appear online.

"Miss Thailand was robbed. Her answers to both questions were right on target!"

"Miss Thailand's crown was stolen."

"Her victory was stolen. Best answer ever".

Suchata Chuangsri, who took fourth place at Miss Universe 2024, decided to participate in the beauty pageant to raise awareness of breast cancer. At the age of 16, the beauty was diagnosed with this cancer and underwent a complicated surgery.

On November 16, Mexico hosted the final of the international beauty and talent contest Miss Universe 2024. The winner was 21-year-old Danish representative Victoria Kjr. Answering the judges' questions, she said she would not change anything in her life and advised the audience to "keep fighting... no matter where you come from."

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL)  More than $3.1 million in grant funding will expand broadband availability and digital opportunities in Washington County, Tennessee.

State Representatives Rebecca Alexander and Tim Hicks announced on Monday that Washington County will receive three grants as part of $101.6 million in overall funding administered by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD).

Expanding quality broadband empowers Tennesseans and helps our communities thrive, Alexander and Hicks said in a joint news release. These important initiatives will provide digital opportunities for many Washington Countians, and we thank each grant recipient for their dedication to workforce development and improving broadband access in East Tennessee.

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Survey: TN consumers expect less savings, more credit card debt

Statewide, the grants will provide broadband access and digital opportunities to more than 97,000 Tennesseans across 75 counties, according to a news release.

The following local recipients received grant funding, as described in the release:

Cloudwise Academy LLC : $838,243 to advance digital skills and workforce development by serving parts of Washington and six other counties through the Digital Skills, Education and Workforce (DSEW) program.

National Independent Venue Foundation : $296,460 to advance digital skills and workforce development by serving parts of Washington and four other counties through the DSEW program.

TAF Rural Expansion Foundation: $1.98 million to enable broadband access, workforce development, and virtual education and health monitoring in parts of Washington and five other counties through the Connected Community Facilities program.

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The Digital Skills, Education and Workforce Development grants support various training and education programs to advance digital skills and workforce development, the release stated.

The Connected Community Facilities program supports the construction/renovation of spaces for digital advancement in the workforce, health care and education.

Grant recipients are required to complete their projects by Dec. 31, 2026.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.
Wildlife officials have confirmed a third mountain lion sighting in North Texas within three weeks, with the most recent incident captured on a surveillance camera in a Plano alley.

Its unclear whether this is the same mountain lion previously reported in Lake Dallas and western Frisco. However, all three sightings have occurred within a relatively small area of Denton and Collin counties, following an eastward path.

A similar pattern of three sightings took place in late 2020, between Nov. 22 and Dec. 12, in Dallas, Collin and Hunt counties. At the time of the first incident, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists speculated that the mountain lion was probably a transient juvenile male passing through the area in search of a new home range. Although biologists initially thought it was unlikely that the animal would be seen again, it was spotted twice more during that time.

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This year there have been 71 mountain lion sightings. The highest number reported in a single year was 122 in 2016, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Are mountain lion sightings more frequent in cold weather?

According to the website LiveOutdoors.com, winter is the prime season for spotting mountain lions. During the colder months, these elusive predators are more likely to be seen while their prey  such as deer and small mammals  actively search for food when vegetation becomes scarce. With a relatively weak sense of smell, mountain lions rely on their excellent tracking abilities, especially in colder environments. Over time, theyve developed a historical pattern of using snow to track prey, which helps them close in on their target.

In humid subtropical climates, such as in North Texas, where snowfall is not as common, mountain lions have adapted their tracking skills to take advantage of other environmental cues. Instead of snow, they rely on their keen ability to follow signs such as disturbed leaves, broken twigs and animal tracks through vegetation, ensuring they can track prey even without the snowy landscape.

Additionally, mountain lions typically hunt from dusk to dawn. With the shorter daylight hours of winter, they might emerge earlier than in the summer, increasing the chances of spotting one during these colder months.

See map for mountain lions in Texas

Are mountain lions native to Texas?

Mountain lions are native to Texas, but they are not commonly seen in most areas. They are primarily found in the Trans-Pecos region, the brushlands of South Texas and the western Hill Country. Sightings in public neighborhoods are rare, and North Texas is generally not considered part of their native range.

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While an exact estimate of the mountain lion population in Texas is unavailable, it is believed to range from a few hundred to as many as 7,000.

In an effort to get a better understanding of the population, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission recently updated hunting and trapping regulations for mountain lions for the first time in 50 years, a step toward more modern wildlife management practices.

In a May 23 meeting, the commission unanimously voted to ban canned hunting of mountain lions and introduced new rules for trapping the large wild cat species. The decision followed a period of public comment, with more than 91% of the 7,531 comments supporting the ban on canned hunting and the implementation of a 36-hour trap or snare check.

The next step involves mandatory lion harvest reporting. This standard will provide valuable data on the species' abundance, causes of mortality and population trends, helping wildlife officials better understand the state's mountain lion population.

Has anyone been attacked or killed by a mountain lion in Texas?

There has never been a recorded death of a human caused by a mountain lion in Texas  or at least one that has been substantiated with concrete evidence.

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In 2020, authorities with the Hood County sheriff's office reported the death of Christopher Whiteley in Lipan, a small town in rural North Texas. However, the cause of death has been contentious for several years, with many, including wildlife experts, refusing to believe that he died from a mountain lion attack.

According to The Dallas Morning News, there were not any tracks, prints, scat or signs of a struggle, such as broken tree limbs or drag marks nearby on the ground. Additionally, there were no signs of predation or feeding on his body, nor were there deep cuts from claw marks or teeth punctures that are normally associated with attacks by wild cats.

In fact, mountain lions are "relatively uncommon, secretive animals," according to the Parks and Wildlife Department. In more than 70 years, only eight such attacks have occurred in Big Bend National Park. Six happened on hiking trails, one at a visitor campsite and one outside the Chisos Mountains Lodge.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 3 mountain lions spotted in North Texas. Track sightings with this map
Editors note: This story has been updated with new information on the number of vehicles involved.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  Emergency crews responded to a four-vehicle crash at a Youngstown intersection Monday morning.

Read next: Missing Campbell man with dementia found safe

It happened around 8:30 a.m. at the intersection of Coitsville Hubbard and McCartney roads.

No one was injured in this crash, according to officials.

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As of 9:55 a.m., the intersection was cleared.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is handling the crash investigation.

youngstown three car crash 422 youngstown crash coitsville mccartney accident

Brian Oehlbeck contributed to this report.

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD)  The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has announced another $7.65 million in grants to help communities across the state prevent lead exposure.

Three cities in West Michigan are included in this round of grants: Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Battle Creek.

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Battle Creek will receive $1.5 million, Muskegon will receive $1.2 million, and Grand Rapids will receive $700,000.

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The grants are funded through Michigans Childrens Health Insurance Program to cover lead hazard control services for people enrolled in Medicaid. Those services include lead inspections or risk assessment, addressing lead-based paint and removing and replacing faucets, fixtures and plumbing lines that are deemed to be a hazard.

More testing could create clearer map of lead exposure

Michigan is committed to protecting families from lead exposure by working with communities across the state to reduce or eliminate all sources of lead in the home, MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel said in a statement. Providing Medicaid funding to these communities to address lead hazards helps protect some of our most vulnerable residents.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, high levels of lead exposure can cause several health problems, including development issues in young children. Studies have shown increased lead exposure can lead to potential damage to the brain and nervous system, stunted growth and development, and problems with hearing and speech.

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Lead exposure in children is often difficult to see. Most children have no obvious immediate symptoms, the CDC states. If parents believe their children have been exposed to lead, they should talk to their childs healthcare provider.

Projects using the grant funding must be completed by Sept. 30, 2025.

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A new study reveals that an unconventional ecological intervention tactic is still providing benefits 40 years later

After the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens devastated the local environment, scientists set a few gophers loose on some patches of ground, hoping they would kick up bacteria and fungi

That uncovered fungi, particularly mycorrhizal fungi, created a microbial community that allowed plant life to better obtain and retain nutrients, and therefor thrive

It would probably pretty alarming to learn that, in the early 1980s, scientists decided to drop off a bunch of gophers at the site of a volcanic eruption. But dont worry, its not as bad as it sounds.

In fact, according to a new report from the University of California, this particular gopher-volcano encounter proved to be such a net positive that its effects are still being felt 40 years later.

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It starts with the eruption of Mount St. Helens in May of 1980. It was the most destructive volcanic event in American history, claiming 57 lives and causing staggering ecological damage. Faced with a devastation that would take the local environment a substantial amount of time to recover from, scientists were open to unorthodox ideas that might speed the process along. So they did what any reasonable person would decide to do and tossed a couple of gophers at the issue. Seriously.

Specifically, as laid out in the University of Californias report, the thinking was by digging up beneficial bacteria and fungi, gophers might be able to help regenerate lost plant and animal life on the mountain. So, just two years after the devastating eruption, thats exactly what scientists did. They gathered up some gophers, brought them to the eruption site, and let them do their gopher thing.

Theyre often considered pests, notes UC Riverside microbiologist Michael Allen, but we thought they would take old soil, move it to the surface, and that would be where recovery would occur.

Before the gopher drop-off, only about a dozen plants were reported to have emerged from the pumice slabs that Mount St. Helens eruption had turned the land into. But six years after the gophers were placed on two specific plots of pumice for a single day there were 40,000 plants thriving. Meanwhile, the area around those plots, which had not been gopher-ed, was still barren.

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To see these changes six years on was impressive, but nobody could have imagined that the benefits of this single day of gopher intervention could still be seen decades later. But thats precisely what an article published in the journal Frontiers earlier this month indicates. 40 years on, the article noted, the microbial community fostered within those plots, specifically mycorrhizal fungi, are still allowing plant life to thrive in the area.

These trees have their own mycorrhizal fungi that picked up nutrients from the dropped needles and helped fuel rapid tree regrowth, the papers co-author Emma Aronson said of the fungis importance, The trees came back almost immediately in some places. It didnt all die like everyone thought.

Naturally, one takeaway from this paper is, as University of Connecticut mycologist Mia Maltz summarizes, that we cannot ignore the interdependence of all things in nature, especially the things we cannot see like microbes and fungi.

But another takeaway is that, when in doubt, and the situation seems grim, just toss a couple of gophers at the problem and see if that does anything. It might just work!

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO)  A 42-year-old man was arrested, accused of stealing from a grocery store and threatening the manager.

SFPD looking for 2nd suspect in Dunham Park shooting

Christopher McNab is facing a list of charges including robbery and aggravated assault.

The store is in the area of 34th Street and Louise Avenue. Authorities say McNab got in through a back door of the store and took some items.

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McNab then threatened a manager and confronted him with a hammer.

Police say McNab also threw eggs at the manager and others as he was leaving.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com.
This story has been updated to add more information.

The epic battle for Ohio House speaker next session took a big turn on Monday when a leading contender for the job, Speaker Jason Stephens, withdrew from the race.

Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, has been trying to hang onto power by out-jockeying Matt Huffman, R-Lima. Huffman, currently Ohio Senate president, is running a vigorous challenge to Stephens.

On Monday, Stephens said at a press conference that he believes he moved Ohio in a positive direction during his time as speaker.

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I am honored and look forward to continuing to serve the great constituents of the beautiful 93rd district of Ohio as state representative," he said.

Stephens declined to say who he will be supporting for speaker.

"Well see what happens in the next 48 hours," he said.

In 2023, Stephens won the job with the support of 22 Republicans and 32 Democrats. The majority of Republicans backed Toledo area Rep. Derek Merrin instead. His ouster led to a divisive two-year session marked by infighting and gridlock. The state and multiple county Republican parties censured GOP lawmakers who backed Stephens.

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Stephens said he's not concerned about retribution for himself or the representatives who supported him as speaker.

"The people who support me and continue to support me, they do so because they choose to. I don't force people, I don't threaten, I don't engage in any of those kind of things," he said. "I think that is why we've had such a successful general assembly, because we can listen to all sides, you know, all opinions, even within the Republican caucus."

Republicans will hold a 65-34 advantage in the House next year.

An internal vote by House Republicans is expected to take place on Wednesday. Whoever gets the job would take over as speaker in January.

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The speaker, Senate president and governor are considered the three most powerful political jobs in state government. The speaker can block or move any piece of legislation during the two-year session.

Stephens mentioned several bills that have passed the House and await Senate approval, including a bill to update the adoption process, a bill that would require employers to check citizenship status via e-verify and a "parents' bill of rights."

Jessie Balmert contributed to this report.

Erin Glynn covers state government and politics for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio House fight for speaker's gavel takes big turn
President-elect Trump has tapped Brendan Carr to be the next chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), teeing the agency up for a likely clash with Big Tech and media companies he has accused of censoring conservative views.

The FCC is an independent agency regulating TV and radio broadcasters, telephone and internet service providers and satellites.

Carr, an FCC commissioner since 2017, could try to usher in drastic change to the agency when it comes to tech and broadcast companies freedoms, experts said.

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Heres what to know about Carr.

More than a decade of FCC experience

Carrs journey at the FCC began more than 10 years ago in 2012 as a staffer. He served as a legal adviser for former FCC Chair Ajit Pai, a Republican, for three years until 2017, when he became the agencys general counsel.

Trump appointed Carr to be a commissioner in 2017, and he was nominated again by President Biden to a term running through 2029. The FCC can have no more than three members of one political party under federal law.

Carr gained an online following in recent years, using social media to voice his concerns with the Biden administrations policies and discuss alternative proposals to pursue under a Republican administration.

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Trump on Sunday said Carr has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans Freedoms and held back our Economy.

He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling Americas Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America, he added.

The commissioner worked closely with Pai during the former chairs push to roll back net neutrality rules, which forced principal internet service providers to treat all information that travels through their networks equally.

The rules, first approved in 2015, were repealed under Pais leadership in 2017. The commission voted earlier this year to restore the rules under the leadership of Democratic FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel.

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Should Rosenworcel step down, as is customary when a president of the opposite party takes over, Trump will appoint another commissioner, paving the way for a Republican majority and the potential cutback of net neutrality rules again.

Rosenworcel congratulated Carr in a statement on Monday.

From his time here, I am confident that Commissioner Carr is familiar with the staff, the responsibilities of this new role, and the importance of continued U.S. leadership in communications, she wrote.

Critic of Big Tech, broadcast networks

An outspoken critic of leading social media companies, Carr is expected to attempt to rein in Big Techs power, especially if Section 230 immunity provisions are rolled back by Congress.

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He laid out his priorities shortly after Trumps victory, writing in a statement, When the transition is complete, the FCC will have an important role to play reining in Big Tech, ensuring that broadcasters operate in the public interest, and unleashing economic growth while advancing our national security interests and supporting law enforcement.

Carr also said last week that the censorship cartel must be dismantled, calling out major tech companies for allegedly playing a central role in suppressing certain viewpoints.

Trump has touted this approach, calling Carr a warrior of free speech on Sunday.

Michael Lazarus, a managing member of Telecommunications Law Professionals, which advises clients on matters before the FCC, predicted reining in Big Tech companies will be a high priority for Carr.

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He has been very vocal in making sure that theyre going to be restrained in some fashion, to make sure that things are equal, from a conservative or liberal perspective, that there are transparency rules on Big Tech, Lazarus said.

Carr has suggested a similar crackdown on TV networks for alleged preferential treatment.

Earlier this month, when Vice President Harris appeared on the final Saturday Night Live episode ahead of the election, he claimed NBC was attempting to evade the FCCs equal time rule, which lets rival candidates ask for equal airtime. NBC later aired a short message from Trump to provide equal time to the now-president-elect.

Any attention to broadcast networks by Carr will likely be seen as a continuation of criticism by Trump, who has called on the FCC to revoke CBSs and ABCs broadcast licenses, arguing the networks are not fair to him.

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Comcast, which Trump has threatened to crack down on, said it welcomes Carrs leadership, stating he has a successful track record.

Wrote the FCC section of Project 2025

Carr came under scrutiny from Democrats last summer for writing a section about the FCCs agenda in Project 2025, the conservative Heritage Foundations policy blueprint for a second Trump administration.

The president-elect has attempted to distance himself from the project, though Democrats have repeatedly targeted his ties to its authors.

Carrs section advocated for the overturning of Section 230, a provision of federal law that protects websites and social media companies from being held liable for content posted by users.

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FCC should issue an order eliminating the expansive, non-textual immunities social media companies enjoy under Section 230, Carr wrote.

Courts have construed Section 230 broadly to confer on some of the worlds largest companies a sweeping immunity that is found nowhere in the text of the statute, he wrote.

They have done so in a way that nullifies the limits Congress placed on the types of actions that Internet companies can take while continuing to benefit from Section 230.

Amendments to Section 230 have been floated for years. A petition by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration was filed in July 2020 shortly before President Bidens win to clarify Section 230 provisions but remains pending before the FCC.

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I think that the first step for him would be looking at that petition and that petition was into the FCCs role with Section 230. Its never been interpreted to be within FCC purview but a number of experts in this space who are real lawyers  have said that theres a case here, Nathan Leamer, CEO of Fixed Gear Strategies and a former aide to Pai, told The Hill.

An Elon Musk ally

Carr is one of tech billionaire Elon Musks most visible allies and has advocated for federal awards for SpaceXs satellite service Starlink.

In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal last month, Carr ripped the FCCs revocation of a $885 million award to Starlink for high-speed internet to rural homes and businesses.

In my view, it amounted to nothing more than regulatory lawfare against one of the lefts top targets: Mr. Musk, he wrote. There is time to change course. It isnt too late to get rid of the programs DEI requirements, price controls, technology biases and preferences for government-run networks. 

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Musk, who is now one of Trumps fiercest allies and the president-elects choice to lead a government efficiency panel, could stand to gain from Carrs leadership.

I think youll see him be much more favorable to satellite and new technologies when it comes to pushing broadband adoption and broadband deployment in the United States, Lazarus said.

Legal industry questions his plans

Some legal experts expressed concerns that Carrs proposals may not be realistic or fall under the FCCs authority and will require congressional approval.

I do think youll see Carr look closely in terms of whether or not there are violations by broadcasters, whether or not theyre not operating in the public interest, Lazarus said.

But when it comes to these sorts of more over-the-top ideas, like looking into whether or not their licenses should be taken away or stuff like that, I think thats quite a bit overblown and I dont think well see anything of that nature, he continued.

Blair Levin, a former chief of staff for the FCC and policy adviser for the New Street investment research firm, poured cold water on Carrs potential authority over Big Tech companies.

Suddenly [the FCC] has authority to regulate tech, he said. I think thats inconsistent with the law. It is also certainly inconsistent with Supreme Court jurisprudence in recent years that certain decisions have to be decided by Congress.

Updated at 3:44 p.m.

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DES MOINES, Iowa  57 baby Blanding turtles have been taken in by the Blank Park Zoo as part of a statewide conservation effort with Iowa State and Iowa DNR.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) kickstarted the project several years ago with a grant proposal that would work towards restoring diminished prairie habitats and help support the regrowth of the Iowa Blanding turtle population.

Our job at DNR is to provide the proper habitat, to make sure that they have the home that they need, that they have enough area, the right amount of water, the right amount of prairie to survive into the future, hopefully, said Karen Kinkead, the Wildlife Diversity Coordinator for the Iowa DNR.

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The DNR then brought in Iowa State University research students to help them gather information on the turtles and their habitats. The researchers began observing prairie habitats and the movement and lifestyle of the Blandings turtle.

So, I go out at sites owned by the DNR in central Iowa and I physically catch them, we bring them back to our lab, said Lizzy Lang, a graduate research student studying natural resources and ecology at Iowa State University. Then we measure them, we weigh them, age and sex them. Then we actually put transmitters on them so that we can track them. Once we collect all that data, we bring it back to the lab and I analyze it to look at different patterns in their movements.

This research is then given back to the DNR so they can take the proper steps to restore prominent Blanding turtle habitats. But restoring the habitats isnt enough, they also need to rekindle the dwindling Blanding population.

The Iowa State researchers rounded up five Blanding turtles and brought them to the Blank Park Zoo where they were able to hatch 57 Blanding turtle babies. The mothers were returned to their habitat, but the babies will continue to grow and mature at the Blank Park Zoo.

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Fourmile MTB Park holds soft open for new mountain biking trails

Our job here is to take care of them, make sure they have food and good clean water, and that they just grow without any worries about predation or anything, bad weather, climate change, anything like that, said Chris Eckles, the Chief Engagement Officer at the Blank Park Zoo.

Taking in baby animals so that they have a chance to grow and develop without danger is called headstarting and it gives the hatchlings a better chance at survival in nature. These turtles will also be tagged so that the researchers can continue to gather information and monitor the turtles and their environment.

Though conservation efforts are a good start, raising awareness can help spread further change in communities. To help spread awareness for the Blanding turtle conservation efforts, the Blank Park Zoo hosted Discover the Wild: Turtles. Families were able to learn about Blanding turtles, their habitats, and why their conservation is important to Iowa.

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We want people to learn about turtles, about organizations like the DNR and Iowa State and other organizations that are working for turtle conservation and do activities and kind of just get to learn and have fun, said Eckles.

Turtles act as a key predator in wetlands for smaller species, they are also a prey items for larger species. So, they really help maintain the health of wetland ecosystems, said Lang. Wetlands are super important to help with water quality in Iowa, which is also important to Iowans

The Blanding hatchlings will continue to grow at Blank Park till they are about 3-4 inches large. Right now, the turtles are on track to be released back into their habitats in the spring of 2025.

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TV presenter Yevhen Synelnykov, who was held captive with his family for two weeks in Russian-occupied Bucha, Kyiv region, told about the most valuable things that the invaders stole from him. According to the co-author of the show "Heads and Tails," the military of the aggressor country stole many archival materials with videos of Ukrainian cities before the large-scale changes and, consequently, the war.

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The 43-year-old producer said this in an interview on the YouTube channel Lux FM. He noted that, unfortunately, this unique footage can no longer be restored.

"The most valuable things were taken from the office. It's not even equipment, cameras, or optics, but materials. There was an archive of the changes in Ukraine that had taken place over 10 years. You know, we had Chernihiv before the "hundred-meter" was built in the center, that is, the old city. We had Mariupol, Soledar, and Siverskodonetsk filmed from the point of view of a tourist. Unfortunately, this is gone," the host said.

According to Yevhen Synelnykov, after the Russians stole property, it is easy to buy new equipment, but it is no longer possible to restore materials. The producer said that their team managed to track one of the stolen phones using geolocation. It was taken to Russia.

"One laptop was just returned. Our Armed Forces wrote to me on Instagram that they were liberating Hostomel and there was one laptop left there. They opened it, saw my photos, and decided that it was mine. So they returned it," the host noted.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
Scott Pelley recapped the Cabinet picks of President-elect Donald Trump in the 60 Minutes opening Sunday, enraging MAGA supporters despite the segments recitation of facts. (Watch the video below.)

The summary is exactly why no one respects the legacy media anymore, one person complained on X, formerly Twitter.

Pure Democratic propaganda, griped another.

Pelley, a correspondent, began by noting some nominees appear to have no compelling qualifications other than loyalty to Trump.

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He pointed out defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseths lack of government experience and recent gig as a Fox News morning host; the investigation into attorney general nominee Matt Gaetzs alleged sex with a minor; and the vaccine skepticism of health and human services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Its up to the new Republican majority in the Senate to decide whether these nominees are equipped to represent the American people, Pelley concluded.

Quite the open from 60 Minutes on Trump's cabinet picks. pic.twitter.com/r6Htu5BhAf  Blue Georgia (@BlueATLGeorgia) November 18, 2024

One commenter who approved of the report observed on X, This 60 Minutes open didnt tell one lie, didnt exaggerate, and gave very pertinent information regarding these poor nominations. And the MAGA cult thinks 60 Minutes is wrong for doing it. The country is fucked.

Others on the platform Bluesky said the news show was merely stating the obvious.

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But Trump supporters took umbrage. Check out other reactions here:

Scumbags  Maddox Pugh (@maddoxpugh_2024) November 18, 2024

Nobody watches that Garbage  Patriotinwaiting (@1patriotwaiting) November 18, 2024

Boy CBS sucks....  RebrandedNewsGuy (@breestus) November 18, 2024

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F9r the most part, fhey are just as qualified as the people currently in these positions. The difference is that the news never questioned Biden's choices. Hilarious we have to point out these are POLITIC appointments, not specialist hires.  The Bad Uncle (@TheBadUncle) November 18, 2024

Interesting how they never had an episode on biden's circus  cabinet. I guess that would be fair, and mainstream media will never be fair or unbiased. Whatever. still didn't win them the election.  Daniel Gauwitz (@djgauwitz) November 18, 2024

60 Minutes is just another puppet of the establishment, desperately trying to tear down anyone who threatens their control  John (@johnEiid) November 18, 2024

Trumps cabinet picks will all be confirmed.



60 Minutes is fake news trash.  pic.twitter.com/fYQKIV6ucI  DK (@1Nicdar) November 18, 2024

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(FOX40.COM)  By 2025, Hidden Falls Regional Park will become one of the most expansive areas of continuous oak woodland in the Sacramento Region after a recent decision by the Placer County Board of Supervisors.

During their Nov. 5 meeting, the board approved the next step in the Hidden Falls Regional Park Expansion Plan that will add 600 acres to the property. The new space will be known as Big Hill Preserve, Hidden Falls Regional Park.

Artists needed at Rosevilles Placer Valley Soccer Complex

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Hidden Falls is located at 7587 Mears Place, Auburn and is open from dawn to dusk. Currently, the park offers about 30 miles of multi-use trails, two observation decks for viewing the around 30-foot waterfalls, swimming areas and fishing access.

Along with adding hundreds of acres to the protect wildland space, 10 miles of new trails will be added to the parks existing network.

Placer County remains committed to preserving its natural beauty and providing opportunities for outdoor recreation for its residents and visitors. Placer County Parks Administrator Andy Fisher said. If you think Hidden Falls is beautiful today, we cant wait for you to experience the expansive views and remote experience of the expansion area.

Fire Prevention Work

Along with offering a unique recreational experience, Hidden Falls also serves as an important point of fire prevention management in Placer Countys wildlands.

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This new 600-acre addition will fall under Placer County and CAL FIREs established fire safety and prevention plans at Hidden Falls.

Major reforestation nursery opens in Northern California

Well-planned preparation for emergency response and wildfire risk reduction is paramount for the county, Fisher said. These plans give staff and first responders a clear understanding of the access network, water sources, helicopter landing zones, shaded fuel breaks, and other facilities that are available tools in an emergency.

Parking

Hidden Falls has become a popular location for first-time and avid outdoor recreation over and that has caused some issues when it comes to parking.

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For several years, Placer County has required a reservation for weekends and holidays at the main parking lot for the park. The reservation requirement may be extended to weekdays with the opening of the new property.

Elk Grove residents given chance to name new parks and trailhead

A new parking lot will be opened about half a mile east of the Bell and Cramer roads intersection.

With the anticipated popularity of the new property when it opens, the Parks Division plans to require parking reservations daily to reduce overcrowding.

Placer County plans for this expansion to be open in the second half of 2025.

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Multiple Republican senators are looming as potential obstacles to President-elect Trumps controversial Cabinet picks, especially his two most polarizing choices: former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Trump has had a rocky relationship in the past with a handful of Republicans senators who wont likely give him the same deference as loyal allies such as Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who last week called on his GOP colleagues to get out of the way and approve Trumps nominees.

Trump can afford three defections within the Senate GOP conference and still get his picks confirmed.

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But four Republican senators would be enough to sink any of his nominees, and two moderates  Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine)  have already voiced deep reservations about Gaetz, who was embroiled in a federal sex trafficking investigation, of leading the Justice Department.

Here are the senators who could stymie Trumps nominees.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)

Murkowski signaled her likely opposition to Gaetz soon after he was announced as Trumps pick to serve as attorney general.

I dont think its a serious nomination for attorney general. We need to have a serious attorney general, she told reporters.

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Murkowski, who didnt vote for either Trump or Vice President Harris, would likely also be skeptical of Trumps choice of Kennedy to head the Department of Health and Human Services.

The Alaska senator, who serves on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, used social media to promote vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, but she also voted in December 2021 to overturn the vaccine mandate for private businesses.

She expressed surprised over Trumps choice of Pete Hegseth, a military veteran and Fox News host, to head the Department of Defense.

Wow.  Im just surprised. Im not going to comment on whether its good, bad or indifferent, Im just surprised, because the names that Ive heard for secretary of Defense have not included him, she said.

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Murkowski was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump of inciting insurrection during his 2021 Senate impeachment trial.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)

Collins is the only Republican senator up for reelection in 2026 in a state Harris won, and she immediately expressed her skepticism about Gaetz serving as the nations next attorney general.

I was shocked by the announcement, she said. Im sure that there will be a lot of questions raised at his hearing. Obviously, the president has the right to nominate whomever he wishes, but Im certain that there will be a lot of questions.

Collins will closely review Trumps nomination of Kennedy, as she also sits on the HELP Committee.

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Collins told The New York Times that she found some of Kennedys past statements alarming.

Ive never even met with him or sat down with him or heard him speak at length, she said before Trump formally announced his nomination of Kennedy.

But she said Kennedy would be a surprising choice to head the nations health services, given his long track record of claiming that vaccines pose serious health concerns and his push to remove fluoride from public water, something many lawmakers view as a fringe issue.

Sen.-elect John Curtis (R-Utah)

John Curtis will be filling the seat of retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R), and he has the reputation of a practical centrist who is expected to approach his job in the same thoughtful and measured way Romney did during his six years in the Senate.

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Curtis heads the Conservative Climate Caucus and has pushed back against climate skeptics, arguing conservatives have a role to serve as good stewards of the environment.

He favored censuring Trump for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election but voted no on impeachment during his tenure in the House, urging colleagues to tone down the rhetoric and calm the tensions.

Curtis doesnt have a great relationship with Gaetz, who traveled to Utah in March to campaign against him in the Senate Republican primary.

Gaetz accused Curtis on the campaign trail of weakness and a willingness to prioritize foreign interests abroad and special interests in the halls of Washington.

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Curtis has already signaled he would not support putting the Senate into an extended recess to allow Trump to circumvent the confirmation process by making recess appointments.

Senator-elect Curtis believes that every president is afforded a degree of deference to select his team and make nominations, Curtiss chief of staff, Corey Norman, told KSL-TV in Salt Lake City. He also firmly believes in and is committed to the Senates critical role to confirm or reject nominations based on information and insight from confirmation hearings.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.)

Bill Cassidy will be one of only three Republican senators still serving next year who voted to convict Trump on the impeachment charge of inciting insurrection.

Cassidy is known as a principled politician whos not afraid to buck Trump or tackle politically dangerous issues, such as reforming Social Security to extend its solvency.

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But the Louisiana lawmaker is up for reelection in 2026 and faces a potential primary challenge given his vote to convict Trump.

He will likely serve as chair of the HELP Committee next year, giving him jurisdiction over Kennedys nomination to head Health and Human Services.

Cassidy, a doctor, has disputed claims attempting to link vaccines and autism as fake news.

As a doctor who has spent my life trying to bring health to the people of Louisiana, I strongly endorse immunizations, he said in 2019. There is no linkage to autism that has ever been made by a credible scientist.

Cassidys Health panel will hold a hearing on Kennedy, but the Senate Finance Committee will handle Kennedys paperwork and vote to advance him to the floor, according to a Republican source familiar with the process.

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The Louisiana senator noted in a statement that Kennedy has championed issues like healthy foods and the need for greater transparency in our public health infrastructure.

He said he is looking forward to learning more about his other policy positions.

Cassidy dodged questions about Gaetzs nomination to head the Justice Department but did not appear to be impressed by Trumps choice of Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense, given his career in television and lack of experience managing large organizations such as the Pentagon.

Who? Cassidy said when asked Tuesday about Hegseth becoming the next secretary of Defense, expressing the same bewilderment several GOP senators voiced about the unorthodox choice when news of it broke Tuesday.

Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.)

Todd Young is a serious legislator who doesnt like to be asked about Trumps latest provocative statements on Truth Social.

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But while Young doesnt often talk about the controversies that constantly swirl around Trump, hes made clear in the past that hes not a fan.

He did not endorse Trump for president in 2024 and has criticized him for refusing to call Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal.

He also faulted Trump for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol but did not vote to convict him of inciting insurrection.

Young was one of several Republican senators, along with Collins, Murkowski and Cassidy, to vote for a 2022 bill to address gun violence.

Gaetz said at the time that any Republican senator who supported the measure would be a traitor to the Constitution, a statement that wont endear him to the senators whose support he needs to win confirmation.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa)

Joni Ernst told The Hill that Gaetz has an uphill climb to securing enough votes to win confirmation, and shes taking a wait-and-see approach to Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii who is Trumps pick serve as director of national intelligence.

Ernst said she wants to meet with Gabbard before forming any judgments about her nomination.

Ive had a relationship with her. It might be a little unconventional, but at the same time, she might bring value to us too. So well have to sort through all that, she said.

Asked about Gabbards past statements defending Putin and Syrian President Bashar Assad, Ernst said, Well have to talk about that.

Ernst is also up for reelection in 2026. While Trump won Iowa in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections, former President Obama carried it in 2008 and 2012.

Democrats may target her seat simply because they dont have many other promising options on the electoral map.

Ernst lost her race to become Senate Republican Conference chair and may be more inclined to break with her party now that she will no longer be a member of the elected leadership.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.)

Thom Tillis is not afraid to play the role of Republican maverick if he feels strongly about a nominee or an issue, and hes already suggesting Gaetz might not have much support in the Senate.

Itll just be interesting to see what his organic base is, Tillis said of the nominee. At the end of the day, Congressman Gaetz, hell have a hearing, but Im all about counting votes, and I would think that hes probably got some work cut out for him to get a good strong vote.

Were not going to get a single Democrat vote, he said.

Tillis will be one of the Senate Democrats top targets in 2026 if he decides to run for reelection in North Carolina, a battleground state Trump won by 3.5 percentage points over Harris.

Tillis, who represents more than 90,000 active duty service members in his home state, which is also home to Fort Liberty  formerly known as Fort Bragg  says Hegseth will need to answer some tough questions at his confirmation hearing.

I think hes just got to go through the vetting process and withstand what Im sure is going to be an interesting murder board in the Senate Armed Services Committee, he told reporters.

Tillis acknowledged Hegseths lack of experience leading large organizations will be something he needs to address at his confirmation hearing.

Those are all things you got to have good, sound answers for. Its a large, complex, very, very important agency, he said. Weve got to see all the vetting. Theres a lot of work thatll go into between now and the time he actually comes before the committee.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas)

John Cornyn pledged to get Trumps nominees through the Senate quickly when he was running against Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to become the next Senate majority leader.

The Texan, however, lost that race, which could give him more freedom to criticize Trumps picks, especially if he doesnt think theyre qualified for the highest-profile Cabinet roles.

He joked to reporters that he and Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), who will retire as Senate GOP leader, are now liberated as they wont have elected leadership positions in 2025, giving them more latitude to push back against flawed nominees.

Cornyn, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has called for members of his panel to have full access to the findings of the House Ethics Committees investigation of Gaetz for alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.

He warned that if theres evidence of wrongdoing, Gaetz could become an embarrassment to the president.

We need to get access to everything, he said, breaking with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who said Friday that he will strongly request the House Ethics panel stick to its practice of not releasing a report about a onetime member who has resigned from the House, as Gaetz did this past week.

Cornyn also appeared surprised that Trump picked Gabbard to serve as director of national intelligence, given her past statements disputing the U.S. governments claim that Assad used chemical weapons against his own people and defending Putins stated rationale for invading Ukraine.

Cornyn, however, is up for reelection in 2026 and is likely to face a conservative primary challenger.

This might give him reason to be cautious in criticizing Trumps nominees, but even so, hes not likely to shy away from standing his ground on Trumps most controversial picks, such as Gaetz.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

McConnell will be one of the most interesting Senate wild cards next year given his deep skepticism of Trumps character and many of his policy positions.

McConnell has served as Senate majority or minority leader for the past 18 years, which saddled him with the responsibility of preserving unity within the GOP conference.

As majority leader during Trumps first four years in office, he played a leading role in confirming Trumps nominees to the executive and judicial branches. He counts his role in confirming three conservative justices to the Supreme Court under Trump among his greatest career accomplishments.

Yet McConnell, an institutionalist and defense hawk, is not likely to rubber-stamp Trumps nomination of Gaetz to head the Justice Department if he thinks it would undermine public confidence in the nations top law enforcement institution.

Looking at his track record, hes never cowed to Trump on things, especially as they relate to the Senate and the Senates role, a Senate Republican aide said.

McConnell rejected Trumps call in 2018 for Senate Republicans to abolish the filibuster to improve the chances of passing his legislative agenda at the time.

Given his role as a defender of Senate prerogatives, he will likely counsel against putting the Senate in an extended recess to allow Trump to make recess appointments.

McConnell will carefully examine Gabbards statements about Russia, given the leading role he has played directing U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

He said his priority over the final two years of his seventh Senate term will be to build up defense spending and the nations defense industrial base. If he views Hegseth as a Trump loyalist who might be at odds with that mission, he will likely speak out against him.

Updated at 11:35 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 The Hill.
Aberdeen police arrested a 16-year-old male early Friday morning after responding to reports of gunfire in the 700 block of East 1st Street.

Witnesses reported hearing two gunshots at approximately 1:30 a.m., which were also heard by officers handling an unrelated call in downtown Aberdeen.

Aberdeen officers, with assistance from the Hoquiam Police Department, Grays Harbor County Sheriffs Office, and Washington State Patrol, quickly responded to the scene.

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While searching the area, an Aberdeen officer found the teen, who ran away. Although the officer lost sight of him, they recognized the juvenile from prior encounters and identified his nearby home.

Police established a perimeter around the home and spoke with the suspects parents.

Shortly after, the teen exited the back of the house holding a bottle of alcohol and a Smith & Wesson .45 caliber pistol. Officers safely took him into custody using less-lethal force.

The teen was transported to the Aberdeen Police Department and now faces several charges, including unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful discharge of a firearm, minor in possession/consumption of alcohol, VUCSA (Violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act), obstructing a law enforcement officer, and resisting arrest.

During the investigation, officers recovered one spent bullet casing from the scene. The investigation remains ongoing.
ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC)  An Abilene mother was arrested after three children tested positive for methamphetamine.

Abigail Salazar was taken into custody on an Endangering Child warrant Friday in connection to the allegations.

Court documents state CPS began investigating Salazar in August and learned she had been kicked out of her residence and was homeless with 6 children, ages 7 months to 18 years.

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The documents also state Salazar admitting to using marijuana and methamphetamine and that she, stated she uses drugs every day and multiple times a day if possible.

Three of her children were tested for drugs, and the tests showed, extremely high level of methamphetamine in their system.

Salazars urine also tested positive for amphetamine, methamphetamine, and marijuana, according to the documents.

Salazar was released from the Taylor County Jail after posting a $7,000 bond.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Photo illustration by Getty Images.

Abortion clinics in Montana wont be subject to new licensing requirements  ones their lawyers said could shut them down  at least for the time being.

Last week, a Lewis and Clark County District Court judge said the licensing requirements imposed by House Bill 937 from the 2023 Montana Legislature are likely to violate patients rights to equal protection.

Thats because the rules treat abortion providers differently than healthcare providers who prescribe the same medication and perform the same procedures  but for purposes that are not abortion, such as miscarriages, wrote Judge Christopher Abbott.

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In this case, the harm occasioned by inflicting constitutional injury on providers and their patients, who face likely disparate treatment, regulatory burdens not shared by other, similar, patients and providers, and the strong potential of imminent closure (at a minimum until regulatory compliance is achieved  ) outweigh the governments interest in effectuating a change to the status quo in the form of HB 937, the order said.

As such, Abbott issued an order that continues to bar the law and the health department rules implementing it from taking effect for now. A temporary restraining order that blocked the law was set to expire Nov. 19.

The judge said the providers appear to have demonstrated the law violates their rights, but the order is temporary until the lawsuit fully plays out.

As adopted in 2023, the law would require abortion clinics to be licensed. Currently, abortion providers are regulated under their licensing boards and the federal government.

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However, many private medical practices arent required to be licensed under the state health department, the order said.

In September 2023, the judge said the law couldnt take effect in part because the rules that governed the new licensing requirement werent in place yet.

But the order said it was too early to weigh in on the licensing requirement, and the Department of Public Health and Human Services still needed the opportunity to write the rules to carry out the will of the legislature.

However, the parties agreed that once those rules were written, they too could be challenged.

This September, the health department published the final licensing rules, which include paying a $450 annual licensing fee, requiring license applicants be of reputable and responsible character, that providers keep staff background checks on file for inspection, and construction requirements.

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The order that temporarily barred the law from taking effect until the rules were written was set to expire Nov. 19. The judge heard arguments on Nov. 8 over whether the court should hit pause on the new law now that the related regulations are in place.

In their arguments against the law and related rules, All Families Healthcare, Blue Mountain Clinic and provider Helen Weems alleged the new requirements were onerous and unnecessary and would make it more difficult for clinics to stay open and patients to access abortion care.

The Center for Reproductive Rights, the ACLU of Montana, and Dechert LLP argued for the providers.

The judge agreed with the providers, citing longstanding law in Montana that protects abortion, including Armstrong v. State, and also the new measure voters approved that directly protects abortion in the Montana Constitution, Constitutional Initiative 128.

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Whatever ones views may be, the law in Montana is well-established. Women have a state constitutional right of access to pre-viability abortions from a qualified medical provider of their choice, the order said.   Moreover, voters recently affirmed the core holding of Armstrong when they approved the addition of an express right to abortion access in the Montana Constitution.

The providers are likely to show the rules infringe on their right to equal protection, and that they will suffer irreparable harm without an order that stops the law in question from taking effect until the lawsuit plays out, the order said.

So a preliminary injunction, or an order maintaining the status quo, is appropriate, the judge said.

The status quo is what has been the case for decades: while abortion providers are subject to applicable federal regulation and regulation by their licensing board, they are not generally considered healthcare facilities subject to a licensure requirement or any DPHHS regulation. HB 937 represents a departure from that status quo, the order said.

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But abortion is safe  safer than child birth, the order said. It said major complications occur in less than one fraction of 1% and complication of all types take place in just 2% of abortions.

Abortion has a similar or lower risk than vasectomy, an outpatient procedure commonly performed in a doctors office, the order said.

It said the risks of complication from abortion medication, mifepristone and misoprostol, are similar to the risks for aspirin or antibiotics or Viagara. More to the point, it said, the risks are no greater when used to induce an abortion than when used to manage a spontaneous miscarriage.

It said the same for abortion procedures, comparable to other gynecological procedures typically performed in-office in terms of risk, invasiveness, duration and instrumentation.'

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Additionally, at this stage in the case, the state has not rebutted that information, the order said.

The order discussed abortion providers as well. It said the states witness agreed many doctors and other providers are not required to have facility licensure, and many private medical practices, including clinics with multiple doctors, are not required to be licensed when not affiliated with a larger institution.

Wooten (DPHHS Tara Wooten, the only witness called at the recent hearing) provided as examples of outpatient surgical centers facilities that perform orthopedic surgeries like knee and hip replacements, etc. OB/GYNs and other doctors who perform in-office procedures are not required to license their offices as outpatient surgical centers, the order said.

If the state had proposed to license all private healthcare providers who offer similar procedures and prescribe similar medications, this would pose a more challenging case from an equal protection standpoint, the order said. But the state did not do that.

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If the purpose is to ensure women are treated in safe, sanitary facilities that are equipped to manage any complications that may arise, that purpose applies equally to the offices or private doctors and other healthcare professionals where they provide the same procedures for miscarriage management, but whose offices are not subject to any of these new regulations, the order said. Because the requirements of House Bill 937 and its implementing regulations are underinclusive in scope, they are not narrowly tailored.

And the judge said the state has not at this stage provided a plausible justification for regulating two classes of providers differently.

In statements Friday, the plaintiffs praised the order, which prohibits the state, the health department and its director and employees from enforcing any provisions of HB 937 or its regulations until further order from the court.

That this is even a question is absurd. Abortion providers are already regulated by the state. Abortion is incredibly safe medical care, said plaintiff Weems, nurse practitioner at All Families Healthcare. Had these new rules been allowed to take effect, I would have been forced to close All Families, leaving the Flathead Valley  and my patients throughout the state  without a provider.

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Although I am grateful for the courts ruling, this is the third time I have had to go to court to preserve access for my patients  and I should be spending that time on actual patient care.

Statements from plaintiffs

Todays (Fridays) ruling means abortion clinics in Montana can continue to provide safe, legal, abortion care to their patients as we litigate this case, said Hillary Schneller, senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights. Despite having strong state constitutional protections for abortion for the past 25 years, Montana politicians have been relentless in attacking abortion access, forcing us to go to court to preserve abortion access in the state  and the region  year after year. Today (Friday), the court rightly blocked these latest restrictions, which, like the dozens of abortion restrictions Montana has enacted over the years have nothing to do with health and safety.

(Friday) the Court recognized once again what we all know to be true  that abortion care is safe and should not be singled out for differential treatment, said Akilah Deernose, executive director of ACLU-MT. Our government should spend its time and resources protecting access to medically necessary healthcare, rather than arbitrarily inserting itself between a patient and her health care provider.

This is a victory for Montanans. Blue Mountain Clinic has been providing family care, including abortions, for nearly 50 years. Out of nowhere, these oppressive and unnecessary rules would have forced Blue Mountain to choose between keeping our doors open and stopping abortion careand turning away patients who rely on us for compassionate, community-based care, said Tess Fields, executive director of Policy and Development at plaintiff Blue Mountain Clinic. Abortion is safe, common medical care. More importantly, it is care that is for the patient to decide upon. Not the patient and Governor Gianforte.

Nov. 15 2024 abortion order 1
Leslee Unruh (left) and Jon Hansen (right), leaders of Life Defense Fund, celebrate the anticipated failure of Amendment G at the group's election night watch party in Sioux Falls on Nov. 5, 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

A Sioux Falls judge has dismissed a lawsuit over an abortion rights ballot question less than two weeks after voters rejected the measure.

An anti-abortion group called Life Defense Fund sued the sponsors of Amendment G, Dakotans for Health, over the summer in Minnehaha County circuit court.

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The amendment would have restored abortion rights in South Dakota, which has a near-total abortion ban that took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022.

The anti-abortion group, which was also involved with the political opposition to Amendment G, alleged that the sponsoring groups petition gatherers had broken South Dakota laws on signature collection.

Voters rejected Amendment G, with 59% casting a no ballot.

Shortly after the election, Dakotans for Health moved to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that the election had rendered any lingering legal issues moot. Judge John Pekas, however, rejected that motion. Life Defense Funds lawsuit sought not only to invalidate petition signatures it alleged were collected in violation of state law, but to bar Dakotans for Healths Rick Weiland from being involved in future petition drives, citing a law allowing such a move for petition sponsors who knowingly or with reckless disregard commit violations of petition circulation law.

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The election results could constitute a reason for dismissal of parts of the case, Pekas wrote, but not the issue of Weilands potential future involvement with the ballot measure process.

Last Wednesday, however, Lawyers with Life Defense Fund filed a motion to dismiss the case, with each respective party to bear its own costs and attorney fees.

Pekas dismissed the case on Friday.

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ROME (AP)  Survivors of clergy sexual abuse urged the Vatican on Monday to expand its zero-tolerance policy that it approved for the U.S. Catholic Church in 2002 to the rest of the world, arguing that children everywhere should be protected from predator priests.

The U.S. norms, adopted at the height of the abuse scandal there, say a priest will be permanently removed from church ministry based on even a single act of sexual abuse that is either admitted to or established under church law.

That one strike and youre out policy in the U.S. has long stood out as the toughest in the church. It is held up by some as the gold standard, by others as excessive and by still others as imperfect but better than most. It was adopted by U.S. bishops as they scrambled to try to regain credibility following the revelations of abuse and cover-up in Boston documented by the Boston Globes Spotlight series.

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Since then, the church abuse scandal has erupted globally, and survivors from around the world said Monday theres no reason why the U.S. norms couldnt and shouldnt be applied universally. They called for changes in the churchs in-house canon law and reasoned they could be approved since the Holy See already approved the norms for the U.S. church.

Despite Pope Francis repeated calls for zero tolerance on abuse, his words have yet to lead to any real action, said Gemma Hickey, a transgender survivor of abuse and the president of the global survivor network Ending Clergy Abuse.

The proposal launched at a press conference was hammered out during an unusual meeting in June in Rome between survivors and some of the Catholic hierarchy's top priestly experts on preventing abuse. It was described by participants at the time as a historic collaboration between two groups that often talk past one another, given victims' deep distrust of the Catholic hierarchy.

The priestly participants in that meeting included the Rev. Hans Zollner, who heads the churchs main academic think tank on safeguarding; the No. 2 at the Vaticans child protection advisory board, Bishop Luis Manuel Ali Herrera; and the Gregorian Universitys canon law dean, the Rev. Ulrich Rhode as well as diplomats from the U.S., Australian and other embassies.

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However, there was apparently no one from the Vatican legal office, secretariat of state or the discipline section of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which processes all abuse cases worldwide and largely sets policy on applying the churchs canon law  albeit in secret since its cases are never published.

As a result, it was unclear what would become of the proposed policy changes, given the U.S. norms only came about because U.S. bishops pushed the Vatican to approve them, driven by their outraged flocks and insurance companies.

Nicholas Cafardi, a U.S. canon lawyer who was an original member of the U.S. National Review Board that provided input to the 2002 U.S. norms, said globalizing that policy into universal church law would be one of the logical next steps for Francis to take to continue the fight against abuse.

But Cafardi, author of Before Dallas, about the lead-up to the 2002 Dallas bishops' meeting that approved the norms, said that some bishops today bristle at how the policy limits their authority and freedom. And in a telephone interview, he noted that even in the U.S., the norms are only still in place because the U.S. bishops keep formally asking to keep them, which he acknowledged was a weakness in the system.

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It seems to me that a good protection would be Lets just make it universal law, said Cafardi. Once you have that law, you dont have to worry about the bishops asking for it in country after country. Its just the law."

However, the proposal faces an uphill battle since the Vatican in recent years has repeatedly insisted on proportionality in its sentences for abuse, refusing to apply a one-size-fits-all approach and taking into account cultural differences in countries where abuse isn't as openly discussed as it is in the West.

That has resulted in seemingly light punishments for even confirmed cases of abuse which, in the U.S., would have resulted in a priest being permanently removed from ministry.

___

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.
Adam Schiff defended his claim of Russian collusion in the 2016 election on Jake Tappers State of the Union Sunday. There is evidence of collusion. The Trump campaign manager was meeting with Russian intelligence and giving them internal polling data, just to give you one example. And the Mueller report sets all this out, he explained.

The topic was broached by Tapper, who asked if Schiff if he felt any of his claims were an overstatement. Schiff said no, to which Tapper replied, It does say, The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities, which doesnt mean that he didnt, that there werent meetings, but they didnt find evidence of it.

Mueller says that, too, Schiff answered. He says, The fact that we didnt find proof beyond a reasonable doubt doesnt mean there wasnt evidence of conspiracy or coordination.

Schiff was censured by House Republicans in 2023 over the claims. The act caused a fracas in the House at the time, with Democrats clapping and cheering for the defiant Schiff as they called out, No!, Shame! and Adam! Adam!

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Schiffs claim had a basis in the Steele dossier, which was also known as the Trump-Russia dossier. The document was published in January 2017 without permission and in its unfinished form, and was based on information from counterintelligence specialist Christopher Steele, former M16 officer, and Igor Danchenko, an FBI informant.

In 2021, CNN reported the credibility of the document had significantly diminished. The news broadcaster also reported, A series of investigations and lawsuits have discredited many of its central allegations and exposed the unreliability of Steeles sources.

They also raise serious questions about the political underpinnings of some key explosive claims about Trump by shedding new light on the involvement of some well-connected Democrats in the dossier, and separate efforts to prod the FBI to investigate ties between Trumps campaign and Russia.

The post Adam Schiff Defends Years-Old Claim of Russian Collusion in 2016 Election: There is Evidence | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
The theory of relativity is one of the most famous scientific theories of the 20th century. It is usually thought of as something abstract and not relevant to real life. However, this is not the case at all.

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There are several examples of the theory of relativity that we can observe in real life and the technologies we use today. OBOZ.UA has prepared several typical examples of the theory of relativity in action.

Albert Einstein began to formulate the theory of relativity in 1905 to explain the behavior of objects in space and time. It is deceptively simple. First, there is no "absolute" reference frame: whenever you measure an object's speed, momentum, or how it experiences time, it is always related to something else. Second, the speed of light is the same no matter who is measuring it or how fast the person measuring it is moving. Third, nothing can have a speed greater than the speed of light.

GPS navigation

In every smartphone, smartwatch, laptop, and so on, you will find the Global Positioning System function, or more familiarly, GPS. Each satellite carries an atomic clock on board, which runs with an accuracy of one nanosecond.

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In order for GPS navigation to work accurately, satellites must take into account relativistic effects. This is because, even though satellites do not move at the speed of light, they still move quite fast. Satellites also send signals to ground stations on Earth. All of these stations (and the GPS technology in your car or smartphone) experience greater accelerations due to gravity than the satellites in orbit.

As the American Physical Society explained to PhysicsCentral, since each satellite is 20,300 kilometers above the Earth and traveling at about 10,000 km/h, there is a relativistic time lag of about 4 microseconds every day. If you add the effect of gravity, the time dilation effect increases to about 7 microseconds (millionths of a second). If these effects were not taken into account, the coordinates calculated from GPS satellites would be wrong within a few minutes. At first glance, this does not sound like a very big difference, but the high accuracy required for GPS requires nanosecond errors, otherwise errors would accumulate at a rate of about 10 km/day. Then the GPS system would be unusable.

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Nuclear weapons

Perhaps the most famous "practical consequence" of Einstein's discoveries is the creation of nuclear weapons.

"One of the consequences of the theory of relativity and the model of four-dimensional space that it implies is the statement that all mass is proportional to energy. That is, any particle has a rest energy. Thus, the famous formula E=mc2 explained the mass defect in nuclear decay. In fact, Einstein laid the theoretical foundations for the development of nuclear weapons," said Maksym Vasylenko, a scientist and researcher at the Main Astronomical Observatory of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, in an interview.

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However, Einstein was not directly involved in the development of nuclear weapons. He opposed such developments and was even one of the signatories of a letter to President Roosevelt calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Speed radar

If you have ever received a speeding ticket, you can thank Einstein.

Light travels in waves. All waves exhibit the Doppler effect. And this applies not only to emitted waves, but also to those that are reflected from an object, which explains how radar works. Police scanners emit infrared waves that are reflected from cars and then determine the frequency of the reflections when they come back, calculating speed.

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Due to Einstein's special theory of relativity and the constant speed of light, radar can make accurate, almost instantaneous, predictions of a car's speed, even if the police car is also moving.

Liquid metal

Why is mercury liquid and has a melting point of minus 39 C, while gold is solid and has a melting point of 770 C? Magic? No. The theory of relativity explains it. Mercury is also a heavy atom whose electrons are held close to the nucleus because of their speed, and as a result, we get an increase in mass. The bonds between mercury atoms are weak, so mercury melts at lower temperatures and is usually a liquid when we see it.

An old TV set

Until about the early 2000s, most televisions and monitors had cathode ray tube screens. A cathode ray tube works by firing electrons onto the surface of a phosphor using a large magnet. Each electron creates an illuminated pixel when it hits the back of the screen, and the electrons are ignited, causing the image to move at up to 30% of the speed of light. The relativistic effects are noticeable, so when manufacturers shaped the magnets, they had to take these effects into account.

These principles do not apply to liquid crystal or plasma TVs, as these devices do not rely on electron beams.

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Nov. 17Advocates are warning that a second Trump presidency could pose threats to Maine's immigrant population based on his promises of mass deportations and increased restrictions.

In Maine, which has been a destination for thousands of asylum seekers from central African countries in recent years, there are also concerns that President-elect Donald Trump could make the asylum process more difficult.

"It's yet to be seen what will actually take place in terms of policies, but given his previous administration and how things evolved, I feel the worst is yet to come, though I hope I am wrong," said Faisal Khan, executive director of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center.

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"There's no doubt that among people I've spoken to here and in other parts of the country, there's a tremendous amount of anxiety and stress," he added.

Maine is home to about 56,419 foreign-born residents who make up just a small percentage  about 4%  of the state's 1.3 million population, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.

But federal immigration policy is still likely to have an impact here, and advocates are bracing for challenges and a rollback of immigrants' rights even before Trump takes office.

The president-elect has not announced specific plans, but his early appointments signal that he's serious about following through on at least some of his campaign rhetoric. In addition to stopping the flow of asylum seekers across the southern U.S. border, a central promise of the Trump campaign was to carry out mass deportations of millions of people per year.

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His newly appointed "border czar," Thomas Homan, played a key role in the first Trump administration's "zero tolerance" border policy that included family separations.

Trump also said that if elected he would issue an executive order instructing federal agencies to stop recognizing birthright citizenship, referring to the long-standing policy of granting citizenship to children born in the U.S. even if their parents are not citizens.

WILL DEPORTATIONS IMPACT MAINE?

There were about 5,000 immigrants living in the U.S. illegally in Maine as of 2022, according to data from the Pew Research Center, and about 11 million nationally, with California, Florida and Texas each home to more than 1 million.

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Unauthorized immigrants are noncitizens who generally have entered the United States without inspection, overstayed a period of lawful admission, or violated the terms of their admission. The term means the same thing as "undocumented" but is the preferred language for researchers and policy analysts and is also used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to Pew.

The unauthorized population appears to be the most likely target of deportation efforts, but advocates say it's too early to know what exactly that could look like.

"How extensive it's going to be and how they will proceed  will they use other law enforcement agencies to drive their mission?  I don't know," Khan said. "But I do believe deportation is going to affect everyone across the country when it comes to people who don't have documentation or are undocumented."

Although Maine's unauthorized immigrant population is small, Maine residents were affected by Trump's deportation policies under his last administration.

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Otto Morales-Caballeros, a Guatemalan man who fled violence in his home country as a teenager, was deported in 2017 after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested him on his way to work from his home in Naples. He was separated from his wife, a U.S. citizen, for four years before she was able to work with an attorney to bring him back to Maine in 2021. The Biden administration revised guidelines for ICE deportations the same year, generally prioritizing national security and violent crime concerns over petty and nonviolent offenses.

Abdigani Faisal Hussein, a Portland resident who came to the U.S. lawfully as a Somali refugee, was nearly deported in 2018 because of his conviction in 2002 for possessing khat, a leafy stimulant grown in East Africa that's illegal in the U.S. Hussein's lawyer was able to intervene at the last minute and defer the deportation because of the grave political situation in Somalia.

The Trump transition team did not provide specifics about deportation plans and who in Maine could be impacted in response to questions from the Press Herald on Friday.

"The American people reelected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail," Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. "He will deliver."

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Homan, Trump's pick as border czar, told the Washington Post on Monday that he planned to focus deportation efforts on those who pose a threat to public safety and national security and people who recently crossed the border illegally. He said that anyone with an active removal order could be deported, even if they don't have a criminal record.

"I'm not saying arrest a million people in a week, right?" Homan told the Post. "We've got to go for the worst first."

The American Immigration Council, a pro-immigration advocacy group, estimates that it would cost at least $315 billion to conduct a one-time mass deportation program, which would also require mass incarceration prior to removal. Trump told NBC News after the election that "there is no price tag" too big for his plan to deport undocumented immigrants.

"They're going to go back to those countries because they're not staying here," Trump said.

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Joel Stetkis, chair of the Maine Republican Party, said he thinks there will be support in Maine for Trump's immigration policies but that it's too early to assess impacts here until concrete plans are released.

"I think most Mainers are very excited about having substantially less fentanyl killing our neighbors, family and friends," he said, adding, "Republicans have always been in favor of legal immigration."

Federal data analyzed by KFF, a nonpartisan health policy organization, indicates that most fentanyl enters the U.S. through legal ports of entry and is trafficked primarily by U.S. citizens. Experts have also said that stricter immigration policies will not effectively combat the opioid epidemic.

Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, Maine House minority leader, pointed out that Maine has spent millions of dollars in general assistance costs to house asylum seekers.

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"Even though in Maine we're very far from the southern border, we still feel the effects of it here," he said. "I'm excited we're going to have a president who is going to tighten up the border."

With regard to deportations, Faulkingham said he expects to see greater enforcement of existing laws.

"What good are laws if you're not going to follow them?" he said.

IT'S STILL EARLY

Advocates in Maine's immigrant community said that while there is generally a feeling of unease and anxiety about Trump's election, it's still too early to know what the impacts will be. But they are preparing to protect immigrants' rights in the event of a crackdown or new restrictions.

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"ILAP is deeply concerned about racist and anti-immigrant policies that would have a devastating impact on immigrant communities in Maine and beyond," said Sue Roche, executive director of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, which provides legal services to Maine immigrants. "But despite threats of mass deportation, we have a legal system and due process rights that must be enforced."

Martha Stein, executive director of Hope Acts, which offers housing and assistance with basic needs to asylum seekers in Portland, said her staff is trying to be as prepared as possible but they don't want to "fall down a rabbit hole of what about this or that."

"There's so much bad information and disinformation and nobody knows what the new administration is going to do until they do it," Stein said. "It's very unsettling."

The Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center provides support and services including professional development and English classes, assistance with financial literacy and help getting integrated into Maine and the U.S.

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Khan said he believes those services will become even more important under a Trump administration that puts immigrants at risk and where they will be more likely to come to the nonprofit center for services and a sense of belonging.

So far, Khan said he hasn't heard many immigrants expressing concerns about the new administration, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

"A lot of people are going to be very afraid to speak out or share who they are or what their status is," he said.

Mufalo Chitam, executive director of the Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition, has been hearing from people who are worried. In the initial aftermath of the election, Chitam said, some immigrants who lived through the first Trump administration were dismissive of the results, saying things like, "He said this last time but he didn't do it."

But as the days have gone by and more information about Trump's plans have been shared, panic has set in. Some parents have reported their children coming home from school saying that they heard from friends they will be deported.

Chitam said her organization is telling people that for now they need to wait and see what actual policies are handed down. But in the meantime they are preparing to hold information sessions, helping people understand the rights they have and pointing them to resources like ILAP that they can rely on if they do find themselves at risk.

"The most we can do right now is just wait," she said. "But in the meantime, we're telling folks, 'Know your rights.' "

THREATS TO ASYLUM?

While Maine's overall immigrant population is relatively small, the state has experienced an influx of asylum seekers from central Africa, including Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the first six months of 2023, more than 1,500 asylum seekers arrived in Portland, pushing the city of 65,000 to the brink of its ability to house people at its shelters.

Asylum seekers are immigrants who come to the United States seeking protection from violence, persecution or human rights' violations. Applying for asylum is a lengthy legal process that can take years, but Roche said that in general someone who is filing for asylum and going through the process can't be deported.

"They have a right to complete that process and for the government to make a decision on their asylum application," she said, noting that it is possible for asylum seekers to be deported if they don't win their court case.

Stein said she is hopeful that the clients she works with will continue to be protected through the asylum process, but she worries there are ways those protections could be eroded.

"There's a lot of talk about people who fly in on a visa and ask for asylum versus people who come over the border and apply for asylum," she said. "Could they split things that way? And we've seen in the past that people from certain countries were deemed more or less desirable, which is reprehensible to me."

Trump said this fall that he plans to reinstate travel bans that were in effect under his first administration barring some people from predominantly Muslim nations from coming to the U.S., and that he would expand them to include refugees from Gaza.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine has expressed broad concerns about a Trump presidency and how it would impact a variety of issues, saying in a news release last week that "we are clear-eyed about the dangers posed by a second Trump presidency and the challenges ahead."

A spokesperson said this week that it's too early to discuss specifics for Maine, but since immigration policy is federal, the impacts in Maine would likely mirror what is seen at the national level.

"Trump has made the demonization of people seeking asylum at the southern border a key element of his campaign this year," the ACLU said in a memo on Trump's immigration policy in June. "We expect his administration to renew and expand attempts to destroy our nation's system of protection for people seeking safety from violence and persecution."

The memo said impacts to asylum could come through executive orders or legislation, which would likely be facilitated with Republicans now controlling both the U.S. House and Senate. Trump is reportedly planning to kick off his second term with a major bill on border security and immigration that could limit or effectively end access to asylum, according to the memo.

But attempting to shut down asylum would also pose significant legal challenges and conflict with existing policies, the ACLU said.

"The ACLU and its partners challenged numerous Trump anti-asylum policies, pressing these legal claims and more," the memo said. "Courts held many of the policies illegal, and some were suspended or never went into effect."

MILLS MONITORING TRUMP PLANS

Gov. Janet Mills is taking a cautious approach to Trump's plan to conduct mass deportations of immigrants  a process advisers say would require assistance from state and local law enforcement.

While some Democratic governors, such as Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, have said they will not use state police to assist the Trump administration, a Mills spokesperson said the governor is monitoring Trump's plans and will evaluate any requests for help from the incoming administration.

"At this time, the State of Maine has not received a communication from the incoming administration," spokesman Scott Ogden said in an email. "If the Trump Administration advances a specific plan or directive involving State of Maine assets or resources, the Governor will review it, assess its impacts on Maine people, and make a decision that she believes is in the best interest of the state and our people.

As attorney general, Mills pushed back against Trump's anti-immigration policies, including the travel ban on people entering the United States from Muslim-majority countries.

Mills was one of 20 attorneys general to sue Trump over plans to roll back the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which provided protections against children  known as "dreamers"  who were brought into the country illegally by their parents.

And as governor, Mills objected to Trump's efforts to make it harder for people who are seeking asylum to obtain work permits  a move at odds with national business groups and immigration advocates who have pushed for changes to federal laws to make it easier for asylum seekers to work.

Advocates say it would help businesses address workforce shortages and reduce the burden on communities providing financial support to asylum seekers who are not allowed to support themselves.

Mills' current approach is more cautious than that of some of her colleagues.

Healey told MSNBC recently that she would use "every tool in the toolbox" to block attempts to deport unauthorized immigrants in the commonwealth. She said she would "absolutely not" allow Massachusetts State Police to assist federal deportation efforts.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, two Democrats who are eyeing 2028 presidential runs, have signaled they are prepared to push back against a variety of Trump policies, and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said "if it's contrary to our values, we will fight to the death," according to The Hill.

Staff Writer Randy Billings contributed to this story

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The UKs aircraft carriers could be mothballed under a Treasury cost-cutting proposal.

It is understood that a discussion between the Ministry of Defence and Rachel Reevess department explored what equipment could be cut as part of the forthcoming strategic defence review.

The review, which will be published early next year, will address how the Government plans to focus the military on the changing nature of conflict while saving money.

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A Royal Navy source said it was unsurprising that HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth, which both cost more than 3 billion to build, had come under discussion because they are big expensive pieces of kit that attract a lot of attention.

We are not looking to go down to one, the source insisted, adding that it would be quite a big step down for us to go down to one carrier.

HMS Prince of Wales is due to lead the carrier strike group to the Indo-Pacific next year and when it does so, its sister ship will undergo a period of maintenance.

It is understood that when the prospect of mothballing one of the carriers to save money was raised, as first reported by The Times, the case was made that one carrier is required on standby so that the other can sail.

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The proposal to mothball a ship comes despite the fact that HMS Prince of Wales was commissioned as recently as December 2019, while HMS Queen Elizabeth was handed to the Royal Navy in 2017.

In last months Budget, the Chancellor gave defence a 2.9 billion uplift. However, military chiefs criticised the sum, which they said wont touch the sides for what the Armed Forces needed.

While Navy sources stressed how critical the more than 6 billion carriers are to the fleet, with the RAF also making use of them, they have come under scrutiny in recent years for their respective performances.

HMS Queen Elizabeth was supposed to lead the largest Nato exercise since the Cold War but had to pull out - Andrew Milligan/PA

At the start of this year HMS Queen Elizabeth was supposed to lead the largest Nato exercise since the Cold War, but pulled out after an issue with a propeller shaft was spotted during final checks.

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It came fewer than two years after HMS Prince of Wales broke down off the Isle of Wight after a similar malfunction with a coupling on the starboard propeller, which meant it could not take part in exercises with the US navy and caused a delay of nine months to operational service.

HMS Prince of Wales had to rely on foreign support at sea because of a Royal Navy staffing crisis - Gareth Fuller/PA

Meanwhile, The Telegraph revealed last month how HMS Prince of Wales had to rely on foreign support at sea amid a Royal Navy staffing crisis, which meant it did not have its much needed solid stores support ship.

Writing in The Telegraph, Tom Sharpe, a former Navy commander, defended the carriers, which he said cover all and, best of all, do so in a location of our choosing.

This is why all the major navies in the world either have them or are building them, he said.

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A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: The strategic defence review will look at the threats we face and the capabilities we need to meet the challenges, threats and opportunities of the 21st century.

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Nyyon Sanders is accused of killing a man hours after his ankle monitor died

Mobile County Sheriff's Office Nyyon Sanders Nyyon Sanders

An Alabama man charged with murder allegedly killed another person while out on bail after his ankle monitor died.

Nyyon Sanders is charged with murder and robbery, according to Mobile County jail records.

According to reports from AL.com, WKRG and WALA, Sanders was out on bond after being charged in connection with a 2022 homicide. Authorities allege that Sanders waited for his ankle monitor to die before he went to an apartment complex, the outlets report.

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Once at the apartment complex, Sanders is accused of killing 25-year-old Joseph Evans Jr. and injuring another person, the outlets reported.

AL.com reported that Sanders had been out on $200,000 bail in connection with the 2022 homicide, which occurred when the defendant was a juvenile. WALA reports that the trial for the first incident is scheduled for January.

It is not immediately clear if Sanders has retained an attorney or entered a plea for the latest charges.

Its just an absolute worst-case scenario that everyone in the community dreads, District Attorney Keith Blackwood told WALA. From what I understand Sanders allowed his ankle monitor to go dead after 5 p.m. and within four hours had committed the murder.

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WALA reported that Blackwood has placed the blame on the private company that monitors suspects with anklets. Previously, the outlet reported, the same company failed to report when a different murder suspect allegedly violated the conditions of his release by going to a casino in Mississippi.

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Yet another case where youve got a private ankle monitoring company that was tasked with monitoring someone thats out on bond, Blackwood said, according to the outlet. That did not happen in this case and this defendant is alleged to have committed yet another murder.

Blackwood reportedly said the sheriffs office would need more funding for personnel to take over the ankle monitoring system.


A jury convicted Toforest Johnson in 1998 of the murder of off-duty Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy William Hardy in 1995. Major questions have been raised about the credibility of a witness at the center of his case. (Alabama Department of Corrections)

Attorneys for Alabama death row inmate Toforest Johnson filed a petition in Jefferson County Circuit Court Thursday seeking a new hearing on his death sentence, citing concerns raised by the local district attorney.

A jury convicted Johnson in 1998 of the 1995 murder of off-duty Jefferson County Deputy William Hardy while he was moonlighting as a security guard at a hotel.

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Johnson has always maintained his innocence. No physical evidence links him to the crime, and the testimony of two witnesses critical to his conviction has been called into question. Jeff Wallace, who led the prosecution of Johnson, has called for a new trial.

This feels different, said Shanaye Poole, Johnsons daughter. I think it is just the outpouring of support that we have received, not only from the community, but also from the district attorney. We are just extremely grateful that the DA has conducted a full review of the case.

Johnsons attorneys have filed a request for a new investigation into Johnsons conviction, called a successive Rule 32 petition, to address the results of an investigation completed by Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr in June 2020 that cast grave doubts about the investigation and prosecution.

Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr speaks in support of a new trial for Toforest Johnson at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama on Dec. 3, 2023.(Courtesy of Wanda Spillers)

The evidence in this case has unraveled over 20 years, Carr wrote in an amicus brief filed with the lawsuit. It has not been possible, until recently, to fully appreciate the full extent to which the foundation of this conviction has disintegrated. The jury and judges who previously assessed this case did not have the benefit of all of the information that we have access to now.

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Johnsons attorneys cite findings in the report that challenged the credibility of a critical witness, Violet Ellison, who allegedly overheard Johnson admit to shooting and killing Hardy while speaking with someone during a three-way phone conversation.

The defense team later learned that Ellison had sought and was later paid a $5,000 reward by the state for information related to Hardys death. His legal team said prosecutors withheld the information, which they said could have been used to challenge her credibility, an act known as a Brady violation. Carrs brief also said she was working with prosecutors on other cases.

In 2022, it was revealed that Ellison served as a key witness for the State in several other criminal cases, including one Jefferson County case, pending at the same time as the Johnson case, that resulted in an acquittal and another that was dismissed prior to trial, Carrs brief states.

The case

Hardy, a law enforcement officer with 23 years of experience, was shot and killed on July 19, 1995 at the Crown Sterling Suites Hotel in Birmingham while investigating a noise in the hotel parking lot. Law enforcement arrested Johnson; another man named Ardargus Ford and four other individuals in connection with the case. Three of those arrested were eventually released and the charges dropped.

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Three weeks after the shooting, Ellison reported to investigators that her 16-year-old daughter at the time sometimes made three-way calls for people incarcerated at the Jefferson County jail so they could speak with multiple people without having to pay for additional calls.

During one of those three-way phone conversations in August 1995, Ellison said, her daughter put down the phone and left the room and Ellison then picked up the phone and claimed to overhear the conversation in which a person who called himself Toforest admitted that he and another individual shot Hardy.

Both Ford and Johnson were tried twice in separate cases with the state. Prosecutors used different theories of the case over the trials, first claiming Ford shot Hardy; then claiming Johnson and not Ford shot Hardy; then claiming Johnson and another man shot Hardy.

In 2008, multiple alibi witnesses submitted sworn, uncontested affidavits that they saw Johnson across town from the crime scene the night of Deputy Hardys murder, Carr said in the brief.

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Ford was acquitted at his second trial in 1999. Johnson was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death. At a sentencing hearing in 1998, a jury voted 10-2 to impose a death sentence.

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The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the conviction in 2001. Having been denied relief in direct appeal, he then began the post-conviction appeals process known as a Rule 32 petition.

Having completed his direct appeals, Johnson then began what turned out to be a complicated post-conviction appeals process that featured multiple remands by both the state appellate court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Johnson claimed that both his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel and his Fourteenth Amendment due process rights had been violated, accusing the district attorney of withholding the evidence of Ellisons award.

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals remanded the case back to the circuit court on three separate occasions. Twice the appellate court ordered the circuit court to have a hearing for different elements of Johnsons ineffective assistance of counsel claims.

In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the case be remanded to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals and eventually to Jefferson County circuit court.

In all cases, the circuit court refused to grant him another trial. The Alabama Attorney Generals Office has argued that Johnsons issues have been raised and dispensed with in the past.

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Indeed, these factors are successive grounds because they were previously raised in Johnsons first Rule 32 proceeding, wrote Jon Hayden, assistant attorney general, in a response in 2022 Johnsons petition.

His state appeals should have ended when the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court denied reviewing his appeal for the Brady violation a second time in 2023.

Johnsons attorneys are seeking to start a second post-conviction appeal, saying the court never considered the evidence in its entirety.

The filing on Johnsons behalf argues that the case is riddled by contradictory physical evidence and undermined by alibi witness testimony and Ellisons award.

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The court had not ruled on Johnsons petition as of Friday morning.

It has been a very long journey for all of us, Poole said. Although it feels like we are close to a breakthrough, we still have to have a call to action. We are still, currently, at the mercy of the courts, and so at this point, we want a fair chance. We want fresh eyes on my fathers case and the opportunity to right a wrong.

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP)  A federal appeals court said Monday it will let the nations third execution with nitrogen gas go forward this week in Alabama, rejecting arguments that the new method causes unconstitutional levels of pain.

The 11th U.S. Court of Appeals swiftly affirmed a lower court's decision to let Carey Dale Grayson's execution proceed. Grayson, 50, had sought a preliminary injunction to block the execution.

The three-judge panel wrote that evidence did not show that nitrogen hypoxia creates a substantial risk of conscious suffocation."

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An attorney for Grayson said they plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Grayson, who was convicted of the 1994 killing of Vickie Deblieux, is scheduled to be executed Thursday night. The new execution method involves placing a respirator gas mask over the person's face to replace breathable air with pure nitrogen gas, causing death by lack of oxygen.

The appellate court decision was issued about five hours after judges heard oral arguments in which lawyers for Grayson and the Alabama attorney generals office gave contrasting accounts of the states first two nitrogen gas executions earlier this year and the risk of unconstitutional pain.

John Palombi, an attorney with the Federal Defenders Program, told the judges that the subject will feel conscious suffocation before the nitrogen renders the person unconscious.

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I would submit to the court that being conscious and being suffocated for a period of time constitutes terror, Palombi said.

One of the judges questioned how the method is any different from the gas chamber, which involves the subject inhaling poisonous gas while conscious. The method hasnt been used to carry out an execution in the U.S. since 1999, but it is still authorized.

A lawyer for the state urged the court to let the execution go forward, arguing that nitrogen hypoxia causes no physical pain and leads rapidly to unconsciousness.

Yes, nitrogen hypoxia deprives the condemned inmate of oxygen, but it is not suffocation in the lay sense, like drowning or smothering with a plastic bag or paralyzing the lungs. This is really apples and oranges, Robert Overing, deputy solicitor general for Alabama, told the panel.

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He said Grayson's lawyers used the term suffocation to evoke a sense of fear and pain that doesnt exist with this method.

One judge on the panel noted that predictions by a state expert that nitrogen gas would render a person unconscious within 10 to 40 seconds was inconsistent with what was observed at the states first two nitrogen gas executions. Media witnesses, including The Associated Press, described how the subjects shook on the gurney for two minutes or longer, followed by what appeared to be several minutes of periodic labored breaths with long pauses in between.

About two dozen anti-death penalty protesters outside the Alabama Capitol on Monday focused on the shaking as a sign of distress during the previous executions.

There is an absolute error in this protocol. It is torturous. It should not be allowed to happen in a civil society, T.J. Riggs, Amnesty Internationals death penalty abolition coordinator for Alabama, said at the demonstration.

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Protesters delivered a petition to Gov. Kay Ivey asking her to stay Grayson's execution.

Inside the courtroom, the state maintained the movements of those who have been put to death were involuntary. Overing said it was difficult to pinpoint exactly when the subject became unconscious. The state has maintained that Kenneth Smith held his breath during his January execution, causing it to take longer than expected.

Grayson was one of four teenagers convicted of killing of Deblieux, 37, in Jefferson County in 1994. Prosecutors said Deblieux was hitchhiking from Tennessee to her mothers home in Louisiana when the teens offered her a ride. They said the accused took her to a wooded area, attacked her, threw her off a cliff and later mutilated her body.

Grayson is the only one facing a death sentence. Two other teens had their death sentences set aside when the U.S. Supreme Court banned the execution of offenders who were younger than 18 at the time of their crimes. Grayson was 19. Another teen involved in Deblieux's killing was sentenced to life in prison.
Alejandra Boudreaux allegedly broke into the Las Vegas home of Brandon Durham, who was shot and killed by a police officer who responded

GoFundMe Brandon Durham Brandon Durham

The suspect whose alleged home invasion in Las Vegas led to the police shooting of the homeowner who called 911 wanted to be shot and killed by police, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.

On Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 12:40 a.m., Brandon Durham, 43, called 911 to report that two people with weapons were attempting to break into his house, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. (Police later said there was just one suspect, identified as 31-year-old Alejandra Boudreaux.)

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Durham was home with his 15-year-old daughter when the suspect allegedly began shooting and trying to break into his home on the 6900 block of Wine River Drive, according to police, KSNV reports.

Brandon Durham/Instagram Brandon Durham Brandon Durham

During his anguished 911 call, Durham told police that an intruder had entered his home and that he was going to lock himself in the bathroom while he waited for officers to arrive, according to the criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE.

Three officers, including Alexander Bookman, 26, arrived at the scene, Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said in a press conference, PEOPLE previously reported.

Bookman kicked in the front door and walked through the house toward Durham, who was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, struggling with Boudreaux while trying to keep a knife she was allegedly wielding away from his person, bodycam footage of the incident reviewed by People shows.

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As Durham struggled to avoid being stabbed, Bookman yelled, Drop the knife! twice before firing his weapon.

Bookman fired his gun, hitting Durham and causing both him and Boudreaux to fall, according to bodycam footage. Bookman then shot Durham several more times as he was on the floor, motionless.

Bookman fired a total of six rounds.

Despite attempts to save Durhams life, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Durham was shot multiple times.

Boudreaux was not shot.

According to the criminal complaint, Boudreaux broke into Durhams home with a knife intending to provoke officers to fire their weapons in an alleged suicide attempt.

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"The defendant's aim was suicide by police officer," the complaint alleges.

Related: Cop Shoots and Kills Dad Who Called 911 for Help, Instead of Home Invader: 'Fatherless for the Rest of My Life'

Durham died, leaving his devastated daughter fighting for justice for her father.

He was the victim through and through, his daughter, Isabella Durham said at a press conference on Nov. 14, KSNV reports.

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"I am disgusted in how the Metropolitan Police told my father after killing him to stay down, treating him like he was the suspect in this situation, Isabella said. I want justice for my father. This is disgusting both on the assailant and Officer Bookman."

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According to KSNV, Durham's sister Diane Wright said, "The one who calls the police and says, 'help me' should never be the one to be shot.

Authorities are weighing whether Bookman will be criminally charged for shooting and killing Durham.

"The district attorney will have to determine whether it's criminal, and the sheriff will have to determine whether these officers were within policy," David Roger, former Clark County District Attorney said, KSNV reports. "Sometimes people mix the, whether the officer used proper tactics and whether the officer's conduct was criminal."

Boudreaux is charged with four felony counts including home invasion while in possession of a deadly weapon or firearm, assault with a deadly weapon constituting domestic violence, child abuse, neglect or endangerment and disregard for the safety of persons or property, online court records show.

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Boudreaux and Durham apparently knew each other, according to the complaint, but the exact nature of their relationship was not clear.

His family started a GoFundMe to help defray funeral expenses.



If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.


An Allegheny County man faces felony charges after he allegedly led police officers on a chase Thursday in Somerset County at speeds that sometimes topped 100 mph.

Hildred Devon Berkley, of Braddock, also faces charges for methamphetamine possession after investigators executed a search warrant on his getaway vehicle, Somerset County District Attorney Molly Metzgar said.

Metzgar said officers from Summit Township police, the state police, the Somerset County Sheriffs Office and other departments pursued Berkleys vehicle during a 15-minute chase after he did not pull over for a traffic stop in Summit Township.

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Police deployed metal spike strips, designed to puncture tires and slow down vehicles. Afterward, a state police cruiser forced the getaway car sideways in a tactic called a pit maneuver, Metzgar said.

The chase came to an end along state Route 31 near Berlin, she said.

Berkley was taken into custody without further incident, Metzgar said. He was placed in Somerset County Jail on $25,000 monetary bond, online court records show.

Berkley faces charges of fleeing and eluding, methamphetamine possession, driving with a suspended license and related summary offenses.

I am thankful that none of the brave members of our law enforcement community were injured in this swift response, Metzgar said.

Online court records show Berkley previously was issued a 27-month to five-year sentence for a Somerset County drug conviction in 2014.
The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has reopened a busy street under the Interstate 471 Daniel Carter Bridge.

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Pete Rose Way/Riverside Drive is back open as inspections wrap up, according to our news partner WCPO in Cincinnati.

As previously reported by News Center 7, an overnight fire broke out on Nov. 1 at the Sawyer Point Park playground and damaged the bridge. It caused significant damage.

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Since then, southbound I-471 over the bridge remains closed.

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While the roadways and their sidewalks have reopened, the parking lot underneath the Big Mac Bridge will remain closed to keep the area secure for safety reasons, ODOT told WCPO.

Theres very, very severe damage to this structure, said Kathleen Fuller, ODOT spokesperson.

She also says completing up-close inspections is a big step.

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This allows us now to move forward with getting into that design and what thats going to look like for reconstruction, Fuller said.

ODOT does not have an answer to that.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

For up-to-date information on the investigation, go to transportation.ohio.gov/471fire.

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A rare paddlefish washed up on the beach in Encinitas (USA). This 3-meter-long creature is called a "harbinger of disaster."

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Since 1901, only 21 paddlefish have been recorded on the shores of California. However, this year, this ribbon-like creature washed up on the American coast for the second time, NBC News reports.

The disaster fish was discovered in southern California by scientist Alison Laferriere of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego.

According to the researcher, paddlefish are elusive creatures that usually live at a depth of 1000 meters below the ocean surface, that is, in the dark mesopelagic zone beyond the reach of sunlight.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, these mysterious fish, which can grow over 6 meters in length, are still poorly understood creatures by science.

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Because of their mysterious and unusual shape, paddlefish have been the heroes of myths and legends for centuries. They are called "doomsday fish" because of their reputation as harbingers of natural disasters or earthquakes.

In 2011, 20 paddlefish washed ashore a few months before the most powerful earthquake in Japan with a magnitude of 9.0. The resulting devastating tsunami killed more than 15,000 people.

According to the Scripps Institute, paddlefish are incredibly rare. Therefore, their numerous appearance on any coast may indicate certain cataclysms. However, a 2019 study conducted by scientists from Japan found no convincing scientific evidence linking these ribbon-like creatures to earthquakes.

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Scripps Institution researcher Ben Frable suggested that changing ocean conditions, along with a potential increase in paddlefish populations, could contribute to better conditions for observing and studying the rare fish.

The 3-meter-long paddlefish, which was previously found in La Jolla Cove, north of downtown San Diego, was transported to NOAA's Fisheries Science Center for further study. "Rare encounters like this offer an incredible opportunity to learn more about this species and its behavior," said Ben Frable.

The researcher also noted that although scientists are not sure of the exact reasons, the La Jolla coast, which is located near two underwater canyons that drain deep water to the shore, is usually a hot spot for disoriented or injured deep-sea fish. So it is here that scientists often find strange creatures for further research.

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ)  An Altoona man is facing charges stemming from a 6-week-old infant being rushed to Childrens Hospital Of Pittsburgh.

Michael Anthony Mathews Jr., 35 (Blair County Prison)

Michael Anthony Mathews Jr., 35, was charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault, child endangerment, recklessly endangering another person and simple assault after an investigation that began over the summer of 2020.

In July 2020, Altoona police were called after a 6-week-old was taken to UPMC Altoona with multiple injuries that were in various stages of healing, including a broken arm and fractured ribs, according to the criminal complaint.

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When police began the investigation, Mathews spoke to them about tripping down the stairs of their apartment while carrying the infant and landing on top of them. Charges show he maintained the story multiple times, adding that he never told the childs mother about the fall.

The child was taken to Pittsburgh where doctors said the injuries they saw must have occurred at different times in multiple acts of abuse, the complaint reads. During the investigation, the detective assigned to the case retired.

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As another detective took over, it was discovered that another child in the house who was only five at the time witnessed what happened that day. According to her account with police, she said she saw Mathews drop the child from the top of the stairs, he then told her not to tell anyone.

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Earlier this year, Mathews was interviewed again, this time admitting to police that the apartment they lived in at the time was a drug hub where dealers would meet buyers and people would use drugs there. According to the complaint, he admitted that he and the childs mother used all the time and even did so in the hospital bathroom the day the child was born.

Police noted that this drug use and his being lethargic could explain the other child seeing Mathews drop the child from the top of the steps.

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.

Mathews was arraigned Friday, Nov. 15 and bail was set at $200,000.

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Police also noted in the criminal complaint that they spoke to someone who had been fostering the victim and had plans to adopt the child.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com.
GREENACRES  Rivka Morales always fantasized with her classmates of having a quinceanera where they would waltz in flowy ballgowns. The cost scared them away.

It's a fantasy no more. Rivka and nine other Hispanic students at John I. Leonard High School in Greenacres this month got to enjoy the ceremony that they had dreamed about since they were toddlers.

And they did it together on Nov. 7, in the first communal quinceanera the school that so many Hispanics call home has thrown for students whose families could otherwise not afford the ceremony and the elaborate parties they entail.

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Rivka's fantasy came true first. She led the others on stage at the school with a sparkly, light blue dress on the night that celebrates the day a girl of Latin American heritage turns 15 and becomes an adult.

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The others  from Venezuela, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Cuba  followed her onto the stage at the schools amphitheater, each getting their moment in their gown and their crown.

Our parents get to see what they fought so hard for when they migrated here to give us what they couldn't have, said Morales, the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants who is now 16.

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"It's a special moment for everybody, where the family of the quinceanera gets recognition as well.

Why a 'communal quinceanera'? A Palm Beach County teacher listened to her students.

Paula Acosta is escorted by Dayron Cardenas Cardoso during the Quinceanera Showcase at John I. Leonard High School on November 7, 2024, in Greenacres, Florida.

Carla Rodas Pinas, a teacher at the school who oversees its Latinos in Action class, said she came up with the idea after listening to her students talk of their dreams of dresses and dances and their worries about the cost.

A quinceanera, Rodas said, is an important tradition in Hispanic culture because it is meant to celebrate all the accomplishments of a girl's life and to remind her there is a village of people who believe in her.

It's not only a coming of age. It created a sense of belonging, Rodas said. It's about bringing her gathering her community together and make her feel proud of her roots.

Latinos in Action teacher Carla Rodas-Pina, left, hugs Oriana Gutierrez Echeverria after the Quinceanera Showcase at John I. Leonard High School on November 7, 2024, in Greenacres, Florida.

Living in Greenacres, Palm Springs: What drew Hispanics to these cities? Three share their stories.

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So teachers, parents and siblings filled the amphitheater at the school, 70% of whose population is Hispanic.

One by one, each girl stepped on stage, prancing a colorful, puffy dress while being escorted by a "chambelan," one of their male classmates. Each twirled for the crowd, bowed to fix her crown and waved with excitement when she caught the eyes of her loved ones in the crowd.

Then, their parents took turns waltzing with them as they danced to "No crezcas mas," a song by the Dominican band Tercer Cielo. Its English translation? "Don't grow any more."

Cheyla Del-Solar performs with the Latinos a Bailar dancers at the Quinceanera Showcase at John I. Leonard High School on November 7, 2024, in Greenacres, Florida.

Latinos A Bailar, a group founded by student Angelica Lopez Reyes, closed the ceremony with a dance performance that immersed the audience in the rhythm of tambores, bachata, zapateo and reggaeton.

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"We need to keep our traditions, and this (quinceanera) will start a new one, Lopez Reyes said.

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Rivka Morales: She'll never forget the pride in her father's eyes

Rivka Morales dances with her mother during the Quinceanera Showcase at John I. Leonard High School on November 7, 2024, in Greenacres, Florida.

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Morales wasn't just the first girl on stage. She was the first in her family to celebrate a quinceanera.

She still remembers the first one she attended as a child in Greenacres. She was amazed by the girls puffy purple dress and how she danced with her parents.

She didn't know when her moment would come. The tradition of hosting pompous parties is not popular in Guatemala. Her bat mitzvah happened during the pandemic and was limited to an online party.

And then she took the stage.

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It was my first time being in a dress, Morales said. I felt like a princess going out there, and when the crowd cheered for me when I put my crown on, I just felt really happy.

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Rivka said she will never forget how her father looked at her with proud eyes before holding her hand to spin her into a waltz.

'I am proud of you. You are so beautiful. I am here for you,' Morales recalls her father's whisper in her ear and her flush of pride at her Hispanic heritage. They don't say it often, so whenever they say it in a special moment, it stays.

Oriana Gutierrez: Quinceanera 'gave me the opportunity I never had'

Oriana Gutierrez Echeverria claps for performers onstage during the Quinceanera Showcase at John I. Leonard High School on November 7, 2024, in Greenacres, Florida.

In her native Venezuela, big quinceanera parties are the norm, but Oriana Gutierrez knew her family couldn't afford one. She was 6 when they fled to seek asylum in the U.S. and settled in Greenacres.

Gutierrez began school without knowing how to speak English and struggled to make friends until she arrived at Rodas' class at John I. Leonard. Rodas also encouraged her to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse and helped her look for science classes and college scholarships.

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Unsure if she should join the communal quinceanera, Rodas gave her a red dress to try on. Once it fitted around her body, Gutierrez began to cry. She found the dress she wanted to wear for her quinceanera. Everyone gathered in the amphitheater saw her in that dress that night.

"Me dieron la oportunidad que nunca tuve," Gutierrez said in Spanish. It gave me the opportunity I never had.

Emotion overwhelmed Gutierrez when she saw her mother, father and two younger siblings cheering for her from the second row. She said the celebration gave her the chance to show her parents she is maturing and that she appreciates everything they have sacrificed to give her a life in the U.S.

I am aware my parents came here to give me a better life and education so I need to do my best, she said. This is definitely the start of a new life stage."

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'A dream come true': Single mom hopes her Habitat home inspires other young parents to try

Jasmine DeLeon: Quinceanera 'was a dream come true'

Jasmine DeLeon waits to go on stage at the Quinceanera Showcase at John I. Leonard High School on November 7, 2024, in, Greenacres, Florida.

Minutes before the ceremony, Jasmine DeLeon and her friends helped each other get ready inside a classroom.

Some of the girls had never worn makeup before. Others were trying on their first pair of heels, while each took turns to flatten and curl their hair. They held each other's hand as they lined up behind the black curtain.

This is once in a lifetime, DeLeon, whose family is from Guatemala, thought before walking on stage. And all my nervousness left, I smiled and I just enjoyed the moment.

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DeLeons older sister had a quinceanera, but she saw how expensive it was for her parents. So when she turned 15, she kindly declined their offer to host a party.

I didn't want to make my parents go through that again, DeLeon said.

DeLeon's favorite color is green and Rodas put aside for her an emerald green dress for the ceremony. On the day of the event, her mother couldn't attend but sent her best friend, who surprised her on stage to say: "I'm here for your mom."

It was a dream come true, DeLeon said. I just didnt want it to end.

Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Greenacres, Palm Springs and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County school hosts quinceanera for local Hispanic students
Attorneys for Amazon and Elon Musks SpaceX argued in a federal appeals court Monday that the National Labor Relations Boards structure is unconstitutional, advancing a legal fight that may last into the Trump administration where Musk is expected to oversee bureaucratic cost-cutting.

A panel of three judges at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard separate oral arguments in the SpaceX and Amazon lawsuits, which the two companies initiated after the labor agency filed complaints against them in disputes about workers rights and union organizing.

A ruling in favor of the companies could immensely diminish  or paralyze - the nearly century-old agency, which is tasked with enforcing labor laws and settling labor-related complaints workers lodge against their employers. The issue may eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority and has issued rulings curbing the power of government agencies,

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The three appellate judges who heard Monday's arguments questioned the legal maneuvering by Amazon and SpaceX to get their cases to the 5th Circuit, where jurists nominated by Republican presidents dominate the appeals court.

A lawyer for the NLRB emphasized during the hearing that both companies filed their appeals after lower courts did not give rulings by requested deadlines.

Michael E. Kenneally, an attorney for SpaceX, retorted that the government was relying so much on the procedural objections because of the alleged weakness of its legal argument, a claim that elicited some pushback from the panel.

That sounds to me like the argument procedure doesnt matter if I win on the merits, Judge James E. Graves Jr., an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said.

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SpaceX, Musk's space technology company, filed its lawsuit against the NLRB in January after the labor agency accused the company of unlawfully firing employees who wrote an open letter critical of Musk and of creating the impression worker activities were being surveilled.

Among other claims, the company argued in its complaint that agency proceedings deprived it of the right to a trial by a jury.

Musk, the worlds richest person, has become more influential in the past few months after pumping an estimated $200 million through his political action committee to help elect Donald Trump as president.

After he was elected, Trump tapped Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new efficiency commission focused on cutting costs across the federal government. Musk has said the new administration will have a mandate to delete the mountain of choking regulations that do not serve the greater good.

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Amazon's lawsuit against the NLRB is tied to the companys objections to a union election that took place at a warehouse in New York City in April 2022. The retail giant has accused the agency of improperly interfering in that election, partly by bringing a lawsuit against the company to reinstate a fired organizer close to when voting began.

The Amazon Labor Union ultimately won the election to represent workers, but Amazon has refused to come to the negotiating table.

The companys attorneys argued in the lawsuit that the NLRB board members who authorized the agencys complaint later acted as judges by denying a review of Amazon's objections, which also came before them. Amazon's lawyers maintained the agencys structure was unconstitutional because board members are shielded from removal by the U.S. president, among other things.

In a statement issued before Monday's hearing, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo said it was nothing new for big companies to challenge the authority of the NLRB to enforce workers rights so as not to be held accountable for their violations" of labor law.
The Middle East is a problem. Our enemies there are on the march, and our friends are nervous. We need to do something about our credibility. The government has just the plan to fix it: Let Israel deal a crushing blow to the most powerful enemy state so that our country can swoop in as the peacemaker. Then we can finally build the security alliance that we've been trying for. Peace through strength will win the day.

I am writing, of course, about British leaders' mentality in 1956. In late October and early November of that year, Britain carried out a plan with the help of France and Israel to deal with Egypt's rising nationalist government. And it failed miserably. That war, known as the Suez Crisis, is widely considered the beginning of the end of the British Empire. Egypt became the most powerful Arab country for the next 20 years as British troops packed their bags.

The Suez Crisis is a cautionary tale for America. Washington's problems in the region look a lot like the ones Britain faced in 1956. Just like British leaders back then, Democrats and Republicans now seem convinced that proxy warfare is the one weird trick to solve those problems. Even the choice of proxyusing the Israeli army to bludgeon the region into shapeis the same.

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Britain was the most powerful country in the Middle East after World War II, but its strength was waning. The region's pro-British monarchies priced their oil in pound sterling, allowing the Bank of England to print as much money as it wanted, similar to today's petrodollar system. However, those monarchies were being squeezed from two sides. On one hand, the rising Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was selling its oil in U.S. dollars. On the other hand, Arab nationalist revolutionaries wanted to overthrow the monarchies entirely, and they successfully took over Egypt in 1952.

Britain tried to reverse the tide by roping its ally Jordan into a coalition known as the Baghdad Pact, which included Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, and Iran at the time. But the idea of joining the Baghdad Pact was hated in Jordan, which responded to British pressure by kicking out British military advisers.

Leaders in London believed that the dominos were falling to a conspiracy led by Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser, whom British politicians compared to Adolf Hitler. The final straw came on July 26, 1956, when Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, which was owned by a British-French consortium. Though Nasser compensated the shareholders, British Prime Minister Anthony Eden argued that Nasser cannot "have his thumb on our windpipe."

Britain's local allies felt the same way. The night the canal was nationalized, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Said was dining with Eden in London. "Hit [Nasser] hard and hit him now," Said said. "If he is left alone, he will finish all of us." Of course, al-Said was not offering Iraqi troops to do the job. It's hard not to hear an echo of his words when Saudi leaders compare Iran to Nazi Germany and egg on Washington to fight a war that Saudi Arabia itself has no intention of fighting.

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Another Middle Eastern country, Israel, would come to the rescue. France, which was fuming at Egypt for supporting the Algerian independence movement, brought leaders from Britain and Israel, which had been dealing with years of border raids from Egypt, together in a secret meeting. All three countries agreed to play a game of political charades. Israel would invade Egypt, destroying the forces defending the Suez Canal. Britain and France would pretend to be shocked, then land peacekeepers in Egypt to "guarantee freedom of passage" through the canal.

Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion had an even more ambitious plan for a "new order" in the Middle East, parts of which modern-day Israeli nationalists are still dreaming about. After succeeding at this operation, Ben-Gurion proposed, Israel could overthrow the Egyptian and Jordanian governments, expel Palestinians east of the Jordan River, seize the West Bank and Gaza, conquer southern Lebanon, and install a new regime in Beirut.

The deception fell apart two weeks before the invasion began when U.S. spy planes spotted a suspicious number of French fighter jets parked in Israel. U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was enraged at his allies for deceiving and blindsiding him. Once British and French forces landed, the U.S. threatened to sell off British bonds, destroying the pound sterling. Nasser had his forces block the canal by scuttling ships in it. London's Middle Eastern adventure ended up causing the two bad outcomes that it was supposed to have prevented.

That particular experience is worth thinking about in light of a potential war over Taiwan, which produces 68 percent of the world's computer chips. U.S. officials from both major parties have discussed blowing up Taiwanese chip factories during a future war with China to avoid letting the global economy fall into China's hands.

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Meanwhile, even though Israel conquered Gaza along with large parts of Egyptian territory, Ben-Gurion was surprised to see Palestinians stay put in Gaza instead of fleeing, despite heavy Israeli repression. Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, who witnessed Israeli forces kill his uncle in 1956 and who co-founded Hamas in the 1980s, later said that the invasion "planted hatred in our hearts."

A week after the Suez Crisis began, the United Nations sent in its first-ever peacekeeping force with backing from both the United States and the Soviet Union. The British, French, and Israeli armies had no choice but to withdraw. Although some British veterans claim that they "won the war, but lost the peace" and could have kept going if not for U.S. pressure, Eisenhower likely gave Britain a face-saving way out of an unwinnable situation. The deck was stacked against British power and trying to fight a long-term occupation of Egypt while facing an economic meltdown probably would not have turned out well.

In 1958, the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown and al-Said was executed. In 1963, rebellions broke out in the British protectorates of Aden (modern-day Yemen) and Oman. Britain lost on the battlefield in Aden and won in Oman, but either way, the empire was economically and militarily exhausted. In 1967, the British government made its infamous "East of Suez" decision, pulling out of all military bases between Egypt and Hong Kong.

Given how frustrating Middle Eastern wars have been for Washington, it's no surprise that American commentators sometimes bring up the Suez Crisis. In a 2003 column warning against the Iraq War, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof used the Suez Crisis as an example of how "the hawks have a consistent track record of shrieking obsessively and seeing one minor country after another as global threatsin an eye-bulging, alarmist way that in retrospect looks hysterical." If Nasser wasn't really a Hitler-level threat in 1956, then neither was Saddam Hussein in 2003 and neither is the ayatollah today.

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More recently, Compact columnist Malcom Kyeyune called the U.S. intervention in Yemen "America's Suez Crisis" because it challenged Washington's international legitimacy. "The near-complete lack of enthusiasm or buy-in" from even close European allies, he argued, is "occurring over the same waters in which both British and French pretensions of being imperial powers were shattered."

But maybe there's another, more timely lesson for us in the Suez Crisis. Clever tricks and bluster can't resolve the serious, long-term issues draining the nation's power. Military power is useless if it ends up destroying the things it is designed to save. Sometimes it's better to bow out of overseas adventures gracefully than to be dragged out kicking and screaming. The declining British Empire, at least, had America's tough love to save Britain from itself. The U.S. is on its own.

The post Will America Make the Same Mistakes as Britain in the Middle East? appeared first on Reason.com.
By Tom Balmforth, Max Hunder, Lili Bayer

KYIV (Reuters) -The U.S. decision to authorise long-range Ukrainian strikes could help Kyiv defend the foothold in Russia's Kursk region that it seized as leverage in any war talks, but may come too late to change the course of the war, analysts said.

Two months before leaving office, President Joe Biden lifted some restrictions that have blocked Kyiv from using U.S.-supplied weapons for strikes deeper into Russian territory, in a major policy change, Reuters reported on Sunday.

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Military analysts said the impact on the battlefield, where Ukraine has been on the back foot for months, would depend on what limits remained. But while the shift may shore up the Kursk operation, it was unlikely to be a gamechanger overall.

"The decision comes late, and like other decisions in this vein, it may be too late to substantially change the course of the fighting," said Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.

"Long-range strikes were always one piece of the puzzle, and had been overly freighted with expectations in this war."

There also is no way to know how long the new policy will last. It was criticised by Richard Grenell, one of the closest foreign policy advisors of returning president Donald Trump, who replaces Biden on Jan. 20. Trump has long criticised the scale of U.S. aid to Kyiv and has vowed to end the war quickly, without saying how. A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Ukraine has lobbied for the change for months, arguing its inability to hit areas inside Russia, and in particular military airbases hosting warplanes involved in strikes on Ukraine, was a major handicap.

Russian forces, which have been on the offensive for more than a year, have been advancing at their fastest rate since 2022 in eastern Ukraine and exerting pressure in the northeast and southeast.

Russia says Ukraine cannot fire the missiles at targets inside Russia without direct help from NATO allies, calling this a major escalation. On Monday, the Kremlin said any such decision would mean the United States was directly involved in the conflict.

The first Ukrainian strikes could happen in the coming days and are likely to be carried out using ATACMS rockets, which have a range of up to 190 miles (306 km), Reuters reported.

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A central European defence official told Reuters the strikes would give Kyiv a greater chance to defend itself from aerial attacks, but would not decisively swing the conflict in Ukraine's favour.

Russia had already moved many of its air assets beyond the reach of Western weapons in Ukraine, the official said, although the range would cover beyond the area of Kursk occupied by Ukraine.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said he was "not opening champagne just yet" as it was unknown how many rockets the Ukrainians had and whether they had enough to impact the battlefield.

The decision to authorise the strikes only after months of Ukrainian lobbying follows a pattern repeated throughout the war as the Biden administration tried to balance its support for Ukraine with concern about escalation.

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Previously, Washington vacillated for months before approving giving Ukraine long-range missiles, tanks and planes.

Some military analysts say such delays gave Moscow time to recover from early failures and reinforce defences of occupied territory, contributing to the failure of a major Ukrainian counteroffensive last year.

UKRAINE UNDER PRESSURE

Being able to attack Russian territory with missiles could have its most direct impact in Kursk, where Ukraine aims to hold a salient it captured after its first major cross-border assault in August. The Russian land could be a bargaining chip in any negotiations after Trump enters the White House.

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Kyiv says Russia has massed 50,000 troops to try to retake the territory in Kursk, and that it has deployed 11,000 North Koreans, some of whom it says have joined the fight. Russia has neither confirmed nor denied the deployment.

"ATACMS missiles can hold at risk high value Russian and North Korean targets. This would help Ukrainian forces defend the Kursk salient, which is under pressure," said Kofman.

Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, said it would be difficult for Ukraine to hold its ground in Kursk in the long term, but its fortunes there would depend on resources.

"Ukraine has committed some of its best units there, so they may be able to hold for some time if they continue to receive enough ammunition and combat replacements," he said.

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Kyiv-based military analyst Serhii Kuzan said there were an array of targets in Russia at a depth of up to 500 km from Ukraine that Kyiv's forces saw as priorities, but many of which would still be out out of range of ATACMS.

France and Britain have not spelled out whether they would follow the Americans by allowing Ukraine to use Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles, which have a range of 250 km (155 miles).

"Russia can shoot down Storm Shadow and ATACMS, so the salvo size that can be launched is also an important consideration," Lee added.

On the streets of Kyiv on Monday, the general feeling was that the decision would help, but that it had come far too late.

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"This should have been used either as a preventative measure, or as a sharp reaction in February or March 2022. Now it does not play a big role," said Olga Korovyachuk, 21.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Max Hunder in Kyiv and Lili Bayer in Brussels; Additional reporting by Andrew Gray in Brussels and Felix Hoske in Kyiv; Editing by Mike Collett-White, Peter Graff and Tomasz Janowski)
ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA)  A two-story apartment building in Anderson caught fire at noon on South Fant Street.

The Anderson Fire Department arrived on scene and brought the fire under control. The residents were able to exit the resident safely, and no injuries were reported. The department stated that the fire was started outside of the building.

Two families were reported to have been displaced by the fire. The American Red Cross will provide assistance.

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7NEWS will continue to follow this story.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) revealed absolute lessons on Sunday that the Democratic Party can learn from his state, which President-elect Donald Trump won for the third-straight time in this years election.

Its about a relentless focus on peoples everyday needs and their everyday life, Beshear emphasized in an appearance on CBS News Face the Nation.

Beshear  who is seen as a possible presidential candidate for 2028  told host Margaret Brennan its about sharing your authentic why with voters, as well.

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Because, remember, if were talking about this issue of the day and then were talking about what Donald Trump said last night and then were talking about jobs, were only spending a third of the time talking about what people are worried about and what impacts their life the most, he said.

Beshear, a surrogate of Kamala Harris failed campaign, declined to do any finger-pointing over the vice presidents election loss and instead looked ahead.

Going forward, over the next couple years, we have a chance every day, every moment, to show the American people that we are laser-focused on jobs, on their health care, on their infrastructure, on their kids education, he said.

He added, Just those everyday worries and with this administration, at least right now selecting some very extreme appointees, its a chance to make a real difference, to really show people that were where their basic needs are.

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Brennan noted that some critics of his party have turned to how transgender issues have been handled by some Democrats, including moderates like Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), whose comments on transgender athletes led to the resignation of a top campaign aide.

He says hes speaking authentically, and said Democrats should do more of it. Do you think Democrats have been out of touch on some of these things that obviously resonate in states like yours? Brennan asked.

Beshear, who referred to his veto of a sweeping anti-transgender measure in Kentucky as rejecting one of the nastiest anti-LGBTQ bills his state has ever seen, noted the two things he did to resonate with voters.

Number one, I talked about my why. For me thats my faith, where Im taught that all children are children of God. And I wanted to stick up for some children that were being picked on in a pretty rough bill, Beshear said.

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But the second thing is, the voters in my state knew the very next day, I was going to be working on jobs, he continued. So its both sharing your why and your authentic why for your views but the other piece is about that focus.

Related...
Its not just Matt Gaetz. The Trump transition team is worried about another set of heinous allegations tanking one of its most important Cabinet picks.

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump Trumps first pick for the Department of Defense, was investigated by California police over accusations of sexual assault in 2017.

The alleged assault occurred on the night of October 7 at a hotel Hegseth stayed at while attending the California Federation of Republican Women conference. The allegation to police was made five days later, according to the police report. The woman who accused Hegseth had a bruise on her right thigh.

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The allegations, which were unknown to the transition team until shared via complaint, have left them scrambling. Theres a lot of frustration around this, an anonymous source close to the situation told The Washington Post. He hadnt been properly vetted.

But on the outside, the future administration is rallying behind the Defense Department nominee.

President Trump is nominating high-caliber and extremely qualified candidates to serve in his Administration, said Trump communications chief Steven Cheung. Mr. Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations, and no charges were filed. We look forward to his confirmation as United States Secretary of Defense so he can get started on Day One to Make America Safe and Great Again. The president-elect himself has been accused of sexual assault and misconduct two dozen times over decades.

Hegseth, a military veteran and former Fox and Friends host, has also made headlines for a questionable tattoo. Hegseth was actually banned from working as a National Guardsman at President Bidens inauguration after pictures of a tattoo on his bicep reading Deus Vult surfaced. Meaning God wills it, the term, which originated in the Crusades, has been deeply co-opted by Proud Boys, Three Percenters, and other white Christian nationalist groups. The phrase has been used by January 6 insurrectionists, the white nationalists who rioted in Charlottesville in 2017, and by the man who shot and killed 49 Muslims at a mosque in New Zealand in 2019.

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Hegseths own positions could certainly be described as Christian nationalist.

Our present moment is much like the 11th Century. We dont want to fight, but, like our fellow Christians one thousand years ago, we must, he wrote in his book American Crusade: Our Fight to Stay Free. Arm yourselfmetaphorically, intellectually, physically. Our fight is not with guns. Yet.

Hegseth also despises the idea of women and trans people serving in the military, and is extremely bigoted toward Muslims. Like the sexual assault allegations, he has denied any ties to Christian nationalism, claiming on X that he is the victim of anti-Christian bigotry. He actually cites the inauguration banning as what made him realize the military was too woke for him.

I joined the Army in 2001 because I wanted to serve my country. Extremists attacked us on 9/11, and we went to war, Hegseth wrote in his book The War on Warriors. Twenty years later, I was deemed an extremist by that very same Army  the military I loved, I fought for, I revered  spit me out.

The impact of these allegations, and the tattoos, on Hegseths Defense Department nomination remain to be seen.
When her son was taken from her by gun violence at 28 years old, Crystal Walker felt the anger first. She said she wished the person responsible would die.

But after a few weeks, Walker, who's now a chaplain at the Indiana Women's Prison, realized that would mean another parent would have to go through what she went through. And that felt wrong, she said.

"Even if that person is a mass murderer and murders other people, we don't have the right to figure out when, where, how someone else dies," she said on the steps of the Indiana Statehouse Sunday afternoon, where dozens gathered to protest Gov. Eric Holcomb's decision to resume state executions in Indiana after a 15-year hiatus.

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"That's God's business, right there," Walker said.

Holcomb and Attorney General Todd Rokita announced in June that they were seeking to resume executions in Indiana state prisons, starting with Joseph Corcoran, who was convicted of murdering four people in Allen County in 1997. The Indiana Supreme Court scheduled Corcoran's execution for Dec. 18.

President-elect Donald Trump had also signaled during his campaign that he would not only resume federal executions but expand who is eligible for them.

Crystal Walker, a chaplain at the Indiana Women's Prison, speaks at an anti-death penalty rally on the Indiana Statehouse steps Sunday, Nov. 17, urging Gov. Eric Holcomb not to resume state executions.

The Indiana Abolition Coalition and Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty organized the rally to urge Holcomb to stop Corcoran's execution and end capital punishment in Indiana, arguing that it's undignified, morally wrong and, in an appeal to Hoosiers' practicality, expensive for taxpayers.

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Bill Breeden, a minister emeritus of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington and a longtime anti-death penalty activist, called on Holcomb to go to the death chamber and witness Corcoran's execution, if he won't stop it.

"There is no other premeditated, cold-blooded murder like that in the world," he said. "None."

More: Indiana 'Death Row' holds 8 killers, no executions are scheduled

In their announcement, Holcomb said the Department of Corrections had recently acquired a lethal injection drug called pentobarbital, "after years of effort."

Speaking to reporters days after the announcement, Holcomb would not divulge details about the source or cost of the drug  information state legislators have made confidential under state law. Holcomb said he thinks executions are "appropriate in these rare cases of heinous crimes," the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported.

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"When such evil is on display, I personally believe in this," he said.

Rokita, who ran successfully for reelection this fall, said in the news release that the death penalty is a "means of providing justice for victims of societys most heinous crimes and holding perpetrators accountable."

In September, Rokita filed another motion seeking an execution date, this time for Benjamin Ritchie, a man convicted in the shooting death of Beech Grove police officer William Toney in 2000.

Matthew Wrinkles, an Evansville man convicted of killing his wife and two of her family members in 1994, was the last person to be executed in Indiana, in 2009.

Joseph Corcoran's case had many twists and turns

In 1997, 22-year-old Joseph Corcoran was living with his brother, James Corcoran, his sister, Kelly Nieto, and her fiance, Robert Turner.

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On July 26, according to Corcoran, he was upstairs and overheard his brother and Turner talking about him with some friends  Timothy Bricker and Doug Stillwell  in the living room. He put his 7-year-old niece in an upstairs bedroom, grabbed his semiautomatic rifle and fatally shot the four men downstairs. Then he went to a neighbor's house and asked them to call the police.

A jury convicted Corcoran on four counts of murder in 1999, and the trial court sentenced him to death.

Joseph E. Corcoran was sentenced to death in 1999 for killing four people in Allen County.

Corcoran's mental health has been a recurring issue through his case. Before his trial in Allen County, his defense initially filed a notice that they would assert an insanity defense. But after court-ordered doctors evaluated him, the defense withdrew the notice, and the court found him competent to stand trial.

The Indiana Supreme Court initially threw out Corcoran's death penalty sentence over a concern with the trial court's process but later affirmed the sentence after the trial court reinstated it. When at first Corcoran wouldn't sign a petition for post-conviction relief in 2003, his defense requested another psychological evaluation to determine whether Corcoran was competent to make this decision. While the experts found Corcoran suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, the court determined Corcoran was nonetheless competent to waive his relief because he demonstrated that he clearly understood the status of his case and the consequences of his decision.

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In 2005, Corcoran changed his mind and tried to file for post-conviction relief, but it was too late. That year, he also filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the federal District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, claiming the state violated his Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial during pre-trial negotiations. The district court granted the petition, but a federal appeals court reversed it.

Corcoran exhausted his appeals in 2016. He's one of eight people on Indiana's death row.

Corcoran's legal team makes mental health argument

In a statement Indiana Abolition Coalition president David Frank read on the statehouse steps Sunday, Corcoran's legal team argued that this death penalty sentence would not have happened if not for Corcoran's mental illness.

Corcoran's refusal to accept either of the prosecutor's plea bargains  a guilty plea in exchange for life without parole or a bench trial without the death penalty  was a "product" of his mental illness, they wrote. They described intense delusions and hallucinations they said he experienced as a result of his paranoid schizophrenia and said friends and neighbors noticed "strange behavior" long before his trial, including seeing him talking to himself and nodding his head.

Archbishop Charles C. Thompson of the Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis gives an opening prayer at an anti-death penalty rally on the Indiana Statehouse steps Sunday, Nov. 17, urging Gov. Eric Holcomb not to resume state executions.

"He views his execution not as a punishment but as a means to escape his constant suffering," the statement read. "This is a product of his irrationality, not an indication of his competency."

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Two of Indiana's neighboring states, Ohio and Kentucky, ban capital punishment for those who had a serious mental health condition at the time of their crime.

Protesters receive a message from another inmate on death row

Rejon Taylor, a prisoner on federal death row in Terre Haute, had a message for Sunday's protestors that Laura Lasuertmer, his minister of record, read aloud.

Taylor wondered if Corcoran, like himself, goes back and forth between wanting to live in bleak conditions or hasten his own death to put an end to it. He wondered if Corcoran also ponders the "absurdity of people protesting his looming death a little too late," when the help he needed most was during childhood.

"If we as a society fail to embrace our children, including the marginalized and disadvantaged, when they grow older, they will burn society down to feel its warmth," Taylor wrote. "And your protests at state capitols, or wherever you hold them, will continue in vain, the root issue still unaddressed."

Sylvester Edwards, president of the Terre Haute NAACP, rings a bell in honor of those who've been executed by state and federal governments. Outside the Indiana Statehouse Sunday, Nov. 17, protestors urged Gov. Eric Holcomb not to resume state executions.

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After the rally, participants lined up to ring a large bell that was originally made in 1992 for the Delaware Citizens Opposed to the Death Penalty, who would ring the bell every time there was a state execution. In September this year, the state of Delaware repealed its death penalty, freeing up the bell to travel to other states.

On Sunday, the bell's clang echoed over and over across the lawn of the Indiana Statehouse.

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @kayla_dwyer17.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Protestors call on Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb to stop state executions
In an Egyptian vase, researchers found the remains of a mixture that could cause hallucinations. Scientists suggest that this 2200-year-old liquid may have helped the ancient Egyptians recreate a mythical story.

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After all, the vase depicted the ancient Egyptian dwarf god Bes. According to an ancient legend, Bes calmed the sky goddess Hathor by "serving her an alcoholic drink that contained a plant drug disguised as blood for deep sleep," LiveScience writes.

Who is Bes

Bes (Besu, Bes, Beza) in ancient Egyptian mythology is a generalized name for dwarf deities who were considered guardians of the home, and family, protectors from evil spirits and poisonous animals (including snakes), patrons of fertility, women in labor, and children, according to a historical reference.

Research by scientists

The team of scientists conducted a chemical analysis of the organic residues in the vase, finding traces of wild rue, Egyptian lotus, and a plant of the Cleome genus. "All these plants have psychotropic effects and medicinal properties. We also found the remains of sesame seeds, pine nuts, and grapes, a mixture that was commonly used to make the drink look like blood," the team of scientists said.

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The researchers also found residues of human bodily fluids such as saliva and blood, indicating that people drank the mixture.

Scientists suggest that people in ancient Egypt were trying to recreate the "Myth of the Sun's Eye," where the Imp calmed the sky goddess Hathor with a plant drug.

It is also possible that this hallucinogenic drink was used by people trying to predict the future. "The ritual associated with the cult of the Imps in the Greco-Roman periods included the practice of incubation for oracular purposes, during which consultants slept in the chambers of the Bes-Chambers at Saqqara to receive prophetic dreams," the researchers suggested.

"Egyptologists believe that people visited the so-called chambers of the Imps in Saqqara when they wanted to confirm a successful pregnancy, as pregnancy in the ancient world was associated with danger," said Branko van Oppen, curator of Greek and Roman art at the Tampa Museum of Art.

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
(KRON)  A multi-agency enforcement operation in Antioch over the weekend resulted in four felony arrests and four stolen vehicles recovered, according to the Antioch Police Department (APD). In total, 54 traffic stops were initiated during the enforcement period Saturday night.

The operation conducted by Antioch police with support from the California Highway Patrol and Kensington Police Department targeted crime hot spots, APD said.

Vallejo man stabs wife, admits to killing mother: police

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In one incident Saturday night, officers attempted to pull over an Infiniti in the area of Cavallo Road and 18th Street. The driver refused to stop, police said, and the ensuing pursuit reached speeds of over 110 miles per hour. Officers on the ground backed off of the pursuit, and a CHP helicopter continued following the suspect vehicle from the sky.

The police pursuit ended with the suspect vehicle crashing into a wall on the Loveridge Road overpass, Antioch PD said. The suspects inside the vehicle were detained after initially fleeing on foot. According to police, the vehicle was reported stolen. The juvenile driver was arrested and booked at juvenile hall.

The Antioch Police Department said it plans to continue the proactive enforcement operation in the future.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.
COMANCHE COUNTY (KFDX/KJTL)Serving in the United States military as a member of a Native American tribe is a different experience from serving as a non-native veteran.

Kristopher Killsfirst, with the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, served many years in the U.S. Army and explained what differentiated the experience.

Keep it alive: Apache Tribal Princess sets sights on Native veterans at 89th American Indian Expo

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I am a member of the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma first, and then Im a U.S. citizen, Killsfirst said. When we go to war, native veterans are one of the truly the only ones that goes and fights under two flags.

Upon returning home, veterans from the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma become members of the Blackfeet Society. This group holds not only societal significance within the Apache, but also spiritual significance.

Darrin Cisco, a cultural specialist with the Apache, traces the traditions tied to military service back beyond recorded history.

Whenever somebody is getting ready to be sent off to war or even to train overseas, theres a certain ceremony done for them. Theres a certain ceremony done for them when they come home, Cisco said. That part hasnt changed. We still do those things to this day.

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Killsfirst attributes the Blackfeet Society, and the cultural infrastructure built up around Apache veterans for the successful reintegration of his grandfather when he returned home from Vietnam.

Kiowa tribe celebrates warriors of the past and present on Veterans Day

My grandma ensured that he was welcome home, Killsfirst said. They prayed over him. They said, let those bad things go with your experience. That is self-healing. And that is a cultural healing and a community healing that most veterans dont get.

Years later, when Killsfirst returned home after his service, he was treated to the same ceremonies as his grandfather.

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I, myself, have a song that was made for me by my father-in-law that is still sung to this day, Killsfirst said. So, those are the things that is done. They dont do it for us, they do it because of us.

Whether its singing songs or praying over their returned warriors, traditions like the Blackfeet Society will keep Apache culture alive for many years to come.

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John McLean, 68, was killed in a fatal collision in his hometown in Arizona on Nov. 15

John McLean For LD17/Facebook John McLean John McLean

A Democratic candidate for the Arizona State Senate has been killed in a suspected DUI crash in Arizona.

John McLean, 68, was driving a Toyota RAV4 in his hometown of Tucson on the morning of Friday, Nov. 15, when he was hit and killed by an allegedly drunk driver as they ran through a stop sign at an intersection, the Tucson Police Department confirmed, per The Associated Press, Fox News and CBS affiliate KOLD.

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Police confirmed an incident took place on Friday in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Traffic detectives are investigating a fatal collision this morning involving two vehicles at E. Broadway Blvd. & N. Ridgeside Dr. Expect delays in the area. One person was pronounced deceased at the scene, they wrote.

Related: Ruben Gallego Defeats Kari Lake in Arizona Senate Race to Replace Kyrsten Sinema

The tragic incident occurred one day after McLean conceded his race to his Republican opponent Vince Leach for Arizona state Senate.

The driver who struck McLean has been identified as 27-year-old Michael Martin Creel, according to multiple reports. He was not seriously injured in the crash.

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Creel was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and aggravated driving under the influence and he was sent to Pima County Jail. His arrest comes after a DUI case against him was reportedly dismissed in December 2023, according to court documents obtained by KOLD.

PEOPLE has contacted the Tucson Police Department for further comment.

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The Pima County Democratic Party confirmed McLean's death in a statement posted on Facebook on Friday, writing that they were heartbroken to hear of the tragic death of John McLean by a drunk driver this morning.

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We got to know John on the campaign trail, but as a third-generation Arizonan, he has long served Tucson. We extend our deepest sympathies and prayers for healing to Johns family and loved ones, the party continued.



John was a leader in Pima County even before he stepped up to better our state, and run for Arizona State Senate in Legislative District 17. John was an active outdoorsman and volunteer for many organizations. His advocacy, and philanthropy in education, environmental sustainability, and animal welfare were remarkable, the statement concluded.

Related: Donald Trump Wins Arizona, Completing Swing-State Sweep

On Nov. 14, McLean conceded his race for state senate to rival Leach, 76, writing on Facebook, It has been an honor and a privilege to run as the Democratic candidate for the LD17 Senate seat. While the outcome isnt what we hoped for, I am proud of the work that so many people put into our campaign.

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Leach described McLean as a good man who conducted himself honorably as a candidate and passed his condolences onto his family, per the AP.

Departing Republican Sen. Justine Wadsack also shared a statement to the AP, saying, John was deeply rooted in Tucsons community, was a graduate of the University of Arizona, retired Tucson business owner, and regular volunteer with the Humane Society. This is a travesty in every way.


From left: J.P. Tribell, Tom Bartole and Steve Grappe deliver petitions for a ballot initiative to exempt feminine hygiene products and diapers from the state sales tax to the Secretary of State at the Arkansas Capitol on Friday, July 5, 2024. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)

Looking back on the controversy and chicanery surrounding this years ballot initiatives in Arkansas, a few things are clear for groups who might want to make use of this power given to the people by our Constitution.

First, youll probably need at least two election cycles to get your idea before voters. Next, make sure your paperwork is pristine and follows all of the byzantine rules, even if theyre contradictory or unclear. Also, if the attorney general eventually approves your ballot language (likely to take weeks of negotiation) and the secretary of state certifies your petition signatures (that youve spent months collecting in the summer sun), dont be surprised if the Supreme Court steps in to render your work moot.

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And even if your initiative passes, prepare for your opponents to push an initiative in a future election to undo what you did.

So, Regnat Populus (the people rule), with a considerable number of frustrating, infuriating hurdles.

Sponsors of six constitutional amendments got approval to collect signatures during the 2024 election cycle, on topics including abortion, medical marijuana, the Freedom of Information Act, sales taxes on feminine hygiene products, stopping a casino in Pope County that voters approved in 2018, guaranteeing universal pre-K and requiring private schools getting taxpayer subsidies to meet state standards.

To some extent, this burst of grassroots energy stemmed from frustration over state leaders actions  in banning abortion, passing school vouchers without accountability and trying to gut the FOIA  or inaction in refusing to repeal the pink tax on feminine hygiene products, as 25 other states have done.

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But of these six amendments, only one  Issue 2, the casino amendment  made it to election day unscathed, sparking a proxy fight between two Oklahoma-based Native American tribes who spent $30 million blanketing the airwaves with relentless ad campaigns.

The final irony, in an initiative season chock full of them, was that voters in Pope County supported keeping their casino by voting against the amendment, but voters statewide approved the amendment that would kill it. Adding to the irony: after opponents of Issue 2 then sued in federal court, Attorney General Tim Griffin is, in November, defending an amendment that he fought to invalidate in October.

The abortion and medical marijuana amendments were signed by more than enough voters to qualify for the ballot. But the Supreme Court sided with Griffin and Secretary of State John Thurston in invalidating the abortion amendment over paperwork issues regarding signed certifications for paid canvassers and later decided that ballot language for the medical marijuana amendment, approved by Griffin, wasnt sufficient after all.

The 4-3 majority blocking the abortion amendment included a justice appointed by Gov. Sarah Sanders, a fierce opponent of legal abortion. The 4-3 majority against the marijuana amendment included two temporary justices she appointed to hear the case after two elected justices recused themselves.

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The legal back-and-forth here stems from the patchwork of laws regulating the ballot initiative process, passed over the years by legislators who historically have been hostile to ceding their lawmaking powers to voters. With a bewildering array of requirements and multiple layers of approval, this process has become needlessly complicated and contradictory to the spirit behind the initiative process  to empower the people to check the will of elected officials.

In 1920, Arkansas voters passed Amendment 7, giving themselves the right to put constitutional amendments and statutes on the ballot for approval, as well as the ability to repeal laws passed by the legislature. This measure was pushed by Gov. George Donaghey and populist politicians who wanted to curb the power of legislators; Williams Jennings Bryan even barnstormed the state in support, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Having an initiative process makes Arkansas unusual among Southern states; only Florida and Oklahoma also give citizens this right.

The original idea was that if a certain number of voters (a percentage of the number who voted for governor in the last election) signed a petition, an initiative could get on the ballot for all voters to decide. Donaghey and Bryan might perhaps be chagrined to discover, then, that voters in 2024 were prevented from deciding issues because of how paperwork was signed, or because judges stepped in to parse language that voters could have parsed themselves.

No one has claimed that fraud was committed by the sponsors of these amendments; enough legitimate registered voters signed each to qualify them for the ballot under Amendment 7. Yet voters were prevented from deciding either, which is the right the initiative process is designed to secure.

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In recent years, legislators have also touted changes theyve made to the initiative process  including a constitutionally dubious requirement to meet signature thresholds in at least 50 counties  as necessary to protect Arkansans from big money and out-of-state interests. Yet, ironically, Issue 2 and the medical marijuana amendment  backed by deep pockets and out-of-state players  got much further than citizen-led initiatives that relied on volunteers to collect signatures. And the lawyering became a cottage industry.

While opponents of legal abortion and expanding medical marijuana have succeeded in blocking these measures, their triumph may prove short lived. Indeed, 2026 is likely to feel a bit like the movie Groundhog Day, as sponsors of all five of the amendments that didnt make it to voters in 2024 are vowing to try again. (The education amendment and pink tax repeal sponsors have already resubmitted their ballot language.) And if opponents of Issue 2 dont win in federal court, expect another big-money effort two years from now to restore the Pope County casino.

Sponsors should have some advantages in 2026. Their ballot language has already been approved, which should make getting approval from Griffin easier, and they can avoid the paperwork issues flagged by the Supreme Court. They will also start with a database of voters and grassroots anger over what happened this year.

Then again, legislators who opposed these ballot initiatives will be returning to the Capitol in January, with the opportunity to come up with new and creative ways to muddy the purpose and intent of Amendment 7. Supporters of direct democracy should brace themselves for new trouble.

Editors note: This story was updated at 11:05 a.m. on Nov. 18 to reflect the correct year that Amendment 7 was passed.

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued separate executive orders Monday to release $30,000 to two states dealing with recent natural disasters.

The funding is apportioned as $5,000 to New Mexico and $25,000 to Florida. In both cases the money was released under the mutual aid Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC).

Disaster loan deadline approaching in Arkansas for Small Business Administration working capital program

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The funds to New Mexico are in response to wildfires, severe weather and flooding that has affected that state beginning in June, the governors order states.

The Florida funds are in response to Hurricane Milton on Oct. 10 and its damage to that state.

In both cases the funding is from the Governors Disaster Response and Recovery Fund and used at the discretion of the Director of the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management to defray both program and administrative costs, the order states.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signs executive order adding funds for disaster recovery

The governor confirmed in the order that all EMAC requests are reimbursable from requesting states and territories, and funds will be returned to the Governors Disaster Response and Recovery Fund once received.

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INDIANA COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ)  A call for shots fired led to a three-hour police standoff in Indiana County.

Jeffrey S. Renwick, 46. of Coral, was placed behind bars without bail after shots were fired at a home on Cedar Street Nov. 14 at around 3:22 p.m. A witness called 911 saying Renwick came out of his house and fired a gun multiple times.

Troopers responded to find shell casing on the ground and Renwick in his home, refusing to come out. According to state police, Renwick had firearms in the home and SERT (Special Emergency Response Team) had to be called.

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By around 6:30 p.m., Renwick finally emerged from his residence and was taken into custody, troopers said. He was placed in Indiana County Prison with bail denied due to the nature of the incident.

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.

Troopers noted that no injuries were reported, however, the shots fired caused residents in the area to shelter in place.

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HONOLULU (KHON2)  If youre among the thousands of people who sit at a computer all day, you may be at risk of developing hand or wrist problems such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. KHON2s Jodi Leong discussed carpal tunnel with Dr. Geraldine Faivre, a neurologist at The Queens Medical Center-West Oahu.

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Its a compression of the medial nerve at the wrist. The carpal tunnel is located at the wrist, between the bones and tendons. And the medial nerve goes through that. It can decompress, which will cause numbness, tingling in the first three fingers. Some people will have tingling and numbness in the whole hand or up to the elbow, said Faivre.

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When should you get a colonoscopy screening?

Carpal tunnel is caused by using your hands too much.

It can be while youre typing, brushing your hair, or extending your wrists for prolonged periods of time, said Faivre. Also, repetitive movements, using vibration tools, hormonal changes such as diabetes, thyroid issues, obesity, even pregnancy. And if youve had a wrist injury, trauma, fracture, or rheumatologic diseases  you could develop carpal tunnel.

And dont forget to take breaks.

I would say, dont wait until it hurts. If it hurts, you probably already have carpal tunnel. Be aware of your posture. Its not just the hand, but its also the head, the neck, the back. You can also prevent some back pain. You can also find some ergonomic tools that will prevent you from extending your wrist for too long. And then take a break, maybe every two hours, and its good to stretch your legs anyway, said Faivre.

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Dr. Faivre also recommends being aware of your posture and avoid putting your hand in a prolonged extension or flexion.

So, when youre working, maybe use some ergonomic tools like a mouse of keyboard that are adapted for carpal tunnel, and take some breaks. When youre driving, pay attention to how you place your hand on the wheel and avoid extending or flexing your hand for too long. If its not enough, you can use a brace or a wrist splint, added Faivre.

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Other options include a steroid injection in the wrist and surgical decompression.

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To learn more about the services provided by Queens-West Neuroscience Institute, call (808) 691-3135.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  A jury ruled in favor of a former agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on Friday, nearly four years after he sued the City of Columbus after an encounter with local police.

James Burk, an ATF agent who was on assignment in central Ohio, filed the lawsuit in December 2020. The case came a few months after Burk accused Columbus police officers Joseph Fihe and Kevin Winchell of blatant misconduct when they approached him, on duty and carrying credentials identifying his federal agency.

Burks attorneys wrote in a complaint document that the ATF agent had gone to a home in Columbus to retrieve an illegally-owned shotgun, but the woman inside refused to open their door and instead called Columbus police. The resident  who claimed was she home alone with her children  did notify dispatchers that Burk said he was with the ATF, and Burks attorneys noted that information was passed on to Fihe and Winchell.

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Any reasonable officer arriving at the scene would have simply confirmed Agent Burks credentials, then offered him assistance or cleared from the scene, attorneys from the firm Cooper Elliot wrote. Instead, the officers who did arrive immediately drew their weapons on Agent Burk, berated him, manhandled him, repeatedly tased him, cuffed him and locked him in the back of a police cruiser.

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Attorneys for the City of Columbus would later claim, in a filing for summary judgement, that the Columbus Division of Police had no way to verify Burks ATF credentials. They added that police hadnt received any heads up in advance from the federal agent that he would be retrieving a firearm in their area.

When the pair of Columbus police arrived at the home, Burk turned to them and put his hands up. Both officers responded by pulling out their guns and ordering Burk to get on the ground. Defense attorneys later claimed Burk refused to get on the ground, yelling to the officers that he was a federal agent.

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The officers eventually moved to restrain Burk, and began tasing him while trying to place him in handcuffs. Even after seeing Burks ATF credentials while restraining him on the ground, neither officer released him and instead tried to shove him in the back of a police cruiser, according to the complaint document. Defense attorneys later wrote that Fihe did not believe plaintiff was an actual federal agent given his behavior and the ease of falsifying badges. Burk was eventually released an hour later with no charges against him.

Later on after the encounter, Burks lawyers said he discovered that Fihe and Winchell were also making light of evidence from the incident.

Defendants shared body camera footage of the incident broadly within the Columbus Police Department and others outside CPD, they wrote. The footage was shared not for any proper purpose, but rather to ridicule and embarrass Agent Burk.

Burks attorneys sought compensation and punitive damages for their client in an unspecified amount in the original filing. They claimed that Burk suffered lasting physical and mental injuries from the incident, and was so injured from the encounter that he was unable to continue doing his job in an investigative and effective capacity. He was ultimately moved from field work to a purely administrative and support position.

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The Columbus City Attorneys Office served as legal counsel for the defendants, denying all but the basic facts of the case, or claiming a lack of knowledge in response to the complaint. Burks attorneys stopped pursuing the City of Columbus as a defendant after a judge ruled on the motion for summary judgment. But the case against the pair of officers did ultimately go before a jury trial starting Tuesday. The jurors returned a verdict in favor of Burk, noting among other damages that the officers directly caused the federal agents post-traumatic stress disorder. Burk and his wife, who also claimed damages as a plaintiff, ultimately earned $1.6 million from the case.

Todays verdict sends a clear message: Our community will hold officers accountable when they abuse their power and violate peoples rights, attorneys from Cooper Elliot told NBC4. We are grateful the jury recognized the tremendous harm this incident caused Jim and his wife, Summer.

Fihe and Winchell remain employed with CPD as of Friday, according to records from the Ohio Attorney Generals Office. Both officers have worked for the division since 2001.

Read the original complaint document, filed in 2020, below:

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Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder gives the thumbs up as he enters a federal courthouse in Cincinnati. (Photo from WEWS.)

The attorney for former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder said that his team is using the convicted felons power  and his connections to President-elect Donald Trump  to get out of prison.

The jury foreman from the speakers case is furious, arguing that this is the exact kind of corruption for which Householder was convicted.

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Back in 2019, Householder took a $61 million bribe in exchange for legislation to give FirstEnergy a $1 billion bailout, named H.B. 6, all at the expense of the taxpayers.

In March 2023, a jury found that Householder and former GOP leader Matt Borges participated in the racketeering scheme that left four men guilty and another dead by suicide.

In late June of that year, federal Judge Timothy Black sentenced Householder to 20 years in prison. Borges got five years. The two surviving defendants  Jeff Longstreth and Juan Cespedes  are awaiting sentencing after taking plea agreements early on and helping the FBI. The feds are asking for zero to six months for them.

At the end of 2023, former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, Sam Randazzo, pleaded not guilty after being charged with a dozen crimes related to bribery and embezzlement. He allegedly received more than $4.3 million from FirstEnergy. The utility company has already admitted it bribed everyone.

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Then 2024 hit.

Former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones, former FirstEnergy Senior Vice President Michael Dowling and Randazzo were all hit with state bribery charges. Each pleaded not guilty during their joint arraignment in Akron in mid-February. They are accused of masterminding the corruption scheme.

Randazzo committed suicide in April. He is the second man, out of eight, to take his own life after being connected to the scandal. Neil Clark, a lobbyist accused of bribery, died after pleading not guilty in 2021.

In the summer, OCJ/WEWS uncovered text messages showing that Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted have close ties to the FirstEnergy executives, and Husted helped lead the charge to get H.B. 6 to pass.

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Householder is still working his way through the appeals process. He and his attorneys have defended his innocence the entire time.

New beginnings

A new administration means new beginnings, but not just for Trump.

Larry Householder is looking for an escape  literally.

Its a humiliating experience, Householders campaign attorney Scott Pullins said.

In 2023, the former speaker was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for racketeering.

Its not [an] experience I recommend for anyone, he added. At the same time, hes gotten some exercise. Hes lost a lot of weight.

Pullins told me that after sitting, or rather working out, in a cell for a year and a half, Householder is about to call in a favor.

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Larry has a long history with Donald Trump, Pullins said. I think hell be particularly receptive to this clemency request.

Pullins is working with Householder to start the request for clemency, first with a reduction in his sentence and then a full pardon  which means no more criminal record.

The justice system can be turned as a weapon against people for political purposes, the lawyer said.

Householders team believes that the FBI was politically motivated in arresting the former speaker.

This argument could appeal to the president, Case Western Reserve University criminal law professor Mike Benza explained.

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One of the things that we know that President-elect Trump is interested in is what he sees as political forces working in the Department of Justice, especially targeting Republicans, Benza said.

Householder knows Trump well and spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention. They kept in touch throughout the years, Pullins said.

FirstEnergy, who has already admitted to bribing Householder, also admitted in subpoenaed records that they paid millions to try to influence Trump when he was president in 2017, according to the Energy and Policy Institute.

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Republican Attorney General Dave Yost is not impressed with this pardon attempt. He said that this isnt a get-out-of-jail-free card for Householder.

He is also indicted on state charges, state criminal charges, Yost said. A federal pardon will not reach those charges if hes convicted of them.

The ex-speaker has pleaded not guilty to 10 felony charges in Cuyahoga County.

Pullins believes that Yost is also politically motivated and is jealous of Householder for getting to speak at the RNC. The AG has continued to deny any personal baggage in cases he prosecutes and has asserted that Householder just committed crimes.

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We think that if his federal conviction is overturned or is pardoned, it will send a strong message to Dave Yost that these charges are bogus, Pullins said.

Pullins said he doesnt plan on reaching out to other Statehouse executives, like DeWine or Husted because they helped scapegoat Householder into being the only one to face consequences from this situation.

DeWines team had no comment about the start of the clemency request process.

Same stuff, different day?

The foreman for the jury in the Householder federal trial did an exclusive, in-depth interview in 2023, and had more to say following the new developments.

My instant thought was, he didnt learn his lesson, Jarrod Haines, the foreman, said on Friday. Householder used his position and his power to better himself, along the way he ruined many individuals lives. Dont remember seeing an apology from him to the people of Ohio, instead hed rather undermine ole Bob and Betty Buckeye to cut his sentence short.

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He added that Householder was, once again, using power to get what he wanted.

I definitely feel like he is using his connections to skip his sentence, he said. I would feel that the justice system failed if he would be pardoned. I would feel that my time as a juror was wasted. Even though I think it was a very valuable experience for me, my life was interrupted for seven weeks.

Benza understood this reaction.

That would be an interpretation for many people that this is just another example of the entire system being bankrupt and corrupt because if you have the political power, you face no repercussions for violating the law, the professor said.

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Pullins was asked about the appearance that Householder could be using his connections in order to get out of prison.

Well, yeah. He is, he responded. Hopefully he has some friends left that can help.

This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.

Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.

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Google has officially launched a separate Gemini app for iPhone users. The artificial intelligence assistant is now available in the App Store in 35 languages worldwide, which is an important step in expanding access to AI technologies.

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This launch allows Google to compete with other leading companies, such as Apple, in the field of personal assistants. The new app promises an improved user experience and additional features that can make everyday tasks much easier.

Gemini was previously available only through the Google app or web browsers, but now iOS users have a separate platform for interacting with AI. The app is focused on intuitiveness and convenience, making it easy to perform both creative tasks and increase productivity. Particularly noteworthy is the Gemini Live feature, which provides natural multilingual conversations with a chatbot.

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Gemini Live, available in 12 languages, allows for human-like conversations, making it ideal for learning new topics, discussing ideas, or preparing for interviews. In addition, users can personalize the bot's voice with 10 different options, which adds to the flexibility of use.

Google pays special attention to learning opportunities. Gemini adapts to the individual style of users, offering interactive tests, step-by-step explanations, and even the creation of curricula. For example, the application can turn diagrams into test tasks to check knowledge, which will be useful for students and teachers.

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In addition to learning, Gemini also supports creativity with its Imagen 3 feature. This technology allows you to create realistic images from text descriptions. Although a Gemini Advanced subscription is required to create photos of people, the app limits the generation of images of real people to avoid abuse.

The application integrates with the Google ecosystem, including Gmail, Calendar, and Maps. Thanks to the extensions, users can receive relevant information while communicating with the bot, which greatly simplifies the workflow and saves time.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Attorneys for the family of Tyre Nichols have renewed their claims that the City of Memphis has launched a smear campaign against them.

The allegations surfaced in a Sunday court filing in the familys $550 million lawsuit against the city. Their lawyers accused the city of trying to poison the jury pool by putting salacious and false stories in a motion filed Friday, which were later reported by some local news outlets.

This comes just months before the case is set to go to trial.

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According to the motion filed by the family against the City of Memphis, the filing sets out tantalizing claims, which taken out of context and presented without the transcripts to provide the full facts, invite the public to assume improper motives and low character of Mr. Nichols, his mother, the mother of Mr. Nichols child, and the familys council.

Trial date set for Tyre Nichols familys $550M lawsuit against Memphis

The motion seeks the following actions:

1.) Asks that the court seal information regarding Nichols child and his childs mother.

2.) Asks that the court enter an order admonishing the City and its attorneys for filing the motion in the manner that they did, and warn them against making similar filings in the future.

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3.) Asks that the court give the family permission to cure the prejudice caused by the Citys motion at the jury selection stage. If the salacious details stated in the Citys motion are not introduced to the public record or deemed admissible for trial, the family requests the ability to submit a questionnaire to potential jurors which will determine if any of them know of the information in the Citys motion. If a potential juror shows that they are aware of the information, the family should have the right to strike the juror.

As stated in the motion, None of this information, it bears repeating, is relevant to the claims and defenses in this case. It is, rather, information that the City gathered using the Courts subpoena power, and has now published via the Citys Motion to generate negative connotations about the personal lives of an American family that has been thrust into public life by the horrific acts of the Citys own employees.

The trial date for the familys lawsuit against the city is set for January 27, 2025, which is exactly two years from the date the city released the video of Nichols beating.

According to the Associated Press, three of the former officers charged  Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith  will stand trial on state charges on April 28.

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They pleaded not guilty to state charges of second-degree murder in the death of Nichols, who was punched, kicked, and hit with a police baton after he fled a traffic stop in January 2023.

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.
(Bloomberg) -- Australias plan to cap international student numbers looks set to be blocked after opposition politicians decided to vote against the proposed laws, even after they had repeatedly urged cuts to migration.

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The Australian parliament was expected to debate the legislation in the coming two weeks, the final sitting period for the year. The government said it would limit foreign student commencements at 270,000 for 2025 under the new laws.

The plan comes as the center-left Labor government seeks solutions to a surge in immigration and an unprecedented housing crisis ahead of a federal election due by May.

Sarah Henderson, education spokesperson for the center-right Liberal-National coalition, said Monday that the bill is chaotic and confusing and fails to address the structural issues the government has created.

We cannot support measures which will only serve to compound this crisis of the governments making. Based on their record so far we have absolutely no confidence the government is capable of fixing its immigration mess, Henderson said in a statement. The Greens Party has also rejected the proposed laws, leaving the government without the numbers in the Australian Senate to pass the legislation.

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Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has previously said he would limit net international migration, including students, to 160,000, without specifically outlining how the numbers would be achieved.

The proposed law would bring the number of new international students across higher education and vocational training back to pre-pandemic levels, the government has said.

You cant talk tough on immigration and then vote against putting a limit on the number of people that come to this country every year, Education Minister Jason Clare told Parliament on Monday, responding to the Oppositions policy shift.

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Speaking after the announcement, Universities Australia Chief Executive Officer Luke Sheehy said the decision to block the law merely lengthened a phony war blaming international students on the migration and housing issue.

Both sides of politics need to get real about investing in Australias world-class university sector that relies so much on international student revenue, he said.

(Updates with further details, comments)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  Australian senators on Monday voted to censure an Indigenous colleague who yelled at King Charles III during a reception in Parliament House last month.

The censure of independent Sen. Lidia Thorpe is a symbolic gesture that records her colleagues disapproval of her conduct during the first visit to Australia by a British monarch in 13 years.

The motion was carried 46 votes to 12.

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Government leader in the Senate Penny Wong said Thorpes outburst sought to incite outrage and grievance.

This is part of a trend that we do see internationally which, quite frankly, we do not need here in Australia, Wong told the Senate.

Thorpe launched an expletive-laden rant at Charles following his speech during his visit to Canberra and Sydney.

You are not our king. You are not sovereign, Thorpe yelled at Charles as she was led by security guards from the reception.

You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us: our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people, she added.

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Following her censure, Thorpe said she would repeat her rant if Charles returned.

If the colonizing king were to come to my country again, our country, then Ill do it again, Thorpe told reporters.

And I will keep doing it. I will resist colonization in this country. I swear my allegiance to the real sovereigns of these lands; First Peoples are the real sovereigns. You dont have some random king rock up and say hes sovereign, she added.

Sen. Mehreen Faruqi, a member of the minor Greens party, opposed the censure motion.

The bubble of white privilege that encapsulates this parliament is a systemic issue, Faruqi said. Thats why we are here today, debating a Black senator being censured for telling the truth of the British crowns genocide on First Nations people and telling it the way she wants to."

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The vote took place before Thorpe arrived on a flight from Melbourne. Thorpe said she had wanted to be in Parliament for the vote but government senators refused to wait.

Indigenous people account for fewer than 4% of Australia's population and are the nation's most disadvantaged ethnic group.
By Renju Jose

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's Senate on Monday censured an Indigenous woman parliamentarian over her protest against King Charles during his visit to the parliament last month when she accused the British monarch of genocide.

Independent senator and Indigenous activist Lidia Thorpe shouted that she did not accept Charles' sovereignty over Australia moments after he delivered a speech in which he paid his "respects to the traditional owners of the lands".

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Both the ruling Labor party and the opposition coalition supported the censure motion, which will not have any legal or constitutional consequences and is only considered as a symbolic move by lawmakers when they disagree on a member's conduct.

Thorpe's protest was disruptive and she did not respect the democratic institutions, the motion said.

The British monarch is Australia's head of state.

Thorpe, a DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman, called the members who supported the motion "hypocrites" and said the censure process was a ploy to divert attention away from the real issues affecting Australia.

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"I'll do it again, and I'll do it every time," Thorpe shouted in parliament when Simon Birmingham, the opposition leader in the Senate, was making his comments on the motion.

"They want me to kneel, to be silent, to disappear, but let me be clear ... my loyalty lies with my people, with justice, not with a government or a crown that has systematically worked to erase us," Thorpe said.

Thorpe, who has disrupted previous events protesting over Britain's colonisation of Australia, had to retake her oath of office in 2022 after she tweaked it to label Queen Elizabeth a coloniser. She was told to recite the affirmation - a form of parliamentary oath that omits a reference to God - as written.

Australia has struggled for decades to reconcile with its Indigenous citizens, who make up 3.8% of the country's 27 million population, and are, by most socio-economic measures, the most disadvantaged people in the country.

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Their ancestors arrived on the continent some 50,000 years before British colonists yet were marginalised during colonial rule and are not mentioned in Australia's 123-year-old constitution.

The Senate also passed a censure motion against United Australia Party senator Ralph Babet for offensive comments on social media platform X after the election of Donald Trump as U.S. President.

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Michael Perry)
Nov. 18 (UPI) -- An Indigenous Australian senator was censured by fellow lawmakers Monday for a "disrespectful and disruptive" outburst at Britain's King Charles III as he addressed dignitaries in the Great Hall of Parliament in Canberra during a state visit in October.

Lawmakers voted 46-12 to censure independent Sen. Lidia Thorpe and bar her from membership of any delegation representing the chamber after she yelled "you are not my king" and "this is not your land," in an effort to publicize the fact many Indigenous Australians never relinquished sovereignty or their land to Britain.

The censure is a symbolic slap on the wrist only with no consequences, legally or politically.

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Thorpe said after the vote that she had been denied the right to defend herself in front of her colleagues because her flight to Canberra had been delayed and vowed she would continue to speak out about Australia's colonial beginnings and how they continued to disadvantage first nation peoples to this day.

"You've only given me more exposure and if the colonizing king were to come back to Australia, I would do it again," she said.

"The censure is a diversion away from the real issues in this country," she added accusing the ruling Labor-led coalition of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of trying to silence her.

"The British Crown committed heinous crimes against the first peoples of this country. I will not be silent," said Thorpe who has been campaigning for a treaty between the Australian government and its Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples, in line with New Zealand and other former colonies of Britain.

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in 2022, Thorpe refused to swear allegiance to the crown when she was sworn in for her second term as senator for Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab-Wurrung in the state of Victoria, prefacing "Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second" with the phrase "the colonizing," raising questions over her constitutional status in the legislature.

In an October 2023 referendum, Australia voted overwhelmingly against against a proposed constitutional amendment giving increased political rights to Indigenous people and to establish "The Voice," a representative advisory body.

Thorpe's censure came two weeks after the newly elected mayor and four councilors of a city in northwestern Canada's Yukon territory refused to swear an oath to Charles, despite doing so being a requirement to take office.

The Yukon's municipal act required the Dawson City politicians to take an oath of allegiance to the British monarch within 40 days or face having their election victories voided, triggering fresh elections.

The five swore or affirmed the required oath of office, but refused to take the oath of allegiance.
CHIBA, Japan (AP)  An Australian accused of smuggling amphetamines in a suitcase appeared in a Japanese court on Monday nearly two years after her arrest, saying she is innocent and that she was tricked into carrying them as part of an online romance scam.

Donna Nelson from Perth, Australia, was arrested at Japans Narita International Airport just outside Tokyo when customs officials found about 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of stimulants, or phenylaminopropane, hidden in a double-bottom suitcase she was carrying.

Nelson, 58, said she received the suitcase from an acquaintance of a man she met on social media in 2020, and brought it from Laos to Tokyo as instructed. She was supposed to meet up with the man in Japan but he never showed up, according to prosecutors.

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She was arrested on the spot and later charged with violating the stimulants control and customs laws. She has been in custody for nearly two years.

Mondays trial comes just weeks after the recent acquittal of an 88-year-old former boxer, Iwao Hakamada, who was on death row for about half a century on wrongful murder convictions. That case rekindled concerns about Japans largely closed-door investigation processes and lengthy trials.

Nelson, in a brief statement at the Chiba District Court near Tokyo, said she did not know the drugs were hidden in the suitcase and that she was carrying them for a man she thought she loved. The man told her he was the Nigerian owner of a fashion business and paid for her trip to Japan via Laos, her lawyers said.

Prosecutors acknowledged the case is linked to a romance scam but accused Nelson of smuggling the drugs, claiming she knew the contents of the suitcase.

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A verdict is expected on Dec. 4.

Nelson entered the courtroom escorted by a pair of uniformed guards who removed her handcuffs and a rope around her waist as she took a seat to stand trial. She repeatedly looked toward her daughters who were seated in the audience.

It was an emotional moment for her and her family to see each other for the first time since her arrest.

One of Nelsons daughters, Kristal Hilaire, said she wants the court to know her mother is a good person.

She thought she was coming to Japan for her love story. She didnt have any other intentions other than that. And thats what we need everyone to know and hear at the court this week, Hilaire said.

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The daughter added that the family is just trying to be strong because when mom locks her eyes with us, I want her to feel our strength and that she will feed off that.

Nelsons lawyer Rie Nishida said that customs officials' limited English-language ability might have led to mistranslations and the accusation that Nelson knew what she was carrying.

In Monday's trial, a customs official testified that his colleague was mainly asking questions to Nelson in English but ended up calling an interpreter and what she had said earlier was only summed up in Japanese during an interview that was not recorded.

Nishida asked the judges and a jury panel of citizens to carefully listen to Nelson, who she said was finally given a capable court interpreter, to make a fair judgement.

___

Associated Press video journalist Mayuko Ono contributed to this report.
By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met China's President Xi Jinping in Brazil on Monday, as Beijing seeks to promote Australia as a model for trading with China in a Trump era, even as Canberra draws closer defence ties with Washington.

The meeting with Xi, which took place on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, comes a year after Albanese travelled to Beijing to end a years-long diplomatic dispute that saw billions of dollars worth of Australian exports to its largest trading partner blocked.

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Albanese said there had been "encouraging progress in the stabilisation of our relationship".

"Trade is flowing more freely to the benefit of both countries and to people and businesses on both sides," he said, according to an official transcript of his opening remarks.

Australia and China would look for opportunities to cooperate in energy transition and climate change, he said.

Meanwhile, Xi told Albanese, their relationship had achieved a turnaround and the two countries were maintaining a positive momentum of development, according to China's official Xinhua News Agency.

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Xi said he hoped Australia would provide a non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies, Xinhua reported.

The pledge by the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump to impose hefty tariffs on China appears in contrast to Australia's policy of stabilising ties and exporting iron ore, gas and agricultural produce to China's complementary economy, analysts said.

Albanese said on Sunday he would not get involved in bilateral relations between Beijing and Washington, when asked by reporters about Trump's pledge of China tariffs.

Albanese told reporters Australia had not changed its position on any of the differences it has with Beijing.

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U.S. Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy, said in a speech on Monday that Australia was "hand's down our most glorious friend".

She highlighted increased defence cooperation between Washington and Canberra, and plans to develop Australia's critical minerals sector to break China's "chokehold".

"Australian policy with Washington in the Trump era looks increasingly like it is going to be running on two tracks  with deepening and intensifying ties in security, with a more discordant and combative relationship on trade," said Lowy Institute senior fellow for East Asia, Richard McGregor.

In an editorial last week, the state-owned China Daily newspaper said Australia was a model for U.S. allies in a Trump era, because it had shaken off Washington's "anti-China spell" to balance trade with China.

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney and Ethan Wang and Yukun Zhang in Beijing; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Alison Williams)
Victoria Beckham's fashion brand specializes in luxurious yet truly comfortable and functional items. And the best proof of this is that the designer herself regularly wears the clothes she creates.

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The other day, Beckham was spotted walking in Paris wearing a coat from her own fashion house. According to Who What Wear, the star's outerwear looked both luxurious and dramatic, while protecting its owner from the weather.

The designer demonstrated a trend that can instantly make any outfit look expensive. The secret is that she abandoned the fabric's fluffy texture, which influencers loved this season so much. She preferred traditional woolen fabric for her coat. This material always looks more expensive and elegant. It is a timeless classic that will easily survive any exotic trends.

In addition, the outerwear in which Beckham appeared had a constructive detail such as a pipe collar. When turned up and buttoned, it perfectly protects the neck and face from cold wind and snow. This makes the coat not only stylish and sophisticated but also very functional. This season, such collars are also extremely popular.

Subscribe to OBOZ.UA channels on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events.
Authoritarianism expert Timothy Snyder slammed President-elect Donald Trumps controversial Cabinet picks and explained why he believes they are intentionally terrible.

These appointments are not just poor choices in the traditional sense, Snyder, a history professor at Yale, told MSNBCs Ali Velshi.

Each of them individually is historically bad, he acknowledged. But taken together, these are not people who are going to be bad at their jobs in some sort of normal sense. Taken together, these appointments suggest an attempt to actually make the American government dysfunctional, to make it fall apart, to pervert it, to have it do things that its not supposed to do until its not capable of doing anything at all.

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Its not just that these people are not qualified enough or even totally unqualified, said Snyder.

Its that they are anti-qualified, he continued. They are qualified to do the opposite of the thing that they are supposed to do.

Among Trumps most controversial selections are former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to lead the U.S. intelligence services, Fox News personality Pete Hegseth as defense secretary and former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) as attorney general.

Its part of a coherent strategy on the notion that the American government should be falling apart, American society should be in chaos, and it would be a good thing, said Snyder.

Watch Snyders full analysis here:

Related...
Ford currently stands as the sixth-largest automaker in the world by sales, but a Chinese automotive company could be taking its place by the end of the year. BYD has seen explosive growth in 2024, selling more than 500,000 vehicles in October alone. If BYD passes Ford, it will be the first of the Big Three Detroit automakers on the list to fall.

Related: Ford CEO's Chinese EV joyride sparks outrage

BYD is eying global expansion amid phenomenal sales

BYD, which stands for Build Your Dreams, has seen explosive growth over the past two years, taking Chinas domestic market by storm. Now, the Chinese automaker is eying global expansion, with plans to build production facilities in Thailand, Turkey, Hungary, and Brazil, among others.

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In Q3 2024, BYDs revenue jumped 24% to $28.2 billion, handily topping Teslas $25.2 billion. In terms of profit, however, Tesla remained the top dog, bringing in $2.2 billion versus BYDs $1.6 billion. Notably, Tesla benefited from the $7,500 federal tax credit, BYD received electric car grants from the Chinese government. While BYD may be struggling to topple Tesla completely, its having no trouble moving up the list of the worlds top-selling automakers.

Tesla Model 3

In 2023, BYD sold just over three million vehicles, with its vehicles available in over 70 countries and six continents. As of 11 November 2024, BYD has sold more than 3.25 million vehicles. In the third quarter, BYD sold over 1.1 million vehicles, with more than 500,000 models sold in October alone.

BYD has yet to enter the United States market, but that could change soon with a simple change of mind. While a tariff could prevent Chinese vehicles sales in the United States, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement of 2020 could offer BYD a loophole. The automaker plans to build a production facility in Mexico. That could give the Chinese automotive company a way into both the United States - if they wanted to, that is.

The Alliance For American Manufacturing released a report earlier this year indicating that cheap Chinese vehicles could be an extinction-level event for the U.S. auto sector. As of February 2024, however, BYDs executive vice president Stella Li stated the company isnt planning on breaking into the United States anytime soon.

Related: Ford F-150 Lightning production halted: A sign of waning EV demand?

Legacy automakers are struggling in China

Until recently, foreign automotive brands ruled Chinas automotive industry. In 2020, Chinas domestic automakers held just over a third of the countrys market share. Today, they account for more than 60%. That shift has caused major issues among legacy automakers, and the aftershocks have been brutal.

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Legacy automakers are struggling amid the switch to electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles that meet the needs of consumers at an affordable price. Sales figures and revenue dont lie, but some executives seem to have had their heads buried in the sand until recently. Now the question is whether its too late to right the ship.

BYD E-Seed GT electric concept Bloomberg via Getty Images

Nissan is facing a situation so severe that the Japanese automaker is cutting its global production by 20% and laying off more than 9,000 employees. CEO Makoto Uchida is reducing his monthly salary by 50% as Nissan cuts its annual profit forecast by 70% to $975 million. This is the second time this year that the Japanese automaker lowered its forecast. Nissan also sold a third of its stock in Mitsubishi for a desperately needed cash infusion.

Stellantis, which owns Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and Fiat, has faced sales struggles with consecutive quarterly reports showing at least a 20% decline in sales. The finger pointing has been pretty wild, with dealers claiming theyd been warning executives for years, while Stellantis scolded the dealers for doing so publicly.

Meanwhile, the UAW is threatening strike in the United States, Italian workers are airing their frustrations, and shareholders are filing lawsuits over the stocks dramatic decline. Jeeps joint venture in China filed for bankruptcy in 2022, and should have been a major red flag for the parent company.

(Left to right) New 2024 Jeep Wrangler Willys, Wrangler Rubicon 392, Wrangler Rubicon X 4xe and Wrangler High Altitude 4xe

German automakers aren't doing great either, with Volkswagen announcing its plans to close at least three of its German production facilities. VWs labor unions are already fighting back, with a potential strike starting in December if the two cant come to terms.

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VW not only plans to close three of its facilities, but slash worker pay by 10% on top of the thousands of jobs lost with the closures. BMW and Mercedes-Benz also issued profit warnings in October, indicating they may take drastic measures in the near future as well.

Hyundai and Honda are also struggling in China, and Mitsubishi withdrew from the country entirely in 2023. Ford and General Motors are also cutting their production capacities in China. Tesla stands as an exception, with the American automakers sales increasing by 6%. Even with less models sold, however, BYD topped Tesla in quarterly revenue, but not profit, in Q3.

Related: What's Nissan's plan to stay in the game after 9,000 layoffs and CEO pay cut?

The automotive industry is undergoing a massive shift

Toyotas been the worlds top-selling automaker for the past four years, with Volkswagen trailing behind in second place by more than a million sales. Hyundai Kia comes in third, with Stellantis, GM, and Ford filling out fourth through sixth place respectively.

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While BYD doesnt have plans to expand into the United States just yet, the Chinese automaker is looking at North America as a potential market. BYD recently suspended plans to enter the Canadian market due to a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs. Mexico, however, appears to be fair game for the time being, with plans to sell vehicles, like the BYD Shark pickup, locally going forward.

BYD Shark PHEV

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A maker of EVs and PHEVs, BYD has gotten a foothold in more than 70 countries across six continents. Despite denial that the United States is ready for EVs by automakers, Tesla and BYD are the two dominant EV forces in the current market. Notably, however, while BYD doesnt face a ton of EV competition worldwide, other automakers are responding with PHEVs of their own, including Toyota, the worlds current top automaker with more than 10 million vehicles sold in 2023.

Final thoughts

Lets be clear here. Im not a fan of Chinese automakers or Ford, so I dont really have a car in this race. Regardless of where your brand loyalty lies, the evolution of the automotive industry is undeniable and happening quickly.

The age of electrification has spurred a shift in the landscape of the automotive industry reminiscent of the Japanese automotive industry in the late 20th century. Back then, Japanese automakers were more productive than American manufacturers, thanks in part to a less restrictive government and smaller, more efficient vehicle offerings. As of 2023, Toyota has been the worlds top-selling automaker for four consecutive years.

Tariffs can go as far as restricting the reach of BYD and other Chinese automakers, but taxes on imported vehicles cant halt BYDs growth completely. Canadian and United States tariffs will most certainly be a major obstacle, but other markets, such as India, Mexico, and Brazil, are giving BYD a much warmer welcome.

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As BYD expands and continues to meet the needs of consumers, the Chinese automaker is likely to continue its explosive sales growth. Theres no denying that legacy automakers are lagging behind now, and theyre in for a world of hurt if they dont adapt to a changing market. After all, government subsidies and tariffs can only protect them for so long. The worlds automotive manufacturers need to move quickly, or the top 10 will look much different a decade from now.

Related: BYD Shark PHEV pickup truck heads to Mexico
Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan's President, addresses the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. Credit - Hollie AdamsBloomberg/Getty Images

Today marks the second and final week of COP29the annual U.N. climate change summit, which seeks solutions to the worlds top existential problem. The host? An oil-rich country that, according to the CIA World Factbook, is home to the Absheron peninsula in the Caspian Sea that local scientists say is the ecologically most devastated area in the world.

Being a petro-state is not a crime. But how Azerbaijans fossil fuel wealth exacerbates the human condition at home and abroad makes its hosting of COP29 an Orwellian tragedy. While 95% of Azerbaijans exports are oil and gas, according to the environmental justice NGO Crude Accountability, the vast majority of the population is not benefiting from this wealth. Crude Accountabilitys 2020 report The Empty Bucket of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan documents how quality of life is decreasing and, according to the World Bank, a quarter of the population is stuck in poverty.

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The countrys authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev personally oversees the largest cash cow: the State Oil Fund. That may be why he considers Azerbaijans vast reserve of fossil fuels a gift from God even as it fails to uplift his people.

How did Azerbaijan ever become the COP29 host? The key to its success may well be how it has courted some of the worlds elites in ways that have put Azerbaijan in the spotlight in recent years. This long-term charm offensive, which serves to deflect criticism of Aliyevs government and rebrand Azerbaijan as a vibrant destination, includes flying in celebrities and hosting international events like Formula 1. The practice is certainly not limited to Azerbaijan. Scholars affiliated with the National Endowment for Democracy have coined the term sharp power to describe affluent authoritarians attempts at quickly building global influence to cement their domestic rule. These days, few seem sharper than Azerbaijan.

The countrys poor environmental and human rights record stands out. Between the President and his late father Heydar, the Aliyevs have run Azerbaijan for more than five decades. Critics are routinely put under house arrest, jailed, exiled, and perhaps worse. Among the regimes targets is Gubad Ibadoghlu, the lead author of Crude Accountabilitys 2020 report, who was arrested in July 2023 while visiting family in Azerbaijan.

The country also recently launched a pandemic-era war of choice in 2020 in the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which ultimately pushed out the indigenous Armenian population within four yearsin violation of International Court of Justice orders. The violent takeover followed a nine-month siege sugar-coated as an environmental protest. Azerbaijan then proudly declared Karabakh as the first region in Azerbaijan to become net zero. In March 2024, President Aliyev celebrated the predictable and preventable forced displacement with a traditional spring equinox bonfire, calling it a final cleaning.

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Given Azerbaijans use of environmentalism to justify what leading human rights groups consider ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, COP29 for the regime is the final rubber stamp for its autocratic and hostile tendencies, including ongoing threats of invasion against Armenia.

Yet there is grassroots pushback around the world, including from international organizations like Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International, as well as climate justice activists like Greta Thunbergwho is boycotting Azerbaijan for being a repressive, occupying state, which has committed ethnic cleansing and for using COP29 to greenwash their crimesand Azerbaijani activists. Local activists in particular are bravely speaking out despite the enormous risks at home and abroad.

Resisting dictatorships is daunting. Just ask my friend Bahruz Samadova brave and brilliant young academicwho shouted, Give me a voice at COP29! during a recent jail transfer. He is among hundreds of political prisoners in Azerbaijan, in addition to two dozen Armenian prisoners of war, including senior Karabakh leaders, who face decades behind bars. Samadov is charged with high treason for criticizing Azerbaijans policy on Nagorno-Karabakh and for his ties to Armenian activists.

Plenty of people have argued that a petro-aggressor should have never hosted COP29but whats done is done. The issue now is whether various heads of states and representatives from more than 180 countries at the U.N. climate conference will have the courage to speak up for the rights of Azerbaijani political prisoners and Armenian hostages, including by requesting to meet with them, and push for the safe return of the ethnically-cleansed Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

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Doing whats right in Azerbaijan is hardly a regional matter. Just like Azerbaijans 2020 war on Nagorno-Karabakh without global repercussions arguably encouraged other autocrats like Vladimir Putin to follow suit, whatever happens in Baku this week may not stay in Baku. A petro-aggressor hosting COP29 is hardly hot air.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
Kiara Davis, 27, and Miguel Badillo, 24, are charged with second-degree murder, second-degree child cruelty and possession of drug related objects

Columbus Police Department Kiara Davis; Miguel Badillo Kiara Davis; Miguel Badillo

Two Georgia parents have been arrested on charges of murder after their 8-month-old infant died from suffocation after allegedly rolling off a mattress and becoming wedged between the mattress and a couch cushion.

On Wednesday, Nov. 13, Kiara Davis, 27, and Miguel Badillo, 24, were charged with second-degree murder, second-degree child cruelty and possession of drug related objects.

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Columbus police officers responded to the couples home on Sept. 27, 2024.

Detectives executed a search warrant on the residence and learned that the infant had been placed on an angled mattress on a loveseat, with no safety measures in place to prevent the infant from rolling off and becoming wedged between the mattress and couch cushions, according to a Columbus Police Department press release posted on Facebook on Thursday, Nov. 14.

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At a court hearing on Friday, Nov. 15, Columbus Police Department investigators told a judge that the child died from asphyxiation while her mother was outside talking to a friend, WTVM reported.

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The couples landlord, Howard Turner, described the parents as very caring of that baby on what I could tell, reports WTMV. It was just like a freak accident.

Davis and Badillo have yet to enter a plea or retain attorneys.

They are currently being held in Muscogee County Jail.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.


Prosecutors argued Dixie Villa gave 7-month-old Abigail Lobisch diphenhydramine to pacify her

Island News Dixie Villa Dixie Villa

A babysitter in Hawaii has been found guilty of manslaughter in the 2019 death of a 7-month-old baby girl.

According to local media outlets Star-Advertiser, KITV and KHON2, an Oahu Circuit Court jury found Dixie Villa guilty of manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, on Friday, Nov. 15.

Villa was charged with manslaughter in July 2019 after an autopsy report showed that 7-month-old Abigail Lobisch  who was found dead at Villas home on Feb. 24, 2019  died of diphenhydramine (an antihistamine found in Benadryl) toxicity.

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Villa was immediately taken into custody following her guilty verdict after being free on bail since 2019, per the Star-Advertiser and KITV. Her bail was raised to $500,000.

"A child is gone and there's no bringing her back, but we hope that this offers closure and peace to everybody who's been affected by this case," deputy prosecutor Tiffany Kaeo said during Villas trial, according to the latter outlet.

GoFundMe Abigail Lobisch Abigail Lobisch

Villas defense attorney Megan Kau said she will file a motion for a mistrial because the deputy prosecutor told the court Friday that new evidence had emerged that Abigails mother, Anna Lobisch, co-slept with her, per the Star-Advertiser. Kau argued that it is an issue if Anna lied during her testimony and the prosecution withheld information.

"We're going to ask the court to determine that this was a mistrial, to set aside the guilty verdict and set a new trial," Kau said, per KITV.

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During the trial, Kau argued that others, including Anna and Abigails father, could have given diphenhydramine to Abigail, while she said Anna also could have had the drug in her system from taking Tylenol and then breastfeeding Abigail.

But Kaeo said Villa was the only person capable of administering the drug and said she was overwhelmed at having to look after three other children at the same time  Abigails 2-year-old brother and two of her own children, who were also under the age of 5  and had pacified the older kids with iPads and Abigail with the drug, per the Star-Advertiser.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has expressed approval of reports that US President Joe Biden is allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles against specific targets in Russia.

Speaking to German broadcaster rbb Inforadio, Baerbock emphasized the importance of enabling Ukraine to neutralize threats at their source.

"Ukrainians shouldn't have to wait for rockets to cross the border - they should be able to destroy launch sites directly," Baerbock stated, citing the principle of self-defence.

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Baerbock, from the Greens, said that her party aligns with eastern European partners, as well as the British, French, and the US government on this stance. The Social Democratic Party of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been hesitant to give Kiev weapons that would enable Ukrainian forces to strike deep into Russian territory.

She highlighted the unique challenges Ukraine faces, where proximity to the Russian border often renders air defence ineffective due to the rapid impact of missiles.

Media reports suggest that President Biden has approved Ukraines use of ATACMS missiles to defend its forces, particularly in the Kursk region, which is partly occupied by Ukrainian troops. While the Pentagon and National Security Council declined to comment, they did not deny the reports.
BALTIMORE  A special unit of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested five noncitizens on Oct. 18 for being unlawfully in Maryland.

This targeted operation resulted in the arrest of five noncitizens with serious criminal histories including fentanyl distribution, gang activity, drug cartel association, assault, and sexual assault, Matthew Elliston, Enforcement and Removal Operation (ERO) Baltimore field office director stated Monday in a news release. ERO Baltimore will not tolerate these egregious noncitizen offenders victimizing our Maryland communities.

Deportation officers with the ERO Baltimores Fugitive Operations Team arrested the following people:

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Romeo Almengor Oxlaj-Lopez, a 24-year-old Guatemalan, and documented gang member originally arrested on Dec. 17, 2014, by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Arizona. Oxlaj-Lopez was ordered on Aug. 6, 2019, to be removed from the United States. However, Oxlaj-Lopez was convicted on April 26, 2022, in Montgomery County for second-degree assault and sentenced to 11 months and 29 days in prison.

Denis Flores-Alvardo, a 38-year-old Honduran, entered the United States at an unknown location without an inspection by a U.S. immigration official. On Feb. 2, Howard County police arrested Flores-Alvardo and charged him with having a loaded handgun while driving under the influence of alcohol. Flores was convicted and sentenced to 364 days in prison on Sept. 30.

Noe Antonio Machado-Medrano, a 29-year-old Salvadoran, entered the U.S. at an unknown location without inspection by a U.S. immigration official. On Nov. 4, 2020, Machado-Medrano was convicted in Oregon for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. He was sentenced to time served, followed by a three-year supervised probation period.

Justin Jeremiah Johnson, an 18-year-old from Trinidad, lawfully entered the United States on May 2, 2021, at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York but violated his terms of admission. On Sept. 30 Johnson was convicted of robbery at the Baltimore City Circuit Court and sentenced to eight years in prison followed by three years of supervised probation.

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Jose Edgar Rivas-Arevalo, a 41-year-old Salvadoran, was arrested and processed for expedited removal on June 26, 2008, after entering the near Hebbronville, Texas. He was removed to El Salvador in 2008 but re-entered the country without U.S. immigration inspection. On Oct. 8, he was convicted of second-degree assault in Baltimore County and sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised probation.

All will remain in custody pending removal proceedings, the news release stated.

The ERO unit removes people unlawfully in the United States, in cooperation with judges with the U.S. Justice Departments Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Immigration judges in these courts make decisions based on the merits of each individual case, determining if a noncitizen is subject to a final order of removal or eligible for certain forms of relief from removal, the news release said.

Members of the public are encouraged to report crimes and suspicious activity by dialing 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or using the online tip form at https://www.ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form.
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP)  A special tribunal in Bangladesh on Monday told investigators they have one month to complete their work on ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her close aides, who face charges of crimes against humanity after hundreds of people were killed in a mass uprising this summer.

Golam Mortuza Majumdar, the head judge of the three-member International Crimes Tribunal, set Dec. 17 for investigators to finish their work, as the tribunal heard updates Monday from police about what the country's security agencies have done to arrest Hasina and her close aides.

The decision came after prosecutors sought more time for the investigation.

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Mohammed Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor of the tribunal, told the judges during Monday's hearing that they were working in line with an extradition treaty signed earlier with India to make Hasina's return possible.

Hasina has been living in exile in India since Aug. 5 when she fled the country amid the student-led protests. The Dhaka-based tribunal on Oct. 17 issued arrest warrants for Hasina and 45 others, including former Cabinet ministers, advisers and military and civil officials. The country is now being run by an interim government headed by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus.

At least 13 people, including a former law minister and a businessman who was Hasinas private-sector adviser, appeared before the tribunal on Monday, said B.M. Sultan Mahmud, a prosecutor at the tribunal. One former Cabinet minister was not brought to the tribunal as he was in custody for police interrogation in a separate case. A further six people will appear on Wednesday, tribunal officials said. At least 20 suspects have been arrested in the case.

The tribunal will also seek updates from police on their progress in arresting the other suspects, including Hasina.

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After the hearing on Monday, the tribunals head judge ordered authorities to send all 13 suspects to jail, pending investigation.

The chief prosecutor of the tribunal has already sought help from Interpol through the countrys police chief to arrest Hasina. On Sunday, Yunus said in an address to the nation that his administration would seek Hasina's extradition from India.

Authorities say hundreds of people were killed during the uprising in July and August, mainly by security agents seeking to quell the initial protests over government jobs. The violence intensified as the protests morphed into an anti-government movement, with more bloodshed, ending Hasinas 15-year rule. Hasina had also earlier sought an investigation into the killings.
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)  Police are searching for a bank fraud suspect in Scranton.

The Scranton Police Department is asking for help with any information regarding the identity of the man pictured.

Man accused of starting multiple fires throughout Williamsport

Police say the suspect is wanted for questioning about a fraud investigation that happened at First National Bank on West Lackawanna Avenue.

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Anyone with information is asked to contact Scranton Police Detective M. Morrison at mmorrison@scrantonpa.gov or call the Scranton Police Patrol at 570-348-4134, Scranton Police Detective Bureau at 570-348-4139 or you can leave a tip online.

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 PAhomepage.com.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  Republicans in Florida had a successful Election Day and state democrats continue to struggle on increasing their support from voters.

On Sunday Morning Political Show Battleground Florida, Moderator Ty Russell spoke to Florida GOP Chair Evan Power and Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikkie Fried about President-elect Donald Trumps cabinet picks.

WATCH: SpaceX launches rocket for TD7 mission from Floridas Space Coast

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Power and Fried also answered questions about key takeaways from Election Day.

Battleground Florida airs Sunday mornings on WFLA at 9:30 a.m.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
Scientists have solved the mystery of the "corpse flower" Amorphophallus Titanum, which smells like a dead possum. Since the plant blooms once every 10 years, it has kept its secrets for so long.

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This giant, which reaches a height of more than 3.5 meters, emits its unusual scent only during flowering. However, scientists say they have finally solved the molecular mystery of the "corpse flower" and the reason for the stench, Popular Science writes.

In the Australian city of Geelong, thousands of people lined up to see and smell the "fragrant" flower that has recently bloomed there. Despite its overpowering aroma, this unusual plant knows how to put on a show.

The tropical flower Amorphophallus Titanum is native to Indonesia. It can grow for decades, but blooms only once every 5-10 years, scientists say. Interestingly, each bloom lasts only 24 to 48 hours, making it a very significant event that gathers huge crowds to see this floral wonder, CNN writes.

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But the plant has gained popularity due to its unique odor during flowering, which resembles the stench of rotten meat. Scientists say they have finally solved the molecular mystery of the "corpse flower" and the reason for the stench.

A few days before flowering, a dark red petal layer opens at the base of the plant's central stem. And at this time, Amorphophallus Titanum begins to emit heat and heat up about 11 C more than the temperature around it, scientists say. After that, the plant releases sulfurous chemicals that attract flies and other insects.

This process - thermogenesis - is common among animals, but extremely rare in flora. For a long time, scientists could not figure out why it occurs in the "corpse flower".

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In the new study, a team of scientists collected tissue and leaf samples that were used for analysis. "This helped us to see which genes are expressed (used to make RNA and protein molecules) and to see which ones are particularly active when the appendix heats up and gives off an odor," explained G. Eric Schaller, professor of biological sciences and leader of the study.

The analysis revealed specific chemicals in the "corpse flower" that cause the unpleasant odor. The scientists also found the plant's genes that allow it to form and transport sulfur.

Scientists say that these discoveries explain the mechanism by which the plant creates a unique odor.

In the future, the team of scientists plans to find out how the "fragrant" flower initiates the flowering cycle and whether it synchronizes with other plants to increase the chances of pollination.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
BAZETTA TWP., Ohio (WKBN)  In a special meeting on Saturday, Bazetta Township trustees voted unanimously 3-0 to sue Trumbull County Auditor Martha Yoder.

Read next: Neighbor confronted victim before Sharon shooting, witness said

Bazetta Township Trustee Mike Hovis said the township is seeking to get the $80,857 that the office collected and distributed to Green Dot Bank and is asking for attorney fees to be reimbursed.

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The lawsuit comes after the township has suffered major financial troubles this year.

In September, the Trumbull County Sheriffs Office opened an investigation after $160,857.18 in tax dollars were transferred to a fraudulent bank account posing as the township.

Yoder said in October that a turned-off security feature led to the hack and that the township needs to take responsibility for the situation.

Hovis previously stated that the situation occurred due to a lack of policy at the county level.

Yoder sent us the following statement Monday:

Our attorney has been working diligently to try to come to a fair resolution with Bazetta for more than a month. I have maintained that the predominant fact is that were it not for the disabling by the township of the multifactor authentication, this fraud would not have occurred and that until the township owns this responsibility, determining liability for this loss cannot even begin. Our efforts toward resolution have insisted that the township take the primary responsibility and that once that happens, we can discuss division of liability. The township has rejected this and insists that we take full liability. I welcome having this case heard before a court and settled in that appropriate forum, rather than in the media.

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The lawsuit should be filed in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court on Monday or Tuesday.

Nadine Grimley contributed to this report.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
The Customs and Border Protection officer padded and pawed through a maze of luggage and passengers surrounding Dulles Airport baggage carousel, following his nose on a hunt for contraband. He settled next to a passenger with a gray and black backpack, fresh off a flight from Istanbul.

Freddie, a trained agriculture dog with the Beagle Brigade, seemed to have caught the scent of prohibited goods and sat down, a signal to his partner. His human handler, agriculture specialist Melissa Snyder, addressed the passenger.

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Apples? Orange? Bananas? Meat? Is it meat? Im just going to look, okay? she said to the man before he unzipped his satchel.

The confused passenger, who apparently only spoke Russian, revealed a purple plastic bag holding the illicit items: nine apples.

Freddie sat again, and Snyder rewarded him with a Milk-Bone for his successful hunt.

Found on the streets just a few years ago, Freddie is now one of six dogs on the sharp-nosed Beagle Brigade patrolling Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, for plants and meat products that travelers are prohibited from bringing into the country to prevent disease or infestation by foreign plants, insects or microbes.

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And as the holiday season approaches, Customs and Border Protection expects a rise in travelers - who often dont know the rules or the risks - carrying fruits and delicacies from tourist adventures or meats like snake or camel that provide familiar tastes from faraway homelands.

The Beagle Brigade are employed by Customs and Border Protection nationwide as guardians at the point of entry, to halt the flow of goods that could harm native plants and livestock, and damage the U.S. agricultural markets.

You dont want to start paying $15 for your box of cornflakes because a bug got in and decimated our wheat crop. Thats why were here, said Christopher Brewer, agriculture chief for the port of D.C. Freddie is one of the layers we use to enforce the rules.

Four days a week, Freddie and Snyder work from 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. The canine is either training to learn new scents of prohibited plants and proteins or sniffing his way through arrivals - typically from Africa and the Middle East during their shift.

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Freddie looks more like a bluetick hound, according to his human partners, but his nose is all beagle. He has tracked down citrus, mangos and other fruits, as well as a variety of meats: cane rat, pigeon and, in September, two pounds of snake from Equatorial Guinea.

Its usually unidentified meat, Snyder said. Were not sure what it is.

Freddie was found walking down a traffic median in Georgia about four years ago and was brought to a training program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Officials vet the canine candidates for temperament, behavior and ability to be trained at the USDA academy, officials said.

We have five primary scents that they are trained on down in Georgia, Snyder said. Apple, citrus, mango, beef and pork. But hes definitely expanded beyond that now.

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Recently, he learned camel and has been training on African plums that were in season, said Snyder, who studied and taught medicinal botany at Brigham Young University in her home state of Utah before joining Customs and Border Protection four years ago.

The USDA sends menus of seasonal foods and holidays, festivals and religious observances, that help agents prepare for influxes of particular products, said Josue Ledezma, Customs and Border Protections K-9 supervisor.

For example, the Jewish holiday of Sukkot often brings travelers carrying a citrus called etrog. Egypts mango season concluded in September when Freddie alone nabbed 188 kilograms (414 pounds) of mangos.

Mangos can carry Mediterranean fruit flies, while citrus from just about every other place in the world is prohibited to protect groves in the United States.

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Any passenger that pops positive, well take them in the back, go through their bag, remove the contraband, which well either chop or put in a bag to incinerate it, Brewer said.

Hidden behind mirrored walls and doors, a squeaky conveyor belt rolls through an X-ray machine inside the inspection chamber, where agricultural specialists take a closer look at bags flagged by the beagles.

Freddie and Snyder escorted the Russian-speaking passenger into the area, where agents discovered sliced meat in addition to his apples.

The fruit and meat were removed from his bag and placed with other confiscated foods on a stainless steel table: raw sausage, packaged chorizo, a couple dozen tiny, unripe eggplants from Mexico.

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The eggplant needed to be sliced open to check what insects might be hitting ports of entry, Brewer said.

And a bag of dried honeycomb was particularly troubling.

Were sensitive to honey  there are a lot of funky diseases that can decimate our honey bee population, Brewer said.

Agents have seized a whole side of a cow cut into quarters; half a raw smoked fish filled with maggots; and chickens - beheaded just before departure, officials said.

Often the seizures are traditional comfort foods for immigrant communities.

Its their taste of home, Brewer said. Most of it is they either think they cant get it here or its just a taste of home they desperately want.  A lot of first-time travelers just dont realize you can get most everything here, so they try to bring it.

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But the risks of letting passengers bring in grandmas home cooking and $800 prosciutto are too great, officials say.

Stuff like that, thats normally what we dont want to come in because we have zero idea where it was manufactured, whats in it. Brewer said. Its very important we dont inadvertently introduce an animal disease here that doesnt already exist here.

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Editors note: Support for this reporting came from the Poynter Institute with funds from the Gill Foundation.

Shuina Sko wrote their first poem in third grade, exploring themes of hope and imagination. More than two decades later, their words continue examining those same themes, only now on a global scale.

As a Two-Spirit spoken word poet, storyteller, Indigenous rights activist, internationally recognized self-published author, and U.S. Navy veteran, Shuina Sko is committed to uplifting and celebrating the Indigenous LGBTQIA2S+ experience. They believe in the power and necessity of authentic representation  of Indigenous voices telling their own stories.



When we tell our own stories and when we share our experience and when we increase our reach throughout our Native communities and non-Native communities, that's when we'll start seeing greater positive impact and a reduction in social issues within our communities, Shuina Sko, a citizen of the Klamath Tribes and of Little Shell Chippewa descent, said. More of us will be seen, and more of us will be able to be guided in a good way.

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The name Shuina Sko translates to Singing Spring in Ewksiknii or Klamath language and was given to them by elders when they were 3 years old. Their English name is Kayce Womack, but they choose to use their traditional name as a way to honor their ancestors. Though they go by all pronouns, they prefer to be called Shuina Sko because gendered pronouns werent used in Klamath culture; instead, people referred to themselves and others by their names.

Shuina Sko resides on their maternal homelands of the Marsh people of Klamath Tribes in present-day Southern Oregon. Their great-great-great-great-grandfather, Chinchallo MukHasone, was an original signer of the 1864 treaty between the Klamath and federal government.

[Shuina Sko] is such a light for our tribe and for exposing non-tribal people to cultural values, Shuina Skos mother and Klamath elder, Camille DeLorme, said. She does that through her poetry, and not just her poetry that reflects who she is as a person, but her personhood has such an impact on those that she's around.

Shuina Sko, 36, attributes much of their authenticity to their mother, who instilled the value of showing up as ones true self from a young age.

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We talk a lot about authenticity and being genuine as a Native value, and I think a lot of the non-Native world has opened their eyes to that value lately. But I think when you see Shuina Sko, that's what you get, DeLorme said. [Shuina Sko] is not afraid to be vulnerable and to expose herself, and she does that in her writing, in her poetry and in her daily life. So she's truly genuine and I think it's rare.

We're a matriarchal people

When Shuina Sko was growing up, they were raised in a Klamath household with their mom, younger brother and stepfather. They said they were unaware of power dynamics between men and women when it came to gendered roles and sexual orientation, because they were raised in a matriarchal society where everyone was expected to be strong leaders.

We're a matriarchal people, Shuina Sko said. We were then; we are now.

Initially, boys and girls, men and women, we were all the same, Shuina Sko added. All of the females or women, we're expected to be just as strong and just as good leaders, if not more than the men in our lives. So with that viewpoint, naturally, I grew up as a tomboy knowing that I can kind of excel in whatever I do, regardless of my gender and sexuality.

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Shuina Skos expands on what a traditional matriarchal society looks like in their book, SHE IS MATRIARCH: Poetry for the Indigenous Feminine Spirit:

"Traditionally the ewksiknii flourished as a matriarchal society. Women were viewed as leaders then and continue to lead now... At home westernized views of what a girl should act like were not imposed onto me. This allowed me to feel empowered during my transition into adulthood."

Shuina Skos mother said that since she raised her children with this mindset, she knew her kids could succeed in whatever they set their minds to. DeLorme was impressed when, shortly after high school, Shuina Sko joined the U.S. Navy as a Seabee and pursued construction and engineering.

I was proud that [Shuina Sko] chose to pursue nontraditional female roles and excelled in them, DeLorme said.

Pictures of Shuina Sko from their childhood. Contributed images

Dont Ask, Dont Tell

Shuina Sko remembers from childhood having an aunt and other family members who were queer, but they said no one ever outwardly expressed it because to them it was never important.

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It wasn't suppressed or oppressed, Shuina Sko added.

That changed when they started getting older and attended middle and high school outside of the Native community.

Shuina Sko said they were already at a higher risk of harm as a Native person navigating a non-Native environment and had to consider the version of themself they wanted to present that was the most acceptable and safe.

When I saw people get bullied for their sexuality, then I chose to hide mine, they said. And same thing when I saw females get treated better for being feminine, I chose to become more feminine, to become more safe.

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Hiding their Two-Spirit identity was a burden of survival that many queer people share. But by taking extra precautions, Shuina Sko ensured their protection and safety through high school and into early adulthood.

Shuina Sko enlisted into the Navy in 2006. This was during the Don't Ask, Dont Tell (DADT) era, pushing them back into the closet once again to protect their safety.

The DADT policy, enacted in 1994, prohibited qualified gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans from serving in the armed forces for more than two decades, sending a message to the LGBTQIA2S+ community and greater public that homophobic discrimination was acceptable.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, DADT was based on the false assumption that the presence of LGBTQIA2S+ individuals in any branch of the military would compromise the ability of people to carry out their duties. Thousands of service members were discharged simply for who they were and whom they loved over the course of the policys 17-year life before being repealed in full on Sept. 20, 2011.

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While in basic training, Shuina Sko witnessed two fellow queer people get dishonorably discharged when their sexuality was outed.



It suppressed my voice and my ability to be authentic, Shuina Sko said.

This pushed them further into the closet, but they knew that hiding who you are doesnt serve anyone, especially yourself.

I didn't want to hide anymore

After leaving the military in 2012, following six years of service, Shuina Sko built up the courage to come out in 2013 at the age of 25.

I knew I didn't want to hide anymore, Shuina Sko said. It didn't feel good; it wasn't fulfilling.

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Over the next couple years, Shuina Sko jumped into a queer lifestyle in California. They expanded on their coming out and the importance of a safe environment in their book, Heart Poems for the Hopeless Romantic:

"How old were you when you came out? The answer is directly tied to feeling safe. Around the time I developed my teenage crush, a friend became the target of violence when she openly expressed wanting to date a girl. What I learned from this incident was that being closeted meant being safe. The prevalence of hate crimes, experiencing homophobia, and being enlisted in the military during Dont Ask, Dont Tell kept me from living my fullest truth. It wasnt until honorably discharging and moving from a rural town to a more diverse queer-friendly city that I felt safe enough to come out. That day, I confronted fear and became . . . free."

While Shuina Sko was enjoying their newfound freedom, they couldnt help but feel like something was still missing.

I wasn't around any Indigenous people, so any of the [non-Indigenous] labels or their terms, like lesbian, or bisexual or gay, didn't seem to fit me, Shuina Sko said.

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Struggling to find where they actually fit in, Shuina Sko made a new friend who was Indigenous and Black. While hiking in Northern California, the two had a conversation about the different Western labels for sexuality, which is when their friend introduced them to the term Two-Spirit.

She sent me a couple resources on it, and when I was reading, I was like, Wow, this seems to fit everything I know myself to be more than any other label I've ever heard of growing up or to that point.

Two-Spirit is a contemporary blanket term specific to Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island that was coined during the Third Annual Intertribal Native American, First Nations, Gay and Lesbian American Conference in Winnipeg, Canada in 1990. According to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Two-Spirit is a way to organize the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island who embody diverse sexualities, gender identities, roles and/or expressions.

The term Two-Spirit doesn't come from the Klamath people, but it did highlight how that identity was oppressed and attempted to be silenced by settlers and by religious agendas that they brought, Shuina Sko said. So for me, I identify as Two-Spirit because it's fitting, but at the same time all it did for me is really prompt me to further my understanding and knowledge on what that identity looked like traditionally for the Klamath people, and so over the last 10 years, honestly, I've been looking more into our traditional ways and seeing what they were then, seeing if they're present now, and that's how I've I've come into deeper understanding of what Two-Spirit would be for our people, what that means for our Klamath people.

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According to Shuina Sko, in Klamath culture and teachings those who identify as Two-Spirit today were traditionally referred to as balanced relatives because they were more likely to be leaders, medicine people and healers.

When you fit into that role, you have a talent or a greater skillset for understanding people, a greater ability to communicate with the spirit world, Shuina Sko said. Those [people] were our healers, because our power comes from the spirit world. It's that shared knowledge. So that's what I think of when being Two-Spirit. It's outside of the American or Westernized norms for gender roles and sexuality, and it is in alignment with a more balanced perspective.

Healing through art

While studying applied psychology at the Oregon Institute of Technology, where they enrolled after the Navy before moving to California, Shuina Sko met someone from their tribe who altered the trajectory of their self-identity journey.

They grew up in the same dysfunction, in the same culture, but they were healthy, Shuina Sko said. And I was like, how do you do it?

She said, Culture is our wellness, the dysfunction has its origin in colonization. That changed my life, right there. I started embracing culture and looking back on my childhood and everything I was taught and learned.

Shuina Sko went on to gain over a decade of professional experience, including as a case manager and tribal liaison, during which they provided direct mental and behavioral health services to children and families within marginalized communities, working closely with tribal and state child welfare agencies in relation to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).

While they often helped other people with their trauma, Shuina Sko was working to heal their own through art.

I first started sharing my poetry as a way to help heal my trauma, to help to really take care of my mental health. It was a part of my healing journey , Shuina Sko said. Then it became informational and a part of change within the social services field, and then it became impactful in my community.

I realized, if I share my story through art, through poetry, then I can share my experience as an Indigenous person, as a [queer] person, they added.

Shuina Sko began including their poems in presentations with providers and different organizations via email. I got requests so often that I [realized] I need to put all these poems in one place, they said. I decided to create my first book, Warrior Roses, so I could have all that content in one place.

Native people throughout North America and Europe started reaching out to tell them that their poetry had been valuable and impactful. Shuina Sko went on to publish four more books of poetry and become a highly sought spoken word poet, while giving keynote speeches and teaching workshops to "empower Indigenous people, create avenues for positive societal change, and share the vibrancy of their culture through storytelling."

I have gotten feedback from Native and non-Native people that, because I'm being authentic, it's really inspiring for people to be authentic themselves, that it really creates an environment of safety, Shuina Sko said.

Knowing that I have a direct impact on other people by just embracing and being me and being myself, that's the most encouraging thing for me, they added. It's the most motivating thing for me.

Telling our story

Four years ago, Shuina Sko formed a friendship with Courtney Reid, a queer youth mentor in Southern Oregon. Their bond is marked by mutual trust, support and shared experiences, including navigating domestic violence and community activism.

Reid said its heartbreaking to work with youth in the community who've had to hide who they are for safety reasons, even in their own homes.



Either kids are having to hide because they don't have a safe home to be queer, or they've made the choice to come out and are now getting lost in systems and with care workers who don't understand their queerness and who try to tell them that they're wrong, Reid said.

Reid, who grew up without queer role models, sees Shuina Skos public visibility as a beacon of hope for young people in Southern Oregon.

They're existing in the same place where there's someone like Shuina Sko who is working to provide this beautiful and powerful voice, and I think that makes everyone safer, Reid said. I'm 30, and when I was growing up here, I knew no one who is out and queer, no one. All of these kids now get to know that there's a queer adult thriving in this community, and I think that offers hope.

Camille DeLorme, Shuina Skos mother, echoes this sentiment, stressing the importance of supporting Two-Spirit people.

I think it is imperative, especially for tribal communities, to support our Two-Spirited people because they are special and they need more support, DeLorme said. We should be the ones that are nurturing and loving and supporting our people.

Shuina Sko is living proof that creating that shift of love and acceptance starts from within, rooted in being authentic and courageous in telling our story.

Our story is the most powerful thing that we have in our society today, Shuina Sko said. So if you are queer or outside of the heteronormative view or experience, then your story is meaningful. If you are Native, Indigenous, then your story is meaningful. And if you are both, then it just increases in power.
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A Jewish man wearing a yarmulke was shot multiple times on his way to synagogue in Chicago. A rabbi in Maryland was attacked by a man wielding a wooden stake. In Manhattan, a man wearing a yarmulke was called dirty Jew before being punched in the face. Each of these assaults occurred within a two-week span last month.

One year ago, such scenes would have been unimaginable; few American Jews thought twice about publicly identifying as Jewish. Wearing a yarmulke, displaying a Star of David, or affixing a mezuzah to our doorways were solemn acts of faith and traditionnot risks to personal safety.

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But since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, public expressions of Jewish identity are increasingly met with suspicion and hostility, leaving many in our community feeling vulnerable and unsafe. A recent Anti-Defamation League report underscores this shift, showing antisemitic incidents across the U.S. have surged over 200%an unsettling reflection of how the Israel-Hamas war has impacted American streets.

Read More: Why I'll Never Stop Sharing My Holocaust Story

In my hometown of Houston, our diverse, welcoming community has long respected and embraced all faiths, and peaceful expressions of Jewish identity have blended seamlessly into the citys rich tapestry. Aside from the occasional incident, such as the man who was flagged by the FBI after posting his support of killing Jews, antisemitism has not been a major issue here.

Yet the rising fear around visible Jewish identity is hard to ignore. Ive worn a yarmulke all 24 years Ive been a rabbi here, but recently found myself removing it in certain public settings. Its not that I felt an immediate threat to my safety as I entered a local cafe or as I walked around town, but I felt enough wariness about how it would be received that I tucked it in my pocket until I knew I was in a safe location. For the first time in my life, I even felt the need for a security escort on my walk home from Yom Kippur services this year.

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By no means am I an outlier. Last year, a family in my community elected to tone down their Hanukkah decorations, trading festive displays for a quieter observance. Similarly, several members of my synagogue have told me that they are considering taking down their mezuzahs, the piece of parchment with Torah verses that Jewish people hang on their doorposts, for fear that these recognizable symbols will make them targets.

Read More: My Parents Are Being Held as Bargaining Chips in Gaza. Where Is the Outrage?

Beyond Houston, Jews are being identified and targeted simply for who they are. In May, two Orthodox Jewish children were assaulted in Brooklyn. In September, a man in Michigan told police he was beaten after his assailant asked him if he was Jewish. One month prior, Jewish students wearing yarmulkes at the University of Pittsburgh were attacked only a few miles from the Tree of Life synagogue, the site where 11 worshippers were murdered in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.

While fear grows within our community, there are actions we must take collectively to help combat this alarming rise in violent anti-Jewish hate. The White Houses National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism is an essential first step, but requires careful coordination. I strongly urge the Biden Administration to appointand the future Trump Administration to retaina dedicated coordinator to help lead the interagency process that is working to implement the strategy and guarantee that its benchmarks are being met.

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Further, every state should follow the examples set by Virginia and Massachusetts, which have created comprehensive strategies to counteract antisemitism. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbotts Administration is providing resources and implementing programs that foster education and resilience against hate. Initiatives like these ensure that all parts of government, as well as schools, businesses, community organizations, and law enforcement, do their part to address growing antisemitism.

This work cannot be done in isolation. The fight against antisemitism is not just a Jewish cause; its an American cause. Left unchecked, antisemitism is a disease that undermines the moral fabric of our communities and compromises the safety and well-being of all Americans. This is why preventive measures and policies are essential, not just to protect Jewish lives but to safeguard the inclusive values we hold dear as a nation.

We are at a critical juncture. The White House, state governments, and local communities have the power to ensure that Jewsand all Americanscan express their heritage without fear. Taking off a yarmulke, or removing a piece of jewelry that identifies you as Jewish, may seem like a small action. But it is indicative of a growing anxiety in a Jewish community that has seen an explosive growth in antisemitism. Through education, strategic law enforcement, and unified responses that protect every community member, we can reclaim the safety we once knew and build a future where no one feels compelled to prioritize well-being over their identity.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
Over 300 attendees of Berks Natures State of the Environment breakfast were given an opportunity to try their hands at community planning.

It turned out to be pretty complicated.

Its not just a cut and dried decision, said Annaliese Horvath, 17, a senior at Brandywine Heights High School. You have to take everyone into consideration, and thats an important part of environmental policy in general.

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David Hunter, Berks County Planning Commission executive director, on Thursday at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel led the participants in the exercise requiring municipal puzzle pieces that each need to accommodate residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural zoning.

Hunter emphasized connections, collaboration, cooperation, coordination and communication as the keys to successful planning.

The exercise raised the awareness of the Brandywine students of the difficulties involved with planning and zoning decisions.

I dont want to live next to an industrial plant, but it has to be close enough so people can get to it for their jobs, said Eliza Melcher, 14, a Brandywine freshman.

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The most important lesson for Melcher was the need for communication.

The thing about not communicating with anyone else at the table, she said, all the puzzle pieces when put together looked like a mess. I think thats kind of funny.

A student fits a piece of the planning puzzle during Berks Natures 16th annual State of the Environment Breakfast on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 701 Penn St. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)

Horvath plans to study marine policy next year in college.

Just the point of conforming to regulations gave me a better understanding of it all, she said.

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The Brandywine students were among those from including Gov. Mifflin, Wilson, Alvernia University and Reading Area Community College who attended the breakfast.

Berks Nature President Kimberly J. Murphy thanked the quick response of firefighters and first responders who helped contain the fire last weekend on Neversink Mountain, which Berks Nature oversees as a public preserve.

She noted that along with local firefighters, crews from as far away as Montana and Minnesota helped contain the blaze.

Murphy lauded the efforts of Chris Mast, who lives on the mountain and is a professional forest firefighter. His quick call to state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources personnel and others helped contain the fire to fewer than 200 acres.

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Berks Nature president Kimberly Murphy gives an overview of the achievements of the organization from the past year during its 16th annual State of the Environment Breakfast on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 701 Penn St. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)

She also revealed that over the past year Berks Nature protected a total of three different properties covering 440 acres of open space. These additions brought the total acreage owned or managed by Berks Nature to over 11,000 acres.

Murphy described the creation of a vernal pool last September on Neversink Mountain with help from a grant from Pennsylvania American Water Co.

She stressed the importance of vernal pools in a healthy forested ecosystem.

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Vernal pools are critical breeding grounds for various amphibian and invertebrate species and are an easily accessible water source for mammals and birds, she said.

In the last year, Berks Nature volunteers planted 1,224 native trees, which will benefit air and water quality and quantity, she said.

Over 300 people attended the Berks Natures 16th annual State of the Environment Breakfast on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 701 Penn St. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)

Berks Nature celebrated its 50th anniversary over the last year and held 50 conversations with community groups throughout Berks.

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Tami Shimp, Berks Natures vice president of development and community relations, discussed the findings.

Over 80 percent of the participants believe the two most important components of Berks Natures mission are land protection and environmental education, she said.

Other findings from the conversations include an emphasis on community education regarding native plant communities for homeowners and landowners in Berks; supporting municipalities on natural resource protection; and land protection and environmental education as priorities for funding and future investment.

Shimp said the findings will be used to inform the organizations strategic planning over the next year.

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The Brandywine students left the breakfast with a newly found appreciation for the work that goes into community planning and zoning.

But are they ready to sign up and volunteer to be community planners?

No! they exclaimed with a laugh.

Annaliese Horvath, 17, a senior, and Eliza Melcher, 14, a freshman, both from Brandywine Heights High School look over their planning map during Berks Natures 16th annual State of the Environment Breakfast on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 701 Penn St. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
World War II veteran Edward Czechowski was just 17 when he enlisted in the Navy shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

I turned 18 at Guadalcanal, he said, referring to the military campaign fought on and around the island in the wars Pacific Theater between Aug. 7, 1942, and Feb. 9, 1943.

Czechowski of Kenhorst celebrated his 100th birthday Thursday, just three days after Veterans Day.

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Though the events of the war that ended Sept. 2, 1945, happened more than 79 years ago, his time spent in service on the U.S.S. Saufley remains fresh in his memory.

Guadalcanal, Tulagi, Russell Island, Green Island, Treasure Island, Bougainville, Munda, Saipan, he said, rattling off the many islands he set foot on.

World War II Weekend tells the story of an era

Czechowski was onboard the Saufley on Nov. 29, 1944, when the ship was attacked by enemy planes while making its way back to Leyte Gulf, after nearly two weeks of antisubmarine action in the waters of the Philippines.

The ship lost one man and suffered considerable hull damage. Following repairs, it moved into Lingayen Gulf to meet the invading enemy.

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Czechowski and crew were entering the Sulu Sea on Jan. 7, 1945, when a kamikaze came hurtling toward the Fletcher-class destroyer, named for pioneering naval aviator Lt. Richard Saufley.

Some men abandoned their posts, he said, but Czechowski, one of the ships gunners, held his ground, aimed at the plane and fired the 20-millimeter gun.

I thought I was going to die anyway, so I just stayed there, shooting, he said, noting the suicide plane was very low when hit.

I blew it apart in front of me, he said. The bomb, that plane, everything exploded and went right around me.

Pieces of the Japanese aircraft fell to the deck nearby as shrapnel blew past him on both sides.

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God was looking after me, said Czechowski, who started as a seaman and was promoted to coxswain.

For his heroic achievement, he was awarded the Bronze Star.

I was pretty brave back then, he said, then added with a chuckle: Now Im afraid of a mosquito.

Czechowski is one of an estimated 119,000 U.S. World War II veterans alive today, just a small percentage of the 16 million who served in the war.

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Walter LaSota, 98, of Reading served in the 6th Marine Division and fought in the battle of Sugar Loaf Hill. He received two Purple Hearts for injuries. LaSota is one of 54 veterans of WWII who were honored Nov. 3 at the Berks History Center.Courtesy of John Pankratz.

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Jacob Russer, 99, of Philadelphia served as a combat medic in the U.S. Army, most notably participating in the D-Day landings on Utah Beach and enduring the brutal Battle of Hurtgen Forest, where he carried wounded soldiers from the front lines. He received a Purple Heart after being wounded.He is one of 54 veterans of WWII who were honored Nov. 3 at the Berks History Center. Courtesy of John Pankratz.

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Milton Ripple, 97, of Wyomissing served in the Navy aboard the USS Pollux in the Pacific theater. He fought at Wake Island and Okinawa. He is one of 54 veterans of WWII who were honored Nov. 3 at the Berks History Center.Courtesy of John Pankratz. He is one of 54 veterans of WWII who were honored Nov. 3 at the Berks History Center.Courtesy of John Pankratz.

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Paul Lilienthal, 101, of Wyomissing served as a tail gunner, flying combat missions over Europe on a B-17 bomber, as part of the 8th Air Force, 3rd Air Division, 94th Bomb Group, 331st Bomb Squadron. He is one of 54 veterans of WWII who were honored Nov. 3 at the Berks History Center.Courtesy of John Pankratz.

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Russell Sattazahn, 98, of Schaefferstown served in Company G, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division during 1945 in Belgium and Germany. He received the Purple Heart for wounds that led to the loss of his right hand. Sattazahn is one of 54 veterans of WWII who were honored Nov. 3 at the Berks History Center.Courtesy of John Pankratz.

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Warren Fearon, 101, of Reading served in the 1st Marine Division, 1st Separate Aviation Engineer Battalion. He enlisted in 1942 and fought at Guadalcanal, Tinian, Peleliu. He is one of 54 veterans of WWII who were honored Nov. 3 at the Berks History Center.Courtesy of John Pankratz.

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Walter LaSota, 98, of Reading served in the 6th Marine Division and fought in the battle of Sugar Loaf Hill. He received two Purple Hearts for injuries. LaSota is one of 54 veterans of WWII who were honored Nov. 3 at the Berks History Center.Courtesy of John Pankratz.

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This month he joined 54 other veterans of the war from throughout the region for a dinner honoring their patriotism and service.

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The event was organized by Tyler Bolands Keeping History Alive project and hosted by the Berks History Center in Reading.

Berks teen recording stories of World War II veterans

Boland, 20, a dual business marketing and American history major at Albright College in Reading, began interviewing area veterans of World War II while a student at Wilson High School.

Two of his great-grandfathers served during the war, but both died before he was born.

When a World War II veteran who was scheduled to speak at his school passed away just days before the event, it underscored the importance of gathering the generations stories before it is too late.

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Over the years, Boland developed strong friendships with Czechowski and the other men and women he interviewed and who were honored at the event.

Fifty-four area veterans of World War II were honored Nov. 3 at dinner organized by Tyler Boland's Keeping History Alive project and hosted by the Berks History Center. (Courtesy of John Pankratz.)

We had B-17 tail gunners, Marines, infantrymen, submariners, every branch, every story. It was an unforgettable event, Boland said.

Even real-life Rosie the Riveter, Dorothy Trate, 102, of Union Township, made an appearance. Trate, who calls herself Dottie the Press Operator," was one of more than 6 million American women who took jobs in factories during the war.

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Trate appears at area World War II-themed events in a costume inspired by the kerchief-clad, bicep-baring woman depicted in the "We Can Do It! wartime poster produced by J. Howard Miller in 1943 for Westinghouse Electric.

Pair of WW2 vets from Berks reintroduced 80 years after graduating high school together

Most of the surviving World War II veterans served in the Pacific toward the end of the war, Boland noted.

The youngest are those who were 18 years old in the final year of the war, he said. Born in 1927, they are or will turn 97 this year.

Just shy of 100 at the time of the event, Czechowski fell somewhere in the middle of the group, whose ages ranged from 96 to 105.

Tyler Boland of Reading poses with World War II veteran Edward Czechowski of Kenhorst Nov. 3 at a dinner organized by Boland's Keeping History Alive project and hosted by the Berks History Center. (Courtesy of John Pankratz)

Still a young man at the war's end, Czechowski returned to Reading where he met and married Anna Reifsnyder. They were married 73 years until her death in 2021.

The couple had two sons, Edward and John, both of whom are also deceased.

Czechowkski worked as a long-haul trucker, retiring at age 59 on a teamsters pension.

I guess every month the teamsters are saying, Man, when is this guy gonna go? he said, chuckling.

Becoming more serious, Czechowski, who has only minor health complaints, said he is often asked how he has remained so healthy and lived so long.

Someone asked me, What's your secret? he said. I said, 'God.'

In addition to his strong faith, Czechowski credits a clean lifestyle for his longevity.

I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't take drugs. I control my temper and I don't swear, he said.

Reflecting on how close the kamikaze plane came to ending his life all those years ago, Czechowski said: I never forgot God. I should have been dead.
An Albuquerque Police Department SUV sits in the parking lot for the Albuquerque Police Academy. (Photo by Shelby Kleinhans for Source NM)

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman  one of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams top advisors on criminal justice issues  wants New Mexico to focus much of its deterrence efforts on young people.

His plans, if approved, would lead to harsher punishment for children and young adults.

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As the lead prosecutor for New Mexicos population center of Albuquerque, Bregman has outsized influence on the statewide crime agenda. But its not clear that fellow Democrats in the Legislature will sign off during the 2025 session on everything he proposed.

Too many people, too many victims, are killed by juveniles in our community, Bregman said last week to the House and Senates Courts Corrections and Justice Committee. We need all the treatment we can get for these young people and their families, but at the same time, there has to be a little bit of an ounce of consequence.

Acts committed by New Mexico children that would be designated as a crime under the law, called delinquent referrals, increased slightly between 2021 and 2023 but are down since 2019, according to data published by the Children Youth and Families Departments Juvenile Justice Services division.

A broad look at crime

In the upcoming session, lawmakers will consider a broader crime package that would create a new trust fund to pay for more drug treatment programs, and revisit previous attempts to rewrite the states criminal competency laws, Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart (D-Albuquerque) told the Albuquerque Journal.

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The crime package is supported by legislative leaders in the Senate as well as the House of Representatives, said Sen. Joseph Cervantes (D-Las Cruces).

Bregman said he supports the idea of getting more money into behavioral health treatment but urged lawmakers to go further.

Bregman is proposing an overhaul of New Mexicos Delinquency Act, which governs how the state can hold children accountable for behavior that would be considered criminal if they were over 18. He gave lawmakers a document outlining 35 changes he wants.

Taken together, his proposals would make it significantly easier to hold children in juvenile detention centers and to prosecute them as adults.

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Bregman said his top priority is to expand the list of conduct for which the state can charge a young person as an adult. The law allows the state to prosecute a child as an adult only if theyre accused of first-degree murder.

His second priority is to allow the state to incarcerate a child who is convicted of some violent crimes until they are 25 years old. The law requires they be let go on their 21st birthday.

Beyond proposals focused on youth, Bregman also wants to increase the penalty for unlawful possession of a gun from a misdemeanor to a felony. He also wants to make it illegal under New Mexico law to convert a semi-automatic firearm into an automatic one using a device usually called a switch  something already illegal under federal law.

What do lawmakers think?

Rep. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos) told Source New Mexico she can get behind Bregmans gun violence proposals, but that she needs more time to digest the sprawling pitch on crime committed by young people.

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Cervantes questioned what it would accomplish to prohibit switches under state law and suggested a better solution would be to go after the businesses making the devices.

He and Chandler have tried to open up gun manufacturers to liability claims in civil court, and Cervantes said he will probably introduce something similar next year.

Were trying to find a way to hold manufacturers of unlawful weapons accountable, and do so civilly, Cervantes said.

Xiuy Soto, a youth organizer with La Plazita Institute, which advocates for reducing youth incarceration in the South Valley in Bernalillo County, said lawmakers should take a more holistic approach to preventing crime committed by young people in the first place.

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If more money was put into employing youth, he said, they wouldnt get caught up in criminal activity.

We have this backwards system where the youth has to commit an offense to receive resources and alternatives, while others are overlooked until they do something that makes you see them, and they really feel cared for, Soto said. Thats a failure of the state, not our youth.
U.S. News & World Report released its lists of the best elementary and middle schools across the state.

Each year, U.S. News & World Report releases its rankings of the best schools in each state based on scores and other factors. It began producing lists for elementary and middle schools in 2021. For the most part, schools on these lists this year centered around Middle Tennessee with a few outliers in other parts of the state.

Here are the top elementary and middle schools in Tennessee according to U.S. News & World Report.

Best elementary schools in Tennessee

Here are the 15 best elementary schools in Tennessee, according to U.S. News & World Report's ranking.

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Mcfadden School of Excellence in Murfreesboro: serves kindergarten through fifth grade; has 389 students. Merrol Hyde Magnet School in Hendersonville: serves kindergarten through twelfth grade; has 668 students. Discovery School in Murfreesboro: serves pre-kindergarten through sixth grade; has 389 students. Thurman Francis Arts Academy/Magnet School for the Arts in Smyrna: serves kindergarten through eighth grade; has 657 students. Lockeland Elementary in Nashville: serves kindergarten through fifth grade; has 314 students. Clovercroft Elementary School in Franklin: serves kindergarten through fifth grade; has 690 students. Jordan Elementary School in Brentwood: serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade; has 611 students. Lookout Mountain Elementary in Lookout Mountain: serves kindergarten through fifth grade; has 586 students. Thrasher Elementary in Signal Mountain: serves kindergarten through fifth grade; has 389 students. Nolan Elementary in Signal Mountain: serves kindergarten through fifth grade; has 732 students. Campus School in Memphis: serves kindergarten through fifth grade; has 398 students. Julia Green Elementary in Nashville: serves kindergarten through fourth grade; has 432 students. Grassland Elementary in Brentwood: serves kindergarten through fifth grade; has 501 students. Crosswind Elementary School in Collierville: serves kindergarten through fifth grade; has 701 students. Crockett Elementary in Brentwood: serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade; has 704 students.

Best middle schools in Tennessee

Here are the 15 best middle schools in Tennessee, according to U.S. News & World Report's ranking.

Central Magnet School in Murfreesboro: serves sixth through twelfth grade; has 1,210 students. Thurman Francis Arts Academy/Magnet School for the Arts in Smyrna: serves kindergarten through eighth grade; has 657 students. Merrol Hyde Magnet School in Hendersonville: serves kindergarten through twelfth grade; has 668 students. Meigs Middle in Nashville: serves fifth through eighth grade; has 695 students. Martin Luther King Junior School in Nashville: serves seventh through twelfth grade; has 1,211 students. Brentwood Middle School in Brentwood; serves sixth through eighth grade; has 1,127 students. Sunset Middle School in Brentwood: serves sixth through eighth grade; has 655 students. Fred J Page Middle School in Franklin: serves sixth through eighth grade; has 1,249 students. Woodland Middle School in Brentwood: serves sixth through eighth grade; has 957 students. T.W. Hunter Middle School in Hendersonville: serves sixth through eighth grade; has 551 students. Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts in Chattanooga: serves kindergarten through twelfth grade; has 792 students. Maxine Smith Steam Academy in Memphis: serves sixth through eighth grade; has 364 students. University School in Johnson City: serves kindergarten through twelfth grade; has 597 students. Mill Creek Middle School in Nolensville: serves sixth through eighth grade; has 900 students. Chatt High Center for Creative Arts in Chattanooga: serves sixth through twelfth grade; has 649 students.

How U.S. News & World Reported came up with their rankings

Scores for schools were based on performance and proficiency in mathematics and reading. Of 105,093 pre-K, elementary and middle schools, the organization examined state scores to find students who were proficient or above proficient in these academic subjects.

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The kindergarten through eighth grade rankings are entirely based on public data from the U.S. Department of Education.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: See Tennessee's best elementary, middle schools for 2025
The Iowa Department of Education has announced that nine teachers from all education regions of the state have been recognized as the first-ever Iowa Regional Teachers of the Year. Each teacher represents outstanding achievements in K-12 instruction within Iowas nine education regions.

Locally, the Mississippi Bend Regional Teacher of the Year is Kaitlin Mahoney, a math teacher at Bettendorf High School. Mahoney is in her 11th year of teaching and seventh year as a student council advisor. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in mathematics. She strongly believes all students can learn math and has worked to develop an algebra curriculum that is engaging and accessible to all students. Mahoney supports and challenges students to continue growing their leadership skills through high school and beyond in her role as the student council advisor.

Kaitlin Mahoney (Iowa Department of Education)

This year, the Department of Education was excited to establish a new Regional Teacher of the Year designation that celebrates excellence in teaching across all corners of our state, said McKenzie Snow, Iowa Department of Education Director. We recognize the expertise, commitment and care of each of Iowas inaugural 2025 Regional Teachers of the Year, and we thank them for choosing this honored profession, putting students at the center of all they do.

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Nominations came from educators, students, families and residents. The nominees are finalists for the 2025 Iowa Teacher of the Year award, which will be announced later this year.

With the support of educators across Iowa, we had the privilege of selecting nine teachers representing different grades and subjects, including elementary special education, middle school science and high school personal finance teachers among many other incredible educators, Snow said.

The Teacher of the Year award was established in 1958 and recognizes an Iowa teacher who advances student learning through evidence-based instruction, empowers students with multiple pathways to postsecondary success, learns from and invests in fellow educators and serves students in partnership with families. The Iowa Teacher of the Year serves as an ambassador for the Iowa Department of Education and a representative of and liaison for all Iowa educators.

Click here for more on the Teacher of the Year and Regional Teachers of the Year programs, as well as information on other nominees.

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By Elnur Enveroglu





The first week of the UN Climate Change Conference of parties ongoing in Baku was remarkable with several political events in and out of the country.





While COP29 was an interesting and important platform for many countries, it was both unreachable and unexpected for some political circles. However, the event was made accessible to all parties by the will of Azerbaijan, even allowing politicians who have long expressed prejudices against Azerbaijan to visit the country.





For example, Frank Pallone, a stark pro-Armenian US Congressman from New Jersey and a member of the Democratic Party, known for his constant defence of Armenian separatism and biased statements against Azerbaijan in Congress, did not face any obstacles during his unexpected visit to Baku to attend the COP29. In fact, some anti-Azerbaijan factions, while organizing a smear campaign against Azerbaijan, called Baku a place of victims of political repression. However, the truth did not remain hidden; Azerbaijan answered the questions remaining obscure in minds with its democratic approach at COP29.





Frank Pallone, who evaded questions extended by journalists in Baku, did not want to give a statement about his true intention to attend the COP29. Although he dashed to several conference halls before journalists with several folders clutched to his chest, he appeared in neither of the press conference rooms. Frank Pallone behaved as if he had come to Baku with a full of impressions, but he refused to share his thoughts at the last moment showing his reluctance to communicate with the local media.





One of the most memorable moments was the violent behaviour of Pallone's guards towards local journalists. They pushed the journalists at every step while asking questions about the pro-Armenian politician's visit to Baku.





Many unforeseen circumstances and unpredictability turned into reality on day six of COP29, when sessions continued with discussions on energy and peace. It would not have been surprising if Senator Ed Markey, Adam Schiff, and even Bundestag member Frank Schwabe had appeared as participants.





But what happened outside the country?





Against the backdrop of COP29 calling for peace and collaboration in the fight against climate issues, the anti-Azerbaijani propaganda and agitation campaign outside the country did not subside. The Armenian lobbys heated activities in the background were trying to attract attention on social networks. One of such cheap campaigns was the involvement of a young Swedish influencer in inappropriate actions in Tbilisi and Yerevan under the guise of an eco-activist. Certainly, the activities of the Armenian lobby are undeniable, but the fact that this action did not coincide with the goals of COP29 was a clear example of blatant bias.





22-year-old Greta Thunberg shouting about human rights on the streets of Yerevan, and on the other hand, the sudden appearance of pro-Armenian US congressman and politician Frank Pallone at COP29 in Baku these events were watched as a non-commentary event on the eve of the UN Climate Change Conference in Baku. Neither human rights nor politics are the subject of COP29, but for some reason, outside forces are trying to politicize the UN climate conference based on their illogical thinking.





There is still a week to go, and we will be watching the upcoming COP29 sessions, as well as the events taking place in the country and abroad, in the coming days.
Ukrainian women will be able to get a vocational education for traditionally "male" professions that pay up to 40 thousand hryvnias. They can study in this specialty free of charge or with a partial payment (which can even be covered by the employer).

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According to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, participants in the state program will have the opportunity to learn more than 30 professions. Women will be trained at the request of an employer who undertakes to employ them after completing the courses.

The employer can order the training at the employment center, and the women will choose the right one among the institutions that provide training in their profession. Dozens of different specialties will be available to them, including:

tram and trolleybus driver (salary up to UAH 36 thousand);

forklift driver (salary up to UAH 39 thousand);

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Operator of CNC machines (salary up to UAH 36 thousand);

Milling operator (salary up to 40 thousand UAH);

a master of installation and maintenance of renewable energy systems and others (salary up to UAH 36 thousand).

The Employment Center will partially cover the cost of training by allocating up to 10 subsistence minimums for able-bodied persons (i.e., UAH 30,280 as of November 2024). If the cost of training exceeds this amount, the employer or project participant will have to pay the difference out of pocket.

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"This program will help women learn new professions where they were previously less represented. Women will be able to master more than 30 professions at public expense, including the most popular among employers. Businesses will be able to train the necessary specialists, which they are currently experiencing a shortage of," said Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA reported that the Ministry of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure of Ukraine had launched a project to train truck drivers. Applications were submitted 10 times more than the number of available places  more than 1000 women expressed their desire to participate.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Immigrants with humanitarian or temporary legal status in the United States are at risk of being rendered effectively undocumented by the incoming Trump administration.

More than 1.5 million people can currently live and work in the country protected both by longtime programs including Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Biden administration innovations such as the parole processes for Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan (CHNV) migrants.

Twilight or liminal statuses occupy a gray area between unauthorized presence in the United States and legal permanent immigration paperwork. According to data compiled by the Migration Policy Institute, the federal government has 3,390,295 grants of liminal statuses, though the number of people protected is almost certainly lower because some foreign nationals may be protected by more than one program.

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Without the protections granted by these programs, immigrants who are accustomed to living and working in the United States legally could lose those rights overnight, risking their livelihoods and potentially being detained and deported.

Here are the programs that could be at risk under the second Trump administration:

Temporary Protected Status

TPS is either the most successful humanitarian immigration program in the federal governments arsenal, or a back door thats allowed uncontrolled immigration from multiple countries, depending on who you ask.

In reality, TPS is not an immigration program at all. It was set up in 1990 amid increased migration from El Salvador, where death squads run by the U.S.-supported government were terrorizing a segment of the population.

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The program was approved with Salvadorans in mind, but it gave the federal government the ability to grant work permits and deferrals from deportation to nationals of any designated nation. Countries can be designated for TPS for up to 18 months at a time to avoid deporting people to somewhere going through or recovering from natural or man-made disasters.

TPS holders in most cases cant adjust their status to become permanent residents, a feature of the 1990 immigration bill thats perpetuated twilight status for hundreds of thousands of people.

The first Trump administration aggressively targeted TPS, arguing that it had lost its temporary nature and using the example of El Salvador as proof: According to the Congressional Research Service, 180,375 Salvadorans are still protected by the program.

TPS only protects nationals of a country who were physically present in the United States as of a certain date. For Salvadorans, that date is Feb. 13, 2001, meaning Salvadoran TPS beneficiaries have lived and worked legally in the United States for nearly a quarter-century.

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But Salvadorans are no longer the largest group of people in TPS; as of March, there are 200,005 active grants of TPS for Haitians and 344,335 for Venezuelans, after the Biden administration moved to include those countries in the program.

That growth  there are 863,880 active TPS grants, according to the Congressional Research Service  could provide the future Trump administration more ammo to argue TPS has been misused.

Since 1990, and more consistently since 2001, successive Republican and Democratic administrations have more or less automatically renewed certain key TPS designations, a practice the first Trump administration sought to end by terminating the designations.

Weve seen courts signal skepticism about revoking protections to people who were assured that theyd receive that protection for a certain amount of time, but in terms of whether or not a protection should be extended and who should get protection, the courts have always seen that as a political question, squarely in the realm of the executive branch and its discretion, said Nayna Gupta, director of policy at the American Immigration Council, adding that the law requires a 60-day period after any termination, and terminations are still susceptible to litigation.

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Immigrant advocates are hopeful the Biden administration will issue last-minute renewals for TPS designations in an effort to give beneficiaries at least an 18-month runway before the country designations expire.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not respond to a question on whether TPS extensions are in the works.

But if and when those designations expire, current TPS beneficiaries will be at a relative disadvantage because of the programs registration requirements and statutory exclusion from a path to citizenship.

A major concern is that, as opposed to other people in the unauthorized population, who DHS doesnt know who they are, doesnt know where they live, someone with TPS, the government knows who they are and what their most recent address is. So if anything, they might be more vulnerable to deportation if and when their status is terminated, said Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute.

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But as a general matter, this does all come back to the lack of congressional action on immigration. The executive branch has taken a record number of actions on immigration using the tools that it has available, but these actions are vulnerable to litigation and do not provide a pathway to citizenship, because ultimately, only Congress can provide that.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

If TPS is the highest-profile statutory humanitarian relief program for foreign nationals, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is its executive action counterpart.

DACA was the Obama administrations most visible immigrant relief effort, an origin story that attracts Democrats and repels Republicans.

But through its lifetime, DACA has gained bipartisan clout because it protects a publicly sympathetic group of people known as Dreamers.

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Dreamers are undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as minors  DACA beneficiaries are a subset of Dreamers who fulfilled the programs requirements, including being born on or after 1981, arriving before 2007 and passing the relevant background checks.

Because DACA started in 2012 with age-specific rules, the DACA-eligible population has shrunk significantly since its inception. At its peak, the program had more than 800,000 beneficiaries, a number that as of June shrunk to 535,030, according to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Throughout its lifetime, DACA has faced multiple challenges on its legality, primarily through lawsuits led by red states, and a case is currently under review by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. During litigation, DHS has been barred from processing any new DACA applications, increasing the rate of membership attrition.

DACA was first declared illegal in 2021 by a federal judge in Texas, who argued the Obama administration circumvented Congress in its creation by not issuing it as a rule subject to a comments period. In 2023, that same judge ruled President Bidens reissuing of the program as a rule subject to comments was also illegal.

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DACA is already being litigated, right? Were waiting for that final decision. So in some ways, like the question of how sound DACA is, is already in the hands of the judiciary, said Gupta.

That could make a Trump rescission of the program moot, though he did order its termination in 2017, despite faint hopes from immigrant advocates that he would spare Dreamers.

Biden parole programs

A second Trump administration is certain to stop accepting migrants into the country under parole programs started under Biden, but its less clear what will happen to people who have already received parole.

According to Migration Policy Institute numbers, the current administration has granted parole to Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan nationals 531,000 times as of September.

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But the Biden administration has also said it will not renew CHNV parole status, forcing beneficiaries to seek a different status, including asylum or TPS.

The first Venezuelan CHNV grants started expiring in October; nationals of the three other countries have until early next year before their parole expires.

The short time frame could make it convenient for the Trump administration to simply wait for parole status to expire rather than acting to terminate it proactively.

Advocates are calling on the Biden administration to extend all possible parole designations, hoping to give current parolees more time before potentially being targeted for deportation.

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Parolees who can receive extensions of parole  in any way in which those can be expedited  those pending requests for parole, that will be hugely helpful. That will mean that on day one, people have protection for a certain amount of time. Of course, this could be terminated at any moment, but its more likely that we would just see them expire and the Trump administration not renew them, said Gupta.

Other parole programs include Uniting for Ukraine  with 214,800 parole orders issued  family reunifications for Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras  58,776 grants  and Operation Allies Welcome, a program that issued 75,000 grants of parole to Afghans who helped the U.S. war effort.

Many if not most of the parolees who entered the United States through those programs are likely to have claimed asylum.

Asylum

The United States asylum system is overwhelmed, with a backlog of more than 2 million cases between immigration courts and USCIS.

But there is significant overlap between asylum, gray area statuses and visas, including green cards.

The number of people with these statuses who have also applied for asylum is probably really high, so that would really get into a double counting problem, said Bush-Joseph.

Prospective asylees who have already passed their initial screening  those in the backlog  are protected from deportation by statute, meaning the Trump administration would face significant legal challenges in trying to deport them before their cases are heard.

But immigrant advocates say the incoming administrations buildup of expectations is already rattling immigrant communities with uncertainty.

The real challenge for people who are in these temporary protective statuses or temporary parole postures is the absolute uncertainty of whether this administration is going to affirmatively terminate those protections on day one, whether theyre going to do let them run their course and expire and not renew those, whether theyll just pick a couple and target certain countries, said Gupta.

Then, even if those protections evaporate, what does it look like after? Is there a roundup? Is there detention? Is it feasible to remove all those people? And how can they even survive in our community if they lose work authorization, and they have to go into hiding?

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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The Bibi Files, directed by Alexis Bloom, is an extraordinary and essential documentary. It follows the corruption scandal that has engulfed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu like a toxic cloud. More than that, though, its about how the accusations hes been trying to squirm out from under since 2019, when he was first indicted on charges of bribery and fraud, have changed his identity as a politician.

The film makes a powerful case that Netanyahus alliance with the far-right fringe of Israeli politics, which has culminated in his grotesque compulsion to prolong the massacre in Gaza with no end in sight, has been driven almost entirely by his attempt to evade the charges against him. As long as the war goes on, it becomes his excuse to stay in office. Underneath it all, the documentary argues that Netanyahu is terrified of being toppled and imprisoned, to the point that hes willing to rip a hole in Israeli society to avoid it.

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When national leaders are accused of corruption, the charges tend to be serious. Richard Nixon was brought down by a litany of crimes. Ronald Reagan oversaw the Iran-Contra scandal (a transgression that was, in my view, more serious than Watergate). Donald Trump has been charged with crimes ranging from election interference to sexual assault. So when you hear about the scandal that has consumed Netanyahu, it may, at first, seem shockingly trivial by comparison. Hes accused of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, the heart of the charges relating to gifts hes received  a pattern of sponging off the generosity of wealthy and influential friends, tycoons who plied Bibi and his wife, Sara, with Cohiba cigars, rivers of champagne, and very expensive jewelry.

The reason this may, at first, come off as trivial is that national leaders tend to have and enjoy their perks. Many U.S. presidents, from John F. Kennedy on, have smoked Cuban cigars, and no one spends a lot of time asking where they got them from.

Yet Israel is a different sort of place. Seventy-six years after its founding, it remains a spiritually austere nation, rooted in the bare-bones socialist ethos of the kibbutz. Netanyahus propensity for living large sticks out, and it has only grown larger during the 17 years that he has been prime minister. For him, its become an issue of entitlement. He and Sara, who very much rule as a conjoined power couple (a la Bill and Hillary Clinton), travel everywhere and are treated like royalty, notably at the White House. Returning home, they want that lifestyle to continue. According to the Israeli journalist Raviv Drucker (who is one of the films producers), Netanyahu has sugar daddies all over the world.

In Israel, a pattern of accepting gifts like these is considered a serious infraction. Especially when it looks as though the favors may have been returned  like, for instance, the tax law that Netanyahu was accused of bending for his good buddy, the Israeli-bred Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan. Far lesser scandals have brought down the careers of Israeli politicians. But as The Bibi Files captures, Netanyahu, in becoming the longest-serving prime minister since the founding of Israel, has developed a messianic streak. In his mind, hes become the State (not just its representative but its embodiment). He thinks that hes impervious, and that hes reaping what hes owed.

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The Bibi Files features interviews with many important voices in Israel (politicians, journalists, the former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert), but the heart of the film is a series of digitally taped interrogations  of Netanyahu and his associates  that were leaked, surreptitiously, to the filmmakers. We see Bibi seated in his rather spartan office, with an Israeli flag on one side of his desk and a document shredder on the other, as police questioners ask him to confirm or deny details of the crimes hes accused of. This is riveting stuff, mostly due to the fascinating performance Netanyahu gives.

His persona during the interrogations is one of calculated self-righteousness. His strategy is to deny, deny, deny, and to not remember anything. Theres a montage of him saying I dont remember, which according to the film is his response to 95 percent of the questions. But its not merely denial. Netanyahus technique, and its formidable, is to gaslight the police interviewers by attacking them in tones of overheated self-righteousness. Thats preposterous! he bellows. Youre delusional! He is played tape recordings of witnesses detailing his transgressions, the illegal deals he has made (like when he facilitated bank loans of $250 million for the Israeli cell-phone tycoon Shaul Elovitch and, in exchange, gained editorial control of the popular youth political website Walla). And he greets each and every one of them by shouting, Lies! All lies! He almost convinces you that he believes it. He will sit there fuming, then slap his hand on the table, declaring his mockery of the police, of the injustice he is suffering, letting out his cry of aggrieved innocence. Its all theater. But Netanyahu is as great an actor as Trump or maybe Al Pacino. Hes mesmerizing in his shamelessness.

By precedent, he should have resigned in 2019, when he was first brought up on charges; his own lawyer advised him to do so, and to declare his political career over. But Bibi rebelled. According to former Prime Minister Olmert, He was challenging the system. He said, No, Im above, Im beyond. No one can touch me.' What happened then was that the center-left parties in the Knesset decided to ban him, and that made Netanyahu  out of the sheer need to survive  gravitate to the far right, allying himself with figures like Bezalel Smotrich, an active supporter of anti-Palestinian terrorism, and Itmar Ben-Gvit, who openly celebrated the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Joining up with jokers like these, who he refused to even be photographed with a few years before, Netanyahu formed the most far-right government in the history of Israeli politics.

And it was all to save his own skin.

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When Netanyahu vows to continue the war in Gaza until every last vestige of Hamas has been rooted out and destroyed, and even those critics of his who are sympathetic to Israel say things like, That makes no sense. Its impossible to completely destroy Hamas, the film forcefully suggests that Netanyahu, even as he triples down on this militant stance, is in some essential way lying. He knows that Hamas cant be fully destroyed. He just wants an excuse to keep it all going. In a sense, only his corruption charges can explain the insanity of this vengeful war with no end, and the way that it has decimated Israels credibility around the world. Depending on how much influence you think the war in Gaza had on the U.S. presidential election (theres no question that it lost Kamala Harris votes from Arab-Americans and from young voters around the country), you could even draw a perverse line from Bibis fondness for Cohiba cigars to the election of Trump.

Alexis Bloom, who made Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg and Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes, is an ace filmmaker who knows just how to pace an inquiry into the metastasization of power. She goes back and charts Netanyahus childhood and his life story  his older brother who both led and died in the raid on Entebbe (he was like the familys Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., and Bibi launched his career on the back of his brothers heroism), and what turned out to be Netanyahus astonishing skill as an Israeli spokesman. I used to see him interviewed on Nightline, and I would marvel at his quick-cut telegenic eloquence.

It was only a matter of time before Bibi became prime minister, but as his anti-terrorism stance hardened, he began to slash away at the pillars of Israeli democracy. By the time, a couple of years ago, that he was trying to neuter the Supreme Court, hed thrown the entire country into disarray. There were mass protests. His impulse, by this point, was openly autocratic, and the documentary makes the crucial point that his iron fist of panic left Israel in a weakened state, which is part of how the massacre of October 7 was able to happen. The countrys guard was down.

Netanyahu is not the first ruler to use war to sustain his power. And the film suggests that he will probably end up in prison anyway. (He has now been accused of forging phone records.) The Bibi Files is an important documentary, because it takes in the big picture of how Benjamin Netanyahu became so entrenched that he remade Israel in his own image, in much the same way that Trump has done in the U.S. and will now try to do even more. These leaders dont care who or what they take down with them. And in Bibis case, the collateral damage is starting to include not just the victims of the war in Gaza but Israel itself.

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The Biden administration is sending a roughly $100 billion request to Congress to help Americans impacted by a series of major and record-breaking natural disasters in 2023 and 2024, including Hurricanes Helene and Milton, calling on lawmakers to pass the needed relief with bipartisan and bicameral support.

It includes $40 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agencys Disaster Relief Fund, after the federal government rapidly spent a recent infusion of around $20 billion from Congress to respond to hurricane season after it ran out of money amid other tornadoes, wildfires and floods.

The whopping topline number is roughly five times the amount Congress initially gave FEMA in its yearly budget process. Congress granted FEMAs major disasters fund $20.2 billion for the 2024 fiscal year, according to a Congressional Research Service report. But a constant stream of deadly and destructive storms, wildfires and drained the agencys coffers again and again.

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The request includes funding for a number of other key areas of assistance for those impacted by natural disasters, including $24 billion for the Department of Agriculture to help farmers that experienced crop or livestock losses, $12 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Developments block grant disaster recovery funding for communities, $8 billion for the Department of Transportation for road and bridge repair, $4 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency for water system upgrades, and $2 billion for the Small Business Administrations disaster loan program for businesses, homeowners, renters, and other nonprofit organizations.

Congressional leadership will now have to decide how to take up the request  either as a standalone bill or packaged with the end-of-year spending bill.

There are minimal weeks left on the legislative calendar and Republicans are set to take control of both chambers of Congress in the new year. But there is a recognition on both sides of the aisle that getting aid passed is a priority. A senior administration official called on lawmakers to pass the additional funding as quickly as possible, and a Republican aide told CNN, We need to do it this year if possible.

The request is aimed at providing much-needed relief for Americans still picking up the pieces from the major back-to-back Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which struck the southeastern United States in September and October, as well as recent severe storms in Alaska, Connecticut, Louisiana, New Mexico, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young said in a memo to interested parties earlier Monday.

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Under FEMAs immediate needs funding posture, which prioritizes funding for life saving and life-sustaining activities, the agencys administrator Deanne Criswell warned that FEMA will not have enough funding to get through fiscal year 2025. Additional funding is needed to ensure that we can support communities and achieve our mission.

The request comes as Criswells agency is under scrutiny after an employee was fired for advising their disaster relief team to avoid homes with signs supporting now-President-elect Donald Trump while canvassing in Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. Pressed on the ongoing investigation, a senior administration official declined to comment but said FEMAs mission is to help people before, during, and after disasters, and our core values are fairness, respect, integrity, and compassion.

A senior official declined to weigh in on the administrations preferred vehicle for the additional funding, but officials repeatedly stressed the urgency of supporting impacted communities as climate change poses more extreme weather events.

This request of supplemental funds is focused on the accounts that are most critical to aiding disaster survivors and impacted communities, President Joe Biden said in a Monday letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson obtained by CNN.

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Biden continued: I urge the Congress to take immediate action.

Young called on lawmakers to work together to pass the bill on a bipartisan basis, pointing to a long history of aid in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, and others.

Theres no room for politics in disaster relief, Young said.

The Biden Harris administration stands ready to work with lawmakers to deliver the vital resources our communities need and expect with strong bipartisan and bicameral support, she added.

CNNs Ella Nilsen contributed to this report.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's administration called on U.S. lawmakers on Monday to quickly pass roughly $100 billion in emergency disaster relief funding in the wake of damaging storms that have depleted the coffers of several recovery assistance programs.

The funding package, which includes $40 billion for FEMA's disaster relief fund and more than $2 billion for the depleted Small Business Administration loan program, would be delivered to Congress as soon as Monday, a senior administration official said.

Biden's administration has made multiple requests for more disaster aid since Congress last passed supplemental funding in December 2022, but lawmakers have not acted despite multiple storms including Hurricanes Helene and Milton, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young said.

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In the interim, the Biden administration has provided federal support to victims of the devastating wildfires in Maui, the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, and severe storms in Connecticut, Alaska, Louisiana, New Mexico and more, Young told reporters on a Monday call.

"There's no room for politics in disaster relief," Young said. "With Congress back in session, the Biden-Harris Administration stands ready to work with lawmakers to deliver the vital resources our communities need and expect with strong bipartisan and bicameral support."

She noted that Congress and administrations of both parties have a history of supporting such disaster relief, having provided over $90 billion in aid after Hurricane Katrina, over $50 billion after Hurricane Sandy and over $120 billion following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

A new Republican-led Congress convenes in early January and Biden leaves office Jan. 20, handing over the White House to Republican President-elect Donald Trump.

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Hurricane Milton came ashore on Oct. 9 and carved a swathe of destruction across Florida, including an estimated $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion in crops and agricultural infrastructure damage alone, among other losses.

Hurricane Helene had made landfall farther north just weeks earlier.

Analysts have said they expect up to $55 billion in insured losses from this year's Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told reporters on Monday that her agency needed the supplemental $40 billion included in this package to support ongoing recovery efforts from the back-to-back hurricanes.

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FEMA had to enter an "immediate needs funding" posture on Aug. 7 to prioritize the very expensive life-saving hurricane response, which caused it to delay some $8.8 billion worth of funds to some 3,000 ongoing recovery projects, Criswell said.

FEMA currently has enough funding in its disaster relief fund to support its hurricane response through the December 20 end of the continuing resolution that Congress passed in late September, but only if there are no new large disasters, Criswell said.

(Reporting by Jarret Renshaw in Rio de Janeiro and Gabriella Borter and Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Alistair Bell)
The Biden administration on Monday announced sanctions against what it described as Israeli citizens and entities involved in the extremist settler movement in the West Bank, part of U.S. efforts to curb escalating violence targeting Palestinians in the territory.

The sanctions fall under an executive order President Biden issued in February to hold accountable violence carried out by extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank targeting Palestinians, and the organizations supporting such violence.

We once again call on the Government of Israel to take action and hold accountable those responsible for or complicit in violence, forced displacement, and the dispossession of private land, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

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The United States will continue to promote accountability for those who further destabilize conditions in the West Bank and support extremist violence in the region.

While President-elect Trump, who has earlier endorsed Israeli settlements, will have the power to revoke Bidens executive order, its not clear how easily sanctions on individuals and entities can be lifted.

Among the new sanctions was the blacklisting of the group Amana, a settlement development organization, and a construction and development subsidiary, Binyanei Bar Amana Ltd. The United Kingdom and Canada also sanctioned the entities.

The United States, along with our allies and partners, remains committed to holding accountable those who seek to facilitate these destabilizing activities, which threaten the stability of the West Bank, Israel, and the wider region, said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo.

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The sanctions against Amana, in particular, follow a letter to President Biden last month from 88 Democrats in the House and Senate calling for blacklisting the entity for its role in providing loans and building infrastructure for new outposts that are illegal under Israeli law, including agricultural farms that facilitate settler violence against Palestinian communities.

The lawmakers also called for Biden to sanction radical Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for encouraging and facilitating the expansion of settlements, taking actions that weaken the Palestinian Authority  the governing body in the West Bank  and failing to address escalating violence carried out by Israelis against Palestinians.

But the Biden administration has so far held back sanctions on the Israeli ministers. Among the other sanctions announced on Monday were against three individuals, Itamar Yehuda Levi, Shabtai Koshlevsky, and Zohar Sabah.

Levi and Koshlevsky were sanctioned for heading entities that provide support to sanctioned businesses; and Sabah is described as having engaged in threats and acts of violence against Palestinians, including in their homes, and demonstrated a pattern of destructiveness in the West Bank.

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The State Department said that Sabah was also implicated in the attack on the Al-Kaabneh elementary school near Jericho in September 2024 which injured several Palestinians at the school.

As a result of the sanctions, any property or interests held by the sanctioned individuals or entities in the U.S. are blocked and must be reported to the Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control. Sanctioned individuals generally are blocked from entering the U.S. and Americans risk penalties if they are found doing business with the sanctioned individuals or entities.

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President Biden has sent Congress an emergency funding request for roughly $100 billion to help with recovery after natural disasters, including the recent hurricanes Helene and Milton in the Southeast, battered communities nationwide and depleted key programs.

From rebuilding homes and reopening critical infrastructure, such as schools and roads  to supporting the Nations farmers and ranchers and ensuring access to healthcare services  impacted communities await your response. There can be no delay, Biden wrote in a letter to the House Speaker.

I urge the Congress to act quickly to pass a supplemental funding package to assist communities impacted by these hurricanes  and every other disaster since the Congress last passed a comprehensive disaster package in 2022  so that the people, families, businesses, and communities affected have the support they need to respond, recover, and rebuild responsibly, the president said.

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The request includes $40 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agencys Disaster Relief Fund. Without that, Biden said, the DRF will face a shortfall this fiscal year, impacting FEMAs ability to aid disaster survivors and recovery efforts.

The White House is also asking for emergency funding for more than a dozen other agencies to support health services, housing, transportation and infrastructure, among other areas.

Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, warned in a memo on Monday that various federal agencies, including the Small Business Administration and the Department of Agriculture, are running low on funds after the recent storms. Several of those agencies have written to Congress in recent weeks about the need to replenish key disaster response programs and fund long term recovery for communities suffering since 2022, she said.

The Department of Agriculture would get $24 billion to help impacted farmers, the Department of Housing and Urban Development would get $12 billion for its Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program and the Small Business Administration would get $2 million to replenish its disaster loan program.

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In addition to helping respond to the devastation wrought by Helene and Milton this fall  which together killed hundreds of people and caused billions in damage  the funds would also help ongoing recovery efforts after last years fires in Maui and this springs tornadoes in Mississippi, Iowa and Oklahoma.

The Biden administration has made multiple requests for more disaster aid since 2022, Young noted.

Biden in his letter pointed to Congresss bipartisan action in the wake of other recent natural disasters, including more than $120 billion provided after Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in 2017.

Just as the Congress acted then, it is our sworn duty now to deliver the necessary resources to ensure that everyone in communities reeling from Hurricanes Helene and Milton  and those still recovering from previous disasters  have the Federal resources they need and deserve, Biden said.

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Lawmakers will now decide how to take up the request. Congress faces a Dec. 20 deadline to pass a government funding bill and avert a shutdown, and its possible the disaster relief funds will be packaged into that legislation.

In January, the GOP will take a trifecta of control over the House, Senate and the White House as President-elect Trump assumes the Oval Office.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plans to invest over $65 billion to build three factories in Phoenix. Photo courtesy of city of Phoenix

WASHINGTON  The Biden administration has finalized a $6.6 billion award for the Taiwan semiconductor giant that is building massive factories in Phoenix, amid concerns President-elect Donald Trump will derail subsidies aimed at fostering the domestic chip industry.

This is a gigantic announcement, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo told reporters on a call ahead of the announcement early Friday, 10 days after Trumps election.

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This will be one of the most important investments that we make as a country to advance our economic and national security, she said.

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The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plans to invest $65 billion on three state-of-the-art fabrication plants, or fabs, that mean thousands of jobs in Arizona.

Semiconductors are used in chips that make computers work, along with cell phones, fighter jets, self-driving cars, artificial intelligence and even ovens.

U.S. officials alluded to Trumps election to explain the timing of the award.

For the next two months, youll continue to see Commerce finalizing more awards, ensuring progress made to date will carry forward through the end of the decade, Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters Thursday  two months and a week before Trump will be sworn in.

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In April, the Biden administration promised $6.6 billion in grants to TSMC to build the Phoenix fabs, plus up to $5 billion in loans. The funds come from one of Bidens signature legislative achievements, the CHIPS and Science Act, which set aside $52.7 billion for chip research, manufacturing and workforce development in the United States.

TSMC, one of the worlds largest companies, makes chips for leading technology and artificial intelligence developers, including Apple, NVIDIA and AMDl.

In June, Trump rattled investors when he accused Taiwan of stealing the U.S. chip industry and asserted the U.S. shouldnt be giving them billions of dollars to build chips.

That CHIPS deal is so bad, he said Oct. 25 on the Joe Rogan podcast.

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Last month, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who voted against the CHIPS Act, said he would work to repeal the law if Trump was elected. He quickly backtracked when fellow Republicans reminded him of the jobs on the line in their districts.

TSMC announced the first Arizona fab in May 2020. Production began in April.

Biden signed the CHIPS Act in August 2022. The company announced a second fab in December that year, with production expected to start by 2028. The company announced its third fab in April when Biden announced a preliminary agreement to provide the federal subsidies.

To receive funding under the CHIPS Act, the company must hit certain construction, production and other milestones. TSMC has met enough milestones to receive at least $1 billion by the end of the year, and will receive the rest as the project progresses, said Michael Schmidt, director of the CHIPS program office at the Commerce Department.

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Its a binding contract, added Ryan Harper, the White House CHIPS implementation coordinator. The company, as long as it meets its milestones, has a contractual binding agreement from the government to move forward.

Early production yields at TSMCs first fab in Arizona are at least as good as at similar factories in Taiwan, Bloomberg reported last month.

Raimondo called the progress unbelievable.

Even though it has never been done before in the U.S., its being done now, she said. To all the naysayers, I say: Its happening. The proof is in the pudding.

TSMCs plants in Arizona represent the biggest such foreign investment in U.S. history, the White House said.

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In a statement, Biden noted that semiconductors were invented in the United States but only 10% are now made here, and all of the most advanced chips are made overseas.

Once the first TSMC fab is fully operational in a few months, Biden said, for the first time in decades an American manufacturing plant will be producing the leading-edge chips used in our most advanced technologies.

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President Biden made a historic visit to the Amazon rainforest Sunday to view the Amazon River and the ongoing effects of climate change.

With his visit Sunday, Biden became the first sitting American president to set foot in the Amazon rainforest.

After an aerial tour to view the ecosystems and deforestation, Biden said he was proud to visit the region.

He signed a U.S. proclamation designating Nov. 17 as International Conservation Day.

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With President-elect Trumps election victory, some are concerned that he will rollback some of the climate change efforts done under the Biden administration.

Its no secret that Im leaving office in January. I will leave my successor and my country a strong foundation to build on if they choose to do so, Biden said from the Amazon.

Last year, the Biden administration designated $500 million for the Amazon Fund, making it the most significant international effort to preserve the rainforest. So far, the U.S. has provided $50 million to the fund and Biden said Sunday the U.S. will provide $50 million more.

A senior Biden administration official said Sunday that it will be up to Trump if he wants to continue their efforts on the front.

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Maybe hell come down here and see the forest and see the damage being done from drought and other things and change his mind about climate change, the official said.

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Germany will soon start handing over the latest Helsing kamikaze drones equipped with artificial intelligence to Ukraine. These drones are called "mini-Taurus" because of their functionality and range.

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This was reported by Bild. Helsing is a kamikaze drone with a high level of autonomy, designed to operate effectively in conditions of electronic warfare (EW).

Thanks to modern software, they are able to "navigate" the terrain using various markers, which allows them to reach targets even in difficult conditions  during bad weather, on scorched earth, or when they lose contact with the operator.

The drone can identify targets on its own, but it requires operator confirmation to launch an attack. If the connection with the operator is lost, the drone will complete the task autonomously.

Helsing has a flight range 4 times longer than that of typical Ukrainian kamikaze drones. They are also significantly cheaper than the American Switchblade, Russian Zala, and Lancet.

According to Bild, about 4,000 of these drones have been ordered for Ukraine. Starting in December, the drones are expected to arrive in batches of several hundred per month. Some prototypes are already being tested in real combat conditions in eastern Ukraine.

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German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius confirmed the start of deliveries, noting that he was "very pleased that the delivery of these AI-equipped drones is already underway." According to him, Ukraine will be able to use them against important enemy targets such as command posts.

To recap, the Bundestag may put to a vote the issue of providing Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles. This possibility is being considered by members of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), which left the coalition.

However, according to the Tagesspiegel article, even if the issue of the missile transfer were approved by the majority in parliament, it would still have no practical consequences, because the decision to deliver weapons is made not by the Bundestag, but by the Security Council of the federal government. It is chaired by Chancellor Scholz, and he is categorically against providing Ukraine with Taurus.

He recently reiterated that Berlin's assistance to Kyiv should not lead to further "escalation" in the war with Russia.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier approved the schedule of early parliamentary elections, which was previously agreed by the main parties represented in the Bundestag. According to it, the German parliamentary elections are to be held at the end of February 2025.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
By David Lawder and Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden pledged a $4 billion U.S. contribution to the World Bank's International Development Association fund for the world's poorest countries, a senior Biden administration official said on Monday.

Biden announced the three-year U.S. pledge during a closed session of the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, the official told reporters, adding that the U.S. Treasury was leading negotiations at the World Bank for the IDA replenishment.

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The new U.S. pledge is a record and substantially exceeds the $3.5 billion Washington committed in the previous IDA fund replenishment round in December 2021.

It is unclear if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has proposed cutting foreign aid in the past, will honor Biden's pledge as he and billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk seek to slash U.S. spending through a new government efficiency panel. An appropriation by the U.S. Congress to fund the commitment would not likely take place until after Trump takes office in January.

A spokesperson for Trump's transition team did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.

'HISTORIC' PLEDGE

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Earlier in Rio de Janeiro, U.S. deputy national security adviser Jonathan Finer told reporters that Biden would announce a "historic" pledge to the IDA replenishment.

Finer also told reporters at a briefing on the G20 summit that Biden will launch a bilateral clean energy partnership when he meets Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday.

The World Bank's IDA fund, which provides mainly grants and very low interest loans to the poorest countries, is replenished every three years, and a pledging conference is scheduled for Dec. 5-6 in Seoul.

World Bank President Ajay Banga is aiming for a record amount exceeding the $93 billion refunding in December 2021, amid rising demands from poor nations in Africa and elsewhere that are struggling with crushing debts, climate disasters, conflict and other pressures.

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Banga told Reuters in October that a $120 billion replenishment is possible, but that goal would require some substantial increases in country commitments.

Biden's new U.S. commitment is about 14.3% higher than its 2021 contribution. At the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in October, Spain announced plans to boost its contribution by 37% to 400 million euros ($423 million).

Denmark in September announced a 40% increase in its contribution to about $492 million.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder in Washington, additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Sandra Maler)
(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Bidens administration is seeking $98.6 billion in emergency disaster relief funding from Congress to address the devastation from recent back-to-back hurricanes that hammered the US southeast and left billions in damage.

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The presidents budget chief, Shalanda Young, on a call Monday sought to convey a sense of urgency, warning that agencies on the ground helping affected residents were running low on funds to address the situation and saying there was no room for politics in disaster relief.

Now that Congress has returned, the administration is once again transmitting an emergency supplemental funding request to Congress so we can work together in a bipartisan manner to deliver the support and relief our communities need and deserve, said Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget.

The administration sent its request to lawmakers on Monday.

Hurricane Milton hammered Florida in early October with Category 3 winds just weeks after Hurricane Helene caused large-scale flooding and devastation in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The damage from Milton alone could be around $50 billion, Biden said in October.

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Short-term federal response funding for Helene and Milton has been supported through the Federal Emergency Management Agencys Disaster Relief Fund, according to Young, but that account is running low and doesnt cover costs for long-term recovery, including housing, agriculture losses and certain transportation infrastructure.

The administrations request includes a $40 billion request for the Department of Homeland Security to provide funding for FEMAs disaster relief fund, meant to address expected disaster costs through fiscal year 2025.

In addition, the administration is seeking $24 billion for the US Department of Agriculture to provide help to farmers who experienced crop or livestock losses, aid with debris removal in impacted communities, repair rural infrastructure, and bolster grants for food and nutrition programs.

The request also includes $12 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development; $8 billion for the Transportation Department; $4 billion to the Environmental Protection Agency for water-system upgrades to mitigate future damages from natural disasters and for additional recovery work; and $3 billion for Health and Human Services to keep up health care in hurricane-hit areas.

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The administration is also asking for $3 billion for State and Tribal Assistance Grants.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Monday that there was bipartisan interest in passing a disaster aid measure, but added that involved a deliberate process that we go through.

Well go to work, of course, evaluating that, Johnson said at the Capitol. And were going to make sure we deliver for the hurricane victims and the people that have suffered from that.

But Senate Appropriations Chair Committee Chair Patty Murray said in a statement that Congress had waited too long too pass legislation.

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Lawmakers must pass a government funding bill by Dec. 20 to avoid a shutdown and House Republican leaders are hopeful they can approve a stopgap into March, allowing incoming President-elect Donald Trump and a GOP-controlled Senate to work with them to put into place their own funding priorities.

Federal agencies including the Department of Agriculture and Department of Homeland Security have written to congressional leaders pushing for the need to replenish key disaster response programs and fund long-term recovery for communities suffering since 2022, according to Young.

The last time Congress passed a similar package was in December 2022, she said.

While disaster aid typically draws support from both parties, funding has repeatedly been caught up in partisan battles in recent years.

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Congress and previous administrations provided $90 billion in aid after Hurricane Katrina in 2005; more than $50 billion for Hurricane Sandy in 2013; and over $120 billion following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in 2017.

--With assistance from Jack Fitzpatrick.

(Updates with request going to Congress, specific requests, Johnson, Murray comments, from fourth paragraph.)

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WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden is requesting nearly $100 billion in emergency disaster aid after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and other natural disasters, telling lawmakers that the money is urgently needed.

The letter Monday to House Speaker Mike Johnson comes as lawmakers meet during a lame-duck session to finish key priorities before making way for a new Congress and the incoming Trump administration. Biden said he has met firsthand with those harmed by the storms and he heard what residents and businesses needed from the federal government.

"Additional resources are critical to continue to support these communities, Biden said.

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The largest share of the money, about $40 billion, would go to the main disaster relief fund at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The fund helps with debris removal, repairing public infrastructure and providing financial assistance to survivors.

Biden said the fund would face a shortfall this budget year without additional money. He said that would not only affect the agency's ability to provide lifesaving assistance to survivors, but also would slow recovery efforts from prior disasters.

An additional $24 billion would help farmers that have experienced crop or livestock losses, and $12 billion would go toward helping communities recover through block grants administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Some $8 billion more would help rebuild and repair highways and bridges in more than 40 states and territories. The administration is also seeking $4 billion for long-term water system upgrades to mitigate future damage from natural disasters.

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The Small Business Administration has run out of money for a program that provides low-interest loans for businesses, nonprofits and homeowners trying to rebuild after a disaster. Biden is seeking $2 billion for that program. Several other agencies would also receive emergency funds if Congress agrees to the full request.

Lawmakers were expecting a hefty number from the administration. Johnson, R-La., said Congress will evaluate the request and well make sure we deliver for the hurricane victims and the people that have suffered from that.

Johnson had also visited western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene to assess the damage. At the time, he said Congress would act in a bipartisan fashion to help communities recover, but he also said it would be the appropriate amount that the federal government should do.

With many Republicans campaigning on reducing federal spending, there could be some debate about portions of Biden's request. The federal government doesn't help with every disaster. It generally gets involved only if the needs are above the ability of a community or state to handle.

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Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said he opposes the aid package requested by the president because it's not offset with spending cuts elsewhere.

"This is a spending spree, Norman said.

Republicans are also outraged that a FEMA employee directed workers helping hurricane survivors not to go to homes with yard signs supporting Donald Trump's presidential campaign. The agency's leader, Administrator Deanne Criswell, said the employee was fired and the directive was a clear violation of the agency's core values to help people regardless of political affiliation.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., however, called the president's request a good start. He said residents of Asheville, North Carolina, are still under an advisory to boil their water, and thats not the worst thing happening there.

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We need to get a signal to them that were going to support them, Tillis said.

The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to hear Wednesday from the heads of several of the government agencies that would receive funding through Biden's request. It's possible that emergency aid could be attached to any spending bill designed to keep federal agencies operating after current funding expires Dec. 20.

Biden noted that Congress had provided more than $90 billion in aid after Hurricane Katrina nearly two decades ago, and more than $50 billion after Hurricane Sandy in 2013. He urged Congress to take immediate action.

Just as the Congress acted then, it is our sworn duty now to deliver the necessary resources to ensure that everyone in communities reeling from Hurricanes Helene and Milton  and those still recovering from previous disasters  have the Federal resources they need and deserve, Biden wrote.



AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
President Biden will send Congress an extensive emergency funding request in the coming days, the White House said Monday, as administration officials called on Congress to approve more money following a slew of natural disasters.

Various agencies, including the Small Business Administration, the Department of Agriculture and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), are running low on funding following Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Milton and other severe storms, wrote Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, in a memo to interested parties.

To ensure these communities get comprehensive recovery assistance, our Administration has made multiple requests to Congress outlining the need for emergency funding to address these disasters, and detailing the consequences of failing to deliver this aid. To date, Congress has yet to act, Young wrote, noting lawmakers last passed a comprehensive disaster aid package in December 2022.

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Young wrote that FEMA needs additional funding so it can provide assistance to repair housing, rebuild infrastructure and work to prevent damage in future storms.

Additionally, the Small Business Administration is managing 36 disasters across 24 states, Young wrote, and a lack of funding could prevent it from providing loans to businesses in need.

The Department of Agriculture needs additional funding to assist rural communities, Young added, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development requires more money for its grant programs.

In the coming days, the Biden-Harris Administration will send to Congress a comprehensive disaster package, Young wrote. We look forward to working with Congress to quickly pass emergency funding so the Federal Government can meet its obligations to the American people.

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Hurricane Helene tore through Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas in September, killing more than 200 people and causing more than $50 billion in damage in North Carolina alone. Hurricane Milton hit Florida in early October, killing more than 30 people and causing billions more in damage.

Congress must pass a government funding bill before Dec. 20 to avert a shutdown. The White House is expected to push lawmakers to include disaster relief funds in that legislation.

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The White House and President Joe Biden on Monday denounced the group of neo-Nazis who marched in the Short North on Saturday, calling it a "sickening display" and saying it was hostile to American values.

Columbus Police began to receive reports around 1:15 p.m. Saturday about a dozen people, one with a bullhorn, wearing all black with red facemasks and carrying black flags with red swastikas on them in the Short North, The Dispatch previously reported.

Police responded to a report from a caller who said that one of the people in the group sprayed pepper spray or mace at a passerby. Callers also reported the group was using racial slurs toward people of color on the street, shouting about Jewish people and white power and appeared to be armed, police dispatchers said.

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The White House said in a statement that "Biden abhors the hateful poison of Nazism, Antisemitism, and racism."

"Hate directed against any of us is a threat to every single one of us," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement. "This sickening display comes during a tragic rise in Antisemitic rhetoric and violence that is a crises the American people should all come together against."

More: DeWine, Columbus leaders condemn neo-Nazis marching through Short North; no arrests made

Community leaders condemn neo-Nazi march

In a statement early Sunday, police said there were no arrests after officers were dispatched at 1:20 p.m. "on a group of individuals dressed in all black and armed with firearms holding Nazi Swastika signs," Sgt. Joe Albert wrote.

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Officers were advised the group may have been in a physical altercation with civilians in the area.

In statements following the march, local and statewide elected officials condemned the neo-Nazi march.

Mayor Andrew Ginther also said in a statement posted on X that the community will continue to stand against hatred and bigotry and embrace tolerance and acceptance through diversity.

"Together, we reject the cowardly display reported in the Short North earlier today, and we will continue to monitor the situation in partnership with the Columbus Division of Police to ensure the safety and security of our city."

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In a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, City Attorney Zach Klein said: "To those involved in the neo-Nazi march in the Short North today, take your flags and the masks you hide behind and go home and never come back. Klein wrote. "Your hate isnt welcome in our city."

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, in a statement, denounced the groups actions and said, There is no place in this State for hate, bigotry, antisemitism, or violence.

"We will not tolerate hate in Ohio. Neo-Nazis  their faces hidden behind red masks  roamed streets in Columbus today, carrying Nazi flags and spewing vile and racist speech against people of color and Jews, DeWine said.

@Cbehrens@dispatch.com

@Colebehr_report

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Nazis march in Ohio; Biden, White House condemn groups
The U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met in Lima, Peru where they discussed a number of topics  including nuclear weapons, and artificial intelligence (AI).

Among the most important topics discussed in the meeting was the role to be played by AI in the years ahead, including its risks, steps needed to improve AI safety and international cooperation for the same.

During the discussion, both Biden and Jinping agreed that AI should not be involved with any type of decision to use nuclear weapons. Both leaders agreed that there is a need to maintain human control over the use of nuclear weapons.

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They also stated that there are potential risks which need to be assessed before developing AI technology for use by the military, both on and off the field, and it should be carried out in a responsible manner.

Biden-Jinping discuss nuclear weapon use, AI risks

The mutual agreement between the two world leader on the topic that decision to use nuclear weapons should be controlled by humans and not AI is a significant one, as Bidens natural security advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters later.

He also stated that it was the first step between the two nuclear powers which is aimed towards mitigating a long-term strategic risk.

According to a report by NPR, it is the first time that the Chinese President has made such a statement officially.

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It is worth mentioning that according to a report published earlier this year, Beijing is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country on the globe.

The SIPRI Yearbook 2024 stated that although Chinas rate of nuclear missile development is quite fast, but it is still way behind the U.S. and Russia, which continue to be the leading forces in this department.

Further on the military front, both sides welcomed the resumption over the last year of high-level military-to-military communications, the U.S.-China Defense Policy Coordination Talks, U.S.-China Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meetings, and engagements between theater commanders.

Russia-Ukraine war, Taiwan, and more topics discussed during the meeting

The Russia-Ukraine war was also discussed during the meeting, and as per a readout by the White House President Biden condemned the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to Russia.

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He also raised the issue of Beijings continued support for Russias defense industrial base.

On the topic of Taiwan, Biden highlighted that the United States One China policy remains unchanged, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances.

However, he also reiterated that the United States opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side, and that any differences must be settled by dialogue. Jinping was asked to bring an end to the military activity being carried out by the PLA around Taiwan.

Another important issue discussed during the meeting was that of the ongoing PRC cyberattacks targeting civilian critical infrastructure and threatening the safety and security of Americans.

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On the counternarcotic front - Biden welcomed Beijings scheduling of 55 dangerous synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals, closure of online platforms and companies that supply precursor chemicals, and arrests connected to the illicit chemical industry, and he called for additional steps in the period ahead.

It should be noted that this is possibly the last face-to-face meeting between the two leaders before President Elect Donald Trump takes over the responsibilities  in approximately two months.

Before the start of the bilateral meeting, Biden had said, We are the most important alliance or most important relationship in the entire world. And how we get along together is going to impact the rest of the world.

He had then gone on to add that Washington and Beijing could not let any of this competition veer into conflict.
Two months before President-elect Trump moves into the White House again, President Biden has reportedly made a major change in U.S. policy toward Ukraine, authorizing it for the first time to use U.S.-supplied missiles to hit targets deeper inside Russia.

Moscow responded angrily on Monday, with the Kremlin warning of potential escalation. Ukraines public reaction was positive but muted, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying any long-range missiles by Ukraines forces to take aim at Russia would speak for themselves.

The step, reported over the weekend by multiple news outlets, comes at a pivot point in a punishing war  as Ukraine this week marks 1,000 days since Russian President Vladimir Putins full-scale invasion. Trump, as a candidate and as president-elect, has said he wants a speedy end to the fighting, while Ukraine fears it will be forced to make painful concessions, including ceding territory Russia has already seized.

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Heres some background on whats behind Bidens move, and its potential repercussions on and off the Ukraine battlefield.

Why now?

Ukraine, pummeled nightly by deadly Russian missile attacks on its cities, has pleaded for months for permission to use U.S.-provided longer-range weaponry to hit airfields and missile installations well inside Russia. Up until now, Biden said no.

But U.S. officials have lately been citing what they call a significant escalation on Moscows part: the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to fight on the Russian side. And Biden and his aides have publicly pledged to set in motion as much help for Ukraine as possible before Trump takes over.

What does Moscow say?

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the move amounted to adding fuel to the fire. And speaking to reporters in Moscow, he pointedly referred back to a menacing statement by Putin in September. The Russian leader said then that allowing Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia would mean that the United States and its NATO allies are at war with Russia.

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Putin also declared over the summer that Russia could provide longer-range weapons to others in order to hit Western targets, and suggested  as he has previously  that Russia could use nuclear arms if it feels sufficiently threatened.

What kind of U.S. weapons are involved?

The system in question is the Army Tactical Missile System, ATACMS, known colloquially as attack ems, with a range of about 190 miles.

If ATACMS are employed, it wouldnt mark the first time American weapons were used by Ukraine inside Russia. This past spring, as Russia was making a push in the eastern region of Kharkiv, imperiling Ukraines second-largest city, the Biden administration allowed use of the U.S.-supplied HIMARS, or High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, with a 50-mile range, to strike at targets across the border.

Ukraine has long used domestically produced weapons, such as drones, to harry Russia with strikes that sometimes target Moscow itself.

Will it make a difference on the battlefield?

Analysts said the step might give Ukraine more ability to stave off Russian attacks on its cities, but pointed out that Moscow has already moved some aircraft and missile installations out of reach. Also, they said that the U.S. supply of ATACMS is far from unlimited  and that Trump could retract the permission as soon as he takes office.

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Its not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination, Phillips OBrien, a professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews, in Scotland, wrote on his Substack. But he added that the move might be far less than the sum of its parts due to timing and potential limitations.

How did Ukraine take the news?

Ukrainian commentators applauded the step, but many bleakly opined that it was too little, too late. Zelensky, in his nightly address to the nation Sunday, suggested that there was little advantage to telegraphing any plans for such strikes ahead of time.

Strikes are not made with words, he said. Such things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves.

Biden took a low-key approach to unveiling the news, eschewing a formal announcement in favor of having senior officials relay the decision to media outlets over the weekend.

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Additionally, the terms of use have not been made public  whether, for example, Ukraine will be limited to targets in the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukrainian troops staged a surprise push in August and where Russia has been massing forces and weaponry to drive them out.

How does the U.S. presidential transition play into this?

Trump has little desire to inherit, in the longer term, a war he has derided as expensive and pointless. (His Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, argued that allowing Russia to benefit from attacking a sovereign neighbor without provocation endangered all of Europe and the West.)

At the same time, Trump relishes the idea of being perceived as a deal maker. In order to strike an accord early in his term, he could seek to strong-arm Ukraine, which is struggling on the battlefield, into making concessions that it up until now has deemed unacceptable, including permanent loss of territory and neutral status.

In addition, the U.S. transition from the Biden administration to the new Trump one coincides with a crucial stretch of time for Ukraine, which fears Russia will use the time between now and January to destroy the countrys battered power grid, depriving Ukrainian civilians of heat and light heading into the coldest winter months.



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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
BIG COUNTRY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC)  In this weeks episode of Big Country Politics, District 68 Representative David Spiller discussed some of his priorities, emphasizing border security and creating legislation to ban foreign land ownership in Texas.

Abilene political analyst discusses Trumps historic win & its impact on the future of politics

Spiller has just won his third term in office. He represents District 68, which includes Brown, Comanche, Cooke, Eastland, Jack, Lampasas, Mills, Montague, San Saba, Shackelford, Throckmorton, and Young counties.

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Im thankful for the opportunity. I appreciate the voters supporting me. I think my election was won by 87.22%. I think that was higher than anybody. So maybe thats a good sign, but Im ready to get back to work and work for the people at House District 68, which covers 12 rural counties, Spiller shared.

Multiple media outlets have reported that Americans are primarily concerned about the economy and border security. Spiller mentioned that in District 68, border security is the top issue, and he is actively working on legislation and collaborating with the governors office to address it.

The problem is that when you have illegal immigration, it affects all counties. All counties become border counties, and it affects my position in rural counties I represent significantly and adversely, much more than it does urban and suburban counties because we dont have the resources to take care of this, whether it be school-related. The funding and the curriculum issues and requirement requirements for that, whether it be health care, I do a lot, Spiller said. Im General Counsel for our hospital district and have been for over 30 years. So I do a lot with health care, and hospitals arent getting reimbursed by the taxpayers, or if its a public thing, are having to eat that cost. I passed and carried SB four, the most significant and strongest border security bill in the history of our state and the history of our nation, in the last session. Its in the court system right now, and so that prohibits illegal entry, illegal re-entry, and violation of an order to return.

How Texas plan to arrest and deport migrants for illegal entry would work

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Border Patrol agents have reported that the Biden administration has not been helpful, and Spiller considers this an understatement.

The Biden administration has completely failed and refused to secure our border in accordance with existing federal law. Theyve repealed many of the policies that were in place to protect Texas and our country. They failed to do that. With President Trump coming in, Im certain that we will reinstate those policies and we will actually follow the law. So number one, we have that, Spiller said. Number two is whats important for Texas and why we would now have control of the as Republicans for the Senate and the House and with Donald Trump as president, is that we will be entitled to be reimbursed the billions and billions of dollars that Texas taxpayers had paid out of their pocket to do the federal governments job. So, Im looking forward to that for the state of Texas. Thats certainly something that we are looking forward to.

Spiller has also proposed a bill requiring every local government in Texas to verify individuals immigration status and check whether they have been arrested, jailed, or charged.

We do that at the state level, but Im also doing it relative to all local governments in Texas; I think thats a good policy. More importantly, it ties in with the deportation issue. What Im hearing is that the first and foremost folks that need to go back are people who are breaking our laws, who are convicted felons, who are here, who dont need to be here, and who are creating problems and theyre a threat to our country and a threat to our state, Spiller shared. But part of the problem is that some of these larger cities arent identifying those folks, and so I have a bill that, at no additional cost, requires them to determine someones immigration status, to determine if theyre arrested and jailed, and charged whether theyre here legally or not, and under federal law, they can ask for that information. But many of these cities and counties are not doing that, so this would require everyone to do that.

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Groups sue over new Texas law that lets police arrest migrants who enter the US illegally

When asked if he believed this bill would face backlash, he anticipated opposition from the Democratic Party.

I think what I would meet is resistance from the Democrats in the Texas House because every single one of them voted against border security this past session. But this is not about race Its about whether you arrived legally or not, which ties into SB four because even under SB four, its treated as a misdemeanor, but you can be ordered to return, Spiller explained. Theres nothing unfair or discriminatory about asking someone to go back if they arrived here illegally or impromptly. We have immigration we have immigration laws in place. We have proper places at ports of entry for people to cross. But whats happening is not that, and we have a record number of documented terrorists, child molesters, convicted felons, and gang members that are posing a threat to our state and our nation, and we cant sustain that.

Spillers district underwent redistricting. It now has fewer counties, but it overlaps with five congressmen and five senators.

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Last session through redistricting, my district changed, and I went from having the strangest looking district in the house to now having the strangest looking district in the house. So its just different. I had 22 counties. Im down to 12. Theyre all still rural, but I cover its 300 miles from one end to the other. I put a lot of miles on my truck, but thats okay. I have had the opportunity to work with five congressmen and five senators, which also helps, you know, trying to work together for the benefit of Texas, Spiller said.

The drug cartels are in Abilene: Congressman Jodey Arrington addresses security crisis at the Texas border

Spiller has filed legislation banning foreign land ownership in Texas.

My background. Im an attorney. I have practiced law for 38 years. Ive routinely handled contested real estate litigation. I also own the oldest family-owned title company in the state of Texas, started by my great-granddad in 1988, so I deal with Title related issues, also set up corporations, LLCs, and things like that, and deal with the operation and setup of those through the Secretary of States office. All of that comes into play here because this is a complicated issue, Spiller explained. Texas doesnt prohibit people who are not citizens from owning property, but what Texas needs to prohibit are those that have been identified on the US threat assessment that comes out annually by our federal government that names countries. Currently, there are four, China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran that pose a threat to our country. By pose a threat, if anyone can look that up online and read that threat assessment, its a pretty simple read. Its only 25 pages long, but it will scare you when you realize what theyre doing and how theyre doing it. As Texans, we need to protect Texas, and not only protect our critical infrastructure and military bases, because many of these are buying land right close to military bases.

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He stated that the bill defines which companies are seen as threats and ensures it addresses more than just the surface.

What companies are a threat, and which ones are owned or controlled by foreign entities? There are some definitions in my bill. I filed this bill last session. It was bill HB 4006. I thought, no disparagement to any other bills that dealt with that issue, but I thought it was the best bill that promptly addressed it, Spiller shared. I got a lot of input from stakeholders and other people in the real estate title. The whole business is about how to best draft this so it doesnt target individuals. Its not limited to just ag land. Its not limited to just the surface. It can be minerals. There are a number of things that make it distinctive, but it also works and has a great deal of support. So Im hopeful we filed the same bill, and hopefully, we can get that across the finish line.

We will secure the border again Senator Ted Cruz tours Abilene facility ahead of 2024 elections

Additionally, Spiller mentioned in a press release that House Bill 243 allows the Texas Attorney General to exercise the states power of eminent domain. This legislation aims to reduce vulnerabilities, minimize consequences, and identify and disrupt threats posed by foreign landowners who may use their property ownership in Texas in a threatening manner.

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Rep.-Spiller-Files-Bills-Banning-Foreign-Land-Ownership-11.13.24Download

Let me first clarify because I filed two bills with the issue; the main one is to prohibit foreign ownership of land by those companies controlled by those four entities. The remedy for that is under Chapter 64 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, which provides for a receivership. So even if theres a lender, no one gets harmed. You deal with the issue there, and everyones entitled to their day in court to determine whether they are violating that statute or not, Spiller explained. The second bill is House Bill 243, which is kind of an ancillary bill that deals with any entity that poses a threat to critical infrastructure. It gives the Attorney Generals office the ability to file eminent domain proceedings. So its slightly different, but it also addresses the concern of anything that would have happened before. If its currently a threat, then the Attorney Generals Office can deal with that. If its not, then they wont. The two bills kind of go hand in hand, and you need House Bill 191, but you also need House Bill 243 to cover any circumstances where you currently have a threat that wouldnt otherwise be covered by this new statute.

Spiller believes he has enough support to advance this legislation but is uncertain about where Democrats will stand.

My position is Texans have to step up and protect Texas, especially when the federal government fails and refuses to do so. The federal government has done nothing in this area. They havent regulated at all, Spiller shared. Land is being acquired right adjacent to or contiguous to existing military installations, 15 of which are located in Texas. We have a huge threat at our doorstep here, and we have to do what we can to protect it. So Ive got a number of things that Im following. Im working with both of the issues that weve talked about today, but Im doing other things related to healthcare, related to water, related to energy, all of those types of things that were carrying, and that were still working on, that I look forward to passing, and hopefully well have a great session.

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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH)  Members of the West Hartford community gathered in BlueBlack Square Sunday morning to show solidarity and support for LGBTQ+ lives and rights.

In the wake of the presidential election, West Hartford Pride partnered with Equality CT and the Out Accountability Project to organize a rally and remind the LGBTQ+ community that they were not alone.

Attorney General William Tong, Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz and Senator Richard Blumenthal were some of the state officials at the event.

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At the rally Sen. Blumenthal mentioned, We are stronger together, we are stronger because we are in a coalition. because queer rights are human rights.

National LGBTQ+ plus advocacy group The Rainbow Youth Project has seen a 700% increase in calls to its crisis outreach hotline from the queer community since Election Day.

With specific intentions of building community, the rally included counseling spaces staffed by therapists and visitors were encouraged to bring signs and flags.

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German Minister of Economy and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said that if he were to head the government, he would agree to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles. He is currently a candidate for chancellor from the Green Party.

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At a speech before the vote, the politician was asked whether he would reconsider the decision of current Chancellor Olaf Scholz against the supply of these long-range missiles to Kyiv. This was reported by Die Zeit.

"The answer to this question is yes," Habeck said.

According to him, as federal minister of economy, he has repeatedly had to make decisions on arms supplies.

"It was part of my office, and they were some of the hardest decisions I had to make," he said.

German media report that Robert Habeck will lead the Union-90/Greens electoral list in the early Bundestag elections to be held on February 23. His nomination was supported by 96.5% of the participants of the party's federal congress in Wiesbaden on Sunday, November 17.

According to Deutsche Welle, in his speech before the vote, the 55-year-old Habeck emphasized that he would like to take a responsible position, building on the experience gained in previous years. The politician said that he wanted to take responsibility "for the people in Germany" and also mentioned the problems associated with climate change and the rise of populism.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, the Bundestag may put to a vote the issue of providing Ukraine with Taurus missiles. This possibility is being considered by representatives of the Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), which left the coalition.

Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  Bipartisan legislation to ban discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community has taken a step forward at the Ohio Statehouse.

Senate Bill 132, named the Ohio Fairness Act, received its first hearing in the Senate Government Oversight committee on Nov. 13. The proposal was reintroduced for the 11th time at the Statehouse during the summer of 2023 and would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.

For the estimated half a million LGBTQ+ Ohioans, fairness is long overdue, said Sen. Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood), who has proposed the act in every General Assembly since she was elected in 2011. This bill would send a message that the LGBTQ+ community is welcome in Ohio and that we are open for business, tourism, and travelers while also recruiting the best and the brightest workers.

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More important than ever to repeal Ohios same-sex marriage ban, lawmakers say

Ohio is one of more than two dozen states without non-discrimination protections for members of the LGBTQ+ community. Earlier this year, Out Leaderships state clime index labeled Ohio as under notable risk for LGBTQ+ discrimination given an individual can be fired from their workplace, denied services and rejected or removed from housing based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Antonio argued during the hearing that S.B. 132, which is co-sponsored by every member of the Senate Democratic Caucus and two Republican senators, is a fair proposal to provide LGBTQ+ people the same freedom and access to jobs, housing and services as anyone else in Ohio.

Ohio Business Competes, a nonpartisan coalition of more than 1,350 businesses, echoes Antonio and has advocated for nondiscrimination policies to attract the best talent. The coalition includes OhioHealth, Huntington, American Electric Power, Jenis Ice Cream, Ohio State University, Cleveland Clinic and many more companies, universities and institutions.

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The inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are the fundamental building blocks of our American democracy, said Antonio. Ohio has the opportunity through this proposed legislation to provide equal and fair treatment for all of Ohios citizens.

Anti-trans bathroom bill passes Ohio Senate, heads to DeWines desk

The lawmaker noted that S.B. 132 would not create new protected classes on infringe on religious liberty, as it upholds all existing religious exemptions under current Ohio civil rights law. Still, the bill faces an uphill battle at the Statehouse, where lawmakers have also failed to repeal Ohios dormant same-sex marriage ban, ban anti-LGBTQ+ techniques known as conversion therapy and remove antiquated HIV criminalization laws passed in the 1980s.

Instead, the Ohio legislature has prioritized an influx of bills that advocates deem anti-LGBTQ+, like the anti-transgender Senate Bill 104 which passed on Nov. 13 to ban Ohios students from using school restrooms that dont align with their sex assigned at birth.

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Another, House Bill 68, went into effect in August banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The measure also bans trans female athletes participation in womens sports.

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Bill Freeman. (Photo: Submitted)

(This story has been updated with additional details.)

William H. Bill Freeman, a titan of Nashvilles business community, former mayoral candidate and a leading fundraiser for the Democratic Party, died Sunday night at the age of 73.

The cause of death was suicide.

A native of Nashville, Freeman attended the University of Tennessee before dropping out to begin his career in real estate. After becoming friends with Jimmy Webb through their involvement with the Nashville Junior Chamber of Commerce, the two launched Freeman Webb Company, a real estate investment, management, and brokerage, in 1979. Prior to that, he worked for the Metro Development and Housing Agency.

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Freeman was the single most significant Democratic fundraiser in Tennessee and the Southeast, raising money for President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden, as well as countless Democratic local and federal candidates. He was an early endorser of Biden, who appointed Freeman to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Freeman also served as a member of the White House Historical Association and in 2009 as treasurer of the Tennessee Democratic Party.

In a 2024 photo, Bill Freeman, center, with from left, Nashville businessman Dwayne Tucker, former President Barack Obama, President Joe Biden, Rep. Bob Freeman, former President Bill Clinton and Tom Loftis. (Photo: Courtesy of Bill Freeman)

Rep. Bob Freeman, Bill Freemans son, said in a statement, As much as he valued his career and accomplishments, his family always came first. Especially my mom, Babs. What started out as a childhood friendship with their meeting in elementary school in Donelson, Tennessee, soon blossomed into a lifelong love and, together, they built a rich life full of love, family, and memories. Their bond was a testament to the love and dedication that defined everything he did. He instilled in me and my brothers Harvey and Mike  the values of being loving husbands and devoted fathers, and we carry those lessons with us today. His grandchildren, too, held a special place in his heart and his love for them was unparalleled.

In a statement, Nashville Mayor Freddie OConnell said: Tonight, we lost Bill Freeman. Bill was many thingsreal estate visionary, mayoral candidate, pilot, media magnate, staunch Democratand friend. Our city, state, and nation are better for his tenacity and commitment. We will miss him dearly, and my heart is with his family.

I am deeply saddened by the passing of Bill Freeman, a visionary businessman and a generous philanthropist who embodied the spirit of Nashville, said Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk Howard Gentry, a former mayoral rival of Freemans, in a statement. He leaves behind a legacy of compassion, integrity and tireless service.

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Freeman ran for Nashville mayor in 2015, coming in third place after being edged out of a runoff.

He practiced martial arts and was an avid pilot.

After Freeman had a series of strokes in 2022, he scaled back his professional and civic activities, stepping down as chair of Freeman Webb in October 2023. In March, he resigned from the Metro Nashville Airport Authority.

Freeman is survived by his wife, Babs Tinsley Freeman, three sons, Harvey, Mike and Bob, and seven grandchildren.
This story has been updated to reflect funeral information for Bill Freeman.

Bill Freeman, one of Nashville's most prolific property developers, a one-time mayoral contender and a leading Democratic Party fundraiser, died Sunday. He was 73.

Metro Police officials said they were called to his home Sunday night and they found Freeman dead in an apparent suicide.

Freeman, well-known across the region as a business leader, a political player and 2015 Nashville mayoral candidate, was a compassionate community leader.

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Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Nashville, praised his father in a statement on Monday, saying despite his many business successes, family came first.

"Fearless in sharing his opinions on the issues that mattered most, he worked tirelessly to improve the lives of those around him and to leave a lasting impact on our shared future," Bob Freeman wrote. "As much as he valued his career and accomplishments, his family always came first. Especially my mom, Babs."

Bill Freeman met his wife Babs, short for Barbara, during elementary school in Donelson, Tenn.

"Their bond was a testament to the love and dedication that defined everything he did. He instilled in me and my brothers, Harvey and Mike, the values of being loving husbands and devoted fathers, and we carry those lessons with us today. His legacy of dedication and commitment will live on in the countless lives he touched."

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Freeman co-founded Freeman Webb Co. in 1979 with Jimmy Webb after the two met at Nashville's Junior Chamber of Commerce. The multifamily real estate investment and management firm has over 18,000 rental homes and apartments across Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Kentucky and Alabama. More than 9,000 of those rental units are in the Nashville area.

Freeman Webb is known for accepting low-income Section 8 subsidized federal housing vouchers, which many landlords avoid. Freeman's son, Bob Freeman, told The Tennessean earlier this year that the company rents "to the people who keep Nashville running."

Freeman also owned the alt-weekly Nashville Scene and business-focused Nashville Post publications via FW Publishing, which he cofounded.

"Tonight, we lost Bill Freeman," Mayor Freddie O'Connell wrote Sunday night on X. "Bill was many things  real estate visionary, mayoral candidate, pilot, media magnate, staunch Democrat  and friend. Our city, state, and nation are better for his tenacity and commitment. We will miss him dearly, and my heart is with his family."

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Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore also shared his grief at the loss of his friend.

"Yesterday, Nashville lost one of its kindest and most dedicated champions," Gore said in a statement to The Tennessean. "Bill Freeman was a giant in our city, known as much for his role in helping Nashville grow as he was for his commitment to ensuring that all of its residents could thrive. Bill always sought out new ideas and knowledge in his pursuit of a better future for his community  one of the traits that made him such an important leader in our local media landscape. I was lucky enough to see that curiosity firsthand when he and his son Bob joined me on a trip to Antarctica to better understand the impacts of the climate crisis. He will be sorely missed. My heart goes out to his beloved wife Babs and his sons, Harvey, Mike, and State Rep. Bob Freeman."

Bill Freeman

Metro police spokesperson Don Aaron said officers were called to Freeman's home Sunday night, where he was found dead.

"The Police Department responded to a 911 call concerning a shooting at 7:46 p.m. Sunday," Aaron said. "Mr. Freeman was found deceased. His death is being investigated as a suicide."

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Freeman, a pilot, served on the Metro Nashville Airport Authority Board for eight years under three mayors before he stepped down in March. In 2023, he retired from running Freeman Webb and his son, Bob Freeman, a state representative, took over.

When he retired, Freeman said he was "excited at the prospect of traveling more and enjoying our grandchildren as they grow" with his wife Babs.

Prior to co-founding Freeman Webb, Freeman served as the director of Downtown Urban Development for the Metropolitan Nashville Development and Housing Agency (MDHA).

His community service includes participating in the boards of the Nashville Davidson County Mental Health and Veterans Assistance Foundation, Kennedy Center Advisory Committee on the Arts appointed by former President Barack Obama and the Tennessee State University Board of Trustees appointed by former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. In 2022, he was appointed to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board by President Joe Biden.

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Former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, who Freeman lost to in the 2015 Metro election, wrote on X that he was "an incredible force for good in our city and for Democrats at the national, state, and local levels."

"His commitment to help others ran deep and was evident in his love for his family and his willingness to step up and serve Nashville," Barry said. "I had the honor of appointing him to the Airport Authority, where he was able to combine his passion for flying and his desire to see Nashville grow and thrive. Bill passed along his heart for service to his entire family, especially his son, State Rep. Bob Freeman, and he will be greatly missed by all who knew him."

On his time overseeing Nashville International Airport's management, he said: "I recall the days when Nashville's airport was considered an efficient but small airport in a mid-sized, Southern city. Since its first days as Berry Field to its growth in the 1980s and to its major expansion goals today, the Nashville International Airport has become a record-breaking, major hub in our country's air transportation system."

Freeman is survived by his wife, Babs Tinsley Freeman, and three sons Harvey, Mike and Bob Freeman.

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The Tennessee Democratic Party called Freeman "a beacon of kindness, wisdom and a stalwart community leader" in a statement on X.

On Monday, Davidson County Register of Deeds Karen Johnson shared that few have had the impact on Nashville that Freeman had, describing him as a smart, well-grounded businessman and a "giant" among civic-minded leaders.

"I called on Bill for his counsel many times, but more than anything, I valued his friendship." she said in a statement. "Prayers go tonight to Babs, to Rep. Bob Freeman, and all of Bills loved ones. This loss leaves a terrible void.

Freeman's funeral will be held at Hermitage Memorial Gardens at 11 a.m. Friday. This is a private family service. A celebration of life will be held at a later date to be announced.

We are forever grateful for Bill Freeman. pic.twitter.com/HRJFEEzOZL  Tennessee Democratic Party (@tndp) November 18, 2024

Molly Davis contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Bill Freeman, Nashville real estate investor, Democratic donor, dies
Laurie Silver of Lafayette takes in what remains of her cousin's condo in the aftermath of the Marshall Fire on Dec. 31, 2021, in Louisville. (Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)

U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado is hoping Congress can pass a bill to waive document replacement fees for survivors of disasters like wildfires and floods.

When families get knocked upside down, some losing their homes and businesses, weve got to do a better job in helping them recover, the Democrat said during a Monday call on the legislation.

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The bill was introduced in September with Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican. It has not seen any committee action yet. In the House, it is sponsored by Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse, a Colorado Democrat, and Rep. John Curtis, a Utah Republican.

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There is still time for either chambers version of the bill to pass committee and get a floor vote  even attached to a larger bill  by the end of the year and current congressional session. But Hickenlooper said Monday that if the bill doesnt pass this year, it will be a priority in the new Congress that convenes in January.

This is the time when we dont have a terrible wildfire or looming flood, he said. These different pieces of legislation are not dramatic and wont change the world, but if we get enough of them done then the next time we have a disaster, it will make life easier for the people of Colorado.

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Federal agencies can already waive replacement fees for documents like passports, visas and proof of citizenship for victims of declared major disasters, but Hickenlooper said the use of that waiver is sporadic. Those documents are often crucial in a persons rebuilding process after a disaster, and fees can run into the thousands of dollars.

It costs $160 to replace passport materials and over $400 to replace a permanent resident card.

The bill would automatically waive the cost of replacing passports, visa forms, permanent residence cards, declaration of intent forms, citizenship documents, employment authorizations and the associated biometric service fees.

We already have processes for waiving these fees. But why add to the bureaucracy and the red tape and make people jump through more hoops to get something waived, when we can just make it cost effective in the first place at no charge? Boulder County Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann said.

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Hickenlooper, Neguse and Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet introduced similar legislation in 2022 after the Marshall Fire in Boulder County, which destroyed over 1,000 homes in the final days of 2021. It did not get a committee hearing that session.

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Lake Huron | Susan J. Demas

U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint), U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) and U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Twp.) last week led a letter to the authors of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, asking them to include Kildees amendment opposing the permanent storage of nuclear waste in the Great Lakes basin in the final bill.

According to Kildees office, the Canadian government plans to build a facility to store more than 50,000 tons of high-level nuclear waste in South Bruce, Ontario, within the Great Lakes Basin.

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Kildee has long opposed permanent storage of nuclear waste in the Great Lakes basin, warning of threats to the states drinking water and economy.

High-level nuclear waste is the most dangerous form of nuclear waste and remains hazardous for tens of thousands of years. Any accident involving radioactive waste near the Great Lakes would have devastating and long-term consequences for the health of Michiganders and all other people who depend on the Great Lakes for their livelihood, the letter states.

While the final version of the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by the House included Kildees amendment to oppose the permanent storage of nuclear waste in the Great Lakes basin, the letter asks that the amendment be included in the final version of the bill negotiated between the House and Senate.

The letter was also signed by a number of lawmakers from the Great Lakes State: U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) and U.S. Reps. Bill Huizenga (R-Zeeland), Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor), John Moolenaar (R-Caledonia), Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet), Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly), Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit).

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A pair of Caspian terns. (Gary Rogers/Getty Images)

More than half a colony of Caspian terns on a small island near Port Townsend died last year amid an outbreak of bird flu, underscoring the harsh effects the disease can have on wildlife.

Researchers say they directly counted 1,101 dead adult terns and 520 dead chicks and that at least 53-56% of the adult birds in a colony on Rat Island, in northern Puget Sound, were wiped out. After factoring in Caspian tern deaths in other parts of the region, the researchers estimated about 10-14% of the birds in the Pacific flyway were lost last year to bird flu.

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The researchers also studied harbor seals that died from the virus on or around Rat Island during the same timeframe and found that the disease had attacked the animals differently than it did birds, causing severe inflammation in their brains.

A team that included staff from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Washington State University published the findings in Frontiers in Veterinary Science. Researchers from about a half-dozen other organizations and universities also worked on the study.

This Caspian tern event was the first big marine environment avian flu outbreak for Washington. It caused a significant, punctuated mortality for the Caspian terns, which were already a species in decline throughout this flyway, said Katherine Haman, a wildlife veterinarian at the Department of Fish and Wildlife and lead author on the study.

Caspian terns are migratory and return to the Northwest in late April or May after wintering elsewhere, mostly in southern California and Mexico. They can live for 20 years or more. The journal article cites estimates indicating that, in 2021, about 10,800 Caspian terns were living in the Pacific flyway  a major migratory bird corridor between North and South America.

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Washingtons Department of Fish and Wildlife received the first reports of sick or dead Caspian terns on Rat Island in July last year. The researchers modeling suggests adult terns started dying from bird flu on the island around July 3. The outbreak stretched through the end of August, they said, and at its peak about 50 of the birds were dying per day.

In contrast to the high death rate for the terns, the researchers estimated that only about 3% of the islands adult Glaucous-winged gulls died from the disease. Juvenile gulls were more vulnerable, with at least 298 of the young birds counted dead.

Flareup in Northwest

The findings come as bird flu  a virus formally known as H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza  has flared up this fall in Washington.

On Thursday, Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle said a red-breasted goose there had died from a suspected case of bird flu. The zoo had been taking precautions to protect animals and people from the disease, including draining pools of water in open-topped bird exhibits and moving free-roaming peacocks indoors. Now it plans to further tighten safety protocols.

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Last month, the disease infected a flock of about 800,000 poultry at an egg farm in Franklin County, in southeast Washington. The birds there were euthanized and the eggs destroyed.

During the Franklin County outbreak, the disease jumped to people who worked around poultry at the farm. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week listed 52 cases of bird flu nationwide, with 11 in Washington all tied to poultry. Officials confirmed a human case of the disease in Oregon on Friday that was linked to poultry as well.

The CDC says risks to humans from the bird flu remain low, especially for people who dont work around animals that can spread it. A concern is that the virus could mutate in ways that allow it to spread from person to person. Health officials are also watching for signs that the disease is causing more severe illness in humans.

With the recent cases in Washington, health officials described patients having relatively minor symptoms, like runny noses, sore throats, and conjunctivitis or pink eye. But the disease has proven deadly in the past. Between 2003 and April this year, the World Health Organization recorded 889 human cases and 463 deaths in 23 countries caused by the H5N1 bird flu virus.

Virus harmed seals brains

The new research highlights how bird flu can affect different species in different ways.

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With birds, it typically spreads to animals respiratory tracts. With 16 dead harbor seals documented on Rat Island and other locations nearby last year, testing showed the virus had harmed the animals brains as well as their lungs. Nasal swab tests for two of the dead harbor seals were negative but tests of lung or brain tissue were positive.

Testing discovered seals brains were inflamed with a condition known as meningoencephalitis as well as brain cell death, or neuronal necrosis.

It took a little bit to figure that out, said Kevin Snekvik, a professor at Washington State University and executive director at the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. Our initial samples were negative, but we knew these seals were dying.

It informs us that you need to be collecting and evaluating different samples in order to get the correct diagnosis, he added.

Inflammation similar to what was seen in the seals brains has also been found previously in other carnivores that have caught the virus, including raccoons and skunks, Snekvik noted. There are theories that this could have to do with how the animals feed on infected carcasses. We dont know exactly why that is, Snekvik said. But its definitely showing up differently.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT)  The Birmingham Police Department is continuing to investigate a homicide from 2023, asking the public for information on it.

In November 2023, LaKevin Debruce was shot at the intersection of 26th Street Ensley and Avenue C. He was taken to UAB Hospital, where he later died from his injuries. Preliminary investigation suggests someone in the area heard gunfire and saw Debruce fall out of a vehicle onto the roadway.

18-month-old injured in Wylam shooting

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As of Monday, there have been no arrests in the case.

Anyone with information on the homicide is encouraged to call the BPD at 205-254-1764.

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Editors note: This story has been updated on Nov. 19, 2024, with additional information from Our Blood Institute regarding mobile drive times and dates and updated donor information for first-time blood donors.

WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL)  Our Blood Institute is celebrating the giving season with a special promotion benefiting an area nonprofit that serves nearly a dozen Texoma organizations.

During December, blood donors who schedule a donation appointment through the Hands to Hands Community Funds link will earn the nonprofit $15 Donable Cares donation toward the other area organizations it serves.

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This promotion is unique, though, benefiting the community in more ways than one.

We need blood on the shelves of our hospitals, and through blood drives, were helping the community that way, explained Jessica Hobert, account consultant for Our Blood Insitute. Through the Donable Cares program  for everybody who makes an appointment through the Hands to Hands link throughout the month of December, that organization will get $15 per donor.

A Good Old-Fashioned Redneck Country Christmas comes to Backdoor Theatre

Many forms of charity come to mind during the holiday giving season, but blood donation is rarely at the forefront of many peoples thoughts. Nancy Brown, executive director of the Hands to Hands Community Fund, says blood donation is a priceless gift.

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Its a gift of life through the gift of blood, Brown said. And then its helping lives in our community that are less fortunate all year long, and thats the beauty of it.

The giving doesnt stop there, however. An anonymous donor has agreed to match Donable Cares $15 donations, so for each blood donor that schedules an appointment using the link on Hands to Hands website, the nonprofits will receive $30 to improve lives in the community.

Additionally, first-time donors who have never donated blood with OBI will earn Hands to Hands $100.

To donate, donors click the link, enter their donor information, such as their name, phone number, and email address, and click continue. Then, the page will load a calendar for them to select an appointment date and time.

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The blue dots on the calendar represent a mobile blood drive nearby. Donors can make appointments through a mobile blood drive or at the OBI Center at 3709 Gregory Street, open every day except for Mondays and Saturdays.

See the list below for upcoming blood drives:

Dec. 5, 2024: KFDX/KJTL  Bloodmobile (12:30 p.m. to 4 at 4500 Seymour Hwy. in Wichita Falls)

Dec. 6, 2024: Clinics of North Texas  Bloodmobile (9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at 501 Midwestern Pkwy. in Wichita Falls)

Dec. 6, 2024: First Bank  Bloodmobile (2:15 p.m. to 5 at 4110 Kell W. Blvd. in Wichita Falls)

Dec. 16, 2024: Faith Baptist Church (2 p.m. to 6 at 411 S. Wall St. in Iowa Park)

Dec. 24, 2024: Wichita Falls  Bloodmobile (8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the corner of Kemp Blvd. and Southwest Parkway)

Dec. 27, 2024: Dinner and a Mooovie at Chick-fil-A  Bloodmobile (11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 3704 Call Field Rd. in Wichita Falls)

Donors who have difficulty navigating the web link can call Rod Tieken at (940) 733-0821 or Jessica with the OBI Donor Center at (940) 235-9106 for assistance.

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Important: Donors should schedule their appointments at least 24 hours in advance.

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BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN)  A local church is celebrating nearly a century of service in the Valley.

Good Hope Lutheran Church marked 95 years on Sunday with a service themed Celebrating our legacy with faith for the future. After service, dozens of people stayed for dinner.

Pastor Robert Quaintance says the church is rooted in faith and serving the community, hoping to continue that tradition.

Throughout our history, weve had many challenges in our church. This congregation and laypeople and pastors have risen to the occasion and have overcome those challenges and been a vibrant place to help children come to know the Lord and to reach out and serve the community, Quaintance said.

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The church is involved with the Second Harvest Food Bank, has a food pantry and has a bin for Toys for Tots.

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The first episode of Taxi (1978), the series that earned Danny DeVito an Emmy and a Golden Globe, was based on a visual gag: the despotic and belligerent cab dispatcher who first appeared on screens shouting and imposing himself on everyone came out of his cabin halfway through the episode, and turned out to be 4 ft 10 in. At the time, the visual trick worked because DeVito was still unknown to viewers. Now the New Jersey-born comedian, who turned 80 on Sunday, is not only one of the most popular faces in Hollywood but also one of the most beloved actors by audiences of different generations thanks to his continued success over the decades. And with his stature as an inseparable element of his stellar image.

DeVito is now experiencing a new golden age, once again thanks to television: in 2006, he joined the second season of the cult series Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The sitcom is close to reaching its 20th season and becoming the longest-running live-action comedy in the history of American fiction, if the renewal signed with the FX network materializes. DeVitos role as Frank Reynolds, the swindling father of two of the main characters, has become one of the great humorous creations of his career, a perfect synthesis of his ability to play mean-spirited characters who, despite the extremes of misery they may reach, always seem likeable. He has also just participated in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, released the Christmas comedy A Sudden Case Of Christmas, and returned to another one of the longest-running comedies in history, The Simpsons, for the return in the last season of Herb, Homers brother, whom he voices in the original version.

The same thing happens with Chevy Chase in Community [2009]. They are actors who, for a generation, are associated with a certain type of humor or program and, decades later, they reappear with remakes of their archetypes, assimilated into more contemporary stories. And, above all, they seem very comfortable in those roles. They are having fun doing what they do, says the film critic Ezequiel Boetti, author of Nueva Comedia Americana: Reir en el cine del siglo XXI (or New American Comedy: Laughing in 21st-century film).

Danny DeVito and Michael Douglas in 1988. Vinnie Zuffante (Getty Images)

Danny DeVito in a promotional image from the 1980s. NBC (NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

Although DeVito is part of a generation that is older than the actors who formed the movement called New American Comedy, Boetti believes that his influence is evident, among others, in the darkness of his works as a director. When you watch his films, there is a certain appeal to the dark, to characters that are at times quite detestable, like the neighbor in Duplex [2003] or the mother in Throw Momma from the Train [1987]. They are comedies that, beyond being funny, cause a significant amount of discomfort.

Because DeVito, who made his way in Hollywood with comedies whose core was often based on the actors physical appearance  such as Twins (1988), where Arnold Schwarzenegger was the result of a genetic experiment to create the ideal man and he, his twin brother, was the leftover crap  eventually also became a prestigious filmmaker. He directed the 1980s classic The War of the Roses (1989), another very dark comedy about the tortuous divorce process of a supposedly exemplary marriage (Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, in two of the best roles of their careers), and he also helmed one of the best film adaptations of Roald Dahls Matilda (1996), where he also reserved for himself the role of the uncouth father of the child prodigy. In 1991, an article in The New York Times referring to him as the new Robert Redford stated: In Hollywood a good script is a script Danny DeVito likes, a bad script is a script Danny DeVito doesnt like, a script that needs work is a script Danny DeVito is thinking about.

Jack Nicholson and Danny DeVito in a scene from 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' (1975). Screen Archives (Getty Images)

Danny DeVito signing autographs in L.A. in 1994. Vinnie Zuffante (Getty Images)

His flair for production is beyond question: he has produced none other than Pulp Fiction (1994), Gattaca (1997), Get Shorty (1995), Man On The Moon (1999) and Erin Brockovich (2000). He also has an additional title as a director that has never seen the light of day, St. Sebastian, an apocalyptic horror film officially shot in 2012 and never released, with no official explanations.

The journalist Ezequiel Boetti links his talent as a director to the ease with which he moves in his ensemble casts: he is rarely the absolute star of a production at his service, but rather someone who also generously favors the comic brilliance of his colleagues: It is interesting, because many times the figure of the central comedian is too absorbing, as happens with Adam Sandler, whose films are built around him. Danny DeVitos films are different, more about teamwork, where everything depends on the group and the situations. Its difficult to find that figure of the all-round comedian in todays scene. In his films as a director, he ends up getting involved for fun, to take on a character without so much narrative weight, more of a testimonial role. He enjoys directing, producing, leading the orchestra without needing to play all the instruments.

The corpus delicti

In his essay Danny DeVitos Body, published in 2008 in the journal Genders, Dr. Michael Tavel Clarke, a professor of American literature and culture at the University of Calgary (Canada), reflected on whether DeVitos success had come about despite discrimination against short people, as one might say in a coming-of-age story, or, on the contrary, thanks to how those physical attributes played a vital role in Hollywood cinema. This, of course, without neglecting his undeniable talent. Clarke argues that DeVitos comedies, from a carnivalesque perspective, often use him as the repository of a masculine power that, as a short person, should not correspond to him according to social norms.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito at the 2024 Oscars. Kevin Winter (Getty Images)

While the trademark lechery of his early career suggests that he represented a threat to women, DeVitos characters most often represent threats to power relations and normative masculinity. Anxieties about the erosion of white, heterosexual, male power found their perfect articulation in DeVitos body, he writes. As such, his body was also a site on which to enact a restoration of the status quo [] a white male whose masculinity is represented as deviant, un-natural, simultaneously constituted by deficiency and excess. This displacement serves to sanitize normative masculinity.

Clarke, who also believes that many media approaches to the actor are riddled with a paternalism that takes his success as a joke, says that this dynamic is the subtext of a lot of his work, evident in films like the 1995 Get Shorty, in which he appears posing as Napoleon, or Other Peoples Money [1991]. I dont think DeVito has transcended the cultural stereotypes that dominate our perception of short men, and I doubt any actor will be able to do so as long as those stereotypes exist. The best one can hope for is that they are countered and modified, and DeVito sometimes manages it, he says.

For this scholar, an actor who has inherited part of that role is Kevin Hart, the co-star of Central Intelligence (2016) alongside Dwayne Johnson, while another contemporary actor of short stature, Peter Dinklage, has been treated in a more respectful manner, although outside of comedies.

Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman in 2023. Bruce Glikas (Bruce Glikas/Getty Images)

Is DeVito what they now call a short king, the supposedly inclusive social media fad of considering men who arent tall attractive? The idea that Jeremy Allen White or Tom Holland [frequent recipients of the label] are short kings is curious. Theyre both about the average height of men in the world. The implications for truly short men are not good. The concept expresses a fundamental surprise that a short man could be attractive or romantically potent.

Happy old age

The comedian and director has turned 80 separated from his wife of more than three decades, the actress Rhea Perlman, who played his wife in Matilda. According to both, it was an amicable split and they are not divorced; they still see each other and get along much better now than in the last years of their relationship. The two met when they were taking their first steps in acting and worked together in plays for the Westbeth Feminist Playwrights Collective, one of the first feminist theater groups in the United States. In a 2019 interview for The New York Times, the journalist Maureen Dowd joked with DeVito by asking him if, with his new life as a bachelor, he had opened a Tinder account. I still rely on the kindness of strangers! he replied, playing along.

Danny DeVito and Mara Wilson, who plays the lead role in the 1997 'Matilda'. Michael Ochs Archives (Getty Images)

The interview addressed the current concerns of DeVito, many concerning the political sphere (he has actively supported the most left-wing wing of the Democratic Party, represented by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), but tempered by a desire for carefreeness that, he said, he has carried as a flag in his professional life. In the interview he suggested that the occupants of the White House (at that time, the first Trump administration) should leave their positions and simply go fishing. [Right now] Im just looking for a good story. And a good book. And a good screenplay. Work with people that you like. Go to dinner. Go on vacation. Have a good time. Yeah, no stress. Vote for Bernie Sanders, he said, in what might sound like the epic beginning of a modern manifesto.

As for working with people he likes, last year he starred on Broadway alongside his daughter Lucy DeVito in the play I Need That, for which they received rave reviews. His status as an internet idol has also led to bizarre phenomena such as people painting their vans with his face and calling their vehicles Vanny DeVito, or even erotic coloring books such as The Regular Adventures Of Danny DeVito: The Coloring Book, published last year. At the last Academy Awards he enjoyed his share of nostalgia when he appeared alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger to pay tribute to both the 35th anniversary of Twins and their respective roles as Batman villains.

Danny DeVito in L.A. last October. ETIENNE LAURENT (AFP via Getty Images)

The Penguin, the role that fell to DeVito in Batman Returns (1992), has now been taken on by Colin Farrell, who has played him in both the film The Batman (2022) and the recently released Max series The Penguin. In a video for Vanity Fair in which he agreed to undergo a lie detector test, DeVito, laughed that his own Penguin in Batman Returns seemed better to him.

For those who want to enjoy a new approach to the character, DeVito dared to write a comic for DC in 2021, within the series Gotham City Villains. Unlike what happened in Tim Burtons film, in this version the villain was a kind of modern Robin Hood who robbed the rich and did manage to fulfill a personal dream: seducing Catwoman.

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ETOWAH COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT)  A Boaz man was killed in a single-vehicle wreck on Saturday, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

ALEA said on Saturday around 3:50 p.m., 64-year-old Tracy L. Carroll was killed when the motorcycle he was driving left the road and hit a utility pole.

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The department said Carroll was pronounced dead on the scene.

The crash happened on Lawson Gap Road near Alabama 179, three miles south of Boaz.

Troopers with ALEAs Highway Patrol Division are continuing to investigate the wreck.

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Lawyers for former Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) are questioning the governments conduct after federal prosecutors admitted last week that jurors were accidentally shown improper evidence while deliberating in his corruption case.

In a pointed letter to U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein, Menendezs lawyers called it deeply troubling that nine exhibits shown to jurors during deliberations displayed material that should have been redacted, after prosecutors inadvertently uploaded the laptop they used to view evidence with alternative versions.

Prosecutors flagged the issue to the court last week but said the mistake should not imperil Menendezs conviction nor require any action.

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The governments effort to downplay its recent discovery raises more questions about the governments conduct than it answers, Menendez attorney Adam Fee said.

Fee told the judge that defense attorneys were not informed of the issue until last Wednesday, when prosecutors sent their letter to the judge, despite the governments awareness of the issue beginning roughly two weeks prior.

Menendezs counsel also claimed that prosecutors have still not conducted a quality control check of the thousands of exhibits assembled for jurors and failed to preserve the exhibits as they were provided to the jury, instead erasing the laptop on which the exhibits were loaded.

Defendants will need to submit briefing on the consequences of this deletion, including whether it constitutes spoliation or other improper conduct, Fee wrote.

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When informing Stein of the error, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Monteleoni said neither prosecutors nor defense lawyers noticed the mistake and that the unredacted content likely did not impact the jurors verdict. The prosecutor called it inappropriate to conduct a new trial over the error, given it was extraordinarily unlikely jurors even became aware of the incorrect exhibit versions while deliberating.

Menendez resigned from the Senate in August after he was convicted on all 16 counts he faced, from accepting luxurious bribes in exchange for his political clout to acting as a foreign agent of Egypt. He has maintained his innocence and vowed to appeal, and his sentencing is set for Jan. 29.

He told The Hill in a statement after the error was uncovered that prosecutors basically admitted to manipulating evidence shown to jurors and said it proved they cannot be trusted.

Menendezs attorneys asked the judge to establish a briefing schedule to further flesh out the matter.

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A Boeing 737 MAX aircraft lands following a FAA recertification flight at Boeing Field on June 29, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

Boeings planned job cuts will include 2,199 layoffs in Washington, according to a notice issued Monday by the states Employment Security Department.

The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, a union that represents engineers, scientists, technical workers and pilots, said the company told them that 438 of their members received layoff notices last week.

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Thats about 2.5% of our total membership at Boeing, Bryan Corliss, a spokesperson for the union, said in an email.

Those affected include 218 SPEEA members of the unions professional unit, which is made up of engineers and scientists, and 220 of the technical unit, which covers analysts, planners, and technicians, Corliss said.

SPEEA represents about 17,000 workers at Boeing in Washington, Oregon, California and Utah.

Boeing has about 66,000 employees in Washington.

Were not breaking down the types of workers or by geography/facility, Bobbie Egan, a company spokesperson, said in an emailed response to questions asking for more details about the job cuts. The layoffs are across Boeing.

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The company announced in early October it would cut about 17,000 employees, 10% of its workforce. Boeing has previously indicated that the cuts would be company-wide and would involve executives, managers and other employees.

Under a new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, the company is trying to regain its financial footing. Last month, Boeing reported a $6 billion quarterly loss and it has piled up billions in debt.

Deadly airliner crashes in 2018 and 2019 and an incident earlier this year where a door panel blew out of a plane led to scrutiny of the companys safety culture. Meanwhile, a program to manufacture the 777X passenger plane, made in Everett, is years behind schedule.

Layoff notices are going out in the wake of a strike by about 33,000 Boeing aircraft machinists in the Puget Sound region and other West Coast states that lasted nearly two months.

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Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers voted to approve a contract Nov. 4, ending the strike. Union members were due back at work by Nov. 12.

A spokesperson for IAM 751, which represents Boeing machinists in Washington, said Monday that the union did not have any information about layoffs affecting its members and directed questions to the company.

Boeings workforce reductions include layoffs, leaving unfilled jobs open, and concentrating backfill hiring on positions tied to business-critical priorities, the company has said.

In a statement shared Monday, the company reiterated that it is adjusting our workforce levels to align with our financial reality and a more focused set of priorities. We are committed to ensuring our employees have support during this challenging time.

Boeing said most employees who were notified in recent days that they would be laid off will exit the company in mid-January. The company also said workers will receive severance pay, career transition services, and subsidized health care benefits for up to three months after leaving.
The Boise Airport became 100% powered by renewable solar energy in the fall of 2024 after the city began buying solar energy from Black Mesa Energy solar project in Elmore County. (Courtesy of city of Boise)

The Boise Airport became powered by 100% clean energy this fall after Boise opted to be the first city to sign on to an optional new renewable energy program through Idaho Power.

The city of Boise is purchasing enough solar energy to power both the Boise Airport and the Lander Street wastewater treatment facility through 100% clean energy, Steve Hubble, climate action manager for the city of Boise, said in an interview Thursday.

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The Boise Airport is likely the first municipally-owned major airport in Idaho to become 100% solar energy powered. Hubble said he isnt familiar enough with municipalities in North Idaho or eastern Idaho, which work with different utility companies, to know what their energy mix is.

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Were the first municipality in Idaho to enter one of these Clean Energy Your Way contracts, so thats pretty exciting in and of itself, Hubble said. And then from a quantitative perspective, Im always going to link that back to what the citys goals are.

The move to powering its facilities by renewable energy represents Boise moving forward on climate policies at a time when the Idaho Legislature is actively pushing back against environmental and climate programs. While the Idaho Legislature has not established formal climate goals, the city of Boise has specific goals it bases climate policies around.

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Power city government by 100% renewable energy by 2030.

City government operations become carbon neutral by 2035.

Power the entire community by 100% clean electricity by 2035.

The community becomes carbon neutral by 2050.

Making the Boise Airport and Lander Street wastewater treatment plant 100% renewable-powered brings the city to 25% of its 2030 renewable energy goal for city government.

Starting in the fall of 2024, the city of Boise is buying enough solar energy to power the Lander Street Wastewater Treatment plant and the Boise Airport. (Courtesy of City of Boise)

So in other words, if you look at all the citys electricity usage right now, about a quarter of it is being powered by renewable electricity, because the airport and Lander Street are two of our three biggest electricity-using facilities, Hubble said.

How did Boise make its airport and a water treatment plant renewable energy powered?

Boise had been powering the airport and Lander Street facility with the standard energy it received from Idaho Power, which includes an energy portfolio of renewable energy like hydro as well as nonrenewable energy sources, like coal. To go 100% renewable, the city bought enough renewable solar energy to cover 100% of the energy those two facilities use.

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The project is part of Idaho Powers Clean Energy Your Way program, which is optional and does not change the energy mix that regular Idaho Power customers receive or the rates they pay, Idaho Power Director of Economic Development and Innovation Megan Ronk said in an interview.

Idaho Powers largest source of energy today is renewable hydro power, Ronk said. For 2022, 24% of Idaho Powers energy generation capacity was coal, Idaho Power reported. Idaho Power has a goal to have 100% clean energy by 2045.

For customers who want to go renewable sooner, Idaho Power created Clean Energy Your Way, Ronk said.

Clean Energy Your Way is really intended to provide a menu of options to meet customers where they are at in meeting their respective renewable and clean energy goals, Ronk said in a phone interview.

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The Boise City Council approved participating in the Clean Energy Your Way program in October 2023.

This is possible because Boiseans have been so clear that they expect our city to lead in protecting our environment for the future, Boise Mayor Lauren McLean said in a written statement after the Boise City Council vote. It is important that we are resilient and because we want our kids, and their kids, to be healthy and to have a place where they can live and thrive into the future.

After the Boise City Council approved participating in the program, Idaho Power and the city applied for approval from the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, which regulates utility companies in Idaho.

Under the application for the project, Boise sought approval to buy up to 10 megawatts of power from Black Mesa Energy solar project in Elmore County. In addition to the normal Schedule 19 rate Boise pays for energy not from the solar project, Boise will pay a fixed cost charge for each kilowatt hour of energy received from the Black Mesa Energy solar project. Excess energy generated but not used will be credited to the city.

The city of Boise buys enough energy from the Black Mesa Energy solar project in Elmore County to power the Boise Airport and Lander Street Wastewater Treatment Plant. (Courtesy of Idaho Power)

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission approved the application in August, which allowed the city to begin purchasing the solar energy Sept. 1.

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The citys contract is for 20 years. Hubble told the Sun he expects the city to pay slightly more for energy during the first 18 months of the project. Then, for the duration of the first 10 years, Hubble expects the city to either realize a savings or be paying no more than it would have regularly, without going renewable.

Were pretty excited about that savings opportunity, because basically this contract allows us to kind of lock in the rate for a portion of our power cost, and power costs do change, so thats something were really excited about, Hubble said. Its kind of cool, not only the renewable attribute of this, but that economic attribute of this is pretty exciting.

Boise has a 25% share of the solar energy from the Black Mesa Energy project, while the remaining 75 % is being used by Micron for renewable energy projects, Hubble said.

Other Idaho cities, residents and businesses can also participate in Clean Energy Your Way

Idaho Power offers different types of Clean Energy Your Way programs for residential customers, businesses and large municipal customers like the city of Boise. The largest energy-using customers, like the city of Boise, are able to participate in the Clean Energy Your Way Construction agreement that powered the Boise Airport and Lander Street facility. Hubble thinks Boises project could set an example for other large Idaho Power municipal or industrial customers who want to go with renewable energy.

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But there are other options for other types of Idaho Power customers too. Residential customers can cover all or part of their energy use with renewable wind and solar energy at a cost of 1 additional cent per kilowatt hour, with the ability to cancel any time. Business customers can purchase renewable energy certificates, with options to buy on a month-to-month basis or for a three-year commitment. More information is available on Idaho Powers website or by sending an email to cleanenergyyourway@idahopower.com, Ronk said.

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Former national security adviser John Bolton said Russia and China should feel a lot of relief if former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) is confirmed as President-elect Trumps director of national intelligence.

Shes not capable of doing it, Bolton said Sunday on CNN. Her judgment is nonexistent, and the idea that somehow she would be put in charge of this critical function should be giving the our adversaries in Moscow and Beijing a lot of relief.

Trump announced last week that Gabbard, who has been accused of spreading Russian talking points, is his pick for director of national intelligence.

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If she were to be confirmed by the Senate, Gabbard would oversee an agency that helps coordinate among all U.S. intelligence agencies and is responsible for compiling the Presidents Daily Brief, which informs the commander in chiefs national security decisions.

Lawmakers and national security experts have expressed shock and concern over Trumps nomination. Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in 2022 and became a Republican this year, has expressed beliefs in opposition to U.S. intelligence, particularly about the Russia-Ukraine war.

Shes shared content that suggests the U.S. was involved in Ukraine developing biological weapons, a Russian narrative.

Bolton previously argued there should be an FBI investigation into Gabbard before she appears before the Senate for confirmation.

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On Sunday, he said if she is confirmed by the Senate, it would be a very serious mistake.

She has zero experience dealing with the intelligence community, he said, adding, She doesnt have the slightest idea what the job involves.

Bolton said just because Trump won the election, it is no excuse for the Senate to abandon its constitutional function.

I think there will be enough Republicans  maybe not a majority, but enough  to block the nomination, he predicted. And if not, were in deep trouble.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
AUSTINTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  Bond has been set at $260,000 for a Toledo man accused of robbing and stabbing another man Friday at an Austintown office complex.

Nathan Frybarger, 31, was arraigned before Judge Scott Hunter on charges of felonious assault, kidnapping, aggravated robbery and resisting arrest.

Frybarger was arrested Friday about 9:40 a.m. after police were called to the 500 block of Mahoning Avenue for a robbery and a stabbing. Reports said a man told them he was in the restroom of a nearby office building when Frybarger pulled a knife, demanded his money, and asked him to perform some odd tasks by the suspect such as taking off his socks so the suspect could smell his feet.

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Reports said the victim received a stab wound to the hand that was treated by paramedics at the scene. The victim told police he was also going to get checked out at a hospital, reports said.

Reports said police were able to find Frybarger in the back parking lot of a nearby building, and when searched, police found a knife and the victims wallet.

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.
Editor's note: This story is being updated.

The U.S. has authorized Ukraine to strike military targets deep inside Russian territory, the European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell confirmed on Nov. 18 following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

"The Biden administration has authorized the use of its weapons up to 300 kilometers inside Russian territory," he said. "The American administration said no for a long time, and they ended up saying yes."

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Several media outlets reported on Nov. 17 that U.S. President Joe Biden permitted Ukraine to use its ATACMS missiles to strike against targets on Russian soil. According to some reports, this so far concerns only Russian and North Korean forces amassing in Russia's Kursk Oblast.

Kyiv and Washington did not provide a clear statement on whether the authorization to strike deep into Russia with US-made missiles was granted. Borrell was the first official to confirm the move.



Answering the question of why Joe Biden's administration decided to authorize long-range strikes against Russia now, Borrell said he did not know why the White House made this decision after the presidential election and not before.

Borrell also confirmed that this permit was indeed granted and is spread over a distance of 300 kilometers (187 miles).

"It's not that much by way of a distance. It's not a very long distance. It doesn't go deep into the country, but this is the decision by the administration," the diplomat said.

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"I think it's reasonable to provide arms, not just to stop the arrows, but also to fight the bowmen," Borrell added.

The diplomat also highlighted that in the EU, each country makes its own decisions on the use of its weapons by Ukraine.



Biden has been long adamant about not allowing Western-supplied weapons to be used on Russian soil, fearing an escalation. He first eased the restrictions in May to allow Ukraine to use certain weaponry like HIMARS to strike at Russian troops just across the border in the wake of the Kharkiv offensive.

Unnamed U.S. officials, as well as a source familiar with the decision, who spoke to Reuters, said that Kyiv plans to conduct its first long-range strikes in the coming days.

As the decision came in the last months of Biden's term in office, it remains unclear whether Trump will uphold the policy after he returns to the White House.

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Read also: Nothing new under the sun  German, French foreign ministers react on Ukrainian long-range strikes

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The European Union is not suspending its regular political dialogue with Israel for the time being, despite serious allegations regarding Israel's conduct during the war in the Gaza Strip.

At a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels, several countries signalled that they did not want to agree to a corresponding proposal by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Because it would have to be decided unanimously, it cannot be implemented for the time being.

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Diplomats said the politicians who did not support Borrell's initiative at the meeting included foreign ministers from Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and the Netherlands.

However, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock expressed openness to targeted action against Israeli government members who question the right of Palestinians to exist or international law.

Borrell had recently put forward a proposal for punitive measures against Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Boston police are investigating a reported home invasion in Dorchester on Monday.

Boston police officers responded to a Walnut Street residence after receiving a report of a home invasion around 1:30 p.m., a department spokesperson told Boston 25.

Nobody was injured at the scene, police say.

The investigation is active and ongoing.

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

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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San Martin de Elines church in Cantabria, where a mans erect penis is carved into the stone, and San Miguel de Corullon in Leon, where a woman shows off her vagina. Image provided by the publisher Critica.

Why is there a carving of a woman showing her vagina at the crest of a church column? And a woman with bare breasts grasping a mans penis? A monk having sex with a woman?

These carvings in Romanesque churches in northern Spain have been there for around 1,000 years  Romanesque architecture thrived in Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries  but why they are there has been open to interpretation. The scholar Isabel Mellen, 38, has just published Sex in Romanesque Times, which explains these explicit images and explores the context in which they were created: That of the open mentality of the nobility, who paid for these churches and for whom sexuality was fundamental to maintaining their status through reproduction, as she explained during a recent interview at the Casa Arabe in Madrid.

Mellen talks about the sexuality of the Romanesque while avoiding adjectives such as erotic or obscene because using them would imply a value judgment, a patriarchal and heterosexual gaze. If we call it erotic, we will be contemplating them from the male pornographic perspective.

Philosopher and art historian Isabel Mellen, at Casa Arabe (Madrid), on September 26. Moeh Atitar

Mellens book explores numerous examples of churches that contain this type of iconography, which is particularly prevalent in the northern Spanish region of Cantabria. It has to do with the situation that existed in each kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula. There are more depictions in places of secular power, as in Cantabria, she said. The greatest example of Spanish Romanesque carvings is in the Church of San Pedro de Cervatos. There, the tops of the columns are populated by individuals engaged in sex, men and women showing their genitals and ladies giving birth. In Catalonia, there are fewer examples because the Gregorian reformists arrived there earlier, across the Pyrenees. The term reformist is used because Pope Gregory VII wanted to eradicate the common concubinage of the clergy.

The church of Santiago el Viejo in Zamora, built in the late 10th or early 11th century, is another example. At the top of one of its columns, there is a scene that could be described as an orgy, Mellen notes in her book, with women and nobles having sex in different positions. Another carving is of a lady on all fours about to be penetrated by a nobleman.

Erect penis in the columnal crowns of the shrine of Nuestra Senora del Endrinal, in Labarces, Cantabria, in an image provided by the publishing house Critica. OSCAR RUIZ

What is going on is pure political propaganda by the nobility to legitimize the dynasty, explains Mellen, who offers documented sources on the construction of the churches throughout her book. It was, she says, about conveying a message: We have the right to rule you because we are the descendants of a lineage.

So, the nobles ordered stonemasons and artists to reproduce scenes that would boast of who they were and what they did, which was fundamentally to reproduce. They are depicted in elegant dress; the men almost always in the role of the warrior or hunter and the women in a reproductive role, which is why there are so many births.

A scholar of the Romanesque period with a gender perspective, Mellen is also the author of Land of Women. The Women Who Built the Romanesque in the Basque Country. And shes hosts the podcast Disseminators of History together with the journalist Naiara Lopez de Munain.

Mellen explains that aristocratic women played the role of matronage, meaning they designed and managed Romanesque works of art and churches, and these became family pantheons. So it is to these women that we owe many of the Romanesque depictions of a sexual nature. Meanwhile, in the churches that were not financed by the nobles, the decoration was completely different, she says. In the Cluny buildings [named after the Catholic reformist order founded in Burgundy in the 10th century], sexuality is buried, there is nothing explicit.

A carving in the church of Santa Maria de Uncastillo in Zaragoza of a clergyman entwined with a woman. ELENA ARANDA / ROBERTO CHAVERRI

The backdrop to these two contrasting visions encompassed the political and ideological power struggle between the 11th and 13th centuries. We are in a moment of transition in sexuality, between the one that came from the classical world and the one that promoted chastity, Mellen explains. These mentalities are in conflict, the first was hegemonic, but the second emerges in a very powerful way through the Gregorian reform church.

The Catholic Church wanted to wrest political power from the feudal lords and defended a more repressive morality that only existed in a minority of the clergy, Mellen says. However, with time and the ecumenical councils, the repressive approach is the one that prevailed.

This repression reached its peak in the 19th and 20th centuries, when it permeated the whole of society, says Mellen. In fact, she points out that some sexual images of the Romanesque period were destroyed in the last century.

Also involved in this crusade of the Church against sex was an issue almost as old as humanity: money. As the priests then had children, the distribution of inheritances could end up threatening Christian unity as fights broke out. So, the Church imposed celibacy on its religious brethren in order to isolate them from their families and keep them faithful to the institution, and to influence them. In this scenario, Mellen explains that the wives or concubines of the religious men became scapegoats in the eyes of the ecclesiastical hierarchy: They were considered instruments of the devil and had to go underground or were plunged into poverty, she says.

The crown of a column depicting an orgy in the church of Santiago el Viejo, Zamora, in an image provided by the publisher. GORKA LOPEZ DE MUNAIN / ISABEL MELLEN

Mellen criticizes the habit of attributing the religious system of our time to the Romanesque period, when, in fact, medieval society was very diverse. Alluding to the typical interpretation history of art gives to these sexual images, she says: They are interpretations that have focused on the genitals, on people who are naked and practice intercourse, and what was missing was to investigate issues such as desire and power, rather than plugging the gaps in our knowledge with stereotypes. The male gaze that desires and the one that censures have been the backbone of all the discourses on the Romanesque period to date, ignoring aspects as relevant as female sexuality, homosexuality or even transsexuality.

If we enter the homes of the nobles of those times, Mellen says it was the women who directed the love relationship; as they were marriages of convenience, they had extramarital relations, known to her husband.

For the couple, the important thing was to have children. So the woman could have underlings who would do whatever she asked them to do. The reward for them was sex. What they were not supposed to do was to have children, in this case, bastards. So vaginal penetration was secondary, they had fun in other ways, with all kinds of sexual practices, but, of course, they ended up having children, which were relegated to some position or another.

Isabel Mellen, author of the book 'Sex in Romanesque Times,' in Madrid, on September 26. Moeh Atitar

With so much sex, intimacy was very different than it is now. On the wedding night, there were witnesses around the bed, usually the parents of the bride and groom, to see if the marriage contract was being fulfilled. Also, the noble houses were little more than a room in which everyone lived together, Mellen explained. There was one bed, and the others slept around it, and if they were lucky they had some separating tapestry. It was common, Mellen explains, to find people having sex in the corners of the palaces and, usually, among relatively close relatives, a practice that was common in monarchies in later centuries.

Monk with a large erect penis in a small stone of the church of Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion in Sequera de Fresno, Segovia, in an image provided by the publisher. JUAN JESUS CONEJERO

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Police arrested a Bradenton woman Friday after they determined her application for nearly $8,000 in hurricane relief money was fraudulent.

Veronica Torres, 44, is charged with filing a false public assistance claim through the City of Bradentons Hurricane Disaster Assistance Program, the Bradenton Police Department said in a news release.

Police say Torres used her mothers name, drivers license and Social Security number to apply for $7,967 through the program. Her application claimed that she was forced to move out of her home due to hurricane damage, police said.

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After the application was approved, Torres came in to pick up the check on Thursday, police said.

But a city employee became suspicious when Torres appearance did not match the ID in the application.

Police said Torres claimed that she looked younger thanks to Botox treatments. But the employee was unconvinced and asked Torres to return on Friday, police said. Meanwhile, the employee contacted police.

When Torres came back on Friday, detectives questioned and arrested her, the police department said.

Torres is charged with a third-degree felony. If found guilty, the crime carries penalties of up to five years of prison or probation and up to $5,000 in fines, according to Florida statutes.
Brazils first lady swore at billionaire Elon Musk at a G20 event in Rio de Janeiro about social media misinformation over the weekend.

Janja Lula da Silva, whose husband is President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was talking about the need to combat fake news and regulate social media networks when she made it known how she felt about the Tesla CEO.

At one moment in her speech, a ships horn sounded, which prompted her to respond jokingly, I think its Elon Musk, Reuters reported. She then said she wasnt afraid of him and added: F*** you, Elon Musk.

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Musk, who has been at Donald Trumps side consistently since he won the election, was swift to respond to the footage circulating on his social media platform X.

Sharing a clip of the moment, he captioned it simply with Lol, followed by a post that said: They will lose the next election.

The first lady has been feuding with Musk after threatening to sue his social media company following a hack on her X account. She accused the SpaceX owner of failing to adequately respond.

Brazils first lady Janja Lula da Silva made her feelings about Musk well known (AFP via Getty Images)

The incident comes as X returned to Brazil in October after remaining inaccessible for more than a month following a clash between Musk and a justice on the countrys highest court.

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Internet service providers began restoring access to the platform after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized lifting Xs suspension.

De Moraes ordered the shutdown of X on August 30 after a monthslong dispute with Musk over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation. Musk had disparaged de Moraes, calling him an authoritarian and a censor, although his rulings, including Xs nationwide suspension, were repeatedly upheld by his peers.

Janja da Silva, Lulas wife, just said fuck you, @elonmusk during the G20 Social panel. This is the tolerant left. pic.twitter.com/lphpxHiFgb  Nikolas Ferreira (@nikolas_dm) November 16, 2024

Musks company ultimately complied with all of de Moraes demands. They included blocking certain accounts from the platform, paying $5 million in fines and naming a legal representative. Failure to do the latter had triggered the suspension.

Brazil  a highly online country of 213 million people  is one of Xs biggest markets, with estimates of its user base ranging from 20 million to 40 million.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  The summit of the Group of 20 leading economies in Rio de Janeiro produced a joint declaration Monday that, while not totally endorsed by one of the group's members, succeeded in addressing most topics host Brazil had prioritized addressing: both ongoing major wars, a global pact to fight hunger, taxation of the worlds wealthiest people and changes to global governance.

Experts had doubted Brazil 's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva could convince assembled leaders to hammer out agreement given uncertainty about the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and heightened global tensions amid the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Further dimming prospects of consensus, Argentinas negotiators challenged some of the draft language  and ultimately refrained from endorsing the complete document.

Although generic, it is a positive surprise for Brazil, said Thomas Traumann, an independent political consultant and former Brazilian minister. There was a moment when there was risk of no declaration at all. Despite the caveats, it is a good result for Lula.

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Condemnation of wars, calls for peace, but without casting blame

Militant group Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel occurred one month after last years G20 summit. It was thus unclear how this years statement might address Israels campaign of retaliation, which has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health officials, and more than 3,500 people in Lebanon in Israel's offensive against Hezbollah, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

The G20 declaration referred to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza and the escalation in Lebanon, and stressed the urgent need to expand humanitarian assistance and reinforce protection of civilians.

Affirming the Palestinian right to self-determination, we reiterate our unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-State solution where Israel and a Palestinian State live side by side in peace, it said.

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But it made no mention of Israels suffering or some 100 hostages that remain in Hamas captivity. Israel isnt a G20 member.

That lack of acknowledgment appeared to run contrary to U.S. President Joe Bidens consistent backing of Israel's right to defend itself. It's something Biden dutifully notes in public, even when speaking about the deprivation of Palestinians caused by the grinding war. During a meeting with G20 leaders before the declaration was hammered home, Biden expressed his view that Hamas is solely to blame for the war and called on fellow leaders to increase the pressure on Hamas to accept a cease-fire deal.

Looming large on Monday was news of Biden's decision to ease restrictions on Ukraines use of longer-range U.S. missiles to allow that country to strike more deeply inside Russia.

The United States strongly supports Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity. Everyone around this table in my view should, as well, Biden said during the summit.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin is the summits most notable absentee. The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant that obliges member states to arrest him, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attended instead.

The G20 declaration highlighted the human suffering in Ukraine while calling for peace, but without naming Russia.

The declaration avoids pointing the finger at the culprits, said Paulo Velasco, an international relations professor at the State University of Rio de Janeiro. That is, it doesnt make any critical mention of Israel or Russia, but it highlights the dramatic humanitarian situations in both cases.

Such lack of specificity is true of the entire declaration, Velasco added. It is very much in line with what Brazil hoped for ... but if we really analyze it carefully, it is very much a declaration of intent. It is a declaration of good will on various issues, but we have very few concrete, tangible measures.

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Fraught push to demand taxation of global billionaires

In working group meetings in the run-up to the G20, ministers and negotiators discussed Brazils proposal to tax billionaires' incomes by 2%. According to French economist Gabriel Zucman, who worked as a consultant for Lulas administration on the topic, such a measure would affect some 3,000 people around the world, of whom 100 are in Latin America.

At the start of the leaders afternoon session, Lula reiterated his call for the tax.

That made it into the final declaration, but there had been considerable doubt it would. One official from Brazil and one from another G20 nation say Argentine negotiators most vehemently opposed the clause  which they had previously accepted, in July  and another promoting gender equality. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to speak publicly.

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In the end, Argentina signed the G20 declaration while partially dissenting from certain aspects, it said in a statement on X. That included content related to the U.N.s previous 2030 sustainable development agenda that right-wing President Javier Milei has referred to as a supranational program of a socialist nature. It also objected to the regulation of hate speech on social media, action by global institutions like the U.N. that the libertarian president has criticized as infringement on national sovereignty, and the idea that increased state intervention is the way to fight hunger.

Argentinas presidency didnt respond to requests for comment clarifying specifically which clauses it opposed. The official from the G20 nation with knowledge of the negotiations said Argentina adopted the statement under intense pressure from world powers. The X statement, the official said, was aimed at a domestic audience that appeared to relish Milei's Trump-like role as spoiler in the multilateral talks hosted by his outspoken critic, Lula.

Concrete step for fighting global hunger

Much of the declaration focuses on the eradication of hunger  a priority for Lula.

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Brazils government previously stressed that Lulas launch of the global alliance against hunger and poverty on Monday was as important as the final declaration. As of Monday, 82 nations had signed onto the plan, Brazils government said. It is also backed by organizations including the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

A demonstration Sunday on Rios Copacabana beach featured 733 empty plates spread across the sand to represent the 733 million people who went hungry in 2023, according to United Nations data, and called on leaders to take action.

Viviana Santiago, a director at Oxfam, an anti-poverty nonprofit, praised Brazil for using its G20 presidency to respond to peoples demands worldwide to tackle extreme inequality, hunger and climate breakdown, and particularly for rallying action on taxing the super-rich.

Brazil has lit a path toward a more just and resilient world, challenging others to meet them at this critical juncture, she said in a statement.

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Long-awaited reform of United Nations

Leaders pledged to work for transformative reform of the U.N. Security Council so that it aligns with the realities and demands of the 21st century, makes it more representative, inclusive, efficient, effective, democratic and accountable.

Lula has been calling for reform of the powerful Security Council since his first two terms in power, from 2003-2010, but had gained little traction. Charged with maintaining international peace and security, it has not changed from its original 1945 configuration. Five countries that were dominant powers at the end of World War II have veto power  the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France  while 10 countries from different regions serve two-year terms.

Virtually all countries agree that nearly eight decades after the United Nations was established, the Security Council should be expanded to reflect the world in the 21st century and include more voices. But the central quandary  and the biggest disagreement  remains how to do it. The G20 declaration doesnt answer that question.

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We call for an enlarged Security Council composition that improves the representation of the underrepresented and unrepresented regions and groups, such as Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean, the declaration said.

The United States announced shortly before a U.N. summit in September that it supports two new permanent seats for African countries without veto power, and a first-ever non-permanent seat for a small island developing nation. But as examples, the Group of Four  Brazil, Germany, India and Japan  support each others bid for permanent seats. And the larger Uniting for Consensus group of a dozen countries including Pakistan, Italy, Turkey and Mexico wants additional non-permanent seats with longer terms.

___

Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Rio de Janeiro, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Isabel DeBre in La Paz, Bolivia contributed.
Police are investigating a break-in on the grounds of Windsor Castle, near the family home of Prince William and his wife Kate, the Princess of Wales.

The suspects were able to enter a building and steal two items from the royal family estate in Windsor, England, on Oct. 13, a spokesperson for the Thames Valley Police told ABC News.

"At around 11.45pm on Sunday 13 October, we received a report of burglary at a property on Crown Estate land near to the A308 in Windsor," the spokesperson said in a statement. "Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Izuzu pickup and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area."

PHOTO: The grounds of Windsor Castle on April 11, 2021 in Windsor, England. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images, FILE)

According to police, no arrests have been made and the "investigation is ongoing."

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Kate Middleton makes 1st major public appearances since completing cancer treatment

Both Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace have declined to comment, saying they never do so on security issues.

It is not known whether William and Kate and their three children, Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte, were home at the time of the break-in.

PHOTO: Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales and Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales attend 'The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance' at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Nov. 9, 2024. (Chris J. Ratcliffe, Pool via Reuters, FILE)

The family moved to Adelaide Cottage, a home on the grounds of Windsor Castle, from Kensington Palace in 2022.

George, Charlotte and Louis attend Lambrook School in nearby Berkshire. The school was in session the week of the burglary, meaning it is likely the family was not traveling at the time.

PHOTO: Police are investigating a reported break-in on Oct. 13, 2024, on the grounds of Windsor Castle, where Prince William and Princess Kate live with their three children. (ABC)

Windsor Castle is located over 20 miles outside of London. It was a favorite retreat of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who spent much of her time there before her death in 2022.

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There were several security breaches at Windsor Castle during Queen Elizabeth's reign, including an incident in 2022 in which an intruder gained access to the barracks of the soldiers who guard the castle.

Prince William says past year has been his 'hardest' with King Charles, Kate Middleton facing cancer

In an interview after the security breach in 2022, ABC News royal contributor Robert Jobson explained that it's harder to secure Windsor Castle than Buckingham Palace, the monarch's full-time residence in London.

"Buckingham Palace is like the White House. It has a strong perimeter with very stringent security protocols and Scotland Yard officers within the compound," Jobson said. "But Windsor Castle is more difficult to protect. It's open to the public and it's a vast area with many different entrances."

Break-in reported near Prince William, Kate Middleton's home at Windsor Castle originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
BOSTON (AP)  The brother of a man suspected in four Boston-area arsons involving Jewish institutions in 2019 pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to charges that he obstructed the investigation.

Alexander Giannakakis, formerly of Quincy, Massachusetts, was working in security at the U.S. embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, when he was arrested by Swedish authorities in 2022.

Giannakakis pleaded guilty to concealing records in a federal investigation, tampering with documents and objects, and tampering with an official proceeding. He is scheduled to be sentenced March 11.

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"Alexander Giannakakis chose to destroy evidence and conceal these hate crimes and for deciding to stand on the side of acts of vile Antisemitism, he now stands convicted and awaiting sentencing, Acting United States Attorney Joshua Levy said in a statement. It is incumbent on every person in the District of Massachusetts to call out acts of racism and bigotry, and to report hate crimes.

According to the indictment, around February 2020, Giannakakis younger brother became the prime suspect in an investigation into the fires. At the time he was named as a suspect, Giannakakis brother was hospitalized in a coma, and he died that year.

The first fire occurred May 11, 2019, at a Chabad Center in Arlington; the second at the same location on May 16, 2019; the third at a Chabad Center in Needham; and the fourth on May 26, 2019, at a Jewish-affiliated business in Chelsea.

Giannakakis was convicted in Sweden of unlawfully possessing a firearm and other weapons. He served a sentence in a Swedish prison that ended in December. He was extradited in February to face the new charges.

Each of the charges carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

An attorney for Giannakakis did not respond to a request for comment.
Thieves broke into the grounds of Windsor Castle, King Charles residence west of London, and stole two vehicles from royal land, police said, in a major breach of security.

The incident took place on October 13 but was first reported on Sunday by British tabloid, The Sun. Thames Valley Police confirmed last months theft in a statement to CNN on Monday.

Police said the burglary was reported at around 11:45 p.m. (6:45 p.m. ET) and that the perpetrators entered a farm building on royal land. The suspects made off with a black Izuzu pickup and a red quad bike, the police statement said, adding that no arrests have been made and an investigation is ongoing.

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The Sun reported that two masked men scaled a 6 ft (1.83 meter) fence to enter the Crown Estate land, then used the stolen truck to smash through a security gate and flee the scene.

The Prince and Princess of Wales live close to the site of the burglary with their children, Prince George, Prince Louis, and Princess Charlotte. - Jonathan Brady/Getty Images

Though Windsor Castle is one of King Charles and Queen Camillas residences, the pair were not staying at the castle at the time of the reported burglary. Charles was in Scotland and didnt return to London until the following day.

The Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children live at Adelaide Cottage, a four-bedroom Grade II listed house which is also in the grounds of Windsor Castle, and would likely have been at home on the night of the security breach.

Buckingham Palace told CNN it never comments on security matters, as did Kensington Palace.

Adelaide Cottage is the principal residence of Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales. - Shutterstock

On Christmas Day 2021, a man broke into the grounds of Windsor Castle armed with a crossbow in an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II, who was in the royal residence at the time.

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The late Queen was unharmed, although the intrusion sparked serious questions about palace security, especially when it emerged that her repeated attempts to summon help were ignored.

Jaswant Singh Chail, who was 19 when he attempted to kill the Queen, was sentenced to nine years in jail in 2023.

CNNs Max Foster and Katharina Krebs contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Originally appeared on E! Online

Prince William and Kate Middleton endured a scary experience at their home last month.

Burglars allegedly broke into the grounds of Windsor Castlethe estate that includes Prince and Princess of Wales primary residencein October, police confirmed to NBC News.

Thames Valley Police told the outlet it received report of a burglary "at a property on Crown Estate land" just before midnight on Oct. 13. Police said the burglars entered a farm building and "made off with a black Isuzu pickup and a red quad bike" before leaving for a nearby town.

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They added in their statement, No arrests have been made at this stage and an investigation is ongoing.

The location of the burglary was just a few miles away from Adelaide Cottage, where Kate and William live with their children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6. King Charles III and Queen Camilla, for their part, reside primarily in Londons Clarence House, near Buckingham Palace.

Neither Buckingham Palace nor Kensington Palace responded to NBC News request for comment.

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This is not the first time intruders have made their way into the ground of Windsor Castle in recent years.

In April 2022, an unidentified man posed as a priest upon his arrival at the royal grounds. According to NBC News, he spent the night eating and drinking, before being given a bed in the barracks, which are not located on castle grounds. At 9:20 a.m., the security raised an alarm, and police removed the intruder from the sleeping quarters.

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

"We received a report of an outsider at Victoria Barracks in Sheet Street, Windsor," a Thames Valley Police spokesperson told NBC in a statement. "Officers attended and removed the outsider from the barracks. No further action was required."

And just months before, a 19-year-old trespasser got onto the estate on Christmas Day in 2021 armed with a crossbow where he was shortly arrested.

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The break-in at Windsor Castle comes amid what has been a challenging year for the royal family after both Kate and King Charles were diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of 2024.

As William told reporters earlier in November of navigating his wife and fathers health challenges, It's been dreadful. It's probably been the hardest year in my life.

Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult, the 42-year-old continued. I'm so proud of my wife, I'm proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done. But from a personal family point of view, it's been, yeah, it's been brutal.

Though when asked how his wife and father were doingKate announced the completion of her chemotherapy in Sept. while Charles returned to public facing duties in AprilWilliam added the pair are doing well.

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(E! News and NBC News are both part of NBCUniversal.)

For more news from royal families in 2024, keep reading.

Queen Camilla Withdraws From Public Engagements Due to Chest Infection

"Her Majesty The Queen is currently unwell with a chest infection, for which her doctors have advised a short period of rest," the Buckingham Palace announced on Nov. 5. "With great regret, Her Majesty has therefore had to withdraw from her engagements for this week, but she very much hopes to be recovered in time to attend this weekend's Remembrance events as normal. She apologises to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result."





Princess Beatrice is Expecting Baby No. 2

The royal and her husband of four years Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are expecting their second child together, the Royal Family announced Oct. 1. Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice and Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are very pleased to announce that they are expecting their second child together early in the new year, the caption of their Instagram post read. His Majesty The King has been informed and both families are delighted with the news.

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Kate Middleton Completes Chemotherapy

On Sept. 9, the Princess of Wales shared that she had completed chemotherapy after being diagnose with an unspecified form of cancer earlier this year. "The cancer journey is complex, scary and unpredictable for everyone, especially those closest to you," she said in a video statement. "With humility, it also brings you face to face with your own vulnerabilities in a way you have never considered before, and with that, a new perspective on everything." The royal added, "Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long and I must continue to take each day as it comes. I am however looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can."





Kate Middleton's First Formal Appearance Since Cancer Diagnosis

The Princess of Wales returned to the spotlight on June 15three months after sharing her cancer diagnosisfor the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London. She was joined by her husband Prince William and their three kids: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.





Princess Anne Is Released From Hospital

The Princess Royal was discharged after a five-day stay at Southmead Hospital. Her husband, Tim Laurence, said in a statement June 28, "I would like to extend my warmest thanks to all the team at Southmead Hospital for their care, expertise and kindness during my wifes short stay."





Princess Anne is Hospitalized With Concussion

The younger sister of King Charles III sustained minor injuries during an incident at her estate Gatcombe Park, Buckingham Palace has announced. "Her Royal Highness remains in Southmead Hospital, Bristol, as a precautionary measure for observation and is expected to make a full and swift recovery," the June 24 statement, shared to X, read. "The King has been kept closely informed and joins the whole Royal Family in sending his fondest love and well-wishes to The Princess for a speedy recovery."

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Kate Middleton Shares Chemotherapy Update

Nearly three months after sharing her cancer diagnosis, the Princess of Wales said that she's "making good progress" with chemotherapy, though there are "good days and bad days" amid her health journey. "On those bad days you feel weak, tired and you have to give in to your body resting," Kate wrote on Instagram June 14. "But on the good days, when you feel stronger, you want to make the most of feeling well." She added, "My treatment is ongoing and will be for a few more months. On the days I feel well enough, it is a joy to engage with school life, spend personal time on the things that give me energy and positivity, as well as starting to do a little work from home."





New Role for Prince William

On May 13, King Charles III bestowed the title of Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps to his oldest son, sparking controversy as many royal watchers believed the title would be more suited for Prince Harry, who trained and served in the military branch.





Kin Charles III Returns to Public Duties

On April 26, nearly three months after sharing his cancer diagnosis, Buckingham Palace announced that Charles will return to public-facing duties.





Queen Camilla Attends Royal Maundy Service

The queen consort attended the Royal Maundy Service on March 28 in place of King Charles III, making her the first spouse of the Monarch to continue the ancient tradition.

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Kate Middleton Shares Cancer Diagnosis

In a March 22 video message, the Princess of Wales shared that she'd been diagnosed with cancer after undergoing abdominal surgery in January. "It was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful," she said before noting that tests after the operation found cancer had been present. "My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment."





Kate Middleton Apologizes for Edited Family Photo Controversy

After photo agencies pulled the picture Kensington Palace shared of Kate since having her abdominal surgery on March 10, the Princess of Wales addressed claims the photo was doctored. "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," she tweeted on March 11. "I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother's Day. C."





Lady Kitty Spencer Privately Welcomes Baby

Princess Diana's niece celebrated Mother's Day in the U.K. by sharing she and her husband Michael Lewis privately welcomed their first baby. Its the joy of my life to be your mummy, little one. I love you unconditionally," she captioned her March 10 Instagram post. "Happy Mothers Day to those who celebrate today."





Queen Camilla Takes a Break

After keeping up her full slate of engagements in the wake of her husband's cancer diagnosis, the palace cleared Camilla's schedule. The Times pointed out March 2 that the 76-year-old didn't have any engagements on her calendar until March 11, when she'd be due at Westminster Abbey to observe Commonwealth Day.

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Thomas Kensington Dies at 45

The husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor and ex-boyfriend of Pippa Middleton, was found dead Feb. 25. Days later, a coroner's inquest found that he died by suicide.





King Charles Diagnosed With Cancer

While King Charles III was in the hospital for his benign prostate enlargement procedure, the royal family member was diagnosed with cancer. "His Majesty has today commenced a schedule of regular treatments, during which time he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties," Buckingham Palace said Feb. 5. "Throughout this period, His Majesty will continue to undertake State business and official paperwork as usual.The King is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure. He remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible."





Sarah Ferguson Is Diagnosed With a Second Type of Cancer

The Duchess of York's rep said in a statement on Jan. 21 that Sarah was recently diagnosed with malignant melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer. Several months prior, she underwent a single mastectomy to treat breast cancer.





Queen Margrethe II of Denmark Abdicates the Throne

On Jan. 14, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark made history as she officially abdicated the throne, handing the crown over to her son, now known as King Frederik the 10th.

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Kate Middleton Is Hospitalized

Kensington Palace announced on Jan. 17 that Kate Middleton underwent planned abdominal surgery and was set to remain in the hospital for 10 to 14 days. "Based on the current medical advice," the Palace said, "she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter."





Prince William Adjusting His Schedule

Amid Kate's recovery, Prince William postponed a number of engagements as he supported his family, including the couple's three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.





King Charles III Undergoing Treatment

Shortly after Kate's hospitalization was made public, Buckingham Palace shared that Charles "has sought treatment for an enlarged prostate." "His Majesty's condition is benign and he will attend hospital next week for a corrective procedure," the statement added. "The Kings public engagements will be postponed for a short period of recuperation."





Luxembourg Welcomes a New Baby

Princess Claire and Prince Felix of Luxembourg welcomed son Balthazar Felix Karl on Jan. 7, the first royal baby of the New Year!



For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
You'd think Windsor Castle would have pretty tight and impenetrable security, but a farm on the royal property was broken intoand it was extremely close to Kate Middleton and Prince William's home, Adelaide Cottage. In fact, the royal couple and their three kids were reportedly at home when the burglary occurred.

According to The Sun (via People) police are looking for "two masked raiders" who broke into Shaw Farm and crashed through a security gate as they were escaping. Apparently, armed police had previously been removed from the gate the burglars used. As for what they stole, they were targeting farm machinery.

People spoke to a spokesperson for the Thames Valley Police, who said At around 11.45pm on Sunday October 13, we received a report of burglary at a property on Crown Estate land near to the A308 in Windsor. Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Isuzu pick-up and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area. No arrests have been made at this stage and an investigation is ongoing."

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Meanwhile, a source told The Sun that the burglars would have to have known the vehicles were stored there before they broke in and known when was the best time to get and escape without being caught. So they must have been watching Windsor Castle for a while. There are alarms at Windsor Castle but the first time anyone knew there was a break-in was when they crashed through the security barrier at Shaw Farm Gate exit. The barrier has needed to be replaced as it was so badly damaged. It was a Sunday night on a school week so the young princes and princess would have been tucked in bed at Adelaide Cottage, just around the corner but still in the grounds.

The palace hasn't commented on the incident as of yet.

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STOYSTOWN, Pa.  State police in Somerset are investigating a possible burglary at a Shade Township residence.

The incident occurred at a Blough Road home Oct. 17, and was described as an entry into the structure by force.

State police are still investigating, investigators said in a media release Saturday.
BRENTWOOD, Calif. (AP)  A Northern California city has agreed to pay nearly $1 million to settle a lawsuit alleging police used excessive force after a K-9 dog bit into a woman's scalp during her arrest, requiring her to get more than 200 stitches and other treatment.

Talmika Bates will receive $967,000 from the city of Brentwood, located about 60 miles (100 km) east of San Francisco in Contra Costa County, her attorneys announced Friday.

Bates, who was wanted on suspicion of shoplifting items from a makeup store, was hiding in bushes when the German Shepherd bit her head during the arrest in February 2020.

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The woman required more than 200 stitches in her head, tissue rearrangement and laceration repair. Shes been diagnosed with mild diffuse traumatic brain injury, mild post-traumatic brain syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to her attorneys.

We need to recognize that K-9s are dangerous, sometimes lethal, weapons that can cause life-altering damage or kill someone even when an officer is trying to get them to release and relent, said civil rights attorney Adante Pointer. Here we saw a trained K-9 handler stand by while his dog mauled an unarmed young lady who was surrendering."

The settlement comes six months after a federal judge stripped the officer handling the police K-9 of some of his qualified immunity protection, because the extended amount of time he allowed his dog to bite Bates could be considered by a jury as excessive force, her attorneys said.

Brentwood Police Chief Timothy Herbert said the city and its insurance providers agreed to settle the case to avoid further litigation and appeal costs.

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The lone claim by Ms. Bates in this litigation was excessive force per the Fourth Amendment. In the litigation, the District Court ruled that Officer Rezentes lawfully deployed his canine in this search ... and that he had a lawful right to use his canine to apprehend Ms. Bates under the Fourth Amendment, Herbert said in a statement.

Herbert said the police department currently has no working K-9 officers.
The Kremlin on Monday underscored one of the red lines it has drawn since the start of its invasion of Ukraine: Washingtons permission for Kyiv to attack targets on Russian soil with long-range missiles supplied by the U.S. will lead to a qualitative increase in the level of involvement of the United States in this conflict. Vladimir Putins spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, recalled the words expressed by the Russian president in September, at the entrance to a cultural forum in St. Petersburg, where he warned that permission to use such weapons will mean that NATO countries  the United States and European countries  are at war with Russia.

Reuters, The New York Times and The Washington Post reported on Sunday that outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden has given permission to the Ukrainian army to use ATACMS missiles inside Russian territory, where military bases and airfields have been protected until now. According to the U.S. media, Washington has made a 180-degree turn in its policy toward the use of these weapons, at least until Donald Trumps inauguration in two months, on January 20, 2025.

It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps to continue adding fuel to the fire and continue to provoke tension around this conflict, Peskov told Russian media on Monday.

The Biden administration has so far rejected the pleas of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for fear of provoking a military escalation with Russia. If such a decision has indeed been formulated and communicated to the Kyiv regime, then, of course, this is a qualitatively new round of escalation of tensions, Putins spokesman stressed hours after the news broke.

In addition to issuing verbal warnings to the West, Russian authorities have also modified their nuclear doctrine. Putin met with the Security Council standing conference on nuclear deterrence in late September to discuss the new amendments. The meeting, which is usually secret, was broadcast on state television to send a message to the world.

Weapons of mass destruction

Among other changes, the Kremlin decided to consider a joint attack by a non-nuclear-weapon state as an aggression if it has the support of a nuclear power. In that case, the new doctrine would contemplate the use of weapons of mass destruction if necessary.

Moreover, Putins spokesman declined to comment on the veracity of Turkeys alleged plan for a ceasefire in Ukraine, although he stressed that the Kremlin will not give up the entire Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. Any option involving the freezing [of the conflict] along the line of engagement is unacceptable for Russia in any case. The conditions that President Putin laid out in June remain fully relevant. This is what needs to be done to stop military activities, Peskov emphasized.

Bloomberg on Monday published some details of the proposal to be made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the G-20 summit in Brazil to freeze the war along the current lines of battle. According to the U.S. news agency, Ankara will propose a veto on Ukraines accession to NATO within 10 years and the creation of a demilitarized zone in the east of the country with the presence of international troops.

A Turkish government source told Ria Novosti that Bloombergs revelation does not correspond to reality. However, his sources in the Turkish government told the Russian news agency that Erdogan will prioritize the discussion of a truce at the G-20. The main task now is to stop the bloodshed and achieve a sustainable ceasefire, the Russian agency reported.

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What happened: A family member of Kuanlun Wang, 37, contacted the Brea Police Department on Oct. 15 to report concerns about his whereabouts after not hearing from him for several days. The relative shared that Wang had mentioned being owed $80,000 by Huangting Gong, a business associate. On Oct. 12, Wangs family reached out to Gong, who claimed that Wang and Wangs wife, Jing Li, 37, never showed up for a supposed trip to New York City  though Wangs family had no knowledge of such plans. The investigation revealed that Gong allegedly met Wang in the desert on Oct. 12, shot him and then drove Wangs Tesla back to Brea. There, he allegedly attacked Li, forcing her to give up her phone password before driving her to another desert location, shooting her and burning her body. Gong then allegedly returned to retrieve Wangs body from the Brea home, disposed of it in a desert area in Riverside County and later burned it. He also took the couples two Teslas to two different desert locations and set them ablaze. On Oct. 14, Gong allegedly returned to Wangs home and stole $250,000 in valuables.
There's a lot to look forward to this week. Let's dive right in.



The Pacific Northwest is expected to be affected by two systems, although it becomes muddy when they merge on Thursday & Friday (November 21-22, 2024); it will basically feel like one long storm system.



Here are my current mid-mountain forecasts from Tuesday evening (11/19) through Sunday evening (11/24).

PNW Forecasted Snowfall Totals, November 19-24, 2024

- Mt. Baker: 18-28"

- Stevens Pass: 15-25"

- Alpental: 10-18"

- Crystal Mountain: 22-32"

- Timberline: 20-34" (rain on Thursday night/Friday AM)

- Mt. Bachelor: 25-35"



The upper elevations of the PNW volcanos will see comically large totals. Here is our "volcano summit" forecast by Sunday evening:



- Mt. Baker: 48-60"

- Mt. Rainier: 55-80"

- Mt. Hood: 40-60"

Forecasted snowfall for the western United States, November 18-24, 2024. Photo: WeatherBell/Powderchasers

California Forecasted Snowfall Totals, November 20-21, 2024

This storm will also affect California. This pattern will likely kick off a major storm pattern for the next 10 days. The first storm will last from Wednesday morning through Thursday evening.



Snow levels will start at 5,000 feet but will spike up to 9,000 feet by the end of the system, meaning most resorts will start with snow and shift to rain by the end of the precipitation period. Before the rain, here's what we're expecting in terms of snow accumulation at mid-mountain elevations from this system. Totals will be very elevation-dependent.



- Palisades/Sugar Bowl: 6-12"

- Kirkwood: 3-7"

- Northstar: 1-3"

- Mt Rose: 1-3"

- Heavenly: 1-2"



California Forecasted Snowfall Totals, November 22-24, 2024

More precip will arrive on Friday morning (11/22) and will last into Sunday (11/24). Snow levels with this wave will be slightly more favorable, starting at 8,000 feet and dropping to 4,000 feet by the end; so this event will be the opposite of our Wednesday-Thursday storm, and will instead bring rain and then snow after. By Sunday evening at mid-mountain elevations, here are my forecasts for resorts around the region:



- Palisades/Sugar Bowl: 16-25"

- Kirkwood: 19-27"

- Northstar: 10-18"

- Mt Rose/Heavenly: 8-16"

- Mammoth: 18-26"

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This system will also deliver moderate accumulations to other areas in the West through Tuesday evening, including Wyoming and Colorado. We're looking at up to a foot in the Tetons and 2-6" totals for the northwestern mountains of CO:

Total expected snowfall accumulation through November 20, 2024. Photo: WeatherBell/Powderchasers

A secondary burst of wind, also from the southwest, will affect the region on Friday and Saturday.



Just as that storm wraps up, we're looking at ANOTHER potentially large storm rolling in. Details remain vague, since we're still so far out, but this could bring another 10-20+ inches to resorts. Stay tuned for updated numbers as we get closer to the event.

Utah Snow Forecast, November 23-28, 2024

In Utah, the next snowfall will arrive on Saturday evening (11/23) and last into next week, likely letting up around Wednesday or Thursday (11/27-28). It's still way too far out to nail down specifics, but our preliminary numbers puts resorts in the Cottonwoods at 25-35" and PC/DV at 15-25". Stay tuned for updated numbers in the coming days.

Forecasted snowfall for Utah ski resorts, November 18-27, 2024. Photo: WeatherBell/Powderchasers

Colorado is in the same boat and will also see snowfall starting this weekend and lasting into next week. Details are still a tossup. Below is the GFS 7 day forecast, and is showing promising totals state-wide, with the deepest totals in the Elks near Aspen and the San Juans.



Stay tuned for forecasts throughout the week as we get closer to these distant events. As the models converge on a solution, we will have a much better idea of totals!

Forecasted snowfall for Colorado, November 18-28, 2024. Photo: WeatherBell/Powderchasers

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Related: How Chris Benchetler Transcended the Ski Industry

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When Mars Wright saw that Donald Trump had been elected again as president, the 29-year-old Los Angeles artist and streetwear designer felt relieved he had already undergone surgeries for his gender transition.

Wright, a transgender man, has chronicled his medical journey online, flexing and dancing to show how his body transformed after a masculinization procedure he nicknamed "Dorito chip" for the way it altered his shape. His surgery was covered under an L.A. Care plan he obtained through Covered California, the marketplace set up under the Affordable Care Act for Californians to purchase insurance.

"I'm privileged to be here," Wright said of living in California. "And I think about how people are going to have to come here ... to be able to have medical transition."

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California leaders have sought to protect access to such procedures for transgender people. Health plans licensed by the state must provide transgender enrollees with medically necessary gender-affirming care. Doctors who provide such care in California are legally shielded from laws criminalizing it in other states.

But experts and advocates said that even in California, access to gender-affirming care could be undermined by federal action as Trump takes office for a second time, pledging to stop "left-wing gender insanity" and calling gender transition for minors a form of child abuse. State lawmakers have pledged to push back against efforts to obstruct gender-affirming care, which could tee up future battles in court.

Read more: For transgender Americans, Trump's win after a campaign targeting them is terrifying

"I'm not going to sit here and say that California can turn back every despicable federal attack on trans people," said state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who has backed protections for transgender patients and their doctors. "But we are going to do everything in our power to stick up for the community."

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President-elect Trump has vowed to press Congress to block the use of federal funds for gender-affirming care including surgery, a position also reflected in the Republican party platform. Exactly how a ban would be imposed remains to be seen, but experts said the Trump administration could model it on the Hyde Amendment, which for decades has broadly banned using federal funds for abortion.

Eliminating federal funding would have sweeping effects, because "pretty much every corner of the healthcare system has some element of federal funding in it, said Kellan E. Baker, executive director of the Whitman-Walker Institute, which does research and advocacy on health issues for LGBTQ people. Its effects "would fall most significantly on those who are least positioned to be able to afford the healthcare they need.

Among those affected, he said, would be transgender people who rely on public programs such as Medicaid. However, experts said that because Medicaid is jointly funded by states and the federal government, California leaders could choose to use state funds to pay for gender-affirming care.

"California has shown a predilection for funding things that are over and above what Medicaid nationally will do," such as covering low-income Californians regardless of immigration status, said John Baackes, chief executive of L.A. Care, a health plan serving more than 2 million people across L.A. County. "The state could say, 'OK  we'll fund it.'"

Mars Wright sits in a small studio space in his apartment with his elderly dog Lucy. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Trump is also expected to seek changes to Medicaid that would reduce federal spending, which could strain for California financially if it wants to continue other existing programs under Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program. But advocates said because transgender people are a small share of the population  estimated at 0.6% of U.S. teens and adults in one analysis  shouldering costs for gender-affirming care wouldn't be a major expense.

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Experts said states have wide latitude over their spending, but Trump has tried to use Medicaid to pressure California over its policies before. Near the end of his first term, the Trump administration threatened to withhold some Medicaid funding from California because the state required insurers to cover abortion care.

That threat ultimately fizzled, but it could hint at how his administration might try to pressure California. A Trump representative didn't respond to an email seeking comment on that possibility.

At clinics run by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, anxious patients are asking, "Should I get a year's worth of hormones now? Should I do all the surgeries I've ever wanted to do?" said Dr. Kaiyti Duffy, its chief medical officer. She has tried to assure them that "as long as we can provide these services, we will."

Trump could also pursue more sweeping restrictions that not only bar the use of federal dollars for gender-affirming care, but prohibit providers of such care from getting federal funding.

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Some of his proposals specifically target gender-affirming care for youth, which has been a focal point for groups that contend it harms children who don't understand the implications of such treatment. Greg Burt, vice president of the California Family Council, called it "the biggest lie that this state has ever perpetrated on our young people, to tell kids that it's possible to be born in the wrong body."

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that transgender youth have access to comprehensive gender-affirming care.

In the Central Valley, one mother said puberty blockers had been a "pause button" that relieved despair for her transgender child, who is now 14, and gave the family time to figure out what he needed. The military family, who rely on Tricare insurance for service members that is federally funded, consulted with doctors and eventually moved forward with hormonal treatment with testosterone.

"At every stage of medical care, he became more and more himself," said the mother, who asked not to be identified to protect the privacy of her teen. "He switched from being silent and quiet to active and alive and thriving."

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If her child is blocked from getting such care in California, she said, they are making plans to leave the country.

Trump has called to prohibit gender-affirming care for youth in every state, calling it mutilation. During the campaign, Trump said he would seek to terminate any healthcare provider that "participates in the chemical or physical mutilation of minor youth" from Medicaid and Medicare.

The Medicare and Medicaid programs are "the biggest lever that the federal government has because hospitals get so much money" from them, said Julianna S. Gonen, director of federal policy for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. The threat of losing it "is so severe that hospitals will probably comply before they run the risk of being terminated from the programs."

Read more: The Trump presidency begins to take shape. Immigration is front and center

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Experts said the White House could also seek a federal determination that such care is dangerous or experimental, which would reverberate through federally funded programs.

Alejandra Caraballo, a clinical instructor at the Cyberlaw Clinic at Harvard Law, said for many healthcare providers, "when the risk is you losing your federal funding  which means your ability to operate  it's easier to just drop a trans patient."

The Trump administration could also roll back federal regulations that bar healthcare providers from denying care to transgender patients if the same kind of care is provided to others. However, California has its own rules prohibiting health plans from denying care based on gender identity.

The Trump administration could also try to clamp down on hormonal therapy through Food and Drug Administration regulations, some believe. However, Amanda McAllister-Wallner, interim executive director of the consumer advocacy group Health Access California, said trying to pinpoint who is providing "gender-affirming care" could be thorny for federal officials because such interventions are also used for other conditions.

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"It's not necessarily obvious  was this service being provided because of someone's diagnosis of gender dysphoria or for some other reason?" McAllister-Wallner said.

One study of insured patients published in JAMA Network Open found that in a recent year, breast reductions for trans youth were far outnumbered by ones for boys who are not transgender. Researchers said surgeries for transgender teenagers were "rare and almost entirely chest-related procedures" and found no surgeries on trans youth ages 12 or under.

Before election day, Bamby Salcedo planned to push for improvements to gender-affirming care through a Medi-Cal initiative called CalAIM. The election shunted that effort to the back burner, said Salcedo, president and chief executive of the TransLatin@ Coalition, an advocacy group founded by transgender women in L.A.

In its aftermath, Salcedo was continuing to push for an L.A. County budget allocation to support the needs of trans people, saying local government needs to step up. And she was also busy planning for a fashion show celebrating 15 years of her organization, calling it a chance "for that one night to bring joy to our people."

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"In whatever way possible, we are going to get through this," she said.

Mars Wright, poses for a photo. Wright was able to get body masculinization surgery through Covered California insurance (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Wright was among the designers being showcased at the event. Before getting his surgical procedures, he said, "I was scared to date. I was scared to wear clothes that I liked. I was scared to go to the beach." Now, he joked, "I can't keep my shirt on."

"I'm at a place where I love being trans."

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A rollover crash has blocked traffic on eastbound state Route 16 in Tacoma on Monday.

The crash near Sprague Avenue blocked all lanes. Traffic was getting by on the shoulder, the Washington State Department of Transportation reported at 1:50 p.m.

The right lane remained blocked at 2:15 p.m., the department reported. All other lanes were reopened.

Drivers should expect delays until the scene is cleared.

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3:30 p.m. update: The rolled-over vehicle has been towed and all lanes are reopened, Washington State Patrol Trooper John Dattilo told The News Tribune.

Dattilo said the vehicle struck a barrier during the crash. There were no other vehicles involved.

The driver immediately ran off, and it is unknown if they were injured, Dattilo said.
A high-speed police pursuit led to a violent crash Saturday night as a car carrying four people plowed into the side of a Culver City home, authorities said.

Video of the crash site shows a red SUV busted through a guardrail on Sawtelle Boulevard and into the side of the house. Its rear wheels remained outside.

The passengers  two men and two women  were not seriously injured, according to Officer Erik Larsen of the California Highway Patrol, and neither was anyone in the home.

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One person was taken into custody, and a firearm was recovered on the ground nearby, according to Larsen.

The red Dodge Durango was spotted by police as the driver failed to yield around 9:40 p.m. The police pursuit soon followed on the northbound 405 Freeway near the Sepulveda Boulevard exit.

According to the CHP, the SUV was driving on the shoulder of the freeway.

The driver exited the freeway, then reentered going south, finally exiting at Culver Boulevard in Culver City, where it crashed into the side of the home.

Read more: Officer who beat unarmed man with a baton outside veterans hospital gets a year in prison

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Larsen said the SUV took "approximately 300 feet of guardrail" with it.

The offramp was subsequently closed throughout Sunday morning while the California Department of Transportation repaired the rail, he said.

One person who said he was a passenger in the car spoke to OnSceneTV and said he thought he was going to die.

He told the news service that his friend was driving when they saw the "red and blue lights" of the CHP squad car and the driver "decided just to run for it."

Larsen said the collision caused extensive damage to the home.

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U.S. ambassadors arent supposed to comment on domestic politics, but that didnt stop Caroline Kennedy from telling a group of Australian journalists what she really thinks about cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

I think Bobby Kennedys views on vaccines are dangerous, President John F. Kennedys daughter said Sunday during a speech at the National Press Club of Australia, where she has served as President Joe Bidens ambassador since 2022.

Her answer was in response to a question about the risk of RFK Jr., one of the worlds leading peddlers of debunked vaccine conspiracy theories, bringing his views into the mainstream if confirmed as President-elect Donald Trumps health and human services secretary.

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Im a sitting ambassador and Im not supposed to comment on politics, and now youre also asking me comment on family, so thats really a lot, joked Kennedy, before launching into a surprisingly honest appraisal of her cousins views.

I grew up with him, so Ive known all this for a long time. Others are just getting to know him, she said.

Caroline Kennedy shared her feelings about her cousin RFK Jr. joining the Trump administration.

The third-party candidate ended his failed presidential campaign in August and endorsed Trump in exchange for a potential White House appointment. Last week, the president-elect made good on the deal and announced Kennedy as his secretary of health and human services nominee.

The decision was met with horror from much of the medical communityand other Americans who fear a return to outbreaks of measles and polio with a vaccine skeptic leading U.S. health policy.

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I dont think most Americans share [his views], Caroline Kennedy said on Sunday. I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure, and has the greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country. Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views.

Kennedy was also asked why American allies should continue to share military intelligence with the incoming administration given allegations that former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Trumps nominee for director of national intelligence, could be a Russian asset. Gabbard has peddled Russian-backed conspiracy theories and secretly met in 2017 with Syrias Russian-backed president.

Obviously that would be of great concern, Kennedy said, apparently referring to the Senate potentially green-lighting Gabbards nomination. Well see who actually gets confirmed.

Kennedy, who also served as former President Barack Obamas ambassador to Japan, was already set to wrap up her appointment in Australia regardless of whether Trump won re-election earlier this month.

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If this was the restrained diplomatic version of her political views, her return to civilian life promises to be interesting.

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(Bloomberg) -- US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy described her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s views on vaccinations as dangerous, the latest public rebuke by a senior member of the storied family against the man Donald Trump has tapped for a key Cabinet post.

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Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia on Monday, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy was asked about the skeptical views her cousin, son of the late US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, has expressed when it comes to vaccines.

Bobby Kennedys views on vaccines are dangerous, she said. But I dont think that most Americans share them so well just have to wait and see what happens.

President-elect Trump announced last week that he would nominate RFK Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services in his second administration, a decision which sparked concern among many health officials and advocates. Late in the campaign, Trump said Kennedy would go wild with health policy in his administration.

Read: Trump Selects Vaccine-Skeptic Kennedy for Health Secretary

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RFK Jr. has advocated a number of unorthodox public health views  including many that contradict guidance from the mainstream medical community. During the Covid-19 pandemic, for instance, he called Covid shots a crime against humanity and compared them to the Nazi Holocaust.

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Ambassador Kennedy said Monday that her uncle, the late Senator Ted Kennedy, had spent 50 years fighting for affordable health care in the US Senate. Its something that our whole family is so proud of, she said.

I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure, and has the greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country, and Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views, she added.

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Caroline Kennedy was nominated by President Joe Biden to be the US ambassador to Australia in 2021, having previously served as the ambassador to Japan during the Obama administration.

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U.S. Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of former President Kennedy, is criticizing her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for his skepticism of vaccines, calling the views of President-elect Trumps nominee for Health and Human Services secretary dangerous.

She noted during remarks at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia, on Sunday that his views do not align with the rest of the Kennedy family and most of the American people.

I grew up with him, so Ive known all this for a long time. Others are just getting to know him, she said.

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I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure and has greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country, and Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views.

Trump nominated Kennedy last week, one of several controversial picks that will need Senate confirmation.

The Senate GOP overall has given Kennedys nomination relatively good reviews, but he may only be able to afford three GOP no votes if Democrats are unified against him.

Kennedy has made a series of controversial remarks on vaccines and other issues that could make his road to confirmation more difficult.

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In an interview with NBC News earlier this month, Kennedy explicitly stated that the incoming administration would not take away vaccines from the American people.

If vaccines are working for somebody, Im not going to take them away. People ought to have [a] choice, and that choice ought to be informed by the best information, he said.

So Im going to make sure scientific safety studies and efficacy are out there, and people can make individual assessments about whether that product is going to be good for them, he added.

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The full carrot recall list due to an E. coli outbreak is extensive, impacting multiple stores and brands. On November 17, the CDC put out an alert on carrots and baby carrots sold by Grimmway Farms, which sells to various grocery chains throughout the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. 39 people have been reported sick from the E. coli outbreak so far, though the CDC says that the total number of people infected by the strain is likely much higher. Heres a breakdown of which stores and carrot brands to look out for.

What grocery stores have recalled carrots?

The following popular grocery stores have recalled their carrots due to the E. coli outbreak, though there are likely many more smaller chains have been impacted as well:

Costco

Kroger

Sprouts

Target

Trader Joes

Walmart

Wegmens

Whole Foods

What carrot brands have been recalled?

The following organic brands, which contain carrots and baby carrots by Grimmway Farms, have been recalled. Check your refrigerator and freezer to see whether you need to throw any carrots away:

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365

Bunny Luv

Cal-Organic

Compliments

Full Circle

Good & Gather

GreenWise

Grimmway Farms

Marketside

Natures Promise

O Organics

Presidents Choice

Raleys

Simple Truth

Sprouts

Trader Joes

Wegmens

Wholesome Pantry

A more specific list with the exact pounds of carrot bags have been recalled can be found at the official website for Grimmway Farms. The whole carrots that were recalled were primarily available for purchase at retail from August 14 to October 23, 2024, while the baby carrots have best-used-by dates ranging from September 11 to November 2, 2024. These carrots should already no longer be available for purchase stores.

As noted by the CDC, cases of reported sick people were made from August 7 to October 27, 2024. That said, it takes about 3 to 4 weeks to determine whether a sick person counts toward the outbreak, so the end date to the range could easily extend to November.

On October 22, the CDC also recalled the McDonalds Quarter Pounder for having an E. coli outbreak from slivered onions. Then on November 7, the FDA recalled nearly 80 thousands pounds of butter due to a missing disclaimer about it having milk as an ingredient.

The post Carrot Recall List: Every Store & Brand Affected by E. Coli Outbreak appeared first on Mandatory.
The resounding victory of the always unpredictable Donald Trump, 78, at the November 5 election has shaken up the global chessboard. The return to the White House, as of next January 20, of the Republican business magnate, whose Republican Party will also be in control of both chambers, increases the uncertainties in the realm of international relations and fuels speculation about the role that Washington will play in the geopolitical balances during the next four years. Against this backdrop, the president-elect will be the protagonist  even if an absent one  of the G20 summit that is being held this Monday and Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Americas outgoing president, 81-year-old Joe Biden, and Chinas Xi Jinping, 71, who met in Peru on Saturday, are expected to participate. The Asian leader called for certainty in the relationship between both superpowers.

The meeting of the worlds major economies is the first major test of the climate generated by the imminent and radical change of course in the United States. With the wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon adding attacks and deaths on a daily basis; with trade tensions between the West and China increasing and NATO anxious about potential changes, concern is rife in both Europe and Latin America. The fight against climate change will suffer an enormous impact with the withdrawal from negotiations and debates of the second-largest emitter of polluting gases. President Biden visited the Brazilian Amazon this Sunday, where he pledged $50 million to help preserve the largest tropical forest in the world.

As was the case last year at the G20 in New Delhi, Vladimir Putin will not be present. The Russian leader has an international arrest warrant out for him over war crimes in Ukraine.

Brazil returns to the scene

Hosting the G20 leaders in Rio is a milestone in Brazils return to the international spotlight. It had been a priority for the host, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 79, following the diplomatic isolation of the Bolsonaro years. On Sunday, Lula stressed these two priorities at the close of a gathering of mayors prior to the summit. He stressed that the fight against climate change can promote a broader urban agenda of inclusion and social justice and that the ecological transition is a valuable opportunity to generate employment and income for youth.

The Brazilian president also took advantage of his speech to condemn the war in Gaza and make a plea for peace. Talking about governance reform also means repudiating the destruction caused by wars, he stressed. The Gaza Strip, one of the oldest urban settlements in humanity, has seen two thirds of its territory destroyed by indiscriminate bombing. There will be no peace in the cities if there is no peace in the world. This message was echoed by the words of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, who called for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, respect for international law in Ukraine and an end to violence in Sudan, and redoubled his commitment to multilateralism and against isolationist tendencies such as those displayed by the president-elect of the United States.

Security deployment

On Sunday soldiers, rifles in hand, deployed for the summit, making for a stark contrast with the locals coming and going in bathing suits around Copacabana Beach. The most central area of Rio was deserted, with many shops closed and few residents around, because city officials have declared a six-day holiday.

Lula and Brazilian diplomacy would like this G20 to focus on the issues they consider truly essential: ending hunger and poverty, advancing the environmental transition in an effective way, and reforming the U.N. These issues, in their eyes, are being unfairly overshadowed by conflicts that some countries fuel instead of negotiating to resolve them.

The summit's final declaration was still stuck on Sunday on the paragraph referring to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Weeks of negotiations have still not produced a formulation that satisfies everyone. The issue will be addressed by the leaders on Monday.

Major challenges

The new stage that opens with Trumps second term poses enormous challenges on both sides of the Atlantic and is still surrounded by great unknowns, but the signals sent by the Republican leader after his victory provide some clues about the scope of the change that is coming. On the one hand, there are his campaign promises: mass deportation of immigrants, 60% tariffs on imports from China, strong support for Israel, withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement and maximum pressure on Iran. On the other hand, there are the Cabinet appointments. The composition of his cabinet anticipates, for example, some probable positions of his Administration in foreign policy.

The future Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, 53, has a very tough attitude on Beijing, he is markedly pro-Israel, and he is opposed to military aid to Ukraine. His appointment has raised expectations in Latin America, especially in the most radical sectors of the Venezuelan, Cuban and Nicaraguan opposition, which demand greater forcefulness against the governments of Miguel Diaz-Canel, Nicolas Maduro and Daniel Ortega.

Rubio, a son of Cuban immigrants who speaks fluent Spanish, is the first Latino to hold the post. However, one of his priorities will be to implement Trumps tough immigration agenda along with Kristi Noem, the new Secretary of Homeland Security, and manage its impact on the affected countries. And, more generally, to lead an isolationist policy.

The impact of Trumps return to power is likely to be felt especially strongly in countries like Ukraine and Mexico. The former has been threatened with draining or even cutting off the huge flow of U.S. aid to counter the Russian invasion. The latter has been threatened with the expulsion of millions of immigrants, harsh tariffs if the Mexican government does not comply with Trumps immigration program, and bombing the factories where drug traffickers produce fentanyl. Trump has also proclaimed his intention not to get involved in major wars: he wants the military to focus on the mass deportation he promised, and the man chosen to lead the worlds largest army with the largest budget is a Fox News host who is a war veteran.

One of the great unknowns is what Trumps attitude towards China will be, considering that this is a big market for Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, who has become inseparable from the president-elect. Unlike some members of his cabinet, the president-elect is not an ideologue. His specialty is negotiating and closing deals. And that is precisely the terrain where some countries place their hopes for navigating Trumps next term.

The summit will also serve as a first opportunity for Lula to meet his Argentine counterpart, the far-right Javier Milei, 54, who was the first president to meet with Trump following the latters election victory, and for the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, 62, to launch her international agenda. Brazil is concerned about the growing objections that the Argentine envoys are raising in the final stretch of the G20 negotiations. Lula hopes that the French leader Emmanuel Macron, who visited Milei in Buenos Aires on Sunday, will smooth things over.

Unlike the atmosphere after Trumps unexpected victory in 2016, foreign ministries around the world now have a better idea about what to expect. But the tycoon is known for being impulsive, easily influenced and given to notable swings. And on this occasion, he is joined by the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, with interests in countless sectors of the economy. Lulas wife, Janja da Silva, was speaking of disinformation at a G20 side event when she insulted the billionaire: Fuck you, Elon Musk, she said in English. To which he replied: You are going to lose the next election.

Lula, a leader forged in trade union negotiations, defends a multipolar world. He remains a geopolitical tightrope walker, with allies on the left and the right, although his figure no longer shines as it once did. But the growing hostility between the United States and China, and the very complexity of the world, has considerably narrowed the field for this game of tightrope walking. Maintaining the neutrality that Brazil, a middle power, prides itself on is becoming increasingly difficult. Lulas benevolence towards Putin in Ukraine first disconcerted and then outraged his Western allies. To the G20 partners, Brazil emphasizes its role as a member of the Global South; within the BRICS, it boasts of being a Western democracy.

Even if Lula were to succeed at this Rio summit in reviving the global debate on the fight against hunger, which is suffocating 722 million people in the world, especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America, Trumps return to power represents a huge obstacle. Even if the club of major economies reaches an agreement to form an alliance against poverty, the little or no interest shown by the Republican in international cooperation  even in investment formulas aimed at alleviating migratory flows  complicates the viability of the Brazilian leaders proposals.

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT)  CBS 42 wants to help you and your family stay healthy. Each week, our resident Dr. Celeste Reese-Willis joins us to talk about a timely health issue.

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.
CBSs 60 Minutes has sparked a right-wing backlash over its brutal takedown of Donald Trumps cabinet picks.

Host Scott Pelley began Sundays show with a monologue dissecting Trumps choices for his future administration, detailing one-by-one how the likes of Pete Hegseth, Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F Kennedy Jr have no compelling qualifications and no government experience to take up the jobs theyve been nominated for.

Some nominees appear to have no compelling qualifications other than loyalty to Trump, Pelley said.

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Pointing to Hegseth, Pelley said the former Army veteran and Fox News contributor tapped to become the US defense secretary in charge of the Pentagon has no government experience.

Pelley then turned his attention to former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, nominee for attorney general, who was at the center of a Justice Department sex trafficking investigation and House Ethics Committee probe. Gaetz has never been criminally charged and denies all the allegations.

Gaetz has been investigated by Republicans for alleged drug use and sex with a minor, the host continued, before describing Tulsi Gabbard, who was nominated as director of national intelligence, as someone accused of having sought a pardon on Edward Snowden, who leaked US secrets and now lives in Russia.

Scott Pelley offered a brutal analysis of Trumps recent cabinet hires in Sundays episode of 60 Minutes (CBS/60 Minutes)

On vocal anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist RFK Jr, Pelley said Trump had chosen a a skeptic of vaccinations to lead Americas largest public health body.

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Pelleys comments caused quite a stir on social media.

Many anti-Trump accounts shared the clip of his comments in agreement with his assessment while many Trumpworld figures hit out at the host and 60 Minutes, calling it propaganda.

Trumps incoming White House Communications Director Steven Cheung took to X to claim that Pelleys segment was riddled with disgusting bias.

This is exactly why we rebuffed @60Minutes for an interview during the campaign, the former Trump campaign spokesperson said, referring to Trumps refusal to take part in a sit-down interview with Pelley in early October.

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He continued: Their disgusting bias & unhinged reporting are out of touch with everyday Americans who voted for President Trump. 60 Minutes is an out-dated relic of the past. CANCEL!

Steven Cheung (at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center on November 5 in Palm Beach, Florida) slammed Pelleys comments as disgusting bias (AP)

Elon Musk, Trump megadonor and head of the newly-founded Department of Government Efficiency, also chimed in: No Republican should ever do an interview with CBS News again, 60 Minutes, who edited the interview with Kamala [Harris] to try to make her look better, hates Trump.

And they arent hiding it in this leftist, trash propaganda piece.

While Charlie Kirk, a MAGA firebrand and founder of Turning Point USA, also posted: Is this parody?!

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Trump has worked quickly to fill key posts in his second administration after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the election.

Many of his picks have raised eyebrows among both Democrats and Republicans, with some likely to face an uphill battle for confirmation by the Senate.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (MyValleyTributes)  Cecil H. Frazier entered into eternity on Sunday, November 3, 2024, at the Asbury Park Rehabilitation Center in Sacramento, California.

He was born August 1, 1939, in Youngstown, Ohio, the beloved son of Hobart Claytor and Leona Maddow Frazier.

Find obituaries from your high school

A man noted for his service to humanity, Cecil served in the United States Army.

Living out his faith in God, Cecil also served as a deacon in various ministries throughout the California area.

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He found sheer passion staying in connection with his family and friends, often calling them. While he appreciated bingo, he really enjoyed traveling, especially to the Youngstown family reunions.

The embers of his legacy are not smoldering but radiating light and warmth through his beloved sons, Carlos Arnold and Jarmal Hill. His memory is emboldened via his brother, Michael Claytor and sisters, Evelyn F. Jenkins, Linda Tillery, Carol Jean Smith and Patricia Elaine Meadows. He will be also greatly missed by his Cummings family of Sacramento namely, Robert, Ivery, Johnny, Elliot, Ron, Robb, Alberta and Ron Thornton, along with a vast cadre of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends, who loved him immensely.

Now assuming his place among the ancestors, he was greeted at the celestial shores by his parents; his wife and soulmate, Versie Frazier and siblings, Clyde W. Frazier and Mary V. Buggs-Wainwright.

Let us celebrate a life filled with love, joy, and unforgettable memories. As we gather to honor and remember Cecils life, we invite all friends and family, to celebrate his legacy.

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The community is invited to attend the memorial services for Cecil on Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at the Tabernacle Baptist Church, 707 Arlington Avenue, commencing at 11:00 a.m. The celebration of his life experience will be officiated by Pastor Raymond Austin, Jr. and Rev. Sylvia Jennings will deliver the eulogy. May Cecils memory live on in our hearts forever.

At this time of intimate need and personal loss, the beloved family of Cecil H. Frazier elected to entrust the local Ministry of Comfort & Care, along with Transitional After-Care Arrangements to the J.E. Washington Funeral Services, 2234 Glenwood Avenue, Youngstown, Ohio 330.782.8500.

In Loving Memory of Our Wonderful Brother Cecil

Of all the special gifts in life

however great or small,

to have you as our brother

was the greatest gift of all.

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May the winds of love blow softly

and whisper in your ear,

We love and miss you Cecil

and wish that you were here.

Deep in our hearts, your life is kept to love and to cherish not forget.

No more tomorrows we can share

but yesterdays are always there.

A silent thought, a secret tear

keeps your memory ever near

in our hearts forever.

Love Your Siblings

A television tribute will air Tuesday, November 19 at the following approximate times: 6:47 a.m. on WYTV, 9:43 a.m. on WKBN, 10:58 a.m. on FOX and 8:12 p.m. on MyYTV. Video will be posted here the day of airing.

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.
EAST PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD)  East Peoria is marking 40 years of history, lighting the way for East Peorias Festival of Lights.

Starting back in 1984, the festival has been a staple in the city since, welcoming the holiday season with a bang.

You can really feel a town of 25,000 come together for the same cause. Theres a lot of joy in the air and theres a lot of buzz in the town. Those are things that were really looking forward to. Its hard to put in words what it is all about, said Kory Brown, the chairman of the Festival of Lights.

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The citys festival mascot, FOLEPI, has been wearing the suit and hat for six years, but was also in the crowd on day one.

I was two years old for the first parade, said Tim Cundiff, the man behind the FOLEPI outfit. I have vivid memories, incredible memories of watching the parade of lights with the family bundled up on cold, snowy nights, lining the streets of East Peoria.

FOLEPI is an acronym for Festival of Lights, East Peoria, Illinois. Cundiff said portraying that character, one of his childhood icons, has been an honor he will never take for granted.

I hear kids of all ages shouting FOLEPI, Hey, there he goes. Look at that soldier. Thats whats special and its like, Im him. I get to play this role, and its really a unique, special character, said Cundiff.

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Cundiff said portraying the role, however, doesnt come with some worries. Theres the pressure, but theres also the adrenaline and the joy that you feed off of when you hear the fans, when you hear the folks along the parade route cheering your name and cheering us on.

This year is seen as even more special and unique, as the Festival of Lights team welcomes two new floats, as well.

The wreath that sits atop Fond du Lac Drive, weve made that one into a 2-D display that we can take down the road. That one kind of honors our rich history and where we come from. The festival wreath has been in the logo for generations, said Brown.

The second new float? Well, only Santa can spill that secret.

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For those who miss the parade on Nov. 23, at 6:30 p.m., there are 38 additional days to see the lights in action at FOLEPIs Winter Wonderland. Its a drive-thru experience, open from Nov. 29 through Jan. 5. Tickets can also be booked now to be taken through the Winter Wonderland in a horse-drawn carriage.

Click here for more details.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com.
Kurt Volker, an expert at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) and former US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations, has stated that the US administration's decision to allow the use of US-provided weapons for strikes deep into Russian territory overturns a political decision that should never have been made.

Source: Volker in a comment to Ukrinform

Details: Volker explained that Ukraine, as a victim of external aggression, has an inherent right to self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.

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He emphasised that while Russia attacks Ukraine from great distances, the United States has been preventing Ukraine from conducting retaliatory strikes at similar ranges.

Quote: ""Under the laws of armed conflict, Ukraine is entitled to strike any militarily significant target  it just needs to avoid targeting of civilians. There is nothing in international law concerning the range of weapons use."

"By restricting the range of Ukraines use of US weapons, the United States was unjustifiably imposing unilateral restrictions on Ukraines self-defence beyond any requirements of international law."

"This unnecessary restriction on Ukraines self-defence should have simply been removed  full stop."

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Details: Volker said the decision regarding the range of weapons was "completely arbitrary and done out of fear of 'provoking' Russia, rather than out of any moral or legal concerns".

He stated that Putin knew he was attacking Ukraine and when he did so, he should have been prepared for the military consequences of such a decision.

He believes that "reversing a bad US policy is good news".

However, he noted that "it is a mistake to make such a change public", as it gives Russia prior notice about potential Ukrainian strikes.

Background: The New York Times, citing US officials, reported that US President Joe Biden has for the first time authorised Ukrainian forces to use long-range ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory.

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UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Lee Roberts (Photo: UNC-CH video feed)

UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Lee Roberts has suggested adding 5,000 new undergraduates to the student body at our states flagship university. He argues for this reform by drawing a simple contrast between North Carolinas robust growth and the stagnant undergraduate population at the university he leads. This analogy is facially plausible, but more careful scrutiny reveals that Robertss intention to grow the Chapel Hill campus would harm both UNC itself and the broader University of North Carolina system. Moving forward with his plan would be a damaging mistake.

UNC is already a very large public university. The Universitys closest peer institution, the University of Virginia, has roughly half the enrollment of Chapel Hill, and Duke University only enrolls one-quarter of UNCs undergraduate population. This is significant because the size of a student body correlates directly with the selectivity of the universitys undergraduate admissions. And the experience of another comparable public institution indicates that loosening up a colleges admissions policies threatens to dilute the quality of the students accepted to the University.

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In the early 2000s, the University of Texas dramatically changed its affirmative action policies. Race-conscious admissions were now verboten, so UT established the principle that any Texas high school student graduating in the top 10% of their class would receive a guaranteed spot in Austin. Texas had now committed to accepting a vastly broader array of students to its undergraduate program. While the policy was egalitarian and helped to blunt the impact of ending racial affirmative action, it resulted in a dramatic reduction in standards at the University of Texas. Years later, while UT-Austin remains an esteemed institution, it is not ranked in the elite tier of the top 30 national universities.

Adding an additional 5,000 undergraduates to UNC would be likely to have a similar effect. In fact, this is a mathematical certainty. If a similar number of applicants are competing for a larger number of spots, the universitys admissions rate will go upand its academic standards will go down. A great university should strive to uphold the highest standards possible. Currently, UNC has an admissions rate comparable to UVA and the University of Michigan. Accepting a larger number of less-qualified students would erode Chapel Hills competitive position.

At the same time, expanding UNC would harm the regional campuses that are the workhorses of public higher education in North Carolina. Excellent schools like UNC-Greensboro are suffering from declining enrollment, which has necessitated cuts in valuable programs on these campuses. With 2,500 more in-state students allowed to attend Chapel Hill, the other UNC campuses would almost certainly suffer further reductions in student enrollment. Thus, expanding UNC would both damage the standards of the flagship campus itself and place struggling regional schools at a further disadvantage at a time of falling college attendance.

Expanding UNCs student body to match North Carolinas population growth may seem intuitive, even commonsensical. But the reality is that such a reform would somehow manage to be both anti-meritocratic and inegalitarian. The flagship campus would experience a decline in standards, and smaller, less-advantaged institutions would be plunged further into hardship. We should seek to shore up the schools that enroll the bulk of North Carolina college students, not water down the standards of UNC-Chapel Hill in the name of mathematical symmetry.
A St. Petersburg police officer who was arrested in August after his domestic partner said he threatened to shoot her in the head will not face charges.

Officer John Antoine, 36, was charged with aggravated assault on Aug. 30 in connection with the incident. The Pinellas-Pasco State Attorneys Office filed a notice on Oct. 23 that prosecutors would not pursue the charge, court records show.

State attorney Bruce Bartlett said Antoines partner, who Bartlett said is the victim in the case, didnt want to pursue charges out of fear Antoine would lose his job at the St. Petersburg Police Department.

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The woman, who is the mother of his children, called the state attorneys office at least twice asking them not to prosecute Antoine, he said.

She was pretty emphatic, Bartlett said.

The incident sprung out of anger from questions of Antoines fidelity, Bartlett said the woman told him.

St. Petersburg police said the incident occurred outside the womans home in Pinellas Park on Aug. 27. Antoine was in full uniform and armed with his service weapon, having the ability to carry out his verbal threats, an arrest report states.

Bartlett said the woman, who works as a corrections officer, reported the incident to her employers at the Manatee County Jail out of fear she could lose her job. The jail then reported it to Pinellas Park police.

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Antoines weapons were seized, and court records show he was the subject of a risk protection order. The orders are sometimes known as red flag laws and can result in a persons guns being seized by law enforcement.

After his arrest, Antoine was placed on unpaid administrative leave, the police department said in a news release at the time.

Antoine, who was hired by the department in 2017, has since been placed on paid administrative assignment, said Yolanda Fernandez, an agency spokesperson.

Now that the State Attorney is finished with the criminal part of the case, the Office of Professional Standards is investigating to determine whether Officer Antoine violated policies, Fernandez wrote in an email.

Once that investigation is finished, St. Petersburg police Chief Anthony Holloway will convene a Command Review Board to determine what consequences Antoine will face from the police department, Fernandez said.
36,718 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others?

36,718 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others?
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)  A Chicago-based rap artist and celebrity barber pleaded guilty in Springfields federal court on Thursday to participating in a nationwide wire fraud conspiracy.

Trial begins for Southampton man accused of shooting and killing girlfriends ex

Terrence Bender, 32, known by aliases including Blends and Dopeblends, pleaded guilty on Thursday, November 14 for his participation in a wire fraud scheme, which caused $103,000 in losses to businesses and individuals across the U.S.

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Bender was indicted alongside five co-defendants in December 2020, including music promoter Antonio Strong and rap artists Herbert Wright and Joseph Williams.

According to court documents, the conspiracy operated between March 2017 and November 2018, using stolen payment card information, including account numbers, names, security codes, and expiration dates. The conspirators used the data to fraudulently purchase high-end goods and services, such as private jet charters, luxury hotel rentals, designer puppies, and exotic car rentals.

Because the stolen payment card information appeared legitimate, businesses unknowingly processed the transactions and provided the goods and services. Cardholders later disputed the charges, leaving the businesses responsible for their losses.

Bender, a celebrity barber and rap artist in the Chicago area, used the fraudulent funds for personal expenses, including car insurance in his name. He was held accountable for $103,000 in victim losses.

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Several of Benders co-defendants have already pleaded guilty and received sentences, including:

Herbert Wright: Sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay over $145,000 in restitution and fines.

Demario Sorrells: Sentenced to three years probation with restitution exceeding $106,000.

Joseph Williams: Sentenced to three years probation with restitution over $155,000.

Antonio Strong: Sentenced to three years in prison and restitution of more than $2.1 million.

The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

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Under the dry, piercing heat of the Utah sun, Sasha Reed is growing plots of plants  and bacteria, lichen and fungi, too. But Reed is no farmer, and at first glance, her fields look to be mostly dirt. Shes an ecologist, and what she is growing is cryptobiotic soil.

Also called biocrust, cryptobiotic soil is a community of tiny, dirt-dwelling organisms that form a distinct crust on the top of soil in arid landscapes. These crusts are vital across Earths dryland ecosystems, helping to hold loose soil together and prevent erosion. They retain water, provide nooks for other microbes to live in and add nitrogen to the soil.

Cryptobiotic soil often looks like a discolored patch of ground. Upon closer inspection, the stain becomes a mosaic of small, dark lumps, dotted with tiny beds of moss and inconspicuous patches of lichen. But it can also look very similar to regular, crusty soil. Although the crunchy earth might be tempting to trek over, like stomping through a pile of crisp autumn leaves, thats a major faux pas: Biocrust can take decades to regenerate.

Biocrusts can be highly variable. Shown in this figure is bare soil without biocrust (A) and three different biocrusts (B, C and D). B is a biocrust dominated by cyanobacteria and lichens; C is a biocrust dominated by different lichens; D is a biocrust dominated by mosses. The bottom row shows close-up views of bare soil (E) and each of the biocrusts (F, G and H). S. MAIER ET AL / THE ISME JOURNAL 2018

And these days, in addition to getting crushed by boots, biocrusts are threatened by another kind of human footprint: climate change. So researchers are diligently working to learn more about the crusts and how to restore them.

Its been a pretty busy but also exciting time, because were kind of inventing how to do this, says Anita Antoninka, a plant and soil ecologist at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff who studies the crusts.

The drylands where biocrusts reside are vital ecosystems, she says, but they are some of the most degraded around the globe. As biocrusts decline in these areas, soil fertility will drop and wind erosion will blow away the loose, unprotected dirt. Less water will soak into the ground. Even the carbon cycle could be affected, as there will be fewer tiny life forms absorbing carbon dioxide.

Itty-bitty communities

Biocrusts cover around 12 percent of Earths land surfaces and inhabit every continent in the world. A major component of these crusts is often photosynthesizing bacteria called cyanobacteria. The cyanobacteria form sticky filaments that act like glue in sandy desert soil, creating a clumpy, crusty surface where fungi and other bacteria take hold.

Depending on what environment a biocrust is in, it can also house itty-bitty mosses, lichens and microscopic algae. For example, in desert areas with more moisture, like Moab, Utah, biocrusts tend to feature mosses. In gypsum-rich soils, such as near Lake Mead, Nevada, lichens take center stage. Some crusts feature all components, and in other crusts, multiple components are missing. But regardless of their community lineup, the crusts all serve as a living skin for desert land.

They provide this suit of armor to the soil, says Ferran Garcia-Pichel, a microbiologist at Arizona State University in Tempe. When he first started working with biocrusts around two decades ago, very little was known about them. In the 2023 Annual Review of Microbiology, Garcia-Pichel outlines what researchers have learned about cryptobiotic soil over the last couple decades and what remains unknown.

In these 25, 30 years, weve made so much progress, he says.

One thing that several studies have shown is that increased warming and changes in rainfall pose a threat. Over the next 65 years, models suggest that climate change could slash 25 percent to 40 percent of biocrust cover. The crusts are sensitive to higher temperatures and to fluctuations in precipitation  both extended dry spells and unusual increases in rainfall can harm them, depending on their location.

To combat those declines, ecologists like Reed, of the United States Geological Survey in Moab, and her colleagues are trying to figure out how to regrow crusts in the wild.

In what she calls possibly the largest outdoor biocrust nursery in the world, Reed is focusing on three main facets of biocrust restoration. The first ingredient is learning what environment the crusts will grow best in  and also, importantly, transfer well from. Initially, researchers had huge success growing communities of biocrusts in indoor greenhouses. But their life was too cushy, Reed says. When transplanted outside, the crusts struggled to take hold. Some of the crusts now grow directly outside: Were trying to give them a stricter upbringing, she says. In the outdoors, they experience far more realistic environmental conditions, although they still get a leg up from the team through watering and shade.

A second arm of Reeds work at the biocrust farm is seeing how much of an intact community biocrusts need to thrive. Biocrust is totipotent, which means just a small piece of it can eventually give rise to new crust. Thus, one way of growing biocrusts in new areas is to crumble some up and sprinkle it on the landscape, similar to scattering seeds.

But in the wild, crust components could work positively together in unknown ways, so Reed wonders if biocrusts might benefit from being grown as larger, more established communities. We put them out in these harsh environments, kind of alone, and say, Live, thrive, she says. Were not seeing them do that as much as we would hope.

That led researchers to try a new restoration method inspired by sod. First, they sprinkled biocrust crumbles onto weed cloth  a thin fabric used by landscapers. After the crust grew, they rolled it up and unrolled it at its final destination. To Reeds surprise, the strategy worked. Though she had feared the rolls of crust would crumble apart, they stayed intact and grew well in their new surroundings. The method could be used in small, strategic spots like next to trails, but probably not on a landscape-wide scale.

The biocrust nursery in the Utah desert. Ecologist Sasha Reed and her colleagues grow biocrust on biodegradable cloth, which they can roll up, transport and unroll again in areas needing restoration. Here, unrolled crusts are becoming established in test plots. CORTESIA DE SASHA REED

In the third facet of Reeds restoration research at the biocrust farm, the scientists want to know if there are particular biocrust community members that are better suited for restoration in the face of climate change. To do that, Reed and Antoninka took biocrusts from hotter, drier locations  a stand-in for what the Southwests drylands could look like in the future  and grew them back on the farm. Now, theyre monitoring how the crusts continue to grow post-transplant in restoration sites. As the crust develops, researchers will look for species, or sources of biocrust communities, that seem to do particularly well.

Reed, Antoninka and others are now partnering with land managers  including national parks, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service  to apply what theyve learned about biocrusts. Partnerships are really, really important, Antoninka says  the Moab nursery, for example, is a collaboration with Northern Arizona University, the Nature Conservancy and a local restoration nonprofit, Rim to Rim Restoration. And by working with land managers, Antoninka says, its possible to include biocrust restoration plans in future development projects that will disturb the soil.

People in arid regions can do the same in their own backyards. If property owners are planning a project that would tear up or build over soil that has a crust, they can simply salvage whatever crust is there then stick it in a bucket and keep it dry and cool, Antoninka says. Then they can sprinkle it back over the disturbed soil, or elsewhere on the property.

Other ways that the public can help to preserve biocrusts include staying on trails to avoid smashing them, and spreading the word about the crusts to raise awareness. If people dont know biocrust is there, the tiny ecosystem beneath their feet is easy to overlook.

Get down on hands and knees and just take a look, Reed says. We study them because of their importance, but their beauty and their coolness is also worth noting.

This article originally appeared in Knowable Magazine, a non-profit publication dedicated to making scientific knowledge accessible to everyone.

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CHICAGO  The 3 p.m. bell at Telpochcalli Elementary marked the start of students and teachers favorite hours. Students played instruments under the guidance of their musically talented educators and swirled paint on canvases, eventually graduating to create murals that adorned the schools walls and ceilings.

For the first time in 20 years, the once lively halls are silent at the school in Little Village, with unfinished murals standing as poignant reminders of the after-school programs closure.

Nearly three months into the school year, Illinois is now facing a statewide after-school funding crisis.

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About 40% of the states after-school programs have been slashed this year, following delays in the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant, and the number is expected to rise to 87%, totaling about 290 sites, by the end of this year.

The problem is that the governors office is at a standstill with the money, and there has been no communication on when funds will be released.

The Illinois State Board of Education did not respond to a request to comment.

In 2023, the 21CCLC grants were serving 578 schools across the state with $76 million in funds. At the start of this school year, only 271 sites were still receiving funding (totaling $36.9 million in spending), representing a 53% cut in schools served and a 47% drop in funding.

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Distributed and managed by the Illinois State Board of Education, the 21CCLC grant is federal funding that provides after-school programming and educational development for students, 80% of whom are people of color and all attend low-income and low-performing schools.

Tears swelled in bilingual teacher Marisol Cerons eyes as she recounted what Telpochcallis after-school program meant to her and her students.

Ive gotten approached by different students in different grade levels asking if there gonna be an after-school program: Are you gonna do music again? Is there gonna be art? And Ive had to turn them away and tell them no, Ceron said. Its been very sad and sad to hear the hallways for laughter and children till late in the evening (now) its just quiet. Its different.

Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE), an after-school program partnered with Chicago Public Schools and funded by the 21st Century grant, went from serving eight schools to three this school year. Most recently the program had to stop programming at Telpochcalli School, one of its oldest participating schools in Little Village, after it received notice in March from ISBE that 10 sites would have to close in September.

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While they were able to gather up enough funds to keep programs running at two other schools, unfortunately, Telpochcalli was one of the programs forced to close down.

CAPE provided a variety of after-school activities for students. They attended workshops focused on music and art, with various musicians and artists visiting every week to open students eyes to various genres.

Several parents recounted how the program allowed their children to explore their creative endeavors in a way they were unable to during the school day. Parents felt comforted knowing their children were being cared for while putting time toward crafts they were interested in.

CAPEs after-school program allowed Amelia Lorenzs son to develop a love of art that he wouldnt have otherwise, said the mother of two students at Telpochcalli.

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Its funny that the students that need these sorts of programs the most  have less access to these kinds of programs that make them feel like valuable human beings that have something you contribute to society, Lorenz said. Its these kids that lose those programs that programming first, and thats just backward.

Its now an everyday struggle for Rocio Lugo to figure out who will be watching her once she finishes school. The teachers assistant at the Telpochcalli was once able to rely on the after-school program to care for her daughter while she finished her shift for the day prior to the programs closure.

My mom, who has a knee injury so she cant help me as much, has now had to pitch in because its either I pay my rent or my daughter comes to school, Lugo said. Its hard. I dont think whoever is deciding the funding for us gets that. It affects peoples livelihoods.

Lugo said the loss of the after-school program has resulted in a lot of students being left unattended once the school day has ended. Shes taken it upon herself to walk her daughter, as well as other students, to the Boy and Girls Club about 10 minutes away from the school once students are released.

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At the Boys and Girls Club, parents are at least given the peace of mind that their children are being watched over. The difference between the two after-school programs however is tremendous. The Boys and Girls isnt as arts-focused as the program Telpochcalli once had, Lugo said.

Not that Im dissing them by any means, but Ill see a lot of coloring pages and basic worksheets, Lugo said. At Telpochcalli, they work with different mediums and work on elaborate art projects. They are there with actual teaching artists, not high school teens. The difference is tremendous.

Brighton Park Neighborhood Council Chicago (BPNCC), an after-school program that serves eight schools and about 1,900 students throughout the Southwest Side, has been among an estimated 120 sites in Chicago that have remained open amid closures throughout the state as a result of delayed fund disbursement due to planning.

BPNCC was able to attract funding and grants outside of the 21st Century fund for the next year, though once these grants end at the end of the school year the program may be in a situation similar to those across the state.

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Discussing how important these after-school programs are to marginalized communities throughout the city, Patrick Brosnan, the executive director of BPNCC, said the loss of these programs can be incredibly detrimental.

Studies have shown that one of the most critical violence prevention tools is keeping students occupied from 3 to 6 p.m. When students are not actively engaged during that time, theres an uptick in violence, he said, putting some of the citys most vulnerable communities at risk of youth crime and violence.

You cant wait for a crisis or for a shooting to take place or for a kid to be injured, and then (ask) why, what happened, whats going on in those communities? Why are there no after-school programs? Brosnan said. That is going to be the headline, so we cant wait for that. We have to act now.

With 13,500 students from low-income and majority-Black and brown communities already without crucial programming statewide, the number is expected to rise to 27,500 by Christmas. Susan Stanton, executive director of ACT Now Illinois, an after-school program advocacy group, said there will be a devastating impact on communities due to program closures.

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Brosnan said he and other after-school advocates have been pushing the governors office for answers regarding the status of the 21st Century grant. Most recently, ACT Now Illinois hosted a rally to pressure legislators to release funds, especially when they should be applying for funds for the next school year.

Instead of celebrating the release of the $50 million theyve been eagerly anticipating on Oct. 24 during Lights On Afterschool, after-school advocates rallied outside the Illinois State Board of Education to highlight the funding delays threatening their programs.

Fearing youths will likely become victims of gang and gun violence and struggle in school, Stanton said it will be similar to what was witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools and after-school programs had temporarily closed their doors. She said her claims arent hyperbole.

These are things weve seen here before in Illinois and we have the power and the resources right now to fix this, and so were just hoping that our policymakers in Illinois will hear this call and take swift action to fix this because we know that they can, Stanton said.

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Shootings increased by nearly 30% in Chicago from 2019 to 2022. Over 90% of youth shooting victims were not enrolled in school. After beginning programming with communities in the city, the University of Chicagos Education Lab witnessed a 48% drop in violent crime arrests.

Advocates, parents and students are all urging the governors office and ISBE to release funds immediately to keep after-school programs up and running.

Until then, the unfinished murals will continue to serve as reminders of what was lost, and what theyre fighting to get back.

We miss it, Ceron said. Art should be a part of (their) lives.

____
WORCESTER, Mass. (WWLP)  The Chicopee Fire Department was one of several departments across Massachusetts recognized for outstanding acts of bravery, heroism and service.

The 35th Annual Firefighter of the Year Awards were held on Monday morning in Worcester and paid tribute to 139 firefighters from 22 communities statewide.

Emergency personnel execute water rescue in Chicopee

The Chicopee Fire Department received a group citation for Meritorious Conduct when they conducted a water rescue on May 7, 2024. A teen was trapped in the Front Street Canal in fast-moving water and in a location that made it difficult to reach the victim. They had to lower a rescue boat into the canal and use a rope to move downstream. The rescuers were able to lift the teen over the wall. He was taken to a hospital and has recovered.

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Over the past several weeks, Massachusetts residents have seen firefighters heroically working to protect their communities from an unprecedented wildfire season, said Governor Healey. But the truth is that our firefighters demonstrate brave action, selfless compassion and deep commitment to their cities and towns every single day. The Firefighter of the Year Awards are a way to celebrate the heroes who never hesitate to answer a call for help.

The powerful stories behind these awards remind us of the danger that Massachusetts firefighters encounter every time they go to work, said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. No matter what new challenge or unexpected hazard arises, they are always there to help. We know the sacrifices they and their loved ones make to perform this difficult, dangerous work, and we are deeply grateful.

The Firefighter of the Year Awards honor the extraordinary bravery and dedication of our firefighters, who protect and serve Massachusetts communities with unmatched skill and selflessness, said Secretary Reidy. These honorees exemplify the courage and professionalism that define the fire service. On behalf of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, I extend heartfelt gratitude to these heroes and their families for their remarkable service and sacrifice.

Being a firefighter isnt just a job  its a calling, said State Fire Marshal Davine. It takes us to classrooms and senior centers. It puts us on ladders, ropes, hose lines, and rescue boats. The dozens of scenarios behind this years awards reflect the depth and variety of the fire service mission. And the recipients all reflect extraordinary courage and determination to serve others regardless of the danger to themselves.

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The complete list of award recipients is below:

FFOY-2024-Recipients-Departments-Awards-and-SummariesDownload

Local News Headlines

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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 WWLP.
SAN JOSE, Calif.  On Saturday, November 9, the Indian Center of Santa Clara Valley honored Native American veterans at San Jose State University. Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson, president of the university, welcomed everyone warmly.

Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Oyate, also known as the Great Sioux Nation, was invited to preside over the honoring of two special guests: Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers (UFW), and Olympic Gold Medalist Billy Mills (Oglala Sioux Tribe), a former Marine. In addition, ahead of Veterans Day, Chief Looking Horse honored veterans from various parts of Turtle Island.

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Huerta, 94, was given three honors. Chief Looking Horse presented her with a wopila tanka (big thanks), one of the highest honors, for standing with the Great Sioux Nation at Standing Rock during the resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016. The Dolores Huerta Foundation was also recognized for providing much-needed PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Chief Looking Horse thanked her for helping to keep tribal members throughout Indian Country safe.

As a warrior for the people, Huerta was also honored by Native American warrior and U.S. Army veteran Sonia Tetnowski. Finally, Ohlone Tribal member Lucas Arellano honored Huerta as well. Michael Bellanger and Jake Miller blessed her with an honor song.

Ms. Huerta stated, The honoring was one of the highlights of my life.

Mills, who won the Olympic Gold Medal in the 10,000-meter event in Tokyo in 1964, was also honored. Mills spoke about his successful childrens book, Wings of an Eagle, which was published in July 2024. The book, co-authored with Donna Janell Bowman and illustrated by S.D. Nelson (a tribal citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe), tells an inspiring story for young readers.

Screenshot_2024-11-18_at_10.33.03_AM.png

Billy Mills with Native women warriors. (Photo/Arthur Jacobs)

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Chief Looking Horse and the Bay Area community also honored Sonia Tetnowski, CEO of the Indian Health Center of Silicon Valley, for her unwavering dedication to the physical, cultural, and spiritual well-being of the Native community throughout the Bay Area. Her tireless efforts have had a profound impact on the community.

A wopila tanka (big thanks) was also presented to Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson, president of San Jose State University. The university recently opened the Native American, Indigenous Student Success Center, which greatly contributes to the revitalization of Native American culture, ceremony, and spirituality.

It is time for us to return to the sacred. To return to prayer and our sacred sites, and stand united as one people, one faith, one prayer, Chief Looking Horse said as he addressed the attendees.

About the Author: ""

Contact: ArthurJacobs@Idonthaveit.com
China is the world leader in solar manufacturing, and theyre putting that accolade to use as the country attempts to build what it calls the Solar Great Wall.

Located along the southern edge of the Yellow River in northern China, this sprawling installation is estimated to provide 180 billion kWh of clean energy by 2030, which exceeds even Beijings annual energy budget.

The project also hopes to address conservation issues, such as desertification of the Yellow River basin and ecological restoration in the Kubuqi Desert.

From the 7th century to the 3rd century B.C., Chinese dynasties constructed the 13,171-mile-long Great Wall of China. Fast-forward two millennia, and now the nation is embarking another great wall, but this one is less concerned with protecting China from Mongolian hordes and more focused on supplying the country with bountiful amounts of solar energy.

Currently under construction in the Kubuqi Desert along the southern edge of the Yellow River in northern China (in a broader autonomous region known as Inner Mongolia), the Solar Great Wall will stretch some 133 kilometers long and 25 kilometers wide. China hopes that the wall will provide a staggering 180 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) per year by 2030. According to Ordos Energy, the company behind the project, thats more than enough to provide all of the energy needs for Beijing, which eats up around 135.8 billion kWh of energy per year.

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However, some of that generated power will benefit communities in the region, an energy official in the Dalad Banner (a smaller division of Inner Mongolia) told the state-sponsored media outlet China Daily. According to the official, a new transmission line will transport 48 billion kWh of energy from the installation to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region every year.

All of the projects are invested in by State-owned companies, some of which are centrally administered ones, Dalad Banner official Li Kai told China Daily, and so local governments dont have to make any investment at all. In total, approximately 50,000 job opportunities will be generated by 2030.

Apart from energy generation and job opportunities, the project also comes with a positive conservation side effect. The Yellow River, known as the mouth river of the Chinese nation, is experiencing a process known as desertification where the rivers ecological basin slowly degrades into desert-like conditions. The installation plans to treat 27 million hectares of this region by providing shade and reducing evaporation. The panels themselves also provide windbreaks, which can protect the surrounding environment from further soil erosion.

These shaded regions also provide ample opportunities to plant commercial crops. The project plans on planting some 2,400 hectares of crops in an attempt to also treat the more desertous regions of the Solar Great Wall. Li says the local government is committed to forming a symbiotic relationship between economic advancement and ecological preservation.

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These massive green energy installations, whether solar, wind, or a mix of the two, will become more and more common as the world rushes to decarbonize. This trend is also well underway in the U.S. with the Energy Information Administration forecasting a 75 percent increase from 163 billion kWh in 2023 to 286 billion kWh in 2025.

Solar installations also come with a variety of environmental dangers, including disturbed habitats and an increase in bird strikes as waterfowl mistake the solar panels for water, but scientists and engineers in the U.S. are working on ways to increase pollinator plants around these installations, create vital wildlife corridors, and advocate for solar installations to be constructed on sites already disturbed by humans (areas known as brownfields).

In the future, the U.S. and other energy-intensive countries may similarly construct their own Solar Great Walls. Hopefully, they can all be a boon for humans as well as the other living things that share the planet with us.



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The News

A student fatally stabbed eight people in eastern China, the second mass-casualty event in a week.

Police said he had failed his university examinations and could not graduate, and was unhappy with his pay at an internship. Chinas youth are struggling, grappling with persistently high unemployment and a slowing economy. The attack comes days after 35 people were killed when a car rammed into crowds outside a stadium in southern China.

Though reported violence in the country of 1.4 billion people remains low, Chinese authorities are increasingly worried over social instability tied to the countrys economic struggles, and censorship of attacks is typically swift and total, meaning the true number of such incidents is largely unknown.
By Eduardo Baptista

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a raft of measures designed to support the "Global South" at a gathering of leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies in Rio de Janeiro, China's state television CCTV reported on Monday.

In his first remarks at the G20 Summit, Xi said China would support global development with eight actions, including building a "high quality" Belt and Road Initiative, his signature foreign policy plan that directs large Chinese investments to infrastructure projects in the developing world.

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He also announced that China, along with Brazil, South Africa and the African Union, were launching an "Open Science International Cooperation Initiative" designed to funnel scientific and technological innovations to the Global South.

"China supports the G20 in carrying out practical cooperation for the benefit of the Global South," Xi said, according to state news agency Xinhua, adding that China's imports from developing countries are expected to top $8 trillion between now and 2030.

"China has always been a member of the 'Global South', a reliable and long-term partner of developing countries, and an activist and doer in support of global development," Xi added.

"China does not seek to be a single player, but rather hopes that 100 flowers will blossom and that it will work hand in hand with the vast number of developing countries to achieve modernization."

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Xi's focus on the Global South comes as Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his peers from developing economies push for a more central role in multilateral talks. The two leaders will meet in Brasilia on Wednesday, as Xi wraps up his stay in Brazil with a state visit.

Brazil has taken strides to elevate voices of the Global South by insisting that the African Union should be a formal member of the G20, citing the example of the European Union. The AU is participating fully in this year's G20 on behalf of African nations.

While the rise of the Global South in the G20 has caused some discomfort among richer countries, it presents an opportunity for China, given its close economic and political ties with most of the developing world, particularly in Africa, where it is a major lender.

The G20 was launched after the 200708 financial crisis to include important emerging economies in talks that had been confined to the Group of Seven industrialized nations, and has become a key venue for economic and financial cooperation.

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It represents around 85% of global GDP, over 75% of global trade and about two-thirds of the world population.

The concept of the Global South emerged to designate developing, emerging or lower-income countries, mostly in the southern hemisphere, and replace the term "Third World" after the 1945-90 Cold War.

(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Rio de Janeiro; editing by Brad Haynes, Alison Williams and Mark Heinrich)
China's leader, Xi Jinping, has outlined his "four red lines" to US President Joe Biden.

The hot-button issues concern democracy and China's development.

Xi's comments came two months ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in January.

It's another two months before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office, but China is already setting boundaries between the two countries.

On Saturday, China's leader, Xi Jinping, outlined his "four red lines" in US-China ties at a meeting with US President Joe Biden.

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The four hot-button issues are Taiwan, democracy and human rights, China's path and system, and the country's rights to development.

"They must not be challenged," Xi said, according to a statement published after the two leaders met on the sidelines of the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru.

"These are the most important guardrails and safety nets for China-US relations," Xi said.

Of the four, Taiwan is the most sensitive issue between the two countries, as Xi has repeatedly said over the years.

Beijing claims Taiwan as its territory and has said recently that it will never commit to renouncing the use of force over the island. The area is strategically important to the US as a leader in semiconductor production and a key security hub.

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But Trump's presidency is already raising risks for Taiwan.

In June, Trump told Bloomberg Businessweek that Taiwan should pay the US for defense.

Trump could start his trade war on his first day

Xi's comments came amid concerns that the world's two largest economies are set to head into conflict after Trump takes office on January 20.

The incoming American president has already nominated Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a China hawk, as secretary of state. Trump has also threatened to hit China with tariffs of 60%.

Despite signs that the two superpowers could be headed for rockier times, Xi and Biden sought to strike a conciliatory tone on bilateral ties during their Saturday meeting.

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The two leaders "stressed the importance of responsibly managing competitive aspects of the relationship" as well as preventing conflict and maintaining open lines of communication, a White House readout of the meeting said.

Even so, Trump's impending presidency is likely to bring about fresh uncertainties, starting with trade.

"Trump means what he says when it comes to tariffs," Josh Lipsky, the senior director at the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center, said in a note last week.

Lipsky said he expected Trump to start his new trade war during his first day on the job by trying to revive the trade deal he signed with China in January 2020.

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China committed to purchasing $200 billion of American goods over two years, including $32 billion in agriculture products. The deal expired at the end of 2021, and Sarah Bianchi, then the deputy US trade representative, said in February 2022 that China hadn't met its commitment.

The Atlantic Council's Lipsky said Trump was likely to try to revive the trade deal as a "useful starting point" before the new tariffs come into effect.

Lipsky said he didn't expect Trump to impose 60% tariffs on US imports from China across the board. But he added that there would be "real and tangible new tariffs," the effects of which would spill over to the global economy.

Read the original article on Business Insider
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping warned at the Group of 20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro that artificial intelligence should not be a "game of rich countries and the wealthy," state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday.

Xi also called for more international governance and cooperation on AI, Xinhua said. Earlier in the day, Xi touted China's support for the developing world and pledged more aid initiatives, including proposing an initiative with three other G20 members to help the Global South gain better access to scientific and technological innovations.

At a session on the reform of global governance institutions, the Chinese leader warned against protectionism in the name of green and low-carbon development, referring to tariffs on Chinese products like electric vehicles and biodiesel imposed by G20 members worried their economies' green transition could make them dependent on China.

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"We need to improve global trade governance and build a world economy characterized by openness," Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Xi, who is on a Latin America diplomacy tour, also criticized protectionism last week while attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Lima, Peru.

(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Leslie Adler and Richard Chang)
The Biden administration has reportedly authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory, according to Reuters, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. This decision marks a significant shift in Washingtons stance on the war; previously, the White House opposed Ukraine attacking targets far from the border due to concerns that such actions might provoke a strong response from Moscow.

According to Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter, Ukraine is expected to launch its first long-range attack on Russian soil in the coming days, using Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, that the U.S. began supplying earlier this year.

This change in U.S. policy comes just two months before Donald Trump is due to take office on January 20. Trump has spoken highly of Russian President Vladimir Putin and claimed that, if elected, he would end the conflict within a day, though he has not provided specific details on how he would achieve this. Trumps future vice-president, J.D. Vance, has hinted that a resolution might involve Ukraine ceding some of its occupied territories.

Neither the White House nor the State Department has officially confirmed the reported authorization. The news broke while President Biden was in Manaus, deep in the Brazilian Amazon, emphasizing the urgency of climate action ahead of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. After the news broke, Biden made a brief appearance before the press in the rainforest, where he issued a statement focused solely on environmental issues and declined to take questions.

The shift in U.S. policy  long advocated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy but a source of division among Washington experts  came just hours after Russia resumed extensive shelling of Ukraines energy infrastructure. It also follows reports of Russias decision to deploy North Korean soldiers, estimated at around 10,000 by U.S. intelligence, for combat operations. Washington has repeatedly expressed its concern over the involvement of these troops, warning of significant repercussions for both Eastern Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The White House had previously indicated that North Korean soldiers, if engaged in combat, would be considered legitimate targets for Ukrainian forces.

According to reports, the aim of these strikes is not necessarily to shift the course of the war, but to demonstrate to the Russian military that they are vulnerable and to deter North Korean leader Kim Jong-un from sending additional troops. Pyongyang already backs Moscow by producing and shipping ammunition and other military supplies. The issue of North Korean involvement was a focal point during President Bidens meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday in Lima, where Biden urged Beijing  North Koreas longstanding ally  to exert pressure and prevent further troop deployments.

The decision to allow U.S. weapons to be used within Russia could provide strategic advantages for Ukraine at a critical phase in the conflict, where Russia is on the offensive and Ukraine is struggling to replace its battlefield losses with soldiers with enough experience. It may also enhance Kyivs position in any future peace negotiations.

The White House said that it hopes to strengthen Ukraine during the transition of power, and that Biden had discussed the importance of supporting the country to President-elect Donald Trump, when the two met last Wednesday. Our approach remains the same as its been for the last two and a half years, which is to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield so that it is ultimately in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CBSs Face the Nation.

A firefighter extinguishes a fire following a Russian rocket attack in Poltava on Sunday. Servicio de Emergencias de Ucrania/AP/LaPresse

Richard Grenell, Trumps former national security adviser and current campaign member, criticized Bidens move on the social platform X. Escalating the wars before he leaves office, he posted.

Conversely, Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski praised the decision. President Biden responded to the entry of North Korean troops into the war and the massive Russian missile strike in a language that V. Putin understands  by removing restrictions on Ukraines use of Western missiles, he posted on X.

The first time the U.S. authorized the use of American weapons on Russian soil was in May, albeit on a much smaller scale. At that time, after Russias assault on Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine, Washington approved the use of HIMARS air defense missiles with a range of approximately 50 miles, in the Russian border area. Zelenskiy argued that Ukraine needed to respond to shelling coming from inside Russian territory, but the U.S. did not approve the measure, fearing Russian retaliation.

This policy change is long overdue, Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Moscow under president Obama and now a Stanford University professor, shared on social media. Article 5 of the United Nations Charter gives Ukraine the right to self-defense. We must retire the strange logic that Russia can attack Ukraine from anywhere within Russia, but Ukraine cannot strike back. Fears of escalation, including Russias use of tactical nuclear weapons, prompted concerns about lifting the ban. However, the probability of such an escalation  which, in my view, was always low  is now even lower given Trumps victory in the U.S. presidential election. There is absolutely no way Putin is going to use a nuclear weapon against Ukraine just weeks before Trumps return to office. Therefore, there is no downside to lifting this constraint today.

Jennifer Kavanagh, from the conservative think tank Defense Priorities, disagreed. The move will not meaningfully improve Ukraines military position, but it will intensify U.S. and NATO entanglement in the conflict and worsen the risk of Russian escalation  including possible retaliation on U.S. or European targets, she said in a statement.

Residents react next to their house heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine in Odesa, November 17, 2024. Nina Liashonok (REUTERS)

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Oklahomas state superintendent of schools, Ryan Walters, wants every teacher in the state to show a video message from him to their classes which shows him praying for Donald Trump.

Unfortunately for Walters, the state attorney general says that he cant require students to watch the video, which also announces the creation of a new Department of Religious Freedom and Patriotism, and at least seven of Oklahomas school districts say they wont show it.

There is no statutory authority for the state schools superintendent to require all students to watch a specific video, Phil Bacharach, a spokesman for the Oklahoma attorney generals office, told The Oklahoman. Not only is this edict unenforceable, it is contrary to parents rights, local control and individual free-exercise rights.

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On Thursday night, Walters sent out an email to Oklahomas public school superintendents ordering them to show his one-minute-and-24-second video to students. The email contained several grammatical errors, with Walters writing, We are in a dangerous time for this country. Students [sic] rights and freedoms regarding religious liberties are continuously under assault.

Walters wrote in the email that the new department will be working to thwart any attempts to disrupt our Oklahoma students [sic] fundamental freedoms. The video closed with a prayer (which he said students did not have to participate in) where Walters asked for blessings on President Trump and his team as they continue to bring about change to the country.

But the superintendents of the Edmond, Mustang, Moore, Norman, Owasso, Tulsa, and Midwest CityDel City public school districts said they would not be showing the video, rebuffing Walters.

On the same day, the state superintendent announced that 500 Bibles had been purchased for Oklahomas public schools for about $25,000, despite the fact that lawsuits have been filed over Walterss attempts to integrate Bibles into school curriculum. Walterss Bible specifications have also been attacked, as only one Bible seemed to fit the specific requirements: Trumps God Bless the USA Bible.



Walterss video and Bible purchases are only his latest attempts to push Christian nationalism in Oklahomas public schools, and like his other efforts, are legally questionable at best. After Trumps election and the GOPs takeover of Congress, though, Walters is probably feeling quite emboldened to ramp up his agenda.
JACKSONVILLE, Ark.  New Commandment Community Church of God in Christ in Jacksonville is praising under a new roof after a year of rebuilding from the March 31 tornado in 2023.

Pastor Eddie Miller recalls how the community felt after the destruction and now, he preaches to that community on the first Sunday service the church has had since its restoration.

Jacksonville church devastated by tornado expands to offer more community services

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For people to see what happened. Because people saw the building destroyed, Miller said. Now they can see the outcome, what God has done. Thats so amazing for me.

Candius Bass has been a member for the church for eight years.

We stuck together as a church family. We didnt let that deter us, Bass said, We didnt let that bring us down. And look at what God has done for us now.

Miller said it took $2.5 million to get the church where its at today. Hes just blown away from the amount of people that helped out to get it there.

Jacksonville church preparing to open doors following rebuilding efforts started after March 31, 2023 tornado

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And Bass said that community support wont stop now. She plans on continuing to help in any way she can.

Choir rehearsals, working with the babies, the Sunshine band. Being in the kitchen. Just doing whatever our pastor and first lady need us to do, Bass said.

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Workers remove a lead service line before its replaced by a brass one in Providence, R.I., last year. A new federal rule will require water systems across the country to replace roughly 9 million lead service lines to protect residents from potential poisoning. (Kevin G. Andrade/Rhode Island Current)

A new federal rule will require water utilities across the country to pull millions of lead drinking water pipes out of the ground and replace them, at a cost of billions of dollars.

States, cities and water utilities agree that the lead pipes need to go to ensure safe water for residents. But they say they may struggle to do so in the 10-year window required under the rule, and they fear some ratepayers will be hit with massive cost increases to pay for the work.

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State officials are urging Congress to provide ongoing funding for the lead replacement effort. Local leaders say theyll need lots of help to meet the deadline. And environmental advocates are calling on states to issue bonds or provide other financial support to water utilities.

It took us close to 100 years to get all of these lead service lines in the ground, and the EPA is asking us to get them out in 10 years, said Tom Dobbins, CEO of the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, an advocacy group for publicly owned water systems. The [Biden] administration grossly underestimated the cost. Obviously, if the federal government doesnt provide the funding for this, the ratepayers will have to pay for this. That exacerbates certain communities affordability issues.

The new rule, issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in October, requires cities and water utilities to replace all lead service lines  the pipes that run from water mains to private residences under lawns and sidewalks. Because the lines extend under private property, some water system operators say the rule has created confusion over whether utilities or homeowners will be responsible for the replacement costs.

The EPA estimates that more than 9 million service lines are made of lead, a neurotoxin that can cause nervous system damage, learning disabilities and other health problems, especially in children. If lead pipes corrode, as in the infamous case of Flint, Michigan, they can poison drinking water.

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It took us close to 100 years to get all of these lead service lines in the ground, and the EPA is asking us to get them out in 10 years.

 Tom Dobbins, CEO of the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies

While no amount of lead exposure is safe, the federal rule now requires utilities to notify the public and improve corrosion treatment if lead in their water exceeds 10 parts per billion. Some homes in Syracuse, New York, recently tested at 70 parts per billion.

This is a significant public health advance, said Erik Olson, who leads a drinking water protection campaign with the Natural Resources Defense Council, a national environmental nonprofit. Weve known for decades that lead service lines are dangerous, and, unfortunately, a lot of utilities just kept putting it on the back burner.

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Under the rule, water systems will have until 2027 to draft a plan for replacing their lead lines, after which they will have 10 years to complete the work.

Olson said President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to roll back many environmental regulations, would have a difficult time undoing the lead rule. A provision in the Safe Drinking Water Act prevents backsliding for federal protections, he said, and efforts to overturn the rule through Congress could prove deeply unpopular.

Money worries

The federal mandate comes after some states, including Illinois, Michigan and New Jersey, already issued their own lead replacement requirements and directed funding to their hardest-hit communities.

Its a challenging goal, but I think weve shown its achievable, said Eric Oswald, director of the Drinking Water and Environmental Health Division in the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Im trying to make Michigan the first state to remove all lead service lines.

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The federal rule will accelerate Michigans timeline, as state regulations gave utilities a 20-year replacement window. But the initial state requirement has given water systems there a head start. Michigan has somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000 service lines, of which its replaced about 50,000 so far. Oswald acknowledged that the work will be expensive.

In New Jersey, water utilities have replaced more than 25,000 service lines since a state lead law was passed in 2021 (that figure does not include a previous effort that replaced 23,000 pipes in Newark). But the state still has more than 120,000 lead service lines, which it said will cost at least $1.8 billion to replace.

Theres nothing yet that has made me think that its not achievable, but right now the focus has been on getting a good inventory, said Trish Ingelido, director of water supply and geoscience at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Well have a better sense in the next two years what the replacement rate is looking like.

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The EPA estimates that the cost of replacing lead pipes nationwide will be about $45 billion. A separate analysis by the consulting firm Safe Water Engineering, funded by the Natural Resources Defense Council, arrived at a similar figure. But the American Water Works Association, a coalition of water system operators, puts the cost at closer to $90 billion.

This is important on the public health side, but its a challenge for local governments, said Carolyn Berndt, legislative director for sustainability at the National League of Cities, which advocates for municipal governments. We do see this raising concerns about affordability.

While local governments worry about expenses, the EPA says that the public health costs of lead poisoning are far greater. A federal analysis estimates that the rule, on an annual basis, will prevent 1,500 cases of premature death from heart disease and protect 900,000 infants from having low birthweight. The agency says the savings from avoiding the poisoning of residents will be 13 times greater than the cost of replacing the pipes.

The EPA contends that replacement costs will be affordable. It estimates that household-level costs associated with the rule will range from 10 cents to $10 a month. The agency pointed to the success of states such as Michigan and New Jersey, which have already replaced tens of thousands of pipes, as evidence that the 10-year timeline is achievable. Federal officials argue that the market will correct for any shortages of labor and material that some states fear will slow the work.

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The feds have provided $15 billion for lead service line replacement through the 2021 infrastructure law passed by Congress, plus another $11.7 billion in state-administered drinking water funds that can be used for new lines. Some communities have used those federal grants and loans, along with pandemic relief funds, to make significant progress on their lead problem.

So far, the EPA says it has distributed $9 billion of the money targeted at service line replacements, enough to change out up to 1.7 million pipes. But many water systems are still working to inventory their lead pipes, leaving them little time to compete for the federal funding that expires in 2026.

[Federal investments] provided significant new funding for this effort, but its absolutely not nearly enough for the successful implementation of the rule, said Ben Grumbles, executive director of the Environmental Council of the States, a nonprofit association of environmental agency leaders.

Grumbles noted that state agencies also are facing significant expenses from new federal rules to limit exposure to PFAS, or forever chemicals, in drinking water (lead, a naturally occurring metal, is not among the man-made PFAS chemicals).

Cities struggle

At the local level, leaders are scrounging for funding as best they can.

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Were looking at federal money, were looking at bonds, were looking at different loans and grants, said Randy Conner, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Water Management. Were making sure we turn over all the couch cushions to find every quarter we can possibly find to put towards this effort.

Chicago has an estimated 400,000 lead pipes, more than any other U.S. city. Because of the sheer scale of the problem, the EPA gave Chicago an extended deadline of 20 years to replace its lines. Even so, that would require pulling out 19,000 lines a year, well more than the citys current pace of 8,000. That work will cost about $780 million annually, according to city officials.

Conner said the city is hoping for more federal and state support to avoid placing a heavy burden on ratepayers.

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Meanwhile, state and local leaders say Congress is interfering with a key source of money for lead line replacement. Two loan programs, funded by the federal government but administered by states, provide crucial financing for water infrastructure work. State agency leaders deploy the funding based on detailed assessments of community needs.

But in recent years, members of Congress have bypassed states funding strategies to earmark money for projects in their districts. State agencies say theyre receiving less than half of the pool of money after Congress assigns its favored projects. That has left them less able to help the neediest communities. And many of the congressionally designated projects are lagging because they havent gone through the rigorous preparation work required by states.

By diverting so much funding away from the successful [loan programs], disadvantaged communities are less likely to get funding, said Grumbles, who oversees the coalition of state agencies.

Grumbles and others argue that any earmarks from Congress should only be in addition to the baseline loan program funding.

Other challenges

Costs arent the only obstacle water systems are facing. Some are concerned that the rush to replace millions of pipes nationwide will strain the workforce and supply chain capacity.

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The limiting factor is going to be the availability of contractors and professionals and materials to do the actual work, said Robert Boos, executive director of the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority. Thats going to be a national issue, when youve got tens of thousands of communities trying to do this work.

Pennsylvania has boosted clean water funding in its state budget, and its trying to tackle the workforce issue as well. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order in 2023 to create a workforce training program for infrastructure jobs, including lead pipe replacement.

Olson, the environmental advocate, pointed to Newark, New Jersey, which partnered with a labor union to train local residents. The city replaced all of its 23,000 lead service lines in just over two years.

Creative thinking and political will are really whats needed, he said. This is definitely doable.

Another potential problem is the fact that service lines lie under private property, meaning utilities need cooperation from homeowners to conduct the work. In some cases, theyve run into opposition from residents or struggled to reach absentee landlords.

People just dont trust government; they dont think that anything is free, said Conner, the Chicago official. We want them to understand that were not coming into their house to give citations.

Environmental advocates also note that service lines placement on private property has created confusion over who must pay to replace them. The federal rule does not explicitly make water utilities responsible.

When the city goes to a household and says you have to pay a couple thousand dollars to replace your portion of the lead service line, it may work for higher-income people, Olson said. But the studies are showing that lower-income homeowners and landlords will not pay for it. Its a real exacerbation of environmental injustices.

He pointed to Michigan, which adopted a rule specifying that water systems are responsible for the costs of replacing lines. He also noted that some cities have passed ordinances allowing residents of a home to authorize pipe replacement if a landlord cant be reached.

Editors note: This story has been updated with a response from the EPA and includes an earlier clarification that the work to replace lead lines in Chicago will cost roughly $780 million annually.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo.  Springfield City Council will meet tonight and vote on a potential federal grant for the Springfield Police Department.

Police Chief Paul Williams said this is a competitive federal grant but if passed tonight, these funds would establish a new Crime Gun Intelligence Center helping officers solve gun-related crimes.

We applied for this grant a year ago and we didnt get it. Its very competitive grant, SPD Police Chief Paul Williams said. And we looked at and that was one of the things that it does not require any matching dollars from the city. Its a pure federal government DOJ grant thats funding the entire proposal.

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The proposed $700,000 grant comes from the Department of Justice and would be split, 80% for SPD and 20% for the Greene County Prosecutors Office.

If passed the funds would allow SPD to hire three part-time employees to focus on gun-related crime analysis and for the prosecutors office to hire someone to focus solely on gun-related crime.

Right now, SPD sends ballistic evidence to other labs to be tested which can take weeks. With this grant, SPD officers would be able to run ballistics tests quickly right here in Springfield using NIBIN (National Integrated Ballistic Information Network). This means other departments will be able to utilize the equipment as well.

Part of the grant application was making this a regional Crime Gun Intelligence Center, Chief Williams said. So any agency within Southwest Missouri will be able to bring those shell casings and bullets and well be able to run them through the knife machine here where they wont have to send them off either. So its an absolute benefit to the region and other departments.

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City Council will have the second reading and final vote on this grant tonight at 6:30 pm at the Police and Fire Training Center on the West Battlefield.

I dont do this all the time, Chief Williams said. But Im pretty confident that theyre going to pass this. Were going to accept this.

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CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU Federal funds will be used to build the proposed Ala Pono pedestrian bridge over the Ala Wai Canal.

1 /3 CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU Federal funds will be used to build the proposed Ala Pono pedestrian bridge over the Ala Wai Canal.

CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU / 2021 An artists rendering depicts the proposed pedestrian bridge over the Ala Wai Canal.

2 /3 CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU / 2021 An artists rendering depicts the proposed pedestrian bridge over the Ala Wai Canal.

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CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU / 2021 An artists rendering depicts the proposed pedestrian bridge over the Ala Wai Canal. Above is a view from University Avenue.

3 /3 CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU / 2021 An artists rendering depicts the proposed pedestrian bridge over the Ala Wai Canal. Above is a view from University Avenue.

CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU Federal funds will be used to build the proposed Ala Pono pedestrian bridge over the Ala Wai Canal.

CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU / 2021 An artists rendering depicts the proposed pedestrian bridge over the Ala Wai Canal.

CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU / 2021 An artists rendering depicts the proposed pedestrian bridge over the Ala Wai Canal. Above is a view from University Avenue.

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The Honolulu Department of Transportation Services will host two public workshop meetings this week regarding the planned design and construction of the $63.3 million Ala Wai Pedestrian Bridge.

DTS workshops over the proposed 18-story-tall bridge named Ala Pono will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday.

The second meeting will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Both workshops take place at Ala Wai Elementary School, 503 Kamoku St., adjacent to the proposed bridge site, which is aligned with University Avenue on the Moiliili side of the Ala Wai Canal and Kalaimoku Street on the Waikiki side.

During these meetings the public will be presented with a variety of bridge types, with the intent of soliciting feedback on the preferred form of the proposed bridge, DTS said.

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Results from these workshops will be summarized for inclusion in the projects design-build request for proposal, or RFP. The RFP is expected to be issued in 2025 and a contract awarded later that same year, DTS said.

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Construction of the bridge project is expected to last three years, DTS said.

The Ala Pono Pedestrian Bridge is a key component of the citys Complete Streets network of bicycle and pedestrian paths,  DTS Director Roger Morton said in a statement. This project has generated tremendous interest from the public regarding the final form of this new structure, and the city is committed to soliciting additional public input on the final form of the bridge.

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DTS leads the project in partnership with the state Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.

The project is programmed using 80 % federal funds and 20 % local funds for each phase,  DTS spokesperson Travis Ota previously told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Ala Pono is envisioned as a mauka-makai span that will cross the 1.3-mile-long Ala Wai Canal.

The canal and its embankment, bordering sidewalks, benches, paths and greenways are a recreational resource for neighboring communities, while the canal itself serves as the northern boundary of Waikiki, the city said.

On the Waikiki side, a ramp would be built between the proposed flood wall and the Ala Wai Boulevard sidewalk. The bridge will not interfere with the planned flood wall, the city said.

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As designed, the span is meant only for biking, walking or rolling,  the city said, and will not accommodate motorized vehicles, especially cars or trucks.

Ota said the purpose of the project is to provide safe access for people traveling by foot or bicycle across the Ala Wai Canal between Ala Wai Boulevard and Manoa /Palolo Stream.

Many, like Waikiki Neighborhood Board member Jeffrey Merz, support the bridge project.

The community has been working on getting this bridge approved for over three years, and Ive been a huge supporter of it,  Merz told the Star-Advertiser. It will provide emergency exits for emergencies, besides the use of the car.

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He added it will encourage people to ride their bikes, and enjoy the Ala Wai Canal, and the area and the views from a different angle.

The bridge also will unite the two neighborhoods of Waikiki and Moiliili, he noted.

And the whole concept is to get people out of their cars, and thats what this bridge does,  said Merz, an urban planner by profession. We also dont just want to do a utilitarian bridge.

We want to do something thats attractive, aesthetically pleasing, and help improve the aesthetics of the Ala Wai Canal ; it needs improvement, and this is one way to start,  he said.

However, he noted some residents on the Moiliili side of the Ala Wai Canal do not favor this project.

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Theyre adamant they dont want the bridge at all, because they feel it blocks their views and encourages folks from Waikiki to come over, which it does,  Merz said. But theyve said throughout the years that they dont want to make it easier to get from Waikiki to Moiliili.

During a city-hosted public meeting on the pedestrian bridge in September 2023, a contingent of vocal residents opposed to the new Ala Wai span appeared.

At that meeting, Luciano Minerbi, a University of Hawaii professor of urban and regional planning, claimed the real reason the bridge was being overdesigned is for cars, to provide people another route to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.

So please dont lie to us,  he told city officials, adding there is no need for a pedestrian bridge.

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Daniela Minerbi urged the public not to be shy about expressing their views.

Arent we the voice of the people who might want it or might not ? Already so much money has been invested. Its better to stop it because its going to be way more than what is spent now,  she said.

Others were concerned that homeless people and criminals would use the bridge to cross into Moiliili from Waikiki.

Merz said such claims were false.

Ive just seen over the years people not being truthful and hijacking the dialogue and trying to muzzle other people,  he said, adding another reason to support this bridge was because the federal government is paying for most of it.

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I cant believe we would forgo this project when its pretty much funded by the feds,  Merz said.

Meanwhile, DTS has announced that additional efforts will be taken to address specific concerns raised by the community through the environmental review process, including :Federal funding to reconfigure the existing comfort station adjacent to the proposed pedestrian bridge, to include additional facilities.Local funding of $1 million for construction of a new canoe halau adjacent to the bridge, the city said. The halau will be included in the design-build contract provided its construction does not affect the bridges schedule, the city said.

In 2019, as part of the environmental review process development, a so-called alternatives analysis looked at different bridge types and configurations and solicited public input on the preferred alternative.

In 2021 the draft environmental assessment was released. And by 2023 the city was awarded a $25 million federal discretionary grant to offset the estimated $63 million cost of the bridge, the city said.

GET INVOLVED Workshop information :Star-Advertiser staff writer Leila Fujimori contributed to this report.
NASH, Tx. (KTAL/KMSS)  The City of Nash, Texas, in Bowie County, is hosting a public hearing on behalf of Riverbend Water Resources.

The public hearing will gather community input and discuss the potential fluoridation of the local drinking water supply.

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The hearing will be held on Monday, November 18, at 6 p.m. at Nash City Hall.

All residents are encouraged to attend and share their opinions on the proposed measure.

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According to the City of Nash, Fluoridation of public drinking water has been debated for decades, with proponents advocating for its potential to reduce dental cavities and improve oral health.

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Opponents, however, raise concerns about health, safety, and community preferences.

We believe it is crucial that our community has a platform to come together to discuss this

important issue,  said City Administrator, Doug Bowers. Public input is vital in ensuring that

decisions that are made reflect the needs and desires of our residents.

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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 KTALnews.com.
We live in uncivil and terribly divided times. In the recent presidential election, Donald Trump was re-elected president after running a campaign in which he called his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, retarded and stupid.

While Vice President Harris did not respond with similar uncivil epithets about Donald Trump, President Joe Biden, campaigning for the vice president, called Trump and his supporters garbage.

In a similar vein, in her 2016 campaign for president, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Trump and his supporters deplorables.

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Political campaigns across the nation have become increasingly vicious. And when an election is over, the vicious campaigns extend to governance. In Congress and state legislatures, members on both sides of the aisle refuse to work with one another, and they attack their opponents personally, even demonizing them.

America suffers from a pandemic of incivility

Divisive uncivil politics in America sadly extend to our personal lives as well. Families and former friends are so divided by political and social issues, they often quit talking with and listening to one another.

As the late great Tennessee Sen. Howard Baker observed before his death a few years ago, We live in an atmosphere now in which common civility seems about to join chivalry in extinction, an atmosphere in which we argue for the sake of argument and accuse for the sake of advantage, and an environment in which the adversarial process has become not a means to an end but an end itself. In this atmosphere, the system leads not to accomplishment, but to entropy, not to policy, but to paralysis.

More: Opinion: A positive sign for democracy: Demographics are not political destiny

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The pandemic of incivility is not just destructive to politics and our shared civic lives. It destroys community and even threatens the love and bond of family and friends.

Tennessee Sen. Howard Baker Jr., left, answers a question during a press conference before the Statesman's Dinner sponsored by the state republican organization at the State Fairgrounds March 20, 1975. Looking on are Sen. John Tower of Texas, center, and Sen. Bill Brock of Tennessee.

So how can we respond to this and help restore civility in our public and private lives?

This is the true definition of civility and how to put it into practice

First, we need to understand what civility is and is not. Theres a common misunderstanding among us today that says civility is weakness, not standing up for what we believe, and is simply being pushed around.

The truth is that when practiced in its truest sense, civility is strength, not weakness. We can express our values and opinions, even our strongest ones, without attacking or demeaning those with other view points. When we do so, we have the greatest opportunity to persuade others of our views, or at least promote understanding and respect for different views.

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Simply put, we can disagree without being disagreeable. When we do so, we can often find common ground, whereas when we ridicule one another, we never accomplish anything. In fact we destroy our common lives.

Second, we need to understand that civility is the basis of civilization and our nation. Our longtime national motto, E Pluribus Unum, is Latin for Out of many, one. The American experience is one of diversity and effort to understand different points of view and work together to seek common ground.

Third, we need to practice civility. We should strive to listen to one another, even those and perhaps especially those with different backgrounds and points of view. We should seek understanding and agreement. And when we cannot agree, as is often the case, we can simply and honestly state that we will disagree without being disagreeable.

Finally, we should demand that candidates for public office practice civility as well. We should neither support nor contribute to candidates who demean and demonize their opponents. And we should tell these candidates why we will not support them if they do not practice civility.

Bill Haltom

Bill Haltom is an author who lives in Memphis and Monteagle.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Civil discourse is the key to overcoming political divisions | Opinion
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP)  United Nations climate talks resumed Monday with negotiators urged to make progress on a stalled-out deal that could see developing countries get more money to spend on clean energy and adapting to climate-charged weather extremes.

U.N. Climate Change executive secretary Simon Stiell called for countries to cut the theatrics and get down to real business.

We will only get the job done if Parties are prepared to step forward in parallel, bringing us closer to common ground, Stiell said to a room of delegates in Baku, Azerbaijan. I know we can get this done.

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Climate and environment ministers from around the world have arrived at the summit to help push the talks forward.

Politicians have the power to reach a fair and ambitious deal, said COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev at a press conference at the venue. "They must deliver and engage immediately and constructively.

Climate cash is still a sticking point

Talks in Baku are focused on getting more climate cash for developing countries to transition away from fossil fuels, adapt to climate change and pay for damages caused by extreme weather. But countries are far apart on how much money that will require.

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A group of developing nations last week put the sum at $1.3 trillion, while rich countries are yet to name a figure. Several experts estimated that the money needed for climate finance is around $1 trillion.

We all know it is never easy in politics and in international politics to talk about money, but the cost of action today is, as a matter of fact, much lower than the cost of inaction, said Wopke Hoekstra, the EU climate commissioner at press conference.

We will continue to lead to do our fair share and even more than our fair share, as weve always done, he said. But Hoekstra added that others have a responsibility to contribute based on their emissions and based on their economic growth too.

Teresa Anderson, the Global Lead on Climate Justice at ActionAid International, was skeptical about rich countries' intentions.

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The concern is that the pressure to add developing countries to the list of contributors is not, in fact, about raising more money for frontline countries, Anderson said. "Rich countries are just trying to point the finger and have an excuse to provide less finance. Thats not the way to address runaway climate breakdown, and is a distraction from the real issues at stake.

Rachel Cleetus from the Union of Concerned Scientists said $1 trillion in global climate funds "is going to look like a bargain five, 10 years from now.

Were going to wonder why we didnt take that and run with it, she said, citing a multitude of costly recent extreme weather events from flooding in Spain to hurricanes Helene and Milton in the United States.

Robert Habeck, Germanys climate and economic affairs minister said rich nations shouldn't try to stop developing nations from producing more energy, but it has to come from cleaner sources.

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They have the same right to create (the) same work, same education and health system," he said. "On other hand, if ... they are doing the same as we did for 100 years of burning fossil energy, that is completely messed up.

Alongside U.K. energy minister Ed Miliband, Habeck announced around $1.3 billion on Monday for developing countries to move away from fossil fuels.

The industrialized countries are committed to their climate financing, while at the same time we are bringing more private investors and donors on board and broadening the donor base, Habeck said.

Climate watchers keep an eye on Rio and Paris

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Meanwhile, the worlds biggest decision makers are halfway around the world as another major summit convenes. Brazil is hosting the Group of 20 summit Monday and Tuesday that brings together many of the world's largest economies. Climate change  among other major topics like rising global tensions and poverty  will be on the agenda.

COP President Babayev said the world cannot succeed in its climate goals without G20 nations.

We urge them to use the G20 meeting to send a positive signal of their commitment to addressing the climate crisis. We want them to provide clear mandates to deliver, he said.

Harjeet Singh, global engagement director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, said G20 nations cannot turn their backs on the reality of their historical emissions and the responsibility that comes with it.

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"They must commit to trillions in public finance," he said.

Also on Monday, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has been mulling a proposal to cut public spending for foreign fossil fuel projects. The OECD  made up of 38 member countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan and Germany  are discussing a deal that could prevent up to $40 billion worth of carbon-polluting projects.

At COP29, activists are protesting the U.S., South Korea, Japan, and Turkey who they say are the key holdouts preventing that OECD agreement from being finalized.

Its of critical importance that President Biden comes out in support. We know its really important that he lands a deal that Trump cannot undo. This can be really important for Bidens legacy, said Lauri van der Burg, Global Public Finance Lead at Oil Change international. If he comes around, this will help mount pressure on other laggards including Korea, Turkey and Japan.

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___

Associated Press journalist Ahmed Hatem in Baku contributed to this report.

___

The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Chi Osse likes to say that before the pandemic and his foray into politics, he worked at night. It was 2020, he was 22 years old and wanted to have a good time. He lived with his mother in Brooklyn and organized parties in New York to make a living. But the Covid-19 pandemic put an end to the music, cost Osse his job and confined him to his home.

And then, as the entire country spent its days glued to screens, Derek Chauvin, a white police officer from Minneapolis, suffocated George Floyd, a Black man, in front of a cellphone camera. The footage spread globally, igniting a nationwide uproar. Obviously as a Black person in this country it wasnt the first time Ive ever seen something like it, but I think because it was lockdown, it was hard to turn away. I decided to take to the streets. I felt like I had nothing to lose, recalls Osse  who has a fade haircut, pierced ears, and clean-shaven face  four years later on a sunny October morning in Brooklyn.

It was May 29. Thousands of people, like Osse, took to the streets. The demonstrations were massive, the police response disproportionate. I decided to show what was happening on the ground. What was being portrayed on CNN and even Fox News was a different story than what I was seeing. It was a nonviolent protest against police brutality, and the police reacted with brutality. I saw people getting arrested left and right, cars lit a flame, I got hit with pepper spray.

Osse recorded the protests and shared his videos on Instagram. Though his social media presence was modest at the time, people began to increasingly follow him as they searched for information. After two weeks of unrest, feeling disillusioned with the response from elected officials, Osse decided to take action by running for office in his district as a Democrat. In 2021, against the odds, he won the election. He was 23 years old and had become the youngest councilman in New Yorks history.

In New York, each councilman represents a district of the city. Osse was elected by Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights, his home neighborhood. Nobody expected him to win: he was too young, not known to voters and did not have the necessary political support. He could hardly believe it himself.

A chant from those days evolved into a nationwide slogan: Defund the police. Osse recalls: New York City has a budget of over $110 billion and $11 billion of that goes to our police force [the official budget is $5.8 billion, but is $11 billion when other expenses, such as pensions, are included]. We were pushing for those funds to be reallocated into education, healthcare, parks, infrastructure and mental health. When I saw that the council member in my district didnt do what we were asking him to do, I decided to run for office myself.

A terrible housing crisis

Osse is on Atlantic Avenue, the street that marks the border between Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy, two iconic neighborhoods within Brooklyns African-American community. Here, the train roars by on elevated steel tracks above the road, with cars navigating the busy street below. The sidewalks are narrow, lined with abandoned warehouses, industrial buildings, and vacant lots. Osse intends to revitalize the area. On one of these desolate plots, currently used as a parking lot, he will build houses. New York is going through a terrible housing crisis, he explains. The citys vacancy rate for residences stands at 1.4%, the lowest level since 1968, the lowest number since 1968, according to official data.

Championing the right to affordable and decent housing has become the new focus for Chi Osse, now 26, as he navigates institutional politics. New York is one of the most expensive cities in the world and finding a home is a near-impossible mission. Osse's big proposal, which he hopes will become his first major political achievement, is a law to reform the broker fee  a commission that tenants in the city must pay to a real estate agent when moving into a new residence. This fee, typically between 10% and 15% of the annual rent, is often required even when the apartment is secured without an intermediarys help. In a city where the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $3,900, the broker fee is a significant financial burden.

After months of negotiation, the City Council passed the bill on Wednesday with a 42-8 vote. The law mandates that the person who hires the real estate agent usually the property owner  must bear the commission. It now needs to be signed by New York Mayor Eric Adams. Although Adams and Osse belong to the same party, they are political adversaries. Osse has publicly criticized the leadership of Adams, a former police officer indicted in September on corruption charges. If Adams vetoes the bill, it will return to the Council, which can override the veto with a two-thirds majority. If the mayor takes no action, the bill will automatically become law after 30 days. Given the formidable influence of the real estate lobby in the United States, this reform is the most viable step for now; abolishing the broker fee entirely remains politically out of reach.

Chi Osse on a plot of land on Atlantic Ave where he plans to build social housing. CORRIE AUNE

Brooklyn and social media

Osse has one of those legendary family histories that people in Brooklyn love. His grandfather, Teddy Vann, was a respected music producer who grew up in the neighborhood, won a Grammy and worked with Luther Vandross, Sam Cooke and Bob Dylan. His father, Reginald Osse, who died in 2017, was an iconic face of the hip-hop scene. Known as Combar Jack, he was celebrated as both a communicator and an attorney for artists. His mother, Akim Vann, owns a bakery in Prospect Heights. A family with a deep legacy. Were fourth-generation Brooklynites, he says proudly.

The tour continues through Bed-Stuy, a neighborhood known for its classic brownstones with stoops where locals sit to watch the world go by. Traditionally African-American, Bed-Stuy was immortalized as the setting of Spike Lees Do the Right Thing (1989), where Radio Raheem blared Fight the Power by Public Enemy. Today, however, it faces rapid gentrification, making life increasingly challenging for long-time residents. There has been an influx of white residents escaping Manhattans sky-high prices and the trendier areas of Brooklyn.

Osse speaks directly to his working-class neighbors through an innovative social media strategy that departs from typical political playbooks. His Instagram looks more like the account of an influencer more than a city councilman, featuring short, energetic videos that highlight news and issues relevant to his constituents.

One example stands out: every year, there is a public meeting to decide how much rent will increase in New York, which residents can attend. Traditionally, only 10 to 20 people attend, and half of those people are property owners saying that we should increase the rent, says Osse.

Last year, the guidelines board was proposing to increase rent by between 8% and 16% for one- or two-year leases, which would have been devastating for many New Yorkers. We got more than 1,000 people to come to the hearing through a video that went viral on social media, letting them know that they should use their voice. At the end of that vote, the rent increase for one- to two-year leases was between 1% and 2% instead of between 8% and 16%.

Osse says that half of the job of a public representative is to pass laws and measures that improve the lives of their neighbors. The other half is to inform. Thats where I think the government is lacking. You can get 100 bills passed, but if people dont know how to reach those resources or even know about those bills, what good is that work. Social media has been able to get my vision and my work out, and also provide people with the help that they need. Many people dont even know what a city council member is. That presence on social media has allowed them to reach out to our office, to know who we are, to learn about the different programs that we provide. Its a tool for getting the word out. Citizens have already been calling their elected representatives throughout the city, demanding that they vote in favor of the law that redistributes the broker fee.

In his three years in government, Osse has learned that politics can be cruel and that institutions do not always seek the common good. I voted against two budgets that increased police funding. And because of that, I got less money for my district. I was the chair of the citys Cultural Affairs Committee, and they took that position from me as well. It was a rude awakening. The political implications and ramifications do take place when you stand by what you believe in.

Despite these challenges, Osse successfully got legislation passed to make overdose-reversing drugs available in bars and nightclubs  the legacy of his years immersed in nightlife culture. He also tackled the citys persistent rat problem, which is a serious public health issue in the city.

As a politician forged by the Black Lives Matter protests and rooted in the progressive street movement, navigating institutional politics has sometimes meant facing contradictions. Theres an old adage that when the left gains power, it compromises its principles and becomes soft.

I was elected at 23, and now I am 26. Ive matured a little in terms of how I navigate the system of government, but I think politics is a game of chess and my goal as a leftist is to improve issues from public safety to housing. I want to secure wins for my constituents and the working class people. I think I have become more strategic in terms of how to secure those wins and actually help people. My strategy has changed, but I dont think I have softened in any way.

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RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP)  CNNs legal team is trying to move the defamation lawsuit filed by North Carolina Lt. Gov. and since-defeated governor candidate Mark Robinson from state to federal court.

On Oct. 15 Robinson filed a lawsuit against CNN and North Carolina musician Louis Love Money after two separate news articles made claims about the outgoing lieutenant governors use of pornography outlets through the late 90s and early 2000s.

Published by The Assembly on Sept. 3, the first article featured an interview with Money, a former clerk of a Greensboro porn video shop. He told the digital magazine that, during his time working at the Greensboro store, he developed a friendship with Robinson, who he says frequented the shop after work. Money also shared the story behind the song The Lt. Governor Owes Me Money, released by Moneys band Trailer Park Orchestra, that claims that Robinson still owes the musician $25 for a bootleg porn tape. While Money is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, The Assembly is not.

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Then, on Sept. 19, CNN published an expose that connected Robinson to comments, which the suit described as lewd, sex-obsessed, racist and outrageous, that were posted on the porn website NudeAfrica. CNN links Robinson to the user minisoldr who referred to himself in forum posts as a black NAZI!, talked about peeping on college girls as a young teen at North Carolina A&T State University and reportedly made comments so explicit that CNN refrained from publishing them.

The NudeAfrica user disclosed biographical details that match Robinson, including age, location and year of marriage, and used several specific turns of phrase that Robinson has also used. The username minisoldr was the same Robinson had used for personal accounts on X, then Twitter, and YouTube at the time.

Obviously vulnerable to manipulation: NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinsons argument against CNN centers on porn websites outdated software

Robinson states in the lawsuit that he categorically did not visit these video shops to buy or rent pornography and that the NudeAfrica comments are not his. He said that he made friends with Money and would occasionally bring over free pizza and socialize during his time working at a nearby Papa Johns. And he refuted the NudeAfrica comments saying that they could have been faked by people with a vested interest in derailing his gubernatorial aspirations.

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On Friday, CNN filed to move the lawsuit from the Superior Court of Wake County to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

CNNs team asks the court to ignore Moneys North Carolina residency in determining jurisdiction, arguing that Money was fraudulently joined in the lawsuit solely to keep the suit in state courts and that there is no possibility that Robinson can succeed on his claims against Money.

No connection between Money and CNN

Money is named in this lawsuit for one purpose and one purpose only  to defeat diversity jurisdiction and preclude removal. Robinsons gambit, however, fails because Money is fraudulently joined in this action. Not only is there no connection between Money and CNN, but also there is no possibility that Robinson can succeed on his claims against Money, CNNs team said in the filing.

The networks team goes on to write, Asserting a near frivolous claim against Money with zero connection to the CNN Article that is the focus of Robinsons ire was intended solely to keep this case in North Carolina State Court and constitutes fraudulent joinder.

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Additionally, they allege that Money is not connected to the controversy, as the claims against Robinson have no ground and Robinsons press conference regarding the lawsuit focused entirely on the complaint against CNN, with only a brief mention of Money as a defendant.

Robinsons own description of this lawsuit demonstrates that the controversy

relates to Robinsons (erroneous) claims about CNNs news article, not Moneys statements, CNNs team says. Robinsons counsel focused his remarks on the journalistic hit job by CNN

and his teams investigations attempts to get to the bottom of CNNs reporting.

CNN is the only defendant with a real connection to the controversy.

Not defamatory to say someone watches pornography

CNNs legal team argues that Robinsons case against Money holds no water and has no chance in state court.

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They claim that Moneys statements do not rise to actual malice, a legal requirement for defamation against any public figure, and that Moneys statement is not defamatory.

Actual malice means, in essence, that the alleged defamatory statement be knowingly untrue and spread with a blatant disregard for the truth. Robinson claims in his suit that Money has ill-will and animus towards him, but per the US Supreme Court, the actual malice standard is not satisfied merely through showing of ill will or malice in the ordinary sense of the term.

Its debatable, CNN says, that Money had any ill-intention towards Robinson, pointing out that Money refers to him as an old friend in a photo of the two of them.

All of Moneys statements reflect genuine affection for Robinson, CNNs legal team writes.

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CNNs team also states that it is not defamatory to say someone watches pornography, which is a lawful activity for adults.

While some may disagree about the propriety of such conduct, the simple fact is that statements that someone engaged in a lawful activity are not defamatory, the document states, citing Lindell v. Mail Media, Inc., where a court determined that stating the plaintiff bought alcohol was not defamatory because that is a legal and ordinary act.

While perhaps Robinson would prefer to maintain a more wholesome image, such a desire cannot form the basis of his defamation action.

Adverse publicity

Robinsons lawyers initially asked for damages upwards of $50 million, prompting Moneys legal team to file for dismissal the following day citing North Carolina law.

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According to North Carolina state law, a plaintiff in a civil case can ask for relief in excess of $25,000 but cannot ask for a specific sum higher than $25,000.

Robinsons team filed an amended complaint on Oct. 21, updating the requested damages from the announced $50 million to an excess of $25,000.

In their federal court filing, CNNs team highlights this violation and claims that the initial $50 million demand created publicity that could be prejudicial in court, citing media coverage of the article with the monetary figure prominently mentioned.

The impact of the adverse publicity is magnified here, where the informations reach is not limited to the circulation of hard copy newspapers or a single radio broadcast. Any potential juror has unrestricted access to the fact that Robinson initiated a claim against Money for $50 million dollars.

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For that reason, CNNs legal team claims that no amendment can cure the damage already caused by the complaint and that the case against Money should and would be dismissed because of that violation.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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BOSTON  A Chicago rap artist and celebrity barber will be sentenced in February for his role in a fraud conspiracy that targeted businesses and individuals across the country.

Terrence Bender, 32, pleaded guilty last week in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He and five other co-defendants were indicted four years ago, accused of using stolen payment card information to purchase trips on private jets, private yacht charters, private chef and security guard services, designer puppies, limousine and chauffer services, commercial airlines flights and more. The feds said Bender was responsible for $103,000 in victim losses.

Four of Benders co-defendants  rap promoter Antonio Strong, rap artists Herbert Wright and Joseph Williams and their associate Demario Sorrells  have already been sentenced. Wright is known by the name G Herbo. Strong was just last month sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay more than $2.1 million in restitution.

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The last defendant, Steven Hayes Jr., is awaiting trial.

Rapper G Herbo sentenced to probation in fraud plot to fund lavish lifestyle

Music promoter charged in G Herbo case sentenced to nearly 3 years

Bender faces up to 20 years in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 when he is sentenced Feb. 27 by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni.

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.
Months after Kansas authorities confirmed they suspected no foul play in Cole Brings Plentys death, the 1923 actors family has publicly challenged the results of their investigation.

The deceased actor's father, Joe Brings Plenty Sr., said he is still "fighting to find out" what happened to his son while speaking Sunday at the Red Nation Film Festival in Los Angeles.

"My boy, we have some work to do," the Cheyenne River Sioux tribal leader said at the Beverly Wilshire event. "We want a full investigation done, a fair investigation, to find out what happened with Cole."

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Cole Brings Plenty was found dead April 5 after being reported missing by his family almost a week before when he did not show up for a Zoom meeting with his agent. He was 27.

Read more: Death of '1923' actor Cole Brings Plenty shows 'no indication of foul play,' sheriff says

Along with the call on Sunday for a "fair investigation," Joe Brings Plenty Sr. talked about his son's work as an activist, which he called "quite scary, because the Indian issue isn't a popular issue."

In May 2023, Cole Brings Plenty joined his uncle, fellow "1923" cast member Mo Brings Plenty, and other actors and advisors from the show in calling for Congress to investigate the federal government's Native boarding school policies. Native children who were forcibly removed from their homes and enrolled in such schools throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries suffered physical, sexual, cultural and spiritual abuse and neglect, according to the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.

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Joe Brings Plenty Sr. referenced the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement  an activist effort in response to the pervasive issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women across North America  saying, "We have a system that looks the other way when it's dealing with the Indigenous populations."

The family and others have criticized the investigation by Kansas authorities, especially Lawrence police's early decision to treat the actor primarily as a criminal fugitive rather than a person in crisis or potential victim  which "put a big target on him," Joe Brings Plenty Sr. said at Sunday's event.

"The people who knew him knew what kind of person he was," he said, calling his son a "very special" and "very bright individual."

Read more: Her mother disappeared. Then her babysitter. A lawman fears she might be next

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Following a days-long investigation in partnership with the Johnson County Sheriffs Office, Lawrence police on April 10 released a statement saying, There is no indication of foul play in the death of Cole Brings Plenty. Neither a cause of death nor any autopsy details were disclosed.

The night before the actor is thought to have gone missing, Cole Brings Plenty attended a concert at the Replay Lounge in Lawrence, Kan. During the show, witnesses said, his braids got tangled in a microphone cable and a patron attempting to free him cut his hair off without his permission.

After leaving the bar around 1 a.m. March 31, Brings Plenty allegedly went to a nearby apartment, the Lawrence Times reported . There, officers later responded to reports of a female screaming for help, the Lawrence Police Department said in an April 2 Facebook post.

Lawrence Police have submitted an affidavit to the District Attorney for the arrest of Cole Brings Plenty after an incident Sunday morning at an apartment in Lawrence. Weve identified him as the suspect, have probable cause for his arrest, and issued an alert to area agencies, the department said in the Facebook post, adding that the suspect fled before officers arrived.

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Police also said that traffic cameras showed Cole Brings Plenty leaving the city immediately after the incident. They did not reveal the identity of the woman involved, though a friend of the family confirmed she was not the same woman who cut off Cole Brings Plenty's hair at the Replay Lounge.

Read more: President Biden apologizes for 150-year Native American boarding school policy

On the same day the police said there was no foul play, the warrant for his arrest was recalled. A little over a week later, a Douglas County District Court judge ruled the affidavit in support of the warrant  which was never executed  remain sealed, according to court documents reviewed by The Times.

A spokesperson for the Johnson County Sheriffs Office declined to comment on the death investigation "because of a court order." A spokesperson for the Lawrence police did not reply to The Times request for comment.

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Upon the April 5 declaration of Cole Brings Plenty's death, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe  of which he was a citizen  called for a full and thorough investigation into Coles disappearance and subsequent death and said its attorney general would be contacting Kansas officials to ensure this is accomplished.

"Cole Brings Plenty, an Indigenous man, has tragically become another statistic in the alarming trend of violence against Indigenous people," said an April Change.org petition demanding justice for the late actor.

The petition continued: "This personal story is not just about seeking justice for one individual; it's about challenging a system that often overlooks the plight of our Indigenous brothers and sisters."

Read more: Family, LAPD at odds over whether 'Gossip Girl' actor is missing

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On Sunday, a memorial slideshow  including photos from the set of "1923"  dedicated to Cole Brings Plenty played after Joe Brings Plenty Sr.'s speech.

"Who'd have ever thought that a young man from South Dakota, grew up in a place called Darkside, would be on a big screen?" the former Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe law enforcement officer said during his speech, choking up. "And he was just starting."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (WTNH)  Get on your cowboy boots, Connecticut.

Rod Stewart to bring One Last Time tour to Mohegan Sun

Grammy-nominated country superstar Cole Swindell will be preforming at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville on Feb. 6. Hes best known for his songs She Had Me at Heads Carolina, Aint Worth the Whiskey and You Should Be Here.

Tickets go on sale on Fri., Nov. 22 at 10 a.m. on Ticketmaster.

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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.
At first glance, President-elect Donald Trumps most controversial Cabinet nominees  Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  are an odd list of ideologues and eccentrics chosen for political loyalty more than any substantive qualifications.

But theres a more important and potentially more dangerous factor that ties their nominations together: They are foot soldiers in a power grab that, if it succeeds, would weaken the institutional guardrails that limit the presidents powers and concentrate more authority in Trump's hands.

Former Rep. Gaetz, Trumps nominee for attorney general, has promised to purge the Justice Department and FBI of anyone who might get in the presidents way. Trump is going to hit the Department of Justice with a blowtorch  and that torch is Matt Gaetz, former Trump aide Stephen K. Bannon said last week.

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Hegseth, the Fox News host who could become Defense secretary, has proposed purging military officers he sees as too committed to diversity, including Gen. C.Q. Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Pentagon likes to say our diversity is our strength, Hegseth said on Fox News in June. What a bunch of garbage. (Petes a leader, Bannon said. Hes kind of a madman  but hey, you need that.)

Former Rep. Gabbard, who as director of National Intelligence would oversee the CIA and 17 other agencies, has criticized the Biden administrations support for Ukraine so fervently that a Russian state television host once called her our girlfriend.

And Kennedy, the anti-vaccine activist who is Trumps nominee for Health and Human Services, has said he wants to fire hundreds of senior officials in the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health on day one. Trump has encouraged him to "go wild."

Their pledges are all in keeping with Trumps broader promise to dismantle much of the federal bureaucracy and bring what remains under his personal control.

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We will demolish the deep state, the president-elect often said at his campaign rallies, We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country.

During his first term, Trump often expressed frustration at the legal and political limits on what he could do as president.

In 2018, he expressed an expansive view of his powers under the Constitution: I have an Article II, where I have the right to do whatever I want.

Read more: Trump's early moves send strong signals about what to expect

But in practice, he found himself hemmed in by experienced Cabinet officials, White House lawyers and military officers, some of whom dubbed themselves the adults in the room.

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His attorneys general, Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr, quietly sidelined his demands that they prosecute Hillary Clinton and other top Democrats.

His last Defense secretary, Mark Esper, and his appointee as chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark A. Milley, resisted his proposal in 2020 to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy active duty troops against demonstrators in Washington and other cities.

Read more: News Analysis: Trump's transition moves raise fears of a politicized military

Trump also denounced the CIA and other intelligence agencies for their finding that Russia interfered in the 2016 election campaign to help him defeat Clinton  a judgment he seemed to consider partisan, rather than based on the evidence.

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So its no surprise that he wants to bring those national security agencies to heel.

But Trumps plans to expand his personal authority extend much further.

He has vowed to weaken civil service rules that protect federal bureaucrats from being fired if they disagree with their bosses decisions. We will pass critical reforms making every executive branch employee fireable by the president, he said last year, adding: I will wield that power very aggressively.

Read more: Column: Trump wants to turn the federal bureaucracy into an 'army of suck-ups.' Here's how that would be a disaster

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Robert Shea, a former top official in the George W. Bush administration, explained the real world impact. If you told your boss that what he or she was proposing was illegal, impractical [or] unwise, they could brand you as disloyal and terminate you, he said.

The result would be what one expert called transformation by intimidation.

Trump has also proposed weakening Congress power to direct federal spending  one of the legislative branchs core functions.

He plans to revive the practice of impounding funds  blocking agencies from spending money that Congress has appropriated for programs he doesnt like.

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That tactic could enable him, for example, to stop parts of President Bidens clean energy program from being implemented, even though Congress has already approved the expenditures.

A 1974 law made impoundment illegal, but Trump has suggested that he will ignore the prohibition and challenge it in court.

Read more: Column: What can a new President Trump really do on Day One? A guide for the worried

And, of course, Trump warned the Senate last week that if it refuses to confirm any of his Cabinet nominees, he may put them in office anyway  by using recess appointments, which allow a president to fill top jobs when Congress isnt in session.

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And if the Congress doesn't recess, Trump may have another norm-shattering gambit in reserve. In his first term, he threatened to adjourn both chambers under a presidential power laid out in the Constitution for extraordinary occasions."

That wouldnt just test the guardrails on a presidents powers, it would crash through them, wrote Michael Waldman of the Brennan Center for Justice.

That makes it all the more important that Republicans in the Senate, to preserve their constitutional powers, subject Trumps nominees to searching scrutiny and reject any that are unqualified, dangerous or both.

Those controversial nominations will decide more than the future of the Justice Department, the Defense Department, the intelligence community and the vast Department of Health and Human Services  although those stakes are high enough.

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They will help determine whether Trump can undo the checks and balances the founders wrote into the Constitution, and turn the executive branch into an instrument of a would-be autocrat's will.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The state Legislature will convene a new two-year session on Dec. 2, and hopefully lawmakers have been reading the messages California voters sent them on election day.

The messages were straightforward and concise, although many elected officials who inhabit Sacramentos political cocoon tend to be tone-deaf to voices that dont emanate from large campaign donors and special interests. Most lawmakers tend to all sing the same tune in their guarded echo chamber, ignoring different sounding appeals from the public.

Im referring mainly to liberal Democrats because they run the place and decide policy. But minority Republicans basically function the same way. Theres not a lot of individual thought by legislators  at least that they openly express  in this era of extreme polarization.

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One message from California voters couldnt have been more clear: Theyre fed up with toothpaste and bandages being locked up behind glass doors on store shelves as shopkeepers try to protect their merchandise from petty thieves. Voters shouted that they want the thieves locked up, not the aftershave.

That was heard with their landslide approval of Proposition 36, which will increase punishment for repeated theft and hard drug offenses, including deadly fentanyl.

It passed by more than 2-to-1 and carried every county, including usually liberal San Francisco.

Sponsored by the California District Attorneys Assn. and bankrolled by big box retailers, the measure partially rolls back the sentence-softening Proposition 47 that voters approved overwhelmingly 10 years ago.

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Alarmed progressives view Proposition 36 as reversing the movement toward criminal justice reform. But thats not entirely true. It doesnt mean voters are OK with police misconduct. That wasnt on the ballot. It just means they want repetitive shoplifters and smash-and-grabbers locked away.

Read more: Column: Lots to blame for Harris' dismal finish, including blunders by Obama and Biden

Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic-controlled Legislature fought Proposition 36 hard  that is, until preelection polls showed it winning big. Then the governor and libs pretty much clammed up.

But many moderate Democrats  and mayors in San Diego, San Jose and San Francisco  strongly supported the measure.

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Marty Wilson, chief political strategist for the California Chamber of Commerce, says Proposition 36 was prominently touted by all the candidates his organization helped, including in one heavily Democratic Los Angeles district.

Newsom and the Legislature tried to undermine Proposition 36 by enacting an alternative package of 13 anti-crime bills. But those measures didnt really toughen sentences and voters ignored them.

The governor and the propositions opponents argued that crime actually was declining in California. Voters didnt buy it.

People dont want to be told that crime rates are low when razor blades and hair spray have to be locked up, Republican strategist Rob Stutzman says.

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Democratic consultant Steve Maviglio says, The election was a real slap in the face to the governor and Legislature  telling them that they are completely out of touch with the voters regarding crime.

It wasnt about right or left, says longtime Democratic consultant David Townsend. It was a duh moment. If you go in and steal, you should go to jail.

Proposition 36s lesson for policymakers: Stop easing up on criminals and start holding them more accountable.

That ballot initiative was just one part of the get-tough-on-crime message.

Los Angeles County voters booted progressive Dist. Atty. George Gascon. His victorious opponent, former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, attacked Gascon as a crime-fighting wimp. Gascon was a main promoter of Proposition 47 in 2014.

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In liberal Alameda County, voters overwhelmingly recalled progressive Dist. Atty. Pamela Price amid anger over crime and homelessness.

Read more: Column: Harris' defeat opens a bumpy path to the White House for Newsom

They were progressive D.A.s who really should have been public defenders and not D.A.s, says Townsend, who advises moderate Democratic candidates.

Also part of the criminal accountability message was the voters rejection of Proposition 6, which would have banned prisons from forcing inmates to work. The goal made sense: Prisoners are sentenced to time behind bars, not forced labor.

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But sponsors stretched the English language when they pitched it as ending the last vestiges of slavery. That didnt sell.

The measures backers were saying, This forces prisoners to work. And voters were saying, Whats wrong with that?  Maviglio says.

Yet another election message was that voters dont want politicians reaching further into their pockets for tax money.

They rejected Proposition 5, which would have reduced from two-thirds to 55% the vote needed to pass local bonds for affordable housing and public infrastructure.

Lowering the vote requirement was fine with me. One-third of voters shouldnt decide matters for two-thirds. But most voters apparently understood that Proposition 5 would lead to passage of more local bonds  and that would bump up their property taxes to pay off the borrowing.

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Voters also adamantly rejected Proposition 33 to boost local governments power to control rents  meaning what owners of rentals could charge tenants. That was considered too much government muscle.

California voters thus turned toward the center and away from Sacramentos far left.

But they didnt venture over to the right. They still approved two large $10-billion bond issues for school facilities and climate-related projects, including wildfire prevention.

California isnt about to go Republican, or even return to purple. But if Democratic politicians dont learn from this election, their supermajority dominance in Sacramento could start eroding.

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The message is very clear, says Brian Brennan, executive director of the 21st Century Alliance, a Silicon Valley-based organization that pushes for the election of pragmatic problem solvers.

Most California voters arent ideological. They dont want rhetoric. They want governments to deliver outcomes. Move the needle.

So listen up, legislators. And especially you, governor.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Schools have generally been working hard to meet the special educational needs of an array of students  those with learning disabilities, those learning English, those with behavioral issues and those whose households struggle with poverty. But they have widely neglected one major group of students with special needs: the academically gifted.

Many school districts around the country have dropped programs for students who catch on quickly. The trend toward eliminating or scaling back such programs started about 15 years ago. But it picked up steam in 2021, when the Black Lives Matter movement made schools reckon with the discomfiting fact that they were far less likely to identify Black and Latino as gifted than they were white and Asian students.

Part of the problem was that the original purpose of gifted programs had been lost in parental competition for prestige and advantage. Unlike other special-education categories, the gifted label was coveted by parents. Classes and sometimes entire schools for gifted students often had richer curricula and more resources. They became classrooms for high achievers rather than for students properly defined as gifted.

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Read more: Opinion: A record number of teachers are leaving the job. Here's why I'm one of them

These programs were originally meant to meet the needs of students with intense, often irregular learning patterns. They used to be seen as not needing special attention because they often excelled. As standardized testing required schools to aim for student proficiency, all the focus went to those who hadnt met that mark. Those who exceeded it were deemed to be just fine.

But theyre not just fine. Gifted children, more than others, tend to shine in certain ways and struggle in others, a phenomenon known as asynchronous development. A third-graders reading skills might be at 11th-grade level while her social skills are more like a kindergartner's. They often find it hard to connect with other children. They also are in danger of being turned off by school because the lessons move slowly.

I dont know whether I would have been identified as gifted when I was a kid, but I certainly was bored out of my mind in elementary school. It felt as though everything was repeated to the point that paying attention in class was worthless. I started acting up simply to keep myself occupied.

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Read more: Commentary: Why grade inflation is spreading from high school to college  and how it hurts learning

My third-grade teacher tried a few strategies, including sending me on errands invented just to get me out of the classroom. Nothing worked. So they sent me on to fourth grade even though school policy prohibited it.

That was a disaster. I was cut off from my friends and anxious about constant grilling from adults and children asking why I was in the higher grade. It didnt work academically, either. I enjoyed the challenge of catching up, but once that happened, school was boring again. The problem wasnt third-grade material; it was the pace of learning.

When I started covering education in the late 1970s, it was a pleasant surprise to see this need being addressed  though it was a little off-putting to hear a 10-year-old describe herself as a mentally gifted minor at a school board meeting. "MGM" was the name given to the programs, later rebranded "GATE," for Gifted and Talented Education.

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It was never clear exactly what gifted education was, though. In some districts, it amounted to highly sought-after schools devoted to high achievers. Sometimes it was enrichment for certain students. Teachers were supposed to have special training, as any special-ed teacher would, but it seemed hit-or-miss. In the schools my kids attended, the gifted program basically meant extra homework.

When giftedness became a matter of prestige rather than a particular learning style and need, all bets were off. Maybe the problem was calling it gifted instead of asynchronous development; no ones going to fight to get their kid into an asynchronous development program unless they need it.

Theres little doubt that racism played a role in identifying children as gifted even though the label was based on supposedly objective criteria. But the solution to that problem is to eliminate biases, not the programs themselves.

To its credit, the Los Angeles Unified School District has retained gifted education, with programs catering to different academic and creative skills. One is for highly gifted students, who may be well into college material in some areas while still high school sophomores. But proportional underenrollment of students of color led the district to relax its requirements for entry before it recently reversed course. The criteria should be fairly simple: whether a student needs to and can advance extremely quickly through academic material.

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California doesn't require schools to offer gifted programs and stopped funding them in 2013, so schools have little incentive to keep them. The answer certainly isn't eliminating the programs entirely. It doesn't seem to have helped to open them to all children either; that led some to slow down the pace, defeating their purpose.

Differentiated instruction  in which a teacher tailors lessons to varying student needs  sounds good but is difficult to carry off in a large class.

My eldest child had the good fortune to be in a small program within her public school, open to all until the spaces were filled, that solved much of the differentiation problem. It involved few tests and many individual projects. Students chose their own books to read and report on. Their projects could be written reports or, if their talents lay elsewhere, movies, plays, songs or board games  as long as they showed they had learned the lesson at hand. It gave students free rein to work at their own level, avoid boredom and show off their talents.

But that program was run by two extremely gifted teachers who knew how to bring out the best in each student. Its much easier to grade a test than to evaluate a project, and I don't know how widely the program could be replicated. In any case, it no longer exists.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Sen. Katie Fry Hester (D-Howard and Montgomery) gives remarks Sunday at the launch of the Maryland Just Power Alliance at Wilde Lake Interfaith Center in Columbia. Photo by William J. Ford.

They didnt mention his name, but it was clear that President-elect Donald Trump (R) was part of the reason hundreds of advocates gathered Sunday in Columbia to lay out their agenda for the upcoming legislative session.

We will need to focus on what the state of Maryland can do in the face of proposed inaction, dysfunction, or outright antagonism from the federal government, said the Rev. Tyrone Jones IV, the co-chair of People Acting Together in Howard (PATH). We will need to build on new allies and new sources of sheer power as looming changes are on the horizon.

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Jones was just one of the speakers at the meeting at Columbias Wilde Lake Interfaith Center that brought together community organizations from three of Marylands largest counties  PATH, Action in Montgomery (AIM) and Anne Arundel Acting Together (ACT)  comprised of several local community, school and faith-based organizations.

They announced the launch of these groups, coming together as Maryland Just Power Alliance, a statewide push to support residents from underserved and vulnerable communities. The groups want state lawmakers to approve bills focused on housing, climate and prekindergarten expansion when the General Assembly convenes Jan. 8 in Annapolis.

More than 700 turned out to hear speakers that included Jones, Comptroller Brooke Lierman (D) and several state lawmakers.

The more than 700 attendees recite a pledge at Sundays launch of the Maryland Just Power Alliance at Wilde Lake Interfaith Center in Columbia. Photo by William J. Ford.

Speakers such as Sarah Insa Sadio, 15, talked about protecting the environment and the work her mother has done with AIM testing homes for nitrogen dioxide emissions that are highly toxic and dangerous. The teenager who attends Albert Eistein High School in Montgomery County wants lawmakers to push for a shift from gas appliances to electric energy.

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Another teenager, Zaineb Khan, 16, who attends Al Huda High School in Prince Georges County, wants the legislature to approve the RENEW Act, or Responding to Emergency Needs from Extreme Weather. Bills addressing that in the House and Senate did not get out of committee in the last legislative session. Maryland advocates have suggested that the legislation could generate around $9 billion in one-time collections from the fossil fuel companies for 20-plus years of climate damage.

This bill would charge a one-time fee to the biggest, most polluting fossil fuel companies and the state could use that money to create more green energy, Khan said.

Sen. Katie Fry Hester (D-Howard and Montgomery), who sponsored the legislation in the last session and was in Columbia on Sunday, said she plans to sponsor the bill again next year.

Another piece of legislation advocates wants the legislature to approve, which failed in the last session, is House Bill 477, which would have allowed local jurisdictions to require that landlords issue a reason when they choose not to renew a tenants lease.

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Lierman said she supports that measure, which was approved in the House but did not make it out of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, and other housing initiatives.

Housing is a human right but its also an economic imperative, Lierman said.

On education, advocates said Sunday one legislative priority would be for the state Department of Education to make certain documents such as the prekindergarten expansion grant and technical assistance, which are currently only available in English, available in other languages. Prekindergarten expansion to teach 3- and 4-year-old children, which includes private child care providers, is a part of the Blueprint for Marylands Future education reform plan.

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We have to make sure that there is language access for providers and for parents, said Del. Jessica Feldmark (D-Howard), a member of the Ways and Means Committee that reviews education policy. So yes, this is an issue we will continue to work on.

Del. Greg Wims (D-Montgomery), who also serves on the Ways and Means Committee, said another document thats only available in English are the General Education Development, or GED, tests. Hes working on legislation to transcribe the test in multiple languages.

Before the two-hour event ended, those still at the interfaith center were asked to sing This Little Light of Mine.
COLLIERVILLE, Tenn.  Collierville firefighters are coming together to help one former firefighter after learning he has cancer.

This started as a cornhole tournament but once everyone knew what they were raising money for, it became what you see today.

A whole community came together to raise more than $35,000 for a former public servant.

Taylor Paige has worked for the Collierville Fire Department for several years but recently learned he has leukemia, causing him and his wife to leave their job and take care of their two children.

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Transgender Awareness Week capped off by annual festival

Were here to support former Collierville firefighter, Taylor Paige, Cory Carter said. And see if we can help raise some money for his situation  which hes got leukemia. And so hes battling that and were battling for him.

There are bouncy houses, food trucks, live performances and many more things out there until 6 p.m.

All proceeds will go directly to Paige and his family to support them during this challenging 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 WREG.com.
Azerbaijan's chairmanship of COP29 officially begins this week.

Last week, the world came together under the auspices of the UN Climate Conference COP29. The planet is focused on the theme of the green transition and climate finance until November 22, with Baku remaining in the spotlight. As the conference nears its conclusion, attention is intensifying. What decisions will the conference reach? Will a consensus be possible, and will those most responsible for the emerging climate crisis finally be held accountable? Words alone cannot solve the problem.

The issue cannot be resolved by merely blaming oil and gas-producing countries. Over the past week, there have been vocal protests, with the main slogan being outrage over holding a climate conference in an oil and gas-producing country. Western media coverage of COP29 has often linked the presence of natural resources to "human rights" concerns.

That's right Azerbaijan is often "blamed" in many ways. Let's acknowledge it. Indeed, the global oil industry has deep roots in Baku. Nearly two hundred years ago, the first industrial oil well was drilled here, and in the mid-20th century, the world's first offshore oil platform was established. Azerbaijani specialists played a significant role in developing the oil and gas industry both within the Soviet Union and internationally. However, much has changed since then, and Azerbaijan no longer sets the global agenda in this sector. Today, its share in global oil production is just 0.7%, and in global gas production, it stands at 0.9%. Despite this, European media continue to spotlight the issue.

It was particularly interesting to watch how a DW journalist stumbled while attempting to promote an Indian environmental expert to criticize Azerbaijan. For the interview, DW selected a representative from India, presumably expecting a lack of sympathy for Baku. The journalist, who had prepared a biased story about COP29, tried to push the expert into condemning Azerbaijan's oil and gas industry. However, the interviewee didn't take the bait, skillfully avoiding the attempt to tarnish Azerbaijan's image.

It is worth recalling President Ilham Aliyev's words during his opening speech at the Summit of COP29 leaders on November 12. "In the 19th century, Azerbaijan produced more than half of the world's oil. If some Western politicians and media had called us an 'oil state' back then, it might have been acceptable. But when they call us an 'oil state' today, it is unjust and only reflects a lack of political culture and knowledge," the president concluded.

President Ilham Aliyev spoke directly and frankly, not attempting to wave climate flags in vain, as many others tend to do. In a sense, he confronted the Western media, which are often critical of Baku, reiterating his belief that oil and gas are a "gift from God." "As president of COP29, we will, of course, strongly advocate for a green transition, and we are actively working on it. But at the same time, we must be realistic," President Aliyev emphasized.

Only a strong and confident leader can afford to be so candid. Azerbaijan has nothing to hide and no reason to bow to external pressures. Its contribution to global climate problems is just 0.1 percent. At the same time, when it comes to the pace of implementing the green transition goals, Azerbaijan can set an example for many other countries.

Aliyev's pragmatic approach reflects a key pointwhile Azerbaijan acknowledges the importance of transitioning to a greener future, it also recognizes the need for a balanced, realistic strategy that doesnt sacrifice national interests or the livelihoods of its people. This is an approach that not only challenges the narrow, one-sided narratives pushed by some, but also shows that true leadership in tackling climate change involves both ambition and practicality.

On the first day of COP29, the foundation was laid for the Shafag solar power plant in the liberated Jabrayil district, a project backed by BP. During the conference, a memorandum of understanding was signed between SOCAR, Masdar (UAE), and ACWA Power (Saudi Arabia) to produce 3.5 gigawatts of wind power in Azerbaijan's Caspian Sea sector. The 9th Ministerial Meeting and steering committee session took place as part of the Agreement on Strategic Partnership for the development and transfer of green energy between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, and Hungary.

Additionally, on the sidelines of COP29, an agreement on cooperation in "green" cars was signed between GreenCar (Azerbaijan) and Nio (China). The signing ceremony of the "Executive Program for Cooperation in the Development and Transfer of Green Energy" between the Ministries of Energy of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Saudi Arabia was attended by the presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.

Further, SOCAR Green LLC, Masdar, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) signed agreements to finance two solar energy projects in Azerbaijan.

These initiatives are just a glimpse of the broader efforts underway. We are not discussing agreements or deals made by other countries that don't directly involve Azerbaijan.

As we can see, Azerbaijan is actively advancing its renewable energy sector and working toward its emission reduction targetsdespite being an oil and gas producer. While other nations are still talking, Azerbaijan is rolling up its sleeves, investing oil revenues into its green transition. The country is not merely making promises; it is taking concrete steps to ensure a sustainable future, proving that small nations can make big impacts.

By 2027, Azerbaijan plans to invest $2.8 billion in renewable energy, with the construction of 8 large solar and wind power plants totaling around 2 GW of capacity, to be integrated into the national energy grid. As Fagan Abdurakhmanov, head of the Renewable Energy Zone Development Department at the Renewable Energy Agency of Azerbaijan (AREA), explained during the forum on investments in energy transition for Central Asia, the 2 GW target is not just a figure but a carefully calculated value based on assessments conducted by an American firm, with additional confirmation from a Turkish consulting company. Abdullayev emphasized that these figures reflect the renewable energy capacity that Azerbaijans grid can integrate by 2027, considering necessary upgrades and improvements.

During the ministerial meeting on energy initiatives at COP29, Deputy Minister of Energy Orhan Zeynalov shared that Azerbaijans COP29 chairmanship is preparing a commitment related to green energy zones and corridors. This commitment has two key components: green corridors and green energy zones. Green corridors are critical for the cost-effective transmission of green energy across borders and over long distances, which can reduce prices and improve the overall efficiency of energy transfer.

A feasibility study for the Central Asia-Azerbaijan energy corridor will begin soon, following an interstate agreement signed last week by the heads of state of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Another energy corridor, Azerbaijan-Turkiye, with a planned capacity of 1.5 GW, is also in progress, with work on the feasibility study already underway. By 2030, Azerbaijan plans to produce 7 GW of renewable energy, with 5 GW earmarked for export.

Azerbaijan is actively doing its part to contribute to the green transition. The second week of COP29 is expected to be especially intense as the decision-making phase approaches. The Azerbaijani delegation has taken all necessary steps to ensure a conducive environment and business atmosphere to facilitate effective work and reach agreements on key items on the forums agenda. As we have noted, this includes securing funding and investment.

Azerbaijans leadership of COP29 will provide an opportunity to secure fair and ambitious outcomes in the area of climate finance. Samir Bezhanov, Deputy Lead Negotiator for COP29, emphasized at a press conference that Azerbaijan will work closely with the chairs of subsidiary bodies and all parties involved to achieve a fair and ambitious outcome this year. He urged all participants to focus on negotiations concerning the key agenda item: climate finance.

It is important to remember that the COP29 conference is a global event held under the auspices of the United Nations. Azerbaijan is fully committed to meeting its obligations and will continue to do so, regardless of whether other nations uphold theirs. However, it is crucial to note that decisions on global climate financing do not rest solely with Azerbaijan. These decisions are made by major powers and international financial institutions. Whether the key parties will be able to reach a consensus on financing remains an open questionone that we will have an answer to in the near future.
Two months before the anticipated upheaval of Donald Trumps second term begins with his inauguration on January 20, Joe Biden and his administration are making concerted efforts to safeguard their foreign policy achievements. Biden aims to leave behind a legacy in which the U.S. is a leading global power, a defender of the multilateral order, and the cornerstone of an extensive network of international alliances  an approach embodied by his steadfast support, alongside Europe and NATO, for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion. On Sunday, Biden authorized Kyiv to use U.S.-supplied long-range weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory, according to reports from U.S. media, marking a significant shift in U.S. policy.

The Republicans victory on November 5 signals a dramatic change in direction. We have to admit that Trumps isolationist vision is the worldview that Americans want for trade, for security, for social issues, for what America stands for, says Ian Bremmer, founder of the Eurasia Group consultancy group. The United States international allies can no longer rely on that component of American leadership that emerged from shared Western values.

Biden is an outgoing president  a lame duck, as the term goes in American political circles, or perhaps more aptly, a super-lame duck, as Erin Murphy from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) puts it. His successor will implement policies vastly different from his own, and theres nothing he can do to prevent those changes within the next couple of months.

This reality is well understood by other world leaders: among the first to congratulate Trump were some of Bidens key allies, such as French President Emmanuel Macron, known for his strong support of multilateralism, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Meanwhile, there are doubts about what will happen in Germany, another pillar of the Western alliance, where the governing coalition has collapsed.

But until January 20, Biden remains in the Oval Office. And he is intensifying his diplomatic efforts and strategic moves to protect this network of economic and security alliances as much as possible. Biden is determined to ensure that Trump, who views international partnerships primarily through an economic lens, does not dismantle these alliances to address geopolitical challenges. Last December, Congress passed legislation tightening the terms for withdrawal from NATO, countering Trumps previous attempts to do so during the latter part of his first term. Over the weekend, Biden also established a secretariat with the leaders of South Korea and Japan to solidify the trilateral alliance he achieved during his presidency.

The ongoing Russian offensive in Ukraine is another pressing concern for the outgoing administration. Last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Brussels to consult with allies about the current state of the war, now in a grueling, nearly three-year stalemate despite over $200 billion in aid from Kyivs partners. During a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, Biden emphasized to Trump the importance of continued support for Ukraine as a critical American interest.

We believe that the United States of America, through this transition and beyond, can put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield so that its in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table for an ultimate deal, said National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan last week. This is the reason behind Bidens recent decision to approve the use of long-range U.S. missiles for strikes within Russian territory  a longstanding request from Zelenskiy that had previously been denied due to fears of severe Russian retaliation.

With no certainty that a Republican administration will continue aid to Kyiv  indeed, indications suggest the opposite  the Democratic administration has confirmed plans to allocate the remaining $6 billion of the nearly $64 billion approved this year to maximize support for Ukraine. Washington has already notified its European allies that, come January, they will bear primary responsibility for providing for Ukraines needs as it continues to defend itself against Russian aggression.

New attempt at a ceasefire in Gaza

According to Sullivan, Biden believes that Americas allies are vital to Americas national security. They make us stronger. They multiply our capability. They take a burden off of our shoulders. They contribute to our common causes.

However, some of these diplomatic efforts have underscored the limitations of the presidents position. Last week, Biden met at the White House with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in an attempt to maintain pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza that could end the war and enable a hostage exchange. This goal  that has not been achieved after more than a year of war  faces resistance from an emboldened Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has restructured his government to make it even tougher, and is encouraged by Trumps early foreign policy appointments: pro-Israel Senator Marco Rubio as Secretary of State and Mike Huckabee, who uses the Jewish biblical terms Judea and Samaria to refer to what the rest of the world knows as the West Bank, as U.S. ambassador to Israel.

A woman mourns over the covered bodies of members of the Abu Irmana family, killed on 16 November in an Israeli airstrike in the west of the Al-Nusairat refugee camp. MOHAMMED SABER (EFE)

Last week, Blinken repeated the same pattern that has characterized the American position throughout the war: pressuring Israel with unfulfilled threats. After issuing a 30-day ultimatum for Israel to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, with a warning that failure to do so would result in a suspension of U.S. military assistance, the deadline passed, with Israel making no move. Yet, the State Department concluded that Israel was not obstructing aid, and the threat was quietly withdrawn.

Even if Biden were to impose this arms ban, the Israelis believe that as soon as Trump comes in, he would immediately lift it, so it would have no effect, explains the former U.S. ambassador to Yemen, Gerald M. Feierstein, in a video conference organized by the Middle East Institute in Washington.

This past weekend, Bidens attention shifted eastward, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Peru and the G20 summit in Brazil, where he addressed future economic cooperation agreements in Asia, including the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which Trump has said he plans to exit.

In Lima, Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to stabilize U.S.-China relations, the most significant and complex bilateral relationship in the world, involving $758 billion in annual trade. Trump  who began a trade war with China in 2018  plans to increase U.S. tariffs on Chinese products to 60% during his second term.

Biden used the meeting on Saturday to press China over the aid it provides to the Russian war effort, in the form of supplying components, and to urge Beijing to intervene against North Korea, which has reportedly sent approximately 10,000 soldiers to Russia for combat. The White House warned that such developments could have destabilizing effects on Europe and the Indo-Pacific. Xi, in turn, cautioned that The Taiwan question, democracy and human rights, Chinas path and system, and Chinas development right are four red lines for China. They must not be challenged, as reported by Xinhua, Chinas official news agency.

Biden also made history as the first U.S. president to visit the Amazon, a move aimed at highlighting his commitment to climate change action, amid concerns that Trump may withdraw the U.S. from international climate agreements.

Yet, the visit also highlighted the waning influence of his administration. While Biden aimed to reinforce ties with allies in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America, his trip was overshadowed by Xi Jinpings longer and more impactful visit, which underscored Chinas rising clout in the region. Xi inaugurated a major port in the Peruvian town of Chancay, a move that, according to Ryan Berg, director for the Americas at CSIS, overshadowed anything Biden could say about strengthening ties with Latin America or Asia.

In Brazil, authorities invited Biden to extend his stay for a state visit after the G20 summit, but he opted to return to Washington. Xi, however, will pay Brazil a state visit on November 20.

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NEW YORK (PIX11)  As the Jennings Creek wildfire continues to threaten communities near Greenwood Lake, local residents are stepping up to support firefighters and evacuees affected by the ongoing crisis.

PIX11s Cory McGinnis reports on the remarkable community spirit shining through in these challenging times.

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The outpouring of support from the community has been overwhelming. This is all donated from people in the community, and surrounding community, explains a local organizer, gesturing to a collection of supplies.

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Christine Persico, a resident of Monroe, has been dropping off energy drinks at a community center to help those affected by the fire. She expressed her deep concern for the first responders and evacuees, saying, I felt like I was having a panic attack because I worry about the lives of the first responders and some of the people that got evacuated and its hard.

The situation has been emotionally challenging for Persico, even though shes not directly in the affected area. It was tough, and Im not there, so I cant imagine what everybody is going through, she shared.

Jennings Creek wildfire prompts over 100 evacuations in NY

The wildfire, which breached a containment line in Warwick, has led to voluntary evacuation orders for residents in the area. An evacuation site has been set up at Greenwood Lakes Middle School to accommodate those displaced by the fire.

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Other residents in the area have expressed their concerns about the ongoing situation. One resident noted, Overtime, breathing all the smoke in it definitely takes a toll on you. Another added, Supposedly, they have this under control, but how much control I dont know.

Firefighting efforts are in full swing, with the National Guard loading water tanks and conducting drops throughout the area.

Bob Rogers, a Ranger for the NYS Forest Rangers, explained their strategy: In this case, were burning off pre-existing control lines, so the large smoke that you see is actually stuff were putting on the ground.

Funeral planned for teen killed fighting Jennings Creek fire

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Mayor Tom Howley of Greenwood Lake emphasized the communitys resilience, stating, Thats what we do, were small, were tight-knit and well get through this.

Community organizers are ensuring that firefighters are well-supplied. You have snacks, high protein bars, stuff thats high in carbs to keep the fuel up for the firefighters, one organizer explained.

As the crisis continues, residents like Persico are doing what they can to support the efforts and provide comfort to those affected. This is going to be something that the community is going to remember for a long time, says Persico.

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.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  State and city leaders have renounced the group of masked men who marched in Columbus Short North neighborhood shouting racist slurs Saturday.

Eyewitness accounts and police reports show the march was not a peaceful demonstration.

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A group of individuals was waving swastika flags, wearing masks, screaming slurs and walking down and as they continued, their slurs got louder, Keon Tullius, who was out to lunch at a Short North restaurant during the march, said. I realized that one of them had a megaphone and they were screaming very charged racial terms. They were screaming slurs and threats, and they just walked on by and continued on down the street screaming their obscenities. They were allowed to perpetuate racial hate. It sends a very threatening message, quite frankly. I feel like most people are feeling very unsafe right now

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It doesnt have any place in our state. It doesnt have any place in our city. It is so hateful. It is so evil. It shouldnt be here, Tullius added.

Another witness shared a video of an altercation. According to a Columbus police report on the incident, there was an altercation when a group of patrons from a Short North bar confronted the masked men. The video shows a verbal exchange and then what appears to be pepper spray deployed from the masked group.

Several eyewitnesses confirmed with NBC4 that the group of marchers used pepper spray.

Columbus attorney Sean Walton helped organize another march on Sunday. That march by approximately 30 Black men took was the same as the neo-Nazi march on Saturday. The message, however, was very different.

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Its really important to show that we dont have to be afraid, that we are stronger together, and that we are a united front here in Columbus for all people, Walson said. We wanted to make a statement today that were here, were watching, and that we are willing to stand up for ourselves, but also that we believe that our leaders will stand up for us and will enact legislation that prevents this.

Walton, like many others in Columbus, saw the videos and reports of what happened Saturday.

There are reports of, of violence, whether its pepper spray or bear spray or, you know, just confrontation and so this isnt just people exercising free speech, he said. This is threatening behavior, is, its aggressive behavior and so we have to ask what tangible solutions can our elected officials engage in?

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The group marched up and down High Street wearing all black, the same as the group that marched Saturday.

What were seeing is people who are a lot more blatant with their racism, their hatred and its just sad, Walton said. Lets figure out how to come together and how to lead and love because so much, you know, hatred is out there right now. Theres so much fear, and I think its important that we practice community care.

Several other groups and businesses in the Short North made a point to create a safe space, welcoming people in their stores and locking doors while Saturdays march was happening.

The community in the Short North is very close-knit, Tullius said. It is an arts district. There are a lot of people who are very passionate here, and theyre very passionate about maintaining the decorum of the community.

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Buckeyes keep No. 2 spot in coaches poll before facing undefeated Indiana

After their lunch was interrupted, Tullius posted a video of Saturdays march to social media, getting tens of thousands of shares, views, and comments.

Facebook removed that video no less than seven times yesterday, he said. I had to continuously repost it, and they finally erased the entire post. With 20,000 shares, more than 6,000 comments, and more than 6,000 reactions with no explanation.

This was another major concern, that content being shared to notify others what was happening was seemingly being censored, according to Tullius.

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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.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  The Ohio Civil Rights Commission is investigating a transportation company that buses Columbus City Schools students after an employee accused managers of misconduct.

Universal Transportation Systems has provided transportation for some Columbus school routes since 2022. Now, a UTS employee has accused the managers of those routes of retaliation and intimidation, contributing to driver shortages.

Lou Bond has been a school bus driver for six years and said he has been employed with UTS since February 2023. He said he filed two discrimination claims with the Civil Rights Commission alleging the site manager creates a hostile work environment by threatening and harassing employees.

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According to UTS documents obtained by NBC4, the company opened an investigation into the allegations. The concerns have also been under investigation by the Ohio Civil Rights Commission since Nov. 6, according to a letter sent to Bond and provided to NBC4.

Bond said he is not the only person with concerns, and he alleged UTS loses many qualified drivers due to these managers. Bond alleged the site manager even misled upper management about the number of drivers available in August to maintain the contract with CCS.

According to Bond, UTS is supposed to have 100 drivers minimum for the school year but began the year with fewer than 60. He said UTS currently has around 75 drivers, but turnover is high.

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The drivers they hire typically only last a few weeks to a month before being forced out of the door for various reasons, Bond said.

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According to the contract, the transportation service is contracted to cover 75 routes. A school district representative said UTS currently covers around 60.

Bond filed his concerns after no longer feeling able to work due to the conditions. Bond alleges on Oct. 29, a discussion with the site manager escalated when he disagreed with her accusations about an oversight and voiced concerns about a new procedure. He said the manager told him not to return until she called, but after voicing his concerns with higher management, he was told to return.

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The next day, Bond said he returned to work and was summoned by his manager to speak about the subject again. Bond said he declined, requesting to wait until someone higher up in management could mediate, as he had been instructed to return.

Bond alleges she then demanded he turn in his badge and work vest and leave, telling the higher-up manager it was either Bond or herself. She allegedly stormed off the premises, and Bond said the confrontations occurred in front of other employees and even while on the phone with a school official about a route issue.

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When he attempted to work the next day, he said he faced similar treatment from another manager until he eventually went home. He alleges his manager told him and his co-workers that he was under investigation, despite no formal notice or write up.

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At this point, I cant complete a full work shift without being threatened in regard to my presence on the job site, Bond said. Im a man who isnt allowed to react, and my back is now against the wall.

He said he has not been able to work since Oct. 31 due to the alleged harassment and ongoing investigation, leading to a loss of pay, distress and uncertainty about his employment.

This is not the first time UTS has faced complications. It was sued by another employee in 2018 over allegations of not paying employees fairly. In 2018, the state determined UTS owed $72,000 in overpayments to the Ohio Department of Medicaid, which the company initially intended to fight but resolved to pay.

UTS has not responded to NBC4s inquiries or requests for comment.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO)  A case of whooping cough has been reported at Lincoln High School.

Timeline of Dunham Park shooting, first arrest

In an email letter sent to all Lincoln families the Sioux Falls School District said: We have been notified by the Department of Health that a person at Lincoln High School has been diagnosed with pertussis (whooping cough). Pertussis is a contagious illness that is spread through the air by respiratory droplets. It can be a serious disease especially for infants, children, elderly and those who are immune compromised.

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As of Nov. 12, there were 170 confirmed cases of whooping cough (pertussis) in the state, according to the South Dakota Department of Healths infectious disease dashboard. The five-year average is 33 cases.

From January through September there were 70 cases, which is a 415 percent increase, compared to the five year average. According to the Department of Health website, the illness is most common kids and young adults.

The letter also asks that parents watch for any signs or symptoms including a cough illness, especially if the cough has lasted greater than two weeks. Initially, symptoms resemble a common cold, including sneezing, runny nose, low-grade fever and a mild cough.

The school district said if you notice any of these symptoms, please contact your physician and any questions or concerns regarding these recommendations should be directed to the South Dakota Department of Health at (866) 315-9214.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com.
CONNECTICUT (WTNH)  Gas prices in Connecticut are continuing on a steady decline, according to AAA Northeast.

Mondays average price of $3.03 is down six cents from last month and two cents from last week.

Eversource-owned Yankee Gas requests $209 million rate increase

A gallon of regular is averaging $3.07 on a national level.

AAAs weekly price survey of different regions in Connecticut shows the cheapest average gas in the New London/Norwich area and the most expensive in the Bridgeport area.

Region Average per gallon of regular Bridgeport $3.10 Hartford $3.02 Lower Fairfield County $3.06 New Haven/Meriden $3.02 New London/Norwich $2.99 Windham $3.02 Statewide average $3.03

Normally, higher demand and tightening supplies would send prices climbing, but markets are more focused on the long-term global demand picture at this time, Lauren Fabrizi, spokesperson for AAA Northeast, said in a statement. A key factor keeping prices steady has been the continued pace of strong domestic oil and gas production throughout 2024.

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Across the country, Oklahoma and Mississippi have the lowest prices- dipping down to $2.56- and Hawaii and California have the highest prices, going up to $4.46.

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.
The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is issuing a warning to the equine community after two horses in Spokane County died from Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1).

Its a contagious, often deadly disease.

The WSDA says the two horses visited a local arena when others were present. Officials have not disclosed the name of the facility, but say it is temporarily closed to ensure the virus doesnt spread.

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Two Spokane equestrian facilities are now under quarantine, with veterinarians closely monitoring the other horses.

Owners who have commingled horses are encouraged to self-quarantine their horses and refrain from any transportation for the next three weeks.

The virus incubation period is highly variable and can be as long as 14 days, Washington Assistant State Veterinarian Dr. Ben Smith said in a news release.

WSDA recommends isolating newly purchased horses or those returning from shows and seeking veterinary assistance if a horse has a temperature of 101.5 or higher.

Additionally, the WSDA suggests avoiding nose-to-nose contact between horses and not sharing equipment.

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It is vital for horse owners and enthusiasts to remain vigilant and cooperative in implementing these protocols to prevent further outbreaks within the equestrian community, the WSDA said in a news release.

EHV-1 is a common respiratory virus of horses, but the neurologic form causes Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy (EHM) which can present with various symptoms such as fever, decreased coordination, hind limb weakness, and lethargy. WSDA says these signs should not be taken lightly, and immediate veterinary attention is crucial. Taking temperatures twice a day can help with early detection and improve outcomes for exposed or infected horses.

The state veterinarian has approved the use of an experimental immunomodulator drug that has shown promising results to prevent the shedding of EHV-1 virus and protect exposed horses. Horse owners should contact their veterinarian for more information.

For more information on EHM visit the Equine Disease Communication Center and the Equine Disease Association for more information on biosecurity.
Between the federal reimbursement and the reduced foster care costs, high-quality family defense pays for itself. (Getty Images)

The federal government will reimburse county courts for part of the cost of providing lawyers to indigent children and parents when the state wants to investigate those families for alleged child abuse and, possibly, take away the children. Thanks to some excellent reporting by the Capital Chronicle we now know that one-in-five Indiana counties dont even apply for the money.

To which many readers, conditioned by decades of horror stories about parents brutally beating torturing or murdering their children, may say: So what? Indeed, that may be why so many counties are not bothering to collect the money. Overloaded lawyers often have so little time and so many clients that families are almost literally defense-less. Perhaps these counties want to keep it that way.

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The problem with this is the problem that has plagued Americas entire war against child abuse for decades: Every time we take a swing at bad parents the blow lands on their children.

Thats because most cases are nothing like the horror stories. In Indiana in 2022, 85% of the time, when children were thrown into foster care their parents were not even accused of physical or sexual abuse. Forty percent of the time, there wasnt even an allegation of drug abuse.

Far more common are cases in which family poverty is confused with neglect.

Indianas history

When it comes to tearing apart families, Indiana is one of Americas worst offenders. The Department of Child Services brags incessantly about modest progress, but in 2022 Indiana still took away children at a rate 65% above the national average. There is no evidence that Indiana children are 65% safer than the national average.

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Black children are hit hardest, taken into foster care at a rate 50% above their rate in the Indiana child population. When it comes to investigating Black families, Indiana leads the nation  nearly four out of five Black Hoosier children will be forced to endure the trauma of a child abuse investigation before they turn 18.

Consider all the ways this hurts children:

Anyone who recalls the anguished cries of children torn from their families at the Mexican border knows how much it traumatizes children to take them from everyone they know and love. Yes, DCS caseworkers mean well. But the children they take cry out the same way for the same reasons. No wonder study after study finds that, in typical cases, children left in their own homes typically fare better even than comparably-maltreated children placed in foster care. And yes, that includes cases where the issue is substance use.

The harm isnt just emotional. Multiple studies find abuse in one-quarter to one-third of family foster homes. The rate of abuse in group homes and institutions is even worse.

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And all the time, money and effort wasted on false allegations, trivial cases and poverty cases is, in effect, stolen from finding those few children in real danger. Thats almost always the real reason for the horror stories that, rightly, make headlines.

A better way

There are so many ways to do better: One of the most effective is high-quality family defense. Under this model, families get a lawyer with a reasonable caseload, their own social worker, and sometimes a parent advocate whos been through the system herself.

No, its not to get bad parents off; its to craft alternatives to the cookie-cutter no-real-services service plans often dished out by agencies like DCS. Once again, the research is clear: This kind of defense reduces foster care with no compromise of safety. Thats a key reason why the federal government now allows partial reimbursement for it.

For example, 22-month-old Nova Bryant of Indiana was taken from her parents only to die in foster care. There appears to have been no allegation that the parents abused Nova, only that they couldnt cope with her special needs. We dont know what kind of legal representation Novas parents had, perhaps it was first-rate and nothing would have helped. But we do know that Nova lived  and died  in Clay County, one of the counties that refused to seek the federal funds.

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Between the federal reimbursement and the reduced foster care costs, high-quality family defense also pays for itself. The paperwork is minimal, but it does offer clues to how well, or badly, courts are providing defense for the defenseless.

The federal funds come from the same source as federal aid to pay for placing children in foster care. Getting the foster care funds is far more complicated. But Ill bet no one in Indiana child welfare is turning down that money.

One can only wonder how anyone can survey the enormous damage wrought by this system and turn down federal aid for legal assistance, claiming, as Johnson County Court Administrator Shena Johnson does: [T]he system we have works well.

There are a whole lot of children who would disagree.

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CLINTON, Miss. (WJTV)  The Continental Tire plant may have been lost in a sea of more recent economic development projects, but it recently celebrated its fifth year of operation.

The plant is one of several tire plants in Mississippi. Though tires are not set to become obsolete anytime soon, the company still seeks to make good on its promise to provide 2,500 local jobs by 2028.

Tire plants origins

The groundwork for Continentals third U.S. tire plant started back in 2016. The state gave the company about $600 million in tax incentives to come to the Magnolia State. The 700-acre plant costing $1.45 billion officially opened in Mississippi in October 2019 with about 250 employees. State and company leaders forecasted the plant to employ 2,500 people by 2028.

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According to Continentals website, it currently employs over 400 people. The plant produces tires for commercial vehicles such as large trucks and buses.

Financial outlook

Continental makes more than tires. However, projected tire sales are correlated to how many vehicles it anticipates manufacturers will sell. In the first half of 2024, production of medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles decreased by 4% in North America. This year, the company expects a 2-4% decrease in related vehicle sales compared to 2023.

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Continental training program

From left to right: Marty Stuart, Engineer; David Butler, Maintenance Technician; and Quatarius Harris, Maintenance Apprentice. (Courtesy: Clinton Public School District) Marty Stuart, Lead Engineer with Continental Tire, speaks to sophomores at Clinton High School on Tuesday, November 16. (Courtesy: Clinton Public School District) Quatarius Harris speaks to CHS sophomores, (Courtesy of Clinton High School). Richard Kostal, Human Relations Manager with Continental Tire, spoke to sophomores at Clinton High School about dual enrollment and apprenticeship opportunities available to CHS students through Hinds Community College and Continental Tire on Tuesday, November 16. (Courtesy: Clinton Public School District)

In 2020, Continental Tire and Hinds Community College (HCC) launched two new programs to entice residents to work for the Germany-based company. Both the Production Apprentice Program and the Mechatronics Apprentice Program are paid, on-the-job opportunities that offer students the chance to earn industry certifications.

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To help reach its 2028 goal, the tire plant seeks opportunities to train community members for future employment opportunities. For instance, Continental Tire offers a Production Apprentice Program to Clinton High School dual-enrolled students and HCCs Industrial Maintenance Program. The Mechatronics Apprentice Program is open to Hinds Community College students who complete the Production Apprentice Program.

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Social media posts alleged that Pete Hegseth, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary, wears white supremacist, Christian nationalist or Nazi tattoos.

Hegseth has about 12 tattoos on his right arm and chest, all but one of which (the exception is an indistinct symbol that appears to represent the numeral "7") are clear references to his military service and patriotism, and to his Christian faith.

Contrary to rumor, none of the tattoos is a swastika. There is no evidence that any of Hegseth's tattoos represent a sympathy for or commitment to white supremacist or Nazi views.

Two of Hegseth's Christian-based tattoos use symbology that has become associated with  but doesn't necessarily indicate adherence to  Christian nationalist views. Historically, both tattoos have connections to the Crusades, a series of wars in which Christian armies sought to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslim rule in the 11th-13th centuries.

On Nov. 12, 2024, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced he would nominate Pete Hegseth, an Army veteran and Fox News host, for secretary of defense. Following the announcement, as internet users began to research and share information about Hegseth, posts appeared on social media platforms variously claiming that Hegseth wears tattoos consisting of of white nationalist, Christian nationalist and/or Nazi symbols.

For the record, Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense, Fox News host Pete Hegseth, proudly wears a far-right Christian Nationalist "Deus Vult" tattoo on his arm. On his chest he wears a Crusaders' Cross, apparently celebrating the slaughter of Muslims in holy war. pic.twitter.com/YrFrq5obJx  Eric Alan Isaacson (@EAIsaacson1960) November 13, 2024

In a podcast appearance hosted by former Navy Seal Shawn Ryan, Hegseth said that during President Joe Biden's 2021 inauguration, he had been removed from the event's security detail because of one of his tattoos. According to the Department of Defense, 12 National Guardsmen were removed from inauguration security as a precaution due to reports of "questionable behavior," including but not limited to extremism. If Hegseth is to be believed, he was one of those 12.

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By examining Hegseth's social media accounts, Snopes was able to identify almost all of his tattoos, which could be classified into two different categories: tattoos representing Hegseth's military service and patriotism, and tattoos representing his Christian faith.

We should note we reached out to both Hegseth and Fox News for comment and will update this story if we hear back.

The Patriotic Tattoos

Hegseth's tattoos referencing his military service and patriotism did not have any direct connection to neo-Nazis, Christian nationalism or white suprematist ideology. This group of tattoos included:

The words "We The People" from the U.S. Constitution

The year 1775 in Roman numerals (MDCCLXXV)

A stylized American flag with its bottom stripe replaced by an AR-15 assault rifle

A ring of stars around his elbow (possibly a reference to the Betsy Ross flag)

A pair of crossed muskets (which normally represents military service)

Benjamin Franklin's "Join, or Die" political cartoon from 1754

The patch of the 187th Infantry Regiment, of which Hegseth was a member

(Instagram user petehegseth)

There was one tattoo Snopes couldn't find a good angle on in the photos available, but based on what is visible, it doesn't appear problematic, either: a red number "7" in a style one might find when playing a slot machine.

(Instagram user petehegseth)

The Christian Tattoos

Hegseth has four different tattoos referencing his Christian faith, and this is the group containing symbols many identified as problematic. None of these tattoos have direct connections to Nazi or white supremacist ideologies, though at least one has been linked to Christian nationalism.

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First and simplest are the Greek letters chi (X) and rho (P) in a circle on Hegseth's upper arm. Chi and rho are the first two letters in the Greek spelling of Jesus Christ's name, and the paired symbols have been used since Roman times to represent Christianity.

Next, Hegseth has a sword contained within a cross tattooed on the inside of his forearm. This is a reference to the Bible passage Matthew 10:34, which reads: "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." Along the blade of the sword in Hegseth's tattoo, Hebrew letters spell "Yeshua," or Jesus. Matthew 10 is a chapter in which Jesus Christ tells his disciples to spread the word of God, noting later on in that verse that "whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me."

The two tattoos most frequently cited as problematic both connect to the Crusades, when European armies invaded the "Near East" with a goal of conquering Jerusalem from the Muslims and placing it under Catholic control. Christian nationalists and other far-right movements have long glorified the Crusades. In a 2023 paper about the history of one particular Crusade song, medieval historian and musician Kate Arnold wrote the following:

The crusades and medievalist tropes in general have a history of being appropriated in the promotion of right-wing, nationalist and racist agendas, from the beginnings of medieval studies and the parallel rise of 'Romantic nationalism' in the nineteenth century, through twentieth-century Fascist and Nazi constructions of the medieval past as a kind of ethnically 'pure' golden age, to modern-day white supremacists in the USA styling themselves 'alt-knights'.

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On his right pectoral, Hegseth has a large symbol called the "Jerusalem Cross," which consists of one large Greek cross and four small Greek crosses, one in each quadrant. (It is not, as some online claimed, a swastika). The symbol has long been associated with the Crusades, based on sources dating back to the 1300s (the last Crusader Kingdom came to an end in 1291).

On his bicep, Hegseth has the words "Deus Vult," Latin for "God wills it." That phrase was a rallying cry of the First Crusade, and may have even been used by Pope Urban II in 1095 when he ordered the First Crusade to begin. During the Jan., 6. 2021, Capitol riots, at least one flag flown read "Deus Vult".

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(Instagram user petehegseth)

This is not to say that any of these tattoos prove Hegseth is a Christian nationalist. However, the claim surfaced for a reason  Hegseth has at least one tattoo directly referencing the Crusades, an event that many Christian nationalists glorify. In Hegseth's 2020 book "American Crusade," he directly referenced the Crusades when discussing the difference between "peaceful Muslims" and "Islamist Muslims," according to the progressive research group Media Matters.

"Just like the Christian crusaders who pushed back the Muslim hordes in the twelfth century," Hegseth wrote, "American Crusaders will need to muster the same courage against Islamists today."

Sources:

A Prayer Book for the Armed Services. Church Publishing, Inc., 2002.

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Arnold, Kate. "Pop and the 'Palastinalied': A Crusade Song Revived at the Turn of a New Millennium." Crusades, vol. 22, no. 1, Jan. 2023, pp. 11526. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1080/14765276.2023.2189386.

"Bible Gateway Passage: Matthew 10 - New International Version." Bible Gateway, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2010&version=NIV. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

Brockschmidt, Annika. What's the Deal With Pete Hegseth's Crusader Tattoos? https://www.thebulwark.com/p/whats-the-deal-with-pete-hegseth-crusader-tattoos. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

Elia-Shalev, Jacob Gurvis, Asaf. "Pete Hegseth, Trump's Defense Secretary Nominee, Has Multiple Christian and Crusades-Inspired Tattoos." Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 14 Nov. 2024, https://www.jta.org/2024/11/14/politics/pete-hegseth-trumps-defense-secretary-nominee-has-multiple-christian-and-crusades-inspired-tattoos.

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Fellow, Alexandra Garrett. "National Guard Members Removed From Inauguration Security." Newsweek, 19 Jan. 2021, https://www.newsweek.com/national-guard-members-removed-inauguration-security-over-ties-right-wing-militias-1562679.

Hananoki, Eric. "Pete Hegseth's Book Includes Complaints about "Muslims' Birth Rates," Praise for 'Crusaders Who Pushed Back the Muslim Hordes.'" Media Matters for America, 12 Nov. 2024, https://www.mediamatters.org/pete-hegseth/pete-hegseths-book-includes-complaints-about-muslims-birth-rates-praise-crusaders-who.

Kingdom of Jerusalem | Historical State, Middle East | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/kingdom-of-Jerusalem. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

Labarum | Constantine, Christianity, Imperial Standard | Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/labarum. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

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Land, Olivia. All of Secretary of Defense Nominee Pete Hegseth's Tattoos. 13 Nov. 2024, https://nypost.com/2024/11/13/us-news/all-of-secretary-of-defense-nominee-pete-hegseths-tattoos/.

"Pete Hegseth, Trump's Defense Secretary Pick, Has Christian and Crusades-Inspired Tattoos." The Jerusalem Post | JPost.Com, 15 Nov. 2024, https://www.jpost.com/international/article-829237.

"Pete Hegseth, Trump's Pick for Defense Secretary, Faced Sex Assault Allegation." NBC News, 15 Nov. 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/pete-hegseth-sex-assault-allegation-rcna180319.

"Rakkasans." Rakkasan Association, https://www.rakkasanassociation.org/national-association. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

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Reporter, James Bickerton US News. "Pete Hegseth Was Removed from Biden's Inauguration, Labeled 'Extremist.'" Newsweek, 13 Nov. 2024, https://www.newsweek.com/pete-hegseth-was-removed-bidens-inauguration-labelled-extremist-1984882.

Rifles, Crossed | City of Grove Oklahoma. https://www.cityofgroveok.gov/building/page/rifles-crossed#:~:text=CROSSED%20RIFLES%20%2D%20Crossed%20rifles%20are,two%20of%20its%20uniform%20markings. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

The First Crusade (1096-1099 CE). https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/crusadesin100objects/crusade-1. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

"The Story behind the Join or Die Snake Cartoon | Constitution Center." National Constitution Center  Constitutioncenter.Org, https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-story-behind-the-join-or-die-snake-cartoon. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

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"Trump Builds out National Security Team with Picks of Hegseth for Pentagon, Noem for DHS." AP News, 12 Nov. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-transition-white-house-staff-huckabee-f51121db5b18814bbab014e872c2a736.

"Uncivil Religion: The Deus Vult Cross." Uncivil Religion: January 6, 2021, https://uncivilreligion.org/home/the-deus-vult-cross. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

Updates:

This story was updated to clarify the history of the Jerusalem Cross' association with the Crusades.
Controversial Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is heavily favored to win re-election next year despite being seen as soft on crime  and critics say that could make New York City a laughingstock.

No Democrat has emerged thus far to challenge Bragg in the June 25 Democratic primary.

Republicans will field a credible candidate, said state GOP chairman Ed Cox  but pundits predict that any GOP nominee will still face daunting odds in liberal Manhattan, even with Braggs reputation as being soft on quality-of-life and street crimes.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is heavily favored to win re-election next year despite being seen as soft on crime. Steven Hirsch

Some analysts added that New York will be a national joke if Bragg, who has been in office a turbulent three years, coasts to re-election.

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The Democrats have lost their minds, veteran political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said of the DAs supporters. Braggs re-election will tell the rest of the country that New Yorkers are crazy and we dont punish people who endanger police officers and citizens.

Even in heavily blue California, fed-up voters tossed out lefty like-minded DAs: ex-San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin in 2022, and Los Angeles DA George Gascon and Alameda County prosecutor Pamela Price on Nov. 5.

Even San Francisco has been normalized compared to New York, Sheinkopf said.

Ken Frydman, a longtime rep for NYPD unions, said, Im tired of toothpaste being locked up at CVS.

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Alvin Bragg should have a Democratic primary opponent. San Francisco and Los Angeles voted out their soft-on-crime district attorneys. Manhattan should do the same.

Bragg made national headlines by winning a criminal conviction against former President Donald Trump for fudging records in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. Trump and Republican allies argued it was a partisan prosecution, while Democrats hailed it.

New York Post cover for Friday, July 8, 2022. rfaraino

Bodega worker Jose Alba 51, is seen plunging a knife into the neck and chest of Austin Simon 37, after a dispute over a bag of chips.

No Democrat has emerged thus far to challenge Bragg in the June 25 Democratic primary. Steven Hirsch

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It remains to be seen whether the verdict will stick or be tossed with Trump returning to the White House on Jan. 20.

But Braggs prosecution of Trump all but assures his re-election among Manhattanites, a campaign strategist said.

Regardless of what happens with the Trump convictions, DA Bragg bought himself a near-guarantee of coasting to re-election among Democratic primary voters, said consultant Jake Dilemani.

Its an asset.

Bragg had drawn blowback immediately upon taking office when he issued a Day One staff memo directing prosecutors to drop some misdemeanor cases, to not seek bail or prison time for most defendants and to downgrade certain felonies to misdemeanors.

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Critics also slammed him for letting thugs who vandalized Columbia University in anti-Israel protests off scot-free, being slow-footed in addressing serial shoplifting and initially charging a bodega worker with murder for defending himself from a violent thug.

Bragg also drew intense criticism for letting some migrants free without bail after they attacked police officers in Times Square. He later indicted them.

In Manhattan, there have been 27,122 reported felony crimes this year through Nov. 10, up 16.9% from the same period in 2021 before Bragg took office, according to NYPD records reported by The Post on Sunday.

Under Bragg, rape has jumped 7.4% across Manhattan, robbery 8.9%, felony assault 16.8% and grand larceny 29.8%.

A demonstrator breaks the windows of the front door of a building in order to secure a chain around it to prevent authorities from entering. Getty Images

Bragg made national headlines by winning a criminal conviction against former President Donald Trump for fudging records in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. Steven Hirsch

Bragg has a reputation for being soft on quality-of-life and street crimes.

State Republican Party chairman Ed Cox vowed that there will be a very good candidate on the GOP line who will take on a vulnerable Bragg.

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But Manhattan Democratic leader Keith Wright crowed that Alvin Bragg has been a great DA.

Hes been fair and judicious. Hes an authentic person, said Wright, who dismissed the criticism  at least some of it coming from people who dont reside in Manhattan  as nothing but noise.

Bragg appears eager to defend his record.

Alvin Bragg is laser-focused on making Manhattan safer. Under his leadership shootings and murders are down double digits compared to 2021 and this week he announced the indictments of 30 gang members who terrorized upper Manhattan with violence and mayhem and were responsible for approximately 50 percent of shootings in Washington Heights and Inwood, said Bragg campaign spokesman Richard Fife.

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He knows there is much more work to do and we are gratified by the support hes received to continue to do his job from New Yorkers embracing his record of reducing gun violence, investing in mental health outreach, and delivering the safety we need and the fairness we deserve. Hes ready for the campaign ahead.

His camp noted shootings in Manhattan are down 48% and murders are down 14% since 2021.

The Alvin Bragg for DA Committee has $1,088,334.32 cash on hand, according to his most recent July filing with the state Board of Elections.
I cant get him out of here. Donald Trump joked on Thursday at an event at his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. The wealthiest man in the world has become the president-elects shadow: Elon Musk at a rally with Trump; Elon Musk, at another rally in the company of Melania Trump; Elon Musk at the party celebrating the election victory; Elon Musk, on the phone during the president-elects first call with Volodymyr Zelenskiy; Elon Musk singing with the tenor Chris Macchio; Elon Musk with Trump on the plane to Washington to meet with Joe Biden at the White House; Elon Musk, at the meeting of the Republican caucus of the House of Representatives; Elon Musk, meeting with Iranian diplomats; Elon Musk, with Javier Milei and Trump himself at Mar-a-Lago. Elon Musk everywhere.

Im happy to be first buddy! Musk tweeted when he was informally awarded that title, and the term caught on. Elon achieving uncle status, joked Kai Trump, the president-elects granddaughter. The billionaire posed with his son X for Trumps family photo celebrating the election victory. Elon, we have to have a picture with your boy. We have to get Elon with his boy. That gorgeous, perfect boy, Trump can be heard saying in the videos that captured the moment.

With his fortune of over $300 billion, his ownership of the X social network, his closeness and influence over the president-elect, and his mission to eliminate federal regulations and agencies, the head of Tesla, SpaceX, xAI and X has undoubtedly become the most powerful private citizen in the United States.

Musk has spent most of his time at Mar-a-Lago since the election. His private jet landed at nearby West Palm Beach Airport on Nov. 5 and was there for about 24 hours, according to the @ElonJet account on Bluesky, which uses publicly available flight data. The jet took off from West Palm Beach on Wednesday and headed to Austin, Texas, where Musk has a home, but returned on Friday and stayed there until Wednesday. That day, the tycoon flew to Washington on Trumps plane, although his own aircraft followed, returning to Florida in the afternoon. In Washington, at the meeting with lawmakers, the Republican also joked about the fact that the businessman has become his shadow: Elon wont go home. I cant get rid of him.

The president-elect praised Musk at that meeting, where the entrepreneur received a standing ovation from members of Congress, some of whom took photos with him. In his appearances in the dining room of the Mar-a-Lago club, Musk has been greeted with similar jubilation.

During these past few days when he has barely moved from Trumps side, Musk has been offering his opinion on everything: on policies to be followed, on Cabinet appointments, on foreign relations... to the point that some American media outlets have pointed out that his role has been more active than that of the formal heads of the transition process, Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon. His prominence has aroused some misgivings  or perhaps outright jealousy  among other, more traditional Trump allies.

Elon Musk listens as President-elect Donald Trump addresses Republican lawmakers on Nov. 13 on Capitol Hill in Washington. ALLISON ROBBERT (via REUTERS)

Musk himself takes part of the credit for the Republicans victory on election day, when he defeated Democrat Kamala Harris in the seven battleground states and also won the popular vote by a difference of between two and three million votes (just under two points). He personally contributed around $200 million to the Trump campaign through his organization America PAC, held solo rallies in Pennsylvania and continually shared Trumpist propaganda on his social network, where not only does he have 205 million followers, but also encourages the dissemination of his messages and those of his organization with the X algorithm, and has given a voice to ultraconservative activists.

Musk has been one of the unexpected protagonists of the presidential campaign. It was already known in May that Trump was counting on him for his team if the latter won the elections. Later, the candidate himself confirmed that, if elected, he would ask Musk to carry out a drastic reform of the administration. At Teslas shareholders meeting in June, Musk spoke of his relationship with the Republican, and of how Trump sometimes calls him. He does call me out of the blue for no reason. I dont know why, but he does, he said.

Musk is perceived as so powerful that some of the brands that stopped advertising on his social network due to the rise of hate speech are returning to the fold, in an apparent attempt to ingratiate themselves with its owner. I just want to say that we really appreciate the big brands advertising on our platform again, Musk tweeted, commenting on a report that said IBM, Disney, Comcast, Discovery, Warner Bros and Lionsgate had resumed advertising after a long drought.

Musk had already named the position he wanted to fill. We need the Department of Government Efficiency, he said at a rally in Pennsylvania in October, highlighting its acronym, DOGE, a nod to Dogecoin, the bitcoin-derived cryptocurrency that uses a dog as a mascot and which he sponsors. DOGE on a brass plaque. Its going to be amazing, he added.

Trump announced this week that DOGE will be headed not only by Elon Musk, but also by former Republican primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who did not survive the first round in that contest. Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies, Trump said, announcing the appointment.

In reality, DOGE is not an actual government department, and it will not be one. For now, it is little more than a theoretical construct. It is not entirely clear how it will work or under what legal cover. Trump only indicated that it will partner with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget. Neither Musk nor Ramaswamy will have to be confirmed by the Senate, since they will not hold any official position. This frees them from any liability, but does not eliminate conflicts of interest.

The goal of avoiding excessive regulation and cutting the power of government agencies may benefit the billionaire at Tesla for the development of its autonomous cars (where he has had clashes with current authorities), at SpaceX for the launch of its rockets, at xAI for the development of artificial intelligence and at Neuralink for clinical trials of computer implants in the brain.

Drastic cuts

Musk has been recruiting volunteers to help him with the massive task of scrutinizing every budget item in the government. He has even said that two of the $6.7 trillion in federal spending could be cut, but without explaining how. Most of that is interest on the debt (which cant be cut), military spending (which Trump has said he wants to increase), and entitlements (like Social Security and health care, which the president-elect pledged to uphold). He will undoubtedly find some waste here and there, but cutting spending by nearly a third is much easier said than done.

Those who join Musk and Ramaswamy will have tedious, unpaid work, they themselves have acknowledged. Still, they have asked for candidates. We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE. We dont need more part-time idea generators. We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting. If thats you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants, the DOGE account tweeted.

The task entrusted to the two billionaires has a deadline: July 4, 2026, the day of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States. It remains to be seen whether the honeymoon between the future president and the richest man in the world will still be holding together, or whether two roosters in the same coop will end up fighting.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)  A man convicted in connection with a murder over 20 years ago was arrested in Springfield Friday after police found a firearm during a traffic stop.

At around 6:30 p.m. on Friday, officers conducted a traffic stop after they observed a vehicle with a suspended registration pull into a gas station on Main Street. An inventory search was performed inside the car before it was towed because it was unregistered.

Enfield police seeking Chevy pickup in connection with hit and run

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Police found an illegally loaded firearm under the drivers seat mat and arrested 45-year-old Nemlon Adams of Manchester, Connecticut.

(Springfield Police Department)

Adams is charged with the following:

Carrying a Firearm without a License

Carrying a Loaded Firearm without a License

Convicted Felon in Possession of a Firearm

Firearm Violation with 1 Prior Violent/Drug Crime

Springfield police revealed that Adams was convicted in 2000 in connection with a Connecticut murder.

Local News Headlines

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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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 WWLP.
CORBIN, Ky. (FOX 56)  The Corbin Police Department confirmed that Allison Hart was located at 6 p.m.

Previous story:

A search is underway for a missing girl last seen on Friday at her residence in Corbin.

The Corbin Police Department (CPD) posted on Facebook that officers are actively working to find Allison Hart.

Mother demands answers from UK Hospital after sons unexpected death

Corbin police are actively searching for Allison Hart, who was last seen at her residence in Corbin. (Corbin Police Department)

LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS:

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Allison was last seen at her residence on Friday, according to law enforcement.

Anyone with information is asked to call the CPD at (606) 528-1122 or use the departments text tip line at 606-215-6239. Authorities said all information can be kept 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 FOX 56 News.
Indiana's governor and attorney general have asked to set an execution date for Fort Wayne's Joseph Corcoran, who was convicted in a 1997 quadruple homicide. (Courthouse photo from Allen County and mugshot from public record. Photo illustration by Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle)

Attorneys for convicted murderer Joseph Corcoran on Friday filed for a stay of execution, arguing its cruel and unusual punishment to execute someone who is seriously mentally ill.

Mr. Corcorans paranoid schizophrenia completely removes him from reality. He cannot distinguish between reality and his delusions and hallucinations  his delusions are his reality, the filing said.

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The evolving standards of decency prohibit Mr. Corcorans execution and require reversal of his death sentence.

Corcoran was convicted of murdering four people in Fort Wayne in 1997 and was sentenced to death in 1999.

It wasnt until earlier this summer, in June, that Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita filed to schedule an execution date. That was after the state obtained pentobarbital, a lethal drug increasingly being used around the country to carry out death warrants. Corcorans execution  scheduled for Dec. 18  would be the first in Indiana since 2009.

For virtually his entire life, Mr. Corcoran has been plagued by symptoms of psychosis and cognitive dysfunction. These symptoms continue to this day, and numerous mental health experts have diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia or precursors to the schizophrenic diagnosis, the filing said. There is colorable evidence that Mr. Corcorans death sentence and execution violate the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article One, Section 16 to the Indiana Constitution because he is seriously mentally ill.

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It is unchallengeable and law of this case as to the extent of the seriousness of the mental illness  paranoid schizophrenia.

The filing said a growing number of states prohibit the execution of seriously mentally ill individuals. It specifically notes that Ohio and Kentucky, the only two states contiguous to Indiana with the death penalty, have banned the death penalty for individuals with serious mental illness.

His legal team sought the stay of execution so they can pursue a successive post-conviction petition on the basis that executing the seriously mentally ill is unconstitutional.

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The new court records say the Indiana Department of Correction has attempted to medicate Corcoran, but nothing has cured him of his paranoid schizophrenia. As recently as March 1, 2024, treating correctional personnel noted this:

Patient then began sharing information about what he believes to be an ultrasonic machine here at (Indiana State Prison) that can control his and others thoughts, sleep, voice, etc. Patient reports it is top secret but it bothers him endlessly all day. Patient reports the machine does put him to sleep at night. Patient stated others think Im delusional but I know its here. Writer inquired if patient ever recognizes his own thoughts as delusional, patient avoided the question.  Patient denies (mental health) symptoms and the expressed delusions are the only observable concern.

The request for stay said, Throughout his legal proceedings, he has been unable to assist counsel with his defense and has been unable to make rational decisions about his case. Indeed, currently, Mr. Corcoran wants to be executed, and is in fact eager for his execution, because he believes execution will relieve him from the pain of the ultrasound machine and sleep disorder.

In September, Corcoran published a short book called A Whistle-blower report: Electronic Harassment under the pseudonym of J.C. Chase. Here are a few snippets:

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So, in essence, a small percentage of people are susceptible to ultrasound surveillance; someone with one of those devices can pretty much listen to them think;

The same ultrasonic signal that captures audible sounds by modulation can be used to send audible sound. Furthermore, the modulating signal can also send an electronic charge;

[I]t is apparent to me that correctional staff and other individuals and/or agencies use ultrasonic surveillance devices on susceptible people for sport. However, the fact that institutions keep their possession of such equipment confidential would make it extremely difficult for those abused to expose the abuse.

Larry Komp, lead federal attorney for Corcorans legal team, previously told the Indiana Capital Chronicle that similar arguments would be made in a separate clemency petition. A decision regarding the last-ditch plea will be left to Indianas governor.

Corcoran  then 22  killed his brother, James Corcoran, 30; Robert Scott Turner, 32; Douglas A. Stillwell, 30; and Timothy G. Bricker, 30, on July 26, 1997. He committed the murders at the home he shared with his brother and a sister.

Joseph Corcoran told police at the time that the four men had been talking about him. He first placed his 7-year-old niece in an upstairs bedroom to protect her from the gunfire before killing the four men.

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He then laid down the rifle, went to a neighbors house, and asked them to call the police. A search of his room and attic, to which only he had access, uncovered over 30 firearms, several munitions, explosives, guerrilla tactic military issue books, and a copy of The Turner Diaries.

Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull presided over the case. She is special judge in the Delphi case involving the deaths of two young girls.

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DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  The Montgomery County Coroners Office has identified a man shot last week at Dayton RoadDog.

The man was identified as Cedric Hughley, 35.

According to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch, officers were dispatched to Dayton RoadDog on N. James H. McGee Boulevard minutes after 2 a.m. on reports of a person shot.

Around 11 a.m. Thursday, during a press conference, Dayton Police Maj. Brian Johns said that a man died at the scene, labeling the incident a homicide.

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Based on an initial investigation, a driver made a stop at Dayton RoadDog and saw an individual alleged to be loitering on the premises in the rain. The driver let the individual into their vehicle to get out of the rain.

A disagreement began when the person alleged of loitering asked for a ride and the driver declined. The individual reportedly began to assault the driver, which is when the driver shot the person. The person shot succumbed to the injury. The altercation occurred entirely inside of the vehicle.

No charges have been pressed and no arrests have been made as of 11:30 a.m. Thursday. The Montgomery County Prosecutors Office will review the case before any potential charges are made.

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 WDTN.com.
Nov. 18A man who died in a shooting last week after he reportedly assaulted a man he wanted a ride from in Dayton has been identified.

Cedric Hughley, 35, was pronounced dead at the RoadDog gas station at 119 N. James H. McGee Blvd., according to Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger.

The shooting was reported shortly after 2 a.m. on Thursday.

A man was getting gas when he let another man, later identified as Hughley, inside his car to get out of the rain, Dayton police Maj. Brian Johns said.

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"At one time the individual asked for a ride but didn't have any gas money," he said. "At that time a disagreement began inside the vehicle. The person loitering in the parking lot began to assault the driver of the vehicle."

The driver of the vehicle reportedly pulled out a gun and fired three rounds, killing Hughley. He then went inside the convivence store and asked the clerk to call the police.

Hughley was not armed.

Johns said last week the man was cooperating with police and no arrests had been made.

Ohio's castle doctrine law states a person has no duty to retreat before using self-defense. Johns noted the law applies to a person's residence and vehicle.

The case will be turned over to the Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office to determine if charges will be filed once all the evidence has been collected.
DAMASCUS TWP.  A 77-year-old Wayne County man died early Sunday morning from burns suffered in a barn fire, Lehigh County Coroner Daniel Buglio announced in a news release.

Michael Kane  who suffered injuries to nearly half his body during the fire, which occurred around 4:30 p.m. Saturday in the 700 block of Butternut Flats  was pronounced dead Sunday at 2:45 a.m. at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest, Buglio said.

Kanes manner of death was ruled accidental, Buglio said.

The coroners office, Pennsylvania State Police at Honesdale, and Beach Lake Volunteer Fire Company are investigating, Buglio said.
With Donald Trump winning the popular vote on his third shot, we need a fresh analysis of Americas prevailing political culture. Beyond sifting election returns, we must also attempt to see the world through MAGA eyes. They are the voting majority.

We could start by parsing the jokes, gags, and laugh-riots that the president-elect and his allies crassly dispensed in the final weeks of the race. Much to the chagrin of his critics, Trumps push to the finish was fueled almost entirely by edgy comedy, which has left many people feeling uneasy about our collective sense of humor.

The contrast between Trumps policy ineptitude and his razor-sharp comedy is remarkable. Asked about his plans to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, Trump sputtered lamely about concepts of a plan. When pressed for a specific proposal on how to provide affordable child care to American workers, Trump rambled incoherently through an embarrassing list of non-sequiturs. The election results show us such stumbles can be excused. Thats because when it comes to lambasting his opponents and tickling the funny bone of the MAGA base, the incoming comedian-in-chief pulls from a seemingly bottomless well of zingers.

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We learned in the final week of the campaign, for example, that it would be hilarious, for Trump and the MAGA faithful if Liz Cheney, a very dumb individual, were put in front of a firing squad becausewait for itthat would teach her a lesson about reckless use of force.

At a rally days before the election, Trump brought the house down once again by declaring open season on members of the press. Weaving through an imagined assassination scenario, Trump explained that political violence sometimes has an unexpected upside: To get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news, and I dont mind that so much. In a video from the event, audience members can be seen roaring at the thought of a media bloodbath. One attendee shakes her head and covers her mouth to stifle an outburst. The gesture appears to be a mix of delight and disbelief, as if to say, Tell me he did not just go there.

But, of course, he went there.

Transgressive laughter is the fundamental element of Donald Trumps mesmerism. Trump is a jester inside the palace, playing at the role of king, but mocking the very idea of principled leadership in the process. Flouting the rules is his schtick, and it seems MAGA cannot get enough.

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Though he rarely laughs, the laughter of others  women, in particular  is one of Trumps many bizarre preoccupations. He mocked Kamala Harris for laughing too often and too heartily, just as he once attacked Hilary Clinton for laughing at our expense during the hyper-partisan Benghazi hearings.

After Michelle Obama scorched his record (and character) at the Democratic National Convention, Trump struggled to stay composed. When the slings and arrows finally proved too much, he went on the attack: I think were going to start having a little fun with Michelle. The promise of sadistic pleasure, as he knew it would, elicited hoots and guffaws from the crowd.

Philosophers, going back to Plato and Aristotle, have observed a link between comedy and cruelty. In the seventeenth century, Thomas Hobbes pegged laughter as the companion of scorn. He framed humor as an act of self-aggrandizement premised on the debasement of others.

Eventually, philosophers arrived at the superiority theory of humor, according to which every joke is, at its core, a hostile attack designed to affirm the comics dominance and assure the subjugation of its target.

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Most people value humor. It provides relief from lifes hardships, drudgery, and setbacks. But laughter performs serious social and political work, too. It produces new lines of solidarity, but it also reproduces borders between us and them. Laughter is a sudden, spasmodic expulsion air, but, at the same time, it is adjacent to other, more concerning practices of expulsion and denigration. It can be something sweet or cruel, depending on the power dynamics that surround it.

Sweeping declarations about the motivations of MAGA voters have proven to be useless. We know that his coalition of giggles and guffaws is far from monolithic. But MAGA humor is a crucial aspect of Trumps allure, and it could be our best window into the mentality of the radical right.

There is a reasonable argument to be made that the 2024 election outcome boils down to fundamental differences regarding what we, as a nation, find to be funny and what we take to be indecent. The post-election reaction from several factions of the left shows that MAGAs crude and cruel comedy is changing our larger political culture. Liberals laughing about the continued destruction of Palestine under Trump or cracking up at the thought of Trump voters with family members potentially deported have caved to the dark side.

Political fences can be mended, if there is goodwill on both sides. Cultural rifts, on the other hand, can be impossible to bridge. American democracy cannot survive four more years of derisive laughter at the expense of our unity.
If youre a fan of Costcos baked goods, keep reading.

Eating Well/Getty Images

Theres a recall on a popular bakery item sold at Costco warehouses, according to a recent company announcement. This is due to a foreign matter contamination.

The product affected is the Butter Croissants sold at the bakery. Specifically, the impacted croissants have sell-by dates ranging from September 8, 2024, through November 10, 2024. The croissants are being recalled as the salt used to make the croissant may potentially contain metal pieces.

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The retailer is concerned that this baked good may still be in shoppers' kitchens. If you have this recalled product on hand, return it to your local Costco for a full refund. If you are experiencing any illness or injury after consuming the affected croissants, contact your health care provider immediately.

For questions about this recall, call 1-800-955-2292 Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. PST.

Related: Carrots Sold at Costco, Walmart and More Recalled Nationwide Due to E. Coli Outbreak
Damaging winds, brief tornadoes, flooding and hail could affect the Dallas-Fort Worth area Monday morning, Nov. 18, most likely starting around 6 a.m., according to a forecast from the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.

The forecast showed storm systems beginning to move into the North Texas area Sunday afternoon with a few thunderstorms possible through the night, according to the NWS.

But storms arent expected to become severe in North Texas until late Sunday night. The greatest threat for severe weather in the Dallas-Fort Worth area will be early Monday morning and afternoon, with storms moving east and out of the area by sunset, the NWS said.

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The most likely timely for severe storms in Tarrant and surrounding counties will be 6-10 a.m., but they could start as early as 4 a.m., the weather service said.

The main hazards will include damaging winds and a potential for quick tornadoes, but there is also a flooding risk with 1-2 inches of rain expected in many areas.

Isolated thunderstorms may occur this evening, followed more widespread showers & storms overnight into Monday. A few severe storms are possible, mainly overnight/Monday morning. #texomawx #ctxwx #dfwwx Damaging winds is the main severe threat, along with a few brief tornadoes. pic.twitter.com/cFJYDhDVnN  NWS Fort Worth (@NWSFortWorth) November 17, 2024

Most of North Texas remains under a hazardous weather outlook into Monday.
Marco Rubio has been preparing for this pivotal moment in his political career. The Florida senator, the son of Cuban immigrants, will become the first Latino Secretary of State in the future Donald Trump administration. Rubio comes to this role with extensive foreign policy experience, having served on both the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees, and he is ready to shake up U.S. policy toward Latin America.

Judging by the statements he has made about the region throughout his political career, Rubio is likely to support populist leaders like Argentinas Javier Milei, whom he has called a breath of fresh air. Meanwhile, he will likely distance himself from left-wing governments in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. His stance on Cuba and Venezuela will also be firm: Rubio will seek to halt any attempts at rapprochement with Cuba and will push for tougher sanctions against Venezuelas narco-dictatorship.

In an April article for National Interest, Rubio urged the U.S. to embrace a new generation of potentially pro-American leaders in Latin America, highlighting conservative governments in Argentina, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Peru as key allies. These leaders expressed strong support for the American-led international order, as well as a strong desire for greater economic collaboration with the United States, Rubio wrote. I think it is in our national interest to reciprocate this willingness.

Here is a compilation of some of the key statements Marco Rubio has made about Latin America, organized by country and in chronological order.

Argentina

On Javier Milei:

Milei deserves praise for [] fulfilling one of his most important guarantees: keeping Argentina out of the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) trade group Mileis socialist predecessor, Alberto Fernandez, cozied up to both Moscow and Beijing, and he called joining BRICS a great opportunity. That would have been a disaster for Argentina. (Op-ed in Real Clear World, January 2024)

Milei is a friend, and the United States should support him [] [Milei] is a breath of fresh air. [...] President Biden should use the United States influence at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help President Milei restructure Argentinas debt. (Article published on the Medium platform in December 2023)

Marco Rubio and Javier Milei during the Republican's visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in February 2024. Senator Marco Rubio Press

Brazil

On Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva:

Brazils Lula da Silva is the latest far-left leader who whitewashes the criminal nature of the [Nicolas] Maduro narco-regime. (Post on X slamming the Brazilian leader for opposing U.S. sanctions against Maduro, in May 2023)

President Biden must take a firm line with Brazils new president, holding Lula to account for his friendliness toward the CCPas well as other bloody handed dictatorships, like those of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. (Column in The Epoch Times, published in February 2023)

On Jair Bolsonaro:

A strong, vibrant and democratic Brazil that is more closely aligned with the United States as a strategic partner can be a force multiplier in addressing the ongoing crisis in Venezuela [...] The Trump administration should move quickly to advance goals that would be welcomed by the Bolsonaro government. (Op-ed on CNN in January 2019 after Bolsonaros inauguration)

Colombia

On Gustavo Petro:

Petro [...] has appeased terrorists, treating them like legitimate groups rather than the bands of criminals they are [...] Petro has also appeased cartels [...] I urge President Joe Biden to deal firmly with his Colombian counterpart in response. The United States should condition our foreign aid on a decrease in Bogota's appeasement tactics [] Moreover, we should never again relinquish our rights to refuse extradition of Colombian gangsters or terrorists who violate U.S. law. (Article published on Medium in May 2024)

Petro is an agent of chaos. (Article on Medium in April 2023)

It is very dangerous that the president of a country that for years has been a great ally of the United States chooses to now be the spokesman for a criminal narco-dictatorship like the one in Venezuela. In order to gain the support of intermediaries like Maduro and Castro for negotiations with the ELN terrorists, Petro is willing to lobby for a vile dictatorship. (Interview with the Colombian magazine Semana in April 2023)

Cuba

On the rapprochement of the last two Democratic governments with Cuba:

Rather than compelling the Cuban dictatorship to end its human rights abuses and bring democracy to the island, the Biden-Harris Administration has only looked for opportunities to pacify the regime and mend diplomatic relations. We see no other reason for expanding NIVs [nonimmigrant visas] to Cuban individuals. (Letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken after Biden expanded these visas in September 2024)

If Biden were to recommit to the same [Barack] Obama-era policies, we know far too well who would suffer: those who seek a freer, more democratic Cuba, including the islands dissidents, political prisoners, artists, and activists. (Op-ed in the Miami Herald following Bidens victory in December 2020)

[Obamas] decision to reward the Castro regime and begin the path toward the normalization of relations with Cuba is inexplicable [] Cuba, like Syria, Iran, and Sudan, remains a state sponsor of terrorism. (Statement after Obama announced he was restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba in December 2014)

El Salvador

On Nayib Bukele:

[Bukeles] leadership in making El Salvador a safe country to live in should be an example for President Joe Biden. Instead, Biden continues to ignore allies like Bukele. (Post on X in February 2024)

Despite what you hear from the Biden administration and left-wing pundits, Bukele is a democratically elected leader who has enacted reforms with the collaboration of legislators and the people who elected him. I would be the first to condemn any tyrannical move from Bukele, but I also think its absurd to criticize him for giving Salvadoran people their freedom back. (Op-ed published in Compact Mag in April 2023)

Marco Rubio and Nayib Bukele, in San Salvador, El Salvador, in March 2023.

Guatemala

On President Bernardo Arevalo:

Fridays announcement by Guatemalan prosecutors to strip President-elect Arevalo of his legal immunity and cast doubt on his January 14, 2024 inauguration is a threat to Guatemalas democracy.(Statement on the transition of power in Guatemala in December 2023)

On the defunct International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG):

I am concerned that CICIG, a commission mostly funded by the United States, has been manipulated and used by radical elements and Russias campaign against the Bitkov family in Guatemala. (Statement made in May 2018 regarding the CICIG, whose funding was temporarily frozen)

On former president Jimmy Morales:

Looking forward to visit with great friend of U.S. [Jimmy Morales] has made real progress addressing corruption & narcoterror. (Post on X in February 2018)

Mexico

On Claudia Sheinbaum:

While the U.S. continues to face an unprecedented fentanyl and illegal migration crisis, it is my hope President-elect Sheinbaum stands up to confront these security and democracy challenges. The U.S. must also be prepared to face continued and significant challenges in the future of the U.S.-Mexico relations. (Statement after Sheinbaums victory in June 2024)

On former president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador:

Lopez Obrador is not a good ally. The current president, unfortunately, is dedicated to talking nonsense, to interfering in U.S. policy. [...] He has handed over a large part of his national territory to the drug traffickers who control those areas. That matters to us because we are seeing the consequences of that violence, that criminality entering our border and our country. (Interview in El Universal in May 2023)

Glad to see that the Mexican president, who has handed over sections of his country to drug cartels and is an apologist for tyranny in Cuba, a murderous dictator in Nicaragua and a drug trafficker in Venezuela, will not be in the U.S. this week. (Post on X in reference to the Summit of the Americas held in Washington in June 2022)

On possible U.S. military intervention in Mexico to combat cartels:

I would be willing to support this measure, but it has to be in coordination with the armed forces and the Mexican police force. Otherwise, it would not be possible to do it. (Interview with El Universal in May 2023)

Nicaragua

On Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo:

The Ortega-Murillo crime family continues to pose a severe threat to our national security interests in the region [] Nicaragua is now a hub for human trafficking and [the State Dept.] should designate the country as a state sponsor of human trafficking. (Remark at a Senate hearing in April 2024)

Our Catholic brothers and sisters in Nicaragua carry a heavy cross as they remain targets of repression and religious persecution Its time for the international community to confront this threat and hold these tyrants accountable for their countless crimes. (Interview with the religious media Angelus in January 2024)

The decision made by the criminal Ortega-Murillo regime to completely undermine the presidential election process in 2022, as well as their decision to force into exile nearly all of Nicaraguas opposition and actively repress members of the Catholic Church, indicates that the regimes vile nature continues to grow. U.S. policy towards Nicaragua should no longer be the same. (Statement announcing new legislation to impose sanctions on Ortega, June 2023)

Venezuela

On the elections last July:

The Biden-Harris Administration claimed concessions to the Maduro regime would secure a free and fair election process in Venezuela, yet we all know it was a farce. The strategies presented by this administration have done nothing but empower narco-dictator Maduro and his thugs [...] Any negotiations are a continued lifeline to the narco-regime. (Statement issued in August 2024)

Such an outcome to this sham election was entirely predictable from the start. It was made more so by three years worth of concessions to and negotiations with the Maduro narco-dictatorship [...] The Biden-Harris Administration gave away every ounce of leverage we had over Maduro, then appeared surprised when he didnt do what they wanted. (Op-ed in the Miami Herald in August 2024).

Marco Rubio and Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, in May 2023. Senator Marco Rubio Press

On possible U.S. military intervention in Venezuela:

For months and years, I wanted the solution in Venezuela to be a non-military and peaceful solution, simply to restore democracy [] I believe that there is a very strong argument that can be made at this time that Venezuela and the Maduro regime has become a threat to the region and even to the United States. (Interview with Breitbart News in September 2019)

That option [military intervention] is always there simply because the United States has a right to defend its national security and there are national security interests assigned to this. (Interview with Breitbart News in May 2019)

On Maduro and his supporters:

In the interest of U.S. national security and regional stability, Maduro must stand trial for his crimes against the Venezuelan people. (Letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland calling for Maduros arrest in June 2022)

Diosdado Cabello is not simply a drug-trafficking leader. In my opinion, he is the Pablo Escobar of Venezuela. (Comment during a Senate hearing in July 2017)

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On the morning the Mountain fire erupted, wind gusts were so strong in Somis that several of the sturdy wooden boxes that housed Eduardo Flores's bee colonies had already blown over.

Flores was watching the feed of his security cameras from home and preparing to drive over in his truck when he received a message from his brother-in-law: There was a fire close to the bee yard.

Within an hour, all 150 boxes had been destroyed in the blaze and millions of bees were dead.

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"All we could do was watch," said Flores, who owns Ventura Bee Rescue, a company that removes troublesome bees from people's homes, rehabilitates the colonies, and then relocates the pollinators to help sustain local bee populations.

Each box in the Somis bee yard held a single hive with 40,000 to 80,000 bees, including one queen  nearly half of his entire business.

The loss was very sudden, it happened really fast, especially because were really close to where the fire started," Flores said. He still wonders whether there was anything he could have done to save the insects. "When I try to describe it to people, I say we tried, but there was just no way.

The devastating Mountain fire, which is currently about 82% contained, has destroyed more than 240 structures across its 20,630-acre footprint; an additional 125 structures have been damaged.

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Flores' western honey bees, Apis mellifera, had been staying on the farm in Somis for the winter, feeding on the nearby pepper trees and eucalyptus to help get them through to spring. The 150 hives that burned represented more than half of the company's colonies  each of them worth $400 to $500 in equipment alone. In total, Flores estimates that the fire cost him more than $35,000. It sets us back, because it reflects a couple years' worth of work.

Flores is a former software engineer who once worked with bees as a hobby. He and his wife  a biochemist  developed a passion for bees and decided to start the business, bringing the rescued hives to small farms in the area to help pollinate their crops, and selling raw honey locally. "The more you learn about bees, the more you appreciate them," he said.

Bees serve a crucial role in pollinating native plants and crops, but their populations have been declining worldwide. Since 2007, some bee populations have fallen by more than 80%, according to research from the U.S. Forest Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Flores quickly became a bee advocate, touring local schools, libraries and museums to educate children about the importance of bees and sharing his love for the often-feared creatures. Each spring, he brought plain white boxes to an event called Pollinator Palooza in Ventura, where children painted them in bright colors.

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Flores said he plans to rebuild his lost boxes and restore the colonies quickly. "Theyre not going to stop and we cant stop, either.

Flores has set up a GoFundMe account, where he has already raised more than $5,000 to buy new equipment.

But he said the unique character of the Somis bee yard will be much harder to replace.

"You could see the colorfulness out there. That's something that will be missed," he said, recalling the boxes covered in rainbow-colored children's drawings and messages.

"That is what really hurt, to just watch that all go up in flames. Until the camera gave out."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The European Union has launched a major push to tackle antimicrobial resistance as it struggles to meet its targets, the regions health watchdog announced today.

Infections that are resistant to antibiotics and other drugs caused by so-called superbugs, kill more than 35,000 people a year in the EU and more than a million globally.

Cases have risen across the region since 2019, the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) said on Monday. At the same time, antibiotic consumption in the region has risen by 1 per cent, moving the region further away from the 20 per cent reduction target set for 2030.

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In Europe, as in the UK, over 70 per cent of these infections are acquired in hospitals or care homes.

While action against some superbugs had worked, others have spread rapidly. Instances of k. Pneumonia - a dangerous bacterial infection that can cause sepsis - increased by 60 per cent across EU countries over the reporting period, for example.

Over 70 per cent of resistant infections in Europe are acquired in hospitals or care homes - Rodolfo Parulan Jr/Moment RF

We need to make a concerted effort to harmonise efforts to tackle antimicrobial resistance across member states, Pamela Rendi-Wagner, director of the ECDC said.

The agency published 12 case studies from around the world to highlight the threat antibiotic resistance poses to ordinary people.

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Peggy Lillis, a healthy, 56-year-old kindergarten teacher from Brooklyn, New York, was prescribed a standard short course of antibiotics to treat an infection following a routine root canal procedure in April 2010.

Six days later, she died from an antibiotic-resistant infection known as C.difficle, which can cause deadly diarrhoeal illness.

C.difficle lives naturally in the body and is harmless to most people.

But when someone takes a course of antibiotics - which kills both good and bad bacteria - it can grow out of control quickly, because there is not enough good bacteria to keep it in check.

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People on antibiotics are 7-10 times more likely to develop C.diff. Its one of the reasons health professionals stress to only take the drugs when absolutely necessary.

Peggy was otherwise fit and healthy when she died - US CDC/US CDC

Ms Lillis was otherwise fit and healthy when she died.

In another case, Mallory Smith, a young adult from Los Angeles, was born with cystic fibrosis (CF), but what killed her was a bacteria called Burkholderia cencopeapica.

The faulty gene that causes cystic fibrosis disrupts the normal flow of salt and water in and out of the lungs and other organs. The imbalance results in thick, sticky mucus that builds up in the lungs, meaning germs thrive and multiply making any infection more dangerous.

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She caught Burkholderia cencopeapica at age 12, and the bacteria eventually killed her at 25.

Mallory Smith died of Burkholderia cencopeapica - US CDC/US CDC

Over the 13-year period, the bacteria became resistant to every antibiotic Mallorys doctors tried, and her lung capacity steadily diminished.

She died following a lung transplant, in a last-ditch attempt to clear her body of the bacteria.

Not everyone who requires an antibiotic-resistant infection will die but many life-long mental and physical scars.

Aerti, a 25-year-old pharmacist from Athens, acquired a Klebsiella infection in hospital while undergoing treatment for leukaemia at just 13 years old.

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The strain of Klebsiella that Aerti was infected with is found mainly in southern and eastern European countries but is most common in Greece. It is resistant to almost all antibiotics, including a class of last-line treatments, known as the carbapenems.

Aerti acquired a Klebsiella infection in hospital while undergoing treatment for leukaemia at just 13 years old - ECDC/ECDC

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To try and eliminate the bacteria, doctors were forced to halt Aertis chemotherapy and remove the catheter that was providing her with life-saving cancer drugs and nutrition - an extremely risky move given the severity of her diagnosis.

Aerti was placed in an isolation ward for several weeks. I couldnt hug or touch my mother, it really devastated me, she told the ECDC.

After a course of last-line antibiotics, doctors finally cleared the infection from Aerits bloodstream, and she later recovered from cancer, too. I am fully aware that my success story is dramatically close to the stories of other patients who did not win those battles, she said.

The ECDC is set to introduce new measures for its member states to follow in a bid to tackle AMR, which will mark the first time standardised guidelines in healthcare facilities have been rolled out across EU member states.

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They include a series of recommendations, including exceeding basic measures like prioritising hand-washing.

Unwashed hands are a major way in which doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers inadvertently pass resistant infections from one patient to another.

The guidelines also encourage hospitals to build capacity for isolation rooms, so patients infected with resistant bacteria cant spread the infection to others in the vicinity.

Fighting AMR means saving lives, protecting our health systems, and the foundations of modern medicine, Pamela Rendi-Wagner of the ECDC said.

Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security

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(Bloomberg) -- China has an opportunity at the COP29 climate summit to score points with the European Union, potentially easing trade tensions over its green exports to the bloc by helping to secure agreement on the key unresolved issue at the two-week negotiations.

Most Read from Bloomberg

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President-elect Donald Trumps imminent return to the White House has weakened US credibility at the United Nations conference and increased pressure on the EU to step up and help secure a deal to raise more financial aid for developing countries. China wants to play a role in making that happen without dragging out the meeting, according to people familiar with the countrys negotiating strategy.

A major stumbling block has been Chinas status as both a developing nation, in diplomatic categories set by UN climate negotiations, as well as the worlds second-largest economy and dominant producer of green technologies. The Chinese team has drawn a red line at being classified as an official donor country under the Paris Agreement, the people said, but it is willing to contribute more voluntarily.

Chinese officials have repeatedly emphasized that their country has provided 177 billion yuan ($24 billion) in project funds to help other developing nations deal with climate change since 2016, on par with some developed economies.

If China and the EU can collaborate effectively on the COP29 agenda it will establish a strong foundation for re-aligning their broader green and economic initiatives and improve the bilateral relationship, said Li Shuo, director of the Asia Society Policy Institute who closely follows Chinas international climate policy. He said both sides need a strong starting point to manage trade disputes, similar to discussions between China and the US that helped set the stage for easing the trade war during Trump's first term.

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China has become an increasingly central figure at the annual COP climate summits. As the worlds top greenhouse gas emitter, it can do more than any other country to slow the rise in global temperatures. But the Asian nation is also struggling with its own economic woes and isnt in a position to pledge significant increases in financing. Moreover, it argues that it is still a developing country, and nations that industrialized first should bear the biggest burden in compensating other countries for the consequences of carbon pollution.

As the developed country with the largest economy and the largest cumulative greenhouse gas emissions in the world, the United States should face up to its responsibilities, a spokesperson for Chinas foreign ministry said on Monday in response to a question about Chinas future climate finance contributions. The Paris Agreement is clear on who will pay for it.

This years climate summit is off to a bumpy start. Negotiators have made little progress on their main objective: coming up with a new post-2025 goal for rich nations to raise money to help poorer countries cut emissions and adapt to more extreme weather. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is leading a push against efforts to reiterate and implement last years agreement to transition away from fossil fuels.

Azerbaijan, the host country, has struggled to get countries on the same page on both fronts, while its president has caused controversy by insulting other nations and defending dirty energy. China wants to help the COP29 presidency turn this years meeting into a success, the people familiar said.

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One way that could happen would be for the EU and China to reach a compromise on financial contributions. Since the US is expected to be only a minimal contributor of public climate finance for the next four years, at least, it's lost some of its leverage to demand a tougher deal bringing China more clearly into the finance fold.

That's created an opening for the EU to advocate for language in the final deal that embraces more voluntary contributions instead, along with a more transparent accounting of whats been given per country after the fact. The blocs climate chief, Wopke Hoekstra, signaled on Monday that it would be open to China making a voluntary commitment to provide climate finance to the Global South.

"It would be welcome for those countries to make such a step," he said at a press conference Monday, referring to China but also other nations including Singapore, South Korea and oil-rich Gulf states. "This is about solving one of the largest problems humanity faces at this point in time."

Listen on Zero: Trump Is Back. Now What for Climate Action?

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--With assistance from John Ainger and Jennifer A Dlouhy.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Nov. 17Members of the Johnson County Commissioners Court on Monday unanimously voted to name the Johnson County Emergency Communications Center after former Johnson County Sheriff's Office Deputy George Alvis Robinson.

Robinson in one of two JCSO deputies killed in the line of duty.

Robinson died on Feb. 11, 1971, after his patrol car crashed while he was responding to reports of a possible burglary in process in the far west side of the county.

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Robinson's patrol car collided with a donkey that walked into the road while Robinson was traveling dark county back roads that night while responding to the call. The impact caused Robinson's car to veer off the road and come to rest out of sight of passing traffic. Law enforcement officers from throughout the county joined in the search but Robinson was not located until the following morning.

County Commissioner Mike White, himself a former law enforcement officer, presented the renaming proposal to the court.

"Deputy Robinson's death having happened quite a while ago, a lot of people around now don't know or never knew he was a deputy here," White said. "I think renaming the call center after him would be a good way to have his name out there in the public and to show his family how much we appreciate his service and sacrifice.

County Judge Chris Boedeker called White's proposal a great idea as did fellow commissioners.

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"I think that would be a good way to honor how important Johnson County and his service here were to Deputy Robinson," Commissioner Kenny Howell said. "And something I think will mean a lot to his family and our county residents."

Tragedy, unfortunately, ran in the Robinson family, Sheriff Adam King said.

"Deputy Robinson's son also died in the line of duty in 1962 while serving as an officer in the Corsicana Police Department," King said. "So, the Robinson family has given a lot to law enforcement."

Robinson's son, Sgt. Robert Glenwood Robinson, died Dec. 23, 1962, after being shot.

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Robert Robinson was shot and killed that day during a traffic stop while writing a citation to a man who held a grudge against him, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page website.

During the stop, the man jumped out of the car and shot Sgt. Robinson in the head with a sawed-off shotgun. Robinson over the years had charged the man with several citations and the man had threatened to kill him, according to the webpage.

The shooter fled but was arrested a short time later and sentenced to 99 years in prison although he was later paroled. Robert Robinson, 32 years old at the time of his death, had served four years with the Corsicana Police Department. George Robinson also worked for the Corsicana Police Department at the time of his son's death.

King noted that another of George Robinson's sons served as a Texas State Trooper.

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"We host members of Deputy Robinson's family every year on the anniversary of his passing," King said. "They come in from all over. Most still live in Corsicana and east Texas."

The county's new dispatch center  the former center was housed in the jail  opened in June.

"I think the Feb. 11 anniversary would be a good date dedicate the naming of the center after Deputy Robinson and unveil the new sign," Howell said.

White agreed and made a motion to do just that, a motion fellow court members voted in support of.

Boedeker, in commending White's proposal, recalled former JCSO Deputy Clifton Taylor as well.

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While responding to a domestic disturbance call on April 23, 2011, Taylor was shot and killed.

"The Johnson County Law Enforcement Center was subsequently named after Deputy Taylor as was a stretch of Interstate 35W," Boedeker said. "So I think this idea of naming our call center after Deputy Robinson is highly appropriate and fitting as well."
A federal appeals court panel appears unlikely to rescue a former Fox News reporter facing fines  and potentially jail time  for refusing to identify her source for a series of stories about a woman with ties to the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army.

The case involving reporter Catherine Herridge could become the first big showdown over press freedom during President Donald Trumps second term.

As president, Trump will lack the power to directly waive the fine or potential jail time that Herridge faces, but he could order the Justice Department to settle an underlying lawsuit filed by the woman, Yanping Chen. Settling the suit would wipe away the fines and any other punishment against Herridge.

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Trump has long praised and amplified Herridges reporting on other topics, especially her stories that raised questions about the investigations he faced in 2017 and 2018 over his presidential campaigns contacts with Russia.

Herridge relied on one or more anonymous sources for several 2017 stories about potential national security risks related to a Virginia school that was founded by Chen and attended by many members of the U.S. military whose tuition was paid by taxpayers. Herridge published details about an FBI investigation into Chen, including photos of her in a Peoples Liberation Army uniform.

Chen, who says leaks about the probe damaged her reputation, sued several federal agencies over the disclosures. As part of that lawsuit, she issued a subpoena to Herridge to try to force her to disclose her source. Herridge refused.

In February, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper ordered Herridge to pay an $800-a-day fine for her defiance of the subpoena. Cooper delayed enforcement of the fine to allow Herridge to appeal, but if she loses the appeal, Chens lawyers could ask the judge for stiffer fines or even to jail Herridge if she wont give up her source.

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During oral arguments at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Monday, two of the three judges seemed skeptical of Herridges arguments in favor of lifting the contempt order.

Judge Greg Katsas, a Trump appointee, and Judge Harry Edwards, an appointee of President Jimmy Carter, both sounded dubious of Herridge attorney Patrick Philbins argument that Cooper should have balanced the public interest in news reporting against Chens desire to be compensated for damage to her reputation.

What is this balancing test?  What does that mean? Edwards asked early in the argument.

The court would have to look at what interest is being advanced, Philbin said. There is a systemic societal cost every time a reporters confidential source is disclosed because it chills the flow of information to the press and impairs the ability of the press to fulfill its function.

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Philbin warned that a ruling affirming the subpoena to Herridge would allow many other reporters to face subpoenas in lawsuits involving alleged breaches of privacy by federal officials.

Judge Michelle Childs, an appointee of President Joe Biden, was less emphatic in her comments. However, she expressed concern that any special privileges for the media would raise difficult line-drawing problems about who qualifies as a journalist.

Were now in this social media age where people hide behind Twitter, people hide behind other social media outlets. Who are you really protecting? Childs asked.

The FBI investigated Chens links to the Chinese government before informing her in 2016 that she would not be charged.

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Within a year of the decision, Herridge began reporting on details of the investigation and the wrangling within the government about whether Chen should be charged. Those reports included snippets of [Chens] immigration forms, a summary of an FBI interview with her daughter, and personal photographs of her and her husband, Cooper noted in his initial ruling in the case.

Chen sued the FBI, DOJ, Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security in 2018 seeking monetary damages and an admission of wrongdoing from the government that leaks about her violated the Privacy Act. But after dozens of depositions failed to unmask the potential leaker, Chen turned her sights to Fox News and Herridge.

Herridge, an investigative TV reporter, left Fox News for CBS in 2019, and was laid off by CBS in February 2024. She now publishes her work on the newsletter platform beehiiv.

CORRECTION: A previous version misidentified the newsletter platform where Catherine Herridge publishes her work.
DENVER (KDVR)  The 10-year plan to manage mountain lions east of the Continental Divide was adopted unanimously by the 10 Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission members last week.

The plan used months of research and public hearings to inform its measures and echoes the similar successful development of the West Slope mountain lion management plan, which was approved in 2020. CPW recently published results from a study of West Slope mountain lions and found that the big cats population density is equal to or greater than the density projections used for making harvest decisions.

Mountain lions in Colorado have historically been managed on smaller, localized scales  similar to the management of Colorados deer and elk, CPW explained in a release. Current scientific research, however, shows that managing mountain lions on a broader landscape scale is more appropriate and effective.

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The plan provides a framework for CPW staff to maintain healthy wildlife populations alongside the high demand for outdoor recreation opportunities. The goal of the plan is to maintain stable mountain lion populations in the Eastern region of Colorado by limiting the number of harvested, or successfully hunted, adult female mountain lions and total human-caused kills (such as roadkill or harvests).

CPW updates list of potential counties for upcoming gray wolf release

Under the plan, the agency will allow the harvest of 160 lions during the 2025-26 harvest season, which is an initial reduction of 48 lions (23% fewer than during the 2024-25 season). Another 155 lions are slated for harvest in 2026-27, which is 53 fewer lions than the 2024-25 season.

Historically, CPW has used big game management plans to provide guidance to wildlife managers who attempt to balance the biological needs of various animals, their habitat and public requests for wildlife-related recreation opportunities, the agency said in a release.

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The new plan will help dictate the license-setting process, strategies and techniques to reach population and harvest objectives.

On Nov. 5, voters in Colorado voted against a measure that would have banned the hunting of mountain lions, lynx and bobcats. Its illegal to hunt Canada lynx in Colorado.

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CLEARFIELD COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ)  A cell phone alerted 911 of a rollover crash just after midnight Sunday, leading first responders to jump into action.

While it is unknown if it was an iPhone or Google Pixel, Clearfield County 911 was alerted of a detected crash when a truck rolled over and threw someone from the cab.

Rescue Hose & Ladder, Company 8, was dispatched at 12:26 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 17 for a crash along Davis Road in Pike Township. Initial reports were from a cell phone crash detection feature.

Photo: Rescue Hose & Ladder on Facebook

While heading to the scene, first responders learned a caller stated the crash involved a pick-up truck that drove into an embankment and one person was thrown from the vehicle. Rescue Hose & Ladder said the patients were taken via EMS to a local hospital.

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Company 8 said they were assisted by Cummings Towing and Recovery, LLC., QRS 7, and PSP Clearfield.

The Rescue Hose and Ladder Company added that they had 9 Fire and 4 EMS personnel respond to the call.

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.

iPhone and Google Pixels crash detection features are very similar but there are some differences.

For iPhones, after a crash is detected by the movement of the phone, there is a ten-second delay before a ten-second countdown with an alarm set to grab the users attention to choose whether to call emergency services or not. If no option is picked within those ten seconds 911 is automatically contacted giving your location so the first responders can work to find you.

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For Google Pixel phones, the crash detection feature is similar in that it contacts 911 and delivers your location, but for the Pixel, there is a 60-second countdown to choose whether to contact emergency personnel or cancel the countdown.

Both phones also contact any emergency contacts you have saved after they alert emergency services.

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Firefighters battled a two-alarm blaze at a single-family home in Hamden on Sunday.

Crews responded to the home on Country Hills Road just before 3:30 p.m. and began an aggressive interior attack upon finding heavy smoke and fire conditions, according to the Hamden Police Department.

Crews also searched the residence and ensured all of the occupants were out of the home, fire officials said. A second alarm was activated based on the dry conditions and exposure concerns.

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Firefighters from the New Haven and North Haven Fire Departments provided station coverage while Hamden crews battled the blaze, fire officials said.

The Hamden Community Emergency Response Team and the American Red Cross provided assistance to the homeowners as well as to the firefighters, according to officials.

The fire remains under investigation by the Hamden Fire Marshals Office.
Crews extinguish flames searing through garage roof in Dayton

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  Dayton Fire crews tackled a fully involved fire attacking a detached garage this morning.

According to the Montgomery County Regional Dispatch Center, the fire occurred around 6:15 a.m. Monday on the 800 block of Blanche Street.

Mutual aid called to overnight fire in Medway

Our 2 NEWS crew at the scene spoke with Captain Brian Fleming of the Dayton Fire Department.

The captain said that the neighbors of the garage owner alerted the department of the fire as flames pierced through the roof of the structure.

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Crews had an easier time tackling the fire as they were able to extinguish it from above due to the roof being exposed.

No injuries were reported.

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ZEBULON, N.C. (WNCN)  Crews were helping to search for a person possibly ejected during a Wake County wreck late Sunday night near Zebulon, officials said.

The crash was reported around 9:25 p.m. in the 4400 block of Hopkins Chapel Road at the intersection of Dukes Lake Road, off N.C. 96 and north of Zebulon.

Deputies from the Wake County Sheriffs Office were sent to the scene to assist the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. The Hopkins Rural Fire Department was also sent to the scene to help search for a person who was possibly ejected and possibly missing following the crash, officials said.

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Hopkins Chapel Road was closed as of 11 p.m.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol is investigating the wreck.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
Editors Note: The following arrest and incident reports were supplied by the Abilene Police Department. All information below comes from reports made by responding officers, and all suspects are considered not guilty unless determined otherwise in a court of law.

Incidents

2400 block of Madison Avenue  Theft of Property

A vehicle was reported stolen in north Abilene.

4100 block of Ridgemont Drive  Assault Family Violence

A victim reported his boyfriend punched him in the face, causing him pain.

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100 block of Alabama Road  Assault Family Violence

Police investigated an assault family violence report in south Abilene.

UNDISCLOSED LOCATION  Assault Family Violence

A victim alleged he was assaulted by his girlfriend.

6100 block of Texas Avenue  Burglary of Habitation

A mattress worth $100 was reported stolen in south Abilene.

5400 block of S 7th Street  Assault Family Violence

An assault was reported in south Abilene.

5200 block of Alamo Drive  Violation of Bond/Protective Order

Officers responded to a domestic disturbance in south Abilene.

700 block of Merchant Street  Assault Family Violence

A suspect was arrested for assault family violence in north Abilene.

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800 block of Orange Street  Theft of Property

A victim reported a cellphone and wallet were stolen.

2900 block of S 1st Street  Invasive Visual Recording

A report for invasive visual recording was taken in south Abilene.

UNDSICLOSED LOCATION  Aggravated Assault Deadly Weapon

A report for aggravated assault was taken in north Abilene.

3300 block of S 14th Street  Theft of Property

A theft was reported in south Abilene.

4300 block of Southwest Drive  Criminal Trespass

A theft and criminal trespass were reported stolen in south Abilene.

5600 block of Red Hawk Circle  Assault Family Violence

An assault family violence report was taken in south Abilene.

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2500 block of Maple Street  Assault Impede Breath

An assault report was taken in south Abilene.

100 block of College Drive  Violation of Bond/Protective Order

A suspect was arrested for violation of a protective order.

3400 block of N 1st Street  Burglary of Building

A north Abilene business was burglarized.

2600 block of S 20th Street  Assault Impede Breath

Police responded to a disturbance in south Abilene.

1100 block of Ross Avenue  Theft of Firearm

A theft of firearm was reported in south Abilene.

1000 block of S 2nd Street  Assault

An assault was reported in north Abilene.

1200 block of Grape Street  Criminal Trespass

Police responded to a trespass in progress at a north Abilene convenience store.

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3500 block of Curry Lane  Assault

Police responded to a call for service in south Abilene where a victim reported she was assaulted by her spouse.

1700 block of N 9th Street  Burglary of Habitation

Police responded to a disturbance in progress in south Abilene.

1700 block of N 15th Street  Criminal Mischief

Arrests

Abigail Salazar  Warrant

Anival Narvaez  Warrant

Anthony Narvaez  Warrant

Maria Masias  Manufacture Delivery Controlled Substance

Dylan Euton  Warrant, Resist Arrest, Public Intoxication

Joseph Montgomery  Warrant

Verenicie Hernandez  Public Intoxication

Ira Bennett  Possession of Controlled Substance, Tampering/Fabricating Physical Evidence

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Levon Stringer  Possession of Controlled Substance

George Meissner  Assault Family Violence

Charles Taylor  Violation of Bond/Protective Order

Anjelica Ballesteros  Warrant

Iyone Beaver  Public Intoxication

Amie Dickson  Criminal Trespass, Theft of Property

Ja Michael Collier  Possession of Controlled Substance, Unlawful Carrying of Weapon

Nicholas Estada  Evading Arrest

Jaime Hernandez-Lerma  Possession of Controlled Substance, Warrant

Bradley Mace  Warrant

Jacob Vasquez  Violation of Bond/Protective Order

Brandon McNickles  Possession of Marijuana

Ronald Mueller  Assault Impede Breath

Dovie Nickels  Criminal Trespass

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Emme Fragas Pardon  Public Intoxication

Castellano Saturnino  Warrant, Tampering/Fabricating Physical Evidence, Failure to Identify

Francisco Arriola  Warrant

Jonathon Stokes  Warrant

Tyler Stacey  Assault Pregnant Person

Nyawenda Fikiria  Warrant

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.
A critical underwater internet cable linking Finland to Germany has been severed, sparking fears of Russian sabotage.

The incident happened in the vicinity of the Swedish island of Gotland, in the Baltic Sea, early on Monday morning.

A further cable was also found to be impacted later, according to Cinia, the state-controlled Finnish company that manages the link. The second line runs almost 730 miles next to gas pipelines and power cables.

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Cinia said a repair ship had been sent to investigate the cause of the outage, which has hit the only cable connecting the country to central Europe.

Finlands communications agency said most internet users would not notice Mondays outage, with the country able to fall back on cables running through other parts of the continent.

The company said that, while there was no indication that the damage was sabotage, it was likely to have been the result of human activity.

Work on the initial installation of the cable - Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva / AFP

At the moment, there is no way to assess the cause of the cable break, but such breaks without external impact do not happen in these waters, said Ari-Jussi Knaapila, the chief executive of Cinia.

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However, he cautioned that the damage could have been caused by a trawler or a ship that had put down an emergency anchor. The company pointed out that the fibre optic cables are sheathed in a double-armoured steel casing.

Finland is on high alert about possible espionage from Russia after it joined Nato, ending decades of neutrality.

Nato intelligence officials warned in September that Russia was building up a secretive submarine unit tasked with sabotaging undersea infrastructure, while Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president, said such cables were fair game because of Western complicity in the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

On Monday, the transport and communications ministry in Helsinki issued new crisis guidelines to the countrys population, which include information on what to do in the event of disruptions to telecommunications infrastructure.

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With Russia now surrounded by Nato states in the Baltic, its waters are seen as most vulnerable to attempts to disrupt key energy and communications lines.

Most dramatically, the Nord Stream pipeline, which brought Russian natural gas to Germany, was blown up half a year after Russia invaded Ukraine. While investigations into that incident continue, the saboteurs are believed to have been sent from Kyiv.

In October last year, a Chinese cargo vessel damaged a gas line between Finland and Estonia with its anchor. The Chinese authorities explanation that the incident was an accident has been viewed with suspicion in the West.

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EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH)  A bystander took the keys from a drunken driver after she pulled over on Route 2 in East Hartford, according to Connecticut State Police.

Javglad Garcia, 37, of Providence, Rhode Island, has been charged with illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs, risk of injury to a child and second-degree reckless endangerment. She has been released on a $5,000 bond. A child who in the vehicle at the time was handed over to a guardian.

Troopers received multiple 911 calls at about 5:20 p.m. Sunday that an impaired driver kept swerving out of their lane on Route 2 East near Exit 5 in East Hartford, according to state police. She then pulled over, which is when the bystander took Garcias keys away from her.

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The bystander told troopers that Garcia almost hit other vehicles and guardrails, according to state police. Garcia allegedly told state police that she pulled over because she couldnt see well.

She had watery eyes, slurred speech and two packages of wine in the backseat, according to troopers. She failed a field sobriety test.

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A man whose blood alcohol content was allegedly more than twice the legal limit to drive was charged with DUI on Sunday when troopers found him going the wrong way on an Interstate 84 ramp.

Troopers were alerted to the driver shortly after 2:30 a.m. when a wrong-way detection system notified them that a vehicle was going the wrong way on the Governors Street off-ramp from I-84 West in East Hartford, according to Connecticut State Police.

Troopers were able to use Department of Transportation cameras to confirm a wrong-way driver in a white SUV that had significant front-end damage. They were also able to spot at least one motorist who had to swerve to avoid a collision.

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Troopers responded to the area within a minute and were able to safely bring the vehicle to a stop as it was going the wrong way on the Pitkin Street entrance ramp from I-84 East, state police said. The vehicle, a Lexus RX 450, was smoking and had fluids leaking from it, which appeared to suggest it was recently involved in a collision. It also allegedly had dark tinted covers on its license plates and an illegally tinted front windshield, according to state police.

Troopers were assisted by the East Hartford Police Department in searching along the vehicles known route for any barriers or objects that it could have collided with. None could be found.

The driver was identified as 41-year-old Angel Luis Sanabria of Hartford, according to state police. State police alleged that he struggled to speak coherently and had difficulty following simple instructions.

Sanabria was found to be seated over a latched seatbelt which was in a locked position, according to state police. This further led troopers to believe the vehicle was involved in a crash.

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As Sanabria was helped out of the Lexus he allegedly had a hard time maintaining his balance, state police said. Troopers also noticed a bundle of wax folds on the driver side floorboard that later tested positive for fentanyl, according to state police.

Sanabria was taken into custody and transported to Troop H in Hartford. While en route, state police alleged that he was verbally aggressive. He was asked to take field sobriety testing once at the barracks, which he allegedly failed, state police said.

A breathalyzer allegedly showed that Sanabrias blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit to drive, according to state police. He told troopers he was not aware he was driving the wrong way.

Sanabria was charged with windshield obstructing view, failure to wear safety seat belt, failure to display registration plates, reckless driving, illegal operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, driving the wrong-way on a divided highway, improper entry or exit of a limited access highway, possession of a controlled substance (first offense) and second-degree reckless endangerment.

He was later released on a $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Manchester Superior Court on Dec. 12.
Britain would side with the European Union over the US if Donald Trump sparked a trade war with China, the Business Secretary has suggested.

Jonathan Reynolds said the scale of the UKs trading with the bloc meant the Government would be required to weigh the consequences of any action that would create an adverse relationship with Brussels.

Mr Reynoldss comments suggest the Government will prioritise appeasing the EU if Britain finds itself in the middle of a heated trade war once Mr Trump re-enters the White House.

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The president-elect is reportedly considering imposing tariffs of 60pc on Chinese products sold to US companies, in addition to up to 20pc on all imports from all other countries.

Experts have raised concerns that such a move could spark a global trade war. Christine Lagarde, the European Central Bank president, warned on Monday that the single market was under pressure from significant shifts in the geopolitical landscape.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds says Britain would be much more exposed in a trade war with Beijing than the US - EDDIE MULHOLLAND for The Telegraph.

Addressing the House of Lords International Agreements Committee on Monday, Mr Reynolds said: To state the obvious, tariffs on UK goods entering the US would be a difficult thing for us to have to contend with. The US is a major and important trading partner for the UK, 300bn of bilateral trade.

But compared to the EU with over 800bn of bilateral trade, clearly if there are things that we are offered or asked to do that would result in an adverse relationship on the European side, wed have to weigh the consequences of that.

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Mr Reynolds added that Britain would be much more exposed in a trade war with Beijing than the US.

He said: We have just got to be clear with the British people that if there were to be a much wider trade confrontation between China and the West, as a much more globally orientated trading nation the UK is much more exposed than say the US.

So simply being asked to replicate what another country is proposing might be a much more painful proposition for the UK than it might first appear to people not aware of just how trade-intensity affects our economy.

Mr Reynoldss comments risk a diplomatic row at a time when Labour is seeking to repair relations with the president-elect.

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They come just days after Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, said the UK must rebuild relations with the EU as he claimed Brexit had undermined the British economy and warned Mr Trumps tariffs would hurt global growth.

Maxwell Marlow at the Adam Smith Institute warned that prioritising Brussels over Washington would risk squandering a rare opportunity which we should be grasping with both hands.

He said: The EU has become synonymous with heavy handed, growth-killing regulation and red-tape  America on the other hand has embraced creative destruction, innovation and dynamism.

The UK must be part of innovation-story  saddling up with degrowth Europe is to make us poorer and to annoy our larger American partners. The Government should embrace the special relationship and rebuff calls for tariffs with a full-fat free trade agreement with the USA.

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It came as Sir Keir Starmer met with Xi Jinping on Monday to discuss trade opportunities in the first such meeting between the UK and China since 2018.

In talks held on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil, President Xi appeared to endorse Labours economic plan as he said the UK Government was working to fix the foundations of the economy.

Sir Keir Starmer met with Xi Jinping on Monday to discuss trade opportunities on the sidelines of the G20 summit - WPA Pool/Getty Images Europe

According to a translation in the room at the top of his meeting with Sir Keir, the Chinese president said: The world has entered a new period marked by turbulence and transformation.

As permanent members of the UN security council and major global economies China and UK share the dual responsibility of advancing our respective national development and addressing global challenges.

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The new UK Government is working to fix the foundations of the economy and rebuild Britain and has set the vision of Britain reconnected.

However, the meeting drew criticism from the Tories, with Sir Iain Duncan Smith accusing the Prime Minister of kowtowing to the worlds greatest threat to the democratic global order.

The Tory former cabinet minister, who has been sanctioned by China over his criticism of Beijing, told the Daily Mail: This is very sad. Those suffering genocide and slave labour under the brutal hands of Xi will feel betrayed.

This is very sad. Those suffering genocide and slave labour under the brutal hands of Xi will feel betrayed.

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James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said there needed to be a constructive dialogue between Britain and Beijing, but warned the UK must recognise the huge threat posed by China.

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The Nov. 15 fire at Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in India killed 10 newborns

AP Photo Firefighters at Jhansi Medical College hospital, in Jhansi, India, Nov. 15, 2024 Firefighters at Jhansi Medical College hospital, in Jhansi, India, Nov. 15, 2024

Yakoob Mansuri and his wife brought their twin daughters to Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College for treatment for breathing issues

Upon news of the fire, Mansuri went to the NICU, smashed a window and rescued seven babies, but he wasn't able to save his twins

We never imagined, not even in our worst dreams, that we would see our babies in the condition they were in at the post-mortem house," Mansuri told the media

A father managed to rescue seven infants, but he wasnt able to save his twin daughters during last weekends deadly hospital fire in India that killed 10 newborns.

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Indian news outlets, including India Today, National Herald and The Economic Times, reported that Yakoob Mansuri, 27, was outside the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, where his newborn twin daughters were receiving treatment, in Jhansi, in Uttar Pradesh state, on Friday, Nov. 15.

According to the National Herald, a woman who was feeding her child at the sick newborn care unit (SNCU), came out screaming about a fire at the hospital.

That was when Mansuri rushed to the NICU ward and smashed a window to enter, India Today reported. "It was a massive fire that no one could brave," he recalled, according to the outlet.

"I could not enter the ward where my daughters were admitted because the fire was so intense, Mansuri added. Other parents also tried, but they too failed. Then we started rescuing infants from other wards. I took out seven children.

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Mansuri further recalled the harrowing experience to National Herald: There was only a small opening to the inner unit of the SNCU. The entrance is barely large enough for one person to go through. We started feeling nauseous within minutes. How could the babies have endured it?

Related: 4 Killed After a Tesla Crash Sparks Fire in Toronto: A Very Horrific Scene

The bodies of Mansuris twin daughters were later identified on Saturday, Nov. 16, The Economic Times reported.

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Mansuri and his wife had originally brought their twins to the hospital for specialized care concerning their breathing issues.

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We never imagined, not even in our worst dreams, that we would see our babies in the condition they were in at the post-mortem house," he told the National Herald.

According to the Associated Press, citing officials, there were 55 babies who were being treated at the NICU at the time of the fire; 45 of them were rescued. In addition to the 10 who died, 16 were injured.

An electrical short circuit or a defect in a machine used to raise oxygen levels in the NICU may be potential causes for the fire, according to officials, BBC News reported.

AP Photo Equipment damaged by fire inside the neonatal intensive care unit at Jhansi Medical College hospital in Jhansi, India, Nov. 15, 2024 Equipment damaged by fire inside the neonatal intensive care unit at Jhansi Medical College hospital in Jhansi, India, Nov. 15, 2024

The AP reported that according to officials, based on an initial investigation, such safety deficiencies, including expired fire extinguishers and non-working fire alarms, hampered authorities rescue efforts.

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In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Brajesh Pathak, deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, commented on the tragedy, saying on Nov. 15: The death of many newborn babies in the unfortunate accident of fire in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (SNCU Ward) of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College, Jhansi today is extremely sad and heartbreaking.

Related: 10 People Killed in Nursing Home Fire 'Due to Smoke Inhalation,' Say Authorities

Pathak also spoke with the bereaved families of the children injured in the fire and visited the accident site. Additionally, he shared on X that there will be a three-tier investigation into the fire, adding: The fire department will also investigate. Along with this, instructions have also been given for a magisterial inquiry into the incident.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also posted a message on X and described the deaths of the children as "heartbreaking."

"My deepest condolences to those who have lost their innocent children in this. I pray to God to give them the strength to bear this immense loss," Modi wrote, adding: "The local administration, under the supervision of the state government, is making every possible effort for relief and rescue."



PEOPLE contacted Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College for comment on Monday, Nov. 18.


Benjamin Oberto was reportedly last seen at a work event in Illinois on Wednesday, Nov. 13

Benjamin Stephen Oberto/ Facebook Benjamin Stephen Oberto Benjamin Stephen Oberto

The body of a 45-year-old Wisconsin dad has been found in an overturned car two days after he disappeared following a work event.

Benjamin Oberto, of New Berlin, was found dead on Friday, Nov. 15, inside a Subaru Impreza that was partially submerged in a creek at the bottom of an embankment in Rosemont, Ill., according to a news release from the Illinois State Police (ISP).

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Oberto had been in Crystal Lake, Ill., on Wednesday, Nov. 13, for a work event, according to ABC affiliate WLS-TV and NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV.

He called his wife that same evening and told her he would be home to help put their son to bed, WLS-TV reported.

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Oberto was reported missing at midnight on Thursday, Nov. 15, according to the New Berlin Police Department (NBPD).

ISP said officers with the Rosemont Police Department (RPD) eventually found the Subaru down the embankment along the curve of the Interstate 90 eastbound ramp to Interstate 294 northbound.



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In a Facebook post shared on Thursday, Nov. 14, Obertos wife Laura Leatherberry said her husbands vehicle left the freeway as he navigated a challenging turn towards home on a dark, rainy, and foggy night.

RPD divers eventually found Obertos body inside the vehicle. An investigation into his death is ongoing.



Related: Hiker, 57, Dies After Declining Help and Driving Off Embankment  Officials Say Heat Exposure Was to Blame

Leatherberry remembered her husband as a man who had a vibrant spirit, loving heart, and unmatched generosity [who] left an indelible mark on every life he touched.

The news I have to share is not what any of us want to hear, she wrote. Early this morning, we received confirmation that Bens car and body were found.

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Leatherberry went on to describe her late husband as "a loving father, a cherished son, a caring brother, and a true friend to so many."

She also asked those who knew her husband to share their favorite memories and stories of Ben, as they will help us all feel his presence in the days to come.

Related: Grandmother and Baby Rescued from Partially Submerged Car After Crashing into Watery Ditch

As we mourn this profound loss, let us also celebrate the love and joy he brought into our lives, Leatherberry wrote, later adding, I hope to honor his life and the legacy of love he leaves behind.

She concluded, Thank you from the depths of my heart for your support and kindness during this unimaginably difficult time.


KYODO NEWS - Nov 18, 2024 - 16:37 | All, Japan

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda underscored Monday that raising interest rates would be essential to prevent sharp inflation and ensure long-term economic growth, in remarks that could fuel market expectations the central bank is close to another rate hike.

The BOJ will continue to raise its policy rate if the economy and prices move in line with expectations, Ueda said in a speech, adding it is also closely monitoring the weakening yen. The Japanese currency has been under pressure after Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election triggered a rally in the dollar.

His remarks came amid speculation that the bank may lift borrowing costs as early as December, although Ueda said the BOJ will make policy decisions at each meeting based on its latest assessment and outlook for economic and price activities.

"I think that gradually adjusting the degree of accommodation in line with the improvement in economic activity and prices will support long-term economic growth and contribute to achieving the price stability target in a sustainable and stable manner," he told business leaders in the central Japan city of Nagoya.

If such adjustments are not made, inflation could possibly accelerate rapidly at some point in the future and force the BOJ to raise interest rates sharply, Ueda warned at a press conference later in the day.

On the timing of further increasing the policy rate from the current level of around 0.25 percent, Ueda said the bank also needs to carefully monitor the U.S. and other overseas economies.

The governor pointed out that it has become more likely that the U.S. economy will achieve a soft landing given recent solid economic data, but also noted the possibility of "a resurgence of inflation" as a result of future economic developments and policy conduct.

The U.S. dollar has been strengthening against the yen recently amid speculation that policies proposed by Trump would increase inflation and keep interest rates elevated.

At the press conference, the BOJ chief admitted the yen's depreciation has negatively impacted households and some companies and said the central bank has been paying close attention to economic factors influencing foreign exchange movements.

On domestic economic indicators, the governor said he has seen "some progress," pointing out wages are rising as companies are passing on increased labor costs via higher service prices.

Ueda said that underlying inflation, excluding short-term fluctuations such as a rise in import prices, still remains below the bank's goal of 2 percent, but it is expected to continue to rise gradually, helped by a rise in wages.

"Inflationary pressure stemming from wage increases is projected to strengthen as an improvement in economic activity and solid growth in wages continue," he said in the meeting with local business leaders.

The BOJ ended its negative rate policy in March with the first rate hike in 17 years, followed by another increase in July. It kept its policy rate unchanged at the September and October meetings.

The BOJ expects prices to rise 2.5 percent for the current fiscal year ending March and 1.9 percent for fiscal 2025 and 2026, below the bank's price stability goal of 2 percent, according to its latest outlook on economy and prices released in October.

Related coverage:

Japan's GDP grows 0.9% in July-Sept. on solid consumption

Japan logs record account surplus in April-Sept on foreign returns
A woman and her daughter, the latter of who was presumed dead nearly 30 years ago but was actually abducted by a relative and living a short distance from her real family, recently told their extraordinary story to The Guardian.

In December 1997, a fire tore through the Philadelphia home of Luz Cuevas and her partner, Pedro Vera. Particularly hard hit by the blaze was the second floor bedroom occupied by their 10-day-old daughter, Delimar. Authorities determined Delimar perished in the fire, but Cuevas never believed that was the case.

Six years later, at a local childs birthday party, Cuevas saw a young girl named Aaliyah who closely resembled Delimar and appeared to be the same age. She was so sure it was her daughter that she surreptitiously snipped a lock of the young girls hair and took it to the police, requesting they run a DNA test.

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I have dimples and all of my siblings have dimples," Delimar recently said of her mothers intuition on the U.K. talk show This Morning. "That was the first giveaway from her. She always says, Blood calls, so she could sense that I was hers.

Around the time Cuevas sent the hair to the police, Delimar has a memory of the woman who she believed was her true mother, Carolyn Correa, spraying some kind of substance in my mouth. Delimar later learned that the liquid was Correas saliva, presumably so that any DNA test would confirm Aaliyah was her child.

But science prevailed, and the DNA test confirmed that Delimar was Cuevas daughter. Correa was taken into custody and charged with kidnapping. In 2005, she was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison. For six years, Delimar lived as Aayliah with Cuevas in Willingboro, N.J., just 15 miles away from her true family in Philadelphia.

At first it was really exciting, Delimar said about the media attention her return home attracted. All the cameras and the gifts, but then it became too much having to go in our home through the backyard. She struggled to assimilate, bouncing from her mothers home to her fathers and eventually, at age 15, a group house. I tried to pick my new familys mannerisms, to make it seem like I was never kidnapped, but I was also mourning my old family. When I was a child, I felt like I had two moms. It wasnt until I was 11 or 12 years old that the reality finally set in.

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But Delimar has no desire to speak to Correa again, nor does she feel she needs closure on that part of her life. "I dont feel like I need to sit down and have that conversation with [Correa] because I learned a lot of things about Carolyn and how her mind works, Delimar explained, and I dont know if it is going to be the truth.

Cuevas and Delimar, who is now married and has an 11-year-old son of her own, are telling their stranger-than-fiction story in the new Fremantle documentary The Hand That Robbed the Cradle.
Sarah McBride, a Delaware state senator who later won a seat in Congress, speaks to the LGBTQ+ Caucus at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 21, 2024. (Jacob Fischler/States Newsroom)

During an election that saw Republicans secure the White House and both chambers of Congress, Sarah McBrides congressional victory in Delaware offered a historic win for Democrats, transgender representation  and young people.

Winning a House seat representing Delaware, 34-year-old McBride became the first openly transgender person elected to Congress, just four years after the Democrat was elected as the nations first transgender state senator. Groundbreaking in any year and especially one in which conservatives regularly attacked the transgender community, McBrides victory also marked a major win for a multimillion-dollar campaign  launched by school shooting survivor David Hogg  to elect young lawmakers to state and national office.

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From the youngest-ever Senator to the first Trans member of Congress, Delaware knows what young leaders can accomplish when given a chance, just look at Joe Biden, Hogg posted on X, commenting on how the 81-year-old president was first elected to Congress in 1972 just days before his 30th birthday.

After Hogg survived the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, which killed 17 of his classmates and educators, he became a formidable up-and-comer in Democratic politics, turning his attention to helping elect Gen Z and millennial Democrats. His latest effort is Leaders We Deserve, a political action committee formed in 2023 that raised nearly $8.5 million as of September to elevate the campaigns of McBride and a dozen other young candidates.

Leaders We Deserve is proud to say that Sarah will be our first endorsee elected to Congress, Hogg wrote.

From the youngest-ever Senator to the first Trans member of Congress, Delaware knows what young leaders can accomplish when given a chance, just look at Joe Biden. Leaders We Deserve is proud to say that Sarah will be our first endorsee elected to Congress pic.twitter.com/aYn0MkeuKh  David Hogg (@davidhogg111) November 6, 2024

Beyond McBrides high-profile win, candidates endorsed by Hoggs PAC saw mixed results  with more defeats than victories. Of a dozen candidates offered campaign cash and boots-on-the-ground voter outreach by Leaders We Deserve, five won their races and seven lost.

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They include the successful campaign of a seventh-grade math teacher in Atlanta, the defeat of a former Miss Texas who campaigned for a state House seat on a gun control platform, and the setback encountered by a 28-year-old mother who launched her Tennessee House of Representatives campaign after the state denied her access to an abortion.

Leaders We Deserve has pumped millions of dollars  and resources from Democratic power players  into the campaigns of young candidates who support progressive causes like gun control, reproductive rights and protecting public school funding. The PAC didnt respond to requests for comment.

Other Leaders We Deserve-endorsed candidates who beat their GOP opponents include Dante Pittman, whose election to the North Carolina General Assembly helped Democrats break a Republican supermajority. In Hoggs home state of Florida, U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost  who at 27 became the first member of Gen Z to serve in Congress  won his reelection bid with nearly 62 percent of the vote.

In Georgia, middle school math teacher Bryce Berry defeated an incumbent who switched from Democrat to Republican last year after breaking from party ranks to support private school vouchers. In Ohio, Democrat Christine Cockley easily defeated Republican rival Hussein Jabiri.

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The seven candidates who did not prevail include Kristian Carranza, whose campaign for a closely watched seat in the Texas House of Representatives secured more than $1 million in Leaders We Deserve support before losing in a tight race to Republican rival and incumbent state Rep. John Lujan. In another competitive race in Texas, Republican Rep. Angie Chen Button won her ninth election to the Texas Legislature, defeating Democrat Averie Bishop.

In Pennsylvania, former teacher and longtime Republican state Rep. Joe Emrick won reelection, defeating Leaders We Deserve-endorsed Democrat Anna Thomas, whose campaign centered on bolstering school funding. Republican Mike Sparks, who has served in the Tennessee House of Representatives since 2010, defeated Democrat Luis Mata.

In another Tennessee House race, Republican Jeff Burkhart won reelection in a closely watched contest against Democrat Allie Phillips, who said she was forced to go out of state to terminate a nonviable pregnancy because of Tennessees strict abortion laws. After defeating the Leaders We Deserve-endorsed Phillips, Burkhart said his campaign was about fighting California, New York and everyone else.

Nate Douglas, a 23-year-old University of Florida graduate, failed in his bid to oust Republican Florida Rep. Susan Plasencia. The Douglas campaign relied heavily on get-out-the-vote efforts among college students.

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In Georgia, Republican state Sen. Shawn Still was reelected, defeating Democrat Ashwin Ramaswami by 7 percentage points. Ramaswami, 25, was still in law school when he decided to campaign against Still, who in 2023 was one of 18 people who were indicted alongside President-elect Donald Trump on allegations of conspiring to overturn Trumps 2020 presidential election defeat in the state.

After Trump regained control of the White House and Republicans swept into elected office in races across the country, Hogg turned to X to reiterate his argument that new, young voices are more critical than ever.

Time for some big changes to the Democratic Party, he wrote.

This story first appeared at The 74, a nonprofit news site covering education.
WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  Police in D.C. are investigating after a man was stabbed to death in Northwest on Saturday evening.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), just after 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 16, officers were called to the 4000 block of Kansas Ave. to investigate a stabbing. There, officers found 31-year-old Vance Contee of Northwest, D.C., with stab wounds.

Medics took Contee to the hospital, where he died.

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Kitten stolen in burglary in DC, police say

As of Monday afternoon, no arrests have been made in connection to the case, and detectives are still working to learn what led to the stabbing.

MPD said anyone with information should call 202-727-9099 or text 50411.

The police department said it is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.

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.
WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  D.C. police announced on Friday that officers are investigating two burglaries at two separate businesses up the street from each other in Northeast D.C.

The burglaries happened just over a month apart on H Street. Police said surveillance cameras captured suspects in both crimes.

The first break-in happened on Saturday, Sept. 10, at A Ma Maniere, a luxury mens apparel and footwear store. According to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), officers responded to the store in the 1200 block of H St. just after midnight.

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There, officers discovered that a group of suspects had forced their way into the business, stealing several pieces of high-end clothing before escaping.

Yeah, they were coming out, running up and down the street, said Rob Lynn, who says he witnessed the crime. Then cars pulled up, and picked a bunch of them up, and took off.

Police released the following footage of the suspects on Friday, Nov. 15:

Crews recover body from Potomac River in Northwest DC, MPD investigating

The next burglary happened on Sunday, Oct. 13, in the 1300 block of H St. There, officers responded to a vape shop for a burglary just before 6 a.m.

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Upon investigating, officers discovered that three suspects had entered the closed business and stole vape products before escaping.

Police released the following footage from the burglary on Friday, Nov. 15:

Im surprised it took them that long to release the police footage, Lynn said regarding the burglaries.

Police have not said if the two crimes are connected. MPD encourages anyone with information regarding either burglary to call 202-727-9099 or text a tip to the departments tip line at 50411.

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.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has welcomed reports indicating that the United States has authorised Ukraine to use ATACMS long-range missiles to strike Russian territory.

Source: Nauseda on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: He called the US decision on long-range strikes a "decisive moment" in Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression.

"The day has come! Ukraine can now target military sites in Russia using long-range missiles. This is a decisive moment in Ukraine's fight against the aggressor Russia," Nauseda said.

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He also stressed that "peace cannot be achieved through weakness" but is "the reward of the strong".

Previously:

The New York Times, citing US officials, reported that US President Joe Biden has for the first time authorised Ukrainian forces to use long-range ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory.

US news website Axios noted that the decision had been made in response to the involvement of North Korean troops in Russia's war against Ukraine.

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As November draws to a close, Spotify users worldwide eagerly anticipate the annual release of Spotify Wrapped. Typically launched at the end of the year, last years edition debuted on November 29, with previous versions arriving on November 30.

Wrapped isnt just a musical recapits a powerful storytelling tool that celebrates users' listening journeys while driving social media buzz. With over 640 million monthly active users and 252 million subscribers as of September 2024, Spotify uses Wrapped to deepen engagement and amplify its brand visibility.

But how does Spotify create this deeply personal experience for millions? The secret lies in advanced data analytics, machine learning, and creative storytelling. Lets explore the technical backbone of Spotify Wrapped.

User data collection

Spotify Wrapped is built on a foundation of extensive data collection from January 1 to October 31. This data is carefully gathered and encompasses several key areas:

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Listening history: Spotify tracks all the songs, albums, artists, and genres each user listens to throughout the year. This data forms the core of the Wrapped report.

Interaction data: Every interaction a user has with the app is logged. This includes actions like playlist additions, song skips, repeats, replays, and likes. These interactions provide insights into user preferences and behavior patterns.

Temporal data: The service monitors when users listen to music, collecting data segmented by time of day, day of the week, and month. This temporal data helps understand listening habits across different times and seasons.

Geographical data: Spotify uses user listening data to identify local music preferences and regional musical trends.

Data modeling and storage

Once collected, this data is ingested into Spotifys centralized repository, where advanced technologies process and transform it into meaningful metrics for each user. These metrics include top songs, favorite artists, minutes listened, and even unique listening personalities.

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Calculating these metrics is a significant task, as it involves aggregating millions of data points per usera massive undertaking in both data science and computational power. To efficiently handle and process this data, Spotify utilizes a range of advanced technologies and cloud services.

Data ingestion and processing

Apache Kafka: Utilized for its real-time data streaming capabilities, Kafka handles the continuous influx of user data from Spotify's apps and devices, ensuring timely processing of interactions and streaming data.

Google Cloud Pub/Sub: Integrates seamlessly with Kafka to enhance data flow across Spotify's processing pipelines, facilitating robust data ingestion and real-time messaging.

Data storage and analysis

Google BigQuery: Employed as a fully managed, serverless data warehouse, BigQuery supports Spotify by storing and analyzing vast datasets, such as user listening habits and interaction metrics.

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Apache Hadoop: This distributed computing framework allows Spotify to manage and process large datasets across its computing environments, which is ideal for tasks like generating extensive annual Wrapped reports.

Google Cloud Dataproc: A managed service that runs Apache Spark and Hadoop, Dataproc is crucial for executing complex data processing tasks and machine learning jobs essential for personalized music recommendations and insights.

Infrastructure and Scalability

Google Cloud Platform (GCP): Spotify uses GCP's comprehensive cloud services for scalable infrastructure solutions, including computing, storage, and networking, which are critical for supporting its expansive data operations.

Amazon Web Services (AWS): Provides a robust, scalable infrastructure similar to GCP, offering redundancy and additional flexibility in data management and cloud computing.

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Data Centers: Spotify maintains its data centers in Sweden, Virginia, and the United Kingdom, which not only support its cloud infrastructure but also ensure greater control over data security, sovereignty, and compliance.

Privacy and precision

Privacy considerations: Spotify takes user privacy seriously, particularly in terms of how personal data from private listening sessions is handled. In these cases, Spotify records only aggregated data, such as total listening time, ensuring personal details are kept private while still gathering valuable insights.

Precision in reporting: Spotify's data processing infrastructure is designed to omit irrelevant details, which sharpens the accuracy of data analysis. This meticulous approach ensures that the reports generated, like the annual Wrapped summaries, are precise and personalized, providing users with meaningful reflections on their yearly music journey.

Analysis and personalization techniques

Descriptive analytics: This technique helps Spotify craft detailed visual and textual representations of a user's music listening history. Key metrics such as top songs, artists, and most-listened genres are highlighted.

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Cluster analysis: Spotify groups users with similar musical tastes using k-means and hierarchical clustering. This helps personalize the Wrapped experience and discover musical peers with similar preferences, enhancing the social aspect of music.

Personalization and activation for Spotify wrapped

After the data modeling phase, Spotify transitions into the personalization and activation stages, focusing on delivering the customized experiences users see in their Spotify Wrapped summaries. This phase is crucial for ensuring that the annual Wrapped feature and other personalized playlists like Discover Weekly and Daily Mix are deeply tailored to each user's unique musical journey over the past year.

ML-based personalization techniques for Spotify Wrapped

Collaborative filtering: Spotify's collaborative filtering digs into the year's worth of listening data from millions of users to spot trends and preferences. For Spotify Wrapped, this method pinpoints key songs, artists, or genres that have defined your year, aligning these insights with those from users who share similar tastes to suggest new potential favorites.

Content-based filtering: This focuses on the specific characteristics of the music you've enjoyed. It looks at elements like tempo, genre, and audio features, including acoustics, danceability, and energy, to craft a Wrapped summary that lists your favorite tracks and resonates with your emotional and aesthetic preferences.

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Data-driven personalization: Spotify assigns listening personalities based on your music behavior throughout the year. This sophisticated segmentation allows for creating Wrapped experiences that reflect what you listened to and how those choices fit into broader music listening trends, locally and globally.

Activation of personalized experiences

Reverse ETL implementation: Spotify utilizes Reverse ETL to efficiently transfer personalized data from its data warehouse directly into various operational systems. By effectively leveraging ETL processes, Spotify can extract valuable insights from its massive dataset, personalize the Wrapped experience for each user, and deliver a captivating annual recap of music listening habits.

Real-Time data activation: Leveraging real-time data activation allows Spotify to ensure that features like Wrapped accurately reflect users' evolving preferences throughout the year, making each interaction timely and relevant.

Crafting the Spotify wrapped experience

Far beyond a simple year-end summary, Spotify Wrapped serves as a masterclass in data-driven storytelling. It combines personalized insights, interactive features, and predictive analytics to create an immersive and shareable musical experience.

Visualization and interactive features

Spotify Wrapped translates complex datasets into captivating visual narratives that make statistics engaging and accessible. This is achieved through:

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Interactive Stories: spotify uses dynamic interactive stories that users can click through to explore their musical year. These stories are structured to reveal insights sequentially and engagingly, much like flipping through a digital magazine.

Infographics: Spotify uses infographics to present data in visually appealing formats. These include colorful graphs, pie charts, and progress bars that summarize users' listening habits and compare their tastes with global or regional trends.

Shareability: A key aspect of Spotify Wrapped is its shareability on social media. The visual elements are designed to be eye-catching on platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, encouraging users to share their Wrapped summaries with friends. This enhances user engagement and promotes Spotify's brand through organic marketing.

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

To complement the visual data, Spotify employs NLP techniques that enhance the personal connection users feel with their Wrapped reports:

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Personalized messages: Using NLP, Spotify generates relevant text that resonates on a personal level. Phrases like "You were a pioneer this year" or "You listened to [song] over 100 times!" personalize the experience.

Contextual relevance: NLP is used to tailor the descriptions and summaries based on the user's specific listening patterns, ensuring that the language used is appropriate to the music genres and listening behaviors exhibited by the user.

Engagement and retention: Spotify increases user engagement by making the summaries readable and relatable. The personalized narratives help reinforce user connections to the service, enhancing overall satisfaction and loyalty.

Predictive insights and continuous improvement

Spotify Wrapped extends its functionality beyond simple retrospective analysis by leveraging predictive analytics to foresee and shape future music trends and user interactions. This forward-looking approach enables Spotify to identify potential hits and emerging artists and integrate these discoveries into personalized user playlists.

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By analyzing extensive historical data, Spotify's algorithms can predict shifts in musical tastes and proactively adjust recommendations to suit evolving preferences.

Moreover, a robust feedback loop continuously informs the refinement of the user experience. Each iteration of Spotify Wrapped invites user feedback, which is crucial for identifying areas for improvement in content accuracy and presentation styles.

This direct input from users helps Spotify hone its algorithms, ensuring that each year's Wrapped meets and exceeds user expectations.

The broad impact of Spotify wrapped

Spotify Wrapped isnt just a featureits a cultural phenomenon. Its captivating design, engaging narratives, and shareability turn user data into viral moments, inspiring similar features on platforms like Duolingo, Reddit, and Hulu.

By continuously analyzing feedback and refining its algorithms, Spotify ensures that Wrapped evolves with user expectations. This annual recap isnt just a look backits a testament to the transformative power of data storytelling.

Spotify Wrapped exemplifies how advanced analytics and creative design can turn raw data into an engaging user experience. It's a celebration of music, memories, and the connections we share through sound.
KYODO NEWS - Nov 18, 2024 - 08:57 | All, World

Japan and Peru agreed Sunday to jointly work on building reliable and resilient supply chains for critical minerals, as the two countries aim to beef up their strategic partnership under a road map for the next decade.

The agreement between Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte comes as China is boosting ties with Lima. The opening of a new port in Peru under Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative is viewed as a move to broaden its sphere of influence.

During their 70-minute meeting following the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit, Ishiba said Peru is an important partner that shares the same "values and principles."

Ishiba was quoted by his government as saying that Japan intends to bolster cooperation with Peru from the standpoint of ensuring economic security, as the resource-rich nation produces silver, copper and zinc.

Boluarte, who welcomed Ishiba's first visit to Peru, said her country hopes to enhance bilateral relations, according to the Japanese government.

Under the 10-year road map until 2033, Japan and Peru have pledged to increase dialogue at the summit and ministerial levels, promote information sharing between their defense authorities and expand trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges.

The leaders affirmed their partnership in "maintaining and strengthening the free and open international order based on the rule of law," expressing opposition to "any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force or coercion anywhere in the world."

China's deepening ties with Peru have raised U.S. concern, particularly over the recent opening of the port in Chancay. Peru sees the port as a hub connecting Asia and South America to drive economic growth, while the United States fears it could advance China's military objectives.

Related coverage:

Japan PM confirms he will not meet with Trump on return from Brazil

Xi says open to work with Trump but warns not to treat China as enemy

Japan, Ukraine sign security info-sharing pact to boost cooperation
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  Delta Air Lines will be keeping its nonstop flights between Tampa and Amsterdam year-round, an airline spokesperson told News Channel 8.

The airline resumed daily service between the two airports in October, originally planned through May.

Cruise line offers 4-year cruise to skip forward, in wake of U.S. election results

However, the airline told News Channel 8 that the flight will be available four times per week for the summer.

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The airline didnt specify which four days the nonstop flight would be available during the summer months.

However, a search on Deltas website shows the flights available for purchase on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

The flight is on an Airbus A330-300 aircraft, which has 282 seats, according to TPA officials. Available fares include Delta One, Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin.

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.
Then-Oregon House Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, on stage at the annual Oregon Leadership Summit in Portland on Dec. 11, 2023. Rayfield, elected Oregon attorney general, will be one of 23 Democratic attorneys general during the next Trump administration. (Michael Romanos/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

After Donald Trump entered the White House in 2017, Democratic attorneys general in the U.S. quickly started conference calls every Tuesday morning to strategize and map out legal steps.

Within weeks, that quickly turned into legal action, when Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson launched a lawsuit challenging Trumps travel ban that barred most people from predominantly Muslim nations from entering the U.S., even if they had valid visas. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum joined the lawsuit, which led to a court action that blocked Trumps executive order within about a week of its passage.

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As Trump prepares for a new term in office, 23 Democratic attorneys general will be a watchdog against any Trump-led initiatives that they believe are unconstitutional, illegal or both. The landscape has changed: Rosenblum is retiring from the role and former Oregon House Speaker Dan Rayfield will become the next attorney general. Ferguson was elected governor of Washington. The two are the last Democratic attorneys general who were in office when Trump started his first term.

In the second Trump term, attorneys general now have a four-year history of court actions that their predecessors took on wide-ranging issues like immigration, health care and the environment. And they often prevailed in court, an outcome that highlights the remarkable power that attorneys general have, through the court system, to unravel executive orders and directives from the most powerful elected leader in the world.

We kind of have a track record and a set of expectations of how he has operated in the past, Rayfield said in an interview with the Capital Chronicle. The attorneys general are just a check and balance on that power. When he oversteps and pursues, whether its discriminatory or unlawful policies, you are that backstop for that.

Oregon worked closely with Washington and other states during the first Trump term, as Democratic attorneys general collaborated. Ferguson sued the first Trump administration nearly 100 times, losing only three times, the Washington State Standard reported. Oregon joined many of those cases, as did other states.

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Among the cases, all with more than a dozen states participating: Oregon sued in 2017, when Trumps Environmental Protection Agency head delayed a designation of what regions of the country met new ground-level ozone pollution standards. In 2018, Oregon sued to block the federal government from asking people about their citizenship status during the 2020 census. Oregon also joined a lawsuit challenging the Trump administrations immigration policy of separating children from families that crossed the border of Mexico without documentation.

During that first Trump administration, there were a lot of things that just came out of the blue. So you have to be ready under those scenarios.

 Oregon Attorney General-elect Dan Rayfield

Rayfield said the legal fight for states to set stricter emissions controls for vehicles than federal standards  opposed by Republican attorneys general  is an example of an issue where he would fight for Oregons right to do so.

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Another key issue is reproductive health and preserving access to care, including the abortion medication mifepristone, Rayfield said.

Attorneys general also serve as a watchdog of federal actions regardless of whether a member of their party is president. For example, Rosenblum and other attorneys general have sued the federal Food & Drug Administration during the Biden administration for its restrictions on mifepristone.

Rayfield said he understands the fears about what impact a Trump administration will have on immigration. Its one issue among many that hell keep tabs on with his Oregon Department of Justice attorneys.

Those concerns are very real and scary in those communities, he said. But what Id like to do is be able to see where Trump begins to move in that direction, and then see how that unfolds.

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At the same time, Rayfield said his role as attorney general is not simply to be a foil to Trump. The role exists regardless of who the president is, he said.

You have to be firing on all cylinders, he said.

Thats because the attorney general does much more than decide when to sue the federal government. Oregons attorney general leads the Oregon Department of Justice, which has nearly 1,500 workers statewide and an annual budget of about $406 million. The attorney general defends state agencies from lawsuits and advocates on behalf of residents in areas like consumer protection, help with collecting child support and raising public awareness about scammers.

Yet Rayfield said its important to be ready for the unexpected.

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During that first Trump administration, there were a lot of things that just came out of the blue, he said. So you have to be ready under those scenarios. I think it is a state of really knowing what our values are here in Oregon, and then being ready to partner with other attorneys general to make sure that were upholding those values. Because it is a team effort in kind of being that last line of defense.

It was a lot of tweets. We werent really used to a president that personally tweeted, so we had a lot of clues from that and, of course, the executive orders themselves.

 Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum speaks about House Bill 2005, which bans undetectable firearms, on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, at a ceremonial bill signing. Rosenblum, who is retiring, co-chaired a national group of Democratic attorneys general during the first Trump term. (Ben Botkin/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Rosenblum reflects

For Rosenblum, the early days of monitoring the Trump administration in 2017 quickly showed the need for organization. Rosenblum, who served as co-chair of the Democratic Attorneys General Association during the Trump administration, helped lead those early efforts.

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The organization hired a staffer to help track policy changes coming from the White House. And of course, Trumps prolific tweets  before the social media company now known as X banned him  offered hints about what was ahead. Current owner Elon Musk, a Trump supporter who the president-elect named as head of a quasi-governmental Department of Government Efficiency, restored Trumps account in 2022, but Trump continues to primarily use his own social media company, Truth Social.

It was a lot of tweets, Rosenblum said. We werent really used to a president that personally tweeted, so we had a lot of clues from that and, of course, the executive orders themselves.

The group realized that to preserve resources, they needed to work together and coordinate on cases.

We realized that, ideally, in order to conserve resources and also to address issues that were not specific to our states, but that were harming our own constituents in terms of their rights and their freedoms, that we needed to really step it up and work together, Rosenblum said. So we did that on pretty much everything that came our way.

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That helped keep costs down during the four-year Trump term, and Rosenblum said her office never needed to hire outside legal counsel to handle the cases. It also helped to have help from states with better-staffed offices, including Washington, California, New York and Illinois, she said.

The weekly conference calls continued, even after Trump exited office and during the Biden administration. Rosenblum said they were a good way to communicate and collaborate on potential national lawsuits and other issues.

Rosenblum said she expects the office will have a smooth transition through Rayfield. Like Rayfield, she said the role of watchdogging the federal government does not replace an attorney generals role in pocketbook issues like consumer protection.

You definitely dont stop doing your daily bread and butter work of what being attorney general is, and thats really important to the people of Oregon, Rosenblum said.

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Despite the tears, the anger and the hand-wringing, there is a path forward for the Democratic Party.

We must get our voters back.

There are many reasons why we lost this cycle. Its never one thing.

But the reality of 2024 is that a president with a consistent 39% approval rating, despite his historical achievements, would always need help convincing the public for a second term.

Unless the Democratic nominee was going to buck the perceived status quo, headwinds were inevitable, regardless of Trumps overwhelming disqualifications.

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As someone who has been rooting for Kamala Harris since Hillary Clintons loss in 2016, its a hard truth to accept.

Democrats' message has grown stale

A sticker encouraging people to vote Democrat sits on a message board as Gov. Tim Walz campaigns ahead of next week's presidential election in Flagstaff on Nov. 2, 2024.

As the American Dream has become less attainable for the middle class, perpetual anger has driven the electorate.

Since 2016, voters constantly seek change and rebel against what they view as the incumbency. Thats how we can go from Barack Obama to Donald Trump, to Joe Biden, to Trump again.

That doesnt mean our losses had to be as brutal as they were.

Our messaging has grown stale, and our appeal to broader swaths of the electorate has diminished. These issues must be addressed in Arizona so we can pull voters back into our tent.

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Democrats retooled our messaging in 2018 to recapture the narrative with swing voters, and that gave us huge wins.

In 2020, coalition building, consistent media appearances from party leadership, a coordinated campaign built around Sen. Mark Kelly, and a consistent message that we were the party of common sense helped bolster strong voter registration.

Those gains helped flip our state for the first time in 25 years. But as I warned in 2022, this trend wouldnt last.

The party is hemorrhaging Arizona voters

Since the close of 2020, Arizona Democrats have been hemorrhaging voters.

Until this point, our statewide and swing district victories have relied on Democrats voting a straight ticket, winning the majority of independent voters and carving out enough moderate Republicans to put us over the top.

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That worked for a while. But not this time.

There are 4.37 million registered Arizona voters. Republicans represent the largest group with 1,562,091 (35.77%), followed by independents with 1,471,309 (33.69%), then Democrats with 1,266,536 voters (29%).

The Republican registration advantage over Arizona Democrats has grown since 2020. While the Republican Party has maintained some 35% of all registered voters, we fell from 33% in 2020 to 29% today.

Most alarming is that 37,000 Democrats switched to Republicans after Bidens 2020 victory, while just 19,000 Republicans became Democrats. Meanwhile, nonpartisan registration shot up from 25% to 29%.

The far left cannot continue to define us

Arizona Democrats must enter the midterms at fighting strength. That means having more voters in our ranks. It likely means its time for fresh leadership.

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Registering requires good messaging. People arent choosing our party because our furthest left elements are defining our narrative and taking us off message.

Democrats lack an empathetic tone on the economy. We have monolithic communications practices with communities of color.

Opinion: This tirade perfectly explains why Dems lost

We use borderline Elvish lingo birthed from think tanks that push the limits of political correctness. We lack strength and appeal in rural areas.

All of this must be considered so we can properly persuade new and unaffiliated voters to become Democrats. Messaging on the American Dream must become our north star.

Democrats ignore these trends at their peril

If youre a Democrat frustrated with having to rely on independents and moderate Republicans to win elections, good. Register more voters in the Democratic Party.

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If youre confused about how voters could back an abortion rights initiative and then vote a straight Republican ticket, good. Go register more Democratic voters.

2024s results were not an aberration. This was years in the making. People left us, and too few who stayed were motivated enough to vote.

We ignore this at our peril. We must register voters and then convince them to cast a ballot.

Matt Grodsky is a partner at Matters of State Strategies. He was the communications director for Adrian Fontes 2022 secretary of state campaign and served as communications director for the Arizona Democratic Party in 2020. On X, formerly Twitter, @mattgrodsky.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Democrats lost Arizona because our messaging is stale. We can fix that
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT)  The building that was home to The Tuscaloosa News newspaper for 20 years is now in the process of being destroyed.

Demolition on the building, which was built in 2002 after a $30 million commitment from former owner The New York Times Co., began last week. The property, which was bought by the city of Tuscaloosa for nearly $8 million back in 2019, will be home to the Saban Center, a mixed-use facility that would serve the Childrens Hands-On Museum and other local groups.

The Tuscaloosa News had moved into the building in 2002 after spending decades in a former car dealership along Sixth Street.

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The staff of the newspaper, which is currently owned by Gannett, moved out of the building in late 2022 and now occupies space in the same building as Dillards Chophouse at Temerson Square on Fourth Street.

The building, which was known for its two-story printing press and photos highlighting west Alabama over the years., was the site of many big events for the local newspaper. On April 27, 2011, staff hunkered in the basement of the building as a tornado decimated much of the city and west Alabama. Nonetheless, the staff regrouped, tirelessly reporting on recovery steps in the aftermath. The work, which utilized Twitter as a way to get information out in real time on the devastation, was recognized nationally with a Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News in 2012.

The demolition is set to be completed early next year. The Saban Center is set to be completed sometime in 2027.



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.
Photo illustration by Oona Zenda of KFF Health News.

Becky Carroll was missing a few teeth, and others were stained or crooked. Ashamed, she smiled with lips pressed closed. Her dentist offered to fix most of her teeth with root canals and crowns, Carroll said, but she was wary of traveling a long road of dental work.

Then Carroll saw a TV commercial for another path: ClearChoice Dental Implant Centers. The company advertises that it can give patients a new smile in as little as one day by surgically replacing teeth instead of fixing them.

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So Carroll saved and borrowed for the surgery, she said. In an interview and a lawsuit, Carroll said that at a ClearChoice clinic in New Jersey in 2021, she agreed to pay $31,000 to replace all her natural upper teeth with pearly-white prosthetic ones. What came next, Carroll said, was like a horror movie.

Carroll alleged that her anesthesia wore off during implant surgery, so she became conscious as her teeth were removed and titanium screws were twisted into her jawbone. Afterward, Carrolls prosthetic teeth were so misaligned that she was largely unable to chew for more than two years until she could afford corrective surgery at another clinic, according to a sworn deposition from her lawsuit.

ClearChoice has denied Carrolls claims of malpractice and negligence in court filings and did not respond to requests for comment on the ongoing case.

I thought implants would be easier, and all at once, so you didnt have to keep going back to the dentist, Carroll, 52, said in an interview. But I should have asked more questions  like, Can they save these teeth?

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Dental implants have been used for more than half a century to surgically replace missing or damaged teeth with artificial duplicates, often with picture-perfect results. While implant dentistry was once the domain of a small group of highly trained dentists and specialists, tens of thousands of dental providers now offer the surgery and place millions of implants each year in the U.S.

Amid this booming industry, some implant experts worry that many dentists are losing sight of dentistrys fundamental goal of preserving natural teeth and have become too willing to remove teeth to make room for expensive implants, according to a months-long investigation by KFF Health News and CBS News. In interviews, 10 experts said they had each given second opinions to multiple patients who had been recommended for mouths full of implants that the experts ultimately determined were not necessary. Separately, lawsuits filed across the country have alleged that implant patients like Carroll have experienced painful complications that have required corrective surgery, while other lawsuits alleged dentists at some implant clinics have persuaded, pressured, or forced patients to remove teeth unnecessarily.

The experts warn that implants, for a single tooth or an entire mouth, expose patients to costs and surgery complications, plus a new risk of future dental problems with fewer treatment options because their natural teeth are forever gone.

There are many cases where teeth, theyre perfectly fine, and theyre being removed unnecessarily, said William Giannobile, dean of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. I really hate to say it, but many of them are doing it because these procedures, from a monetary standpoint, theyre much more beneficial to the practitioner.

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Giannobile and nine other experts say they are combating a false public perception that implants are more durable and longer-lasting than natural teeth, which some believe stems in part from advertising on TV and social media. Implants require upkeep, and although they cant get cavities, studies have shown that patients can be susceptible to infections in the gums and bone around their implants.

Just because somebody can afford implants doesnt necessarily mean that theyre a good candidate, said George Mandelaris, a Chicago-area periodontist and member of the American Academy of Periodontology Board of Trustees. When an implant has infection, or when an implant has bone loss, an implant dies a much quicker death than do teeth.

Dental implants have been used to replace damaged or missing teeth for decades. They generally consist of a metal anchor screwed into the bone, then capped with a prosthetic tooth, commonly made of porcelain. (Getty Images)

In its simplest form, implant surgery involves extracting a single tooth and replacing it with a metal post that is screwed into the jaw and then affixed with a prosthetic tooth commonly made of porcelain, also known as a crown. Patients can also use full-arch or All-on-4 implants to replace all their upper or lower teeth  or all their teeth.

For this story, KFF Health News and CBS News sought interviews with large dental chains whose clinics offer implant surgery  ClearChoice, Aspen Dental, Affordable Care, and Dental Care Alliance  each of which declined to be interviewed or did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The Association of Dental Support Organizations, which represents these companies and others like them, also declined an interview request.

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ClearChoice, which specializes in full-arch implants, did not answer more than two dozen questions submitted in writing. In an emailed statement, the company said full-arch implants have become a well-accepted standard of care for patients with severe tooth loss and teeth with poor prognosis.

The use of full-arch restorations reflects the evolution of modern dentistry, offering patients a solution that restores their ability to eat, speak, and live comfortably  far beyond what traditional dentures can provide, the company said.

Carroll said she regrets not letting her dentist try to fix her teeth and rushing to ClearChoice for implants.

Because it was a nightmare, she said.

They Are Not Teeth

Dental implant surgery can be a godsend for patients with unsalvageable teeth. Several experts said implants can be so transformative that their invention should have contended for a Nobel Prize. And yet, these experts still worry that implants are overused, because it is generally better for patients to have their natural teeth.

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Paul Rosen, a Pennsylvania periodontist who said he has worked with implants for more than three decades, said many patients believe a fallacy that implants are bulletproof.

You cant just have an implant placed and go off riding into the sunset, Rosen said. In many instances, they need more care than teeth because they are not teeth.

Generally, a single implant costs a few thousand dollars while full-arch implants cost tens of thousands. Neither procedure is well covered by dental insurance, so many clinics partner with credit companies that offer loans for implant surgeries. At ClearChoice, for example, loans can be as large as $65,000 paid off over 10 years, according to the companys website.

Despite the price, implants are more popular than ever. Sales increased by more than 6% on average each year since 2010, culminating in more than 3.7 million implants sold in the U.S. in 2022, according to a 2023 report produced by iData Research, a health care market research firm.

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Some worry implant dentistry has gone too far. In 10 interviews, dentists and dental specialists with expertise in implants said they had witnessed the overuse of implants firsthand. Each expert said theyd examined multiple patients in recent years who were recommended for full-arch implants by other dentists despite their teeth being treatable with conventional dentistry.

Giannobile, the Harvard dean, said he had given second opinions to dozens of patients who were recommended for implants they did not need.

I see many of these patients now that are coming in and saying, Ive been seen, and they are telling me to get my entire dentition  all of my teeth  extracted. And then Ill take a look at them and say that we can preserve most of your teeth, Giannobile said.

Tim Kosinski, who is a representative of the Academy of General Dentistry and said he has placed more than 19,000 implants, said he examines as many as five patients a month who have been recommended for full-arch implants that he deems unnecessary.

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There is a push in the profession to remove teeth that could be saved, Kosinski said. But the public isnt aware.

Luiz Gonzaga, a periodontist and prosthodontist at the University of Florida, said he, too, had turned away patients who wanted most or all their teeth extracted. Gonzaga said some had received implant recommendations that he considered an atrocity.

You dont go to the hospital and tell them I broke my finger a couple of times. This is bothering me. Can you please cut my finger off? No one will do that, Gonzaga said. Why would I extract your tooth because you need a root canal?

Jaime Lozada, director of an elite dental implant residency program at Loma Linda University, said hed not only witnessed an increase in dentists extracting perfectly healthy teeth but also treated a rash of patients with mouths full of ill-fitting implants that had to be surgically replaced.

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Lozada said in August that hed treated seven such patients in just three months.

When individuals just make a decision of extracting teeth to make it simple and make money quick, so to speak, thats where I have a problem, Lozada said. And it happens quite often.

When full-arch implants fail, patients sometimes dont have enough jawbone left to anchor another set. These patients have little choice but to get implants that reach into cheekbones, said Sohail Saghezchi, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon at the University of California-San Francisco.

Its kind of like a last resort, Saghezchi said. If those fail, you dont have anywhere else to go.

It Was Horrendous Dentistry

Most of the experts interviewed for this article said their rising alarm corresponded with big changes in the availability of dental implants. Implants are now offered by more than 70,000 dental providers nationwide, two-thirds of whom are general dentists, according to the iData Research report.

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Dentists are not required to learn how to place implants in dental school, nor are they required to complete implant training before performing the surgery in nearly all states. This year, Oregon started requiring dentists to complete 56 hours of hands-on training before placing any implants. Stephen Prisby, executive director of the Oregon Board of Dentistry, said the requirement  the first and only of its kind in the U.S.  was a response to dozens of investigations in the state into botched surgeries and other implant failures, split evenly between general dentists and specialists.

I was frankly stunned at how bad some of these dentists were practicing, Prisby said. It was horrendous dentistry.

Many dental clinics that offer implants have consolidated into chains owned by private equity firms that have bought out much of implant dentistry. In health care, private equity investment is sometimes criticized for overtreatment and prioritizing short-term profit over patients.

Private equity firms have spent about $5 billion in recent years to buy large dental chains that offer implants at hundreds of clinics owned by individual dentists and dental specialists. ClearChoice was bought for an estimated $1.1 billion in 2020 by Aspen Dental, which is owned by three private equity firms, according to PitchBook, a research firm focused on the private equity industry. Private equity firms also bought Affordable Care, whose largest clinic brand is Affordable Dentures & Implants, for an estimated $2.7 billion in 2021, according to PitchBook. And the private equity wing of the Abu Dhabi government bought Dental Care Alliance, which offers implants at many of its affiliated clinics, for an estimated $1 billion in 2022, according to PitchBook.

ClearChoice and Aspen Dental each said in email statements that the companies private equity owners do not have influence or control over treatment recommendations. Both companies said dentists or dental specialists make all clinical decisions.

Private equity deals involving dental practices increased ninefold from 2011 to 2021, according to an American Dental Association study published in August. The study also said investors showed an interest in oral surgery, possibly because of the high prices of implants.

Some argue this is a negative thing, said Marko Vujicic, vice president of the associations Health Policy Institute, who co-authored the study. On the other hand, some would argue that involvement of private equity and outside capital brings economies of scale, it brings efficiency.

Edwin Zinman, a San Francisco dental malpractice attorney and former periodontist who has filed hundreds of dental lawsuits over four decades, said he believed many of the worst fears about private equity owners had already come true in implant dentistry.

Theyve sold a lot of [implants], and some of it unnecessarily, and too often done negligently, without having the dentists who are doing it have the necessary training and experience, Zinman said. Its for five simple letters: M-O-N-E-Y.

Hundreds of Implant Clinics With No Specialists

For this article, journalists from KFF Health News and CBS News analyzed the webpages for more than 1,000 clinics in the nations largest private equity-owned dental chains, all of which offer some implants. The analysis found that more than 70% of those clinics listed only general dentists on their websites and did not appear to employ the specialists  oral surgeons, periodontists, or prosthodontists  who traditionally have more training with implants.

Affordable Dentures & Implants listed specialists at fewer than 5% of its more than 400 clinics, according to the analysis. The rest were staffed by general dentists, most of whom did not list credentialing from implant training organizations, according to the analysis.

ClearChoice, on the other hand, employs at least one oral surgeon or prosthodontist at each of its more than 100 centers, according to the analysis. But its new parent company, Aspen Dental, which offers implants in many of its more than 1,100 clinics, does not list any specialists at many of those locations.

Not everyone is worried about private equity in implant dentistry. In interviews arranged by the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, which trains dentists to use implants, two other implant experts did not express concerns about private equity firms.

Brian Jackson, a former academy president and implant specialist in New York, said he believed dentists are too ethical and patients are too smart to be pressured by private equity owners who will never see a patient.

Jumoke Adedoyin, a chief clinical officer for Affordable Care, who has placed implants at an Affordable Dentures & Implants clinic in the Atlanta suburbs for 15 years, said she had never felt pressure from above to sell implants.

Ive actually felt more pressure sometimes from patients who have gone around and been told they need to take their teeth out, she said. They come in and, honestly, taking a look at them, maybe they dont need to take all their teeth out.

Still, lawsuits filed across the country have alleged that dentists at implant clinics have extracted patients teeth unnecessarily.

For example, in Texas, a patient alleged in a 2020 lawsuit that an Affordable Care dentist removed every single tooth from her mouth when such was not necessary, then stuffed her mouth with gauze and left her waiting in the lobby as he and his staff left for lunch. In Maryland, a patient alleged in a 2021 lawsuit that ClearChoice convinced her to extract eight healthy upper teeth, by greatly downplay[ing] the risks. In Florida, a patient alleged in a 2023 lawsuit that ClearChoice provided her with no other treatment options before extracting all her teeth, which was totally unnecessary.

ClearChoice and Affordable Care denied wrongdoing in their respective lawsuits, then privately settled out of court with each patient. ClearChoice and Affordable Care did not respond to requests for comment submitted to the companies or attorneys. Lawyers for all three plaintiffs declined to comment on these lawsuits or did not respond to requests for comment.

Fred Goldberg, a Maryland dental malpractice attorney who said he has represented at least six clients who sued ClearChoice, said each of his clients agreed to get implants after meeting with a salesperson  not a dentist.

Every client Ive had who has gone to ClearChoice has started off meeting a salesperson and actually signing up to get their financing through ClearChoice before they ever meet with a dentist, Goldberg said. You meet with a salesperson who sells you on what they like to present as the best choice, which is almost always that theyre going to take out all your natural teeth.

Becky Carroll, the ClearChoice patient from New Jersey, told a similar story.

Carroll said in her lawsuit that she met first with a ClearChoice salesperson referred to as a patient education consultant. In an interview, Carroll said the salesperson encouraged her to borrow money from family members for the surgery and it was not until after she agreed to a loan and passed a credit check that a ClearChoice dentist peered into her mouth.

It seems way backwards, Carroll said. They just want to know youre approved before you get to talk to a dentist.

CBS News producer Nicole Keller contributed to this report.

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.
DENVER (KDVR)  Early Monday, sunshine in Denver will lead to afternoon clouds before a quick dose of snow on Tuesday morning in the Denver weather forecast.

Weather today: Afternoon clouds

Clouds from the high country will bring a few light snow showers that will push into the Front Range by Monday afternoon. Highs in Denver will top out in the middle 50s with a late breeze.

View the latest Weather Alerts in Denver and across Colorado on FOX31

Pinpoint Weather: Daily forecast on Nov. 18

Weather tonight: Early morning snow

Clouds linger overnight with a light breeze. Low temperatures will dip into the middle 20s with light snow in the early morning hours on Tuesday.

Pinpoint Weather: Overnight forecast on Nov. 18

Looking ahead: Warmer temperatures

Sunshine is back for Denver on Tuesday afternoon with chilly highs in the upper 30s. Snowfall totals look to be larger in the higher elevations with 3-8 inches, while the Palmer Divide and base of the foothills could see a light coating on grassy surfaces.

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FOX31 Weather: View the latest Denver forecasts, maps and radar

Pinpoint Weather: Snow totals on Nov. 19 Pinpoint Weather: Snow totals on Nov. 19

The sunny skies are back for Wednesday afternoon as highs are close to seasonal averages in the lower 50s. Thursday looks comfy with highs climbing into the lower 60s and mainly sunny skies.

Pinpoint Weather 7-day forecast for Denver on Nov. 18

Friday is similar with abundant sunshine and above average highs in the lower 60s. The weekend is also looking to be warmer with highs near the 60-degree mark.

Denver could see a few extra clouds over the weekend but expect plenty of sunshine.

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 man has been arrested in connection with the stabbing death of his girlfriend who died at a hospital in south Sacramento on Sunday.

Deputies were called to a report of a stabbing around 6:30 a.m. after a woman was taken to Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center with stab wounds, said Sheriffs Office spokesman Sgt. Amar Gandhi. The woman died at the hospital, he said.

Homicide detectives and deputies learned the stabbing likely occurred on the 6300 block of Leola Way in the unincorporated Lemon Hill neighborhood and began their investigation at the home.

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Based on their investigation, detectives determined that the victims 29-year-old boyfriend, Paul Barclay, was responsible for her death, the Sheriffs Office said in a Monday update.

Barclay was arrested and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of murder. Hes expected to be arraigned in Sacramento Superior Court on Tuesday. He is not eligible for bail, the Sheriffs Office said.

The Sacramento County Coroners Office expected to release the womans identity in the coming days.

The incident followed an unrelated shooting in the Lemon Hill area that left one man dead Friday night, according to the Sheriffs Office.
Then-Rep. Matt Gaetz arrives on stage during the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit held at the Tampa Convention Center on July 23, 2022. Now Donald Trump wants to make him attorney general. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

In January this year, Donald Trump said that if he were reelected president, it would be highly unlikely hed appoint Ron DeSantis to his Cabinet.

Eleven months later, Ronbo says he didnt want no stupid job anyway.

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So there.

Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to reporters in the spin room following the NBC News Republican Presidential Primary Debate in Miami on Nov. 8, 2023. (Photo by Getty Images)

Cheer up, Ronbo! You got what you said you wanted way back when you were still cloddishly trying to win the Republican presidential nomination: America is now Florida.

The very worst of Florida.

Now Ronbo is like the kid who wasnt invited to the cool party, left standing outside looking in the window at the fun.

Smart money says his political career is not merely toast, its burnt toast left out in the rain.

The American people met him in the primary race, and the American people did not like him.

He can only sigh wistfully as he watches Rep. Mike Waltz of St. Johns County become Trumps national security adviser, and Susie Wiles, Trumps campaign manager, become White House chief of staff.

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Wiles worked in Ron DeSantis 2018 gubernatorial campaign, but Casey DeSantis didnt like her: Apparently, Wiles was insufficiently deferential and also fell afoul of DeSantis weird persecution complex.

She left and ended up running Trumps 2024 presidential campaign.

Bet Ronbo now wishes he hadnt alienated and insulted her.

Rubio and Scott

But wait, theres more: Trump says he will name Marco Rubio, Floridas second dumbest senator, U.S. secretary of state.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. Aug. 15, 2022. (Photos courtesy of Sen. Rubios office)

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott. (Photo by Getty Images)

In the past, our thirsty Marcocito has called the president-elect vulgar and a con-artist, suggesting Trump is incontinent, and that his stumpy little hands indicate a deficit in the, er, masculine member department.

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These days its all polluted water under the collapsing bridge: Marcocito is perfectly happy to sell his soul for power.

Floridas first dumbest senator, Rick Scott, just tried  again  to get himself elected Senate majority leader.

Again, it did not go well.

Scott lost in 2022; this year, he was eliminated in the first round.

He won only 13 votes.

Scott looked a bit perplexed afterward: How could he lose to the likes of John Thune, a McConnell guy, a guy from South Dakota, which has no beaches whatsoever?

Its not fair! Elon Musk said he supported Rick Scott! So did Donald Trump!

And that nice conspiracy theory white supremacist lady Laura Loomer, too!

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Even Ted Cruz endorsed him, and everyone loves Ted Cruz, except for the entire Senate and people in 49 out of 50 states.

But back to Ron DeSantis favorite subject: Ron DeSantis.

Ronbo gets to appoint someone to finish out the last two years of Rubios Senate term.

The MAGA-verse is humming with rumors: Who will it be?

James Uthmeier, Ronbos chief of staff?

Ashley Moody? Floridas attorney general shares DeSantis casual attitude to the Constitution.

How about Lara Trump?

Lara Trump and Matt Gaetz?

Members of the Trump World brain trust, including Alabama senator and kitchen showroom model Katie Britt as well as our own Rick Scott, say the aspiring chanteuse wife of Eric Trump should be installed in what those silly old democracy lovers used to call the worlds greatest deliberative body.

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Her hair-flicking vacuousness and bottomless ignorance (see Rick Scott above) make her the ideal pick for the state of FloriMAGAduh.

All this is vastly entertaining  assuming you enjoy watching America slide into fascism  and it allows Ronbo a last bit of attention on the national stage.

But the real action isnt in Tallahassee, its at Mar-a-Lago.

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Donald Trumps a foul-mouthed rapist, a liar, and a felon with a decency deficit the size of the Grand Canyon and utter contempt for the law and the Constitution.

So, its no surprise hes nominated mini-me Matt Gaetz for attorney general of the United States. Its the most Florida Man thing Florida Man Trump could possibly do.

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Gaetz, a sneering nepo baby known to boast about his sexual conquests on the House floor, has not endeared himself to many in Washington (see Ted Cruz above).

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, calls him a jerk-off.

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa doubt hed make it through the confirmation process.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, called him unserious.

Clearly Trump would choose someone who, like him, has a mugshot.

Admittedly, Gaetz has not yet been convicted of a crime, but give the boy time  hes already criminal-adjacent.

Demanding to see the report

The House Ethics Panel has been investigating him for sex trafficking an under-age girl, using illegal drugs, and accepting illicit gifts.

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Two days before the House findings were due to come out, Gaetz resigned. Congress no longer has jurisdiction over him.

But the big boys and girls in the United States Senate  both Democrats and Republicans  are demanding to see the report.

That could take the puff out of Gaetzs pompadour and, in a functioning democracy, would be enough to quash his nomination.

MAGAmerica

But this is MAGAmerica: Trumps likely to demand the Senate abdicate its most serious constitutional duty, handing Gaetz and the rest of the Klown Kar Kabinet  the brain-worm anti-vaxxer wholl be in charge of Centers for Disease Control, the white supremacist Fox News host wholl be in charge of the Pentagon, the Putin-loving fruitcake as head of national intelligence  recess appointments.

President-elect Donald Trump has said he plans to nominate Pete Hegseth as secretary of Defense. In this photo, Hegseth speaks onstage during the 2023 Fox Nation Patriot Awards at The Grand Ole Opry on Nov. 16, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)

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That means Gaetz, JFK Jr., Pete Hegseth, and Tulsi Gabbard would have two years before they need real Senate confirmation.

Plenty of time to help Trump destroy the nation.

Should the Senate demonstrate its in possession of a functioning spine and rejects the usurpation of its duty, Matt Gaetz could run for governor of Florida.

Sure, hes said he wont, but since when do we believe anything that sleazy critter says?

After all, hes currently unemployed.

Hell have to beat the other agents of destruction hungry for the top job: Ashley Moody, CFO Jimmy Patronis, New College President Richard Corcoran, Rep. Byron Donalds, even First Lady Casey DeSantis.

Assuming, of course, theres still a state to govern and a sulky Ronbo hasnt completely reduced Florida to a smoking pile of odoriferous rubble.

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KYODO NEWS - Nov 17, 2024 - 23:59 | World, All

Japan agreed Sunday that its Ground Self-Defense Force will regularly take part in annual joint drills in Australia also involving the United States, ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration next year.

During their meeting, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and his Australian and U.S. counterparts, Richard Marles and Lloyd Austin, reaffirmed their commitment to deepening their partnership, while confirming they will set up a new trilateral consultative body.

Following the gathering hosted by Marles in Darwin, the three defense chiefs held a joint press conference expressing concern about the increasingly severe regional security environment. The capital of Australia's Northern Territory is known as a garrison town.

At the news conference, Marles said the regular participation of the GSDF's marine unit, which is responsible for carrying out amphibious operations, would help to bolster interoperability among Australia, Japan and the United States.

The Australian defense minister called the move a "very important statement to the region and to the world about the commitment that our three countries have in working with each other."

Austin, who will leave his post early next year, also said the United States hopes its Marine Corps stationed in Darwin will expand cooperation with Japan after the GSDF starts participating in the joint exercises in 2025.

Nakatani, meanwhile, emphasized the importance of the new three-way consultative body after saying at the outset of the meeting, "We want to update defense cooperation among Japan, the United States and Australia to a practical framework."

A joint statement released after the gathering said, "Recognizing the critical role the trilateral partnership plays to uphold regional stability, we commit to trilateral policy coordination and to consult each other on regional security issues and contingencies."

The three defense chiefs are visiting Darwin with fears growing that the incoming Republican Trump administration could downplay security involvement in the Asia-Pacific region under an "America First" policy.

Trump, who has expressed skepticism about multilateralism, secured a decisive victory in the Nov. 5 presidential election, defeating Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. He will succeed President Joe Biden in January 2025.

During Biden's presidency from 2021, Tokyo, Canberra and Washington have strengthened trilateral defense drills to enhance interoperability and deterrence, particularly in the face of Beijing's military activities in the East and South China seas.

The United States and its allies have also remained vigilant about North Korea, which continues to conduct missile tests and boost military ties with Russia. South Korea has claimed Pyongyang has sent troops to Russia to support Moscow's war in Ukraine.

The last meeting of the Japanese, Australian and U.S. defense chiefs was held in Hawaii in May. A former Self-Defense Forces officer, Nakatani was appointed defense chief in Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet launched on Oct. 1, having previously served in the post in the mid-2010s.

In another move, Marles formally announced that the number of candidate countries for the potential joint development of a new warship that the Australian navy plans to introduce has been narrowed from four to two, including Japan.

Marles said at the press conference that his nation has evaluated highly Japan's plans for a frigate it is considering constructing with Australia.

Related coverage:

Japan, U.S., South Korea set up secretariat to enshrine cooperation

Japan, U.S. vow solid alliance under respective new gov'ts

Japan, Ukraine sign security info-sharing pact to boost cooperation
A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.

On Nov. 18, 1978, U.S. Rep. Leo J. Ryan of California and four others were killed on an airstrip in Jonestown, Guyana, by members of Peoples Temple; the killings were followed by a night of mass murder and suicide resulting in the deaths of more than 900 cult members.

Even now, 46 years later, the numbers seem overwhelming. Coverage of the murder-suicide deaths was spread over several days due to the remoteness of Guyana on the northeast coast of South America.

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Per reports, Ryan had come to investigate the remote agricultural settlement built by a California-based church. But while he was there, more than a dozen people had stepped forward: We want to return to the United States, they said.

Peoples Temple sprang from the heartland in the 1950s. Jones built an interracial congregation in Indianapolis. Moving his flock to California, the minister transformed his church into a leftist social movement with programs for the poor. He was head of San Franciscos public housing commission when media scrutiny and legal problems spurred his retreat to Jonestown.

Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about Jonestown, Guyana, and how the survivors have tried to move forward:

Young Jonestown survivors built new lives amid grief, scorn

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30 years later, legacy of Jonestown tragedy endures

Jonestown survivor says we were duped

Lessons of Jonestown wear a human face

Little remains at Jonestown, but legacy haunts Guyana

Woman fled Jonestown, tried in vain to alert world

This January 1976 photo shows the Rev. Jim Jones, pastor of Peoples Temple in San Francisco. Dozens of Peoples Temple members in Guyana survived the mass suicides and murders of more than 900 because they had slipped out of Jonestown or happened to be away Nov. 18, 1978. | CHR

This November 1978 file photo shows the bodies of Peoples Temple mass suicide victims led by Jim Jones in Jonestown, Guyana. | AP

How could it happen?

Pain remains 20 years after Jonestown
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU)  The Downtown Partners invites the Siouxland community to support local independently owned businesses in this years Small Business Saturday.

This years campaign, Destination Downtown, gives Siouxland a glimpse into the people and stories that make the businesses in Downtown Sioux City so unique, according to a press release.

The event this year takes place at independent businesses this holiday season on Nov. 30 in Downtown Sioux City.

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This campaign shines a spotlight on some of the great places Siouxland can discover. We hope this helps you find more reasons to shop small and appreciate what makes downtown so special, says Tracie Tuttle, Business Development Coordinator with Downtown Partners.

Siouxland film festival brings a new perspective to short films

Small Business Saturday is held in the busiest holiday shopping season and is designed as a counterpart to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Downtown Partners supports this initiative for local store owners and wants to help add incentives that bring shoppers to small businesses located in downtown Sioux City, according to a press release.

Downtown Partners will be offering a chance to win a gift basket filled with over $500 in prizes from local businesses on Small Business Saturday. Shoppers can enter by taking a photo at a downtown business, sharing it on social media, or emailing it to info@downtownsiouxcity.com, and tagging both Downtown Partners and the business.

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To learn more about the benefits of shopping small, click here.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports.
Governor-elect Mike Braun greets supporters at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis on Nov. 5, 2024. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle)

Events for Governor-elect Mike Brauns inauguration will span three days, with a Saturday night gala and Sunday morning Catholic Mass preceding the official swearing-in ceremony on Monday, Jan. 13.

Previously, Braun announced that former GOP Chair Anne Hathaway will lead the inaugural committee while Emily Daniels Spaulding will be the inaugural director.

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Brauns celebration will kickoff with ticketed events on Saturday, Jan. 11, including a VIP and sponsor reception before the 6 p.m. gala and dinner at the JW Marriott, where he also held his first post-election press conference.

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Sundays Mass will be held at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis at 10 a.m. The free event is open to the public but the church also hosts a livestream for virtual viewing.

Later that day, at a time yet to be determined, inauguration activities will include a Hoosier Heritage Family Day hosted by the Indiana State Museum, which will also be free and open to the public. An RSVP is not required to attend but is encouraged, according to the event page.

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On Monday, Jan. 13, incoming First Lady Maureen Braun will host an 8:30 a.m. breakfast honoring Indianas female entrepreneurs, with tickets starting at $30.

At 9:30 a.m., doors will open to the Hilbert Circle Theatre  where the inauguration and swearing-in will take place at 11 a.m. Alongside Braun, Micah Beckwith will be sworn in as lieutenant governor and Todd Rokita will be sworn in as attorney general.

Though free and open to the public, the inauguration team asks that those interested in attending RSVP at ceremony@brauninauguration.com.

The festivities are a return to normal. When Gov. Eric Holcomb and Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch were sworn in for their second terms in January 2021, COVID-19 vaccinations were just materializing.

So, a socially distanced oath occurred with only 50 people in attendance rather than thousands, The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reported.

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ST. LOUIS  Homicide detectives with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department are investigating after two men were found dead late Monday morning.

According to Lt. Adam Duke, a police spokesman, two men were found dead around 11:30 a.m. inside a residence in the 6100 block of Garesche Avenue, located in the Walnut Park West neighborhood.

Police had received calls to check on the residents.

From some concerned people in the area about what was happening inside the house. Our officers arrived, and we located two deceased individuals, Lt. Duke said.

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Kirkwood woman accused of embezzling $30K from Hoffman Brothers

The investigation is in its early stages. Duke said the two deceased men lived at the home and were related.

The first is probably in his thirties. The second is in his late 50s, early 60s, Lt. Duke said.

He said officers also found a man at the scene who is now a person of interest.

Our homicide detectives are some of the best in the business, Lt. Duke said. Theyre working hard right now, and I think theyre going to get this wrapped up pretty quickly.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Danette Parr, former community development director in Maplewood, is the new community development director in Stillwater.

Parrs first day on the job in Stillwater was Monday. Her annual salary is $153,921.

Parr, 51, had been Maplewoods community development director for two years. Prior to that, she served as community and economic development director in Plymouth; economic development director in Cottage Grove; director of business development in St. Paul; and community development and natural resources director in Prior Lake.

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Parr impressed Stillwater officials with her tremendous amount of experience in the field and strong interpersonal skills, Stillwater City Administrator Joe Kohlmann said. Not only is she a great fit for Stillwater, but we feel she will be able to elevate the city even further on a premier level.

Parr, who grew up in Hudson, Wis., said she looks forward to returning to the St. Croix River Valley. I feel like its coming full circle, she said.

Maplewood has a population of 40,000; Stillwater has about 19,000.

While its half the population, Stillwater is just a really special place, Parr said. Everybody knows Stillwater. After working in this field for 25 years, I feel lucky to be ready for the job. I feel like Im at this sweet spot. I dont know if I would have been ready for the job 10 years ago, but I feel like now I have this culmination of all my skills and Ive made a lot of partnerships out there that I feel like can serve the city well  the businesses on the hill and the business park as well as downtown.

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Parr has a masters degree in public administration from Hamline University and a bachelors in land management and environmental studies from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

She and her husband, Chad, live in Mendota Heights with their three children.

Tim Gladhill, who previously held the position, left Stillwater in August to become community development director in Brooklyn Park.

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Sean Combs' lawyers said Monday that prosecutors took "improper possession" of his handwritten notes.

The notes were taken from his jail cell and include "privileged attorney-client details," they said.

His lawyers want an evidentiary hearing, at which prosecutors would explain what was taken and why.

Lawyers for Sean "Diddy" Combs on Monday accused the prosecutors in his sex-trafficking case of improperly possessing sensitive notes he wrote by hand while in jail awaiting trial in Manhattan.

The handwritten notes and other material from Combs' cell include "attorney-client privileged material," his lawyers said when demanding a hearing to determine what was taken and why.

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In a letter asking US District Judge Arun Subramanian to set an immediate hearing date, Combs' defense team said prosecutors should be asked to explain who authorized "a search of Mr. Combs' sleeping area, personal effects, and paperwork" at his federal jail in Brooklyn.

"The targeted seizure of a pre-trial detainee's work product and privileged materials  created in preparation for trial  is outrageous government conduct amounting to a substantive due process violation," his lawyers wrote in the letter, signed by the defense attorney Marc Agnifilo.

Combs has been held in a Brooklyn detention center since mid-September when he was arrested on a federal indictment alleging he engaged in a decadeslong pattern of physical and sexual violence against multiple victims, including at elaborate sex parties he called "freak-offs."

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His lawyers have said that the sexual contact was consensual and that his accusers have a financial incentive to lie.

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Combs' lawyers said in Monday's letter that they only learned federal prosecutors were in possession of privileged materials from their client's jail cell late on Friday during an ongoing legal battle over bail.

Prosecutors referenced the materials in a 30-page memorandum opposing Combs' third bid at bail. Their arguments for keeping Combs detained included allegations that the multimillionaire music mogul was trying to obstruct justice by contacting witnesses, including a woman he hoped would publicly support him.

The prosecution's bail memorandum did mention "notes from the defendant's cell" that had been taken from Combs "during a pre-planned nationwide sweep of BOP facilities," a reference to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Details of the handwritten notes were redacted from the prosecution memo.

Prosecutors assured the defense and the judge that any seized materials that qualified as "possibly privileged" were reviewed by an independent government "filter team" to remove any attorney-client communications that prosecutors are barred from seeing.

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On Monday, Combs' lawyers countered that the prosecutors' 30-page bail memorandum showed the filter team didn't do its job.

"The prosecutors are currently in possession of privileged material and are actively using this material to detain the defendant," they wrote in asking for an evidentiary hearing.

Agnifilo and a spokesperson for the US Attorney's Office didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Combs, his defense team, and prosecutors are scheduled to return to court on Friday for the third round of bail arguments. He has offered his Miami mansion as collateral for a $50 million bail package that would include all-day monitoring and home confinement at the estate.

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Two federal judges declined Combs' previous bids for bail after prosecutors argued that the chance of his obstructing justice and the risk to the community were too high for him to remain free.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs was the target of a federal raid in his jail cell, reports have claimed.

Since September, the rapper has been detained at the special housing unit of the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York after being indicted and charged with racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Privileged materials were allegedly seized during the raid, with some pertaining to Sean "Diddy" Combs' ongoing case.

Diddy's Legal Notes Were Reportedly Seized During The Raid

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After being indicted by a federal grand jury in September on sex crimes charges, Diddy was arrested and detained in the Metropolitan Detention Center.

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Unlike most inmates in the facility's regular section, the rapper was kept in the special housing unit reserved for detainees who require special protection.

While this move has likely shielded Diddy from unwanted interactions with other inmates, it did not spare him from becoming the target of a surprise raid by authorities on his jail cell, per TMZ.

His legal team, led by Marc Agnifilo, made the revelation in a new filing, noting that the prosecution had somehow obtained privileged information that could only have been seized from Diddy's cell by the feds.

The exact timing of the raid remains unclear. However, attorney Agnifilo revealed that some of the seized items included Diddy's handwritten notes to his legal team.

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These notes reportedly contained details about defense witnesses and strategies for his trial, which is scheduled to begin in May 2025.

Diddy's Lawyers Want A Hearing To Address The Raid Incident

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According to Agnifilo, federal authorities are not denying that they are in possession of the notes taken from Diddy's cell.

He further alleged that the confiscated materials may have aided federal prosecutors in creating a filing that has played a role in keeping Diddy detained behind bars.

The attorney also argued that the raid not only violated Diddy's "Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment rights" but also constituted a clear case of "outrageous government conduct amounting to a substantive due process violation."

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Moving forward, Agnifilo and Diddy's legal team are seeking a hearing in which prosecutors will be required to answer questions regarding the search and seizure of materials from Diddy's cell.

This includes "who authorized a search of Diddy's cell, who determined what materials to take, who decided to give these materials to the U.S. Attorney's Office, who decided to give the materials to the trial prosecutors, who decided not to tell Diddy about the seizure, and what exactly was taken."

The Rapper Requested Bail For A Fourth Time

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Earlier in the month, Diddy, via his attorneys, made another attempt to free himself from his trial after three previous bail denials.

They proposed an extremely substantial, comprehensive bail package, in addition to their earlier arguments about him not being a flight risk, per USA Today.

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Some of the conditions within the package include a "$50 million bond secured by the equity in Combs and his mother's Florida homes, implementation of a 24/7 monitoring service by approved security personnel."

They also added that the rapper will have "no internet or phone access outside of meetings with legal counsel, a pre-approved visitor list consisting of select family members, and surrendered passports belonging to the rapper and his family members."

Federal Prosecutors Have Argued Against Diddy's Fourth Bail Attempt

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A decision on the bail request has yet to be reached, but federal prosecutors are fighting hard to ensure it is denied once again.

In a document filed on Friday, they claimed that the rapper poses a "serious risk of obstruction, danger, and flight."

They also mentioned that Diddy has tried to obstruct his sex crimes case by making efforts "to publicly leak materials he views as helpful to his case" as well as putting into motion "media campaigns that are, in his own words, aimed at tainting the jury pool."

The filing also alleged that Diddy violated the rule prohibiting contact with individuals not on his approved contact list, including witnesses relevant to his case.

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To avoid being caught, he reportedly used the telephone accounts of at least eight other inmates. He paid for the access through other inmates using "payment processing apps and BOP (Bureau of Prisons) commissary account deposits."

The Rapper Was Accused Of Influencing Witnesses And Jurors From His Jail Cell

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According to Page Six, prosecutors accused Diddy of trying to "corruptly influence" his sex trafficking trial by evading how his calls are monitored, as well as "blackmailing victims" from his prison cell.

In a filing made on Friday, prosecutors claimed he "repeatedly" communicated with others in ways that violated the prison's regulations.

They noted that Diddy had used the telephone accounts of "at least eight other inmates" in an effort to avoid prosecutors monitoring his calls with people who aren't on his contact list.

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To worsen it, he has allegedly gotten the other person on the call, including those on his contact list, to "add other individuals via three-way call."

"This practice is also not authorized by BOP [Federal Bureau of Prisons] as it helps conceal the identities of the contacted individuals," the court documents read. "The defendant's repeated circumvention of BOP regulationsstarting almost immediately after arriving at MDCspeaks volumes about his ability to comply with any conditions of release."
HONOLULU (KHON2)  Could Hawaii get access to more funding to mitigate the coconut rhinoceros beetle problem, or will our trees keep getting cut down? Experts and lawmakers hope to answer this question, and theres a new idea of how to do it.

Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news

Experts said CRB-infested pals need to be cut down at public parts to protect the public from falling dead branches. Additionally, the rotting trunks become prime breeding grounds for more beetles.

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This new interim rule hopes to stop CRB movement throughout the state

Itll start to rot usually from the top down, and they can breed in the rotting standing dead trees or fallen dead trees. They tend to prefer the palms but they can breed in any decaying plant matter, explained Keith Weiser, CRB Response Deputy Incident Commander.

The city said at least 100 palms have been removed from West Oahu.

State Senator-elect Samantha DeCorte previously served as the Nanakuli-Maili neighborhood board chair and worked with the Urban Forestry Department to replant other types of trees in their place at Tracks Beach Park.

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Our solution is to replant. If youre going to cut them down, youve got to replant them. Otherwise, if thats a solution, were not going to have any more coconut trees. And thats not the answer, said DeCorte.

DeCorte added that fresh ideas are needed at the state level if we want to get a grip on the beetle problem.

She plans to introduce a bill next session to classify coconut palms as an endangered native plant, which would open up access to federal funding if passed.

We are sounding the alarm on every level we possibly can. This is a threat that could have been addressed over ten years ago and they didnt take it seriously, DeCorte said.

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There may need to be some work on the exact wording as Weiser said people would question if native is the appropriate term for coconuts.

Theyre certainly naturalized and Ive heard that some people believe that they might have gotten here before people did, which would make them indigenous as far as everything got here at some point, he said.

According to the Citys current policy, when a palm has to be cut down, a shade tree is replanted in the area if the soil can support a young tree.

To contact the CRB response team with concerns over dead palms in your area, visit CRB Hawaiis 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 KHON2.
Matthew Cameron is charged with misdemeanor domestic battery

Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Disney World Magic Kingdom Disney World Magic Kingdom

A Massachusetts man is charged with domestic battery after authorities allege he punched a woman in the face at Disney World following an argument.

The alleged incident occurred at Disney Worlds Magic Kingdom in Orange County, Fla. on Oct. 19. In an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE, police allege that Matthew Cameron, 21, of Cambridge, Mass., punched the woman after becoming frustrated.

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Police say the punch knocked the victim to the ground. When Orange County Sheriffs deputies arrived, she was bleeding from the nose.

Cameron is charged with misdemeanor domestic battery and has pleaded not guilty, according to online court records. He was released from jail on $500 bond.

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.

A video of the aftermath of the incident was published by The Daily Mail. The reported video appears to show a man holding the alleged suspect on the ground while screaming is heard in the background.

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The video did not capture the alleged assault. Two security guards can also be seen intervening.

Cameron is next due in court in January.



If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
KYODO NEWS - Nov 18, 2024 - 13:46 | All, World

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani is arranging to visit South Korea in late December for talks with his counterpart Kim Yong Hyun, sources close to the matter said Monday, in a sign of improving bilateral ties.

If realized, it would mark the first visit by a Japanese defense chief to the neighboring country in nine years. The previous visit in 2015 was also made by Nakatani.

The two ministers are expected to agree to enhance bilateral defense cooperation following a period of soured ties over disputes including an incident in 2018 in which a South Korean warship's fire-control radar system allegedly locked on a Japanese patrol plane.

While South Korea continues to deny the allegation, the two countries' defense ministers agreed in June this year to implement measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again, reflecting improving bilateral ties at the leaders' level in recent years.

They also affirmed at that time that the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the South Korean military will resume full-fledged high-level exchanges.

During their envisioned meeting, Nakatani and Kim are also expected to affirm trilateral cooperation involving the United States ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House in January, with the Republican president-elect known for his skepticism of alliances under his "America First" mantra.

The agenda will also likely include Pyongyang's repeated test-firing of ballistic missiles and its increasing defense cooperation with Russia, including its deployment of troops in support of Moscow's war against Ukraine.

In July, the defense chiefs of Japan, South Korea and the United States met in Japan and signed a memorandum institutionalizing their trilateral defense ties to sustain policy consultations, information-sharing on ballistic missiles and joint exercises.

Related coverage:

Japan, S. Korea air serious concern about N. Korea-Russia cooperation

Japan, U.S., South Korea set up secretariat to enshrine cooperation
The race is on for the next chair of the Democratic National Committee, and former Maryland Gov. Martin OMalley is the first official entrant.

OMalley kicked off his bid on Monday with a pledge to refocus the party on kitchen-table issues as Democrats begin to recalibrate after Vice President Kamala Harris defeat.

We must connect our Party with the most important place in America  the kitchen table of every familys home. Jobs, Opportunity, and Economic Security for all. Getting things done. Hope. A 50 state strategy. Now, OMalley wrote in a social media post that linked to the New York Times story that first reported his candidacy .

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OMalley is resigning as head of the Social Security Administration, effective Nov. 29, to run for the role, he confirmed to POLITICO.

OMalley has already been making calls to DNC members, including state party chairs, according to a person familiar with the conversations and granted anonymity to describe the private outreach.

The 2016 presidential hopeful is the first to step up in what could be a large field vying to succeed current DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, who is not expected to run again. Potential contenders include some Democrats with formidable resumes, including Wisconsin Democratic Party leader Ben Wikler, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin, ex-White House infrastructure czar Mitch Landrieu and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, among others.

The contest to lead the DNC comes as the party begins to parse the reasons behind Harris defeat and other major losses across the map. Centrist Democrats are seizing the chair race as an opening to try and steer the party toward the middle  arguing that Democrats have become too focused on identity politics and have fallen out of touch with the working-class voters that long constituted their base. But progressives argue that Harris tacked to the center when she took over for President Joe Biden and still lost.

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Some DNC members pointed to OMalleys deep resume  he also chaired the Democratic Governors Association and was a former mayor of Baltimore  as a selling point for his nascent candidacy.

As he tosses his hat in the ring as a candidate for DNC National Committee Chair, he will also bring with him a wealth of knowledge and experience that are needed to ensure successful outcomes as DNC Chair, Cheryl Landis, a DNC member from Maryland, told POLITICO. His service as Maryland's governor was exemplary.
Doctors are warning that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trumps nominee to Health and Human Services Secretary, is talking inaccurately about drugs like Ozempic and other similar medications used for treating obesity and diabetes.

In October, Kennedy appeared on Fox Newss Gutfeld! talk show, where he was asked about a study suggesting Ozempic might show promising addressing conditions including drug abuse, sleep apnea, and cognitive decline.

In response, Kennedy claimed drugmakers were trying to sell the drug to Americans because were so stupid and so addicted to drugs. He also falsely claimed such drugs arent marketed in Europe and are currently being investigated for causing suicidal ideation. A European regulator concluded in April available evidence doesnt link such drugs to suicide.

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Kennedy argued instead that American could combat obesity and chronic disease by focusing on delivering healthy food to the masses, rather than expanding the use of drugs like Ozempic.

Giving good food, three meals a day, to every man, woman, and child in this country, we could solve the obesity and diabetes epidemic overnight for a tiny fraction of the cost, he added.

Public health experts told CNN this is an oversimplification, and that drugs like Ozempic, known as GLP-1 medications, have a role to play.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has argued that health food is a better way to combat obesity than drugs like Ozempic (Getty Images)

He acts like he knows what hes talking about when he doesnt, and he says things with a definition that makes people convinced he has the data to support his statement, Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told CNN, adding, We all agree its a very important issue. But a lot of his thinking is like A plus B plus C plus miracle, and youve got an answer.

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It is wrong to assume that people with high body weight and BMI just sit around and eat low-quality food, Dr. Jody Dushay, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, added, speaking with CNN. Taking medication to treat obesity should not be demonized.

The reaction mirrors medical thought on many of Kennedys proposals for the incoming Trump administration, which target widely agreed-upon health issues like chronic disease and obesity, but propose solutions often discredited by experts.

Many doctors are concerned that Kennedy is a leading anti-vaccine activist, who has compared vaccine mandates to the Nazi era and claimed this summer theres no vaccine that is safe and effective.

After decades of research and billions of vaccines administered, we know vaccines save lives, do not cause chronic diseases, and can prevent cancers of the liver, cervix, and mouth, Dr Tom Frieden, former director of the CDC, recently wrote in STAT about Kennedys views. His unfounded claims dont just prey on personal tragedies, mislead people, and undermine confidence in safe and effective vaccines; they also divert energy and attention from figuring out what really causes  and how to prevent  the chronic diseases we dont yet understand.

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Kennedy has also pushed to remove flouride from the water supply, which the CDC considers one of the 10 greatest public health interventions of the 20th century because of a dramatic decrease in cavities since the process began in 1945.

The HHS nominee has called for increasing access to raw milk, which health authorities warn can carry dangerous pathogens such as E. coli, salmonella, and listeria.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a cohead of DOGE, said he expected the wholesale closure of some agencies.

Ramaswamy and Elon Musk have been empowered by Trump to recommend big cuts to the state.

Many cuts would require Congress to approve, though Ramaswamy has said there are loopholes.

Vivek Ramaswamy said to expect the abolishment of entire federal agencies as part of a sweeping restructure envisioned by the Department of Government Efficiency.

President-elect Donald Trump last week named Ramaswamy joint leader of the department, known as DOGE. Its other leader is Elon Musk.

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On Sunday morning, Ramaswamy appeared on Fox News "Sunday Morning Futures" and was asked about DOGE's plans for the future of federal agencies.

He gave few specifics but was bullish on the scope of change to come.

Will entire agencies be deleted? Answer: yes. pic.twitter.com/QPe5VNGDhr  Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 17, 2024

He said to expect "certain agencies to be deleted outright," reductions in head count for "bloated" areas of government, and "massive" cuts to federal contracting.

On the campaign trail, Trump pledged to abolish the Department of Education, describing the agency as a means to "indoctrinate America's youth."

Maria Bartiromo, the Fox host interviewing Ramaswamy, mentioned the Department of Education as a possible cut, but Ramaswamy instead answered in general terms.

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Though Ramaswamy spoke in sweeping terms of cuts to come, enacting them may be harder. DOGE is not a formal government department and can only make recommendations.

It would be up to Trump and his Republican allies in Congress to try to enact them.

Business Insider's Jack Newsham reported last week that, with Republicans in control of both chambers, DOGE may have some success in cutting government spending and red tape.

Eliminating federal agencies could be a big ask, though. They're generally created by Congress and could require difficult votes to abolish.

Republicans have a majority in the Senate but too few seats for a 60-vote supermajority. GOP control of the House also rests on a thin majority.

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Ramaswamy, in his own presidential bid, advocated for the elimination of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the FBI.

In his plans, Ramaswamy cited obscure laws that could empower a president to make large cuts, such as the 1977 Reorganization Act that mandates a presidential review of the size of government.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Donald Trump Jr suggests that his father has backup plans if his cabinet picks arent confirmed by the Senate.

Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth and Robert F Kennedy Jr are receiving the most pushback in President-elect Donald Trumps list of controversial cabinet picks. But his eldest son told Foxs Sunday Morning Futures host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday that even if the Senate doesnt confirm some of his nominees, Trump has a plan B.

Has your father talked about backup plans? What if some of these people are not confirmed? Theres been a lot of backlash over some of them, Bartiromo asked.

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Listen, theres always ideas, said Don Jr, who is helping with transition efforts. We have lists of people. Were not just randomly picking a name out of a hat. Were showing him lists of 10 to 12 people for every position. So we do have backup plans.

We are obviously going with the strongest candidates first, he continued. Some of them are going to be controversial. They are controversial because theyll actually get things done.

Don Jr says his father has backup plans if his controversial cabinet picks arent confirmed (Fox News)

The swamp doesnt want that so were gonna go all in and make sure that those people have the best chance at getting confirmed as possible because they are the people who are most effective, he added.

Most of the backlash  including from some Senate Republicans  has been centered around Gaetz, who resigned from the House on Wednesday after Trump announced he was the nominee for attorney general.

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Gaetzs resignation came two days before the House ethics committee was reportedly set to vote on whether to release its report on the Gaetz probe; the panel was investigating a variety of allegations, including sex trafficking and illicit drug use. The committee postponed its meeting, Committee Chair Michael Guest told Politico on Friday.

Matt Gaetz arrives before President-elect Donald Trump speaks during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate. There has been pushback after his nomination for attorney general (AP)

When you see that kind of backlash, generally speaking, its because its a threat to the uni-party in Washington, DC. They dont want to see changeThey dont want to be disrupted, Don Jr said.

Many of the picks are not traditional names, Bartiromo said. She asked whether he thought Gaetz was going to face pushback in the Senate.

Don Jr didnt offer a direct answer, instead he replied: I think a lot of them are going to face pushback for the same reasons. They are going to be actual disruptors.

Trump has also picked Tulsi Gabbard to serve as Director of National Intelligence, Marco Rubio to serve as Secretary of State, Kristi Noem to serve as head of the Department of Homeland Security and Elise Stefanik as United Nations ambassador.
Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A decision on if and when President-elect Donald Trump will be sentenced in the hush money case against him in New York is coming soon while his other legal challenges loom.

Trump's sentencing has been on hold since New York State Supreme Court justice Juan Merchan paused the case in September, awaiting the election. The Republican candidate turned incoming president is currently slated to appear in court on Nov. 26.

That case is just one in a list of legal woes that have followed Trump since he left the White House in 2021. Here is a look at where the cases against him stand as his inauguration approaches.

New York sentencing

Judge Merchan pushed off the decision on how to move forward with the case for another week. He is slated to make a decision on Nov. 19.

President-elect Donald Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants are waiting to see what happens next in Fulton County, Ga., in the election conspiracy case against them. File Photo via Fulton County Sheriff's Office/UPI

The president-elect was convicted in May on 34 counts related to falsifying business records to cover up an affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

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The sentencing phase of the proceedings has remained on hold as Trump campaigned for the presidency. The original sentencing date was July 11, days before the Republican National Convention. It was then moved to Sept. 18 before Merchan postponed it until after the election.

Former President Donald Trump approaches reporters after hearing the verdict in his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on May 30. Jurors found the former president guilty on 34 felony charges of falsifying business records in connection with payments made to an adult film actress in 2016. File Pool Photo by Steven Hirsch/UPI

As it stands, Trump is expected in court on Nov. 26.

The hush money case was the first brought against Trump after he left the White House. He is the first former president to be criminally convicted and will be the first person convicted on felony charges to serve in the White House.

Special counsel Jack Smith is prosecuting two federal cases against President-elect Donald Trump. His request for a Dec. 2, deadline in the election interference and Jan. 6 Capitol riot case against Trump in Washington, D.C. was granted last week. It gives him until that date to inform the court of his deliberations or file a status report on the case. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI

Classified documents

In Florida, the case over Trump's alleged mishandling of national defense secrets remains on appeal after being dismissed by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis remains on the case against President-elect Donald Trump and more than a dozen codefendants in Georgia. Trump appealed Judge Scott McAfee's decision to allow Willis to stay on the case. That motion remains in the appellate court. File Photo by Alex Slitz/EPA-EFE/POOL

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Special prosecutor Jack Smith appealed Cannon's decision hours after it was made. She tossed the case after determining Smith was improperly appointed to prosecute it, according to her interpretation of the Appointments Clause of the Constitution.

That determination was not Cannon's alone. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas laid the argument out days before Cannon made her decision in July.

"A private citizen cannot criminally prosecute anyone, let alone a former President," Thomas wrote.

Thomas' adjoining opinion was included in the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity. However, he went beyond weighing in on the immunity decision by sharing his thoughts on a matter such as the appointment of special prosecutors.

Election interference and Jan. 6 Capitol riot

In Washington, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan granted Smith's request on Friday for a new Dec. 2 deadline for the prosecution to file a status report or inform the court of its deliberations. This decision vacates all other pretrial proceedings as the government assesses how to move forward following Trump's election.

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The case in Washington over Trump's role in a scheme to overturn the results of the election and inciting a riot at the U.S. Capitol has remained on hold for much of 2024.

Trump faces four criminal charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding -- the certification of the election, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights -- the rights of voters.

The initial pause came as Chutkan waited for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on Trump's claim of presidential immunity.

The high court affirmed Trump's claim, ruling that he is immune from being prosecuted for acting in his role as president and exercising the authority granted by his core constitutional powers. He is also presumed to be immune from prosecution when performing official acts.

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The presidential immunity decision gives Trump -- and other presidents -- broad protection from legal action taken against them for things they did while in office.

Election subversion

Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants are waiting to see what happens next in Fulton County, Ga., in the election conspiracy case against them.

The RICO case against Trump and 19 others alleges that they undertook a broad conspiracy to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

The scheme included sending a fake slate of electors to change the results of the election in favor of Trump, pressure state lawmakers to overturn the results of the election and soliciting Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to unlawfully participate in changing the results of the election.

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One of the defendants, Michael Roman, appealed to have Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis removed from the case due to her romantic relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade. Willis appointed Wade to prosecute the case. Trump alleges that she and Wade benefited financially from Wade's appointment and his prosecution, creating a conflict of interest.

Willis and Wade testified at length about their relationship during a hearing in February. During separate testimonies they confirmed that their relationship ended prior to the indictment of Trump and 19 others.

Judge Scott McAfee ruled that Willis can remain on the case after Wade resigned. Trump appealed this decision in May and it remains on appeal.

Willis was reelected as Fulton County district attorney last week.
Donald Trump and his allies have characterized the 2024 election as an overwhelming victoryand a mandate for shock politics, mass deportations, and the transformation of the countrys foreign and domestic policy. Theres just one problem: They didnt actually win by much.

CNNs Harry Enten reports that Trump is now under 50 percent for the popular vote, and his margin is the forty-fourth worst out of 51 presidential elections since 1824. Four Democrats won Senate seats in states that Trump won (Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada), compared to zero in the 2016 and 2020 elections. And while Republicans held on to their House majority, if results hold, their 221214 margin will be the smallest majority in the 50-state era.

Trump's mandate? It's very shallow. Trump's now under 50% in the popular vote. His margin ranks 44 of 51 since 1824.



Weak coattails: 4 Dems won for Senate in states Trump won. (It was 0 in 2016 & 2020.)



The GOP is on track for smallest House majority since there were 50 states. pic.twitter.com/FaE80nk4T6  (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) November 18, 2024

Trumps appointments are not going to help with the Houses Republican majority, with many of Trumps choices being elected GOP members. These include Representatives Elise Stefanik as his U.N. ambassador, Mike Waltz as his national security adviser, and Matt Gaetz (who has already resigned) as his attorney general, among others.

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Republicans will point out that Trump in 2024 became the first GOP presidential candidate to win the popular vote since 2004 and the second since 1988, but he will arrive in office with a narrow majority in the Senate as welljust a three-seat majority if Democratic Senator Bob Casey loses his seat, which he looks likely to.

Trump will have a hard time passing his legislative agenda in either house of Congress, although some on his team have signaled alternative means of getting what he wants in the form of recess appointments. Trumps dangerous plan for mass deportations wouldnt even need congressional approval: He wants to involve the U.S. military by declaring a national emergency. And if Congress wants to stop him on this or any other action, it would take an overwhelming majority, which, no matter how weak his mandate, isnt likely to happen.
Editor's note: Follow along here for updated information on Trump's Cabinet picks.

Republicans were on the defensive about two of President-elect Donald Trump's most controversial Cabinet picks Sunday.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said on CNN's State of the Union that a House Ethics Committee investigation into Trump's pick for attorney general and staunch Trump-loyalist Matt Gaetz should not be revealed. The Justice Department investigated sex trafficking allegations against Gaetz. The investigation ended without charges, but the House Ethics Committee continued to look into the allegation he assaulted a 17-year-old.

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An attorney for Pete Hegseth, Trump's choice for Secretary of Defense, told multiple outlets that Hegseth paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017 because he feared losing his job at Fox News. Hegseth has denied the sexual assault allegation and was never charged, however he paid the woman as part of a settlement agreement that included a confidentiality provision after she threatened litigation in 2020, the attorney told media outlets.

Though Trump did not add to his administration Sunday, the president-elect did name his choices for secretary of Energy and a prominent White House aide Saturday as he continues to fill out key positions ahead of Inauguration Day in 2025.

Trump appointed personal lawyer Will Scharf, who played a key role in defending Trump in the federal criminal case tied to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, to be an assistant to the president and White House staff secretary. Scharf is the fourth personal attorney of Trump's to be named to the incoming administration.

Chris Wright to be nominated as Secretary of Energy

Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. CEO Chris Wright (C) talks with NYSE Group President Thomas Farley while waiting for the company's IPO on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S., January 12, 2018.

Trump said Saturday he plans to nominate oil industry executive Chris Wright, CEO of Liberty Energy and 2024 campaign donor to lead the Department of Energy in his second term in the White House.

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The department oversees the country's energy supplies, research and development of nuclear power, 17 national laboratories and the cleanup of Cold War-era nuclear efforts.

Wright will also be a member of Trump's newly-formed Council of National Energy, which is set to be led by Interior Secretary nominee Doug Burgum, the president-elect said in his statement.

In a video posted in 2023 on LinkedIn, Wright denied the scientific consensus that manmade greenhouse gas emissions are responsible for the warming planet.

"There is no climate crisis and we're not in the midst of an energy transition either," said Wright, whose company counts among its services the hydraulic fracking technique used to extract natural gas and oil from deep below the Earth's surface.

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Trump's announcement is an indication that he intends to nominate Wright for Senate approval, however Trump has floated the demand that Republican Senate leadership allow for recess appointments as an end-around of the confirmation process.

What are recess appointments? Here's what to know as Trump looks to fill his Cabinet

Trump's picks so far: What we know

Here are Trump's picks for key positions in his administration, as of Sunday night.

Chief of Staff: Trump named his senior campaign adviser Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff, the first woman in history to hold the title. The Florida political consultant largely stays out of the spotlight, but has been credited with helping Trump's political comeback.

Attorney General: Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida has been nominated as the next Attorney General overseeing the Justice Department, that he has long criticized.

Secretary of State: U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is nominated as the next Secretary of State. He will bring foreign policy experience through his roles in the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A Cuban-American, he is set to be the first Latino person to be Secretary of State.

Director of National Intelligence: Former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is nominated as the director of national intelligence. The former Democratic presidential candidate-turned Republican represented Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District from 2013-2021.

Ambassador to the United Nations: Trump nominated Elise Stefanik , a five-term Republican representing a northern New York district, as his pick for UN ambassador. She is the House Republican Conference Chair and a former contender for Trump's running mate.

Secretary of Health and Human Services: Trump has named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. The 2024 independent candidate has previously criticized vaccines and questioned the origin of the COVID-19 virus. He is arguably best known for spreading unfounded claims about a link between childhood vaccines and autism.

Secretary of Defense: Trump nominated former Fox News host Pete Hegseth to Defense secretary. A Fox News commentator, Hegseth served in the U.S. Army National Guard and had led veteran's advocacy groups.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator: Trump has appointed Lee Zeldin as the administrator of The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Zeldin was a Congressman for parts of Long Island, New York and ran but lost against Kathy Hochul in the 2022 gubernatorial race.

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency : Trump designated his former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe as CIA director. Ratcliffe previously was a House member from Texas before serving as director of national intelligence at the end of Trump's first presidency.

Secretary of Homeland Security: Trump announced his choice of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to be the Secretary of Homeland Security. The pick puts the hardline conservative governor, who sent the state's National Guard to the southern border, in a key role on immigration.

Secretary of Interior : Trump has nominated Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to be his secretary of Interior coordinating federal policy to several territories. Burgum previously ran to be Republican presidential nominee before dropping out in December and has long been vocal about fossil fuels and energy issues.

Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs: Trump has nominated former Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Collins to be his secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. He served as a congressman representing Georgia's 9th district from 2013 to 2021. A trusted Trump loyalist, he is a chaplain of the United States Air Force Reserve Command and served in the Iraq War in 2008.

Secretary of the Department of Energy: Trump is nominating oil industry executive Chris Wright , CEO of Liberty Energy and 2024 campaign donor to lead the Department of Energy. Wright, who has expressed skepticism about climate change science, would join a Trump administration that campaigned to roll back climate change policies and clean energy spending ushered in during President Biden's term.

Deputy chief of staff for policy : Long-standing Trump adviser Stephen Miller has been tapped for deputy chief of staff for policy in Trump's next administration. The 39-year-old served as senior adviser to Trump and director of speechwriting during the Republican's first term in the White House and is credited with shaping Trumps immigration policies.

'Border czar' : Trump has appointed Tom Homan to oversee deportation policy and aviation security. Homan was a Border Patrol agent for 34 years and served in Trump's first administration as acting ICE director. He drew controversy for strict immigration enforcement, including the "zero-tolerance" policy which separated families of undocumented immigrants.

National security adviser: Trump has named Florida Rep. Mike Waltz as his national security adviser. Waltz has held civilian positions at the Pentagon, was on the House Armed Services Committee and has supported Trump's isolationist view of foreign relations.

U.S. ambassador to Israel: Trump announced he is nominating former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as his U.S. ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a Baptist minister and former Fox News host, who has run for the Republican presidential nomination twice, unsuccessfully. His daughter is Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as White House press secretary during Trump's first presidency.

White House Counsel: Trump tapped William McGinley to serve as his White House counsel. McGinley, a partner at the Washington-based law firm Holtzman Vogel, worked as White House Cabinet secretary during Trump's first presidency.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York: Trump has nominated Jay Clayton as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Clayton has previously served as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission during Trump's first term.

Deputy attorney general: Trump has decided lawyer Todd Blanche will serve as deputy attorney general. Blanche is known for aggressively representing the president-elect in his New York hush money trial and in two federal criminal cases.

White House Communications Director: Trump named Steven Cheung to be his communications director in his second term. Cheung worked as the rapid response director for Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and was perhaps the most adversarial of the candidate's spokespersons, describing opponents and "snowflakes" and "cucks" who suffered from "Trump Derangement Syndrome."

White House Press Secretary: Trump named Karoline Leavitt as his second-term White House press secretary. She's expected to be the youngest to ever hold the position.

What are the Cabinet positions?

The Cabinet advises the president on issues related to their respective offices.

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These are the Cabinet positions from the 15 executive departments, which must be confirmed by the Senate:

Secretary of State

Secretary of Defense

Attorney General

Secretary of the Interior

Secretary of Agriculture

Secretary of Commerce

Secretary of Labor

Secretary of Health and Human Services

Secretary of Transportation

Secretary of Energy

Secretary of Education

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Secretary of Homeland Security

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Secretary of Treasury

The Cabinet and presidential advisers can also include the vice president, the chief of staff, the ambassador to the United Nations, the director of National Intelligence, the U.S. trade representative, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, the head of the Office of Management and Budget, the head of the Council of Economic Advisors, the head of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the head of the Small Business Administration.

Contributing: Zac Anderson, Darren Samuelsohn, Karen Weintraub, Alyssa Goldberg, Tom Vanden Brook, David Jackson, Savannah Kuchar, Victor Hagan, Bart Jansen, Fernando Cervantes Jr., Riley Beggin, Michael Collins, Joey Garrison; Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who are Trump's Cabinet picks so far? Chris Wright latest selected
Donald Trump has picked Brendan Carr to serve as his next FCC chairman, selecting the senior Republican on the commission who has promised to rein in Big Tech.

Carrs choice had been expected. Trump nominated Carr to serve on the FCC in his first term.

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Trump said in a statement, Commissioner Carr is a warrior for Free Speech, and has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans Freedoms, and held back our Economy. He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling Americas Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America.

Carr will succeed Jessica Rosenworcel, who was appointed by President Joe Biden and is the first woman to permanently hold the post.

While Republican majorities traditionally usher in deregulation, and Carr has called for a top-to-bottom review of FCC regulations, he has been a frequent critic of private tech platforms and, more recently, of networks for their content decisions.

For years, Carr has railed against social media for what he characterizes as efforts to stifle conservative voices, even though companies deny such systematic discrimination takes place. Carr authored a portion of the Heritage Foundations Project 2025 that is calling for moves that could impose new liability for social media giants in the way that they moderate their content.

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More specifically, Carr wants the FCC to issue an order that limits the immunity platforms enjoy from Section 230, the provisions of a 1996 law that shield tech companies from lawsuits for third party content they host on their sites.

Carr wrote in Project 2025 that the FCC should take actions that would appropriately limit the number of cases in which a platform can censor with the benefit of Section 230s protections. Carr also supports congressional action that would restrict social media platforms from suspending or banning users for their viewpoints.

Major internet companies are likely to challenge such an approach as a violation of the First Amendment. And in Project 2025, Carr acknowledged that other conservatives disagree, writing that there are those who do not think that the FCC or Congress should act in a way that regulates the content-moderation decisions of private platforms. One of the main arguments that this group offers is that doing so would intrude unlawfully in their viewon the First Amendment rights of corporations to exclude content from their private platforms.

Carr also has criticized NBC for featuring Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live just days before the presidential election. The network gave time to Donald Trumps campaign the next day, but even after Trumps victory, Carr continued to chide the network, and even encouraged other presidential candidates to file an equal time complaint.

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The network is obligated to provide equal time if a candidate requests it. The public interest group Free Press said that Carr was making grossly inaccurate claims about communications law to win points with the former president.

The FCC has historically stayed out of news editorial decisions. During the presidential campaign, when Trump said that CBS should lose its broadcast license for the way that 60 Minutes edited an interview with Kamala Harris, Carr called for the show to release a transcript of the interview. CBS has refused. (The FCC licenses individual stations, not networks).

Last week, Carr fired off a letter to Google, Meta, Microsoft and Apple, accusing them of silencing Americans for doing nothing more than exercising their First Amendment rights.

The censorship cartel must be dismantled, Carr wrote on X.

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Carr claimed that their work with NewsGuard, which rates the credibility of news sites and provides services like brand safety and misinformation tracking for advertisers and others. Carr wrote that NewsGuard was leveraging its partnerships with advertising agencies to effectively [censor] targeted outlets.

But Gordon Crovitz, co-CEO and co-editor in chief of NewsGuard, said in a statement that Carrs claims rely on false reports about the rating system from outlets like right-wing site Newsmax, which received a low credibility score. NewsGuard rated it 20 out of 100 on its nutrition label, concluding that it is unreliable because it servely violates basic journalistic standards.

Our work does not involve any censorship or blocking of speech at all, Crovitz said. Instead of blocking information, we provide users with apolitical reliability analysis. Instead of censorship, we provide users with more information  reliability ratings of news publishers based on apolitical criteria and a transparent journalistic process  so that each user can make informed decisions about which information to trust.

Crovitz also noted that because we rate news sites apolitically, many conservative sites get higher ratings from us than liberal sites get, such as Fox news getting a higher score than MSNBC and The Washington Examiner outscoring The New York Times. Again, Newsmax may not like our ratings, but there is no excuse for them to seek to excuse their low rating or to mislead Commissioner Carr.

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Crovitz also raised concerns about Carrs targeting of a private entity, saying that NewsGuards journalism is itself speech protected by the First Amendment, and were concerned to see a government official using the powers of his office, however unwittingly, to rely on false claims, to benefit the very publishers who make the false claims, such as Newsmax.

Trump and his allies have attacked other fact checking sites and media watchdogs, while Elon Musk, who will help lead a new effort to reorganize the federal government, has sued Media Matters for its reporting on his social media platform, X. Musk also sued advertisers who removed their sponsorship from X out of concern that their ads would appear next to white supremacist and extreme posts.

It has been a tradition for the incumbent FCC chair to step down when a new administration takes power. That would allow Trump to nominate an additional commissioner and give Republicans a 3-2 majority.

In Project 2025, Carr also disagreed with Trump in another area: TikTok. The incoming FCC chairman called for a ban on social media platform on national security grounds. After initially trying to ban TikTok in his first term, Trump now opposes such a move.

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UPDATE: This story has been updated with the results of the Nov. 18 City Council meeting

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS)  The William Neller Building, at the corner of Grand Ave. and Allegan St. was meant to face a make-safe or demolish hearing Monday night before the Lansing City Council, but the topic was tabled until Dec. 2 due to a mix-up putting notices on the doors, councilmembers say.

The building has been red-tagged, or deemed unsafe, since October 20, 2016, city records show.

Window that fell from the Walter Neller Building. (Courtesy City of Lansing)

Window that fell from the Walter Neller Building. (Courtesy City of Lansing)

(WLNS)

(WLNS)

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(WLNS)

Under city building codes, which are dictated by state law, a property can be moved for demolition if the cost of repair is more than the states equalized value. The property, a city filing for Lansing City Council shows, has a value of $561,800. The cost to bring the building up to code is estimated at $2,512,832.

122 s grand city council hearingDownload

Photos from city building inspections reveal the roof has a hole in it, allowing the elements in. A visit to the building previously by 6 News revealed plants growing in the windows, as well as a tree growing in the middle of the building.

Building owners, Granger Group out of Wyoming, Mich. attempted to thrust the property into a contentious debate over the relocation of the Lansing City Hall in March. City Council had rejected Mayor Andy Schors proposal to relocate the operations of the city to the former Masonic Temple, but there were ongoing negotiations between the council and the mayor about revisiting the proposal.

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Proposed site for city hall faces wrecking ball

Granger Group had previously provided a proposal to build a city hall on the property, in 2022. That was rejected by city officials. When the City Council refused to accept the Masonic Temple deal, Schor announced the new city hall would be built on Grand Ave. at Lenawee St., replacing a city-owned parking lot.

In March, Jason Granger from the Granger Group told 6 News the company was preparing a demolition plan, but was waiting on cost estimates on asbestos abatement. The building was built in 1938.

City officials, in a report to Lansing City Council, say Granger Group representatives told the citys Demolition Board it would be able to comply with demolition permits within 90 days. That was on April 25, 2024. The request to the Lansing City Council to order the building be made safe or demolished in 30 days indicates Granger Group has taken no action to obtain required permits to tear the building down or repair it.

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If the property owners fail to make the property safe or demolish it; the city can legally order the building torn down with the cost of the demolition added to the propertys taxes.

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 WLNS 6 News.
Staff members explain voting procedures to a voter at a polling station in Dakar, Senegal, on Nov. 17, 2024. Polling stations officially opened at 8 a.m., local time, Sunday throughout Senegal and abroad for the legislative elections. A total of 7,371,890 Senegalese voters participated in 7,048 polling stations and 16,440 voting centers across the country and abroad. Forty-one political formations, parties, or coalitions compete in these legislative elections, aiming to elect 165 deputies to the National Assembly for a five-year term. (Photo by Papa Demba Gueye/Xinhua)

DAKAR, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Polling stations officially opened at 8 a.m., local time, Sunday throughout Senegal and abroad for the legislative elections.

A total of 7,371,890 Senegalese voters participated in 7,048 polling stations and 16,440 voting centers across the country and abroad.

Forty-one political formations, parties, or coalitions compete in these legislative elections, aiming to elect 165 deputies to the National Assembly for a five-year term.

Voting will continue until 6 p.m., local time. 

A staff member posts voting instructions at a polling station in Dakar, Senegal, on Nov. 17, 2024. Polling stations officially opened at 8 a.m., local time, Sunday throughout Senegal and abroad for the legislative elections.

A total of 7,371,890 Senegalese voters participated in 7,048 polling stations and 16,440 voting centers across the country and abroad.

Forty-one political formations, parties, or coalitions compete in these legislative elections, aiming to elect 165 deputies to the National Assembly for a five-year term. (Photo by Papa Demba Gueye/Xinhua)

People wait to vote at a polling station in Dakar, Senegal, on Nov. 17, 2024. Polling stations officially opened at 8 a.m., local time, Sunday throughout Senegal and abroad for the legislative elections.

A total of 7,371,890 Senegalese voters participated in 7,048 polling stations and 16,440 voting centers across the country and abroad.

Forty-one political formations, parties, or coalitions compete in these legislative elections, aiming to elect 165 deputies to the National Assembly for a five-year term. (Photo by Papa Demba Gueye/Xinhua)

A man votes at a polling station in Dakar, Senegal, on Nov. 17, 2024. Polling stations officially opened at 8 a.m., local time, Sunday throughout Senegal and abroad for the legislative elections.

A total of 7,371,890 Senegalese voters participated in 7,048 polling stations and 16,440 voting centers across the country and abroad.

Forty-one political formations, parties, or coalitions compete in these legislative elections, aiming to elect 165 deputies to the National Assembly for a five-year term. (Photo by Papa Demba Gueye/Xinhua)
DENVER (KDVR)  Monday night, a Denver Public Schools board meeting will take public comment on the decision to close seven schools and restructure three others.

Meanwhile, walkouts and rallies have been happening at schools across the city. Another rally is scheduled for Monday.

Students and teachers from West Middle School are planning a rally at 3:25 p.m. They will rally in front of the building and read speeches before walking to the district admin building where public comment will take place.

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They are basically going to destroy the school as is and spread our students over seven different schools, which is an atrocious thing to do to a community school with so many resources, said Alicia Lee Rhodes, a special education teacher at West Middle School.

Small businesses in Weld, Boulder counties hit by string of break-ins

Rhodes pointed out that West is combined with a high school, and has a number of resources not found at other middle schools. She believes families will be broken up given the sixth through 12th-grade structure of the building.

Shes also concerned students will lose their community.

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They need teachers that they can trust, especially our multilingual learners. Im a special education teacher, my kids absolutely need those relationships, and thats the key to their success. But our multilingual learners have come here from other countries, have come here from traumatic backgrounds, they need to be able to see consistency because they have not had it in their lives before this, said Rhodes.

There are concerns among teachers that they will lose their jobs, but Rhodes said the main focus is the kids.

Realistically, were more worried about the kids than we are ourselves. Yes, we will find new jobs. Some of us will have to move a district. A lot of us are really, really concerned about our teachers that are here on visas because we have just a promise from the district to move everybody over by contract to Baker. I now have at least three teachers in my building who are worried that if they dont get a job in time, their visas will be pulled, Rhodes said.

The board is scheduled to vote on the recommendation on Thursday.

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All last week, the board went to different schools, hosting comment sessions so the communities could give their input. This week, the superintendent will do a similar rotation.

The schedule for the meetings is as follows:

Date School Time Nov. 18 IAD @ Harrington 2:45-4:45 p.m. Nov. 19 Schmitt Elementary 3-5 p.m. Nov. 19 Castro Elementary 4:30-6:30 p.m. Nov. 19 Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy 6-8 p.m. Nov. 20 Dora Moore 7:30-9:30 a.m. Nov. 20 Palmer Elementary 3:15-5:15 p.m. Nov. 20 Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design 5-7 p.m. Nov. 20 West Middle School 6:30-8:30 p.m. Nov. 21 Denver Center for International Studies 7:30-9:30 a.m. Nov. 21 Columbian Elementary 3-5 p.m.

More information on the recommendations and meetings can be found on DPS 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 FOX31 Denver.
A crash shut down Interstate 20 for 90 minutes Sunday morning in Douglas County. Georgia State Patrol arrested a driver accused of driving under the influence.

On Sunday morning around 6 a.m., GSP says a Nissan Xterra was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes of Interstate 20 near Lee Road in Douglas County.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The driver of the Xterra hit two other vehicles, resulting in another vehicle being hit. Police determined that driver of the Nissan Xterra was driving under the influence.

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Everyone involved in the crash were taken to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries, including the DUI driver.

After receiving medical clearance, the driver was transported to the Douglas County Sheriffs Office. GSP has not released the drivers name.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)  Two officers were injured after a Springfield driver allegedly crashed into their police cruiser on Saturday.

At around 1:20 a.m. officers had their emergency lights on at the intersection of Chestnut Street and State Street for a motor vehicle crash when they observed a motor vehicle coming toward them at a high rate of speed. Springfield Police Spokesman Ryan Walsh said that the driver rear-ended a cruiser, injuring two officers, and ran away on foot.

Sobriety checkpoint in Hampden County this Saturday

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Assisting officers arrived and located the alleged driver, 28-year-old Jose Morales-Velasquez on Chestnut Street. He was arrested and during the booking process, provided officers with a false name. His fingerprints were processed and officers were able to identify the suspect.

The officers were taken to Mercy Medical Center to be treated for their injuries.

This wasnt the first time, Morales-Velasquez had an outstanding warrant in connection with an O.U.I. arrest in June 2022 where he also allegedly struck a Springfield Police cruiser.

Morales-Velasquez is charged with the following:

Operating a Motor Vehicle with a Suspended License

Leaving the Scene of a Personal Injury Crash

Arrestee Furnishing a False Name/SSN

Arrest Warrant

 OUI  Liquor or .08%

 Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle

 Uninsured Motor Vehicle

 Possession of an Open Container of Alcohol

 Improper Turn

Speeding (Violation)

Obstruct a Stationary Emergency Vehicle (Violation)

Local News Headlines

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP.
SIMPSON COUNTY, Ky. (WKRN)  An investigation is underway following a Friday crash in Simpson County that resulted in the death of an Allen County man.

Kentucky State Police (KSP) said it responded to a single-vehicle collision in the 1400 block of Cedar Bluff Road on Friday, Nov. 15.

Pedestrian hit, killed by train in Hopkinsville

According to officials, the preliminary investigation indicates a 1998 Freightliner semi-truck dropped off the left side of the road and rolled onto the drivers side.

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The driver  identified by KSP as 32-year-old Clarence Hoover of Scottsville  was partially ejected from the vehicle. The Simpson County Coroners Office later pronounced Hoover dead, authorities said.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

Members of the Simpson County Sheriffs Office and Simpson County Fire also helped KSP which is reportedly leading the investigation into the crash  at the scene.

No additional details have been released about Fridays deadly collision.

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.
"Arizona's Beach" is about to be included in Arizona traffic updates.

Motorists heading to the popular beach town of Puerto Penasco can learn about highway restrictions and traffic issues on Federal Highway 8 in Mexico under a new program from the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Traffic updates for driving between the Lukeville Port of Entry at the Mexican border and Puerto Penasco, also known as Rocky Point, will be available on ADOT's AZ511 system during holiday weekends. The first updates will appear during the Thanksgiving holiday.

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"This is a perfect time to expand the critical traveler services offered by AZ511, as we always welcome increased drive visitation from Mexico during this time of year," Lisa Urias, director of the Arizona Office of Tourism, said in a statement. "Visitors from Mexico love coming to Arizona to visit family and shop during the holidays, and AZ511 helps make the international travel experience as enjoyable and efficient as possible."

How to get Rocky Point traffic updates

The pilot program offering Puerto Penasco traffic updates is part of a collaboration between Arizona state leaders and officials in the Mexican state of Sonora, where Puerto Penasco is located.

Sonoran officials will contact ADOT's Traffic Operations Center when traffic information becomes available, and operators will enter the information in the AZ511 system.

The traffic-update partnership is critical not only for Arizonans visiting Mexico but also Mexicans visiting Arizona. Mexico is by far the largest source of Arizona's international visitors, according to ADOT.

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"ADOTs vision is safely connecting people and empowering the economy, and this joint effort with our partners in Sonora is helping us expand that to peak times for travel to and from Puerto Penasco," ADOT Director Jennifer Toth said in a statement.

What is 511 in Arizona?

AZ511 is a service from ADOT that gives drivers information on Arizona highway conditions, local street restrictions and road closures.

People can access AZ511 by visiting az511.gov, by calling 511 within the state or by using the AZ511 app available for Apple and Android devices.

Driving to Rocky Point, Mexico? Here are passport, insurance and safety tips

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Michael Salerno is an award-winning journalist whos covered travel and tourism since 2014. His work as The Arizona Republics consumer travel reporter aims to help readers navigate the stresses of traveling and get the best value for their money on their vacations. He can be reached at Michael.Salerno@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @salerno_phx.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Driving to Puerto Penasco? How to get traffic updates
WESTFIELD, Wis. (WFRV)  Authorities in Wisconsin used thermal imaging from a drone to locate an armed suspect attempting to evade arrest on Saturday.

According to a release, the Marquette County Sheriffs Office responded to an incident in the town of Westfield on Nov. 16, 2024, involving an armed suspect.

Jesse Vang pleads not guilty to the charges he faces in connection with Elijah Vues death

Upon arrival, deputies heard gunshots. With limited visibility and growing concern for public safety, the sheriffs office deployed a drone equipped with thermal imaging technology to assist in the search.

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At around 7:45 p.m., the drone team located the suspect in a ditch using thermal imaging to detect the individuals heat signature.

The suspect, still armed, was located thanks to real-time data from the drone. Deputies were directed to the location and safely took the individual into custody without further incident.

Wisconsin driver escapes injury in dramatic rollover crash

Marquette County Sheriff Joseph Konrath praised the teamwork and advanced technology that contributed to the successful resolution. This operation demonstrates the effectiveness of our drone team in enhancing public safety. The ability to quickly locate a potentially dangerous suspect in challenging conditions speaks to the value of our ongoing investment in technology and the dedication of our deputies, Konrath said.

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The Marquette County Sheriffs Office says it remains committed to utilizing cutting-edge technology to ensure community safety. Donations from businesses and community members entirely fund the drone program.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton.
FLAGSTAFF  Beneath the scenic yellow and red leaves of soaring aspen trees in the Kachina Wilderness, forest ecologist Mike Stoddard is looking down. His concern isnt the brilliant fall foliage but whats growing beneath the forest floor. Seeking the markers for trees plotted two decades earlier, Stoddard is hoping data from the past will inform the future of these beloved groves.

Comparing recent findings with data collected over 20 years ago, Stoddard and other researchers at Northern Arizona University's Ecological Restoration Institute published a new study in October that revealed a troubling trend in the recovery of aspen trees on the southern exposures of the San Francisco Peaks.

The study found that environmental factors related to climate change, such as drought and extreme heat, along with animal grazing and wildfire management, have contributed to the decline of aspen trees in the area. This decline could have larger ecological implications on the overall health of the forest, Stoddard warns, especially because some of the trees are not growing back.

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Known as a disturbance-loving species, aspens are stimulated by large surface level disturbances, like wildfires. Despite the trees' resilience and speedy recovery, researchers found a decline in young aspens reaching maturity due to prolonged drought and unmanaged animals grazing.

Without active management, researchers warn that these compounding factors could lead to a decline in the aspen population on the San Francisco Peaks, a popular spot for locals and tourists, and the loss of a diverse forest ecosystem. Once the living aspen trees die, there may not be any new growth to take their place.

A 'canary species' for the forest

Aspens are the most widely distributed trees in North America, and their most southern range occurs in pockets on the Sky Islands of the American Southwest and Mexico. The trees diversify forest species, serve as habitat for bird nesting and provide stability for the ecosystem by holding in moisture.

Although aspens can produce seeds, the most successful method of reproduction occurs when new sprouts, known as suckers, grow out of the root system of an existing tree. The new sprout is a clone of the original tree, and many cloned aspen trees can grow from the same root system.

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Aspen clones are some of the largest organisms on the planet. A single aspen clone, known as the Pando clone, is located in Fishlake National Forest in southern Utah and measures over 100 acres. This clone network is recognized as the Most Massive Plant by Guinness World Records.

This type of regeneration is also why aspen trees thrive after wildfires. Aspen roots can lie dormant under the soil as a fire clears the area, and new suckers will rise to the surface to quickly reforest the affected area faster than other types of trees.

Forest health: A fast-moving infestation of tiny insects threatens the survival of Arizona's aspen trees

In the San Francisco Peaks, this successful regeneration can be seen in the area affected by the Pipeline Fire of 2022. In the two years that have followed the fire, the aspen stands have regenerated new sprouts that have grown without competition from other tree species and are now too tall to be grazed by elk.

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But the aspen trees on lower elevations of the San Francisco Peaks are experiencing a bottleneck effect in their growth, according to the NAU researchers. The suckers are growing back after disturbances, but cannot reach maturity due to elk grazing and lack of resources from prolonged drought and rising temperatures.

Described as a canary species by Stoddard, these groves are providing clues to the deteriorating health of the forest on the peaks and all aspens in the species southern range.

Aspen communities on southern exposures at these lower elevations are dwindling, said Stoddard. It's important that we monitor these ecosystems at the edges. They're going to provide information on how things are changing.

Aspens contribute to Flagstaffs fall colors

Every year, tourists flock to Flagstaff in September and October to enjoy the outdoors and take in the vibrant fall colors of the aspen trees. Discover Flagstaff, the citys tourism bureau, displays a Leaf-ometer on its website when the leaves are brightest. The website received nearly 80,000 views in October and was featured on Phoenix-based television stations.

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It was the most popular page on our site during the month, said Ryan Randazzo, media relations manager at Discover Flagstaff in an email to The Republic, Overall traffic to our site was up 17% for October this year  and the Leaf-ometer was the primary driver.

Tourism to Flagstaff provides $565 million of economic impact to the city, and employs approximately 8,000 people.

While we cannot say that fall colors are the only reason people visit Flagstaff in September and October  we have many things to see and do here year-round  we have seen hotel/motel occupancy in those months increase during the last 20 years, Randazzo said.

Fewer colors: Fall leaves look a little muted? Warmer, drier conditions are changing autumn in Arizona

The future of the aspens at risk

Beneath the towering white trunks of the aspens, Stoddard looks to the thin plants protruding from the ground for clues to the fate of the peaks forest.

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This is the future, said Stoddard, grasping an inconspicuous growth reaching just above his height. Once the aspen clones grow past a certain height threshold, the likelihood they will reach maturity greatly increases.

Nearby, swaths of new aspen growth in the study area have been abruptly stunted by grazing elk.

The Rocky Mountain elk that populate the San Francisco Peaks are not native to Arizona. In 1912, 83 elk were transplanted into Arizona from Yellowstone National Park, and the statewide population has grown to nearly 35,000 animals, according to the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

Without the presence of natural predators, the elk population near Flagstaff is controlled through the issuance of hunting permits. State and federal agencies are limited in their ability to fence off aspen stands in the wilderness area, so forest managers have turned to these hunting permits as a tool to help the young aspen in reaching maturity.

The aspen trees are in peak color near the Arizona Snowbowl northwest of Flagstaff on Oct. 22, 2024.

In the aftermath of the 2010 Shultz Fire, which burned through over 15,000 acres in northwest Flagstaff, the U.S. Forest Service and Arizona Game and Fish entered into a cooperative agreement that increased the availability of elk hunting permits to aid in the regeneration of aspen trees.

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Land managers, wildlife managers and foresters saw the need to protect new aspen shoots, Stoddard said, so they came together to create an initiative to increase hunting pressure on elk so they could stimulate some of this regeneration and help them mature into tree size.

While its too early to determine whether the measure was effective, Stoddard is optimistic after seeing the aspen trees rebound in the burn scar of the 2022 Pipeline Fire, an area not included in the study.

Although aspen trees can thrive on disturbances like wildfires, the compounding pressures from prolonged drought and uncontrolled elk grazing have put other aspen stands on the peaks at risk of disappearing in the next century.

If (the aspens) are not putting their resources into the future, its just a matter of time, Stoddard said. They need disturbance, but not all disturbances are equal to regeneration.

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John Leos covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to john.leos@arizonarepublic.com.

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

Sign up for AZ Climate, our weekly environment newsletter, and follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook and Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: NAU study finds young aspen trees near Flagstaff face multiple threats
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WFRV)  A traffic stop in Eau Claire turned into a major drug bust, thanks to the efforts of the Eau Claire Police Department and the Eau Claire County Sheriffs Office.

According to a Facebook post from the Eau Claire Police Department, the traffic stop resulted in the seizure of 280 grams of methamphetamine, 25 grams of marijuana, and over $3,000 in cash.

Wisconsin driver escapes injury in dramatic rollover crash

Image courtesy of the ECPD

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Drone locates armed suspect in Wisconsin using thermal imaging

Authorities thanked the Eau Claire County Sheriffs Office for their assistance during the incident.

Big thanks to our dedicated ECPD officers and Eau Claire County Sheriffs Office deputy for their work during a Sunday night traffic stop that led to the seizure of 280 grams of meth, 25 grams of marijuana, and over $3,000 in cash. Two individuals are now in custody. Your hard work helps keep our community safe every day! Eau Claire Police Department

Two people have been reportedly taken into custody following the bust.

No further details have been provided at this time.

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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 WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton.
Polish President Andrzej Duda called German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin "a mistake" in his post on X on Nov. 18.

Scholz spoke with Putin on Nov. 15 for the first time in nearly two years. The German chancellor condemned Russia's war in Ukraine, urged Putin to withdraw his troops, and discussed potential talks with Kyiv.

President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Scholz's call with Putin opens a "Pandora's box," potentially leading to "other conversations and other calls."

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"I doubt that the German Chancellor's conversation with Putin was agreed with the allies," Duda said.

"Russia is brutally attacking Ukraine, and one of the leaders of European countries, a strong economy, is holding talks with the aggressor. I think this is a mistake," Duda added.

At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine and Russia held talks in Minsk and Istanbul in March 2022, but the negotiations were eventually abandoned after Ukrainian retook the north of the country and mass war crimes were discovered in the liberated areas.

In remarks during Ukraine's Peace Summit in June this year, Zelensky said the Istanbul talks failed because of the Russian side's "ultimatums."

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Read also: With Scholzs government in shambles, conservative rival touts more decisive Ukraine strategy

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
PINE LAWN, Mo.  Nov. 10, 2021, outside Barack Obama Elementary School on Jennings Station Road42-year-old Christoper Chaney was shot and killed.

The police report describes a resource officer hearing the shots when letting a fifth grader in the school. The victim reportedly named a teenager he knew as the shooter.

Thats called a dying declaration, Cpl. Benjamin Santoyo said with the North County Police Cooperative.

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That tip was far from the end of the case.

Our job is twofold. We not only have a duty to investigate people for their crimes and allegations; we also have a duty to absolve people of those same crimes and allegations, Santoyo explained.

Police obtained surveillance pictures of the getaway car and worked with several other police departments to trace that car  to that same teenager named by the murder victim.

A search warrant then led to the discovery of the defendants alleged firearms, scattered around in a closet and in bedding.

For me, what took me off guard was the volume, Santoyo said. I think in total we recovered like seven weapons as related to this homicide.

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The defendant, who was 17 years old at the time, was certified by the courts as an adult. His alleged guns were taken into evidence by the NCPC. Finding storage space for that evidence and keeping it preserved, Santoyo said, is a job itself.

When we work with prosecutors like Chris Klaverkamp from the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorneys Office who are tough on crime but very vigilant and diligent as wellwe have to meet standards, he added.

A jury this month found Kevin Fields guilty of second-degree murder and armed criminal action. The jury recommended a sentence of 18 years in prison.

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Wesley Bell called it just another example of senseless violence, as he emphasized that we cannot overlook the jurys work.

Jurors have to sit and take time off work away from their families, and that is part of the process of justice, but also obviously the men and women of our trial team, Bell said.

The victims family declined to talk on camera about the case. Santoyo said that doesnt mean they should be forgotten.

When I think about the victims, not who actually died but the secondary victims like the mom, the daughters, the siblings, the cousinsthose are the people who are really affected, and they didnt deserve to live that heartache and that loss, Santoyo said.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.
HANGZHOU, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 800 scientists from 71 countries and regions as well as 63 international sci-tech organizations attended the 2024 World Young Scientist Summit (WYSS) held in the city of Wenzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province.

Addressing the plenary session of WYSS on Sunday, Wan Gang, president of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), said the wave of informatization, digitization and intelligence accelerates a profound change in research paradigm and helps young people acquire knowledge and information more widely, deeply and conveniently, thus helping young scientists achieve leaps and breakthroughs by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Tshilidzi Marwala, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Rector of the United Nations University, said young scientists play an important role in advancing frontier science, creating regional innovation ecosystems, and fostering international cooperation, especially in tackling climate change and health and inequality issues.

Four young scientists from the United States, Britain, France and China won the second Young Scientist Sustainable Development Goals Award.

The WYSS is jointly sponsored by the CAST and the Zhejiang provincial government. Since its inauguration in 2019, the summit has set up an open platform for scientists from more than 100 countries and built cooperation relations with more than 200 international sci-tech organizations and universities. 
An E. coli outbreak tied to organic whole and baby carrots from Grimmway Farms has affected 39 people across 18 states, resulting in 15 hospitalizations and one death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC and public health officials said in a statement on Sunday that although the affected products have been recalled, some previously purchased items may already be in peoples homes.

What to know about carrot recall

PHOTO: Stock photo. (Adobe)

The CDC report came after Grimmway Farms announced a recall on its website of organic whole carrots sold without a "best-if-used-by" date between Aug.14 and Oct. 23, 2024, and organic baby carrots with "best-if-used-by" dates from Sept. 11 to Nov. 12, 2024.

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Consumers are urged to check their refrigerators and dispose of any recalled carrots immediately.

What to know about deadly McDonald's E. coli outbreak

Businesses should also ensure the recalled products are not being used or served.

PHOTO: Stock photo. (Noom Ao/AKGK Studio/Adobe)

What stores sold now recalled carrots

These products were distributed across the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada under various brand names, including Bunny Luv, Trader Joes, Wegmans and Simple Truth. A full list of recalled items can be found here.

Grimmway Farms responds to carrot recall and E. coli outbreak

In a statement on its website, Jeff Huckaby, Grimmway Farms president and CEO, emphasized the companys commitment to safety.

"We take our role in ensuring the safety and quality of our products seriously," the Grimmway Farms statement read. "The health of our customers and the integrity of our products are our highest priorities, and we are conducting a thorough review of our growing, harvest, and processing practices. Our food safety team is working with our suppliers and health authorities."

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ABC News has reached out to a Grimmway Farms representative for comment but did not hear back immediately.

What are E. coli symptoms?

The outbreak is caused by Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, which can lead to severe symptoms such as stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea and vomiting, according to the CDC.

While most people recover within a week, some may develop life-threatening kidney complications, the CDC said.

Those experiencing symptoms are advised to seek medical attention and inform their health care providers about recent food consumption.

An earlier version of this story was first published Nov. 17, 2024.

E. coli outbreak linked to organic carrots leaves 1 dead, 15 hospitalized originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)  The School Health and Related Services gives funding to schools across Texas for students who need special education services.

Scholars with a disability, early intervention is the key, said Dr. Lilia Nanez, Associate Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction at Ector County Independent School District.

We provide those kinds of services to any student that qualifies for a special education, Dr. Nanez. For example here in ECISD, we have the Regional Day School for the hard of hearing, and we serve students from 18 different school districts here.

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Texas recently cut over $600 million dollars from the budget of SHARS, and Dr. Nanez has concerns.

Another example of the population that we serve are medically fragile students, Dr. Nanez said. We serve children who have feeding tubes, who are just basically medically fragile, and those medical services that we provide here at school, that affects that service as well. When you lose that kind of money in one year it puts a heavy burden on really the taxpayers here in Ector County and really it puts a burden on all school personnel that are working hard to provide all the services that our special education students need.

Now, school leaders, like Carmen Castro Toriano, the Director of the Regional Day School Program for the Deaf, fears she wont be able to give her students what they need, she said.

When it comes to special education special services the federal government says you need to provide a free and appropriate public education, right?, Toriano said. If they need Special-I services you need to provide whatever that scholar needs in order to thrive and be successful enough to level the playing field as their non-disabled peers.

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The reimbursement requirements for schools are also becoming stricter and making it more difficult for schools to acquire the funds they need, Toriano said.

For a speech language pathologist too, who provides speech therapy services, they now have to have a prescription, Toriano said. That wasnt something that was done before. Prescriptions have normally always been in place for occupational therapy or physical therapy, but not for speech therapy, and thats something that has changed very recently.

For scholars to succeed communication and learning how to communicate is key, Castro said.

We try our best with what we have, and we make do with what we have, Toriano said. Is it always the best thing? No, but its the best that we can do at the time until we figure out how else can we make this a better situation.

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Schools also need funds to keep teachers and therapists in the district, Dr. Nanez 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 Yourbasin.
Jon Baselice of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce speaks at a conference in Washington, D.C., held by the National Immigration Forum. Speakers at the event last week said that cutting immigration as President-elect Donald Trump has said he would do could have drastic effects on the economy. (Marty Schladen/Ohio Capital Journal)

This story originally appeared on Ohio Capital Journal.

WASHINGTON, D.C.  President-elect Donald Trump made a visit to the nations capital Wednesday to meet with congressional Republicans. As he did, a group of economic leaders meeting nearby had a simple message for him and his incoming administration: You cant have robust economic growth without robust immigration.

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Trump cruised to victory on Nov. 5 after a campaign that was based mostly around attacking immigration and criticizing the economy under Democratic President Joe Biden. Speaking at an event held by the National Immigration Forum, a prominent Republican economist said the two issues are inextricably tied, just not in the way that the Trump campaign suggested.

You cant be America First by putting immigration last, said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a White House economist under President George H.W. Bush and chief economic advisor to Arizona Sen. John McCains 2008 presidential campaign. The numbers just dont add up.

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Holtz-Eakin and the other panelists stressed that with declining class sizes in American elementary schools, the country needs immigration to buttress the workforce and spur economic growth.

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Anyone who is arithmetically informed knows immigration is central to our future, Holtz-Eakin said. The demography is baked in the cake. Native-born Americans have such low fertility that in the absence of immigration, this country will look like Japan. It will get very, very old and smaller and smaller and smaller. Well lose our economic vitality.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised rapid mass deportations of immigrants who arent here legally or who will be declared to be undocumented in the future. But Jon Baselice, vice president for immigration policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that likely isnt possible.

If you look at the resources they have, and at the resources theyre likely to get, they need to set expectations in a realistic way, he said. If theyre looking to deport millions of people in very short order, theyre likely to fail at that.

Meanwhile, a dearth of immigrants can come with a serious economic downside.

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The Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce surveys employers in the state each year. Starting about a decade ago, the issue of having enough workers shot up the list of concerns, said Alex Halper, vice president of governmental affairs for the organization.

Weve had historically small kindergarten classes the last two years, and by far the fastest-growing demographic is 80 and older, Halper said. At the same time, out of 100 job openings, we have 56 people looking for work in Pennsylvania. We simply dont have the people to fill positions for Pennsylvania employers.

Immigrants are particularly crucial to the tech sector, panelists said.

Pearl Chang Esau is founder and CEO of the Arizona group Shan strategies, which advises businesses on how to improve their economic, environmental, and societal impact. She said dreamers  non-citizens who came to the United States at an early age who have been allowed to stay under an executive order by former President Barack Obama  are an important piece of the tech puzzle.

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Thirty percent of dreamers in college are pursuing a STEM education, and theyre graduating without the ability to work, she said. So it is a no-brainer to capture that population into our workforce.

There seemed to be widespread apprehension at the conference after Trump won on a starkly anti-immigration agenda.

Many of us sense a giant mountain that lies before us, Jennie Murray, president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum, said as she opened the conference.

But U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., said he hoped a coalition of business, law enforcement and faith leaders  which he called business, badges and the Bible  would create pressure for bipartisan solutions that polling indicates the public overwhelmingly wants. Suozzi said he hopes that polarization on the issue will decrease so that a critical mass of the public can see immigration as the nuanced issue that it is.

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Anybody who says, Why dont you just doesnt know what theyre talking about, he said, to applause.

Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on Facebook and X.

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Jon Baselice, right, of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, speaks at a conference in Washington, D.C., held by the National Immigration Forum. (Marty Schladen | Ohio Capital Journal)

WASHINGTON, D.C.  President-elect Donald Trump made a visit to the nations capital last week to meet with congressional Republicans. As he did, a group of economic leaders meeting nearby had a simple message for him and his incoming administration: You cant have robust economic growth without robust immigration.

Trump cruised to victory on Nov. 5 after a campaign that was based mostly around attacking immigration and criticizing the economy under Democratic President Joe Biden. Speaking at an event held Wednesday by the National Immigration Forum, a prominent Republican economist said the two issues are inextricably tied, just not in the way that the Trump campaign suggested.

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You cant be America First by putting immigration last, said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a White House economist under President George H.W. Bush and chief economic advisor to Arizona Sen. John McCains 2008 presidential campaign. The numbers just dont add up.

Holtz-Eakin and the other panelists stressed that with declining class sizes in American elementary schools, the country needs immigration to buttress the workforce and spur economic growth.

Anyone who is arithmetically informed knows immigration is central to our future, Holtz-Eakin said. The demography is baked in the cake. Native-born Americans have such low fertility that in the absence of immigration, this country will look like Japan. It will get very, very old and smaller and smaller and smaller. Well lose our economic vitality.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised rapid mass deportations of immigrants who arent here legally or who will be declared to be undocumented in the future. But Jon Baselice, vice president for immigration policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that likely isnt possible.

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If you look at the resources they have, and at the resources theyre likely to get, they need to set expectations in a realistic way, he said. If theyre looking to deport millions of people in very short order, theyre likely to fail at that.

Meanwhile, a dearth of immigrants can come with a serious economic downside.

The Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce surveys employers in the state each year. Starting about a decade ago, the issue of having enough workers shot up the list of concerns, said Alex Halper, vice president of governmental affairs for the organization.

Weve had historically small kindergarten classes the last two years, and by far the fastest-growing demographic is 80 and older, Halper said. At the same time, out of 100 job openings, we have 56 people looking for work in Pennsylvania. We simply dont have the people to fill positions for Pennsylvania employers.

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Immigrants are particularly crucial to the tech sector, panelists said.

Pearl Chang Esau is founder and CEO of the Arizona group Shan strategies, which advises businesses on how to improve their economic, environmental, and societal impact. She said dreamers  non-citizens who came to the United States at an early age who have been allowed to stay under an executive order by former President Barack Obama  are an important piece of the tech puzzle.

Thirty percent of dreamers in college are pursuing a STEM education, and theyre graduating without the ability to work, she said. So it is a no-brainer to capture that population into our workforce.

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There seemed to be widespread apprehension at the conference after Trump won on a starkly anti-immigration agenda.

Many of us sense a giant mountain that lies before us, Jennie Murray, president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum, said as she opened the conference.

But U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., said he hoped a coalition of business, law enforcement and faith leaders  which he called business, badges and the Bible  would create pressure for bipartisan solutions that polling indicates the public overwhelmingly wants. Suozzi said he hopes that polarization on the issue will decrease so that a critical mass of the public can see immigration as the nuanced issue that it is.

Anybody who says, Why dont you just doesnt know what theyre talking about, he said, to applause.

Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on Facebook and X.
Jon Baselice of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce speaks at a conference in Washington, D.C., held by the National Immigration Forum.  Marty Schladen, Ohio Capital Journal

WASHINGTON, D.C.  President-elect Donald Trump made a visit to the nations capitol last week to meet with congressional Republicans. As he did, a group of economic leaders meeting nearby had a simple message for him and his incoming administration: You cant have robust economic growth without robust immigration.

Trump cruised to victory on Nov. 5 after a campaign that was based mostly around attacking immigration and criticizing the economy under Democratic President Joe Biden. Speaking at an event held by the National Immigration Forum, a prominent Republican economist said the two issues are inextricably tied, just not in the way that the Trump campaign suggested.

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You cant be America First by putting immigration last, said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a White House economist under President George H.W. Bush and chief economic advisor to Arizona Sen. John McCains 2008 presidential campaign. The numbers just dont add up.

Holtz-Eakin and the other panelists stressed that with declining class sizes in American elementary schools, the country needs immigration to buttress the workforce and spur economic growth.

Anyone who is arithmetically informed knows immigration is central to our future, Holtz-Eakin said. The demography is baked in the cake. Native-born Americans have such low fertility that in the absence of immigration, this country will look like Japan. It will get very, very old and smaller and smaller and smaller. Well lose our economic vitality.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised rapid mass deportations of immigrants who arent here legally or who will be declared to be undocumented in the future. But Jon Baselice, vice president for immigration policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that likely isnt possible.

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If you look at the resources they have, and at the resources theyre likely to get, they need to set expectations in a realistic way, he said. If theyre looking to deport millions of people in very short order, theyre likely to fail at that.

Meanwhile, a dearth of immigrants can come with a serious economic downside.

The Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce surveys employers in the state each year. Starting about a decade ago, the issue of having enough workers shot up the list of concerns, said Alex Halper, vice president of governmental affairs for the organization.

Weve had historically small kindergarten classes the last two years, and by far the fastest-growing demographic is 80 and older, Halper said. At the same time, out of 100 job openings, we have 56 people looking for work in Pennsylvania. We simply dont have the people to fill positions for Pennsylvania employers.

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Immigrants are particularly crucial to the tech sector, panelists said.

Pearl Chang Esau is founder and CEO of the Arizona group Shan strategies, which advises businesses on how to improve their economic, environmental, and societal impact. She said dreamers  non-citizens who came to the United States at an early age who have been allowed to stay under an executive order by former President Barack Obama  are an important piece of the tech puzzle.

Thirty percent of dreamers in college are pursuing a STEM education, and theyre graduating without the ability to work, she said. So it is a no-brainer to capture that population into our workforce.

There seemed to be widespread apprehension at the conference after Trump won on a starkly anti-immigration agenda.

Advertisement Advertisement

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Many of us sense a giant mountain that lies before us, Jennie Murray, president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum, said as she opened the conference.

But U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., said he hoped a coalition of business, law enforcement and faith leaders  which he called business, badges and the Bible  would create pressure for bipartisan solutions that polling indicates the public overwhelmingly wants. Suozzi said he hopes that polarization on the issue will decrease so that a critical mass of the public can see immigration as the nuanced issue that it is.

Anybody who says, Why dont you just doesnt know what theyre talking about, he said, to applause.

Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on Facebook and X.
BOWIE COUNTY, Texas (KETK)  An elderly couple was found dead in their Bowie County home on Sunday and authorities said a murder investigation has been launched.

Big Sandy, Hawkins, Gladewater ISD in mourning after students die in fatal crash

According to the Bowie County Sheriffs Office, deputies were called to the 800 block of County Road 4316 for the suspicious deaths of 86-year-old Billy Don English and 85-year-old Sethiena Trudie English.

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The sheriffs office said that the way Sethiena and Billy were found indicated that their deaths were not natural.

Authorities said their bodies were sent to to the Southwest Institute of Forensic Science for autopsies and the investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information about the deaths is asked to contact the the sheriffs office at 903-628-6815 or 903-798-3149 or Captain David Biggar at 903-798-3150.

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 KETK.com | FOX51.com.
By Deisy Buitrago

CARACAS (Reuters) -Eleven people have been arrested as part of an investigation into an explosion and fire at a major gas complex last week, Venezuela's vice-president and oil minister Delcy Rodriguez said on Monday.

The Muscar gas complex in the country's eastern Monagas region, operated by state oil company PDVSA, was temporarily shutdown after a pipeline explosion caused a fire, injuring at least five workers and forcing tougher power rationing in some places.

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Several foreigners connected to the case have fled the country, Rodriguez said, adding PDVSA had suffered $157 million in impact, though it was unclear if that figure corresponded only to the Muscar incident or to others as well.

Muscar distributes gas for reinjection to oilfields and domestic supply.

Rodriguez, who appeared with Hector Obregon, the head of PDVSA, and the company's head of security, said at least three other attacks had taken place or were attempted against PDVSA facilities this month.

The government in Venezuela, whose President Nicolas Maduro is expected to begin a third term next year after a fierce dispute with the opposition over which side won a July presidential election, has said repeatedly that sabotage and terrorism are behind incidents at oil and power facilities, including a nationwide August black out.

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Maduro has often held his political rivals responsible for "attacks" on the power grid without offering evidence, accusations the opposition has always denied.

(Reporting by Deisy BuitragoWriting by Julia Symmes Cobb)
Elon Musk is starting to clash with Donald Trumps team on some of the president-elects key issues, especially tariffs.

The Washington Post reports that Musk is trying to persuade Trump regarding Cabinet picks and economic policy, drawing the ire of the president-elects other advisers. On Saturday, Musk praised Argentine President Javier Milei in a post on X for cutting tariffs in his country. The central pillar of Trumps economic program is raising tariffs.

In another post later on Saturday, Musk endorsed Howard Lutnick, co-chair of Trumps transition team and CEO of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, for the post of treasury secretary over hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, who is in the running for the position. Both posts from Musk arent going over well with the rest of Trumps team.



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People are not happy, one person in contact with campaign officials told the Post anonymously. Musks posts seemed to reflect that the tech CEO and worlds richest man was acting like a co-president and beginning to overstep his role, the person added.

Musks praise of Lutnick, for example, came before any public statements from the campaign or any announcements from Trump. Musk also called on his followers to weigh in with their opinion on the Cabinet position, which might send a message that he thinks Trump needs some convincingor pressure.

There is also friction between Musk and Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn, with Axios reporting that the tech mogul thinks Epshteyn, who has pushed for appointments such as Matt Gaetz as attorney general, has too much influence over Trumps choices. Musk has questioned the qualifications of Epshteyns preferred candidates, irking the longtime Trump adviser.



These disagreements reportedly came to a head last Wednesday at Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate, where Musk and Epshteyn had an angry exchange at a dinner table. Musk even accused Epshteyn of leaking details about the Trump transition to the media, which Epshteyn denied.

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If Musk gets into a turf war with other members of Trumps team as Trumps new presidential administration takes shape, he already has a big advantage. The tech CEO pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into Trumps campaign, and the president-elect has already included Musk in many important meetings, as well as a phone call to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy just after the election. Last week, Musk even took part in a private meeting with Irans ambassador to the United Nations in New York, raising questions of whether it was on Trumps orders.

Musk has been photographed with members of Trumps family too, making it look like he has become part of Mar-a-Lagos furniture and irking Trumps advisers and staff. It seems that the worlds richest man has bought his way into Trumps inner circle and wont be leaving for the foreseeable future.
Blow-Up Dolls

It's only been a few weeks since Elon Musk's money helped bring Donald Trump back to the White House  and already, the billionaire seems to be causing problems.

According to insiders who spoke to Axios, Musk and Donald Trump's indicted lawyer Boris Epshteyn got into what the outlet's sources described as a "massive blowup" and a "huge explosion" at Mar-a-Lago last week over the president-elect's Cabinet picks, of all things.

Those sources said that the row occurred in front of other guests at Trump's Florida mansion as Musk accused Epshteyn of intentionally leaking picks to the press. The attorney rebutted that he had no idea what the billionaire was talking about  but onlookers, including those within Trump's orbit, were well aware of what the fight was really about.

Sway My Way

These explosive tensions had been bubbling for weeks, Axios' anonymous sources explained, as the pair vie for influence with Trump. A longtime advisor to the real estate tycoon who has represented him in court and briefly worked with him during his first presidency, Epshteyn's sway with Trump makes sense.

Musk, however, doesn't seem too pleased about that sway. He's taken to airing out his thoughts in public as he pushes for transition co-chair Howard Lutnick to be appointed to lead the Treasury Department instead of hedge fund chief Scott Bessent, who Trump once called "brilliant" and "nice-looking."

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"My view [for what it's worth] is that Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas [Lutnik] will actually enact change," Musk tweeted days after the alleged blowout. "Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we need change one way or another."

Power Player

An outsider in Trump's world of well-heeled movers and shakers, Musk's jockeying for power has some in the president-elect's inner circle complaining about the South African-born business owner's antics.

In an interview with The Hill, one GOP lobbyist tied to Trump said that Musk has gotten a "little big for his britches," and another ally told NBC News that the billionaire is "behaving as if he's a co-president."

A source with Trump's transition team insisted in a statement to the New York Post that the story about Musk and Epshtyen's fight is "complete and total nonsense, which Axios is known for."

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One thing's for sure, though: there's bad blood brewing in the transition team.

More on Musk in Trumpworld: Elon Musk's "DOGE" Department Sounds Like It Might Be a Fake Thing to Make Him Feel Important
President-elect Donald Trumps close relationship with Elon Musk puts an unelected defense contractor in the White House and poses the most direct and sustained threat to the First Amendment and the freedom of the press imaginable, according to The Verge Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel.

The Verges boss made his comment to Oliver Darcys Status website on Sunday, while also calling Musk a drug-user who twists the algorithmic knobs of an influential right-wing echo chamber.

Patel, in his interview with Status, didnt share much of an explanation on how the Musk-Trump alliance poses a huge threat to freedom of speech in the U.S. The biggest issue, Patel pointed out, was Trump picking Brendan Carr as his FCC chairman, which the president-elect did on Monday. Carr has previously criticized Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which acts as the broad legal shield that blocks platforms like X and Facebook from being sued for what users post.

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Here was the key section of Patels answer to Status:

To be as clear as I can be, the second Trump administration with Elon Musk embedded within it represents the most direct and sustained threat to the First Amendment and the freedom of the press any of us will ever experience. If youre a media executive or editorial leader and you havent met with your legal team to understand the current landscape of First Amendment threats, let alone the ones to come, youre already behind. Get on it.

Two years ago, when Musk bought the platform then known as Twitter, Patel warned him that everyone crying about free speech conveniently ignores that the biggest threat to free speech in America is the f government, which seems completely bored of the First Amendment. Patel added Trump and President Joe Biden have identical policy positions on Section 230, and that they were both interested in curtailing the ability for platforms to censor content as they see fit.

Another interesting slice of Patels interview on Musk: he told Status the U.S. now has an unelected defense contractor sitting in the White House doing ketamine and twiddling the algorithmic knobs of an influential right-wing echo chamber while fulminating against traditional standards-based journalism.

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Patel also called for journalists to get off of X  a move that many have pulled in recent weeks, following the election.

Why is anyone working for Elon Musk for free? Get off that s, its all fake anyway and hes getting more out of it than you are, Patel said. Building a real audience is the media skill; figure that out and youll have a career. We might even get to have an industry.

Patel hasnt been active much on X lately; his last post is a repost of a story from The Verge in July. The Verge, on the other hand, is still active on X  the tech-focused outlet has posted five times on Monday.

The post Elon Musk Is an Unelected Defense Contractor  Doing Ketamine While Directing Trump, Says The Verge EIC appeared first on TheWrap.
Capacity of technology evolving in education

08:45, November 18, 2024 By ZHAO YIMENG ( China Daily

Participants in a Sino-foreign youth dialogue event take time out to interact with a robot in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in August. [Photo/Xinhua]

The G20 Education Dialogue held in Beijing in October zeroed in on the crucial intersection of education, technology and sustainable growth in the digital age.

The three-day event brought together more than 100 speakers, including education leaders and policymakers from G20 members, to delve into how digital transformation can enrich learning experiences and improve educational outcomes globally.

Wang Dinghua, Party secretary of Beijing Foreign Studies University, which organized the event, emphasized the transformative potential of artificial intelligence and data science in education. He noted that G20 nations share a commitment to inclusive and equitable quality education, aiming to leverage digital tools to meet the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

"China, together with other G20 members, has been committed to the vision of inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all through digital means," Wang said. The dialogue on education, technology and quality growth in the digital era offers a platform for educators and policymakers to share insights and seek solutions to common challenges, he added.

Luiz Costa, former minister of education in Brazil, highlighted the growing partnership between Brazil and China, asserting that education forms the foundation for sustainable development and technological advancement.

"As Brazil and China continue to deepen our ties, especially through partnerships in educational exchange, technological innovation and shared research initiatives, we are showing the world that collaboration between nations is key to solving the complex challenges of the digital era," Costa said.

He stressed the need to ensure that all students benefit from digital innovations, warning that technology should empower rather than hinder educational experiences. "Our challenge is to ensure that no student is left behind in this digital revolution," he said.

Echoing Costa, Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, discussed the dual nature of using artificial intelligence in education, acknowledging its ability to personalize learning while also warning against potential inequities. "AI is a powerful tool, but it amplifies both good and bad practices," Schleicher said. The role of public policy is crucial in shaping how these technologies are used in educational settings, he said, calling for regulations that lead to transparent and bias-free applications.

Kylie Readman, vice-president of the University of Technology Sydney, highlighted that technology alone cannot foster educational success and meet the needs of a new generation of students in higher education. "It requires a commitment to purpose, a desire for connection and an environment of learning that promotes student success," she said.

Throughout the dialogue, participants engaged in deep discussions about the impact of digital transformation on education, sharing their experiences and exploring collaborative pathways for the future. A youth dialogue also took place, where young leaders from G20 members discussed how educational technology can address climate change challenges.

The consensus emerged that while technology enhances accessibility and equity in education, it cannot replace the invaluable role of teachers. Education transforms lives, and the purpose of education remains unchanged regardless of technological advancements, said Li Youwen, an associate professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University. "Nothing, even the best technology, can replace a good teacher," she said.

Also held over the three days, the G20 Basic Education Dialogue and the G20 Vocational and Technical Education Dialogue attracted experts and administrators from G20 members to engage in in-depth discussions on leveraging digital technologies to transform educational systems and prepare students for the demands of the future workforce.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
David Vardanyan, the son of fraudster and criminal Ruben Vardanyan, continues to pay for senseless articles in foreign publications. This time, the French magazine *Le Journal du Dimanche* profited from Vardanyan Jr.

In an article published in the magazine, David Vardanyan once again laments his father's situation, addressing both the UN and the countries participating in COP29.

According to Vardanyan Jr., as COP29 nears its end, no one has "demanded from Azerbaijan" the release of his father.

Previously, David wrote numerous articles calling for a boycott of COP29, but his efforts failed. Now, with only a few days left before the conclusion of the event, he has tried his luck again, hoping to gain some traction with his plea.

The absurdity seems to run in the Vardanyan family. While his father, holed up in Khankendi, paid for dozensif not hundredsof interviews to lament the supposed "hardships" of Armenians, hoping for international sympathy, his son now engages in a similarly futile effort, hoping that some external force will compel Azerbaijan to release these criminals from prison.

It's time for David to finally accept the reality: his father and the other separatists are awaiting the verdict of the Azerbaijani court for the grave crimes they committed. The only certainty for the Vardanyan family is that justice will be served, and these criminals will be held accountable for their actions.
BEIRUT, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Hezbollah has mourned the party's media chief, Mohammad Afif, who was killed on Sunday in an Israeli raid targeting the office of Syria's Ba'ath Party in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

"We mourn a great media leader and a great martyr on the path to Jerusalem, Hajj Muhammad Afif al-Nabulsi, who departed in a criminal and aggressive Zionist raid," Hezbollah said in a statement late Sunday night, noting Afif was "a fundamental pillar in Hezbollah's media, political, and jihadist path."

The Israeli raid in the Ras al-Nabaa area also killed four other people, including a woman, and injured 14 others, including two children, the Public Health Emergency Operations Center affiliated with the Lebanese Health Ministry of Health said in a statement.

In another strike on Sunday, Israel targeted an electronic store belonging to the Madi family on the Mar Elias Street in Beirut, killing two people and injuring 22 others.

The Israeli Kan broadcaster said the target of the attack was Mahmoud Madi, the operations officer on the southern front of Hezbollah, who, according to the Israeli Army Radio, "took on a prominent military role after the elimination of the first-tier leaders."

Over the past two days, the Israeli warplanes launched three waves of raids on the southern suburb of Beirut, targeting the areas of Haret Hreik, Bir al-Abed, Chiyah, and Burj al-Barajneh, causing great destruction to the targeted buildings and significant damage to the neighborhood.

Since Sept. 23, the Israeli army has intensified its air attack on Lebanon in an escalation of conflict with Hezbollah. Israel further initiated a ground operation across its northern border into Lebanon in early October. 
The Emporia State University entrance welcomes visitors in September 2023. (Max McCoy/Kansas Reflector)

Emporia State University funneled secret payments to professors in the wake of breaking tenure agreements and firing 33 faculty members.

It then broke the law trying to cover up what it had done.

Thats the simplest way to explain the findings issued last week in a Kansas Attorney Generals Office report. Kansas Reflector filed a complaint a year and a half ago over the universitys illegal behavior, and it turns out that, yes, ESU did wrong.

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You can read about the entire series of unfortunate events in editor Sherman Smiths story, but heres a summary. We requested the records on March 1, 2023. Emporia State didnt acknowledge receipt of the request until March 8 and didnt respond until March 10, which the university demanded a ridiculous $700 to comply with the request. They broke the law, which required them to comply with the request within three business days.

On March 14, the university reaffirmed that $700 estimate. My column about ESU demanding ransom for public records appeared the next day.

We received the information on April 3, 2023, along with a refund of $87.50 from ESU, with the university saying that $700 estimate was too high. Remember this, as it will be important later. We filed a complaint with the Attorney Generals Office on April 13. We checked in with Attorney General Kris Kobachs office about our complaint in December 2023 and August 2024. We didnt receive the official findings until Oct. 22.

The one unequivocally good outcome from all this is that attorney Amber Smiths letter makes it clear that ESU violated Kansas law in delaying its response to Kansas Reflector. Thats unacceptable for a public institution.

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Unfortunately, the letter lets the university off the hook for its ridiculous $700 estimate. An official claimed that fulfilling the request took 11 staff members working through a complex web of computer programs. Smiths letter states the actual cost of producing records exceeded that estimate.

Emporia State University president Ken Hush, right, received approval from the Kansas Board of Regents in 2022 to deploy a policy that expedited personnel and program changes. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

Pardon my skepticism, but that doesnt sound plausible.

If you think it took nearly a dozen high-level employees working multiple hours to produce a simple list of people receiving bonuses, I have a bridge in southeast Kansas to sell you.

Recall that Emporia State refunded us $87.50 more than a year ago, saying their estimated cost was too high. They were either not telling the truth to us then, or they werent telling the truth to the Kansas Attorney Generals Office. Either doesnt sound great.

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Weve just gone through an exhausting campaign season, one in which conservatives made clear their desire for law and order. They want this nations laws to be followed, even if it means deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants. OK, then. If voters believe so strongly in adherence to both the letter and spirit of the law, they might examine ESUs record of following both.

For that matter, the Attorney Generals Office might want to address complaints regarding the publics right to know more seriously.

First Amendment attorney Max Kautsch sounded a warning: Ratifying arbitrary practices, as the AG has done here, may well further empower records custodians to do things like charge unreasonable fees or withhold records they shouldnt.

The university refused to answer any questions about the story we published last week, so we have no idea how they would respond to questions on the subject. Thats the latest example of the stonewalling weve come to expect from President Ken Hushs administration, which has taken our reporting about the institution as some kind of affront, rather than dedicated journalists doing their jobs.

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But just take a look at the evidence. Everything weve heard from Emporia State since it started defenestrating professors suggests that the institution wants to exclude the public and pursue a path of utmost secrecy. Even if it means breaking the law.

Those who live and work in Emporia, and proud ESU graduates across the state and nation, have every reason to object.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
President-elect Donald Trump and his MAGA regime have promised revenge and retribution against a range of targeted groups such as the Democrats, the deep state and the globalists, the Left, liberals, Woke, the news media, i.e. the enemy of the people, nonwhite illegal aliens," the LGBTQ community (specifically transgender people) and a range of other groups. Trumps selections for his Cabinet are distinguished both by their personal loyalty to him as well as ferocity in pursuing his personal and political enemies. Trump has repeatedly threatened to remove these enemies within from society by using the Alien Enemies Act, the Insurrection Act and other means including prison. All indications suggest that Trumps dictatorial presidency will begin by targeting those groups and individuals who are the enemy on day one.

On the other hand, Trump has repeatedly promised to pardon his followers who attacked the Capitol as part of his coup attempt on Jan. 6. They will likely serve as Trumps personal MAGA street enforcers and paramilitaries.

Central to Trump and his agents plans to impose their authoritarian vision on American society is Nazi legal theorist and jurist Carl Schmitts concept of a state of exception and the distinction between friend and enemy in a permanent state of emergency where the ruler, i.e. Trump and his regime, possess what is essentially unlimited power. In this model of citizenship and national belonging, support for Trumpism and MAGA is synonymous with being a real American. The enemy, however defined, is to be marginalized and oppressed as the Other.

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In a must-read article at The New Republic, Nina Burleigh provides a roadmap and warning for how Donald Trump and his fascist regime will attack the core tenets of American democracy and civil society  and how there is little that normal politics and the institutions can do to stop him and his forces:

We are headed into uncharted territory as a people and a nation. Trump and his allies have promised to initiate their radical right-wing agenda the minute after he takes his hand off the Bible on Inauguration Day. We are about to experience an unprecedented assault on the Constitution and our civil liberties related to speech and assembly, and an abandonment of norms related to the military, the Justice Department, and government contracting that will make the first term look, well, normal. In May and June, the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law invited 250 participants to take part in five tabletop exercises aimed at gaming out how a Trump presidency might use existing weaknesses in the American legal and constitutional system to implant an autocratic regime. The results were disheartening at best, and at worst, frightening. The exercises demonstrated repeatedly that an authoritarian in control of the executive branch with little concern for legal limits holds a structural advantage over any lawful effort to restrain him. None of the exercises left us sanguine, the organizer, Bart Gellman, later reported. Participants were almost uniformly sobered by the paucity of effective constraints on abuse of power.

In a new article that not too long ago would describe life in a banana republic and not the worlds greatest democracy, The Washington Post examines how some of the high-profile targets of Trump and the MAGA movement are preparing for his return to power:

A retired U.S. Army officer who clashed with senior officials in Donald Trumps first White House looked into acquiring Italian citizenship in the run-up to this months election but wasnt eligible and instead packed a go bag with cash and a list of emergency numbers in case he needs to flee. A member of Trumps first administration who publicly denounced him is applying for foreign citizenship and weighing whether to watch and wait or leave the country before the Jan. 20 inauguration. And a former U.S. official who signed a notorious October 2020 letter suggesting that emails purportedly taken from a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden could be part of a Russian information operation is seeking a passport from a European country, uncertain about whether the getaway will prove necessary but concluding, You dont want to have to scramble. All spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid undermining their own preparations. The planning, they acknowledge, responds to a hypothetical worst case in which a second Trump presidency ushers in systematic suppression of free speech and criminalization of dissent. Trumps victory alone has set off alarms among some of his most outspoken critics, as well as within parts of the intelligence and national security communities he denigrated as the deep state and accused of subverting his agenda. Their anxiety has intensified amid the drumbeat of picks for critical Cabinet posts.

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The Democrats and other pro-democracy Americans are going to have to quickly recalibrate their strategy and understanding of the core fundamentals of politics in the Age of Trump and American fascism if they are to find a way to take back the White House and countrys other governing institutions before it is too late and MAGA is widely synonymous with that it means to be a real American both here and around the world.

In an attempt to make sense of Trumps victory, our collective emotions in this time of trouble and dread, what this election reveals about American values and character and what comes next when Trump takes power in January, I recently spoke with a range of experts.

Randolph Hohle is a professor of Sociology at SUNY Fredonia and author of "Racism in the Neoliberal Era" and "American Housing Question: Racism, Urban Citizenship, and the Privilege of Mobility." He studies the nexus of racism and political economy.

Im feeling a bit taken back and a little alarmed. It's not that Trump won, but how much the country moved to the right. To see Trump win 45% of the vote in New York State and sweep every swing state is telling the direction the US is heading. I wont do anything special to manage the feelings. Ill just continue to lift weights and exercise like I normally do. I dont experience elections as trauma.

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Americas mainstream news media and pundits got this so wrong because they dont see that MAGA appeals to poor white men, uneducated white men and working-class white men because they dont have anywhere else to go. Its not about power or domination because they dont have any power. Its about them trying to find a place where they belong. They are socially isolated from mainstream institutions and MAGA gives them a purpose - although Im not sure what that purpose is. In the 1980s and 1990s, we talked about the need to create institutions to keep kids off the streets and out of gangs. MAGA is the streets for marginalized white men. Owning the libs is just a middle finger back to mainstream society. There is no ideology. Just a gang mentality.

The media and punditrys other problem is their need to reduce social groups into simple binaries and abstractions that can provide a clean narrative but impose an incorrect logic on how Americas polity votes. They insist on reading the American polity through the lens of white/not-white. This creates a false impression that all non-white people are the same and opposed to whiteness (which is never defined) and only makes sense to someone whose knowledge of race and ethnicity comes from college seminars instead of actual people. They would be better served to read the polity as Black/not-Black and look for regional and economic differences between racial and ethnic groups.

This is also true in how the media class and pundits insist on viewing women as a unitary identity. The conservative movement and conservative women have their idea of feminism that views gender equality as possible without changing the system and does not see supporting abortion rights and voting for the MAGA movement as a contradiction. Race and gender matter, just not how they think it does.

I am not surprised by Trump winning. I would describe my reaction as being one of revelations. To say that the election revealed America as a racist and or sexist place is a lazy analysis. Instead, the election revealed that Americas political realignment is just about settled and that the neoliberal project, as we know it, has run its course.

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There are three reasons. First, big tech replaced big finance as the primary driver of capital accumulation. This ushers in a new set of elites, still white, but with a disdain for neoliberal institutions that no longer serve their purpose. I think you can see this in their language of disruption in how they start new business plans and existing changes in K-12 and higher education at the state level right now. Its apparent in how American Tech moguls want looser regulations on I-9 visas but also tariffs to protect Americas tech industry from China.

Second, Big Tech created a class affinity between elites, upper-middle-class professionals and working-class people away from coastal areas. Lastly, and perhaps the most important, is what and who counts as white that has been changing since 2000 and has incorporated some Asian and Hispanic citizens into the fold. The debates 25 years ago over a majority-minority nation that would usher in Democratic Party dominance were rooted in a belief that white was a fixed group classification. They ignored the history of immigration and ethnicity that pointed to the shifting notion of who gets to be white in America. There is still a normative account of good and bad whites, good and bad immigrants, etc. These groups dont contrast themselves to whites, they contrast themselves to Black people and try to reflect good white citizenship.

What do I want to prepare the American people for? The first 100 days will be a whirlwind of policy proposals and changes. The Republicans have control of the House and the Senate. Dont be distracted by anti-trans rhetoric. Trump will be set on removing regulatory agencies over the environment to appease the billionaires and corporations. Trump will likely abolish the Department of Education and federal education funding will switch to block grants to the states, which many will use to fund school voucher programs. I dont think he will replace income taxes with tariffs, but there will likely be tax cuts and programs for businesses. The big one to watch out for, however, is that I think Trump and the Republicans will have their eyes on privatizing Old Age Insurance, what we commonly call Social Security. It may be a phased-out plan that keeps it for existing beneficiaries but replaces it with a private 401k plan for people younger than 50 or younger than 40. Be prepared for that fight.

Jason Van Tatenhove served as the national media director for the Oath Keepers. He documented his experiences with the Oath Keepers in his book "The Perils of Extremism: How I Left the Oath Keepers and Why We Should be Concerned about a Future Civil War."

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Right now, I feel like Ive woken up from a punch-drunk, handle-of-tequila dream, teetering between a bone-bruise sadness and a sharp, rising emotion I cant quite label yet. Fear is right there too  fear for my daughters, for democracy, for this battered experiment of a country we still call home. Fear for the threat of actual repercussions, violent or otherwise. Maybe this is it  the beginning of the end weve all sensed creeping closer, even if we tried to shove it into the shadows.

So, what now? Ill do the only thing I know: Ill keep writing because thats all Ive got  the only way I know to get through the muck and the madness.

I think the mainstream news media and punditry get it so wrong because theyre looking through the wrong damn lens. They want to analyze Trump like hes a series of scandals or controversies to unpack on a whiteboard  something logical, manageable. But thats not what he is. His appeal isnt rooted in reason or fact; its a gut-level, emotionally charged force, a dark mythic archetype tapping into Americas discontent. He embodies that seething, alienated rage of people who feel like theyve been left to rot in the dark corners of the country, unseen, unheard and hopeless for far too long.

The media cant see this because theyve insulated themselves from those shadows. They still dont understand how deep that wound goes, how raw the resentment is. Eight years in and they still havent learned that facts and figures dont shake a movement like this. People dont rally around data. They rally around a voice that echoes their own anger, their own sense of betrayal. Someone drowning will reach out to any hand that offers hope (or even just survival) for a better future, even if its all lies and hatred. Until the media understands that well be right back here, election after election, wondering how they missed it  again. I think were digging out for generations, not years

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But even in the thick of it, theres this weird glimmer of hope I cant shake. Its the idea that maybe  just maybe  we writers and storytellers can chip away at this. Its up to us to hold up the mirror, to start thawing those stone hearts with stories that peel away the layers of fear and hate. Its a long shot and something that will take years, but if we storytellers dont try, who the hell will?

When Trump and his crew take the reins again, I expect the machinery of power to run on revenge, to silence those who dissent, to remake this place in a darker image. This wont be a country of ideals and debates. It will be a land of hard lines and harsh realities where loyalties and allegiances revolve around one man Donald Trump. But this is where our work begins. In the face of that coming storm, its time to write harder, speak louder, dig deeper.

Hal Brown is a clinical social worker and was one of the first members of the Duty to Warn group. He has extensive expertise in working with multiple personality disorder (now called dissociative identity disorder).

There was always a part of me that knew Donald Trump might win. I have been psychologically preparing for this outcome even as much as I wanted to avoid that reality. At 3 AM the morning after the election, I felt myself already having moved from flight into fight mode. Earlier I watched MSNBC trying to put a semblance of a hopeful spin on the results but by 10 PM here in Oregon they had nothing but bad news as they reported results for Kamala. Once I saw she was doing as many as 10 points worse than Biden did in 2020 in the counties he easily won I knew she was doomed.

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I expect I was not alone in feeling numb at first when the news hit and sunk in Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning with all the other feelings, especially anger and grief under the surface. These feelings haven't been overwhelming because I never succumbed to the flight impulse. Instead, I knew I had to figure out the best way to fight. I moved almost immediately into fight mode realizing that part of this was to do what I am best able to do, which is keep writing. Writing on how there are very few aspects of politics that can't be explained psychologically and that psychological understandings of behavior are often the best weapon I can share with others who want to figure out the best ways they can defend democracy.

Trump's power doesn't come from some kind of single enriched core like an atomic or hydrogen bomb. Too many of the people we call pundits looked at him and his ridiculous digital trading cards and saw the phantasmagorial grandiose delusions of someone with superpowers not to be taken seriously. In fact, many of his supporters looked at these images and didn't see the real Trump. They actually really did see him as Superman or Rambo.

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

Trumps power to sway people has always been multifaceted. The so-called experts, with some exceptions, missed the fact that added together his powers could reach a critical mass.

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I do not believe that this election was a referendum on the morality, ethics, or essential qualities of the American people as a whole. To look at it this way is like looking through a kaleidoscope and seeing a harmonious landscape. The feral genius of Trump was that he was able to do the equivalent of corralling cats into a huge enclosure and locking the gate so even though there were numerous cohorts with different dispositions and desires when it came time to vote they decided to support him.

We will have to wait to see whether Trump makes good on all his bellicose threats once he has realized that he has won and doesn't have to exact revenge on as many people as he possibly can with the power of the presidency. Trump, who revels in sadistic fantasies and disparaging his enemies with crude nicknames and descriptions and making threats against them may decide he's been vindicated and can find some comfortable way, the psychological term would be an ego syntonic way, to integrate this into his self-image. On the other hand, Trump may be totally committed to revenge and destruction because of his core personality and how his mind and emotions work.

Democracy-loving Americans have two things in their favor for surviving Trump and Trumpism. One is that even though Trump has won the popular vote not all of the voters are cut from the same fascist or bigoted cloth. Some were gullible, many were low-information voters getting their news, to the extent they paid attention to the news, from Fox and right-wing social media. There are millions of them but there are also millions of us.

What we know with some certainty is that in time millions of Trump supporters will discover they have been lied to and made into suckers, again. Those of us who can muster the strength to fight against Trumpism need to be able to be ready to reach out to the disaffected Trump voters as they realize his promises to better their lives were nothing but lies. We need to provide a safe and compassionate harbor for them.

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Peter McLaren is Emeritus Professor of Education at University of California, Los Angeles. He is one of the architects of critical pedagogy and the recipient of numerous international awards for this work in education. He is the author of over forty books and his writings have been translated into twenty-five languages.

In November 2016, I developed an autoimmune condition that plagues me to this day and likely was brought on by the trauma of a Trump victory. It appeared to be a betrayal of the body as profound as the one unfolding on the nations political stage. My condition seemed to echo the larger affliction overtaking the land, a reminder of the profound toll that tumultuous times exact upon both body and spirit. Since that fateful day, I have been writing about the extraordinary dangers Trump poses for the country. Determined not to be blindsided a second time, I steeled myself for the return of this relentless specter in 2024. And indeed, the outcome, however disheartening, held no surprise. As in 2016, the people seemed unready for the transformative potential of a womans leadership, much less a woman of color  a vision that remains, tragically, beyond the nations collective horizon. Someday, historys gaze will fall upon this chapter and in that mirror the nation may confront its own failures, enduring an international shame too deep to erase. As someone who has been an educator for over 50 years and who has lectured throughout the world, I know this reckoning will one day find its way to the nations conscience, a judgment as unavoidable as it is searing.

When I think of how the forces of MAGA are destroying human rights, I am inspired by the moral courage of anti-fascists such as Sophie Scholl, one of the most luminous figures of resistance within the darkness of Nazi Germany who was a member of the White Rose, a clandestine group dedicated to non-violent opposition to the Third Reich. She was executed for scattering leaflets at the University of Munich, decrying the inhumanity of the war. I am thinking of Las Treces Rosas, the 13 young women who were executed on Aug. 5, 1939, for their involvement in the socialist youth organization, Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas. I am also thinking of Walter Benjamin and Paul Robeson. They steel my resolve.

The mainstream news media, in its detachment or perhaps in its denial, missed a momentous transformation unfolding in the heart of American democracy: the rise of a potent and insidious fascist movement, wrapped in the flag and wielding the cross.

Rather than confront the gravity of this shift, the media seemed to avert its gaze from the depths of the MAGA phenomenon, misjudging the power that such a movement could unleash. In its neglect, it unwittingly allowed the floodgates of far-right rhetoric to burst open, giving a voice and platform to ideologies that once lingered in the corners of society. What might have remained on the margins has surged forward, rushing with alarming speed toward the centers of influence and power. Thus, a volatile mix of nationalism, conspiracy and exclusionary dogma has been carried not only into the streets but into the highest offices of the land, where it festers and reshapes the landscape of American governance in its attempts to create a more permanent, far-right populist order.

Downplaying Trumps incendiary threats of violence until just a few weeks before the election, provided both tacit and explicit sanction to xenophobic, racist and authoritarian impulses that have long simmered in the American undercurrent. Through its anti-woke crusade, the MAGA movement weaponized, naturalized, normalized and reified its crude, anti-intellectual punditry across the landscape of social progress, darkening ideals of fairness and equality until they became battles for survival on a field now extremely hostile to dissent. No longer mere debates, these ideals have been dragged into the public square, put on trial, accused of treachery and of fracturing the nation's unity. Thus, America now stands at a crossroads, where visions of a forward-looking nation clash violently with an ironclad grip on a past remembered more than it ever existed  a reckoning for the very soul of the republic.

I would also acknowledge that it took far too long for media pundits to use the term fascist to describe Trump. That was a fatal mistake. The cowardice of the press to compare Trump to fascist leaders of yesteryear has helped to normalize his words and deeds. As long as the press remains shackled by the gilded chains of billionaire overlords, freedom lies in chains as well, leaving us in a world of corporate domination.

The election reinforced my conviction that the majority of American voters were far from immune to the socio-political and historical forces at play that enabled them to become ideologically and emotionally seduced into a quasi-religious cult, a MAGA movement whose catechism consists of a toxic mixture of hatred, violence, misogyny, racism, homophobia and conspiracy theories  all crystalized into a swindle of revenge fierce enough to motivate them to elect a fascist for president of the United States. As a consequence, much of the world will view this election as a world-historical calamity, placing the international reputation of the US on the slaughter bench of history, especially insofar as the election of Trump revealed the American public to be complicit in the election of an authoritarian plutocrat, if not a die-hard fascist. Am I surprised? Not at all.

In addition, the election revealed the extent that Trumps escalation of the so-called culture wars, positioned him with his followers as a self-styled defender of reactionary values against the tide of progressive reform. His persistent vile, aimed at movements for racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights and accountability in policing worked. They made Trump an unstoppable force.

Lets be clear, Trumps victory is no unprecedented mandate; it is a dire warning, a narrow escape for the evangelical forces of Christian nationalism, one that lays bare how deeply fascistic thinking  rooted in race, gender and cultural supremacy  still festers within the body of this nation. This is a stark reminder of how seductive hollow patriotism and manufactured pride can be, especially in times of economic uncertainty.

The Trump administration will use its Project 2025 to dismantle every step we have taken toward a more just, inclusive society, striking at the very pillars of our constitutional republic. The Trump administration will villainize those artists, educators, influencers and writers who are fearless enough to acknowledge that this election was the calculated outcome of a strategy to hand America over to its wealthiest few.

In the end, Trump may destroy America as a functioning democracy. Social Security will be at risk. Trump could very well change the Constitution to enable himself to remain on as president after his term expires. As the world warms and the seas rise, those who have committed themselves to meaningful climate action, aware that the health of the planet is tied inextricably to their own, will be drowned out by Trumps populist refrain: Drill baby drill. We also need to understand that the war on wokeness will continue to intensify and the threat to social justice movements will increase. The fascist threat is, at its core, an assault on democracy itself  an anti-democratic force seeking to dismantle the protections hard-won by marginalized groups, to silence dissent and to dismantle institutions meant to uphold justice and equality.
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  El Paso Independent School District has been awarded a $1 million federal grant to improve security through crisis intervention programs, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a news release.

The grant will be used for violence prevention and crisis response training for law enforcment and school resource officers, firearm safety training for community menbers and data collection, technology and information sharing to reduce violence, Cornyns office said.

A portion of this grant comes from the U.S. Department of Justices STOP School Violence Program, and was authorized through Cornyns Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was signed into law in 2022 to address specific concerns that have led to mass shootings, Cornyns office said.

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The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is about mental health, school safety, and ensuring that the tragedy that struck Uvalde was not in vain, Cornyn said. Im grateful this law is giving schools across our state the resources needed to keep students, staff and teachers safe.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
UPDATE: The El Paso Independent School District Board voted 4-3 late Tuesday night, Nov. 19 to close eight schools as it grapples with a budget deficit.

Trustees Valerie Ganelon Beals, Isabel Hernandez, Israel Irrobali and Daniel Call voted in favor of closing schools. Trustees Jack Loveridge, Alex Cuellar and Leah Hanany voted against the proposal.

Six schools would close next school year and two more the following year.

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The vote culminated a five-hour-long meeting in which community members and some school board members voiced their displeasure over the plan to close schools.

We will update this story when we learn more. Stick with KTSM both on air and online as we continue to cover this issue.

ORIGINAL STORY: El Paso Independent School District said it has revised its list of school closures but faces severe consequences if it doesnt take action under its proposed Destination District Redesign, it said in a news release sent out on Monday, Nov. 18.

In response to community feedback and additional data analysis, the district says it has updated its school closure recommendations.

Park Elementary and Hillside Elementary have been removed from the closure list, and the timeline for closing Travis Elementary and Stanton Elementary has been extended to the 20262027 school year, the district said.

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These updates emphasize EPISDs commitment to community engagement and data-driven decision-making, it said in its news release.

The district says it will face a projected $32.2 million deficit for Fiscal Year 2025-26 if it does not take decisive action.

The El Paso ISD Board of Trustees will meet at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, to review and discuss the updated recommendations. The meeting will be held at the EPISD Administration Building, 1014 N. Stanton St.

Here is a look at the revised recommendations for school closures:

Phase I (20252026): Carlos Rivera Elementary; Lamar Elementary; Newman Elementary; Putnam Elementary; Rusk Elementary; and Zavala Elementary.

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Phase II (20262027): Stanton Elementary; and Travis Elementary

Doing the right thing is never easy, but it is always necessary, Superintendent Diana Sayavedra said. We understand the profound impact these discussions have on our families, staff, and students. However, the consequences of inaction would harm every student, teacher, and family in our district. These decisions are difficult but essential to protect the future of public education in El Paso.

The district says that failure to act will have significant negative impacts. These include, according to EPISD, workforce reductions including teacher and staff positions, program cuts and increasing size of classrooms at the secondary level.

The district says a projected revenue shortfall will increase to $39 million in FY2027 and $45 in FY2028.

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The district says by consolidating underutilized schools it can redirect resources to improve classroom instruction, preserve and increase academic success for students and increase choice for parents, and help the district achieve long-term financial stability.

The closures are expected to result in cost reductions of approximately $15.5 million in FY2026, with an additional $5.7 million projected for FY2027, the district said.

These measures will reduce the districts projected budget deficit of $32.2 million by 65.8%, it said.

County Commissioner David Stout sent EPISD trustees and the superintendent a letter outlining his concerns with the districts school closure proposal and asked trustees to slow the process down.

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I understand that there will be a time for hard decisions. Those should take place after deliberate consultation. These are difficult if not impossible actions to undo, Stout said. I

appreciate the outreach by EPISD. Im sure they have learned a lot, as I have by attending many

of the closure meetings in Precinct 2. This should be the beginning, not the conclusion, of a

process leading to such significant actions as the closure of 10 schools.

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.
The Bloomberg news agency, citing sources, has reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is going to present his peace plan concerning Russia's war against Ukraine at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Source: Bloomberg, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The agency's sources say that Erdogan's proposal provides for a freeze on hostilities at the current positions of both parties.

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The Turkish president is also proposing that discussions on Ukraine's accession to NATO be postponed for at least 10 years as a concession to Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin, the sources said.

The Turkish proposal also calls for the creation of a demilitarised zone in eastern Donbas, where Russia has controlled significant amounts of territory since 2014.

Erdogan will propose that international troops be deployed there as an additional guarantee and provide Ukraine with military supplies as compensation for agreeing not to join NATO, the agency said.

Turkish officials acknowledge that it would be difficult for Ukraine to accept such a proposal but believe it is the most realistic approach.

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They want to postpone discussions about the long-term fate of the occupied territories and focus on securing a stable ceasefire in the first place, the report states.

The agency's sources claim that Erdogan hopes he can convince Zelenskyy to attend peace talks in Istanbul, as he has seen intelligence reports suggesting that Ukraine could lose much more territory over the next few months if the fighting does not stop.

Background:

The Wall Street Journal claimed that Trump's plan to honour his pledge to "end the war in Ukraine quickly" includes the proposal of freezing the front lines along the current war zone, establishing a demilitarised zone, and implementing a 20-year moratorium on Ukraine's NATO membership

Trump is known to have already spoken with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, urging him not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminding him of the substantial US military presence in Europe.

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Those part of Eries Sikh community are hoping to spread awareness of their religion while celebrating the birth anniversary of their faiths founder.

Guru Nanak is the founder of Sikhism and those who follow the religion are celebrating his 555th birth anniversary.

Community members give back at annual Stuff the Cruiser event

Many who are part of the community gathered at the Sikh Temple for a special commemoration of his life, legacy and message.

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He was born in the 15th century in northern India, said Jay Kang, a member of Eries Sikh Temple. The message is that of humility, of oneness, of compassion of leading an honest life in service of others.

Over 25 million people in the world are a part of the Sikh community and this day is said to be the most important of the year for them.

Kang explained that the founder was one to talk about complete equality and breaks it down into his three basic tenets.

Frozen fans enjoy special performance from Erie Philharmonic

Naam japna which means praying, remembering that one universal god whos accessible to all. Vand chakra which means sharing, be charitable to other people who are less fortunate and also Kirat karni which means earn an honest living and use that to help support yourself, your family, your community, Kang explained.

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When Sikhs end their daily prayer they conclude with welfare to all.

Kang said this shows its in their nature to be tolerant, inclusive and respectful to all religions and members of the community.

Im getting honored and accepted by people who barely know me, said Marie Mayor Joe Schember. Its filling my heart and lifting me up to a level I dont think Ill be down from for quite a while.

Erie Mayor Joe Schember was in attendance and sat down with Erie Sikhs to hear what they had to say and join them in celebration.

We have great diversity and thats something I highly honor and this group is certainly adding to that diversity a huge amount and it keeps growing and growing, Mayor Schember said. And they are committed to making erie better and doing better for their families.

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Kang said Guru Nanaks teachings are just as relevant today as they were centuries ago.

St. Paul Church members enjoy service in a different spot for annual celebration

Were just glad that all members of all kinds of faiths are here celebrating that with us not just the Sikh community, he went on to say.

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.
XIAMEN, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Wang Jin-pyng, former leader of the Taiwan region's legislature, on Monday visited the village of Baijiao in Zhangzhou, east China's Fujian Province, to worship his ancestors.

Wang, who received a warm welcome from his clan members in the village, said he is willing to work with his compatriots on the mainland to achieve sustainable development and help the people of the Chinese nation live happy, safe lives.

One of Wang's Baijiao ancestors is believed to have been part of an expedition led by Zheng Chenggong to recover Taiwan in the 1660s, and to have then settled on the island.

Wang's trip to the mainland is scheduled to continue until Thursday, and it will also include visits to Xiamen, Putian and Nanping in Fujian.

Earlier, Wang had visited Baijiao to worship his ancestors in 2019, accompanied by his immediate family and relatives. 
Foreign ministers of European Union countries will discuss the latest Russian large-scale missile strike on Ukraine, which largely targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

Source: Josep Borrell, European Unions High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, ahead of the European Union Council meeting in Brussels

Details: Borrell said that Russias war against Ukraine and the Sunday attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in particular will be one of the topics discussed during the meeting.

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"Putin answers to any attempt to talk, to negotiate, by launching the heaviest attack against civilian infrastructure, in particular electricity infrastructure. It has been the heaviest attack in months [...] It doesnt look like hes willing to negotiate, quite the contrary," Borrell said.

Ukraines Air Force said that Russia launched a total of 210 missiles and drones on Ukraine on the morning of 17 November, with Ukrainian forces intercepting and destroying 144 of them. Air defence systems were responding in most Ukrainian oblasts.

Two people were killed in Odesa Oblast and two  both railway workers  in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Also, a woman was killed in Lviv Oblast.

Eleven people were killed and nearly 90 were injured in a Russian ballistic missile strike on the evening of Sunday, 17 November.

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The Council of the European Union adopted a decision on 18 November to extend sanctions against Iran for its military support of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda, citing the press service for the EU Council

Details: The decision targets the use of ships and ports for the transfer of Iranian-made UAVs, missiles and related technologies and components.

The new measure bans the export, transfer, supply, or sale of components used in the development and production of missiles and UAVs from the EU to Iran.

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The EU also imposes a ban on transactions and any operations with ports and locks owned, managed, or controlled by individuals and entities on the sanctions list. This includes access to port and lock infrastructure, such as Amirabad and Anzali, and the provision of any service to ships.

In addition, the EU Council adopted restrictive measures against one individual and four legal entities.

The list contains the shipping company Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and its director, Mohammad Reza Khiabani. IRISL is Iran's national maritime carrier, and for many years, its vessels have been involved in transporting drones for the EU-listed Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The EU Council also added three Russian shipping companies  MG Flot, VTS Broker, and Arapax  to the sanctions list. Their vessels are involved in transporting Iranian-made weapons and ammunition across the Caspian Sea, including UAV components, to supply Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.

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Background:

In October, the EU announced sanctions against three Iranian airlines, four companies and seven individuals over the supply of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones to Russia.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed that his country had not provided ballistic missiles to Russia.

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Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell is to propose suspending political dialogue with Israel over its war in the Gaza Strip at an EU foreign ministers meeting on Monday in Brussels.

The move comes after "a year of unheeded pleas by the Israeli authorities regarding respect for international law in the Gaza war," Borrell wrote in a statement ahead of the meeting.

In addition, Borrell wants the import of products from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, which are illegal under international law, to be banned.

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The EU foreign policy chief said in October that he wanted to lead a debate on Israel's conduct in the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon at the next foreign ministers' meeting.

Political dialogue with Israel is regulated by the EU-Israel Association Agreement that entered into force in 2000, which provides for regular exchanges to strengthen the partnership.

It also states that relations between the sides are based on respect for human rights and democratic principles.

Spain and Ireland had already suggested several months ago that the EU's partnership agreement with Israel be scrutinized.

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The agreement covers not only political dialogue but also economic cooperation in areas such as industry, energy, transport and tourism.

EU diplomats have stressed that suspending the institutional political dialogue does not mean suspending the EU's association agreement with Israel.

The move would also not suspend the Association Council, which the EU-Israel agreement created, and which is the main body handling relations between the two parties.

If the proposal if adopted, diplomats said the differences could be discussed in the Association Council with Israel.
Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell is to propose suspending political dialogue with Israel over its war in the Gaza Strip at an EU foreign ministers meeting on Monday in Brussels.

The move comes after "a year of unheeded pleas by the Israeli authorities regarding respect for international law in the Gaza war," Borrell wrote in a statement ahead of the meeting.

In addition, Borrell wants the import of products from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, which are illegal under international law, to be banned.

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The EU foreign policy chief said in October that he wanted to lead a debate on Israel's conduct in the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon at the next foreign ministers' meeting.

Political dialogue with Israel is regulated by the EU-Israel Association Agreement that entered into force in 2000, which provides for regular exchanges to strengthen the partnership.

It also states that relations between the sides are based on respect for human rights and democratic principles.

Spain and Ireland had already suggested several months ago that the EU's partnership agreement with Israel be scrutinized.

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The agreement covers not only political dialogue but also economic cooperation in areas such as industry, energy, transport and tourism.

EU diplomats have stressed that suspending the institutional political dialogue does not mean suspending the EU's association agreement with Israel.

The move would also not suspend the Association Council, which the EU-Israel agreement created, and which is the main body handling relations between the two parties.

If the proposal if adopted, diplomats said the differences could be discussed in the Association Council with Israel.

The European Union had asked Israel some time ago for a meeting of the Association Council to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip and the allegations against Israel, diplomats said.

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However, after several months, no agreement has been reached with the Israeli government, they said.

A decision to suspend the political dialoque requries unanimity which is considered unlikely.

Germany has already stated its opposition while Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic have so far clearly stood on Israel's side.

However, EU officials stress that from Borrell's perspective, even a discussion among member states could represent a significant political signal.

EU officials also point out that the discussion about sanctions on the import of products from Israeli settlements sends a clear political message to Israel.

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The initiative concerning Israel could be Borrell's last major diplomatic move before leaving the office of EU foreign representative.

Over the summer, member states selected the former Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas to take over the role.

She can take over the top post once the European Parliament confirms the new European Commission. That process is already under way.

Borrell took office on December 1, 2019.

EU foreign ministers will also approve new sanctions on Iran for supplying Russia with ballistic missiles to use in the Ukraine war. The possible Chinese supply of drones to Russia will also be discussed.
Several EU countries on Monday blocked a proposal from top European Union diplomat Josep Borrell to "put pressure on the Israeli government" over Israel's conduct during the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

The EU foreign policy chief had suggested suspending the EU's regular political dialogue with Israel amid questions over whether Israel is violating international law during its military offensive in Gaza, which has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead over the course of more than a year.

Borrell was chairing what was likely his last meeting of foreign ministers as the bloc's top diplomat when he made the proposal in a final push for the EU to pursue a tougher line with Israel over Gaza.

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But at the Brussels gathering, several ministers signalled that they did not agree with Borrell's proposals.

The move required unanimity to go into effect.

Diplomats said the politicians who did not support Borrell's initiative at the meeting included foreign ministers from Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and the Netherlands.

In addition, Borrell proposed banning the importation of products from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, which are illegal under international law.

This proposal also not did get the backing of EU ministers.

To stop the fighting, the United States and many EU countries have tried to convince the Palestinian militant Hamas movement to release the hostages taken in the October 7 attacks, Borrell said earlier.

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"This has not happened yet, and I don't see a hope for this to happen," he said.

The EU foreign policy chief stressed that "both sides have to be put under pressure" and that he wanted the EU to examine if Israel is acting within international law in Gaza.

The top EU diplomat said he has "exhausted the words" to describe what is happening in the Middle East, noting reported casualty figures for people in Gaza as high as 44,000 - with 70% of the dead women and children.

"There are concrete proposals in order to see if what's happening in Gaza is in accordance with international law," Borrell said.

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The EU foreign policy chief said in October that he wanted to lead a debate on Israel's conduct in the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon at the next foreign ministers' meeting.

At the meeting on Monday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who opposed Borrell's proposals, expressed openness to targeted action against Israeli government members who question the right of Palestinians to exist or international law.

Borrell had recently put forward a proposal for punitive measures against Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Political dialogue with Israel is regulated by the EU-Israel Association Agreement that entered into force in 2000, which provides for regular exchanges to strengthen the partnership.

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It also states that relations between the sides are based on respect for human rights and democratic principles.

Spain and Ireland suggested several months ago that the Association Agreement with Israel be scrutinized.

The deal covers not only political dialogue but also economic cooperation in areas such as industry, energy, transport and tourism.

However, EU officials stressed that from Borrell's perspective, even a discussion among member states could represent a significant political signal.

The initiative concerning Israel could be Borrell's last major diplomatic move before leaving office.

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Over the summer, EU member states selected the former Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas to take over the role.

She can take over the top post once the European Parliament confirms the new European Commission. That process is already under way.
PARIS (Reuters) -The European Union's top diplomat on Monday confirmed he would suggest to members of the bloc that the EU pauses its political dialogue with Israel, citing the country's conduct of the war in Gaza.

"Many people tried to stop the war in Gaza... this has not happened yet. And I don't see a hope for this to happen. That's why we have to put pressure on the Israeli government, and also, obviously on the Hamas side," Josep Borrell told journalists ahead of an EU meeting.

The European Union's foreign policy chief last week proposed that the bloc suspend its political dialogue with Israel, citing possible human rights violations in the war in Gaza, according to four diplomats and a letter seen by Reuters.

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In a sign his proposal won't be welcomed by all EU members, Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said the EU needed to uphold its dialogue with Israel.

"In the view of the Netherlands, this door should be kept open", he said.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Toby Chopra and Ros Russell)
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European Union foreign ministers on Monday rebuffed a proposal to suspend political dialogue with Israel put forward by the bloc's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, who cited concerns about possible human rights violations in the war in Gaza.

Borrell had written to the ministers ahead of Monday's meeting in Brussels, citing "serious concerns about possible breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza".

But Borrell and other officials said the ministers did not approve the move.

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"Most of the member states considered that it was much better to continue having (a) diplomatic and political relationship with Israel," Borrell told a press conference after the meeting.

"But at least I put on the table all the information produced by United Nations organisations and every international organisation working in Gaza and the West Bank and in Lebanon in order to judge the way the war is being waged."

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters: "We know that there are tragic events in Gaza, huge civilian casualties, but we do not forget who started the current cycle of violence."

The political dialogue is enshrined in a broader agreement on relations between the EU and Israel, including extensive trade ties, that entered into force in June 2000.

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A suspension would have needed approval from all 27 EU countries.

In a blog post last week, Borrell accused Israel of repeatedly not heeding pleas from the EU to respect international law in Gaza.

Israel has rejected accusations that it is violating international law in the enclave. It says its forces distinguish between civilians and combatants and the Israeli military acts with proportionality to any threat.

The EU has struggled to find a strong united position on the Gaza war, which was triggered by attacks by Hamas Palestinian militants on Israel on Oct. 7 last year.

The bloc has called on Hamas to release all Israeli hostages and on both sides to respect international law. Gaza health authorities say Israel's campaign has killed nearly 44,000 people.

(Reporting by Andrew Gray, Lili Bayer, Alan Charlish and Anna Koper; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Cynthia Osterman)
Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania's Minister of Foreign Affairs, believes that the European Union's strategy towards Ukraine during its war with Russia has proven ineffective and requires revision.

Source: European Pravda, citing LRT, a Lithuanian media agency

Details: Landsbergis stated that "Europes de-escalation tactic is no longer effective and Europe needs a new strategy to support Ukraine".

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Quote: "My belief is that we have come to the point where it is fair to say that the strategy of the way that we help Ukraine during the three-year period, almost a thousand days, has failed."

Landsbergis also stressed that "peace through de-escalation is a failing and is a failed strategy", suggesting that Europe needs a new approach.

However, the Lithuanian foreign minister does not believe the new strategy should rely on diplomacy.

Quote: "We need a strategy that would come from strength. [...] And when Im talking strength, Im talking weapons, Im talking about the real removal of all restrictions."

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Commenting on media reports about the US granting Ukraine permission to strike Russian territory with ATACMS missiles, Landsbergis highlighted the importance of knowing how many such missiles Ukrainian forces have at their disposal.

Background:

Media reported that US President Joe Biden has for the first time authorised Ukrainian forces to use long-range ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory.

Axios noted that this decision concerns Kursk Oblast and is intended as a response to the involvement of North Korean military personnel in the conflict.

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported that the White House declined to directly confirm the permission for Ukraine to use long-range missiles on military targets in Russia but acknowledged developing a response to North Koreas involvement in the conflict.

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Josep Borrell, European Unions High Representative for Foreign Affairs who will shortly leave office, has said EU countries must speed up the decision-making process to support Ukraine, which has previously taken "too long."

Source: Josep Borrell before a meeting of foreign ministers of the EU countries on 18 November, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Borrell noted that in order for the EU to position itself as a strong geopolitical player, there must be more unity within the European Union.

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Quote: "If you are not united, you cannot show power. And too many times we havent been united. Too many times discussions took too long. You cannot pretend to be a geopolitical power if youre taking days and weeks and months to reach agreements in order to act. So my last call to my colleagues will be  be more united, take decisions quicker. The events dont wait for you; Russia is not stopping the war because you are thinking about it," Borrell said.

"Every time we took decisions in order to support Ukraine, it took too long. Every time it was a hesitation: should we do, should we not do. The war continues raging, Ukrainian people need more support We have to provide this support. Stop discussing and start acting quicker," he stressed.

Borrell further noted that the new large-scale missile attack by the Russian Federation demonstrates that the Kremlin's leader is unwilling to compromise.

Background:

Read Borrell's newest interview with European Pravda, in which he discusses the effects of his efforts to support Ukraine while in office.

Josep Borrell will shortly leave his position, as will the former composition of the European Commission. Kaja Kallas, former Estonian Prime Minister, should succeed him.

Kallas emphasised the need for assisting Ukraine and being realistic about the threats Europe may face.

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MOSCOW, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to allow Kiev to deploy U.S. long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia would escalate the Ukrainian conflict, local media reported on Monday, citing the Kremlin.

In a major shift of his administration's policy on the Ukraine crisis, Biden has authorized Kiev to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles, or the Army Tactical Missile System, to strike targets inside Russia, U.S. media reported on Sunday.

"If such a decision were indeed formulated and conveyed to the Kiev regime, then ... this would mark a qualitatively new round of tensions and a qualitatively new situation in terms of U.S. involvement in this conflict," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

He reiterated that Moscow's stance on this issue should be clear to everyone.

"It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington plans to take steps, as they have said, aimed at fueling the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict," Peskov said.


MANHATTAN (KSNT)  A Kansas energy provider company is reporting a large power outage impacting residents and businesses in the Little Apple on Monday.

Evergy is reporting on its online outage map that more than 1,600 customers are experiencing a power outage in the Manhattan area on Nov. 18. This is being caused by multiple outages impacting different parts of the city.

The largest outage being reported by Evergy was announced around 11:45 a.m. on Nov. 18 for an area north of the Sunset Zoo and parts of Kansas State University. Work crews are estimated to have the outage fixed by 1:15 p.m. on Nov. 18. The cause of this outage is listed as unidentified.

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Rural Kansas highway closure to bring more than 50-mile detour for local drivers

KSNT Stormtrack Meteorologist Ely Millard said strong winds and widespread rain could be expected for much of northeast Kansas on Nov. 18. Winds are expected to pick up in the afternoon hours with isolated storms possible.

For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.

Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf

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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 KSNT 27 News.
MIDTOWN, Manhattan (PIX11)  An MTA board is expected to vote on the new congestion pricing plan later Monday.

The toll now costs $9 to cross south of 60th Street in Manhattan, down from the $15 toll in the old plan. Discounts will be offered for low-income commuters and those driving during the overnight hours.

More Congestion Pricing News

Gov. Kathy Hochul put the plan back on the table last week after pausing it over the summer. Transit advocates are celebrating the new tax, saying it will help reduce congestion in Midtown and provide billions of dollars in repairs to the rails.

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Others believe drivers are paying for the MTAs inability to manage its finances.

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Everybody being tight on money these days. Im commuting in from Long Island and have to pay for an MTA E-ZPass and everything adds up, definitely not in favor for it, said Anthony, a commuter.

The MTA has increased transit fares by roughly 4% every two years since 2009. There was a pause in price increases during the pandemic, but the next one is scheduled for 2025.

That could push subway and bus fares to $3 a ride.

The congestion pricing plan vote is expected to pass the MTA board, but it will still need a 30-day review period followed by the federal government signing off. President-elect Donald Trump promised to terminate the plan once hes in office.

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Drivers are expected to be charged starting on Jan. 5, but there are also unresolved legal battles the plan faces.

Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her 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.
The sale of Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence, pictured, and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence has picked up speed after Attorney General Peter Neronha agreed to modify five conditions attached to regulatory approval of the deal. (Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)

Back in June, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha declared the laundry list of regulatory conditions tied to the sale of two state safety net hospitals to be non-negotiable.

Turns out, Neronha was willing to budge after all. And small compromises made a big difference to the buyer and seller of Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence.

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Centurion and Prospect are pleased to confirm their acceptance of the Attorney Generals Amended Decision regarding the Hospital Conversions Act application for the sale of CharterCARE Health Partners, Otis Brown, a spokesperson for CharterCARE Health Partners, said in an emailed statement Friday, Nov. 15. This is a welcome step in the regulatory review process and draws us closer to concluding this important transaction for our hospitals and their 2,700 employees.

Under the states Hospital Conversions Act (HCA), hospital conversions to nonprofit status must be approved by the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General and Rhode Island Department of Health. Prospect Medical Holdings, the Los Angeles-based parent company of CharterCARE, has for years attempted to unload the two local safety net hospitals from its worsening balance sheet. In May 2023, Prospect found a new buyer in The Centurion Foundation, an Atlanta-based nonprofit. Convincing state regulators was no easy feat; the application was first rejected, the second deemed incomplete, before a third and final proposal was accepted, and in June, conditionally approved.

Hours before Browns statement Friday, Neronhas office announced it would ease up on a few of the conditions tied to the sale.

This would not have happened if we had not reached agreement on the money side of the transaction, Neronha said in an interview on Friday. Thats what I have always been focused on. The rest is just a matter of working through the realities of how a hospital functions.

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The compromise paves the way for the sale to be finalized within a few months, pending final licensure approval from the state health department and the necessary private financing.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha agreed to amend five of the 40 conditions tied to the sale of Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital. (Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)

Five changes bring flexibility to hospital operations

Five conditions out of 40 total imposed by Neronhas office last June were amended to ensure hospital operations run smoothly during and after the sale:

Prospect will put the $47 million balance of an outstanding escrow account into a new $66.8 million escrow. Previously, the condition stated that the company may do so without expressly noting that it would.

Any termination or promotion of CharterCARE employees must be reported to the AGs office within 14 days. The prior condition required 30 days advance notice.

Funds from an escrow tied to a federal energy efficiency program loan may be used to pay for physical repairs required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The prior condition did not specify where the money to complete repairs would come from.

Bids for a turnaround consultant required as part of the transition must be shared with the AGs office at least 14 days before a selection is made. Previously, the AGs office would have had input on the bid language before a request for proposals was published, but the companies have now begun the search.

Centurion Foundation can submit either audited, or unaudited, annual financial statements to the AGs office. Previously, only audited financial statements were allowed to meet financial reporting requirements.

What hasnt changed: a requisite $80 million capital injection  on top of the $80 million sale price  for the hospitals balance sheet, along with a separate, $66.8 million escrow fund that cannot be used for executive compensation or management fees.

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The way to give them the best possible shot at success is to get them a pot of money, Neronha said Friday.

Brown did not respond to follow-up requests for comment on whether CharterCARE had secured the financing needed to meet the financial conditions of the sale.

As proposed in the application, the company plans to finance much of the transaction through new debt, composed of a mix of taxable and tax-exempt bonds. Another $47 million in funds already held in state escrow  tied to a 2021 state agreement when Prospect bought out former majority stakeholder Leonard Green & Partners  will be put toward the new, $66.8 million escrow fund.

Conditions still not enough, union says

The extra money is not enough to overcome the decade of debt and decline of key hospital operations under Prospects management, said Chris Callaci, general counsel for United Nurses & Allied Professionals. Callaci, who represents the 1,200 union members who work for CharterCARE hospitals, affiliated physician groups, home care and hospice agencies and offices, remains concerned with the finances of the deal, given the hospitals weakened balance sheets and current owners less-than-exemplary track record.

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The conditions that have been attached are inadequate, Callaci said in an interview on Monday. It still is almost an entirely debt-driven transaction, and the entity incurring the debt is the same entity drowning in red ink.

From fiscal years 2015 to 2020, CharterCare recorded $88 million in operating losses, according to the sale application. The subsidiary racked up another $122 million in cumulative losses over the next four years, while letting $24 million in unpaid vendor bills pile up over the course of 2023. Prospect finally paid $17 million of its outstanding vendor bills, per court order, in July 2024.

Prospect is a failure and a disgrace, Callaci said. No one wants them out of the state more than we do.

But the $80 million balance sheet injection is not sufficient, in Callacis view. He pointed to similar concerns raised by the consulting firms hired by the health department and the AGs office to review the application.

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Veralon, the Pennsylvania-based consultant hired by the AGs office to review the sale application, wrote in its review that the $80 million cash infusion will be quickly drawn down to fund operating shortfalls unless a material financial turnaround is successful.

The conditions that have been attached are inadequate. It still is almost an entirely debt-driven transaction, and the entity incurring the debt is the same entity drowning in red ink.

 Chris Callaci, general counsel for United Nurses & Allied Professionals

Callaci voiced similar concerns at a Nov. 12 meeting of the Rhode Island Health Services Council. The 12-member, appointed panel is charged with reviewing and issuing recommendations on the separate, but parallel, license-change application for Fatima and Roger Williams. In a corresponding letter to the health department, Callaci urged the panel to impose a host of extra conditions as part of its license approval, including letting the state health departments hired consultant set new requirements for escrow and capital investments from CharterCARE.

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The panel did not incorporate any of Callacis 13 suggestions in its recommendation approving the license change. One member, Raymond Coia, attempted unsuccessfully to tack on Callacis suggestion barring employee layoffs for five years.

Chris Callaci, general counsel for the United Nurses & Allied Professionals, remains concerned over the finances of the deal selling Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital. He voiced similar objections during a March 19 public hearing held at Rhode Island College. (Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)

One more regulatory approval remains

The council voted 6-1, with one recusal, to advance the license application  including prior conditions imposed by the attorney general and health department  to the state health director. The health director has 90 days to make a final decision, which is the only remaining state regulatory approval.

Callaci acknowledged that the deal, while hardly ideal, might be better than the alternative: continued Prospect ownership.

I feel a lot more comfortable that if these hospitals fail, we will be in a much better position to right the ship than if Prospect held on to them and filed for federal bankruptcy in Delaware or California, Callaci said.

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Massachusetts found itself in that exact predicament after Texas-based hospital chain operator Steward Health Care filed for federal bankruptcy, leaving the fate of a half-dozen Steward-owned hospitals in Massachusetts up to a federal judge in Houston. The approved sales to new owners, including to Rhode Islands Lifespan Corporation, come with several hundred million dollars in state and federal grant funding promised by the Commonwealth to aid in the transition.

Requirements to ensure the newly created CharterCARE Health of Rhode Island, Inc., and parent company Centurion provide regulators with updates allow Neronha to proactively file to put the hospitals into court-appointed receivership before any bankruptcy declarations arise.

The fact remains that these are among, if not, the weakest hospitals in the state, Neronha said. They wont have a big endowment. They wont have a big company propping them up. Is receivership a possibility? Yes.

He added: This is the best of a pair of not-so-great options.

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A retired FBI special agent on Sunday issued a dire warning about Kash Patel, a loyal ally to Donald Trump whom the president-elect is reportedly eyeing to become the agencys new director.

He has no experience leading an organization, no less a Cub Scout pack, to put him in front of the lead law enforcement agency in the United States  and some consider the world  to have him in charge of so many employees, Daniel Brunner said in an interview with CNNs Jessica Dean.

Trump is considering firing FBI Director Christopher Wray and ending his 10-year term early to pave the way to nominate Patel to the post, CNN reported on Friday.

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The move would align with the president-elects interest in filling government roles with loyalists to go after his perceived enemies.

Brunner told Dean that Patel  who served as chief of staff to acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol  lacks experience for the post and would simply follow Trumps revenge-seeking orders.

Youre in charge of tens of thousands of employees, both special agents, analysts, everyone that is enforcing the law, federal law that is on the books and supporting the Constitution of the United States, he said. Putting someone like Kash Patel in the position of director of the FBI is, I believe, extremely, extremely dangerous.

Brunner added that Patel has clearly stated that he wants to exact revenge on those who have investigated Trump and his allies.

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Patel, during an August appearance on the right-wing Real Americas Voice network, suggested that Republicans bring up FBI officials on contempt of Congress charges before entertaining how hed lead the agency.

One of my biggest personal recommendations is you shut down the FBI headquarters building and open it up the next day as the Museum of the Deep State, Patel said.

Brunner warned that Patel would inflict a massive amount of damage to the FBI, such as employees who have put their names on certain documents.

There will be hundreds of employees who will be unjustly fired or have their security clearances removed only because he feels that its something he needs to do. So I think hell be very, very dangerous, he said.

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H/T Mediaite

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Former Florida state Sen. Frank Artiles was sentenced Monday to 60 days in county jail for his central role in the 2020 "ghost candidate" election scandal.

Artiles, 53, was found guilty in September on three counts related to orchestrating the candidacy of Alex Rodriguez, who ran as a no-party candidate in Florida's District 37 Senate race. At trial, Prosecutors argued that Rodriguez, whose campaign was funded and managed by Artiles, was used to siphon votes from Democratic incumbent Jose Javier Rodriguez, ultimately helping Republican challenger Ileana Garcia secure a 32-vote victory in the tight race.

Artiles conviction  for conspiracy, making illegal campaign contributions and false swearing  follows a lengthy investigation by prosecutors and news media into the role of dark money groups, political consultants and powerful utility interests in manipulating Florida's political landscape.

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What I've come to believe is that the Republican party ran one campaign with two candidates, said Jose Javier Rodriguez, who is now Assistant Labor Secretary, at the sentencing hearing.

The Tallahassee power brokers who seem to continue using these corrupt schemes to solidify their hold on power seem to keep getting away with it, the former state senator said. This is as far as I can tell the only instance with a potential of accountability.

Artiles was also sentenced to five years of probation for each count, as well as 500 hours of community service. The judge granted a request to withhold adjudication, or not formally convict Artiles, so that he could retain civil liberties. He also agreed to stay the sentencing until a status hearing in December, since Artiles lawyers plan to appeal.

Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Artiles to three consecutive 364-day terms in county jail.

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Circuit Judge Miguel de la O said he agreed with the jurys verdict and added just because you can do it, doesnt mean you should, and just because its legal doesnt mean its right.

De la O said its clear the campaign finance system is broken, although thats not what this case was deciding. He decried the tribal politics that he said led to the crimes.

Ghost candidate Rodriguez, a heavy equipment salesman, admitted under oath to his role in the scheme, describing how he was paid to run for office with no intention of winning. He testified that he was offered $50,000 by Artiles to enter the race and was given guidance on how to file the necessary paperwork. Rodriguez later pleaded guilty to election-related charges and agreed to cooperate with the prosecution in exchange for reduced sentencing.

Ghost candidate Alex Rodriguez leaves the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami after posting bail in March 2021. Rodriguez testified against former Florida state Sen. Frank Artiles in exchange for leniency. Rodriguez served six months of house arrest and three years of probation for his role in the scandal. (Matias J. Ochner / Miami Herald)

Artiles' defense team argued that "ghost candidates" are legal in Florida and that the actions taken to fund and facilitate Rodriguez's campaign did not violate state election laws. The former senators defense team also tried to paint the spoiler candidate, who was the prosecution's chief witness, as deceitful and untrustworthy.

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The scandal has drawn attention to the influence of Florida Power & Light (FPL) and top Florida Republican political players, who were implicated in funding the ghost candidate campaigns through a series of opaque nonprofit groups. The utility company, which has long dominated Florida's energy market, was seeking to cement a Republican supermajority in the state Senate to push through legislation favorable to its interests.

Were it not for intrepid reporting, by a number of folks, including Floodlight and others, we would never have known that Florida Power and Light was ultimately a source of this money, Assistant Labor Secretary Rodriguez said at the sentencing in reference to the funds that promoted the ghost candidate.

Artiles, who resigned from the Senate in disgrace in 2017 after using racial slurs, had a history of ties to powerful political operatives and consultants working for FPL. His involvement in the ghost candidate scheme came at a time when Florida's political system was under criticism for its lax regulations regarding difficult-to-trace campaign spending, or dark money, and political influence.

The trial exposed a complex web of political maneuvering, with consultants and operatives using industry money behind the scenes to secure an electoral advantage for Floridas Republicans in four Senate races and a county commission race during the 2018 and 2020 election cycles. Artiles attorneys have vowed to appeal the guilty verdict and the judges ruling.
Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon will see a February trial in his continued legal imbroglio after his recent release from jail, a judge says.

Judge April A. Newbauer has set Feb. 25 as the start date for Bannon's trial on state charges for alleged money laundering, conspiracy and a scheme to defraud others in his now defunct "We Build The Wall" campaign.

The trial, first scheduled for November 2023 with repeated delays, is related to a case in which Bannon, now 70, had already been the recipient of a presidential pardon in Trump's first term.

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It had been slated to begin Dec. 9 but will now take place roughly a month after Trump is set to be sworn in on Jan. 20 after Newbauer agreed to the delay.

Newbauer, a 1979 Cornell University graduated who completed her J.D. at New York University School of Law in 1983, began her judicial career on the New York State Court of Claims following her 2012 appointment by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo before sitting as an acting justice in New York's lower bench.

Its alleged Bannon and his cohorts tricked unwitting donors out of millions of dollars to complete President Donald Trumps failed promise to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, claiming they would do so privately. File Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI

Bannon and his cohorts, it's alleged, tricked unwitting donors out of millions of dollars to complete Trump's failed promise to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, claiming they would privately do so.

In August 2020, Bannon was indicted on federal charges for which Trump granted him a pardon as one of his last acts as president in 2021 at the end of his first term. However, such an executive act for this set of charges will not apply.

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Prosecutors say evidence shows charity funds were used to cover credit card debt of more than $600,000 owed by another Bannon-run "not-for-profit" organization.

But according to prosecutors, the group pocketed donations. Bannon, however, says he's not guilty and called the charges "nonsense."

Along with ex-Trump administration adviser Peter Navarro, both he and Bannon served time in prison following the House holding them in contempt for failure to comply with a subpoena connected to the deadly January 2021 Capital attack.

He started his prison sentence July 1 at the Federal Correctional Institute in Danbury, Conn.

The conservative commentator and former White House official who worked as a campaign strategist for then-candidate Donald Trump, was released from federal prison Oct. 29 after serving a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress.
By Munsif Vengattil, Praveen Paramasivam and Aditya Kalra

SRIPERUMBUDUR, India (Reuters) - Apple supplier Foxconn has ordered the hiring agents that help recruit iPhone assembly workers in India to remove age, gender and marital criteria as well as the manufacturer's name in job advertisements, according to three people familiar with the matter and almost a dozen ads reviewed by Reuters.

The moves follow a Reuters investigation published June 25, which found that Foxconn excluded married women from jobs at its main India iPhone assembly plant, though it relaxed the practice during high-production periods.

Foxconn, which employs thousands of women at the iPhone factory at Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, outsources recruitment of assembly-line workers to third-party vendors. These agents scout for and screen candidates, who ultimately are interviewed and selected by Foxconn.

For the June story, Reuters reviewed job ads posted by Foxconn's Indian hiring vendors between January 2023 and May 2024 which stated that only unmarried women of specified ages were eligible for smartphone assembly roles, contravening Apple and Foxconn anti-discrimination policies.

Days after the story's publication, Foxconn HR executives instructed many of the Indian vendors to standardize recruitment materials in accordance with templates provided by the company, two of the three hiring agency sources told Reuters. They also told the vendors not to speak to the media, these people said.

At a meeting in late June, Foxconn HR executives cited media coverage of the company's hiring practices and "warned us not to use Foxconn's name in any ads going forward, and told us our contracts would be terminated if we did," one agent said.

"The instructions for ads were: Don't mention the unmarried requirement, don't mention age, nor male or female either," said the person, who like the other sources spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of backlash from Foxconn.

Foxconn did not respond to Reuters questions about its directives to recruiters, nor whether it had ended restrictions on the employment of married women for iPhone assembly roles. Apple declined to comment on similar questions. Both companies have previously said that Foxconn hires married women in India.

Reuters could not independently determine whether Foxconn had begun to hire greater numbers of married women for the roles in question. But recent changes to advertising content aligned with the recruiters' accounts.

One new Foxconn template ad reviewed by Reuters described smartphone assembly positions but made no mention of Foxconn, nor age, gender or marital criteria. It listed benefits: "Air conditioned workplace, free transport, canteen facility, free hostel" and a monthly salary of 14,974 rupees, or about $177.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  Happy Monday, Utah! Last night moisture started filling in ahead of a cold front in northern Utah.

The bottom line? Valley snow for northern Utah will impact the morning commute for some on the Wasatch Front. Expect cold weather statewide!

The cold front itself is slated to pass over the Wasatch Front right around sunrise. The morning commute could get a little dicey for northern mountain routes, benches, and some spots on the northern Wasatch Front, but the impacts should be minimal. Its nothing that snow plows wont be able to take care of quickly, but its worth planning a little extra time so you can wipe off windshields, warm up the car, and drive cautiously.

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Temperatures will be about 10 degrees below average in the north, and about 5 degrees above in the south. Daytime highs will be in the upper 30s and low 40s for northern valleys, mid-40s for central and southern valleys, 30s for higher terrain, and mid-50s for the typically warm spots down south. Tonights lows will fall into the 20s for most, teens for areas like Cache and mountain valleys, and even the warm spots will fall just below freezing.

Lingering moisture will allow for a few snow showers on Tuesday for portions of the Wasatch Front, Cache Valley, and northern Mountains. Not everyone will see snow on Tuesday, but keep an eye out for periods of lake-effect snow Tuesday morning along the Wasatch Front, especially if youre in the northern half from North Salt Lake to Ogden. By Tuesday afternoon most of the showers will have tapered off.

This is a quick-hitting storm, so snow totals will be modest. As of now, the Wasatch Front is forecasted to receive a trace to two inches of snow, Cache Valley one to three inches, the Wasatch Back is looking at one to four inches, and mountains could get four to nine inches.

Some areas could end up with locally higher amounts depending on lake-effect snow and other factors.

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After that, high pressure builds mid-week, bringing quieter weather. With the cold pool of air and little activity to mix the air around, we can expect valley inversions and therefore urban haze for much of the workweek.

Well keep you posted on the latest developments in our 4Warn Weather forecast both on-air and online, we are Good4Utah!

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.
By Luc Cohen

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York prosecutors this week are expected to tell a judge how they think President-elect Donald Trump's already decided criminal case should proceed in light of his election victory.

Below is an explanation of the current status of the case, and the options prosecutors have.

WHERE DOES THE CASE STAND NOW?

Trump, 78, was convicted in May of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 hush money payment his former lawyer Michael Cohen made to porn star Stormy Daniels for her silence before the 2016 election about a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump, who denies it.

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The Republican former president had been scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 26, but Justice Juan Merchan last week put all proceedings in the case on pause at the request of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office.

The prosecutors had asked for more time to consider next steps in the case, citing the need to balance the "competing interests" between having the criminal case go forward as normal and protecting the office of the president. They are due to propose their next steps on Tuesday.

WHAT ARE PROSECUTORS' OPTIONS?

Bragg is unlikely to aggressively seek to have Trump sentenced before the Jan. 20 inauguration, said Rebecca Roiphe, a former prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney's office.

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"That would throw a grenade in an already highly charged political situation," said Roiphe, now a professor at New York Law School.

Prosecutors may ask Merchan to delay the sentencing indefinitely, or propose delaying the implementation of any sentence until Trump exhausts all options for appeal, which could take years, Roiphe said.

Joshua Naftalis, a former federal prosecutor, said if Bragg seeks to go forward with the sentencing, he may not request that Trump be placed in custody or on probation, or receive any punishment that would restrict his liberty.

Prosecutors have the option of seeking a sentence of unconditional discharge - essentially, no punishment at all.

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"They made it very clear they were not treating him any differently from a normal citizen - which was the correct posture," said Naftalis, now a partner at law firm Pallas. "But the posture has changed now. He's the president-elect."

WHAT DO TRUMP'S LAWYERS SAY?

Trump has long called the case a politically motivated attempt by Bragg, a Democrat, to interfere with his campaign.

His defense lawyers have argued the case should be dismissed altogether, arguing that having it loom over him while he was president would cause "unconstitutional impediments" to his ability to govern.

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It would be up to Merchan to decide what to do about the case, after considering arguments from both prosecutors and the defense. Trump's lawyers would be expected to object to any decision short of a dismissal of the case, and would likely appeal any unfavorable decision by Merchan.

WHAT ABOUT PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY?

Trump's lawyers had previously argued his conviction should be vacated and the charges dismissed because of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in July that presidents cannot be prosecuted over their official acts, and that evidence of their official acts cannot be used in trials over personal behavior.

Bragg's office argued that their case dealt with purely personal conduct. Merchan had been expected to rule on the defense's bid on Nov. 12, but delayed making a decision after prosecutors asked for more time to weigh next steps. It is not clear when, or if, the judge will rule on whether presidential immunity applies to the case.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Jonathan Oatis)
Afghan children are seen at a refugee camp in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Nov. 4, 2024. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

Despite the challenges of rebuilding, the hope brought by peace is encouraging many Afghans to return and reclaim their lives in their homeland.

KABUL, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Surrounded by children playing on a dusty patch of ground at a makeshift camp on the outskirts of Kabul, Mir Hamza, a recently returned refugee, spoke with joy about his decision to come back to Afghanistan. The restoration of security in his homeland, he said, inspired him to return.

"I am so happy that I cannot even express my feelings. This is my country, and I can move around freely, day and night, without fear. No one disturbs me," said Hamza, who had spent years in Iran before returning to the country long scarred by conflict.

Afghan children are seen in front of their tent at a refugee camp in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Nov. 4, 2024. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

Temporarily settled in the makeshift camp before continuing to his home province of Kunduz, Hamza expressed his need for support to rebuild his life. "I need assistance to construct a house and start fresh," he said.

However, poverty and unemployment could impede his recovery. "I had a home in Kunduz, but it was destroyed during the war. I need land to build a house, and I need food and clothing," he added, noting the approaching winter and the urgent need for humanitarian assistance for returnees.

Decades of war and civil strife have forced millions of Afghans to flee their homeland, with many seeking refuge in neighboring Iran and Pakistan. While reports indicate that approximately 1.8 million Afghan refugees have returned to their homeland over the past year, an estimated 7 million Afghans remain abroad.

This photo taken on Nov. 4, 2024 shows an Afghan child at a refugee camp in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

Mohammad Jan Noori, another recent returnee who lived in Iran for years, also expressed his satisfaction with the improved security in Afghanistan. "Security is everything," Noori said. "Afghanistan is now a peaceful country, there is no war. I can live my life peacefully. I am overjoyed to be back."

Speaking outside his tent at the returnee camp, Noori detailed the challenges of resettling. "I was given 27,000 afghani (about 400 U.S. dollars) when I crossed the border in Herat. But after paying for transportation and food, I only have 7,000 afghani (about 103 dollars) left," he said.

Acknowledging the difficulties faced by returnees, Abdul Mutalib Haqqani, spokesman for the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, said that between 300 and 350 Afghan refugees return from Pakistan and Iran daily. The government, in coordination with aid organizations, provides returnees with cash assistance and winter kits.

Afghan returnees are seen at a refugee camp in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Nov. 4, 2024.(Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

"We have established 45 townships in 28 provinces to accommodate returnees," Haqqani told Xinhua. "We call on aid agencies to help construct houses, clinics, and schools in these townships. We also encourage Afghan refugees abroad to come back, as the country is now safe and peaceful."

Despite the challenges of rebuilding, the hope brought by peace is encouraging many Afghans to return and reclaim their lives in their homeland.
By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump has said he might install his picks for top administration posts without first winning approval in the U.S. Senate. This would erode the power of Congress and remove a significant check on his authority as president.

HOW IS A CABINET APPROVED?

According to the U.S. Constitution, the Senate and the president share the power of appointing top administration officials. Typically, senators question nominees for Secretary of Defense and other top posts at public hearings before voting on their fitness for office.

Roughly 1,000 government positions require Senate confirmation through a majority vote in the 100-seat chamber.

Most of Trump's Cabinet picks easily won confirmation during his first 2017-2021 term in office. But the Senate rejected some candidates and others, like Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder, were forced to withdraw after it became clear they would not have enough support to win a confirmation vote.

The process has slowed as partisan divisions have deepened. Democratic President Joe Biden's cabinet appointees took an average of 191 days to win confirmation compared with an average of 85 days for Republican President George W. Bush, according to the Partnership for Public Service, which oversees presidential transitions.

WHAT HAS TRUMP CALLED FOR?

This time around, Trump wants the Senate to give up that gatekeeping role and allow him to make "recess appointments," even though his Republicans will control the chamber next year with at least 52 seats.

He has called for the chamber to adjourn after he takes office in January, which would allow his personnel to take their positions without having to undergo Senate scrutiny.

That would allow boundary-pushing picks like former Representative Matt Gaetz to serve as U.S. attorney general and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to take charge of the Department of Health and Human Services.

HOW DO 'RECESS APPOINTMENTS' WORK?

The U.S. Constitution says the president can make recess appointments to fill vacant positions when the Senate is not in session, though officials appointed in this manner can only serve two years at most.

Past presidents have taken advantage of this clause. Democrat Barack Obama made 32 recess appointments, while Bush made 171, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Since 2007, Congress had increasingly used scheduling tricks to prevent this from happening.

Rather than formally adjourning when it wants to leave town, the Senate now typically holds occasional "pro forma" sessions in which a single lawmaker briefly wields the gavel but no work is done, keeping the chamber technically in session.

The Supreme Court upheld this practice in 2014, ruling that a president can only make a recess appointment when the Senate is out of session for 10 days or longer.

Trump's gambit would require the Senate to adjourn for at least that long, which could be difficult. It's not clear how many Republicans would voluntarily give up one of the Senate's most significant powers.

CAN TRUMP FORCE A RECESS?

Maybe. The Constitution gives the president the power to adjourn Congress when the Senate and the House of Representatives disagree on whether they should leave town. Trump could invoke this power if the Republican-controlled House votes to adjourn and the Senate does not.

That tactic has never been used before, according to conservative scholar Ed Whelan, who called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to reject it. "Johnson can and should immediately put an end to this scheme," he wrote in the Washington Post on Nov. 14.

WILL REPUBLICANS OPPOSE TRUMP?

Republicans will control the House and the Senate by narrow margins next year, giving them little room for error if they want to go along with Trump's proposal.

In the Senate, Trump allies like Florida Senator Rick Scott quickly signaled support while other Republicans have said they are reluctant to surrender such a significant power.

Incoming Senate Republican Leader John Thune has not ruled it out. "All options are on the table, including recess appointments," he said on Fox News on Nov. 14.

Republicans could warm to the idea if Democrats manage to block or slow down some of Trump's nominees next year. A recess appointment could allow them to avoid having to hold up-or-down votes on a divisive nominee like Kennedy, a former Democrat who has spread misinformation on vaccines and supports abortion rights.

In the House, Johnson, a close Trump ally, has not yet publicly said what he thinks of the idea. If he were to pursue it, he would have to keep nearly all of his fellow Republicans on board as he will likely start next year with a majority of fewer than three votes in the 435-seat chamber.

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Heather Timmons and Alistair Bell)
(Reuters) - Hundreds of people defied a curfew to stage demonstrations in India's northeastern state of Manipur over the weekend and 23 were arrested for violence as tensions between two ethnic communities flared up again.

These are the reasons behind the violence in the border state.

HOW DID THE MANIPUR VIOLENCE BEGIN?

On May 3, 2023, members of the Kuki and Naga tribes, who inhabit Manipur's hills and are regarded as Scheduled Tribes, or India's most disadvantaged groups, launched a protest against the possible extension of their benefits to the dominant Meiteis.

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The Meitei have sought special benefits for more than a decade, but received a fillip in April last year after the Manipur High Court recommended the state government should consider the demand and set a deadline of mid-May.

Meiteis account for half of Manipur's population and extending limited affirmative action quotas to them would mean they would get a share of education and government jobs reserved for Kukis and Nagas.

Meiteis have traditionally lived in Manipur's more prosperous valley region that makes up 10% of the state's area.

They have also had better access to employment and economic opportunities. Nagas and Kukis live in the poorly developed hill regions.

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The imbalance in development that has favoured the valley over the hills has been a point of contention and rivalry between the ethnic groups.

WHAT WERE THE TRIGGERS?

The groups co-existed peacefully until unrelated events in 2023 exposed old faultlines.

Manipur shares a nearly 400-km (250-mile) border with Myanmar and the coup there in 2021 pushed thousands of refugees into the Indian state.

Kukis share ethnic lineage with Myanmar's Chin tribe and Meiteis feared they would be outnumbered by the arrival of the refugees.

WHY IS PEACE YET TO RETURN?

Both the Meiteis and Kukis are known to be flush with arms, including automatic weapons either stolen from the state police or sourced from Myanmar.

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The Indian Army and federal paramilitary forces in the state cannot act independently and are legally bound to work with state police and authorities, who analysts say are also divided along ethnic lines.

Kukis also accuse Biren Singh, the chief minister of the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state and a Meitei, of complicity in violence against them and have sought his removal. Singh denies the accusations.

WHAT IS BEHIND THE LATEST SPIRAL OF VIOLENCE?

The latest violence flared this month after a 31-year-old Kuki woman was found burned to death in a village in Jiribam district, an area that was untouched by the conflict until June.

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Kuki groups blamed Meitei militants for the act.

Kukis and Meiteis have moved to separate parts elsewhere in Manipur since the clashes last year but Jiribam still has a mixed population, leading to tensions and violence.

Days after the incident, 10 armed Kuki men were killed in a gunfight with security forces after they tried to attack a police station in Jiribam district, and security forces retaliated. During this gunfight, a Meitei family of six people went missing.

On Friday, bodies of three of the six were found floating in a river, triggering angry protests in the state capital Imphal. Police said on Sunday they had arrested 23 people for ransacking and setting fire to the homes of lawmakers and ministers, in a second straight day of unrest in the area.

(Reporting by Tora Agarwala, Krishn Kaushik and Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by YP Rajesh and Susan Fenton)
All eyes will be locked on the House Ethics Committee this week as it weighs whether to release its report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) following his nomination by President-elect Trump to serve as attorney general.

The question of publishing the report has emerged as a heated debate on Capitol Hill, with some lawmakers in both parties pushing for its release as Gaetz looks to serve as the next chief law enforcement officer, and others  mainly Republicans  arguing that it is moot since he is no longer in Congress.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sided with the latter argument last week, contending that publication of the report at this juncture would risk opening a Pandoras box for future former lawmakers. It remains unclear what path the panel will pursue. Last week, a source told The Hill the situation is very fluid.

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Some of Trumps other cabinet picks are sure to be the subject of conversation next week in the Capitol  particularly the Senate, where they will face confirmation hearings and votes. Top of that list is Trumps nominee for secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, who, according to new reports, paid a woman who had accused him of sexual assault as part of a settlement agreement.

Also this week, lawmakers will likely begin discussing how they plan to fund the government by the Dec. 20 shutdown deadline. Johnson over the weekend floated a short-term spending bill to kick the deadline into early next year, when Republicans will officially have a trifecta in Washington.

Debate over Gaetz Ethics report to grow

The debate over whether or not the House Ethics Committee should release its report into Gaetz is poised to grow even more pronounced this week, with pressure growing on the panel to publish its findings as Johnson urges the group to keep its final product private.

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It remains unclear when the panel is set to meet next. The group scrapped its meeting that was scheduled for Friday, though committee chairman Michael Guest (R-Miss.) said it was postponed and not canceled.

The continued speculation over the reports release comes after Johnson on Sunday reiterated his belief that the committee should not publish its findings, telling CNNs State of the Union and Fox News Sunday that such a move would break precedent of the panel publishing reports of former members. He noted that such a situation has happened at least twice in history  once in 1987 with former Rep. William Boner (D-Tenn.)  but argued that those instances were a break in tradition and not the precedent.

Theres a very important reason for the tradition and the rule that we always, have almost always followed. And that is that we dont issue investigations and Ethics reports on people who are not members of Congress. Im afraid that that would open a Pandoras box because the jurisdiction of the Ethics Committee is limited to those who are serving in the institution, Johnson said on Fox News Sunday.

Theres a precedent for releasing reports is not exactly accurate. Yeah, there are two breaches of the tradition in the past under very extraordinary circumstances. I dont think this meets that criteria, he added.

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The comments from Johnson on Sunday and late last week marked a shift in his tone from earlier in the week, and a break from the way the House leader usually acts in regards to the Ethics committee. The Speaker initially said he was not involved in the timing of a release, but took a stance on the debate as the days went on.

Some questioned if Johnson changed his posture at the urging of Trump, whom he visited with in between making those comments. Last week, the Speaker said Im not talking to anybody about what Ive said to Trump when asked if the pair had spoken about the Gaetz report. On Sunday, however, he said no such discussions had occurred.

The president and I have literally not discussed one word about the Ethics report, not once, he told CNNs State of the Union.

The Ethics Committee had been investigating whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, among other allegations. It launched the probe in 2021. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing.

Hegseth allegations to dominate chatter in Senate

Hegseths nomination to serve as Pentagon chief during the Trump administration is sure to be the topic of conversation in the Senate this week after a pair of bombshell stories about a sexual assault incident broke, raising questions about his path to confirmation.

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Late last week, the Monterey Police Department in California confirmed that Hegseth was investigated as part of a probe of an alleged sexual assault at a home in the city in October 2017. The city did not say if charges were filed in the case or indicate Hegseth was the aggressor, but a summary of the report did disclose that the victim suffered a contusion to their right thigh.

Hegseth told incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Trumps lawyers during a call that the encounter was consensual, a source with knowledge of the meeting told Vanity Fair.

Adding to the controversy, The Washington Post first reported over the weekend that Hegseth paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault as part of a nondisclosure agreement.

Hegseths confirmation was already in question amid scrutiny of some of his past comments, including that women should not serve in combat roles. The two new reports, however, will likely dominate the discussion surrounding Hegseth in the Senate as he prepares to face a confirmation hearing and vote next year.

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One lawmaker said the allegations could put an end to his effort to become the next Defense secretary.

It could, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) told NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday when asked if the story could sink Hegseths confirmation.

He fits the role of the secretary of Defense. I think hes a good pick, Mullin added. But once again, as allegations come out, well figure out if, as the Senate moves forward with the advise and consent to the president of the United States and doing our constitutional duties, well figure out if he can get confirmed or not.

Congress stares down funding deadline

Johnson on Sunday said the House will likely look to move a short-term spending bill ahead of next months shutdown deadline, though it remains unclear if Democrats  and even all Republicans  will get on board.

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So were running out of clock. December 20th is the deadline. Were still hopeful that we might be able to get that done, but if not, well have a temporary measure, I think, that would go into the first part of next year and allow us the necessary time to get this done, Johnson said on Fox News Sunday.

Such a move would give the GOP control over wrapping up government funding for fiscal year 2025, since they will control all levers of power  House, Senate and White House  in Washington at that time. Johnson alluded to that dynamic in his remarks, describing the short-term stopgap as an opportunity for Republicans, and Trump, to have more influence on spending.

I think that would be ultimately a good move, because the country would benefit from it, because then youd have Republican control, and wed have a little more say in what those spending bills are, he said.

That path would, however, force Congress to deal with government funding within the first 100 days of Trumps administration  a time that is usually set aside for top priorities and lofty campaign goals.

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It remains unclear if a short-term stopgap into early next year would muster enough support in the Capitol to pass. Democrats, for starters, may balk at the measure, hoping to instead wrap up fiscal year 2025 appropriations with the Democratic-controlled senate and Biden White House. Hardline Republicans also abhor continuing resolutions, a fact that could complicate the stopgaps path to the presidents desk.

Lawmakers have until Dec. 20 to fund the government or risk a shutdown.

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.
Turkey is celebrating half a century of operations with the legendary F-4E Phantom fighter, with a spectacular event showcasing close-quarters fly-bys, as well as an elephant walk at the types last main operating base in the country. While the days of the Turkish Rhino have been numbered for some time, the turbulent nature of the countrys fighter force means the jets have shown remarkable longevity and are still important frontline assets.

The 50th-anniversary event for the Turkish Air Force F-4E took place over the weekend at Eskisehir in northwestern Turkey, where the local air base is home to the services squadron flying the Phantom  111 Filo Panter. The occasion was marked in a suitable style for such a charismatic jet  and one that is no stranger to very low-level flying around the Anatolian region.

F-4E Phantoms take part in a training flight in Eskisehir to commemorate 50 years of service in the Turkish Air Force on Nov. 15, 2024. Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu via Getty Images Anadolu

Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu via Getty Images Anadolu

At the center of this was specially painted F-4E serial number 77-0303, in a red and black anniversary scheme. The upper sides of the jet carry a huge Turkish flag, while the belly is painted with the famous Spook character found across the global Phantom community ever since it first appeared in the late 1950s.

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Most dramatically, on Saturday, Nov. 16, the anniversary jet and at least one other standard-painted F-4E performed high- and low-speed passes down a river valley, roughly a two-and-a-half-hour drive from the base. This provided gathered photographers and eyewitnesses with a never-to-be-forgotten experience highlighting the raw power of this classic Cold War jet.

Peekaboo



The new Turkish 50th anniversary special giving us a close pass this afternoon #PhantomsPhorever pic.twitter.com/bO83f44J6M  James Bird (@jamesbird) November 16, 2024

Turkish Air Force F-4E serial number 77-0303, decorated with a Turkish flag and Spook character, over Eskisehir on Nov. 17, 2024. Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu via Getty Images Anadolu

Turkish Air Force F-4E serial number 77-0303 blasts off from Eskisehir on Nov. 17, 2024. Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu via Getty Images Anadolu

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Videos of the jets tearing down the valley were provided to TWZ by aviation photographer Duncan Monk, who made the trip to Turkey from the United Kingdom for this event.

On the afternoon of Sunday, Nov. 17, the anniversary jet got airborne from Eskisehir as part of a four-ship, making several fly-pasts over the base. In the meantime, another six F-4Es taxied from various hardened aircraft shelters to the other end of the runway. When the four-ship landed, they all formed up on the ground to perform an elephant walk  an airpower exercise designed to demonstrate the readiness of large numbers of aircraft, typically in anticipation of a major contingency, but also for commemorative purposes.

Turk Hava Kuvvetlerimizin envanterinde 50nci yln dolduran F-4E/2020 savas ucaklarmz; 50nci yla ozel olarak pistte Fil Yuruyusu yapt ve vadide "Alcak Irtifa Egitim Ucusu" gerceklestirdi.#turkishphantom  #MilliSavunmaBakanlgpic.twitter.com/i1x3qGcShr  T.C. Milli Savunma Bakanlg (@tcsavunma) November 17, 2024

A standard-painted F-4E at low level within the scope of the 50th anniversary celebrations for the Turkish Phantom on Nov. 16, 2024. Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu via Getty Images Anadolu

Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu via Getty Images Anadolu

The story of the F-4E with the Turkish Air Force, or Turk Hava Kuvvetleri, dates back to June 1974, when the first of an initial batch of 40 of the jets began to arrive in the country, ordered under the Peace Diamond I program. The deliveries were interrupted by an arms embargo imposed after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus that same year.

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A follow-on order in 1977 comprised 32 more F-4Es and eight RF-4Es for reconnaissance duties, although the last of the Turkish Recce Rhinos were retired in 2015. Several more batches of former U.S. Air Force F-4Es were also obtained, with a total of 233 Phantoms of both versions eventually going onto the Turkish Air Forces books. Such was the F-4s popularity that examples were still being accepted in the early 1990s, by which time the more advanced F-16 was well established in service.

The F-4E adorned with the striking Turkish flag livery soars at low altitude over Eskisehir on Nov. 16, 2024. Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu via Getty Images Anadolu

Bu da dunden kalan bir diger fotograf.. sonbahar renklerini Sakarya Nehrine dokmus.. pic.twitter.com/940z8CxlWE  Ugurcan (@ugurcan_krmn) November 17, 2024

Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu via Getty Images Anadolu

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A total of 54 Turkish Phantoms underwent a major mid-life upgrade, which brought them up to the F-4E Terminator 2020 standard, which you can read more abut here. The modernization was led by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and included structural and avionics work. The upgraded avionics include an Elta EL/M-2032 multi-mode radar, digital glass cockpit, wide-angle head-up display (HUD), and hands on throttle and stick (HOTAS) controls.

The Terminators armory is also notably expanded, with weapons now including the Israeli-made Popeye standoff missile, as well as the indigenous Roketsan SOM for use against land and sea targets. Other stores include the HGK 500-pound INS/GPS-guided bomb, KGK 500-pound or 1,000-pound glide bomb, and the LGK-82  an indigenous version of the 500-pound GBU-12 laser-guided bomb.

Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu via Getty Images Anadolu

Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu via Getty Images Anadolu

The name of the Terminator 2020 indicated that it was expected to remain in service until around 2020, but fate has determined that the Turkish F-4E should serve a while longer. Today, Turkey  with a fleet reportedly numbering between 30 and 40 aircraft  is one of the last three operators of the type, the others being its regional rival Greece and Iran.

At one point, it was expected that the F-4E would be replaced by F-35A stealth fighters. However, when Ankara decided to buy Russian-made S-400 air defense systems, it was kicked out of the Joint Strike Fighter program, and the Phantoms obvious successor was gone.

Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu via Getty Images Anadolu

Photo by Ali Atmaca/Anadolu via Getty Images Anadolu

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As of now, its conceivable that the Turkish F-4Es might remain active until around 2030, at which point they could be replaced by the TF Kaan next-generation fighter. At the same time, there remain questions about the viability of this project, especially when it comes to sourcing engines and, even if it all goes to plan, the Kaan wont begin to enter service until 2030, at the earliest.

With this situation very likely in mind, Ankara has meanwhile also made efforts to acquire interim equipment, which would likely also displace the F-4Es.

Earlier this year, U.S. President Joe Biden signaled that he wanted lawmakers to approve the sale of additional F-16s to Turkey without delay. Soon after, the U.S. State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Turkey of 40 new F-16C/D Block 70 fighters, plus the upgrade of 79 existing aircraft to F-16V configuration.

Turkey already operates an enormous F-16 fleet but efforts to acquire more had long been stalled. That also prompted Ankara to look elsewhere, including potentially buying Eurofighter Typhoons. More recently, there have even been suggestions that the F-35 could be back on the table for Turkey, although only if it agrees to give up its controversial S-400s once and for all.

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To date, however, no deal has been signed for additional F-16s or Typhoons, meaning that Turkish skies will continue to reverberate to the sound of F-4s for some time to come.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com
FILE - Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen, of the Netherlands, goes through the final chicane during practice for the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix auto race Friday, June 7, 2024, in Montreal. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

LONDON (AP)  Formula 1 will move the Canadian Grand Prix to a new slot in May from 2026 in an effort to cut down on travel and its environmental impact.

F1 said Monday that the race in Montreal will move to the third or fourth weekend in May each year from its current June slot, where it's currently in the middle of a succession of European races, forcing teams to travel across the Atlantic Ocean and back for a single weekend.

The decision has been agreed with the race's promoter after consultation with Canadian authorities, F1 said. But it still needs to be approved by the sport's governing body, the FIA.

F1 president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali thanked the Canadian organizers for agreeing to accelerate the temporary build needed to host the race on Notre Dame Island, within the city of Montreal.

The change will make the future flow of our calendar not only more sustainable, but logistically more sensible for our teams and personnel, he said in a statement.

This year's Canadian Grand Prix was on June 9, sandwiched between races in Monaco and Spain, and next year it's scheduled for June 15, between races in Spain and Austria.

The new date could potentially see the Canadian Grand Prix follow on from F1's race in Miami, which is held in early May under a 10-year contract which began in 2022.

An agreement signed in 2021 after two cancelations amid the COVID-19 pandemic extended the Canadian Grand Prix's place on the F1 calendar through 2031.

Alongside its expansion to a record 24-race schedule this season, F1 has sought to limit the impact of transporting teams, cars and staff around the world. The Japanese Grand Prix moved to a date in April this season to sit between races in China and Australia.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
By Olena Harmash

KYIV (Reuters) - Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine reaches its 1,000th day on Tuesday, a grim milestone in Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.

Devastating human and material losses continue to mount, leaving Ukraine more vulnerable than at any time since the early days of the war. Following is a summary of Ukraine's losses since the invasion.

HUMAN TOLL

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As of Aug. 31, 2024 the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine had documented at least 11,743 civilians killed and 24,614 wounded in Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

UN and Ukrainian officials say the actual figures are probably much higher, given the difficulty in verifying deaths and injuries, especially in areas such as the devastated port city of Mariupol that are now in Russian hands.

Ukrainian prosecutors said 589 Ukrainian children had been killed by Nov. 14, 2024.

Though civilians have suffered greatly, the vast majority of the dead are soldiers: a rare all-out conventional war fought by two comparably equipped modern armies has been extraordinarily bloody. Many thousands have perished in intense fighting across heavily fortified front lines under relentless artillery fire, with tanks, armoured vehicles and infantry mounting assaults on trenches.

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Both sides closely guard tallies of their own military losses as national security secrets, and public estimates by Western countries based on intelligence reports vary widely. But most estimate hundreds of thousands of wounded and dead on each side.

Western countries believe Russia has suffered far worse casualties than Ukraine, sometimes losing more than 1,000 soldiers killed per day during periods of intense fighting in the east. But it is Ukraine, with around a third of Russia's population, that is likely to be facing the more severe manpower shortages arising from battles of attrition.

In a rare Ukrainian reference to its military death toll, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in February, 2024 that 31,000 Ukrainian service members had been killed. He gave no figures on the number of injured or missing.

Apart from the direct casualties, the war has raised mortality rates from all causes across Ukraine, caused the birth rate to collapse by about a third, sent more than 6 million Ukrainians fleeing abroad to Europe and displaced nearly 4 million inside the country. The United Nations estimated that Ukraine's population had declined by 10 million, or around a quarter, since the start of the invasion.

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TERRITORY

Russia now occupies and claims to have annexed around a fifth of Ukraine, an area around the size of Greece.

Moscow's forces initially stormed through northern, eastern and southern Ukraine in early 2022, reaching the outskirts of Kyiv in the north and crossing the Dnipro River in the south. Ukraine's military pushed them back throughout the first year of the war, but Russia has still kept swathes of southern and eastern territory, added to land it and its proxies had already seized in 2014. Moscow has now captured nearly the whole of the Donbas region in Ukraine's east, and the entire coast of the Sea of Azov in the south.

Many cities in the frontline area that have been captured by Moscow have been destroyed, largest among them the Azov port of Mariupol, with a population before the war of around half a million. In the past year, Russia has slowly extended its grip in intense fighting, mainly in the Donbas. Ukraine, for its part, launched its first large-scale assault on Russian territory in August and has captured a sliver of western Russia's Kursk region.

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DEVASTATED ECONOMY

Ukraine's economy shrank by about a third in 2022. Despite growth in 2023 and so far this year, it is still only 78% of its size before the invasion, First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko told Reuters.

The latest available assessment by the World Bank, European Commission, United Nations and Ukrainian government found that direct war damage in Ukraine had reached $152 billion as of December, 2023, with housing, transport, commerce and industry, energy and agriculture the worst-affected sectors.

The total cost of reconstruction and recovery was estimated by the World Bank and Ukrainian government at $486 billion as of the end of December last year. The figure is 2.8 times higher than Ukraine's nominal gross domestic product in 2023, according to economy ministry data.

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Ukraine's power sector has been particularly hard hit, with Russia regularly targeting infrastructure in long range attacks.

Ukraine is one of the world's main sources of grain, and the interruption of its exports early in the war worsened a global food crisis. Exports have since largely recovered with Ukraine finding ways to circumvent a de facto Russian blockade.

Ukraine spends most state revenues funding defence, and relies on financial aid from Western partners to pay pensions, public sector wages and other social spending. Each day's fighting costs Kyiv about $140 million, said Roksolana Pidlasa, the head of parliament's budget committee.

The draft 2025 budget envisages that about 26% of Ukraine's GDP, or 2.2 trillion hryvnias ($53.3 billion), would go on defence. Ukraine has already received more than $100 billion from its Western partners in financial aid.

(Reporting by Olena Harmash; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Peter Graff)
KYIV (Reuters) - The United States will allow Ukraine to use U.S.-made weapons such as ATACMS rockets, which have a range of up to 190 miles (306 km), to strike deep into Russia, two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the decision said on Sunday.

The reversal of policy, nearly 1,000 days since Russia started its full-scale invasion on Ukraine, comes largely in response to Russia's deployment of North Korean troops to supplement its forces, a development that has caused alarm in Washington and Kyiv, a U.S. official and a source familiar with the decision told Reuters.

There was no immediate response from the Kremlin, but some Russian senior lawmakers said loosening of the limits on Ukraine's use of U.S. weapons is a major escalation.

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President Vladimir Putin said in September that the step would mean "direct involvement of NATO countries" in the war.

Below is a list of some of the weapons systems Western countries were initially hesitant to give Ukraine but which were eventually handed over.

ATACMS

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been long asking Kyiv's allies to give it the capability to strike deeper behind Russian lines, a crucial part of disrupting enemy logistics and command chains.

The U.S. held off on supplying Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) - because of concerns that Russia would see this as escalatory - until October 2023, when they supplied a short-range version with a maximum range of 165 km (100 miles).

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This was followed up by deliveries in early 2024 of a longer-range version of the ATACMS missile which has a range of up to 300 km (165 miles).

With the U.S. permission, Ukraine will now be able to strike targets deep inside Russia, most likely around Russia's Kursk region, where Kyiv forces still hold swaths of the territory and where North Korean troops are reported to be concentrated.

In August, analysts at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said that hundreds of known Russian military objects were in the range of ATACMS.

It is likely, however, that some of the military assets, despite the logistical difficulties, have been moved deeper into Russia in anticipation of the U.S. decision.

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F-16s

Ukraine asked for F-16 fighter jets from soon after start of the invasion to boost its long-range strike ability as well as to use the jets to shoot down the volleys of cruise missiles fired deep into Ukraine by Moscow.

Ukrainian pilots started to be trained on the jets only in August 2023, after lengthy negotiations between the coalition of allies who would provide planes or training.

Ukraine was keen to finish the training process as soon as possible, and the confirmation that Ukraine had received the first planes came on July 31 this year.

Since then, one of the planes has crashed while attempting to engage Russian missiles fired at land targets in Ukraine.

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WESTERN TANKS

Although Ukraine's eastern European allies provided it with Soviet-era tanks at the start of the invasion, Kyiv coveted Western-built tanks, such as Britain's Challenger 2 and the German-built Leopard 2, until their transfer was approved after a lengthy negotiation in January 2023.

The agreement on a coalition of countries to supply the tanks was delayed by concerns in Germany that the move could be seen as escalatory by Russia. Berlin eventually approved the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks from other countries' stockpiles as well as its own.

STRIKES ON RUSSIA

For over two years, the United States did not allow Ukraine to strike Russia with any of its weapons systems.

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After a Russian assault in May 2024 near the northwestern city of Kharkiv, Washington changed its stance under pressure from Kyiv.

Ukraine was secretly authorised by President Joe Biden to fire U.S.-supplied weapons at military targets inside Russia that were supporting the Kharkiv offensive.

(Reporting by Max Hunder in Kyiv and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Michael Perry)
By Sybille de La Hamaide

PARIS (Reuters) - A trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur countries, which includes a significant section on agriculture, has triggered protests from EU farmers who argue farm imports from South America do not meet European standards.

The agreement dating from 2019 and published on the Commission website has yet to be adopted. It includes the establishment of import quotas of certain agricultural products from Mercosur countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, either duty free or at reduced levy.

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The agreement would also give EU farmers increased access to South American markets which could boost exports of products such as wine, cheese, milk powder and olive oil.

Below are the main EU import quotas included in the agreement, most of which to be phased in over six years, their share of the EU market and potential impact based on a study of the European Commission's joint research center (JRC).

BEEF

Under the agreement, the EU will allow 99,000 metric tons of beef, including 55% of "fresh", high quality beef, and 45% of "frozen" beef, to be phased-in over five years, with a 7.5% duty.

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This represents 1.2% of the overall EU beef consumption of 8 million tons per year.

The EU currently imports about 200,000 tons of beef every year from Mercosur countries.

That total includes the so-called Hilton quota which allows Brazil and Argentina to each export up to 10,000 tonnes of beef, and 29,500 tonnes of prime beef cuts to the EU each year. The current 20% duty on that quota is due to be removed.

The beef trade deficit with Mercosur countries would rise to 1.4 billion euros by 2032 from 1.0 billion in 2023, the JRC said.

POULTRY

The free trade agreement would allow duty-free imports of 180,000 tons of poultry meat per year from Mercosur countries.

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This represents 1.4 % of overall EU poultry consumption of 12.6 million tons forecast in 2024, EU data showed.

The four Mercosur countries together are already the EU's leading suppliers of chicken meat. When taken separately, Brazil - the world's largest poultry producer - is number one, followed by Ukraine.

The additional 180,000 tons represent a 20% increase in total quota volumes, which would bring the share of imports in EU consumption of poultry meat to 10%, French poultry producers said.

The poultry trade deficit with Mercosur countries would rise to about 865 million euros by 2032 from 600 million in 2023, the JRC said.

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SUGAR

Under the agreement, Brazil will see the tariff removed on the existing quota for 180,000 tons of sugar for refining.

Paraguay would be granted a new duty-free quota of 10,000 tons.

The agreed amounts cover a volume accounting for 1% of EU sugar consumption, which is expected at 17.7 million tons in 2024, against a production of 16.6 million tons, EU data showed.

The sugar trade deficit with Mercosur countries would rise to about 330 million euros by 2032 from 223 million in 2023, the JRC said.

ETHANOL

Mercosur countries would be granted two different tariff-rate quotas for a total of 650,000 tons, or 8.2 million hectolitres.

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The first one, of 450,000 tons, would be duty-free for biochemical uses while the second, of 200,000 tons would be at a reduced levy and for all uses, including fuel.

The total represents approximately 15% of EU production.

MAIZE

Quota of 1,000,000 tons of duty-free maize and sorghum imports from Mercosur countries to be phased in over five years.

However, the quota would not change the current situation since maize imports are already duty free. It would only make a difference if world prices were to collapse, triggering automatic import duties on other imports.

Brazil was the second-largest maize supplier to the EU after Ukraine, with 2.9 million tonnes imported in the EU last season.

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SOYBEAN PRODUCTS

The agreement will also reduce or eliminate duties that Mercosur countries currently impose on exports to the EU of products such as soybean products to be used in animal feed.

Mercosur is already the largest soybean and soybean product supplier of the EU.

(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide, editing by Nigel Hunt and Tomasz Janowski)
GALENA, Kan.  A lawman killed in Cherokee County nearly 125 years ago will soon be honored nationally.

Empire City Marshal Marion Thomas will soon be added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

In 1900  present day Galena was known as Empire City.

On February 4 of that year, Marshal Thomas entered a saloon near Main and Columbus Streets around 3 that afternoon for a report of shots fired inside the establishment.

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When he entered, he was shot multiple times, he died instantly, leaving behind a wife and three kids.

The Cherokee County Sheriffs Office learned earlier this year that Marshal Thomas ultimate sacrifice was not included on the memorial in DC  so they used historical documents to petition for his inclusion.

A formal dedication ceremony is scheduled for May 13, 2025.

There will be a candlelight vigil as part of National Police Week.

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.
SHENYANG, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Northeast China's Liaoning Province has launched a new air cargo service linking its capital city of Shenyang with Vancouver in Canada.

A freighter loaded with 43.5 tonnes of cross-border e-commerce goods departed from Shenyang Taoxian International Airport for Vancouver on Sunday, according to the Shenyang Municipal Commerce Bureau.

The flight was operated by China Gate Logistics Co., Ltd. and its subsidiary Shengdamen (Shenyang) Cross-border E-commerce Service Co., Ltd.

The route will have one flight per week initially, and that frequency will later increase to three flights per week.

It is a new air passage through which Liaoning's enterprises can expand their overseas market presence, which will promote the development of industries such as the airport economy and cross-border e-commerce, said Zhou Meng, who is on the management committee of the Shenyang airport economic zone. 
Police in Russia are investigating after renowned Russian ballet dancer Vladimir Shklyarov reportedly fell to his death over the weekend. He was 39.

Shklyarov was a star dancer at the Mariinsky, the historic opera and ballet venue in Russia's imperial capital of Saint Petersburg. His funeral will be held on Thursday, the Mariinsky Theatre announced.

Citing theater representatives, Russian media reported that he fell from a fifth-floor balcony on Saturday after taking painkillers ahead of back surgery that had been scheduled for Monday.

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"His loss is deeply felt by the entire Mariinsky family and the wider ballet world," the theater said Monday in a statement, without commenting on the circumstances of Shklyarov's death.

Ballet dancer Vladimir Shklyarov from the Mariinsky Ballet performs during a dress rehearsal of 'Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux' at the Saddlers Wells theater in London, on October 15, 2008. / Credit: CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty

Shklyarov had been a principal dancer with the theater since 2011, "captivating audiences with his expressive artistry and technical brilliance," it said.

He was married to fellow company dancer Maria Shklyarov, with whom he had two children, CBS News' partner network BBC News reported.

A memorial service will be held Thursday at the theater, followed by a church service and burial in central Saint Petersburg.

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Russian investigators have launched a probe into Shklyarov's death, according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency, which said authorities' preliminary assessment was that it was likely to have been an accident.

Shklyarov won several prestigious awards for his performances in classic ballets including The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty and Manon, and had regularly toured internationally.

Dancers Vladimir Shklyarov and Alina Somova perform as Romeo and Juliet during a rehearsal for the Mariinsky Ballet company at the Royal Opera House in London, Aug. 3, 2009. / Credit: Luke MacGregor/REUTERS

Shortly after Russia launched its full-scale military offensive on Ukraine, Shklyarov criticized Russia for ordering troops into the neighboring nation in a social media post that was later deleted.

Unlike other some performers, such as Olga Smirnova, a prima ballerina at Moscow's famed Bolshoi who left the country in protest, Shklyarov stayed in Russia and continued performing with the Mariinsky under its pro-Kremlin leadership.

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Shklyarov had performed at prestigious venues around the world, including the Royal Opera House in London and Metropolitan Opera in New York, according to the BBC. In 2014 and 2015, he was a featured guest artist at the American Ballet Theatre in New York, the BBC said.

"We mourn the tragic loss of Vladimir Shklyarov, an extraordinary artist whose grace and passion inspired audiences worldwide," the American company wrote on Instagram Sunday. "Your light will continue to shine through the beauty you brought to this world."

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  Families and community leaders gathered to honor loved ones and push for change on World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims at the Tennessee State Capitol.

Todays been a really rough day actually. I started crying on the way over here, said Chuck Isbell.

Isbell has been pushing for lower speed limits ever since his 13-year-old son was struck and killed by a speeding driver in Rutherford County on Halloween night four years ago.

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Teenager hit by car works with Nolensville police on pedestrian safety PSA

[The driver] wasnt paying attention. She just ran him over, Isbell told News 2.

Isbell is one of several members of Families for Safe Streets (FSS) Nashville. Together, they planted 1,000 flags for the 1,000 victims who die on average every year on Tennessee roads.

FSS Nashville is demanding action from state leaders through a petition, specifically criticizing the Tennessee Strategic Highway Safety Plan, which has a future trend line for crashes steadily increasing through 2027.

Roundabout project rejected in Hendersonville following resident pushback

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If we had 10 Boeing 747s falling out, headed into BNA every year, we would dedicate all the resources we could to solving the problem. We are not doing that with this, and were normalizing it, and it has to stop, said Wesley Smith from Walk Bike Nashville.

Smith said speed is often a factor in deadly crashes on state roads. He urges the state to make a comprehensive plan to reduce future fatalities.

FSS Nashville invites anyone who has lost close friends or family members while biking, walking, or driving in Tennessee to join their group if they need support or want change on state roads.

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.
More than two months after American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, allegedly by a member of Israel's security forces, her family tells CBS News their faith in the United States has been shattered due to the lack of any independent criminal investigation.

Eygi's husband Hamid Ali said he was appalled by the reaction of the Biden administration.

"I would hope that the U.S. government is able to implement its own law in this case and withhold, at the very least, funding from its own taxpayers that went to this unit or this soldier that killed one of its own citizens," he told CBS News.

Aysenur Eygi was killed during protests against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. / Credit: Family handout

Neither the Biden administration nor any U.S. law enforcement agency has announced an investigation into Eygi's killing. The State Department told CBS News it continues pushing to see the results of a "full, transparent" Israeli probe.

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Eygi's sister, Ozden Bennett, said the Biden administration's response had made the grieving process "even more heartbreaking and painful."

"No family should have to experience this," she told CBS News, with tears in her eyes.

Bennett said that growing up in the U.S., she had developed an idealistic vision of the country and its values but her sister's death "shattered" those ideas.

"It feels like they don't care about all U.S. citizens the same way," she said. "The U.S. government, or the Biden administration particularly, not opening an investigation makes us question why it is not being equally treated."

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Witnesses, her family, and the group Eygi had joined at a protest have said the U.S.-Turkish dual national was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper as she stood under a tree in the West Bank city of Nablus.

She was shot not long after joining a protest organized by the International Solidarity Movement, at which the Israel Defense Forces said some demonstrators had thrown projectiles at troops. Witnesses said she was shot after the protest, and away from where it had taken place.

The IDF said an initial inquiry found it was "highly likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally" by a member of the Israeli security forces. The IDF told CBS News on Thursday that it was unable to provide any further detail on its ongoing investigation.

A State Department spokesperson told CBS News last week that the U.S. has continued to press Israel for "a full, transparent, and rapid investigation."

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"We are eager to see the findings as soon as possible, including any appropriate accountability measures that will be taken," the spokesperson added.

Asked whether the U.S. government intended to launch its own criminal investigation into Eygi's killing, the White House referred CBS News back to President Biden's statement from September, in which he said Israel had "acknowledged its responsibility for Aysenur's death," and that the U.S. had "full access to Israel's preliminary investigation, and expects continued access as the investigation continues, so that we can have confidence in the result."

But Eygi's father, Mehmet Suat Eygi, said it seemed to have become the norm for the U.S. government to downplay the killing of Americans by Israeli forces. He said his daughter's death reminded him of the deaths of other U.S. nationals in the Palestinian territories, particularly Rachel Corrie and Shireen Abu Akleh.

Mehmet Suat Eygi (C) father of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was shot dead in the West Bank, sits between her uncle Yilmaz Eygi (L) and her cousin Bahar Tkk, as he speaks to media near the house of her grandfather in the Didim district of Aydin, Turkey, Sept. 12, 2024. / Credit: OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty

"It's beyond disappointment," the bereaved father told CBS News. "The reaction of the U.S. government only asserts that Israel could kill anyone and there would be no consequences."

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He emigrated to the Seattle area in 1999, when his daughter was 10 months old, and was naturalized in 2005. Aysenur Eygi grew up in the Pacific Northwest and graduated from the University of Washington in the spring of 2024. She had planned to start a PhD program after taking a gap year off.

"The safety of American citizens should not be tied to their ideological support to Israel," Eygi's father told CBS News.

Samah Park Imtiaz was a close friend of Eygi. Sobbing quietly, she recalled to CBS News their last phone call, when Eygi told her how much she missed her cat.

"I am still in a dream state when I think about what happened," Imtiaz said. "[Biden] said whoever hurt Americans would face consequences. We are Americans and we deserve answers."

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In September, 103 members of the U.S. Congress signed a letter to Mr. Biden urging the administration to launch an independent investigation into Eygi's killing.

"To walk away without asking further questions gives Israeli forces unacceptable license to act with impunity," the lawmakers said.

Brad Parker, a member of the legal team supporting Eygi's family, called the Biden administration's response thus far "underwhelming," and said it was "concerning" that there had not been a "strong sign to pursue justice for Aysenur."

"I think it's the policy at this point, which can be characterized as providing impunity to Israeli forces, even in the killing of American citizens," he told CBS News. "The focus has been on having the Israeli military adjust [its] rules of engagement, rather than justice and accountability for specific killings of American citizens."

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Eygi's husband, Ali, said Israel's close alliance with the U.S. should not make it immune to consequences.

"Israel has a history of not being forthcoming with any kind of investigation and, when they are, it is largely inadequate what they come up with," he said.

His sister-in-law said the Biden administration had yet to address the family's pain, "aside from condolences."

"If the U.S. government does not respond to cases like hers, which historically they have not, Israel has the green light to continue acting with impunity and killing other citizens," Bennett asserted.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)  The family of a worker killed last week in an explosion at a Louisville manufacturing plant said Monday they begged authorities to search the wreckage for his remains after they were told all employees were accounted for.

Kevens Dawson Jr.'s body was found inside the Givaudan Color Sense plant after rescuers returned to the building late in the night at the family's urging, Dawson's girlfriend, Malaika Watson, told reporters Monday.

The Nov. 12 afternoon explosion at the factory that makes colorings for the food industry rocked the surrounding neighborhood, left two workers dead and injured 11. Dozens of homes around the plant in eastern Louisville had their windows shattered and the percussion from the blast knocked pictures off walls and cracked drywall in some homes. Investigators said Monday they believe a cooking vessel in the plant overheated, causing the blast.

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Lawyers retained by Dawson's family pledged to find the cause of the blast and why Dawson was unaccounted for for several hours.

We're going to get to the bottom of everything that happened here, so none of the family has to go through what Kevens Dawson's family is going through today, Ben Crump, a high-profile civil rights attorney, said at an afternoon news conference Monday.

Dawson's family said he worked at the plant for just over a year and would have turned 50 years old this week. He had three adult children.

Watson became emotional as she recounted how she was told to go to three different hospitals to see if Dawson had been admitted. She was told there were two workers in critical condition, but neither was Dawson. She returned to the site of the plant at around 7 p.m., but was turned away by officers at the scene.

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I just wanted to go in, she said.

Watson ran through a gap in the fence and nearly made it to the wreckage of the plant before she was pulled away. She remained at the scene for hours afterward.

Not until 11:30 (p.m.) did they say, Oh, we found someone else, Watson said. But it was too late.

Watson said her boyfriend, who served in the Army, was the strongest man Ive ever met.

Hes not just a man. Hes a mans man, and all he wanted to do was work and provide for his family, Watson said, fighting through tears.

Louisville officials said they were initially told by the company that all employees were accounted for, though that information was wrong, so firefighters went back into the dangerous scene. When Dawson was found, he was pronounced dead at the scene, fire officials said last week.

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Crump and a team of attorneys said Monday they have not filed a lawsuit, but are doing an investigation of the blast. An explosion at the same plant in 2003 killed one worker.

The president of the plant told reporters last week the company is accountable for the accident and will pay damages to residents affected by the blast.

A special response team from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted a multi-day investigation and said Monday that preliminary findings indicate it was a cooking vessel that overheated. They said there were no hazardous materials involved in the explosion and it was not caused by any nefarious act by any individual on site the day of the explosion.

Later in the evening, leadership from Givaudan hosted a community meeting, where tensions rose as residents complained that the company has not been responsive to their needs in the aftermath of the explosion.

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Company president Ann Leonard told residents it's likely the plant will move out of the neighborhood, which was met with cheers. But many remained irritated that company officials have not sent representatives door-to-door to check on residents.

Some are still unable to move back into their homes nearly a week later.

The electricity in Eunice Stone's home has remained cut off since the explosion, and she and her husband have moved into an extended stay hotel. The couple lived just a few yards away from the plant's property, and the explosion has continued to give her headaches days later, she said.

That blast was so horrible, she said after the meeting Monday night. My head is still throbbing.
Hundreds of mourners lined up outside an Oak Lawn funeral home Sunday to pay their respects to fallen Chicago police Officer Enrique Martinez, who was killed in the line of duty earlier this month.

As the sun set and its last rays pierced the clouds, and temperatures dropped in the early evening, the trickle of people heading into the wake remained constant.

Close to the main entrance of the Blake-Lamb Funeral Home, some crouched to pet and hug a therapy dog  a St. Bernard  also in attendance as part of the Chicago Police Departments employee assistance program, which provides mental health support. Throughout the afternoon, volunteers with the Salvation Army approached people in line to offer them hot cocoa and bottled water during their wait.

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Martinez, a 26-year-old who had been in the force less than three years, was fatally shot on Nov. 4 while he conducted a traffic stop in the Chatham neighborhood on the citys South Side. Darion C. McMillian, 23, of Harvey, has been charged with first-degree murder of an officer and first-degree murder, among other felonies, and will remain detained until trial.

In front of the funeral home, three trees had lost their leaves since the last time police officers, loved ones and civilian supporters lined up outside: Only seven months ago, Officer Luis Huesca was mourned there after being shot and killed while returning home from work earlier this year.

People have asked me: Why do we keep coming back here? Why are we back here, doing the same thing, over and over again? former Chicago police Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy told reporters Sunday.

He said the city has been suffering from a full-blown disease: This cancer that I talk about is a blatant disrespect for the institutions that have made this city, this county, this state and this country great.

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We need to make our streets safe for everybody, Roy added. When its not safe for police officers  whether its an on-duty officer in full uniform or an officer going to call at the end of his shift  it says a lot about Chicago.

After comforting the family inside, Dave Gier prepared to leave on his motorcycle.

We dont know them, but we owe them, said Gier, senior ride captain in the Northeast Illinois region of the Illinois Patriot Guard Riders, whose volunteer members attend first responder memorial services. He wore a leather vest with patches and pins commemorating every funeral and wake he has attended since 2008.

He tapped a set of short black and blue elastics with four-digit badge numbers that he had affixed to his vest  mourning bands for CPD officers. The ones toward the top were faded. At the bottom was one of the many being handed out to officers Sunday afternoon. On it was etched Martinezs badge number: 8314.

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The hardest part every time, he said, is noticing that the parents of slain police officers are only getting younger.

Its never easy, but its always an honor, Gier said. And we will honor them in any way we can.

After 30-year-old Huesca, Martinez marks the second and latest police officer to be killed this year. Last year in May, Officer Areanah Preston, 25, was also fatally shot and killed as she returned from a late-night shift. A month earlier, 32-year-old Officer Andres Vasquez Lasso was killed in the line of duty.

Martinezs killing has shined a spotlight on political tensions and public safety issues. On Saturday, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced he would not be attending the funeral after the officers family requested he stay away; a similar situation unfolded when Officer Huescas relatives asked Johnson not to attend his memorial services.

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The progressive mayor has faced criticism over law enforcement issues and frequently butted heads with John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7.

These days and these speeches are becoming far too frequent, to say the least, Catanzara told reporters Sunday. They can talk all they want about lowering crime stats, but I dont think theres a single soul in Chicago that feels any more safe now.

After an apparent jab at Jonhson, he swiftly changed the topic.

I really would prefer not to talk too much about the drama that led up to this day, he said, because this is about Enrique, his family and his brothers and sisters in blue, specifically. I just want to highlight his service to this city. Yet another young officer lost far too soon who was trying to do right by this city and his citizens.

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Martinezs family also reportedly asked Gov. JB Pritzker not to show up to any services. Outside the funeral home, Roy called on Pritzker to rethink the effectiveness of Illinois historic, sweeping bail reform law that took effect last year, citing prosecutors who have said the alleged shooter had been wearing a court-sanctioned ankle monitor tied to pending drug charges, which he removed shortly after the traffic stop when he shot Martinez.

Some critics say electronic monitoring allows violent criminals to return to their communities, while others say its an oversimplification to claim the measure is driving gun violence in Chicago.

I hope that the governor will take some time this week to reflect on this tragedy  and say: The Safe-T Act was well-intentioned, but its not working out. Lets fix it,' Roy said.

adperez@chicagotribune.com
Thousands of farmers are heading to London on November 19 to demonstrate against Labours upcoming changes to how agricultural property is taxed.

Two separate events are due to take place in central London on what promises to be a lively day.

The largest is an independent rally organised by several high-profile farmers. The group has not revealed how many have registered their interest, but it is estimated that between 10,000 and 40,000 people will attend.

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The organisers include farmers Clive Bailye, Olly Harrison, Martin Williams, Andrew Ward and James Mills, several of whom have been sharing details their social media channels.

Mr Harrison told his 120,000 followers that the rally is all about landing the message that farmers produce the nations food and we cannot afford this ludicrous inheritance tax change.

Farmers are set to protest against Government changes to inheritance tax (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA Wire)

Those who are interested in attending are being asked to gather at Richmond Terrace in Whitehall from 11am. There will then be a short procession to Parliament Square which will return to the start location.

Organisers say that a number of children on toy tractors will lead the procession, desinged to highlight the impact of the devastating budget on the future of farming and the countryside.

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Attendees are also being asked to wear boots and wellies, and bring produce to donate to food banks. Crucially, farmers are being asked not to bring their tractors, a request Mr Harrison says is not made by Metropolitan Police but by the organisers.

We are not ready to go full French, he told followers on social media, weve just got to make them aware of the damage their going to do to the countryside.

There had been reports that some farmers were intending to bring tractors to London to disrupt roads, in a move similar to that taken by French farmers several times in the past few years.

The rally will end with addresses from several speakers including National Farmers Union (NFU) president, Tom Bradshaw. TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson  an outspoken farm owner himself  is also expected to make an appearance.

Jeremy Clarkson has criticised Labour changes to inheritance tax (Times Radio)

The event complements a mass lobby, which was arranged first, organised by the NFU. This is not a protest or march, but will bring together thousands of farmers with MPs at Church House in Westminster, just a 10 minute walk from the rally.

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The NFU says attendance has exceeded their expectation and has been forced to stop accepting applications. Around 1,800 farmers are expected to attend the mass lobby, rotating in three groups of 600 to visit Church House.

A spokesperson for the NFU said: Through this first event post-Budget its vital that we leave MPs in no doubt that their constituents, their voters, wont accept this and will hold them responsible.

There must be a political price to pay for this decision. This mass lobby is about landing that message as we work to have this decision reversed.

A Met Police spokesperson said: We have had positive discussions with the protest organisers who have confirmed their event will begin at Richmond Terrace, off Whitehall, at 11am on Tuesday.

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There will be speeches, before a procession to nearby Parliament Square.

We will have officers deployed in the vicinity to ensure the event takes place safely, lawfully and in a way that prevents serious disruption.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visits a construction technology exhibition in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

BEIJING, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday urged efforts to build safe, comfortable, green and smart homes to better meet people's high-quality housing needs.

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when he visited a construction technology exhibition in Beijing.

The needs of various groups with different living habits, age ranges and economic capabilities should be taken into consideration -- especially new demand in such areas as aging adaptability and child-friendliness -- in the construction of new homes and in renovating existing homes, the premier said.

He called for efforts to advance scientific and technological innovation, and improve design, construction and maintenance levels, with the aim of promoting the high-quality development of the real estate and construction industries.

Li noted that urban renewal is an important task for ongoing urban construction. He said that combining the improvement of people's livelihoods with the expansion of domestic demand is necessary, as is strengthening efforts to renovate old urban residential compounds, urban villages and dilapidated houses.

Li also stressed the importance of protecting and passing on historical and cultural heritage in the urban renewal process, as part of efforts to build harmonious cities and ensure residents can live happily. 

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visits a construction technology exhibition in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)
UPDATE: Fayetteville police say the child has been located.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA)  Fayetteville police were searching for a child who was reported missing on Sunday, according to a social media post.

The child was last seen around 5 p.m. at his home.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24.
Check your fridge for these recalled carrots.

Adobe/Allrecipes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced an outbreak investigation into whole and baby carrots that may have been contaminated with Shiga Toxin-producing E. coli bacteria. The investigation follows a voluntary recall of several brands of carrots issued by Grimmway Farms on Nov. 16 after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that these products could be linked to a deadly outbreak of E. coli infections.

The affected carrots were sold nationwide in stores, including Aldi, Costco, Kroger, Publix, Target, Trader Joe's, Walmart, Wegmans, and Whole Foods, just to name a few. So far, 39 illnesses have been reported, resulting in 15 hospitalizations and one death.

Products Affected by Organic Carrot Recall

The FDA and Grimmway Farms list the following brands of organic whole carrots as part of the recall and outbreak investigation: 365, Bunny Luv, Cal-Organic, Compliments, Full Circle, Good & Gather, GreenWise, Marketside, Natures Promise, O Organics, Presidents Choice, Simple Truth, Trader Joes, Wegmans, and Wholesome Pantry. The recalled carrots were available for purchase from Aug. 14 through Oct. 23. The following products are included in the recall:

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Additionally, the recall includes cut and peeled organic baby carrots with "Best If Used By" dates ranging from Sept. 11 to Nov. 12 under the following brand labels: 365, Bunny Luv, Cal-Organic, Compliments, Full Circle, Good & Gather, GreenWise, Grimmway Farms, Kroger, LIDL, Marketside, Natures Promise, O Organics, Presidents Choice, Raleys, Simple Truth, Sprouts, Trader Joes, Wegmans, and Wholesome Pantry. The following products are included in the recall:

As of Nov. 21, additional recalls were issued by companies that used or repackaged recalled carrots that Grimmway Farms may have supplied:



The FDAs investigation is still ongoing. A full list of product images is on the FDA website.

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The recalled products were shipped directly to retail distribution centers nationwide in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada, as well as internationally. So far, 18 states have reported E. coli infection cases: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.

At this time, the carrots are likely no longer available for sale, however, the FDA is concerned that they could still be in consumers' refrigerators. According to the FDA, if you have these carrots in your home, you should not consume them. Throw them away and clean and sanitize surfaces they touched. The CDC recommends you call your healthcare provider if you think you might have E. coli symptoms.

Symptoms may include (but are not limited to) stomach cramps, diarrhea, excessive vomiting, a fever over 102 degrees F (39 degrees C), and/or dizziness, which typically start three to four days after ingesting the bacteria, though the incubation period can be anywhere from 24 hours to 10 days. Most people recover on their own without treatment. However, serious complications can develop, so it's important to consult your healthcare provider if concerns arise.

Consumers with questions about this recall can contact Grimmway Farms customer services at 1-800-301-3101, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, or visit www.grimmway.com.
The carrots, which were sold at supermarket chains nationwide, "should no longer be in grocery stores but may be in consumers' refrigerators or freezers."

Food & Wine / Photo Illustration by Doan Nguyen / Getty Images

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is recalling several brands of organic whole carrots and organic baby carrots after it was discovered they were contaminated with "Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli," otherwise known as E. Coli.

On Saturday, November 16, Grimmway Farms issued the recall of its products. Importantly, the company and the FDA noted in the recall that the carrots "should no longer be in grocery stores but may be in consumers' refrigerators or freezers."

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It added that these products may be contaminated with E. coli, a "bacterium that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, elderly people, and those with a weakened immune system." Symptoms of an E. coli infection, the FDA explained, can include "severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever, nausea, and/or vomiting." Usually, symptoms present between 24 hours and up to 10 days after infection.



Related: The FDA Initiated a Class III Recall on More Than 150,000 Bottles of Water

The recalled products were shipped to retail distribution centers across the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada and include the following, per the FDA:

Organic whole carrots, which do not have a best-if-used-by date printed on the bag, but were available for purchase at retail stores from August 14 through October 23, 2024.

Organic baby carrots with best-if-used-by-dates ranging from September 11 through November 12, 2024. The recalled carrots should not be available for purchase in stores but may be in consumers' refrigerators or freezers.

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The carrots were sold under several brand names, including 365, Bunny Luv, Cal-Organic, Compliments, Full Circle, Good & Gather, GreenWise, Grimmway Farms, Marketside, Nature's Promise, O Organics, President's Choice, Raleys, Nature's Promise, Simple Truth, Sprouts, Trader Joe's, Wegmans, and Wholesome Pantry.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the carrots may be the root cause of a multi-state E. coli outbreak, sickening 39 people across 18 states, hospitalizing 15 people, and causing one death in California.

The FDA reiterated that the carrots should no longer be in stores; however, if you have them in your fridge or freezer, they should not be consumed. Instead, the FDA noted they should be "destroyed or discarded so they cannot be consumed. If you have these products in your home, do not eat or use them, throw them away, and clean and sanitize surfaces they touched."

It added that any consumers who are concerned they may have come in contact with the carrots and are ill should contact a medical professional immediately.







Grimmway Farms Organic Carrots Recall

Whole Carrot Brands and Formats

365: 1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb bags

Bunny Luv: 1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb, 10 lb, 25 lb bags

Cal-Organic: 1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb, 6 lb, 10 lb, 25 lb bags

Compliments: 2 lb bags

Full Circle: 1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb bags

Good & Gather: 2 lb bags

GreenWise: 1 lb, 25 lbs bags

Grimmway Farms

Marketside: 2 lb bags

Nature's Promise: 1 lb, 5 lb bags

O-Organics: 1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb, 10 lb bags

President's Choice: 2 lb bags

Raley's

Simple Truth: 1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb bags

Sprouts

Trader Joe's: 1 lb bag

Wegmans: 1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb bags

Wholesome Pantry: 1 lb, 2 lb, 5 lb bags

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Baby Carrot Brands, Formats, and Best-If-Used-By Dates

365 : 12 oz, 1 lb, 2 lb; September 11 - November 2

Bunny Luv : 1 lb, 2 lb, 3 lb, 5 lb; September 11 - November 12

Cal-Organic : 12 oz, 1 lb, 2 lb, 2 pack/2 lbs; September 11 - November 2

Compliments : 1 lb; September 14 - October 24

Full Circle : 1 lb; September 14 - October 24

Good & Gather: 12 oz, 1 lb; September 14 - November 2

GreenWise : 1 lb; September 11 - October 26

Grimmway Farms: 25 lb bag; September 11 - October 3

Marketside : 12 oz, 1 lb, 2 lb; September 11 - November 2

Nature's Promise: 1 lb; September 13 - October 25

O-Organics : 12 oz, 1 lb, 2 lb; September 11 - November 2

President's Choice : 1 lb, 2 lb; September 11 - November 2

Raleys : 1 lb; September 14 - October 23

Simple Truth : 1 lb, 2 lb; September 14 - November 2

Sprouts : 1 lb, 2 lb; September 13 - November 4

Trader Joe's : 1 lb; September 13 - November 4

Wegmans : 12 oz, 1 lb, 2 lb; September 14 - November 2

Wholesome Pantry: 1 lb, 2 lb; September 16 - November 7

Details: Baby Organic Carrots (with best-if-used-by dates ranging from 9/11/2024 to 11/12/2024), Whole Organic Carrots (with no best-if-used-by date listed)



States Affected: Nationwide (including Puerto Rico) and Canada






Winning photo by Reagan Dinger of Roca, Nebraska. (Courtesy of Nebraska Department of Agriculture)

LINCOLN  Budding farmers and 4-H students who captured pet and other poultry in winning photographic images will see their work featured in a special Nebraska Department of Agriculture 2025 calendar.

Winning photo by Kelsey Bunn of North Bend, Nebraska. (Courtesy of Nebraska Department of Agriculture)

The calendar also includes important biosecurity information that poultry owners can use to protect their flocks. It can be viewed and downloaded from the state agencys website.

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NDA Director Sherry Vinton said the poultry photo contest shows how 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) members go the extra mile to make sure their birds are well cared for and healthy.

Vinton said the agency received many great photos and was proud to recognize the students work. Winning entries were announced and also displayed at this years Nebraska State Fair.

Those who submitted winning photos: Jacelyn Brown of Gering; Joel Brown of Gering; Kelsey Bunn of North Bend; Reagan Dinger of Roca; Sofie Farr of Farnam; Aaron Fuchs of Arlington; Alandra Huntley of Lincoln; Emily Johnston of Hemingford; Kara Oberg of Farnam; Piper Pillard of Firth; Reese Pillard of Firth; Molly Preston of Scottsbluff; and Brenna Steager of David City.

NDA said it also will use the winning photos throughout next year in promotional materials and on social media. The contest provides the agency an opportunity to share biosecurity information that helps prevent diseases such as highly pathogenic avian influenza and Virulent/Exotic Newcastle Disease.

For more information about protecting flocks, visit nda.nebraska.gov/animal/avian.

Winning photo by Joel Brown of Gering, Nebraska. (Courtesy of Nebraska Department of Agriculture)

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(Texas Tribune)  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit on Friday affirmed a district courts decision earlier this year that Caldwell Countys closed bail hearing policy is unconstitutional.

Caldwell Countys policy to bar the press and public from bail hearings was challenged in a lawsuit in 2023 by two nonprofit news organizations, the Texas Tribune and the Caldwell/Hays Examiner, and advocacy organization Mano Amiga. The plaintiffs claimed the county violated their First Amendment right of access to judicial proceedings and Plaintiffs Fourteenth Amendment right to procedural due process.

This is a really gratifying result with enormous implications for bail hearings across Texas and beyond, said Scott Wilkens, senior counsel at the Knight First Amendment Institute, who argued the case for the plaintiffs. Public access to court proceedings is fundamental to our democracy because it ensures that theyre conducted fairly and fosters respect for the judicial system.

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The countys five magistrates adopted the bail hearing policy and did not provide the public with any notice or opportunity to object prior to the closed proceedings, which the countys attorney said created a situation of unnecessary delay.

The lawsuit was prompted by repeated attempts by the plaintiffs to access the hearings in 2022. The Examiner visited the county jail multiple times asking for access. Mano Amiga even wrote to the county officials asking to have the hearings opened. According to court documents, the county judge repeatedly denied their access to the hearings saying that the public was banned.

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in February, and in a preliminary injunction ordered Caldwell County to open bail hearings by March 4.

Bail hearings occur no later than 48 hours after a person is arrested. In the hearing, the accused is informed by a magistrate judge of the charges against them and their rights. The judge also sets bail for the accused during the hearing.

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For criminal defendants, this can be the only time they appear before a judge before they enter a plea unless they plead guilty. Since most convictions happen before a trial, what happens in these proceedings is very important. According to the State Bar of Texas, approximately 98% of all criminal cases are resolved with some form of plea bargain. Without being able to see these hearings, the public and the press are not able to know if magistrates are fulfilling their duties or if they are treating arrestees fairly.

Access to bail hearings ensures people who are arrested are treated fairly and their ability to pay is taken into account in setting bail, said Eric Martinez, executive director of Mano Amiga, in a press release. Even a few days in jail can lead to loss of jobs, vehicles, and housing  consequences that devastate families and communities of the accused and underscore the importance of their right to attend bail hearings.

Mano Amiga, which advocates for people who have been arrested and victims of crime, said it was prevented from supporting those who were having bail hearings.

It is general practice in Texas that these hearings are closed. In the lawsuit, the county stated that there is no constitutional right for the press and public to participate in such informal proceedings.

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The plaintiffs argued that closed hearings stop them from their ability to keep the public informed regarding a crucial part of the criminal justice system in Caldwell County.

The Texas Tribune believes firmly in the publics right to know whats going on inside courtrooms, halls of government and other areas where the power of the state is exercised, said Matthew Watkins, the Texas Tribunes editor-in-chief. Were thrilled with the result of this case, and are proud to have been a part of it.

The ruling found that both news organizations were unable to report on bail trends and were barred from ensuring fairness and accuracy of the magistrate judges conduct.

This decision is a victory for transparency, accountability, and freedom of the press, said Sam Benavides, managing editor of the Caldwell/Hays Examiner, in a press release. Independent publications like ours are committed to digging deep into issues of injustice in our communities, and todays decision will enable us to continue to diligently and responsibly cover legal proceedings.

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Caldwell Countys bail hearings can now be accessed via video stream. Officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It is unclear whether the county will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/11/16/caldwell-county-public-bail-hearing-lawsuit/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
JOPLIN, Mo.  Federal prosecutors file racketeering charges against two men tied to the raid at a local game room in Joplin.

Joplin police raided the business, Spin Hitters, back on October 24 after they say investigators discovered an alleged illegal gambling operation. JPD says they seized 47 gambling devices and cash during the raid.

Three people were arrested in the Joplin raid and charged with felony promoting gambling  Ashish Ashish, Gurjeet Singh, and Pooja Rani.

Ashish Ashish

Gurjeet Singh

Pooja Rani

PREVIOUS: Three charged in alleged illegal gambling operation

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Now, federal authorities say the Joplin business is tied to other illegal game rooms operating out of Springfield and Branson. Court documents in the federal racketeering case say the investigation began in March in Springfield and involves interstate gambling operations by residents of other states as well as Indian nationals. The three arrested in Joplin are all from India, here on temporary Visas.

Altogether, authorities say these illegal gaming businesses have raked in at least $9.5 million.

Federal authorities initially requested the suspects, Preston Bustillo and Rahul Kumar Patel, remain behind bars before trial because they were both a flight risk. Court records say that the amount of money involved in the operation, along with one of the defendants criminal drug history as well as the potential punishment for these crimes gives the defendants ample motive to flee prosecution. That request was withdrawn.

Authorities say they executed multiple search warrants in March 2024 and thats when they say they found the gaming machines getting loaded into large Penske trucks with license plates out of Indiana. One of the search warrants was for the suspects phones. Federal agents say data collected from the cell phones lead them to different gaming businesses out of Georgia, Florida, Springfield, and Joplin.

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Federal authorities participating in the case include the IRS, the FBI, and the United States Attorneys Office.

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Donald Trumps inner circle is feuding over how the last key Cabinet positions are to be filled with jockeying and knife fights at Mar-a-Lago, sources say.

Amid doubts over whether the Senate will confirm several of the president-elects Cabinet picks, he is reportedly having to navigate between rival factions over who should hold key posts in his administration.

Elon Musk has emerged as a polarising figure, reportedly having a stand-up row at a Mar-a-Lago dinner with Boris Epshteyn, a member of the presidents legal team who is also shaping up to be a powerful figure.

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Already hand-picked to work alongside Vivek Ramaswamy to take a chainsaw to the federal government, as co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency, the tech billionaire has been a constant presence at Mar-A-Lago.

However, according to NBC, his presence is allegedly starting to grate with members of the transition team.

Hes behaving as if hes a co-president and making sure everyone knows it, and hes sure taking lots of credit for the presidents victory. Bragging about America PAC and X to anyone who will listen, one insider claimed to the network.

Hes trying to make President Trump feel indebted to him. And the president is indebted to no one.

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Russian-born Mr Epshteyn has also proved a controversial figure in recent weeks.

Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn is understood to have pushed for the controversial appointment of Matt Gaetz as attorney general - UPI/Alamy Live News

Eyebrows were reportedly raised when he put himself forward as a potential peace envoy in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, especially as he is under indictment in Arizona over his role in trying to overturn the result of the 2020 election.

Mr Epshteyn, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, dismissed the indictment as he spoke on a podcast.

This whole canard, he said is one big conspiracy by Crooked Joe Biden and his hacks and thugs.

Mr Epshteyn is understood to have pushed for the appointment of Matt Gaetz as attorney general  who is facing an uphill battle to be confirmed by the Senate having been dogged by allegations that he had sex with a high school girl, which he denies.

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Mr Trump is said to see Mr Gaetz as his most important pick, with a source telling CNN that he is not going to back off and is all in on appointing the former Florida congressman to his cabinet.

According to Axios, Mr Trump personally called several senators and asked them to back Mr Gaetz.

Matt Gaetz continues to have the support of Mr Trump despite questions about his alleged sexual relationships - Reuters/Mike Blake

Republican senators, who will be required to confirm Mr Gaetz, are pushing for the release of a House of Representatives report which probed claims that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old schoolgirl.

House committee investigators were also told that the former congressman had attended multiple sex parties between the summer of 2017 and 2018, Joel Leppard, a lawyer representing two alleged witnesses, said on Monday.

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Mr Leppard told Politico that one of his clients told investigators that she witnessed Mr Gaetz having sex with her underage friend against a table. Mr Gaetz has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Musk has reportedly questioned the influence that Mr Epshteyn has had on appointments.

According to Axios this culminated in their clash in what one source called a massive blow up.

At one point Mr Musk accused Mr Epshteyn of leaking details of the transition picks.

You dont know what youre talking about, Mr Epshteyn reportedly snapped back

Elon Musk has been a constant presence at Donald Trumps side - Ryan Collerd/AFP via Getty Images

Mr Musk has not commented on the reports, but the Trump-Vance campaign gave its whole-hearted backing to the entrepreneur.

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Elon Musk and President Trump are great friends and brilliant leaders working together to Make America Great Again. Elon Musk is a once-in-a-generation business leader and our federal bureaucracy will certainly benefit from his ideas and efficiency, a team Trump spokesman said in a statement.

A key point of the feuding is the position of treasury secretary, arguably the most important portfolio in the second Trump administration, tasked with delivering tax cuts.

Mr Musk has reportedly thrown his weight behind Howard Lutnick, saying that he would actually enact change if he took up the post.

The alternative to Mr Lutnick, who is chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial services company which lost 658 employees in the September 11 attacks, is Scott Bessent, a former money manager for George Soros  a frequent target for conservatives.

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According to The New York Times, the battle between the two men is like a knife fight.

Mr Trump has also floated a couple of other names as he searches to find someone big for the role.

One is Wall Street billionaire Marc Rowan and the other former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh, described by Mr Trump as smart and handsome.

The infighting came as no surprise to Jeff Lord, who worked in the Reagan White House.

Washington is like a club, Mr Lord told the Telegraph.

If you are from outside the club, everyone is going to give you grief.

This is especially the case with Elon Musk. He is a genius and he has Trumps ear. But he is putting noses out of joint.

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Thomas Whalen, associate professor of social sciences, told The Telegraph: There are always rivalries, but in the transition team, this is unusual.

He added that Mr Trump had set up his Cabinet selections like a celebrity Apprentice reality show.

Given [his selections] fringe reputations on the political spectrum, its not surprising you are getting pushback, even from the Republican-controlled incoming Senate.

This feels like a radical takeover of the federal government and his Cabinet choices reflect that.

The Telegraph has approached the Trump transition team and Mr Epshteyn for comment.

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Nov. 17NEW LONDON  Fiddleheads Food Co-op reached a major milestone this month when the downtown grocery store announced it had hit a self-imposed membership limit of 5,000.

Stanley Bellamy, general manager of Fiddleheads for the past year, said Wednesday that the natural food store now needs to amend its articles of incorporation to allow more members to join the 16-year-old cooperative. Until that time, the public can continue to shop at the Broad Street store, where the former California Fruit once sold groceries, but the co-op cannot take the $175 fee for them to join until lawyers intervene and raise the membership cap.

Membership allows shoppers to take advantage of weekly specials and to vote for candidates running for the nine-person Fiddleheads board of directors, which operates the co-op. Members also get a 10% reduction during one stop by the store every quarter.

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"When they were first established, 5,000 seemed like almost an unattainable number, " Bellamy said. "Over the past 16 years, it sort of snuck up on us."

Bellamy said the food cooperative's growth had been a steady one until COVID-19, when numbers surged as people sought another avenue for hard-to-locate staples due to supply chain issues.

"Because of who we get our product from, that's not necessarily an issue for us," Bellamy said. "We're not shipping stuff necessarily across the country, right? We're dealing with a lot of local farms and vendors."

The co-op's membership numbers have increased by nearly 2,000 since its 10th anniversary in 2018. Bellamy said he's now trying to identify inactive members who may have moved to other parts of the country and forgotten that they could cash in their membership (called an equity refund request), which would open spots for new members to join. He's unsure at this point how many members are inactive.

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Bellamy also is eyeing a future expansion at Fiddleheads. The co-op recently started renting the former Kamp Dog restaurant space next door with the idea of adding perhaps a cafe or expanding its grocery offerings, though nothing has yet been decided.

Fiddleheads once considered moving to a space on the other side of the city off Howard Street, but Bellamy said he likes the current location in the heart of New London.

"This is a great spot," he said. "I'd want to stay here as long as we possibly can. ... I mean there's like a history here that feels cool."

Fiddleheads, which started out as an indoor farmers market staffed entirely by volunteers, now attracts hundreds of people every day and supports 50 employees, mostly part-timers. The co-op went through early controversy as one faction wanted the store to locate near Mystic and another preferred New London, but at this point it has emerged as the largest mostly organic grocery store in a region that currently lacks a Trader Joe's or a Whole Foods market.

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But all of that is about to change as a Whole Foods is expected to open at the former Benny's plaza in Old Saybrook in the next few months. Still, Bellamy is unfazed by the competition, saying, "We're not necessarily selling the same product. ... They're not going to be carrying vegetables from local farms."

Under the 40-year-old Bellamy, Fiddleheads has had one major change of direction, now starting to sell conventional, nonorganic produce, allowing a broader range of customers to enjoy items such as plantains that are difficult to find among organic growers. It's part of an outreach effort to people in New London like Bellamy, who lives five minutes away but had never set foot in the store before he was hired three years ago as an assistant front end manager.

"People do complain about our prices, and it makes sense," Bellamy said. "And that's why ... we have been trying to remove as many barriers as possible (by) bringing in more conventional items and the CT Fresh Match program," which allows customers getting SNAP food assistance to double the amount of produce they can purchase from participating farms without any increases in cost.

Bellamy said he's just building on the groundwork of the original co-op organizers and managers, trying out new ideas to see what works. One of those ideas is a harm-reduction kiosk at the front of the store that includes Narcan kits and literature to help those who are struggling with addiction.

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With about 6,000 square feet of retail space, the store features local farm produce and items from local bakeries. It also has a large grab-and-go area with recipes created entirely in-house.

The store is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.

Although the Fiddleheads store didn't open until February 2008, the co-op dates back to around the year 2000 when several people formed a food-buying club in the Mystic area. By 2003, the group was looking for a permanent space, but couldn't locate an affordable spot in the area, leading to a major rift in the organization as one faction decided New London would be the most appropriate location.

A loan from the former Bank of Southeastern Connecticut helped the newly constituted group get off the ground, and volunteers early on held a once-a-week winter farmers market on Saturdays. Gradually, the store was able to stay open longer and provide a greater offering of food items, including the very popular dry goods area.

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Product offerings now include many gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan options. But Bellamy said his goal is to try to reach a larger clientele.

"Our goal here is always to try to provide healthy food for the community, but healthy food means different things for different people," he said. "Always going to focus on natural and organic foods, but I think we do have an obligation to serve parts of the community where that might not necessarily be an option for everyone."

Bellamy also noted that Fiddleheads needs to cater to the wide variety of food tastes among the many different cultures represented by New London residents.

"Trying to make sure that we are offering things to that wide spectrum," Bellamy said. "It goes back to like authentically engaging with the community.... What is going to bring them in the door? What do they actually want to buy from us ... so we can really start to cater to a broader spectrum of the demographics of New London?"

l.howard@theday.com
Hundreds of film industry workers pack the halls of the Louisiana Senate chamber to show support for the Motion Picture tax credit. (Photo credit: Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator)

Hundreds of film industry workers filled the State Capitols Senate committee hall Sunday afternoon to signal their opposition to legislation that would dismantle the program that turned Louisiana into Hollywood South.

The Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs convened to hear testimony on Gov. Jeff Landrys proposed tax overhaul legislation, including two bills that would wind down the states tax credit program for film and television production.

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The committee took no action on any legislation Sunday, opting to defer voting to Monday.

House Bill 1 and House Bill 2, both sponsored by Rep. Julie Emerson, would establish flat income tax rates of 3% for individuals and 3.5% for corporations, respectively. Currently, Louisiana uses graduated income tax brackets that max out at 4.25% for individuals and 7.5% for corporations. House Bill 1 would also establish a much higher $12,500 standard deduction per filer, up from $4,500.

To make up for the revenue lost in a transition to flat taxes, Landrys plan would do away with a long list of tax credits, exemptions and other incentives lawmakers have enacted over the years for various special interest groups. However, subsidies for the industrial manufacturing and fossil fuel sectors have been selected to remain in effect.

The highest profile example is Louisianas Motion Picture Production Tax Credit Program. Adopted in 2002, it has ushered in an industry that was all but exclusive to California and New York.

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The state offers a tax credit rebate to production companies for between 25% and 40% of their expenses for projects based in Louisiana. The program is capped at $150 million per year.

Louisianas film industry supports over 10,300 jobs and 5,300 direct jobs with average salaries of $68,000 plus benefits, according to the industry promotion group Film Louisiana. Research from the Louisiana Office of Tourism estimates the industry brings in as much as $2.5 billion annually in tourism revenue just by having historic sites, cuisine and iconic landmarks depicting the state in movies and television.

Critics of the incentive have said it hasnt consistently contributed in a significant way to the states bottom line via tax revenue. A 2023 analysis by the Louisiana Legislative Auditors Office found the film tax credit is a significant benefit to the states overall economy because it generates more household income than it costs the state, but like other tax credits, it decreases money generated for state government.

Sporting yellow stickers that read Film = Jobs, the crowd that attended Sundays hearing included a wide variety of professions, such as set builders, actors, truck drivers, purchasing agents, musicians and skilled tradespeople. Their one commonality was they all work in the movie and television industry, and they are concerned that eliminating the tax credit program will push their employers to move out of state.

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Dolph Federico of Pelican Events, a production company in Kenner, told lawmakers how his business provides sewage systems for film sets.

Please, dont forget the jobs that are here, Federico told lawmakers. Take care of the people who are here first and then worry about the rest of it. I got no place else to go, guys.

Its unclear how the Senate might vote on the legislation, which saw some bipartisan opposition in the House but not enough to prevent it from advancing.

Tax legislation needs a two-thirds majority in each chamber for approval, and enough Democrats seem to support the governors broader tax overhaul to cover the few defections from Republicans who have a film industry presence in their districts.

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Sen. Sam Jenkins, D-Shreveport, expressed support for the tax credit, saying it brings much more money into Louisiana than it spends.

I think these are some incredible numbers that show a program is working well, Jenkins said. And when we have something thats working well, we need to try to keep it.

Other lawmakers werent so supportive, and some from less populated areas of the state see film as an urban industry, though the Legislature previously changed the tax credit program to try to lure productions away from New Orleans.

Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, asked the film company owners how much money theyve spent in northeast Louisiana.

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Jason Waggenspack, president of Film Louisiana and a director/studio owner in St. Bernard Parish, said the industry has worked in 33 parishes but was unable to directly answer Morris question.

However, Federico said his company has done several events in northeast Louisiana, including a concert earlier this year for country music artist Joe Nichols.

Still, Morris pointed out the tax credit wasnt intended to continue in perpetuity and said private businesses should not rely on government subsidies to stay profitable. State tax credits reduce the pool of revenue that lawmakers get to spend on state needs such as higher education, he added.

I have four higher ed institutions within 45 miles of my house, and they get shorted, Morris said.

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The committee is scheduled to reconvene Monday morning to consider the bills and others from the governors tax plan.

Correction: Louisianas film industry supports but does not create 10,000 jobs annually, according to Louisiana Economic Development, which considers a job equal to one person employed for any amount of time. A previous version of this article erroneously reported that the industry directly employed that number of people. A sincere thanks to LED for pointing out the error.

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TEHRAN, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said two members of its Basij voluntary force were killed Monday in a "terrorist" attack in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, the official news agency IRNA reported.

The two Basij members, identified as Vahid Akbarian and Valiollah Zahedi, were attacked and "martyred by terrorists" in Saravan County on Monday morning as they were en route from work to their homes in a car, the IRNA quoted a statement by the Quds Base of the IRGC's Ground Force as saying.

The statement added further details about the "terrorist" incident would be announced later.

Bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, Sistan and Baluchestan province has witnessed several "terrorist" attacks on both civilians and security forces in recent years.

On Nov. 10, the IRGC said five Basij members were killed by "thugs in a terrorist incident" in Saravan County. 
China's National Oil and Gas pipeline network group has announced the completion of the China-Russia east-route natural gas pipeline construction.

This pipeline project is now entering its final commissioning phase, reported CCTV via GlobalTimes.

This energy corridor aims to bolster the natural gas supply in east China.

Once fully operational, the pipeline is expected to deliver 38 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually to regions including north-east China, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area and the Yangtze river delta.

The pipeline spans 5,111km, with 3,371km of newly constructed sections.

It begins in Heihe, Heilongjiang province, and extends to Shanghai, serving as an essential energy route for eastern China.

The pipeline's capacity is expected to meet the annual gas needs of 130 million urban households, alleviating supply constraints in these regions.

The east-route pipeline is projected to play a vital role in securing regional natural gas supply, supporting the development of a clean, low-carbon and efficient energy system, and promoting economic and social development.

In June 2024, talks between Russia and China over a major gas pipeline deal stalled due to disagreements over price and supply.

The negotiations involved the 2,600km-long Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which runs from Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in central Russia to Inner Mongolia in China.

In January 2024, Mongolia's Prime Minister, Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, warned of delays in the construction of Russias mega-pipeline, which will connect the country's western gas fields to China.

Oyun-Erdene had previously told the Financial Times that construction of the 3,550km pipeline, with 950km passing through Mongolia, was expected to begin in 2024.

"China-Russia east-route gas pipeline construction completed" was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.




(Bloomberg) -- Finland is stepping up preparedness with a new website aimed at ensuring citizens are ready in case of a crisis or conflict.

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The site, launched by the Interior Ministry on Monday, is intended to get people thinking about what they would do in emergency situations that would have a broad impact on society. It pulls together instructions from a variety of authorities.

Preparedness is a civic skill in the current global situation, Kimmo Kohvakka, director general for rescue services at the ministry, said in a statement. Knowing what to do in case of an incident is a good foundation for societys resilience.

The scenarios include long power cuts, water outages, interruptions in telecommunications, extreme weather events, major accidents as well as longer-term crises, such as a pandemic or military conflict. The guide also contains details on hybrid warfare and information influence activities.

Finland has had organized preparedness work since the 1950s and has for a long time advised citizens to hold 72 hours worth of food, water, medications and cash in case of a crisis.

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Its that longstanding work that led European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to this year commission former Finnish President Sauli Niinisto to write a report, published last month, on what the bloc can do to strengthen its preparedness and resilience.

In neighboring Sweden, the government has also updated its booklet, In Case of Crisis or War, this year and on Monday began posting it to peoples homes.

Since the Kremlin launched its full-scale aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, Finland has taken a range of measures to counter any threats from Russia, including joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization last year. Its more than 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) of border with Russia now make up more than a half of NATOs eastern flank.

Finland has also closed all road crossing points along its eastern border and is planning a full ban on property purchases with links to Russian owners in order to stop any hybrid and influencing activities.

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Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen urged Western leaders to refrain from making additional phone calls to Russian President Vladimir Putin following German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's recent call, Valtonen said on German TV on Nov. 17.

"The most important thing is that we understand we must not engage in another race for attention from the Kremlin right now," Valtonen said on ARD. "It wont help if the leaders of European states make coordinated or uncoordinated phone calls with Putin,"Valtonen added, urging Western cooperation with Kyiv on the matter.

Scholz spoke with Putin on Nov. 15 for the first time in nearly two years. The German chancellor condemned Russias war, urged Putin to withdraw his troops, and discussed potential talks with Kyiv.

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The call sparked anger in Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying the conversation opens a "Pandora's box" for further engagement and that "it is extremely important for Putin to loosen his isolation, Russia's isolation."

The call drew a mixed reaction from Western leaders. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau indicated support for Scholz's phone call with Putin, though adding his trust in the Russian leader is "at an all-time low."

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X that Western phone calls to the Kremlin will not stop Russian aggression.

"No-one will stop Putin with phone calls. The attack last night, one of the biggest in this war, has proved that telephone diplomacy cannot replace real support from the whole West for Ukraine," Tusk said.

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In defense of his conversation with Putin, Scholz told the media on Nov. 17 that the phone call was meant to dispel any illusions Putin might hold about the West withdrawing support for Ukraine.

"The conversation was very detailed but contributed to a recognition that little has changed in the Russian president's views of the war - and that's not good news," Scholz said, according to Sky News. He also added it would not be good if no European leader were in contact with Moscow if the new U.S. administration will be.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to swiftly end the war by bringing Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table. His imminent return to the White House has also sparked fears that Washington might withdraw its support, forcing Europe and other partners to radically step up their contributions.

Read also: Canadas Trudeau signals support for Scholz-Putin call, Polands Tusk says phone calls wont stop Russia

















Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
CHELSEA, Mass. (WWLP)  Firefighters in Chelsea are battling a massive fire that started Monday morning.

Officials said the fire was burning at an abandoned warehouse on Forbes Street. Flames could be seen pouring from the building, sending thick smoke clouds into the air.

The cause of the fire has not been released and there is no word on any injuries at this time.

Local News Headlines

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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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 WWLP.
Fire in Queens Village leaves one dead, under investigation

QUEENS VILLAGE, Queens (PIX11)  A fatal fire that broke out at a residence in Queens Village Sunday afternoon is under investigation.

One civilian was found dead, according to the FDNY.

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The fire broke out around 3:32 p.m. at a two-and-a-half-story private dwelling at 218-59 110th Ave, officials say.

The fire broke out in the attic and was under control by 4:30 p.m.

Fire marshals are investigating the cause and origin.

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Ben Mitchell is a digital content producer from Vermont who has covered both local and international news since 2021. He joined PIX11 in 2024. 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.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now)  The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) said crews were battling a fire at the U.S. Navy NSWC Carderock facility in Bethesda on Sunday morning.

Credit: MCFRS

Credit: MCFRS

MCFRS spokesperson David Pazos said that at about 7:40 a.m., crews were dispatched to building 4 at the U.S. Navy Carderock facility, located in the 9500 block of Mac Arthur Boulevard, for a fire on the second floor of the building.

Police investigating after deadly shooting in Prince Georges County

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MCFRS said responders extinguished the fire and there was no extension.

No one was injured.

As of Sunday morning, crews were still at the scene assisting with smoke removal.

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.
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  A longtime place of worship will hold its final service next week.

First Lutheran Church of Dayton will be closing its doors after 185 years.

Cash App settlement: How to file a claim before Mondays deadline

The downtown Dayton located church announced its imminent closure on Facebook in a post filled with gratitude towards those who have partnered with them over the years.

Over the years many men and woman made personal sacrifices for this church to grow and flourish. We celebrate all the talents and skills that built up this community of faith, the post says.

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As of this writing it is not clear why the church is closing.

First Lutheran Church will host its final service on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 10 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 WDTN.com.
Flight testing of the U.S. Air Forces Stand-In Attack Weapon (SiAW) missile is now set to begin following the delivery of an initial test article. Derived from the AGM-88G missile designed primarily to punch holes in enemy air defenses, SiAW is under development to offer a broader high-speed strike capability against time-sensitive ground targets, including ballistic and cruise missile launchers, air and missile defense nodes, electronic warfare systems, and even anti-satellite weapons.

Northrop Grumman, the prime contractor for the AGM-88G and SiAW, released a brief statement today about the delivery of the new test missile, which is designed to verify that the launch aircraft can safely carry and separate the weapon, along with a picture of it, seen at the top of this story. The company received its latest SiAW contract, valued at approximately $705 million, in September 2023. The U.S. Navy has already been leading the very active development of the AGM-88G, also known as the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range (AARGM-ER), for years now. The first AARGM-ER live-fire flight test occurred in 2021.

A US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet launches an AGM-88G AARGM-ER during a test. Northrop Grumman

Specific details about range, speed, and other capabilities of the SiAW, as well as AGM-88G, remain limited. It is worth noting that Lockheed Martin unveiled a hypersonic missile called Mako, which it said was originally developed for the SiAW competition, earlier this year. We dont know whether or not this means that SiAW (and by extension the AARGM-ER) might then also be capable of reaching hypersonic or near-hypersonic speeds, including in a terminal stage sprint.

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Lockheed Martin, as well as L3Harris, withdrew from the running for continued work on SiAW before Northrop Grumman received its contract last year.

It is also known that AARGM-ER, at least in its baseline configuration, shares the same guidance and flight control systems as the preceding combat-proven AGM-88E AARGM. As such, as The War Zone has written previously:

AARGM-ER contains a multi-mode guidance package containing a GPS-assisted inertial navigation system, as well as a millimeter-wave radar that can locate targets even if they stop emitting radiofrequency or other signals or even begin to move. The missiles guidance and datalink package also have the capability to network with off-board sources, meaning a launching aircraft can fire the weapon without even having acquired a targets emissions, instead relying on other platforms data to target and prosecute an attack. The anti-radiation missile can also reportedly relay data in its final moments to confirm whether or not it successfully struck its intended target.

A Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) briefing slide detailing changes and commonalities between the AGM-88G and the AGM-88E. USN A Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) briefing slide showing what is new on the AGM-88G and what is common with the older AGM-88E. USN

With the multiple guidance mode options, AARGM and AARGM-ER also already have a secondary general air-to-surface strike capability, including against ships and targets ashore.

How exactly SiAW will differ from AARGM-ER, which the Air Force is also acquiring, to provide expanded capability against a broader array of target sets is unclear, but official budget documents explicitly mention an improved warhead/fuze.

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The Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW) system will provide capability to strike rapidly re-locatable targets that create the Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) environment, the Air Forces 2025 Fiscal Year budget request, released back in March, also says. SiAW targets include Theater Ballistic Missile Launchers, Land Attack and Anti-Ship Cruise Missile Launchers, Jammers, Anti-Satellite Systems, and Integrated Air Defense Systems.

SiAW, as described now, offers a capability that is particularly relevant to the U.S. militarys current over-arching planning focus around a potential high-end conflict with China. The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army has already made considerable investments in the development and fielding of more advanced and longer-range air defense, anti-ship, and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as ones intended to challenge Americas historic dominance in the space domain. Having multiple ways to suppress and destroy these A2/AD capabilities, and do so quickly and effectively across a broad front, will be critical to succeeding in any future major fight in the Pacific region.

With all this in mind, it is not surprising that the Air Force plans for its F-35A stealth fighters to be the first aircraft in inventory to be armed with SiAWs. F-35As will also be able to carry the missiles in their internal bays, allowing them to employ this new capability while in their most stealthy configuration. F-35As and Cs will also be able to carry AARGM-ER internally.

A picture showing a fit check of the AARGM-ER design in the internal bay of an F-35A or C variant. Orbital ATK www.twz.com

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The Air Force has also said that the goal is for SiAW to be part of the arsenal of other unspecified Future Advanced Aircraft. The service has been working toward acquiring a new sixth-generation crewed stealth combat jet as part of its Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative, but the future of that effort is now very uncertain, as you can read more about here. The B-21 Raider stealth bomber and various different drones might also be SiAW launch platforms.

SiAW, as well as AARGM-ER, could also offer non-stealthy platforms a useful tool for engaging air defense and other targets that might suddenly pop up. Depending on the weapons range, it might be possible to employ it from beyond the reach of certain threats using third-party targeting data.

Other branches of the U.S. military, as well as foreign allies and partners (a number of which are already moving to buy AARGM-ERs), could be interested in SiAW, as well. Northrop Grumman has also been working on surface-to-surface strike derivatives of the AARGM-ER/SiAW family, which could be fired from ground-based launchers or ships.

A rendering of the Advanced Reactive Strike (ARES) missile, a proposed ground-launched derivative of the AARGM-ER/SiAW family. Northrop Grumman

As it stands now, the Air Forces SiAW testing plan, which is benefitting greatly from the work already done on AARGM-ER, includes at least four live-fire flights. After that, Northrop Grumman says the goal is for the service to take delivery of SiAW leave-behind prototype missiles and test assets to support continued development and work toward operational fielding. The service hopes to reach initial operational capability with the missile sometime in 2026.

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The delivery of the new SiAW asset is another important step forward in the ongoing development of what could be a particularly critical component of the Air Forces future arsenal.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department has a wide range of tasks, including managing hunting and fishing licensing and rules, and executing search-and-rescue missions. (Dana Wormald | New Hampshire Bulletin)

Nine business days into her tenure as the executive director of Fish and Game, Stephanie Simek was called Thursday to present the departments vision for the next state budget.

Complicating her early-tenure task: At a time when agencies are preparing for a tighter budget ahead, Fish and Game faces significant, long-standing financial challenges, those within the department have said and a bipartisan legislative study committee concluded in a November report.

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Testimony given throughout our study committee meetings indicated the Fish and Game Department is headed to a financial shortfall, the report warned. It needs either to increase General Fund funding, increase fees, find areas to cut spending, or look hard at reducing some of the services it offers.

The report pointed to the fact that Fish and Game is continually tasked with many additional and time-consuming activities beyond just game management, and that it faces a multitude of funding challenges across its divisions, including many responsibilities and expenses that dont directly affect sportsmen and wildlife.

Fish and Game has a wide range of tasks, such as managing hunting and fishing licensing and rules; executing search-and-rescue missions for hikers, children, Alzheimers patients, and those in mental health crises; helping homeowners with wildlife issues; and maintaining programs related to nongame and endangered species, among many others, the report said. It gets only a tiny sliver of its budget from the general fund, while about a quarter each comes from license fees and federal funds, and nearly a quarter comes from off-highway recreational vehicle funds.

New Hampshire, like the rest of the globe, also faces mounting environmental problems that complicate the agencys work. Simek pointed to stressors like climate change, declining species populations, habitat changes, and diseases.

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About 70 percent of dedicated revenue for fish and wildlife agencies in the Northeastern United States is generated through license sales and federal grants, Simek said. The remaining 30 percent is typically through general fund or special sources, such as permanent fees or specialty stamps or lotteries, depending on the state.

In New Hampshire, she said, my understanding is  about 3.5 percent of our budget is general fund. Simek noted in her presentation, which came near the end of three-day budget hearings at the Legislative Office Building in Concord, that Fish and Games budget proposal was crafted before her arrival at the department, but she was clear about the challenges the department faced. A lack of sustainable funding has been cast as a serious threat to the departments survival by those close to it.

I dont know how much longer Fish and Game can go on unless we get sustainable funding, Ray Green, chair of the Fish and Game Commission, told the study committee this summer. He said the commission felt the department needed to get more of its budget  perhaps 15 to 20 percent  from the general fund to achieve that sustainability. The study committee report, citing its limited time and resources, said it could not recommend a specific sum of money that the department may need from the general fund.

Simek warned the budget panel about the impact cuts could have on the agency and the wildlife and public it is tasked with serving. By the time she made this case for support, Gov.-elect Kelly Ayotte was back in the hearing room. Ayotte will present a budget proposal early next year soon after she takes office.

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I am realistic that we are already operating on a very skeleton budget, Simek said. Weve met the 4 percent decrease, but Im not sure that were likely to fill the entire gap without legislative support. If there are financial cuts to our funding, we will need to likely cut services, and as a new director for an agency thats mandated to serve the public and our natural resources, reducing services is very concerning to me and will result in collateral and direct negative impacts on our natural resources, our public, and our economy. I really dont want to see that happening, so Im hoping well have your support.

Kathy LaBonte, the departments business division chief, said the department had 192 full-time employees. It has five unfunded positions, which remain unfunded in the new budget, she said.

We did meet the governors targets for use of Fish and Game funds, she said. However, in order to do that and maintain all programs and services, we used up the entire balance in the Fish and Game Fund at the end of the biennium, leaving only approximately $100,000 in there.

A sheet prepared by the department showed a growing projected gap in the coming years between the departments unrestricted revenue and Fish and Game Fund expenses. By 2027, the department is budgeted to have nearly $5 million more in expenses than it does in revenue, the sheet projected.

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It is not the first time Fish and Game has stared down this reality. Scott Mason, who until recently was the departments executive director, cited two instances, in 1932 and 1957, where the head of the agency warned it lacked the funds it needed to run, according to October meeting minutes of the study committee. Services were cut and license fees raised in both instances, he said, according to the minutes.

If the Legislature does not act to increase the amount of General Funds appropriated to the department, said the summary of his remarks, the following biennial budget will require dramatic cuts in personnel and services, an increase in license fees, more General Funds, or a combination of all three.

Though the report didnt make any specific funding change recommendations, it said the department should continue to assess whether additional general funds will be necessary to cover the costs of employee pay raises, retirement, and information and technology expenses. Sen. David Watters, a Dover Democrat who chaired the study committee, has filed a request for a bill that would require the general fund to cover the departments retirement contributions and technology services.

The report also recommended that Fish and Game bill other departments that use its services. It should also review the fee for the Hike Safe Card Program, which goes toward the cost of search-and-rescue efforts, and speak with the states congressional delegation to see if the federal government could reimburse it for search-and-rescue missions done in the White Mountain National Forest, the report said.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  Six people, including five from central Ohio, have been indicted in federal court for allegedly buying and selling dozens of guns illegally.

The U.S. court of the Southern District of Ohio said that three people from Columbus, two from Reynoldsburg, and one from Atlanta face false statement and aggravated identity theft charges for the alleged use of stolen credit card information to buy and sell at least 50 guns in 2022.

Registered sex offender banned for life from Kroger faces new charges after incident at a Walmart

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Court documents allege that the six suspects placed firearm orders online using stolen credit card information and had the guns transferred to retailers across central Ohio and Georgia for in-person pickup. The retailers for in-person pickup were located in Columbus, Reynoldsburg, New Albany, Pataskala, Pickerington, Atlanta, and Smyrna, Ga.

After picking up the guns, co-conspirators sold them with the suspects accused of filing false statements on federal firearms forms, per court documents. All six suspects have been arrested since the indictment was returned on Oct. 30. The defendants include:

Keith Davenport III, 21 (Columbus)

Dandre Beasley, 31 (Columbus)

Vincent Irvin, 33 (Columbus)

Ellyson Jeffries, 23 (Reynoldsburg)

Javohn Garcia, 23 (Reynoldsburg)

Johna McCoy, 27 (Atlanta)

All six are charged with false statements during the purchase of a firearm while Davenport III, also known as Keefy, faces an aggravated identity theft charge as well. Each defendant could face up to five years in prison with Keefy potentially facing a minimum of seven years.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
A China-Europe freight train is about to depart from Yiwu West Railway Station in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 18, 2024. A China-Europe freight train departed from the city of Yiwu on Monday morning heading for Madrid, Spain, marking the 10th anniversary of the launch of this route. Loaded with 110 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of various goods including accessories, automotive parts, machinery and equipment, the train is expected to arrive in Madrid within 16 to 18 days. Over the past decade, more than 6,700 China-Europe freight trains have set off from Yiwu, transporting over 670,000 TEUs of cargo. These trains have provided vital logistical support for the city, which is known as "the world's supermarket," facilitating its access to global markets, according to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

YIWU, Zhejiang, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- A China-Europe freight train departed from the city of Yiwu in east China's Zhejiang Province on Monday morning heading for Madrid, Spain, marking the 10th anniversary of the launch of this route.

Loaded with 110 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of various goods including accessories, automotive parts, machinery and equipment, the train is expected to arrive in Madrid within 16 to 18 days.

Over the past decade, more than 6,700 China-Europe freight trains have set off from Yiwu, transporting over 670,000 TEUs of cargo. These trains have provided vital logistical support for the city, which is known as "the world's supermarket," facilitating its access to global markets, according to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.

"As the world's largest small commodity market, Yiwu exports a substantial number of containerized goods overseas every day. In the past, we primarily relied on sea freight," said Feng Xubin, chairman of the freight train service operator Yiwu Tianmeng Industrial Investment Co., Ltd.

Feng noted that over the past ten years, the composition of the goods transported by these trains has undergone a significant upgrade.

"I still remember the first China-Europe freight train carrying items such as suitcases, stationery and Christmas decorations. However, as market demands have evolved, we now ship a growing number of high-value-added products, including various types of machinery and electronic equipment," Feng said.

In addition to traders based in Yiwu and other parts of Zhejiang, the China-Europe freight train service is also attracting an increasing number of customers from surrounding regions, such as the Yangtze River Delta, Feng added.

From 2014 until now, the annual number of China-Europe freight train trips from Yiwu has soared from just 23 to over 1,100. Annual cargo value has risen from 92 million U.S. dollars to 2.62 billion U.S. dollars, while the variety of transported goods has expanded from about 10,000 to nearly 50,000 categories.

To date, the China-Europe freight train service has connected Yiwu with more than 160 cities in 50 countries and regions across Asia and Europe.

On Nov. 18, 2014, the first China-Europe freight train (Yiwu-Madrid) departed, opening a fast rail route for small commodity exports from this Chinese city to Europe. 

A China-Europe freight train departs from Yiwu West Railway Station in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

A container is about to be lifted at Yiwu West Railway Station in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

A container is lifted onto a China-Europe freight train at Yiwu West Railway Station in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

A China-Europe freight train departs from Yiwu West Railway Station in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

A container is lifted onto a China-Europe freight train at Yiwu West Railway Station in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

A container is about to be lifted at Yiwu West Railway Station in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

A container is lifted at Yiwu West Railway Station in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  Five people were injured including a police officer when a police cruiser was struck by a vehicle early Monday morning in Downtown, Columbus.

According to police a civilian car crashed into a cruiser at the intersection of South 4th Street and East Rich Street at around 2:35 a.m. The police cruiser had its sirens on as the officer was responding to a report of a fire at the time.

Bill to ban LGBTQ+ discrimination inches forward at Ohio Statehouse

Five people were injured, including a Columbus police officer, after a crash at a Downtown intersection, Nov. 18, 2024. (NBC4/Ronald Clark) Five people were injured, including a Columbus police officer, after a crash at a Downtown intersection, Nov. 18, 2024. (NBC4/Ronald Clark)

Four people in the car were taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The officer was also transported for evaluation and the cruiser was heavily damaged in the front, where it took the collision head on. The white sedan involved in the crash sustained damage to the passenger side doors.

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Police did not indicate if charges would be filed after the crash.

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.
(Bloomberg) -- Holdings in exchange-traded funds backed by gold are taking a beating following Donald Trumps US election win. The global appetite for more chicken is giving poultry producers a lift. And as the United Nations COP29 climate summit enters its second week, European data shows were losing the fight to limit global warming.

Most Read from Bloomberg

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Here are five notable charts to consider in global commodity markets as the week gets underway.

Gold

Gold tumbled after Trumps election victory, with the outcome removing political uncertainty in the US and reducing haven demand for the metal. That triggered a rotation from bullion to Bitcoin, bolstered by speculation that the incoming administration will back crypto-friendly policies. SPDR Gold Shares, the worlds largest gold-backed ETF, had it biggest weekly outflow in more than two years during election week. BlackRock Inc.s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF saw a record daily net inflow on Nov. 7. Bloomberg Intelligence expects US spot Bitcoin ETF assets could be triple those of gold ETFs in three to five years. Spot gold rose on Monday.

Poultry

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The world is eating more chicken, and thats helping fuel earnings at poultry producers. The latest round of quarterly results by companies including Tyson Foods Inc. and Brazilian giants BRF SA and JBS SA showed profit margins at significantly higher levels than a year ago. The producers have taken advantage of the bonanza to pay down debt and return capital to shareholders. BRF and JBS, which controls poultry suppliers Pilgrims Pride Corp. and Seara SA, are also signaling more capital spending for next year.

Oil

US Gulf Coast refineries are on fire. The region  one of the worlds largest refinery hubs  boosted processing for the sixth straight week to 9.31 million barrels a day, according to the latest weekly report from the US Energy Information Administration. That marks a seasonal record in EIA data going back to 1992. Meanwhile, nationwide oil processing in the US is at the highest since 2018 on a seasonal basis. The surge comes as profit margins to make fuels are healthy amid low inventories of both gasoline and diesel.

Renewables

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With power demand surging, companies are lining up deals to lock in electricity supplies at a record pace, according to BloombergNEF. The global volume of deals signed in the first 10 months of this year reached 33.9 gigawatts, on track to surpass last years record high. The US is the worlds top market for corporate power-purchase deals, accounting for 116 gigawatts since 2015. A gigawatt is enough to supply more than 850,000 average US households.

Climate

As global delegates gather for the second week of the UNs COP29 climate summit, data from the European Union shows its virtually certain that this year will be the warmest on record. The Copernicus Climate Change Service said this month that 2024 will likely be more than 1.55C above the pre-industrial level. That pushes past the threshold identified at the UNs 2015 climate summit, when nations endorsed the Paris Agreement that aims to pursue efforts to limit temperature increases to 1.5C above levels seen before the Industrial Revolution.

--With assistance from Will Wade and Eva Brendel.

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(Updates with spot gold market move in third paragraph.)

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Five more parrots have been found dead in a disturbing trend that has left several of the brightly-colored birds dead or wounded in the Los Angeles area.

Cleo Watts, founder of the nonprofit animal rehabilitation center Cleos Critter Care in Pasadena, first talked to KTLA over the weekend about recent incidents involving the birds.

Ive been getting a lot of phone calls for birds being shot down, Watts told KTLAs Jennifer McGraw. Its very upsetting to know that somebody would do this to these animals.

Parrots in and around the Pasadena area are being injured and even killed by unknown suspects. (Cleos Critter Care) Parrots in and around the San Gabriel Valley are being injured and even killed by unknown suspects. (Cleos Critter Care) A pellet connected to parrot shootings in the San Gabriel Valley is seen in an image shared on Nov. 18, 2024. (Cleos Critter Care) Parrots in and around the Pasadena area are being injured and even killed by unknown suspects. (Cleos Critter Care)

On Monday, Watts told KTLA that five more dead parrots were found in Temple City, plus another that was badly injured.

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One parrot brought into her care was missing half of a wing, according to Watts.

While Watts has been caring for many of the injured birds, she sent the latest wounded parrot to Dr. Teresa Micco in Rancho Palso Verdes for treatment. Micco confirmed that the injuries point to the birds being shot with pellet guns.

On Saturday, Watts said that the loud birds have caused some controversy of late in Pasadena, Altadena and the rest of the San Gabriel Valley.

We have leaf blowers, we have people with loud [car] exhausts, crying babies, barking dogs, she said. We dont go shooting them. So why these guys?

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No description of a suspect, or suspects, was available.

Anyone with information about these crimes is encouraged to call their local police department. Anyone who finds an injured bird is encouraged to reach out to Watts at cleoscrittercareca@gmail.com.

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.
Meghan Gregory (left), mother of Keegan Gregory who narrowly survived the Oxford High School shooting in Nov. 30, 2021 hugs Sandy Cunningham (right), mother of another student survivor, Phoebe Arthur, after sitting with other parents of other victims of the shooting on Nov. 18, 2024 to call on state leaders to open a state investigation into the events that led up to the shooting. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Updated, 6:41 p.m., 11/18/24

In 12 days, it will be three years since the deadly Oxford High School shooting robbed Michigan of the lives of four students. Parents of the victims of the shooting gathered Monday in Oxford for a news conference to call on the state to open an independent investigation into the events that led to the shooting.

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The gunman, who was a student at the school when he opened fired on students and educators on Nov. 30, 2021, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at the end of 2023 for the deaths of four students. The shooters parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, were also held legally responsible for the shooting in a landmark criminal prosecution for their role in making it possible for their 15-year-old son to commit a mass shooting. The parents were sentenced earlier this year to 10 to 15 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter.

But as other families prepare for Thanksgiving and start early Christmas shopping, parents of the shooting victims are imploring the state to investigate other entities  namely the schools leadership  into what their role was in not preventing the tragedy.

We are not going anywhere. We will do whatever it takes to drive change, because its not a matter of if a school shooting happens again, but when, said Steve St. Juliana, father of Hana St. Julianna, a student who was killed in the Oxford shooting at age 14.

Its not enough that the shooter and his parents have been held criminally responsible. The parents of the victims said much more needs to be done to understand what happened at Oxford and how other families can be spared the pain of another school shooting in the future.

Steve St. Juliana, father of Hana St. Juliana who was killed in the Oxford High school shooting in 2021 speaks in Oxford, Michigan on Nov. 18, 2024 in support of a state investigation into the events that led up to the shooting. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

The shooting could have been prevented had the school responded appropriately to the shooter as a potential threat as he gave several warning signs, asserted one investigation by Guidepost Solutions which concluded in 2023. Nearly half of the individuals investigators requested to talk to did not speak with investigators. Lawyers for Oxford Community Schools, as well as the teachers union discouraged school employees from cooperating in the investigation, the report said.

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To implement real change, not simply gun safety legislation as the Michigan Legislature has enacted, the state must find out exactly what happened that permitted a 15-year-old student to open fire on his classmates and teachers at school where the community should be safe, said Buck Myre, father of Tate Myre who was killed in the shooting at age 16.

This has always been about change  period  nothing else. Its time for our state government to investigate this. Stop hiding; stop making excuses. A Michigan public school was the scene of the shooting. Kids lives were lost. Kids were shot. A teacher was shot. Every kid in school that day has a shooting badge, a shooting badge that they will heavily carry on their chest for the rest of their lives, Myre said. Dont we want to learn from this?

There is an epidemic of school shootings that are killing children, St. Juliana said. And if the state doesnt want more carnage, state agencies need to work together, stop pointing fingers, and get to work on a revelatory investigation.

We should not have to be sitting up here repeatedly saying, Do a damn investigation. Ill paraphrase the governor of Michigan fix the damn system, St. Juliana said, referring to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmers signature call to fix the damn roads.

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Forget about the roads. Keep our kids safe, St. Juliana said.

Buck Myre, father of Tate Myre who was killed in the Oxford High school shooting in 2021 speaks in Oxford, Michigan on Nov. 18, 2024 in support of a state investigation into the events that led up to the shooting. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel responded to the parents requests for a state investigation, pointing out that her office has offered several times to perform an investigation and the Oxford School Board, Oakland County Prosecutors Office and Oakland County Sheriffs Office have rejected her requests.

The parents of Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, Justin Shilling and Madisyn Baldwin are not simply calling for further prosecutions, but for the state to examine the systems that could prevent a future shooting. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in an emailed statement after the press conference Monday that a comprehensive, state-led investigation has the potential to provide that.

We are not aware of any mechanism for our office to refer a matter to the Attorney Generals office when it has not been presented to our office, McDonald said. And what the families are asking for is much broader. We are not aware of any action needed by my office to activate the Attorney Generals authority, but we will do everything possible to enable such an investigation. And my office will fully cooperate with any such investigation.

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Nessel said the protocol for her office to perform an investigation is to respect local authority, not use her jurisdiction to supersede local or county level criminal investigations. She added that the Attorney General Department will only join or take on leadership of a criminal investigation or prosecution after local authorities have referred the case to her office.

Both McDonald and Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard have her personal phone number, Nessel said, but neither have requested the attorney generals involvement, although she is still willing to investigate

We share in the families fatigue over the constant finger-pointing and scapegoating in these investigations and wish our offers to participate at any level had been accepted years ago for my office to conduct an investigation, Nessel said. At this point, nearly three years after the tragedy [it] will definitely be more difficult than if it had been allowed to begin when our earliest or repeated offers were initially made.

McDonald sent a letter and legal opinion on Oct. 9 to St. Juliana in response to his and other families asking for criminal charges against Oxford District members. In the documents, which were provided to the Michigan Advance by St. Juliana, McDonald says Nessel has the authority to perform an investigation without an invitation.

Craig Shilling, father of Justin Shilling who was killed in the Oxford High school shooting in 2021 speaks in Oxford, Michigan on Nov. 18, 2024 in support of a state investigation into the events that led up to the shooting. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

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Meghan Gregory, mother of Keegan Gregory who narrowly survived the Oxford High School shooting in Nov. 30, 2021 sits with other parents of other victims of the shooting on Nov. 18, 2024 to call on state leaders to open a state investigation into the events that led up to the shooting. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Nicole Beausoleil, mother of Madisyn Baldwin who was killed in the shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021, sits with other parents of Oxford shooting victims on Nov. 18. 2024 to call on state leaders to open a state investigation into the events that led up to the shooting. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Buck Myre (left), father of Tate Myre who was killed in the Oxford High school shooting in 2021 speaks in Oxford, Michigan on Nov. 18, 2024 alongside Steve St. Juliana (right) father of Hana St. Juliana who was also killed, in support of a state investigation into the events that led up to the shooting. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Buck Myre, father of Tate Myre who was killed in the Oxford High school shooting in 2021 speaks in Oxford, Michigan on Nov. 18, 2024 in support of a state investigation into the events that led up to the shooting. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

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Buck Myre, father of Tate Myre who was killed in the Oxford High school shooting in 2021 speaks in Oxford, Michigan on Nov. 18, 2024 in support of a state investigation into the events that led up to the shooting. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald speaks at a news conference announcing a commission's gun violence prevention findings on June 11, 2024. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald speaks after Ethan Crumbley is sentenced to life without parole in Oakland County Michigan on Dec. 8, 2023. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)

Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks to reporters in Lansing following Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's State of the State address on Jan. 24, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth)

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The Attorney Generals Office holds a wide range of powers, which include the investigatory powers that were held at common law. In addition to the investigatory powers, the Attorney Generals office is equipped with its own Criminal Investigations Division  meaning it not only has the authority, but also the resources to investigate potential violations of Michigan law, McDonald wrote to St. Juliana.

Parents on Monday talked about the Attorney Generals Offices ability to subpoena some of the individuals within Oxford Schools who did not talk with Guidepost Solutions investigation. Nessel addressed what she called confusion over what her office is allowed to do. She said her subpoena power can only be triggered when there is probable cause to believe criminal acts were committed.

In McDonalds letter to St. Juliana, she says although parents have requested charges be filed against individuals at Oxford Schools, she has not seen evidence that would allow me to bring charges against any of those individuals.

 neither my office nor Guidepost can conduct a criminal investigation, McDonald said in the letter to St. Juliana. I can only make decisions based on the information provided to me by law enforcement, and Guidepost must rely on the cooperation of individuals who have information to share that information.

Steve St Juliana letter re investigative authority AG Authority Memo

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Michelle Parker was last seen on Nov. 17, 2011, dropping off her then 3-year-old twins at the Orlando condo of her former fiance, Dale Smith

NamUs Michelle Parker Michelle Parker

Michelle Parker, then 33, vanished on Nov. 17, 2011, after appearing on an episode of The People's Court with her ex-fiance.

Thirteen years later, there is still no sign of the Florida mother of three and no charges have ever been filed.

"Thirteen years ago, she was alive and well, Parkers stepmother Gayle Parker told WESH. She had hopes, dreams, and plans."

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"In one flash of a moment, she was gone, and its unbelievable how that kind of thing can happen," she said. I do what I can to find her, and I will follow through with that."

Parker was last seen dropping off her then 3-year-old twins at the Orlando condo of her ex-fiance, Dale Smith.

The dropoff was just hours after the former couple appeared on a recorded episode of The Peoples Court, where they fought over the loss of an engagement ring.

After the dropoff, Parker planned to run some errands in her Hummer before heading to her job as a bartender  but she never arrived.

Her Hummer was found the next day abandoned in a parking lot.

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And then, three weeks later, divers found her iPhone in a nearby lake.

Michelle Parker

Related: Where Is Michelle Parker, the Florida Mom Who Vanished After Appearing on 'The People's Court' ?

Shortly after Parkers disappearance, police turned their attention to Smith, saying he was the only suspect in the case, but no arrests have ever been made. Fox35 reports that as of 2023, he was still considered a suspect.

In 2013, the Orlando Police Department released a red-light camera video showing what they believed to be Parkers Hummer at 8:55 p.m.  less than a mile from where her vehicle was found - on the same day she disappeared.

Courtesy Parker Family Michelle Parker Michelle Parker

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"This is an important part of a timeline that we've had," an Orlando Police Department investigator said at a press conference, per ClickOrlando.

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The investigator, Michael Moreschi, said he believed Parker's disappearance was a "two-person crime," according to ClickOrlando.

In an episode of Real Life Nightmare on HLN, which aired in 2019, Smiths former attorney Mark NeJame denied that Smith had anything to do with Parkers disappearance.

NeJame acknowledged that it was odd that Parker vanished on the same day as The Peoples Court aired.

Those are the serendipitous things that happen in life, NeJame says. So it was wholly appropriate that law enforcement wouldve, shouldve, did fully completely investigate him from top to bottom. But they came up with nothing.

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In Aug. 2023, police searched the Orange County backyard of Smiths father but found nothing, according to Parker's mother Yvonne Stewart.

"I was like please let her be there," she told MyNews13 at the time. "Theyve found other people under concrete before  [police] had reason to believe there was an unturned stone."

Anyone with information on Parkers disappearance can report tips to the Orlando Police Department at 407-246-2979 or Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477).


Floridas Sun Sentinel newspaper made crystal clear its damning opinion on President-elect Donald Trumps controversial tapping of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to become his attorney general.

Matt Gaetz must never become Americas attorney general, the newspapers editorial board began a blistering essay published last week.

The board ripped Gaetz as a rogue Florida congressman and a provocateur whos good at delivering rhetorical red meat on the MAGA speaking circuit.

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And Gaetzs selection for the role lays bare the depth of Trumps contempt for our vital national law enforcement apparatus and his determination to use it as a blunt instrument to seek revenge on his opponents, it added.

The U.S. Senate can prevent Gaetz getting the gig, the paper explained. But with Trump calling to appoint his picks via recess appointments, the Sun Sentinel said that when it came to Gaetz, that would disgrace the country and strip the Senate of all credibility.

Trumps choice to lead the Justice Department has drawn blowback from both sides of the aisle. The departments investigation into allegations that were made against Gaetz, of sex trafficking and obstruction of justice, was closed last year. No charges were filed.

A fight is brewing over the potential release of a report on the House Ethics Committees probe into Gaetz over sexual misconduct and illegal drug use allegations.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wants to keep the report private following Gaetzs resignation from Congress in preparation to become AG, saying it doesnt need to be made public now that he is not in Congress.

Read the Sun Sentinels editorial here.

Related...
LIBREVILLE, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Gabonese voted overwhelmingly in favor of a new constitution, authorities said Sunday.

Over 91 percent of voters approved the new constitution in a referendum on Saturday, Interior Minister Hermann Immongault announced in an official statement. And the voter turnout was 53.54 percent.

The referendum came more than one year after the military junta seized power in the oil-rich country in a coup.

The new constitution aims for transition from the current semi-parliamentary system to a presidential regime. If enacted, it will abolish the position of prime minister, and strip the National Assembly of its power to censure the government. Meanwhile, the president will gain the power to dissolve the National Assembly once during his term.

Under the new constitution, the presidential term will be extended to seven years, renewable only once, up from five years with unlimited renewals. 
History Nebraska, formerly known as the Nebraska State Historical Society, is located just off the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus at 1500 R St. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN  The former director of the state historical society is asking that a felony charge he faces be dismissed because he hasnt received a speedy trial.

Trevor Jones, 52, faces up to 20 years in prison for felony theft by deception, a charge sparked by a critical state audit in 2022  an audit first reported by the Nebraska Examiner.

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Jones, who resigned from the $164,800-a-year job just before the audit was released, was formally charged in July 2023. He now argues that the felony must be dismissed because he has been denied his right to a speedy trial.

In a brief filed recently, Jones attorney, Mallory Hughes, argued that by her calculation, her client should have faced a trial by Sept. 12.

  The record shows the Defendant has not done anything to delay, continue, reschedule, or otherwise create a good cause scenario which might support setting trial in this case beyond the  deadline, Hughes maintained.

Former History Nebraska Director Trevor Jones, at left, arrives at a court hearing last year with his lawyer, John Ball of Lincoln. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)

She argued that since its up to prosecutors and the court to bring the case to trial with the speedy trial deadline, it should be dismissed.

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A hearing on the motion has been scheduled for Nov. 26.

The charge against Jones, she wrote, was filed on Nov. 28, 2023. The speedy trial rule requires that a defendant stand trial within six months of being indicted, though time to deal with court motions and discovery of evidence is excluded. Mallory calculated that there were 107 excludable days so the deadline was Sept. 12.

The Nebraska Attorney Generals Office, which is prosecuting the case, did not respond immediately to a request for comment Monday. The office generally does not comment on such developments.

Jones was charged after state auditors discovered that he had redirected about $270,000 in funds provided by the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation to cover financial losses caused by the closing of state museums during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Instead of depositing the funds with the state treasurer, as legally required, and using the money for budget relief, Jones deposited the funds into a private foundation that he had helped create, to bolster its accounts.

His defense attorneys have made more than one attempt to get the charge dropped, arguing that Jones, as director, had the discretion to use the donated funds as he wanted.

Mallory took over as Jones attorney after his case was bound over to Lancaster County District Court a year ago. Lincoln attorney John Ball had been Jones defense attorney during the preliminary hearing held in county court.

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MANSFIELD, La. (KTAL/KMSS)  A fireman has been arrested and faces charges related to illegal purchases made on a Mansfield Fire Department credit card.

The arrest stems from a July 2024 request from the Mansfield Police Department to the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations/Bossier Field Office. The MPD asked the bureau to investigate a stolen credit card that belonged to the Mansfield Fire Department.

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An investigation showed that the credit card had been used in more than 180 unauthorized transactions, totaling more than $14,000, between Feb. and July 2024.

Caddo legend: Shreveports Market Street was once the shore of a lake

Officials allege that former Mansfield fireman Donald Anthony, Jr.. 22, stole the fire departments credit card after his employment was terminated in Feb. 2024.

An arrest warrant was obtained through the 42nd JDC, and Anthony faces charges that include felony access device fraud and felony identity theft.

Anthony surrendered to authorities and has been booked in the DeSoto Parish Detention Center.

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This is an ongoing investigation; more information will be provided as it 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 KTALnews.com.
A former police officer with the Veterans Affairs Police Department (VAPD) was sentenced to one year in federal prison for striking an unarmed man about 45 times with a baton in 41 seconds, officials announced Friday.

Juan Anthony Carrillo, 46, of Alhambra, was sentenced with the statutorily maximum available sentence for this offense, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Reports show that around 4 a.m. on Jan. 16, 2022, another VAPD officer first detained the 34-year-old victim, referred to in court documents only as R.V., at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

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According to a story by the Los Angeles Times, the prosecutors described the victim as an unhoused individual who was walking on medical center property holding a clear glass pipe that the officer suspected was drug paraphernalia.

The DOJ said Carrillo arrived to assist, and then proceeded to beat R.V. with a VAPD-issued baton up to 45 times in about 41 seconds while R.V. screamed in pain.

Most, if not all, of the baton strikes were delivered while the other officer was on top of the victim, who was unarmed, reported the DOJ.

In addition, the DOJ noted that Carrillo weighed about 60 lbs heavier than R.V., and the second officer was about 8 inches taller and 85 lbs heavier than the victim.

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As a result of the beating, the victim sustained injuries that included cuts on both legs and a broken bone on his right foot, officials said.

On July 26, 2024, the DOJ said Carrillo pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of deprivation of rights under color of law and specifically, for using excessive force as a law enforcement officer.

The current status of the victim or the other officer involved was not immediately released by the DOJ.

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.
(KTLA)  A former police officer with the Veterans Affairs Police Department (VAPD) has been sentenced for hitting an unarmed man dozens of times with a baton, officials announced Friday.

Juan Anthony Carrillo, 46, of Alhambra, was sentenced to one year in federal prison for striking the man about 45 times with a baton in less than a minute, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The sentence is the statutorily maximum available for this offense, said the DOJ.

According to reports, around 4 a.m. on Jan. 16, 2022, another VAPD officer had detained the 34-year-old victim  referred to in court documents only as R.V.  at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

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The prosecutors described the victim as an unhoused individual walking with a clear glass pipe on medical center grounds, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a sentencing memo filed in federal court. The L.A. Times reported that the officer suspected the pipe was drug paraphernalia.

Nearly month-long search continues for missing Los Angeles County woman

After arriving to assist, Carrillo beat R.V. with a police baton up to 45 times over about 41 seconds while the man screamed in pain, the DOJ said.

Most, if not all, of the baton strikes were delivered while the other officer was on top of the victim, who was unarmed, reported the DOJ.

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The DOJ also noted that Carrillo weighed about 60 pounds more than R.V., while the other officer was 85 pounds heavier and about 8 inches taller than the man

As a result of the beating, the victim sustained injuries that included cuts on both legs and a broken bone on his right foot, officials said.

On July 26, 2024, the DOJ said, Carrillo pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of deprivation of rights under color of law and specifically for using excessive force.

The DOJ did not immediately release the current status of the victim or the other officer involved.

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Former St. Petersburg City Council member Jeffrey Danner was arrested on a digital voyeurism charge last week after he placed cameras in a bathroom in his home to record a woman who was staying with him, police said.

The woman was using the shower at Danners home in the 2300 block of Dartmouth Avenue on Wednesday when she noticed two cameras in an air vent in the bathroom, according to an arrest affidavit. One of the cameras was aimed at the shower and the other at the toilet.

The woman confronted Danner about the cameras by sending him a text message. Danner replied that he realized how stupid and perverted it was and said he didnt connect them, the affidavit states.

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In a phone call between Danner and the woman that police monitored, Danner, 64, admitted to putting the cameras in the bathroom, said it was a stupid idea and apologized, according to the affidavit.

In an interview with St. Petersburg police, Danner again admitted to placing the cameras in the bathroom and said it was a stupid decision that he regrets, the affidavit states.

Danner was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on Friday on one count of digital voyeurism and released Sunday after posting $10,000 bail, records show. The charge is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in state prison.

Danner did not immediately respond to a voicemail message from the Tampa Bay Times left Monday at a number listed for him. Court records did not yet list an attorney for him Monday afternoon.

Danner served on the City Council from 2005 to 2013. In 2021, he narrowly lost the race for the councils District 8 seat to Richie Floyd.
By Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A former top Vatican official who dealt with clergy sexual abuse issues joined victims on Monday in urging Pope Francis to enact a zero-tolerance law throughout the global Catholic church so any cleric found guilty of abuse would be removed from ministry.

Rev. Hans Zollner, a German Jesuit priest who resigned in frustration from the pope's clergy abuse commission in 2022, was part of a press conference in Rome with Ending Clergy Abuse, an international group of victims.

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They called on Francis to take a zero-tolerance law adopted by U.S. Catholic bishops in 2002 and apply it to the entire 1.4-billion-member Church.

Zollner, who heads a centre for the study of abuse at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University, said the Church needed "a change of knowledge, a change of attitude, a change of mentality (that is) much more than what has been done so far".

Francis has made addressing abuse by clergy a priority of his 11-year papacy, with mixed results so far.

In 2019, the pope mandated that all clerics report suspicion of abuse or cover-up to their church superiors. But he has not mandated reporting of abuse to civil authorities, except where required by local laws.

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The U.S. bishops enacted their zero-tolerance law with Vatican approval after extensive reporting on abuse scandals in Boston, where priests accused of sexual abuse had been moved from parish to parish for years.

The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Monday's press conference. Vatican officials have in the past pointed to the difficulty of creating a single abuse reporting law for the hundreds of countries in which the Church operates.

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; editing by Alvise Armellini and Mark Heinrich)
A former Winthrop police lieutenant pleaded guilty to a slew of child rape charges.

James Feeley, 56, of Winthrop, appeared in Suffolk Superior Court on Monday morning where he pleaded guilty to eight counts of sexually abusing a child.

The former Winthrop police lieutenant was sentenced to four to six years in prison and five years of probation by the judge.

Former Winthrop Police Lt James Feeley sentenced 4-6yrs in prison plus five yrs probation. He pleaded guilty to 8 counts of sexually abusing a child. @boston25  Bob Ward Boston 25 (@Bward3) November 18, 2024

Documents show Feeley has been charged with aggravated rape of a child and seven counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, according to Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden.

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Feeley was previously arraigned on fewer charges following his arrest and ordered held on $200,000 bail.

Investigators say the victim told an adult about the abuse on Christmas in 2023. Feely was arrested and allegedly admitted to sexually assaulting the child when they were 10 and 11 years old.

A criminal complaint obtained by Boston 25 at the time of his arrest alleged that Feeley did unlawfully have sexual intercourse or unnatural sexual intercourse with the victim and that the victim was under 12 years of age.

Feeley was initially placed on administrative leave but Winthrop Police Chief Terence M. Delehanty later announced that he was no longer a member of the Winthrop Police Department.

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He served on the Winthrop Police force, for 21 years.

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

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(COLORADO SPRINGS)  In less than a month, on Sunday, Dec. 1, the Rockrimmon Library on the Northwest side of Colorado Springs will close. On Saturday, Nov. 16, the Save the Rockrimmon Library Group and a local workers union gathered to discuss the future of libraries across the Pikes Peak Region.

On Saturday, the Pikes Peak Library Workers United hosted an event highlighting the librarys internal problems. According to the organization, one of the key issues they discussed was the irresponsible use of funding and a lack of transparency and communication from the board of trustees.

Ive seen too many tears over this. Its a real impact on the community, said Jacob Ward, president of Pikes Peak Library Workers United.

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Were trying to raise awareness of that and connect our union with the Save the Rockrimmon Library Group and Concerned Community members so that we can do what we can about Rockrimmon as well as try to prevent any other library in town from closing, said Ward.

Members of the library group say its been a rough few years due to irresponsible use of funds, a lack of transparency and communication, and conflicting issues from the board of trustees.

Books are a big part of libraries, said Ward. But the fact that its an institution that supports the First Amendment and freedom of speech, freedom of thought, intellectual freedom, the ability to check out the most controversial book you could ever think of, and learn as well as keeping that confidential.

Former Colorado congressional candidate River Gassen also attended, rallying the community to save libraries in Southern Colorado.

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Having access to community spaces that you dont have to pay for to rent. Having access to an environment where you could host events, said Gassen. You know, the things that a library provides for the community is all great for the community, and its a good use of our tax dollars ultimately.

She said the best solution to prevent more library closures is to increase funding.

I think this is going to have a really tremendous impact on children, especially, and working parents who want to have their kids in a safe environment where they can know they dont have to stress about what their kids are doing, said Gassen.

For more resources on how to support your local libraries click the link above.

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Nov. 18FROSTBURG  As Lonaconing and Midland continue to receive water from the city of Frostburg's supply, Director of Public Works Hayden Lindsey is proposing a fourth water source that would add an underground well to the city's existing sources of water.

Although water levels remained at a safe level throughout the recent drought, Lindsey and the Department of Public Works are attempting to address worst-case scenarios that could occur due to extra water being piped to other communities.

The new source is in the idea phase, and construction wouldn't begin until at least 2028, but it would ease many of the concerns held by city officials.

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At a work session Tuesday afternoon, Lindsey said that if another dry summer were to occur in addition to a severe leak, the three existing sources would be "pushed pretty hard."

"Next summer, I have to plan for the worst-case scenario," said Lindsey.

As a result, Lindsey wants to present the idea to the Maryland Department of the Environment for funding since the state owns all water within its boundaries.

The three existing sources of water for the city, according to the Maryland Environmental Service, include the Piney Dam Reservoir, 29 spring houses and two deep wells that are tied to the Pocono aquifer, a large source of groundwater in the region.

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Each source produces around 100,000 gallons of water per day.

With the addition of a fourth source, the city would not be asking for a volumetric increase in water supply, but the existing sources would be far less taxed in the event of a "worst-case scenario."

The 300,000 gallons of water produced each day would be spread out between four different sources rather than three.

A hydrologic engineer would complete a study in the area to determine where a new well would be located, which could cost $80,000 to $120,000.

After the study, more funding from the MDE would be needed to complete the well's construction, officials said.

"We would hope to get working on it before 2030," Lindsey said.

Andrew Creelman is a reporter for the Cumberland Times-News. To reach him, call 304-639-4403 or email acreelman@times-news.com
France commented on its readiness to grant Ukraine permission for long-range strikes deep into Russian territory.

Source: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot before the meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels, as reported by European Pravda

Details: According to him, in May, President Emmanuel Macron suggested that France was willing to explore extending such authorisation to Ukraine.

Quote: "We openly said that this is an option that we will consider if it allows for strikes at targets from where Russia is currently carrying out aggressive attacks on Ukrainian territory," Barrot said.

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According to him, Paris's position has not changed since then.

Background:

On the evening of 17 November, The New York Times reported that US President Joe Biden had, for the first time, authorised Ukrainian forces to use long-range ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory.

According to the Axios portal, the White House's decision to allow Ukraine to strike Russian territory with US long-range missiles applies exclusively to Kursk Oblast of Russia and is intended as a reaction to the involvement of North Korean troops in the war.

Commenting on these reports, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock emphasised Ukraine's right to self-defence.

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Staff members work at a newly-opened blanket manufacturing plant in Kabul, Afghanistan, Nov. 18, 2024. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

KABUL, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- A blanket manufacturing plant, costing 930 million afghani (about 13.62 million U.S. dollars), was formally inaugurated in Pul-e-Charkhi industrial park, a suburb of Kabul, on Sunday.

In the opening remarks, the acting deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, said the government supports the private sector to create job opportunities and reduce dependence on imported goods.

The Afghan official also called upon traders and businessmen to invest and contribute to the rebuilding process of the war-ravaged Afghanistan, the National Radio and Television of Afghanistan (RTA) reported.

The newly inaugurated plant capable of producing 1,000 blankets daily has created job opportunities for about 900 people currently.

As part of efforts to alleviate poverty and achieve self-sufficiency, the Afghan caretaker government has been reactivating damaged factories across the country and encouraging domestic and foreign companies to invest in Afghanistan. 

Staff members work at a newly-opened blanket manufacturing plant in Kabul, Afghanistan, Nov. 18, 2024. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
PARIS (Reuters) - France, which has provided long-range missiles to Ukraine, on Monday signalled allowing Kyiv to strike military targets inside Russia remained an option on the table.

"We openly said this was an option that we would consider if it was to allow to strike a target from where Russia is currently aggressing Ukrainian territory. So nothing new on the other side," Jean-Noel Barrot told journalists ahead of a EU ministers' meeting in Brussels.

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has allowed Ukraine to use U.S.-made weapons to strike deep into Russia, two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the decision said on Sunday, in a significant reversal of Washington's policy in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel, editing by Richard Lough)
FRANKLIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM)  The owner of a Franklin County school bus contractor is accused of forging documents so she could continue to drive a bus, even though she wasnt cleared to, according to State Police.

Charges were filed Monday against Theresa Keifman, 72, of Chambersburg, the owner of Keifman Busing, a school bus contractor, after she was accused of forging the documents for years, according to State Police at Chambersburg.

The documents were dated 2018, but Keifman forged them each year to be more current, State Police said. Keifman did this so she could continue to drive a bus with a passenger and school bus endorsement.

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According to the criminal complaint, 2017 was the last time Keifman passed medical qualifications. The date was the only thing she changed on the documents, everything else was the exact same for each year.

State Police said that Keifman was not medically cleared to drive the bus. It was noted that school bus drivers in Pennsylvania must get a valid physical examination every 13 months to make sure they are medically qualified to drive the bus.

During the investigation, Troopers went through Keifmans PennDOT and medical records.

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Keifman faces felony charges of forgery along with misdemeanor charges of tampering with records or ID, tampering with/fabricate physical evidence, tamper with public record/information and unsworn falsification to authorities.

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She is out on unsecured bail set at $25,000 and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Nov. 25.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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New Zealand has a rich and diverse fossil record, spanning hundreds of millions of years.

From ancient arthropods to massive marine reptiles and even plants, New Zealand's fossil treasures offer a glimpse into the prehistoric world.

Interestingly, New Zealand is the only nation with a fully cataloged, open-source database of its identified fossil specimens.

FRED, the Fossil Record Electronic Database, is a comprehensive digital archive of New Zealand's fossil discoveries.

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It is the brainchild of pioneering geologist Harold Wellman, who recognized the importance of documenting and sharing this invaluable resource.

FRED provides a comprehensive overview of the fossils discovered in New Zealand, making it a valuable resource for paleontological research.

100,000 fossil sites

This unique database offers a comprehensive look into New Zealand's rich fossil history, particularly from the Late Cretaceous period onwards.

American Geophysical Union (AGU)s magazine EOS describes it as a near-complete database.

As decades passed, the physical records were converted into digital format, and the maps were updated to use the metric system.

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FRED serves as a comprehensive repository of information on fossil locality in New Zealand.

It currently compiles a database of over 100,000 locations, most of which are in New Zealand. This offers a detailed map of New Zealand's fossil sites.

It also has some additional records from the southeastern Pacific islands and the Ross Sea region of Antarctica.

Moreover, it provides crucial information about the collection process, including who collected the fossils and when.

In some cases, FRED also contains valuable geological data like the stratigraphic context of the fossil site, indicating its position within the rock layers, and the lithological information, describing the rock type where the fossils were found.

Open database

According to EOS, the database is widely regarded as an icon of New Zealand geological literature.

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FRED is more than just a database; it's a collaborative tool that brings together scientists, amateurs, and fossil enthusiasts from around the world.

Anyone can contribute to this open-access platform, ensuring that New Zealand's fossil heritage is preserved for future generations.

A team of four curators from various universities scrutinizes each entry and corrects any glaring errors.

In the years since its inception, the database and the spirit of trust and collaboration it embodies have become an important part of New Zealands geological and paleontological cultureand the envy of international colleagues, Daphne Lee, a paleontologist at the University of Otago who uses the database, told EOS.

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New Zealand scientists are expected to record any new fossil discoveries in FRED. This is often a mandatory requirement for scientific publications and academic theses. This will help to pass on the information to the generations to come.

The vast dataset in FRED has been contributing to making discoveries.

It allows us to track changes in ecosystems over millions of years.

In 2018, researchers from the United States utilized the comprehensive fossil data within FRED to analyze extinction rates among mollusk species.

Their research revealed New Zealand and the Caribbean as modern-day hotspots for bivalve extinction.

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However, the future of FRED, and indeed, paleontology in New Zealand, is uncertain. Declining funding and job cuts threaten to undermine this vital scientific field.

While other global databases like the Paleobiology Database exist, none can match FRED's comprehensive coverage of a specific region, New Zealand.
CONNECTICUT (WTNH)  Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and turkeys are starting to appear in grocery stores across the state.

For those in need this holiday season, the following food resources are available:

Derby  The Storehouse Project

Nov. 25, noon to 6 p.m.

Thanksgiving basket giveaway. Registration required by calling 203-668-6297.

East Hartford  Living Word Empowerment Ministries

Nov. 23, noon to 3 p.m.

Turkey giveaway to help families in need. Register ahead of time on the churchs website.

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Hamden  Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway

Nov. 21, 1 p.m. until supplies run out

Hamden residents can pick up a Thanksgiving meal basket from the Keefe Community Center with no appointment or registration needed. Residents should bring proof of residency in Hamden.

Meriden  YMCA

Nov. 28, 11:30 a.m. until supplies run out

Meals will be available for pickup in front of the YMCA. Call 203-235-6386 before Nov. 25 to help determine a head count. Home meal delivery is also available to homebound Meriden residents. Call 202-235-6386 by Nov. 25 to arrange delivery.

New Haven  YMCA Youth Center

Nov. 20, noon

Jordans Furniture Charitable Foundation will donate over 300 frozen turkeys and local families can come to the center to pick them up.

New Haven  Christian Community Actions Center

Nov. 26, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Thanksgiving basket giveaway. Registration required, call 203-777-7848.

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New Haven  Kensington Square

Nov. 21, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Thanksgiving giveaway, registration required. Happening at 1333 Chapel Street in New Haven.

New Haven  Casa Otonal

Nov. 27, noon to 4 p.m.

Thanksgiving dinner.

New Haven  Women of the Village Community Food Pantry

Nov. 26, 1 to 3 p.m.

Pre-registration for Thanksgiving food bags required by calling 203-675-9437 between Nov. 20-22.

New Haven  Beulah Heights First Pentecostal Church

Nov. 23, noon to 3 p.m.

Registration required for Thanksgiving baskets giveaway. Call 203-745-3589.

New Haven  Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen

Nov. 27, 1:30 to 3 p.m.

Thanksgiving pantry.

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New Haven  NICE Center

Nov. 23, 11 a.m. until supplies run out

Turkey giveaway.

New Haven County  Interfaith volunteer caregivers

Nov. 28, 9:40 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Sign up for Thanksgiving Day meal delivery at https://ivcg.typeform.com/tfa24.

Stamford  Ferguson Library

Nov. 23, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

No appointment is necessary to pick up a turkey and bag of fixings at the South End Branch of the Ferguson Library. Distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Wallingford  Glow Food Ministry

Every Friday, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Requires appointment. Call 203-208-8534.

Grocery store deals:

BJs

Members are offered a free Butterball turkey when they spend $150 or more in the same transaction in-club or online by Nov. 14.

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ShopRite

Spend $400 on your Price Plus Club card before Thanksgiving to earn a free turkey or ham.

Have a giveaway event you want added to the list? Email bailey.wright@wtnh.com.

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.
Farmers are staging dozens of protests across France against the possible signing of a trade deal between the European Union and four South American countries, which they fear will ruin their livelihoods.

The agricultural activists captured global attention in January and February when they blockaded Paris and pledged to starve the capital unless stifling EU and French norms were relaxed. This time, they have described around 85 protests as Act II.

Arnaud Rousseau, head of the FNSEA, the largest farming union, insisted the action would mainly involve demonstrations in front of regional state buildings and roundabouts and that the aim was not to inconvenience the French.

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Bruno Retailleau, Frances newly-appointed interior minister, pledged that the authorities would show zero tolerance to long-lasting disruption.

Farmers and their supporters huddle around a fire at a roadblock on the N118 road near Paris - Kevin Coombs/Reuters

However, other farming unions are taking more direct action, with roadblocks and bridge blockades.

In the greater Paris region, a dozen tractors blocked the N118 road at Velizy, with officials advising drivers to avoid the area.

Other roadblocks are planned on Monday afternoon in Ile-de-France on various key routes in and out of the capital.

In the southern town of Avignon, tractors blocked the Pont de lEurope, one of the main entry points to the town. Local media reported that 30 tractors and around 100 farmers were involved.

Activists block a road in in Velizy-Villacoublay, outside Paris, on Monday - Christophe Ena/AP

The protests earlier this year were called off following promises from the government  but farmers say the pledges are yet to materialise and their woes have been compounded by poor harvests and animal diseases.

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They have timed their protests to coincide with final talks on the EUs proposed Mercosur deal, which aims to facilitate trade between Europe and South America by gradually eliminating nearly all customs duties on trade between the two blocs.

The EU hopes the agreement will boost exports of European goods that currently face high tariffs applied by Mercosur countries, such as cars, clothing and wine. However, French farmers say it will decimate their beef and poultry sectors.

Farmers and tractors block a road in Le Cannet-des-Maures, southern France, during a nationwide protest against EU-Mercosur agreement - Christophe SImon/AFP

A tractor in Le Cannet-des-Maures, southern France, with a banner which says: France, do you still want your farmers? - CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP

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Emmanuel Macron, the French president, pledged on Sunday to continue to oppose the Mercosur deal, which is backed by several other EU countries, notably Germany and Spain.

The farmers protests are one potential headache for Michel Barnier, the French prime minister. He is also facing a national rail Christmas strike, and parliamentary gridlock over the passing of a new budget aiming to stem Frances runaway deficit and debt.

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(Bloomberg) -- Frances powerful farming unions are taking to the streets again to seek more government support and rally against a European Union free trade deal with Latin American producers seen allowing in cheaper goods.

Most Read from Bloomberg

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A few dozen tractors rolled along a stretch of the highway near Velizy-Villacoublay, south of Paris, others moved along bridges and roads in other regions, according to France Inter radio. The farmers, whove threatened to close in on the capital, so far havent blocked any roads, it reported.

The actio

n in the EUs biggest agricultural producer coincides with the opening on Monday of the Group of 20 meetings in Brazil where the bloc is expected to reach a trade agreement with Mercosur countries, Arnaud Rousseau, head of the powerful FNSEA farmers union, said last week. The Mercosur agreement risks having dramatic consequences.

France has long opposed the deal with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Its farmers and meat and poultry producers are demanding guarantees that their Latin American rivals comply with EU health and environmental standards, including on antibiotics and pesticides.

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On Monday, Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard told France Bleu Besancon radio that the country is reaching out to other EU states including the Netherlands, Italy and Poland to try to form a veto minority to block the deal which is not a good accord, and which crystallizes the deep discontent of farmers.

The countrys top farming unions, grappling with bleak harvests due to bad weather, had given the new government until mid-November to meet their demands  which include protecting inter-European trade from cheaper competition.

Mercosur producers are currently the EUs largest suppliers of bovine and poultry meat, and a potential agreement would significantly increase those volume, hurting local producers, they said in a statement last week.

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Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A new densely populated neighborhood in Beirut was hit by an Israeli air strike Monday evening, killing five people and wounding 24, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

After a short lull during the day, Israel resumed its attacks on Beirut, targeting a building in the Zokak el Blat neighborhood situated at the entrance of the city's downtown area, the official National news agency and witnesses reported.

Two missiles were fired on a ground-floor office and a coffee shop of an old building in the overcrowded area that became home for thousands of displaced residents from south Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs.

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Ambulances and civil defense workers rushed to the scene to evacuate the casualties and remove the rubble. The Lebanese Red Cross called for blood donations.

There were no immediate details on the specific targets of the strike on Zokak el-Blat, which is mainly controlled by the Shiite Amal movement led by House Speaker Nabih Berri.

Berri, an ally of Hezbollah, has been negotiating a U.S. cease-fire proposal on behalf of the Iran-backed group.

On Sunday, 10 people, including Hezbollah spokesman Mohamad Afif and four of his team, were killed and 45 others wounded in two separate Israeli strikes on the Ras al Nabaa and Mar Elias neighborhoods.

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The strike, which came without any Israeli alert to evacuate, pushed residents to flee the area.

Israel has stepped up its air strikes on the southern suburbs and eastern Lebanon for the past days to force Hezbollah to accept its cease-fire conditions.

Lebanon responded positively Monday to the U.S. written cease-fire offer that was previously discussed with American special envoy Amos Hochstein.

Hochstein, who was expected to arrive in Beirut on Tuesday, was reported to have delayed his visit until Lebanon clarifies its stance on the proposed agreement, in a further sign of pressures exerting on the tiny country.

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House Speaker Berri confirmed to the Saudi Ash Sharq Al Awsat newspaper late Monday that Hochstein's visit to Beirut "is still on time" as scheduled Tuesday and that "he will receive Lebanon's response" to the U.S. cease-fire proposals.

Cease-fire talks have been focusing on the complete implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, but has not been fully respected by both parties since.

The resolution calls for the disarmament of Hezbollah and for the Army and U.N. peacekeeping troops to be the only force in charge of security in the southern border area.

Israel has been trying to impose new conditions to secure more enforcement mechanisms and prevent Hezbollah's rearming and funding.

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Lebanon rejected the Israeli conditions. saying they violate Lebanon's sovereignty, and insisted on the implementation of Resolution 1701 as is.

An estimated 3,516 people have been killed and 14,929 wounded since October 2023.
There are a lot of opportunities to cooperate between China and Norway in the maritime industry, said a Norwegian attendee at the World Maritime Equipment Conference 2024 in China's Fuzhou.
By Lisandra Paraguassu and Andreas Rinke

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -Leaders from the Group of 20 major economies on Monday issued a joint statement highlighting the suffering caused by conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, while calling for cooperation on climate change, poverty reduction and tax policy.

G20 leaders meeting at Rio de Janeiro's Modern Art Museum for a two-day summit tackled an agenda that reflected a shifting global order, trying to shore up multilateral consensus before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump returns to power in January.

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Their discussions of trade, climate change and international security will run up against the sharp U.S. policy changes that Trump vows upon taking office, from tariffs to the promise of a negotiated solution to the war in Ukraine.

Still, leaders at the summit were able to reach a narrow consensus on the escalating Ukraine war, focused succinctly on "human suffering" and the economic fallout of the conflict.

The leaders' statement also expressed "deep concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip," and called urgently for more aid and protection for civilians along with a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.

After a massive Russian air strike in Ukraine on Sunday, European diplomats had pushed to revisit the previously agreed language on global conflicts, but they ultimately relented.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the summit, and Moscow was represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

It took marathon negotiations over the weekend for diplomats to finalize the joint statement, with debate over climate policy stretching into the dawn hours of Sunday, according to people involved in the talks.

In their statement, leaders agreed the world needs to reach a deal by the end of the United Nations COP29 climate change summit in Azerbaijan on a new financial goal for how much money rich nations must provide to poorer developing nations.

COP29 officials had called on the G20 leaders for a strong signal to help breach the impasse on climate finance. While the joint statement said nations need to resolve the issue, they did not indicate what should be the solution at the U.N. summit set to end on Friday.

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As host of this year's G20 meetings, Brazil expanded the group's focus on extreme poverty and hunger, while introducing debate on cooperation to fairly tax the world's wealthiest - topics also highlighted in the leaders' joint statement.

LULA RAILS AGAINST HUNGER

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva opened the summit on Monday with the launch of a global alliance to combat poverty and hunger, with backing from more than 80 countries, along with multilateral banks and major philanthropies.

"Hunger and poverty are not the result of scarcity or natural phenomena ... they are the product of political decisions," said Lula, who was born into poverty and entered politics organizing a metalworkers union.

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"In a world that produces almost six billion tons of food per year, this is unacceptable," he said.

Brazilian officials recognized the rest of their agenda for the G20 - including sustainable development and taxing the super-rich - could lose steam when Trump starts dictating global priorities from the White House.

Still, world leaders acknowledged that Brazil's agenda as chair, embraced by 2025 host South Africa, had pushed debate beyond the traditional comfort zone of Western powers.

"We are experiencing a major, major change in global structures," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on the sidelines of the summit, noting the growing weight of major developing economies. "These are countries that want to have their say. And they will no longer accept that everything will continue to be the way it has been for decades."

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Chinese President Xi Jinping took the occasion to announce a raft of measures designed to support the developing economies of the "Global South," from scientific cooperation with Brazil and African nations to lowering trade barriers for least developed countries.

While Xi played a central role at the summit, U.S. President Joe Biden arrived as a lame duck with just two months left in the White House as he juggles escalating conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

As the world awaits signals from Trump's incoming government, Xi has been touting China's economic ascendancy, including its vaunted Belt & Road initiative that inaugurated a massive deep-water port in Peru last week.

Brazil has so far declined to join the global infrastructure initiative, but hopes are high for other industrial partnerships when Xi wraps up his stay in the country with a state visit in Brasilia on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu, Andreas Rinke, Eduardo Baptista, Jarret Renshaw, Elizabeth Pineau, Jake Spring in Rio de Janeiro; Writing by Brad Haynes and Anthony Boadle; Editing by Alistair Bell and Stephen Coates)
Law enforcement swarmed on the Atlanta State Farmers Market in Forest Park on Monday morning. The show of force comes after a record drug bust earlier this year found meth hidden in a shipment of celery.

The Georgia Department of Agriculture told Channel 2s Steve Gehlbach that it was a proactive move to make sure the food supply is safe. Its also checking that the market is a safe and secure environment to work in.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Gehlbach watched as state troopers and the Georgia Department of Agriculture inspectors set up multiple checkpoints in and out of the Atlanta produce terminal and farmers market.

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Officials looked at licenses and proof of insurance while dogs sniffed around every work truck, box truck and tractor-trailer that entered or left the market.

In August, an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency uncovered nearly 2,500 pounds of meth in a load of celery.

Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper says actions like the search on Monday are about protecting your food.

Were doing our best at the Department to stay on top of it, so product that gets shipped into our state isnt shipped to a grocery store that may have been tainted with drugs, Harper said.

The department also wants to cut down on a rash of recent crimes from minor break-ins and car thefts to a targeted arson in Oct. 2023 that was caught on camera. There was also a theft of more than $300,000 of product from one vendor on the market.

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To show that force, that folks know that hey, were paying attention, that people are safe and the food supply is safe also, Harper said.

Mondays swarm was all done by the state. The Drug Enforcement Agency was not involved today. There was not any huge drug bust this time, but there were a number of contacts or engagements that led to further searches.

The commissioner told Gehlbach that they will go back over everything and report back exactly what they found.

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Police in Lavonia recently arrested a man suspected of stealing commercial restroom metal components from Saint Marys Sacred Heart Hospital.

Workers at the hospital reported that various toilet components were disappearing from bathrooms throughout the building.

With the help of hospital staff, police were able to come up with a suspect, Philip Alexander of Cornelia.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Police searched Alexander and his vehicle and found the stolen toilet components and tools likely used to steal them.

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He also had stolen credit cards and suspected methamphetamine.

He was booked into the Franklin County Detention Center.

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ALBANY  A Georgia inmate who is a high-ranking member of the Ghostface Gangsters  a criminal organization founded in the prison system  pleaded guilty in federal court to directing a large methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy involving another prisoner and GFG member, as well as a third co-defendant.

Donald Jason Miles, aka Crash, aka Cocho, 39, of Valdosta State Prison and Forsyth pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Nov. 13. Co-defendants Warren Frederick Courts, aka Dirty, 38, of Rutledge State Prison and Marietta, and Keeli Nycole Wallace, 34, of Covington, both pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. All defendants face a minimum of 10 years to a maximum of life in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release and a maximum $10 million fine.

Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner is presiding over the case. Sentencing dates for the defendants will be determined by the court. There is no parole in the federal system.

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Ghostface Gangsters Jason Miles and Warren Courts were directing the distribution of large quantities of methamphetamine from two state prisons into southwest Georgia, a dangerous conspiracy that put many people at risk, U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary said. We are partnering with law enforcement at every level to root out and hold accountable violent criminal organizations whose tentacles reach beyond prison walls and jeopardize the safety and well-being of our communities.

This career criminal continued his drug trafficking activities despite being incarcerated, demonstrating his complete and wanton disregard for the safety of our community, Robert J. Murphy, special agent in charge of the DEA Atlanta Division, said. DEAs efforts in bringing him to justice will ensure this high-ranking gang member spends even more time in prison.

The Ghostface Gangsters have systematically worked to flood the communities of Georgia with dangerous drugs, GBI Director Chris Hosey said. The brazenness of these gang members to continue their criminal acts, even behind bars, must be met with decisive action to ensure justice and safety for our communities. This investigation shows that the GBI and our partners will work relentlessly to hold those who seek to poison our communities accountable.

According to court documents and statements referenced in court, undercover Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents conducted a drug bust at Motel 6 in Albany on Sept. 12, 2022, resulting from a larger investigation into drug trafficking from Georgia prisons. Agents learned Courts, a state prisoner, had arranged a drug transaction from behind bars and hired Wallace as a drug courier to move methamphetamine from a Mexico-based source located in metro Atlanta to southwest Georgia.

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Agents arrested Wallace in the parking lot of Motel 6, finding approximately 1,400 grams of methamphetamine and her cellphones. Investigators discovered that Miles had recruited Wallace as a drug courier several months before her arrest. Wallace admitted she had performed 10-15 deliveries of 250 grams or less of methamphetamine at Miless direction. Miles introduced Wallace to Courts. Courts is a subordinate of Miles, as demonstrated by Courts giving Miles a portion of the profit he made from selling narcotics.

During one transaction, Courts instructed Wallace to obtain methamphetamine from a Mexico-based source of supply near Atlanta, and take it to meet a buyer at a Walmart in Albany. The buyer did not show up, and Miles instructed Wallace to return to Atlanta. The next day, Courts told Wallace that the intended buyer was ready. She returned to a Motel 6 in Albany, where she was subsequently arrested.

At the time, Miles was incarcerated at Valdosta State Prison, and Courts was incarcerated at Rutledge State Prison.

Both Miles and Courts have lengthy criminal histories, including multiple felony convictions for drug distribution and trafficking.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Redavid is prosecuting the case for the government.
More than 100 trucks have been looted in one of the largest raids on aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip in recent months.

The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, suspects local gangs and family clans are behind the looting.

These groups have been fighting between themselves for control of local shops in the south of the coastal strip, Lazzarini said in Geneva, adding that his agency has long been warning about the collapse of public order in Gaza.

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Amid food shortages and ongoing Israeli strikes, desparate Gazans in the southern city of Khan Younis had also tried to storm a UNRWA warehouse. However, Lazzarini complained that there was nothing left to distribute because of the looted trucks.

The humanitarian situation in the densely populated and sealed-off area is catastrophic after more than a year of war.
Russia has lost 722,440 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Nov. 18.

This number includes 1,560 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

According to the report, Russia has also lost 9,365 tanks, 19,059 armored fighting vehicles, 29,428 vehicles and fuel tanks, 20,586 artillery systems, 1,252 multiple launch rocket systems, 999 air defense systems, 369 airplanes, 329 helicopters, 19,073 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.

Read also: Russian missile attack on Sumy kills 11, injures 68

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Georgia Department of Corrections officials began laying the groundwork Wednesday for an infusion of state funding to beef up staffing, replace aging infrastructure, and improve inmate health care.

The states workforce of correctional officers plummeted during the COVID pandemic and has yet to fully recover, Georgia Commissioner of Corrections Tyrone Oliver told members of a Georgia House Appropriations subcommittee.

A 26% annual turnover rate before the pandemic struck in 2020 soared at one point to more than 40% before dropping slightly to 37%, Oliver said.

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This is by far the toughest position in public safety, he said. People dont always grasp that when they go in.

Oliver said the state prison system doesnt have a difficult time recruiting correctional officers, but keeping them more than one or two years is a challenge. He said the large numbers of jobs in other industries that opened up after the pandemic are luring correctional officers away.

You can make more money with less stress, he said.

Oliver said deteriorating infrastructure across the system is making prisons less safe. Inmates can easily use crumbling infrastructure to fashion dangerous weapons.

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Oliver said the department is working to increase the number of single-bunk cells because many of the assaults that take place inside the prisons involve inmates in two- or three-bunk cells attacking each other.

The commissioner said additional funding also would help the department combat the growing problem of contraband weapons and cell phones getting to inmates, often via drones. The federal prison system has begun using jamming devices to disrupt cell phone signals inside prisons but has not yet authorized state systems to pilot the technology, he said.

Oliver said another factor driving up the prison systems costs is growing health-care needs resulting from an aging prison population. The average age for inmates is now 40, which results in more inmates suffering from chronic illnesses, he said.

Assistant Corrections Commissioner Jay Sanders said some of the self-help programs the prison system operates for inmates are aimed at those with substance abuse or with cognitive issues.

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In most cases, those who complete those programs as well as education and job training activities are both less likely to commit additional crimes after release from prison and less likely to commit violence while theyre still behind bars, he said.

They get up every day with a purpose, Sanders said. Theyre active. Their mind is engaged.

Rep. Matt Hatchett, R-Dublin, the subcommittees chairman, said he expects funding for the prison system to be a major priority when lawmakers take up Gov. Brian Kemps budget recommendations during the 2025 General Assembly session starting in January.

Hopefully, we can fund the improvements you need, he told Oliver.

Hatchett said he expects the subcommittee to hold a final meeting shortly before the session begins.
German Minister of Economy Robert Habeck, who has become a candidate for chancellor from the Green Party, has stated that he would be willing to supply Ukraine with Taurus long-range missiles if he wins the election.

Source: Tagesschau with reference to Habecks statement, as reported by European Pravda

Details: During an interview with German political news channel ARD-Hauptstadtstudio, when asked if he would send Taurus missiles to Ukraine, Habeck responded, "The answer to this question is: Yes!"

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However, he also emphasised that the decision to supply weapons is always one of the "most difficult decisions" a government must make.

Background:

Unlike the Green Party, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has confirmed his unwillingness to provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles.

Christian Durr, the leader of the FDP parliamentary group, had previously suggested holding a new vote on the issue.

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This photo taken on Nov. 18, 2024 shows the venue of the first session of the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 19th G20 Summit here on Monday. The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty was launched at the first session of the summit. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 19th G20 Summit here on Monday.

The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty was launched at the first session of the summit.

Xi arrived here Sunday for the summit and a state visit to Brazil. 

This photo taken on Nov. 18, 2024 shows the venue of the first session of the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 19th G20 Summit here on Monday. The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty was launched at the first session of the summit. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

This photo taken on Nov. 18, 2024 shows the venue of the first session of the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 19th G20 Summit here on Monday. The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty was launched at the first session of the summit. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

This photo taken on Nov. 18, 2024 shows the venue of the first session of the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 19th G20 Summit here on Monday. The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty was launched at the first session of the summit. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

This photo taken on Nov. 18, 2024 shows the International Media Center for the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 19th G20 Summit here on Monday. The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty was launched at the first session of the summit. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)
A German court ruled on Monday that Facebook users affected by extensive data theft at the platform a few years ago should face only minimal hurdles for obtaining financial compensation.

Germany's Federal Court of Justice ruled claimants would only have to prove that they were victims of the incident, and do not need to prove that their data was later misused.

The court said victims also do not need to provide evidence that they are now affected by the data thefts in a particular way - for example in terms of fear and anxiety.

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The claims relate to an April 2021 incident at Facebook, when unidentified perpetrators published data from around 533 million users from 106 different countries online.

The perpetrators had apparently managed to access the data by exploiting a friend search function on the social network.

The incident prompted a wave of lawsuits by Facebook users in Germany, most of which have so far been unsuccessful in regional and higher regional courts.

Monday's decision from the Federal Court of Justice, the country's highest appeals court for civil and criminal matters, is expected to apply to thousands of cases currently pending in the German judicial system.

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However, the presiding judge, Stephan Seiters, made it clear that the damages could not be too high in cases where Facebook merely failed to properly control the data.

Seiters cited 100 ($106) as an example in the specific incident the court considered in the case if the claimant could not prove any financial losses.

Facebook parent company Meta has consistently argued that the lawsuits were unfounded and without merit.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius does not believe that the US approval for ATACMS missile strikes on Russian territory should affect Berlin's position on refusing to supply Ukraine with Taurus missiles.

Source: Tagesschau, citing Pistorius, as reported by European Pravda

The minister said the information about the US approval for long-range strikes on Russian territory "does not change our current assessment".

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Pistorius added that there is "no reason to make a different decision" at this time.

The German government previously stated that Chancellor Olaf Scholz is not ready to provide Ukraine with Taurus long-range missiles, despite the US approval for ATACMS strikes on Russian territory.

Background:

The New York Times, citing US officials, reported that US President Joe Biden has for the first time authorised Ukrainian forces to use long-range ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory.

US news website Axios noted that the decision had been made in response to the involvement of North Korean troops in Russia's war against Ukraine.

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The German Greens' candidate for chancellor, incumbent Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, told the ARD television channel on Nov. 17 that if elected, he would greenlight the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

"The answer to this question is: yes!" said Habeck in response to a question about whether he would authorize the missiles' delivery. The vice chancellor has served as the economy minister in a coalition government with Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats and, until recently, the FDP liberals.

Germany is heading toward snap elections on Feb. 23, 2025, after Scholz fired FDP's Finance Minister Christian Lindner, leading to the coalition's collapse.

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German assistance to Ukraine, which has become a topic of the electoral campaign, is increasingly crucial amid fears that the U.S. might withdraw its support after Donald Trump's recent election victory.

Berlin is Ukraine's second-largest military donor under Scholz, but the chancellor has been adamant about not providing Taurus missiles, fearing it could draw his country into the war.

Habeck said in the interview that deciding on arms deliveries has been part of his job as the economy minister, adding that those "were some of the most difficult decisions (he) had to make."

The German-Swedish air-launched Taurus missiles have a range of up to 500 kilometers (310 miles), which is more than the ATACMS or Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles provided to Ukraine by the U.S., the U.K., and France.

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Friedrich Merz, the chancellor candidate of the opposition center-right CDU/CSU alliance, also said he would allow the delivery of Taurus missiles but only after issuing an ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin and lifting restrictions on already provided arms.

CDU/CSU is currently leading the polls with 33%, followed by the Russian-friendly, far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) with 18%, the Social Democrats at 16%, and the Greens with 11%.

Read also: With Scholzs government in shambles, conservative rival touts more decisive Ukraine strategy

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The first of at least 62 new light combat helicopters for the German armed forces were delivered on Monday, less than a year after being ordered.

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius personally attended the handover of the H145-M helicopter at an Airbus factory in the Bavarian town of Donauworth on Monday, praising the relatively swift delivery as a sign of improvements in Germany's notoriously slow defence bureaucracy.

When it comes to equipping the military, the "speed of procurement has been significantly increased," Pistorius said.

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"This is a real turning point," Pistorius said, adding that it shows what is possible when Germany's armed forces and industry pull together

Stefan Thome, the head of Airbus Helicopters Germany, called the eleven-month period between order and delivery "record-breaking."

The German parliament approved the order, valued at around 2.5 billion ($2.6 billion), in December 2023. The purchase is being financed primarily from a 100 billion special fund set up to rebuild Germany's military in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Airbus intends to deliver the 61 other helicopters ordered by the end of 2028. According to the company, the contract also includes an option for the delivery of 20 additional helicopters.
Germany plans to assist Chad in taking in refugees from Sudan, its neighbour to the east, Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Svenja Schulze said on Monday at the start of a four-day visit to Chad.

More than 700,000 refugees have sought shelter in eastern Chad, a country that is among the world's poorest.

A long-running power struggle in Sudan has displaced more than 11.6 million people within the country and across its borders.

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"The situation of the people in Sudan is receiving too little attention, even though this is the largest refugee crisis in the world at the moment," Schulze said. She added than more than 90% of those arriving in Chad were women and children.

"They are entering a country that is itself confronted with insecurity, drought, flooding and hunger. Nevertheless, Chad is not erecting fences, but is showing solidarity with the refugees," Schulze said.

Schulze first travelled to N'Djamena to speak to the government and representatives of civil society in the capital on the situation and their needs.

In the days ahead, she will be the first European Union minister to travel to the east of the country right up to Adre on the Sudanese border, where hundreds of refugees arrive every day and where she will visit refugee camps, a nutrition centre and a health clinic.

Aid is transported to Sudan's Darfur region also cross the border here.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius disclosed to the media his desire to transfer to Ukraine 4,000 drones equipped with artificial intelligence, which are capable of hitting targets at great distances.

Source: Pistorius during a visit to the Airbus manufacturer of helicopters in Donauworth, writes Stern, as reported by European Pravda

Details: According to the German minister, these drones can "overcome and fly around the enemy's electronic warfare equipment."

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They are capable of "operating at a distance of 30 or 40 kilometres deep in the territory, and then attacking command posts, logistics hubs, and other targets," Pistorius added.

"This is an important additional asset for the Ukrainian armed forces," he concluded.

Background:

The media previously reported that Germany is reportedly set to begin large-scale deliveries of kamikaze drones to Ukraine, which have high autonomy in conditions of electronic warfare (EW) and can effectively strike distant targets.

At the same time, Chancellor Olaf Scholz is unlikely to send Ukraine long-range Taurus missiles, despite US consent for ATACMS strikes on Russian territory. Pistorius personally opposes this as well.

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BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government will publish its new defence industry strategy, which aims to cut red tape and accelerate arms production, by the end of the year despite the collapse of the coalition, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Monday.

Germany, the largest backer of Ukraine in Europe, vowed to upgrade its eroded Bundeswehr army and boost defence as part of a "Zeitenwende" - or "turning point" - policy shift announced shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

"For too long, ... the state has seen itself more as a regulator than as a partner to the defence industry," said Pistorius at the ground-breaking ceremony of a new missile production site for MBDA in Schrobenhausen.

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"The task is to further strengthen our country's defence industrial base in these times. Not only to maintain it, but to strengthen it," Pistorius said.

"We therefore want to specifically improve the framework conditions for an efficient security and defence industry."

The strategy could allow the government to take a stake in arms-makers and defence projects in "strategic cases", and contains recommendations including promoting key technologies and improving the industry's financial framework, according to a draft seen by Reuters.

Pistorius said at a separate event on Monday at Airbus Helicopters' site in Donauwoerth, Germany, that the government was still capable of taking action, despite the coalition between the minister's Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and pro-market Free Democrats falling apart.

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"We as the federal government will of course continue to engage in intensive discussions with the security and defence industry," added Pistorius.

(Reporting by Rachel More and Miranda Murray. Editing by Friederike Heine and Mark Potter)
Germany is reportedly set to begin large-scale deliveries of kamikaze drones to Ukraine, which have high autonomy in conditions of electronic warfare (EW) and can effectively strike distant targets.

Source: European Pravda; Bild with reference to its sources and comments from Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who has essentially confirmed the plans

Details: The drones in question are attack UAVs from the Helsing company, equipped with artificial intelligence technologies that provide them with greater autonomy in hostile environments with EW interference. These drones are compared to the Taurus missiles, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly refused to provide.

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The reports indicate that 4,000 of these UAVs have been ordered for Ukraine. Deliveries are expected to begin in December, with several hundred drones arriving per month.

Some prototypes are already undergoing trials and improvements in real combat conditions in Ukraines east.

A key feature of these UAVs is their advanced software, which helps them navigate the terrain using various markers, allowing them to reach their targets even in challenging weather or on "scorched earth" terrain, as well as in conditions of EW. Once the UAV identifies the target and the operator confirms it, the drone can autonomously strike the target even if communication is lost.

The flight range of these UAVs is reportedly four times greater than that of typical Ukrainian kamikaze drones (although the specific drones used for comparison are not mentioned in the article). Meanwhile, they are significantly cheaper than US Switchblades and Russian Zal and Lancet drones.

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Pistorius expressed his pleasure that the delivery of these AI-equipped drones is already beginning and that Ukraine will be able to use them against critical Russian targets, such as command posts.

Background:

A memorandum of cooperation was signed between Ukraines Ministry of Strategic Industries and the Helsing company on 24 February 2024.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again confirmed his unwillingness to provide Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles.

Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany's opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, expressed support for the provision of Taurus to the Ukrainian forces and stressed that the supply of long-range missiles would not make Germany a party to the war.

The German Free Democratic Party may bring the issue of supplying Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine to a vote in the Bundestag.

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Ukraine is set to receive new German-developed AI-powered kamikaze drones in the coming weeks, the German tabloid Bild reported on Nov. 18.

The German government is reportedly funding a contract concluded in September between the Munich-based tech defense firm Helsing and Ukraine for the supply of 4,000 attack drones.

Drones are an increasingly vital capability on Ukrainian battlefields. Russia has widely used kamikaze drones like Iranian Shaheds to target Ukrainian cities and infrastructure or domestically-made Lancets against Kyiv's troops.

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The previously top-secret high-tech drones have been nicknamed "Mini-Taurus" in reference to Germany's powerful cruise missiles, which Berlin refused to supply to Ukraine.

According to Bild's source, the drone can "orient" itself in the terrain and is resistant to GPS jamming. After the operator orders a strike on a target, the aerial vehicle can fly to it independently, even when the radio connection is lost.

#Scoop

Germany delivers 4.000 #MiniTaurus strike drones to Ukraine.

Comparable to the American SwitchBlade and the Russian Lancet, the Helsing product is cheaper, can fly longer and uses terrain matching AI for its entire cruise and terminal guidance.

All exclusive details https://t.co/1kFDzkSTQt  Julian Ropcke (@JulianRoepcke) November 18, 2024

The drone boasts four times the range of kamikaze drones used by the Ukrainian military and carries warheads powerful enough to destroy Russian tanks, the outlet writes. It is also said to be comparably cheaper than foreign equivalents, like U.S.-made Switchblades or Russian Lancets.

The weapons are reportedly being tested and improved "under real operational conditions" in eastern Ukraine. Full-scale deliveries are expected in December, with hundreds to be delivered per month.

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The supply of the new drones was confirmed for the outlet by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. In the wake of the latest Russian mass attack against Ukraine on Nov. 17, the minister told Bild he was "very happy that the delivery of these AI-powered strike drones is starting right now."

Helsing signed a memorandum with Ukraine on cooperation in the field of defense technology in February 2024. The company has been active in Ukraine since 2022.

In October, France announced that it would deliver newly developed Colibri project kamikaze drones to Kyiv, further boosting Ukraine's drone capabilities.

Read also: How Russias homegrown Lancet drone became so feared in Ukraine

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- China and Britain should adopt a rational and objective perspective on each other's development, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday.

Xi made the remarks when meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the sidelines of the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit.

The two countries should enhance strategic communication and deepen political mutual trust to ensure a steady, substantial, and enduring development of bilateral relations, he said.

Enjoying vast space for cooperation, China and Britain should stick to their strategic partnership and open up new prospects for bilateral relations, he added. 
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned China against supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine with military equipment at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday.

Baerbock said supporters of Russia must understand that the Ukraine war concerns Europe's "core security interests" and for this reason backing Russia "must and will have consequences" for China.

The German foreign minister did not give further details.

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Baerbock is in Brussels to meet with her EU counterparts to discuss the Ukraine war and the support Russia is receiving from North Korea, China, and Iran.

Like Iran, the European Union has also been warning China throughout the Ukraine war against directly supplying military equipment to Russia.

Ahead of the foreign ministers gathering, an EU official said the bloc had reports from intelligence sources that a factory inside China is producing drones that are shipped to Russia and are used against Ukraine.

The EU official said that China has provided Russia with dual-use goods and technologies that can be repurposed for military use in Ukraine.

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While this practice is "extremely worrying," the EU official said the bloc did not have direct evidence of material transfer of military equipment from China and Russia.

Investigations on the issue are continuing, the EU official said and the Chinese government has been asked for more information.

Discussions on Chinese support come as EU foreign minister agreed to impose new sanctions on Iran for supplying ballistic missiles to Russia for use in the Ukraine war.

The new EU sanctions target two Iranian ports on the Caspian Sea, Amirabad and Anzali, as well as an Iranian shipping company and three Russian shipping companies.

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EU companies may no longer do business with the sanctioned ports while vessels from the targeted shipping companies may no longer dock at EU harbours. Any assets held in the bloc are to be frozen.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), the Iranian national maritime carrier, has shipped drones on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for years, according to a statement from EU foreign ministers.

The director of the IRISL, Mohammad Reza Khiabani, was also targeted by EU sanctions.

The three Russian companies sanctioned are MG Flot, VTS Broker, and Arapax, for moving Iranian-made ammunition, weapons, and drones across the Caspian Sea to supply Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, according to EU foreign ministers.
German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck warned at the UN Climate Change Conference in Azerbaijan on Monday against diluting national climate targets, asserting that if Germany does not meet its targets, Europe will not be able to meet them either.

Habeck - himself a Green Party politician - emphasized that if Germany and Europe fail to meet their targets, it would be impossible to persuade countries like Brazil, India, China or Indonesia to do so.

He criticized the current debate as "toxic" and expressed a lack of comprehension over how political short-termism is influencing the discussion. He called for a return to a clear commitment to the targets.

Germany aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2045, but recent challenges have emerged regarding its national climate targets. Christian Lindner, leader of the pro-business Free Democratic Party - and until recently part of the coalition government in Germany - has suggested replacing these national targets with European-wide goals in his proposals for an economic transition.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck called on wealthy emerging markets such as China, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to contribute to climate aid for poorer countries at the UN Climate Change Conference in Azerbaijan on Monday.

The Green Party politician described these countries as the "great beneficiaries" of recent decades in the oil, coal and gas sectors, having earned "astronomical sums."

Habeck argued that these "windfall profits" should be more strongly utilized to better protect those suffering from global warming, asserting that this was a "very consistent logic."

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At the UN climate talks in Baku, which are scheduled to conclude on November 22, developing countries are collectively demanding that industrialized nations mobilize at least $1.3 billion annually for climate financing - 13 times more than the current amount.

The EU countries acknowledge in principle that more money must flow, but they also want countries like China and Gulf states to contribute.

According to a 30-year-old UN classification, these nations are still considered "developing countries" and thus recipient countries.

Habeck argued that the era of coal, oil and gas is over, saying, "the fair is over." He insisted that the transition to renewables is unstoppable, pointing out that 85% of new investments in energy are now flowing into renewables.

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He noted that it is expected the fossil industry and its lobbies will resist the change due to their large business models. "Nevertheless, the numbers and now the markets speak a completely different language," he said.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck called on wealthy emerging markets such as China, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to contribute to climate aid for poorer countries at the UN Climate Change Conference in Azerbaijan on Monday.

But the Green politician also warned wealthy European countries like Germany against diluting their own national climate targets, asserting that if Germany does not meet its targets, Europe will not be able to meet them either.

Habeck emphasized that if Germany and Europe fail to meet their targets, it would be impossible to persuade countries like Brazil, India, China or Indonesia to do so.

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But wealthy emerging markets must also recognize that they have been the "great beneficiaries" of recent decades in the oil, coal and gas sectors, having earned "astronomical sums."

Habeck argued that these "windfall profits" should be more strongly utilized to better protect those suffering from global warming, asserting that this was a "very consistent logic."

Fight over climate funding

At the UN climate talks in Baku, which are scheduled to conclude on November 22, developing countries are collectively demanding that industrialized nations mobilize at least $1.3 billion annually for climate financing - 13 times more than the current amount.

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EU countries acknowledge in principle that more money must flow, but have also called for major emerging countries like China and the oil-rich Gulf states to contribute.

According to a 30-year-old UN classification, these nations are still considered "developing countries" and thus are designated as recipient countries instead of contributors.

Habeck argued that the era of coal, oil and gas is over, saying, "the fair is over." He insisted that the transition to renewables is unstoppable, pointing out that 85% of new investments in energy are now flowing into renewables.

He noted that it is expected the fossil industry and its lobbies will resist the change due to their large business models. "Nevertheless, the numbers and now the markets speak a completely different language," he said.

'Toxic' debate around climate targets

He also criticized the current debate over climate targets as "toxic" and said he could not justify how short-term political calculations are influencing the discussion. He called for a return to a clear commitment to the targets.

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Germany aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2045, but recent challenges have emerged regarding its national climate targets.

Former finance minister Christian Lindner, the leader of the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) who was recently fired from his post by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, has suggested replacing national targets with European Union-wide goals as part of his proposal for boosting Germany's sagging economy.

Lindner's firing triggered the collapse of Germany's three-party coalition government after months of bitter disputes over next year's budget. Early elections are expected to be held in February.

New money for transition in Global South

Habeck on Monday also announced a new pledge of 210 million ($222 million) to make industry in the world's poorer countries more climate friendly during the UN Climate Conference in Baku.

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He described the funds as "new money," although he added it was largely drawn from the German government's 2024 budget.

Habeck said that other donors to the fund included Britain and Canada, and that a total of up to $1.3 billion had been collected to assist developing and emerging countries.

The funds are intended as a "call to action" with the aim of securing additional pledges from governments, charitable organizations and private investors.

An online platform for exchange and advice has also been launched, on which companies and countries from the Global South will be able to post questions on how to green their production methods.

Greenpeace said that Habeck's "Climate Club," a German initiative with the focus on industry, offered a great opportunity with respect to energy and forest conservation partnerships.
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday he would discuss the delivery of dual-use goods with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit, following a report that a Chinese factory is producing military drones for Russia.

Russia has established a weapons programme in China to develop and produce long-range attack drones for use in its war against Ukraine, two sources from a European intelligence agency told Reuters in a report published in September.

The European Union has repeatedly urged all countries, including China, not to provide material or other support for Russia, which began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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Earlier in the day, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Chinese drone aid "must and will have consequences".

Scholz, asked if he agreed with his minister and would discuss the issue with Xi, said he had always warned against deliveries of lethal weapons to Russia and touched on the topic of dual-use goods in such talks.

"I have always addressed the issue of so-called dual-use goods, because there are different practices, but we must not be naive," Scholz said. He added that he would also tell Xi it was unacceptable that North Korean soldiers were being deployed in the war against Ukraine, and that it was a "terrible change".

Asked about the U.S. decision to authorise long-range Ukrainian airstrikes on Russia, Scholz said Germany would not follow suit, or send Ukraine long-range Taurus cruise missiles.

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The Taurus missiles could only be deployed if Germany shared responsibility for target control, he said, de facto making it a party to war. "That is something I cannot and do not want to do," said Scholz.

"At the same time we have a clear idea that the powerful weapons we have supplied so far ... cannot be used to penetrate deep into the Russian hinterland," he said, noting he had made an exemption for Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine since attacks on the city had come from just across the nearby Russian border.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke in Rio de Janeiro, Miranda Murray and Sarah Marsh in Berlin; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Ahead of the G20 summit in Brazil, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reaffirmed Germany's commitment to supporting Ukraine's defence against Russia, pledging continued aid for as long as necessary, Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo reported on Sunday.

In an interview with the newspaper, Scholz defended Germany's decision to supply arms to Israel, despite facing criticism from several nations.

The chancellor stressed Israel's right to self-defence and assured that Germany would maintain its solidarity, including providing weapons and military equipment to ensure Israel's defence capabilities.

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Scholz arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday evening for a two-day summit with leading global economic powers.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has opted not to make the war in Ukraine an official topic at the summit and did not invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Russia, however, is represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

While Scholz was en route to Brazil, reports emerged saying that US President Joe Biden had authorized Ukraine to strike Russian territory with long-range US missiles. Scholz however has refused to deliver Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles, which have a range of about 500 kilometres, fearing an escalation.

The interview with Folha de Sao Paulo took place before the emergence of the reports. In the interview, Scholz reiterated his call for a peace conference involving Russia, stressing that a lasting peace in Ukraine would be achievable only through international law and would require significant effort.

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Scholz on Friday spoke with Russian President Putin for the first time since December 2022, urging a Russian withdrawal from Ukrainian territory and peace talks, prompting outrage from Zelensky, who argued the call would weaken Russia's international isolation.
By Nichola Groom and Nina Chestney

(Reuters) - After a year of canceled projects, broken turbines, and abandoned lease sales, the global offshore wind industry no longer has much chance to hit the lofty targets set by governments in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere, marking a setback for efforts to fight climate change.

The technology forms a big part of government strategies to advance renewable energy and decarbonize the global power industry because it can generate vast amounts of electricity near densely populated coastal regions. Missing targets by a wide margin will leave a gap that could be hard to fill.

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Reuters spoke to 12 offshore wind companies, industry researchers, trade associations, and government officials in six countries to come up with a global picture of the state of the industry and its outlook, and found soaring costs, project delays and limited supply chain investment were hobbling installations.

"We're pretty far away from these targets," Soren Lassen, head of offshore wind research at energy research firm Wood Mackenzie, said in an interview. He said offshore wind farms now have a global average cost of $230 per megawatt-hour (MWh)  up 30% to 40% in the past two years and more than triple the average of $75/MWh for onshore facilities.

That has companies retreating. BP last month said it was considering selling a stake in its offshore wind business, and Equinor earlier this year abandoned investments in Vietnam, Spain and Portugal. Meanwhile GE Vernova, one of the industry's top turbine suppliers, is not taking new orders.

"We do not foresee adding to (our) backlog without substantially different industry economics than what we see in the marketplace today," GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik said on a recent investor call.

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World governments had set a global target last year of tripling overall renewable energy use by 2030, something the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said would require offshore wind capacity to surge to 494 GW by the end of this decade, from 73 GW currently.

IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera told Reuters offshore wind is now projected to fall short of its target by a third. Estimates by three other prominent research firms project that the world will not reach 500 GW of offshore wind installations until after 2035.

TRUMP EFFECT

Governments in Europe, the Americas and Asia have sought to prop up the sector with national targets aimed at attracting deep-pocketed developers including major global energy companies Equinor, Orsted, RWE and Iberdrola.

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The United States, for example, set a goal in 2021 of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by the end of this decade, but had less than 200 megawatts operating as of May of this year, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The outgoing administration of U.S. President Joe Biden issued permits for 15 GW of projects, held six lease sales on multiple coasts, and extended tax credits to the industry.

But U.S. offshore wind has been roiled since last year by canceled projects and contracts, suspended government auctions, and a high-profile construction accident at the country's first major commercial project

The industry is now worried that Biden's replacement, President-elect Donald Trump, will follow through on an election campaign promise to dismantle the industry's progress, possibly by withholding lease auctions.

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"Given the results of the U.S. elections, we see higher risks than before for the timely implementation of offshore wind projects there," Michael Mueller, finance chief of German offshore project developer RWE, told journalists on an earnings call this month.

Energy research firm Rystad said it expects the United States to reach less than half of its 2030 target.

Representatives of the Biden administration and Trump's transition team did not provide comment for this story.

Carl Fleming, a partner at law firm McDermott Will & Emery who advises the White House on renewable energy policy, told Reuters the U.S. would struggle to miss its target regardless of who is in the White House, given market conditions.

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EUROPE ALSO FALLING SHORT

In Europe, Petra Manuel, offshore wind analyst at Rystad, expects countries with the highest offshore wind targets - the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands - to reach about 60% to 70% of their goals. Nations with less ambitious targets, including Belgium, Denmark and Ireland, are also expected to come up short, he said.

Industry trade group WindEurope, meanwhile, said it expects the European Union to have 54 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, about half of the 120 GW North Sea countries pledged.

EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson told Reuters that delays in meeting targets could not be ruled out, but that none had been formally flagged by member states.

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Britain, the second-biggest offshore wind market after China, will also miss its goal of 60 GW by 2030, said Damien Zachlod, managing director of offshore wind developer EnBW Generation UK.

The UK held its best-funded auction yet in September, adding 4.9 GW of new agreements. But future auctions will require far larger volumes to reach 60 GW on time, he said.

"It will be very, very challenging and we won't hit the target by 2030," he said.

A spokesperson for the UK government did not immediately provide comment.

CHINA BUCKS THE TREND

China, which became the global leader in offshore wind in 2022, is bucking the global trend.

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Beijing has supercharged its industry with subsidies and low financing costs. Most of the sector's players are state-owned, and have access to locally-made offshore wind components.

China accounted for more than half of 2023 offshore wind installations, with 6.3 GW, and the Global Wind Energy council trade group estimates the country will install 11 to 16 GW annually in the next two to three years.

Sourcing cheap equipment from China would help reduce costs for developers in Europe, Japan and the United States, but governments there have sought to encourage local production to reduce reliance on Beijing.

Elsewhere in Asia, nations including Vietnam, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have sought to expand offshore wind but also face difficulties linked to soaring costs and regulatory uncertainty.

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Japan, for example, has set ambitions of building up to 45 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2040, up from less than 1 GW today. But the nation's auctions to date have been small, and the industry is constrained by laws preventing non-Japanese vessels from operating in offshore wind areas.

Rebecca Williams, deputy CEO of the Global Wind Energy Council trade group, acknowledged there is a risk the industry could miss its targets, but said hitting them is still possible with the right policies.

"Of course, whenever there's a target, there's a risk that that target might not be met," Williams said on the sidelines of the COP29 conference in Baku.

"But the target is not the thing that's going to get the turbines in the water."

(Reporting by Nichola Groom in Los Angeles, Nina Chestney in London, Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen, Richard Valdmanis and Gloria Dickie in Baku, Colleen Howe in Beijing, Francesco Guarascio in Hanoi and Katya Golubkova in Tokyo, Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt; Editing by Frances Kerry)
DENVER (KDVR)  A Golden man pleaded guilty in July 2022 and was sentenced in early November for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and tax evasion for a fraud scheme that impacted over 150,000 consumer victims.

According to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Minnesota, Henry Aragon, 54, of Golden, devised and took part in a nationwide telemarking fraud scheme involving magazine subscription sales. Aragon and co-defendants were accused of defrauding over 150,000 consumers across the country, many of whom the U.S. Attorneys Office said were older or susceptible to fraud.

Loveland police chief files complaint against city council member

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To do this, a network of dozens of fake magazine sale companies was created and located across the U.S. and Canada. Using telemarketing call centers, the companies used deceptive sales scripts to defraud victims by inducing them  through a series of lies and misrepresentations  into making large or repeat payments to the companies, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

Aragon was accused of pressuring consumers into making payments related to the supposed magazine subscriptions. Call makers used a fraudulent renewal script that presented telemarketers as representatives of the consumers existing magazine subscription company. The telemarketers would lie to consumers, the U.S. Attorneys Office said, telling them they had an offer to reduce monthly subscription costs.

In reality, the company had no existing relationship with the magazines, and they were actually fraudulently signing the consumer-victims up for expensive and entirely new magazine subscriptions, the U.S. Attorneys Office said.

The results were consumers who went from having a single magazine subscription to more than a dozen, in some cases, all with different fake magazines. The magazines were sold under the guise of reducing the consumers monthly bills. Throughout the scheme, Aragon and his companies collected over $19 million from victims, the U.S. Attorneys Office stated.

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During this, Aragon also didnt pay taxes on the money he and his fraudulent businesses made, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Minnesota said.

Bill sponsors react to Polis claim in RFK Jr. post

By evading his tax liability, Aragon unfairly shifted the tax burden to honest American taxpayers to fund vital services such as education and infrastructure, said Tom Demeo, acting special agent in charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Denver Field Office. IRS-CI special agents identified more than $2 billion in tax fraud last fiscal year, and we will remain committed to holding tax cheats accountable.

Aragon will serve 60 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and will be required to repay $19.05 million to victims of the fraud scheme, plus $1.49 million to the Internal Revenue Service for his tax evasion case.

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A Rhode Island woman was arrested Sunday on DUI and child endangerment charges after she was allegedly seen swerving all over the road on Route 2 in East Hartford, nearly hitting other drivers and guardrails.

Troopers received multiple 911 calls just after 5:20 p.m. about a driver on Route 2 East near Exit 5 who was possibly impaired, according to Connecticut State Police.

The driver of the vehicle, a white Nissan Rogue, allegedly could not stay in one lane and eventually pulled over in the shoulder of the highway where a good Samaritan stopped and took her keys away, state police said.

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When troopers responded, the individual with the keys alleged that the driver was all over the road and nearly hit multiple vehicles and guardrails before pulling over, according to state police. Troopers who approached the Rogue found a woman in the backseat of the vehicle holding a minor child. She was identified as 37-year-old Javglad Garcia of Providence, Rhode Island, state police said.

Garcia admitted to being the driver and said she had pulled over because she could not see well, according to state police. Troopers alleged that she appeared impaired as they were speaking with her, as her eyes were watery and her speech was so slurred that it was difficult at times to understand what she was saying, state police said. They also allegedly found two packages of wine beverages on the floor of the vehicle behind the driver seat.

State police said Garcia denied drinking or taking any drugs prior to driving. She allegedly failed field sobriety testing and was taken into custody.

Garia was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, risk of injury to a child and second-degree reckless endangerment. She was later released on a $5,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Manchester Superior Court on Dec. 13.

State police said the child in the vehicle was not injured and was turned over to a guardian. Garcias vehicle was towed.
Bins full of absentee ballots await Wake County Board of Elections review. (Photo: Lynn Bonner)

This story has been updated.

Appeals Court Judge Jefferson Griffin on Monday sued the North Carolina State Board of Elections over the vote counting process in the Supreme Court race in which he is the Republican nominee.

Griffins suit claims the elections board isnt providing data quickly enough for him to request a recount prior to the Tuesday, November 19 deadline for counties that have completed their canvass. Many, but not all of North Carolinas 100 counties have completed the canvas process at the time of filing the lawsuit on Monday, though they are expected to finish by the end of the day.

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Its one of the closest contests in the general election.

Griffin held a narrow lead of less than 10,000 votes over incumbent Democratic Justice Allison Riggs on election night. Since then, Riggs has crept ahead with results from additional provisional and absentee ballots.

The two candidates were separated by a margin of 24 votes at the time of filing the lawsuit, according to the document. The State Board of Elections website reported a margin of 70 votes in Riggs favor out of more than 5.5. million cast as of 4:00 pm. Monday.

Defendants failures have impeded Plaintiffs efforts to meaningfully examine the 2024 General Election processes and unlawfully interfered with Plaintiffs ability to evaluate the potential need to file any protests in relation to the 2024 General Election, the document read.

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Griffin is represented by Philip Thomas of Chalmers, Adams, Backer & Kaufman, PLLC.

Thomas is the chair of the North Carolina Chapter of the Republican National Lawyers Association and serves on their national Board of Governors. He previously served as chief counsel for the North Carolina Republican Party.

Griffins counsel sent a formal request to the elections board to emphasize the need for readily available data on Saturday, but did not receive complete records, according to the lawsuit.

Thomas asked for the records by 7 a.m. Monday morning after sending the request over the weekend. The state elections board provided the records later in the day, after informing the lawyers that the records would be provided on Monday.

In sum, this lawsuit is thoroughly unnecessary, elections board spokesperson Patrick Gannon said in a statement.
XIAMEN, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Song Tao, the mainland's senior Taiwan affairs official, on Monday met with Wang Jin-pyng, former leader of Taiwan region's legislature, in the city of Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province.

Wang is currently on a visit to the mainland till Thursday to pay respects to his ancestors and participate in cross-Strait exchanges.

During the meeting, Song, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, pledged further efforts to uphold the one-China principle, firmly oppose separatist activities seeking "Taiwan independence," advance national reunification, and jointly achieve national rejuvenation.

In his remarks, Wang urged efforts to promote cross-Strait cultural exchanges, jointly carry forward Chinese culture, enhance the national identity and cultural identity among compatriots, and further maintain peace across the Strait. 
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said Sunday that the Senate absolutely should have access to the House Ethics Committee report from its probe into misconduct allegations against former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who resigned from Congress last week after President-elect Trump tapped him for the attorney general role.

Mullin said the findings from the Ethics probe should factor into senators decisions as they proceed through Gaetzs confirmation process.

Absolutely, Mullin said in an interview on NBC Newss Meet the Press, when asked whether the House Ethics Committee should release the report on Gaetz. I believe the Senate should have access to that.

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Now, should that be released to the public or not? Mullin continued. I guess that will be part of the negotiations, but that should be definitely part of our decisionmaking.

Mullin, in the interview, was asked about past comments he made criticizing Gaetz, including when Mullin said, in a past clip, We had all seen the videos he was showing on the House floor that all of us had walked away, of the girls that he had slept with, adding, this is the type of individual Matt Gaetz is.

Mullin acknowledged the difficult relationship hes had with Gaetz in the past, but he said Gaetz, as any other nominee, should get a fair shot.

Theres no question that Matt Gaetz and I have had our differences, and thats  thats no secret. Moving forward, I do, I do respect President Trumps right to appoint these individuals, but underneath Article 2, Section 2, Congress has to advise and consent, and Matt Gaetz is going to go through the same scrutiny as every other individual, and Im going to give him a fair shot, just like every individual.

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I got to set my personal situation with Matt to the side and look at the facts. If hes qualified, hes qualified, Mullin said, adding that he did not even know Gaetz was an attorney until he researched him last week.

Mullin said he trusts Trump to pick some really, really good people, noting his ability to do so has aided him in business and politics.

So, I have no doubt that President Trump believes that Matt Gaetz is the right person to do the right job, but at the same time, the background of Matt Gaetz does matter, and what  the decisions that the Senate makes has to be within our boundaries of the constitutional authority that we have. And we will do our due diligence there.

The Ethics panel has for years been investigating Gaetz, exploring whether he engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, among other allegations. He has vigorously denied allegations of wrongdoing, and the Department of Justice, which previously investigated whether he had sex with a 17-year-old, declined to charge him with a crime.

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That Ethics Committee investigation, however, came to an abrupt end Wednesday, when Gaetz resigned from the House shortly after Trump nominated him to serve as attorney general. The Ethics panel does not have jurisdiction over former members of Congress.

It remains unknown what path the panel will follow with its Gaetz report. Some Republican senators have pushed for the Senate Judiciary Committee to be granted access to the report and the probes findings as they go through the vetting process.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), however, has said its not within the Ethics Committees power to release the report because Gaetz is a former member, not a current one.

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A Republican senator on Sunday called for the House of Representatives to share its report into alleged sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl by Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trumps nominee for attorney general.

Speaking on NBC News Meet the Press on Sunday, Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin told the networks Kristen Welker that the Senate should absolutely have access to the House Ethics Committees findings, adding that whether the report should be released to the public would be a part of the negotiations.

The committee spent years probing allegations against Gaetzwhich also include claims of illicit drug use. The Department of Justice separately investigated Gaetz over sex trafficking allegations involving the adolescent girl, but ultimately chose not to file charges. Gaetz denies any wrongdoing.

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The House investigation was halted after Gaetzs abrupt resignation from Congress last Wednesday following his nomination as attorney general.

Mullin has made little secret of his animosity for Gaetz in the past, having publicly aired rumors circulating about the Florida congressman showing fellow representatives on the House floor naked images of the women he had slept with. Gaetz denied the claims.

Theres no question that Matt Gaetz and I have had our differences, and thats  thats no secret, Mullin said during his Sunday interview. Moving forward, I do respect President Trumps right to appoint these individuals, but underneath Article 2, Section 2, Congress has to advise and consent, and Matt Gaetz is going to get the same scrutiny as every other individual, and Im going to give him a fair shot, just like every other individual.

Ive got to set my personal situation with Matt to the side and look at the facts. If hes qualified, hes qualified, Mullin went on, adding he was not in fact aware that Gaetz had even passed the bar until after news of his nomination broke.

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Mullin is himself, however, no stranger to controversy either.
Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin (Okla.) said Sunday the Senate should absolutely be able to see the findings from a House Ethics Committee investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) as members consider his nomination for attorney general.

I believe the Senate should have access to that, Mullin told NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday. Now, should it be released to the public or not? I guess that will be part of the negotiations. But that should be definitely part of our decision-making.

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Gaetz to serve as his attorney general last week, a decision that sent shock waves through the Justice Department. If confirmed, Gaetz would be tasked with overseeing the agency that investigated him on allegations of sex trafficking.

Gaetz, who served as a congressman from Florida beginning in 2017, resigned his House seat last week, which effectively shuttered the committee investigation just days before lawmakers were scheduled to vote to release their findings. The body was looking into claims of sexual misconduct and drug use.

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Mullin said Sunday the Senate should be given access to the unreleased report as it weighs Trumps nominees. He also stressed that despite his disagreements with Gaetz in the past, he would give him full consideration.

Theres no question that Matt Gaetz and I have had our differences, and thats no secret, Mullin told NBC. I do respect President Trumps right to appoint these individuals. ... Im going to give him a fair shot just like every individual.

If hes qualified, hes qualified, he added.

Matt Gaetz resigned from the U.S. House last week after Trump announced his intention to nominate him as attorney general. Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Democrats have responded furiously to the announcements about Gaetz and others as Trump quickly fills senior roles and Cabinet nominations with loyalists and allies. Some Republicans have also expressed doubt about Gaetzs prospects, threatening his chances even though the GOP holds a cushier majority than many expected.

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Trump has already tried to strong-arm Republican leadership to let him make so-called recess appointments to install Cabinet nominees without the Senates vote of approval.

Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more, he wrote on Truth Social earlier this month. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again. We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY!

Mullin added Sunday that he would vote to support such appointments  bypassing the Senate  if it became the last option.

It is very difficult to get there, he said. The appointment would be temporary, meaning it would only be at least two years or until the next Congress goes in. And so wed still have to go through the confirmation period anyway.

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So it would be absolute last resort, he went on. But if thats what we have to do to get the confirmation through, then absolutely lets do it. But I would say that would be last option.

Related...
FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW)  Months after a man made international headlines after being bitten by one of the worlds deadliest snakes, Florence city leaders are taking steps to toughen its animal ownership regulations.

That absolutely got our attention, Police Chief Allen Heidler told council members on Monday shortly before they approved adding language that prevents ownership of unpermitted livestock and other animals within municipal limits.

A second vote is needed before the measure goes into effect.

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Violators face daily fines of up to $500 and 30 days in jail.

In September, city resident Jeffrey Leibowitz was bitten on the hand by an inland taipan that he was keeping as a pet inside his Marion Street home  one of 14 venomous snakes he owned.

Police initially responded after being contacted by Florence County Emergency Medical Services. At that time, Leibowitz gave no other information about the location or number of snakes in his apartment, nor if the inland taipan was back in its cage after the bite, the report said.

During their investigation, police talked with an EMS supervisor who said Leibowitz was known on social media for having a large collection of venomous snakes in his home. Officers then looked at videos Leibowitz had posted on Facebook, which included one where he asked if anyone had antivenom for an inland taipan, reports said. He then said he would be at McLeod Hospital.

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Reports state that Leibowitzs Facebook page provided evidence that there were more dangerous snakes in his apartment. Police then obtained a search warrant based on the potential safety threat.

Officials are adding the language to the citys public nuisance ordinance. Specifically, it bans:

large birds or waterfowl

rodents weighing more than five pounds

primates

livestock

bears and large cats

wolves, coyotes, foxes or hybrids

crocodilians more than 12 inches long

large, dangerous or invasive constricting snakes

venomous or poisonous reptiles, amphibians or serpents

raccoons, hyenas, badgers, wolverines, skunks and weasels

pocupines

piranhas or other dangerous aquatic species

bats

* * *

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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.

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Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order on Monday, directing the Texas Department of Public Safety to target and arrest people trying to execute influence operations on behalf of the Chinese government to return dissidents to China.

Abbotts action is in response to Operation Fox Hunt, a Chinese government initiative that is intended to root out corruption in that country but in practice has also been used to intimidate Chinese citizens living abroad, harass Chinese pro-democracy activists and even forcibly repatriate dissidents and government officials in some cases. The U.S. justice department has successfully prosecuted individuals in connection to the Chinese initiative.

The Chinese Communist Party has engaged in a worldwide harassment campaign against Chinese dissidents in attempts to forcibly return them to China, Abbott said in a news release. Texas will not tolerate the harassment or coercion of the more than 250,000 individuals of Chinese descent who legally call Texas home by the Chinese Communist Party or its heinous proxies.

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Abbotts office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Conor Hagan, a spokesperson for the FBI office in Houston, said the agency has pushed a public campaign since January to stop the harassment, intimidation and assault of people in the United States by foreign governments. The FBI is looking for potential victims in the Houston area who have been harassed by agents of the Chinese government.

Hagan said the Chinese government has targeted its own citizens living within the United States as well as naturalized and U.S.-born citizens who have family overseas.

"Their actions violate U.S. law and our treasured American individual rights and freedoms," Hagan wrote in an email.

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The FBI office in Houston has set up a hotline for people who believe they are victims of these types of actions by the Chinese Communist Party: (713) 693-5000.

State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, who was born in China and immigrated to the United States applauded Abbott's move Tuesday.

"The ability to speak your mind and live freely are the core promises of the American Dream; and any who seek to take that away stand against Texas values," Wu said.

Last year, Wu criticized Texas Republicans for pushing legislation that would ban citizens and foreign entities from countries including China from buying land in Texas. He urged Abbott to also support Chinese immigrants by opposing such legislation.

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The Chinese government has set up police service stations across the world, according to Abbotts executive order, and one such station was rumored to be in Houston.

We will continue to do everything we can to protect Texans from the unlawful and repressive actions of the Chinese Communist Party, Abbott said.

Abbott charged DPS with identifying and charging people suspected of crimes related to Operation Fox Hunt; work with local and federal authorities to assess incidents where foreign governments are harassing Texans; provide policy recommendations on how to counter these threats and set up a hotline to reported suspected acts of coercion related to Operation Fox Hunt.

On Thursday, Abbott issued a second executive order aimed at hardening the systems of state agencies and public higher education institutions from being accessed by hostile foreign nations.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WHNT)  Governor Kay Ivey awarded $2.3 million to multiple counties in Alabama to support children and adults who are victims of abuse or other types of cruelty.

Gov. Ivey awarded grants to six agencies that provide services for assault and abuse victims. The offenses range from human trafficking, domestic violence and child abuse.

Violence against any individual is an abhorrent act, and offenders should be arrested and punished. Victims, meanwhile, deserve to have access to services that support them through these terrible ordeals and help heal the physical and mental scars they suffer, Gov. Ivey said. I am awarding these funds with confidence that these agencies will provide the essential assistance that these victims require.

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One Place of the Shoals was awarded $96,000 from the grant. One Place serves Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale and Winston counties. The Florence-based company provides emotional support, safety services and guides victims through the legal process including offender prosecution and victim compensation.

The other companies that received grants are:

The Alabama Court Appointed Special Advocates, awarded $1.43 million

Russell County Child Advocacy Center, awarded $54,087

Southeast Alabama Child Advocacy Center, awarded $172,387

Montgomery Area Family Violence Program, awarded $217,476

The House of Ruth, awarded $365,114

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The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs administers a wide range of programs that support law enforcement, victim programs, economic development, water resource management, energy conservation and recreation.

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.
Nov. 18AUSTIN  Governor Greg Abbott and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) on Monday announced the release of the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group's final report on Texas' plan to build a world-leading advanced nuclear power industry to enhance electric reliability and energy security, promote economic development, and unleash new opportunities for the growing Texas workforce.

"Texas is the energy capital of the world, and we are ready to be No. 1 in advanced nuclear power," Abbott said in a news release. "By utilizing advanced nuclear energy, Texas will enhance the reliability of the state grid and provide affordable, dispatchable power to Texans across the state. I thank Public Utility Commissioner Jimmy Glotfelty and the members of the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group for working tirelessly to put Texas on the path to be the global leader in advanced nuclear power. As we build an advanced nuclear industry in our great state, we will ensure Texas remains a leader in energy and strengthen the Texas grid to meet the demands of our growing state."

"Texas has long been the energy capital of the world, and today we have an incredible opportunity to build a world-leading advanced nuclear industry that will deliver safe, reliable power for generations to come," PUCT Commissioner Jimmy Glotfelty said in the release. "I want to thank the Governor for his direction on this important issue and the many people who dedicated their time and expertise to this work. The economic and policy recommendations we've outlined will inspire swift action and help Texas become the leader in advanced nuclear energy."

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In August 2023, Governor Abbott directed the PUCT to form a working group to study and plan for the use of advanced nuclear reactors in Texas. Over the past year, the working group developed key recommendations and strategies to position Texas as No. 1 in the advanced nuclear industry.

View the full Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group report and recommendations here.
Eight other states have passed similar laws requiring businesses to tell job applicants what pay they may receive if hired. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Job listings will be required to include what applicants potential pay would be under a new law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy Monday.

The law requires New Jersey employers with more than 10 workers to disclose a compensation range and benefits in job postings. It also requires employers to disclose promotional opportunities to current employees.

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New York enacted similar legislation in 2022, although some businesses found loopholes by posting dramatic salary ranges that did not indicate how much the jobs paid.

Bill sponsor Sen. Paul Moriarty (D-Gloucester) celebrated the signing as one that will bring a new level of transparency and fairness into the job posting and hiring process.

Why make people jump through hoops, only to find out at the end that theyre not going to be paid what they think they deserve? This law will prove beneficial to job seekers as well as those looking to hire, Moriarty said in a statement.

The law carries a $300 fine for first-time offenders and $600 for subsequent offenses.

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The bill passed in the Senate with full support in late June and passed the Assembly 56-16 in September.

Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D-Union), another sponsor, said the law will help level the playing field by protecting employees from favoritism and assisting them in understanding their potential for growth from the start.

The law will go into effect in mid-2025.

Theres been an uptick in states adopting pay transparency laws since California was the first in 2018. Nevada, Washington, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Utah have passed similar legislation.

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Nov. 18GRAND FORKS  The nonprofit responsible for resettling refugees in Grand Forks says it expects to receive most of its federal funding through the current fiscal year as resettlement agencies nationwide face an uncertain future.

Cynthia Shabb, executive director of Global Friends Coalition, says she's been told the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement will front 80% of the funding the nonprofit is set to receive in the federal fiscal year  an estimated $120,000.

The funding will sustain Global Friends' ongoing efforts as well as any additional refugees the agency is able to resettle with the remaining funds. Past that, no one can really say for sure, Shabb said.

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"Every meeting I've been on since ... last week has been to say, 'be very cautious about what we think can happen,'" she said. "No one really knows what can happen."

The national refugee resettlement system is bracing for President-elect Donald Trump's second term, following a presidential campaign characterized by anti-immigrant rhetoric and promises of an unprecedented overhaul of the country's immigration system.

Alongside his pledge to deport the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, Trump and his political allies have floated plans to severely curb legal immigration, building on policies from his first administration.

Rachel Miller, an attorney based in Bismarck, says immigration lawyers still aren't sure which of the president-elect's proposals, which range from ending birthright citizenship to another "Muslim ban" barring travelers from Muslim-majority countries, to expect to become policy or law.

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"As an immigration lawyer, we know something is coming to us," she said. "We certainly know it's not going to be easy for immigration."

One thing she says President-elect Trump could do with relative ease is lower the ceiling on the number of refugees the country will accept, which he did during the last year of his first term.

Another measure the Trump administration took during its first term was ending reauthorization of refugee resettlement efforts at smaller reception and placement programs across the country, leading to the closure of 134 affiliate sites within the national refugee resettlement system.

Miller said she expects a second Trump administration to implement policy faster and more effectively, as opposed to his first term, where many of his policies were tied up in legal battles.

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"He's had that experience, so he knows what he's doing, what he can do," she said.

Shabb worries about an executive order suspending the U.S. refugee program on the first day of the new administration.

Global Friends was set to bring in 120 refugees this fiscal year, including 25 with U.S. ties and 20 with Special Immigrant Visas, a program that grants permanent residency to foreign nationals who have helped the U.S. government abroad. (Many SIV holders are Afghans who worked alongside U.S. personnel during the war in Afghanistan.)

Shabb said she's currently working to reunite a woman and two of her children with her husband and daughters who are already in the United States and have been for years.

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"I don't really understand why the case got separated," Shabb said. "Cases get separated, and we don't know why. It's well before we get any information."

The mother and kids are supposed to arrive in the U.S. shortly before Inauguration Day in January.

Some naturalized citizens and green card holders in Grand Forks' Somali community are also concerned about their family members in the immigration system being left behind, according to Abdirisak Duale, an imam and executive director of the New Americans Integration Center in East Grand Forks.

"Some people are waiting for their families and children to come here," Duale said. "They believe they're not coming since Trump is elected."

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Duale is a Trump supporter and organized on behalf of the president-elect, but he says many of his congregants distrust the president-elect because of policies in his first term like the travel ban to Muslim-majority countries.

Shabb says Global Friends is expecting to focus on private fundraising next year as its current federal allocation runs out and future funding remains up in the air.

She said the nonprofit had seen a swell in community support since Election Day, including offers to volunteer.

On the other hand, she noted, a Facebook post that Global Friends put up the day after the election was met by commenters who questioned the nonprofit's credibility and suggested without evidence it was aiding "illegals."

"We got crazy messages and responses to that," she said. "So you have to be careful about what you say, how you say it."
BEIJING, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- China saw its express delivery volume in 2024 surpass the 150-billion-parcel mark for the first time, according to the State Post Bureau.

The record figure as of Sunday came in as the country's booming courier market has remained prosperous and active. 
After seeing an increase in vandalism spurred by social media trends, Granite School District has designed bathrooms in its two new high schools to allow for more safety and supervision, according to an announcement on its website.

"One school recently spent almost $50,000 in repairing damages caused in the restroom due to these challenges. This includes breaking mirrors, stealing soap dispensers, clogging toilets with toilet paper, and we have even had attempts to remove urinals from the wall," the release says.

According to a 2024 report detailing school discipline and law enforcement data, many issues in schools have seen spikes in post-COVID years, including incidents of harassment, bullying, assault and disruption.

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School officials say they have "seen an upsetting trend where many students do not feel safe or comfortable using traditional enclosed restroom facilities while at school for fear of cyber-bullying and harassment," the release says, and "schools do not have the manpower to monitor every restroom at all times."

Cellphones are partially to blame, despite being banned, the district says. "We are still seeing many instances of students being filmed while they are using the restroom and that content is posted on social media," according to the release. The result  students are leaving campus and going home to use the bathroom.

Graphs showing incident data trends between 2019 and 2024 from a 2024 report on Utah schools. | Utah State Board of Education

In Granite's new construction projects  the new Cyprus and Skyline High School campuses  officials say they may be using a design that "many new school buildings around the state and country are using ... to improve safety for students."

Small individual rooms with toilets, floor-to-ceiling doors and walls, would be connected to a shared handwashing area that "is entirely open to the hallway," the announcement says.

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There will still be traditional restrooms on the same floors, but school officials hope that the new designs will "curb issues, like vaping and harassment, that unfortunately occur most often in traditional enclosed restrooms," the release says.

Similar handwashing stations have been in the districts elementary schools for over two decades, according to the post, for similar supervisory reasons.
The Grosse Pointes arent usually an election bellwether. Normally, as goes Grosse Pointe, so goes Birmingham. And maybe the Newport Rhode Island yacht club.

On Election Day, as the rest of the country went right, Grosse Pointe went left  electing a teacher-supported, more liberal slate of school board candidates. Their success offers lessons for Democrats looking to rebuild from the disappointing 2024 election.

Some background: Local billionaire Sean Cotton has become an institution of sorts in the Pointes. Cotton and his family have invested heavily in Grosse Pointe Parks retail strip along Kercheval (to be fair, mostly for the areas benefit) and purchased the Grosse Pointe News.

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For the last two years, hes also led a majority faction on the board that governs schools in the five Grosse Pointe communities and part of Harper Woods.

The Cotton majority has governed by controversy. They killed previously approved plans for a health clinic  funded by a state grant and the Beaumont Foundation  at Grosse Pointe North High School with all the usual unfounded hysteria about abortions and parental rights. The flip-flop had the potential to make the district look fickle and unreliable to future partner organizations.

Board Member Ahmed Ismail, part of the Cotton majority, was accused in a lawsuit of harassing Norths administrators, allegations that led to the schools principal resigning and a $33,000 legal bill for the district.

With four school board seats on the fall ballot, Cotton sought to expand his single-member majority, plowing $441,000 into a super political action committee to support his slate of chosen candidates.

Grosse Pointe Park businesses along Kercheval, a Cotton-dominated commercial strip, near Nottingham on Tuesday, November 14, 2023.

More from Jeff Wattrick: What Trump has told us the truth about, and why I've made peace with it

The Grosse Pointe of yore?

It was hard to miss the Cotton slates billboards along I-94, or the Grosse Pointe News  a weekly broadsheet that embodies the finest journalistic traditions of Charles Foster Kane  often arriving in non-subscribers' mailboxes at key times.

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The Cotton slate campaigned hard on the notion they were upholding the best of Grosse Pointe tradition. That might not seem to have much to do with educational policy  and it doesnt  but it appealed to many who long for the days when Hickeys blue blazers were de rigueur for dinner at Sparky Herberts, the long-closed but fondly remembered Grosse Pointe restaurant.

That preppy, WASP-ish Grosse Pointe has given way to a more socially progressive  if still temperamentally conservative  community. The Cotton boards controversies loomed as large for parents (like myself) with children currently enrolled in the local schools. For the most part, we like our teachers, and the education our kids are receiving.

The success of Grosse Pointe schools is core to both the communitys identity  and property values. Historically, thats meant allowing top-flight teachers and administrators to do their thing. The ideologically driven micromanagement and controversy risked driving away the professional educators who have long prepared Grosse Pointes children for elite universities and successful professional careers. The incumbent school board majority, in the name of tradition, was threatening that status quo.

There had been an organized anti-Cotton effort in 2022 that failed to stop his school board takeover. This time was different. It's no surprise that this year, an anti-Cotton slate was organized and supported by its own PAC, which received a $50,000 contribution from Cynthia Ford.

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The underfunded, insurgent anti-Cotton slate campaign essentially boiled down to: trust teachers to teach. This slatefaced an uphill battle to take control of the school board, especially considering what we now know was a rightward-shifting election nationally.

Despite these obstacles, the four anti-Cottons won their races, and a majority on the seven-member school board.

More from Opinion: Trump says he has 'no choice' on mass deportation. It will change Michigan.

Lessons learned

Two lessons can be gleaned from this election.

First, the anti-Cottons kept the extreme left sidelined.

Hard as it may be to believe, there is a small but vocal subset of Grosse Pointers who, after a few organic Zinfandels, would probably tell you Stalin wouldnt have been so brutal, expect capitalism made him do it.

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In the 2022 school board races, Grosse Pointes left-wing-backed candidates amounted to Jill Stein-like spoilers, drawing sufficient voters from more electable, more mainstream candidates that allowed Cotton allies to narrowly take a majority on the board. You might argue that it wasnt the Cotton majority that canceled Norths health clinic so much as voters who thought themselves too politically pure to vote for Cottons most formidable opponents.

This time, the extreme left stayed in line. Theyre still around and still noisy, but this time, blessedly irrelevant. The race wasnt muddled with ideological purity tests or vanity candidates, and the results flipped because of it.

Grosse Pointes school board election was an object lesson: there is no such thing as a lesser of two evils, only the greater of all plausible outcomes.

Nationally, the left relearns this lesson  in 1968, 2000, 2016, 2024  only in defeat. Grosse Pointe showcases the potential of taking responsibility for voting as a practical tool for collective progress rather than an expression of personal ideological purity.

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Thats a lesson for voters.

All politics are personal

The lesson for politicians  and the Democratic Party  is to focus on issues of personal importance to voters. The Grosse Pointe school board election came down to which side would better serve the districts students, which, in turn, would benefit local property values. After all, people like to buy houses in good school districts.

The chaos of the Cotton board convinced this managerial class community that their best interests lay with a school board aligned with the teachers union.

Too often, Democratic politicians and the wider liberal cultural milieu is focused on amorphous concepts of justice, than fixing practical problems that affect more people more often, and even when centering abstract justice causes leads to outcomes that put the people they intend to protect at risk.

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That doesnt mean Democrats shouldnt compromise on anyones equal rights. Every person deserves to live with dignity, and without fear of violence or discrimination because of who they are. Thats not negotiable. At the same time, campaigning on practical day-to-day issues like the economy and education can win the day for Democrats, even if these issues are less fashionable with activists and academics.

A rising win at the ballot box lifts all boats

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer won re-election in 2022 on kitchen table issues. Now, every kid in Michigan eats lunch for free at school. President Joe Biden campaigned and won in 2020 on ending the pandemic. Every American had access to COVID-19 vaccines.

If we go back further, history tells us the late Gov. Soapy Williams (a Grosse Pointe favorite son) only became a New Deal Democrat when, as a Princeton student and head of the campus Republican club, he recognized the Great Depression was hurting his fathers property management business. Unemployed people cant pay rent.

In these and countless other instances, these centrist or establishment leaders were able to deliver on priorities that benefitted middle and working-class Americans, because they won. And, because they won, they could also move the needle on social issues that provide greater protection for marginalized groups  for instance, the Lansing Democratic trifectas expansion of Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include LGBTQ+ Michiganders.

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But it  all of it  must start with winning, and what wins elections is centering the needs of the greatest common factor of voters.

When Grosse Pointes more liberal school board candidates focused on the self-interest of voters, they won. Democrats and liberals across the nation should take note.

Free Press contributing columnist Jeff Wattrick is a freelance writer who lives in Grosse Pointe Park. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it in print and online.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: In Grosse Pointe school election, Sean Cotton's slate lost | Opinion
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN)  Its not unusual for Williamson County Justice of the Peace Evelyn McLean to drive more than 40 miles in one night, going from the southern edge of her county to the north, to respond to death inquests.

McLean is one of four justices of the peace who determine cause and manner of death, since the county has no medical examiner of its own. The justices shared concerns of juggling court dockets and death investigations over the last year with KXAN investigators.

Williamson County has been in the epicenter of a debate over whether, and when, counties should establish a medical examiners office. And that contentious topic is once again set to play out in the next legislative session in January.

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Explore KXANs project about Texas unique system for investigating deaths, and how it played into the questions that persist about the 1965 strangulation of a young girl.

FULL STORY: Texas death investigation debate to resurface in 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 KXAN Austin.
Silver Mountain Resort, a popular ski resort in northern Idaho, posted a rather concerning update to their Facebook page on the evening of Sunday, November 17, 2024.



The post states that an "off-duty employee", located at the top of Silver Mountain, suffered a non-life threatening injury from an accidental gun discharge. The incident allegedly took place at approximately 9:30 p.m. PST on November 17, 2024.



Full statement from Silver Mountain Resort:



"On November 17th at approximately 8:50 PM, an off-duty employee at the top of Silver Mountain suffered a non-life threatening injury from an accidental gun discharge. Medical personnel were transported to the Mountain House via snow groomer, and the employee was transported down the mountain via the gondola and taken to emergency care.



Silver Mountain wishes to thank the efforts of the Shoshone County Fire District 2, Shoshone County Sheriff and Dispatch, and our Silver Mountain employees who assisted in the effort to quickly get our employee off the mountain and to medical care.



Out of respect for the privacy of the individual involved, no further details will be shared."



Silver Mountain Resort, Idaho. Photo: CSNafzger/Shutterstock

Local news outlets Fox 28 and NonStop Local KHQ confirmed that the incident took place after speaking with Sheriff Holly Lindsey of the Shoshone County Sheriff's Office last night. The news outlets and the Sheriff's Office have not released additional information about the incident at this time.



POWDER has reached out to Silver Mountain Resort, but has not received a response at this time. We will continue to update this article as more information is revealed.

Silver Mountain Resort, Idaho trail map. Photo: Silver Mountain Resort

Silver Mountain Resort Stats/Info:

Vertical: 2,220 ft.



Skiable Terrain: 1,600+



Average Snowfall: 340 in.



Lifts: 7



Trails: 73



Snowmaking: YES



Mega-Pass: Indy Pass

Related: Aspen Snowmass To Open Five Days Early

Be the first to read breaking ski news with POWDER. Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of skiing. From ski resort news to profiles of the worlds best skiers, we are committed to keeping you informed.
HONOLULU (KHON2)  A recent investigation by the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) and the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) has confirmed the presence of H5N1 avian influenza in a backyard flock of birds in Central Oahu.

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Health officials are now advising individuals who attended the Mililani Pet Fair on November 2, 2024, and had contact with ducks or geese to monitor for symptoms of influenza-like illness or conjunctivitis.

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While certain birds from the infected flock were present at the fair, the onset of illness in the birds did not occur until several days later. As the birds showed no signs of infection at the time, the risk of H5N1 transmission to humans is considered low.

However, out of caution, the DOH is urging attendees who handled the affected birds to watch for symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, and pink eye, which typically appear within two to five days of exposure, though in some cases symptoms may take up to 10 days to develop.

Avian influenza in humans is usually mild, but health officials stress that antiviral treatment is available if needed.

Avian flu detected at Wahiawa wastewater treatment plant

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DOH recommends that anyone who attended the fair, touched a duck or goose and is experiencing persistent symptoms should stay home and seek medical attention.

Those affected are also encouraged to contact their primary care provider for evaluation and to notify the DOH Disease Reporting Line at 808-586-4586, available 24/7.

The likelihood of H5N1 spreading to other animals at the fair is also considered low.

However, veterinarians have been alerted to monitor any pets or animals that may have had contact with the infected birds.

Pet owners concerned about their animals health are urged to consult with their veterinarians.

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For those wishing to report unusual illnesses in birds or animals, the HDOAs Animal Industry Division is available at 808-483-7102 during business hours or 808-837-8092 after hours and on holidays.

Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news

For further information on avian influenza, the public can visit the DOH 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 KHON2.
Nell Robinson says shes never lived in the State of Florida and doesnt know how someone would apply for Florida-issued benefits under her 6-year-old daughters name.

Shes been on my case since 2018, Robinson said.

Robinson told Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln that she was alerted about it in March by the Georgia Department of Human Services after her daughters SNAP benefits were revoked because of the Florida SNAP account.

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She suspects a hacker was able to get into her account after logging into a fake link that was posing as the state.

I went on Gateway, but it was a different login for me, Robinson said.

Lincoln spoke exclusively with a former hacker who said its not unusual for a hacker to apply for benefits under a stolen identity.

Theyre selling them online, he said.

He said card skimming and phishing are the two popular ways hackers are selling accounts.

Once a SNAP recipient logs in with their credentials, he said it provides the hacker with all the information they need.

From there, he said they gain your account info like your PIN and card number, and then sell it on the dark web or widely known apps like Telegram.

TRENDING STORIES:

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Theyre going for dollars on the penny, you can go online and buy any login and any password for any company thats on the web right now, he told Lincoln.

Once theyre sold, he said users typically buy online and out of state where they can easily insert the card number.

The Georgia Department of Human Services told Channel 2 Action News that theyre working with their EBT card vendor to enhance security.

Theyre also testing an app that would allow clients to lock and unlock their cards.

The state said offering chipped cards is not possible yet because most EBT vendor points of sale dont support chipped cards.

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DHS told Channel 2 Action News that 7,040 claims for replacement benefits had been submitted since Oct. 19, 2023, and more than 5,600 had been approved, according to data through Sept. 15.

Since last fall, DHS said theyd issued more than $2.9 million in replacement benefits.

All of the claims resulted from SNAP benefits being skimmed or stolen by other fraudulent means.

To protect their SNAP benefits, DHS said beneficiaries should:

NEVER share sensitive information with an unsolicited requestor.

Be wary of publicly posting information such as birthdays, children or pet names, workplaces, where you grew up, and other personal historical information on social media. Doing so can let scammers successfully answer challenge questions and reset passwords on your accounts without needing to interact with you at all.

DHS customers should maintain strong, unique passwords for their Georgia Gateway accounts and never share personal account information with anyone who is not a designated caregiver.

Save DHS primary phone number 877-423-4746 in your phone contacts, that way, when you need to reach us, youll have the correct phone number immediately available to you.

If you suspect that a call you receive is a scam, hang up and call DHS directly using the phone number you saved in your contacts.

If you suspect that an email, text message, website, or social media page/account is a scam, dont open any links or attachments that you see. Instead, call DHS directly OR go to our website  dhs.georgia.gov.

Be advised that DHS may serve you via social media, but over the phone we will ask for your Social Security number and banking information for verification and when submitting a new application.

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If you think youve been the victim of a scam involving your public benefits, DHS says to contact their Office of Inspector General at 877-423-4746, option 4, or email them.

SNAP fraud victims can request replacement benefits online here.
Haitian families are said to be leaving Springfield, Ohio, in droves over fears theyll be rounded up and deported following Donald Trumps re-election, according to reports.

Around 200,000 Haitian immigrants legally live and work in the US under Temporary Protected Status (TPS)  granting them immunity from deportation for a limited time because of emergency conditions in their home nation. Thousands of these have settled in Springfield  a city of about 58,000 residents.

Despite having legal status, the president-elect has signaled that immigrants living under TPS could have their status revoked.

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Now, with Trump set to return to the White House in two months time, some immigrants have already started packing up and leaving Springfield before they could be pushed.

People are leaving, Margery Koveleski, a volunteer at the Haitian Community Alliance, told The Guardian.

Some folks dont have credit cards or access to the internet, and they want to buy a bus ticket or a plane ticket, so we help them book a flight.

While many Haitians are thought to have moved locally to surrounding cities, others are considering returning to South America, community leaders said.

Jacob Payen, a co-founder of the Haitian Community Alliance, said that a second Trump term has brought with it fears of mass deportation.

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People are fully aware of the election result, and that is why they are leaving; they are afraid of a mass deportation, told The Guardian.

In September, Trump and his running mate Ohio Senator JD Vance pushed false rumors about Haitian residents in Springfield eating pets and local waterfowl even after authorities debunked the claims.

During his campaign, Trump pushed false rumors about immigrants eating pets in the Ohio city (AP)

Theyre eating the dogs. Theyre eating the cats. Theyre eating the pets of the people that live there, Trump said to a bemused Vice President Kamala Harris on the debate stage on September 10.

In early October, when Trump was asked by NewsNation if he would revoke TPS for Haitian migrants in Springfield, he replied: Absolutely. Id revoke it, and Id bring them back to their country.

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Beyond Trumps rhetoric, he has now taken the controversial move to nominate South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as his secretary of homeland security. In this role, she will oversee a $60bn budget and thousands of employees from federal agencies including the US Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

As governor, Noem has deployed the state National Guard to the southern border several times in recent years.

Despite his false claims abotu Springfield residents, Trump beat Harris overwhelmingly in Clark County, where Springfield is based, according to election results.

It comes at a time when violence and unrest in Haitis capital Port-au-Prince continues to rise, with the new Prime Minister Garry Conille being fired last week.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Sunday categorically denied the suggestion that Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is undermining his leadership by openly voicing her opinion about what led to the Democrats poor showing in this election.

Some Democrats have expressed frustration that Pelosi is publicly assessing the partys strategy and results despite her decision to step down from her leadership role two years ago. An unnamed member of the Congressional Black Caucus told Axios Pelosi is not being respectful of Jeffries.

Jeffries, though, does not appear to share the sentiment.

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Speaker Emerita Pelosi has been incredibly respectful of the entire leadership team, Jeffries told NBCs Meet The Press. Its an honor to stand on the shoulders of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, an incredibly consequential public servant in the history of America.

In an interview with The New York Times in the days after the race was called for President-elect Donald Trump, Pelosi conceded that Nov. 5 was a not a good night for her party.

Pelosi suggested President Joe Biden should have dropped out of the race earlier than he did to allow Democrats to hold an open primary to decide who should be their new nominee, predicting that Vice President Kamala Harris would have prevailed.

Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race, she told the Times. Kamala, I think, still would have won, but she may have been stronger, having taken her case to the public sooner.

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Biden withdrew his candidacy in July, weeks after he delivered a poor performance at the debate against Trump that raised questions about his mental acuity and fitness to continue serving in the role for another four years. He immediately endorsed Harris, prompting the rest of the party to rally around her.

Jeffries did not offer a direct answer on whether he agreed with Pelosis assessment on Biden.

The president did make the decision. It was a selfless decision to pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, Jeffries told NBCs Kristen Welker.

Weve said that should be candid and clear-eyed and comprehensive about what was done right, what was done wrong collectively, he continued.

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Apart from their defeat in the presidential election, Democrats are also projected to lose the Senate and the House, giving Republicans a governing trifecta.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) last week told Politico Pelosi is not being fair in her critique of Biden given she was one of the Democrats credited with pushing him to step aside. Fetterman had pushed for Biden to remain in the race.

Pelosi embraced this shes the godmother, shes the enforcer. And now shes blaming Biden, Fetterman said. Well, you cant have it both ways. You got what you wanted, and now youre still blaming Biden.

Related...
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers an important speech under the title "Shouldering Responsibility to Our Times And Jointly Promoting Asia-Pacific Development" at the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting at the Lima Convention Center in Lima, Peru, Nov. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

China is set to play host again with a significant mission: to unite Asia-Pacific economies to champion open economic and trade cooperation while rejecting protectionist and confrontational trade tactics.

LIMA, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping announced on Saturday that China will host the 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and is ready to work with all parties to deepen Asia-Pacific cooperation.

He made the remarks when addressing the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting held in the Peruvian capital. Under this year's theme of Empower, Include, Grow, APEC members agreed to work towards an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community at a time of mounting challenges and uncertainties.

China's hosting of the 2026 APEC summit underscores its advocacy for openness and cooperation, serving as a tangible step toward strengthening Asia-Pacific solidarity and fostering an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future.

It is expected to play a positive and pivotal role in building broader consensus and deliver more tangible results for regional connectivity and a more balanced, sustainable, and inclusive growth of Asia-Pacific and beyond.

Workers gather near a poster at the G20 summit venue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Nov. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong)

CLOSE BOND WITH APEC

It will mark the third time China has hosted APEC. When China first hosted the APEC summit in 2001, it was poised to join the World Trade Organization, signaling its readiness to step fully into the global economic arena.

By the time China hosted APEC again in 2014, the country had become an economic powerhouse, driving global growth through deepened integration into the world economy.

Now, China is set to play host again with a significant mission: to unite Asia-Pacific economies to champion open economic and trade cooperation while rejecting protectionist and confrontational trade tactics.

To advance Asia-Pacific cooperation, China took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility by offering to host APEC in 2026, which is welcomed by APEC members and has received their endorsement at this year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Saturday.

"We look forward to working with all parties to deepen Asia-Pacific cooperation to the benefit of the peoples in the region," Xi said during his speech.

China's previous experience in hosting APEC demonstrates its ability to build consensus, said Carlos Vasquez, 2024 chair of APEC senior officials ambassador.

"China played a very important role along with some other very important economies ... to gain consensus again from the very beginning in the APEC year 2024 here in Peru," said Vasquez.

Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan, executive director of the Islamabad-based Centre of South Asia and International Studies, said it is foreseeable that China will further share the achievements of its policies of openness, modernization, digitalization, and qualitative industrial development. He expressed the hope that Chinese policymakers will share new befitting propositions, plans, and initiatives to enhance regional and global economic integration and foster international cooperation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers an important speech under the title "Shouldering Responsibility to Our Times And Jointly Promoting Asia-Pacific Development" at the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting at the Lima Convention Center in Lima, Peru, Nov. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

CALL FOR BETTER ASIA-PACIFIC DEVELOPMENT

During his speech, Xi urged APEC economies to "act in solidarity and cooperation to meet the challenges, fully deliver on the Putrajaya Vision 2040, build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future, and start a new era in Asia-Pacific development."

The Putrajaya Vision 2040, adopted by APEC leaders in 2020, envisions "an open, dynamic, resilient, and peaceful Asia-Pacific community by 2040, for the prosperity of all our people and future generations."

This vision of shared prosperity and enduring stability faces growing challenges. Geopolitical tensions, coupled with economic disruptions fueled by unilateralism, protectionism, and attempts at "decoupling" and "de-risking," have placed unprecedented strain on the region's stability and growth.

"We should stay committed to multilateralism and an open economy, firmly uphold the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, fully reactivate APEC's role as an incubator of global economic and trade rules, and advance regional economic integration and connectivity," said Xi.

He also emphasized the need to make green innovation a catalyst for the Asia-Pacific and called on APEC members to increase support for developing economies and disadvantaged groups and work together to grow the pie and distribute it equitably to allow more economies and people to benefit from development.

Neo Letswalo, a researcher at the Department of Politics and International Relations in South Africa's University of Johannesburg, said APEC members should foster more regional integration efforts, starting with establishing joint commitments to enhancing free trade, decarbonization and investments, as "strong economic interdependency prevents conflict and tension."

In the views of Khan, "Xi's suggestions facilitate a positive, productive, and participatory trading system, producing win-win situations for every country in the Asia-Pacific."

Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders and representatives from APEC member economies pose for a group photo in Lima, Peru, Nov. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

COMMITMENT TO SHARED FUTURE

For the past three decades, APEC members have joined hands towards closer cooperation and deeper regional integration, making Asia-Pacific the world's most dynamic and promising economic powerhouse, as well as a key driving force for global growth and poverty reduction.

Today, the world looks different. It is gripped by anemic growth and confronted with challenges such as unilateralism and protectionism. China, which has made great strides in economic growth and social development since its reform and opening up over 40 years ago, has offered and will continue to provide solutions to these problems.

Opening up is a distinct hallmark of Chinese modernization, and China has remained committed to opening its door wider to the world.

China continues to implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership against high standards, and is also working actively to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, Xi said.

"China welcomes all parties to continue riding the 'express train' of its development and grow together with the Chinese economy so that we can all contribute to the modernization of all countries featuring peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation and common prosperity," he added.

In interviews with Xinhua, Asia-Pacific experts and officials noted that China's remarkable success through high-quality opening up has given it a deep understanding of the importance of an open global economic system and the critical need to advance multilateral and win-win cooperation.

As a major country in the Asia-Pacific, China "has consistently adhered to a development path that aligns with APEC's spirit of openness, inclusiveness, and mutual benefit," said Woo Su-keun, director of the Institute of East Asian Studies of Korea.

"It is more important for countries to demonstrate strong leadership through concrete actions rather than words," Woo said.

For Ong Chong Yi, executive director of the Malaysian think tank Belt and Road Initiative Caucus for Asia-Pacific, China has opened its market to provide development opportunities for countries in the region, driving inclusive economic growth within the Asia-Pacific.

"At the same time, China actively supports infrastructure development in developing nations, enhancing connectivity and economic and social inclusivity across the region. These efforts create more opportunities for shared progress and prosperity," he said. 
ANKARA (Reuters) -A Turkish diplomatic source dismissed on Monday reports that Hamas had moved its political office to Turkey from Qatar, adding that members of the Palestinian militant group only visited the country from time to time.

Qatar said last week it had told Hamas and Israel that it will suspend efforts to mediate a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal until both show willingness and seriousness. Doha also said media reports that it had told Hamas to leave the Gulf Arab country were not accurate.

NATO member Turkey has fiercely criticised Israel over its offensives in the Gaza Strip and in Lebanon and does not consider Hamas a terrorist organisation. Some Hamas political officials regularly visit Turkey.

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"Hamas Political Bureau members visit Turkey from time to time. Claims that indicate the Hamas Political Bureau has moved to Turkey do not reflect the truth," the diplomatic source said.

Later on Monday, Hamas dismissed the reports as "rumours the (Israeli) occupation is trying to publish from time to time."

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Huseyin Hayatsever and Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo; Editing by Jonathan Spicer, Toby Chopra and Mark Heinrich)
HAMDEN, Conn. (WTNH)  The cause of a second-alarm house fire in Hamden is under investigation, according to fire officials.

According to fire officials, on Sunday, at around 3:28 p.m., crews were dispatched to the area of Country Hills Road for a fire at a single-family home.

One dead in Deep River house fire

Rescue 2 and Engine 2 arrived at the scene and found heavy fire on both the first and second floors, fire officials said.

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Fire officials said they encountered high heat and heavy smoke at the scene and ensured the occupants were safely out of the home.

Fire officials said the fire upgraded to a second alarm due to the extremely dry conditions and concerns about exposure.

Mutual aid fire departments from neighboring towns in New Haven and North Haven provided station coverage and responded to other emergency calls, fire officials said.

The Hamden Fire Marshals Division is investigating the origin and cause of the fire.

American Medical Response provided rehab and EMS standby on the scene, fire officials said.

The Hamden Community Emergency Response Team and the American Red Cross assisted the homeowners, fire officials said.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com.
ST. LOUIS  It was another Sunday morning of sometimes heated but always civil political debate on Hancock and Kelley for Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024.

Republican consultant John Hancock and Jane Dueker, in for Democratic consultant Michael Kelley, share their thoughts on the following topics and issues:

We discuss Missouris Governor-elect Mike Kehoe and his agenda, particularly regarding the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

What does the new make-up of the St. Louis County Council mean for County Executive Sam Page?

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell will soon be headed to Congress after ousting two-term incumbent Cori Bush. But a showdown is brewing between Governor Mike Parson and County Executive Page over who gets to appoint Bells successor.

The peaceful transition of power: President Joe Biden does something President-elect Donald Trump would not.

Four St. Louis aldermen are backing a plan to start spending the citys share of the Rams/NFL settlement money. Theyve introduced a bill that echoes a plan from Greater St. Louis Inc. that would use $232 million to help rebuild the citys poorer neighborhoods and fund similar efforts downtown.

Aldermanic President Megan Green favors using the money as an endowment to fund projects residents ask for, like rebuilding the citys crumbling watermains and helping with childcare.

And in our Quote of the Week, how the courageous fight of an injured Ferguson police officer unites us all.

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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.
Originally appeared on E! Online

The family of a Hawaiian woman is investigating her mysterious disappearance.

Hannah Kobayashi, a 30-year-old resident of Haiku on the Hawaiian island of Maui, disappeared Nov. 11 after missing her connecting flight at Los Angeles International Airport to New York three days earlier.

Larie Pidgeon, Kobayashis aunt, told KITV News that she had been en route to New York for a concert, photography job and to visit her sister. However, after she landed in LAX Nov. 8, Kobayashi reportedly began sending concerning text messages to loved ones.

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According to Pidgeon, Kobayashi had sent a text to her aunt in New York saying, I just finished a very intense spiritual awakening.

Later, Pidgeon said Kobayashi also apologized to her aunt for the craziness, and said she was definitely intercepted.

As Pidgeon said of Kobayashi landing in Los Angeles, That's when everything started getting fuzzy and we're starting to lose contact with her.

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Kobayashi had sent a text to her roommate on the same day, in which she described feeling scared and expressed concern that someone may have been trying to steal her money or identity.

Pidgeon told KITV that this was the last text Kobayashi had sent to her knowledge. She has reached out to authorities in Los Angeles as well as the FBI in regards to the search for Kobayashi.

On Nov. 10, Kobayashi went to a LeBron James Nike event at The Grove in Los Angeles, and was seen in a video vlog posted to YouTube, Pidgeon shared to USA Today. On an Instagram account seemingly belonging to Kobayashi, a photo was also shared from the event that same day, of Nike shoes reflecting in a store window.

Hannah Kobayashi/Instagram

In Pidgeons interview with KITV, she explained that her nieces phone was last pinged to LAX Nov. 11, which she also confirmed to E! News.

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It was pinging in the LAX airport, she explained to KITV. And it no longerit goes straight to voicemail. It didnt move from LAX airport.

Pidgeon further emphasized that the succession of events is unusual behavior for her niece.

This is so unlike Hannah, she's very responsible, Pidgeon told KITV. She was looking forward to the event so much. She had a hotel room booked that was a couple thousand dollars, the tickets for the event was a couple of hundred dollars.

Pidgeon later shared a message directly to her niece.

We will not stop until we find you, you have so many family, you have so many friends who love you so, so, so much, she said, choking up. If you're feeling scared or if you feel alone, you are not. We are with you.

LAPD confirmed there is a missing person report for Kobayashi to E! News, and the investigation is ongoing.

For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
The parents of a murdered woman whose body was found in a car boot have said they want justice for their daughter.

An international manhunt is under way for the husband of Ms Brella, of Corby, after Northamptonshire Police named Pankaj Lamba as the prime suspect in the murder of 24-year-old Harshita Brella.

Speaking from India, Ms Brellas mother, Sudesh Kumari, told BBC News: I just want justice for my daughter.

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Her father, Satbir Brella, said: I want my son-in-law to be brought to justice and I want my daughters body brought home.

A murder inquiry was launched after Ms Brellas body was found inside the boot of a vehicle on Brisbane Road in Ilford, east London, close to an entrance to Valentines Park in the early hours of Thursday.

Police are searching for Pankaj Lamba in connection with the murder of his wife Harshita Brella - Northamptonshire Police

Ms Brellas sister, Sonia Dabas, said her sibling was very excited to move to the UK in April following an arranged marriage with Mr Lamba but didnt live a very happy life after settling in the country.

She added that her sister had worked in a warehouse and Mr Lamba was a student in London.

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The family said they last spoke to Ms Brella by phone on November 10 and that her phone was off for the next two days, BBC News reported.

Ms Dabas said the family thought something was wrong by November 13 and asked people to file a complaint.

Ms Brellas body was discovered in a car in East London - Terry Harris

A neighbour has said she heard two blistering rows, one involving a woman who sounded scared, in the days before Ms Brellas body was discovered.

Northamptonshire Police Chief Inspector Paul Cash told a press conference in Kettering: Inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba.

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We suspect Lamba transported Harshitas body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car. We believe he has now fled the country.

Earlier, a police spokesman confirmed Ms Brella had previously been the victim of domestic violence and in early September was made subject of a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) at Northampton Magistrates Court.

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Police in South Florida have identified a human head found on a beach near Miami.

Officers said 19-year-old Victor Castaneda Jr. disappeared earlier this month after getting pulled out into the ocean at South Pointe Beach.

Police said Castaneda saved his 17-year-old sister from a rip current, but he was sadly dragged out to sea.

Read: Human head washes ashore in Miami, police investigating

Dozens of his friends and family members gathered on the beach Saturday for a memorial.

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They called Castaneda a funny, loving man who was full of life.

Read: Crews recover body of missing 4-year-old boy with autism at park in Ormond Beach

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.




ISTANBUL (AP)  Doctors, nurses and an ambulance driver are among 47 people on trial accused of causing the deaths of 10 infants as part of an alleged scheme to defraud Turkeys social security system.

The defendants are accused of transferring babies to neonatal units of 19 private hospitals where the infants were allegedly kept for prolonged and sometimes unnecessary treatments. At least 10 newborns are alleged to have died in the past year due to neglect or malpractice in facilities that were unprepared to treat them.

Prosecutors at the trial, which opened in Istanbul on Monday, say the defendants also falsified reports to make the babies condition appear more serious with the aim obtaining payments from the social security institution.

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The main defendants have denied any wrongdoing, insisting they made the best possible decisions and face punishment for unavoidable unwanted outcomes.

The case, which emerged last month, has sparked public outrage and calls for a greater oversight of the health care system. Authorities have since revoked the licenses and closed nine of the 19 hospitals that were implicated in the scandal.

Dr. Firat Sari, the main defendant who operated the neonatal intensive care units of several private hospitals in Istanbul, is facing a sentence of up to 583 years in prison.

He is charged with establishing an organization with the aim of committing a crime, defrauding public institutions, forgery of official documents, and homicide by negligence.

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During questioning by prosecutors, Sari denied accusations that the babies were not given the proper care, that the neonatal units were understaffed or that his employees were not appropriately qualified, according to a 1,400-page indictment.

He told prosecutors: Everything is in accordance with procedures.

Dozens of demonstrators joined protests outside the courthouse, chanting: Baby killers will be held accountable and Private hospitals should be shut down.

Over 350 families have petitioned prosecutors or other state institutions seeking investigations into the deaths of their loved ones, according to state media.

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Among them is Hacire Akinci, 42, who lost her baby last year after eight years of fertility treatments.

They gave us a medical report that said the baby had died of natural causes. But apparently that wasn't the case, she told reporters outside the courthouse. I want charges to be brought, I want justice to be served.

The case has led to calls for the resignation of Health Minister Kemal Memisoglu, who was the Istanbul provincial health director at the time some of the deaths occurred. Ozgur Ozel, the main opposition party leader, has called for all hospitals involved to be seized by the state and nationalized.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said those responsible for the deaths would be severely punished but warned against placing all the blame on the countrys health care system.

We will not allow our health care community to be battered because of a few rotten apples, said Erdogan.



Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser contributed from Ankara, Turkey.
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trumps pick for secretary of Defense, has denied allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017, saying in a statement through his lawyer that he was subject to blackmail.

Timothy Parlatore said his client is completely innocent.

He was cleared after a police investigation determined that the woman was the aggressor in the situation and was then the subject of blackmail, Parlatore said in a statement. False claims like this undermine the gravity of real sexual assault cases.

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Hegseth, a former Fox News personality, was investigated as part of an alleged sexual assault in October 2017 at a hotel in Monterey, Calif., in which the victim also received a bruise to her right thigh.

The city of Monterey did not indicate charges were filed in the case, nor name Hegseth as the aggressor in a release issued last week confirming an investigation.

Trump is committed to having Hegseth head the Pentagon, despite the concerns about the 2017 incident, according to the New York Times.

The Times reported the Trump team received a memo from a person claiming to be a friend of the woman who allegedly was raped. The memo, which was not independently verified, said the woman, who has a husband and children, was an organizer at the conference where Hegseth was speaking at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa in October 2017.

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Hegseth reportedly was being pushy about taking two women to his hotel room from the bar, and the woman walked over to intervene, according to the Times. The woman has only hazy memories of being in Hegseths room and walking back to her own, according to the memo.

Parlatore confirmed he sent a cease-and-desist letter to the woman in 2020 after learning she was going to file a lawsuit against Hegseth.

The lawyer has said the encounter was consensual and that Hegseth was the intoxicated one. The two parties settled a few months after the cease-and-desist because of concern about the allegations coming out during the #MeToo movement, Parlatore has said.

Hegseth, a veteran of the Army National Guard, has worked with Fox News as a commentator since 2014 and was a former co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend.

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Hegseth, who also has led the organization Concerned Veterans for America, has come under scrutiny following Trumps selection of him to lead the Defense Department.

He has called to eliminate woke generals from the Pentagon, has defended the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters at the U.S. Capitol and has said women should not serve in combat roles, while members of the transgender community should not be allowed to serve at all.

Hegseth joins at least three other nominees whom Trump has selected who have been criticized for their lack of experience and extreme views.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPMs Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.

SecDef Nominee Denies Claim From 2017

More details emerged over the weekend about the sexual assault claim against Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trumps choice for secretary of defense.

The WaPo was first with extensive new information about the circumstance of the alleged sexual assault, based on (i) a memo it obtained that was provided to the Trump transition team late Wednesday by a friend of the victim; and (ii) a statement from Hegseths lawyer, Timothy Parlatore.

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The woman later reported the alleged assault to police, but no charges were ever filed:

According to the police statement, the complaint was filed four days after the encounter, and the complainant had bruises to her thigh. The police report itself was not released.

Hegseth settled the womans claim for an undisclosed amount, and she signed a nondisclosure agreement.

Trump is standing by Hegseth in the face of the undisclosed settlement of the sexual assault claim.

More On Hegseths Tattoos

WSJ: How Hegseths Tattoo Got Him Barred From Working at Bidens Inauguration

WaPo: Pentagon pick left Guard after being reported as possible insider threat due to tattoo

The Prospects For Matt Gaetz Nomination As AG

Surveying the backlash to the Gaetz nomination:

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Republican U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin called on the House of Representatives on Sunday to share an unreleased ethics report into alleged sexual misconduct involving a 17-year-old girl by Matt Gaetz.Reuters

More than half of Senate Republicans, including some in senior leadership positions, privately say they dont see a path for former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to be confirmed as attorney general and would not support him to lead the Department of Justice, according to multiple people who spoke to NBC News on condition of anonymity.NBC News

An attorney representing two women who testified to both federal and House Ethics investigators about Gaetzs alleged misdeeds is coming forward with new details about what his clients told investigators. Lawyer Joel Leppard is set to do multiple network TV interviews Monday as he pushes for the release of the House Ethics report.Politico

As Bad As It Gets

Perhaps the biggest story of the weekend came from NBC News:

The Trump transition team is compiling a list of senior current and former U.S. military officers who were directly involved in the withdrawal from Afghanistan and exploring whether they could be court-martialed for their involvement, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the plan. Officials working on the transition are considering creating a commission to investigate the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, including gathering information about who was directly involved in the decision-making for the military, how it was carried out and whether the military leaders could be eligible for charges as serious as treason, the two sources said.

The Coming Corruption

Greg Sargent:

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Its often said that Trump campaigned expressly on a platform of authoritarian rule, but this also applies to corruption: He didnt disguise his promises to govern in the direct interests of some of the wealthiest executives and investors in the countryand he won anyway. Trump and his allies will likely interpret this as a green light to engage in an extraordinary spree of unrestrained malfeasance.

Trump Launches Wave Of Media Lawsuits

The Guardian:

With only two months left until Donald Trump returns to the White House, the president-elect and convicted felon has been waging lawfare by a flurry of lawsuits against media companies and publishers that have been critical of him. The lawsuits come amid growing fears of what a second Trump term would mean for press freedom as Trump intensifies his longstanding hostility against the media  which he called the enemy camp in his victory speech last week.

Trump Calls For Investigation of Iowa Pollster

In a social media post, Trump bizarrely called for an investigation of retiring Iowa pollster Ann Selzer, whose late-in-the-race shock poll showed Kamala Harris in the lead in a state that ultimately went to Trump by a comfortable margin:

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Trump calls for an investigation into Ann Selzer  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2024-11-17T22:01:50.791Z

Already Paying The Price Of Trumps Retribution

Multiple current and former senior Justice Department and FBI officials have begun reaching out to lawyers in anticipation of being criminally investigated by the Trump administration, according to three people with knowledge of their deliberations.NBC News

Quote Of The Day

National security attorney Mark Zaid, on what hes advising his clients to do ahead of Trump II:

There are a small number of people who I have told, Look, you should take a vacation outside of the country around the time of inauguration, just to see what happens. Just go on a routine vacation and see what plays out come Jan. 20, 21st, 22nd. By that time, well know whos going to be [in senior administration roles] and whether they will be more fundamentalist about this issue than the general politician whos appointed into a position that requires Senate confirmation.

NOT NORMAL

It is not normal for an incoming president to replace the FBI director, who has a 10-year term precisely to insulate them from partisan politics, but Donald Trump is widely reported to be considering firing Christopher Wray, whom Trump famously appointed after firing James Comey in 2017.

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Among the supposed contenders to replace Wray if Trump goes through with the firing: the destructive and unqualified Kash Patel.

Trump Transition Bypasses FBI For Some Background Checks

President-elect Donald Trumps transition team is bypassing traditional FBI background checks for at least some of his Cabinet picks while using private companies to conduct vetting of potential candidates for administration jobs, people close to the transition planning say.CNN

The Trump II Clown Show

A good reminder from historian Kevin Kruse that Trumps announcement of his expected cabinet nominees is coming at a breakneck speed that far exceeds the pace of his predecessors and his own first administration. Among Trumps latest personnel moves:

An Election Is Not A Jury Verdict

Randall Eliason: Trumps New York Sentencing Must Proceed

Keep An Eye On Pennsylvania 

In at least four counties  Bucks, Philadelphia, Centre and Montgomery  local election officials are acting in open defiance of a ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that arrived weeks before the election. The court found that mail ballots that are missing the date on the outer envelope, or have the wrong date, cannot be counted for this election.NYT

Wave Of Offensive Texts Expands To Hispanics And LGBTQ

The campaign of racists texts sent soon after the election to Black people has expanded to include Hispanics and LGBTQ communities. The texts include false claims that they have been selected for deportation or to report to a re-education camp, the FBI warned.

Neo-Nazis March In Ohio

A small group carrying the Nazi flag marched Saturday in a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio.

The Stunning Pronatalist Argument Against Abortion

Linda Greenhouse:

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The attorneys general of Idaho, Kansas and Missouri, seeking to establish the states standing to challenge the federal governments liberalized rules for medication abortion, claim that expanded access to the abortion pills is causing a loss in potential population or potential population increase, and that decreased births were inflicting a sovereign injury to the state itself. This remarkable assertion comes on Page 189 of the states 199-page complaint, as astonishing a legal document as I have ever read.

You Can Find Me at Bluesky

If youre making the transition to Bluesky, you can find me here. Hope to see you there.

Do you like Morning Memo? Let us know!
BEIRUT, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's response to the ceasefire proposal by the United States is "positive," despite that some points still "need discussion," Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday, expressing his hope to reach a ceasefire as soon as possible.

In an interview with al-Araby TV, Mikati said "the primary focus for Lebanon in the U.S. draft proposal is the implementation of Resolution 1701, and Lebanon is committed to implementing it."

Resolution 1701 ended the last round of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006 and stipulated that southern Lebanon must be free of arms that do not belong to the Lebanese state.

Noting that U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein will visit Lebanon soon, Mikati said, "Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri is leading the talks with the American mediator, and I am in constant contact with him, and I have not heard of a condition related to the freedom of military movements for Israel in Lebanon," adding that Israel "must withdraw from Lebanese territories."

The prime minister added that he is also concerned about "strengthening the presence of the army in southern Lebanon and keeping weapons in the hands of the Lebanese army only."

According to Lebanese and Israeli media outlets, Hochstein is expected to arrive in Lebanon on Tuesday, after which he will visit Israel for the ceasefire talks.

On Friday, the Lebanese parliament speaker announced that he had received a U.S. proposal to stop the confrontations between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, at a time when the party had authorized Berri to negotiate.

Lebanese media reports said Berri had informed Hezbollah of the U.S. draft proposal and received the party's comments on it, without providing detailed information.

Since Sept. 23, the Israeli army has intensified its air attack on Lebanon in an escalation of conflict with Hezbollah. Israel further initiated a ground operation across its northern border into Lebanon in early October. 
WASHINGTON (AP)  President-elect Donald Trumps nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has been outspoken about his opinion that women should not serve in combat roles.

Here's a look at how many women are in such military roles, as of the 2024 budget year:

Women serving in special operations

 Navy Special Warfare combat crew: 2

 Air Force special operations: 3

 Green Berets: Fewer than 10

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 Completed the Army Ranger course: more than 150

 Total serving in Army Special Operations Command as special forces, civil affairs, psychological operations and helicopter pilots, including in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment: 260 to 270

Artillery, infantry and armor units

Thousands of women have served or currently are in jobs that until 2015 were male-only.

MARINES:

 Officers in job categories previously restricted to men, including infantry, artillery and combat engineers: Nearly 192

 Enlisted Marine in those jobs: 410

That number has steadily increased since 2018.

ARMY:

 Serving in Army infantry, armor and artillery jobs: Nearly 4,800

 Field artillery roles: More than 2,020

 Infantry: More than 902

 Armor: 864

The number of women in those jobs also has increased over the years.
WELLESLEY, Mass. (AP)  Herlda Senhouse, who founded a jazz dance group to raise money for Black students in the 1950s and lived to become the second-oldest person in the United States, has died at age 113.

Senhouse died peacefully in her sleep on Saturday, said Stephanie Hawkinson, public information officer for the town of Wellesley, Massachusetts, where Senhouse had lived for the last four decades.

She never missed an opportunity to learn more, do more, experience more, said Hawkinson, who met Senhouse on her 108th birthday and had celebrated with her every year since.

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Born Feb. 28, 1911, in Piedmont, West Virginia, Senhouse was sent to live with an aunt in Woburn, Massachusetts, at age 16 and graduated from Woburn High School. According to the Boston Globe, she dreamed of becoming a nurse but was turned away by a nursing school after it had met its quota of two Black students in 1931.

She later worked as a housekeeper for several families and founded the Boston Clique Club, which raised money to improve educational opportunities for Black students in Boston.

At age 105, she enrolled in the New England Centenarian Study, which seeks to determine how people like her age so slowly while delaying or escaping aging-related disease. She also bequeathed her brain to researchers, Hawkinson said.

According to the Gerontology Research Group, the oldest person in the United States is Naomi Whitehead, 114, who lives in Greenville, Pennsylvania.

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Hawkinson said Senhouse often said the secret to her longevity was never having children, though she enjoyed children and caring for them. She surrounded herself with a community of relatives, friends and members of her church, and was always up for an adventure, Hawkinson said.

She was truly an inspiration to so many in our community, she said.
Mohammed Afif, the Hezbollah media spokesman killed in an Israeli airstrike over the weekend, was buried in the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon on Monday.

The time of the funeral was announced half an hour beforehand, and the ceremony was brief, presumably for fear of further Israeli air strikes.

Afif had come to the fore following the killing of the Hezbollah leadership in a series of Israeli strikes. He was one of the few publicly known faces of the Iran-backed militia.

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Afif was seen as close to Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed at the end of September. He had led the media operations of the Shiite militia for years.

Afif died in an Israeli airstrike near the centre of Beirut on Sunday.
By a canal in Amsterdam's red-light district, one of the "window women" is actually a hologram which Dutch police hope will help solve the gruesome murder of a sex worker in 2009.

Peering through a frame out onto passers-by, a human-sized likeness of Bernadett "Betty" Szabo -- in skimpy shorts and a leopard-print bra, a dragon tattoo covering much of her torso -- taps the pane and fogs the glass with her breath.

The word "HELP" appears, chillingly, on the screen.

A pedestrian walks past a hologram representing murdered sex worker Bernadette Szabo, known as Betty, implemented by Dutch police in hope to uncover new information around her murder, in Amsterdam, on November 15, 2024. / Credit: NICK GAMMON/AFP via Getty Images

"Fifteen years ago, Betty was killed in a horrible way and the investigation was never closed," Amsterdam police spokesman Olav Brink told AFP.

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Aged only 19, Hungarian-born Betty was stabbed multiple times in her brothel room in the centuries-old red-light district, known as De Wallen, just months after giving birth to a baby boy.

Despite a large-scale police probe, the case went cold.

During a review, however, police found "promising clues" and decided to reopen the investigation, Brink said.

They hope the likeness of Betty, created with 3D visualization technology, will jolt the memories of people who may have information about her murder.

"Betty was murdered in one of the busiest areas in Amsterdam, maybe even in the Netherlands. It is really almost impossible that there are no people who saw or heard something unusual at the time," cold case team member Anne Dreijer-Heemskerk said in a statement. "We hope witnesses who may have been afraid before or kept silent for other reasons now have the courage to come forward."

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Waiting for the "golden tip"

"There are still people who know what has happened to Betty," said Brink, hoping that 15 years on, "people feel freer to share information with the police."

The initiative also aims to raise awareness about the violence faced by sex workers.

Around 78 percent of prostitutes in the Netherlands have faced sexual violence and 60 percent report being physically attacked, according to a 2018 report by Dutch charities and sex worker rights groups.

Concerns about violence also rose during the Covid-19 pandemic, when loss of income forced some prostitutes to continue working illegally and reduced their ability to report crimes to the police.

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In the week since the hologram and accompanying information about Betty went on display, the police have seen "that a lot of people are talking about it."

"We find it quite special that Betty can bring attention to her case this way," said Brink.

In the streets of De Wallen, lined with women watching from red-lit window booths, groups of locals and visitors pause and strike up conversations about the unusual display, entitled "Who was Betty?"

Bernadett

Theo, 80, who lives outside Amsterdam, said he read about the project in the papers and "came especially to see it" when he was in the city.

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Soyoon Jun, 34, lives near the red-light district, "so it was more shocking for me that there were neighbors who are going through this type of horrendous event."

For Jun, who works at a Christian charity, the hologram made the murder "real."

"It wasn't just information that was given out," Jun explained. "People could feel the helplessness that Betty would have felt."

The police have already "received several tips because of the campaign," Brink confirmed to AFP.

They are still waiting, though, for the "golden tip" that will lead them to the murderer, which comes with a 30,000-euro ($31,600) reward.

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"Special way of getting attention"

According to Brink, the hologram is a "special way of getting attention for this case" -- including by putting it in De Wallen, which is "one of the busiest places in Amsterdam and probably the whole of the Netherlands."

This may not last, though, since Amsterdam's sex workers may soon lose the centrality and visibility of their windows.

The local government plans to relocate the red-light district to a purpose-built centere south of the city in the hope of reducing petty crime and tourist footfall in De Wallen.

The move is opposed by tens of thousands of locals and sex workers, who are calling instead for better crowd control and surveillance in the existing red-light area.

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Miranda K, a 57-year-old who lives near Amsterdam and declined to give her full surname, said the relocation plan was a "pity" because she felt "safe" in De Wallen.

She said the out-of-city center would be in a "dark" area, whereas De Wallen has "tourists and people and locals and everything here. So I think it's safer."

"For me, it's not just about finding Betty or who was Betty," she said, "but it's about... these other ladies on the streets too."

Ongoing effort to identify cold case victims across Europe

The search for Betty comes amid a wider effort to solve cold cases in the Netherlands and beyond. Last month, Interpol launched a new campaign to identify 46 women whose remains have been found across Europe in unsolved cases, some dating back decades.

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The initiative from the Lyon-based organization builds on the success of the first Identify Me campaign, which last year helped identify the body of a woman -- dubbed the "woman with the flower tattoo" -- found murdered 31 years ago in a Belgian river as Briton Rita Roberts.

The original initiative launched to identify 22 deceased women saw some 1,800 tips received from the public.

Now the campaign has been expanded to include cold cases from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, as well as unexplained deaths from new participating countries France, Italy, and Spain.

Most of the women were "murdered or had died in suspicious or unexplained circumstances," the organization said.

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Among the women Interpol is seeking to identify is the body of a woman -- dubbed "the woman in the suitcase" -- with an estimated age of between 16 and 22. In the autumn of 2005, her corpse was found in a red suitcase lying in the canal in the town of Schiedam in the west of the Netherlands.

The oldest of the cold cases, "the girl on the parking lot," dates back to 1976. Her body was found along the A12 highway in the Netherlands.

Combating Parkinson's with rock climbing

Cher opens up about life with Sonny

Extended interview: Cher
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A home invasion suspect involved in a deadly police shooting refused to appear in court Monday morning for an initial appearance.

Alejandra Boudreaux, 31, is facing charges of manslaughter, home invasion, and assault with the use of a deadly weapon after he allegedly broke into Brandon Durhams home near Eastern Avenue and Sunset Road on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

Las Vegas police shoot, kill man who called 911 during home invasion

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Durham, who lived in the home, was shot and killed by a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer after calling 911 to report that people were trying to enter his home on Wine River Drive.

During a police news conference, Assistance Sheriff Dori Koren showed video from Officer Alexander Bookmans body-worn camera that showed him entering the home and yelling Drop the knife before firing one shot at Durham followed by five more shots before Durham stumbled, fell backward, and died.

Family reacts to video of Las Vegas police officer shooting father

A judge said Bourdeaux will be transported by any means necessary to make an appearance in court next week. The initial appearance is rescheduled for Nov. 25.

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Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson sent out a news release expressing his condolences for the family while asking for the publics patience regarding the investigation.

The death of Mr. Brandon Durham is tragic, Wolfson said in the release. I have seen

the same video that Mr. Durhams family and the public have seen. My heart goes out to his family. In fact, I personally met with Mr. Durhams mother, brother, sister, and niece earlier today to express my condolences firsthand and explain the process moving forward.

Wolfson added that the investigation was still in its beginning stages and that the investigation would take weeks, if not months for the LVMPD to complete.

It would be inappropriate for me to express an opinion regarding whether criminal charges are going to be filed. I simply do not have all the information yet, Wolfson said.

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After the investigation is completed, the DAs office will determine whether or not to file criminal charges against any of the officers involved.

Currently, there are dual   but separate   investigations being conducted by LVMPD, Wolfson explained. There is an administrative review to determine what, if any, policies were violated and whether discipline should be imposed against any of the officers involved. There is a contemporaneous criminal investigation to determine whether Metro will submit criminal charges against any officer involved in this matter.





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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
Residents in Tarzana are raising public safety concerns involving drugs and vandalism they believe are tied to the homeless crisis.

Community members told KTLA Monday that they have witnessed brazen drug use and vandalism taking place out in the open, much of it near Reseda Boulevard and Bessemer Street.

One resident shared a photo of what appears to be drug use in broad daylight near neighborhood homes, but concerns are also growing over graffiti, sanitation and fires, including one that recently broke out in a nearby encampment.

A Tarzana resident shared this image on Nov. 18, 2024, in an effort to draw attention to rampant drug use and graffiti in the neighborhood. (Viewer photo)

Im afraid to walk in my neighborhood. I used to go out for morning walks around the neighborhood. Im afraid to do that at this point. Ive considered selling my house, said one resident who put together a group of about 70 neighbors to figure out how to make things better.

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The resident said he has met with his councilman and a senior lead officer with the Los Angeles Police Department but was told there is some gray area regarding jurisdiction and what can be enforced.

Nearby bus lanes and a Metro station, along with a Tiny Home village are believed by some to be responsible for at least part of the problem.

Some unhoused residents who spoke to KTLAs Lauren Lyster said they are in the area hoping to get into the Tiny Home Village and claim that outreach workers have failed to connect them with nearby shelters.

L.A. City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, whose district includes Tarzana, provided this statement to KTLA.

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This is a location the Councilmember and our staff are well aware of and weve been partnering with law enforcement to help remedy. One of the critical things that our staff has been working toward is connecting the private owner of this lot with LAPD so the proper letters are on file to allow PD onsite. The Councilmember helped secure overtime funding to increase patrols around this area but the alleged outdoor drug use here is beyond unacceptable.

The residents are asking for at least more patrols to help deter any criminal activity.

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DES MOINES, Iowa  On this weeks episode of Homewi$e Amanda Krenz and mortgage expert Tyler Osby talked about what a purchase agreement is, what information it contains, and if youre able to back out once its signed.

Past Episodes:

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com.
Relatives of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip demonstrated in front of the Jerusalem home of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday in support of reaching a deal with the Islamist militia.

Dozens of relatives and friends of the hostages, along with their supporters, called on Netanyahu to secure the release of the hostages. The organizers noted in a statement that the approach of winter made this more urgent.

"The hostages won't survive the freezing cold in the tunnels of Gaza," they said. "While Netanyahu and his team are busy trying to skew public opinion, 101 hostages are dying in impossible conditions," they added.

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In their attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year, Hamas and other Palestinian groups seized 250 hostages and took them to the Gaza Strip.

The abduction and the massacre of around 1,200 people unleashed the ongoing war. Around half of the 101 hostages still held could be alive, according to Israeli estimates.

Netanyahu's opponents accuse him of needlessly prolonging the war and in this way delaying the hostages' release.

The prime minister is under pressure from his extremist and ultra-religious coalition partners to reject any deal with Hamas. His critics say that he aims to avoid the fall of his government at any price for fear of prosecution for corruption once out of office.
The new cabinet ministers pose for a group photo with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in front of the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Nov. 18, 2024. Twenty-one cabinet ministers were sworn in before Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday morning at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo. (Department of Government Information-Sri Lanka/Handout via Xinhua)

COLOMBO, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-one cabinet ministers were sworn in before Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday morning at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

Deputy ministers will be sworn in later, it was announced at the event.

After Dissanayake won the Sept. 21 presidential election, he governed with a cabinet composed of Harini Amarasuriya and Vijitha Herath.

The new cabinet ministers were chosen among the 159 members of parliament from the National People's Power (NPP) elected in the Nov. 14 parliamentary election.

This is the first time a political party has won two-thirds of the majority in parliament since the introduction of the proportional representation system.

Amarasuriya continued to serve as prime minister in the new cabinet, and Herath was re-appointed as minister of foreign affairs, foreign employment and tourism.

Addressing the new cabinet, President Dissanayake said people have voted for the NPP twice, in September and November to change the political and economic trajectory of Sri Lanka.

People have placed their trust in the NPP based on their policies and the integrity of party members, and from now on, the people will judge the NPP based on their performance as a government, he said.

Dissanayake said Sri Lankan people have voted for them across ethnic and religious divides and that they are committed to protecting and enhancing the rights of the people. 

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake speaks to the new cabinet of Sri Lanka in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Nov. 18, 2024. Twenty-one cabinet ministers were sworn in before Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday morning at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo. (Department of Government Information-Sri Lanka/Handout via Xinhua)

The new cabinet ministers pose for a group photo with Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in front of the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Nov. 18, 2024. Twenty-one cabinet ministers were sworn in before Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday morning at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo. (Department of Government Information-Sri Lanka/Handout via Xinhua)
WASHINGTON D.C. (WTVO)  The House Ethics Committee will meet Wednesday to discuss whether to vote to release its findings on former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla), who is President-elect Trumps nomination for Attorney General, ABC News reported Monday.

The committee was investigating whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, among other allegations. The congressional probe into Gaetz was opened in 2021, shortly after news reports emerged that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was reportedly investigating whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.

Gaetz has vigorously denied allegations of wrongdoing, and the DOJ declined to charge him with a crime. In September, Gaetz said he would no longer voluntarily participate in the nosy Ethics probe and would not comply with its subpoena, accusing the panel of asking him for a list of adult women with whom hed had sex over the last seven years.

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John Clune, a lawyer reportedly representing the 17-year-old victim at the center of the most serious allegations, also called on the Ethics Committee to release its findings.

Gaetz resigned from the House on Wednesday after his nomination was announced.

Some have questioned the timing of his resignation, as the Ethics Committees report was due for imminent release.

That release was scuttled once Gaetz was no longer a member of the House.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday that he will strongly request that the House Ethics Committee not release the results of its investigation.

Im going to strongly request that the Ethics Committee not issue the report, because that is not the way we do things in the House, Johnson told reporters at the U.S. Capitol. And I think that would be a terrible precedent to set.

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Ethics reports have previously been released after a members resignation, though it is extremely rare.

It is standard practice for the Ethics Committee to end investigations when members of Congress depart on the grounds that they lack jurisdiction to continue. But the circumstances with Gaetz are hardly standard, given his potential role in Trumps Cabinet. Senators saying the panels material must see the light of day so that they can fully vet his nomination.

Trumps attorney general is expected to oversee radical changes to the Justice Department, which has been the target of Trumps ire over two criminal cases it brought accusing him of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election and hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump, who cast himself as the victim of politically motivated prosecutions, vowed repeatedly on the campaign trail to carry out retribution against his political enemies if returned to the White House.

In a statement Wednesday announcing his pick, Trump said Gaetz would root out systemic corruption at the Justice Department and return the department to its true mission of fighting crime and upholding our democracy and constitution.

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The federal sex trafficking investigation into Gaetz began under Attorney General Bill Barr during Trumps first term and focused on allegations that Gaetz and onetime political ally Joel Greenberg paid underage girls and escorts or offered them gifts in exchange for sex.

Greenberg, a fellow Republican who served as the tax collector in Floridas Seminole County, admitted as part of a plea deal with prosecutors in 2021 that he paid women and an underage girl to have sex with him and other men. The men were not identified in court documents when he pleaded guilty. Greenberg was sentenced in late 2022 to 11 years in prison.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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(Bloomberg) -- Key senators in both parties are demanding more information on a closely-held House sexual misconduct probe into former Representative Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trumps nominee to be US Attorney General.

Most Read from Bloomberg

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Calls for more scrutiny even from members of Trumps own party signal that Gaetzs confirmation process will be a rocky one, even after Republicans take control of the Senate in January. Gaetz has denied wrongdoing.

Trump, according to an Axios report, has made personal appeals to senators to support Gaetz.

Republican John Cornyn, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, said Monday that he expects the women who spoke privately with the House Ethics Committee will testify before senators. He and fellow Republican Senator Susan Collins expect the details of the report to come out, one way or another.

Dick Durbin, the Illinois Democrat who leads the Senate Judiciary panel, raised the prospect of subpoenaing information on Gaetz from both the Ethics Committee and the Justice Department. It would be highly unusual  if not unprecedented  for one chamber of Congress to subpoena another.

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The House Ethics Committee plans to meet behind closed doors Wednesday as it faces demands to release its findings in the Gaetz investigation. House Speaker Mike Johnson has urged the panel to keep the findings confidential.

It absolutely should be released to the Senate, Representative Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, the Ethics Committees top Democrat, said late Monday.

Meanwhile, Republican Senator Josh Hawley said Gaetz called him over the weekend and sought an opportunity to clear his name at a confirmation hearing. Hawley said he supports that, while adding that Trump hasnt called him about Gaetz.

DOJ, House Probes

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The Justice Department had conducted a criminal investigation that included allegations Gaetz had sex with a minor in exchange for money but decided in February 2023 not to file any charges against him.

Gaetz quit Congress days before the Ethics Committee was scheduled to deliberate on how to handle results from its probe into allegations that Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old girl in exchange for money, took illicit drugs and accepted improper gifts. The former representative has denied the accusations.

The House ethics panel was set to meet on Friday, but had scrapped those plans as the political struggle over the release of the report intensified.

Tom Rust, chief counsel and staff director for the committee, declined to comment on or even confirm the Wednesday meeting.

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Johnson has said releasing the results of the Ethics Committee probe would open a Pandoras box, setting a precedent for disclosing potentially derogatory information on a former House member.

A lightning rod even within his own caucus, Gaetzs nomination was viewed warily by some of his colleagues in GOP. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whose ouster from House leadership was initiated by Gaetz, said that the Floridians nomination would be rejected by the Republican Senate.

Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune spoke to Fox News last week about Trumps controversial picks, saying that none of this is gonna be easy.

Trump has indicated that in his second term when his party controls both chambers of Congress, hell push for a radical transformation of the Justice Department, which sits at the apex of the machinery that the president-elect will need to carry out his agenda, from enforcing federal laws to litigating controversial matters.

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In the Senate, Trump has demanded that the Republican leadership back his ability to bypass confirmation proceedings in the chamber through recess appointments. Thune had repeatedly pledged to explore all options to get Trumps nominees over the line.

Trump has made some unconventional choices apart from Gaetz. Among these are Fox News Channel host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as head of the Department of Health and Human Services, and former Democrat turned fierce MAGA adherent Tulsi Gabbard to run national intelligence.

--With assistance from Alicia Diaz.

(Recasts story with lawmakers calling for more scrutiny.)

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An attorney representing two women connected to the sexual misconduct probe into attorney general hopeful Matt Gaetz is revealing new allegations, including that his clients testified that the Florida lawmaker paid women for sex.

The attorney, Joel Leppard, also told ABC News that one of the women testified that she saw Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was under 18 at the time of the alleged incident. That detail was reported earlier by POLITICO Playbook.

"She testified [that] in July of 2017, at this house party, she was walking out to the pool area, and she looked to her right, and she saw Rep. Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17," Leppard said to ABC News.

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Leppard also told ABC that his clients both testified that they were paid to have sex with the congressman using Venmo.

The House was very clear about that and went through each. They essentially put the Venmo payments on the screen and asked about them. And my clients repeatedly testified, 'What was this payment for?' 'That was for sex,'" he said.

In another interview with CBS, Leppard also said that in addition to Venmo and Paypal transactions, there are also text messages where the former congressman refers to illegal drugs using the code party favors. His clients, he added, attended between 10 and 15 parties with Gaetz and were also compensated for traveling to the Bahamas with him.

Gaetz has previously denied all of the allegations, but did not immediately respond to a request for comment made through President-elect Donald Trumps transition team.

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The two women reportedly testified in both the Justice Department and House Ethics panel investigations. The House Ethics panel will meet Wednesday and potentially vote to release its report probing sexual misconduct allegations against Gaetz.

The meeting comes as Gaetz confirmation is in question, with some Republican senators wary of the controversial Florida Republican serving as the nations top law enforcement officer.

Speaker Mike Johnson is putting pressure on members of the Ethics Committee to keep the report under wraps, saying on Friday that he is going to strongly request the report isnt released because that is not the way we do things in the House, and I think that would be a terrible precedent to set.

Johnson furthered that stance in interviews on Sunday news shows and threw his support behind Gaetz to be attorney general.

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Members rescheduled the Wednesday meeting from one last week where lawmakers were widely expected to vote on whether to release the report.



Whether or not to release the report, which some senators have said would be essential in deciding whether to confirm Gaetz, is placing intense pressure on the historically bipartisan Ethics Committee. Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin on Sundaytold Meet The Press that the Senate should absolutely be able to see the report, but he said that doesnt necessarily mean it should become public.

Gaetz, a fierce and loyal supporter of Trumps, has a tough road to confirmation in the Senate.

GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she doesnt think its a serious nomination. And fellow swing-vote Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she was shocked by the choice.

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Republicans will hold 53 Senate seats in the next Congress, meaning they can only afford three defectors in the confirmation process.

Leppard, who gave multiple interviews to news outlets recently, called for the report's release.

Ultimately, I hope it puts a lot of pressure on the panel to release the report, Leppard told Playbook Sunday. My clients have already been through this several times and they really, really do not want to testify again, especially not on the floor of the Senate.

Daniella Diaz and Rachael Bade contributed to this story.
CHICAGO  Hundreds of law enforcement officers stood at attention on the north lawn of St. Rita of Cascia church Monday morning, rain sprinkling down on them, as pallbearers carried the casket of slain Chicago Police officer Enrique Martinez inside the church.

Martinez, 26, was fatally shot on Nov. 4 while he and other officers responded to a call in the Chatham neighborhood.

It was the second time this year that scores of Chicago Police Department officers, department leaders, suburban officers and law enforcement officials from across the country flocked to St. Rita to remember the life of a young officer.

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As the service began, CPD Chaplain Fr. Dan Brandt told mourners that, in recent days, hed visited with Martinezs fellow officers in the Gresham District (6th) to learn more about him. Time and again, Brandt said, Martinez was described as selfless, thoughtful, kind and generous.

He was a very proud American, a true patriot, an unwavering servant, Brandt said. Today, as we reflect on these attributes, these adjectives, we can learn a lesson from Enrique and hopefully follow his fine example. Some of you have 30 years on the job or more. He had three, but what a fine, fine example.

Martinez was fatally shot around 8 p.m. on Nov. 4 after he and other officers approached a car in the 8000 block of South Ingleside in the Chatham neighborhood.

Prosecutors later charged 23-year-old Darion C. McMillian, of Harvey, with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Martinez and another man, also in the car with McMillian, who was also killed by the burst of gunfire.

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McMillian, who allegedly used a gun outfitted with an automatic switch, was ordered detained pending trial.

The Southwest Side high school has long voiced support for the citys first responders, and much of the schools student body come from CPD and CFD families in Mount Greenwood and Beverly.

Among those in attendance were former Mayor Richard M. Daley and deputy mayor for public safety Garien Gatewood, along with aldermen Marty Quinn, Anthony Napolitano, Matt OShea, Anthony Beale, Peter Chico, Jason Ervin and former mayoral candidate Paul Vallas.

Over the weekend, Mayor Brandon Johnson walked back plans to attend the services after pushback from Martinezs family.

____
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has criticised the US decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike Russian territory.

Source: European Pravda, citing Szijjarto on Facebook

Szijjarto criticised the US decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike Russian territory.

Quote: "The pro-war mainstream has launched its last, desperate attack on the new reality. These forces seem to have no qualms about the worst-case scenario: escalating the war in Ukraine to a global scale," Szijjarto said.

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He also believes that the results of the US elections, in which Republican Donald Trump won, are creating a new political reality.

"This new reality is based on the will of the people, as expressed in the elections. They chose to support pro-peace, patriotic forces. Pro-war politicians, who were removed from power in Washington and Brussels, refuse to heed the will of the people," he stated.

Additionally, he commented on the first meeting of EU foreign ministers after Trump's victory, taking place on 18 November, saying, "This will be a tough battle, as Brussels must also stop the escalation".

Background:

The New York Times, citing US officials, reported that US President Joe Biden has for the first time authorised Ukrainian forces to use long-range ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory.

US news website Axios noted that the decision had been made in response to the involvement of North Korean troops in Russia's war against Ukraine.

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP)  Hungary's foreign minister lashed out on Monday at U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to authorize Ukraine to use missiles supplied by Washington to strike deeper inside Russia, saying the move could serve to escalate the war and threaten the outbreak of a global conflict.

The decision allowing Kyiv to use the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMs, for attacks farther inside Russia comes as President Vladimir Putin positions North Korean troops along Ukraines northern border to try to reclaim hundreds of miles of territory seized by Ukrainian forces. The Kremlin has decried the move, warning that it would add fuel to the fire and further heighten international tensions.

On Monday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, a fervent critic of Ukraine with close ties to Putin's government, said that Biden's decision was in contradiction to the will of voters who elected Donald Trump to the presidency earlier this month.

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Szijjarto also slammed European Union leaders that continue to make efforts to provide support to Kyiv.

One has the feeling that the pro-war political elites on both sides of the ocean are launching one last desperate, scalding attack on the new realities and the will of the people, Szijjarto said.

Hungary's government under Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been the most hostile in the EU to Ukraine's ambitions to join the 27-nation bloc, and eventually the NATO military alliance. Orban, the Kremlin's closest EU partner, has consistently opposed aid for Ukraine and threatened to block sanctions against Moscow for its war.

Szijjarto called Biden's authorization of Ukraine to use U.S. weapons incredibly dangerous," and warned that it carried the risk of the war, which marks 1,000 days on Tuesday, spreading further.

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Then there is the demand of Ukrainians and the permissive opinion of some NATO member countries regarding the invitation of Ukraine to NATO," Szijjarto said. Such membership for Ukraine "would bring the real threat of World War III very close, he said.

President-elect Trump, who takes office in about two months, has raised uncertainty about whether his administration would continue vital military support to Ukraine. He has also vowed to quickly end the war, but hasn't detailed how.

Hungary's government has long advocated for an immediate cease-fire in the conflict but avoids commenting on what such a move would mean for Ukraine's territorial integrity or the broader security implications for Europe.

___

Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
A hunter was swept away by a raging river as he tried to cross it, Washington deputies said.

Hes been missing for days.

The man vanished at about 5:34 p.m. Nov. 13 in the Muddy River near Mount Saint Helens, the Skamania County Sheriffs Office said in a Facebook post.

He tried to cross the fast-moving river on an inner tube, but he was carried away in the current, deputies said.

SKAMANIA COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE CONTINUES SEARCH MISSION NEAR MOUNT SAINT HELENS 11/14/2024  The Skamania County Sheriffs Office is coordinating a search and rescue mission that has extended into a second day near Mount Saint Helens. On 11/13/2024, at approximately 5:34 P.M., the Skamania County Communications Center received a report of a hunter swept away while trying to cross the Muddy River, near the Forest Service 8322 Road, in an innertube. Another hunter in the party could not cross the river and was also in need of assistance. A Skamania County Sheriffs Office Search and Rescue Coordinator was dispatched to the incident and began coordinating resources for the mission. Resources were requested from the Volcano Rescue Team and the Southwest Region 4 Technical Rescue team for assistance. Additionally, numerous attempts were made to acquire an air asset with hoisting capabilities. However, no state assets were available and federal assets attempted to reach the area but were unable to due to weather-related issues. Members from the Volcano Rescue Team and Southwest Region 4 Technical Rescue Team responded to the scene and, working collaboratively, rescued the hunter who was confined to the shoreline of the Muddy River. However, the hunter that was swept away in the swift waters was not located. Around 2:00 A.M. on 11/14/2024, the search was suspended. At approximately 9:00 A.M., the search for the missing hunter resumed and an air asset from the U.S. Naval Air Station in Whidbey Island was acquired. However, the air asset was grounded attempting to reach the search area due to weather. After receiving a favorable weather window, the air asset resumed the operation and is currently searching the area. The Skamania County Sheriffs Office will update information as this search mission progresses. Thank you to our incredible partners from the Volcano Rescue Team, Southwest Region 4 Technical Rescue, and the U.S. Naval Air Station-Whidbey Island for assisting the Sheriffs Office in this treacherous mission. Volcano Rescue Team NAS Whidbey Island Posted by Skamania County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, November 14, 2024

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Another hunter from the group did not cross the river and was rescued from the shoreline, deputies said.

Rescue teams searched for the missing hunter until about 2 a.m. the next day, deputies said.

More search efforts continued at 9 a.m. A helicopter was also used to scan the area for him, but he remains missing, deputies said.

Authorities did not immediately respond to McClatchy News request for an update on search efforts as of Monday, Nov. 18.

Hunter lost in cold, rainy woods for 20 hours is found in bay, North Carolina cops say

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ISTANBUL, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkiye's exports to G20 countries climbed nearly 37 percent from 2019 to 2023, approaching 100 billion U.S. dollars, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Monday.

In 2019, Turkiye's exports to G20 member nations totaled 71.2 billion dollars. By 2023, this figure had climbed to 97.2 billion dollars, according to Anadolu.

Germany was the country's top export destination, with exports rising by nearly 27 percent, followed by the United States, where exports grew by 66 percent. Britain ranked third, with exports increasing by 10 percent.

During the four-year period, Turkiye's exports expanded to most of the G20 member states, with declines observed only in Saudi Arabia and Argentina.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday and Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the summit, Erdogan described it as a crucial platform for discussing the global economy and energy security. 
Food pantries are low on food supply, and many hunters would like to donate some of their game meat. However, regulations in Utah dont allow it.

The Utah Food Bank requires donated food to have a USDA stamp of approval. Shane Brown, manager at Champion Meats, said that is tough to achieve for game meat.

The problem is, you cant certify game meat thats wild game because, for it to be inspected, it has to be killed under inspection, he said.

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The Utah Food Bank maintains the regulations to protect public health. While Brown understands, he also sees his customers trying to help people who are facing food insecurity, especially since local food pantries have seen a huge increase in demand recently.

(There are) people every year that ask us to donate (their game meat) and we cant because its against the law, Brown said

Some states, such as Maine and Wisconsin, have been able to accept game meat donations safely.

Maines website explains that acceptable donated game meat must be processed at approved facilities. Other guidelines must be met, too. For example, donated meat can not be harvested from animals in Do Not Eat areas.

Brown said hes hopeful Utah will change some regulations and allow his clientele to share their freshly killed spoils.
Caylin Monroe was sentenced to 65 years in prison after a jury found her guilty of murder and neglect of a dependent resulting in death

Warrick County Sheriff's Office; Koehler Funeral Home Caylin Monroe; Silas Chance-Kent Scott Caylin Monroe; Silas Chance-Kent Scott

An Indiana mother who claimed she sometimes forgot to feed her baby has been sentenced to decades behind bars over the infants starvation death.

Caylin Monroe was sentenced to 65 years in prison on Friday, Nov. 15, about a month after a jury found her guilty of murder and neglect of a dependent resulting in death, according to online Warrick County court records.

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The charges stem from the 2022 death of Monroes 3-month-old son, Silas Chance-Kent Scott, whose autopsy showed he died of starvation, PEOPLE previously reported.

The investigation began in February 2022 after the Warrick County Sheriff's Office responded to a home on a report of an unresponsive infant, per a statement shared at the time.

According to the affidavit of probable cause previously obtained by PEOPLE, Monroe, then 23, told police that Silas was born "small, but healthy," and "had difficulty growing."

Related: Ind. Infant Was Allegedly Starved to Death by Parents Who Said They Forgot to Feed Him

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During the interview, Monroe said that she had fed the baby earlier that day, but an autopsy found no formula or milk in the baby's stomach. She then claimed that she sometimes forgot to feed her son if he was quiet, or if she was busy taking care of her other children.

The affidavit also stated that DCS previously investigated Monroe because of an incident with another child. She was required to keep a feeding log for that child.

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Monroe was soon arrested along with the babys father, Jakob Scott, then 22. During a police interview with Scott, he allegedly admitted the baby didn't eat if he didn't cry, per the affidavit. He also couldn't recall if Silas had been fed the day of his death.

Warrick County Sheriff's Office Jakob Scott Jakob Scott

Scott is facing the same charges of murder and neglect of a dependent resulting in death. According to online court records, Scotts jury trial was canceled on Nov. 12 and a status conference is scheduled for Dec. 2.

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The Courier & Press reported in September 2024 that Scott pleaded not guilty.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.


(The Hill)  India has overtaken China as the top source of international students for U.S. colleges, according to a report from Open Doors.

For the 2023-2024 school year, India saw a massive 23 percent increase in the number of college students sent to America, up to 331,602.

China, meanwhile, saw a 4 percent decrease in the number of students sent to U.S. colleges and universities, according to Open Doors, which is published by the Department of States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education.

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The U.S. saw a record number of international students overall in the 2023-2024 year at 1.1 million, an increase of 7 percent from the previous year.

Together, India and China make up more than half of those.

Student protesters face potential Trump crackdown

A majority of international students in the U.S. pursue STEM fields, such as engineering, computer science and math.

As we celebrate 75 years of Open Doors, we are thrilled to report that this year marks a record high of international students in the United States, said Allan Goodman, the CEO of Institute of International Education. International students enrich our campuses, foster cultural exchange, and contribute significantly to our economy, and we remain dedicated to supporting these bright minds and ensuring that the U.S. continues to be a premier destination for global education.

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On the flip side, more students in the U.S. are also going abroad to study.

In the 2022-2023 academic year, more than 280,000 U.S. students left the country to study, a 49 percent increase from the prior year, which was during the pandemic.

Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, and France remained the leading host destinations, with nearly half (45%) of all students studying in these top four destinations, the report read.

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Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor speaks to the press at sine die on March 8, 2024. (Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle)

The Indiana Senate Democratic caucus on Monday reelected its leader, Sen. Greg Taylor of Indianapolis  just hours after the Indianapolis Star reported three woman have accused Taylor of sexual harassment.

The allegations of unwanted physical contact and romantic pursuit of an intern cover eight years. In the article, Taylor did not deny the harassment. Instead, he apologized for past behavior that may have blurred the lines.

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Taylor has led his caucus since 2022 and has represented District 33 since 2008. But hes come under fire before for his comments, including during 2018 discussion of child molestation legislation.

Doors to the Indiana Senate chambers gallery level are shown on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, as Democrats made their leadership choices. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)

The caucus 10 members met for hours behind closed doors Monday. It was the last of the Statehouses four caucuses to meet and select leadership before a deadline.

Caucus reacts

Several spoke out against the results, including Indianapolis Sen. Andrea Hunley.

In a video statement posted to the caucus Instagram account, Hunley said she ran for minority leader and lost.

While Im disappointed by the results of our caucus leader election, Im committed to ensuring that changes are made and that Leader Taylor is held accountable, she said.

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Hunley will instead serve as assistant leader, replacing Bloomington Sen. Shelli Yoder.

In a statement Monday, Yoder said she stepped down because of her morals. She said she stands with the courageous women who came forward.

As state senator, I have always strived to lead with transparency, accountability and integrity, even in the face of difficult and deeply challenging situations, she wrote. My decision not to seek another term as Assistant Minority Leader reflects my unwavering commitment to these principles.

The serious allegations involving my colleague Senator Taylor demanded accountability and action. While the outcome was not what I had hoped for, I did everything in my power to stand up for what is right and to ensure these issues were addressed  not for personal gain or political positioning, but because it was the right thing to do, she added.

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Indianapolis Sen. J.D. Ford said he declined a nomination to hold a leadership position as caucus chair  a position he held for four years  and congratulated Chesterton Sen. Rodney Pol for taking the position.

 I did not vote for Senator Taylor given todays Indy Star article with the very serious allegations, he wrote in a text to the Capital Chronicle. I stand with the women who bravely reported their experiences. All along, I have been pushing our caucus to see the bigger picture on how our actions impact Hoosiers and the example they set.

Accusations across government

Hunley in August critiqued Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsetts administration for its handling of sexual assault allegations, and took aim at the Indiana Democratic Party.

While so far, one person formerly in a leadership position under Mayor Joe Hogsett has been identified as a perpetrator of sexual harassment and assault, the failures have been systemic and continue to be systemic, she said, in a video posted to her Instagram account.

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At least one other member of the caucus has also faced an accusation of sexual harassment.

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In an opinion column, the Indianapolis Star revealed evidence that Sen. David Niezgodski, D-South Bend, harassed a young, female former employee: at the office, in voicemails, over texts, and even showed up to her home. His company settled with the former employee for $8,000, according to the Star.

Accusations have crossed party lines.

The Indiana Supreme Court suspended former Republican Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hills law license for 30 days after finding he committed criminal battery when he groped four women, including a legislator, during a party at an Indianapolis bar in 2018. GOP Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales in 2022 faced decade-old allegations of sexual assaults in interview transcripts published by political columnist Abdul-Hakim Shabazz.

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In a Monday evening statement, the Senate Democratic caucus acknowledged a culture of misconduct at the Statehouse. The caucus said it was deeply troubled by the allegations and apologized for the distraction this has caused from the important work we are elected to do on behalf of Hoosiers.

The statement noted that Statehouse employees wishing to report misconduct can tell supervisors or the inherently flawed Ethics Committee, but said the caucus was proposing immediate changes to make the process more independent, transparent and fair.

Together, we must create a workplace where consent is respected, power is not abused and every individual feels safe and valued, the statement continued  although it didnt mention Taylor, or his recent leadership reelection, by name.

Legislative leaders react

House Speaker Todd Huston, a Republican, told reporters Monday morning that he is 100% concerned about any allegations but that he hadnt read the story. He defended his chambers policies.

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When asked if the Statehouse was safe for its many young, female staffers, Huston replied, We fight every day to make sure it is. I mean, you know,  we have so many incredible young women working at the Indiana General Assembly. Were so grateful and thankful for them.

House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta speaks to the press at sine die on March 8, 2024. (Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle)

House Minority Leader Rep. Phil GiaQuinta, a Democrat, released a statement strongly condemning sexual harassment no matter who it comes from.

I cannot ignore this principle simply because a Statehouse Democrat has been accused of sexual harassment, he added.

Indiana House Democrats successfully offered a 2018 amendment that resulted in a law to require annual sexual harassment prevention training for lawmakers and institute a House rule on the complaint process to properly investigate and hold lawmakers accountable when and if sexual harassment has occurred. Its important to me that complaints are taken seriously. Im glad the House has a reporting mechanism so victims and witnesses can come forward and feel safe to do so, he said.

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Finally, I want to remind all House employees that if something happened that you feel is worth reporting, our Ethics rules and the Houses personnel handbook provide for a confidential investigation process and guarantee protection from retaliation.

Two new faces are joining the caucus: Sen. La Keisha Jackson, D-Indianapolis, who was elected after finishing out the late Sen. Jean Breauxs final term. Gary Councilman-At-Large Mark Spencer is expected to be sworn in Tuesday, during the ceremonial start to the session.

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LISBON, Ohio (WKBN)  An Indianapolis man picked up in an undercover sex sting in Salem entered a plea in his case and was sentenced on Monday.

Read next: Police investigating shooting that left 2 dead

Travis Gillespie, 59, pleaded no contest and was found guilty of engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools, according to court records.

Court records state that Gillespie was sentenced to one year of non-reporting probation and to perform 20 hours of community service, as well as take an online prostitution prevention court. The $180 in cash seized by the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force would be forfeited, and Gillespies jail sentence was suspended.

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Gillespie was one of four people taken into custody during a sting operation in August. Authorities had been targeting those who were attempting to buy sex online.

Reports from the Task Force state that Gillespie arrived in his employers semi-truck and that he had previously been convicted of sex crimes out of Wisconsin in 2004.

According to court records, charges are still pending against Cara Crabtree, of Steubenville; and Brian Digman, of Dillonvale. Court records state that they failed to appear for their court hearings and that warrants were issued.

Prosecutors declined to pursue charges against Jennifer Lancaster who had faced a promoting prostitution charge, according to court records.

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Michael Reiner and Jonathan Renforth 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.
ATLANTA (WSAV)  Zoo Atlanta announced that the western lowland gorilla infant born last week died Monday morning.

Zoo Atlanta announced the birth on Nov. 16 and said that that the female infant had not yet been observed nursing on her own. After an examination, the infant was returned to Kambera, the mother, and she did begin nursing the infant.

The infant was observed to be deceased Monday morning, Zoo Atlanta said. They said that a necropsy, which is the animal equivalent of an autopsy, will be conducted to find out the infants cause of death.

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Zoo Atlanta said that even though they are saddened by the death, they were encouraged to see Kambera accept her infant, as she previously rejected another offspring at another organization prior to Zoo Atlanta.

We are heartbroken by the loss of not just this special little individual, but by the loss of a newborn member of a critically endangered species, said Gina Ferrie, PhD, Vice President of Collections and Conservation. Like humans, newborn gorillas are very fragile, and the first few days of life are uncertain for any baby animal. If there is an encouraging takeaway from this sad moment, it is that we were so encouraged to see Kambera, who had not previously reared an infant, display all of the maternal inclinations we hoped to see. Our teams worked tirelessly and with outstanding commitment to help Kambera prepare for the birth and, following the birth, to ensure her and her infants wellbeing.

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.
A teenager who was seriously injured in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war has arrived in the United States for treatment.

Diaa Al-Haqq, 15, was injured when an alleged Israeli missile attack hit a cafe in Gaza, the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund (PCRF) -- the nongovernmental organization that arranged his evacuation -- told Portland, Oregon, ABC affiliate KATU. Diaa's arms were severely injured and he had amputations on both arms below his elbows.

Diaa and his sister, Aya, arrived at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Saturday, the local PCRF chapter in Portland said in a post on Instagram. After a brief layover, Diaa arrived in Portland, where he will be receiving medical care, on Sunday, according to the chapter.

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MORE: A Palestinian girl suffered burns to over 60% of her body: This is her monthslong journey out of a war zone

Videos shared to social media showed Diaa, sitting in a wheelchair, arrive to a cheering crowd waving Palestinian flags.

"We're really excited that he's able to come here for treatment and be safely hosted within the Portland community in the coming months," Niyyah Ruschaer-Haqq, a nurse practitioner in Portland, told KATU.

PHOTO: Diaa, age 15, arrives in Chicago on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 to seek medical care in the U.S. after being injured in Gaza. He will be receiving treatment in Portland. (KATU)

The PCRF said it worked with several organizations -- including the World Health Organization and the nonprofits Human Concern International and FAJR Scientific -- to evacuate eight critically injured children, including Diaa, and their companions from Gaza to Jordan. The children were then taken to the U.S. for medical care.

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Diaa is one of two children whose medical care will be supported by the PCRF, while the remaining six children will have their medical care supported by other organizations, the PCRF said.

The organization said Diaa dreamed of becoming a professional photographer and loved documenting nature, according to KATU. It's unclear how long Diaa will remain in the U.S. receiving care.

The PCRF did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.

Since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023, at least 12,000 children have been injured, equating to almost 70 every day, according to UNICEF. They are "disproportionately wearing the scars of the war in Gaza," according to the humanitarian aid organization.

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MORE: Inside Gaza's mental health crisis impacting civilians, aid workers: 'Catastrophic'

Last month, UNICEF said that between Jan. 1 and May 7 of this year, an average of 296 children were being medically evacuated from Gaza each month. However, since the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt was closed on May 7 after Israeli forces launched a ground operation, just 22 children have been medically evacuated every month.

"As a result, children in Gaza are dying -- not just from the bombs, bullets and shells that strike them -- but because, even when 'miracles happen,' even when the bombs go off and the homes collapse and the casualties mount, but the children survive, they are then prevented from leaving Gaza to receive the urgent care that would save their lives," UNICEF said in an October press release.

Since Hamas launched its surprise terrorist attack on Israel, and Israel responded by declaring war, at least 43,800 people have been killed in Gaza and at least 103,700 have been injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. About 1,700 Israelis have been killed and about 8,700 have been injured, according to Israeli officials.

Injured Gaza teen arrives in US for medical treatment after arm amputations originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
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Grist

It took Samoan activist Tunaimatia Jacob Netzler three flights and a bus ride over the course of 24 hours to reach the big climate conference. The plan was to join nearly 200 other campaigners from around 40 countries to discuss the fate of the planet.

But Netzler wasnt traveling to Baku, Azerbaijan, for COP29. Instead, he headed to Oaxaca, Mexico, for the Global Meeting for Climate and Life that organizers dubbed an anti-COP. The gathering would strike a decidedly different tone than its more formal United Nations counterpart. Luxury hotels and private jets gave way to dormitories and composting toilets that reflected the activists aim to create a more egalitarian space.

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It really brought together people that wouldnt normally be engaged in the formal COP process, said Netzler, the Pacific campaign associate for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. It brought those in the frontline communities.

Last weeks event was a byproduct of the sentiment that, after almost 30 years, COPs are doing too little to address runaway greenhouse gas emissions. Even the former head of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which governs the annual meeting, has called the whirlwind events  which attracts everyone from heads of states to oil industry lobbyists  distracting.

Activists gathered in Oaxaca also rallied around a shared feeling of exclusion from the international confab, and concerns that the solutions that come out of it are harming communities. Anti-COP aimed to provide a space to articulate our struggles and propose concrete alternatives [to the status quo]. The five-day gathering ended with a final statement that outlined the movements next steps  including plans for increased coordination amongst participants and a proposal to send caravans of activists to next years COP in Brazil.

One primary goal of the event was to foster understanding between climate and land-defense movements that have historically worked in relatively separate spheres.

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There is a lot of hesitation from the Indigenous groups to collaborate with environmentalists because theyre viewed as white movements, or movements that are coming from the Global North, explained Dianx Cantarey, the global coordinator for Debt for Climate, one of the grassroots organizations that helped host the anti-COP.

Beyond that, the gathering tackled four major themes: The impacts of clean energy megaprojects on the communities around them, the global water crisis, the commodification of life, and forced displacement of Indigenous peoples. It also explicitly repudiated what activists see as governmental inaction in the face of the climate crisis. Participants describe the gathering as both a response and an antidote to COP gatherings, which they say often prioritize money, power, and fossil fuel interests over human life  a point underscored by the fact that Elnur Soltanov, the head of this years event, was filmed leveraging the summit to make oil deals.

When you sit in your tenth opening statement [at COP], and its all the same, its frustrating to think that no other world is possible,said Xiye Bastida, the executive director of the Re-Earth Initiative, a youth-led nonprofit focused on making the climate movement more accessible and inclusive. She went to Oaxaca because, for us, its not about the parts per million in the atmosphere, its about how our societies have transformed.

Bastida, Netzler, and others at the anti-COP have felt marginalized by COP. She described cockroach-infested youth hotels at one years conference, and another participant recalled having once been turned away from the Indigenous pavilion. It hasnt always been that way. At their outset in the 1980s and 90s, climate negotiations were among the most welcoming and inclusive intergovernmental processes.

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Initially, the climate regime was extremely open, permeable, and transparent, said Dana Fisher, director of American Universitys Center for Environment, Community & Equity, who did not attend the anti-COP. But, she said, that began to change around 2009, when Danish police clashed with, and arrested, hundreds of climate protesters at COP15 in Copenhagen. Since then, civil society has been increasingly sidelined; a phenomenon that has been on particularly stark display at the last three COPS, which have been held in authoritarian states: Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and now Azerbaijan.

There was a narrowing of opportunity for NGO observers and civil society members to participate, said Fisher. By the time we got to Egypt  they couldnt go into the actual hall.

As theyve been squeezed out, advocates have lost trust in COPs, creating what Fisher calls an interaction effect that led to the depth of mistrust that gave rise to initiatives like anti-COP. Although this was the groups second gathering, this years was much larger and the first to produce a roadmap for future action.

Anti-COP participants called for everything from mapping the financial interests behind clean energy megaprojects that impact Indigenous communities to building a database of best, successful land-defense practices and denouncing the election of Donald Trump. There were also more blunt pronouncements, including a declaration that All COPs Are Bastards!

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Still, the anti-COP was held a week before the formal COP for a reason: Some of those who gathered in Oaxaca planned to be in Baku.

For me, the space of COP is to read negotiation texts and make sure it includes and defends as many people as possible, said Bastida, acknowledging that its sure to be a draining experience. But, she added: If I didnt go to anti-COP, I couldnt go to a COP knowing that Im doing my part to include voices that have been missing.
SINGAPORE, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- The non-oil domestic exports (NODX) in Singapore declined 4.6 percent year-on-year last month, after a 0.9 percent expansion in September, the government agency Enterprise Singapore said Monday.

The electronic NODX increased 2.6 percent year-on-year in October. Meanwhile, non-electronic NODX declined 6.7 percent due to a contraction in specialized machinery, pharmaceuticals, and petrochemicals.

NODX to Singapore's top markets as a whole declined last month. Singapore's total trade also decreased 2 percent year-on-year in October, following the 0.4 percent growth in September. 
Some of the world's most reputable news outlets are under fire after a report found they have been complicit in greenwashing the world's largest meat processing company.

What's happening?

Using data from MediaRadar, the environmental newsletter HEATED discovered that JBS USA  the American branch of the Brazil-based meatpacking conglomerate  has run marketing campaigns in 20 major publications to disseminate misleading statements about its sustainability goals.

According to its website, JBS plans to reach net zero emissions by 2040, upgrading its facilities, investing in R&D projects, and transitioning to renewable energy.

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However, HEATED noted the National Advertising Review Board advised the company to stop promoting its so-called commitment to net zero emissions last year since it "does not have a formulated and vetted plan" to achieve this goal, adding that "evidence did not support the broad message  that JBS is on a path towards net zero."

Despite this, JBS has continued to spread misinformation, using the media to detract from and downplay its pollutive practices.

A few of the most notable perpetrators involved include The New York Times, Reuters, CNN, the Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, some of which JBS paid thousands of dollars over the last few years to publish ads and sponsored content. For example, JBS has paid Politico at least $53,000 since 2021 to run ads that boost its image.

"Our most reputable news outlets are funding their fact-based journalism by giving polluters a platform to lie  eroding public trust in journalism," HEATED wrote.

Why is JBS' greenwashing concerning?

JBS' deceitful climate ads obscure the fact that it is responsible for producing 32 billion pounds of meat a year and is "one of the biggest consumers of cattle raised on newly deforested land," per the New York Times.

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In addition to deforestation  which negatively impacts biodiversity and the Earth's ability to absorb carbon dioxide  livestock practices can contaminate water sources and release planet-warming gases.

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According to Our World in Data, cattle raised for consumption emit 231 billion pounds of methane annually, exacerbating severe weather patterns associated with Earth's overheating.

What's being done about JBS' greenwashing?

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a groundbreaking lawsuit in March against JBS for engaging in "fraudulent and illegal environmental marketing practices."

The lawsuit argues JBS does not know the full extent of its carbon footprint, making it impossible to have a legitimate plan to offset its emissions completely. Additionally, JBS' primary goal to expand meat consumption contradicts the very nature of the carbon-intensive agricultural industry.

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Meanwhile, lawmakers and environmentalists are working to prevent JBS from joining the New York Stock Exchange.

"Dozens of journalistic and NGO reports have shown that JBS is linked to more destruction of forests and other ecosystems than any other company in Brazil," a letter cosigned by 15 U.S. senators said. "The company has made repeated claims that it will eliminate deforestation but has not taken meaningful steps to do so."

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DES MOINES, Iowa (KCAU)  The Iowa Attorney Generals Office announced Monday that it has concluded that two Sioux City police officers were legally justified in shooting and killing a man in October.

The shooting took place on the night of Oct. 20, 2024. The person shot by police was Jamie Orozco, 43, of Sioux City, who had allegedly fired a shot at officers.

Stanton County shooting no longer under criminal investigation

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According to an investigation by the Iowa DCI, on Oct. 20 at about 7:22 p.m., officials received a report that a person was publicly waving a gun. At that time, the person, later identified as Orozco, racked the slide of the gun and told a couple nearby Dont worry, its not for you, and then left the area.

Once police officers found Orozco, the man reportedly refused to stop and talk, instead pulling out a handgun. He pointed it at them and then ran off, according to a release.

Police chased Orozco, and the man allegedly fired and missed a shot at officers. One officer fired back, also missing. Orozco would get away for the moment.

Then, at 10:08 p.m., a SWAT team entered a home where officials believed that Orozco was hiding. Residents of the Greenville neighborhood were ordered by police to shelter in place for a short time.

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Orozco was allegedly found in an attic crawl space. An officer believed that he was hiding a weapon in a cloth bundle.

After being told that he would be shot if he moved, Orozco allegedly said Im not going back to prison. After refusing further commands, he allegedly reached for the cloth bundle, prompting the officer to shoot him in the head once.

Man tied to cartel sentenced for distributing meth in Sioux City

After lifesaving measures were taken at the scene, Orozco was brought to a hospital, where he would eventually die on Oct. 27.

According to the release, a gun was in fact found in the crawl space inside the cloth bundle.

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Orozco had previous felony convictions and was not allowed to possess a firearm. He had also been previously convicted for inappropriate acts with a child, the release says, and was participating in sex offender treatment

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.
Irans supreme leader is said to be pushing Hezbollah towards a ceasefire with Israel as US mediators head to Lebanon to try to broker a deal.

Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, passed messages to the Lebanese terror group on Friday that said he supported ending the conflict, two Iranians affiliated with Irans Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said.

Khamenei told Hezbollah it should agree to the terms demanding it move its forces north, in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, the sources told The New York Times.

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They added that the messages also assured the group it would continue to receive financial and military support to help the ground rebuild and recover from the conflict.

Hezbollah has previously promised that it would continue attacking Israel as long as the war in Gaza rages, but reports in recent weeks indicate that it might have changed its stance.

Khamenei has previously claimed Israel wont last and described the Oct 7 attacks as a justified act of self-defence - ATTA KENARE/AFP

Lebanons government is expected to respond to the US ceasefire proposal  delivered to Beirut last week  later on Monday, Lebanese media outlet Al Akhbar reported.

Amos Hochstein, a US special envoy, is expected to arrive in Lebanon on Tuesday to continue pushing for a ceasefire.

Netanyahus procrastination stifling ceasefire progress

Hezbollah views the ceasefire proposal with great openness, Al Akhbar reported, citing well-informed sources. It added that the group had authorised Najib Mikati, the Lebanese prime minister, and Nabih Berri, the speaker of parliament, to continue negotiations on its behalf.

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Mr Berri said on Saturday that there was progress made in a positive atmosphere but that Lebanon would reject any Israeli demand to violate its sovereignty after a ceasefire.

The veteran Lebanese politician also claimed that the procrastination of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, had been a major challenge in reaching a ceasefire.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu ordered retaliatory strikes on Iran just last month - Screenshot/GPO

The US-drafted ceasefire proposal, revealed last month by Israeli media, includes the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanese territory and the disarmament of Hezbollah in areas south of the Litani river, which runs 30km from Israels border.

As part of the agreement, the Lebanese government would ensure that Hezbollah is disarmed and prevented from regrouping or taking control of territory.

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The US and international community would also help increase the size, strength and capacity of Lebanons army in order to implement the deal, the proposal said.

It would also give Israel the right to act to defend itself against threats to its security, which includes the production, storage, or transportation of heavy weaponry; ballistic, medium-, and long-range missiles; and other advanced weaponry.

Ceasefire will be Netanyahus gift to Trump

Benny Gantz, former defence minister and leader of the opposition party, National Unity, reiterated this demand on Monday following the ceasefire reports, saying Israel must continue to have full freedom to act against any violations of a deal.

Last week, the Washington Post reported that Mr Netanyahu is preparing to push for a ceasefire with Hezbollah as a foreign policy gift to US president-elect Donald Trump, who takes office in January.

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However, amid the reports of both sides showing a willingness to a ceasefire, Yisrael Katz, Israels newly-appointed defence minister, stated last week that there will be no ceasefire and no pause in Lebanon.

Israel will not agree to any arrangement that does not guarantee its right to enforce and prevent terrorism independently, ensuring the wars goals in Lebanon are met, including disarming Hezbollah, pushing them beyond the Litani River, and allowing northern residents to return to their homes safely, Mr Katz said.

Black smoke rises from a Hezbollah-controlled area of Beiruts southern suburbs following an Israeli air strike - Marwan Naaman/Shutterstock

On Saturday, Israeli forces made their deepest advance into southern Lebanon when they captured a hill in the southern village of Chamaa some 5km from the border.

It is unclear exactly how far Israel has pushed Hezbollah from its border, but thousands of Israeli soldiers have operated in southern Lebanon since the ground invasion officially began on October 1.

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Israeli strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut killed six on Sunday, including Mohammad Afif, the terror groups media chief and a prominent spokesman.

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The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza -- particularly in the north of the strip -- and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut. The strikes form the backdrop for a fresh diplomatic push by the White House ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office in January.

Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called "precise strikes on military targets" in several locations in Iran following Tehran's Oct. 1 missile barrage.





Latest Developments





Nov 19, 1:29 PM

US sanctions Hamas leaders as officials say group's political wing has rebased in Turkey

The U.S. is rolling out sanctions against six senior Hamas leaders accused of facilitating the transfer of weapons and funds into Gaza to support the groups terror activities as well as smuggling in construction materials to build the underground tunnels critical to its operations, according to the Biden administration.



There is no distinction between Hamas so-called military wing and its political leadership, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement announcing the tranche of sanctions.



Three of the targeted individuals are based in Turkey, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.



Despite the denials coming from Hamas and the Turkish government, two U.S. officials say that the bulk of Hamas political wing has now relocated to Turkey following the groups ouster from Qatar.



The U.S. has turned a blind eye to Hamas relationship with NATO ally Turkey for years, which allows the U.S. designated terror group to openly recruit, fundraise and interface with its government officials.



Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he hopes to strengthen ties with the U.S. when President-elect Donald Trump takes office. However, Trumps cabinet is expected to feature many staunchly pro-Israel voices who will object to Turkeys tolerance of Hamas -- potentially complicating Erdogans plans.



-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston





Nov 19, 1:10 PM

Hospitals in northern Gaza running out of medical supplies, requesting patient transfers as attacks continue

Kamal Adwan Hospital is running out of medical supplies, and more people with cases of malnutrition are arriving at the hospital because of the lack of food and water allowed into northern Gaza, the hospital director said in comments Tuesday.



"There are a number of cases of malnutrition that have begun to arrive, including children and the elderly," Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of Kamal Adwan hospital said.



"The health system is working under extremely harsh conditions to the point that we have started losing numbers of infected people due to the lack of medical supplies," Abu Safia added.



At least 50 people were killed, and 110 people were injured in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said.



The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Palestine Red Crescent Society transferred 15 patients from Al Awda Hospital in north Gaza to Al Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City Sunday, the ICRC said in a statement Tuesday. The patient transfers were requested by the hospitals, the ICRC said.



The organizations also delivered medical supplies to three hospitals in Gaza City Monday, the ICRC said in a post on X.



"The delivery and medical transfer came in the wake of another large-scale attack in the Beit Lahia area of the Northern Governorate, in which dozens of people were killed and many more injured," the ICRC said.



-ABC News' Diaa Ostaz and Sami Zyara





Nov 19, 1:08 PM

UN peacekeepers, buildings targeted in 3 incidents in south Lebanon

United Nations peacekeeping forces in Lebanon and facilities were targeted in "three separate incidents in south Lebanon," Tuesday, UNIFIL said in a post on X.



Four Ghanian peacekeepers on duty "sustained injures as a rocket ... hit their base," UNIFIL said in a post on X. Three of the injured peacekeepers were transferred to a hospital in Tyre, Lebanon for treatment, UNIFIL said.



In a different attack, a UNIFIL building was "impacted by five rockets," UNIFIL said.



"In another incident, UNIFIL Sector West Headquarters in Shama was impacted by five rockets, which struck the maintenance workshop," UNIFIL said. "Although it caused heavy damage to the workshop, no peacekeeper was injured. This was the second time this UNIFIL base was impacted by the ongoing clashes in the area in less than a week."



In a third incident, a UNIFIL patrol was "passing through" a village, and "an armed person directly fired at the patrol," UNIFIL said. No injuries were reported from this incident.



UNIFIL is investigating the incidents and has informed the Lebanese armed forces about them, UNIFIL said.



"UNIFIL once again reminds all actors involved in the ongoing hostilities to respect the inviolability of United Nations peacekeepers and premises," UNIFIL said in a post on X.





Nov 19, 12:59 PM

5 killed, 31 injured after Israeli strike on central Beirut

At least five people were killed, 31 were injured and at least two people remain missing after an Israeli airstrike in the Zuqaq al-Blat neighborhood of central Beirut, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.



The Israeli Defense Forces did not issue a warning before conducting this airstrike on central Beirut Monday.



At least 28 people were killed and 107 were wounded across Lebanon from Israeli attacks Monday, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.

PHOTO: A man clears the debris of a damaged building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, in Zuqaq al-Blat area in Beirut, Lebanon, Nov. 19, 2024. (Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

Overall, 3,544 people have been killed, and 15,036 have been injured since Israel's increased attacks on the country began in mid-September, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said in a post on X.



U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein met with Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut Tuesday, according to Lebanese state media.



After meeting with Hochstein for two hours, Berri said the cease-fire negotiations were "good in principle," but warned Israel could change its minds about the proposal as it has done before.



Berri said the U.S. is managing guarantees about Israel's position on the proposal, according to Lebanese state media.



-ABC News' Morgan Winsor





Nov 19, 7:13 AM

Israel kills 5 in central Beirut strike, officials say

At least five people were killed and 31 wounded by an Israeli strike in the Zuqaq al-Blat neighborhood of central Beirut on Monday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health. Two other people are missing.

PHOTO: Lebanese soldiers stand guard at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the al-Shiyah area of Beirut on Nov. 19, 2024. (Anwar Amro/AFP via Getty Images)

The Israel Defense Forces did not appear to issue any public evacuation order prior to the strike. ABC News has reached out to the IDF for comment on the target of the strike.



The attack made Monday the second consecutive day of Israeli strikes within central Beirut. To date, the vast majority of airstrikes on the capital have hit the southern Dahiya suburb, known as a Hezbollah stronghold.



Israel has intensified its bombardment in and around Beirut over the past week, while Hezbollah has continued missile fire into Israel. Fresh discussions are ongoing as to a potential cease-fire to end the fighting.



-ABC News' Morgan Winsor, Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti





Nov 19, 4:53 AM

Israel demands 'immediate' action against pro-Iran militias in Iraq

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Tuesday published a letter sent to the president of the United Nations Security Council in which he called for "immediate action regarding the activity of the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, whose territory is being used to attack Israel."



PHOTO: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar speaks during a ceremony in Jerusalem on Nov. 10, 2024. (Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images)



"The Iraqi government is responsible for everything that happens on its territory," Saar wrote, noting Israel's right to self-defense.



"I called on the Security Council to act urgently to make sure that the Iraqi government meets its obligations under international law and to make these attacks on Israel stop," Saar said.



Iran-backed Iraqi militias have been launching drone attacks into Israel from the east in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, with whom Israeli forces have been engaged since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel.



-ABC News' Jordana Miller





Nov 18, 4:31 PM

Nearly 100 aid trucks looted: UNRWA

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Monday their aid convoy was "violently" looted over the weekend, one of the largest such cases of looting since the war began.



The 109-truck U.N. convoy was carrying food supplies to people in Gaza when it was looted on Saturday, UNRWA said.



"The vast majority of the trucks, 97 in total, were lost and drivers were forced at gunpoint to unload aid," UNRWA said in a statement.



UNRWA said the Israel Defense Forces made the convoy leave a day earlier than planned.



The IDF has not yet commented on this incident.



-ABC News' Will Gretsky





Nov 18, 4:02 PM

Israel's October attack damaged some of Iran's nuclear program: Netanyahu

Israel damaged some of Iran's nuclear program in its October attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday.



Iran's air defense, ballistic missile production and ability to produce "solid fuel" were impacted, Netanyahu said during remarks to Israel's parliament.



"There is a certain element of their nuclear program that was damaged in this attack," he said, though added that its ability to operate "has not yet been thwarted."



Netanyahu said Iran's nuclear threat must be dealt with.



"If we don't deal with the nuclear program, then all the other problems will come back and resurface, both in the axis, and in armaments, and in other things," Netanyahu said.



Netanyahu also said Israel is "currently talking about possible negotiations for a settlement" to be reached between Israel and Lebanon, but added, "Even if there is a cease-fire, no one says it will last."



-ABC News' Jordana Miller





Nov 18, 2:55 PM

US envoy en route to Lebanon for cease-fire talks, official says

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein is on his way to Lebanon for talks on a cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel, an official familiar with the plans confirmed to ABC News.



Hochstein left from the U.S. for Lebanon on Monday, the official said.



Israel is getting close to being ready to agree to the U.S.-backed cease-fire proposal, which is very similar to the proposal that was floated by the U.S. at the end of September. The U.S. needs to see how Hezbollah feels about this proposal, which is what Hochstein aims to do during his trip, according to the official.



-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston





Nov 18, 1:13 PM

4 killed in Israeli attack in Beirut: Health ministry

Four people were killed and at least 18 injured in an Israeli attack in Beirut, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Monday.



-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman

Click here to read the rest of the blog.
The latest in targeted killings of senior Hezbollah officials came as Lebanese officials considered a United States-led cease-fire proposal. Israel also bombed several buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has long been headquartered, after warning people to evacuate.

Mohammed Afif, the head of media relations for Hezbollah, was killed in a strike on the Arab socialist Baath party's office in central Beirut, according to a Hezbollah official who was not authorized to brief reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Afif had been especially visible after all-out war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah in September and the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike. Last month, Afif hastily wrapped up a press conference in Beirut ahead of Israeli strikes.

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There was no Israeli evacuation warning before the strike in central Beirut. An Associated Press photographer at the scene saw four bodies and four wounded people, but there was no official word on the toll. People could be seen fleeing. There was no comment from the Israeli military.

I was asleep and awoke from the sound of the strike, and people screaming, and cars and gunfire," said Suheil Halabi, a witness. "I was startled, honestly. This is the first time I experience it so close.

The last Israeli strike in central Beirut was on Oct. 10, when 22 people were killed in two locations.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel the day after Hamas October 7, 2023 attack ignited the war in Gaza. Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes in Lebanon and the conflict steadily escalated, erupting into war in September. Israeli forces invaded Lebanon on Oct. 1.

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Hezbollah has continued to fire dozens of projectiles into Israel daily and has expanded their range to central Israel. The attacks have killed at least 76 people, including 31 soldiers, and caused some 60,000 people to flee in the north. A rocket barrage on the northern city of Haifa on Saturday damaged a synagogue and wounded two civilians.

More than 3,400 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the countrys Health Ministry, and over 1.2 million driven from their homes. It is not known how many of the dead are Hezbollah fighters.

Lebanon's army, largely on the sidelines, said an Israeli strike on Sunday hit a military centre in southeastern Al-Mari, killing a soldier and wounding three others. There was no immediate Israeli comment.
The Israeli military launched a wave of attacks on the city centre of the Lebanese capital Beirut on Sunday, as dozens more Palestinians were reported killed in strikes in the Gaza Strip.

The state news agency NNA reported an Israeli attack near the famous Mar Elias shopping street. Witnesses told dpa there had been at least two consecutive impacts on the densely populated area.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said two people were killed and 22 injured.

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Initial reports indicated that an electronics store had been hit.

A few hours earlier, the Israeli military had hit the densely populated Ras Al Naba district, in the heart of the capital city. Lebanese security sources said the spokesman for the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia Mohammed Afif was killed in that strike.

At the time of the attack, he is said to have been in an office of the Baath Party, which is active in several Arab countries, including as the party of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad. According to Lebanese authorities, at least three other people were killed in the attack and 14 people injured.

Afif was one of the few remaining publicly known faces of Hezbollah after the killing of the group's leadership, and had recently led press conferences.

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He was considered a confidante of the militia's former secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike at the end of September.

Hezbollah later confirmed Afif's death, calling the spokesman a "pillar" of the group's media and political work in a statement posted on Telegram.

The Israeli military did not issue evacuation notices ahead of the attacks in Beirut.

Church bells rang in a Christian district Sunday morning to warn of the attacks, prompting residents to seek refuge in nearby churches. Lebanon, unlike Israel, lacks both air raid shelters and an official warning system.

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There were several Israeli evacuation calls issued for the southern suburbs of Beirut, known as Dahiyeh, which Israeli Air Force has attacked several times in recent days. According to the military, the attacks on Dahiyeh targeted Hezbollah's command centres and other facilities.

Hezbollah sees US ceasefire proposal as basis for negotiations

Hezbollah is looking at a draft ceasefire proposal submitted by the United States as a basis for further negotiations, according to government circles in Lebanon.

The pro-Iranian Shiite militia sees the proposal as a route to achieve a framework for an agreement, it said, adding further talks were needed and that it would not want to appear to bow unconditionally to Israeli demands.

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The organization fears that its reputation in the eyes of its supporters, who have already lost much in this war, could be further diminished.

Almost 100 killed in Israeli airstrikes in northern Gaza

Almost 100 people have been killed in new Israeli strikes in the north of the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-controlled press office said on Sunday.

An Israeli bomb hit a five-storey residential block in the city of Beit Lahia, killing 72 people, it said. The building housed families displaced from their homes in other parts of the Gaza Strip. Many women and children were reported among the victims.

A further 24 people were killed and several injured in Israeli airstrikes on the al-Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps in the centre of the Gaza Strip, the press office said.

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The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that rescue workers were looking for bodies and survivors in the rubble.

The Hamas-controlled health authority in the Gaza Strip reported that 47 Palestinians had died in fighting in the area over the past 24 hours, raising the number killed since the start of the war in October last year to 43,846. The figures do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Two Lebanese army officers killed

Back in Lebanon, the military said two Lebanese soldiers were killed in Israeli attack on a post in the south.

The Lebanese army said that Israeli forces had targeted a centre belonging to it in the southern town of Mari. At least two other people were injured. killing one of its personnel and injuring three others, one critically.

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There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

UN peacekeeping patrol fired at 40 times

UN peacekeeping troops in southern Lebanon once again come under fire.

A UNIFIL patrol involving French and Finnish peacekeepers was in the village of Maarakeh on Saturday when it was fired at from behind about 40 times.

A statement from the mission said the attack likely came from "non-state actor members" and that the patrol safely made it back to base.

"Although some patrol vehicles had bullet impacts, there was no injury to the peacekeepers," the UN Interim Force in Lebanon said on Sunday.

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In recent weeks, peacekeeping troops have repeatedly found themselves caught in the crossfire during clashes between Israel and Hezbollah.

Since September, Israel's military has massively expanded its attacks in Lebanon, where it says it is seeking to push back Hezbollah from its northern border so that residents can return to their homes.

Fighter planes have bombed targets across the country and frequently in the suburbs south of Beirut. More than 3,000 people have been killed in Lebanon so far, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
At least four people were killed and 18 others were wounded when an Israeli strike hit an area in central Beirut on Monday targeting an apartment building without any prior warning, eyewitnesses, security sources and the health ministry said.

The strike hit an apartment in the heavily-populated Zaqaq al-Blat district, which is outside Beirut's southern Suburbs, eyewitnesses said.

People told dpa they heard two rockets hitting the building.

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It marks the first Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital since Sunday night when an Israeli strike hit the Mar Elias neighbourhood which is not far from the targeted area.

The area is considered to be under the control of the Shiite militia Hezbollah and their close allies, the Amal movement. It is a few metres away from the headquarters of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and the Australian Embassy.

The area is also few meters away from the ESCWA bulding in downtown Beirut.

People were seen fleeing the area while ambulances were rushing to evacuate the casualties.

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Most Israeli airstrikes have so far targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut, which are considered a stronghold of the Shiite militia Hezbollah. Recently, however, attacks on the city centre have become more frequent.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Hussam al-Masri

CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) -Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip killed 20 Palestinians on Monday, including six people in attacks on tents housing displaced families, medics said.

Four people, two of them children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment in the coastal area of Al-Mawasi, which is designated as a humanitarian zone, while two died in temporary shelters in the southern city of Rafah and another in drone fire, Gaza health officials said.

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In the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, medics said an Israeli missile struck a house, killing at least two people and wounding several others. On Sunday, medics and residents said dozens of people were killed or wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a multi-floor residential building in the town.

Another airstrike on a house in Gaza City killed seven people and wounded 10, medics said. Later on Monday, an Israeli airstrike killed four people in the Nuseirat camp in the central area of the coastal enclave, they added.

The Israeli military, which has been fighting Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza since October 2023 in a war that has left Gaza in ruins, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Monday's incidents.

On Sunday, the military said it had conducted strikes on "terrorist targets" in Beit Lahiya. Israel accuses Hamas and allied militants of operating within residential areas including hospitals for cover. Hamas denies using the civilian population and facilities for military purposes.

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The Gaza health ministry said Israeli strikes had killed 76 Palestinians across the territory over the past 24 hours.

In Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, relatives of Palestinians killed in an airstrike on tents housing displaced families sat beside bodies wrapped in blankets and white shrouds to pay farewell before walking them to graves.

CHILD MALNUTRITION GROWING, HOSPITAL DIRECTOR SAYS

"My brother wasnt the only one; many others have been martyred in this brutal way - children torn to pieces, civilians shredded. They werent carrying weapons or even knew 'the resistance', yet they were ripped apart into fragments," said Mohammed Aboul Hassan, who lost his brother in the attack.

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We remain steadfast, patient and resilient, and by the will of God, we will never falter. We will stay steadfast and patient," he told Reuters.

The Israeli army sent tanks and soldiers into Beit Lahiya and the nearby towns of Beit Hanoun and Jabalia, the largest of the Gaza Strip's eight historic refugee camps, early last month in what it said was a campaign to fight regrouping Hamas militants mounting guerrilla-style, hit-and-run attacks.

Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, said it was under siege by Israeli forces and the World Health Organization had been unable to deliver supplies of food, medicine and surgical equipment.

Cases of malnutrition among children are increasing, he said, and the hospital was operating at a minimal level.

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"We receive daily distress calls, but we are unable to assist them due to the lack of ambulances, and the situation is catastrophic," he said. "Yesterday, I received a distress call from women and children trapped under the rubble, and due to my inability to help them, they are now among the martyrs (dead)."

Later on Monday, COGAT, the Israeli military agency that deals with Palestinian civilian affairs, said it facilitated the delivery of 10,000 liters of fuel and 149 packages of medical equipment to hospitals in northern Gaza on Sunday.

It also said it permitted the transfer of 64 patients and their companions from Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda Hospitals to functioning hospitals elsewhere in the enclave.

Israel said it had killed hundreds of militants in the three northern areas, which residents said were cut off from Gaza City, making it difficult and dangerous for them to flee. The armed wings of Hamas and allied militant group Islamic Jihad said they had killed many Israeli soldiers in anti-tank rocket and mortar fire attacks during the same period.

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The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says over 43,800 people have been confirmed killed, and almost the entire 2.3 million population displaced, since the war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023.

That day, Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people in cross-border attacks on communities in southern Israel, and continue to hold dozens of some 250 hostages they took back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo; additional reporting by Hussam al-Masri in Gaza; editing by Ros Russell, William Maclean and Mark Heinrich)
The progressive Israel advocacy group J Street is urging senators to vote in favor of several resolutions put forward by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to protest U.S. arms sales to Israel, a lobbying boost for Sanders effort and a marked shift to the left for J Street.



We are urging Senators to vote yes to send a message, understanding that the sales are going to go through, J Street president Jeremy Ben-Ami told Jewish Insider on Monday. The votes a series of measures known as joint resolutions of disapproval, each of which deals with different types of weapons sent to Israel are expected to take place on Wednesday.



If the resolutions were to pass in both the Senate and the House, they would block the arms transfers, though theyre almost guaranteed to fail. How many senators support the resolutions will be a barometer of Congress frustration with Israel more than a year into the war in the Middle East. Eleven senators, including one Republican, supported another Sanders effort that sought to halt arms sales earlier this year.



The United States government must stop blatantly violating the law with regard to arms sales to Israel, Sanders wrote in a Washington Post op-ed published Monday. The resolutions, which will touch on $20 billion of proposed weapons sales to Israel, are co-sponsored by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Peter Welch (D-VT).



J Streets campaign will urge senators to vote yes on at least one of the resolutions, Ben-Ami said. He asserted that the resolutions are symbolic, but said senators should still support them to indicate disapproval of the way the war has been conducted, of the Netanyahu governments disrespect for President [Joe] Bidens advice and requests and of the failure of the administration to use our leverage appropriately to change Israel policies and actions.



AIPAC is lobbying heavily against the measures. Last week, Jewish Federations of North America the umbrella organization of dozens of Jewish communal groups  similarly put out a call for members of the U.S. Jewish community to urge their senators to vote against the resolutions.



In recent days, J Street has strongly criticized the Biden administration for its handling of the humanitarian situation in Gaza. In a Monday fundraising email, the group spotlighted President Bidens failure to take action, writing that the Biden administration reneged on its promise that it would cut some weapons to Israel unless Israel increased aid to civilians in Gaza within 30 days.



The Biden administration said last week that Israel has made progress on helping Palestinian civilians and extended the 30-day deadline. J Street called that move a gravely disturbing decision.




BEIJING, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- A foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday that China stands ready to work with Southeast Asian countries to further enhance mutual understanding and trust, deepen friendly ties, pursue common development and prosperity and make greater contribution to regional peace and prosperity.

In response to a related query about the recent frequent interactions between China and Southeast Asian countries, spokesperson Lin Jian said the exchanges between the two sides have reached another new height, which speaks to the common aspiration of regional countries for solidarity, cooperation and development, and demonstrates the robust growth of relations between China and neighboring countries.

Lin told a daily press briefing that under the guidance of head-of-state diplomacy, the two sides have achieved fruitful outcomes in high-quality cooperation and made solid steps in building a community with a shared future.

He went on to cite developments in the building of a community with a shared future with relevant Southeast Asian countries both bilaterally and multilaterally, and progress in major projects including the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway, the China-Laos Railway, Malaysia's East Coast Rail Link, and the China-Laos-Thailand international freight train service.

Lin noted visa-free arrangement between China and Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Laos produced remarkable results, and the "Lancang-Mekong visa" policy was officially implemented.

Lin also pointed out that China and relevant countries reached important common understandings on properly putting maritime differences under control, enhancing maritime cooperation, speeding up consultations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea, and jointly keeping the South China Sea peaceful and stable.

"Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific is the shared home of China and neighboring countries. China has all along put the neighborhood as a priority in the overall diplomacy," Lin added. 
JACKSON COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA)  Classes will resume at a Jackson County community college after a bomb threat was made toward the school Monday morning.

Upon receiving the threat, Southwestern Community College closed so that deputies could search campus buildings. Jackson County Public Schools also canceled classes for the day.

According to SCC, deputies were able to make contact with the person behind the threat.

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Officials searched buildings with a an explosive K-9 from the Western Carolina University Police Department and eventually issued an all-clear announcement later in the day.

We are grateful to all law enforcement officers and first responders who promptly arrived on campus and made sure everyone was safe, said SCC President Dr. Don Tomas. Our college is thankful to these public safety professionals for their dedication and quick action. The safety of our students and employees continues to be our highest priority at Southwestern.

Evening classes will resume as scheduled.

The investigation into the bomb threat is ongoing.

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For 15 years, a Jacksonville mom has been a source of strength and compassion for families across Northeast Florida, providing financial relief to those devastated by the loss of a child. Her nonprofit, Angels for Allison, was born out of her own tragic loss, after her daughter Allison was killed in a car crash.

Nobody expects to pay for the burial of their child, because nobody expects their child to go before them, the Founder of Angels for Allison, Drew Haramis, said.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

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The founder of Angels for Allison, Drew Haramis, has become a lifeline for more than 1,000 families in the region, providing financial assistance with funeral costs for those who have lost a child.

Unfortunately, Drews organization was born from personal tragedy: losing her 15-year-old daughter, Allison, in a car crash back in 2009.

It was important for me that Allison be remembered. That was one of my biggest fearsthat she would be forgotten because she was just a 15-year-old, Haramis said.

City officials ensured that fear would never become reality. They recently unveiled a statue at Stockton Park to honor Allisons love for dance, a symbol of her joy and spirit.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

But the city is also taking new action. On Friday, Mayor Donna Deegan announced the launch of the Vision Zero Action Plan, a $1.7 million federally funded initiative aimed at eliminating traffic fatalities across Jacksonville.

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Together, we will ensure Jacksonville is a safe, accessible, and enjoyable city for pedestrians and cyclists, City of Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said.

Allisons cousin, Jessie Drew, was 17 when Allison passed away. Through Angels for Allison, Jessie helps grieving families feel less alone in their journey.

If we can stop this from happening to any other family, through Vision Zero, it would bring much more peace into our lives, knowing that no one else has to go through this, Allsions cousin Jessie Drew said.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Between 2021 and 2023, 508 lives were lost on Duval County roadways, with more than 130 fatalities recorded so far this year. Of those, 7% were children under the age of 18, according to the Jacksonville Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee.

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Its a gift to be able to help heal those families, because weve all walked that same horrible path, Haramis said.

Angels for Allison has raised more than $1 million, including $200,000 this month, to assist families in need.

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.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comers impeachment probe into President Joe Biden may have fizzled, but at least he might get some cash out of it by launching a tell-all book.

The Kentucky Republican was co-chair of a two year GOP effort that spent millions of dollars to produce a 291-page report that did not recommend moving forward with impeachment, instead listing off a bunch of previously made, unsupported claims about Biden engaging in influence peddling.

Notably, the report distorted and exaggerated Bidens purported connections to the foreign business dealings of his brother and sons.

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Undeterred by his failure to get anywhere in Congress, Comer is now trying to make a quick buck off the probe before Biden leaves office.

Excited to announce my book about the Biden Influence Peddling Investigation, all the public corruption, a full accounting of thethey took in, the government obstruction, the media weaponization, and exactly how the Deep State coordinated with the media to disinform their pic.twitter.com/MOiGA2sd1m  James Comer (@JamesComer) November 17, 2024

His book, All the Presidents Money, will release on Jan. 14, six days before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated.

When it was first revealed that Comer was in discussions with publishers for a book deal, the watchdog Congressional Integrity Project raised alarm that he was trying to leverage his position in Washington to benefit his personal and campaign bank accounts.

Representative Comer and his Republican colleagues have spent the past 15 months relentlessly investigating the president and his family and failed to find any evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden let alone anything impeachable, the group said in a statement.

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Throughout his entire investigation, Representative Comer has used his role as Chairman of the House Oversight Committee for personal and political gain. He has been a frequent guest on conservative news channels pushing conspiracy theories and lies about his investigation and has used this impeachment inquiry to fundraise for his campaign... a potential book deal is troubling as it appears Representative Comer is planning on using his unique position as Oversight Chair to turn a profit.

Comers bookwhich he says will expose all the public corruption, a full accounting of thethey took in, the government obstruction, the media weaponization, and exactly how the Deep State coordinated with the media to disinform their audienceswill be published by Broadside, a conservative nonfiction imprint of HarperCollins.

Broadside has also published Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseths The War on Warriors, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeos Never Give an Inch, and former White House senior adviser Jared Kushners White House memoir, Breaking History.
GREENWOOD LAKE, N.Y. (PIX11)  Schools are closed in Greenwood Lake on Monday as firefighters continue to battle the Jennings Creek fire.

The blaze is 88% contained after it burned through more than 5,000 acres, according to New York fire officials. Greenwood Lake Middle School is open as a shelter for those who need to evacuate their homes.

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New York state fire officials, helicopters from the Army and the National Guard and state police have dumped more than 50,000 gallons of water on the burning brush. Crews also used controlled burning to help isolate and contain the fire.

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Dry and windy conditions led to fire breaking across a containment line, according to fire officials. That triggered the evacuations of 165 homes in Warwick, which is near the New Jersey border.

Interactive map shows wildfires, air quality alerts in NY and NJ

A funeral is planned for 18-year-old Dariel Vasquez, who was killed last week while working to contain the Jennings Creek fire. He worked as a New York state forest ranger and was a senior at Ramapo High School.

The state of emergency in Orange County has been extended. Gov. Kathy Hochuls statewide burn ban is still in effect, forbidding any outdoor fires and urging caution for outdoor burning.

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Campfires can only burn up to 3 feet high.

Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Mikie Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot who was just elected to her fourth term in Congress, entered the crowded field for New Jersey governor on Monday.

In the Navy, I was on a mission to protect our country. Now, I'm announcing my candidacy for governor, on a mission to get things done for New Jersey, Sherrill, dressed in her flight jacket, says in an kickoff video that highlights her background in the military and as an attorney.

Sherrill was a political unknown in New Jersey until 2018, when she was a top Democratic recruit to take on 24-year incumbent Republican Rodney Frelinghuysen, the chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

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Sherrills candidacy was a vanguard of the political realignment of the well-off suburbs, so common in New Jersey, from traditionally Republican to solidly Democrat. Her strong early candidacy and the Democratic trends leading up to the first Trump administrations midterm led Frelinghuysen to drop his reelection bid. He was replaced on the ballot by deeply conservative state Assemblymember Jay Webber. Though the race was considered competitive, Sherrill won by 15 points and has had little trouble being reelected in subsequent campaigns.

Sherrill, though the sixth high-profile Democrat to enter the race, is the only woman candidate from either major party. In the June primary, she faces Newark Mayor Ras Baraka; Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop; former Senate President Steve Sweeney; New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller; and fellow Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who launched his campaign on Friday.

Like the other candidates, Sherrill's campaign was months in the making, if not longer. Shes already secured several endorsements, including the Laborers' International Union of North America and, unofficially, from Democratic chairs in Essex, Middlesex and Passaic counties.

Sherrill, 52, was born in Virginia and grew up mostly along the East Coast. She settled in Montclair, New Jersey, about 16 years ago. A Naval Academy graduate who has a masters in global history from the London School of Economics, Sherrill has a law degree from Georgetown University and, following a stint in private practice, worked as outreach and reentry coordinator for the U.S. Attorneys Office in New Jersey.

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During her first campaign for Congress, Sherrill said she had been planning to work in criminal justice reform but that following Donald Trumps first election in 2016 there were a lot of issues I was incredibly concerned about.

To put a fine point on it, I think this president is leading through fear and intimidation, and I strongly believe this is a nation of courage and optimism. The attack on the institutions of our government was disturbing to me, Sherrill told POLITICO at the time, criticizing Frelinghuysen for voting with Trump, including to repeal Obamacare.

She alluded to Trump in her campaign video Monday, saying that "after this election, we know people are more divided than ever on how to move forward."

In Congress, Sherrill has for years fought to restore the full state and local tax deduction, which Trumps major tax legislation reduced to just $10,000. While she has so far failed to restore it, Trump during his 2024 campaign pledged to do so. She is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

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Sherrill has also stressed her opposition to the Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, last summer announcing a plan to restore abortion rights through military, courts, and the states.

Sherrills campaign stressed in a press release accompanying her announcement her work to secure funding for the Gateway Project linking New Jersey and New York.

Initially a Blue Dog Democrat, Sherrill left the centrist caucus following a disagreement about its branding. Though Sherrill has stressed centrism, shes managed to maintain friendly relations with the partys progressive activists.

Sherrills family continues to be involved in the Navy. Her husband is also an Annapolis graduate, and her eldest daughter  one of four children  is currently serving in the Navy.

Sherill had considered a major event to kick off her campaign, potentially at a New Jersey diner, according to a person with knowledge of her plans who was granted anonymity to speak about internal deliberations. But following Trumps election earlier this month she chose the more low-key approach, the person said, with Mondays rollout video and a series of four labor and policy-focused events planned for Tuesday.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday that President-elect Trumps attorney general pick, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), is one of the brightest minds in Washington.

In an interview on Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream, Johnson downplayed concerns about Gaetzs nomination and praised him as a reformer.

Look, Matt Gaetz is a colleague of mine. Weve been serving together for more than eight years, Johnson said. Hes one of the brightest minds in Washington or anywhere for that matter, and he knows everything about how the Department of Justice has been weaponized and misused.

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And he will be a reformer. And I think thats why the establishment in Washington is so shaken up about this pick, Johnson said.

Trump tapped Gaetz for the top law enforcement spot in the country, prompting concern among even some Republican senators about the president-elects choice.

The House Ethics Committee has for years been investigating Gaetz, exploring whether he engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, among other allegations. He has vigorously denied allegations of wrongdoing, and the Department of Justice, which previously investigated whether he had sex with a 17-year-old, declined to charge him with a crime.

That Ethics Committee investigation, however, came to an abrupt end Wednesday, when Gaetz resigned from the House shortly after Trump nominated him to serve as attorney general. The Ethics panel does not have jurisdiction over former members of Congress.

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It remains unknown what path the panel will follow with its Gaetz report. Some Republican senators have pushed for the Senate Judiciary Committee to be granted access to the report and the probes findings as they go through the vetting process.

Johnson has said its not within the Ethics Committees power to release the report because Gaetz is a former member, not a current one.

Well, look, I hope that the Ethics Committee will stick by our tradition and protocol for the reasons I just articulated. I think this would take us down a path there where I dont know how wed return. If the House Ethics Committee and its resources, which are significant, substantial, could be used to investigate people who are not in the House, then where would that end? Johnson asked Bream.

I mean, people could weaponize that function of government as well, he said. The reason that Matt Gaetz is such an exciting pick to so many people is because he will go in and reform the Department of Justice. It desperately needs it.

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After a weekend spent with President-elect Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson laid out a tentative plan on Sunday to keep the government funded that, if passed, could tee up a funding fight in the earliest days of Trumps second term.

During an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," Johnson said if the House cant finish individual funding bills then well have a temporary measure. I think that would go into the first part of next year and allow us the necessary time to get this done.

Congress must take some action to avert a government shutdown before Dec. 20, when current funding will expire.

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MORE: Johnson, GOP leaders take victory lap and say they're ready for Day 1 under Trump

But the plan Johnson outlined is far from what other Republicans in both the House and Senate have previously advocated for. Many Republicans were hopeful Congress would act during the lame duck session to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year in October.

PHOTO: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-OH) speaks after being reelected to his leadership role following the House Republican leadership elections at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill on Nov. 13, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

How Congress proceeds in the next few weeks could set the table for what Trumps earliest legislative actions will be.

The Johnson plan

The plan Johnson outlined would see current government funding levels extended through March, giving a Republican-controlled Congress the ability to shape a funding bill almost immediately after Trump assumes the presidency.

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Though Johnson said hell continue to work to fund the government before the December deadline, he ultimately endorsed a short term funding bill that would kick the deadline into next spring.

MORE: Trump campaign distances itself from House speaker's plan for 'massive reform' to the ACA

I think that would be ultimately a good move because the country would benefit from it, because then you'd have Republican control. And we'd have a little more say in what those spending bills are, Johnson told Fox News.

If Congress waits until the spring to fund the government, Republicans will control the House, Senate and White House, possibly buying them more leverage in negotiations, but it hasnt always worked out that way.

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Trump was handed this sort of situation as he entered office for his first term. In December 2016, with Trump having clinched the presidency and Republicans preparing to take control of both the House and Senate the next month, Congress decided to kick the deadline to fund the government to April 2017.

But that extended funding deadline didnt necessarily buy Republican major wins. Though Trump did have more ability to influence that funding bill as a result of the delay, he still ended up having to make concessions, including a delay in funding of his border wall, in order to get the government funded in time. Congress, hamstrung by a pending funding deadline, spent much of Trumps first 100 days squabbling over funding rather than focusing on building out new policy.

Ultimately, Trump signed a largely bipartisan funding bill into law in early May, averting a government shutdown by mere hours.

MORE: House Republicans strike deal on motion to vacate, making it harder to oust speaker

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Johnsons proposal could also potentially protect him from a public funding fight with his far-right flank just weeks before the House will once again vote on whether Johnson keeps his gavel, though these members are also generally opposed to short-term funding bills like the one Johnson is pitching.

PHOTO: President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with the House GOP conference, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. (Allison Robbert/AP)

Trump endorsed Johnson last week to lead House Republicans in the 119th Congress, calling him a good guy.

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his role largely because of his failure to enact budget cuts palatable to his far-right members.

Keeping a low profile with a short-term funding extension may, therefore, be just what Johnson needs headed into the speaker election.

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MORE: Democrats again help House Republicans avoid another government shutdown

What other Republicans want

Johnsons pitch is in sharp difference from what other Republicans have telegraphed in recent weeks.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told reporters he wants to pass government funding through the end of September 2025 to avoid any delays in Trumps first 100 days.

Senate Republicans have similarly expressed interest in locking in a deal to keep the government funded through to October.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is the top Republican appropriator in the Senate. Last week, before Johnson outlined his plan, Collins said she would continue to advocate for Congress to fund the government through September with regular-order appropriations bills instead of a short-term bill like the one Johnson is proposing.

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In my judgment that is better for the incoming administration because that gives them a clean slate, and they can start focusing on the budget for Fiscal Year '26, Collins said last week.

Democrats also have cards to play. The government funding deadline falls before the new Congress is sworn in and before Trump is inaugurated. With the Senate in their control, Democrats are better positioned to negotiate a full-year funding bill that locks in their priorities now than they will be in the new year.

But any effort to complete a full years worth of funding bills will need to be quickly expedited to get things completed before the deadline. The Senate has still not passed any of the individual funding bills, and top appropriators need to agree on a top-line funding bill.

Johnson's government funding timeline differs from other Republicans' plans originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan's King Abdullah opened a newly elected parliament with a larger contingent of Islamists on Monday, giving a speech that took a firm line towards Israel in a sign of political unease in the U.S. ally which has a large Palestinian population.

Authorities in Jordan have carefully managed dissent, even as war in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon ignited mass demonstrations against Israel, with which Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994.

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Jordan has long worried in particular about the prospect of an Israeli escalation in the West Bank sending Palestinians fleeing across the border. Those fears have been heightened by the upcoming return of Donald Trump, an ally of Israel's right-wing government, to the U.S. presidency in January.

Jordan's future "will not be subject to policies that do not fulfil its interests," Abdullah told newly elected lawmakers at the start of their four-year term, in a speech interrupted by loud applause.

"Jordan stands firm against the aggression on Gaza and the Israeli violations in the West Bank and we are working tirelessly through Arab and international efforts to stop this war," he said.

Though the political environment in Jordan remains tightly controlled, the new parliament was elected under rules that were adjusted to give voice to a wider range of views.

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The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood more than doubled its contingent to around a fifth of total seats, becoming the largest single group in parliament although most seats are still held by tribal figures, centrists and government supporters.

"The elections mark a new phase in the process of progress and modernisation," Abdullah said.

The Islamists, buoyed by anger over the Gaza war, campaigned on a platform of support for Hamas, and say they aim to challenge Jordan's pro-Western stance and reverse its peace treaty with Israel.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Peter Graff)
YAOUNDE, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno and Nigeria's National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu met on Sunday to discuss enhancing regional security and combating terrorism, according to Chad's presidency.

The meeting took place two weeks after Mahamat Deby threatened to withdraw Chad from the Multinational Joint Task Force, which comprises troops from countries bordering Lake Chad to combat the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

He criticized the force for its failure to tackle Boko Haram militants, which claimed the lives of over 40 Chadian soldiers in the Lake Province in a recent clash.

During the discussions, they reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening collaboration to promote peace and stability in the Lake Chad Basin region.

"In the days to come, the mixed force will have a new face with the aim of exterminating the common enemy," Ribadu said after meeting the president.

Ribadu delivered a written message from Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, expressing "unwavering" support for Mahamat Deby and the people of Chad in the wake of the recent terrorist attack on Barkaram Island, according to Chad's presidency. 
Iowa Workforce Development manages unemployment claims filed on behalf of Iowans. (Photo by Getty Images, logo courtesy the State of Iowa)

An Iowa judge has ruled against a Fort Dodge man who said the First Amendment shielded him from being fired over anti-Muslim rhetoric.

According to state records, Gregory L. Benfield worked for American Packaging in Story City from July 2022 through July 24, 2024, when he was fired for allegedly violating policies related to harassment and discrimination. He later filed a claim for unemployment benefits, which resulted in a hearing before Administrative Law Judge Carly Smith.

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According to Smiths recent, written findings, on July 18, 2024, two employees of American Packaging were having a workplace conversation about a Muslim friend when Benfield expressed the opinion that Muslims were bad people.

The two employees disagreed with Benfield, arguing that while every religion has followers who are bad, Muslims as a whole are not bad people. According to Smiths findings, Benfield disagreed, cited the events of Sept. 11, 2001, as evidence, and argued that Muslims should be vetted before they enter the country, and that all Muslims now in the United States should be deported.

State records indicate one of Benfields colleagues complained to human resources about Benfields comments, which led to an internal investigation that, according to the company, uncovered other offensive statements.

Smiths written findings state that Benfield admitted making comments about illegal immigrants and suggesting they all should be deported.

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In ruling that Benfield was not entitled to collect unemployment benefits, Smith noted that while Benfield is married to a Hispanic woman, he had also made discriminatory comments about all Muslims being bad people and needing to be deported from the country. (Benfield) argues that it is his personal opinion, and it should be protected by the First Amendment. However, the employer is a private entity that is entitled to establish reasonable work rules and expect employees to abide by them.

Smith ruled that Benfields discriminatory comments about Muslims was a deliberate disregard of the standard of behavior that the employer had a right to expect of employees.
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP)  A federal judge in Delaware on Monday dismissed a lawsuit filed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee against social media giant Meta over advertisements using his name and image to sell CBD products.

Huckabee, a Baptist minister and President-elect Donald Trumps nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Israel, claimed Meta allowed and profited from the advertisements that falsely claimed he used and endorsed CBD gummies. CBD, or cannabidiol, is one the main active ingredients in marijuana but does not, by itself, provide the high caused by psychoactive THC.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, argued that it was immune from liability under Section 230 of the Federal Communication Decency Act.

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U.S. District Judge Gregory Williams rejected that claim. He concluded, however, that Huckabee, a political commentator and two-time presidential candidate, had failed to allege valid claims for invasion of privacy, unjust enrichment and violation of Arkansas Publicity Protection Act.

Williams agreed with Huckabee that, in collecting user data and using algorithms to determine which posts and advertisements appeared at the top of users newsfeeds, Meta was an information content provider that was not immune from liability for the illegitimate ads.

The judge nevertheless determined that Huckabee failed to demonstrate that Meta knew the ads were fake, or that it was at least aware of facts and circumstances that would give rise to such knowledge. Huckabees assertion that Meta approved and maintained the ads with actual malice or reckless disregard for their truthfulness was merely a mere conclusory statement, Williams wrote.

It is not reasonable to infer that Meta entertained serious doubts about the asserted advertisements since Governor Huckabee has publicly denounced marijuana, the judge wrote. There is no allegation that Meta was required to conduct due diligence on the truth of the asserted advertisements. Even if there was, such requirement would be insufficient to infer malice.
Attorneys representing Kanakuk Ministries and a survivor of abuse by the Christian summer camp's former director argued for summary judgment in a fraud case at Christian County Justice Center Monday morning (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent).

OZARK  Attorneys argued about culpability in Christian County Circuit Court Monday morning in a lawsuit involving a Branson-area Christian summer camp accused of conspiring with its insurer to trick a family into signing a non-disclosure agreement by concealing prior knowledge of sexual misconduct.

Logan Yandell in 2003, the year he began attending Kanakuk summer camp (photo submitted).

Logan Yandell, a survivor of sexual abuse by Kanakuk Ministries former camp director, filed a lawsuit in 2022 alleging misstatements by the camps CEO led his parents to sign a settlement and non-disclosure agreement for $250,000 that they otherwise would have continued to fight.

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Yandells attorney, Reed Martens, told Judge Raymond Gross on Monday that his clients parents signed a release in December of 2010 under pressure from Kanakuk CEO Joe White, who was their family friend.

During a call in September of 2009, Martens said, the Yandell family asked White if he knew of other abuse allegations involving former Kanakuk camp director Peter Newman. He allegedly said nothing has been on (the camps) radar with (Newman), but an affidavit by Newmans former supervisor disclosed that the camp had been aware of misconduct as early as 1999.

The lawsuit also names ACE American Insurance Company as a defendant, arguing it influenced the camps decision to conceal information.

Gross asked if there was correspondence of any kind between the camp and ACE prior to Whites phone call with the Yandells.

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David Mayer, who is also representing Yandell, said the insurance company was aware of abuse allegations in March or April prior to the call.

White testified that he did not speak to ACE before the alleged misstatement, said Manuel Mungia, an attorney for ACE, and the company wasnt even notified of the statement.

There is no evidence that ACE was aware of a fraudulent statement, he said.

Yandells attorneys provided evidence of the company attempting to influence White months later when the camp drafted a letter to send to 8,000 families outlining what it knew about Newman.

ACE, in response, strongly recommended not to send the letter and sent a reservation of rights letter, which could exempt the company from covering related legal matters, Martens said.

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So the email remained unreleased. This lawsuit has unearthed the draft and ACEs response to the camp, Martens said, and it gives rise to the concealment and conspiracy.

Another matter Gross will have to consider is whether media reports of Newmans arrest could nullify the case under the statute of limitations for fraud.

In Missouri, claims must be brought within five years of discovering the fraud, and victims have 10 years for discovery.

Bryan Wade, an attorney for Kanakuk, said there were court cases and news articles published over five years ago that the Yandell family had access to. Access to the information, he argued, is the same as knowledge, according to other cases.

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Yandells parents didnt have the responsibility to seek out the other court cases or media reports, Marten said, because of their close personal relationship with White. He said because their friend had superior knowledge of the facts, they were exempt from ordinary standards of diligence.

Another survivor of Newmans abuse, in a deposition, told attorneys that he, White and Yandell discussed Newmans misconduct years ago, Wade said. Importantly, Yandell is the cases plaintiff  not his parents.

But Yandells parents told attorneys their discovery of the allegations of abuse was in 2021, when a national news article labeled Kanakuks situation the worst Christian sex abuse scandal.

If Gross accepts that 2021 is the year of discovery, the case is still within the statute of limitations.

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He told attorneys his goal is to submit his judgment by the end of the year, though he had a large workload.

The case is set for trial in July 2025.

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An attempt to keep a schizophrenic man out of Rikers Island  where deplorable conditions for the mentally ill have been well documented  ran into a brick wall recently when a Manhattan Criminal Court judge said: I dont pick the jails that people go to when crimes are committed.

Judge Pamela Goldsmith lit into public defender Casey Anis Oct. 9 after Anis implored her to allow his client, accused of thefts in Manhattan and Brooklyn, to remain on supervised release in Brooklyns mental health treatment court rather than being subjected to poor conditions and potential isolation on Rikers.

Lets get one thing straight. I am not placing your client anywhere, specifically. I didnt design Rikers. I dont work in Rikers, Goldsmith declared Oct. 9, according to transcripts of the proceedings. I dont pick the jails that people go to when crimes are committed.

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Anis was able to get Goldsmiths ruling setting bail overturned by going to another judge in a higher court and keep his client in the mental health diversion program, but the encounter raises the question of what responsibility judges have in assessing the conditions defendants will face when they are locking people up.

Stan German, executive director of the defender group suggested there is a disconnect between the message from the states chief judge Rowan Wilson, who has advocated for more use of so-called diversion courts, and day-to-day decisions made in court.

In May, Wilson urged the state Legislature to pass pending bills that prioritize treatment courts rather than jail, calling it a giant step forward.

In federal court, judges are refusing to incarcerate individuals at MDC Brooklyn because of the chaotic conditions at the jail. In contrast, too many NYC criminal court judges choose to ignore the atrocities taking place on Rikers Island, German said.

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At a time when Chief Justice Wilson is embracing the important role of diversion courts in promoting community safety, many judges seem to be undermining this tenet of justice.

German was referring to a decision in August by federal Judge Gary Brown who said he would release an elderly defendant accused of fraud rather than send him to the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn because of barbaric conditions.

In September, the federal facility stopped taking sentenced inmates.

A state courts spokesman declined to comment.

As it relates to the city jails, advocates have been pushing the city to use powers to release defendants who dont post a threat to public safety.

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In the case before Goldsmith, the man was accused of stealing a credit card from a womans purse in a church, taking a wallet from a break room at NYU Langone Hospital and stealing checkbooks from a nail salon.

Anis, who works for New York County Defender Services, had moments earlier told Goldsmith that a judge in Brooklyn had already ruled that the man should remain in a treatment program.

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He referenced a story published Oct. 8 in the Daily News which detailed the account of a former jail social worker who said seriously mentally ill men were being secretly locked in their cells and deprived of medication for weeks and even months.

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They have been stuck there as if it is solitary, and CHS has not been able to get them their medications for mental health issues, Anis said.

If he is sent to Rikers, there is strong evidence that he would not receive his absolutely necessary mental health medication, and that the court would be placing him in that position despite that strong evidence.

But Goldsmith was unmoved by that argument.

Your client is here because of his own actions. There are two open burglaries, five open cases, and a Brooklyn indictment. Anything else you want to say? she continued, the transcript shows.

Goldsmith, a former Bronx prosecutor and court attorney, was appointed by Mayor Adams to the bench in April 2023. She previously served as a jurist in Summons Court.

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After Goldsmith ordered the man held on bail, Anis went to Supreme Court Justice April Newbauer, who overturned Goldsmith and ordered him released to remain in Brooklyn mental health court.

I am going to grant the bail application, Newbauer said, noting the mans likelihood of appearing in court had already been examined. It was determined in Brooklyn. I am willing to accept that.

Back in 2021, Newbauer made news when she ordered the release of a detainee because jails officials had shown deliberate indifference in failing to fix appalling conditions and violence in the facilities.

The court exchange comes as the number of mentally ill detainees in the jails continues a three-year rise and the average stay in the jails hovers just under 100 days, city comptroller statistics show.

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Darren Mack, co-founder of the advocacy group Freedom Agenda questioned Goldsmiths claim that judges dont decide where defendants are placed.

Judges know where theyre sending the people they remand or set bail on, and they know whats likely to happen to the people they send to Rikers, Mack said.

Thankfully, the second judge to hear this case made the right choice and released him back to the treatment court where he can get the support he needs instead of the abuse and neglect hed get at Rikers.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE)  Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in a trial for Gilbert Contreras, accused of a rape that occurred nearly 30 years ago.

Story continues below

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56-year-old Contreras was taken into custody in 2022 after a rape kit from 1994 was processed and matched his DNA. The victim was a 43-year-old woman who was running near the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park. She has since passed away, so the case will depend strictly on DNA evidence. According to the DPS Sex Offender Registry, Contreras was convicted of statutory rape in 2005, in the Las Vegas, Nevada area.

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.
Herman Lindsey, a death row exoneree, speaks at the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty meeting Nov. 16, 2024, at the University of Kansas. After Lindsey was exonerated in 2009, he has traveled the country as an advocate to end the death penalty. (Photo by Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector)

LAWRENCE, Kansas  Herman Lindsey knows firsthand how bad actors can lead to wrongful convictions in capital murder cases.

After two witnesses who were threatened and promised compensation if they lied testified against him, Lindsey was convicted and sentenced to death. Now exonerated, Lindsey spoke Saturday at the University of Kansas as part of the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penaltys annual meeting.

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So, thanks to a lot of good folk like yourself getting involved in this issue, innocent people are actually starting to come out of that bondage, Lindsey said.

Kansas has not executed a prisoner since 1965, but there are nine inmates on death row. The U.S. Supreme Court halted capital punishment in 1972, then cleared the way for new death penalty laws in 1976. Kansas reinstated the death penalty in 1994.

Lindsey said one of the witnesses in his case was his ex-wife. Detectives threatened her with taking her children away and offered to compensate her with $10,000 if she testified as they directed.

Mark Simms testified in exchange for a shorter sentence that Lindsey had confessed to the murder when they shared a holding cell.

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You got to do what you got to do to free yourself, Simms, a prisoner who was promised a shorter sentence if he lied, told Lindsey, according to court documents.

12-year hiatus

Lindsey was sentenced to death in 2006 for the 1994 robbery and murder of a pawn shop owner. Lindsey had been to the pawn shop four months before the killing, and detectives interviewed him because they believed Lindseys godbrother was connected to the crime. After Lindsey left the interview, he heard nothing from the detectives for 12 years.

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In 2006, they told Lindsey he sounded suspicious in his initial interview. Lindsey laughed while being arrested, because he knew he was innocent. He was offered a plea deal of three years in prison, which he turned down.

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Lindseys pawn shop slip was presented as evidence that hed been planning the murder days before  which Lindsey said he found funny, since the slip was from four months earlier. Lindsey blames an uninterested jury on ignoring this detail.

Lindsey was exonerated by an anonymous ruling from the Florida Supreme Court in 2009. The court found there was no evidence to prove him guilty of a crime.

Lindsey is now executive director of Witness to Innocence, a group of exonerated death row survivors who aim to end the death penalty. Lindsey travels the country to share his story and works closely with the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU wants Lindsey to be the face of its petition for President Joe Biden to commute all federal death sentences before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

The annual meeting of the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty followed the ACLU asking a state court to abolish the death penalty in Kansas.

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Robert Sanders, a board member for the coalition, said there is potential the ACLUs challenge to the Kansas law eventually could be heard before the U.S Supreme Court. Sanders said he became less optimistic of the direction that it may go once it gets to that level after the election results.

Trump has said he wants to restart federal executions and make more crimes eligible for capital punishment. Trumps first term oversaw the largest number of federal executions since the late 1800s.

Bipartisan coalition

Sanders said Kansas has come close to ending the death penalty in the past. The coalitions membership is made up of both Republicans and Democrats, and Sanders said its a matter of timing.

This year were talking about being all in, and thats what were asking people to be  all in, Sanders said.

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The conference offered breakout sessions for members to talk about the legality of the death penalty and the new makeup of the Kansas Legislature.

The Gallup Crime Survey from 2023 revealed that for the first time, a majority of Americans believe the death penalty is applied unfairly.

When I was sentenced to death, the only thing I remember about that time  this is when it gets emotional for me, Lindsey said. When I heard, We the people of the state of Florida hereby sentence you to die by lethal injection  that is a moment I will never forget.

Because those particular words stick to me so much, I feel like its my job, my obligation, to educate the people.

This story first appeared in the Kansas Reflector, a member with the Phoenix in the nonprofit States Newsroom.

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Tisa Mason, president of Fort Hays State University, and Jennifer Brown, the dean of instruction at the newly rebranded Fort Hays Tech North Central College, answer questions during a podcast interview with Kansas Reflector on Oct. 29, 2024. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

TOPEKA  Three higher education institutions in central and western Kansas joined forces to address the regions workforce shortages and education gaps.

Fort Hays State University, Northwest Kansas Technical College and North Central Kansas Technical College created a new affiliation as a way to propel students into the regions workforce and empower their communities to persist through hard times.

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The affiliation is different from a merger or a takeover, said Tisa Mason, president of Fort Hays State, on the Kansas Reflector podcast. The two tech colleges are now under the Fort Hays brand, complete with new logos and fresh merchandise, while remaining independently accredited institutions. They were renamed Fort Hays Tech Northwest and Fort Hays Tech North Central.

The joint venture is in its early stages, but school leaders are optimistic the education-to-profession pipeline theyre creating will have lasting impacts in their communities.

The three schools have a better chance at earning federal funding as a group to reinvest in students and their communities, Mason said.

As higher education has become more unaffordable for students, part of the affiliation initiative is focused on reducing barriers to education. Thats happening through creating new programs and bolstering existing ones to meet students where they are at.

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Mason said they want to make registering for classes as easy as Amazon.com.

Nursing and the trades have been primary points of interest for students, especially as construction needs and health care worker shortages become more acute, said Jennifer Brown, the dean of instruction at the north-central tech college.

Students can start at either of the technical colleges and work their way toward earning a bachelors degree online at the university. The goal is a seamless transition, Brown said.

They can stay in place, wherever that might be within north-central Kansas or western Kansas, and still earn that bachelors degree, she said.

Peter Laipson, the director of the affiliation initiative between Fort Hays State University and two area tech colleges, appears during a podcast interview with Kansas Reflector on Oct. 29, 2024. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Brown is on some of the 14 implementation teams focused on making the new programs work. To her, a successful initiative will result in more students furthering credits toward degrees or added credentials and training, she said.

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I think sometimes its really hard to envision the future because we dont even know yet, Brown said. One of the greatest things that I think is coming from this, from my perspective, is the relationship building that we have amongst all three institutions.

Peter Laipson, who oversees the affiliation initiative as its director, said he hopes in the coming years students are able to move through their education and find lucrative work in western and north-central Kansas on the other side.

I think, ultimately, that would be good for them. That would be good for the communities. That would mean that theres a kind of robust business atmosphere, Laipson said. I think that would be the ultimate sign of success.
Photos by Gage Skidmore | Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0

After a bitter court battle, Kari Lake has entered a settlement agreement with Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer in a defamation lawsuit over Lakes false accusations that he helped to steal the 2022 race for Arizona governor from her.

Lake, a Republican endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump in 2022 and in this years run for the U.S. Senate, is one of Arizonas most prominent purveyors of the Big Lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump. She brought similar allegations about her own loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs in the race for governor two years ago, specifically highlighting Richers supposed involvement.

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The terms of the settlement are confidential. The Washington Post first reported that a settlement had been reached, and the Arizona Mirror independently verified the settlement.

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The matter has been settled and was resolved to the satisfaction of both parties, a spokesperson for Richers legal team told the Mirror in a written statement.

Richer sought damages to reimburse him and his wife for the thousands of dollars he said they spent to install new security features in their home after he said Lakes false statements spurred threats of violence and harassment.

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Additionally, Richer asked for an award of punitive damages, compensation for damage to his reputation and mental health, and for Lake to admit that her claims about him were false.

Richer was elected county recorder in 2020, and lost his bid for reelection in the July Republican primary to Arizona state Rep. Justin Heap. Heap never directly admitted that he believed that the 2020 and 2022 elections in Arizona were stolen from top Republican candidates, but he voted for bills based on election conspiracy theories, including ones promoted by Lake.

News of the settlement came just days after Lake danced around a formal concession to Democratic U.S. Congressman Ruben Gallego in the race for U.S. Senate, after he won by more than 79,000 votes. She still hasnt conceded the governors race that happened more than two years ago.

Richer filed the defamation suit in June 2023, after Lake spent months falsely accusing Richer of rigging the race for governor against her.

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Lake repeatedly claimed  without evidence  that Richer was responsible for 300,000 illegal, invalid, phony or bogus early ballots being counted in Maricopa County. She spent two years challenging the results of the 2022 election in which she was defeated by more than 17,000 votes, but lost every trial and appeal in the case.

In December 2023, attorneys for Lake asked a Maricopa County Superior Court judge to dismiss the case, arguing that Lakes claims were rhetorical hyperbole and not meant to be taken as facts. But the judge was not convinced and allowed the case to proceed.

In March, Lake defaulted in the case, legally conceding that her claims about Richer were false, even as she continued to say the opposite in public statements on conservative podcasts and radio shows.

After that, Richer and Lake entered into a monthslong struggle to compel the other to turn over evidence that could be used to present to a jury to determine how much Richer was owed in damages.

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Although Lake initially claimed that she was excited to fight Richer in the case and for the discovery process, she repeatedly refused to hand over documents in the case and said that all emails pertinent to the case in her Kari Lake for Arizona campaign account had been purged when the campaign was dissolved. While one of her lawyers falsely claimed that Kari Lake for Arizona ceased to exist almost a year before the defamation suit was filed, leaving her free from an obligation to retain evidence.

The campaign filed its last finance report in early 2024, and was spending money through Dec. 31, 2023, more than six months after Richer filed the suit.

When the settlement was reached, Lake was quickly approaching a Nov. 22 deadline to provide a sworn statement to the court describing when her campaign emails were purged and at whose direction.

An attorney for Lakes husband Jeffrey Halperin, who was a defendant in the lawsuit alongside Lake and her campaign, attempted last week to get the case dismissed, accusing Richer of ignoring a court order to turn over evidence that quantified how much he believed he was owed in damages.

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The attorney also accused Richer of destroying evidence, saying he permanently deleted his X, formerly Twitter account after the Nov. 5 election, cutting the defenses access to relevant social media posts.

But Richer had only deactivated his account, reactivating it less than a week later.

A spokesperson for Lakes Senate campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

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Kari Lake has settled in the election defamation lawsuit brought by a local Arizona election official.

Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer (R) sued Lake last year, claiming she defamed him when she refused to concede her 2022 Arizona gubernatorial defeat and alleged fraud in the election.

The details of the settlement are confidential, but two people spoke on the condition of anonymity to The Washington Post.

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According to a case document in the Maricopa County Superior Court, an agreed upon settlement disposition has been reached by all parties.

In a text message to the Post, Richer said both sides are satisfied with the result.

In his suit, Richer claimed Lake consistently and systemically lied about his actions as county recorder, causing him to receive harassment and threats to his life.

The Hill has reached out to Lake for comment, but a top advisor for her 2024 campaign declined to comment to the Post.

Lake ran an unsuccessful bid for Arizonas senate race. She lost last week to Senator-elect Ruben Gallego, a representative for the states third Congressional District.

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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.
After many fans have shared their concern over popular TikTok food critic Keith Lee's recent review of FOB Sushi Bar in Seattle, Lee has shared his take on the controversy.

In his original review shared on November 9, fans noticed something moving in his sashimi that looked like a possible parasite or worm. Lee didn't notice it when he ate the sushi and didn't speak on fans' speculations and worries until Sunday evening.

Lee's most recent video on TikTok shares his take on the sushi controversy and hopefully puts fans at ease that he's "okay."

Keith Lee Shares His Take On The Recent Sushi Controversy

TikTok | Keith Lee

Lee shared his point of view on the sushi issue heard 'round the internet in a video on TikTok that has since gone viral with more than 13 million views in less than a day.

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He began his video by explaining he went to FOB Sushi Bar in Seattle and that someone slowed down his review video to capture what appears to be a worm moving in one of the sushi pieces that he consumed.

"It did appear that something moved. A thousand percent transparency, I didn't see anything until someone pointed it out," he said. "I can't confirm or deny what it was, but I can confirm I am okay."

He said he appreciates everyone who reached out and has been worried about him.

"Only reason I'm making this video is because I saw a video of somebody who went the day after us, and now they're hospitalized," he continued. "Just me and my character and who I am as a person, I'm gonna come out and I'm gonna say something about it."

'I Don't Believe In Tearing Down Any Business'

Lee's video explanation continued with him explaining that while he doesn't "believe in tearing down any business," people's health is on the line. He said that somebody is in the hospital and there's footage of "something moving in food," so he believes that "accountability" should be taken by the restaurant.

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"For the restaurant to post a statement indicating that me holding a sushi or me holding a chopstick a certain way is why the sushi moved, I personally don't agree with it," he continued. "Because I've had sushi a thousand times and I held sushi a thousand different ways, and never once have I seen sushi behaving that way. Again, that's not me saying it was a worm or it was a parasite, I'm just saying, it was nothing that I did on my end."

He added that, "as a customer, I shouldn't be the one getting blamed for if it was something moving in the food."

Lee concluded his video by reminding people that eating sushi can come with "risk, and stuff that comes with eating raw food." And while he said he understands that risk, he wishes the restaurant would take more accountability in this situation.

Viewers Agree With Keith Lee That They've Never Seen Sushi Move That Way

While many commented on his original video with concern over what was moving in his sashimi, there were plenty of comments on his new video that agree with his take on the situation.

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One viewer shared, "Sushi does NOT behave that way," and nearly 234,000 people liked that comment. Another viewer said, "The restaurant's response was even more WILD than the movement."

One viewer shared an update about the restaurant, "Update: theyre closing their restaurants to 'investigate' and stated 'our safety is their #1 priority' the switch up is crazy."

FOB Sushi Shared A New Announcement On Instagram

Instagram | FOB Sushi Bar

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Two days ago, FOB Sushi Bar shared a carousel of photos on Instagram captioned, "We want to directly address a false statement about our sashimi. At FOB Sushi, we follow strict FDA and HACCP standards to ensure the highest quality and safety in every dish. The movement in the video is due to natural elasticity in the fishnot worms."

The caption concluded with, "Rumors like this can harm small businesses, so were addressing it head-on. Thank you for trusting us and supporting FOB Sushi."

Now, after Lee has spoken out about the situation, they've changed their tune.

"In response to recent food safety concerns, we have decided to close our FOB Sushi locations in Seattle and Bellevue until further notice," the newest photo reads. "Your health and safety are our highest priorities. We are conducting a thorough investigation to address the situation and will take all necessary measures to present it from happening again."

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They have turned off the option for viewers to comment on their recent posts, including this one.

Another TikToker Shared A Recent FOB Sushi Experience

TikTok content creator, Joshua M Rivera, shared a video of his girlfriend in a hospital bed after eating at FOB Sushi Bar. In a follow-up video, Rivera shares more of the story.

"We're currently in the hospital as we speak because of the FOB sushi," he said as he was addressing a comment that called him "rude" for sharing his story "whether or not this is real."

He then showed the receipts - a photo of the full FOB Sushi box - and said he had the sushi on Monday around 2 p.m. The following day, his girlfriend texted him saying she has "some type of food poisoning."

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"She got a stool test on her poop and basically to see if there's any bacteria, which brings us here today," he said as he showed he was in a hospital room. "Basically, she doesn't have a due date to go home, because it's still to be determined cause she's still pooping and she's still having stomachaches. But she did have a CAT scan, and it did say that her colons were inflamed and that there's a lot of bacteria in her stomach area."

He also said that his girlfriend was told that there is a form of E coli in her stomach.

"We're not posting this as a lie to gain clout or anything," he said. "We actually did have FOB Sushi. She did get E coli from it. No hate toward FOB Sushi. We did see Keith Lee's video. We saw about the whole worm controversy, and we're just telling you guys to be careful."
ISTANBUL, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police detained 10 suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Monday, accusing them of involving in "illegal protests" in Istanbul, Turkiye's largest city.

State-run TRT broadcaster reported that the suspects face charges of hanging banners, organizing illegal protests, throwing Molotov cocktails at a district municipal community center, chanting PKK-supportive slogans, and setting off fireworks.

The arrests were made during operations conducted by the Istanbul Police Department's Counter-Terrorism Unit across four districts of the city and in the southern province of Kars.

Several banned publications, organizational documents, and digital materials were also seized during the operation, the TRT added, noting that the suspects were taken to the police station for questioning.

Turkiye has intensified its operations against the PKK following a terrorist attack in northern Ankara in October that killed five people and injured 22 others. The attack, carried out by two assailants, targeted the Turkish Aerospace Industries' production facilities. The PKK claimed responsibility for the attack.

The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the European Union, and the United States for its insurgency against the Turkish government over the past three decades. 
(Bloomberg) --

Most Read from Bloomberg

Hedge-fund titan Ken Griffin said hes anxious about Donald Trumps potential tariff policies, but that the US economy is going back to the business of business now that hes returning to the White House.

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Speaking at the Oxford Union in the UK on Monday, the Citadel founder called tariffs  a central tenet of Trumps economic agenda  a long, slippery slope that can be profitable in the short run but damaging to US companies ability to compete globally in the long run.

I am very anxious about the presidents willingness to engage in tariffs as a matter of trade policy, Griffin said.

Rather than having to deal with regulatory overreach, US businesses will return to creating jobs and growing their businesses and the economy over the next four years, Griffin said.

Earlier this year, Griffin called Trumps tariff policies regretful, but said he thought a Trump administration would be good for markets.

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In a wide-ranging discussion Monday that touched on politics, investing and immigration, among other topics, the 56-year-old billionaire also said he thinks governments continue to spend beyond their means and that he hopes that Trumps administration will pull back the scope of government.

Griffin has been increasingly outspoken about his views on US political issues, promoting a lower-tax, free-market agenda and lambasting Democrats as being too soft on crime. He has also been a vocal critic of pro-Palestinian protests across elite college campuses in the US, calling the demonstrations the product of a failed education system.

Griffin, who predicted last month at Saudi Arabias Future Investment Initiative that Trump would win the election, donated more than $100 million to pro-Republican political action committees in this presidential cycle, according to campaign finance tracker OpenSecrets.

Many big-ticket donors flocked to Trump late in the campaign, setting aside reservations about his policies, personality and legal woes. Griffin was among prominent Wall Street billionaires to either support other candidates or openly oppose the former presidents path to the nomination. Trumps billionaire support only began to coalesce in March, when he became the Republican nominee.

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Immigration Reservations

In his Monday remarks, Griffin also expressed reservations about Trumps pledge to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, saying the administration needs to arrive at a more nuanced immigration policy.

I do not know how to do that as either a humanitarian justification or economic justification, Griffin said of mass deportations. When it comes to the people who have come to our country who are gainfully employed, who are contributing to our economy and trying to establish roots in the US, I do not understand how the government could deport those people, he said.

I think we need to arrive at a more thoughtful immigration policy than just deporting millions of Americans, he said.

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Griffin, who launched Citadel in 1990, has since built the firm into a $65 billion powerhouse and amassed a personal fortune now worth about $42.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Multistrategy hedge funds such as Citadel rely on teams of traders to bet across asset classes and produce steady returns, with little tolerance for losses. Soaring demand for such products has sparked an unprecedented bidding war for talent in the industry.

When asked about his single-best investment, Griffin went back to what has made his firm the most profitable hedge fund in the world.

The single-best investments Ive ever made are investments in people. Nothing else comes close, he said. You find somebody whos really bright, really driven and creative, and you get behind them 110%. Nothing beats that investment.

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(Bloomberg) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to bolster the nations nuclear capabilities without limit to counter the threats posed by the security partnership between the US and its allies in the region, North Korean state media reported Monday.

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Speaking at a conference of battalion commanders, Kim urged his military to complete war preparations after sending thousands of troops to Russia to help its war on Ukraine and accused the US of prolonging the conflict by supplying weapons to support Kyiv.

The US, Japan and South Korea will never get away from the responsibility as the culprits of destroying the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and the region, Kim said, referring to a partnership he called an Asian version of NATO.

The most important and critical task for our armed forces is preparations for a war, Kim said, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

Kims comments follow US President Joe Bidens meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Lima, Peru. Biden said coordinated efforts were essential for countering North Koreas dangerous and destabilizing cooperation with Russia.

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To back up its nuclear threat, Pyongyang last month tested what it described as a new intercontinental ballistic missile that achieved a record flight as it looks to enhance its ability to strike the US and its allies in Asia. Kim also showed off a plant to enrich uranium for nuclear bombs.

Kim said the US is prolonging the war in Ukraine by providing weapons to Kyiv and dragging more countries into the conflict, generating concern of a World War III. He did not refer to combat troops from North Korea that have been sent to Russia to help President Vladimir Putins war efforts.

North Korea has so far sent more than 10,000 troops to fight alongside Putins army in Russias Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have occupied part of the border territory since a surprise incursion in August.

Pyongyang may end up deploying as many as 100,000 troops to aid Russias war on Ukraine if the alliance between Pyongyang and Moscow continues to deepen, according to people familiar with assessments made by some Group of 20 nations. Such a move isnt imminent and would likely happen in batches with troops rotating over time rather than in a single deployment, they added.

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The US and South Korea have also repeatedly accused Kim of sending munitions and ballistic missiles to aid Putins war, with South Korea estimating that as many as 8 million rounds have been sent.

The growing ties between Pyongyang and Moscow have emboldened Kim to ramp up hostility toward South Korea, while raising fears about North Koreas ability to strengthen its military and sustain its regime with Russian backing.

Kims decision to send North Korean troops to join Russias fight against Ukraine has alarmed Kyivs allies, whove warned that it risks exacerbating what is already Europes largest conflict since World War II.

Some leaders will likely raise the issue of North Korean military involvement, including with China, at the G-20 leaders summit that begins Monday in Brazil.

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MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, fierce critics of President-elect Donald Trump, say they traveled to Mar-a-Lago for a meeting with him to reopen lines of communication that would better serve their morning show viewers.

With feelings still raw two weeks after the election, their journey to Trump's Florida home hasn't gone over that well with many fans and critics of Morning Joe.

The show's anchor team had been so critical of Trump that, in September, Scarborough said that it's not a reach to compare him to Hitler. MSNBC pulled Morning Joe from the air the Monday after the assassination attempt on Trump this past summer.

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On Monday's show, the hosts said they had reached out to Trump last Thursday and met with him the next day. It was the first time we have seen him in seven years, Brzezinski said.

She said Trump was cheerful, upbeat, even as the three of them discussed issues they disagreed on.

What we did agree on was to restart communications, she said. Her father, the late Zbigniew Brzezinski, the national security adviser in Jimmy Carter's administration, often spoke with world leaders he disagreed with, and she said that's a job for journalists and commentators too.

For those asking why we would speak to the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us, I guess I would ask back, Why wouldnt we?' Brzezinski said.

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Trump confirmed the meeting in an interview with Fox News Digital. I very much appreciated the fact that they wanted to have open communication, he said. In many ways, it's too bad that it wasn't done long ago.

Not everyone reacted the same way. On The View Monday, co-host Sunny Hostin said the country needs a free press willing to speak truth to power and she didn't think it was necessary to travel to Mar-a-Lago to kiss the ring. A co-host, Alyssa Farah Griffin, said she thought highly of the MSNBC hosts for recognizing how many people voted for Trump.

Jeff Jarvis, author of the BuzzMachine blog and a retired journalism professor at the City University of New York, said online that it is a disgusting show of obeisance in advance.

Several conservative commentators weren't impressed either. Talk show host Buck Sexton, in a post on X, called the meeting astounding. Trump's victory is so complete, Morning Joe has fully surrendered, Sexton wrote. Veteran cable news personality Greta Van Susteren called it groveling.

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Morning Joe, like many shows on MSNBC, has seen its ratings drop precipitously since the election as its liberal audience takes a break. It's a post-election pattern similar to that experience in past years with viewers who supported the losing party. After a break, many usually return.

Neither host was available to speak to a reporter after the show, a network spokesman said. Scarborough seemed to anticipate criticism when talking about the decision to meet with Trump.

Don't be mistaken, he said. We're not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump. We're here to report on him and hopefully provide you with insights.

In the same Fox News interview, Trump said that he had an obligation to the American public to be open and available to the press. If not treated fairly, however, that will end, he said.

___

David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbau der.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Fossil fuel executive Chris Wright, Donald Trump's choice for Energy secretary, is a strong supporter of oil and gas development, including fracking, a key pillar of the president-elects quest for U.S. energy dominance in the global market.

Wright has been one of the industrys loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change, and he could give fossil fuels a boost, including quick action to end a year-long pause on natural gas export approvals by the Biden administration.

CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, he describes himself as a tech nerd turned entrepreneur and promotes the idea that more fossil fuel production can lift people out of poverty around the globe.

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Here are some things to know about Wright.

He has no experience in government

Wright has been chairman and CEO of Liberty Energy since 2011 and has no experience in government.

Liberty is a major energy industry service provider, with a focus on technology. Wright, who grew up in Colorado, earned an undergraduate degree at MIT and did graduate work in electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and MIT. In 1992, he founded Pinnacle Technologies, which helped launch commercial shale gas production through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

He later served as chairman of Stroud Energy, an early shale gas producer, before founding Liberty Resources in 2010.

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Wright says on LinkedIn that he is all-in on energy, from starting his career in nuclear, solar and geothermal energy to his current efforts in oil and gas and next-generation geothermal. I dont care where energy comes (from), as long as it is secure, reliable, affordable and betters human lives, he wrote.

Wright will serve on Trumps new National Energy Council

If confirmed, Wright will join North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trumps choice to be interior secretary, as a key player on energy policy in a second Trump term. Wright will be a member of a new National Energy Council that Burgum will chair. The new panel will seek to establish U.S. energy dominance around the world, Trump said.

The energy council will include all executive branch agencies involved in energy permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation and transportation, with a focus on cutting red tape and boosting domestic energy production, Trump said. The councils mission represents a near-complete reversal from actions pursued by Democratic President Joe Biden, who has made fighting climate change a top priority.

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Trump has pledged to rescind unspent funds in Bidens 2022 climate law and is widely expected to curb or reverse Bidens push for more electric vehicles and stricter regulation of carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants.

Wright has won support from conservatives and oil industry leaders

Wright has won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm.

Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trumps first term. Hamm helped organize an event at Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in April where Trump reportedly asked industry leaders and lobbyists to donate $1 billion to Trumps campaign, with the expectation that Trump would curtail environmental regulations if reelected.

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Thomas Pyle, president of the American Energy Alliance, a conservative group that supports fossil fuels, called Wright an excellent choice for energy secretary. Pyle led Trumps energy transition team in 2016.

Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute, the oil and gas industrys top lobbying group, also praised Wright, saying the group looks forward to working with him to bolster American geopolitical strength" by lifting Biden's pause on LNG export permits and ensuring open access" for American energy around the world.

Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, called Wright an energy innovator who played a key role in Americas fracking boom.

Wright has disparaged climate activists, who have denounced his selection

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Wright has frequently criticized what he calls a top-down approach to climate change by liberal and left-wing groups. He argues that the climate movement around the world is collapsing under its own weight.

Jackie Wong, senior vice president for climate and energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, called Wright a champion of dirty fossil fuels and said his nomination was a disastrous mistake.

The Energy Department should be doing all it can to develop and expand the energy sources of the 21st century, not trying to promote the dirty fuels of the last century, Wong said. Given the devastating impacts of climate-fueled disasters, DOEs core mission of researching and promoting cleaner energy solutions is more important now than ever.

Lena Moffitt, executive director of Evergreen Action, another environmental group, said Wright has shown that his loyalty lies with fossil fuel interests. Yet he would be tasked with overseeing billions in clean energy investments that are critical to lowering costs and creating jobs nationwide. This nomination is a clear indication that Trump is more interested in helping his political allies than tackling the real challenges facing everyday Americans.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE)  The Knoxville Police Department has released the identity of the two officers involved in the shooting of a man who had been holding an ax or hatchet last week.

KPD identified officers Alexandra Burns and Eric Smith. KPD said officers had initially responded just before 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12 to the area because of a report of a man armed with an ax. The suspect, identified as as 52-year-old Christopher Arons of Knoxville, was reportedly drunk at the time of the call.

Raw fish found over ready-to-eat food at Sevierville restaurant

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Arons, who at last check was in critical but stable condition in the hospital, also had two outstanding Knox County warrants at the time of the incident. Arons now faces two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of vandalism.

Both Burns and Smith have served with the KPD since 2020 and are currently assigned to the Field Operations East District, according to KPD. Per standard protocol, both officers have been placed on routine administrative leave, KPD said.

This is a developing story. Download the WATE 6 News app or sign up for our email alerts for updates.

Oak Ridge residents notified of potential lead exposure from drinking water

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The circumstances leading up to the shooting are being investigated by agents with Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at the request of Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen.

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KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE)  While the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation warned of a violent Venezuelan gang named Tren de Aragua in Tennessee, the Knoxville Police Department said they have no active investigations into its known members in the city.

KPD shared a statement Monday morning that the department is not aware of any active members of Tren de Aragua in Knoxville.

East TN counter-trafficking group talks misconceptions surrounding the crime

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Chief of police Paul Noel said, We have received multiple inquiries concerning the reported presence of Tren de Aragua, a violent Venezuelan gang, in Knoxville. While KPD OCU detectives are aware of the gang, they are not aware of any active members of Tren de Aragua in Knoxville.

He continued saying that KPD is also not aware of any Tren de Aragua activity in the area, nor are they leading any criminal investigations involving known members.

The safety and well-being of Knoxville residents and visitors are our top priority. Knoxville is an incredibly safe city, Noel said. We will continue to aggressively monitor for any threats that could impact the safety of our community.

They are in numbers here: TBI director warns of violent Venezuelan gang resurfacing in Tennessee

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The Knox County Sheriffs Office also said they dont have any active investigations involving the gang, and there are no members of the gang in Knox Countys correctional facilities.

TBI Director David Rausch recently shared concerning trends about Tren de Aragua which he said has been spotted in all of our major cities. They are known to be involved in crimes like murder and the trafficking of women, officials report.

Rausch said, They are very violent. This is a group that was created in the prisons in Venezuela, and they are here, and they are in numbers here.

I was running from a bear 911 audio believed to be from East TN murder suspect released

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The Biden Administration named Tren de Aragua a transnational criminal organization, offering a $12 million reward for the arrest of its leaders.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side.
(NewsNation)  Attorneys for Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, filed multiple motions Friday seeking to suppress key evidence in the case, including DNA samples and digital records.

The defense team filed 12 motions challenging evidence they claim was obtained unconstitutionally, including records from Amazon, Google, Apple and AT&T, as well as items found in Kohbergers apartment and car.

Evidence obtained through investigative genetic genealogy

Amazon.com account information

Google records

Apple data

AT&T phone records

Items found in his Pullman, Washington apartment

Evidence collected from his white Hyundai Elantra

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Benches honor University of Idaho stabbing victims

Central to their argument is a Franks Motion alleging police officers deliberately withheld or misrepresented key information when obtaining search warrants. The defense specifically challenges the use of investigative genetic genealogy, arguing it violated Kohbergers constitutional privacy rights.

Kohberger, a former Washington State University Ph.D. student, faces charges in the November 13, 2022, stabbing deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin at an off-campus house in Moscow.

The warrants used lacked probable cause as written, Kohbergers attorneys argued in court documents, citing violations of both the Fourth Amendment and the Idaho Constitution.

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The Latah County Prosecutors Office has until Dec. 6 to respond to the motions. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23 at the Ada County Courthouse.

Kohbergers trial is set for August 2025, following his decision to waive his right to a speedy trial last year. He has been in custody since his arrest in December 2022.

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Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for Russia's leader, has commented on media reports about the peace plan proposed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to end the war Russia has waged against Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda, citing Interfax Russia

Details: Peskov stated that the proposals published by the media are unacceptable to Russia. "The idea of freezing the conflict along the frontline is inherently unacceptable to the Russian side," the Kremlin spokesperson emphasized.

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Asked if Putin and Erdogan had discussed such plans, Peskov denied it.

"No, they have not discussed this. We have noted these publications, but at this point, we have no information on the matter and do not know what they might be referring to," Peskov added.

Background:

Bloomberg said Erdogan plans to present his peace plan for the war between Russia and Ukraine at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Erdogan's proposals reportedly include freezing the fighting at the current frontlines and delaying discussions on Ukraine's NATO membership for at least 10 years as a concession to Putin.

Recently, The Wall Street Journal reported that among the inner circle of US President-elect Donald Trump, there is reportedly an idea to fulfil his promise of "quickly ending the war" by freezing the frontlines along the current line, creating a demilitarised zone, and imposing a 20-year moratorium on Ukraine's NATO membership.

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TOKYO, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Japan experienced a sharp temperature drop on Monday due to a strong cold wave, following unseasonably warm weather on Sunday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency warns that the cold weather will intensify, with the potential for snow in lowland areas of northern Japan, possibly affecting transportation.

The chill is expected to deepen, bringing midwinter-level cold in some areas through Wednesday.

Snowfall is currently affecting mountainous regions in Hokkaido, Tohoku, and parts of Kanto due to winter pressure patterns. Northern Japan, in particular, faces the risk of accumulating snow in lowland areas.

Residents in affected regions are advised to use winter tires or chains and prepare for icy road conditions. 
Putins press secretary Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the US decision to allow Ukraine to fire long-range missiles at Russian territory, has said that this was "escalating tensions".

Source: RIA Novosti, a Kremlin-aligned Russian news outlet

Quote from Peskov: "You know, while there are news articles in the Western media, it is obvious that the administration in Washington that is already on their way out intends to take steps, in fact, they have talked about it, in order to continue to add fuel to the fire and continue to escalate tensions around this conflict."

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Details: Earlier, the media, citing unnamed representatives of the US administration, reported that US President Joe Biden had authorised Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike Russian territory.

The sources said that the first strikes deep into Russian territory are likely to be carried out using ATACMS missiles.

Background:

The NYT reported that current US President Joe Biden had supposedly given Ukraine authorisation to use long-range US weapons in Russia for the first time.

As is known, the US refusal was one of the reasons why German Chancellor Scholz justified his reluctance to provide Ukraine with German-made Taurus cruise missiles.

The White House also had to give explanations about the reasons why it did not approve of long-range strikes against Russia.

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PENSACOLA, Fla. (WKRG)  The Krewe of Lafitte and Manna Food Bank have teamed up for the fifth annual Pack the Pirate Ship Food Drive. The event is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 13.

New state-of-the-art animal shelter open in Daphne

The public is asked to donate non-perishable food items and money that will be used to provide food assistance to children, senior citizens, veterans, families and individuals in need in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties.

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The Krewe of Lafitte will have two drop-off sites that are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. that Friday  Astro Lincoln and Joe Pattis Seafood.

Krewe member volunteers will help offload donations while donors get a good look at the iconic pirate ship parade floats, read a news release from Manna Food Bank.

The most needed food items are:

Canned fruit in 100% juice (20oz. and smaller)

Canned mixed vegetables (16oz. and smaller)

Chicken and tuna (canned pouches)

Oatmeal (boxes of single-serve packets)

Peanut butter (1 lb. jars and individual to-go cups)

Canned beans

Manna members said they are unable to accept any rusty or unlabeled cans, perishable items, homemade items, noncommercial canned or packaged goods, alcoholic beverages, or items that have been used or opened.

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Letters from WWII offer answers for a Mobile family

Financial gifts are also appreciated.

News 5 is a media partner for the event.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5.
Mondays Top Stories

Mondays Five Facts

[1] New Mexicos struggling with an IV fluid shortage; officials think it might ease up  New Mexico hospitals are seeing a shortage of a vital resource because of the continuing impact of hurricane Helene. The New Mexico Department of Health has been working with local hospitals to ease the effects of halted production at Baxter, a saline manufacturer impacted by hurricane Helene. Presbyterian Health Care Services is a New Mexico hospital supplied by Baxter. Presbyterian credited UNMH and St. Vincent for sharing their supplies with their hospitals.

[2] Proposed rules could change how Albuquerque addresses the homeless crisis  Albuquerque city council is scheduled to consider proposals that could lead to changes in how the city deals with homelessness. According to city documents, if approved, one proposal would prohibit camping or setting up tents in public parks, playgrounds or open spaces. Another resolution would make it illegal to possess carts outside of a retailers property.

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[3] Precipitation exiting New Mexico & colder air ahead  As the storm system exits to the northeast itll be clearer with temperatures rising. Colder and drier air will continue to filtrate in for the next couple of days, leading up into a quick-hitting storm system impacting a few northern areas tomorrow with gusty conditions again, but then, temperatures will rebound later this week with drier air as winds will then let up.

[4] Gathering advocates awareness for domestic violence  Several residents and local organizations came together in northeast Albuquerque to raise awareness about domestic violence. Stop the Violence, Break the Silence was hosted near San Mateo and Indian School on Sunday. Organizers said things like this help victims know they are not alone and have a voice. It also allows them to reach the community and raise awareness in general.

[5] New Mexico Tech continues wildlife research with taxidermy duck drones  Researchers at New Mexico Tech (NMT) are giving deceased birds new life using technology to study wildlife. Students at NMT are heading research using taxidermized ducks developed drones that can swim. Researchers said this is another approach to better understand the world around us and allow students to develop the future.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  L3Harris has recently delivered the Rochester built Optical Telescope Assembly to NASA, reaching a big milestone on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope program.

The 7.9-foot primary mirror that serves as a major component within the OTA will collect light from exoplanets, stars, galaxies and supernovae.

L3Harris tested the telescopes mirrors down to -82 degrees Fahrenheit to verify the precision of its optical alignment under extreme conditions, testing its capability when in orbit one million miles from Earth.

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L3Harris is helping shape the future of space exploration for NASA by providing a key technology that will assist astronomers in their understanding of the cosmos. The measured optical performance exceeds any telescope we have ever produced in this size class, Ed Zoiss, President, Space and Airborne Systems, L3Harris said.

The telescope is now being integrated and tested at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and is scheduled to launch the observatory by May 2027.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst.
CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP)  Fire departments across western Massachusetts are still battling brush fires, as the dry weather continues throughout November.

Severe drought and wildfires heighten risk statewide

The National Weather Service has been issuing Red Flag Warnings for multiple days across the region because of rising wind speeds, lack of rain, and low humidity.

Local Fire Departments are still urging people to take all measures to prevent fires from starting.

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Anything outside that involves heat, embers, or sparks, please avoid those until we re-evaluate the situation after November 22nd, says Captain Katie Collins-Kalbaugh of the Chicopee Fire Department.

Residents can practice fire safety by:

Following the statewide outdoor burn ban

Disposing smoking materials properly

Calling 911 if you see smoke outside.

The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services claim a majority of wildfires begin with human activity.

Weve had significantly low numbers of rainfall over the past three months and water levels are starting to receed. So we really need some good soaking rain, explained Captain Collins-Kalbaugh.

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According to the Department of Conservation & Recreation, as of Saturday, there were 16 active wildfires within the state. Four of those were in western Massachusetts.

If you want to know exactly where fires are burning within the state, click here.

Local News Headlines

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP.
HONOLULU (KHON2)  In our Laulima Giving Programs Adopt-A-Family segment, a partnership between Keiki O Ka Aina and KHON2, we hope to spread the spirit of giving to those less fortunate this holiday season. To kick off, KHON2 wants to highlight a family that is still struggling after the August 2023 Lahaina wildfires.

Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You

Mom, dad and their now 6-year-old son were in Lahaina, separated from their two daughters and grandparents who were on another part of the island.

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Hilo shoppers can support local on Black Friday at Kakoo Hawaii

They were trapped, trying to find a way out, with smoke so thick they could only see a few feet in front of them. They managed to get in their car and drive to a parking lot where they sat as long as they could.

After two hours, they couldnt wait anymore and dad decided to drive through the flames.

Miraculously, they made it through and eventually headed to Kahului, where they reunited with their daughters and parents.

Like so many, they lost their home and all their possessions, except what was in their car. Since then, theyve moved from one shelter to another, about nine times, and they face another move next month.

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Their six-year-old son talks openly about that horrific day, but has been resilient and happy, his joy bringing strength and focus on the future.

Their son enjoys playing the keyboard and loves Transformers, Godzilla, Wolverine and much more.

The daughters, ages 11 and 12, love to draw, paint, play Roblox and build Legos. The oldest loves the trampoline park.

Mom and dad said they could use basic dishes, pots, pans, baking supplies, toiletries and even furniture.

Dad made a special request: something to do with mom, such as dinner and a movie.

In the spirit of Laulima, our many hands working together, lets bring some joy to this family that has been through so much, especially the children, so they can have a very happy holiday season.

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Check out more news from around Hawaii

If you would like to help, visit the Laulima Giving Programs website HERE. Select Adopt A Family and fill out the submission form with the family code M240062-5.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2.
Jose Ibarra is accused of murdering Laken Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University

Laken Riley/Facebook Laken Hope Riley Laken Hope Riley

The man on trial for murder in connection with the February 2024 death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley was allegedly in high spirits, at times giggling, when he was taken in for questioning by investigators, prosecutors alleged in court on Monday.

Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University, was brutally killed after she went for a jog on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22.

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Jose Ibarra, 26, was arrested in connection with her death and is currently on trial in Athens County, Ga.

On Monday, Nov. 18, on the trial's second day, a law enforcement official told the court that Ibarra was in an upbeat mood when he was being questioned by authorities the day after the killing, CNN reports.

Related: Laken Riley's Cause of Death Revealed After She's Killed During Jog on University of Georgia Campus

Cpl. Rafael Sayan, a UGA police officer, was reportedly assisting the investigation with his Spanish language skills during police interviews with the suspect on Feb. 23.



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Sayan told the court that Ibarra and his two brothers were very relaxed and calm when speaking to police, CNN reports.

Ibarras two brothers were questioned during the investigation because they matched the suspects description, but were ruled out after DNA evidence allegedly linked only Ibarra himself to the crime scene, according to CNN.

There was a lot of laughing, giggling, Sayan said, per CNN, adding that all three brothers were laughing about how they'd been woken up in the morning and escorted out of their apartment.

Clarke County Sheriff's Office Jose Antonio Ibarra Jose Antonio Ibarra

Related: Court Documents Detail Brutal Killing of Laken Riley, Georgia Nursing Student Slain While Jogging

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Monday marked the second day of the trail already rife with emotions, including testimony from Riley's roommate, the playing of Riley's 911 call moments before her death as well as police interrogation tapes, according to CNN.

Ibarra has been charged with murder, kidnapping and assault among other charges, PEOPLE previously reported, citing online court records.

He is a Venezuelan citizen who immigration officials said entered the country illegally in 2022, per CBS, the Los Angeles Times and ABC News, among several other outlets.

Ibarra has pleaded not guilty to the charges, per ABC News, WSB-TV and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.



If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.


Police questioned the man accused of killing Laken Riley about multiple scratches on his arms a day after the 22-year-old nursing student was found murdered on the University of Georgia's campus, body camera footage played Monday during the suspect's bench trial showed.

A jail phone call between the suspect and his wife was also played in court on Monday, the second day of the trial.

Police spoke to the defendant, Jose Ibarra, who is an undocumented migrant, at his apartment in Athens on Feb. 23, while investigating Riley's death. The Augusta University student was found beaten in a wooded area on the Athens campus on Feb. 22 after she didn't return from a run, authorities said. Her brutal death became a rallying cry for immigration reform from many conservatives, including President-elect Donald Trump.

PHOTO: Jose Ibarra listens through an interpreter during the second day of his trial at the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court, Nov. 18, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Miguel Martinez-jimenez/AP)

Special prosecutor Sheila Ross said last week that Ibarra was "hunting" for women on the campus and encountered Riley while she was on her run. Ross said the evidence shows an extended struggle ensued and Riley "fought for her life" before dying due to blunt force trauma and asphyxiation. Ibarra's DNA was found under Riley's fingernails, according to Ross.

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Officers questioned Ibarra in connection with the murder after a suspicious jacket was found in a dumpster near his apartment, Ross said. Ring camera footage captured a man discarding the jacket, which had Riley's hair on it, in the dumpster at 9:44 a.m. on Feb. 22, about 16 minutes after she died, Ross said.

MORE: Laken Riley case: Murder suspect was 'hunting' for women on UGA's campus, prosecutor says

University of Georgia Police Sgt. Joshua Epps testified Monday that he noticed a scratch on Ibarra's right bicep while questioning him at his apartment.

"On his left arm, he had a forearm scratch that was very similar, which in my mind, looked like fingernail scratches to me," Epps said.

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Epps said he also observed a fresh "puncture" on Ibarra's left wrist.

PHOTO: Campus Death-Georgia (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Prosecutors entered into evidence on Monday photos of Ibarra's scratches on his arms and bruising on his palm.

Body camera footage of the officers' questioning Ibarra was also played in court.

When asked about what happened to his right bicep, Ibarra told officers that he had a scratch but "didn't exactly explain from where or how," University of Georgia officer Rafael Sayan, who was called to translate during the questioning, testified on Monday.

When asked what happened to his left wrist, Ibarra first said he didn't have anything there, then said, "It's just a scratch," according to Sayan.

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When asked why his knuckle was red, Ibarra said it was because of the cold, Sayan said.

PHOTO: Prosecutor Sheila Ross speaks to the University of Georgia Police Officer Rafael Sayan during the second day of the trial of Jose Ibarra at Athens-Clarke County Superior Court, Nov. 18, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Miguel Martinez-jimenez/AP)

Jail call between wife played in court

Ibarra was detained following the questioning, Epps said. He was arrested that day on murder charges in connection with Riley's death.

During testimony on Monday, one of Ibarra's roommates identified Ibarra as the man discarding the jacket in the dumpster, based on his cap and loafers.

The court on Monday also heard a jail call between Ibarra, who has remained in custody since his arrest, and his wife, during which she confronted him about the incident, though the extent of what Ibarra had told her previously is not clear.

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His wife repeatedly asked him "what happened with the girl," according to FBI analyst Abeisis Ramirez, who listened to hundreds of Ibarra's jail calls and translated this particular call from Spanish to English while testifying on Monday.

"She tells him that he has to know something," Ramirez said.

MORE: Suspect accused of killing Laken Riley waives jury in murder trial

His wife said she couldn't understand why his DNA was on the girl and no one else's, Ramirez said. She also told him she couldn't understand how someone could see someone dying and not call 911, Ramirez said.

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She also told him, "You're not gonna come here and lie to me, I know you, you know something," Ramirez said.

Jose would not comment on her questions or accusations other than saying, "Enough," or "OK, OK, OK," according to Ramirez.

Peeping tom incident addressed

Ibarra, 26, has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including malice murder and felony murder.

Police have said they believe Ibarra -- a migrant from Venezuela who officials said illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 -- did not know Riley and that this was a "crime of opportunity."

Additional charges in the 10-count indictment include aggravated battery, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, obstructing or hindering a person making an emergency telephone call and tampering with evidence. The latter charge alleged that he "knowingly concealed" evidence -- including the jacket found in the dumpster -- involving the offense of malice murder.

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Ibarra was also charged with a peeping tom offense. The indictment alleges that on the same day as Riley's murder, he spied through the window of a different person who lived in an apartment on campus. The judge last month denied a motion seeking to sever that charge from the case.

MORE: Grand jury indicts Laken Riley murder suspect on 10 counts

Ross said during her opening statement last week that on the morning of Riley's murder, Ibarra was seen on video going to a female student's apartment multiple times. The student called 911 at 7:57 a.m. to report that someone was trying to open the door to her apartment, Ross said.

The UGA grad student, Tejaswi Saraswathi, testified Monday that she heard someone trying to open the door to her ground-floor apartment while she was taking a shower. When she looked out the door, she saw someone "duck." The person's face was obstructed by a cap, she said.

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She said she went to get her phone to call 911, then saw the person looking through her living room window.

The person had on a black hat, black jacket and black gloves, Saraswathi said.

Ross last week said the evidence shows that the person at the apartment was wearing clothes similar to ones Ibarra had on in a Snapchat selfie posted earlier that morning, including a black Adidas cap. Trail camera footage placed a similarly dressed person an hour after that incident near the path where Riley went running, she said.

Suspect's phone places him near victim, FBI analyst testifies

An analysis of Ibarra's cellphone data shows his phone was in approximately the same area as Riley the morning she was killed, according to testimony from FBI analyst James Berni.

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Data from his Samsung device and the Garmin watch Riley was wearing on her run overlapped and were in close proximity in the forest where she was found dead between approximately 9:10 a.m. and 9:32 a.m. on Feb. 22, according to Berni.

Rileys digital profile and Ibarras phone were "very close" between approximately 9:10 a.m. and 9:12 a.m., he said.

The SOS application on Riley's phone activated at 9:10 a.m., with a 911 call made at 9:11 a.m., officer Lesley Durkit, a forensic expert with the University of Georgia Police Department, testified on Monday. Data from her Garmin watch showed her heart rate stopped at 9:28 a.m., he said.

Ibarra's phone also pinged near the apartment building where Saraswathi called 911 around the time of the peeping tom incident, Berni said.

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The phone also could have been near the dumpster where the jacket was discarded at the same time he was seen on surveillance footage, based on the data recorded, Berni said.

Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial. The case is being presented in the Athens-Clarke County courtroom to Judge H. Patrick Haggard, who will render a verdict.

The prosecution said they expect to rest their case on Tuesday.

ABC News' Janice McDonald contributed to this report.

Laken Riley murder suspect seen with multiple scratches day after killing: Officers originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
The trial of a man accused of killing nursing student Laken Riley wrapped up its second day on Monday in Athens, Ga. Jose Antonio Ibarra, who is charged with murder and other crimes, waived his right to a trial by jury. Instead, Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard will decide on the outcome of the case. Ibarra has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.

Heres a look at how we got here and key moments from day two of the trial.

How we got here

Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Georgias Augusta University was reported missing by her friends on Feb. 22, prompting a police search, after she never returned from a morning run. Her body was later found in the woods near a jogging trail on the University of Georgia campus. Authorities determined Riley died from blunt force trauma.

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Ibarra, the 26-year-old murder suspect, is a Venezuelan citizen who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally in 2022. He was released by border officials while his immigration case was awaiting review, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Ibarras status as an undocumented immigrant has become a flash point in the heated debate over border security. President-elect Donald Trump and fellow Republicans have pointed to Riley as proof that President Biden hasnt done enough to prevent potentially dangerous immigrants from illegally crossing the southern border, claiming that Riley would be alive today if not for the Biden administrations immigration policies.

Ibarra has pleaded not guilty to 10 counts, including malice murder, three counts of felony murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing a person making an emergency call, tampering with evidence and one peeping Tom charge.

Last week, prosecutor Sheila Ross said in her opening statement, "On Feb. 22, Jose Ibarra put on a black hat, a hoodie-style jacket and some black kitchen-style disposable gloves, and he went hunting for females on the University of Georgia campus. Ross also pointed to forensic evidence, claiming that Ibarras DNA, and only his DNA, turned up under Rileys fingernails after she fought for her life.

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Defense attorney Dustin Kirby argued that the DNA is circumstantial evidence and would not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ibarra killed Riley.

To read about what happened on day one of the bench trial, read more from NBC News: Prosecutors say DNA, fingerprint show Jose Ibarra killed Laken Riley

What was revealed in court on day 2 of the trial
HANGZHOU, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- The inaugural direct passenger air route connecting Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, was launched on Sunday, according to sources with the Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport.

Operated by Uzbekistan Airways, the round-trip flights run every Sunday, departing Tashkent at 12:40 p.m. local time and arriving in Hangzhou, the provincial capital of Zhejiang, at 10 p.m. Beijing Time.

The return flight leaves Hangzhou at 11:30 p.m. Beijing Time and lands in Tashkent at 4:10 a.m. local time the next day.

With this new service, the Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport now offers 36 outbound flights, spanning 21 countries across four continents.

Since the beginning of 2024, the airport has added or resumed 10 international passenger routes to cities including Sapporo, Vientiane, Ho Chi Minh City, Chiang Mai and Melbourne. 
LANSING, Mich.(WLNS)  A Mid-Michigan church blessed the community with medical, dental, and vision care, all free of charge.

The Lansing Seventh-Day Adventist Church hosted the Amen Free Clinic Sunday afternoon, offering patients a chance to get their medical needs taken care of.

Lansing Amen Free Clinic serves the underprivileged with free healthcare services. (WLNS) Lansing Amen Free Clinic serves the underprivileged with free healthcare services. (WLNS) Lansing Amen Free Clinic serves the underprivileged with free healthcare services. (WLNS)

Dariana Arnold, a patient says she got her teeth cleaned and also received a massage. To be honest I actually expected them to just kinda floss, said Arnold. You know, just do something quick, but no, it was like an actual dental appointment. It was very nice, very refreshing.

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The event was too popular, she wished she had gotten there sooner. I got here at what I thought what on time at 8 oclock, and it was packed.

Patients get a medical check-up before being seen by a dentist or an eye doctor.

Many patients were able to get free extractions, fillings, and even free prescriptions. Dr. Harini Ligamgunte, says she saw 10 to 15 patients.

She says she was happy she could provide a service to those who need it the most. I think in general we need more facilities like this to help those who are uninsured and cant see a regular provider, said Ligamgunte.

Nicole Braxton, Amens Clinic Director says theyve served more than 300 patients. This clinic is really vital and a huge effort to reach the underserved and underinsured community members, especially with high health care costs, said Braxton.

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She says many providers are there on their own time, giving them a chance to help the underprivileged. We have doctors directly giving back to the community and were so grateful to change lives and impact through health care and build relationships, said Braxton.

Braxton says the next clinic will be at the Midland High School on Sunday, Dec. 8th.

She says the clinic is first come first serve, and patients should arrive at 6 or 7 a.m. before doors open.

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 WLNS 6 News.
Political speculation about the future of Sen. Laphonza Butler  the short-term replacement appointed to the chamber after the death of Dianne Feinstein  has run rampant in political circles. Would she return to California and run for office? Become the next leader of the Democratic National Committee?

Asked Saturday evening whether she sees herself pursuing such prospects, Butler, 45, was unusually clear for a politician.

I dont, she said in an interview after a send-off celebration at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles. We have an incredibly deep talent of great thinkers and strategists who are going to be able to take that work on.

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Butler was appointed to the Senate seat 13 months ago by Gov. Gavin Newsom, after garnering national acclaim as an influential labor chief in Los Angeles and president of EMILY's List, a national political organization that focuses on raising money to elect pro-choice Democratic women. The posting would have been a springboard to a strong run to retain the seat in the November election had Butler chosen to pursue that route. But she ruled that option out early, leading to Rep. Adam B. Schiff winning the seat. He is expected to be sworn in by mid-December.

Butler has embarked on a farewell tour of California, and on Saturday met with Los Angeles-area supporters. The event featured a warm, revealing conversation on stage with Mayor Karen Bass, a longtime ally.

Butler described the Senate as a foreign land and recounted the unexpected challenges that marked her tenure, including Hamas' stealth attack on Israel in October 2023 and the bloody war that has resulted; the Senate's rejection of House Republicans' impeachment of the Democratic Homeland Security secretary; and being asked to vote four times to stop a government shutdown.

Nevertheless, when I knew 14 months ago that I would accept the appointment, what I knew I was saying yes to was paying all of you back for everything you have given me, she told the audience, which included local elected officials, labor activists and other Democratic constituencies.

U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler, left, shares a laugh Saturday with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass during a send-off event at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center. (Seema Mehta / Los Angeles Times)

Butler spoke of working with Republicans to find areas of collaboration on shared goals, such as the issue of maternal healthcare with Alabama Sen. Katie Britt and agricultural issues with Iowa Sen. Charles E. Grassley.

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Butler and Bass spoke about their shared experience of being among the few Black women to serve in Congress. Butler said some fellow senators seemed surprised as they admired how articulate she was, and recounted hearing blatant Aunt Jemima jokes. Bass recalled her House colleagues regularly confusing her with Reps. Marcia Fudge of Ohio and Barbara Lee of Oakland, who are also Black.

Butler, who served as a co-chair of Vice President Kamala Harris unsuccessful White House bid, later spoke to reporters about the role of race and gender in the presidential race. She said that although stereotypes and barriers still exist in electing women of color, it would be intellectually dishonest to blame Harris loss solely on racism or misogyny.

I don't discount that it was something that people thought about, a barrier that we've yet as a country to break through relative to women at the top office, Butler said. But when you have, you know, more than 70% of the American people feel like the country is on the wrong track, it ain't just about race and gender.

She said the Democratic Party needs to figure out why the many policies it's embraced that are actually helping Americans are somehow not resonating with voters.

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The election results tell us that there is a problem with messaging, Butler said. There is a problem with connecting to what is being said, and what people are feeling and hope for their government and for their own lives and communities.

Butler is less certain about whats next for her.

I don't know. I'm gonna be a mom to a 10-year-old who has picked up this new habit of competitive cheer, she said, adding that she's not planning to move back to California from Washington, D.C., anytime soon  certainly not before her daughter finishes the school year.

She just started fourth grade. I'm not going to snatch her out of fourth grade, that's for sure, she said. We'll figure it out after that. But, you know, the whims of my life shouldn't interrupt hers.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
GENEVA/CAIRO (Reuters) -Nearly 100 trucks carrying food for Palestinians were violently looted on Nov. 16 after entering Gaza in one of the worst aid losses during 13 months of war in the enclave, where hunger is deepening, two U.N. agencies told Reuters on Monday.

The convoy transporting food provided by U.N. agencies UNRWA and the World Food Programme was instructed by Israel to depart at short notice via an unfamiliar route from Kerem Shalom border crossing, said Louise Wateridge, UNRWA Senior Emergency Officer.

Ninety-eight of the 109 trucks in the convoy were raided and some of the transporters were injured during the incident, she said, without detailing who carried out the ambush.

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"This ... highlights the severity of access challenges of bringing aid into southern and central Gaza," she told Reuters.

"The urgency of the crisis cannot be overstated; without immediate intervention, severe food shortages are set to worsen, further endangering the lives of over two million people who depend on humanitarian aid to survive."

The Hamas TV channel Al-Aqsa quoted Hamas interior ministry sources in Gaza as saying that over 20 gang members involved in looting aid trucks were killed during an operation carried out by Hamas security forces in coordination with tribal committees.

It said anyone caught aiding such looting would be treated with "an iron fist".

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A WFP spokesperson confirmed the looting and said that many routes in Gaza were currently impassable due to security issues.

An Israeli official said Israel had been working to address the humanitarian situation since the start of its war against Hamas, adding that the main problem with aid deliveries was U.N. distribution challenges.

A U.N. aid official said on Friday that access for aid to Gaza had reached a low point, with deliveries to parts of the Israeli-besieged north of the enclave all but impossible. Israel's devastating military campaign in Gaza was triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel.

(Reporting by Emma Farge and Nidal Al Mughrabi; Additional reporting by Emily Rose; Editing by Friederike Heine, Ros Russell and Mark Heinrich)
(Editors Note: An updated version of this story is available here.)

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV)  A large police presence is currently at the Tower Motel on Humboldt Rd. in Green Bay.

Green Bay Police have closed off Humboldt Rd. near University Ave. while they assess the situation.

Fox River State Trail to close temporarily to pedestrian traffic for repairs

A Local Five photographer is on scene, reporting multiple squad cars and an ambulance can be seen, as well as a SWAT team.

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This is an ongoing investigation, and Local Five will provide updates as they 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 WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton.
Nov. 17The New Mexico Department of Justice on Saturday announced that $285,000 in settlement money from a 2022 lawsuit will go toward the Las Vegas New Mexico Community Foundation for expanded health care grants.

The foundation, which will oversee the funds, will award the grants to nonprofits in San Miguel County for "community health care needs," including behavioral.

The money comes as a result of a December 2022 lawsuit filed by then-Attorney General Hector Balderas, who sued the Alta Vista Regional Hospital in Las Vegas and its previous owner, Quorum Health Corp., for violations of the Unfair Practices Act, namely misleading or false advertising and unconscionable trade practices.

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The hospital has since been purchased by Nashville, Tennessee-based Dava Health Inc.

"We are pleased with the result of this settlement and to be presenting these funds to the Las Vegas New Mexico Community Foundation," Attorney General Raul Torrez said in a statement. "These resources will be used to improve healthcare across San Miguel County and we look forward to seeing the benefit these funds can bring to the community."

Added Elmo Baca, executive director of the LVNMCF, "We are grateful to the NMDOJ for its work in securing these settlement funds, and we look forward to awarding this grant money to worthy nonprofit organizations serving our communities."

Nonprofits interested in getting grant money from the settlement can call the foundation at 505-600-2868 or email admin@lvnmcf.org.
CEDAR CITY, Utah (ABC4)  A Las Vegas man was taken into custody in Cedar City over the weekend after he allegedly sexually harassed an underaged waitress.

Steven Jackson, 65, is now facing charges of second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse, second-degree felony criminal, sexual solicitation of a child, and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

According to a booking affidavit, Jackson made numerous inappropriate and sexual comments toward the 17-year-old waitress. The victim reported Jackson telling her that he wants her and asking if she would come back to his hotel room when she got off work to drink alcohol and smoke, stating whatever happens happens.

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The victim reportedly told Jackson her age but he allegedly disregarded the information and continued to sexually harass her, telling her what room number he was in.

Officers with the Cedar City Police Department approached Jackson at his hotel room and took him into custody. During an interview, Jackson reportedly admitted to knowing she was in school and tipping her generously. Police say Jackson also admitted to putting his hand on her shoulder and kissing her hand in an intimate gesture.

Jackson has been ordered to be held without bail pending a pretrial hearing, after he allegedly made multiple comments about wanting to leave and go home to Las Vegas.

Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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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.
A career special operations veteran who was featured in a hazy green, night vision photo as the last American soldier to leave Afghanistan has been nominated to pin a fourth star and lead the U.S. Army in Europe.

Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahues name was on a list of Pentagon-recommended general officer nominations released Nov. 15. If confirmed by the Senate, he could receive the promotion and take command in the coming weeks or months.

Following decades in the special operations community, Donahue took command of the Army Infantry School and its Soldier Lethality Cross Functional Team in 2017. He then served as deputy director for special operations and counterterrorism for the Joint Chiefs of Staff before taking over in May 2019 as commander of the Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan.

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Donahue left that post to command the 82nd Airborne Division in July 2020, then assumed command of XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, in March 2022, according to his official biography.

18th Airvorne at center of major Pacific exercise for the first time

The XVIII Airborne Corps houses some of the most deployed operational units in the conventional Army, including the 10th Mountain Division, 82nd Airborne Division, 101st Airborne Division and 3rd Infantry Division.

But despite those lofty leadership posts, the general public is likely most familiar with Donahue due to the Aug. 30, 2021 photograph. The picture, taken from the back of a C-17 plane on an airfield at Karzai International Airport, shows Donahue boarding the aircraft, in full combat kit, with his M4 carbine at his side.

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Donahues career has been largely defined by the Global War on Terror, even as he was selected to lead the Armys operational units into new fights against new and resurfaced adversaries.

Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue speaks at a 2023 retirement ceremony. (Pfc. Alexcia Rupert/Army)

The general began his career in the shadow of the Cold War, commissioning as a second lieutenant in the infantry in 1992 following his graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, according to his official biography.

He first served as a platoon leader in Korea before assuming the same role with units at Fort Polk, Louisiana (now Fort Johnson), and Fort Benning, Georgia (now Fort Moore).

As young captain, Donahue was working with Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, then vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, when the attacks on 9/11 shook the United States.

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Donahue subsequently went to Army Special Operations Command and would go on to complete 18 overseas deployments.

While with the command he served with the secretive 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, also known as Delta Force, and eventually commanded a Delta troop in Iraq and a Delta squadron in Afghanistan, Army Times previously reported.

I have deployed to combat at every rank, from captain to two-star general, Donahue said previously.

If confirmed, Donahue would take over the Armys Europe-based assets and personnel during a critical time as the United States continues in its support of NATO allies and Ukraine through training and military equipment.

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Donahues recommendation for promotion by the Pentagon came on a list that included 29 Army colonels, who were recommended for promotion to brigadier general, and Brig. Gen. Eugene Cox, who is recommended for promotion to major general.

Lt. Gen. Donahues staff did not provide a statement regarding the nomination.
PERRY COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56)  Deputies in Perry County said that law enforcement has been made aware of a threat on TikTok reportedly targeting Perry County Central High School.

7 dogs rescued over multiple days in Lexington after caller tells animal control about abandoned car full of dogs

On Sunday, the Perry County Sheriffs Office (PCSO) posted on Facebook that deputies were aware of a TikTok threat reportedly made toward Perry County Central.

The Perry County Sheriffs Office posted an image of a TikTok threat that had reportedly been made against Perry County Central High School. (Perry County Sheriffs Office)

We are working with KSP and the school system in investigating this, the sheriffs office wrote on Facebook.

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Read more of the latest Kentucky news

Deputies said that steps are being taken to find the source of the threat and 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 FOX 56 News.
Portage man knocks mans teeth out with large tree branch

A Portage man is facing felony charges after knocking a mans teeth out with a large tree branch during a late night Aug. 3 bonfire.

James Wozniak, 20, was charged Nov. 14 with aggravated battery, battery by means of a deadly weapon, battery resulting in serious bodily injury, and battery resulting in moderate bodily injury.

He has not been jailed in the case. When arrested, he is ordered to be held without bond. The top count, a Level 3 felony, carries a possible 3-16 year penalty.

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The victim told police Wozniak was dating his childrens mother. Another witness told cops they had issues and both shouldnt have been there.

Thats what you get for breaking my (truck) windows, Wozniak said afterward, while the victim was passed out on the ground.

The incident happened on the 2400 block of Spencer Street in Lake Station. Police responded to Northwest Health-Portage. The victim couldnt really talk with his injuries.

He had a bloody, disfigured nose and a big gap in his upper teeth. The victim reported he started having seizures afterward. The affidavit also states he had several fractures  his jaw, roof of his mouth, eye socket and nose.

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He was at a birthday party when he got hit by something, the affidavit states. Later, he couldnt remember what he first told the cops. He was transferred to Northwestern, then released.

Two other men around the campfire told cops they didnt even know who Wozniak and the victim were. They told cops Wozniak beat him in the face with the tree branch.

Later, Wozniak admitted in social media messages with a woman that he did it, charges state.

Hobart man charged with child molesting

A Hobart man faces charges he inappropriately touched a 4-year-old girl.

Abraham Nadermohammadi, 33, of Hobart, and formerly Houston, was charged Nov. 13 with Level 4 felony child molesting.

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He has not been apprehended in the case. After his arrest, he is ordered to be held without bail.

New Chicago Police opened an investigation when the victims mother went to the police station on Aug. 1.

The woman told investigators that the child turned defensive that day when she took her to the bathroom to clean her up.

The mother confronted Nadermohammadi, who said he didnt know why the girl was acting differently. She later told police the girl started to stutter six months earlier.

The girl told police during a forensic interview that Nadermohammadi had touched her repeatedly, sometimes while he was nude himself. The child cried during the interview.

Nadermohammadi declined to speak with police without an attorney.

mcolias@post-trib.com
RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed on Monday his hope that the Australian side will provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.

In his meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Xi called on the two sides to expand win-win cooperation, saying that China is ready to import more high-quality products from Australia, and encourage Chinese enterprises to invest in Australia. 
What theyre claiming: The class-action lawsuit, initially filed in August and recently refiled with 13 plaintiffs from diverse backgrounds  including the U.S., Mexico, Nigeria, Europe and South Korea  accuses TSMC of favoring Taiwanese and Chinese workers in hiring, promotion and performance evaluations. Meanwhile, American employees were allegedly bullied, called lazy or stupid, subjected to stricter safety standards and expected to work long hours without pay. The suit highlights job postings requiring Mandarin proficiency even when not necessary and alleges managers use Chenglish to exclude non-East Asian employees from key information. What we allege [is that] there is a cultural preference for one type of person, and that cultural preference, we believe, is whats dictating their hiring, promotion, and termination practices, Daniel Kotchen, one of the plaintiffs attorneys, told Arizonas Family. The suit also claims TSMC failed to meet diversity commitments mandated by the CHIPS and Science Act, noting that as of last year, about half of the 2,200 employees at TSMC Arizona were visa holders from Taiwan.
The French newspaper Le Figaro reported on Sunday that France and the UK, following the US, had allowed Ukraine to use its long-range SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles to strike Russian territory. The newspaper later changed the text of the report.

Source: Le Figaro

Quote: "The French and the British have authorised Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory using their SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles."

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Updated: As of Monday morning, this phrase has been changed to read: "The debate was already raging in the offices about allowing the use of Western missiles against Russian territory. Emmanuel Macron spoke in favour of this during his state visit to Germany in May 2024."

Details: The publication provides no further details or specific sources for this information.

The broader article focuses on US President Joe Biden's authorisation for Ukrainian forces to launch strikes deep into Russian territory with American ATACMS missiles.

"This decision represents a significant shift in the operations of Ukrainian forces, who are reported to possess more American missiles than Franco-British ones," notes Le Figaro.

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For reference: Storm Shadow/SCALP is a long-range air-to-ground missile jointly developed by the UK and France and designed to target stationary objectives, including well-protected sites like bunkers, even in adverse weather conditions and at any time of day. The missiles warhead weighs 450 kg. Storm Shadow missiles can be mounted on Ukrainian Soviet-era jet aircraft.

As of Monday morning, this sentence was also missing from the text.

Background:

Earlier, The New York Times reported that Biden Biden had, for the first time, authorised Ukrainian forces to use long-range ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory. Sources say that these weapons are likely to be initially used against Russian and North Korean troops in Kursk Oblast.

The report also highlighted that while British and French leaders had expressed support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's request for long-range strikes on Russian territory, they had hesitated to permit their use until Biden agreed to authorise the deployment of ATACMS.

As per Reuters, Ukraine plans to carry out strikes on Russian territory using American long-range missiles in the coming days.

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Nov. 18 (UPI) -- At least 11 people were killed and scores injured in multiple waves of Russian missile strikes overnight on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, about 30 miles from the border with Russia's Kursk region.

All 11 fatalities, including a 9-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, occurred after a ballistic missile struck a nine-story apartment block in a densely populated district of the city, regional authorities said.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine said in a Telegram post that at least 89 people were injured in the attacks, including 11 children.

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Later waves of strikes in the early hours of Monday damaged the city's energy infrastructure, cutting power to some districts.

"Sunday evening for the city of Sumy became hell, a tragedy brought to our land by Russia," the Sumy Regional Military Administration quoted regional governor Volodymyr Artyukh as saying from the scene of the apartment building strike in a social media post.

Sending his condolences to the families of the victims, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the strikes as criminal acts for which the perpetrator must not be allowed to go unpunished.

The attacks came hours after it was reported that U.S. President Joe Biden, who is to leave office in two months, had finally granted Zelensky authorization to use American-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems long-range missiles to strike Russian targets on Russian soil.

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The permission is initially for Ukraine to use the weapons in support of its forces occupying part of the neighboring Kursk which are coming under pressure from Russian and North Korean troops, officials told The New York Times.

However, it was reported that Biden may also allow Kyiv to use ATACMS, which have a maximum range of 186 miles, against targets in other Russian regions.

The BBC reported that France and Britain are likely to follow Washington's lead and lift restrictions on how the Storm Shadow missiles that they supply to Ukraine can be deployed.

Former U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations Kurt Volker said the U.S. policy shift was long overdue given there was no prohibition in international law which states only that missiles must be for self-defense against military targets.

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"That's what we should have stuck to to begin with rather than creating this kind of made-up limitation that we're now finding awkward to remove," he told BBC Radio.

The Kremlin reacted by reiterating that Moscow would treat the move as the United States and its NATO partners directly participating in the Ukraine war.

"If such a decision has indeed been formulated and communicated to the Kyiv regime, then, of course, this is a qualitatively new round of escalation of tensions and a qualitatively new situation in terms of the involvement of the United States in this conflict," the state-run TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

"We are proceeding from this," he emphasized.

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Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously stated that a decision to use Western long-range weapons against Russia would mean nothing less than the "direct involvement of the United States and other NATO countries in the war in Ukraine" that would drastically alter the nature of the conflict, forcing Russia to take appropriate measures in response to the escalating threats.

Putin emphasized that Western tactical support was a prerequisite for Ukraine to be able to strike deep into Russian territory, as satellite intelligence and flight missions would be required.
A multivehicle crash Monday morning on Interstate 270 in Frederick County sent five people to a hospital, Maryland State Police said.

The collision on northbound I-270, where police responded at about 9:10 a.m., prompted multiple lanes of traffic near Exit 32 for Interstate 70 to shut down. Five vehicles were involved in the crash, and five people were taken by ambulance to local hospitals, police said.

The highway had mostly reopened by mid-morning on Monday. The Maryland State Highway Administration said some delays could be expected into the evening as crews repaired a guardrail that was damaged in the crash.

Have a news tip? Contact Dan Belson at dbelson@baltsun.com, 443-790-4827, on X as @DanBelson_ or on Signal as @danbels.62.
At least three people have died in an explosion in a warehouse near the southern Italian city of Naples on Monday, according to the local fire brigade.

Rescue workers are searching for possible missing persons under the rubble, the fire brigade said.

Italian media reported that numerous fireworks had been stored in the warehouse in the town of Ercolano, just a few kilometres south of Naples.

It is still unclear how the explosion occurred.

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Local residents reported a loud bang, and pictures and videos shared on social media show a dense column of smoke rising into the sky above the scene of the accident, which could be clearly seen from a distance away.

Images from Italian television also showed piles of rubble at the site of the explosion and many rescue workers in action.

A general view of the damage caused by an explosion in an illegal fireworks factory. According to the local fire brigade in Naples at least three young people died as a result of the explosion. Napolipress/IPA via ZUMA Press/dpa
The News

Lebanon is expected to respond imminently to a ceasefire proposal for Hezbollah and Israel, with the lead Lebanese negotiator indicating that the response will likely be positive, Qatari news site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported, even as Israel stepped up strikes, including hitting central Beirut for the first time in weeks.

The US-backed deal was submitted to Lebanon last week, and includes removing Hezbollah fighters from the border region and would also stipulate a timeline for Israeli military forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon.

One point of contention appears to relate to Israels demand to have the right to act within Lebanons borders if any violation of the deal occurs, which Lebanon considers unacceptable, the BBC reported.

SIGNALS

Israeli ceasefire push may be a gift to Trump

Sources: The Washington Post, CNN

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The rush to secure a ceasefire deal may be an attempt to provide an early foreign policy win for incoming US President Donald Trump, who is considered an ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, The Washington Post reported. There is an understanding that Israel would gift something to Trump that in January there will be an understanding about Lebanon, an Israeli official told the Post. Netanyahu could aim to make a temporary deal while outgoing US President Joe Biden is still in office, and leave the final settlement for Trump to take credit, a former US special envoy for Israel and Palestine said.

Details of the deal  and its enforcement  remain unclear

Sources: The Times of Israel, The Washington Post, AFP

While there has been apparent progress in the ceasefire negotiations, multiple outlets have reported, the details remain opaque and there is no clear contingency plan should it fail. The lead Lebanese negotiator, Nabih Berri, has already suggested that there is no sane person who could believe Lebanon would agree to allow the Israeli military to continue to operate in Lebanon to police potential violations of the agreement. Netanyahu, meanwhile, told the Israeli parliament that Israel will continue to operate in Lebanon even after a ceasefire, AFP reported.
(Removes extraneous word "to" in first paragraph)

By Laila Bassam

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon and Hezbollah have agreed to a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire with Israel with some comments on the content, a top Lebanese official told Reuters on Monday, describing the effort as the most serious yet to end the fighting.

Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, said Lebanon had delivered its written response to the U.S. ambassador in Lebanon on Monday, and White House envoy Amos Hochstein was travelling to Beirut to continue talks.

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There was no immediate comment from Israel.

Hezbollah, a heavily armed movement backed by Iran, endorsed its long-time ally Berri to negotiate over a ceasefire.

"Lebanon presented its comments on the paper in a positive atmosphere," Khalil said, declining to give further details. "All the comments that we presented affirm the precise adherence to (U.N.) Resolution 1701 with all its provisions," he said.

He was referring to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a previous war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.

Its terms require Hezbollah to have no armed presence in the area between the Lebanese-Israeli border and the Litani River, which runs some 30 km (20 miles) north of the frontier.

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Khalil said the success of the initiative now depended on Israel, saying if Israel did not want a solution, "it could make 100 problems".

Israel has long claimed that Resolution 1701 was never properly implemented, pointing to the presence of Hezbollah fighters and weapons along the border. Lebanon has accused Israel of violations including flying warplanes in its airspace.

Khalil said Israel was trying to negotiate "under fire", a reference to an escalation of its bombardment of Beirut and the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs. "This won't affect our position," he said.

(This story has been refiled to remove an extraneous word in paragraph 1)

(Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)  The findings of an audit conducted by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor (LLA) focused on topics including the response time of the New Orleans Police Department have been released.

According to LLA officials, they analyzed the staffing of the NOPD and how staff levels reported affected the response times to 911 calls in addition to the recruitment and retention of officers.

LLA officials say the audit is related to staffing concerns highlighted in a 2023 New Orleans Office of Inspector Generals report.

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NORD-C launches free after school meal program for New Orleans students

Through the investigation, they reported finding that the number of NOPD civilian employees increased from 2019 through 2023 but the number of commissioned officers decreased. This resulted in a 26.6% loss of staff.

LLA officials note that the incidents assigned to the NOPD had decreased since 2021, but response times have increased. Additionally, they found an increase of incidents documented as no unit available and gone on arrival.

From 2021 through 2023 7.9% (80,924) of the 1,025,220 reported incidents did not have an arrival time.

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Power restored to thousands across Jefferson, Orleans parish

Other findings included that during 2019 through 2023, NOPD had a total of 776 separation actions with the common reasons being resignation or retirement.

A survey was conducted among NOPD employees which identified pay, morale and fairness in promotions and discipline mostly impacts their job satisfaction.

The survey also indicated:

Respondents are concerned with limited equipment and resources that prevent them from providing services

Respondents are concerned with the assignment of secondary employment opportunities

Responses to exit interviews administered by the NOPD generally mirrored the results from the job satisfaction survey

NOPD and the New Orleans Civil Service took additional steps to address the recruitment and retention of officers during the decline in 2019 and 2023

Read the full audit report:

Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.

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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 WGNO.
SHENZHEN, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese carmaker BYD saw its 10 millionth new energy vehicle (NEV) roll off the production line at its Shenshan plant in south China's Guangdong Province on Monday. This milestone reflects the positive momentum and resilience of China's NEV sector amid global efforts toward green transition. 
To the editor: Vice President Kamala Harris conceded the election in a timely and dignified manner, yet many on the right must still feel threatened by her. Why else would they continue to personally denigrate her as Charlotte Allen did? ("Harris' real error  not bros, not Biden, not the border," Opinion, Nov. 14)

Allen cites the Al Smith dinner in New York, where she says Trump helped raise millions of dollars for charity while he "merrily roasted Democrats" and "Harris didn't even show up."

While we dont know why she did not attend, this was no merry roast by Trump. With the Catholic archbishop of New York close to him, Trump vomited the same poisonous smears he used at his rallies. He in no way put aside the acidity of politics for a greater cause, which is the point of this charity fundraiser.

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As for Allen's claim that the Democrats and Harris wanted free surgeries for transgender prison inmates, the record shows that providing gender-affirming care to federal inmates when doctors determined it medically necessary was approved under the Trump administration. When asked about this, Harris said she would obey the policy that Trump followed.

The large crowds showing a cross-section of Americans that came out in support of the vice president are a repudiation of Allen's mean-girl take on Harris.

Joy Rockport, Van Nuys

..

To the editor: I agree with Allen that Harris made a disastrous wrong turn in the course of her insanely short and energetic presidential road trip.

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I kept thinking midway through the campaign that this does not sound good  her dissing back at Trump, losing her lightness and her true self, wasting time on the MAGA garbage that the media were glomming onto.

Therein lies the problem  the corporate media, the money machine. As William S. Burroughs said: "What does the money machine eat? It eats youth, spontaneity, life, beauty and above all it eats creativity. It eats quality and [excretes] out quantity."

I too felt Harris' relief in her concession speech. Still, I wish Biden had followed through on his pledge to serve as a bridge to a new generation of leaders, implying he would not seek reelection. It may not have been the joyful Harris who emerged the nominee, but I can't help thinking (and I know I'm not alone) that things might be different right now.

But Trump continues to get what he wants and thrives on his cruel words spread in the media. Remember the bullies on the playground: When they stopped getting so much attention, they lost their power.

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Unfortunately, the monster is out of the box, and it feels like there's no defeating it.

Heidi Santschi, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: Allen writes that Harris doesn't like to "pore over boring binders of policy papers and U.S. code sections."

That's laughable, as it's known that Trump's policies come from the last person in his ear and he doesn't read anything longer than a few pages.

Dave Gershenson, Van Nuys

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG)  Reggie and Karen Phillips were cleaning out the home that belonged to Karens father, who passed away earlier this year. What they found in the attic were letters between Karens grandmother and her only son  19-year-old James Carr of Mobile.

Vets Recover organization offers a lifeline to addicted veterans

Reggie told us what they found out. He was with the 45th Infantry Division  referenced as the Thunderbirds. He served in North Africa, and then he was at the Battle of Anzio Beach in Italy.

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From day to day, Carrs mother, father, or other family members wrote letters to him  and he would write back. But at some point during his service, James Carr stopped writing back. The family got notice that Carr was missing in action.

Karen Phillips said, From reading some letters that were returned to my aunts and my grandmother, they just kept writing in hopes that he was still alive. They were hoping the letters would catch up to him. Right  were just going to ignore that and keep writing.

Many of the letters his family sent to Carr were eventually returned, undelivered. The family finally got word that James Carr was killed in action on Feb. 23,1944.

Apparently, when they got word that he was killed, they got his stuff  they packed it up and they put it away, said Karen.

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And it all remained put away until recently. The letters, newspaper clippings, and other artifacts revealed things these family members of James Carr did not know.

He had worked at the Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company. Carrs name is on a monument at Battleship Park memorializing the workers who served in World War II.

Serving Those Who Serve: JROTC leader calls it a career

They also discovered that many Mobile streets were named for soldiers and sailors who perished during the war. They didnt know any of this because Carrs family, stricken with grief, did not talk about it.

Karen said, You didnt talk about it. It was not a topic of discussion. We knew James had died in the war  and the family was notified. But it was about three years later before they ever received what was supposed to be his body and have the funeral.

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Some of the other artifacts discovered with the letters include this service bannerand raises the question why the only son of a family was serving in combat.

Reggie said, These were actually hung from windows, sometimes doors, to let the community know that your son, or daughter, was in service at that time.

And they also discovered along with the Purple Heart awarded to Carr  there was a lock of his hair with it. Carrs ancestors plan to preserve the artifacts.

And continue to pass it down to our family as long as we can because there is a great history of sacrifice here, said Reggie.

Serving Those Who Serve: Lou Lartigue, South Alabama Veterans Council

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Were proud to recognize that sacrifice, and Reggie and Karen Phillips historic discovery, for Serving Those Who Serve.

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 WKRG News 5.
A former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on Sunday declared that President-elect Donald Trump made a very dangerous move by picking conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to fill her old role.

I think that were talking about magnitudes of danger beyond erroneously making legal decisions. This is life or death, Kathleen Sebelius said in an interview with MSNBCs Jonathan Capehart.

Sebelius, who oversaw the Affordable Care Acts implementation while serving as HHS head under Barack Obama, said the department affects Americans from birth to their grave and is intimately tied to every state in the nation.

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She added that Kennedys history of pushing false claims about vaccines is totally disqualifying for anyone who seeks the HHS post.

That  in and of itself, from the bully pulpit of HHS  could end up killing people, could end up harming children, she said of the pick by Trump, who vowed to let Kennedy go wild on health policy. My grandson is too young to get a lot of vaccinations yet and having him exposed to unvaccinated people with polio and measles is a terrifying thought, having eradicated those diseases as a major health initiative.

She continued, Jonathan, I think this is absolutely terrifying and people should understand how serious it is.

Other health experts from across the globe have also sounded the alarm on Kennedys vaccine skepticism, pointing to his 2019 visit to Samoa being connected to a deadly measles outbreak that killed 83 people (mostly children) on the Pacific island nation.

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Sebelius, in a separate interview with CNNs John Berman on Thursday, warned that Kennedy may well undo decades of public health work if he winds up becoming the departments secretary.

He has no organizational management experience, and HHS is one of the largest domestic organizations, Sebelius said of a department that has over 83,000 employees and a nearly $2 trillion budget.

She later told Berman thats shes most frightened Kennedy is not approaching the role with a query or suggesting that the department look at two different points of view on vaccines.

Hes made a determination with no scientific background and, as far as I can determine, no evidence that actually supports his views and hes very willing to assert them as if they are fact, she said.

Related...
LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  The Lincoln County Sheriffs Office continues to receive complaints from citizens about scammers claiming to represent the sheriffs office.

Victims are continuing to receive phone calls from what shows up on Caller ID as a phone number for the sheriffs office. It also may show up as a local area landline number.

One resident received calls from what shows up as the sheriffs offices main number, 704-732-9050. The resident answered a fourth call and was told that she missed a court date and was going to be arrested if she didnt post a cash bond. The caller used the name of a former of the sheriffs office.

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The Lincoln County Sheriffs Office would like to remind residents that the office does not accept money to cancel a warrant or an order for arrest. All warrants are served in person and not by telephone. Citizens should not provide any personal identifying information over the phone or purchase any money cards, or exchange any money in reference to such calls.

The calls are 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 Queen City News.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis is holding back from celebrating US President Joe Biden's reported decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles against specific targets in Russia.

Landsbergis said he would not reach for the champagne just yet as it remains unclear "how many rockets" the Ukrainians have.

Landsbergis wants to know if Ukraine has been supplied with enough rockets to make a difference on the battlefield.

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The Lithuanian foreign minister also questioned the extent of the permission granted to Ukraine to use the rockets in Russia and whether this was only partially permitted.

Landsbergis wants no limits on Ukraine apart from those obliged by international law and that Ukraine be properly supplied with the military equipment to defend themselves.
AUTHORS NOTE: This story contains graphic details from proceedings in the trial of Anthony Patterson that involve alleged sex crimes against child victims. Discretion is advised before reading. If you know or suspect that any child under the age of 18 is being abused sexually, please call the Texas Child Abuse Hotline at 1 (800) 252-5400.

TARRANT COUNTY (KFDX/KJTL)  Closing arguments have begun in the trial of Anthony Patterson, with the Tarrant County jury of eight men and four women hearing the final words from the prosecution and the defense before they begin deliberation.

TIMELINE: The trafficking, child sex crimes case against Anthony Patterson

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Former president of the Patterson Auto Group, Patterson, 48, of Wichita Falls, stands accused of multiple counts of human trafficking and child sex crimes.

Testimony began on Monday afternoon, November 4, 2024, in Auxiliary Trial Room A in the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in Fort Worth. A recap of prior proceedings can be found below:

Closing arguments began just before 9 a.m. on Monday, November 18, 2024. Both sides have requested two hours to present their arguments. The prosecution will open and close the final arguments, with Pattersons defense presenting its argument in between.

Below is a running live blog of opening arguments and testimony in Anthony Pattersons trial from Friday, Nov. 18, 2024. Refresh this story often for updates.

Judge Kennedy dismissed the jury to begin deliberation at 12:20 p.m. on Monday, November 18, 2024. The Court will be in recess while the jury deliberates.

12:18 p.m.  When you convict him, youll say by your verdict that those girls arent nameless children, Gillespie said. Youll tell him that you cant hide behind your power, no matter who you are.

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12:17 p.m.  Gillespie recalled the details of the testimony given by both alleged victims. We have proven this case beyond reasonable doubt, Gillespie said. You each have a duty to convict him. There is a role for attaining justice for victims.

12:13 p.m.  Gillespie told the jury that if they use their logic, its clear what happened. He pointed out that it was mid-November when the girls were at Pattersons house, nearly three weeks after Halloween.

12:11 p.m.  Gillespie became visibly more animated about the fact that the defenses DNA expert didnt dispute that the girls were at Pattersons home. He told the jury to watch during Weavers interview for Patterson acknowledging that there was a second trip by the older alleged victim in this case.

12:09 p.m.  Gillespie told the jury to watch the interview again with Texas Ranger Jake Weaver and compare it to the document. He told the jury to watch carefully, and theyll notice that when Patterson is shown that document by Weaver from his phone, Patterson gulps.

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12:04 p.m.  Gillespie told the jury that the story from Patterson doesnt make sense and that any logical person who had leftover Halloween candy would just give it to the adult to give it to the children. That dog wont hunt, Gillespie asserted.

11:59 a.m.  Gillespie told the jury they swore under oath that with enough corroborating evidence, they wouldnt need scientific evidence to serve as a silver bullet, telling them hes holding them to that oath.

11:55 a.m.  Gillespie discussed the document from Bells apartment with the jury, calling it a script and alleging Patterson put on a performance when he was interviewed.

11:52 a.m.  Gillespie told the jury that the defense was attempting to alibi Patterson by saying he was at Pappadeux on Nov. 18, 2017, suggesting it was actually possible for him to have gone back to Wichita Falls after hed eaten around noon.

Grona-Robb yielded the remainder of her time to John Gillespie, for the final argument on behalf of the prosecution.

11:49 a.m.  Grona-Robb countered a claim made by the defense, questioning why Bell wasnt brought to testify. Grona-Robb read a Texas law that would have required the State of Texas not to prosecute Bell if she testified against Bell. She ended her time by asking the jury to find Patterson guilty.

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11:48 a.m.  Grona-Robb alleged that Pattersons life had not been ruined by Bell since theyd met, as he claimed during his interview with Texas Ranger Jake Weaver. She said they met in 2014, and she wasnt ruining his life before the evidence against her was brought to authorities.

11:46 a.m.  Grona-Robb suggested to the jury that they could know both Patterson and Bell knew about the document found at Bells apartment because they both told the same story that was detailed in that document.

11:42 a.m.  Grona-Robb countered a claim made during Laseters closing arguments, asserting that the investigation into Patterson was thorough and that they pursued charges against Bell first.

11:32 a.m.  Grona-Robb told the jury that Patterson having them duck down inside his truck showed his ill intent.

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11:31 a.m.  Grona-Robb told the jury that Bell has charges pending, and shell one day face a judge and jury of her own because she wants every single person responsible for what happened to Child Victims 1 and 2 to be held accountable.

11:29 a.m.  Grona-Robb told the jury it was the decisions Patterson made that brought us to the trial. She said that according to the indictment, the first alleged incident of abuse occurred on or about November 18, 2017, exactly 7 years ago today.

11:25 a.m.  Grona-Robb recalled with the jury the allegations against Patterson based on the testimony from Child Victims 1 and 2. She claimed that by allowing the children to get into the bathtub, and then having them put on towels, he was testing the boundaries of how far he could go.

11:22 a.m.  We know what happened here, Grona-Robb told the jury. She told the jury that Patterson had an ongoing relationship with a sex worker, Jandreani Bell, who brought children to him. He let his overwhelming desire for kids, his sexual interest for kids, drive him, and let these two little girls get in his car, Grona-Robb said.

Laseter concluded her closing argument on behalf of the defense. Judge Kennedy instructed the State that they make their closing. Brooke Grona-Robb, on behalf of the prosecution, began addressing the jury.

11:19 a.m.  Laseter concluded the defenses argument by once again claiming Anthony Patterson was not guilty.

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11:17 a.m.  Laseter told the jury that Jandreani Bell pointed the finger at one of Wichita Falls most prominent men. She alleged that he was the perfect person to set up. The man willing to put all of his resources on the line, who knows hes innocent, hes not your guy, Laseter said. Jandreani Bell masterfully set this all up.

11:15 a.m.  Lasseter claimed for the jury that the child victims were filling in details because the charges against Patterson were their ticket out of a chaotic situation at home.

11:12 a.m.  Laseter suggested that the child victims statements changed over time. She alleged the prosecution wanted the jury to believe this is the way children outcry regarding abuse.

11:08 a.m.  An impassioned Laseter continued presenting names to the jury of individuals who couldve been brought as corroborating witnesses to testify, but they didnt.

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11:03 a.m.  Laseter suggested to the jury that Patterson was the perfect target. She said the prosecution wanted the jury to do a little and assume a lot. How many people could have come in and corroborated the stories from those girls, Laseter asked.

10:57 a.m.  Laseter told the jury that Anthony Patterson was the big fish to the Wichita County District Attorneys Office, not Jandreani Bell. She claimed there was no proof that Patterson knew the two alleged victims were coming to his house.

10:55 a.m.  Laseter told the jury that evidence they brought, including photos taken from Pattersons phone and testimony of Pattersons brother-in-law, placed him in the Dallas area on November 18, 2017, the date of the first alleged instance of abuse. She said the prosecution would rely on name-calling and pointing.

10:53 a.m.  Laseter told the jury it wasnt their job to fill in the gaps left in the States case. If the government stands up one of their best and brightest, Laseter said, shouldnt they bring you credible evidence? She cautioned the jury that the prosecution was playing on their emotions.

Judge Kennedy called the jury back into the courtroom. Closing arguments resumed, with Kim Laseter, a defense attorney for Patterson, addressing the jury.

Judge Kennedy dismissed the jury for a morning break. Closing arguments will resume at around 10:45 a.m. with Kim Laseter concluding arguments for the defense.

10:35 a.m.  Shook concluded his time by reminding the jury of their oath and asserting the State didnt prove its burden beyond a reasonable doubt, leaving the remaining time to Kim Laseter, fellow defense attorney for Patterson, to present closing arguments to the jury.

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10:33 a.m.  Shook discussed with the jury of defense expert Brian Ingram, who testified that no searches for daddy-daughter were found on Pattersons devices. He testified there were many searches for blasphemy, encouraging the jury to remember Pattersons claim that he was aroused by shocking another person.

10:30 a.m.  Shook suggested to the jury that because the State didnt call Bell, they cant speculate on what may have happened, but rather, what was proven beyond reasonable doubt based on the evidence that was presented.

10:16 a.m.  Shook brought up Jandreani Bell to the jury, alleging that a benefit she was given from the District Attorneys Office was the fact that shed been indicted on only four counts versus Pattersons 13 counts. He mentioned the prosecution didnt call her to take the stand, so the jury cant use anything she might have said as evidence. He suggested that evidence actually pointed to Patterson being extorted by Bell.

10:13 a.m.  Shook again accused law enforcement investigators of the Patterson case of having tunnel vision, specifically regarding Child Victim 3. If they had tunnel vision with this, whos to say they didnt have tunnel vision with [Child Victims 1 and 2]? That should create reasonable doubt, Shook argued.

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10:10 a.m.  Shook alleged to the jury that the sensational stories in the media is actually community grooming.

10:08 a.m.  Shook argued to the jury that, based on the timeline he constructed from evidence regarding Child Victim 3, she would have been of the age of consent when she went to Pattersons home. She got caught up in the emotion, Shook told the jury.

10:05 a.m.  Shook told the jury that Child Victim 3 and Childhood Best Friend were caught in a lie. A member of Pattersons family nodded their head in agreement with a smile on their face.

10:03 a.m.  Shook told the jury that Child Victim 3 spoke with investigators, telling them that her Childhood Best Friend took her to Pattersons home in 2004. He said investigators interviewed Childhood Best Friend, who didnt remember the incident. He said both women testified they didnt speak after their interviews, however, their phone records indicate they spoke on the day of the interview.

9:57 a.m.  Shook discussed with the jury the press coverage of the case, asserting it was the chief reason the case was moved from Wichita County. He then discussed the allegations made by Child Victim 3 from 2004 and the holes in her testimony.

9:51 a.m.  Shook discussed the U.S. Constitution with the jury, specifically regarding jury trials. He told the jury that the establishment of a jury trial was in order to protect citizens from the government, pointing out that seven law enforcement agencies were brought to bear against Patterson, a citizen.

9:50 a.m.  You cant speculate as a member of the jury, Shook said to the jury. All you can do is say, They didnt meet their burden.

9:48 a.m.  Shook brought up the fact that law enforcement found no evidence of child pornography on Pattersons devices. He claimed the prosecution didnt think the absence of child pornography was important. Then why did the D-As office ask law enforcement to look for it, Shook asked.

9:45 a.m.  Shook spoke to the jury regarding the investigation into the allegations against Patterson. He said that law enforcement had tunnel vision during the investigation when they should have been objective. He told the jury that if there were any concerns with the credibility of a witness, then the State didnt meet their burden of proof. You cant speculate what might have happened, Shook said.

9:41 a.m.  Shook told the jury that it isnt their job to find justice for the victims of crime, but rather, to hold the State of Texas accountable for meeting its burden to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Gillespie ended his closing argument after just under 40 minutes, leaving around 80 minutes for Brooke Grona-Robb. Toby Shook, Pattersons lead prosecutor, then began presenting closing arguments on behalf of Anthony Patterson.

9:37 a.m.  Gillespie encouraged the jury to find Patterson guilty to give the victims a voice, again asserting that the State of Texas proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

9:33 a.m.  Gillespie discussed with the jury the DNA evidence presented during the trial. He told the jury that context gives meaning to DNA evidence and that the DNA evidence thats there in this case doesnt tell much, but theres a mountain of evidence outside of the DNA.

9:28 a.m.  When you pay someone hush money, thats not extortion, Gillespie told the jury. Thats consciousness of guilt.

9:27 a.m.  Members of Pattersons family are present in the gallery during Gillespies argument. One member was observed continually shaking her head in disagreement.

9:25 a.m.  Gillespie mentioned a portion of Pattersons interview with Texas Ranger Jake Weaver in which Patterson was heard saying, This situation was put in my house. Gillespie argued that Pattersons actions reveal intent, listing 14 specific actions that Patterson took in order for the children to be in his house. Santa Claus didnt come down the chimney and drop those kids in his house, Gillespie said to the jury.

9:21 a.m.  Gillespie walked the jury through the charge, linking specific elements of the charge to acts the children disclosed, as well as linking names with pseudonyms.

9:19 a.m.  Gillespie told the jury that the reason they brought up the prominence of the Patterson family during the trial was to show that Anthony Patterson felt like he was untouchable and that his familys place in the community would be a get out of jail free card.

9:15 a.m.  Gillespie reviewed the evidence with the jury, including the testimony and outcry statements of Child Victims 1 & 2. He told the jury that the outcry statements of the alleged victims, as well as their eyewitness testimonies, are substantive evidence in this case.

9:11 a.m.  Gillespie told the jury, If you know he did it, that is proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Please dont let the defense talk you out of your common sense and logic.

9:07 a.m.  When youre a Patterson, you have unlimited resources, Gillespie said. Gillespie argued that Patterson was a master manipulator who had the entire community fooled.

9:04 a.m.  Gillespie encouraged the men and women of the jury to have the courage to find Patterson guilty. No one should be able to order up a child like a pizza, Gillespie said.

Presiding Judge Meredith Kennedy read the jury its charge, instructing them on how they will proceed after closing arguments. Then, the prosecution presented its first closing argument with John Gillespie, Wichita County District Attorney, addressing the jury.

This is a developing story. Stick with Texomas Homepage for updates as more information becomes available. All individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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An Aboriginal Australian politician who harangued King Charles has been censured by parliament but said she did not give a damn and would do it again if he ever returned.

Lidia Thorpe made headlines around the world last month when she interrupted a reception for King Charles and Queen Camilla during their official visit to Australia, yelling f--- the colony, this is not your land and you are not our King.

On Monday, she was censured by the Australian parliament, with the senate passing the motion with 46 votes in favour and 12 against.

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The motion, a symbolic political move with no legal or constitutional consequences, condemned her actions as disruptive and disrespectful.

The Senate said it no longer regarded it appropriate for Ms Thorpe to be a member of any delegation during the life of this parliament.

During her protest in October, she yelled: You are not our King, you are not sovereign at King Charles during his visit to Parliament House in Canberra. You committed genocide against our people, she said.

Moments before, he had delivered a speech in which he paid his respects to the traditional owners of Australia.

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After the censure motion was passed, the senator told national television that she did not give a damn about it. She tore up the piece of paper on camera and said she would use it as kindling.

She vowed to repeat her actions if King Charles and Queen Camilla ever returned to Australia.

If the colonising King were to come to my country again, our country, then Ill do it again. And I will keep doing it. I will resist colonisation in this country. I swear my allegiance to the real sovereigns of these lands: First Peoples are the real sovereigns, she told the ABC.

She claimed that the Crown had systematically worked to erase us.

Her outburst against the monarch was condemned at the time by Anthony Albanese, Australias prime minister, and there were calls for Ms Thorpe to resign, which she staunchly refused.

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Peter Dutton, the leader of the opposition Liberal Party, said that if Ms Thorpe was so vehemently opposed to Australias constitutional system, she should step down and stop taking her generous parliamentary salary.

The independent senator is a seasoned protester known for her attention-grabbing political stunts.

The 51-year-old politician, who is descended from Gunnai, Djab Wurrung and Gunditjmara indigenous clans, comes from a prominent family of Aboriginal activists.

Her father, who is white, has accused her of being racist towards white people. Roy Illingworth said that he was a bit disappointed in the way she has been carrying on lately.

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He added: After all, she has got an English background, as well as Irish. She didnt use to be like this. Maybe the power has gone to her head.

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POLAND, Ohio (WKBN)  Profits from one local authors book sales will benefit children facing health challenges.

Another Nate Dinet has partnered with the Hope Foundation of the Mahoning Valley. Dinet is the editor-in-chief of a digital, monthly website that provides stories for kids called The Fantastic Tales of Merriweather and Perriweather.

For the rest of November, sales from his most recent book, The Day Tomorrow Got Lost, will go to the Hope Foundation. Dinet says he wanted to support families in the community.

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Really excited to provide additional support for families, especially the ones that are supported by the Hope Foundation because no family should have to go through that with kids that are chronically or terminally ill. So, we wanted to do our part in supporting the community, Dinet said.

The book can be purchased online, and all profits will go the Hope Foundation.

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(WKBN)  The holiday season is here, and it can be difficult and expensive to put together a Thanksgiving feast. Here are some local community dinners, to-go meals and food drives.

Read next: Holiday events in the Valley 2024

Do you know of an event that isnt listed below? Send us your Thanksgiving event or food drive.

Mahoning County

Struthers

Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway

Behind Closed Doors Ministries is distributing uncooked frozen turkeys. To register, email bcdministriesllc@yahoo.com or call/text (330) 502-4188.

Nov. 23 from 1-4 p.m.

966 Fifth St. Plaza, Unit #13

Trumbull County

Girard

Turkey Dinner

All are welcome for a free turkey dinner.

Saturday, Nov. 23 from 2-4 p.m.

Center Point Church, 2722 West Liberty St.

Niles

Community Pie Giveaway

The business will be giving away 200 pies, including apple, pumpkin and pecan (limited to one pie per family).

Tuesday, Nov. 26 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

State Farm, 639 Robbins Ave.

Warren

Drive-Thru Food Giveaway

The Warren Family Mission is hosting a food giveaway at the Trumbull County Fairgrounds. Please bring a photo ID. Giveaways are limited to two households per vehicle, and you must have separate addresses. The event will be first come first serve to the first 400 famalies.

Saturday, Nov. 23 from 10 a.m.  12 p.m.

All traffic to enter off Bazetta Roda at Gate A (4181 Hoagland Blackstub, north of Everett Hull Road)

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Brothers of the Hammer Community Dinner

Free dinner.

Sunday, Nov. 24 from 2-5 p.m.

St. James White Hall, 2534 Milton SE

Thanksgiving Day Dinner

Free for all.

Thursday, Nov. 28 from 2-5 p.m.

Odds, 1850 Youngstown Rd. SE

Columbiana County

Salem

Thanksgiving Day Dinner

No reservations are needed for this free dine-in or to-go dinner for all.

Thursday, Nov. 28 from 2-4 p.m.

First Christian Church, 1151 East 6th St.

Mercer County

Greenville

Thanksgiving Day Dinner

Join the church for a free Thanksgiving Day dinner, or call ahead for carry-out at (724) 588-5760.

Thursday, Nov. 28 at 12 p.m.

Greenville First Baptist Church, 60 Shenango St.

Jamestown

Dinner and Fellowship

Gather for a joyous holiday celebration with turkey, ham, vegetables, rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing and pie. Enjoy free food and fellowship.

Jamestown ECO Presbyterian Church, 411 Liberty St.

Sharon

Sharing is Caring Dinner

Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings and free to anyone in need!

Thursday, Nov. 28 from 12-7 p.m.

St. Johns Episcopal Church, 226 West State St.

Sharpsville

Community Dinner

Gather for a free traditional Thanksgiving meal. Friends and loved ones are encouraged. Limited to the first 300 guests. RSVP is appreciated but not required to (724) 962-7130 or secretary@saintbartholomews.com.

Sunday, Nov. 24 from 12-3 p.m.

St. Bartholomew Church, 311 West Ridge Ave.

Transfer

Veterans Thanksgiving Dinner

A special free dinner for local veterans.

Saturday, Nov. 23 at 12 p.m.

Central Community Church, 3571 North Hermitage Rd.

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Community Dinner

Dine in or take out for this free dinner.

Saturday, Nov. 23 at 4 p.m.

Central Community Church, 3571 North Hermitage Rd.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Upon arriving in Brazil for the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit and a state visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping said he looks forward to further enhancing China-Brazil relations and is ready to work with all parties for an equal and orderly multi-polar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

Xi made the remarks in a written statement on Sunday, voicing expectations to have an in-depth exchange of views with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on promoting synergy of the two countries' development strategies, as well as international and regional issues of common interest.

Looking ahead to the G20 Leaders' Summit, Xi expressed hope that the G20 would play a greater role as an important platform for international economic cooperation.

HISTORICAL JUNCTURE

As China and Brazil celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year, relations between the two countries stand at an important historical juncture of building on past achievements and forging ahead, Xi said in the written statement.

Over the past 50 years, China-Brazil relations have withstood the test of a changing international landscape and become increasingly mature and vibrant, Xi said in a signed article published in Brazilian media outlet Folha de S. Paulo on Sunday.

In recent years, China and Brazil have continued to deepen political mutual trust, yielded fruitful results in practical cooperation, achieved flourishing people-to-people and cultural cooperation, and showed new vitality of the times in the traditional friendship, Xi said.

The two countries have also jointly made the just voice of the Global South in the international arena and made important contributions to promoting world peace and development, Xi added.

The dynamic relationship between China and Brazil has not only boosted their respective development but also contributed significantly to world peace and stability, having become a model for major developing countries to develop win-win cooperation and pursue a shared future, Xi said.

In a world undergoing an accelerating transformation unseen in a century, Xi said the two countries should stay the course of friendly relations, foster new growth drivers for mutually beneficial cooperation, solidify the foundation of people-to-people friendship, strengthen solidarity, support each other and fulfill their responsibilities as major countries.

"We must work together with others in the Global South to resolutely safeguard the developing nations' common interests, address global challenges through cooperation, and promote a global governance system that is fairer and more equitable," he said.

Xi said he believes his visit will further strengthen the two countries' strategic mutual trust, deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields and usher in a new "golden 50 years" for China-Brazil relations.

GREATER ROLE

This year's G20 Leaders' Summit, scheduled for Nov. 18-19, marks the first gathering of its kind since the accession of the African Union as a full member, a historic milestone that strengthens the voice of the Global South.

Envisioning a greater role for G20, Xi said he is ready to work with all parties to discuss plans and seek development, jointly advocate an equal and orderly multi-polar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

Javier Miranda, former president of Uruguay's Broad Front party, expressed his hope that this summit will mark a significant step toward building a multi-polar world -- one that fosters dialogue.

In a world fraught with wars and conflicts, the commitment to dialogue stands as one goal of this G20 meeting, he told Xinhua.

After taking over the G20 presidency, Brazil has established the summit theme as "Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet." Key priorities outlined by the Brazilian government include combating hunger, poverty, and inequality, advancing sustainable development, and driving reforms in global governance.

To build a just world, the G20 has to honor the principles of mutual respect, equal-footed cooperation and mutual benefit, and support Global South countries in achieving greater development, Xi said in the signed article.

"Development must be placed at the center of G20 cooperation," said the Chinese president, noting it is important to press ahead with the reform of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization and to increase the representation and voice of the Global South.

To build a sustainable planet, the G20 has to promote sustainable production and lifestyle as a way to achieve harmony between humanity and nature, Xi said.

Xi also pledged China's active support for the initiative of a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty proposed by Brazilian President Lula.

"As we gather at the G20 to address critical global issues such as governance, hunger, sustainability, and the environment, we recognize the crucial role of our partnership with China," said Rodrigo Castro, deputy secretary for Major Events and Promotion Actions of the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro.

Many of the solutions to address challenges faced by developing nations stem from ideas and practices already implemented in China, Castro said. "For us Brazilians who are hosting the G20 ... we are very proud to welcome the president and the entire Chinese delegation." 
(Getty Images)

Michael Waldner, of Madison, will lead the effort to establish the states local government cybersecurity grant program, Dakota State University announced in a news release Monday.

The Municipal Cybersecurity Grant Program, under the Attorney Generals Office and in partnership with the university, aims to strengthen cybersecurity infrastructure for South Dakota local governments.

Michael Waldner will serve as the director of the Municipal Cybersecurity Grant Program. (Courtesy of Dakota State University)

Even though the programs name focuses on municipalities, its open to cities and counties. The program will provide secure email solutions, technical support, risk assessments, and specialized training, based on the news release.

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The Legislature approved $7 million in funding for the program last winter as a response to mounting cybersecurity concerns among city and county governments. Many lack proper training and equipment to defend themselves and the taxpayer money and information theyre entrusted with.

Waldner previously directed South Dakotas centralized education email system, which is what lawmakers hoped to model the program after. Waldner held the role for nine years before leaving in 2008. He also served as project manager for FirstNet, the network used by law enforcement in the state. Most recently, he served as coordinator for the ConnectSD Broadband initiative, which aims to expand internet access statewide.

The need for a centralized local government email system has grown in recent years as local governments become larger targets for cybersecurity attacks.

Brown County suffered a cyberattack in 2021 affecting services, and the city of Sioux Falls sent two electronic payments to someone impersonating a vendor in 2018. Hutchinson County was hit by a ransomware attack in 2019, which temporarily shut down accounts that contained receipts and records for $4 million in county business, according to the Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan.

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This program is an important step toward making South Dakota a model of cybersecurity for the nation, Attorney General Marty Jackley said in the news release.

State and local governments experienced 148% more malware attacks and 51% more ransomware incidents during the first eight months of 2023, compared with the same period in 2022, according to a Center for Internet Security report.

The 2024 report on ransomware in state and local government identified a 51% drop in ransomware attacks, which is attributed to fewer governments paying ransoms, making them less attractive targets to cybercriminals. But when the attacks are successful, theyre growing more costly to local governments.

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The state effort is a four year program, set to end during the summer of 2028, according to the university. An advisory council including representatives from state, local and federal government departments and agencies, as well as cybersecurity organizations in the state, will provide assistance.

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The new FBI alert regarding racist text messages will be a topic at the Latin American Associations senior management meeting Monday morning.

Itll be interesting to see what happens this week, said CEO Santiago Marquez.

He wants to know if his team has been in contact with any metro Atlanta families that received e-mails or texts telling them they have been selected for deportation.

He said it is crucial to get ahead of misinformation, fear, and violence.

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Its fake, and I know for a lot of people, they may not know that, said Marquez.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The FBIs weekend alert said LGBTQIA+ communities are also getting texts. Those messages tell them to report to re-education camps.

The vile trend began with texts invoking slavery.

Channel 2 Action News spoke with African American and Black men, women, and students, as young as 13, who received the texts.

I was scared, said one 13-year-old.

Marquez said he is telling parents in his community to be sure to warn your children as well.

TRENDING STORIES:

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It can be very scary, and I understand that, said Marquez. So, yeah, please talk to your kids and let them know its not real.

He said this comes at a time when the Latin American Association is already helping families plan for immigration policy changes President-Elect Donald Trump promises in the new year.

He fears this could raise alarm even more.

Be on the lookout for valid information. Contact local non-profits, Latin American Association, Urban League, other non-profits that are out there serving the community. Call police, said Marquez. Talk to the school, of course, to make sure you have that support system that you need.

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By James Pomfret and Jessie Pang

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Hong Kong court will this week sentence 45 democratic campaigners in a major national security trial, with potentially heavy jail terms poised to further damage the financial hub's once lively pro-democracy movement, critics say.

In May, 14 of the 47 democrats were found guilty of the charge of conspiracy to commit subversion, and two were acquitted. Earlier, 31 had pleaded guilty, hoping for reduced sentences.

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The U.S. has described the trial and its guilty verdicts as "politically motivated", while demanding the defendants be released.

Hong Kong authorities say the legal process has been impartial, while condemning critical comments from Western democracies as baseless and "malicious smearing".

On Tuesday, three national security judges hand-picked by the government for this trial will conclude the legal saga that began with the democrats' arrests in January 2021. Jail terms are expected to range from several years for participants to possible life imprisonment for principal offenders.

The charges of conspiracy to commit subversion followed unofficial primary elections held in July 2020 to maximise the democrats' chances of winning a majority in an upcoming legislative council election.

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The convictions have silenced some of the most popular and determined pro-democratic voices, according to an examination of social media posts and interviews with lawyers and relatives of half a dozen defendants.

"This case has swept away the entire pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong," said Emilia Wong, the girlfriend of one of the defendants, Ventus Lau.

Prior to the trial, the democrats had existed in the space promised when Hong Kong returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula granting the city wide-ranging freedoms denied to those in mainland China.

But critics say this model suffered with China's imposition of a national security law in July 2020 after pro-democracy protests swept the city a year earlier.

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Beijing says it remains committed to this formula.

CAUGHT IN A "SINGLE NET"

"These people have undergone a kind of social death, and they are temporarily dead in the political arena. A single net has captured them all," said Wong, who has visited Lau in prison several hundred times since he was jailed in 2021.

Five relatives and friends of defendants interviewed by Reuters said they felt a sense of relief at reaching the sentencing after an extended legal limbo, which brought on mental and physical health issues for some.

One defendant, Eddie Chu, a former journalist, now suffers from glaucoma and sometimes cannot see clearly which affects his mood, according to his friend Debby Chan.

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John, the husband of Winnie Yu, another defendant, who did not wish to disclose his full name due to the sensitivity of the matter, said he stood by her decision to not plead guilty despite knowing the chance of acquittal was low.

"It's because she wants to say something," John told Reuters. "Stick to our beliefs, don't change our thoughts easily because of others, be ourselves ... I think this experience will be passed down for generations."

Some legal experts say the treatment of the democrats has been a departure from common law traditions. Most were denied bail, and they were all denied a jury trial.

"The 47 democrats verdict makes crystal clear that any such compatibility with human rights or the rule of law stops at the all-important legislative purpose of the national security law as a means to protect national security," said Urania Chiu, a doctoral legal researcher at Oxford University.

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China says the security laws were necessary to restore order after the mass protests of 2019.

Sarah Brooks, China director for Amnesty International, said there were parallels between this case and subversion trials against government critics in mainland China.

"Opposition is seen as dissent ... That is a remarkable about-face for Hong Kong."

Chan, the friend of Eddie Chu, said while the current national security legal system meant protesting or speaking out publicly was prohibited, many people maintained their desire for freedoms and democracy in private.

"The democratic movement in Hong Kong has now become invisible," she told Reuters. "Taking on another meaning and form."

(Reporting by James Pomfret and Jessie Pang; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KARK)  The long-awaited journey for 17-year-old Jose to find his forever family has now come to an end.

Cheering and crying filled the Ninth West Judicial Circuit Court and the Arkansas Department of Human Services conference room on Thursday as the judge declared Jose was now adopted, 6,183 days after entering Arkansas foster care system.

Jose suffered from shaken baby syndrome at the hands of a caretaker when he was just a baby, according to Project Zero, a non-profit coalition of adoption officials in Arkansas that aims to deliberately and purposefully pursue out-of-the-box ways to find forever families for kids in foster care who are waiting.

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His birth family took him to a care facility for the 24-hour care that he needed. When Jose was just 1 year old, his family gradually abandoned him, which is when the states foster care stepped in.

His life began to change when Dr. Mary Zhang stepped in.

When I first visited, my intention was to be an advocate for him, medically speaking, Dr. Zhang told Project Zero in a video shared with Nexstars KARK.

Jose suffered severe brain damage, is mostly paralyzed, is verbally and visually impaired, and requires a feeding tube, common symptoms of shaken baby syndrome, which is why Zhang was introduced.

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As we visited him more and more, we just knew that we wanted him a part of our family, Zhang said.

Saline County family adopts three siblings, sheds light on important need in foster care

Zhang shared with her husband her calling to adopt.

You know, you had kind of gotten to where he needs someone and I was like, Lets do it,' Patrick Sullivan told Project Zero.

Hes lived his entire life in a facility like I mean how do you, Zhang said.

Zhang and Sullivan said Jose was an answered prayer.

We want to be his support system, we want to be just a constant presence in his life, we want to pray over him all the time consistently, and we just want to try to do everything that we know that Jesus would do, Zhang explained.

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Thursday, under oath, Zhang and Sullivan declared their intentions to the judge to adopt Jose, and it was granted.

Meet Brecken, a 17-year-old hoping for a family who will embrace him for who he is

After nearly 17 years in the foster care system, Jose now has a family.

When we look into his eyes and rub his face, he knows that we love him, Zhang said.

Jose will remain in the facility to get the care that he needs, according to Project Zero. However, moving forward, it will be with the support and daily, loving visits from his new mom and dad.

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DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  A sergeant from the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office (MCSO) has died.

Sgt. Chris Williams | Montgomery County Sheriffs Office

According to MCSO, Christopher Scott Williams, 61, died on Nov. 15 after having served with the MCSO for 29 years. Williams recently served as sergeant at the Montgomery County Regional Dispatch Center.

Chris is irreplaceable and our office is devastated by his sudden and unexpected passing, said the MCSO. Our condolences are with Sgt. Williams family, friends, and all those grieving this heartbreaking loss.

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In his obituary, it is said Williams enjoyed doing many things outside of work including spending time with friends, family and animals. He also enjoyed fishing with friends.

From 3-5 p.m. on Dec. 7, a Celebration of Life will be held for Williams at 3380 Dayton-Xenia Road in Beavercreek.

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Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Residents of a seaside town in England are being asked to keep an eye out for a flamingo chick that flew the coop from a local zoo.

The Paignton Zoo said on social media that staff discovered a young bird missing from its enclosure on Sunday.

"One of our curious Flamingo chicks has decided that it wanted to explore the local area this afternoon," the post said. "The keepers would like to reunite it with the rest of their family. If you see it around, please can you let Paignton Zoo know."

A spokesperson for the zoo said the flamingo chick is a 4-month-old fledgling and is learning how to fly.
Are you among the legions of Americans expected to begin their holiday shopping this month? As you make your plans, keep in mind that not everyone may be as fortunate.

Surveys by RetailMeNot, an online service tracking shopping trends and deals, showed about 30% of respondents planned to start their holiday shopping in November, which is seen as the traditional gateway to the shopping season. While shoppers differed on exactly when to begin shopping, the majority agreed that budgetary concerns, both rising prices and how to fit holiday gift-giving into their budget, were among the biggest factors influencing their shopping habits this year. And, some do not have the means to do any holiday shopping at all.

Here are some ways you can help those in the community in need this holiday season.

La Plaza

What to know: La Plaza provides support to Latino youth and families. Staff and volunteers work with the families to create wish lists with the names, ages and gift requests of children and adults in each family in its holiday Adopt-A-Family Program. Sponsors can do the shopping and wrapping and drop off gifts to La Plaza (8902 E. 38th St.) or coordinate to drop off toys directly with the family. Alternatively, sponsors can make a financial contribution and La Plaza staff will shop and wrap gifts. Sponsors should spend at least $50 per family member.

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When: Families will be matched with donors before Thanksgiving.

How to get involved: Email Cesar Jones (cesar@laplaza-indy.org) by Nov. 18 to express interest. Please include your name, budget, requested family size and type, if you have a preference (for instance, you can request a single father, single mother, etc.).

Damar Services

What to know: There are multiple volunteer opportunities to help Damar Services, which serves Hoosier children and adults with developmental, behavioral and intellectual disabilities and their families. Volunteers are needed to shop for and wrap gifts for 200 children who call the agency home. If interested, you can join Damar representatives in mid-December at the Camby Meijer, 10509 Heartland Blvd., to go shopping using provided wish lists. All items purchased will be paid for by Damar donors.

When: Multiple slots are available for volunteers who want to shop and wrap on Dec. 10-11. Activities will take place from 3-7:30 p.m. both days.

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How to get involved: Sign up to volunteer at bit.ly/3YLPvnA.

From Christmas 2021: Damar Village's unofficial mayor takes pride in his home

Kids' Voice of Indiana

What to know: Kids' Voice of Indiana provides court-appointed advocacy services for Marion County youth affected by the justice or family welfare systems. Last year's holiday assistance program served more than 750 children and youth, and the agency's goal for this year is to serve 1,000. There are a few ways to get involved:

Sponsor holiday gifts. The agency has collected more than 800 holiday wish lists and is still recruiting potential sponsors to make those requests happen. Each sponsor is asked to provide $100-$200 of support.

Host a toy drive. The agency will make extra toys and gifts available for staff and volunteers to "shop" for children whose holiday requests remain unfulfilled. Those interested can host toy drives at places like offices, businesses or houses of worship.

Donate. If you'd rather give money than go shopping, you can do so at givebutter.com/kidsvoicein.

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When: Sponsors should plan to drop off unwrapped gifts from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 7 at the FlexPAC warehouse, 6075 Lakeside Blvd. If hosting a toy drive, coordinate drop-off of gifts by Dec. 13 with the agency.

How to get involved: Sign up to be a sponsor at kidsvoicein.org/holidaysponsor. For more information about hosting a toy drive, email Director of Development Zachary Alexander at zalexander@kidsvoicein.org.

The Salvation Army Angel Tree

What to know: Each year, The Salvation Army connects donors with "angels," or children in need, to ensure they get personalized gifts for the holidays. Sponsors will be able to see a child's wish list, which includes toys, socks and underwear. Shoppers should expect to spend a minimum of $100 on gifts.

When: Unwrapped gifts must be dropped off by Dec. 6 at one of the following locations Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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Eagle Creek Corps & Community Center at 4400 High School Road

The Salvation Army Indiana Headquarters at 6060 Castleway West Drive

How to get involved: Go to bit.ly/4hEYgIv to start the process of selecting your angels. To learn more about how to sponsor a child, shop or donate, visit sacentralindiana.org/angeltree.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis

What to know: Last Hanukkah, the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis' Adopt-a-Family program served more than 300 Hoosiers, including 175 children and teens. There are two ways to get involved:

Interested sponsors can sign up to adopt a family or individual online and drop off or ship gifts directly to Jewish Family Services (6905 Hoover Road) weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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Volunteers can join JFS and JFGI in wrapping gifts at Community Day, 1-3 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Jewish Community Center's Laikin Auditorium (6701 Hoover Road).

When: Gifts should be received by JFS by Dec. 13. However, because there may be unfulfilled family wish lists by the time the holiday starts on Dec. 25, there may be opportunities to get involved even after the suggested deadline.

How to get involved: Register for Adopt-A-Family or as a Community Day volunteer at jewishindianapolis.org/adoptafamily. Contact Rachel Katz at rkatz@jfgi.org with any questions.

The Villages of Indiana

What to know: The Villages is one of Indiana's largest nonprofit child services agencies, with offices around the state serving more than 3,000 children and youth a day. There are a few ways you can help:

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Purchase items from the agency's Amazon Holiday Wish List (amzn.to/4hAPSd9) and ship them directly to The Villages. Items purchased from the wish list will be distributed to Villages offices around the state.

Host a holiday gift drive at your business, office, school, club or house of worship. See the Holiday Wish List (bit.ly/3NYy91K) for more.

Sponsor a family via the agency's Family Connection Network, which supports kinship caregivers such as siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles raising their young family members. Families vary from two to eight members, and the suggested donation is $100 per family member. All gifts must be new and unwrapped, and the agency asks that these gifts not be purchased from dollar stores. Fill out a sponsorship form at villageskids.org/spiritofgiving to get started.

When: Gifts must be delivered to your nearest Villages office by Dec. 9. The mailing address for the Indianapolis office is 3833 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46208. To find the office nearest you, visit villageskids.org/contact-us.

How to get involved: To learn more about each of the giving options and to get involved, visit villageskids.org/spiritofgiving.

The Damien Center

What to know: The Damien Center is the state's oldest and largest AIDS service organization, serving Hoosiers and families affected by HIV. About 150 clients at the center have requested assistance with meals or gifts this holiday season. There are two ways to get involved:

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Donate $50 to sponsor food assistance or gifts for one individual.

Adopt a family and go shopping. Sponsors will be matched with a client family and receive a wish list from which to shop. The agency suggests spending around $50 per family member.

When: Regardless of how you choose to give, prospective donors should fill out the donor interest form at bit.ly/3O0yyAw by Dec. 2. Gifts and gift cards can be dropped off at the center's administration building, 3909 N. Meridian St., on Dec. 2-9 during regular business hours (Monday-Thursday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.).

How to get involved: Learn more about the holiday assistance program at damien.org/holiday-assistance. Email Lauren Wyatt with any questions at lwyatt@damien.org.

Contact IndyStar pop culture reporter Holly Hays at holly.hays@indystar.com. Follow her on X/Twitter: @hollyvhays.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Holiday shopping 2024: How to help Indianapolis kids, families this season
Police and the family of a young girl who left for school but never arrived last week are turning to the public for help in locating her.

According to a Los Angeles Police Department missing juvenile bulletin, 14-year-old Promise Harvey was last seen heading to school near the 300 block of 88th Place in South Los Angeles on the morning of Nov. 14.

She was reported missing by her family the following morning at 6 a.m. after it was discovered that she never made it to school.

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While it was not disclosed which exact school Promise attended, the 300 block of 88th Place is adjacent to the campuses of Watts Learning Center Middle School and Mervyn M. Dymally High School.

Family devastated after loved one fatally shot in South L.A.

Promise is described as standing 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 110 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a pink shirt, tan pants and black and blue shoes.

Anyone who has seen Promise or has any information regarding her whereabouts is urged to contact the LAPDs Missing Persons Unit by calling 213-996-1800. During non-business hours, calls should be directed to 1-800-527-3247.

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To submit an anonymous tip, call L.A. Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or go directly to www.lacrimestoppers.org

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The Louisiana Senate approved two bills Monday that would partially restore lawmakers ability to delay certain court proceedings when it conflicts with their legislative schedule. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)

The Louisiana Senate approved two bills Monday that would partially restore lawmakers ability to delay certain court proceedings when it conflicts with their legislative schedule.

The measures come after the state Supreme Court declared a similar law unconstitutional that applied to legislators who are attorneys.

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No senators voted against Senate Bill 7 by Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, or Senate Bill 9 by Sen. Greg Miller, R-Norco. The proposal will go next before a House committee. Luneau and Miller are attorneys who supported each others bills in the hopes that one would make it through the entire legislative process.

The proposals are a narrower version of what the Supreme Court struck down. They apply to attorney-lawmakers who might need to delay court proceedings due to legislative duties and when legislators are personally party to a court proceeding.

If either of the bills pass, they would override guidance the Supreme Court issued.

Both bills include safeguards that did not exist in the original law, including allowing opposing counsel to challenge a legislators request for a delay and excluding certain types of court proceedings.

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Cases involving child custody, domestic violence and protective orders are among the types of hearings for which legislators cannot seek delays.

If either proposal becomes law, a judge could deny the request for a delay if its determined the attorney-legislator was seeking it for an improper purpose or if the opposing party would suffer substantial and immediate harm if the delay is granted.

The Supreme Court threw out the original continuance law in response to a case involving law partners Sen. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport, and Rep. Michael Melerine, R-Shreveport, during a personal injury case.. Their opposing counsel argued that the lawmakers had held up a case for years through legislative continuances.

Seabaugh was not present for the vote on either bill or for the committee hearing on the bill last week.

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People wait to buy bread at a bakery in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Nov. 18, 2024. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on Monday that due to critical shortages of flour, all eight UN-supported bakeries in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis have been operating at diminished capacity for weeks, and many have been forced to shut down entirely. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

GAZA, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- A 109-truck UN convoy carrying food supplies was "violently looted" on Saturday after entering Gaza, the UN agency for Palestine refugees said on Monday.

Most of the trucks, 97 in total, were lost and drivers were forced at gunpoint to unload aid, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on the social media platform X.

"The Israeli authorities continue to disregard their legal obligations under international law to ensure the population's basic needs are met and to facilitate the safe delivery of aid. Such responsibilities continue when trucks enter the Gaza Strip, until people are reached with essential assistance," the UNRWA said.

The UN agency added that due to critical shortages of flour, all eight UN-supported bakeries in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis have been operating at diminished capacity for weeks, and many have been forced to shut down entirely.

"Without immediate intervention, severe food shortages are set to worsen, further endangering the lives of over 2 million people who depend on humanitarian aid to survive," it added. 

People wait to buy bread at a bakery in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Nov. 18, 2024. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on Monday that due to critical shortages of flour, all eight UN-supported bakeries in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis have been operating at diminished capacity for weeks, and many have been forced to shut down entirely. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People wait to buy bread at a bakery in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Nov. 18, 2024. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on Monday that due to critical shortages of flour, all eight UN-supported bakeries in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis have been operating at diminished capacity for weeks, and many have been forced to shut down entirely. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People wait to buy bread at a bakery in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Nov. 18, 2024. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on Monday that due to critical shortages of flour, all eight UN-supported bakeries in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis have been operating at diminished capacity for weeks, and many have been forced to shut down entirely. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People wait to buy bread at a bakery in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Nov. 18, 2024. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on Monday that due to critical shortages of flour, all eight UN-supported bakeries in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis have been operating at diminished capacity for weeks, and many have been forced to shut down entirely. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People wait to buy bread at a bakery in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Nov. 18, 2024. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on Monday that due to critical shortages of flour, all eight UN-supported bakeries in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis have been operating at diminished capacity for weeks, and many have been forced to shut down entirely. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
GEORGE COUNTY, Miss. (WHLT)  George County deputies said a 38-year-old man has been charged with distributing child pornography.

Deputies said they executed a search warrant at the home of Justin Johnson on November 14. He was charged with one count of distribution of child pornography.

Woman killed, four hurt in Walthall County shooting

This investigation is being led by the Mississippi Attorney Generals Office.

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We remain committed to supporting this ongoing investigation and ensuring justice is served, said George County Sheriff Mitchell Mixon.

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French President Emmanuel Macron has conceded that he may have a telephone conversation with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

Source: French newspaper Le Figaro, citing Macron before his departure from Buenos Aires, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The French president stressed that he had "never ruled out" resuming talks with the Kremlin leader.

At the same time, Macron emphasised that he would do so "when the context and conditions are right".

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In light of the latest large-scale Russian missile attack on Ukraine, Macron said Putin "does not want peace" and "is not ready to negotiate it".

"After this attack, one of the most intense since the beginning of the conflict, I believe it's clear that Putin's intention is to intensify the fighting," he said.

In this context, Macron added, "we must honour our commitments to the Ukrainians; in other words, enable them to wage this war of resistance, and deliver weapons and equipment".

Commenting on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's call to Putin, Macron said, "I think that every leader is absolutely free to take their own initiatives".

Background:

On the afternoon of 15 November, it was reported that Scholz had spoken to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin for the first time in two years. At the time, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy labelled the call a "Pandora's box".

In his turn, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk noted that the latest large-scale Russian missile attack on Ukraine proved the ineffectiveness of telephone diplomacy.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer indicated that he had no plans to speak to Putin himself.

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Out of all the items seized by the FBI in a raid on the downstate Quincy home of Michael McClain in May 2019, one stood out.

Inside a monogrammed tote bag in McClains silver Toyota Avalon were handwritten notes scrawled on stationery from a Chicago boutique hotel, listing the names of allies of then-House Speaker Michael Madigan whod gone on to lucrative lobbying careers.

Among the five pages was a printed email from McClain, one of Madigans closest confidants, describing the pages as a Magic Lobbyist List and using his favorite euphemism of Friend to refer to the speaker. The recipients of the email had been blind-copied, hiding their names.

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So since I dont roam the halls like I use to do I do not have the same on site engagement that I use to have, read the email, which was shown to jurors Monday in the corruption trial of Madigan and McClain. A Friend of ours and myself have gone through the magic list and frankly culled quite a few names There are now a little less than two dozen on the list.

McClain went on to ask the recipient of the email for help fishing for potential clients.

If you have a potential client come up to you and seek you as a lobbyist but you cannot for whatever reason please engage him/her and try to get him or her to consider a recommendation from you, McClain wrote. Please call me then and I will have a conversation with someone and get back to you asap.

Federal prosecutors say McClains list of lobbyists is powerful evidence that McClain was secretly helping a select group of former Madigan staffers, associates and allies get business  and that the speaker was aware of the effort.

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The magic list included one page with a shorter bunch of names broken into sections headed by a different number of plus symbols in an apparent rating system. Among them were former top Madigan political gurus Michael Thomson, Shaw Decremer, Bill Filan and Tom Cullen, along with Will Cousineau, who testified for prosecutors earlier in the trial.

Other pages of the list named other longtime Madigan associates who have surfaced in the trial, such as top Madigan legal counsel Mike Kasper, lawyer and political consultant Victor Reyes, former legislators John Bradley, Annazette Collins and Toni Berrios, whose father, Joe Berrios, was the Cook County assessor and Democratic chair.

One page of the list also had a circle around the name of Nancy Kimme, the former chief of staff for Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka who became a key Republican lobbyist with the ability to reach out to both sides of the political aisle.

Kimme is expected to testify later in the trial about an effort to pass legislation transferring a parcel of land in Chinatown to developers who allegedly were being pressured to hire Madigans law firm. She testified in the trial of longtime Madigan aide Tim Mapes that she understood that Madigan supported the transfer, and she talked often with McClain about it.

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Another document found in one of McClains tote bags was a handwritten note that appeared to lay out McClains recent duties in assisting Madigan, since McClain had ostensibly retired in 2016 but continued to accept special political assignments from the speaker.

Speaker: available 24/7 (calls), read the note, which was also shown in court. The second page of the note had the header Special Assignments followed by names and phrases including: Members / lobbyists wishing to visit with MJM/Mapes, a reference to the speaker and Mapes, his then-chief of staff.

Another header read Diversion/Saving Speaker and Mapes, an apparent reference to the sexual harassment scandal that had engulfed the speakers operation in 2018.

Madigan, 82, of Chicago, who served for decades as speaker of the Illinois House and the head of the state Democratic Party, faces racketeering charges alleging he ran his state and political operations like a criminal enterprise.

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Both Madigan and McClain, 77, a former ComEd contract lobbyist from downstate Quincy, have pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.

The trial, which began Oct. 8, had originally been slated to end before the Christmas holiday. On Monday, however, U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey let the jury know for the first time that the case was behind schedule and now is expected to last until mid-January.

I do apologize for being a little bit off in my estimate, the judge told the panel.

In other testimony Monday, a former forensic accountant for the FBI testified that she combed over a slew of documents and found that ComEd made more than $1.3 million in indirect payments to clout-heavy subcontractors from 2011 to 2019.

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Prosecutors allege the utility used pass-through contractors to hide the fact that they were paying Madigans allies to do little or no work. Executives would add money to existing contracts, like that of consultant Jay Doherty, who would then pass the money down to the subcontractors, prosecutors have said.

Doherty was convicted last year in the ComEd Four bribery trial along with McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore and ComEd executive and lobbyist John Hooker.

Among the biggest beneficiaries of the arrangement was Ed Moody, a legendary 13th Ward precinct captain and Madigan loyalist who is expected to testify for prosecutors later in the trial. Over the years he was paid nearly $355,000 through various subcontracts, according to FBI Special Agent Katharine Heide.

Another precinct captain, Ray Nice, got even more, collecting a total of $415,000 from 2012 to 2019, Heide said.

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Frank Olivo, former 13th Ward alderman, received $368,000, and former state Rep. Eddie Acevedo was paid $120,000, according to Heides testimony.

As Dohertys administrative assistant, Janet Gallegos had a close-up view of the way ComEds payments to Doherty ballooned. She testified Monday that over the years, Olivo, Nice, Moody and former 23rd Ward Ald. Michael Zalewski were added one by one to the list of people to whom Gallegos sent checks. ComEds monthly payments to Doherty increased as subcontractors were added and decreased as they were removed.

None of the subcontractors submitted detailed invoices to Dohertys firm that itemized any work they had done, Gallegos said, and Doherty never explained the arrangement.

In 2018, a ComEd employee for the first time asked Gallegos to provide an explanation for an additional $5,000 per month added to Dohertys contract, Gallegos testified. The bump was to cover Zalewskis subcontract, Gallegos said, but the explanation Doherty gave to the ComEd employee mentioned nothing of the sort, according to emails shown to the jury.

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Zalewski never even sent invoices to Dohertys firm, said Gallegos, who testified she knew Zalewski was a retired alderman but nothing else about him.

I met him a couple times, Gallegos testified. Once he picked up a check, a payment at our office, the other time I think as a Christmas gift he gave me a ham.

In April 2019, after the payments from ComEd to Doherty had been delayed for months due to bureaucratic hurdles, Zalewski sent an email to Gallegos noting that he and Doherty would be meeting soon with their mutual friend  an apparent reference to Madigan.

Im very grateful for what everyone has done to help me. Should I bring up the delay to him? Zalewski wrote. The last check I received was November of last year. Please know I AM NOT complaining but I know hes going to ask me.

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On cross-examination by Madigan attorney Lari Dierks, Gallegos acknowledged Doherty never asked her to keep the subcontractor arrangement under wraps, and nothing about it seemed secretive.

Dierks also showed jurors lobbying registration paperwork for Nice and Olivo and noted that it was all publicly available documentation.

Before the trial broke for the day, FBI Special Agent Kyle Scherrer testified about what was seized from Doherty during the raid on his Streeterville condo, which occurred on the same day as the McClain search.

Agents extracted text messages from Dohertys cellphone in which he mentioned the subcontractors to Pramaggiore using quotation marks. Anne, for some reason we did not get paid in June, one 2014 test explained. Please check on this as I want to pay our subcontractors today, if possible.

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Also recovered from Dohertys phone was a voicemail left by McClain on Oct. 9, 2016, the day after Moody had been appointed to the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

I talked to the speaker, uh, speaker talked to Ed Moody and so speaker suggested Ed and you get together and talk cause ya know, hes got some disclosure things hes gonna have to do at the county board level, McClain said on the recording.

An hour and a half later, Moody called and left a voicemail of his own, which was also played for the jury. Hey, Jay, this is, uh, Ed Moody calling. Uh, the Speaker wanted me to reach out to you, uh, if you wouldnt mind returning my call.

Prosecutors allege that to avoid raising eyebrows, Moodys payments were moved three weeks later from Dohertys account to Decremer, who did not lobby the city or county.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com
Comedian and TV host Bill Maher butted heads with Star Trek actor and author William Shatner over whether Vice President Harris was a great candidate in a new podcast.

Shatner joined Mahers Club Random podcast in an episode released Sunday in which they discuss the presidential election and Harriss defeat.

She was not a great candidate, lets be honest, Maher said, as highlighted by Mediaite.

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Why isnt she a great candidate? Shatner asked. She combined several trends of thought here, Black, woman.

Thats not a candidate.  Thats identity politics, Maher responded.

Shatner argued that those are elements of a candidate.

Maher admitted that there are some people who are tribal, that will vote for someone who looks the most like them. But he said the election results proved that candidates have to go a lot further than emphasizing their identity.

You cant just be woman, Black person. I mean, Trump got a quarter of Black men, Maher said.

Democrats dont understand their own constituencies, Maher added, echoing sentiments coming from various corners of the Democratic tent following the bruising election, which gave Republicans control of the White House and both chambers of Congress.

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Maher pointed to Hispanic voters, who shifted significantly to Trump over the past four years.

If youre a Mexican American, who do you fear taking your job? The guy who just came in through the border. Of course they like the guy who says, Im going to keep everybody out, Maher said.

Maher said he believes Democrats could have won the election if President Biden had stepped aside earlier and held a true primary season instead of anointing Harris at the last minute.

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Nov. 18With more than 100 ships docking in Portland last year, Maine is looking to cut pollution from diesel fumes by electrifying the downtown port and others in the state.

Depending on the project that's selected, the power grids could be pressed into service to generate a significant amount of electricity. Powering as many as three ships in Portland alone could require the same amount of energy it would take to light up to 25,000 homes.

To figure out the details, Maine is launching a $1 million study to determine the scope and cost of electrifying ports in Eastport, Portland, Searsport and Rockland. The state Department of Transportation received the money from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine how much pollution the ships emit, how to reduce emissions and how the electric grid could handle greater demand for power.

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The "primary focus" will be on the Eastport, Portland and Searsport ports. Rockland also will be studied because it's a popular destination for small coastal cruise ships and will be a "case study for similar shore power projects" in Maine, the Department of Transportation said in an announcement this month.

The study will be a first step toward applying for more money  if it's available  to finance port improvements.

"This is good work for us from the planning side so we're ready when funding becomes available," said Matthew Burns, deputy director in the office of freight and business logistics at the state Department of Transportation. "We'll at least know what's needed, if there's enough juice in the overall grid."

The demand for electricity at the port of Portland would be significant, with three docking sites off Thames Street cited as possibilities. Avangrid Inc., the parent company of Central Maine Power that services Portland, said electricity demand for a maximum of three ships powered at the same time would be 25 megawatts  the equivalent of lighting 20,000 to 25,000 homes.

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"We have to think carefully about grid capacity and what's needed to upgrade the grid, to get power to the ships and wharves," Burns said.

Officials "don't yet understand how to foot the bill for these improvements," but Maine would look at ports internationally to figure out ways to pay for the grid upgrade, he said. The study also will point to other methods to provide power, such as microgrids, which are small-scale power systems.

Last year, 118 ships visited Portland with an average docking time of eight hours, or nearly 1,000 hours of running onboard generators to power lights, heating and air conditioning, elevators and galleys on the ships, the state Department of Transportation said.

"It's like running a large hotel," Burns said.

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That level of energy consumption is equal to more than 4,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Shore power can reduce the emissions by up to 98%, the state said.

ESTIMATING COSTS

Electrifying the ports could be costly, depending on the scope of the work.

Avangrid has offered three possibilities for Portland. One proposal, requiring less than one year of work, would supply 2 megawatts using current distribution capacity at a cost of about $200,000. That's the maximum that can be supported by the current electrical system, CMP said.

A second option would be to build a substation with the required distribution circuits for up to $60 million to support 9 MW and 14 MW berths. The project would take about 10 years.

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The third  and costliest  project would be to find a site to build a substation and distribution circuits with a transmission line. Expedited over about seven years, the project would cost about $346 million.

CMP said it's already advocating for a new substation to support growing electricity load, which could take up to 10 years to review and complete.

Avangrid was not asked to provide similar estimates for Searsport and Rockland, said Jon Breed, a CMP spokesperson.

"At the request of the city, CMP prepared a technical analysis of the Portland-area power grid so that decision-makers can begin to consider cost ranges and timelines of different shore power options," he said.

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The Eastport project would be run through Versant Power, which services that area. Spokeswoman Judy Long said Versant has not established whether costs were estimated for the port at Eastport. If costs were estimated, the information would be for the benefit of the port and not be publicly available, she said.

PORTLAND COMPROMISE UNFINISHED

Portland voters in 2022 rejected a ballot measure that would have required cruise ships to get permits to disembark passengers, and no more than 1,000 people would have been allowed to disembark ships each day.

A compromise set aside the proposed passenger limit and instead would have required the city to install shoreside electrical power stations for cruise ships by 2028. It also sought to impose a $2.50 per passenger charge on cruise ships to help defray the cost of the power stations and implement a shoreline power study.

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And it would have established a task force proposing recommendations to the City Council on waterfront labor and shoreside power and to study the economic impacts of the cruise ship industry.

Jessica Grondin, the city's spokesperson, said Wednesday in an email that the proposals did not involve the city, and nothing was adopted by the voters or the City Council "to bind us to this at that time."

Twenty-nine ports around the world offer at least one cruise berth with shore power, the Department of Transportation said. Another 36 are expected to have similar facilities by 2026. To highlight the scope of the issue, the state said Royal Caribbean reported visiting more than 1,000 destinations globally in 2023.

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I do feel confident that with the changes that weve made to our policies, to our practices and to our technology that another audit would produce different results, said OCFS Director Bobbi Johnson. (Photo by Getty Images)

A federal audit of Maines child welfare system found that more than nine out of 10 abuse and neglect investigations failed to comply with best practices in assessing a childs safety or wellbeing.

After reviewing a sample of reported child abuse or neglect cases from 2021 and 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General found that Maine did not comply with at least one requirement for the immediate screening, risk and safety assessments, and investigations in 94% of cases.

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Failure to comply with requirements places the childrens health and safety at risk, states a report on the agencys findings released earlier this month.

The audit is the latest illustration of how Maines child welfare system has faced scrutiny for its failures in recent years, including during the last legislative session when there were numerous recommendations for improvements and an unsuccessful attempt to restructure the system. Earlier this year, the states Office of Child and Family Services came under new leadership that has brought about changes it hopes will quell the concerns.

In the time that has passed since the specific abuse and neglect investigations, the state Department of Health and Human Services, which houses the child welfare agency, has taken steps to address staff workload concerns, improve the problematic software system and update procedures, according to a letter in response to the audits findings from Commissioner Sara Gagne-Holmes.

I do feel confident that with the changes that weve made to our policies, to our practices and to our technology that another audit would produce different results, said OCFS Director Bobbi Johnson, adding that she appreciates that the audit gave the agency an opportunity to learn more and look critically at Maines child welfare system.

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Since Johnson was appointed as director in January, she has worked to improve the agency. Johnson said she has visited all of the OCFS district offices to hear from staff and has met with families and youth who have been involved with the system to learn from their experiences.

Confusion over policy, software system

The audit is part of a series from the federal inspector general examining how states are complying with Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act requirements. Maine was selected based on the agencys risk assessment and a report by the Maine Child Welfare Ombudsman that identified substantial issues with adhering to best practices and policies.

The federal agency reviewed reports of child abuse and neglect filed in the state child welfare information system between October 2021 and September 2022. The audit looked at a random sample of 100 cases that were among the more than 10,700 reports filed in that timeframe.

Only six of the cases complied with all of the requirements around immediate screening, safety and investigation.

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Among the cases out of compliance, the state nearly always failed to send a letter to each parent/caregiver or person responsible for the child within 10 days of the investigation finding decision. This happened in 92 cases.

Per department policy, this notification must be sent regardless of the outcome of the investigation. However, the inspector general report said OCFS officials stated they were unaware that the policy required written notification for every case, even if the reports of abuse were unsubstantiated.

In almost 60% of cases where a notification letter was reported as not having been sent, there was evidence to support the reports of abuse and neglect. However, Johnson explained to Maine Morning Star that the agency was able to produce most of these notification letters, but didnt have documentation proving that they had been mailed.

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However, notification letters werent the only issue of noncompliance. In about three out of every five cases reviewed, safety assessments were not completed. Other issues included not completing investigations and safety assessments within the required timeline, failing to conduct initial interviews with children and adults, and failing to complete a safety plan.

As for cases that missed the safety assessment timeline, OCFS officials explained to the inspector general that staff faced a steep learning curve with the new child welfare information system, known as Katahdin.

The inspector general report said the state gave many reasons for not complying, such as not understanding the requirements, staffing issues and technical difficulties with the information system.

OCFS launched the new child welfare software system in January 2022  during the timeframe for which cases were included in the audit. While Katahdin was meant to replace an antiquated system, it was clunky and cumbersome. A report from the ombudsman brought the issues to light last December, and the agency has since said it has worked on improving the technology.

Ideas to improve Maines child welfare system

The inspector general report included five recommendations for the Office of Child and Family Services to improve upon the findings from the audit.

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The first suggestion is additional training for caseworkers and supervisors, while the other four are to develop certain written policies and procedures that could address some of the noncompliance themes found in the audit. For example, there was a recommendation to require documentation in the child welfare software system to show that notification letters were sent.

OCFS agreed with the recommendations and described how it has or plans to take action to address them.

The recommendations reflect many of the important steps OCFS has already taken, or is in the process of implementing, to improve our system of screening, investigating, and responding to reports of alleged abuse and/or neglect, Gagne-Holmes wrote in her response.

As for the notification letter recommendation, the agency said it is working to update the child welfare software system to automatically create that correspondence and prompt staff to document when it sends the letters.

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Throughout the year, OCFS has updated the Maine Legislature on changes at the agency, especially those targeting the staffing shortage that was a major concern of the Legislatures Government Oversight Committee.

In July, Johnson reported fewer vacancies for caseworkers and case aides, highlighting a number of incentives that she believed are improving retention. And in September, there were reports of improved support for foster families and the agency contracted with a second child abuse pediatrician for increased capacity for consultations.

When systems transformation is happening, part of what you do is that you continue to provide the best quality service to the families that we are serving today while we also look to continue to improve how we provide those services to families that may need our interventions in the future, Johnson said.

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A 28-year-old man was shot on Interstate 95 near Maryland Route 216 in Laurel on Monday morning.

Troopers responded around 4:30 a.m. and found the victim lying on the shoulder of I-95 with gunshot wounds, Maryland State Police said. He was taken to Shock Trauma where he is being treated for injuries, police said.

Investigators believe the suspect and the victim knew each other and are not sure if the shooting happened inside or outside the car, police said.

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Northbound lanes on Interstate 95 had reopened by around 9:20 a.m., state police said.

The Maryland State Highway Administration said there were major traffic issues on I-95 as all northbound lanes remained closed during the morning rush hour between Exit 31A for the Intercounty Connector and Exit 33A for Route 198, also known as Sandy Spring Road. Some lanes were reopened after 9 a.m., according to the Maryland Department of Transportation.

Have a news tip? Contact Dan Belson at dbelson@baltsun.com, 443-790-4827, on X as @DanBelson_ or on Signal as @danbels.62.
(Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images)

The Colorado State Board of Education maintained a majority of members who are sympathetic to charter schools following the November election, meaning that the boards approach to charter school appeals could look similar to its current behavior.

The State Board of Education oversees the Colorado Department of Education and is responsible for setting curriculum standards and overseeing test scores. Additionally, when a local school board denies a charter schools application, the school can appeal to the Board of Education, which has increasingly sided with charter schools over the last several years.

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Democrats will now hold a 5-4 majority on the board, down from 6-3, having lost the 8th Congressional District seat to the Democratic incumbents Republican challenger, Yazmin Navarro. Navarros win also determined that pro-charter members would maintain a majority, as board chair Rebecca McClellan, a Democrat representing the 6th Congressional District, has shown more support for charter schools than some of her Democratic peers.

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The board includes one member from each of Colorados eight congressional districts and one at-large member, elected to staggered six-year terms. Republicans Sherri Wright held onto her seat representing the 3rd Congressional District and Kristi Burton Brown, former chair of the Colorado Republican Party, was elected to represent the 4th Congressional District. Democrat Kathy Gebhardt will represent the 2nd Congressional District after running unopposed, netting a gain for charter school critics.

But because Navarro defeated incumbent Democratic board member Rhonda Solis, who is more critical of charter schools, pro-charter members maintained their 5-4 majority despite the gain Gebhardts election represented.

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Colorado voters rejected a ballot measure that would have established school choice as a constitutional right. But because school choice is already established in Colorado law, little will be different compared to how school choice is currently approached.

Success of all students

Gebhardt said shes really disappointed that people see board of education members as strictly pro- or anti-charter school. She said people are not looking at the actual facts of what happened at the state board, and its a lot of opinion and scare tactics.

Gebhardt said she hopes to see the board continue to review each charter school application individually based on what the school intends to offer. When reviewing charter school appeals, she said she will look at how the school is serving all students, their financial viability, and how theyre serving a unique need within the district.

I dont see a bias one way or the other, thats what Im hoping, she said. She added that she doesnt believe that the structure of the school is what determines the outcome of the school.

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Navarro said her goals on the board are to protect school choice and parental rights, empower teachers and maintain high academic standards. She said she believes each board member brings their own expertise and experience and that theyll come up with the best ideas to support the success of all students in Colorado.

I just hope that we can all work together and that we dont politicize education, and that we move forward, Navarro said. The people that Ive spoken with on the board already, I can hear they have the heart set for children, and I think theyre going to be amazing coworkers, colleagues.

Navarro said she will look for how charter schools will be successful when reviewing appeals on the board, and that they are abiding by all requirements, just like a regular public school.

McClellan said in a statement that she is excited to welcome new board members and to continue working with returning board members to support the academic growth and achievement of all Colorado students.

Uncertain times

Dan Schaller, president of Colorado League of Charter Schools, the states nonprofit member organization for charter schools, said having a state board that is fair and objective when reviewing charter school appeals is critically important to his organization. He said looking at how the state board has handled past charter appeals, it has sided with the district 50% of the time and the charter school 50% of the time.

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We are glad to see that historically the State Board of Education has been a fair arbiter of determinations and decisions about charter schools, Schaller said. Were very interested and involved in trying to maintain that fair, objective balance.

Kevin Vick, president of the Colorado Education Association, the states largest teachers union, said hes encouraged by all the board members willingness to engage in productive conversations about the future of Colorado schools and that he hopes they work to protect and support all students.

Especially in these sorts of uncertain times around what may be forthcoming with schools, the board has a special responsibility to protect the students, Vick said, and Im hoping that they rise to that occasion and do whats needed to make sure that all our students in Colorado are safe when theyre at school.

Accountability and funding

A task force established by the Colorado Legislature last week presented the state board with a report on its recommended changes to the states school accountability system.

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I look forward to that work a lot, because I think accountability systems are an important part of our system and letting our public know how our schools are doing and where were doing well and where we need to improve, Gebhardt said.

Vick said he wants to see more balance and open conversation when it comes to accountability and innovation for all schools in Colorado. He said theres a pretty glaring double standard where innovation in public schools is rejected in the name of high accountability standards, and accountability for charter schools is rejected in the name of innovation.

For example, Vick said he wants to see innovation when it comes to turnaround efforts for struggling schools.

Instead of allowing these schools to be creative, theyve put more and more restrictive measures on them, and that obviously has not worked, Vick said. I would like to see those schools have more autonomy to decide and find something that will fit for their particular situation.

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Schaller said he thinks continuing to make enhancements to our accountability system as a state is always important, and theres always room for improvement. But its fundamental, core function of comparing how schools are performing and ensuring transparency for parents and families must be maintained, he said.

Going into a tight state budget year, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has committed to avoiding the budget stabilization factor  the amount of money the state might choose to owe schools when it spends instead on other priorities. But Gebhardt said even without a return to the factor, funding will be a major issue the State Board of Education will need to advocate for next year.

We have been so underfunded as a state, and paying off the (budget stabilization) factor does not take us anywhere close to adequate and sustainable funding, Gebhardt said.

Schaller said he appreciates Polis proposal of moving to a student-centered funding formula, and he hopes to see additional resources directed toward new approaches to serve historically underserved students.

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We need to continue to prioritize fresh approaches and new ways of thinking when it comes to serving some of our most historically underserved students, Schaller said. There are still far too many students that are falling through the cracks of our existing public education system, and in some respects, the pandemic just exacerbated that.

Navarro said she wants to prioritize academics in the state budget.

Always academics, she said.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
BEIJING, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese agricultural technicians are using short video platforms as a way to share valuable insights on crop diseases and yields. This practice has proved to be very popular with farmers.

"Has the rice been sprayed with pesticides?" Zhao Ya asked as he squatted down to talk to a group of farmers in a short that he posted on the video-sharing platform Douyin.

Zhao is the head of an agricultural technology station and a sci-tech commissioner at Fengtai County in Anhui Province, east China. He registered his video account in 2018 and has used it to promote agricultural technology ever since, focusing on pest and disease prevention, wheat and rice cultivation, and high-yield techniques.

By now, he has posted more than 600 short videos lasting from one to three minutes, such as giving directions for the best pesticide application period and reminding the farmers to see the growth of rice in fields for timely disease control.

He now has over 9,600 followers, and one of his most popular videos has amassed nearly 100,000 views.

BENEFICIAL, INTERACTIVE

These short videos, produced to promote the topics rather than to generate profit, are favored by farmers as a new digital "farm tool." They provide an engaging and accessible way to share knowledge and expertise with a wider audience, transforming the way farming information is distributed.

Zuo Zhongjun, a grain farmer in Yingshang County, Anhui Province, is among the beneficiaries. In February this year, which is the wheat greening period, Zuo used some of the tips shared by Zhao in his videos to reduce waterlogging.

Many agricultural technology workers like Zhao are using short video platforms to give agricultural technology more exposure. In 2023, approximately 27.8 million agricultural technology videos were posted on Douyin, clocking up 120.6 billion views.

China Rural Distance Education Network has even initiated an event with Douyin to promote advanced agricultural technology. Since it was launched in 2022, it has engaged 1,840 agricultural technicians and 10 scientists, and released more than 40,000 videos.

"The short videos are concise and highly interactive, and farmers can check, watch and learn on demand," said Chen Yangfen, a researcher at the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

"The platform's intelligent recommendation mechanism can help improve the allocation efficiency of agricultural technology supply and demand," said Chen.

Working to promote agricultural technology for 27 years, Zhao Ya finds it rewarding to see his videos viewed and liked by people. "It gives me more confidence when the videos receive more views," said Zhao.

PROFESSIONAL TALENT

Xu Mingju is an associate professor at the modern agriculture department of Linyi Vocational University of Science and Technology in east China's Shandong Province. He began giving agriculture lectures online more than 10 years ago.

In January 2024, Xu won an agricultural technology short video competition. With more than 2,300 short videos across his online accounts, he has 357,000 followers.

At the very beginning, Xu produced the videos all by himself. As more followers joined his channel, he expanded his outfit and employed a team of 10 people, including teachers and students.

The team members all value the combination of theory with practice and are driven by a desire to provide farmers with practical and reliable solutions. Their videos have helped farmers solve practical problems in fruit tree planting, pruning, pest control and fruit marketing.

"The videos can introduce the latest agricultural technology achievements and ideas to farmers," Xu said.

The Linyi Vocational University of Science and Technology has cultivated 800 students majoring in modern agricultural technology since the major was launched in 2020.

"Some of them run their own short video accounts, where they share agricultural technology knowledge and experience," Xu introduced.

Looking ahead, professionalization in terms of new promotion platforms, including short video sharing platforms, will be an important skill for new agricultural talent, said Xu. 
NEW YORK -- Malcolm X's family is suing the NYPD and federal government agencies over the civil rights leader's assassination in New York City.

The $100 million lawsuit claims the New York City Police Department, FBI, CIA, Department of Justice and U.S. government played a role in Malcolm X's murder at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights in 1965.

Government "conspired to assassinate Malcolm X," attorney says

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Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, said they believe the government agencies "all conspired to assassinate Malcolm X."

The allegations include:

Failing to safeguard despite imminent threatsRemoving security the night of the assassinationActively encouraging and facilitating the assassinationOn-duty operatives failing to interveneA concealment effort, or cover-up, after the fact

The complaint reads in part, "Despite knowing the gravity of the threats, the FBI failed to protect Malcolm X, instead actively compromising his safety by arresting his security team days before his assassination."

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"We seek justice for the assassination of our father and that the truth will be recorded in history," said Ilyasah Shabazz, Malcolm X's daughter.

The NYPD and FBI declined to comment on the lawsuit. The New York City Law Department said it is "reviewing the case."

Witness alleges gunman was protected by law enforcement

No new evidence was presented Friday, but in July 2023, Crump introduced what he called a new witness to the assassination. Crump said the witness, in a signed affidavit, recalled seeing the gunman be protected by law enforcement in the moments after it happened.

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"He said as he struggled to grab him from getting away, it was as if NYPD was trying to help him escape being captured," Crump said.

Talmadge Hayer confessed to shooting Malcolm X, but two other convicted defendants, the late Thomas Johnson and Norman Butler, who changed his name to Muhammad Aziz, maintained their innocence. They were exonerated in 2021.

Aziz, now in his 80s, spent 20 years in prison and was interviewed as part of the Netflix series "Who Killed Malcolm X?"

"If I wanted to do it, I couldn't have done it, so that means they knew what they were doing when they put me in jail," he said.

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"Those men went to prison, wrongfully, and all those undercover agents knew," Crump said Friday.

Combating Parkinson's with rock climbing

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LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A man was found in a hotel room separate from his wife after allegedly being drugged and having his $125,000 Rolex stolen at a Las Vegas casino.

On May 19, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to a report involving a man who may have been drugged and had his watch stolen at the Fontainebleau Casino.

According to the police report, the man had been on the casino floor while his wife was sleeping in their hotel room. He was seated at the Bleau Bar when a woman, later identified by police as 30-year-old Koncina Brisbon, approached him and asked if she could sit next to him.

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Police said he agreed, and the two began drinking together, with Brisbon engaging in physical contact and flirting with the man.

The following morning, the man was discovered fully clothed in another hotel room after his wife had called the Fontainebleau security to report he did not return to their room. Investigating further, officers reviewed surveillance footage from the casino.

Police said the video appeared to show Brisbon adding something to the mans drink. Around 5 a.m., the man is seen going to the front desk to book another room, with Brisbon accompanying him. LVMPD said, in the footage, the two are seen holding hands and kissing in the elevator. The watch was seen on his wrist. By 8 a.m., Brisbon is seen leaving the room alone.

When security arrived at the mans new room, accompanied by his wife, the man told them his $125,000 watch, $2,000 in cash, and $500 in casino chips were missing.

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Police said a records check revealed that Brisbon had been arrested or cited 16 times in Nevada since 2021 for offenses related to prostitution, including trespassing, soliciting, prostitution, and grand larceny.

Brisbon was arrested on Nov. 8 on charges of burglary and grand larceny. She was released on her own recognizance.

According to court records, Brisbon is currently facing two previous felony counts of theft involving Rolex watches that allegedly occurred a month before the Fontainebleau theft. She was arraigned in Las Vegas Justice Court on Sept. 18 and entered a not-guilty plea.

A trial date on those charges is set for April 28, 2025.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn.  A man is in jail after Tipton County deputies say he shot at his family members boyfriend two days in a row and assaulted one of the correctional staff members once in jail. Another suspect is also charged in the shooting incident.

Lucius Mason, 36, of Covington, is charged with Attempted First-Degree Murder, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and Aggravated Assault on a law enforcement officer. He is held in jail on a $500,000 bond.

Terrence Mason, 24, of Peoria, Illinois, is charged with Aggravated Assault with a deadly weapon and is being held in jail on a $250,000 bond.

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Suspect arrested after shooting man who refused to leave his property: MPD

On November 10, Tipton County Sheriffs Office Deputies say they responded to the 1500 block of Charleston Gift Road regarding an assault call after an argument sparked between the victim and his girlfriend.

The victim stated he left his home to avoid further violence, however; the girlfriends relatives followed him to another location. That is where the relatives, later identified as Lucius Mason and Terrence Mason pulled out a gun and started shooting at him, reports state.

The victim crashed his car while attempting to leave the scene and avoid being shot, deputies say.

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While detectives responded to the multiple crime scenes, they spoke with Terrence who they say was uncooperative during his interview. Terrence was taken into custody during that time, but detectives were still unable to find Lucius.

1 injured after overnight shootings in Fox Meadows, Frayser

On November 11, deputies say they were called to an additional assault complaint on Charleston Mason Road where Lucius had attempted to shoot the victim again.

According to reports, Lucius walked up to the victim, pulled out a gun, and began shooting at him. This time, the victim was able to return fire and flee the scene, deputies say.

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When detectives made it to the scene, they talked to witnesses and contacted the Fayette County Sheriffs Office where they were able to find Lucius and take him into custody.

Detectives say while Lucius was in jail, he continued his violent behavior by attacking a Sheriffs Office Correctional staff member.

Lucius and Terrence are both scheduled to face a judge on December 10.

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SALEM, W.Va. (WBOY)  A man has been charged after troopers found evidence of gasoline being used to start a fire at a residence in Doddridge County.

On Nov. 13, troopers with the West Virginia State Police were dispatched to a residence in Salem for a reported structure fire, according to a criminal complaint.

Troopers were told by dispatch at the Doddridge County Communications Center that a passerby had observed the structure burning on Salem Long Run, and that someone inside the residence fled the area and the caller heard him indicate he started the fire, troopers said.

Michael Chipps

When troopers arrived on scene, they spoke with the caller who said that he observed smoking coming from the interior of the residence and intervened to stop the fire; the caller knew that Michael Chipps, 44, of Salem, lived in the residence, according to the complaint.

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The caller said Chipps told him he lit the fire before leaving the area and that the areas inside of the residence [were] actively burning, the complaint said.

Fentanyl, 3 children without car seats found in vehicle after pursuit on I-79

At the scene of the fire, troopers noted that there were empty motor oil containers and one gallon water jugs which smelled heavily of gasoline on the front porch. Inside the residence, troopers located large puddles of a substance consistent with motor oil and one room which smelled heavily of gasoline, according to the complaint.

Chipps has been charged with first-degree arson and was booked in the North Central Regional Jail on Friday, where he is being held on $25,000 bond.

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Two people from Massachusetts are scheduled to be arraigned Monday on charges related to the fatal shooting of a Rutland man late last week.

Dylin Wainscott, 28, of Westfield, Ma. faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of 32-year-old Christopher Hale.

Police said Wainscott shot Hale on Elm Street near Grant Avenue around 7 p.m. Friday. Hale was transported to Rutland Regional Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead from gunshot wounds.

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Rutland Police and Homeland Security Investigations arrested Wainscott, along with Precious Okorie, 38, of Springfield, Ma. Okorie faces a conspiracy charge as an accessory before the fact.

Both were being held at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility pending arraignment.

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(FOX40.COM)  A man was arrested following the death of his girlfriend in South Sacramento on Sunday, the Sacramento County Sheriffs Office said.

According to the sheriffs office, around 6:30 a.m. deputies responded to a call from Kaiser South of a woman who was dropped off with injuries and was later pronounced dead by hospital staff.

Man in wheelchair dies after fatal crash in Sacramento

Detectives went to the womans home on Leola Way, where they believed she sustained her injuries, to gather evidence and interviewed witnesses.

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The sheriffs office said detectives determined the womans boyfriend was responsible for her death and arrested him.

The suspect was booked into Sacramento County Main Jail and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

A GoFundMe has been set up to support the victims son.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40.
Michael Dean Davis Jr. was arrested and charged with murder after human remains were found at a property in Buffalo, Texas, on Oct. 22

A man has been arrested and charged with murder after human remains linked to a missing persons case were found at a home in Texas.

Michael Dean Davis Jr., 27, was arrested and charged in Laredo, Texas, on Nov. 12 in connection with the discovery of human remains found at a property in Buffalo, Texas on Oct, 22, Leon County Sheriffs Office stated in a release on Facebook.

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An investigation over an adult and child who were reported missing on June 19 led to the search being carried out at the home, according to the release. The adult and child were last seen by their family in July 2022.

"On Nov. 12, Michael Dean Davis Jr. was successfully apprehended in Laredo for the charge of Murder and was transported to the Webb County Jail, the sheriffs office said.

The human remains were positively identified to be that of a 27-year-old woman named Mahogany Washington, who was the mother of Davis 8-year-old son and the adult reported missing, per theLaredo Morning Times and KGNS.

Leon County Sheriff's Office Facebook Davis was arrested and charged with murder in connection to human remains found on Nov. 12 Davis was arrested and charged with murder in connection to human remains found on Nov. 12

Related: Remains Found at Recently Sold Colorado Home Identified as Teen Girl Who Hadnt Been Seen Since 2005

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The Laredo Police Department, the U.S. Marshals and the sheriffs Office were tipped off that Davis was living with his missing son at a residence near Cuatro Vientos in south Laredo, the Laredo Morning Times reported.

The boy was found unharmed at the time of Davis arrest and he was sent to Child Protective Services, according to the outlet.

"Multiple agencies worked together in order to coordinate the arrest of Davis and the safe recovery of a missing and endangered child," the Laredo police said in their statement.

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The investigation revealed that Davis was likely armed and was a possible threat to his son. Due to the suspects violent tendencies and potential threat to law enforcement and the surrounding neighborhood, a plan of approach was created and executed on Nov. 12, police added, per the Laredo Morning Times.



Mahogany Washington Facebook Mahogany Washington Mahogany Washington

Related: Human Remains Found Near Hoover Dam in 2009 Identified as 'Nomadic' Man Last Seen by His Family in 1995

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Police uncovered several rifles, gas masks and an armor suit inside the home where Davis and the boy were found, KGNS reported.

Davis received additional charges of endangerment of a child based on the poor condition of the home, according to the outlet.

He is currently being held on a bond of $3,000,000, per the release. The investigation is ongoing.

The Laredo Police Department did not immediately reply to PEOPLE's request for comment.




OGDEN, Utah (ABC4)  A man was arrested on Saturday for reportedly stabbing a victim after the victim saw two suspects rummaging through their car and chased them into a nearby parking lot, according to police.

Christian Becerra, 22, was arrested around midnight on Saturday for charges including aggravated assault and criminal trespassing.

Bountiful girl abduction ends in police pursuit crash, suspect arrested

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According to an affidavit of probable cause filed in Weber County, the victim reported that they were stabbed by someone after witnessing two people rummaging through their car.

The victim chased 2 suspects into a nearby church parking lot trying to gather back any belongings they might have taken, the affidavit reads.

After chasing the individuals, the victim said one of the suspects  later identified as Becerra  turned and stabbed them in the upper right side of their chest. The victims right lung was punctured in the stabbing, according to documents.

Officers searched the area near the incident and located Becerra, who matched the description the suspect gave to officers. Becerra was sweating and out of breath when he was found, according to documents.

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Becerra reportedly admitted that he was coming from the general area of where the stabbing occurred, the affidavit said. Officers found drug paraphernalia on his person (including THC cartridges) and arrested him.

After he was taken to the police station, documents said Becerra admitted to trespassing in the victims vehicle and stabbing them after being chased into the church parking lot.

Becerra reportedly claimed the victim attacked him, but documents said he had no visible injuries that matched his recollection of events.

Becerra was arrested on one count of aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony; one count of possession of a controlled substance, a class B misdemeanor; one count of criminal trespass, a class B misdemeanor; and one count of use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor.

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Becerra was booked into Weber County Jail on the aforementioned charges.

Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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A man is in custody and charged with arson after a house fire in the Brooklyn area early Sunday morning. The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office arrested 47-year-old William Baker in connection with this fire.

The fire happened around 3 a.m. Sunday.

A Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department spokesperson said they pulled a dog out of the home and revived it.Other than that, there were no injuries.

Some neighbors woke up to the house covered in flames. And others watched as firefighters worked to put out that fire.

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>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

I came down around 5:15 and I looked to the right and the whole street is covered in fire department, said Maia Stewart, a neighbor. I saw water coming down the sidewalks.

Neighbors Action News Jax talked to said they have not seen anyone living at the home.

The gates are always closed, empty house, no activity, no common cars parked outside of it, said Stewart.

And the only activity that goes on around the house, neighbors said, are those who come to feed the stray cats.

The most I saw was cats, said Stewart. People would come slip food under there and the cats would hang out.

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According to the arrest report, a fire marshal responded to the scene and an arson detective conducted an arson investigation.

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CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  The Caldwell County community is mourning the loss of an area physician after he was struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver over the weekend, according to NC State Highway Patrol and those who knew the victim.

The deadly accident happened a little after 7:15 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16. An NC trooper had attempted to stop a Ford F250 pickup truck for speeding on US-321 in Caldwell County.

Troopers said, Randy Deion Collins, 31, of Franklin, refused to stop, traveled onto Hibriton Drive SW, ran a red light at the intersection of US-321, and slammed into a 2020 Subaru.

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NC State Highway Patrol said the driver of the Subaru, Roger B. Lim, 50, of Hickory, died from his injuries at the scene. Lim was a physician at Caldwell Memorial Hospital Emergency Department.

Highway Patrol said that speed and impairment are suspected factors in the deadly collision.

Collins has been arrested and charged with the following:

Driving while license revoked

Driving while impaired

Felony flee to elude arrest

Second-degree murder

Speeding 81mph in a 55mph zone

Reckless driving

Red light violation

Currently, Collins is being held at the Caldwell County jail without bond. The State Highway Patrols Collision Reconstruction Unit is assisting with the investigation.

Randy Deion Collins (left) via Caldwell County Sheriff | Roger B. Lim (right) via UNC Health

The community took to social media to express their grief following the tragic loss.

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Please pray for the family of Dr. Roger Lim (His wife, April Lim, his sons, parents, and other family) and his Caldwell UNC family. His life was tragically cut short by a drunk driver while he was on his way home to his family after work last night. He was a loving husband and father. He was a caring, compassionate, and skilled physician. Many hearts are heavy with sadness today, as he made a positive impact on all who had the privilege to know him. Nyoka Penley Sabucco

Dr. Lim was such an amazing and caring person. My heart is absolutely broken for his family. He did not deserve this. He saved so many lives throughout his career. Prayers for his wife and sons in this difficult time. Roger Lim, you will be missed by so many and Im beyond grateful I got the opportunity to work and get to know you! Amity Eldreth

A senseless tragedy has taken the life of a great doctor, amazing dad, husband, father, and colleague. Dr. Roger Lim was killed in a motor vehicle collision after being struck by a drunk driver. He had just gotten off of his shift in the emergency department and was driving home to be with his family. He was beloved by so many, and you could not meet a nicer guy. This is a circumstance no family should ever have to face, and it happens all too often. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife April, their young children, and their family, as well as with his ER family at Caldwell Memorial Hospital. Never take a moment for granted. April shared her story on Facebook of how she had just spoken with him when he was leaving, and was anticipating his arrival home shortly. Lives can be forever changed in a fleeting moment. Johnny Gomes

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Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Nov. 17, 2024. Xi arrived here Sunday for the 19th G20 Summit and a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday said he looks forward to having an in-depth exchange of views with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on further enhancing China-Brazil relations, promoting synergy of the two countries' development strategies, as well as international and regional issues of common interest.

Xi made the remarks in a written statement upon his arrival in Brazil for the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit and a state visit to the country at the invitation of President Lula. Xi also extended sincere greetings and best wishes to the government and people of Brazil.

Noting that he has visited Brazil four times and witnessed the development and changes in the country over the past 30 years, Xi said he feels very close to Brazil as he again stepped onto this passionate land.

China and Brazil are like-minded friends with the same aspirations and good partners forging ahead hand in hand, Xi said. Although separated by oceans, China and Brazil, two major developing countries in the eastern and western hemispheres respectively, are attracted to each other and echo each other at a distance, he said.

In recent years, the two countries have continued to deepen political mutual trust, yielded fruitful results in practical cooperation, achieved flourishing people-to-people and cultural cooperation, and showed new vitality of the times in the traditional friendship, Xi said.

China and Brazil have also jointly made the just voice of the Global South in the international arena and made important contributions to promoting world peace and development, Xi added.

As China and Brazil celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year, relations between the two countries stand at an important historical juncture of building on past achievements and forging ahead, he said.

Xi said he believes the visit will further strengthen the two countries' strategic mutual trust, deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields and usher in a new "golden 50 years" for China-Brazil relations.

Looking forward to attending the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit, Xi said he is ready to work with all parties to discuss plans and seek development, jointly advocate an equal and orderly multi-polar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and promote the G20 to continue to play a greater role as an important platform for international economic cooperation.

Xi arrived here from Lima, where he attended the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and paid a state visit to Peru. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Rio de Janeiro for the 19th G20 Summit and a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Nov. 17, 2024. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

People welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Nov. 17, 2024. Xi arrived here Sunday for the 19th G20 Summit and a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. (Xinhua/Li Yan)

People welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Nov. 17, 2024. Xi arrived here Sunday for the 19th G20 Summit and a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. (Xinhua/Li Yan)

People bid farewell to Chinese President Xi Jinping on his way to the airport in Lima, Peru, Nov. 17, 2024. Xi left Lima on Sunday after attending the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and paying a state visit to the Republic of Peru. (Xinhua/Bi Xiaoyang)

People wave the national flags of China and Peru by the road as Chinese President Xi Jinping leaves for the airport in Lima, Peru, Nov. 17, 2024. Xi left Lima on Sunday after attending the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and paying a state visit to the Republic of Peru. (Xinhua/Bi Xiaoyang)

People bid farewell to Chinese President Xi Jinping on his way to the airport in Lima, Peru, Nov. 17, 2024. Xi left Lima on Sunday after attending the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and paying a state visit to the Republic of Peru. (Xinhua/Bi Xiaoyang)
DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) One person has been charged with arson after a brush fire on Blue Mountain on Nov. 8.

According to the Lower Paxton Township Police, officers were dispatched to Blue Mountain above the intersection of Autumn Oaks Drive and Box Elder Ct for a quickly spreading brush fire on Nov. 8.

Crews respond to mountain fire in Dauphin County

Upon arrival, police say they discovered a burn victim, now identified as Malcolm Kellogg, who suffered severe burns to his upper body. Kellogg was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

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Police said over 70 firefighters from 23 different fire departments continued to battle the growing blaze throughout the day.

Police determined that Kellogg, who was recently cited for illegally dumping trash at the exact location, was a suspect. Further investigation unveiled that Kellogg was asked to remove the trash he had dumped at the location. Instead, he set it on fire, starting a blaze that would quickly lose control.

Residents and homes in the vicinity were at extreme risk due to Kelloggs actions, according to police, and the fire ultimately burned over six acres of land.

Malcolm has been charged with Arson  Endangering Persons, Arson  Endangering Property, and Risking Catastrophe, per police.

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Kellogg will be arraigned at an upcoming preliminary hearing after he is released from the hospital.

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A 56-year-old man was killed after being hit by a vehicle in Randolph late Sunday night, the Norfolk County District Attorneys office announced Monday,

The crash victim was hit by a Toyota 4 Runner SUV in the area of North Main Street near Gordon Street around 10:30 p.m. a spokesperson for the DAs office said.

The man was rushed to Milton Hospital by Randolph paramedics.

The driver of the Toyota 4 Runner stayed at the scene, official says.

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The Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section and Crime Scene Services Section responded to the scene and are assisting the Norfolk District Attorneys Office and Randolph Police with the ongoing investigation into the cause of the accident.

The DAs office says no charges have been filed.

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FAIRVIEW, Kan. (KSNW)  A man has died following a crash in northeast Kansas.

KSNT in Topeka reports that it happened around 8:30 p.m. Sunday on U.S. Highway 36, about five miles west of Fairview in Brown County. The Kansas Highway Patrol says Richard Childress, 76, of Hiawatha, was heading east on the highway when he suddenly left the road near an intersection for an unknown reason.

Man dies after head-on crash in southeast Kansas

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Childress entered a ditch, struck a road sign, and then went airborne over the intersecting roadway. His 2016 Kia Sorento rolled several times, ejecting him from the car.

Childress was pronounced dead at the scene. Troopers say he was not wearing a seatbelt.

No one else was in the car with Childress at the time of the crash.

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SCOTLAND COUNTY, N.C. (WBTW)  A man was killed Sunday morning in a house fire in the Wagram community of Scotland County, deputies said.

The fire happened just after 8 a.m. on Hill Creek Road, according to Capt. Randy Dover, who said authorities are looking into whether a heating source might have started the fire.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is helping with the investigation.

The name of the man who died has not been released. Count on News13 for updates.

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* * *

Jordan White is a Digital Producer at News13. She joined the News13 team in August 2024. Jordan, a Myrtle Beach native, graduated from St. James High School in Murrells Inlet and is a graduate of Coker University. Follow Jordan on Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of her work here.

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CHICAGO  A 65-year-old man was shot and killed while sitting in a vehicle Sunday afternoon on the citys South Side.

Chicago police said the shooting happened just after 3 p.m. Sunday in the 11800 block of South Eggleston Avenue in West Pullman.

The victim was sitting in a vehicle parked on the street when an unknown suspect shot him multiple times, according to investigators.

Man fatally stabbed at Motel 6 in northwest suburban Prospect Heights, police say

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The victim was taken to Christ Hospital where he died.

No other information was released and Area Two Detectives are investigating.

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HOWARD COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now)  Maryland State Police (MSP) said all northbound lanes on Interstate 95 in Howard County were shut down for hours after a man was found shot Monday morning.

Details are limited; however, state police believe 28-year-old Ronald Victor Garcia-Rodriguez, of Laurel, Md., was shot just after 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 18.

When police arrived, they found him outside of his vehicle on I-95. He had called 9-1-1, telling police hed been shot multiple times.

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Teen walks into hospital with gunshot wound in Arlington, police say

Preliminarily, MSP investigators believe an altercation happened before the shooting on Northbound I-95. They believe Garcia-Rodriguez and the suspect knew each other, but it is still not clear what the motive was.

It is also unclear whether Garcia-Rodriguez was inside or outside of his car when he was shot.

He was taken to the shock trauma unit for treatment, where he remained as of Monday afternoon.

As state troopers continued their investigation, all lanes on I-95 North were closed for about four hours.

WATCH: Body found after man fell from boat, disappeared at DC yacht club

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In an update on Tuesday, Nov. 19, state police announced that 46-year-old Kevin Gross, of Baltimore, was arrested in connection to the shooting.

Gross was charged with attempted first-degree murder, fire and second-degree assault and other related charges.

MSP said he is being held without bond at the Howard County Detention Center.

Anyone with information is asked to contact MSP troopers at (410) 799-2101. Callers may remain anonymous.

Traffic is backed up on I-95 North in Maryland following a shooting investigation on Nov. 18. (Tim Corley/DC News Now)

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For a previous report on this story view the video player above.

DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH)  The third of three men charged in a robbery that turned fatal will serve at least three decades in prison after a sentencing hearing Friday in Delaware County.

According to the Delaware County Prosecutors Office, Anthony Blakely was sentenced to life in prison with the eligibility of parole after 33 years stemming from a 2023 robbery at an AutoZone store near Polaris Fashion place that left 43-year-old Alejandro Fajardo-Torres dead.

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Neo-Nazi march in Columbus draws rebuke from President Joe Biden

Blakely, 28, along with Zackeyis S. Davis and Darius Wynn, were charged in a robbery at the Sancus Boulevard store on Aug. 24. 2023 when Fajardo-Torres attempted to intervene and was shot by one of the suspects. A second victim, an 18-year-old man, was also hospitalized from a blunt-force trauma injury during the robbery.

A judge immediately issued Blakelys sentence after his plea, which included charges of murder, felonious assault and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. In May, Blakely rejected a plea deal and was scheduled to go on trial Aug. 20. He then changed his plea on Friday.

Columbus police identified Blakelys actions as what set off a chain of events, resulting in Fajardo-Torres death. Police said that Blakely and the suspects entered the AutoZone store and demanded a store clerk open a cash register, but when the clerk could not open it, Blakely struck him with a gun. Fajardo-Torres then attempted to intervene and was shot and killed.

Zackeyis Davis (left), Darius Wynn (center), and Anthony Blakely (right). (Courtesy/Delaware County Sheriffs Office) A person was fatally shot at an AutoZone on Sancus Boulevard near Polaris on Aug. 24, 2023. (NBC4 Photo/Kyle Beachy) Columbus police released an image of two suspects wanted in an alleged robbery that turned fatal at an AutoZone store near Polaris Mall (Courtesy/Columbus Division of Police)

Blakely, along with Davis and Wynn, were part of a suspected enterprise, according to court documents, in which they allegedly committed multiple robberies between May 14, 2023, and September 16, 2023.

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In July, Wynn, pleaded guilty to murder, aggravated robbery and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, along with two firearm specifications. The crimes were thought to be so egregious that a judge issued consecutive sentences, resulting in a life sentence with possible parole after 41 years.

In June, Davis was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years for an aggravated murder charge and 10 to 15 years in prison for an attempted murder charge, which stemmed from a separate incident that left another man paralyzed. He was also given three years in prison for each charge due to firearm specifications. All sentences will be served consecutively

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A man is dead after Jacksonville police say he was beaten to death early Monday in a rooming house.

Police were called to the residence in the 1400 block of Palmdale Street at about 2 a.m.

When offers arrived, they found the victim in the house.

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He was rushed to a Jacksonville hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to JSO.

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Police said they are interviewing witnesses. The name of the victim was not released.

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A 65-year-old man loading cargo into the back of a truck in Brooklyn died when he lost his balance and stumbled into the path of a tractor-trailer, police said Monday.

Shumi Izjaguev was loading a box truck on Columbia St. near the Erie Basin in Red Hook when he fell into the roadway and was struck by the driver.

Medics rushed Izjaguev to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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Cops said the driver did not stop. It was unclear if the driver knew the truck had struck someone.

There have been no arrests. The victim lived in Kensington, according to cops.

Izjaguevs death is being investigated by the NYPD Highway Districts collision investigation squad.
GAZA, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- At least 30 Palestinians were killed on Monday in Israeli airstrikes on different areas in the Gaza Strip, said Palestinian sources.

At least 17 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air raid on a house near Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, Palestinian medical sources told Xinhua.

In another Israeli bombing in Beit Lahia, the Civil Defense in Gaza said that two people were killed and dozens of others were wounded.

In the southern Gaza Strip, four Palestinians, including two children, were killed and dozens of others were wounded in an Israeli bombing that targeted a tent housing displaced people in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, medics from Nasser Hospital in the city told Xinhua.

Three Palestinians were also killed in two separate attacks by Israeli drones east and north of Rafah city, according to Palestinian medical sources.

In central Gaza, medics from al-Awda Hospital told Xinhua that four Palestinians were killed in an Israeli bombing of the Faraj family home north of al-Nuseirat city.

Israel has been launching 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 about 250 taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 43,922, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Monday. 
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  A Boardman man who pleaded guilty Monday to a charge of rape was sentenced to three to four and a half years in prison.

Read next: Police investigating shooting that left 2 dead

The sentence that John D. Johnson, 36, received from Judge Maureen Sweeney in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court was recommended by prosecutors and defense attorneys in exchange for his plea.

Prosecutors also agreed to drop another rape charge and a gun case in exchange for the plea.

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Johnson was indicted in March by a grand jury for the rape of a woman after a search warrant was served Jan. 4 at a home in the 100 block of Shields Road as police were investigating a claim that Johnson raped a woman New Years Day.

The victim told Judge Sweeney she still remembers how afraid she was when she was surrounded by doctors and nurses as she was being treated for injuries she received from Johnson.

You changed my life forever, she told Johnson.

The victim could not work for six weeks while she recovered from her injuries and said I lost everything.

Johnson did not speak to the court except to apologize.

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He will receive credit for 247 days he has been in the Mahoning County Jail awaiting the outcome of his case.

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A 24-year-old man pleaded guilty in federal court in Fort Lauderdale on Friday to fraudulently getting more than $1 million from the governments COIVD-19 loan program and state unemployment benefits by identity theft.

Conrad Brandon Bernard, of Broward County, used the names and personal information of other people without them knowing to apply for 14 loans under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and fraudulently received unemployment assistance from multiple states by applying with other peoples names and information, according to the factual proffer, the facts agreed on by prosecutors and the defense. He received a total of $1,083,340 between May 2020 and December 2022.

After applying for and receiving the federal loans and unemployment payments, Bernard deposited the money in bank accounts that he created using the names and information of other people who did not know or consent, the factual proffer said. He impersonated those people to make transfers or withdrawals.

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Law enforcement officers pulled Bernard over during a traffic stop in May 2022 and found two TD Bank debit cards with the names of two different people, identified in the factual proffer only by their initials, according to the document. They searched his car and found multiple laptops and phones, a card printer with 16 blank cards and another printer with a fake U.S. passport card in the scanner, the factual proffer said.

Authorities received a search warrant that day for Bernards home in Broward County and found two fake U.S. passport cards, two Social Security cards with other peoples names, 43 Florida identification cards or divers licenses with the same photo but different identities, 33 Florida ID cards and drivers licenses with a photo of a different man and various identities, 29 Humana insurance cards with different names and 31 W-2 tax forms with different identities, among other things, the factual proffer said.

The electronics Bernard had contained the personal information, including names, birthdays, bank account numbers and Social Security numbers, of several thousand different people, the factual proffer said.

His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 5 in Fort Lauderdale, court records show. Federal prosecutors said in a news release Monday that he faces up to 30 years in prison for the bank fraud charges, followed by a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence for the aggravated identity theft charge.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  A man has pleaded not guilty Monday morning following a January crash that killed a retired Monroe County Sheriffs Deputy and injured three others in Walworth.

On January 2, prosecutors say 18-year-old Evan Haggett ran through a stop sign at the intersection of State Route 441 and Canandaigua Road crashing into another vehicle.

Haggett faces four traffic-related offenses, two counts of Failure to Yield, Improper Restraint of someone aged 7 to 15-years-old, and driving without a license.

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No remorse shown: Teen driver accused in deadly Walworth crash will face no criminal charges

62-year-old and retired MCSO deputy Tommy Doherty was killed. His girlfriend, who was also in the vehicle at the time of the crash, survived.

The Wayne County District Attorney previously told News 8 her office couldnt bring criminal charges under state law, and there was not enough evidence showing the driver was under the influence or using a phone at the time of the crash, but the State Police investigation remained open.

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MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN)  A Murfreesboro man has been sentenced to more than three decades in prison for charges related to armed robberies at multiple businesses and banks in Middles Tennessee.

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), 34-year-old Frederick Eugene Carney was sentenced on Friday, Nov. 15 to 32 years in federal prison for robbery, bank robbery, illegally possessing ammunition, and brandishing or discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

MAY 2016: Murfreesboro man accused in 34 burglaries, faces 83 charges

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Officials said the convictions in this case are connected to the armed robberies of two Cash Express businesses in Ardmore, and Greenbrier, the Regions Bank in Smyrna, and the First Horizon Bank on Whites Creek Pike in Nashville between Feb. 18, 2022, and May 2, 2022.

Meanwhile, the DOJ reported 27-year-old William John Ewing III, of Nashville, was found guilty of the bank robbery at the Regions Bank, as well as brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. When Ewing is sentenced on Jan. 23, 2025, he faces seven years to life in federal prison.

MAY 2022: Suspected Nashville bank robber arrested hours after crime

According to officials, Carney and Ewing stole more than $15,000 from the Regions Bank in Smyrna. In addition, during the incident at the First Horizons Bank in Nashville, Carney allegedly fired a round that hit a door.

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This sentence sends another strong message to those who commit violent crimes in our district that we will prosecute these cases to the fullest extent of the law, said Acting U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Jaworski for the Middle District of Tennessee. The community will be now safe from this defendant for decades. Our office is thankful for partnerships with multiple law enforcement agencies throughout middle Tennessee and northern Alabama that made this result possible.

JUNE 2023: Two men convicted of multiple armed robberies around Middle TN

The DOJ said this case was investigated by the FBIs Nashville field office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); the Metro Nashville Police Department; the Murfreesboro Police Department; the Ardmore Police Department; the Greenbrier Police Department; the Smyrna Police Department; and the Moulton, Alabama, Police Department.

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The man who shot and killed a 71-year-old Yellow Springs woman has learned his punishment.

As reported on News Center 7 at 5, in court Monday, Jackson Bleything pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated murder, improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation, felonious assault, and five counts of tampering with evidence.

In exchange for his guilty plea charges including possession of criminal tools and inducing panic were dismissed.

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The charges are connected to the death of Connie Vang, who was shot and killed at her home on S. High Street on March 14.

Before the judge told Bleything his sentence, the court heard from Vangs sisters.

I just want him to know all the broken hearts that have been left behind, Arleen Vang said.

He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

The most important thing, prosecutors said, was the measure of justice they got for Connie and her family.

I love her with all of my heart. All of us do. And we still do. So he cant take love from us. Because sure loved her, Arleen said.

If Bleything is released from prison he must register on the states violent offender register once a year for 10 years.




WASHINGTON COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now)  The Hagerstown Police Department said officers arrested two people after a man was injured in two separate shootings last week.

In a post on Facebook on Friday, Nov. 15, the department said that at around 2:40 a.m., officers responded to the 200 block of W. Franklin St. for a shooting.

When they arrived, they found a 26-year-old man from Hagerstown with a gunshot wound to the shoulder. Medics took him to Meritus Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

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Officers on the scene quickly recognized the 26-year-old as the victim of a shooting that had taken place on Monday, Nov. 11. In this case, officers responded to the 100 block of W. Bethel St. at around 7:20 p.m. after hearing gunshots.

In regards to the Monday shooting, officers arrested Cameron Taylor Cross, 27, of Hagerstown. Police said Cross had an active arrest warrant in connection to the shooting. He was charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault and numerous weapons violations.

Prince Georges County police offer $25K reward for information in deadly Oxon Hill shooting

A couple of days after Crosss arrest, officers found the suspect in connection to the shooting on Nov. 15 in the 400 block of Jonathan St.

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Police identified the suspect as 38-year-old Anthonio Jefferson, of Ft. Pierce, Fla. Officers also said he had cocaine at the time of his arrest.

Authorities charged Jefferson with possession with intent to distribute; however, charges for the shooting are still pending.

Police said that investigators do not believe the shootings are connected; however, both suspects are known to the 26-year-old.

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU)  A man who was part of a drug trafficking organization was sentenced to more than ten years in prison.

According to a release, Adrian Ibarra-Manzo, 29, of California, will be serving 11 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Man arrested after pursuit in stolen vehicle belonging to SCPD officer

Evidence showed that Ibarra-Manzo was part of a conspiracy based in Mexico and California that distributed 100 pounds of methamphetamine around Sioux City.

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Ibarra-Manzo received a sentence of 123 months and must serve a five-year term of supervised release following imprisonment. He is being held in the United States Marshals custody until he can be transferred to a federal prison.

The release noted that Ibarra-Manzos co-conspirator, Ramon Serrano, 31, is set to be sentenced on December 12.

The case was investigated by the DEA Tri-State Drug Task Force and the Sioux City Police Department.

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CLEVELAND (WJW)  The trial begins Monday for the man accused of stealing a delivery van and leading police on a high-speed chase on I-90. The chase ended in a wrong way crash that killed a beloved doctor.

Jalen Jacksons trial is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at the Cuyahoga County Courthouse.

17-year-old Strongsville boy killed in crash

Photo courtesy Cleveland Heights police

Jackson faces several charges including murder, involuntary manslaughter, aggravated robbery and felonious assault.

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Back in December, police say the 23-year-old robbed an Amazon driver at gunpoint, stealing his van in Cleveland Heights. He then led police on a high-speed chase.

The chase reached I-90 where police say Jackson drove the wrong way, reaching speeds up to 100 miles per hour.

Husband and wife hit same deer just seconds apart

The pursuit ended when the van slammed into another vehicle. Jackson reportedly attempted to run from the crash but was arrested and taken into custody.

The driver police say he hit was pronounced dead at the scene, 70-year-old Dr. Curtis Birchall of Akron.

Dr. Curtis Birchall

The respected doctor is remembered for his long career in emergency medicine and for running an anti-aging clinic in Rocky River.

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Police say Jackson did have a firearm on him during this incident.

Stick with Fox 8 as the story develops.

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Nov. 17A Manchester High School West teacher and two other men were arrested during a sting operation after attempting to meet a minor child under the age of 18 at a Manchester hotel with the intention of having sex, according to federal officials.

Stacey Ray Lancaster, 46, of Hudson, was charged with attempted sex trafficking of a minor and is on leave from the Manchester School District. The alleged crime took place on Thursday, according to an affidavit.

The arrest was not connected to a student within the district, according to a letter from School Superintendent Jennifer Chmiel.

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Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation, according to a news release.

The other two arrested were Arthur Picanco, 42, of Bradford, Mass., and Ozeias Luiz Guilherme, 38, of Haverhill, Mass. They were also charged with attempted sex trafficking of a minor.

An undercover agent used a website "commonly used to advertise commercial sex acts," according to the affidavit.

After being arrested, "Lancaster declined to make any statements to law enforcement," the affidavit reads.

The affidavit outlines how the agents lured Lancaster to the hotel, which was not identified. The undercover agent told Lancaster he/she had two minor girls, 12 and 14, available to perform sex acts in exchange for money, the affidavit said.

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Lancaster offered to pay $100 to have sex with the 12-year-old, the affidavit said.

According to the text message exchange, Lancaster seemed leery and wrote, "are you affiliated with any law enforcement?"

"Lancaster expressed nervousness about the transaction and asked if he could go up and meet with the 12-year-old girl in the Hotel room," the affidavit reads.

Lancaster was being held until a hearing is set to take place at 1 p.m. Monday in federal court in Concord.

Lancaster has been in charge of the school's Naval Junior ROTC program and has served as a liaison between the U.S. Navy and the school district, according to the letter to parents.

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"At this time we do not have information that connects this arrest to a student within our district," the letter said. "These are serious and disturbing charges, and we are aware that Mr. Lancaster is in law enforcement custody. Mr. Lancaster has been placed on administrative leave, and the District is working closely with law enforcement agencies assigned to this case."

Just two days prior, Lancaster and a group of cadets from the ROTC program led the Pledge of Allegiance at the Board of School Committee.

A photo of the visit with Mayor Jay Ruais appears to have been deleted from his social media channels.

Chmiel encouraged concerned parents to contact the U.S. Attorney's Office.

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"The safety of our students and staff is our utmost priority, and in addition to supporting the law enforcement investigation, we are focused on ensuring our students have the support they need," the letter reads. "The District and school leadership teams are working together to create a support plan for our students, and West families can expect further communication later this weekend with more details on this."

jphelps@unionleader.com
RAMALLAH, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian presidency on Sunday condemned the Israeli attacks in northern and central Gaza Strip, holding the U.S. administration responsible.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for the Palestinian presidency, said in a statement that Israel translates the continued U.S. military, financial and political support into the killings that claim the lives of dozens of children and women, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Abu Rudeineh held the U.S. administration fully responsible for the continuation of the "bloody aggression" as a result of giving Israel political cover to "escape punishment and defy international legitimacy decisions."

Also on Sunday, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the international community responsible for the continued "displacement and starvation" in the Gaza Strip.

In a press statement, the ministry called for urgent international action to force Israel to implement UN resolutions and precautionary orders.

At least 96 Palestinians were killed by Israeli bombing in northern and central Gaza Strip in the past hours, the Hamas-run Gaza media office said on Sunday.

The strikes are part of Israel's ongoing large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza, launched in response to a Hamas rampage on Oct. 7, 2023. The Hamas attack killed around 1,200 Israelis and led to 250 individuals being taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 43,846, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Sunday. 
ALABAMA (WHNT)  With deer hunting season starting on Nov. 23 state officials are reminding hunters of mandatory Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) testing on several upcoming weekends.

Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) is reminding hunters in Colbert County and Lauderdale County about mandatory testing for CWD in both the high-risk zone and buffer zone in the state CWD Management Zone.

CWD in deer: What are the signs, and is the meat safe to eat?

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The department said under state regulations all deer harvested in the CWD management zone, which is made up of Lauderdale and Colbert counties, on sampling weekends are required to be turned over for testing. Mandatory sampling weekends for the high-risk zone are Nov. 23-24 and Dec. 7-8 while weekends for the buffer zone are Nov. 23-24 and January 11-12.

You can find a map of the CWD Management Zone below:

(Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources)

CWD is a contagious neurological disease that affects white-tailed deer and other deer species. The wasting disease causes drastic weight loss along with a variety of behavior changes such as stumbling, lack of coordination and a lack of fear of people. CWD is always fatal for white-tailed deer.

The first case of the disease in Alabama was found in Lauderdale County in January of 2022.

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CDC warns of deadly E. coli outbreak linked to organic carrots

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports no strong evidence that CWD can infect humans but recommends not eating meat from a dear that appears sick and to never eat the brain, eyeballs, spinal cord, spleen, or lymph nodes from a CWD-susceptible species.

ADCNR said all deer harvested by hunters on public land in the management zone are required to be sampled throughout the hunting season, not just on mandatory weekends. Those public lands include the Freedom Hills WMA, Lauderdale WMA, Seven-Mile Island WMA, Cherokee Physically Disabled Hunting Area, and Riverton Community Hunting Area.

State officials said outside of the mandatory weekends, hunters are also encouraged to voluntarily drop off samples for testing at self-service freezers located in the management zone.

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For more information about CWD and the mandatory sampling weekend you can visit ADCNRs website.

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A handful of Marines swimming skills were put to the test recently during incidents that required lifesaving measures for those involved.

On Oct. 12, personnel with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, were snorkeling around Cape Zanpa, an advanced dive spot with steep cliffs, crevices and rocky shorelines on Okinawa, Japan, according to a release.

As the Marines started packing up for the day, Lance Cpl. Jared Beachy, a flight line mechanic from New Braunfels, Texas, looked over the cliffs edge and saw a couple swimming below.

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Marine captains honored for saving a man's life in the Dallas airport

With the sun setting and waves intensifying, Beachy turned to leave with his group when he and the other Marines heard shouting.

It didnt sound right, said Cpl. Robert Escamilla, a UH-1Y Venom helicopter crew chief from Houston, Texas. Something sounded weird. You can usually tell when something is a little off in a situation, and that kind of triggered something in our heads into doing a little more investigation before we left.

The group rushed to the cliffs edge and saw a man standing alone without the woman hed been swimming with moments earlier. But the Marines couldnt spot the woman from land.

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So, three of them jumped in.

We were all super tired and drained at this point because we had been swimming for about four hours already, said Cpl. Joshua Stevens, a native of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and a UH-1Y Venom helicopter crew chief. But the adrenaline kicked in and it was a matter of it being a real serious situation. I didnt know if I would be recovering a body or looking for someone who was banged up and we wouldnt be able to carry her back.

About 100 yards from the shore, Beachy found the woman in distress. Shed been carried away by the current and was being tossed by powerful waves into the rocky shoreline.

He swam toward her and began to assess her injuries.

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Her knee was hurting and she had light bruises and scratches, but the biggest thing was that she was in shock and couldnt stand up on her own, Beachy said.

Beachy and Stevens carried the woman to safety. Meanwhile, Michigan native Cpl. Theron Dubay, a helicopter airframe mechanic, gathered up everyones gear and swam ahead of the trio to guide the rescuers to safety.

On Nov. 6, three of the Marines who participated in the rescue received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.

The Okinawa-based Marines, meanwhile, were not the only personnel to recently have such efforts recognized.

Lance Cpl. Sean Olson was awarded in September for actions that took place a few thousand miles away and approximately a year earlier than those of his fellow Marines on Okinawa.

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On June 16, 2023, Olson made his way to China Walls, a well-known local cliff-jumping spot near Honolulu, Hawaii. The sea was more rough than usual that day, he noticed.

Olson, a former lifeguard with Marine water survival training, had experienced rough water before, but what would happen that day would push the limits of his swimming abilities.

At the popular sea cliff, the administrative clerk with Headquarters and Service Battalion, Marine Corps Forces-Pacific, spotted a young woman struggling to stay afloat in the rough surf below, according to the release.

As waves pulsed higher, Olson spotted the woman battling to keep her head above water.

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As soon as I saw her plunge into the water, thats when I knew it was time to jump in, Olson said in the release.

Once he hit the water, Olson swam toward the panicking woman as she thrashed in the water. He first worked to calm the woman before beginning the fight against strong currents and crashing waves, eventually guiding the woman back to the base of the cliffs.

With the woman safely back on land, it seemed Olsons rescue efforts were done. Thats when he spotted a second woman flailing in the water, struggling to stay afloat.

Exhausted, Olson jumped back into the sea, swimming hard toward the woman in distress.

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A wave crashed over him, throwing him into the cliffs. He covered his head with his arms as his back scraped across the sharp surface, ripping a deep gash into his flesh.

Despite his injuries, Olson managed to get the second swimmer to safety, according to the release.

For saving two lives, the Marine Corps recognized Olson with the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal and a meritorious promotion to corporal.
Marjorie Taylor Greene and Donald Trump Jr have accused President Joe Biden of trying to start World War III after he gave Ukraine the green light to use US-supplied long-range supersonic missiles to strike inside Russia for the first time.

The Biden administrations granting of Kyivs request to use the ATACMS missiles outside of its own borders marks a change in stance in the presidents final days in office, before President-elect Donald Trump  who has indicated he will limit US support for Ukraine  returns to the White House in January.

The MAGA representative and Donald Trumps eldest son lashed out at Bidens decision in fiery posts on X.

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On his way out of office, Joe Biden is dangerously trying to start WWIII by authorizing Ukraine the use of U.S. long range missiles into Russia, Greene, who is among the Republicans who want to cut US aid to Ukraine, posted on Sunday.

The American people gave a mandate on Nov 5th against these exact America last decisions and do NOT want to fund or fight foreign wars.

She concluded: We want to fix our own problems. Enough of this, it must stop.

Trump Jr  who last week told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that his allowance is up now that Trump is returning to the White House  accused Biden of attempting to tarnish his fathers legacy by placing the US on the brink of conflict before he takes office.

Greene speaks at a campaign event for Trump in Georgia on September 24. She has hit out at the presidents decision (REUTERS)

The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives, Trump Jr said.

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Gotta lock in those $Trillions. Life be damned!!! Imbeciles!

The move marks a major policy shift after Russias warning that it would regard Kyivs authorization to use US-made missiles as a major escalation. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously told Ukraines Western allies that such a move would represent Natos direct participation in the war.

Bidens decision comes with just 64 days left in the White House.

Trump and Donald Trump Jr at his election night watch party (AP)

Trump meanwhile has criticized the Biden administration for spending more than $64bn in providing security assistance to Ukraine since Russias invasion of the nation in February 2022, according to figures from the US Department of State.

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He has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible, even claiming on the campaign trail that he could do so in just a single day. It is unclear how he plans to do so.

Since his election victory, the president-elect has had phone calls with both Zelensky and Putin.

He has expressed interest in having a follow-up call with Putin to discuss the resolution of Ukraines war soon, a source told The Washington Post.
Majorie Taylor Greene called for red and blue states to separate in a post on X Monday , an idea she has brought up several times during her tenure in Congress.

The Georgia congresswomans criticism comes amid reports of Democratic governors taking measures to protect their states against Trumps policies.

If Democrat governors plan to commit treason against our President and the majority of Americans then let them destroy their own states, she wrote. No one will want to live there. And after years of being attacked by the deranged left, most of us are so sick of their c---.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom called a special legislative session to safeguard California values and fundamental rights in the face of an incoming Trump administration. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker created the coalition Governors Safeguarding Democracy to protect state-level institutions from influence at the hands of the federal government.

Hope alone wont save our democracy, Polis said when he announced the formation of the coalition. We need to work together, especially at the state level, to protect and strengthen it.

Greene accused Democratic governors of threatening the upcoming Trump administrations mandate. She said she is still in favor of a national divorce if need be.

Greene has stirred up controversy by calling for a national divorce several times in the past. In 2023, she called the idea not a civil war but a legal agreement.

Tragically, I think we, the left and right, have reached irreconcilable differences, she wrote previously.
Pro-immigration demonstrators, including those from the Maryland group CASA, in front of the Supreme Court during a 2020 rally. File photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.

Marice Morales says her small law firm has been so busy working immigration cases since news of President-elect Donald Trump (R) returning to the White House that shes looking to hire extra help.

Everybody is really afraid, Morales said in a recent interview. And theyre wondering if they have a pending petition, if that is enough to protect themselves under the law, in front of a judge.

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That means the former Montgomery County delegate, the sole attorney in the Law Office of Marice Morales, who works with four paralegals, is looking for extra hands to deal with the increased workload, as immigrants across the state look to shore up their documentation status in anticipation of a hostile Trump-administration.

Trump repeatedly promised on the campaign trail that he will begin a mass deportation effort on his first day of his presidency. His nominations since the election of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary and former Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Thomas Holman as a White House border czar have only increased the likelihood he will hold true that promise.

Immigration attorneys and immigrant advocates looking for every available avenue to keep as many Maryland immigrants as possible in the state. According to CASA, an immigrant advocacy organization, there are around 300,000 undocumented residents in Maryland. Other organizations, like the Migration Policy Institute, put the number at 225,000 in the state.

Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA, spoke at a rally in Annapolis in March 2023. Photo by Bryan P. Sears.

They are very devastated, very scared, said Gustavo Torres, CASAs executive director, of undocumented residents in Maryland. They are concerned about what will happen with their family. But at the same time, they are ready to fight back, meaning they are ready to do whatever it takes to protect their rights.

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He said that CASA is working on outreach, including a Know Your Rights educational campaign to help migrants navigate the complicated immigration system and connect them with resources.

Torres and immigration lawyers in the state say a lot of protection for undocumented immigrants and those under certain immigration programs will come from the court system.

Sharvari Dalal-Dheini, senior director of government relations with American Immigration Lawyers Association, said that lawyers are working to get as many immigration cases filed as possible before Trump takes office on Jan. 20, 2025.

Trump has promised a lot of things on immigration that can be very scary. A lot of our members are focused on trying to get as many filings in now as they can, she said. Many of our members know what happened in the first Trump administration, that litigation became such a key tool in their arsenal to get their clients cases approved or even to challenge those policies.

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The positive is that we all went through a Trump 1.0 administration, so we know what policies they enacted and will then likely bring back, she said.

That said, Dalal-Dheini noted that Trumps administration is likely to be more successful this term, as he will be building off of his previous experience from his last presidency that ended in 2020.

According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a federal records database maintained by Syracuse University, there were 57,395 pending immigration cases in Maryland as of October, a fraction of the 3.7 million cases nationwide. According to Morales, those 57,000 people are more protected from deportation due to the fact that they have a case open in court.

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As long as youre within the court system, you have the guarantee that your rights will be protected, Morales said.

Both Morales and Dalal-Dheini said that Maryland tends to be more immigrant-friendly than other states.

Were also in a much more diverse and open-minded and immigrant-friendly community, Dalal-Dheini said. Like our leadership in Maryland has always valued what immigrants bring to our country, regardless of whether they are documented or not.

DACA and TPS in question

Still, immigration attorneys and advocates fear that a Trump presidency may also affect the roughly 7,000 residents who are in the state under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and the estimated 22,000 to 27,000 residents who have been given Temporary Protective Status (TPS).

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DACA residents, sometimes called Dreamers, are undocumented immigrants who are protected from deportation because they were brought to the U.S. as children. Those with TPS have been granted temporary immigration status to stay in the U.S. because of a natural disaster or an ongoing conflict that makes it unsafe for them to return their home country.

Both categories are lawfully present, but advocates fear it is just a matter of time before the Trump administration tries to disrupt those programs.

The Trump administration has used rhetoric that would call people who are here legally  on temporary protective status or DACA or parole, theyre allowed to be here and live here legally  they now try to refer to those individuals as illegal, Dalal-Dheini. So, this sense of fear in the immigrant community  I think thats the biggest problem, that people are going to be looking over their shoulder all the time.

Thousands of immigrants in Maryland could be deported if Trump carries through on the mass deportation plans he campaigned on.

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SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE

People will be disappearing, Morales said. Youll go to the grocery store and you wont see workers, or go to your favorite restaurant and you wont see people  kids in your kids classrooms who wont be there anymore.

Dalal-Dheini advises that immigrants and concerned residents get in contact with a lawyer to see what their options are.

They should definitely consult with an attorney to see if there are things that they could do to further protect themselves, she said.

I think it will be really important to try to normalize your status, if you are able to change to some kind of more permanent status, Dalal-Dheini said. Immigrants should, knowing that theres this deportation, that people should have emergency plans in place.
CALVERT COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now)  The Maryland Office of the Attorney General (OAG) opened an investigation after an attempted traffic stop led to a deadly crash in Calvert County over the weekend.

Officials said that on Saturday, Nov. 16, just before 9 p.m., a deputy with the Calvert County Sheriffs Office was sitting in the MD Route 261 and 17th Street area, in Chesapeake Beach, when they noticed a gold Ford Mustang pass their cruiser at a high rate of speed.

The deputy activated their emergency lights and attempted to initiate a traffic stop on Route 261, but the Mustang did not stop.

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Man found shot on I-95 in Maryland, MSP investigating

The chase continued for nearly two miles. Thats when the OAG said the driver of the Mustang swerved into the opposite lane, ran off the road and slammed into a telephone pole.

The deputies began assisting the driver, but they died at the scene.

The Independent Investigations Division (IID) with the OAG is leading the investigation and said the deputies involved in the chase had body cameras.

The names of the driver and officers involved have not yet been released.

Officials said the IID will generally release body-worn camera footage within 20 business days of the incident.

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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.
LONDON (Reuters) -Two masked men broke into Britain's royal Windsor Castle estate last month and stole two vehicles from a barn, the Sun newspaper reported on Monday.

King Charles and his wife Camilla were not in the estate at the time of the incident but Prince William and his family were believed to be at Adelaide Cottage, part of the Windsor Castle estate, the Sun reported.

The men used a stolen truck to break through a security gate at night and then scaled a six-foot fence, the paper said.

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Local police said officers were called to a report of a burglary on Crown Estate land in Windsor, west of London, just before midnight on Oct. 13.

"Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Izuzu pickup and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area," Thames Valley Police said in an emailed statement. "No arrests have been made at this stage and an investigation is ongoing."

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

Windsor Castle previously faced a security scare in 2021 when authorities arrested a man with a crossbow in the grounds of the castle who said he had wanted to kill Queen Elizabeth.

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; editing by Sarah Young)
Police are investigating the incident on the Windsor Castle estate, which is where the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children reside in Adelaide Cottage

Police are hunting two masked raiders who broke into farm buildings on the Windsor Castle estate as Prince William, Kate Middleton and their three children reportedly slept in their home nearby.

The burglary, in which two intruders got into the estate over a 6-foot fence, took place on Oct. 13 while William and Kate, both 42, and their children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, are believed to have been on the estate, according to The Sun. The men were apparently targeting farm machinery and used a stolen vehicle to crash through a security gate on the way out.

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According to the outlet, the incident happened at Shaw Farm, one of the working farms on the estate, and follows the reported removal of armed police officers at the gate that the intruders used.

Kensington Palace, where the Prince and Princess of Wales have their office, had no comment. Buckingham Palace also didnt comment, as is usual where security is concerned.

Jonathan Brady - Pool/Getty Kate Middleton and Prince William with their children on their first day at Lambrook School, near Ascot, in Sept. 2022 Kate Middleton and Prince William with their children on their first day at Lambrook School, near Ascot, in Sept. 2022

Related: Prince William Makes Surprise Trip to Northern Ireland to Highlight His Mission for the Unhoused

A spokesperson for the local Thames Valley Police, which is in charge of security in the area, confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE: At around 11.45pm on Sunday October 13, we received a report of burglary at a property on Crown Estate land near to the A308 in Windsor. Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Isuzu pick-up and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area."

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No arrests have been made at this stage and an investigation is ongoing," the statement concluded.

William, Kate and their children live at Adelaide Cottage which is five minutes away on the vast estate that surrounds Windsor Castle. On the date of the burglary, it was a Sunday night before a school day for the young royals.

Yui Mok - WPA Pool/Getty Prince William and Kate Middleton with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis at Windsor Castle in April 2023 Prince William and Kate Middleton with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis at Windsor Castle in April 2023

King Charles and Queen Camilla were not in residence at the castle at the time as Camilla, 77, was in India ahead of her tour of Australia and Samoa, while Charles, 76, was in Scotland.

They would have to have known the vehicles were stored there before they broke in and known when was the best time to get and escape without being caught, a source told The Sun. So they must have been watching Windsor Castle for a while."

Ben Stansall - WPA Pool/Getty Windsor Castle in June 2024 Windsor Castle in June 2024

Related: Prince William Revisited Hobby He Gave Up Years Ago Because Kate Middleton Said It Always Fills Me With Horror

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

There are alarms at Windsor Castle but the first time anyone knew there was a break-in was when they crashed through the security barrier at Shaw Farm Gate exit," the source continued, The barrier has needed to be replaced as it was so badly damaged.

William, Kate and their young family moved to Adelaide Cottage in 2022 so they could be close to the children's school, Lambrook School, in nearby Ascot.


Congratulations to Elizabeth Correia of Lowell for winning the $1 million prize in Mass State Lottery $5,000,000 100X Cashword instant ticket

Correria chose the cash option and received a one-time payment of $650,000. Correia bought her ticket from Santo Domingo Liquors in Lawrence.

The store receives a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

Correia, when asked what shell do with her winnings, says she plans to invest it.

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A Massachusetts woman is facing multiple charges after state police said she drove the wrong way while intoxicated on Interstate 93 in New Hampshire over the weekend.

Deirdre Masi, 49, of Lowell, Massachusetts, was arrested Sunday and charged with driving while intoxicated  subsequent offense; reckless conduct  deadly weapon, reckless driving and criminal threatening, state police said Monday.

Deirdre Masi, 49, of Lowell, Mass.

At around 10:45 p.m. Sunday, Trooper William Moran noticed a car traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of I-93, near Exit 1 in Salem, state police said.

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Moran drove on the northbound side, parallel to the wrong-way vehicle, before using a crossover and successfully stopping the driver, later identified as Masi, near Exit 2.

Masi was held on preventative detention at the Rockingham County Department of Corrections pending an arraignment scheduled for Monday in Salem District Court.

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

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LIMA, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- In a pivotal meeting on Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining dialogue, fostering cooperation, and steering clear of conflict.

The past years have seen China-U.S. ties go through ups and downs. In Washington, a widespread zero-sum mentality against China has hardened into policies to stymie the Asian country's development.

There is "a bipartisan consensus (in Washington) that strategic competition with China should continue, even if there is little agreement on America's ultimate goal for this strategy," Yilun Zhang, research associate and manager of the Trade 'n Technology program at the Institute for China-America Studies, said in a written statement to Xinhua.

From tariffs to restrictions on semiconductor technology, these measures have not only dampened bilateral ties but have reverberated through global supply chains.

Meanwhile, China and the United States hold divergent worldviews. China has championed a vision of a more equitable, sustainable, and inclusive global community, while Washington has sought to maintain its longstanding position of dominance.

Despite these profound differences, Saturday's high-level engagement underscored a shared understanding: with the stakes so high, neither side can afford the peril of confrontation.

The two sides should keep exploring the right way for two major countries to get along well with each other, and realize long-term, peaceful coexistence on this planet, Xi said during the meeting.

"The Thucydides Trap is not a historical inevitability. A new Cold War should not be fought and cannot be won," said Xi during the meeting on the sidelines of the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Peru's capital Lima.

In the past years, certain American politicians, academics, and media outlets have clung to a zero-sum mentality, warning of the so-called "Thucydides Trap" -- the idea that a rising country inevitably provokes fear in an established one, leading to conflict or war.

China, however, has consistently rejected this premise. In a world shaped by globalization, where nations are deeply interconnected and their interests profoundly intertwined, China argues that the old paradigms of power politics and survival of the fittest must yield to a more cooperative vision, one that seeks to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

"The United States can save itself the huge costs that would result from battling China across key issues by adopting a mutually beneficial path," said Denis Simon, a long-time U.S.-China relations specialist and former Executive Vice Chancellor at Duke Kunshan University.

"Mutual respect, greater cross-cultural sensitivity, and enhanced reciprocity can lead to win-win outcomes," said Simon.

In the meeting on Saturday, Xi called on the U.S. side to have a correct strategic perception of China and treat each other as equals.

China's goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-U.S. relationship remains unchanged, Xi said, adding that its commitment to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as principles for handling China-U.S. relations remains unchanged.

Biden, for his part, emphasized that the U.S.-China relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world.

The United States does not seek a new Cold War, it does not seek to change China's system, its alliances are not targeted against China, it does not support "Taiwan independence," it does not seek conflict with China, and it does not see its Taiwan policy as a way to compete with China, Biden said.

In the past four years, the two presidents have jointly brought China-U.S. dialogue and cooperation back on track. More than 20 communication mechanisms have been restarted or established, and positive achievements have been made in such areas as diplomacy, security, economy, trade, fiscal affairs, finance, military, counternarcotics, law enforcement, agriculture, climate change, and people-to-people exchange.

"The immediate need now is to preserve, enhance, and solidify communication between the two countries," said Zhang.

"As the political dust settles from this election cycle, people-to-people exchanges will be just as crucial as diplomatic ones," he said, referring to the just finished U.S. presidential election, where former U.S. President Donald Trump won the race.

"The next generation must continue engaging with one another, not only to reduce misunderstandings but also to deepen the pool of China expertise within the United States," he added.

During his first term, the Trump administration embraced an "America First" doctrine that saw sweeping tariffs imposed on U.S. trading partners. Following his victory, concerns about heightened protectionism are once again spreading globally.

"We hope China will continue to champion the message of keeping the global trade system open," said Carlos Aquino, director of the Center for Asian Studies at Peru's National University of San Marcos.

"It is important that the message of (safeguarding) a free and open trade system will continue being advocated by President Xi," he said. 
Matt Gaetz has been accused of paying to have sex with two women at a Florida house party in 2017.

The bombshell allegations were revealed by his anonymous accusers lawyer, Joel Leppard, in an interview with ABC News on Monday. The allegations go back seven years to when Gaetz was still an unmarried freshman Congressman in his mid-30s.

Leppard said his clients testified in front of a House Ethics Committee as part of its investigation into Gaetz. That probe was reportedly set to be released last week, but was ultimately dropped after Gaetz abruptly resigned from Congress within hours of being announced as Donald Trumps attorney general appointee.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was among the Republicans who pushed for the ousting of former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as Speaker of the House.

One of the women has also claimed that she witnessed Gaetz at the party having sex with a 17-year-old girl.

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She testified [that] in July of 2017, at this house party, she was walking out to the pool area, and she looked to her right, and she saw Rep. Gaetz having sex with her friend who was 17, Leppard told ABC News.

Leppard added that House investigators placed screenshots of Venmo payments on a screen during a hearing and asked his clients to give a reasoning for each payment. Leppard said theyd respond each time, That was for sex.

President Donald Trump takes a selfie with Rep. Matt Gaetz after the State of the Union address in 2018.

A report by the Daily Beast in 2021 revealed that Gaetz pal, the imprisoned Florida tax collector Joel Greenberg, wrote in a confession letter that Gaetz had paid him to arrange sex with several women and a girl who was 17. The Beast also revealed private Venmo logs that showed Gaetz sent money to Greenberg.

On more than one occasion, this individual was involved in sexual activities with several of the other girls, Greenberg wrote in his confession, identifying Gaetz as the congressman from Floridas 1st Congressional District.

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Greenberg added, From time to time, gas money or gifts, rent or partial tuition payments were made to several of these girls, including the individual who was not yet 18. I did see the acts occur firsthand and Venmo transactions, Cash App or other payments were made to these girls on behalf of the Congressman.

At another point, Greenberg wrote that his lawyers know he paid me to pay the girls and that he and I both had sex with the girl who was underage.

The Justice Department, which Gaetz will soon oversee as attorney general if hes confirmed by the U.S. Senate, probed allegations of this nature against Gaetz for years. However, the lawmaker was informed last year that hed face no charges.

Gaetz, 42, has adamantly denied any wrongdoing for years. A spokesperson for the Trump transition team called the allegations brought forward by Leppard baseless.

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These are baseless allegations intended to derail the second Trump administration, said spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer. The Biden Justice Department investigated Gaetz for years and cleared him of wrongdoing. The only people who went to prison over these allegations were those lying about Matt Gaetz.

Sources told ABC News that the House Ethics Committee will convene on Wednesday to decide on whether it should release its report about Gaetz despite him no longer being in Congress. Reports have suggested the scandal-scarred Gaetz may struggle to be confirmed by the Senate despite Republicans holding a slim majority.

Former Rep. George Santos chats with Republican Reps. Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz in March.

Leppard is among the many people calling on the House committee to release its report on Gaetz.

As the Senate considers former Rep. Gaetzs nomination for attorney general, several questions demand answers, he said. What if multiple credible witnesses provided evidence of behavior that would constitute serious criminal violations?

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John Clune, a lawyer who represents the former minor who was central to the House committees probe into Gaetz, has also called for the report to be released.

Mr. Gaetzs likely nomination as Attorney General is a perverse development in a truly dark series of events, he said. We would support the House Ethics Committee immediately releasing their report. She was a high school student and there were witnesses.
President-elect Donald Trump is dead serious about making him attorney general. Speaker Mike Johnson is pledging to bury a critical House Ethics Committee report into his alleged personal misconduct. But expect this to be a very uncomfortable week for former Rep. Matt Gaetz all the same.

There is new pressure to publicize details from investigations centering on allegations of underage sex and drug use by the Florida Republican as a potentially tawdry and dramatic confirmation battle takes shape.

First off: An attorney representing two women who testified to both federal and House Ethics investigators about Gaetzs alleged misdeeds is coming forward with new details about what his clients told investigators. Lawyer Joel Leppard is set to do multiple network TV interviews Monday as he pushes for the release of the House Ethics report, and he gave Playbook a sneak preview last night:

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 His clients, he said, told investigators they attended more than five and as many as 10 sex parties with Gaetz between the summer of 2017 and the end of 2018, during his first term in the House. At those parties, they testified, there were group sex situations and illegal drugs were present.

 One of Leppards clients told investigators she witnessed Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was underage at the time, against what she recalled as some sort of game table, according to Leppard.

Gaetz has strenuously and repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. The federal investigation that Leppards clients participated in ended without charges against Gaetz, according to his lawyers and Justice Department officials.





But Leppard  and many on Capitol Hill  believe that a lack of criminal indictment is a much lower bar than a prospective attorney general should be meeting, and they are looking to the as-yet unpublished House Ethics report to provide further details. Leppard said his media blitz is aimed at protecting his unnamed clients, who have not ruled out coming forward in the future

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Ultimately, I hope it puts a lot of pressure on the panel to release the report, he said. My clients have already been through this several times and they really, really do not want to testify again, especially not on the floor of the Senate.

Asked about the allegations, a spokesperson for the AG-designate made reference to the current AG: Merrick Garlands DOJ cleared Matt Gaetz and didnt charge him. Are you alleging Garland is part of a cover up?"

Meanwhile, the Democrats charged with vetting Trumps nominees are privately exploring how to gather more information on the sexual misconduct allegations that are bearing down on both Gaetz and Pete Hegseth, Trumps pick for Defense secretary who is alleged to have paid a settlement to a woman who accused him of sexual assault. (Like Gaetz, Hegseth has strongly denied wrongdoing.)

Importantly, Democrats are discussing what they can do now, while they hold the committee gavels and subpoena power that they will give up when the new Congress gets underway in January.

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On the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic members have discussed requesting the FBI file on Gaetz, which could include records of any interviews conducted as part of the now-closed investigation. Theyre likely to do so before the end of the year, knowing Trump could order those materials to be withheld once he assumes office.

Theyre also considering making contact with the attorney of the woman who told the House Ethics Committee that Gaetz had sex with her when she was a minor. That lawyer, John Clune, called for the report to be released immediately last week.

Public hearings arent under consideration at the moment, but Democrats say that behind-the-scenes conversations with the womens representatives  or possibly interviews with women themselves  could serve as preparation for confirmation season should the GOP circle the wagons around Trumps nominees.

Even in the minority, Democrats will get the right to call witnesses during confirmation hearings, and they are discussing the possibility of calling the women to testify if they are willing.

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We ought to be marshaling all of the objective and relevant evidence necessary to assess the confidence, character and moral compass of each nominee, said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn), who sits on the Judiciary and Armed Services panels. And if those materials are denied, or concealed, and if witnesses with relevant information are willing to come forward, they should be given an opportunity to do so.

That, Blumenthal added, includes the woman who accused Hegseth of sexual assault and subsequently signed a nondisclosure agreement.

A private agreement on nondisclosure should be preempted by an Armed Services hearing on the confirmation of a nominee, he said. And we would expect any nominee to waive any rights under nondisclosure.

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Two women who testified to the House Ethics Committee told investigators that now-former Republican congressman Matt Gaetz paid both of them for sex, according to their attorney.

One of his clients also told the committee that she had witnessed Gaetz having sex with a third woman who was 17 years old at the time.

She testified that in July of 2017, at this house party, she was walking out to the pool area, and she looked to her right, and she saw Representative Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17, attorney Joel Leppard told ABC News.

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The statements follow Donald Trumps nomination of Gaetz as the next attorney general and the latters subsequent resignation from Congress, days before the anticipated release of an ethics committee report into allegations of sexual misconduct. The claims are coming under closer scrutiny before confirmation hearings in the Senate next year.

Attorney John Clune, who represents the former minor, has demanded that the committee release a report with its findings.

Mr. Gaetzs likely nomination as Attorney General is a perverse development in a truly dark series of events, he said in a statement last week. We would support the House Ethics Committee immediately releasing their report. She was a high school student and there were witnesses.

Matt Gaetz, pictured at Mar-Lago after Donald Trump nominated him for attorney general, is the subject of a long-running House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use (AP)

The woman reportedly testified to the committee that Gaetz had sex with her when she was 17 years old and in his first term in Congress. Gaetz stopped having sex with the minor after learning she was underage and did not continue a relationship with her until she turned 18, according to Leppard.

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The women told investigators that they attended parties where Gaetz was present and that they witnessed drug use and sex acts, according to Leppard. They were shown Venmo payments with the congressman and were repeatedly asked by committee investigators what they were for, Leppard told ABC News.

My clients repeatedly testified, What was that payment for? That was for sex, Leppard said.

Gaetz was the subject of a Department of Justice investigation for several years, though prosecutors ultimately never brought charges against the Florida congressman.

He has strenuously denied any wrongdoing.

After he was initially charged with 33 counts, Gaetzs former ally Joel Greenberg reached a deal with prosecutors in May 2021 to plead guilty to six federal crimes, including underage sex trafficking. He is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence.

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Greenberg also admitted introducing a minor to other adult men who engaged in commercial sex acts with her, according to court documents.

Matt Gaetz abruptly resigned from Congress after Donald Trump nominated him for attorney general (AP)

Gaetzs abrupt resignation from Congress effectively ended the ethics committee probe, though its members are expected to convene this week to discuss releasing a report.

Matt Gaetz will be the next Attorney General. Hes the right man for the job and will end the weaponization of our justice system, Trump transition spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer told ABC News. These are baseless allegations intended to derail the second Trump administration. The Biden Justice Department investigated Gaetz for years and cleared him of wrongdoing.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters last week that he will strongly request that the ethics panel not make a report public, arguing that the committee no longer has jurisdiction over the now-former congressman.

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But there is precedent for releasing such a report after a lawmaker leaves office. In 1987, former congressman Bill Boner was the subject of an ethics report two months after leaving office. The ethics committee released its report into former congressman Buz Lukens the same day he left office in 1990.

Yet Johnson argues that releasing the report would open Pandoras box.

If its been broken once or twice, it should not have been, he said.

Leppard hopes that a media blitz of findings from a congressional investigation into the nations next potential top law enforcement official puts a lot of pressure on the panel to release the report.

My clients have already been through this several times and they really, really do not want to testify again, especially not on the floor of the Senate, he told Politico.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has commented on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's phone call to Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin, emphasising that the decision on such communications rests with Scholz.

Source: Sky News, citing Starmer, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Starmer indicated that he had no plans to talk to Putin.

"It's a matter for Chancellor Scholz who he speaks to. I have no plans to speak to Putin," he said.

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Starmer noted that the 1,000th day since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is drawing near.

He also commented on the likely involvement of North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine, saying that it "shows the desperation of Russia" but also noted that it has "serious implications for European security".

For this reason, he urges world leaders to "double down on shoring up our support for Ukraine", which he referred to as "top of my agenda" at the G20 summit.

Background:

On the afternoon of 15 November, it was reported that Scholz had spoken to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin for the first time in two years. At the time, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy labelled the call a "Pandora's box".

In his turn, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk noted that the latest large-scale Russian missile attack on Ukraine proved the ineffectiveness of telephone diplomacy.

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PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - The new prime minister of Mauritius has announced an audit of the public finances days after his coalition won a resounding election victory, casting a shadow over the accuracy of previous government data.

Navin Ramgoolam's opposition Alliance du Changement coalition won a landslide in the Nov. 10 ballot, giving him a fourth stint as prime minister.

The 77-year-old premier said in a speech on Sunday that his government would conduct "an audit of the state, of the economy, and public finances" and that they would publish all the results.

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"All the numbers from the finance minister are wrong," Ramgoolam said, according to reporting by Bloomberg. "Soon, you will know. They manipulated the data to make you believe that life is rosy."

His comments could cause unease among foreign investors and international lending institutions in the Indian ocean archipelago, which is an offshore financial centre marketing itself as a link between Africa and Asia.

Neither Ramgoolam's representatives nor outgoing Finance Minister Renganaden Padayachy immediately responded to calls and a message seeking comment.

Despite enjoying 7.0% economic growth last year, several voters said during the election that a cost of living crisis was colouring their views of the government lead by incumbent Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.

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Mauritius has typically been seen as one of Africa's most stable democracies.

Transforming itself from a low-income, sugarcane-dependent nation in the 1960s to an upper-middle-income country, Mauritius has been consistently ranked the easiest place to do business in Africa by the World Bank.

(Reporting by Hereward Holland and Villen Anganan; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by George Obulutsa and Christina Fincher)
McBee admitted to falsifying documents to receive unauthorized insurance benefits, which cost the U.S. government more than $4 million

PEACOCK Steven McBee Sr. on The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys. Steven McBee Sr. on The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys.

Steven McBee has pleaded guilty in a multi-million dollar crop insurance fraud case.

The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys star, 52, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty to a fraud scheme involving the receipt of federal crop insurance benefits that he was allegedly not authorized to get in a federal court in Kansas City, Mo. on Nov. 5, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri announced.

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McBee  who is the owner of McBee Farming Operations  was charged with one count of federal crop insurance fraud. His guilty plea serves as an admission that he engaged in fraudulent activity from 2018 to 2020 that caused an economic loss to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to the DOJ press release.

Related: Bravo Heads to the Ranch as The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys Moves to the Network for Season 2 (Exclusive)

The reality star is facing up to 30 years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled following the United States Probation Offices presentence investigation.

The DOJ claimed the governments total loss was $4,022,123 and McBee will also be required to forfeit an additional $3,158,923. His full restitution will be determined by the court at a later date under the terms of his plea agreement.

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According to the DOJ press release, McBee admitted to making a false report to Rain and Hail, a company reinsured by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. He also confessed to sending fraudulent documents to Rain and Hail that underreported his total 2018 corn crop by approximately 674,812 bushels and underreported his total 2018 soybean crop by approximately 155,833 bushels, the press release stated.

The falsified reports allowed McBee to receive $2,605,943 in federal crop insurance benefits in addition to $552,980 in federal crop insurance premium subsidies. In total, he received $3,158,923 in benefits he was not authorized to get.

The farm owner also acknowledged that his company sold more than 1.2 million bushels of corn and nearly 416,000 bushels of soybeans to another party in 2018. His crop insurance records for that year indicated that only 340,476 bushels of corn and 190,171 bushels of soybeans were produced.

Related: New Yellowstone-Style Reality Series Sees Family 'Drama', 'Relentless' Pressure Fuel 'Fight' for Control of Ranch

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Additionally, McBee falsified information he provided to his insurance company about the companys soybean crop in 2019. At the time, he claimed the soybeans were the first crop in certain fields when wheat had already been harvested from those fields, the DOJ states.

The insurance policy allowed coverage on the first crop planted on a piece of land during a given year. His claims allowed McBee to be paid federal crop insurance benefits which he was authorized to receive.

In 2020, the television personality provided false information when he obtained crop insurance through NAU Country Insurance in 2020, according to the DOJ.

McBee also shared false planting dates on crop insurance documents with NAU Country Insurance. His company harvested corn after the last planting date in 2020, which made it ineligible for insurance. Consequently, he received unauthorized federal crop insurance benefits.

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The television personality also admitted to committing additional fraud in 2019 and 2020.

Related: Judge in Andy Cohen, Leah McSweeney Case Admits in Unexpected Trial Moment That He's Never 'Watched Real Housewives'

Season 1 of The McBee Family Dynasty: Real Life Cowboys  which aired on Peacock  offered a glimpse at the operations of McBee Farm and Cattle as part of the high-stakes world of farming and ranching in Missouri.

The ranch was "at a crossroads, poised to either soar to billion-dollar success or plunge into financial ruin pending a pivotal decision from a Venture Capital investment firm, according to an official synopsis.

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McBees "personal struggles threaten the stability of the family business," the description continues. "With tensions mounting between Steve and his sons  Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer alum Steven Jr., Jesse and Cole  after an explosive affair, viewers can expect a rollercoaster ride of ambition and betrayal."

Paul Andrews/PEACOCK Steven McBee Jr. on The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys. Steven McBee Jr. on The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys.

Related: 'Joe Millionaire' 's Annie Is Letting Steven 'Win Me Back' 8 Months After He Rejected Her for Another Woman

In October, PEOPLE confirmed the reality series will move to Bravo for season 2 in 2025. Episodes will then appear on Peacock the next day.

McBee is not expected to be part of the shows second season amid his legal troubles.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Season 1 of The McBee Dynasty: Real American Cowboys is currently available to stream on Peacock.
DENVER (KDVR)  After at least 30 cases of E. coli in Colorado were attributed to customers eating at McDonalds, including one case that resulted in death, the fast food giant is investing millions to try and win back the trust of customers.

McDonalds announced that its going to spend $100 million to try and get people back to the Golden Arches after losing sales thanks to the E. coli outbreak. An economics professor told FOX31 this is the right move for the company.

Deadly E. coli outbreak linked to carrots sold in 18 states, including Colorado

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In economics, we just call it an outside shock to the company and some outside shocks are good, some are bad, said Kishore Kulkarni, an economics professor at MSU Denver.

Kulkarni said the E. coli outbreak was a bad outside shock. McDonalds announced that $100 million will now go towards bringing people back into the restaurants. Kulkarni said that the money isnt the issue.

One hundred million dollars is not really the main question because they can always find that change somewhere, he said. What is more important is the name of the company.

Earning back the trust that was broken should now be the companys main goal, said Kulkarni, and cash is the best place to start.

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The more they spend, the better trust will be there and faster it will come, he said.

While McDonalds hasnt specified exactly what the money will be used for, Kulkarni expects it will go to better food safety checks among other things.

Gov. Jared Polis excited by RFK Jr.s Trump Cabinet nod for U.S. health, human services

Theyve got to spend the money on quality, said Kulkarni. Theyve got to spend some money on advertisements and commercials and informing consumers that they are taking a precaution to not have this again happen.

McDonalds said that of that $100 million, $65 million will go directly to the hardest hit franchises, which may indicate that much of it will be coming to Colorado where most of the cases were reported.

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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.
Making America Healthy Again, one Big Mac at a time: First it was the Kamala Harris claim that she worked at McDonald's, a probably true but not totally proven story about a job she took back in college, told to try to make her seem middle-class and relatable. Then it was Donald Trump's shift at a McDonald's in Pennsylvania in the final month of the campaign. Now it's Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the nation's food regulatorsbeing hazed by Trump and co., forced to eat burgers and fries on a private jet flying to a UFC match.

RFK Jr. essentially being hazed here with the McDonalds pic.twitter.com/hH3N8GwkhE  Andy Kaczynski (@KFILE) November 17, 2024

Theories abound about what RFK Jr. will do as HHS head. The discourse has turned to possible culprits for mass obesity and chronic disease. Seed oils? Food dyes? Too much added sugar in food? (Certainly that last one.) And of course, this has all spiraled into a discourse about elites unwilling to admit that McDonald's tastes good, further purported proof of the disconnect between the ruling class and the masses.

All of this is to say that the coming health culture wars will be tedious and miserable, made worse by RFK Jr. serving as generalissimo.

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"President Trump has asked me to do three things: 1. Clean up the corruption in our government health agencies. 2. Return those agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science. 3. Make America Healthy Again by ending the chronic disease epidemic," writes Kennedy on X. Note the rhetorical trick here: the use of the word return implies these agencies are not currently engaged in evidence-based science but Kennedy will come to the rescue.

There's a bit of a tension here, in that RFK Jr. wants to slash major parts of these agencies, ridding them of festering corruption, but he also wants to empower the regulators further to drive various food products and additives out of circulation.

Some changes Kennedy might make could be a good thing. He is a proponent, for example, of raw milk, which consumers should be free to buy and producers should be free to sell. (Many states make it quite hard to do so.) But he also frequently goes after the wrong culprits, like when he talks about how using high-fructose corn syrup, instead of real sugar, is a major factor contributing to obesity. That much is true, but the way to solve for that is not to direct more state muscle to cracking down; it's to remove the sugar tariffs and corn subsidies that led to it being this way in the first place. The cheapness of high-fructose corn syrup is an artifact of government policy, and sometimes the solution is as simple as repealing existing bad laws on the books. As for the last bitgetting Americans to consume less sugarthat may be an area where the culture should change, but it isn't one where health bureaucrats should punish people's choices.

This is all par for the course with Kennedy, though. He gets a few things right, but he consistently muddles the details and blames the wrong culprits.

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Another example: Kennedy wants to review vaccine safety data, to figure out which vaccines should be pulled from market. "People ought to have a choice, and that choice ought to be informed by the best information," Kennedy told NBC earlier this month. "So I'm gonna make sure the scientific safety studies and efficacy studies are out there, and people can make individual assessments about whether that product is gonna be good for them." If Kennedy wants to put those studies in a more prominent part of the HHS website so citizens can review them more easily, that's fine with me. But this isn't exactly top-secret stuff.

Unsurprisingly, when Kennedy was picked for the HHS role late last week, pharmaceutical companies' shares plummeted. Toward the end of last week, following the announcement, Pfizer fell 4.6 percent, Eli Lilly fell 4.2 percent, Amgen fell 4.9 percent, and Novo Nordisk fell more than 3.1 percent. The government should not be trying to serve these companies' bottom lines, but it is worth remembering that these companies are a net good for society. America is a leader in drug innovation, in part because there are real incentives to innovate here. America is a leader in food innovationsuch as genetically modified crop developmentfor much the same reason. The crusade to rid America of the products that have somewhat irrationally earned RFK Jr.'s scorn may end up doing collateral damage we'll come to regret.

In the meantime, it's hilarious that his own commander in chief is forcing him to eat seed-oil-ified Mickey D's.

Scenes from New York: "At least 146,000 public school students in New York City did not have permanent housing at some point during the past school year, a record number and a 23 percent increase from the year before, according to Advocates for Children of New York," reports The New York Times. "Almost all of those students were living either in shelters across the city or 'doubled up' temporarily with friends or family, according to the group, which focuses on supporting children from low-income families." (So not "homeless" per se, despite what the headline suggests.)

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Surely a huge part of this growth has to do with the influx of immigrants in a city whose regulations have made it infamously difficult to create more housing. It's predicted that about one-third of the total recently-arrived migrant population consists of school-aged children, most of whom live in temporary shelters across the five boroughs.

"They're going to write this off as a migrant problem, and it's not," Christine Quinn, the chief executive of Win, the city's largest operator of homeless shelters, told The New York Times. But if Quinn offered stats to back this up or provided any alternate theories as to what is going on, the Times did not print them.

"Migrant children have made up most of the increase," reported the Times at the end of last year, referring to the increase of "homeless" kids during the 20222023 school year. It's unclear whether the same is true for 20232024, but it's certainly plausible.

QUICK HITS

"President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied missiles to strike deeper inside Russia, easing limitations on the longer range weapons as Russia deploys thousands of North Korean troops to reinforce its war, according to a U.S. official and three other people familiar with the matter," per the Associated Press.

The strength of RFK Jr.'s philosophy is "that he holds corporations to a high standard," writes Vinay Prasad. "As a weakness, he is likely to believe in false safety signals (e.g. MMR, autism), and he is prone to support cheap, repurposed medications that don't work. If medications cost a lot, he would probably be more skeptical of the evidence, but not if they are cheap. That's the anti-corporatist in him, and his blindspot."

"Are you expecting to close down entire agencies?" Fox Business's Maria Bartiromo asked Vivek Ramaswamy, who has been tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency alongside Elon Musk, over the weekend. His reply: "We expect mass reductions. We expect entire agencies to be deleted outright."

"In a situationship, there's frequently not just the imbalance of one partner who cares more than the other, but also an inner turmoil in each personthe dueling desires to embrace domestic security and the urge to be unburdened and unrestrained by romantic commitments," writes Reasoner Emma Camp for Slate. "While it's easy to dismiss situationships' rising popularity as just another permutation of age-old dating woes, there's an important hitch. Unlike previous cohorts of young people, Generation Z is afflicted with endemic risk aversiona personality feature that makes many current twentysomethings uniquely commitment-phobic. In fact, Gen Z might just be the most risk-averse generation on record."

Activist histrionics are bad:

This reply to Josh totally captures the absurd way the left insists on talking about trans stuff. You'll say "it's not important that trans women can be on a swim team" and they'll immediately be like "what about trans genocide??" pic.twitter.com/rCAYcnXBEE  Ben Dreyfuss (@bendreyfuss) November 17, 2024

How the Japanese town of Nagi actually managed to up its birth rate (to 2.7, roughly twice the national average) in a major way:

i.e. the biggest hurdle is finding people who want to have children, but once you find them, the incentives of these policies can actually work maybe they have to take place within a context where community bonds can form (small towns or tight-knit cities, e.g. hasidic brooklyn)  eververdant (@ever_verdant) November 17, 2024

The post The McDonald's Election appeared first on Reason.com.
The mainstream press has been criticized for normalizing, or sanewashing, Donald Trump and his political allies. Having spent my career migrating back and forth between straight news and opinion journalism, I take a more sympathetic view. Reporting the news without expressing your personal opinion imposes valuable discipline. Among other benefits, it minimizes facile shortcuts, which are opinion journalisms principal vice (and the lingua franca of social media).

When I was a straight-news editor, I found that eliminating bias (also pretension, redundancy, and other categories of bad writing) was often a simple matter of deleting adjectives. Adjective-rich copy is self-indulgent, and unless your invective matches the artistry of H.L. Mencken or Hunter S. Thompsonwhich it doesntyou should avoid it.

But theres nothing simple about covering Trumpworld, with its habitual lying, racism, misogyny, and all-around bad behavior. Here the straight-news community falls back on euphemism. Today, well consider the euphemism fiery.

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Euphemism is what straight news resorts to when circumstances require it to describe that which is demonstrably unacceptable. The need didnt use to come up all that often. If a government official lied, no one expected a straight-news reporter to write, He lied. Instead, the reporter would juxtapose what the official said with the evidence that it wasnt true. Readers understood that meant The New York Times or The Washington Post was calling that official a liar, by demonstrating it.

Thus when the Posts own publisher, William Lewis, denied last June that hed told the papers departing editor, Sally Buzbee, that her decision to run a piece about a legal proceeding that portrayed Lewis in a bad light represented a lapse in judgment, three Post reporters did not write, Our publisher is a liar. Instead, they reported that two people familiar with the meeting confirmed that Lewis dressed Buzbee down in the manner described and that a third person said it wasnt the first time Lewis expressed unprofessional anger at Buzbee for running a story that made him look bad. In journalism as in art, showing is better than telling.

But when the lies and other bad behavior are coming so fast that generalization is unavoidable, straight-newsers reach for euphemism. Critics of the mainstream media call this cowardly and despicable. I call it practical. Euphemism helps avert libel suits and those awful screaming tantrums from sources or from readers to which a reporter invariably replies, noncommittally, Im sorry you feel that way, which only makes the complainant scream louder. Euphemism doesnt eliminate these perils, but it reduces them, and at a pretty small price. You just have to know the dialect.

The meaning of mainstream media euphemisms has always been pretty plain to me, even before I entered the business. But just as I need my daughter, Alice, to translate when she says, John is rizzing up tradeit means John is flirting with someone attractiveit stands to reason that a new generation might need help with the word fiery. It means sociopathic or clinically insane.

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Suddenly the news is full of fiery people. Stephen Miller is fiery (Associated Press, CNN). Elise Stefanik is fiery (Politico, Albany Times Union). Matt Gaetz is fiery (New York Times, Sky News) and also a firebrand (Financial Times, Reuters). Gaetz is so proud of the latter that in 2020 he published a book titled Firebrand. The puppy-killing South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, whom Trump nominated for secretary of homeland security, is another firebrand (Fox News). So is Pete Hegseth (Financial Times, Daily Mail), the ax-throwing Fox News personality Trump nominated for secretary of defense. So is the Trump superloyalist Kash Patel (Daily Mail), rumored to be Trumps pick for FBI director. This is all just in the past week. Little fires everywhere.

The one person who hasnt been called fiery or firebrand lately is Robert Kennedy Jr. I find this omission puzzling, given that Trumps nominee for health and human services secretary practically stepped out of a textbook on abnormal psychology: whale-beheader, dead-bear fancier, sex diarist, etc. And thats before we plumb RFK Jr.s novel opinions against vaccines and fluoridation. Maybe the press feels squeamish about the worm that ate part of Kennedys brain. But they dont come much fierier.

Some might object that fiery and firebrand sound like compliments (as euphemisms often do). Who wouldnt like to be fiery? The term summons mental images of charismatic preachers and warriors for social justice, like John L. Lewis or Martin Luther King Jr. Once in a while the mainstream media will use fiery to describe some genuinely righteous soul or other. In 2003, for instance, CBS News reported that the former South African President Nelson Mandela delivered a fiery speech denouncing President George W. Bushs preparations for war in Iraq. Two decades later, most agree Mandela was the intelligent and sane one in that disagreement and that Bush, under the spell of Vice President Dick Cheney and his own childish urge to best his father, was a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

Usually, though, when a mainstream outlet calls somebody fiery, the reporter is sending a coded message. This person is dangerous, the reporter is saying, unable to govern himself, much less the country. If the fiery person in question is a Cabinet nominee, fiery may also convey that this person is very likely un-confirmable, even in a Republican-controlled Senate (though Stefanik and Noem probably wont have that problem). Fiery politicians know that fiery is code for nutter, but they dont usually complain. I guess they figure the word will sound like praise to the great mass of voters, who anyway dont follow the news. (Demagogue or monster might filter down.)

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Americas firebrand in chief is Donald Trump. Weve all been witnessing Trumps mental derangement for so long that when the press describes Trump as fiery it has come to mean more than just toxic and unhinged. It means more toxic and unhinged than usual. Trumps tell in such circumstances is that he starts calling everyone else crazy. In a fiery speech last year after he was indicted in the classified-documents case (NBC News), Trump called special counsel Jack Smith deranged. In his first rally after the assassination attempt, Trump delivered a fiery, two-hour speech (Al Jazeera), in which he called Nancy Pelosi crazy as a bed bug.

Well have plenty of time over the next four years to grow heartily sick of all this fire. Does calling these people fascist or demented or fucking awful really help? It didnt when the Democrats tried during the campaign. To paraphrase William Shakespeare, a turd by any other name would smell as foul. A better way to nail this unsavory crowd is to assemble damning fact after damning fact demonstrating their corruption and incompetence. Thats almost as true for commentary as it is for straight news. Just follow the trail of smoke. God knows its everywhere.
The former Mecklenburg County jail healthcare provider routinely accused of contributing to deaths has filed for bankruptcy, halting all lawsuits against it and leaving families and attorneys stunned.

The company, Nashville-based Wellpath, worked inside Mecklenburg County jails for 15 years  first in 2008 as Correct Care Solutions, then as Wellpath after a private equity firm bought Correct Care Solutions in 2018. Wellpath abruptly ended its contract in Mecklenburg this year. On Tuesday, it filed for bankruptcy.

Its a move the company says will allow it to restructure. Its a move lawyers say could strategically shield Wellpath from ongoing and future lawsuits.

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Wellpath is named in 1,000 federal lawsuits, pending and closed, across the United States and accused of contributing to at least 70 deaths, a CNN investigation revealed in 2019. In Charlottes federal court, it is a defendant in at least five open lawsuits.

Its a simple and familiar story of a multi-billion dollar company thats trying to use the legal process to avoid responsibility for its civil rights violations, said Devontae Torriente, a legal fellow with the National Police Accountability Project  a nonprofit that is dedicated to ending law enforcement abuse through legal action and educational programming. Its lawyers have about 200 pending lawsuits naming Wellpath as a defendant.

The company did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Wellpath is more than $644 million in debt, McClatchy previously reported. The ability to restructure and sell parts of the company under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy will reduce that debt by approximately $550 million, according to a news release.

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But to lawyers, the filing raises questions about future accountability and justice for inmates and their families, said Charlotte attorney Micheal L. Littlejohn Jr., who represents several families who have filed lawsuits against Wellpath, the Mecklenburg County Jail and Sheriff Garry McFadden.

It could potentially hinder victims and their families from seeking the justice they deserve, he said.

When Karon Golightly, a 20-year-old in Mecklenburg County Jail, died after detention officers missed state-mandated rounds, his mother filed a lawsuit alleging negligence from McFadden and Wellpath. That lawsuit will not be able to move forward with its claims against Wellpath unless a judge grants special permission, said Charlotte bankruptcy lawyer Jim Henderson. The same goes for every other case.

Plaintiffs could also move forward by arguing their claims in a bankruptcy court in Texas, where Wellpath filed for Chapter 11 protection, Henderson said.

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But, Torriente said, delaying their proceedings means delaying justice.

He said he expects many families and lawyers will simply drop Wellpath from the cases.

The Charlotte Observer reported earlier this year that Wellpath has a history of being sued for its work in North Carolina jails and then settling the lawsuits confidentially. It has closed six lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina since 2021.

In one case, the family of Devin Haley, a 41-year-old who died by a slow, preventable and totally unnecessary suicide, reached a settlement with McFadden, Wellpath and more than 20 other defendants in April.

Before his death inside the jail, Haley had pleaded for his prescription anti-depressant, Wellbutrin, 16 times in seven weeks in jail, according to the lawsuit.
VIENNA, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine's operating nuclear power plants (NPPs) have reduced electricity production as a precaution following military activities reportedly targeting the country's energy infrastructure over the weekend, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Sunday.

The nuclear power plants, Khmelnytskyy, Rivne and South Ukraine, "were not directly impacted and did not shut down," but several electrical substations of the plants suffered damages of different extent during the strikes, the IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement, citing information from Ukraine's national regulator.

Grossi stated that only two of the nine operational reactors at the three nuclear facilities are currently generating electricity at full capacity.

"The country's energy infrastructure is extremely vulnerable, directly impacting nuclear safety and security," the IAEA chief said, reiterating the importance of nuclear safety during the conflict.

The IAEA currently has expert teams stationed at all of Ukraine's NPPs to help maintain nuclear safety and security, according to the agency. 
By Daphne Psaledakis and Patricia Zengerle

(Reuters) - Members of the United Nations Security Council called on Monday for a surge in assistance to reach people in need in Israeli-basieged Gaza, warning that the situation in the Palestinian enclave was getting worse.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said there needs to be a "huge, huge rise in aid" to Gaza, where most of the population of 2.3 million people has been displaced and health officials in the coastal enclave say that more than 43,922 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's 13-month-old offensive against Hamas.

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"The situation is devastating, and frankly, beyond comprehension, and it's getting worse, not better," Lammy said. "Winter's here. Famine is imminent, and 400 days into this war, it is totally unacceptable that it's harder than ever to get aid into Gaza."

The war erupted after Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel in October last year, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council that Washington was closely watching Israel's actions to improve the situation for Palestinians and engaging with the Israeli government every day.

"Israel must also urgently take additional steps to alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza," she said.

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President Joe Biden's administration concluded this month that Israel was not currently impeding assistance to Gaza and therefore not violating U.S. law, even as Washington acknowledged the humanitarian situation remained dire in the Palestinian enclave.

The assessment came after the U.S. in an Oct. 13 letter gave Israel a list of steps to take within 30 days to address the deteriorating situation in Gaza, warning that failure to do so might have possible consequences on U.S. military aid to Israel.

Thomas-Greenfield said Israel was working to implement 12 of the 15 steps.

"We need to see all steps fully implemented and sustained, and we need to see concrete improvement in the humanitarian situation on the ground," she said, including Israel allowing commercial trucks to move into Gaza alongside humanitarian assistance, addressing persistent lawlessness and implementing pauses in fighting in large areas of Gaza to allow assistance to reach those in need.

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Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the U.N., said Israel had facilitated the entrance of hundreds of aid trucks a week but there had been a failure of aid agencies to collect that aid and Hamas had looted trucks. Hamas has denied the accusation.

"Not only must the U.N. step up its aid distribution obligations, but the focus must also shift to Hamas' constant hijacking of humanitarian aid to feed the machine of terror and misery," Danon said.

Two U.N. aid agencies told Reuters on Monday that nearly 100 trucks carrying food for Palestinians were violently looted on Nov. 16 after entering Gaza in one of the worst losses of aid during the war.

Tor Wennesland, the U.N. coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said humanitarian agencies face a challenging and dangerous operational environment in Gaza and access restrictions that hinder their work.

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"The humanitarian situation in Gaza, as winter begins, is catastrophic, particularly developments in the north of Gaza with a large-scale and near-total displacement of the population and widespread destruction and clearing of land, amidst what looks like a disturbing disregard for international humanitarian law," Wennesland said.

"The current conditions are among the worst weve seen during the entire war and are not set to improve."

(This story has been refiled to clarify that Danon's role is the ambassador to U.N., not U.S., in paragraph 11)

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Patricia Zengerle, David Brunnstrom, Emma Farge and Nidal al-Mughrabi; editing by Rod Nickel and Mark Heinrich)
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL)The Mexican American Veterans Association is honoring veterans with its 10th annual banquet, its biggest fundraiser of the year.

The nonprofit hosted the banquet on Saturday, November 16, 2024, at the Stone Palace, with around 200 people attending.

A proclamation was given from the Wichita County Commissioners Court.

Apache veterans are revered today with the traditions of old

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Former Wichita County Judge Woody Gossom received the Veteran of the Year award, while Base Camp Lindsey received the Patriot of the Year award.

Our very own Dylan Jimenez co-emceed the event alongside MAVA committee member Johnny Villastrigo.

The night concluded with a dance and live music from Gupo Stampede. All proceeds will go back to helping veterans in our community.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Texomashomepage.com.
A leader from one of the five tribal nations in North Dakota has lined up to support President-elect Donald Trumps nominee for the Department of the Interior and the domestic energy proposals that are being put in place for the incoming administration beginning January 20, 2025.

The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation chairman Mark N. Fox said the tribe has benefited from the government to government relationship with North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who was tapped last week to lead the Interior and a new National Council on Energy under Trump.

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.

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Beyond any doubt, Burgum as Governor of our state has benefited and engaged tribal nations in North Dakota far more than any of his predecessors, Fox said. He is no stranger to Indian Country and fully understands our needs.

As governor Burgum has hosted several summits for tribal leaders in North Dakota and has supported energy interests for tribes like the MHA Nation.

He is also named in a redistricting lawsuit against the North Dakota Secretary of State brought by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and Spirit Lake Nation with claims of Voting Rights Act violations. A judge ruled in the tribes favor that North Dakota violated Native voter rights with gerrymandered redistricting maps in 2021.

Burgum signed legislation to approve the redistricting process and then eventually the new maps. North Dakota is appealing, arguing the tribes have no right to contest the maps. The parties last met before a judge in October and the case could end up in federal court.

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Burgum faces Senate confirmation next year for the Interior post.

If approved, he would replace current Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) who was the first Native American to oversee the department responsible for managing agencies that uphold treaty obligations to the 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States. The Interior is responsible for more than 500 million acres of federal land, more than a billion offshore and employs more than 70,000 federal workers.

Fox told the North Dakota Monitor that was unsuccessful in several attempts to meet with Haaland at the Interior. In that absence, Fox did find an ally in state government and business with Gov. Burgum, which could line up to benefit the MHA Nations energy interests even more if Burgum gets the federal role.

The MHA Nation, also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes, runs an energy division that oversees oil and gas production on the Fort Berthold Reservation.

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Its big business too. Recently, the MHA Nation has been responsible for nearly one-third of annual oil and gas production in North Dakota, which is the third ranked state in the nation in both crude oil reserves and production.

In October, the tribes oil activity registered 196,207 barrels a day, according to the North Dakota Oil and Gas Division. MHA Nation has 2,951 active wells, the vast majority on federal trust lands.

The MHA Nation is responsible for using oil and gas royalties to create housing, education, medical and other opportunities for its 17,000 tribal citizens.

He understands and supports tribal sovereignty and his outstanding business background is key to his ability to cut through red tape to find solutions that will stand to benefit tribal nations and the country as a whole, Fox said.

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That red tape is the exact language used by the Trump transition team in his assignment to Burgum at Interior and the National Energy Council to eliminate regulations and oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the ECONOMY.

United States domestic energy production has increased every year under President Joe Bidens administration. In 2023 energy consumption was behind production for the first time in decades, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Its unclear what specific regulations the new Trump administration will successfully tackle to implement its drill, baby, drill campaign message and make gains over the Biden administration on oil and gas production.

Some predict this could lead to federal lands protected for conservation, such as National Parks, to be opened up for extraction. Deregulation is expected to pick up production, and that has shown to lead to more pipeline spills that pollute the environment. Environmentalists are also concerned that Burgum is a climate change skeptic, and are worried about the harm that the business first approach to energy will bring to air and water.

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Economic analysts are also unsure if new policy changes would actually increase oil and gas production by companies since customers demands are not as large as whats available.

But the message is to move forward with drilling. Last week the American Petroleum CEO Mike Sommers told reporters that offshore drilling should be a key target for the new administration, according to an article from S&P Global

On the campaign trail Burgum repeated the, drill, baby, drill line and is ready to make that the marching order for the Interior.

Focusing on innovation over regulation to solve the nations challenges will allow us to smartly expand American energy and make our world cleaner and safer by selling energy to our friends and allies versus them having to buy it from our adversaries, Burgum said in a statement after the nomination.

Burgums Tribal Relations in North Dakota

The relationship between the two governments, MHA Nation and North Dakota, grew in other areas under Burgum.

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In March, he signed a tax reform agreement that would give 80% of taxes on alcohol sold on tribal lands to the tribes, while the state takes the rest.

Fox praised the revenue-sharing agreement at the signing saying that alcohol sold on the reservation burdened courts, increased domestic violence and other crimes.

This new tax revenue will help relieve the tremendous amount of money our government spends yearly to provide treatment services related to alcohol addiction, social and wellness services, and supplement enhancements to law enforcement, Fox said

If appointed to the Interior, Burgum could also be responsible for completing the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative that started under Haaland.

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The report concluded the U.S. government enacted an education policy that took Native children and abused them under assimilation policies.

Twelve boarding schools were located in North Dakota in Bismarck, Wahpeton, Spirit Lake, Fort Berthold, Standing Rock, and Turtle Mountain.

About the Author: "Shaun Griswold, contributing writer, is a Native American journalist based Albuquerque. He is a citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna, and his ancestry also includes Jemez and Zuni on the maternal side of his family. He has more than a decade of print and broadcast news experience. "

Contact: shawn@nativenewsonline.net
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A bill to remove a requirement that able-bodied adults who receive Medicaid must be working passed through the Michigan House last week as Democrats use their remaining time in the majority to push through legislative priorities.

House Bill 4224, which repeals work requirements for the Healthy Michigan program, passed the House along party lines Wednesday, with all Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed.

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One of those Republicans was state Rep. John Roth (R-Interlochen).

This isnt about forcing people to work, this is about encouraging folks to explore opportunities that will equip them with the skills they need to live fruitful lives free of government intervention, said Roth. We want every man, woman, and child to have access to the resources they need to be healthy and happy. But we also want those families to have a clear path to rise above their economic station and leave state assistance behind. I believe people are capable of more than just cashing a government check.

While the requirements, which were initially signed into law in 2018 by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, are inactive following a 2020 federal court ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court could put them back into effect once the administration of President-elect Donald Trump is back in the White House.

During his first administration, Trumps Department of Health and Human Services allowed states to implement work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries. A challenge to that policy made its way to the Supreme Court, but was dismissed in 2022 as moot because the Biden administration had reversed the policy.

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The Healthy Michigan Plan, a Medicaid program provided through the state Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and authorized under the federal Affordable Care Act, covers about 561,000 people across the state.

Available to those who dont meet the requirements for other Medicaid programs, Healthy Michigan is open to Michiganders ages 19 to 64 who earn an income at or below 133% of the federal poverty level  about $18,000 for a single person or $37,000 for a family of four.

The bill to permanently remove the requirements is now before the Democratic-controlled Michigan Senate.

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Israeli airstrikes targeted a neighborhood in the heart of Lebanon's capital late Monday evening, slamming into an area near the Parliament, several embassies and the U.N. headquarters, according to Lebanons state-run National News Agency.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said at least five people were killed and 31 wounded. An Associated Press reporter at the scene in Beirut described significant casualties on the street as ambulance sirens echoed through the area.

Since late September, Israel has dramatically escalated its bombardment of Lebanon, vowing to cripple the militant group Hezbollah and end its barrages into Israel. Over the past year, more than 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli fire  80% of them in the past month  Lebanons Health Ministry says.

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The current wave of conflict gripping the Middle East began when the Palestinian militant group Hamas stormed from Gaza into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Hezbollah began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas.

Israels war in Gaza has killed over 43,800 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. The officials do not distinguish between militants and civilians but say most of those killed are women and children. The fighting has left 77 people dead in Israel, including 31 soldiers.

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Food shortages bring hunger pains to displaced families in central Gaza

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip  A shortage in flour and the closure of a main bakery in central Gaza have exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation, as Palestinian families struggle to obtain enough food.

A crowd of people waited dejectedly in the cold outside the shuttered Zadna Bakery in Deir al-Balah on Monday.

Among them was Umm Shadi, a displaced woman from Gaza City, who told The Associated Press that there was no bread left due to the lack of flour  a bag of which costs as much as 400 shekels ($107) in the market, she said, if any can be found.

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Who can buy a bag of flour for 400 shekels? she asked.

Nora Muhanna, another woman displaced from Gaza City, said she was leaving empty-handed after waiting five or six hours for a bag of bread for her kids.

From the beginning, there are no goods, and even if they are available, there is no money, she said.

Almost all of Gaza's roughly 2.3 million people now rely on international aid for survival, and doctors and aid groups say malnutrition is rampant. Food security experts say famine may already be underway in hard-hit north Gaza. Aid groups accuse the Israeli military of hindering and even blocking shipments in Gaza.

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Meanwhile, dozens lined up in Deir al-Balah to get their share of lentil soup and some bread at a makeshift charity kitchen.

Refat Abed, a displaced man from Gaza City, no longer knows how he can afford food.

Where can I get money? he asked. Do I beg? If it were not for God and charity, my children and I would go hungry,

Suspected attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen target a ship in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  Suspected attacks by Yemens Houthi rebels targeted a Panama-flagged bulk carrier traveling through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, although no damage or injuries were reported, authorities said Monday.

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The Houthis have targeted more than 90 merchant vessels with missiles and drones in the waterway  which typically sees $1 trillion in goods pass through it a year  over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Israels ground offensive in Lebanon.

The bulk carrier Anadolu S first had been contacted over VHF radio by someone claiming to be authorities in Yemen, demanding the ship turn around, said the Joint Maritime Information Center, a multinational task force overseen by the U.S.

The vessel did not comply with the order and continued its transit, the center said.

The ships captain later saw that a missile splashed in close proximity to the vessel as it traveled in the southern Red Sea near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting to the Gulf of Aden in the first attack late Sunday night, the British militarys United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said in an alert. The attack happened some 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Yemen port city of Mocha.

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On Monday, another attack some 70 miles (112 kilometers) southeast of Aden in the Gulf of Aden similarly saw a missile splash down close to the vessel, the UKMTO said.

The Houthis did not immediately claim the attacks. However, it can take the rebels hours or even days to acknowledge their assaults.

The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the U.K. to force an end to Israels campaign against Hamas in Gaza. The Joint Maritime Information Center said the Anadolu S had an indirect association to Israel. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

5 people wounded in Israel by shrapnel from an intercepted rocket

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TEL AVIV, Israel  Israeli medical officials say at least five people in central Israel have been wounded by shrapnel after a missile launched from Lebanon was intercepted.

The missile triggered air raid sirens in the Tel Aviv area before it was shot down. But authorities said shrapnel from the interception hit several people on the ground.

Israels Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated five people for injuries. Victims were taken to Beilinson Hospital, where one woman was reported in serious condition.

UN says 98 aid trucks were robbed of food in Gaza, its worst theft of the war

UNITED NATIONS  The United Nations suffered its worst loss of humanitarian aid in Gaza when desperately needed food was stolen from 98 out of 109 trucks over the weekend.

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U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told said the U.N. doesnt know who hijacked the trucks. When armed people try to take control of a vehicle and goods, were not asking questions, he told reporters Monday.

Only 11 trucks made it to a warehouse in the city of Deir al-Balah on Saturday, making this theft the worst in terms of volume during the 13-month war in Gaza, he said. As for the rest of the vehicles, he said, we no longer have control of the trucks, which suffered severe damage. He said the U.N. has no information about their drivers.

Almost the entire population of around 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza relies on international aid for survival, and doctors and aid groups say malnutrition is rampant. Food security experts say famine may already be underway in hard-hit north Gaza. Aid groups accuse the Israeli military of hindering and even blocking shipments in Gaza.

Dujarric said the convoy was instructed to depart from Kerem Shalom border crossing Saturday morning via an alternate, unfamiliar route. He said the trucks were stolen not far from the Karem Abu Salem crossing and Gaza's old airport.

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He reiterated that the United Nations does not accept protection for its convoys from any warring party  referring to the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Israeli military.

The best protection for us is for people to know that aid will come in every day at massive levels, he said. Its pretty obvious that we would be an even greater target if we were surrounded by armed soldiers from one of the two parties during the this conflict.

Israels U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon blamed Hamas for stealing the aid trucks and holding the drivers at gunpoint. He gave a slightly different number  97 looted trucks  speaking at a U.N. Security Council meeting Monday.

He said Israel will continue allowing trucks into Gaza but the U.N. and international organizations must step up aid distribution, and the focus must also shift to Hamas constant hijacking of humanitarian aid to feed the machine of terror and misery.

US sanctions a group that builds illegal West Bank settlements, with close ties to Israeli government

WASHINGTON  The U.S. has imposed sanctions on organizations and firms involved in illegal settlement development in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including a decades-old group that has close ties with Israeli leadership.

U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Amana, the largest organization involved in illegal settlement development in the West Bank, and its subsidiary on Monday.

Already sanctioned by Britain and Canada, Amana is one of the major funders and supporters of unauthorized settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Peace Now, a settlement tracking group, says its assets are valued at around 600 million Israeli shekels, or about $160 million, and that it has a yearly budget stretching into tens of millions of shekels.

Among other things, the sanctions deny the people and firms access to any property or financial assets held in the U.S. and prevent U.S. companies and citizens from doing business with them.

The Associated Press previously reported that the sanctions measures have had minimal impact, instead emboldening settlers as attacks and land-grabs escalate, according to Palestinians in the West Bank, local rights groups and sanctioned Israelis who spoke to AP.

Israel captured the West Bank along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want those territories for their hoped-for future state.

Threatened by Israeli airstrikes, Lebanon's cultural sites get increased protection from UN

BEIRUT  A specialized United Nations agency granted on Monday provisional enhanced protection to 34 cultural properties in Lebanon, including the World Heritage sites of Baalbek and Tyre, following recent Israeli strikes near them.

Non-compliance with these clauses would constitute serious violations of the 1954 Hague Convention and would constitute potential grounds for prosecution, the U.N. cultural and scientific agency UNESCO said in a statement. The decision also includes financial and technical assistance to safeguard Lebanons heritage.

The decision was made during an extraordinary session of the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property that was held in Paris on Monday, at the request of Lebanese authorities.

This move comes amid mounting threats to Lebanons cultural sites. On Nov. 7, an Israeli airstrike destroyed an Ottoman-era building near the UNESCO-listed Roman temples of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said, UNESCO has a deep and long-standing cooperation with Lebanon. We will spare no effort to provide all the expertise and assistance needed to protect its exceptional heritage.

In addition to legal protections, UNESCO said it has been implementing measures such as satellite monitoring, risk management training and emergency relocation of movable artifacts.

Israeli woman killed by Hezbollah rocket attack and 10 wounded

TEL AVIV, Israel  Israels Magen David Adom rescue services said one woman was killed and 10 wounded in a Hezbollah rocket attack that hit northern Israel.

According to paramedics who arrived at the scene, one woman was killed instantly and 10 others were injured after a rocket struck a four-story building the northern Israeli city of Shfaram.

The Israeli military said the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah had launched more than 100 projectiles toward Israel on Monday.

Hezbollah began launching missiles, rockets and drones at Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in its war with Israel in Gaza. Israel stepped up their attack against Hezbollah in mid-September.

More than 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli fire  80% of them in the past eight weeks  according to Lebanons Health Ministry. In Israel, 77 people, including 31 soldiers, have been killed by Hezbollah.

Israel bombs a main water facility in southern Lebanon, killing 2 local officials

BEIRUT  An Israeli airstrike targeted the main water facility in the southern port city of Tyre, killing two local officials and injuring two others, further compounding southern Lebanons worsening water crisis, Lebanons state media said.

The attack severely damaged the facility, prompting the Tyre Municipality to urge residents to ration water use until repairs can be made, the National News Agency said.

Those killed in the attack included Samer Shaghri, a local elected official called a mukhtar who handles residents administrative affairs, and Qassem Wehbi, the deputy mayor of Burj al-Shamali, a town east of Tyre.

This strike is part of a broader pattern of bombardments in the 13-month conflict between Hezbollah and Israel that, according to an October 22 UNICEF report, have damaged at least 28 water facilities, cutting off access to safe water for over 360,000 people, primarily in southern Lebanon.

UNICEFs report quoted Lebanons Minister of Energy, Walid Fayyad, who said, The ongoing hostilities have inflicted severe damage on Lebanons essential services, leaving hundreds of thousands without access to safe water and electricity.

Israeli airstrike hits central Beirut near key government buildings and embassies

BEIRUT  An Israeli airstrike hit a densely populated residential area in central Beirut on Monday evening, close to major landmarks including the U.N. headquarters in Lebanon, the country's parliament, the prime ministers office and several embassies, including the EU delegation.

Lebanons state-run National News Agency said two missiles hit the area of Zoqaq al-Blat. The strike follows reports that the U.S. envoy has delayed his visit for cease-fire talks.

Ambulance sirens echoed through the area, and the Health Ministry said at least five people were killed, 31 wounded and two still missing. An Associated Press reporter at the scene described significant casualties on the street.

The target of the airstrike remains unclear, and the Israeli army did not issue a prior warning.

Many areas in central Beirut, including Zoqaq al-Blat, became a refuge for people displaced by the ongoing conflict in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut.

This is the second consecutive day of Israeli airstrikes on central Beirut after more than a month-long pause on strikes in that part of the capital. On Sunday, a strike in the area of Ras el-Nabaa killed Hezbollah media spokesperson Mohammed Afif, along with six other people, including a woman. Later that day, four people were killed in a separate strike in the commercial district of Mar Elias. It remains unclear what the target of that strike was.

Biden says he will keep pushing Gaza cease-fire efforts

RIO DE JANEIRO -- President Joe Biden told fellow global leaders at a Group of 20 summit Monday that his soon-to-end administration would keep pushing to bring an equitable end to Israels devastating war against Hamas in Gaza.

Seated between leaders of France and India at a long oval table at the summit site in Rio de Janeiro, Biden cited U.S. efforts on hunger and poverty in his soon-to-end four years in office, saying he had put $160 billion into global development.

With fewer than three months left in his term, Biden also said his administration would keep pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government on its conduct of the war and the need to end it. Israel has a right to defend itself after the worse massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. But how it defends itself ... matters a great deal.

Were going to keep pushing to accelerate a cease-fire deal that ensures Israels security and brings hostages home and ends the suffering of the Palestinian people and children, he said.

Biden also said Hamas was still refusing a deal, adding, I am asking everyone to increase the pressure on Hamas.

UN says an aid convoy was attacked in Gaza

TEL AVIV, Israel  United Nations aid organizations say a convoy carrying food supplies in Gaza was attacked over the weekend, further contributing to severe food shortages across the besieged territory.

UNRWA, the main U.N. agency responsible for distributing aid in Gaza, said gunmen stole aid from 97 of the convoy's 109 trucks on Saturday.

The Israeli military has said that attacking and stealing aid is an ongoing problem, especially in southern Gaza. COGAT, the military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, said convoys are attacked by Hamas militants and known crime families. The military did not have an immediate response to Saturday's attack.

Death toll rises to 7 in Israeli strike in central Beirut

BEIRUT  Lebanons Health Ministry said the toll from Sundays Israeli strike in central Beirut rose to seven killed, including a woman, and 26 wounded.

The Health Ministry also said Monday that three people were killed and 29 wounded in a separate strike Sunday in the Mar Elias area of central Beirut.

The Hezbollah militant group said five members were killed including its spokesperson Mohammad Afif in the strike in the Ras Al Nabaa area.

9 members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad killed in Israeli strikes are buried in Damascus

DAMASCUS  Nine members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group who were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus were buried Monday in the Syrian capital.

Women in the crowd wept as the dead were transported to the Yarmouk cemetery in the Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus. Some held images of slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

Israeli strikes on Thursday targeted two buildings with the offices of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, killing 15 people, including Syrian civilians, and wounding 20 others, officials said.

The funeral on Monday was held for the nine Islamic Jihad members, including two high-ranking officials  commander Abdel Aziz Saeed Minawi and Rasmi Youssef Abu Issa, who was in charge of the group's Arab affairs.

The wife of Ali Kabalan, a 44-year-old fighter who was killed Thursday, told The Associated Press that while the loss was unbearable, she and their five children were proud that he died a martyr for the cause of Palestines liberation.

The Israeli military claimed the strikes dealt significant damage to its groups leadership. Israel has accused the Islamic Jihad, alongside Hamas, of coordinating the Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel that ignited the ongoing war.

Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria targeting members of Lebanons Hezbollah and officials from Iranian-backed groups.

Head of UNRWA says banning the agency would leave Israel responsible for the needs of Palestinians

GENEVA  The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees says Israel would have the responsibility to respond to their needs if it goes through with plans to ban the agency.

Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of UNRWA, on Monday stepped up appeals to the international community to help convince Israeli authorities not to go through with the ban.

Measures passed by the Knesset, if carried out as anticipated in January, would ban UNRWA from operating and cut all ties between the agency and the Israeli government.

The clock is ticking, Lazzarini told reporters in Geneva.

Critics say the Knesset moves culminated a long-running campaign against UNRWA, which Israel contends has been infiltrated by Hamas. They say Israels real aim is to sideline the issue of Palestinian refugees.

Lazzarini all but suggested that the considerable work helping Palestinian refugees would otherwise fall to Israel under international humanitarian law.

I keep being asked, Is there yes, or not, a Plan B? There is no plan B within the U.N. agency -- within the U.N. family because there is no other agency geared to provide the same activities, he said.

UNRWA is the response of the international community to the plight of the Palestinian refugees, through the mandate provided by the GA (United Nations General Assembly) resolution, Lazzarini added. So, if there is no U.N. or international community response, the responsibility will go back to the occupying power, being Israel.

And thats where we have to ask: Where does a plan B sit today? he said.

Israeli troops deliver fuel and medical equipment to hospitals in northern Gaza, military says

TEL AVIV, Israel  The Israeli military said Monday it had delivered fuel and medical equipment to hospitals in a besieged part of northern Gaza, where troops have launched an intense operation since October.

COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza said, said they delivered 10,000 liters of fuel and 149 packages of medical equipment to two hospitals, and helped oversee the evacuation of 64 patients and their escorts, along with the U.N., from hard-hit hospitals in the north.

The hospitals that serve the area have been largely inaccessible because of the fighting, and a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital last month left it barely functional.

Israel has faced international pressure to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, particularly in the war-ravaged north. Last week, the United States said it would not limit arms transfers to Israel as it had threatened to do in October if aid was not significantly stepped up.

In November, COGAT said they facilitated at least two aid deliveries to the far north, after a month in which virtually no supplies reached these areas. But international aid groups warned much more is needed, and famine is imminent in parts of northern Gaza.

Funeral held for the Hezbollah main spokesman killed in an Israeli strike

BEIRUT  A funeral was held Monday in southern Lebanon for Mohammad Afif, Hezbollahs head of media relations, a day after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut.

Afifs coffin, draped in Hezbollahs yellow flag, was carried through the streets of Sidon on the shoulders of mourners.

Resistance is the response, and the convoys of martyrs create victory," Afifs brother, Sadiq al-Naboulsi, said at the funeral.

"Hajj Mohammad Afif was a big figure in the media, and therefore the Israelis and Americans were hurt by his voice. For that reason, they assassinated him. The killing of Hajj Mohammad Afif and all the martyrs and leaders will not turn (us) back at all, he said.

The strike that hit central Beirut for the first time in over a month also killed three other people on Sunday, according to Lebanons Health Ministry.

Afif had been a prominent spokesperson for Hezbollah, especially during the recent escalation of tensions with Israel. Days before his death, he held a press conference in Beiruts southern suburbs, where he declared that Hezbollah was prepared for a prolonged war and denied claims that the group had lost its missile capabilities.

Lebanon will convey its positive response to a US cease-fire proposal, minister says

BEIRUT  A government minister close to Hezbollah says Lebanon will convey its positive position on a United States-backed cease-fire proposal this week.

The Biden administration is trying to halt the war between Israel and the militant group after months of sputtering cease-fire efforts.

Lebanons Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who is mediating for the militants, is expected to meet with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday.

Labor Minister Mostafa Bayram, who met with Berri on Monday, said Hezbollahs function is to make sure the (Israeli) aggression fails to achieve its goals, while negotiation is for the state and the government.

A Western diplomat familiar with the talks told The Associated Press there is a sense of cautious optimism.

Diplomatic efforts are converging towards a cease-fire, but its still in the hands and heads of key players to decide if its in their interest or not to stop things right now, said the diplomat, who was not authorized to brief media and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

The efforts are aimed at reestablishing a U.N. buffer zone in southern Lebanon established after the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. Israel is said to be pushing for guarantees it can continue to act militarily against Hezbollah if needed, a demand the Lebanese are unlikely to accept.

 By Kareem Chehayeb

Turkey denies overflight permission for a plane carrying Israels president

ANKARA, Turkey  Turkey has denied Israeli President Isaac Herzogs plane the right to use its airspace, preventing him from traveling to Azerbaijan, the Turkish state-run news agency reported.

The Anadolu Agency report late Sunday said Israeli authorities requested permission for the plane to access the Turkish airspace on its way to Baku, Azerbaijan, where Herzog was scheduled to attend the COP29 conference on climate change.

The agency based its report on unnamed Turkish officials. It did not say when the permission was denied. A statement from Herzog's office said the decision to cancel the president's trip to Baku was due to the situation assessment and for security reasons." It did not comment on the Turkish report.

Turkey has emerged as one of the strongest critics of Israels military actions in Gaza and Lebanon. It has suspended trade relations with Israel, accused the country of genocide and voiced support to Hamas.

Children and their parents among 8 killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza, officials say

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip  Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed eight people, including two children aged 7 and 9 and their parents, Palestinian officials said. A third child, 10 years old, was wounded in the same strike.

The Civil Defense, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government, said Monday that the two children were killed in an overnight strike on a tent where displaced people were sheltering in the southern city of Khan Younis.

An Associated Press reporter saw the bodies at nearby Nasser Hospital. The two children were beheaded by the blast and their remains were placed in one body bag.

A separate strike early Monday killed four people, including a woman and a child, in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

The Israeli military blames civilian deaths on Hamas, accusing militants of hiding among civilians and fighting from residential areas. It rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.

The war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israels retaliatory offensive has killed over 43,800 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. They do not distinguish between militants and civilians but say most of those killed are women and children.

___

For more Middle East news: https://apnews.com/hub/middle-east
Change is coming to Millersville after voters from across Robertson and Sumner Counties elected three new commissioners to office Nov. 5 amid a tumultuous 2024.

Six people ran for the city's three open commission seats. The last spot was decided by just nine votes with Jesse Powell ousting incumbent Alisa Huling.

Lincoln Atwood won his seat easily, accruing the most votes, 1,033, between the two counties Millersville calls home.

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Dustin Darnall also secured a spot on the commission after collecting 871 votes. The third seat, however, remains contentious with Powell taking home 834 votes to Huling's 825.

A relative newcomer, Huling was trying to earn the seat she took over in late 2023. Incumbents Cristina Templet and Milton Dorris did not seek re-election.

Here are the final vote totals for Millersville commission:

Lincoln Atwood  1,033

Jeremy Crumpton  592

Dustin Darnall  871

Alisa Huling  825

Jesse Powell  834

M Lynn Smith  539

With a vote so close, what's next?

Sumner County Election Administrator Lori Atchley told The Tennessean the votes between the two counties will be certified by Sumner County as it houses Millersville's City Hall.

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Atchley said once the vote is certified by the election commission board during a 4 p.m. meeting on Nov. 21, any candidate who wishes to contest the results has five days, no later than Nov. 26, to file a challenge in Sumner County Chancery Court.

With a race so close, is there an automatic recount?

Atchley said Sumner County goes through extensive checks and balances to ensure every vote is properly counted.

"We balance down to every single vote," Atchley said.

Social media was afire on the Facebook group "Millersville Monkey Business" with some alleging they were given Goodlettsville ballots while attempting to vote in Millersville.

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Atchley said she has received about 10 calls from people complaining that a neighbor was able to vote on a certain race while they did not. Many voters may not know exactly what district they are in, especially when it comes to state and local races, she explained.

When a resident appeared to vote in-person on Nov. 5, Atchley said they would verify their address, sign in with the registrar and then a worker would take them to a machine and load their ballot, based on their specific address, to ensure they were voting in the right district.

Once the ballot was on screen, Atchley said the voter would make selections, and then every selection would be printed on a piece of paper to verify the decisions and create a paper audit trail. Then, the voter had to hit the cast ballot button to officially send in the votes.

Most of the calls Atchley said she received came in two or three days later or up to two weeks after early voting.

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"There's a big sign that says once you press this button (cast ballot), there's absolutely nothing we can do," Atchley said, noting that she asked those who were questioning their ballots a series of questions to ensure they were aware of what was on the ballot and what their final ballot looked like before they submitted it.

"You're (at least) 18, because you're voting. You have to take responsibility," Atchley said.

While she says mistakes can happen, Atchley believes there was enough oversight to ensure a nearly "fool proof" way to cast a ballot. And for those wondering whether they got a Goodlettsville ballot in Millersville, she says if that was the case, it was correct since a person's ballot is loaded based on his or her address.

What happens if a candidate contests the election?

Atchley said a contested election would lead to a judge asking for reasons why they are contesting.

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In the event someone comes forward and says their ballot was mistakenly cast for a Goodlettsville race, the judge will ask why that person still voted and hit the cast ballot button if they knew it was wrong, she said.

Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Millersville sees change: Will 9 votes decide last commission spot
President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to end income tax on tips.

The proposal is part of Trump's broader tax cut plan, including for overtime and Social Security.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Congress would need to figure out the math to make the plan work.

US President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to end income tax on tips. Now, his administration will have to figure out how to make the numbers work.

"We're going to try to make that happen in the Congress," said House Speaker Mike Johnson on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.

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"You have got to do the math. You have got to make sure that these new savings from American people can be paid for and make sure the economy is a pro-growth economy," Johnson said.

During his presidential campaign, Trump pledged a range of tax cuts. They include an extension of tax cuts from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017  also known as the "Trump tax cut"  as well as eliminating taxes on overtime pay, Social Security checks, and tips.

During remarks in Arizona in September, Trump said that ditching taxes on overtime would give "people more of an incentive to work."

The tax cuts are just some of Trump's economic policies that economists say could significantly ramp up the federal debt balance and widen the deficit, which stood at nearly $36 trillion on Thursday.

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Other than tax cuts, Trump has pledged to implement across-the-board 60% tariffs on all Chinese goods and other tariffs on overseas goods.

If Trump makes good on all his economic policy pledges, they could add as much as $10 trillion to the US debt over the next decade, according to an estimate from top economist Nouriel Roubini.

In Trump's 2016 campaign, he said he would eliminate the national debt. It rose about $7.8 trillion during his first term.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11) announced Monday she is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2025. (Courtesy of Sherrill campaign)

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a Montclair Democrat who first joined Congress after the 2018 Democratic wave, on Monday joined the large field of Democrats seeking to be elected governor next year.

In a video declaring her run, Sherrill touts her background as a former U.S. Navy pilot and says she wants to build more housing, make New Jersey more affordable, and fix the economy.

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In a crisis, the worst thing you can do is freeze. You have to choose to lead, to follow, or get out of the way, so we can either stand aside, or we can get to work on New Jerseys future, she says in the video. And I know which one I pick.

Wearing her Navy jacket, Sherrill notes that after the most recent presidential election, people are more divided than ever on how to move forward and she pledges to set a gold standard for protecting rights and freedoms as President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

Sherrills campaign launch comes three days after one of her House colleagues, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-05), announced his own gubernatorial bid at a diner in South Hackensack.

Her initial election to Congress came as a response to Trumps first two years as president, when her party retook control of the House of Representatives and pledged to serve as check on the Trump administration.

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She has positioned herself as a moderate Democrat concerned about national security issues  she serves on the House Armed Services Committee  and reproductive rights. She helped lead the charge in 2019 to impeach Trump over allegations that he pressured the president of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, lambasted her Republican colleagues for what she called their support of rioters who ransacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and in July became the first member of New Jerseys congressional delegation to urge Biden to suspend his bid for reelection (he did so about two weeks later).

In her two-minute campaign video, Sherrill promises to get things done.

In New Jersey, we love our country, were proud of our state, and we value our freedoms. Well defend them with everything weve got, she says.

New Jersey voters have only elected one woman as governor, Republican Christine Todd Whitman, who served from 1994 to 2001.

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Sherrill graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1994 and spent 10 years on active duty in the Navy in missions across Europe and the Middle East. She holds a law degree from Georgetown University and worked in the U.S. Attorneys Office in New Jersey.

Half a dozen Democrats are hoping to succeed Murphy when he leaves office in 2026 (he is barred from seeking a third consecutive term), including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, former state Sen. Steve Sweeney, teachers union leader Sean Spiller, and Gottheimer.

On the Republican side, state Sen. Jon Bramnick, former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, former state Sen. Ed Durr, NJ 101.5 host Bill Spadea, real estate broker Robert Canfield, and former Burlington City Mayor Jim Fazzone are seeking the governors mansion.

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Militant French farmers are offering to show their British counterparts how its done as they take to the streets over the Governments inheritance tax raid.

French farmers have dumped manure and blocked roads in their latest round of protests this week, this time against the Mercosur trade deal between the EU and South American countries.

Serge Bousquet-Chassagne, the head of the militant Coordination Rurale union in the southwestern Lot-et-Garonne region, said he was happy to offer tips to British farmers.

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Im prepared to receive my British farmer colleagues or to travel over there to lend a hand, he said. We have a lot of form when it comes to more radical forms of protest. Were all in the same boat.

Protesting farmers gather in Auch in south-western France on Monday - LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images

Farmers outside the Angouleme Prefecture building - Stephane Mahe/Reuters

Thousands of British farmers are expected to march on Westminster on Tuesday against the Governments plans to impose inheritance tax on farms worth more than 1 million.

Organisers have so far promised protests will be peaceful and non-disruptive, with attendees asked to pledge that their behaviour will not way compromise the image of the agricultural industry or the co-ordinators of the event.

But there have been calls for French-style tactics to ramp up pressure on the Government and organisers have suggested action may be increased if ministers do not change course.

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Proposals have included a sewage strike under which farmers refuse to spread fertiliser, leaving water companies backed up with sewage, and calls to down tools and stop producing food.

We are focused on Tuesdays non-disruptive rally for now, beyond that who knows what happens next, said Clive Bailye, the founder of the Farming Forum and one of the lead organisers behind the protest.

It is understood Just Stop Oil also plan to join the protest.

French farmers have dumped manure and blocked roads in their latest round of protests this week - LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images

Mr Bousquet-Chassagne, who is a plum and cereal farmer, encouraged British farmers to step up their action to force change.

You are perhaps more democratic in your way of governing and demonstrating but over here if you dont block things, you get nothing, he said.

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The Government is drawing up contingency plans if farmers go on strike over the tax raid, but is understood to believe it can fill any shortages with imports.

Farmers install city signs on a road near Angouleme to protest against the prospect of a trade agreement between the EU and the Latin American countries united within Mercosur - Stephane Mahe/Reuters

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Mr Bousquet-Chassagne said threats to the farming industry were also putting food security on the continent at risk.

Were drowning under a sea of norms that make no sense and that are supposed to make us produce better. But in my view soon we wont produce better, we wont produce anything at all! he said.

He praised the UK for leaving the EU. The British are our faithful allies and we admire your decision to leave the European Union, which is partly to blame for our woes.

The British are perhaps suffering from the transition after Brexit as they lost subsidies. But youll see theyll benefit eventually. We dont want subsidies and bonuses, we want fair prices. Were not serfs.

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If the videos showing Jimmy Barbecue Cherizier shaking hands and handing out food to local residents as he walks through Port-au-Princes lower Delmas neighborhood are any indication, it almost seems like business as usual for Haitis best-known gang leader. But the tranquility is deceptive.

Outside the stronghold of Cheriziers Revolutionary Forces of the G9or G9, as his gang alliance is knownthe escalating violence maintains a firm grip on the Caribbean country. Between July and September this year alone, the war between Haitis estimated 200 gangs and the countrys security forces, as well as internecine fighting between the gangs themselves, has left over 1,200 dead and 500 injured, many of them women and children. In addition, extorsion, kidnappings and frequent attacks on critical infrastructure have led to the internal displacement of over 700,000 people and severely aggravated the humanitarian crisis that is currently driving about half of the population into a state of severe food insecurity.

In order to support Haitis weakened national police in taking back control from the gangs that today effectively rule 85 percent of the capital, the United Nations Security Council authorized the deployment of a Kenya-led international force of 2,500 police officers in October 2023. But when the forces mandate was renewed a few weeks ago, not even a fifth of the planned contingent had arrived on the ground, and tangible successes have yet to materialize.

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At the same time, Haiti is politically paralyzed. After some initial hope instilled by the establishment of a Transitional Presidential Council in April, the prospect of new general electionsthe first in a decadehas once again receded into the distant future. Hampered by internal divisions and accusations of bribery, the nine-member council has so far failed to develop a clear roadmap out of Haitis chaos. And following a series of disagreements, it recently replaced interim Prime Minister Garry Conille after only six months in office.

To get more in-depth news and expert analysis on global affairs from WPR, sign up for our free Daily Review newsletter.

A New Peacekeeping Operation?

Amid the deepening political, humanitarian and security crises, more and more voices are starting to question the ability of the current Multinational Security Support Mission, or MSS, to help restore order. Addressing the General Assembly at the end of September, then-president of the Transitional Council Edgard Leblanc Fils expressed his support for transforming the security support mission into a peacekeeping mission under the mandate of the United Nations. Backed by the U.S. and Ecuador, this proposal is currently being circulated among Security Council countries. But it did not make it into the text of the resolution extending the missions mandate due to opposition by veto-wielding permanent Security Council members China and Russia.

A fully-fledged peacekeeping mission would not be the first deployed to Haiti, and as such it would have to grapple with a difficult legacy. The MINUSTAH operation, deployed in the country between 2004 and 2017, is remembered by most Haitians for having introduced a cholera epidemic that ultimately killed around 10,000 people, as well as for a horrendous number of cases of sexual abuse committed by mission personnel. Nevertheless, in light of the frustration at the lack of progress against a new wave of gang violence and following one of the worst massacres in Haitis history, in which members of the Gran Grif gang brutally murdered at least 115 inhabitants of the small town of Pont-Sonde on Oct. 3, the option of a blue-helmet force seems to be back on the table.

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But would a peacekeeping mission bring about real change? The main problem the current international mission is facing at the moment is a severe funding shortfall, with total voluntary donations reaching only $400 million of the minimum $600 million needed annually to conduct operations. This does not only lead to a lack of functional equipment, but also causes serious delays in the arrival of properly trained police officers. A mission placed formally under the U.N. flag would clearly face less of a problem gathering the necessary budget, since it would benefit from a standing peacekeeping fund financed by mandatory contributions from all U.N. member states. Similarly, the personnel would be drawn from an existing pool of capabilities pledged to the organization.

But the question remains whether U.N. peacekeepers are the right fit for carrying out the types of offensive operations that the MSS currently conducts alongside the Haitian police. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly called into question the value of sending blue helmets to active battle situations, although similar mandates in the past were able to record some successes. In addition, the peacekeepers would have to be better prepared to navigate the particular conditions on the ground, such as the possible blending in of Haitian gang members with the civilian population during operations as well as the narrow streets inside gang fiefdoms, which calls for the use of helicopters rather than the bulky armored vehicles that compose the core of the current missions equipment.

Negotiating With the Gangs

But amid all these factors, another point demands further consideration: the question of dialoguing with the gangs. A recent report by the U.N. Panel of Experts on Haiti made clear that negotiations with the criminal groups are not yet a viable option for most stakeholders, as talks are perceived as too risky and a form of involuntary political recognition, potentially legitimizing gangs calls for amnesty.

Though negotiating with the gangs is no doubt a sensitive undertaking, the idea should not be dismissed out of hand. If the detailed mapping and profiling of Haitis gangs and their leaders by numerous analysts has shown one thing, it is that a purely military one-size-fits-all approach will not solve the problemthe gangs structures, capabilities, operational methods and objectives are simply too diverse. Understanding them in greater depth would allow Haitian authorities and their international partners to adapt strategies accordingly, which might be essential for establishing peace.

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For some of the most brutal groups that publicly express pride in their violent actions, such as 400 Mawozo under the leadership of Lanmo SanJou, a hard-power approach might ultimately be the only promising option. But for gang leaders who have openly voiced their political motivations and are seen by parts of the population and their followers as benevolent heroeslike G9s Barbecue and GPeps Ti Gabriel, the heads of Haitis two major gang alliancesa nuanced strategy that includes nonmilitary approaches might be more appropriate.

Above all, any dialogue process would need to focus on negotiating at eye level with the participating gang leaders, which means listening to their concerns rather than blindly discounting them. Talking directly with the gangs in an official dialogue mechanism does not mean recognizing them as legitimate political actors. It does mean accepting a reality that, uncomfortable as it is, should no longer be ignored. Especially in light of Haitis weakened prison and judiciary systems, which currently do not possess the capability to absorb potential mass incarcerations, it is imperative to start thinking creatively about what future disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs could look like.

Quick Action Required

The elaboration of an approach that will pull Haiti out of crisis undoubtedly requires thorough reflection and preparation, but discussions about the path forward must not get so caught up in details that they distract from the need to increase the capacity of the current support mission. The solution might be a gradual shift toward a U.N. peacekeeping operation, but one that is accompanied by extensive human rights monitoring and a genuine, nationally owned plan that sets out detailed objectives and methods for negotiating with the gangs. In light of the results of the recent U.S. presidential election, which could prompt a significant cut in funding for Haiti, U.S. diplomats should make an effort to persuade Security Council members to vote on this potential transformation before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January 2025.

The new political turmoil in Haiti related to the change in leadership of the interim government is likely to cause further delays and uncertainty on top of the already eroded trust among Haitians of their countrys governmental institutions. But a certain degree of political consistency is needed in order to develop sustainable solutions to Haitis multiple crises. A stable and forward-looking peace process can only be made possible through simultaneous advances on the political, security and humanitarian level. None of it will be easy, and there are no guarantees of success, which only adds urgency to the efforts under discussion today.

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Marlene Willimek is a research fellow at the Diplo Foundation, where her work focuses on digital diplomacy, conflict resolution and nonstate armed actors. She has previously worked for the International Crisis Group and the U.N. Department of Peace Operations, and holds masters degrees from Sciences Po Paris and the London School of Economics.

The post A Military Approach Alone Wont Be Enough to Tackle Haitis Gangs appeared first on World Politics Review.
PHNOM PENH, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Monday hosted the first-ever Southeast Asian school meals coalition summit in northwest Siem Reap province, aiming at driving human capital development and food systems transformation, said a joint press release.

The three-day summit, organized under the global School Meals Coalition, has brought together high-level stakeholders from Southeast Asian nations, alongside representatives from China, Japan, and South Korea, the press release said.

"It represents a crucial opportunity for Southeast Asian nations to collaborate on policies that promote children's health, education, and future potential through sustainable school meals programs," the press release said.

"It aims to ensure that every child in Southeast Asia and beyond receives a healthy and nutritious school meal every day by 2030," it added.

Currently, the Cambodian government, through the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, is supporting a national Home-Grown School Feeding program in almost two-thirds of all the target schools, with a commitment to reach 1,114 schools, benefiting more than 300,000 students by 2028.

Cambodian Minister of Education, Youth and Sport Hang Chuon Naron said the summit was a crucial platform for governments and partners to come together, exchange best practices, and reaffirm commitments to providing nutritious meals for young learners, thus leveraging the school meal program as a social protection instrument.

"This summit underscores Cambodia's dedication to nurturing human capital, fostering economic growth, and ensuring the well-being of children," he said.

The summit's agenda included discussions on improving the quality and efficiency of school meals and nutrition programs, strengthening policy frameworks, enhancing sustainable financing mechanisms, and fostering multi-sectoral coordination. 
First responders at several Milwaukee County fire departments will begin carrying units of blood to keep severely injured trauma patients from bleeding out and dying before they reach a hospital.

It's a practice fire departments elsewhere have started to adopt, amid growing evidence that administering blood to trauma patients on the way to hospitals could save many thousands of lives a year if implemented by first responders across the United States.

"This is a program that will be tangible. We will see the results ... and there's no doubt that it will save lives," said Dr. Ben Weston, chief medical director for the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management.

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Until now, gunshot victims, crash victims or other trauma patients in Milwaukee County would wait until arriving at a hospital to receive a blood transfusion to replace lost blood, a county press release said. Severely injured patients risked bleeding out in the time it took to get to a hospital.

Typically, paramedics administered saline to severely injured trauma patients to help stabilize their blood pressure while on the way to the hospital, Weston said.

"The problem with that is it dilutes the blood, and it doesnt allow blood to do its essential task, which is delivering oxygen" to the brain and the rest of the body, said Weston, also the chief health policy advisor for the county.

The Milwaukee Fire Department will begin carrying blood on two of its ambulances sometime in January after its paramedics receive training, Weston said. The South Milwaukee Fire Department is slated to start soon, too.

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Meanwhile, the Greendale, North Shore and Wauwatosa fire departments have started carrying blood on ambulances, Weston said.

Very few of the country's emergency medical systems carry blood on ambulances.

Last year, an investigation by The Dallas Morning News and the San Antonio Express-News found that nationwide tens of thousands of trauma patients a year were needlessly dying before reaching hospitals.

It found that if paramedics widely carried blood, as military medics have done for years, those lives could be spared.

Milwaukee County's EMS system will be the first in Wisconsin to offer whole blood transfusions in the field, Weston said.

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In Milwaukee County, as many as 350 patients a year could benefit from blood transfusions before reaching a hospital, said Dan Pojar, director of the county Office of Emergency Management's EMS division.

But Pojar does not expect medics will administer blood to anywhere near that number of patients in the first year. That's because not every ambulance will have blood on board, he said.

Pojar hopes medics will administer blood to at least 50 patients in the first year of the initiative.

He does not expect the county will outfit every ambulance with blood because of logistical challenges maintaining the blood at safe temperatures and ensuring the blood gets used before expiring.

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To start, a total of six response vehicles across the five fire departments will carry blood, Weston said. The goal is eventually to implement the initiative across all the county's municipal fire departments.

Each ambulance will carry two units of whole blood, or blood that hasn't been broken down into components like plasma, Weston said. The blood will be stored in coolers outfitted with monitors that try to ensure temperatures stay within the proper range, he said.

The blood is provided by Versiti Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Diagnostic Laboratory Blood Bank, the release says. Any blood that is not used within the projected lifespan will be returned to the Wisconsin Diagnostic Laboratory Blood Bank to be used in hospitals before expiration.

The county EMS division will provide resources, training and logistics to support the new initiative.

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This was not a small lift for our EMS departments and first responders, but, as with everything we do, this has been a team effort, Weston said.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New effort to carry blood on Milwaukee ambulances hopes to save lives
The Milwaukee Health Department is holding an emergency vaccination clinic Monday afternoon for people who may have been exposed to hepatitis A after eating at the east side restaurant Beans & Barley.

People who ate food from Beans & Barley between Oct. 31 and Nov. 13 may have been exposed to hepatitis A, a contagious virus that causes liver infection and can be transmitted through contaminated food and water, according to a department news release.

An employee at Beans & Barley, 1901 E. North Ave., tested positive for hepatitis A and was infectious while working between Oct. 31 and Nov. 13, the release says.

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The health department is holding a vaccine clinic from 1-4 p.m. today at Northwest Health Center, 7630 W. Mill Road, for people who may have been exposed. If administered within two weeks of exposure to hepatitis A, the vaccine can prevent illness.

Most people who get sick recover fully within two months, the health department says, but severe cases of hepatitis A can result in prolonged illness or complications, particularly for people with underlying liver conditions.

Health officials say they know of no ongoing risk to people who ate food from Beans & Barley outside of the two-week window of time from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13.

"We think its a pretty low risk to the general public," Health Commissioner Mike Totoraitis told the Journal Sentinel. "This is out of an abundance of caution that were doing this notification."

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Beans & Barley remains open to the public as a safe place to eat, the health department said. The department is working with the restaurant to identify and notify people who may have been exposed.

Health officials recommend those exposed to the virus get the vaccine or immune globulin within 14 days of exposure and monitor for symptoms, such as fever, tiredness, loss of appetite, diarrhea, nausea, stomach pain and yellow skin.

If experiencing symptoms, they should not get the vaccine and should contact their doctor immediately, health officials say.

If a person has already been vaccinated for hepatitis A, they do not need to get the vaccine again, Totoraitis said.

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Hepatitis A vaccination was not recommended for all children until 2006, so most adults have not been vaccinated against it, Totoraitis said.

People can also receive the hepatitis A vaccine through their local pharmacy, doctor's office or at any Milwaukee Health Department walk-in immunization clinic.

Those unsure of their vaccination status can check their immunization records through the Wisconsin Immunization Registry online. If unable to access records through WIR, people should contact their doctors office or local health department for help, health officials said.

Health officials said Beans & Barley and the infected employee have been cooperative and that the employee took precautions after developing symptoms.

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The last time the health department reported a case of hepatitis A in a food worker was in 2011, said spokesperson Caroline Reinwald.

How does hepatitis A spread?

People with hepatitis A are contagious and able to spread the virus to others for one to two weeks before symptoms begin, according to the health department. It is typically spread through:

Person-to-person contact, especially when proper handwashing is not practiced

Consuming food or water contaminated with the virus

Certain high-risk behaviors, such as drug use or close contact with an infected individual

The health department encourages people to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water after using the bathroom and before making food to help prevent the spread of hepatitis A.

What are the symptoms of hepatitis A?

Symptoms often develop two to seven weeks after exposure, according to the health department, and may include:

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Fever

Tiredness

Loss of appetite

Nausea or vomiting

Stomach pain

Dark urine or pale stool

Joint pain

Jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes)

(This story was updated to add new information.)

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee offers vaccines to people exposed to hep A at Beans & Barley
Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The trial of two Florida men charged with attempting to smuggle a migrant family from India before they froze to death at the U.S.-Canada border has gotten underway.

On Monday, jury selection began nearly three years after the bodies of Jagdish Patel, 39, and his wife, Vaishaliben, 37, 11-year-old daughter Vihangi and 3-year-old son Dharmik were found dead in Manitoba, Canada, as they tried to cross the border in the middle of a freezing blizzard roughly -9 degrees Fahrenheit on Jan. 19, 2022.

The two men from Florida, Steve Shand and Harshkumar Patel -- of no relation to the victims -- have been charged with multiple counts of human smuggling. Both pleaded not guilty.

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The trial, likely to last roughly five days, was expected to take place near the closest federal courthouse in Fergus Falls less than 50 miles southeast of Fargo, N.D. Meanwhile, jurors were selected from all over Minnesota.

The deceased Patel family was part of a group of 11 natives of India all attempting to make their way to start a new life in a different country.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police found the four bodies roughly 13 yards from the U.S. border frozen to death with the father still holding his young son wrapped in a blanket.

In February, Patel was arrested in Chicago. Shand, meanwhile, was arrested on Jan. 19, 2022, by U.S. border patrol agents on a Minnesota highway near Emerson just south of Canada's border.

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According to prosecutors, Harshkumar Patel -- who went by the alias "Dirty Harry" -- allegedly hired and paid Shand to meet and transport migrants once they crossed the border into the United States in coordination with Canadian co-conspirators. A string of text messages between the two men acknowledged the dangerous weather conditions at the time of the attempted illegal crossing.

Prosecutors said Shand had received about $25,000 from Patel, who would determine dates and numbers of migrants to cross the border. Shand would fly from Orlando, Fla., to Minneapolis, Minn., to rent cars to travel to the northern border.

A court brief last month outlined how the two men supposedly smuggled dozens of other individuals across the border as part of a "large, systemic human smuggling operation," according to court documents, that brought in nationals of India to Canada on student visas who then were illegally taken to the U.S.

Jagdish Patel and his family hailed from the middle-class village of Dingucha from the state of Gujarat in west India, which is an area where many U.S.-Indian citizens have immigrated from since at least the 1960s. Harshkumar Patel, the family's alleged smuggler, came from the same Indian state.

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Officials claimed Patel, the alleged smuggler, was previously denied a U.S. visa five times and ultimately appeared to have arrived illegally through Canada. He had been managing a strip mall casino in Orange City where he met Shand, who was a taxi driver in the Florida community where the two men allegedly met.

According to the U.S. Border Patrol, fiscal year 2024 saw an estimated 198,929 encounters with migrants at the Canadian border.

Officials said the large part of illegal crossing encounters happen at the borders at New York, Vermont and New Hampshire and some parts of the midwest region like Grand Forks and Minnesota where the deadly incident transpired.

In May, Renville County, N.D. Sheriff Roger Hutchinson told lawmakers in congressional testimony there exists a lack of border agents in the Grand Forks region, saying how agents deal with such things like dead, bodies, high-speed pursuits, damaged farm crops, illegal substances, counterfeit items among other things.

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The sheriff said most of the migrants agents see are from either Nigeria in Africa, Romania in eastern Europe or from India.

"Our biggest concern is who we did not catch," Hutchinson said. "We have a wide-open, vast border, with no natural physical barriers and very few man-made ones."
BEE CAVE, Texas (KXAN)  Mirasol Springs, a 1,400-acre development in western Travis County, will get access to water from Lake Travis. Board members with the West Travis County Public Utility Agency (WTCPUA) approved drawing up a contract during their meeting on November 18.

This map shows the proposed service line that would connect Mirasol Springs with the WTCPUAs water source. The line runs through the Peacock Ranch development. (Credit: Eric Henrikson/KXAN)

Theres both good and not so good. But were making progress, said landowner Lew Adams after the decision was made unanimously by the board. Adams owns land that is surrounded by the Mirasol Springs development.

Weve got to build in a way that is environmentally responsible and can be used as a playbook for the expansion that is inevitable in this part of the country, said Mirasol Capital founder Steve Winn during public comment ahead of the vote.

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The contract will be drawn up over two days by the board. It will then be shared with the public. The board will offer the contract to Mirasol Springs at the next board meeting in December.

The development submitted a proposal to the WTCPUA for a new water line extension in September. The three-inch line would be built and paid for by the developers. It would attach to a currently approved water service line extension to build west of Highway 71.

Limitations on the size of that pipeline, if this is the only pipeline, etc., will make a big difference in what happens in the Hill country, Adams said.

As part of the contract, several additional stipulations were made. Those include restrictions on new wells on the property, the addition of metered water usage for farming and livestock, inspections of the property and the right to shut off water service if any restrictions are violated and not corrected within 60 days.

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The group also added restrictions on wastewater. Treated water must have a low amount of nitrates and phosphorus, essentially drinkable, that could be used for irrigation.

Steve Winn, founder of Mirasol Capital, speaks before landowners at a WTCPUA meeting on November 18, 2024. (Credit: KXAN/Tim Holcomb)

Speakers during Mondays public comment said that recent talks between landowners and Mirasol leadership had moved in a positive direction.

You and I are on the same side of the table. Were not on different sides. Were trying to protect the environment, Winn directed to the landowners.

Mirasol Springs aims to set the gold-standard for developers in the future, with several green initiatives in place meant to protect the environmentally sensitive land it is scheduled to built on.

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Hill Country landowners question proposed water line as county voices support

That land, just west of Hamilton Pool and Reimers Ranch along the Pedernales River, is dotted by several springs. Activists and landowners worry that development in the area could lead to groundwater depletion and that these springs could dry up.

Water service line debate

Judge Andy Brown speaks with landowner Lew Adams about the potential impact of Mirasol Springs. (Credit: Frank Martinez/KXAN)

The WTCPUA said they would agree to the line under several conditions, including the surrendering of any groundwater or surface water permits by the developers.

The WTCPUA board was scheduled to vote on the plan in October but delayed the vote until Nov. 18 after pushback from landowners and activists.

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Travis County Commissioners Court, who initially voiced concerns about the impact of the development on the springs, has since come out in favor of the water line under several restrictions.

The size of the water main line extension shall not exceed 3 inches with a maximum flow of 108 gallons per minute.

The drilling of any new water wells and, upon service from the WTCPUA, the non-exempt

use of groundwater is prohibited.

Rainwater harvesting and storage for outdoor irrigation is mandatory.

The use of the Pedernales River as a potable water supply to the area served by WTCPUA is

prohibited.

Mirasol will sever its groundwater estate and grant Travis County a groundwater conservation easement.

WTCPUA water is limited to indoor use.

Ahead of the Mirasol vote in October, representatives with the WTCPUA told KXAN that the reason we are considering it is to relieve capacity from the Trinity Aquifer and the Pedernales River.

Concerns about development

Activists, including the Save Our Springs Alliance, have said theyre worried that even with restrictions in place, development could flourish. The group often cites a 2015 study by the Meadows Center at Texas State which found that a water line extension along Highway 290 led to increased groundwater depletion in that area.

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That study was partially funded by the Save Our Springs Alliance.

Doug Wierman, the hydrologist who authored that study, has since come out and said that the situations are not the same. The proposed Mirasol Springs water line is meant strictly for one development, whereas the Highway 290 pipeline was meant to boost development near Dripping Springs.

Landowners who live along Hamilton Pool Road have said that the initial water line installed in 2005, which the Mirasol line will attach, has led to increased development.

If you build it, they will come. And they came. The developments came, the traffic came, the lack of water came. And we are now in the same predicament, if you will, going down west of 12, said Nell Penridge, a homeowner who has lived in the area since 2009.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
Nov. 17 (UPI) -- President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said "missiles will speak for themselves," following reports that U.S. President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to conduct strikes deeper into Russian territory.

The besieged Eastern European nation has repeatedly increased its requests for assistance from the United States amid its war, with many being granted. However, Ukraine has for months now called on Washington to allow it to strike deeper into Russia with U.S munitions -- a request that the Biden administration has been reluctant to grant out of fear of escalating the nearly 1,000-day-old war.

On Sunday, it was reported that U.S. President Joe Biden, who is to leave the White House in two months, has given Zelensky authorization to use Army Tactical Missile Systems, which are long-range missiles, to strike Russia.

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"Today, there's a lot of talk in the media about us receiving permission for respective actions. But strikes are not carried out with words. Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak for themselves. They certainly will," Zelensky said in his nightly address on Sunday.

Biden's authorization of Ukraine to attack further in Russian territory was reported by The New York Times, CNN and ABC News. All three news organizations cited unnamed U.S. officials.

The authorization comes as North Korean troops have entered combat in the Ukraine-Russia war.

The U.S. State Department last week said some 10,000 soldiers of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have been sent to eastern Russia, most to Kursk Oblast, where Ukrainian forces have occupied hundreds of square miles, taken in a surprise August incursion.

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With the authorization, Ukraine is expected target Russian and North Korean troops in defense of Ukrainian forces in Kursk region, officials told The Times, adding that Biden may also allow Kyiv to use them elsewhere in Russia.

The decision to allow the use of longer-range weapons in the war is the latest shift in Ukraine war policy in Washington. It had also turned down Ukrainian requests for Patriot missiles, Abrams tanks and F-16 fighter jets, only to later acquiesce.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia has threatened to use nuclear weapons in the war. In September, amid debates about the use of Ukraine conducting longer-range attacks, he warned that Moscow could respond to conventional missiles with its nuclear arsenal.
President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on Nov. 17 on recent reports that the U.S. eased restrictions on long-range strikes within Russia, saying that "such things are not announced."

The president made the statement shortly after the New York Times reported that the Biden administration had permitted the use of U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles across the border, namely against Russian and North Korean forces amassing in Russia's Kursk Oblast.

The report has not been publicly confirmed by Washington or Kyiv.

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"Today, theres a lot of talk in the media about us receiving permission for respective actions," Zelensky said in his evening address.

"But strikes are not carried out with words. Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak for themselves."

The decision would come as a major shift in U.S. policy as President Joe Biden has been long adamant about not allowing Western-supplied weapons to be used on Russian soil, fearing an escalation.

Biden first eased the restrictions in May to allow Ukraine to use certain weaponry like HIMARS to strike at Russian troops just across the border in the wake of the Kharkiv offensive. Restrictions on ATACMS, tactical ballistic missiles with a range of 300 kilometers (190 miles), remained in place at the time.

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Ukraine will likely initially use the missiles against Russian and North Korean forces in Kursk Oblast, but Washington could also authorize their use elsewhere, the New York Times wrote.

Unnamed U.S. officials, as well as a source familiar with the decision, who spoke to Reuters following the decision, said that Kyiv plans to conduct its first long-range strikes in the coming days.

As the decision came in the last months of Biden's term in office, it remains unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump will uphold the policy after he returns to the White House in January 2025.

Read also: Biden authorizes Ukraine to target Russia with US long-range missiles, media reports

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Out gay University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) student Jimmie Jay Lee, who went missing in 2022 at the age of 20, was declared legally dead by a judge last month, local ABC affiliate WAPT reports. His alleged killer, Sheldon Timothy Herrington, an Ole Miss graduate and native of Grenada, is due to go on trial for Lees murder in a Lafayette County courtroom on Dec. 5.

Heres everything you need to know about the case.

Who is Jimmy Jay Lee?

Lee was a popular out gay student at Ole Miss. He was reportedly well-liked within the local LGBTQ+ community on campus and in the town of Oxford where the school is located.

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He was known locally for performing as drag queen Jay Divaa in Code Pink, Oxfords drag night.

His disappearance sparked great fear within the community. The group Justice for Jay Lee was created to bring awareness to his disappearance and accountability for his killer.

What are the basics of the case?

Lee went missing from his student housing complex in Oxford early on the morning of July 8, 2022. Police believe he was murdered, but the whereabouts of Lees body remain unknown.

Lee was involved in a secret sexual relationship with the Herrington, who was in the closet. Herrington was also active in the Abundant Life Assembly, an Apostolic Christian church where his father was an assistant pastor and founded by his grandfather.

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Herrington became an immediate suspect in the case. He was arrested in late July and charged with capital murder.

Prosecutors allege Herrington strangled Lee because he feared their relationship might become public. Among the circumstantial evidence they will present at trial, they say Herrington bought duct tape and a large trash can from a local Walmart and made an internet search for how long does it take to strangle someone gabby petito.

Prosecutors say they have more than enough evidence to convict Herrington without a body.

What happened in the hours before Lee disappeared?

Snapchat messages contained in court documents reportedly show Herrington lured Lee to his death on the evening of July 7 with the promise of reciprocating oral sex, an issue of contention between the two young men, according to reporting by Mississippi Today.

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Lee reportedly had his suspicions about Herringtons intentions, though, suggesting he was just tryna lure me over there to beat my ass or something, to which Herrington replied, you trippin.

Lee was simultaneously messaging another friend about the conversation, including his intention to hook up because of the promise of oral sex, although not specifically identifying Herrington. Lee was never heard from again, and the friend later contacted the police and helped in the investigation.

Surveillance footage obtained by investigators showed Lee departing his apartment and going to Herringtons apartment shortly after the conversation. Lees car was later captured on video driving to the Molly Barr Trails student housing. The car was towed from that location later that day.

Surveillance footage also showed a person matching Herringtons description jogging away from the scene not long after the cars arrival even though the jogger was not seen entering the area. The same jogger was later captured on video entering a white Kia Optima at a nearby gas station. That car was pulled over for a traffic citation a short time later and Herrington was later confirmed as a passenger in the Optima by the driver.

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Herrington was later seen in surveillance footage visiting his parents house with a company truck to pick up a wheelbarrow and a shovel.

Prosecutors theorize that Herrington strangled Lee in his apartment, drove Lees car to Molly Barr Trails where it was abandoned, jogged from the scene, and later used his companys truck to dispose of Lees body.

When police questioned him later that month, Herrington admitted to a casual relationship with Lee but claimed no knowledge of his whereabouts. K-9 dogs trained to detect the presence of cadavers alerted four times in Herringtons apartment  once in the living room and three times in the bedroom.

Herrington was arrested and later released on a $250,000 bond.

What makes this case different?

This case is different than most because there is not a body. Instead, Lee was declared legally dead at the request of his family last month.

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It is hereby ordered and adjudged that Jimmie Dale Lee III is presumed dead as the result of a catastrophic event that occurred on July 3, 2022, the order declared.

However, one expert told local CBS affiliate WREG that the lack of the body doesnt mean Herrington cant be found guilty of Lees murder.

Criminal defense attorney Blake Ballin described such cases as unusual but not impossible to win.

There are many different ways that the state could still prove somebody is dead even though they cant produce a body, Ballin said.

What happens next?

Herrington tried to change the venue of the trial, saying he could not get a fair trial in Lafayette County. A judge denied the request.

The case is set to go to trial on Dec. 5.
HICKORY, Ky. (FOX 56)  A missing infant from Missouri was found Sunday morning in Graves County.

According to Kentucky State Police (KSP), troopers were notified at 10:46 a.m. CT that the missing 3-month-old was believed to be at a home in Hickory.

Authorities said the baby was supposed to be surrendered to the Missouri Department of Social Services, but the biological mother had left the state with the baby.

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At 11:03 a.m., KSP confirmed the baby was found safe, along with her mother, at a home in Hickory and was safely transferred to social services.

State police said the baby was given a trooper teddy bear via the Trooper Teddy program.

The mother, 29-year-old Taylor Roldan of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, was arrested and charged as a fugitive for a warrant issued by Missouri authorities for parental kidnapping, according to KSP.

LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS:

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Roldan was booked into the Calloway County Jail while awaiting extradition to Missouri.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News.
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  The Dayton Police Department needs your help to locate a missing child.

Nyla Blassingame | Dayton Police Department

According to Dayton Police, Nyla Blassingame, 12, of Dayton, was last seen in the 200 block of Niagara Avenue at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 15.

Blassingame was last seen in a pink shirt and blue shorts. The missing child is 5 foot 2 and weighs 160 pounds. She has black hair and brown eyes.

Blassingames family thinks she may be headed to the Columbus area.

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If you know her whereabouts, call Dayton Police at 937-333-2677.

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 WDTN.com.
ISTANBUL, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The ringleader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Portugal was arrested in Istanbul during a joint operation by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization and Istanbul Provincial Security Directorate, local media reported Sunday.

The semi-official Anadolu Agency reported Serdar Tunagur, who was alleged to engage in subversive activities in support of the PKK and took part in many of its actions in Portugal, was arrested in Istanbul.

Tunagur was sent to prison by order of the judicial authorities, according to the report.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades. 
Authorities do not suspect foul play in connection with the death of the child, who was reportedly nonverbal

Ormond Beach Police Department/X Waylon Childs, the 4-year-old boy who disappeared in Ormond Beach, Fla., on Nov. 17, 2024. Waylon Childs, the 4-year-old boy who disappeared in Ormond Beach, Fla., on Nov. 17, 2024.

Authorities in Florida say a boy with autism has been found dead hours after he disappeared while at a local park with family.

The body of Waylon Childs, 4, was found in Central Park near Fleming Avenue in Ormond Beach on Sunday, Nov. 17, according to a news release from the Ormond Beach Police Department (OBPD).

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Police said the child was at the park with his father and two of his siblings, who were also under the age of 5, around noon that same day when he disappeared.

A dive team located the boys body around 9 p.m. local time on Nov. 17, police said.



Related: Missing 5-Year-Old Boy with Autism Found Dead in Pond Near Home: A Nightmare

Authorities do not suspect foul play in connection with Waylons death, Ormond Beach police public information officer Pauline Dulang said at a press conference shared by NBC affiliate WESH. Police said the boy was also nonverbal, according to the report.

Dulang did not say how the boy entered the water. She said now is the time to come together as a community.

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Its just an unfortunate day and a tragic case today, Dulang told reporters.

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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Volusia Sheriffs Office and local law enforcement from neighboring cities assisted with the search for Waylon, according to the OBPD.

We pulled out as many stops as we possibly could, Dulang said at the press conference. We had eyes in the air, eyes on the ground and eyes in the water.

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Related: Father Speaks Out About 5-Year-Old Boy with Autism Who Died After Leaving Home While Mom Napped

In a statement, Police Chief Jesse Godfrey thanked the community and all the agencies involved in looking for Waylon for their support and efforts during this search.

This is a heartbreaking tragedy, and our hearts are with Waylons family during this unimaginable loss, Godfrey said.

The chief added that the department remains committed to standing with the family and our community in the days ahead.


HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WHLT)  A new Mississippi Freedom Trail marker, which commemorates civil rights leader Victoria Jackson Gray Adams, was unveiled in Hattiesburg.

The marker is located at 816 Elnora Knight Road, which was an essential hub of the 1964 Freedom Summer Movement.

We are honored to celebrate the legacy of Victoria Jackson Gray Adams as the newest addition to our Mississippi Freedom Trail, said Visit Mississippi Director Rochelle Hicks. We encourage our residents and visitors to explore the many sites that convey Mississippis leading role in the Civil Rights Movement throughout the states distinct cities and towns.

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Cold-Link Logistics opens Jones County facility

Gray Adams was born on November 5, 1926, in Hattiesburg, where she solidified her role as a civil rights leader in the 1960s. Her efforts included supporting voter registration, educating disenfranchised communities about the civil rights promised to all Americans in the United States Constitution, and coordinating political activities with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. One of her most high-profile steps into the political spotlight occurred in 1965, when she became the first Black woman to run for the Mississippi senate.

Victoria Gray Adams was a relentless trailblazer for civil rights, who chose to never accept status quo as the final word, said Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker. This marker will share her story with future generations, and we hope it will help raise up citizens with the same fighting spirit to call out injustice and advance the cause of good.

The Mississippi Freedom Trail consists of more than 40 sites that offer visitors the opportunities to learn more about the Civil rights movement, honor important figures of the era and sightsee across the state.

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JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV)  Mississippians do their best to stay up with recent trends, and Google Trends reveal what terms they were the most interested in back in 2024.

Slang words come into existence every year. Some words are used for generations, while others are relevant for a very brief moment. Unless you popularize the term yourself or are glued to social media, what certain things mean may be unclear. Below are the 10 most searched terms in Mississippi based on an Unscramblerer.com analysis of Google search trends.

1. Demure

Adjective: Reserved, modest or shy in manner or appearance.

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The TikTok user Jools Lebron made a series of viral videos using the phrase very demure. The term became very popular nationally. Even the Mississippi Department of Transportation told drivers that safe driving was very demure, very mindful.

An August report revealed that Mississippi is the most demure state.

2. DEI

Noun: Acronym for diversity, equity and inclusion.

It refers to a set of values, policies and practices focused on establishing a group culture of equitable and inclusive treatment and on attracting and retaining a diverse group of individuals. This primarily includes people who have historically been excluded or discriminated against. It is now a political buzzword used by many politicians nationally.

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Many states have outlawed DEI programs on college campuses. Fearing ensuing legislation to outlaw such programs, some of Mississippis public universities have restructured and renamed their diversity initiatives.

3. Sigma

Adjective: An independent, self-reliant person who operates outside traditional social hierarchies, often described as a lone wolf.

The 18th letter of the Greek alphabet is in the same universe of terms of alpha and beta. All three terms are usually used to describe men. Being called sigma is generally considered to be a compliment.

4. Skibidi

Adjective: Does not have a defined meaning and is often used to describe many different feelings and emotions.

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The word refers to a viral internet trend featuring surreal, animated videos of singing toilets and dancing heads, popularized on platforms like TikTok for its bizarre humor.

Still using LOL? That could mean you are getting old

5. Pookie

Noun: To show endearment and affection. Often refers to a close friend, partner or family member.

The term is a playful way to say someone is special to you. Similar terms to Pookie include bae, boo, fam and other slang terms.

6. Hawk Tuah

Noun: Imitative of a spitting sound.

The catchphrase originates from a viral street interview conducted in June 2024 with Haliey Welch. She stated that her signature move for making a man go crazy in bed was to give him that hawk tuah and spit on that thang.

7. Katz

Adjective: A term for anything enjoyable, fun or pleasing.

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The term was originally known as a distinctly Jewish, German or Slovenian surname. Katz can also mean yes.

8. Crash Out

Verb: To lose control, get upset, become stressed or act irrationally.

This is the modern-day version of the phrase losing your mind. It perhaps best describes the feelings many had leading up to the recent 2024 presidential election.

9. Oeuvre

Noun: The complete works produced by an artist, writer or composer.

A word often used by literature professors to express superiority has its origins in old French and Latin.

10. Schmaltz

Noun: Refers to excessive sentimentality or melodrama.

It is often used to describe art, movies, music or storytelling if there is too much sappiness. The term existed with this meaning before 2024. Schmaltz also refers to rendered animal fat, especially chicken fat.

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I was in eighth grade when Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016. I wore all black to school the next day and cried in class. My teachers told me to calm down. In the years since, my home state of Florida has transformed from a purple to a red state. In my senior year of high school, I took AP psychology; two years later, Governor Ron DeSantis banned the course in public schools, in large part because it included scientifically based material on sexual orientation and gender identity. Im now a college senior in Missouri, where Ive worked in support of the right to abortion, which the state legislature essentially abolished in 2022. Both of these states have become MAGA strongholds and guinea pigs for the new Republican playbook.

All thats to say Im used to playing defense. As we confront full Republican control of the federal government in 2025, Im prepared to keep holding the line. While many of us have reacted in horror to the results of this election, the policy agenda of the second Trump administration is one progressives in red states are used to fighting back against.

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Missouri was the first state to enact a near-total abortion ban after the Dobbs ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. The result has been devastating as we watched the final clinic in St. Louis turn away patients. Ive watched as national rhetoric has demonized red states like Missouri and Florida, but plenty of people in those states dont agree with their state leaders and have been earnestly working to protect peoples rights.

In Missouri, our hard work has achieved some success. On November 6, voters enshrined the right to reproductive freedom into the state constitution, making the state the first to overturn a near-complete ban on abortion due to the will of the electorate. The people turned out to vote and proved that they were the solution to a ban propped up by anti-abortion politicians in state office. At the same time, despite voting to protect reproductive freedom, a majority of Missouri voters also elected Donald Trump and JD Vance, the very antithesis of those ideals.

In Florida too, a majority  57.2%  of voters supported the right to abortion despite efforts by the state government and anti-abortion groups to spread misinformation about it. Yet, because Republican lawmakers raised the threshold for passing ballot amendments to 60%, the measure failed.

Democrats certainly need to conduct a post-mortem on what went wrong, but in the meantime, we need to bolster our resistance. Look to states like Missouri and Florida where an indefatigable resistance movement has been working for years. The success of Amendment 3 in Missouri is a testament to the commitment of reproductive freedom forces on the ground. The conversations we need to have with one another have been and will continue to be long and difficult. People in our state were willing to have them and thats why we won.

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First, dont give up before the fight has begun. Although things look grim for Democrats in Washington, the current administration is far from over. We cannot just phone it in with less than three months of the Biden administration remaining. In these final days, we should pressure Biden to direct the archivist of the United States to certify and publish the Equal Rights Amendment, to pardon people convicted of nonviolent drug-related offenses, confirm outstanding judicial nominees, and be more explicit in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, just to name a few.

Second, if youre not a Biden administration staffer, lick your wounds then come back ready to fight. After Trump was elected in 2016, there was a massive influx in financial support for organizations like Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union, and journalism outlets. Im not sure that will happen this time. The opposition feels more exhausted. In some ways, that scares me more than the Trump victory itself. If you care about immigrants, reproductive rights, queer and trans youth, and BIPOC communities you do not have the luxury of remaining jaded these next four years.

While national organizations are always good options, I would urge you to support local and grassroots organizations and journalism outlets. In Missouri and practically every state where abortion referenda have been successful, those are the organizations that knocked on doors and listened to people who were confused about the legal landscape and scared to seek out care or even participate in the political process. If you can afford to do so, take out your credit card and make a donation. If youre like me (a broke-ish college student), you can still engage in the process. Find these organizations operating without a strong national infrastructure and find community. Its easy to feel alone in a state or a nation that voted to reelect someone you wouldnt trust alone with your uncovered drink, much less the nuclear codes.

Last, be willing to reflect and have difficult conversations. Weve reached a level of disinformation in this country thats difficult to digest. Thirty-six percent of people still dont believe Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, according to a recent Washington Post-University of Maryland poll. Dont take information for granted. Dont assume everyones on the same page. On social media, its easy to unfollow someone if you have different opinions. In real life, its more difficult when a family member says something politically unsound or hurtful. Its not your responsibility to prove your humanity to people. But when it feels possible and safe, have these difficult conversations and try to go into them seeking to understand rather than to blame. If anything is clear after this election, its that people are struggling, whether that's to get a job, support their families, pay off debt, or all of the above. If we want to change minds and mobilize an electorate as organizers did in Missouri, we have to be willing to listen.

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If youre still feeling depressed, remember that voters in Missouri and Florida turned out in support of access to abortion in 2024, despite the entrenched efforts of the states power brokers. Keep fighting. Theres a generation of young people who are begging you not to throw in the towel.

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D. John Sauer, former solicitor general of Missouri, is pictured here testifying during a hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on July 20, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images).

President-elect Donald Trump tapped two Missouri members of the legal team for jobs in the new administration, naming D. John Sauer solicitor general and Will Scharf assistant to the president and White House staff secretary.

Sauer, who lives in the St. Louis suburb of Town and Country, was Missouri solicitor general from 2017 through 2022 under Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt. In that job, he led Missouris unsuccessful effort alongside other GOP attorneys general to keep Trump in power by challenging the 2020 election results.

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More recently, Sauer successfully represented Trump at the U.S. Supreme Court in his bid for immunity from being criminally charged for trying to overturn the 2020 election. The justices voted 6-3 along ideological lines in July to give Trump immunity from some official acts he took as president.

As solicitor general, Sauer will be responsible for litigating the federal governments positions at the U.S. Supreme Court.

He is a legit genius, an incredible lawyer and Im thrilled for him and his family, Schmitt posted on social media.

Scharf, who ran unsuccessfully against Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey in the GOP primary, briefly served in the administration of former Gov. Eric Greitens before moving to Washington, D.C., to work for the advocacy organization Judicial Crisis Network, focused on judicial confirmations and nominations, most notably Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

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In 2020, he returned to Missouri to work as an assistant U.S. attorney in St. Louis. Alongside Sauer, Scharf was part of the team advising and defending Trump in his myriad criminal trials over the last year.

In his new job, Scharf will decide which memos, briefings and reports will go to the president and who should weigh in on issues and speeches.

Will is a highly skilled attorney who will be a crucial part of my White House team, Trump said in announcing Scharfs appointment, later adding: Will is going to make us proud as we Make America Great Again.
Mitch Landrieu, who oversaw the implementation of President Joe Biden's infrastructure law, speaks during the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2024. J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press

Mitch Landrieu, the former New Orleans mayor and co-chair of Vice President Kamala Harris presidential campaign, is not running for chair of the Democratic National Committee, he told HuffPost on Monday.

I never really thought about it much, to be honest with you, he said, attributing his inclusion on short lists of potential candidates to Democrats who appreciate his work. Its nice to be thought of as somebody that can help, and evidently, a couple of people thought that.

Prior to joining the Harris campaign, Landrieu worked in the White House to oversee the implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commonly known as the bipartisan infrastructure law.

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Asked whether he plans to seek a different role in public life in the coming four years, Landrieu replied, I havent made that decision yet.

Other candidates considering a run to lead the Democratic National Committee include Ben Wikler, Wisconsin Democratic Party chair; Ken Martin, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chair; and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Social Security Administration Commissioner Martin OMalley, a former governor of Maryland and mayor of Baltimore, officially announced his run for the leadership post on Monday.

Landrieu, who is also a former lieutenant governor of Louisiana and brother to former Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), attributed Harris election loss to the salience of inflation and border security.



You cant pick the environment that youre running in, Landrieu said. Although we dont have all the data yet  it is looking as though the public was really keyed into inflation and immigration, and they did a better job of communicating those than we did.



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Landrieu invited some kind of party-wide analysis of what went wrong for Democrats this cycle, but he declined to say whether it should be a centralized effort of the kind Republicans undertook in 2012.



He also refused to second-guess Harris campaign decisions or single out areas where he believes Democrats writ large are out of sync with voters.



When pressed, however, on whether there needed to be a place in the party for people like former Louisiana Gov. Jon Bel Edwards (D), an abortion rights opponent, or Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who has taken flak since the election for coming out against letting transgender girls and women compete in womens sports, Landrieu was emphatic that there needed to be.

We should be an open-minded, big-shoulder party, he said. You dont have to be ideologically bent. You can be very practical. You have to win elections and you have to solve problems. Its not just about winning arguments.

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As for what would bind together a more ideologically accommodating Democratic Party, Landrieu said, We believe that diversity is a strength, not a weakness. We believe in a pluralistic, multiracial society. We believe in democracy, not autocracy. We believe in lifting people up from the bottom up, not the top down. We dont believe that giving tax breaks to billionaires is going to help trickle down in a way that can build generational wealth.



In addition, Landrieu predicted that President-elect Donald Trump would overinterpret his mandate and pursue major changes that anger voters, such as the massive, across-the-board cuts to federal government services and personnel that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, leaders of the new Department of Government Efficiency, have suggested are in the offing.

I know a lot about cutting and how you cut, Landrieu said, citing 20% budget cuts he enacted as mayor of New Orleans during a period of fiscal austerity following the 2008 financial crash and subsequent recession. The thing that you dont do is put a bomb under the building and blow it up.

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Nov. 17PIERRE  A Mitchell man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for assaulting a federal law enforcement officer.

Dustin Todd Long, age 38, was sentenced to five years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for South Dakota.

Long was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2023 on charges related to assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer. He pleaded guilty on Aug. 14 and was sentenced on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

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According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the conviction stems from Long pointing a handgun toward Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services officers after refusing to obey their commands in Eagle Butte, South Dakota.

During the incident, Long waved the handgun around while walking toward Main Street, where he continued to ignore commands to drop the firearm. After Long was apprehended, law enforcement was able to determine that the firearm was unloaded.

Long was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
(Bloomberg) --

Most Read from Bloomberg

Europe will see economic activity weaken if the US imposes tariffs, according to European Central Bank Governing Council member Yannis Stournaras.

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If I can advise our friends in the United States, this is my advice: dont do it, Stournaras, who heads Bank of Greece, said at Bloombergs Future of Greek Finance Symposium in Athens on Monday. Any levies could lead to recession and a period of deflation in the medium term, he said.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis earlier warned of the damage a trade war with the US would cause the European Union and said an accord is possible with the incoming Donald Trump administration.

I do worry about tariffs because Im a proponent of free trade, and I believe that tariffs eventually dont create a net sort of positive impact, Mitsotakis said at the same event. A trade war between the US and Europe would clearly not benefit the US or Europe.

Trump has caused concern in European capitals with his threat to impose 60% tariffs on China and 10% to 20% on the rest of the world. During his first term, Trump hit European steel and aluminum exports with tariffs, triggering a tit-for-tat escalation with the EU, which targeted politically sensitive companies in the US with its own duties.

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The EU has already prepared a list of American goods it could hit with tariffs if the new Trump administration follows through on his threat to hit the bloc with punitive trade measures, Bloomberg reported last month. New levies against the US arent a base case for the EU and will only be used to retaliate against a move by the White House.

I think a deal can be made when it comes to the US, said Mitsotakis, who is one of the few EU leaders who was in office during Trumps first term. The Greek premier spoke with the incoming American president last week.

He highlighted that the EU sets trade policy for the entire bloc.

We need to be very clear, he said. The European Union is negotiating as a whole, there is no room to have bilateral agreements.

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(Updates with Stournaras comments starting in first paragraph)

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Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares joins former president Donald Trump at a rally in Chesapeake on June 28, 2024. Charlotte Rene Woods/ Virginia Mercury

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Monday that he will seek reelection in 2025, putting to rest speculation that he might enter the Republican primary for governor. His decision effectively clears the way for Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to secure her partys nomination for the states top job.

I serve as the peoples protector, Miyares said of his role as the states top lawyer in an X post announcing his reelection campaign.

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Highlighting his aspirations for another four years as attorney general, Miyares pointed to key public safety initiatives he has championed, including the One Pill Can Kill campaign to raise awareness about fentanyl overdoses and his offices work with Ceasefire Virginia, a program that combines prosecution efforts with community engagement to combat crime.

Earlier this year, Miyares celebrated crime reductions associated with the initiative.

Miyares campaign launch comes roughly a week after Democratic candidate Jay Jones announced his latest bid for the position. Jones lost a Democratic primary to former Attorney General Mark Herring in 2021, who later went on to lose to Miyares later that year in the general election.

Though Miyares hadnt officially announced yet, Jones took a jab at Miyares last week  accusing him of using his office to attack Virginians freedoms, pander to the fringes of his own party and side with corporate price gougers and polluters at the cost of Virginia families.

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Moments after Miyares announcement, Gov. Glenn Youngkin also turned to X to endorse the attorney general and Earle-Sears for next years Republican ticket.

As attorney general, Jason vigorously defends the laws of the commonwealth, stands with law enforcement every single day while leading our shared fight to end the free flow of opioids and fentanyl into our communities, and has been a constant advocate for victims of human trafficking and domestic violence, Youngkin wrote.

He has never backed down when it comes to standing up for Virginians. He is an exceptional attorney general.

Youngkin also hailed Earle-Sears  a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who declared her bid for the states highest office in September and would likely face U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger  as an outstanding lieutenant governor.

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She will be a great governor. She has been an outspoken advocate for commonsense conservative principles and policies, a passionate voice for our military and veterans, and a relentless advocate for educational freedom and economic opportunity. She brings the fighting spirit of a Marine to the office every single day.

Earle-Sears said in a statement that she was deeply honored to receive Youngkins endorsement.

Together with our outstanding attorney general, Jason Miyares, we will continue championing common-sense safety and security policies that keep Virginia the Number 1 Best State for Business, she said.

While Miyares is so far the only Republican candidate vying for the seat, Jones will face Henrico Commonwealth Attorney Shannon Taylor in a primary. Miyares took aim at both on social media last week after Jones announced his bid.

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Both of the announced (democratic) candidates for Attorney General are far-left, anti-police, criminal rights progressives who will make Virginia less safe. They will support the same criminal first, victim last policies that lead to a surge in violent crime, Miyares wrote.

He reiterated similar messaging in his re-election campaign launch video Monday, and said that in a second term he will continue to press for more tough-on-crime policies. Also during his time in office, Miyares has signed onto legal briefs with other Republican attorneys general challenging President Joe Biden administrations Title IX rules meant to protect LGBTQ+ students from discrimination.

In her pushback to Miyares, Taylor noted her over 25 years of experience as a prosecutor.

Every day of every one of those years has been spent working with law enforcement to keep people safe and seeking justice for victims of crime and their families, she wrote on X with a repost of Miyares post.

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And Democratic Party of Virginia Chair Susan Swecker in a statement called Miyares a MAGA mouthpiece in pushing an extreme agenda, referring to President-elect Donald Trumps Make America Great Again campaign motto.

Virginians deserve an attorney general who will stand up for their rights and freedoms, not someone who is constantly trying to take them away, Swecker said. It is clear that, if re-elected, Miyares would use his office as a partisan tool to serve the interests of the Trump administration, rather than the needs of hard-working Virginians.

Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said it was a smart move by Miyares to put his gubernatorial ambitions on hold and run for reelection next year.

There was no guarantee that he would prevail in a contest with the lieutenant governor. He can run for reelection now and legitimately claim the right to be first in line in 2029 for the partys gubernatorial nomination, Farnsworth said.

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While Republican attorneys general end up running for governor consistently and sometimes have been able to prevail over Republican lieutenant governors because they are more explicitly conservative, that is not the case this time, Farnsworth said.

The current lieutenant governor is not an ideological moderate the way some Republican lieutenant governors have been in the past, he said of Earle-Sears.

Democrats would likely have preferred a competition for the GOPs gubernatorial nomination among the two Republican statewide office holders, Farnsworth added.

If nothing else, a fight between Miyares and Winsome Earle-Sears would have put a lot of Republican money into the primary that otherwise would have been spent on a general election.

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Connor Joseph, a spokesman for Spanbergers campaign, said that no matter who her eventual opponent is, the Democrats vision for Virginia remains the same.

Her 2025 campaign will continue to be focused on the priorities that all Virginians share  stronger schools, safer communities, and lower costs, Joseph said. Additionally, Abigail knows that Virginia must have a governor who is committed to protecting the rights and fundamental freedoms of all Virginians.

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DAKAR, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Senegal's ruling PASTEF party, led by Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, secured a large lead in the Nov. 17 legislative elections, according to preliminary tallies.

With these results, released Sunday evening by polling stations in Senegal and abroad, PASTEF looks set to win a large majority of seats in the National Assembly.

Departmental vote-counting commissions are finalizing the counting process. The results will be sent to the National Electoral Commission to publish the official provisional results.

Opposition leaders have acknowledged PASTEF's victory and congratulated its leader and candidates.

Former Prime Minister Amadou Ba, leader of the Jamm Ak Njarin coalition, and Dakar Mayor Barthelemy Dias, leader of the Samm Sa Kaddu coalition, both conceded defeat and hailed the ruling party's success.

Some 7,300,000 Senegalese went to the polls Sunday to elect 165 members of parliament for a five-year term. Forty-one political formations, parties, or coalitions compete in the legislative elections. 
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG)  A Mobile man was sentenced to life in prison on Monday for a 2020 shooting that resulted in the death of Machavellia Mike Bagsby, according to Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood.

Travis Lofton found guilty of murdering Daphne restaurant manager

According to a news release from the district attorneys office, Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Brandy Hambright sentenced 40-year-old Leo Andoris Alexander to life in prison for his role in Bagsbys death in October 2020.

Leo Andoris Alexander. (Mobile County Sheriffs Office)

We believe that justice was served today, Blackwood said. Leo Alexander maliciously took the life of our victim, Mike Bagsby, who had a wife and children.

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Bagsby was convicted of intentional murder in October after days of testimony.

UPDATE: Woman found shot in Semmes Monday morning pronounced dead

Assistant District Attorneys Richard Foreman, Katy Sipper and Megan Everett, and Trial Coordinator Shyla White represented the 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 WKRG News 5.
Lamora Williams initially claimed to police in October 2017 that she came home to find her two sons dead

Fulton County Sheriff's Department Lamora Williams

A Georgia mother who killed her two young sons by putting them in the oven in 2017 will spend the rest of her life in prison.

The sentence was handed down to Lamora Williams on Friday, Nov. 15, after she was convicted of multiple charges, including murder, aggravated assault, cruelty to children, and other related offenses, according to reports from Fox 5 Atlanta, WSB-TV and WKRC.

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Williams, then 24, was initially arrested in October 2017 after she claimed to officers that she discovered her 1-and 2-year-old sons dead after leaving them with a caregiver for the day, PEOPLE previously reported, citing Atlanta police.

Police who responded to the scene found the boys, who were identified as JaKarter Penn, 1, and Ke'Yaunte Penn, 2, with burn marks, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

However, investigators later learned the boys were not left with a caregiver and that Williams, who called 911 that day, had put her two sons in the oven either early that morning or the night before, WSB-TV reports, citing prosecutors.

Related: Ga. Mom Allegedly Killed 2 Kids by Putting Them in Oven Before Video-Calling Their Dad to Show Scene

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The autopsy reports cited by WKRC state the boys died after a prolonged exposure to heat from an oven that was tipped over. The reports added that it would require an extensive amount of time to get to this degree, per the outlet.

After committing the murders, Williams called the boys father through video chat. The father of the boys, Jameel Penn, previously told WSB-TV, It was like a real horror movie. It was Friday the 13th.

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.

He added, When I saw my kid, how I saw my kid, thats when I knew what was going on.

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Penn also spoke with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the time, saying, After I seen what I seen, you know I called the police.

Williams mother previously told Fox 5 Atlanta that she has a history of mental health issues.



If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.


MOORESTOWN, NJ  Moorestown Mayor Nicole Gillespie is running for State Assembly, as the candidate field to succeed Congressman-Elect Herb Conaway begins to take shape.

Gillespie announced her candidacy Monday for an assembly seat in New Jersey's 7th legislative district, which will become vacant when longtime Assembly Member Herb Conaway begins his term in Congress in January.

She is the second person to announced her candidacy. Burlington County Commissioner Balvir Singh, a fellow Democrat, is also running for the assembly seat, which Conaway has held for 26 years.

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Gillespie, a former Naval officer, was first elected to Moorestown Council in 2018. She has served as mayor since 2020, when her fellow council members appointed her to the position. (Moorestown's mayor is a council member selected by the governing body every January.)

Gillespie touted several achievements in Moorestown, which include navigating the COVID-19 crisis without cutting government services to residents and implementing the township's first affordable-housing plan in more than 20 years.

She also touted a strong local economy that's reduced the taxpayer burden, including the redevelopment of Moorestown Mall with a larger Cooper Health facility and a future apartment complex.

"My career has been defined by service  from my time as a Naval officer to leading Moorestown through unprecedented challenges," Gillespie said Monday while announcing her candidacy.



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Last year, then-Sen. Bob Menendez's corruption charges and eventual conviction created a domino effect. Rep. Andy Kim ran for his Senate seat and won. During the same election cycle, Conaway was elected to Kim's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Now, Conaway's seat is up for grabs.

Since Conaway is a Democrat and his district is in Burlington County, the county's Democratic Party can appoint a replacement at a January convention. District voters will have an assembly election in November 2025, when all State Assembly seats will be up for grabs.

New Jersey's 7th legislative district features 17 cities and towns in northwestern Burlington County: Beverly, Bordentown, Bordentown Township, Burlington, Burlington Township, Cinnaminson, Delanco, Delran, Edgewater Park, Fieldsboro, Florence, Moorestown, Mount Laurel, Palmyra, Riverside, Riverton and Willingboro.

Moorestown Mayor Running For State Assembly originally appeared on the Moorestown Patch
Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski visited President-elect Donald Trump and members of his team at Mar-a-Lago last Friday, where the frequent Trump critics said they agreed to restart communications. The MSNBC pair told viewers about the surprising visit on Monday morning, emphasizing that the trip was meant as way to possibly re-ignite a dialogue between the show and network and the incoming Trump administration.

We didnt see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, and we told him so, Scarborough told MSNBC viewers Monday morning. Specially, he pointed to issues like abortion rights, mass deportation and Trumps comments that he will seek retribution against his political opponents as well as members of the media.

What we did agree on was to restart communications, Brzezinski said. She used her father, diplomat and political scientist Zbigniew Brzezinski, as an example, noting that he often spoke with world leaders he profoundly disagreed with. Thats a task shared with reporters and commentators alike.

The visit marked the first time the duo have seen Trump in person in seven years. The last time the pair spoke to Trump was in March of 2020, save for a personal call Scarborough made to the politician the morning after an assassination attempt was made on his life in Pennsylvania.

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Brzezinski said that Trump was cheerful, upbeat and interested in finding common ground with Democrats during the meeting. Scarborough also revealed that a member of Trumps team said that, because Trump will be a President who will not be seeking re-election, now may be the time for both parties to get to work. Brzezinski also pointed to Trumps win of the electoral and popular vote despite the Jan. 6 insurrection and his many trials as the reason why they orchestrated this meeting in the first place.

Joe and I realized its time to do something different and that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump but also talking with him, Brzezinski summarized. Watch the segment above.

The post Morning Joe Hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski Visit Trump to Restart Communications | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
The co-hosts of MSNBCs Morning Joe made the bombshell announcement Monday that theyd visited President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, who were once friends with Trump but became arguably his most prominent critics in the media during his first administration, said at the top of the show they had been given the opportunity to meet with the former president on Friday. Joe and I went to Mar-a-Lago, to meet personally with president-elect Trump, Brzezinski said. It was the first time we have seen him in seven years.

Scarborough said the trio used the meeting to discuss a lot of issues including abortion, mass deportation, threats of political retribution against political opponents and media outlets.

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Its going to come as no surprise to anybody who watches this show, has watched it over the past year or over the past decade that we didnt see eye to eye on a lot of issues and we told him so, Scarborough said.

What we did agree on was to restart communications, Brzezinski said. She added that it was the first time she or Scarborough had spoken with Trump since March 2020except for a personal call Scarborough made to the former president the morning after he survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July.

In this meeting, President Trump was cheerful, Brzezinski said. He was upbeat. He seemed interested in finding common ground with Democrats on some of the most divisive issues, and for those asking why we would go speak to the president-elect during such fraught timesespecially between usI guess I would ask back, why wouldnt we?

Brzezinski went on to say that she and Scarborough have been as clear as we know how in expressing our deep concerns about President Trumps actions and words, but that his latest election victory called for a new approach.

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Joe and I realized its time to do something different, she said. And that starts with not only talking about Donald Trump, but also talking with him.

Scarborough added that Democratic leaders hed spoken to since the election said its time for a new approach.

For his own part, Trump told Fox News Digital the meeting had been extremely cordial.

Many things were discussed, and I very much appreciated the fact that they wanted to have open communication, Trump said. In many ways, its too bad that it wasnt done long ago.

He claimed Scarborough and Brzezinski congratulated him on running a great and flawless campaign, one for the history books, and discussed appointments for his new administration.

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We talked about various Cabinet membersboth announced and to be announced. As expected, they like some very much, but not all, Trump told Fox. The meeting ended in a very positive manner, and we agreed to speak in the future.

The apparent thawing of relations between the MSNBC hosts and Trump comes after years of extreme and mutual public criticism. During his first term, Trump boosted a baseless conspiracy theory that Scarborough had murdered an aide during Scarboroughs time as a congressman in 2001. He also mocked Brzezinski during his first stint in the Oval Office, using a series of tweets in 2017 to describe her as low I.Q. Crazy Mika and to claim shed once been  bleeding badly from a face-lift  during a visit to Mar-a-Lago.

Right up to the 2024 election, Scarborough was warning about the looming threat of authoritarianism that Trump posed.

His people have said theyre going to arrest my producers, Scarborough said on Real Time With Bill Maher last month. He said he was going to shut down CBS because he didnt like how they edited a package on 60 Minutes. Hes out of control!
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, co-hosts of MSNBCs Morning Joe, said Monday they had traveled to the president-elects Mar-a-Lago estate late last week to talk to Donald Trump about unifying the country and toning down political rhetoric.

Brzezinski told the programs audience it was the first time the two hosts, who are married, had met with Trump face-to-face in seven years.

We didnt see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, and we told him so, Scarborough said, reading from a script in the teleprompter.

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What we did agree on was to restart communications, Brzezinski added, noting the couple had not spoken to Trump since early in 2020, outside of a personal call Scarborough placed to Trump the morning after an attempt on his life at a rally over the summer.

In this meeting, he was upbeat, cheerful and he seemed interested in finding common ground on some of the most divisive issues, Brzezinski said.

For those asking why we would go speak with the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us, she continued. I guess I would ask back: Why wouldnt we?'

Scarborough said a close ally of the former president suggested to him after their meeting that because Trump is not seeking another term after 2024, now could be the time to get to work.

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Top Democrats, who often appear on Scarboroughs show, have also told him, he said, that they are willing to work with the former president, if hes willing to work with us.

Scarborough and Brzezinski for years have been among Trumps most vocal critics on cable news. They host a program Trump has clearly watched, and that counts President Biden as a viewer.

The network has experienced a double-digit percentage drop in viewership since Election Day, The New York Times reported last week, citing Nielsen Media Research data.

Dont be mistaken, were not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump, Scarborough told his audience Monday. Were here to report on him and to hopefully provide you insights and better equip all of us to understand these deeply unsettling times.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
MORRISTOWN, Tenn. (WATE)  Rose Center is hosting a benefit concert on Dec. 1 from 2:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. to support relief efforts for Tennessee communities impacted by Hurricane Helene.

A $5 suggested donation will be collected at the door to the event where guests will see dozens of live performances from musicians including:

Rigor Tortoise (Acid Techno)

Toby Gibson Band (Rock)

Kip Brown (Americana)

Exit 65 (Folk/Rock)

Smackum Yackyum (Rock)

Denny Hawk (Folk)

mid-life CRISIS (Blues Rock)

Smith Creek (Country/Rock)

Weathered Soul (Hard Rock)

Oceans Until (Alternative Rock)

Halo Scars (Heavy Metal)

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Several local artists, including Becky Green, Candy Durman, Amanda Stiles, Jeremy McBee, Christina Mahan and the Morristown Art Association, will also donate their artwork. This artwork will be sold, with proceeds benefiting the East Tennessee Foundation.

PHOTOS: Inside of Unicoi County Hospital after Helene flood damage

The money raised will go to the East Tennessee Foundation Neighbor to Neighbor Disaster Relief Fund. They will use this exclusively to support nonprofits and agencies providing relief and recovery to the following Tennessee communities impacted by Helene: Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hawkins, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington.

The Ross Center is located at 442 W 2nd North Street in Morristown.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WATE 6 On Your Side.
Russia would consider the White House's authorization for Ukraine to use U.S.-made longer-range weapons within Russia to be the beginning of a "qualitatively new round of tensions" between Moscow and Washington, a Kremlin spokesperson said on Monday.

"Allowing Kyiv to strike deep inside Russia with U.S. long-range missiles, if such permission has actually been given, will mark a qualitatively new round of tensions and level of Washington's involvement in the Ukraine conflict," Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said at his daily briefing.

PHOTO: This file photo shows the firing of an ATACMS missile at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on Dec. 14, 2021. (John Hamilton/White Sands Missile Range Public Affairs)

MORE: Biden to allow Ukraine to use longer-range US missiles in Russia: Sources

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President Joe Biden authorized the use of the weapons, ATACMS, or Army Tactical Missile System, within the Russian Kursk region, two U.S. officials told ABC News on Sunday. The missiles have a range of about 190 miles.

Ukraine had not as of Monday morning used the weapons against Russian forces within Russia, a senior defense official said.

Officials in Kyiv, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had been calling for months for authorization to use such weapons within Russia. Kyiv has previously used the ATACMS to strike Russian bases within occupied Ukraine.

But the Biden administration had held back, even as Zelenskyy requested the authorization as he traveled to the White House for an official visit in September.

PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to leader of the Liberal-Democratic Party of Russia Leonid Slutsky during their meeting at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev/AP)

MORE: Why Biden's Ukraine ATACMS green light might mean peace talks pressure for Putin

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Peskov on Monday painted the apparent change in policy as an "obvious" signal that the Biden administration in its final months intends to "continue to add fuel to the fire."

He added that Moscow viewed the move as a way for the White House to "continue to provoke further escalation of tension around this conflict."

In a Monday morning briefing in Rio de Janeiro, U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Jonathan Finer evaded questions from reporters about Biden's authorization.

"I'm not confirming any decisions that have or have not been made about U.S. assistance when it comes to these operational questions," Finer said. "I will say, with regard to the comments that came out of Russia, the fire was lit by Russia's invasion of Ukraine."

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ABC News' Joe Simonetti, Lauren Minore, Patrick Reevell, Shannon K. Kingston, Luis Martinez and Alex Presha contributed to this report.

Moscow warns US missile authorization may mark new level of involvement in conflict for Washington originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Sherry Lesher, a mother whose son died in state custody, holds a photo of her son during a Nov. 14, 2024, meeting of the child welfare oversight committee, begging lawmakers for reform. To the left is Sister Therese Bangert, social justice coordinator for the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature video)

Sherry Lesher stood before lawmakers Thursday holding a photo of her son  who died seven years ago in need of care  pleading for reform.

In 2017, Leshers 17-year-old son, A.J. Iverson, died by drug overdose. The day before he died, Lesher begged Saint Francis Ministries, one of the states foster care contractors, to take Iverson to a psychiatric residential treatment facility. Saint Francis sent a therapist to his home, but when Iverson, a teenager who struggled with substance abuse, impulsive decision making and who had an autism diagnosis, promised he wouldnt do drugs again, the contractor refused to intervene. Iverson died in his sleep that night.

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Lesher and Iversons sister, Ashley Crego, have spent years calling for reform. Last year, Lesher held her sons ashes up to lawmakers asking for change.

On Thursday, as part of two days of hearings aimed at evaluating the states progress on child welfare, Lesher continued the fight.

I dont want to keep doing this, Lesher said. I want to grieve my son, without having Saint Francis attached to it, but Im still waiting for the state to do the right thing by us in every way possible. These kids  we are losing them.

The hearings before the joint committee on child welfare system oversight offered a public comment section Thursday. Sister Therese Bangert, social justice coordinator for the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth shared a wide range of concerns for the child welfare system.

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With President-elect Donald Trumps promises of mass deportations, Sister Therese brought forward concerns for vulnerable children who are citizens but whose parents are not.

I want to lift up some of the children that are on my heart these days, Bangert said. If the mass deportations are carried through, we will have citizen children in Kansas who will lose a mother or father, sister or brother and more. I believe we will have families losing the person who financially supports them. Please be mindful of the needs of these children and their extended families and how we will address these needs.

She encouraged committee members to consider the words of Republican Senate President Ty Masterson, who said children dont care if someone is a Republican or Democrat.

A 2018 class-action lawsuit against the state that challenged the states poor treatment of foster children led to a settlement that agreed on deadlines for making gradual improvements to the foster care system. At Wednesdays committee meeting, court-appointed monitor for the improvements Judith Meltzer said the state failed to meet the majority of the targets.

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Meltzer found that there was a decline in delivery of behavioral and mental health services. Those were the services Lesher requested back in 2017 for her son.

Laura Howard, secretary of the Kansas Department for Children and Families, acknowledged the deficiencies, but pointed to the lowering number of children in foster care  7,600 in June 2019 compared to 5,800 in June 2024.

When some parents, like Lesher, arent provided the help they need for their children, some children are relinquished to the foster care system or end up at psychiatric residential treatment facilities. In 2023, the state removed 57 children with special needs from their homes because their families could not meet their level of care.

When Iverson was 4, Lesher applied for the intellectual and developmental disability waiver but never received help. The current waitlist to access these services is about nine years, meaning children often age out before they can access them. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly proposed $23 million to assist the families waiting on disability waivers, which Republicans opposed. Republicans invested $17.8 million in the waivers, and have successfully reduced the waitlists.

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Iverson was placed in family preservation services, meaning he stayed with his family but was given a foster care caseworker. Lesher said she spent Iversons entire life fighting for him to get support he never received.

Iversons sister, Ashley Crego, stood by Lesher at the 2023 committee meeting. This year, note the disillusionment she feels, she provided a written statement instead of appearing in-person.

This is going to keep happening to other families in a multitude of ways, Crego wrote. This is what we were trying to prevent. Agencies will change their names and pass any accountability onto the next and leave a trail of dead kids, or kids that fell through the cracks in their path and if it turns a profit, no one will bat an eye.

You will all go home to your families and mine will go home to A.J.s urn. These meetings in the last two years have made me lose every bit of faith in any regulatory system or oversight committee and that has been the most discouraging thing of all.
Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, attends a meeting of China Overseas Friendship Association (COFA) executive directors in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIJING, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Huning on Monday urged the China Overseas Friendship Association (COFA) to shoulder more responsibilities and pool the wisdom and strength of Chinese people from home and abroad to advance Chinese modernization.

Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks at a meeting of COFA executive directors in Beijing.

Noting the great successes both the Party and the country have made in the new era, Wang said these achievements could not be separated from the support and contributions of compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as overseas Chinese.

With strong support from the motherland, the prospects for them to serve their motherland and pursue their dreams are very bright, Wang said.

He asked the COFA and its directors to make further suggestions and contributions for the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao, and enhance economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation, as well as integrated development across the Taiwan Strait.

Shi Taifeng, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, attended the meeting, where he was re-elected head of the COFA. 

Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, poses for a group photo with representatives attending a meeting of China Overseas Friendship Association (COFA) executive directors ahead of the meeting in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 18, 2024. Wang attended and addressed the meeting on Monday. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)
Nov. 17A motor vehicle rollover Saturday night on the Circumferential Highway in Nashua sent two people to area hospitals with serious but non-life threatening injuries.

One was airlifted to Lahey Hospital in Burlington, Mass., after she was thrown from the car during the crash.

At around 11:20 p.m., Nashua Fire and Rescue, Nashua Police and State Police responded to a report of a single vehicle off the road and down an embankment, with one occupant ejected.

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State troopers said that a red 2022 Hyundai Kano drive by Ian Odea, 26, of Hudson had been traveling eastbound on the Circumferential Highway when it left the off-ramp to Daniel Webster Highway, crossed an on-ramp, went over a guardrail, then rolled down a steep embankment toward railroad tracks beside the Merrimack River.

During the rollover, a passenger, Laura Gomes Duhan, 26, of Haverhill, Mass., was thrown from the car, according to the police report.

Odea was transported to Southern New Hampshire Medical Center on a trauma alert. Duhan was airlifted by Boston MedFlight to Lahey Hospital & Medical Center.

All aspects of the crash are being investigated. Anyone with information is asked to contact Trooper 1st Class Tyler Duhamel at 603-223-4381 or tyler.j.duhamel@dos.nh.gov.
Officials announced that all evacuation warnings for residents affected by the Mountain Fire were lifted as of 3 p.m. Sunday.

Evacuation orders were originally issued after the blaze first broke out on Nov. 6 near Balcom Canyon and Bradley roads in Somis.

The evacuation orders were later downgraded to evacuation warnings on the afternoon of Nov. 9 for thousands of residents.

As of Saturday evening, the Mountain Fire has burned 19,904 acres and is 98% contained.

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According to CAL FIRE, the blaze has destroyed 243 structures, damaged 127 others, and injured six people  including one firefighter.

Although evacuations have been lifted, VCEmergency.com says the following road closures are still in place for everyone except residents:

Valley Vista Dr/Vista Del Mar

Valley Vista Dr/Marine View Dr

Valley Vista Dr/Fairway Dr

Valley Vista Dr/Deseo Ave

West Highland Dr/Mission Dr

Highland Terrace/Mission Dr

Santa Cruz Way/Mission Dr

Marissa Lane/Mission Dr

San Clemente Way/Mission Dr

East Highland Dr/North Loop Dr

Ventura County and the city of Camarillo announced it opened a Local Assistance Center (LAC) at 5100 Adolfo Rd. on Thurs, Nov. 14, to help support Mountain Fire recovery efforts.

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Open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, organizers said residents can visit the LAC for informational help with topics such as rebuilding, tax relief, business and employment assistance, debris removal, permits, housing, rental assistance, vital records, property assessments, public assistance, crisis intervention stress management and more.

In addition to informational help, organizers said the LAC will also offer services such as replacement of drivers licenses and connection to health care resources.

For more on long term recovery assistance as well as structure damage information, visit: www.vcemergency.com.

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.
I moved from the US to Canada for my husband's job and family.

Little did I know, that move would help me grow my family in ways I couldn't have foreseen.

If we had stayed in the US, we could have never afforded the surrogacy for our second child.

I met my future husband in a coffee shop in New York City where I was on a blind date for a column I was writing for Jane Magazine.

Sitting across from me was the cutest and sweetest Canadian I had ever seen. It wasn't long before we moved in together and got engaged.

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His company was based in Toronto. Most of his family was also in Canada. So, after getting married, we decided to try living in Toronto full-time and soon became serious about having kids.

I gave birth to my firstborn, a boy, when I was 40 and spent the first few months on paid maternity leave. It wasn't until I went back to work a few months later that I noticed the lump in my right breast.

Best cancer robbed me of giving birth, again

Luckily, the breast cancer hadn't spread and was relatively easy to treat. But the treatments prevented me from being able to carry another baby myself.

I looked at my almost 10-month-old son and knew I wanted to give him a sibling.

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My sister was my rock in life  especially as I navigated all the doctor's appointments and tests after my cancer diagnosis  and I wanted my child to have that same support in life.

Adoption was an option. But I had also frozen my embryos a few years prior as a backup plan in case my husband and I couldn't have kids. Those healthy embryos were at a fertility clinic just a few blocks away.

My husband and I decided to try the surrogacy route.

I could not have afforded surrogacy if I'd still lived in the US

My family is complete and I'm so grateful to my surrogate and Canada. Sarah DiMuro

We knew very little about surrogacy in Canada. What we did know was that, unlike in the US, commercial surrogacy was illegal. In Canada, you could not pay anyone to carry your child.

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We explored options in the US but didn't have upward of $100,000 to go that route.

After Canadian surrogacy agencies yielded few prospects, we took to social media and shared our story in several surrogacy Facebook groups.

Within days, we had a few responses and one very viable lead: a lovely woman in Quebec who had done this successfully once before and was excited to explore another surrogacy journey.

Much like my first date with my now husband, I immediately connected with our potential surrogate upon our first meeting.

We spent all day at a spa near her home, laughing and getting to know each other. I met her husband and their three amazing kids, and by the following day, we were discussing the next steps.

The surrogacy wasn't cheap

We never paid our surrogate a flat fee for carrying our baby, but there were still pregnancy-related expenses that we were responsible for.

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To start, I paid for her lawyer and mine, as well as an additional lawyer in Quebec, as the law in the province stipulated I had to technically "adopt" my own child. These expenses, alone, amounted to about $8,000.

Our surrogate also had to take leave from her job early due to health issues, and we were obligated through our contract to cover some of her salary.

The lawyers also decided upon a monthly amount that was legally reimbursable for pregnancy-related expenses such as prenatal massages, physiotherapy, and travel expenses to and from doctor's appointments.

Regardless, we were thrilled to be able to pay for it all. This woman was doing a remarkable thing for our family.

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Plus, even with all the expenses incurred from flights, lawyer fees, medications, and monthly expenses, the total was nowhere near what it would have been in the US.

We've kept in touch with our surrogate

Our surrogate is the godmother of the baby she carried and one of my dearest friends.

We even have birthdays within a day of each other and are currently making plans for a belated celebration, allowing ourselves some girl talk and Netflix binging.

Having breast cancer was horrible, taking both my breasts and fertility from me. But living in Canada gave me the chance to grow our family, something we could've never afforded had we stayed in the US.

Now our family is complete, and we are so grateful to both our surrogate and the country we live in for helping us make that happen.

Read the original article on Business Insider
WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  Police in D.C. are investigating after a man was shot in Southeast on Monday.

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said around 9:30 a.m., officers were on the scene of a shooting in the 500 block of Valley Ave. This is just blocks away from the Frank W. Ballou High School and two other schools in the area.

Utility pole split, wires fall during crash in Montgomery County

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Upon arrival, officers found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. Police said he was conscious and breathing.

The victims condition is unknown as of Monday morning.

As the investigation continued, MPD said officers recovered two guns.

District of Columbia Public Schools told DC News Now that Frank W. Ballou High School, Simon Elementary School and Hart Middle School were on an alert status Monday morning.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
Morning Joe co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski visited Mar-a-Lago to meet President-elect Donald Trump, they revealed.

Scarborough and Brzezinski have been highly critical of Trump leading up to the election, calling him erratic, slamming his election fraud efforts and warning of how dark of a place the US would be if Trump won. But after airing their concerns with a second Trump presidency, the pair met with Trump Friday for the first time in seven years to restart communications.

We talked about a lot of issues including abortion, mass deportations, threats of political retribution against political opponents and media outlets, Scarborough said on Monday. Its gonna come as no surprise to anybody who watches this showthat we didnt see eye to eye on a lot of issues and we told him so.

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Brzezinski said: What we did agree on was to restart communications.

Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski met personally with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, they revealed (MSNBC)

She continued: We had not spoken to Trump since March of 2020, other than a personal call that Joe made after the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania.

During the meeting, the president-elect seemed  cheerful and upbeat and interested in finding common ground with Democrats on some of the most divisive issues, Brzezinski added.

For those wondering why they would meet with Trump at such a fraught time, Brzezinski said she would reply: Why wouldnt we?

Five years of political warfare has deeply divided Washington and the country, she said.

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Morning Joe has been clear in expressing deep concerns about Trumps actions and words, but for nearly 80 million Americans, election denialism, public trials, January 6, were not as important as the issues that moved them to send Donald Trump back to the White House with their vote, Brzezinski said.

So, the co-hosts realized they wanted to take a different approach today, she continued.

Scarborough tried to instill hope, adding that someone close to Trump told him over the weekend that since hes not seeking re-election this time around, maybe, just maybe now could be time for both parties to get to work.

Scarborough and Brzezinski have been highly critical of Trump leading up to the election, calling him erratic, but met to restart communications (REUTERS)

Given the tightness of the election, it seems to make sense for leaders of both parties to seek common ground if its possible at all, Scarborough said.

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The pair spoke to top Democrats over the weekend as well, who signaled it was time for a new approach and that they were open to working with the president-elect if hes open to working with them, Scarborough explained.

But, they emphasized, threatening political opponents with arrest, harassment and even jail will not work.

We know this will be a consequential presidency. The question is whether it will be constructive, Brzezinski said. It will take a new approach from all sides, from both parties, and a leader who will bring them together. Only time will tell if Donald Trump is that leader.

The co-hosts made clear they will still push back on Trump when necessary.

Dont be mistaken, Scarborough said. We are not here to defend or normalize Donald Trump. We are here to report on him and to hopefully provide you insights that are going to better equip all of us in understanding these deeply unsettling times.
The MTAs board voted 12 to 1 to approve Gov. Hochuls modified congestion pricing plan Monday, effectively reviving the controversial toll deigned to fund system improvements.

This is a hopeful moment, MTA chairman Janno Lieber said ahead of the vote. It shows that New Yorkers  we collectively  can take on and address big challenges that were facing.

The plan  which was announced last week in an end to Hochuls five-month pause  will start with a 40% discount over the plan approved by the MTAs board in March. That initial plan would have charged motorists a $15 base toll to drive into Midtown or lower Manhattan  the revenue from which was to back $15 billion in bonds for the MTAs capital.

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Hochuls new plan will start the tolls 40% lower for three years  $9 a day for most motorists  before ramping up to a full $15 toll in 2031. State officials plan to start tolling on Jan. 5, 2025.

Lieber heralded the modified toll as a victory  a policy that would not only fund several of his agencys big-ticket projects, but also one that would improve air quality and street safety in the city.

When you go out, every time we talk about congestion pricing, and stick a mic in the face of a driver coming off one of our free bridges and ask them if he or she wants to pay, he said in an open comment to reporters, When are you going to go out and talk to a family whos walking their child to school by the Lincoln Tunnel, whos living in fear for their life? When are you going to go out and talk to somebody with asthma?

Hochul said she plans to turn on the congestion toll on Jan 5  but its by no means a done deal.

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The plan must now be approved by the Federal Highway Administration  part of the federal Department of Transportation  which is tasked with ensuring its in line with the MTAs 4,000 page environmental assessment that the feds approved last year.

Simultaneously, the city, state, and federal departments of transportation  along with the MTA  must sign off on a final agreement what would allow the tolling money to go towards MTA funding, while the agency also kicks off three weeks of public education required by state law.

President-elect Trump has expressed his opposition to the congestion pricing plan, and its expected he will try to kill the plan if federal sign-off has not come by the time he takes office on Jan. 20.

David Mack, Nassau countys representative on the board, was the sole opposing vote, arguing that stronger enforcement of trucks and a toll on East River bridges would be sufficient to raise revenue and limit congestion  assertions not supported by the MTAs studies.

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Rep. Jerry Nadler (D  New York), a long-time supporter of the plan, spoke at a gathering of congestion pricing supporters at MTA headquarters Monday ahead of the vote.

The people of our region have waited long enough  the time to move forward on congestion pricing is finally here, he said. The exhaustive environmental assessment produced by the MTA shows that without a doubt the $9 toll will benefit both New York City residents and all those who live in the [metropolitan] region.

Under the plan approved Monday, drivers of most vehicles  ordinary cars, SUVs and pickup trucks  will be charged $9, once a day, to enter the congestion zone during daytime hours.

Thats a 40% discount across the board compared with the plan Hochul paused in June, but the toll will slowly ramp back up to the original rates.

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In 2028, the toll will go up to $12, a 20% discount. In 2031, the base-toll will return to $15.

Those prices only apply to motorists with E-ZPass. Drivers without the automatic tolling system will face higher base tolls: $13.50 at first, $18 come 2028, and $22.50 by 2031.

As with earlier versions of the congestion plan, larger vehicles will be tolled more, and overnight tolls will be slashed by 75%.

MTAs head of construction and development, Jamie Torres-Springer, said Monday that the tolls expected revival meant that his teams were already working to resume projects that had halted during the pause.

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Torres-Springer said he would begin immediately seeking contracts to bore a tunnel from 120th St. to 125th St. for phase two the Second Ave. subway.

The plan also means six new subway station accessibility projects can begin immediately, he said, and 17 others which were paused can begin moving forward with their design phase.

The MTA will seek to purchase 270 more electric buses immediately, as well as new dual-mode locomotives for service on the Long Island Rail Road.

MTA is also set to resume de-humidification of the main cables of the Verrazano Bridge, and will soon restart plans to install modern computerized signals along the Fulton Line of the A and C trains in Brooklyn, as well as the Liberty Line of the A train in Queens.

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That work would convert the vast majority of the systems longest subway line to modern signals.

The toll will generate less net revenue during the phase-in, so we may need to manage the schedule of projects a little differently, Torres-Springer said. But we think that that impact will be off set by the availability of funding for the 2025-2029 [capital] program, he said of the upcoming budget that Hochul has pledged to support.

Congestion pricing also faces ongoing legal challenges  most notably a lawsuit by neighboring New Jersey, which claims the feds were wrong to approve the MTAs environmental assessment without demanding a more intensive environmental impact study.

The resumption of a congestion pricing plan re-opens those legal challenges.

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Neal Zuckerman, the chair of the MTA boards finance committee, addressed those legal challenges Monday.

To those who have sued us  If you have a better idea where we can find a billion dollars, we are all ears, he said. otherwise, lets end these frivolous lawsuits.

I think this is practical, he said of the tolls. I think this is real world, I think this is fair.
Russian air defense intercepted multiple drones on the outskirts of Moscow, the city's mayor, Sergey Sobyanin, said overnight on Nov. 18.

At least one drone was shot down over the Ramensky district of the city, while another was downed over the Pavlovsky Posad district around 4:30 a.m. local time, Sobyanin claimed.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify Sobyanin's claims, and Ukraine's military has not yet commented on the attack.

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The alleged attack on the Russian capital comes one night after Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on different cities across Ukraine, leaving seven civilians dead and at least 19 injured.

In recent months, Russia has continued to increase its use of attack drones, targeting cities and towns across Ukraine on a near daily basis since the start of September. The Ukrainian Air Force previously said that Russia launched at least 4,300 Shahed-type attack drones and similar UAVs imitating Shaheds against Ukraine between August and October 2024.

Ukraine has previously hit targets within Russia, aiming primarily at the country's oil infrastructure and defense industry.

On Nov. 10, Russian air defense shot down 70 Ukrainian drones, including 34 in Moscow Oblast, in Ukraines largest drone attack on the Russian capital. At least one person was reported injured in Moscow Oblast in that attack.

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The day before the largest attack on Moscow, Russia launched its own largest overnight drone attack on Ukraine on Nov. 9-10, with 145 drones entering Ukrainian airspace.

Read also: Biden authorizes Ukraine to target Russia with US long-range missiles, media reports





Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
JACKSON COUNTY, Fla. (WDHN)  A murder investigation is underway in Jackson County, Florida after a dead body was found inside a home.

Officers say they responded to the home on Sunday afternoon to a report of a dead person inside a house. When deputies and EMS arrived on the scene, they found the body and said they saw signs of foul play.

A person of interest is in custody and being questioned by Jackson County investigators. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the State Attorneys Office of the 14th Judicial Circuit are assisting with the investigation.

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More information will be released as it becomes available.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with U.S. President Joe Biden in Lima, Peru, Nov. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

LIMA, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- In a pivotal meeting on Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining dialogue, fostering cooperation, and steering clear of conflict.

The past years have seen China-U.S. ties go through ups and downs. In Washington, a widespread zero-sum mentality against China has hardened into policies to stymie the Asian country's development.

There is "a bipartisan consensus (in Washington) that strategic competition with China should continue, even if there is little agreement on America's ultimate goal for this strategy," Yilun Zhang, research associate and manager of the Trade 'n Technology program at the Institute for China-America Studies, said in a written statement to Xinhua.

From tariffs to restrictions on semiconductor technology, these measures have not only dampened bilateral ties but have reverberated through global supply chains.

Meanwhile, China and the United States hold divergent worldviews. China has championed a vision of a more equitable, sustainable, and inclusive global community, while Washington has sought to maintain its longstanding position of dominance.

Despite these profound differences, Saturday's high-level engagement underscored a shared understanding: with the stakes so high, neither side can afford the peril of confrontation.

The two sides should keep exploring the right way for two major countries to get along well with each other, and realize long-term, peaceful coexistence on this planet, Xi said during the meeting.

"The Thucydides Trap is not a historical inevitability. A new Cold War should not be fought and cannot be won," said Xi during the meeting on the sidelines of the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Peru's capital Lima.

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with U.S. President Joe Biden in Lima, Peru, Nov. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

In the past years, certain American politicians, academics, and media outlets have clung to a zero-sum mentality, warning of the so-called "Thucydides Trap" -- the idea that a rising country inevitably provokes fear in an established one, leading to conflict or war.

China, however, has consistently rejected this premise. In a world shaped by globalization, where nations are deeply interconnected and their interests profoundly intertwined, China argues that the old paradigms of power politics and survival of the fittest must yield to a more cooperative vision, one that seeks to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

"The United States can save itself the huge costs that would result from battling China across key issues by adopting a mutually beneficial path," said Denis Simon, a long-time U.S.-China relations specialist and former Executive Vice Chancellor at Duke Kunshan University.

"Mutual respect, greater cross-cultural sensitivity, and enhanced reciprocity can lead to win-win outcomes," said Simon.

In the meeting on Saturday, Xi called on the U.S. side to have a correct strategic perception of China and treat each other as equals.

China's goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-U.S. relationship remains unchanged, Xi said, adding that its commitment to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as principles for handling China-U.S. relations remains unchanged.

Biden, for his part, emphasized that the U.S.-China relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world.

The United States does not seek a new Cold War, it does not seek to change China's system, its alliances are not targeted against China, it does not support "Taiwan independence," it does not seek conflict with China, and it does not see its Taiwan policy as a way to compete with China, Biden said.

In the past four years, the two presidents have jointly brought China-U.S. dialogue and cooperation back on track. More than 20 communication mechanisms have been restarted or established, and positive achievements have been made in such areas as diplomacy, security, economy, trade, fiscal affairs, finance, military, counternarcotics, law enforcement, agriculture, climate change, and people-to-people exchange.

"The immediate need now is to preserve, enhance, and solidify communication between the two countries," said Zhang.

"As the political dust settles from this election cycle, people-to-people exchanges will be just as crucial as diplomatic ones," he said, referring to the just finished U.S. presidential election, where former U.S. President Donald Trump won the race.

"The next generation must continue engaging with one another, not only to reduce misunderstandings but also to deepen the pool of China expertise within the United States," he added.

During his first term, the Trump administration embraced an "America First" doctrine that saw sweeping tariffs imposed on U.S. trading partners. Following his victory, concerns about heightened protectionism are once again spreading globally.

"We hope China will continue to champion the message of keeping the global trade system open," said Carlos Aquino, director of the Center for Asian Studies at Peru's National University of San Marcos.

"It is important that the message of (safeguarding) a free and open trade system will continue being advocated by President Xi," he said. 
The worlds richest man has appointed himself Donald Trumps first buddy as he plays an influential role shaping the incoming administration, but tension between Trumps closest allies and Elon Musk is reportedly boiling over.

Musk is clashing with longtime Trump attorney and adviser Boris Epshteyn, including questioning his influence in president-elects nominations for his Cabinet and top White House jobs, Axios has reported, citing people familiar with the conversations.

The billionaire accused Epshteyn of leaking information about Trumps transition process, including personnel picks, during a massive blowup and a huge explosion between the two men during a dinner in front of guests at Trumps Mar-a-Lago club, according to Axios.

Elon Musks closeness to Donald Trump has reportedly rubbed some of the President-elects advisers the wrong way (USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con)

You dont know what youre talking about, Epshteyn reportedly fired back.

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Musk has reportedly criticized Epshteyns influence in selecting nominations for the Department of Justice, including far-right congressman Matt Gaetz for attorney general.

Teslas CEO has also pushed for Trumps transition team co-chair Howard Lutnick for Treasury secretary, over favored Wall Street veteran Scott Bessent. He also praised a foreign leaders decision to cut tariffs  the same Trump wants to raise in the US to the highest levels in decades.

Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas [Lutnick] will actually enact change, Musk posted on his X platform. Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt.

Musk next to Howard Lutnick at a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden, in New York (REUTERS)

The apparent rivalry between the billionaire, who funneled nearly $120 million into Trumps campaign, and one of Trumps most loyal advisers appears to have provoked Trumps inner circle, already reportedly growing annoyed with Musks presence.

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Epshteyn has remained a key legal ally to the former president after joining a spurious campaign to overturn election results in 2020, and has remained a close adviser through his 2024 campaign and post-election transition.

Axios report comes days after a person familiar with the Trump transition told NBC News that Musk has been behaving as if hes a co-president and making sure everyone knows it while also taking lots of credit for the presidents victory. Bragging about America PAC and X to anyone who will listen.

Jason Miller, Musk, Stephen Miller, Boris Esphteyn, Natalie Harp and Dan Scavino arrive with Donald Trump at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, days after the election (Getty Images)

Musk, meanwhile, is set to lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy; both have pledged to recommend mass firings and drastic spending cuts across the federal government.

The billionaire has also joined meetings with Trump and his advisers discussing Cabinet appointments as well as a call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

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Musk also stands to benefit from Trumps incoming administration, as his business empire faces regulatory scrutiny under President Joe BIdens administration with ties to Russia and China potentially facing investigations.

SpaceX has been awarded roughly $16 billion in federal contracts since 2017, according to government records. The company could see a massive boom if Trump commits to a pledge to expand space investments. Trump praised SpaceX at his campaign rallies and committed several minutes to talking about the company and Musk during his election night victory speech.

The Independent has requested comment from Musk and Trumps transition team.
Trump's administration asked federal agencies to compile lists of workers they could easily fire.

It reflects Trump's goals to reduce government spending and reduce the federal workforce.

Millions of Americans are employed by the US government. Here's how the agencies break down and what workers make.

President Donald Trump's administration is targeting federal workers' jobs.

On Trump's first day in the White House, his Office of Personnel Management asked agencies to compile lists of federal workers they could easily fire. Trump also signed an executive order on Monday establishing a hiring freeze on new workers to federal agencies.

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It reflects the early priorities of the Department of Government Efficiency, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk is leading to cut government waste. Trump signed an executive order on Monday establishing DOGE as part of the White House with a mission of updating the government's technology systems.

While DOGE's stated goals in the executive order are narrower than originally proposed, Musk and Trump have previously voiced support for firing federal workers and eliminating federal agencies.

More than 2 million Americans collect their paychecks from the federal government, so Business Insider looked into which agencies employ the most people and what they pay on average.

The Trump press team and OPM did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

The US government is the largest employer in the country

The US Office of Personnel Management showed eight cabinet-level agencies, which are at the center of the executive branch and have heads that report directly to the president, had more than 100,000 civilian employees as of March.

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Almost half a million people were employed in the Department of Veterans Affairs, while the Department of Education had just over 4,000. The Treasury Department had more than 100,000 employees as of March. The overwhelming majority of those  about 94,000  were employed in the Internal Revenue Service.

Most departments had six-figure average salaries, with the Department of Education and the Department of Energy having the highest averages.

It's still unclear if DOGE or the Trump administration will focus on cuts at specific agencies. In the past, however, Trump has targeted the Department of Education, saying in 2023: "One other thing I'll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington, DC, and sending all education and education work and needs back to the states."

Musk said during October remarks that while the commission's goal was to cut spending by reducing head count, he'd consider giving impacted workers "very long severances" that could amount to two years' pay.

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"The point is not to be cruel or to have people not be able to pay their mortgage or anything," Musk said during his October remarks, adding, "We just have too many people in the government sector, and they could be more productive elsewhere."

The US Office of Personnel Management says on its website that "severance pay is authorized for full-time and part-time employees who are involuntarily separated from Federal service and who meet other conditions of eligibility." A spokesperson for the office told BI that the severance policy was up to date and that it "cannot comment on the actions of future administrations."

DOGE's goals could also still change, and it's unclear which spending cuts Congress would approve. BI previously reported that the US spent $6.75 trillion in fiscal year 2024. With Social Security, health programs, and Medicare topping the spending list, they could be on the commission's chopping block. But Medicare and Social Security are forms of mandatory spending that would require legislation to change.

Are you employed by the federal government and have a story to share? Reach out to these reporters at asheffey@businessinsider.com and mhoff@businessinsider.com.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Two undersea internet cables in the Baltic Sea have been suddenly disrupted, according to local telecommunications companies, amid fresh warnings of possible Russian interference with global undersea infrastructure.

A communications cable between Lithuania and Sweden was cut on Sunday morning around 10:00 a.m. local time, a spokesperson from telecommunications company Telia Lithuania confirmed to CNN.

The companys monitoring systems could tell there was a cut due to the traffic disruption, and that the cause was likely physical damage to the cable itself, Telia Lithuania spokesperson Audrius Stasiulaitis told CNN. We can confirm that the internet traffic disruption was not caused by equipment failure but by physical damage to the fiber optic cable.

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Another cable linking Finland and Germany was also disrupted, according to Cinia, the state-controlled Finnish company that runs the link. The C-Lion cable  the only direct connection of its kind between Finland and Central Europe  spans nearly 1,200 kilometers (730 miles), alongside other key pieces of infrastructure, including gas pipelines and power cables.

The incidents came as two of the affected countries, Sweden and Finland, updated their guidance to citizens on how to survive war. Millions of households in the Nordic nations will be given booklets with instructions on how to prepare for the effects of military conflicts, communications outages and power cuts.

Both countries joined NATO in the past two years, after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The area that was disrupted along the Finnish-German cable is roughly 60 to 65 miles away from the Lithuanian-Swedish cable that was cut, a CNN analysis of the undersea routes shows.

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It is unclear what exactly caused the fault in the C-Lion cable  Cinia said in a statement that it is still investigating the issue. A physical inspection has not yet been conducted, Reuters reported citing the companys chief executive Ari-Jussi Knaapila, who told a press conference on Monday that the sudden outage implied that the cable was cut by an outside force.

The foreign ministers of Finland and Germany said in a joint statement on Monday evening that they were deeply concerned about the severed C-Lion cable, and raised the possibility of hybrid warfare.

The fact that such an incident immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage speaks volumes about the volatility of our times. A thorough investigation is underway, the statement said. Our European security is not only under threat from Russias war of aggression against Ukraine, but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors.

Fears of undersea sabotage

The United States recently warned that it had detected increased Russian military activity around key undersea cables. Two US officials told CNN in September that the US believed Russia was now more likely to carry out potential sabotage operations on these critical pieces of infrastructure.

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The warning followed a joint investigation by the public broadcasters of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, which reported in April 2023 that Russia had a fleet of suspected spy ships operating in Nordic waters as part of a program of potential sabotage of underwater cables and wind farms in the region.

However, two US officials familiar with an initial assessment into the damage to the two cables told CNN Tuesday that as yet there were no indications of nefarious activity, nor intentional damage to seafloor infrastructure and suggested the disruption was likely caused by an anchor dragged from a passing vessel.

Ship tracking data analyzed by CNN shows at least one ship crossing the Lithuania-Sweden cable.

The extent of the disruption caused by Cinias C-Lion fault revealed Monday is unclear. The most important data flows are usually routed through several different cables, to avoid overreliance on a single link.

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A repair vessel is ready to go to the site of the fault, Cinia said in a statement Monday evening. It said it did not know how long repairs would take, but added it typically takes between five and 15 days for submarine cables.

Lithuanian state media was first to report the cut between Lithuania and Sweden, and quoted Telia Lithuanias chief technology officer Andrius Semeskevicius saying that the cable handled roughly a third of Lithuanias internet capacity. Capacity has been restored since the disruption.

The cable is operated by Arelion, a Swedish telecommunications company. Martin Sjogren, a spokesperson for the company, confirmed the damage to the BCS East-West link and said that the company is in contact with Swedens military and civil authorities about the incident. The cable had connected Gotland, Sweden and Sventoji, Lithuania, he said.

The issue was detected on Sunday during routine 24/7 monitoring of the companys network, and the cable is expected to be repaired over the next few weeks, depending on weather conditions, he added.

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Cinia did not immediately respond to CNNs request for further details. CNN has reached out to the Swedish and Lithuanian foreign ministries for comment.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNNs Jim Sciutto and Sana Noor Haq contributed reporting.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)  Nardin Academy has named a new president following a search that lasted over a year, the school announced Monday.

Dr. Eric Miles, who currently serves as Head of School at Brandon Academy in Brandon, Fla., will be the new president beginning in July 2025.

The hire ends a search that began in 2023 following the resignation of Dr. Sandra Betters after she resigned in June 2023. Unrest within the school had begun that spring when students held a walkout in protest of the schools administration. She had taken over as president in 2021.

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The Nardin Academy Board of Trustees announced on May 4, 2023 that nine board members would step down along with Dr. Betters, but all 15 board members ended up being removed later that month.

In August 2023 Dr. Betters sued Nardin as well as several current and former board members, alleging a smear campaign conducted by faculty members, administrators and board members.

Since Dr. Betters departure, Rebecca Reeder has been serving as interim president.

Latest Local News

Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. 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 News 4 Buffalo.
A neighbor in Brunswick said a police chase early this morning ended with a massive crash in her front yard, totaling at least one car.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

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They are calling for improved safety along Glyndale Road in Brunswick, Georgia.

Resident Keshia Quinones said both of their cars were damaged in the driveway due to the police chase. She believes at least one of them is totaled. The neighborhood has been advocating for traffic calming measures for years and Keshia stresses this incident was the last straw.

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Keshia Quinones shared videos of what her front yard looked like around 2:10 AM Sunday.

She said both her and her finances cars were smashed into and flipped over after a car lost control right in front of their home.

Mine was flipped over completely. There were smashed pieces of my car everywhere.

Several neighbors told Action News Jax it was a police chase involving one other car that led to this accident. Keshia added their cars landed within feet of the front of their house. Her entire family was home including her 8-month-old baby.

Residents along Glyndale Drive said it has been a dangerous road for years, and it invites speeding. They said this was not the first crash.

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The neighbor to the right of us, the same situation with a car happened but theirs was deadly, said Keshia.

The neighbors ask the city to start by adding a guardrail on Glyndale Road where it begins to curve after getting off New Jesup Highway.

Action News Jax reached out to the Glynn County Police Department for comment on this accident. We are waiting to hear back.

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In all our explorations of Mars to date, no evidence has been found that meets the rigorous standards to claim that we have conclusively found life.

But, decades ago in the 1970s, when the Viking landers became the first US mission to safely land on and explore the red planet, we may have been close.

One researcher raises the possibility that life existed in a sample of Martian soil. And then, in our quest to sniff it, we snuffed it out. Just like that.

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According to astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch of the Technical University Berlin in Germany, an experiment to detect the signs of microbial life on Mars could have been deadly.

In a column posted to Big Think last year, and in a commentary published in Nature Astronomy in September, he speculates that our very methods may have been destructive in and of themselves.

If so, it's essential for us to consider thoroughly the ecology of Mars when designing future experiments. And, Schulze-Makuch advises, humanity ought to send another mission, dedicated primarily to the search for life, with these considerations in mind.

When they landed on Mars in 1976, the two Viking landers had a list of objectives. One of those was to perform a set of experiments designed to test the Martian dirt for biosignatures  traces of molecules that indicate the presence of life.

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To date, these have been the only dedicated biological experiments performed on Mars.

1976 Viking 1 image of Mars, showing craters, mountains, and the planet's thin atmosphere. ( NASA

One of those experiments, the gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GCMS), found chlorinated organics. At the time, that result was interpreted as contamination from human cleaning products, and thus a null detection for signs of biology.

We know now that chlorinated organics are native to Mars, although whether they are produced by biological or non-biological processes remains unknown.

There has been some speculation in recent years about the destructiveness of the Viking biological experiments. The GCMS needed to heat the samples to separate out the various materials therein. That, subsequent analysis revealed, could have incinerated the very organics it was hoping to find.

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Now, Schulze-Makuch suggests that other experiments could have destroyed evidence likewise; namely, the labeled release and pyrolytic release experiments, which involved infusing Martian samples with liquid, then testing the results for evidence of metabolism and photosynthesis, respectively.

An artist's impression of Mars as it may have once looked with oceans, billions of years ago. ( ESO/M. Kornmesser

The results suggested a positive signal, which seemed at odds with the null results of the fourth experiment, the gas exchange. This was, and remains, confusing, Schulze-Makuch writes.

But the release experiments were likely poorly conceived, in retrospect. At the time, we assumed that life on Mars would be like life on Earth and thrive in the presence of water  the more the merrier.

But, as we have more recently learned, life can optimize itself to thrive under very dry conditions. And Mars is very dry.

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Change those conditions, and the thriving may very well stop.

"Now let's ask what would happen if you poured water over these dry-adapted microbes. Might that overwhelm them? In technical terms, we would say that we were hyperhydrating them, but in simple terms, it would be more like drowning them," Schulze-Makuch explained in his column.

"It would be as if an alien spaceship were to find you wandering half-dead in the desert, and your would-be saviors decide, 'Humans need water. Let's put the human in the middle of the ocean to save it!' That wouldn't work either."

Interestingly, he points out, the life signs identified in the pyrolytic release experiment were much stronger in the dry control run, which did not add water to the sample. So it seems natural to wonder, as others have: did these experiments detect signs of life that we dismissed?

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Those signs, to be clear, are still contradictory and far from conclusive. However, they may warrant further investigation.

Schulze-Makuch proposed back in 2007 that Mars may host dry-adapted life that incorporates hydrogen peroxide. The Viking results, he and his co-author Joop Houtkooper assert, are not incompatible with this hypothesis.

"If these inferences about organisms surviving in hyperarid Martian conditions are correct, then rather than 'follow the water,' which has long been NASA's strategy in searching for life on the red planet, we should in addition follow hydrated and hygroscopic compounds  salts  as a way to locate microbial life," Schulze-Makuch concludes.

"Nearly 50 years after the Viking biology experiments, it is time for another life detection mission  now that we have a much better understanding of the Martian environment."

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The commentary is published in Nature Astronomy.

An earlier version of this article, prior to the new Nature commentary, was published in August 2023.

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Prolific real estate developer and a leading Democratic Party fundraiser, Bill Freeman has died. He was 73 years old.

Metro police spokesperson Don Aaron said they were called to Freeman's home Sunday night, where he was found dead. His death is being investigated as a suicide, Aaron said.

Freeman was chairman and co-founder of Freeman Webb Company, a multifamily real estate investment and management firm with over 18,000 rental homes and apartments across Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Kentucky and Alabama. More than 9,000 of those rental units are in the Nashville area.

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Freeman also co-founded FW Publishing  parent company of the Nashville Scene, Nfocus Magazine, the Nashville Post and The News.

"Tonight, we lost Bill Freeman," Mayor Freddie O'Connell wrote Sunday night on X. "Bill was many things  real estate visionary, mayoral candidate, pilot, media magnate, staunch Democrat  and friend. Our city, state, and nation are better for his tenacity and commitment. We will miss him dearly, and my heart is with his family."

Tonight, we lost Bill Freeman. Bill was many thingsreal estate visionary, mayoral candidate, pilot, media magnate, staunch Democratand friend.



Our city, state, and nation are better for his tenacity and commitment.



We will miss him dearly, and my heart is with his family.  Freddie OConnell (@freddieoconnell) November 18, 2024

Here's what else to know about Freeman, a fixture in the Nashville community.

Who was Bill Freeman? What to know about Nashville business mogul, former mayoral candidate

Metro Mayoral candidate Bill Freeman does a sound check before the Nashforward debate in McAfee Concert Hall on the Belmont University campus in Nashville on June 18, 2015.

Freeman co-founded Freeman Webb in 1979 after meeting Jimmy Webb at Nashville's Junior Chamber of Commerce, where both were members. According to the company website, their active involvement in community service allowed them to observe each other's commitment level and work ethic that ultimately became the catalyst for a business partnership.

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As reported by the Tennessean, Freeman Webb is known for accepting low-income Section 8 subsidized federal housing vouchers, something which many landlords avoid.

"The bulk of our portfolio has an average rent of just over 1,000 dollars," Bob Freeman told The Tennessean. "Were a naturally affordable landlord. We rent to the people who keep Nashville running."

According to the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, he served as director of Downtown Urban Development for the Metropolitan Nashville Development and Housing Agency (MDHA).

William H. "Bill" Freeman, president of Freeman Webb, can view the four-story building at 2303 Hillsboro Road, top right, from the roof of the five-story Kinnard's Corner at 2200 Hillsboro Road on Aug. 3, 1984. Freeman and his partner, James A.Webb Jr., have sold the two buildings for a total of $5.5 million.

In 2015, Freeman ran for Mayor of Nashville, ultimately losing the race to former Mayor Megan Barry. According to Ballotpedia, Freeman's campaign ran on the following issues: neighborhood safety, community and diversity, veterans, pay equality and the environment.

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Freeman also served on the Nashville Davidson County Mental Health and Veterans Assistance Foundation, the Reno Air Racing Association, the White House Historical Association, and the University of Tennessee Presidents Council. In 2022 Freeman was appointed to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board by President Joe Biden.

Additionally, Freeman has served on the Kennedy Center Advisory Committee on the Arts appointed by former President Barack Obama and the Tennessee State University Board of Trustees appointed by former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.

Freeman, a pilot, also served on the Metro Nashville Airport Authority Board for eight years under three mayors before he stepped down in March.

"I recall the days when Nashville's airport was considered an efficient but small airport in a mid-sized, Southern city," said Freeman on his time overseeing Nashville International Airport's management. "Since its first days as Berry Field to its growth in the 1980s and to its major expansion goals today, the Nashville International Airport has become a record-breaking, major hub in our country's air transportation system."

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Upon retiring, Freeman said he was "excited at the prospect of traveling more and enjoying our grandchildren as they grow" with his wife Babs.

Nashville mourns the death of Bill Freeman, 'an incredible force for good in our city.'

On Sunday the Tennessee Democratic Party shared a statement to X, remembering their former Treasurer as a "beacon of kindness, wisdom and a stalwart community leader."

"Bill was a generous soul who touched the lives of many," read the statement. "His warm spirit and ability to uplift those around him left an indelible mark on everyone fortunate enough to know him."

We are forever grateful for Bill Freeman. pic.twitter.com/HRJFEEzOZL  Tennessee Democratic Party (@tndp) November 18, 2024

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"Nashville lost one of its kindest and most dedicated champions," said Former Vice President and US. Representative Al Gore on Monday.

Gore called Freeman a "a giant in our city," someone who was known as much for his role in helping Nashville grow as he was for his "commitment to ensuring that all of its residents could thrive."

"Bill always sought out new ideas and knowledge in his pursuit of a better future for his community  one of the traits that made him such an important leader in our local media landscape," said Gore on social media.

Yesterday, Nashville lost one of its kindest and most dedicated champions. Bill Freeman was a giant in our city, known as much for his role in helping Nashville grow as he was for his commitment to ensuring that all of its residents could thrive. Bill always sought out new ideas  Al Gore (@algore) November 18, 2024

On Monday, Davidson County Register of Deeds Karen Johnson shared that few have had the impact on Nashville that Freeman had, describing him as a smart, well-grounded businessman and a "giant" among civic-minded leaders.

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"I called on Bill for his counsel many times, but more than anything, I valued his friendship." she said in a statement. "Prayers go tonight to Babs, to Rep. Bob Freeman, and all of Bills loved ones. This loss leaves a terrible void.

My heart is so heavy at the passing of my friend, Bill Freeman, Nashville Davidson County Register of Deeds Karen Johnson said early Monday. Few have had the impact on our great city that Bill had: as a smart, well-grounded businessman and as a giant among civic-minded pic.twitter.com/WJVQenpE86  Karen Johnson Davidson County Register of Deeds (@nashtnregister) November 18, 2024

District Attorney Glenn Funk called Freeman a friend to all of Nashville in a statement, remembering him as someone who worked to give the working people of the Nashville community better living standards, from housing to wages.

"We are a better city because of Bill Freeman," said Funk on Monday.

Former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry referred to Freeman as "incredible force for good" for both Nashville and Democrats at the national, state and local levels.

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"His commitment to help others ran deep, and was evident in his love for his family and his willingness to step up and serve Nashville," she wrote to X on Monday.

Bill Freeman was an incredible force for good in our city and for Democrats at the national, state, and local levels.



His commitment to help others ran deep, and was evident in his love for his family and his willingness to step up and serve Nashville. I had the honor of  Megan Barry (@MeganCBarry) November 18, 2024

State Senator Heidi Campbell shared the same sentiment.

"Love and condolences to the whole family- it's a true loss for Nashville and for Tennessee," she wrote on X.

Bill Freeman was a force for good. So sad that he passed away at such a young age. Love and condolences to the whole family- it's a true loss for Nashville and for Tennessee. https://t.co/mG6Buw6dRU  Senator Heidi Campbell (@Campbell4TN) November 18, 2024

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Metro Council Member Olivia Hill described Freeman's death as "a profound loss for Nashville," and shared that Freeman was more than a successful businessman, he was a "leader who gave selflessly" to the Nashville community.

"His dedication to philanthropy and commitment to justice set an example for all of us," she wrote on X. "Bills legacy will live on in the countless lives he touched and the progress he helped drive in our city."

The news of Bill Freemans passing is a profound loss for Nashville. Bill was more than a successful businessmanhe was a leader who gave selflessly to our community, championing causes that uplifted those most in need. His dedication to philanthropy and commitment to justice set  Olivia Hill (@Oliviahill247) November 18, 2024

Diana Leyva covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @_leyvadiana

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Who was Bill Freeman? Nashville leaders call him a 'force for good'
Nashville pastor Ian Sears was ousted from the Presbyterian Church in America amid sexual misconduct allegations.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  A Nashville mogul and former mayoral candidate, Bill Freeman, has died at 73, according to officials.

Among his accomplishments, Bill Freeman was co-founder of Freeman Webb Company, a real estate investment, management, and brokerage company. In addition, he ran for mayor of Nashville in 2015 and was a former chairman of the Metro Nashville Airport Authority.

I am sorry to share that my dad, William H. Freeman (Bill), has passed away. He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, and friend, always putting others first. He and his dear friend, Jimmy Webb, started Freeman Webb Company in 1979, and they grew it from one apartment community to over 18,000 units that are managed today. Dad treated everyone on his team like family and loved seeing everyone succeed. He enjoyed sharing how we still have our first hired employee working with the company to this day, Bill Freemans son, state Rep. Bob Freeman (D-Nashville), said in a statement. For many years, Bill Freeman was a dedicated advocate for our city, state, and community. His passion for making Nashville a better place was evident in every part of his life. Fearless in sharing his opinions on the issues that mattered most, he worked tirelessly to improve the lives of those around him and to leave a lasting impact on our shared future.

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According to his son, Bill Freeman was a major supporter of the Democratic Party who offered both financial support and public advocacy. He was reportedly the largest Democratic fundraiser in Tennessee, making substantial contributions. In fact, former President Barack Obama appointed him to the Kennedy Center Advisory Committee on the Arts in 2016, and then President Joe Biden appointed him to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board in 2022.

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In addition to co-founding Freeman Webb Company, Bill Freeman and Jimmy Webb started FW Publishing in 2018, with the purchase of the Nashville Scene, Nashville Post, Nfocus Magazine, and The Green Hills News, the family said.

Bob Freeman said his father was also a long-time mason who served as a past master of Corinthian Masonic Lodge #8 and was bestowed the highest honor of 33rd Degree Scottish Rite last year.

As much as he valued his career and accomplishments, his family always came first. Especially my mom, Babs. What started out as a childhood friendship with their meeting in elementary school in Donelson, Tennessee, soon blossomed into a lifelong love and, together, they built a rich life full of love, family, and memories. Their bond was a testament to the love and dedication that defined everything he did. He instilled in me and my brothers  Harvey and Mike the values of being loving husbands and devoted fathers, and we carry those lessons with us today. His grandchildren, too, held a special place in his heart and his love for them was unparalleled, Bob Freeman continued. I know Bill Freeman, my dad, will be deeply missed by all who knew himhis family, friends, colleagues, and this community. His legacy of dedication and commitment will live on in the countless lives he touched.

Freeman family (Courtesy: State Rep. Bob Freeman) Bill Freeman (Courtesy: Freeman Webb Company)

The Freeman Webb Company posted the following statement following Bill Freemans death:

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It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of our beloved Chairman and Co-founder, Bill Freeman. Bill was far more than the remarkable achievements that defined his illustrious career. He was a devoted husband, a loving father and grandfather, a cherished friend, and a commanding presence who fought tirelessly for those less fortunate. He built a family business that treated every one of us like family, and for those fortunate enough to be in his orbit, his kindness, leadership, and unwavering integrity left an indelible mark. Bills dedication to improving communities, offering livelihoods, and fostering meaningful relationships exemplified not only his greatness but the depth of his character. The high bar of integrity and honesty he set, along with the enduring philosophy of treating everyone with courtesy and respect, continues to resonate deeply within our company today. Our hearts go out to Babs, Bob, Harvey, Mike, and the entire Freeman family, as well as all who had the privilege of knowing Bill. His extraordinary life and the profound legacy he leaves behind will forever be remembered and cherished.

| READ MORE | Latest headlines from Nashville and Davidson County

The Metro Nashville Police Department confirmed Bill Freeman died by suicide on Sunday, Nov. 17. He had recently been in declining health.

Multiple Tennessee officials responded to Freemans death on social media or in statements sent to News 2:

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Tonight, we lost Bill Freeman. Bill was many thingsreal estate visionary, mayoral candidate, pilot, media magnate, staunch Democratand friend. Our city, state, and nation are better for his tenacity and commitment. We will miss him dearly, and my heart is with his family. Nashville Mayor Freddie OConnell

Yesterday, Nashville lost one of its kindest and most dedicated champions. Bill Freeman was a giant in our city, known as much for his role in helping Nashville grow as he was for his commitment to ensuring that all of its residents could thrive. Bill always sought out new ideas and knowledge in his pursuit of a better future for his community  one of the traits that made him such an important leader in our local media landscape. I was lucky enough to see that curiosity firsthand when he and his son Bob joined me on a trip to Antarctica to better understand the impacts of the climate crisis. He will be sorely missed. My heart goes out to his beloved wife Babs and his sons, Harvey, Mike, and State Rep. Bob Freeman. Former Vice President Al Gore

We lost a Tennessee Icon, Bill Freeman. Prayers and love to my colleague Rep. Bob Freeman and the entire family. Thank you Bill for everything youve done, seen and unseen. State Rep. Torrey Harris (D-Memphis)

My family extends our sincere condolences and prayers to my @tndemocrats colleague @bobfreemantn and his entire family. Mr. Bill Freeman will be dearly missed by all who were blessed to know him. State Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville)

My [heart breaks] for the entire Freeman family. Bill Freeman was as good of a man as they get. I was honored to represent him and that I counted him as a friend. He was a giver, doer and a family man who will be missed by me and countless others. State Rep. Caleb Hemmer (D-Nashville)

Bill Freeman was a force for good. So sad that he passed away at such a young age. Love and condolences to the whole family- its a true loss for Nashville and for Tennessee. State Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville)

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Bill Freeman. He will be remembered as a beacon of kindness, wisdom, and a stalwart community leader. Bill was a generous soul who touched the lives of many. His warm spirit and ability to uplift those around him left an indelible mark on everyone fortunate enough to know him. His legacy of compassion and integrity will forever inspire us. Our hearts and thoughts are with his family during this difficult time. Please join us in keeping them lifted in prayer. Hendrell Remus, chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party

In Memory of Bill Freeman It is with heavy hearts that we reflect on the life and legacy of our esteemed Board of Commissioner and former Board Chair, Bill Freeman. For many years, Commissioner Freeman served with unwavering dedication, offering his wisdom, vision, and leadership to the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority. His contributions helped shape the future of our airport and ensured its growth as a vital part of our community. His passion for service extended beyond the boardroom; he was a true champion for Nashville, always advocating for progress and innovation. His kindness, humility, and ability to connect with people on a personal level will be deeply missed. As we celebrate his incredible life and legacy, we extend our deepest sympathy to his family and loved ones. His remarkable contributions and spirit will forever be a part of the MNAA family. Thank you, Commissioner Freeman for your leadership, friendship, and unwavering commitment to excellence. You will be greatly missed, but your impact will never be forgotten. Nashville International Airport

Mr. Bill Freeman was a man of integrity, humility and compassion. I am honored to call him my friend. His passing is a great loss for our community. We should all uplift his family in prayers. He will always be remembered as a great man with a kind heart. Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Steve Dozier

Long before I decided to run for Judge, Bill Freeman was a friend and confidante. As I considered running, there was no one more encouraging and once I decided to run, there was no one more supportive. His support of my campaigns and later as a board member for the Mental Health and Veterans Court Foundation have made a difference for me personally and for those we serve in my courts. I join so many of Bills friends and admirers in keeping a thought for Babs and the entire Freeman family during this extraordinarily difficult time. Few Nashvillians ever have or ever will make a contribution to our community greater than Bill Freeman. Others will document the long history of wonderful things he did for this city and his amazing legacy. Today, I choose to remember the kind and unfailingly gracious man that Gary and I were so proud and honored to call a friend. Davidson County General Sessions Court Judge Melissa Blackburn

Bill Freeman was a friend to all of Nashville. He worked hard to give the working men and women of this community better living standards from housing to wages. We are a better city because of Bill Freeman. Nashville-Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk

My heart is so heavy at the passing of my friend, Bill Freeman. Few have had the impact on our great city that Bill had: as a smart, well-grounded businessman and as a giant among civic-minded leaders. I called on Bill for his counsel many times, but more than anything, I valued his friendship. Prayers go tonight to Babs, to Rep. Bob Freeman, and all of Bills loved ones. This loss leaves a terrible void. Nashville Davidson County Register of Deeds Karen Johnson

The news of Bill Freemans passing is a profound loss for Nashville. Bill was more than a successful businessmanhe was a leader who gave selflessly to our community, championing causes that uplifted those most in need. His dedication to philanthropy and commitment to justice set an example for all of us. Bills legacy will live on in the countless lives he touched and the progress he helped drive in our city. My deepest condolences go to his family, friends, and all who were fortunate to know him. Metro Council Member at Large Olivia Hill

Bill Freeman was an incredible force for good in our city and for Democrats at the national, state, and local levels. His commitment to help others ran deep, and was evident in his love for his family and his willingness to step up and serve Nashville. I had the honor of appointing him to the Airport Authority, where he was able to combine his passion for flying and his desire to see Nashville grow and thrive. Bill passed along his heart for service to his entire family, especially his son, State Rep. Bob Freeman, and he will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Former Nashville mayor Megan Barry

Its fitting I last saw Bill Freeman as we were walking in to Neyland for the UT/AL game a few weeks ago. He was a force for good & progress in his community & all of his many pursuits. Thinking of their family at this time, especially his greatest legacieshis adult children. Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder

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No additional details have been confirmed about the circumstances surrounding Freemans death.

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HELSINKI (AP)  Sweden and Finland, which recently gave up neutrality and joined NATO following Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, sent out updated civil preparedness guides on Monday with instructions how to survive in war.

The guides are similar to those in Denmark and Norway, though none mentions Russia by name.

In January, Swedens former military commander-in-chief Gen. Micael Byden said it openly: Swedes should mentally prepare for the possibility of war. Sweden in March formally joined NATO as the 32nd member of the transatlantic military alliance, nearly a year after Finland.

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The updated Swedish guide explains how to respond to an attack with nuclear, chemical or biological weapons: "Take cover in the same way as with an airstrike. Shelters provide the best protection. After a couple days, the radiation has decreased sharply.

It is no secret that the security situation has deteriorated since the previous brochure was issued in 2018, Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin told a press conference last month. The Swedish Baltic Sea island of Gotland sits a little more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

In Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) land border with Russia, the guide is compiled by the government, which has stressed that preparedness is a civic skill in the current global situation.

The Nordic countries all urge people to stockpile drinking water, canned food, medicine, heating, toilet paper, money and flashlights and candles. And if possible, keep the car fully refueled.

The checklist also includes iodine tablets, in case of a nuclear event.

___

Olsen reported from Copenhagen.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro for the 19th G20 Summit on Sunday, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed readiness to work with all parties for an equal and orderly multi-polar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.

In a written statement, Xi hoped for the G20's greater role as an important platform for international economic cooperation.

This year's G20 Leaders' Summit, scheduled for Nov. 18-19, marks the first gathering of the kind since the accession of the African Union (AU) as a full member, a historic milestone that strengthens the voice of the Global South.

Javier Miranda, former president of Uruguay's Broad Front party, expressed his hope that this summit will mark a significant step toward building a multi-polar world -- one that fosters dialogue.

In a world fraught with wars and conflicts, the commitment to dialogue stands as one goal of this G20 meeting, he told Xinhua.

Following its assumption of the presidency, Brazil has established the summit theme as "Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet." Key priorities outlined by the Brazilian government include combating hunger, poverty, and inequality, advancing sustainable development, and driving reforms in global governance.

"Building a just world requires the G20 to honor the principles of mutual respect, equal-footed cooperation and mutual benefit, and support Global South countries in achieving greater development," Xi said in a signed article published in Brazilian media outlet Folha de S. Paulo on Sunday.

"Building a sustainable planet requires the G20 to promote sustainable production and lifestyle as a way to achieve harmony between humanity and nature," he said.

The Chinese president also pledged China's active support for the initiative of a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty proposed by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

"As we gather at the G20 to address critical global issues such as governance, hunger, sustainability, and the environment, we recognize the crucial role of our partnership with China," said Rodrigo Castro, deputy secretary for Major Events and Promotion Actions of the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro.

Many of the solutions to address challenges faced by developing nations stem from ideas and practices already implemented in China, Castro said.

"For us Brazilians who are hosting the G20 ... we are very proud to welcome the president and the entire Chinese delegation," he told Xinhua.

Apart from the G20 summit, Xi is also to pay a state visit to Brazil, as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

During the visit, Xi will hold an in-depth exchange of views with the Brazilian president on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of common interest.

Brazil is the second stop of Xi's two-nation tour, which has taken him to Peru. In Lima, he kept to a tight schedule, attending the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, paying a state visit to Peru and holding a series of bilateral meetings, including one with his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, on the sidelines of the APEC meeting. 
A jury in Hawaii has found a Navy wife guilty of manslaughter in connection with the overdose death of a 7-month-old baby in military housing, according to local news reports.

Dixie Denise Villa is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 26, according to a report from Hawaii News Now. Abigail Lobisch was found dead Feb. 24, 2019, in Villas house at Aliamanu Military Reservation in Hawaii, where Villa was babysitting her.

An overdose of antihistamine was determined to be the cause of Abigail Lobischs death, according to court documents.

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The trial, which began Nov. 4, was held in Hawaiis civilian court system.

In September 2019, in the wake of the babys death, the Defense Departments personnel chief called for officials to investigate reports of unauthorized daycare operations on installations. James Stewart, then-acting under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said officials should take appropriate steps to shut down these unauthorized operations.
Citing a crisis in healthcare, nearly 400 primary care physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Womens Hospital are taking steps to unionize, a move that medical professionals are calling historic.

The doctors on Friday filed a union election petition with the National Labor Relations Board, Attorney Marisa Powell, lead organizer for the Doctors Council, said in a statement on Monday. The council describes itself as the countrys oldest and largest union of attending physicians.

A vote to unionize is expected within two months, Powell said. If the vote passes, the physicians would be members of Doctors Council of the Service Employees International Union, Local 10MD.

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The move comes as Boston doctors are facing the growing corporatization of healthcare, collapsing primary care patient access, and the moral injury caused by systemic challenges, officials said in their statement. The doctors are uniting as members of the Doctors Council to protect the future of primary care and provide the care that patients deserve.

I decided to become a doctor because I hoped to fix our broken healthcare system from the inside, Dr. Elsa Imbimbo, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospitals Internal Medical Associates, said in a statement.

I chose primary care because it placed me at the foundation of healthcare where I can best understand and advocate for my patients. It is clear to me that by unionizing, we will have the influence we need to make meaningful changes to this professional work and improve our care for patients, Imbimbo said.

Boston 25 reached out to Mass General Brigham for comment on the filing.

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Primary Care physicians are critical to the health of our patients and community, a Mass General Brigham spokesperson said in a statement on Monday. We know that PCPs across the Commonwealth are facing unprecedented volume and stress as a result of a confluence of factors that are not unique to our organization.

We share the common goal of offering world-class, comprehensive care for our patients and believe we can achieve this best by working together in direct partnership, rather than through representatives in a process that can lead to conflict and potentially risk the continuity of patient care, the Mass General Brigham spokesperson said. We are committed to continuing our dialogue with our PCPs, supporting them and their practices through this challenging time and investing in ways to reduce burden.

The filing represents a pivotal moment for the field of primary care, which is under increasing strain as administrative and financial pressures jeopardize the ability of physicians to provide comprehensive and equitable patient treatment, officials said.

By forming a union, the primary care physicians said they aim to collectively address these challenges, advocating for the necessary resources, staffing, and support systems that will allow them to deliver high-quality care for their patients.

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Dr. Kristen Gunning, practicing at Massachusetts General Hospital Bulfinch Medical Group, said that the institution must lead by example.

Primary care is in crisis in Massachusetts and nationwide, Gunning said. Mass General and Brigham Womens Hospitals are world leaders in medicine. We are excited to collaborate with hospital leadership in leading the way to save primary care.

By organizing with Doctors Council, the physicians will advance the national conversation around primary care and demand a seat at the table to advocate for their practices and patients, officials said.

Their efforts address the urgent need to reform how health care systems operate, prioritizing patient well-being and physician support over administrative profit margins, officials said.

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We as primary care doctors have allowed ourselves to be slowly stripped of our voice in the critical health care decision making process, Dr. Jiani Guo, of Brigham & Womens Faulkner Community Physicians at Hyde Park, said in a statement.

Only with the power of collective bargaining can we push back against the rising tide of corporate interests, Guo said. Only through unionizing can we help to restore the soul of our profession and improve patient outcomes. Only then will our health care system move away from the destructive trajectory of profit-driven models and rise up as truly the leader in health care.

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

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(Bloomberg) -- Nedbank Group Ltd. is setting out to reinvent itself across the African continent as it looks to reduce its dependence on South Africa and nearly quadruple its profit from other African markets over the next decade.

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Armed with a war chest of 12 billion rand ($662 million) in excess capital sitting on its books by end of June, South Africas fourth-largest lender by assets has mapped out a strategy to build scale in booming sectors such as natural resources and renewable energy. The bet is that these opportunities across the continent will drive a transformative shift in its revenue mix.

Currently, over 90% of Nedbanks profits come from South Africa, but the bank has set an ambitious target to generate just under half of its earnings from other African markets within five to ten years  a leap from the current 9.2%.

We can easily get between 20% to 30%, and even closer to 40% if we grow in the manner that we aspire, Terence Sibiya, group managing executive for Nedbank Africa Regions, said in an interview. Nedbank will be a different bank by 2029, Sibiya said.

The move reflects a broader pivot by South African banks seeking growth beyond a sluggish domestic economy. Rivals Standard Bank Group Ltd., and FirstRand Ltd. have already carved out substantial operations in East and West Africa.

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According to the International Monetary Fund, South Africas economy is expected to expand by 1.1% in 2024, while Sub-Saharan Africas economy is projected to grow at an average of 3.6% in 2024, with a forecast of 4.2% in 2025. The disparity is significant, with Sub-Saharan Africa growing about 3 to 4 times faster than South Africa.

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Nedbank, with subsidiaries in Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, as well as representative office in Kenya, is also leveraging its 21% stake in Ecobank Transnational Inc. to extend its reach in West Africa.

Despite this footprint, Sibiya acknowledges that Nedbanks operations are sub-scale and must grow to compete effectively.

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In the five existing territories, theres definitely a massive focus now on growing scale and getting to what we believe is a greater market share of the profit pools there, he said.

However, expansion into other African markets comes with challenges, including political and regulatory risks and currency volatility that could squeeze profit margins.

The banks strategy targets high-growth sectors. It is deepening its presence in Namibia, where mining and green hydrogen projects are surging, and Mozambique, with its promising liquefied natural gas sector. In Kenya, Nedbank is considering an an investment banking product that will help it tap into the regions renewable energy, and infrastructure finance needs throughout the East African community.

Further, it is mulling adding a wealth management division to its Kenya unit, as well as setting up a fund that focuses on women-led small businesses in the region. A decision on the two initiatives is likely within 18 to 24 months, Sibiya said.

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We are confident that given our current skill-set and areas of expertise that we hold in our arsenal, growth on the continent presents a massive opportunity, Sibiya said.

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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  Saturday night, Oklahoma City Police responded to a shooting in a residential area near Northeast Katherine Place and Wilshire boulevard.

Raul Chapa lives in the apartment complex just feet away from the crime scene. He said he was watching TV when chaos erupted outside.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: One person killed in NE OKC shooting

Chapa said, I heard a boom, boom, boom.

Authorities say the gunfire rang out around 8oclock that night.

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When officers arrived to the scene, they said they found a male victim laying in the middle of the street.

Crime Scene near Katherine Pl and Wilshire Blvd. courtesy KFOR

Its unclear if the shooting happened in the street, or elsewhere.

Raul Chapa said he figured someone was seriously injured, or killed, given the number of gunshots he heard.

I thought they were just shooting up in the air. Five minutes later, theres already an ambulance there.

Police said the victim was taken to a hospital where he later died.

Chapa said his instincts told him to throw himself onto the floor and under the bed.

Chapa has lived in his NE Oklahoma City apartment for about a year. He said shootings arent uncommon.

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As of Saturday night, there were no suspects. News 4 reached out to Oklahoma City Police Sunday afternoon to see if any arrests were made overnight. Investigators tell us there are no further updates 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 KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
Ohio officials have denounced a small contingent of neo-Nazis who paraded Saturday afternoon through a Columbus neighborhood  waving flags featuring swastikas and shouting a racist slur  in the latest public demonstration by White nationalists in recent years across the United States.

Around a dozen people in black pants, shirts and head coverings  their faces obscured by red masks  marched along the street near downtown Columbus as three carried black flags emblazoned with red swastikas, footage provided to CNN affiliate WBNS shows.

At least one person yelled, N***er, again and again, according to the video thats garnered online attention far beyond Ohios capital. The group strode past low-rise brick buildings housing a salon and a clothing boutique, along with cafes serving tacos, coffee, cookies and bar grub, as its leader shouted through a black bullhorn.

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Columbus public safety dispatchers got 911 calls around 1:30 p.m. reporting a group marching in the Short North area, the dispatchers told the station.

Columbus mayor condemned the cowardly display and asserted the citys commitment to standing against hatred and bigotry. We will not allow any of our neighbors to be intimidated, threatened or harmed because of who they are, how they worship and whom they love, Mayor Andrew Ginther, a Democrat, wrote on social media.

Ohios governor also condemned the demonstration, describing those involved as spewing vile and racist speech against people of color and Jews. There is no place in this state for hate, bigotry, antisemitism or violence, and we must denounce it wherever we see it, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said.

The number of events organized or attended by White supremacists in the United States hit a new high last year at 282, the anti-hate Anti-Defamation League reported. Marches and public gatherings of White nationalists or people with Nazi flags have unfolded in recent years in Nashville, New Hampshire, Boston, Arkansas, Virginia, Washington, DC, and Michigan, where flags with swastikas were toted this month outside a community theater performance of The Diary of Anne Frank.

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The swastika since 1945 has been the most significant and notorious of hate symbols, anti-Semitism and White supremacy for most of the world, with roots tracing to the murderous legacy of Germanys Nazi Party, especially the Holocaust, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The ADL noted that the Columbus event aligns with a troubling trend of white supremacist incidents.

Over the past few years, hundreds of white supremacist marches and events have been organized around the country, aiming not only to instill fear and anxiety in the communities they target but also to serve as photo opportunities for these groups to use in their recruitment and online propaganda, said Oren Segal, vice president of the ADL Center on Extremism.

When white supremacists start competing for turf or visibility, the losers are the communities that are impacted, Segal told CNN.

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In Ohio, no arrests were made during Saturdays event, though police briefly detained some marchers, according to WBNS. CNN has reached out to Columbus police for more information.

Columbus community leaders organized a unity march Sunday in response to Saturdays neo-Nazi gathering, CNN affiliate WSYX reported.

Take your flags and the masks you hide behind and go home and never come back. Your hate isnt welcome in our city, City Attorney Zach Klein said on social media of Saturdays march. This is not who we are, and we will not tolerate or normalize this disgusting ideology in any form.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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Not long after Donald Trump descended the golden escalator at Trump Tower in New York City to announce his bid for president on June 16, 2015, movements to resist him started.

Conservatives who didnt approve called themselves Never Trumpers and progressives started a movement thats been called the resistance. The Lincoln Project is one of the Never Trump groups started by former Republicans that spent millions on ads as well as strategy and research. The anti-Trump ads were certainly aggressive, but the movement didnt achieve its goal.

Instead, Trump got his second act. Will the resistance get theirs?

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Trump won the White House again. He also won the popular vote. CNN contributor Scott Jennings called the movement a failure. This Never-Trump whole complex that grew over the last several years, nothing has ever failed as hard in politics as this, said Jennings.

Never Trumpers raised money to defeat Republicans besides Trump

Its a point self-identified Never Trumper Ashley Pratte Oates agrees with  she wrote in an opinion piece for U.S. News, Never Trump Republicans have never looked more like a dead, irrelevant entity. Oates argued Never Trumpers should defect from the GOP and instead join the Democratic Party.

The face of the Never Trump movement was either former Republicans or current Republicans, but the movement itself attracted Democratic megadonors like Michael Moritz, David Geffen and Stephen Mandel and Democratic dark money groups like Majority Forward.

The Lincoln Project didnt just work against Trump, it also spent money opposing other Republicans through ad buys. The ad buying, along with the tone and tenor of the group, has led some to suggest the group might not actually be effective at reaching Republicans because they sound too much like Democrats.

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Henry Olsen, senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, called The Lincoln Project, Democrats in Republican clothing. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Olsen was critical of the groups ad urging voters to vote against 15 Republican senators.

He also thought the groups leaders clearly align with Democratic values on questions such as trade, immigration and the internet, and are willing to, at best, overlook Democratic values on matters such as taxes, climate change and religious liberty.

In other words, Olsen said Republican voters werent buying what The Lincoln Project was selling. Olsen isnt the only one with an observation like this. Ben Jacobs of The New Republic said a fair number of people within the Never Trump movement ended up joining the Democratic Party (and campaigning for other Democrats).

The group faced criticism not only for the substance of what it put out, but also the tone  especially when it came to ads. When Rick Wilson, co-founder of the group, was asked by CBS News if he was concerned about stooping to the presidents (Trump) level of being mean, Wilson responded, I hope so. He said he thought negative ads worked.

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The way Jennings sees it, the group ended up driving Republicans away.

Republicans being lectured to, condescended to, browbeaten by all these folks over the last  look, at some juncture, its OK if we have different opinions about the election, he said. You dont have to beat people to death over it. And the more you do that, the more it drives people away.

The Resistance hopes to regroup following Trumps election

Unlike the Never Trump movement, those who call themselves members of the #Resistance are typically Democrats. But the circumstances have changed from 2020 to now.

In his political comeback, Trump ended up gaining new voters, had strong support from Republicans, expanded his coalition and won all seven battleground states. Though it was a decisive victory for Trump, the country is still polarized. FiveThirtyEights polling average on Friday puts Trumps favorability at 44.2% and unfavorability at 51.6%.

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Trump will not run another presidential campaign since hes headed into his second term. So, will there be a movement like the Never Trump or resistance again? It depends on who you ask.

Peggy Noonan, columnist for The Wall Street Journal, said a resistance movement like there was from 2016 onward isnt in line with the mood of the country, which now isnt electrified by politics but exhausted by it.

And in some funny way, demonstrations especially would make the Democratic Party look weaker, said Noonan. As if it has no other moves. As if its trying to avoid something, a sober look inward, and trying to cover it up by chanting.

On the other hand, Perry Bacon Jr., columnist for The Washington Post, said journalists, activists, officials and everyday Americans should go back to their resistance mode of 2017 to 2020.

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And, he wrote, this resistance cant be too reliant on Democratic Party leadership.

Elected officials in blue states have already started mobilizing to confront a Trump presidency. Governors for New York, California and Illinois have said as much, according to Politico.

As an example, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said if Trump violates the law, they are already prepared to file in court. Lisa Kashinsky and Rachel Bluth, authors of the Politico article, said, Democrats rush to reform their resistance to Trump is partly self-serving. Governors and state prosecutors who took on Trump during his first term burnished their national profiles in the process.

On Thursday, commissioners for Bucks County, Pennsylvania, voted to count ballots that dont have the proper signatures, even though the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had issued a ruling on that earlier this year, The Washington Examiner reported. The legal team for the board had recommended the ballots be rejected.

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I think we all know that precedent by a court doesnt matter anymore in this country, and people violate laws anytime they want, said Diane Marseglia, a Democrat and board chair. So for me, if I violate this law, its because I want a court to pay attention to it.

Theres a Womens March in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere set for Jan. 18, 2025, after Trump assumes the White House. One was held in Salt Lake City and other cities ahead of the election. While the protest was centered around support for laws allowing access to abortions, KSL.com reported the attendees overwhelmingly supported Vice President Kamala Harris. But so far, theres no buzz suggesting it will be anything like the Womens March of 2017 where millions descended on Washington, D.C.

With the election in the rearview mirror, some instead see this as time of rebuilding for the Democratic Party.

Writing for The New York Times, George Washington University assistant professor of history Timothy Shenk said he thinks the Resistance has run into a dead end. And instead, what Democrats need to do next is debate among themselves to figure out how the party can plausibly present itself as a champion of ordinary people trying to make a better life in a broken system.
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI)  Former Providence Police Chief Hugh Clements has been serving as director of the Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS) for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Although he has taken off in his role, his future is uncertain with President-elect Donald Trumps win.

In the video above, Boston Globe columnist Dan McGowan joined Patrick Little on 12 News This Morning to look at the options Clements has.

12 News is proud to announce a new partnership with The Boston Globe Rhode Island. In this new partnership, award-winning columnist Dan McGowan will join the 12 News This Morning team each Monday to discuss stories impacting the Ocean State.

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McGowan, author of the popular daily newsletter Rhode Map, will offer his unique insight into all things Rhode Island, including politics, education, the economy and more.

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By Emma Farge

GENEVA (Reuters) - The only alternative to the U.N. Palestinian relief agency in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, its chief said on Monday, repeating calls for states to resist an Israeli ban.

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, is in Geneva for a strategy meeting with donors after Israel banned the agency from operating on its territory last month in what he said was the darkest moment in UNRWA's 75-year history.

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"I keep being asked either yes or no (is there) a plan B? There is no plan B," Lazzarini told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting. "If there is no U.N. or international community response, the responsibility will go back to the occupying power, being Israel."

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency provides aid and shelter to many Gazans made homeless by the 13-month war which Palestinian authorities say has killed over 43,000 people and reduced most of the enclave to rubble.

Israel has repeatedly accused UNRWA of being implicated in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel that triggered the war, in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

A U.N. investigation found that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved and fired them. The crisis caused some donors to temporarily suspend funding although most has since been restored, with major donor Washington a notable exception.

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Lazzarini said he called on countries at the Geneva meeting to try to halt the Israeli parliament bill, due to take effect in late January. "We will be operating until the day we cannot operate anymore, and meanwhile, we will exhaust all possible diplomatic avenues," he said.

Already, the impact of the Israeli ban is being felt by the agency, Lazzarini said.

He cited an incident in which he said an UNRWA female employee was interrogated and handcuffed to a post by Israeli forces last week in the occupied West Bank, without providing any further details.

Israel's military said it needed more information, including the date and location of the alleged incident, before responding to Lazzarini's allegation.

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A U.S. Congress deal bars U.S. funds to UNRWA until March 2025 when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who is seen as staunchly pro-Israel, will be in the White House.

(Reporting by Emma Farge; Additional reporting by Emily Rose; Editing by Miranda Murray and Ros Russell)
RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday delivered an important speech at Session I of the 19th G20 Summit under the title "Building a Just World of Common Development."

Following is the English version of the full text of the speech:

Building a Just World of Common Development

Remarks by H.E. Xi Jinping

President of the People's Republic of China

On Fight Against Hunger and Poverty

At Session I of the 19th G20 Summit

Rio de Janeiro, November 18, 2024

Your Excellency President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva,

Colleagues,

It gives me great pleasure to attend the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. I thank President Lula and the Brazilian government for the warm hospitality extended to the Chinese delegation.

Today, transformation of a scale not seen in a century is accelerating across the world. Humanity faces unprecedented opportunities and challenges. As leaders of major countries, we should not let our vision be blocked by fleeting clouds. Rather, we must see the world as one community with a shared future, and shoulder our responsibility for history, take historical initiative and move history forward.

I pointed out at this forum that prosperity and stability would not be possible in a world where the rich become richer while the poor are made poorer, and countries should make global development more inclusive, beneficial to all, and more resilient. At the Hangzhou Summit, China placed development at the center of the G20's macroeconomic policy coordination for the first time, and the Summit adopted the G20 Action Plan on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the G20 Initiative on Supporting Industrialization in Africa and Least Developed Countries. The Rio Summit this year has chosen the theme "Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet." It places fighting hunger and poverty at the top of the agenda, and decides to establish a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. From Hangzhou to Rio, we have been working for one and the same goal, that is, to build a just world of common development.

To build such a world, we need to channel more resources to such fields as trade, investment and development cooperation, and strengthen development institutions. There should be more bridges of cooperation, and less "small yard, high fences," so that more and more developing countries will be better off and achieve modernization.

To build such a world, we need to support developing countries in adopting sustainable production and lifestyle, properly responding to challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution, enhancing ecological conservation, and achieving harmony between man and nature.

To build such a world, we need an open, inclusive and non-discriminatory environment for international economic cooperation. We should promote a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, energize sustainable development with new technologies, new industries and new business forms, and support developing countries in better integrating in digital, smart and green development to bridge the North-South gap.

To build such a world, we need to stay committed to multilateralism. We should uphold the UN-centered international system, the international order underpinned by international law, and the basic norms of international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

Colleagues,

China's development is an important part of the common development of the world. We have lifted 800 million people out of poverty, and met the poverty reduction target of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ahead of schedule.

This achievement did not just fall into our laps. It is the fruit of the strenuous, unified efforts of the Chinese government and people. Everything China does, it always places the people front and center, and it solemnly declares that "not a single poor region or person should be left behind." To tackle poverty, we make targeted policies tailored to each village, each household and each person; we facilitate growth by vigorously channeling talent, funds and technologies to underdeveloped regions; we help localities generate growth by fostering industries with distinctive features and upgrading infrastructure, all in light of their own conditions; and we promote common prosperity by pairing up well-off regions with less developed ones. I have worked from village to county, city, provincial and central levels. Poverty alleviation has always been a priority and a major task I am determined to deliver.

China's story is proof that developing countries can eliminate poverty, and that a weaker bird can start early and fly high, when there is the endurance, perseverance, and striving spirit that enables water drops to penetrate rocks over time and turns blueprints into reality. If China can make it, other developing countries can make it too. This is what China's battle against poverty says to the world.

Colleagues,

China will always be a member of the Global South, a reliable long-term partner of fellow developing countries, and a doer and go-getter working for the cause of global development. A single flower does not make spring. China wants to see a hundred flowers in full blossom and will go hand in hand with fellow developing countries toward modernization. Today, I wish to outline China's eight actions for global development.

First, pursuing high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. On top of RMB700 billion yuan added financing windows and an additional RMB80 billion yuan injection into the Silk Road Fund, China is moving ahead with the development of the multidimensional Belt and Road connectivity network, one that is led by the building of a green Silk Road and will empower a digital Silk Road.

Second, implementing the Global Development Initiative. On the basis of over 1,100 development projects already in operation, we will make sure the Global South research center that is being built is fit for purpose, and the 20 billion U.S. dollars of development funds will continue to be put to good use to support developing countries and deepen practical cooperation in areas such as poverty reduction, food security and the digital economy.

Third, supporting development in Africa. At the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in September this year, I unveiled ten partnership actions on joining hands with Africa to advance modernization over the next three years and, in this connection, a commitment of RMB360 billion yuan in financial support.

Fourth, supporting international cooperation on poverty reduction and food security. China has decided to join the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. We support the G20 in continuing to convene the Development Ministerial Meeting, and will stay a committed host of the International Conference on Food Loss and Waste.

Fifth, China, alongside Brazil, South Africa and the African Union, is proposing an Initiative on International Cooperation in Open Science to help the Global South gain better access to global advances in science, technology and innovation.

Sixth, supporting the G20 in carrying out practical cooperation for the benefit of the Global South and using such outcomes as the Roadmap to Increase Investment in Clean Energy in Developing Countries and the High-Level Principles on Bioeconomy to good effect. China supports the work of the Entrepreneurship Research Center on G20 Economies based in Beijing, and supports cooperation on digital education and the digitization of museums and ancient archives.

Seventh, implementing the G20 Anti-Corruption Action Plan. We are strengthening cooperation with fellow developing countries in fugitive repatriation and asset recovery, denial of safe haven, and anti-corruption capacity building.

Eighth, China is pursuing high-standard opening up, and unilaterally opening our doors wider to the least developed countries (LDCs). We have announced the decision to give all LDCs having diplomatic relations with China zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines. From now to 2030, China's imports from other developing countries are likely to top 8 trillion dollars.

Colleagues,

The Chinese often say, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." China is ready to take steps together with all parties to build a just world of common development, leave poverty in the past, and turn our vision into reality.

Thank you. 
Scary incident at AT&T Stadium before the Dallas Cowboys hosted the Houston Texans on Monday.

A piece of sheet metal feel from the roof of the venue and landed, thankfully without injuring anyone.

A piece of the AT&T Stadium roof fell when it was being opened 45 minutes ago. And now the roof has been closed https://t.co/yQRmwIfYaS  Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 18, 2024

A large piece of what appears to be sheet metal fell from the top of AT&T Stadiums roof. Thankfully, it didnt hit anyone. #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/Cxw8uqbRHV  Sam Gannon (@SamGannon87) November 18, 2024

There had been a post on social media that the roof was open for the first time since October 2022.

The roof is open at AT&T Stadium for the #DallasCowboys for the first time since Oct. 2022! pic.twitter.com/inTymNt6Ma  Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) November 18, 2024

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The roof was being closed again for safety concerns.

The venue was the site of the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight on Friday.

Story originally appeared on Touchdown Wire
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)  The New Orleans Recreation Development Commission announced the start of a new program providing meals to children after school.

The program Kid Cafe, is a free after-school meal program for youth 18 years and younger to ensure low-income children across the city have access to nutritious meals during the school year.

Power restored to thousands across Jefferson, Orleans parish

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The meals are provided through partnerships with Second Harvest Food Bank, No Kid Hungry and Share Our Strength.

This free meal program is a crucial part of our commitment to ensuring that every young person in New Orleans has the nourishment they need to succeed, said Larry Barabino, Jr., CEO of the NORD Commission.

NORD officials said the program is part of their mission to provide accessible recreational and cultural opportunities while addressing critical needs in the community.

Scrim the dog busts out of window in New Orleans, runs away again

By providing these meals at no cost, we are helping to eliminate barriers for families and supporting the health and well-being of our youth.

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Meals will be available Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at NORD Commission recreation centers.

Cut-Off Recreation Center  6600 Belgrade Street

Desire/Florida Multi-Service Center  3250 Industry Street

Gernon Brown Recreation Center  1001 Harrison Avenue

Hunters Field Recreation Center  1659 N. Claiborne Avenue

Joe W. Brown Recreation Center  5601 Read Boulevard

Milne Recreation Center  5420 Franklin Avenue

Rosenwald Recreation Center  1120 S. Broad Avenue

Sanchez Multi-Service Center  1616 Fats Domino Avenue

Stallings St. Claude Recreation Center  4300 St. Claude Avenue

Treme Recreation Center  900 N. Villere Street

Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.

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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 WGNO.
The governments of Norway, Sweden, and Finland have begun the distribution of informative pamphlets to citizens, providing them with advice in case of the outbreak of war or other emergency situations, BBC reported on Nov. 17.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine exacerbated fears among neighboring countries of a potential open conflict between Moscow and NATO.

Citizens of Sweden will begin to receive pamphlets in the mail on Nov. 18, providing basic information on a "worsening security situation" amid Russia's ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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In recent months, both Finland and Norway also provided pamphlets to its citizens. Helsinki provided a virtual pamphlet, as opposed to a physical copy, in an effort to save taxpayer money, while Oslo distributed 2.2 million paper pamphlets, "one for each household in Norway, according to a spokesperson for Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection, the BBC reported.

The advice provided in the pamphlets  which have been reprinted and updated from earlier versions  provides basic survival information, including information on meals and medicines, while stressing that the Nordic countries are prepared for "self-defense" in case of a war.

If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up. All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false, Stockholm's advice reads.

Both Sweden and Finland joined the NATO alliance in the two years following Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Both countries abandoned their non-alignment policy, concerned that they may become a target of Russia's expansionist ambitions.

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Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova previously threatened Sweden in February 2024 saying there would be a Russian response to the country's then-prospects of joining NATO, but did not clarify what it would entail.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also made similar vague threats to Finland after it joined the alliance, saying in December 2023 that Finland is "now going to have problems" because it joined NATO.

NATO militaries have strengthened their capacity and preparedness since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. While the prospect of the war escalating to an all-out clash between the alliance and Russia has so far been averted, there are concerns that the West has not truly accepted that it may still be a possibility.

In Lithuania, the LRT public broadcaster reported on July 25, citing the country's Interior Ministry, that the country's authorities are drawing up plans for mass evacuations of civilians in case of an armed conflict.

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Several NATO commanders and other alliance leaders have warned in increasingly stark terms in recent months about the dangers of such a war and what impact it could have across Europe.

Read also: Biden authorizes Ukraine to target Russia with US long-range missiles, media reports

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The Legislative Management Committee meets Nov. 13, 2024, in the House chamber. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

About 80 temporary jobs are available for North Dakotas upcoming legislative session in January.

Sergeants-at-arms, legislative pages and two categories of committee clerks are important for lawmakers to complete the business set out during the session, said Renae Doan, administrative assistant to Senate Majority Leader David Hogue.

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Wed like to have them filled before Thanksgiving, Doan said. We have a good number that do come back, if they are able to. This time, weve had a number that have gotten other jobs so thats why its really important this time to get this out and get some good applicants.

The positions pay between $136 to $239 per day and paychecks are issued monthly. However, there are no health benefits for the temporary positions, she said.

Doan said the qualifications and responsibilities for the positions vary, but being nonpartisan, having a professional appearance and good customer service skills in dealing with members of the public are important qualities.

They are one of the first ones that the general public comes in and sees, so we want them to put on a good appearance, Doan said.

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State Sen. Dick Dever, R-Bismarck, chair of the Senate Employment Committee, said working during the legislative session is unlike any other experience. He added his wife worked as a procedural clerk when he was first elected to the Legislature and joked that she still has seniority over him.

Sen. Dick Dever, R-Bismarck, center, participates in a legislative committee meeting Oct. 23, 2023, during the special session. (Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

They will come away with a perspective of the dedication that legislators have, commitment to the process, Dever said. I think about it only as positive.

Sergeants-at-arms are charged with keeping decorum in each of the legislative chambers, Doan said.

Pages sit toward the front of the legislative chambers and answer calls from lawmakers on the chamber floor. The lawmakers may need the page to print something, get copies made or pick something up from an agency in the Capitol. She added pages can be as young as 16, and the Legislature has used homeschooled students during previous sessions, Doan said.

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The committee clerk positions are divided into two categories: technology and procedural.

Technology clerks are charged with making sure committee hearings are available for livestreaming and ensuring testimony can be given online, if needed.

Procedural clerks are the committee staff that takes the roll call, make notes for meeting minutes and file committee reports with the State Library in Bismarck.

John Bjornson, director of the North Dakota Legislative Council, said since the Legislature has become more digitally oriented, there is a greater need for technology staff.

John Bjornson, director of the North Dakota Legislative Council, speaks during a meeting of the Legislative Management Committee on Nov. 13, 2024. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

We see some people that actually move from those positions into the position of legislator over the years too, Bjornson said. Its a good introduction for some of them into the legislative process. For others, some of the older employees, theyre retired and they have the ability to take some time during the winter to do this, so its a great option for them.

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Doan said she started working at the Capitol in 1977 as a page in the House chamber and moved to the Senate majority leaders office in 1993 with former Senate Majority Leader Gary Nelson, R-Casselton.

When I came into this office, the Republicans were in the minority and then they got the majority the next session, she said. The leader can pick who they want in this position, they just keep picking me.

Training for legislative staff will be held from Dec. 9-13 and the start of the legislative session is Jan. 7. The Legislature meets for up to 80 days and is estimated to finish by May 2.

Anyone interested in working at the Capitol during the legislative session can apply through the Legislative Councils job portal.

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Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation Chair Mark Fox, left, speaks with North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum in Memorial Hall during a signing event for an alcohol tax revenue sharing agreement between the state and the MHA Nation on March 22, 2024. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

Mark Fox, chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, called Gov. Doug Burgums recent nomination for secretary of the Interior and National Energy Council chair a match made in heaven for North Dakota tribes.

President-elect Donald Trump announced his unique plans for Burgum on Friday. In the combined role, Burgum would not only lead the Department of the Interior  which includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs  but also wield power over all federal agencies that regulate energy.

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Fox and other North Dakota and South Dakota tribal leaders welcomed the news.

Burgum, who first took office in 2016, is credited with improving North Dakotas once-tenuous relationship with local tribes.

While in office, Burgum advocated for tax-sharing agreements with Native nations, added a permanent display of all five tribal flags outside the governors office and pushed for law enforcement partnerships to improve emergency response times on reservations.

Governor Burgum understands Indian country and the challenges we face, such as the need for public safety, better tribal education, and economic development in Indian country, among other needs, David Flute, former chair of the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe, said Friday in a statement to the North Dakota Monitor. Flute is now secretary of the South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations.

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Burgum will succeed Interior Secretary Deb Haaland of New Mexico, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and the first Native American Cabinet secretary.

Tribal officials say Burgum could be a crucial ally in Washington.

I would have been so disappointed had he not been appointed to a Cabinet position, Fox said Friday.

Brad Hawk, executive director of North Dakotas Indian Affairs Commission, said Burgum has a unique opportunity to reduce red tape for Native nations.

Hawk said he wasnt familiar with every aspect of Haalands administration, but appreciated her departments work investigating the history of federal Indian boarding schools and their impact on Native communities.

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State Rep. Lisa Finley-DeVille, D-Mandaree, whose district includes Fort Berthold, recognized Burgums progress in establishing meaningful relationships with tribes, but said she worries about Trump administration policies.

I hope that future Secretary Burgum remembers the trust and relationships that hes built with North Dakotas five Tribal Nations, Finley-DeVille said in a statement. My hope is that future Secretary Burgum will work collaboratively with tribes to ensure our voices are heard in decision-making processes. Together, we can address critical issues such as sustainable development, cultural preservation, and economic opportunity.

Finley-DeVille added the Department of the Interior needs to protect tribal sovereignty, honor treaty rights, and ensure that development is conducted responsibly and with the full consultation of all impacted tribal nations.

Fox said Friday hes hopeful Burgum will use his position in Washington to help create a friendlier regulatory environment for the MHA Nation and other oil-rich tribes. The MHA Nation is based on the Fort Berthold Reservation, home to nearly 3,000 active oil wells.

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Were able to sit down and talk, Fox, the MHA Nation chair, said of Burgum earlier this year. Thats the key.

Fox noted that in contrast, the MHA Nation has never gotten an audience with Haaland, despite several attempts to speak with her.

This past June, Burgum acknowledged at an event that relations between the state and tribes were at a low point when he took office in 2016. At the time, protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in southern North Dakota were ongoing, involving thousands of demonstrators who flocked to the state to camp in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in opposition to the pipeline.

Burgum said one of the first things he did as governor was reach out to Dave Archambault, chair of Standing Rock at the time, and offer to come meet with tribal leaders.

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Thats where we were starting from: with a commitment to each other to listen to each other, Burgum said during this years Strengthening Government to Government conference, an annual event started under his leadership that brings together state and tribal leaders.

U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said he thinks Burgums experience working with North Dakota tribal leaders makes him a good fit for leading Interior. He characterized the current BIA as unresponsive and bureaucratic.

Doug has done more for Indian relations in North Dakota than any governor in my lifetime, for sure, and maybe ever, Cramer said.

Michael Achterling contributed to this report.

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North Dakota Monitor is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. North Dakota Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Amy Dalrymple for questions: info@northdakotamonitor.com. Follow North Dakota Monitor on Facebook and X.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un renewed his call for a limitless expansion of his military nuclear program to counter U.S.-led threats in comments reported Monday that were his first direct criticism toward Washington since Donald Trumps win in the U.S. presidential election.

At a conference with army officials on Friday, Kim condemned the United States for updating its nuclear deterrence strategies with South Korea and solidifying three-way military cooperation involving Japan, which he portrayed as an Asian NATO that was escalating tensions and instability in the region.

Kim also criticized the United States over its support of Ukraine against a prolonged Russian invasion. He insisted that Washington and its Western allies were using Ukraine as their shock troops to wage a war against Moscow and expand the scope of U.S. military influence, the Norths official Korean Central News Agency said.

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Kim has prioritized his countrys ties to Russia in recent months, embracing the idea of a new Cold War and displaying a united front in Russian President Vladimir Putins broader conflicts with the West.

He has used Russias war on Ukraine as a distraction to accelerate the development of his nuclear-armed military, which now has various nuclear-capable systems targeting South Korea and intercontinental ballistic missiles that can potentially reach the U.S. mainland.

Kim has yet to directly acknowledge that he has been providing military equipment and troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine and the KCNAs report didnt mention whether Kim made any comments toward Trump, whose election win has yet to be reported in the Norths state media.

Kim met Trump three times in 2018 and 2019 in Trumps first presidency, but their diplomacy quickly collapsed over disagreements in exchanging the release of U.S.-led sanctions and North Korean steps to wind down its nuclear and missile program. North Korea has since suspended any meaningful talks with Washington and Seoul as Kim ramped up his testing activity and military demonstrations in the face of what he portrayed as gangster-like U.S. threats. Theres concern in Seoul that Kim in exchange for his military support of Russia would receive Russian technology in return to further develop his arsenal.

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Trumps election win has touched off speculation about a resumption of a summit-driven diplomacy with Kim, which was described by critics as a bromance. But some experts say a quick return to 2018 is highly unlikely, as too much has changed about the regional security situation and broader geopolitics since then.

While the North Korean nuclear problem was relatively an independent issue during Trumps first term, it is now connected with broader challenges created by Russias war on Ukraine and further complicated by weakened sanctions enforcement against Pyongyang, Hwang Ildo, a professor at South Koreas National Diplomatic Academy, wrote in a study last week.

North Koreas nuclear and missile program is now much more advanced, which would increase Kims perception of his bargaining powers. Kims efforts to boost North Koreas presence in a united front against Washington could also gain strength if Trump spikes tariffs and rekindles a trade war with China, the Norths main ally and economic lifeline, Hwang said.

Amid the stalemate in larger nuclear negotiations with Washington, Kim has been dialing up pressure on South Korea, abandoning his countrys long-standing goal of inter-Korean reconciliation and verbally threatening to attack the South with nukes if provoked.

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Kim has also engaged in psychological and electronic warfare against South Korea, such as flying thousands of balloons to drop trash in the South and disrupting GPS signals from border areas near the Souths biggest airport.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea again flew trash-laden balloons toward the South early Monday and issued a statement warning the North not to test our militarys patience any further. The North has launched about 7,000 balloons toward the South since May, causing property damage but so far no injuries. On at least two occasions, trash carried by North Koreas balloons fell on Seouls presidential compound, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key sites.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called on his country's military to focus all efforts on completing war preparations, state news agency KCNA reported on Monday.

KCNA reported Kim as describing the Korean peninsula as "the world's biggest hotspot," in a speech delivered to battalion commanders in Pyongyang on Friday.

Kim also accused the US and South Korea of having brought tensions in the peninsula "to the worst phase in history," KCNA reported.

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On Saturday the Financial Times reported, citing sources, that North Korea is now supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine not only with soldiers and ammunition but also with heavy artillery.

According to the report by the UK newspaper, some 50 M1989 Koksan self-propelled howitzers and almost 20 multiple rocket launchers produced in North Korea have arrived in Russia in recent weeks.

The US State Department recently claimed that thousands of North Korean soldiers are actively fighting alongside Russian forces in the border region near Kursk, where they are engaged against Ukrainian troops.

South Korean intelligence reports further suggest that North Korea has deployed over 10,000 soldiers to Russia, in addition to supplying artillery ammunition to Russian forces.

The increasing military cooperation between the two countries has been solidified through a recently signed agreement, which includes a mutual defence pact.
Two lawsuits have been filed against Northlake Mall by the victims of a shooting, the latest hurdle for the financially struggling north Charlotte shopping center.

The estate of Armani Spencer and Bianca Brown say the two friends were innocent victims of the shooting that happened within the immediate vicinity of Northlake Mall, Mecklenburg County and N.C. Business court filings show. Donna Kay Spencer, the mother of Armani Spencer, is named as the administrator of the estate.

On Aug. 13, 2022, Spencer and Browns car stopped at a light at 1 a.m. on Perimeter Parkway, according to the lawsuits. The parkway, which divides the Northlake Commons shopping center and Northlake Mall, is owned by the mall, court filings state.

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A car followed them from Northlake Commons, drove up beside them and unleashed a storm of bullets into the vehicle, the lawsuits state.

Spencer, 23 and a father of three children, was shot multiple times and died at the scene, the lawsuit said. Photos of Spencer and his children are included in the documents.

Brown, then 27, a nurse and mother, was critically injured. She was shot more than 10 times, according to the lawsuit.

At no point did security for either Northlake Commons or Northlake Mall respond to nearly two dozen shots fired, the lawsuits state. An injured Brown called for help.

Financially troubled Northlake Mall in Charlotte is being sued in 2022 shootings. One man died and a woman was injured when they were shot in their stopped car near the mall, the lawsuits state.

Northlake Mall suit defendants

Spencers estate and Brown filed separate lawsuits in July against TM Northlake Mall, Spinoso Real Estate Group, which is the malls court appointed receiver, and Professional Security Consultants, which provides security services to the mall. Hiffman Asset Management, S&S Management Group and ARC NCCHRNOO1 for Northlake Commons, also are named in the lawsuits.

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Spinoso, based in Syracuse, N.Y., was appointed as the malls receiver in May 2021 after then-owner Starwood Retail Property Group defaulted on its loan with Wilmington Trust. The mall is currently for sale by JLL.

Spinoso has asked to be dismissed from the case. That request is set to be heard Thursday in Mecklenburg County Superior Court.

Meanwhile other defendants also have asked to be removed from the lawsuits. Defendants Wilmington Trust and Starwood filed a motion last month in N.C. Business Court requesting to leave the case, saying Spinoso was managing and operating the mall at the time of the shooting.

Professional Security Consultants filed a motion to dismiss last month, claiming lack of sufficient information to admit or deny the allegations. The Charlotte security firm is represented by Hall Booth Smith in Charlotte.

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At a hearing Friday, N.C. Business Court Judge Adam Conrad did not rule on any of the requests for dismissal. Instead, he said he believes the cases should be before him and not Mecklenburg County court because it deals with receivership immunities in personal and official capacities. There are some rather interesting issues here about how the receivership changes things and a tangle of procedural questions, he said.

Spinosos lawyer Melanie Raubach with Hamilton Stephens Steele and Martin in Charlotte defended its actions on safety during Fridays hearing. Spinosa has paid incredible attention to security issues at this mall, she said.

Attorney Robert Jessup with Howard Stallings Law Firm in Raleigh representing Spencer and Brown said his clients have suffered great losses over unchecked violence.

One of our clients primary goals in pursuing these cases is to advocate for meaningful change, striving to make the Northlake Mall area safer for everyone, Jessup said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer on Friday.

Armani Spencer, 23, shown with one of his three children in Mecklenburg County Superior Court documents, was killed in 2022. Spencers estate and Bianca Brown are suing Northlake Mall and Northlake Commons.

Why Northlake Mall and Northlake Commons are being sued

The lawsuits cite Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department statistics showing more than 1,300 incidents of criminal activity within a mile radius of the properties including rape, robbery, shootings and assaults from Dec. 31, 2016, to Aug. 13, 2022.

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Northlake Malls operator was aware of the rampant violence ... reminiscent of a warzone which led to several abrupt store closings including Apple, Buckle, American Eagle and Michael Kors, according to the lawsuits citing The Charlotte Observer.

Rather than taking any meaningful action to increase security or make the premises safer, the defendants chose idleness, the lawsuits state.

The shooter loitered on the defendants commercial properties, driving recklessly, tailgating and harassing lawful visitors and at no point did the defendant security companies intervene, the lawsuits state.

Spencer lost his life while Brown has scarring, disfigurement and loss of normal use of her body, the lawsuit states.

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The lawsuits, both filed in July in Mecklenburg County, claim Northlake Mall and Northlake Commons should be liable for negligence and failure to provide adequate security on the premises.

The defendants allowed John Doe, the unknown shooter, to engage in threatening behavior and were derelict in their duties allowing known trespassers to enter the property, the lawsuit said.

The defendants failures are not a one-off, but rather indicative of a broad pattern of behavior that reflects across their employees and agents, the lawsuits state.

The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial and monetary compensation.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot reacted on Nov. 18 to Washington easing restrictions on Ukraine's long-range strikes.

Several media outlets reported on Nov. 17 that U.S. President Joe Biden permitted Ukraine to use its ATACMS missiles to strike against targets on Russian soil. According to some reports, this so far concerns only Russian and North Korean forces amassing in Russia's Kursk Oblast.

Baerbock welcomed that U.S. President Joe Biden allowed Kyiv to use US long-range missiles against targets in Russia, the German news agency DPA reported, citing German broadcaster RBB Inforadio.

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"Ukrainians shouldn't have to wait for rockets to cross the border  they should be able to destroy launch sites directly," Baerbock said.

Baerbock, who represents the Greens, said her party stands with its Eastern European partners, as well as the British, French, and American governments, in allowing Ukraine to strike deep into Russia.

Barrot, during a meeting with journalists in Brussels, recalled that French President Emmanuel Macron had expressed his willingness to consider using French missiles to strike at Russian territory back in May.

Read also: With Scholzs government in shambles, conservative rival touts more decisive Ukraine strategy

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The French minister added that Paris remains "open" to allowing Ukraine to use French long-range missiles to hit military targets in Russia after the U.S. allowed Kyiv to use American missiles for the same purpose.

"We openly said that this was an option that we would consider if it was to allow to strike targets from where Russians are currently aggressing Ukrainian territory," Barrot told reporters in Brussels, Le Monde reported.

"Nothing new under the sun," Barrot added ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Ukraine has previously received U.S.-made ATACMS and Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles from the U.K. and France, with a range of 300 kilometers (190 miles) and 250 kilometers (150 miles), respectively.

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Yet, Paris and London have not permitted Kyiv to use their long-range weapons to strike deep into Russia amid Washington's doubts.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in turn, is not planning to supply Ukraine with Taurus missiles despite the U.S. easing restrictions on long-range strikes.

Berlin's policy may soon shift as Germany heads toward snap elections on Feb. 23, with the center-right opposition alliance CDU/CSU currently leading the polls and threatening to oust Scholz.

Read also: Its personal  Why Germany still refuses to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine

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DAR ES SALAAM, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has ordered an inspection of all storied buildings in the port city of Dar es Salaam's Kariakoo suburb to establish their validity as the number of people killed in the collapse of a four-story building rose from five on Saturday to 13 on Sunday.

A statement issued Sunday by the Directorate of Presidential Communications from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, said President Hassan made the order following the collapse of the four-story building in Kariakoo on Saturday morning.

Hassan is in Brazil to attend the G20 summit, which starts on Monday.

According to the statement, 84 people who were trapped in the rubble of the building had been rescued by Sunday evening, and 26 of them were still receiving treatment in hospitals.

Hassan also ordered the Tanzania police force to get a detailed report from the owner of the collapsed building on how it collapsed.

She said the government would cover medical expenses for the victims and funeral costs for the 13 dead. 
November ushers in Native American Heritage Month, a time to honor the history, culture and contributions of Native Americans  often seen as the quintessential underdogs in American history. Their resilience and self-determination shine through, overcoming the harsh policies of the past.

Historically, U.S. policies like "Kill the Indian, Save the Man" sought to forcibly assimilate Native American children by stripping them of their identity. Children were sent to residential schools where they were forbidden to speak their language, wear traditional regalia or keep their long hair. These policies left a lasting impact, but Native American communities are reclaiming their right to be seen in their heritage and in current context.

Oklahoma, home to 39 tribes, exemplifies this great story of overcoming generational trauma and invisibility. The state has moved beyond its past, fostering collaboration between the Oklahoma State Department of Education and tribal governments. This partnership has introduced Native American languages into 76 schools, reaching over 3,300 students. Such progress is supported by Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Cherokee Nation member (which in itself is a Native American win to be seen in current context as an elected state leader) through initiatives like the "open transfer" policy and House Bill 3386, which expand educational opportunities for all students to participate in learning these languages.

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More: Viewpoint: Thanks to community efforts, Native students can wear tribal regalia to graduation

Progress also has been made passage of SB 429, a law affirming Native American students' rights to wear regalia at graduation ceremonies. Tribal leadership has been pivotal in these achievements, ensuring programs like Johnson-O'Malley, through self-determination and accountability, are in school districts. As a result of collaboration with tribal leadership and the state's school districts, Native American students enjoy the creation of safe, inclusive environments. These efforts ensure students from Indigenous students feel a sense of belonging and cultural pride. For those interested in Native American Heritage Month events, the state Education Department's Office of American Indian Education offers resources and encourages everyone to share any events with them. The team's emails are: Jackie.White@sde.ok.govRandal.Zotigh@sde.ok.govKida.Upshaw@sde.ok.govJonathan.Aultman@sde.ok.gov

Theresa Hinman

Theresa Hinman is a member of the Ponca Nation.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Native Americans have moved beyond their harsh past treatment | Opinion
PULASKI COUNTY, Va. (WFXR)  The New River Community College has been awarded The Earn to Learn Nursing Education Acceleration Program grant in support of the student nurses.

The community college received a grant of more than $358,000 from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), Office of Health Equity to address the nurse shortages in the Commonwealth.

The award to the NRCC is part of a $4.5 million grant program providing funds to 12 two-year colleges and universities in Virginia.

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VDH said the program will create contracts with nursing academics/clinical partnerships to change nursing clinical education to encourage the development of practice-ready nursing graduates.

Roanoke College receives grant for new programs with STEM-H

Students who work in positions related to their field of study can build professional networks and gain insight into industry expectations. This hands-on experience not only enhances the students resumes but also gives them the confidence to succeed in their careers after graduation, said Helen Wolfe, NRCC Dean of Health Professions.

Wolfe said, Many students face financial challenges because nursing school is demanding, and they struggle to work while maintaining good grades. The grant money will cover or reimburse clinical partners and the students.

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Students in the apprenticeship program will also receive a stipend to aid them in their education while they complete nursing classes.

The goals of the program are to increase nursing students in Virginia, create employment opportunities for them for job security, and produce more registered nurses and licensed practical nurses in Virginia.

Clinical partners in the program include Carilion Clinic, HCA Healthcare, and Pulaski Health and Rehabilitation Center.

AHPS receives grant to aid students in their future

Carilion New River Valley Medical Center and Carilion Giles Community Hospital are excited to partner with New River Community College for The Earn to Learn Nursing Education Acceleration Program. This collaboration is built on our shared commitment to increase the number of Virginia nursing students as well as creating employment opportunities for Carilion Clinic. We are confident that our joint efforts will maximize the impact of the grant funding and generate long-term benefits for our community. Together we are committed to leveraging our combined expertise, resources, and networks to ensure program success, said Kristi Hall, senior director of nursing at Carilion Clinic.

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We are honored to be recognized as a clinical partner of choice for the Earn to Learn Grant and appreciate the ongoing commitment to advancing innovation in nursing education, said Erin Keister, chief nurse executive, of HCA Healthcare Capital Division. This partnership lets us work closely with academic institutions, fostering creativity and excellence in nursing training. By investing in the future of nursing, were helping to build a stronger healthcare workforce that will benefit all of Virginia and the communities that trust HCA Healthcare for their care.

For more information about the grant and program visit www.vdh.virginia.gov

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFXRtv.
Metro-area residents woke up to more smoke again Sunday as a wildfire jumped a containment line overnight along the New York-New Jersey border, sparking additional evacuations.

The smoke was wafting down from the stubborn Jennings Creek blaze, which so far has consumed more than 5,000 acres of forest straddling the two states. The wildfire gained new life when flames jumped a containment line late Saturday, according to a New York State Police Facebook post.

Smoke rises from the Jennings Creek wildfire near Greenwood Lake at the New York-New Jersey border last week. Getty Images

The blaze expanded by about 4 or 5 acres, forcing firefighters to evacuate about 160 homes on the New York side, although the flames never touched any buildings as they tore through the woods near Warwick.

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By 9 a.m. Sunday, the blaze was nearly 90 percent contained, authorities said.

The Jennings Creek wildfire is primarily in the Sterling Forest State Park and is boxed in by fire lines, the state police wrote at the time.

The fires smoke poured into the Big Apple overnight thanks to a low pressure system sitting in the Atlantic Ocean thats dragging in wind from the northwest, said Cody Braud, a meteorologist with Fox Weather.

Braud said he wasnt surprised that the fire caught up again, since relative humidity has been so low and wind gusts have been hitting 15 to 20 mph.

It wont move smoke as far downstream, but when you get those gusts, it makes it more challenging to actually fight the fire, he said. And the ground is still dry  that hasnt changed at all.

The Jennings Creek fire has burned about 5,000 acres along the two states border. Michael Guillen/NY Post

But the smoky haze wont stick around for long, he said.

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It should not be really dense anywhere in the region, Braud noted. The winds arent super strong right now, so its not getting too far. And the fire is still relatively contained, theres not a ton of smoke coming out.

Firefighters and other first responders have been fighting the blaze for more than a week. Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The fire sparked back up again late Saturday night but is mostly contained now. Frank Becerra Jr./The Journal News/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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You still may see people reporting the smoke into tomorrow, maybe into Tuesday, he said. But it probably wont be as significant Tuesday since our relative humidity values are going to go back up because of an approaching storm system later this week.

So youll see that kind of let up the next few days.

Recent wildfires have forced residential evacuations from Jackson to Rockaway townships in New Jersey to Orange County, NY.

Braud said the metro area may finally get some relief from the threat of more devastation when a storm system moves in Wednesday and lingers through next weekend.

Were finally getting  not drought-busting rain  but maybe up to an inch of rain, he said, adding that most will fall Thursday and Friday.

Hundreds of local and state firefighters from New Jersey and New York are fighting the wild blaze. AP

The two states have also employed helicopters to dump hundreds of gallons of water on the flames from above. NJ Department of Environmental Protection

The heaviest rain will probably be north of New York, he said. But its still more rain than weve seen in God knows how long.

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Then the storm system will hover over the area through Sunday, leading to a windy, cloudy and dreary end to the week.

Its actual November weather, Braud said.

The National Weather Service has issued several warnings for New York and New Jersey declaring an elevated fire weather concern throughout the region  mostly from the winds and low humidity.
(Bloomberg) -- Two Democratic congressmen from New York City said their party needs to move away from identity politics and focus on helping working-class people achieve financial success.

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US Representatives Dan Goldman and Ritchie Torres made their comments Monday at a breakfast discussion hosted by the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog. The meeting comes two weeks after Republican Donald Trump won every swing state in the presidential election and gained ground in traditionally blue states and cities, including New York.

Identity politics does not work, said Goldman, who represents parts of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. Those who are focusing on, you know, all of this identity issues and political correctness are generally not the ones who are worried about the price of groceries.

Goldman, an heir to the Levi Strauss & Co. fortune, served as lead Democratic counsel in Trumps first impeachment before he was elected to Congress. He criticized the party for not speaking out more strongly about the immigration crisis at the US southern border.

Were not gonna gaslight the American people into thinking that the border is secure, Goldman said.

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Even Latino voters, who have traditionally voted Democratic, supported Trump by unprecedented margins. Torres, an Afro-Latino who represents parts of upper Manhattan and the Bronx, said that when the pendulum swings too far left, people want to shift right.

Donald Trump essentially built the kind of coalition that the socialists dream of building, uniting the White working class of rural America with the Black and Brown working class of urban America, Torres said.

--With assistance from Laura Nahmias.

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NEW YORK (PIX11)  New York City is looking to fill many high-level positions with starting salaries over $200K.

The Office of the General Counsel is hiring an attorney and manager to serve as the Special Counsel and Chief of Staff to the General Counsel. Job duties include advising the General Counsel and managing a staff of over 40 attorneys, investigators, and support staff.

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The salary is $205,000. Applicants must have admission to the New York State Bar and 18 months in the supervision of other attorneys in an administrative, managerial, or executive capacity.

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The Department of Homeless Services is hiring a First Deputy Commissioner. Job duties include overseeing the day-to-day operations of DHS, serving as a primary liaison for the agency oversight partners, and representing the DSS Commissioner and DHS Administrator in public hearings.

The position is based in Manhattan and offers a salary of $221,293  $241,813. Applicants must have a bachelors degree and five years of progressively responsible experience, including two years at the administrative or managerial level in a large governmental agency.

NYC hiring fair offers positions with $69K salaries

The New York City Department of Correction is hiring a Deputy Commissioner for Training and Development. Job duties include overseeing and managing subordinate administrative and instructional staff, assessing the quality of instruction, and developing and administering training budgets.

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The position is based in Queens and offers a salary of $225K. Applicants must either have a masters degree and five years of experience or a bachelors degree and seven years of experience.

Ben Mitchell is a digital content producer from Vermont who has covered both local and international news since 2021. He joined PIX11 in 2024. 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.
A former NYPD officer who leaked information to an international cocaine trafficking ring will spend 33 months in federal prison after a Brooklyn judge said he betrayed that sacred trust given to police officers.

Amaury Abreu, 38, an 11-year NYPD veteran, had a secret life as the close confidant to the leader of a drug ring that smuggled hundreds of kilos of cocaine from the Dominican Republic to New York City and Long Island.

He personally took part in a 1-kilo deal in 2016, and helped the drug ring by accessing an NYPD arrest database to check if a member of the gang had a warrant against him a few days before the man traveled to the Dominican Republic, prosecutors said.

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He also provided the rings leader, Ramon Romero, with info on a law enforcement operation against members of a rival drug ring, and provided him a license plate to help him avoid police attention, the feds said. Romero pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import narcotics in June, and is awaiting sentencing.

Abreu, who worked out of the 113th Precinct in Queens, was arrested in November 2020 and pleaded guilty to a narcotics conspiracy charge last year. He retired from the NYPD last year as well.

In an emotional plea for the courts mercy, Abreu begged for three months of home confinement, saying he had tremendous remorse, shame and regret for his actions.

Dozens of his family members packed the rows at his Brooklyn Federal Court sentencing Monday, including his infirm father, for whom he acts as caretaker.

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Abreu said he wrongly treated the drug rings leader as a best friend and a brother, and should have turned away after learning his true nature.

My loyalty should have been to my friends and my family  my family and the public that I served, he said. I let my need for validation put myself, my family, ordinary citizens at risk.

He promised Judge William Kuntz that hell never wind up in a criminal courtroom again. All I want to do is to try to make up for my wrongs, he said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Reid pointed out that Abreus crime didnt amount to a one-off incident involving a drug deal in 2016, but rather he helped the drug ring several times, and even traveled to the Dominican Republic in 2020 to hang out with Romero.

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Those betrayals matter, she said.

Kuntz, who for years sat on the NYPDs Civilian Complaint Review Board, told Abreu, The line officers are the most important. They guard us from the evil that lurks in every neighborhood, in every part of our city  Sir, you betrayed that sacred trust.

He added, You only shamed yourself, and that is why this is such a very, very sad day.

Abreu must surrender by Jan. 20 to start his sentence.
This New York Times gotcha is about as sharp as a soggy bowl of breakfast cereal.

The Times was relentlessly mocked over the weekend for appearing to unintentionally make Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s case in a recent article that tried to poke holes in his anti-processed-food crusade.

Kennedy, President-elect Donald Trumps pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has long pushed for purging artificial ingredients from the food supply, routinely calling such additives poison.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Times on Friday ran a story positing that the Kennedy scions stance while potentially leading the agency could put him on a collision course with Big Food, which the outlet warned could jeopardize Republicans longstanding friendly relationship with the multibillion-dollar industry.

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Mr. Kennedy has singled out Froot Loops as an example of a product with too many artificial ingredients, questioning why the Canadian version has fewer than the U.S. version, Gray Lady scribes wrote of the colorful Kelloggs cereal often criticized by RFK Jr.

But he was wrong, the article continued authoritatively  before delivering what was meant to be the death blow certain to tear Kennedys incorrect beliefs to smithereens.

The ingredient list is roughly the same, although Canadas has natural colorings made from blueberries and carrots while the U.S. product contains red dye 40, yellow 5 and blue 1 as well as Butylated hydroxytoluene, or BHT, a lab-made chemical that is used for freshness, according to the ingredient label, the report said.

Artificial dyes such as those found in childrens cereal like Froot Loops are among the artificial ingredients that Kennedy wants to see vanish from the food supply. sheilaf2002  stock.adobe.com

Ingredients such as artificial food dyes are among those RFK Jr. has frequently railed against, particularly in products marketed toward children.

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The unfortunate juxtaposition of Canadas naturally derived ingredients with the US roll call of artificial chemical dyes  complete with a difficult-to-pronounce, sciencey-sounding additive  was brutally derided in an X post by Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk that was viewed more than half a million times.

The New York Times wrote an article attempting to poke holes in the Kennedy scions cause celebre, but the story seemed to inadvertently prove his point. Guerin Charles/ABACA/Shutterstock

Wait, so RFK Jr. was completely accurate, but they didnt like how he said it? wrote an incredulous X user.

Another person quipped, They are the same, only different, right? that is logical Sure it is.

An X writer, referring to Trumps decisive election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, said, This. This is exactly why they lost. Everything about this particular part of this specific article is why we won and they lost.

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Red 40, Yellow 5 and Blue 1 are all on the chopping block in California, which has mandated that food manufacturers replace artificial ingredients with naturally derived alternatives by 2027 or face banishment from public school vending machines and school cafeterias statewide.

Backers of the ban say the dyes have been linked to developmental and behavior problems in kids.
By Lucy Craymer and Lewis Jackson

WELLINGTON (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of New Zealanders rallied in front of parliament on Tuesday in one of the country's largest ever protests to oppose a bill, which opponents say seeks to dilute the rights of Maori and threatens to set race relations back decades.

Massive crowds estimated by police at 42,000 gathered at parliament where the Treaty Principles Bill was introduced earlier this month by legislators who want to reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty signed between the British and Indigenous Maori.

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The libertarian ACT New Zealand party, a junior partner in the ruling centre-right coalition government, is seeking to enshrine a narrower interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi that it says discriminates against non-Indigenous citizens.

While the bill lacks enough support to pass, critics see in it a desire to reverse decades of policies that aimed to empower Maori, who make up around 20% of the 5.3 million population but have higher levels of deprivation and incarceration and worse health outcomes than the broader population.

"I'm here for my grandchildren, my children and for their children", said Hoana Hadfield from Wellington, who was marching in a protest for the first time.

"I think it's important that we keep our kaupapa which is our values as Maori and our culture and its a real big thing for us to have cultural identity."

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Some people in the crowd were dressed in traditional attire with feathered headgear and cloaks and carried traditional Maori weapons, while others wore t-shirts emblazoned with Toitu te Tiriti (Honour the Treaty). Hundreds carried the Maori national flag.

The protest was preceded by a nine-day march, or hikoi, that began in the country's far north, with thousands joining rallies in towns and cities as marchers travelled south on foot and in cars to Wellington.

Unity and solidarity was spoken about a lot in the rally. Helmut Modlik, a leader in the Ngati Toa tribe, told the crowd that it was too late to divide the country.

"To those who will divide us, whanau, it is too late. We are already one people," Modlik said to cheers from those gathered on the lawns of parliament.

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First signed in 1840 between the British Crown and more than 500 Indigenous Maori chiefs, the Treaty lays down how the two parties agreed to govern.

The interpretation of clauses in the document still guides legislation and policy today, with rulings by the courts and a separate Maori tribunal expanding Maori rights and privileges over the decades.

ACT's coalition partners, the National Party and New Zealand First, agreed to support the legislation through the first of three readings, which happened last week. However, both have said they will not support it to become legislation.

A small number of politicians including ACT leader David Seymour came onto the forecourt of parliament to listen to the protesters speak. A petition opposing the bill of 203,653 signatures was also presented to parliament.

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When Seymour emerged thousands started chanting "kill the bill" which was followed by a haka, or Maori war dance.

Abby Collier, 42, had travelled six hours from her home in Tairawhiti to participate in Tuesday's protest. She said she was supporting the movement because she believed unity was important.

"We are coming from across the country and showing our babies we can have a positive impact through kindness," Collier said.

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Nicholas Yong, Marguerita Choy, Lincoln Feast and Kim Coghill)
Its not easy being greenor blue, or purple, or orangeat least not if youre an octopus. Cephalopods are well-known for their incredible ability to camouflage and communicate via their rapidly color-changing skin. But the process of shifting hues or holding a color takes a significant amount of effort, according to a study published November 18 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Octopuses expend the same amount of energy activating their color-changing system as they do maintaining all other aspects of their resting metabolic rate, including digestion, respiration, organ function, and circulation, per the new research.

The findings are the first to quantify how much work goes into switching on chromatophores, the specialized color-changing organs connected to cephalopods muscle and nervous systems, which dot the marine invertebrates skin like pixels. When at rest, chromatophores are spherical, appearing as small points of pigmentbut when expanded, they become flattened disks of color that visually merge together in remarkable displays.

Video: Octopus skin chromatophore expansion under white light. Credit: Sophie Sonner.

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Different types of cephalopods have different concentrations of chromatophores. Shallow water octopuses like the species used in the study (Octopus rubescens) have about 230 chromatophores per square millimeter of skinlending them high resolution hues.

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Octopuses have the HD or the 4K skin, says Matthew Birk, a marine biologist studying cephalopods at Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania. Birk wasnt involved in the new research, but notes, Its a really neat study. The authors were able to isolate how much of the energy these octopuses consume every day is going towards using their camouflage systemIm not aware of anybody else that has this cleanly separated out that portion of [metabolism], Birk explains. I am quite surprised at how expensive it is to operate.

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When fully at rest, octopuses are very paleclose to white with tiny speckles, notes Sofie Sonner, lead study author who completed the work as part of her Masters Thesis at Walla Walla University in Washington. Which means that, just about any time youve seen an image or video of a shallow water octopus out and about, and its appeared purpley brown, reddish, or patterned, its been tensed up. They have to flex muscles in their skin to make this happen, explains Kirt Onthank, study co-author and a professor of biology at Walla Walla University.

Sofie Sonner and Jaydee Sereewit collecting respiration data while the skin sample is exposed to blue light to expand the chromatophores. Credit: Kirt L. Onthank.

To quantify the exertion necessary for that color flex, Onthank and Sonner took small skin samples from 17 live ruby octopuses. The scientists temporarily anesthetized the cephalopods so that they could undergo their minor biopsies with minimal discomfort. We put them in ethanol and then raised the ethanol level until we essentially got them so drunk they passed out, says Onthank. It didnt seem to bother them too much after we woke them up, he adds.

Within 15 minutes of collection, each skin sample was mounted on a specially designed microscope slide set-up, complete with oxygen sensor and 3D-printed chamber. In repeat trials, the scientists exposed each skin bit to dark and light conditions while it was still fresh and the cells remained alive and responsive, which alternately de-activated and expanded the chromatophores. They measured oxygen consumption as a proxy for cellular metabolism and energy use in each phase of the experiment.

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Video: Ruby octopuses in the wild near Whidbey Island, Washington, change color. Credit: Kirt L. Onthank.

Previous studies of other color-shifting organisms like fish and newts have attempted to quantify the cost of color across a whole individual, by putting organisms in different environments to spur a change and then assessing oxygen or food consumption. However these past studies are inexact because its difficult to separate the impacts of induced color change from the stress of manipulating an animal in a lab environment.

The new method eliminates this challenge, and reveals that the skin samples oxygen use shoots up (literally from 0 to 60) when chromatophores are expanded. Using a complex model of octopus surface area, obtained by putting an octopus in a 3D scanner, Onthank and Sonner estimated that the total body cost of activating chromatophores would be about equivalent to the energy used in maintaining all other physiological processes of the animals resting states. Its as much as their nervous system, their gutstheir everything else, says Onthank. Though octopuses make color change look effortless, it isnt for them.

An octopus arm. The small dots visible on the arm are the chromatophores. Credit: Jamie Andersen Fields.

Even this estimate is likely conservative, says Sonnergiven that their octopus surface area assessment oversimplifies and smooths the cephalopods, not accounting for every dip, divot, and bit of texture. Plus, assessing the energy use of a single piece of skin doesnt measure for the cognitive effort that cephalopods are likely using to coordinate their full-body camouflage. In future work, the researchers would like to compare the chromatophore energy consumption of different species, look at the relationship between mass and chromatophore demand, and develop a better method for measuring real-time, full-body energy use related to color change, says Onthank.

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But for now, the apparent extreme expense of chromatophores adds to the evolutionary mystery of how such a costly system developed, says Birk. The ancestors of contemporary cephalopods had shells for protection, but somewhere along the way the lineage lost thempresumably because it became advantageous to be soft-bodied and spry as opposed to hard and heavier. Theres different possibilities for why they did that, but clearly they did and its worked for them which is impressive when its this expensive, he says.

Video: An octopus at Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory catching a crab, and changing color. Credit: Kirt L. Onthank.

While it prompts new questions, it also provides possible answers for others. The effort needed to activate the chromatophore network may explain aspects of cephalopod behavior and ecology. For instance the study authors hypothesize the energy cost of color change could account for why octopuses spend so much time holed up in their dens and tend towards nocturnality, even with their expert camouflage ability. It if took you incredible amounts of energy to get up and go out, because you had to get dressed up every time, maybe you would just wait until everybodys gone and you can go out in your PJs, says Onthankmaking octopuses akin to dedicated but reclusive make-up and style influencers.

The new findings might also illuminate why deep-water cephalopods have a reduced chromatophore system. As you go deeper, it gets darker, which means that octopuses dont really need to worry as much about predators seeing them, says Kirt Onthank, study co-author and a professor of biology at Walla Walla University in Washington. Nature tends to take the easier path, he adds. If you dont need a very expensive system, then youre probably going to get rid of it.
NIAMEY, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Two civilians were killed and two others wounded in a suspected terrorist attack Friday on a position of the Nigerien Defense and Security Forces, at the entrance of the town of Gaya in western Niger, the army said Sunday.

The civilians were doing road maintenance work when they were attacked by an armed group of about 15 people, the army said in a bulletin.

"Alerted as soon as the first shots were fired, reinforcements were immediately dispatched to the scene. However, by the time they arrived, the attackers had retreated into neighboring Nigeria," the bulletin said.

In some of its border regions, Niger has been experiencing attacks by armed groups controlling southern Libya, including terror groups linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and the Boko Haram militant Islamist group. 
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11)  An off-duty New York City employee was arrested in Brooklyn Sunday afternoon, according to the NYPD.

Anuoluwa Olofin was taken into custody around 2:48 p.m.

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The 26-year-old is an employee of the NYC Administration for Childrens Services, police say.

Olofin was charged with unlawful surveillance in the second degree.

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).

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Ben Mitchell is a digital content producer from Vermont who has covered both local and international news since 2021. He joined PIX11 in 2024. 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.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)  An officer in Springfield is recovering after being struck by a stolen car over the weekend.

Man arrested in Springfield after throwing axe at State Police cruiser

On Saturday morning officers found a Hyundai at a gas station on Boston Road that was reported stolen on November 14th. The car was running and had four people inside as police attempted to conduct a traffic stop. The driver allegedly put the vehicle in reverse which caused the officer to be struck in the arm and nearly hit two additional officers, Springfield Police Spokesman Ryan Walsh said.

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The driver then took off by going over the curb and crashed in the area of the 400 block of Berkshire Ave. The occupants ran away into the woods however, officers found the alleged driver, a 16-year-old boy, and he was arrested. Due to his age, Springfield police did not release the suspects name or charges.

The officer was treated for their injuries and later released from Baystate Medical Center.

Local News Headlines

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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Vermonts Agency of Natural Resources said it has begun monitoring the potential dangers to the states drinking water from PFAS), also known as forever chemicals.

The agency said in a statement that it is focused on the immediate dangers of PFAs, which are widely used in consumer products and do not easily break down. nd have reportedly throughout the environment.

What are forever chemicals and should we be concerned about them?

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The Agency of Natural Resources is aware of the potential natural resource damages caused by PFAS, including widespread soil and groundwater contamination, ANR said. We will continue to monitor the situation and work with partners to determine if there is a need for an advisory for deer or other wildlife.

Concerns over PFA contamination in the natural environment arose after the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife issued an advisory about consuming wildlife game. The advisory was put up after the department found high amounts of PFAS in animal muscle tissue.

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Nov. 18Over a year since its introduction, a piece of Democratic priority legislation to enact broad discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ Ohioans received its first hearing in the Ohio Senate last week as the legislature works to complete its business before the term ends.

Senate Bill 132, called the "Ohio Fairness Act," would specify that all of Ohio law's prohibitions of discrimination based on sex would also apply to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

In effect, S.B. 132 would move Ohio, which does not have explicit discrimination protections for LGBT+ residents, in line with federal case law, which changed in 2020 when the United States Supreme Court ruled that the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 generally protects gay, lesbian and transgender people from discrimination in employment.

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However, S.B. 132 would also extend a host of other explicit Ohio discrimination protections to LGBTQ+ Ohioans, including in areas of housing, credit and public accommodations, according to the legislature's nonpartisan analysis of the bill.

"It is a fair proposal that will simply give people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender the same freedom and access to jobs, housing, and services as anyone else in Ohio," Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, said while testifying in support of her bill last week.

Antonio told Statehouse reporters that she views discrimination protections as a pro-workforce issue and believes S.B. 132 would add to the "economic bottom line of the state of Ohio."

"All we've heard when I (have been) in any kind of meeting where we're talking about adding to both our population in the state of Ohio and the workforce is the fact that we are losing young people, especially, and we're losing high tech workers," Antonio said. "If we're going to fill Intel and everywhere else, we need to make sure we send the message that all workers are welcome to the state of Ohio."

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This is the twelfth time Ohio Democrats have tried to extend discrimination protections to LGBTQ+ Ohioans and the seventh straight time the bill has been introduced by Antonio, who is openly gay.

The bill has always failed despite having a track record of support from stakeholders outside the Democratic Party's usual umbrella, such as the state's business community and GOP colleagues in the Ohio Senate.

This year, that support extends to Butler County Sen. George Lang, R-West Chester Twp.  one of two Republicans in the chamber to cosponsor the legislation  and the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, whose V.P. of Strategic Initiatives Stephanie Keinath described the Ohio Fairness Act as a legislative priority.

"We've partnered with over 1,300 employers from across the state of Ohio, via the Ohio Business Competes Coalition, who support passing this legislation to better position Ohio's businesses to recruit talent from across the country, and to increase the likelihood that Ohio's LGBTQ workforce will remain working in, and contributing to, Ohio's economy," Keinath wrote in a statement to this news outlet.

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Keinath noted that, with 2020s case law being the only mandate prohibiting LGBTQ+ discrimination amongst employers, employers in Ohio are vulnerable to federal lawsuits.

"Providing consistency between state and federal employment law is critical for our employers in Ohio, and the passage of the Ohio Fairness Act would immediately address those concerns," she said.

Last week, Antonio told this news outlet that she's not sure if more Republicans like Lang will sign on to the bill before the end of the year when the term, and all its unfinished business, expires.

But she said she was glad to testify on the bill "given the context of where we are right now in the country as well as the state"  a reference to the Ohio General Assembly's approval of a transgender bathroom restriction in all Ohio schools and universities and a national election where transgender policies played a major role.

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This news outlet reached out to the communication team of Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, to ask if the bill was a priority but did not receive an answer before publishing.

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More than 150 people submitted opponent testimony against a bill that would require school districts to allow students to be released from school for religious instruction.

Opponents argued religious release time programs disrupt the school day, create a divide between students who participate and those that dont, and interfere with religious freedom.

My concern with religious release time programs during the school day is the rights of the children who do not participate in those programs, said Rev. Vicki Zust, rector of Saint Marks Episcopal Church in Upper Arlington.

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Three opponents were able to give their testimony during last weeks Ohio House Primary and Secondary Education Committee meeting and committee chair Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville, had to remind those in attendance to be quiet during testimony.

We are not applauding.  We remain silent, Manning said.

The three opponents specifically spoke about experiences they have seen with LifeWise Academy, a Hilliard-based religious instruction program that enrolls 50,000 students across 29 states. LifeWise, a non-denominational Christian program that teaches the Bible, is in 169 Ohio school districts.

During proponent testimony in June, it became clear this bill is not about religious pluralism, said Christina Collins, executive director of Honesty for Ohio Education. It is about one, very well-funded program wanting to push its brand of Christian nationalist beliefs on a captive audience during the school day.

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Nearly 120 people submitted proponent testimony in June.

Ohio law currently permits school district boards of education to make a policy to let students go to a course in religious instruction, so these bills would strengthen the law by requiring a policy. A set of companion bills would require school districts to create a religious release time policy and change the wording of the existing law in the Ohio Revised Code from may to shall.

House Bill 445 was introduced earlier this year by state Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, and Al Cutrona, R-Canfield, who is now a state senator. Sen. Michele Reynolds, R-Canal Winchester, introduced Senate Bill 293 this summer.

To be honest with you guys, I think this might be the easiest piece of legislation before you this General Assembly, Cutrona said during a recent Senate Education Committee meeting. Why? Because theres only one word change in this bill, and so were just moving it from may to shall.  The intent of this bill is to leave the decision to participate in religious release time programs up to the parents, not the school boards.

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Despite the fact that its only one word, its a huge word, said State Sen. Catherine D. Ingram, D-Cincinnati.

The United States Supreme Court upheld released time laws during the 1952 Zorach v. Clauson case, which allowed a school district to have students leave school for part of the day to receive religious instruction.

While LifeWise claims that the process of leaving and returning to school is smooth, anyone who has ever tried to organize first graders for a field trip knows it is far from seamless, said Jaclyn Fraley, the mom of a first-grader in Westerville Schools.

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Westerville City Schools Board of Education recently voted to end their religious release time policy that allowed LifeWise Academy to take public school students off-campus for Bible classes during school hours.

One parent in my group (Westerville Parents United) shared that her daughter was told in class that she and her mothers were going to hell because they belong to an LGBTQIA family, Fraley said. Another parent described how their child was told they didnt really believe in God because they are not Christian.

Elementary school students who do not attend LifeWise in Defiance Schools in Northwest Ohio are sent to study hall and are called LifeWise leftovers, Fraley said.

Zust said parents in her congregation who choose not to allow their children to participate in the program are mocked and threatened.

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This creates a hostile environment for the children of my congregation as well as children of other denominations and faiths, Zust said. That is a violation of their First Amendment and educational rights.

Opponents argued there are other ways students can learn about religion outside of school time.

We didnt have these programs, Fraley said. Our parents took us to church. Our parents took us to temple. Our parents took us to mosque. Our parents took us to the places where we went to learn those religious beliefs.

State Rep. Jodi Whitted, D-Madeira, asked how these programs accommodate students with Individualized Education Programs, but Collins explained there cant be an exchange of information with programs like LifeWise since IEPs remain within the district.

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Were talking about students with special needs who are being sent off campus to people that are ill-equipped to work with them, with no built-in caveats for necessitating being able to meet those needs, Collins said.

State Rep. Beryl Brown Piccolantonio, D-Gahanna, asked how districts accommodate students with fixed prayer times.

They simply leave, do their prayers and come back, Collins said. Its not a leaving the campus, coming back with stickers and candy kind of event.

State Rep. Joe Miller, D-Amherst, said his office has received nearly 200 emails against H.B. 445 and less than 20 in support of it.

Follow OCJ Reporter Megan Henry on X.

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JERSEY CITY - MARCH 25: Lisa Caso sells guns at Caso's Gun-A-Rama store on March 25, 2021 in Jersey City, New Jersey. Caso's Gun-A-Rama has had a significant increase in business with lines often out the door as more people buy guns for security and for fear that there will be increased bans on them. In the wake of recent mass shootings, the Biden administration is pushing for the Senate to pass gun legislation already passed by the House. Area gun businesses have seen a rise in sales recently that has even led to a shortage of bullets. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Two Ohio Democrats want to impose a 10-day waiting period before for gun purchases. The provision would only apply to licensed dealers, but the bills sponsors argue that cooling off period will save lives.

Despite strong majority support for restrictions like background checks or a ban on high-capacity magazines, limits on gun ownership remain polarizing.

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With Republicans holding firm control of the Ohio Statehouse, the waiting period measure, like nearly any gun control proposal, is a long shot.

What sponsors say

The bills sponsors, Cincinnati Democratic state Reps. Cecil Thomas and Rachel Baker, point to results in other states with waiting period laws. According to a 2017 study, mandatory waiting periods for handgun purchases reduce gun homicides by 17% and gun suicides by 7-11%.

This brief cooling off period provides individuals with the time to reconsider their purchase, Thomas argued, especially in moments of emotional distress when impulsive decisions can have tragic consequences.

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Several states require waiting periods of various length. The longest is Hawaii with 14 days, and the shortest delay is three days or 72 hours, which Colorado, Illinois, Maine and Vermont require. Florida requires waiting three days or the time it takes to conduct a background check, whichever is longer.

Thomas and Bakers ten-day proposal would put Ohio in line with California, Washington, and Washington, D.C.

Baker argued as lawmakers they have to balance the Second Amendments protection of gun ownership with public safety demands. Part of that is charge is keeping guns out the hands of people making impulsive decisions driven by emotional distress or domestic violence situations where the presence of a weapon can escalate conflict to deadly levels.

As we look around state by state, she argued, the most effective firearm safety policies are those that respect rights with responsibility.

Committee reactions

Thomas and Baker, no doubt foreseeing the criticism they were about to face, were at pains to emphasize their respect for the Second Amendment.

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The focus of this bill is not to infringe upon Second Amendment rights, Thomas said.

Let me say that again, he added, the focus of this bill is not to infringe upon Second Amendment rights, but to ensure that fire firearms are acquired responsibly.

Republicans on the committee werent exactly convinced.

State Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, reminded the sponsors that Ohio voters approved abortion protections in 2023, and on the strength of that amendment, state courts blocked Ohios abortion waiting period provisions while a court challenge plays out.

Well, the Second Amendment is also a constitutional right, Seitz said. And so my question is, if the courts are right that a waiting period for abortion is an infringement of that constitutional right, then why would a waiting period of 10 days, as you propose in this bill, not also be an infringement of the Second Amendment constitutional right?

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Thomas didnt have much of an answer, instead suggesting that was an argument for the judicial branch to sort out and reiterating the potential improvements in public safety.

State Rep. Jim Hoops, R-Napoleon, pointed to the discretion of the gun shop owner. If they get a sense from their interaction with the customer, they can always refuse to sell, he suggested. Is there already a kind of a safeguard there? Thomas replied that approach is putting a lot of reliance on a hunch.

Democratic committee members tried to help out with mixed results. State Rep. Dani Isaacsohn asked whether the sponsors had data on how popular their idea might be.

Thomas argued broad majorities support common sense gun legislation including red flag laws and universal background checks, but acknowledged I do not have the data to show for this particular piece of legislation, but I do believe that that percentage would also be (in support) of this kind of legislation.

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State Rep. Richard Brown, D-Canal Winchester, took the Second Amendment question head on, asking how the sponsors square their restriction with the express shall not be infringed provision.

Instead of emphasizing the list of other states where waiting periods have been in place for years, or previous court rulings indicating governments have a role in regulating gun sales, Thomas pointed to the existing background check system.

While Ohio does not have a waiting period for firearms purchases, licensed dealers do run a background check. In many cases, that only takes a couple of minutes, but if theres uncertainty, federal officials have three business days to respond.

One could clearly argue that represents a kind of infringement, Thomas said, then trying to frame their bill as a modest supplement to those safeguards.

All this infringement does is say, Hey, can you be a little bit more patient? he said.

Follow OCJ Reporter Nick Evans on Twitter.

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The White House on Monday joined city, state and Jewish community leaders in Ohio condemning a small group who marched through Columbus on Saturday chanting racial slurs and white nationalist slogans while carrying Nazi flags.

NBC affiliate WCMH of Columbus reported that it received eyewitness reports of the march around 1:45 p.m. Saturday in the state capitals Short North Arts District.

Videos uploaded to social media and geolocated by NBC News to the same neighborhood showed at least 11 people carrying black flags with red swastikas and wearing black outfits with red masks, chanting slogans such as Bow down, [n-word]! into a bullhorn.

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"President Biden abhors the hateful poison of Nazism, anti-semitism, and racism  which are hostile to everything the United States stands for, including protecting the dignity of all our citizens and the freedom to worship," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement Monday morning.

The news comes a week after protesters waved Nazi flags outside a community production of "The Diary of Anne Frank" in Michigan, to the shock of performers and theatergoers.

"We will not tolerate hate in Ohio. Neo-Nazis  their faces hidden behind red masks  roamed streets in Columbus today, carrying Nazi flags and spewing vile and racist speech against people of color and Jews," Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement on X.

"There is no place in this state for hate, bigotry, anti-semitism or violence, and we must therefore denounce it wherever we see it," he said.Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin said on X that the community "rejects their pathetic efforts to promote fear and hate," adding that he was in touch with law enforcement. He also alleged the march was linked to the election of Donald Trump this month. "Im sorry the President-elect has emboldened these creeps," he wrote.

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Trump famously said there were "very fine people on both sides" after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, when a counterprotester was killed. Trump has dismissed accusations that he has encouraged extremism or that his supporters include Nazis.

President Trump is backed by Latinos, Black voters, union workers, angel moms, law enforcement officers, border patrol agents, and Americans of all faiths," his campaign press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said in a statement last month.

Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said on X that he was also in contact with police over the march and that his office would monitor the group involved. "Take your flags and the masks you hide behind and go home and never come back," he said.

Lee Shapiro, regional director for the American Jewish Committee, said Columbus police were "acting to quell this unauthorized march" in a statement Saturday."The vile display of hate by a small band of masked neo-Nazis in the Short North is another sad example of the bigotry that we have witnessed across the country," Shapiro said.

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Far-right groups have recently made headlines for stoking division elsewhere in the state.

A white nationalist activist in Springfield took credit for the false story that Haitian immigrants in the city were stealing and eating pets, which Trump repeated at a rally in September.

Christopher Pohlhaus, leader of the national neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, said after that debate that his group had pushed Springfield into the public consciousness. Police said there was no evidence for the pets claim, despite its wide dissemination.

Oren Segal, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism, told The New York Times that a new St. Louis-based group named Hate Club had taken credit for the Columbus march and that it may have been at least partly inspired by a rivalry with another group in Ohio.

"At the end of day, they want to create fear and anxiety in communities and get a photo op," he said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The fire chief of a central Ohio volunteer fire department was sentenced to a year in prison for mail fraud.

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The chief of the Coalton Volunteer Fire Department was sentenced on Nov. 13 to 12 months in prison for using more than $200,000 in fire department funds for personal expenses.

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Johnny Baker, 38, of Wellston, Ohio, reportedly used his position as manager of the fire departments finances to build up cash via pull tab sales, according to a release.

Initially implemented as a fundraiser, Baker raised funds from the local community through the legal form of gambling.

Multiple local businesses sold pull tabs to the community and sent the proceeds to Baker.

Baker initially used the funds to buy needed supplies for the department but eventually used it to boost his own income and spent money on cruises, resorts, sporting events, an ATV, firearms, and more.

He began working for the volunteer fire department in 2009, filling in various roles over the years including secretary/treasurer, and assistant fire chief.

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He has served as the fire chief since January 2023.

Baker pleaded guilty in April to one count of mail fraud for the embezzlement, which included using fire department money to have items for his personal use shipped to his house via UPS.

As a part of his sentence, Baker will pay approximately $226,000 in restitution.

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(Bloomberg) -- Oil surged as simmering geopolitical tensions and the weakening dollar overshadowed bearish signals coming from internal market metrics.

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West Texas Intermediate rose 3.2% to settle above $69 a barrel after the US gave Ukraine the green light to use long-range missiles inside of Russia, amping up tensions between the warring nations. Crude also tracked equity markets higher, and a weaker dollar made raw materials priced in the currency more attractive. Brent also rose, settling above $73 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the two nearest futures for West Texas Intermediate crude flipped into a bearish contango structure  where front-month contracts are cheaper than those further along  for the first time since February. The so-called prompt spreads switch into a discount may be seen as a signal that supplies are outstripping near-term demand.

But moves by traders who are bullish on crude may also have contributed to the prompt spreads slip into contango. Those investors have been maintaining their bets on rising prices by selling December contracts, which are set to expire on Wednesday, and purchasing later-dated futures.

It is rare for spot prices to be up almost 3% at the same time that the curve is under pressure and threatening to switch to contango, said Robert Yawger, director of the energy futures division at Mizuho Securities USA. However, it is more likely to happen when speculators scramble to spread out of their position ahead of expiration, selling at the front of the curve and buying further out.

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Speculation that an emboldened Ukraine may put Russian energy assets at risk and increase the likelihood of direct involvement from the US and North Korea is reducing the urgency to sell as well, said Rebecca Babin, senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Group.

Also supporting prices on Monday were reports the Chevron-led Tengiz venture in Kazakhstan cut daily oil production by as much as 30% this month amid maintenance. A dearth of expected inventory builds in recent US government data and the potential for stricter sanctions on Iran also added to tailwinds.

Crude has swung between gains and losses in recent weeks, with hostilities in the Middle East at times raising fears of disruptions to supply. At the same time, a stronger greenback has pressured prices, with the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rallying to the highest in more than a year last week.

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Cleveland County killer Kevin Ray Underwood seeks clemency for child's murder. (Getty Images) (This image can't be reproduced without a Getty subscription.)

OKLAHOMA CITY  A Purcell man convicted of murdering and trying to decapitate a 10-year-old girl is asking for mercy.

Cleveland County killer Kevin R. Underwood, 44, on Dec. 4 will ask the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board to recommend that Gov. Kevin Stitt grant him clemency.

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He is set to be executed Dec. 19 for the 2006 murder of his neighbor.

Jamie Rose Bolin was found stuffed in a plastic tub in his closet. She had been hit in the head with a cutting board and suffocated.

Underwood planned to abduct, kill, rape and eat her, according to public documents.

Kevin Underwood is a deeply evil monster who committed an unthinkable murder that took a 10-year-old child away from her parents and loved ones, said Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond. The death penalty is the only appropriate punishment in this case, and I urge the Pardon and Parole Board to reject clemency and ensure justice for Jamie.

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Jamie, nicknamed Coppertop for her red hair, loved spaghetti, singing, riding a four-wheeler ATV and watching movies.

Underwoods attorneys, in their clemency packet, say Underwood was bullied in school, had mental health issues and was addicted to pornography. His father demeaned him while his mother had a temper, according to the packet.

His attorneys said his crime was horrible, but hoped the panel would consider the person along with the crime.

We hope you try to view Kevin holistically, including what hes been through and who he could have been had he received proper care, they wrote.

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ABUJA, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria and India on Sunday agreed to build a robust strategic partnership, pledging to strengthen ties in key areas including economic development, defense, healthcare, and food security.

During their meeting in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a two-day state visit to the West African country, agreed to tighter collaboration in counterterrorism, maritime security, and intelligence sharing.

With growing threats in the Gulf of Guinea and the Indian Ocean, the two leaders agreed to coordinate actions to safeguard maritime trade routes and combat piracy, vowing to continue regular naval exercises and joint anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Guinea.

"The leaders reiterated their unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations including the cross-border movement of terrorists and terror financing networks and safe havens," said a joint statement issued at the end of Modi's state visit.

The two countries "called for zero tolerance to terrorism and expeditious finalization and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the United Nations (UN) framework as well as implementation of the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council resolutions on countering terrorism and violent extremism," read the statement.

Modi reiterated India's readiness to support Nigeria's defense modernization efforts.

His visit to Nigeria was the first by any Indian leader in 17 years. 
Oklahomas superintendent of public education cant require schools to show students a video of him praying for Donald Trump and condemning teachers' unions, the state attorney general's office said.

The state superintendent, Ryan Walters, emailed the bizarre video to school district superintendents last week, saying his office was requiring the video be shown to students and shared with parents, as well. Talk about self-absorption.

In the video, Walters announces the formation of what his department is calling the Office of Religious Liberty and Patriotism and rambles off a smattering of right-wing talking points, including claiming that the radical left has attacked individuals religious liberty in our schools. Walters declares, We will not tolerate that in Oklahoma. ... Your religious liberties will be protected.

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Note: This is the guy whose office has required all schools to incorporate the Bible into their curricula. (His office is facing at least two lawsuits over that mandate.) What's more, Walters solicited bids earlier this year to supply classrooms with what appeared to be Trump-branded Bibles. (The proposal was significantly changed after he faced an onslaught of backlash.)

In his video, Walters goes on to say weve seen patriotism mocked and a hatred of this country pushed by woke teachers unions, which, according to Walters, will also not be tolerated. (Walters has previously called the state teachers union a terrorist organization.) And in the video, he says a prayer in particular, for President Trump and his team as they continue to bring about change to the country.

Ryan Walters during a special meeting of the Oklahoma State Board of Education in Oklahoma City on Nov. 8.

As Oklahoma Voice reported over the weekend, several school districts revealed they have no plans to show the video to students or share it with parents, and the state attorney generals office said they dont have to.

Not only is this edict unenforceable, it is contrary to parents rights, local control and individual free-exercise rights, Phil Bacharach, a spokesperson for the AG's office, said Friday.

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Nonetheless, this was one of the eeriest displays of political propaganda and pro-Trump sycophancy I can remember seeing. And one which, if were being honest, seems to make Walters a prime candidate to lead Trumps Department of Education.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
Nov. 18ROCHESTER  Olmsted County commissioners will review proposed updates to local rules anticipating the launch of cannabis retail businesses next year.

"This is probably our last big ordinance change," County Administrator Travis Gransee said of the proposals being presented during the commissioners meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday in board chambers of the city-county Government Center, 151 Fourth St. SE.

The proposed ordinance changes stem from the Minnesota Legislature's 2023 decision to legalize recreational cannabis use by anyone 21 and older.

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While state law requires city and counties to allow retail sales, it provides some options for local oversight, which include limiting the number to one retail business for every 12,500 residents, as well as some limits on where and when the businesses can operate.

State guidelines indicate businesses will be licensed by the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management with openings delayed until March.

The proposed county ordinance would limit the number of retailers to 14 within areas under county oversight, which is expected to include Rochester and any other city that opts to give the county local authority.

The county would require businesses to register once they obtain a state license, with any unregistered business facing a $2,000 penalty if they sell cannabis.

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The ordinance also spells out requirements for registering with the county, with the expectation that registrations be renewed on an annual basis, with a $500 fee for the first year and $1,000 charge for each of the following years.

Retailers would see operating hours restricted to 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with the option of opening seven days a week. The location of businesses already face city and county restrictions to areas away from neighborhoods and places where youth gather.

In addition to retail outlets, the proposed ordinance sets up guidelines for temporary events designed to market and sell cannabis. Such events would require measures to check the ages of attendees and limit purchases on the event grounds.

Smoking and vaping of cannabis, as well as alcohol consumption, would be banned at temporary events.

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When it comes to enforcing the policies outlined in the ordinance, the responsibility would be shared by the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office and Olmsted County Public Works.

Enforcement of retail sale restrictions involving sales to underage residents are expected to mirror the county's current tobacco efforts, using underage residents to attempt to purchase products. Details regarding the compliance checks remain in the works, but a violation is expected to result in a $300 fine and be considered a petty misdemeanor.

The county also reserves the right to issue a 30-day suspension of a retail registration if the ordinance is violated or a business is determined to pose an immediate threat to the public, which could include sales to people under age 21.

Any suspension of the county registration will be reported to the state's Office of Cannabis Management, which could lead to additional inspections of the business.

County commissioners will hold a public hearing during their meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday in board chambers of the city-county Government Center to hear comments on the proposed ordinance updates before a decision is made regarding the changes.
One of the most cautious, rules-bound arms of the federal government is on a collision course with possibly its most dangerous opponent yet: first buddy Elon Musk.

The Federal Aviation Administration has spent years tangling with Musks SpaceX for violations related to its operations, including multiple incidents when the company launched rockets without approval. During the past year, the agency proposed fining SpaceX $633,009 for twice using plans the agency had not green-lighted, and forced the company to idle its launch pads in Texas for months because of a pending Fish and Wildlife Service review.

And go-fast-break-things Musk has responded with scorched earth. Hes used his social media megaphone to threaten to sue the agency for regulatory overreach, accused it of politically motivated behavior, taunted the FAA with crude humor and poked at the agencys rules, which he says move too slowly to meet his goal of getting human civilization to Mars. He has also called for the resignation of FAA leader Mike Whitaker  who has four years left on the job, assuming he serves out his term.

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But now Musk is getting a chance to wield untold amounts of power over the aviation regulators future after President-elect Donald Trump put him and fellow MAGA cheerleader Vivek Ramaswamy in charge of an effort to transform and shrink the federal government.



While Trump has yet to spell out any details about the so-called Department of Government Efficiency  including whether it would even be part of the federal government  the 50,000-employee FAA offers Musk a fat potential target. And it could stand as a case study for how Musk wields his relationship with the incoming president to lash back at agencies that clashed with his business interests.

The FAA does have some structural advantages that other Musk antagonists lack: Nearly a centurys worth of laws have given the agency ultimate authority over who can use the nations skies, and it generally commands respect on Capitol Hill  despite all the complaints in recent years about lax oversight of Boeing. Few lawmakers have expressed interest in meddling with an aviation system that hasnt seen a fatal crash by a U.S.-based airline since 2009, and which drives more than 5 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.

Then again, some lawmakers from both parties have been open to revisiting the part of the FAAs jurisdiction that Musk has most complained about  its regulation of commercial space.

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One of those lawmakers is Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), who is expected to be the next chair of the House Transportation Committee, which oversees the FAA. He has called overhauling the agencys space regulations one of his top priorities.

If he wins the gavel, Crawford confirmed to POLITICO he would look to make over the FAAs permitting processes, which Musk has long complained obstructs SpaceX from ramping up its rocket launches.

Theres definitely some changes that need to be made, Crawford told POLITICO on Thursday, adding that the FAA is too stringent and too slow to sign off on launches. Other GOP members have lamented that the U.S. cannot compete against China in its race to the moon if FAAs lengthy regulatory process continues.



For this country to outsource our space program and then try to impede the progress of the very company that were relying on seems to be a little bit counterintuitive, so were going to attempt to fix that, Crawford said. He did not elaborate what that fix would look like, only saying some ideas are in the works.

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Its possible that lawmakers could simply decide to cut the FAA out of the business of regulating launches at all. Indeed, one bill in the House, supported by SpaceX, would allow the Commerce Department to certify space objects, defined as things in space that have been launched from Earth. The bill would not remove the FAA from its duties, however.

SpaceX did not return a request for comment.

The FAA said in a statement that its first priority is safety of the nations airspace, which includes ensuring that spacecraft are using it appropriately. The FAA stressed that while Congress has only given the FAA limited authority to regulate launches, space companies still have to comply with state and federal laws.

Still, the FAA said it continues to have a productive working relationship with SpaceX.

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Most of the six current and former FAA officials and industry representatives interviewed for this article predicted that the FAA wont simply bend to Musks will, no matter how much he berates its leaders.

He has met an agency that doesnt just bend,  that has a very clear mission, said one former FAA official, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the agencys relationship with Musk over the last several years. He is going to need their permission to operate.

Then again, the FAA has never gone up against an opponent like Musk  the worlds richest man, who just happens to have the ear of a president whos assigned him to remake the entire federal bureaucracy.

A second former FAA official said that in the best-case scenario, Musk  whos obviously very smart  could help push the space race forward in new ways that could enable technology faster.

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Having these novel perspectives  is never a bad thing, the former official said, while ensuring that safety will never be compromised.

Because what we wouldnt want to do is wake up and say, What the hell happened there? the official said.

A complicated history

The FAA, an agency that traces its history back to 1926, has a record of taking time to make up its mind about allowing new technologies in the air.

It spent years deliberating before letting airline passengers keep their iPads and Kindles on during takeoff. It still isnt letting Amazon deliver packages by drone outside a handful of test communities, 11 years after then-CEO Jeff Bezos dazzled the media by announcing his flying-robot initiative on 60 Minutes.

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Unlike other federal agencies that Musk may be used to interacting with  such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which historically has been a weak overseer of automobile manufacturers like Tesla  the FAA has rigid and extensive rules governing who can use Americas airspace. That includes ensuring that a rocket doesnt come crashing down on a cul-de-sac or collide in mid-air with an airplane loaded with passengers.

When the FAA makes determinations, they back them up with a lot of detailed analysis, said a former FAA administrator, who like the others quoted in this article was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the agencys relationship with Musk. And if theyre competent in their analysis, theyre not going to back down from that.

Thats a recipe for friction.

The agency and Musk have had a frayed relationship since at least 2020, as a result of an incident where SpaceX launched a prototype rocket that exploded on landing  a situation the FAA said could have put residents around the Boca Chica, Texas, launch site at risk.

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During that launch on Dec. 9, 2020, SpaceX proceeded despite not having FAA approval, which the agency had not granted due to concerns about weather. Reports at the time said the agencys weather models had shown a clear risk to those around the launch site if the rocket were to explode. (Ultimately no one was injured.)

SpaceX staff had ignored the weather warnings because they assumed they were dated, according to documents obtained by The Verge.

After the explosion, the FAA paused SpaceXs launch license while it investigated. But according to an FAA official familiar with the matter, SpaceX wasnt humbled by its failure, which it trumpeted as a successful launch that succumbed to a hard landing. Instead, SpaceX continued to pressure the agency to move faster  not only on its investigation, but on other pending business.



Frustrated, then-FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, who had been nominated during Trumps first term, called Musk in March 2021 to reprimand him during what the FAA official said was a tense call. (Dickson did not answer repeated requests for comment.)

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The pressure that SpaceX broadly was applying to the agency was out of line, the official said, adding that Dickson was also dealing with the fallout from two Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people in Ethiopia and Indonesia in 2018 and 2019.

For Dickson, safety dictated timeline  that was on his mind, said the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss the call candidly.

Following the call, the FAA issued a rare statement saying Dickson made it clear that the FAA expects SpaceX to develop and foster a robust safety culture that stresses adherence to FAA Rules.

Months later, SpaceX proceeded with building out its Texas location. The FAA warned that construction could complicate the ongoing environmental review process for Starship. According to the FAA at the time, SpaceX said its towers at the base shouldnt be subjected to environmental oversight. The FAA shot back that the plan SpaceX submitted indicates otherwise.

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To me, its an issue of, Musk doesnt like to ask permission  and he has to have the agencys permission, not just on [environmental approvals] but also to operate in the airspace, said the former FAA official.

While the agency didnt fine SpaceX for the 2020 incident, it did fine the company $633,009 earlier this year for separate violations in which the company deviated from its launch plans. Musk has threatened to sue the agency.

Musks escalating pace of space launches doesnt just occur within the massively congested airspace over Florida, but also in Texas, where the start of his Starship launches traverses some of the airspace down into Mexico.

When Musk moved ahead expanding in Boca Chica beyond his ongoing operations in Florida and California, he had assumed for a period that the agency was just going to sign off on everything and without any conditions, the former official said.

Besides the FAAs space branch, the agencys air traffic organization also has to sign off on the companys use of U.S. airspace. But to Musks credit, the official said, SpaceX was one of the first companies to share real-time data that could be ported back into the FAA air traffic organizations operations, which allows it to reopen the airspace much faster.

Whitaker, the current administrator, in September publicly defended the agencys motivation behind SpaceXs delays. The FAA said Whitaker and Musk have spoken on more than one occasion, but did not specify how recently that was.

What we wouldnt want to do is have an agency just designed around one entitys idea of what makes for good  policy, said the second former FAA official. It could be that Elons ideas will be exactly the ideas that the FAA needs to move forward  but there are many users of the airspace.

The FAA needs to give it all the due diligence it deserves, the second official said, but recognize that we have a very, very complex aerospace system with a myriad of users, and all with a level of input that they want to see.
On September 27, Hurricane Helene lashed Asheville, North Carolina. For a while, the destruction of much of the city made the national news. But even before the flood waters of the French Broad River began to recede, the country had moved on. There wereand areplenty of calamities around the world in need of attention. But in Asheville, the struggles continue. The city was without power for weeks and still doesnt have running water. People throughout western North Carolina are relying on each other to recover. Living is difficult; making a living is nearly impossibleeven for Silver and Cherry Iocovozzi of Neng Jr.s, a one-of-its-kind Filipino/Appalachian restaurant that has been riding a solid two-year crest of accolades.

In 2022, Esquire selected the spot one of our Best New Restaurants in America, tapping Silver as our Rising Chef of the Year. More praise followed. None of that mattered in the face of natures fury. Silver and Cherry closed Neng Jr.s on the eve of Helene. And without running water, it has been impossible for them to reopen. Now the pair are traveling to New York for a series of pop-ups as a way to raise awareness and bring in much-needed revenue. The first pop up took place November 17 and another is scheduled for November 18; more will be added and announced in the coming days. We spoke to the couple (partners in business and in marriage) from their home in Asheville about survival, anarchism, and what the future might hold.

Esquire: Take me back to the eve of the storm.

Silver: On Thursday, the day before the storm really hit Asheville, we had a regular service. We had a lot of cancellations that night, but we were able to have a bunch of our friends come in because their restaurants were closing. So it was honestly one of those fun services where it feels like the day before a snowstorm. Hectic and fun. I wrote the prep list for the next day even though we had no idea how the storm would be. But in the morning, when we woke up, there was just an intense howling of wind.

Neng JR

Cherry: Terribly haunted and spooky. You could hear the wind howling and the cracking of trees being blown over.

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Silver: A sous chef called me and to say, I'm going to go in and ice the proteins just to make sure we can save whatever we can in case the power goes out. We thought it might be out for a few hours. It was out for two weeks.

When something like that happens, in terms of food costs, how much are you losing?

Silver: I would say about $10,000 worth of food. We tried to do what we could but we didn't know how severe the situation was until Tuesday. We didn't see what everyone else could see because we didn't have service or power. Even if you could charge your phone, you didn't have service or wifi. We had to rely on our neighbors. We tried to salvage what we had in our cooler, then we ended up cooking in the alley behind Nengs for everyone for free.

Was Nengs damaged?

Cherry: No, thankfully. Structurally, our restaurant is totally fine.



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Silver: But the damage is widespread. Some places are just completely gone. There's a town called Chimney Rock that is just completely washed away,

Cherry: The path of the riverbed shifted because of the severity of the storm. The river once ran through this part of town. Now the river is where there were buildings.

Restaurants are frequently talked about as being a source of community and serving the community. But sometimes it feels overlooked that the restaurant is also part of the community. When the community suffers, the restaurant and the people who work there are just as affected as the guy at the hardware store.

Cherry: When a disaster like this happens, you quickly realize how industry people have learned to resource themselves. Being in our industry makes you really primed for problem solving. Together with Ashleigh Shanti from Good Hot Fish and her wife, Meagan Shanti, we began quickly cooking for our community. Many of the people that were coming through the line the first day we did free meals, told us, This was the first hot meal I've had in five days. And I was like, Oh, you didn't build a fire in your backyard to grill something? You didn't know how to use your gas range, even though it won't turn on? Something that Silver and I never lost was the ability to put something together that was going to be delicious and get us through the day.

What were those hot meals that you were serving?

Silver: It was such a hodgepodge. We had the most amazing produce that you spend thousands of dollars on and you just got to take the L. No one wants to see this stuff go bad. So we were just passing around this delivery of free food and free produce and giving it back to everyone, which is honestly so lovely and it makes you just not want to cook for capitalism.

Johnny Autry

It occurs to me that we have endless visibility into what's going on around the world even if we dont have the ability to change it. I can see what's happening in Asheville even if you guys couldn't see what was happening in Asheville, but then that also means the next day that Helene is replaced by another disasternatural or man-made. What happened in Asheville faded quickly from the public consciousness even though the people in the communities are still dealing with it. From what I understand, you still don't have running water, more than a month-and-a-half after the storm.



Cherry: It's shocking. What I hope people start to take away from this experience is that climate disasters like this are going to be much more common in places that no one ever expected them. Learn from the playbook and have these skills in your back pocket. Asheville responded so beautifully and with such vigoronce we realized the government wasn't going to be there to help us. There were factions of people creating flush brigades and water distribution systems. People were organizing to collect pool water to bring to elderly folks who cant flush their toilets. Right now I have a friend who's riding on the back of an ATV with some full-blown MAGA dude, but we're in this together now and we're riding up the mountain because we know this guy who is on an oxygen tank and we haven't heard from him in a couple of days, so we're going to go do a wellness check.

I wonder if this sense of community empowerment in the absence of true government support can foment any sort of ground-up embodiment of power. Now the question is, how do you take this opportunity of true community power and transform it into something that's lasting and isn't based solely on exigent circumstance?

Cherry: Asheville folks were organizing before the storm, and that's why we were able to come together with a lot of these plans so quickly. Appalachia has largely been forgotten by the rest of America. Asheville should not necessarily be the face of that idea, but people here have been organizing to support communities in more rural areas for a long time now. That really became apparent once things started coming together. Were going to these meetings at Firestorm, our local anarchist bookstore, which they turned into a distribution center. At two o'clock every day they would have an information-sharing session. We didn't have ways to communicate with each other because we didn't have cell phones, so everyone would just come and meet and they would share.

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Silver: It was literally pencil to paper on a list.

Anarchistsremarkably organized!

Cherry: They were. They're organizers at their core. They're organizing to get books to trans people that are incarcerated. They're organizing for disability justice. They already have all these ways to make decisions together. So they're just applying that knowledge in this scenario  a natural disaster. Our town is destroyed. We don't have anywhere to get water or food. We don't have cell phone service, so let's all come together and figure out, okay, you've got that and you can share it this way. Great.

What are some lessons or tools youve come away with, after this?

Cherry: Every day is a new realization that the place that you love to go is either gone or changed forever. You just have to learn how to deal with situations as they come to you and be resilient and be a problem solver.

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Silver: Insurance is the first step. We actually just met with someone yesterday and we're like, let's check on our claim. Am I going to get some money back from this? Even though we didnt sustain damage to our building, our loss of revenue and inventory is close to $80,000, which is so insane. But I think the message for me is that anything can changeand everything can change literally at any given time. I still have the prep list that I wrote that night for the next day and it says the date on it, which I don't usually write. I haven't been able to take it down from the chalkboard. It's just that reminder to me that anything can change at any moment.

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WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC4)  One person was killed in a hit-and-run crash in West Valley City Sunday night, according to West Valley City Police.

Troilyn Stacy Patricia Rascon, 52, faces charges of failure to remain at accident involving death (third-degree felony) and driving on denied license (class-C misdemeanor).

At around 8:15 p.m. on Nov. 17, Rascon was driving home from church, heading westbound on 3500 South in a Cadillac CTS. She was approaching 1950 West as a man was crossing 3500 South from the north side to the south side.

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Expect cold weather, valley snow for northern Utah to start the week

It was dark outside, and the male was wearing dark clothing, an affidavit of probable cause states. A security camera showed the male was crossing in the crosswalk; however, the light was green for west/eastbound.

Troilyn reportedly did not see the man in the crosswalk and hit him with the passenger side of her vehicle. She did not stop, police said, continuing toward 3600 West 3500 South where she pulled over into a parking lot.

At the parking lot, Troilyn called her sister, police said, who came to Troilyns location. The pair reportedly then left Troilyns vehicle at the lot and returned to the scene of the crash.

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Troilyn turned herself in to police, stating that she was the driver and the only one in the vehicle during the crash.

Her vehicle was heavily damaged, and she stated that she knew she hit something, the affidavit states.

The deceased has not been identified, though police described him as a 62-year-old man.

No further information is available at this time.

Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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AVA, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY)  A Sunday morning accident in the town of Ava has left one person dead, according to New York State Police.

Troopers were called to State Route 26 in the town of Ava at just before 5 am on Sunday, November 17. Further investigation found that the driver  73-year-old Betty Backer from West Leyden  was driving southbound on State Route 26 when it crossed the double-yellow line.

The vehicle then exited the eastern shoulder, where it struck a cement barrier and a tree before finally coming to rest.

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Backer was transported to Rome Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.

According to New York State Troopers, the investigation is ongoing.

New York State Police were assisted at the scene by the West Leyden Fire Department and EMS crews, as well as the New York State Department of Transportation.

This is an ongoing investigation. We will provide more information as it becomes available to us.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WUTR/WFXV - CNYhomepage.com.
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  One person was severely injured in a fiery crash along State Route 163 in Mission Valley Monday morning, California Highway Patrol said.

The solo-vehicle collision was reported just after 7 a.m. in the northbound lanes near the exit to Friars Road.

According to CHP, a 2020 Toyota Sienna had veered off the roadway for unknown reasons, rammed into a storage facility and then burst into flames. The driver of the vehicle was trapped inside when the fire erupted.

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San Diegans honor, fight for safer streets on World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

CHP officers and San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel were dispatched to the scene of the crash. One of the first officers to arrive at the scene broke the driver side window using his Rapid Containment Baton to begin extinguishing the fire.

Once SDFD crews arrived, they took over fighting the flames and pulled the driver out of the Toyota. They were then transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of major injuries. Their current condition and identity are not known at this time.

An investigation by CHP into the cause and sequence of events tied to the crash remains ongoing. However, drugs and alcohol are not believed to be a factor in the incident.

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Anyone who may have witnessed the crash or otherwise have information supporting the investigation is asked to contact CHP San Diego Area at 858-293-6000.

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LAWSON, Mo.  Two people, including a child, died Sunday night in Lawson, Missouri.

Missouri State Highway Patrol is investigating the deaths as part of an officer-involved shooting that happened on Sunday night.

View the latest headlines from Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas at fox4kc.com

According to the MSHP, it happened around 7:30 p.m. Sunday near East 2nd and Montgomery Streets in Lawson.

Police were called to a home on reports of a man assaulting a woman while a child was inside.

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Officers said they tried to get the man to come out of the house when he began to shoot at officers, striking a deputy. According to MSHP, officers returned fire and backed away from the house.

Multiple law enforcement agencies came in to assist and at around 9 p.m. Sunday, the Clay County Special Tactics and Response Team went inside. They found the man and the child dead.

The man was identified as Brett J. Yager, a 26-year-old man, and the child was a 3-year-old boy, according to MSHP.

Missouri news: Headlines from St. Louis, Jefferson City and across the Show-Me State

The deputy has non-life-threatening injuries and has been released from the hospital as of Monday morning.

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The woman inside was found safe.

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JAKARTA, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said on Monday that the Southeast Asian country is committed to becoming a member of BRICS, citing its significance to the world's economy.

Indonesia formally applied for BRICS membership in October during the 16th BRICS Summit held in Kazan, Russia. Prabowo said that this aspiration has been part of his vision since 2014 when he first ran for the presidency.

He made the remarks at the Indonesia-Brazil Business Forum held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which was aired by the Presidential Secretariat's official YouTube channel. 
The 2024 election has installed a regime of one-party government in Washington. Come Jan. 20, the presidency, the Senate, and the House of Representatives will all be controlled by Republicans, many of whom are dedicated foot soldiers in President-elect Donald Trumps MAGA movement. Add to this the Supreme Courts 6-3 conservative majority, which has already shown itself willing to turn the Constitution upside down to serve the interests of the president-elect.

There is one positive aspect to total Republican domination: One-party rule can be a benefit in terms of democratic accountability.

Advocates of so-called responsible party government, going back as far as President Woodrow Wilson, define democracy as the popular control of government through accountable rulers. To them, only coherence, discipline, and solidarity of political parties can keep the rulers accountable. However, that assumes that members of political parties respect the norms of constitutional government and display greater loyalty to the prerogatives of the branches of government in which they serve than their political party. The post-election period has already brought worrisome signs that this will not be true of the Republican majority in Congress and on the Supreme Court under Trump.

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The idea of branch loyalty was paramount to the people who wrote the Constitution. Perhaps the best expression of their view is found in Federalist 51. There James Madison argued that the separation of powers among the president, the Congress, and the Supreme Court would be essential in protecting the liberty of Americans. But he warned that the scheme would only work if each branch of government had what Madison called a will of its own. As Madison put it, the great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department consists in giving to those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others. The provision for defense must in this, as in all other cases, be made commensurate to the danger of attack.

Ambition, he said, must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place.

While Madison did not envision the rise of political parties of the kind that today dominate the political landscape, he hoped that members of Congress would defend the prerogatives of their branch, e.g. their role in giving advice and consent in the appointment of executive and judicial officials, their responsibilities for oversight of executive actions, the power of the purse, etc., against the president.

As Robert Kagan of the Brookings Institution notes, "Such checks and balances as the Framers put in place depended on the separation of the three branches of government, each of which, they believed, would zealously guard its own power and prerogatives. The Framers did not establish safeguards against the possibility that national-party solidarity would transcend state boundaries because they did not imagine such a thing was possible.

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Crucially for the present moment, they also did not foresee that members of Congress and perhaps members of the judicial branch, too, would refuse to check the power of a president from their own party.

Pointing to Trumps two impeachments, Kagan suggests that party loyalty has superseded branch loyalty, and never more so than in the Trump era. Republican members of Congress are willing to defend or ignore the presidents actions simply because he is their party leader. This, Kagan says, renders impeachment and conviction virtually a dead letter.

There are, of course, other brakes on the tendency of one-party rule to subvert the system of separation of powers and checks and balances. One of the most important is the impact of intra-party conflict within the majority party. Law professor Gregory Elinson observes that intraparty conflict can immunize our constitutional system from the pathologies that arise when partisan warfare is overlayed on the Madisonian model of separated institutions sharing power... Today, as was true at the Founding, Americans have no great love for intraparty conflict or party factionalism.

Elinson suggests that Americans have failed to understand that the relative porousness of our partiesthe very feature that drives internal party conflicthas helped to safeguard our republic

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But, in recent years, such intraparty conflict has diminished significantly, at least as reflected in the way members of Congress vote on legislation. In 2022, The Pew Research Center found that Both parties have grown more ideologically cohesive. There are now only about two dozen moderate Democrats and Republicans left on Capitol Hill, versus more than 160 in 1971-72. Both parties have moved further away from the ideological center since the early 1970s. Democrats on average have become somewhat more liberal, while Republicans on average have become much more conservative.

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

Thus, it is not surprising that, as David Davenport says, party-line voting has become the new normal. As recently as the early 1970s, party unity voting was around 60%, but today it is closer to 90% in both the House and Senate. That continued during Trumps first term when every Republican but one voted to support the presidents position on legislation between 80 and 100% of the time.

From 2017-2021, when Democrats controlled at least one chamber of Congress, Trump and members of his administration regularly defied congressional subpoenas. As Trump said in 2019, Were fighting all the subpoenas.

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While in the White House, Trump tried to block multiple congressional investigations, and Republicans in the House and the Senate acquiesced without protest. Madison would have been dismayed by their failure to display branch loyalty.

It looks like Republicans in Congress will do no better in the face of a second Trump administration. The clearest example of Trumps demand that Republicans in Congress toe the line and of their willingness to do so came when the president-elect posted the following on Truth Social: Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely mannerSometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again. We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY!

The response from three senators seeking the position of Senate Majority Leader would have been yet another grave disappointment to Madison. One of them, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, quickly endorsed Trumps demand that the Senate waive one of its key prerogatives: 100% agree. I will do whatever it takes to get your nominations through as quickly as possible. The other two, Texas Senator John Cornyn and the eventual winner, South Dakotas John Thune, also agreed that Trump should have that power and use it if he wants.

The question of whether one-party rule can be reconciled with the Founders vision of constitutional government will face another test if the president-elect successfully presses the Congress to recess so he can appoint to his Cabinet people about whom even many Republican senators have grave reservations. And, as Trumps second term proceeds, what, if any, oversight will the House or the Senate do? How will Republican majorities in Congress respond to instances of corruption if and as they occur in the administration?

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The early signs are not good.

In the end, one-party rule is fine so long as the dominant party does what Madison expected. They must carefully guard and exercise what he called the constitutional rights of the institutions where their members serve, even if it means defying the wishes of a president from their party.
UTICA, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY)  Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente has announced that the countys websites, including the Oneida County Sheriffs Office, will change to a new domain.

Picente announced on Monday, November 18 that the countys change is necessary to comply with New York State Mandate, and will go into effect on Thursday, November 21.

The county executive said in a statement that the switch to a .gov domain brings with it key advantages including authenticity, improved security and trustworthiness.

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This new standardized .gov domain aids the public in identifying our sites as verified government websites and trusted sources, Picente said in a statement. This change reinforces our commitment to safeguarding public data and building trust with our residents by prioritizing online safety through strong cybersecurity measures.

The main county website will switch from ocgov.net to the new domain of oneidacountyny.gov beginning on Thursday. The change will affect all Oneida County websites with immediate effect, except for the Oneida County Board of Elections, which will change to oneidacountynyvotes.gov at the end of the year.

Changes will also be made to the following subdomains:

Oneida County Sheriffs: from oneidacountysheriff.us to sheriff.oneidacountyny.gov.

Oneida County District Attorneys Office: from this link to oneidacountytraffic.oneidacountyny.gov.

Oneida County Opioid Task Force: from ocopioidtaskforce.org to opioidtaskforce.oneidacountyny.gov.

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All county e-mails will also change, from @ocgov.net to @oneidacountyny.gov.

The countys former domain name will remain active until at least November of next year and will automatically redirect to the new domain on November 21.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WUTR/WFXV - CNYhomepage.com.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON)  San Francisco Mayor Elect Daniel Lurie has announced OpenAI CEO and co-founder Sam Altman as part of his transition team. The mayor-elect released a statement on his transition team on Monday, saying he would deliver on his promise to build a world-class team that shares his commitment to an administration rooted in accountability, service, and change.

Altman was ousted as head of OpenAI in 2023 before being reinstated just days later. Altman, according to the Lurie transition team, lives in San Francisco and loves the city very much.

In addition to Altman, Luries team has announced former San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White and former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs among others as members of the transition team.

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Recalled Alameda County DA to hold news conference to discuss election results

Other members of the team include Mission Asset Fund CEO Jose A. Quinonez, Lurie campaign co-chair Ned Segal, San Francisco District Attorneys Office prosecutor Nancy Tung, and former San Francisco Police Department commander Paul Yep.

Im excited to introduce this talented and diverse team who will help guide our transition and lay the groundwork for the change San Franciscans demand, said Mayor-elect Lurie. Every one of these incredible leaders bring a track record of shaking up the status quo to deliver results.

Lurie, a nonprofit founder and heir to the Levis Strauss fortune, is a political novice who successfully ousted incumbent SF Mayor London Breed. Lurie edged Breed 55% to 45% in the citys ranked-choice voting system.

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Breed, who spent six years as mayor, was praised for leading the city through the COVID-19 pandemic. However, she was dogged by criticism in the post-pandemic years, with voters seemingly frustrated at the citys perceived sluggish comeback from the pandemic.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.
Listen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher (update links).

President-elect Donald Trump appears to be preparing for a culture war on American soilwhich could explain why he nominated Fox News TV host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary, explained The New Abnormal co-hosts Danielle Moodie and Andy Levy.

Hegseths nomination has already elicited outrage among some military leaders for comments that women should not be in combat roles. He added that women serving in the military has made fighting more complicated.

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Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois told CNNs Kaitlan Collins in an interview Wednesday that his comments reflect his lack of suitability for the job.

Anybody that truly knows the military knows that we cannot go to war without over 225,000 women who are serving on active duty right now, she said. This is not the revolutionary war where there is some sort of a line in the sand where combat is on one side and the rest of us can stay behind the sun.

She added, I would ask him, where do you think I lost my legs? In a bar fight? Im pretty sure it was in combat when that happened, and it just shows how out of touch he is with the nature of modern warfare.

Duckworth predicts morale would plummet in the Pentagon with a mass exodus of professional military officers that would be the hollowing out of our military if Hegseth is confirmed by the Senate for the role.

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A mass exodus is exactly what Trumps team wants, said Moodie. This is exactly what they want because the people that will leave are the people that they want gone to begin with.

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The fact that Hegseth is unqualified is the least of it, added Levy. Hes actively bad. Hes not going to be just an empty suit, an unqualified empty suit who has no idea what theyre doing. Hes going to have no idea what hes doing, but do bad things, said Levy.

Moodie added that she wouldnt be surprised if they reinstated the draft to bring in militia-minded Proud Boys. Because I will say it again: The new goal of a Trump military has nothing to do with being activated abroad. It has everything to do with being activated on American soil, she said.

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Plus! Stephanie Mencimer, senior reporter at Mother Jones , delves into Trumps pick for attorney general, former congressman Matt Gaetz, who resigned just as his ethics report was about to be released .

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Listen to this full episode of The New Abnormal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon and Stitcher (update links).
The lure of legacy often motivates outgoing administrations to tattoo the legal landscape with their brand in as many ways as are available in their final hours. These are often called midnight regulations, midnight monument designations, midnight pardons, and the like.

While the ink is spilled on each of these categories during every presidential transition, one category is seldom discussed. We must beware of the midnight solicitors general opinions.

The president appoints the solicitor general with the advice and consent of the Senate and presents the official legal position of the United States government in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. The solicitor general regularly files briefs unsolicited, standing beside other government agencies in their litigation.

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In cases under review this term, the solicitor general has filed 22 briefs of this type, with more expected in pending cases.

There has also been a longstanding practice at the U.S. Supreme Court where the Supreme Court sometimes invites extraneous legal advice by asking the solicitor general for the administrations legal position in cases where the U.S. is not yet even involved. Indeed, the solicitor general has been nicknamed the 10th justice, reflecting just how influential he or she can be.

These solicitor general briefs are particularly suspect vehicles for last-minute influence on the long-term progress of the law. Right now, there are at least seven cases where the Supreme Court is waiting to receive briefs it invited the solicitor general to file. And these cases involve some pretty big issues.

For example, the Supreme Court requested the solicitor generals views in two cases involving interrelated issues of federalism, climate change litigation and the scope of judicial power.

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In Alabama v. California, 19 Republican state attorneys general filed an original complaint directly in the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that Democratic states should be enjoined from suing oil companies over emissions and promotion of fossil fuels.

The complaint alleges, among other things, that these state court actions are a de facto regulation of the U.S. and global energy sectors, harming the plaintiff states and interfering with exclusive federal powers. On Oct. 7, the Supreme Court ordered that The solicitor general is invited to file a brief in this case expressing the views of the United States.

Also before the nations highest court is whether to grant petitions for certiorari to review a decision from the Hawaii Supreme Court that recognized a broad theory of liability to hold energy companies liable for the effects of climate change. These petitions for certiorari in Sunoco v. Honolulu and Shell v. Honolulu were filed by the defendants in February.

Like the October request in the state attorneys general case, on June 10, the U.S. Supreme Court put off its decision on whether to grant the petition in the Honolulu case and asked the solicitor general to weigh in with the administrations legal view of the case.

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We are awaiting responses to the Supreme Court invitations to the solicitor general in these two and several other hot-button cases, most made by orders on June 10 or Oct. 7. These include a case involving redistricting in North Dakota and the creation of Native American subdistricts, implicating interpretations of the Voting Rights Act, redistricting law generally and the meaning and scope of the Equal Protection Clause.

Another case requires an interpretation of a split between state supreme courts on what is known as the Dormant Commerce Clause, regarding whether states have a duty to credit the taxes paid in other states when calculating a citizens tax obligations.

In another important federalism case, the court has asked the solicitor general to weigh in on whether the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 preempts state laws that regulate pharmacy benefit managers and whether Medicare Part D preempts state laws that limit the conditions pharmacy benefit managers may place on pharmacies.

Yet another case where the outgoing solicitor general has been asked for an opinion will determine whether government officials have immunity in their individual capacity from lawsuits involving violations of religious freedoms under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

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All midnight actions risk that a lame-duck president or outgoing administration gets to have an outsized influence on the direction of the law in this country, rushing through whatever they can in as durable a way as possible to leave their mark. There is an especially strong temptation to handcuff the incoming administration of an opposing party with legacy actions that are difficult to unwind.

These actions can have a significant effect on the ability of a new administration to pursue their own policy priorities or advance their own interpretations of the law and consequently can have a form of dead hand control with lingering effects on the country as a whole for years to come.

The Biden administration should resist this temptation and hold off filing invited solicitor general briefs  which are often given a long timeline for filing anyway  leaving it to the incoming administration to express the legal position of the U.S.

And the new administration would be wise to request leave to file an amended brief in every one of these cases immediately upon inauguration. Not filing in these cases would avoid the instability of potentially conflicting views and conserve judicial resources.

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A strong case can be made in many of these cases that the new administration will be the one that must live with the court decisions that affect federal power and should, thus, have a more influential say than the outgoing administration. To the extent the climate change cases hamper energy policy or constrain geopolitical solutions to climate change, for example, it is the new administration that should opine on the nature of the impact of these cases on the United States government.

Finally, if the Biden administrations solicitor general does file briefs in these cases, the midnight temptations should color our reading of the interpretations they offer. An administration on its way out is more likely to advance wish-list interpretations of the law in its advice to the court.

It is not just a last chance to make a mark they also do not need to take the blame for any negative effects from dangerous moves in law.

Donald J. Kochan is a professor of law and executive director of the Law & Economics Center at George Mason Universitys Antonin Scalia Law School.

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We had fair warning. Last month, The New York Times reported that then-candidate Donald Trumps advisers were telling him to skip FBI background investigations for his high-level selections for nominees. Last week, CNN, citing people close to the transition planning, reported that Trump doesnt plan to submit the names of at least some of his Cabinet-level picks for FBI vetting. Whether youre Republican, Democrat or independent, and regardless of whether youre energized or enraged by Trumps controversial picks, you should be concerned about the possibility of a vetting process thats really no process at all.

The FBI has conducted background investigations of White House nominees since at least the tenure of President Dwight Eisenhowers time in office. Even so, theres no law clearly mandating presidents or presidents-elect to submit their nominees and appointments to the FBI for investigation. In 1953, Eisenhower issued Executive Order (EO) 10450, calling for investigations of prospective federal employees. Yet, executive orders dont have the full effect of a law and are only binding on the executive branch. Worse, Eisenhowers executive order is subject to interpretation. Consider Section 2, The head of each department and agency of the Government shall be responsible for establishing and maintaining within his department or agency an effective program to ensure that the employment and retention in employment of any civilian officer or employee within the department or agency is clearly consistent with the interests of the national security. Theres lots of wiggle room there.

Section 3 of that executive order reads, The appointment of each civilian officer or employee in any department or agency of the Government shall be made subject to investigation  but in no event shall the investigation include less than a national agency check (including a check of the fingerprint files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation). That means that Trump, who claims hes using private firms to conduct background inquiries, might get by with having whatever firm that is simply checking FBI fingerprint files. Yet, despite there being no mandate, the intent here was a government inquiry involving the FBI.

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Subsequent presidents, including Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, revised Eisenhowers edict to mitigate intrusive inquiries into sexual orientation in the granting of security clearances, but still missing is a specific mandate for FBI investigation of White House nominees. And again, an executive order isnt quite a law. Clearly, the intent in these executive orders has always been for a government agency, particularly the FBI, to conduct these inquiries, but we have an incoming president who thumbs his nose at rules and intentions.

The Presidential Transition Act of 1963 directs the FBI to conduct such background checks expeditiously for individuals that the President-elect has identified for high level national security positions. But what if he never formally identifies and submits his picks to the Department of Justice and the FBI? In his last administration, Trump overrode security adjudicators who denied clearances for his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and many others, after FBI background checks resulted in national security concerns. This time, he appears poised to dispense with the FBI checks and potentially with the Senate confirmation process by making recess appointments.

That leaves us with two pertinent memorandums of understanding (MOU) which should enable President Joe Biden and/or the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to quickly do something to preserve national security and the Constitutions advice, and consent powers conferred on our elected lawmakers.

First, Biden should rely upon the existing MOU between the Department of Justice and his office, as well as the Presidential Transition Act, to investigate the people Trump says he wants to put in office. The MOU sets out procedures for requesting background investigations of nominees at the request of the president. It doesnt say the president-elect, it says president. Thats you, Joe. As for the transition act, it reads as applying to people the President-elect has identified for high-level positions. Well, the president-elect has already publicly identified those people. And Biden should respond.

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What happens if a nominee refuses to cooperate, wont provide his consent to be investigated or wont fill out any forms? The MOU has a remedy for that: The DOJ and FBI may consider a request from the President for a name check or BI without the consent of the appointee if justified by extraordinary circumstances. Id say with some of these nominees named by Trump, and the fact that Trump may forego FBI vetting of them, we have extraordinary circumstances.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has its own pertinent MOU with the Counsel to the President. That document says the committee shall have access to the FBI reports on nominees for attorney general, FBI director or summaries for all other DOJ nominees and non-judicial nominees. Emphasis on all other and non-judicial. We know senators want the details of the House Ethics Committee inquiry into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, Trump's pick for attorney general. An FBI background investigation would certainly include a request to review that report, as well as the DOJ criminal investigation, now closed, into Gaetz. The Senate Judiciary Committee should make a bipartisan request for an FBI background check of Trump's picks now. Regardless of party affiliation, if senators relinquish their advice and consent authority or confirm a nominee without benefit of knowing the risk they pose, then they set a precedent for never again exercising their constitutional powers.

Youd be right to ask, Whats the point? After all, Trump is unlikely to read, let alone act upon, any derogatory information developed in FBI reports. The point would be to force Trumps hand. Drop the reports on his desk and let him go forward with nominees who potentially are either found through investigation to be unqualified, at risk of compromise, or even a national security threat. Let Trump order White House security clearance adjudicators or his hand-picked agency heads to grant security clearances to seemingly unqualified candidates. Let the Senate affirm nominees after theyve read details about the kind of people who may lead the DOJ or serve as the director of national intelligence.

Dont take it from me. Heres what Founding Father Alexander Hamilton said about the Senates advice and consent role, and the need for checks and balances against a presidents nominees. the president would be 'ashamed and afraid' to bring forward unmeritorious candidates, whose only qualifications would be [hailing] from particular states, or being personally allied to the president, or 'possessing the necessary insignificance and pliancy to render them the obsequious instruments of his pleasure.'

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Biden should be neither ashamed nor afraid to thoroughly investigate Trump's picks, given the signs that Trump may not. Through executive order, he should mandate that the FBI conduct background investigations on Trumps picks and instruct the FBI to begin the process now. The U.S. Senate should use its power to request the same of the FBI.

The clock is ticking.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
President-elect Donald Trumps demand that the Senate go into recess to allow his top appointees to take office without a confirmation vote would be a complete abdication of the chambers constitutional advice and consent responsibility, increasing the odds that unvetted and unqualified individuals will occupy critical government jobs.

Although the Senate has an obligation to evaluate independently and vote on presidential appointees to protect the public interest, Trump has a valid concern about getting his nominees confirmed in a timely manner.

The confirmation system is clearly broken, with the Senate routinely taking far too long to review and vote on presidential appointees  a problem that has grown worse over time and left important jobs vacant for lengthy periods in areas ranging from national security to public health and safety.

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The number of political appointees subject to Senate confirmation  more than 1,300  has grown by more than 70 percent since 1960, while the average time to confirm nominees has nearly quadrupled since the Reagan administration, from about 49 days then to 191 for President Joe Biden as of Aug. 2, according to an analysis by my organization, the Partnership for Public Service.

In addition to discouraging qualified nominees from government service, the system does not work for the Senate itself. Incredibly, the percentage of Senate votes on nominations now exceeds its votes on legislation. Votes on personnel matters  such as procedural votes, cloture votes to end debate and direct votes on nominations  made up a resounding 64 percent of all Senate recorded votes during Trumps first term and made up 59 percent during Bidens presidency as of August.

In addition, many jobs sit vacant for years because the president and the Senate simply dont have time to fill all these positions, with my organization identifying over 80 positions that were vacant more than 50 percent of the time between 2009 and 2023.

This broken process creates incentives for administrations to bypass the Senate and to name non-confirmed officials to serve on a temporary basis. In addition, it has prompted other presidents to resort to recess appointments, but generally only after they formally nominated individuals who then got bogged down in the Senate.

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The recess appointments demanded by Trump clearly would not serve the countrys best interests. They would permit appointees to bypass critical FBI background checks, as well as the initial Office of Government Ethics strict review of conflicts of interest. It would deprive the Senate of its ability to determine whether nominees are committed to the public good rather than private interests and whether they can effectively run large and complex organizations that are vital to American interests.

Rather than abdicate these responsibilities, the Senate should take steps to restore the healthy balance established by our Founders for the president to nominate and the Senate to provide advice and consent.

First, senators should reduce the number of positions subject to confirmation. This would enhance, not undermine, the Senates advice and consent function by allowing the chamber to focus on the most critical high-level positions that warrant scrutiny due to their responsibilities and authorities. It would also allow a president to more easily appoint individuals to other positions.

Second, they shoulld institute Senate procedural reforms so that, for example, a single senator cannot singlehandedly stall the confirmation process. New ideas are needed. For example, the Senate majority leader should make the process more manageable by allowing bundles of nominees to go to the floor for a single vote instead of each one needing time for individual votes. The Senate could also streamline nominee paperwork in the way that a bipartisan congressional working group recommended over a decade ago.

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Third, the Senate should reform the rule on returned nominations. Under a rule dating back to 1868, the Senate returns pending nominations to the president at the end of a session or when the Senate recesses for a period of more than 30 days, unless all 100 senators agree to waive the rule. Renomination triggers a restart of the process, slowing nominees, even those who already had been approved by the committees of jurisdiction, to move to final Senate vote. The Senate should limit the rules application to the end of the two-year congressional session or by raising the number of senators required to block waiver of the rule.

Alexander Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Papers that the Senate confirmation process would act as a safeguard against the appointment of unfit officials and serve as a check against the abuse of power and those seeking to pursue private interests over the public good. These words are as true today as they were in the 1700s.

Fixing the current system will best serve the public interest  running roughshod over it will not.

Max Stier is president and CEO of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, an organization focused on building a better government and a stronger democracy.

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NBC News has now projected that the GOP will remain in control of the House of Representatives, meaning the beleaguered Republican majority of the last two years will be returning to power in January. This time, however, conservatives will also control the Senate and the White House. The big question is how GOP representatives will use their power and leverage. Will winning finally unify the Republican House? Early signs suggest yes, but for how long and at what cost to the American people remains to be seen.

The previous Republican Congress was historically ineffective and will be remembered more for its dysfunction than its accomplishments. The term started with the exhausting efforts of then-Rep. Kevin McCarthy to finally attain the speakership, only to be tossed out months later by Rep. Matt Gaetz and others. In the second round of the speaker race, Republicans finally agreed on Rep. Mike Johnson as their caretaker  a speaker who himself faced several public moments of open dissent during his brief term.

Legislatively, Republicans did no better, failing to enact any significant priorities of their caucus and repeatedly relying on the leadership of Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to build the coalition necessary to keep the govern open, responsibly pay the nations debt and provide the resources necessary for our defense of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

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But winning is unifying. So too is the opportunity to serve as a majority coalition in Washington alongside Donald Trump and a Republican Senate, and not simply as an ineffective opposition party. Indeed, Johnson emerged unchallenged in his re-election for speaker and Republicans across the Hill called for rapid enactment of Trumps priorities.

And as part of that unified coalition, the House is now poised to do real damage  dismantling federal services, undermining health care for millions of Americans, increasing the national debt and capitulating to the whims of Russian President Vladimir Putin and others by withdrawing support from our allies.

The House should also be better able to provide cover for Trumps worst executive branch impulses, whatever those may be. He has previously pledged to implement extensive mass deportations, use the Department of Justice to go after political enemies, and implement the vague yet ominous efficiency proposals of Elon Musk and others in his inner counsel.

Perhaps the greatest danger posed by the Republican House will be its complete abandonment of its Article II responsibility to engage in oversight of a presidents unconstitutional efforts. The two impeachments of Trump (so far)  the first for withholding foreign aid as a lever to secure an investigation of Joe Biden and his family and the second for inciting violence at the Capitol to prevent the constitutional change of presidential power  will forever haunt his legacy.

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But those impeachments only occurred because Democrats controlled the lower chamber. It was the Democratic leadership in the House during the first Trump administration that accepted and honored its constitutional obligations during a time of great national divide. Republicans in the Senate, it should be noted, failed to convict both times. And its almost certain that the latest iteration of the Republican Party will abandon this solemn responsibility.

Democrats in the House have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to serve as an effective counter to the Republican majority. I expect this Congress should be no different.

Under the leadership of Jeffries and others, Democrats will have to keep finding opportunities to use Republican dysfunction to deliver legislatively for the American people. Where Democrats are unable to stop the Trump agenda, they can stand in opposition to those who would try to subvert the principles and values that have made the party and the nation strong. And at critical constitutional junctures, the voices of congressional Democrats can still lead the national debate and provide voice to the conscience of the nation.

Perhaps the most important lesson from the 2024 election is that winning doesnt make you right and losing doesnt make you wrong. We dont yet know what Trump will do, but certainly many of his proposed agenda items seem to be in opposition to good governance and a free, fair America. Democrats and their allies in the fight against Trumpism have successfully led the opposition before. They will just have to do it again.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
Donald Trumps surprisingly decisive electoral victory was a serious blow to those who value freedom and human dignity.

His version of freedom does not include respecting the choices that individuals make about their own bodies. That was made perfectly clear in a campaign that invoked the rhetoric of states rights in response to demands for reproductive freedom. And if that wasnt enough, Trump targeted transgender Americans and mocked gender-affirming medical care.

As USA Today notes, Trump made gender identity issues a focal point of his campaign, targeting transgender rights in a barrage of TV advertising, speeches and campaign rallies and indicating that elimination of those rights would be among the initial priorities of his term.

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And while our attention was focused on those assaults on bodily autonomy, voters in West Virginia, where the MAGA ethos reigns supreme, passed a ballot measure amending their state constitution to prohibit people from participating in the practice of medically assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing of a person.

Physician-assisted suicide is legal only in nine states (California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia). Forty other states affirmatively prohibit assisted suicide and impose criminal penalties on anyone who helps another person end his or her life.

The remaining state, Montana, has decriminalized physician-assisted suicide. And according to the Associated Press, At least 12 states currently have bills that would legalize physician-assisted death.

But what just happened in West Virginia is unprecedented. It is the first state to put a ban on assisted suicide in its constitution.

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In the context of assisted suicide, what West Virginia voters just did might seem redundant. As an article in The Review explains, medically assisted suicide was already illegal in the state.

Of course it is much easier to change an ordinary law than to pass a constitutional amendment. Proponents of the new amendment explained that their purpose was to make it harder for lawmakers to  at some later time  legalize physician-assisted suicide in the state.

Unlike ordinary legislation, the state legislature can only place a constitutional amendment on the ballot if two-thirds of the members of each house vote to do so during a single legislative session.

Supporters of the proposal to add language about assisted suicide to the state constitution argued that it would prevent doctors and others from cold-heartedly encouraging elderly and sick people to commit suicide and pressuring people with disabilities to do likewise. Leaders of the Catholic Church in West Virgina who worked hard to get voters to endorse the constitutional change offered other arguments.

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For example, Bishop Mark Brennan of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston wrote in a statement that suicide, even if done for altruistic reasons, is a rejection of our place in the human community, because we choose to leave it before we have to. In his statement, Bishop Brennan pointed out that medically assisted suicide corrupts the medical profession and that many of the reasons that lead people to choose the help of medical personnel to end their lives can be met by nonlethal means.

As for personal autonomy, the bishop said that it is exercised more clearly by holding firmly to the value of ones life until it must be relinquished than by rushing into deaths embrace.

Opponents of the West Virginia ballot measure also invoked autonomy but had a very different understanding of it. As the ACLU pointed out, The right to avoid excruciating, end-of-life pain is essential to bodily autonomy and basic freedom  This is particularly cruel in West Virginia. We already boast one of the oldest and sickest populations in the nation.

In their effort to block passage of the ballot measure, they drew on arguments made by former Supreme Court Justice David Souter. As Souter observed almost 30 years ago, those who support legal assisted suicide base their claim on the traditional right to medical care and counsel, subject to the limiting conditions of informed, responsible choice when death is imminent, conditions that support a strong analogy to rights of care in other situations in which medical counsel and assistance have been available as a matter of course.

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There can be no stronger claim to a physicians assistance, Souter added, than at the time when death is imminent, a moral judgment implied by the States own recognition of the legitimacy of medical procedures necessarily hastening the moment of impending death.

Finally, opponents of the ballot measure rightly noted that the amendment banning assisted suicide follows a disturbing trend of more and more legislators inserting their personal beliefs into the patient-physician relationship.

But more was a stake in what West Virginia just did; adding the ban of physician-assisted suicide to the state constitution was also an important symbolic victory for MAGA people who think the government ought to be able to tell citizens how to live and how to die.

As Republican state Sen. Eric Tarr said, I believe that West Virginia adopted the amendment because of Mountaineers commitment to choosing life.

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Signaling the broader ambition of Tarr and people like him, the senator crowed, Today is a good day for West Virginia and our country.

While some other red states have passed ballot measures to protect abortion, dont be surprised if Trump supporters elsewhere try to follow the Mountaineer State by enshrining bans on death with dignity in their state constitutions.

If they do so, they will be running against the tide of public opinion. That is reflected in the fact that, even deep in MAGA country, the West Virginia ballot measure barely scraped by, passing by a margin of around 6,000 votes out of around 660,000 votes cast.

Moreover, an August 2024 Gallup Poll found that 66 percent believe doctors should be allowed by law to assist the patient to commit suicide for terminal patients living in severe pain who request it.

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In the wake of the presidential election, some people may be tempted to think that Trump and his cronies desire to tell people what they can and cannot do with their bodies is just a problem for women seeking abortions or transgendered citizens. They should think again.

Recall that during his first term, Trump appointed Neil Gorsuch, a vehement opponent of medically assisted suicide, to the Supreme Court.

All of us, sooner or later, will die, and all of us have an interest in making sure that our death is not slow and agonizing. And what happened in West Virginia may be a harbinger of things to come that will touch everyones life.

Austin Sarat is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College. His views do not necessarily reflect those of Amherst College.

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The Iranian regime tried and failed to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump. It seems the third time is not the charm. The incoming administration will get its chance to avenge the attempt on Trumps life, and simultaneously accelerate a grand realignment in the Middle East.

In the last 45 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has brought terror and instability to that region, not to mention to its own citizens. Its proxies  Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Kataib Hezbollah, among others  serve to export the regimes radical perversion of Shia Islam and establish regional hegemony. Tehran retains plausible deniability.

In the 1980s, the newly formed Islamic Republic established strong ties with Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad, father of the current butcher of Damascus, Bashar Al-Assad. Hezbollah, an extremist Shiite group, established a shadow state in Lebanon. The only obstacle to Irans contiguous path to the Mediterranean was Iraq.

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With Saddam Husseins ouster in 2003 and his Baathist regime gutted, Iran backed the Shiite terrorist groups vying to fill the power vacuum. Iran connected its proxy network, thus establishing a corridor across the Levant known as the Shia Crescent. In 2014, the Houthis took over Yemen, extending Irans influence to the tip of the Arabian Peninsula.

Presidents Obama and Biden understood that the Middle East is a region of instability. But rather than focus on the Iranian regime and its proxies, they consistently found fault with Israel. During the Obama administration, this culminated in allowing the UN Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements  a sharp break from American policy. The Biden administration went a step further by sanctioning Israeli settlers.

The first Trump administration bucked the traditional view that the path to peace ran through the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Instead, it recognized the reality that Arab states and Israel are aligned against the threat of Iran. The Abraham Accords formalized that reality, providing the basis for additional deals along economic, security, energy and technological lines.

Trump moved the American embassy to Jerusalem, recognized the city as Israels capital, and recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. And the Arab nations, despite such unconventional moves, did not shy away from peace deals with Israel.

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This new approach offered two lessons. First, Israel was never the obstacle to peace. Second, the Sunni Arab states care more about the threat of Iran than they do about the Palestinians.

President-elect Donald Trump will now have four more years to build on this realignment of the Middle East  and alter the course of world history.

His second administration can start by striking at the serpents head. He plans to reimpose his maximum pressure campaign on Iran. The administration can also implement secondary sanctions on oil importers, primarily China, which will cut off the funds enabling the regime to survive. Blocking the Strait of Hormuz, through which most of its oil flows, would debilitate Irans regime.

Trump can target the Iranian regimes Aerospace Force. The force is responsible for deploying drones, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, air defense systems, and radar technologies, according to the Alma Research and Education Center. The administration can provide Israel with the breathing room to eliminate its leadership, including its commander, Amir Ali Hajizadeh; first deputy commander, Majid Mousavi; and operational deputy commander, Fereydoun Mohammadi Saghaei.

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The Trump administration can supply Israel with additional munitions and systems necessary to dismantle Irans military infrastructure. This includes Joint Direct Attack Munitions, Small Diameter Bombs, Spice guidance kits and 155mm howitzer shells. It can expedite the delivery of Boeings KC-46 refueling aircrafts that Israel is expecting to receive starting in 2025. These planes, which can refuel mid-flight, would be necessary to carry out a prolonged, long-range strike on Iranian facilities.

A new administration can help create the cultural conditions for a bottom-up transformation of Iranian politics. The change must be organic, but the Iranian people need external support. An intense media campaign inside Iran led by Voice of America can expose the regimes abuses, like the recent disappearance of female student Ahou Daryaei. Keep the television prompters rolling.

The most recent attempt on Trumps life by the Iranian regime is but another reminder that Iran, not Israel, is the source of instability. But where Tehran has failed to kill one bird with many stones, the second Trump administration can kill three birds with one stone. It can dismantle the Islamic regime in Tehran, avenge Irans plot to kill Trump and other Americans and reshape regional dynamics in favor of Western allies.

Obama and Biden believed that peace went through Jerusalem. The incoming administration has four more years to cast that paradigm aside and provide true stability. The ever-desired lasting peace will go through Tehran.

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Gabriel Diamond is a fellow at the Yorktown Institute.

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TIRANA, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Albania's trade deficit increased by 10.6 percent in October compared to the same month in 2023 and 13.9 percent over the previous month, according to data released by the country's Institute of Statistics on Monday.

The institute attributed the widening deficit to strong imports driven by robust domestic demand and the appreciation of the Albanian lek, coupled with sluggish exports. Weak economic performance in Albania's main export markets, particularly in Europe, further exacerbated the situation.

In October, Albania's exports totaled 31 billion leke (approximately 333 million U.S. dollars), marking a 15.2 percent decline year-on-year but a slight 0.9 percent increase month-on-month.

Italy remained Albania's largest export market during the January-October period, with exports totaling 138.4 billion leke. However, this represented a 14.2 percent drop compared to the same period in 2023. In contrast, exports to China showed significant growth, rising from 7.9 billion leke to 9.2 billion leke.

Nearly all export categories suffered declines in October. Exports of construction materials and metals fell by 8.2 percent, textiles and footwear decreased by 3.5 percent, and minerals, fuels, and electricity dropped by 2.9 percent.

Albania's imports in October totaled 77 billion leke, down 1.5 percent year-on-year but up 8.3 percent compared to September.

During the first 10 months of the year, the total value of Albania's exports fell by 14.3 percent year-on-year to 317 billion leke, while imports increased by 2 percent to 743 billion leke. Consequently, the trade deficit rose by 18.8 percent to 426 billion leke.

Industries such as tourism, agriculture, energy, and mining form the backbone of Albania's economy. The country's export revenue is primarily driven by sectors of footwear, textiles, mineral fuels, and metals. (1 Albanian lek = 0.011 U.S. dollar) 
Ukraine and the rest of Europe anxiously followed the U.S. presidential election results on Nov. 6, which ultimately reported Donald Trump and J.D. Vance as the winners, with the Republican Party also securing majorities in the House and Senate. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky quickly called the president-elect to offer congratulations and express interest in strengthening ties.

But what does a Trump-Vance administration mean for Europe and Ukraine? Looking at past actions and campaign statements may provide insight.

During his 2016-2020 term, Trumps stance toward NATO and Ukraine often raised eyebrows. He called NATO obsolete and argued that the U.S. should not be the worlds police force. Trump withdrew American soldiers from Europe and opposed expanding the U.S. military presence there. He declined to fully endorse NATOs Article 5, which commits members to collective defense, and former aides reported that Trump even considered pulling out of the alliance.

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Read also: Opinion: With Trump back, Europe cant afford to guess on sanctions against Russia

Trumps views on Ukraine also emerged during the 2016 election when he accused Ukraine of interfering in the U.S. election against him  a claim later disproven by the FBI. Then, in 2019, he withheld defense assistance to Ukraine and requested that Zelensky investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his family. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) later ruled that withholding aid passed by Congress was illegal. The House of Representatives impeached Trump, though the Senate ultimately acquitted him.

After losing the 2020 election, Trump vowed a political comeback and eventually secured the 2024 Republican nomination. During his campaign, Trumps positions on NATO and Ukraine remained unchanged  and even hardened.

At a recent rally, Trump reiterated that NATO members must meet the 2% defense spending threshold, stating he would not protect allies who fail to do so. "You dont pay your bills, you get no protection," he said. Trump suggested he would let Russia "do whatever the hell they want" if a country falls short on payments.

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Many former officials from the Trump-Pence administration believe Trump is likely to withdraw from NATO, jeopardizing European security.

Regarding Ukraine, Trump pledged to end the war in one day by forcing Ukrainian officials to negotiate with Russia and cede territory. He has argued that U.S. aid to Ukraine is excessive and has called for cuts. Now, with the election behind him, Trump is expected to push for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine that would likely reduce U.S. support. Trump has also said he would seek to delay Ukraines NATO membership bid.

Vance shares Trumps critical views on NATO and Ukraine. He has argued that European countries should handle their own security issues without U.S. involvement. Vance, who has opposed every bill supporting Ukraine since Russias invasion, has said he doesnt really care about Ukraine and that the U.S. should stop its aid. He also opposes Ukraines potential NATO membership, arguing it should remain neutral.

With Republicans in control of Congress, Trump and Vance will find support for their isolationist policies. House Speaker Mike Johnson, for example, has called on Europe to take more responsibility for its own security and suggested that NATO allies increase their defense spending. Johnson also backs Trumps forced peace plan for Ukraine, stating he does not have an appetite for further Ukraine funding and expressing confidence that Trump can end the war by pushing for negotiations with Russia.

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Read also: Opinion: Aid to Ukraine is now a 2-way street empowering US drone warfare

While most Senate Republicans support NATO and aid to Ukraine, their stance could clash with Trump, Vance, and Johnsons agenda. These differences could lead to friction between the White House, House, and Senate.

The Trump-Vance administration is poised to reduce U.S. involvement in NATO and foreign conflicts. Trump, Vance, and Johnson argue that the U.S. has done enough for Ukraine and Europe. They intend to work with Russia on a peace agreement that may require Ukraine to adopt neutrality and forego NATO membership.

In other words, Europe and Ukraine may soon find themselves without U.S. support. Facing Russian aggression alone, European nations and Ukraine will have to strengthen their cooperation and resilience amid an increasingly uncertain future. Only time will reveal whether they will succeed.

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One of the linchpins of Project 2025  the collection of policy proposals that some in Trump world have now warmly embraced after spending six months claiming they had nothing to do with it  is the planned replacement of up to 50,000 career civil servants with political appointees loyal to President-elect Donald Trump. But its not an idea confined only to Project 2025: Trumps own Agenda 47 calls for an executive order restoring the presidents authority to fire rogue bureaucrats, and Trump himself said of civil servants, Theyre destroying this country. Theyre crooked people, theyre dishonest people. Theyre going to be held accountable.

This position is at odds with American public opinion. A survey conducted by the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, released last March, found that 87% of Americans said that having a nonpartisan civil service is important for having a strong American democracy.

But can Trump do it? There are good reasons to doubt that he can.

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The key to the plan is something called Schedule F, which the Trump administration created out of thin air in an executive order published on Oct. 21, 2020. That order reclassified into a new Schedule F all career positions in the Federal service of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character. Such employees would lose their employment protections and could thus be fired at will. (Schedule F had been in development for years but it had been delayed first by fears of alienating large swaths of government employees, and then by the pandemic.)

This order never went into effect, because Trump lost the election and President Joe Biden immediately rescinded it. The Biden administration went even further, though, pushing through a regulation that was finalized on April 9, 2024, to reinforce and clarify longstanding civil service protections and merit system principles.

That step means that, at a minimum, the Trump administration would have to issue and finalize a new regulation to replace the 2024 one, because presidents cant overrule a final regulation by executive order. The rulemaking process usually takes months; the 2024 Biden rule was first proposed in October 2023 and not finalized until seven months later.

Now, there is one workaround, which is that the administration could fast-track an interim final rule. However, that interim rule will immediately be challenged by the public employee unions, whose members are understandably upset about being fired. A coalition of 28 labor unions challenged the Trump executive order when it came out, saying it could affect up to 500,000 federal employees nationwide. (It was also challenged by good governance groups.) These plaintiffs would surely get an injunction while the case is heard, because once you get fired and replaced, its impossible to get unfired.

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Even if courts move quickly to adjudicate the interim rule, it will likely take a minimum of four to six months to be adjudicated, for reasons Ill discuss in a moment, and then there will be appeals probably all the way to the Supreme Court. (The Trump administration may even request expedited review.) For those reasons, I cant imagine this part of Project 2025 being implemented until at least next summer, but more likely the end of next year. Credit the Biden administration for that.

But what would be the final result of a challenge? This is harder to assess, since so much depends on the politics of the federal court system, including the Supreme Court.

Statutorily, the civil service as we know it today was created in 1883 by the Pendleton Act, passed to reform government and end the patronage system where political allies and donors were rewarded with cushy government jobs. The Pendleton Act envisioned a civil service made up of experts who knew their fields, had to pass exams to demonstrate competence and could not be fired without due process.

But in 1978, another law, the Civil Service Reform Act, created a loophole, now contained in Section 7511 of Title 5 of the U.S. Code, that exempted from civil service protections anyone whose position has been determined to be of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making or policy-advocating character, the same language used in the Trump order from 2020.

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In other words, to fire someone, all the president has to do is except them from the civil service (aka the competitive service) and designate their role as being confidential or policy-related. Which is exactly what Schedule F ordered government agencies and the Office of Personnel Management to do.

This position, however, flies in the face of a canon of statutory interpretation that statutes should be read in a way that makes sense. If an interpretation of a law carves out an exception so large that it makes the law meaningless, thats probably the wrong interpretation. That would be the case here: Reading the 1978 law in this way would effectively nullify the entire Pendleton Act.

Theres also no precedent for this interpretation. From 1978 until now, presidential administrations have understood that loophole very narrowly, exempting only noncareer political appointees hired for a single presidential administration  which is what the Biden regulation says.

In addition, firing 50,000 employees is a massive act that falls under the Supreme Courts new major questions doctrine. It is based on a very obscure, hitherto unnoticed provision of the law, it is a radical change from current practice, and it has a significant impact. This would mean, under conservative jurisprudence, that it is quasi-legislative in nature and not deserving of court deference. And as the late Justice Antonin Scalia memorably held, Congress does not hide elephants in mouseholes.

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Schedule F is exactly such an elephant, contained in a mousehole of a statute that no one has ever understood in this way.

Having said that, the case is by no means open and shut. A MAGA judge  someone like Aileen Cannon, perhaps  could plausibly read the U.S. Code the way that the Trump administration wants, and there are at least two such justices on the Supreme Court. As with many of Trumps coming actions, ultimately the fate of good governance (or the deep state, if you prefer) may rest with three Supreme Court justices, and as weve seen, theres no predicting how they will rule on anything.

At the very least, the purge wont happen overnight. Trumps order will be challenged immediately, a subsequent regulation will take months to draft and review. From there, what will happen is anyones guess  like so much else in this strange and unprecedented time.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
The early analyses of Trumps victory have focused almost exclusively on the perceived abandonment of the working class by increasingly corporatist Democrats and the Trump-Vance tickets successful embrace of the plight of those who have been left behind by the global economy and the rising inequalities in our society. The culture wars have also been thrown into the mix. While these issues have certainly played a significant role in the decisive loss, Trump was able to claim another attribute traditionally reserved for the Democratic Party, that of being anti-war. We have no doubt that this association contributed to the election results.

The neoconservative strategies of the U.S. leadership over the past couple of decades, which the Biden administration pursued enthusiastically, have brought the world to the brink, with Ukraine in ruins, the Middle East in worse shape than it has been in decades, the Indo-Pacific ready to explode, and the risk of nuclear war arguably higher than its been at any point since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Moreover, Vice President Kamala Harris did nothing to counter this misguided policy of war, war and more war. Extolling Americas unprecedented military lethality and parading with former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) only solidified this perception.

There is no doubt that a sizeable portion of America is disturbed by the devastation in Gaza, the spillover of that war outside of Israel and Palestine, and the prolonged Ukraine conflict that they have been assured time and again was going to lead to a defeat of Russia. There has been a failure to even engage in meaningful diplomacy, let alone stop the wars, which anyone paying even minimal attention can see quite clearly.

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The question is, can Trump deliver on his pledges to engage in diplomacy and quickly end both wars?

And while he is out there saving Ukrainian, Russian, Palestinian, Lebanese, Israeli and other lives, can he also channel his inner President Ronald Reagan and pursue nuclear disarmament to save not just the people of the U.S. but all of humanity?

President-elect Trump frequently talks about how much he loves America. If he does, how can he leave us vulnerable to not just Russia and Chinas nuclear arsenals, but also to North Koreas? North Korea ranks as 56th country in the world by population size and is regularly listed in the bottom tenth of countries in per capita GDP. It is not just that nuclear weapons and North Koreas intercontinental missiles can threaten the U.S. It is that they can destroy our country as we know it.

For all of the decades of rhetoric around nuclear deterrence, thousands upon thousands of pages of written analyses, and trillions of dollars spent to develop, maintain and now also to modernize our nuclear weapons arsenal, there has never been a satisfactory answer by proponents of nuclear arms to a simple question of what will happen if nuclear deterrence fails. They dont want to have that conversation because the answer is so devastating as to be unthinkable. But President Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev weighed that possibility during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

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And Kennedy said of his hawkish military advisers who urged bombing of the missile sites and an invasion of Cuba that if he did what they wanted, none of us will be alive later to tell them that they were wrong.

In 1986, President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev almost agreed to eliminate U.S. and Soviet nuclear weapons, which had reached their historical maximum at 70,000 warheads combined, with a destructive capability exceeding 2.5 million Hiroshima bombs. The sticking point that led them to abandon the agreement was Reagans insistence on testing the U.S. militarys Star Wars project, to develop a missile defense system that would supposedly protect the U.S. from incoming intercontinental ballistic missile attacks.

Decades and billions of dollars later, we have 44 such interceptor missiles, with a 50 percent success rate (when alerted ahead of time to an incoming missile). That would not save us from the thousands of warheads in Russias arsenal alone  especially if they are augmented by thousands of decoys designed to further confuse the overwhelmed U.S. interceptors.

Trump could once and for all give up not just on Star Wars but on nuclear weapons altogether. He can do what Gorbachev offered and most of Reagans advisors urged him to accept.

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We have already proposed that President Biden invite the winners of this years Nobel Peace Prize  the Japanese organization of Atomic Bomb Survivors, Nihon Hidankyo  to the White House. If Biden doesnt do it, Trump should after assuming office.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a president to engage with Nobel Laureates whose suffering was caused by our countrys actions that seven of Americas eight five-star officers in 1945 either said was militarily unnecessary, morally reprehensible, or both. And by learning more about their horrifying experience of living through the bombing and the subsequent 79 years, marked by illness and trauma, Trump could decide to turn the tide on the insanity that has been our nuclear weapons policy since those fateful days when the U.S. bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Kennedy and Khrushchev both stared the possibility, even, they feared, the probability of nuclear war squarely in the face and recoiled from what they saw. Khrushchev spoke for both of them when he told visiting U.S. journalist and peace activist Norman Cousins, Peace is the most important goal in the world. If we dont have peace and the nuclear bombs start to fall, what difference will it make whether we are Communists or Catholic or capitalists or Chinese or Russians or Americans? Who could tell us apart? Who will be left to tell us apart?

Pursuing nuclear disarmament earnestly would be an astounding and universally acclaimed development for the Trump presidency, for the United States and for the world. The effort would not just ensure the survival of humanity for the foreseeable future but also open up much-needed funding for exactly the kind of economic and social programs that would help many of the people who voted for the Trump-Vance ticket in the first place.

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Ivana Nikolic Hughes, Ph.D. is president of Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. Peter Kuznick is a professor of history and the director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American 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.
Among the first world leaders to speak with Donald Trump following his election victory was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Congratulating the U.S. president-elect, Zelenskyy expressed confidence in the "potential for stronger cooperation" between the nations.

Others are less sure. For many foreign policy observers, Trump's victory  together with his lukewarm attitude toward NATO, criticism of the amount of U.S. aid being sent to Ukraine and vows to reach a deal to end the ongoing war  has stoked uncertainty over Washington's commitment to Ukraine.

As a scholar on Eastern Europe, I offer a counter view: that a Trump White House may not necessarily be bad news for Kyiv.

Firefighters work at the site where an industrial area was hit by a Russian missile strike in the Kyiv region of Ukraine, on Nov. 13, 2024.

More on foreign policy: MTG trolled for opposing foreign aid package. But Florida Republicans also mostly voted no.

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It is common to hear Trump described as isolationist, nationalistic and an anti-interventionist on the world stage. He has encouraged such a view but such rhetoric is undercut by established facts and prior Republican positions.

In December 2023, the U.S. Congress passed bipartisan legislation prohibiting a president from unilaterally withdrawing the U.S. from NATO. The Republican co-sponsor of that bill, Sen. Marco Rubio, has in recent months emerged as a key Trump surrogate and is expected to be named as Trump's secretary of state.

The U.S. and Europe remain each other's most important markets. As such, the United States will be highly motivated to maintain a role in European security so long as instability in Europe can influence the global  and U.S.  economy.

Moreover, there is nothing to suggest that the incoming administration will deviate from those of Obama, Biden and indeed Trump's first term, in seeing China as the primary threat to the U.S. And Beijing has thrown its support behind Russian President Vladimir Putin during his military efforts in Ukraine.

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More on Ukraine: Florida House Republican says 'no time to spare' on passing aid to Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan

Much has been made of Trump's perceived cozy relationship with Putin. His actual policy toward Russia during his first term was more hawkish on Putin than the Obama one it replaced.

For example, Trump approved the sale of anti-tank missiles to Ukraine after the Obama administration had refused. Also, in 2018, the U.S. withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Then, in 2019, Trump signed the Protecting Europe's Energy Security Act, which included sanctions halting the construction of the Russian-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany. That was one of 52 policy actions undertaken by the Trump administration to restrict Russia.

Almost three years into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin's war machine still runs on energy revenues. And here a Trump policy not aimed directly at Russia may, in fact, harm Russian interests: his repeated promises to introduce a new wave of drilling for oil and gas. And while it might take time for this to filter through to lower prices globally, increased production from the U.S. could lower prices.

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Trump's return to the White House could mean tougher enforcement of U.S. oil sanctions against Iran, reducing Tehran's capacity to sell weapons to Russia. Iran has supported Russia both diplomatically and militarily since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Predicting what Trump, a notably unpredictable leader, will do in power, is difficult. And U.S. foreign policy can be a slow-moving beast, so one should not expect immediate breakthroughs or major surprises. But his record serves as a counter to the views of observers who have suggested that his victory does not bode well for Ukraine.

Tatsiana Kulakevich is an Associate Professor at the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, University of South Florida. A version of this article appeared first in The Conversation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing informed analysis of news.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Evidence indicates Trump will support Ukraine | Opinion
Whatever one thinks of current U.S. strategy for the Ukraine war  and I tend to think it has been fairly good  President-elect Donald Trump will need a new one.

It would be natural for any new administration to conduct a strategic review, in its early months, of a topic that is so central to American security. In this case, the timing will be propitious, for 2025 is just about when current American strategy towards the war will likely reach its expiration date. Trumps instincts to try to end this war as soon as possible are reasonable, but he will need a strategy to back up those instincts.

The Biden administrations strategy, for almost three years now, has been to help Ukraine as long as it takes. (For a recent reflection on the strategy, see Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austins speech in Kiev that was turned into a Foreign Affairs article.) Trumps reported choice for national security advisor, Rep. Michael Waltz, has rightly criticized such a blank-check approach as more slogan than strategy.

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Biden and his team  along with NATO allies, Japan, South Korea and other friends of Ukraine  deserve considerable credit for helping Ukraine fend off Russias initial attempt to seize much of the country and depose the Zelensky government. But the past two years fighting has trended somewhere between stalemate and modest Russian advantage, and weapons like F-16s, Abrams tanks and ATACMS missiles have done little to change the momentum. With Ukraines cities again bracing for a cold, dark winter under Russian bombardment, it is time to begin thinking about second-best approaches.

Trump has claimed that he could negotiate an end to this terrible war in 24 hours. Even allowing for the usual Trump hyperbole, this is unrealistic. Most importantly, Trump fails to acknowledge that Putin, having already annexed much more Ukrainian land than he currently holds, is unlikely to stop fighting just because a friendly American president asked him to. Trump will need more leverage on both sides in the war, and a time-phased strategy for how to use that leverage.

A new U.S. and NATO strategy for the war  to be discussed rather than imposed on Ukraine, but also unapologetically based on American interests in this conflict  should probably give Ukraine one last good chance to liberate stolen and occupied territory in 2025. Ukraine made some progress in its 2022 counteroffensives, but far less so in 2023 or 2024. It has been arming up and gearing up for another try; there is perhaps a small chance it could succeed with a different approach this time.

But after that attempted Ukrainian counteroffensive, even if Russia still holds 15 to 20 percent of pre-2014 Ukraine as it does today, the U.S. should move to an emphasis on ending the fighting and establishing a stable peace. These are Americas only core interests in this conflict. Ukraine could maintain its political claims on the Russian-occupied territories, but would agree not to pursue their liberation on the battlefield. Russia would agree to end the aggression and recognize that, because no one can trust it going forward, there will need to be strong international mechanisms to undergird Ukraines long-term security.

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American strategy should aim to help end the fighting by the end of 2025 and include the following key elements:

First, unless it somehow achieves big success in a counteroffensive in early 2025, a different and more limited U.S. and NATO weapons assistance program for Ukraine should begin, emphasizing defensive arms. That new program should be open-ended, since no one can predict if and when Russia will stop its aggression. So should continued economic support for Kiev from Europe, Japan and to a lesser extent the U.S.

Second, tougher economic punishment against Russia that give it greater incentives to negotiate an end to the war quickly. Notably, by late 2025, Western countries might start tapping a quarter to half of Russias $300 billion in frozen assets per year, until a verifiable peace is reached, at which point Moscow would regain the remaining balance of its assets.

Third, a declared Western willingness to lift most other economic sanctions on Russia, over time, if it will agree to and respect a genuine peace.

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Fourth, a willingness to consider other means, besides NATO membership, for ensuring Ukraines long-term security as a way to make a deal more palatable to Moscow. Georgetown professor Lise Howard and I have written of a concept that would deploy uniformed American and other foreign military trainers to Ukraine for years to come as a form of robust tripwire, as one example. To pressure Moscow to acquiesce, this offer might be time-limited; NATO could state its intention to offer membership to Ukraine if Russia refused to make a deal within a year from the start of negotiations.

Even this kind of more realistic strategy can hardly guarantee an end to the war, of course. Only Russia and Ukraine can make that choice. But this approach would allow the U.S. to stand by its principles, ensure its core strategic interests in eastern Europe, contain the risks of escalation and maximize the odds of a relatively rapid and durable end to the conflict.

Michael OHanlon is the Phil Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy at the Brookings Institution and author of Military History for the Modern Strategist: Americas Major Wars Since 1861.

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.
Orange Countys teachers union on Monday filed a lawsuit against Orange County Public Schools claiming it violated the state constitution by failing to negotiate teacher evaluations.

In the complaint, filed in Orange County Circuit Court, the Orange County Classroom Teachers Association argues the school district and Superintendent Maria Vazquez violated the Florida Constitution when they did not negotiate teacher evaluations during collective bargaining this summer.

Evaluations are used to determine raises for teachers. Historically, how evaluations are conducted and what is included have been part of what teacher unions and Florida school districts negotiate during bargaining sessions.

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During recent collective bargaining negotiations, district officials cited changes to Florida law and said evaluations were no longer subject to collective bargaining, the lawsuit says. According to emails obtained by the union and shared with the Orlando Sentinel, district administrators lobbied state legislators to add a line exempting evaluations from bargaining to state law.

The districts lobbying efforts followed a 2018 ruling by the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission that teacher evaluations were a mandatory subject of bargaining.

But the union said OCPS has taken its interpretation of Florida statute too far and wants a judge to rule that evaluations must be negotiated.

Clinton McCracken, the unions president, said Vazquez was misapplying the law and depriving educators of a fair evaluation.

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We believe the districts sweeping interpretation of the law has gone too far in stripping teachers of their rights. The Florida law does not give (Vazquez) unlimited rights and her actions violate the Florida Constitution, McCracken said in a statement Monday. Teachers deserve a say in the conditions that shape their careers and professional futures.

OCPS spokesperson Michael Ollendorff said evaluations had always been considered a management right under the law and that the updated statute language only clarified that. He also noted that teachers previously approved a contract with those changes.

To now file a lawsuit, two years later and after an overwhelming 95.7% vote by teachers to approve changes that would bring contracts in alignment with the law, is unfortunate, Ollendorff said.

Article I, Section 6 of Floridas constitution states that, the rights of employees, by and through a labor organization, to bargain collectively shall not be denied or abridged.
The University of Oklahoma recently hosted an event as part of its Ethical Tribal Engagement Series, aimed at fostering meaningful dialogue, promoting ethical practices, and building collaborative partnerships between Tribal Nations and non-Indigenous institutions. The event featured newly elected Comanche Nation Chairman Forrest Tahdooahnippah, JD (Comanche), who delivered a keynote address on Bridging Gaps: Treaties and Treaty Rights  A Tribal Leaders Perspective.

Chairman Tahdooahnippah is deeply committed to Native law, focusing on protecting and strengthening Tribal sovereignty and educating others on these critical issues, said Tana Fitzpatrick, JD, (Crow/Lakota/Ponca/Chickasaw), associate vice president of Tribal relations and director of the Native Nations Center. We are grateful to him for illuminating OU faculty, staff and students about Comanche Nations treaties.

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.

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Tahdooahnippah's presentation explored the trust relationships inherent in treaties between Tribal Nations and the U.S. government. He emphasized that treaties are not merely legal contracts but sacred agreements founded on trust and mutual respect, shaped by the sacrifices of Native ancestors.

For Indigenous peoples, treaties represent not just rights, but also responsibilities passed down from generations who fought, suffered and even gave their lives to secure them, Tahdooahnippah said. These are not just legal documents; they are human rights and fundamental rights that define the trust relationship between tribes and the federal government.

During his address, Tahdooahnippah also tackled a common misconceptionthat treaty rights are a form of special treatment or preferential status. He explained that such views misrepresent the true purpose of treaties, which are unique, nation-to-nation agreements grounded in the recognition of Tribal Nations as sovereign entities.

Calling treaty rights special treatment has connotations of reverse discrimination, which misses the point entirely. Our treaty rights are our birthrights and they exist because our ancestors sacrificed for them, he said.

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Tahdooahnippah further explored the trust relationship through historical examples, including the Treaty of Medicine Lodge Creek, underscoring how treaties reflect the federal governments recognition of Tribal Nations as sovereign entities.

When the U.S. entered into treaties with the Comanche Nation, they were acknowledging us as nations  equivalent in status to any other sovereign country, he said. However, he cautioned against interpreting treaties solely through the lens of Western contract law, which he argued fails to capture these agreements' moral and historical gravity.

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CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  Fourteen artists will join forces at one local outdoor gallery to raise money for those affected by Hurricane Helene.

But thats not the only event happening in NoDa. Currently, there is an auction for people to purchase oak barrels to support those affected by Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina.

Executive Director of the Taoh Outdoor Gallery, Sydney Duarte and artist Osiris Rain spoke with Queen City News about the gallery and the focus on helping others.

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For more information on all the events, visit the Taoh Outdoor gallery website at www.taohoutdoorgallery.com

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.
ANKARA, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- To combat rising crime rates, Turkiye's ruling party has proposed a bill to parliament that aims for stricter regulations on illegal firearms.

The draft bill submitted last week by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) aims to reduce the accessibility of unlicensed firearms and enforce stricter penalties for illegal gun possession.

The bill proposes increasing the minimum prison sentence for carrying, purchasing, or obtaining unlicensed firearms from one year to two years. Repeat offenders could face up to four years in prison.

Additionally, the draft outlines stricter regulations on the smuggling and export of firearm materials, with violators facing extended jail terms.

With the AKP and its allies holding a parliamentary majority, the bill is expected to pass.

The draft bill comes amid a surge of criminality in Turkiye's big cities. Istanbul, the country's most populous city, saw 505 armed attacks in 2023, leading to 321 deaths, according to official figures.

Nationwide, 3,770 armed incidents were reported last year, causing 2,318 deaths and over 3,000 injuries. Of these incidents, 85 percent involved firearms, with unlicensed guns accounting for a significant share, according to the Umut Foundation, a non-governmental organization committed to preventing gun violence.

The Interior Ministry reports that law enforcement confiscated 70,000 illegal weapons in the first eight months of 2024 alone. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya highlighted the urgency of addressing the issue, emphasizing the importance of combating unlicensed firearms to enhance public safety.

The Umut estimates that, of the 34-40 million firearms in Turkiye, only about 4 million are legally registered, posing a significant challenge to public safety.

"We find that both gun-related crimes and the number of gun acquisitions increase by 3.5 percent every year," said Ayhan Akcan, a board member of the Umut Foundation.

According to Akcan, 95 percent of gun owners are men, and two-thirds are under 40. Notably, 70 percent of gun owners claim they carry a firearm for protection.

However, Akcan cautioned that firearm possession often escalates violence, with gun owners five times more likely to become victims of fatal incidents.

Although Turkish law requires individuals to obtain a license to possess firearms, systemic and cultural challenges hinder efforts to combat illegal gun ownership.

Lawyer Mine Yevsen, based in Ankara, pointed to the glamorization of firearms in media and lenient legal consequences as contributing factors. She proposed mandatory training, shorter license renewal periods, and stricter background checks to address the issue. 
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL)  Northeast State Community Colleges Office of Workforce Solutions hosted a free class on Monday that provided individuals with the knowledge and tools to respond and prevent opioid overdoses.

The training session was conducted by certified peer recovery specialist (CPRS) Frankie Nunley and aimed to help reduce harm, address stigma and increase public awareness, including the brain science of addiction, compassion fatigue and how to administer Naloxoneor Narcan.

According to the college, Nunley currently serves as Northeast Tennessees Region 1 regional overdose prevention specialist (ROPS) and works with the Sullivan County Anti-Drug Coalition.

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$3.1 million grant to expand broadband access in Washington County, Tennessee

She told News Channel 11 during the class what it means to be a CPRS.

Im a certified peer recovery specialist, which means Im a person with lived experiences in substance use disorder and in recovery, and I get to freely share my experiences and how it applies to the material being presented, she said.

Nunley said part of the class focus is understanding and empathizing with the reasons addictions may begin.

Some of the causes and conditions that may lead somebody into using opioids, seeking substances to change the way they feel, to recognizing that its not a they problem, its an us solution.

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Ultimately, Nunley said she hopes session attendees took with them the confidence and ability to prevent or intervene in a potential overdose.

My true wish is that they walk out with information theyve learned, credible information, viable information they are able to pass along to others in a very non-stigmatic way.

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.
ISLAMABAD (AP)  Pakistan's top body of clerics has declared the use of virtual private networks, or VPNs, against Islamic laws, officials said Monday, as the Ministry of Interior sought a ban on the service that helps people evade censorship in countries with tight internet controls.

Raghib Naeemi, the chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology, which advises the government on religious issues, said that Shariah allows the government to prevent actions that lead to the spread of evil." He added that any platform used for posting content that is controversial, blasphemous, or against national integrity should be stopped immediately.

Million of Pakistanis have been unable to access the X social media platform since February 2023, when the government blocked it ahead of parliamentary elections, except via VPN  a service that hides online activity from anyone else on the internet

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Authorities say they are seeking to ban the use of VPNs to curb militancy. However, critics say the proposed ban is part of curbs on freedom of expression.

VPNs are legal in most countries, however they are outlawed or restricted in places where authorities control internet access or carry out online surveillance and censorship.

Among users of VPNs in Pakistan are supporters of the country's imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who have called for a march on Islamabad on Sunday to pressure the government for his release.

Pakistan often suspends mobile phone service during rallies of Khan's supporters. But Naeemi's weekend declaration that the use of VPNs is against Shariah has stunned many.

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Naeemi's edict came after the Ministry of Interior wrote a letter to the Ministry of Information and Technology asking for the VPN ban on the grounds that the service is being used by insurgents to propagate their agenda.

It said that VPNs are increasingly being exploited by terrorists to facilitate violent activities. The ministry also wants to deny access to pornographic and blasphemous content.

Last week, authorities had also asked the internet users to register VPNs with Pakistan's media regulator, a move which will allow increased surveillance on the users of internet.

Pakistan is currently battling militants who have stepped up attacks in recent months.

On Friday, a separatist Baloch Liberation Army group attacked troops in Kalat, a district in Balochistan province, triggering an intense shootout in which seven soldiers and six insurgents were killed, according to police and the military. The BLA claimed the attack in a statement.
PALATINE, Ill.  The Palatine Police Department is seeking help one year after a Chinese immigrant was shot and killed on a front porch.

Authorities responded to reports of a person down on the 800 block of South Plum Grove Road at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023.

Officers located Jun Zhang, 30, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead on the front porch.

Zhang emigrated from China to attend Indiana University. He was working at Weichi America Corporation in Rolling Meadows at the time and was engaged.

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Surveillance footage showed the suspected vehicle and police are looking for a possible 2017-2020 Nissan Rogue or Murano.

Anyone with information can call police at 847-963-6499 or by sending an email to crimetips@palatine.il.us.

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.
By Sam Tobin

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is allowing parts for F-35 fighter jets to be exported to Israel despite accepting they could be used in breach of international humanitarian law in Gaza, lawyers for a Palestinian rights group told a London court on Monday.

West Bank-based Al-Haq, which documents alleged rights violations by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, is taking legal action against Britain's Department for Business and Trade at London's High Court.

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Israel has been accused of violations of international humanitarian law in the Gaza war, with the U.N. Human Rights Office saying nearly 70% of fatalities it has verified were women and children, a report Israel rejected.

Israel says it takes care to avoid harming civilians and denies committing abuses and war crimes in the conflicts with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Al-Haq's case comes after Britain in September suspended 30 of 350 arms export licences, though it exempted the indirect export of F-35 parts, citing the impact on the global F-35 programme.

Al-Haq argues that decision was unlawful as there is a clear risk F-35s could be used in breach of international humanitarian law.

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British government lawyers said in documents for Monday's hearing that ministers assessed Israel had committed possible breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL) in relation to humanitarian access and the treatment of detainees.

Britain also "accepts that there is clear risk that F-35 components might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of IHL", its lawyer James Eadie said.

Eadie added that Britain had nonetheless decided that F-35 components should still be exported, quoting from advice to defence minister John Healey that suspending F-35 parts "would have a profound impact on international peace and security".

A full hearing of Al-Haq's legal challenge is likely to be heard early in 2025.

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The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 43,800 people have been confirmed killed since the war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023.

Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people in attacks on communities in southern Israel that day, and hold dozens of some 250 hostages they took back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin, Editing by William Maclean)
After nearly three years of begging for answers and full accountability, the families of the Oxford High School shooting victims implored state officials on Monday to investigate the Nov. 30, 2021, rampage, maintaining all requests to date for a thorough state probe have fallen on deaf ears in Lansing.

"We should not have to sit up here repeatedly saying, 'Do a damn investigation,' " said Oxford parent Steve St. Juliana, whose 14-year-old daughter Hana St. Juliana died in the 2021 shooting. He then directed his frustration toward Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, stating:

"Fix the damn system, forget about the roads. Keep our kids safe."

A bouquet of roses sits on the sign outside of Oxford High School in Oxford to show support for the community after the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting at the school.

St. Juliana was among more than a dozen Oxford families who urged lawmakers on Monday to push for a state investigation with subpoena power that would, among other things, force all individuals connected to the events before the shooting to talk.

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To date, no investigation has been completed with 100% participation of individuals who were tied to the events leading up to and during the Oxford shooting, which claimed the lives of four students: Hana St. Juliana, 14; Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17. Six other students and one teacher also were injured.

Oxford High School students Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Tate Myre, 16, at top, and Justin Shilling, 17, and Hana St. Juliana, 14, were killed in a school shooting on Nov. 30.

The shooter, Ethan Crumbley, pleaded guilty to all crimes and is serving a life-without-parole sentence. His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, were also convicted of involuntary manslaughter over their roles in the shooting  they allowed him access to the gun  and are serving 10-year prison sentences.

But outside the criminal investigations and the parents' trials, the victims' families have learned very little about the events leading up to the shooting.

There was one investigation by a company called Guidepost Solutions, but two-thirds of the staff refused to cooperate in that investigation  including the two key school officials who made the controversial decision to let the teenage shooter return to class following a pivotal meeting, despite having received multiple warnings about his behavior in the days and hours before his rampage.

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The victims' parents, meanwhile, say they have too many still-unanswered questions and maintain a state investigation is long overdue.

At Monday's news conference, they stressed that their request for a state investigation is not about pointing fingers and looking for people to prosecute. While achieving accountability is "part of the story," they said, they also are pushing for improved safety protocols, threat assessments, finding out who is actually in charge of public schools and learning more about what is driving young people to want to shoot up schools.

"Were infatuated with pointing the finger at the school, instead of thinking about why are people feeling this way," said parent Buck Myre, who lost his son Tate in the rampage.

Tate Myre's father, Buck Myre, of Oxford, speaks about how his life has changed going into a year after his son was one of the four students killed in a mass shooting at Oxford High School where seven others were injured while sitting with his wife, Sheri Myre, and attorney Ven Johnson at Johnson's law office in downtown Detroit on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022.

Myre repeatedly posed this question: "Don't we want to learn from this?"

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"Its been three years since the shooting and we havent implemented any real change," Myre said. "This has always been about change."

But state officials, Myre said, aren't doing anything to help.

"Stop hiding. Stop making excuses," said Myre, who pleaded: "Just do an investigation. If its Whitmer, if its (Attorney General Dana) Nessel, if its our state Legislature  I dont care who it is."

St. Juliana noted that the call for a state investigation isn't coming just from the victims' parents, but from the Oxford community as a whole: The school board, the Oxford Township police chief, fire officials and school families.

Steve St. Juliana, father of Hana St. Juliana, speaks to the media on Thursday, March 14, 2024, after James Crumbley was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in his daughter's death in connection with the Oxford High School shooting, which was perpetrated by Ethan Crumbley, James Crumbley's son. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald is at left.

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According to St. Juliana, one issue for the Oxford community as a whole is that Nessel has maintained that she doesn't have probable cause to conduct an investigation into the shooting. St. Juliana said he disagrees, maintaining the parents  and the Guidepost investigation  have provided a list of laws that were broken, including:

*In October 2023, the independent investigation by Guidepost Solutions concluded that the Oxford shooting was avoidable had the district followed a threat assessment policy, stating: "In certain critical areas, individuals at every level of the district  failed to provide a safe and secure environment."

*The Guidepost investigation zeroed in on the shooters graphic drawing and concluded that school counselor Sean Hopkins and former Dean of Students Nicholas Ejak should have elevated the concern to the principal, that suicide intervention protocols should have been activated and that the teen should have been sent home that day. None of that happened.

*According to Guidepost, Ejak and Hopkins  described in the report as "the two people with the most information about the decision to allow the shooter to go back to class  "refused to cooperate with our investigation."Guidepost reached out to 143 current or former Oxford Community Schools employees for interviews, but just 51 responded. Many denied interview requests or didn't respond.

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*Guidepost asked the district to require employees to participate in the investigation, but the district refused to do so.

*Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel offered three times to review the school shooting, but the Oxford school board rejected all her offers.

*To date, no government entity has weighed in on the Guidepost investigation, or affirmed any of its findings.

Immediately following the parents' news conference on Monday, Nessel held a media briefing of her own to address their concerns, stressing that her office had offered multiple times to investigate the shooting, but that all her offers were "soundly rejected" by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald and the Oxford school board.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel holds a news conference at M-Brew in Ferndale on Monday, March 16, 2020, to clarify new rules put forth to protect the community from the spread of coronavirus.

"We offered immediately to help the sheriff's (office)  they declined. The sheriff flat-out refused. They said absolutely not. I asked the Oakland County prosecutor;. I offered it over and over again; each time the Oakland County prosecutor refused.

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"To this day, let me make it clear, neither the Oakland County Sheriff's Office or the Prosecutor's Office has ever asked us to ever take part in a criminal investigation into what took place in Oxford."

Nessel, meanwhile, said she is committed to conducting an investigation into the shooting  maintaining that her offer has never been off the table  but that she will need the county prosecutor's office and the sheriff's office to cooperate and share all of its information with her office.

Both the Oakland County prosecutor's office and sheriff's office have said they are willing to cooperate.

Whitmer said she is also supportive of an independent investigation by the state into the Oxford shooting.

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"As Michiganders, we have a responsibility to do everything we can to protect each other from gun violence. Thats why Governor Whitmer has supported an independent review of the shooting to ensure that families have answers to their questions and to help school districts around the state better protect students," Whitmer's office said in a statement issued Monday, noting several state efforts have been made since the 2021 massacre to address gun violence.

For example, in February, Whitmer signed a new safe-storage bill that requires firearms be stored in a manner so children cant access them, and, holds parents criminally liable if a child gets a hold of a gun and hurts themselves or someone else with it. Michigan also has new legislation requiring background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, and has established extreme risk protection orders to ensure people who have been deemed a threat to themselves or others cant access dangerous weapons.

To date, no school officials have been held accountable for the shooting. The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office has said that it will not criminally charge any school officials, maintaining there is no evidence to point to any criminal wrongdoing.

And while there are multiple lawsuits on behalf of the victims' families pending against the school district and school officials, all have been dismissed on immunity grounds. Those lawsuits are now hung up in appeals.

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"There has to be some level of accountability," St. Juliana said. "You can't drive change without accountability."

More: Oxford High School officials assured they would not be prosecuted

St. Juliana noted that other states have addressed the issue of immunity not being automatic for public entities like schools. For example, he said, in the wake of the Columbine shooting, Colorado changed its law to state that in cases of school violence, immunity is not automatic for schools.

Michigan, however, has not passed any such law. There's a bill addressing this issue, St. Juliana said, but it remains in limbo.

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"The time for excuses have passed," said St. Juliana, who called on multiple state officials to push for a statewide investigation. "Its about the governor, the attorney general, the speaker of the house and the senate majority leader sitting down. It's as simple as that."

And until that happens, St. Juliana said, the parents will continue to push.

"We said from the very beginning that we are not going anywhere," he said, stressing that without a state investigation, more tragedy awaits. "Its not a matter of if a school shooting happens, but when."

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Parents of Oxford school shooting victims demand investigation
The gunman who killed their children is behind bars  as are his parents, the ones who gave him access to the gun.

But three years after the tragedy, the families of the Oxford High School shooting victims say their fight for justice is far from over.

They're still in the dark about the events leading up to that day, they say, and they want answers and transparency, especially from the school district, officials and staff who have escaped accountability and liability over their roles in the tragedy that claimed four students' lives and injured seven others, including a teacher. At issue, the parents maintain, is that no thorough investigation with complete participation by school officials and staff has ever been conducted since the shooting.

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There was one investigation by a company called Guidepost Solutions, but two-thirds of the staff refused to cooperate in that investigation  including the two key school officials who made the controversial decision to let the teenage shooter return to class following a pivotal meeting, despite having received multiple warnings about his behavior in the days and hours before his rampage.

So the parents are now calling for another investigation, only this time they want the state of Michigan to conduct and fund the investigation, and use its subpoena power to force those who didn't want to talk before to talk now.

Buck Myre, left and Sheri Myre, middle, parents of slain Tate Myre become emotional along with other people watching Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald's closing statements as Ethan Crumbley appears in court, on Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, in Pontiac, Mich. The Oakland County Prosecutors are making their case that Crumbley, a teenager, should be sentenced to life without parole for killing four students at Oxford High School in 2021.

'How do we know what we don't know'

"How do we know what we don't know," said Steve St. Juliana, whose 14-year-old daughter Hana St. Juliana died in the Nov. 30, 2021 mass shooting, which also claimed the lives of Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17.

On Monday, St. Juliana will join the families of the victims and survivors of the shooting at a press conference in Oxford, where they will urge Michigan leaders and lawmakers to mandate a state-led investigation with full participation.

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And for the first time, the Oxford families  who will be speaking without their attorneys  will share their demands and outline a timeline that highlights their nearly three-year-long wait for transparency.

More: Crumbleys are subject of question at vice presidential debate

More: Westland parents charged in 5-year-old son's shooting death under new safe storage law

Over the years, the victims' families have consistently held that they're disappointed by the lack of transparency and support they've received from the school district.

As St. Juliana told the Free Press in a recent interview, a thorough investigation is long overdue.

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"The whole point of this is to drive the change necessary to save our kids," St. Juliana said. "In order to do that, you need to have the data. This whole investigation is about that  to get everything out there."

'It's time for the school to pony up'

To date, much of the information that the victims' parents have learned about the shooting surfaced during the trials of the shooter's parents: James and Jennifer Crumbley, who this year became the first parents in America to be held criminally responsible for a mass school shooting carried out by their child.

Two separate juries convicted both Crumbleys of involuntary manslaughter, concluding they were responsible for the deaths of four students for, among other things, not properly storing the gun that their son sneaked out of the house and shot up his school with. At both trials, prosecutors argued that the Crumbleys ignored signs that their son was depressed and spiraling, and that they, more than anyone else, could have prevented the massacre had they done the following: disclose to school officials during a pivotal meeting on the morning of the day of the massacre that their son had access to a gun, and brought their son home after learning during that meeting about a troubling drawing he made on a math worksheet. It included a photo of a gun, a bleeding body, and the words, "The Thoughts won't stop. Help me."

The Crumbleys returned to their jobs. Their son, 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, returned to class with his backpack after a counselor and dean of students concluded he wasn't a threat to anyone. His backpack, which police say contained the gun, was never searched.

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Two hours later, the teen emerged from a bathroom and fired his first shot.

Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty to all charges and is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. His parents are serving 10-year sentences. All three Crumbleys are appealing.

The victims' parents, meanwhile, remain focused on holding accountable who they describe as the fourth culprit in the massacre : the school.

As one parent put it within one hour of James Crumbley being convicted in March: It's time for the school to pony up," said Buck Myre, who lost his son Tate in the massacre. "It's time to break up that administration country club, and it's time for change. Because we've got four kids dead, and nobody wants to take any accountability.

Report: 'Individuals at every level' of school district failed

In seeking a state investigation, the Oxford parents are upset about a lot of things, including:

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In October 2023, the independent investigation by Guidepost Solutions concluded that the Oxford shooting was avoidable had the district followed a threat assessment policy, stating: "In certain critical areas, individuals at every level of the district ... failed to provide a safe and secure environment."

The Guidepost investigation zeroed in on the shooters graphic drawing and concluded that school counselor Sean Hopkins and former Dean of Students Nicholas Ejak should have elevated the concern to the principal, that suicide intervention protocols should have been activated and that the teen should have been sent home that day. None of that happened.

According to Guidepost, Ejak and Hopkins  described in the report as "the two people with the most information about the decision to allow the shooter to go back to class  "refused to cooperate with our investigation."

Guidepost reached out to 143 current or former Oxford Community Schools employees for interviews, but just 51 responded. Many denied interview requests or didn't respond.

Guidepost asked the district to require employees to participate in the investigation, but the district refused to do so.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel offered three times to review the school shooting, but the Oxford school board rejected all her offers.

To date, no government entity has weighed in on the Guidepost investigation, or affirmed any of its findings.

Sources: School officials promised immunity in secret agreements

One day after securing its guilty verdict against the shooter's father, the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office announced that no criminal charges would be filed against any school officials.

"Our office has reviewed all of the evidence in the case," Assistant Prosecutor David Williams said in a statement to the Free Press. "We did not find sufficient evidence to support criminal charges against any school district employees."

What was not disclosed, however, was a key detail that was published in an exclusive Free Press story the following day: The prosecutor's office had given multiple school officials who drew scrutiny over their decisions involving the shooter assurances that they would not be prosecuted in confidential agreements.

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Specifically, the Free Press learned that early on, while building its historic case against the parents, the prosecutor's office had offered immunity to Hopkins and Ejak. According to sources familiar with the case, the two had signed what's known as Kastigar or proffer letters  which protect witnesses who talk to the government during investigations from having what they say during those talks used against them.

Hopkins and Ejak would go on to testify against the parents, but neither the juries nor the defense knew of their proffer agreements. During their testimony, they conceded the following: that they concluded Ethan Crumbley was not a threat to anyone; they never searched his backpack; never asked his parents whether he had access to a gun; and never ordered them to take him home.

The prosecutor's office has vehemently denied offering anyone immunity in this case, stating: "Any suggestion that any school employee was offered immunity or protection from prosecution based on anything other than the facts is completely false, and we will take issue with any suggestion otherwise."

Four days after the Free Press published its story, the prosecutor's office released the proffer agreements with Ejak and Hopkins, stating: "Given the ongoing speculation surrounding the proffer agreements, and in the interest of transparency, the office is releasing the agreements." It also reiterated its assertion that "no one got immunity."

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Hopkins and Ejak, who no longer work at Oxford schools, have denied multiple requests for comment.

Judge: Each student struck by a bullet deserves $5 million

With criminal liability officially off the table, separate federal and state civil suits have been filed against the district and school officials, though they are hung up in appeals. The district has long held that it is not responsible for the shooting.

Meanwhile, in a separate lawsuit filed by the school district against its insurance company, an Oakland County judge has paved the way for the school district to potentially pay $5 million to each of the 11 victims shot by the gunman, or $55 million total. The school district had sued its insurance company seeking clarity on what it may be liable for under its $5 million insurance policy. The insurance company had argued its liability for the entire attack should be capped at $5 million.

But Oakland County Circuit Judge Jacob Cunningham sees things differently. He ruled recently that each bullet fired by the Oxford shooter that struck a student is its own "occurrence" under the district's insurance policy. That means $5 million for each victim.

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Ven Johnson, who is representing the families in multiple lawsuits, said that number could go higher  as much as $150 million  if the judge's ruling applies to victims who were shot more than once, or those fired at but not physically struck.

In a statement following the judge's ruling, the Oxford Community Schools Board of Education said it was "pleased" with the decision.

"The ruling provides clarity on the amount of potential insurance coverage available to the school district and its employees for the underlying lawsuits," the statement reads. "We hope that this ruling paves the way for us to soon resolve this matter. At the end of the day, there are no winners here. Our thoughts remain with all the families impacted by the horrific events of November 30, 2021 and we remain committed to resolving the related legal disputes on behalf of our school community.

Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Parents of Oxford school shooting victims seek state investigation
UNION, N.J. (PIX11)  Hundreds of displaced students at a New Jersey elementary school shut down because of mold will have a new temporary classroom to go to starting Monday morning.

And its on a college campus.

Sunday night, hundreds of parents, along with some of their children, got a preview of the new and temporary classroom at Kean University while the mold problem was cleared up at Hannah Caldwell Elementary School.

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Youll see what an amazing job the teachers did in setting up the classrooms for our children, Dr. Gerry Benaquista, Union school superintendent, told the crowd.

First a pep talk from the Union school superintendent, Dr. Jerry Benaquista about the terrific job he says teachers and staff did in just 24 days to create temporary classrooms inside Kean University Liberty campus on Morris Avenue.

This was necessary after Hannah Caldwell was shut down because of mold problems that may have been plaguing the school for six years.

Its been an amazing adventure getting everyone together to get it done for the kids, Ann Margaret Shannon, Pres. of Union Township Education Association.

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Then some of the parents of the 540 students from kindergarten through fourth grade at Hannah Caldwell took a tour of two floors of classrooms at Kean University.

For some, it was a complicated maze, including a lunchroom, gym, and nurses office. There were mixed reactions.

Mold damage at Hannah Caldwell Elementary School prompts relocation

Its a lot better than the gym that they had before, but its not as good as the school but its better, Gavri Ramrattan, father of a second grader, told PIX11 News.

I think they did a pretty great job, Tiffany Granger, another parent of a second grader, told PIX11 News. I wish there were more window space but she (the teacher) did a great job, she added.

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Some parents are still trying to figure out who deserves the blame for a mold problem at Hannah Caldwell on the ceiling tiles, vents, and shades that may have dated back to 2018.

Within the building, you have the maintainers, and who the maintainers report to, and then the people who fund them and provide solutions to the problems, Terrence Wright, another parent, told PIX11 News. I think they all share in the blame, he added.

Kean University officials say that these temporary classrooms can be used through the end of the academic 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 PIX11.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  After king tides slammed the Oregon Coast last week, officials are warning about continued surf dangers.

The National Weather Service issued a high surf advisory just after 3 a.m. Monday through 4 p.m. on the south-central Oregon coast, expecting large breaking waves of 20 feet on the shorelines of Douglas, Coos, and Curry counties.

Large breaking waves will create hazardous conditions along and within the surf zone, and could inundate beaches and low lying shorelines. Beach erosion is possible, and exposed infrastructure may be damaged, the NWS advisory said.

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Another very strong storm will bring storm force south winds Tuesday into Wednesday. This is likely to bring another round of very high surf, especially to south-facing beaches and ports, like Port Orford and Brookings, NWS added.

KOIN 6 NEWS Weather Alerts

On Sunday, Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District warned community members about the high surf advisory, stating lifeguards will be posted at the Gower and Tolovana beach access through Monday and are advising everyone to stay off the beaches and jetties on the coast.

The fire district said 20-foot waves are expected Monday, with 20-25-foot waves expected Wednesday.

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While king tide technically ends Monday, we still have high surf advisory creating the potential for hazardous conditions, Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District said. While king tides can create stunning visual displays, they also transform the coastal environment into a hazardous zone.

Elephants Deli worker on stolen truck: I need to get off

King tides can cause large, unpredictable waves and surges that can carry strong swimmers or surfers away from the shore and can carry debris such as rocks and logs, officials said, noting driftwood carried by the waves can become waterlogged and weigh hundreds of pounds.

The high surf advisory comes as the coast is expected be soggy Tuesday night through Wednesday amid a bomb cyclone, according to KOIN 6 News Meteorologist Kelley Bayern. The fall storm will bring heavy rain, flooding, and strong winds on the coast.

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Even after a weekend with king tides along the Oregon beaches, the coastline will still feel impacts on Monday with the possibility of sneaker waves. Beachgoers should use extra caution on the sand as these strong waves can often sneak up further onshore than normal, Bayern explained. Then, another round of impactful weather comes Tuesday and Wednesday as a strong storm, or bomb cyclone, veers by the coastline. This storm will pack a punch, bringing in hazardous seas and strong waves for boaters, potentially damaging winds to the coastline, and the possibility of flooding for coastal communities.

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.
KIEV, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- A Russian missile strike on Ukraine's southern city of Odesa killed at least eight people on Monday, according to Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper.

Kiper said on Telegram that at least 18 people, including a child, were also injured in the strike, while Lawmaker Oleksii Honcharenko said that the attack ignited two residential buildings.

Earlier on Sunday, a Russian ballistic missile attack killed at least 11 people and injured 89 others in Ukraine's northeastern city of Sumy, according to the State Service for Emergencies.

One missile hit a nine-story apartment building within a densely populated residential area, while another struck critical infrastructure, leaving the city without power. The strikes damaged at least six apartment buildings and 14 vehicles, forcing about 400 people to evacuate. 
(DigitalVision/Getty Images)

In April, just 12 weeks into her pregnancy, Kathleen Clark was standing at the receptionist window of her OB-GYNs office when she was asked to pay $960, the total the office estimated she would owe after she delivered.

Clark, 39, was shocked that she was asked to pay that amount during this second prenatal visit. Normally, patients receive the bill after insurance has paid its part, and for pregnant women thats usually only when the pregnancy ends. It would be months before the office filed the claim with her health insurer.

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Clark said she felt stuck. The Cleveland, Tennessee, obstetrics practice was affiliated with a birthing center where she wanted to deliver. Plus, she and her husband had been wanting to have a baby for a long time. And Clark was emotional, because just weeks earlier her mother had died.

Youre standing there at the window, and theres people all around, and youre trying to be really nice, recalled Clark, through tears. So, I paid it.

On online baby message boards and other social media forums, pregnant women say they are being asked by their providers to pay out-of-pocket fees earlier than expected. The practice is legal, but patient advocacy groups call it unethical. Medical providers argue that asking for payment up front ensures they get compensated for their services.

How frequently this happens is hard to track because it is considered a private transaction between the provider and the patient. Therefore, the payments are not recorded in insurance claims data and are not studied by researchers.

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Patients, medical billing experts, and patient advocates say the billing practice causes unexpected anxiety at a time of already heightened stress and financial pressure. Estimates can sometimes be higher than what a patient might ultimately owe and force people to fight for refunds if they miscarry or the amount paid was higher than the final bill.

Up-front payments also create hurdles for women who may want to switch providers if they are unhappy with their care. In some cases, they may cause women to forgo prenatal care altogether, especially in places where few other maternity care options exist.

Its holding their treatment hostage, said Caitlin Donovan, a senior director at the Patient Advocate Foundation.

Medical billing and womens health experts believe OB-GYN offices adopted the practice to manage the high cost of maternity care and the way it is billed for in the U.S.

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When a pregnancy ends, OB-GYNs typically file a single insurance claim for routine prenatal care, labor, delivery, and, often, postpartum care. That practice of bundling all maternity care into one billing code began three decades ago, said Lisa Satterfield, senior director of health and payment policy at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. But such bundled billing has become outdated, she said.

Previously, pregnant patients had been subject to copayments for each prenatal visit, which might lead them to skip crucial appointments to save money. But the Affordable Care Act now requires all commercial insurers to fully cover certain prenatal services. Plus, its become more common for pregnant women to switch providers, or have different providers handle prenatal care, labor, and delivery  especially in rural areas where patient transfers are common.

Some providers say prepayments allow them to spread out one-time payments over the course of the pregnancy to ensure that they are compensated for the care they do provide, even if they dont ultimately deliver the baby.

You have people who, unfortunately, are not getting paid for the work that they do, said Pamela Boatner, who works as a midwife in a Georgia hospital.

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While she believes women should receive pregnancy care regardless of their ability to pay, she also understands that some providers want to make sure their bill isnt ignored after the baby is delivered. New parents might be overloaded with hospital bills and the costs of caring for a new child, and they may lack income if a parent isnt working, Boatner said.

In the U.S., having a baby can be expensive. People who obtain health insurance through large employers pay an average of nearly $3,000 out-of-pocket for pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. In addition, many people are opting for high-deductible health insurance plans, leaving them to shoulder a larger share of the costs. Of the 100 million U.S. people with health care debt, 12% attribute at least some of it to maternity care, according to a 2022 KFF poll.

Families need time to save money for the high costs of pregnancy, childbirth, and child care, especially if they lack paid maternity leave, said Joy Burkhard, CEO of the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, a Los Angeles-based policy think tank. Asking them to prepay is another gut punch, she said. What if you dont have the money? Do you put it on credit cards and hope your credit card goes through?

Calculating the final costs of childbirth depends on multiple factors, such as the timing of the pregnancy, plan benefits, and health complications, said Erin Duffy, a health policy researcher at the University of Southern Californias Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. The final bill for the patient is unclear until a health plan decides how much of the claim it will cover, she said.

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But sometimes the option to wait for the insurer is taken away.

During Jamie Daws first pregnancy in 2020, her OB-GYN accepted her refusal to pay in advance because Daw wanted to see the final bill. But in 2023, during her second pregnancy, a private midwifery practice in New York told her that since she had a high-deductible plan, it was mandatory to pay $2,000 spread out with monthly payments.

Daw, a health policy researcher at Columbia University, delivered in September 2023 and got a refund check that November for $640 to cover the difference between the estimate and the final bill.

I study health insurance, she said. But, as most of us know, its so complicated when youre really living it.

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While the Affordable Care Act requires insurers to cover some prenatal services, it doesnt prohibit providers from sending their final bill to patients early. It would be a challenge politically and practically for state and federal governments to attempt to regulate the timing of the payment request, said Sabrina Corlette, a co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University. Medical lobbying groups are powerful and contracts between insurers and medical providers are proprietary.

Because of the legal gray area, Lacy Marshall, an insurance broker at Rapha Health and Life in Texas, advises clients to ask their insurer if they can refuse to prepay their deductible. Some insurance plans prohibit providers in their network from requiring payment up front.

If the insurer says they can refuse to pay up front, Marshall said, she tells clients to get established with a practice before declining to pay, so that the provider cant refuse treatment.

Clark said she met her insurance deductible after paying for genetic testing, extra ultrasounds, and other services out of her health care flexible spending account. Then she called her OB-GYNs office and asked for a refund.

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I got my spine back, said Clark, who had previously worked at a health insurer and a medical office. She got an initial check for about half the $960 she originally paid.

In August, Clark was sent to the hospital after her blood pressure spiked. A high-risk pregnancy specialist  not her original OB-GYN practice  delivered her son, Peter, prematurely via emergency cesarean section at 30 weeks.

It was only after she resolved most of the bills from the delivery that she received the rest of her refund from the other OB-GYN practice.

This final check came in October, just days after Clark brought Peter home from the hospital, and after multiple calls to the office. She said it all added stress to an already stressful period.

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Why am I having to pay the price as a patient? she said. Im just trying to have a baby.

This article first appeared on KFF Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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.
Writers Guild of America members at PBS authorized a strike of PBS. The strike will happen if management does not agree to a fair deal before the current contract expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Nov. 21. This decision came after the network failed to come to the negotiation table for weeks.

Of the 94-member bargaining unit represented, 100% voted in favor of strike authorization on Monday. This figure accounted for 83% participation by members. The Council of the WGA East and the Board of Directors of the WGA West also both unanimously approved the strike authorization vote.

Additionally, writers at 20 animated PBS series  including Almas Way, Carl the Collector, Cyberchase, Daniel Tigers Neighborhood, Molly of Denali, Pinkalicious & Peterrific and Work It Out Wombats!  signed a pledge to not cross a picket line should a strike be called by the union. If a deal isnt reached and a strike is called, all WGA members would be prohibited from performing struck work for PBS and PBS member stations. Pickets would take place at THIRTEEN in New York, WGBH in Boston and at PBS SoCal in Los Angeles.

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There are currently 150 freelance writers who work at the three top PBS affiliates. Guild members are calling for animation writers to have full union protections, a deal that would be first of its kind. Additionally, members are asking for writer-producers to have fair compensation, made-for-new-media programs be given WGA coverage and for there to be reasonable residual payments for reuse on streaming services.

Writers Guild members at PBS would much rather end the week with a fair and equitable contract than with a strike, WGAE President Lisa Takeuchi Cullen said in a statement to press, but they are also willing to do what is necessary to reach an agreement that reflects their working conditions and meets their very reasonable demands.

According to a petition that was delivered to PBS management, WGA has been waiting since July for WGBH, THIRTEEN and PBS SoCal to meet. However, the PBS employers did not come to the table with their proposals or respond to the WGA until the end of September for a contract that was supposed to expire on Oct. 9. More than 1,250 guild members signed the petition asking PBS to engage in negotiation rather than stalling, including John Oliver, Seth Meyers, Joel Kim Booster, Robert Carlock, David Mandel, Amber Ruffin, David Simon, Lilly Wachowski and Beau Willimon.

For writers, PBS has always been a cherished friend and teacher, Cullen said in a statement back in October. We believe the demands the WGA has presented will allow PBS to succeed in a time when public television is needed more than ever, while ensuring fair treatment for all its writers.

The post PBS Writers Authorize Strike appeared first on TheWrap.
Peanut butter is often considered a pillar of the American culinary experience, and for good reason. Americans eat roughly 3 pounds of peanut butter per person per year. In total, we work our way through about 700 million pounds on an annual basis -- which, to put it into perspective, is enough to coat the floor of the Grand Canyon.

With that in mind, a peanut butter recall of any level is kind of a big deal. Jars of this creamy spread lurk in a huge number of kitchens. In fact, it's thought that 94% of people in the U.S. have peanut butter in their pantry at any given time. As a result, any kind of food safety scare that includes peanut butter can have pretty serious widespread consequences, especially considering the prevalence of salmonella in recent decades. While it's most commonly associated with undercooked meat, salmonella has proven particularly stubborn in peanut butter due to the fact that its low moisture, paired with its high sugar and fat content, provide the perfect environment for the bacteria to thrive.

But salmonella isn't the only concern pulling peanut butter off shelves. Over the years, multiple risks and scares have forced brands to recall their products, some of which were more alarming than others. From toxins to metal, here's a look at some of the industry's biggest peanut butter recalls.

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Read more: Peanut Butter, Ranked From Worst To Best

House Of Natural Butters (2024)

Jar of crunchy peanut butter with the lid open, surrounded by crushed and whole peanuts - Eden All Natural / Facebook

The most recent major recall to hit the peanut butter scene actually occurred not in the U.S. but in South Africa. In February 2024, supermarket chain Pick n Pay pulled its smooth No Name peanut butter from shelves. It also cleared out both the smooth and crunchy varieties of Eden All Natural, as did other grocery stores such as Faithful to Nature and Takealot. Later that month, the National Consumer Commission (NCC) also warned that two more stores -- Dis-Chem and Wazoogles -- had also recalled peanut butter.

As it turns out, they had a very good reason for doing so. The peanut butter in question was produced by House of Natural Butters, which had found that its peanut butter contained a higher-than-acceptable concentration of aflatoxin. This toxic mold is a known carcinogen that has been linked to a wealth of concerning side effects when consumed in high amounts, such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and acute liver injury. (Did you really expect anything else from something with "toxic" in its name?)

Unsurprisingly, the NCC went on to launch a full-scale investigation, after which more brands faced urgent recalls. This included multiple Eat Naked peanut products, Woolworth's peanut butter ice cream, and 10,776 units of Clover Go Nuts peanut butter. Luckily, no actual illnesses were reported, but better safe than sorry.

Jif (2022)

Jars of Jif peanut butter in pile - Walter Cicchetti/Shutterstock

Jif has been an American institution since 1956, boasting the largest market share in peanut butter by a landslide. It would be unrealistic to think that the brand's gone over 60 years without some kind of blip on its record. Sure enough, its most recent recall scandal occurred in 2022, when Jif peanut butter was linked to a salmonella outbreak that sickened 21 people and hospitalized four across 17 states.

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The outbreak started in May when the first five people affected all claimed that they had recently eaten peanut butter. Four of these same five people specifically recalled eating Jif peanut butter. Thanks to a handy testing tool called Whole Genome Sequencing, the Food and Drug Association (FDA) was then able to trace the outbreak back to a J.M. Smucker (which bought Jif in 2001) facility in Lexington, Kentucky.

As a result, the plant closed for weeks, with a spokesperson telling Axios that it was "confident in the aggressive steps that were taken to address the events." While J.M. Smucker claimed that it had "identified a breach" in its machinery that allowed rainwater to seep through the systems and onto its roasted peanuts -- creating the perfect bacterial breeding ground in the process -- it was later revealed that the plant had a recurrent history of salmonella dating all the way back to 2017. Overall, it's thought that the whole scandal cost J.M. Smucker around $125 million.

Skippy (2022)

Jars of Skippy peanut butter on shelf - Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Before Jif snatched its crown, Skippy was America's best-selling peanut butter for over 30 years. It may no longer technically be number one, but it came out on top of our peanut butter ranking and it's still popular enough for a mass recall to be an issue. That was the case back in 2022 when a huge amount of Skippy peanut butter disappeared from supermarket shelves after the company revealed that some jars may be contaminated with tiny shards of stainless steel.

The recall affected a total of 9,353 cases of both the creamy and chunky varieties of Skippy Reduced Fat Peanut Butter Spread, plus Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter Blended With Plant Protein -- a number that becomes even more shocking when you realize that this equals 161,692 pounds of peanut butter altogether. The good news is that Skippy never actually received any reports from customers finding a sprinkle of steel in their peanut butter. However, considering the damage a mouthful of metal could potentially cause, the brand had no choice but to carry out the costly recall after its internal detection systems alerted it to the fact that manufacturing equipment may have potentially affected a small number of jars. The whole debacle would be easier to forget if it was Skippy's first major recall -- but, as we'll get to later, that's not quite the case.

Inspired Organics (2018 - 2019)

Sandwich next to jar of peanut butter and jam - Inspired Organics / Instagram

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Salmonella isn't the only bacteria known to plague peanut butter. Despite its optimistic name, Inspired Organics found itself at the center of a food safety scandal in late 2018 when its nut and seed butters -- peanut butter included -- tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

Like salmonella, listeria can cause a fever, nausea, stomach pain, and diarrhea. However, it has also been linked to more serious, even fatal infections among the vulnerable, and can trigger miscarriages and stillbirths. This kind of bacteria should theoretically be killed by the heat of the roasting process, but the reality is that peanut butter can still be contaminated if production facilities don't take the right precautions.

While the recall started with sunflower butter, the brand's distributor, Lipari Foods LLC, ultimately recalled almond, peanut, and tahini butter from 15 states and Ontario, Canada. With all of these products heralding from the same plant owned by the Oskri Organics Corporation in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, this recall went on to cover all nut butter that emerged from the facility. Fortunately, no illnesses were linked to any of the nut butter involved, but the Lake Mills plant didn't fare quite as well. Four months after the first recall notice, it officially closed its doors for good.

Sunland Inc. (2012)

Open jar of peanut butter with a spoon in it - Subbotina Anna/Shutterstock

In September 2012, a salmonella outbreak that sickened 29 people and hospitalized four led to the recall of Trader Joe's Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter. But it didn't stop there. Over the course of a few weeks, what was initially suspected to be a limited outbreak ended up blowing up to the point that all nut products produced by Sunland, Inc. between March and September 2010 -- including those sold at Target, Sprouts Farmers Market, and Heinen's -- were pulled from circulation.

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An intense FDA investigation soon followed, which concluded that Sunland, Inc. had found salmonella in 11 batches of its products in just three years yet circulated said products anyway. By November, over 40 people were reported as sick across 20 states, a significant percentage of which were children under the age of 10. It was then that Sunland's New Mexico plant had the unfortunate distinction of being the first shut down by the FDA under the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011. This also required it to stop distributing food until its facilities took corrective measures.

These corrective measures never manifested, as Sunland didn't manage to bounce back from this blow. Less than a year later, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. In 2014, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court auctioned off the facility responsible for the outbreak, officially closing the curtain on a tough chapter for the peanut butter industry.

Smucker's (2011)

Jar of Smucker's chunky peanut butter with peanuts - Scott Olson/Getty Images

While Smucker's is the parent company to some of the biggest names in the biz -- including Jif, Adams, and Laura Scudder's -- it was its own self-named line of peanut butters that sparked a recall in 2011. To be specific, it was Smucker's Natural Chunky Peanut Butter. Routine sampling found that it was contaminated with salmonella bacterium, which meant that the brand needed to pull all 16-ounce jars sold between November 8 and November 17, 2011.

This was no small feat, considering that by that point, about 3,000 jars had already been shipped to 24 states while another 16,000 sat untouched in Smucker's warehouses. Thanks to the company's quick response, no illnesses were linked to the consumption of Smucker's Natural Chunky Peanut Butter. That makes this one of the less alarming salmonella outbreaks tied to peanut butter over the years, but also proves just how critical routine testing is to food safety.

Skippy (2011)

Jar of reduced fat Skippy peanut butter on a countertop - therooparel / X, formerly known as Twitter

Years before Skippy was forced to recall its peanut butter over metal shards, a round of routine testing identified salmonella in a batch of products from its Little Rock, Arkansas, factory. Once again, it was the Skippy Reduced Fat Peanut Butter Spread (both creamy and chunky) that was affected, with a whopping 64,020 units recalled by Unilever United States Inc., Skippy's then-parent company.

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No illnesses had been reported at the time of the recall. As Skippy moved so quickly, no illnesses were reported after the recall, either. Customers who found Skippy Reduced Fat Peanut Butter Spread at home were encouraged to toss the jar ASAP and contact the company to secure their coupon for a replacement. This all occurred in March 2011, when people seemed more concerned about the lack of nutritional value in reduced fat peanut butter than potential salmonella. As per Grist, "the real scandal" was Skippy stripping out peanut butter's monounsaturated fats -- which have proven health benefits -- and replacing them with a bunch of additives and hydrogenated oil. Personally, we'd rather take the additives and oil than a potential dose of salmonella, but that's just us.

Peanut Corporation Of America (2008 - 2009)

Peanut butter scooped out of a jar on a knife - Skhoward/Getty Images

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The Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) scandal of 2008 isn't just one of the worst peanut butter recalls in history but one of the biggest food recalls of all time. What started with a string of salmonella cases across 12 states in November soon escalated and took two months to trace to its source: PCA's manufacturing plant in Blakely, Georgia.

By this point, the outbreak had spread way beyond those initial 12 states. A total of nine people died and over 700 people fell ill in 46 states, with one case reported in Canada. It's thought that the actual numbers are much higher; as per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for every confirmed case of salmonellosis, roughly 30 cases were unreported. That brings the estimated real total to around 22,000 cases.

While the outbreak slowed in early 2009, the damage was already done. Over 3,000 peanut products were recalled in total, with the FDA finding that PCA -- which filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in February 2009 -- had a track record for cutting corners for the sake of profit and knowingly shipping out products that had tested positive for salmonella. PCA was ultimately ordered to pay $12 million to victims, while its owner, Stewart Parnell, was sentenced to 28 years in prison, making him the first-ever company executive convicted of a federal felony in a food safety case. His brother Michael Parnell, who served as a food broker for PCA, also received a 20-year sentence.

Peter Pan And Great Value (2006 - 2007)

Hand holding jar of Peter Pan peanut butter in grocery store - The Image Party/Shutterstock

The noughties weren't a great time for peanut butter. In 2007, ConAgra Foods (which is now known as Conagra Brands) recalled all the peanut butter it had sold since 2004 after one of its plants in Georgia was linked to a mass salmonella outbreak.

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As you can imagine, three years' worth of products equaled a fair few jars of peanut butter. At the time, ConAgra Foods produced peanut butter products for both Peter Pan (America's first branded peanut butter) and Walmart's own brand, Great Value. While both obviously still sell peanut butter to this day, it still had a huge impact on sales, with Peter Pan completely vanishing from grocery stores for about six months.

Even unopened, refrigerated peanut butter won't last three years, so the vast majority of products from this timeframe were likely long gone by this point. Regardless, the outbreak still affected at least 625 people across 47 states. Years later, ConAgra Foods pled guilty to shipping adulterated food. While it insisted that it didn't knowingly greenlight shipments of peanut butter contaminated with salmonella, it did admit that its products had tested positive in its Georgia factory at least twice in 2004. As a result, ConAgra Foods was ordered to pay a penalty of $11.2 million -- pocket change compared to the $275 million it went on to spend on upgrading its facilities and implementing a new testing process to prevent similar situations in the future.

Kraft (1996)

Jars of Kraft peanut butter - BobNoah/Shutterstock

It's hard to imagine now, but back in the 1990s, the peanut butter industry had yet to experience its first salmonella outbreak -- or, at least, its first known salmonella outbreak. That all changed in 1996 when roughly 500 cases of salmonella were tied back to products sold by Kraft Australia. The brand recalled 10 different varieties of peanut butter in what was later described by the Australian Financial Review as the worst crisis in the entire company's history.

At the height of the outbreak, it's said that over 100,000 customers called Kraft Australia to complain. The company lost an estimated $15 million and was subjected to a class action lawsuit with over 500 plaintiffs. One 72-year-old man's death was also traced back to the outbreak after salmonella pathogens were found in his lungs during an autopsy.

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It was later decided that the most probable cause of the outbreak came down to Kraft Australia's peanut supplier, The Peanut Co. of Australia Ltd. The company had reportedly decided to move large amounts of peanuts around with an auger that had been stored in a yard plagued by mice, whose droppings most likely contaminated the tool. While the auger was apparently washed before being used, it wasn't sanitized, and so it went on to contaminate the peanuts, too.

Peanut Corporation Of America (1990)

Open jar of peanut butter with peanuts on wooden table - Sanny11/Getty Images

Nearly 20 years before the salmonella outbreak that closed the company down for good, the Peanut Corporation of America undertook a slightly less serious recall. This time around, it was forced to withdraw some of its peanut butter after federal regulators discovered high levels of carcinogenic aflatoxins at its Gorman, Texas plant.

After Peanut Corporation of America recalled the affected products, it was sued by two of its corporate customers. The company had sent recall notices a full month after it first learned about the toxic mold, in which time the American Candy Company had already bought hundreds of 50-pound cases of peanut butter and turned them into peanut butter kisses for Walmart. A year later, Zachary Confections of Frankfort, Ind. discovered that its 40,020-pound shipment of peanuts was also extremely high in aflatoxin -- luckily before any of its products actually hit the market.

While the Peanut Corporation of America insisted that the peanuts sold to Zachary Confections of Frankfort, Indiana were good, Stewart Parnell -- who would one day go on to become the Peanut Corporation of America's president and be imprisoned for its deceptive operations in the late 2000s -- reportedly settled both cases. His father, Hugh Parnell, ran the business at the time, having transformed it into a multi-million-dollar peanut empire. The family briefly sold the company in the years after its aflatoxin scandal before Stewart Parnell repurchased it. Knowing what we know now, it would've been best if he didn't.

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WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWTI)  The Watertown Police Department has released the names involved in an alleged Saturday evening accident that involved a car and a pedestrian.

Authorities responded just after 5:45 p.m. Saturday, November 16 to the 500 block of State St for a traffic accident involving a car and a pedestrian.

Stewarts tap-to-pay option halted due to fraud

Police said the accident was between a Chevy Camaro operated by 26-year-old Hunter DuPree of Carthage, who was traveling east on State St. and 47-year-old Marty Parish of Watertown. Watertown Police said Parish was allegedly crossing State St. on foot from the North side of the street outside the crosswalk.

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Reportedly, the driver of the Camaro was unable to stop in time and struck the pedestrian. According to police, DuPree stopped and called 911.

According to police, Parish was treated on scene and transported to Samaritan Medical Center and then flown to Upstate University Hospital. Police reported that Parish suffered from numerous fractures, lacerations and internal injuries. Parishs condition is listed as critical but stable.

The accident was investigated on the scene by the crash management unit. Watertown City Fire Department, Guilfoyle and the New York State Police assisted the Watertown Police Department.

If anyone has any information about this incident, you are asked to call the Watertown Police Department at 315-782-2233.

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Currently, there are no charges pending 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 WWTI - InformNNY.com.
Pennsylvanias state Supreme Court on Monday weighed in on a flashpoint amid ongoing vote counting in the U.S. Senate election between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick, ordering counties not to count mail-in ballots that lack a correct handwritten date on the return envelope.

The order is a win for McCormick and a loss for Casey as the campaigns prepare for a statewide recount and press counties for favorable ballot-counting decisions. The Democratic-majority high courts order reiterates the position it took previously that the ballots shouldnt be counted in the election, a decision that three Democratic-controlled counties nevertheless have challenged.

>> Unofficial results in Casey, McCormick race for US Senate trigger legally required recount

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The Associated Press called the race for McCormick last week, concluding that not enough ballots remained to be counted in areas Casey was winning for him to take the lead.

As of Monday, McCormick led by about 17,000 votes out of almost 7 million ballots counted  inside the 0.5% margin threshold to trigger an automatic statewide recount under Pennsylvania law.

Republicans last week had asked the court to bar counties from counting the ballots, saying those decisions violate both the courts recent orders and its precedent in upholding the requirement in state law that a voter write the date on their mail-in ballots return envelope.

Democratic-majority election boards in Montgomery County, Philadelphia and Bucks County voted to count the ballots that lacked a correct date, echoing election officials around the state who say the date tells them nothing about a voters eligibility or a ballots legitimacy.

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Republicans maintain that the date is a critical element of ballot security.

At first, the GOP also asked the court to block the count in Centre County, but later said the county had only counted three ballots that GOP officials found to be reasonable.

Statewide, the number of mail-in ballots with wrong or missing dates on the return envelope could be in the thousands. However, most counties  including several heavily populated counties controlled by Democrats  didnt count them.

Democrats cast more mail-in ballots than Republicans, and Democrats in the past have supported counting ballots that trip over what they view as meaningless clerical requirements in state law.

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Various courts have ruled against the dating requirement in at least a half-dozen cases  including once by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals  but higher courts have always reinstated it.

Meanwhile, the state Supreme Court has put off ruling on a pending case that calls into question whether the law violates the constitutional right to vote.

McCormick took a position aligned with Democrats in his failed eleventh-hour bid to close the gap in votes with celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvanias Republican primary contest for U.S. Senate.

In that case, McCormicks lawyer told a state judge that the object of Pennsylvanias election law is to let people vote, not to play games of gotcha with them.

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The National Guardsman who in 2021 pegged Pete Hegseth as a potential "insider threat" clarified in an interview with ABC News that his complaint targeted a "Deus Vult" tattoo on the former Fox News host's arm -- not a cross on his chest, as Hegseth has repeatedly claimed.

President-elect Donald Trump last week tapped Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense. He listed Hegseth's experience as a veteran and his media experience as his reasons for the choice.

As Reuters and The Associated Press first reported, Sgt. DeRicko Gaither sent an image of the "Deus Vult" tattoo to Maj. Gen. William Walker shortly before President Joe Biden's inauguration. The phrase, which translates from Latin to "God wills it," has been co-opted by white nationalist groups, experts have said.

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"This information is quite disturbing, sir," Gaither wrote in the email to Walker, who has not responded to ABC News' request for comment. "This falls along the lines of (an) Insider Threat."

PHOTO: Pete Hegseth celebrates Independence Day on 'Fox & Friends Weekend,' July 4, 2021, in New York. (James Devaney/GC Images/Getty Images)

Hegseth, Trump's defense pick, paid settlement to woman who accused him of sexual assault, lawyer says

Hegseth claimed in his book "The War on Warriors" that his "orders were revoked" ahead of Biden's inauguration because fellow service members had flagged a tattoo of the Jerusalem Cross on his chest as a white nationalist symbol. As a result, Hegseth wrote, he resigned from the military.

But Gaither clarified in a text message to ABC News that his complaint targeted the "Deus Vult" tattoo, despite "the narrative that has been out there."

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"Just so we are clear. This has NOTHING to do with the Jerusalem Cross tattoo on his chest," Gaither wrote in the text. "This has everything to do with the 'DEUS VULT' Tattoo on his inner bicep."

Gaithers sensitivity to what he described as the "disturbing" imagery in Hegseth's tattoos came at a time when the military was grappling with the fact that dozens of active and former service members had participated in the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick for defense secretary, once slammed him for 'shallowness' on foreign policy

Gaither, who confirmed to ABC News the contents of his complaint -- which he wrote just one week after Jan. 6, emphasized that "this wasn't then and isn't now a personal attack towards Pete Hegseth."

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"The information received and [the] email sent on January 14th was the protocol that had to be followed because of the position assignment that I was assigned to," explained Gaither, who was at the time assigned as the Guards' head of security. "The protocol was followed and would be followed again if this issue involved any other service member, myself included."

PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump is interviewed by Fox and Friends co-host Pete Hegseth at the White House in Washington, U.S. April 6, 2017. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

As ABC News has reported, Hegseth fired back at the initial coverage of this matter in The Associated Press by claiming it was "Anti-Christian bigotry."

"They can target me  I dont give a damn  but this type of targeting of Christians, conservatives, patriots and everyday Americans will stop on DAY ONE at DJT's DoD," Hegseth wrote on X.

Trump defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth was flagged as potential military 'insider threat' because of 'Deus Vult' tattoo originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
(Bloomberg) -- Petrobras plans to boost spending on new oil drilling and other projects by almost 9% to $111 billion in the next five-year plan.

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The Brazilian oil giants eight-person executive office proposed that amount for the 2025-2029 period, according to a filing Monday. The plan still needs the approval of Petroleo Brasileiro SAs board of directors and is scheduled to be released on Nov. 21.

Most of the outlays  roughly $77 billion  will go to exploration and production projects in Brazil and abroad. Chief Executive Officer Magda Chambriard said recently that Petrobras expects to drill more wells next year. Refining and related business lines such as fertilizer and logistics will account for about $20 billion in expenditures.

Overall crude and natural gas output is forecast to reach the equivalent of 3.2 million barrels a day by the end of the five-year timeline. Thats unchanged from the 2028 target set forth in the current long-range plan and may raise concern among analysts about the pace of output growth.

We continue to suspect that the ramp up in upstream volumes could be more gradual than in the previous plan given the phasing of new production units, Jefferies analysts Alejandro Demichelis and Pedro Baptista wrote in a note to clients.

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Folha de S. Paulo earlier reported the proposal.

The state-controlled company also raised the regular dividend payout for the five-year span by $5 billion to at least $45 billion, or 13%, with the potential for another $10 billion in extraordinary payouts.

Petrobras American depositary receipts extended gains after the announcement, rising as much as 2.7% in New York. Preferred shares rose 2.5% in Sao Paulo.

Investors are still awaiting additional details about oil-price assumptions, debt targets and other variables underpinning the spending plan.

Chambriard, who rose through the ranks at Petrobras before helming Brazils oil regulator in the 2010s, has eased concerns that Petrobras would take costly detours into less-profitable renewable projects at the expense of offshore drilling that made th nation a key source of non-OPEC crude.

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Petrobras wont completely abandon renewables, even as it prioritizes self-sufficiency in fuel production, Brazilian Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira said on the sidelines of the G20 conference in Rio de Janeiro.

--With assistance from Leda Alvim and Martha Beck.

(Updates with analysts comment in fifth paragraph, Brazilian energy minister in final paragraph.)

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HELSINKI, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- A repair ship has been dispatched from Calais, France, to fix the damaged submarine cable between Finland and Germany, Finnish state-owned data transmission company Cinia said on Monday afternoon.

The point of breakage on the out-of-service submarine cable C-Lion1 is located to the east of the southern tip of Sweden's island of Oland, Cinia CEO Ari-Jussi Knaapila said at a press conference.

According to Cinia, the cable will be raised from the seabed, and repairs will be made aboard the ship. Repairing cables of this type typically takes between five and 15 days.

The cause of the fault is under investigation, Cinia said earlier.

Despite the malfunction of the cable, Finland's major commercial data communications operators Elisa and Telia said that customers may not notice any disruption, as communications are continuing via alternative routes.

The C-Lion1 cable, which spans 1,173 km, connects Helsinki to the German coastal city of Rostock. Its installation in the Baltic Sea was completed in early 2016. Designed and built by Cinia, it connects data hubs in Central Europe with Finland, other Nordic countries, and Asia. 
By Karen Lema

MANILA (Reuters) -The Philippines and the United States signed a military intelligence-sharing deal on Monday, deepening defence ties between the two nations facing common security challenges in the region.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signed the agreement with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, at Manila's military headquarters where they also broke ground for a coordination center that will facilitate collaboration between their armed forces.

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Called the General Security of Military Information Agreement or GSOMIA, the pact allows both countries to share classified military information securely.

"Not only will this allow the Philippines access to higher capabilities and big-ticket items from the United States, it will also open opportunities to pursue similar agreements with like-minded nations," said Philippines' defence ministry spokesperson Arsenio Andolong.

Security engagements between the United States and the Philippines have deepened under President Joe Biden and his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with both leaders keen to counter what they see as China's aggressive policies in the South China Sea and near Taiwan.

China's foreign ministry said on Monday any kind of military agreement or security cooperation "must not be directed against or harm the interests of a third party, and they must not undermine regional peace or exacerbate tensions in the region."

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"The only correct choice for safeguarding one's own national security and maintaining peace and stability in the region is to adhere to good neighborly relations and to strategic autonomy," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.

The United States and the Philippines have a mutual defence treaty dating back to 1951, which could be invoked if either side came under attack, including in the South China Sea.

"I want to start by underscoring our ironclad commitment to the Philippines," Austin said during the groundbreaking ceremony for the coordination center.

Austin said the coordination center should enable real-time information sharing between the two defence treaty allies and boost interoperability.

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"It will be a place where our forces can work side by side to respond to regional challenges," Austin said.

The Philippines has expressed confidence the alliance will remain strong under incoming U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Both the Philippines and the United States face increasingly aggressive actions from China in the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion in annual ship-borne commerce, which it claims almost entirely as its own.

In 2016 the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague said China's claims had no legal basis, siding with the Philippines which brought the case.

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But China rejected the ruling, leading to a series of sea and air confrontations with the Philippines that have turned the highly strategic South China Sea into a potential flashpoint between Washington and Beijing.

"The United States' presence in the Indo Pacific region is essential for maintaining peace and stability in this region," Teodoro said during the inauguration, echoing previous remarks made by Marcos.

(Reporting by Karen Lema; Additional reporting by Joe Cash in Beijing; Editing by Martin Petty, Michael Perry and Bernadette Baum)
Independent shops and cafes once littered the streets of St James, Exeter, where a close-knit community lived peacefully. But an influx of University of Exeter students snapping up homes intended for families has rendered the area almost unrecognisable.

Robyn Connitt, 71, who has lived in the neighbourhood for almost 50 years, tells The Telegraph: These days, its full of takeaways and barber shops. Some of us have been told by students that if we dont like it, we should leave. And very sadly, lots of families have moved out of the area.

The situation in St James is being replicated in university cities across the UK. A student housing shortage has sparked a wave of landlords  who are facing their own increasingly tight margins  buying up family homes and converting them into houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).

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Some 21,444 new HMO licences were issued in 2023, a 9pc increase on the year before and almost six times more than in 2018, according to research firm Searchland.

In a recent tweet, property television presenter, Kirstie Allsopp, cited the issue of university accommodation taking up family homes as one of the key crises exacerbating the UKs housing shortages.

Yes. A: Address the issue of university accommodation taking up family homes in many locations. B: Build Scandi style 2 story blocks over every shopping centre & single story retail unit in the UK 3. Streamline purchase & sale system so it is easier to buy & sell & cut SDLT.  Kirstie Allsopp (@KirstieMAllsopp) November 5, 2024

Converting a standard family home into HMOs designed for students can immediately create three or more separate paying tenants who, struggling with accommodation shortages, are willing to pay significant rent premiums.

The issue is worsened by the fact that universities are accepting more and more students while the supply of accommodation has failed to keep pace.

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There were 2.9 million students enrolled in higher education in the 2022-23 academic year, a 16pc increase from 2019-2020. Student accommodation website StuRents forecasts a deficit of 625,000 student beds by 2026, up from a shortage of just 5,000 beds in 2018.

As universities continue to accept large swathes of students they cannot accommodate, it is local residents like Ms Connitt who pay the price.

She says: Students antisocial behaviour is also a big thing, which is often at odds with families who are asking themselves if St James is still a suitable environment for raising their children.

Many describe the walk to school, avoiding pools of vomit, discarded takeaway packaging and overflowing refuse bins. Lots of students bring their cars up, so its also impossible to park anywhere during term time.

Some of us have been told by students that if we dont like it, we should leave, says Robyn Connitt, 71 - Jay Williams

Her concerns are echoed by residents in Durham, which is home to more than 20,000 university students.

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County Durham Conservative councillor, Luke Holmes, says: The conversion of family homes into student HMOs is severely affecting the availability of housing for families.

Its not only about supply but also about fairness in the tax system. Student residents in these HMOs are exempt from council tax, despite benefiting from the full range of services an ordinary taxpayer receives.

This creates a tax revenue gap that puts a significant burden on our local authority, ultimately shifting the load onto regular taxpayers, which isnt fair.

Meanwhile, Richard Tyler lives in Headingley, Leeds, which is now home to around 60,000 full-time students. Dr Tyler has witnessed the effect this has had on the local community first-hand.

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He says: It used to be a normal suburban area - but now there are twice as many students as permanent residents. Once you get such strong demand for student housing, the price of properties shoots up, and families get priced out.

Landlords can afford to outbid them, because they know theyll make it all back in rental income. Weve seen a major loss of first homes for families in favour of second homes for students.

Dr Tyler has spent 20 years campaigning against the transformation of communities into areas dominated by students.

He lives near Chestnut Avenue, notorious for the high number of burglaries it sees each year.

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Student areas attract thieves, as homes are often poorly secured by their residents, who also tend to have their own sets of valuable belongings, including laptops, smartphones and games consoles.

Dr Tyler says: My kids used to go and play with other children on that street, but there are no families left there now. Its like walking down an alley in a prison - each door and window is covered in security bars.

Some councils have implemented Article 4 directions, which requires landlords to gain planning permission in order to convert homes into HMOs. But in areas that have been flooded by students, some residents feel this is too little too late.

Its like trying to close the stable door after the horse has bolted, says Dr Tyler.

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One way to ease the depletion of family homes is to build more purpose-built student accommodation in the form of blocks of flats.

Torrin Wilkins, director of Centre Think Tank, says councils and universities should work together to increase the quality of on-site student accommodation whilst also bringing down the prices.



He adds: Universities should not simply seek to profit off students but provide them with the building blocks of bright futures.

But not everybody agrees. Tammy Palmer, a Liberal Democrat councillor in Exeters St James ward, argues that throwing more purpose-built accommodation at student cities is far from a simple fix.

Purpose-built student accommodation buildings are often huge buildings that dwarf everything else. Students need to live somewhere, but Exeter is a small and very historic city.

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And she stresses many students are unproblematic, and that the university does not ignore her concerns.

Ms Palmer says: Its probably not fair to entirely blame students  they have come to university with no real knowledge of these tensions. Many students will be great neighbours.

Most residents really enjoy having a few students around; they have no issue with a couple of houses being used as student accommodation in their street.

But many have seen entire roads become student homes, and the community balance has tipped to a point that it is entirely lost.

A spokesman for Durham University said: Durham University student spending generates 68m a year gross value added and supports over 1,100 jobs in County Durham.

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Durham University students volunteer 40,000 hours per year, supporting more than 200 charities and good causes, and make a significant contribution to the cultural vibrancy of County Durham, including presenting over 90 theatre productions every year.

The universities of Exeter and Leeds were also contacted for comment.

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POLAND, Ohio (WKBN)  Celebrate Poland wants to help make your Thanksgiving easier. Its holding a drive-thru pie sale fundraiser next Wednesday night, right before Thanksgiving.

You can show up behind Poland Village Town Hall and pick up a pie between 3-6 p.m. on Nov. 27.

The pies are $12, and you can choose from six flavors: pumpkin, pecan, peach, honey crisp apple, very berry and blueberry.

The big draw for this pie sale is convenience.

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And thats what we wanted. We wanted to bring people out, said Cindy Best, with Celebrate Poland. They do not even have to get out of the car. Theyre going to drive through, put in their order, pay, pick up, pull out, just like that. Well have people working to come up to your car to get your order, to take your payment, to give you your pies.

Call or text 330-651-2999 to make a pre-order or message Celebrate Poland on Facebook. Pre-orders are not required.

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.
A firefighter suffered minor injuries Sunday after a Pikesville Volunteer Fire Company vehicle crashed while responding to an emergency, according to Baltimore County Police.

The fire department vehicle had its lights and sirens activated at around noon when it hit a light pole while attempting to avoid striking a Maryland Transit Administration bus on 4300 block of Old Court Road in Pikesville, police said.

No injuries were reported other than the one firefighter, who was treated at the scene and released, police said. The bus was not hit.

Have a news tip? Contact Dan Belson at dbelson@baltsun.com, 443-790-4827, on X as @DanBelson_ or on Signal as @danbels.62.
The local health department has shut down a downtown Tacoma pizzeria after a routine inspection uncovered rodent droppings throughout the kitchen and below equipment, bags of flour presumably chewed by mice and flies on sticky traps.

The Rock Wood Fired Pizza at 1920 Jefferson Ave. has been closed since the afternoon of Nov. 13 after an inspector for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department discovered evidence of a rodent infestation, according to the publicly available report.

A phone call to the restaurant Monday morning went to voicemail, and an email request for comment was not immediately returned. Health department spokesperson Kenny Via referred The News Tribune to the inspection report for details. In an emailed statement, he added that representatives from The Rock informed us this morning they are working to address the issues and plan to be ready for a pre-opening inspection later this week.

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An updated health department sign in the window shows the restaurant as temporarily closed, with the associated sad-face rating. A typed sign reads, We are currently closed for maintenance and repairs in the building. We apologize for the inconvenience and look forward to seeing you soon.

The inspector, Sarah Foster, arrived at the restaurant around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, spending just shy of 90 minutes on site. Her report noted rodent droppings throughout the kitchen and below equipment, including the pizza oven, deep-fryer, coolers and storage shelves. Similar evidence of rodents was found on top of food-contact surfaces including pizza paddles, service trays and pre-cut wax paper used to line service plates, such as trays for nachos.

At least one bag of flour showed noticeable chew marks with mouse droppings on top of bag, the inspector wrote in the report. Rodent remnants were flagged as built up on brick walls, alcoves and below sinks. Foam insulation in the walls also showed chew marks.

The report called out black flies in kitchen area including on sticky traps throughout kitchen and on food-contact surfaces, including a table in the prep kitchen and countertops.

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TPCHD cited the Tacoma pizza shop five red points, a high-risk violation, and immediately closed the facility. To reopen, staff must meet a series of criteria and pass a pre-opening inspection, which costs $217.

Steps include removing all food debris and grease build-up, cleaning areas with evidence of pests, and washing and sanitizing all food-preparation surfaces and tools. Staff must also discard any contaminated single-use items like paper liners, pizza boxes and takeout containers.

Finally, the business must hire a certified pest-control operator to perform a mass catching/treatment.

Only after sharing the results of that procedure and proving no evidence of pests could the restaurant schedule its pre-opening inspection.

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Other checks  for proper temperatures of cooked and cooled foods, especially  did not reveal additional issues, according to the inspection report. The pizzeria was cited several times in 2023 for failing to meet the health departments standards for hot- and cold-holding of raw and prepared foods. Those issues, outlined in an April 2023 report, ranged from storing raw beef on a shelf above cooked chicken, for instance, to tepid queso in a warming device.

Handwash sinks also were found with lower-than-accepted water temperatures last year.

There have been two other instances of potential rodent problems, according to a News Tribune review of the inspection records available on TPCHDs website:

In January 2024, an inspection report noted fruit flies in the kitchen, largely around the drain of the three-compartment sink, and rodent feces in corners and below equipment in the kitchen. The manager at the time provided a recent pest-control report. The health inspector wrote that the restaurant must minimize the presence of pests including flies and rodents and should continue professional pest-control services.

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During the April 2023 visit, the inspector found Hot Shot insecticide on a pipe next to prep sink. Restaurants are only permitted to use food-safe insecticides, the report noted.

TPCHD has visited The Rock in Tacoma nine times from April 2023 to November 2024, including two pre-opening inspections that followed repeated high-risk violations and one educational visit with supervisors and staff.

The restaurant company, now owned by John Allegretto and Don Bellis, currently operates six additional locations in Western Washington, including in Puyallup, Lacey and Federal Way, and one near Denver, Colorado, according to its website. Several others have closed in recent years, from Silverdale to the Portland metro area.

Bellis and Jay Gigandet, who is no longer involved, started the rock n roll-themed brand in Tacoma, originally as The Wedge, in 1995.

Editors Note, 11/19/2024: This story has been updated to reflect current ownership of The Wedge Corporation, which is based in Auburn.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KETK)  The Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church celebrated their 150th anniversary on Sunday.

Marvin Methodist Church in Tyler celebrates 175 years of faith

The church, which is north of Nacogdoches on FM 2864, had their first building built in 1874. Most recently, the church was rebuilt after a 1995 fire burned much of the building.

KETK spoke with Travis Russell, the churchs music director and Sunday school teacher, about what the anniversary means to their congregation.

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Well, Im just glad that this church is still here for 150 years and like, I say, its been an uninterrupted service. A lot of churches are closing and were just thrilled that we can do it. But we know we have a greater mission, and thats to continue on with the work of the Lord, said Russell.

To learn more, visit Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church online.

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 KETK.com | FOX51.com.
(Bloomberg) -- Polands head of state accused Chancellor Olaf Scholz of trying to cut Donald Trump out of talks over the future of Ukraine in a bid to revive Germanys own relations with Russia.

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Scholz drew criticism from the government in Kyiv and some of its allies over his phone call last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he justified by saying he aimed to push the Kremlin leader to negotiate a lasting peace with Ukraine.

But Polish President Andrzej Duda, who has cultivated a close relationship with Trump since the president-elects first term in office, said the telephone diplomacy had another purpose.

I believe it was an attempt to bring about a cease-fire in Ukraine before Donald Trump took office, Duda said in an interview in Warsaw.

Duda also criticized Scholzs decision to invite US President Joe Biden for talks on the future of Ukraine with the leaders of France and the UK last month in Berlin. The Polish leader said he was shocked that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wasnt given a seat at the table.

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Asked about Dudas comments during a news conference at the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Scholz reiterated his reasons for talking with Putin.

We also have to make sure that Europe speaks, and so I emphasize again that it was very important to hold talks, Scholz told reporters.

Also to be able to report that, unfortunately from what we heard, nothing has changed with the Russian president from his original plans, he added.

Dudas intervention is the latest evidence of how Kyivs allies are jockeying for position ahead of a major shakeup in geopolitics triggered by Trumps return.

The Polish head of state also has his own agenda to worry about  hell be out of a job next year when constitutional limits prevent him from running for a third term as president and he has been isolated at home since his allies in the Law & Justice party were defeated by Prime Minister Donald Tusk in 2023.

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Duda said that Scholz is concerned about being pushed into disadvantageous deals with Washington after Trump takes office and is trying to get ahead of that. The German leader is politically hobbled after his government collapsed this month, triggering an early election in February.

What the Germans are most afraid of is that Donald Trump will force them to buy gas from America, Duda said.

Asked about those comments, Scholz responded by pointing out that Germany had made itself independent from Russian gas and wasnt about to give that up.

He said that an LNG terminal at Mukran on Germanys Baltic coast represents an important security contribution for nations in central and eastern Europe that have no direct port access and depend on being connected to the German pipeline network for their gas deliveries  including Poland.

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Duda and Trump have maintained close ties and discussed the war in Ukraine during a two-and-a-half hour meeting in New York in April.

During a phone call on Nov. 11, they agreed to meet again before Trumps inauguration. Duda said he warned the US president-elect in that phone call that Germany and other allies are trying to tie his hands.

The Polish presidents assertions could reverberate in a delicate diplomatic environment after this months reelection of Trump, who has questioned support for Kyiv and signaled he would end Russias war in Ukraine by his inauguration on Jan. 20. Ukraines allies are now shifting tack as expectations mount that the conflict may be brought to an end sooner.

But unlike other Trump allies in Europe, such as Hungarys pro-Russian premier, Viktor Orban, Duda  along with the government in Warsaw  has been an unstinting critic of the Kremlins war aims and a consistent supporter of weapons deliveries and financial aid to Kyiv.

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The renewed focus on a settlement to the conflict shows the sense of urgency among Ukraines allies who are trying to get ahead of Trumps return and the possibility of drastic cuts in US support.

With North Korean troops entering the fray on the Russian side, ambition is building for an end to a conflict thats laid waste to large swathes of Ukraine, consumed hundreds of billions of dollars in financial aid and foreign weapons and upended geopolitical relationships in Europe and around the world.

Collecting Data

Duda dismissed as laughable suggestions that Trump would abandon Ukraine, pointing to military aid that his previous administration sent to Kyiv. The Polish leader said Trump didnt outline his plan for the war, but he quizzed the Pole about his views and the stances of other leaders.

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Im convinced that when it comes to the war in Ukraine, he is collecting data and information, Duda said. At this moment, he is constantly, continuously collecting this information in a very vigilant manner.

Duda wasnt alone in criticizing Scholzs hour-long call with Putin Friday, the first direct contact in almost two years. Ukraine blasted the effort, other European allies took a dim view of the exchange.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Monday in an interview with rbb24 Inforadio that diplomacy only works if talking continues even in the most difficult moments. At the same time, its important that we speak together as Europeans.

--With assistance from Michael Nienaber.

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(Updates with Scholz comments starting in sixth paragraph.)

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(This Nov. 18 story has been corrected to state that the Industrial Development Agency was part of the letter of intent in paragraph 4)

WARSAW (Reuters) - The Polish government has signed a letter of intent with domestic companies to make the nitrocellulose and multi-base powders necessary for producing ammunition, it said on Monday.

Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland has taken significant steps to bolster its defensive capabilities in the event of future conflict.

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"It is the first step towards rebuilding Polish ammunition production capabilities," Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said in a statement.

State-owned companies Grupa Azoty, Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), Mesko and Industrial Development Agency agree on the need to establish a nitrocellulose and multi-base powders factory, Grupa Azoty said in a statement.

Poland currently imports explosives from Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Finland, Switzerland and Canada.

The Polish government announced plans this month to invest 3 billion zlotys ($750 million) to boost ammunition production.

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"No one who observes the war in Ukraine and other conflicts in the world today can have any doubts about how important it is to have access to a large amount of ammunition for modern weapons," Kosiniak-Kamysz added.

Marcin Idzik, a PGZ board member, told Reuters this year that Poland needed to produce 155mm artillery rounds in order to ensure sufficient supplies if Russia attacks NATO.

(Reporting by Barbara Erling, editing by Ed Osmond)
WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- In a major shift of his administration's policy on the Ukraine crisis, U.S. President Joe Biden has authorized Kiev to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia, U.S. media reported Sunday.

The greenlight would allow the Ukrainian troop's first use of Western-made ATACMS missiles, reported U.S. media outlets including The Associated Press, The New York Times and The Washington Post, citing two anonymous U.S. officials.

The White House or the Pentagon has not yet confirmed the decision.

The Biden administration has allowed Kiev to use HIMARS, a U.S.-developed light multiple rocket launcher with a range of about 50 miles (80.5 km), for cross-border attacks in Russia to defend the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and the surrounding region since May, when Russian forces began an offensive there.

The administration, however, had ruled out permitting Ukraine to use the longer-range ATACMS inside Russia, fearing a drastic escalation of the conflict. The ATACMS has a range of about 190 miles (305.8 km).

U.S. officials said they do not expect the shift of the policy to "fundamentally change the course" of the conflict, The New York Times reported, adding that Biden could authorize Kiev to use the weapons elsewhere outside Kursk. 
WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Monday that a U.S. decision to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-made weapons to strike deep into Russia may be a decisive moment in the war.

Two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the decision revealed the significant reversal of Washington's policy in the Ukraine-Russia conflict on Sunday.

"This decision was very necessary ... Russia sees that Ukraine enjoys strong support and that the West's position is unyielding and determined. It's a very important, potentially decisive moment in this war," Duda told journalists.

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He also criticised Germany for saying it would not align its policy with the U.S., and expressed disapproval at German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday.

"Germany may be looking for opportunities, as the German press indicates, to reach some agreement with Russia in order to return to energy contracts and to be able to buy energy resources from Russia again," Duda said.

"Russia is brutally attacking Ukraine, and one of the leaders of the free world, one of the leaders of the West, a large European country, the strongest economy in Europe, is in talks with the aggressor. I absolutely believe that it was a mistake on the international political front."

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk had also criticised Scholz, saying that "no-one will stop Putin with phone calls".

(Reporting by Pawel Florkiewicz and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's largest opposition party, the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS), is set to lose millions in state funding after the country's electoral commission rejected its 2023 financial report on Monday.

The move, which could leave the party short of campaign cash ahead of next year's presidential election, fuelled angry claims from the opposition that it was being stifled by the government.

In August, the same commission ruled the party illegally spent 3.6 million zlotys ($881,143) on its 2023 electoral campaign, listing electioneering at military recruitment events and an advert from the justice ministry as examples of misuse of funds.

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In power from 2015, PiS came first in a bitterly polarised 2023 general election but lost its majority, resulting in a coalition of pro-European parties forming a government late last year.

"This case shows that the current government's plan is to eliminate the only real opposition in Poland through illegal, administrative actions," PiS spokesman Rafal Bochenek said in a statement.

"In the situation that has been created, it is difficult to talk about fair presidential elections in Poland."

As a result of Monday's decision, PiS could lose around 75 million zlotys in public funds over the remaining three years of the parliament's term.

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The decision is not final and PiS has 7 days to appeal it. It has already appealed the August decision to the Supreme Court, but the current government does not recognise the court's authority since it views many of the judges to have been illegally appointed by the previous government.

Government politicians had little sympathy for PiS' plight.

"They broke the law, milked public institutions, spread party propaganda with taxpayers' money," Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz, a Member of the European Parliament from the largest party in government, Civic Coalition, wrote on X.

($1 = 4.0856 zlotys)

(Reporting by Alan Charlish, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk and Barbara Erling; Editing by Christina Fincher)
MANHATTAN (KSNT)  Police in Manhattan arrested four Fort Riley men last Friday in connection to the same incident on probable cause offenses including aggravated battery.

The Riley County Police Department (RCPD) announced in a press release on Monday, Nov. 18 that four men all from Fort Riley were arrested on probable cause offenses of criminal damage to property, aggravated battery and criminal threat. RCPD spokeswoman Ashley Tokoi confirms these men were all arrested in connection to the same incident.

Police arrested a 21-year-old, a 32-year-old and a 22-year-old between the hours of 8:40 p.m. and 10:16 p.m. on Nov. 16 in the 100 block of South Seth Child Road. Another man, a 22-year-old was arrested around 6:40 p.m. on Nov. 16 in the 1400 block of Beechwood Terrace.

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Tokoi said this is all the information that can be released at this time regarding the incident and the arrests which stemmed from it. More information on this situation will be added here as it becomes available.

Teens record themselves setting fire to Manhattan warehouse: RCPD

For more crime news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.

Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News.
Ormond Beach Police have confirmed the recovery of missing four-year-old Waylon Childs Sunday evening.

OBPD has released a statement announcing the tragic loss:

At 9:02 PM today, the Volusia County Dive Team recovered the body of 4-year-old Waylon Childs in Central Park near Fleming Avenue.

Officers responded to a report of a missing child earlier in the day.

A father had been at the park with his three young children, all under the age of five, when Waylon went missing.

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Read: Tropics Update: Tropical Depression Sara weakens

The Ormond Beach Police Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Volusia Sheriffs Office, and local law enforcement from neighboring cities worked closely together to conduct a thorough and exhaustive search.

This is a heartbreaking tragedy, and our hearts are with Waylons family during this unimaginable loss, said Chief Jesse Godfrey. We would like to thank the community and all the agencies involved for their support and efforts during this search. The Ormond Beach Police Department remains committed to standing with the family and our community in the days ahead.

Stay with Channel 9 for the latest in this investigation.

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Police diversity jobs have increased by almost a third in three years, The Telegraph can reveal.

The number of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) roles in the UKs forces has increased to a total of just under 200, up from fewer than 150 three years ago.

Almost 15 million has been spent on such roles since the beginning of the 2021-22 financial year.

Richard Tice, the Reform UK deputy leader, described it as an outrageous abuse of taxpayers cash and said the spending did nothing to prevent crime and catch criminals.

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West Yorkshire Police and Merseyside Police have spent the most on EDI roles in the past three years, both topping 1 million.

Richard Tice, the Reform UK deputy leader, said equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives should be scrapped - Lucy North/PA

The figures were obtained from freedom of information (FOI) request responses compiled by campaign group the TaxPayers Alliance.

It found the number of EDI roles within the police increased from 147 positions in 2021-22 to 197 in 2023-24.

The types of roles available during the period included a head of equality and human rights at Leicestershire Police and two positive action officers at Derbyshire Constabulary.

West Yorkshire Police have spent 1.4 million in the last three financial years on such roles, while Merseyside Police have spent 1.1 million during the same period.

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Devon and Cornwall Police also spent more than 1 million on EDI roles, while Northumbria Police and Thames Valley Police both spent over 900,000.

The overall expenditure in 2023-24 came to 6.2 million, a 70 per cent increase on the 3.6 million spent in 2021-22.

Mr Tice said: This is an outrageous abuse of taxpayers cash on woke roles that do nothing to prevent crime and catch criminals.

Equality, diversity and inclusion targeting is divisive, wasteful and must be scrapped urgently. It is not fit for purpose.

The number of EDI roles across UK police forces includes full-time paid staff as well as voluntary positions taken up by members of the public.

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Earlier this year Kemi Badenoch, then the business secretary and equalities minister, commissioned a report which found that the majority of spending on EDI was a waste of money.

Mrs Badenoch, now the leader of the Conservative Party, wrote in The Telegraph in March: The new report shows that, while millions are being spent on these initiatives, many popular EDI practices  such as diversity training  have little to no tangible impact in increasing diversity or reducing prejudice.

In fact, many practices have not only been proven to be ineffective, they have also been counterproductive.

Kemi Badenoch previously warned that schemes such as diversity training could be counterproductive - Maja Smiejkowska/PA

Meanwhile, it emerged earlier this year that councils had almost doubled their spending on EDI roles to 23 million in 2022-23.

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Jeremy Hunt, the former chancellor, ordered town halls to abandon such schemes in order to reduce waste, as more councils struggled to balance the books.

As part of employment rights reforms under Labour, employers will be required by law to allow unionised staff to take part in diversity programmes during working hours.

The right thing to do

In a statement to The Telegraph, West Yorkshire Police said: As the fourth largest police force in England, West Yorkshire Police is committed to building a workforce which is representative of the diverse communities which it serves and investing in resources that deliver better outcomes for all residents and visitors to the region. 

The force added that the work undertaken by EDI roles ... aligns directly to our public sector equality duty and the progression of our equality objectives.

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A spokesman for Northumbria Police said: Equality and diversity roles are an extremely important part of our force.

The roles cover a wide range of skills and specialisms and support us to create an inclusive organisation that is reflective of the communities we serve.

Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims, of Merseyside Police, said: Here on Merseyside, we are extremely proud of the work that we do to ensure that Merseyside Police is a great place to work, supporting officers and staff to stay well so that they can prevent and detect crime.

Having an inclusive culture ensures we are a force that attracts talented people from all communities; we have the highest retention rate for all forces for officers and staff. Having the trust and confidence of all our communities ensures that we can better fight crime and bring offenders to justice.

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Chief Constable Rachel Swann, vice-chairman of the National Police Chiefs Council, said: Policing is fundamentally about keeping people safe. But if people from different backgrounds dont trust the police, dont report crime or seek our support when they are in trouble, this undermines that role to protect all our communities.

Reform has not gone far or fast enough in policing for several decades now. Investing to deliver this culture change is morally and operationally the right thing to do to improve our service.

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FALL RIVER, Mass. (WPRI)  A 30-year-old Fall River man accused of shooting another man in the hip in 2023 has been found guilty, according to the citys police department.

Mohamadou Kante III was convicted on Friday, according to the department, for multiple firearm charges in a case prosecuted by the Bristol County District Attorneys Office.

RELATED: Man shot in the hip in Fall River

The shooting happened on Choate Street in September 2023. Kante was identified by the victim to police, eventually leading to his arrest in Rhode Island.

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Fall River police said Kante faces another charge  carrying a firearm without a license (subsequent offense)  that will be in a separate trial starting on Monday.

12 News has reached out to the district attorneys office to find out how long Kante was sentenced for and when he will be sentenced.

NEXT: Police ID suspect in Attleboro shooting

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Boston police have identified the 65-year-old woman who was fatally stabbed at a Boston park on Saturday afternoon.

According to police, around 12:48 p.m. officers responded to a radio call for a person stabbed at Ramsey Park, located at 1917 Washington St, in Boston.

Upon arrival, officers found Celia Simmons, 65, of Boston, suffering from multiple stab wounds.

Boston EMS rendered aid on the scene and transported Simmons to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

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Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Boston Police Homicide Unit at 617-343-4470.

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

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WARREN, Ohio (WKBN)  Police collected some bullets and shell casings after reports that shots were fired through a home in Warren last week.

Read next: Man pleads guilty, is sentenced in Boardman rape case

At 5:12 p.m. Thursday, officers were sent to the 100 block of Kenilworth Ave. SE, where a woman reported finding that a bullet had gone through her front living room and out of a side window. The woman said she heard about eight gunshots around 10:10 p.m. the night before but didnt see the damage until the next day, according to a police report.

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Police found two spent .45 caliber shell casings on the street, as well as two 9mm bullets and a spent casing in the driveway of a business in the 1600 block of Market Street.

Police collected the bullets and casings as evidence and took a report.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
Editors Note: The title has been edited to clarify that deputies reported locating a scene at the Sunoco gas station, hence their investigation at the location.

HARRISON TWP., Ohio (WDTN)  Detectives with the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office said the crime scene of a reported shooting did not align with the victims statement and now they are asking for help from the public to figure out how it all happened.

On Monday morning, Harrison Township sent Montgomery County Sheriffs deputies to investigate a man who showed up at the Kettering Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the leg.

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The victim said he was shot at the Sunoco gas station on Salem avenue near the Free Pike intersection.

The victim told police he was confronted by a person with a gun at the Sunoco. He said he ran away after the man began firing but was struck in the leg.

Authorities said the mans injuries are non-life threatening.

However, deputies said after reviewing crime scene evidence, they believe the victims account is not 100 percent accurate. Investigators are looking deeper into the shooting and any additional information someone may know.

Authorities in Harrison Township said these crimes pose a threat to public safety.

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Thats why its important for us to, you know, to solve this case, find out who did this and so we can get them off the streets, said Harrison Twp. Capt. Brad Daugherrty.

Any time somebody is firing shots near a gas station or next to two main roadsanybody could be a victim of cross fire. A stray bullet here or there. its dangerous if and when people are firing shots like that.

Back in October one man was fatally shot and another seriously injured at another gas station just a few feet away from the Sunoco.

At this time, deputies say they are not sure if these incidents are connected.

At this point, we have no information that these are connected, said Daugherrty. But, you know, its something that our detectives will look at as a further investigate this case.

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This incident remains under investigation by the Special Investigations Unit of the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Description

Great Neck Library is celebrating Native American Heritage Month. Come join Professor Val Franco for a closer look at some of the incredible Native American artists in today's contemporary art. We'll be focusing on Native American & First Persons artists from across the continent, including works by Sara A. Young Bear-Brown, Kent Monkmon, John Louis Clarke, Jeffrey Gibson, & Benjamin "Nat" Qamanirq. We'll explore their works and differing styles, as well as the life experiences they choose to share with the world that have led you to their artistic output.

This lecture will be at the Staion Branch, 26 Great Neck Road, 2nd Level, Great Neck, NY, on Monday, November 18, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. Registration for this lecture is not required. For more information please contact Great Neck Library at (516) 466-8055 or email audltprogramming@greatnecklibrary.org.
A car chase started by a Calvert County Sheriffs Office deputy attempting to make a traffic stop ended in a deadly crash Saturday night.

A driver in a Ford Mustang sped past a police cruiser around 8:50 p.m. on MD Route 261 in Chesapeake Beach, according to a news release from the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, whose Independent Investigations Division is investigating the incident.

The deputy, who was wearing a body camera, activated sirens and attempted to pull over the driver, according to the release. After a chase of around 1.6 miles, the Mustang crossed into oncoming traffic and off the road, striking a telephone pole. Medics declared the driver dead on the scene, according to the release.

The attorney generals office says its independent investigation unit will release the body-camera footage within 20 days, barring any delays. The names of the driver and any officers involved will generally be released within two days.
The policing chief at the centre of the Allison Pearson row is facing a backlash after defending his forces decision to investigate the Telegraph journalist.

Roger Hirst, policing and crime commissioner for Essex, has been branded out of touch in every way after he said police could not ignore alleged crimes just because its politically sensitive, noting that the normal measure of the severity of a crime was maximum sentence length.

Essex Police has come under fierce scrutiny over its decision to investigate Pearson, a Telegraph columnist, over an allegedly offensive tweet a year ago.

Two officers visited her home on Remembrance Sunday and invited her for an interview over an incident or offence of potentially inciting racial hatred online.

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She is being investigated under section 17 of the Public Order Act 1986 relating to material allegedly likely or intended to cause racial hatred.

Mr Hirst said he could not make any comment about the case because it was under investigation by the force for which he had responsibility.

He told LBC: I have no view whatsoever on the issue of guilt, but it is my job to make sure that the police act even-handedly and we will have no two-tier policing in Essex. Everyones equal under the law and if there is a complaint made, then the police are duty bound to investigate it.

I have to say, you know, its fairly evident, isnt it really, that its not been treated as a high priority. Its taken a year to actually go and knock on the door. But nevertheless, this is something which has to be dealt with by due process.

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He added: We cant go around ignoring crimes just because its politically sensitive. And we perhaps need to just think about how our black and Asian communities are hearing this debate.

After all, the 1986 Public Order act defines this as a crime. And the maximum sentence, you know, the normal measure of crime severity is on the maximum sentence.

The maximum sentence is seven years. That puts it up there well ahead of shoplifting and actually ahead of most.

Mr Hirsts comments have prompted a backlash with Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK and MP for Clacton in Essex, saying people wanted the force to solve serious crime, not police tweets.

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He is out of touch in every way. People in Essex speak their mind and believe others have the right to do so, he said. Their real worry is the rise in serious crime.

Zac Goldsmith, the former minister, attacked Mr Hirst on X, formerly known as Twitter, where he said residents of Essex would have voted for the Conservative crime commissioner believing he would be focused on crime.

He said: The people of Essex elected a Conservative police commissioner in good faith to sort out crime in their area. Most of them would have simply ticked the blue box assuming it meant a focus on actual crime.

Zac Goldsmith, the former minister, criticised the crime commissioner on X/Twitter - Paul Ellis/PA Wire

Mr Goldsmith added: They ended up with someone in charge who thinks it was right for officers to police the (non-criminal) thoughts of journalists.

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It shows that even on the most obvious issues of judgment, the Conservative Party  my party  is just guaranteed to let people down. Kemi Badenoch has good instincts and is brave. But she needs to wake the party from its coma fast or it will rightly face extinction.

Toby Young, the director of the Free Speech Union, said it may shock residents to learn that Mr Hirst was a Conservative.

You would have thought the fact that NCHIs [non-crime hate incidents] have been recorded against so many senior Conservative politicians, including an ex-home secretary, a former vice-chairman of the party and the deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives, would be a wake-up call. But apparently not.

I guess well have to wait until Roger Hirst has an NCHI recorded against him for the penny to finally drop.

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The row over Pearsons case has sparked a wider debate about how officers police hate crime and record non-crime hate incidents.

The previous Tory government through Suella Braverman, then home secretary, tightened the rules amid concerns of a perceived threat to freedom of expression in an attempt to limit NCHIs being recorded to only those where there was a real risk of escalation causing significant harm or a criminal offence.

Mr Hirst suggested the Government should go further and review whether they were still required and, if they were, whether police officers should be responsible for collecting the data.

The law on non-crime hate incidents, in my view, infringes too far on the core principle of freedom of speech, he said.

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And it ties up police time, which would be better used preventing violence against women and girls, reducing drug crime, and dealing with neighbourhood crimes such as burglary and car theft.

Although they do not provoke a criminal investigation, NCHIs are registered on police databases and can come up in enhanced background checks. Forces are supposed to vet call-ins and weed out those complaints that are trivial, irrational or malicious, or that relate to the expression of lawfully held views.

As a result, non-crime hate incidents were too often being logged for complaints that amounted to little more than peoples hurt feelings.

In the 20 years since the recording of NCHIs was introduced in the wake of Macpherson report into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, Mr Hirst said there was no evidence that they had led to an improvement in community or race relations.

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The non-crime hate incidents came in in 2000 and actually since then weve seen a deterioration rather than an improvement, not least seen in this summer. I think we actually need to think about what is it which improves relationships between our communities in this country, he said.

My own view is that that is actually around the police building relationships with all of the communities, whether they be Muslim, whether they be Jewish, pro-Palestine, pro-Gazan, whatever it may be, or many, many more than that. We have that in Essex. Thats the focus, not on recording incidents which may or may not be trivial.

Mr Hirst said he believed that asking police to record NCHIs was probably not the right way to go.

It would be better done through PCCs [police and crime commissioners] offices so it wasnt distracting police, he added.

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Asked if they should be scrapped, he said: It is worth the Government doing a review. My perception is that they havent helped a lot.

Police chief running scared

Last night a public meeting with the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) in Chelmsford was cancelled with 90 minutes notice.

The PFCC said that the meeting on community safety was postponed in the interests of public safety and it was deeply disappointed to move the meeting.

The meeting was postponed in the interests of public safety - Jamie Lorriman

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It said: We are acting on advice that a large number of people from outside the county are expected to attend tonight, a number which would far exceed the capacity of the venue booked for the meeting.

Despite the PFCC saying it expected a large number of people, fewer than a dozen local residents had gathered outside and no one from beyond the local community.

Four uniformed officers were outside the Hamptons Sports and Leisure Centre, where the meeting was scheduled to take place.

Four uniformed officers were outside the leisure centre - Jamie Lorriman

Residents due to attend said the policing chief had been running scared because of the media attention over the case.

One man called Stephen, 56, from west Chelmsford, said: I was here because of the Allison Pearson case. We have a Kafkaesque situation where they say a crime has been committed and we dont know what it is

It is self-censorship. They want to censor by targeting a high-profile individual online because it will mean others cower down if she can get in trouble.

Others had come to raise their long-running concerns about crime in the area and were dismayed the meeting did not take place.

Kevin Daines, far right, with fellow local residents - Jamie Lorriman

The mans a coward. They have totally bottled it. There were a dozen people here in total, Kevin Daines, 45, said, adding that the policing boss had the wrong priorities. Hes talking about hate crime, they say burglary is down. Its only down because no one reports it any more.

The force has been heavily criticised by Mrs Badenoch and Boris Johnson, the former prime minister.

Mrs Badenoch said it was absolutely wrong for the police to visit any journalists home simply because they had expressed an opinion and that chief constables who prioritised looking into complaints about allegedly offensive tweets would be held to account for those decisions.

Police forced to behave like woke Securitate

Mr Johnson called the behaviour of the police appalling and said police were being forced to behave like a woke Securitate.

Sir Keir Starmer has said police should focus on tackling violent crime and burglaries instead of questioning people over their social media posts.

The Prime Minister urged forces to concentrate on what matters most to their communities amid the deepening row over a police investigation.

The force has been accused of wasting time on the investigation, including by victims of burglary in Essex. There were 5,009 reports of residential burglaries in the 12 months to Aug 2024 in Essex, but the force says burglaries are going down.

Other non-crime hate incidents

Several high-profile politicians have been investigated for non-crime hate incidents.

In December last year, police recorded a NCHI after Rachel MacLean, the deputy chairman of the Conservatives, called a trans woman a man who wears a wig, but it was later removed from her record.

A post by Murdo Fraser, the former deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives, comparing non-binary people with those who identify as a cat, was recorded as a hate incident earlier this year.

In 2017, comments by Amber Rudd, the former home secretary, were regarded as a non-crime hate incident after she said in a speech she wanted to ensure that foreign workers were not taking jobs British workers could do.

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Polish President Andrzej Duda has condemned German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his decision to hold a telephone conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, describing it as a mistake.

Source: European Pravda, citing the Polish President's Chancellery on X (Twitter)

Details: Duda expressed doubt that the German chancellor's conversation with Putin had been agreed upon with the allies.

He also criticised the fact that "one of the leaders of a European country with a strong economy is negotiating with the aggressor" while Russia continues to brutally attack Ukraine.

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"I believe that this [conversation with Putin  ed.] is a mistake," the Polish president said.

Background:

On the afternoon of 15 November, it was reported that Scholz had spoken to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin for the first time in two years.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy labelled the call a "Pandora's box".

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Pope Francis called for an investigation into accusations of genocide in Gaza during interviews for a new book, according to an excerpt of the book released Sunday in La Stampa, an Italian newspaper.

According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide, he said. We should investigate carefully to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.

Those new remarks stand out from the popes past comments on the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Hes previously shared support for Israel even as hes condemned the violence in general, The Washington Post reported.

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During his tenure, Francis has offered one the strongest defenses of Israel by a sitting pope, the article said.

Pope comments on Gaza

Still, the book excerpt didnt come as a total surprise.

The Washington Post reported last year that the pope has used the word genocide in private conversations to describe attacks on Gaza.

Hes also believed to have discussed genocide when he met with Palestinians and loved ones of the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

During his session with the Palestinians, an attendee said the pope used the word genocide to describe Israels response. At the time, a Vatican spokesman had said he did not think the pope had used the word, though he could not categorically rule it out, The Washington Post reported.

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Those comments and others have sparked pushback from Israeli officials.

On Sunday, Israels ambassador to the Vatican criticized the popes new comments on a genocide investigation.

There was a genocidal massacre on 7 October 2023 of Israeli citizens, and since then, Israel has exercised its right of self-defense against attempts from seven different fronts to kill its citizens. Any attempt to call it by any other name is singling out the Jewish State, Yaron Sideman wrote.

Genocide definition

Under international law, genocide is defined as acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, per the United Nations.

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Genocidal acts could include mass murder, forcible removal of children or intentional degradation of living conditions.

The International Court of Justice was asked last year to investigate claims of genocide in Gaza but its January ruling did not address genocide, according to The Washington Post.

The panel of judges called on Israel to prevent the possibility of genocide and ramp up aid to the besieged enclave. The decision was not a verdict on the question of whether Israel has committed genocide, which could take years, the article said.
Pope Francis has said that allegations of a genocide in Gaza should be carefully investigated marking some of his strongest criticism yet of Israels war with Hamas.

According to some experts what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide, Vatican News, the Holy Sees official news outlet, cited the pontiff as writing in a forthcoming book. It should be carefully investigated to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.

Speaking of refugees, the pope said: I am thinking above all of those who leave Gaza in the midst of the famine that has struck their Palestinian brothers and sisters given the difficulty of getting food and aid into their territory, according to Vatican News.

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With few exceptions, most Gazans have been prevented from leaving the territory since the war began, but almost the entire population of more than 2 million has been internally displaced.

The excerpts are from the book Hope never disappoints: Pilgrims towards a better world, which is due to be released on November 19.

Responding to the report in Vatican News, Yaron Sideman, Israeli ambassador to the Holy See, said there was a genocidal massacre on 7 October 2023 of Israeli citizens, referring to the Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw another 250 taken hostage.

Since then, Israel has exercised its right of self-defense against attempts from seven different fronts to kill its citizens, Sideman wrote on X. Any attempt to call it by any other name is singling out the Jewish state.

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The 87-year-old pontiff is the latest among a growing number of international figures and organizations to refer to Israels military operation in Gaza as a potential genocide.

Israel is facing a case brought by South Africa at the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) in which Pretoria accuses the Jewish state of genocide, saying Israeli leadership is intent on destroying the Palestinians in Gaza.

Palestinians check the rubble of the Alloush family's house, leveled in an Israeli strike in Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip on November 10. - Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP/Getty Images

Israel earlier this year rejected what it called the grossly distorted accusation of genocide leveled against it by South Africa, arguing at the ICJ that its war is being fought in self-defense against Hamas, and that it was targeting the militant group rather than Palestinians as a whole.

A UN Special Committee report released Thursday said Israels war conduct in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, including mass civilian casualties and using starvation as a weapon.

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Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last week accused Israel of carrying out genocide in Gaza, in some of his strongest criticism of the country since the war began last year. The Gulf Arab state was close to normalizing relations with Israel before the October 7 war.

Pope Francis rarely comments on politics, often limiting his remarks to calls for peace. In March, he repeated his call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in his traditional Easter message at the Vatican, condemning war as an absurdity.

He pleaded for an immediate ceasefire, access to humanitarian aid in Gaza and the prompt release of the hostages.

In December 2023, the pope addressed the deaths of two women killed by an Israeli sniper inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza. He lamented that unarmed civilians are targets for bombs and gunfire in Gaza and invoking scripture on war.

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Israels war in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, the ministry of health there says, and has flattened large swathes of the territory, triggering a humanitarian crisis.

On Monday, at least 50 people were killed in Gaza, according to the health ministry there, including 17 members of a family in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, where the Israeli military said it has been operating against terrorist infrastructure and operatives over the past week.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56)  Bourbon has a rich tradition in Kentucky and people travel from all over the world to taste that experience. But with possible new import tariffs promised by incoming President-elect Donald Trump, it could be a little more challenging for the bourbon industry.

Bourbon is an economic powerhouse in Kentucky, generating hundreds of jobs and drawing in thousands of tourists from around the world.

Its a $9-billion industry that took a major hit during the first Trump administration when the President-elect imposed steel and aluminum tariffs on the European Union (EU), leading to taxes on U.S. products like bourbon.

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On Thursday, The Kentucky Distillers Association (KDA) joined the interim joint committee on tourism, small business, and information technology to share their concerns about future tariffs and their impact on the industry.

LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS:

Officials with the KDA said they took notable hits from 2018 to 2021, when a 25% tax was in place. Now they fear a second Trump administration could raise those tariffs and, in turn, raise the tax to 50%.

In fact, we took a number of questions from senators and representatives following, you know, our presentation and, you know, tariffs are a story that continues to go on, said Jack Mazurak, KDA Director of Governmental and Regulatory Affairs. The EU is one of our biggest markets for exporting bourbon. So that really hurt those tariffs beginning in 2018; took a huge, huge bite out of exports, hundreds of millions of dollars a year. For reference sake, in 2019, Kentucky had exported about $567 million worth of spirits and thats of all categories of spirits; primarily, thats going to be bourbon. But 567 million; by 2020, we were down to 390 million, and through a series of efforts and a lot of negotiation from a lot of interested parties, we were able to get those tariffs suspended. So, they still exist. Theyre just suspended in suspended animation.

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Mazurak said that in December 2023, the European Union suspended tariffs on American whiskey until March 31, 2025, and if those tariffs come back at 50%, it could be crippling to the industry.

This is a manufacturing industry, not only the bourbon, but the supply chain. Were here, weve grown it incredibly in the past 25 years as you know the numbers show. So thats why another reason why were like, we dont think tariffs is the right way to go about spurring more manufacturing growth, said Mazurak.

Of the 120 counties in Kentucky, 42 of them have distilleries.

Were, you know, in talks with a lot of people, including, you know, our federal delegation in Washington. Were in talks with the Scotch Whiskey Association, the Irish Whiskey Association Drinks Ireland, and other players around the world to help them understand the importance of just getting back to business. We want to get back to, you know, selling the worlds greatest whiskey and we want to be out of the crosshairs of this dispute, which were not a part of, said Mazurak.

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Read more of the latest Kentucky news

Mazurak warns that these tariffs could have negative effects on every aspect of the industry.

He said not only will it hurt the manufacturing of bourbon, but everything down to the farmers who grow the 17 to 19 million bushels of Kentucky corn that go into bourbon every year.

When we talk about the impact of Kentucky bourbon and the, you know, the manufacturing, that agricultural base of it, one thing that we dont think a lot about, often a lot of people dont, is that even the corn that were buying is largely Kentucky grown, said Mazurak.

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President-elect Donald Trump is shown on Jan. 15, 2024, arriving at a caucus night event in Des Moines, Iowa. It's time to pull the curtain back on public statements Rhode Island elected officials have made about Trump's victory in the Nov. 5 election. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Was the election of Donald Trump for president a death knell for democracy? Or was it merely a routine, if disappointing, electoral defeat from the Republican party?

If youre looking for answers from local elected officials in Rhode Island then you might be confused. In the days since the presidential election, comments from many high-profile Democrats have been vague, uninspired, and strikingly at odds with their pre-election warnings. And given how severe that pre-election rhetoric was, the lack of a clear message represents a credibility crisis for Rhode Islands dominant party.

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On Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 6, Gov. Dan McKee, who had published a Boston Globe op-ed in January calling this the highest stakes election in American history, released a statement emphasizing the importance of local politics. We must now calmly move forward with civility and respect to ensure Rhode Island remains a place of opportunity and inclusivity for all, McKee said. There was no mention of Trump and no references to the tyranny, dictatorship or authoritarian regime that legitimizes violence that McKee had warned of earlier in the year. Beyond stating that his administration wont help carry out Trumps proposed mass deportations, he hasnt shared specific plans to address the president-elects policies.

Sen. Jack Reed shared a post-election statement that was slightly more blunt, but still left much to be desired. Reed  who the week before the election had warned that Trump will act like a fascist if elected  issued a statement on Nov. 6 reminding the incoming administration that the presidency is not a monarchy. Added Reed: The government exists to serve, protect, and represent the people  not retribution and revenge. He included no details of how he plans to back up those words.

Our congressmens words have been even more listless.

U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner ran for reelection with a campaign plank of Protecting Our Democracy that specifically condemned Trumps actions on Jan. 6, 2021. He has said, Trumps Project 2025 would gut the EPA and take us back to the old days of acid rain, water that you cant drink, and air that is toxic to breathe, and Trumps radical plan to take away Americans constitutionally protected rights and freedoms is wrong for America. Yet his 92-word post-election statement on the morning of Nov. 6 included only a vague vow to stand up to the executive branch when necessary to defend peoples rights and freedoms. I will work with any administration of either party when it is in the best interest of Rhode Islanders, Magaziner said. Since then, he has called Trumps nomination of former Reps. Tulsi Gabbard and Matt Gaetz to high-powered administration positions dangerous.

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U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo had said that world leaders and other people abroad are worried about Trump. He tweeted that Trump cares more about campaign donations from oil tycoons than the fate of future generations and the health of our planet and said that the U.S. Supreme Courts recent rubber-stamp of broad presidential immunity bulldozes the essential idea that presidents are bound by the same laws as every other American. Yet his late morning statement on Nov. 6 felt like a postcard from an earlier, less rancorous era. I hoped to turn the page on the divisiveness we heard and saw, Amo said. Our nations leaders will need to move forward with the intensity of our convictions to strengthen our democracy, protect our freedoms, and have an inclusive future. His post-election posts to X  chats with ambassadors, visits with veterans, and stops at small businesses  look a lot like business as usual.

After reading these materials, I was left with questions. First, what do these officials plan to do specifically to address the dangers that they were so eager to warn voters about? If youre going to tell voters about the fascism and tyranny your opponent represents, theyre going to rightfully expect a plan when he wins. Anything less is a failure of leadership.

I also have broader questions about trust.

Why is a situation that was so dire a few weeks ago now just disappointing, as McKee, Amo, and Magaziner all called it? Which version of you  pre-election or post-election  are we supposed to believe? If you suddenly see Trumps election as far less concerning than you did in October, as these ho-hum statements suggest, voters deserve an explanation for why that is. (This disconnect goes all the way to the partys top leaders. Since the election, both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have told people that it will be OK after months of warning just the opposite.)

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If youre going to tell voters about the fascism and tyranny your opponent represents, theyre going to rightfully expect a plan when he wins. Anything less is a failure of leadership.

For our elected leaders, I also have a reminder.

People are feeling anxious right now. In the days after Trumps election, calls from LGBTQ youth to mental health crisis lines soared, immigrant advocates and womens groups steeled for battle, and the ACLU vowed that it would fight impending policies with its full firepower. A ProPublica editor warned his staff, We face the biggest test of our professional livesWe may be harassed. We may be sued. We may be threatened with violence. A public health law professor from Arizona State said Trumps return raised an array of concerns and predicted Millions will needlessly suffer. At such a moment, many Rhode Islanders are looking to you  to anyone, really  for assurances. This isnt a moment for playing it safe.

Thankfully, our regions post-election messaging wasnt all underwhelming. In a lengthy post-election Facebook post, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, acknowledged that many are feeling sad, and scared, and hopeless, and vowed that in the capital city, Well use our laws, our ordinances, our city policies, and every tool at our disposal to protect everything that makes our city so special.

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On X, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse was appropriately fiery, calling Trump a felon, a liar and a cheat. Later, in a TV interview, he told Dems to prepare for an absolute tsunami of corruption coming out of this new administration.

I was also impressed by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who, within days of the election, published a TIME essay titled, Heres the Plan to Fight Back. Warren began: To everyone who feels like their heart has been ripped out of their chest, I feel the same. To everyone who is afraid of what happens next, I share your fears. She proceeded to share a detailed plan, involving Congress and the courts, for facing what she called Trumps lawlessness, unprecedented corruption, and abuses of power.

Her essay was a model of what was largely missing in the Ocean State: an honest reflection of what people are feeling, a consistency between pre- and post-election communications, and a detailed vision for what happens next. She also used a word missing from any of the local statements I saw: urgency.

If our local officials believed their own pre-election warnings, they would be wise to follow her lead.

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When Delfina Perez Chilel never arrived to pick up her two kids from a Hallandale Beach, Florida, daycare last Friday, it immediately set off alarms.

Chilel, 41, was known to be on-time, so when the clock struck 9 p.m., the workers at the center became worried and called police. A relative collected the children, aged 8 and 9, and told the cops that Perez Chilels car was parked in her driveway, as was a vehicle belonging to their father, Victor Chavez.

But, according to the relative, no one was answering the door.

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The family members informed officers about the parents history of domestic disputes, concerns over the fathers mental health, and prior threats, Hallandale Beach Police Department spokeswoman Grace Mariot told local ABC affiliate WPLG .

Police entered the home and found a scene they described as horrific, according to the report. The 20-weeks pregnant Perez Chilel was discovered in a bathroom, suffering from severe injuries, and Chavez, 38, was in a bedroom, lethargic and unresponsive, authorities said.

Attempts to resuscitate Perez Chilel were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Chavez was taken to the hospital, where he confessed to killing Perez Chilel and attempting suicide, according to police, who arrested him on two counts of second-degree murder, booking records show.

He is being held without bail at Hallandales main lockup.

Victor Chavez is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and is being held without bail (Broward County Sheriff)

A neighbor told WPLG that Perez Chilel told her that Chavez was very jealous, but that he also had the face of a madman.

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It was obvious that he was not a normal person, the neighbor said.

Chavez has been arrested three previous times for domestic violence, according to a review of court records. In 2017, Chavez was accused of beating Perez Chilel after becoming upset that a former girlfriend of his  not Perez Chilel  was involved in a new relationship, arrest paperwork shows . In 2015, Chavez was arrested for allegedly assaulting his pregnant partner with a 7-inch knife. (The victims name in that incident is redacted in court filings but details suggest it was Perez Chilel.) In 2014, Chavez was arrested on battery and disorderly conduct charges for allegedly attacking a Lyliana Perez after he became enraged over suspected infidelity. (Perez Chilel was known as Lily, according to reports.)

Charges were later dropped in each.

The two children are now with relatives; Child Protective Investigative Services is investigating.

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Perez Chilels younger sister has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for Perez Chilels remains to be shipped to Guatemala for burial.

My sister was an amazing mother, daughter, sister, wife, and friend, the page says. She was part of our lives for a little over 41 years and already we feel lost without her and the smile she had for everyone that met her. I am left to raise her two beautiful children along with mine now. Their lives will not be easy Our niece and nephew have lost both their parents in the blink of an eye.

Further details about the gruesome incident have not yet been made public.
BlackRock (BLK) CEO Larry Fink was once a "proud skeptic" of bitcoin, but now his money management giant is emerging as one of the biggest beneficiaries of a post-election surge in enthusiasm for the worlds largest cryptocurrency.

BlackRocks spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (IBIT) has swelled by $13 billion since Donald Trumps win on Nov. 5, according to Yahoo Finance data, pushing iShares Bitcoin Trust past $40 billion in assets just 10 months following its launch.

That feat places IBIT among the top 1% of biggest ETFs in record time, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas.

"We had pretty optimistic projections, but, you know, I don't think anyone's ever going to put down as their base or even, maybe, their bull case that year one is going to rewrite the record book on inflows into the ETF category," Robbie Mitchnick, BlackRocks head of digital assets, said last week on the Unchained podcast.

Plenty of other companies are also benefiting from the new boom as investors bet that pro-crypto legislation could be possible in Washington, D.C., under a new Trump administration and a GOP-controlled Congress.

Read more: Bitcoin clears another record: Is this a good time to invest?

The stock of Coinbase (COIN), the biggest US cryptocurrency exchange, is up 58% since the election. The stock of MicroStrategy (MSTR), a software company that became the largest corporate bitcoin holder, is up 50%.

The record inflows to BlackRock illustrate how crypto continues to move into the investing mainstream as it gets embraced by some of the biggest names on Wall Street  even some who were once its biggest critics.

Fink, who runs the worlds biggest money manager, falls into that category.

"I was a proud skeptic, and I studied it, learned about it, and I came away saying, 'OK, you know, my opinion [for] five years was wrong,'" Fink said earlier this year while discussing his previous views with CNBC.

Perhaps the best example of that shift came in June 2023 when BlackRock filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a spot bitcoin ETF. That was back when the crypto and asset management industries had little evidence such a product would be approved by SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

Yet it and 10 other money managers got the green light in January, followed by a listing on Jan. 12.

BlackRock always seems to be in the right place, Stephen Biggar, an analyst with Argus Research who covers the asset manager, told Yahoo Finance.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, left, with then-US President Donald Trump at the White House in 2017. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)  Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

Its embrace of crypto (it also launched a smaller spot ether ETF in late July) coincided with an election year where pro-crypto congressional candidates received millions in industry donations and Trump, as a candidate, made a number of promises to the industry.
President-elect Donald Trump named several veterans this week, including a couple who have connections to Fort Liberty, as his cabinet picks.

His pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, served at the local Army post when it was known as Fort Bragg, and his pick for national intelligence director, Tulsi Gabbard, has spent time here while serving with the Army Reserves.

According to Zeldins biography, he spent four years in the regular Army as a military intelligence officer, prosecutor and military magistrate.

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In summer 2006, he deployed to Iraq while assigned to an infantry battalion under the 82nd Airborne Division.

Then-Cpt. Lee Zeldin poses for a photo during a 2006 deployment to Iraq. Zeldin, who's served as a U.S. Congressman for New York, is President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

Lee Zeldin, nominated by Donald Trump to serve as head of the EPA, served on what was then known as Fort Bragg.

Zeldins biography states that in 2007, he transitioned from the regular Army to the Army Reserve.

Zeldin served in the New York Senate from 2010 to 2014 and in Congress from 2015 to 2023, according to USA Today.

During the Republican National Convention in July, Zedlin referenced his time with the 82nd.

"As a former 82nd Airborne paratrooper, I want a military focused on being the world's greatest fighting force, not its biggest social experiment, Zedlin said.

Tulsi Gabbard

Gabbard served in the Hawaii National Guard from 2003 to 2020, according to her LinkedIn profile, and has been in the Army Reserve since 2020.

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She is currently a lieutenant colonel, most recently serving with the 1st Battalion, 354th Regiment in Oklahoma.

Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard talks with her Green Beret partner at the 2023 Special Forces Celebrity Tactical Challenge at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. Gabbard has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as national intelligence director.

Gabbard has visited Fort Liberty during the past several years to participate in the Special Forces Charitable Trusts annual celebrity shooting competition.

In a December 2021 Twitter post, Gabbard noted that she had recently spent Reserve duty at then-Fort Bragg.

According to military.com, she served as a civil affairs officer assigned to the 1st Special Forces Command in 2022.

Gabbard also served in Congress as a representative to Hawaii from 2013 to 2021, and ran for president in the Democratic primary in 2020 before leaving the party in 2022 and becoming a Republican this year, according to USA Today.

Other military-connections

Trumps other military-connected cabinet picks include tapping Army National Guard veteran Pete Hegseth as a new secretary of defense and Air Force Reserve Col. Doug Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Green Beret Mike Waltz as his national security adviser.

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Waltz served with the Maryland National Guard and the 20th Special Forces Group, which is one of two Army Guard Special Forces units, according to the Special Forces Association.

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobsrver.com or 910-486-3528.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Lee Zeldin, Tulsi Gabbard have connections to Fort Liberty
PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now)  The Prince Georges County Police Department (PGPD) is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in a homicide that happened in Oxon Hill.

Police said that on Nov. 16, around 10 p.m., officers were notified of a shooting in the 7300 block of Roanne Drive. There, they found 30-year-old Denis Zepeda Cruz, of Oxon Hill, suffering from gunshot wounds outside.

CCPS responds after incident in school bathroom sends child to hospital, sheriffs office investigating

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He died at the scene.

Detectives are still working to determine a motive and identify the suspect(s) in the shooting.

Anyone with information is asked to call 301-516-2512, call 866-411-8477 or enter a tip on the P3 app. Tips 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 DC News Now | Washington, DC.
Prince Harry's confession about his past struggles with substance abuse continues to spark controversy, as his residency status in the United States is now in question.

According to top immigration lawyers, Harry's admission of drug-taking could jeopardize his visa eligibility as he'd have been required to declare it in his visa application, potentially leading to deportation proceedings after President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

Prince Harry and Donald Trump's relationship isn't good, as the billionaire politician said he "wouldn't protect" the duke if he won a second term because he "betrayed the Queen."

Why Prince Harry's Faces Deportation From The U.S.

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Harry's U.S. visa has been under scrutiny after he admitted to using cocaine, marijuana, and psychedelic mushrooms in his 2023 blockbuster memoir, "Spare."

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Lawyers conversant with immigration laws have now revealed that the Duke of Sussex could face deportation if he failed to disclose his past drug use on his visa application, something he'd have been required to do.

According to the Daily Mail, Beverly Hills attorney Alphonse Provinziano, a top lawyer with years of experience working on international family law disputes for the affluent, believes Harry faces a major task keeping his residency status valid over the next four years of President Trump's administration, especially "if he lied on his visa application."

"One unlikely loser of the 2024 U.S. presidential election is Prince Harry. Trump has repeatedly said that he thinks Harry should not be allowed to stay in the United States since he 'betrayed the Queen' and possibly was not forthcoming about his past drug use on his visa application," Provinziano said.

He continued, "Prince Harry's lawyers will be busy over the next four years, as Trump has made it quite clear that if he returned to office, he would seek to have Harry removed from the country."

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The expert lawyer added that the Biden administration "had shielded Harry" but that Trump "may have the upper hand" if the former working royal "was not forthcoming about his past drug use on his visa application."

Donald Trump Could Make The Duke's Deportation A Priority

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Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, notably relocated to the U.S. after dropping their senior working royal roles in 2020 following a fallout with the British Monarchy.

Although Meghan is a U.S. citizen and his two children, Archie and Lilibet, are both dual citizens of the U.S and U.K., reports suggest incoming president Trump could still evict him from the country if the information he declared on his visa application doesn't tally with what he claimed in his memoir.

Part of Trump's notable campaign promises was to tighten the border and come down hard on residents who are staying in the country illegally.

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If Harry happens to have misrepresented his drug use on his visa application, Provinziano says it "could be grounds for the government to pursue his deportation."

He continued, "The Trump administration had vowed to remove those not here lawfully, and Prince Harry may be on the chopping block."

"If it is revealed that Harry misrepresented himself on his application or was granted special accommodations generally unavailable to others with similar histories, there could be a public outcry," Provinziano noted. "It may appear unfair, especially considering the many people who seek lawful entry to the United States and are subject to strict considerations."

Donald Trump Said He 'Wouldn't Protect' Prince Harry

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According to the Daily Mail, the rift between the president-elect and the Duke of Sussex began during the 2016 elections when Meghan called Trump "divisive" and "misogynistic," while he retorted that she was a "nasty" person.

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The billionaire politician claimed in February that should he win re-election, he "wouldn't protect" Harry because he "betrayed the Queen."

"That's unforgivable. He would be on his own if it was down to me," Trump said.

He seemingly relayed the same sentiment in an interview with Nigel Farage, declaring that he would take "appropriate action" if Harry were found to have lied.

Donald Trump's Son Attacked Prince Harry And Meghan Markle

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Besides Trump, the billionaire mogul's son, Eric Trump, also once attacked the royal couple during an interview with British media outlet GB News.

"What I can tell you is, my father had so much respect for the queen, as did I. My mum knew so many of them for years and had a great relationship with Diana," Eric said. "It's a sacred institution. You can happily have those two [Meghan and Harry], we might not want them anymore, it feels like they're on an island of their own."

In not-so-subtle words, he also mentioned that Harry and Meghan have stood out among the royal family, but not in a good way.

Eric added, "You can always have bad actors in everything. You can have spoiled apples in every orchard."

Calls For The Duke's Visa Application Documents To Be Made Public Mount

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It comes amid mounting calls for Harry's visa application documents to be made public following his drug use admittance in "Spare."

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The Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom had been fighting for Harry's visa documents to be made public in a legal battle with the Department of Homeland Security.

However, a judge ruled in September that the documents should be kept private as he enjoyed the protection of Biden's administration. Things may soon change, with Trump taking over in January.

Nile Gardiner, Director of The Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, said that there's a "strong possibility" that the details would be released sometime soon following Trump's victory at the polls.

"I do think there's a strong possibility that this could happen. It's the president's prerogative," Gardiner said. "Also, the new Homeland Security Secretary could order a review of Harry's immigration application."

"There are multiple things that could happen, but it would be in the best interests of the American people if the Trump administration releases Prince Harry's records for public scrutiny, and Harry should be held to account," he added.
Prince William, Kate Middleton and their three children were reportedly asleep in their home when masked intruders allegedly broke into Windsor Castle.

On Nov. 18, The Sun reported that there was a break-in at the royal familys sprawling estate located west of London on October 13, leading masked burglars to steal two vehicles. Two men reportedly scaled a 6 ft fence to enter the estate before stealing a pick-up truck and a quad bike that were stored in a barn.

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They also allegedly used a stolen truck to smash through a security gate to flee the property.

They would have to have known the vehicles were stored there before they broke in and known when was the best time to get and escape without being caught, a source told The Sun. So they must have been watching Windsor Castle for a while.

There are alarms at Windsor Castle but the first time anyone knew there was a break-in was when they crashed through the security barrier at Shaw Farm Gate exit, the source added. The barrier has needed to be replaced as it was so badly damaged.

The outlet reported that William, Kate and their children  George, Charlotte and Louis  were at home in Adelaide Cottage, one of the properties on the estate. King Charles and Queen Camilla were not in residence.

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It was a Sunday night on a school week so the young princes and princess would have been tucked in bed at Adelaide Cottage, just around the corner but still in the grounds, the source said.

Per BBC, Thames Valley Police confirmed the incident but Kensignton Palace has yet to address the impact on the royal family.

Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Isuzu pick-up and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area, said a statement from Thames Valley police. No arrests have been made at this stage and an investigation is ongoing.

Before you go, click to see all the biggest royal scandals in the past 50 years.



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The Governments decision to apply VAT to private school fees could have a seismic impact on girls life chances, a leading headteacher said.

Alex Hutchinson, the president of the Girls Schools Association (GSA), has warned that Labours rushed policy, which is due to come into effect in January, is forcing stark and unfair choices on parents.

Mrs Hutchinson, head at James Allens Girls School (JAGS) in London, has called on headteachers to stand up and fight for private schools so young women can still access an outstanding girls-only education.

Alex Hutchinson, the president of the Girls Schools Association, has called on headteachers to stand up and fight for private schools - Martin Phelps

In a speech at the GSAs conference in Manchester, she argued that girls schools are at the forefront of raising opportunities for women and play a pivotal role in creating a more equitable world.

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Her plea comes after the Independent Schools Council (ISC) announced plans last month to begin legal action against the Governments decision to apply VAT to private school fees.

Addressing more than 150 heads of girls schools at the two-day annual conference, Mrs Hutchinson described the action as a powerful moment and said it is right to hold the Government to account.

In a speech on Monday, the GSA president highlighted the turbulent time facing families who want a girls-only education, as well as those who have children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in private schools.

She warned that the Labour Governments policy risks widening the gap between the privileged and the aspirational, adding that GSA schools spend 146 million each year on fee assistance for families.

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Mrs Hutchinson said: We are at a defining moment in girls education. Girls schools play a pivotal role in creating a more equitable world  the very foundations of GSA are based on civic duty.

Our schools have always been at the forefront of raising opportunities for young women through education.

The Governments rushed VAT policy has the potential to have a seismic impact on girls life chances. It is forcing stark and unfair choices upon hard-working families.

Unforeseen and unintended consequences

Last month, Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, confirmed in the Budget that 20 per cent VAT would be applied to private schools in the UK from January.

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The Government has estimated the policy would raise 460 million next year, rising to 1.7 billion by 2029/30.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed in the Budget last month that 20 per cent VAT would be applied to private schools in the UK from January - Getty

The president of the GSA, which represents both independent and state girls schools across the UK, added: We are clear that no political decision should adversely impact the young people in our schools.

It is a matter of priority for us to talk about the unforeseen and unintended consequences of making policy changes mid-flow in pupils educations.

It is unthinkable that any girl in any of our schools feels her educational choice has been limited or removed, in any way.

Globally conscious, engaged citizens

On average, the Government expects private school fees to increase by about 10 per cent as a result of the introduction of VAT.

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The Government has predicted that 35,000 pupils will move into UK state schools over time, and a further 2,000 children will leave private schools to be educated in schools abroad or at home.

In her speech, Mrs Hutchinson also called out lazy stereotypes made about young people and argued that they are globally conscious, engaged citizens who are able to influence culture, technology and society.

The GSA president said: We all know that it is claimed that Gen Z are snowflakes who are overly sensitive and fragile. They are the Perma kids generation who are unwilling to grow up, too focused on personal comfort and self-care.

They are now joined by Gen Alpha who, we are told, lack resilience because they have grown up in a risk-averse environment, and who are socially isolated and less able to develop meaningful relationships in person.

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As experienced educators, we know the truth bears no resemblance to these lazy stereotypes.

A HM Treasury spokesman said: The Government has made difficult decisions on tax now to fix the foundations and increase investment in public services and the economy, to rebuild Britain and unlock long-term growth.

We want to ensure all children have the best chance in life to succeed. Ending tax breaks on private schools will help to raise the revenue needed to break down the barriers of opportunity for children and young people across the country.

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Ballerina Ashley Benefield claimed she fatally shot her husband, 58-year-old Doug Benefield, in self-defense in 2020

Doug Benefield, Ashley Benefield

Former ballerina Ashley Benefield cried on the stand while she was on trial for killing her husband, tearfully telling jurors about the abuse she suffered during their marriage.

During the sensational "Black Swan Murder Trial held earlier in 2024, Ashley, 32, was convicted of manslaughter in the 2020 shooting death of her husband, Douglas Benefield, 58, but acquitted on the more serious charge of second-degree murder.

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She faces up to 30 years in prison when she is sentenced on Dec. 3.

Now, the prosecutor who tried the case claims that Ashleys testimony was an exaggerated act.

In one of the most dramatic moments in the high-profile case, Ashley was asked to re-enact what led her to shoot her husband in Tampa on Sept. 27, 2020.

Suzanne ODonnell, assistant state attorney for Floridas 12th Judicial District, told NBC News Dateline that she asked Ashley to re-enact the shooting by stepping down from the witness stand. She said she had the lights turned up in the courtroom so that jurors could see her close up.

Once I realized she was not really crying, I knew she had to get down in front of that jury, ODonnell told Dateline.

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When Ashley stood in front of the jury, shes literally within feet, of them, ODonnell said. And I wanted them to be able to see that.

Making Ashley re-enact the shooting was callous, said Ashleys lawyer Neil Taylor, Dateline reports.

Whether or not the jury believed them to be real tears, I can only tell you they acquitted her of murder, he told Dateline.

Related: 'Black Swan' Trial Verdict: Former Ballerina Ashley Benefield Guilty of Manslaughter in Death of Husband

Prosecutors said that Ashley killed her estranged husband in her mothers Lakewood Ranch home in 2020 because she wanted sole custody of their young daughter and didnt want him in their lives anymore.

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This case is about a woman who very early on in her pregnancy decided she wanted to be a single mother, ODonnell told the jury in her opening statement, according to The Post and Courier. And she did not want the father of this child to have any visitation [and]  she would stop at nothing to obtain that goal.

Ashleys attorney argued that Ashley killed her husband in self-defense.

Thirty years older than Ashley, he was obsessed with her and he successfully portrayed himself as he was not in an effort to win her hand in marriage, Taylor said, per WFLA. Despite promoting himself as a religious, honorable, and decent human being, Benefield was a manipulative, cunning, and abusive man who insisted, absolutely insisted on control.

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The two met at a Republican party fundraiser in 2016 when Ashley was a 24-year-old ballet dancer and Doug was a 54-year-old Navy veteran and technology consultant. They wed 13 days later. Then Ashley became pregnant with Doug's child.

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According to prosecutors, Ashley accused Doug of emotional abuse and claimed he'd tried to poison her with heavy metals, all in an attempt to rid him from her life, Fox 13 reports.

In Sept. 2020, Ashley planned to move with the couples daughter to Maryland, where Doug also planned to relocate.

On Sept. 27, 2020, Doug was helping Ashley pack for the move when she shot him.

Ashley told police her husband had tried to attack her and she had shot him in self-defense.


Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorneys office are expected to rest their case Monday against Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran who is charged with manslaughter and negligent homicide in the chokehold death of a homeless man aboard a New York City subway car.

Penny, 25, has pleaded not guilty to the charges in Jordan Neely's death.

Defense attorneys will finish their cross-examination of the medical examiner, Dr. Cynthia Harris, who concluded there are no alternative reasonable explanations for Jordan Neelys death other than Pennys chokehold.

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MORE: Man who helped Daniel Penny restrain Jordan Neely speaks at trial

She is expected to be the last witness for the prosecution, which argued Pennys chokehold became reckless when he held on too long, beyond the point when Neely represented any kind of threat to subway riders.

Jurors saw a video of Penny demonstrating the chokehold during an interview inside a police precinct.

PHOTO: Jurors saw video of Daniel Penny, during an interview inside a police precinct, demonstrating the chokehold he performed on a homeless man aboard a New York City subway car. (ABC )

MORE: Clubhouses offer potential solutions for those with severe mental illness

He had his back turned to me and I got him in a hold, got him to the ground, and hes still squirming around and going crazy, Penny is heard saying.

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The defense is expected to shift the focus of the case from Penny to Neely, who had prior arrests, a history of mental illness and drugs in his system.

Prosecutors in Daniel Penny trial to rest their case Monday originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
TBILISI, Georgia (AP)  Demonstrators in Georgia's capital have set up tents on a central thoroughfare and vowed Monday to stay around the clock to demand new parliamentary elections in the country.

The Oct. 26 election kept the governing Georgian Dream party in power, but opponents say the vote was rigged with Russia's assistance. Many Georgians viewed the election as a referendum on the countrys effort to join the European Union. Several large protests have been held since then.

President Salome Zourabichvili, who has rejected the official results, declared on Monday that she would appeal the vote results to the Constitutional Court. Zourabichvili, who holds a mostly ceremonial position, has said Georgia has fallen victim to pressure from Moscow against joining the EU.

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Critics have accused Georgian Dream, established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia, of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.

On Sunday, demonstrators closed an avenue leading into the center of Tbilisi. Nika Melia, leader of Coalition for Change, one of the opposition groups, voiced hope that the protests around the clock will mark the beginning of the intense, strong protest movement that will finish with the fall of Ivanishvilis regime.

The EU suspended Georgias membership application process indefinitely in June after the countrys parliament passed a law requiring organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as pursuing the interest of a foreign power," similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government.

The Central Election Commission said Georgian Dream won about 54% of the vote in October. Its leaders have rejected opposition claims of vote fraud. European election observers said the election took place in a divisive atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.
Peruvian President Dina Boluarte is one of the least popular leaders in the world, with just a 5 percent approval rate and 92 percent disapproval in one recent poll. Peruvians remain angry about rampant corruption among the political class, but also about the repression by security forces that killed dozens of protesters in late 2022 and early 2023 after the coup attempt by former President Pedro Castillo.

Economic challenges have also finally caught up with the countrys political instability, with Peru having faced economic contraction or stifling low growth for two years now, after enjoying a commodity-driven economic boom in recent decades. The low economic growth has in turn contributed to rising crime rates: Homicides have nearly doubled compared to six years ago, and over half of Peruvians say they or their families have been victims of crime in the past six months. Amid the rising crime, transportation networks have been a particular target, with taxi and bus drivers facing regular extortion threats by violent gangs.

Instead of resolving all these concerns, Boluarte and many members of her government remain embroiled in one scandal after another, even as Congress has gutted various independent governmental institutions to prevent anti-corruption efforts from removing those in power. This is not a problem that started under the current government. Peru has had six presidents in the past decade alone. Nearly every living former president faces a corruption investigation or has been convicted as a result of one; another took his own life to avoid being arrested on corruption charges. Boluarte herself faces several investigations, including one concerning how she obtained the many high-priced watches she wears, given her modest salary as a lifelong government employee.

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The Peruvian populations anger at the political system has often boiled over in the past two years, making the protests that took over highways and ground traffic to a halt around the country last week seem fairly typical. The protesters were demanding better security and economic conditions as well as calling for the resignation of Boluarte and various other top politicians. While the more recent wave of protests has not reached the levels of those seen in the opening months of the Boluarte administration, regular demonstrations against the government, whether over national concerns or local issues, are part of the countrys political landscape right now. Indeed, there are areas of Peru where Boluarte cannot go due to fears of mass protests against her, as occurred earlier this year when she tried to visit a village in the countrys interior.

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What made last weeks protests untypical is that they occurred as Peru hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, summit, where some of the worlds biggest geopolitical narratives collided with Perus political reality. Hosting APECs annual gathering should have been an opportunity for Peru to highlight its economic potential, the impact of the critical minerals it provides for the global energy transition and its regional leadership as a hub for trade and exports. Boluarte, wearing a shiny luxury watch on her wrist as if to mock the ongoing corruption concerns, greeted top leaders from over 20 different countries from around the world, inviting them to enjoy and invest in Peru. But popular anger raging outside loomed over the conferences entire schedule. Government employees were told to work from home. Schools and universities were closed. Over 15,000 military personnel and police officers were deployed to the streets of Lima to ensure that the protestsand crimedid not affect the summit attendees.

Among the geopolitical narratives that dominated the summit was the competition between the U.S. and China for influence in the region. Ahead of the official gathering, Chinese President Xi Jinping inaugurated the port of Chancay, a huge deepwater port north of the capital that will be a regional base for mineral exports for decades to come. Chancay has been the source of U.S.-China tensions for over a year, with the U.S. concerned about the dual-use nature of the port and Chinese control of such a key piece of economic infrastructure. Those concerns led Peru to try to retake control of Chancay, but China successfully pushed back against those efforts, meaning that the Chinese shipping giant Costco will maintain its 30-year concession to manage the port. The Peruvian government made sure that the local citizens who are upset by the lack of development in the town near the Chancay port and the damage it has done to the local fishing industry did not disrupt the inauguration event.

The average Peruvian citizen doesnt give a damn about the U.S.-China battle for influence. For the protesters in Peru, it is an unimportant sideshow to the daily misery they are angry about.

U.S. President Joe Biden also traveled to Peru, among his final foreign trips before handing power back over to his predecessor and successor, President-elect Donald Trump. He will hold a bilateral meeting with Xi, as well as meetings with the leaders of South Korea and Japan to discuss China and the presence of North Korean troops in Russia. While Biden will try to reassure the attendees of APEC and the G20 next week in Brazil that the U.S. will remain a global leader for decades to come, the countries in attendance are already nervous about the transition from Biden to Trump, particularly over Trumps campaign promises to start mass deportations of undocumented immigrants to Latin America and ramp up the trade war with China.

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Across the pages of U.S. papers, numerous articles were published about how the Chancay port represented Chinas growing influence in Latin America, even as the U.S. appears to be increasingly distant from a region it long dominated. U.S. officials continued to press their arguments against the port and discuss the very real concerns about the corrosive investments that China sometimes makes across Latin America. Meanwhile, Chinas propaganda machine was in full swing, highlighting the economic benefits of these infrastructure projects to Peru and its neighbors. It was a victory lap for Xis decadelong infrastructure push in the developing world and a chance to show off the stability of Chinas policies compared to the wild swings that U.S. policy is about to undergo.

What all that misses is that the average Peruvian citizen doesnt give a damn about the U.S.-China battle for influence. For the protesters in Peru, it is an unimportant sideshow to the daily misery they are angry about. The people who live near copper mines dont care whether the copper goes to an electric vehicle built by the Chinese-owned BYD or the U.S.-owned Tesla. What they do care about is that they dont see the benefits that the wealth under their feet generates. Peruvians dont care if the government in Lima is boosting military and security cooperation with China or the U.S. if that cooperation doesnt reduce their chances of being mugged as they walk down the street. The ribbon-cutting ceremony at Chancay, where Xi smiled and shook hands with Boluartea president who is disliked by more than 9 out of every 10 citizens in the countryprobably did more to harm Chinas reputation among Peruvians than help it.

As relevant as the APEC forum and the meetings that will take place on its sidelines are to the global debates of the moment, they are separate from the lives of the Peruvians who protested outside. Perus president arguably hosted the most important event in the world last week. Now, with all the foreign leaders gone, she is left to govern a country that hates and distrusts her and every other politician in Lima, and she has no clear plan to fix that problem. In looking back at the summit, Peru and the other members of APEC should ask themselves whether the forum really matters if it doesnt touch on the issues that have brought so many people to protest in the streets outside the event.

James Bosworth is the founder of Hxagon, a firm that does political risk analysis and bespoke research in emerging and frontier markets. He has two decades of experience analyzing politics, economics and security in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The post Protests in Peru Overshadowed Boluartes APEC Summit Wins appeared first on World Politics Review.
Former White House Communications Director and MSNBC host Jen Psaki said Democrats right now are in the wilderness with no clear leader to guide them after a brutal election loss.

Look, I think Democrats are in the wilderness. As you said before, there is no clear leader of the party, Psaki said Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press, highlighted by Mediaite.

She noted that President Biden is going to be out of office in less than 65 days, and Vice President Harris lost the presidential election.

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Psaki noted that Democratic governors may emerge as the partys leader. Theres talk about California Gov. Gavin Newsom taking charge, but as Psaki said Sunday, there is no clear leader right now.

After the brutal election loss, Democrats are left pointing fingers and trying to figure out where they went wrong with messaging and reaching working class voters.

While many are sounding the alarm bell about a second Trump term and the GOP controlling both chambers of Congress, Psaki sees it as an opportunity for Democrats.

That, to me, is an opportunity, because people have to decide, she said.

Nobody is given it, right? You seize the mantle, or you dont. Are you going to be the person  whos the right person to stand up against Trump? Are you going to be the person who brings the country together? Are you going to be the person who talks about the economy in ways that people understand? There are a lot of ways to do it, Psaki continued. I dont know whos going to emerge, but thats the moment were in now.

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UPDATE 5:10 a.m.: Alex Slawson has been located and is safe.

Original Story:

Harborcreek, Pa (WJET/WFXP)  Pennsylvania State Police in Erie are asking for the publics assistance in locating a missing 17-year-old, Alex Slawson, who went missing late Sunday Night.

According to PSP, Slawson was last seen in the area of Wiltsie Road in Harborcreek Township around 11:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Slawson stands at 5 foot 10 inches and weighs 160 pounds. He has brown hair and hazel eyes.

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More information about his last known clothing will be provided soon.

Anyone with information on Slawson or his whereabouts is asked to contact police by calling 911 or by contacting PSP Erie at (814) 898-1641.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com.
Nov. 18The make up of the majority of Odessa's City Council changes at 4 p.m. Tuesday when the newly-elected mayor and three council members are sworn in.

The public is invited to the ceremony at the Ector Theatre, 500 N. Texas Ave.

Mayor-elect Cal Hendrick will be sworn in by Justice Stacy Trotter. Hendrick soundly defeated incumbent Mayor Javier Joven during a bitter race where Joven and his surrogates sought to portray Hendrick as a liberal and even attacked Hendrick's church.

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Hendrick ran on repairing Odessa's failing infrastructure, particularly roads and water and trash service.

District Judge Sara Kate Billingsley will swear in newly-elected Council member at large Craig Stoker. Stoker defeated incumbent Denise Swanner in a divisive campaign where Swanner and her allies attacked Stoker, who is openly gay.

Those attacks, like the ones on Hendrick, backfired as Swanner also lost decisively. Stoker, the executive director of Odessa's Meals on Wheels, has said he wants a positive future for Odessa and wants to get to work on infrastructure.

Judge Eddy Spivey will swear in Eddie Mitchell who defeated incumbent Mark Matta for the District 1 seat. Spivey has said he is concerned with infrastructure and also ran on sprucing up what he calls the gateway to Odessa, Odessa's southside, which is part of his district.

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Incumbent District 2 Councilmember Steve Thompson is the only incumbent who held his seat. He will be sworn in by Judge Denn Whalen.

Thompson will enter his second term with a friendlier group on the dais as he has been at odds with Swanner, Joven and Matta for four years.

The current council will meet one last time to certify the election at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Odessa City Hall.

At the same time as the new council's swearing in on Tuesday, a reception for Matta, Swanner and Joven is scheduled at the Elegante to thank them for their service.
Eric Meyer delivers advice to journalists in a speech at the Kansas Press Association Hall of Fame ceremony on Nov. 15, 2024, in Topeka. (Evert Nelson for Kansas Press Association)

TOPEKA  The editor of the Kansas newspaper raided by police last year has a message for journalists struggling with their sense of purpose.

Go on the offensive.

Eric Meyer, editor and publisher of the Marion County Record, delivered remarks Friday as he was inducted alongside his mother, Joan, into the Kansas Press Association Newspaper Hall of Fame.

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I think this is a time when we have to establish for the people of this country the fact that we are important, that we have things that we can tell them that they will want to know, that they will want to change their positions about, Meyer said.

He added, in a nod to the results of the presidential election: Lets not make America great again. Lets make democracy great again.

Police raided the Marion County Record newsroom and the home where Meyer lived with his mother in August 2023 under the false pretense that journalists had committed a crime by looking up a public record. Joan Meyer, the 98-year-old co-owner whose profane clash with police officers was captured on camera, died a day after the raid from stress-induced cardiac arrest. The raid spawned five civil lawsuits and a criminal charge against the police chief who led the attack on a free press.

Meyer said he is an odd duck because he retired to run a newspaper, rather than retire from it. He returned to Kansas during the COVID-19 pandemic to take over the publication his parents had operated for decades. After teaching journalism for 20 years at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Meyer wanted to practice what he had been preaching  that journalism is still vital.

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Were not talking about the future of journalists. Were talking about the future of democracy, Meyer said. Because without journalism, there is no democracy. We cant have an informed public making informed decisions that will lead our country if they dont have information, solid information thats reliable. Getting their attention, though, is a very serious problem.

Joan Meyer, pictured on the screen behind her son, Eric, died a day after she clashed with police who raided her home. (Evert Nelson for Kansas Press Association)

Before the raid on his newspaper, Meyer said, circulation was already up, because we were trying to do the best news stories we could. After the raid, thousands of people from across the country purchased subscriptions in a show of support. Many of them, he said, are actually reading the stories. Some of the out-of-state readers have become so invested in the news out of Marion that they are even writing letters to the editor.

His advice to other journalists: Forget all the gimmicks.

Dont worry about what you put on social media, Meyer said. Dont worry about the video youre shooting. Dont worry about the blogs youre writing. Dont worry about the marketing techniques. Do good journalism, period. Good journalism. That means finding stories that affect people and giving them an opportunity to do something about it.

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Joan Meyer edited the newspaper for 50 years and continued writing until she died. Her last column ran in the same issue as her obituary.

Her death intensified national interest in a story about the abuse of power in trying to silence a free press.

Although Im sure she didnt want to go out the way she did, worrying about the Hitler tactics and so on, it is kind of rare, at age 98, that your death means something to someone, that you go out and youre youre sort of a martyr to your cause, her son said.

Other hall of fame inductees were Ann Brill, dean of the University of Kansas journalism school; Sally Buzbee, a former executive editor of the Washington Post and Associated Press; small-town publishers Cynthia Desilet Haynes and Ben Marshall; retired Wichita Eagle and Kansas City Star reporter Roy Wenzl; and photojournalists Barbara Kinney, David Peterson, George Olson, Joel Sartore and W. Eugene Smith.
(PUEBLO, Colo.)  Pueblo County will be honoring a Civil War veteran on Thursday, Nov. 21.

The County will be announcing a special road name in honor of Warren C. Dockum, a distinguished Civil War veteran, and Medal of Honor recipient. Dockum was born in New York, where he enlisted in the 16th New York Volunteers Infantry Regiment. He fought in numerous Civil War battles, including the three-day siege in Virginia.

His actions during Sailors Creek led to the capture of a Confederate battle flag, and days later the Civil War ended. In 2022, Dockum was celebrated at his final resting place in Pueblo, and the City designated Oct. 29 as Warren C. Dockum Day.

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Now, The Pueblo County Board of Commissioners has chosen to honor his legacy and contributions by naming a county road after him on Thursday, Nov. 21.

The event will take place at noon near the site of the future Pueblo County Detention Center off Pueblo Boulevard.

The Warren C. Dockum Road Naming Ceremony will feature remarks from local officials, historical reflections, and a dedication to his legacy of service and sacrifice.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado.
Editors note: Details of the story may be disturbing to some readers.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56)  The Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) is investigating after a puppy was found dead and on fire under a city overpass.

Around 9:15 a.m. on Friday, city sewer workers near 10th and Rowan streets saw a small fire underneath I-64, according to LMPD. As workers got closer, they found that the fire was a puppy inside of a green basket, and the puppy was dead.

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Read more of the latest Kentucky news

Blurred out puppy remains found in green basket (Louisville Metro Police Department) Blurred out puppy remains found in green basket (Louisville Metro Police Department)

Shortly after 11 a.m. on Monday, LMPD announced on Facebook that someone intentionally set fire to the dog, and the department had no leads at the moment.

In the comments, Louisville officials confirmed they did not know if the puppy was dead before or after it was set on fire. They are reviewing surveillance footage in the area and have asked surrounding residents to review Ring doorbell footage for someone carrying a green basket.

LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS:

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When asked what breed the dog was, the department responded in the Facebook post that it was too burned to tell clearly. Our ACE unit suspects little guy MIGHT have been a pit. LMPD also said the basket is from Dollar General.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the anonymous tipline at 502-574-LMPD or leave a tip 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 FOX 56 News.
Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, believes that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is not ready for peace talks after 4,000 days of war against Ukraine.

Source: Josep Borrell after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, European Pravda reports

Details: Borrell referred to the massive air attack that Russia launched on Ukraine overnight on 16-17 November and Mondays lethal attacks on Odesa.

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Quote from Borrell: "What does it mean? Well, it means that Putin does not look to be ready to negotiate, but rather to escalate. He does not look willing to negotiate, but to escalate the war in order to fulfil his goals. His goals have been clear since the beginning: to conquer, to occupy and to subjugate Ukraine."

The EUs chief diplomat noted that Putin had believed that the war would be over in two weeks, but his plan failed.

Quote from Borrell: "This was his plan. In a couple of weeks, in Kyiv. 1,000 days later, they are still fighting in Donbas. But it is not only 1,000 days  it is 4,000 days since Putin attacked Ukraine for the first time. It was in 2014."

Borrell acknowledged that the EU's response should have been firmer and stronger from the beginning. He warned against leaving Russia's latest escalation without a response.

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Quote from Borrell: "It is clear that each step that is being left without reaction encourages Russia to escalate further: no reaction, more escalation."

Background: Borrell has also announced that the European Union has handed over the promised million artillery rounds to Ukraine. The munitions were supposed to have arrived by spring.

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A Putnam County grand jury heard the case against Caylen Deller on Monday and decided to indict her for the murder of her ex-boyfriend.

Deller is accused of shooting and killing Chad Mullen in September. His body was found in October in a shallow grave in Hastings.

The indictment names three charges: first-degree murder with a firearm, evidence tampering, and failure to report a death.

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Related: This case is very active: Investigators look to interview more people in Chad Mullens killing

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Action News Jax told you in September when Mullen was reported missing. His friends and family held search parties trying to find him. His daughter, Holli Mullen, told us it wasnt like him to disappear.

According to the Putnam County Sheriffs Office, Deller and Mullen had a volatile on-again, off-again relationship. Mullens family said the two were no longer dating at the time of his disappearance.

The indictment states that Deller may have used ropes, ratchet straps, a net, a cinder block, a grappling hook and other items to help hide the body.

Related: 2 women arrested in connection to the murder of Putnam County man Chad Mullen

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Deller, 30, was booked into the Putnam County Jail on Nov. 11, after she was arrested in Volusia County.

A second woman, Tina Marie Lee-Ellis, is charged with accessory to murder after the fact.

Lee, 56, is due in court again on Nov. 21. Deller does not yet have a court date scheduled.

Deputies have arrested two Satsuma women in connection with the murder of Putnam County man Chad Mullen.

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A 17th-century diamond worth up to 21 million is at the centre of a bitter High Court legal battle between two branches of a Qatari royal family.

The multi-billionaire Al-Thani family are fighting over the 70-carat Mughal-era gemstone, which is known as the Idols Eye.

Previously owned by an Ottoman sultan, the blue-tinged stone was more recently found in the London home of Sheikh Saoud bin Mohammed Ali Al-Thani, the late Qatari culture minister.

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He had bought the prized stone in early 2004, before leaving it in the name of Elanus Holdings, a foundation of which his widow and children are the beneficiaries, following his death in 2014.

However, Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, a London-based art collector  and cousin to the family  is now claiming he has the right to buy the stone for 7.8 million at the High Court.

Sheikh Saoud bin Mohammed Ali Al-Thani left the diamond to a foundation of which his widow and children are beneficiaries

Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah  whose 316 million Mayfair home, Dudley House, is reportedly Britains most expensive private residence  says he can do so through his investment company, Qipco, after the stone was put on sale during the pandemic in 2020.

The loan agreement is said to have given him the option to buy the stone with the consent of Elanus, the company handling the estate of the widow and children of the late Sheikh Saoud.

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However, the two sides disagree about any agreement ever having been reached, with the family claiming their offer to sell the gemstone was a mistake.

Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah claims he has the right to buy the stone for 7.8 million - Champion News

It was heard that the late sheikhs son, Sheikh Hamad bin Saoud Al-Thani, had been interested in selling the stone to fund property deals, but had not consulted his mother or siblings, while company directors had not even considered a sale.

It was claimed the diamond could be worth far more than the listed sale price, with one expert putting its value at about 21 million.

Ties with the British monarchy

Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, the cousin embroiled in the legal battle, reportedly has close ties to the British Royal family.

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In 2013, he was pictured alongside Elizabeth II and in June this year, the King and Queen Camilla welcomed Qatars Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani on the final day of the Royal Ascot festival.

The King and Queen led the carriage procession alongside Sheikh Abdullah and Lady Charles Spencer-Churchill.

Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani with Elizabeth II at Ascot in 2013 - i-Images

Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullahs company, Qipco, became Ascots first official partner in 2014 and the agreement was later extended until 2026.

Through its subsidiaries, Qatar Racing and Qatar Bloodstock, Qipco owns a global thoroughbred racing and breeding operation that is based in the UK.

Bluish tinge

Robert Stewart KC, the Qipco barrister, told the hearing the diamond is colourless with a slightly bluish tinge and is thought to have been found in the Golconda mines in southern India in 1600.

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The diamond was then owned by the high-end jeweller Harry Winston before it was bought by Sheikh Saoud for 7 million in 2004 and kept in his personal safe.

Saad Hossain KC, the Elanus barrister, said: It was one of the most significant pieces in his collection and one of the pieces he was most proud of.

It is also of particular personal importance to his wife, Sheikha Amna.

The gem was put into the name of Elanus for inheritance planning reasons and then loaned to family cousin Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullahs company Qipco in 2014, to be included in his Mughal collection at lavish exhibitions.

Part of the loan agreement allowed for Qipco to buy the diamond if Elanus made clear a wish to sell.

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The price would be based either on independent valuations gathered by the selling and buying parties, or $10 million (about 7.8 million), whichever was higher.

Explore the possibility of a sale

After Sheikh Saouds death, Qipco claimed the sale of the diamond was put into train in Feb 2020, with a letter from Elanuss Swiss solicitor, who stated his son was willing to sell.

Qipco is now suing the Al-Thani family, who it claims were not entitled to stop the sale of the diamond. It is suing to enforce the sale at that price.

Although the 6 February letter said that the family wished to sell the Idols Eye, they did not, Mr Hossain told the court.

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Indeed, they had not even discussed or considered it. As for Elanus and its ultimate beneficial owner, the foundation, they had not even been consulted, let alone formed any wish.

Mr Hossain added:Even Sheikh Hamad bin Saoud, who set in motion getting advice on pre-emption and the drafting of the letter, had only sought to explore the possibility of a sale at the right price.

When the rest of the family learnt of the letter, they were understandably shocked and corrected the position to Qipco  well before Qipco served any purchase notice.

It is Qipcos flat refusal to accept that withdrawal, and instead to insist on completing the purchase without Elanuss consent, that has also led to this dispute.

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However, for Qipco, Mr Stewart said the letter constituted a wish to sell.

The hearing continues.

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Multiple weather fronts will push rain and snow into the Midwest, the Southeast, the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast ahead of Thanksgiving week and some of the year's busiest travel days.

Late Sunday, more than 25 million people were covered by National Weather Service watches and warnings related to winter storm activity, including those covering winds, flooding and freezing conditions.

Rain and gusty thunderstorms were forecast for parts of the central and southern Plains on Monday, and flood watches covered 4 million people from northwest Texas through central Oklahoma, federal and NBC News forecasters said.

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Severe weather for West Texas, including Abilene, Wichita Falls and Midland, was likely to bring 60 mph winds, thunderstorms and even a possible tornado, NBC News forecasters said.

The unstable weather was eventually expected to affect 7 million people in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, NBC News meteorologists said.

Rain, snow expected this week

Starting in the Pacific Northwest, a "long duration atmospheric river" was expected to bring 5 inches of rain and at least 3 inches of snow to Oregon and Northern California beginning as early as Monday, federal forecasters and academic researchers said.

The Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes in San Diego developed an AR1 through AR5 system for predicting the potency of atmospheric rivers that is similar to one used for hurricanes. On Friday it said the incoming atmospheric river  with likely impacts Tuesday through Friday  was likely to arrive as an AR3- or AR4-level phenomenon, indicating strong to extreme precipitation.

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The National Weather Services Weather Prediction Center said the stream of precipitation overhead would bring a chance of snow to parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming after it exits the Pacific Northwest.

Waves of low pressure were expected to follow and spread out into the Midwest, the Southeast and the Northeast after the initial atmospheric river, drawing in colder air and producing some snow into the weekend that precedes Thanksgiving week, they said.

An upper-level low pressure system was forecast to develop above the Great Lakes and the Northeast in the latter half of this week, the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center said.

The system would draw down temperatures and block any prospective warm fronts, it said.

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"This will result in cooler temperatures, a cold rain from the Ohio Valley to the East Coast, and early season accumulating snow for the central Appalachians and the higher terrain of the interior Northeast," the center said in its latest forecast.

Cooler, wetter fronts were expected to affect the East Coast in the second half of this week, when rain and some accumulating snow are expected in the Great Lakes, the Ohio Valley and the Northeast.

Federal forecasters said a surface cyclogenesis  a possibly major winter storm  could develop and spin across the mid-Atlantic and southern New England regions, bringing temperatures down by 10 degrees and producing rain and some snow accumulation Wednesday and Thursday.

Snow could be limited to the Northeast's interior regions and mountain ranges, federal forecasters said, but it would come amid drought and even wildfires that have so far characterized fall in places like New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

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Forecasters said as much as 6 inches of snow was possible.

"Cold air aloft will be sufficient to support accumulating early season snow for the higher terrain near the Great Lakes and interior Northeast, and especially for the central Appalachians," the Weather Prediction Center said in its forecast Sunday.

Looking ahead to Thanksgiving

Federal forecasters often avoid making predictions beyond seven days but were confident that cooler temperatures, cold rain and high-elevation snow would arrive on the East Coast on the Sunday of the week that marks the Thanksgiving holiday, Black Friday shopping and one of the busiest periods of the year for travel.

Nearly 80 million people are expected to travel more than 50 miles in the holiday period, the AAA said Monday, with unprecedented numbers set to drive and fly to see friends and family.

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The U.S. Climate Prediction Centers six- to 10-day weather outlook, which reaches into the first half of the holiday week, said California, the Pacific Northwest, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and some Great Lakes states, such as Wisconsin and Michigan, were leaning in favor of above-average rain.

The outlook has the San Francisco Bay Area likely to get more rain. The rest of the country is likely to get normal precipitation or below-normal rain during that time, the prediction center said.

There are indications Thanksgiving week will continue a post-pandemic trend of increasing holiday travel. American Airlines said in a statement Thursday that it expects to set a record for passengers served during the holiday span, with nearly 8.3 million expected.

The last high mark for travelers carried by American came last year, when it estimated nearly 6.5 million people flew on its aircraft and those of subsidiary airlines.

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Likewise, the National Retail Foundation said Thursday it expects a record for the number of shoppers expected to set foot in brick-and-mortar retailers during the holiday week: 183 million.

It may be too early to tell whether brewing rain and snow systems will thwart travel and spending plans.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A voter in Washington, D.C., brings her ballot to a drop box outside the Mt. Pleasant Library on Nov. 5. The citys voters delivered one of the few wins for ranked choice voting this election. (Noelle Straub/Stateline)

Voters in several states last week delivered a stinging rebuke to ranked choice voting, clouding the future of an idea that had seen strong momentum in recent years.

Ranked choice voting, which allows voters to rank political candidates by preference, is used statewide in Alaska and Maine and in major U.S. localities such as New York City and San Francisco.

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But voters in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon rejected ballot measures that would have adopted ranked choice voting for packed races. In Missouri, voters approved a ballot measure banning the approach statewide and locally, except for a grandfather clause for St. Louis municipal elections.

Results are still too close to call on a measure to scrap Alaskas existing use of ranked choice voting. With 94% of results reported, the measure was up by about 2,400 votes.

Voters this year were reluctant to make dramatic changes to the way they vote, said Chandler James, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Oregon. But I dont think that it spells the end for ranked choice voting in the future.

In the system, voters rank candidates on their ballots by preference  first, second, third choice, and so on.

Advertisement Advertisement

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If no candidate gets the majority of first-preference votes, the rest of the rankings kick in. The candidate with the fewest first-preference votes gets eliminated, while those voters secondary choices are allocated to the rest of the field. The counting continues until one candidate gets majority support.

Critics often blast ranked choice voting as being complicated and undemocratic, saying it violates the one person, one vote principle of American elections. But proponents argue that it forces candidates to appeal to a wider audience, leading to less toxic campaigning, and saves money on costly runoff elections.

More success locally

The system had better success this year at the local level, including in the District of Columbia; Bloomington, Minnesota; Oak Park and Peoria, Illinois; and Richmond, California.

Overall, we see that ranked choice voting is still growing, said Deb Otis, director of research and policy at FairVote, the nonpartisan organization leading the fight to adopt ranked choice voting. Im still really optimistic for how it will continue to grow.

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And though it lost in Oregon, she pointed out that the measure had majority support in jurisdictions that currently use ranked choice voting, such as Multnomah (home to Portland) and Benton Counties.

In the District of Columbia, voters overwhelmingly supported a ballot measure to establish ranked choice voting for elections beginning in 2026 and to open the primary process to voters who are not affiliated with a party.

The local political party leadership campaigned against the measure, as was the case in other places where ranked choice voting was on the ballot. But district voters, familiar with packed Democratic primary ballots where winners often fail to get majority support, adopted the measure with more than 72% of the vote. The districts party affiliation overwhelmingly leans Democratic.

It was a sign of grassroots work for the past five years, said Porter Bowman, volunteer communications director for the Yes on 83 Campaign.

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People are not OK with the status quo, he said in an interview. Folks were looking to city leadership and the state of politics in D.C. and wanting voters to have more choice and to be more involved in the process.

The city council must still implement the voting system. But Republicans now control both chambers of Congress, which could put the system at risk because Congress limits the districts autonomy.

Push to prohibit in federal races

Last year, U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, introduced legislation that would have prohibited the district from using ranked choice voting in local elections. He also introduced a separate bill that would have prohibited states from using the voting system in federal elections.

As usual, DC is running toward something that others have overwhelmingly rejected, he wrote on Instagram over the weekend.

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Lawler wrote he will continue to push his legislation to prevent the adoption of this convoluted voting system when Congress comes back to work this month. Hes previously pointed to delayed results in New York Citys elections using ranked choice voting and what he said was the confusion that came with it.

FairVotes Otis said Lawlers legislation would be shortsighted, and pointed to how Republicans have benefited from the system.

She cited Virginia, where the state Republican Party used it to nominate Gov. Glenn Youngkin in a 2021 state convention. Youngkin had a plurality of votes among a crowded field after the first vote; he won the nomination after six rounds of counting with 55% of the vote. Even so, Youngkin vetoed ranked choice voting legislation in April.

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Leaders in several Virginia localities said in the past week that theyre considering using ranked choice voting in the near future after Arlington County successfully implemented the method.

In 2024, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma enacted measures that banned the use of ranked choice voting  a burgeoning trend in Republican-led states, reacting to key GOP losses in Alaska and Maine in recent years.

Otis said her group is moving ahead with campaigns to bring ranked choice voting to local elections in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Boston and Denver in the coming years.

This article first appeared in Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom network, as is the Nebraska Examiner. Stateline maintains editorial independence.
Canada's AtkinsRealis Group announced it has an agreement to build two new CANDU nuclear reactors in Romania, which would be the first new reactors of that type built since 2007. The Montreal-based company on Nov. 15 said the Romanian project is a joint venture with Fluor Corp., Ansaldo Nucleare, and Sargent & Lundy. The contract was awarded by EnergoNuclear S.A. for the Cernavoda Nuclear Generating Station, which is already home to two 720-MW CANDU reactors. The Canadian government in September of this year announced $3 billion in federal export financing to help support the project. Cernavoda is Romanias only nuclear power plant, and supplies about 20% of the countrys electricity. CANDU (Canada deuterium uranium) reactors were developed in the late 1950s. The first reactor began operating in Pickering, Ontario, in 1971. The World Nuclear Association says there are 27 CANDU reactors operating today in seven countries, along with 17 "CANDU derivative" reactors in India. Officials said the new units at Cernavoda will allow Romania to nearly double its power generation capacity. The AtkinsRealis Group will provide design, engineering, and procurement services, as well as support to EnergoNuclear, the Romanian company responsible for construction, commissioning, and operation of the power plant. Financing of the new reactors will be supported by $3 billion from the Canadian government, with additional capital from other governments, according to a news release.

'Game-Changing Contract'

This is a game-changing contract for AtkinsRealis and Romania. As the sole commercial licensee of world-renowned CANDU technology, we are uniquely positioned to contribute to the vast expansion of the worlds clean power, said Ian L. Edwards, president and CEO of AtkinsRealis. CANDU technology is at the forefront of relevant, up to date and differentiated nuclear technologies in the world. We are honored to help power Romania well into the end of the 21st century with these brand new CANDU reactors. I would like to thank the Government of Canada who helped make this contract possible through export financing support of $3 billion. This also represents our first step in our expansion around the world as we aim to sell many more reactors. [caption id="attachment_225680" align="alignnone" width="640"]

The Cernavoda power station is Romania's only nuclear power plant. The two CANDU reactors in use at the site supply about 20% of the country's electricity. Source: Wikimedia[/caption] Canada is proud to stand at the forefront of the global clean energy transition, with CANDU nuclear technology as a pillar of innovation and reliability, said Mary Ng, Minister of Export, Trade & Economic Development for Canada. This collaboration in Romania highlights Canadas leadership in nuclear energy, providing clean, resilient solutions that enhance energy security, reduce emissions, and support economic growth. Through this partnership, were not only creating good, high-paying jobs and advancing sustainable growth, but were also reinforcing Canadas commitment to a low-carbon future and strengthening resilient supply chains for a better world. AtkinsRealis will help EnergoNuclear meet European Union directives around the project while working with the National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control, which is Romanias nuclear power regulator. The company said the two new units are the first CANDU new-builds in the world since Cernavodas Unit 2 nuclear reactor came online in 2007. EnergoNuclear will operate Units 3 and 4 at Cernavoda. The initial phase of the project represents an investment of $224 million. After completion of the initial phase, EnergoNuclear has the option to issue a full notice to proceed with the services necessary to complete the new units, subject to the agreement of commercial terms, according to the companies. Cosmin Ghita, CEO of Nuclearelectrica, a partly state-owned Romanian nuclear energy company, in a statement touted 28 years of excellent operation of Cernavoda NPP Units 1 and 2, outstanding safety record, 230 million MWh into the grid and 215 million tons of CO2 avoided are the merits of CANDU technology and human expertise. We are keen on extending the historic cooperation with AtkinsRealis, for the deployment of Units 3 and 4 and provide Romania with long-term safe, reliable and clean energy. Ghita continued: Nuclear energy is a major part of the global effort for deep decarbonization and by extending CANDU nuclear capacities in Romania, we aim to prove that energy security, energy availability and energy resilience together with 66% of Romanias clean energy can efficiently be provided by a single energy source, nuclear, based on years of experience, strategic partnerships and robust technology. Stephen Lecce, Ontarios minister of Energy and Electrification, said, Ontario is proud to lead in nuclear energy, providing clean, reliable, and affordable power while positioning our province as a global leader in this critical sector. By exporting our nuclear expertise worldwide, were showcasing Ontarios innovation and commitment to an affordable energy future. While we refurbish and expand nuclear fleets around the world, we are bringing jobs and investment back home for Ontario families and workers." Officials said the two-unit expansion at Cernavoda will support Romanias strategy to become a regional hub for energy security and clean electricity in Eastern Europe with the support of Canadian technology. Canadian CANDU technology has served Romania well and is the right choice for the next 60 years, said Joe St. Julian, president, Nuclear, for AtkinsRealis. The last seven CANDU reactors built around the world, and the ongoing life extension of 10 CANDU reactors in Ontario, have been conducted on time and on budget. We will employ our unmatched nuclear power know-how as the steward of this technology, to ensure a similarly successful outcome for the build of these two new units in Romania. Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).
A voter in Washington, D.C., brings her ballot to a drop box outside the Mt. Pleasant Library on Nov. 5. The citys voters delivered one of the few wins for ranked choice voting this election. (Noelle Straub/Stateline)

Voters in several states delivered a stinging rebuke to ranked choice voting, clouding the future of an idea that had seen strong momentum in recent years.

Ranked choice voting, which allows voters to rank political candidates by preference, is used statewide in Alaska and Maine and in major U.S. localities such as New York City and San Francisco.

Advertisement Advertisement

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But voters in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon rejected ballot measures that would have adopted ranked choice voting for packed races. In Missouri, voters approved a ballot measure banning the approach statewide and locally, except for a grandfather clause for St. Louis municipal elections.

Results are still too close to call on a measure to scrap Alaskas existing use of ranked choice voting. With 94% of results reported, the measure was up by about 2,400 votes.

Voters this year were reluctant to make dramatic changes to the way they vote, said Chandler James, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Oregon. But I dont think that it spells the end for ranked choice voting in the future.

How does ranked choice voting work?

In the system, voters rank candidates on their ballots by preference  first, second, third choice, and so on.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

If no candidate gets the majority of first-preference votes, the rest of the rankings kick in. The candidate with the fewest first-preference votes gets eliminated, while those voters secondary choices are allocated to the rest of the field. The counting continues until one candidate gets majority support.

Critics often blast ranked choice voting as being complicated and undemocratic, saying it violates the one person, one vote principle of American elections. But proponents argue that it forces candidates to appeal to a wider audience, leading to less toxic campaigning, and saves money on costly runoff elections.

While it was a tough year for statewide ballot measures, the system had better success at the local level, including in the District of Columbia; Bloomington, Minnesota; Oak Park and Peoria, Illinois; and Richmond, California.

Overall, we see that ranked choice voting is still growing, said Deb Otis, director of research and policy at FairVote, the nonpartisan organization leading the fight to adopt ranked choice voting. Im still really optimistic for how it will continue to grow.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

And though it lost in Oregon, she pointed out that the measure had majority support in jurisdictions that currently use ranked choice voting, such as Multnomah (home to Portland) and Benton counties.

In the District of Columbia, voters overwhelmingly supported a ballot measure to establish ranked choice voting for elections beginning in 2026 and to open the primary process to voters who are not affiliated with a party.

The local political party leadership campaigned against the measure, as was the case in other places where ranked choice voting was on the ballot. But district voters, familiar with packed Democratic primary ballots where winners often fail to get majority support, adopted the measure with more than 72% of the vote. The districts party affiliation overwhelmingly leans Democratic.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

It was a sign of grassroots work for the past five years, said Porter Bowman, volunteer communications director for the Yes on 83 Campaign.

People are not OK with the status quo, he said in an interview. Folks were looking to city leadership and the state of politics in D.C. and wanting voters to have more choice and to be more involved in the process.

The City Council must still implement the voting system. But Republicans now control both chambers of Congress; that could put the system at risk, because Congress limits the districts autonomy.

Last year, U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, introduced legislation that would have prohibited the district from using ranked choice voting in local elections. He also introduced a separate bill that would have prohibited states from using the voting system in federal elections.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

As usual, DC is running toward something that others have overwhelmingly rejected, he wrote on Instagram over the weekend.

Lawler wrote he will continue to push his legislation to prevent the adoption of this convoluted voting system when Congress comes back to work this month. Hes previously pointed to delayed results in New York Citys elections using ranked choice voting and what he said was the confusion that came with it.

Ranked choice voting efforts across the U.S.

FairVotes Otis said Lawlers legislation would be shortsighted, and pointed to how Republicans have benefited from the system.

She cited Virginia, where the state Republican Party used it to nominate Gov. Glenn Youngkin in a 2021 state convention. Youngkin had a plurality of votes among a crowded field after the first vote; he won the nomination after six rounds of counting with 55% of the vote. Even so, Youngkin vetoed ranked choice voting legislation in April.

Advertisement Advertisement

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Leaders in several Virginia localities said in the past week that theyre considering using ranked choice voting in the near future after Arlington County successfully implemented the method.

In 2024, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma enacted measures that banned the use of ranked choice voting  a burgeoning trend in Republican-led states, reacting to key GOP losses in Alaska and Maine in recent years.

Otis said her group is moving ahead with campaigns to bring ranked choice voting to local elections in Albuquerque, Boston and Denver in the coming years.

Stateline, like the 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. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. Follow Stateline on Facebook and X.

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About two years ago, Katie Bruckmann joined the Covid club when she became infected with the virus for the very first time.

I had all the normal symptoms like fever and more annoying viral sort of symptoms, she said. The one that really made me stop in my tracks and go to the doctor was this horrific pain in my spine and my ribs.

However, staff at an urgent care clinic attributed that pain to the Covid infection.

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However that symptom, unlike all the others associated with the virus, did not go away.

It was like you were being stabbed and your bones crushed, she said. I couldnt move. I couldnt lean over to put my shoes on. I couldnt get dressed.

Katie thought it might be a long Covid symptom  so despite her discomfort she returned to her Boston teaching job and just toughed out the pain.

But it soon became impossible to ignore.

It got to the point where it was so painful that I was in tears all the time, she said. I wasnt sleeping. I wasnt eating.

In the process, Katie lost 25 pounds. She noticed her clothes no longer fit. Thats when she thought about getting medical help again. And so, last December, she underwent a series of tests and scans. On January 8, 2024, came the diagnosis.

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It was Stage IV pancreatic cancer, she said. At 32-years-old. So that was the shock of my life.

It was a shock-worthy diagnosis. Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest of malignancies  with long-term survival rates of only around 13%.

Pancreatic cancer in the United States is the third leading cause of cancer-related death, said Brandon Huffman, MD, a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. And unfortunately, its expected to become the second-leading cause of cancer death by the year 2030.

Huffman, who is treating Katie Bruckmann, said the disease affects about 1 in 56 men and 1 in 60 women  but its largely a disease of older age, with the average age of diagnosis around 70. Its also a cancer usually caught only in later stages.

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The signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer are very non-specific, Huffman said. Abdominal pain, unintentional weight loss due to loss of appetite, there could be jaundice.

There is no test for pancreatic cancer and its location in the body makes it difficult to visualize.

Its right in the middle of the abdomen under the ribs, Huffman said.

Once diagnosed, pancreatic cancer is difficult to treat. Huffman said it tends to be aggressive. And, over time, pancreatic cancer cells develop resistance to available chemotherapeutic drugs.

But here is where Katie Bruckmann lucked out. Genetic testing of her pancreatic cancer cells  something recommended for all pancreatic cancer patients -- revealed something rare: a mutation seen in fewer than one percent of cases.

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Her cancer has a RET fusion, Huffman said.

What made that a fortunate finding is the fact the FDA approved a drug that can specifically treat that form of pancreatic cancer. It is called selpercatinib and is sold under the brand name Retevmo.

It blocks the signaling that encourages growth of the cancer cells, Huffman said. Best of all for patients: the drug is given orally.

After undergoing chemotherapy for six months, Katie began taking selpercatinib last June. She said her tumors continue to shrink and the horrible pain she endured is now gone. Shes far from cured. She still has pancreatic cancer. But shes also got hope.

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Ive been feeling great, she said. I went back to work full time. Im not back to normal because cancer is life-changing and it will never be the same as it was before. But I feel like Im living again, you know?

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Laura Hogshead (bottom left), the director of ReBuild NC, and Pryor Gibson (bottom right), advisor to Gov. Roy Cooper, testify in front of lawmakers about the hurricane recovery housebuilding program on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)

Leaders of North Carolinas hurricane home recovery program said in an oversight hearing Monday that the agency had run up a deficit of around $221 million.

And the director of ReBuild NC, or the NC Office of Recovery and Resiliency, again faced calls to resign from lawmakers frustrated by years of financial woes and uncompleted homes.

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Will you turn in your resignation today? asked Rep. Brenden Jones (R-Columbus) asked the director, Laura Hogshead.

No sir, I will not, Hogshead responded.

The hearing brought renewed scrutiny to the states hurricane recovery efforts under Gov. Roy Cooper in the final months of his administration, while billions of dollars flow to the mountains for Hurricane Helene relief.

And it revealed that the program to rebuild homes for survivors of Hurricanes Florence and Matthew was even deeper in the red than originally anticipated.

Inside Climate News reported in October that ReBuild NC had run up a deficit of over $150 million. On Monday, an advisor to the governor whos been assigned to the agency said an accounting review showed it would actually take around $221 million to solve all the problems.

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ReBuild NC was too far over its skis, said Pryor Gibson, who is also deputy legislative counsel in Coopers office. It does not have enough money to finish the projects in its queue or the affordable housing.

It is not the first time Hogshead has been grilled by lawmakers over her agencys struggles. During a 2022 hearing, Sen. Danny Britt (R-Robeson) called on her to resign. (Hogsheads post is subject to the governor and the head of the Department of Public Safety.)

Gibson, a former state representative, was assigned to the agency in January. He previously led the Division of Employment Security, taking charge as it faced struggles to keep up with unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lawmakers homed in on a number of different concerns they had with the program  chiefly the financial ones, as leaders again ask the General Assembly to appropriate more money to finish projects.

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We simply were not watching carefully enough, Hogshead said of her agencys accounting process.

Thats an understatement, responded Jones, who co-chaired the oversight committee.

If you worked for me, I would fire you, he added. You guys are like a teenager with mamas credit card.  When are you going to get it right? Weve given you every opportunity, every thing youve asked for.

Hogshead and Gibson acknowledged the programs financial straits, but pointed to nuances  including an eight-step award process and navigating federal dollars  that had complicated their mission.

A worst case scenario for the program, Hogshead said, would require an additional $264 million to finish all the projects in ReBuild NCs queue. Gibson asked for at least $40 million per month for the next 3 months.

Laura Hogshead (left), the director of ReBuild NC, and Pryor Gibson, advisor to Gov. Roy Cooper, are sworn in to testify in front of lawmakers about the states hurricane recovery housebuilding program on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)

Please help us find the way to put the rest of these folks in Eastern North Carolina back in their homes, Gibson said. The agency absolutely deserves the scrutiny and the chewing, he said, but at the end of the day, I just wish wed had something like this during (Hurricane) Floyd.

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ReBuild NC has been the subject of criticism and scrutiny for years. A series of stories by NC Newsline in 2022 detailed how the agency failed to finish building hundreds of homes and handed out favorable contracts to a troubled company while survivors remained displaced. Survivors came to testify in front of lawmakers while top officials at the agency continued to step down.

Lawmakers second relief package for Helene, passed last month, included $30 million for ReBuild NC; Cooper had asked for $175 million. It remains to be seen what role the agency could play as the state takes on a years-long rebuild out west.

Multiple Republican lawmakers were publicly skeptical Monday that the agency would be able to handle efforts in Helene after struggles in the east. But Hogshead expressed confidence that if the program was given money to finish its current obligations, it could be trusted in the future.

The reason to keep NCORR is because simply, weve done this recently, she said. To start over with someone else would be to re-learn those hard lessons.
Torian Topel woke to popping and crackling noises just before 2 a.m. Oct. 25.

Through the crack in her room-darkening curtains in the bedroom of her houseboat, docked on the Mississippi River in St. Paul Park, she could see an orange glow, she said. I didnt look at the clock, but I could feel that it wasnt morning, and it wasnt day, she said.

When she opened the curtains, she saw her boyfriends houseboat, docked in the next slip, fully engulfed in flames. There were flames shooting out his windows, Topel said. The entire boat was just completely on fire.

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With only a 3-foot dock separating the houseboats, Topel knew she had to act quickly. She screamed for her two sons, Nick, 21, and Greyson, 12, to grab the family pets and get off the boat.

The windows blew in either from the sheer heat, or the fire had transferred to my boat, she said. It was, like, We need to get out now. I didnt grab anything except my cellphone. I didnt grab my purse. I didnt grab my car keys. My oldest didnt grab his wallet. They actually went off barefoot. I happened to slip on shoes out of habit, so I had shoes on.

Topel said she screamed for her boyfriend, Nick Walsh, who had been at a bowling league earlier that night, as she scrambled to escape. Nicks dog, an English Springer spaniel named Fiadh, remained on board Topels boat.

Walsh, 38, died in the fire. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, said St. Paul Park Fire Chief Mike Kramer.

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Topel, 41, a veterinary technician, and her two sons are staying with her sister in Elk River as they figure out their next steps. She said she is still trying to come to terms with Walshs death.

I could have sworn I saw Nick squatting in front of his boat, Topel said. I really thought he was OK. He was worried about Fiadh, and he said to me, Shes not going to follow you. You have to go get her. Im looking at my boat. I know Ive got a propane tank on the front of my boat, and Im envisioning that blowing up, and Im seeing flames on my boat.

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Knowing that it wasnt safe to walk inside the boat, Topel said she took the outside walkway to the back of her boat and was able to punch in some Styrofoam that had been placed above a window air conditioner and call for Fiadh.

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She came up quick, but she refused to follow me, and shes, like, 43 pounds, Topel said. Shes actually pregnant, too, so I cant pick her up and carry her down this narrow walkway, so I made the judgment call and pushed her into the river.

When Topel reached shore, she and sons scrambled up a rocky, wooded hill to the boatyard, and she called 911. We went to the area where I thought Nick was going to be meeting us  at the top of the steps, she said. I asked Tim, whos another live-aboard resident, where Nick was, and Tim said, Hes not here. I said, What do you mean?

Jack-of-all-trades

Walsh and Topel, who met through the dating app Bumble, had been dating for just over a year. On their first date, in September 2023, they went hiking in the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge in Zimmerman, she said.

Walsh, who had been married previously, had three children. He loved people, and he loved God, Topel said. His kids were so important to him. We did so much together in such a short period of time. I feel like I have known him for years.

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Walsh, who sold life insurance, grew up in Rosemount and got his bachelors degree in business administration from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont. In addition to selling insurance, he worked in construction and did tree work, she said.

He was a jack-of-all-trades, she said. He was a great cook. He played the banjo. He spoke Spanish and a little bit of Gaelic. There was almost absolutely nothing that he couldnt do. If he didnt know something, he would look it up and learn it.

The two shared a love of animals. In addition to Fiadh, Walsh owned five snakes, a turtle and a couple of lizards, she said. We had a lot of similar qualities, she said. He was very much an extrovert, and Im very much an introvert. He helped me to get outside of my comfort zone.

Lost home to previous fire

Topel bought her houseboat in March and fixed it up. She and Nick and Greyson moved in mid-May. After I had it fixed up, I named it, The Holey Hull, I Hope it Floats,' she said.

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The Topels previously lived in Zimmerman, but their rental home burned down on Mothers Day weekend in 2019, and they lost everything, she said. She had rental insurance, but she had moved before the fire and forgot to change the address, so barely anything was covered, she said.

Sadly, insurance will not cover anything lost on the houseboat, either, she said.

Friends and family members have started an online fundraising page to help the Topels at GoFundMe (gofund.me/17e55c75).

The fire destroyed everything Torian owned, the post on GoFundMe reads. Nothing on her houseboat could be saved. This loss is even more heartbreaking considering that just five years ago, Torian also lost her home in a fire and had to start over. Now, shes once again faced with the overwhelming task of rebuilding her life from scratch.

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As of Monday, the fund had raised more than $1,400.

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Topel, who must get a new apartment, replace basic necessities and pay her bills, said she is grateful for any assistance.

On top of everything else, Topel said she is on the hook for removing her burned 50-foot houseboat. Thats probably going to be over $12,000, even though it wasnt my boat that started on fire, she said.

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She is mourning the loss of Walsh and the dreams they shared.

He had always wanted to live on a houseboat, she said. He had once shared a 10-year plan from way back in the day. He made it happen. When his kids graduated, he wanted to buy a catamaran and sail the world. That would have been our future together.
HENDERSON, Ky (WEHT)  A recent arrest has brought up the legality of the drug kratom.

Lloyd Smith was arrested by Madisonville Police after officials said he was driving recklessly and showed signs of impairment.

One drug that was found in Smiths truck was kratom, but what is it and is it legal?

Kratom is a tropical tree native to southeast Asia where consumption of its leaves produces stimulant and sedative effects. Kratom is commonly referred to as an herbal substance that can produce opioid and stimulant-like effects.

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Kratom is not controlled under the Controlled Substances Act, but there are some states and regulations against possession and use.

Right now, there are 44 states along with the District of Columbia that designates kratom as legal, but in the Tri-State, its more complicated.

In Indiana, Kratom is illegal to buy, sell or use kratom. In Illinois, it is mostly legal, but it is banned in some municipalities. In Kentucky, it is 100% legal, however, legislatures have been pushing for a ban in recent years.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, kratom is used to self-treat multiple ailments such as pain, coughing, diarrhea, anxiety and depression, opioid use disorder and opioid withdrawal. It has been estimated 1.7 million Americans 12 years and older used Kratom in 2021.

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However, the FDA says it has not approved any prescription or over the counter drug products containing kratom or its two main chemical components.

The FDA has also warned consumers not to use kratom because of serious adverse effects such as toxicity, seizures and substance use disorder.

The National Institutes of Health published a study that documents kratoms use on driving and results showed that over 90% of participants surveyed self-reported driving under the influence of Kratom with most reported low rates of risky driving behavior and expressed high confidence in their driving ability. This finding was consistent with the EMAs findings plus little impairment with 15-180 minutes after use.

The Drug Enforcement Administration says kratom is mostly abused by oral ingestion in the form of a tablet, capsule or extract. The DEA has also listed kratom as a Drug and Chemical of Concern.

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By Doyinsola Oladipo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Americans are expected to set a new record for Thanksgiving travel, with nearly 80 million to hit the roads, catch flights and board cruises over the holiday period, travel group AAA said on Monday.

About 1.7 million more people will travel this year from Tuesday, Nov. 26 to Monday, Dec. 2, compared to a similar period in 2023.

Although staffing and aircraft shortages have capped the airline industry's ability to ramp up capacity during the holidays in previous years, a record number of Americans are expected to fly to their destinations this year.

American Airlines plans to shuttle 8.3 million passengers from Nov. 21 to Dec. 3, about 500,000 more customers than last year. Delta Air Lines said it is expecting a record 6.5 million passengers over a 12-day period, a 5% year-over-year increase.

Southwest Airlines and American Airlines both said their passenger volumes will peak on Sunday, Dec. 1, as more travelers plan to return home immediately following the holiday versus extending their trips.

United Airlines said its passenger volumes on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving have increased 20% from 2023, while demand for Monday and Tuesday is flat. The air carrier is expecting a record 6.2 million total passengers over a 13-day period.

Travelers are paying more to travel domestically this year, with the average airfare priced at $273 as of the end of October, up 9% from last year, according to travel booking app Hopper. However, airfares for the holiday remain lower than in 2022 and pre-pandemic levels, the company said.

International flight booking numbers are up 23% compared to last Thanksgiving, while average ticket costs are down 5%, the AAA said.

CAR TRAVEL

AAA projects a record 71.7 million people will embark on road trips across the country, a 1.3 million increase from last year.

Falling oil prices may help push the national average gasoline price below $3 a gallon for the first time since 2021.

BUS, CRUISE AND TRAIN TRAVEL

Nearly 2.3 million people are expected to travel by other modes of transportation including by bus, a 9% increase from 2023 and an 18% jump from 2019, according to the AAA.

That is due in large part to the growing popularity of cruising, as domestic and international cruise bookings are up 20% compared to last Thanksgiving.

Rail operator Amtrak said it carried more than 1 million customers from Nov. 18 to Nov. 26 in 2023 and is expecting more than that this year, a spokesperson said.

(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Jamie Freed)
A record number of Americans are expected to travel for Thanksgiving this year, the AAA travel group said Monday.

AAA said in a release that it predicts 79.9 million travelers will go 50 miles or more for the Thanksgiving holiday period, which begins Tuesday, Nov. 26, and runs through Monday, Dec. 2.

The projection is 1.7 million more travelers than 2023.

Thanksgiving is the busiest holiday for travel, and this year were expecting to set new records across the board, from driving to flying and cruising, said Stacy Barber, vice president of AAA Travel, in a statement.

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Most travelers will head to their Thanksgiving destination via car. A record 71.7 million people will drive home for the holiday, surpassing prepandemic levels.

Hertz rental company told AAA that Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Oahu, Orlando and Phoenix are the busiest cities with rental car demand for the holiday. The most common theme, AAA said, is people are heading to places with warmer weather.

Thanksgiving air travel will also set a record, AAA said. About 5.84 million people will fly domestically, an increase of 2 percent from last year. International bookings are up 23 percent, too.

Nearly 2.3 million people are expected to travel by other modes of transportation, including buses, cruises and trains, a 9 percent increase from last year.

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At least four people were killed and 18 others were wounded when an Israeli strike hit an area in central Beirut on Monday targeting an apartment building without any prior warning, eyewitnesses, security sources and the health ministry said.

The strike hit an apartment in the heavily-populated Zaqaq al-Blat district, which is outside Beirut's southern Suburbs, eyewitnesses said.

People told dpa they heard two rockets hitting the building.

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It marks the first Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital since Sunday night when an Israeli strike hit the Mar Elias neighbourhood which is not far from the targeted area.

The area is considered to be under the control of the Shiite militia Hezbollah and their close allies, the Amal movement. It is a few metres away from the headquarters of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and the Australian Embassy.

The area is also few meters away from the ESCWA bulding in downtown Beirut.

Most Israeli airstrikes have so far targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut, which are considered a stronghold of the Shiite militia Hezbollah. Recently, however, attacks on the city centre have become more frequent.

One killed in northern Israel

Rockets fired from southern Lebanon by Hezbollah fighters killed one women in the northern Israeli town of Shefaram, according to local emergency services.

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Ten others were slightly injured in the town, which is mainly inhabited by Arab Israelis, according to local emergency services.

Earlier in the day, two other people were injured by separate rocket strikes in other places in northern Israel.

According to the Israeli military on Monday evening, more than 100 rockets had been fired at Israel from Lebanon over the course of Monday.

Hezbollah confirmed the attacks.

The militant group has been firing rockets into Israel for more than a year, attacks that the group say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinian extremist group Hamas amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

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Around 60,000 people in northern Israel have fled their homes due to the shelling. Since the start of the war, 77 people have been killed there and more than 640 injured.

In Lebanon, more than 3,000 people have died as a result of Israeli airstrikes and shelling.

Hezbollah spokesman buried

Hezbollah supporters, meanwhile, gathered in the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon on Monday for the funeral of Mohammed Afif, the Hezbollah media spokesman killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut over the weekend.

The time of the funeral was announced half an hour beforehand, and the ceremony was brief, presumably for fear of further Israeli airstrikes.

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Afif had come to the fore following the killing of the Hezbollah leadership in a series of Israeli strikes. He was one of the few publicly known faces of the Iran-backed militia.

Afif was seen as close to Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed at the end of September. He had led the media operations of the Shiite militia for years.

Israeli strike kills at least 17 in Gaza

Two Israeli missile strikes on a house in the city of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza killed at least 17 people, including women and children, according to Palestinian reports on Monday.

The Hamas-controlled civil defence force said the attack left the building destroyed. The information has not yet been independently verified, and the Israeli military has not commented on the incident.

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Separately, 72 people are reported to have been killed on Sunday in Beit Lahia in an Israeli airstrike on a five-storey residential building. This claim also remains unverified, with no response from the Israeli military.

UNRWA says aid lorries looted

The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said on Monday in Geneva that more than 100 lorries carrying aid into the Gaza Strip had been looted.

The incident is among the largest raids on aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip in recent months, and Lazzarini said he suspects local gangs and family clans are behind the looting.

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These groups have been fighting between themselves for control of local shops in the south of the coastal strip, Lazzarini said, adding that his agency has long been warning about the collapse of public order in Gaza more than a year into the Israeli campaign of airstrikes and ground attacks.

Amid food shortages and ongoing Israeli strikes, desparate Gazans in the southern city of Khan Younis had also tried to storm a UNRWA warehouse. However, Lazzarini complained that there was nothing left to distribute because of the looted trucks.

The humanitarian situation in the densely populated and sealed-off area is catastrophic after more than a year of war.
At least five people were killed and 31 others were wounded when an Israeli strike hit an area in central Beirut on Monday targeting an apartment building without any prior warning, eyewitnesses, security sources and the health ministry said.

The strike hit an apartment in the heavily-populated Zaqaq al-Blat district, which is outside Beirut's southern Suburbs, eyewitnesses said.

People told dpa they heard two rockets hitting the building.

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It marks the first Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital since Sunday night when an Israeli strike hit the Mar Elias neighbourhood which is not far from the targeted area.

The area is considered to be under the control of the Shiite militia Hezbollah and their close allies, the Amal movement. It is a few metres away from the headquarters of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and the Australian Embassy.

Most Israeli airstrikes have so far targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut, which are considered a stronghold of the Shiite militia Hezbollah. Recently, however, attacks on the city centre have become more frequent.

The strike came after a long day of cautious calm in the capital Beirut and its southern suburbs.

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It also came as Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri, an all of Hezbollah, was quoted as telling the Saudi Newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that the visit of the US envoy Amos Hochstein to Beirut on Tuesday is on schedule."

Berri said he was surprised about the rumours about its cancellation.

Berri denied these reports, stressing that "the visit is on time and that Hochstein will receive the Lebanese response to the American ceasefire initiative."

One killed in northern Israel

Rockets fired from southern Lebanon by Hezbollah fighters killed one women in the northern Israeli town of Shefaram, according to local emergency services.

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Ten others were slightly injured in the town, which is mainly inhabited by Arab Israelis, according to local emergency services.

Earlier in the day, two other people were injured by separate rocket strikes in other places in northern Israel.

According to the Israeli military on Monday evening, more than 100 rockets had been fired at Israel from Lebanon over the course of Monday.

Hezbollah confirmed the attacks.

The militant group has been firing rockets into Israel for more than a year, attacks that the group say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinian extremist group Hamas amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

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Around 60,000 people in northern Israel have fled their homes due to the shelling. Since the start of the war, 77 people have been killed there and more than 640 injured.

In Lebanon, more than 3,000 people have died as a result of Israeli airstrikes and shelling.

Hezbollah spokesman buried

Hezbollah supporters, meanwhile, gathered in the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon on Monday for the funeral of Mohammed Afif, the Hezbollah media spokesman killed in an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut over the weekend.

The time of the funeral was announced half an hour beforehand, and the ceremony was brief, presumably for fear of further Israeli airstrikes.

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Afif had come to the fore following the killing of the Hezbollah leadership in a series of Israeli strikes. He was one of the few publicly known faces of the Iran-backed militia.

Afif was seen as close to Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed at the end of September. He had led the media operations of the Shiite militia for years.

Israeli strike kills at least 17 in Gaza

Two Israeli missile strikes on a house in the city of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza killed at least 17 people, including women and children, according to Palestinian reports on Monday.

The Hamas-controlled civil defence force said the attack left the building destroyed. The information has not yet been independently verified, and the Israeli military has not commented on the incident.

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Separately, 72 people are reported to have been killed on Sunday in Beit Lahia in an Israeli airstrike on a five-storey residential building. This claim also remains unverified, with no response from the Israeli military.

UNRWA says aid lorries looted

The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said on Monday in Geneva that more than 100 lorries carrying aid into the Gaza Strip had been looted.

The incident is among the largest raids on aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip in recent months, and Lazzarini said he suspects local gangs and family clans are behind the looting.

Advertisement Advertisement

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These groups have been fighting between themselves for control of local shops in the south of the coastal strip, Lazzarini said, adding that his agency has long been warning about the collapse of public order in Gaza more than a year into the Israeli campaign of airstrikes and ground attacks.

Amid food shortages and ongoing Israeli strikes, desparate Gazans in the southern city of Khan Younis had also tried to storm a UNRWA warehouse. However, Lazzarini complained that there was nothing left to distribute because of the looted trucks.

The humanitarian situation in the densely populated and sealed-off area is catastrophic after more than a year of war.
NEW JERSEY (PIX11)  Rep. Mikie Sherrill officially launched her campaign on Monday for New Jersey governor.

She talks about the issues she plans to tackle on PIX11 Morning News.

Watch the video player 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 PIX11.
Nebraska voters rejected law spending public funds for private school tuition. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Nebraskans decided a couple weeks ago that public funds for education should fund public education  and only public education. You can skip the well, duh. Without two petition drives, a solid campaign and Nebraskans doing the right thing, the question in question  Legislative Bill 1402  may very well have started using tax dollars for private school tuition next fall.

The decision to repeal LB 1402, which provided public money for private school scholarships, was fairly loud and quite clear. Nearly six in 10 Nebraskans who voted said no to the idea, originally pushed through the Legislature in a different form, then rewritten at the last minute in a fit of policymaking presto-chango. Nevertheless, in only 11 of the states 93 counties did LB 1402 get a passing grade.

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The outcome was the right decision on an idea that was wrong from the beginning.

Those who sought petition signatures to get the measure on the ballot, knocked on doors to convince their neighbors, wrote checks to pay for the effort and generally campaigned to repeal LB 1402 are entitled to a little celebration. Well done.

Now its time to move on. The repeal of LB 1402 does nothing to solve the problem of underperforming schools that cheat students out of a quality education and diminish the states track record of being among the nations best public school systems. Yes, the law was the wrong solution, but lets not forget that many Nebraska parents indeed do want better educational opportunities for the kids.

As the Legislature approaches its next session, it would be wise to consider the election results: Nebraskans dont want public funds to pay for private school tuition. But no one wants schoolchildren in this state to get anything less than our best.

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For starters, while fighting the culture wars in classrooms and school board meetings makes headlines and generates drama, it does nothing to improve instruction. We need to spend less time and energy fussing over book titles that are available for Johnny to check out from the school library or borrow from his classroom and more time and energy (and yes, maybe even more money) on the fact that he might not be able to read them anyway.

While were at it, we should argue less for parental rights in public schools because they already have those rights. We can also start insisting that schools teach all of American history and quit whitewashing its more dubious chapters. We owe our kids the truth, just as they will owe theirs.

Surely, too, we can come to some workable solutions that allow trans and gay kids to get a full education while being treated with respect and dignity, just as we promise to do for all kids, from the mission statements of local school districts to oaths of office for state senators and state school board members. And for the love of Mike, can we stop with the conspiracy theories? Schools performing sex change operations or students going behinds-over-backpacks because they read in a book that Sally has two moms? (I still wince at the cat-litter-box-in-schools memory.)

Lets use the repeal of LB 1402 as a restarting point in making the states public schools the envy of the rest of the country.

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The election also confirmed the burgeoning power of Nebraskas blue dot in the 2nd Congressional District, which went solidly for the Democratic ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. And it wasnt really even close.

As promised by Republicans in the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature and detailed in this space several weeks before the election, the blue dot may soon be covered with a heavy red blanket. Several state senators have said they will introduce legislation to make Nebraska a winner-take-all state, creating a difficult calculus for the blue dot when mixed with the crimson across the rest of the state.

For those of us who question the ongoing validity of the Electoral College  six states voices louder than the rest of us?  the blue dot presents a bittersweet dilemma. While I love the resistance, passion and, of late, regularity of a dapple of brilliant azure in a field of red, my beef with the Electoral College continues. Its elimination, however, would erase the blue dot. Of course, by the end of the next session of the Nebraska Legislature, the blue dot may be moot  and mute.

If that should come to pass, what will be incumbent upon us will be to offer the story of the blue dot to the curriculum of Nebraska history in our ever-improving, ever public, public schools.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD)  New documents released by Canadas Department of National Defence have put to bed the rumors of aliens shot down near Lake Huron.

According to CTV News, a Canadian news outlet, an unidentified flying object was shot down by a United States F-16 fighter jet on Feb. 12, 2023. It was reported to be octagonal with strings hanging off.

The jet fired twice at the object, striking it once before it crashed into the lake in Canadian waters. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police worked with both the American and Canadian Coast Guard to search for the object but the effort was eventually called off.

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Documents requested by CTV News indicate the wreckage was found on the Lake Huron shoreline about three weeks later, but that was never announced.

UFO report vindication for man who tracked 1994 sightings on radar

An email reportedly sent between a senior official with RCMP and a military official said the object was made by a company that sells weather monitoring equipment.

Officials characterized it as a suspected balloon that did not pose a military threat, but could have interfered with domestic air traffic, CTV reported.

The Lake Huron wreckage was one of three UFO incidents in a matter of weeks over the U.S. and Canada.

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Lake Michigan Triangle: The might of the Great Lakes is more powerful than any myth

Iain Boyd, the director of the Center for National Security Initiatives at the University of Colorado, told the news outlet that he suspects both Canadian and American government officials kept the findings quiet to avoid embarrassment.

To have expended significant military time and resources to shoot down benign objects does not look good, even though there may have been many factors we are still unaware of, Boyd told CTV News. I am not surprised that the Canadian government did not share more information about the Lake Huron debris.

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.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP)  The volume and value of America's commercial fishing industry both fell according to newly released federal figures, though members of the industry said the decline was to be expected following a recent spike in supply.

The catch at U.S. ports in the 50 states fell 2.6% to 8.4 billion pounds in 2022, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries of the United States report, which the agency released this month. The same report said the catch was worth $5.9 billion at the docks in 2022, the most recent year with available statistics, and that was a drop of 11%.

America also ate a little bit less seafood in 2022, as per capita consumption fell about 3% to 19.8 pounds in 2022, the report said. However, 2021 was a historically high year for seafood consumption, and the supply of available seafood surged, said Gavin Gibbons, chief strategy officer with the National Fisheries Institute in Reston, Virginia.

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A dip following a record year was not unexpected, Gibbons said Monday. He said there are other encouraging trends, such as that the top ten most consumed species make up 79% of total consumption.

This illustrates that U.S. consumers are continuing to diversify their palate. For many years those 10 choices made up closer to 90% of total consumption, Gibbons said.

The fisheries report comes out every year and is intended as a snapshot of the size and scope of the U.S. fishing industry. The report also stated that imports and exports of edible seafood both increased, while the U.S. seafood trade deficit increased 6% to more than $24.2 billion. The country's top seafood trading partners for exports include Canada, China and Japan.

The amount of seafood brought to the docks in the U.S. decreased in all parts of the country with the exception of the Gulf of Mexico, the report stated. However, the total catch and value were both higher than the figures for 2020, when the industry was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, federal data show. The value of U.S. fisheries was also in line with the years previous to the pandemic, data show.

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The port with the highest volume of catch was Dutch Harbor, Alaska, for the 25th consecutive year, the report said. However, the port with the highest valued catch in the nation was New Bedford, Massachusetts, for the 22nd consecutive year, the report said.

Sea scallops have historically made up the majority of the value landed in New Bedford, the report said.

The seafood species with the highest value in the country were salmon, lobster, crabs, Alaska pollock and sea scallops, the report said. The top imported products were shrimp, salmon, lobster and crabs, and shrimp remained the most valuable import, it said.
Over the weekend Pittsburgh officials received dozens of reports of antisemitic vandalism across the city.

In Squirrel Hill, neighbors told police they woke up to racist stickers plastered on light poles up and down Forbes Avenue, and across town in the Bloomfield neighborhood flyers were left in driveways.

Pictures of the antisemitic stickers that littered city neighborhoods over the weekend were sent to the WPXI station.

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The flyers said things like, There are [expletive] in your area, and the other showed a depiction of Adolf Hitler and read Next time no more nice guy.

Its ugly, its a handful of people, they do it just to shock and appall people, said Shawn Brokos, the Director of Community Security for the Jewish Federation.

Brokos works closely with Pittsburgh police on cases like this one and said on Sunday morning she received more than a dozen reports of antisemitic and racist stickers and flyers posted across the city.

We had so many reports [in Squirrel Hill] and independent of that we were getting reports of flyers thrown on residents in the Bloomfield area, she explained.

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In Bloomfield, we spoke with neighbors who told us their street had been targeted in the past too.

Its hard to believe that anyone who would say those things lives in this neighborhood. They must be outsiders this is not what this neighborhood is like at all, said Eric Davin, a Bloomfield resident.

Brokos told us that in the past few years hate crimes have continued to spark across the city. Last year the Jewish Federation saw a total of 300 reported incidents.

We thought that was exceptionally high, the year before [2022] there was 122, this year [2024] we are on par to beat that, Brokos said.

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Neighbors told Channel 11 they are fearful of what is ahead if this continues, but said they are also hopeful that things will turn around.

I hope this is not a continuing trend, I hope it doesnt get worse, but this is the second time this has happened in this neighborhood.

On Monday, council member Barb Warwick, who represents the district posted this statement to her social site:

Yesterday, residents of Squirrel Hill were horrified by stickers with anti-Jewish, neo-Nazi messaging plastered throughout their community. The Jewish Federation and the Bureau of Police have gathered more than twenty such reports, with investigations ongoing.

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If you find postings or graffiti promoting hate of any kind, report it immediately by calling 9-1-1. If possible, also submit photos with exact locations to 311, so DPW teams can be dispatched for cleaning and removal: (pittsburghpa.gov/Resident-Services/311/).

There has been an alarming spike in incidents of anti-Jewish vandalism and harassment over the past year. With the pending return of many white supremacist apologists to Washington, hate groups are more emboldened than ever. This hate inflicts unspeakable harm to Pittsburghs Jewish community, as well as to our Black, Asian, Hispanic, Muslim, LGBTQIA+, and immigrant neighbors, leaving residents fearful for their families safety.

Pittsburghs leaders are committed to protecting the safety and well-being of every resident. To help, please be a beacon of kindness to others, both in real life and online - especially when emotions run high.

As the Councilperson for District 5, I have gotten to know residents across political, economic, racial, ethnic, religious, gender, and sexual orientation spectra. Despite our differences, I know that the people of Pittsburgh are overwhelmingly caring, compassionate, and kind. As we navigate the challenges of this world and our lives together in it, let us reiterate together: there is no place for hate in Pittsburgh.

Statement from Councilperson Warwick on anti-Jewish stickers posted in Squirrel Hill's business district. If you find postings promoting hate of any kind, report them immediately by calling 9-1-1 and via Pittsburgh's online 311 system: https://t.co/vX9u4hXSNf pic.twitter.com/RCyAXKDa72  City Councilperson Barb Warwick (@PghDistrict5) November 18, 2024

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Outgoing US President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to strike Russian territory with long-range US missiles, officials told US media on Sunday, reversing his policy with only two months left in office.

The New York Times reported, citing unnamed US government officials, that Ukraine can now use the ATACMS missile system in the western Russian region of Kursk, a portion of which is occupied by Ukrainian forces.

The Washington Post said that the authorization is a response to the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region and is aimed at deterring Pyongyang from sending more troops.

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The US Defense Department did not wish to comment on the reports when asked by dpa.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, hinted that Ukraine had been given permission to use long-range weapons against Russia.

In his Sunday evening address, Zelensky acknowledged reports in the media but did not confirm any specifics.

"There's a lot of talk in the media about us receiving permission for respective actions. But strikes are not carried out with words," Zelensky said. "Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak for themselves."

Until now, the US has only allowed Kiev to use the weapons it supplies on Russian territory near the embattled Ukrainian border city of Kharkiv.

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The timing of Biden's decision comes as Donald Trump readies himself to return to the White House on January 20.

His win in the November 5 US presidential election cast doubt on whether Washington will continue to offer robust military support for Ukraine's fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin's invading forces.

Trump promised during a meeting with Zelensky in September to use his "very good relationship" with Putin to help quickly end the war.

Trump has expressed deep scepticism of the NATO military alliance that supports Ukraine, while hard-right Republican supporters have been increasingly opposed to continued aid for Kiev over the past year.
MADISON  Republican businessman Eric Hovde on Monday conceded his race against Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin in a video posted to X, continuing to level false claims related to the processing of absentee ballots in Milwaukee.

"I have heard from numerous supporters urging me to challenge the election results. However, without a detailed review of all the ballots and their legitimacy, which will be difficult to obtain in the courts, a request for a recount would serve no purpose, because you will just be recounting the same ballots, regardless of their integrity," Hovde said in the six-minute video. "As a result, and my desire to not add to political strife through a contentious recount, I've decided to concede the election."

Shortly after he posted the video, a Baldwin spokesman said Hovde had not yet called the senator to discuss his concession.

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"Now that he's finally conceded, I wish Eric Hovde a safe trip back to California," said Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesman Arik Wolk in a statement, reinforcing the party's efforts to cast Hovde as out-of-touch with Wisconsinites over his ties to California, where he owns a $7 million-dollar home in Laguna Beach.

In a video posted last week, Hovde said he was shocked by Milwaukees reporting of its absentee ballot results in the early morning hours the Wednesday after Election Day, despite the widespread knowledge that the states most populous city consistently reports its absentee ballots all at once early the morning after a major election.

Under Wisconsin law, absentee ballots cannot be processed before 7 a.m. on Election Day. The Republican-controlled state Senate earlier this year let a bipartisan bill die that would have made it possible for clerks to start processing absentee ballots the day before the election and therefore finish counting all of the votes earlier on Election Day.

The Milwaukee Election Commission said in a statement last week that it "unequivocally refutes Eric Hovdes baseless claims regarding the integrity of our election process."

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"The (Election Commission) celebrates the dedication of Milwaukee residents to participate in the democratic process and is fully confident that Mr. Hovdes accusations lack any merit," the commission said in the statement. "Milwaukee voters can rest assured: the (Election Commission) conducted a fair, accurate, and secure election that fully protects voter rights and preserves the democratic process."

In his video, Hovde once again accused Democrats of funding a "phony America First candidate" to "siphon off  votes." He was referring to Thomas Leager, a former lobbyist for Wisconsin Gun Owners Inc., who has said people call some of his ideas "extreme." Leager has also claimed he was an unindicted co-conspirator in the failed plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 with the hope of overthrowing the state government.

A small group of out-of-state Democratic donors helped finance a group masquerading as advocates for Donald Trump that recruited Leager to run and helped him get on the ballot, according to reporting by the Associated Press.

Eric Hovde speaks to his supported and tells them to go home and get some sleep afte the election results were not in as of 2 a.m. at his election night party at the Edgewater Hotel in Madison, Wisconsin on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. Hovde faced against Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin in the U.S. Senate race.

With 99% of the state's votes counted, Baldwin led Hovde by 49.4% to 48.5%  a margin of 28,958 votes  in a race that drew national attention and massive spending. Baldwin declared victory, and the AP called the race for her the day after the election. Leager received 28,717 votes according to unofficial totals, 241 less than the margin between Hovde and Baldwin.

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In a wide-ranging post-election interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Baldwin attributed her narrow victory to her efforts in rural Wisconsin, characterized ads leveled against her as homophobic and said Vice President Kamala Harris suffered under a lack of familiarity with Wisconsin voters.

Baldwin, who won a third term in the Senate after a tight race with businessman Eric Hovde, outperformed Vice President Kamala Harris in 65 of Wisconsin's 72 counties.

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Republican Hovde concedes defeat to Democratic U.S. Sen.Tammy Baldwin
Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde announced he is conceding in the Wisconsin Senate race after previously questioning the results.

Decision Desk HQ/The Hill declared incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) the races winner more than a week ago, with Baldwin taking 49.4 percent of the vote to Hovdes 48.5 percent and more than 28,000 votes separating them.

The results from election night were disappointing, particularly in light of the last-minute absentee ballots that were dropped in Milwaukee at 4 a.m. flipping the outcome, Hovde said in a six-minute video on the social platform X posted Monday.

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I have heard from numerous supporters urging me to challenge the election results. However, without a detailed review of all the ballots and their legitimacy, which will be difficult to obtain in the courts, a request for a recount would serve no purpose, because you will just be recounting the same ballots, regardless of their integrity, he added. As a result, and my desire to not add to political strife through a contentious recount, Ive decided to concede the election.

In a video he posted last week, Hovde said he was shocked by the events and blamed the loss on same-day voter registration and poorly maintained voter rolls. He also hinted at a potential recount effort.

His claims were met by backlash from GOP members like former Wisconsin Republican lawmaker Joe Handrick, who said the loss was predicted in polling. The states former Commerce Secretary, Bill McCoshen also slammed arguments for why Hovde lost as a conspiracy.

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Republicans made inroads in New York and New Jersey this election, spurring hopes that the party could further erode Democrats grip on states seen as deep-blue bastions.

Vice President Harris won New Jersey and New York by far slimmer margins than President Biden in 2020. He won New Jersey by 15 points and New York by 23 points. In 2024, Harris carried each state by 5 points.

In New York City and surrounding counties, Trump made significant gains, winning precincts in Queens and Manhattan that have been solidly blue for decades. Across both states, Asian American, Hispanic and Black voters all cast ballots for Harris but at significantly lower margins than they did for Biden.

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We saw historic numbers for Republicans in New York, and thats really something we can build upon, said David Laska, spokesperson for the New York GOP.

Republicans in both states view Harriss weak performance as an opportunity to advance ahead of the potentially competitive New Jersey governors race and the New York mayoral race.

Theyre not focused on economic issues and social issues and energy mandates, but the trend matters because Republicans have their best shot after two terms of Governor Murphy and a Democrat making everything more expensive, said New Jersey GOP strategist Jeanette Hoffman.

Media host Mike Spadea and 2021 GOP gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli have already declared on the Republican side.

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Democrats in both states have criticized the national party for not focusing on the economy or immigration, pointing to strong congressional elections, including Democrats flipping three seats in New York and hanging on to all of their seats in New Jersey while also electing Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) to the Senate.

Its the economy, stupid was true this time around, and it would have helped for [Harris] to have come out much sooner and have a greater amount of time to campaign. She should have directly spoken to issues at the top of mind on voters, said state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-N.Y.), who is running for New York City mayor next year.

According to Democratic officials and strategists, each of the three New York candidates spent time focusing on the economy and immigration, which helped them run ahead of Harris in their districts.

Ramos said Harris spent too much time courting voters in the middle and not activating her base and took New York for granted.

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Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) said Democrats also ran weak on immigration, not providing a case against Trumps plans to deal with undocumented immigrants in New York and New Jersey.

Since 2022 weve seen an overwhelming wave of migration whose impact was found not only at the border, but in cities like New York, whose shelter system and social safety and municipal finances have been completely overwhelmed, said Torres. We know from the polling that there was widespread outrage over the migrant crisis, and in my view, that there was political malpractice on the part of the president in waiting two years before issuing an executive order regulating migration at the border.

She took New York for granted, Ramos added. The Democratic Party should do a better job of dispatching Latino surrogates because it was just a little too high-brow at times.  The party invested heavily in AAPI outreach as well in New York, but the same could not be said for Latino communities.

Lawrence Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University, said Democrats need to consider why voters of color are leaving the Democratic Party before it is too late.

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If they dont take stock of some of the reasons and the trends that theyve been seeing the last three years among minority voters in particular, maybe making a terrible mistake that could cost them down the road in a statewide race, in the level of control of the Legislature and even in the upcoming mayoral race, said Levy.

However, Leroy Jones, chair of the New Jersey Democratic Party, said Democrats have learned from the election and will focus on economic messaging during the 2025 gubernatorial race in New Jersey.

I think our messaging this time around was not as direct because oftentimes we try to be the nice party and not speak to the harsh realities that many were facing, Jones said. I think during the governors race, candidates will actually speak to quality of life and affordability and making New Jersey a place people can retire and live in comfortably.

The campaign is already in full swing, with Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) all having declared their candidacies. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) is also expected to run.

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(Bloomberg) -- Nvidia Corp. has in recent months asked suppliers to change the design of the server racks for its new Blackwell graphics processing unit due to an overheating problem, leading to worries about delays, the Information reported, citing company employees, customers and suppliers who werent identified.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The changes to the Blackwell racks have come late in the production process, according to the technology-focused publication. Nvidia hasnt notified customers of a delay.

A spokesperson for Nvidia declined to comment to the Information on whether the company has finalized the Blackwell rack designs.

The company already hit engineering snags in the development of its Blackwell chip lineup, slowing the release by at least a quarter.

Nvidia, the worlds most valuable company by market capitalization, releases quarterly earnings on Nov. 20.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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Invasive species can wreak havoc on ecosystems and are very hard to combat. In Chesapeake Bay, a surprising and delicious strategy may help curb the population of blue catfish.

Virginia Tech News wrote on how anglers and fans of eating fish can help combat an aggressive invasive species. Michael Schwarz, director of the Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center, believes using these fish in restaurants and on home tables may be the solution.

The article explained, "Schwarz is seeing more chefs, restaurants, and seafood lovers embrace the attributes and nutritional profile of blue catfish."

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Blue catfish were introduced to the Chesapeake Bay watershed in the 1970s, and their population quickly grew. NOAA fisheries claimed part of their success is their ability to swim through brackish waters: "That means that they can swim out of one river, into the more brackish Bay, and then into a different, fairly fresh river."

According to Virginia Tech's reporting, "Blue catfish are capable of consuming up to an estimated 60 million pounds of seafood from the Chesapeake Bay every day."

This threatens the livelihood of anglers and the wildlife that calls the bay home. This ecosystem is famous for its blue crab used in crab boils. If this invasive species gobbles up all the crab, Marylanders may need to find new uses for their Old Bay seasoning.

Eating invasive species is an interesting tactic and has been used in other cases. Scientific American wrote about what it calls "invasivorism," finding that while it has been touted as a method for combating everything from lionfish to kudzu, it has not been widely studied. However, there are a few studies showing that harvesting invasives for consumption does work.

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The article wrote, "In 2013, a group of researchers from the Netherlands working on the southern Caribbean islands of Bonaire and Curacao found lionfish biomass near Bonaire in areas where harvest was encouraged was a third of that in areas where it wasn't."

On The Water reported that efforts to encourage harvesting blue catfish have been quite successful, stating, "In 2022, about 3.6 million pounds of blue catfish were harvested, up from 2.8 million in 2021."

Should the government be paying people to hunt invasive species?

Click your choice to see results and speak your mind

While the future of these fish is unknown, hopefully locals can enjoy some new recipes while keeping populations down.

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.
The Scoop

Supporting Ukraines clean energy transition should be a key element of the incoming Trump administrations geopolitical strategy against China and Russia, a top US energy diplomat told Semafor.

The remarks by Geoff Pyatt, the US assistant secretary of state for energy resources and a former ambassador to Ukraine, came shortly before Russia launched one of its largest air attacks since the Feb. 2022 invasion, killing at least nine people, inflicting severe damage to the countrys coal-fired power plants, and causing Kyiv to face its first blackouts of the winter season. At the COP29 summit in Baku, meanwhile, Ukrainian diplomats and business leaders were working to recruit greater foreign investment into the countrys energy sector and to convince other climate negotiators to embrace new guidelines to hold countries accountable for conflict-related carbon emissions.

Speaking on the sidelines of COP29, Pyatt said he plans to tell Trumps transition team to strengthen US sanctions on Russias fossil fuel exporters. He added that US financial backing for renewables and advanced nuclear power projects in Ukraine was critical to undermining the power Russia wields through its oil and gas, and that Trump should leverage Ukraines manufacturing capacity and critical mineral resources to disentangle US clean energy and electric vehicle companies from supply chains in China.

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I cant imagine why a Trump administration that is focused on Americas economic competitiveness and prosperity at home would want to walk away from the [clean energy] sector, Pyatt said. What I have to do in the weeks ahead is to brief the transition team on how to think about Ukraine and really emphasize the importance of looking at Ukraine not as some kind of charity case, but as an asset to Europe and the collective West.

Tims view

The centerpiece of Ukraines pavilion at COP29 is a battered solar panel, destroyed in a missile attack on energy infrastructure near the southern city of Mykolaiv. Renewable energy systems are clearly still vulnerable to destruction. But theyre still much more secure than the countrys massive Soviet-era coal plants. The problem is paying for them. Although President Volodymyr Zelenskyys government is committed to a midcentury net zero target, progress toward it has been slowed by the war, which has scared off most foreign energy investors. Helping to underwrite Ukraines transition may be one of the cheapest and easiest ways for the Trump administration to continue supporting the country even as it threatens to withdraw military aid  with strategic and economic benefits for the US.

Some US companies are already making investments in Ukraine, including the nuclear technology provider Westinghouse and gas turbine manufacturer GE Vernova. But access to finance remains the biggest obstacle to rebuilding a greener energy system, said Jeff Oatham, chief sustainability officer at DTEK, Ukraines largest privately-owned energy company. At least until the war ends, greater public-sector finance from allied governments and development banks will be needed to derisk new investment, Oatham said.

Pyatt agreed, saying he would push Trump to solicit more congressional funding for the US International Development Finance Corporation to direct toward Ukraines energy sector. At COP29, the US announced a $30 million package for advanced nuclear power projects in Ukraine, and Pyatt said he is working with DTEK to find other ways for it to tap US funding. Ukraines energy crisis is also a business opportunity for US LNG exporters as Europe scrambles to cut its reliance on Russian gas, he said.

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But the energy reconstruction task in Ukraine is so enormous that it cant be accomplished just with international public finance, or with frozen Russian assets. More work is needed by the Zelenskyy administration to make its state-owned energy companies more transparent and to root out corruption, Pyatt said. The recent firing under questionable circumstances of the head of the countrys grid company was a step in the wrong direction. And some Ukrainian lawmakers are alarmed about the energy ministers plan to build massive new nuclear power plants, warning that it could become a black box for corruption.

All told, Ukraine faces one of the worlds most challenging energy transitions. But it can also point the way forward for other countries. If Ukraine can do it, anybody can, Pyatt said. Nobody has any excuses.

Know More

Another priority for the Ukrainian delegation at COP29 is to promote an accounting standard for war-related emissions, said Viktoriia Kyreieva, a deputy minister of environment. A government-commissioned report presented at COP found emissions from the wars first 24 months amount to about 175 million metric tons, more than the annual carbon footprint of the Philippines. Although they mostly occurred on Ukrainian territory, Ukraine believes these emissions should be counted against Russias carbon footprint, not its own. But that argument is not widely supported by other countries with large militaries, Kyreieva said.

The View From Capitol Hill

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) took a quick walkthrough of the Ukraine pavilion on Saturday, and used the time to admonish the delegates there not to count on US LNG exports. Given the role US LNG has played up to now in reducing Europes reliance on Russian LNG, the message wasnt received well by some delegates there, who called his comments provocative after he left.

Notable
Mark Trahant

ICT



What should the government look like? And how much should it cost? These two basic questions will be front and center as President-elect Donald J. Trump, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy lead a new initiative, the Department of Government Efficiency. Their goal is a trimmer, cheaper federal bureaucracy by July 4, 2026.



Musk has said his goal is to reduce the number of federal agencies to less than 100  a reduction from 400-plus now. Congress would have to agree in most cases.



The idea of government reform is seductive  and has a long history.



Two centuries ago in 1824, the Bureau of Indian Affairs was created with the hope that a new agency could do better. Congress wasnt moving. And the Secretary of War John Calhoun was tired of waiting, so he used a routine vacancy to appoint Thomas L. McKenney as the commissioner of Indian affairs. It was almost a decade later before the structure of the commissioner was authorized by Congress. The Department of Interior was created in 1849 and the Bureau of Indian Affairs transferred. Only thing. Not much changed in terms of reinvention or policy direction.



The old attitudes of the War Department days and the new worldview of Interior combined to produce within the Bureau of Indian Affairs a broad conception of its mission. It was to regard Indians as increments upon the land without any ultimate right to existence. Indians were hardly to be trusted, and were generally considered hostile, wrote As Vine Deloria Jr. in My Brothers Keeper.



And that gets to the biggest challenge of any government reinvention: You have to take on significant constituencies that benefit from government. Some of those interests are huge: The 2.3 million federal, civil employees have a stake in any changes and outcomes. A significant reduction in personnel would cause a sharp drop across the economy, especially in rural areas.



Richard Nixon had a grand idea about government reinvention. He wanted four new cabinet agencies: the Departments of Natural Resources; Human Resources; Economic Development and Community Development to work with the State Department, Justice, Treasury and Defense. (Instead there are more than 20 existing federal agencies, including independent agencies.)



My mentor, Forrest Gerard, Blackfeet, who worked for Sen. Henry Jackson, a Democrat from Washington, in the Senate, told me that Congress could never buy into such a plan. Eight agencies meant eight committee chairs, far fewer subcommittee chairs, and less oversight by members of Congress. In order for Nixons plan to work, Congress would have to agree to less power.



Will a new Republican majority be willing to give up its own powers?

Elon Musk speaks at Life Center Church in Harrisburg, Pa., Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)

Big Picture: How federal dollars are spent



Of course the administration of programs that impact Indian Country are a tiny fraction of the federal budget. More than 60 percent of the budget goes to mandatory spending, or Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. (The idea is that if people are eligible for the program  the money is there.) Interest on the debt accounts for another 13 percent of the budget, leaving 26 percent for everything else. Nearly half of that last account is money spent on Defense.



The discretionary spending budget for domestic programs is about $919 billion or about 14 percent of all total spending. The price tag for government agencies that serve American Indians and Alaska Natives are about $4.6 billion for Interior and Bureau of Indian Affairs and another $8 billion for the Indian Health Service.

Musk has called for spending cuts at about 30 percent  or $2 trillion. The only way a number that large could be implemented would be deep cuts within mandatory programs  and the easiest political target is Medicaid, health insurance. (Social Security and Medicare serve older Americans, starting at 65 years old for Medicare.)



There are clues about what happens next. Two right-wing think tanks, Heritage and Cato, as well as the House Republican Study Committee, have already outlined parts of the budget that could be cut. Medicaid is a top target.



The House plan would cap Medicaid and children's health insurance spending with block grants to states. The House says the Affordable Care Act expanded an already overburdened and ineffective Medicaid system, bringing public health care spending to 43 percent of total health care spending in the United States in 2021.



The Kaiser Family Foundation reports these block grants would reduce the federal contribution, so that states would have to either make up the difference or eliminate the programs. A previous Trump administration budget capped Medicaid and proposed spending $1 trillion less over 10 years. More recent Republican proposals, the RSC FY 2025 budget and Project 2025, call for capped Medicaid spending as well as a match rate of 50% for all eligibility groups and services or a blended match rate.



Two-thirds of all Americans have a connection to Medicaid programs.



The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-wing think tank, says nearly 74 million people receive health coverage through Medicaid, so cuts of this magnitude would result in millions losing access to comprehensive coverage.



A drop in Medicaid could have a dramatic impact on the Indian Health system. If a patient is eligible for Medicaid, then the IHS provider has more access to resources, including life-saving care. (The per patient cost at IHS is about $4,079 compared to $8,109 for those covered by Medicaid insurance.)



There are so many reasons why Medicaid is an essential element in the Indian health system. First, by law, all of the money is spent at the local unit (instead of added to the budget as general revenue). Second, if a person is eligible for Medicaid, the money follows. It does not need an appropriation. If you count children in the equation, funding from Medicaid pays for 1 out of every 4 IHS patients, more than one million patients. And even that understates the impact because in some locations, such as rural Arizona, Medicaid accounts for half of a clinics revenue. And Medicaid is essential for urban Indian programs, accounting for 90 percent of the funding stream.



The Kaiser Family Foundation says there remain persistent disparities in health and health care. Since the Affordable Care Act was enacted, Medicaid has been a big part of the solution and now more than one in four non-elderly adults and half of children have coverage. In states with Medicaid expansion the number of uninsured American Indians and Alaska Natives fell by twice as much as the rate in non-expansion states.



This is important because insurance dollars  private or public ones such as Medicaid  remain with the health care unit. Reductions to Medicaid, including loss of the expansion, could result in coverage losses for Native Americans and reductions in revenue to IHS and tribal providers, limiting access to care for patients.



Cutting support for food and housing



In the first Trump administration there were four proposals to reduce the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or Food Stamps) by about 30 percent of $200 billion.



The playbook for SNAP reform is similar to Medicaid. A proposal from another right wing think tank, the American Enterprise Institute, calls for increasing state financial participation in the program by requiring them to fund a larger share (in exchange for fewer regulations).



Similar cuts are proposed for housing assistance, community development block grants, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.



Look for more debate about less in the coming weeks. Of course all of the programs that are directed to Indigenous people or tribal nations are such a small section of the federal budget that its easy to ignore the implications. That would be a mistake.



The era of termination began as a cost cutting initiative. After World War II Congress was looking for ways to make the government more efficient, and turning over matters related to American Indians fit that bill (even if unconstitutional). When he served in the House, Henry Jackson along with a Republican from South Dakota Karl Mundt thought the time had come to terminate Indian programs and tribal nation relations.



Jackson said: We have been appropriating funds for Indian administration at least since 1775, when Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry and James Wilson were appointed Indian Commissioners by the Continental Congress. For 170 years the total of our annual appropriations for this purpose has been growing. Today our Indian population is increasing twice as rapidly as our white population. Unless we do something to reach a fair, just, and permanent solution to the Indian problem, that will incorporate the Indian into our national economy, we are going to have to look forward to spending millions every year on Indian administration. That would be the inevitable result of a do- nothing policy.



The idea was to use claims settlements as a fund and done measure because, as Jackson said, as long as these claims are pending, the Indians will stay on the reservations and never want to leave, and it simply means more cost to the government, and from an economic standpoint we have come to the conclusion that this is about the only solution.



In the Senate the main architect of termination was Utah Republican Arthur Watkins. His brand of anti-government rhetoric would sound familiar today. He used every tool available to promote his termination policies. So much so that Phileo Nash, then Wisconsins lieutenant governor dubbed the process involuntary termination because tribes had so little say. Watkins dismissed the promises made in treaties. He said Indians want all the benefits of the things we have  highways, schools, hospitals, everything that civilization furnished, but they dont want to help pay their share of it.



We now know that termination was a failed policy  even if the only metric is government reform.



A meeting in 1961 of 64 tribes in Chicago included a Declaration of Indian Purpose that set out self-determination as the only appropriate policy. The basic principle involves the desire on the part of Indians to participate in developing their own programs with help and guidance as needed and requested, from a local decentralized technical and administrative staff, preferably located conveniently to the people it serves. The Indians as responsible individual citizens, as responsible tribal representatives, and as responsible Tribal Councils want to participate, want to contribute to their own personal and tribal improvements and want to cooperate with their Government on how best to solve the many problems in a businesslike, efficient, and economical manner as rapidly as possible, the declaration said.



One other reform worth mentioning is a plan in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations to move Indian programs out of the Interior Department and into the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. This was an idea that followed termination  and died because of tribal and congressional opposition. Two task forces in 1966 and 1967 proposed a limited transfer, Indian education, while a more outrageous proposal to include most of the agencys functions. But members of Congress  especially those on Interior-related committees  had zero interest in losing their say over federal programs. And at a meeting with tribal leaders the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare John Gardner tried to make the case that the shift would be seamless. He promised that treaty rights would be secure. Tribal leaders would still have access to top agency leadership. The response? One tribal leader said: Why, if there are to be no changes at all, why do you want to transfer the Bureau to HEW?



That reform did not happen. And it wasnt the only time: More than one administration had the bright idea to move all Indian education departments out of the Bureau of Indian Affairs into the Department of Education. A combination of tribal leadership and congressional opposition doomed every attempt.



The federal government only directly operates two school systems, those in the Department of Defense and the 183 schools, serving 46,000 students, run by the Bureau of Indian Education in the Interior Department. More than 90 percent of all Indigenous students attend public or private schools outside of the BIE.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump listens as Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during a campaign rally at Thomas & Mack Center, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

The Department of Education will be a target in the Musk-Ramaswamy plan. President Trumps talked extensively about areas like the Department of Education. Obviously, those kinds of agencies shouldnt even exist and should be returned to the States, Ramaswamy said on Fox News Sunday. But its a culture thats pervaded the entire federal government: of hiring people who have no accountability to everyday Americans.



The key element in this government reinvention is disruption. The Department of Government Efficiency starts with the goal of changing the very nature of the federal government.



We expect mass reductions. We expect certain agencies to be deleted outright. We expect mass reductions in force in areas of the federal government that are bloated. We expect massive cuts among federal contractors and others who are over billing the federal government, Ramaswamy said.



And who will be the ones deciding? Hiring for the department is being coordinated on Musks X social media platform. We dont need more part-time idea generators, said a recent post. We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting. If thats you, DM this account with your CV  

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Mark Trahant, Shoshone-Bannock, is editor-at-large for Indian Country Today. On Threads and Instagram: @TrahantReports. Trahant is based in Phoenix.
(NewsNation)  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could face some resistance as he seeks Senate confirmation to be Republican President-elect Donald Trumps Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

When he announced Kennedy as his pick to lead the department, Trump said the former independent presidential candidate will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives.

As part of his Make America Healthy Again agenda, Kennedy is looking to do a complete system overhaul of the agencies that regulate health and food. Hes called for stricter pesticide regulations and made a vow to get processed foods removed from school lunches.

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Donald Trumps new administration: Who has he chosen so far?

On vaccines, Kennedy has said he wants a re-examination of their safety data. Health and medical experts raised concerns to NewsNation partner The Hill about Kennedys influence on the Trump administration, as he has spread misinformation about vaccines before. In an interview with NBC News, Kennedy denied being anti-vaccine and said that he wouldnt take them away from those who want one.

Im going to make sure scientific safety studies and efficacy are out there, and people can make individual assessments about whether that product is going to be good for them, Kennedy told the news outlet earlier this month.

Kennedy will likely face political pushback from senators during his confirmation as HHS Secretary.

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Democratic senators such as Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Ed Markey of Massachusetts criticized Kennedy as Trumps choice to head the department.

Dangerous. Unqualified. Unserious, Markey wrote.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., posted on X that Kennedy potentially being in charge of Health and Human Services could not be more dangerous.

Theres no telling how far an anti-vaxxer (and) fringe conspiracy theorist like RFK Jr. could set America back in terms of public health, reproductive rights, research, & more, she said.

New X terms and conditions leads to exodus of users

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On the other hand, some Republican lawmakers celebrated Kennedys nomination.

RFK Jr. has championed issues like healthy foods and the need for greater transparency in our public health infrastructure, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said in a statement Thursday, The Hill reported. I look forward to learning more about his other policy positions and how they will support a conservative, pro-American agenda.

Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said on X that he could not be happier with Kennedy.

Hes a brilliant, courageous truth-teller whose unwavering commitment to transparency will make America a healthier nation, Johnson wrote.

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Some lobbyists in the food and health industry are planning ways to stop the Senate from confirming Kennedy, Politico reported. Others are currying favor in case they arent successful, the news outlet writes.

According to Reuters, shortly after news of Kennedys nomination came down, shares of vaccine makers including Pfizer and Moderna fell by as much as 2%. Processed food stocks decreased as well, CNBC wrote.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD)  President-elect Donald Trump continues to build out his Cabinet. Not surprisingly, some of those choices are controversial and candidates may face an uphill battle to be confirmed.

Robert Kennedy, Jr., a longtime environmental lawyer and son of the former U.S. attorney general, will be nominated for the position of Health and Human Services secretary. His controversial position on vaccines may be a stumbling block, even for Republicans, who will have the majority in the Senate when Trump resumes office in January.

Trump taps RFK Jr. to lead HHS

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After Kennedy had jettisoned the Democratic party in which his family played such a storied role and before he threw his weight behind Trump, he himself had designs on becoming president with a longshot independent bid. Some of his campaign issues are now a key underpinning to his nomination.

When he was campaigning in West Michigan earlier this year, he told News 8 how he views the challenges in health care and why he says its a crisis.

We have a chronic disease epidemic in this country that makes us the sickest country in the world: autoimmune disease, allergies, food allergies, eczema, asthma and neurological disease, ADD, ADHD, tics, autism and obesity. Theres no other country in the world that is as sick as us and nobodys asking the question: Why are our kids the sickest in the world? Why do we have the highest death rate from COVID of any country on earth? We had 16% of the COVID-19 deaths, we only have 4.2% of the worlds population. If you ask CDC that question, what theyd say thats because Americans have the highest burden of chronic disease in the world, he said.

Kennedy may not have a smooth path to confirmation. But drawing potentially even more criticism is former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who Trump has picked for attorney general, and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary.

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House Ethics Committee to meet Wednesday amid debate over Gaetz report

Presidents typically get most of the people they choose, but, while rare, it is not unheard of for the Senate to reject some nominees, too. The last time was when Republican Sen. John Tower was voted down for secretary of defense in 1988. More common is presidents moving to withdraw nominees or nominees withdrawing their names from consideration  that has happened in each of the last six presidents tenures.

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By Lewis Jackson

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s views on vaccines are dangerous, his cousin and outgoing U.S. ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy said on Monday, days after Donald Trump picked him to head the United States' top health agency.

Caroline Kennedy said RFK Jr.'s views on vaccines are "dangerous" and at odds with that of most Americans, including the Kennedy clan.

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"I grew up with him, so I've known all this for a long time. Others are just getting to know him," she said, drawing laughter from the crowd at the National Press Club in Canberra.

"I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure and has greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country, and Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views."

RFK Jr., the son and nephew of two titans of Democratic politics, wants to tackle what he calls the "chronic disease epidemic" of conditions including obesity, diabetes and autism.

But critics point to his history of making false medical claims, including statements that vaccines are linked to autism.

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Kennedy disputes the anti-vaccine tag, saying he instead wants more rigorous testing of vaccines. However, he chaired the Children's Health Defense, a nonprofit organisation that focuses on anti-vaccine messaging.

Kennedy ran for president in this year's election as an independent before dropping out in August and endorsing Trump in exchange for a role in the Republican's administration.

The Kennedy name is powerful currency in Democratic politics. Caroline Kennedy is the daughter of the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

In one of her last speeches as ambassador, Kennedy told the Canberra audience Australia and the Indo-Pacific would remain important to the U.S. regardless of who was president.

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"The United States has made commitments over many decades and those are not going to change and our national interest is not going to change," she said.

She also said Americans would elect a female President in her lifetime, but demurred when asked if it would be her.

(Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Nicholas Yong and Christian Schmollinger)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI)  Rhode Islands state government remains in the black, despite concerns on Smith Hill about the end of federal pandemic relief funding.

The state is currently on track to finish the current 2024-25 fiscal year with a modest surplus of $77 million when the books close next June, according to a new report issued by state budget officer Joe Codega. That amount represents a little over 1% of total authorized spending out of the state General Fund for this year.

The $77 million surplus for this fiscal year would be a reduction compared with the 2023-24 fiscal year, which closed on June 30 with a $292 million budget surplus. Its also well down from the unusually large surpluses the state ran during the pandemic.

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The new projection is based on actual spending over the summer, plus updated forecasts for revenue and social services, as well as money carried over from last years surplus. Revenue for the fiscal year is now expected to come in $68 million higher than previously estimated, while social services are set to cost $23 million less.

The expected surplus would be even higher if not for raises awarded to state employee unions over the summer, which will increase personnel spending by $45 million compared with lawmakers original budget plan from June.

Rhode Islands entire annual state budget currently totals about $14 billion, an increase of over $4 billion since before the pandemic, driven by the huge inflow of federal funds tied to the pandemic and Biden administration policies, as well as rising state-funded spending.

The new numbers come as Democratic Gov. Dan McKee and his advisers are deep in discussions about his next budget bill, which is due in January. The rollout of his plan will kick off months of hearings by lawmakers, who usually release a final compromise budget plan in June.

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In his report, Codega warned state officials to maintain a cautious fiscal outlook as they prepare next years budget. The McKee administration recently forecast a nearly $400 million deficit for the 2025-26 fiscal year, though the new projections of a bigger surplus and higher revenue will lower that number somewhat.

Both McKee and House Speaker Joe Shekarchi have warned publicly that they are expecting a more challenging budget cycle ahead as the state adjusts to the exhaustion of federal relief funds.

On the other side of the ledger, the state continues to save money due to employee vacancies in some departments, including in the ranks of sheriffs and state police troopers. But Codega said the overall state employee count has returned to the pre-pandemic level, with an increase of over 800 workers over the last three years.

Ted Nesi (tnesi@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter and 12 News politics/business editor. He co-hosts Newsmakers and writes Nesis Notes on Saturdays. Connect with him on Twitter, Bluesky and Facebook.

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Judge Jefferson Griffin and Justice Allison Riggs (Courtesy photos)

Incumbent Justice Allison Riggs, a Democrat, was leading Republican Appeals Court Judge Jefferson Griffin by 24 votes as of Sunday night as she tries to keep her seat on the state Supreme Court.

Riggs was trailing Griffin by about 10,000 votes on election night, but closed that gap as counties reviewed and added results from provisional ballots and absentee ballots that arrived on election night.

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The final results are not yet in. Not all 100 county boards of election completed their work and reported results to the state Board of Elections by Friday evening, as had been anticipated.

On Friday, 91 out of 100 counties finished their county canvasses, and Im now leading the race for NC Supreme Court by 24 votes, Riggs wrote Sunday on X. We always knew this race would be incredibly close, but it may come down to just dozens of votes.

The state Board of Election said in a news release Friday evening that six county boards scheduled meetings for Monday, and others may call meetings if they need them.

The state Supreme Court now includes five Republicans and two Democrats, including Riggs. Keeping this seat is critical to Democrats hopes of reclaiming the court majority before the next round of redistricting in 2031.

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After Wake County finalized its results Friday night, Democrat Terence Everitt had claimed the lead from Republican Ashlee Bryan Adams in the Senate District 18 race. Everitt had been trailing on election night. Hes now ahead by 134 votes. Everitt is in his third term in the state House. He switched to run for a Senate seat that includes Granville and Wakes northern edge.

The result is close enough for Adams to request a recount, but Everitt posted a victory note to X on Saturday.

I am deeply humbled and incredibly grateful to the voters of Senate District 18 for their trust and confidence in me. It is an honor to have earned your support, and I look forward to continuing to serve the people of NC  just in a new officemaybe not in the basement.

House Speaker Tim Moore moved Everitts legislative office to a former supply closet after Everitt asked the Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman to investigate Moore on possible charges of embezzlement, bribery, or misconduct in office, related to Moores affair with a state worker, WRAL reported. Freeman said there was no basis for a criminal investigation.

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In House District 32, Democrat Bryan Cohn leads incumbent Republican Frank Sossamon by 233 votes. The district covers Granville County and part of Vance. The result is close enough for Sossamon, who is in his first term, to request a recount.

Republican Rep. Tricia Cotham of Mecklenburg had a 216 vote lead over Democratic challenger Nicole Sidman in House District 105. Democrats worked hard to defeat Cotham, a former Democrat who changed her party affiliation months after she was elected in an overwhelmingly Democratic district in 2022. Her party switch gave House Republicans a veto-proof majority. She voted with the GOP to limit abortion access, to impose anti-transgender laws, and to greatly expand school vouchers.

Republicans drew a new district for Cotham that gave her a chance to win reelection.

Sidman indicated on Facebook that she would ask for a recount.

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Our campaign has always been transparent, so I want to be clear: most recounts do not change the final result of the election, the Facebook post said. At this point, our chance of success is low; however, our race is close enough that a tabulation error or mixup at one precinct on election night could be the difference. Thats why recounts are part of the democratic process for races as close as ours.

State law allows legislative candidates trailing after the final results are in to request recounts if the totals are separated by 1% or less. For statewide races, the difference cannot be more than o.5% or 10,000 votes, whichever is less.

There have already been at least two voter protests filed.

Jay DeLancy, who has spent years searching for voter fraud, filed a protest that echoes claims from a Republican lawsuit alleging ineligible voters are on the rolls. A federal court judge dismissed part of the lawsuit in October. DeLancys protest alleges that irregularities will cast doubt on the Supreme Court race results.

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Another protest was filed by Garland Kanady in the House District 32 race between Cohn and Sossamon and is based on the same allegations of ineligible voters.

Key election numbers as of Nov. 16

7,848,606  total number of registered voters in the state

5,722,556  number of ballots cast

Just under 73%  total voter turnout

464,485  number of absentee ballots requested

297,801  number of absentee ballots cast as of Nov. 16 (in order to be counted, ballots had to arrive at the voters county board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day)

6  the number of counties with boards of elections that will resume (and presumably conclude) their canvass meetings on Monday (Chatham, Craven, Cumberland, Forsyth, Randolph, and Yancey)

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10,000 or less  in statewide contests, the threshold margin that allows a second-place candidate to request a recount

1% or less  the threshold in non-statewide contests

9,851  the number of votes by which Republican challenger Jefferson Griffin led Democratic incumbent Supreme Court Associate Justice Allison Riggs on Wednesday, Nov. 6

2,769,516  the number of votes cast for Riggs as of Saturday Nov. 16

2,769,492  the number of votes cast for Griffin

24  the current vote margin

3,068,499  the number of votes cast for Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein in the race for governor, the top vote-getter in the 2024 General Election

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2,241,072  the number of votes cast for Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson

2,898,016  number of votes cast for Donald Trump

2,714,403  number of votes cast for Kamala Harris

72-48 and 30-20  the Republican advantages in the current state House and Senate respectively (the precise three-fifths margins necessary to override a gubernatorial veto)

71-49 and 30-20  the margins in the legislature in the new General Assembly that convenes in January if current leaders prevail

233 and 216  the margins in the two closest state House races (Democratic challenger Bryan Cohn leads Republican incumbent Frank Sossaman in the 32nd district 21,213 to 20,980 and Republican incumbent Tricia Cotham leads Democratic challenger Nicole Sidman 27,303 to 27,087 in the 105th District)

134  the margin in the closest state Senate race (Democrat Terence Everitt leads Republican Ashlee Bryan Adams 59,665 to 59,531 in the 18th District)

Source: Home Page | NCSBE
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  A road closure is in place due to a crash in Salt Lake City Monday morning, according to the Utah Dept. of Transportation.

The ramp from I-80 Eastbound to I-215 Northbound is closed due to a crash.

One dead in hit-and-run crash in West Valley City, suspect turns herself in

Expect delays, UDOT posted on social media. Use an alternate route.

Details on the crash are limited at this time.

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This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as new information becomes available.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
It finally happened. After seeing its stock appreciate by more than 250% just this year, Palantir (NYSE: PLTR) has now surpassed legendary defense contractor Lockheed Martin in market capitalization. The software and artificial intelligence (AI) provider for the government, military, and big business is posting strong revenue growth and inflecting profits. It just reported Q3 earnings, which has propelled the stock up 40% in the past month.

Investors are getting increasingly bullish on Palantir stock. But should they be? Here's what might come next for this hypergrowth momentum stock.

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One of the world's largest defense contractors

At a market cap of $136 billion, Palantir is now one of the world's largest defense contractors. The aforementioned Lockheed Martin has a market cap of $134 billion, with competitors, such as RTX Corporation, now one of the few stocks with larger valuations than Palantir.

How did it get here? With modern software solutions for the United States military and government agencies. This disrupted the legacy systems (or where no systems existed at all), as the U.S. government is looking for best-in-class software to maintain its edge. Government contracts are large and can expand over time, which is why Palantir's U.S. government revenue keeps growing at a quick pace. Last quarter, U.S. government revenue grew 40% year over year.

But Palantir isn't only selling to the U.S. government. In recent years, it has expanded to bring its software and AI solutions to large enterprises with much success. Even though the U.S. government can spend a lot of money, it is truly just one customer at the end of the day. Hundreds of corporations could utilize Palantir's advanced analytical tools, and they are now starting to do so.

Fast revenue growth, faster customer acquisition

Accelerating demand from the U.S. government, as well as U.S. corporations, has enabled Palantir to accelerate its revenue growth. Last quarter, U.S. commercial revenue grew 54% year over year to $179 million. With the addition of the steady growth from government contracts and a slight headwind from international sales, overall revenue grew 30% year over year in the third quarter to $726 million.

Customer acquisition is growing even quicker. Total customers grew 39% year over year in Q3 and 6% from the second quarter to 629. That may seem like a small number, but remember, Palantir only targets the largest companies looking for custom-built software. The acceleration after Q3 seems to be continuing. Palantir closed 104 deals in the quarter worth over $1 million, which should turn into new revenue-generating customers in future years. Given the long-term nature of these contracts, the most important key performance metric for investors to track is customer count. If the customer count keeps rising, revenue growth will follow.
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR)  The Roanoke Foodshed Network (RFN) has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agricultures Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA AMS).

The $800,000 grant is for the launch of the Strong Food and Farm Future project which includes more than 50 partners including community groups, nonprofit organizations, farmers, food businesses, community members, higher education institutions, and government agencies.

The RFN is working to bring equitable and resilient food and farm systems to the Southwest Virginia region including Roanoke City, Salem City, and Roanoke, Botetourt, Bedford, Franklin, Floyd, Montgomery, and Craig counties.

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The funding will also allow the launch of a unified marketing/storytelling campaign. It also includes a Regional Food and Farming Website, the Roanoke Region Food and Farm Trail, and multimedia content, narrative articles, podcasts, and a documentary short.

VT analysis shows Helene caused estimated $630M in damage to VA agriculture

Partners from across the region will be brought together for the marketing campaign including Live Work Eat Grow (Montgomery), SustainFloyd (Floyd), and Land and Table (Lynchburg region).

Jackie Crenshaw, Board President of SustainFloyd, said SustainFloyd is very grateful for this grant funding to continue development of a resilient local food system in Floyd County. The grant will help us expand our fledgling Floyd Farm Trail, an innovative and engaging platform to bridge the gap between our hardworking small-scale farmers and agritourism experiences for customers.

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This project will also help support regional farmers. The Virginia Association for Biological Farming (VABF), a leading RFN partner, will produce farmer education programs, farm tours, farmer listening sessions, and a regional food and farm summit.

According to Becki DeRusseau, VABFs Operations Manager, Being part of the RFN helps VABF better reach and support farmers in the Roanoke region. We are so excited to be a part of this project as it will bolster our programming and capacity to support farm viability in the Roanoke region.

Beef prices rise, but Virginia cattle farmers see little profit gains

According to One Valleys Secretary, Gene Yagow, This project will support One Valleys goal of

building an inclusive community in Northwest Roanoke through enhanced planning, advertising,

program support, guest speakers, and staffing of our monthly Community Conversations

program.

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Through the Regional Food System Partnerships (RFSP) Program, the USDA AMS will be awarding $5.2 million to a total of 10 partnerships across 10 states. The RFSP supports the partnership between public and private resources to work together to plan and create local or regional food systems.

For more information about the RFSP grant program visit www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/rfsp or about AMS investments visit www.ams.usda.gov/grants.

This will be a three-year project from December 2024 to September 2027. For updates on the project visit Roanokefoodshednetwork.org or email Mo McGonagle at Mo@leapforlocalfood.org.

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LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  The former Clark County public administrator who murdered an investigative journalist formally filed a notice appealing his conviction Monday, according to court documents.

Robert Telles, 48, killed Jeff German, 69, in September 2022 after the reporter wrote unflattering news stories about Telles office that Telles felt caused him to lose a primary election. Evidence at the trial against Telles included police finding his DNA found under Germans fingernails.

In August, a jury found Telles guilty of first-degree murder, sentencing him to life with the possibility of parole after 20 years. In October, Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt added to the sentence because of the weapon Telles used in the murder and because German was over 60 years old. Leavitt gave Telles an additional 8-20 years.

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With credit for time served, Telles could be granted parole in 2050 should the board vote at that time to release him.

Robert Telles reacts as his wife Mary Ann Ismael talks on the witness stand during the penalty phase of his murder trial at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas Wednesday, August 28, 2024. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool)

The handwritten filing posted to Telles docket Monday implied Telles was seeking an appeal to the state supreme court. The notice of appeal does not provide any further detail.

Telles has proclaimed his innocence since his arrest, though prosecutors presented no other suspect in the case and provided DNA and video evidence linking Telles to the crime.

According to state law, a defendant in a Nevada criminal case has 30 days from the final judgment to file an appeal.

The attorneys representing Telles during his murder trial withdrew their representation of him after his conviction. Documents indicate they were not retained for the appeal process.

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German was a respected investigative reporter covering the Las Vegas community for more than 40 years.

As of Monday, a docket in the state supreme court system was not active for the appeal. It was unclear Monday if Telles found new attorneys or planned to represent himself through the appeal process.

Telles was serving his sentence at High Desert State Prison, which is located about 40 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

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Pet Sounds

The US Secret Service has deployed a Boston Dynamics Spot robot dog to patrol president-elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

While the quadruped isn't armed, as the BBC reports, its legs are emblazoned with an ominous message to passersby: "DO NOT PET."

The robot's deployment shouldn't come as too much of a surprise given the not just one but two assassination attempts on Trump's life earlier this year.

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"Safeguarding the president-elect is a top priority," Secret Service chief of communications Anthony Guglielmi told the BBC.

https://twitter.com/nypost/status/1854987028993097788

Patrol 2

As for what exactly the remotely-controlled robot dog is doing, apart from patrolling the lawns in front of Trump's gaudy residence, the Secret Service remained unsurprisingly mum.

"While we cannot get into the specific capabilities, the robotic dogs are equipped with surveillance technology, and an array of advanced sensors that support our protective operations," a spokesperson told the New York Post.

Experts argued they could help give existing security agents more oversight.

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"They can cover a lot more area" than human staff, former Secret Service agent Ron Williams told the BBC.

Apart from guarding the new president of the United States, Boston Dynamics' robot dog has also been deployed by police departments, on factory floors and construction sites, and at fire departments.

The military in particular has become interested in similar offerings from defense contractors. Last month, for instance, Military.com reported that the US Army is experimenting with rifle-equipped robot dogs at a Middle Eastern testing facility.

But the Spot robot dog strolling outside of Trump's residence will likely be far more defenseless.

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"You just have to spray it with Aqua Net hairspray in its 'face,'" George Mason University engineering professor Missy Cummings told the BBC.

More on robot dogs: The US Army Is Testing Killer Robot Dogs With AI-Powered Rifles in the Middle East
OGLE COUNTY, Ill. (WTVO)  Police are searching for the driver of a vehicle involved in a fatal crash in Ogle County on Saturday night.

According to the Ogle County Sheriffs Office, three vehicles were involved in the crash, which occurred around 11:04 p.m. in the 2000 block of N. Illinois Route 251.

Police reported that Edgar Mandujano-Lopez, 19, of Rochelle, was driving a Nissan Maxima southbound when the crash occurred.

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He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of a northbound Subaru Outback, David Ramos, 32, of Byron, was injured in the crash and taken to Javon Bea Mercyhealth Riverside in Rockford. Police said he is expected to recover.

The driver of the third vehicle, a Nissan Frontier, fled the scene.

Police said the incident remains under investigation.

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A new push to close Biolab includes another petition demanding its business license be revoked.

The pool chemical company partially reopened earlier this month, following the massive fire causing it to shut down in late September.

The Sept. 29 fire at Biolabs Conyers plant left chemicals hovering over the parts of the community for several weeks.

Local auto body shop Chris Floyd told Channel 2 Action News he is excited about the latest online petition demanding that Biolabs business license be revoked.

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We have already had three strikes. so why would we go through this again? said Floyd.

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On Nov. 4, the plant was cleared for a partial reopen, allowing the distribution of their already stocked pool and spa cleaning products.

Keyanna Jones Moore with the grass-roots organization Sierra Club Georgia, which is already pushing to close Biolab, told Channel 2 Action News they want the plant closed before they get a green light to start manufacturing again.

Adding that the author of this latest petition Paul Gaze, with Georgia Conservation Voters, is not only fed up, but that his groups demands are already in line with the countys code of ordinances.

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Paul Gaze, with Georgia Conservation Voters is not only fed up, but that his groups demands are already in line with the countys code of ordinances.

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It requires Rockdale County Commissioners to revoke the license of any business that impacts the health of the public.

Jones Moore said the countys case against the plant is strong.

Floyd said his health and his auto body shop were deeply affected by the chemical fire. So, he is in full support of this latest petition as well.

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Could not come to work. People had their car over here and could get them out. Breathing the chemicals. I myself had to go down to Emory after breathing the chemicals, said Floyd.

The county has filed its lawsuit. There is not a court date on record at this time.

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DENVER (KDVR)  A Colorado Rockies players 2023 Lamborghini was reportedly stolen but has since been recovered following a multi-agency and multi-state investigation.

On Oct. 2, the Cherry Hills Village Police Department said a 2023 Lamborghini Huracan was stolen from a Cherry Hills Village resident, who has since been identified as Rockies third baseman Kris Bryant, per the police department.

According to police, the vehicle was shipped to Las Vegas, but failed to arrive, prompting an investigation.

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4 injured in Monday morning shooting in southeast Denver

Detectives said they found that the vehicle transport company that was moving the Lamborghini had fallen victim to a business email compromise, allowing suspects to arrange unauthorized transport of vehicles.

The police departments crime analysts and detectives used license plate recognition cameras to track down the truck and trailer moving the Lambo and pinpointed its location in Las Vegas on Sept. 30.

On Oct. 7, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Departments VIPER Auto Theft Team and Homeland Security Investigations successfully recovered the car and arrested multiple suspects.

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During the investigation, two other stolen cars, multiple fraudulent VIN packages, fake registration documents, key fobs and VIN-switching tools were found. A stolen vehicle related to this case was also recovered in California.

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This case underscores the Cherry Hills Village Police Departments commitment to protecting the community from sophisticated criminal schemes, said Chief Jason Lyons. Through the diligent work of CHVPDs Crime Analyst, Detectives, Officers and collaborative partnerships with national and local agencies, stolen property was returned to its rightful owner, and suspects were brought to justice.

Police have not identified the suspects or said what charges they may be facing.

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Rolling power outages may be cancelled or curtailed as early as Tuesday or Wednesday in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast.

Source: energy expert Hennadii Riabtsev on air with Novyny.Live

Details: Riabtsev noted that Kyiv is part of the unified energy system with a slight shortage of electricity.

Quote: "Today, the power outage schedules will still work, and tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we can most likely hope for a complete cancellation or reduction. It is likely that the power sector will cope."

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More details: Nevertheless, Riabtsev said that the situation with the electricity supply would not depend on the weather.

"It will depend on the speed of the repair work and, as far as I know, the power engineers will cope," Riabtsev added.

Background:

It was reported that on Monday, 18 November, all regions would be forced to apply electricity consumption restrictions.

Russian forces launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine's energy sector on 17 November, severely damaging equipment at thermal power plants belonging to DTEK, Ukraines largest private energy company.

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT)  Rooted, a Tuscaloosa-based nonprofit, is launching an initiative to raise $50,000 to fund a sensory activation vehicle (SAV) in partnership with KultureCity and the Tuscaloosa Police Department.

SAVs are mobile units designed with sensory-friendly tools and spaces for people with sensory needs. According to Rooted, one in four individuals have an invisible disability. This includes individuals with autism, PTSD or other sensory processing challenges. This project would provide a quiet and inclusive space at busy public events in Tuscaloosa, including sporting events, concerts and street fairs.

Alabama earns No. 7 ranking in AP Top 25

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At Rooted, we believe in fostering environments where everyone feels welcomed and valued, said Liz Kindred, co-founder of Rooted, in a statement. The Sensory Activation Vehicle represents a significant step toward that goal, ensuring that community events can be enjoyed by all, regardless of needs.

Rooted is asking for donations from the community, local businesses and philanthropists to support the project. Rooted asserts it is dedicated to making the Gospel, the arts and mental health services accessible to communities across west Alabama.

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A private equity-backed telecoms company has been accused of putting Britains 5G rollout under threat by driving up the cost of mobile masts.

The UKs four mobile operators  Vodafone, EE, O2 and Three  are locked in a row with mast leasing firm AP Wireless over allegations of unfair practices.

The operators have complained that AP Wireless, which is ultimately owned by Swedish private equity giant EQT, is driving up the cost of rolling out 5G by tens of millions of pounds in a move that undermines efforts to improve mobile coverage across the country.

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Telecoms companies usually build mobile phone masts on land they do not own, meaning they have a number of lease agreements in place with landowners.

AP Wireless buys mast leases from existing landowners through an upfront lump-sum payment, before seeking to charge a premium to telecoms operators using the sites.

However, this business model, dubbed land aggregation, has come under threat from laws implemented in 2017. The laws, part of the Electronic Communications Code (ECC), change the way land is valued in an effort to speed up the 5G rollout by bringing rents in line with those paid by utility companies.

AP Wireless, which posted a pre-tax profit of 2.2m last year on revenues of just under 8m last year, has cited the laws as a threat to its business. In the companys latest accounts, published last month, bosses said the code restricts the ability of landowners to charge premium prices for the use of their land.

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In response, AP Wirelesss US-based owner has since launched a sister company, Icon Tower Infrastructure, to construct brand new mobile masts, often close to its existing sites. These new masts are not subject to rent protections owing to a loophole in the ECC regulations.

Operators have accused the infrastructure group of attempting to force them on to these new masts when existing leases expire  a move they say will pave the way for sharp rent increases.

More than 1,000 disputes have been brought in front of the courts and tribunal systems since 2017 as the two sides battle over mast leases.

But the row is now reaching boiling point and Cornerstone, a mobile mast joint venture between Vodafone and Virgin Media O2, is currently locked in legal proceedings with AP Wireless.

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An industry spokesman said: The land aggregators business model, whereby they appear to be seeking to force operators off an existing mast which has legal protections, to a replacement one that doesnt, is a cynical ploy to bypass the code to solicit higher rents off the mobile operators.

Far from assisting the deployment of critical national infrastructure, land aggregators are hindering rollout and in some cases actively duplicating existing masts simply to force operators off perfectly good ones impacting on the existing coverage and capacity vital to the people they serve.

The spokesman added: The beneficiaries of this model are not the local landowners or local communities in need of vital connectivity, but the land aggregators themselves.

A spokesman for AP Wireless said: The UK is close to the bottom of the league table for 5G connectivity because of years of chronic under-investment. Icons entry into the market will lead to lower costs for mobile phone users by increasing competition.

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This litigation is an attempt to shut out competition in the market for mobile telephone infrastructure and protect a monopolistic position.

The legal battle threatens to slow the 5G rollout even amid growing pressure on the industry to improve mobile connectivity across the country. UK mobile users have the slowest 5G download speeds of any G7 nation, according to research by Opensignal last year.

Chris Bryant, the tech minister, has repeatedly raised concerns about patchy mobile coverage, especially on major train lines.

Officials are currently weighing up options for the second stage of a 1bn programme to improve rural coverage, dubbed the Shared Rural Network. Operators are lobbying for the remaining subsidies to be diverted to improve road and rail connectivity, rather than targeting the most remote locations.

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Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is asking the court to delay his trial with the pair of election workers he defamed so he can attend Donald Trumps inauguration.

Giulianis trial is scheduled for January 16, 2025, four days before President-elect Trumps inauguration. The cash-strapped former mayor has now asked the court to adjourn the trial - which is to enforce the $150 million bankruptcy court judgment against Giuliani - until on or after January 22, so that he can attend the inauguration events.

There would be no harm to the plaintiffs by a delay of a few days in the trial schedule, and I am sure that the Court would have other dates available other than January 16, 17, or 20, 2025 for this trial, when the inauguration events are set to take place, argued Joseph Cammarata, an attorney for Giuliani, in a Friday letter to the judge.

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Cammarata is now representing Giuliani after his previous lawyer suddenly quit last week. On Monday, the judge ordered that the matter be discussed at a hearing scheduled for November 26.

Giuliani served as Trumps personal lawyer during his first term in office and pushed election fraud claims after Trumps 2020 defeat. The pair have been charged in Georgias sweeping criminal case related to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 results; they have both pleaded not guilty.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media as he leaves court in New York on November 7. He is asking the federal judge to delay his defamation trial until after Donald Trumps inauguration (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Last December, a jury found Giuliani owes Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss nearly $150 million after he defamed them by spreading false claims that they manipulated the 2020 election results in favor of Joe Biden. The ruling led the disbarred attorney to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which has since been dismissed.

The mother-daughter duo are now allowed to seize his belongings to collect what they are owed.

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Although Giuliani confirmed in the Friday filing that he had turned over his 1980 Mercedes-Benz, his watch collection, a diamond ring and some cash, Cammarata said in the Friday filing. He then objected to his Joe DiMaggio shirt, household furniture and other personal belongings being turned over to Freeman and Moss, saying this action violates either New York or Florida state laws  the sites of his two homes.

Similarly, he is arguing that his Benz needs to be appraised. The turnover of the vehicle is wholly improper, Cammarata wrote, arguing that it is exempt if its value is less than $5,500. If the appraiser determines that the car is worth more than that dollar amount, the vehicle must be auctioned. Just ordering the vehicle to be turned over to the Plaintiffs without any appraisal has taken away Defendants statutory and constitutional rights, the lawyer argued.

Giuliani, who rolled up in the Benz to a polling site on Election Day despite admitting in bankruptcy court that he does not have a drivers license, previously valued his vehicle at $25,000, but The Independents review of his assets found that the classic car being worth nearly $30,000.

Freeman and Moss have been overly aggressive in trying to cease [sic] all of the Defendants assets and they have to be restrained from disregarding Giulianis statutory rights, Cammarata added.

Giuliani rolled up to the polling station on Election Day where Donald Trump cast his ballot on election day in his Mercedes (REUTERS)

The judge ordered on Monday that any requests for additional relief must be made in a formal motion.

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Mondays order comes days after two of Giulianis associates  his business partner Maria Ryan and his spokesperson Ted Goodman  were ordered to respond to subpoenas requesting information on their financial ties to the former mayor. Giuliani disclosed earlier this month that he had two financial involvements with Ryan and Goodman: a storage facility and a newly formed company.

The election workers accused Giuliani of moving a substantial amount of his property from his Manhattan penthouse to a Long Island storage facility, which is under Ryans name, before the judge ordered him to turn over his valuables, a lawyer for Freeman and Moss wrote

Giuliani also revealed that he has 88 percent ownership of Standard USA, while Ryan has 10 percent ownership and Goodman has 2 percent. The companys purpose and activities remain a mystery, their lawyer wrote.
DICKINSON COUNTY (KSNT)  State transportation officials say part of K-4 Highway in Dickinson County will close later this month, bringing with it a large detour for locals to follow.

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) announced in a press release on Monday, Nov. 18 that a road work project is slated to run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21 on part of K-4 Highway just south of the town of Hope. Workers will be replacing a railroad crossing that requires the highway to be closed to all traffic while the project is ongoing.

Drivers will be unable to use K-4 just south of Hope and will instead be directed to take a signed detour route that uses K-43, I-70 and K-15, taking drivers through Abilene and Enterprise. The complete detour runs for 53 miles and will take about an hour to complete, according to Google Maps.

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KHP trooper warns of tire gator danger on Kansas highways

KDOT said it encourages drivers to follow the signed route, which uses state highways, for safety, weight and maintenance concerns. Drivers following this route are encouraged to stay alert and follow posted signs while traveling through work zones.

For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.

Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News.
The Russian military reported that 59 aircraft-type drones attacked targets in Russia on Monday night.

Source: Russian Defence Ministry

Details: The Russians reported that all drones were allegedly destroyed.

Quote: "Regular air defence systems destroyed 59 Ukrainian UAVs. Two UAVs were destroyed over the territory of Moscow Oblast, 45 UAVs were destroyed over the territory of Bryansk Oblast, six over the territory of Kursk Oblast, three over the territory of Belgorod Oblast and three over the territory of Tula Oblast.

Background: Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported two drones flying towards the Russian capital.

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New reports say North Korea could send as many as 100,000 troops to fight alongside Russia.

They'll be paid about $2,000 a month each, per South Korean intelligence.

But experts say Kim Jong Un would likely pocket much of the money, using it to maintain loyalty.

Russia is pouring cash into the deployment of up to 100,000 North Korean soldiers to help its war efforts  but the soldiers themselves are unlikely to receive any of it, analysts on North Korea say.

Instead, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his associates could pocket much of the money.

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Ukrainian officials have said that up to 11,000 North Korean troops have been sent to help push back its forces in Kursk, and those numbers could rise.

Dmytro Ponomarenko, Ukraine's ambassador to South Korea, told Voice of America over the weekend that the number could reach 15,000, with troops rotated out every two to three months.

That could mean about 100,000 North Korean soldiers serving in Russia within a year, he said.

Anonymous sources familiar with the assessments of some G20 nations also used the 100,000 figure in conversation with Bloomberg.

North Korean soldiers on a TV screen in a Seoul railway station in South Korea. AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

South Korean intelligence estimated Russia is paying about $2,000 a month to each soldier (around $22 million for 11,000 troops), so it could add up quickly.

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The money would be a life-changing amount for most North Koreans. Defectors have said that the average salary for workers and soldiers there is less than $1 a month, The Associated Press reported.

But there's a catch: They're unlikely to see much, or indeed any, of it.

"I suspect that money coming from Russia is going directly to the party and then on to the Kim family," Bruce W. Bennett, a defense researcher and North Korea specialist at RAND, told Business Insider by email.

Bennett said that his assessment was tentative and "based upon their organization and past behavior."

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There are many documented instances of the North Korean state keeping the earnings its citizens make abroad.

"Perhaps only a small amount or even nothing" will go to the soldiers themselves, Bennett said.

Where does the money go?

Hyunseung Lee, a former soldier who defected from North Korea in the early 2000s, also offered a bleak assessment of the rewards North Korea's soldiers could get by fighting against Ukraine.

"They won't be compensated," he said in an interview with Radio Free Europe, adding that their families probably wouldn't either.

Bennett said there's another reason soldiers may not see much of the money. "Many of the soldiers will become fatalities and unable to use any money earned," he said, though Kim may pass some of their earnings back to their families "in lieu of the loss of their sons."

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However, the new cash flow could play an important role in North Korea, where the GDP is estimated to be just $40 billion.

Kim Jong Un is known for his lavish tastes. In October, the South Korean lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun said that North Korea had imported luxury goods worth almost $52 million in the first eight months of 2024  including cosmetics, watches, and booze, the Korea Economic Daily reported.

Yoon said Kim gifts these luxury imports to the country's elites to ensure their loyalty.

Kim Jong Un at a lavish banquet to celebrate North Korea's Navy Day last year. DPRK

Chung Min Lee, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment Asia Program, wrote in April that "Kim, his family, and his closest advisers appear in public wearing very expensive watches, clothes, and handbags that are slowly becoming more available to the North Korean elite."

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Nonetheless, he said loyalty had waned significantly in recent years amid international sanctions and a marked economic decline resulting from Kim's policy of plowing up to 30% of the country's GDP into defense.

Bennett estimated that some of the money received from Russia would go to military equipment and some to consumer goods such as food, "especially for the elites," he said.

Some of the payment may be directly in the form of food, he said.

That's important "because life is miserable in North Korea, creating a degree of public instability, and so Kim has tried to improve the availability of food and some other goods to avoid more open rebellion," he said.

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Meanwhile, the North Korean soldiers heading to Russia face a worrying future.

Ukraine's allies have repeatedly said that North Korean troops fighting in Ukraine will become "cannon fodder" on the battlefield.

North Korea is reportedly sending its "Storm Corps," an elite special-forces unit, to Russia. But Lee, the former soldier, told Radio Free Europe that "they're totally not ready."

He said the additional training they would get  reported to be just weeks, some of it done in live combat  is not enough to get familiar with the more high-tech equipment they'd be expected to use.

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Correction: November 18, 2024  An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Ukraine's ambassador to South Korea. It is Dmytro Ponomarenko, not Dimytro Ponomarenko.

Read the original article on Business Insider
New reports say North Korea could send as many as 100,000 troops to fight alongside Russia.

They'll be paid about $2,000 a month each, per South Korean intelligence.

But experts say Kim Jong Un would likely pocket much of the money, using it to maintain loyalty.

Russia is pouring cash into the deployment of up to 100,000 North Korean soldiers to help its war efforts  but the soldiers themselves are unlikely to receive any of it, analysts on North Korea say.

Instead, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his associates could pocket much of the money.

Ukrainian officials have said that up to 11,000 North Korean troops have been sent to help push back its forces in Kursk, and those numbers could rise.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Dmytro Ponomarenko, Ukraine's ambassador to South Korea, told Voice of America over the weekend that the number could reach 15,000, with troops rotated out every two to three months.

That could mean about 100,000 North Korean soldiers serving in Russia within a year, he said.

Anonymous sources familiar with the assessments of some G20 nations also used the 100,000 figure in conversation with Bloomberg.

North Korean soldiers on a TV screen in a Seoul railway station in South Korea. AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

South Korean intelligence estimated Russia is paying about $2,000 a month to each soldier (around $22 million for 11,000 troops), so it could add up quickly.

The money would be a life-changing amount for most North Koreans. Defectors have said that the average salary for workers and soldiers there is less than $1 a month, The Associated Press reported.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

But there's a catch: They're unlikely to see much, or indeed any, of it.

"I suspect that money coming from Russia is going directly to the party and then on to the Kim family," Bruce W. Bennett, a defense researcher and North Korea specialist at RAND, told Business Insider by email.

Bennett said that his assessment was tentative and "based upon their organization and past behavior."

There are many documented instances of the North Korean state keeping the earnings its citizens make abroad.

"Perhaps only a small amount or even nothing" will go to the soldiers themselves, Bennett said.

Where does the money go?

Hyunseung Lee, a former soldier who defected from North Korea in the early 2000s, also offered a bleak assessment of the rewards North Korea's soldiers could get by fighting against Ukraine.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

"They won't be compensated," he said in an interview with Radio Free Europe, adding that their families probably wouldn't either.

Bennett said there's another reason soldiers may not see much of the money. "Many of the soldiers will become fatalities and unable to use any money earned," he said, though Kim may pass some of their earnings back to their families "in lieu of the loss of their sons."

However, the new cash flow could play an important role in North Korea, where the GDP is estimated to be just $40 billion.

Kim Jong Un is known for his lavish tastes. In October, the South Korean lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun said that North Korea had imported luxury goods worth almost $52 million in the first eight months of 2024  including cosmetics, watches, and booze, the Korea Economic Daily reported.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Yoon said Kim gifts these luxury imports to the country's elites to ensure their loyalty.

Kim Jong Un at a lavish banquet to celebrate North Korea's Navy Day last year. DPRK

Chung Min Lee, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment Asia Program, wrote in April that "Kim, his family, and his closest advisers appear in public wearing very expensive watches, clothes, and handbags that are slowly becoming more available to the North Korean elite."

Nonetheless, he said loyalty had waned significantly in recent years amid international sanctions and a marked economic decline resulting from Kim's policy of plowing up to 30% of the country's GDP into defense.

Bennett estimated that some of the money received from Russia would go to military equipment and some to consumer goods such as food, "especially for the elites," he said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Some of the payment may be directly in the form of food, he said.

That's important "because life is miserable in North Korea, creating a degree of public instability, and so Kim has tried to improve the availability of food and some other goods to avoid more open rebellion," he said.

Meanwhile, the North Korean soldiers heading to Russia face a worrying future.

Ukraine's allies have repeatedly said that North Korean troops fighting in Ukraine will become "cannon fodder" on the battlefield.

North Korea is reportedly sending its "Storm Corps," an elite special-forces unit, to Russia. But Lee, the former soldier, told Radio Free Europe that "they're totally not ready."

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

He said the additional training they would get  reported to be just weeks, some of it done in live combat  is not enough to get familiar with the more high-tech equipment they'd be expected to use.

Correction: November 18, 2024  An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Ukraine's ambassador to South Korea. It is Dmytro Ponomarenko, not Dimytro Ponomarenko.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Russian forces launched a missile attack on the city of Odesa on the afternoon of 18 November, killing at least ten civilians.

Source: Oleh Kiper, Head of Odesa Oblast Military Administration; Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov

Quote: "Russian terrorists launched a missile attack on Odesa. Civilians were killed and wounded."

Details: Kiper also added that civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, was damaged.

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Quote from Trukhanov: "The enemy insidiously launched a missile into an apartment building and a commercial area. We already know about eight deaths  people who just went about their business."

The aftermath of the Russian attack on Odesa

Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine

The aftermath of the Russian attack on Odesa

Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine

The Air Force of Ukraine reported at 11:58 that the Russians had launched a ballistic missile at Odesa.

Update at 14:10: Later, Kiper reported that doctors, police officers, and civilians were among fatalities in Odesa. "A total of 39 people, including four children aged 7, 10, and two aged 11, have sustained injuries. The children have been taken to hospital in a moderate condition. There are also 30 adults in hospital, three of them in critical condition," he noted.

Update at 15:00: Kiper added the death toll from the attack had risen to ten. "These are seven police officers, a medic and two local residents," he said.

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Russian forces lost 1,560 soldiers killed and wounded, 38 armoured personnel carriers, 30 artillery systems and 15 tanks over the past day.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook

Details: The total combat losses of the Russian forces between 24 February 2022 and 18 November 2024 are estimated to be as follows [figures in parentheses represent the latest losses  ed.]:

approximately 722,440 (+1,560) military personnel;

9,365 (+15) tanks;

19,059 (+38) armoured combat vehicles;

20,586 (+30) artillery systems;

1,252 (+0) multiple-launch rocket systems;

999 (+0) air defence systems;

369 (+0) fixed-wing aircraft;

329 (+0) helicopters;

19,073 (+99) tactical and strategic UAVs;

2,753 (+112) cruise missiles;

28 (+0) ships/boats;

1 (+0) submarine;

29,428 (+107) vehicles and fuel tankers;

3,655 (+2) special vehicles and other equipment.

The information is being confirmed.

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The Kremlin on Monday issued an angry response to a reported U.S. decision to allow Ukraine to use Western-provided missiles to strike deep into Russian territory, accusing Washington of adding fuel to the fire in a war Moscow launched almost three years ago.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reportedly said it marked a qualitative increase in the level of U.S. involvement in what Moscow calls a special military operation, but the majority of the international community has condemned it as an illegal invasion against Ukraines sovereign borders.

Ukraine is now occupying a swath of Russias Kursk region after a surprise incursion across the border in August, and for months has lobbied President Biden publicly to lift restrictions on U.S.-made weapons systems to push Russia back, and target Russian military targets across the border.

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American weapons like ATACMS are able to hit targets at a range of approximately 190 miles. Biden partially lifted the ban in May. The U.S. reportedly made the more sweeping decision following Russias deployment of up to 10,000 North Korean soldiers to the front line.

It also comes about two months before President-elect Trump enters office, having promised during his campaign to end the war in a day.

Peskov referred Monday to comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin in September that warned Moscow would view the U.S. and NATO in direct conflict with Russia if the U.S. granted permission to Ukraine to use long-range missiles far-beyond Russias borders to hit targets.

If this decision is taken, it will mean nothing less than the direct involvement of NATO countries, the United States and European countries in the war in Ukraine, Putin said at the time.

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This will be their direct participation, and this, of course, will significantly change the very essence, the very nature of the conflict.

Putin did not address what measures Moscow would take in response, but has in the past talked about the option of arming enemies of the U.S. and its partners with Russian weapons to strike Western targets abroad, Reuters reported.

Bidens deputy national security adviser, Jon Finer, would not confirm reports of the U.S. shift while speaking with reporters at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

I will say, with regard to the comments that came out of Russia, the fire was lit by Russias invasion of Ukraine So, I think this notion of fuel on the fire is, frankly, a side issue to the main issue, which is Russia waging a war of aggression across a sovereign border, into Ukraine, and continuing to do so, he said, also pointing to the arrival of North Korean troops and a major escalation starting Sunday of Russia aerial attacks on Ukraines civilian infrastructure.



So, I would put the question back to Russia about whos actually putting fuel on the fire here, and I dont think its the Ukrainians, he added.

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In June, Putin warned he could deploy conventional missiles within striking distance of the U.S. and European allies if Ukraine was granted permission to strike deep into Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his nightly address on Sunday, referred to the reports of the U.S. lifting restrictions, but said he wanted to see action. He said strikes are not carried out with words. Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak for themselves. They certainly will.

Updated: 2:12 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 The Hill.
Russian forces use cheap decoy drones with foreign components to overload Ukraine's air defense system, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) reported on Nov. 18.

Russia has recently increased the number of large-scale drone attacks against Ukrainian cities, depleting Ukraine's air defense systems and targeting critical infrastructure.

According to HUR, Russian manufacturers use components from the U.S., China, the Netherlands, and Switzerland to produce the Gerbera drone, a cheaper and less deadly equivalent of Iran's Shahed, at a plant in Yelabuga, in the Republic of Tatarstan, central Russia.

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The Gerbera drone can carry a combat payload similar to that of a kamikaze drone and conduct reconnaissance missions, particularly to detect air defense positions and record hits from other attack drones.

The Gerbera is ten times cheaper than the Shahed or Geran drones due to the use of simple materials, such as plywood and foam. Yet, the drone contains a set of components from foreign manufacturers that "are common for Russian weapons," according to HUR.

Examination of the downed drones showed that Russia manufactures Gerberas based on a Chinese prototype using foreign components imported from China.

Read also: Ukraine hits ammunition depots with domestic weapons in an attempt to disrupt Russias logistics

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The Gerbera drones were developed by the Chinese model aircraft manufacturer Skywalker Technology Co., Ltd., which also produces fuselages and organizes the supply of kits to Russia.

The Gerbera's jamming-resistant antenna (CRPA) contains chips from Analog Devices and Texas Instruments, both made in the U.S., and NXP Semiconductors, made in the Netherlands. The flight controller also uses components manufactured by Texas Instruments, Atmel (USA), STMicroelectronics, U-Blox (Switzerland), NXP Semiconductors (Netherlands), and XLSEMI (China).

The DLE60 engine is manufactured by the Chinese company Mile Hao Xiang Technology Co, Ltd. In the summer of 2024, the U.S. sanctioned this company for supplying Russia.

Supplies are made through third-party companies, according to HUR.

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"At this point, the biggest advantage that Russia may have in such attacks is sheer numbers of drones," Samuel Bendett, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security think tank, told the Kyiv Independent.

Bendett mentioned the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan, where a Shahed-type drones plant is located. In May, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing a contract leaked by the Prana Network hacker group, that the factory already produces 4,500 Shaheds and aims to increase this number to 6,000.

"It appears that Russian efforts in Alabuga have ensured that the Russian military has thousands such UAVs at its disposal along with other simpler, smaller variance identified recently that fly alongside these official Geran (Russian name for Shahed-type) UAVs," Bendett said.

On Nov. 17, Russian forces launched one of the heaviest aerial strikes against the country throughout the full-scale war, primarily targeting the energy grid. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 102 of the 120 missiles and 42 of the 90 drones launched by Russia overnight.

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Read also: Russias Iranian Shahed drone strikes on Kyiv, other Ukrainian cities surge

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By Daphne Psaledakis and David Brunnstrom

(Reuters) -Russia on Monday vetoed a United Nations Security Council draft resolution that called on Sudan's warring parties to cease hostilities immediately and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.

All other countries of the 15-member council, including China, voted in favor of the measure drafted by Britain and Sierra Leone.

Russia was the sole member to vote against, in a move that British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said was "mean, nasty and cynical" and sent a message to the warring parties that they can act with impunity.

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The army-aligned Sudanese foreign ministry supported the move.

"The government of Sudan commends the Russian position, which came as an expression of ... respect for the sovereignty of states and international law, and support for the independence and unity of Sudan and its national institutions," it said in a statement.

War erupted in April 2023 from a power struggle between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, and triggered the world's largest displacement crisis.

The draft resolution called on the parties to the conflict to "immediately cease hostilities and engage, in good faith, in dialogue to agree steps to de-escalate the conflict with the aim of urgently agreeing a national ceasefire".

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It also called on them to engage in dialogue to agree humanitarian pauses and arrangements, ensure the safe passage of civilians and the delivery of adequate humanitarian aid, among other measures.

Russia accused Britain of attempting to meddle in Sudanese affairs.

"We agree with all Security Council colleagues that the conflict in Sudan requires a swift resolution. It is also clear that the only way to achieve this is for the warring parties to agree to a ceasefire," Deputy Russian U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told the meeting.

He accused backers of the draft resolution of "double standards" when they were giving carte blanche to Israel to continue violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza, and said Lammy's criticism was an "excellent demonstration of British neo-colonialism".

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"One country stood in the way of the council speaking with one voice. One country is the blocker. One country is the enemy of peace. This Russian veto is a disgrace, and it shows to the world yet again, Russia's true colors," Lammy told the meeting.

"I ask the Russian representative, in all conscience - sitting there on his phone - how many more Sudanese have to be killed? How many more women have to be raped? How many more children have to go without food before Russia will act?"

The U.N. says more than 25 million people - half of Sudan's population - need aid as famine has taken hold in a displacement camp and more than 11 million people have fled their homes. More than 3 million of those people have left for other countries.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Alistair Bell)
President Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to fire U.S.-made and supplied missiles deeper into Russia  a major policy shift announced over the weekend after months of intense lobbying by Kyiv  has drawn a furious response from Moscow. While there was no immediate reaction directly from the man who launched the nearly three-year war on his neighboring nation, lawmakers aligned with President Vladimir Putin in Russia said Monday that the move was unacceptable and warned it could lead to a third world war.

Mr. Biden authorized Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to use American-made missiles with a range of about 190 miles, known as ATACMS, to strike deeper inside Russian territory than the Ukrainians have to date.

So far, Ukraine's attacks beyond the immediate border region inside Russia have been limited to non-U.S.  and much less potent weapons such as explosive drones. ATACMS are far more destructive and harder to shoot down as they head for their programmed targets.

U.S.-made HIMARS rocket launchers, which can fire various missiles including ATACMS, are placed on military vehicles at the military 1st Transport Aviation Base in Warsaw, Poland, in a May 15, 2023 file photo. / Credit: Attila Husejnow/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty

Zelenskyy's government had been pushing Washington for permission to use the missiles for long-range attacks for some time but the Biden administration had been reluctant given concerns about potentially escalating the war.

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Over the weekend, however, the calculus apparently changed. The decision came almost 1,000 days into the full-scale war in Ukraine, and with Mr. Biden about two months away from handing over the White House keys to President-elect Trump, who's seen as far less supportive of Ukraine's ambitions of hanging onto all of its Russian-occupied territory.

It also came as Russia hit Ukraine with a devastating missile attack, highlighting Ukraine's desperate desire for the ability to target Russian weapons systems deeper inside the country before they're launched, which Zelenskyy has stressed for more than a year.

Many of the Russian rockets launched Sunday targeted energy infrastructure but a ballistic missile carrying cluster munitions also struck a residential part of the northern city of Sumy, killing 11 people, including two children, and leaving more than 80 others wounded. Fresh strikes hit apartment buildings in the southern city of Odesa on Monday, killing at least eight people including a child, regional authorities said.

Residents in Sumy were targeted as they slept, and Ukrainian officials called the Sunday missile and drone salvo one of the largest Russian attacks since the start of the war.



With the change in policy from the outgoing administration in Washington, Ukrainian forces will be able to retaliate harder, reaching further into Russia than ever before. Ukrainian forces have launched drone attacks into Russian territory, including targeting Moscow, for months, but with limited effect.

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Zelenskyy welcomed the change in U.S. policy, saying "strikes are not made with words The missiles will speak for themselves."

But Ukraine's war-time leader also appeared to acknowledge the change in tack in Washington that Trump's second swearing-in will bring, with a far greater emphasis expected on striking a negotiated truce than on defending Ukraine's sovereign territory from unilateral annexation by Russia.

"It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens," Zelenskyy said in an interview with a Ukrainian news outlet, adding that Ukraine "must do everything so that this war ends next year, ends through diplomatic means."

In Moscow, meanwhile, senior lawmaker Leonid Slutsky slammed Mr. Biden, accusing him of deciding "to end his presidential term and go down in history as 'Bloody Joe'."



Senator Vladimir Dzhabarov, meanwhile, told Russia's state-run Tass news agency that Biden's decision represented "a very big step toward the beginning of the third world war."



The official newspaper of the Russian state, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, warned "the madmen who are drawing NATO into a direct conflict with our country may soon be in great pain."

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Putin had personally warned against the eventuality previously, issuing a warning in September that U.S. permission for Ukraine to fire American-supplied long-range missiles at his country, "would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries, are parties to the war in Ukraine."

But Putin himself has dramatically raised the stakes in the war since then, by overseeing the deployment of at least 11,000 North Korean troops to fight alongside Russian forces. According to U.S. and South Korean officials, they've joined the battle in Russia's western Kursk region, a significant portion of which Ukrainian troops occupied earlier this year in a surprise offensive.

According to John Sullivan, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Russia under both Trump and Mr. Biden, it may have been that move by Putin  "really solidifying this as a global conflict with troops from North Korea fighting in Europe"  that proved to be "the last straw" for the current U.S. president.

"It's been one escalation after another by Putin and, in my opinion, it was about time that the United States gave the Ukrainians the ability to defend themselves more completely," Sullivan said Monday on CBS Mornings.

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The parameters of the permission granted to Ukraine for the use of the ATACMS haven't been confirmed, but according to reports, they include  and may be limited to  Ukraine using the missiles to attack Russian defensive positions in Kursk.

James Nixey, who heads the Russia and Eurasia program at the London-based Chatham House think tank, said in an analysis Monday that the change in policy from Washington was "not a game changer," especially if it included a limitation on where Ukraine can use the ATACMS.

"The relaxation of range limits for Ukraine's usage of US ATACMS follows the overall pattern of America's approach to this war: to make sure Ukraine cannot inflict significant damage on Russia but to allow small increases in hardware provision and their usage over extended periods of time," he said. "If it is true that the authorization for usage extends only to the Kursk region (and is therefore primarily directed at North Korean troops); then, again, this fits the pattern, and means the overall effects on the war will be negligible."

Combating Parkinson's with rock climbing

Cher opens up about life with Sonny

Extended interview: Cher
The Security Service of Ukraine has uncovered and detained a group of Kharkiv Oblast residents who were collaborating with Russian intelligence services. They blew up a car carrying a Ukrainian soldier and were plotting more terrorist attacks.

Source: Security Service of Ukraine (SSU); Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine

Details: The investigation revealed that four residents of Kharkiv Oblast  a software engineer, a former member of the military, and two unemployed men  were recruited by Russian special services and acted in the interests of the aggressor state.

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The suspects were supervised by a special forces fighter of the illegal Russian-controlled Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR), who is fighting against Ukraine on the eastern front and cooperating with Russian intelligence. He instructed the suspects and gave them orders via a messaging app.

The men searched for the locations of the Ukrainian military in Kharkiv and the oblast and sent the information  maps marking those locations  to their DPR handler.

In June 2024, the suspects blew up the vehicle of a Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman, seriously injuring him. They prepared for the operation in advance, monitoring the movements of the Ukrainian soldier in order to place an explosive device under his car at the right time.

The suspects were planning to carry out a number of other terrorist acts. One of their tasks was to cause an accident on a railway track to prevent the transport of Ukrainian military equipment to the front line.

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One of the suspects [the software engineer  ed.] made an improvised explosive device, which he hid in a woods in the Kharkiv district; he reported this fact to his handler via the messaging app. Immediately afterwards, he was detained by Ukrainian law enforcement.

     ,          .   ,     ... pic.twitter.com/3jnsAJHfub     (@ukrpravda_news) November 18, 2024

The other three suspects were detained at their places of residence. During the searches, law enforcement officers found and seized explosives, computer equipment and mobile phones with evidence of their illegal activities.

All four men were served a notice of suspicion of high treason committed under martial law, and one of them was also charged with carrying, storing and transferring explosives and explosive devices without a permit.

At the request of the Prosecutors Office, all four suspects will be detained without the right to be released on bail.

Whether the suspects crimes can also be classified under Art. 113 (sabotage) and Art. 258 (terrorist act) remains to be decided, the SSU said.

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The Russian troops are increasing their numbers and creating new brigades.

Source: Ukraines Defence Minister Rustem Umierov at a press conference in Kyiv on 18 November, quoted by Radio Liberty

Quote: "Russian forces will grow. They are increasing the size of their forces. They are creating new brigades. By 1 June, they had achieved half of what they had set out to do...

They use many mercenaries from Africa and Asia. Now, they are using [troops from] North Korea, so they have problems, but they are not relenting; they are growing. We know the exact number. It's a significant number."

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Details: According to Umierov, Russia has problems with mobilisation, which is why it uses troops from the DPRK .

The minister noted that Ukraine is currently working to "create forces that can resist, as the priority is defence and stabilisation operations."

"That is why we are growing, not to give the Russians any advantage," Umierov told reporters.



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Editor's note: The story was updated with the latest casualty numbers from Sumy.

Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least 18 civilians and injured at least 113 over the past day, including children, regional authorities reported on Nov. 18.

Ukrainian forces shot down eight of the 11 drones launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force said. Russian forces also reportedly attacked Sumy Oblast with two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and a Kh-59 aerial guided missile.

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Russia launched multiple missile attacks on the city of Sumy overnight, targeting residential areas. Eleven people were killed, including two children, the regional military administration reported.

Eighty-four people were injured in Russian overnight attacks against the city, including 11 children, authorities said.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, two people were killed, and six people were injured during the day on Nov. 17, Governor Serhii Lysak reported.

Attacks against the Nikopol district with drones and artillery killed a 58-year-old man and a 62-year-old woman. Three women aged 67, 72, and 57, and two men aged 40 and 32 were injured.

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A high-rise building, a transport company building, a medical facility, and other buildings and civilian infrastructure sites were damaged.

A 45-year-old man was also injured and hospitalized with shrapnel wounds following a Russian attack against the Synelnykove district, Lysak said.

Russian attacks against Donetsk Oblast injured one person in the town of Siversk, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported.

Three people were injured during Russian attacks against Kharkiv Oblast, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. An 84-year-old man was injured in the village of Hlushkivka, and two women aged 50 and 65 were injured in the town of Kupiansk.

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Four people were killed, and 10 were injured in Russian attacks overnight and on Nov. 17 in Kherson Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported. One more person  a 46-year-old man  was killed during an attack in the morning of Nov. 18, according to the governor.

In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, three women aged 52, 55, and 61, as well as a 59-year-old man, were injured during attacks against the Polohy district, Governor Ivan Fedorov said.

Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, and Kyiv oblasts also came under attack, but no casualties were reported.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russia launches one of the largest aerial strikes on Ukraine, energy grid damage

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Russian attacks on various regions of Ukraine in October led to the deaths of 183 civilians and injured a further 903 people, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported.

According a report issued by the monitoring mission, 80 per cent of the causalities were recorded along Ukraine's eastern front, particularly in Kherson, Kharkiv, and Donetsk oblasts.

A total of nine children were killed in the attacks and a further 49 children injured. The report noted that 45 per cent of victims of the Russian attacks were over the age of 60.

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The casualties incurred in October were predominantly caused by aerial bombardment, artillery shelling, and drone and missile attacks.

The mounting death toll among civilians comes as Russia continues to increase its use of attack drones, targeting cities and towns across Ukraine on a near daily basis since the start of September.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 2 that Russia launched over 2,000 Shahed-type drones at Ukraine in October.

The Ukrainian Air Force previously said that Russia launched at least 4,300 Shahed-type attack drones and similar UAVs imitating Shaheds against Ukraine between August and October 2024.

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While missile attacks are a common occurrence in Ukraine's eastern oblasts, most Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, have largely been spared from large-scale Russian missile attacks on infrastructure in recent months.

Russia missile bombardments began again on Nov. 17 with a mass aerial attack targeting major cities and energy infrastructure around the country. The latest attack left at least seven civilians dead and at least 19 injured across multiple regions.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russia launches one of the largest aerial strikes on Ukraine, energy grid damage









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Russian ballet star Vladimir Shklyarov died on Saturday after falling from the fifth floor of a building.

The preliminary cause of death was labeled as an accident, with Russian authorities launching an investigation, according to RIA Novosti, a Russian state media outlet.

CNN reported that he died two days before he was going to have complex spinal surgery and was on serious painkillers.

In Feb. 2022, at the beginning of Russias invasion in Ukraine, the dancer spoke out against the violence. I am against the war in Ukraine! I am for the people, for a peaceful sky over my head! Politicians should be able to negotiate without shooting and killing civilians, for that they are given their tongue and head, he was quoted as saying by Russian-Ukrainian former ballet dancer Alexei Ratmansky on Facebook.

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It is impossible to watch everything that is happening today without tears... I wanna dance... I want to love everyonethats the purpose of my life... I do not want wars, no borders.

Multiple Vladimir Putin adversaries have died after falling from windows. The term Sudden Russian Death Syndrome was born after many notable Russian figureheads who have spoken out against Putins reign died in puzzling ways. One of the most common causes of the deaths are window falls.

Some two dozen notable Russians have died in 2022 in mysterious ways, wrote The Atlantic in 2022. After all, this is what the Kremlin does. There is precedent for this phenomenon."

Notable deaths include Pavel Antov, who fell from a window at an Indian hotel two days after his Russian travel companion died (at the same hotel); Putin critic Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned; and Russian defense official Marina Yankina, who fell 160 feet and died in St. Petersburg in 2023.

Shklyarov, meanwhile, worked at the Mariinsky Theater as a principal dancer, the highest ranking position.

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It is with profound sadness that the Mariinsky Theatre announces the untimely passing of principal dancer Vladimir Shklyarov. Mr Shklyarov, a beloved artist and audience favourite, died tragically on 16 November, wrote the theater on their website. His loss is deeply felt by the entire Mariinsky family and the wider ballet world.

Shklyarov, 39, was married to Maria Shirinkina, another dancer at the theater. The pair had a son and daughter.

Under his last Instagram post from Nov. 4, fans from across the world mourned the loss of the dancer.

My dream was to visit Saint Petersburg one day and see his performance there, wrote one commenter.

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Im truly heartbroken - most terrifying news, wrote another. One of the most beautiful dancers of our time.

The American Ballet Theatre also took to Instagram to commemorate the star.

Today, we mourn the tragic loss of Vladimir Shklyarov, an extraordinary artist whose grace and passion inspired audiences worldwide, wrote the organization. Rest in peace, Vladimir. Your light will continue to shine through the beauty you brought to this world.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  The Kremlin warned Monday that President Joe Bidens decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with U.S.-supplied longer-range missiles adds fuel to the fire of the war and would escalate international tensions even higher.

Bidens shift in policy added an uncertain, new factor to the conflict on the eve of the 1,000-day milestone since Russia began its full-scale invasion in 2022.

It also came as a Russian ballistic missile with cluster munitions struck a residential area of Sumy in northern Ukraine, killing 11 people and injuring 84 others. Another missile barrage sparked apartment fires in the southern port of Odesa, killing at least 10 people and injuring 43, Ukraines Interior Ministry said.

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Washington is easing limits on what Ukraine can strike with its American-made Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMs, U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Sunday, after months of ruling out such a move over fears of escalating the conflict and bringing about a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.

The Kremlin was swift in its condemnation.

It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps, and they have been talking about this, to continue adding fuel to the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia went further at a U.N. Security Council meeting marking 1,000 days of war, saying Moscow is astounded that the leaders of Britain and France "are eager to play into the hands of the exiting administration and are dragging not just their countries but the entire Europe into large-scale escalation with drastic consequences."

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The scope of the new firing guidelines isnt clear. But the change came after the U.S., South Korea and NATO said North Korean troops are in Russia and apparently are being deployed to help Moscow drive Ukrainian troops from Russias Kursk border region.

Bidens decision almost entirely was triggered by North Korea's entry into the fight, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, and was made just before he left for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.

Russia also is slowly pushing Ukraines outnumbered army backward in the eastern Donetsk region. It has also conducted a devastating aerial campaign against civilian areas in Ukraine.

Peskov referred journalists to a statement from President Vladimir Putin in September in which he said allowing Ukraine to target Russia would significantly raise the stakes.

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It would change the very nature of the conflict dramatically, Putin said at the time. This will mean that NATO countries  the United States and European countries  are at war with Russia.

Peskov claimed that Western countries supplying longer-range weapons also provide targeting services to Kyiv. This fundamentally changes the modality of their involvement in the conflict, he said.

Putin warned in June that Moscow could provide longer-range weapons to others to strike Western targets if NATO allowed Ukraine to use its allies' arms to attack Russian territory. After signing a treaty with North Korea, Putin issued an explicit threat to provide weapons to Pyongyang, noting Moscow could mirror Western arguments that its up to Ukraine to decide how to use them.

The Westerners supply weapons to Ukraine and say: We do not control anything here anymore and it does not matter how they are used," Putin has said. "Well, we can also say: We supplied something to someone  and then we do not control anything. And let them think about it.

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Putin has also reaffirmed Moscows readiness to use nuclear weapons if it sees a threat to its sovereignty.

Biden's move will mean the direct involvement of the United States and its satellites in military action against Russia, as well as a radical change in the essence and nature of the conflict, Russia's Foreign Ministry said.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office Jan. 20, has raised uncertainty about whether his administration would continue military support to Ukraine. He has also vowed to end the war quickly.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a muted response Sunday to the approval that he and his government have request for over a year, adding: "The missiles will speak for themselves.

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The longer Ukraine can strike, the shorter the war will be, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Monday before the U.N. Security Council meeting marking the 1,000th-day milestone.

Asked whether the United Kingdom would follow the United States in authorizing use of its longer-range missiles, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who chaired the meeting, declined to comment. He said doing so would risk operational security and can only play into the hands of Putin.

France's U.N. Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere, whose country has also given Ukraine longer-range missiles, told the Security Council without directly saying what his country will do that The right of Ukraine to its legitimate defense includes the possibility of striking military targets involved in operations aimed at the territory.

Ukraine's Sybiha said a green light from the U.S. to use longer-range missiles against Russia could be a game changer, but others are less certain.

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ATACMS, which have a range of about 300 kilometers (190 miles), can reach far behind the about 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line in Ukraine, but they have relatively short range compared with other types of ballistic and cruise missiles.

The policy change came too late to have a major strategic effect, said Patrick Bury, a senior associate professor in security at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom.

The ultimate kind of impact it will have is to probably slow down the tempo of the Russian offensives which are now happening, he said, adding that Ukraine could strike targets in Kursk or logistics hubs or command headquarters.

Jennifer Kavanagh, director of military analysis at Defense Priorities, agreed the U.S. move would not alter the war's course, noting Ukraine "would need large stockpiles of ATACMS, which it doesnt have and wont receive because the United States own supplies are limited.

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On a political level, the move is a boost to the Ukrainians and it gives them a window of opportunity to try and show that they are still viable and worth supporting as Trump prepares to take office, said Matthew Savill, director of Military Sciences at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

The cue for the policy change was the arrival in Russia of North Korean troops, according to Glib Voloskyi, an analyst at the CBA Initiatives Center, a Kyiv-based think tank.

This is a signal the Biden administration is sending to North Korea and Russia, indicating that the decision to involve North Korean units has crossed a red line, he said.

Russian lawmakers and state media bashed the West for what they called an escalatory step, threatening a harsh response.

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Biden, apparently, decided to end his presidential term and go down in history as Bloody Joe, lawmaker Leonid Slutsky told Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, deputy head of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of parliament, called it "a very big step toward the start of World War III and an attempt to reduce the degree of freedom for Trump.

Russian newspapers offered similar predictions of doom. The madmen who are drawing NATO into a direct conflict with our country may soon be in great pain, Rossiyskaya Gazeta said.

Some NATO allies welcomed the move.

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President Andrzej Duda of Poland, which borders Ukraine, praised the decision as a very important, maybe even a breakthrough moment in the war.

In the recent days, we have seen the decisive intensification of Russian attacks on Ukraine, above all, those missile attacks where civilian objects are attacked, where people are killed, ordinary Ukrainians, Duda said.

Easing restrictions on Ukraine was a good thing, said Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna of Russian neighbor Estonia.

We have been saying that from the beginning  that no restrictions must be put on the military support, he told senior European Union diplomats in Brussels. And we need to understand that situation is more serious (than) it was even maybe like a couple of months ago.

But Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, known for his pro-Russian views, described Bidens decision as an unprecedented escalation that would prolong the war.

___

Associated Press reporters Matthew Lee in Washington, Lorne Cook in Brussels, Danica Kirka in London, Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Karel Janicek in Prague, Czech Republic, contributed to this report.

___

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
The News

A massive China-Russia natural gas pipeline was completed, Chinese state media reported Monday, suggesting that Russian gas could begin powering Shanghai by the end of the year. Moscow is now largely reliant on the Chinese market for its gas exports after Europe blocked imports over the Ukraine invasion, but efforts to build a separate pipeline stalled earlier this year over price disagreements. China is already getting discounted Russian natural gas and supplies through the completed pipeline will continue at a significant discount, according to a Jamestown Foundation expert.

The war in Ukraine has deepened Moscows economic dependence on Beijing, and Russia is showing signs of becoming a subordinate economic partner to China rather than an equal.
(Reuters) - A Russian-installed governor in Crimea pledged revenge on Monday against the "terrorists" who killed a high-ranking captain in the Russian navy last week in a hit claimed by Ukrainian security services.

Valery Trankovsky, the chief of staff of the 41st brigade of Russia's missile ships in the Black Sea, died in a car bombing on Wednesday in the port of Sevastopol at the age of 47.

A source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told Reuters last week that Kyiv saw Trankovsky as a "legitimate" target in line with the laws of war because of "war crimes" he committed, including ordering missile attacks that hit civilian targets in Ukraine.

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Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, said those who ordered his death would pay a grave price.

"Non-humans, who dared to do this, await an obvious finale," Razvozhayev said in a Telegram post. "Because all terrorists have the same fate."

Russia's Investigative Committee, which handles probes into serious crimes, said in a statement on Wednesday that an improvised explosive device had detonated in an act of terrorism, killing a serviceman. It did not identify Trankovsky by name.

Trankovsky, a native of Soviet Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, studied radio electronics and subsequently entered the Black Sea Fleet, later graduating from a naval academy in his home city.

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Several pro-war Russian figures have been assassinated since the start of the Ukraine war in operations blamed by Moscow on Kyiv, including journalist Darya Dugina, war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky and former submarine commander Stanislav Rzhitsky.

The city of Sevastopol is the traditional headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet and it has been heavily targeted by Ukrainian strikes during the conflict.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou, Editing by William Maclean)
Colorado's second-highest court on Wednesday once again reminded prosecutors and trial judges to pay attention to the deadlines for crime victim restitution in state law, the latest in a series of decisions cracking down on deviations from the restitution process.
A Russian man has been extradited from South Korea to the US to face charges in connection with a ransomware gang that allegedly extorted more than $16 million from victims around the world, US prosecutors said Monday.

42-year-old Evgenii Ptitsyn is accused of administering the sale, distribution and operation of Phobos, a type of ransomware that has been used in more than 1,000 ransomware attacks on public and private organizations, the Justice Department said. Victims of the ransomware include government agencies, health care facilities and schools.

The news is a win for the FBI, which typically has to wait until alleged ransomware kingpins leave Russia to try to arrest them because the US and Russia do not have an extradition treaty. Last year, ransomware operatives using Phobos extorted a North Carolina-based childrens hospital for about $100,000, and a California-based public school system for about $300,000, according to the indictment.

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Ptitsyn faces wire and computer fraud conspiracy charges, among others. He made his initial court appearance in the District of Maryland on November 4, the Justice Department said. CNN is trying to locate a lawyer for Ptitsyn for comment.

Ptitsyn allegedly had a senior role in the Phobos ransomware group, overseeing a cryptocurrency wallet that collected payments from affiliates, or hackers who paid for access to the ransomware. The ransomware has been around since at least 2019, according to cybersecurity researchers.

The arrest of Ptitsyn is the latest example of an aggressive Justice Department effort to try to combat the scourge of ransomware, which has caused many millions of dollars in losses for American companies, schools and hospitals.

Cybercriminals extorted a record $1.1 billion in ransom payments from victim organizations around the world last year despite US government efforts to cut off their money flows, according to a report from crypto-tracking firm Chainalysis.

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Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Russian forces launched a ballistic missile attack against the port city of Odesa on Nov. 18, killing and injuring people.

Ten people have been reported killed, and 55 others injured, with 30 hospitalized. Three of the wounded remain in critical condition, according to Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper.

The fatalities included seven police officers, a medic, and two civilian residents.

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Among the injured were at least 14 law enforcement officers and four children, two of them aged 7, 10, and two 11-year-olds. Local authorities declared Nov. 19 a day of mourning in Odesa, Kiper said.

"Russia treacherously aimed a missile at a residential building, an area of business activity," Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov said on Telegram shortly after the attack.

Later on, Ukraine's Air Force clarified that Russia launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile around noon, which was downed by air defenses.

"Unfortunately, the downed missile fell into the residential sector of the city's Prymorskyi district," the statement read. Russia reportedly launched a reconnaissance Orlan drone at 11:45 a.m. local time, followed by the missile attack at 11:57 a.m.

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A parking lot, a residential building, a university, and an administrative building were damaged in the attack, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

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"After calls and meetings with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, after false media gossip about 'refraining' from strikes, Russia shows what it is really interested in: only war," Zelensky said.

The attack occurred shortly after Russia launched one of its largest mass strikes against Ukraine on Nov. 17 and deadly missile attacks against the city of Sumy overnight on Nov. 18.

Odesa, lying on the Black Sea coast in southern Ukraine, is home to some 1 million residents. The port city has been repeatedly targeted throughout the full-scale war.

Read also: Russian missile attacks on Sumy kill 11, injure 89

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By Andrew Osborn

(Reuters) - Investigators in Russia are looking into the death of Vladimir Shklyarov, a principal dancer at the world-famous Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg, after he fell from an apartment block balcony and died at the age of 39.

Police in St Petersburg, Russia's second city, say initial information suggests his fall, which was discovered early on Saturday morning, was the result of an accident, state media have reported.

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The Mariinsky said in a statement on Monday it would host a farewell ceremony for him on Thursday ahead of his funeral later that day and that members of the public were welcome to pay their respects to someone who was widely respected for his flair in executing the classical Russian ballet repertoire.

"He has forever inscribed his name in the history of world ballet," the Mariinsky said, noting he had been the recipient in 2020 of a top state award for his artistry and taken leading roles in numerous productions.

Shklyarov was famous outside Russia too, having danced at the Royal Ballet in London and at the Bavarian State Ballet in Munich.

Irina Bartnovskaya, who runs a Telegram channel focused on ballet called "The Devil in Ballet Shoes", was one of the first to publicise the death - part of which was captured on CCTV - on Saturday morning.

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"Volodya (Vladimir) was resting up at home, on painkillers and preparing for an... operation," she said.

"He went out onto the balcony to get some air and smoke, lost his balance (it's a very narrow balcony) and fell (from the fifth floor). It was a stupid unbearable accident.

"He loved life, his family, and adored his children and his audience."

Shklyarov was variously reported to be suffering from severe back, foot and hip pain.

The father of two young children was reportedly divorced from his ballerina wife Maria Shirinkina, a first soloist at the Mariinsky.

Some Kremlin critics highlighted what they said was a condemnation of the Ukraine war made by Shklyarov in 2022 and posted on Facebook by someone else. However, Shklyarov's own social media feed contains no such post and Reuters was unable to verify the authenticity of the post made in his name.

(Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by and Alex Richardson)
Experts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believe that Russian troops are likely to focus on capturing Ukrainian frontline cities in the winter of 2024-2025 and on urban battles, trying to offset the advantages of Ukrainian drones and possible limitations of Russian armoured vehicles.

Source: ISW

Details: Mikhail Zvinchuk, the Kremlin-recognised founder and director of the influential Rybar Telegram channel and social media project, stated in an interview with the Russian-language diaspora channel RTVI on 16 November that Russian forces intend to focus fighting in "populated areas and not in open fields" this winter.

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He claimed that Toretsk, Pokrovsk, and Kurakhove are towns where Russia plans to prioritise advances this winter. Zvinchuk noted that Russian forces are preparing to assault Pokrovsk and will approach it from the south and southeast, following their capture of Selydove (southeast of Pokrovsk).

As a notable figure in the Russian information space with Kremlin connections, Zvinchuk may have insider knowledge of Russias frontline objectives and strategy.

Quote: "Russian forces have recently made advances into eastern Kupiansk and central Chasiv Yar, and such advances may be part of a concerted effort to advance into frontline cities in preparation for offensive operations in Winter 2024-2025."

The ISW has previously assessed that capturing Kupiansk or Chasiv Yar would significantly reshape the frontline, jeopardising key Ukrainian defensive positions. While these advances increase the pressure on Ukrainian defences, they do not pose an immediate threat.

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Zvinchuk also emphasised that Russian forces aim to enhance their combat capabilities during this winter, particularly their drone capabilities, given the critical role of the "drone war" in winter warfare.

He acknowledged Russias artillery advantage but admitted that Ukrainian drone operations currently prevent significant advances. He suggested that better-trained and better-equipped Russian forces might counter Ukrainian drone operators more effectively.

ISW has previously noted efforts by the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) to centralise control over informal Russian drone units. Zvinchuks remarks likely allude to this initiative, hinting that the MoD may intensify these efforts in the winter.

ISW has also observed that Ukrainian drones continue to constrain Russian mechanised manoeuvres, preventing them from fully exploiting Ukraines challenges with manpower and resources.

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The Russian military command might favour urban combat for its infantry-led strategy, as multi-storey buildings provide better cover from Ukrainian drones compared to open terrain. Urban engagements may also reduce the strain on Russian armoured vehicle reserves, which are more vulnerable in prolonged rural field operations.

To quote the ISWs Key Takeaways on 17 November:

The New York Time* (NYT) and Washington Post reported that US President Joe Biden has authorised Ukrainian forces to use US-provided ATACMS in limited strikes against Russian and North Korean military targets within Kursk Oblast.

Russian forces damaged Ukrainian energy infrastructure during the largest missile and drone strike since August 2024 on the night of 16-17 November.

Russian forces continue to innovate their long-range strike packages and likely included relatively ineffective sea-launched Kalibr cruise missiles in the 16-17 November strike package as decoys to distract and exhaust Ukrainian air defences.

Ukrainian forces struck a defence industrial factory in the Udmurt Republic for the first time on the morning of 17 November.

North Korea reportedly continues to provide military support to Russia, including the provision of rocket and artillery systems and potential additional troop deployments, which is likely to impact Russia's military operations in the short term, but its long-term benefits likely remain limited.

Russian forces will likely focus on seizing frontline Ukrainian towns and cities during Winter 202425 through urban combat amid efforts to offset Ukrainian drone advantages and possible Russian armoured vehicle constraints.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin's maximalist objectives demanding full Ukrainian capitulation remain unchanged, but a prominent Kremlin-affiliated milblogger appears to be trying to repackage longstanding Kremlin territorial claims to southern Ukraine as less severe "peace proposals" that would actually militarily threaten Ukraine, Moldova, and NATO.

Abkhazian oppositionists continued protests on 17 November calling for the resignation of the de facto Abkhazian President Aslan Bzhania.

Russian forces recently advanced near Kupiansk, Chasiv Yar, Kurakhove and Vuhledar.

Russian milbloggers continued to applaud their reported role in removing frontline 3rd Combined Arms Army (CAA, formerly 2nd Luhansk People's Republic Army Corps [LNR AC]) commanders after the commanders submitted false reports about Russian advances on the Siversk front.

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Russian forces attacked the village of Tokarivka in the Kharkiv District on 18 November, injuring a man and a woman.

Source: Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office

Quote: "The investigation established that on 18 November, at around 16:00, Russian forces attacked the village of Tokarivka in the Kharkiv District. A 52-year-old man was injured."

Details: Later, it was reported that the number of injured had increased to two. A 59-year-old woman was taken to hospital with injuries.

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Russia could offer support to the Iran-backed Houthis as they menace key shipping lanes.

A senior US State Department official said Moscow is engaging with the rebels at a "serious level."

The official told BI that Russian assistance would be "a very strong concern."

Russia could decide to help the Houthis with their Red Sea attacks and is engaging with the Iran-backed rebels at a "serious level," a senior US State Department official said.

The Houthis have long received extensive support from Iran, including weapons and training, which the rebels have relied on over the past year to carry out attacks on military and civilian vessels transiting key Middle Eastern shipping lanes.

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But the State Department has grown increasingly concerned in recent months that the Houthis could be receiving assistance from another country: Russia, US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking told Business Insider in a recent interview.

"It does seem as though there is a fairly serious level of engagement happening," Lenderking said of the Houthis and Russia. "We are particularly concerned about the kind of equipment that would really enable the Houthis to be more accurate in their targeting of US and other ships in the region  that would enhance the Houthi capability to strike those targets."

Russian President Vladimir Putin exits his limousine as he arrives at Red Square in Moscow earlier this month. Contributor/Getty Images

Lenderking said the US has discussed the situation at "high levels" with Saudi Arabia, a partner nation that fought the Houthis for years, and with Russia as well. The relationship between Washington and Moscow has been fraught with tension since the latter invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The US has also made efforts to convey messages to the Houthis. Lenderking said that the Yemeni rebels appear to be determined to strike the American and European warships that have spent the past year defending merchant shipping from their relentless attacks.

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"The fact that the Russians might assist in this effort is diabolical," Lenderking said. "It's a very strong concern."

The full scope of Russian support for the Houthis is unclear. Some Western media reports suggest that Moscow has already provided the rebels with targeting data and small arms and was considering supplying them with missiles  a development that could significantly escalate the conflict.

The Houthis are known to have received help from outside of Yemen. A recent United Nations report found that the rebels have been getting weapons, training, technical assistance, and financial support from Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah, and armed Iraqi groups.

Newly affiliated Houthi fighters shout slogans while attending a demonstration against Israel and in solidarity with Palestinians in Yemen in October. Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images

Russia and Iran have increased their military ties since the start of the Ukraine war. Tehran has provided Moscow with lethal aid, including missiles and drones similar to what it has given the Houthis in previous years. Both countries have been isolated on the world stage over their malign actions and involvement in Ukraine.

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The Houthis have used their arsenal of missiles and drones over the past year to tirelessly carry out attacks on military and civilian vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, a campaign that the rebels claim is connected to the Israel-Hamas war.

American forces operating in the region in defense of the merchant shipping lanes are frequently tasked with intercepting Houthi threats. Just last week, for instance, two US Navy destroyers had to fend off a complex missile and drone attack.

The US also routinely carries out airstrikes in Yemen, targeting rebel missile systems, weapons storage facilities, and other sensitive sites in an effort to curb their ability to carry out the attacks.

Lenderking said that the Houthis still "maintain the ability to launch pretty aggressively at passing ships," but the US is committed to keeping shipping lanes open in the Red Sea.

Read the original article on Business Insider
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A mummified ice age cub from Siberia is the first known mummy of a saber-toothed cat, and its discovery is generating ripples of excitement among paleontologists. The mummys exceptional preservation provided the first view of what saber-toothed cats looked like. Written in its soft tissues are clues about where the cats muscles were bulkiest and how that may have shaped its hunting style.

Abundant fur and mummified flesh covered the partial corpse, and its face, forelimbs and torso were nearly intact, scientists reported Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. The cubs dark brown fur was short but very thick, measuring about 0.8 to 1.2 inches (20 to 30 millimeters) long. Its fur was also surprisingly soft, said lead study author Alexey V. Lopatin, full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow and chief researcher and director of the academys Borissiak Paleontological Institute.

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Its a fantastic feeling to see with your own eyes the life appearance of a long-extinct animal, Lopatin told CNN in an email. Especially when it comes to such an interesting predator as the sabre-toothed cat. These extinct carnivores, which are distant relatives of modern big cats, are known for their long, bladelike canines, which could measure up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) long.

The mummy is the first evidence from Asia of the saber-toothed cat species Homotherium latidens, Lopatin said, though fossilized bones were previously found at sites in the Netherlands and in the Canadian Yukon. Other types of frozen ice age mummies, such as woolly rhinos and mammoths, are known from the Siberian region of Yakutia in Russia.

But mummified cats, by comparison, are extremely rare, Lopatin said. Before this discovery, there were just two known cat mummies, both cubs of the cave lion Panthera spelaea from Yakutias Uyandina River basin.

Now, we have added the Homotherium cub to this list, Lopatin said. Extracting DNA from the mummy will be an important next step for understanding this species, as will more detailed examination of the mummys skeleton, muscles and hair, he added.

Images highlight the differences in external appearance of the heads of two 3-week-old cub specimens  the mummified Homotherium latidens (saber-toothed cat) at the top and Panthera leo (modern lion) below. - courtesy Prof. Alexey V. Lopatin

At a loss for words

Paleontologist Jack Tseng, who studies the anatomy of extinct mammals and was not involved in the discovery, was at a loss for words when he considered the treasure trove of information that could come out of this singular discovery, he told CNN.

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Its rare to find bones of this lineage in the first place, let alone soft tissue associated with it, said Tseng, an associate professor in the integrative biology department at the University of California, Berkeley. I dont know if other paleontologists minds are as blown as mine, but its like reality changes now that weve seen this.

The cub was preserved in permafrost near the Badyarikha River in the northeast of Yakutia, and Yakutian diggers found the mummy in 2020 while prospecting for mammoth tusks under the supervision of Yakutian paleontologists, Lopatin told CNN in an email. Radiocarbon dating revealed that the cub was at least 35,000 years old and lived during the latter part of the Pleistocene epoch (about 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago).

Preservation of the cubs forelimbs in particular was extraordinary, the study authors wrote. Its front paws even retained claws and the oval, fleshy pads on the underside of the paw that are fondly referred to as beans by admirers of modern cats.

Pictured here are the forepaws of 3-week-old large cubs. A, B and C reveal views of the mummified Homotherium latidens specimen: A is a thumb claw; B a second digit claw; and  a plantar view. D shows the plantar view of the right forepaw of a Panthera leo specimen. - courtesy Prof. Alexey V. Lopatin

Ancient cat origins

Along with the partial mummy, articulated bones of the cubs pelvis and hind limbs were also found locked in ice. Based on comparisons with lion cub anatomy and analysis of the mummified cubs incisor growth, scientists estimated that the cub was about 3 weeks old when it died.

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However, the mummy also showed that saber-toothed cubs differed dramatically from modern lion cubs of a similar age, Lopatin said. Its coat was darker, and its ears were smaller than those of lion cubs; it had longer forelimbs, a larger mouth opening and a more massive neck. The height of the mummys upper lip is more than twice that of a modern lion cubs, probably so its lip could cover the long upper canines once they grew in, according to Lopatin.

Its paw is also more circular than that of a lion cub; in fact, its shape more closely resembles the paw of a bear, Tseng added. Bears are known for using their powerful forearms to dig through trees and undergrowth for food; the size and shape of the mummified cubs paws and front limbs suggest that an adult Homotherium may have also relied on its forearms, perhaps using them to immobilize its kills, he said.

The idea about saber-toothed cats is that they had to have some sort of assistance from the rest of the body  that its not just a headfirst hunting technique, Tseng said. And the forearm has been one of the targets of research to think about. Are they buffer in their forearms compared to modern big cats of similar sizes, because they need a forearm to help stabilize their prey so that the saber can be put to use?

The new mummy findings reveal that saber-toothed cubs differed dramatically from modern lion cubs of a similar age. The image above highlights differences in the skulls of the mummifed Homotherium latidens (A, B) and Panthera leo (C, D) at 3 weeks old. - courtesy Prof. Alexey V. Lopatin

Until now, scientists have hypothesized about saber-toothed cat anatomy by scanning fossils and digitally modeling the animals muscles in 3D, but that doesnt compare to seeing one of those limbs in the flesh, Tseng said. I think it makes it seem more possible that these saber-tooths would have used their forearms.

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And its not just the anatomy of the Homotherium mummy that makes it so special  the discovery also provides a unique glimpse into the evolutionary history of the entire feline group, Tseng said. Prior genetic analysis of DNA from Homotherium fossils showed that the genus split from other ancient cats about 18 million years ago. Not only is the cub the sole mummified example of the Homotherium genus, it represents a part of that cat family tree that goes back almost to the origin of the cat family, he said.

That adds to the mind-blowingness of this discovery.

Mindy Weisberger is a science writer and media producer whose work has appeared in Live Science, Scientific American and How It Works magazine.

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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)  The Buffalo Sabres are hosting their annual Thanksgiving turkey drive on Wednesday, Nov. 20.

The event will take place from 7-9 a.m. at three locations:

KeyBank Center Surface Lot (Enter from Baltimore Street, via Perry Street)

Tops Friendly Markets in Tonawanda (890 Young St., Tonawanda)

Tops Friendly Markets in West Seneca (355 Orchard Park Rd., West Seneca)

Fans can receive one voucher for two tickets to an upcoming Sabres home game by donating a 20-pound turkey. There is a maximum of one voucher per person. The vouchers will be issued immediately following a donation at any of the drop-off locations.

Vouchers will include tickets to the following home games:

Tuesday, Dec. 3 vs. Colorado Avalanche

Thursday, Dec. 5 vs. Winnipeg Jets

Monday, Dec. 9 vs. Detroit Red Wings

Wednesday, Dec. 11 vs. New York Rangers

Monday, Jan. 6 vs. Washington Capitals

Wednesday, Jan. 15 vs. Carolina Hurricanes

Tuesday, Feb. 4 vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

Tuesday, Feb. 25 vs. Anaheim Ducks

Donated turkeys will go to the Buffalo City Mission and FeedMore WNY.

Latest Local News

***

Mark Ludwiczak joined the News 4 team in 2024. He is a veteran journalist with two decades of experience in Buffalo. You can follow him online at @marklud12.

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.
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics' roundup of news from the third branch of government.
Forget the political appointments of Donald Trump and the scandals in the Church of England. To me the most remarkable event of the week  the most consequential, as people now like to say  was the addition of St Isaac of Nineveh to the Roman Martyrology.

This is to do with life and death, belief and salvation. Of course, St Isaac is obscure to us. He lived in the seventh century, overlapping with our St Bede, and wrote in Syriac, a language closely related to that spoken by Jesus Christ. He went off into the desert rather than exercise authority as the Bishop of Nineveh.

All Christianity is oriental in origin. St Peter himself spoke Aramaic. Most old churches in the Middle East have been brought close to ruin by wars, and none has suffered more than the Assyrian Church of the East, which claims St Isaac as a great saint.

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To make matters worse, the Assyrian Church has been characterised as Nestorian  guilty of believing false doctrines about the divinity and humanity of Jesus. In an act of friendliness during a visit on November 9 by Mar Awa III, the Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church, Pope Francis announced the addition of St Isaac to the Roman Martyrology. The Martyrology lists Catholic saints, not just martyrs.

At their meeting, the Pope emphasised the common faith of the Assyrian Church and the Roman Catholic Church. He was not just improvising. In 1994 a Common Christological Declaration was agreed by the churches. It expresses a thorough faith in Jesus as God and man.

In 2021, the present Pope, already 84 and finding it hard to walk, went to Erbil during a visit to Iraq. The Assyrian Church has its headquarters at Erbil, in the Kurdish region. The Pope said Mass for 10,000 there. Our martyrs shine together like stars in the same sky, he said then. From there they call us to walk together, without hesitation, towards the fullness of unity.

Pope Francis has often spoken of what he called the ecumenism of martyrdom: In some countries they kill Christians for wearing a cross or having a Bible; and before they kill them they do not ask them whether they are Anglican, Lutheran, Catholic, or Orthodox.

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At the same time, like Mar Awa, he insists on sharing the same faith, handed down by the Apostles. In practical terms, the Assyrian Church and the Chaldean Catholic Church (which has long formally declared its communion with the Bishop of Rome) have arranged in some circumstances to share the Eucharist, the central act of Christianity, which provides living unity between local churches.

The Assyrians, like the Chaldeans, have an ancient liturgy named after Saints Addai and Mari, followers of St Thomas the Apostle. With its peculiarities it has been fully recognised by Rome.

Mar Awa III, to whom the Pope played host, is from Chicago. The Assyrian church has been so tossed by storms (genocide during the First World War, a massacre in 1933 that sent the Patriarch as a refugee to Cyprus, then America) that it has relied on its diaspora for continuity. Its communities in Syria and Iraq were assailed by war and persecution by Isis. The St Isaac of Nineveh Monastery is now active in Salida, California, 60 miles from San Francisco.

Unity between the Assyrians, Chaldeans and Roman Catholics is no walk in the park. Attempts have succeeded and foundered for the past five centuries. Though the number of Assyrians is fewer than 400,000 now, their culture and practice benefit the universal Church.

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56)  Several holiday traditions span the U.S. from coast to coast.

One of those is the Salvation Armys Red Kettle Campaign, which is back in full swing, including right here in central Kentucky.

If you asked someone to say the first thing that came to mind when they think of the Salvation Army, chances are theyd say the Red Kettle Campaign.

Its a tradition that has been helping Americans during the holidays since 1891.

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The campaign is the largest annual fundraiser put on by the Salvation Army every year. This year, the goal for the organization is to raise $150,000 in Lexington-Fayette County.

That money stays local, meaning if you put $10 in a kettle in Lexington, it will go toward helping people in the city who lean on the Salvation Army.

LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS:

Kendall Anderson, Community Relations & Development Coordinator for the Salvation Army here in central Kentucky, said if youre interested in donating, give whats meaningful to you.

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This could be in dollar amounts or in time.

That is another great way to help us fuel our mission is by helping, Anderson explained. Come on out and ring; bring your family, your friends, your coworkers. If youre musical, have at it. You know, we welcome all kinds of fun and festivity.

As mentioned, everything that gets donated during the campaign stays in the community you donated it to.

Whether it be in a physical red kettle or online, it directly impacts the people in your community who need help this time of year.

Anderson said they call it Love Beyond Christmas at the Salvation Army because the money raised will go toward events and initiatives the organization hosts year-round.

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Read more of the latest Lexington & central Kentucky news

Its been six months of planning to make sure everything goes off without a hitch, from setting up the 34+ kettle locations across Fayette, Jessamine, and Scott counties, to getting volunteers ready to go and much more.

Anderson describes seeing the fruits of their labor pay off year after year as truly special.

It is waking up every morning of the holiday season, knowing that through volunteer efforts, through your professional efforts, whatever it may be, that youre getting up and youre making a difference in the life of someone else, Anderson detailed. You never know where the road may lead you. You never know when you or someone that you love may need assistance. So, I think for me personally, at the conclusion of the kettle campaign, it is a great part of the Christmas season.

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Anderson also said the campaign speaks a lot to the Salvation Armys values of community, family, faith, and hope that people will support one another whenever they may need it.

Read more of the latest Kentucky news

You have until Christmas Eve to donate to this years Red Kettle Campaign.

You can find that information here if youre interested in donating or volunteering, you can find that information here.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News.
Sam Altman has been tapped to cochair the transition team for San Francisco's mayor-elect.

The OpenAI CEO will advise Daniel Lurie as he looks to tackle SF's drug and homelessness issues.

Altman has given thousands to Democrats this campaign cycle.

Sam Altman is the latest tech exec to get a seat at the political table.

The OpenAI cofounder and CEO is cochairing the transition team for San Francisco mayor-elect Daniel Lurie, Lurie announced Monday. The other cochairs include alums from local government and nonprofits, as well as Ned Segal, Lurie's campaign cochair and Twitter's former CFO.

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"I'm excited to help the city I love, and where OpenAI was started, as it begins its next chapter with Mayor-elect Lurie stepping into his new role," Altman said in a statement to Business Insider.

A spokesperson for OpenAI declined to provide further detail about the position and whether Altman could be assigned a role in Lurie's administration. Representatives for Lurie did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. According to San Francisco's campaign finance database, Altman donated $500 to current San Francisco mayor London Breed in 2018.

"I look forward to leaning on them in the days to come as we get ready to tackle some of our biggest challenges, including public safety, making sure we tackle that behavioral health crisis that we see every single day on our streets, making sure we get more housing built, making sure that we streamline the bureaucracy so that once again city hall is working for you," Lurie said in the announcement.

Crime, drug use, and homelessness were key issues in the election. Positioned as a more moderate Democrat, Lurie beat incumbent Breed. The heir to the Levi Strauss fortune spent over $8 million on his campaign and painted himself as a "political outsider," having previously founded and run Tipping Point, a nonprofit fighting poverty in the Bay Area.

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Lurie received support from many in the Silicon Valley tech community, including six-figure donations from WhatsApp cofounder Jan Koum and investors Jonathan Gans and Oleg Nodelman, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Maintaining San Francisco's place as the center of the tech world was a part of Lurie's campaign.

"We are going to make sure that we remain the home of AI and that we welcome entrepreneurs and innovators of all shapes and sizes back to San Francisco," he told The Information following his victory.

"Sam Altman is one of the most important figures on the planet right now," he added. "We should embrace that. We need to get him to embrace San Francisco."

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Altman gave thousands to support Democrats in federal races this campaign cycle, according to OpenSecrets. BI could not find any contributions from Altman to San Francisco mayoral candidates during this election.

The OpenAI chief is not the only tech executive to get into politics this year.

Elon Musk has been tapped to run president-elect Donald Trump's "Department of Government Efficiency" alongside pharma entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. The new department will advise the administration on budget cuts and restructuring.

Read the original article on Business Insider
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  Dozens of San Diegans gathered as part of the global movement called World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

A vigil held in University Heights honored the 258 lives lost in traffic crashes in San Diego County in 2023, and 46 of them were people under the age of 21. Each life was represented by a pair of shoes.

Together we can ensure no other family suffers the pain of losing a loved one, said Katie Gordon, who lost her husband Jason when he was struck by a drunk hit-and run-driver while he crossed the street at Market and 19th Street.

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Jason has been cheated out of life, Gordon said.

The vigil was hosted by Families for Safe Streets San Diego, an advocacy organization fighting for local lawmakers to make city streets safer, especially for pedestrians and bicyclists.

Laura Keenan, co-founder of the organization, lost her husband when he was hit by a car while he biked to the movies. Shes urging city leaders to fix whats called the Fatal 15, the cities most dangerous intersections. Many are located in Mira Mesa, Rolando and Clairemont Mesa.

The second is to implement AB 43 to reduce speed limits in school zones, Keenan added.

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The message is most definitely we need safer streets in San Diego and accommodations and safety for bikers and pedestrians, said David Carvalho, whose 14-year-old son Caleb miraculously survived a crash.

I was riding my bike to school and a trash truck crossed in front of me. I got pulled under and it ran me over. I had multiple pelvic fractures resulting in three surgeries, Caleb said.

These deaths dont have to happen. This is someones parent, someones kid thats never coming home again. And it doesnt have to be that way, Keenan 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 FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
Tropical Storm Sara has finally dissipated, after bringing up to 40 inches of rain to Honduras, but the storm could bring some tropical moisture to Florida and the northern Gulf Coast.

The National Hurricane Center issued its last advisory on Sara at 3 a.m. CST, although it warned additional rainfall is expected over northern Honduras.

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While what's left of Sara isn't expected to strengthen, environmental conditions could bring heavy rainfall to Florida and the northern Gulf Coast over the next few days, both the Hurricane Center and AccuWeather forecasters said.

Elsewhere in the tropics, conditions are quiet, with nothing expected over the next seven days.

Twelve days remain until the official end of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season on Nov. 30.

Here's the latest update from the NHC as of 7 a.m., Monday, Nov. 18:

Former Tropical Storm Sara

At 3 a.m. CST, the National Hurricane Center issued its last advisory on former Tropical Storm Sara as the system dissipated southwest of Campeche, Mexico.

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Location: 80 miles southwest of Campeche, Mexico

Maximum sustained winds: 30 mph

Movement: northwest at 13 mph

Impacts continue: Additional rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches are expected over northern Honduras, with storm total amounts locally as high as 40 inches. The risk of catastrophic and life-threatening flooding impacts will continue, especially along and near the Sierra La Esperanza.Across portions of Belize, El Salvador, eastern Guatemala, western Nicaragua, and the Mexican State of Quintana Roo, the remnants of Sara are expected to produce an additional 3 to 5 inches of rain with localized storm totals around 15 inches. This will result in areas of flash flooding, perhaps significant, along with the potential of mudslides.

Florida impacts expected from 'Tropical Rainstorm Sara'

On Monday, Nov. 18, Sara moved into the Gulf of Mexico as a tropical rainstorm, according to AccuWeather.

A cold front moving east across the U.S. is expected to draw some of Sara's moisture northward, increasing rain chances along the Gulf Coast, AccuWeather said. Landfall in Florida is likely on Wednesday morning as a tropical rainstorm.

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"Look for a line of heavy rain and storms to move east across the Panhandle late Tuesday or early Wednesday, and continue to advance south and east across the Florida peninsula during the day on Wednesday," said Dr. Ryan Truchelut, chief meteorologist with WeatherTiger. Truchelut is a Florida meteorologist who works with the USA TODAY Network.

"Tropical Rainstorm Sara can bring flooding downpours to the northern Gulf Coast Monday night through Tuesday night, with a wide swath of 2-4 inches from eastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle," said AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva. Some areas could see up to 12 inches.

"Winds can occasionally gust to 40-60 mph, with the highest wind gusts likely to be confined to the coast and coinciding with any heavier downpours," DaSilva said.

"The spin associated with Sara could produce a few isolated tornadoes," he added.

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"As the cold front makes its way across Florida and interacts with Sara, there may even be the risk of a few severe thunderstorms. The most likely location for any severe weather would be across the Florida Peninsula," according to AccuWeather.

Quick view of expected impacts from 'Tropical Rainstorm Sara' in Florida, along Gulf Coast

Environmental conditions could help bring rain and wind associated with former Tropical Storm Sara to the northern Gulf Coast and Florida.

Rain : 2-4 inches. Up to 12 inches in some locations.

Wind : Gusts 40-60 mph

Tornadoes : Isolated tornadoes possible

Rip currents: Dangerous rip currents along Gulf Coast Monday through Wednesday.

What else is out there and how likely are they to strengthen?

There currently are no systems in the Atlantic basin, with the exception of the remnants of former Tropical Storm Sara.

The Atlantic basin consists of the northern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

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Hurricanes in November: How many hurricanes have hit Florida in November? Warm oceans are increasing the odds

Countdown clock: When will hurricane season end?

The official Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, although tropical systems can develop at any time.

The Atlantic basin includes the northern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

Will Florida, US see another hurricane, tropical storm this year?

While a tropical or subtropical storm in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean is possible into early December, any U.S. impacts from additional tropical storms or hurricanes are highly unlikely for the rest of the year, DaSilva said.

As the cold front moves across Florida, it will "finally put an end to any further risk of tropical activity threatening the continental U.S. this year," Truchelut said.

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"That will usher in temps with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s for north and central Florida  the first taste of Florida winter after a summery fall."

Weather watches and warnings issued in Florida

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Tropical Storm Sara Florida impacts
Former Tropical Storm Sara continues to weaken as it moves through Central America after being downgraded to a tropical depression Sunday morning. In its wake, Honduras saw tremendous amounts of rain that is still causing life-threatening conditions.

As of the 4 p.m. advisory, Sara was a weakening tropical depression straddling the area between Mexico and Guatemala, according to the National Hurricane Center. The system is expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico in the next day but will dissipate at that point.

Saras remnants will contain a moisture plume that is anticipated to increase rain amounts along the U.S. Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, forecasters said. Some areas are predicted to see a slight risk of excessive rainfall.

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Sara made landfall in Belize as a tropical storm earlier Sunday before it drenched Honduras and surrounding Central American countries.

Data from Honduras government show more than 40 inches of rain fell in some parts of the country. While the heavy rains are winding down, the risk of catastrophic flooding still continues.

In addition, across Belize, El Salvador, eastern Guatemala, western Nicaragua and the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, rain will continue to cause significant and life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides.

There are no active watches or warnings as Sara reaches its final days.
While Tropical Storm Sara has dissipated off the coast of northern Honduras, forecasters warned Monday that hazards from remnants of the storm were not over for the Gulf Coast.

Sara is expected to bring flooding rainfall up to 12 inches, whipping winds that could reach 60 miles per hour, scary rip currents, potential tornadoes, and thunderstorms for Florida and other Gulf Coast states.

The media forecasting company AccuWeather said the tropical rainstorms landfall in Florida is likely by Wednesday morning, warning that the most likely location for severe weather is across the Florida Peninsula.

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Sara will track northward on Monday, moving into the Gulf of Mexico. AccuWeather said moisture from the storm will bring heavy rain to the region.

Tropical Rainstorm Sara can bring flooding downpours to the northern Gulf Coast Monday night through Tuesday night, with a wide swath of two to four inches from eastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said in a statement.

An aerial view of the Suyapa neighborhood, partially flooded after Tropical Storm Sara, in Potrerillos, Honduras, over the weekend. Sara, which has dissipated, is moving toward the Gulf of Mexico. ((AP Photo/Moises Castillo))

As Sara shifts toward the northeast, it will also bring strong winds.

Winds can occasionally gust to 40-60 mph, with the highest wind gusts likely to be confined to the coast and coinciding with any heavier downpours, DaSilva said.

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Isolated tornadoes are also possible alongside thunderstorms and higher wind gusts.

A worker stands alongside an overflowing river flooded by rains brought on by Tropical Storm Sara in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, last weekend. Honduras could see even more flooding on Monday. The Gulf Coast of the US could also feel the storm later in the week ((AP Photo/Moises Castillo))

Da Silva noted that there will also be a dangerous rip current risk along the Gulf Coast from Monday through Wednesday. Rafael, the previous named storm, brought similar conditions to Texas and Florida a week ago.

The system is also expected to bring up to three more inches of rain to Honduras on Monday, which saw major flooding over the weekend that trapped people in their homes and washed away roads. Sara had stalled there, slowly moving inland and dumping more than 40 inches of rain at some locations.

Other parts of Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and the Mexican State of Quintana Roo could see as many as five inches of rain.

The storm was initially expected to strengthen into a hurricane, but that forecast quickly altered as it moved west in the western Caribbean Sea. Sara weakened after it made landfall in Honduras and Belize.
From left, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, and House Majority Leader David Hiott, R-Pickens, talk to reporters on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, after the House gave final approval to its $13.2 billion budget proposal. (Skylar Laird/SC Daily Gazette)

COLUMBIA  Returning to the Statehouse with a supermajority in the House and Senate, Republicans are hopeful to easily pass priorities such as cutting taxes and restoring school choice vouchers, leaders said.

However, questions remain about the details and debates in 2025, which will feature the first supermajority in the Senate since Reconstruction. Republicans in that chamber have not yet set their caucus priorities, said Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield.

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Were in uncharted waters now in South Carolina, said assistant House Minority Leader Roger Kirby, D-Lake City. We dont know what to expect, quite frankly.

In the House, a top priority for the majority GOP caucus is historic tax cuts, which could have widespread support from both House Democrats and the hardline conservative Freedom Caucus.

However, that all depends on the actual plan, which leaders have not yet laid out.

As for school choice, Republicans in both chambers want to reinstate taxpayer-funded aid for private tuition after the state Supreme Court threw out that part of last years school choice law as unconstitutional.

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But there could be disagreement among Republicans on how to respond to that ruling. And Democrats will likely continue fighting efforts to help parents pay for private K-12 schools  as they have for two decades. However, Democrats wont be able to sway that debate on their own, as the election reduced their ability to block anything going forward.

And its unclear whether legislators will attempt a stricter ban on abortions in 2025. A law that took effect in August 2023 banned abortions past six weeks gestation, with limited exceptions.

The House Freedom Caucus, whose ranks are still unclear, will push for a ban from conception, said Rep. Jordan Pace, a Goose Creek Republican who leads the caucus.

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But the majority GOP caucus doesnt want to waste time leading that fight.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in 2022, the South Carolina House has repeatedly passed bills banning abortions from the outset of a pregnancy, which senators blocked. Rather than get into yet another stalemate with the Senate, the House will wait on the Senate to act before taking that up, said House Majority Leader Davey Hiott, R-Pickens.

But he does expect an abortion debate eventually.

I believe that when it comes to defending being a pro-life state, we are 100% pro-life, Hiott said. So, I believe youre going to see that again.

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How much dissent the majority Republican caucus will receive from the Freedom Caucus is up in the air. The caucus has spent the past two years warring with their Republican colleagues, trying to push them further right.

Its unclear whether their ranks will include Rep. RJ May, a Lexington County Republican who founded the caucus in 2022 and served as its de facto spokesman. He could be indicted on criminal charges after federal law enforcement seized multiple electronic devices from his home.

Asked by reporters about Mays status with the caucus, Pace said only that May remains a member of the House, so theres no reason to exclude him.

All 13 Freedom Caucus members who ran for re-election kept their seats, and several more either ousted more moderate incumbent Republicans or won open races, Pace pointed out. He hopes that will increase the groups pull with House Republican leadership, he said.

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By all accounts, I think were succeeding, Pace told reporters at a news conference.

However, he could not give an exact tally of the caucus membership. There were 17 members last year; four did not seek re-election.

Despite its small size, the Freedom Caucus made waves through floor debates and procedural motions. The uber-conservative group counted it a major success in running out the clock on several bills, blocking compromises in the closing minutes of the session in May. That included legislation to merge six agencies in an overhaul of the public health system.

House Republican leadership plans to revive that proposal, or at least something similar, this session, Hiott said.

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Obviously, the No. 1 principle of the Republican platform is to consolidate and make government smaller, so I dont understand why Republicans would be against that, but well see where that leads us, Hiott said.

School choice

House Republicans plan to rewrite the law creating taxpayer-funded scholarships for K-12 students for private school tuition, in the hopes that the state Supreme Court will this time find it constitutional, said House Speaker Murrell Smith, R-Sumter.

I think there were some avenues in school choice to which we can put that matter up before the court again, Smith said.

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The high court struck down that component of the Legislatures 2023 law, which provided $6,000 scholarships for eligible students. The rest of the program remains in place, allowing the quarterly payments to be used for other expenses such as tutoring.

The state Supreme Court gutted the purpose of the law by ruling the private tuition payments violated the state constitutions ban on public money directly benefiting private education. But the makeup of the court has changed since then, potentially meaning a different outcome for legislators.

Some Democrats in the House might support another proposal, but its unlikely they would get behind a rewrite of the same law, Kirby said.

It still doesnt change the primary underlying argument that theyre not constitutional, Kirby said.

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As for the Freedom Caucus, it advocated Thursday for a different way to help parents with tuition. Providing tax credits to refund parents is a more legally sound option, Pace said. A similar program limited to students with disabilities has never been challenged.

But the Freedom Caucus would also be fine with an all-of-the-above approach, including revisiting the original law, Pace said.

Taxes

One thing that legislators across the political spectrum might agree on is tax reform. Thats the Republican caucus No. 1 priority going into the session, Hiott and Smith said.

What that looks like is still up in the air, they said.

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We have all decreed that tax relief is our priority, Smith said. I think that theres a commitment and theres a will in our body.

Among states with income taxes, South Carolina has one of the lowest effective tax rates nationally because of the way its taxes are structured, as well as generous exemptions and deductions. Nearly 45% of tax filers in South Carolina pay zero state income tax, while the wealthiest 10% pay 65% of all state income taxes collected, according to the state Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office.

Democrats can get behind tax relief, especially for small businesses, Kirby said.

After all, the Legislature unanimously passed a $1 billion phased-in tax cut in 2022 after Democrats worked with Republicans to ensure the tax breaks covered lower-wage earners. This years budget accelerated that process, doubling the scheduled reduction to $200 million.

Support among Democrats in the House will depend on the actual proposal and the numbers behind it, Kirby said. As the states population grows, the state has to be able to keep up with more people using taxpayer-funded services, he said.

The devils always in the details, right? Kirby said.

And the Freedom Caucus wants more cuts, faster. As proponents of significantly reducing government spending, Freedom Caucus members called for House Republicans to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the state budget to further reduce taxes.
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  A scam call is targeting the accounts of Wright-Patt Credit Union members.

According to a notification issued to members the alert targets credit card accounts specifically.

Members receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from Wright-Patt Credit Union or a trusted third party vendor. The caller then tells the customer that fraudulent activity has taken place with their credit card. The caller then asks the customer for their credit card, account and/or personal information.

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Man reportedly shows gun, demands cash at Dollar General: authorities

The credit union advises that members avoid providing any such information. The credit union or its third party vendors will never reach out by phone, text or email for financial information.

If your account is suspected to be breached, you will receive a call from an automated assistant who will ask you to verify your zip code and recent transactions that it will read off to you. You will not be asked for any other personal information besides your zip code. The call will not ask for your financial information.

For more information about fraud protection at Wright-Patt Credit Union, click here.

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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 WDTN.com.
The Colorado Supreme Court will incorporate an unorthodox twist into its oral argument calendar this week, hearing five cases that all revolve around the same subject: Was the court serious when it said three years ago that judges who do not follow the law lose their authority to order criminal defendants to pay restitution?
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday that he plans to discuss the issue of arms deliveries to Russia with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the fringes of the G20 summit.

"It is always a topic of my talks to warn everyone against supplying lethal weapons to Russia. And that is why this will also be the case in the future, a central topic," Scholz said at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro when asked whether he would address the alleged delivery of Chinese drones to Russia at his meeting with Xi, which is scheduled for Tuesday.

Scholz added that he has also always made a point of addressing the export of so-called dual-use goods to Russia, which can be used for both military and civilian purposes, at such meetings. He will continue to do so.

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The deployment of North Korean troops to Russia as part of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine will also be discussed, he said: "This is unacceptable and is, moreover, a terrible change."

According to Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, the German government believes that China is supporting Russia with drones.

"This must and will have consequences," Baerbock said on Monday while attending a meeting of foreign ministers from EU countries in Brussels.

She made it clear that China would have to expect a similar response as the new EU sanctions recently imposed on Iran due to missile and drone deliveries to Russia.

The EU sanctions affect two Iranian ports on the Caspian Sea, among other measures.
Follow the latest Ukraine updates

Olaf Scholz is still refusing to send Germanys long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, despite the US allowing Kyiv limited use of its Atacms missiles for strikes in Russia.

The German chancellor told a press conference at the G20 summit in Brazil on Monday that it was only possible for Ukraine to use Taurus missiles if we take joint responsibility for target control.

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That is something that I cannot be responsible for, and dont want to be responsible for, Mr Scholz explained.

Mr Scholz has strongly opposed sending Germanys Taurus missiles to Ukraine for fear of escalation if Ukraine hits politically sensitive targets with German-made weapons.

He has also repeatedly said the missiles could only be used with German help.

The chancellors decision is unchanged, a government spokesman told reporters in Berlin on Monday.

Robert Habeck, Germanys economic minister and the Green candidate for chancellor, said on Sunday that he would send Tauruses to Ukraine if he prevails in the countrys snap elections in February.

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Taurus missiles have a longer range (311 miles) than the USs Atacms (190 miles) or the UKs Storm Shadows (155miles).

Ukraine on Saturday accused Mr Scholz of opening a Pandoras box for calling Vladimir Putin for the fist time in two years.

Former British defence secretary Ben Wallace said that Putin has the German chancellor exactly where he wants him and is laughing at him.

Mr Scholzs call was so ineffective that within a few hours Putin launched a massive illegal attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Mr Wallace wrote on X, adding that Scholz is probably best suited to chairing a sub committee of a local council.

06:20 PM GMT

Todays live coverage has ended

Todays live coverage has ended. Heres a roundup of the days events:

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Olaf Scholz again refused to send Germanys long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

Sir Keir Starmer said Britain needs to double down on its support for Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky visited the frontline towns of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk as their defenders attempt to hold back the Russian onslaught.

Some Donald Trumps allies attacked Joe Bidens decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range American missiles to fire at targets inside Russia.

The Biden administration is throwing oil on the fire by lifting restrictions on Ukraines use of long-range missiles, the Kremlin said.

06:12 PM GMT

Biden is trying to tie Trumps hands on Ukraine, says Trump fundraiser

Joe Biden is trying to tie Trumps hands on Ukraine by authorising Ukraine to make long-range strikes in Russia during his last two months in the White House, according to major Trump backing tech entrepreneur David Sacks.

This decision is so reckless that it may have the opposite effect, Mr Sacks said.

It proves Trump was 100% right to warn about the risk of WWIII throughout his campaign, he added.

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In June 2024, Mr Sacks raised $12 million dollars for the Trump campaign at a dinner held at his house in San Fransisco.

06:02 PM GMT

Starmer: UK needs to double down on support for Ukraine

Sir Keir Starmer said the UK needs to double down on support for Ukraine but did not confirm if this extended to authorising Kyiv to use Britains Storm Shadow missiles for strikes against Russia.

Im not going to get into operational details, because the only winner, if we were to do that, is Putin, and Im not prepared to do that, the Prime Minister said when asked about Storm Shadows.

Ive been really clear for a long time now we need to double down. We need to make sure Ukraine has what is necessary for as long as necessary, because we cannot allow Putin to win this war, he added.

05:50 PM GMT

US cannot confirm it has allowed Ukraine to use long-range missiles vs Russia

The Pentagon has refused to confirm widespread reports that it has allowed Ukraine to use US Atacms missiles for long-range strikes against Russia.

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I cannot confirm the reports...I cannot go into more details about the reporting, deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said on Monday.

She added that Atacms were in limited supply and that Russia had already moved some targets like airfields out of range of the missiles.

04:57 PM GMT

Zelensky visits the frontline towns of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk

Volodymyr Zelensky visited the embattled towns of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk on Monday as their Ukrainian defenders attempt to hold back the Russian onslaught.

In Pokrovsk, Mr Zelensky visited the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade and awarded medals to soldiers. He then oversaw the construction of trenches and defensive structures at an unspecified location in Donetsk.

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My Zelensky next headed to the city of Kupiansk, which last week repelled a major attack when two Russian tank convoys attempted to gain a foothold in the city.

Filming himself outside a large Kupiansk sign, Mr Zelensky paid tribute to Ukrainian soldiers, saying the strength of our entire Ukrainian army is the people who serve.

Volodymyr Zelensky awarding a Ukrainian soldier of the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade in Pokrovsk, Nov 18 - UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP

04:35 PM GMT

Pictured: Security patrol with giant anti-drone gun at G20 summit

Brazilian security forces patrol around the Museum of Modern Art during the G20 Leaders Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Anadolu/Anadolu

A member of the security forces uses a drone jammer on the first day of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Nov 18 - MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP

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04:29 PM GMT

UK has trained 50,000 Ukrainian troops, Defence Secretary says

The UK has trained 50,000 Ukrainian troops since the Russian invasion of the country in 2022, Defence Secretary John Healey has said.

I can confirm today that 50,000 Ukrainian troops have now been trained through Operation Interflex, thats the UK-led multinational training programme, which Ive now extended to run throughout 2025, Mr Healey told the House of Commons on Monday.

A British Army commander told the Telegraph last month that Operation Interflex had been successful at teaching basic skills, but it had not been able to teach the advanced tactics required to defeat Russia.

It has never really been able to teach them anything more than small-unit tactics and the very-very basics of what they need to be learning, he said.

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He added: Despite them now receiving Western Nato weapon systems and ammunition, they have continued to refuse to adapt to Western tactics in the use of what the weapons were designed for, especially in terms of combined arms.

This is something thats been driven hard and pushed by some of the training teams. However, due to time and execution of the training of Interflex, it hasnt always been fully pushed enough.

04:16 PM GMT

Biden launching whole new war before leaving office, say Trump allies

Donald Trumps allies have attacked Joe Bidens decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range American missiles to fire at targets inside Russia.

Mike Lee, a Republican Senator from Utah, said the US presidents decision to lift restrictions on the use of Atacms showed Libs love war, to which Elon Musk, one of Mr Trumps closest allies, replied: True.

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Richard Grenell, Mr Trumps former director of national intelligence, accused Biden of escalating the wars before he leaves office and that allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles at Russia amounted to launching a whole new war.

It comes after the president-elects son, Donald Trump Jr, accused the military industrial complex of wanting World War III before his father had a chance to create peace and save lives.

Mr Trump repeatedly vowed during his election campaign to bring the war to an end, even promising to end it in a day.

The Republican refused to give specifics of how he would bring the war to an end but Kyivs allies feared it would involve Ukraine giving up a significant chunk of land.

03:57 PM GMT

Watch: Paramedics respond to Russian strike on Odesa

03:24 PM GMT

Germany will not send long-range missiles to Ukraine

Germany is sticking to its decision not to provide Ukraine with long-range missiles, a government spokesman confirmed on Monday.

The chancellors decision is unchanged, the spokesman told reporters in Berlin.

It comes as Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, faced renewed pressure to send German-made cruise missiles to Ukraine after the US allowed Kyiv limited use of its Atacms missiles for strikes in Russia.

Robert Habeck, Germanys economic minister and the Green party candidate for chancellor, said on Sunday that he would send long-range weapons to Ukraine if he prevails in the countrys snap elections in February.

03:05 PM GMT

Atacms missiles no silver bullet, says expert

Joe Bidens decision to lift restrictions on Ukraines use of Atacms may fulfil one of Volodymyr Zelenskys long-held ambitions but is no silver bullet, an analyst has told The Telegraph.

Timothy Wright, a research analyst a the International Institute of Strategic Studies, said Russia is likely to pre-emptively move its most valuable assets out of range.

Mr Wright also said Washington and Kyiv have likely already discussed which targets it can strike inside Russia to minimise any potential for escalation.

Some targets will almost certainly be off the table because they present an escalation risk, such as Russian nuclear warhead storage sites, nuclear power plants, and Russias civilian and military leadership, he said.

02:55 PM GMT

UK wants to engage frankly with China on Ukraine, Starmer tells Xi

Keir Starmer said he wanted to engage frankly with China on issues such as human rights and the Ukraine conflict, a British readout of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit said on Monday.

The Prime Minister said that he also wanted to engage honestly and frankly on those areas where we have different perspectives, including on Hong Kong, human rights and Russias war in Ukraine, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

Sir Keir was the first Prime Minister to meet with President Xi in six years on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

Sir Keir Starmer and Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro - AFP

02:46 PM GMT

Ukrainian MP calls on Western troops to join war

Western countries should consider sending troops to fight in Ukraine, the MP for Odesa has said.

Referencing North Korea deploying thousands of troops to Kursk, Oleksiy Goncharenko asked why Western allies cannot do the same.

Not on the frontline but inside Ukraine, he told the BBC, saying such a move would free up thousands of Ukrainian troops.

02:25 PM GMT

Afraid to open the fridge: Kyiv resident fears more strikes on her home

Evdokiya, an 89-year-old widower living in Kyiv, has only just had her home repaired after it was struck by a Russian missile during the summer.

Now she fears more damage as Russia intensifies its missile and drone attacks across Ukraine.

I had spent two months with shards instead of windows, she told the Telegraph.

She described how the blast from the Russian strike was so strong that it blew the door off her home, hitting her on the head and leaving her with a brain injury.

Now, whenever theres an air raid alarm, my heart sinks, and I immediately run to the corridor, she said, adding that she is too afraid to even open the fridge.

Paul Anticoni, Ceo of World Jewish Relief - which helped repair her home - told the Telegraph the relentless targeting of Ukraines energy infrastructure poses a devastating threat to elderly residents such as Evdokiya.

It comes after Russia launched more than 200 missiles and drones at targets across Ukraine on Sunday, damaging energy and military infrastructure.

Evdokiya, an 89-year-old widower in Kyiv, tells the Telegraph she is afraid to open the fridge after her home was destroyed by a Russian strike in the summer - World Jewish Relief

02:05 PM GMT

UK sanctions Iran over Russia support

The UK has announced a fresh wave of sanctions against Irans national airline and shipping carrier, which it said were taken in response to Tehrans transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia.

The state-owned Iran Air and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) will face an asset freeze for their role in supplying weapons to Russia for use on the battlefield against Ukraine, an FCDO spokesman said.

Irans attempts to undermine global security are dangerous and unacceptable, David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said.

We reiterate our call on Iran to cease its support for Russias illegal war in Ukraine.

01:46 PM GMT

Putin ally threatens use of new weapons against Ukraine

A Vladimir Putin ally has threatened the use of new weapons systems against Ukraine if Kyiv strikes Russia with American long-range missiles.

Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the lower house of Russias parliament, did not provide further details on the weapons systems and said Kyiv had already struck Russian targets with long-range missiles.

Mr Volodin added that further use of the weapons by Ukraine would completely destroy Russian-American relations.

Putin previously warned that allowing Kyiv to fire long-range missiles at targets inside Russia would constitute Natos direct involvement in the conflict.

01:29 PM GMT

Watch: Russians react to missile restrictions being lifted

Russians have had their say on Joe Biden allowing Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia.

Of course we should strike back, one said.

01:03 PM GMT

No10: Russia escalating war, not Ukraine

Russia is escalating the war, not Ukraine, Downing Street told reporters on Monday after Joe Biden approved the use of American missiles to strike targets inside Russia.

The US presidents decision has renewed focus on whether the Government would give Ukraine permission to launch British Storm Shadow missiles to strike targets inside Russia.

Asked if the use of Storm Shadows would be escalatory, a No10 spokesman said: I wont get into speculation around operational matters on kit, but I think its very clear that Russia is the one that continues to escalate this war.

Weve seen that in the deployment of [North Korean] troops and with their ongoing bombardment of innocent civilians during what continues to be an illegal war, an invasion of a sovereign country. We put that firmly back in Russias court.

12:54 PM GMT

Watch: Ukrainians react to lifting of missile restrictions

It should have been done in the beginning... Its weird they give us permission to defend ourselves...

Those are just some of the reactions coming in from Kyiv after Joe Biden decided to allow Ukraine to fire American long-range missiles inside Russia.

12:42 PM GMT

Biden throwing oil on fire by approving missile strikes, says Kremlin

Joe Biden is throwing oil on the fire and escalating the war by allowing Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia, the Kremlin has said.

Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, said the US presidents decision to lift restrictions on the use of Atacms on Russian and North Korean troops in the Kursk region would directly involve the US in the conflict.

The Kremlin spokesman said this was because the targets are set not by Ukrainian military but by specialists from these Western countries. That fundamentally changes the modality of their engagement.

The Kremlin spokesman also cast doubt on whether the restrictions had even been lifted, suggesting the reports did not have official sources.

12:25 PM GMT

Hundreds of Russian targets in range of Atacms

Hundreds of known Russian military objects are in range of Atacms, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank.

Ukraine has had access to the American missiles for some time but has been unable to fire them at targets inside Russia due to restrictions put in place by Joe Biden.

While Russia is believed to have moved hundreds of military objects out of range of the Atacms (300km), hundreds could still be targeted by Ukraine.

12:07 PM GMT

Odesa strike shows war Russias only interest, says Zelensky

A deadly strike on Odesa on Monday shows Russia is only interested in war, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

And this signal should be heard in all parts of the world, from the halls where the members of the Group of Twenty meet to all the capitals of the world, the Ukrainian president wrote on Telegram.

Credit: Volodymyr Zelensky/X

11:55 AM GMT

Russians drinking record amount of alcohol

Russians are drinking more alcohol than at any time since official consumption records began in 2017, according to state regulators.

The Federal Service for Control of Alcohol and Tobacco Markets said that the volume of alcohol sold in Russia in the first 10 months of the year showed a small increase from 2023 and was 21 per cent higher than in the same period in 2017.

Vodka makes up more than a third of all alcohol sales in Russia.

Data has previously shown that sales of alcohol, tobacco and anti-depressant drugs have increased in Russia since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022.

11:27 AM GMT

Russian strike on Odesa kills eight

A Russian strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa on Monday killed eight people and wounded 18 more, the governor of the Black Sea region said.

According to preliminary reports, the Russian attack left eight dead and 18 wounded. One child is among the wounded. Four people are in a serious condition, the official, Oleg Kiper, wrote on social media.

Footage posted on social media showed the aftermath of the attack, with bodies sprawled across the street and cars on fire.

Cars and a residential building were struck in Russias attack on Odesa - REUTERS

Cars burn at the site where a residential area was hit by a Russian missile strike on Odesa - Reuters

11:15 AM GMT

Germany preparing to send 4,000 mini-Taurus drones to Ukraine

Germany is reportedly preparing to send 4,000 mini-Taurus kamikaze drones to Ukraine, according to the Bild newspaper.

It said the drones have AI technology that gives them greater autonomy in hostile environments. They also carry equipment that neutralises drone jamming defences.

Taurus is the name of German long-distance bunker-busting missiles. Berlin has refused to hand over any to Ukraine despite repeated requests.

German drones would start being delivered to Ukraine in December, the German newspaper said.

Ukraine has stepped up its drone attacks against Russia, striking targets across the country.

11:00 AM GMT

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10:50 AM GMT

Trump allies react to missile decision

Donald Trump is yet to comment on Joe Bidens decision to lift restrictions on the use of Atacms, but several of his allies have.

Mike Lee, a Senator from Utah, said in response to the decision: Libs love war. War facilitates bigger government. Elon Musk, one of Mr Trumps closest allies, later replied: True.

Richard Grenell, Mr Trumps former director of national intelligence, accused Biden of escalating the wars before he leaves office.

No one anticipated that Joe Biden would ESCALATE the war in Ukraine during the transition period. This is as if he is launching a whole new war. Everything has changed now  all previous calculations are null and void. And all for politics, he said.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch Trump ally condemned Mr Biden and said: On his way out of office, Joe Biden is dangerously trying to start WWIII...The American people gave a mandate on Nov 5th against these exact America last decisions and do NOT want to fund or fight foreign wars. We want to fix our own problems. Enough of this, it must stop.

It comes after Mr Trumps son, Donald Jr, said the military industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get World War III before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives.

10:27 AM GMT

Ukraine using its missiles inside Russia an option, says France

Ukraines use of long-range missiles to strike military targets inside Russia remained an option after the United States cleared Kyiv to use American missiles for the same purpose, France said on Monday

Jean-Noel Barrot, Frances foreign minister, said President Emmanuel Macron had made it clear in May that such missiles could be used in certain cases.

You heard President Macron in Meseberg on May 25, where we openly said that it was an option that we would consider, if we had to authorise strikes on targets from which the Russians attack Ukrainian territory, he said in English on his arrival in Brussels for a meeting of foreign affairs ministers.

So, nothing new under the sun, he added.

10:15 AM GMT

Reminder: Heres what Putin thinks about long-range missiles

Vladimir Putin is yet to comment on reports surrounding Ukraines use of long-range missiles but he spoke about the possibility in September.

This would in a significant way change the very nature of the conflict, the Russian president said in response to the prospect of Ukraine using British Storm Shadow missiles.

It would mean that Nato countries are at war with Russia.

This is essentially the same message put out by the Kremlins spokesman said on Monday.

Telegram/@news_kremlin

10:00 AM GMT

Putin is laughing at Scholz, says Ben Wallace

Olaf Scholz made the West look weak and emboldened Russia by speaking with Vladimir Putin, Ben Wallace has said.

The former defence secretary said Putin is laughing at Scholz, who he said had been manipulated by the Russian president to exactly where he wants him.

No Taurus but huge amounts of humiliation. I think Scholz is probably best suited to chairing a sub committee of a local council rather than running a government, Mr Wallace said.

Scholz's phone call to the Kremlin was so ineffective that within a few hours Putin launched a massive illegal attack on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. In one move he undermined the unified western position, showed weakness and emboldened Russia. 1/2  Rt. Hon Ben Wallace (@BenWallace70) November 18, 2024

09:46 AM GMT

Biden risks WW3, claim Russian MPs

Joe Bidens decision to allow Ukraine to use its long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia could start World War III, Russian politicians have warned.

Maria Butina, a Russian MP, accused the Biden administration on Monday of trying to escalate the situation to the maximum while they still have power.

They are seriously risking the start of World War Three, she said, adding that she hopes Donald Trump would reverse the decision.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian upper houses international affairs committee, also called it a very big step towards the start of World War III.

Joe Biden speaks following a tour of the Museu da Amazonia - AP

09:34 AM GMT

Biden throwing oil on the fire, says Kremlin

The Biden administration is throwing oil on the fire by lifting restrictions on Ukraines use of long-range missiles, the Kremlin has said.

Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, said it would mean the direct involvement of the US in the conflict.

09:09 AM GMT

What are Atacms?

Unlike a more conventional cruise missile (600mph), Atacms can accelerate to three times the speed of sound (2,300 MPH), making them more difficult for air defence systems to intercept. Their speed is the missiles main strength.

Once launched, Russias web of radars and missile detection systems will be up almost instantly.

But a ballistic missile you might see it coming but youve got about three minutes, said Justin Crump, the chief executive of the strategic intelligence company Sibylline.

Its only in your engagement area for maybe 30 seconds, and youve got to fire something very fast back at it, not an easy target.

Read more about the Atacms here.

09:00 AM GMT

Europe reacts to Atacms call

Reaction to Joe Bidens decision to lift restrictions on Ukraines use of Atacms has been pouring in from across Europe.

Joseph Borrell, the European Unions top diplomat, said he hoped member states would agree to allow Ukraine to use arms inside Russia.

Ive been saying once and again that Ukraine should be able to use the arms we provided to them, in order to not only stop the arrows but also to be able to hit the archers, Mr Borrell said.

Caspar Veldkamp, the Dutch foreign minister, said allowing Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia was an adequate response to North Korea deploying troops in Ukraine.

While Jean-Noel Barrot, the French foreign minister, said providing long-range missiles to Ukraine is an option Paris is considering.

08:44 AM GMT

Bidens green light could be too little, too late for Ukraine

Ukraines wait for permission to use US-made ATACM long-range missiles on Russian territory is finally over.

Joe Bidens decision is a groundbreaking Ukrainian diplomatic triumph. Ukraines use of ATACMs in Kursk will provide immediate benefits for its increasingly bleak frontline position.

But the true significance of Bidens decision hinges on the flexibility that the US affords to Ukrainian troops.

As Trumps inauguration nears, the US is finally making a complete rally behind the cause of Ukrainian victory. A promising pivot but one that could be too little, too late for Ukraine.

Read the full story here.

08:24 AM GMT

Chancellor candidate would give Ukraine Taurus missiles

Robert Habeck, the German economy minister hoping to take over as chancellor, said he would give Ukraine permission to use long-range Taurus missiles to strike targets inside Russia if he wins the election.

Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, has repeatedly insisted he would not grant Ukraine permission to use the missiles out of fear of escalating the war.

The election is set to take place on February 23. Mr Habeck will lead the Green Partys campaign.

German Economy and Climate Action Minister and Greens Party chancellor candidate Robert Habeck - Getty Images Europe

08:03 AM GMT

This is how you defeat the Russian advantage

Allowing Ukraine use long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia is how you defeat the Russian advantage, a former commander of US troops has said.

The war could have ended last year, if we had been actually serious about helping Ukraine win, US Lt Gen Ben Hodges told the BBC World Service.

This is how you defeat the Russian advantage of mass, by taking out their artillery headquarters and logistics.

He went on to say the decision was a gift to Donald Trump as it gives him leverage when negotiating an end to war, as he has promised to do.

07:43 AM GMT

China calls for peace after US clears missile strikes on Russia

China reiterated calls for a peaceful settlement to the war in Ukraine on Monday after Washingtons decision on Ukraine using long-range missile to hit targets inside Russia.

The most urgent thing is to promote the cooling down of the situation as soon as possible, a foreign ministry spokesman said when asked about the US decision, calling for an early ceasefire and a political solution.

07:37 AM GMT

Russian attack kills 11 in Sumy

A Russian missile strike on Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, has killed 11 people and injured 84, hours after Joe Bidens decision on long-range missiles.

Two children were amongst the dead, while 11 more were injured, Ukrainian officials said.

Sunday evening for the city of Sumy became hell, a tragedy that Russia brought to our land, Volodymyr Artyukh, the head of the Sumy military administration said in a post on the administrations Telegram messaging channel.

The military administration said another missile hit critical infrastructure, leaving the city without power.

Firefighters work at the site of a residential area hit by a Russian missile strike on Sumy - REUTERS

07:32 AM GMT

Zelensky: Missiles will speak for themselves

Volodymyr Zelensky said long-range missiles provided by the US will speak for themselves after Joe Biden granted Ukraine permission to use them to strike targets inside Russia.

Referencing reports about Mr Bidens decision, the Ukrainian president said: Theres a lot of talk in the media about us receiving permission for respective actions. But strikes are not carried out with words.

The UK and France are thought to have been in favour of giving Ukraine permission to use long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia but Mr Biden resisted out of fear of escalating the conflict further.

But Mr Biden is understood to have been swayed after North Korea deployed thousands of troops to the frontline to fight Ukraine.

07:26 AM GMT

Washington risking WW3, warns Kim Jong Un

Kim Jong Un said the United States and the West risk provoking World War III by using the Ukrainian military as shock troops to fight Russia.

The North Korean leader did not reference Joe Bidens decision on long-range missiles but accused the West on Monday of using the war expand the scope of their military interventions globally.

Washingtons continuing military assistance to Ukraine... raises the concern of World War III, Kim added.

Kim Jong Un accused the West of using Ukraine as shock troops to fight Russia - AFP

07:22 AM GMT

Welcome to our live coverage

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

Well be bringing you the latest updates and analysis throughout the day after Joe Bidens decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia.

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz again reiterated his refusal to provide long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine on Monday while attending the G20 summit in Brazil.

Scholz has been steadfast in his stance, despite repeated requests from Kiev for the German-made missiles.

The latest questions about Taurus come after recent media reports that the US has authorized Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons to strike inside of Russia.

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"I have very clear reasons why I do not consider the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles (...) to be right," Scholz said

He contended that German military personnel would have to participate in target control for the missiles, "but that is something I cannot and do not want to be responsible for," he said.

According to US media reports, outgoing US President Joe Biden is said to have given permission for Ukraine to use US-supplied ATACMS missiles, which have a range of up to 300 kilometres, to hit military targets in the Kursk region of Russia.

The weapons are likely to be used initially against Russian and North Korean troops to support Ukrainian forces who are occupying territory in the Kursk region of western Russia.

Ukraine captured the area in a surprise attack in August, but a counter-offensive by Moscow is now looming in order to push the Ukrainian troops back again.
Polish President Andrzej Duda has accused German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of trying to exclude US President-elect Donald Trump from negotiations on Ukraine's future.

Source: Andrzej Duda in an interview with Bloomberg, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The Polish president said Scholz's call to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin was not intended to push Putin towards negotiating about ending the war, as Scholz himself has claimed.

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Quote from Duda: "I believe it was an attempt to bring about a ceasefire in Ukraine before Donald Trump took office."

Duda believes Scholz is concerned about the possibility of being forced into unfavourable deals with the US under the Trump administration and is trying to be proactive: "What the Germans are most afraid of is that Donald Trump will force them to buy gas from America."

At the same time, Duda called the suggestion that the US president-elect would withdraw support for Ukraine ridiculous, recalling the military aid that Kyiv received during his first administration.

Quote from Duda: "Im convinced that when it comes to the war in Ukraine, he is collecting data and information. At this moment, he is constantly, continuously collecting this information in a very vigilant manner."

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Background: On the afternoon of 15 November, it was reported that Scholz had spoken to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin for the first time in two years. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the call was a "Pandora's box".

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By Andrew Gray

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's call with Russian President Vladimir Putin was a "strategic mistake" that weakened European unity in the face of Moscow's war against Ukraine, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on Monday.

In an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, Tsahkna said he hoped widespread international criticism of Scholz's call would dissuade any other European leaders from talking to Putin.

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Scholz held a one-hour call with Putin on Friday - his first direct communication with Russia's leader in almost two years. He defended the call as a way to make clear to Putin that German, European and other support for Ukraine would not wane.

But Tsahkna, whose Baltic nation is one of Ukraine's most vocal supporters and one of Moscow's fiercest critics, said the call had damaged Western efforts to isolate Putin.

"It was a strategic mistake," he said. "We have had a principle agreed that we keep Putin in isolation."

Tsahkna said that position should be maintained until Putin showed a willingness to take part in meaningful negotiations and withdraw his troops from Ukraine.

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But currently Putin was doing the opposite, Tsahkna said, pointing out that Russia mounted one of its most severe attacks on Ukraine in months in the days after Scholz's call.

"It just weakened our unity and our positions," Tsahkna said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was quick to criticise Scholz's call. He said it was "exactly what Putin has long sought" and could open a "Pandora's Box" of calls that would further undermine efforts to isolate him.

Arriving at Monday's EU meeting, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis voiced scepticism about the call. He said such a moves had to come from a position of strength, not weakness, or "the Russians will abuse it".

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"They clearly are doing exactly that with the massive new rocket barrages against Ukraine's civil infrastructure, against energy," he said.

(Reporting by Andrew Gray, Editing by William Maclean)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is not planning to supply Ukraine with Taurus missiles despite the U.S. easing restrictions on long-range strikes, a government spokesperson told the AFP news agency on Nov. 18.

Scholz has "made his position clear" on the matter and will "not change his stance anymore," spokesperson Wolfgang Buchner said.

Several media outlets reported on Nov. 17 that U.S. President Joe Biden permitted Ukraine to use long-range U.S. arms against targets on Russian soil. According to some reports, this concerns ATACMS missiles to be deployed against Russian and North Korean forces amassing in Russia's Kursk Oblast.

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Ukraine has previously received U.S.-made ATACMS and Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles from the U.K. and France, with a range of 300 kilometers (190 miles) and 250 kilometers (150 miles), respectively.

In contrast, Scholz has been adamant about not supplying the Taurus cruise missiles, which boast a range of 500 kilometers (310 miles), fearing an escalation with Russia.

Berlin's policy may soon shift as Germany heads toward snap elections on Feb. 23, with the center-right opposition alliance CDU/CSU currently leading the polls and threatening to oust Scholz.

CDU/CSU's chancellor candidate, Friedrich Merz, said he would allow the delivery of Taurus missiles, but only if necessary after issuing an ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin and lifting restrictions on arms that had already been provided.

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Similarly, Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who is running for the Chancellery for the Greens, said he would greenlight the delivery of the missiles if elected in February.

Read also: Its personal  Why Germany still refuses to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
CHARLES COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now)  Parents and community members in Charles County said they are concerned about transparency from school officials after an incident in an elementary school bathroom sent a child to the hospital on Friday.

According to a letter sent to parents at C. Paul Barnhart Elementary School from Principal Carrie Burke, two students were in the bathroom horse playing when one students jacket got caught on the bathroom stall hook and they could not get free.

The other student ran to get help, and school officials contacted 911.

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The child has since been released from the hospital and the Charles County Sheriffs Office is investigating the incident, according to a letter sent out on Sunday by Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) Superintendent, Maria Navarro.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: CCPS responds after incident in school bathroom sends child to hospital, sheriffs office investigating

Since the incident, parents and community members have voiced their frustrations with how the school system communicated the incident with parents.

I just think its unacceptable, said Patrice Allen, a community member showing support for the family of the injured child. It could have been a really bad outcome.

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Dayna Jones, mother of two CCPS students, questions how bathroom supervision is conducted inside Barnhart.

How much time were they in the bathroom before something like this could potentially happen? she asked. I just was immediately concerned about what happened to the level that this child had to be sent all the way to [the] Childrens Hospital. That normally indicates theres a serious concern  just a little horseplay or whatever could potentially happen  it could have turned fatal and that concerns me as a parent.

Melick McCrearys little brother is in second grade and a classmate of the injured child. He said he was not happy when his younger brother told him what happened.

It made me upset because I think the teachers should have better supervision of the kids, he said. It hurt me to my heart, I aint gonna lie.

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15 Maryland Board of Election sites recieved bomb threats after election

A woman who said she is the childs mother posted on social media sharing what happened. The post also made references to bullying and has since been widely circulated.

In the letter on Sunday, Navarro addressed public concerns and condemned comments that were made online stating that the school and CCPS are covering up what happened.

This is not true. The principal nor the school system are hiding anything. Rather, we are sharing what information we can while we conduct a full investigation, the letter read in part.

In the meantime, parents are still worried about what went down as some said the school system has challenges with the level of information that is shared with parents.

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Theres so much that takes place that we dont know about. And if youre not in a group chat, you have no idea whats going on in your own neighborhood, Allen said.

Mans body found after brush fire in Waldorf, investigation underway

On Monday morning, a rally organized by the Charles County Moms of Color was canceled out of respect for the injured childs family.

The purpose of the rally was to demand transparency, accountability and safety measures following the traumatizing incident.

I think just educating the parents and making sure that something goes home to the parents. If nothing else, to talk to their children about different things like playing in the bathroom or making sure that theyre focused throughout the day. I think that a lot of times kids, they think that theyre doing things in jest, but there could be serious consequences, Jones said.

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DC News Now has reached out to the injured students mother but did not hear back in time for publication.

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.
The 3 p.m. bell at Telpochcalli Elementary marked the start of students and teachers favorite hours. Students played instruments under the guidance of their musically talented educators and swirled paint on canvases, eventually graduating to create murals that adorned the schools walls and ceilings.

For the first time in 20 years, the once lively halls are silent at the school in Little Village, with unfinished murals standing as poignant reminders of the after-school programs closure.

Nearly three months into the school year, Illinois is now facing a statewide after-school funding crisis.

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About 40% of the states after-school programs have been slashed this year, following delays in the 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant, and the number is expected to rise to 87%, totaling about 290 sites, by the end of this year.

The problem is that the governors office is at a standstill with the money, and there has been no communication on when funds will be released.

The Illinois State Board of Education did not respond to a request to comment.

In 2023, the 21CCLC grants were serving 578 schools across the state with $76 million in funds. At the start of this school year, only 271 sites were still receiving funding (totaling $36.9 million in spending), representing a 53% cut in schools served and a 47% drop in funding.

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Distributed and managed by the Illinois State Board of Education, the 21CCLC grant is federal funding that provides after-school programming and educational development for students, 80% of whom are people of color and all attend low-income and low-performing schools.

Tears swelled in bilingual teacher Marisol Cerons eyes as she recounted what Telpochcallis after-school program meant to her and her students.

Ive gotten approached by different students in different grade levels asking if there gonna be an after-school program: Are you gonna do music again? Is there gonna be art? And Ive had to turn them away and tell them no, Ceron said. Its been very sad and sad to hear the hallways for laughter and children till late in the evening (now) its just quiet. Its different.

Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE), an after-school program partnered with Chicago Public Schools and funded by the 21st Century grant, went from serving eight schools to three this school year. Most recently the program had to stop programming at Telpochcalli School, one of its oldest participating schools in Little Village, after it received notice in March from ISBE that 10 sites would have to close in September.

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While they were able to gather up enough funds to keep programs running at two other schools, unfortunately, Telpochcalli was one of the programs forced to close down.

CAPE provided a variety of after-school activities for students. They attended workshops focused on music and art, with various musicians and artists visiting every week to open students eyes to various genres.

Several parents recounted how the program allowed their children to explore their creative endeavors in a way they were unable to during the school day. Parents felt comforted knowing their children were being cared for while putting time toward crafts they were interested in.

CAPEs after-school program allowed Amelia Lorenzs son to develop a love of art that he wouldnt have otherwise, said the mother of two students at Telpochcalli.

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Its funny that the students that need these sorts of programs the most  have less access to these kinds of programs that make them feel like valuable human beings that have something you contribute to society, Lorenz said. Its these kids that lose those programs that programming first, and thats just backward.

Its now an everyday struggle for Rocio Lugo to figure out who will be watching her once she finishes school. The teachers assistant at the Telpochcalli was once able to rely on the after-school program to care for her daughter while she finished her shift for the day prior to the programs closure.

My mom, who has a knee injury so she cant help me as much, has now had to pitch in because its either I pay my rent or my daughter comes to school, Lugo said. Its hard. I dont think whoever is deciding the funding for us gets that. It affects peoples livelihoods.

Lugo said the loss of the after-school program has resulted in a lot of students being left unattended once the school day has ended. Shes taken it upon herself to walk her daughter, as well as other students, to the Boy and Girls Club about 10 minutes away from the school once students are released.

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At the Boys and Girls Club, parents are at least given the peace of mind that their children are being watched over. The difference between the two after-school programs however is tremendous. The Boys and Girls isnt as arts-focused as the program Telpochcalli once had, Lugo said.

Not that Im dissing them by any means, but Ill see a lot of coloring pages and basic worksheets, Lugo said. At Telpochcalli, they work with different mediums and work on elaborate art projects. They are there with actual teaching artists, not high school teens. The difference is tremendous.

Brighton Park Neighborhood Council Chicago (BPNCC), an after-school program that serves eight schools and about 1,900 students throughout the Southwest Side, has been among an estimated 120 sites in Chicago that have remained open amid closures throughout the state as a result of delayed fund disbursement due to planning.

BPNCC was able to attract funding and grants outside of the 21st Century fund for the next year, though once these grants end at the end of the school year the program may be in a situation similar to those across the state.

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Discussing how important these after-school programs are to marginalized communities throughout the city, Patrick Brosnan, the executive director of BPNCC, said the loss of these programs can be incredibly detrimental.

Studies have shown that one of the most critical violence prevention tools is keeping students occupied from 3 to 6 p.m. When students are not actively engaged during that time, theres an uptick in violence, he said, putting some of the citys most vulnerable communities at risk of youth crime and violence.

You cant wait for a crisis or for a shooting to take place or for a kid to be injured, and then (ask) why, what happened, whats going on in those communities? Why are there no after-school programs? Brosnan said. That is going to be the headline, so we cant wait for that. We have to act now.

With 13,500 students from low-income and majority-Black and brown communities already without crucial programming statewide, the number is expected to rise to 27,500 by Christmas. Susan Stanton, executive director of ACT Now Illinois, an after-school program advocacy group, said there will be a devastating impact on communities due to program closures.

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Brosnan said he and other after-school advocates have been pushing the governors office for answers regarding the status of the 21st Century grant. Most recently, ACT Now Illinois hosted a rally to pressure legislators to release funds, especially when they should be applying for funds for the next school year.

Instead of celebrating the release of the $50 million theyve been eagerly anticipating on Oct. 24 during Lights On Afterschool, after-school advocates rallied outside the Illinois State Board of Education to highlight the funding delays threatening their programs.

Fearing youths will likely become victims of gang and gun violence and struggle in school, Stanton said it will be similar to what was witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools and after-school programs had temporarily closed their doors. She said her claims arent hyperbole.

These are things weve seen here before in Illinois and we have the power and the resources right now to fix this, and so were just hoping that our policymakers in Illinois will hear this call and take swift action to fix this because we know that they can, Stanton said.

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Shootings increased by nearly 30% in Chicago from 2019 to 2022. Over 90% of youth shooting victims were not enrolled in school. After beginning programming with communities in the city, the University of Chicagos Education Lab witnessed a 48% drop in violent crime arrests.

Advocates, parents and students are all urging the governors office and ISBE to release funds immediately to keep after-school programs up and running.

Until then, the unfinished murals will continue to serve as reminders of what was lost, and what theyre fighting to get back.

We miss it, Ceron said. Art should be a part of (their) lives.
Earlier this week, Laura Helmuth resigned as editor in chief of Scientific American, the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. "I've decided to leave Scientific American after an exciting 4.5 years as editor in chief," she wrote on Bluesky. "I'm going to take some time to think about what comes next (and go birdwatching), but for now I'd like to share a very small sample of the work I've been so proud to support (thread)."

Helmuth may in fact have been itching to spend more time bird watchingwho wouldn't be?but it seems likely that her departure was precipitated by a bilious Bluesky rant she posted after Donald Trump was reelected.

In it, she accused her generation, Generation X, of being "full of fucking fascists," complained about how sexist and racist her home state of Indiana was, and so on.

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"Fuck them to the moon and back," she said of the dumb high school bullies supposedly celebrating Trump's victory.

Whether or not Helmuth's resignation was voluntary, it should go without saying that a few bad social media posts should not end someone's job. If that were the whole story herean otherwise well-performing editor was ousted over a few bad poststhis would arguably be a case of "cancel culture," or whatever we're calling it these days.

But Helmuth's posts were symptoms of a much larger problem with her reign as editor. They accurately reflected the political agenda she brought with her when she came on as EiC at SciAma political agenda that has turned the once-respected magazine into a frequent laughingstock.

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Sometimes, yes, SciAm still acts like the leading popular science magazine it used to bea magazine, I should add, that I received in print form every month during my childhood.

But increasingly, during Helmuth's tenure, SciAm seemed a bit more like a marketing firm dedicated to churning out borderline-unreadable press releases for the day's social justice cause du jour. In the process, SciAm played a small but important role in the self-immolation of scientific authoritya terrible event whose fallout we'll be living with for a long time.

When Scientific American was bad under Helmuth, it was really bad. For example, did you know that "Denial of Evolution Is a Form of White Supremacy"? Or that the normal distributiona vital and basic statistical conceptis inherently suspect? No, really: Three days after the legendary biologist and author E.O. Wilson died, SciAm published a surreal hit piece about him in which the author lamented "his dangerous ideas on what factors influence human behavior." That author also explained that "the so-called normal distribution of statistics assumes that there are default humans who serve as the standard that the rest of us can be accurately measured against." But the normal distribution doesn't make any such value judgments, and only someone lacking in basic education about statssomeone who definitely shouldn't be writing about the subject for a top magazinecould make such a claim.

Some of the magazine's Helmuth-era output made the posthumous drive-by against Wilson look Pulitzer-worthy by comparison. Perhaps the most infamous entry in this oeuvre came in September 2021: "Why the Term 'JEDI' Is Problematic for Describing Programs That Promote Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion." That article sternly informed readers that an acronym many of them had likely never heard of in the first placeJEDI, standing for "justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion"ought to be avoided on social justice grounds. You see, in the Star Wars franchise, the Jedi "are a religious order of intergalactic police-monks, prone to (white) saviorism and toxically masculine approaches to conflict resolution (violent duels with phallic lightsabers, gaslighting by means of "Jedi mind tricks," etc.)"

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You probably think I'm trolling or being trolled. There's no way that actual sentence got published in Scientific American, right? No, it's very real.

But what really caught my eye was SciAm's coverage of the youth gender medicine debate. This is one of the few scientific subjects on which I've established a modicum of expertise: I've written articles about it for major outlets like The Atlantic and The Economist, and am working on a book. I found SciAm's coverage to not just be stupid (JEDI) or insulting or uncharitable (the Wilson story), but actually a little bit dangerous.

I know, I know: We're not supposed to call mere words "dangerous." Hear me out: The evidence for youth gender medicineblockers, hormones, and (sometimes) surgery for minors to treat their gender dysphoriais scant. We really don't know which treatments help which kids in which situations. Every major government or government-backed effort to look into this question, most recently the U.K.'s Cass Review, has come to this conclusion. The supposed leading professional organization, WPATH, is mired in scandal, with evidence from court cases strongly suggesting it has suppressed negative research results. One of the leading clinicians and researchers in the country admitted to The New York Times that she and her team suppressed negative research results (not the first time, I don't think).

Rather than cover these important developments, Scientific American has hermetically sealed itself and its readers inside a comforting, delusional cocoon in which we know youth gender medicine works, beyond a shadow of a doubt, and only bigots and ignoramuses suggest otherwise. Over and over, SciAm simply took what certain activist groups were saying about these treatments and repeated it, basically verbatim, effectively laundering medical misinformation and providing it with the imprimatur of a highly regarded science magazine.

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This was a chronic problem at Scientific American. One article, to which I wrote a rebuttal for my newsletter, contained countless errors and misinterpretations: Most importantly, it falsely claimed that there is solid evidence youth gender medicine ameliorates adolescent suicidality, when we absolutely do not know that to any degree of certainty. As far as I can tell, every article SciAm published on this subject during Helmuth's tenure followed the exact same playbook of reciting activist claims  often long after they'd been debunked.

Some of these articles might have done serious damage to the public's understanding of this issue. For example, SciAm ran a response to the Cass Review written by a pair of writers who were somehow able to issue a searing critique of the review despite having clearly never read it. They wrote that the document's problems "help explain why the Cass recommendations differ from previous academic reviews and expert guidance from major medical organisations such as the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and the American Academy of Pediatrics." But part of the Cass Review's remit was to evaluate the strength of these exact pieces of expert guidancethe Cass Review explicitly explains why the WPATH and AAP guidelines are weak and untrustworthy. Anyone who read the document would have understood that. Not to put too fine a point on it, but the Cass Review argued that the WPATH and AAP guidelines were shoddily constructed, and SciAm published a response accusing the Cass Review of differing from the WPATH and AAP guidelines. That's the sort of error that can only occur in the context of lax editorial standards married to ideological certitude.

People trust Scientific American. It's not out of the question that parents of trans or gender-questioning kids, who are (unfortunately) more likely to get their information on this subject from media outlets than from carefully conducted efforts like the Cass Review, will "learn" from SciAm that blockers and hormones are safe, effective, and likely to reduce suicidalityeven as the jury is still out on all these claims. This false belief could prove disastrous for obvious reasons, and yet SciAm has had no qualms about spreading what can only be described as medical misinformation on this subjectsomething it decries when the sources and claims in question are right-coded.

To be sure, Scientific American was not alone in its abysmal coverage of the youth gender medicine debate. The popular science show Science Vs, which bills itself as a swashbuckling effort to cut through politics and get to the truth of scientific controversy, repeatedly debased itself on this subject, and CNN took such a hard turn toward propaganda on gender medicine that it recycled the same false passage about the supposedly strong evidence base for youth gender medicine in dozens of its articles.

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The crisis of expert authority has many causes. But one of them is experts mortgaging their own credibility. When magazines like Scientific American are run by ideologues like Helmuth, producing biased dreck as a result, it only makes it more difficult to defend the institution of science itself from relentless attack. This lack of trust absolutely contributes to the sorts of dunderheaded, reactionary populism presently threatening America and much of Europe.

If experts aren't to be trusted, charlatans and cranks will step into the vacuum. To mangle a line from Archer, "Do you want a world where RFK Jr. is the head of HHS? That's how you get a world where RFK Jr. is appointed head of HHS."

Going forward, Scientific American can right the ship by simply hiring an editor who cares more about science than progressive political goals. That doesn't mean the editor needs to be apolitical or that there's no role for SciAm to chime in on social justice issues in an informed manner, with the requisite level of humility and caution. It simply means that Scientific American needs to get back to its rootsexplaining the universe's wonders to its readers, not lecturing them about how society should be ordered or distorting politically inconvenient findings.

The post How <i>Scientific American</i>'s Departing Editor Helped Degrade Science appeared first on Reason.com.
Life on Earth may have developed the ability to form embryos even before it grew the very first animals.

A single-celled organism that lives burrowed in the muck beneath shallow seas bears a startling resemblance to animal embryos as it reproduces, says a team of scientists led by biochemist Marine Olivetta of the University of Geneva. The way it divides itself resembles the process of embryonic cell division.

The organism in question is an Ichthyosporean microbe called Chromosphaera perkinsii, and since it has been around for over a billion years, long before the first animals emerged, its existence suggests that life developed the programming for eggs before the eggs themselves.

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"Although C. perkinsii is a unicellular species," explains biochemist Omaya Dudin of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, "this behavior shows that multicellular coordination and differentiation processes are already present in the species, well before the first animals appeared on Earth."

Palintomic division of C. perkinsii. (Olivetti et al., Nature , 2024)

Multicellular animal organisms all start their lives the same way. Two gametes merge and fuse, kicking off the process of cell division and growth. The initial stages of cell division are called cleavage, during which a lot of cell division takes place rapidly without growth, a process known as palintomy.

The resulting product of this process is a clump of cells, hollow in the middle, like a raspberry. This is called the blastula.

This process in animals is also observed in unicellular organisms as a means of reproduction. The organism divides itself into multiple daughter cells that split off and become independent. And, in fact, scientists have drawn parallels between the two before. A paper published earlier this year proposed that Ichthyosporeans may be an excellent model for understanding the origins of animals.

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That's because Ichthyosporeans represent a class of unicellular organisms that diverged more than a billion years ago from the lineage that would go on to produce animals. They are not animals, but they are closely related, and any similarities between animals and Ichthyosporeans could have been inherited from a common ancestor before the lineages diverged.

Earlier this year, a team of scientists that included Olivetti published a paper describing palintomic reproduction in C. perkinsii in a manner similar to animal mitosis.

Dudin and his colleagues conducted a study of C. perkinsii  one of the very few Ichthyosporeans that isn't a parasite  comparing it to several other members of the class, to see if any further similarities could be identified between palintomic reproduction and animal embryonic cleavage.

They discovered that, following palintomy, C. perkinsii forms a cluster of cells just like a blastula. And there are at least two distinct cell types within that colony. The conglomeration of cells then hangs out in that blastula-like colony for a significant proportion of its life cycle, before the cells eventually scatter and wriggle off to do their own thing.

The life cycle of C. perkinsii. (Olivetti et al., Nature , 2024)

It's startlingly similar to how an animal embryo develops. This suggests that the development could be ancestral between animals and Ichthyosporea, and that the genetic programming for embryonic development was in place before embryos came into existence.

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But nature is also very good at replicating things that work. Sometimes traits or processes emerge independently in very different organisms, a process known as convergent evolution. The development and colony clustering of C. perkinsii seems unusual; it hasn't been observed in other Ichthyosporeans.

In fact, apart from some scattered partial observations, no other animal relative develops similarly to the animal embryo or C. perkinsii. This suggests convergent evolution might be the answer; but we can't rule out a common ancestor, either.

Either way, we have fascinating things to learn. On the one hand, C. perkinsii could reveal new insights into the evolutionary origins of all animals. On the other, it suggests the genetic toolkit available to early life was much more versatile than we thought.

"Future research will be essential to elucidate how spatial cell differentiation is established in C. perkinsii," the researchers write in their paper. "Nevertheless, our study indicates that C. perkinsii represents a transitional form between temporal and spatial cell differentiation, providing insights into the evolutionary mechanisms that led to emergence of animal multicellularity."

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The research has been published in Nature.

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Rachel Gabel is a longtime agriculture writer and the assistant editor of The Fence Post Magazine.
A Strategic Defence Review is currently occuring. You can tell because, with metronomic predictability, knives are being sharpened for the Royal Navys aircraft carriers. There is a small cadre of people within defence who loathe them with a logic-defying passion. These giant ships act as a totem, sucking in interservice insecurities and spitting them back out, often accompanied by a poor understanding of their actual utility, vulnerability and cost.

Describing the utility of an aircraft carrier is tough. Unless youve seen one at sea and witnessed the gravitating effect they have across the entire spectrum of defence operations, it is hard to grasp. There is nothing else in the MODs tool kit that gets close; from intelligence gathering, to defence diplomacy, to maritime leadership, to disaster relief, to all the mid-ranking tasks such as anti-submarine warfare in the North Atlantic (a daily threat to the UK), all the way up to strike operations and maritime conflict.

They cover all and, best of all, do so in a location of our choosing. This is why all the major navies in the world either have them or are building them. The individual who says this is because navies are too slow to react isnt being clever or forward-looking, theyre being arrogant, thinking they know more than the combined wisdom of around ten of the worlds navies.

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The second item that carrier haters overplay is their vulnerability. Again, its hard to overstate how hard it is to target a well-run carrier strike group, particularly in a shooting war when one is taking active measures to degrade the enemys targeting. Warships are vulnerable and always have been  the clue is in the name  but to say that hypersonic missiles have moved this dial to the point of obsolescence isnt true.

It will affect how and where you operate, and what countermeasures are required, but that has been the case since muskets, cannonballs, subsonic missiles, and torpedoes arrived. Again, there is an arrogance to assume that this hasnt been studied in depth, using classified information, by the same people building and operating them. Using wargame findings as proof that they will be sunk is an impactful statement to the casual or uninformed observer but a pointlessly obvious one to everyone else.

The final argument, as ever, is one of cost. Here our carriers are good value. 7.6 billion pounds for two that will last for 50 years compares well to the new US carriers which cost circa 16 billion dollars each. Also, these sums are now almost entirely sunk: scrapping one now would save almost nothing.

The idea that if we hadnt spent that money over the years the frigate fairy would have paid a visit and we would now be drowning in escorts is also false  it doesnt work like that. In fact, the carrier justifies continued expenditure on escorts and submarines, not the other way around.

The running costs are not insignificant but at around 100 million pounds a year, this equates to 0.17 per cent of the total defence budget. Add the ships company and aircraft costs and this climbs, of course it does, but there are many, many things in defence that cost this much a year to run  boarding school allowance, for example. The idea that these ships are somehow draining the defence budget doesnt stack up.

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There are, however, two strong counterarguments to consider. The first is that we have not configured our capability properly yet. We have shortcomings in jet numbers, air-to-air refuelling, airborne early warning and solid stores support at sea. Our escort fleet has atrophied over decades of defence parsimony and whilst the build programme for them is sound, the new ships are not ready yet.

Operating with allies can mitigate much of this but there is no escaping the fact that carrier strike on a shoestring, which is what we have done to date, will leave you thin in certain areas, perhaps critically so in a high-threat environment. This can be fixed: it just needs to be resourced properly. There is still a massive amount these ships can do in the meantime, and one has to remember this is where ships spend 98 per cent of their time operating.

The second is the number of sailors they need to run them. This is an area where the Navy is currently thin, and why the ships operate in readiness states. These range from R0 (immediate notice) to R9 (refit) and the two ships will move up and down these states, unseen by us, so they can manage the people between them as efficiently as possible.

But these nuanced arguments and counterarguments can easily be drowned out by punchlines. Right now we have the potential future US Secretary of Defence (ex-Army) saying carriers have had their time based on losing wargames. Over here, we have had past ex-Army ministers actively briefing against them whilst in office. Look there to see a General on the Strategic Defence Review panel who has made his views clear.

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Hopefully, the SDR doesnt get distracted by this kind of noise as it has some genuinely important strategic decisions to make. But if it is done in the spirit of its predecessors, meaning with no more money at the end of it, then it will fail because baked in inter-service bad behaviour to protect future capabilities will dominate strategic prioritisation.

In the meantime, our carriers and supporting elements need more money spent on them so that they can thicken into the capability they should be. The idea of scrapping one now, based on limited knowledge of their utility, vulnerability and cost would be strategically incontinent given the current global environment.

Defence expenditure has to increase now, of that there can be no doubt. And properly  no more sticking plasters. Our Government has the money to do so: its about political choices. Wouldnt it be amazing if that led to an environment where each service was then able to articulate and cost its own requirements to complement the whole, rather than sniping at others?

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CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD)- Deputies are searching the McClellanville area for a person who reportedly fled a traffic stop early Monday afternoon.

The suspect fled after deputies attempted a traffic stop on South Fraser Street in Georgetown, according to the Georgetown County Sheriffs Office.

Deputies pursued the vehicle southbound on Highway 17, reaching speeds over 100 mph. The suspect then abandoned the vehicle around Brailsford Road in Charleston County, authorities said.

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The Charleston County Sheriffs Office is assisting in the search.

This story is developing.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2.
ST. LOUIS  The second of two brothers appeared in St. Louis Circuit Court on Monday to be sentenced for the 2022 murder of a man in a dispute over a wayward bottle rocket.

Prosecutors with the St. Louis Circuit Attorneys Office said Davon R. Griffin-Curry, 20, was sentenced to life in prison plus five years for the murder of Rickey J. Lathan.

The murder happened around 11 p.m. on July 12, 2022, in the 2500 block of Semple Avenue, located in the citys Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood.

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Police responded to calls for a shooting and found Lathan lying in front of his home, suffering from multiple gunshots. Lathan was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 35.

Pattonville HS employee arrested for inappropriate student relationship

After obtaining doorbell camera footage and speaking to witnesses, investigators said Lathan was shot by Davon and Devin Griffin-Curry, who were 18 and 16 at the time of the shooting.

Police said Lathan was setting off fireworks outside his home with his 5-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son. A bottle rocket shot across the street and detonated outside a home where Davon and Devin lived with their grandfather.

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The brothers ran across the street, began arguing with Lathan, and shot him in front of his children, prosecutors said.

Davon, now 20, was convicted of second-degree murder and armed criminal action last month. Jurors recommended a life sentence on the murder charge and five years for the armed criminal action charge. The circuit court judge accepted the jurys recommendation, with the sentences running consecutively. In Missouri, a life term is calculated as 30 years.

Devin, now 19, was sentenced in July to 22 years in state prison after being found guilty of second-degree murder and armed criminal action.

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The return of President Trump as commander-in-chief could mean more hardball negotiations with defense contractors.

But Trumps focus on cost cutting and potential insistence on hard deals may run into resistance from an industry that has grown wary of the kind of contracts that put them at greater risk  particularly aerospace firms developing expensive aircraft heavily reliant on new, high-risk technology.

And as the Air Force faces a cash crunch limiting its ability to modernize key parts of its force, it remains to be seen whether a second Trump administration will free up more resources for programs such as a next-generation fighter.

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John Venable, a retired F-16 pilot and senior fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, said that Trump can leverage his unique ability to command public attention to put pressure on underperforming defense contractors. He pointed to Lockheed Martins delays in getting necessary upgrades into the F-35 as an example.

If [Trump] spoke about Lockheed Martin publicly and the board of directors heard that, you would see a change in the direction and intensity on the delivery of [F-35] products, Venable said. If he flinches in the direction of U.S. industry, particularly in the military industrial complex, I think youre going to see a lot of this stalling of production go away. This, We cant get parts, we cant assemble things fast enough, were having software issues. Those excuses are not going to fly with this guy, and I think the military and industry will all benefit from that heat.

Trump frequently touts his business acumen and ability to strike deals, particularly his administrations 2018 renegotiation of Boeings contract to build two new VC-25B Air Force One presidential planes. Most recently, Trump blasted unbelievable waste and fraud in the government in an Oct. 31 live interview with Tucker Carlson. One of Trumps early actions as president-elect was to put business tycoon Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in charge of a government efficiency commission tasked with rooting out waste.

I saved much more than $1 billion when I came into the White House in one day, when I said, Im not going to pay that much to Boeing for Air Force One, Trump said Oct. 31. It took about a couple of weeks, you know, saying Im not buying it. No, I dont want it. But theres a plane that youre saving much more than $1 billion, and youve got thousands of things like that. Not as much, and in some cases, much more.

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Hard figures verifying the Air Force One savings are hard to come by. But Boeing came to regret that deal, and has lost nearly $2.7 billion on the VC-25B program in all. Boeings former chief executive Dave Calhoun suggested that the company should not have accepted the Trump administrations demands on the Air Force One renegotiation.

Air Force One, Im just going to call a very unique moment, a very unique negotiation, a very unique set of risks that Boeing probably shouldnt have taken, Calhoun told investors in an April 2022 earnings call, after the company reported a $660 million quarterly loss on the program.

Fixed-price contracts are one method the government can use to hold down costs, and Air Force One is one of several major programs for which Boeing agreed to those terms. Under such deals, a contractor agrees to deliver a product or service for a certain price. If the program runs over budget or has any changes that the government didnt originally agree to, the contractor foots the entire bill. This gives a contractor a strong incentive to hold prices down.

But if the Trump administration tries to use fixed-price contracts to bring down prices, major defense contractors could push back. Boeing, smarting from widespread losses on its fixed-price programs, has sworn off agreeing to those contracts in the future. Other companies, such as L3Harris Technologies and Lockheed Martin, have watched Boeings experience and shied away from fixed-price deals, even though it meant staying on the sidelines during competition for major programs.

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The potential for another bonanza in military spending under a new Trump administration could alleviate some of the Air Forces modernization woes  but nothing is guaranteed.

The Air Force is bringing on the new B-21 Raider stealth bomber, T-7 Red Hawk trainer, and F-15EX Eagle II, as well as continuing to buy more F-35A Joint Strike Fighters. The service is getting closer to having the first iteration of drone wingmen known as collaborative combat aircraft. And its trying to find ways to bring the future costs of its LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile under control.

But the Air Forces original concept for a sixth-generation fighter family of systems known as Next Generation Air Dominance proved to be prohibitively expensive, and its future is now in question. Price estimates on NGAD came in at roughly three times as much as an F-35, which would have significantly limited the size of NGADs potential fleet. The Air Force is now in the midst of a review of its air dominance needs, and considering ways to redesign NGAD to bring its price down.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said Nov. 1 that the service likely couldnt afford a next-generation stealth tanker along with its other modernization needs.

Venable said a potential budget hike under the next Trump administration could prove to be a lifeline for NGAD or other programs that could be fielded within the next seven years. A tanker counterpart, known tentatively as NGAS, would likely have to wait until more funding is found, he added.
Boston police are asking the public for help finding a missing 84-year-old man.

Shoutian Lin was seen around 333 Massachusetts Avenue around 9:33 a.m. Monday morning.

Lin is an Asian man and is described as 54 to 56 in height and around 140 pounds.

He was last seen wearing a red jacket, black pants and often uses a walker, BPD says.

He is known to frequent Chinatown and downtown Boston.

Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is advised to contact 911 or District D-4 Detectives at 617-343-9537.

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

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A self-defense claim is under investigation after four people, sought for questioning in connection with the death of a 20-year-old man inside a Hermitage bowling alley over the weekend, voluntarily spoke with police.

Nashville officers were called to the Strike & Spare Family Fun Center on Lebanon Pike just after 10 p.m. Saturday night. Police said surveillance footage showed a group of two men and two women entering the bowling alley.

Shortly after, the victim, who has not yet been identified by police, the two men and another witness got into a fight near the front door.

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Multiple shots were fired, and the victim suffered multiple gunshot wounds, police said. He died at the scene.

Police released images of the four people wanted for questioning Sunday morning. All four later went to police to be interviewed by Homicide Unit detectives.

"A self-defense claim by the 23-year-old shooter is under investigation," police said in a Sunday evening statement. "No charges have been placed to this point. It appears the two sides attended rival high schools and had prior issues."

This story has been updated to add video.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville Police probe self-defense claim in bowling alley shooting
NATCHITOCHES, La. (KTAL/KMSS)  The Louisiana Attorney Generals Office, in partnership with the Office of the Mayor of Natchitoches and Crime Stoppers of Natchitoches, will be hosting a critical seminar on Fraud Awareness.

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The event will occur on Wednesday, November 20, at 6 p.m. at the City of Natchitoches Council Chambers, 716 Second St. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.

The event will focus on raising awareness about the dangers of fraud and cybercrime, educating the public on recognizing fraudulent activity, and providing guidance on avoiding falling victim to online scams.

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The discussion will be led by Laura Seabaugh, North Louisiana Outreach Manager for the Office of Attorney General Liz Murrill. She will share essential information on protecting yourself from fraudulent actors and cybercrime.

Topics to be covered include:

Understanding different types of fraud

How to identify red flags for online scams

Tips for safeguarding personal and financial information online

Suggestions on steps to take if you become a victim of fraud

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The internet has become a crucial part of our daily lives, but it also opens the door for bad actors looking to exploit vulnerable individuals, said Seabaugh. This seminar is an opportunity for the community to learn practical tools to stay safe and secure in a changing world.

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The event is free and open to the public. Everyone is encouraged to attend and gain valuable knowledge to avoid the increasing threat of fraud and cybercrime.

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 KTALnews.com.
State Sen. Greg Taylor was reelected by his peers on Monday to keep serving as the Senate's minority leader, the same day he was accused in an IndyStar story of sexual harassment by three women.

The Senate Democratic caucus faced a Tuesday deadline for selecting its leaders for the upcoming legislative session and was the only chamber to not have done so by Monday morning. The caucus announced that it had reelected Taylor in a press release and did not address the allegations.

The caucus did, however, put out a separate statement later in the day saying it is "deeply troubled" by the allegations and apologizes to anyone "who has been affected by the culture of misconduct that has persisted within the Statehouse."

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"It is unacceptable for anyone to experience harassment or exploitation, and it is especially egregious when it involves those in positions of public trust," the statement reads. "As legislators, we are charged with upholding the highest ethical standards, and when those standards are violated, it undermines the integrity of our entire institution."

A spokeswoman for Taylor said he was unable to answer questions about the vote  including whether he faced any opposition for remaining as leader  because caucus proceedings are "private and confidential."

The accusations caused an immediate rift among Democrats in the Senate, where the party holds 10 of 50 seats. Two members of the caucus decided not to seek reelection to leadership positions amid concerns about the accusations against Taylor. And state Sen. Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis, said on Monday evening that she ran for the leader position but lost.

Sen. JD Ford of Indianapolis, who held the position of minority caucus chair, said he did not vote for Taylor, citing IndyStar's reporting of "very serious allegations."

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"I stand with the women who bravely reported their experiences," he said in a written statement. "All along, I have been pushing out caucus to see the bigger picture on how our actions impact Hoosiers and the example they set."

The caucus instead selected Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, to replace Ford.

Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, said she decided not to seek another term as assistant minority leader because the allegations against Taylor "demanded accountability and action."

"While the outcome was not what I had hoped for, I did everything in my power to stand up for what is right and to ensure these issues were addressed  not for personal gain or political positioning, but because it was the right thing to do," she said in a statement posted to X. "I stand with the courageous women who came forward to share their experiences and I am deeply sorry they had to endure such difficult circumstances. Their bravery has been a powerful call to action  a call I took to heart and fought to answer. Leadership must reflect the values of safety, justice and dignity."

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Hunley was elected to replace Yoder as assistant minority leader.

"While I'm disappointed by the outcome of our caucus leader election, I'm committed to ensuring that changes are made and that Leader Taylor is held accountable," Hunley said in a statement on Monday evening.

State Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, said in a statement that "sexual harassment, in any form or setting, is unacceptable, though he did not specify how he voted for caucus leader.

None of the other caucus members replied to IndyStar's requests for comment or appeared to comment elsewhere on the matter on Monday.

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Taylor on Friday apologized for his past behavior to IndyStar, acknowledging instances where he "blurred the lines and behaved in a manner that potentially made my colleagues or those who witnessed my actions uncomfortable."

More: Indiana Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor accused of sexual harassment by three women

Taylor, first elected by his Senate peers as Minority Leader back in 2020 and to the Legislature in 2008, is accused by three women of sexual harassment, IndyStar reported on Monday. The allegations involve two instances of unwanted physical contact and a sustained romantic pursuit of an intern.

At least one of the allegations was formally reported to legislative leaders, but was kept secret from the public even as Taylor ascended to the chambers top Democratic post in 2020.

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Another one of the women, who said Taylor pinned her against a door in 2009, said she told caucus leadership about the incident at the time, but no action was taken. She said lawmakers failed her again on Monday.

"When Taylors colleagues in the Indiana Senate, despite my allegations and the allegations of two other survivors of Greg Taylor's misconduct, voted to reelect Taylor as their leader, it sends Hoosiers a signal that perhaps Hoosiers should look elsewhere for leadership," she said.

The caucus' statement criticizing the culture at the Statehouse did not acknowledge its reelection of Taylor. However, the caucus did point to the changes it is proposing to the the Senate Ethics Committee  proposals IndyStar reported on Monday , which currently is comprised entirely of legislators. Senate Democrats are proposing that a third-party attorney and Human Resources representative be involved when the ethics committee discusses sexual harassment allegations.

"The expectation that someone would detail their experiences of harassment to a body dominated by colleagues of the accused is an untenable and unfair burden," the caucus stated. "Reform is non-negotiable."

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Taylor was absent from an Indiana Chamber's legislative preview event on Monday morning, despite being scheduled to speak in a panel discussion hours after IndyStar published its story about Taylor.

The chamber would not comment on his absence, except to say it found out right before the event that Taylor would not be able to make it, said Rebecca Patrick, senior vice president of communications and marketing.

How others responded to the vote

The results of the leadership vote on Monday were met by condemnation by some both within and outside the Democratic party. Even the state Democratic party emphasized in a statement condemning "all forms" of sexual harassment that it has no role in electing caucus leadership at the Statehouse.

Destiny Wells, a deputy chair of the Indiana Democratic Party who recently mounted an unsuccessful statewide campaign against Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita, thanked the women for coming forward about Taylor.

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"I was hopeful that new leadership would emerge from the caucus today and I believe this is a conversation that's long from over," Wells told IndyStar. "I encourage those who want change in not just the state of the Indiana, but in the Indiana Democratic Party, to speak up and start demanding that change."

Elise Shrock, a Democratic strategist and former deputy chief of staff for the Indiana Senate Democrats, said "reconciling the abusive nature of government workplaces at both the city and state level only happens when we do the hard work of acknowledging the harm that has been done."

"I worry that this, once again, sends a chilling message to staffers charged with doing the work of the people," Shrock said.

House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, issued a statement, too, but did not say whether or not he thinks Taylor should remain the Democratic leader in the Senate.

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"As Indiana House Democratic Leader, I strongly condemn sexual harassment, no matter who it comes from," GiaQuinta said. "I cannot ignore this principle simply because a Statehouse Democrat has been accused of sexual harassment."

House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, said on Monday at the Indiana Chamber event that he was "100% concerned about any allegations" of harassment, but said he hadn't read the full IndyStar article to comment directly.

When asked if the Statehouse was a safe place for women to work, he replied: "I sure hope so, and we fight every day to make sure it is."

None of the four caucuses  House Republicans, House Democrats, Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats  have responded to questions about how many sexual harassment complaints they've received against lawmakers in the last decade.

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Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on X:@kayla_dwyer17.

Contact IndyStar senior government accountability reporter Hayleigh Colombo at hcolombo@indystar.com or follow her on X: @hayleighcolombo.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Senate Democrats reelect Greg Taylor as leader despite allegations
(Bloomberg) -- Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye looks set to secure a parliamentary majority that will enable him to implement reforms needed to stabilize the nations finances.

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With counting under way after Sundays election and official results yet to be released, opposition candidates including Dakar Mayor Barthelemy Dias and Amadou Ba congratulated Fayes Pastef party for securing a majority. Radio Futurs Medias, a closely held broadcaster, said Pastef obtained 84 seats in the vote.

Faye needs 83 seats to control the legislature. His party previously held 29 seats. The official results are expected to be announced this week.

Faye is seeking control over the National Assembly to deliver on his ambitious reform agenda, eight months after winning presidential polls by a landslide. The 44-year-old former tax inspector came to power pledging economic and judicial reforms and calling for a review of oil and gas contracts to increase the states share of revenue from its natural resources.

The ruling partys victory will ensure an alignment of executive and legislative, and also allow the party to introduce reforms that it promised, said Mucahid Durmaz, senior analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft. A Pastef victory will also be welcomed by financial markets, with investors keen to see political and economic stability established in Senegal, he said.

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Senegal bonds were among best performing in emerging markets on Monday, with yields on the securities due in May 2033 down 8 basis points to 9%  the lowest since Oct. 28

Faye needs the legislatures backing to pass next years budget, rein in a fiscal deficit estimated at more than 10% of gross domestic product and lay the groundwork for a new International Monetary Fund program. His administration has previously struggled to move reforms through a legislature still dominated by lawmakers loyal to his predecessor, Macky Sall.

Salls coalition on Sunday alleged there had been irregularities in the election including ballot-box stuffing in one locality and insufficient voting materials in another.

Sall acknowledged Pastefs win in a statement on X on Monday, saying the population have clearly expressed their opinion, confirming once again their political maturity, their attachment to republican values and democracy.

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--With assistance from Colleen Goko, Mike Cohen and Gordon Bell.

(Updates with bonds in sixth paragraph, ex-presidents comments in ninth.)

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The News

Senegals president looks set to secure a crucial electoral victory that would enable him to implement his policy agenda.

Bassirou Diomaye Fayes Pastef party is projected to win an absolute majority after Sundays legislative elections. A government spokesperson claimed a large victory and two opposition party leaders  including Amadou Ba, a former prime minister  conceded defeat before all votes were counted, according to reports. Official results are expected later on Monday or Tuesday.

Observer missions from the African Union and West Africas economic bloc ECOWAS noted that calm prevailed during the campaigns leading up to the vote, in stark contrast to the turbulence and violence of the two months that preceded Fayes election in March.



Know More

Faye dissolved parliament in September and called for the election. The move had been anticipated as politically necessary to secure the support base needed among lawmakers to enact his policies.

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In the six months since becoming president, Faye has ordered audits of energy contracts, with a view to possibly renegotiating them. His administrations 25-year development plan, unveiled last month, pledges to correct the bad choices and bad practices of our governing elites since independence, said Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.

Senegals economy grew at 4.3% last year, having improved on 2022 by half a percentage point, according to the World Bank.

But Fayes ambitious agenda targets economic growth of between 6.5 and 7% from 2025 to 2029, while reducing budget deficits to 3% from an average of 10.4% between 2019 and 2023.

Ratings agency Moodys downgraded Senegal last month after one of the Faye administrations audits revealed significantly higher past government budget deficits and a markedly higher debt burden than previously published.

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Senegalese laws require the president to consult with the National Assembly for budget approval. Pastefs victory in the legislative elections will ensure an alignment between both branches of government that will be a welcome outcome for investors, said Mucahid Durmaz, senior risk analyst at Verisk Maplecroft.

Room for Disagreement

Fayes predecessor Macky Sall has warned of the irreversible damage that could come from the present governments rhetoric around contract audits and reviews of previous budgets.

He fears that Senegal could be left with a very bad image following the governments decision to pause a $1.9 billion disbursement from the IMF as a result of what an audit revealed about the countrys debt situation.
This week, our Student of the Week poll features our first student from Kewaskum High School, going head-to-head against a fellow senior from Notre Dame Academy. Both were nominated for their work helping other students outside of their regular lessons.

Read what the people who nominated these high school students say about them below, and then vote in our poll to determine who should take the title of Wisconsin Student of the Week. Plus, learn how to nominate a student for our weekly poll.

Erinne 'Pip' McGinnity, grade 12, Notre Dame Academy

Erinne 'Pip' McGinnity

"At Notre Dame Academy, Pip McGinnity shines through for her selflessness and commitment to excellence. Every day during study hall, she volunteers her time to tutor our multilingual students, providing invaluable support and fostering a welcoming environment. Despite her rigorous schedule as a full IB student and her involvement on the schools dance team, she consistently prioritizes helping others. Her dedication to both her studies and her peers exemplifies the spirit of leadership, compassion, and academic excellence that defines NDA. We are proud to have her as a role model in our community."

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- Kristen Gast, counselor, Notre Dame Academy

Andrew Reichert, grade 12, Kewaskum High School

Andrew Reichert

"Andrew, a 3.95 GPA and National Honor Society student, has been volunteering at Kewaskum Middle School for the past two years. Andrew mentors students with severe emotional and behavioral challenges and finds a way to calm them and include them in lessons. He also finds a way to involve them with their peers. His positive attitude is contagious and students LOVE having him in class."

-Jeff Grotenhuis, physical education and health teacher, Kewaskum High School

Student of the Week Poll, week 8

We will announce the winner online on Friday, Nov. 22, at jsonline.com, postcrescent.com and greenbaypressgazette.com, and in our newspapers on Sunday, Nov. 24. Happy voting!

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Do you work with youth and know someone who should be Student of the Week? Reach out to Debi Young, statewide education editor, at debi.young@jrn.com to get a link to the nomination form.

Rebecca Loroff is a K-12 education reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. She welcomes story tips and feedback. Contact her at rloroff@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Vote in our eighth Student of the Week poll
BROWN COUNTY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC)  Four game rooms were raided for gambling near Lake Brownwood Friday.

The Brown County Sheriffs Office executed search at the following establishments off State Highway 279 after an undercover operation discovered they may be involved in illegal gambling: Lucky Links Game Room, 777 Game Room, Friends Game Room, Lucky Ducky Game Room.

Several suspects were arrested for gambling-related charges such as Gambling Promotion, Keeping a Gambling Place, and Possession of Gambling Device, Equipment, or Paraphernalia.

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Some of the suspects were also charged with Manufacture and Deliver of a Controlled

Substance >4g <200 grams and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon in connection to other criminal activity uncovered during the investigation.

All patrons found at the establishments during the raid were issued warning and citations then released.

Additional charges and arrests are pending the conclusion of this investigation.

No further information is available at this time.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB)  Crews at Callaway Recreational Park are now taking the walls down after a week of honoring Vietnam veterans through the Wall that Heals Memorial. They held their closing ceremony Sunday where they wrapped up a week of honor and respect.

It was the first time in over 10 years that Bay County was chosen for the memorial.

Over the last few days, thousands of retired military, family members, and others come to the memorial to pay their respects.

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Organizers say the visit to Bay County will leave a lasting impression on the memorial.

Marianna man killed in single vehicle crash

Bay County was probably one of the most organized stops we had. You know, that committee, of people who won brought their expertise to bear. You know, they stayed in their lanes. They said, hey, this is what I know Im good at. This is what Im going to do, whether its bringing in the media, whether its bringing in the volunteers and making all those realities happen. Bay County did that, they set a standard that were going to use and copy and many other states as we move on into it, Wall that Heals Director of Outreach Tim Tetz said.

Its been exciting and rough, to tell you the truth. But I was kind of sorry its over but in a couple of years maybe we can get it back again and teach the younger kids growing up what the sacrifices were, Bay County Veterans Council President Mike Lozon said.

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Over 700 students from surrounding schools also visited the site this week. Bay County was the last stop for the memorial this year, but they do anticipate another stop in Florida in 2025.

The exact locations and dates will be announced next month.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com.
Someones attacking here. F train, Morielyn Sanchez told the 911 operator.

Hes trying to attack everybody.

Theyre holding him down right now, she said, the panic in the 18-year-olds voice apparent.

Sanchezs 911 call was one of several that prosecutors aired during their case against Daniel Penny, the former Marine who put homeless street artist Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold on a New York City subway in May 2023.

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Later, Sanchez took cell phone video of first responders treating Neely, who appeared limp and non-responsive.

Oh my god, hes not breathing, she says, as officers feel for a pulse and rub Neelys chest in an attempt for him to respond.

Prosecutors rested their case against Penny on Monday after eight days of witness testimony.

They didnt argue the 26-year-old intentionally tried to kill Neely  but allege he went way too far and violated law and human decency by holding the 30-year-old Black mans neck for about six minutes as he struggled until he stopped moving.

Protesters gather outside of a New York City courthouse as jury selection begins in the trial of Daniel Penny, who is charged in the death of Jordan Neely, on October 21, 2024, in New York City. - Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The prosecution presented testimony, video and 911 calls from subway riders, responding police officers and martial arts and medical experts over the past two weeks. The medical examiner who performed Neelys autopsy  the prosecutions 33rd and final witness  testified Friday she had no doubt Neely died from neck compression.

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Pennys defense attorneys argued he was trying to protect bystanders from Neely. Neely never appeared to be choking or said he couldnt breathe during the chokehold, the defense argued, and they have sought to challenge the medical examiners determination the chokehold caused his death.

The defense now has an opportunity to call its own witnesses.

Penny is facing charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in Neelys death. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter and up to four years if convicted of criminally negligent homicide.

The case has polarized New York City residents, many of whom have personal experiences with disorder on the subways, and raised broader questions about mental health, homelessness, racism, and the line between protector and vigilante.

Subway bystanders who witnessed Pennys chokehold describe the altercation

Caedryn Schrunk said the day Neely entered the subway train was the first time in her life she felt like she was going to die.

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She did not recall exactly what Neely yelled but described him saying he didnt care if he died, if others died, or if he went to jail for life.

Sanchez, the high schooler who called 911, testified she was scared by Neely and was relieved when Penny put him in a chokehold.

The jury also saw video of Pennys interview with NYPD detectives after Neelys death.

I wasnt trying to injure him, Penny said in the video. Im just trying to keep him from hurting anybody else. He was threatening.

Daniel Penny, left, looks on in a New York City subway car as officers attempt to revive Jordan Neely in May 2023. - New York City Police Department/AP

However, other witnesses for the prosecution described Penny not as a hero but someone actively trying to stop Neely from receiving assistance.

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Johnny Grima testified he tried to help Neely, lying limp on the subway floor, by giving him water but was stopped by Penny.

I tried to pour some water on his forehead and Daniel Penny intercepted me and stopped me, Grima, who has previously been homeless himself, testified.

Thats weird, thats wrong. Youre not a police officer, Grima said in court.

Another witness who helped hold down Neely in the subway car testified he advised Penny to let go of the hold, but Penny did not do so.

And video shown in court captured an unseen bystander saying Neely was dying, telling Penny, Let him go as he continued the chokehold.

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The fact of the case is this, someone got on the train and was screaming, and someone choked that person to death, said Donte Mills, an attorney for Neelys family. Those things will never balance out. And theres no justification that can make those things balance out.

Chokehold technique and cause of death come to center focus

Penny served four years in the US Marines. He was a green belt in the Marine Corps martial arts program, learning several blood chokes designed to cut off blood flow to the brain and render someone unconscious, his martial arts instructor Joseph Caballer said.

Last week, he testified the 26-year-old incorrectly used a blood choke technique in the fatal restraint of Neely.

Caballer reviewed videos and photos of Penny restraining Neely in court, determining he improperly used a figure-four variation chokehold. Pennys arm was in the wrong position on Neelys neck, and his other hand was in the wrong position on Neelys head, he testified.

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The prosecution also called several paramedics, who testified they made multiple failed attempts to revive Neely, who had no pulse and was not breathing when they arrived.

Dr. Cynthia Harris, the medical examiner who performed Neelys autopsy, walked the jury through graphic autopsy photos of Neelys wounds including deep hemorrhaging visible in his neck muscles that she said speaks to what wouldve been a constrictive pinching force consistent with Pennys chokehold.

Harris said it would take a considerable amount of force to sustain such hemorrhaging in multiple muscles deep in Neelys neck.

She filed compression of neck (chokehold) as Neelys official cause of death on his death certificate.

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The homeless street artists sickle cell trait likely enhanced the asphyxia component of his death, Harris said, but did not cause his death.

Toxicology tests found the presence of a synthetic cannabinoid known as K2 in Neelys system, and although Harris acknowledged on cross-examination that she filed his official cause of death without the toxicology test results, she said she does not think the stimulant drug contributed to his death.

Harris remained on the stand throughout Monday, with Pennys defense team pressing the medical examiner on Neelys sickle cell disease and whether their client applied pressure to Neelys neck during the entire altercation, resulting in his death.

Her testimony has been the longest of any witness so far in the trial.

CNNs Zoe Sottile contributed to this report.

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The small white house at 2233 W. Capitol Drive has seen better days.

In a recent visit, a Journal Sentinel reporter saw that two side windows had been boarded up by the city with green panels, several others were broken, a padlocked metal gate prevented entry through the front door, and much of the lettering on one side of the W.J. Sherard Realty Co. sign overlooking Capitol was badly faded.

This building once served as the headquarters for the rental empire of Will Sherard  long one of the north side's largest and most notorious landlords.

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Sherard died in August at age 83, leaving behind a handful of properties, a company that owes more than $15,000 in unpaid Municipal Court fines for building code violations, and a wrongful death lawsuit still under appeal.

Will Sherard's real estate office at 2233 W.Capitol Drive in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. Sherard, long known as one of Milwaukee's most notorious landlords, has died August 29, leaving behind a handful of properties and a company that owes unpaid fines for building code violations.

Last year, a Milwaukee County circuit judge ordered Sherard to pay $1.35 million because of an electrical fire at one of his rental properties that killed two people. The fire was detailed in a 2021 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation about landlords who fail to fix dangerous electrical wiring in their properties. The case is under appeal.

Sherard's company, Morocco Investments, slowed down its activities in the years preceding his death.

Sherard and his company owned about a half-dozen properties when he died, compared to more than 100 that he owned in 2016 when he was profiled in a Journal Sentinel series about landlords who target low-income residents as tenants and game the system by making nominal payments on large fines for building code violations.

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"He was known for decades for the deplorable conditions of his rental units," Colleen Foley, executive director of the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee said in a text to the Journal Sentinel. "And his properties shone a light on inequities in the system."

Vincent Bobot knew Sherard as a landlord who stood before him when Bobot was a municipal judge and later as a client when Bobot was an attorney in private practice.

"The positive thing thing about Will was that he rented to people that nobody else would rent to," Bobot said, including people who had evictions on their record. "The issue was what he did rent to them."

Bobot noted that people frequently called the landlord's name when Bobot walked with Sherard on Capitol Drive.

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"Everybody on the north side knew him," Bobot said.

Bobot said about half the people who shouted out Sherard's name on Capitol were supportive and the other half were foes.

"There was a notorious side to him," Bobot said.

Sherard made the news in 2016 when the Journal Sentinel disclosed how Sherard and others routinely received Municipal Court approval to make nominal payments on thousands of dollars of building codes fines. Meanwhile, Sherard continued to buy more problem-plagued inner-city properties to rent to low-income residents.

In May 2016, the City Attorney's office objected to continuing Sherard's easy payment plan. In response, Municipal Court Judge Phillip Chavez ordered that Sherard pay $39,728 in building code fines within 60 days, plus an additional $24,822 one year after that.

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Taxes and interest on Sherard's properties stood at $3,507 at the end of October.

Cary Spivak is an investigative reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at cspivak@jrn.com or (414) 550-0070.

Chris Ramirez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Notorious Milwaukee landlord Will Sherard dead at 83
PUTNAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN)  A sinkhole caused by a water main break has closed a main road in Cookeville Monday morning.

Cookeville police reported the sinkhole is located on East Spring Street.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

(Courtesy: Cookeville Police Department)

East Spring Street is closed to traffic in both directions from Watagua Road to Whitson Chapel Road.

City crews have been on-site since 7 a.m. and are actively working to repair the line, according to the Cookeville mayors office. Water services in the affected area are unavailable until at least 2 p.m.

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Motorists are asked to avoid the area and find an alternate route.

The Putnam County Sheriffs Office reported there is no estimated time for when the roadway will reopen.

No additional information was immediately released.

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 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.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org.

Uncertainty about the future and concern about past attitudes have created post-election stress for many members of the LGBTQ+ community, according to mental health professionals.

Lauren Slye, vice president of outpatient clinical services at Diversus Health in Colorado Springs said people are experiencing valid feelings of disappointment, fear and loss, following the Nov. 5 victory of President-elect Donald Trump.

That has led to acute stress, which typically happens quickly but doesnt last more than 30 days, she said.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other people associated with the LGBTQ+ population have been on edge, said Rachel Keener, co-chair of the community advisory council of the Prism Community Collective. The center at 711 S. Tejon St., works with people affected by the Nov. 19, 2022, shooting at Club Q, a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs.

At this point, a lot of marginalized people are concerned about what life looks like, she said. Conditions were precarious before; now theres a sense of urgency in figuring out where we fit in all of it, refocusing and looking at next steps.

According to translegislation.com, 665 anti-trans bills regarding health care, education, legal recognition and the right to publicly exist were introduced across the country in 43 states. Of those, a large majority of 492 failed, 45 passed and 128 are active, according to the tracking site.

Appointments for clinical therapy and counseling at Prism Community Collective have been full since the election, said Keener, who also works as senior manager for health equity at Community Health Partnership, an organization that oversees Prism.

Mirroring a nationwide trend, calls to Prism inquiring about services also have increased, she said.

The Trevor Project, the nations leading mental health organization for LGBTQ+ youth, reported a 700% surge in calls to its crisis line after the election.

Diversus last week began a regular schedule of providing clinicians at Prism, Slye said. Peak Vista Community Health Centers also supplies mental health professionals for Prism users.

This was a very charged campaign season, Slye said. It can feel like the world is against some of the marginalized populations.

What was considered anti-trans messaging appeared in pro-Trump advertising that turned the use of the pronoun they and them into an us vs. them type of juxtaposition. Now, many dont see how the situation could not devolve under the incoming administration, Prism leaders said.

Speaking as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Keener said transgender and gender-expansive people have been the target of increased negativity and hate for months leading up to the presidential election.

The rhetoric and the concern about rights is absolutely focused on impacting the transgender and trans-expansive community the most  thats undeniable, she said, adding that issues surrounding marriage, gender identity, name changes, legal matters and health are of most concern.

FBI data released in September showed that hate crimes motivated by gender-identity and sexual orientation rose from 2022 to 2023. The FBI reported 2,936 incidents related to sexual-orientation and gender-identity bias in 2023, an increase of nearly 9% from about 2,700 in 2022.

This community is resilient and taking care of themselves but needs support right now, Keener said.

Looking at social media, particularly doom scrolling, or focusing on speculation about what might happen in the future, can contribute to mental anguish by fueling anxiety and fears, Slye said.

To reduce that, she recommends limiting social media by vowing to scroll only three times a day for 10 minutes each and setting a timer to stick to the pledge.

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As the holidays approach, setting boundaries with people who have differing views also can help protect mental well-being, Slye said.

Determine what you can control and what you cannot control, she said, and "join advocacy groups to have a voice in trying to protect your rights.

Also, Avoid the worst-case scenarios, engage in physical activity, practice mindfulness, ground yourself in nature, hold something soft in your hands if you are exposed to something negative, and develop other positive habits to manage stress, Slye said.

Seeking safe spaces

Since opening in June, interest in the Prism Community Collective has steadily increased, said site director Stoney Roberts. In addition to individual counseling, peer support groups run by the local office of the National Alliance on Mental Health are offered weekly.

Social connections such as game nights and virtual programming have been popular, Roberts said, and the space has become an accepted hangout. Theres also free gender-affirming clothing donated by supporters.

As the Nov. 19 anniversary of the Club Q shooting approaches and with political stress lingering, its important for LGBTQ+ people to seek people and places that give a sense of belonging, Prism leaders said.

People want a space to decompress with peers about how theyre feeling and knowing what safety feels like, Roberts said.

The Club Q mass shooting, which authorities defined as a hate crime, shows what the most extreme outcomes of what anti-LGBTQ and trans-rhetoric looks like, Keener said. Messages of hate have consequences. Thats everyones fear.

In June, shooter Anderson Lee Aldrich, 24, formerly of Colorado Springs, was sentenced to 55 concurrent life sentences to run consecutive to 190 years in prison after pleading guilty to 74 hate crimes and firearms charges.

According to the plea agreement, Aldrich admitted to murdering five people, injuring 19 and attempting to murder 26 more in a willful, deliberate, malicious and premediated attack at the nightclub, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

Led by a gay governor and with many favorable laws in place, Colorado as a whole is viewed as LGBTQ+ friendly.

The state has become a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community, said Cal Solverson, spokesperson for One Colorado, the state's primary advocacy group for LGBTQ+ rights. Its status was further bolstered, he said, by voters passing two state Constitutional amendments on Nov. 5 to repeal the definition that only a union of one man and one woman is valid or recognized as marriage in Colorado and enshrine abortion and allow taxpayer dollars to subsidize abortions for women on Medicaid.

More LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgenders, are inquiring about moving here, according to Trans Continental Pipeline, a queer relocation nonprofit in Denver.

We have seen a massive increase in new aid requests, its website states. As a result, the organization is training new relocation managers, adding more resources and expanding to other safe states, the message says.

Because amid a common sentiment of discomfort and fear, theres a sense of optimism that Colorado's support won't crumble, Solverson said.

The community is heavily leaning into our past of fighting for our freedom and rights, Solverson said. Most of us realize that we are a strong community who has done this before, and we'll do it again for as long as we have to until every person has the right to exist freely and fully as they are.

El Paso County, which historically has been politically conservative and was ground zero for anti-gay legislation in the early 1990s, has been recognized for improving acceptance and compassion for the LGBTQ+ community, particularly since the Club Q shooting.

Deep down, people in Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region care about each other and that our community is safe and inclusive of everyone, Keener said. I have a lot of faith in this community in making sure we support all people, and I hope that continues.
Nov. 17Editor's note: This is the second in a series of stories exploring the impact of Donald Trump's second term as president on New Mexico.

Marcela Diaz remembers when the federal Department of Homeland Security conducted I-9 audits, a means of identifying undocumented workers employed by local businesses, during former president Donald Trump's first term in office.

"Several businesses here in New Mexico, all within the same two-week period, got these I-9 audits," said Diaz, executive director of the immigrant workers' rights organization Somos Un Pueblo Unido. "Employers didn't know how to protect their workers, or themselves, and they were feeling pressured by a lot of the folks at (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) saying, 'Hey, we can find you. This could potentially be criminal, so cooperate with us and everything will be fine.' But cooperating with them means basically handing them over all the information that they request."

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Diaz said the audits by federal agents had an immediate effect on workers, many of whom left their jobs  a move that resulted in the loss of income for undocumented workers and their families and kneecapped local businesses. In other cases, the audits resulted in criminal charges and, eventually, deportation.

Diaz and other workers' rights groups in the state are prepping for mass deportations under a second Trump term, a plan that is creeping closer to reality as the president-elect and his incoming administration have upped their rhetoric on sending undocumented immigrants back to their home countries.

"I got three words for them: shock and awe," Tom Homan, President-elect Trump's border czar, said on a recent episode of Donald Trump Jr.'s 'Triggered' show in talking about mass deportations.

In New Mexico, the impact of mass deportations could be a major blow to the already low workforce participation rate  and mean millions, maybe even billions fewer dollars flowing through the state's economy. And while Hispanic supporters of Trump are hoping that only criminals get deported, his actions in his first term would point to broader deportations, which could have a huge impact on American businesses, and particularly in New Mexico for the agricultural, construction and the crucial energy sectors.

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Filling the gaps

New Mexico harbors about 192,400 immigrants, a mix that includes green-card holders, refugees and those with temporary status, according to a report from the American Immigration Council (AIC), a national advocacy group.

That number also includes an estimated 53,200 undocumented immigrants, who are about 28% of the overall immigrant population here in the state.

Undocumented immigrants make up 2.5% of the state's population and an even larger percentage of the working population at close to 4%, according to the report.

Nationally, undocumented workers make up almost half of all agricultural workers, according to a 2023 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and nearly a quarter of construction workers, according to a 2021 report from the Center for American Progress. While New Mexico lacks precise figures, the vast majority of its undocumented immigrants work in the agriculture, construction, hospitality and energy industries, according to Reilly White, a local economist and professor at the University of New Mexico's Anderson School of Management.

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Undocumented workers know that acceptance of under-the-table employment or providing false documentation can lead to work with established businesses, he said. Regardless, those workers have contributed to economic growth across the country  and here in New Mexico, many have filled roles affected by employment shortages, White added.

"Businesses are going to be very tempted (to hire) an undocumented worker, because what we've seen post-COVID has been an increase in labor costs across the board," White said. "A restaurant might have a profit margin of 2 or 3%. ... If we see undocumented workers, they're here because there are jobs here and there are jobs here because, in most cases, there is not a corresponding availability of (legal) workers at whatever rate the company wants to pay to fill those jobs."

As America has turned into a more highly educated service-based economy, menial jobs like in agricultural fields have increasingly been filled by undocumented immigrants, who often come from subsistence farming countries in Central and South America. In New Mexico, that is certainly the case, where undocumented workers find themselves in jobs in the agriculture industry. Some crops in New Mexico like chile, pecans and onions still favor handpicked labor, said Jay Lillywhite, a professor with the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural Business at New Mexico State University.

Lillywhite said deporting those workers would "reduce the labor supply, (and) that's going to increase the cost of labor."

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Two things could mitigate that: increased use of mechanization  yes, robots harvesting crops  or channeling more immigrants through legal programs. But both have their challenges, and neither solution can be ramped up quickly enough to be used in the near future by many New Mexican businesses, Lillywhite said.

With technological advancements, mechanized harvesting has become more common for certain crops. That is also the case in New Mexico, where some researchers and farmers have prototyped machines that pick chile. But there are many more complicated crops where such a solution is years away from mass implementation.

Programs that also bring workers from outside the U.S. to fill the state's agricultural labor shortages have also become more common. H-2A, for instance, allows for temporary agricultural workers from other countries to work American fields for up to 10 months.

But H-2A can be costly for some farmers, particularly smaller, family-owned operations in the state, said Travis Day, a lobbyist with the New Mexico Chile Association.

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Day said the program is mostly used by larger chile businesses in the Hatch and Deming areas who can afford the associated costs with the program like housing and meal vouchers, and higher pay.

For smaller farms, however, the inability to afford such a program has led to the hiring of undocumented workers, some of whom have worked with those businesses for many years, Day said. He estimates that hundreds of undocumented workers pick chiles in an industry that employs roughly 5,000 workers each year.

"The mass deportation immigration policy that the Trump administration comes out with, it'll certainly have an impact," Day said. But "I think we can offset that impact with having some cutting of red tape when it comes to getting some of these folks over through the legal process."

Undocumented workers also make up part of the construction sector here in New Mexico, playing a vital role in areas like the homebuilding industry.

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Lana Smiddle, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Central New Mexico, which represents some 600 companies from larger developers to subcontractors, said the workforce shortage in the state has "been something that's coming, and we knew it. We just couldn't get ahead of it."

Part of the shortage has been the result of a lack of marketing the trades to young adults and students as a proven source of income. Plugging that shortage has resulted in the hiring of some undocumented workers.

"They've always been important," Smiddle said.

"A lot of our builders, their trades depend on them," Smiddle said. "We just don't really have an idea what the policies are going to be. ... We're all playing the guessing game at this point."

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While much of the focus is on the gaps in the workforce filled by undocumented immigrants, Anna Trillo, staff attorney with the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, said what's forgotten is the entrepreneurial spirit of that population, some of whom are business owners in the state.

Since July, she said, she's helped about 15 to 20 individuals who've come to the law center's workshops "to seek legal advice, to find out information about what an LLC is and how to register with the (secretary of state)."

"It provides economic mobility for themselves and their families," Trillo said. "It's important to remember immigrants try to do things the legal way. Just because there isn't a legal pathway for them to have status in the U.S., because it is so difficult and almost nonexistent, doesn't mean they don't do everything else legally."

'A lot of lost money for the economy'

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In southeastern New Mexico, immigrant workers also make up a fair share of the oil and gas workforce, said Diaz, whose organization earlier this year commissioned a report on the industry.

Diaz said some of the state's biggest population gains have come in that area of the state, and immigrants have gone in and helped "avert significant population losses or help grow those counties." About 46% of oil and gas workers are Latino, including many documented and undocumented immigrants, according to the University of New Mexico report on the industry released in January.

"I think about the southeastern part of the state as being key counties because they generate oil and gas revenues. Last year, (they) made up close to 40% of our general budget for the state, as well as those resources funding our public education system," Diaz said.

The AIC in its report said undocumented immigrants account for $312 million in state, local and federal taxes.

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And their spending power, according to the AIC report, stands at $1.1 billion, money that directly supports businesses in the state. White said that money accounts for as much as 1% of New Mexico's gross domestic product.

"The amount of money that stays here (they spend with) businesses and food and other things  that's going to have a negative impact to have those workers removed. That's a lot of small businesses, that's housing, that's other resources that are reliant on income from these workers that will suddenly dry up," White said. "It's a sizable impact."

Added Diaz, "It's a lot of lost money for the economy. We also pay income taxes, so there's a loss for the state. It's the industries that we work in that will see an immediate loss. I don't think we can underestimate the loss of income for families with U.S. citizen children who aren't going anywhere."
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has criticised the Biden administrations decision to allow Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles for strikes on Russian territory, claiming this provokes escalation and undermines the possibility of "peace negotiations".

Source: European Pravda, citing Fico's statement on Facebook

Details: Fico believes that US President Joe Biden authorised the use of ATACMS against targets on Russian territory "with a clear goal  to completely derail or delay peace talks".

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Fico stated that he instructed Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar and Defence Minister Robert Kalinak not to support the US decision at any international forum or in any way.

"This is an unprecedented escalation of tensions," Fico asserted.

The Slovak Prime Minister also expressed surprise at how quickly some European countries backed the US decision, stressing that peace in Ukraine is critically important for Slovakia as its neighbour.

"Those who want the war in Ukraine to continue are harming national and state interests," he concluded.

Background:

Media write that US President Joe Biden has, for the first time, authorised Ukraine to use long-range American weaponry  ATACMS missiles  for strikes on Russian territory.

Axios reported that the decision specifically pertains to strikes in Russias Kursk Oblast and is intended as a response to North Koreas involvement in the war.

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After five months of closures, construction on State Route 529 Snohomish River Bridge is complete and the roadway has fully reopened.

The Washington State Department of Transportation celebrated the news, adding that the commute between Everett and Marysville just got a bit easier.

The reconstruction project began in 2023 after weather corrosion damaged the bridge. Lane reductions and multiple weekend full closures followed as crews worked to repair the bridge.

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According to WSDOT, the northbound Snohomish River bridge was built in 1927 and rebuilt in 1994. This project was just one of a series meant to help preserve bridges along the SR 529 and I-5 corridor between Everett and Marysville.

Two lanes in each direction are now open across the Snohomish River Bridge.

WSDOT reminded drivers that despite the full reopening, people will still be working in the area for a while, asking commuters to continue being careful and patient as they travel along that stretch of road.
Central Indiana could see its first flakes of snow this week thanks to a cold front blowing through the Midwest beginning Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

Along with cooler, frostier weather, forecasters with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis say Hoosiers also can expect strong, freezing winds gusting anywhere from 30-40 mph.

"We're definitely looking at a much cooler stretch from the middle of the week into the weekend, with the potential for some snow across the Indianapolis area," said NWS meteorologist Andrew White.

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Here's what Hoosiers living in Central Indiana can expect.

Will it snow this week in Indianapolis?

Forecasters say the Indianapolis area is poised for snow this week despite above-normal temperatures Monday, which will hover in the mid-60s. The best timeframe for freezing weather, according to White, is late Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

"It's going to be chilly," White said. "We're expecting temperatures to be right around that 32-degree mark Thursday morning."

That doesn't mean, however, that Hoosiers will wake up to a "winter wonderland."

Snow around Indianapolis not expected to accumulate, per NWS

As of Monday's seven-day forecast, meteorologists don't anticipate the snow to stick around. White said precipitation Wednesday and Thursday will be a mix of rain and light snow, which will likely melt as it hits the pavement.

Strong, freezing wind gusts are expected with cold front, per NWS

Something Hoosiers might want to keep their eye on, according to meteorologists, are windy conditions expected to blow in with the cold front.

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"We're expecting wind gusts of 30-40 mph," cautioned White. "That's going to make for a pretty dreary and cold Thursday. Wind chills are going to be in the upper teens across portions of Central Indiana."

Temperatures after Thursday are expected to remain cold, with highs predicted to be in the upper 30s to mid 40s Friday into Sunday.

Live weather radar for Central Indiana

Winter weather is on the way: Tips to prevent frozen pipes, safely heat your home

Weather forecast for Central Indiana, per NWS

Well above normal temperatures and rain early this week will give way to much colder conditions and additional showers, with potential for the first snowflakes of the year Wednesday night into Thursday night. Gusty winds can be expected much of the week. #INwx pic.twitter.com/FuFz4yaTyn  NWS Indianapolis (@NWSIndianapolis) November 18, 2024

 Monday: A chance of showers or sprinkles before 1 p.m., then a slight chance of showers between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 65. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

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 Monday night: Showers, mainly after 1 a.m. Low around 57. Southeast wind 9 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

 Tuesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 68. Southwest wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

 Tuesday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 43. West northwest wind around 6 mph.

 Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 1 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 50. West wind 6 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

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 Wednesday night: A chance of rain showers before 1 a.m., then a chance of rain and snow showers between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., then a chance of snow showers after 4 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. West wind around 14 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

 Thursday: A chance of snow showers before 1 p.m., then rain and snow showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 38. West northwest wind 15 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

 Thursday night: A 50 percent chance of showers, mainly before 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 33. West northwest wind 14 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph.

 Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers after 1 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 43. West northwest wind 13 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

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 Friday night: A 30 percent chance of showers before 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. West northwest wind 10 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.

 Saturday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 42.

 Saturday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30.

 Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 46.

Story continues after photo gallery.

How to prevent frozen pipes

To keep pipes from freezing Citizens Energy group recommends taking these steps:

If the indoor temperature drops as low as 55 degrees, open your faucets slightly so they constantly drip.

Open cabinet doors below sinks to let warm air circulate around the pipes.

Insulate pipes that may be exposed to cold air.

Make sure the lid on your water meter pit is secured tightly. If your water meter is in the basement, ensure the area is heated and check for broken windows.

If you have piping in the garage, ensure the garage doors stay closed and try to insulate the pipes.

Know where your water shut-off valve is so you can turn the water off quickly in the event a pipe bursts. Those valves can be found in the garage, basement, utility closet or main entry for the water line into your house.

Signs your have frozen pipes:

Your faucets wont flow and your toilets wont refill after a flush

A water line is coated in frost or is bulging

What to do if your pipes freeze

In the event that you identify a frozen pipe, here is what Citizens Energy recommends you do:

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Turn off the water at the shut-off valve.

Open the faucet attached to the frozen pipe to allow water to flow through and relieve pressure buildup. Running water through the pipe will also help melt any remaining ice.

Apply gradual heat to the section of frozen pipe. That can be done by wrapping the pipes in bath towels or using a space heater to heat up the area where the pipes are located. Keep applying heat until the water pressure is restored and the water flows through freely. Make sure to never apply direct heat to the affected area.

If a pipe is bulging or you can't find the location of the blockage, then call a licensed plumber.

Christmas shopping 101: Seek early Black Friday deals now. When to find Walmart, Best Buy sales

John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. Find him on BlueSky at JohnWritesStuff.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Will it snow this week in Indiana? NWS has a frosty weather forecast
Editors note: This story contains discussion of child sexual abuse.

A soldier has been sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to distributing and receiving child sexual abuse material online and making remarks about the sexual abuse of children, according to the Army.

Sgt. Amariah Foster, 28, pled guilty to the charges in a military court on Oct. 17. His official charges were two counts of viewing and distributing child sexual abuse material and two counts of indecent language communicated to another, the Army said in a release. Foster was also reduced in rank to E-1 and received a bad conduct discharge as part of the sentencing.

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From January 2023 to January 2024, while he was living in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Sembach, Germany, Foster used online platforms X and Telegram to view and trade child sexual abuse material with other users, with whom he discussed explicit fantasies of child sexual assault, according to the Army.

Foster, who joined the Army in 2016, was assigned to the 39th Transportation Battalion, 16th Sustainment Brigade out of Kaiserslautern, Germany, according to a charge sheet the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel provided to Military Times.

A family discovered his crimes and informed military law enforcement.

Former Marine staff sergeant sentenced to 15 years for child porn

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The Army Criminal Investigative Division led the investigation, compiling evidence from witnesses, search warrants and digital forensic analysis, the Army said.

During the investigation, Foster lied to investigators by telling them that he only made contact with people on Telegram who were distributing child sexual abuse material so that he could report them.

The investigation found that between Dec. 23, 2023, and Jan. 7, 2024, Foster communicated virtually with an unknown person regarding child sexual abuse material.

In these messages, Foster described working at a daycare facility his mother ran. There, Foster said he was around 6 to 12 boys and described the experience as heaven. He described feeding the children food that hed previously rubbed on his feet.

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Foster also admitted to molesting a child years earlier in another virtual correspondence with an unknown user on Jan. 6, 2024.

When he was 17, Foster said in his messages, he babysat a friends 4-year-old son and molested the child.

Military Times reached out to the Army Criminal Investigative Division for comment on whether they were investigating this separate instance of abuse or turning it over to local law enforcement.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of our investigators in pursuing critical leads and sorting through the digital evidence, Sgt. Foster was held accountable for the detestable crime of trading images of child sexual abuse on the internet, said Maj. Zach Ray, lead prosecutor, Eighth Circuit, Army Office of Special Trial Counsel.

When he is released from prison, Foster will be required to register as a sex offender.
Hal Pyzyna of Lexington was 35 when he died of an opioid overdose a little more than a month after leaving an Addiction Recovery Care facility. (Photo provided)

Striving to stay sober, Hal Pyzyna succeeded for nearly a decade until the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020  the stress causing him to relapse into drug use, said his mother, Kristine Pyzyna.

She hoped he would get help through a court diversion program that in 2022 referred him to Crown Recovery Center in Springfield.

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Instead  just days after he became violently ill from an injection of Vivitrol, a powerful anti-abuse drug his mother says her son was pressured to accept  he left Crown Center, operated by Addiction Recovery Care, or ARC, the states largest provider of drug and alcohol treatment.

And little more than a month later, Hal died at 35 from a drug overdose.

Kristine Pyzyna believes Vivitrol, a name-brand drug that blocks effects of opioids, was a factor, along with improper administration of the medication at ARC and lack of adequate education for her son. The drug, while considered effective, comes with serious risks including potential for a fatal overdose if a patient uses drugs before the injection wears off because of reduced tolerance to opioids, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Now, Pyzyna, a nurse and health lawyer who lives in New Jersey, is relaying those concerns to Kentucky and federal regulatory authorities and some state legislators who oversee health policy, seeking stricter oversight of ARC and its use of Vivitrol.

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There is no doubt in my mind or in the minds of all who knew Hal and loved him that Hal would be alive today, had he not received the Vivitrol injection administered by ARC, Pyzyna said in an Oct. 26 letter to Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, chairman of the Senate Health Services Committee, that she provided to the Lantern.

Merediths office didnt comment.

Pyzynas letter was copied to the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which administers Medicaid, a major funder of treatment services in Kentucky, and to the state nursing and medical licensure boards. Copies also went to the private health insurers, or managed care organizations, that handle most of Kentuckys Medicaid claims, including those of her son.

Heartbroken for this mother

ARC, in a statement, said it could not comment on individual cases because of medical privacy laws or confirm whether Hal was a patient.

Vanessa Keeton (Kentucky Lantern photo by Matthew Mueller)

But Vanessa Keeton, vice-president of marketing for the for-profit, Louisa-based company, said ARC remains committed to providing quality care for those affected by drug and alcohol addiction.

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We are heartbroken for this mother who, like too many parents across our nation, has endured the loss of a loved one to the addiction crisis, Keeton said in an email. Our mission at ARC is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves a chance to recover and to find their God-given destiny.

A spokeswoman for Alkermes, a global pharmaceutical company that holds the patent for Vivitrol, said in a statement that the drug is approved for use to aid in treatment of alcohol or opioid dependence and its safety is well-established when used under FDA guidelines.

The medication plays an important role in the addiction landscape, the statement said.

However, Vivitrol may not work for everyone and patient education about the drug is a critical part of its use, the statement from Alkermes said, adding that FDA prescribing guidelines contain several important warnings including the vulnerability to opioid overdose.

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ARC employs an array of treatment services including medication for drug and alcohol avoidance for patients who are informed of the options and are given the choice of which treatment pathway is best for their goals, Keeton said.

And she said ARCs programs are accredited and employ a large, comprehensive medical team to oversee care.

But Pyzyna, who as administrator of her sons estate has assembled his medical and other records, believes the records show missteps in her sons care, especially with the use of Vivitrol, which comes with strict FDA protocols.

She said recent news reports of possible problems at ARC prompted her to pursue complaints she had been considering after she began collecting Hals records, some of which she provided to the Kentucky Lantern.

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Hal was a wonderful young man, she said in her letter to lawmakers and regulatory agencies. Hal struggled with opioid use disorder, a terrible chronic disease that must be managed throughout ones lifetime.

Cuts amid FBI probe

Pyzynas complaint comes as ARC is facing other problems, including an FBI investigation into possible health care fraud and major staff cuts. ARC receives almost all of its revenue from Medicaid, the federal-state health plan that covers substance use disorder treatment.

Addiction Recovery Care, Kentuckys largest provider of drug and alcohol treatment, has offices and other facilities in Louisa, photographed June 27, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Matthew Mueller)

Last year, ARC received $130 million in Medicaid funds, making it by far the largest recipient among treatment programs in Kentucky. The investigation became public in July when the FBI asked for the publics help in gathering information through a link on its website.

ARC has said it is cooperating with the FBI and stands by its treatment services.

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Also, ARC has announced a series of program cutbacks and employee layoffs after reimbursement cuts enacted by some of the private insurers that handle Medicaid claims for the state. It has cut nearly a quarter of its 1,350 employees since September.

But ARC says it remains committed to its work, which has been praised by Gov. Andy Beshear for its role in fighting addiction and helping reduce overdose deaths in Kentucky.

We are still very committed to our nearly 1,900 patients and our remaining employees, Matt Brown, chief administration officer told the Lantern last month.

ARC and its founder and CEO Tim Robinson have emerged as prolific political donors in recent years to Republicans but also to Beshear, a Democrat.

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A Lantern analysis showed that Robinson, his corporations and employees have made at least $570,000 in political contributions over the past decade as his for-profit company grew rapidly from a single halfway house in 2010 to about 1,800 residential beds and outpatient care for hundreds more clients.

Tim Robinson, June 27, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Matthew Mueller)

In addition, ARC chief operating officer Pat Fogarty, a former executive with Alkermes, the global pharmaceutical company that holds the patent for Vivitrol, gave $2,600 in political donations in Kentucky between 2018 and 2020, the Lantern analysis found. Fogarty joined ARC in 2020 and made the donations while working for Alkermes to Republican candidates.

Pyzyna said she believes further investigation of ARC is warranted.

Meanwhile, she is asking for tighter controls over addiction treatment programs, an end to Medicaid funding of Vivitrol without more rigorous oversight and an investigation by state authorities into whether any regulations were broken through events she believes contributed to her sons death.

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She also urges anyone with knowledge of potential problems to contact the FBI.

Thats a mothers plea, Pyzyna said. I would encourage them to talk to the FBI.

The $1,700 drug

Medications for opioid use disorder have emerged as a major component of treatment in recent years and ARC said it offers patients a choice of drugs approved by the FDA, including generic drugs such as buprenorphine (known by the brand name of Suboxone) and Vivitrol.

We do not prioritize one treatment option over another, Keeton, ARCs s marketing VP, said in an email.

But last year, nearly all of ARCs billing for drugs used for alcohol and drug treatment was for Vivitrol, an expensive, name-brand drug administered as a single dose through a long-acting injection given once a month.

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It costs around $1,700 a dose for patients who pay cash, though insurers and programs such as Medicaid would pay less through negotiated discounts, according to the website drugs.com.

Kentuckys Medicaid Department did not respond to requests for what it pays for an individual dose of Vivitrol.

ARC uses South Creek Drug  a pharmacy owned by CEO Robinson and his wife, Leila, according to records from the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy  to fill prescriptions for its residents in treatment.

Kentucky Medicaid last year paid ARC $8.8 million a year for Vivitrol, 89% of the total cost of all substance use disorder medication ARC billed for that year through South Creek Drug, according to records from the Kentucky Department of Medicaid Services.

By contrast, ARC billed Medicaid just $78,746 for all other drugs it dispensed  mostly forms of buprenorphine.

Buprenorphine, a generic version of Suboxone, costs about $62 for 30 pills, according to drugs.com.

Overall, last year Kentucky Medicaid spent $110 million on substance use medication, with $31 million  or 28%  on Vivitrol. The rest of the spending was largely for two other standard, much cheaper drugs, buprenorphine and methadone.

ARCs Keeton said the company records show that it has served 12,185 individuals with substance use disorder in the past 12 months and that about 22% were prescribed Vivitrol.

Also, the state Medicaid records show only what ARC billed through its pharmacy and may not include prescriptions obtained elsewhere by those in outpatient treatment, she said.

And she said ARC utilizes external providers who provide Vivitrol management.

She said ARC does not receive any direct compensation for the medication but the Robinsons South Creek Drug pharmacy is one of the providers used by the external providers to buy Vivitrol. A cheaper, generic version of Vivitrol is not yet available.

Alkermes, its manufacturer, holds the patent until early 2027, according to an article last year in Pharmacy Technology. Vivitrol won FDA approval for alcohol treatment in 2006 and in 2010, for opioid treatment.

Vivitrol has emerged as a blockbuster drug for Alkermes, which listed $1.6 billion in revenues last year, according to a company press release. Vivitrol was its top selling drug last year, with $400 million in sales.

Vivitrol advantage

Suboxone and methadone, which are considered opioids and ease cravings for drugs, are typically taken daily. They are controlled substances and therefore, more tightly regulated than Vivitrol, which comes as a monthly injection which serves to block the effect of opioids.

Because of the tighter regulations surrounding methadone and buprenorphine and because Vivitrol is not a narcotic  reducing risk of diversion  it has become more prevalent in institutional settings, such as jails or prisons, said Dr. Michelle Lofwall, a psychiatrist and addiction medicine physician and professor at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.

The Kentucky Department of Corrections, as part of its drug treatment programs, provides Vivitrol as well as all forms of FDA approved medications, a spokeswoman said.

Corrections offers treatment options that are consistent with the best practices in the field of addiction and allow for different pathways of recovery, said the statement from Morgan Hall.

Lofwall said evidence shows methadone and buprenorphine significantly reduce the risk of overdose deaths.

That data is not there for Vivitrol, she said.

Still, Lofwall said that doesnt mean its not an effective tool for treating addiction.

Whats right for the patient? she asked. The one the patient is willing to take.

Hal Pyzna loved fishing, hunting and working as a mechanic on cars and his beloved Ford truck, said his mother, Kristine Pyzna, a lawyer and nurse. (Photo provided)

Be a man

Pyzyna said her sons struggles with addiction began in his late teens, first with alcohol, later with opioid drugs.

He was born in Chicago and later lived in Philadelphia and Indianapolis before settling in Lexington where he had received treatment through the Hope Center that helped him achieve sobriety, find work and buy a home, Pyzyna said in an email.

But after about eight years, her son relapsed and in 2021 was charged with drug possession and driving under the influence in Lexington. He was referred to ARC through a court diversion program, she said.

Soon after he entered ARCs Crown Center in early September 2022, Pyzynas letter said her son told her he was directed to attend a mandatory Vivitrol meeting, where he was pressured to take the drug.

When he initially refused, staff increased pressure, she said, telling him he would be fine, the drug was no big deal, and to be a man. When he still resisted, staff said they would tell his court worker he was uncooperative and drug seeking, her letter said.

Finally, she said, Hal agreed to sign a consent form to accept an injection of Vivitrol.

Pyzyna, in her letter, alleges ARC failed to follow proper protocol specified by the FDA , including assessing Hals medical history and fully informing him of risks.

Within several hours of receiving the shot, he became violently ill, with severe vomiting, diarrhea, chest pains, shortness of breath and high blood pressure, her letter said. He passed out and was taken by ARC to a local hospital emergency room where it was determined he had experienced a reaction to Vivitrol, her letter said.

The hospital staff recommended ARC support him through the symptoms until the drug wore off, she said. When Hals symptoms continued, ARC staff took him back to the emergency room a second time where he was again sent back to the Crown Center to try to recover, her letter said.

On Sept. 17, 2022, still suffering effects from the drug a week after the injection, Hal decided to leave the facility and asked his mother to drive to Kentucky to get him, her letter said.

Pyzyna found her son sitting in the parking lot at Crown Center with his possessions, her letter said. She said staff directed him to wait there since he was leaving against medical advice.

Her account of his experience is based on what he told her, medical records she obtained and a journal he began keeping while at ARC, which he told her he started because he was afraid he was going to die and wanted me to know what had happened to him if he didnt make it out, the letter said.

A fatal overdose

Pyzyna was able to line up treatment for Hal in the Lexington area and he did well, she said. But facing a return to court on his pending charges and possible jail time, he found and used a hidden stash of drugs, which caused his overdose death.

A pathologist report found he died from drug toxicity with a potentially fatal level of fentanyl in his system. A friend found him on the bathroom floor of his home on Oct. 21, 2022, it said.

Pyzyna said both she and her son were aware the risk of overdose was greater if someone had ceased using drugs, therefore lowering tolerance.

What they did not know, she said, is that Vivitrol increased that risk.

That was the subject of a 2019 FDA warning letter to Alkermes, the manufacturer, for not fully describing the potential for the most serious risk  a fatal overdose  in advertisements for the drug.

While the print advertisement contains claims and representations about the drugs benefits, it fails to adequately communicate important warnings and precautions listed in the product labeling, including vulnerability to opioid overdose, a potentially fatal risk, an FDA news release said.

This is concerning from a public health perspective because of the potential for fatal opioid overdose on this vulnerable patient population, it said.

The following year, the FDA found the company had corrected the problem.

Pyzyna said she wants authorities and the public to know about her sons situation in hopes of preventing someone else from going through it.

She misses her son, whom she describes as bright and funny. He loved hunting, fishing and working as a mechanic on cars and his beloved Ford truck.

He was the most wonderful young man ever, said Pyzyna, who arranged a memorial service after her sons death. Someday Im going to scatter his ashes after this is all over.

Tom Loftus contributed to this story.

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(Bloomberg) -- A turnaround that investors have bet on in South Africa since President Cyril Ramaphosa returned to power on a mandate for reforms is coming true  at least in the nations credit outlook.

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The rand and South African bonds rallied on Monday after S&P Global Ratings raised its view of the nation to positive from stable  for only the second time in the presidents six-year tenure. The move indicated the ratings companys next move may well be an upgrade of the credit grade.

S&Ps move validates bulls who backed Ramaphosas government of national unity as the right recipe for carrying out tough reforms needed to pull South Africa out of an economic slowdown, burdensome debt and persistent power crisis. That optimism has already sent the nation to some of the best performances in emerging markets: its local-currency bonds have given investors 19% returns since the election, dollar bonds have yielded almost 7% and the currency carry trade posted a gain of 5.6%.

S&Ps change in South Africas outlook to positive, on the basis that growth could improve from here on, will likely be looked at as a relative turning point for South Africa, said Razia Khan, chief economist for Africa and the Middle East at Standard Chartered Plc.

That is a rare reprieve for Ramaphosa, under whose watch South Africa lost its investment-grade in 2020, and the ruling African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority this year.

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Potential Upside

Investor confidence in South Africa had already strengthened following the GNUs formation under Ramaphosa in June, Khan said. In addition, S&Ps ability to focus on potential upsides despite the downbeat news in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement signals that rating agencies are rightly focused on the potential upsides ahead, she said.

South Africas currency extended its outperformance over EM peers on Monday, rallying to the strongest level in a week, after S&P moved the outlook for its junk-rated debt to positive from stable. The company also affirmed South Africas long-term foreign-currency rating at BB-, three notches below investment grade.

The currency strengthened 0.5% to 18.1062 per dollar as of 1:34 p.m. in Johannesburg. Yields on 10-year local-currency bonds fell to their lowest levels since Oct. 2.

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An outlook upgrade to positive signals a one-in-three chance of a higher rating within 12 months, according to S&P. South Africa last received this outlook in May 2022, only to see it downgraded to stable in 2023. However, in November 2002, a similar change to positive was followed by a rating upgrade six months later.

In less than six months of the new government, Ramaphosa has already initiated key reforms to address economic, energy, and governance challenges facing South Africa. Notable efforts include stabilizing the electricity grid through private-sector investment and renewable energy projects, modernizing logistics and water infrastructure via Operation Vulindlela.

Yet, the rands path hasnt been smooth in these months. Especially since the US election on Nov. 5, the entire EM complex has faced pressure and the rand, often seen as an EM bellwether, has also surrendered a lot of its gains.

To some investors, however, that only makes South African assets more attractively valued.

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We believe that South Africa is likely to be one of EM investors top picks in the coming months, said Marek Drimal, lead CEEMEA strategist at Societe Generales London Branch. Reforms are a positive driver, while on a broader scale, South Africa may stand out due to the lack of alternatives, given uncertainties surrounding other regions due to geopolitics or the impact of possible US tariffs, he added.

Mamokete Lijane, global markets strategist at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking, echoed the sentiment, citing China and sustained positive momentum as reasons to remain constructive on the rand.

You can follow Bloombergs reporting on Africa on WhatsApp. Sign up here.

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2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Aging experts unveiled a grim outlook for aging seniors who increasingly are impoverished and dependent on government help to get by.

And in South Florida, they say the numbers are reaching more of a crisis level as the number of seniors grow, often with no pensions and not enough savings  relying instead on Social Security benefits.

If you arent being kept up at night by the impending silver tsunami, then you arent paying attention, declared Broward County Commissioner Steve Geller, who is also the chair of the South Florida Regional Planning Council.

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Commonly referred to as the silver tsunami, residents age 65 and older are projected to number more than 2.13 million in the seven-county region by 2050, reflecting an increase of 54.5% since 2021, according to the Planning Council.

Of these residents, 520,000 will be 85 years of age or older, reflecting a projected increase of 133.6% from 2025 to 2050.

A conference about preparing for the silver tsunami was held Friday at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, presented by the South Florida and Treasure Coast Regional Planning Councils. There, experts shared what the future could look like, using figures from the U.S. Census, and studies by state agencies, the Federal Reserve Bank, and more:

 By 2034, Americans ages 65 and older will outnumber those 18 and younger for the first time.

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 Nearly half of elderly unmarried women rely on Social Security for 90% of their income, compared to 22% of all seniors.

 Older Americans are carrying more debt into retirement.

 The age-85-and-older population in southeast Florida will more than double in 25 years, which means the need for more elder care.

 The median income for American adults is $50,290 while their average annual expenses are $57,818. The average monthly Social Security benefit is $1,907, or $22,884 a year.

There is a disconnect of how much people understand they have to save, said Angela Antonelli, a research professor and executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Retirement Initiatives.

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One in five Americans rely on Social Security for 90% or more of their income, she said. Social Security does not keep you out of poverty, she said.

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On Friday, experts urged policymakers to use the information to try to think of ways to create change when it comes to crucial areas of health care, transportation, housing and finances.

Housing

Broward Mayor Nan Rich, a panelist, said right now we have a crisis in our community when it comes to seniors, especially as the condos they purchased in the 1970s now are in need of expensive repairs and maintenance.

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There is also an expectation that more seniors are facing being homeless, and Rich said shes trying to make headway there, too: The county is expected to soon make a decision on whether to build Pallet shelters, tiny transitional houses for the homeless.

Miami-Dade County has nearly half a million residents age 65 and older.

But poverty is the highest for seniors than any other age group, said Tyler Moroles, assistant division director of the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program for Miami-Dade.

While housing is expensive for everyone  the median rent is $2,100 which requires a salary of $75,600 to be affordable  its nearly impossible for the thousands of seniors in public housing. The average senior income there is $14,691 a year.

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Im sure none of you could live off $14,000, nor could I, he said.

The county is now redeveloping 1,800 public housing units to create more living spaces.

This year, 137,000 applicants have applied for housing vouchers, he said, and only 5,000 of those were chosen.

Its a national issue, were trying to deal with it, he said.

Among the issues that the experts pondered: What changes does government need to prepare for, such as granny flats to allow housing additions so multiple generations can live together to encourage senior-friendly housing and allow seniors to age in place.

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Moroles suggested local government work to streamline the process for permits to push pass bureaucracy to get projects done. Its not a sexy topic, he admitted. Make it easier for folks to develop.

Health care

There is a national shortage of 30,000 geriatricians, said Dr. Naushira Pandya, the chair of Geriatrics at NSU.

There will never be enough geriatricians for what we need, she said. The need is really great.

Its an intellectual challenge to treat the host of medical issues, but it doesnt get the same level of enthusiasm as other medical fields, she said.

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That panel conversation sparked an idea to attract more doctors to specialize in geriatrics by state Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, who noted how this years Live Healthy legislation assists in loan repayments for doctors who work in underserved areas.

One of the things we can possibly look at is if you practice a geriatric subspecialty, she said. Perhaps thats a very good idea that just came out of this.

Transportation

And transportation also is a topic that will have to be addressed by policymakers as more seniors have to give up their cars.

Most adults will outlive their ability to drive by seven to 10 years, warned panelist Laura Streed, the senior associate state director of AARP of Florida.

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Isolation is a huge factor in senior health, said Chris Stephenson, the transportation mobility director of the Senior Resource Association in Indian River County, which provides services including Meals on Wheels and adult day care. Isolation can have profound health consequences, he said. Yet if seniors dont have adequate transportation they are homebound.

He shared a popular program in Palm Beach County that has adapted to meet the needs of our senior population. It uses Uber and other ride-sharing companies to fill the gaps to get seniors to public transit stations, which might be too far to reach by walking.

Karen Deigl, president and CEO of Senior Resource Association, warned policymakers to be mindful of issues such as cracked sidewalks, and streetlights that change too quickly, which are detrimental to seniors navigating the streets by foot, especially those using walkers.

They urged policy makers to enhance public transit by creating routes that connect to neighboring counties, make transit accessible with wheelchair lifts and low floors, and a voice that calls out each stop, and allow same-day trip requests.

Because some people just shouldnt drive, she said.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash
By David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said on Monday he is "strongly confident" the South Korea-U.S. alliance will continue to thrive under the incoming U.S. administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

"To be sure, concerns have been raised in many circles about the implications of the election outcome on U.S. relations with its allies," Cho said in recorded remarks to a forum hosted by Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies.

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"But I'm strongly confident that the Korea-U.S. alliance will continue to thrive and reach new heights in the coming years," he said.

Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden met with Japanese and South Korean leaders on Friday as they sought to cement their diplomatic progress ahead of the new Trump administration that many fear could upend alliances worldwide.

Getting South Korea and Japan to work together is considered one of the diplomatic achievements of Biden's soon-to-end four-year term as president.

In his 2017-21 first term, Trump pressed Tokyo and Seoul to pay more for the U.S. forces they host, which in Japan include amphibious units and naval warships that Washington could deploy to defend neighboring Taiwan from any attack by China.

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Trump's allies in June assured officials in Japan and South Korea that he would support deeper three-way ties, sources have told Reuters.

Outgoing Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, who has led Biden's Indo-Pacific policy, told the same forum that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had been in consultation with Senator Marco Rubio, Trump's nominee to take over as America's top diplomat, about which parts of existing strategy deserved continued engagement and investment.

Referring to the trilateral relationship, Campbell said: "I would put this very much at the extreme top of the list."

Cho said his interactions with a wide range of key interlocutors in the United States had left him as convinced as ever that American support for the Korea-U.S. alliance cuts across U.S. party lines.

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He said the need to strengthen extended nuclear deterrence against the threat posed by North Korea was well understood and support ran deep for further expanding cooperation in areas including cyberspace and outer space, and for growing the trade and investment partnership to include shipbuilding and servicing, semiconductors, AI and nuclear domains.

"Second," he added, "the (South Korea President) Yoon Suk Yeol administration's determination to assume roles and responsibility commensurate with Korea's strength comports very well with expectation that allies must pull their weight."

Campbell said that given China and North Korea's nuclear buildups and nuclear saber-rattling by Russia, it was essential that the United States "be absolutely rock-solid in our commitment to extended deterrence", under which the U.S. nuclear missile umbrella protects Japan and South Korea.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom, Michael Martina and Doina Chiacu; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Mark Heinrich)
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) announced that Southbound U.S. Highway 169 (SB U.S. 169) has opened on the Buck ONeil Bridge Tuesday after almost two years of construction and road closures.

The bridge is one of the last parts of the large project providing drivers with a direct southbound route over the Missouri River, which has never been accessible before.

Cars fill in before Independence drive-in permanently closes

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So if youre a local commuter trying to get to downtown Kansas City, youre going to see that restoration, said Buck ONeil Bridge Project Director James Pflum. Youre going to have a smoother ride, better bridge, better striping, better signage. If youre a regional commuter going from southbound 169 to I-35, that direct connection is going to make travel times a lot shorter.

Specifically, the new bridge was constructed to make an easier route from Interstate 35 to U.S. 169, dedicate lanes to downtown Kansas City, provide pedestrians with walking and bike lanes, make significant improvements to the downtown airport route, and give drivers and pedestrians a scenic overlook with benches and murals.

Those that travel regionally will be able to go directly from 169 to I-35 and not have to go through the stoplight and take that ramp on anymore, Pflum said.

Drivers have not been able to drive on SB U.S. 169 since February 2023, but as of Tuesday afternoon, it has officially opened.

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FOX4 talked with drivers Monday about SB U.S. 169 opening to traffic.

Oh my goodness, yes, my usual downtown commute that is five minutes is now 15, so very, very excited, one driver said.

Itll make it faster to get home, another driver told FOX4.

Pedestrian access will not open until December 2024.

For pedestrians, the shared-use path will also be opening over the next couple of weeks. So after four years of a lot of hard work and a lot of things that our contractor has had to work through, we are now at that point where a lot of things are going to start changing really for the improvement of Kansas City, Pflum explained.

Ongoing closures through Friday, Nov. 22

3rd Street at 4th Street  Closed

3rd Street at Woodswether Road  Closed

MoDOT KC construction project to repair to barrier wall will be taking place on SB U.S. 169 from the on-ramp at Richards Road to the beginning of the Buck ONeil Bridge. This work will leave a half-mile of a lane closed through Friday, Nov. 22.



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MoDOT said drivers may still experience some intermittent closures in and around the area, including on northbound and SB U.S. 169 until the end of 2024.

Christmas tree lightings, holiday displays across Kansas City area 2024

The original Buck ONeil Memorial Bridge was built in 1956 and construction for the new structure began in 2021. Now, it is scheduled to be completed on time and is expected to last for 100 years with significantly less costly maintenance, MoDOT said.

For more information about future projects and road closures, visit MoDOTs website.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
A city in Southern California is addressing an increase in complaints about unleashed dogs by releasing a statement that emphasizes leash laws and signals an increase in enforcement.

La Canada Flintridge officials say that they are launching an initiative with Pasadena Humane to educate residents about the citys leash laws after an uptick in reports of dogs off leashes at Mayors Discovery Park.

According to the city, all dogs must be kept on a leash no longer than six feet in length. Dogs must always remain under full control of their owner or custodian while in public, including at city parks and on trails or upon private property other than that of the dog owner, officials added.

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First significant rain of season on track to arrive in Southern California this weekend

We want to ensure that all park visitors feel safe and comfortable, said La Canada Flintridge Mayor Michael T. Davitt. Unleashed dogs can pose a risk to both people and other animals. By following leash laws, we can create a safer and more peaceful environment for everyone.

The new guidelines will start being enforced in December when the city increases the presence of animal control officers from Pasadena Humane at Mayors Discovery Park.

The primary goal is to educate park visitors about leash laws and promote responsible pet ownership, city officials said.

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In cases of non-compliance, the city said that appropriate enforcement actions may be taken.

More information on leash laws in La Canada Flintridge can be found on the citys animal control webpage.

Nurse on break wins $1M on California Lottery Scratcher; 4 SoCal residents also millionaires

For comparison, Los Angeles County Animal Care & Control Law also states that dogs must be on a leash not exceeding six feet and in control of a competent person when not on their property.

Sacramento County Parks allows eight-foot leashes that must be of sufficient strength to restrain the animal should it try to run from the owner or keeper, according to their website.

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Also in NorCal, Placer County has an ordinance that dictates a dog must be both leashed and under the handlers control, not one or the other.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Move over, Chris Hansen  20 Southern California juveniles just executed a sting operation that netted a suspected child predator.

Riverside County sheriff's deputies responded to a tip Friday that an adult was meeting a minor for sex at Nicolas Road Park in Temecula, according to a release. When they got there at around 4:25 p.m., a crowd of 20 minors was filming suspect William Vandenbush, 46, of Homeland.

Authorities did not say how old the minors were, how exactly they organized the sting or how they previously encountered Vandenbush.

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Still, an investigation by law enforcement confirmed that Vandenbush had sent nude photos and agreed to meet a minor at the park for sexual purposes, and he was arrested on several felony charges.

It's not clear if the junior detectives were inspired by Hansen's NBC television series, "To Catch a Predator," in which suspected sexual predators are caught on hidden cameras arriving at a sting house to have sex with a minor.

Read more: Fresno police sergeant arrested in sting operation, accused of attempting lewd acts with a minor

The department cautioned against vigilante efforts to meet with or investigate potential suspects. The department said in a release that it is not only unsafe but can complicate an investigation if evidence is handled poorly.

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"This action unnecessarily jeopardized the safety of everyone in the vicinity of the park," the release said.

"Law enforcement professionals investigating these types of egregious crimes have specialized training and follow specific protocols to ensure a proper investigation, evidence preservation, and public safety," the release said. "By following these specific protocols, the investigation is not compromised and ensures a thorough investigation is presented to their local district attorneys office for prosecution."

Local sting operations have seen some success in getting their suspects prosecuted in recent years, but others have failed to meet prosecutors' high criteria, KTLA reported.

Vandenbush was booked into the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center for sending harmful material to a minor, contacting a minor for sexual purposes and arranging to meet a minor for sexual purposes. He has not posted a $25,000 bail as of Monday afternoon and is awaiting a court hearing Wednesday at the Murrieta Southwest Justice Center, according to jail records.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The death toll from the devastating floods that hit eastern and southern Spain nearly three weeks ago has risen to 227, with 13 people still missing, the government in Valencia, the hardest-hit region, reported on Monday.

At least 219 people died in Valencia alone, with 218 of them identified thus far.

The temporary mortuary set up in Valencia city to cope with the disaster has now been closed according to media reports.

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Clean-up work was proceeding in many of the 80 worst-hit municipalities to the west and south of Valencia. The severe flooding was attributed to a dried-up river bed in the region that filled rapidly.

Images aired on Monday by public broadcaster RTVE showed that roads are still covered in mud and garages are still flooded. Large numbers of cars swept away by the floods can remain piled up.

Storm water drains are still blocked in many areas. A RTVE journalist reported that sewerage water was still flooding streets in Paiporta to the immediate south of Valencia city, where at least 45 people died.

Tensions over responsibility for the disaster and its response persist between the Valencia regional government and Spain's central government in Madrid.

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Carlos Mazon, president of the Valencia regional government, has refused to resign.

During a hearing in the Valencian parliament last week, Mazon detailed what he described as shortcomings by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in addressing the crisis.
Spartanburg, S.C. (WSPA)- Christmas is coming early for the Spartanburg Soup kitchen and organizers said they are in great need of this gift.

7 News was at the Spartanburg Soup kitchen who will receive a donation of 120 turkeys to help them feed clients this holiday season.

Soup kitchen Director Lou Sartor said they only had two turkeys before this donation and are desperate for any food donations they can find.

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Spartanburg company Global Transplant Solutions said they are here to help.

For the past several years the organ donation company has made it a holiday tradition to donate turkeys to the soup kitchen.

The company was founded in 2017, and is a global leader in organ preservation solutions, research, development, and supply.

This will be the 4th year of supplying turkeys to the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen for Thanksgiving.

Last year they donated 100 turkeys and this year they want to motivate other companies to do the same thing.

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.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  This week on The Spectrum:

With the election over, Ohios lone new U.S. House member is getting ready for Washington.

Hear Representative-elect David Taylor talk about what he hopes to achieve at the Capitol.

Ohios former House Speaker hopes President-elect Trump will see similarities between them.

What is Larry Householders latest attempt to get his corruption conviction tossed out?

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Ohios state lawmakers return to work with a lengthy to-do list before the end of the year.

Republican strategist David Glass and Democratic strategist Dale Butland join the roundtable to discuss Trumps prospective cabinet and how it furthers his agenda.

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.
(WJET/WFXP)  Less than one week after reports that Spirit Airlines could soon file for bankruptcy protection, the company officially announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections early Monday morning.

The filing comes after continuing financial turmoil and a failed merger earlier this year. The company had been exploring a merger with another low-cost airline, Frontier Airlines, in hopes of restructuring its debt and other liabilities without a bankruptcy filing. In March, JetBlue and Spirit Airlines ended their proposed $3.8 billion merger after a court ruling blocked the deal.

Spirit Airlines preparing for bankruptcy amid failed merger and financial turmoil

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In a press release, Spirit Airlines ensured that all aspects of the company would be business as usual and would not be affected during the restructuring process. Guests will be able to book, fly, and use loyalty points as normal.

As a result of the restructuring, Spirit Airlines will also be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, with shares expected to be canceled and have no value.

According to court documents, the company owes 25,000-50,000 creditors anywhere from $1 billion to $10 billion, while holding a similar value in assets.

Spirit, the biggest U.S. budget airline, has lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020 and faces looming debt payments totaling more than $1 billion over the next year.

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Shares of Miramar, Florida-based Spirit dropped 25% on Friday, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the airline was discussing terms of a possible bankruptcy filing with its bondholders. It was just the latest in a series of blows that have sent the stock crashing down by 97% since late 2018  when Spirit was still making money.

The last bankruptcy by a major U.S. carrier ended when American Airlines emerged from Chapter 11 protection and simultaneously merged with US Airways in December 2013.

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 WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com.
In preparation for next weeks free Thanksgiving meals for Colorado Springs residents in need, turkey talk is happening this week.

Philanthropic drives are underway, encouraging community support to help feed the masses to celebrate the American holiday of giving thanks.

Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado, the regions primary supplier of emergency food distributed at 289 area pantries, soup kitchens and other charitable centers, is holding its annual Take a Turkey to Work Day on Friday, Nov. 22.

From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., staff and volunteers from the organization will collect donations of frozen turkeys at participating King Soopers locations in Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Alamosa.

The drop-off King Soopers stores in Colorado Springs are: 9225 N. Union Blvd., 6030 Stetson Hills Blvd., 815 Cheyenne Meadows Road, 7915 Constitution Ave., and 3250 Centennial Blvd.

Care and Shares headquarters at 2605 Preamble Point in Colorado Springs is also accepting contributions of turkeys on Friday. Monetary donations can be made at careandshare.org.

We believe food is the foundation for creating memories around the table with loved ones, experiencing joy and building hope, and the holiday season is a time to bring people together, President and CEO Nathan Nate Springer said in a statement.

The organization received about 3,500 turkeys during last years promotion and is hoping for at least that many this year, according to spokesman Adam Uhernik.

The Salvation Army is preparing to serve 2,500 Thanksgiving Day Community Meals on Thursday, Nov. 28, by issuing a call for donations.

The El Paso County corps of the Christian organization plans to prepare 300 turkeys for its lunchtime feasts, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., which will be open to the public at several locations across the Pikes Peak region.

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Those include the headquarters at 908 Yuma St.; Manitou Springs City Hall, 606 Manitou Ave., in Manitou Springs; Fountain Valley Senior Center, 5745 Southmoor Drive in Fountain; and Woodland Park Nazarene Church, 900 Evergreen Heights Drive in Woodland Park. Clients of the Family Hope Center homeless shelter for families and veterans at 709 S. Sierra Madre St. will also receive complimentary holiday meals.

Non-ambulatory residents can call the organization to arrange delivery in advance at (719) 884-1052.

Monetary donations are accepted at coloradosprings.salvationarmy.org.

Springs Rescue Mission, Colorado Springs largest homeless shelter for single men and women, will hold its yearly Thanksgiving Banquet at its campus, 5 W. Las Vegas St., from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 27, featuring a traditional holiday meal. It is open to the public.

A hot cocoa bar will be available as diners wait for seating, which will be done in stages. A pop-up winter-wear shop will also be on-site with giveaways of coats, hats, gloves and socks.

Anyone who would like to donate money to provide meals and shelter can go to springsrescuemission.org.

The Marian House, which includes a soup kitchen and employment center, will receive a $10,000 Hunger Grant check from the Safeway Foundation and vendor Mondelez International, the maker of brands including Oreo, Triscuit, Ritz, Clif Bar and Tates Bake Shop, to support its kitchen and marketplace food pantry.

Clients of the Marian House Marketplace pantry are receiving $50 gift cards for holiday food shopping at Safeway grocery stores. When rounding up purchases at cash registers, Safeway customers make contributions to the company's gift card food initiative called Nourishing Neighbors.

The Marian House, 14 W. Bijou St., a program of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, will also serve a traditional holiday meal for the public on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, during its usual daily lunch mealtime, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Financial contributions are accepted at www.ccharitiescc.org. Food donations also are needed.
Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection Monday after the company struggled with a long run of quarterly losses, failed mergers and looming debt, but plans to keep flying.

Spirit's troubles deepened after the collapse of its $3.8 billion planned merger with JetBlue Airways in January and the impact of RTX's, Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan engines snag that grounded many of its aircraft, USA Today reported.

The airline listed its estimated assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion each, according to a court filing on Monday.

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Spirit is one of 17 airlines that has flights into and out of Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus. Spirit flights use the Evans terminal.

The airline does not list any flights to Michigan's other major airports in Grand Rapids, Lansing, Midland-Bay City-Saginaw, Flint, Traverse City or Marquette.

Spirit says it flies more than 700 routes to 77 destinations. It flies to more than 60 locations from Detroit.

Spirit has entered into an agreement with its bondholders that is expected to reduce total debt and provide increased financial flexibility, USA Today reported. The airline, as part of the prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has received commitment for a $350 million equity investment from existing bondholders.

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More: Detroit Metro Airport named one of best in 3 categories by USA TODAY readers

The carrier said it expects to continue its flight operations through the proceedings and customers can book and fly without interruption.

Here's what Michigan passengers need to know as Spirit enters bankruptcy.

What happens to booked flights in Michigan?

Most, if not all, flights should operate as scheduled in the near term.

It's especially unlikely for Thanksgiving travel to be affected, but it is possible that there could be schedule changes and cancellations later in the winter, Robert W. Mann Jr., a former airline executive officer and current president of R. W. Mann and Co., an independent airline consultancy, told USA TODAY.

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"It is quite possible that by the 45-day mark, which is kind of the end of the year, that we may have some other changes," Mann said.

Travelers with Spirit reservations should look out for notifications about any changes to their itinerary from Spirit as their departure date approaches.

The Department of Transportation recently finalized guidelines that require airlines to provide passengers with a full refund if their flight is canceled or delayed more than three hours on a domestic itinerary or six hours on an international itinerary for any reason. Travelers are only eligible for the refunds if they choose not to travel on the delayed flight or on an alternative itinerary offered by the airline.

Can I transfer my Spirit loyalty miles points to another airline?

Generally, airline loyalty points or miles are not transferable, but Mann said frequent flyer programs are valuable assets that often survive bankruptcies.

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"That is an asset, at least from the standpoint of people who might acquire them. Youre acquiring a customer base as well," he said. "That actually could be a source of funding going forward."

It's also possible that Spirit will emerge from bankruptcy through a merger.

If Spirit merges with another airline, it's likely that the frequent flyer program will be part of the package and combined with that of the other carrier.

Who keeps Spirit's planes?

Spirit already doesn't own all of its planes. For the part of its fleet that's leased, the lessor will retain possession and will be free to re-lease to Spirit or another airline, depending on what offers are on the table.

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Planes that Spirit does own could be sold off to raise cash during its bankruptcy, but the airline may choose to sell other assets like gates and airport slots instead if its managers feel the planes are more likely to generate income by remaining in service.

Contributing: Reuters

Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy, but plans to keep flying
Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection Monday morning as holiday travel season approaches. Thanksgiving weekend is expected to see nearly 80 million travelers, with almost 6 million traveling by plane.

The bankruptcy filing comes after quarterly losses, failed merger attempts and looming debt maturities. Spirit's troubles deepened after the collapse of its $3.8 billion planned merger with JetBlue Airways in January and the impact of RTX's, Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan engines snag that grounded many of its aircraft.

While Spirit Airlines does not fly out of OKC Will Rogers International Airport or Tulsa International Airport, some area travelers with connecting flights on Spirit should still be safe for Thanksgiving.

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Here's what passengers need to know as Spirit enters bankruptcy.

What happens to already booked flights?

Most, if not all, flights should still operate as scheduled in the near term.

Robert W. Mann Jr. told USA TODAY that Thanksgiving travel is unlikely to be affected, but schedule changes and cancellations later in the winter are possible.

Mann is a former airline executive officer and current president of R. W. Mann and Co., an independent airline consultancy.

"It is quite possible that by the 45-day mark, which is kind of the end of the year, that we may have some other changes," Mann said.

Mann warns that travelers with reservations should look out for notifications regarding changes to the itinerary from Spirit as their departure date approaches.

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"Their best notice is going to be the notice they get from the carrier like time changes or rebooking or inability to rebook, cancellations. Then of course, theyre subject to the new (Department of Transportation) rules on how travelers should be handled, so understanding that is probably an important thing," Mann said.

The Department of Transportation recently finalized guidelines that require airlines to provide passengers with a full refund if their flight is canceled. Passengers can receive a full refund if their flight is delayed more than three hours on a domestic flight or six hours on an international flight.

Can I transfer my Spirit loyalty miles/points to another airline?

Generally, airline loyalty points or miles are not transferrable, but Mann said frequent flyer programs are valuable assets that often survive bankruptcies.

"That is an asset, at least from the standpoint of people who might acquire them. Youre acquiring a customer base as well," he said. "That actually could be a source of funding going forward."

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It's also possible that Spirit will emerge from bankruptcy through a merger. Many industry watchers anticipate the incoming Trump administration will be more friendly to airlines joining forces than the Biden administration was. Under Biden, a proposed merger between Spirit and JetBlue was struck down, and Frontier Airlines also recently backed out of a bid to combine with its yellow ultra-low cost rival, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal. These deals could be revived, or another potential buyer could step in in a different regulatory environment.

If Spirit merges with another airline, it's likely that the frequent flyer program will be part of the package and combined with that of the other carrier.

Who keeps Spirit's planes?

It depends.

Spirit already doesn't own all of its planes. For the part of its fleet that's leased, the lessor will retain possession and will be free to re-lease to Spirit or another airline, depending on what offers are on the table.

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Planes that Spirit does own could be sold off to raise cash during its bankruptcy, but the airline may choose to sell other assets like gates and airport slots instead if its managers feel the planes are more likely to generate income by remaining in service.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Spirit Airlines bankruptcy: Will travel plans be affected in Oklahoma?
Spirit Airlines said Monday that it has filed for bankruptcy protection and will attempt to reboot as it struggles to recover from the pandemic-caused swoon in travel, stiffer competition from bigger carriers, and a failed attempt to sell the airline to JetBlue.

Spirit, the biggest U.S. budget airline, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition after working out terms with bondholders. The airline has lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020 and faces looming debt payments totaling more than $1 billion in 2025 and 2026.

The airline said it expects to continue operating normally during the bankruptcy process. Spirit told customers Monday they can book flights and use frequent-flyer points as they ordinarily would, and said employees and vendors would continue getting paid.

The airline said it received commitments for a $350 million equity investment from existing bondholders and will convert $795 million of their debt into stock in the restructured company. The bondholders will also extend a $300 million loan that, combined with Spirits remaining cash, will help the airline get through the restructuring.

The airline's shares dropped 25% on Friday, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the airline was discussing terms of a possible bankruptcy filing with its bondholders. Spirit, based in Dania Beach, Florida, missed a deadline for filing its third-quarter financial results but announced that its operating margin would indicate a bigger loss than the company had in the same quarter last year.

Those were just the latest in a series of blows that have sent the stock crashing down by 97% since late 2018  when Spirit was still making money.

CEO Ted Christie confirmed in August that Spirit was talking to advisers of its bondholders about the upcoming debt maturities. On Monday, he called the deal with bondholders a strong vote of confidence in Spirit and our long-term plan.

People are still flying on Spirit Airlines. Theyre just not paying as much.

In the first six months of this year, Spirit passengers flew 2% more than they did in the same period last year. However, they are paying 10% less per mile, and revenue per mile from fares is down nearly 20%, contributing to Spirits red ink.

Its not a new trend. Spirit failed to return to profitability when the coronavirus pandemic eased and travel rebounded. There are several reasons behind the slump.

Spirits costs, especially for labor, have risen. The biggest U.S. airlines have snagged some of Spirits budget-conscious customers by offering their own brand of bare-bones tickets. And fares for U.S. leisure travel  Spirits core business  sagged this summer because of a glut of new flights.
(Bloomberg) -- Standard Chartered Plc and Standard Bank Group Ltd. are exploring working with Lesotho on raising a fund to help the country meet its energy needs and start exporting power.

Most Read from Bloomberg

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The banks aim to work with the government to attract investment into the His Majesty King Letsie III Just Energy Transition Fund, according to a statement from the kings office. Standard Chartered, which is based in London, has a presence across a number of African countries while Johannesburg-based Standard Bank is the continents biggest lender.

Standard Chartered will work with the Kingdom of Lesotho to pursue a first-of-a-kind country platform that can support the countrys ambitions, Marisa Drew, Standard Chartereds chief sustainability officer, said in comments sent to Bloomberg. Leveraging programmatic blended finance of this kind is an innovative way to attract foreign private-sector investment to emerging-market economies.

The mountainous kingdom, an enclave within South Africa, has abundant wind, solar and hydropower resources, yet imports much of its electricity. It earns foreign exchange by providing water to South Africa and from selling mohair from its Angora goat herds.

Domestic Needs

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It has historically been difficult to source private sector and international investment in Lesothos energy system, the kings office said in the statement. The fund creates the exciting opportunity to demonstrate the potential for emerging economies to leapfrog from energy poverty to clean energy abundance without passing through fossil fuels, it said.

The first phase of the project will aim to meet Lesothos domestic power need of 200 megawatts. It will then start to build surplus power generation capacity and expand its transmission network to supply electricity to the region through the Southern Africa Power Pool.

A number of Southern African countries, including Zimbabwe and Zambia, are currently rationing power because of insufficient generation capacity.

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Across the nations largest school system, nearly 150,000 public school students experienced homelessness at some point during the 2023-24 school year  the largest increase in a decade.

New data, released today by nonprofit Advocates for Children of New York revealed around 27,000 more students experienced homelessness than in 2022-23 for a total of 146,000 children. Roughly one in eight children lacked a permanent place to call home.

An influx of asylum seeking students and a rise in domestic violence have likely contributed to the stark increase, experts said, outside of persistent drivers like the citys lack of affordable housing.

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The 23% increase after a decade of mostly under 10% increases has alarmed education and housing advocates who called for the city, state and department of education to address shelter staff shortages, add a weight for the population in the states school funding formula, expand access to rental assistance, improve the mass transit system, and prioritize placing students into housing nearest to their school.

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According to the latest demographic data of students in temporary housing available from the 2022-23 school year, one in three were English language learners and nearly all were Black or Latino.

This marks the ninth consecutive year student homelessness has exceeded 100,000. The latest tally of students could fill all seats in Yankee Stadium nearly three times over. Each of the citys 32 school districts saw increases, but students experiencing homelessness were most highly concentrated in the south Bronx, upper Manhattan, and central Brooklyns Brownsville and Bushwick, where the citys largest shelters are.

The challenges remain stubbornly persistent, said Jennifer Pringle, director of AFCs Learners in Temporary Housing Project. If were [going to] talk about ending family homelessness, we need to make sure that education is front and center. Young adults who dont have a high school diploma are four to five times more likely to experience homelessness as adults. We have to make sure that our young people right now in shelter are getting the support that they need, so they graduate and flourish beyond high school.

Related

Homelessness Threatens Rural Students Amid Affordable Housing Crunch

The numbers, while unsurprising to experts familiar with the growing crisis, are likely still an undercount as to how many children are experiencing homelessness. Data capture only school-aged children, but the most common age that someone is in shelter is under the age of 5, said Henry Love, vice president of public policy and strategy with Women in Need, the city and nations largest shelter provider.

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Were probably talking about a quarter of a million or 200,000 children, at least, Love said, emphasizing families are the main population in shelters today. Im still wrapping my mind around it.

He added that the situation has been exacerbated by Mayor Eric Adams vetoing a package of the City Councils housing bills, which would have expanded financial assistance to families at risk of homelessness. After the Council attempted to override the vetoes, a judge sided with Adams. The decision is now being appealed in court, leaving thousands of families in limbo.

The number one thing is if we could keep people in their homes, he said. We have decided by de facto that instead of giving these kids housing that they deserve, we said, you know what, well give you shelter instead.

Just over half of last years students who lived in temporary housing were doubled-up, sharing homes with friends or family, and more than 60,000 spent nights in the citys shelters.

Each of the New York Citys school districts saw increases, but students experiencing homelessness were most highly concentrated in the south Bronx, upper Manhattan, and central Brooklyns Brownsville and Bushwick, where the citys largest shelters are. (Advocates for Children of New York)

Data obtained from the states department of education also revealed alarming education outcomes for students in temporary housing in the 2022-23 school year, the latest available: on state reading and writing tests, proficiency for third through eighth graders was 20 points lower on average; and the high school dropout rate was three times higher than that of their peers.

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Astonishing Absenteeism, Trauma Rates Root of Academic Crisis

Students in shelter experienced the most negative educational impacts, seeing rates of chronic absenteeism closer to 70%, in part due to the citys common practice of initially placing nearly 40% of children into shelters in a different borough from their school, adding strain to already costly and lengthy transportation routes.

About 18% of students in shelters had to move schools at least once during the school year, four times the rate for permanently housed students.

Its not good for students, its not good for the school to have that level of churn among your student population. You think about the connections that kids have to their peers, their teachers and how vital those relationships are and how much they can help a student during a time of housing instability, AFCs Pringle said. Yet for so many families, theyre forced to contend between these ridiculously long commutes or transferring schools.

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Mayor Adams administration also enacted an inhumane 60-day stay limit on particular shelters, disproportionately impacting the newcomer immigrant population.

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Q&A: NYC Shelter Dir. on Complete Destabilization, Chaos Facing Migrant Kids

In addition to housing policy reforms, adjusting the states per-pupil formula would be critical in boosting kids educational outcomes by allowing schools to adequately invest in family outreach, attendance improvement, wrap around services with local community organizations, and academic tutoring.

In a statement, Department of Education spokesperson Chyann Tull said the system has provided field support, enrollment support, transportation services for students and parents, access to counseling, immunization assistance, and academic support.

The city has a goal of placing 85% of students in the same borough as their school, but they havent gotten anywhere close to that .. more needs to be done there, Pringle added. I think its recognized by the fact that they set a goal that they are not achieving  they know that they need to do better.
LONDON (AP)  U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he wanted a strong and durable relationship with China Monday as he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Brazil.

It was the first time a British leader has met with Xi in recent years as ties between the two countries deteriorated over security and human rights concerns and Chinas support for Russia in the war in Ukraine.

Starmer, who became prime minister in July after his Labour Party won a landslide election victory, is seeking to repair relations with Beijing. The last time a U.K. leader met with Xi was in 2018.

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We want our relations to be consistent, durable, respectful, as we have agreed (and) avoid surprises where possible, Starmer told Xi during a meeting on the fringes of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Downing Street said that Starmer wanted a pragmatic approach to working with Beijing on global stability, boosting economic ties and especially climate change and the transition to clean energy.

Starmer also raised more thorny issues including concerns over the detention of Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher and activist Jimmy Lai, a U.K. citizen who has been in custody since December 2020. Lai, 76, could face up to life in prison if he is convicted under a sweeping national security law that Beijing has imposed on the former British colony.

Journalists were ushered out of the room at the start of Monday's bilateral meeting around the time Starmer raised Lai's case, Britain's Press Association agency reported.

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Starmer wanted to engage honestly and frankly on those areas where we have different perspectives, including on Hong Kong, human rights and Russias war in Ukraine, his office said in a statement after the meeting.

Xi told Starmer that the U.K. and China have potential for more cooperation despite their differences and should deepen political trust for mutual benefit, according to China's Xinhua state news agency.

Monday's meeting came after U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy paid a visit to Beijing last month for talks with his counterpart, Wang Yi.
(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Keir Starmer had barely registered the UKs concerns with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the plight of a jailed newspaper publisher in Hong Kong when the British press found themselves abruptly bundled out of the room.

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Xi spoke first in the meeting on Monday between the two leaders and their officials at the Group of 20 summit in Brazil on Monday, hailing the broad space for cooperation between the two nations, including on trade, investment, clean energy and financial services. There were some pleasantries also from Starmer, before the British premier brought up his concerns over sanctioned lawmakers, human rights, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the case of former media mogul Jimmy Lai.

Listen to the Bloomberg UK Politics podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen.

As Starmer mentioned those points of tension, Chinese officials stood up and ordered British journalists out of the room before the premier had finished his remarks. While the British premiers entourage tried to resist and allow the reporters to stay, the Chinese team physically moved them out of the room.

The awkward incident in the first meeting between the leaders of the UK and China in almost seven years underscores the challenge Starmer faces in seeking a thaw in ties with China after a period marked by Beijings crackdown on dissent in the former British colony.

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The premier and his ministers have repeatedly emphasized the need for pragmatism in dealings with China, noting that cooperation is important on global issues including climate change, security and economic stability. Starmer himself pushed for respectful relations between the two nations in his meeting with Xi. But the second strand of his approach to China was also on display: the importance of challenging where necessary.

Im very pleased that my foreign secretary and Foreign Minister Wang met recently and discussed respective concerns including human rights and parliamentary sanctions, Taiwan, the South China Sea and our and our shared interest in Hong Kong, Starmer told Xi. We are concerned by reports of Jimmy Lais deteriorating health in prison.

The references to Hong Kong and Lai are particularly sensitive, given the UKs role as the territorys former colonial power. Britain says security legislation in Hong Kong breaches the handover agreement that saw the city return to Chinese rule in 1997.

A Hong Kong court is due to sentence dozens of former democracy advocates in Hong Kongs largest national security trial on Tuesday, a move likely to further deter dissent and attract condemnation from Western governments.

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The trial of Lai  founder of one of the finance hubs most popular tabloids, Apple Daily  is due to resume Wednesday. Also charged with security crimes, hes essentially standing trial for acts of self-expression once openly permitted under British rule.

The Chinese readout of the meeting with Starmer didnt reference Taiwan or human rights, which are among the most sensitive topics for the nation, two of the four red lines Xi spelled out in his meeting on Saturday with US President Joe Biden. The others include containing its economic rise and challenging the supremacy of the Communist Party. China claims Taiwan as its own and has threatened to take the island by force if necessary.

Xi told Starmer they should break new ground in the China-UK relationship, with a commitment to mutual respect, openness, cooperation, exchanges and mutual learning for shared benefit, according to a translation of his remarks. Despite his criticisms, Starmer also agreed with some of those sentiments.

A strong UK-China relationship is important for both of our countries and for the broader international community, the British prime minister told Xi. The UK will be a predictable, consistent, sovereign actor committed to the rule of law.

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Starmer also proposed holding talks with premier Li Qiang  Chinas second-highest ranking official  in Beijing or London, as well as a meeting between Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and Vice Premier He Lifeng for the upcoming economic financial dialog early next year to explore more investment projects and a more level playing field to help our businesses.

Starmers Labour Party, in power since July, is conducting an audit of the relationship and appears determined to secure a closer dialog, which the prime minister is justifying by linking it to his core election pledge to turn Britain into the fastest growing economy among Group of Seven nations. Hes the first UK premier to meet Xi since Theresa May in early 2018.

The UK has endured sluggish growth in recent years and data last week showed a slowdown since Labour took office, adding pressure on the government to improve the economy. China was the UKs fifth-biggest trading partner in the year through the end of June, a relationship valued at 88 billion ($111 billion).

Given the size of the economy, it is very important that we have a pragmatic and serious relationship, Starmer told reporters on the plane to Brazil on Sunday.

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Nevertheless, there are dangers in seeking a rapprochement, not least because it puts him at odds with the hawkish stance of US President-elect Donald Trump, who has threatened to impose tariffs as high as 60% on goods from China when he takes office in January. Trump has nominated several China hawks for senior positions, and during his first term, the UK came under pressure to take a tougher stance against Huaweis role in Britains 5G network.

Starmer will also face scrutiny at home because the UK has repeatedly accused China of effectively supporting Russias war in Ukraine. Only two weeks ago, Britain sanctioned a number of Chinese companies it said were providing drones that Moscow was using in the conflict.

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Labour faces a wipeout of rural MPs, Sir Keir Starmer has been warned, as tens of thousands of farmers prepare to march on London in protest over the governments Budget changes to inheritance tax.

The partys landslide election victory saw Labour MPs elected across 114 rural constituencies.

But Labour peer Baroness Ann Mallalieu has told The Independent that chancellor Rachel Reevess measure to abolish inheritance tax exemptions for some farms has caused uproar, with her party facing angry claims of betrayal among farmers and rural campaigners.

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Farmers arriving to join the first major protest against the new Labour government say the 20 per cent levy on farming assets worth more than 1m will rip the heart from countryside communities.

Labour Baroness Ann Mallalieu, who is also president of the Countryside Alliance, has voiced caution over the impact of the Budget measure on Labour retaining rural MP seats (UK parliament)

And they strongly dispute Treasury figures that suggest just 28 per cent of farms will be impacted.

Some of the farming communitys anger has been vented at newly elected Labour MPs  with none so far speaking out in support of farmers calls to reverse the inheritance tax measure.

Latest public opinion polls demonstrate support for farmers.

A survey by More in Common showed 57 per cent of people supported making farmers exempt from inheritance tax, including 45 per cent of Labour voters, while 44 per cent said the Budget had a negative impact on farmers.

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Baroness Mallalieu, who is also president of the Countryside Alliance, told The Independent: Under Tony Blair there were 100 rural Labour MPs. Tony Blair mounted, and very much regrets it now as he says, what was seen as an attack on the countryside and it dropped to 17.

It took 14 years of Conservative governance before it was restored to 100  now [it is] such a pity to throw that away, which it seems to me they are bent on doing.

Baroness Mallalieu said she had sympathy with the newly elected MPs, some of whom she said were inexperienced and owe it to the party to remain loyal despite outbursts from constituents.

I feel very, very sorry for them, she said. They work very hard and theyve had enormous goodwill in the constituencies... I hope people wont take their anger out on those representatives but they do need to know what its going to do to people, many of whom supported them.

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Ive had so many people from the local village shop, to the railway station saying, I wish I hadnt voted Labour  Ive made a mistake.

Tony Blair faced the anger of farmers in St Austell in Cornwall in 2000. Many accused the former prime minister of waging a war on the countryside with measures such as banning foxhunting in 2004 (PA)

Asked if the measure, unchanged, could lead to rural MPs losing their seats, Baroness Mallalieu said: They [voters] wont forget. I remember John Major at Tony Blairs time said that he would sour a whole generation.

Goodwill, once youve lost it, is very hard to recover. Im afraid thats what happened [under Blair]. Im just afraid that if something doesnt happen fairly quickly, people will remain angry, and also deeply worried and frightened.

Baroness Mallalieu said the Treasury had not properly consulted on the measure or looked at the figures correctly. Last week, unlike the Treasurys estimate, Defra figures were interpreted by farmers groups to show up to 66 per cent of farms could be impacted.

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On Sunday night, as he made his way to the G20 summit in Brazil, Sir Keir, who avoided facing protesters at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno on Saturday, doubled down on his claim that the vast majority of farms will be unaffected.

Around 12,500 people are registered to attend tomorrows protest, starting in Richmond Terrace from 11am  but it is believed more than double that figure could arrive, with members of the public joining the action.

Led by a group of children on toy tractors to signify the inheritance taxs implications for the next generation, the protest will feature a list of speakers before a march to Parliament Square.

NFU president Tom Bradshaw will tell protesters: I dont think Ive ever seen the industry this angry, this disillusioned and this upset. And given what weve had to be angry about in recent years thats saying something.

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To launch a policy this destructive without speaking to anyone involved in farming beggars belief.

Earlier in the day, the National Farmers Union (NFU) will hold a mass lobby event from 9am with more than 1,000 members entering Church House to put the issue directly to MPs.

Herefordshire farmer Martin Williams says rural Labour MPs are morally wrong not to back their protest (Martin Williams)

The wider protest was organised by a group of farmers, including Herefordshire cereal farmer Martin Williams, who accused Labour MPs in rural constituencies of letting down voters.

We have had a lot of placating words around the measures that they say will make a difference to us [from Labour MPs], but none of them are breaking the party line, he said.

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It seems that they have got such slim majorities in the rural constituences, I feel that they know they are probably not going to get in next time after this debacle already.

Among those joining the protest on Tuesday will be Cornish dairy farmer Bridget Whell, who will be affected along with her sisters in inheriting their parents 500-acre arable farm.

Family farms will need to sell off land to pay for the tax, or some wont continue the business, she said.

They [the Labour government] dont understand how a farm is the basis of a local economy. For every dairy farm, you can have around 25 businesses running off it  and this measure will hurt us all. Its so frustrating. We just want to be heard, to be listened to and hopefully some changes can be made.

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The Independent contacted 48 Labour MPs representing communities classed as purely rural by the Countryside Alliance, but none returned with a statement in support of the farmers demand to reverse the measure.

Monmouthshire MP Catherine Fookes said the inheritance tax decision was necessary to address a 22bn black hole left by the Tory government but said she was aware of farmers concerns and will be meeting a dozen constituents on the day of the protest.

I will support them in any way I can through the transition, she said.

Forest of Dean MP Matt Bishop, who won his seat with a majority of fewer than 300 votes, said: We have had to make difficult decisions to navigate the significant financial pressures inherited from the previous government, but I want to reassure my constituents that my focus on farming and rural issues remains unwavering.

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Suffolk Coastal MP Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, who won her seat with a majority of just over 1,000 votes, said: I will continue to be engaging with them [local farmers] over the weeks and months ahead  supporting them and advocating for farming and rural communities.

John Whitby, MP for Derbyshire Dales, who won his seat with a majority of 350 votes, said he was listening to farmers concerns. I have visited farms in my constituency, met with the president of the NFU, and will be welcoming even more farmers to parliament tomorrow, he added.

Tory MP for Bridgwater, Ashley Fox, who is joining the protest, said: I would hope that all members of parliament would listen to their constituents, and the message I have had from farmers is that this is a very damaging tax rise, so I would ask my Labour colleagues to reconsider their position.

I think this Labour family farm tax will cause real hardship and will damage Britains food security.

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Ahead of the protest Rachel Reeves and environment secretary Steve Reed attempted to address the anger of farmers.

In a statement they said: Farmers are the backbone of Britain, and we recognise the strength of feeling expressed by farming and rural communities in recent weeks. We are steadfast in our commitment to Britains farming industry because food security is national security.

Its why we are investing 5 billion into farming over the next two years  the largest amount ever directed towards sustainable food production, rural economic growth and natures recovery in our countrys history. But with public services crumbling and a 22 billion fiscal hole that this Government inherited, we have taken difficult decisions.

But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch gave her backing to the protesters repeating her pledge to reverse the tax.

She said: The Labour government clearly doesnt understand, or care about rural communities, and now families are having to sell their farms, with knowledge that has been handed down through generations lost forever.

Under my leadership the Conservative Party will staunchly oppose the family farm tax, which threatens our vital rural economy and our food security, with increased costs and a greater reliance on imports.

Mo Metcalf-Fisher, from the Countryside Alliance, said: Labour MPs who find themselves now representing rural seats must be seen to empathise with the awful situation farmers and their families now find themselves. Sadly, many do not feel they are being listened to.

A government spokesperson said: The governments commitment to our farmers remains steadfast. Its why we have committed 5bn to the farming budget over two years  more money than ever for sustainable food production.

We understand concerns about changes to agricultural property relief but the majority of those claiming relief will not be affected by these changes. Around 500 claims each year will be impacted and farm-owning couples can pass on up to 3m without paying any inheritance tax.

This is a fair and balanced approach that protects the family farm while also fixing the public services that we all rely on.
Wanted

Pikes Peak Area Crime Stoppers is asking for the publics help finding the following people for whom felony arrest warrants have been issued.

Andrew Benjamin Burton  age 33, 6 feet, 2 inches tall, 340 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, sought on suspicion of failure to register as sex offender, theftat risk, identity theft, attempted murder 1, violent crime, assault 1, habitual criminal, theft and possession of weapon by previous offender.

Alexandria Nicole Callis Delisi  age 38, 5 feet, 3 inches tall, 155 pounds, with black hair and green eyes. She is sought on suspicion of attempted aggravated robbery, assault 3, theft, ID theft, expired plates, driving under restraint, criminal possession of financial device, criminal possession of ID document and attempted aggravated motor vehicle theft.

Brian James Lichtle  age 34, 5 feet, 11 inches tall, 165 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, sought on suspicion of burglary 1, assault 3, expired plates, no insurance, driving without a license, felony menacing and harassment.

Journey Jatayvian McClinton  age 22, 6 feet, 2 inches tall, 290 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, sought on suspicion of harassment, violation of protection order, child abuse, resisting arrest, criminal mischief, stalking and obstruction.

Alberto Nicolas Orozco-Velasco  age 28, 5 feet, 6 inches tall, 120 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, sought on suspicion of attempted robbery, assault 3, harassment, kidnapping 2, assault 2, false imprisonment, motor vehicle theft, possession of controlled substance and obstructing a peace officer.

Ryan Todd Orr  age 38, 5 feet, 9 inches tall, 180 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes, sought on suspicion of attempted sexual assault on a child, fraud by check, possession of controlled substance and driving under restraint.

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Daniel Orlando Quintana  age 33, 5 feet, 6 inches tall, 165 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, sought on suspicion of assault 2-strangulation, burglary 1, trespass 1, criminal mischief and violation of protection order.

Carl Ronnell Rogers  age 30, 6 feet, 2 inches tall, 250 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, sought on suspicion of burglary 1, menacing and criminal mischief.

Remain anonymous

If you have information about these fugitives or a serious crime, call Crime Stoppers at 719-634-7867.

You do not have to give your name, and you could earn a reward of as much as $1,000 for information given to Crime Stoppers.

A list of featured fugitives wanted in the Pikes Peak region is on the Crime Stoppers website: crimestop.net.

The people with the following Crime Stoppers numbers need to call 719-444-7866: 277-M26524, 277-M26602, 277-W26601, 277-M26948, 277-M26941.
Randy Kelley, chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party, presides over the State Democratic Executive Committee in May 2023. Democratic turnout in Alabama has been falling in recent years; Kamala Harris got 10% fewer votes this month than Joe Biden got in 2020. (Alander Rocha/Alabama Reflector)

This is the existential problem for the Alabama Democratic Party: their voters arent showing up.

And its not an issue because were on the brink of some political revolution in the state. Alabama is not about to tip blue. The Republican supermajority in the Legislature is not on the brink of collapse.

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No, were talking about threats to the few sandbars of power Democrats still occupy.

Turn the clock back two years. Several Democrats in majority-Black legislative districts  which should be easy wins  had less-than-overwhelming victories.

Robert L. Stewart, running for state Senate in a district centered around Selma, got just 53% of the vote. Rep. Thomas Jackson, D-Thomasville, eked out a 556-vote victory in his district.

There was a lot going on here. The Black Belt, a Democratic bastion, continues to shrink. Voting in 2022 was a lot harder than voting in 2020, when Republican state officials took a brave step into 2006 and briefly gave us what amounted to early voting. (After the election, they dialed the states election apparatus back to 1958.)

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Those factors are out of the partys control. But finding candidates isnt. And in 2022, the Democrats candidate recruitment was as ineffective as Auburns quest for offensive linemen.

The party left most state and legislative races uncontested. Many Democrats who appeared on the ballot tripped their way in. Yolanda Flowers, the partys 2022 gubernatorial nominee, had never previously run for office; had an abortion stance that can be charitably described as muddled and managed to be massively outspent by Libertarian Party nominee James Blake, who spent just $44,000 on his campaign.

I doubt any Democratic candidate could have beaten Republican Gov. Kay Ivey that year. (For that matter, neither could the Republicans who challenged her in the primary.) But if you dont have someone running a statewide campaign reaching your party's supporters, youre going to have a lot of people staying home.

Fewer than 38% of Alabama's registered voters cast ballots that year. And a lot of the people who didn't were Democrats. That created a lot of problems for Democratic legislators.

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The results this month dont look any better.

A little over 58.5% of Alabama's registered voters cast ballots on Nov. 5, the lowest turnout for a presidential election in the state since 1988.

Republican turnout was flat. Pike County, which Trump won, recorded only 89% of the vote it had four years ago. In deep-red Dale County, only 51% of voters turned out.

But the story here is Democratic votes disappearing. And not only in areas where Jesus couldnt win as a Democrat.

In Jefferson County, there were 20,000 fewer votes for Kamala Harris than for Joe Biden in 2020.

In Mobile, Democratic votes fell by over 8,000. In Montgomery, the blue vote total fell by 6,800.

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In Tuscaloosa and Lee, two growing university counties, there were 4,000 fewer votes each.

In all, the Democrats got nearly 10% fewer votes in 2024 than they did in 2020. Shomari Figures' victory in the 2nd Congressional District didnt help, either. Mobile and Montgomery, the largest cities in the district, recorded below-average turnout, as did Macon County, a Democratic stronghold where less than half of the voters cast a ballot.

If the party is going to maintain its viability in Alabama, the cities and the Black Belt should be a base to support growth elsewhere. If Democrats have to focus their efforts on shoring up the foundation, they're not going anywhere.

And this is in a presidential election year, where most everyone knows they have to vote. What happens in 2026, when turnout is almost certain to fall further? And if the Democratic primary becomes another open mic night with no one in the audience?

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I can tell you: Black Belt legislators are going to have to fight for seats that shouldn't be in play. And the partys path back to relevance in the Legislature gets even longer.

Democrats have to find strong candidates up and down the ballot, but especially at the top. And that's a challenge. You need people with name recognition willing to run long, difficult statewide campaigns where theyll be lucky to finish with 40% of the vote.

But they don't have a choice. Leave those top slots vacant or let someone stumble onto the ballot, and theyre going to lose a lot of races they ought to win. In the Legislature and outside it. Maybe even in the newly drawn 2nd Congressional District.

A mayor seems the most obvious choice. Tuscaloosa's Walt Maddox didnt come close to getting into the governors mansion in 2018. But he raised money, bought ads and reminded Democrats that there was an election. There were Democrats running for most offices. If nothing else, they held the line.

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If it's not a mayor, find a former federal official; the party did well in 2017 with a former U.S. attorney. Or find a retired statewide official. Run former Gov. Don Siegelman if you like. Alabamians no longer care about candidates with felony convictions. Siegelman has far fewer of them than the President-elect.

But whoever it is, start recruiting those candidates now. Because if Democrats cant find candidates Democratic voters care about, theyre going to lose a lot more than the governors race.

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AUSTIN (KXAN)  The State Board of Education is set to make its final vote later this week on whether the English and Language Arts textbooks provided by Texas will feature stories from the Bible.

In September, the SBOE listened to hours of testimony from parents and groups who both supported and opposed the curriculum. The Texas Education Agency amended the curriculum following the meeting.

One critic of the proposed curriculum, a grassroots organization called Texas Freedom Network, released an analysis of the curriculum earlier this month. The analysis said the amended curriculum has a lot of improvements from the original version released in May, but still does not recommend that it be approved.

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The analysis argued the curriculum overemphasizes Christianity over other religions, provides a one-sided portrayal of Christianity, and uses detailed Bible lessons that are unnecessary and unwarranted, more suited to Christian Sunday School than nonsectarian public schools.

Previous coverage: Texans have last chance to influence decision on Bible-infused curriculum

One lesson critics have an issue with is Leonardo da Vincis painting of the Last Supper used in a Grade 5 textbook. The analysis from TFN said the lesson, contains the lengthy quote from the Gospel of Matthew and features far more detailed discussion about the events of the Last Supper than is pedagogically necessary for student understanding of the artwork.

Parents deserve to know whether their kids are being preached to at school. Were sending them to public school, not Sunday school, Emily Witt, the senior communications and media strategist for Texas Freedom Network, said.

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But not everyone feels this way. Supporters, like Texas Values, a conservative advocacy group, argue students have a constitutional right to study biblical texts in an academic setting. They argue that these texts will have beneficial impacts on students and help them increase their reading comprehension.

This is not a religious curriculum where were studying world religions, and its not a history

class where were studying history, Mary Castle, the director of government relations for Texas Values, explained. Its a class that is English Language Arts, and any time that there is a reference, which there are several references throughout literature, where there is Bible references, they go at liberty to explain those texts for students.

One example of this is a proposed lesson on Martin Luther King Jr. and his Letter From Birmingham Jail. King uses biblical characters in his letter to clergymen around the South, which supporters argue will need some type of context for students to comprehend the letter.

Critics agree that is an instance where context would be necessary, but still claim there are instances where there is unnecessary biblical references.

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We do think that the Bible, in some cases, has been an important context for American history.

The overall religious teachings in school when they are taught unbiased and presented in a way

that doesnt put one religion over the other is totally appropriate to give children context, Witt explained.

The public had a chance to testify to the SBOE once again on Monday. The board was expected to take a vote at the meeting but ended the discussion without a decision Monday evening, and they picked back up Tuesday morning. The board is expected to take its final vote Friday.

If approved, the curriculum would be ready for districts to use by August 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 KXAN Austin.
Rep. Tricia Cotham voices support for legislation to expand the state's controversial school voucher program. (Photo: ncleg.gov feed)

State lawmakers return to Raleigh this week and from the looks of things, it will mark yet another big and wasteful failure for the General Assembly.

Thats because the overriding policy issue in our state right now is the massive economic and environmental disaster in the west that was wrought by Hurricane Helene.

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If ever there was a crisis that deserved every available resource and funding stream at our disposal, this is it. Gov. Roy Cooper is taking just such a stance.

Unfortunately, thats not how Republican legislative leaders see it. At this moment of desperate need, theyre planning to ignore Coopers request and instead direct hundreds of millions of dollars in badly needed funds to their deeply flawed and unaccountable school voucher scheme.

The bottom line: at a time in which hundreds of businesses and thousands of workers are in desperate need of emergency aid, state lawmakers plan instead to send funds that could be used for that critical public purpose to millionaires to subsidize their kids private school tuition. North Carolinians from across the state should be outraged.

For NC Newsline, Im Rob Schofield.
Editor's note: The story was updated with comments from Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Leonid Slutsky.

Senior Russian lawmakers threatened on Nov. 17 that outgoing U.S. President Joe Bidens decision to allow Ukraine to strike deep inside Russian territory with ATACMS missiles could lead to World War III and the loss of Ukrainian statehood.

"This is a very big step towards the start of World War III," lawmaker Vladimir Dzhabarov said, according to Russias state-owned TASS state news agency.

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Biden has authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles for strikes inside Russia, marking a significant shift in U.S. policy, several media outlets reported on Nov. 17.

Ukraine will likely initially use the missiles against Russian and North Korean forces in Kursk Oblast, but Washington could also authorize their use elsewhere, undisclosed official sources told the New York Times.

The decision has not been publicly confirmed by Kyiv or Washington, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying that the "missiles will speak for themselves."

"The West has decided on a level of escalation that could end with the remnants of Ukraine completely losing their statehood," Andrei Klishas, a member of Russias Federation Council, wrote on his Telegram channel.

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Leonid Slutsky, head of the nationalist Liberal-Democratic Party, said the step would "inevitably lead to a serious escalation, threatening serious consequences."

Government-owned Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper called it "one of the most provocative and uncalculated decisions" by the Biden administration that could lead to "catastrophic consequences."

The Kremlin has yet to comment officially on the latest reports. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said that long-range strikes against Russia with Western arms would mean NATO's involvement in the war, adding that Moscow is preparing "various responses" to such a step.

Russia has repeatedly set supposed "red lines" on Western assistance for Ukraine, sometimes accompanied by veiled or overt nuclear threats.

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The policy change follows Biden's previous hesitance to provide such weapons out of concern for escalating tensions with Russia.

While U.S. officials do not expect this move to "change the overall course of the war," Biden reportedly aims to help Ukraine target critical Russian and North Korean military assets and send a deterrent message to Pyongyang, the New York Times wrote.

Proponents of the decision have long argued that this authorization would significantly enhance Ukraines defense capabilities, especially with Russia ramping up military offensives on many fronts and intensifying drone and missile attacks in recent months.

Read also: Russia mulls various responses if West aids Ukraine with long-range strikes, Putin says

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
NEW YORK  Steve Bannons trial on charges of duping conservatives into donating for a border wall project has been pushed back to February.

Bannon, 70, had been set to stand trial beginning Dec. 9, but Manhattan Supreme Court Justice April Newbauer moved the date to Feb. 25 in a hearing Monday morning.

The case against Bannon began in late 2020, when federal investigators accused him and three associates of fraud and money laundering. Bannon and his partners set up a charity called We Build The Wall, Inc. and encouraged conservatives and Donald Trump supporters to donate and help complete Trumps promise of a border wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

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The group raised more than $25 million with a promise that all the money would go to a border wall, investigators said. But a lot of the money instead landed in the pockets of Bannon and his co-conspirators, according to authorities.

Trump, 78, pardoned Bannon in the final hours of his first term as president. However, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought state charges against Bannon in September 2022. Trump will not be able to pardon Bannon a second time because it is not a federal case.

The jury will be allowed to hear evidence that Bannon took $600,000 from We Build The Wall and used it to pay a credit card bill that hed racked up at a different nonprofit, Newbauer ruled Monday. Bannons defense team had sought to prevent the introduction of such evidence.

Stephen Bannon acted as the architect of a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud thousands of donors across the country  including hundreds of Manhattan residents, Bragg said in a statement at the time.

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Bannon, who has pleaded not guilty, was released in late October after four months at a federal prison in Connecticut. He had been convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to testify in front of a House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Though Trump pardoned Bannon in the original case, he left the co-conspirators on the hook. Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato pleaded guilty in April 2022, and Timothy Shea was convicted in October 2023. They each received prison terms of at least three years, and they were not charged in the New York State case.

(New York Daily News staff writer Molly Crane-Newman contributed to this story.)

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NEW YORK  Steve Bannons trial on state charges that he conspired to defraud donors to a border wall charity will be postponed until late February, a judge ruled Monday.

The delay gives the conservative podcast host a bit more breathing room between his four-month prison stint for contempt of Congress, which ended in late October, and his upcoming trial regarding the Build the Wall charity, which had been set to begin Dec. 9.

Bannon didnt attend Mondays court conference in person, but appeared virtually. He didnt speak except to acknowledge he could attend the trial starting Feb. 25.

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Justice April Newbauer delayed the start date to allow Bannons lawyers additional time to prepare for new evidence the judge ruled prosecutors could introduce.

The case is being prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs office, which brought charges against Bannon after Donald Trump, during his first term, pardoned his longtime ally from charges in a similar federal prosecution. Presidents do not have the power to pardon people facing state charges.

During the court conference Monday, prosecutors asked for the jury in Bannons trial to be anonymous. They didnt provide any reasoning for the request. The judge didnt immediately rule on it.

Since emerging from prison on Oct. 29, Bannon immediately resumed advocating for Trump, working to mobilize MAGA voters and watching as Trump won reelection the following week.

The four months in federal prison, not only did it not break me, it empowered me, Bannon said during a broadcast following his release from prison. I am more energized and more focused than I have ever been in my entire life.
In 1896, German chemist Emil Fischer noted something very strange about a molecule named acetaldehyde phenylhydrazone. Identical batches of the crystalline compound appeared to have wildly different melting points.

Some batches, he found, melted at temperatures of around 65 degrees Celsius (149 Fahrenheit). Others at 100 degrees Celsius.

It was, in a word, utterly bizarre. No other substance was known to behave this way. Nor should it. According to the laws of thermodynamics that describe the way the physical world behaves, such a result should be impossible.

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Scientists were stumped. They rushed to see if Fischer had made a mistake. Imagine their consternation when they were able to replicate his observations.

More than 120 years after Fischer's original discovery, in 2019, an international team of researchers led by chemist Terry Threfall of the University of Southampton in the UK finally found and published the answer. Fischer (who went on to win a 1902 Nobel prize for other work, so he was clearly no quack) had observed something real; but not, as it would turn out, anything that would break thermodynamics.

The culprit? An absolutely miniscule contamination, so small that it is all but undetectable. When acetaldehyde phenylhydrazone melts, it becomes one of two liquids, based on whether the compound has been exposed to a base or an acid. The former appears at the higher melting point; and the latter at the lower.

"It is just exceedingly satisfying to be able to understand such an ancient puzzle, especially one which baffled such an eminent scientist who became a Nobel Prize winner," Threlfall said.

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"The observation of such behavior will be exceedingly rare because it depends on the molecules in the crystal and in the liquid having different geometries, which is unusual. Furthermore, it depends also on the conversion by acid being both possible and rapid."

The compound is made by dissolving solid acetaldehyde and adding both liquid phenylhydrazine and aqueous ethanol, and chilling until the mixture freezes and forms solid crystals. To then discover the melting point of the newly formed acetaldehyde phenylhydrazone, you have to re-melt it.

This is where the problems emerged. To understand why acetaldehyde phenylhydrazone melts at two distinct temperatures, the researchers first investigated its solid form. But the most cutting edge probes failed to turn up an answer.

All analyses, performed by Threlfall's team and other recent efforts, failed to find a single difference between acetaldehyde phenylhydrazone samples that melted at the lower temperature, and samples that melted at the higher. These techniques included X-ray diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance, and IR spectroscopy. As far as scientists could tell, the crystals were identical.

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The next step was to investigate the liquid the crystals became after melting.

And there, the researchers got a result. There was a subtle, and temporary, but distinct difference. Although the compounds had the same molecular formula, the structure of the initial melt was slightly different, depending on the temperature.

The compound contains a methyl group that is able to have two distinct configurations, known as the Z isomer and the E isomer.

In its solid phase, the material almost exclusively consists of the Z isomer.

The most stable liquid phase is a mix of about one-third Z isomer to two-thirds E isomer. The lower of the two melting points immediately produces the Z and E mix, while the higher melting point is entirely Z, before switching to part E.

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A clue was given in a 1905 paper, which pointed out that acetaldehyde phenylhydrazone was extremely sensitive to acid. Threlfall and his team tried exposing their samples to vapors of acid and ammonia. And they found that exposure to just a tiny bit of one or the other could reliably influence the compound's melting point. The acid acts as a catalyst to speed the shift from the Z to E isomer, lowering the melting point in the process.

Molecular structure overlap of high-melting (blue) and low-melting (red) forms of acetaldehyde phenylhydrazone. (Bernades et al., Cryst. Growth Des. , 2019)

"If an element or compound can exist in two or more distinct crystalline forms, then each form will have different Gibbs energies and melt at its own distinct temperature," said chemist Simon Coles of the University of Southampton.

"In this case, the molecules of the crystal are in the cis geometry  of groups pointing towards each other  and melt to an identical geometry in the absence of acid at 100 degrees Celsius. However, in the presence of even a trace of acid, the molecules convert on melting to the trans geometry of groups pointing away from each other. This liquid has a smaller Gibbs energy and is more stable, so the melting point becomes 65 degrees Celsius."

It's similar to the effect salt has on water: adding salt to a pot of water raises the freezing and boiling points. Where it takes a lot of salt to invoke a significant change to water's phase transitions, it takes so little acid to alter acetaldehyde phenylhydrazone that it took more than a century  and Threlfall and his colleagues a decade  to figure it out.

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This research is a real testament to human curiosity and tenacity. And it gives us hope for the future. How many more mysteries will be solved in the years stretching into a glittering future of discovery?

The research was published in 2019 in Crystal Growth & Design.

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(The Hill)  Student protesters could be in the crossfire of the Trump administrations crackdown on colleges, with activists increasingly concerned about freedom of speech for pro-Palestinian advocates.

Those on campus have already seen stricter rules around demonstrations this academic year, but President-elect Trump, as a candidate, has threatened protesters with everything from military action to deportation.

While there has already been harsh crackdowns and repression across the country under the Biden administration, there is concern of a Trump administration ramping up and taking even more extreme unlawful and unconstitutional crackdowns on student protesters who speak out against U.S. support for Israels genocide of Palestine, said Amr Shabaik, legal director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in California.

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Trump has repeatedly floated deportation as a punitive tool, threatening to take away the visas from international students.

One thing I do is, any student that protests, I throw them out of the country. You know, there are a lot of foreign students. As soon as they hear that, theyre going to behave, Trump said at an event to donors, according to individuals who spoke to The Washington Post in May.

Students gather on the UCLA campus to protest the Israel-Hamas war, Monday, April 29, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

The platform adopted by the Republican National Convention over the summer also listed as a goal to deport pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again.

Trump has threatened mass deportations of millions of people, including students. Immigrants are a vital part of our communities, and we stand against his threatened use of violence, law enforcement, intimidation and the separation and breakup of families that will result from his threatened actions, said Shabaik.

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The president-elect has also regularly threatened financial repercussions for colleges and universities as a way of imposing his agenda. Legal experts fear the schools may soon face outside pressure to exert their own on their student bodies, particularly as Trump rolls out a Cabinet full of loyalists.

In his last administration, he did appoint Kenneth Marcus, who pioneered the strategy of misusing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to try to censor speech critical of Israel on college campuses, said Radhika Sainath, senior staff attorney with Palestine Legal.

So, I do think that there is a very, very strong possibility that he will appoint people who are looking to quash the movement for Palestinian rights, either by redefining or using definitions of antisemitism that make it impossible to criticize Israel, Sainath added.

Pro-Palestinian protesters have already faced a challenging environment under the Biden administration, with schools releasing stricter rules around protesting over the summer so the encampments that canceled some graduation ceremonies last spring cannot happen again.

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I cant speak for all students, but over the past year, students have shown their resolve, bravery, and ingenuity under a hostile Biden administration and while dealing with hostile school administrations, law enforcement agencies and district attorneys, Shabaik said.

Since Trump was elected, he has quickly shown he will remain staunchly pro-Israel.

As of this writing, the president-elect has so far only announced an ambassador for one nation, Israel, with Mike Huckabee, a self-proclaimed Zionist, getting the nod. Trump had also spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu three times in the week since Election Day.

Back in October, The Washington Post reported Trump told Netanyahu in a phone call to do what you have to do.

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And well before he takes office, experts say free speech is under attack at colleges.

Professors right now are having their syllabi questioned, being told by administrators to stick the syllabus and to not talk about Israel and Palestine. So, there is this very McCarthy environment thats happening right now, and we do expect it to intensify with Trump, Sainath said.

Weve long said that Palestine is the canary in the coal mine, right? And so that these types of things [] could also make it harder for students to talk about, or professors to teach, critical race theory or to discuss topics that are have been targeted by the right, Sainath said. We do see more of that happening as well.

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.
If you or someone you know is dealing with suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text "Hopeline" to the National Crisis Text Line at 741-741.

When four young speakers shared their stories of surviving through mental health struggles on Sunday night at Marquette University Alumni Memorial Union, an entire room full of over 500 people sat with bated breath.

The high-school-aged speakers were presenting for the second annual "One Thing I Wish You Knew," a community mental health event hosted by The Friendship Circle and REDgen, two groups that advocate for young people in Milwaukee and its suburbs facing a rising mental health crisis.

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At the start of the event, attendees meandered through over a dozen tables highlighting local resources for mental health support, including the Wisconsin Office of Children's Mental Health and Milwaukee Childrens Community Mental Health Services.

And later in the evening, the four presenters blasted through stigmas and, with pride, courage and vulnerability, divulged the ways they had emerged from experiences with depression, anxiety, grief, body dysmorphia and even narcissism  not necessarily unscathed, but with more tools to face the forces in our world pulling them deeper into despair and hopelessness.

The students went by their first names only out of a desire to protect their identities as minors, the event's coordinator, Sophie Edelstein, said.

"Today is not just about raising awareness, it's about igniting a movement together," REDgen Executive Director Lisamarie Arnold said. "We can change the narrative surrounding youth mental health together. We can ensure that every young person knows they are not alone together."

'When you compare your life to others,' it does nothing but tear you down'

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Shir, a middle school student at the time, turned to social media for comfort but soon found herself comparing her life with the lives of those behind the screen.

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Social media can be "very toxic," she shared, "especially with society's standards of how a girl's body should look."

Over the course of a few years, what started as innocent at-home workouts, which were sweeping social media during the pandemic, escalated for Shir. By high school, she became obsessed with food, restricting and excessive exercise.

But it took a severe toll on her health.

"I was losing my hair in big chunks, to the point where I had bald spots. My skin was turning paler by the second, and I couldn't even stand, let alone walk, without feeling the room spin," she said. "I lost weight, but more importantly, I lost myself."

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Shir was eventually able to transition back to healthier eating and exercising habits through a combination of factors: talk therapy with a practitioner who created a space where she felt "at home and secure" and finding a new source of community and fulfillment in a school theater group.

Shir, one of four featured teens who shared their story of mental health, speaks during One Thing I Wish You Knew at Marquette University Alumni Memorial Union in Milwaukee on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. The event, co-hosted by the Friendship Circle of Wisconsin and REDgen, gave area teenagers an opportunity to share their personal experiences with mental health.

"I joined a community that really helped me flourish into the best version of myself," she told the audience. "Now I am standing here enjoying my life as much as I can, eating good food and fueling my body, hanging out with my friends and being grateful that I'm here in this world."

Shir urged everyone to remember that what people choose to share with you is only a snippet of their story.

"You never know what someone is going through, and when you compare your life to others, it does nothing but tear you down more."

'Mental health is a vast ocean that everyone must cross eventually'

A unifying thread between most of the stories was how COVID-19 heightened feelings of self-doubt and isolation that can come with wading through young adulthood.

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Daniel, another high school speaker, said being stuck behind a mask and just out of reach of his classmates and teachers (6 feet, to be exact) took a toll on his mental health and stoked feelings of disconnection from his community.

Daniel, one of four featured teens who shared their story of mental health, speaks during One Thing I Wish You Knew at Marquette University Alumni Memorial Union in Milwaukee on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. The event, co-hosted by the Friendship Circle of Wisconsin and REDgen, gave area teenagers an opportunity to share their personal experiences with mental health.

Both bravely and regretfully, Daniel shared how those feelings led him to treat his friends poorly.

"I just decided to submerge and suppress all my feelings, push them deep, deep down, and not care about them," he said. "As I kept suppressing the feelings so I would not appear weak as a male, this caused me to become a very rude person who did not care about himself or others around him."

When he realized that his actions were denigrating an important friendship, Daniel reached out and apologized. He eventually joined REDgen to connect with and help others going through mental health struggles.

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"Mental health is a vast ocean that everyone must cross eventually, because that's what life is, a bunch of different journeys in uncharted waters," Daniel said. "But your choice is how you want to cross them, whether it's with people who love and support you, giving you a smoother ride, or all alone, making that a very difficult time."

'I am feeling, and that is good'

Another thread between the speakers was the way traumatic events like the grief of losing a loved one triggered their mental health struggles.

When Mendi was 3-years-old, her younger sister suddenly died. It took Mendi several years to learn the language of mental health and ways to express and describe the intense emotions she felt.

"Anybody who's lost such a close person in their lives knows that the pain and the grief and that gaping hole never really go away, but the world keeps moving," she said.

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Mendi and her parents joined group family therapy, which helped Mendi find tools and exercises to understand and work through grief.

"I didn't know how to talk about what I was feeling. I didn't know what I was feeling, why I was feeling it," she said. "I barely even knew what happened to my baby sister, but being able to draw a picture of us together, or write a message to put in a bottle and pretend to send off, helped more than I could ever imagine."

In middle school, Mendi said it helped to have therapists who did not invalidate her feelings because of how young she was, and it helped to leave friendships with others who glorified trauma and idealized harmful behaviors.

"Children's grief, anxiety, stress and fear are so often invalidated because of their age," she said.

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"But we have a choice. We can tell our children that mental health struggles and feelings are meant to be kept in a bottle, not known or felt. Or we can inspire them to tell the world every single chance they get, 'I am feeling, and that is good.'"

Hannah, the final speaker, shared the way her world stopped after her mother's death in 2021.

She struggled with school and fell into substance abuse. It took two years, but eventually Hannah realized, "I wanted to live for my mom." She started therapy and was prescribed medication.

"There are parts of me that left with my mom that day, but I'm forever grateful for the life she gave me. And I will continue to thrive for her."

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Contact Claudia Levens at clevens@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @levensc13.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee-area students share mental health journeys, fight stigma
Bad news for any extreme exercise junkies out there: excessive vigorous exercise could muffle your immune system. At least, that's what a 2023 study analyzing over 4,700 post-exercise fluid molecules from firefighters suggests.

This may be problematic for workers with consistently physically demanding jobs that require intense fitness training, such as emergency workers and athletes.

"People who are very fit might be more prone to viral respiratory infection immediately after vigorous exercise," said Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) biomedical scientist Ernesto Nakayasu. "Having less inflammatory activity to fight off an infection could be one cause."

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While there is strong evidence to suggest that moderate physical activity among healthy individuals can favor the immune system in the long run, what happens to the immune system directly following vigorous exercise is controversial.

There is little reliable evidence that supports the claim that intense exercise heightens the risk of opportunistic infections, although a few previous studies have noted self-reported upper tract respiratory infections in athletes, compared to control groups, after strenuous activities. Whether these are correlations or causations is unknown.

So Nakayasu and colleagues tested the blood plasma, urine, and saliva, from 11 firefighters before and after 45 minutes of intense exercise hauling up to 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of gear over hilly terrain.

People who are very fit might be more prone to viral respiratory infection immediately after vigorous exercise. ( Kirill Lazarev/Pexels

"We wanted to take an in-depth look at what's happening in the body and see if we're able to detect danger from exhaustion in its earliest stages," explained PNNL bioanalytical chemist Kristin Burnum-Johnson. "Perhaps we can reduce the risk of strenuous exercise for first responders, athletes, and members of the military."

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There's no question exercise does wonders for our health, from boosting moods to strengthening our immune systems. But as in previous studies, the new research detected possible signs of immune suppression within the worked-out firefighters.

Amidst the expected physical changes helping our bodies maintain the increase in fluids, energy, and oxygen that exercise demands, there was a decrease in molecules involved in inflammation. This was accompanied by increased opiorphin, a dilator of peripheral blood vessels.

What these changes ultimately mean for the short-term function of the immune system is unclear, but the researchers have a few ideas.

"[Opiorphin] may increase blood flow to muscles during the exercise regimen to improve the delivery of oxygen and nutrients," the team writes in their paper.

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"We postulate that the decrease in inflammatory molecules we observed in the saliva after exercise might represent an adaptive mechanism to improve gas exchange in response to higher cellular oxygen demand."

There's no question exercise does wonders for our health. ( Ugur Karakoc/Canva

There was change in the participants' oral microbiome too. The scientists suspect this was due to the increase in antimicrobial peptides found in the firefighter's mouths after their intense activity, possibly to compensate for the immune suppression, although this conclusion is contested.

"However, this increase in antimicrobial peptides had no effect on inhibiting E. coli growth," Nakayasu and colleagues elaborate, "suggesting a limited capacity of antimicrobial peptides within the oral cavity to protect against host infections."

That said, other scientists argue some of the changes observed may not be indications of immune suppression but of a "heightened state of immune surveillance and immune regulation".

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While a within-subject comparison reduced the impact of their small sample size, firefighters experience unique exposures to pollutants during fires which may also change their immune reactions.

What's more, this study only considered healthy and active men, the researchers cautioned, so further research amongst a broader community is needed to confirm their findings.

However, taken with previous studies, "there is evidence supporting a relationship between physical demands and a higher incidence of respiratory infections," Nakayasu and team conclude.

This research was published in Military Medical Research.

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An earlier version of this article was published in November 2023.

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An hours-long standoff in southwest Colorado Springs ended Saturday evening with one man in custody, according to police.

The suspect, identified as 52-year-old Jason Cobb, surrendered and was taken into custody after police said he barricaded inside a home for more than three hours.

The standoff stemmed from a call regarding an alleged kidnapping around 8:30 a.m., police said.

Investigators learned a woman had walked into a Colorado Springs business and told an employee that she had been kidnapped. Then a man walked in, directed her out and left.

Officers identified a potential address for the man and woman at the 1600 block of Lorraine Street.

Officers arrived at the duplex on 1621 Lorraine Street, and made numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact the occupants before forcing their way in to check on the woman, police said.

Officers found the woman on the second floor of the home; she escaped and told police that she had been taken against her will at gunpoint and then held against her will inside the home by the suspect.

A search warrant was obtained and police made several attempts to get the man to exit.

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Then, tactical officers checked the neighbor's residence, where they found him hiding in the ceiling.

Police said the suspect had gone through the attic to access the neighbor's attached residence.

Cobb was taken into custody on an outstanding arrest warrant and is facing new charges related to the ongoing kidnapping investigation, police said.

During the standoff, a Peak Alert announcing police activity at the 1600 block of Lorraine Street in the Ivywild neighborhood, was sent to residents in the area shortly after 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Residents were asked to stay inside and lock their doors and windows.
The area encompassing Waubay Lake and Bitter Lake in northeast South Dakota. (Map data from OpenStreetMap)

At the same time the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposes to turn Lake Kampeska near Watertown into an artificial flood reservoir, it now plans to study artificially sending water from the massive Bitter Lake basin down the Big Sioux River.

The latest $850,000 waste of federal taxpayer money will begin soon. This is how the Corps explains its Day County work plan:

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The overall objective of this study is to evaluate conceptual alternatives and management actions that would help to lower water levels throughout the Waubay chain of Lakes.

The 10 major lakes in this chain are Bitter Lake, Blue Dog Lake, Enemy Swim Lake, Hillebrands Lake, Minnewasta Lake, Pickerel Lake, Rush Lake, Spring Lake, Swan Pond and Waubay Lake.

The studys goal is to develop conceptual options for lowering Bitter Lake since it is located the farthest to the south and all of the other lakes eventually drain to it.

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There is a lot the Corps plans to study, but the outcome is predictable. There is no economically or environmentally feasible way to lower Bitter Lake, which is one of the three closed basins in the United States, the others being Devils Lake in North Dakota and the Great Salt Lake in Utah.

For about five decades from the 1930s to the 1980s, Bitter Lake was considered to be a huge marsh with its shoreline about a mile away from the town of Waubay. Before a period of wet years in the 1990s, the lake was a 3,000 acre alkaline slough with an approximate depth of three feet, according to a South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks report.

It now covers 15,000 acres with a maximum depth of about 30 feet.

Correspondingly, Waubay Lake also grew dramatically. It now covers more than 15,000 surface acres with a depth of about 31 feet. The lakes elevation is about 15 feet above the states previous ordinary high water mark.

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It is understandable people in Day County want water to disappear. Thousands of acres of private land are flooded and no longer productive. Day County landowners, government, communities and businesses have felt impacts.

The Big Sioux River basin is the likely source of relief as the southeast corner of Bitter Lake is relatively close to the rivers upper basin. A high ridge separates the two.

A 2012 story written for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis by Ron Wirtz, editor of the Fedgazette, explained the situation.

Studies of sedimentation and other methods have shown that the peak water elevation in Bitter Lake over the past 10,000 years is 1,803 feet [above sea level]. This summer it was mere inches below that level and three feet above its previous modern-day high of 1,800 feet asl. Water will eventually flow out of Bitter Lake if it ever hits 1,811 feet, but if that happens, half of Day County will be submerged, and Waubay will probably be a ghost town, said Williams.

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Wirtz was quoting Wes Williams, director of emergency management in Day County at the time of the story.

A 1999 U.S. Geological Survey report ran simulations of Bitter Lake spanning 10,000 years. In that 10,000 year-simulation, Bitter Lake exceeded an elevation of 1,814.0 ft, which is high enough to result in large flows to the Big Sioux River, an average of once every 2,500 years and stayed above this elevation an average of 5 years before subsiding.

The Corps intends to review that study. Heres the likely conclusion of the Corps update.

Because of natural features, nature will not provide relief. The only way to lower the closed basin is to create an unnatural connection to the Big Sioux River, either through a massive underground pipeline or a huge ditch through a hillside.

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Both would be enormously expensive and would generate major opposition from Big Sioux River corridor interests.

Essentially, after $850,000 is spent, we will learn once again that Mother Nature, who brought the water, is the only source of relief.

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OMDURMAN (Reuters) - Muhammad Awad and his family are among dozens who escaped Sudan's Tuti island earlier this year amid a siege by the Rapid Support Forces, finding refuge at a shelter after surviving for months on scant food and the risk of disease.

The island in the middle of the Nile serves as a microcosm for the devastation unleashed by a war that began in April 2023.

More than 61,000 people are estimated to have died in Khartoum state during the first 14 months of Sudans war, significantly more than previously recorded, according to a new report.

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Activists report that the RSF charged people large sums to evacuate them.

"There is no good food, and there's a lot of diseases, there is no sleep, no safety," Awad said, holding one of his children at the shelter for displaced residents in Omdurman, an army-controlled refuge.

The island is one of 14 places across Sudan at risk of famine, according to experts. Dengue fever has ravaged Tuti, a close-knit farming community.

Sarah Siraj, a mother who left with her two children, said six or seven people were dying daily, and that she was only able to have her children treated for dengue, a mosquito-borne disease, once she reached Omdurman.

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Charity kitchens have been forced to close in Tuti and elsewhere in the capital Khartoum due to lack of funding and supplies, and high prices.

Rabeea Abdel Gader, a nutrition guide, has been treating newly arrived families at a city shelter.

"We ask the mother about what they eat.... Sometimes the mother responds with her tears. She cannot reply because of their conditions," she said.

The RSF did not respond to a request for comment by Reuters.

(Reporting by El Tayeb Siddig, writing by Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
By Karin Strohecker, Nailia Bagirova and Kate Abnett

BAKU (Reuters) - Leaders of the world's biggest economies must send a clear signal on the need to tackle global warming, COP29 climate summit host Azerbaijan said on Monday.

The plea came as Group of 20 (G20) leaders met in Brazil with climate just one item on an agenda spanning war in Ukraine and the implications of Donald Trump's election victory.

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In Baku, the main objective for the nearly 200 countries gathered for COP29 is to agree a deal on how to provide trillions of dollars in financing for climate projects, with talks on a new finance goal and cutting emissions bogged down.

"We cannot succeed without them, and the world is waiting to hear from them," said COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev, adding: "They account for 85% of global GDP and 80% of emissions".

"We urge them to use the G20 meeting to send a positive signal of their commitment to addressing the climate crisis. We want them to provide clear mandates to deliver at COP29," he told a press conference in Baku.

While the G20 looked to have agreed movement on climate finance, prior to the text being seen it was unclear to those in Baku what had been agreed and how it would impact talks, which entered their second week in Azerbaijan.

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U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell warned leaders who are set to arrive to help drive forward a deal, not to waste time with "bluffing, brinksmanship and premeditated playbooks".

"We'll only get the job done if parties are prepared to step forward in parallel, bringing us closer to common ground," he said, adding: "So let's cut the theatrics and get down to real business."

FOSSIL FUELS

Another contentious area of discussion has been how to move forward a deal struck in Dubai last year on transitioning from climate-damaging fossil fuels.

A dispute over this delayed the start of negotiations last week and looks to have made little progress towards resolution.

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European and small island countries have run up against the Arab group of nations on how prominent the future of fossil fuels should be on the agenda and how countries should be held accountable for the promises they made last year.

Australia's Sally Cox, speaking for the Umbrella Group, which includes Japan and the United States, said it was "deeply disappointed" some parties had "repeatedly blocked progress".

"Substantive outcomes on these matters will be critical at COP29," Cox added, without naming specific countries.

Groups including the 27-nation European Union said there was a need for Azerbaijan to follow in the footsteps of past COP presidencies and take a leadership role in guiding the talks towards a deal.

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"That has been the case at every single COP and it certainly is the case at this COP," EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra said.

(Additional reporting by William James, Simon Jessop and Gloria Dickie in Baku; editing by Alexander Smith)
By Ank Kuipers

PARAMARIBO (Reuters) - Suriname signed a debt rescheduling with China, Finance Minister Stanley Raghoebarsing told the National Assembly on Monday, with the head of the South American country's debt management office saying first repayments to creditors will come this year.

Suriname owes Chinese state-owned Exim Bank some $476 million, of which $140 million is in arrears, according to debt management office data from mid-2024.

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Payments to Exim will be rescheduled in two phases, Malty Dwarkasing, the head of the debt management office told Reuters, while Suriname's debt to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will be repaid in one tranche. As of end-June, Suriname owed $68 million to ICBC.

The country will make its first payment under the new deal after a contract for the rescheduling is received by November 22, Dwarkasing said.

(Reporting by Ank Kuipers; writing by Rodrigo Campos and Julia Symmes Cobb; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Stephen Coates)
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) Sunday is World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. Since 2014, Walk San Fransisco reports 317 people have died on San Fransisco streets due to being hit by cars while crossing the street. Survivors of traffic accidents and loved ones of victims gathered on the steps of City Hall to remember the lives lost.

Three hundred seventeen shoes lined the capital steps  remembering those who died in traffic crashes in San Francisco. It is the 10th annual World Day of Remembrance for road traffic victims.

Vallejo man stabs wife, admits to killing mother: police

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There are days that I still think I have to pick her up from school, and then I realize shes not here, its very painful, very painful, said Lena Quiroz.

Elizabeth Chavezs 5-year-old daughter Aileen Quiroz was struck and killed by a speeding driver 10 years ago in San Jose while crossing the street in a school zone

She got run over by a speeding driver and my sister-in-law and my youngest daughter at the time all three got struck and Aileen passed away, Chavez said.

Chavezs sister-in-law, Lena Quiroz, was also hit on that tragic day.

Lena says she remembers just waking up in the middle of the street and then going to the hospital, and when she woke up, she was told that Aileen had died.

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She was the most beautiful girl I have ever met, Lena said. I dont have any kids but she was like my daughter I took care of her since she was a baby, and that day changed our lives forever.

A very emotional Chavez says seeing all of the shoes on the steps is hard.

Heartbroken because that means that were not safe out there on the streets, we think we are but at the same time were not because people arent paying attention when theyre driving, Chavez said.

Walk San Fransisco provides families and victims with resources families for safe streets and people who have been impacted or lost loved ones.

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We always say its a group that you dont want to join and its something that provides not only a way for people to grieve but also so many turn that sadness and frustration to action, said Walk San Francisco Executive Director Jodie Medeiros.

Walk San Francisco and people who attended the remembrance are hopeful for a new law called daylighting, which prohibits drivers from parking around intersections, which clearly blocks the sightlines for drivers and pedestrians, Medieros said.

Crosswalk parking may get pricey for SF drivers: SFMTA

Chavez and so many others took action today to speak up and say enough is enough  drivers slow down.

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There are major consequences for not being attentive drivers and I lost my daughter from a distracted driver who was speeding at a school zone, Chavez said.

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Grimes County, Tx (FOX44)  A suspect in a weekend machete attack in Grimes County has been located in Corpus Christi and has been taken into custody.

The man, identified as 45-year-old Elpidio DeLeon Gonzalez, also known as Leo was located by the Department of Public Safety.

He had been sought after Grimes County deputies responded to a call of a man attacking multiple people behind the Shiro Grocery in Richards in Grimes County. The suspect was reported to have fled the scene in a white 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage with all black wheels and paper license tags.

Shortly after the incident, Sherriff Donald Sowell had reported the suspects house has been cleared but that the suspect is still at large, triggering the larger search. Neighbors of the suspect were evacuated for a time and Highway 30 was closed temporarily.

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Sheriff Sowell Monday said it has since been discovered that the suspect had previously been in a relationship with the female victim.

A male victim was airlifted to a hospital and a woman was reported as having serious lacerations but was not considered critical.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KWKT - FOX 44.
Marysville Police detectives have arrested Jorgue Guerrero, a 24-year-old Arlington man, on a charge of second-degree rape.

The Snohomish County Prosecutors Office formally charged Guerrero earlier this week and remains in custody at the Snohomish County Jail with bail set at $350,000.

During the investigation, detectives discovered that Guerrero has been charged with multiple counts of rape in other jurisdictions.

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Information from the victim in the Marysville case has led police to believe that there may be additional victims who have not yet come forward.

Marysville Police are encouraging anyone who may have experienced a similar incident involving Guerrero to contact law enforcement.

As a department and community, we recognize the immense pain and emotional impact the crime of rape has on survivors. Resources are available, the department stated.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Suspected attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted a Panama-flagged bulk carrier traveling through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, though no damage or injuries were reported, authorities said Monday.

The attacks come as the rebels continue their monthslong assault targeting shipping through a waterway that typically sees $1 trillion in goods pass through it a year over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Israels ground offensive in Lebanon.

The bulk carrier Anadolu S first had been contacted over VHF radio by someone claiming to be authorities in Yemen, demanding the ship turn around, said the Joint Maritime Information Center, a multinational task force overseen by the U.S.

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The vessel did not comply with the order and continued its transit, the center said.

The ship's captain later saw that a missile splashed in close proximity to the vessel as it traveled in the southern Red Sea near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting to the Gulf of Aden in the first attack late Sunday night, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said in an alert. The attack happened some 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Yemen port city of Mocha.

On Monday, another attack some 70 miles (112 kilometers) southeast of Aden in the Gulf of Aden similarly saw a missile splash down close to the vessel, the UKMTO said.

The vessel and crew are safe and proceeding to its next port of call, the UKMTO added.

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The Houthis did not immediately claim the attacks. However, it can take the rebels hours or even days to acknowledge their assaults.

The Houthis have targeted more than 90 merchant vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October 2023. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign, which also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a U.S.-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 U.S. or the U.K. to force an end to Israels campaign against Hamas in Gaza. The Joint Maritime Information Center said the Anadolu S had an indirect association to Israel. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

The Houthis have shot down multiple American MQ-9 Reaper drones as well.

In the rebels' last attack on Nov. 11, two U.S. Navy warships targeted with multiple drones and missiles as they were traveling through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, but the attacks were not successful.
Colorado Springs police announced a suspect Monday in the stabbing death of a University of Colorado Colorado Springs professor three months ago.

Police found the body of 54-year-old Haleh Abghari on the morning of Aug. 7 at a residence in the 6400 block of Caddy Point, which is near the intersection of North Powers Boulevard and North Carefree Circle.

Abghari was a professor in the visual and performing arts department at UCCS.

A GoFundMe fundraiser to help Abghari's family with funeral expenses has raised more than $40,000 as of Monday.

Police said Abghari had suffered at least one stab wound, though the El Paso County Coroner's Office is still determining the official cause of death.

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Monday's police news release states that investigating detectives have developed probable cause for the arrest of 53-year-old Ceasar Lorenzo Wilson.

An arrest warrant for Wilson for murder in the second degree has been issued. As of Monday morning, police said Wilson was not located or arrested.

Court records show that Wilson was arrested in July on a kidnapping and misdemeanor assault charge, but bailed out of custody. He failed to appear for his court date in that case for a court hearing on Aug. 12, and has been sought by authorities ever since.

The department is seeking the community's assistance in locating Wilson. He should be considered armed and dangerous. Police caution that he should not be approached.

If you have seen or know of the whereabouts of Wilson, please contact police at 719-444-7000, or to remain anonymous, call Pikes Peak Crime Stoppers at 719-634-STOP (7867) or 800-222-8477.
Sweden's royal family have announced that Queen Silvia is unable to join a planned state visit to Singapore due to illness.

Her husband, King Carl XVI Gustaf, will travel to the Asian city-state this week without her after the 80-year-old monarch contracted a severe respiratory infection, the royal family said on Monday.

The royal family said Queen Silvia had been looking forward to the trip but decided, out of consideration for the hosts and the accompanying delegation, to remain in Sweden over fears of infecting others.

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Originally from Heidelberg in Germany, Silvia has been by Carl Gustaf's side for nearly half a century, with Carl Gustaf having been Sweden's head of state since 1973.

With the state visit to Singapore, the Swedish royals had aimed to strengthen their relations with the Southeast Asian island state.

The king will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard as well as a business delegation.
(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung is leading a delegation of company executives to Lithuania, a visit very likely to draw a rebuke from China.

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Representatives from 20 drone companies are joining the ministers visit, which will last until Nov. 24, according to a foreign ministry statement on Sunday.

The delegation is expected to meet with Lithuanian government officials and attend a forum in Vilnius focused on drone technologies, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing the sensitive matter. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has made advancing drone manufacturing a priority since he took office nearly six months ago, an effort partly intended to offset Chinas military edge in the tech.

Beijing strongly distrusts Lai because it worries he will push to formalize independence. Since he became president, China has twice held major military drills that practiced encircling the self-governing democracys main island. It said the latest maneuvers, in October, were intended as a warning to halt separatist acts.

In September, Taiwan hosted two groups of US industry executives so they could meet counterparts in the archipelago of 23 million people that China has pledged to bring under its control eventually.

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And last month, Taiwans Defense Ministry signed agreements with the US allowing it to buy as many as 1,000 attack drones from AeroVironment Inc. and Anduril Industries Inc. to aid in blunting a potential Chinese invasion.

Ukraines tactics in its war with Russia have drawn attention globally, notably methods that have included using relatively cheap drones to destroy larger, more expensive equipment like tanks.

Lins predecessor, Joseph Wu, traveled to Europe twice in 2023, and in past years other Taiwanese foreign ministers made trips that werent publicly disclosed, likely to avoid upsetting Beijing.

But his trip will probably prompt China to file diplomatic complaints with Lithuania, and possibly to retaliate somehow against Taiwan. Beijing opposes countries it has diplomatic ties with from having any official contact with Taipei.

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That could complicate Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausedas push for improving ties with China. Earlier in 2024, he called for better relations with Beijing after the opening of a Taiwan representative office in his country three years earlier triggered a rift between the worlds No. 2 economy and the European Union member.

Lithuania recently halted the construction of a science park where a Taiwanese chip plant was planned, citing issues related to electricity and land use conversion. Taiwans foreign ministry later said that cooperation on semiconductor development with Lithuania will continue regardless of these challenges.

Lins delegation includes executives from Taiwans Aerospace Industrial Development Corp., Thunder Tiger Corp., GEOSAT Aerospace & Technology Inc. and a unit of Mitac Holdings Corp., the person familiar with the trip said.

One aim of the visit is to facilitate cooperation between Taiwan and Lithuania on drone tech, said Su Sheng-Chieh, president of Taichung-based drone maker Thunder Tiger.

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Lithuania is particularly good at laser technology that can be used in anti-drone systems, Su added.

Lithuanias Defense Ministry announced plans in May to promote domestic drone makers and teach drone operations at a military academy. Earlier this month, the Baltic country signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine to jointly produce military equipment including the devices.

Separately, Taiwans representative office in Poland is set to host an event in Warsaw on Nov. 22, featuring the participation of high-profile officials and representatives from Taiwanese companies, including Foxconn Technology Group, according to a media invitation seen by Bloomberg News.

On Nov. 16, a Taiwanese government-backed drone industry alliance signed a memorandum of understanding with Poland to collaborate on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies and expanding the global market.

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(Rewrites headline, first and third paragraphs, adding Taiwan event planned in Poland in final paragraphs.)

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TAMAQUA  A Liberty Tree will be planted in the borough in celebration of the nations 250th anniversary in 2026, officials announced Friday.

Micah Gursky, Tamaqua Community Partnership director, said the tree will be planted in a park along Railroad Street, Route 309, across from the historic Tamaqua Railroad Station.

Three blighted properties will be demolished to make way for Tamaqua Liberty Tree Park, where the tree will be planted in Fall 2025, Gursky said.

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The announcement came at a news conference attended by state and local officials in a parking lot across from the prospective park.

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State Rep. Jamie Barton, R-124, East Brunswick Twp., said colonists involved in the American Revolution gathered under the original Liberty Tree in Massachusetts.

They gathered to fight for freedom and liberty, he said, and the tree became a beacon of hope and a symbol of American freedom.

This is Schuylkill Countys own Liberty Tree, Barton declared. As we prepare to celebrate Americas 250th anniversary, the tree will continue to serve as a symbol of those freedoms we still enjoy.

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Joseph G. Martoccio, district director, said the Masonic Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania and America250PA, the states official anniversary organization, are overseeing the planting of a Liberty Tree in all 67 counties.

The last surviving Liberty Tree of the 13 original colonies was a tulip poplar on the campus of St. Johns College in Annapolis, Maryland. It was destroyed by Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

The Liberty Trees to be planted in honor of the nations 250th anniversary, Martoccio said, are seedlings from the last tree.

These trees were not only a symbol of the past, he said, but were planting them as a symbol of our future.

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Tamaqua, Martoccio said, is the only community making a park for its Liberty Tree that he is aware of.

Tamaqua was chosen as the site for Schuylkill Countys Liberty Tree, he said, largely because of its proximity to historic sites, including the site of Fort Franklin at the base of Blue Mountain and the historic Tamaqua Railroad Station, which was honored with a U.S. Postal Service stamp in 2023.

State Sen. David G. Argall, R-29, Rush Twp., suggested the restoration of the Tamaqua Railroad Station played a key role in Tamaquas development.

The station, which was deteriorating, was restored 20 years ago by a committee of dedicated citizens. A classic Victorian style building, it was built 150 years ago by the Reading Railroad, and served as a departure point for local troops serving in World Wars I and II.

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That was the spark, Argall said, that led to so many other great things.

Eric Zizelmann, chairman, said the Liberty Tree Park Committee found out about the Liberty Tree initiative about a year ago. After submitting an application, the committee was notified Tamaqua had been selected several weeks ago.

I know it seems like its just one tree, whats the big deal, said Zizelmann, a Tamaqua funeral director. But what this tree represents is as big as the whole country.

Brian Connely, Tamaqua borough council president, said Schuylkill County demolition funds helped bring down blighted properties, eyesores at the entrance to the boroughs downtown.

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Schuylkill County Commissioners Larry Padora, chairman, Barron L. Boots Hetherington and Gary J. Hess spoke of the countys dedication to removing blighted properties.

Padora, a Tamaqua native, said he was proud to have a Liberty Tree in his hometown.

It seems fitting, he said, that a tree be planted in honor of the countrys founding and to remember what it means.

Unveiling a new Tamaqua Liberty Tree Park banner, Gursky said funds had been raised to purchase the blighted properties. They will be demolished with county funds, he said, but organizers must still raise funds to build the park.

This is just the beginning, he said. Were going to have to pull together to make this park something that future generations can be proud of.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  International travelers have a new flight at Tampa International Airport to check out.

The airport announced Monday that WestJet added TPAs first-ever nonstop flight to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Travelers can fly nonstop to Vancouver beginning June 14, 2025. The flight will operate once per week on Saturdays through October 25, 2025.

Were thrilled to support WestJets continued growth at TPA with the Airports first-ever nonstop flights to Vancouver, TPA CEO Joe Lopano said in a statement. Our strong partnership with WestJet helps connect the Tampa Bay area to appealing international destinations, this time to one of Canadas largest metropolitan areas, which we know will be popular with both business and leisure travelers.

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WestJet will also expand its nonstop flights to Calgary, Alberta, Canada to year-round service. Those flights will operate Fridays beginning May 2, 2025.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The world's chemical weapons watchdog on Monday said it had found traces of tear gas in samples taken last month on the frontline with Russia in Ukraine's central-east Dnipropetrovsk region.

The use of riot control agents such as tear gas as a method of warfare is prohibited under the Chemical Weapons Convention, the non-proliferation treaty overseen by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Ukraine had requested the assistance of the agency, which deployed a team. The team was not mandated to assign blame, but Ukraine and the United States have said Russia has illegally deployed tear gas to clear trenches.

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Tear gas is not lethal, but causes temporary irritation to the eyes and respiratory system.

OPCW's team reviewed digital files, received first-hand witness accounts, and tested three samples from a trench along the frontline with Russian troops, it said in an executive summary.

Analysis of samples conducted by two independent laboratories indicates that "both the grenade collected from the trench and the soil sample collected from the dark splatter next to it contained the riot control agent 2-chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile, known as CS", it said.

The findings are expected to be discussed at a meeting of the OPCW's 193 member states in The Hague next week.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer and Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  A teenage boy was found dead near the Courtney Campbell Causeway on Sunday.

Tampa police responded to a report of an unresponsive person shortly after 6 p.m.

Neighbors shocked by murder, abuse allegations involving Sebring mother

A black male, believed to be in his mid-teens, was found dead in the water off the south side of the bridge. Police said there were no obvious signs of trauma.

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Tampa police investigators are working to identify the remains and locate his family. His cause of death is under investigation.

Anyone with information that could assist in the investigation is asked to contact the Tampa Police Department.

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ST. LOUIS  A 17-year-old is listed in critical condition at the hospital after being shot late Saturday evening at a gathering at a short-term rental. The shooting comes as new short-term rental regulations in St. Louis are being implemented to address issues like overcrowding and security.

The shooting happened just before 10 p.m. in the 800 block of Russell Boulevard in the Soulard neighborhood.

According to a spokesperson with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, officers arrived at the property and found a 17-year-old boy whod been shot in the chest. Police provided first aid to the victim until EMS arrived.

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Police said a large party was taking place at a short-term rental property. Several shell casings were discovered both inside and outside, with bullet holes peppering the windows and brick exterior.

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Officers spoke with some juveniles who were still at the scene, but most were uncooperative, police said.

Witnesses in an Airbnb down the street told FOX 2 they heard at least 75 gunshots and the entire building was shaking.

This shooting coincides with the recent implementation of St. Louis Ordinance 71729. New rules require property owners to adjust their operations based on building size and occupancy. These regulations aim to reduce overcrowding, aim to ensure better accountability, and address concerns about disruptive gatherings.

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Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the departments Central Patrol Division at 314-444-2500. Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous or are interested in a cash reward can call CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.

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ARLINGTON, Va. (DC News Now)  Police in Arlington are investigating after a teenage boy was shot in Green Valley on Saturday night.

According to the Arlington County Police Department (ACPD), officers were dispatched to Virginia Hospital Center just before 10 p.m. for the report of a teenage boy who walked into the hospital with a gunshot wound.

Officers determined that the shooting happened in the 3200 block of 24th St S. Police said the boys injuries were serious but non-life-threatening.

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3-year-old child dies after being hit by truck in Chantilly

Police said the boy was outside when two suspects approached him, and a physical altercation ensued.

During the confrontation, one of the suspects fired a gun, hitting the teen, before both suspects fled.

The investigation is ongoing.

Police encourage anyone with information to contact 703-228-4180 or ACPDTipline@arlingtonva.us.

Those wishing to submit information anonymously can do so through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-8477.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
MANCHESTER, Conn. (WTNH)  Police are investigating the stabbing of a 15-year-old on the Cheney Rail Trail in Manchester Sunday afternoon.

A call came to Police at 4:23 p.m. reporting a stabbing near 91 Elm St. Officers located the wounded victim shortly after arrival.

Authorities provided immediate medical aid and the teenage victim was transported to Connecticut Childrens Medical Center.

Investigations lead police to believe that the victim was on the Cheney Rail Trail for an arranged meet-up with the assailant.

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The Manchester Police Department asks anyone with information related to this incident to contact them at (860) 645-5500.

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By Johan Ahlander, Essi Lehto and Andrius Sytas

HELSINKI/STOCKHOLM/VILNIUS (Reuters) -Two undersea fibre-optic communications cables in the Baltic Sea, including one linking Finland and Germany, were severed, raising suspicions of sabotage by bad actors, countries and companies involved said on Monday.

The episode recalled other incidents in the same waterway that authorities have probed as potentially malicious including damage to a gas pipeline and undersea cables last year and the 2022 explosions of the Nord Sea gas pipelines.

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The 1,200-kilometre (745-mile) cable connecting Helsinki to the German port of Rostock stopped working around 0200 GMT on Monday, Finnish state-controlled cyber security and telecoms company Cinia said.

A 218-km (135-mile) internet link between Lithuania and Sweden's Gotland Island went out of service at about 0800 GMT on Sunday, according to Lithuania's Telia Lietuva, part of Sweden's Telia Company group.

Finland and Germany said in a joint statement that they were

"deeply concerned about the severed undersea cable" and were investigating "an incident (that) immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage."

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Europe's security is threatened by Russia's war against Ukraine and "hybrid warfare by malicious actors," the joint statement said, without naming the actors.

"Safeguarding our shared critical infrastructure is vital to our security and the resilience of our societies," Germany and Finland said.

A spokesperson for Telia Lietuva, Audrius Stasiulaitis, said the other cable was severed as well. It is owned and operated by Sweden's Arelion to carry Telia Lietuva's internet traffic, the Telia spokesperson said.

"It is absolutely central that it is clarified why we currently have two cables in the Baltic Sea that are not working," Carl-Oskar Bohlin, Sweden's minister of civil defence, told Swedish public broadcaster SVT.

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Located in northern Europe, the Baltic Sea is an active commercial shipping route and is ringed by nine countries including Russia.

The damage to the Finland-Germany cable occurred near the southern tip of Sweden's Oland Island and could require five to 15 days to repair, Cinia's chief executive, Ari-Jussi Knaapila, told a news conference.

Last year a subsea gas pipeline and several telecoms cables running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea were severely damaged in an incident raising alarm bells in the region.

Investigators of the 2023 cases in Finland and Estonia have named a Chinese container ship that they believe dragged its anchor and caused the damage. But they have not said whether the damage was accidental or intentional.

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In 2022 the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Germany in the Baltic Sea were destroyed by explosions in a case that remains under investigation by German authorities.

(Reporting by Essi Lehto in Helsinki, Louise Breusch Rasmussen in Copenhagen, Johan Ahlander in Stockholm and Andrius Sytas in Vilnius, editing by Terje Solsvik, William Maclean, Leslie Adler and Cynthia Osterman)
President-elect Donald Trump identified a Colorado city as the launching pad for what he dubbed Operation Aurora, the start of what he promised to be the largest mass deportation in American history.

While the citys mayor expressed doubts that Trump would follow through with his promise, a councilmember said the next presidents words need to be taken seriously.

Operation Aurora, Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky said, is coming.

What Operation Aurora and mass deportations would look like remains to be seen.

The Trump administration faces potentially legal hurdles  the ACLU and other groups have been preparing for protracted court battles in anticipation of a second Trump presidency  and logistical ones, particularly since such a campaign, to be effective, would need the cooperation of local governments.

The latter is unlikely in Colorado, a sanctuary state.

No legal definition of a sanctuary city or state exists, but, broadly speaking, it refers to a community that expressly refuses to cooperate with federal authorities on enforcing immigration laws. Back in 2019, Colorado adopted a law whose provisions fall under the broad outlines of what constitutes a sanctuary state. Several Colorado counties have sued the state over the law. In addition, Colorados most populous city  Denver  is also a sanctuary city.

Critics argued that the mass deportation plan would be costly, while supporters maintained that its not only feasible but necessary, particularly since Trump during the campaign vowed to fight illegal immigration, a top issue for many American voters.

Supporters also argued that illegal immigration enforcement in Americas interior cities, along with strict border controls, would serve as a deterrent, much as Denvers offer of free housing and transportation drew tens of thousands of immigrants to the city over a two-year period.

Why is it called Operation Aurora?

At a rally last month in Aurora, Trump blasted the Biden administrations handling of illegal immigration, which he contended had contributed to the gang problem in Colorados third-most populous city.

We are a country under tremendous distress, Trump said. We will send elite squads from ICE to deport every single gang member.

Long before reports of a Venezuelan prison gang infiltrating three apartment complexes in Aurora became international news, the arrival of hundreds of thousands of immigrants in Americas interior cities brought to the crisis beyond the countrys border states.

In Colorado, some 43,000 immigrants, who illegally crossed the southern border, arrived in Denver since December 2022. About half have stayed  the equivalent of adding roughly 21,500 people, or a city the size of Golden, in less than two years.

The vast majority are from South and Central America, particularly Venezuela.

The sudden influx left officials scrambling to respond to hungry immigrants arriving in frigid conditions  often wearing sweatshirts and slippers in the snow  with nowhere to go.

Denver officials decided early in the crisis to provide  largely at the expense of taxpayers  temporary shelter and onward travel for newly arriving immigrants.

That has cost more than $75 million.

Originally, officials believed the draw was Denvers proximity to Mexico and its status as a sanctuary city. But Texas officials in El Paso believe that the citys offer of shelter and onward travel  while good intended  actually made Denver a magnet for immigrants.

Theres a pull factor created by this, and the policies in Denver for paying for onward destinations, said Irene Gutierrez, executive director of El Paso County Community Services.

As Denver felt the brunt of the influx, officials in Aurora, Colorado Springs and Douglas County reaffirmed their non-sanctuary status in response to growing public concerns over immigration enforcement and safety.

Those safety concerns were soon personified in a Venezuelan prison gang known as Tren de Aragua, or TdA. The transnational gang has a diverse criminal portfolio that includes drug and human trafficking  particularly immigrant women and girls, kidnapping, extortion, and money laundering.

Aurora police have known for about a year that gang members are known to infiltrate migrant caravans headed for the United States, according to an internal, special bulletin distributed to officers on Oct. 5, 2023.

The public didnt become aware that TdA gang members were operating in the Denver metro area until three months ago.

In August, city officials shuttered the Aspen Grove apartment complex, citing a litany of long-standing health and safety violations that included, among others, rodent infestations, sewage backups and trash pileups and a lack of electricity. The unprecedented move to shutter an apartment complex for code violations left about 300 people  mostly immigrants  homeless.

Aspen Grove is a 99-unit complex owned by Brooklyn-based, CBZ Management, which owns 10 other properties in Colorado, including Whispering Pines and The Edge at Lowry in Aurora. The owners have long insisted  through a Florida PR firm and their attorney  that TdA gang members had taken control of their Aurora properties.

Initially, Aurora officials publicly denied the gangs footprint for its decision to shutter the apartment complex, blaming the rapidly deteriorating conditions on absent landlords. But internal police emails, an investigation by the lender and letters to state and city officials showed the authorities had been aware of the presence of the gang for about a year.

These documents also showed Aurora officials were keenly aware of the optics and struggled with the citys response.

Meanwhile, the police had grown wary of the gang. With TdA members claiming to have more than 200 people working for them, officers began to warn one another about the gang.

Officials began walking back their statements after a video of armed men barging into apartment units surfaced and a cache of letters from a law firm representing CBZ Management  written a month before the federal government acknowledged TDA had extended its tentacles into Denver  became public.

By September, Aurora and its troubles with the Venezuelan gang have already caught the eye of Trump. That month, he announced he would visit the Colorado city.

Im going to Springfield, and Im going to Aurora, Trump said.

And during his rally in the city last month, he said that under Operation Aurora, the federal government would expedite the removal of savage gangs living in the country illegally.

Donald Trumps leverage

Trumps selection of longtime advisor and border hawk Stephen Miller as deputy chief of policy and former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official Tom Homan as Border Czar signals his administration is serious about mass deportations.

Heres how that might unfold.

Trump is expected to mobilize agencies across the U.S. government to help him in the campaign, building on efforts in his first term to tap all available resources and pressure so-called sanctuary jurisdictions to cooperate, according to six former Trump officials and allies.

Trump backers, including some who could enter his second administration, anticipate the Republican president-elect will call on everyone from the U.S. military to diplomats overseas to turn his campaign promise of mass deportations into a reality. The effort would include cooperation with Republican-led states and use federal funding as leverage against resistant jurisdictions.

Trumps running mate, JD Vance, estimated that the campaign could remove a million people per year.

A deportation operation targeting millions would require more officers, detention beds and immigration court judges.

Homan, the former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and incoming Border Czar, said in a late October interview that the scale of the deportations would hinge on potential officers and detention space.

It all depends on what the budget is, he said.

While the incoming Trump administration could benefit from experience gained during his first term, it could again encounter resistance from ideologically opposed government employees, including officers that screen immigrants for asylum.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups have been preparing for court battles if Trump again tests the bounds of his legal authority.

Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney who led the fight against Trumps contentious family separation policy, said more than 15 lawyers focused on immigration with the organizations national office spent the year readying for the possibility of a Trump return.

We definitely need to be coordinated and have more resources, because I think they will come in much more prepared, Gelernt said.

The State Department in particular could be one place where Trump acts more aggressively than during his first term, several Trump backers said.

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A key factor will be whether other countries will accept their citizens, an issue Trump faced with limited success during his first term. The Trump administration also struggled at times to convince other nations in the region, including Mexico, to take steps to stop migrants from moving toward the U.S.-Mexico border.

Ken Cuccinelli, former acting deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Trump, said the State Department was a roadblock for immigration enforcement and that aggressive appointees would be key.

Christopher Landau, a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico from 2019-2021, recently said he was frustrated with the reluctance of some U.S. diplomats to tackle immigration enforcement.

Nobody really thought that was their problem, Landau said in an October panel discussion by the Center for Immigration Studies, which describes itself as having a pro-immigrant, low-immigration vision, which seeks fewer immigrants but a warmer welcome for those admitted.

About half of ICEs 21,000 employees are part of its Homeland Security Investigations unit, which focuses on transnational crime, such as drug smuggling and child exploitation, rather than immigration enforcement. Several Trump allies said the unit would need to spend more time on immigration.

Stephen Miller, the architect of Trumps first-term immigration agenda, said in 2023 that National Guard troops from cooperative states could potentially be deployed to resistant states to assist with deportations, which would likely trigger legal battles.

Trump also plans to use a 1798 wartime statute known as the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport alleged gang members, an action that would almost certainly be challenged in court.

Colorado off

icials express skepticism

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman told The Denver Gazette he is skeptical that Trumps vows will come to fruition.

I think that President-elect Trump has a history of saying things at his rallies with no intention of ever carrying them out once in office, the mayor said. I would put Operation Aurora in the same category as we are going to build a wall and Mexico is going to pay for it. 

And if Trump goes through with the plan, Coffman said it would be a political error.

If he went through with it, he would be making an unforced political error with no upside, Coffman said. His exaggerated claims, that Aurora has been taken over by Venezuelan gangs and is being occupied, simply are not true.

Aurora city spokesperson Ryan Luby did not specifically say whether the city would comply with a mass deportation program. He said both the city and its police department focus on enforcing state and local law.

As we always have, we will work with our federal partners and follow federal law and directives as they apply to our community, Luby told The Denver Gazette.

In a public safety committee meeting of the Aurora City Council on Thursday, Jurinsky, who has talked about the Venezuelan gangs activities in her city with local and national media organizations, said Trumps deportation plan is happening.

I hope we are preparing for that, she said.

(There) seems to be a disconnect between the city and the Trump administration, Jurinsky said, adding she hopes the city is taking it seriously.

In Auroras neighboring city, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston told Denver Gazette partner 9News that he, too, isnt sure Trump will actually follow through on his promise.

If he does, Denver wont cooperate, he said.

We are not going to open up our city boundaries to any state or federal agents that come in and take people out of their homes and try to deport them without cause, so we think that we are prepared to work together to make sure that folks are successful, Johnston told 9News. We dont know what the president has planned. We will be happy to partner on things that make sense, but we are not going to partner on things we think are an infringement on peoples rights.

At the peak of the border crisis spilling into Denver, Johnston had embraced the role of de facto spokesperson for interior cities grappling with the tens of thousands of immigrants the local governments have fed, housed and transported. Johnston did not specifically talk about stopping the flow of immigrants into Denver. Instead, the mayor sought strategies to ease the burden on his city.

The mayor notably stayed clear of talking about border security, an omission that underscored the ideological lenses with which Democrats and Republicans often view the border crisis.

Meanwhile, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced the creation of a new group called Governors Safeguarding Democracy, which could serve as a coordinated platform for Democratic states to oppose Trump policies on everything from immigration to the environment.

We founded (the group) because we know that simple hope alone wont save our democracy, Polis said on a conference call. We need to work together, especially at the state level, to protect and strengthen it.

Whether the new Democrat-led group will have much success is unclear. Democratic-led states repeatedly fought against Trump policies in his first administration, but he still managed to push through his agenda on everything from energy policy to immigration restrictions.

Colorados sanctuary laws

Trumps mass deportation program will likely run into barriers along state lines, particularly in Colorado.

A 2023 law that went into effect in Colorado in January restricts the ability of state and local governments to make agreements with federal immigration officials over the detention of immigrants who are unlawfully staying in the country.

More notably, a 2019 law expressly forbids a law enforcement officer from arresting or detaining an individual based upon a detainer request. The law also prohibits a probation officer from providing information about an individual to federal immigration authorities.

An immigration detainer is a notice issued to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies informing the latter that ICE intends to assume custody of an individual who is no longer subject to the formers detention.

ICE said a detainer serves several functions, including requesting information from a local enforcement agency about a persons impending release and asking the local enforcement agency to maintain custody of the person for a period not to exceed 48 hours  excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays  to provide ICE time to assume custody.

State laws also prevent state judicial officials from sharing information with federal immigration officials.

In April, the counties of El Paso and Douglas filed a lawsuit against the state over its sanctuary statutes, calling them illegal and unconstitutional and arguing they violate the Colorado Constitutions provisions on intergovernmental relationships and distributions of powers.

A mass deportation such as the one Trump is contemplating has never been undertaken in the United States.

Since 2010, the U.S. has removed  on average  fewer than 300,000 unauthorized immigrants with a peak in the Obama administration of 432,448 immigrants in 2013, according to data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The number of annual removals has been dropping ever since.

According to the Pew Research Center, an estimated 10.7 million immigrants were unlawfully living in the U.S. in 2016.

Colorado alone had 160,000 unauthorized immigrants that, but this estimate does not account for the nearly 43,000 immigrants  about half of whom have stayed  who have arrived over the past two years.

University of Colorado Boulder Law Professor Violeta Chapin, who runs the Criminal and Immigration Defense Clinic, said the reality of the move would cost hundreds of billions of dollars. At least one estimate by The American Immigration Council last month put the price tag on such a mass deportation effort at a conservative $315 billion.

Those costs include locating, detaining and processing through immigration courts millions of unauthorized immigrants, she said.

She also questioned the viability of Trumps promise.

Weve never been able to deport more than half a million or three-quarters of a million a year  ever, Chapin said.

Trumps allies, meanwhile, see deportations as necessary, arguing that Democratic policies have favored immigrants unlawfully staying in America over the countrys citizens.

Illegal immigrants deserve only one thing: a one-way ticket back home to wherever they came from, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado, earlier said on X. They dont deserve free housing, free healthcare, or even free refills!

Operation Liberate Aurora, she recently tweeted.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Bridger Heights Tenant Union formed in Bozeman and is making demands of real estate investor 11 Capital. (Provided by Bridger Heights Tenant Union.)

Ozaa EchoMaker worries her toddlers cough at night may be linked to mold in her Bozeman apartment at Bridger Heights.

Its just one of the problems she described in the home she shares with her daughter, 5, and one of many issues she said she and other tenants have raised with the manager of Bridger Heights, an investment property of 11 Capital.

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Friday, EchoMaker said the property manager agreed to have a third party conduct a mold inspection at Bridger Heights. The affordable housing complex has 50 units and is described online as having a serene environment and stunning mountain views.

EchoMaker, however, described the inspection concession as a backhanded win for the recently formed Bridger Heights Tenant Union. She said other problems abound, including soft drywall, flickering lights, broken glass where children might play  and a generally unresponsive property manager.

Yes, we got something that we asked for, EchoMaker said. But its something thats the bare minimum.

11 Capital describes itself as a real estate investment company focused on multifamily assets valued at $1.4 billion in the western U.S. It did not respond to multiple requests for comment, and neither did its property manager, 11 Residential.

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We have absolutely no comment. Thank you, said a person who picked up the phone Friday at 11 Residential before hanging up.

Tom Daniels, the executive vice president of 11 Residential, told NBC when the union demonstrated on Nov. 1 that Bridger Heights had received a score of 91% on a physical inspection by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The letter from 11 Residential to residents about the third-party assessment also said inspectors who check for moisture issues will wear personal protective equipment in units where illness has been reported.

***

Earlier this month, residents announced the formation of the Bridger Heights Tenant Union.

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The group said the building houses low-income families, and it is many tenants first home out of homelessness.

The union said it was organizing in conjunction with Bozeman Tenants United, a citywide union in a place with notoriously high housing costs.

A recent labor report estimated 45% of renters in Montana are cost burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their household income on rent. Zillow estimates median rent in Montana at $1,800, and in Bozeman at $2,500.

By comparison, a rent price filter on the Bridger Heights website starts at $1,100 and goes to $1,700. The website describes two- to four-bedroom units.

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In the announcement it was forming, the Bridger Heights union, made up of 64% of building residents, said it was launching in coordination with other tenants in different federally financed properties elsewhere in the U.S.

Tara Raghuveer, director of the national Tenant Union Federation, said the reason unions are mobilizing is simple. In an email, the director said tenant unions across the country are part of the national federation, including Connecticut, Kentucky, Illinois, North and South Carolina, and Montana.

The rent is too damn high, Raghuveer said. Rent is the largest bill most families pay every month, and more than half of tenants are rent-burdened, meaning they spend at least 30% of their income on rent. Somethings got to give.

In some other places, the unions have seen successes. For example, Raghuveer said in Kansas City, KC Tenants is supporting two buildings that are striking over poor living conditions, and November is the second month of the rent strike.

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In one of the buildings, Independence Towers, tenants have won $1.35 million from Fannie Mae for repair needs, Raghuveer said.

***

In Bozeman, the Bridger Heights group said it was making demands of 11 Capital, whose Bridger Heights advertises affordable housing through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Under five years of 11 Capitals mismanagement, tenants at the property have endured black mold, exposure to radon, water damage in apartments, degraded walls, faulty electric, months or years without response to maintenance requests, eviction threats, and retaliation, the group said in a news release about their demands.

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The union asked for damages to the tune of $5,000 per unit or 50% of the rent paid to 11 Capital, whichever is greater, and for property management to cease all threats, harassment and intimidation.

Daniels had denied retaliation to NBC. He did not respond to a message from the Daily Montanan.

Additionally, the union said the property manager should respect tenants right to organize and couldnt evict without good cause.

The Bridger Heights Tenant Union also was making demands of the federal agency that oversees Fannie Mae, which it said supported Capital 11s purchase of Bridger Heights to the tune of $6.7 million.

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The union said the Federal Housing Finance Agency must introduce an annual rent cap increase of 3% as a condition of all existing and future federally-backed lending in multifamily and mobile home parks.

The tenants union set Friday, Nov. 15, as the deadline for responses, but EchoMaker, one of the union members, said the only information she had received was the letter from 11 Residential, an arm of 11 Capital, declaring the company would do the mold investigation.

All its going to do is tell them what weve already known and what should have happened years ago, EchoMaker said.

A union member provided a copy of one of the letters from 11 Residential to tenants, dated Nov. 13, and announcing third party inspections for Moisture Issues.

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In response to the communitys concerns regarding moisture-related issues, we have engaged a third-party specialist to conduct a thorough, unit-by-unit visual inspection along with air sampling, said the letter, signed by the property manager. This mandatory inspection is intended to ensure the health and safety of all residents and will provide long-term benefits to the entire community.

On its website, 11 Capital said it acquired Bridger Heights in 2019. The Bridger Heights Tenant Union said the owner plans to sell the building at a profit before the end of the year.

11 Capital also said it has significant flexibility in all of its transactions, its continuing to develop relationships with owners, lenders, and other industry professionals, and it is actively pursuing acquisitions in western states including Montana.

On its website, 11 Residential said it believes in the importance of giving back to local communities and charitable organizations, but it and 11 Capital did not respond to a question about its giving in Bozeman.

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency also did not respond Monday to an email sent Friday.

At least for EchoMaker, moving is not in the cards; she cant afford another home in Bozeman, and leaving her community of medical and social support isnt an option for her or her daughter.

She said union members are discussing their next steps.

Were not going to stand down, EchoMaker said.
Grieving pet owner Kevin Dismuke said, I dont care if you give me $10 if you give me $10 million. You cant replace my dogs"

McNairy County Sheriff's Office Connor Brackin Connor Brackin

A Tennessee man is grieving the deaths of his seven dogs who were shot and killed by a sheriffs deputy while the owner and his wife were out to dinner.

On Monday, Nov. 4, Kevin Dismuke and his wife left their home in McNairy County to go to dinner, Fox 13 reports.

When his wife returned to their home on Finger Leapwood Road, she called him with shocking news.

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She said, Poe is dead, he said, referring to one of their pet dogs.

According to News 3, Dismuke said he returned home to find all of his dogs except one were dead.

They were told the property was abandoned and the dogs were malnourished, Dismuke added, News 3 reports. I got the veterinary paperwork in my truck from three weeks ago. They all had a clean bill of health on them.



Dismuke said a neighbor told him a deputy came to his house while he was gone and shot the dogs, Fox 13 reports.

Dismuke and his family are heartbroken over the deaths of their beloved dogs.

I dont care if you give me $10 if you give me $10 million," he told News 3. "You cant replace my dogs.

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According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which launched an investigation on Nov. 7, the incident began when the McNairy County Sheriffs Department received an animal welfare concern call on Nov. 4.

The incident unfolded when Deputy Connor Brackin, 24, was sent to a home in the 8300 block of SR 199 in Bethel Springs to check on the condition of dogs living on the property, according to the TBI statement.

For reasons under investigation, he fired his duty weapon, shooting and killing seven dogs on the property, the TBI says.

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According to the affidavit of complaint obtained by PEOPLE, some dogs were in campers, and Brackin allegedly "loaded his service rifle and pistol and began firing into the campers at the dogs."

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Brackin fired eight times while standing outside of the campers and multiple times standing inside the campers, prior to clearing the campers for occupancy, the affidavit alleges.

Brackin allegedly killed seven dogs in total.

The incident was captured on his body camera, according to the affidavit.



On Tuesday, Nov. 12, TBI agents obtained warrants for Brackin, charging him with seven counts of aggravated animal cruelty and eight counts of reckless endangerment.

Brackin turned himself in and was booked into the McNairy County Jail but was later released while he awaits his next court date.

He resigned from his job after the arrest, a sheriffs office employee confirmed to PEOPLE.

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He had only worked at the McNairy Sheriffs Office for a little less than a month when he quit, the sheriffs office said.

It is unclear whether he has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf.


With the holiday season quickly approaching, The Tennessean is recognizing honor students who go above and beyond in service to their community in this week's Student of the Week poll.

Each week, we ask principals, school counselors, teachers and administrators at high schools across Middle Tennessee to send us their nominations for Student of the Week.

Then, we post those nominations in a weekly poll and let you, the reader, decide who comes out on top with your vote.

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From working at food banks to giving back to the younger generation, this week's students go above and beyond to ensure that everyone in their communities feels loved.

Voting is open now through noon on Thursday, so be sure to cast your votes in the link at the bottom of this story.

Here are this week's students and what their school said about them in their nominations:

Belen Vazquez, Riverdale High School

Belen is the current senior Student Body President who leads by example while modeling community service with dedication and compassion. She volunteers with multiple groups in the school and beyond, is a large fundraiser and advocate for St. Baldrick's at RHS and does her best to make sure every voice in the school is heard.

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At Riverdale she is involved in SkillsUSA, Riverdale Honors College and Student Council which all serve our community. Outside of Riverdale she is involved with A Soldier's Child Foundation and she also canvassed for St. Baldricks Brave the Shave at Riverdale High.

Chesney Rhodes, James Lawson Lawson High School

Chesney is a current junior who spends a majority of her free time at The Lodge, an assisted living and memory care facility, on Hwy 100. Chesney will often be found helping with the residents free time, serving ice cream, and conversing with the residents. Before her homecoming dance, Chesney went to The Lodge just so they could see her dress. She has a great personality and the residents love her. It is clear that Chesney has a heart for service and therefore would be a great candidate for your award.

Katrina Ward, Wilson Central High School

Katrina is an active member of Beta Club she has helped the local animal shelter, and contributed to a community Trunk or Treat event as well as to Wilson County's Christmas for All organization. She also serves the community as a member of NHS. As a student office worker, she volunteers to help out with deliveries and whatever else is needed. In general, if anyone needs help, she is quick to volunteer. She makes Wilson Central a friendlier and better place.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: The Tennessean Student of the Week honors community service. Vote now
ATHENS, Ga. (AP)  An FBI special agent testified Monday that electronic location data seems to place Georgia nursing student Laken Riley and the man accused of killing her in the same wooded area at the time of her death.

Jose Ibarra, 26, is charged with murder and other crimes in Rileys death in February. He waived his right to a jury trial, meaning Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard is hearing the case and will alone decide on Ibarra's guilt or innocence.

The killing of the 22-year-old woman added fuel to the national debate over immigration during this year's presidential campaign when federal authorities said Ibarra illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 and was allowed to stay in the country while he pursued his immigration case.

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FBI Special Agent James Burnie told the court Monday that he reviewed location data from Ibarra's cellphone and Riley's cellphone and smart watch. GPS data from Riley's watch very precisely puts her inside the wooded area with running trails where her body was found on Feb. 22. Pings between Ibarra's phone and cell towers and the fact his phone wasn't making any Wi-Fi connections at the time indicate he was also likely in the woods, Burnie said.

Prosecutors also played a recording of a jail phone call from May between Ibarra and his wife, Layling Franco. FBI specialist Abeisis Ramirez, who translated the call from Spanish, testified that Ibarra told Franco that he had been at the University of Georgia looking for work, and that his wife repeatedly said she was fed up and that she wanted him to tell the truth.

Franco "continues to ask, What happened with the girl?" and said Ibarra must know something, Ramirez said. He responds: Layling, enough." Ramirez said Franco told Ibarra that it's crazy that police only found his DNA.

Ibarra is charged with one count of malice murder, three counts of felony murder and one count each of kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, hindering an emergency telephone call, tampering with evidence and being a peeping Tom.

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Ibarra took selfies of himself early on the day Riley was killed, according to testimony from an FBI agent who analyzed data from cellphones seized from the apartment where Ibarra lived with his two brothers and two other people. In the photos, Ibarra is wearing a black Adidas baseball cap and a dark hooded jacket.

A few hours before Riley was killed, a man in a black Adidas baseball cap was captured on surveillance video at the door of a first-floor apartment in a University of Georgia housing complex. A female graduate student who lived there testified Monday that she heard someone trying to get inside her apartment when she was in the shower. As she looked through the peephole, the person ducked and walked away, but then she saw the same person peering into her window, she said.

Police officers using a grainy screen shot from the surveillance video approached a man wearing a black Adidas cap the day after the killing. That turned out to be Diego Ibarra, one of Jose Ibarra's brothers.

University of Georgia police Sgt. Joshua Epps testified that he was called to question Diego Ibarra outside the apartment where the Ibarras lived. Epps testified that the brother had no obvious recent injuries.

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Outside the apartment, police also questioned Argenis Ibarra, Jose Ibarra and Rosbeli Elisbar Flores Bello. Epps and Corporal Rafael Sayan, who speaks Spanish and helped with the questioning, testified that they noticed scratches on Jose Ibarra.

When asked why his knuckles were red, Jose Ibarra told them it was because of the cold but didn't really explain several scratches on his arms, Sayan said.

Security video from the apartment complex showed a man wearing a shirt with a distinctive pattern throwing something into a trash bin. A crime scene specialist from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation testified there was a lot of clothing in the one-room apartment but that she didn't find that shirt in the apartment and didn't find any bloody clothing.

A police officer testified Friday that he found a dark hooded jacket in the trash bin seen in the video and that testing revealed Riley's blood on the hoodie.

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Flores Bello identified the man in the video as Jose Ibarra and confirmed that identification on the witness stand Monday. She said she had previously seen him wearing the dark hooded jacket and thought it was strange that he threw it away.

Testifying through of an interpreter, Bello said she met Ibarra in Queens, New York. Ibarra's brother, Diego, lived in Athens and had been urging Ibarra to move there, saying they would find work. She traveled with Ibarra to join his brother in Georgia. She said they went to the Roosevelt Hotel, which served as an intake center for migrants, to ask for a humanitarian flight to Georgia in September 2023. When they arrived in Atlanta, a friend of Diego Ibarra picked them up and drove them to Athens.

Riley was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing, which also has a campus in Athens, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) east of Atlanta.
President-elect Donald Trump, a friend of child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein who a jury last year found liable for sexual abuse, is determined to install as the nations top law enforcement a man who himself stands credibly accused of statutory rape  so much so that hes willing to potentially go to war with his own party if it chooses "ethics" and "family values" over raw political power.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned last week after Trump nominated him to serve as attorney general. Although Gaetz has little in the way of legal experience, he is a partisan firebrand who excelled in his job interview by speaking in the blunt language of retribution, one Trump advisor told The Bulwark, as opposed to his theories of law and how precisely hed manage the Department of Justice and its more than 115,000 employees.

Gaetz was the only one who said, yeah, Ill go over there and start cuttin f***in heads, the advisor recounted.

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To his critics, Gaetz is a repellent sex criminal: a man in his 40s who attended drug-fueled parties as an elected Republican and had sex with a 17-year-old girl at one of them, according to a woman who testified before the House Ethics Committee. Gaetz has denied the allegations and a federal investigation into him ended without criminal charges.

His supporters, meanwhile, are not so much defending Gaetz, the man, as much as they are seeking to bury the evidence of any wrongdoing and force through his nomination in a demonstration of raw political power. The ethics panel was supposed to last week release the product of a months-long investigation into Gaetz and his alleged improprieties, but the lawmakers abrupt resignation complicated that: The committee only has jurisdiction over current members of Congress, a fact Trump-Gaetz allies are citing to justify keeping the reports findings secret.

Presumably those findings do not exonerate Gaetz. According to a lawyer representing two women who testified about Gaetz, House investigators were told that witnesses could place the Florida Republican at as many as 10 sex parties during his first term in Congress, where illegal drugs were being used and at least on one occasion Gaetz was seen having sex with a 17-year-old girl, Politico reported Monday.

I think that would be a terrible precedent to set, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said, speaking not of an accused predator serving as attorney general but the House report on his activities being made public.

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Gaetzs fate will be determined in the Senate, however, not the House. There, at least, members of Trumps own party are publicly insisting that they would like to do their job: to provide advice and consent regarding the president-elects cabinet picks.

Appearing Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said hed actually like to take a look at the ethics report on Gaetz.

I believe the Senate should have access to that, he said. Now, should it be released to the public or not? I guess that will be part of the negotiations. But that should definitely be part of our decision-making.

That echoes other members of the Senate GOP caucus, including Texas John Cornyn and South Dakotas Mike Rounds, and its more spine than some Trump allies have shown. But its also a retreat from what Mullin was saying about Gaetz before he was nominated  in short, that he is an amoral pervert who would share videos of his sexual exploits on the House floor. While admitting he did not even know Gaetz had a law degree, Mullin on Sunday also reiterated his faith in the head of the Republican Party.

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You can see why he was successful in business, why he was successful in this campaign  because he surrounds himself with the right people, Mullin said Sunday, adding: I have no doubt hat President Trump believes that Matt Gaetz is the right person to do the right job.

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There is indeed no doubt about that. Trump is dead serious about making him attorney general, as Politico notes; it is not a feint, meant to precede a more palatable nominee just as committed to using the Justice Department to harass the president's enemies. And if his allies in the Senate try to thwart him, theres always the House, where the Trump team believes that the speaker could assist them in bypassing the upper chamber, should it be necessary, and relying on recess appointments. Although the legal theory is untested, the argument is that Johnson could call for Congress to be adjourned; if the Senate fails to go along, Trump could then intervene and essentially force the legislative branch to go on vacation, allowing him to fill his cabinet while lawmakers are off in Cancun.

Johnson has shown no signs he will thwart Trump in any way, the conservative Christian instead deploying his moral authority to defend an alleged sexual predator.

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Look, Matt Gaetz is a colleague of mine, the Louisiana Republican said on Fox News Sunday, appearing after he was photographed alongside Trump and his inner circle over the weekend. Hes one of the brightest minds in Washington or anywhere for that matter, Johnson continued, describing the opposition to Gaetz as based on the fact that hes a reformer.

I think thats why the establishment in Washington is so shaken up about this pick, Johnson said.

That  forcing Republicans to pick a side; making them describe a total cad as a legal genius if they wish to stay in the good graces of power  is at least part of whats at play here. Trump, narrowly winning the popular vote for the first time, insists he has a mandate to do as he pleases and is daring his own party to object.

As former DOJ Inspector General Michael Bromwich told The Guardian, Gaetz is certainly a choice.

In a world where there are plenty of lawyers willing to do Trumps bidding, he chooses the candidate who has so much baggage, Bromwich said. Hes testing his strength and if anyone in his party has the backbone to oppose him.
TEXARKANA, Texas (KTAL/KMSS)  An update from the Texarkana Texas Police Department (TTPD) was announced on Monday, November 18, at 8:15 a.m. regarding a missing Texarkana woman.

Ms. Rogers was located safe this morning in New Boston and is now safely back home with her family. Thank you for everyone who helped make this possible, stated TTPD on their Facebook page.

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The Texarkana Texas Police Department is asking for the publics help locating a missing woman.

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Police say Diane Rogers left her home in Texarkana earlier today and has not been seen since. She was last seen wearing a blue shirt, blue jeans, and blue shoes. Rogers was driving a maroon Ford SportTrac with Texas license plate BM15112.

Rogers has been diagnosed with a cognitive disorder; everyone is very concerned for her safety.

The Texarkana Texas Police Department urges anyone with information regarding Diane Rogers location to contact the department immediately at 903-798-3116.

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A bonkers new Texas bill would ban a bunch of activities related to abortion, including taking abortion pills in other states and facilitating or hosting online speech about procuring abortions. It would also hold all abortion pill manufacturers liable for violations when a specific manufacturer could not be ascertained.

"Waitthat's all constitutional?" you might be wondering. To which I say: Ha! This is clearly a bill unburdened by thoughts of constitutionality.

Texas Rep. Steve Toth (RThe Woodlands) introduced the legislation, which is called the Women and Child Safety Act. "If passed, the law would allow citizens to bring civil suits against internet service providers that don't block [certain] websites," writes the feminist pundit Jessica Valenti on Substack.

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The Women and Child Safety Act lists six specific websites that must be blocked, but its intended reach is much, much broader. If it were to become law, it would give all sorts of internet service providers a strong incentive to block all sorts of speech related to abortiona huge chilling effect on legal expression.

Multi-Faceted Madness

The Women and Child Safety Act is a broad bill with both criminal and civil provisions.

On the criminal side, it would create new offenses of "paying for or reimbursing abortion costs" and "destroying evidence of an abortion," both felonies.

The part about paying clearly targets abortion fundsnonprofit groups that help women cover the costs of abortions, including travel out of state in places where abortion is banned. "The legislation prompts the state Attorney General to investigate and charge abortion funds using the RICO Act, which is meant to go after organized crime," Valenti points out.

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Other parts of the bill would be enforced by private civil actions.

This includes a prohibition on manufacturing, distributing, mailing, transporting, delivering, or providing an abortion-inducing drug. Doing so could leave one liable for wrongful death or personal injury claims.

The bill would also make the mere possession of abortion-inducing drugs forbiddenthough it excludes any "conduct engaged in by a pregnant woman who aborts or attempts to abortion the woman's unborn child." So possession of abortion pills is OK if you're planning to take them yourself. The paternalistic premise here is that women who have abortion are victims, and thus not liable for their actions (very similar to the way some people think paying for sex should be a crime but selling it should not, since sex workers are considered legally unable to consent).

The bill also says it's fine to have the drugs "for purposes of entrapping a person" who violates the law. This is odd, considering that neither the state nor government employees may enforce the law, nor can they team up with private citizens to encourage lawsuits. This seems to indicate that private citizens will be able to conduct abortion-pill entrapment schemes.

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Lastly, the bill would ban "provid[ing] information on how to obtain an abortion-inducing drug";"creat[ing], edit[ing], upload[ing], host[ing], maintain[ing], or register[ing] a domain name for an Internet website, platform, or other interactive computer service that assists or facilitates a person's effort in obtaining an abortion-inducting drug"; and "creat[ing], edit[ing], program[ing], or distribut[ing] any application or software for use on a computer or an electronic device that is intended to enable individuals to obtain an abortion-inducing drug or to facilitate an individual's access to an abortion-inducing drug."

Due ProcessLOL

The speech-infringing provisions in this bill are huge, and we'll get to those in a minute. But first I want to point out a few especially wild provisions unrelated to speech.

One truly astounding provision says that if someone bringing a lawsuit can't determine which manufacturer made the pill that's the basis for their action, all abortion pill manufacturers can be held liable, with liability "apportioned among all manufacturers of abortion-inducting drugs in proportion to each manufacturer's share of the market for aboriton-inducing drugs."

I don't know what else to say here butwhat? This is not how U.S. law works. The authorities can't just say, "Well, if we don't know who violated the law, anybody in this category is guilty!"

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Another bonkers provision says that this law would apply "to the use of an abortion-inducing drug by a resident of this state, regardless of where the use of the drug occurs."

Again, this is not the way that U.S. law works. People are liable for following federal laws throughout the country and for following state and local laws when they're in a particular state or locality. A state can't punish you for going to another state and doing things that are legal in that state, and it can't punish a third party in another state for selling you something that is legal in that state.

The crazy continues: The bill says it's no defense for abortion pill manufacturers, distributors, transporters, providers, etc. to say they were relying on a court decision saying the provisions were unconstitutional or unenforceable if that decision ends up being vacated, reversed, or overruled on appeal, even if the first decision was in effect "when the cause of action accrued." Nor is it a defense to rely on "a federal statute, agency rule or action, or treaty that has been repealed, superseded, or declared invalid or unconstitutional, even if that federal statute, agency rule or action, or treaty had not been repeated, superseded, or declared invalid or unconstitutional when the case of action accrued."

So even if defendants are following existing laws or legal precedents, they could still be guilty if courts or lawmakers ever change those laws or precedents. There's no way to actually protect yourself against liability except to act as if the Texas provisions are immediately and impenetrably enforceable.

(Michael Nigro/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom)

Free SpeechLOL

The Women and Child Safety Act would allow civil claims against any computer service "that allows [Texas residents] to access information or material that assists or facilitates efforts to obtain election abortions or abortion-inducing drugs." Claims could also be brought against any "platform for downloading any application or softwarethat is designed to assist or facilitate efforts to obtain election abortions or abortion-inducing drugs," and against against platforms that allow or enable "those who provide or aid or abet election abortions, or those who manufacture, distribute, mail, transport, deliver, or provide abortion-inducing drugs, to collect money, digital currency, resources, or any other thing of value."

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If this bill were to pass and become Texas law, the state could use it to sue the likes of GoDaddy, Bluehost, the Apple App Store, Bluesky, X, Substack, and many other tech companies that facilitate free speech.

It would be a crime to allow groups that promote or even just provide information about getting abortions to register domains, access web-hosting services, or distribute apps. It would be illegal to let them send out newsletters, maintain social media accounts, or use payment processing services.

It would even be illegal to let someone send out a newsletter, post on social media, or otherwise note the existence of groups that provide information about abortion. Hosting any information about groups or entities that "aid and abet" abortion would be against the law.

Theoretically, tech companies would only have to block access to these websites, posts, newsletters, etc. for Texas residents. But in most cases, that's technologically unfeasible. Social platforms don't have the ability to restrict individual posts for users in a certain area, or block individual accounts for only Texas residents. Substack isn't going to review all posts in advance and somehow block them from being sent to Texas residents. To comply with the Texas law, entities would have to entirely block offending accounts and websites entirely, or entirely lock out Texas residents.

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Much of what would be blocked would be legal speech. Because even if we grant that someone in Texas posting information about abortion pills would be an illegal direct solicitation to criminal action (and this is not at all a given), the fact remains that most of the groups, doctors, and others posting about how to get out-of-state abortions would be based out of state. It's obviously not illegal for a doctor in a state where abortion is legal to prescribe abortion pills or to tell people how to get a prescription. It's not illegal for an abortion fund outside Texas to provide information on how to get an out-of-state abortions. None of these entities are under any obligation to follow Texas lawyet this bill would require internet entities to block access to people in other states engaging in legal speech.

If Texas were to go after such speech directly, it would be a violation of the First Amendment. The fact that this law will be enforced by private lawsuits is probably an attempt to get around this. But I don't think the courts will accept that

And I think Toth knows this. Because the bill makes a pathetic nod to the Bill of Rights, stating that it "does not prohibitspeech or conduct protected by the First Amendment." But you can't just say "this law doesn't ban protected speech" while attempting to ban protected speech and then call it a day.

Toth's bill also states that people cannot bring civil actions under the suit "if the action is preempted" by Section 230the federal law that protects web entities from some liability for third-party speechand says that no one can be "held liable or legally responsible for the conduct of a publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider."

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Again, we have contradictory directives. A huge swath of the bill is concerned with holding parties liable for "information provided by another information content provider." If that's not allowed, then entire sections of this bill are moot.

And they should be, because Section 230 draws a clear distinction between those who "create" content that breaks laws and those who merely facilitate third-party communication that winds up being illegal. It clearly says that interactive computer services are protected from liability for information created by a third party. And it's clear that private actors in civil cases cannot go after "interactive computer services" (or their users) for third-party content.

Providing a platform or tool that facilitates legal speechwhich most communication about abortion pills isis protected by the First Amendment. And providing a platform or service that merely serves as an conduit for third-party speech that turns out to be illegal is protected by Section 230. Texas can't unilaterally declare that the First Amendment and Section 230 don't matter when abortion pills are concerned.

But as Valenti points out, the Texas bill is "part of a broader attack on free speech about abortion."

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We saw this before Roe v Wade, and we're seeing it now. And because the internet is so integral to speech about anything these days, abortion battles are also going to become tech policy battles.

More Sex & Tech News

 In a new study, "doctors who were given ChatGPT-4 along with conventional resources did only slightly better than doctors who did not have access to the bot" at diagnosing illnesses. But "ChatGPT alone outperformed the doctors," The New York Times reports.

 X is suing over California's deepfake law, arguing that it "will inevitably result in the censorship of wide swaths of valuable political speech."

 Michigan is the latest state to consider legislation that would require social media platforms to age-verify users, require minors to get parental consent in order to maintain accounts, and impose a curfew on when minors could use social websites.

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It feels like a day for a cute cat picture. | Washington, D.C., 2014 (ENB/Reason)

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In Odessa, Texas, if you catch a trans person using a bathroom that aligns with their gender identity as opposed to their assigned sex at birth, you may sue that trans person for $10,000 thanks to a law passed last month by the city council in the town of almost 116,000 people. As if that werent draconian enough, the city council just voted to expand the law.

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On November 12, Odessas city council voted 5-1 to reaffirm the ban, which was originally passed on October 22. It already barred individuals from using restrooms in both public and private buildings that do not match their sex assigned at birth. Council members latest revision of the ordinance added definitions prohibiting trans people from also using locker rooms and changing rooms that align with their gender identity. The law excludes parents accompanying children of the opposite sex who are younger than 12 years old, custodial and maintenance workers, law enforcement officials, and medical emergencies.

According to the ordinance, any person violating these provisions will be deemed guilty of a Class C misdemeanor and punished with a fine of up to $500. Even more concerning, it allows individuals to bring a civil action against anyone who uses a restroom in a public or private Odessa building that doesnt correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Should the claimant succeed in bringing this action to court, they will be awarded an amount of not less than $10,000 for each violation of this ordinance.

As journalist Erin Reed previously noted, the language of this ordinance echoes another law threatening Texans bodily autonomy: the states radical abortion ban (S.B. 8), which offers a reward of at least $10,000 to anyone who successfully sues a healthcare worker, doctor, or other individual who helps someone obtain an abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.

As usual, this anti-trans bathroom ban is not rooted in any actual documented safety concerns. Local news outlet Your Basin reached out to the Odessa Police Department requesting information on how many times officers have responded to public restroom-related calls in the last three years and said that their records request yielded zero reports. Likewise, a 2018 study from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law found no link between trans-inclusive policies and public restroom safety.

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The trans community is not a threat to Odessa or anyone in the bathroom, Matilda Mann-Morales, president of the local LGBTQ+ organization Out in West Texas, said during public comment. Were just trying to live our lives. We dont want the government in the bathroom.

Meanwhile, a November 11 statement from the ACLU of Texas addressed to the Odessa City Council and Mayor Javier Joven notes that the ordinance potentially violates pre-existing laws. As the ACLU points out, although the ordinance proposal initially applied to current restroom use regulations in public buildings, it was amended mere hours before the initial October 22 city council meeting approving the ordinance to create civil liability for anyone who uses a restroom that doesnt align with their assigned sex at birth on both public and private property.

Man Accused of Using Grindr to Kidnap, Assault Two Texas Trans Women Faces Felony Charges

Salih Ali Mohammed Alhemoud, 30, has also been indicted on federal hate crime charges.

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This expansion of the ordinance at the eleventh hour likely violates the Texas Open Meetings Act, since it failed to provide adequate notice to business owners and Odessa residents that the local government was exposing them to immense liability on private property, the ACLU statement reads, also noting that placing a $10,000 bounty on restroom use on private property could bankrupt many businesses and Odessa residents.

Transgender people are part of the fabric of our community, our families, our workplaces, and our neighborhoods, the ACLU statement continues. Like everyone else, they are small business owners and homeowners and should be allowed to use their private property without undue government interference.

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AUSTIN (KXAN)  Monday, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced a new major legislative initiative for the Texas Senate, a state-funded research institute that could focus entirely on dementia.

Dementia is going to increase as the population increases, so as we get a larger population, the state will have more and more people who are experiencing dementia, said Dr. Karen Fingerman, director of the UT Austin Texas Aging and Longevity Consortium. Theres a projection that the population over the age of 65 in Texas is going to increase by 90% in the next 20-30 years, so this is a really pressing issue.

The Dementia Prevention Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT) would be modeled much like the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), Patrick said.

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Structured like CPRIT, and funded for a decadeDPRIT will be laser-focused on Dementia, just as CPRIT is laser-focused on Cancer. Like CPRIT, this investment will draw leading researchers and companies to Texas and require them to be based in Texas, leading to their further investment in our state, Patrick said in a release Monday.

Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas hopes to advance research with $49 million in grants

According to Patrick, Senate Committee on Finance Chair Joan Huffman, a Republican lawmaker from Houston, will author the legislation in the Senate.

Recently, I also traveled to Midland to meet with former Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, to help shape the legislation with him so we can build unanimous support in both the Senate and House, Patrick said in a release Monday.

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As with the CPRIT in 2007 (voters then re-authorized it in 2019), should lawmakers pass the DPRIT through the legislature, voters would still need to approve it as a constitutional amendment.

We know that every dollar invested in Alzheimers and dementia research is a dollar that brings us closer to identifying better treatments and ultimately to finding a cureit helps recruit people into the field of Alzheimers and dementia where otherwise they might be working on a different disease, said Richard Elbein, CEO of the Alzheimers Association Houston & Southeast Texas chapter.

But Elbein also said he doesnt want the state to lose sight of families dealing with this disease now, something the Alzheimers Association has been working on getting more funding for.

The critical additional need is to provide support for those effected by Alzheimers diseaseso thats the reason for the last three legislative sessions the Alzheimers Association has been advocating for funding specifically to invest in care and support and thats been our number one priority, he said.

What has CPRIT done so far, and how much did it cost?

The Texas legislature passed, and voters approved the creation of CPRIT in 2007.

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In 2019, Texas voters again voted overwhelmingly to support CPRIT with an additional $3 billion, for a total $6 billion investment in cancer research and prevention, CPRITs website says.

According to CPRIT, the agency has granted more than $3 billion to Texas research institutions and organizations through its academic research, prevention, and product development research programs.

CPRIT has also brought 306 researchers to Texas and helped with the creation, expansion or relocation of 62 companies to Texas, its website says.

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College Station, Tx (FOX44)  Texas Governor Greg Abbott directed Texas A&M Task Force 1 among other assets deployed ahead of possible severe weather.

Additionally, Governor Abbott has directed the Texas Department of Emergency Management to place Texas Task Force 2 on standby as a Type 3 Urban Search and Rescue Team to be activated if needed.

State emergency response resources as storms were expected to move across the state last night and this morning.

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Threats include heavy rainfall, flash flooding, damaging wind, large hail, possible tornadoes, and river flooding continuing through midweek. Texans are urged to monitor local weather forecast information.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KWKT - FOX 44.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  A Dallas, Texas woman was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for her part in a murder-for-hire conspiracy that if successful, would have resulted in the death of a Southaven, Mississippi woman in 2022.

According to the United States Attorneys Office, Ashley Grayson, 35, ran an internet-based business, and in 2021, she had a falling out with a woman from Southaven who operated a similar business.

Reports say Grayson suspected that the woman was creating fake online content criticizing her and her business. The two women never met in person.

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Suspect arrested after shooting man who refused to leave his property: MPD

In 2022, Grayson contacted a Memphis woman she knew and asked her to fly to Dallas to discuss a business opportunity. The woman and her husband flew to Texas the next month to speak with Grayson and her husband.

Grayson reportedly asked the couple to kill three people: the Southaven woman, Graysons ex-boyfriend, and a Texas woman who had recently made negative social media posts about Grayson.

She was willing to pay the couple at least $20,000 per killing, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

On September 10, the Memphis couple recorded a call to Grayson where she confirmed that she wanted the Southaven woman killed as soon as possible, stating that if the couple carried out the killing in the next week, she would award them an extra $5,000.

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Reports say the couple sent Grayson a photo of police lights from an unrelated incident, and stated that they had tried to kill the woman but were unsuccessful. They then demanded $10,000 for the attempt, which was half the promised price.

The couple flew to Dallas and collected the $10,000 from Grayson and her husband.

In July 2023, a grand jury in the Western District of Tennessee returned a one-count indictment for Use of Interstate Facility in Commission of Murder-for-Hire against both Ashley Grayson and her husband Joshua Grayson.

 See more breaking news, local news and weather from WREG.com for Memphis and the Mid-South.

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In March 2024, the case went to trial, where Joshua Grayson was acquitted by a jury and Ashley Grayson was found guilty as charged.

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Ashley was sentenced on October 31 to 120 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release.

This was a 21st-century crime where online feuds and senseless rivalries bled into the real world. The defendant tried to hire someone to murder a woman over things that happened exclusively on the internet, said Acting U.S. Attorney Reagan Fondren. Fortunately, no one was physically hurt in this case, but the victim and her family still felt a severe and emotional impact as the result of the defendants actions.

WREG spoke with the woman at the center of this case and though she didnt want to appear on camera, she said shes thankful that justice is finally being served but knows this process is not over yet.

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What should you do about a message from the post office about a delayed package? It looks like the real deal, but the message may be anything but legitimate.

Consumer Adviser Clark Howard is warning people to protect themselves from smishing attacks, especially as shipping ramps up around the holiday season.

Its not out of the ordinary for anybody to get one of these status updates from a legitimate source, said threat researcher Willis McDonald. For one thing, the domain is wrong.

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McDonald told Howard that domain, or the link thats included in the text, is the best way to spot fraud. If its not your carriers legitimate website, its likely a scam.

Another red flag is multiple requests to enter your information, even after they got it.

Theyre selling access to other people. Theyre logging into accounts to see, say, how much money you have or get an idea of whether youre an important person with access to other systems, McDonald said.

Tracking the scammers

But whos behind it all? Thats what another threat researcher, who asked to remain anonymous, wanted to know after his wife fell victim to one of these texts.

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So I started digging into their site and did some vulnerability research, he said. I was able to use that to crack passwords for those admins, figuring out where they were coming from.

They were coming from a group called the Smishing Triad. The fraudsters would sell smishing kits online for a few hundred dollars.

The scammers themselves were using a lot of different domains. Theyd used over 1,100 domain names, so theres different URLs in those texts, the researcher said.

He found more than 400,000 people had entered their credit card number.

Yeah, theres a lot of credit cards for a lot of people, he said.

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He sent the information to federal investigators and multiple banks. Eventually, he connected with the owner of the kit and posed as a student interested in developing his own.

He opened up a little bit more about who he is and he mentioned that, Yeah, Im a computer science student in China, the researcher said. Hes probably around my age and even though its very poorly designed and developed, its still making a lot of money off it.

Thats why you should never click on those text links and report fraud right away.

There are simple steps you can take to protect yourself:

Freeze your credit files with the major credit bureaus. Its free and takes less than 15 minutes. (See a how-to guide here)

Set up two-factor authentication for your accounts.

Check your accounts at least once a week.

(VIDEO >> Carolina Strong: Mom and daughter join mobile healthcare team helping Helene victims)




The Thanksgiving travel period will see record-breaking numbers for those hitting both the roads and the skies, according to reports from several airlines and travel organizations.

PHOTO: Thanksgiving Travel In US Set To Hit Post-Covid High (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

American Automobile Association

The American Automobile Association projected that 79.9 million travelers will head to destinations at least 50 miles from their homes over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period, which officially runs from Nov. 26 to Dec. 2, 2024.

That would be an increase of 1.7 million people from 2023, and 2 million more than in 2019 (looking to pre-pandemic figures, in light of the global event's impact on travel).

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AAA also estimated that 71.7 million Americans will travel by car over Thanksgiving, an increase of 1.3 million compared to last year.

However, drivers can expect to see lower gas prices this year compared to last year, according to AAA. Last years national average was $3.26 per gallon. With prices decreasing this fall, AAA predicted the national average could drop below $3 per gallon for the first time since 2021, even before Thanksgiving travel begins.

Nearly 2.3 million people will also travel by bus, cruise, or train this Thanksgiving, according to AAA, which is an increase of almost 9% from last year and 18% compared to 2019. This growth is largely driven by the rising popularity of cruises in the post-pandemic era, AAA explained.

MORE: Video How to stay healthy mentally and physically during the holidays

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When it comes to the friendly skies, AAA says that travelers are paying 3% more for domestic flights this Thanksgiving. International flight bookings have surged by 23%, partly due to a 5% decrease in international airfare, according to AAA.

The Top 10 Thanksgiving travel destinations of 2024 share a common theme: warm weather. AAA data shows that the Top 3 domestic destinations are cities in Florida, while other top destinations include New York, California, Hawaii and Las Vegas.

Internationally, Europe and the Caribbean dominate the list, driven by interest in beach resorts, tourist attractions and river cruises, according to AAA.

PHOTO: Pedestrians, cyclists and cars move along Delancey Street, with the Williamsburg Bridge in the background, in the Manhattan borough of New York on Nov. 13, 2024. (Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images)

Airlines for America

Airlines for America, a trade organization, said that airlines expect an all-time high this year. It anticipated that more than 31 million passengers will fly on U.S. carriers over the given holiday period.

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That's compared to nearly 29 million passengers during the same period last year and 28 million in 2019.

Airlines are preparing to accommodate the demand by flying an average of 2.8 million passengers daily  a 5% increase from 2023, according to A4A. To meet the surge, carriers are adding 150,000 more seats per day compared to last years Thanksgiving holiday period, it said.

A4A expected that the busiest days for air travel will be the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and Sunday, Dec. 1, each with over 3 million flyers per day.

MORE: Video John C. Reilly on finding the reason for the season in An Almost Christmas Story

Hopper

Hopper also predicted that this Thanksgiving will be the busiest on record, with 36.5 million seats scheduled to depart between Nov. 23 and Dec. 3  a 4.8% increase from the same period last year.

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In alignment with many other travel reports, Hopper confirmed that the busiest day to travel will be Dec. 1. For those who need to return by Monday, Hopper recommended taking an early flight that morning instead of returning on Sunday, as it can save you around $175 per domestic ticket.

The busiest airports for the Thanksgiving travel period are Atlanta, Dallas Fort-Worth and Denver as they are each scheduled to serve between 1.5 to 2 million passengers, Hopper reported.

MORE: Video Snow is falling in Hawaii

According to Hopper, hotel rates over the Thanksgiving week are averaging $213 per night, with some rates as low as $140 still available. In popular cities, the prices are slightly higher; for example, in New York city, the average rate per night is as high as $423 due to the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

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This years popular Thanksgiving destinations are Atlanta, Los Angeles, Dallas, Las Vegas and Chicago, according to Hopper. Internationally, the most popular destinations are Puerto Rico, Mexico City, Madrid, Bogota and Cancun.

An American Airlines Airbus A321 ascends for a cross-country flight on September 19, 2024. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

Airlines, by the numbers

United Airlines has said that it expected its busiest Thanksgiving ever this year, with 6.2 million passengers expected to fly between Nov. 21 and Dec. 3. Nearly 480,000 people per day will fly with United  about 30,000 more people per day than last year.

Delta Airlines projected that it will see its busiest on record, with 6.5 million passengers anticipated between Nov. 22 and Dec. 3. An average of 540,000 passengers are expected to fly each day during the 12-day travel period, marking a 5% increase compared to last year.

MORE: Video: Airlines required to issues automatic refunds for delayed, cancelled flights

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American Airlines shared similar predictions, with 8.3 million passengers expected to fly on more than 77,000 flights between Nov. 21 and Dec. 3. The airline said it expected to carry over 500,000 more travelers than last year  which, it added, translates to serving roughly 6.8 million Biscoff cookies to its passengers during the holiday period.

Its highest-travel day is expected to be Dec. 1: To handle the surge, American Airlines said it will be operating 1,035 mainline and regional aircraft as of approximately 10:45 a.m. CT, marking the highest number of flights handled at any given time during Americans travel period.

PHOTO: Inside Reagan National Airport As Winter Storm Cato Disrupts Thanksgiving Travel (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Tips for travelers flying to their Thanksgiving destinations

Thanksgiving is one of the busiest weeks of the year to travel, with packed airports, highways and hotels across the U.S.

For those hitting the skies, plan for longer lines at security and potential delays or cancellations, as the airports will be packed with larger schedules than usual.

Here are a few tips from experts to manage holiday crowds and disruptions:

Book flights earlier in the day: Flights from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. are less likely to be delayed. Download the airline's app and check a flight's status before heading to the airport. Add trip protection. Choose direct flights to avoid missed connections due to flight delays and cancellations. Have flexible travel plans and try to build in a buffer day in case of delays or cancellations.

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In the event of disruptions or issues, experts have also suggested that it is important for travelers to know their rights and options: Airlines are now required to provide 24/7 customer service via live chat or phone support.

Federal regulations now mandate that airlines issue automatic refunds for domestic flights delayed over three hours and international flights delayed more than six hours. Additionally, if a passengers bag is delayed for more than 12 hours, they are eligible for a refund on their bag fees.

Passengers also have the right to request refunds on any unfulfilled ancillary services, like Wi-Fi access.

Thanksgiving travel numbers may break records in 2024 originally appeared on abcnews.go.com


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Since the summer of 2022, William, Kate, George, Charlotte and Louis have spent most of their time living in Adelaide Cottage in the Windsor Castle estate while the children attend school nearby. And today, the question of the estates security was in the spotlight as it emerged that last month thieves entered a farm building inside the perimeter and took two vehicles.

The Sun newspaper first reported the break-in, describing how masked raiders struck the estate as the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children slept in their home nearby. The publication said two men scaled a 6-foot fence and took a pick-up and quad bike from a barn. The report also said the break-in was at the Shaw Farm Gate to the estate, which is less than a mile from Adelaide Cottage.

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Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace declined to comment today. The Palaces never comment on matters of royal security and neither do the Metropolitan Police, who provide royal security. However, senior royals have their own round-the-clock close protection.

Local police force Thames Valley Police gave a statement to media, including Sky News, about the estate break-in. At around 11.45pm on Sunday 13 October, we received a report of burglary at a property on Crown Estate land near to the A308 in Windsor, it read. Offenders entered a farm building and made off with a black Isuzu pick-up and a red quad bike. They then made off towards the Old Windsor/Datchet area. No arrests have been made at this stage and an investigation is ongoing.

This is not the first time intruders have successfully bypassed the perimeter of the Windsor Castle estate. A notable incident was on Christmas Day 2021 when a man was arrested after breaking into the grounds of Windsor Castle with a crossbow and declaring he was there to kill the Queen. He was later sentenced to nine years in jail and apologized to the royal family in a letter to the court.



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Mark Zaid made a name for himself as a national security attorney defending whistleblowers who spoke out about government malfeasance. These days, though, Zaids services are in demand by a new class of client: critics of President-elect Donald Trump who fear they may become targets of legal retribution by the second Trump administration.

Zaids new clientele  which includes dozens of current and former government officials  have good reason to be concerned. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to carry out a campaign of retribution and revenge against his critics, including specific members of Congress, the media and even the private sector. Trump and his allies have since downplayed these remarks, dismissing them as just so much Trumpian bluster. But Zaid is advising his clients not to take any chances.

There are a small number of people who I have told, Look, you should take a vacation outside of the country around the time of inauguration, just to see what happens, he told POLITICO Magazine in an interview. Just go on a routine vacation and see what plays out come Jan. 20, 21st, 22nd.

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Short of arresting people, Zaid said, there are plenty of other ways that the incoming Trump administration could make life difficult for his opponents, from denying them security clearances to charging them with obscure national security statutes. That would, of course, mean many more billable hours for Zaid and his colleagues, but from a lawyers perspective, he said, the important thing is to be prepared for the unexpected.

For a lot of these cases, there arent a lot of steps that can be taken proactively, he said.But were taking steps to prepare so that we dont have to react at the time.

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

How serious do you think these threats of retribution from Trump actually are?

At this stage, no one knows, but Im taking him and his inner circle at their word. They have promised retribution and retaliation. Both Trump and JD Vance have made all sorts of statements, as a matter of fact, that they would retaliate against their political enemies. Trump has said that he wants his presidency to be based on fulfilled promises. So I listen to that and I think that it would be naive and foolish of me not to take what they say seriously and prepare as best as one can. If it never comes to fruition  if they can rise above it  that is fantastic, and Ill happily support the strengthening of the United States of America. But at this point, its what theyre saying.

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What do you think are the most likely forms of retribution? Are we talking criminal investigations, civil charges?

I dont think theres going to be a broad-brush approach. This isnt going to be Nazi Germany or the Stasi raiding everyones homes or anything like that. I think its going to be methodical. I think its well thought out. I think it will happen fairly quickly, depending on who the person is, who is being targeted.

It could include criminal penalties, without a doubt. There are numerous opportunities for a second Trump administration not to necessarily abuse the law, but to use the law to an extent that goes beyond existing norms that we have seen in the past.

Could you give an example?

I can use you and POLITICO as an example. In prior decades, if you ran a story about a leak of classified national defense information, you would not be prosecuted. But the law absolutely allows for you, as a reporter, to be prosecuted for disseminating and transmitting national defense information without authorization. It has been a policy decision of the Department of Justice not to proceed against journalists. Id love to take a poll of journalists to see if you think you might be prosecuted if you wrote a story thats embarrassing to the Trump administration and contains something thats classified.

What about non-media examples? What type of retaliation do you think they could take against an average civil servant who runs afoul of the administration, for instance?

Anyone within the national security establishment has to be deemed trustworthy to have access to classified information, and more importantly, they have to have a need to know classification. Those are incredibly vague and discretionary interpretations, and it would be easy for a second Trump administration, under existing law and policy, to strip individuals who they believe will not support their policies of access to classified information.

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They can also transfer them to posts that they would consider unacceptable. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies have the ability to just say, Im going to send you to this post in Alaska because youve been outspoken, and we know youre not a supporter of the president. And it would totally be lawful, even pushing aside the Supreme Courts decision that gives any president immunity for official acts.

So whats the legal recourse in cases like those that violate existing norms?

For some of these, there is none. The Supreme Court said 36 years ago that there is no federal court jurisdiction over substantive security clearance decisions. When I have reversed those decisions over the years, it has been because Ive persuaded policy officials or political officers to do so  which I highly doubt is going to occur in the near term.

In light of that, what sort of steps are you advising your clients to take in the near term?

It really varies from individual to individual. There are a small number of people who I have told, Look, you should take a vacation outside of the country around the time of inauguration, just to see what happens. Just go on a routine vacation and see what plays out come Jan. 20, 21st, 22nd. By that time, well know whos going to be [in senior administration roles] and whether they will be more fundamentalist about this issue than the general politician whos appointed into a position that requires Senate confirmation.

Whats the benefit of being out of the country?

That would only be primarily for those who could potentially face arrest.

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For a lot of these cases, there arent a lot of steps that can be taken proactively, but were taking steps to prepare so that we dont have to react at the time. Thats making sure we have lawyers, CPAs, psychiatrists and other experts in their fields ready and willing to volunteer their time for free to represent anyone who faces retaliation directly.

Who do you think should be most concerned?

Look, you dont have to be an expert in the intelligence community to know who would face things  people like John Brennan, Jim Clapper, maybe Liz Cheney. I dont think youre going to see repercussions against members of Congress  people like Eric Swalwell, Adam Schiff, Nancy Pelosi  because the Republicans in Congress are not going to want to see that. Whats good for the goose is good for the gander.



This whole notion of decrying lawfare, but then exercising it yourself  too many people are not going to want to see that. But for those who are outside of immunized positions, it would be very easy to go after these individuals for some type of election interference or disclosure of classified information.

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You have to understand how discretionary and vague these types of situations are. I routinely advise senior government officials who published books, and they will always tell me, Oh, dont worry, I made sure I didnt put anything classified in the book, and it never fails that the government comes back and says, Yes, you did. So just think about a situation where the new CIA director could be someone like Kash Patel who says, Hey, by the way, John Brennan, when you appeared on CNN on Oct. 29, 2023, what you said was classified and you are going to be prosecuted under the Espionage Act. Is that going to happen? I have no idea. I would hope not, but depending on who is put into power in the Justice Department, in the U.S. Attorneys Office, at the CIA, as the Director of National Intelligence  the law would allow that.

What do you say to Republicans who claim Democrats opened up this can of worms by prosecuting Trump?

There is always a rule of law, and the mere fact that Bidens son was prosecuted during his administration shows there was an even-handed application of the rule of law. Thats speaking for the case of the federal government, but I fully agree with Republicans that the New York City case was politically based, and I wish it had never been brought. And the Georgia case was in part politically based against President Trump, and it should have been ceded to the feds for the special counsel to pursue against Trump.

But at some point, you have to say, Im not going to repeat the same bad conduct that I criticize the other side from doing. Otherwise, were just going to keep spiraling downward into devastation.

Lawyering up is all well and good for Trumps high-profile critics, but what about career civil servants who might face retaliation and cant afford expensive legal counsel?

Thats why were making arrangements for people to have free legal services and legal representation. We already have it through my group, Whistleblower Aid, which provides free legal representation to whistleblowers. There are numerous groups and people who routinely fight against whoever is in power  Republican or Democrat  and because this is such an unprecedented time, there is no shortage of lawyers who are volunteering to represent individuals who are targeted by the next administration, either criminally or civilly.

What will you be watching for in the first weeks of the new administration as indications of how serious Trump and his administration are about carrying out these sorts of reprisals?

Actions speak louder than words. Right now, everything is just words, because they dont have the power to implement anything. But, unlike 2016 into 2017, this incoming administration is very well organized. They have their executive orders written. They have their policy postures in place. Its going to be a matter of implementation. And as Stephen Miller has said, they promised to start doing things on day one, and I think were going to see that, or else their base is going to be incredibly disappointed.

If we dont see them take action, that would be a good sign that maybe it will return somewhat to business as normal, or whatever the new normal might be. But for a lot of it, we just cant tell yet. In the first Trump administration, I represented people who would take documents off Trumps desk so that Trump couldnt sign them or know about them. That was a good thing. In a second Trump administration, those less senior officials are going to be bringing the documents to his desk for him to sign, whether he reads them or not. So we need to know who those people are going to be, and then well be able to assess how serious a concern it might be for those who challenged Trump during the last eight years.


Families who rely on the Affordable Care Act marketplace say rogue insurance agents are adding, changing and even canceling their health coverage without them knowing.

Ashley Akra says she had health insurance through the ACA a few years back.

Then, she got a job and health insurance through work. She thought the ACA plan was a distant memory. That was until this past March.

She says she went to CVS to pick up medicines for her daughter. Theyre like, Shes not on your insurance. You have this plan, which is not my plan through my job, she told Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke.

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She says she did some digging and figured out an insurance broker had signed her up for an ACA plan behind her back. She says the government subsidized that policy 100%. So, the good news is she didnt lose any money. The bad news is she never saw any paperwork about the plan, paperwork that might have tipped her off, and, she says, the IRS noticed something was wrong and is auditing her.

MORE ACTION 9: Driver says rental car company tacked on fee she wasnt expecting

Overwhelmed. Never-ending. Very vulnerable that someone was able to take our information and use it and use it for their own financial gain, she said.

In Georgia, Tiesha Foreman says someone switched her to a new plan, canceling her old policy. The way she tells it, she also found out because of her daughter, not at the pharmacy, but at the pediatrician.

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Its stressful and scary and its embarrassing, she said. I kept trying to call on the phone, trying to talk to the marketplace to get them to understand I wasnt doing these applications. I didnt know who this agent was.

An Ohio couple says they went to the pharmacy to pick up Randy Delaneys insulin. When I got to the pharmacy, you can imagine my shock when they told us it was $1,096, his wife, Lorie, said.

They say they spent months trying to get to the bottom of it, only to find out someone switched their health plan multiple times without consent. Its just like somebody is in there just messing with your life every day, she said.

In the first eight months of this year, the federal government says nearly 275,000 people complained someone changed or enrolled them in plans without their knowledge.

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Attorney Jason Doss filed this class action lawsuit on behalf of consumers, claiming families who rely on the ACA marketplace are victims of a multimillion-dollar scheme.

I believe this is the largest health insurance fraud case ever, he said. The problem is, what if the bad guy owns the enrollment platform? They have the keys to the castle.

MORE ACTION 9: What to do if your car is under recall, but the repair isnt ready yet

What he means is this: agents and brokers need licenses to access the ACA database. But once theyre in, theyre in. An insurance agent says bad actors didnt need much information after that to manipulate peoples plans.

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All they need is a first name, last name, date of birth, and state, insurance agent Callie Navrides said.

The lawsuit argues that one way criminals got clients information was through pop-up ads, advertising free money. Foreman says her husband clicked a link and ended up speaking with someone at a company called TrueCoverage. He had no idea that this was happening, she said.

In addition, the agents earn a commission: about $20 for each ACA policy. So, if they switch you, they make money.

A former insurance agent worked for TrueCoverage at a Florida call center and agreed to talk to WSOCs sister station. Someone has to from the inside tell the truth about what happens, she said. The top performers were people that were lying bluntly and they were telling people that they were going to get that cash.

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Since the lawsuit, federal officials say they suspended 850 insurance agents and brokers for reasonable suspicion of fraudulent or abusive conduct related to this. They blocked TrueCoverage from the marketplace in August. The feds say theyve added new protections to combat the problem and are asking in their proposed rules 2026 for broader power to suspend bad agents.

TrueCoverage emailed us:

TrueCoverage takes these allegations very seriously and is responding appropriately. While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, we strongly believe that the allegations are baseless and without merit.

Compliance is our business. The TrueCoverage team records and reviews every call with a customer, including during Open Enrollment when roughly 500 agents handle nearly 30,000 calls a day. No customer is enrolled into any policy without a formal verbal consent given by the customer. If any customer calls in as a result of misleading content presented by third party marketing vendors, agents are trained to correct such misinformation and action is taken against such third-party vendors.

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TrueCoverage and the other companies the lawsuit accuses filed a motion to dismiss.

They deny wrongdoing and claim the consumers who had gaps in their coverage didnt suffer any tangible loss.

Its hard to protect yourself, so take all the usual precautions:

- Be suspicious of high-pressure calls and emails, especially those promising free money.

- Guard your personal information.

- If youre on Medicare, remember: you dont need the ACA marketplace.

- When you get a doctors bill or prescription, look at the paperwork. Make sure you recognize the insurance they used. Akra says that would have helped in her case.

Report Marketplace Fraud to 800-318-2596.

For more information on protecting yourself, click here.

VIDEO: New email scam demands money using personal info, pictures of victims homes








Nov. 18KINGSVILLE  Thousands of tires have been removed from an area along Conneaut Creek adjacent to Mill Street, thanks to the cooperative efforts of area residents and a state-wide program.

A non-profit organization, the River Rangers, was hired by the H2Ohio Rivers Program after the need emerged during a meeting of the Scenic River Advisory board for Conneaut Creek.

Jim Branch, chair of the Kingsville Township Trustees, said he heard about the tire problem years ago, but had not seen the tires. It came up in advisory council meeting, of which Branch is a member.

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Branch said he was made aware of the possibility of the cleanup being paid for through the state program. He said he emailed the two property owners adjacent to the tire pile, and they responded positively to the idea.

Jonathan Horn, H2Ohio Rivers program administrator, said the advisory board brought the item to his attention.

"They were integral to us locating the project," he said. "They, and the Scenic Rivers program staff, were paramount to sourcing the project, and making connections with the land owners."

"The H2Ohio Rivers Program is a water-quality and river protection focused program. We fund trash removal from rivers and their floodplains all across the state," Horn said.

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Northeast Ohio Scenic Rivers Manager Jeffry Hayes said he coordinates the advisory council focusing on Conneaut Creek. He said the council is required for each state-designated Wild, Scenic or Recreational River.

Hayes said he alerted the council to the funding to clean up the dump site. He said the funding source is the Ohio Department of Natural Resources H2Ohio Rivers Initiative, which has recently been instituted to protect a corridor of river shoreline through land acquisition and conservation easements.

"This is a historic dump which occurred prior to the landowners purchasing their properties," Hayes said. "Ultimately, our proposal was successful. We are thankful to the H2Ohio Rivers Initiative and this project could not have happened without that funding."

Hayes said there are locations with similar issues in the county, each with their own challenges.

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"We are currently seeking to identify more sites like this," he said.

Hayes encouraged residents who know of any other legacy dump sites in the floodplain of any large stream to reach out to him.

River Ranger Chief Operating Officer Geoff Burns and his crew finished up some of the last debris removal from the site using a pulley system early Thursday morning.

He said the non-profit organization specializes in clearing sites in a way that has the least negative impact on the site. Burns said four to five truckloads of tires were removed in the last two weeks, and the total number of tires is likely in the 3,000 range.

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Randy Gross, of Coshocton, said he enjoys assisting with the River Rangers' mission.

"I like working outside more than anything else," he said. "I enjoy making the outdoors better."

Burns said some of the debris they pulled from the area dated back to 1972.
On Sunday, Wakefield Fire Department responded to a structure fire that upgraded to a three-alarm response, prompting multiple fire crews to assist.

Crews were dispatched at approximately 12:47 p.m. to 8 Wakefield Avenue to heavy smoke in the back-right corner of the building. Firefighters swiftly evacuated the building after noticing that fire alarms were not going off.

Crews began to notice that the fire was spreading rapidly to the walls and up to the roof. Firefighters began to quickly open up the area to take down the fire in those areas. Crews realized the extent of getting to the fire-affected areas and issued a second-alarm response for additional support. A third-alarm response was issued shortly thereafter for even more mutual aid.

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11 total companies were called on to assist Wakefield Fire Department, including Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, North Reading, Woburn, Saugus, Middleton, and Lynnfield. Firefighters from Malden and Wilmington watched over the station, and Cataldo ambulance was at the scene to provide medical attention if needed.

Wakefield Fire Chief Michael Sullivan thanked all mutual aid companies, stating, I want to thank all the mutual aid companies who responded and assisted during this challenging fire. Their teamwork played a crucial role in containing the fire and preventing further damage. This could have been much worse if the fire had not been knocked down so quickly.

The fire damage to the building was able to be limited and unfortunately displaced a total of 12 residents. The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

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

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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AMERICUS  The Georgia Southwestern Foundation Inc. convened recently for its semi-annual Board of Trustees meeting announcing the re-election of seven current members and the election of three new members to its 45-member board.

Re-elected members include Sam Adams, Billy King, Beth Ragan, Herschel Smith, Scott Westbrook, Leon Holloway and Everett Byrd. Newly elected members include Sandra D. Daniel, James E. Peel and Jackson R. Autry. The board, nominated and elected by peers, provides external oversight to the Foundation's operations, supporting its mission to enhance higher education at Georgia Southwestern State University.

With his retirement, Magnolia Manor President Mark Todd leaves a strong legacy of service and dedication with the Foundation.

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The three new Trustees include:

Daniel is a distinguished GSW alumna and retired faculty member, having served as dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. With ASN and BSN degrees from GSW, an MSN degree from Valdosta State University, and a Ph.D. in Nursing from the Medical College of Georgia, Daniel has a life-long commitment to nursing education. Recently, she was honored as the GSW Canes Community Champion in 2023.

Daniel and her husband reside in Americus.

Peel brings over a decade of leadership experience as a GSW Alumni Association Board member. A GSW graduate with a Business Administration degree, Peel has been an active member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity since 1972. He resides in Griffin with his family.

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Autry is a retired sales manager for Bayer Ag and an alumnus of GSW, having earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1972. Residing in Tifton with his wife, Autry is committed to supporting the university that set the foundation for his career.

The Georgia Southwestern Foundation manages funds and assets for the university, promoting educational advancement in the state of Georgia, with a focus on GSWs continued development. Trustees play a crucial role in furthering the Foundations mission, ensuring strong governance and sustainable support for the university.

Following the Board of Trustees meeting, the Foundation hosted a dinner at the historic Carnegie Library for trustees and their guests, celebrating the shared commitment to GSWs growth and success.
An unhinged man went on an unprovoked stabbing attack in Manhattan Monday morning, killing three people in a horrific bloody rampage, police said.

The suspect, identified by police as Ramon Rivera, is a 51-year-old resident of the Bellevue Mens Shelter on E. 30th St. near First Ave. who randomly selected his unwitting targets, police sources told the Daily News. Rivera was taken into custody after the third stabbing, said police.

Rivera confessed to the grisly carnage that unfolded in less than three hours, sources told The News.

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Mayor Adams, at a press conference at the 17th Precinct stationhouse, said he believes the stunning rampage was the result of the failure of criminal justice and mental health systems. Rivera has eight prior New York City arrests, police sources told The News  including one case still pending.

Today we have three innocent New Yorkers going about their lives, the victims of terrible, terrible assaults, Adams said, adding the brutal attacks left us searching for answers how something like this could happen.

It is a classic, classic example of the criminal justice system, the mental health system that continues to fail New Yorkers, he added.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said the attacks were random.

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As of right now these attacks seem to be unprovoked, said Kenny. He just walked up to them and attacked them with the knives.

The first victim, construction worker Angel Lata Landi, was stabbed about 8:20 a.m. on W. 19th St. near Tenth Ave. in Chelsea, police said. The suspect walked up to the construction worker and began stabbing him before running off, cops said.

Hes standing in front of a construction site where he is employed when without warning he is stabbed in the abdomen, said Kenny.

After the stabber ran off, cops began to hunt for an assailant described as a light-skinned man with a beard wearing a gray shirt and dark-colored ski hat.

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Medics rushed the Lata Landi to Bellevue Hospital, where he died at 8:30 a.m., police said.

A woman who lives across the street was outside in her garden when she heard a commotion  and then yelling.

It was just a scream, Call 911! And then that got my attention, the woman, who gave her name as Barbara, told The News.

The victim was motionless as he lay in the street covered by a blanket, his tan construction boots visible, she recounted.

[Medics] ran out of the ambulance. They were checking his heartbeat, she said. Then they pulled him up and put him in the ambulance.

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The second victim, a 68-year-old man whose name was not immediately released, was fishing in the East River Promenade near the Water Club when he was stabbed at 10:27 a.m. at E. 30th St. and the FDR Drive in Kips Bay, said police. Medics rushed him to Bellevue Hospital but doctors could not save him.

Kenny said that victim was stabbed multiple times in the body.

Less than a half-hour later, at 10:55 a.m. a 36-year-old woman, whose name was not immediately released, was stabbed at E. 42nd St. and First Ave. in Murray Hill.

According to police, a passing cab driver saw the assault, mistook it for a robbery, and flagged down a nearby cop.

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NYPD Officer Robert Garvey, who had been posted near the United Nations on E. 44th St. and First Ave., caught up with Rivera on E. 46th St. and First Ave. and detained him. Rivera was soon arrested, and charged with murder.

Adams said the quick actions of the cabbie and Garvey saved the lives of other New Yorkers.

I just heard a commotion, I stepped outside and heard what people were saying and reacted, said Garvey at the press conference.

The victim in that stabbing was rushed to NY Presbyterian Weill Cornell Hospital in critical condition, but she died hours later.

A trail of blood was visible on E. 42nd St. and First Ave., turning the corner west onto E. 42nd St. About a quarter of the way down the block the trail ended in a large pool of blood. A blue winter coat and orange-and-blue hat sat on the ground nearby.

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Two bloody carving knives were recovered from the suspect, whose clothing was also drenched in blood, said Kenny.

Theres a real question as to why he was on the street, said Adams of Rivera. He has some serious mental health issues.

On Oct. 17, Rivera was arrested and charged with grand larceny for stealing an acrylic bowl from a Jonathan Adler store in Soho valued at $1,495, said sources.

The Assistant District Attorney asked for bail but Rivera was released with no bail and ultimately charged with petty larceny and possession of stolen property.

Two months earlier, on Aug. 5, Rivera was sentenced to 364 days for a series of three Manhattan burglaries that took place in December and January, according to sources.

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In May, Rivera was arrested for an assault on a cop inside Bellevues psychiatric ward. He pleaded guilty the same day to attempted assault and was sentenced to 90 days on Sept. 4.

Rivera was also arrested in the Bronx in December 2023 for petty larceny, said sources.

Police responded to two incidents in 2023 where the suspect was emotionally disturbed.

According to sources, in November, Rivera was found lying on a curb, nearly Flushing, Queens, acting erratically and saying his arm hurt. The following month he called 911 to report being suicidal and saying he wanted to kill someone. Medics took him to Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn.

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Rivera also has numerous out-of-state arrests.

In January he was busted in Union City, N.J. on a fugitive from justice charge; the same month he was arrested twice in Hoboken for criminal mischief, sources said.

He was charged in 2018 with assault in Columbus, Ohio, and in 2017 for assault in Cleveland.

In 2010 Rivera had a probation violation arrest in Florida, and in 2009 he was arrested twice more, including once for driving under the influence. Rivera was also arrested in 2006 on a prostitution-related charge and in 2003 for battery in Florida, according to sources.

A neighbor who lives on the block where the first slaying took place was shocked to hear the victim was the friendly construction worker hed seen at the work site for the past two weeks.

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He died? Oh wow, said the neighbor, who gave his name as Orlando and started to cry.

He was a nice guy, said Orlando, 55. Very quiet guy.

He was respectful. He would say good morning, he added. He looked like a guy who would go to church. Very clean-cut guy.

Orlando, who has lived on the block for over 20 years, said the fatal stabbing was a disturbing event that reminded him of times past.

I havent heard of anything like this in a long time, he said.

With Roni Jacobson
Three Wisconsin cities are among the most "livable" in the United States, according to a new evaluation of more than 100 metro areas across the country.

To determine livability, RentCafe, an online rental marketplace, evaluated 139 U.S. metros across three main categories: socioeconomics, quality of life, and location and community.

Each city earned an overall score, based on factors like cost of living, unemployment rate, commute times, access to physical exercise opportunities, and number of arts and recreation facilities. All three Wisconsin cities on the list ranked among the top 15.

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Here's which Wisconsin cities are the most "livable" and which other cities topped the list.

The Milwaukee River flows near the River West area in Milwaukee on Wednesday, May 29, 2024.

Milwaukee (#6)

The Milwaukee-Waukesha metro area ranked sixth on the list, scoring particularly well for its green spaces and fitness opportunities.

In the quality of life category, Milwaukee placed fourth out of 139 cities. That's likely because the study found more than 96% of Milwaukee-area residents have access to exercise opportunities, and more than 80% of residents are physically active.

However, compared to the other two Wisconsin cities on the list, Milwaukee ranked the worst for its affordability. The area has an unemployment rate of 3.8% and poverty rate of 12.5%, earning it spot 52 on the list for socioeconomics.

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The Milwaukee area is best for "eco-conscious residents and young families who encourage a healthy lifestyle for their little ones," according to RentCafe.

Green Bay (#9)

Green Bay was the Wisconsin city to place next-highest on the list, coming in at ninth overall and fourth for socioeconomics.

In terms of affordability, the cost of living in Green Bay is 8% lower than the national average. The area's unemployment rate is 2.7% and poverty rate just over 9%, according to RentCafe. The city also ranked well for its location and community, with four arts and recreation venues reported for every 10,000 residents.

According to RentCafe, Green Bay is particularly suited for "families who enjoy a laidback, friendly environment and those looking for a close-knit community."

Madison (#12)

Madison rounded out the Wisconsin cites in the ranking, placing 12th overall.

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Though the city's cost of living is 5% higher than the national average, incomes in the area are growing faster than both Milwaukee and Green Bay, earning Madison 14th place for socioeconomics. The city also placed in the top 20 for its location and community, with more than 10 "social associations," or memberships to a social organization, for every 10,000 people.

The Capitol Holiday Tree that stands in the statehouse rotunda is illuminated by more than 2,000 lights. The 32-foot, Balsam Fir, donated by Marge Van Heuklon of Rhinelander, the tree's theme commemorates the state's 175-year anniversary.

Which other cities made the top 10?

Here are which other cities cracked the top 10 in RentCafe's livability ranking:

Portland, Maine Lincoln, Neb. Des Moines, Iowa Minneapolis Ann Arbor, Mich. Milwaukee Washington, D.C. Pittsburgh Green Bay Harrisburg, Pa.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What the best cites in Wisconsin to live in, according to RentCafe?
From left are Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Iowa Republican Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley. (Photo collage by Robert Leonard; official portraits courtesy of the senators' offices)

Iowa Writers 'Collaborative. Linking Iowa readers and writers.

The election of South Dakotas Senator John Thune as Senate majority leader is one of the few bright spots for our democracy as we move into the second presidency of Donald Trump.

Trump will have vast powers as he takes over in January, with Republicans holding the House, the Senate, and a compliant Supreme Court that recently granted him immunity from crimes he might commit while in power.

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But thats not enough for Trump. Hes nominating people for cabinet positions that are not only unqualified, they could prove to be a danger to the health and safety of the American people, our alliances abroad, and our democracy. Their only qualification is loyalty to Trump the man, not the Constitution of the United States.

Matt Gaetz, nominated to lead the Department of Justice, was recently investigated by that department, and remains under investigation for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old girl, as well as facing allegations of illegal drug use.

Tulsi Gabbard, nominated to be the director for National Intelligence, has no intelligence experience and has suspect relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, among other issues.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominated to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, is a vaccine denier. Fox News Weekend host Pete Hegseth, nominated to be the Secretary of Defense, has no experience in any administrative role and would be asked to administer the largest and most complex organization in the world  the Pentagon. He also has tattoos linked to white nationalism, and says the military is woke and women shouldnt serve in combat.

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This is just the tip of the iceberg of problems with these nominees. Its unlikely any of them could pass a standard FBI background check, which is precisely why Trump doesnt want the background checks to happen.

These nominations should be troubling to Americans regardless of ideological worldview or party identification. However, pushback against the incoming administration is primarily coming from politicians in the Democratic Party and progressive activists. Republicans in the Senate, including incoming Leader Thune and our senators, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, should also feel the need to challenge actions that run counter to the Constitution and accepted political norms in Washington.

In fact, what Eliot Cohen, professor emeritus at Johns Hopkins and former counselor to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, wrote in The Atlantic in the early days of the first Trump administration is still applicable today: For the community of conservative thinkers and experts, and more importantly, conservative politicians, this is a testing time. Either you stand up for your principles and for what you know is decent behavior, or you go down, if not now, then years from now, as a coward or opportunist.

While a few courageous Republicans will likely stand up and publicly oppose the president-elect, it is time for Republicans who oppose government overreach and political cronyism to take a stand and ask our Republican elected officials to use the institutions of government to check the president-elect.

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When the Constitution was drafted in 1787, the delegates in Philadelphia grappled with the issue of a chief executive. The framers desired to create an independent executive that would not evolve into an authoritarian presidency. As a result, they created an executive with limited enumerated powers that was subject to checks and balances bestowed upon the Congress and the federal courts, including the advice and consent powers over presidential appointments.

As James Madison wrote in Federalist #51 in 1788, In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.

The structural checks in the proposed Constitution, as Madison argued, were the institutions that would serve to prevent one branch of the government from usurping the power of the other branches, including the president from the legislative or judicial branches. The issue today is one of implementation of the framers vision. Our Constitution is not a self-executing document but relies upon elected and appointed officials at the federal and state level to execute its provisions. In other words, if the Congress or the courts fail to check the president, who will?

So why do Republicans who fundamentally disagree with abdicating their advice and consent powers need to act now? The answer is grounded in changes to the Senate rules over the last decade or so. Opposition Democrats make up a minority in both houses of Congress, including in the Senate where Republicans will hold 53 seats. Historically, the minority party could use the filibuster as leverage to formally object to presidential appointments. However, in the absence of the filibuster, four Republicans would need to vote with the entire Democratic caucus to stall an executive appointment or prevent recess appointments from being made.

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Leader Thune can and should, for the sake of the health and safety of our people, and our democracy, do what the Constitution demands. Hopefully, he will find allies in Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst. Grassley, incoming chair of the Judiciary Committee, likely wont abide someone like Matt Gaetz. We suspect neither of them will want to put the public health in danger with a Kennedy appointment, or our national security at risk with the Gabbard and Hegseth appointments. And we suspect that Ernst, a combat veteran and member of the Armed Services Committee, might want to have a word or two with Hegseth about the important roles women play in combat in the modern world.

The framers of the Constitution never intended for recess appointments to be used as a way to bypass the advice and consent powers granted to the Senate. Recess appointments were intended to be a temporary way in which a president could fill vacancies in the executive branch when the Senate was in recess and the logistics of traveling to the Capitol were far more complicated than they are today. Even so, Thune has said he would agree to recess appointments. Ernst has said recess appointments should be considered. However, Grassley opposed recess appointments made by President Obama.

By choosing to rubber stamp these unqualified and potentially dangerous nominees either through regular order or by deferring to Trump and allowing recess appointments, Thune, Grassley, Ernst, and the rest of the Republican members of the Senate would be choosing to treat the appointment of these problematic nominees as the only path forward as they work to implement Trumps agenda. But they are not mutually exclusive. There are certainly plenty of conservative Republicans out there who would bring significant experience to the executive branch who could advance the Trump agenda while not posing a potential danger to our democracy and political system.

So ultimately, Thune, Grassley, and Ernst have a choice to make. Is their loyalty to one man, Donald Trump, or is it to the Constitution, the American people, and our democracy? And as to their legacy  do they want to be remembered as cowards or opportunists who sold us all out in their quest to maintain favor with the incoming president? Or do they want to be remembered as heroes who adhered to the Constitution and protected the separation of powers and prerogatives of the Senate?

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Our nation and our allies are watching.

Robert Leonards column appeared originally at Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture. It is republished here through the Iowa Writers Collaborative.

Editors note: Please consider subscribing to the collaborative and its member writers to support their work.

Andrew Greens blog, American Politics: Views from the Upper Midwest, is on Substack.
KYIV, Ukraine  The Ukrainian capital was blanketed by darkness Monday, even as residents were bolstered by a sense that their American allies had  finally  seen the light.

President Joe Biden has authorized Kyiv to use U.S. weapons for strikes deep inside Russia, according to two U.S. officials  a major policy shift that drew a furious response from the Kremlin on Monday, accusing the administration of pouring "oil on the fire" two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

Crucially for Ukraine, the decision comes after months of pleading and just as Russia has intensified a wave of aerial attacks that forced widespread blackouts and killed more than a dozen people, according to local officials.

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"It is excellent news for us and a significant move," Kyiv resident Maryna Vlasenko, 39, told NBC News.

She also bemoaned the lengthy process and the continued limits on Ukraine's use of the long-range weapons, however. Sometimes I just have a feeling that we are receiving the bare minimum in order not to die, and with such an attitude, Ukraine will bleed to death, Vlasenko said in an interview Monday.

But it is better to have such a decision now than not having it at all.

A woman is comforted following a Russian missile attack in the Odesa region Sunday.

The U.S. has for months rebuffed Kyiv's pleas to lift the restrictions on its usage of the Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, in the Kursk border region of Russia. But with Kim Jong Un sending thousands of North Korean troops to help the Kremlin's forces retake land there occupied by Ukraine, the U.S. ally will now be able to use the weapons in and around Kursk.

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Moscow is not just pressing on the battlefield.

It has also ramped up its aerial assault against its neighbor with days of widespread attacks hitting civilian targets and critical infrastructure ahead of winter.

At least 11 people, including two children, were killed in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy on Sunday, local officials said. And 10 people were killed in the historic southern city of Odesa, local officials said Monday.

Dozens more people were reported injured in the missile and drone strikes, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called one of the largest and most dangerous attacks of the entire war. They also hammered Ukraines power grid, leading the state operator to announce rolling power cuts in areas across the country on the eve of the 1,000th day since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

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"The week was just awful and terrifying," Vlasenko said in Kyiv. "I dont have tears to cry any more, it is pure pain. I am afraid we will stay with no electricity and water again this winter. We are exhausted."

A battlefield boost?

While the White House has not publicly confirmed the reversal, the Kremlin said that if true it would amount to a new leap of tension and a qualitatively new situation with regard to the U.S. involvement in this conflict.

It is clear that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps, and they have talked about this, to continue to pour oil on the fire and continue to provoke further escalation of tension around this conflict," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday.

Russian media also blasted the move, with government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta saying Sunday that Biden had taken one of the most provocative, ill-considered decisions" of his time in office, "which risks catastrophic consequences.

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Trumps nominee for national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz, also appeared to raise concerns. In an interview Monday morning on "Fox & Friends," the Florida congressman said: Its another step up the escalation ladder. And nobody knows where this is going.

Despite the warnings and protestations, however, analysts said it was unlikely that the U.S. decision would either provoke major escalation from the Kremlin or do significant damage to the Russian military's positions on the front lines, which have broadly been improving with each passing day.

Images from 2021 show the U.S. Army conducting live fire tests of the Army Tactical Missile System.

Its too little and too late, said Michael Bociurkiw, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Councils Eurasia Center. Theyre trying to bomb Ukrainians into the dark ages, he said in an interview from Kyiv. How much worse could it get now?

Frank Ledwidge, a former British military intelligence officer, agreed.

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It is unlikely that a few dozen of these flung into some tactical positions are going to tip anything, said Ledwidge, a senior lecturer in war studies at Englands University of Portsmouth. This is sort of a last hurrah from the Biden administration, perhaps even a vindictive one.

Still, Ukrainians largely welcomed the news of a freer rein to make the most of U.S. help  especially given Trump's impending return and the doubts in Kyiv about his commitment to backing their fight.

It's better late than never, said Vladyslav Faraponov, head of the Institute of American Studies, a nongovernmental organization in Kyiv. "The decision is definitely overdue. However, that doesnt mean Ukraine wont make the best of it," he said.

"There are still more than two months before Donald Trumps inauguration," Faraponov said. Ukrainians dont have the luxury of waiting while Russia continues killing civilians in Mykolaiv, Sumy, and pushing on the eastern front, he added.

Daryna Mayer reported from Kyiv, and Mithil Aggarwal from Hong Kong.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday he wants to "put pressure on the Israeli government" to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

To stop the fighting, the United States and many EU countries have tried to convince the Palestinian militant Hamas movement to release the hostages taken in the October 7 attacks, Borrell said at an EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels.

"This has not happened yet, and I don't see a hope for this to happen," he said.

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Now, while stressing that "both sides have to be put under pressure," Borrell said he wants the European Union to examine if Israel is acting within international law in Gaza.

The EU foreign policy chief said he will propose suspending political dialogue with Israel over its conduct in the war in the Gaza Strip.

In addition, Borrell wants the import of products from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, which are illegal under international law, to be banned.

The top EU diplomat said he has "exhausted the words" to describe what is happening in the Middle East, noting reported casualty figures for people in Gaza as high as 44,000 - 70% of them women and children.

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"There are concrete proposals in order to see if what's happening in Gaza is in accordance with international law," Borrell said.

The EU foreign policy chief said in October that he wanted to lead a debate on Israel's conduct in the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon at the next foreign ministers' meeting.

Political dialogue with Israel is regulated by the EU-Israel Association Agreement that entered into force in 2000, which provides for regular exchanges to strengthen the partnership.

It also states that relations between the sides are based on respect for human rights and democratic principles.

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Spain and Ireland suggested several months ago that the Association Agreement with Israel be scrutinized.

The deal covers not only political dialogue but also economic cooperation in areas such as industry, energy, transport and tourism.

EU diplomats have stressed that suspending political dialogue as Borrell suggests does not mean suspending the Association Agreement as a whole. Nor would it mean stopping the work of the Association Council, which is the main body handling relations between the two parties under the agreement.

Furthermore, a decision to suspend the political dialogue requires unanimity, which is considered unlikely in this case.

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Germany has already stated its opposition while Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic have so far clearly stood on Israel's side.

However, EU officials stress that from Borrell's perspective, even a discussion among member states could represent a significant political signal.

EU officials also point out that the discussion about sanctions on the import of products from Israeli settlements sends a clear political message to Israel.

The initiative concerning Israel could be Borrell's last major diplomatic move before leaving office.

Over the summer, EU member states selected the former Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas to take over the role.

She can take over the top post once the European Parliament confirms the new European Commission. That process is already under way.
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Monday that former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), now a Republican and President-elect Trumps pick for director of national intelligence, is a national security threat to the United States.

So, to have Tulsi Gabbard there now, who has basically said good things about [Syrian President Bashar Assad], secretly gone over to visit him, good things about [Russian President Vladimir Putin], shows to me that thats a national security threat to the United States of America, and I think under ordinary circumstances, if you go through regular security screening, she would not pass the test to receive classified documents, Meeks told MSNBCs Ana Cabrera.

Trump announced last week that he had selected Gabbard to be director of national intelligence in his next administration.

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I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community, championing our Constitutional Rights, and securing Peace through Strength. Tulsi will make us all proud! Trump said in a statement at the time.

Gabbard has in the past shared content implying that the U.S. was involved in making biological weapons in Ukraine, perpetuating a narrative from Moscow. She also met in 2017 with Assad, who has been accused of the use of chemical weapons on Syrian civilians.

She was  on the Foreign Affairs Committee, when she secretly went over to visit Assad.  She made  public statements about Russia, Meeks said of Gabbard on Monday. And I think that, you know, unfortunately it does follow what Donald Trump has done and what Donald Trump has said.

Because Donald Trump  said he trusted Russian intelligence above the United States intelligence, Meeks added.

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Multiple Democrats, including Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), a former CIA officer, have spoken out against Gabbard as Trumps choice for director of national intelligence.

As a former CIA case officer, I saw the men and women of the U.S. intelligence community put their lives on the line every day for this country  and I am appalled at the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to lead DNI, Spanberger wrote on the social platform X last week.

The Hill has reached out to the Trump transition 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.
TOPEKA (KSNT)  Police in Topeka have identified the victims of an apparent murder-suicide Monday.

The Topeka Police Department announced on Nov. 18 the two individuals found dead last week in the downtown area were Monica OConnell, 19 of Topeka and Sa Ron Taylor, 20, of Topeka. Police are investigating this incident as an alleged murder-suicide.

Police were called around 7:15 p.m. on Nov. 12 to the 700 block of Southwest Polk Street regarding a welfare check. Officers investigating the area found two dead, later identified as OConnell and Taylor. Police launched a suspicious death investigation following the discovery.

Police arrest Topeka man after deadly shooting

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People with information regarding this investigation are encouraged to email telltpd@topeka.org or contact the Topeka Police Criminal Investigation Bureau at 785-368-9400. Anonymous tips can be made by calling Shawnee County Crime Stoppers at 785-234-0007. You can also make anonymous tips online by clicking here.

For more crime news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.

Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf

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 KSNT 27 News.
An election observer monitors two poll workers processing absentee ballots in the Milwaukee Election Commission warehouse on Aug. 13. Photo by Matt Vasilogambros/Stateline.

Welcome to The Topline, a weekly roundup of the big numbers driving the Minnesota news cycle, as well as the smaller ones that you might have missed. This week: A brief history of Minnesota legislative recounts; the vanishing Trump-Klobuchar county; layoffs in Thief River; and the effect of air pollution on car accidents.

Minnesota recounts virtually never change election outcomes

Two Minnesota House races are headed toward recounts in the coming weeks. In District 54A, provisional counts show DFL Rep. Brad Tabke with a 14-vote lead over GOP opponent Aaron Paul. And in 14B, DFL incumbent Dan Wolgamott is ahead of Republican challenger Sue Ek by 191 votes.

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But the Minnesota Legislative Reference Librarys data on previous recounts shows that even a 14-vote margin is unlikely to be overturned.

The library has records of 96 legislative recounts going back to 1849, and says the list is likely incomplete.

Recent years recounts typically confirm the provisional counts, with no changes. When vote totals do shift, the number is usually in the single-digit range.

While the library doesnt have precise numbers for every single contest, the most recent election in which the tally changed by more than 14 votes (the margin in the Tabke-Paul race) happened in 2002, when a recount added 26 votes to Republican Raymond Coxs winning margin.

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To find an election with initial results overturned by a recount you have to go back to 1986, when Carl Stich was initially declared victor over independent Republican Bernard Omann by 6 votes. The recount reversed that call, with a final margin of 48 votes in Omanns favor.

Minnesota switched to all-electronic vote counting in 2006. Since then, recounts have typically only shifted totals in single-digit amounts, none of which have been enough to change the outcome of a race.

The vanishing Trump-Klobuchar county

A Star Tribune analysis recently found that while 57 of Minnesotas 87 counties split their Senate and presidential votes in 2012, this year that number shrunk to just 12. The findings suggest the gradual disappearance of the moderate, bipartisan voter, analyst Bryan Brussee writes.

Between 2018 and 2024 alone, 30 counties switched from split-ticket to party-line support in their presidential and Senate contests, despite the presence of an unusually unqualified Republican candidate facing Klobuchar this year. The numbers suggest that had Republicans nominated a more traditional challenger, those numbers would have shifted even further.

Arctic Cat lays off dozens, temporarily shuts down production in Thief River Falls

Snowmobile manufacturer Arctic Cat is laying off dozens of employees at its Thief River Falls location.

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In addition, we will pause production at our Thief River Falls facility after production of our model-year 2025 snowmobile lineup is completed, parent company Textron wrote in a letter to dealers that circulated last week. We expect to resume production in Q1 2025.

The company cites difficult business conditions facing Arctic Cat and the greater powersports industry. Last year, Japanese competitor Yamaha announced it would be getting out of the snowmobile market in 2025. A continent-wide lack of snow during the 2023-2024 season certainly didnt help things, and long term winter warming trends arent favorable either.

The layoffs could be especially challenging for Thief River Falls because the community was already facing difficulties funding its public schools following years of declining enrollment.

Air pollution increases car crashes

A provisional, but noteworthy finding: Even small increases in fine particle pollution, like wildfire smoke that has swept through parts of the upper Midwest in recent years, significantly raise the odds of fatal car crashes, according to a working paper by economist Irina Firsova with the University of California.

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In addition to long-term health impacts, fine particle pollution has been shown to cause cognitive impairment in the short term. At highway speeds, even a little bit of impairment can be deadly.

Immediate exposure may be especially detrimental in high-risk situations, such as those requiring quick reflexes and real-time decision-making, Firsova writes.

Reducing that pollution by even a modest amount could save hundreds of lives annually, reduce non-fatal accidents, and potentially save billions of dollars.
TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN)  Christmas is coming up soon, and many organizations have reached out to the community for donations, including the Marine Corps Reserves Toys for Tots.

The Austin chapter collects and distributes new and unwrapped toys to families in need. Organizers said they still need toys and donations, and that they will continue to collect over the next two weeks.

Organizers told KXAN that last year they received about 45,000 toys for 20,000 kids.

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It means a lot to me to be able to help these kids have a Christmas they deserve because every kid deserves a good Christmas, said Sgt. Alexander Morris, the Toys for Tots Austin coordinator. This year we are a little down on our donations however we still do have two weeks left and we do have a lot of drop boxes out within Austin. We have over 200 drop sites within the eight counties that we cover.

Morris says they are in need of toys for 13 to 14-year-olds and newborn to two-year-olds.

Visit the Toys for Tots website to learn how to help or where to donate toys. Families in need have until Dec. 4 to fill out the online application.

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.
NATIVE ART, NATIVE ARTISTS

Origins | Masters | Rebels (coming soon) | Contemporary art (coming soon) | What the future holds (coming soon)| Real - and fake - Native art (coming soon)

Liz Romero had purchased a selection of beaded wallets from a Native wholesaler, planning to sell them in her small art shop and display some of them at a local powwow in October. She had been assured they were authentic, the work of Native artists.

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But they were bogus, counterfeit. Romero got the bad news at the powwow from several people who saw the items, including the chairman of her own tribe, the Redding Rancheria in northern California. She immediately removed the wallets from her table.

Romero buys handmade items from Native artists across the West and she'd bought these  the wallets, some earrings and necklaces  from a Native artist from Bloomfield, New Mexico.

I never thought to question him on the wallets, she said.

Romero did some research and found that the wallets, offered for sale on Amazon, are made by Indians, but not from the U.S.  from India. Adding insult to injury, the Amazon wallets were priced at $35, and she said she paid $70 to the purported artist.

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Romero said the earrings she accepted as authentic turned out to be offered on Temu, another aggregator site.

She told her story on Facebook and refunded buyers of the counterfeit items, absorbed the cost and placed them in a section of her store reserved for imported and non-Native-made items.

The sad part, she said, is that my little business thrives off a good deal or a purchase that would make me money and this is the second time someones got me.

What happened to Romero happens often to Native artists, many of whom rely on sales of their creations to put food on the table, pay for gas and utilities and clothes on their kids backs.

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But contending with the tsunami of cheaper fraudulent art is just one challenge in a world where Native artists must navigate a knot of sellers, dealers, museum operators and other gatekeepers who have long tried to define Native art, pushing artists to make what sells.

Apache artist Douglas Miles calls it the Native American Industrial Arts Complex, which is currently locked in a struggle between the natural growth of arts over the years and the pressure on Indian artists to continue producing salable, traditional pieces  even if it's not the art they want to make.

The quiet revolution spreading across Indian Countrys art world

From kitchen tables strewn with beads, basketry materials or wood shavings, to Laguna Pueblo artist Pat Pruitts huge studio packed with computers loaded with graphics software, CNC milling machines, drills, lathes and welding equipment, some artists question how their art is perceived by collectors, galleries, museums and the public.

They ask how the art scene evolved to where it is now and why so many artists dont have the same regard and access to mainstream galleries and museums as their non-Indigenous peers. At the same time, theyre dealing with a flood of counterfeit pieces that undercut their prices and their incomes.

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Artists question why gatekeepers, primarily non-Indians, dictate what is shown in museums and offered on shop shelves. They increasingly ask who determines what is art versus craft. And they chafe at lingering ideas among some in the business about whether art is Indian enough. Some artists work was initially rejected for this reason.

Some are moving toward marketing and presenting art through new venues such as direct marketing, supported by some nonprofit arts and entrepreneur support groups.

Others continue using the market-museum-gallery circuit because they have bills to pay and kids to put through college, or simply because its the path they know and are comfortable with.

They also question the integrity of some longtime non-Indian businesses like the well-known Gilbert Ortega shops. Native artists winced two years ago when Gilbert Ortega Jr. accosted Native performers in front of his Old Town Scottsdale store during a Super Bowl promotion.

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But a growing number of artists are moving away from these traditional pathways to carve their own roads to success.

Artists such as Pruitt, photographer Cara Romero, multimedia artist Anna Tsouhlarakis and the Katoney brothers  weaver Marlowe and Yancey, a muralist and tattoo artist  wield ever-evolving materials and techniques to create new forms or reinterpret old forms and motifs. They are bursting through the box of what some collectors, curators and more traditional artists believe Indigenous art should fit into.

And at least one, Passamaquoddy basketmaker Jeremy Frey, literally set the box ablaze, emerging to achieve international acclaim.

From no word for art to one of Indian Countrys biggest industries

At the Heard Museum in Phoenix last March, artists unloaded beadwork and baskets, paintings, pottery and photography, jewelry, stone and wood sculptures, textiles and delicate works in glass.

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Artists or consigners completed entry forms while workers ensured each piece or set was in one of eight categories, ready for judges to examine, discuss and sometimes dissect that evening.

It was juried competition day at the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market, the countrys second-largest Indigenous arts showplace.

Each artist had applied in advance with detailed photos of their work to be adjudicated. Once they passed, they paid a booth fee ranging from $250 to $1,200. With travel and lodging costs, artists often pony up as much as $3,000 for a two-day window to show their works and make enough money to last until the next market.

Winning a ribbon, and the check that goes with it  the top prize this year was $25,000  boosts the artists career and their bottom line.

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The Heard Fair and other major Indian art markets, museum shops and galleries, mostly overseen by non-Indians, have long accounted for a major portion of Native artists annual revenues.

But while pursuing the hundreds of pieces for sale outside the galleries, visitors to the Heard can see Ancestral Pueblo pottery from the Four Corners decorated with cultural motifs like rain, clouds and family symbols. Cotton strands spun and dyed with natural dyes nearly 1,000 years old are artfully draped over the small storage pot in which they were rediscovered, left behind by the people who prepared them as they searched for a more reliable source of water more than 800 years ago.

Another display of the first peoples of the Salt River Valley, the Huhugam, features pottery nearly as old, as well as small effigies. One piece with inlaid turquoise chips showed how the ancestors of the Oodham adorned themselves.

But one thing these and other Indigenous peoples have in common: They have no word for art. These pieces expressed cultural values, visualized beneficial weather or environmental conditions or depicted spiritual purposes.

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What was once created for utilitarian, cultural or religious purposes caught the eye of settlers eager to visit Indian Country, creating a market for what is now called art.

First American Art Magazine, one of the first such publications owned and operated by Native people, published a timeline of Indigenous art history in the Americas that denoted how the Native art world has changed over the centuries.

From cultural touchstone to commodity

After contact and colonization, Spanish settlers brought the practice of silversmithing to the Southwest in the late 19th century. Two of the best-known early jewelers were Atsidii Sani, believed to be one of the first Dine silversmiths, and Slender (or Slim) Maker of Silver, the patriarch of the Peshlakai family whos known as the first artist to have an assembly line of silversmiths more than 10 years before Henry Ford.

Navajo, Zuni and other Native silversmiths who took up the trade first worked in silver melted down from coins. They later added turquoise, sparking a sea change in how people around the Four Corners created items for sale or to build wealth out of silver and stones. Zunis had worked with cut stone earlier on and quickly adapted to the new techniques.

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The Spanish-influenced jewelry soon joined more traditional pottery, weavings and carvings as a way for Native people to obtain canned food, metalware, and even horses and buggies.

At the same time, Native people started producing jewelry and other items for sale, and trading posts run by government-licensed traders sprang up in and near tribal communities. Traders learned to operate on a barter system, according to the book Fred Harvey Jewelry, 1900-1955 by the late Dennis June, himself a longtime trader. Indians wanted not only durable goods but brilliantly dyed commercial yarns and, of course, silver coins that could be melted down for more jewelry.

Lorenzo Hubbell, who operated a trading post in Ganado, is said to be the first to encourage Navajo women to make rugs instead of blankets since he had a storeroom of colorful commercially made wool trade blankets and didnt need more. Weavers quickly started creating Oriental-style rugs in traditional Navajo motifs, and a new art form was born.

Some trading posts were operated by families, and at least one maintained the tradition. The McGees and their in-laws have been running trading posts for more than 100 years since acquiring the Keams Canyon Trading Post from Lorenzo Hubbell.

Joyce June, Dennis widow and her cousin, Bruce McGee, used to run the hills around Keams Canyon. Her parents moved to Hopi after marrying and lived without running water or electric service.

After Joyce met and married trader Dennis, the Junes opened up their own gallery in Scottsdales Old Town district. Dennis became fascinated with Fred Harvey-era jewelry and researched his book for 10 years, she said.

He bought a collection, which is what started it all, Joyce said. There was always a question about the souvenir jewelry. And so this book explains how it was all produced.

Dennis died in 2021, and June kept the gallery going until April.

Like June, Bruce McGee grew up surrounded by Native people and the art they created. I blame Joyces dad for getting me into the business, McGee said. He was my mentor.But William McGee, Joyces dad, only had daughters and he wanted a son. He persuaded his brother to name his new son William B. McGee, known as Bruce for short. Bruce and his cousins, including June, split their childhoods between the Hopi Mesas and the city of Mesa.

I wish every kid could grow up like I did, McGee said. Race wasnt an issue. There was no difference between one person and another. His mom put on banquets and programs in the community, and some Hopi ladies became grandmas.

Race became an issue when the McGees moved to Holbrook. The kids teased me because I had this accent, he said. But McGees first exposure to the trading post business came shortly after he married.

My dad had me working with him at the Pinon Trading Post even though I couldnt speak a word of Navajo, he said. Dad worked the young McGee hard and pressured him to do well.

We opened when the sun came up and closed when the sun went down. If a local resident needed supplies after closing time, McGee was expected to open the store.

So, McGee asked if he could make another trader, Billy Malone, his boss instead. The experience changed his life. He learned the trade from the patient Malone, which led to a more than 70-year career in Indian art, including directing the Heard Museum Shop.

McGee retired from the Heard this year.

Fred Harveys Indian Rooms and the start of Indian markets

In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the Santa Fe Railway stretched its metal fingers across the nation, giving birth to not only rapid transcontinental travel but to a growing middle-class pursuit: tourism.

Restaurateur Fred Harveys hospitality empire, which grew to include not only restaurants but also hotels, guided tours and retail, launched its Indian Department in 1902. The Indian Rooms and the Fred Harvey Indian Building in Albuquerque, New Mexico, offered a variety of Native pieces from Navajo weavings to Pueblo pottery, Native jewelry and other pieces. Indigenous art collector and dealer Herman Schweizer was given the task of stocking the venues with enticing items.

Indigenous artisans and entrepreneurs readily adapted to the influx of visitors including the Laguna Pueblo, whose land was bisected by the railroad. Laguna artist Pat Pruitt said Laguna pottery became more elaborate and commodified almost instantaneously.

The railroad singlehandedly created an environment and an industry just by its presence, he said. Our people were able to design, develop and produce ceramic ware that had symbology on it that was representative of who we are. We didn't really think twice about it, it just happened, and no one questioned it.

Back in Albuquerque, Schweizer dealt with customer complaints that the heavy silver and stone jewelry prized by Navajos and other Southwestern Indigenous peoples as portable wealth was too heavy for slender tourist necks and wrists. Schweizer approached his silversmith sources and asked them to make their pieces lighter, with thinner silver stock. The big hunks of turquoise preferred by Navajos shrunk in size or disappeared entirely.

He presented silversmiths with a line of preferred stamped designs like arrows, thunderbirds, tipis (although no Southwestern tribe ever used the conical hide homes), snakes and arrowheads.

Collectors can be particularly startled by one symbol in the Harvey palette of stampings: the nohokos, or whirling log, also known as the swastika. Once the Nazis appropriated the symbol for well-being and protection, Native people mostly quit using it until recently, when they felt it was time to reclaim their symbols.

The birth of the Native American Industrial Art Complex

One of the biggest problems is that we Native people allowed white collectors, curators and academics to define our work in the 1920s and '30s, said Douglas Miles, an artist and designer who heads up Apache Skateboards.

Miles statement is rooted in the actions of agency heads, art impresarios and museum staff in the 20th century.

John Collier became head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1933 when the nation was in the throes of the Great Depression. Tribes were in even worse shape, and Collier, a social justice advocate, instituted several reforms to federal Indian policy. One of those policies involved the role art played in sustaining Native cultures that previous federal administrations had suppressed.

Collier was really concerned about the fact that ceremonies or dancing were being suppressed, said Jennifer McLerran, scholar, curator and author of the book "A New Deal for Native Art: Indian Arts and Federal Policy, 1933-1943."

Collier held a romanticized view of Indigenous cultures and was also familiar with the Meriam Report, which detailed the federal governments failures in dealing with tribes and the dire conditions in tribal communities. The report also tied arts and handcrafts to ceremony and religion.

Although Collier was extremely interested in supporting cultural continuance and wanted Native peoples to determine their own destiny, McLerran said, he also wanted them to remain in their traditional communities and carry on with their Indigenous ways of life.

Tourism posed an issue with Collier. Through the 1910s and 20s, the Hopi Snake Dance was huge, she said. People flocked to the mesas to observe the dance. He became very concerned about how American tourism was affecting the spiritual and ceremonial life, especially of the Hopi and a number of Pueblo groups.

Tourism also had a significant impact on the quality of art produced by tribal people. Just as the Fred Harvey Company learned, tourists wanted small objects they could travel with and could easily acquire, that werent very expensive, McLerran said.

At the same time, art curator Rene dHarnoncourt, who worked with folk artists in Mexico, was interested in generating better quality art to offer collectors.

Collier was also friends with the Hubbell trading family, known for their marketing expertise. Son Roman Hubbell was the mastermind behind creating the worlds largest Navajo rug, now on display at the Affeldt Mion Museum at the La Posada Hotel in Winslow, to attract tourists to the familys Winslow trading post.

Hubbell was trying to generate this very, very upscale wealthy market in the 1930s, McLerran said.

Collier was instrumental in establishing the Indian Arts and Crafts Board within the Department of the Interior in 1935 to promote and preserve Native material culture. dHarnoncourt came on board as an administrator.

While at the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, dHarnoncourt organized one of the first national exhibits of Native arts at the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco in 1939. And, in 1941, dHarnoncourt and Denver Art Museum curator Frederic H. Douglas mounted the exhibit Indian Art of the United States at New York Citys Museum of Modern Art.

McLerran said these grand displays and marketing events were both good and bad for Native art.

The exhibitions were successful in generating niche markets for particular things, she said. But the public didnt talk about expertise or technique, responding instead to the stereotypical fur, the feathers and all that kind of thing.

One non-Native art teacher also contributed to that stereotyping. Dorothy Dunn, who had studied several Native cultures, opened the first studio school at the Santa Fe Indian School in 1932.

Dunn taught a technique she developed, the Studio Style. She believed that Native artists could all be gathered into one universal style. Paintings from this period are distinguished by their flat appearance, with no depth of field or any other realistic depictions, and opaque earth tones.

While Collier and dHarnoncourt were developing art as an economic driver, museums came into play as centers of Native art and as repositories for what many social scientists feared were vanishing tribal cultures. Classically trained curators started studying Native art and became known as experts in the genre.

The two largest Indian markets in the U.S.  Santa Fe in 1922 and the Heard Indian Fair and Market in 1958  were founded by non-Native museums. The Santa Fe Indian Market was first sponsored by the Museum of New Mexico, while museum volunteers started the Heard Indian Fair.

Other major Indian markets are also run by museums, including the Autry, the Eiteljorg and the Abbe.

These moves plus pressure from non-Indian collectors and gallery owners with a Eurocentric point of view led to the current system, the Native American Industrial Art Complex, Miles said. Non-Natives step in and define our cultures and interpret our creative process, he said.

Native art galleries put elite art on display. And, gallery owner and Indian studies student Mark Bahti said, museums are primarily interested in similar art, art that knocks your socks off. The quest for only premier art leaves most artists who produce good quality but not world-class works with little if any support system to sustain them and their families.

Miles said the current system is a a machine that takes and sells art to others and each other. The system is a millstone on the business, he said, but its hard to escape because its the only game in town.

It creates roadblocks and gatekeepers.

And, most importantly, said Miles, a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, It all takes from Indian and collective agency.

Artists break the mold of 'Indian' art

But in the mid- and late 20th century, as the market for Native art and the Indian markets that drew collectors grew, some Native artists sought to paint, sculpt or carve their own visions and explore more contemporary genres alongside their non-Indian peers.

Some, like Charles Loloma, created jewelry with intricately cut, non-traditional stones like lapis, sugilite, pearls and diamonds. Others migrated to abstract imagery.

But these artists and their works werent always welcomed by collectors, dealers and curators.

In 1958, Yanktonai Dakota artist Oscar Howe entered a Native art competition at the Philbrook Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Howe, who was called Mazuha Hokshina (Trader Boy), was a graduate of Santa Fe Indian School. He had been taught Dunns Studio Style, but he abandoned it for a more personal and abstract style.

Art critics agree Howes style was punctuated by dynamic motion, bright colors and pristine lines. Nevertheless, the Philbrook rejected the work, Unimi Wacipi (War and Peace Dance), saying it wasnt Indian enough.

Incensed, Howe wrote a letter that reverberated across Indian Country and the art world:

"Are we to be held back forever with one phase of Indian painting that is the most common way? We are to be herded like a bunch of sheep, with no right for individualism, dictated to as the Indian has always been, put on reservations and treated like a child and only the White Man knows what is best for him... Well, I am not going to stand for it. I only hope the Art World will not be one more contributor to holding us in chains."

Howe went on to become an internationally acclaimed modernist painter who kept his roots planted firmly in Dakota territory.

Others soon followed Howes lead.

When the Santa Fe Indian School, and the Studio Style it taught, closed, a residential high school and later a university dedicated exclusively to Native arts took over the campus.

The Institute of American Indian Arts opened in 1962 with a group of master Native artists including Cherokee artist Lloyd Kiva New in charge. Early faculty include sculptor Allan Houser, a Chiricahua Apache; Luiseno painter Fritz Scholder; and Hopi jewelers Charles and Otellie Loloma.

Many of Native Americas premier artists have either attended, taught or both at IAIA. The university also has a museum where it displays contemporary works of its students and graduates.

But even with IAIAs cutting-edge incubation for new art forms and artists, theres still resistance to art thats not deemed Native enough.

'The current system is failing them'

The small market to give Pueblo artists a place to sell their art in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico, has grown into the nations largest Indian market. Visitors and collectors attend parties, gallery openings, balls, fashion shows and museums during Market Week, the third week in August.

The market once run by non-Natives is now almost exclusively managed by Indigenous people as part of the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, or SWAIA.

Jamie Schulze, executive director of the association, is Northern Cheyenne and Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate. The groups board chair, Dawn Houle, is an enrolled member of the Chippewa Cree Tribe of Montana.

Schulze said the market is working to incorporate new arts while still honoring traditions.

We redid our standards for 2025, she said.

Even as older artists feel like theyre being pushed out in favor of fashion shows, digital art and other innovations, Schulze said the association is "meeting the challenge of adding new innovations in a way that still honors traditional forms. The market itself still holds to its standards.

But for those artists who want a change, at least two other alternative markets sprang up in town to supplement the Santa Fe market, which itself features more than 1,000 artists.

For Schulze, the biggest takeaway is the joyousness she sees around town. We see young artists entering the market for the first time that are doing well, she said.

Houle is optimistic about the future of these markets but with a pragmatic eye to ensuring their financial stability.

You have to keep the doors open, she said in response to criticism over the association accepting sponsor dollars from fossil fuel companies. She said at least 20 tribes own oil wells.

Were assessing who are good partners with whom we could have reciprocal relationships, she said. And everybody is making money off the Santa Fe Indian Market, pointing to studies that said the region enjoyed a $120 million economic impact over Market Week.

While markets, galleries and museums are gradually opening up to new art forms and younger artists, this years major market award winners came from traditional forms.

Hollis Chitto, a Mississippi Choctaw who also has Laguna and Isleta Pueblo heritage, won the Best-of-Show award at the Heard for a beaded bandolier bag, a form that dates back centuries. The Best-of-Show winner at Santa Fe was a reproduction of a weapon set carefully crafted with natural materials like knapped flint, turkey feathers, yucca cord and juniper branches commemorating the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 by Acoma Pueblo artist Dan Vallo.

But while some artists make nearly their entire incomes from the grueling process of qualifying and entering these markets, others are left behind if their work doesnt measure up to what judges, many of whom are collectors themselves, deem as what gallery owner Mark Bahti calls knock your socks off art.

The current system is failing them because the current system loves the high-profile people, Bahti said. By the system, Bahti referred to museums, galleries, Indian markets and even the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, the only federal agency charged with the economic benefits and cultural development of Native people.

He said the Indian art system likes artists who are on the retail side of a museum; those whose work lights up a room or who are famous and charismatic. But its the people who are there day to day that they need to reach out to, Bahti said. And, he said, Indian arts programs need to heed the advice of artists on the ground. They need to understand that the answer originates where the people are.

Debra Krol reports on Indigenous communities at the confluence of climate, culture and commerce in Arizona and the Intermountain West. Reach Krol at debra.krol@azcentral.com. Follow her on X @debkrol.

Coverage of Indigenous issues at the intersection of climate, culture and commerce is supported by the Catena Foundation.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Native art has a rich history; this is what its future looks like
(Bloomberg) -- Trafigura was accused by Swiss prosecutors of channeling bribes to an Angolan official through a network of former employees, including one nicknamed Mr. Non-Compliant by the companys late founder.

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The trading house heads to court Dec. 2 facing charges that its former parent company Trafigura Beheer BV failed to prevent unlawful payments over the 2009 to 2011 period, alongside former senior executive Mike Wainwright, a Swiss middleman who can only be named as P., and a senior Angolan public official Paulo Gouveia Junior.

A 150-page indictment released on Monday detailed how the bribes were allegedly paid and for the first time claimed that Trafiguras late founder and Chief Executive Officer Claude Dauphin was a central participant in the scheme.

The indictment lays bare how Trafiguras most senior executives  up to and including Dauphin  were allegedly involved in corruption. While there have been numerous corruption cases in the past four years against commodity trading companies, only a few individual mid-level traders have been convicted.

If convicted, Trafigura faces a maximum fine of just 5 million Swiss francs ($5.6 million), roughly what the company made every six hours last year from trading oil, metals and other commodities, plus repayment of the illicit profit of over $140 million.

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Switzerlands Federal Criminal Court has scheduled three weeks for the trial and listed two reserve dates in late January if necessary. Trafigura said it rejects the charges.

The trial comes after a year in which the company admitted paying bribes in Brazil, settled a US case over alleged manipulation of fuel oil markets, and most recently announced its facing a $1.1 billion loss after being the victim of a fraud by its own employees in the tiny oil market of Mongolia.

A guilty verdict would be the first time in Swiss history a company has been convicted at trial for allowing the payment of bribes. Switzerland is already under pressure to prove it can be tough on a commodities industry thats long operated under a light regulatory touch.

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Its the latest in a series of cases around the world that have cast the commodity trading industry in an unfavorable light, with Trafigura as well as rivals Vitol Group, Glencore Plc and Gunvor Group all admitting to multi-year bribery schemes.

The indictment describes an opaque system of payments.

On March 26, 2009, a letter on Trafigura-headed paper arrived at Credit Agricole SAs Geneva branch, recommending a banking relationship be set up in favor of Gouveia, CEO of the fuel retail arm of Angolas state energy company. Less than two weeks later, Gouveia arrived in the Swiss city for a short, but busy visit.

Trafigura put him up at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, overlooking Genevas famous lake. Gouveia was also invited to dine at the home of Dauphin, the trading houses legendary founder. A lawyer for the late-CEOs family said Dauphin had nothing to do with the bribery scheme.

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Payment Flows

But the stay was also to cement other relationships, Swiss prosecutors allege. Gouveia opened a Credit Agricole account under the name of a company called Wyland Group Ltd., through which he would receive funds totaling the equivalent of $5.79 million between July 10, 2009 and Oct. 20, 2011.

The funds would come initially from Enelmer International Ltd., set up in the preceding months by Trafiguras Mariano Ferraz. Later payments were made by Consultco Trading Ltd.  a British Virgin Islands-registered company with an address in Dubai  run by a former Trafigura executive known as P. Swiss prosecutors say there were 16 transfers from Consultcos Emirates NBD Bank account to Wylands Credit Agricole account.

Another former Trafigura employee was installed as a controller of the money flowing through Consultco, according to the indictment. He had worked at Trafigura from 1997 to 2007, before setting up a consulting business in Geneva whose only clients were the trading house and its agents and intermediaries. Dauphin nicknamed him Mr Non-Compliant. Thats because he did the things that could not be done internally within the Trafigura Group, according to the indictment.

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Gouveia, for his part, would sign multi-year chartering contracts for eight vessels and a shipping fuel supply deal that would net Trafigura a total of $143.7 million in profits, according to the prosecutors.

Gouveias stay in Geneva was not the only time that Trafigura paid for the travel of its Angolan business contacts, according to the indictment. One of the trading houses subsidiaries paid for the daughter of an Angolan official to attend a summer camp in Gstaad, Switzerland. Another subsidiary paid a $70,050 bill for a five-day hotel stay in Rio de Janeiro during Carnival in 2011.

Trafigura has argued in the past that the Swiss case against it hinges largely on testimony that should be disregarded, because it comes from Ferraz, a former executive at the company who was found guilty on corruption charges in Brazil in 2018 and testified to prosecutors as part of a plea agreement.

Strengthening Controls

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The Swiss charges against Trafigura Beheer allege the company failed to take the necessary measures to prevent bribes being paid, Trafigura Group said on Monday. Trafigura said that its anti-bribery and corruption controls were externally reviewed and assessed to have met legal requirements and international good practice standards applicable at that time.

Since then, Trafigura said its invested significant resources in staff training, strengthened compliance teams and controls, and from 2019, prohibited the use of third parties for business origination.

Jean-Louis Scenini, a lawyer for Gouveia who was CEO of Sonangol Distribuidora, wasnt immediately available for comment. Daniel Tunik, a lawyer for the middleman P., declined to comment.

CA Indosuez (Switzerland), which was then Credit Agricole Switzerland, declined to comment. Emirates NBD didnt respond to a request for comment outside of normal business hours.

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Wainwright, who was chief operating officer and a Trafigura board member, entirely rejects the allegations made against him, said his lawyer Daniel Kinzer. He has full confidence the court will find the allegations to be unfounded and will dismiss the case made against him.

Founders Protege

If hes found guilty, Wainwright would be one of the most senior commodity traders ever to be convicted of corruption.

A protege of founder Dauphin, Wainwright was one of Trafiguras first employees, joining the company in 1996. He was COO from 2008 until last year, when he announced his retirement. For many years, the quietly spoken English accountant was one of the companys most powerful figures: he personally approved its outgoings and had meticulous knowledge of its sprawling business dealings around the world.

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In 2009-2011, according to the indictment, he was responsible for monitoring market and strategic risks, human resources, compliance and was the main point of contact for Trafiguras auditors.

The Swiss prosecutors case focuses on his role approving payments which, they say, were used to bribe Gouveia. It was Wainwright whose signature was on the letter recommending Credit Agricole set up an account for Gouveia, according to prosecutors.

Three payments made from Trafigura through Enelmer to Gouveias company were initialed MW in Trafiguras internal documents, the indictment says.

Key Contact

And Wainwright was a key point of contact between Trafigura and Mr. Non-Compliant, who worked for the company from 1997 until 2007, the indictment alleges.

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It was Wainwright who ordered Mr. Non-Compliant to make the first two payments totaling $1 million from P.s firm Consultco to Gouveias company in August 2009, according to the indictment, which cites an online messaging chat between Wainwright and Mr. Non-Compliant.

Wainwright also agreed to give the former Trafigura employee access to the companys internal trading system, called Pluto, and was regularly in touch with him via SMS, email and online messenger, according to the indictment.

Dauphin, who died in 2015, must have been involved in the decision to bribe Gouveia, according to the indictment.

Roman Pinosch, a lawyer for the late-founders family, said that to his knowledge, Dauphin had absolutely nothing to do with the bribery scheme. Two letters he wrote to the Swiss court earlier this year, denouncing a coordinated strategy aimed at making Dauphin a scapegoat and avoiding the collective responsibility of Trafiguras board, and asking for access to the file were dismissed, Pinosch added.

Its the second time this year that claims of wrongdoing have been leveled at Dauphin, a totemic figure within the company and the wider trading industry. Earlier this year, when Trafigura pleaded guilty to US corruption charges in March, it admitted as true and correct a statement of facts that included the claim that Dauphin approved bribe payments for oil deals in Brazil.

Dauphins family responded angrily, with his son telling Bloomberg that Trafigura was using him as a scapegoat.

(Updates with comments from Dauphin familys lawyer in 12th and third-last paragraphs)

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2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Tiffany Herring for The 19th

This story was published in partnership with The 19th.

Reached by phone in the days following the election, LGBTQ+ movement leaders promised they are more prepared than ever to face off against a second Trump administration.

Were ready, said Heron Greenesmith, deputy director of policy at the Transgender Law Center, a civil rights organization. We did extensive scenario planning, internal and external. We did safety planning internally. We did scenario planning with partners, cross-movement, inter movement, trans specific, LGBT.

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For transgender Americans, the moment feels particularly vulnerable. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to end what he has termed what he has termed transgender insanity and cut Medicaid and Medicare funding to health providers offering gender-affirming health care on his first day in office.

The result is that many trans Americans are reeling, feeling that the country has elected a man set on wiping them off the face of the earth.

Responding to the electionResponding to the election, Sarah Warbelows voice broke.

Theres so much love, she said. Love is still out there, and that is not what this election was about.

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Warbelow isnt transgender. But her daughter is. And as the vice president of legal for the nations largest LGBTQ+ rights organization, the Human Rights Campaign, Warbelow will be tasked with shoring up protections for queer Americans as Trump retakes office.

Warbelows tone turned from teary to defiant as she talked about a slew of political ads attacking transgender Americans, many of them run by Trump and his surrogates. They dont represent the feelings of the nation, she said.

A majority of voters found the anti-trans advertisements were just mean-spirited, she said.

But Kierra Johnson, president of the National LGBTQ Task Force, one of the communitys largest organizations focused on field organizing and political change, said 2024 is nothing like 2016 when Trump was first elected.

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The strategies are already in motion across movements, Johnson said.

Yes, we should be worried, Johnson said, adding that Project 2025, the blueprint for a second Trump term written by his former advisors, makes extremely concerning suggestions about how to approach LGBTQ+ rights. They put it in black and white. If we don't take that as serious, then that's on us. Whether they execute or not, that's something else.

Advocates said there are a number of things trans people can do immediately to protect their rights and safety before January. Heres how the nations LGBTQ+ leaders feel things will go in the top policy areas impacting trans people and how trans folks can prepare ahead of January 2025.

Identification and gender markers

For people who need updated gender markers on their identification or have already obtained them, Greenesmith advised looking at state laws first if there are questions.

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The laws in your state will impact a lot of everything else, including whether or not you can get your name and gender changed to match, Greenesmith said.

Some have expressed fears that having an X gender marker on a drivers license or passport instead of the formerly standard M or F will make them a target in the new administration. Advocates advise that deciding on a gender marker is an incredibly personal decision. Some noted that removing the X might make one feel safer, but would be unlikely to erase the paper trail of a gender marker change in government records. In other words, if a trans person was trying to change a marker to conceal their gender identity from the federal government, updating gender markers would likely have minimal impact.

Advocates for Transgender Equality has a full ID resources library with a state-by-state drop-down menu, as does Trans Lifeline, to help people navigate local laws. Both are nonprofit civil rights organizations.

The 19th will continue to provide guidance on IDs, documents and other paperwork as organizations release it.

Sign up for The Agenda  Them's news and politics newsletter, delivered to your inbox every Thursday.

Freedom to be

Perhaps the greatest fear many trans people have is that simply being transgender will be criminalized. While experts acknowledge that its reasonable to be scared, they expressed that the federal government doesnt have the same resources states have to target transgender people individually on the basis of identity alone.

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When you look at the data and the polling, despite what people are pontificating about at this moment, the American public supports the existence of transgender people, Warbelow said. Because Trump has shown himself to be incredibly fickle, it's difficult to know at this point exactly what his plans are for carrying out his campaign promises. That said, Warbelow believes that the president-elect does care, on some level, about his popularity with the public.

Warbelow also believes that the administration does not have the levers to target transgender people in the ways that states have aimed to criminalize transgender life.

Greenesmith is quick to add that worst-case scenario fears are already a reality for many of the most marginalized queer people.

This is why we can't catastrophize at this moment, because catastrophization is white supremacy, they said. All the things that white people fear, Black people, Indigenous folks, migrants have been facing for centuries.

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Andrea Jenkins, a Minneapolis City Council member who made history as the first out Black trans woman elected to public office in the United States, said that for Black trans women, that also means coming together and rising up.

What I will say to my sisters out there is we got to stand strong, she said. "We've got to organize. Weve got to build systems of support for each other.

Moving states

As some trans people consider relocating, its not easy for people to just do that, said Jamison Green, veteran trans organizer and health expert.

Whether people are considering a move out of the country, or out of state, advocates acknowledge that the laws impacting trans lives in real ways differ from place to place. The 19th will be reporting more deeply on these options in the weeks to come, but Green advises that people in states with trans-friendly laws will be far safer than states with anti-trans laws, if they are able to get to affirming states because so many of the policies impacting trans lives are decided at a state level.

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No matter what, get connected to community, he said.

Organizations on the ground are ready to greet those who do need to move, said Jax Gonzalez, political director at LGBTQ+ statewide equality organization One Colorado.

We know that we are a sanctuary state, and that there are many families who have been coming here from Oklahoma, Florida, Arkansas, Texas, you name it, Missouri, Gonzalez said. We want to ensure that those folks who do come here, that we're doing everything that we can to ensure that they are protected and can thrive in community.

Health care access

Trump has vowed to cut off federal funding to health providers offering gender-affirming care to transgender people via executive order. Many fear this will mean the end of gender-affirming care like hormones, puberty blockers and surgeries for transgender people on Trumps first day in office.

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Before panicking, experts advise that this will be logistically complicated for the administration to pull off. For one, transgender people are protected by the Supreme Courts 2020 Bostock v. Clayton County decision, which ruled that gender discrimination and sex discrimination are one in the same, meaning if the government barred gender-affirming care for a trans man, it would have to outlaw that same care (testosterone) for a cisgender man.

Further, Green said the feasibility of the federal government tracking everyones prescriptions would get complicated quickly.

The volume of prescriptions that are written in this country, it would be very difficult and time-consuming and costly to track at a federal level.

State controls would have more access, he added. Some people have worried that the administration could threaten pharmacists, especially when it comes to prescriptions for testosterone, which is a schedule III class drug. Off-label use would not be allowed. Green, again, thinks this would be challenging for the administration.

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Most drugs are used off label, and that's a fact, he added. Medicine is an extremely complex field. Its an art as well as a science ... this is why we license doctors to use their medical judgment in applying the chemistry of pharmaceuticals to their patients to help them.

Further, Trump attempted to gut transgender health care protections in the Affordable Care Act during his first term. The fight over those protections wound through the courts, and the repeal was finalized in 2020, only to be reversed by President Joe Biden, another rule-making process and fight that took four years.

In short, advocates said its difficult to anticipate how health care policy will play out. But whatever happens is not likely to happen immediately, and all major medical associations back gender-affirming care for transgender people.

Green said there is cause for concern.

But I think we have to not just roll over and let them do it, he said. Whatever, they think they're going to do, we have to stay fighting for people's health and rights and social safety.

Green said there is cause for concern.

But I think we have to not just roll over and let them do it, he said. Whatever, they think they're going to do, we have to stay fighting for people's health and rights and social safety.

How the Supreme Court Case *U.S. v. Skrmetti* Could Decide the Fate of Gender-Affirming Care

The review of the case comes at a critical time for transgender rights in the United States.

Marriage and family planning

Marriage will not immediately be at risk in the new administration because of legal precedent and a 2022 law passed by Congress called the Respect for Marriage Act, which requires states to recognize LGBTQ+ marriages already performed, even those from out of state.

If something changes in the future, there will still be time to get married, said Warbelow. That is not something the Trump administration has the power to undo it any immediate term

Still, a couple of Supreme Court justices have expressed interest in overturning Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark 2015 ruling that established nationwide marriage equality.

Advocates advise that for LGBTQ+ people who want to marry, now is not a bad time to do it.

I think people need to do everything they can to fortify their families and their finances, period, said Johnson, adding that this can be applied to marriages, adoptions, powers of attorney or wills.

Get the best of whats queer. Sign up for Thems weekly newsletter here.

Originally Appeared on them.
CARBON COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)  A woman is facing charges after being accused of stealing thousands of dollars while acting as the treasurer of a parent-teacher organization (PTO).

Melissa M. McCloskey, 34, of Lansford, is accused of taking money from the Panther Valley PTO and spending it on numerous retail items, dinners, and personal bills.

According to court documents, on September 3, an official from the Panther Valley Intermediate School contacted police and told them they confronted McCloskey about the missing money and she said she accidentally used approximately $5,000 in funds from the PTO for her own use.

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Submit an I-Team Tip

Police met with the PTO president who provided them with transaction statements of the alleged unauthorized spending that spanned from October 28, 2022 to August 26, 2024. McCloskey was treasurer of the PTO during this timeframe, according to the arrest affidavit.

Police say the unauthorized transactions included food purchases from Italian restaurants, payments to AT&T, PPL, retail payments to Amazon, and ATM and Venmo payments to McCloskey from the former PTO treasurer that were never deposited into the PTO funds. In all, the transactions totaled $11,153.11.

Police say McCloskey was the sole bank card holder for the PTO.

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Contact was made with McCloskey and her attorney and they declined to provide a written statement, investigators said. Charges were formally filed on September 17, 2024 by the Summit Hill Police Department.

On Monday, 28/22 News reached out to the Panther Valley School District for a statement on the investigation.

The beginning of the school year our PTO met and it was realized that money was missing from an account. The PTO immediately did an internal audit and identified the amount of money missing and identified the person believed to have stolen from the fund. Summit Hill police investigated and charges were filed. We are hoping to recoup the money within a year. Panther Valley Superintendent David McAndrew Jr.

McCloskey was charged with theft by unlawful taking and is scheduled for a formal arraignment on December 19, according to online court records.

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FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP)  Two men put financial profit over human life when they attempted to smuggle a couple from India and their two young children across the U.S.-Canada border in heavy snow and bone-chilling winds, leading to the family freezing to death, prosecutors said Monday.

Prosecutors allege Indian national Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, ran part of a sprawling human smuggling scheme and recruited Steve Shand, 50, to shuttle migrants across the border. Both men have pleaded not guilty to four federal counts related to human smuggling. Their trial in Minnesota is expected to last about five days.

Prosecutors say the family of four  39-year-old Jagdish Patel; his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s; their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi; and 3-year-old son, Dharmik  died on Jan. 19, 2022, after spending hours wandering in blizzard conditions. Shand had been waiting in a truck for 11 migrants, including the family from Gujarat state, as the wind chill reached minus 36 degrees (minus 38 Celsius).

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Shand and Patel knew the winter weather conditions were extreme, but chose to go forward with a plan to smuggle migrants across the border on foot anyway, prosecutor Ryan Lipes said in his opening statement.

"The migrants were dropped at a dark isolated part of the Canadian border nowhere near a legal port of entry, Lipes said.

When Jagdish Patel's body was found, he was holding Dharmik, who was wrapped in a blanket, prosecutors added.

This case is about these two men putting profit over peoples lives, profit they earned by smuggling migrants from India across the Canadian border into the U.S, Lipes told the jury.

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Attorney Thomas Leinenweber said his client, Harshkumar Patel, should never have been charged. Leinenweber said in his opening statement that no one would testify that Patel ever talked about a smuggling conspiracy or provide visual evidence of his involvement.

There are certain universal feelings that we all have," Leinenweber said. "One of the worst feeling universally that anyone could feel is when you are wrongfully accused.

Leinenweber also told The Associated Press that his client came to America to escape poverty and build a better life for himself before being unjustly accused of crimes he didn't commit.

Shand's attorney, Lisa Lopez, asked the jury to differentiate between the two defendants. She said Shand was an unwitting participant in the smuggling ring.

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Mr. Shand was used by Mr. Patel. And being used does not equate under the law to being guilty of conspiracy, Lopez said.

Lopez said Shand and the migrants were duped by Patel and the smuggling network.

A jury of eight men and six women, including two alternates, was seated Monday afternoon. Before jury selection began in the morning, defense attorneys objected to prosecutors plan to show seven photos of the frozen bodies of Jagdish Patel and his family, including close-up images of the children.

Another attorney for Shand, Aaron Morrison, said the heart-wrenching images could cause extreme prejudice to the jury and asked for them to be removed as evidence. Prosecutors argued the photos were necessary to show Shand and Harshkumar Patel did not prepare the family for the frigid conditions.

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U.S. District Judge John Tunheim allowed the images to remain as evidence.

Patel is a common Indian surname and the victims were not related to Harshkumar Patel. Federal prosecutors say Harshkumar Patel and Shand were part of an international criminal network that scouted for clients in India, got them Canadian student visas, arranged transportation and smuggled them into the U.S., mostly through Washington state or Minnesota.

The U.S. Border Patrol arrested more than 14,000 Indians on the Canadian border in the year ending this Sept. 30. By 2022, the Pew Research Center estimates more than 725,000 Indians were living illegally in the U.S., behind only Mexicans and El Salvadorans.

Prosecutors filed court documents showing Patel was in the U.S. illegally after being refused a visa at least five times, and that he recruited Shand at a casino near their homes in Deltona, Florida, just north of Orlando.

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Over five weeks, court documents show, Patel and Shand often communicated about the bitter cold as they smuggled five groups of Indians over a quiet stretch of the border. One night in December 2021, Shand messaged Patel that it was cold as hell while waiting to pick up one group, the documents say.

They going to be alive when they get here? he allegedly wrote.

During the last trip in January, Shand had messaged Patel, saying: Make sure everyone is dressed for the blizzard conditions, please, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors say Shand told investigators that Patel paid him about $25,000 for the five trips.

Jagdish Patel grew up in Dingucha. He and his family lived with his parents, who were schoolteachers, according to local news reports.
EDITORS NOTE: This story includes vulgarity quoted from source material. Reader discretion is advised.

SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage)  The trial for a San Angelo man accused of fatally shooting another man in the downtown area during the early morning of New Years Day 2024 began on Nov. 18.

Jury selection for The State of Texas v. Ryan Joaquin Renfroe commenced at approximately 9:45 a.m. in the 51st Judicial District Court of the Tom Green County Courthouse. Renfroe, 34, is charged with one count of murder and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The affidavit

According to an affidavit filed within Tom Green County, a murder investigation was launched on Jan. 1 at an alleyway north of Fat Boss Pub, located at 114 S. Chadbourne St. A San Angelo Police Department detective who arrived at the scene was informed that law enforcement had located a deceased individual on the ground in the alley and that the individual had visible trauma to his frontal face area believed to be the result of being shot with a firearm.

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The detective learned from an SAPD officer at the scene that Renfroe had surrendered upon the arrival of law enforcement and that a handgun was in plain view in Renfroes truck, which was found to be parked in the alley next to the victim.

The detective observed the deceased individual, identified as 23-year-old Jakob Jones, to be fully clothed and lying on his side in the alley a few feet from Renfroes white pickup. The detective also observed visible trauma to the victims right eye which appeared to be a gunshot wound, a pool of blood near the victims head and two spent handgun cartridges on the ground near the victim.

The detective interviewed Hanna Causey, who is identified in the affidavit as Renfroes wife. During this interview, Causey stated that she had been working inside Fat Boss Pub on Jan. 1 and that Renfroe was to pick her up after work. She said that, while inside the pub, she heard two sounds outside that sounded like balloon pops.

Causey said that Christopher Torson, a member of Fat Boss Pub security, entered the bar and informed her that Renfroe had shot someone. Causey said she exited the pub and saw Jones lying on the ground, after which she began to perform life-saving measures. She stated that Jones was not breathing, had no pulse, and appeared to be deceased.

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Causey stated that she saw Renfroe on the phone but did not speak with him. She also confirmed that Renfroe owned a 9mm handgun.

The detective then spoke to Cody Chambers, who identified himself as Jones best friend. Chambers stated that Jones spoke to him a few days before his death about a road rage incident between him and Renfroe. Chambers said that the incident spilled over to social media and that Renfroe and Jones had agreed to meet up near Fat Boss Pub to settle the dispute.

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Chambers stated that before driving to the pub, Jones told him that it was going to be a physical fight. He said that he drove his pickup with Jones, Hyven Laurance and Jase Wilson to the alley next to Fat Boss Pub, after which Jones exited the left rear passenger seat of the truck to confront and fight Renfroe.

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Chambers said that he, Laurance and Wilson remained in the vehicle. He stated that he heard two gunshots and then left the area to call the police.

The detective spoke with Torson, who was working security at the pub on Jan. 1 and was a coworker of Renfroe. Torson stated that he was taking out the trash after the pub had closed and observed Renfroe sitting in a white pickup in the alley located north of the establishment. He said that he sat in his own vehicle, which was parked behind Renfroes vehicle.

Torson stated that he saw a black pickup drive in the alley and pull up beside Renfroes vehicle, after which he heard two gunshots and saw Jones on the ground near Renfroes vehicle and Renfroe standing near Jones. He said that the only people he saw outside the pub were Jones and Renfroe and that, following the incident, he drove out of the alley, parked on Chadbourne Street in front of Fat Boss Pub, and went inside to tell the staff what he had seen.

The detective then spoke with Wilson, who said that he had been with Jones a few days ago and that there had been a road rage incident involving Jones vehicle and Renfroes vehicle. Wilson said that after the initial encounter, the incident spilled over to Facebook exchanges between Renfroe, Jones, Wilson and Chambers.

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Wilson stated that Jones messaged him to meet him at 115 S. Chadbourne St. in an alley to resolve the dispute. He said that he, Chambers, Laurance and Jones drove to the location in Chambers vehicle.

Wilson stated that upon arriving at the alley, he observed Renfroe inside a white pickup with his window down. He said Jones exited the vehicle to confront and fight Renfroe, adding that he saw Renfroe exit his vehicle with a handgun in his hand.

Wilson said that Jones and Renfroe struggled over the gun and that he heard two gunshots. He said that he left the area to contact the police.

The detective then spoke to detective Thomas Gibson, who said he interviewed Laurance. Gibson stated that Laurance informed him that was in the vehicle with Chambers, Wilson and Jones. The detective learned that Laurance told Gibson that Jones left the vehicle to confront Renfroe. Laurance then heard two gunshots, after which she, Chambers and Wilson left the scene to call the police.

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The detective then conducted an interview with Renfroe, who was read his Miranda rights and agreed to speak with the detective and Gibson. Renfroe stated that a few days prior to Jones death, he had been involved in a road rage incident in San Angelo with Jones as well as a few of the victims friends.

Renfroe said that he found Jones on social media following the initial incident and that the road rage incident continued on Facebook. He said that he gave the location of Fat Boss Pub to Jones for them to resolve the incident, adding that he wanted to mutually fight with Jones one on one.

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He stated that he was seated in his pickup when a pickup truck pulled up and stopped next to his vehicle, after which three males exited the pickup. He said that he retrieved his 9mm handgun from a locked glovebox before exiting his vehicle.

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Renfroe said that all three males approached his truck and that he heard a slide from a gun being pushed forward, after which Jones approached him and began assaulting him. He stated that he pushed Jones away and yelled at him to stop.

Renfroe said that Jones then began reaching behind his back to his waist band area. He stated that Jones said, The next ones a blade b-, after which Jones took two steps toward him.

Renfroe stated that he fired his gun once at Jones, striking him in the lower abdomen area. He said that Jones then lunged at him a second time, after which he fired his gun a second time. Renfroe said that Jones then fell to the ground. He stated that he then called 911 to report what had happened.

Renfroe told the detective that he never saw the two males with a handgun or the victim with a knife during the altercation. The detective observed no visible injuries on Renfroe.

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The detective reviewed photographs taken of the inside of Renfroes pickup during a search conducted by law enforcement. The detective observed in the photos that there was a 9mm handgun on the center console of the vehicle. Photos of different aspects of the scene depicted two empty spent shell casings located near Jones, both of which were 9mm in caliber.

The detective then reviewed security camera footage taken from the nearby Chadbourne Tavern. The footage depicted Jones arriving at the alleyway in a dark pickup with blue neon lights underneath the wheel wells at approximately 3:02 a.m. on Jan 1.

The footage showed the dark pickup pull slightly ahead and beside Renfroes vehicle in the alley. Jones is then shown to exit the dark pickup from the rear-left passenger seat, after which Renfroe fires one shot at Jones as Jones approaches him. The recording shows Renfroe shooting Jones a second time approximately a few seconds later. Jones then fell to the ground.

The footage showed no other individuals exiting the dark pickup apart from Jones. After the shots were fired, the pickup Jones had exited and was shown to leave the parking lot.

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Footage taken from the First Methodist Church located at 37 E. Beauregard Ave. depicted Jones pickup driving south on Chadbourne Street from Beauregard Avenue and entering the alleyway north of Fat Boss Pub, according to the affidavit. The detective stated in the affidavit that the following noises were then heard:

A car door shutting at 02:57:22 a.m.

Yelling at 02:57:24 a.m.

A loud bang at 02:57:26 a.m.

A second loud bang at 02:57:29 a.m.

More yelling at 02:57:33 on the security footage timestamp

The footage then showed Jones truck leaving the alley and traveling north in front of First Methodist Church at 02:57:34.

Concho Valley Homepage, KLST and KSAN will continue to provide coverage of The State of Texas v. Ryan Joaquin Renfroe as the trial progresses. Be sure to visit our website, Facebook pages or mobile app to stay up to date.

Pre-Trial Coverage

Grand jury indicts man for New Years killing

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Details emerge in San Angelo New Years killing

San Angelo man arrested on murder charge

WATCH: Police investigate death in downtown San Angelo New Years Day

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ConchoValleyHomepage.com.
A long-awaited trial in Minnesota is scheduled to begin Monday with jury selection for two men accused of helping smuggle people across the U.S.-Canada border, including four members of an Indian family who froze to death in Manitoba as they tried to make it across in blizzard conditions.

The court proceedings come nearly three years after the bodies of Jagdish Patel, 39, his wife, Vaishali, 37, their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi, and their three-year-old son, Dharmik, were found on Jan. 19, 2022, in a snow-drifted field just 12 metres from the U.S. border.

Autopsies confirmed they all died due to hypothermia, American prosecutors said in a trial brief filed last month. The family was trying to cross the border during a blinding blizzard on a day when the temperature was 23 C, but the wind chill hovered between 35 and 38.

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Harshkumar Patel, who is not related to the victims, and Steve Shand were indicted earlier this year by U.S. federal prosecutors in connection with the case.

Shand was arrested on the morning of Jan. 19, 2022, by U.S. border patrol agents as he was in a rented 15-seater passenger van on a snowy highway in Minnesota, just south of the Canadian border near Emerson, Man.

Patel was arrested in Chicago in February 2024.

The men are charged with several counts related to human smuggling. They have pleaded not guilty.

CBC News will be in Minnesota for the men's trial this coming week, which is scheduled to take approximately five days at the federal courthouse in Fergus Falls, about 80 kilometres southeast of Fargo, N.D.  the closest federal courthouse to where the incident happened.

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The proceedings had previously been delayed, including last year, when lawyers asked for an extension in Shand's case, citing its complexity and the desire to avoid multiple trials if more charges were laid.

That came before Patel was indicted in the case earlier this year, at which point Shand was also indicted on additional charges.

A photo posted to Facebook in 2019 shows the Patel family: Jagdish, 39, Dharmik, 3, Vihangi, 11, and Vaishali, 37. They were found frozen to death near the U.S. border in Manitoba on Jan. 19, 2022.

A photo posted to Facebook in 2019 shows the Patel family: Jagdish, 39, Dharmik, 3, Vihangi, 11, and Vaishali, 37. They were found frozen to death near the U.S. border in Manitoba on Jan. 19, 2022. (Vaishali Patel/Facebook)

The family who died near the border was part of a group of 11 Indian nationals all trying to make the same journey across in January 2022, including one who the trial brief says "was so hypothermic that she was slipping in and out of consciousness and had severe frostbite on her nose and fingers."

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Prosecutors say the 11 people were looking for Shand's van, which had gotten stuck.

Harshkumar Patel, who prosecutors say had a number of aliases, including "Dirty Harry," is alleged to have hired and paid Shand to meet and transport the migrants once they crossed the border into the U.S.

Patel and Shand knew each other because they frequented certain casino game rooms and both lived in or around Deltona, Fla., prosecutors say.

Witnesses include Canadians

The prosecution's briefing outlines their case against Patel and Shand, including photos showing how poorly the migrants were prepared for the cold. It also includes selections of text messages and phone logs from the defendants' phones, which prosecutors say showed their awareness of the dangers of the cold and a forecast blizzard.

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Between Dec. 12, 2021, and Jan. 19, 2022  the day the Patel family was found dead  the defendants smuggled dozens of individuals across the Canada-U.S. border as part of a large, systematic human smuggling operation that brought Indian nationals to Canada on student visas and then smuggled them into the U.S., the court document alleges.

Shand and Patel  in co-ordination with co-conspirators in Canada  managed the Manitoba to Minnesota crossings, prosecutors claim. Patel co-ordinated with smugglers in Canada to determine locations, dates and numbers of migrants, the document says.

To date, no one in Canada is facing charges. An RCMP spokesperson said the investigation is ongoing, and no arrests have been made.

U.S. prosecutors say they intend to call several witnesses during the trial, including law enforcement officers who responded to the scene, and those who investigated the smuggling scheme. As well, various expert witnesses are expected to provide information on topics such as phone records and the weather conditions the day the Patel family died.

The people found dead on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, would have faced bitter cold, endless fields, large snowdrifts and complete darkness crossing the international border on foot, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Jane MacLatchy said at a Jan. 20 news conference.

On the day the Patel family was trying to cross the border, the temperature was 23 C, but the wind chill hovered between 35 and 38. At a January 2022 news conference, RCMP said the Patels would have faced bitter cold, endless fields, large snowdrifts and complete darkness as they tried to make the crossing on foot. (Submitted by RCMP)

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Two Canadian forensic pathologists are also expected to be called to testify about the Patel family's autopsies.

Prosecutors say other possible witnesses are a man who was part of the larger smuggling conspiracy and sent many of the Jan. 19 migrants to Manitoba to cross into Minnesota, after he was unable to get them across the border between British Columbia and Washington state.

One or more of the migrants who were part of the same group as the Patel family may also be called as witnesses, prosecutors say.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  The woman accused of firing multiple shots inside Portland International Airport over a year ago will now stand trial in Multnomah County court beginning Monday.

Laura Patterson faces 10 separate charges, including four for attempted murder.

The original incident happened the night of Nov. 14, 2023 when Port of Portland police say the 47-year-old came out of a restroom near a TSA checkpoint for the airports D and E gates and fired a pistol into the air several times.

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Hundreds of travelers and airport workers in the area ran and took cover. Some passengers were rushed back onto planes that had just landed. Others ran, leaving their bags and belongings behind.

No one was injured by the gunshots, which caused $10,000 damage to a window on the airport roof.

Investigators also discovered at the time that Patterson was not a ticketed passenger.

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While in police custody, Patterson claimed she drove from her home in Kennewick, Wash. to PDX and fired the gun so she would not kill her family in Texas, according to court documents.

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Authorities then found out she wanted to kill the family members because they are pedophiles and were aware of the sexual abuse but covered it up.

The documents further state that, While Patterson fired the gun to avoid killing her family, she did not think anyone would stop her, according to court documents, which also stated Patterson told authorities she took out the gun and pulled the trigger at PDX [because] I wanted to.'

On Nov. 16, 2023, Patterson made her first court appearance, pleading not guilty to several charges, including attempted murder, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and unlawful use of a weapon.

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DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT)  A trial date and competency hearing have been set for a man charged with capital murder in a 2018 shooting, according to court documents.

On October 16, a Morgan County Circuit Judge set a trial date for Kendall Rashaid Rucker. The trial date is set for May 5, 2025, and the jury selection will begin the week prior to the trial.

On Feb. 28, 2018, the Decatur Police Department said a concerned citizen called 911 about shots being fired on Clearview Street.

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Officers confirmed that two people were killed in the shooting. Family members and officials confirm the victims are David Gullatte, 31, and Sharonda Bouldin, 27.

Authorities said Rucker, 22 at the time of the shooting, had been identified fleeing the residence moments after the gunshots. He was arrested at a separate residence and charged with capital murder following the shooting.

Court documents show Ruckers indictment was filed on March 27, 2019. In the indictment, he is charged with one count of shooting and killing Bouldin and Gullatte with a pistol and six counts of shooting the victims and knowingly and unlawfully entered or remained in the home.

On May 24, 2019, documents show that Rucker appeared before the court on May 20, 2019, to be arraigned on the charges against him.

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The documents say he waived the reading of the indictment and entered a plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

In July 2022, the circuit court ordered a mental examination for Rucker to be examined by a psychiatrist or psychologist. The exam was ordered on an outpatient basis at a facility designated by the Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health.

On June 7, 2024, a transport order was filed saying Rucker was transported to the Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility in Tuscaloosa, AL, upon a negative COVID screening. He was transported to the medical facility by the Morgan County Sheriffs Office.

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Court documents show that Rucker was released back to the Morgan County Sheriffs Office from the mental facility on Nov. 15. The document states that he maintained his currently prescribed medication until the competency hearing.

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After his release back to the sheriffs office, the circuit judge ordered a competency hearing for December 9 at 1:30 p.m. At this hearing, Rucker will be granted a chance to testify, present evidence, subpoena witnesses on his behalf and confront and cross-examine witnesses who appear at the hearing.

If the hearing is conducted without a jury, the court shall make a finding regarding the competency to stand trial based on the evidence presented at the hearing.

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Old age has become a strangely tangled subject in the United States. Even after Joe Biden delivered one of the worst debate performances in recent history, his defenders routinely denounced his critics as ageist. The same thing happened with Senator Dianne Feinstein: Three years after The New Yorker reported that the then 87-year-olds cognitive decline was an open secret and source of concern on the Hill, public debate over whether she should resign was still dogged by accusations of age discrimination. And when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg actually died in office at age 87, paving the way for a conservative court that is steadily unraveling her legacy as well as the hopes, health, and security of millions of Americans, both the American Society on Aging and the AARP portrayed this staggering own goal as a triumph over ageism.



Ageism is real, but its a hard accusation to parse when the individuals in question, holding the fate of millions in their hands, are demonstrably in ill health. And its even more discordant in a country where many would love to look forward to the kind of cushy retirement that these elites seem to fear.

How do we reconcile American gerontocracythe average age in the Senate, after all, is 64, and the elderly poverty rate is below average, while the child poverty rate is above itwith the grim reality facing millions of elderly people in the United States? Many fear they lack the funds to weather old age with dignity; they worry about health and long-term care, and what they will do if they lose the ability to drive in a country built first and foremost around cars. Scratch an apparent paradox in U.S. society, and you will usually find simple inequality. But in the matter of old age, inequality has driven our political discourse to almost unparalleled levels of incoherence.



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Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Age, by intellectual historian James Chappel, is a story about how the very concept of retirement came into being. But its also a story about how we got to the current moment: when many people face precarious and delayed retirements fraught with grim choices about long-term care, while others with lavishly funded retirements and abundant options find the very idea of retirement offensive. This isnt just a cultural problem or individual denial of our own decline, Chappel insists. This is a crisis created by policy, exacerbated by a great deal of political dishonesty about where the actual crisis is located.





There are many myths about why aging is particularly fraught in this country, each of which Chappel dismantles in turn. The first to fall is the prelapsarian vision of a once-harmonious aging process that industrialization disrupted: that once upon a time intergenerational homes were the norm, and those who made it to old age were cared for with respect by family.

But intergenerational households were actually a minority in the United States in the nineteenth century. Farmers, Chappel acknowledges, typically had a grown child or two stick around in the hope of inheritance. But that means many older peoplewho were still doing some farm laborhad a child living with them, not that most children had a parent living with them. Given the high birth rates of the era, there were fewer older relatives to go around, and more grown children to choose from. And families today do more care for their elders than families used to, he writes, because modern medicine has enabled people to live longer with age-related disability than they used to.

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The instinct to tie security in old age to workthus duplicating significant inequalities in the labor marketstarted early. Prior to the New Deal, organizations seeking to expand state pensions beyond Civil War veterans typically made arguments about moral desert, based on years of labor. But their successes were mostly limited to private pension plans and public pensions for state employees. It wasnt until the introduction of Social Security in 1935 that expectations of old age truly changed. Social Security, Chappel writes, created, for the first time, a legitimate expectation that Americans could look forward to ten or fifteen years of comfortable life on the far side of the labor market. It created, in other words, a broadly shared idea of what old age could be.

But it came about in a backward way. Political support for what was initially called old-age insurance materialized over the worry that the elderly were putting strain on their childrens families during the Great Depression. The goal was to eliminate dependencethe burden the elderly represented, not the poverty they experienced. The policy now known as Social Security was instead based on the premise that gainfully employed older Americans, in order to maintain independence from their children and from charity, would need variable amounts of resources depending on the income and lifestyle they were used to.

Thats how we got the model in which people contribute with a portion of their paycheck, and later receive benefits in proportion to those contributions. It was a system, the book stresses, that would reproduce, rather than challenge, the hierarchies of race and gender that governed the labor market itself. Those who earned a low wage during their working years would have a leaner retirement than people who had held high-income positions. In addition to initially cutting out agricultural workers and domestic workersmany of whom were Blackthis model of old-age insurance ignored those who worked without compensation, like women laboring in their own homes.

There were compelling alternative paths that could have been taken, Chappel notesboth fairer and more hedonic. The Townsend movement, named for Californian physician Francis Townsend, wanted to institute a national 2 percent sales tax and use it to give $200 a month (nearly $5,000 in todays cash) to anyone over the age of 60, on the condition that they spend it all within 30 daysno lengthy debate about who deserved what, no hand-wringing about worthwhile pursuits, just pure YOLO consumer power to zap the country out of the Great Depression and help it into a machine age where fewer workers would be needed. The Ex-Slave Mutual Relief, Bounty and Pension Association, which campaigned for pensions for formerly enslaved people who had been emancipated into poverty and disability, would likewise have used old-age policy to attack and redress some of the most insidious injustices of American society.

Five senior women hula hooping outdoors in a desert setting.

Reformers continued to imagine radically better versions of Social Security once it was establishedeach one a gut punch to the reader who knows how this story ends. In the late 1960s, for example, sociologist Jacquelyne Jackson proposed different age thresholds based on racial discrepancies in life expectancy: Making everyone reach 65 before drawing benefits, Chappel explains, meant that white people, who had on average longer life expectancies, would benefit more than Black people. By 1980, the median white man would enjoy its benefits for nine years, and the median Black man for only two.

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All of these paths to a more equitable future were rejected. And yet Social Security ultimately worked, even for the people it treated unfairly, Chappel argues, as it reduced rates of elder poverty and specifically of Black elder poverty. It continues to work far better than most peopleparticularly those trumpeting its ever-incipient demisegive it credit for.

Within a decade or two, New Deal policies gave rise to fresh imaginings of old age as a kind of Disneyland with lots of pottery classes.

Within a decade or two, New Deal policies gave rise to fresh imaginings of old age as a kind of Disneyland with lots of pottery classes. With that faint hint of the manic the 1950s and 60s did so well, a new industry and discourse exploded around how newly minted senior citizens should spend their time and stave off decline. Medicares passage in 1965 helped address escalating health care expensesyet another policy, in Chappels telling, adopted due to politicians skepticism of intergenerational households, although this time the concern was that grandparents returned to dependency for short-term health needs would mar the image of the perfect anti-communist nuclear family.

But almost from the moment that retirement as a universal life stage became imaginable, it came under threat. Just as policymakers were gearing up to tackle the inequities in Social Security, Milton Friedman showed up suggesting the best way to do this was to get rid of it, and replace it with a poverty program instead. Given that, from a political perspective, Social Security works precisely because it latches help for the poor to a broad middle-class benefit, Chappel finds it hard to take Friedmans and his allies purported goal of targeted poverty reduction at face value: The replacement program would have been ripe for budget cuts at the earliest opportunity.

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Almost from the moment that retirement as a universal life stage became imaginable, it came under threat.

Neoliberalism is one of the villains in this book. With increasing vehemence throughout the 1970s, its prophets pushed the idea of a crisis in Social Security, portraying the program as a wasteful and inefficient Ponzi scheme that could implode at any minute. At just this time, employers were also growing wary of the cost of pension plans. The result was a huge move toward private retirement savings: People worried about Social Security were instructed to invest in the individual retirement accounts (IRA) and 401(k) plans that became available via new tax policy in the 1970s. But 1980s culture takes some heat as well in Chappels narrative. New and more pernicious ideals of independence, he notes, provided moral cover as the state and employers shifted the responsibility for security in old age away from society and onto individuals.

Depictions of older people in pop culture reflected the individualist mood. The sitcom The Golden Girls pushed back against stereotypes of old ladies, by depicting four older women leading active, independent, and even sexual lives. It was a vision of empowerment, in sync with the American Association of Retired Persons fight against ageism in this era, which focused on lobbying against mandatory retirement and age discrimination in the workplace. Yet Golden Girls, Chappel argues, also spoke to a harsher emerging reality: that the financial lives of older people felt precarious. Was the phenomenon of more older women going back to work, or engaging in self-care via careful nutrition and exercise, desirablea blow against ageismor merely a necessity as good pensions grew rarer and medical costs rose? Is the ideal of independence liberating, or an insidious form of social control? In Chappels story, there arent easy answers to these questions. Ageism was and is a real problem, he acknowledges. But focusing on ageism to the exclusion of other policy debates relevant to old people, as the AARP did in this era, reinforced the idea that the goal should be to remain employed and independent as long as possible.

The AARP, in this story, was to old age what the Obama-era girl boss movement was to feminism: correct in identifying inequality, but deeply and narcissistically misguided in thinking this could be fixed by, say, sufficient numbers of the disadvantaged group in question excelling in the workplace. Its tempting to see the organizations name change as revealing: Once the American Association of Retired Persons, the interest group in 1999 became just AARP. Maybe dropping the retired partly reflected the organizations long-standing interest in attracting members from the sub-60 crowd, or the reality that both Social Security and pensions were on the ropes and mandatory retirement was illegal. Or maybe, somewhere between the 1950s and the year 2000, retirement stopped smelling of ceramics to most people and started smelling of irrelevance.





Reading Chappels account of the interplay between policy and culture, its perhaps a little easier to understand the apparent tension between people persisting in jobs far past the point of reason (Biden, for example), and the misery of some older people who dont have that choice to begin with. Its easier to understand how we got to the odd patchwork of social programs we now have. But that doesnt fully elucidate the raging dysfunction that is old-age politics in the United States.

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Histories are the stories of changetheyre not always disciplinarily inclined to identify the constants, let alone emphasize them. And yet constants are a powerful form of cultural conditioning, and surely at work when it comes to mass unwillingness to think clearly, creatively, and compassionately about old age.

The uncomfortable truth is this: We do treat retired people as irrelevant. And as another historian, Samuel Moyn, recently observed while contemplating gerontocratic tendencies in this country: In a society in which elderly people are treated as irrelevant and are subject to neglect, those of them holding authority have no incentive to hand over the reins. Our cultural denial of old age is surely part of why its so difficult to pass policies that would improve the material conditions for old age. And our societys insistence on individualism makes it very hard to shift cultural norms that make paid work essential not only to receiving benefits, but also to defining ones identity.

A recurring theme, for example, in Chappels story is of seniors not wanting to retire. People being pressured to retire solely because of age is a problem, and ageism is a good label for it (although its worth noting that age-specific restrictions are far more common for young people than old ones, and minimum ages for voting, drinking alcohol, or hiring a rental car, say, mostly hold up in court). People not wanting to retire, however, because they cannot imagine who they are or how they can justify their existence to others without gainful employment? Thats just as big of a problem.

There are some signs of change on this front, although from wildly different corners: on the collective action side, young socialists and climate activists embrace of policies like the four-day workweek; and on the individual side, the surprising traction in recent years of the Financial Independence, Retire Early, or FIRE, movement. This subculture, which once seemed populated exclusively by thirtysomething techbros eating ramen in a shack to achieve a 70 percent savings rate and retire by 40, has now broadened to include more than a few women, people of color, single parents, teachers, and others outside the stereotypical demographic. For these people, cutting consumption drastically is worth it if they can ditch their boss a decade or more ahead of schedule and fill the time with family, friends, and passion projects instead. These surprising moments of resonance between the Green New Deal, the TradCath homesteaders, and the FIRE movement make you wonder whether Gen Xers and millennials across the political spectrum might be ready to rethink work-as-identity, as well as the consumerism that keeps the affluent wedded to work-as-identity.





The real problem with aging in the United States, for Chappel, isnt ageism, but ableism. A great deal of the anxiety about retirement income, he writes, is really an anxiety about retirement health: what will happen to me and my family if I need long-term care? Medicare doesnt address this: You have to run through your savings first and then get funding from Medicaid instead. Twentieth-century old-age pop culture didnt address this: the discussion of aging in the 1980s was about individualism and entrepreneurialism, and many old people feared being lumped in with the old-old, i.e., the disabled. Not retiring isnt an option either: You can only work as long as you are able.

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Again, activists have presented appealing alternatives: turning senior centers into hubs complete with meal delivery services, home health aides, and even end-of-life care. But instead of facilitating the large-scale adoption of these models and recruiting well-trained and well-paid people to staff them, Chappel writes, policymakers leveraged familial affection to solve a policy problem, telling caregivers that long-term care was a natural obligation of grown children, and one that their ancestors had done without complaintan ahistorical lie that has caused real damage. With a dearth of options, families that reach a breaking point have little choice but to put a parent in a nursing home they cant really afford with staff who arent well paid. They often feel hideous about ita problem exacerbated by the messaging around filial duty.

The answer to our current mess, Chappel argues, is inclusion: an old-age movement that includes the disabled rather than simply leaving people to hope they wont become disabled; health care policies with fewer seamsmaybe Medicare for All, and maybe with long-term care provisions; Social Security reform, not cuts; transportation that doesnt depend on cars.

These are all good ideas. But there is another, related way out of this crisis: to sever the link in this country between paid work and the provision of a basic social safety net. Other countries have already done this, particularly via publicly funded health care. Yet Americas work fixation lies at the center of this entire narrativean origin story for Social Securitys inequities and a fig leaf for attempts at privatization. Workism is closely tied to ableism, and is often deployed in political contexts for deeply racist purposes. It overlooks and stigmatizes unpaid caregiving, often performed by women, and drives the welfare queen stereotype, used by politicians to discredit the provision of public assistance to impoverished Black people. Theres considerable evidence that work requirements for food stamps exacerbate poverty. And the idea that only people who work really matter is exacerbating the cultural forces that drive many seniors to despair and cause elite seniors to cling to power.

Plenty of people are already starting to question the primacy of the career in defining identity: a form of identity that has always left a lot of people out, and that, in addition to subtly disparaging certain types of work, undervalues unpaid ways of spending our time that can be more fulfilling than we grow up hearing a career should be. Think hobbies, think childcare, think spending time with friends and family, think sleep. We dont actually need to lead a national charge to unseat the primacy of work in the American mind, which has led so many affluent people to fear the emotional side of retirement even as the less-affluent fear the financial side. Lots of people are already trying to do that. But it would be easier for them to pursue those alternative visions of a worthwhile and balanced life if we stopped making access to good, cheap health insurance, 401(k)s, and Social Security dependent on full-time jobs at large companies.

Chappel closes his book with a moving image of senior citizens sitting on a beach guarding turtle eggs: Sentinels watching over the precious life teeming underground, and watching, too, the children laughing. Its a role similar to one that Bill McKibbens Third Act movement for climate action has imagined: seniors using their experience and influence to look out for the planet and for the next generation. Its a powerful vision, but it only works at scale if we manage to separate meaning from market valueboth when it comes to retirement, and when it comes to the worthy ways people might spend that retirement.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President-elect Donald Trump added former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh and billionaire Marc Rowan to the list of candidates to become his Treasury secretary, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

A former investment banker, Warsh, 54, served on the Federal Reserve Board from 2006 to 2011. He was seen as both a fiscal hawk and a proponent of higher savings rates.

Rowan, 62, co-founded investment manager Apollo Global Management and became the firm's CEO in 2021.

Republican U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, 65, who Trump met at Mar-a-Lago last week, is also in the running for the role, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Trump has not announced his nominee for the role, but Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, and investor Scott Bessent have been considered as top candidates for the job.

The Republican president-elect has begun to have second thoughts about Lutnick and Bessent, the New York Times said, and was expected to invite candidates to meet with him in Florida at his Mar-a-Lago club this week.

Lutnick co-chaired Trump's transition effort. A New Yorker like Trump, he has uniformly praised the president-elect's economic policies, including his backing of tariffs.

Bessent, a key economic adviser to Trump, is a longtime hedge fund investor who taught at Yale University for several years and has a warm relationship with the president-elect.

Billionaire Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. came out in favor of Lutnick on Saturday, making public the internal jockeying on the decision.

The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Lincoln Feast.)
Cards on a table at West Alabama Womens Center in Tuscaloosa. The Trump administration could change rules around a federal program that currently requires health care providers to provide counseling and referrals on all pregnancy options, including abortion. (Vasha Hunt/Alabama Reflector)

A federal program provides grants to clinics that offer family-planning services at little to no cost for patients. The first Trump administration barred providers that receive Title X funding from offering abortion referrals, but the Biden administration reversed that policy.

Under President Joe Biden, health officials denied Title X funding to states that did not comply with the new rule to provide abortion referrals or counseling. Funds from the program are not used to pay for abortions, which has been the case since Title Xs inception in 1970.

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Oklahoma sued the federal government over the action last year. But the U.S. Supreme Court denied an emergency appeal from the state in September to reclaim a $4.5 million family-planning grant, Oklahoma Voice reported.

Tennessee rejected $7 million in funding to avoid telling pregnant patients at federally funded clinics about all their options, including abortion. The state also sued federal health officials over the rule, but in August the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the challenge, Tennessee Lookout reported.

Its unclear if Alabama, another state with a near-total abortion ban, offers abortion referrals through the Title X program. But the current rule could be nixed after President-elect Donald Trump takes office, Alabama Reflectors Alander Rocha reports:

The Alabama Department of Public Health (APDH) has been silent on whether it is following current federal rules requiring health care providers to provide counseling and referrals on all pregnancy options, including abortion.

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But it may soon be a moot point.

A second Trump administration could reverse those rules and affect reproductive health policy in Alabama, which according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has the 7th highest teen birth rate nationwide, at 20.9 per 1,000 females aged 1519.

The state health department also reports that rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) have been rising, with a significant increase among people aged 15-24, and Black individuals being almost three times more likely to be diagnosed with HIV than white individuals.

Just as during the first Trump administration, President-elect Trump could again harm the Title X program through the regulatory process, without legislative action, said Anna Bernstein, principal federal policy advisor for the Guttmacher Institute.

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Title X, a federal family planning program, funds low-cost reproductive services, including birth control and STI testing, for low-income individuals. Alabama received $5.5 million from the program in fiscal year 2024, which is administered by ADPH. As Alabamas only Title X grantee, ADPH could risk losing federal funding if it is found out of compliance with current regulations, which mandate comprehensive pregnancy counseling.

Bernstein said that Trump could reinstate the so-called domestic gag rule, which imposed additional requirements on Title X grantees, mandating a physical and financial separation of services for clinics that provide abortion care outside of Title X funds.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP)  President-elect Donald Trump appears to be planning to attend a SpaceX Starship rocket launch on Tuesday, in the latest indication of founder Elon Musk 's influence in the Republican's orbit.

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued temporary flight restrictions over Brownsville and Boca Chica, Texas area for a VIP visit that coincides with the SpaceX launch window for a test of its massive Starship rocket from its launch facility on the Gulf of Mexico. The flight restrictions put in place over Trumps home in Palm Beach, Florida when he is there will be lifted briefly while the Texas security measures are in place.

Trump's visit comes as billionaire Musk has been a near-constant presence at Trumps side as he builds out his administration, attending meetings at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, accompanying him to meetings with Capitol Hill Republicans in Washington last week and to a UFC fight in New York on Saturday.

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Trump frequently regaled audiences on the campaign trail with a dramatic account of the last Starship test, that included the capture of the booster at its launchpad by a pair of mechanical arms.

Tuesday's 30-minute launch window opens at 4 p.m. central time, according to the company, with the company again looking to test the landing capture system of the booster in Texas, while the upper stage continues to a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

Musk pumped an estimated $200 million through his political action committee to help elect Trump and has been named, along with former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, to lead an advisory committee tasked by Trump to dramatically cut governmental costs and reshape how Washington operates, which has sparked ethics concerns over Musk's many interests before the federal government.

The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the president-elect's plans.
President-elect Donald Trump Monday backed an emergency plan to use the military to carry out mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, which he has said could target more than 10 million people.

True!!! Trump posted on his social media site in response to an allys claim that the incoming president would use unspecified emergency powers to round up and boot immigrants from the U.S.

(Trump is) prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets (for) a mass deportation program, read the post from Tom Fitton, a right-wing legal activist.

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Trump oddly reposted Fittons Nov. 8 post at 4:03 am Monday without elaborating.

Its not known what Trump or Fitton meant by a national emergency or how that would give him the right to use the military to carry out mass deportations.

The military is generally barred from taking part in domestic law enforcement like rounding up people suspected of being undocumented immigrants inside the U.S.

Border patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are focused primarily on seeking to prevent immigrants from crossing the countrys borders.

Those agencies would be woefully understaffed and underfunded to mount a major nationwide effort to identify, find, detain and deport many millions of people living in the country.

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Trump made mass deportation a major plank of his successful presidential campaign and has claimed more than 15 million undocumented immigrants will need to be booted back to their homelands.

Those numbers could include asylum seekers, recipients of Temporary Protective Status and the so-called Dreamers or beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) program meant to provide a path to citizenship for people brought to the U.S. when they were minors.

Trump has lashed out at immigrants, many of whom have the legal right to be in the U.S., for what he calls the takeover of small cities in the heartland. The spots includes Springfield, Ohio, where racist conspiracy theorists accuse Haitians of eating neighbors pets, and Aurora, Colorado, which Trump says has been taken over by Venezuelan gangs.

The looming anti-immigrant push has also driven Trumps picks for his incoming cabinet.

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Hardliner Stephen Miller was one of the first selections as deputy White House chief of staff for policy. He he has regularly decried illegal immigration as the biggest problems facing the nation and was an architect of the border family separation policies in the first Trump administration.

Tom Homan, a tough-talking former ICE head, has been named so-called border czar.

Homan has repeatedly said he has the know-how to deport anyone living in the country without legal documentation and has brushed off concerns about separating families, including those of mixed immigration status.

Trump also has said he hopes to eliminate birthright U.S. citizenship, a practice that courts have ruled is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.

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Critics say the deportation push is dangerous and impractical, and could have devastating effects on the American economy.

Industries like agriculture, meat processing and hospitality are heavily dependent on labor from undocumented immigrants. Removing immigrants would raise costs for companies and prices for consumers.

Undocumented immigrants also pay billions of dollars a year in taxes and pump billions more into the U.S. economy by consumer spending.
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)  President-elect Donald Trump is gearing up to name more cabinet selections this week.

It comes as some members of Congress are questioning whether some of his previous picks can get past the Senate confirmation process.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are lining up to condemn or defend many of President-elect Trumps cabinet picks.

President-elect Trump may have been front row at a UFC event over the weekend but the real fight for him is on Capitol Hill over some of his controversial cabinet picks.

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They are people who will shake up the status quo, said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

Former congressman Matt Gaetz, Trumps choice for attorney general is facing backlash. Gaetz resigned two days before a scathing House ethics report about him was set to be released.

California Democratic Senator-elector Adam Schiff says the report should be released.

There are credible allegations. He was involved in child sex trafficking, said Schiff.

House Speaker Mike Johnson says releasing the report would open a Pandoras box.

The House Ethics Committees jurisdiction does not extend to nonmembers of Congress, said Johnson.

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Another pick facing security is Army National Guard veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth, nominated by Trump to lead the Department of Defense.

There is deep concern, said Senator-elect Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.)

There are still a number of key cabinet position that Trump hasnt announced. More names are expected to be released this week.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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President-elect Donald Trump's plan to execute mass deportations of immigrants in the U.S. illegally will involve the military and a national emergency declaration, he confirmed Monday.

In a Nov. 8 post on Trump's social media platform Truth Social, Tom Fitton, who leads the conservative legal group Judicial Watch, wrote: "GOOD NEWS: Reports are the incoming @RealDonaldTrump administration prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program."

Trump responded early Monday: "TRUE!!!"

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Read more: With deportations at the top of Trump's list, California immigrants 'prepare for the worst'

Asked for more details of the plan, Trump transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that "President Trump will marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation of illegal criminals, drug dealers, and human traffickers in American history."

Advocates for immigrants, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have said they are prepared to respond with legal action.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the left-leaning American Immigration Council, cautioned that there is no national emergency authority permitting the U.S. to carry out deportations.

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During his first term, Trump bypassed Congress to divert Pentagon funds to expand the border wall by declaring a national emergency. President Biden terminated the emergency order just after he took office in 2021.

Reichlin-Melnick said he doesn't take Trumps response to Fitton's post as confirmation that U.S. military troops will be deployed to carry out deportations. Troops have previously been used to provide logistical support at the border, but they haven't been directly involved in rounding up migrants.

This is my recollection of the last four years of the Trump administration  they say a lot of things and when the actual policy rolls out, it often looks quite different," he said.

More broadly, Trump and his allies have conflated discussion of recently arrived migrants with the broader population of longtime undocumented immigrants, said Reichlin-Melnick.

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One potential wrench in Trump's mass deportation plan: Anyone who was released by border authorities into the U.S. during the last four years is already facing removal proceedings and cannot be removed until that often years-long process concludes. As of last month, immigration courts have a record 1.5 million pending asylum cases.

Deportations would also target immigrants who entered the country long before Biden took office.

"They tend to suggest that really all theyre talking about is criminals and recent arrivals when really thats just a small portion of the undocumented population," Reichlin-Melnick said.

Mass deportations were one of Trump's top campaign promises  he said he would go after at least 15 million people who are in the U.S. illegally, though the total number of undocumented immigrants is probably lower. During his last presidency, Trump deported about 1.5 million immigrants, according to a Migration Policy Institute analysis of federal figures, which the Biden administration is on pace to match.

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Finding, detaining and deporting that many people would be costly and logistically challenging. On the campaign trail, Trump said his strategy would rely on military troops, friendly state and local law enforcement and wartime powers.

Read more: Trump says he'll undertake the 'largest deportation' in U.S. history. Can he do that?

The ACLU Foundation of Southern California on Monday filed a lawsuit against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seeking records that would reveal how the agency's Air Operations  its network of for-profit, commercial and privately chartered deportation flights  could be expanded to carry out a mass deportation program. The lawsuit says the secrecy surrounding the agency's air operations has "masked responsibility for serious abuses and danger" on flights.

Trump chose Tom Homan, previously the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to oversee deportations as his "border czar." Homan promised to resume workplace immigration raids and prioritize immigrants who pose threats to public safety and national security for deportation.

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Trump also appointed South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who has little experience with the Department of Homeland Security, to lead the agency. Trump's longtime advisor Stephen Miller, who was behind much of his first term's immigration agenda, will continue to play a role as deputy chief of policy.

Homan has said the administration will deport people who have been handed final removal orders by immigration judges. In fiscal year 2023, immigration agents removed 142,580 of the nearly 1.3 million people subject to those orders, according to federal figures.

CNN's Jake Tapper asked House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday whether Americans are prepared for the economic disruption that deporting millions of people would cause, as well as the resulting images of families being ripped apart. Experts have predicted that mass deportations would cause labor shocks across key industries, including construction and agriculture, drive up grocery prices, and cause economic hardship for U.S. citizen children and others who lose a breadwinner.

"I'm not sure that's what's going to happen, Jake," Johnson replied. "I think what the president's talking about is beginning with the dangerous persons that we know are here. ... So you start with that number, you've got by some counts as many as 3 or 4 million people that fit that category."

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There were 662,566 people with pending criminal charges or convictions on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's national docket as of July 21, according to a letter to Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) from Patrick Lechleitner, the agency's acting director. Some have been listed for decades because their country of citizenship wont let the U.S. deport them back. Others are still serving jail or prison sentences for their crimes.

Tapper said Trump's promise wasn't just to get rid of criminals  it was to get rid of all undocumented immigrants.

"I'm not sure what the specific promise is," Johnson replied. "I know the president said that he wanted to engage in the largest deportation effort probably in history, because that is what is called for."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Former President Donald Trump is the president-elect. He is also a convicted felon, thanks to a jury verdict after a trial in New York state court for a hush money conspiracy before he became president the first time.

Normally, a president-elect gets access to highly classified information, including a version of the Presidents Daily Brief on intelligence. And the sitting president has more access and authority over the nations secrets than anyone else.

A criminal conviction, however, is a long-standing disqualifier for holding a security clearance  a license to access national security secrets, including documents marked Top Secret. Just being charged criminally can mean denial or loss of clearance too.

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Trump also was criminally charged in Georgia state court and the Washington, D.C., federal court in relation to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and he was criminally charged in federal court in Florida for obstruction of justice and wrongful retention of a trove of highly sensitive documents after his first term ended.

This dilemma is one that I, as a law professor who teaches and writes about secrecy and who earlier in my career handled classified information while working for the U.S. intelligence community and a U.S. Senate committee, would never have expected.

The good news is that the law has clear answers.

Access because of his elected position

Those answers start with this legal certainty: Presidents get access to classified information because of the office they hold, not because they meet criteria in executive orders and administrative rules. The president technically does not even have a clearance. Practically and legally speaking, the president also sits at the apex of the executive branchs massive secrecy apparatus.

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Therefore, because Trump was elected to a second term, he will again have expansive access to classified information and control over it as of noon on Jan. 20, 2025, when his term begins. He will also have control over secrets and clearances available to others. The American electorate made that decision.

Before Trump again takes office, his access to classified information is in the hands of the current and outgoing president, Joe Biden. Typically, a sitting president authorizes the major party nominees, including their opponent if the incumbent is running, to have access to classified briefings during the campaign. Although U.S. intelligence officials had planned to do the usual briefings this year despite Trumps criminal record, Trump refused them. He said he worried that the briefers would leak them and blame him.

Now that the election has been decided, reports indicate that Trump will begin receiving intelligence briefings.

It is not yet completely clear, but Trumps election does appear to be pushing aside his numerous criminal cases. In New York state court, the judge is considering whether to dismiss the case in which he has already been convicted. And the Georgia state case may face years of delay. Because of the Justice Departments long-standing policy against prosecuting a sitting president, special prosecutor Jack Smith is moving to abandon both federal cases and resign in advance of Trumps threat to fire him.

The US secrecy system

Most U.S. government employees and contractors do not have or need a security clearance. But those whose jobs involve handling sensitive information must apply for clearance. If their record suggests trustworthiness, they can receive permission to access one or more of the several levels of classified information, including Confidential, Secret and Top Secret.

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Federal investigators carefully screen applicants for national security positions and security clearances. To assess a candidates trustworthiness, investigators interview the candidate, review their application and search databases. Some investigations involve a polygraph of the candidate and interviews of people they know. Once a clearance is granted, investigators continue to monitor clearance holders.

Key factors the investigators consider include loyalty to the United States, respect for rules and the rule of law, psychological stability, good judgment and good character in terms of trustworthiness and integrity. Substance abuse, marital infidelity or financial problems can suggest poor judgment and vulnerability to blackmail or other kinds of coercion.

The presidents broad power

The president oversees the countrys entire national security secrecy system. The president has the authority to read all classified documents, to classify and declassify almost any piece of information and to oversee the security clearance system. There is no other government official who decides whether the president should have access to the nations secrets.

The Supreme Court has held that authority over classification and clearances flows in part from the power the Constitution gives the president. In a dangerous international security environment, the president needs to be able to know secret information about foreign threats, communicate confidentially with foreign colleagues and subordinates, and act with what Alexander Hamilton called in the Federalist Papers secrecy, and dispatch.

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Like the president, members of Congress get access to classified information by virtue of election, not by going through the regular security clearance process.

Stacks of boxes containing government documents sit in the ballroom of Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. U.S. Department of Justice via Getty Images

Normally, Trump wouldnt get clearance

The dilemma is obvious: Trump will lead a national security enterprise that surely would have denied him a security clearance if he had to follow the rules that apply to his former and future subordinates.

If someone has a criminal indictment or conviction, or a civil judgment involving fraud, they generally cannot get clearance. Such a court record suggests disrespect for the law, dishonesty and problems following rules, which are integral to protecting classified information.

No reasonable background investigator would ignore the staggering evidence against Trump if he were to apply in the normal way.

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Under the commonly used SMICE rubric, for example, Trump is all red flags. SMICE stands for categories of temptations to put personal interests over ones obligations to the nation and to protect classified information: sex, money, ideology, crime and contraband, and ego.

First, sex: There is extensive evidence that Trump committed sexual misconduct. Trumps conviction on 34 felony counts resulted from prosecutors at trial convincing the jury of what Trump continues to deny: his participation in a conspiracy to falsify business records to facilitate hush money payments to a porn star with whom Trump had sex in 2008 while he was married and his wife was pregnant.

Even marital infidelity on its own can endanger a clearance, because it suggests disloyalty and deception. It creates a dirty secret, creating a risk of blackmail. The public record contains considerable evidence of Trumps misconduct and infidelity. In recent civil cases, the writer E. Jean Carroll won judgments against Trump for sexually assaulting her in the 1980s and making knowing harmful false statements about it. There are other credible allegations, as well. In 2005, Trump bragged on tape about his sexual assaults, saying that he will just start kissing women without consent, and that when you are famous they let you do anything.

Second, one of the most common reasons for clearance denial or suspension is credit card debt or other financial problems. They create a motive for taking bribes or doing business deals in exchange for leaking secrets or other disloyalty.

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Trumps businesses have recorded six bankruptcies. A US$450 million fraud judgment from February 2024 has put Trumps finances in jeopardy. There is credible evidence that his business finances have been linked with foreign governments, particularly Russia.

Third, there is abundant evidence that Trump is a political extremist. Trump told a violent militia before the 2020 election to stand back and stand by. The U.S. House Jan. 6 committee found in 2022 that Trump was part of a multi-part conspiracy to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election, an effort that included the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol spearheaded by that same militia, the Proud Boys. Even Trumps own White House chief of staff, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and secretary of defense have warned that Trump fits the definition of a fascist, meaning he is a violent authoritarian and a threat to democracy.

On contraband, the Justice Department presented overwhelming evidence that Trump knowingly retained thousands of pages of classified documents after the end of his term in office  at which point his authority to have them expired  and opposed lawful government efforts to retrieve them. That case was later dismissed for other reasons.

A White House staffer holds a folder with secret documents for President Barack Obama at the White House in 2009. Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images

Finally, ego: The public record is awash with testimonials from people who have worked closely with Trump that he is a narcissist. Although that kind of mental health assessment can be problematic for nonprofessionals to make without a formal assessment, the common claim here is that Trump has a grandiose sense of self-importance. Critics, including former colleagues, say he expects special treatment, avoids accountability and is so self-absorbed that he cannot act responsibly or with appropriate empathy.

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For all of these reasons, there is no question: If he were treated like anyone else, Trump would never get clearance.

But the voters have decided to restore Trump to the White House and in the process again invest him with the central role in the governments massive secrecy apparatus. That was their choice. It was an unusually informed one, too, thanks to the various court cases and other evidence in the public record. Appropriately, the Biden administration has respected the electorates judgment by moving to provide classified briefings during this presidential transition period.

This is a revised and updated version of an article originally published July 9, 2024.

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: Dakota Rudesill, The Ohio State University

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Dakota Rudesill is registered to vote in the primaries as a Democrat. During his life, he has voted for -- and at various points has also made campaign contributions to and/or worked for -- Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Also, while in government service Prof. Rudesill held a high-level security clearance. In his professional work as a legal academic, he focuses on non-partisan constitutional, civic, and professional ethics values.
(Bloomberg) -- The Manhattan prosecutor who won the only criminal conviction of Donald Trump faces a Tuesday deadline to say how he thinks the case should proceed in light of the former presidents reelection.

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Whether the so-called hush money case proceeds to sentencing, gets delayed for four years or is simply dismissed outright is an open question hanging over the president-elect. Judge Juan Merchan asked for District Attorney Alvin Braggs recommendation last week after the election results dragged an already unprecedented case into even murkier legal waters.

Trump faces as long as four years in prison after a jury in May found him guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to payments to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election. But his lawyers are moving quickly to toss out the case as well as three other federal and state criminal prosecutions before his inauguration in January.

The New York hush money case, however, might prove the most difficult to resolve because of the jury verdict.

A jurys determination of guilt is somewhat sacrosanct, said Rebecca Roiphe, a professor at New York Law School who is also a former Manhattan state prosecutor. To throw out the verdict, there has to be some glaring impropriety or problem with the evidence or some other misconduct. It does happen, but its extremely rare.

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A spokesman for Braggs office declined to comment and a lawyer for Trump didnt immediately return a message. While the deadline for the motion is 10 a.m. Tuesday, it can take hours or even days for the filing to be released to the public.

The Manhattan case has been at a standstill since the election. Merchan put off a decision to rule on a request to dismiss the case on Presidential immunity grounds until at least Tuesday and the sentencing of Trump, which had been scheduled for Nov. 26, is also in limbo.

Strong Reasons

Lawyers for Trump, 78, argue that his reelection gives strong reasons to pause the sentencing or even dismiss the case to avoid unconstitutional impediments related to his ability to govern when he takes office. Trump has always denied the charges, saying they were part of a political witch hunt.

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The president-elect is having more success with the other prosecutions against him.

The Justice Department and the special counsel overseeing the federal criminal cases against Trump are already preparing to drop the case against the president-elect before he is sworn in to comply with a department policy that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted, officials said.

A case in Georgia was already on hold while an appellate court reviewed whether the DA there should be disqualified because of her relationship with another prosecutor. An appellate court hearing on the disqualification issue scheduled for Dec. 5 was canceled Monday without explanation.

Cheryl Bader, a professor at Fordham Law School in New York, said that it is more likely the sentencing in the New York case is postponed until after Trump leaves office, rather than the case being thrown out.

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Messy Business

The DAs office put a lot of resources into a well-investigated and well-tried case with strong evidence of guilt and a decisive jury verdict on all counts, Bader said. I dont think they would roll-over simply because Trump won reelection. However, sentencing an incoming president is messy business.

If Bragg argues the case should proceed and Merchan rejects Trumps request to throw out the case, there will likely be more legal maneuvers that end up in a series of appeals that will likely go all the way to the Supreme Court.

I cant imagine thats where this all ends, Roiphe said.

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(Adds delay in Georgia case in 11th paragraph.)

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(Bloomberg) -- President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as its chair, he said in a statement.

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Carr has served at the agency since 2012, including as an adviser to a later chair, Ajit Pai, and has worked as its general counsel. Trump during his first presidency nominated Carr to serve as a commissioner in 2017.

Commissioner Carr is a warrior for Free Speech, and has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans Freedoms, and held back our Economy, Trump said in a statement.

The commission, an independent agency overseen by Congress, regulates interstate and international communications and implements and enforces US communications law and regulations.

In a statement after Trumps election victory, Carr highlighted his priorities, saying that the agency should have a an important role to play reining in Big Tech, ensuring that broadcasters operate in the public interest, and unleashing economic growth.

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He reiterated those points in a chapter for the Heritage Foundations Project 2025 manifesto seeking to influence policy in the second Trump administration. Carr recommended that the FCC limit the scope of Section 230 of the Communications Act to crack down on what conservatives perceive as Big Tech content-moderation abuses.

Carr has aligned himself publicly with Elon Musk, traveling to Texas to attend a rocket launch for SpaceX, the billionaires space exploration company. Since joining the FCC, he has also advocated for it to be technology neutral when it allocates broadband subsidy funding, making more room for satellite providers to compete alongside wired internet providers for federal broadband dollars.

In a December 2023 interview with the podcast This Week in Startups, Carr suggested that a way to get internet to areas that lack access is to subsidize the cost of Musks satellite internet provider. You just cut everybody a coupon for $600, which is effectively the price of a Starlink dish, mail that coupon to everybody and call it a day, Carr said.

Carr has also said video-sharing platform TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance Ltd., should be banned in the US. Trump tried to ban TikTok through an executive order during his last presidency but has now suggested he opposes a ban.

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During Carrs tenure, he has advocated for streamlining regulations to speed 5G infrastructure builds and partnered with organizations to draw more people into the telecom infrastructure workforce. He also leads a telehealth initiative for low-income Americans and veterans, according to the agency.

Carr graduated from Georgetown University and then the Catholic University of Americas Columbus School of Law before clerking for federal appeals Judge Dennis Shedd. He then spent more than six years at Wiley Rein LLP, a well-known telecom law firm in Washington.

He was a brilliant advisor and General Counsel and has been a superb Commissioner, and Im confident he will be a great FCC Chairman, Pai wrote on X.

--With assistance from Natalie Choy, Dana Hull, Meghashyam Mali and Joshua Green.

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(Updates with Carr quote in eighth paragraph. An earlier version corrected Ajit Pais tenure as chair.)

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Donald Trump is refusing to back down over his Cabinet picks in the first clash in an epic battle he will wage against Washington when he takes office next year.

The coming days will show whether Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hegseth and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have staying power for confirmation fights in the new Republican Senate over their assignments to safeguard the rule of law, the US intelligence community, the military, and the health and well-being of all Americans.

Each of the most provocative selections is facing criticism that they lack the expertise and experience to run the vast, specialized bureaucracies that would be under their control.

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And debate over their prospects is intensifying following fresh revelations and allegations about their pasts, which will set up a test for Trumps intention to wield what he regards as almost uncheckable power from the Oval Office.

CNN reported this weekend that Hegseth, Trumps pick for defense secretary, paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault in a settlement agreement that included a confidentiality clause, according to Hegseths attorney. The Fox News anchor has denied assaulting the woman, according to the attorney, and was not charged in any criminal case or named as a defendant in any civil lawsuit in connection with the 2017 incident. The initial sexual assault allegation against Hegseth had caught Trumps team off guard last week, after the president-elect had already picked him.

Intrigue also deepened over a House Ethics Committee investigation into Gaetz, the potential attorney general, after a lawyer who represents two of the witnesses in the probe said Friday that one of his clients saw the Florida Republican, who resigned from Congress last week, having sex with a minor. Gaetz denies any wrongdoing, including ever having sex with a minor or paying for sex. He was not charged after a Department of Justice investigation.

There is also growing scrutiny over Gabbards suitability for the job of director of national intelligence because of her positions that sometimes amplified the propaganda of one of the covert communitys top adversaries  Russia.

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And some senior medical experts are raising concerns over the qualifications of Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, to safeguard generations of medical advances as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, even though his outspokenness against processed food has found support among many top physicians.

Not all of Trumps picks are causing uproar. The selection of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to serve as secretary of state has won praise on both sides of the aisle. But in a conventional administration, controversies raging around at least four key Cabinet picks would be seen as a disaster.

Trump is adamant hes not going to give in as he seeks people who will fulfill his goals of tearing down the Washington establishment in a second term he pledged to devote to retribution. A source told CNN over the weekend that Trump sees Gaetz as his most important pick. The president-elect wants the former Florida congressman confirmed 100%, the source said. He is not going to back off. Hes all in.

Johnson tells CNN that releasing Gaetz ethics report would open a Pandoras box

Trump has called on the Senate to, if necessary, cooperate with him to make recess appointments if the picks cannot be confirmed. Using such a move as a first resort rather than a final one, as has happened in the past, would be a sign that Trump, with a compliant GOP, plans to bypass the constitutional checks and balances of Congress and act with sweeping, unrestrained authority as president.

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The outcome of the coming showdown will depend on whether Republican senators are willing to abrogate their own power to vet nominees and will cave under the furious political pressure that is certain to be trained on them by the Make America Great Again movement. The issue represents the first political crisis to confront South Dakota Sen. John Thune, who will take over as Republican Senate majority leader next year. And even if senators take a stand over one or two nominees they view as unqualified, its unlikely they will deal a defeat to the new president by throwing out all of the most provocative picks, meaning that some of them are almost certain to take jobs atop key government departments.

The storm over Trumps picks is deepening as the president-elect is working to complete his future governing team with positions such as treasury secretary and US trade representative  who will be critical to carrying out his populist trade and economic policies  still outstanding.

Gaetz  a pyrotechnical politician who made his name with his outspoken support for Trump and a series of political stunts  is attracting the most attention in part because of his decision to quit the House just days before the Ethics Committee was expected to release its report. Without him being a sitting member of Congress, the investigation will end with the report still under wraps, despite some GOP senators requesting to see what is in it.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNNs Jake Tapper on State of the Union on Sunday that releasing the report would open a Pandoras box since Gaetz had left Congress, even though such action would not be unprecedented. The Senate has a role, the advise-and-consent role, under the Constitution, and they will perform it, the Louisiana Republican said. They will have a rigorous review and vetting process in the Senate, but they dont need to rely upon a report, or a draft report, a rough draft report, that was prepared by the Ethics Committee for its very limited purposes. Johnson also said he had not discussed the matter with Trump.

The president-elects son explains the plan

Gaetz and several other Trump picks have caused consternation in some circles given the questions about their qualifications and past behavior.

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I think the whole point with these nominees, several of them, is their un-qualification, is their affirmative disqualification, Sen.-elect Adam Schiff said on State of the Union on Sunday. Thats Trumps point, because what he wants to do with these nominees is establish that the Congress of the United States will not stand up to him with anything, the California Democrat said. If they will confirm Matt Gaetz, they will do anything he wants.

Rep. Jim Himes, a Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, warned Sunday that Republican senators should look to their legacies and not to Trump. These people are manifestly unqualified, and theyre not prepared to run the very complicated organizations they have been asked to run, the Connecticut Democrat said on CBS Face the Nation. He added: A Republican senator who takes a vote to consent to the appointment of Matt Gaetz  a chaos agent, a performative social media, no-respect-for-the-rule-of-law individual  the Republican senator who votes to confirm Matt Gaetz or Robert Kennedy or Tulsi Gabbard will be remembered by history as somebody who completely gave up their responsibility to Donald Trump.

Trump on the campaign trail made no secret of his plans if he won a second term. Many of his most committed supporters regard the federal government as a liberal deep state that has failed to respond to their needs. Trump, moreover, is still seething over the establishments attempts to rein him in during his first White House term. So selecting Cabinet picks who are seen as unqualified to lead their departments may be an attempt to deal a blow against the credibility of government in itself.

The strategy was explained by the president-elects son Donald Trump Jr. on Sunday Morning Futures on Fox Business. The reality this time is, we actually know what were doing. We actually know who the good guys and the bad guys are. We know who the guys who are fake, he said. Its about surrounding my father with people who are both competent and loyal. They will deliver on his promises. They will deliver on his message. They are not people who think they know better, as unelected bureaucrats.

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Trump Jr. also suggested that the uproar surrounding some of Trumps picks was exactly why he chose them and that it proves their authenticity. A lot of them are going to face pushback, for the same reasons. Again, they are going to be actual disrupters. Thats what the American people want.

It would take a handful of Republican senators to block the most provocative Trump nominees early next year, given that Democrats are likely to vote en masse against them. But several GOP senators made clear Sunday they had no problems with the people Trump has picked to staff the government.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin has a long-standing personal feud with Gaetz and has in the past held his behavior in contempt. But the Oklahoma Republican said on NBCs Meet the Press that he would give Gaetz a fair shot. He added: Ive got a tough situation.  Ive got to set my personal situation with Matt to the side and look at the facts. If hes qualified, hes qualified.

Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt said he believed Trumps nominees would get confirmed. You have to have people you trust to go into these agencies and have a real reform agenda. And thats why I think theres real momentum, real momentum to get these nominations confirmed, he said on Sunday Morning Futures.

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On the same show, however, another Trump ally, Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, warned there was hard work ahead in the confirmation process but praised Gaetz as a fighter who was loyal to the president-elect. We have got the numbers. Lets step to the plate, do our job, because we have to get this country back going in the right direction. President Trump only has a short period of time. Four years is not long.

Across the aisle, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman looked ahead to those four years and urged Democrats to acknowledge the big picture rather than playing into Trumps hands over every controversy. He said on State of the Union that the picks of Gaetz and some others were just absolute trolls that fit Trumps purposes. He gets the kind of thing that he wanted, like the freak-out.  If were having meltdowns every tweet or every appointment or all those things, I mean, its going to be four years.

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Donald Trump has sweeping plans for his second term, and they include slashing and gutting large parts of the executive branch.

Speaking with Fox Newss Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Trumps nominated co-chair for the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, Vivek Ramaswamy outlined the massive agenda, revealing that the plan is akin toor possibly more extreme thanthe road map offered by Project 2025. Ramaswamy proposed that several government agencies under his helm would be deleted outright.

Are you expecting to close down entire agencies? Like, President Trump has talked about the Department of Education, for example. Are you going to be closing down departments? Bartiromo asked.

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We expect mass reductions, said Ramaswamy. We expect certain agencies to be deleted outright. We expect mass reductions enforced in areas of the federal government that are bloated. We expected massive cuts of our federal contractors and others who are overbilling the federal government.

And Ramaswamy believes that he and his fellow departmental co-chair, worlds richest man Elon Musk, can expedite those changes by leaning on the highest rungs of the third branch of government: the Supreme Court.

I think people will be surprised by how quickly were able to move with some of those changes, given the legal backdrop the Supreme Court has given us, Ramaswamy told Fox.

BARTIROMO: Are you expecting to close down entire agencies? President Trump has talked about the Department of Education, for example



RAMASWAMY: We expect mass reductions. We expect certain agencies to be deleted outright. pic.twitter.com/PyavrKAHaX  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 17, 2024

From the Trump administrations perspective, the executive branch can overstep Congress entirely to swiftly remove agencies such as the Department of Education since they were first enacted by executive action.



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Its the unelected bureaucrats in the administrative state that was created through executive action, Ramaswamy said. Its going to be fixed through executive action.

Think about the Supreme Courts environment, he continued. Over the last several years, theyve held that many of those regulations are unconstitutional at a large scale. Rescind those regulations, pull those regs back, and then that gives us the industrial logic to then downsize the size of that administrative state.

After that, DOGE (the agency) would begin examining cuts to the budget. Reminder: Musk promised to trim $2 trillion from the federal budget, which constitutes more than Congress has in discretionary spending, a move that would practically defund the entire executive branch, which doles out funding for the military, national security, and federal agencies.

And the beauty of all of this is that [it] can be achieved just through executive action without Congress, Ramaswamy added. Score some early wins, and then you look at those bigger portions of the federal budget that need to be addressed one by one.
In his first 100 days, President-elect Donald Trump plans to begin the process of deporting hundreds of thousands of people. He is expected to end parole for people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. And he is likely to undo a policy that significantly constrained deportations for people who weren't deemed threats to public safety or national security.

Trumps team is already thinking about how to craft executive actions aimed to withstand the legal challenges from immigrants rights groups  all in hopes of avoiding an early defeat like the one his 2017 travel ban targeting majority-Muslim nations suffered. This time, Trump may have friendlier arbiters. These fights will be refereed by a federal judiciary that he transformed during his first term, including by appointing more than 200 federal judges himself. And at the very top  the ultimate decider of these questions  is the Supreme Court, to which he appointed three conservative justices.

But legal fights arent the only long-term challenge Trumps ambitious immigration agenda will face. The logistical challenges of mass deportation are a little harder to predict. The speed at which Trump could remake deportation policy depends on surmounting tactical challenges like expanding detention capacity and cutting through a massive immigration court backlog.

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Trump has already tapped South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who has little experience with the Department of Homeland Security, to lead the sprawling agency. From inside the White House, Stephen Miller, widely seen as the architect of Trumps first-term restrictionist agenda, has an expansive role over domestic policy. And Thomas Homan, a former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump, is returning to be the administration's border czar.



Through it all, Trumps immigration team will face intense and sustained scrutiny from the president himself.

Here are some of the immigration initiatives Trumps team is expected to roll out quickly, and the hurdles they could face:

Ramping up deportations

Trump campaigned on mass deportation  something that could affect large swaths of the 11 million people DHS estimates are in the U.S. without legal authorization.

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But deporting millions of people could run into some logistical problems. According to DHS, the largest number of yearly removals came in FY 2013 during the Obama administration, when more than 430,000 people were removed from the U.S.

Trumps advisers have indicated they would prioritize people with criminal convictions and final removal orders for deportation. In 2022, according to the pro-immigration American Immigration Council, about 1.19 million people had those orders  meaning their cases had worked their way through immigration court and judges decided they must leave. Just removing the people in that category could take years.

Finding, detaining and removing those people would be resource-intensive, said John Sandweg, acting director of ICE from 2013 to 2014. Detention capacity alone would be a costly and immediate challenge. Lawmakers need to appropriate the funding, and even if they do, the administration would need to hire, vet and train more officers  no easy feat.

ICE currently employs 7,000 officers who conduct 250,000 deportations a year, according to the agency. If Trumps administration wanted to quadruple this number, as Trump has promised, training academies couldnt handle a deluge of new hires.

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It is just a resource game, but its a hard game to play, Sandweg said.

Regardless of the hurdles and impediments, Trump has been unequivocal.

Its not a question of a price tag. Its not  really, we have no choice, he told NBC News on Thursday. When people have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed countries, and now theyre going to go back to those countries because theyre not staying here. There is no price tag.

Ending parole for people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela

Another Biden administration program thats likely to end fast: a special visa-free humanitarian parole process for some residents of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The Biden administration, to discourage migrants from trying to cross the border illegally, offered a way for some people from these countries to enter the country legally if they were vetted and had an American-based sponsor. As of August, nearly 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans had traveled to the U.S. via the program and were granted permission to live and work in the U.S. for two years.

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Trump, meanwhile, campaigned on expelling many of them. Over the summer, he spread baseless claims that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, were eating peoples pets. And he promised to revoke Haitians eligibility for Temporary Protected Status  another program that shields some people from countries with unsafe conditions from deportation and grants them work permits. Many Haitians can work in the U.S. legally because of TPS, a tool that has been used to shield migrants from deportation since 1990.

All that stuff is going to end very fast, almost immediately, said Dan Stein of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a restrictionist group.

Steins group is closely allied with Trump's team and became a feeder for personnel during the first Trump administration.

They basically hired half our staff, he said.

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Mark Krikorian, of the restrictionist Center for Immigration Studies, agreed that the temporary provision of TPS work documents to people from certain countries deemed dangerous would likely be constricted dramatically.

Currently, DHS makes this program available to people from 16 countries, including El Salvador, Ukraine, Syria, Somalia and Haiti. During Trumps first term, his administration tried to end TPS status for more than 300,000 people. But immigrants sued, arguing the move was made out of racial animus. They secured a nationwide injunction that lasted through the Trump administration.

Rolling back the Mayorkas memo

Early in the Biden administration, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a memo laying out priorities for which immigrants to deport. It emphasized people who threaten national security and public safety, and it directed ICE officers to learn the totality of the facts and circumstances about criminal convictions before deciding whether to deport someone  rather than solely using a conviction as a basis for deportation.

Immigration restrictionists expect that guidance will be one of the first things to go.

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That stuffs going to end obviously, right away, said Krikorian, whose work was frequently cited by the first Trump administration.

Another person close to Trumps transition, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, said Mayorkas memo could be revoked as soon as Day One, possibly as part of a broader package of executive actions intended to reduce bureaucratic hurdles that impede deportations.

Deactivating the CBP One app

The Biden administration rolled out a mobile phone application called CBP One that migrants could use to set up appointments to seek asylum. While Democrats hoped it would create more order around the border, Republicans said the initiative was a way to rush in people who shouldnt be allowed to enter the United States. Amnesty International, meanwhile, said it violates international law by restraining where and how people could seek asylum. Either way, under Trump, according to the person close to the transition, its likely toast.

Ramping up immigration diplomacy

Another tool the Trump administration may use quickly is threats to countries that resist repatriating unwanted migrants.

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One challenge for rapid deportations is that the home countries of many migrants  particularly those convicted of violent crimes  dont always want to take them back. So those people sometimes stay in jails or immigration detention centers in the U.S. indefinitely. To pressure those countries, the U.S. government can threaten to restrict visas for certain categories of applicants.

The Trump and Obama administrations both deployed this option because of this recalcitrance. But the Biden administration has not. In the first 100 days, Trumps immigration team will likely assess which countries they deem most problematic and decide whether to threaten sanctions.

I think youre going to see a significant increase and youre going to see it early, Krikorian said. Im pretty certain it would be in the first hundred days  theres no reason youd wait three months to do something.

The moves would require cooperation from the State Department, which issues visas. So Trumps immigration-focused advisers will likely ensure that candidates for top roles at State are simpatico with the administrations immigration policy  and Sen. Marco Rubio is widely expected to be Trump's pick for secretary of State.

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Thats going to be a condition for their appointment, said Jessica Vaughan, also of the Center for Immigration Studies. Theyre not going to appoint someone and want to be surprised later on  I dont know, were not going to play our role. Its in the job description.

Trump has also said he would restore his Remain in Mexico policy  officially called Migrant Protection Protocols  that required some asylum-seekers to stay south of the U.S.-Mexican border while they await immigration court hearings. But this will require the Trump administration to reach a deal with Mexico to restart the program.

CORRECTION: This article originally misdescribed the origins of the TPS program.
Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of President-elect Trump, claimed the Biden administration is trying to cause World War 3 by helping Ukraine in its war with Russia.

The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives, Trump Jr. posted on the social platform X. Gotta lock in those $Trillions. Life be dammed!!! Imbeciles!

He posted just after President Biden authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles inside Russia.

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About 10,000 North Korean troops are aiding Russia in its war and expect to fight in Ukraine in the next several weeks.

Bidens postelection authorization renewed the question of whether Trumps administration would be as supportive of Ukraine as Bidens has been.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told a Ukrainian media outlet in an interview published Saturday that he thinks the Russia-Ukraine war will end faster under Trump.

Over the weekend, Russia launched a massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine in what is being seen as the largest barrage in recent months, officials said.

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Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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President-elect Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., ridiculed U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to authorize Kyiv's use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia.

According to media reports, Biden authorized the decision on Nov. 17, marking a significant shift in U.S. policy. Unnamed U.S. officials, as well as a source familiar with the decision, who spoke to Reuters following the decision said that Kyiv plans to conduct its first long-range strikes in the coming days.

While reposting a news item of the policy change on X, Trump Jr. referred to the Biden administration as "imbeciles" for allowing the decision to go forward.

The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives.

Gotta lock in those $Trillions.

Life be damned!!! Imbeciles! https://t.co/ZzfwnhBxRh  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) November 17, 2024

"The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives," Trump Jr. wrote.

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President-elect Trump has repeatedly criticized U.S. aid to Ukraine, calling President Volodymyr Zelensky "the greatest salesman on earth" and vowing to get the U.S. "out" of the war as soon as possible. Trump also led congressional Republicans to obstruct aid to Kyiv in a drawn-out legislative battle while Ukrainians on the front lines suffered an ammunition shortage.

While Donald Trump Jr. does not hold a formal position within his father's White House transition team, President-elect Trump has been known to regularly consult family members on a number policy decisions.

Trump Jr. has previously taunted Ukrainian officials on social media, having shared an Instagram clip on Nov. 10 mocking President Volodymyr Zelensky and indicating that Ukraine would soon lose aid from the United States.

Another incoming Trump administration official, billionaire Elon Musk, also mocked on Nov. 16 Zelensky for saying that Ukraine is an independent country that cannot be forced to "sit and listen."

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It was not immediately clear if President-elect Trump will reverse Biden's decision on Kyiv's use of long-range missiles as neither Trump nor his transition team have commented on the move.

Read also: Biden authorizes Ukraine to target Russia with US long-range missiles, media reports





Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Donald Trump has appointed an author of the controversial Project 2025 blueprint and critic of broadcaster bias as the head of the communications regulator.

Brendan Carr vowed to dismantle the censorship cartel after he was named the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, the government agency in charge of licensing radio and television networks.

Announcing the appointment, Mr Trump praised Mr Carr as a warrior for Free Speech and promised he would end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling Americas Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America.

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Responding to the promotion, Mr Carr vowed to dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights for everyday Americans.

CBS, ABC and NBC on the block

The appointment comes after the president-elect has threatened to revoke the licenses of major US broadcasters including CBS, ABC and NBC after levying a string of allegations about political bias.

Mr Trumps former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in 2017 the regulator has no authority to revoke licenses based on the content of a particular broadcast because it would violate First Amendment protections.

Last month, the current chair of the FCC, Jessica Rosenworce, said the agency does not and will not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage.

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Mr Carr, 45, who is currently the top Republican on the FCC, has previously indicated he supports Mr Trumps concerns about broadcaster bias.

After Kamala Harris appeared on Saturday Night Live in the days before the 2024 election, Mr Carr said the appearance was a clear and blatant effort to evade the rule thats designed to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct.

Credit: Saturday Night Live - SNL

NBC said it had given Mr Trump an equal timeslot after concerns were raised that Ms Harriss appearance violated election rules.

In recent months CBS News has been embroiled in several impartiality controversies.

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Mr Trump called for the networks broadcasting licence to be suspended after it was accused of editing a Kamala Harris interview to make her answer more succinct.

A CBS spokesperson denied these claims in a statement, branding them false.

CBS accused of anti-Israel bias

The network was also been rocked by accusations of anti-Israel bias following its censure of a Jewish presenter over an interview he conducted with a pro-Palestinian academic

Several CBS insiders came out to defend their colleague, including Shari Redstone, the chairman of CBSs parent company Paramount.

Ms Redstone said that it was a mistake for Mr Dokoupil to be rebuked for the interview, describing it as a model of civil discourse.

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Following his appointment, Mr Carr said broadcast media networks have had the privilege of using a scarce and valuable public resourceour airwaves.

Writing on X, he added: In turn, they are required by law to operate in the public interest. When the transition is complete, the FCC will enforce this public interest obligation.

Mr Carr, was first nominated for a position as commission by Mr Trump in 2017 and he has been confirmed in the Senate on three occasions.

Mr Carr wrote a chapter for the Heritage Foundations controversial Project 2025 agenda on his vision for the agency, which included proposals to reign in Big Tech.

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Elon Musk celebrated Mr Carrs appointment, responding to his post on X by writing based, a slang term meaning approval.

Mr Carr is an ally of Musks. In his Project 2025 plan he suggested the agency should expand rural broadband access by using technology including Musks SpaceX Starlink and Amazons Project Kuiper.

He also criticised the FCC for revoking $885million grant for in rural broadband subsidies for Starlink, claiming it was regulatory lawfare against one of the lefts top targets

Writing on X, Mr Carr also vowed to end the FCCs promotion of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion.

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The News

US President-elect Donald Trumps cabinet appointments have generated controversy domestically and in financial markets, as they face scrutiny even before the Senate confirmation process begins.

So far, Trump has reportedly said he will stand by his candidate for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, whose lawyer revealed that the nominee had paid a woman who accused him of sexual assault. Hegseth says the encounter was consensual.

A Republican senator also called for a confidential congressional ethics report into Trumps potential attorney general Matt Gaetz to be shared with senators who must vote on his appointment.

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Deutsche Bank, meanwhile, downgraded the pharmaceutical giant GSK to a Hold from a Buy, citing risks to its vaccine business as a result of Trumps nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary; Kennedy has repeatedly questioned the safety of vaccinations.

SIGNALS

Trump camp questions Hegseths nomination

Sources: CNN, Politico, Komsomolskaya Pravda, The New York Times

Some members of Trumps transition team have raised questions about Hegseths nomination after information about a sexual assault allegation emerged, CNN reported, with people close to Trump speculating that Hegseth could withdraw his name from the running. The pick has also raised questions within the Pentagon over Hegseths belief that women should not be in combat roles, his comments about firing the most senior US military officer, and his lack of leadership experience. Its unlikely this warrior will do much good for American power, a pro-Kremlin Russian newspaper wrote. Even so, Hegseths pick embodies the dissatisfaction with the Pentagon status quo that many veterans of the global war on terror share, a military reporter argued in The New York Times.

Attorney general choice faces rocky road to Senate confirmation

Sources: CNN, BBC

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Former Florida lawmaker Matt Gaetz, who Trump named as his attorney general, also faces a difficult pathway to Senate confirmation, with allegations of sexual misconduct and a congressional ethics probe complicating his prospects of securing a majority of Senate votes. Hes not going to get confirmed, staunch Trump ally Rep. Max Miller told CNN. It remains to be seen whether the congressional ethics report on Gaetzs alleged sexual misconduct and illicit drug use will be released publicly after he resigned from the House of Representatives last week, removing him from congressional jurisdiction. An attorney for one of the women who testified in the probe has called for the reports release, saying his client told the committee she had sex with Gaetz while she was in high school.

Trump makes cabinet picks at record pace

Sources: Axios, The New York Times, Politico

Trump has raced to staff his next government, making a record 12 cabinet-level appointments in the first 12 days after the election, Axios reported. That is five times faster than Biden made his first dozen picks, and four times faster than Trump himself did in 2016. The president-elect either has the best and most efficient transition ever, an expert on transitions told the outlet, or is blowing up all norms and making picks on the fly without vetting, research or Senate consultations. One still-open post is treasury secretary, with Trump reportedly rethinking his potential picks after growing frustrated with the jockeying between the top candidates. Other cabinet roles including the secretaries of commerce and labor have also yet to be announced.
President Bidens decision to allow Ukraines use of US long-range missiles in the Kursk region currently occupied by Ukrainian troops is welcome. But he does make Marshal Blucher, who famously arrived at the Battle of Waterloo at 4pm, look like an early bird. He could and should have made this decision last year.

As for Britain, we should have refused the Biden constraints on what Ukraine could do with the Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles that we have already given them. Now we must help as fast as we can. With rare decisiveness, Germany chickened out yesterday.

Apart from the fact that Mr Biden has only two months left in office, what seems to have prompted him to act more boldly is the arrival of 10,000 North Korean troops to fight on the Russian side in the Kursk region, standing behind Putins invasion. Their presence is such a blatant affront to international norms that even Sleepy Joe woke up. What happens next, of course, is largely a matter for Donald Trump, not for the now comprehensively defeated Democrats.

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The Trump camp have a theory that Ukraine is not a matter for them, but for Europe. They wish to concentrate their energies on confronting China.

In terms of burden-sharing, the Trumpists are quite right that the European part of Nato should be the main protectors of Ukraine. It is our persistent failure even to meet agreed levels of spending, let alone commit further, which has fed Mr Trumps almost pro-Putin rhetoric. In the Far East, America makes all the difference, and calls on Japan, South Korea and Australia, more than on us.

However, the North Korean presence in the middle of Europe is vivid proof that, from a joint European and American point of view, our interests do not divide clearly at some imaginary border roughly between Europe and Asia. The crazy and cruel regime in North Korea is a client state of China and a supplier of Russia. Kim Jong-uns exploited soldiery would not be turning up in Kursk if Xi Jinping were actively opposing their move.

Just before the current Ukraine war got going, China and Russia declared a friendship without limits (even though they hate one another). What they have in common is a determination to advance their respective empires and persecute minorities within them, and a detestation of democracy. The fall of Kyiv and Taipei would be welcome to Russia and China for similar reasons. Western weakness in support of one makes their task of subverting or invading both so much easier.

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Mr Trump seems to have a distasteful fondness for autocrats, but he also hates to lose. His chances of prevailing in his struggle against China are far weaker if he decides to let Russia win in Ukraine.

Extensions of life

As the Bill to permit assisted suicide gains more attention, it runs into more trouble  on safeguards, on co-opting of the NHS and the judiciary into the process of killing, and much more.

One safeguard of which the promoters of the Bill are proud is that assisted suicide will be allowed only if the terminally ill person has fewer than six months to live. It sounds reassuring but how can this be determined? Nowadays people are frequently told they have six months left but then live far longer. Wonder drugs can give welcome extensions of life.

If the Bill were passed, pressure would quickly grow to scrap the six-month upper limit. Some who could not get the medical certification of six months would complain that their right to assisted suicide was being denied.

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It is interesting that the person who is said to have inspired Sir Keir Starmer to support such legislation is a case in point. It was in January 2023 that Dame Esther Rantzen told the world she was suffering from cancer. In May 2023, she announced that she was at stage four, the worst. So she has now lived for over 18 months after her terminal diagnosis. This is tremendous news for her, her family and her many admirers but it is also evidence that doctors do not necessarily know what will happen next.

Trivial policing

Roger Hirst, a Conservative, is the Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex, whose force quizzed my colleague Allison Pearson about her tweet of a year ago. He defended the polices action on the grounds that it  inciting racial hatred  was a crime which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, more, he emphasised, than shoplifting and well ahead of most car theft.

Although Mr Hirst said he could not comment on individual cases, he seemed to be implying that Ms Pearson had committed it, or that there was a reasonable suspicion that she had.

Two points arise. The first is that if the Pearson tweet really does deserve seven years inside, the law of England has gone mad.

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The other is that, when speaking of Essex Police, Mr Hirst used the word we. That pronoun shows he has switched sides. Police and crime commissioners are elected, says the official government website, to make sure police meet the needs of the local community, not to make sure that they blindly defend the police.

The polices duty to investigate, which Mr Hirst cited, surely does not extend to complaints which are malicious, dotty or utterly trivial. The visit to the Pearson home took up hours on a Sunday (presumably on overtime pay). Did it really meet the needs of the local community?

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President-elect Trump nominated Brendan Carr as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

Carr has been working for the FCC since 2012.

He wrote the FCC chapter of Project 2025, which seeks to rescind Big Tech's content-moderation immunity.

President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday announced Brendan Carr was his pick for Federal Communications Commission chair.

Carr, who has worked at the FCC since 2012, is the senior Republican on the commission. He is also the author of the FCC chapter of Project 2025, the conservative playbook that's raised questions among Democrats and Republicans alike for pushing policies such as eliminating the Department of Education.

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In a Truth Social post announcing the nomination, Trump wrote that Carr is a "warrior for Free Speech."

"He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America's Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America," Trump added.

Carr thanked Trump for the nomination, writing on X that he is "humbled and honored to serve as Chairman of the FCC."

The role requires Senate approval. If Carr becomes the chairman of the FCC, he could institute big changes for Big Tech.

Carr's stance on Big Tech

In his Project 2025 chapter, Carr said that one of his four main goals for the FCC is "Reining in Big Tech."

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"The FCC has an important role to play in addressing the threats to individual liberty posed by corporations that are abusing dominant positions in the market. Nowhere is that clearer than when it comes to Big Tech and its attempts to drive diverse political viewpoints from the digital town square," he wrote.

"It is hard to imagine another industry in which a greater gap exists between power and accountability," he added.

Carr outlined several steps for the FCC to take, including publicizing a new stance on the law's approach to Section 230, a part of the Communications Act of 1934.

Section 230 states that online service providers should not be legally treated as publishers of their users' posts and can't be held liable for any actions taken "in good faith" to moderate or censor inappropriate content.

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Carr said the FCC should push for limitations to those rules, which he said have been abused to give Big Tech corporations immunity on censorship. His interpretation of the section would give Big Tech immunity only against being compelled to take down content.

Ultimately, Carr has called for revamping Section 230 as a whole in favor of a set of antidiscrimination rules that would prevent companies from censoring posts, with exceptions for illegal content like child sex-abuse images.

In place, consumers should be allowed to choose their own fact-checkers and filters, Carr said.

He proposed that Big Tech firms be compelled to publicly disclose their traffic and monetization algorithms, saying they now operate in a "black box."

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Carr also said that Big Tech firms should start contributing to the Universal Service Fund, a billion-dollar program run by the FCC that helps underprivileged communities get access to telecommunications services.

Carr supports a ban on TikTok

Carr's Project 2025 chapter called for further decoupling the US tech industry from China's.

Raising concerns about US national security, Carr called for a ban on TikTok, saying it gives China an opportunity to influence how millions of Americans get their news and information.

He also called for the US to expand its Covered List, which tracks foreign tech companies deemed a risk to national security, and to prevent American firms from providing cloud-computing services to China.

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Carr wrote that the US should publish a list of FCC-approved organizations in which "foreign adversarial governments," such as China, Russia, and Iran, have a 10% or more ownership stake.

He said the US should contribute another $3 billion in federal funding to help companies that use Chinese tech find and integrate alternatives.

Carr also advocated for increased accountability measures for federal tech programs and a push to develop 5G infrastructure.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A fracking site in Greeley, Colorado. (Andy Bosselman for Colorado Newsline)

Republican President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday he wants Chris Wright, a Colorado oil and gas executive who denies that the world faces a climate crisis, to serve the new administration as Department of Energy secretary.

Wright will also be a member of the Council of National Energy, the formation of which was announced Friday. Details on the council are scarce, but its widely viewed as a further indication that the Trump administration intends to boost domestic fossil fuel and other energy production.

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Chris will be a key leader, driving innovation, cutting red tape, and ushering in a new Golden Age of American Prosperity and Global Peace, a statement from the Trump transition team said.

The Energy Department oversees the nations nuclear infrastructure and energy policy. Wright, who grew up and still lives in Colorado, is the founder, CEO, and board chair of Liberty Energy, based in Denver.

Last year in a video he posted to LinkedIn, Wright dismissed phrases such as climate crisis, energy transition and clean energy as alarmist, deceptive marketing terms. He acknowledged that global warming has occurred, but he chafed at its characterization as a crisis.

The only thing resembling a crisis with respect to climate change is the regressive, opportunity-squelching policies justified in the name of climate change, he said in the video.

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He suggested that any warming attributable to the burning of fossil fuels is worth the benefits, such as wealth, health and opportunity, that fossil fuel energy brings.

He spread misinformation in the video.

We have seen no increase in the frequency or intensity of hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts or floods despite endless fearmongering of the media, politicians and activists. This is not my opinion. This is the facts as contained in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, he said.

IPCC reports actually say the opposite.

Evidence of observed changes in extremes such as heatwaves, heavy precipitation, droughts, and tropical cyclones, and, in particular, their attribution to human influence, has further strengthened since (the previous report cycle), the IPCCs 2023 synthesis report says. Human influence has likely increased the chance of compound extreme events since the 1950s, including increases in the frequency of concurrent heatwaves and droughts.

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Wrights views directly contradict the Energy Departments climate change mission under Democratic President Joe Biden.

There is no greater challenge facing our nation and our planet than the climate crisis, the departments website says.

Wrights nomination is one of several made by Trump  such as that of former Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to be attorney general and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead Health and Human Services  that appear intentionally disruptive.

Picking someone like Chris Wright is a clear sign that Trump wants to turn the U.S. into a pariah petrostate, Jean Su, director of the Center for Biological Diversitys energy justice program, said in a statement. Hes damning frontline communities and our planet to climate hell just to pad the already bloated pockets of fossil fuel tycoons.

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Bidens Department of Energy secretary is Jennifer Granholm, former Democratic Michigan governor.

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Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and X.
A fracking site in Greeley, Colorado, is pictured on June 24, 2020. (Andy Bosselman/Colorado Newsline)

Republican President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday he wants Chris Wright, a Colorado oil and gas executive who denies that the world faces a climate crisis, to serve the new administration as Department of Energy secretary.

Wright will also be a member of the Council of National Energy, the formation of which was announced Friday. Details on the council are scarce, but its widely viewed as a further indication that the Trump administration intends to boost domestic fossil fuel and other energy production.

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Chris will be a key leader, driving innovation, cutting red tape, and ushering in a new Golden Age of American Prosperity and Global Peace, a statement from the Trump transition team said.

The Energy Department oversees the nations nuclear infrastructure and energy policy. Wright, who grew up and still lives in Colorado, is the founder, CEO, and board chair of Liberty Energy, based in Denver.

Last year in a video he posted to LinkedIn, Wright dismissed phrases such as climate crisis, energy transition and clean energy as alarmist, deceptive marketing terms. He acknowledged that global warming has occurred, but he chafed at its characterization as a crisis.

The only thing resembling a crisis with respect to climate change is the regressive, opportunity-squelching policies justified in the name of climate change, he said in the video.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

He suggested that any warming attributable to the burning of fossil fuels is worth the benefits, such as wealth, health and opportunity, that fossil fuel energy brings.

He spread misinformation in the video.

We have seen no increase in the frequency or intensity of hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts or floods despite endless fearmongering of the media, politicians and activists. This is not my opinion. This is the facts as contained in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, he said.

IPCC reports actually say the opposite.

Evidence of observed changes in extremes such as heatwaves, heavy precipitation, droughts, and tropical cyclones, and, in particular, their attribution to human influence, has further strengthened since (the previous report cycle), the IPCCs 2023 synthesis report says. Human influence has likely increased the chance of compound extreme events since the 1950s, including increases in the frequency of concurrent heatwaves and droughts.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Wrights views directly contradict the Energy Departments climate change mission under Democratic President Joe Biden.

There is no greater challenge facing our nation and our planet than the climate crisis, the departments website says.

Wrights nomination is one of several made by Trump  such as that of former Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to be attorney general and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead Health and Human Services  that appear intentionally disruptive.

Picking someone like Chris Wright is a clear sign that Trump wants to turn the U.S. into a pariah petrostate, Jean Su, director of the Center for Biological Diversitys energy justice program, said in a statement. Hes damning frontline communities and our planet to climate hell just to pad the already bloated pockets of fossil fuel tycoons.

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Bidens Department of Energy secretary is Jennifer Granholm, former Democratic Michigan governor.

This article was first published by Colorado Newsline, part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and X.
I recently saw the movie "The Apprentice" about the relationship between Donald Trump and his mentor Roy Cohn, the notorious lawyer who was involved in many of the mid-20th century's most high-profile political events. I don't know that the film told me anything I didn't already know but it did remind me of just how vicious Cohn was and how much Trump loved that about him. He learned his lessons well. The thru line between Cohn's nefarious career and Trump's own ruthlessness is set to manifest in this second term. It's almost as if it's all coming full circle.

Cohn's first big splash in national politics took place when he was only 23 years old. He was one of the lead prosecutors in the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. He was so well-liked by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover that he recommended Cohn to be the lead counsel for Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy's communist witch hunt. (McCarthy had launched his famous crusade in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1950, by waving around a piece of paper that he claimed held the names of 205 communists in the U.S. State Department and his Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations was off to the races.)

Cohn soon became a household name and was known as the "subcommittee's real brain" according to Time Magazine. He and McCarthy instigated a massive investigation and purge of government employees whom they accused of being communists or outed as homosexuals. (The latter was especially cruel on Cohn's part since he was gay himself.) This was the second Red Scare, the first having occurred in the years after WWI, but the focus on expelling people from the government, including the military, on thin suspicions of disloyalty was a specialty of McCarthy and Cohn.

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When the fever finally broke, ("at long last sir, have you no decency...") McCarthy was censured and died before he could complete his second term. Cohn, on the other hand, went on to hobnob with the rich and famous including just about every powerful politician in America. He mentored the young Donald Trump in the ways of the world of business and politics and Trump took to his cutthroat philosophy very naturally.

Facing his second term in office today, Donald Trump and his transition team have hit the ground running with a series of stunning Cabinet appointments that have knocked the political establishment for a loop. Trump is drunk with power having staged an epic comeback after leaving office as ignominiously as any president in history, being indicted for federal and state crimes as well as losing lawsuits charging him with fraud and defamation. He believes he is invincible.

According to various reports, while he's enjoying the fealty and attention of the richest man in the world who seemingly never leaves his side, he is making these decisions impulsively, totally relying on instinct which he believes are what got him to where he is today. No longer restrained by the need to get elected or fear for his freedom, he can do anything. And right now he appears to be obsessed with setting up the conditions for his revenge on the "Deep State" and the people he believes stabbed him in the back during his first term.

But there's a lot going on in Trumpworld aside from his high-profile appointments. And, interestingly enough, one of the most important projects harkens back to Cohn and McCarthy's government purge in the 1950s. It has been worked on for several years by outside groups preparing the ground for a Trump restoration. This time there's no national security pretense or a rationale that people are betraying the country. It's all about loyalty to Donald Trump and his MAGA movement. But then in Trump's mind, "l'etat c'est moi" so it adds up to the same thing.

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CNN reported that just before the election the Department of Transportation received a pile of FOIA requests asking that emails and text messages pertaining to Elon Musk be turned over. Apparently, this was just the latest wave of such requests that have been received by all the various federal agencies sent by Trump-aligned groups over the last two years demanding to identify "perceived partisans." They have used a variety of methods to ferret out information, including searching for DEI programs or even just emails with the keywords "climate change" in them. CNN calls it a "massive fishing expedition."

One of the groups is the Heritage Foundation Oversight Project, another is the America First Policy Institute, a group with close ties to Trumps transition team. And there are more, all to root out anyone suspected of not being sufficiently loyal to Donald Trump. They are looking at whether employees have ever donated to Democrats, written anything critical on social media or claimed that they have done something suspicious such as "helped immigrants who arrived in the US seeking legal status." The Heritage Oversight Project has even attempted to find out if any employees might be trying to subvert this investigation by seeking evidence of plots to subvert the president-elects expected purging by asking for emails that include the words Trump and reduction in force.

Trump signed an executive order at the end of his first term called Schedule F which allowed him to order mass firings of employees he believed he could not trust to do his bidding. Joe Biden rescinded it but Trump plans to reinstate it upon taking office. However, since there are millions of federal employees who could conceivably be disloyal to the Dear Leader, it was extremely helpful for these outside groups to do the investigative work ahead of time.

Unions and other advocacy groups say they are determined to fight, hoping they can find some allies in Congress to step up and "hoping public shaming and outrage may protect them." I'm pretty sure that's no longer operative in American politics but I suppose it's worth a try. The courts will undoubtedly be asked to determine whether a mass purge of employees because of perceived partisanship is constitutional but in the meantime it's scaring the hell out of many of them fearing that they are about to lose their jobs if they happened to have said something Donald Trump and his minions thinks is disloyal.

Roy Cohn would be so proud of his boy today. His witch hunt had to be conducted in the name of saving the country from communism. This one is a purge for the sheer pleasure of punishing people Donald Trump doesn't like and a message to all who might think of opposing him in the future. It's pure depravity, just the way Cohn taught him.
An authoritarianism scholar sounded alarm bells that Donald Trumps incoming Cabinet nominees will do far more than usher a new conservatism into the federal government. Instead, theyll challenge the system to the point of rendering federal agencies practically ineffective and vulnerable to complete dismantling.

In an interview with MSNBCs Ali Velshi, Yale history professor Timothy Snyder insisted that Trumps nominees to lead the executive branch arent just poor choices in the traditional sense.

Each of them individually is historically bad, said Snyder. But taken together, these are not people who are going to be bad at their jobs in some sort of normal sense. Taken together, these appointments suggest an attempt to actually make the American government dysfunctional, to make it fall apart, to pervert it, to have it do things that its not supposed to do until its not capable of doing anything at all.

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For instance, Trumps choice for director of national intelligence, former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard, regularly amplifies Russian propaganda and conspiracy theories. Her role would have her oversee 18 intelligence agencies, but criticseven in the House Intelligence Committeehave drawn attention to the danger of her nomination considering her particular affinity for foreign dictators such as Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Responding to a clip of Gabbard from February 2022shortly after Russia invaded Ukrainein which the former Democrat claimed that Ukraine should embrace the spirit of Aloha and relinquish any military alliances with NATO or Russia, Snyder argued that its not just that these people are not qualified enough.

Its not just that theyre totally unqualified, its that theyre anti-qualified. They are qualified to do the opposite of the thing that they are supposed to do, Snyder said.

Tulsi Gabbard is talking about a moment when Russian forces are approaching the Ukrainian capital. When Russian assassination squads are attempting to kill the Ukrainian head of state, and shes advising people that all we have to do is summon up a magic word, and in effect surrender all of Ukraine to Russia, Snyder continued. And its not naive. It sounds naive but its not. What its doing is trying to prepare the way for more Ukrainian suffering. Its saying, he who invades is right.
At 4:03 a.m. ET, the President-elect was online. He was thinking about military assets and mass deportations.

Tom Fitton, the right-wing activist and Judicial Watch leader, had written a post on the incoming Presidents proprietary social network, Truth Social, saying citing reports that the new administration was prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.

TRUE!!!, Trump wrote in response in a pre-sunrise post.

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Its the first seeming confirmation since the election that Trump wants to see the U.S. military deployed domestically.

Using the military domestically  absent any crisis remotely needed to prompt or justify such a move  would break with centuries of practice in the United States, giving a President who has promised to deploy troops against the enemy from within the most powerful, and potentially unconstrained, tool in the federal arsenal.

But in this case, the prospect of domestic deployment is tied to Trumps plans for mass deportations. And its not clear from Fittons post what Trump really means.

For one, it repeats a theme of the MAGA rights approach to this issue: Conflating the border with interior immigration enforcement.

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Deploying the military along the U.S.-Mexico border would be extreme but would remain within the bounds of a core military mission. The Pentagon already provides support to the border patrol and other agencies that monitor the southern border.

But using the military to conduct mass deportations  a law enforcement task that takes place in interior  would involve U.S. soldiers deploying across the country, a breach without any recent precedent in American history.

For Trump, the lack of seriousness or specifics here is tangled up with the broader point: he wants military assets, whatever that may mean, in the United States. And, he wants you to know about it.

Policy shops staffed with officials from Trumps first administration spent much of the once and future Presidents time in the political wilderness drafting plans for domestic deployment of the military. One piece invoked War on Terror-era legal justifications to argue that the President could use active duty soldiers to conduct domestic immigration enforcement.

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The post that Trump was reacting to is a mishmash of legal and political concepts.

Fitton referenced invoking a national emergency to use military assets. But its not clear that the National Emergencies Act is the provision that would allow Trump to use the military for anything at all. In 2019, Trump invoked it to gain access to funding to build sections of a wall along the southern border. The wall played a somewhat analogous role in Trumps 2016 campaign to the promise of mass deportations in 2024.

The National Emergencies Act is not whats been keeping national security and military law attorneys up at night. Rather, its the Insurrection Act that has caused the most worry.

Under that law, Trump has broad, virtually unchecked ability to deploy troops domestically. He considered invoking it in response to the 2020 George Floyd protests, purportedly asking at one point why soldiers dont just shoot protestors.

It essentially lets you use federal military personnel to do anything that a federal law enforcement officer could do, Joseph Nunn, a counsel at the Brennan Center, told TPM before the election.
Donald Trump confirmed Monday that hes plotting to use the U.S. military to carry out his massive deportation scheme.

The president-elect shared a post on Truth Social in the early hours of Monday morning that claimed reports suggested Trumps administration was prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion.

TRUE!!! Trump wrote in response.

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Trumps latest pronouncement comes as Republicans attempt to downplay just how extreme his immigration plans will be.

In an interview Sunday with CNN, House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed back on assertions that Trump planned to deport all undocumented immigrants, which could lead to widespread family separation and a significant reduction in the U.S. workforce. Johnson said that the governments efforts would begin with criminals and terrorists, of which he speculated there were three or four million people.

Begin there, and then see how it transpires, Johnson said.

Texas Representative Tony Gonzales said Sunday that if the Trump administration were to target undocumented immigrants for deportation, that would mean that the government has failed us.

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Trump has said that he plans to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1789 to expel suspected members of drug cartels from the country without due process, but the reality of Trumps immigration scheme suggests that the government plans to target more than violent criminals.

White nationalist Stephen Miller, who is expected to serve as White House deputy chief of staff for policy, said that Trumps immigration plan involves sweeping raids for undocumented immigrants and large detainment camps to stage deportations. Miller also said that Trump planned to target those in the country legally and would revoke legal protections such as birthright citizenship, DACA, and temporary protected statusleaving millions more in danger of being deported.

Trumps new border czar, Tom Homan, said last week that he expected support from the U.S. military and special operations to carry out their immigration blitz.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP)  President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he is naming former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy as his nominee for transportation secretary, as he continues to roll out picks for his Cabinet.

Duffy is a former reality TV star who was one of Trumps most visible defenders on cable news  a prime concern for the media-focused president-elect. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, was a member of the Financial Services Committee and chairman of the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019, and is co-host of The Bottom Line on Fox Business.

In his announcement, Trump noted that Duffy is married to a Fox News host, calling him the husband of a wonderful woman, Rachel Campos-Duffy, a STAR on Fox News.

A spokesperson for Fox News Media wished Duffy "the best of luck in his return to Washington" and said he left the company Monday.

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Duffy is so far the second Fox-affiliated television host that Trump has named to his Cabinet. Trump last week announced his choice of Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense secretary.

Trump said Duffy would use his experience and relationships built over the years in Congress to maintain and rebuild our Nations Infrastructure, and fulfill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation. Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!

Duffy in 2022 ruled out a run for Wisconsin governor despite pleas from Trump to make a bid, saying he needed to care for his nine children, including his youngest child who had a heart condition.

He is a former lumberjack athlete and frequent Fox News contributor. He was featured on MTVs The Real World: Boston in 1997. He met his wife on the set of MTVs Road Rules: All Stars in 1998.

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A reality television background before politics is not unusual in Trump's world. The former president launched his political career after his hit reality show,  The Apprentice,

Duffy, after his time on reality television, worked as a special prosecutor and Ashland County district attorney. He won election to Congress as part of a tea party wave in 2010.

When he first ran for office, Duffy was largely considered an underdog but attracted national attention for his campaign ads, in which he donned a red flannel shirt and chopped trees. He told voters he came from a long line of lumberjacks and would bring his axe to Washington.

He served until resigning in 2019.

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The Transportation Department oversees the nations complex transportation system, including pipelines, railroads, cars, trucks, the airlines and mass transit systems as well as federal funding for highways.

If confirmed, Duffy would take over at a time of tremendous change, especially on the nations highways. Traffic deaths remain near record highs at a time when new technologies are being introduced that could help make the roads safer. Multiple companies are deploying autonomous robotaxis and even driverless semis with no specific federal regulations. And the nascent move from gasoline to electric vehicles presents safety problems of its own, especially with battery fires that can be difficult to extinguish.

The department includes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which regulates automakers, including Elon Musks Tesla. The department sets fuel economy standards for cars and trucks and regulates the airline industry through the Federal Aviation Administration, which is grappling with a shortage of air traffic controllers to ensure the safe and orderly flow of air travel.

Nicholas Calio, president and CEO of Airlines for America, said the association was thrilled by the choice of Duffy.

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Congressman Duffy has a proven track record for getting things done, and we are eager to collaborate with him on key issues impacting the U.S. airline industry," Calio said.

Trump has criticized electric vehicles as expensive and unreliable and called President Joe Bidens policy to promote them lunacy. He also has said EV manufacturing will destroy auto industry jobs and has falsely claimed that battery-powered cars dont work in cold weather and are unable to travel long distances.

Trump has softened his rhetoric about electric vehicles in recent months after Musk endorsed him and campaigned heavily for his election.

Even so, industry officials expect Trump to try to slow a shift to electric cars, and a tax credit for EV purchases is reportedly among those the Trump administration may seek to eliminate next year.

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Trump, in his statement, said Duffy would prioritize Excellence, Competence, Competitiveness and Beauty when rebuilding Americas highways, tunnels, bridges and airports. Trump, as he campaigned for the White House, would sometimes complain about the state of air travel in particular, lamenting that the nations once-revered airports are a dirty, crowded mess.

Duffy, Trump said Monday, will make our skies safe again by eliminating DEI for pilots and air traffic controllers. DEI refers to diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

___

Price reported from New York and Superville reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Amanda Seitz in Washington, Tom Krisher in Detroit and David Koenig in Dallas contributed to this report.
By Steve Holland

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) -U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's search for a Treasury secretary is widening after it stalled over the weekend, and he is looking at other candidates, two sources briefed on the matter said on Monday.

Among the names now being considered are Apollo Global Management Chief Executive Marc Rowan, two sources said, and former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh, according to a separate source briefed on the matter, confirming earlier reporting by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

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A number of names have cycled through as possibles for the job in the new Trump administration, but no announcement has been made. However, the team making the pick has now widened the search, the two sources said on Monday.

Billionaire investor John Paulson was originally one lead contender but exited the race last week, citing "complex financial obligations". That left another lead contender, investor Scott Bessent, although banker Howard Lutnick also emerged as a top contender, Reuters reported last week. A number of other people have also been speculated for the position.

Bloomberg reported on Monday that Bessent was being considered for the White House's National Economic Council, but holding off accepting until a decision is made on the Treasury secretary.

Warsh, 54, is a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University with a long track record of hawkish views on both inflation and deficits.

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A former mergers and acquisitions banker at Morgan Stanley, Warsh was a White House economic policy adviser from 2002 to 2006, and was then nominated by then-President George W. Bush to be a governor on the seven-member Federal Reserve Board.

Warsh left the Fed in 2011, a few months after joining his colleagues in unanimous support of expanding the Fed's bond-buying program, and then making public his reservations about expanding the central bank's balance sheet.

Rowan is CEO of Apollo, one of the world's biggest investors in alternative assets such as corporate credit and private equity, succeeding Leon Black in 2021.

Rowan and Warsh did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Bessent declined to comment. A spokesperson for Lutnick declined to comment.

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It was unclear if any candidates had been ruled out or if other names could be added to the mix.

SCRAMBLE FOR TOP ROLE

The Treasury secretary role is one of the highest-profile cabinet posts, overseeing the country's financial and economic policy. As such, it is one of the key roles being watched by global investors and Wall Street.

Top candidates have amassed public supporters as the process has heated up.

Bessent's supporters include Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, according to an article last week in Semafor, and investor Kyle Bass, who wrote on X last week that Bessent would be the best choice for markets and citizens.

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"I support Bessent 100%," Bass told Reuters by text. "As Treasury Secretary, you must fully understand the bond market, global payment flows, geopolitics, people, financial market flows, inflation, and the federal budget. Scott is far and above the best candidate for the position."

Bass added that Bessent had not been part of weekend "drama" about who would get the position. "He's been silent and working on solutions for President Trump," wrote Bass.

A spokesperson for Graham said on Monday that he maintains his position.

Other supporters include Larry Kudlow, who recently said he was a "big fan" of Bessent and that he was his "first choice" to lead Treasury, according to a Wall Street Journal story on Nov. 11; and investor Stanley Druckenmiller, who has said that Bessent, his former colleague at Soros Fund Management, was "the only guy I know who's not only a market participant but very fluent and comfortable in academic circles," according to an Axios story on Nov. 13.

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Kudlow did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Druckenmiller did not respond to a request for comment.

Conservative economist and Trump adviser Steve Moore said last week he strongly favored Bessent, as he was a ballast in the right-of-center Washington movement pushing deregulation and tax cuts to promote growth.

"I think most of the free-market conservatives are getting behind Scott Bessent," Moore told Reuters last week.

On the other side, two top Trump advisers, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is Trump's pick to head the Health and Human Services Department, sided with Lutnick for the position, sending supportive posts on social media.

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Musk did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment beyond his post on X. A spokesperson for Kennedy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As of Sunday, Trump was also considering Lutnick for another economic job, possibly that of commerce secretary, the source briefed on the matter told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. That source also said that Trump's former U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer was being considered for Commerce. Lighthizer did not respond to a request for comment on Commerce.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Lawrence Delevingne, Svea Herbst-Bayliss, Alexandra Ulmer, Lananh Nguyen, Douglas Gillison, Ira Iosebashvili, Ann Saphir, Saeed Azhar and David Lawder; Editing by Megan Davies, Alistair Bell and Rosalba O'Brien)
(Bloomberg) -- President-elect Donald Trump is slated to soon name a close JD Vance ally, James Braid, to serve as the White House Director of Legislative Affairs, according to people familiar with the process.

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Braid has worked in Vances Senate office as deputy chief of staff and also worked for the Office of Management and Budget during Trumps first term. If officially named to serve as the White Houses congressional liaison, hell be charged with pushing Trumps legislative agenda on Capitol Hill. A representative for Trumps transition team did not immediately respond to a request to comment.

One of the biggest legislative tasks will be securing a major tax bill that renews the individual and small business cuts Trump passed during his first term, provisions which are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.

Trump, on the campaign trail, also floated a series of fresh levy reductions  no taxes on tips, overtime pay or Social Security checks, and corporate rate cuts  that lawmakers could package together as a mega-tax bill. The legislative affairs director will be at the center of negotiations to advocate for Trumps priorities.

It has the potential to be a fraught debate. House Speaker Mike Johnson in an interview Sunday said that tax cuts would have to be paid for, potentially constraining many of Trumps pledges.

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Earlier: Republican Election Sweep Emboldens Trumps Tax Cut Dreams

The tax-cut process will also be in the purview of the Treasury secretary, a key position in Trumps cabinet that has yet to be filled. Trump is still weighing who to select with candidates publicly tussling for the job and frustrating the president-elect.

Trumps staff has been looking for alternatives to Key Square Group LP founder Scott Bessent and Cantor Fitzgerald LP Chief Executive Officer Howard Lutnick, who have been among the most public candidates seeking the role. Robert Lighthizer, Senator William Hagerty, Apollo Global Management Inc. CEO Marc Rowan and Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor, are among those also being discussed, according to people familiar with the talks.

Heres whats happening with the transition on Monday:

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Hagerty Pushes Tax Cuts

Hagerty, who is in the mix for Treasury secretary, sought to sidestep speculation over who Trump might pick for the top economic post during an interview on Monday.

Hagerty, when asked if he has met with Trump about the role, said only that the president-elect has a number of wonderful choices.

Im continually in conversations with President Trump, and often on matters of the economy that relate to Treasury, but Im not engaging in any speculation about who might go into a specific position, he told host Maria Bartiromo in an interview on Fox Business Network.

Hagerty identified renewing Trumps landmark 2017 tax law as one of the top issues for the incoming Treasury chief.

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Thats got to be job No. 1 for the incoming Treasury secretary  is to get that incredible piece of legislation extended and through. If we dont deal with it, America is going to be faced with enormous tax increases, Hagerty said.

Hell need a Treasury secretary thats going to be capable of working with this legislative branch to get that done, he said.

Trump on Media

Trump on Monday sought to downplay tensions with the press, whom he regularly criticizes and has accused of bias.

It is very important  if not vital  to have a free, fair and open media or press, Trump said in an interview with Fox News Digital, adding that he believes he has an obligation to work with the media.

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The president-elect during the campaign regularly attacked the press as fake news and has sued CBS Broadcasting Inc., alleging it altered clips of an interview with his general election rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.

The president-elect said he had also met with two of his most prominent media critics, the hosts of MSNBCs Morning Joe program, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, telling Fox News Digital that the meeting  at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Friday morning  was extremely cordial.

Brzezinski also discussed the meeting on her show Monday, saying it was the first time they had spoken to Trump in seven years other than a call Scarborough made after the failed assassination attempt on Trump this summer at a rally in Pennsylvania.

President Trump was cheerful and upbeat and he seemed interested in finding common ground with Democrats on some of the most divisive issues, she added. And for those asking why we would go speak to the president-elect during such fraught times, especially between us, I guess I would ask back  why wouldnt we?

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Scarborough said they discussed many issues with Trump, including abortion, mass deportation, threats of political retribution against political opponents and media outlets.

It will come as no surprise to anybody who watches this show, has watched it over the past year or over the past decade, that we didnt see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues and we told him so, he added.

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President-elect Trump recirculated a social media post Monday suggesting his incoming administration will declare an immigration national emergency and use military assets to support his mass deportation pledge, labeling the claim TRUE!!!

On his Truth Social site, Trump at 4:03 a.m. EST reposted Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch, a conservative organization thats been active both in courts and on social media regarding a number of culture war issues, including questioning the legitimacy of elections.

GOOD NEWS: Reports are the incoming @RealDonaldTrump administration prepared to declare a national emergency and will use military assets to reverse the Biden invasion through a mass deportation program, Fitton wrote.

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Trumps single-word response appeared to confirm the report.

President Trump will marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation of illegal criminals, drug dealers, and human traffickers in American history while simultaneously lowering costs for families, said press secretary Karoline Leavitt. The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail, like deporting migrant criminals and restoring our economic greatness. He will deliver.

Immigration advocates are bracing for swift executive action on immigration from the incoming administration, but questions remain about the potential legal, logistical and budgetary limitations of plans to carry out mass deportations.

The Department of Defense, through the National Guard, has been actively supporting border security missions for years.

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That support is generally limited to background logistics, including communications and transportation, freeing up more Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection officers to directly engage with migrants.

Trump and his inner circle have suggested greater military involvement in immigration enforcement both at the border and in the interior.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century law that allows the summary detention and removal of any foreign national above the age of 14 who hails from a country at war with the United States.

The United States has not formally declared war on any nation since 1942.

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But Trumps incoming administration is looking to kick off its deportation policy with massive media coverage.

I dont think were talking about hundreds of thousands of people being arrested. They were never able to get to that capacity in the first Trump administration on like, a single day or a single single week, a top immigration advocate said on a background call with reporters Friday.

But theyre going to build up that capacity, and I would assume a kind of shock and awe attempt that they will do raids. They will try to make them high profile. Theyre going to try to spread fear because it appeals to their base, but also because it is part of their strategy, which is to get people to self-deport.

Regardless of the scope, efforts to expand the detention and deportation system will face budgetary and logistical concerns, military involvement or not.

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Some of Trumps supporters see the potential for more transparency in how, when and where the administration carries out deportations, even as the program expands.

I believe the president, I believe whoever is the attorney general, whoever is head of, if its [Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi] Noem, head of Department of Homeland Security, and [incoming border czar] Tom Homan, will come together on a succinct not just reasoning, but a process to give people notice about what would happen, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) told The Hill on Friday.

I think its important that you tell people what the plan is. As we recall, President Obama had a lot of deportations, and it created a wider viewpoint that that we were without a plan, rather than telling people, Sessions said. And I think the president needs to and will say more than  or Tom Homan  more than, mass deportations.

Heres how we intend to follow through with this process. A mandate? No, I dont think its a mandate just to go round up people and haul them out. I think there is a need to effectively know what the plan would be and then follow the plan.

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Updated at 4:52 p.m.

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President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Brendan Carr, the senior Republican commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, to chair the agency.

In a statement published on Sunday evening, Trump called Carr a warrior for Free Speech and promised he would end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling Americas Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America.

A former general counsel for the agency, Carr was first nominated for a position as commissioner by Trump in 2017. He has been unanimously confirmed in the Senate three times, most recently for a new five-year term last year.

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Since he does not need to be confirmed by the Senate, Carr stands to take the reins of the agency as soon as Trump is inaugurated.

Carr has backed Trumps calls to punish television networks for what the president-elect believes is political bias.

Mostly notably, Carr took Trumps side in his feud with CBS News, which the incoming president sued for its deceitful editing of its 60 Minutes interview of Harris. In an interview with Fox Business in October, Carr said it was possible that the edited segment could be considered distortion and echoed Trumps calls to release the transcript from the interview.

Congratulations to my friend and former @FCC colleague @BrendanCarrFCC! He was a brilliant advisor and General Counsel and has been a superb Commissioner, and Im confident he will be a great FCC Chairman. Best wishes leading the agency! pic.twitter.com/3NfD3eX7i8  Ajit Pai (@AjitPai) November 18, 2024

Carr previously outlined his vision for the agency in a chapter written for the controversial Project 2025 agendaa proposed conservative policy slate produced by the Heritage Foundation that Trump repeatedly disowned on the campaign trail.

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Much of Carrs contribution involves strategies to reign in Big Tech companies and reinterpret Section 230 of the Communications Decency Actthe provision that shields internet providers or platforms from lawsuits for hosting third party content.

Carr also wrote that the agency should expand rural broadband access, as well as work to promote internet access through low-earth satellite technologyincluding SpaceXs Starlink and Amazons Project Kuiper.

Carr previously spoke out after the FCC withdrew $885 million in rural broadband subsidies for Starlink, accusing the Democratic administration of giving federal agencies a greenlight to go after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk after his purchase of Twitter in 2022.

He is also an outspoken opponent of net neutrality, the principle that prohibits internet service providers from blocking, throttling, or engaging in paid prioritization of lawful content, according to the FCC .

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Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, the chairman during Trumps first term in office who led the agencys campaign to roll back net neutrality, applauded Carrs appointment on Sunday.

He was a brilliant advisor and General Counsel and has been a superb Commissioner, and Im confident he will be a great FCC Chairman, Pai said in a post on X shortly after the appointment was announced.

In his own response to the nomination, Carr promised to dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights for everyday Americans.
Reuters  Members of President-elect Donald Trumps transition team are drawing up a list of military officers to be fired, potentially to include the Joint Chiefs of Staff, two sources said, in what would be an unprecedented shakeup at the Pentagon.

The planning for the firings is at an early stage after Trumps Nov. 5 election victory and could change as Trumps administration takes shape, said the sources, who are familiar with the Trump transition and requested anonymity to speak candidly about the plans.

One of the sources questioned the feasibility of a mass firing at the Pentagon.

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Tom Cole: GOP should be working to achieve Trumps objectives

It was also unclear if Trump himself would endorse the plan, although in the past he has railed extensively against defense leaders who have criticized him. Trump has also spoken during the campaign of firing woke generals and those responsible for the troubled 2021 pullout from Afghanistan.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The second source said the incoming administration would likely focus on U.S. military officers seen as connected to Mark Milley, Trumps former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

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Milley was quoted in the book War by Bob Woodward, which was published last month, calling Trump fascist to the core and Trumps allies have targeted him for perceived disloyalty to the former president.

Every single person that was elevated and appointed by Milley will be gone, the second source said.

Theres a very detailed list of everybody that was affiliated with Milley. And they will all be gone.

From the Amazon rainforest, Biden declares nobody can reverse US progress on clean energy

The Joint Chiefs of Staff include the highest ranking officers in the U.S. military and comprise the heads of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, National Guard and Space Force.

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The disclosure of plans to fire senior leaders of the U.S. armed forces comes a day after Trump picked as his defense secretary Pete Hegseth, a Fox News commentator and veteran who has signaled a willingness to clean house at the Pentagon.

The next president of the United States needs to radically overhaul Pentagon senior leadership to make us ready to defend our nation and defeat our enemies. Lots of people need to be fired, Hegseth said in his 2024 book The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.

It is unclear if Hegseths lack of management experience could complicate his Senate confirmation and if a more traditional alternative for the position would carry out such sweeping dismissals.

Elon Musk is hiring for DOGE. Heres what to know

GENERAL BROWN TO BE AMONG THE FIRST FIRED

Hegseth has also taken aim at Milleys successor, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, asking whether he would have gotten the job if he were not Black.

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Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? Well never know, but always doubt  which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesnt really much matter, he wrote.

The first source familiar with the transition planning said Brown would be among the many officers to leave.

The chiefs of the Joint Chiefs and all the vice chiefs will be fired immediately, the source said, before noting that this was still only early planning.

Pollster Ann Selzer to retire in wake of Iowa poll miss

Some current and former U.S. officials have played down the possibility of such a major shakeup, saying it would be unnecessary and disruptive at a time of global turmoil with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East.

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The first source said that it would be difficult bureaucratically to fire and replace a large swath of senior U.S. military officials, suggesting the planning could be bluster and posturing by Trump allies.

But the second source suggested the Trump camp believed the Joint Chiefs of Staff needed to shrink due to perceived bureaucratic over-reach.

Such cuts could be endured in an organization the scale of the U.S. military, the source said.

These people are not irreplaceable. They are very replaceable. And then the other thing too is there is no shortage of people that will step up, the source said.

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In World War Two, we were very rapidly appointing people in their 30s or people competent to be generals. And you know what? We won the war.

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.
The Scoop

Linda McMahon, once seen as a shoo-in to lead Donald Trumps Commerce Department, is privately frustrated that she has yet to get offered the position, two people familiar with the matter told Semafor.

McMahons status leaves both of the president-elects transition co-chairs conspicuously without clear places to land in his administration. Her fellow co-chair, Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick, has made a play to lead Trumps Treasury Department  as competition for that post descends into the sort of mudslinging thats more common on the campaign trail.

The delay in an offer for McMahon is seen by some of Trumps allies as a sign that hes saving the commerce secretary job as a potential landing spot for someone else who misses out on a more prominent position. One of the people familiar with the matter described McMahon as pissed.

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A third person inside Trumps network told Semafor that Commerce is less of a priority for the president-elect than other top national security and economic roles. The department, though much smaller in size than Treasury, plays a leading role in administering the Biden administrations $3 billion law designed to boost US semiconductor production.

A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately return a request for comment.

McMahon, who led the Small Business Administration during Trumps first term, has been vying behind the scenes for months to lead Commerce; many people close to Trump still see her as the most likely person to land the job.

However, Trump still might offer the role to someone else, including one of the candidates whom he ultimately passes over for treasury secretary. Robert Lighthizer, who will be a steward of Trumps aggressive proposals on tariffs and China, is one possible alternate choice to lead Commerce.

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Trump has told allies that he wants Lightizer to serve as the administrations trade czar, The Wall Street Journal reported, but has not yet formally announced any role for him.

They want to figure out how much power a czar-like figure might have, another person in touch with the transition told Semafor.

Lighthizer wants something prominent, but he cannot be at Treasury because of his close association with punitive tariffs, this person added. The stock market will lose its brain.

One dramatic wrinkle to McMahons situation: Her fellow transition co-chair might edge her out in this falls Trump administration personnel battles. A former Trump administration official said Trump may well decide to tap Lutnick as commerce secretary if he is passed over for the Treasury job.

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Both McMahon and Lutnick could also be in the running for the US ambassadorship to the UK, this former official suggested.

Know More

While McMahon awaits Trumps decision on the Commerce role, Lutnick and other aspiring treasury secretaries are ramping up their rivalry.

Cherrypicked returns from investor Scott Bessents firm were circulating on Wall Street earlier Monday, signaling an effort to undermine his candidacy for Treasury secretary. Lutnick, meanwhile, got Elon Musk to weigh in publicly over the weekend.

The overt effort from some of the hopefuls has turned off Trump, multiple people have told Semafor, and he has weighed looking at new options for the job.

Shelby and Morgans View

If either McMahon or Lutnick  or both  end up getting tapped for cabinet positions, that could also end up forcing the transition team to restructure itself.

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The duo would presumably have their hands full preparing for their Senate confirmation hearings and gearing up to take control of sprawling agencies. That would leave a notable gap inside Trumps team, which still has to fill scores of confirmed positions.

Then again, there is clear Republican precedent for wearing two hats at once during a transition: Vice President-elect Dick Cheney led the changeover for incoming President-elect George W. Bush.

Room for Disagreement

A handful of sought-after cabinet posts may be causing messiness, but Trump is still outpacing his predecessors in staffing his incoming administration.

Trump set a modern-day record by announcing a dozen appointments in as many days, according to Axios. In some cases, that fast pace may be possible thanks to the transitions decision to avoid FBI background checks for prospective nominees, a move first reported by CNN.

Notable
An olive-branch summit at Mar-a-Lago between president-elect Donald Trump and the co-hosts of Morning Joe went over pretty much as you might expect at the Fox network.

Mondays broadcast of MSNBC s flagship morning show began with a shock announcement that Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinskionce friends of the incoming Republican president, and who in recent years become two of his most vicious criticshad sought a face-to-face meeting with Trump over the weekend.

They said it was their first meeting with him in seven years and that while they disagree with him on a variety of topics, they agreed to reopen lines of communication, Fox News Bill Melugin reported from Palm Beach after the news broke. [They say] they dont just want to talk about Donald Trumpthey want to start talking to him again.

WATCH: Fox & Friends has praised Trump for meeting with MSNBC morning show hosts, @JoeNBC Scarborough and @morningMika Brzezinski, shortly after they announced they met on Friday with the president-elect in Mar-a-Lago.



Just a short time ago this morning, the host of MSNBCs pic.twitter.com/d0A65PrGh9  TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) November 18, 2024

Melugins dispatch prompted fawning praise back at the Fox & Friends newsroom, with host Brian Kilmeade swinging in to describe Trumps willingness to meet with his once-fiercest media adversaries as probably the most magnanimous thing any individual in America has done in a long time.

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Theyve called him every name under the sun, co-host Ainsley Earhardt chimed in.

For three years they called him fascist, Hitler, Kilmeade added. Every day, on every panel, there was nobody even to say ever since Harold Ford left that building, there was not one person saying anything nice about Trump. And for him to take that as breakfast?

It just shows you that he does want to smooth things over, Earhardt added. Maybe he is going to unite our country.

Scarborough previously claimed Trumps team had threatened to arrest Morning Joes producers over the programs bitter criticism of the now president-elect in recent years.

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In the course of his campaign, an investigation by NPR also found the incoming Republican president made more than 100 threats to prosecute, court martial, or otherwise punish his political enemies, with multiple reports suggesting the targets of his prospective retribution are already taking steps to bolster their legal security, even their personal safety.
Donald Trump is calling for the investigation of pollster Ann Selzer after she released a bombshell Iowa poll just days before the presidential election that showed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris up in the state by three points.

The infamous poll, which came out three days before the election and instilled false hope for many Democrats, showed Harris at 47%with rival Donald Trump at 44% in the state.

Ultimately, Selzer was off by 16 points.

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On Sunday, just a few weeks after the poll was released, Selzer announced her retirement.

Hours later, Trump, called for an investigation into the longtime political insider over her big miss.

A totally Fake poll that caused great distrust and uncertainty at a very critical time. She knew exactly what she was doing, Trump wrote on his Truth Social account with a link to Selzers column announcing her retirement.

Thank you to the GREAT PEOPLE OF IOWA for giving me such a record breaking vote, despite possible ELECTION FRAUD by Ann Selzer and the now discredited newspaper for which she works. An investigation is fully called for!"

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Selzer says the decision was made over a year ago, and not due to the polls outcome.

Would I have liked to make this announcement after a final poll aligned with Election Day results? Of course. Its ironic that its just the opposite, wrote Selzer. Polling is a science of estimation, and science has a way of periodically humbling the scientist. So, Im humbled, yet always willing to learn from unexpected findings.

The Daily Beast Podcast episodes are released every Thursday. Like and download on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app. And click here for email updates as each new episode drops.
Donald Trump has announced that the next Federal Communications Commission chair would be Brendan Carr, the senior-most Republican on the FCC and a contributor to Project 2025.

Commissioner Carr is a warrior for free speech, and has fought against the regulatory lawfare that has stifled Americans freedoms, and held back our economy, Trump said in a statement Sunday. The president-elect did not mention Carrs involvement in Project 2025.

In his Project 2025 chapter, Carr outlined his agenda for the FCC. Carr wrote that one of the goals for Trumps administration should be reining in Big Techs attempts to drive diverse political viewpoints from the digital town square, according to Business Insider. Carr suggested that companies be unable to censor content unless it is illegal, allowing consumers to choose their own content filters and fact-checking services.

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Carrs intentions for social media are perhaps best demonstrated by X, which has been transformed into a MAGA misinformation echo chamber by its owner, Elon Musk, who seems to have permanently attached himself to Trumps side.

Carr also pushed to ban TikTok if its parent company, ByteDance, does not sell its U.S. operations, warning that Americans were receiving their news and information from China.

In addition to addressing Big Tech, Carr also wrote that the FCC should focus on promoting national security, unleashing economic prosperity, and ensuring FCC accountability and good governance.

House Democrats previously called for an investigation into Carr over his partisan activity, but it did not result in formal action, according to NPR. Carr said he received approval from FCC ethics officials to contribute to the right-wing playbook.

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Trump spent months on the campaign trail disavowing Project 2025, an authoritarian policy road map cooked up by the right-wing think tank Heritage Foundation, only to now welcome its architects into the fold.

Last month, Carr railed against Kamala Harriss surprise appearance on NBCs Saturday Night Live, calling it a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCCs Equal Time rule and biased and partisan conduct. Trump was offered equal time on NBC, and the FCC said they had not made any determination regarding political programming rules, nor have we received a complaint from any interested parties.

Still, Carr took up the bullhorn on behalf of the president whod appointed him to the FCC in 2017.

FCC rules dictate that only three commissioners can be affiliated with the same political party at any given time, and none can have a financial interest in any commission-related business. The FCC is responsible for regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. Under Trumps first administration, the FCC repealed net neutrality rules, which were then reinstated this year.
Florida Congressman Michael Waltz, Donald Trump's National Security Adviser, believes that allowing Ukraine the use of ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory threatens to further escalate the war.

Source: European Pravda with reference to Voice of America journalist Ostap Yarysh

Details: Waltz said that the Biden administration did not inform him in advance about the decision to allow Ukraine to launch long-range strikes against Russia.

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Quote from Waltz: "Its another step up the escalation ladder, and nobody knows where this is going. North Korea is unleashing ballistic missiles, artillery, and now tens of thousands of soldiers. The [Biden] administration responds by lifting this restriction. North Korea sends more soldiers. South Korea is now saying it may get engaged."

Further, as an example of escalation, the adviser of US President-elect Trump mentioned Irans sale of oil to China, which is used to send missiles and drones to Russia, "then hitting Ukrainian critical infrastructure".

Quote from Waltz: "So this is a development, but its a tactical one [Biden's permission  ed.]. President[-elect] Trump is talking grand strategy here: How do we get both sides to the table to end this war, whats the framework for a deal, and who is sitting at that table?"

Background:

Media reported that US President Joe Biden has for the first time authorised Ukrainian forces to use long-range ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory.

Axios noted that this decision concerns Kursk Oblast and is intended as a response to the involvement of North Korean military personnel in the war.

Meanwhile, the White House refused to directly confirm the permission for Ukraine to use long-range missiles on military targets in Russia but acknowledged developing a response to North Koreas involvement in the conflict.

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Military leaders are in an uproar over Donald Trump's decision to name Fox News host Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence. "To say that people were horrified would be an understatement," says New York Times reporter Helene Cooper. She and Washington Post columnist Max Boot discuss why Trump's picks are dangerously unqualified.
Announcing his choice of Brendan Carr as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump described him as "a warrior for Free Speech," which sounds good until you ask what Trump means by that. Carr, who has served as a Republican FCC commissioner since Trump appointed him during his first term in August 2017, believes that promoting freedom of speech requires curtailing liability protections for social media platforms and restricting their editorial discretion.

Carr's agenda for "reining in Big Tech," as described in the chapter that he contributed to the Heritage Foundation's 2025 Mandate for Leadership, includes new FCC rules aimed at restricting the liability protection offered by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Carr also supports regulations that would "impose transparency rules on Big Tech" and legislation that "scraps Section 230's current approach." He favors "reforms that prohibit discrimination against core political viewpoints," which he says "would track the approach taken in a social media law passed in Texas."

That law, which says social media platforms may not "censor" content based on "viewpoint," was the focus of NetChoice v. Paxton, a case that the U.S. Supreme Court decided in February along with Moody v. NetChoice, which involved a similar Florida law. In both cases, the Court unanimously vacated appeals court decisions (upholding the Texas law and blocking provisions of Florida's law, respectively), saying they did not properly apply the First Amendment. But as Reason's Elizabeth Nolan Brown noted, the opinion by Justice Elena Kagan, which was joined in full by four of her colleagues, supported the argument that moderation decisions are a form of constitutionally protected editorial discretion.

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"While much about social media is new, the essence of that project is something this Court has seen before," Kagan wrote. "Traditional publishers and editors also select and shape other parties' expression into their own curated speech products. And we have repeatedly held that laws curtailing their editorial choices must meet the First Amendment's requirements. The principle does not change because the curated compilation has gone from the physical to the virtual world. In the latter, as in the former, government efforts to alter an edited compilation of third-party expression are subject to judicial review for compliance with the First Amendment."

Carr takes a different view. "The FCC has an important role to play in addressing the threats to individual liberty posed by corporations that are abusing dominant positions in the market," he writes. "Nowhere is that clearer than when it comes to Big Tech and its attempts to drive diverse political viewpoints from the digital town square."

Carr re-upped that complaint in an X post on Friday. "Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft & others have played central roles in the censorship cartel," he wrote. "The Orwellian named NewsGuard along with 'fact checking' groups & ad agencies helped enforce one-sided narratives. The censorship cartel must be dismantled."

As Carr sees it, the threat to freedom of expression comes from Big Tech, not from laws and regulations that aim to limit its discretion in deciding which "curated speech products" to offer. "Today, a handful of corporations can shape everything from the information we consume to the places we shop," he says. "These corporate behemoths are not merely exercising market power; they are abusing dominant positions. They are not simply prevailing in the free market; they are taking advantage of a landscape that has been skewedin many cases by the governmentto favor their business models over those of their competitors. It is hard to imagine another industry in which a greater gap exists between power and accountability."

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Section 230, Carr argues, is one way that landscape has been skewed. That law, which supporters describe as "the internet's First Amendment," includes two provisions addressing the civil liability of "interactive computer services," defined broadly to include "any information service, system, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server."

Section 230(c)(1) says "no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." Section 230(c)(2) says "no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be held liable on account ofany action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict access to or availability of material that the provider or user considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not such material is constitutionally protected." The latter provision also precludes liability for "any action taken to enable or make available to information content providers or others the technical means to restrict access" to user-posted material.

There are several exceptions to Section 230's liability protection, including material that violates federal criminal laws, impinges on intellectual property, or facilitates sex trafficking. But the general idea is to avoid potentially crippling civil liability for services that feature user-posted content while leaving space for content moderation. Without those protections, platforms might feel financially constrained either to refrain from any attempt at moderation or to engage in proactive, heavy-handed moderation aimed at avoiding lawsuits.

Carr is not a fan of Section 230. He joins Justice Clarence Thomas in arguing that federal courts have interpreted the law's protections too broadly. He says "the FCC should issue an order that interprets Section 230 in a way that eliminates the expansive, non-textual immunities that courts have read into the statute." More fundamentally, Carr objects to Section 230 itself. He favors Texas-style legislation "ensuring that Internet companies no longer have carte blanche to censor protected speech while maintaining their Section 230 protections."

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As Carr concedes, his view of the government's role in promoting "a diversity of viewpoints" on social media is "not shared uniformly by all conservatives," some of whom "do not think that the FCC or Congress should act in a way that regulates the content-moderation decisions of private platforms." Those conservatives, he notes, argue that "doing so would intrudeunlawfully in their viewon the First Amendment rights of corporations to exclude content from their private platforms."

A Republican-controlled Congress that shares Carr's view of Big Tech might be inclined to approve the sort of legislation he favors, which comports with Trump's own resentment of moderation decisions he views as politically biased. (By contrast, Carr's support for the federal TikTok ban is consistent with Trump's position during his first term but contradicts his recent reconsideration of that policy.) Given what the Supreme Court has said about constitutional limits on interference with moderation decisions, however, a Texas-style federal law probably would not survive judicial review.

Carr also suggests less ambitious measures to curtail Big Tech's power. "The FCC and Congress should work together to formulate rules that empower consumers," he says. "One idea is to empower consumers to choose their own content filters and fact checkers, if any. The FCC should also work with Congress to ensure stronger protections against young children accessing social media sites despite age restrictions that generally prohibit their use of these sites."

Even without new legislation, Carr thinks the FCC can and should limit Section 230's protections by narrowly construing them. Trump attempted something similar with an executive order he issued during his first term. Among other things, it instructed the FCC to clarify the law's scope by elucidating "good faith" moderation.

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Trump "has [a] right to seek review of [the] statute's application," Republican FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said in response to news of the order. "As a conservative, I'm troubled voices are stifled by liberal tech leaders. At same time, I'm extremely dedicated to First Amendment which governs much here." FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who had earlier resisted Trump's suggestion that broadcast licenses should be contingent on whether news coverage makes him look bad, said only that the commission "will carefully review any petition for rulemaking." Carr was more enthusiastic, saying the federal government had "provided virtually no guidance on the 'good faith' limitation Congress included in Section 230." While some Republicans welcomed the order, several conservatives panned it as extralegal and unconstitutional.

In his Mandate for Leadership chapter, Carr also suggests "the FCC could require these platforms to provide greater specificity regarding their terms of service, and it could hold them accountable by prohibiting actions that are inconsistent with those plain and particular terms." He says "Big Tech should be required to offer a transparent appeals process that allows for the challenging of pretextual takedowns or other actions that violate clear rules of the road."

Carr cites Section 230 and the Consolidated Reporting Act as "potential sources of authority" for imposing such requirements. But while Section 230 mentions the value of "user control" and "a true diversity of political discourse," it does not include any specific FCC authority regarding either. The Consolidated Reporting Act, which requires the FCC to publish information on "the state of the communications marketplace," likewise does not say anything about mandates on social media platforms.

Carr has "proposed to do a lot of things he has no jurisdiction to do," Jessica Gonzalez, co-CEO of the advocacy group Free Press, told The New York Times. "In other cases, he's blatantly misreading the rules." Carr's regulatory agenda is apt to run into legal trouble, especially given the recent Supreme Court decision that curtailed the ability of executive agencies to invent their own authority.

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Carr's Mandate for Leadership essay does not say much about broadcast licenses, which Trump has repeatedly said should be revoked when news organizations offend him. But after Trump's election victory, Carr said the FCC "will have an important role to play" in "ensuring that broadcasters operate in the public interest." And Carr has previously expressed some sympathy for Trump's argument that broadcast outlets subvert "the public interest" when they cover the news in ways he does not like.

When Trump complained that CBS had edited a 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris to make her seem more cogent than she actually was, for example, Carr entertained the possibility that CBS might have engaged in "broadcast news distortion." At the same time, Carr implicitly acknowledged that such a claim, which would require proving that CBS "deliberately distorted a factual news report," was a stretch. "In my view," he told Glenn Beck, "the best way forward" would be to "release the transcript," which would mean "there's no reason to have this before the FCC."

After Trump's ABC debate with Harris, he argued that the FCC "ought to take away their license" because the moderators fact-checked him but not her. When Carr was asked about Trump's threat during a House hearing in September, he repeatedly declined to say whether such a punishment would be justified, although he did say that his record at the FCC reflected "a consistent pattern" of taking positions "based on the law, the facts, and the First Amendment."

By contrast, Carr publicly addressed Trump's complaint about Harris' appearance on Saturday Night Live shortly before the election. "This is a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC's Equal Time rule," Carr wrote on X. "The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conducta licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election."

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Although it is not clear how open Carr will be to Trump's complaints about unfair news coverage, it does seem clear that he has no qualms about the weird status of broadcasters under current law. Unlike other news sources, broadcasters are subject to FCC content regulation, including the prohibition of "broadcast news distortion," the "equal time" rule, and the ban on broadcast indecency.

"The law in this area is, regrettably, complicated," notes UCLA First Amendment specialist Eugene Volokh. "The Supreme Court has broadly protected the right of newspapers, magazines, book authors, filmmakers, cable companies, Internet companies, and others to speak, without the fear that a government agency will strip them of the right to speak based on the content of their speech. But the rule for broadcast television and radio has been different."

Volokh notes that both Thomas and the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, ordinarily seen as representing opposite poles on the Supreme Court, have "suggested that it was unsound to offer lesser First Amendment protection to broadcasting." That concern is well founded, Volokh suggests, because "the FCC can't be trusted to police supposed 'misinformation' on radio and television any more than some Federal Newspaper Commission could be trusted to police supposed misinformation in newspapers."

The main historical rationale for treating broadcasters differentlythat the "scarcity" of "the public airwaves" required government controlnever made much sense. It makes even less sense in the current media environment, where the exact route that information travels on its way to listeners and viewers has no obvious constitutional significance. But because of the increasingly puzzling legal distinction between broadcasting and other modes of communication, an FCC chairman's understanding of "the public interest" remains a potential threat to freedom of the press.

The post Trump's Pick To Run the FCC Wants To Restrict the Editorial Discretion of Social Media Platforms appeared first on Reason.com.
Few people may be more relieved about President-elect Donald Trump's pending return to the White House than the more than 1,500 Americans charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

On the campaign trail, Trump often referred to those convicted and awaiting trial on Jan. 6 charges as "political prisoners" and "hostages" and said he'd pardon them if he won the 2024 election.

Those convicted of serious felonies include leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys militias who are serving sentences for crimes including seditious conspiracy.

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Trump himself was charged in a federal indictment over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat, but Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith is winding down that and a separate case following Trump's victory last week.

A similar endgame may await the cases against Jan. 6 defendants facing a range of misdemeanor and felony charges.

Now that Trump has won, what will happen to those cases? Here are three things to know.

How many Jan. 6 cases are there?

There are several archives and databases keeping track of the Jan. 6 prosecutions. One, by National Public Radio, lists the total number of people charged with federal offenses at 1,542, as of Nov. 8, 2024.

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Of those, the database reports, 999 pleaded guilty and another 174 were convicted on all charges while 73 were found guilty on some of the charges. Only three people, according to NPR's count, were acquitted.

In all, 1,030 of these defendants have been sentenced.

Who are some of the more high-profile cases?

One of the most notorious cases is the one against Henry "Enrique" Tarrio. The former head of the Proud Boys militant group was convicted in May 2023 of felonies including seditious conspiracy. In September 2023, Tarrio, of Miami, was sentenced to 22 years in prison and three years of supervised release.

Another former Proud Boys member, Joseph Biggs of Ormond Beach, Florida, was sentenced to 17 years in August 2023.

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Those sentences followed convictions of leaders of another extremist group, the Oath Keepers. In May 2023, Elmer Stewart Rhodes III of Texas, the group's founder, and Kelly Meggs, the leader of the Oath Keepers' Florida chapter, were also sentenced on seditious conspiracy and other Jan. 6 charges.

Another high-profile case involves brother and sister Jonathan Pollock and Olivia Pollock of Lakeland, Florida. The siblings traveled to Washington, D.C. in January 2021 for then-President Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally, federal prosecutors said. Following the attack, a grand jury indicted the two on charges that included assaulting police officers, violent entry, presence in a restricted area and disorderly conduct.

More:Why a potential Trump win, Jan. 6 pardons have one family fearing for their lives

Jonathan Pollock managed to avoid arrest and became a fugitive, according to media reports, while Olivia Pollock was arrested but was released on bond and under a monitoring program. But she disabled her GPS monitor and went into hiding just before a court appearance in March 2023, the Department of Justice stated.

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The Pollocks were apprehended and await disposition of their case.

Why does this matter?

The attack on the U.S. Capitol almost four years ago shocked the world. A congressional committee issued a 1,000-page report in December 2022 detailing what it called a coup attempt led by Trump and his allies.

Since then, however, views about the day's violence have splintered along partisan lines.

A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll taken early this year found 55% of voters said they believed the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was an attack on American democracy and 43% said there has been too much focus and attention on the day's events.

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Some 86% of Democrats said the attack should not be forgotten and 72% of Republicans said it was time to move on.

In the 2024 election, Jan. 6 was a key reason voters worried about the fate of U.S. democracy. An exit poll by NBC News said 34% of voters said the state of democratic governance was their most pressing issue, followed by the economy at 31%.

Jacob Ware, co-author of the book "God, Guns and Sedition," notes that organizations like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers were effectively "broken up" by the Jan. 6 backlash and the prosecutions. But the larger message, the broader hope that Jan. 6 might serve as an enduring deterrence against political violence and insurrection, has much less stamina.

"The Jan. 6 deterrence factor that you think would be in place based on the charges involved has already been eroded," Ware said. "People were punished for the crimes they committed, and that's important from a criminal justice standpoint.

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"But the deterrence that you would think from this case, the largest investigation in American history, would implement has been eroded from four years of rhetoric calling them warriors, heroes, patriots, political prisoners, martyrs. And so a pardon would almost be a more of a confirmation of that as opposed to something drastic or different."

Trump has named figures to his Cabinet, including Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general, who have decried the Jan. 6 prosecutions, including the case against Trump.

Contributing: Gary White, Lakeland Ledger

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: With Trump's return, are Jan 6 Capitol rioters off the hook?
Donald Trump's election victory is impacting Ukraine even before he takes office again in January.

Trump has criticized US aid to Ukraine and has suggested he'd strike a deal with Russia.

The Biden administration is rushing aid, and more conversations about a peace deal are taking place.

President-elect Donald Trump's election win has prompted a flurry of reactions around the world that are already reshaping the war in Ukraine.

Trump, a frequent critic of US aid to Ukraine, won't take over the White House until January 20, 2025. But his imminent return has sparked a rush of aid to Ukraine, a greater emphasis on finding ways to end the war quickly, and new conversations between countries most engaged in the conflict.

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President Joe Biden, a strong supporter of Ukraine, has sought to rush additional aid to Ukraine before Trump takes office. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that Biden "has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door" before that date in January.

As Business Insider previously reported, over $6 billion in US assistance to Ukraine remains from April's foreign aid package.

Meanwhile, over the weekend Biden gave Ukraine permission to use the long-range missiles it's supplied to strike inside Russia, according to multiple reports.

That restriction has been a major hindrance to Ukraine, warfare experts said, preventing it from going after the source of Russian attacks and leaving it instead to have to try to stop each attack as it comes in.

A US Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) firing a missile. South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images

The new ability to strike targets inside Russia should boost Ukraine's battlefield effectiveness, but the long wait gave Russia plenty of time to prepare and to move its aircraft out of potential range.

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Meanwhile, world leaders have reacted to Trump's imminent return to office by renewing efforts to end the fighting, in ways that have been resisted in the past.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who has positioned himself as a power player in the conflict, will present a plan to freeze the war when meeting G20 leaders in Brazil on Monday, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Erdogan's plan involves Ukraine agreeing not to discuss joining NATO for 10 years, the sources said.

Two European officials also told Bloomberg that there is increasing recognition in Europe that Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy will have to compromise with Russian President Vladimir Putin, because neither country has shown that it can comprehensively win on the battlefield.

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a call with Putin on November 15, in what Reuters described as their first direct communication in almost two years.

A German government spokesperson said Scholz "urged Russia to be prepared to negotiate with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace," Politico reported.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. JOHN MACDOUGALL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

According to the Associated Press, Putin said that any peace deal must acknowledge the territory Russia has taken and Russian demands, like Ukraine not joining NATO.

Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Friday that this kind of communication is "exactly what Putin has wanted for a long time."

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He said Putin wants to "weaken his isolation" and said that "ordinary negotiations" would lead to nothing.

Zelenskyy has previously said that he is open to ending the war through diplomatic means but warned that Russia does not want to end the war on what he described as "any reasonable terms."

Ukraine has repeatedly rejected the idea of giving up territory.

(Trump has previously suggested that he would try to strike a deal that would involve giving up some Ukrainian territory.)

Even so, Zelenskyy has spoken more frequently on the possibility of a deal, suggesting he's under some pressure from Ukraine's allies.

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Zelenskyy told Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne on Saturday that he believes Trump's reelection as president will mean the conflict ends "faster."

He also said that Ukraine must do everything it can to end the war through diplomatic means, but that he doesn't believe Putin actually wants peace.

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in 2018. Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

Zelenskyy told Suspilne that for Ukraine to take part in negotiations, it must be able to remain "strong" and "not alone with Russia," per the Kyiv Independent's translation.

"I don't think Putin wants peace at all" he added. "But this does not mean that he does not want to sit down with one of the leaders."

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Zelenskyy said this would destroy the political isolation that has built around Putin since the start of the war. "And it benefits him to sit down, talk, and not reach an agreement," Zelenskyy said.

Despite all this movement, Trump has not signaled his own plan as yet, and there is uncertainty over what he will ultimately decide to do regarding Ukraine.

Many European nations have vowed to continue supporting Ukraine, though the job would be much tougher without the US' contributions.

There is also some optimism in Ukraine, as well as among Ukraine's European allies and warfare experts, that the changes Trump brings in could be in Ukraine's interest, compared to the slow drip of aid that has happened under Biden.

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But, as The Wall Street Journal reports, there are concerns that the Trump administration won't give Ukraine much of a say in what a peace deal could look like, and which of Russia's demands Trump might accept.

What is clear, however, is that Trump's reelection is already having a strong impact on how countries are thinking about the war.

Read the original article on Business Insider
ARLINGTON, Va. (DC News Now)  The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced on Monday that officers intercepted a loaded gun from a flight crew members carry-on at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).

TSA said that officers found the 9mm handgun at one of the checkpoints, among the crew members carry-on items on Friday, Nov. 15. The gun was loaded with nine bullets, including one in the chamber.

TSA officers at Reagan National Airport intercepted this gun at a TSA security checkpoint on Nov. 15. (Courtesy: Transportation Security Administration)

Upon finding the gun, TSA officers notified the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Police, who responded to the checkpoint, took the gun and issued a citation to the woman.

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TSA also notified the airline of the serious violation.

Kitten stolen in burglary in DC

This was a good catch on the part of our TSA officers as it addressed a possible insider threat situation, explained John Busch, TSAs federal security director for the airport. Individuals who work on the secure side of airports and on board aircraft, whether they are members of the flight crew, work at retail shops, work for airlines, or are contractors of a company that does business at the airport are not allowed to bring prohibited items onto the secure side of the airport or onto a flight, especially firearms.

Bush also said officers are always on alert for employees who may have possible bad intentions and that flight crew employees are subject to security screenings just as travelers are.

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The woman faces a federal civil penalty for bringing a loaded firearm to the checkpoint. The federal penalty for carrying weapons can reach a maximum of $15,000, according to TSA.

To transport a firearm for a flight, the gun must be unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided case and declared at the airline counter so it can be placed in the correct spot on the aircraft.

From 2018 to 2024, TSA officers have intercepted 174 guns at the airports checkpoints, according to data released by TSA.

Year 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 (As of 11/17/24) Guns caught at DCA checkpoints 16 14 10 30 29 39 36

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.
The Kremlin on Nov. 18 dismissed a peace plan for Ukraine reportedly to be put forward by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, describing it as "unacceptable."

Erdogan's proposal would include Ukraine abstaining from joining NATO for at least 10 years, freezing the current front line, providing Ukraine with weapons, and deploying international troops to a demilitarized buffer zone in the country's east, Bloomberg reported.

The news outlet also said Erdogan would propose the plan during G20 talks commencing on Nov. 18.

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Reacting to the reports, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the proposal.

"The option of freezing the line of military conflict is unacceptable for the Russian side," he said in comments reported by Interfax.

Erdogan's proposal comes as NATO countries prepare for a Donald Trump presidency, which many fear will lead to the U.S. pressuring Ukraine to end the war quickly, even at the cost of territorial concessions.

The G20 countries are set to convene in Brazil without the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Brazil is a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Putin last year for the abduction of Ukrainian children. 

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will also not be present, despite numerous appeals to receive an invitation. Zelensky said on Nov. 16 that Ukraine must do everything possible to end the war through diplomatic means in 2025.

Read also: ATACMS boost for Ukraine as Trump freeze deadline looms

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will propose his peace plan for Ukraine during the G20 talks commencing on Nov. 18, Bloomberg reported, citing undisclosed sources.

Erdogan's proposal would include Ukraine foregoing joining NATO for at least 10 years, freezing the current front line, providing Ukraine with weapons, and deploying international troops to a demilitarized buffer zone in the Donbas, Bloomberg reported.

The Turkish leader's proposal comes as NATO countries prepare for a Donald Trump presidency, which many fear will lead to the U.S. pressuring Ukraine to end the war quickly, even at the cost of territorial concessions.

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The G20 countries are set to convene in Brazil without the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Brazil is a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Putin last year for the abduction of Ukrainian children. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will also not be present, despite numerous appeals to receive an invitation. Zelensky said on Nov. 16 that Ukraine must do everything possible to end the war through diplomatic means in 2025.

Zelensky's words followed German Chancellor Olaf Scholzs phone conversation with Putin, during which he condemned Russia's war against Ukraine and called to withdraw Russian troops from Ukrainian territory. He also urged Russia to negotiate with Ukraine to achieve a "just and lasting peace."

The call sparked anger in Ukraine, with Zelensky saying it could open a "Pandora's Box" for further engagement with the Russian leader. In the wake of Trump's election, Kyiv has urged its partners to adopt a "peace through strength" approach to pressure Russia toward a just peace.

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Read also: Trumps peace plan may include deploying European troops to buffer zone in Ukraine, Telegraph reports

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Deputies in Orange County said two 18-year-olds have been changed with a 17-year-olds death.

Deputies said Derrick Sharod Lafure and JaCorey Latrieus Lowery are both charged with first-degree murder after the death of Arthy Sony Cetoute.

Cetoute died after he was shot around 7:20 p.m. on Sept. 5 in the 1800 block of Americana Boulevard.

Read: Crews recover body of missing 4-year-old boy with autism at park in Ormond Beach

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Deputies said Lafure was arrested on Sept. 17, and Lowery was arrested in Greensborough, North Carolina, last Friday.

Deputies said they are working to bring Lafure back to Orlando to face charges.

Read: A gold pocket watch given to the captain who rescued Titanic survivors sells for record price

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.




KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Two 18-year-olds from Kearney and one 29-year-old man were killed in a four-car crash involving a multi-state police chase Sunday morning, the Missouri State Highway Patrol confirmed.

According to MSHP, just before 7:25 a.m. Sunday, a Ford Focus and a Volvo VNL tractor-trailer were driving in the northbound lanes of northbound Interstate 29 when two cars, a Kia Sorento and Chevrolet Tahoe entered their lanes and began driving in the opposite direction of traffic.

MSHP later confirmed that the Tahoe was being driven by a Fremont County, Iowa deputy who had been chasing the driver of the Sorento  a 29-year-old man with a 1-year-old passenger.

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Child killed, officer injured after domestic disturbance in Lawson

Shortly after entering the opposite lanes, the driver of the Sorento crashed into the Focus head-on. This caused the Sorento to drive off the roadway, hit a bridge and catch on fire.

The Ford Focus also ran off the roadway before it overturned and ejected one of its 18-year-old passengers.

As the crash took place, the tractor-trailer, which had been behind the Focus, attempted to swerve around the crash. However, it ended up hitting the Freemont County deputy in the process.

Both the tractor-trailer and the deputy then drove off the road and crashed into a median.

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MSHP said three people were killed and one was seriously injured in the crash,

One critically injured after hitting tree in Northland Monday morning

The fatalities include the 29-year-old driver of the Sorento, as well as two 18-year-olds, one boy and one girl, who had been riding in the Focus.

Another passenger in the Focus, a different 18-year-old girl, was seriously injured in the crash.

All three teens were 2024 graduates from Kearney High School.

Fremont County, Iowa Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports they received a report Sunday morning of a woman at Grape Community Hospital, in Hamburg, Iowa, who had experienced a domestic assault.

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The woman reported that she and her 1-year-old child had been kidnapped in Nebraska by a male acquaintance. He ran from Nebraska law enforcement into Iowa and dropped the female victim off at the hospital but left with the child.

Fremont County deputies were informed that the Iowa State Patrol was chasing the suspect vehicle. Deputies attempted to intercept the chase near Hamburg. The suspect was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of I-29 and speeding while troopers followed in the southbound lanes.

Missouri authorities were notified once the chase crossed into the state.

In the aftermath of the deadly crash, Kearney Mayor Randy Pogue, as well as the Kearney School District, made a post sending their condolences to the families of the victims.

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In times of sorrow, I offer my deepest sympathies to the Cunningham and Yeates families, Mayor Pogue said. The loss of two Kearney Bulldogs in the traffic accident yesterday up North has shaken our community. May courage and hope be the steadfast companions of both families, friends, and all who mourn. Praying for you all.

Man shot, killed in Independence Twin Peaks parking lot Saturday night

In addition to this statement, Kearney School District told FOX4, First and foremost, we offer our deep condolences and full support to the victims families and friends. We will not be releasing the victims names; please refer to the Missouri State Highway Patrol for any additional information that they may be prepared to release. The Kearney High School team is aware of this tragic event and the counselors are prepared to provide additional guidance and support as needed.

The reason for the multi-state chase has not been released by MSHP or other law enforcement agencies.

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This is a developing story. Stay tuned at FOX4 News for the latest updates and information.

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WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWTI)  A pair of north country businesses will receive New York State Innovation Matching Grants from Empire State Developments Division of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Both Mission Power Corp and Pharmacoustics Technologies, LLC, have earned funding via the program. The two Potsdam-based businesses are among the 35 that were awarded over $4,63 million in the first two rounds of the new Innovation Matching Grants program.

Clarkson University celebrates $6.1B federal investment into Micron

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The initiative was launched in May 2024, is part of NYSTARs ongoing efforts to support the growth of small businesses and the development of cutting-edge technologies in the state. NYSTAR received more than 35 applications within a week of opening its first round of funding.

The awarded projects span 18 strategic technology areas, including Additive/Manufacturing Technologies, Artificial Intelligence, Energy Storage/Battery Technologies, Lifesciences/Biotechnology etc. Companies that received funding from the federal governments Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs were eligible for NYSTAR matching grants up to $200,000.

New York is the heart of innovation, and these grants provide the support that empowers our states small business entrepreneurs in high-growth industries to turn their potential into real technological and economic progress. Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Hope Knight

NYSTARs initiative highlights its commitment to supporting early-stage technology development and accelerating the path from research to market, which has contributed to business growth, job creation and stronger regional economies across the state.

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All awards are conditioned on the successful negotiation and execution of a Grant Disbursement Agreement.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWTI - InformNNY.com.
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY)  Two Norfolk men involved in a North Carolina gun store robbery in 2021 have been sentenced for federal firearms crimes.

According to court documents, Khari Terell Wood, 28, and other individuals broke into Gale Force Guns in Moyock, North Carolina, on Sept. 20, 2021, and stole five firearms.

A month later, Wood and others returned to the Gale Force Guns store on Oct. 22 and stole 47 additional firearms. Wood then transported the stolen firearms from North Carolina to Norfolk.

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Six days later, officers recovered several firearms after finding Wood in a stolen vehicle at his residence on Oct. 28. Wood attempted to flee into his residence, but the officers were able to detain him and search the stolen vehicle.

On Nov. 26, 2021, Isaiah Malquawn Hopkins, 28, used one of the stolen handguns to shoot through a glass door at the River View Market in Norfolk. He then entered the store and stole a lottery ticket box.

The Indiana State Police stopped Hopkins on March 14, 2022, for a traffic infraction and found the handgun near the driver seat during a search of the vehicle.

Hopkins and Wood previously had both been convicted of robbery and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. As convicted felons, they cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

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Hopkins pled guilty on June 24 to being a felon in possession of firearms. On Oct. 24 he was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Wood pled guilty on June 25 to conspiracy and being a felon in possession of firearms. He was sentenced on Nov. 14 to nine years and two months in prison.

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Four people were rushed to the hospital Monday evening, one with life-threatening injuries, after being attacked by a dog in Roxbury, according to police.

Boston police responded to Dennison Street in Roxbury for a report of a man and a woman bitten by a dog around 4:49 p.m., a Boston police spokesperson told Boston 25.

The woman suffered life-threatening injuries, police said. Information on the other victims condition was not made immediately available.

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Authorities say the attack happened inside the residence and the two victims were the dogs owners.

Boston Police say two officers bitten by dog outside Dennison St home while rendering aid to two victims who had just been attacked inside. Residents who were attacked believed to be owners of animal. Dog shot by officer, three others removed from property #Boston25 pic.twitter.com/H6bgFwtXcq  Drew Karedes (@DrewKaredes) November 19, 2024

A Boston police officer fired his gun at the dog while responding to the incident after two officers were bitten. Police did not state whether the attacking dog was killed.

Both officers were transported to an area hospital and are expected to be okay.

Surveillance video obtained by Boston 25 News shows the danger that officers were greeted with before three shots were fired on the dead-end street.

I heard two shots, and I saw that the dog was down. About a minute or so later, less than that, I heard a third shot, said one neighbor. It was terrible.

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Boston 25 News has learned that the attack happened at the multi-family home owned by civil rights leader Jean McGuire.

McGuire said she was not home when the attack happened in a first-floor unit.

Police were not able to provide an update on the condition of the dog and would not comment on the dogs breed.

Boston Animal Control transported the dog who was shot and also took three additional dogs from the scene.

An investigation is active and ongoing.

WATCH LIVE: Officials providing an update after four people, including two officers, attacked by dog in Roxbury https://t.co/O8mvhdIyQE  Boston 25 News (@boston25) November 18, 2024

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By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate is due to vote on Wednesday on legislation that would block arms sales to Israel, backed by lawmakers who say Israel is obstructing aid shipments desperately needed by Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

The "resolutions of disapproval" were filed by Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats. Strong bipartisan support for Israel means the resolutions are not expected to pass, but backers hope they will encourage Israel's government and President Joe Biden's administration to do more to protect civilians in Gaza.

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Most of Gaza's population of 2.3 million people has been displaced and the enclave is at risk of famine. Gaza health officials say more than 43,922 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's 13-month-old offensive.

Two of the resolutions, co-sponsored with Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley and Peter Welch, would block the sale of 120 mm mortar rounds and joint direct attack munitions (JDAMS). A third, sponsored by Democratic Senator Brian Schatz, would block the sale of tank rounds.

JDAM tail kits, which convert a standard unguided bomb using fins and a GPS guidance system into a guided weapon, are made by Boeing.

"This war has been conducted almost entirely with American weapons and $18 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars. Israel has dropped U.S.-provided 2,000-pound bombs into crowded neighborhoods, killed hundreds of civilians to take out a handful of Hamas fighters, and made little effort to distinguish between civilians and combatants," Sanders said in a statement.

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"These actions are immoral and illegal," he said.

Biden, whose term ends in January, has strongly backed Israel since Hamas-led gunmen attacked in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

The Biden administration in October told Israel that it had 30 days to improve the flow of aid to Gaza or risk consequences to U.S. military aid.

After that period, Washington said on Nov. 12 it concluded that Israel had made progress and was not currently impeding assistance to Gaza. Many aid groups disagreed.

Israel says it has been working to address humanitarian needs and the main problem with aid deliveries was U.N. distribution challenges.

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Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen on Monday said he supported the joint resolutions of disapproval, as did Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren last week.

U.S. law gives Congress the right to stop major foreign weapons sales by passing resolutions of disapproval. Although no such resolution has both passed Congress and survived a presidential veto, the law requires the Senate to vote if a resolution is filed. Such resolutions have at times led to angry debates embarrassing to past presidents.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Rod Nickel)
Jay Silveria will become the new president of University of Arkansas System on Jan. 15, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Texas A&M Universitys Bush School of Government & Public Service)

The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees approved the selection of Jay Silveria as the UA Systems new president Monday.

The retired United States Air Force Lieutenant General will assume his new role with the states largest university system on Jan. 15, 2025, contingent upon successful negotiation of an employment contract.

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Silveria told the board he was honored by the selection and excited about what lies ahead. As higher education faces challenges in Arkansas and across the country, Silveria said his job is to make the case for the value of the higher education, research and public service that we provide and to place students needs above all.

I dont possess all the answers and Ill tell you that from the beginning, he said. I know we have a lot of challenges, but I have no doubt that we can take them on if we work hard enough, deliberative enough and consistent enough and we work together.

Silveria will succeed Donald Bobbitt who notified the board in July he would retire Jan. 15, 2025, or earlier if a successor was selected before then. Bobbitt succeeded Alan Sugg as president on Nov. 1, 2011.

Donald Bobbitt, current president of the University of Arkansas System, attends an event in Little Rock on Nov. 14, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)

The UA Foundation Board retained the services of Greenwood Asher and Associates to assist with a national search for a new president. Board trustee Scott Ford led the search and said there was enormous interest in the position that resulted in discussions with dozens of people. Ultimately seven candidates submitted a formal application.

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Monday marked the seventh time the board has met in executive session since late October to discuss the search.

I believe weve found a proven leader who brings unmatched qualities, achievements and experience from his time in the military and in higher education to our System that will help us navigate the myriad of opportunities and issues facing our campuses, divisions and units, board chair Kelly Eichler said in a statement. The Board is very proud of this selection, and we are looking forward to welcoming General Silveria and his family to Arkansas, and helping him familiarize himself with our unique System and our dedicated students, faculty and staff across the state.

The president reports to the board and serves as chief executive officer of the University of Arkansas, which has 20 campuses, divisions and units, and a budget of more than $4 billion.

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The UA systems next president will be expected to assess the financial strength and viability of the system, and serve as a leader by promoting diversity among the system campus communities, curriculum, activities and student involvement, according to a position description.

Silveria, who retired from a 35-year career in the U.S. Air Force in November 2020, spent the last three years of his service as superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy, according to a press release. Silveria currently serves as the executive director of Texas A&M Universitys Bush School of Government and Public Service in Washington D.C.

Silveria earned a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a Master of Social Science from Syracuse University. He attended the National War College at Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington D.C., and was a senior executive fellow at Harvard University where he also attended the Harvard Seminar for New Presidents at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, according to the press release.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has said higher education will be a focus of next years legislative session, which will begin Jan. 13, 2025.

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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT)  Earlier this month, the City of Huntsville unveiled an app that helps locate the final resting places of veterans buried in Maple Hill Cemetery.

Will Ford, a senior at UAH, played a crucial role in helping collect the data needed by the city. However, this was no small task. Ford walked every inch of the nearly 100-acre cemetery to mark the graves of veterans properly.

8-year-old who raised money for mothers headstone now giving back

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Ford is studying geographic information systems at UAH and his work was a part of an internship with the City of Huntsville this past summer.

Maple Hill Cemetery is located in Five Points and holds the graves of hundreds of military personnel, from as far back as the Revolutionary War to as recent as Iraq and Afghanistan.

I share a great deal of respect of veterans and their families, said Ford. I come from one so if I can its just something that I feel like if I can give back to these families, to the people of North Alabama, Alabama, anywhere, I think thats what kept me going through those hot Alabama summer months.

The app is needed because there is a lack of consistency in how graves are marked. Tara Sloan, cemetery director for the City of Huntsville, said the app will help veterans buried at Maple Hill be remembered during the holidays.

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ALDOT, City of Huntsville announce lane closures for Northern Bypass project, affecting traffic for months

Years past, weve had concerns from our constituents that their loved one was missed because they were unmarked or because the veteran symbolization that they have could be something as small as a medallion that was attached to an upright headstone, said Sloan. We hope to encourage these entities that want to attribute our veterans by laying wreaths or placing flags to look at the data so they can get a proper count when they are going to honor them.

In order to collect the needed information, Ford used a GPS device to log names, birth and death dates, military branches and the wars in which they fought. His work will help preserve not only Huntsvilles history but American history.

Thats something that Im proud of and its very cool to see something like this come out to help people, said Ford.

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The work doesnt stop here, however. Maple Hill is the pilot program for tracking this data. Sloan hopes to repeat this effort at the remaining cemeteries in the city.

Any families of veterans whose graves are not marked on the app are encouraged to email MapleHill@HuntsvilleAL.gov to provide the information. To use the new web app, visit the City of Huntsville Cemetery Search.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com.
LONDON (AP)  The U.K. government hit Iran with new sanctions Monday for sending ballistic missiles and other weapons to Russia to support the war against Ukraine.

The Foreign Office said it will freeze assets for Irans national airline and its state-owned shipping company that helped transfer weapons. It will also sanction the Russian cargo ship Port Olya-3 that delivered the missiles from Iran.

Irans attempts to undermine global security are dangerous and unacceptable," Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement in advance of announcing the sanctions at the U.N. Security Council. Alongside our international partners, we were clear that any transfer of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia would face a significant response."

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The announcement comes on the eve of the 1,000th day of the war in Ukraine and the day after U.S. President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use missiles supplied by Washington to strike deeper inside Russia.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said at the G20 summit in Brazil that we need to double down to support Ukraine as long as necessary.

The asset freezes will restrict Iran Airs ability to operate direct services to and from the United Kingdom and will prevent U.K. citizens or businesses from financial dealings with those entities, the office said.

The actions follow a previous round of sanctions against Iran and Russia that it announced in September alongside Germany and France.
The United Kingdom has so far trained around 50,000 soldiers from Ukraine since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022.

UK Defence Minister John Healey told Parliament in London that Tuesday will mark a "bloody milestone" of 1,000 days since the start of the all.out attack.

In his remarks on Monday, Healey said he could confirm that 50,000 soldiers from Ukraine had now been trained by British forces.

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The UK began "Operation Interflex," which is also supported by other countries, in the summer of 2022. According to the British government, Ukrainian recruits with little or no military experience are being trained.

The programme is set to continue in the coming year.
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday to establish "consistent, durable" relations between their two nations, pressing on with efforts to thaw ties between London and Beijing at a G20 summit.

The meeting in Brazil was the first between the countries' two leaders since 2018, and Starmer struck an upbeat tone, saying he would like to engage with Beijing on areas such as trade, the economy and climate, and have broader engagement on science, technology, health and education.

The British leader also said he would start plans to have a "full bilateral" with Xi in either Beijing or London and hoped his finance minister Rachel Reeves would meet Vice Premier He Lifeng to discuss economic and financial cooperation next year.

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"We want our relations to be consistent, durable, respectful as we have agreed, avoid surprises where possible, and strengthened dialogue should provide stronger understanding," Starmer told Xi at the start of their meeting.

"The UK will be a predictable consistent sovereign actor committed to the rule of law and multilateral system," he said, adding he appreciated Xi's candour in a call in August and would match him in tone when raising differences between the two.

Xi told Starmer that China and Britain should adopt a rational and objective perspective on each other's development and the two nations should enhance strategic communication and deepen political mutual trust, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The meeting's cooperative tone was in stark contrast to ties under the former Conservative government, which took a robust approach to differences with China, particularly over human rights, Hong Kong and allegations of Chinese espionage.

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With Starmer focused on rebooting growth in the economy to try to meet his promise during an election in July of rebuilding public services, the British leader is keen to encourage trade and investment from different nations.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: "They also discussed deepening the partnership bilaterally on trade and investment, health, education and other areas of mutual interest."

They both agreed climate should be high on the agenda, the spokesperson said.

Starmer also said he wanted to engage frankly with China on issues where the two countries had different perspectives, such as human rights, Hong Kong and Ukraine, the spokesperson said.

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Starmer has long described his desire to build a "pragmatic" relationship with China that is "rooted in the UK's national interests", taking aim at boosting trade, a task that may become more difficult if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump follows through on his threat to impose tariffs on all imports.

China is Britain's sixth-largest trading partner, accounting for 5% of goods and services trade worth 86.5 billion pounds ($112 billion), while Britain has a 1.2% market share of Chinese trade.

The latest meeting builds on the government's growing engagement with China, after British Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited China last month, a softening criticised by the now opposition Conservative Party which remains wary of Beijing.

(Reporting by Kate Holton and Elizabeth Piper in London, Eduardo Baptista in Rio de Janeiro and Yukun Zhang and Ryan Woo in Beijing: Editing by Nicholas Yong, Christina Fincher, Nick Zieminski, William Maclean)
By Muvija M

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain will restart talks with India on a free trade deal in the new year, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said on Monday, following a months-long pause in negotiations due to elections in both countries.

London will seek a "new strategic partnership" with India as well as deepening co-operation in areas like security, education, technology, and climate change, Starmer's office said after he met his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, at the G20 summit in Brazil.

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"A new trade deal with India will support jobs and prosperity in the UK," Starmer, whose Labour Party was elected to power in July, said.

The British leader also met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the summit in Rio de Janeiro, calling on him to establish "consistent, durable" relations between their two nations and saying he would like to engage on areas such as trade, the economy and climate.

Starmer has pledged to secure the fastest sustained economic growth for Britain among the Group of Seven countries. The Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development has predicted that British growth in 2025 would be the lowest of the G7.

The previous Conservative government held years-long trade talks with New Delhi, but they ended in March without a deal, with a British official saying an agreement could not be finalised ahead of the Indian elections.

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Total trade between India and Britain, currently the world's fifth- and sixth-largest economies, was worth 42 billion pounds ($53.2 billion) in the 12 months to June, with British exports to India valued at 16.6 billion pounds.

Before India's April 19-June 1 general election, which handed Modi a rare third term, government sources said that he was likely to prioritise completion of free trade deals with Britain and Oman if he were to be e-elected.

Previous sticking points in the trade talks between the two countries have included a steep import duty on British whiskey for sale in India and India's demand for more visas for Indian students and businesses.

"India is ... a vital trading partner for the UK. We believe there is a good deal to be done here that works for both nations," British Business Minister Jonathan Reynolds said.

($1 = 0.7892 pounds)

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar in Bengaluru and Muvija M in London; Editing by Leslie Adler and Stephen Coates)
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will seek backing from other United Nations Security Council members on Monday for its demand that Sudan's warring parties stop hostilities and allow deliveries of aid, the British foreign ministry said.

With London holding the rotating presidency of the council, British foreign minister David Lammy is due to chair a vote on a UK/Sierra Leone-proposed draft resolution, which also calls for the protection of civilians.

Lammy will say "the UK will never let Sudan be forgotten" and announce a doubling of Britain's aid to 226 million pounds ($285 million), according to a statement from his ministry.

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A power struggle between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces broke out in April 2023 ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, killing thousands and triggering the world's largest displacement crisis.

The ministry said Lammy would also criticise restrictions by Israel on humanitarian aid in Gaza and call for an immediate ceasefire along with the release of all hostages.

On the war in Ukraine, he was due to say that Britain "will keep standing with Ukraine until reality dawns in Moscow". He was due to speak to media with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

($1 = 0.7926 pounds)

(Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
(Bloomberg) -- The UK will have to balance any deal on tariffs offered by US President-elect Donald Trump with wider concerns on how it would affect trade ties with the European Union, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said Monday.

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Trump will take power in January after winning the US election earlier this month on the back of a campaign in which he vowed to slap tariffs of as much as 20% on all imports to the US, and of 60% on imports from China. Reynolds told a committee in Parliaments upper chamber on Monday that tariffs on British goods entering the US would be a difficult thing for us to have to contend with, while adding that the deeper challenge was how Trumps presidency might affect the UK-EU relationship.

The US is a major and important trading partner for the UK, 300 billion ($380 billion) of bilateral trade, Reynolds told the House of Lords International Agreements Committee. But compared to the EU with over 800 billion of bilateral trade, clearly if there are things that we are offered or asked to do that would result in an adverse relationship on the European side, wed have to weigh the consequences.

Trumps proposals complicate plans by the UKs new Labour government to promote growth at home, with economists at Goldman Sachs already downgrading the projected rise in the countrys economic output as a result of his election win. They also present a conundrum for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whos seeking to move the UK closer to the EU after years of friction over Brexit, but has also bumped a US trade deal up his list of priorities after the former president secured a second term.

Reynolds said trade negotiators would not be seeking to choose between key markets. While the US is the UKs largest single trading partner, with total trade worth 302.1 billion in 2023, the EU is the UKs largest trading market, with total trade worth 807.2 billion.

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But the return of Trump with his America first protectionist stance may force Starmers government into examining uncomfortable trade-offs. Economists have speculated that the US may ask the UK, in order to be exempted from any tariffs, to take its side on foreign policy matters or import more of its goods.

That could involve asking the UK to lower its food and agricultural standards, which are currently aligned with those of the EU, to allow greater imports of US produce. The UKs refusal to do so in the past was a continual point of contention in trade talks with the US during Trumps first administration.

Choosing between key markets is not something we would be seeking to do, Reynolds said. While there would be offers made to the UK during the course of trade negotiations, we will have to see what those offers are, he added.

Trade consultants have suggested the US may try to offer the UK derogations from unilateral tariffs if it sides with Trump in his protectionism against China. But Reynolds warned that following the policies of a much larger country would be painful for the UK. If there were to be a much wider trade confrontation between China and the West, as a much more globally orientated trading nation the UK would be much more exposed than, say, the US is, he said.

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Starmer on Monday became the first British premier in almost seven years to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as he seeks to forge closer economic ties with the worlds second biggest economy while also acknowledging the importance of challenging China when necessary over issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and wider concerns over human rights.

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The SPEAR 3, a precision-guided standoff munition that the U.K. Ministry of Defense describes as the cruise missile of the future, has been test-fired, paving the way for it to arm British F-35B stealth fighters. While offering several key advantages over certain other comparable weapons, the SPEAR 3 program has been mired in delays for some time now, not all of which are the result of problems directly related to the missile. In the meantime, its now badly needed, with British F-35Bs having no standoff air-to-ground weapon for the time being.

As we have discussed before, the SPEAR 3 is essentially a miniature cruise missile, powered by a small Pratt & Whitney TJ-150-3 turbojet engine. Combined with pop-out wings, this allows it to hit targets at a reported range of more than 62 miles, flying at a high subsonic speed. Other accounts have attributed it with a range of more than 87 miles.

Armed with the SPEAR 3 test round, the Typhoon heads toward the Vidsel Test Range in Sweden. Crown Copyright

The missile uses a tri-mode seeker that offers radar, infrared, and laser homing. The SPEAR 3 can autonomously identify and prosecute targets, or target coordinates can be sent to the missile via datalink, exploiting the launch platforms sensors or those of third parties. It can be used against mobile and relocatable targets, as well as ones that are more heavily defended, or otherwise challenging to prosecute. When striking its target via laser seeker  especially useful for moving targets  guidance can be provided by an aircraft overhead or by a suitably equipped team of soldiers on the ground nearby.

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Typical targets include ships, tanks, defended structures, and moving vehicles and its especially relevant for destruction of enemy air defense (SEAD) missions, which involve attacking hostile air defense systems.

An artists impression of the SPEAR 3 in flight. MBDA

The U.K. Ministry of Defense announced yesterday that the SPEAR 3 munition  developed by the pan-European missile house MBDA  had completed a recent firing campaign, which saw it launched from a Typhoon FGR4 multirole combat aircraft from 41 Test and Evaluation Squadron. The trials were conducted at the Vidsel Test Range in northern Sweden, within the Arctic Circle, reportedly in mid-October.

While this was the first time that the SPEAR 3 was launched against an actual test target, the weapon wasnt fitted with a warhead. Instead, it carried a telemetry unit, which gathered data on the mock engagement, which involved a high-altitude and high-speed release before zeroing in on a decommissioned tank.

The SPEAR 3 is a steep terminal trajectory before striking a main battle tank target at the Vidsel Test Range. MBDA



The Swedish test was billed as the first successful guided firing trial of the missile, although its worth noting that, as long ago as 2016, a prototype version of the SPEAR 3 was launched at Aberporth in Wales, also from a Typhoon.

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A spokesperson for MBDA explained how the two tests differed, with the Videl campaign being the first guided firing of the SPEAR 3, as part of the formal qualification  a key step toward declaring the weapon operational.

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The trial demonstrated the end-to-end function and performance of the system from initialization, launch, and transition to free flight, the conduct of pre-programmed maneuvers, and engagement of a target, the spokesperson added. This guided firing was conducted using a SPEAR three-pack launcher, which uses the same sub-systems (including the pneumatic ejection system) as the four-pack launcher for F-35.

In contrast, the 2016 trial served as a technology demonstration conducted during the projects assessment phase, testing the missiles airframe, navigation, and propulsion systems to increase technical maturity and de-risk the program ahead of the launch of the weapon development phase. The missile was a prototype standard and there was no target selection and engagement functionality in the 2016 trial.

The orange-painted SPEAR 3 test round on the three-pack launcher under the wing of the Typhoon. Crown Copyright

In addition, for the 2016 trial, the missile was launched directly from the aircrafts pylon rather than a dedicated launcher, and the prototype missile was suitably modified to use the existing pylon interface.

Returning to the Vidsel trial, U.K. Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard, issued the following statement:

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The successful trial of the pioneering SPEAR missile marks a significant leap forward in UK Armed Forces capabilities, ensuring our Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel are equipped with cutting-edge technology to protect our nation.

Another view of the SPEAR 3-armed Typhoon during the test mission at Vidsel. Crown Copyright

Matthew Brown, SPEAR Team Leader at the Defense Equipment and Support (DE&S) branch, which handles procurement for the U.K. Ministry of Defense, added: This trial was a key step on the way to delivering SPEAR to the UK front line, where it will provide a new capability to defeat the most complex air defense systems, enabling pilots to fly and fight wherever theyre needed in defense of the U.K. and its allies.

As for the next phases of testing, the same MBDA spokesperson confirmed to TWZ that the telemetry and flight termination sub-system fitted in place of a warhead for the Vidsel trial is sufficient to gather all data needed to support system development and model validation, as part of the guided firing program. Meanwhile, the multi-mode warhead, arming, and fuzing systems have already successfully been trialed at the system and sub-system levels.

The Typhoon test ship is seen from the cockpit of a Saab Gripen chase plane. Crown Copyright

Next up, there will be full test firings using a live warhead, to be conducted by the U.K. Royal Air Force as part of the end-users service evaluation trials, although no date for this was given.

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In the past, we have compared the British-made weapon against the U.S. GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II, better known as StormBreaker, with the major difference being the turbojet engine in the SPEAR 3, which means it has more range and can reach its targets faster than the unpowered glide bomb. Its speed also lends itself to survivability.

An artists impression of the GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II, or StormBreaker. Raytheon

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While the Typhoon already carries the Brimstone precision-guided munition from which the SPEAR 3 was derived, the new missile will primarily arm the U.K.s fleet of F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) stealth fighters. These also deploy aboard the U.K. Royal Navys two Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.

Each F-35B jet will be able to carry up to eight SPEAR 3 missiles at a time, as well as a pair of Meteor or AIM-120 AMRAAM beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles (BVRAAMs)  all of them accommodated internally, preserving the jets low-observable characteristics. At one time, consideration was also being given to adding capacity for underwing launchers on the F-35B, for a maximum of 16 SPEAR 3 missiles.

An artists impression of an F-35B armed with SPEAR 3 and Meteor. MBDA

While SPEAR stands for Selective Precision Effects At Range, the 3 in the designation of the new missile refers to its place within a portfolio of different air-to-ground weapons that are being developed for the U.K. Armed Forces.

Within this structure, SPEAR 1 refers to the Paveway IV precision-guided munition, while SPEAR 2 is the Brimstone, SPEAR 4 is a midlife upgrade for the Storm Shadow cruise missile, and SPEAR 5 is the Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon, which is being pursued as a joint project by the United Kingdom and France.

An infographic showing future U.K. F-35 weapons, (1) ASRAAM, currently carried; (2) Meteor; (3) SPEAR 3. All of these can be carried simultaneously. MBDA

In total, the United Kingdom is investing around $8.2 billion in missile programs via the manufacturer MBDA, which is responsible for the SPEAR 3 as well as Brimstone and Storm Shadow, the Sea Venom anti-ship missile, and the CAMM and Sea Viper naval air defense missiles.

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While the investment is considerable, it should be recalled that the development of the SPEAR 3 has not been free of problems.

In 2021, MBDA and BAE Systems announced they had secured funding from the British and Italian governments to complete the integration of the SPEAR 3 on both the F-35B and the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A. While the United Kingdom has only acquired the F-35B, Italy operates both versions.

The Typhoon test and evaluation launches in Sweden, carrying a single SPEAR 3 missile. The missile is carried in an inverted carriage position, righting itself after launch, and then deploying its wings. Crown Copyright Chris Ryding

At one point, integration of the SPEAR 3 and Meteor on the F-35B was expected by the middle of this decade, while a date of 2027 at the earliest was given in a government report dated February 2022.

Earlier this year, the U.K. government said that integration of the SPEAR 3 and Meteor on the F-35B would be completed by the end of the decade. This leaves the British F-35B without a standoff air-to-ground weapon in the meantime, with only the unpowered Paveway IV available.

Paveway IV precision-guided bombs prepared for carriage by F-35Bs aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth during a live firing exercise. Crown Copyright



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The SPEAR 3 program has also been dogged by delays in integrating new weapons on the F-35B. Above all, compatibility with the SPEAR 3 relies upon the F-35 having the Block 4 upgrade, which promises to bring other major advances to the aircraft, including a new multifunction active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar designated as AN/APG-85 and advanced electronic warfare capabilities.

Block 4 relies upon a new suite of hardware and software for the F-35, known as Technology Refresh-3 (TR-3), something that has been described as the stealth fighters new computer backbone, but which has also had a very protracted development. Delays with TR-3 left F-35s being parked and not delivered after they were built, a situation that continued for around a year before deliveries restarted. Those previous jets left waiting at the manufacturing facility also now need to be retrofitted with TR-3.

As far as we know, the United Kingdom also plans to bring earlier F-35Bs up to Block 4 standard, to ensure commonality, although questions remain about just how feasible this is.

British F-35Bs lined up on HMS Prince of Wales at the end of Exercise Strike Warrior earlier this year. Crown Copyright

AS1 Amber Mayall RAF

Against this backdrop, there are also lingering questions about the number of F-35Bs the United Kingdom will buy. While the U.K. Ministry of Defense has long said its committed to buying 138 F-35Bs, repeated budgetary concerns mean that this figure is now widely viewed as being unrealistic.

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As it stands, the United Kingdom has ordered 48 F-35Bs, known as Tranche 1, and has confirmed plans to place a Tranche 2 order for 27 F-35Bs, although this is yet to be signed off.

Whatever the future F-35B fleet looks like, the SPEAR 3 looks set to provide a very valuable capability. Further sales appear likely, with Italy committed to the program, and compatibility with the Typhoon and F-35A/B opens up a potentially wide range of additional export customers.

As well as the SPEAR 3, MBDA is also developing the SPEAR-EW, with the explosive payload replaced by an electronic warfare jammer and decoy functions. Ultimately, the aim is for the SPEAR 3 and SPEAR-EW to work together to overwhelm enemy air defenses and protect friendly aircraft and even other missiles. The possibility of harnessing the capabilities of these effectors in a fully networked fashion is significant and TWZ has previously looked more deeply at the implications of these kinds of swarms of mini-cruise missiles.

An artists impression of the SPEAR-EW in flight. MBDA

A spokesperson for MBDA confirmed to TWZ that work on the SPEAR-EW is currently ongoing under a rapid design phase contract from the U.K. Ministry of Defense.

Although it has been subject to delays, some of which are attributable to problems in the F-35 program, the SPEAR 3 is now finally making tangible progress on the path toward operational service with the United Kingdom. Once it arrives, it should provide a powerful new capability  especially when combined with the stealthy F-35.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com
The UK announced additional sanctions against Iran on 18 November in response to its decision to supply ballistic missiles to Russia.

Source: European Pravda, citing the UK government

Details: The new sanctions include freezing the assets of Iran's national airline, Iran Air, "further restrict its direct, scheduled commercial air services to and from the UK".

Additionally, London has imposed sanctions on the Iranian shipping company Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and the Russian cargo vessel Port Olya-3, which were involved in transporting Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia.

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These measures follow initial steps taken by the UK government on 10 September in response to Irans transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia, including cancellation of the UKs bilateral air services arrangements with Iran.

On the same day, the EU also announced increased sanctions against Iran due to its military support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has denied that his country supplied ballistic missiles to Russia.

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Amid rising fears of U.S. aid being cut off under a second Donald Trump presidency, Ukrainians are left wondering whether Europe can rise to the challenge and fill the gap.

Trump has promised to swiftly end Russia's war against Ukraine, speaking highly of Russian President Vladimir Putin and making unflattering comments about his Ukrainian counterpart.

Fears that Ukraine's top Western ally could pull the plug on aid that is key to fending off Russia's full-scale invasion, now in its third year, swelled this past weekend when those close to the president-elect made a few jabs at Ukraine and its president.

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Donald Trump Jr., the increasingly influential son of the president-elect, has publicly stated his opposition to Ukraine's right to use Western-provided weapons to hit targets inside Russia.

"The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War III going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives," Trump Jr. wrote on X on Nov. 17, commenting on reports that outgoing President Joe Biden had authorized the use of U.S.-made ATACMS against targets inside Russia.

As the decision came in the last months of Biden's term in office, it remains unclear whether Trump will uphold the policy after he returns to the White House.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, US on Jan. 5, 2024. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

And while Ukraine has a number of influential allies in Europe that would have the power to pick up where the U.S. might leave, doing so in the upcoming year would be a near-impossible task.

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"Trump's victory could scarcely have come at a worse time," Nick Witney, a security expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told the Kyiv Independent.

"Most European governments are in economic or political difficulties, or both."

Wake-up call for Europe's defense industry

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was a wake-up call for Europe.

Since then, Europe's defense industry has increased its ammunition production capacity by 50%. It aims to produce over 2 million shells per year by the end of 2025  double its capacity in February 2022, according to the European Council of Foreign Relations.

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Stefan Wolff, professor of international security at the University of Birmingham, said that "the EU defense industrial base has improved and will continue to improve, not least because it is now possible to allocate structural/cohesion funding to security projects within the EU."

"This will not benefit Ukraine directly, but it will likely mean more investment into defense capacity in general," he told the Kyiv Independent.

"This could then also benefit Ukraine but again not necessarily in the timeframe dictated by events in the U.S."

Read also: Trump wouldnt want major Russian victory, says ex-US ambassador

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Fabian Hoffmann, a defense policy expert at the University of Oslo's Oslo Nuclear Project, agreed that "Europe has significantly ramped up production of some capabilities, such as 155mm artillery shells and other types of ammunition."

"In these areas, Europe could compensate relatively well, although the absence of U.S. assistance would, of course, still be felt," he told the Kyiv Independent.

But Hoffmann argued that, compared with the U.S., Europe does not have some crucial types of weapons needed by Ukraine.

He said that the "U.S. maintains a large reserve arsenal of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles that could be made available to Ukraine, whereas Europe lacks such reserves."

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The U.S. also has about 2,000 AGM-158A JASSM cruise missiles and another 2,000+ AGM-158B JASSM-ER cruise missiles in its arsenal, while "European states do not have anywhere near that number of cruise missiles," he added.

Moreover, the U.S. is "the sole producer of interceptors for Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems," he said.

"If the U.S. were to withdraw as a supplier, Ukraine would face severe challenges in missile defense, particularly against ballistic missile threats," Hoffmann added.

Europe producing more weaponry, but it's not enough

Even with increased production of weapons that Europe can offer without U.S. oversight, the deliveries have not been large enough to meet Ukraine's needs, analysts say.

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Pavel Havlicek, an expert on Russia and Ukraine at the Czech Republic's Association of International Affairs, argued that "over the past two and half years, the EU proved very slow, even somehow lenient, to expand military production, massively increase military spending and investments, or boost its military industry."

"If you ask me if the EU can overnight replace the role of the U.S., it is absolutely no  since the American backing is multilayered and strategic, including the air protection  Patriot (air defense systems), mid- and long-range missiles that operate on the U.S. tech, including with their precision or intelligence gathering, which is key with limited resources at the battlefield," he told the Kyiv Independent.

(From L to R) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and French President Emmanuel Macron stand for a group photo at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Oct. 18, 2024. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

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Lucian Kim, senior analyst for Ukraine at the International Crisis Group, also said that Europe would not be able to fill the gap because "Europe's militaries  Germany's in particular  are themselves under-armed, and Western allies lack both the stocks and production capacity to match the assistance Ukraine has been receiving from the U.S."

He cited problems with the Czech-led initiative to supply artillery shells to Ukraine.

The initiative, which was announced in early 2024, aims to deliver 1 million shells to Ukraine by the end of this year but it has faced delays.

The European Union's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, announced on Nov. 11 that the bloc had delivered 980,000 artillery shells to Ukraine out of the 1 million promised. He explained the shortfall, citing unexpected production capacity limits.

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Samantha de Bendern, an associate fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House, agreed that the EU was unlikely to fill the gap if the U.S. pulled the plug on aid.

"While the EU and its member states have made strides in increasing military aid and production, the stark reality remains that Europe cannot yet fill the void left by the United States, either in terms of its own defense or that of Ukraine," she told the Kyiv Independent.

"As long as perceived national interests continue to diverge and political stability wavers, particularly in key countries like Germany and France, Europe will struggle to forge a unified and effective response to the war raging on its continent."

She also said that "Europe is now in a position in which it cannot defend the country that has sacrificed tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of lives to defend not only its own territory but Europe as a whole."

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De Bendern said that European governments were under pressure from the electorate to spend money on health infrastructure and other public projects rather than Ukraine.

"The question for them is whether you spend money on Ukraine or build another hospital," she added.

A comparison between U.S. and European support for Ukraine from 2022 to 2024 (Kiel Institute for the World Economy).

Europe in crisis

Apart from technical limitations, there are political problems that obstruct a further increase in Europe's aid for Ukraine. These include political instability in Germany, where Chancellor Olaf Scholz' coalition has collapsed.

"Germany, Europe's largest military donor to Ukraine, has plunged into political chaos with the collapse of the Scholz-led coalition. France's Emmanuel Macron, a staunch defender of Ukraine in spite of his initial impulses to seek a dialog with (Vladimir) Putin, has lost much of his freedom of action since the parliamentary elections in June in which he lost his parliamentary majority," De Bendern said.

"Elsewhere in Europe, political parties on the far right or far left of the political spectrum with pro-Russian sympathies are rising," De Bendern added.

"Already-fragile EU unity, a stalled Franco-German motor, a Trojan Horse in the shape of (Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor) Orban holding the presidency will come under further pressure as individual states delude themselves they can build 'special relationships' with Trump, and that supporting his agenda for Ukraine would be a good way to win favor," Witney said, listing the problems the EU is facing.

When asked for a comment, a spokesperson for the European Commission referred the Kyiv Independent to a Nov. 18 statement by Borrell, who said that "we have to continue supporting Ukraine as much as we can and quicker, as quick as we can."

France's President Emmanuel Macron (R) shakes hands with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky as he arrives prior to their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Oct. 10, 2024. Ukrainian president visited Britain, France and Italy on Oct. 10, 2024, (Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. and the EU currently provide 43% of military aid to Ukraine each, according to figures cited by de Bendern. In the EU, Germany is the biggest donor, with 12%.

"These figures speak for themselves: for the EU to replace the U.S., it would have to double the amount of military aid it gives to Ukraine," De Bendern said.

"The current political situation in Europe, as well as the real military capabilities of individual European countries, mean that Europe will not be able to step up in the short term."

But it all boils down to the presence of political will. If there is a will, Europe will be able to at least partially fill the gap in case of a U.S. withdrawal, according to analysts.

"There is so much more Europe can afford to do or could do creatively with some more money, including the frozen Russian assets," Sascha Bruchmann, a military analyst at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, told the Kyiv Independent.

"It is the lack of political will and geopolitical naivete, not financial weakness, that holds Europe back."

What should be done to continue helping Ukraine?

Susan Stewart, an expert at the Eastern Europe and Eurasia Division of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said that, although the EU may not be able to undertake some projects as a bloc, some of its member states could create a coalition to boost support.

"There could be a sort of 'coalition of the willing' of those states that see their own security as severely threatened and/or have shown unwavering support for Ukraine," she said.

"A possible beginning of this coalition may be indicated by the meetings Donald Tusk is planning with the leaders of the UK, France, and the Baltic and Nordic states. And it will certainly not hurt that Poland will take over the presidency of the EU for six months in January 2025."

Stephen Hall, lecturer in Russian and post-Soviet politics at the University of Bath, argues that supporting Ukraine is vital for Europe's survival.

"Europe has to step up for its own safety as well," he told the Kyiv Independent.

Yet it is up to the countries that understand the risks to do so, regardless of what U.S. policy will be in January.

A spokesperson for Rheinmetall, one of Germany's largest defense companies, said that it "is a strategic partner of Ukraine and intends to support the country in the long term."

"This applies regardless of the outcome of the U.S. election," he told the Kyiv Independent. "Should the countries of Europe decide to increase their support for Ukraine in the future, Rheinmetall will do everything in its power to meet these increased demands as well."

Martin Fornusek and Chris York contributed to this story.

Read also: Trump to call Putin, seek quick deal to end Russia-Ukraine war, says Volker

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A thousand days into Europes most grueling war since the Nazis, the starting gun appears to have been fired for peace talks in Ukraine.

Fridays unilateral move by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to call Russian President Vladimir Putin ended nearly two years of major NATO leaders isolating the Kremlin head.

It was unmitigated bad news for Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a 72-hour period marked by the White House finally acceding to his request to be able to fire long-range American ATACMs weapons into Russia. Zelensky fumed that the call had opened Pandoras Box. He said: It is extremely impo rtant for (Putin) to weaken his isolation.

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Hours later, Zelensky seemed to acknowledge momentum toward talks, saying when US President-elect Donald Trump takes power war will end sooner, as this was the promise Trump had made to his voters.

Scholz said his call with Putin revealed the Russian leaders hardline positions on Ukraine had not changed but added it was important for Europe to talk to Putin, if Trump was about to do the same.

The hour-long conversation marked the return of diplomacy to the decade-long conflict, even if their talk brought the familiar refrain it was not yet time to talk.

The call threw a wild card into a Western alliance experiencing wide-ranging anxiety over the outcome of the conflict in the light of Trumps election, according to more than 10 interviews CNN carried out with current and former officials and diplomats over the past week.

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One Western official said there was an overall collective holding of breath in Western capitals ahead of Trumps inauguration.

The Germans speaking to Putin  that will have gone down badly among Ukraines allies, the official said. Giving Putin that positive bounce will have irked the French and others. French President Emmanuel Macron has been particularly vocal about continuing support for Ukraine.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted on X that Sunday nights substantial Russian missile assault on Ukraine showed that: No-one will stop Putin with phone calls  telephone diplomacy cannot replace real support from the whole West for Ukraine. The next weeks will be decisive, not only for the war itself, but also for our future.

The Biden administrations decision to permit ATACMs missiles to be fired at Russian territory is perhaps a reflection of the growing sense of escalation in the war, even as possible peace talks loom into view, as all sides seek to improve their position ahead of a Trump presidency.

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Analysts said Scholzs outreach was fueled by imminent German elections.

Scholz is entering the election campaign as a peacemaker to secure votes that might be otherwise drawn to the pro-Moscow bent of some German opposition, said Alena Epifanova, a research fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations.

Epifanova said the move might appeal to similar sympathies in Scholzs own SPD party, but otherwise its very unfortunate for Ukraine.

A diplomat familiar with the mood inside NATO headquarters described uncertainty in the alliance as to where Trump would fall on continued support and peace negotiations, describing the next few months ahead as critical on the battlefield in Ukraine.

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The uncertainty was echoed by a senior Ukrainian intelligence official, who told CNN: It is very dangerous to make predictions now. We hope for the best!

Most analysts speculate any deal would involve an approximate freezing of the front lines, with Moscow and Kyiv making or receiving security guarantees to prevent the conflict reigniting. Russia continues to make small yet consistent gains on the eastern front line, and would swallow about a fifth of Ukraine were the front lines negotiated into new permanent borders. Kremlin critics also warn of its history of using diplomacy as a pause or foil to pursuing its military goals.

A French defense official said: Discussions surrounding the future of Ukraine have gone into overdrive since Trumps election, at the heart of which were security guarantees for Ukraine.

What kind of concessions will Russia agree to? the official asked. Does Russia keep all the areas it has seized? And, if we freeze the status quo, will the war really be over? Can there be peace? Or will we see acts of sabotage and subversion?

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at a meeting with the German president before a private conversation at Schloss Bellevue in Berlin on Oct. 11, 2024. - Ebrahim Noroozi/Pool/Reuters

Pledges from the Biden administration and Europe have boosted assistance to Kyiv in the past weeks, aimed at indicating Kyivs support is assured for months to come.

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A second Western official said a recent G7 agreement to loan $50 billion to Ukraine, based on the profits from frozen Russian assets, means that essentially Ukraine is financially secure all 2025.

The details of any Trump peace plan remain unclear, some analysts suggest, as the president-elect has yet to formulate a strategy, or decide on personnel who can. He famously said he could bring the war to an end in a day without saying how he would achieve that.

His incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, has said almost nothing on policy since accepting the job, but wrote three days before the election in The Economist that fighting as long as it takes in a war of attrition against a larger power is a recipe for failure.

Allies have struggled to read limited signals from the incoming White House. A European diplomat said: We take (Trump) at his word that hell move to a negotiated settlement, adding the Trump camp had been guarded when discussing their policy, listening but revealing little, and not saying heres the plan.

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Trump supporters have, in part, sought to dispel the idea the president-elect would seek peace at any cost to Kyiv.

Kurt Volker, Trumps Ukraine envoy in his first term from 2017 to 2019, said Trumps opening move must be to demonstrate strength so Putin realizes its not worth continuing to fight, then you can figure out the details from there. Trump has said many times: peace through strength.

A local resident inspects a crater in the courtyard of a destroyed building following a missile attack at an undisclosed location in the Odesa region of Ukraine on November 17, 2024. - Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP/Getty Images

Volker said he thought Trump would issue loans rather than more aid to Ukraine.

I am not convinced hes going to cut (it) to zero. I believe its going to be a lend-lease program, which Volker said would garner wide Republican support, referencing a World War Two era program under which US-made materiel was effectively loaned to Allies but not returned.

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It doesnt cost the taxpayer  Borrow as much money as you need, build up your military, be strong, but you should end the war.

Volker said he felt Trump would be influenced by the US catastrophe in Afghanistan under Biden.

Trump wanted to get out of Afghanistan himself, but he never did because he was always told this is what would happen, Volker said.

He doesnt want to have that kind of catastrophe on his watch. Hes going to try to find a way to end the war, but Ukraine survives.

The appointment of Waltz as national security adviser and nomination of Sen. Marco Rubio to secretary of state  both China hawks  may increase focus on the introduction of North Korean troops and weaponry by Moscow to the front line, Western officials suggested.

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The move may backfire for Putin, they said, turning the Ukrainian front line into a more global arena, where the United States must now face down Indo-Pacific foes like Kim Jong Un, and his occasional sponsor Beijing.

A former US diplomat familiar with Trumps approach explained the president-elects controversially friendly attitude toward the Kremlin head stemmed from Trump not wanting to demonize adversaries or people he has to cut deals with.

They added: Hell take policy decisions that are tough, or allow others to do that, but wants to have a relationship.

The former diplomat said Moscows deceptive history in negotiations was why Kyiv must be properly armed as part of any settlement. Putin wont be sincere  lets be clear, the diplomat said.

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Hes going to ask for things that are unreasonable. And then even if he agrees to a ceasefire, hes going to still then plan on attacking again later.

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The post of military ombudsperson will soon be introduced in Ukraine to safeguard the rights of military personnel. The appointment is expected to be announced shortly.

Source: Ukraines Defence Minister Rustem Umierov during a briefing on 18 November, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine

Quote: "We have been working on establishing a military ombudsperson. This year, we focused on addressing complaints and lawsuits  several thousand cases have been processed, if Im not mistaken. As for now, several candidates are being prepared and an announcement regarding the appointment will be made soon."

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Details: The Defence Ministry, as Umierov noted, aims to "protect the rights of military personnel" through this initiative.

The introduction of a military ombudsperson was first announced by Umierov in September 2023. During the annual Yalta European Strategy meeting in Kyiv, he stated: "We will focus on human lives, on our people. This is why we are likely to introduce a new position  the military ombudsperson  to address the needs of our people and our warriors."

Background: Rustem Umierov also mentioned ongoing discussions regarding reforms to territorial recruitment and social support centres, with various concepts under review.

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By Tom Balmforth and Olena Harmash

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine used U.S. ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory on Tuesday, taking advantage of newly granted permission from the outgoing administration of U.S. President Joe Biden on the war's 1,000th day.

Russia said its forces shot down five of six missiles fired at a military facility in the Bryansk region. Debris of one hit the facility, starting a fire that was swiftly put out and caused no casualties or damage, it said.

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Ukraine said it struck a Russian arms depot about 110 km (70 miles) inside Russia, an attack that caused secondary explosions. Ukraine's military did not publicly specify the weapons used, but a Ukrainian government source and a U.S. official confirmed it had used ATACMS.

A U.S. official said Russia intercepted two of eight missiles and that the strike was at an ammunition supply point.

Biden gave approval this week for Ukraine to use ATACMS, the longest-range missiles Washington has supplied, for such attacks inside Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the use of ATACMS was a clear signal the West wanted to escalate the conflict.

Moscow has said such weapons cannot be launched without direct U.S. operational support and their use would make Washington a direct combatant in the war, prompting Russian retaliation.

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The attacks came as Ukraine marked 1,000 days of war, with a fifth of its territory in Russian hands and doubts about the future of Western support as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump heads back to the White House.

Russia's Defence Ministry also said air defence units destroyed 42 Ukrainian drones in at least eight southern and central regions between 9 p.m. and 11.55 p.m. (1800 to 2055 GMT) on Tuesday, including 32 in Bryansk region.

Ukraine has long deployed drones to hit targets deep inside Russian territory, including airfields and sites associated with energy. But the use of dozens dispatched over a short period of time was unusual.

At the United Nations in New York, Ukraine's U.N. ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, read a statement from his country and 42 others and the European Union, rejecting Russia's "attempted illegal annexation" of Ukrainian territory and demanding immediate withdrawal.

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"One thousand days is a tragic reminder of the need to remain resolute in ensuring ... that international law prevails, not just in Ukraine, but wherever it is challenged," he said.

Military experts say using the U.S. missiles can help Ukraine defend a pocket of captured Russian territory in the Kursk region as a bargaining chip, but was not likely to have a decisive impact on the 33-month-old war, in part as the move comes far too late.

The missile's range of up to 300 km is much shorter than some that Moscow has used to strike Ukraine, including its hypersonic Kinzhal weapon with a reported range of up to 2,000 km.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new nuclear doctrine that appeared intended as a warning to Washington. It lowers the threshold under which Russia might use atomic weapons to include responding to attacks that threaten its territorial integrity.

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Washington said the update to the nuclear doctrine was no surprise and rejected "more of the same irresponsible rhetoric from Russia".

Zelenskiy said the step showed Putin had no interest in peace: "Especially on this day ... they presented (a) nuclear weapons strategy. Why? They didn't present (a) peace strategy. Did you hear it? ... Putin wants war."

The Pentagon said the U.S. State Department has approved another potential $100 million sale of military equipment and services to Ukraine, while Denmark said it was making a new donation of about $138 million for development of Ukraine's arms industry.

TRUMP CRITICISMS OF AID

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Trump has criticised the scale of U.S. aid to Kyiv and said he will end the war quickly, without saying how. Both sides appear to anticipate his return in two months will be accompanied by a push for peace talks, which are not known to have taken place since the war's early months.

The warring sides have been escalating to try to secure a stronger position at any negotiations. Zelenskiy says Kyiv must do everything for the war to end diplomatically next year.

"At this stage of the war, it is being decided who will prevail. Whether us over the enemy, or the enemy over us Ukrainians ... and Europeans. And everyone in the world who wants to live freely and not be subject to a dictator," he told parliament.

Dozens of civilians and soldiers gathered for a moment's silence at a candle-lit commemoration in the evening in Kyiv. Some sobbed.

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"My life has been turned upside down. There is no life for me. I only want victory and to return home. I am grateful to all the men defending our country," said Yuliia, from the city of Mariupol which was captured by Russia in 2022.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric cited data from the UN Human Rights Office that more than 12,000 civilians had been killed and nearly 27,000 injured in Ukraine over the past 1,000 days, with more than 2,400 child casualties.

Over six million Ukrainians live as refugees abroad and the population has fallen by a quarter since Putin ordered the invasion that began Europe's biggest conflict since World War Two.

Military losses are huge, although casualty figures remain secret. Public Western estimates based on intelligence reports say hundreds of thousands have been wounded or killed on each side.

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In the first year after the invasion, Ukrainian troops pushed Russian forces back from the outskirts of Kyiv and recaptured territory. Since then, relentless trench warfare has ground eastern Ukrainian cities to dust.

In a move described in the West as an escalation, Russia has deployed 11,000 North Korean troops, some of whom Kyiv says have clashed with Ukrainian forces in Kursk. Zelenskiy said Pyongyang could send 100,000 soldiers.

Russia for its part continues to advance slowly in eastern Ukraine, and said it captured another settlement on Tuesday.

With winter setting in, Moscow on Sunday renewed its aerial assault on Ukraine's power system, launching the biggest barrage since August.

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There has been no public narrowing of negotiating positions. Kyiv demands a full Russian withdrawal from all occupied territory and Western security guarantees comparable to membership in NATO's mutual defence treaty to prevent future Russian attacks.

Moscow says Ukraine must drop all ambitions to join NATO and withdraw all troops from provinces Russia says it has annexed since its invasion.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth, Olena Harmash, Anna Voitenko and Moscow bureau; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart in Washington and Ron Popeski, Oleskandr Kozhukhar and Lidia Kelly; Writing by David Brunnstrom, Tom Balmforth and Peter Graff; Editing by David Gregorio and Stephen Coates)
The European Union has handed over the promised million of artillery projectiles to Ukraine. The munitions were supposed to arrive before spring, but the delivery was delayed by six months.

Source: European Pravda, citing EU diplomat Josep Borrell on his blog

Details: Borrell says that the European Union has provided Ukraine with unprecedented military aid, namely 45 billion worth of weapons.

Quote from Borrell: "We have also just met our pledge to provide Ukraine with 1 million rounds of ammunition, and by the end of winter, we will have trained 75,000 Ukrainian soldiers."

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The EU diplomat assured that the EU and its member states are Ukraine's main supporters and that the volume of European aid is growing.

At the same time, Borrell stressed that the current level of aid remains insufficient to change the situation on the battlefield in favour of Ukraine. Therefore, the EU should increase its aid and abandon the policy of imposing red lines on Ukrainian defenders.

The EU pledged to deliver 1 million artillery rounds to Ukraine by spring. In an interview with European Pravda, Borrell admitted that this was not achieved, but the EU has since accelerated the process significantly.

Quote from Borrell: "When we promised to reach the level of 1 million shells a year by spring, we did not know what the real production capacity was, and it was not as high as we thought."

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Borrell said the EU should supply Ukraine with more than 1.5 million rounds of ammunition by the end of the year.

Read also: "EU membership is the strongest security guarantee we can offer to Ukraine." An interview with Josep Borrell

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Key developments on Nov. 18:

Russian missile attack on Odesa hits residential area, kills 10, injures 55

US aims to 'provoke further escalation'  Kremlin comments on long-range strikes

Scholz's stance on Taurus unchanged despite US permission on long-range strikes

Turkish president to propose freezing Ukraine front line, Bloomberg reports

Zelensky visits key front-line town of Pokrovsk

Russia uses cheap decoy drones to overload Ukraine's air defense, Ukrainian intelligence says

Russian forces launched a ballistic missile attack against the port city of Odesa on Nov. 18, killing at least 10 people and injuring 55.

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The killed included seven police officers, a medic, and two civilian residents. Among the injured were at least 14 law enforcement officers and four children, two of them aged 7, 10, and two 11-year-olds.

The children are hospitalized and are in condition of moderate severity, Governor Oleh Kiper said. Thirty other people are hospitalized, of which three are in critical condition.

Local authorities declared Nov. 19 a day of mourning in Odesa, Kiper said.

"After calls and meetings with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, after false media gossip about 'refraining' from strikes, Russia shows what it is really interested in: only war," Zelensky said.

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The attack occurred shortly after Russia launched one of its largest mass strikes against Ukraine on Nov. 17 and deadly missile attacks against the city of Sumy overnight on Nov. 18.

Odesa, lying on the Black Sea coast in southern Ukraine, is home to some 1 million residents. The port city has been repeatedly targeted throughout the full-scale war.

US aims to 'provoke further escalation'  Kremlin comments on long-range strikes

The outgoing U.S. administration intends to provoke an escalation of the war in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the media on Nov. 18 following reports that Washington eased restrictions on long-range strikes.

Peskov's words come as a Russian missile attack on Odesa hit a residential area, killing 10, and injuring 55 more.

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Several media outlets reported on Nov. 17 that U.S. President Joe Biden permitted Ukraine to use its ATACMS missiles to strike against targets on Russian soil. According to some reports, this so far concerns only Russian and North Korean forces amassing in Russia's Kursk Oblast.

"You know, with the reports in Western media, it is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps... to add fuel to the fire and continue to provoke further escalation of tensions," Peskov said in response to a question whether the Kremlin can confirm that Washington took the step, RIA Novosti reported.

The statement comes as Biden is set to leave office in January, with Donald Trump replacing him in the Oval Office. The Biden administration has pledged to deliver as much support to Ukraine as possible before Trump takes office.

Scholz's stance on Taurus unchanged despite US permission on long-range strikes

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is not planning to supply Ukraine with Taurus missiles despite the U.S. easing restrictions on long-range strikes, a government spokesperson told the AFP news agency on Nov. 18.

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Scholz has "made his position clear" on the matter and will "not change his stance anymore," spokesperson Wolfgang Buchner said.

Ukraine has previously received U.S.-made ATACMS and Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles from the U.K. and France, with a range of 300 kilometers (190 miles) and 250 kilometers (150 miles), respectively.

In contrast, Scholz has been adamant about not supplying the Taurus cruise missiles, which boast a range of 500 kilometers (310 miles), fearing an escalation with Russia.

Berlin's policy may soon shift as Germany heads toward snap elections on Feb. 23, with the center-right opposition alliance CDU/CSU currently leading the polls and threatening to oust Scholz.

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CDU/CSU's chancellor candidate, Friedrich Merz, said he would allow the delivery of Taurus missiles, but only if necessary after issuing an ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin and lifting restrictions on arms that had already been provided.

Similarly, Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who is running for the chancellery for the Greens, said he would greenlight the delivery of the missiles if elected in February.

Read also: Its personal  Why Germany still refuses to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine

Turkish president to propose freezing Ukraine front line, Bloomberg reports

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will propose his peace plan for Ukraine during the G20 talks commencing on Nov. 18, Bloomberg reported, citing undisclosed sources.

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Erdogan's proposal would include Ukraine foregoing joining NATO for at least 10 years, freezing the current front line, providing Ukraine with weapons, and deploying international troops to a demilitarized buffer zone in the Donbas, Bloomberg reported.

The Turkish leader's proposal comes as NATO countries prepare for a Donald Trump presidency, which many fear will lead to the U.S. pressuring Ukraine to end the war quickly, even at the cost of territorial concessions.

The G20 countries are set to convene in Brazil without the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Brazil is a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Putin last year for the abduction of Ukrainian children. 

Zelensky will also not be present, despite numerous appeals to receive an invitation. Zelensky said on Nov. 16 that Ukraine must do everything possible to end the war through diplomatic means in 2025.

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Zelensky's words followed Scholzs phone conversation with Putin, during which he condemned Russia's war against Ukraine and called to withdraw Russian troops from Ukrainian territory. He also urged Russia to negotiate with Ukraine to achieve a "just and lasting peace."

The call sparked anger in Ukraine, with Zelensky saying it could open a "Pandora's Box" for further engagement with the Russian leader. In the wake of Trump's election, Kyiv has urged its partners to adopt a "peace through strength" approach to pressure Russia toward a just peace.

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Zelensky visits key front-line town of Pokrovsk

President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, currently lying some 6-7 kilometers from the front line, his Telegram channel reported on Nov. 18.

Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub for Ukrainian forces in the east, has come into artillery and drone range of Russian forces moving relentlessly forward in Donetsk Oblast. With Moscow's troops drawing near, losing the town would be a serious blow to other parts of Ukraine's defense as well.

"A tense sector. It is only thanks to the strength of the soldiers that the east (of Ukraine) is not completely occupied by Russia. The enemy receives a response every day," Zelensky said.

The head of state also visited the base of the 25th Airborne Brigade and handed out awards to soldiers.

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During his trip, Zelensky was accompanied by Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin, who called Pokrovsk "one of the hottest spots" of the front line.

Zelensky has previously visited the most critical sectors of the front line during the full-scale war, including now Russian-occupied Bakhmut or Avdiivka.

His visit aims to boost the morale among Ukrainian troops, who are increasingly on the back foot in the face of a Russian advance. The inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in January adds further uncertainty regarding the future of Ukrainian defense capabilities.

Read also: Burning horizon: As Russia makes gains near Pokrovsk, civilians remain frozen in inaction

Russia uses cheap decoy drones to overload Ukraine's air defense, Ukrainian intelligence says

Russian forces use cheap decoy drones with foreign components to overload Ukraine's air defense system, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) reported on Nov. 18.

Russia has recently increased the number of large-scale drone attacks against Ukrainian cities, depleting Ukraine's air defense systems and targeting critical infrastructure.

According to HUR, Russian manufacturers use components from the U.S., China, the Netherlands, and Switzerland to produce the Gerbera drone, a cheaper and less deadly equivalent of Iran's Shahed, at a plant in Yelabuga, in the Republic of Tatarstan, central Russia.

The Gerbera drone can carry a combat payload similar to that of a kamikaze drone and conduct reconnaissance missions, particularly to detect air defense positions and record hits from other attack drones.

The Gerbera is ten times cheaper than the Shahed or Geran drones due to the use of simple materials, such as plywood and foam. Yet, the drone contains a set of components from foreign manufacturers that "are common for Russian weapons," according to HUR.

Read also: Russias Iranian Shahed drone strikes on Kyiv, other Ukrainian cities surge

Examination of the downed drones showed that Russia manufactures Gerberas based on a Chinese prototype using foreign components imported from China.

The Gerbera drones were developed by the Chinese model aircraft manufacturer Skywalker Technology Co., Ltd., which also produces fuselages and organizes the supply of kits to Russia.

The Gerbera's jamming-resistant antenna (CRPA) contains chips from Analog Devices and Texas Instruments, both made in the U.S., and NXP Semiconductors, made in the Netherlands. The flight controller also uses components manufactured by Texas Instruments, Atmel (USA), STMicroelectronics, U-Blox (Switzerland), NXP Semiconductors (Netherlands), and XLSEMI (China).

The DLE60 engine is manufactured by the Chinese company Mile Hao Xiang Technology Co, Ltd. In the summer of 2024, the U.S. sanctioned this company for supplying Russia.

Supplies are made through third-party companies, according to HUR.

"At this point, the biggest advantage that Russia may have in such attacks is sheer numbers of drones," Samuel Bendett, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security think tank, told the Kyiv Independent.

Bendett mentioned the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan, where a Shahed-type drones plant is located. In May, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing a contract leaked by the Prana Network hacker group, that the factory already produces 4,500 Shaheds and aims to increase this number to 6,000.

"It appears that Russian efforts in Alabuga have ensured that the Russian military has thousands such UAVs at its disposal along with other simpler, smaller variance identified recently that fly alongside these official Geran (Russian name for Shahed-type) UAVs," Bendett said.

On Nov. 17, Russian forces launched one of the heaviest aerial strikes against the country throughout the full-scale war, primarily targeting the energy grid. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 102 of the 120 missiles and 42 of the 90 drones launched by Russia overnight.

Read also: Ukraine hits ammunition depots with domestic weapons in an attempt to disrupt Russias logistics

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The Russian forces attacked Ukraine with ballistic missiles and 11 drones on the night of 17-18 November. Air defence forces shot down eight UAVs.

Source: Air Force

Quote: "On the night of 17-18 November 2024 (from 19:30 on 17 November), the enemy attacked Sumy Oblast with two Iskander-M ballistic missiles from Voronezh Oblast and an Kh-59 air-to-surface missile from the airspace of Kursk Oblast, Russia. The enemy also launched 11 Shahed attack UAVs and unidentified drones from Kursk Oblast."

Details: Eight attack drones were reportedly shot down by air defences in Poltava, Kharkiv, and Cherkasy oblasts. Three UAVs had disappeared from radar.

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On 18 November, fragments of a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile shot down by Ukrainian air defence fell in a heavily populated area in the city of Odesa, resulting in destruction and death of civilians.

Source: Ukraines Air Force Command on Facebook

Quote: "At about 11:57, the enemy launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile at Odesa, but it was intercepted by air defence. Unfortunately, the downed enemy missile fell into the residential area of the city's Primorsky district, causing a tragedy. There have been both deaths and injuries. Our sympathies to the family and friends."

Photo: Prosecutors Office

Photo: Prosecutors Office

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Details: Furthermore, around 11:45 on approach to Odesa, Ukraines air defence systems shot down a Russian Orlan-10 UAV, which was purportedly intended to conduct aerial reconnaissance.

The Air Force reminds the civilian population that the Russian forces are cunning and merciless. Odesa is continually under attack from the Russians, as they actively strike densely populated cities with various types of missiles and attack UAVs, knowing that civilian losses will occur.

All citizens are asked not to ignore the air-raid warnings and to respond to them promptly.

Photo: Prosecutors Office

Previously:

On Monday afternoon, Russian forces launched a missile attack on Odesa, killing 10 people  medics, police officers and civilians.

Odesa Oblast Military Administration reported that nearly 40 people, including four children aged 7 and 10 and two aged 11, sustained injuries. The children were hospitalised and are in a moderate condition. Additionally, 30 adults were taken to hospital, with three in a critical condition.

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Ukraine's Ministry of Defence plans to launch a nationwide support programme for military personnel called Pluses.

Source: Kateryna Chernohorenko, Deputy Minister of Defence for Digital Development, Digital Transformation and Digitalisation, as reported by Ukrinform

Quote: "We aim to launch a nationwide support programme for military personnel called Pluses, aligned with the name of Army+ [a software app designed by the Ukrainian government for military personnel]. Pluses will be a virtual currency within our application, which will include the 100 largest businesses in Ukraine supporting our military personnel."

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Details: The programme will allow Ukrainian defenders to receive bonuses, discounts and priority access to various products.

The deputy minister revealed that the initiative seeks to build a loyalty ecosystem around military personnel.

Quote: "I would like to announce and invite our and other businesses to join this national programme. An open memorandum will be signed, with 100 businesses committing to this initiative alongside the Ministry of Defence."

Chernohorenko noted that partners already confirmed include Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways), online retailer Rozetka, Ukraines largest oil producer Ukrnafta, and Ukrainian private post service Nova Poshta.

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KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the eastern frontline towns of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk on Monday, areas where Russia has been making steady advances to close in on the two logistics centres.

On Tuesday, Kyiv marks 1,000 days since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, with the war at a critical junction after the U.S. election win of Donald Trump. The Republican has promised to end the war without saying how, raising the prospect of future negotiations.

Pictures and video on the Ukrainian president's website showed Zelenskiy presenting awards to sergeants in both towns in the Donbas region.

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"We are holding our positions," he said in his nightly video address, standing in front of a sign on the outskirts of Kupiansk.

Pokrovsk, site of a major coal mine, is Russia's next target in its drive westward to fully occupy both Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which together make up the Donbas. Moscow's forces have advanced to within some 8 km (5 miles) of the city's outskirts.

"I know that only thanks to your strength the East has not been completely occupied by the Russian Federation," Zelenskiy said in a video posted on the website.

Pokrovsk lies at an intersection of roads and a railway that make it an important logistics point for the military and for civilians. Its coal mine is the only one in Ukraine that produces coking coal vital for the national steel industry.

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Kupiansk lies further north in Kharkiv region, where Russian forces have also been pressing. Ukrainian military reports last week said some Russian soldiers had briefly entered the city.

RUSSIA SAYS IT CAPTURED VILLAGE

Russia's Defence Ministry reported its forces had captured the village of Novooleksiivka between Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, another area to the south under Russian attack.

The military blog Rybar said Russian troops had extended their control over the area, particularly in forested areas.

Ukraine's General Staff made no acknowledgement that Novooleksiivka was in Russian hands, but noted it was part of an area where its forces had repelled 27 of 35 Russian attacks.

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Zelenskiy's office said he also visited other parts of Donetsk region to check the state of fortifications and discuss preparations for the looming winter with regional officials.

The bulk of infrastructure - for the supply of water, electricity and natural gas - has been destroyed in the region, as cities and towns have come under daily attack.

Vadym Filashkin, the regional governor, said about 324,000 civilians remained in Kyiv-held parts of the region, down from about 2 million before the invasion.

Donetsk region, where Russian proxy forces launched an insurgency in 2014, is one of four Ukrainian provinces that Moscow claimed to have annexed unilaterally in late 2022.

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The governor of Zaporizhzhia region further west said at least 10 Russian drones had attacked the region's largest city, also called Zaporizhzhia. Some 10,000 residents were without power.

Earlier, officials in the Black Sea port of Odesa said a Russian missile attack had killed 10 people and wounded 55, three of them seriously.

Russia occupies a fifth of Ukraine and has been advancing at its fastest rate since 2022 in recent months.

(Reporting by Olena Harmash and Anastasiia Malenko; editing by Ron Popeski and Stephen Coates)
Andrii Khlyvniuk, Ukrainian musician and leader of the band Boombox, who currently serves with the Ukrainian military, has declined the Magnitsky Award.

Source: Khlyvniuk on Facebook

Quote: "Thank you sincerely to all the founders and jury of the influential international Magnitsky Award in London. You have recognised and honoured my modest contribution to the fight for freedom of speech and fundamental human rights as part of the struggle for Ukraines independence. Thank you!"

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Details: However, the musician stated that he could not accept the award alongside other laureates who do not support providing Ukraine with Western weapons for self-defence.

Quote: "As a father of two children living under Russian missile strikes and a soldier in Ukraines Defence Forces (strike drone unit of the Kherson Patrol Police), I cannot accept this award alongside laureates who are 'unsure' about the necessity of providing my country with Western weapons that are critical for repelling Russian aggression."

Details: Among this years recipients of the Magnitsky Award is Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, who was recognised in the Courage Under Fire category. In her interview with Die Zeit in late October, Navalnaya expressed doubts about the need to keep supplying Ukraine with Western weapons, stating that "bombs also hit Russians".

Background:

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The Magnitsky Award was established in 2015 by British financier and activist Bill Browder. It recognises achievements in investigative journalism and the fight for human rights.

Notable past recipients include Boris Nemtsov, Jan Lipavsky and John McCain.

In 2019, Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov was also honoured with the Magnitsky Award.

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PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service will restart flights within Haiti on Wednesday after around a week's hiatus and resolving regulatory issues, according to a statement from the U.N. World Food Programme, which manages the service.

The U.N. paused flights to Haiti's capital last Tuesday, a day after gangs struck three commercial planes with gunfire, prompting the U.S. aviation regulator to ban U.S. airlines from flying to the conflict-ravaged Caribbean nation for 30 days.

"UNHAS provides passenger and light cargo transport in Haiti for the entire humanitarian community, including local and international NGOs," WFP said in a statement, adding that the suspension had not affected food supplies.

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Haiti's government helicopter also resumed services on Monday, transporting three new government ministers following a cabinet shakeup last week that saw the prime minister ousted and many of his top ministers replaced.

Even as the flights restarted, armed violence continued in parts of the capital Port-au-Prince such as Lower Delmas.

The majority of Port-au-Prince is under the control of armed gangs who have been making gains in recent weeks while a long-delayed partially deployed U.N.-backed mission to reclaim territories and ensure aid deliveries continues to stall.

On Sunday, U.N. migration agency IOM estimated more than 20,000 people were displaced across the capital in just four days, marking the largest mass displacement in over a year.

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"The isolation of Port-au-Prince is amplifying an already dire humanitarian situation," the IOM Haiti chief Gregoire Goodstein said in a statement, adding that only 20% of the capital was accessible to humanitarian workers.

"Our ability to deliver aid is stretched to its limits. Without immediate international support, the suffering will worsen exponentially," he said.

UNICEF Haiti chief Geeta Narayan said over half of the 20,000 displaced were children, who were facing the "compounded impacts of malnutrition, cholera outbreaks, severe psychological distress, and all too often, tragic loss of life."

The IOM estimated that as of early September over 700,000 people had been internally displaced in the country, while the IPC, a benchmark index of food insecurity, has reported worsening shortages with some 6,000 people facing famine-level hunger.

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(This story has been corrected to say that UN is restarting aid flights within Haiti, not to Haiti, in the headline and paragraph 1)

(Reporting by Harold Isaac and Ralph Tedy Erol; Writing by Sarah Morland; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Sandra Maler)
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed on Nov. 18 that a riot control agent known as CS has been used in Ukraine, as evidence mounts that Russia has scaled up its attacks using chemical weapons in recent months.

The United Nations watchdog OPCW's first confirmation about the tear gas usage comes as Russia has intensified its use of chemical agents since the beginning of the year to advance forward across Ukraine's front line.

Russian drones throw gas grenades into dugouts or trenches in an attempt to force Ukrainian soldiers out into the open field, making them easy prey for drone or artillery attacks.

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The U.S. and the U.K. have confirmed Russia's deployment of chemical weapons against Ukrainian soldiers, slapping sanctions on Russia's troops of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense, their chief, Russian Defense Ministry scientific centers, and companies involved.

The Ukrainian military has reported that it recorded over 4,600 cases of Russia using gas attacks on the battlefield since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022, including 323 incidents in November.

Read also: Russias use of unidentified gas surges on the front line, Ukraine lacks detectors

Without naming Russia nor directly confronting Moscow for violating the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW said that samples from both the grenade and the soil sample retrieved from a September incident at a specific trench "contained the riot control agent 2-Chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile, known as CS."

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While often used to disperse riots and considered nonlethal, the OPCW says that tear gas, including CS, is "considered chemical weapons if used as a method of warfare."

The samples  which underwent separate testing in two OPCW-designated laboratories  were collected from a trench "located along the confrontation lines with the opposing troops" in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, according to the report.

The OPCW said in the Nov. 18 report that the watchdog's Director-General, Ambassador Fernando Arias, "expressed grave concern over the findings."

"All 193 OPCW Member States, including the Russian Federation and Ukraine, have committed never to develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, transfer or use chemical weapons," Arias said.

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He stressed that the parties have declared that "any use of chemical weapons is totally unacceptable and would violate the legal norms and standards of the international community."

Earlier in May, OPCW said that Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of deploying chemical weapons, but "the information provided to the Organization so far by both sides, together with the information available to the Secretariat, is insufficiently substantiated."

Kyiv's rising concerns over unidentified gas

While Russia's usage of chemical agents has slightly decreased since August, when 447 cases were recorded by the Ukrainian military within a month, Kyiv has been concerned about unidentified gas being deployed against its soldiers.

Lacking "hundreds" of complex detectors that cost $100,000 to $600,000 to identify the chemicals used by Russian troops, the Ukrainian military has struggled to name the new or mixed types of gas to find a solution on how to protect its personnel, Ukrainian Colonel Artem Vlasiuk told the Kyiv Independent in October.

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Of the 323 recorded cases of Russia's chemical attacks in October, all except 15 incidents were "unidentified," according to Vlasiuk from the Support Forces' Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Command, a branch of the army responsible for inspecting chemical warfare.

The officer said that Ukraine struggled to identify the new types of gas because it lacked sophisticated high-end detector technology to diagnose beyond the few prototypes in its library  which includes CS, CN, chloropicrin, and ammonia.

It is often very difficult to send specialists to the front line for evidence collection, as it would mean risking their lives by having them walk kilometers to reach the positions. And when soldiers come under gas attacks, gathering the remains of the grenades used is usually not the priority.

The concerns over the unidentified gas come as dozens of Ukrainian soldiers interviewed by the Kyiv Independent across the front over the summer acknowledged their lack of preparedness to face chemical warfare. Many said they were only given the poor quality Soviet-era gas masks and that they do not take it to positions because they are skeptical of its effectiveness.

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Often, comparing the danger of chemical agents to KAB guided-aerial bombs, artillery, and precise FPV drones, the infantrymen interviewed often downplayed the threat of gas  arguing that they had more chance of being killed or wounded by conventional arms.

At least three Ukrainian soldiers died from Russia's gas attacks, and almost 2,100 soldiers sought medical care after such incidents, according to the Support Forces. Many more could have gone unrecorded.

Read also: Silent killer: Russia boosts grinding Donbas advance with chemical warfare

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Scammers are targeting consumers across the country in a clever way that involves technology many of us use every day.

Do you have a consumer complaint or need help from Jeff Deal and Action 9? Click the banner below to submit a tip.

Scammers are targeting consumers across the country in a clever way that involves technology many of us use every day. Were talking about the QR codes or Quick Response codes you can scan with your phone or tablet.

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All it takes is a quick scan. QR codes are everywhere these days. They are typically the squares with scrambled black and white markings that can provide quick access to things like restaurant menus, parking lot payments and scooter rentals. In some places, you can even leave a hotel room tip using a QR code.

William Robinson told Action 9, I really see QR codes popping after COVID. You know when the menus list prices and stuff. It seemed like they were everywhere after that. Even after the pandemic ended, the QR codes have remained popular.

Robinson uses them to charge his electric car in Orlando. He said they are convenient and easy to use. But that ease is making them a prime target for scammers.

Its something Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody first warned about two years ago, but the scam is picking up popularity, especially in parking lots. Recently, scammers in southern California placed stickers with scam QR codes over the top of the real QR codes at parking lots in a couple of different cities.

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One victim told our ABC station in Los Angeles, About two minutes after I put in my information, her credit card company called her and said, We have unauthorized charges here.

The fake codes actually sent drivers to a website that was one letter off from the real payment website. It asked drivers to input their location and payment information.

Scammers putting fake QR codes over the real ones like this could happen anywhere. One couple on vacation in Florida told Action 9 a QR code at an EV charging station in Inverness sent them to a scam site enrolling them in a costly monthly subscription. In September, the Town of Palm Beach Police Department warned about unexpected packages in the mail that asked people scan a QR code to find out who sent the gift.

So, youre actually providing your financial information and some personal information to identity criminals. Theyre going to take some money out of your account pay for the parking, but then theyre also going to have your identity information that they can misuse in other ways, said James Lee, the Chief Operating Officer for the Identity Theft Resource Center.

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Lee says in many cases the scammers are counting on victims being in a hurry to pay and get somewhere, so they may not pick up on the scam.

The Identity Theft Resource Center suggests some things to keep in mind:

-Only use QR codes from a trusted source

-Avoid QR codes sent through unsolicited emails or text messages

-Pay attention to irregularities, like a sticker pasted on top of others

-Try to verify the web address the QR codes link to

Its certainly something William Robinson said hell have on the forefront of his mind next time he comes across a QR code.

Now that you warned me about it, absolutely I would pay attention to that, Robinson said.

If youre unsure of a QR code, many places still offer the chance to read a paper menu or pay in a more traditional way like with coins or a credit card directly. If an employee for the business is around, you can always ask if the QR code is legitimate.
UNESCO has condemned Russia's overnight strikes on Odesa's historic center overnight on Nov. 15, which damaged numerous architectural monuments, according to a statement on its official website.

As a result of the Russian attack overnight on Nov. 15, a 35-year-old was killed. The strike also injured 10 people, with eight of them hospitalized with injuries of varying severity.

"UNESCO condemns these strikes, which contravene international law, and expresses its support for the victims, the population, and the local authorities," reads the statement published on Nov. 18.

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The historical center of the southern city of Odesa was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in January 2023.

"Once again, UNESCO is calling for an end to all attacks on cultural property protected under widely ratified international standard-setting instruments."

A UNESCO mission led by Chiara Dezzi Bardeschi, head of the UNESCO Office in Ukraine, arrived on Nov. 16 to inspect the recently damaged cultural heritage sites. The organization has not yet provided the results of the assessments.

Since the beginning of the all-out war, Russia has destroyed over 1,000 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine, including those under the protection of UNESCO, according to the Culture Ministry.

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In July 2023, the Russian missile strike damaged more than 20 architectural monuments in the historical center of Odesa and heavily damaged the Transfiguration Cathedral.

On Oct. 28, the Russian bomb hit an iconic 13-story building situated in the very heart of Kharkiv, known as Derzhprom, or the State Industry House. Derzhprom was added to UNESCO's preliminary list in 2017 and was placed under provisional enhanced UNESCO protection after Russia's full-scale invasion.

As of Oct. 21, UNESCO confirmed the damage to 457 sites, including 143 religious sites, 231 buildings of historical or artistic interest, 32 museums, 33 monuments, 17 libraries, and one archive.

Read also: Russia seeks to obliviate Ukrainian heritage by demolishing UNESCO-protected sites

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On Monday, 18 November, UNESCO published a letter of appeal on its website. In it, the organisation condemned the recent attack on the historic centre of Odesa, which damaged an architectural monument.

Quote: "UNESCO condemns the strikes that hit several historic buildings and schools in the heart of the Historic Centre of Odesa (Ukraine), a site on UNESCOs List of World Heritage in Danger. The Organization deployed a mission of experts to the site on Saturday," UNESCO said.

They also noted that such actions by the Russian military contravene international law: "UNESCO is calling for an end to all attacks on cultural property protected under widely ratified international standard-setting instruments."

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The attack took place on the evening of 14 November and damaged an architectural monument  a family clinic on Pastera Street. The building is located within the UNESCO protected area.

The aftermath of Russian attack on Odesa

Photo: Odesa City Council

The explosion damaged the windows and doors, and also damaged the ceiling, roof beams and walls. The furniture was also broken. In total, about 20 buildings were damaged: educational institutions, historical architecture and a church.

"UNESCO's representative in Ukraine held talks with representatives of the Odesa municipality on Friday afternoon and a mission of experts from the Organization went to the site on Saturday to help assess the damage and prepare safety works to ensure the buildings safety," the organisation added.

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On 18 November, the Russians attacked Odesa once again. The missile attack killed eight civilians. The number of injured in Odesa increased to 39 people, including four children.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also reacted to the attack: "These are not random strikes  these are demonstrative strikes. After calls and meetings with Putin, after all the false gossip in the media about the alleged "refraining" from strikes. Russia is showing what it is really interested in: only war."

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President-elect Donald Trump is calling for an investigation into famed Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer, whose final poll of the state incorrectly found Vice President Kamala Harris with a lead.

A totally Fake poll that caused great distrust and uncertainty at a very critical time, Trump wrote on his Truth Social website on Sunday. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Selzers poll, released days before the election, found Harris with a 3-point lead in Iowa. Trump won the state by 13 points.

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Selzer, who was known for her accuracy until this years miss, announced this weekend she was done with polling and moving on to other ventures.

Trump shared the announcement and accused Selzer of possible ELECTION FRAUD, adding: An investigation is fully called for!

Trump has long pushed disproven and discredited claims of fraud over the 2020 election, which he lost. This may be the first time he is claiming fraud in an election he actually won.

Critics on social media warned that with the Justice Department at his disposal, Trump will soon have the power to make investigations such as this actually happen:

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This is crazy but hes actually going to do 90% of this shit. Hes unhinged.  Keith Edwards (@keithedwards.bsky.social)2024-11-17T22:28:00.604Z

Oh my god. When are people going to realize its all going to be as bad as we think its going to be.  (@rslott.bsky.social)2024-11-17T22:02:57.662Z

If you don't think Donald Trump is gonna harass anyone who spoke against him, you're not paying attention.Bro wants to investigate Ann Selzer for a poll?Seriously?  Art Candee (@artcandee.bsky.social)2024-11-18T00:04:04.797Z

Nobody likes a sore winner. Donald Trump is calling for an investigation into pollster Ann Selzer after she released a bombshell Iowa poll just days before the presidential election that showed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris up in the state by three points.  Morgan J Freeman (@mjfree.bsky.social)2024-11-18T02:11:25.730Z

Investigating people for polls you don't like doesn't seem particularly free speechy.  Mike Masnick (@mmasnick.bsky.social)2024-11-17T22:15:38.568Z

Imagine being so fucking insecure that you:1. Win the election2. Win the popular vote3. Have people literally chanting your name like you're Dear Leader....and you go still want to go after a fucking pollster who came out with a bad poll?Sure, it's fascist, but its also just fucking sad.  Matt Separa (@mattsepara.bsky.social)2024-11-17T22:27:02.672Z

This is actually insane. Like, even more insane than Trump's usual insanity. He's talking about using the government to punish anyone who reports any information he doesn't like. See also Viktor Orban's Hungary.  Jeff Bolichowski (@jeffbmedia.bsky.social)2024-11-17T23:24:14.534Z

These kind of threats will have a chilling effect on free speech. Defending against an investigation like this can financially ruin someone.  esther c (@estherclark.bsky.social)2024-11-18T05:26:41.107Z

He cant be content with proving that the poll was wrong. He has to seek revenge. This is what you voted for, Republicans.  (@suffragettesoul81.bsky.social)2024-11-17T22:05:27.109Z

He is going to make an example of her for any woman who holds power. Power to make him look bad, like a loser. Any woman he views as having a greater influence than him. He views women as weak and easy to bully and push around. She didn't do anything wrong and in fact was probably right.  Merry Miller (@monetpainter.bsky.social)2024-11-17T23:18:42.928Z

We got ourselves a bona fide dictator here  Elizabeth Tamny (@etamny.bsky.social)2024-11-17T23:21:18.359Z

If you don't think Donald Trump is gonna harass anyone who spoke against him, you're not paying attention.Bro wants to investigate Ann Selzer for a poll?Seriously? We need to defend her.  KamallaDreams (@kamalladreams.bsky.social)2024-11-18T00:19:51.741Z
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  The Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas has selected Lieutenant General Jay B. Silveria as the next president of the UA System.

Silveria is a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant General. He serves as the associate vice president and executive director of Texas A&M University and the Bush School of Government & Public Service in Washington, D.C.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson joining University of Arkansas law school as a professor

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Silveria received his Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a Master of Social Science from Syracuse University.

Silveria is expected to start as president on Jan. 15, 2025, after negotiating an employment agreement, school officials said.

I believe weve found a proven leader who brings unmatched qualities, achievements and experience from his time in the military and in higher education to our System that will help us navigate the myriad of opportunities and issues facing our campuses, divisions and units, UA Board chair Kelly Eichler said. The Board is very proud of this selection, and we are looking forward to welcoming General Silveria and his family to Arkansas, and helping him familiarize himself with our unique System and our dedicated students, faculty and staff across the state.

The board made the decision during a Nov. 18 special meeting. Silveria will be filling the position after President Donald R. Bobbitt.

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Bobbitt announced his retirement plans last summer after 13 years in the position.

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Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico criticized the U.S. decision to allow Ukraine to strike Russia with long-range ATACMS missiles in his Nov. 18 statement posted on Facebook.

Several media outlets reported on Nov. 17 that U.S. President Joe Biden permitted Ukraine to use its ATACMS missiles to strike against targets on Russian soil. According to some reports, this so far concerns only Russian and North Korean forces amassing in Russia's Kursk Oblast.

Fico claimed that Biden has authorized the use of ATACMS against targets in Russia "to disrupt or delay peace talks completely."

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"This is an unprecedented escalation of tension," Fico said, echoing the Kremlin's stance.

The prime minister added that he had instructed Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar and Defense Minister Robert Kalinak not to support the U.S. decision "in any international forum or in any way."

"Those who want to see the war in Ukraine continue are harming national and state interests," Fico said, adding that it is "extremely important" for Slovakia, as a neighbor of Ukraine, to achieve peace there.

Fico is known for inflammatory statements on Ukraine and the war that often echo Moscow's talking points. He has repeatedly criticized military aid for Ukraine and called for restoring relations with Russia after the war.

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On Nov. 18, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the outgoing U.S. administration intends to "provoke an escalation of the war" in Ukraine.

Several Russian lawmakers called the step an escalation that could "lead to World War III" and the end of Ukrainian statehood. Russia has repeatedly set supposed "red lines" on Western assistance for Ukraine, sometimes accompanied by veiled or overt nuclear threats.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said that long-range strikes against Russia with Western arms would mean NATO's involvement in the war, adding that Moscow is preparing "various responses" to such a step.

Read also: Nothing new under the sun  German, French foreign ministers react on Ukrainian long-range strikes

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Nov. 17NEW LONDON  A city police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave after being arrested Saturday and charged in connection with a domestic violence incident.

Julio Gil-Martinez, 29, was charged with third-degree assault, second-degree threatening, second-degree strangulation, interfering with an emergency call and first-degree unlawful restraint. A $75,000 bond was set for him. It was unclear whether Gil-Martinez was able to post bond or is being held in custody.

Gil-Martinez, a Waterford High School graduate, was hired by the department in September 2023. Previously he was a police officer in West Haven.

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Police Chief Brian Wright said in a news release that on Thursday at 5 p.m. Waterford police informed his department that a domestic violence victim had come to their department to report a domestic violence incident.

Wright said that concurrently, a member of his department had come to the department to report a domestic violence incident that occurred at a residence in the city. He did not say whether that person was Gil-Martinez or another officer.

The incident was determined to have occurred at a home in New London. Police then obtained a warrant for Gil-Martinez's arrest.

Police, who are continuing to investigate the incident, were assisted by the New London State's Attorney's Office.

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Wright did not release any other details about the arrest. It is unknown whether the victim is injured or if Gil-Martinez has surrendered any firearms he has. The Day requested Sunday that Wright release Gil-Martinez's arrest warrant.

On Sunday afternoon, Wright released a statement saying "please be assured that we take matters like this very seriously, and we are committed to addressing this matter with the highest level of diligence."

He added, "Our department is deeply committed to supporting victims of domestic violence. We want to emphasize that we are here to provide assistance and resources to anyone affected by such incidents. We encourage victims to come forward and seek help, knowing that their safety and well-being are our top priorities.

Furthermore, we want to assure the public that this matter is being investigated thoroughly and impartially. The New London Police Department along with the Office of the State's Attorney New London Judicial District is conducting a comprehensive review to ensure that all aspects of the case are examined properly. We are dedicated to maintaining the integrity of our department and upholding the highest standards of conduct."

j.wojtas@theday.com
PICKENS COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA)  A Pickens man pled guilty Friday to shooting his estranged wife in front of children.

Officials sentenced 31-year-old Joshua Scott Bradford on domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, unlawful conduct toward a child and assault & battery first-degree.

Evidence in court presented that on Jan. 26, Bradford shot the victim at close range in the presence of three minor children.

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Bradford was sentenced to the maximum term of 20 years in the SC Department of Corrections.

The case was investigated by the SC Law Enforcement Division.

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Urbana Middle School principal stepping down in June

URBANA, Ill. (WCIA)  After three years serving as the Urbana Middle School Principal, Derrick Cooper announced on Sunday that he will step down from his position at the end of June.

In a message to UMS families, Cooper said the decision was incredibly difficult to make.

Baldarottas closes Lincoln Square location to grow new sandwich shop

This decision was not easy, as being part of this wonderful school community has been one of the greatest joys of my career. Over the years, I have had the privilege of working with talented teachers, dedicated staff, and supportive families, all of whom are working toward the goal of helping our students succeed, Cooper said in an email sent to families.

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Cooper said he will work closely with the district and school leadership to ensure a smooth transition for the 2025-2026 school year.

According to the Urbana School District, Cooper came to UMS after serving as Associate Principal at Champaign Central High School. He started teaching at Washington Elementary in 2009 and later moved to teach at Jefferson Middle school. Cooper also was the interim Dean of Students at Centennial High School, the Assistant Principal at Westview Elementary and the Assistant Principal at Central High School.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com.
The outgoing U.S. administration intends to provoke an escalation of the war in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the media on Nov. 18 following reports that Washington eased restrictions on long-range strikes.

Several media outlets reported on Nov. 17 that U.S. President Joe Biden permitted Ukraine to use its ATACMS missiles to strike against targets on Russian soil. According to some reports, this so far concerns only Russian and North Korean forces amassing in Russia's Kursk Oblast.

"You know, with the reports in Western media, it is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps... to add fuel to the fire and continue to provoke further escalation of tensions," Peskov said in response to a question whether the Kremlin can confirm that Washington took the step, RIA Novosti reported.

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The statement comes as Biden is set to leave office in January, with Donald Trump replacing him in the Oval Office. The Biden administration has pledged to deliver as much support to Ukraine as possible before Trump takes office.

Several Russian lawmakers called the step an escalation that could "lead to World War III" and the end of Ukrainian statehood. Russia has repeatedly set supposed "red lines" on Western assistance for Ukraine, sometimes accompanied by veiled or overt nuclear threats.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said that long-range strikes against Russia with Western arms would mean NATO's involvement in the war, adding that Moscow is preparing "various responses" to such a step.

Biden has been long adamant about not allowing Western-supplied weapons to be used on Russian soil, fearing an escalation. He first eased the restrictions in May to allow Ukraine to use certain weaponry like HIMARS to strike at Russian troops just across the border in the wake of the Kharkiv offensive.

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Unnamed U.S. officials, as well as a source familiar with the decision, who spoke to Reuters following the decision, said that Kyiv plans to conduct its first long-range strikes in the coming days.

As the decision came in the last months of Biden's term in office, it remains unclear whether Trump will uphold the policy after he returns to the White House.

Read also: Biden authorizes Ukraine to target Russia with US long-range missiles, media reports

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Northrop Grumman Corporation has delivered the first Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW) test missile to the US Air Force.

The missile is designed to verify that the launch aircraft can safely carry and separate the weapon.

The US Air Force awarded the SiAW contract to Northrop Grumman in September 2023.

The company continues developing the weapon, conducting platform integration, and completing the flight test program for rapid prototyping and fielding by 2026.

Stand-in attack missile

SiAW is an air-to-ground weapon that will provide strike capability to defeat rapidly relocatable targets as part of an enemys anti-access/area denial environment.

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To adapt to ever-changing threats, the missile design features open architecture interfaces that will allow for rapid subsystem upgrades to field-enhanced capabilities for the warfighter.

The development continues the Air Force's requirement for this first-of-its-kind Middle Tier Acquisition large weapon program focused on digital engineering, Weapon Open System Architecture, and agility.

The Air Force is targeting an initial operational capability by 2026. The development consists of two primary increments.

The first increment concludes with a guided vehicle flight test, and the second concludes with three additional flight tests and the delivery of SiAW leave-behind prototype missiles and test assets.

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The development of SiAW is part of Northrop Grummans broad offerings in advanced weapons, including armaments, components, missiles, electronics, and interceptors to defeat and deter threats.

For F-35s

Northrop Grummans SiAW solution can be integrated on various aircraft and leverages lessons learned on the Navys AARGM-ER and integration work on the F-35 aircraft.

The missiles propulsion is designed to provide desired weapons employment ranges against current and evolving threats.

It also features a tail-controlled missile for increased maneuverability and survivability.

Northrop Grumman is investing in maturing and testing its SiAW design solution to ensure it meets US Air Force requirements while facilitating rapid capability delivery to the warfighter.

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The SiAW is a tactical air-to-surface missile with a shorter range than standoff weapons.

It's intended to attack relocatable targets like anti-satellite systems, cruise missile launchers, and GPS jamming platforms.

According to the US Air Force, the SiAW system will provide the capability to strike rapidly relocatable targets that create the Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) environment for 5th-generation and Future Advanced Aircraft.

SiAW targets include Theater Ballistic Missile Launchers, Land Attack and Anti-Ship Cruise Missile Launchers, Jammers, Anti-Satellite Systems, and Integrated Air Defense Systems.

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The SiAW missile system is being developed under a Digital Acquisition (DA) approach emphasizing agility and innovation.

The Navy pursues interim combat capability through its Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile Extended Range (AARGM-ER) program, which includes improved warhead/fuze and F-35 integration (including Universal Armament Interface [UAI] and Mission Planning).

Northrop Grummans AARGM-ER is a supersonic, air-launched tactical missile system, the most advanced counter-air-defense system for todays most modern surface-to-air threats.

AARGM-ER leverages existing AARGM components and adds a new high-performance air vehicle, propulsion system, and advanced warhead to provide vital counter-air-defense capability for the US Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and International Partners.
The White House's decision to allow Ukraine to strike Russian territory with US long-range missiles applies exclusively to Kursk Oblast of Russia and is intended as a reaction to the involvement of North Korean troops in the war, Axios writes.

Source: European Pravda citing Axios, a US news website

Details: An Axios source claims that Ukraine has been allowed to use ATACMS so far only in Kursk Oblast of Russia, where the North Korean military has begun to take part in hostilities on the Russian side.

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Kyiv was allegedly informed of this decision three days ago.

The source explained that the decision was intended to deter North Korea from sending additional forces to help Russia in its war against Ukraine.

The White House hopes that if North Korean forces in Russia come under serious attack, Pyongyang may reconsider its decision to continue supporting Russia with manpower. And this, in turn, will have a negative impact on the Russian counteroffensive to oust Ukrainian forces from Kursk.

Background:

On the evening of 17 November, The New York Times reported that Biden Biden had, for the first time, authorised Ukrainian forces to use long-range ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory.

The US refusal was one of the reasons why German Chancellor Scholz justified his unwillingness to provide Ukraine with German Taurus missiles.

The White House also had to comment on the reasons why it did not approve of long-range strikes against Russia.

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MANILA, Philippines  After months of debate, the U.S. will allow Ukraine to fire long-range American weapons into Russia.

President Joe Biden recently gave permission to use the Army Tactical Missile System, with a 180-mile range. Ukraine has sought such authority since the Biden administration first allowed Kyiv to fire American-provided weapons into Russia this May.

Despite Ukraines entreaties, the U.S. resisted the choice until now  arguing it would be an escalation with little battlefield value.

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This marks the latest reversal from the White House on what weapons its sending and how freely Ukraine can use them. The pattern has repeated throughout the war for equipment like F-16 fighters, long-range missiles and tanks.

The change in course is not a sign that the U.S. thinks the long range missiles will be more useful than before. Instead its a tit-for-tat response to North Korea sending more than 10,000 troops to fight alongside Russia in the border region of Kursk, where Ukrainian forces took a swathe of territory earlier this fall.

The North Korean troops havent seen much fighting yet, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters this week, but he expects them to enter combat soon.

Russia has so far waited to begin a counteroffensive around Kursk, putting other parts of the front line first. As it suffers enormous casualties  as high as 1,250 per day, U.S. officials have said  the North Korean troops will help Russia maintain its positions without needing another draft.

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That said, because of their different languages and lack of experience fighting alongside Russia  far from an ally for the last 30 years  Austin doubted the North Korean forces will be very effective.

Ukraine has not yet used ATACMS to fire deep into Russia, an American defense official said.

For now, the revised policy will focus only on the Kursk region, though Ukraine has asked for permission to fire anywhere the missiles can reach. The U.S. may grant such authority if Russia continues to escalate.

To wit, the initial choice to let Ukraine fire American weapons into Russia came after Moscow began a spring offensive on Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city and one that sits close to the border. The White House argued then that restricting the fires created an arbitrary haven for Russian forces, who could station equipment just out of reach.

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Just where that permission applied was convoluted at first, with the Pentagon saying it was only meant for the Kharkiv region and the White House expanding it soon after.

Speaking with reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels, a senior U.S. defense official doubted even the embargo on long-range strike would last, referencing the no-no-yes pattern throughout the war.

Never say never, the official said.

Notwithstanding, the U.S. stood firm for months. Eventually, it settled on three public arguments to make its case.

Americas stocks of the missiles are low  so much so that it didnt send them to Ukraine for much of the war. At the same time, the Pentagon has argued that Ukraine was building its own long-range weapons, mostly drones, that worked just as well.

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Ukraine has used these to hit Russian oil refineries and ammunition depots, causing major damage in the latter case.

After the policy change in May, Russia also moved many of its planes beyond the 180-mile range, expecting the U.S. to eventually relent. That means Ukraine wont be able to stop barrages of glide bombs  essentially imprecise weapons tweaked to be more accurate  that have pounded their cities for more than a year.

A congressional aide told Defense News the new permission could still help Ukraine target some important military sites, such as ammunition depots.

But with ATACMS in such short supply, the U.S. also hasnt said whether the policy change also extends to long range weapons provided by Britain and France. Both countries have said Ukraine should be able to fire these missiles wherever it wants, but they rely on American parts and data to target military sites, giving Washington a veto.
The News

Artificial intelligence models made by the biggest US tech companies are increasingly being used for military and defense purposes.

Earlier this month, Meta began allowing the use of its artificial intelligence model Llama by US government agencies working on defense and national security after it became apparent that Chinese researchers had used its code  which anyone can download and build on  to develop an AI model for military use.

Meanwhile, defense contractor Palantir uses Anthropics Claude AI to monitor government data, and OpenAI has appointed a former Palatir executive and a retired army general to its board.

SIGNALS

President-elect Trump may further expand military use of AI

Sources: The Washington Post, Vox

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US President-elect Donald Trump is widely expected to take a more deregulatory approach to AI than the Biden administration, and could expand its use for military purposes. Trump advisers have reportedly drafted an executive order that would create several Manhattan Projects to boost US military technology and strengthen the security of AI models, The Washington Post reported. Yet Trumps stance on AI is perhaps unpredictable, an economist told Vox, in part because his biggest supporters are divided on it. Some, like tech investor Marc Andreessen, want to slam the gas pedal on development, while others, like Elon Musk, are more wary: They are all united against woke AI, but their positive agenda on how to handle AIs real-world risks is less clear.

Defense funding for AI could prove mutually beneficial

Sources: US Department of Defense, Axios, Decrypt

The Pentagon plans to invest billions of dollars in AI: Its 2025 budget includes more than $143 billion for research and development, with almost $2 billion for AI and machine learning. Former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Ret. Gen. Mark Milley told Axios that AI brings real significant fundamental changes to defense, adding that a third of US military forces could be driven by AI by 2040. Government partnerships are also beneficial for tech companies, an AI company chief executive told tech-focused outlet Decrypt, because they provides stable revenue, the potential to have a say in future regulation, and learning opportunities to understand real-world challenges unique to this sector.

Open source AI models security divides experts

Sources: IEEE Spectrum, The Conversation

Metas Llama, which is partially open source  meaning anyone can download it to build on  has caused some controversy. One expert told IEEE Spectrum this approach [fuels] a global AI arms race by essentially opening up sophisticated AI tech to US adversaries, as in the case of the Chinese-developed military model. Open source code can be manipulated, an engineering expert wrote in The Conversation, a risk that grows in the case of military and defense uses because the robustness of open source software is dependent on the public community. However, others disagree, stressing open models may be easier to independently monitor for security threats.
United States envoy Amos Hochstein is expected in Beirut on Tuesday, according to two Lebanese official sources, in what is seen as a sign of progress in ceasefire negotiations for the deadly cross-border conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The news comes after Beirut responded positively to a US-backed proposal to stop the Israel-Hezbollah war, per Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Makati. Speaking to Al Araby TV news channel on Monday, Makati said the Lebanese government had been seeking clarification on some unclear points in the ceasefire proposal, but that large parts of the draft agreement were resolved.

Certain points would clarification through a face to face discussions with Hochstein, he added.

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US ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson relayed the proposal to the Lebanese government via Nabih Berri, the parliament speaker, on Thursday night, a Lebanese official told CNN earlier.

According to the official, Hezbollah reviewed the proposal and submitted their response to Lebanese authorities on Sunday evening. The source described the response as largely positive.

A source familiar with the situation told CNN that the negotiations on a diplomatic resolution are continuing and noted that Hochsteins trip does not necessarily signal that a deal is imminent.

Whats in the ceasefire proposal

The US-backed proposal aims to achieve a 60-day cessation of hostilities and is being portrayed as the basis of a lasting ceasefire, according to the Lebanese official, adding that terms lie within the parameters of UN Resolution 1701 which ended the Lebanon-Israel war of 2006. The resolution stipulates that the only armed groups in the area south of Lebanons Litani River should be the Lebanese army and UN peacekeeping forces.

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The proposal also requires Israeli ground forces, operating in southern Lebanon since late September, to withdraw from the country and demands a stricter enforcement of resolution 1701, according to the Lebanese official.

Both Israel and Lebanon have reacted to the proposal, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Monday.

We have been sharing proposals, both with the Government of Lebanon and the Government of Israel. Both sides have reacted to the proposals that we have put forward, he said at a press briefing.

Miller would not say if the US is optimistic about the prospects of reaching an agreement, but noted that when you have a resolution in the interest of all the relevant parties, we ought to be able to get to an agreement, and thats what were going to try to do.

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Were going to continue to stay at that process, because we believe a diplomatic resolution is key to allowing the fighting to stop, to protecting civilians and allowing the civilians in both Israel and Lebanon to return to their homes, said Miller.

Smokes rises over southern Beirut, Lebanon, after a series of Israeli airstrikes on Sunday. - Ed Ram/Getty Images

Israeli operational freedom

An Israeli source familiar with the talks however cast doubt on the likelihood of an imminent deal, noting that while progress has been made, Hezbollahs refusal to accept Israels demand for the right to strike Hezbollah targets in the event of a ceasefire violation could jeopardize the process. Without this clause, the source added, it is uncertain whether Netanyahu can secure cabinet approval for the agreement.

The Israeli source added that Hochstein has not yet confirmed when he will arrive in the region.

Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right Israeli minister of finance, said on Monday that full operational freedom for the Israeli military in southern Lebanon is a non-negotiable condition.

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At the end of the war, we will have operational freedom in Gaza, and so we will also have operational freedom in Lebanon. We will not agree to any arrangement that is not worth the paper it is written on, he said. We are changing the security paradigm and will not return to decades of concepts of containment and threats without response. This will not happen again.

In his interview with Al Araby TV, Mikati dismissed reports of demands to give the Israeli military operational freedom in south Lebanon as speculation, adding that he hasnt seen such a clause in the proposal.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (pictured) meets US special envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 21. - Mohamed Azakir/Reuters

Berri, who leads the Hezbollah-allied Amal party and is an interlocutor in the talks, told Saudi-owned Asharq Al Awsat newspaper on Friday that the proposal he received from the US does not include mention of Israeli military operational freedom in Lebanon, adding that the US knows that such a demand would be unacceptable.

The Lebanese official who spoke to CNN also said the proposal does not refer to Israels right to continue striking Lebanon after a truce.

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The source also said Hezbollah has agreed to separate its conflict with Israel from Israels war in Gaza. Prior to Israels all-out offensive in late September, the militant group had insisted it would only cease near-daily attacks on Israels northern-most territories once a ceasefire was achieved in Gaza.

According to multiple high-level Lebanese officials, Hezbollah had initially agreed to delink the two conflicts the night before its leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in late September.

Mikati said that his government is in contact with US President-elect Donald Trumps team.

Another Lebanese source familiar with the ceasefire talks told CNN earlier that President-elect Trump has endorsed Hochsteins ceasefire negotiations track, increasing the chances of its success.

Israel is ready to do a deal

Meanwhile, a senior US official told CNN that there is no stock in reports that Israel will try to delay a deal. The Israelis have confirmed to us theyre ready to do it, the source said.

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A deal with Hezbollah would send a signal to Hamas that Israel and its partners will do their utmost to secure a deal that brings back hostages held in Gaza, the US official said.

If we have a Lebanon deal, were going to come down like a ton of bricks on Hamas to try to get a hostage deal, the official said, adding that Israel needs to turn this military success into a strategic success.

The US official said that the region was in a deadlock as Hamas refused to strike a ceasefire deal that returns Israeli hostages, and Hezbollah had vowed to keep fighting until Israels war against Hamas in Gaza came to an end.

While the US is not privy to all of Israels military plans, the official said, having the degradation of Hezbollah helps to strike an agreement.

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To get a deal in Lebanon, Hezbollah has to be put under pressure, the US official said, adding that Hezbollah cannot rebuild its massive military infrastructure across the border with Israel.

CNNs Nadeen Ebrahim and Jenny Hansler contributed to this article.

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The Royal Australian Navy located one of the most famous battleships from WWII, the destroyer USS Edsall, with the most cutting-edge underwater technologies.

A historic milestone was achieved in recovering the wreckage of the ESS Edsall, renowned for its valiant final stand against the Japanese before sinking to its watery grave over 80 years ago.

A testament to bravery, the USS Edsall even earned the respect of the Japanese during World War II due to its unusual maneuvering and strategy, which earned it its nickname "dancing mouse" in withstanding a losing battle much longer than it should have.

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The discovery not only highlights the latest sophisticated technology that has brought more than one warship home but also the alliance between the United States and Australia as the USS Edsall protected Australia at the beginning of World War II.

An unforgettable moment in WWII

As CNN reported, US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and Australias chief of navy, Vice Adm. Mark Hammond, made an official announcement on Monday about the recovery of the USS Edsall.

A warship that holds a special place in naval history, Hammond said; it famously put up one of the bravest ever stands against all odds.

Advanced robotic and autonomous systems, normally used for hydrographic survey capabilities, he continued, equipped the ADV Stroke and other fleet vessels with the state-of-the-art technology necessary to find the ship in the Indian Ocean, which wouldnt have been possible a few years ago.

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As a symbol of courage and protecting allies, the USS Edsall had already sunk a Japanese submarine to protect Australia by the time it headed into its final battle on March 1, 1942. Once detected by the Japanese, they diffused an immediate attack as the U.S. warship had succeeded in getting within 16 miles of the Japanese fleet.

But the old ship from 1920 stood no chance against the more equipped Japanese fleet with "dozens of aircraft carrying 500-pound bombs, as per CNN. Though the odds zero to none, the captain of the USS Edsall, Lieutenant Nix, decided to pull an act of defiance described as the little mouse flipping the bird at a huge screaming eagle.

And aptly, it earned the nickname dancing mouse for its slippery movements as it changed course and speed, impressively avoiding 1,400 shells and almost striking a Japanese warship. The USS Edsall even is remembered by the Japanese. It effectively caused them to waste over a thousand shells, so they sent in the dive bombers to take out the US ship moving through the sea like a dancing mouse.

Forever remembered as "the dancing mouse"

As the US Navy said in an official announcement, the commanding officer of Edsall lived up to the U.S. Navy tenet, 'Dont give up the ship,' even when faced with overwhelming odds.

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As to the causalities, 185 U.S. personnel and 31 U.S. Army Air Force pilots died in the final battle dance that still holds a special place in WWII history. Now, the remains of a WWII vessel have been successfully recovered.

As we reflect on the legacy of the USS Edsall, we honor the sailors who faced tremendous challenges with bravery and determination. Their stories are an integral part of our shared maritime history and commitment to service.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on Monday on an Israeli settler group it accused of helping perpetrate violence in the occupied West Bank, which has seen a rise in settler attacks on Palestinians.

The Amana settler group "a key part of the Israeli extremist settlement movement and maintains ties to various persons previously sanctioned by the U.S. government and its partners for perpetrating violence in the West Bank," the Treasury Department said in a statement announcing the sanctions.

The sanctions also target a subsidiary of Amana called Binyanei Bar Amana, described by Treasury as a company that builds and sell homes in Israeli settlements and settler outposts.

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The sanctions block Americans from any transactions with Amana and freeze its U.S.-held assets. The United Kingdom and Canada have also imposed sanctions on Amana.

Israel has settled the West Bank since capturing it during the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians say the settlements have undermined the prospects for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Israel views the West Bank as the biblical Judea and Samaria, and the settlers cite biblical ties to the land.

Settler violence had been on the rise prior to the eruption of the Gaza war, and has worsened since the conflict began over a year ago.

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Most countries deem the settlements illegal under international law, a position disputed by Israel which sees the territory as a security bulwark. In 2019, the then-Trump administration abandoned the long-held U.S. position that the settlements are illegal before it was restored by President Joe Biden.

Last week, nearly 90 U.S. lawmakers urged Biden to impose sanctions on members of members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government over anti-Palestinian violence in the West Bank.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; editing by Rami Ayyub)
By Bo Erickson, Sarah N. Lynch and Andrew Goudsward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. House of Representatives Ethics Committee is expected to discuss next steps on Wednesday in its investigation into President-elect Donald Trump's attorney general pick Matt Gaetz, two sources with knowledge of the panel's plans said.

The sources were granted anonymity to discuss the bipartisan panel's inner workings.

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A growing number of Trump's fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate, which has a constitutional duty to confirm or reject high-level presidential appointments, have called on the House panel to turn over its findings on allegations of sexual misconduct involving a teenager and drug use by Gaetz.

It is uncertain whether the probe will continue because Gaetz, 42, resigned his seat in the Republican-controlled House on Wednesday, hours after Trump unveiled his choice of the lawmaker and as the probe was nearing completion. Gaetz denies any wrongdoing.

An attorney who said he represented two women who testified to the committee said on Monday that Gaetz had paid his clients, who were adults, for sex and that one of his clients witnessed Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old girl.

The attorney, Joel Leppard, said one of the women saw Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17 at the time, at a Florida house party in July 2017.

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Leppard called on the House Ethics Committee to release its report.

In a separate probe, the Department of Justice, which the attorney general leads, investigated Gaetz for nearly three years over allegations involving the teenager and the possibility that he may have violated sex trafficking laws.

Gaetz's office said in 2023 that prosecutors had told him he would not face charges.

A Gaetz spokesperson referred a request for comment to a spokesman for Trump's transition office, who dismissed Leppard's claim.

"These are baseless allegations intended to derail the second Trump administration," said the spokesman, Alex Pfeiffer, in an email.

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SENATORS WANT TO SEE REPORT

Gaetz is one of several Cabinet nominees tapped by Trump last week who lack the resumes normally seen in candidates for high-level administration jobs.

Republican U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin on Sunday told NBC's "Meet the Press" that the panel should share its report with the Senate.

"The Senate should have access to that," Mullin said. "Should it be released to the public or not? That I guess will be part of the negotiations."

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he believes the report should not be made public, as Gaetz is no longer a House member.

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Trump himself faced a pair of federal prosecutions since leaving office in 2021, one for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and one for mishandling classified documents after leaving office. He has denied wrongdoing, described those prosecutions and two others he faced as politically motivated and vowed to use the Justice Department to go after political enemies when he returns to power on Jan. 20.

(Reporting by Bo Erickson and Sarah N. Lynch, additional reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone, Alistair Bell and Edwina Gibbs)
A senior US foreign policy official said that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's decision to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin did not break with the joint stance of the Western allies with regard to the war in Ukraine.

"We've had conversations with Russia in this administration," Jon Finer, the deputy national security advisor to US President Joe Biden, said Monday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil. "Other countries have had conversations with Russia, even since the invasion and this more significant phase of the war broke out."

According to Finer, the well-known US view is that nothing should be decided about Ukraine's future without the agreement of the Ukraine. However, Finer said that does not mean that no one should talk to Russia, and he added that there are good reasons to engage in such talks.

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"I'm quite confident that there was nothing that took place that undermined Ukraine's interest in these conversations, and we are closely aligned and coordinating with the Germans and our other allies on this," Finer said.

Scholz's decision to arrange an hour-long phone call with Putin on Friday has attracted criticism, particularly from some figures in Ukraine, as the West has largely isolated Putin since he ordered the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky contended that Scholz's phone call would weaken Russia's international isolation.

Scholz again defended his conversation with Putin on Monday, calling it important.

Scholz affirms German support

In an interivew with the Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo published on Sunday ahead of the G20 summit, Scholz reaffirmed Germany's commitment to supporting Ukraine's defence against Russia, pledging continued aid for as long as necessary.

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Scholz arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday evening for a two-day summit with leading global economic powers.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has opted not to make the war in Ukraine an official topic at the summit and did not invite Zelensky. Russia, however, is represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

While Scholz was en route to Brazil, reports emerged saying that US President Joe Biden had authorized Ukraine to strike Russian territory with long-range US missiles.

The interview with Folha de Sao Paulo took place before the emergence of the reports.

In the interview, Scholz reiterated his call for a peace conference involving Russia, stressing that a lasting peace in Ukraine would be achievable only through international law and would require significant effort.

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Scholz has refused to deliver Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles, which have a range of about 500 kilometres, fearing an escalation.

'Nein' again to Taurus missiles

On Monday, Scholz again reiterated his refusal to provide Taurus missiles to Ukraine when asked by reporters in Brazil, a position he has held despite repeated requests from Kiev for the German-made missiles.

"I have very clear reasons why I do not consider the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles (...) to be right," Scholz said

He contended that German military personnel would have to participate in target control for the missiles, "but that is something I cannot and do not want to be responsible for," he said.

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According to US media reports, outgoing US President Joe Biden is said to have given permission for Ukraine to use US-supplied ATACMS missiles, which have a range of up to 300 kilometres, to hit military targets in the Kursk region of Russia.

The weapons are likely to be used initially against Russian and North Korean troops to support Ukrainian forces who are occupying territory in the Kursk region of western Russia.

Ukraine captured the area in a surprise attack in August, but a counter-offensive by Moscow is now looming in order to push the Ukrainian troops back again.

Scholz defends weapons for Israel

In the interview with the Brazilian newspaper, Scholz also defended Germany's decision to supply arms to Israel, despite facing international criticism from a number of nations over the shipments.

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The chancellor stressed Israel's right to self-defence and assured that Germany would maintain its solidarity, including providing weapons and military equipment to ensure Israel's defence capabilities.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) and his wife Britta Ernst arrive at Rio de Janeiro's Antonio Carlos Jobim airport for the two-day G20 Summit in Brazil. Kay Nietfeld/dpa
(Bloomberg) -- The US and the Philippines on Monday signed a deal on military information sharing, bolstering ties two months before Donald Trump assumes the presidency.

Most Read from Bloomberg

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US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro inked the General Security of Military Information Agreement in Manila. The pact allows the sharing of classified defense information between the two countries at a time of growing assertiveness from Beijing over the South China Sea and Taiwan.

The agreement also streamlines foreign military sales for certain classified technologies, paving the way for further cooperation on defense equipment between the US and the Philippines. It also lays the groundwork for future security deals.

Why Marcos Is Inviting the US Back to the Philippines: QuickTake

The defense allies are moving to solidify ties that were strengthened under US President Joe Biden and Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as Trumps return to the White House in January could shake up geopolitical dynamics around the world.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. on Monday imposed sanctions on organizations and firms involved in illegal settlement development in the occupied West Bank, including a well-established decades-old group that has close ties with Israeli leadership.

Treasury sanctioned Amana, the largest organization involved in illegal settlement development in the West Bank, and its subsidiary Binyanei Bar Amana Ltd. Already sanctioned by Britain and Canada, Amana is one of the major funders and supporters of unauthorized settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Peace Now, a settlement tracking group, says its assets are valued at around 600 million Israeli shekels, or about $160 million, and that it has a yearly budget stretching into tens of millions of shekels.

Amana, which is based in the West Bank and has no known connection to the U.S. appliance maker, over the past few years has underwritten loans, signed contracts, bought equipment and funded infrastructure projects for new settlements, according to Peace Now. The settlements, small farming outposts, have become some of the primary drivers of violence and displacement of Palestinians living in the West Bank.

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Additionally, the State Department imposed diplomatic sanctions on Eyal Hari Yehuda Co., which provides construction logistics to sanctioned groups, as well as company owner Itamar Yehuda Levi. The co-founder of the already sanctioned nonprofit group Hashomer Yosh, Shabtai Koshlevsky, and Israeli citizen Zohar Sabah, who has perpetrated acts of violence on Palestinians, also were hit with sanctions.

The penalties come as settlers in the territory celebrate the incoming Trump administration, believing it will likely take a more favorable approach to the settlements. During his first term, Trump took unprecedented steps to support Israels territorial claims, including recognizing Jerusalem as its capital and moving the U.S. Embassy there, and recognizing Israels annexation of the Golan Heights.

Treasurys Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said the U.S. remains committed to holding accountable those who seek to facilitate these destabilizing activities, which threaten the stability of the West Bank, Israel, and the wider region.

Among other things, the sanctions deny the people and firms access to any property or financial assets held in the U.S. and prevent U.S. companies and citizens from doing business with them.

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In February, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that targets Israeli settlers in the West Bank who have been accused of attacking Palestinians and Israeli peace activists in the occupied territory. That order is used to justify the financial penalties against the companies and men.

In response, Texans for Israel, a Christian nonprofit, Israeli nonprofit Regavim and others in August sued the Biden administration in Amarillo, Texas, over its sanctions against Israeli extremists in the West Bank.

Eitay Mack, a human rights lawyer who has spent years campaigning for the sanctions on violent West Bank settlers, said the sanctions on Amana were an earthquake for the settlement project and especially the shepherds farms. He called on the U.S. to extend the sanctions now to firebrand Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, also a far-right settler in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus Cabinet.

Amanas leadership has appeared at pro-settlement events alongside Cabinet members. Peace Now says the groups secretary-general, Zeev Hever, was greeted by Smotrich at a June conference where Smotrich laid out his plans for the West Bank.

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Violence against Palestinians and their displacement have only picked up since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023. Around 8,000 Palestinians have been displaced in the West Bank during that time and over 700 killed, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Palestinian health officials.

The Associated Press previously reported that the sanctions measures have had minimal impact, instead emboldening settlers as attacks and land-grabs escalate, according to Palestinians in the West Bank, local rights groups and sanctioned Israelis who spoke to AP. Additionally, Smotrich has previously vowed to intervene on sanctioned settlers behalf.

Israel captured the West Bank along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want those territories for their hoped-for future state.

Settlement growth and construction have been promoted by successive Israeli governments stretching back decades, but it has exploded under Netanyahus far-right coalition, which has settlers in key Cabinet posts. There are now well over 100 settlements and 500,000 Israeli settlers sprawling across the territory from north to south  a reality, rights groups say, dimming any hopes for an eventual two-state solution.

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State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said we once again call on the Government of Israel to take action and hold accountable those responsible for or complicit in violence, forced displacement, and the dispossession of private land. The United States will continue to promote accountability for those who further destabilize conditions in the West Bank and support extremist violence in the region.

__

Frankel reported from Jerusalem.
MANILA, Philippines  The U.S. and the Philippines finished an agreement on how to share classified information, firming the foundation for their militaries to operate together.

The deal, known as the General Security of Military Information Agreement, or GSOMIA, is in essence a leveling floor. It enforces a basic set of standards for how the two countries handle classified information, making it easier for America to share such data in times of need.

We see the Philippines as a full partner now, a U.S. defense official said.

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Washington and Manila have been negotiating the deal for more than two years, as part of a larger effort to make their militaries closer partners. Until a few years ago, the Philippines had been drifting toward China, concerned that the U.S. was a haphazard ally.

That changed in 2022 with the election of Ferdinand Marcos jr, the Philippines current, pro-American president. During his term Manila has granted the U.S. military access to new sites in the countrys north, expanded their yearly exercises and agreed to host equipment like Typhon, a missile launcher thats caught the attention, and ire, of China.

One on one with US Army Pacific Command chief Gen. Charles Flynn

In return, the U.S. has invested in the Philippines economy and military, most recently sending $500 million in long-term military aid. With that funding, Manila is buying equipment that will help it monitor its waterways, in particular those in the South China Sea where China has been harassing Filipino sailors and ships resupplying outposts.

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That equipment will start to be delivered in a matter of months, U.S. defense officials told reporters traveling here with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The nascent intelligence sharing deal will make it easier for the Philippines to buy more sensitive American-made weapons.

The Philippines has started an overall renewal of its military, agreeing to spend some $35 billion in the next 10 years, including on a list of weapons already coordinated with Washington. Along with larger exercises, the spending will help prepare its force for larger threats, such as defending the homeland rather than fighting terrorism.

Aside from signing the intelligence sharing agreement Monday, Americas defense secretary watched the groundbreaking for a planning center at Camp Aguinaldo, a military headquarters in Manila. The U.S. Embassy has a growing military presence working out of the base to help the Philippines order equipment, but the new center will help them plan larger exercises together, U.S. officials said.
DUBAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. special envoy to Sudan travelled to the African country for the first time on Monday to seek an increase in the flow of aid to millions of people in need and an end to a devastating war.

Tom Perriello, who was named Washington's envoy for Sudan in February, travelled to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast, the de facto capital for the army-led government.

It marked the first visit to the country by a senior U.S. official since the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out in April 2023 and the U.S. embassy was evacuated.

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"We feel an enormous amount of urgency to end this crisis and to ensure that we can ... help to get food and medicine and life-saving support to the 20 million people plus that are in need," a State Department official said before the trip.

The U.N. says more than 25 million people - half of Sudan's population - need aid as famine has taken hold in one region and more than 11 million people have fled their homes.

Perriello met with Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan as well as humanitarian, government, and tribal leaders, a statement by the country's sovereign council said.

In a meeting the council said was "lengthy, comprehensive, and frank", the two men discussed ways to deliver humanitarian aid and a political process as a way to end the war.

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"The U.S. envoy presented several suggestions which the head of the sovereign council agreed to," the statement said.

U.S.-mediated talks in Geneva earlier this year failed to achieve progress toward a ceasefire as the army refused to attend, but did secure promises from the warring parties to improve aid access.

The war erupted more than a year ago amid a power struggle between the army and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.

Perriello discussed "the need to cease fighting, enable unhindered humanitarian access, including through localized pauses in the fighting to allow for the delivery of emergency relief supplies, and commit to a civilian government," a State Department statement said.

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While the U.S. would continue to pursue a more comprehensive ceasefire and negotiations, "right now, I think there's a really key opportunity to build on the expansion of humanitarian aid," the State Department official said, highlighting the need for relief corridors to the most battle-ravaged areas including al-Fashir, Sennar and parts of the capital Khartoum.

Sudan's sovereign council said last week it would extend a temporary opening of the Adre border crossing with Chad, which aid agencies say is a vital corridor for food and other supplies to areas of the Darfur and Kordofan regions at risk of famine.

The State Department official said Washington was concerned that the number of foreign actors beginning to engage in the conflict was growing, adding that there has been an increased number of mercenary fighters from the Sahel arriving to fight with the RSF as well as other actors, including Russia and Iran, playing a role with the army.

The visit came as the RSF continues revenge attacks in eastern El Gezira state and a campaign to take over the army's last Darfur stronghold al-Fashir.

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In a news conference in Nairobi, an RSF representative said they were still open to peace, but doubted the army's willingness.

"They do not listen to any language but that of the rifle, and so we will continue to talk to them in the language they understand," said Brigadier General Omar Hamdan.

(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz, Daphne Psaledakis and Nafisa Eltahir; editing by Mark and Nick Zieminski)
By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a challenge based on constitutional free speech protections to a voter-approved measure in Alaska that requires greater public disclosure of certain political donations, as the justices passed up a chance to further curtail campaign finance regulation.

The justices turned away an appeal by several Alaskan residents and advocacy groups, represented by a conservative legal group, of a lower court's ruling upholding the law narrowly approved as a ballot initiative in 2020.

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The initiative, called Ballot Measure 2, adopted sweeping changes to the state's elections system. The plaintiffs objected to what they called some of the most stringent disclosure requirements in the United States on political donors.

The voters adopted a non-partisan open primary system, a method called ranked-choice voting for the general elections in which voters rank candidates in order of preference, and a series of changes to Alaska's campaign-finance laws to address the use of "dark money" in elections.

The term "dark money" generally refers to election spending by certain organizations that do not disclose the identity of their donors, leaving voters in the dark as to who is trying to influence them.

The case before the U.S. Supreme Court, pursued by the conservative legal group Liberty Justice Center, involved only a challenge to the campaign-finance requirements of the Alaska measure. The plaintiffs argued that the Alaska disclosure requirements violate the rights of donors under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, which protects against governmental abridgment of free speech.

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Scott Kendall, a lawyer for a group called Alaskans for Better Elections that backed the new law, called it gratifying to see the Supreme Court turn away the case and allow a disclosure system like Alaska's to stand.

"Alaska's dark money requirements are state of the art in the country," Kendall said.

Jacob Huebert, president of Liberty Justice Center, called the Supreme Court's decision disappointing. But Huebert said the appeal concerned only a preliminary ruling and that his group would keep litigating at the lower-court level, potentially giving the Supreme Court another chance to review the law's legality.

"It violates the First Amendment and should ultimately be struck down," Huebert said.

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The Supreme Court in a landmark 2010 ruling in a case called Citizens United v. FEC invalidated longstanding campaign finance restrictions and enabled corporations and other outside groups such as unions to spend unlimited funds on elections. The court found that such restrictions violated the First Amendment.

The Citizens United ruling and subsequent Supreme Court decisions helped usher in an era of unprecedented spending in U.S. elections.

The provisions in the 2020 ballot measure marked a significant tightening of Alaska's laws after the state ceased restricting who could make independent expenditures supporting or opposing candidates following the Citizens United decision.

The new Alaska law required anyone who contributes $2,000 or more annually to an organization making independent expenditures to support candidates in elections to, within 24 hours, report their donation or face a penalty of up to $1,000 per day.

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The measure also required political donors to report the "true sources" of their contributions, which in essence would mean that advocacy groups that derive funds from donations, dues or gifts must disclose who provided them their funding.

And it mandated that groups running television ads to influence the election that received most of their funding from donors outside Alaska must include a disclaimer in capital letters stating that fact for the ad's entire duration.

A group of voters along with the advocacy groups Families of the Last Frontier and Alaska Free Market Coalition sued in 2022, arguing that law violated their First Amendment right to freely engage in core political speech, violated the rights of donors and would coerce independent groups to air state-mandated messages.

Families of the Last Frontier and the Alaska Free Market Coalition both make independent expenditures not coordinated with a candidate's campaign to influence an election.

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A trial court judge handling the case declined to block the law's enforcement. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Circuit upheld that ruling in March, saying the disclosure requirements were "reasonably tailored to the state's important interests in keeping the public informed."

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Will Dunham)
The UK, US and Australia have reached a deal to accelerate the delivery of battle-winning hypersonic missiles.

Under the second pillar of the AUKUS submarine pact, the three nations will develop, build and test projectiles that travel five-times faster than the speed of sound.

The countries will pool expertise and resources to make sure the weapons, launchers and defensive systems are delivered ahead of schedules.

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This work will keep us ahead of our adversaries on the battlefield, enhance our collective security and contribute to maintaining peace and stability in an increasingly complex and dangerous world, John Healey, Britains defence secretary, said.

Under the agreement, a so-called Hypersonic Flight Test and Experimentation Project Arrangement will be set up among the three countries.

Richard Marles, John Healey and Lloyd Austin, the defence secretaries of Australia, the UK and the US who together make up AUKUS - Kin Cheung/Pool via REUTERS/

It will include up to six joint test flight campaigns by 2028, costing $258 million, the US defence department said in a statement.

We are increasing our collective ability to develop and deliver offensive and defensive hypersonic technologies through a robust series of trilateral tests and experiments that will accelerate the development of hypersonic concepts and critical enabling technologies, Heidi Shyu, the Pentagons senior official in charge of research and engineering, said.

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The US armed forces has heavily invested in the development of hypersonic capabilities in recent years.

The army and navy have jointly worked on creating a glide body delivery system, while the air force has several air-launched missile programmes in the works.

The initial pillar of AUKUS opened up US technologies to build Australia a nuclear-powered submarine, with the help of the UK, as part of a wider plan to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region.

The second pillar on the landmark agreement, which could also be opened up to Japan, seeks to further ease the restrictions on sharing sensitive US technologies with the UK and Australia.

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The work envisaged under the scheme includes hypersonic, artificial intelligence and undersea military capabilities.

There had been doubts in Washington over this part of the agreement because of concerns that Britain and Australia would not protect US technologies.

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By Simon Lewis and Daphne Psaledakis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States warned Turkey on Monday against hosting Hamas leadership, saying Washington does not believe leaders of a terrorist organization should be living comfortably.

Asked about reports that some Hamas leaders had moved to Turkey from Qatar, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller did not confirm the reports but said he was not in a position to dispute them. He said Washington will make clear to Turkey's government that there can be no more business as usual with Hamas.

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Miller added that some Hamas leaders are under U.S. indictment and Washington believes they should be turned over to the United States.

"We don't believe the leaders of a vicious terrorist organization should be living comfortably anywhere, and that certainly includes in ... a major city of one of our key allies and partners," Miller told reporters at a regular news briefing.

A Turkish diplomatic source dismissed on Monday reports that Hamas had moved its political office to Turkey, adding that members of the Palestinian militant group only visited the country from time to time.

Qatar said last week it had told Hamas and Israel that it will suspend efforts to mediate a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal until both show seriousness about resuming talks. Doha also said media reports that it had told Hamas to leave the Gulf Arab country were not accurate.

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"Hamas political bureau members visit Turkey from time to time. Claims that indicate the Hamas political bureau has moved to Turkey do not reflect the truth," the diplomatic source said.

Later on Monday, Hamas dismissed the reports as "rumors the (Israeli) occupation is trying to publish from time to time."

NATO member Turkey has fiercely criticized Israel over its offensives in the Gaza Strip and in Lebanon and does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis, Ismail Shakil and Daphne Psaledakis; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Rod Nickel)
The U.S. Navy's newest combat ship arrived Sunday night at Milwaukee's Veterans Park, where it awaits its namesake commissioning ceremony.

The future USS Beloit (LCS 29) will officially receive its name and be commissioned for active service Saturday morning.

The 387-foot-long Freedom-variant littoral combat ship's name "honors the contributions the people of Beloit have made to the U.S. Navy, such as the Fairbanks Morse plant, which built engines that power many of the Navy's ships and submarines, including USS Beloit," the Navy said.

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At Saturday's ceremony, the ship's sponsor, retired Army Maj. Gen. Marcia M. Anderson, will give the order, "Man our ship and bring her to life!"  a Navy tradition that's followed by the hoisting of the commissioning pennant. That will make the Beloit an official ship in the U.S. Navy fleet.

"It is important to recognize that small cities like Beloit have had an outsized impact on our national security for over 100 years and also have a significant role in the history of our country," said Anderson, a Beloit native whose military career spanned nearly four decades.

Multiple Beloit-based businesses and organizations donated to the development of the new ship, including Fairbanks Morse, the Hendricks Family Foundation, Kunes GMC of Beloit and Visit Beloit.

"We must never forget that the reason our country is so admired around the world is because we have always been a nation that honors and recognizes the devotion and courage of ordinary people," Anderson said. "The USS Beloit exemplifies and continues that tradition."

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After the commissioning ceremony, the Beloit will head to its home-port assignment, Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida.

A fishing boat floats next to the USS Beloit (LCS 29), a Freedom-variant littoral combat ship docked on Lake Michigan at Veterans Park in Milwaukee on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. The ship will be commissioned for active service in Milwaukee on Saturday, Nov. 23.

How to watch the USS Beloit commissioning ceremony

You can watch Saturday's commissioning ceremony virtually or in-person, though in-person tickets are limited.

The ceremony is at 10 a.m. It will be livestreamed at www.dvidshub.net/webcast/35146, beginning at 9:45 a.m.

Tickets for the ceremony in Veterans Park are available on a first-come, first-served basis. You can request tickets via the official online portal. All communication regarding tickets will come from the U.S. Navy. There will be a separate ticket process for Fairbanks Morse employees and retirees, donors and certain schools and veterans groups.

Its something you dont see everyday, said George Szczepanski, of New Berlin as he checked out the the USS Beloit (LCS 29), a Freedom-variant littoral combat ship docked on Lake Michigan at Veterans Park in Milwaukee on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. The ship will be commissioned for active service in Milwaukee on Saturday, Nov. 23.

Parking in Veterans Park during the event will be limited to bus groups, law enforcement and persons with disabilities. There will be a shuttle to and from the commissioning ceremony from the Milwaukee Art Museum. You can also walk from the museum to the ceremony; walking time is about 10 minutes.

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The Navy recommends parking at one of these garages near the museum for $6 to $9 per day:

Museum Center Garage: 910 E. Michigan St.

Couture Garage: 909 E. Michigan St.

U.S. Bank Garage: 716 E. Clybourn St.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: USS Beloit naval ship arrives in Milwaukee for commissioning ceremony
(KRON)  A man was arrested after stabbing his wife Saturday morning and confessing to killing his biological mother, the Vallejo Police Department announced in a press release. Officers responded to the stabbing at around 8:43 a.m. on the 900 block of Sereno Drive.

After they arrived at the scene, police discovered that a man and woman were both suffering from at least one stab wound. According to police, both were initially listed to be in critical condition but are expected to survive. The man stabbed himself and stabbed his wife at least once, VPD added.

Man suspected of breaking into Sonoma Co. home, murdering occupant

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The suspect was identified as 63-year-old Vallejo man Frank James McMillan. He underwent surgery for his stab wound and later confessed to killing his mother, which happened before the stabbing of his wife, police said.

According to VPD, McMillan killed his mother at a residence on the 100 block of Campbell Avenue in Vallejo. Police did not say when and what time that incident occurred.

VPD did not detail how the suspect killed his mother. However, the incident marks the 21st homicide in Vallejo this year, according to police.

Vallejo officers conducted a welfare check at the Campbell Avenue residence and forced entry after receiving no response, police said. The body of McMillans mother was found inside the home.

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McMillan was arrested for attempted murder and murder, VPD said. The mothers identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin by the Solano County Sheriffs Coroners Office.

VPD is still investigating the crime. Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Detective Wesley Pittman at (707) 334-1274 or Wesley.Pittman@cityofvallejo.net, or Detective Daniel Callison at (707) 648-4533 or Daniel.Callison@cityofvallejo.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 KRON4.
A man takes his off-road vehicle down a ruined road in Tennessee. (Photo provided by Ashley Galleher)

This coverage is made possible through a partnership between BPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.

Around 11 a.m. most days of the week at an indoor skatepark and warehouse in Trade, Tenn., the garage door rolls open and community members begin to file in.

On one of those days last week, skatepark owner Ashley Galleher and her friend Valentine Reilly sat behind a table stacked with paper  emergency phone numbers and encouraging messages  and Narcan.

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So whats the condition of your home? Galleher asked a visitor.

It was destroyed, the man, from Mountain City, Tenn., said.

Across state lines, the impacts were the same: deaths and washed-out roads, destroyed homes, and pummeled infrastructure like water systems.

In Trade, which is an unincorporated town just over the state line from Watauga County, N.C., Galleher owns Zionsville Ramp Company, an indoor skatepark. Now, its called Stateline Resource Center.

Trade, as suggested by its name, was traditionally an important mountain trading stop  a crossroads through the rugged high-country landscape. At the base of a long mountain range, it was once a way to get between North Carolina and Tennessee. And now the Stateline Resource Center is a crossroads between Ashe County and western Watauga County, and Johnson County, Tenn.

Ashley Galleher and Valentine Reilly opened up Trades indoor skatepark as a disaster resource center after the Helene caused massive destruction across east Tennessee and western North Carolina. (Photo: Katie Myers/BPR)

A lot of folks work in Boone. They have to come right through Trade, Galleher said.

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Because the roads are so damaged, community members have not been able to cross as easily.

The people of Trade felt very cut off, she said.

Route 421 was closed in both directions, isolating Mountain City and Trade from the rest of Tennessee. In the early days, Gallaher found open routes by word of mouth.

People heard, you can go this way, or that way. Well, people would try to go that way and find out that they couldnt. The road was washed out in a certain location. They would report back. But by the time they got all the way back here, 30 other cars had tried to go that route because we heard it was open, she said. Or when the road crews started coming in to do work, theres still a communication struggle with how you truly can get somewhere. And it changes every day.

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In other communities in Tennessee, like the rafting community of Hartford in Cocke County, the loss of major thoroughfares like Interstate 40 has isolated people from income and supplies.

Cell and internet service in the region was already spotty, and early in the storm, a large number of cell sites were out. Communication has been a matter of word of mouth.

Maybe people didnt realize how bad it was, because a lot of where the damage is in Tennessee is up in hollers, Reilly said. Its up in little, really rural areas.

Tennessee residents along the state line are often deeply interconnected with North Carolina. In Mountain City and Trade, the nearest major city is Boone, which  before Helene  was a fairly speedy trip of about 15 minutes. Now, the trip is more than an hour.

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To compound problems, many affordable retail and grocery outlets, like the still-closed Walmart in Boone, have been flooded, and some dollar stores have occasionally closed or opened at unusual times as staff failed to make it to work. FEMA support is available, but Reilly and Gallaher have encountered uncertainty about the application process, thanks in part to unfounded rumors of FEMA stealing supplies.

FEMA also came to Tennessee later than to N.C. It took Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee two days after Helene hit to declare a major disaster.

The needs are changing  but not decreasing  as the cold sets in at the higher elevations. Visitors to the Stateline Resource Station need warm-weather clothing, propane heaters, and generators. Even as other distribution centers begin to shut down or shift gears, Reilly said Stateline plans to remain open as long as it can.

Stateline Resource Center is open for donation deliveries Monday to Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is open for distribution and pick-up from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

They have also opened a grant fund named for Brittany Robinson, a Watauga County farmer who was killed in a landslide during Helene. Prospective applicants (homeowners and renters) can apply here.
Nov. 17Robert Reedy, a retired sergeant major of the U.S. Army, said in a speech at the American Legion Post 111 that Veterans Day is not just a day for veterans, it's a day for all Americans and it's a day to celebrate that these men and women served and protected our freedoms and the freedoms of future generations.

"Because of the service and sacrifice of our veterans, we enjoy freedom and the liberties that make up our way of life," Reedy said during the Veterans Day ceremony. "They continue to protect our democracy and uphold our Constitution and safeguard the rights and freedoms of all Americans."

Veterans represent a legacy of loyalty and service that honor all Americans, he added, and their sacrifice and devotion to duty inspires us all. Reedy said about 23 percent of our young people are even eligible to serve in the military, and only 1 percent will ever wear a uniform and put themselves in harms way.

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"They're such a small part of our population, but they're a very important part," Reedy said of veterans. "We owe them our support for what they have done and what they continue to do. So often in our minds we have a certain image for what we think a veteran is. But they come from all walks of life."

People of all races, religions, nationalities and cultures are represented in the United States military. They want better for themselves and their families. Reedy encouraged the audience to take time to truly engage with veterans and listen to their stories. They might be surprised what they discover.

Others joined for love of country or a family legacy in military service. Today, Americans have a choice to serve. Reedy said there was a time when that was not the case, and many of the veterans gathered in the American Legion know that all too well. They were drafted or "invited to attend."

For some, the military was a way to higher education, or a way to escape poverty or a path to citizenship. Again, Reedy said, these same people wanted a better life for themselves and their families. All veterans have unique stories, but their service is ubiquitous and it binds them all together. Brothers and sisters in arms.

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"They are our heroes," Reedy said. "You wouldn't know it. You might be sitting next to one. Ordinary Americans who served when they were needed and responded in extraordinary ways when the time came. They all came from different places and joined for different reasons.

"But for whatever their motivation, some may still bear the costs of their service from serving the people of this great nation. We must honor our commitment to them by providing access to quality health care, education, employment opportunities and other essential services."

Reedy added it is the duty of Americans to be grateful and to stand by veterans and their families, just as they stood for us. He directed his thoughts to veterans:

"No matter your branch of service or how long you served or what your job was or whether or not you saw combat  you still served," he said.

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Every story is important. As a young man, Reedy did not set out particularly inspired that he was going to join the military. But he did so by choice and through the guidance of a few good men in his community. Reedy ended up making a career of the military spanning more than 30 years.

Included in that were two tours to Afghanistan and many other operations throughout the years. Reedy came from a family whose history of military service dates back to the Revolutionary War. So perhaps Reedy did have some inspiration; he just didn't recognize it at the time.

Over time he tracked down some family members who served in World War II.

He learned one uncle was a paratrooper during D-Day. He learned another was assigned to an armored medical battalion who was in the Battle of the Bulge.

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In 2010, Reedy served on a specialized team working in the Lunar Province in Afghanistan. The team was assigned to and conducted missions directly supporting the task force of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 327th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division.

"This very brigade task force was named for the direct combat lineage from the famous battle forever known as the Battle of the Bulge," Reedy said. "...Out of all the brigades and regiments possible, out of all the divisions possible, I was assigned to and supported the same one 66 years later with a man I was named after that I never met."

The motto for the 101st Airborne Division is "rendezvous with destiny."

"Perhaps, for me, it was," Reedy said.
Retired Air Force officer Larry Brock put on a tactical vest and helmet on Jan. 6, 2021, and illegally entered the U.S. Capitol Building, where he walked through the crypt and rotunda and eventually made his way to the Senate floor. About 25 minutes earlier, senators were gathered there to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Brock, a former lieutenant colonel who served in Afghanistan, was carrying a pair of zip-tie handcuffs. He was arrested only four days later. Prosecutors said Brock believed the false conspiracy theory promoted by Donald Trump that he, not President Joe Biden, won the election in 2020. Before the Jan. 6 attack, Brock posted on social media about an insurrection and wrote, We need to execute the traitors that are trying to steal the election, The Associated Press reported.

Brock was convicted in 2022 of six crimes, including one felony of obstructing an official proceeding. The Supreme Court ruled earlier this year about that particular felony, determining it must include proof of a defendant trying to tamper with or destroy documents  a decision that affected hundreds of Jan. 6 criminal cases, including Brocks. Hes currently waiting to hear about the possibility of a retrial.

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Now, Brock is among the wave of Jan. 6 defendants asking the courts to delay their cases until after Trumps inauguration, expecting the incoming president to follow through on promises to pardon them. On the campaign trail this year, Trump referred to the people convicted for their participation on Jan. 6 as hostages. At a conference of the National Association of Black Journalists in July, he said they were convicted by a very tough system.

Former President Trump explicitly campaigned on justice for the January 6 defendants, wrote Brocks attorney, Charles Burnham, in a Nov. 11 request to push their next meeting about Brocks retrial from November to after Trump takes office on Jan. 20, 2025.

Rioters loyal to then-President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Of the approximately 1,400 people who have faced charges for their involvement in the Capitol breach, 222 have military backgrounds, according to data from the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. That number includes two veterans convicted of orchestrating the attack, Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and Oath Keepers leader Stuart Rhodes. Tarrio was sentenced to 17 years in prison, and Rhodes received 22 years.

Both far-right extremist groups targeted veterans for recruitment, experts have said. Twenty-one of the veterans and service members charged for their roles on Jan. 6 were part of the Oath Keepers, and 27 were Proud Boys members, according to the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism.

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Joseph Biggs, an Army veteran and Proud Boys leader who was charged with Tarrio, is among those seeking relief from Trump. Biggs helped lead other Proud Boys members in their march to the Capitol on Jan. 6, where he tore through a fence and was among a group that pushed through police lines, according to prosecutors.

His attorney, Norm Pattis, wrote a letter that hes trying to get into Trumps hands, he told Military Times. In the letter, he argues that Biggs and other Jan. 6 defendants should be pardoned in the same way confederates were pardoned after the end of the Civil War, stating that the broader public interest would be served.

Mr. President, the time for a pardon is past due, the letter reads. We ask you to make the pardon of Mr. Biggs a top priority in your administration. We make this appeal directly to you because we believe in the power of justice and the ability of a courageous leader to make a real and sustaining difference in American life.

The attorneys for both Biggs and Brock claimed their clients military service was among the reasons they should receive full pardons. Burnham, Brocks attorney, wrote in his motion that Brock had served his country honorably as an Air Force officer.

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We would go so far as to say there is not a single January 6 defendant whose treatment by the government was so far out of proportion to his or her service to the country, Burnham wrote. It is obvious that Larry Brock will be at the top of any pardon list.

In his letter, Pattis said Biggs served with distinction and because of his conviction has been deprived of a military pension that he risked his life in service of this country to earn.

Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys (L) and Joe Biggs (R) gather outside of Harry's bar during a protest on December 12, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

Some Jan. 6 defendants, as well as their supporters, celebrated Trumps win on social media sites like Telegram, Gab and X. The group Proud Boys USA posted on Telegram, FREE ENRIQUE TARRIO!!! FREE ALL J6 PRISONERS NOW!!! PARDON EVERYONE!!! Another post read, I cant wait to see all of these prisoners freed and vindicated. Next we take down and penalize everyone involved in persecuting these fine Patriots.

In a call from jail that aired on MSNBC last year, Biggs said, I do believe Donald J. Trump will pardon us, and he should. We didnt do anything. Were his supporters. We went there when he asked.

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It remains uncertain whether Trump will follow through on his promises to pardon Jan. 6 defendants, or how he might go about it. The Constitution gives the president the power to grant full pardons, which completely expunge legal punishments for criminal convictions. Presidents can also grant commutations, which reduce penalties from convictions.

Presidents can issue sweeping pardons, which grant clemency to groups of people all at once. However, since Trumps election, his transition team has told multiple news outlets Trump would handle pardons on a case-by-case basis.

Extremism prevention experts have expressed concern about the potential pardons, arguing they could embolden people to commit political violence.

Pardoning the January 6 participants will make a mockery of our justice system, and it will send the message to his followers that violence is a legitimate response to political outcomes they dont like, the Global Project on Hate and Extremism said in a statement.

This story was produced in partnership with Military Veterans in Journalism. Please send tips to MVJ-Tips@militarytimes.com.
HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH)  A man took himself to the hospital after speaking with police at the scene of his own shooting Sunday afternoon in Hartford.

Hartford Police were notified about a shooting at 4:29 p.m. in the area of 54 Martin St. Officers found evidence of gunfire on their arrival.

Fourteen people were arrested this week by the FBI for narcotics trafficking, according to two affidavits.

While on the scene, a man in his thirties suffering from a gunshot wound approached police. The victims wound was deemed to be non-life threatening.

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The victim stopped cooperating with police and transported himself to an area hospital.

Hartford Police Major Crimes and Crime Scene Divisions have assumed 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 WTNH.com.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican who has embraced prosecutions against election fraud and other conservative causes, said Monday that he will seek reelection next year, dispelling speculation of a potential gubernatorial bid.

Miyares said in a video that he is running for attorney general to continue his tenure as Virginias top prosecutor and near-decade experience as a politician. The announcement quiets questions about whether Miyares would run to succeed Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who is term-limited by the state constitution.

Three years ago, I made one promise to the people of Virginia: to keep you and your family safe, Miyares said in the campaign video posted on the social platform X. And as attorney general, I serve as the people's protector.

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Miyares, 48, was elected in 2021 after serving as a local attorney and member of the House of Delegates from Virginia Beach. He defeated two-term Democrat Mark Herring, and quickly fashioned what had been a liberal office into a conservative enterprise.

He created an  election integrity unit  and successfully defended the state in removing people accused of being noncitizens from voter rolls less than 90 days before the November presidential election  a legal battle that drew criticism from Democrats and voting-rights advocates.

Also vying for the role are Democrats Jay Jones, a former state delegate from Norfolk, and Henrico County Commonwealths Attorney Shannon Taylor, both of whom have been critical of Miyares. It's the second time Jones is seeking the Democratic nomination for attorney general. In 2021, he lost in a primary against Herring.

Instead of protecting our families, hes been a partisan warrior for his extremist agenda, Jones posted on X. And now hes running for reelection to give Donald Trump a blank check. Next November, we will stop him.

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Miyares is the only Republican currently running for his partys nomination, making the Democratic primary winner his likely opponent in a general election, unless another conservative challenges him.

He had widely been seen in political circles as a possible gubernatorial candidate in 2025, along with Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who launched her campaign in September. During an interview in 2023, Miyares declined to say whether he was considering a run but said he's always flattered when hes asked the question.

On Monday, Youngkin endorsed both Earle-Sears and Miyares in their campaigns, and said in a statement that the attorney general vigorously defends the laws of the Commonwealth.

He has never backed down when it comes to standing up for Virginians, Youngkin said. He is an exceptional Attorney General.

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Miyares has developed a reputation in Virginia as a conservative stalwart, clashing with progressive prosecutors in Northern Virginia who touted a commitment to a reformed criminal justice system. In his tenure, he has developed a program in partnership with local governments in the state to target violent repeat offenders. His office also brought charges against Loudoun County officials after a student was charged in two sexual assaults at separate schools, though a judge overturned their only successful conviction following the high-profile investigation.

Miyares also has deeper ties to key players in Washington, raising his national profile. Miyares former communications director, Victoria LaCivita, is the daughter of Chris LaCivita, President-elect Donald Trumps campaign co-chair. Victoria LaCivita left his office in 2024 to work for the Trump campaign in Michigan.

As first reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Miyares was also a Virginia co-chair of Sen. Marco Rubios 2016 presidential campaign, and Rubio headlined a fundraiser for Miyares in December 2017. Both Rubio and Miyares are children of Cuban immigrants.

Ive worked to protect the American dream because its personal for me," Miyares said in his campaign video, later adding: "And as a child of an immigrant, one of the proudest things I get to do is to attend the naturalization ceremony and welcome these new Virginians home.

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___

Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
RICHMOND, Va. (DC News Now)  The days of using hand-held calculators arent entirely gone, but when it comes to testing in Virginia, theyre not as prevalent as they once were.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) said beginning with the 2022-2023 academic year, students only would use the Desmos Virginia Calculator within TestNav during an online growth assessment or SOL test.

Desmos offers a variety of math tools online. Many are calculators, including a four-function, scientific, and graphing calculator. The calculators are free to the public and can be accessed with a computer, tablet, or other personal device.

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Fredericksburg mother voice fears about potential Medicaid cuts

VDOE said hand-held calculators (more old-school approach) only would be used by students who complete a paper test or by students with disabilities who have an IEP or 504 accommodation that requires the use of a hand-held calculator.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
The Route 725 bridge in Taylors Valley over Laurel Creek damaged by Hurricane Helene. (Courtesy of Virginia Department of Transportation).

Some Southwest Virginians affected by this falls Hurricane Helene will be able to tap into the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (D-SNAP) program. Recipients will receive one month of benefits that they can use to purchase groceries at SNAP-authorized stores and select online retailers to help meet food needs as they stabilize in recovery efforts.

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Over 22,000 residents across the counties Carroll, Grayson, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise and Wythe are likely able to claim the benefit, according to a recent USDA release announcing the special SNAP eligibility.

The United States Department of Agriculture makes D-SNAP benefits available in the aftermath of disasters to people who may not be eligible for SNAP in normal circumstances.

USDA is committed to making sure that families, farmers and communities impacted by recent hurricanes get the support they need, including help with grocery expenses as people grapple with significant disruption to their lives,Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the release. The Biden-Harris Administration, including USDA, will do everything in our power to help you respond, recover and rebuild  no matter how long it takes.

Though current SNAP households arent eligible for D-SNAP, the USDA has approved Virginia to automatically issue supplemental SNAP benefits to current SNAP households in Carroll, Grayson, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, and Wythe Counties, the release stated. The release also outlined that SNAP households in Wise County may request supplemental benefits from their state SNAP agency.

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Mondays D-SNAP announcement follows previous federal assistance and state-level efforts in Virginia and other affected states. The U.S. Department of Transportation has already sent $10 million to Virginia to restore and reopen damaged parts of Route 58 near Washington County. Gov. Glenn Younkgin has also repeatedly encouraged affected Virginians to apply for federal aid funding as the state has set up disaster recovery centers.

In a letter obtained by Virginia Mercury, Youngkin has also requested $4.4 billion in additional funding from the federal government. He sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Nov. 15 along with a copy to President-elect Donald Trump and leadership in the U.S. House and Senate appropriations committees.

While this office continues to work collaboratively with our partners at all levels, the severity of these impacts highlights the significant need for accelerated federal support, Youngkin wrote. Given the urgent need for action, I respectfully request your administrations assistance in prioritizing federal disaster supplemental funding to support Virginias recovery needs.

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From left to right: Mayors-elect Joe Cobb of Roanoke, Danny Avula of Richmond, Alyia Gaskins of the city of Alexandria and Jimmy Gray of Hampton. (Collage courtesy VCU CNS)

By Marlene Dolla/VCU Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Va.  There were many competitive mayoral races across Virginia and the outcomes include some historic firsts, and two races within the margin of a recount.

Democrat Alyia Gaskins ran unopposed to become the City of Alexandrias first Black woman elected mayor. She received 94% of over 65,000 citywide votes, according to unofficial Department of Elections results. There were almost 4,000 write-in votes. She previously secured the Democratic nomination in a three-way primary.

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Gaskins was first elected to Alexandria City Council in 2021. She replaces fellow Democratic Mayor Justin Wilson, who did not seek a final third term.

Gaskins three-year term begins Jan. 2, with a focus on what she said resonated most with voters during her candidacy: her vision for a safer, more affordable and more accessible Alexandria that works for all.

I am committed to finding new ways to actively engage residents in city decisions, Gaskins told Capital News Service. From the maintenance of sidewalks, to affordable housing, to supporting small businesses, we have to harness the collective creativity of our residents and key stakeholders.

Regarding the historic nature of her election, Gaskins is proud of her story and said it empowers her.

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I feel immense humility, incredible gratitude and also a deep sense of responsibility to live up to the commitments Ive made and to meet our citys expectations for a more equitable and just future, Gaskins stated.

Richmond has a new doctor mayor

Former Richmond and Henrico Health Department Director Dr. Danny T.K. Avula won his mayoral bid in 6 of 9 Richmond districts, and offset a potential runoff. Avula won 46% of over 97,000 votes counted in a five-way race. Provisional ballot totals have not been officially reported.

Avula is the first Indian-American mayor of Richmond and the first non-Black mayor in over 20 years, according to Axios.

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Former 9th District Councilwoman Michelle R. Mosby came in second with 25% of votes, Harrison N. Roday with 13%, 1st District Councilman Andreas D. Addison with 12% and Maurice X. Neblett with 3%.

Two-term Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney promised a streamlined transition during a Nov. 6 joint press conference with Avula. Avula is ready to protect the people of Richmond and fight for justice and equity in light of the presidential election outcome, he said.

Avula, a pediatrician praised for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, takes over a city government rife with dysfunction and inefficiency. He will take personal responsibility to ensure the citys government works more effectively.

I will draw upon my career of executive-level public sector experience solving complex problems, Avula told Capital News Service.

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Avula added that he will lead city agencies through strategic and sustained action that addresses our most serious challenges while also lifting up best practices and a positive vision of public service.

Close races within margin of recount

Over 180 miles from Richmond, the winner of a Southwestern mayoral race in Roanoke was clear only the day before election results were officially certified.

Democratic Vice Mayor Joe Cobb clinched a 59-vote victory in a three-way race. The citys former mayor, Republican David A. Bowers was ahead initially, and even declared victory. However, absentee ballots later placed Cobb ahead.

The state deadline for mailed absentee ballots was noon on Friday, Nov. 8. There were also 1,223 provisional ballots to be tallied, according to Nicholas Ocampo, Roanokes director of elections and general registrar.

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This is the first mayoral race in Roanoke with same-day registration, Ocampo stated.

This process requires extra steps to verify each voters eligibility to vote in the polling location in which their ballot was cast. Our office will continue to carefully and meticulously follow election laws and state guidelines to review each same day registration application in preparation for [certification on Nov. 15], he stated.

Ocampos greatest takeaway of the 2024 election is every vote counts.

Bowers and Cobb each garnered just over 37% of almost 41,000 votes counted. Councilmember Stephanie Moon Reynols had 25% of the vote.

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The results were close enough to qualify for a recount, which would need to occur within 10 days of the results being certified. The candidate must request it.

Cobbs campaign priorities were listed as transportation, education, community safety, housing and jobs. He will also be the first LGBTQ+ mayor to lead Roanoke.

Another 200 miles to the east in Hampton Roads, Suffolks tight three-way race is also within the margin of a recount.

Incumbent Mayor Michael Duman maintained his lead over former Democratic Del. Clinton Jenkins with 164 votes, after all ballots were counted. Candidate David Bosselman received just over 30% of the over 52,000 votes.

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Other mayors elected across Virginia include those in Chesapeake, Emporia, Fairfax, Hampton, Manassas, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach cities.

Hampton Roads-area races

Chesapeake voters favored current Mayor Rick West over challenger Don J. Carey III with an almost 56% majority. Wests stated prioritiesare schools, public safety, economic development, leadership and civility.

Emporia Mayor Carolyn S. Carey was reelected unopposed. Carey was first elected mayor in 2020 when she defeated incumbent Mary L. Person, the first Black person and first woman elected in the smaller city about 95 miles west of Hampton Roads.

Careys stated focus is on new business for the city, and to make it a regional destination.

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In Hampton, Vice Mayor Jimmy Gray Jr. triumphed over retired fire captain Richelle D. Wallace with 70% of almost 55,000 votes. Grays vision is to make Hampton the city of choice for families, small businesses, entrepreneurs, recreation, and culture, he stated.

Norfolk Mayor Kenneth C. Alexander staved off challengers Thomas P. Leeman Jr. and Giovanni G. Dolmo with 60% of over 82,000 votes cast.

Alexanders top priority is to listen in a bid to turn great ideas into best practices, he stated.

Incumbent Portsmouth Mayor Shannon E. Glover received 50% of the vote despite a strong challenge from Vice Mayor Lisa L. Lucas-Burke. Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, tried to drive support for her daughter, who secured 40% of the vote.

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Political newcomer Harold S. Carothers III claimed about 9% of the Portsmouth vote.

Virginia Beach Republican Mayor Bobby Dyer won reelection with 41% of over 207,000 votes cast in a five-way race. Challengers included Councilmember Sabrina Wooten at 31%, John Moss at 17%, Chris Taylor at 8% and R.K. Kowalewitch at 2.5%.

Dyers stated top campaign priority is to keep the citys taxes the lowest in Hampton Roads.

Northern Virginia mayors hold tight

Fairfax Mayor Catherine S. Read beat challenger Susan Hartley Kuiler with 57% of the 12,656 votes cast. Reads campaign focus is her desire to build on the citys progress since her 2022 election.

Manassas Mayor Michelle Davis-Younger defeated challenger Xiao-Yin Tang Byrom with 57% of over 15,400 votes. Davis-Younger campaigned to foster a city where innovation, growth and community thrive simultaneously.

Local Virginia electoral boards must certify election results by Friday, Nov. 15.

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POIPU, Hawaii (KHON2)  Wisconsin visitor Matt Jacobus was visiting Kauai for his brothers wedding. The triathlete said he had been swimming around Poipu for a few days and decided to go for another swim at Kiahuna Beach on Nov. 7.

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The water seemed to be relatively calm, there werent really big waves or anything it seemed like a calm day, Jacobus said.

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He said he was snorkeling for less than 10 minutes when he noticed the ocean floor was seemingly dropping.

Out of control, diver says after others lost at sea for hours

The depth seemed to have dropped to around 20 to 25 feet which I thought was odd because I thought I was still close to the beach, he recalled. I poked my head up and looked towards the shore and I saw I was over 100 yards away.

He said he did everything wrong at first. He said he gasped, which caused him to inhale water which made him panic even more, and then he started trying to fight the rip.

I was looking down at the ocean bottom, and realized I was moving further away, he said.

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Aloha fosters personal, community resilience: Kumu Brad Lum breaks it down for us

He said he considered waving his hands but realized there were no lifeguard stands at the beach, and the people on the beach looked so small in the far distance. The nearest lifeguard tower is at neighboring Poipu Beach.

Luckily, Im a triathlete and Im in good shape, Jacobus said. And so I picked a line parallel to the east with a slight angle to the beach and swam as hard as I could.

He said it took one minute to get out of the rip and another minute to get to shore. He wanted to share his experience to help raise awareness to others who can be deceived by Hawaiis clear waters.

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I didnt think there was any risk involved until I was in an absolute emergency situation, he continued.

If youre not a strong swimmer or you dont have good cardio, I wouldnt even recommend taking the chance unless youre with a tour group, lifeguards or have guides, he said. Just dont take the chance, even if youre a strong swimmer its too big of a risk. The water was calm, and I didnt realize I was that far out until I was.

Even with swimming and cardio it almost wasnt enough for me, thats the level of caution that needs to be exercised going out in the water, he added.

He said Hawaii lawmakers should consider requiring all visitors to wear fins when going out snorkeling and to ban full-face masks. He also said all airlines should have safety videos warning people of ocean dangers.

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And dont go to a beach without a lifeguard, Jacobus said. Im never doing that again.

The day before Jacobus incident, Kauai County called off its search for an Arizona man who went missing off Anini Beach on Kauais North Shore.

The county said the 59-year-old was snorkeling with others but never returned to shore.

Anini is also a non-guarded beach. Since Jan. 1, there have been nine visitor drownings on Kauai, compared to eight in 2023.

I think if just one person sees this and it saves their life its worth it, Jacobus said.

On Friday, Nov. 15, another visitor died on Oahus North Shore while snorkeling at Sharks Cove.

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The Visitors Aloha Society of Hawaii is assisting the family who says she was an international visitor.

Its the fourth death in as many weeks on Oahus North Shore, all were at popular non-guarded beaches, and all four were visitors.

Check out more news from around Hawaii

Honolulu Ocean Safety is reminding visitors of the extremely dangerous ocean conditions during the winter months (October to April) on north-facing shores and said beaches are for spectating only.

To see which beaches have lifeguard towers, 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 KHON2.
Officials asked 130 families in Orange County, N.Y., to evacuate to a shelter as a precaution after the nearly-contained Jennings Creek Fire jumped a containment line.

The move Saturday gave firefighters maneuvering room for the heavy equipment needed to combat the blaze straddling the New York-New Jersey border. The fire has been smoldering for days, and by Sunday morning had burned 5,207 acres and was 88% contained, the New York State Park Police said.

The voluntary evacuations were put in place to allow emergency apparatus and firefighters to operate uninterrupted, the park police said in an update at 10:30 p.m. Saturday. While the fire breached a containment line, it has not reached the contingency line, and no structures are in danger.

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The jump only expanded the fire by four or five acres, and firefighters were staged along the contingency line and elsewhere to extinguish any hot spots, officials said. Efforts overnight to protect structures were successful, and no structures are in danger.

The fire, located mostly in Sterling Forest State Park, is boxed in by fire lines, the police added on Sunday. The voluntary evacuation remains in place at least until tomorrow to allow for continued firefighting efforts.

A burn ban is also in effect throughout New York State due to dry, drought-like conditions. The National Weather Service issued a special weather statement warning of an elevated risk for fire spread on Monday.

The combination of prolonged dry weather, west to northwest winds of 10 to 15 mph with gusts 20 to 35 mph, relative humidity values between 35 and 50 percent and dry fuels will contribute to an elevated risk of fire spread Sunday for portions of eastern New York, including the eastern Catskills, Capital District, Mid-Hudson Valley, and the Taconics, the NWS said. An emergency statewide burn ban is in effect until November 30th for New York. No burn permits will be issued at this time. Use extra caution if handling any potential ignition sources, such as machinery or matches, and ensure to properly extinguish or dispose cigarette butts.

The conditions were in effect not only in the Hudson Valley and New Jersey but also extended to Westchester County, Manhattan, Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island. Southern Connecticut was also affected.
Photo by Gloria Rebecca Gomez | Arizona Mirror

Arizona has been a hotbed for conspiratorial and extremist ideology, and a number of incoming lawmakers  some returning to the Capitol and others who will be new legislators  will likely continue that trend.

A number of lawmakers who will be at the state Capitol in the coming months have amplified everything from QAnon to white nationalists to anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. Some have even touted their support for and participation in anti-government extremist groups.

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These lawmakers, some of whom are in leadership positions for the GOP majority, will be key in driving the agenda in the legislature for the next two years.

The Senate

Incumbent Republican Sen. David Farnsworth, a dyed-in-the-wool QAnon believer, handily won re-election. Farnsworth has been known for being a champion of conspiracy theories and became something of a hero to the political fringe.

In 2019, Farnsworth gave an exclusive interview to the Falun Gong-backed newspaper The Epoch Times about his belief that the states child safety agency was behind sex trafficking, making the claim without any evidence. The reporter who conducted the interview has a record of antisemitism, racism and has promoted QAnon.

In 2020, Farnsworth told the Mirror that QAnon was a credible group. He said he had no idea that QAnon had been deemed a domestic terror threat by the FBI more than a year earlier  and he didnt care.

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Quite frankly, I dont have time to look into things like that, he said.

Farnsworth will be the chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

He isnt the only QAnon believing Senator to win re-election this cycle.

Janae Shamp, who was present during some of the most violent moments of the Jan. 6, 2021, attempted coup, promoted QAnon multiple times on social media.

Shamp, an ardent supporter of President Trump, has previously denied knowledge of QAnon when asked about her beliefs. Shamp was the co-chair of a controversial special legislative committee which shared the same acronym as a popular QAnon acronym.

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The Novel Coronavirus Southwestern Intergovernmental Committee, or NCSWIC, shared the acronym with the QAnon slogan, Nothing Can Stop What is Coming, a phrase parroted by QAnon adherents, suggesting that mass arrests or even executions of members of the Deep State would be coming. Shamp called any link between QAnon and the committee a goofy accusation despite speakers having connections to QAnon and her own Facebook history of posting QAnon content, including the phrase.

Shamp will be the co-chair of the Senate Committee on the Military and the Border. She will also be the Senate majority leader, the No. 2 Republican in the chamber.

Flagstaff Republican Sen. Wendy Rogers, who has been not only boosted QAnon conspiracy theories but has eagerly been interviewed by multiple antisemites, also won her reelection bid.

The senator has a strong presence on social media, where she has amassed more than 380,000 followers on X and more than 65,000 subscribers on Telegram. She often posts links from far-right websites and personalities, and her posts are often shared by far-right influencers and personalities.

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Since she was elected in 2020, Rogers has become a darling in the Arizona GOP, leveraging support of election conspiracy theories into a national following that she has used to become a fundraising juggernaut.

Over the years, she has become more ingrained with the far-right, and gone from amplifying their messages to participating in their events.

In 2021, Rogers appeared multiple times on an online broadcast network that had made multiple antisemitic remarks. The network, TruNews, has a history of spreading antisemitic rhetoric, including a piece in which Rick Wiles, its founder, spent 90 minutes ranting about seditious Jews that were orchestrating Trumps impeachment.

Wiles has also called the Jewish people tyrants and claimed that the antichrist will be a homosexual Jew.

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Both times she appeared on TruNews, Rogers was interviewed by Lauren Witzke, a conspiracy theorist with a history of antisemitism. Witzke is connected to other known white nationalists and antisemites, participated in a white nationalist youth event in Arizona in 2022 and echoed white nationalist beliefs during an appearance on the white nationalist podcast No White Guilt, on which she promoted the Great Replacement theory.

Rogers has also promoted the Great Replacement theory, touted support from the anti-government extremist OathKeepers and delivered a video message at the America First Political Action Conference, a conference hosted by known white nationalist and antisemite Nick Fuentes. Rogers will be the chairwoman for the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Elections.

Sen.-elect Carine Werner, a Republican who was previously on the Scottsdale Unified Governing Board, has appeared at the Capitol alongside Rogers and others promoting education curriculum created by the right-wing PragerU. The material includes videos where historical figures like Christopher Columbus claim slavery was better than being killed and Frederick Douglass claims that the Founding Fathers, who owned slaves, had ending slavery on their to do list.

Werner will co-chair the Senate Education Committee and will be the chairwoman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

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Mark Finchem, who previously served in the Arizona House of Representatives before an unsuccessful run for Arizona Secretary of State, also will be joining the Arizona Senate in January.

He has long been no stranger to conspiracy theories, and lately has latched onto a QAnon conspiracy theory in Tennessee, where he has admitted to accessing confidential financial information that is tightly controlled by federal law.

Finchem has often courted those from the fringe and especially those in the QAnon world. He has spoken at their conventions and held fundraisers with known QAnon believers and 9/11 truthers. He has also raised money from the OathKeepers and was present at the Capitol during the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

The Prescott senator-elect also was instrumental in pushing false narratives around the 2020 election that ultimately led to protesters storming the Capitol on Jan. 6. Finchem will be the chair of the Senate Federalism Committee.

The House

The Arizona House of Representatives will see some new and returning conspiratorial minded lawmakers, some in high positions of leadership.

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They include Steve Montenegro, who was elected by his caucus this week to be the new speaker of the House.

While many may know the lawmaker from the scandal several years ago after reports that he traded sexually explicit texts with a staffer, Montenegro also has been a key behind-the-scenes player in the election denial world.

Montenegro works for The America Project as its national policy director. The nonprofit group was started by former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne and contributed more than half of the funding for the Senates partisan audit of the 2020 election, putting in more than $3.2 million.

Byrne has been a leading voice in 2020 election fraud claims and has railed against the so-called Deep State. He was also an attendee of an hour-long meeting at the White House during the final days of Trumps presidency in which he, Sidney Powell and disgraced retired Gen. Michael Flynn urged the president to overturn the election.

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It was later discovered as well that Montenegro was one of the people who had control over the controversial Audit War Room Twitter account to give an in-state perspective to the tweets. Montenegro has also appeared alongside Bryne, Flynn and other election conspiracy theorists through his work for The America Project.

And he has helped bring those conspiracy theorists to the state Capitol, being part of the misinformation filled committees about COVID-19, that was supported and promoted by Byrnes group, as well as President-elect Donald Trumps border czar Tom Homan.

Montenegro isnt the only connection to the Arizona Senates audit of the 2020 election.

Former Cyber Ninjas attorney Alexander Kolodin was reelected to the House. The attorney has worked for a number of election deniers and Republican elected officials, including on challenges to the election.

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Kolodin represented QAnon conspiracy theorist Melody Jennings, who was fighting against a temporary restraining order being sought against her group for monitoring drop boxes and harassing voters who used them. Further reporting by the Arizona Mirror found that group to have connections to the OathKeepers and other militias.

Kolodin was also hired by the Arizona Republican Party in a failed legal challenge to early voting in Arizona that made many claims, including that ballot drop boxes in Arizona were unconstitutional.

Southern Arizona conservative Rachel Jones also won her re-election bid. Jones is married to prominent election denier Seth Keshel, who has spread a number of falsehoods around the election for a number of years. Jones has been a proponent of a slew of debunked election conspiracies, and even this year theorized that her GOP seatmate, Cory McGarr, lost his reelection bid because of fraud, despite having no evidence for making such a claim.

Election denial isnt the only conspiratorial thinking that will be making its way to the Arizona House next session either.

Rep.-elect Lisa Fink, a Glendale Republican, has worked closely with the Gilbert-based hate-group Family Watch International to try to stop comprehensive sex education in schools. Family Watch International has promoted conversion therapy and claims that transgender people are mentally ill.

Fink worked as a representative for an off-shoot organization of Family Watch International called the Protect Arizona Children Coalition which is against teaching sex education in the state.

Fink will be joined by other culture warriors such as Pamela Carter, sister of original Wonder Woman Lynda Carter, who has opposed same-sex marriage and pushed for firearms in schools.

***CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Sen. Janae Shamp as the Senates majority whip; she will be the majority leader, the No. 2 Republican in the chamber, when lawmakers convene in January.

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The 19th is committed to covering the unfinished business of voting rights. Read more about how were approaching that in this pivotal election.

In the days following the 2024 presidential election, Barb Byrum of Michigan watched open skepticism pour in online about former President Donald Trumps win over Vice President Kamala Harris.

Some questioned how there could be lower overall voter turnout compared to four years ago, especially when there was record early voting in some states. Others wondered how enthusiasm for Harris  who packed campaign rallies in the final weeks of the election  could translate into more votes for Trump. And yet others raised the possibility that their votes hadnt actually been recorded.

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There is no proof of widespread voter fraud, and officials who oversee the countrys decentralized election system have praised how smoothly the process played out this year.

That hasnt stopped suspicions from manifesting on several social media platforms. But Byrum  herself a Harris supporter and a former Democratic state representative  does nonpartisan work as the chief elections official in Ingham County, which includes part of the state capital of Lansing. Byrum was wearing that hat as she started debunking conspiracy theories, something she also did in 2020 when Trump challenged the election results and some of his supporters began spreading unfounded doubt.

In the end, we must combat mis- and disinformation, Byrum told The 19th. No matter who is saying it, it is imperative that we bring truth and shed light.

Byrum has been addressing the incoming false narratives that she encounters on different social media accounts since the election. No, results were not manipulated or sent via the internet, she explained. And yes, there are multiple ways for voters in the state to know whether their vote was counted or not, as Byrum provided in a step-by-step explainer that included screenshots of the status page.

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I dont think its election denialism yet, but if its allowed to persist, it will go in that direction, she said of the narratives floating around. Right now, people are grieving the loss of their candidate and theyre trying to understand.

Byrums efforts show the lengths to which some election officials  a predominantly women-led workforce  are taking to restore trust in how elections are administered.

But while allegations of widespread voter fraud did not derail vote counting for the presidential race nor pose serious security issues like some experts had worried, Byrums debunking still signals the bumpy road ahead for those who will grapple with future claims  and theres no immediate end to the work.

Were at such a low point of trust in institutions and media, said Isabel Linzer, an elections and democracy fellow at the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), a research and policy organization that works to improve technology in spaces like elections. Its not a surprise that we see election denialism continuing.

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Trump won more votes than Harris in the Electoral College, and he is on track to win the popular vote. The president-elects margin of victory in key battleground states was wide enough that major media outlets were able to project his win in the early morning hours after election night  a stark contrast to 2020 when it took several days to determine President Joe Biden had won.

Votes are still being counted and processed in several states during the post-election canvassing period, but there is enough information available that indicates Trump made in-roads with voters across race, gender and ethnicity, among other demographics. And irrespective of rally sizes and on-the-ground enthusiasm for the candidates, most polls showed a close race going into Election Day. The final tally of votes is expected to reflect that.

Narratives about widespread voter fraud flourished in the lead-up to November 5, in part because Trump has spread unfounded conspiracy theories about it over several years. That contributed to a more organized election denialism movement that now includes some election officials.

Its also a message that members of Congress concluded directly led to the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

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Election officials have been on the receiving end of the conspiracy theories. After 2020, they reported harassment, intimidation and threats of violence. They advocated for federal support and policies to protect their safety. They tried to bring transparency to the election process, offering tours of ballot processing facilities and other public events. They still dealt with a flood of disinformation.

Tina Barton is a senior election expert for The Elections Group, which aims to build trust and stronger relationships between election officials and law enforcement. She believes the scope of election denialism in the post-November 5 sphere has been contained in part because of the work that election officials have done to prepare, including running through security scenarios and efforts to debunk lies.

We have come a long way from where we were four years ago, and I give a lot of credit to the election officials for the work that they have done, and so many partners and groups who have been dedicated to the election process and democracy, she said.

Trump said during his third bid for the presidency this year that he would not fully accept the results of the election. Early on November 5, he claimed without evidence that cheating was taking place in Philadelphia and that there was related police presence in Detroit  two cities with large populations of Black voters who tend to vote for Democrats.

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For those reasons, voting experts expected Trump to challenge the results if he lost. But as incoming vote tallies on election night showed Trump in the lead, his messaging on the subject stopped. He has primarily turned his attention to announcing his picks for Cabinet and other government roles. Harris never publicly questioned the results, and like Hillary Clinton in 2016, she conceded the day after the election  ensuring the peaceful transfer of power.

Still, other forms of election denialism are playing out elsewhere on the internet. Some of Trumps supporters are pointing to Trumps win as proof that he also won in 2020. He did not, as determined by audits, lawsuits and his own administration.

When Byrum did similar debunking following Trumps loss to Biden, she was surprised at the verbal vitriol that came in response. This time, Byrum is seeing something different: people are thanking her for the explanations.

Theyre trying to process the information, she said. And the response that Ive received thus far has been very positive.

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In recent days, billionaire investor Elon Musk has also claimed without evidence that Democrats are trying to cheat in the close Pennsylvania Senate race between Republican Dave McCormick and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey. McCormick leads Casey in unofficial results that are within half of a percentage point  triggering a legally required statewide recount that is scheduled to be completed later this month.

The Associated Press and Decision Desk HQ have called the race for McCormick. But Casey has not conceded in the race amid ongoing ballot counting.

Musk  who endorsed Trump, financially supported his candidacy and has since been tapped by the president-elect to co-lead a newly proposed Department of Government Efficiency  claimed on the social media platform that he owns that noncitizens voted in Pennsylvania. There is no proof of such widespread voter fraud. Trump won the state this year.

In a close Wisconsin Senate race, Republican Eric Hovde, who challenged Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, claimed without evidence that there were voting inconsistencies on Election Day. The Associated Press and Decision Desk HQ have called the race for Baldwin.

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Its unclear for now to what degree election denialism will shape future elections  or policy. Trump posted on his Truth Social account on November 8 that he planned to advocate that Americans show proof of citizenship and voter identification to cast a ballot.

It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in state and federal elections. Thirty-six states require some form of identification to vote, and the remaining others use other methods to verify identification.

Hannah Fried, executive director of All Voting is Local, a nonpartisan organization that works to protect voting access, said its too early to know how the new administration might try to implement voting policy. But she said in some way, changing the law may not be the point.

It is to create enough doubt in our elections that you can use that doubt to consolidate your own power, or create this sort of undergirding to pass laws that a state legislature, for example, can pass that can be really harmful to voters, she said.

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Byrum in Michigan has been relieved by the reduction in threats and intimidation following this years election. But she knows that weaponized denialism can fester over time and create future problems for the election workforce. She wants to remind people that the vast majority of election officials are public servants who are trying to follow election laws and rules. Theyre also just humans.

We are your neighbors. We sit beside you at church. We are behind you in the drop-off line at school, she said. We are dedicated to promoting safe and secure elections.

The post Voting may be over, but this election worker is still debunking disinformation appeared first on The 19th.

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WARREN, Ohio (WKBN)  A Trumbull County community is getting $1 million from the state to improve its sewer system.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel announced on Monday $16.7 million in H2Ohio funding for 13 water infrastructure projects across the state.

Warren Township has been awarded $1 million for its Meadowbrook Sanitary Sewer Improvements.

This project includes the construction of more than 10,000 feet of sewer to service 71 structures. A wastewater treatment plant will also be built and will service approximately 750 properties.

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This is the sixth round of H2Ohio funding awarded to municipalities by the Ohio EPA to improve water infrastructure and increase access to safe drinking water.

H2Ohio is making a real difference with the significant investments we are putting into reliable, clean drinking water, DeWine said in a news release. The projects being awarded today will have a huge positive impact on hundreds of Ohioans, and thats what H2Ohio is all about.

H2Ohio projects focus on regionalization, or consolidation, of water infrastructure to help extend service to underserved areas. Regionalization allows communities to save on operational costs and benefit from improved infrastructure.

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.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now)  Crews from the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) were on the scene of a large brush and tree fire at Great Falls in Potomac on Monday morning.

In a post on X at 7:47 a.m., MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer said responders were on the scene of an outside fire on Rocky Island. Crews were deploying boats with portable pumps and hoses to battle the blaze.

With the portable pumps, firefighters worked to extinguish and wet the fire as several logs burned. Crews later brought additional equipment, including saws, batteries and hoses.

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Go-Go Museum & Cafe opens in historic Anacostia, celebrates culture

In an update at nearly 10:30 a.m., Piringer said that U.S. Park Police and crews from the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Park Service were responding to assist with the stubborn fire, which primarily involved a large tree.

(Courtesy: @mcfrsPIO)

Piringer also noted that the fire had been contained but that extinguishing the flames required a labor-intensive effort.

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.
PALM COAST, Fla. (WFLA)  A dog that got stuck in a Florida canal was saved by deputies, thanks to a passerby who heard a splash.

I was on my porch and I heard a splash, a neighbor told deputies. And suddenly I saw the dog swimming.

Cruise line offers 4-year cruise to skip forward, in wake of U.S. election results

Flagler County deputies responded to the Palm Coast neighborhood after the pup dove into the body of water, and couldnt get out.

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A citizen was in a kayak, trying to get to the dog, who kept swimming away.

Thats when a deputy tried out the kayak approach himself, but was unsuccessful.

Employee stole $57K from Dunedin restaurant by canceling items: deputies

However, the video shows the moments after the deputy jumped out of the boat and was able to pull the dog to shore.

Several other deputies surrounded the dog, praising him for being a good pup, as they attached a leash to his collar.

The sheriffs office said the dog was taken to Animal Control, and later reunited with its owner.

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Credit: Ukrainian Air Force/X

A Ukrainian soldier was filmed appearing to successfully shoot down a Russian cruise missile during her first combat launch.

Nataliia Hrabarchuk, who was a nursery school teacher before the war, destroyed the Kh-101 long-range missile on Sunday morning during Russias latest large-scale attack, the Ukrainian air force said.

Footage showed her dropping to her knees in delight after firing from an Igla Manpads, a man-portable air defence system launched from a soldiers shoulder. The sound of a loud explosion can be heard in the distance.

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Ms Hrabarchuk, a volunteer member of Ukraines air defence command, said: When the enemy missile was in front of me, I threw away all emotions and excitement. I had made hundreds of training launches on simulators. And here  the first combat and on target.

Nataliia Hrabarchuk was a nursery school teacher before the war

Some 210 missiles and drones were fired at Ukraine overnight on Sunday in what Kyiv officials described as one of the largest attacks of the war so far.

Ukraines air force said it had shot down 102 missiles, including almost every type Russia has in its inventory, as well as destroying 83 drones.

The early morning strikes killed at least 10 people, including eight in the city of Sumy in north Ukraine, and caused significant damage to the countrys energy and military infrastructure.

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On Sunday night a further 11 were killed, including two children, after a Russian missile hit an apartment building in Sumy.

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LETTERS: Financial burden of rate increases; twice the amount of power
BIG SPRING, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- The Big Spring Police Department is asking for help from the community to identify an armed robbery suspect.

According to Big Spring PD, around 4:00 a.m. on November 17, an unknown man entered a DK convenience store near 18th Street and Gregg and allegedly stole a case of Twisted Tea. While exiting the store, witnesses tried to stop the suspect and a physical altercation ensued; during that altercation, the suspect was caught on camera pulling a gun on the witnesses.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 432-263-TIPS and reference case number 2-24-03340. You may also leave your anonymous tip online or by using the PS TIPS mobile app. If your tip leads to an arrest, it could be worth a cash reward.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Yourbasin.
WATERFORD, Conn. (WTNH)  Waterford police are searching for a suspect accused of stealing over $1K from Walmart.

According to police, on Nov. 14, at around 7:25 p.m., the suspect loaded a shopping cart with items and left the store without paying.

Motorcycle driver charged with doing burnouts, running red lights in South Windsor

Around $1,138.93 worth of merchandise was reportedly stolen from the store, police said.

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Police ask if anyone can identify the suspect to contact Officer McComic at kmccomic@waterfordct.org or at 860-442-9451 ext. 2333.

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.
BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD)  On This Week in Louisiana Politics, get the latest on where the governors major tax overhaul plan stands as the special session reaches the halfway point. Some of the key bills are hitting a snag.

Plus, the governor is once again weighing in on how New Orleans should be dealing with their homeless population. But local residents and city leaders do not agree with the way he is going about it.

As Donald Trump lays out his future cabinet nominations, Congressman Garret Graves makes the shortlist for a position. Hear from the senators who will be the ones to confirm him if he is selected.

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ODESSA  A West Texas lawmaker wants to provide a financial boost to clean up environmental damage caused by a century of oil and gas production that made Texas one of the worlds leading energy producers.

State Rep. Brooks Landgraf, an Odessa Republican, introduced a set of bills this week that would provide millions of dollars to the state to seal abandoned wells, which, in some instances, are causing massive blowouts of toxic liquid and creating pools of wastewater.

To become law, the package needs approval from both legislative chambers, the governor and voters in the fall of 2025.

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Currently, taxes collected from oil and gas companies are divided among the states savings account, often known as the rainy day fund, schools and highways. If enacted, the legislative package would largely reallocate the money that goes to the states savings account  which currently sits at $21 billion  to new spending.

It would set aside 1% of all taxes from oil and gas production to plug the wells, an effort overseen by the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry. Another 1% would go to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to bolster emission reduction efforts.

The sweeping rewrite of the states severance tax laws, which Landgraf is calling Texas STRONG, also directs up to $500 million for infrastructure repairs, expanding emergency, health care, and educational services and workforce development programs. That money would be distributed through grant programs to counties where oil and gas production is prolific.

[State oil regulator requests $100 million to tackle West Texas well blowouts]

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The rest of the money that would otherwise go to the savings account would be redirected to ease property taxes statewide.

The taxes collected from oil and gas that already help pay for public schools and highways would largely go unchanged.

In the last fiscal year, between September 2023 and August 2024, Texas collected north of $8 billion in oil and gas taxes.

The Texans who live and work in those counties pay a high price in the form of higher costs of living, over-utilized infrastructure, overcrowded schools and unique environmental concerns, Landgraf said in a statement. In practice, if enacted, Texas STRONG would address issues like teacher and nursing shortages, road repairs, and enhanced public safety, with additional resources for enforcing commercial vehicle laws.

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The proposal comes as the Railroad Commission told state lawmakers it could not afford to keep up with the expenses of plugging abandoned wells that have unexpectedly burst with briney water in the Permian Basin, which supplies 42% of the nations oil.

In November, the agency asked for an additional $100 million  almost half of its entire two-year budget. Danny Sorrells, the commissions executive director, said in a letter that the agency's $226 million budget was not enough to address the growing cost of plugging leaking and erupting wells in the states oil fields.

Sorrells, who asked Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan to consider their request, said it would use the money to address actively leaking wells and prevent emergencies.

The commission uses a priority system to determine which wells to plug first. Priority 1 wells pose environmental, economic and safety risks  wells it would typically seal first. However, Sorrells said the commission was spending more money cleaning up uncontrolled flows of water erupting from abandoned wells, an event that constitutes an emergency.

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Sorrells said it has become unsustainable.

These high-priority wells need to be taken care of before they themselves become emergency wells, he said.

Congress set aside $4.7 billion to plug orphan wells in public and private lands in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021. Texas received $25 million and an additional $80 million in January.

The commission spent the money on 737 wells, which account for 10% of the estimated orphaned wells in Texas. Through another state-funded initiative worth $63 million, the commission plugged 1,754 wells in 2023. In 2024, the commission plugged 1,012 more.

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Wells continue to erupt despite the commissions efforts.

At least eight erupted with briny water since October 2023, said Sarah Stogner, an oil and gas attorney and district attorney-elect of the 143rd judicial district, which includes Ward, Loving and Reeves counties..

In December 2023, an orphaned well blew out in Imperial, a community roughly 63 miles southwest of Odessa. That well alone took more than two months and $2.5 million to clean up. Another well in Toyah erupted in October this year, releasing a furious torrent of water that took an oil and gas company weeks to contain. Kinder Morgan, the company that plugged the well, did not say how much it cost.

Sorrells' letter said that regulators need the money to staff a team of inspectors who can investigate the cause of the blowouts, which they associate with produced water injections. Sorrells said the agency's ability to assess, characterize and evaluate these events is limited by the currently available resources.

Sorrells said that plugging wells requires labor and materials like cement and rigs, whose cost has increased by 36% since 2022.
When assisted suicide has been on the ballot in different states in recent years, typically its in an attempt to legalize it. But this year in West Virginia, voters were asked if the constitution should ban it.

It was a close vote, but West Virginians decided 50.4% to 49.6% to amend the constitution to include a prohibition on assisted suicide.

Assisted suicide is already illegal in West Virginia. But what the constitutional amendment would do is make it harder for proponents to launch an effort to legalize it.

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West Virginia is a state without ballot initiatives or referenda  so citizens cant rally to make a law about it anyway. The state legislature is the body with the power to legalize assisted suicide, but with the constitutional amendment, the legislators couldnt do it on their own.

If West Virginia lawmakers want to legalize assisted suicide in the future, they would have to go through the process of amending the state constitution again. To get an amendment in front of voters in the first place, two-thirds of both the West Virginia House and Senate would have to agree to put it forward.

Then, a simple majority of West Virginia voters would have to approve the measure.

This constitutional amendment effectively prevents assisted suicide legislation from coming into the state.

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The group West Virginians for Life called the passing of the amendment one of the biggest pro-life gains yet.

West Virginia becomes the first state in the United States of America to proactively protect all its citizens and health care institutions from the dangerous trend of assisted suicide by a state constitutional amendment, said Mary H. Tillman, legislative coordinator for West Virginia Alliance for Ethical Health Care in a press release.

Tillman said the results shows West Virginian voters showed their belief that all West Virginians should be respected and protected from the dangers of medically assisted suicide.

Compassion & Choices, a national group that advocates for the legalization of assisted suicide, said in a press release the constitutional amendment sets dangerous national precedent.

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This is just the beginning, said Charmaine Manansala, chief advocacy officer at Compassion & Choices. We should expect the possibility of ballot initiatives like this in other states, and Compassion & Choices will be there to protect patient-directed care and bodily autonomy at the end of life wherever those rights are threatened.

The amendment also received opposition from religious groups in the state.

Catholic Bishop Martin Brennan from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston wrote a letter urging voters to take the issue seriously and encourage people to find the will to live.

Medically assisted suicide corrupts the medical profession, wrote Bishop Brennan. Those whose goal is to bring healing or at least comfort in a patients last days become assistants in taking the lives of their patients. He said it turns the medical principle of do no harm upside down.

The nitty-gritty of the amendment

The amendment would add text to the West Virginia Constitution that says health care providers and physicians cannot participate in assisted suicide, euthanasia or mercy killing.

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The text of the amendment says nothing in it would prevent prescribing medication to alleviate peoples pain or withholding life-sustaining treatment at the request of the patient (or the person designated to make decisions for them). It does say the intent cannot be to kill the patient.

On top of prohibiting assisted suicide, the amendment also says nothing about this additional text would prevent the state from carrying out the death penalty.

Assisted suicide in the U.S.

The last time a state legalized assisted suicide was New Mexico in 2021.

There have been other states that have tried to legalize assisted suicide. Delaware was one of them. But the states Gov. John Carney vetoed the bill, saying he did not think there was a national consensus on the issue.

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In Massachusetts, there was also an attempt starting in 2023 to legalize assisted suicide, but it failed. Its not the first time a bill has been introduced there. There was also a ballot initiative in 201, but it failed to get a majority vote.

Vermont, where assisted suicide has been legal since 2013, removed its residency requirement in 2023. So did Oregon. This means residents from out-of-state can go to those states to die by assisted suicide if they qualify for it under state law.

Editors note: This story deals with the practice of assisted suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Line is always available. You can text or call 988 any time or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Utah, you can also reach out to SafeUT, 833-372-3388, or download the SafeUT app.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP)  More than 100,000 residents in western North Carolina were allowed to drink and bathe using water from their home faucets on Monday, nearly two months after Hurricane Helene destroyed much of the local water system.

Clay Chandler, a spokesman for the city of Ashevilles Water Resources Department, said at a briefing Monday that water tests were all clear" and a boil-water notice was lifted.

Flooding from Helene tore through the citys water system in late September, destroying so much infrastructure that officials at the time said repairs could take weeks.

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Asheville restored running water to most of its users by the end of October. But the city instituted the boil-water notice as workers brought the system back online, cleared sediment from reservoirs and ran tests.

All told, more than 1,000 samples have been taken throughout the distribution system in the last couple of weeks," Chandler said. And it literally took an army of people to pull that off.

Hurricane Helene killed more than 200 people in multiple states and hit western North Carolina particularly hard.

As much of the U.S.s water infrastructure ages and climate change fuels disasters, experts have said water advisories will become more common.

We are in the midst of an uncertain time, not just in Asheville, but as we think about climate change writ large in some of these major unexpected storms, David Dyjack, executive director of the National Environmental Health Association, told The Associated Press last month.
Western Washington Universitys administration building was vandalized last month in what is being called a politically motivated attack that focused on war in the Mideast, The Bellingham Herald learned through a public records request.

About $2,300 in damage was caused Oct. 22 when rocks shattered several windows at Old Main and the slogans WWU did not divest and Hinds revenge were spray-painted on the building and walkway near the front entrance.

No one was injured, and no arrests were made. University officials closed the case because of a lack of suspects, according to police reports.

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Despite the politically-oriented messaging in the graffiti, no alert was sent to students and staff because university officials decided there was no imminent threat to campus safety.

WWU doesnt routinely issue broad communications about graffiti or vandalism, except when university police assess there is an ongoing threat to community safety. Our approach is to provide relevant information without causing unnecessary concern or amplifying incidents that do not pose ongoing risks, WWU spokesman Jonathan Higgins told The Herald in an email.

University police promptly documented the damage and facilities crews removed the graffiti and began repairs. By the time most students and employees were starting their day, it was already mostly pressure washed off and repairs were underway, Higgins said.

The phrase WWU did not divest refers to an ultimatum from students and others who occupied the lawn with a tent city at Old Main earlier this year, seeking an end to university investments and academic relationships with Israel. Their demands echoed the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement that major Jewish organizations consider antisemitic.

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Hinds revenge is a reference to the death of 6-year-old Hind Rajab and members of her family in Gaza, victims of the Israel-Hamas war, according to reports from The Washington Post and other news organizations. That message also was spray-painted in downtown Seattle during an election night protest last week, according to TV station Fox-13.

Political motivation

Michael Slouber, a professor in the Global Humanities and Religions Department and president of the Faculty Senate, told The Herald that he believes the entire campus community should have been informed about the incident.

Its clearly political. Its clearly related to the war in Gaza. Whether its a hate crime, theres some disagreement among the administration and faculty members, Slouber told The Herald in a phone interview.

The matter was discussed in a Faculty Senate meeting about a week after it happened, he said.

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It could be interpreted in different ways, but vandalism is a form of violence, Slouber said.

Police report

In a report describing the incident, Officer Todd Osborn said he found spray-painted phrases outside the third-floor entrance to Old Main. A palm-sized rock was thrown through a window in the door and rocks were thrown through two office windows.

I activated my body-worn camera as I arrived. I located the third floors main entrance (at the center of the building) and found the north side doors glass broken. Pieces of glass were on the floor inside the building and a palm-sized rock was on the ground, under the window. I did not observe any blood or any other evidence left behind on the glass. Given the part of the window that was broken and having not found any further damage inside, I do not believe the suspects attempted to enter the building, Osborn said.

I photographed the scene and went outside to survey the damage from another angle. I noticed what appeared to be black spray paint on the stairs. Further exploring yielded three distinct pieces of graffiti near the main entrance. he said.

Because the damage was above $750 and occurred in a public building, it is listed as second-degree malicious mischief in Osborns report. Second-degree malicious mischief is a class C felony under state law and is punishable by 10 years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine.
DETROIT- A Westland man has been sentenced to a minimum of 17 months in prison for sexually assaulting a boy at the Wayne Moose Lodge.

Paul Wheel Sposite, a former Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus, was sentenced to 17 months to 15 years in prison on Nov. 13 by Third Judicial Circuit Court Judge Kiefer Cox.

Defense Attorney Nader Nassif, reached by phone Monday, had no comment.

Sposite was found guilty by a jury last month of criminal sexual conduct second degree (person under 13), a charge that stemmed from an incident that took place in September 2018 at the Wayne Moose Lodge.

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A woman at the club that night observed Sposite inappropriately touching a boy and recorded the incident with her phone, but deleted it at the request of the child's father, who knew Sposite and saw nothing wrong with the interaction.

A week later, the father reported the incident to the police because his ex-wife, the child's mother, had been notified by the woman who first observed the touching at the club.The mother found multiple Facebook messages on her son's phone from Sposite that had been sent day and night over the course of that summer, including a request for the boy to get permission from his parents to visit Sposite's residence.A detective interviewed Sposite, who said he had rubbed the boy's back and ear while watching movies with him, but had never inappropriately touched this child or any other, although he had been accused in the past and that matter was resolved with Sposite attending counseling.The case was closed at that time with no criminal charges, but was reopened in April 2022 when the boy told his father that Sposite had handled his penis during the September 2018 Moose Lodge incident. Police sent the case to the prosecutor's office in May 2022 and nearly two years later, a warrant was authorized.Sposite was arrested on April 25 of this year at the Notre Dame Hall of the Knights of Columbus.

This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Westland man sentenced for sexual assault of boy at Wayne Moose Lodge
The predicted weather comes as millions of Americans prepare to travel for the holiday.

Boris SV/Getty Images An airplane loading passengers while sitting on a snowy tarmac An airplane loading passengers while sitting on a snowy tarmac

Americans are set to experience a record-breaking Thanksgiving travel period this year, but some wet and snowy weather in the forecast may put a damper on those plans.

Widespread weather patterns from the Pacific Northwest all the way down to Texas put travel in peril ahead of the busy Thanksgiving week. All that comes as AAA predicted nearly 80 million travelers were expected to leave home between Tuesday, Nov. 26, and Monday, Dec. 2.

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In Oregon and Northern California, travelers were expected to have to deal with 5 inches of rain and at least 3 inches of snow thanks to a "long duration atmospheric river, which was forecast to start as early as Monday, according to NBC News. There was also a chance of snow across parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

Travelers in the central and southern Plains were dealing with a forecast of rain and thunderstorms, while those from northwest Texas through central Oklahoma were under threat of flood watches.

Later this week, NBC said an upper-level low pressure system could develop above the Great Lakes and the Northeast.

The wet forecast comes as 79.9 million travelers are expected to hit the roads and take to the skies for Thanksgiving, setting a new record and exceeding pre-pandemic numbers, according to AAA. Of those, 71.7 million are expected to travel by car and more than 5.8 million are expected to fly domestically.

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To prepare for potentially less-than-ideal weather (and make it a less stressful holiday), drivers should make sure their cars are in tip-top shape, pack the car with winter essentials for emergencies, and consider installing skid chains or snow tires.

When flying, travelers should check airline flight advisories  though major carriers have not yet issued any for Thanksgiving week  anticipate potential delays by taking advantage of airline apps and flight trackers like FlightAware, know their rights if something does go wrong, and consider travel insurance so theyre not left out in the cold.
(Bloomberg) -- Under sunshine and clear blue skies against a picture-perfect backdrop of Rios iconic Sugarloaf Mountain, the Group of 20 leaders gathered for their family photo. There was just one snag: US President Joe Biden was missing.

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The traditional photo opportunity descended into farce on Monday when Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Italian premier Giorgia Meloni were absent from the lineup.

That only became clear, though, once Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had posed for the snap with the other world leaders, after which they dispersed for further talks.

Was it perhaps an act of protest against the presence of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was standing in for President Vladimir Putin? Or had some bilateral meetings run late? In the end, it seems it was down to disorganization.

A US official blamed logistical issues and said the family photo was taken early. Bidens absence wasnt an act of protest, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

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The Brazilian organizers say Biden and the others were late. They may try to herd all the leaders together again for a reshoot  which would be a first in the history of the G-20.

But the symbolism was unmistakable. The lack of unity among the leaders is a reflection of how difficult it has been to get everyone on the same page at the summit.

Biden has been largely invisible at this gathering as he serves out his last two months in the White House. But hes by no means the only lame duck. Frances Emmanuel Macron got a beating by voters and Germanys Olaf Scholz is headed for early elections and will likely be ejected from power.

In short, the West appeared in disarray.

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That allowed Chinas Xi Jinping to stroll in and take center stage. Brazils Lula was flanked by the previous G-20 host  Indias Narendra Modi  and the next one  South Africas Cyril Ramaphosa. Argentinas Javier Milei, who has been a thorn in Lulas side, was lurking just behind him and next to Macron, with whom he appears to have struck a bond at this meeting.

Lavrov was safely tucked away at the back next to his Saudi counterpart.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer walked out into the sun alone. Earlier hed irked Xi by publicly chiding China on human rights and bringing up Taiwan. The chill between the two was palpable as they studiously avoided contact, separated only by Australian leader Anthony Albanese.

The adage that a picture is worth a thousand words couldnt be truer when it comes to the annual G-20 tradition of the family photo. Since its foundation in 1999, this snapshot in time tells the story of the rise and fall of collaboration between the worlds most powerful economies.

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There have been highs  like when they came together to overcome the global financial crisis in 2008  and there have been lows.

In these moments, leaders often drop their guard. And its when they are shuffling around into position  some arriving later (or not at all), some iced out, others whispering and giggling to the side  that keen observers can gain insights into the state of international diplomacy.

The body language between leaders often reveals whether they truly like each other or are standing stiffly just waiting for the click of the camera before they can flee.

The summit in New Delhi, amid the monsoon rains, presaged the difficulties that lay ahead at that summit. India abandoned the usual set-up because leaders couldnt agree on what to do with Lavrov after Putin  whod become a pariah following his 2022 invasion of Ukraine  avoided travel.

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Since then, the tides have shifted somewhat.

Outrage and condemnation have made way for a dawning realization among many leaders here that Ukraine may have to accept the loss of some of its territory in negotiations to end the war.

One of the most telling moments in the family gathering was Macron making his way to where Lavrov stood and briefly shaking his hand.

Not so long ago, Volodymyr Zelenskiy was the star attraction at global summits and parliaments around the world. But as war fatigue has set in, the chasm between the West that still supports him and the emerging powers of the Global South has widened.

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Modi didnt want him stealing the show at the G-20 in New Delhi, that was all about projecting the rise of India, and Lula felt very much the same way.

The plan today was to invite everyone and paper over the cracks in global diplomacy. Lula literally hoped to drown out the differences by having more people in the frame.

Instead, as Xi was holding hands with fellow leaders and smiling, Meloni came to realize she and Trudeau were missing out.

According to a pool report, she gasped and said The photo!

--With assistance from Justin Sink and Brian Platt.

(Adds detail on Macron and Lavrov in the 20th paragraph. An earlier version of this story corrected the spelling of the UK prime ministers first name in the 12th paragraph, and a missing letter in Brazil in the 10th.)

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the gazette Gov. Jared Polis delivers the 2024 State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the Colorado Capitol in January.
WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)  A non-profit organization that houses neglected farm animals in Westfield was gifted 11 acres from their neighbor.

The Whip City Animal Sanctuary said William Reed of Westfield donated 11 acres of his abutting parcel of land. They plan to expand their operations by building another facility on the newly acquired land.

Monson Savings Bank donates $1,500 to Whip City Animal Sanctuary

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The public is invited to join the sanctuary to present Reed with a plaque on Saturday at 11 a.m. They will also add a sign on the new property in his honor.

Were all so grateful for this gift, the magnitude of its impact will be felt for generations to come, said Kerry Plourde, co-founder of Whip City Animal Sanctuary. The additional land will allow us to provide homes to many more animals in need. Were very excited to begin the next chapter of our journey.

The farm has several horses, pot belly pigs, Nigerian dwarf goats, the infamous steers Teddy and Ollie, and more. Whip City Animal Sanctuary is open to the public during select hours on 232 Montgomery Road in Westfield.

Their next event is Hot Cocoa with Santa on Friday, December 6th from 6 to 8 p.m. The event is free, however donations are appreciated. For pictures with Santa, bring a non-perishable food donation to benefit the Westfield Food Pantry.

Local News Headlines

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP.
SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN

Associated Press

Spear points, hammer stones and picks lost to history under layers of leaves, roots and rocks  it was the evidence Scott Ashcraft was looking for.

The ancient tools were inadvertently unearthed in 2021 by a bulldozer fighting a wildfire along a steep slope in western North Carolina. Ashcraft, a career U.S. Forest Service archaeologist, knew these wooded mountainsides held more clues to early human history in the Appalachian Mountains than anyone had imagined.

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He tried for years to raise the alarm to forest managers, saying outdated modeling that ignored the artifacts sometimes hidden on steep terrain  especially sites significant to Native American tribes  needed to be reconsidered when planning for prescribed fires, logging projects, new recreational trails and other work on national forest lands.

Instead, Ashcraft says managers retaliated against him and pushed ahead with their plans, often violating historic preservation and environmental protection laws by side stepping consultations with tribes, limiting input from state archaeologists and systematically suppressing scientific data.

In a letter shared with The Associated Press, Ashcraft sent his concerns Thursday, Nov. 14, to top officials in the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Interior Department, White House Council on Native American Affairs and National Congress of American Indians. He described an escalating pattern of illegal, unethical and irresponsible behavior by forest managers in North Carolina that stands in sharp contrast to the historic strides the Biden administration has made nationally to include Indigenous expertise when making decisions about public land management.

Although the case focuses on a single state, Ashcraft said it highlights a bigger problem  that there are no guardrails to keep the Forest Service from using outdated modeling and skirting requirements to consult with tribes before moving ahead with projects.

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"It's seems that project completion, feathers in caps and good performance evaluations have outweighed the protection of cultural resources," Ashcraft told the AP in an interview.

The letter is the latest salvo in a federal whistleblower case that began when Ashcraft filed a lengthy disclosure with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's inspector general in 2023. That office turned the case back to the Forest Service, where regional officials declared that legal requirements had been met.

The whistleblower disclosure gained the attention of preservation experts and other researchers as hostility by forest managers mounted against Ashcraft, the heritage resources program manager for the Pisgah National Forest.

Emails and other documents reviewed by the AP show many of Ashcraft's duties were reassigned to other employees and he was prohibited from communicating with tribes.

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Regional forest officials have not directly addressed allegations of retaliation against Ashcraft, but they have doubled down on promises to work with the dozen tribes that have ancestral connections to the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests.

Nationally, the Biden administration has moved toward recognizing the connection Native Americans have to their homelands through the publication of action plans and guidance for dealing with sacred sites. In 2022, President Joe Biden issued a memo aimed at setting minimum standards for how agencies should carry out consultations with tribes.

It appears that system broke down in North Carolina, said Valerie Grussing, the executive director of the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers. The group has been in discussions with tribes and top forest officials about violations there.

"What's happened at the forest unit and the regional level is egregious. It's unconscionable," she said. "It's not just a breaking of the federal trust responsibility, but of established relationships."

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James Melonas, supervisor of the four forests in North Carolina, said in a statement that an independent group of experts was tapped last year to review several projects to ensure compliance with federal laws and tribal consultation obligations after "an internal concern" was raised.

The experts recommended more training for employees on the requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act and a full review of the forest heritage program. Regional forest officials said that internal review was done in May, confirming that obligations were met.

"Honoring this rich tribal heritage along with co-stewardship of these lands with tribal nations is a top priority for the Forest Service," Melonas said.

Some tribal officials say the Forest Service did not reach out to them when conducting the reviews.

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Ashcraft's attorneys have partnered with the legal nonprofit Whistleblower Aid. They contend that Ashcraft has put his career on the line to bring attention to what they described as the "willful destruction of Native American heritage sites."

Andrew Bakaj, chief legal counsel for Whistleblower Aid, said virtually none of the key stakeholders with knowledge of the violations were interviewed as part of the agency's review and the report has been kept out of the public eye.

The concerns raised by the whistleblower are not the first time the Forest Service has been accused of not following procedures. Documents obtained by the AP in 2016 revealed that portions of the Trail of Tears were ripped up in eastern Tennessee when an employee approved the construction of berms and trenches without authorization. The Forest Service later apologized to the Cherokee Nation and other tribes.

Ashcraft has surveyed vast tracts of forest over his 31-year career. Without further investigation of steep slopes, he said the extent of the damage done in western North Carolina as a result of managers relying on outdated modeling can't be fully known.

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The whistleblower disclosure provides examples in which forest managers have allegedly tried to obstruct further archaeological investigations on steep slopes. It states that recreational trail projects  including a multimillion-dollar effort to expand hiking and biking networks east of Asheville -- have already been built over some areas and that prescribed burns have been implemented despite the need for more assessments and tribal consultation.

"These actions are irreparably damaging or destroying an untold sum of Native American cultural and archeological sites including some of great significance. This conduct continues to this day," Ashcraft warned in his letter.

The intent isn't to stop work on forest lands, Ashcraft said, but rather to document sites before they're altered or reroute work in cases where areas are more sensitive and need protection.

The Center for the Investigation of Native and Ancient Quarries has worked with Ashcraft and other scientists to uncover dozens of sites  many of which have a "surprising density" of Native American cultural materials and evidence of land use dating back thousands of years.

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Within the scar of the Seniard Creek Fire south of Asheville, they turned up stone axes and other tools used for digging at quartz and soapstone quarries  all examples of what researchers described as engineering feats by sophisticated societies that called this region home about 6,000 years ago.

"Here we are at higher elevations and steeper slopes with an absolutely magnificent resource eroding downslope," said Philip LaPorta, executive director of the center and adjunct senior research scientist at Columbia University's Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory.

LaPorta said discoveries like the one near Asheville should make people think differently about how Indigenous people used steep landscapes.

The whistleblower disclosure was shared with the Cherokee Nation, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Catawba Indian Nation, the Muscogee Nation and the United Keetoowah Band.

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The Eastern Band of Cherokee were hopeful about having more meaningful and frequent consultations with forest managers after the agency adopted a revised plan for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests in 2023. However, a specialist with the tribe said not much has changed.

In his letter, Ashcraft wrote that the identification and preservation of Native American heritage sites goes beyond a single agency, tribe or whistleblower.

"It concerns all of us," he wrote. "Protection of these resources is a duty shared by actors across state and federal government, sovereign tribes as well as civil society. When one fails  spectacularly and in bad faith  it is up to the rest to step in."

For Native Americans, Grussing said it goes beyond the artifacts found in a particular spot. It's an intangible energy that comes from being connected to a place.

"That's what is at stake," she said. "These are irreplaceable cultural resources and places. They're nonrenewable."
The White House has refused to directly confirm that Ukraine has been authorised to use long-range ATACMS missiles against military targets located in Russia but did mention that it is developing a response to North Korea's involvement in the war against Kyiv.

Source: The New York Times, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Jon Finer, Deputy National Security Advisor to US President Joe Biden, refused to confirm the authorisation.

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However, he noted that the United States had promised to respond to Russia's decision to bring in North Korean troops as reinforcements in the war against Ukraine.

"If there are circumstances that evolve and change, you know, we will evolve and change to meet them and to allow the Ukrainians to continue to defend their territory and their sovereignty," Finer said during a briefing with reporters on Monday morning.

Background:

The New York Times, citing US officials, reported that US President Joe Biden has for the first time authorised Ukrainian forces to use long-range ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory.

Axios noted that this decision concerns Kursk Oblast and is intended as a response to the involvement of North Korean military personnel in the conflict.

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WASHINGTON (NewsNation)  The White House rejected the Kremlins claim Monday that it is adding fuel to the fire by authorizing Ukrainian forces to use U.S.-supplied missiles inside Russia.

The fire was lit by Russias invasion of Ukraine, deputy national security advisor Jon Finer, said. So, I think this notion of fuel on the fire is, frankly, a side issue to the main issue, which is Russia waging a war of aggression across a sovereign border, into Ukraine, and continuing to do so.

I would put the question back to Russia about whos actually putting fuel on the fire here, and I dont think its the Ukrainians, Finer said.

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President Joe Biden has given Kyiv the green light to use long-range weapons  known as Army Tactical Missile Systems or ATACMS  which would enable strikes deep inside Russian territory, easing previous restrictions on Western-made weapons.

What does Bidens decision to allow Ukraine to use longer-range US weapons mean?

The announcement came Sunday after the U.S. had frequently said it would not lift its ban on Ukraines use of American weapons against Russia, citing fear of escalation. The United States has provided Ukraine with more than $64 billion in military aid since Russias invasion in Feb. 2022, according to the State Department.

With two months left in office, Bidens shift in U.S. policy came in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin deploying more than 10,000 North Korean troops into Moscows fight.

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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov criticized the Biden administration for adding fuel to the conflict, before recalling Putins statement in September in which he said that Ukraines use of U.S. weapons to attack Russia would put NATO at war with Moscow.

If this decision is taken, it will mean nothing less than the direct involvement of NATO countries, the United States and European countries in the war in Ukraine, Putin said at the time. This will be their direct participation, and this, of course, will significantly change the very essence, the very nature of the conflict.

President-elect Donald Trump has not commented on Bidens decision, but his son, Donald Trump Jr., lambasted it.

The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives, he wrote on X.

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Trump has repeatedly claimed that he could resolve the war between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours without specifying how.

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky seemingly agreed with this Friday, saying he is certain his countrys war with Russia would end faster once Trump becomes U.S. president.

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Ukraine is expected to soon begin using American-made ATACMS missiles to hit military targets in Russia's western Kursk region, after President Joe Biden lifted restrictions on Kyiv's use of the long-range weapon following months of pressure.

Three U.S. officials confirmed to ABC News on Sunday that Biden had authorized Ukraine to use the ATACMS -- officially called the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System -- in Russia's western Kursk region.

There, Moscow's troops -- now supported by North Korean forces, according to U.S. officials -- have been fighting to defeat a Ukrainian incursion since August. Kyiv's forces in Kursk are already using American- and European-made armored vehicles, including tanks.

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Ukrainian troops have been using the cluster munition and unitary variants of the ATACMS since October 2023 to hit Russian targets on occupied Ukrainian territory. The White House withheld permission for Ukraine to strike within Russia for fear of retaliation from Moscow and concerns about available stocks.

PHOTO: Ukrainian soldiers are pictured during a combat mission to mine the territory between Ukrainian and Russian positions on Nov. 17, 2024, at a frontline position in Pokrovsk, Ukraine. (Libkos/Getty Images)

MORE: Moscow warns US missile authorization may mark new level of involvement in conflict for Washington

Approval to use the 190-mile-range weapon to hit targets in Kursk is politically significant. Biden will soon be out of the White House, and President-elect Donald Trump's apparent skepticism towards continued aid to Kyiv has raised concerns of a sudden drop-off in U.S. aid.

The ATACMS green light in Kursk might produce relatively limited battlefield results, experts told ABC News, though the looming future threat to other Russian regions may increase pressure on Moscow in any revived peace talks.

At the front

The Institute for the Study of War think tank said in its Sunday evening update that the "partial lifting" of restrictions on Western long-range weapon use in Kursk "will not completely deprive Russian forces of their sanctuary in Russian territory, as hundreds of military objects remain within ATACMS range in other Russian border regions."

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Ivan Stupak, a former officer in the Security Service of Ukraine, told ABC News the decision -- while a "decisive" White House move -- will not "change anything on a global scale."

"The number of missiles and targets on Russian territory are strictly limited," Stupak added. "It could help to eliminate 1-2,000 Russian servicemen and about 150 units of heavy equipment," he continued, and help "significantly slow down Russia's rolling advance in the Kursk region."

Dan Rice, who served as a special adviser to former Ukrainian commander-in-chief Gen. Valery Zaluzhnyi and has been involved in Kyiv's push for several advanced American weapons, said the White House decision was "slow, deliberate and telegraphed."

PHOTO: This file photo shows the firing of an ATACMS missile at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on Dec. 14, 2021. (John Hamilton/White Sands Missile Range Public Affairs)

MORE: Biden to allow Ukraine to use longer-range US missiles in Russia: Sources

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"The ATACMS' 300-kilometer maximum range doesn't reach that far," added Rice, who is now the president of the American University Kyiv. "It can't reach airfields, factories or energy infrastructure deep within Russia." Longer-range weapons like Tomahawk cruise missiles, Rice added, would help stop intensifying Russian missile and drone strikes.

A senior U.S. defense official confirmed to ABC News on Monday that Ukraine has not yet used any ATACMS missiles on Russian soil.

Stupak said Ukrainian commanders would be best served targeting major military warehouses, repair centers and airfields, rather than concentrations of Russian or North Korean manpower.

The "rockets will speak for themselves," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Monday post to social media.

At the negotiating table

It is perhaps on the diplomatic front that ATACMS will make the largest impact.

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European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Monday he hoped European nations would follow suit. Discussions are ongoing as to restrictions on Kyiv's use of long-range British-French Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles inside Russia, while Ukraine is still pushing Germany to provide Taurus cruise missiles.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists that the reported White House decision would represent "a qualitatively new round of tension and a qualitatively new situation from the point of view of the involvement of the United States in this conflict."

Washington, D.C., Peskov added, is adding "fuel to the fire."

The Russian Foreign Ministry directed reporters to previous comments made by President Vladimir Putin. In September, Putin said approval for long-range strikes using Western weapons within Russia would mean "that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries are at war with Russia."

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Trump's presidential election victory has revived discussions of cease-fire and peace talks, the president-elect having vowed to end the war in 24 hours by forcing Zelenskyy and Putin to the negotiating table.

PHOTO: In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russian President Vladimir Putin is pictured during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on Nov. 18, 2024. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

MORE: Why Trump's imminent return might scuttle Biden's last plays in foreign wars

Moscow is intensifying its long-range and ground attacks, seemingly to strengthen its hand if talks do indeed resume once Trump returns to the Oval Office.

Ukrainian military analyst Sergey Bratchuk wrote on Telegram that Biden's decision is "a great move," though comes "very late."

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The president, he added, "just strengthened his negotiating position. Now the map of long-range strikes is on the table and we will have to reckon with it, whether Russia wants it or not."

Oleksandr Merezhkko -- a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the chair of the body's foreign affairs committee -- concurred that the approval "gives us a better chance to win the war."

"It would be better to lift any restrictions on the use of Western weaponry deep into the territory of Russia," he told ABC News. "It would allow us better defense of our territory. Such a move might force Putin to negotiate in earnest."

"He doubles down when he sees weakness," Merezhko added of Putin. "The only way to restrain him is to respond to his actions with more strength."

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MORE: Russia increases Ukraine drone attacks by 44% since Trump election

ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston, Luis Martinez, Anastasia Bagaeva, Tanya Stukalova, Patrick Reevell, Joe Simonetti and Lauren Minore contributed to this report.

Why Biden's Ukraine ATACMS green light might mean peace talks pressure for Putin originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
In 1975, only 1% of public schools had their own police officers. Today, 44% do. A large reason for the increase is the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which led to the creation of the federal Community Oriented Policing Services to oversee funds for the hiring of police in schools. Another reason is the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. From the federal government down to individual districts, the idea that schools need police officers to keep kids safe is prevalent.

However, research shows that police officers in schools dont always prevent violence, including school shootings. In fact, their presence can harm students.

Here are five reasons police in schools, also known as school resource officers, actually make students less safe in school:

1. They dont address the root problems

State legislators that advocate for police in schools believe that by hardening schools  increasing police presence, adding metal detectors, requiring clear backpacks and mandating active-shooter safety drills  students will be safer from school shootings.

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Academic research supports a different strategy. Most school shooters are known to administrators prior to committing assault. Many of these students struggle to make friends, experience challenges in their home lives and have multiple behavioral and mental health needs that havent been addressed.

School police officers cannot fix societal problems. Instead, researchers and policy advocates recommend that districts invest in the people who are better equipped to address these issues, like social workers and therapists.

2. Their role is not well defined

The role of school police officers, as well as their training, varies from school to school. This means that some may have a more positive impact on students than others.

Research shows that school resource officers are effective at detecting drug-related activity on campus and addressing violent crime related to gang activity in schools. But officers do not lower instances of bullying and low-level crime like vandalism and schoolyard fights.

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School police officers play various roles on campus, but research shows that they are most effective at helping students when they focus on specific types of crime occurring in the school or building relationships with the students who are known to commit them. When they focus on punishment and discipline, their effectiveness decreases.

Students kneel in front of a makeshift memorial at Apalachee High School on Sept. 5, 2024, in Winder, Ga., where two students and two teachers were shot and killed the day before. Jessica McGowan via Getty Images

3. They do not increase students feelings of safety

Most students either do not realize that their school has a school resource officer or dont mind that one is present. In fact, most students report liking the officer at their school.

However, students report that the presence of school resource officers does not make them feel more positive about school safety and climate. Students report feeling safe in the beginning of the year with officers in the building but feel less safe as the year goes on. The more contact students have with an officer, for any reason, the more disconnected they begin to feel. Researchers suggest a possible reason why is because they start to worry that their own behavior can result in harsh punishment.

This can lead to other negative consequences, like increased absenteeism, failure to graduate and delinquency outside of school.

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Students who frequently encounter school police officers can begin to develop subconscious feelings that their school is unsafe, particularly if their encounters were related to discipline. Even students who dont directly interact with the officers, but witness other students get arrested, can begin to feel afraid that they will be arrested for minor disturbances, too.

4. They contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline

Research shows that the presence of school police officers increases the likelihood that a school will report common forms of student misbehavior, like cafeteria fights and vandalism, to law enforcement agencies  contributing to what is known as the school-to-prison pipeline by criminalizing such conduct.

For example, schools that use on-campus police for law enforcement and other duties, like mentoring, are 118% more likely to record property crimes than schools without police. Schools that use officers primarily for student discipline and crime response report 91% more nonserious crimes, property crimes and instances of disorderly conduct to police than similar schools that dont use school police.

Supporters of school police officers may argue that reporting crimes keeps students safer. However, for some students, the consequences can be devastating and lifelong. For example, in one study, North Carolina middle schools with on-campus police officers recorded 38% fewer violent offenses than schools without police. But they were also more likely to respond to student misconduct with harsher disciplinary practices such as school suspension, transfers to alternative learning environments, expulsions and referrals to police. Studies often find that these exclusionary responses are mostly experienced by Black and Hispanic students.

5. They sometimes infringe on students rights

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1969 that students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.

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However, research is clear about the threats to students rights that school police officers can pose. These include invasion of privacy, unlawful searches and seizures and violations of rights of students with disabilities and special education students.

Schools that plan to keep their police officers can follow these guidelines to ensure they are more effective in actually helping students:

As the nations schools continue to grapple with how to keep students safe, a careful review of the research shows that school police officers may not be the answer.

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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: Monic Behnken, Iowa State University

Read more:



Monic Behnken 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.
When Joe Biden and Donald Trump sat down for their fireside chat last week, the outgoing president made it clear that supporting Ukraine was in the United States interest.

Allowing Vladimir Putin and a resurgent Russia to succeed on the battlefield would ultimately risk Washington being dragged into a much wider European ground war, Mr Biden told his former presidential rival.

It is an argument Mr Trump has swatted away throughout his latest election campaign.

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But as he prepares for a return to the White House under the promise to end the war on day one, there are reasons why he may now be listening.

Mr Trump has promised to strike a deal between Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky to bring fighting to an end. And he knows a thing or two about negotiating from a position of strength.

Almost a week on from that fireside chat and Mr Biden has now moved to further arm Ukraine by lifting a ban on using long-range missiles inside Russian territory.

Many of Mr Trumps allies, including his son, have expressed outrage at the decision, warning of World War III.

But all the people that matter in Mr Trumps inner circle  his hawkish new secretary of state, national security adviser and defence secretary  have remained eerily quiet.

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Mike Waltz, Mr Trumps pick for national security adviser, described the decision to grant Ukraine permission to use the Atacms missile system in cross-border raids as an escalation, but rather than criticising the move said it was a tactical choice by the White House.

In an interview on Fox News, he went on to say Mr Trump was eying up a grand strategy to end the war.

One plan, floated by Mr Trumps former policy advisers, suggests arming Ukraine with sufficient firepower in order to coax Putin to the negotiating table.

Mr Trump has a direct line to the Russian president and has already spoken to both him and his Ukrainian counterpart on the phone since he was elected.

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Some believe Mr Trump wants a Nobel Peace Prize, something that eluded him after Barack Obama was handed the award.

Overseeing a Ukrainian capitulation might allow Washington focus on its main foreign policy objective  controlling China  but it wont adhere him to Americas allies.

White House officials have insisted that they moved unilaterally with the missile decision, fearing Mr Trump would abandon Ukraine.

Joe Biden met Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in September where he offered him his continued support - Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraines position is weakening. Its forces are crippled by manpower shortages, while Russia is seizing land, slowly but steadily, across almost the entirety of the front line.

Mr Biden has flown to Brazil, where he will appeal to G20 leaders to follow his lead to strengthen Ukraines hand further ahead of Mr Trump taking office on Jan 20.

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The White House has also been motivated by the appearance of North Korean troops on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Estimates vary for the number of men from the communist nation sent to assist Russian forces.

But reports from the sidelines of the G20 meeting suggest North Korea could eventually deploy as many as 100,000 troops.

The latest figures being bandied around Washington are that 10,000 North Koreans will be involved in a 50,000-strong force used by Russia to reclaim a sliver of land in its Kursk region seized by Ukraine earlier this year.

This area of southern Russia is where Ukraine has been granted permission to use the Atacms system.

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George Barros, a researcher with the US-based Institute for the Study of War, believes this is critical to the decision to allow use of the missiles.

I think the introduction of the North Koreans and the transition to the new administration are two important catalysing factors here that probably changed the administration policy, he said.

What part  if any  Mr Trump played at the White House transition meeting remains under wraps for now.

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WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW)  A man accused of kidnapping a 14-year-old Arkansas girl and hiding her inside a Wichita home has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years, plus an additional 10 years.

In September, a Sedgwick County jury found David Roark guilty on 18 counts, including kidnapping, abuse of a child, five counts of aggravated indecent liberties, two counts of criminal sodomy, and nine counts of sexual exploitation of a child. His attorneys had argued for a deviation from sentencing guidelines.

However, Judge Jeffery Syrios denied that request, and he was given the maximum penalty during Mondays sentencing hearing.

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Man critically injured in south Wichita shooting

Roark was arrested in December 2022 after a call from investigators in Arkansas to Wichita Police. They were alerted that the girl who had been missing since November of that year had been seen with Roark at a convenience store.

Wichita Police arrested Roark as he left a home he was staying at and found the girl in a closet inside.

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ANGOLA, La.  On a blistering fall afternoon, even by Louisianas standards, mainly Black incarcerated people cling tightly to bucking horses. They run from barreling bulls and get tossed around like rag dolls in events that are outlawed in rodeos across the country  but not here at the wildest show in the South.

Each Sunday in October, thousands of people flocked from all over the country to watch this quintessential American take on the gladiator-to-the-death spectacles of the past at the nations last prison rodeo.

Wearing cowboy hats and Make America Great Again shirts, some white spectators pack into a dusty stadium located on the site of a former slave plantation that is now Louisianas state penitentiary.

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The crowd swells into a roar while they sing The Star Spangled Banner and proclaim The Land of the Free. The watchtowers and primarily Black men locked behind fences reveal the deep contradictions.

As Louisiana and national politics shift further right, incarceration rates rise, and prison conditions worsen, the rodeo provides a lens through which to examine Americas cultural identity, several Black attendees told Capital B. Its no coincidence that the state with the worlds highest incarceration rate is home to the last prison rodeo.

The prison and this prison rodeo is one of the most powerful political tools that is used to stereotype [Black people] and normalize our negative environments, said Troy Grimes, who was attending the rodeo as a free man after being released from the prison nine months ago. Still conflicted, he said he came to reconnect with his friends who are still incarcerated.

Despite Black people making up about one-third of Louisianas population, they make up about 80% of those incarcerated at the facility most commonly called Angola, named after the West African nation where most of the enslaved people who once worked the land hailed from. Today, those incarcerated at the prison remain tilling the land for as little as 2 cents per hour under brutal working and environmental conditions that the United Nations human rights office has condemned.

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The vast majority of people incarcerated at Angola, a maximum security prison where two-thirds of people are serving life sentences, are expected to never step outside the farm again. In August, the state eliminated all chances of parole for people convicted of crimes and dramatically reduced early release opportunities for those who demonstrate good behavior  a move long championed by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry.

The first Angola Prison Rodeo in September 1965. (Courtesy of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections)

Founded just months after the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965, the Angola Prison Rodeo has become deeply embedded in southern Louisianas culture and masked these realities. Here, in what the state describes as one of its top rehabilitation programs, its all about cowboys, prison garb, and guts and glory.

Over the years, broken bones, concussions, and snapped necks have become routine, often to jeers from the crowd. Several petitions are found across the internet calling for the state to abolish the event, but none have made it to the prison warden or state legislators. In recent decades, Oklahoma, Texas, and Mississippi have all ended their prison rodeos because they did not bring in enough money. (Although, Oklahomas Republican-dominated state legislature passed a bill earlier this year to bring them back to the Sooner State.)

The power dynamics at play are obvious and shaped by white Southern traditions that ignore the violent realities behind the spectacle, explained a dozen Black rodeo attendees and rodeo workers (the title given to incarcerated people at the show).

Tony Grimes, who was released from Angola earlier this year after more than two decades behind bars, attended his first rodeo as a free man after trying to organize a boycott of the event while incarcerated. (Adam Mahoney/Capital B)

While incarcerated at Angola, Grimes said he tried to organize a boycott of the event, which brought in about $450,000 for the state every weekend in October and one weekend in April. He had conversations yearly with other incarcerated people about the backward nature of the rodeo, but it became clear that people were not willing to stop participating in the only event that allowed them unfettered connections to the outside world and a chance to make extra money.

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Amid racist policies that have stunted the life outcomes of Black Louisianans, this cultural phenomenon is one of the few ways incarcerated individuals and their loved ones can reclaim their humanity. (Capital B is not directly quoting currently incarcerated people because of a prison media policy that requires incarcerated people to get permission to speak with reporters.)

Outside the rodeo arena, dozens more incarcerated people set up booths to sell their handmade artwork, leatherwork, and woodwork. While some are forced to sell their products behind locked and guarded fences, most others sit out in the open, able to share hugs and laughs with their loved ones.

As one incarcerated person told Capital B, it is the only time he can interact with people outside. It brings back a familiar feeling, he said, of being free to exist.

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On an average day at that 18,000-acre former plantation turned nations largest and bloodiest prison, incarcerated people provide some of the states most vital but grueling public services like clearing trees and sandbagging properties before storms, and private services like growing food and grains that are used by hundreds of the most popular food brands in the world. But at the rodeo, some people report making as much as $2,000 a year. (The prison takes a 22% tax on these profits.)

Here you see how politics and money defines how were seen and what we accept, Grimes said.

The rodeo stands not only as a testament to Southern traditions but also as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for justice and recognition. (Adam Mahoney/Capital B)

Why the rodeo is one of the better days of the year

Over the past decade, there has been a renewed focus on prisons and their history of extraction and exploitation of incarcerated workers. Arguably, the lineage is strongest at Angola.

After the abolition of slavery, the plantation system transformed into convict leasing, where Black people convicted of crimes as futile as walking down the wrong street were leased as workers to plantations. But by the late 19th century, the Angola plantation was purchased by the state of Louisiana and turned into an actual prison facility. The conditions continued to echo the brutality of slavery.

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Throughout much of the 20th century, Angola gained notoriety as one of the most violent and dangerous prisons in the United States, fueled by poor oversight and aided by its massive, isolated location. In the first three decades of its existence, 100 people incarcerated there died while working every year, reportedly buried in the levees they were helping to build along the Mississippi River. Decades later, in 1951, 31 people cut their Achilles tendons in protest of the continued treatment.

Incarcerated men building the levees along the Mississippi River in the early 20th century. (Andrew D. Lytle Collection, Louisiana State University Library Special Collections)

Today, Angolas size allows the prison to continue to run various loosely regulated farming operations, from raising cattle to growing crops like soybeans, corn, and cotton. Earlier this year, an Associated Press investigation found that incarcerated people help produce millions of dollars worth of agriculture that end up being sold in the open market and found in most American kitchens in products like Frosted Flakes cereal, Ball Park hot dogs, and Coca-Cola.

The financial boon relates to Louisiana being the only state in the U.S. where prisoners are legally required to work  and often without pay. Norris Henderson, who was a jailhouse lawyer during his 27 years of incarceration for a crime he did not commit, has since founded the

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Louisiana-based nonprofit the Voice of the Experienced, which has helped hundreds of men released from Angola. But on the inside, he has vividly recalled often being called slaves by Angola prison guards.

A prison guard rides a horse alongside prisoners as they return from farm work detail at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana in 2011. After the Civil War, the 13th Amendments exception clause, that allows for prison labor, provided legal cover to round up thousands of mostly young Black men. They then were leased out by states to plantations like Angola and some of the countrys biggest privately owned companies, including coal mines and railroads. (Gerald Herbert/Associated Press)

Herman Wallace of the Angola 3, a group of Black Panther Party members who spent over 40 years in solitary confinement, famously described the prison as not just a correctional facility but an institution designed to break men. Many describe being forced to work in the sweltering heat, often without adequate medical care or breaks, leading to an average of 50 people dying prematurely at the facility every year.

So in comparison, incarcerated people told Capital B, the rodeos are one of the better days of the year.

One incarcerated man said he loves the chance to showcase his artistic side, including on his hand-panted shirt that reads Rodeo Worker. (Adam Mahoney/Capital B)

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Grimes said he understands why the rodeo is loved by many incarcerated people: a chance for a little cash and human interaction. I came back to support the guys, kick it with them, and to spend a little money with them, because a lot of these guys, Im gonna say 90% of these guys, dont have any income coming in, dont have family supporting them, he said.

But, Im like, wow. My people  Black people inside here and out  are supporting this? he said, adding that he didnt feel like the estimated $2 million made at the rodeo yearly was benefitting life inside the prison. (The state says the rodeo revenue helps support nearly all the programs that benefit the lives of those incarcerated at Angola, including subsidizing trade schools, a high school education program, and prison hospice care.)

When I was in here, it was a different ball game, but now when I look at it, Im like how are we giving these politicians and the state all this money? Why is anybody outside of these fences supporting this?

Prisons shape the lives of those incarcerated, and society at large

While prisons have historically functioned as sites of disrupting life, those incarcerated have sowed some of Americas lasting cultural pillars, from music to these rodeos. Theyre spaces shaped by society but also actively shaping culture outside of the walls.

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Inside Angola, Lead Belly, born Huddie Ledbetter, a Black sharecropper, developed his sound, propelling him to become one of the most powerful figures in the early years of American folk and blues music. Angolas musical legacy continued with prison bands like the Guts and Glory Traveling Band, which performed publicly, showcasing the prisons image of reform, much like the rodeo, while profiting from the labor and creativity of incarcerated musicians.

The Goree Girls, incarcerated at The Goree State Farm for Women, performed at the Texas Prison Rodeo throughout the 1940s. (Courtesy of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice)

However, as Black Southern traditions and histories have slowly disappeared, Michelle Clark said, the rodeo is one of the few activities she can imagine that allows her grandchildren to remain connected to those roots. She has been attending the rodeo for nearly a decade, often making the five-hour, one-way drive from Houston multiple times every October.

Read More: The Legacy of Black Cowgirls

Prison rodeos have a complex history that is entangled with Black rural Southern culture. Theyve historically offered some Black people a sense of identity and community that resonates with the broader historical narratives of Black Americans in agriculture and rodeo sports, where skill and bravery have often served as acts of defiance against systemic oppression.

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I think todays society, all the kids are into electronics, and they dont know this history, what is a part of us, Clark said. The event hits home for her because she has a child incarcerated in a Texas prison, and she knows firsthand how important an event like this might be for people to connect with their loved ones behind bars.

But you see and feel the tensions of race, she said. There are some people that come for the rodeo with different intentions than what we came for  to laugh and mock.

Michelle Clark and Candice Sims have been attending the rodeo for years. Theyve endured racist comments, but love the event as a way to support those incarcerated. (Adam Mahoney/Capital B)

Clearly, we are not living in a time where race no longer matters, a group of professors from Louisiana State University wrote in 2014, nor are we living at a time where race is declining in significance. One only needs to look at the spectacle and sport of the Angola Rodeo.

Spectators paying $20 per ticket for the sold-out event endure miles-long car lines stretching Angolas back roads, awaiting the 9 a.m. opening. Before the 2 p.m. rodeo event and after, until 5 p.m., attendees snack on Southern classics made by incarcerated people, pork cracklins, fried coke, and red beans and rice. Children enjoy fair rides like the carousel and Ferris wheel, with the dunk a con tower in view.

It was Joseph Bagnerises first time at the rodeo, something he was hesitant about for several reasons. It wasnt lost on him how deeply the history of slavery permeated the land and the event, and how the crowd came to accept some of the elements of the events that he thought were antiquated and racist.

Two years ago, my co-worker came and saw a man get launched into the air by a bull, and everyone was clapping and laughing, he said, relaying the story to Capital B. But the man was lying on the ground motionless. He had to be carried out. Its hard for it not to feel racist.

His partner, Yoni Solomon, felt some of the same icks, but she said the rodeos connection to southern Louisiana was hard to shake. When she thinks of the rodeo, she remembers herself as a child walking the dirt grounds with her dad, hand in hand.

It feels weird to try to separate those things, she said.

One incarcerated Black man, who sold Donald Trump and Kamala Harris themed pillows, and Texas, Alabama, and Israel key chains, said the event offered him a rare chance to talk with people about the worlds biggest events. (Adam Mahoney/Capital B)

Solomon and Bagnerise decided not to go inside the rodeo arena itself, rather staying outside to walk around the arts fair in hopes of buying cowboy boots, a belt, and a hat from an incarcerated worker. But some of the deep contradictions of the rodeo events were hard to ignore, particularly that the performers were called convict cowboys.

While the cowboy is an American icon, a courageous, heroic figure associated with white Americas conquering and genocide of Native Americans, the convict is seen as an anti-heroic associated with isolation and nameless status. Its a reminder, Bagnerise said, that a lot of Black men arent seen fully as human and are othered from the traditions of American men.

Yet for some incarcerated people, the event helps them feel seen in ways that they arent normally. Its the only time of the year when people can have conversations about virtually anything, and with strangers at that, even if theyre fleeting moments. In these passing seconds, theyre not merely objects or convicts, but creators and providers, finding ways to assert their individuality and humanity in a setting that overwhelmingly denies it.

Rodeo workers used their artwork to appeal to potential customers, but also as a means of self-expression. (Adam Mahoney/Capital B)

But attendees said it was hard not to feel like they were contributing to the normalization of mass incarceration.

I feel guilt, I really do, explained Candice Sims, who was attending the rodeo with Clark.

Theyre not trained and theyre out there doing those events that arent sanctioned and are quite dangerous. I do feel like they are taking advantage of peoples situations in a racist way, but once again, I paid money to come see it. Its a difficult thing.

While white spectators celebrate this event as a cornerstone of regional culture, those incarcerated and the descendants of the enslaved are raising questions about cultural ownership and who gets to define what is valuable and meaningful in society.

I just hope people leave with a deeper understanding of their place within this system, said Sims.

The post The Wildest Show in the South: Spectacle and Suffering at Americas Biggest Prison appeared first on Capital B News.
Burglars broke into a farm on the Windsor Castle estate just a few minutes from where Prince William and Kate Middleton live with their three children.

Around midnight on Oct. 13, the thieves scaled a 6-foot fence at Shaw Farm, a working farm on the sprawling Windsor estate, and broke into a barn. They fled in a stolen black Isuzu pickup truck and a red four-wheeler, crashing through a farm gate as they escaped.

Adelaide Cottage when it was first built in 1839.

Police have not made any arrests in the case.

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The gate the thieves crashed through is about five minutes from Adelaide Cottage, the primary residence for William, Kate, and their kids: Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6.

The royal family was reportedly home at the time of the burglary, though they dont seem to have been in immediate danger. Adelaide Cottage has its own security, and the palace doesnt comment on security issues.

The Prince and Princess of Wales moved from London to the cottagea four-bedroom home about a half-mile from Windsor Castlein 2022 so the family would have more freedom to move around. When theyre in London, they use Kensington Palace as their home base.
Eric Hovde, the Republican Senate candidate in Wisconsin whos been spreading election conspiracy theories since the race was called for Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, finally conceded to her Monday nearly two weeks after the election.

Hovde, a multimillionaire banker and real estate developer, announced his concession in a six-minute video posted to social media, repeating his debunked concerns but saying he doesnt want to add to political strife by asking for a recount.

The results from election night were disappointing, particularly in light of the last-minute absentee ballots that were dropped in Milwaukee at 4 a.m., flipping the outcome, he said. There are many troubling issues around these absentee ballots and their timing.

Thank you for your support. Its time to move on. pic.twitter.com/XiO4XVVcaP  Eric Hovde (@EricHovde) November 18, 2024

He added that hes heard from numerous supporters urging me to challenge the election results.

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The Associated Press called the election for incumbent Baldwin the day after the election. With nearly all votes counted, Baldwin is ahead of Hovde by 29,116 votes.

Despite that, Hovde refused to concede the election to her and began floating the possibility of election fraud.

Like many of my supporters, I was shocked by what unfolded on election night, Hovde said in a video posted to social media last week. At 1 a.m. I was receiving calls of congratulations, and based on the models, it appeared I would win the Senate race. Then, at 4 a.m., Milwaukee reported approximately 108,000 absentee ballots, with Senator Baldwin receiving nearly 90% of those ballots. Statistically, this outcome seems improbable.

Baldwin called on him to accept the results and move on.

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Eric Hovde is spreading lies from the darkest corners of the internet to undercut our free and fair elections, she posted on X, formerly Twitter. Wisconsin voters made their voices heard. Its time for Hovde to stop this disgusting attack on our democracy and concede.

Regardless of Baldwins win, Republicans managed to reclaim the Senate from Democratic control and are projected to have a majority by six seats.

Related...
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  The Wisconsin Supreme Court grappled Monday with a case affecting whether the swing state's nonpartisan top elections official, who has been targeted by Republican lawmakers over the 2020 presidential election, can remain in her post despite not being reappointed and confirmed by the state Senate.

Republicans who control the state Senate tried to fire Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe last year, leading the commission to sue in an effort to keep Wolfe on the job.

Wolfe is validly holding her position as a holdover and the commission is under no obligation to appoint someone while she holds the position, argued Charlotte Gibson, an assistant attorney general representing the commission. Gibson said the state Supreme Court should uphold a lower courts ruling in Wolfe's favor, which would allow her to remain in her position and not face a confirmation vote by the Senate.

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But the attorney for Republican lawmakers argued the commission must appoint an administrator, either Wolfe or someone else, so the Senate can vote on confirming that person.

When Wolfe was up for reappointment in 2023, all six members of the commission voiced support for her. Three Republicans voted to reappoint, but the three Democrats abstained, resulting in a deadlocked vote. Had Wolfe gotten a fourth vote in support, her appointment would have been sent to the Senate, which then could have voted to fire her.

Here the question is, can three commissioners essentially cut the Senate out entirely forever? Misha Tseytlin, attorney for the Republican-controlled Legislature, argued Monday.

Tseytlin said three non-elected bureaucrats on the commission were holding Wolfes appointment hostage.

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You are trying to thread a needle here that has no eye, liberal Justice Janet Karofsky said, pointing to a 2022 ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, then controlled by conservatives, that allowed Republican-appointee Fred Prehn to remain on the state Natural Resources Board past the end of his term.

This is a case of careful what you wish for, isnt it? Karofsky said. It seems to me this has little to do with what the law actually says and far more to do with who is in these positions.

Tseytlin argued that a key difference between the current lawsuit and the Prehn case is that the law requires the elections commission to appoint a successor when the administrators term expires. Wolfe's term ended nearly 17 months ago.

The Legislature is not asking the court to overturn the Prehn decision, which Democrats, including Gov. Tony Evers, criticized and liberal Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet said in a dissent had the absurd effect of allowing Prehn to remain in office indefinitely.

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Even though Wolfe's appointment was not forwarded to the Senate, Republican senators voted in September 2023 to fire Wolfe. The commission sued to challenge that Senate vote. Republican legislative leaders changed course and claimed in court filings that their vote to fire Wolfe was merely symbolic and had no legal effect.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Ann Peacock, in a 2023 ruling, said Wolfe is legally serving as administrator of the elections commission as a holdover given that the commission did not have a majority vote to appoint her.

Republican leaders of the Legislature appealed and the state Supreme Court will issue a decision weeks or months from now.

Wolfe was first appointed for the nonpartisan position in 2018 and confirmed to a four-year term by the GOP-controlled state Senate in 2019. The commission is overseen by a bipartisan board that is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, and Wolfe is head of the nonpartisan staff.

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Wolfe was targeted for removal by Republican lawmakers who were unhappy with the 2020 presidential election won by President Joe Biden. President-elect Donald Trump won Wisconsin this year, just as he did in 2016. Unlike after his loss in 2020, Trump backers are not alleging widespread fraud in this year's election.

Wolfe was the subject of conspiracy theories and targeted by threats from election skeptics who falsely claim she was part of a plot to rig the 2020 vote in favor of Biden. Biden's win by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin withstood two partial recounts, a nonpartisan audit, a conservative law firms review, and multiple state and federal lawsuits.

Wolfe, in a statement ahead of court arguments Monday, emphasized that all six commissioners voiced support for her last year when they deadlocked.

While they disagreed on the mechanism for making my appointment, the Commissioners have always supported me staying in this role, Wolfe said. "If they didnt, they always had the ability to terminate my appointment and select someone new.

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Wolfe was asked about the case during a news conference the day after this month's election and whether she was committed to remaining in her position for the long haul. She made no promises.

Im completely committed to seeing through this election and making sure that this election is certified, Wolfe said.
MADISON  The state Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments in a case that will determine whether Republican lawmakers can remove or replace Wisconsin's top elections official as she remains in the post beyond the expiration of her term.

Dane County Circuit Judge Ann Peacock ruled in January that Senate Republicans do not have the authority to remove or replace Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe  a decision legislative Republicans appealed and brought to the state's high court.

Peacock ruled Wolfe legally retains her position beyond an expired term because of a 2022 ruling that allowed Frederick Prehn, a holdover from Republican former Gov. Scott Walker's administration, to remain on the state's Natural Resources Board nearly two years after his term ended.

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"This is a case of 'careful what you wish for,' isnt it?" Justice Jill Karofsky asked GOP legislative attorney Misha Tseytlin. "It seems to me this has little to do with what the law actually says and far more to do with who is in these positions."

Neither of the parties in the Wolfe case argued Monday that the Prehn decision should be overturned. Much of the debate before the court was centered around grammatical questions, including the intent of the word "shall" in state law, and the uses of active and passive voice.

Tseytlin told the court there was no dispute over whether Wolfe is lawfully remaining in her position; rather, the issue is whether WEC is required to send a confirmation for the Senate's consideration.

Wolfe oversees a commission that has been under fire for several years because of false claims put forward by Republican former President Trump to convince supporters he won an election that he lost, and because of policies commissioners approved during the 2020 presidential election to navigate hurdles presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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President Joe Biden defeated Trump in 2020 by about 21,000 votes in Wisconsin  a result confirmed by two recounts Trump paid for, state audits, a partisan review, a conservative study and multiple lawsuits. Trump won a second term on Nov. 5, carrying Wisconsin by more than 29,000 votes.

In September 2023, the state Senate in a party-line vote rejected Wolfe's appointment. Minutes after the vote, Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit asking a judge to block Republican legislative leaders from appointing a new administrator and to declare Wolfe administrator, arguing the Senate did not have the power to oust her. Meanwhile, Wolfe said she would not leave her job until a court told her to do so.

Although lawmakers voted her out, she stayed in her job because the vote to fire her wasn't recognized by Wolfe or many Democrats as legitimate. They argued the Republican-controlled state Senate forced a vote on her future even though the bipartisan elections commission charged with hiring her did not put forward a nomination of Wolfe to consider.

When Wolfe's term expired in June, the six members of the commission agreed Wolfe should stay in her job but failed to find consensus on how to respond to an effort by Senate Republicans to oust her.

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Ultimately, the commission did not put forward the four votes required by law to reappoint Wolfe, with Democratic commissioners arguing the Prehn ruling protected her job.

Tseytlin argued the commission's actions violated the "advice and consent" powers allocated to the state Senate based on the implication that some members would not support a nominee without a guarantee that the Senate would approve that person.

Assistant Attorney General Charlotte Gibson, representing the elections commission, argued there is no deadline under state law to fill such a position.

"If theres no deadline, theres no duty. If the Legislature wants to create a deadline, its easy," she said.

Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Supreme Court hears case over fate of elections chief Wolfe
A 20-year-old driver drove a car into water and left a teen girl injured, Washington police said.

On Nov. 16, the accused impaired driver had a 17-year-old passenger in her car at the Atlantic City Boat Ramp, according to a news release by Seattle police.

When firefighters arrived, the woman, who was on the shore, told them a teen was missing and potentially still in the water, officers said.

After the car went into the water, both females were able to get out of the vehicle through the window, but the teenager was unable to swim to shore, officers said.

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The girl was found unresponsive, and firefighters began life-saving measures before both she and the driver were sent to Harborview Medical Center, police said.

As of Nov. 17, the woman is stable and the teen is in critical condition, officers said. Police didnt identify either in the release.

The woman was arrested on a charge of vehicular assault, police said.

The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to call 206-684-8923.

If you or a loved one shows signs of substance use disorder, you can seek help by calling the national hotline at 1-800-662-4357 or find treatment using SAMHSA's online locator.

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Driver flies over canal, crashes car into roof of couples home, California officials say

Driver kills man in fit of road rage, then laughs on 911 call, Utah officials say

35-year-old intentionally run over by driver, CA cops say. Long future ahead of him
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  A man is in critical condition after Memphis Police say he was shot in Hickory Hill early Sunday morning.

At 6:03 a.m., officers were flagged down in the 2200 block of Lamar Avenue.

Two men shot outside sushi restaurant in Whitehaven

A male victim suffering from a gunshot wound was found and taken to Regional One Hospital in critical condition.

Officers determined that the victim was shot in the 6900 block of Red Oak Circle.

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Police say a woman was detained. This is still an ongoing 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 WREG.com.
(COLORADO SPRINGS)  On Nov. 16, 2024, at about 8:41 a.m., the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) responded to a reported kidnapping in which a woman escaped long enough to ask for help.

According to CSPD, Investigators learned a woman had entered a business and told a staff member she had been kidnapped. While she was inside, the man who allegedly abducted her entered the business, directed her to leave with him, and they left together.

CSPD said officers identified a possible location for the pair in the 1600 block of Lorraine Street in the Broadmoor area, near Cheyenne Boulevard and South 8th Street. After multiple unsuccessful attempts to contact anyone at the residence, officers forced entry due to concerns for the womans safety.

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Inside, they found the woman on the second floor. She managed to escape the home and confirmed she had been abducted at gunpoint and held against her will, according to CSPD.

CSPD said the suspect, identified as Jason Cobb, was also in the home. Containment was set up, and members of the Tactical Enforcement Unit (TEU), K-9 Unit, Drone Unit, and negotiators were called in. Despite efforts to get the suspect to surrender, he was found hiding in the neighbors home, accessed through an attached attic and ceiling.

The suspect was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant and faces additional charges related to the kidnapping.

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.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT)  The Birmingham Police Department is investigating a shooting that occurred Sunday.

BPD says a woman was shot in the 2900 block of Gallant Drive. She received non-life-threatening injuries.

She is the only victim in this incident.

More information will be provided as it 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 CBS 42.
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A woman was killed and several other people were wounded on Monday when a rocket struck a building in a northern Israeli town, Israel's ambulance service said.

The rocket hit a multi-storey building in the town of Shfaram.

The Israeli military said about five projectiles had been fired from Lebanon.

"Interception attempts were made and fallen projectiles were identified," the military said.

(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Alison Williams)
A Hawaii woman disappeared after sending a cryptic message to her family and then missing a connecting flight to New York at Los Angeles International Airport, according to her family and police.

Hannah Kobayashi, 31, was last seen at LAX on Nov. 8 and last contacted her family by phone on Nov. 9, according to a Los Angeles Police Department news release. She is described as being 5 feet 10 and weighing 140 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. She has a knife tattoo on her forearm and freckles on her face.

An LAPD spokesperson confirmed that a missing person report was filed on Friday but no other information or updates were available. Anyone with more information has been asked to contact the LAPD at (877) 527-3247.

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Kobayashi boarded a flight in Maui on Nov. 8 headed to New York City with a stop at LAX but never made it to New York, her family told USA Today.

Read more: Tragic end to search for missing 60-year-old grandmother of 9

She landed at LAX but missed her next flight, appearing instead to visit the Grove shopping center, where she went to a Nike event on Nov. 10, her family told USA Today. On Nov. 11, Kobayashi apparently went back to LAX but didn't board a flight. Later that day, she sent her family what it called "strange" text messages.

Hannah's last message to us was alarming  she mentioned feeling scared, and that someone might be trying to steal her money and identity, her family said. She hasn't been heard from since, and we are gravely concerned for her safety.

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Kobayashi also texted a friend that someone might be trying to steal her identity and money, her father, Ryan, told KABC-TV. Her phone's last location was at LAX but it is now either dead or turned off.

"She felt like she was in danger," he said. "She felt like somebody was trying to get her identity or her phone."

Kobayashi's aunt, Larie Pidgeon, told KABC that her niece was planning to attend an event in New York.

"She's very responsible. She was looking forward to this event so much," she said. "She had a hotel room booked that was a couple of thousand dollars, the ticket for the event was a couple of hundred dollars."

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.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President-elect Donald Trumps nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has reignited a debate that many thought had been long settled: Should women be allowed to serve their country by fighting on the front lines?

The former Fox News commentator has made it clear, in his own book and in interviews, that he believes men and women should not serve together in combat units. If Hegseth is confirmed by the Senate, he could try to end the Pentagons nearly decade-old practice of making all combat jobs open to women.

Im straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasnt made us more effective. Hasnt made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated, he said in a podcast hosted by Shawn Ryan on Nov. 7. Women have a place in the military, he said, just not in special operations, artillery, infantry and armor units.

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Hegseth's remarks generated a barrage of praise and condemnation. And they raised a question:

Whos going to replace them? Men? And were having trouble recruiting men into the Army right now, said Lory Manning, a retired Navy captain who works with the Service Womens Action Network.

The military services have struggled for years to meet recruiting goals, facing stiff competition from companies that pay more and offer similar or better benefits. And a growing population of young people aren't interested in joining or can't meet the physical, academic and moral requirements.

Removing women from contention for jobs, said Manning, could force the services to lower standards to bring in more men who have not graduated high school, have criminal records or score too low on physical and mental tests.

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Lawmakers are divided on Hegseth's views.

Where do you think I lost my legs, in a bar fight? Im pretty sure I was in combat when that happened, snapped Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., in an CNN interview last Wednesday after Trump's selection was announced.

Duckworth, who flew combat missions in Iraq and lost both legs when her helicopter was hit, added, It just shows how out of touch he is with the nature of modern warfare if he thinks that we can keep women behind that sort of imaginary line.

Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., praised Hegseth and said the reality is that certain military jobs just need brute strength.  But he added, women have served incredibly well, honorably in combat roles, and I dont think that policy is going to change, but well leave it up to him.

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Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump transition, said Hegseth has dedicated his life to supporting American troops and his country, and cited his service in Iraq and Afghanistan and two Bronze Stars.

"He is an incredibly tough and smart candidate that will fight to put America first. With Pete as our secretary of defense, Americas enemies are on notice and our military will be great again, Cheung said.

Others, including a number of military women, disagree with Hegseth's views on female troops in combat.

Pete Hegseths views on women in the military are outdated, prejudiced, and ignore over 20 years of evidence proving womens effectiveness in combat roles, said Erin Kirk, a Marine Corps combat veteran. She said women have served honorably and effectively as pilots, logistics personnel, intelligence operatives and infantry grunts.

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Hegseths stances arent just regressive, they pose a direct threat to the Department of Defenses readiness, and by extension, to our national security, Kirk said.

Hegseth has said he is not suggesting women should not be combat pilots, but that they should not be in jobs such as SEALs, Army Rangers, infantry, armor and artillery where strength is a differentiator. He insists the military lowered standards to get more women into combat roles. The services have said they did not decrease the standards for any of the combat jobs.

Hegseth's view on women in combat reflects much of the debate over the past nine years, in the wake of then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter's order in late 2015 that the military open all military jobs to women. That change followed three years of study and wrangling and was a formal recognition that thousands of women had served  and many were wounded or killed  on battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Carter said then that the military could no longer afford to exclude half the population from high-risk military posts and that any man or woman who meets the standards should be able to serve.

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The Marine Corps was fiercely opposed to the idea and sought an exemption, which was denied. Special operations forces in surveys done in 2015 and more recently, said women did not have the physical or mental strength to serve in elite commando units and doing so could hurt the units' effectiveness and lower the standards.

The numbers are small, but women have passed the grueling qualification courses to join special operations units. Two are serving as Navy Special Warfare combat crewmen, three in Air Force special operations units and fewer than 10 are Green Berets.

More than 150 women have completed the Army Ranger course, and several hundred more are serving in Army Special Operations Command jobs such as civil affairs, psychological operations and helicopter pilots, including in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

And, more broadly, thousands of women have served or currently are in jobs that until 2015 were male-only, including in Army and Marine Corps artillery, infantry and armor units.

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Lowering standards has been a key talking point for Hegseth.

By opening combat slots to women, weve changed the standards in putting them there, which means youve changed the capability of that unit, Hegseth said in the podcast interview.

Both male and female troops were outspoken since the start of the debate in their opposition to any reduction in standards for the jobs.

Manning, the Navy captain, said Hegseth is conflating two separate issues on standards.

The services do adjust requirements for the annual physical fitness test according to a service members age and gender, but they do not adjust the requirements for specific jobs.

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Every job, said Manning, has a set of occupational standards that have to be met." Those range from physical strength and capabilities to things such as color blindness or academic testing. Those, by law, have got to be gender neutral. And they are, and they have been for years, she said.

Monica Meeks, who lives near Fort Campbell, Kentucky, was in the Army for 20 years and served in Iraq. She said she served with women in a variety of infantry jobs, including the first female platoon sergeant in the 18th Airborne Corps.

When people say women shouldnt serve in a combat zone, like an IED (improvised explosive device) can happen at any time. So there is no front line in these wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Meeks said.

___

Associated Press writer Kristin M. Hall in Adams, Tennessee, contributed to this report.
President-elect Donald Trumps nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has reignited a debate that many thought had been long settled: Should women be allowed to serve their country by fighting on the front lines?

The former Fox News commentator has made it clear, in his own book and in interviews, that he believes men and women should not serve together in combat units. If Hegseth is confirmed by the Senate, he could try to end the Pentagons nearly decade-old practice of making all combat jobs open to women.

Im straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasnt made us more effective. Hasnt made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated, he said in a podcast hosted by Shawn Ryan on Nov. 7. Women have a place in the military, he said, just not in special operations, artillery, infantry and armor units.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Marines continue to make female infantry officers, with little fanfare

Hegseth's remarks generated a barrage of praise and condemnation. And they raised a question:

Whos going to replace them? Men? And were having trouble recruiting men into the Army right now, said Lory Manning, a retired Navy captain who works with the Service Womens Action Network.

The military services have struggled for years to meet recruiting goals, facing stiff competition from companies that pay more and offer similar or better benefits. And a growing population of young people arent interested in joining or cant meet the physical, academic and moral requirements.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Removing women from contention for jobs, said Manning, could force the services to lower standards to bring in more men who have not graduated high school, have criminal records or score too low on physical and mental tests.

Lawmakers are divided on Hegseth's views.

Where do you think I lost my legs, in a bar fight? Im pretty sure I was in combat when that happened, snapped Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., in an CNN interview last Wednesday after Trump's selection was announced.

Duckworth, who flew combat missions in Iraq and lost both legs when her helicopter was hit, added, It just shows how out of touch he is with the nature of modern warfare if he thinks that we can keep women behind that sort of imaginary line.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., praised Hegseth and said the reality is that certain military jobs just need brute strength. But he added, women have served incredibly well, honorably in combat roles, and I dont think that policy is going to change, but well leave it up to him.

Others, including a number of military women, disagree.

Pete Hegseths views on women in the military are outdated, prejudiced, and ignore over 20 years of evidence proving womens effectiveness in combat roles, said Erin Kirk, a Marine Corps combat veteran. She said women have served honorably and effectively as pilots, logistics personnel, intelligence operatives and infantry grunts.

Hegseths stances arent just regressive, they pose a direct threat to the Department of Defenses readiness, and by extension, to our national security, Kirk said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Hegseth has said he is not suggesting women should not be combat pilots, but that they should not be in jobs such as SEALs, Army Rangers, infantry, armor and artillery where strength is a differentiator. He insists the military lowered standards to get more women into combat roles. The services have said they did not decrease the standards for any of the combat jobs.

Army veteran Monica Meeks, shown here in 2012, served with other women in a variety of infantry jobs, including the first female platoon sergeant in the 18th Airborne Corps. (Monica Meeks via AP)

Hegseths view on women in combat reflects much of the debate over the past nine years, in the wake of then-Defense Secretary Ash Carters order in late 2015 that the military open all military jobs to women. That change followed three years of study and wrangling and was a formal recognition that thousands of women had served  and many were wounded or killed  on battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Carter said then that the military could no longer afford to exclude half the population from high-risk military posts and that any man or woman who meets the standards should be able to serve.

The Marine Corps was fiercely opposed to the idea and sought an exemption, which was denied. Special operations forces in surveys done in 2015 and more recently, said women did not have the physical or mental strength to serve in elite commando units and doing so could hurt the units effectiveness and lower the standards.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

The numbers are small, but women have passed the grueling qualification courses to join special operations units. Two are serving as Navy Special Warfare combat crewmen, three in Air Force special operations units and fewer than 10 are Green Berets.

More than 150 women have completed the Army Ranger course, and several hundred more are serving in Army Special Operations Command jobs such as civil affairs, psychological operations and helicopter pilots, including in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

And, more broadly, thousands of women have served or currently are in jobs that until 2015 were male-only, including in Army and Marine Corps artillery, infantry and armor units.

Lowering standards has been a key talking point for Hegseth.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

By opening combat slots to women, weve changed the standards in putting them there, which means youve changed the capability of that unit, Hegseth said in the podcast interview.

Both male and female troops were outspoken since the start of the debate in their opposition to any reduction in standards for the jobs.

Manning, the Navy captain, said Hegseth is conflating two separate issues on standards.

The services do adjust requirements for the annual physical fitness test according to a service members age and gender, but they do not adjust the requirements for specific jobs.

Every job, said Manning, has a set of occupational standards that have to be met. Those range from physical strength and capabilities to things such as color blindness or academic testing. Those, by law, have got to be gender neutral. And they are, and they have been for years, she said.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement

Monica Meeks, who lives near Fort Campbell, Kentucky, was in the Army for 20 years and served in Iraq. She said she served with women in a variety of infantry jobs, including the first female platoon sergeant in the 18th Airborne Corps.

When people say women shouldnt serve in a combat zone, like an IED [improvised explosive device] can happen at any time. So there is no front line in these wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Meeks said.

A look at the number of women in military combat roles

Heres a look at how many women are in such military roles, as of the 2024 budget year:

Women serving in special operations

Navy Special Warfare combat crew: 2

Air Force special operations: 3

Green Berets: Fewer than 10

Completed the Army Ranger course: More than 150

Total serving in Army Special Operations Command as special forces, civil affairs, psychological operations and helicopter pilots, including in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment: 260 to 270

Artillery, infantry and armor units

Thousands of women have served or currently are in jobs that until 2015 were male-only.

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Marines:

Officers in job categories previously restricted to men, including infantry, artillery and combat engineers: Nearly 192

Enlisted Marine in those jobs: 410

That number has steadily increased since 2018.

Army:

Serving in Army infantry, armor and artillery jobs: Nearly 4,800

Field artillery roles: More than 2,020

Infantry: More than 902

Armor: 864

The number of women in those jobs also has increased over the years.

Associated Press writer Kristin M. Hall in Adams, Tennessee, contributed to this report.
Is the term economically inactive offensive? A retired 61-year-old certainly thought so last year, when he called LBC radio to say he was fuming and claimed the term used by statisticians was a slur for people who had worked most of their lives.

He was not alone: on Mumsnet, one user argued that spotting the term on an official form left her with steam emitting from [her] ears, given that she was busy looking after four children rather than sitting twiddling her thumbs.

There are concerns in the Government, too. Liz Kendall, the Secretary for Work and Pensions, last week said the phrase economically inactive  which is used to describe those aged 16 to 64 who are neither in work nor looking for it  was terrible and dehumanising.

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Maybe its not the most poetic term, but hand-wringing over how to describe those not in work is missing the point: the Government must show it has a proper plan to tackle economic inactivity, not waste time on how to categorise this group. Getting bogged down in feelings wont help this Government get people back into jobs.

For too long, there has been too much talk with not enough action. The Conservatives failed to come up with a solution to Britains deepening worklessness crisis, instead accusing Britain of having a sick-note culture  rhetoric that was unhelpful. The answers do not lie in accusing people of skiving.

Big promises have been made by the new administration. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has pledged to get Britains employment rate to an unprecedented 80pc, up from its current level of 74.8pc and tackle the root causes of worklessness.

Some of the more than 9m working-age adults who are neither in work nor looking for it will be happily studying or looking after family. However, a worrying number are out of the workforce because theyre suffering from post-Covid mental health problems or debilitating physical illness.

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Economic inactivity in the UK has risen by 900,000 people since 2020, with 85pc of this increase due to those who are long-term sick, the NHS Confederation and the Boston Consulting Group have said. More than 30pc of economically inactive people are long-term sick. Musculoskeletal problems are pushing older Britons out of work, while the younger generation is suffering with mental health problems.

Perhaps the biggest trend ministers should be worried about is the fact that thousands of school and university graduates arent entering the world of work at all, instead going straight from education to sickness benefits. Official data last week found that a record number of people aged 16 to 24 were not studying, working or looking for a job, with a surge in mental health problems thought to be to blame.

For many, this will make their problems worse  academics have repeatedly pointed out the mental health benefits of work. One day of paid work a week is all thats needed to get the mental health benefits of employment, according to a study published last year by the University of Cambridge.

As noted by Alison McGovern, the employment minister, the lockdown generation in particular have been consigned to the scrapheap  denied the opportunity to get into work and progress in a career.

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Many young people are struggling with a fog of depression and anxiety. They are not rubbing their hands with glee at being off work, nor will they be wondering whether the term economically inactive is rude  they are desperate for help.

Its not the same story in other countries. EU countries have seen economic inactivity fall by 2.3 percentage points since 2020 on average, while the UKs rate has risen by 1.1 percentage points.

Clearly, one way to reverse the trend would be to improve public health services. However, the Government needs to find a way to get young people more engaged with work.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, has argued that some young adults seem to have a very negative view of what working life is and have responded by becoming economically inactive. Lord Rose, the City grandee, has said young people need to be taught that the workplace is fun and a place where they can learn new skills, rather than it being demonised as a grind.

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But is it fun? The rise of working from home has also left many young people feeling isolated and disconnected from their jobs. Some twenty-somethings have told me how low they feel when they go into work and nobody is in the office. It is hard to feel excited by a room of empty chairs.

Britains worklessness crisis desperately needs solving  not by scapegoating or by quibbling terminology, but by taking real action. The UK is the only country in the G7 that has a lower employment rate compared to before the pandemic. The amount of working-age people classed as economically inactive here is the same as the population of Austria, Switzerland or London.

Economists say inactivity costs taxpayers 16bn a year through lost tax revenue and an inflated benefits bill. The public purse is already buckling under pressure. Warm words simply wont cut it.

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BUCKHANNON, W.Va. (WBOY)  West Virginia Wesleyan College (WVWC) hosted its annual tradition of the Festival of Lessons and Carols on Sunday in their chapel on campus.

The Dean of the Chapel at WVWC Jonathan Acord stated that music can be inspirational while telling a narrative.

Were celebrating Festival of Lessons and Carols, its a long tradition here at the college and its an opportunity for us to tell the story of Christs birth in song and scripture, and were also celebrating community.

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Ye Olde Salem WVs Farmers Market hosts annual community dinner

Acord added that honoring the work the choir has put in is important to the community as well as the college. Chair of the Music Department and Director of Choral Activities Associate professor at WVWC Dr. Dan Hughes explained the event in further detail.

Its an English tradition, there are nine scripture readings, and we pair music, sometimes its a smaller ensemble or the full choir, sometimes its carols that the whole congregation sings, Hughes said. But we just go through nine scriptures and their music paired with them that is sort of emulates the same themes.

Dr. Hugues described the Festival of Lessons and Carols as a great way to start the holiday season with a celebration that provides a lot of joy while also bringing people together.

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Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebel movement has over recent months issued threats by email to German shipping companies, the German shipping association (VDR) said on Monday.

The threats have been directed at companies whose ships use Israeli ports and pass through waters close to Yemen, the Hamburg-based VDR said.

"The Houthi rebels evidently have closely researched email addresses, as the threats are sent to individual contacts as well," VDR manager Irina Haesler said.

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She described the emails as targeted attempts at intimidation and said the VDR was in contact with the security authorities. How many threatening emails have been received was not revealed.

Since the start of the Gaza war, the Houthis have been attacking ships they link in any way to Israel as they pass close to Yemen on their way to and from the Suez Canal.

The attacks are aimed at supporting Hamas in the Gaza Strip and forcing Israel to withdraw its forces.

Many shipping companies have responded by taking the longer route via the Cape of Good Hope.
A New York driver was killed Sunday afternoon when he plowed into several trees after veering off a New Jersey county highway, and then rolled over.

Andrew Slagle, 25, of Westtown, in Schuyler County, was driving along State Route 284 in Wantage Township, N.J. about 2 p.m. when he careened off the road and overturned after slamming into the trees, a state police spokesman told NJ.com.

Slagle was the only one in the car, and no other vehicles were involved, police said. The cause of the crash was under investigation.

Westtown and Wantage lie on either side of the New York-New Jersey border, about 10 miles east of Port Jervis, the junction where both states border Pennsylvania.
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP)  Young people who attend the United Nations climate talks have a lot to be angry about. They've lost loved ones and months of school. They've lost homes and family farms and connections to their families' native lands.

They haven't lost hope, though. Not yet.

It has become so tiring for me to be just a poster child, said Marinel Ubaldo, who by age 16 had watched two back-to-back supersized typhoons destroy entire communities in her native Philippines. Missing a chunk of high school in the aftermath, because there was no school to go back to, was a wake-up call. Now 27, COP29 will be her sixth time attending the summit where leaders negotiate the future she will inherit.

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I guess I'm very pessimistic, but Im going to be positive that this COP could actually bring more clarity, she said.

Her pessimism isn't unwarranted. Fewer leaders were in attendance this year, with a backdrop of uncertainty as political will on climate unravels in major countries like the U.S. and Germany. While many passionate youth want to protest, this will be the third straight COP in an authoritarian country with tighter controls on protests and speech. And for many of the young people hardest hit by climate extremes, it's simply difficult and expensive to get to the conference.

We have this constant challenge of having sometimes the youth forums with spaces at the margins of the decision maker spaces, said Felipe Paullier, assistant secretary general for youth affairs in the United Nations youth office. That's why the U.N. has been working to institutionalize the role of youth in the climate talks, he said.

And climate change has a disproportionate impact on children around the world. Their growing bodies have a harder time handling extreme heat, which also causes an uptick in premature births and childhood malnutrition, said UNICEF assistant secretary-general Kitty van der Heijden.

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We are simply not doing good enough for children in this world. We are failing children, she said.

All of that means young people are feeling the burden of speaking up about climate change more than ever. And many of those who come to COP, and even some of the ones who don't, said they feel tired  weighed down by the knowledge that year after year, they show up to speak and don't have a lot to show for it. This was the third year in a row that Earth's projected warming hasn't improved.

I think for a lot of young people from extremely climate vulnerable nations, it actually it doesnt feel like much of a choice to speak out about climate change, said 20-year-old Fathimath Raaia Shareef, from the Maldives.

Shareef's grandmother migrated south to the small island nation's capital, so she has never had the opportunity to see what her family's home island was like. Growing up, after she found out about sea level rise, she had recurring nightmares about her island sinking. She would wake up crying.

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How am I supposed to focus on anything else when when my island, when my home country is at risk? she asked.

It's that focus that brings many young people to the table even as they question their faith in the possibility that international negotiations can achieve real change. Here at his fourth COP, 15-year-old Francisco Vera Manzanares of Colombia called the U.N. summit a necessary but very difficult space to be in. He thinks slow pace of change from countries around the world creates a credibility crisis in the institutions that are most needed to keep the goals that require global cooperation within reach.

People listen to children. But, let's say, its different (to) listen than hear, he said.

That's why he hopes more adults will help children meaningfully advocate for themselves in a crisis where they have the most to lose  and the most to save.

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It's our rights. It's our future. It's our present, he said.

___

Follow Melina Walling on X, formerly Twitter, @MelinaWalling.

___

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President Volodymyr Zelensky will present his "internal resilience plan" in parliament on Nov. 19, a Ukrainian lawmaker from the governing party told the Kyiv Independent.

The 10-point plan will address the front-line situation, the military-industrial complex, the economy and finance, regional development, and other strategic sectors.

The government's latest plan will focus on internal solutions and is not an alternative to the five-point victory plan oriented toward Kyiv's international partners.

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"There are 10 points in total, which will be presented next week, and for each point, together with Ukrainian civil society, together with everyone who is ready to add rational ideas, with business, we will prepare a basic, doctrinal document for Ukraine, for our sustainability," Zelensky said on Nov. 14.

Facing Russian military advances and increasingly uncertain Western support, Zelensky previously pitched to Ukraine and its allies a five-step victory plan containing steps that should supposedly end the war by 2025.

Some points of the plan met with a lukewarm response from partners, with several countries resisting key steps like a NATO invitation for Ukraine.

Read also: Kyiv preparing internal plan to strengthen Ukraine, Zelensky confirms

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President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, currently lying some 6-7 kilometers from the front line, his Telegram channel reported on Nov. 18.

Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub for Ukrainian forces in the east, has come into artillery and drone range of Russian forces moving relentlessly forward in Donetsk Oblast. With Moscow's troops drawing near, losing the town would be a serious blow to other parts of the front line's defense as well.

"A tense sector. It is only thanks to the strength of the soldiers that the east (of Ukraine) is not completely occupied by Russia. The enemy receives a response every day," Zelensky said.

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The head of state also visited the base of the 25th Airborne Brigade and handed out awards to soldiers.

During his trip, Zelensky was accompanied by Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin, who called Pokrovsk "one of the hottest spots" of the front line.

Zelensky has previously visited the most critical sectors of the front line during the full-scale war, including now Russian-occupied Bakhmut or Avdiivka.

His visit aims to boost the morale among Ukrainian troops, who are increasingly on the back foot in the face of a Russian advance. The inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in January adds further uncertainty regarding the future of Ukrainian defense capabilities.

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Read also: Burning horizon: As Russia makes gains near Pokrovsk, civilians remain frozen in inaction

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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a statement regarding "calls and meetings" with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in the midst of Russia's large-scale attacks on Ukrainian territories.

Source: Zelenskyy on Twitter (X), as reported by European Pravda

Details: Commenting on the recent missile attack by Russian forces on a residential neighbourhood in Odesa, which killed eight people, Zelenskyy recalled German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's call to Putin.

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Quote: "These are not random attacks; these are indicative attacks. After calls and meetings with Putin, after all the false gossip in the media about the alleged restraint from further strikes," he stated.

Zelenskyy emphasised: Russia demonstrates that it is determined to continue the war.

"And this signal is worth hearing in all parts of the world, from the halls where G20 members meet to all the capitals of the world," he emphasised.

Background:

On the night of 16-17 November, Russian forces launched a combined missile and drone attack on Ukraine's energy sector facilities with 210 missiles and UAVs on the night of 16-17 November. Ukrainian air defence units have destroyed 144 of them. On the same day, the Russians attacked Sumy, killing 11 people as of the morning of 18 November.

On the afternoon of 15 November, it was reported that Scholz had spoken to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin for the first time in two years. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy labelled the call a "Pandora's box".

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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to present Ukraine's internal Resilience Plan to the parliament in the coming days.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda sources from the Servant of the People faction and the president's team

Details: Ukrainska Pravda sources said the key elements of Ukraine's internal Resilience Plan include the front line, unity, weapons, energy, finance, security, human capital, hromadas, cultural sovereignty and the politics of heroes. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories  ed.]

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The plan aims to overhaul mobilisation and recruitment strategies, develop and scale the production of advanced weaponry, protect energy infrastructure and the power grid, and attract both domestic and foreign investment into the Ukrainian economy. It also outlines modern policies on civilian weapon circulation, the establishment of a Ministry for the Unity of Ukrainians, and the effective integration of military personnel into civilian life.

President Zelenskyy is expected to present these points in detail and share his vision for their implementation when he addresses the parliament, with his speech tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, 19 November.

Read more: Peace through strength. Key points from Zelenskyy's speech presenting the Victory Plan to the Ukrainian parliament

Background:

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he would present Ukraine's internal Resilience Plan during the week of 18-24 November. The document will consist of ten key points.

On 16 October, Zelenskyy presented the Victory Plan in the parliament, which includes five main points and three classified annexes.

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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited positions of the 25th Separate Airborne Sicheslav Brigade at Pokrovsk front, one of the most intense combat areas on the entire battlefield. In Pokrovsk, Zelenskyy met with sergeants and distributed awards, congratulating them on the Sergeant's Day, which is observed in Ukraine on 18 November.

Source: Zelenskyy on Twitter (X); Office of the President

Quote: "I'd like to congratulate you personally here in Pokrovsk. A tough front. I know that it is only thanks to your fortitude that [Ukraines] East is not occupied entirely by the Russian Federation.

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The enemy endures strikes from you and your fellow soldiers on a daily basis. Please convey my heartfelt thanks, as well as that from the entire Ukrainian people."

Details: Zelenskyy heard brigade commander Yevhen Lasiichuk's report on the situation in his area of responsibility as well as the security situation in Pokrovsk.

Lasiichuk reported on the Russian forces methods for performing small-group assaults and countermeasures, interactions with associated troops, and experience with materiel transferred by partners.

Zelenskyy also heard a briefing from the commander of Donetsk Operational and Tactical Group, Oleksandr Lutsenko, on the general situation in his area of responsibility, as well as details on the defence activities around Kurakhove.

The President spoke with sergeants from the troops protecting Donetsk Oblast and congratulated them on Sergeant's Day.

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Zelenskyy presented the Cross of Military Merit to four sergeants. The awards went to:

Junior sergeant Vitalii Havrylenko. This year, in July, he devised a plan to evacuate 14 residents of Maksymilianivka, Donetsk Oblast, where the Russian sabotage and reconnaissance squad attempted to establish a foothold. Throughout the village sweep, he led the assault group on several occasions. Havrylenko personally detained three Russian soldiers who gave out crucial information. This helped Ukrainian forces disrupt the Russian preparations by revealing the coordinates of their troops and ammo storage locations.

Chief Sergeant Andrii Hryn. During continuous Russian attacks, he organised precise artillery fire, destroying around 20 Russian soldiers, damaging four units of military equipment, and halting the Russian advance. In September of this year, he personally oversaw an artillery unit and mined crucial locations. As a result, the Russians could not break through and the unit's defensive lines were strengthened.

Sergeant Arthur Maskevych. He led the assault group in the vicinity of Tonenke, as well as the airborne company's defence positions near Krutyi Yar. During one of the skirmishes, he was shot, injured, and suffered a severe contusion, but he managed to fight on for approximately 12 hours until reinforcements arrived.

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Sergeant Kostiantyn Ploskonos. During the Russian advance in Paraskoviivka, he organised defensive efforts and took direct leadership of the combat, hitting a T-72 tank and two armoured combat vehicles. This year, in September, he commanded a team of sappers who built barricades. His two brothers-in-arms were injured due to hostile mortar fire. Ploskonos assisted them with medical care, removed them to safety, and completed the mission.

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In the wake of the U.S. 2024 presidential election, one fact became clear: Disinformation proliferated online at a startling rate, shaping Americans views about each candidate as well as a diverse set of topics, including public health, climate change, and immigration. Generative AI  with its ability to produce deepfakes in seconds and its propensity to hallucinate facts  only stands to exacerbate the problem.

Factiverse, a startup that participated in TechCrunch Disrupt's Startup Battlefield 200 in October, is bracing itself for the onslaught. The company, which won best pitch in the Security, Privacy, and Social Networking category, has developed a business-to-business tool that provides live fact-checking of text, video, and audio. The company's pitch: to help businesses save hours of research and mitigate any reputational risk or legal liability.

The Norwegian startup is still in its early stages; Factiverse has raised around $1.45 million in pre-seed money since launching in 2020. Yet it has already begun working with both media and financial partners, including one of the largest banks in Norway, according to Factiverse CEO and co-founder Maria Amelie.

Factiverse even provided live fact-checking of the U.S. presidential debates that was used by several media partners, Amelie said.

Were not an LLM (large language model). Weve built a different type of model based on information retrieval, Amelie told TechCrunch.

As a former technology journalist and published author, Amelie has firsthand experience in the war against facts. She worked with Factiverse co-founder and CTO Vinay Setty, who is associate professor in machine learning at the University of Stavanger, to launch the startup with a B2B focus.

Factiverses model is trained on high-quality, well-curated, and credible data from reliable sources and fact-checkers around the world, according to Amelie, and not the junk food data that generative AI is trained on.

We train our AI model to intuitively think like someone who has a lot of experience with researching information, Amelie said.

The model, which is based on machine learning and natural language processing, is able to identify claims and search the web in real time  everything from search engines like Google and Bing to AI search engines like You.com to academic papers.

The most fun part is that were not showing you whatever comes up first on those search engines, Amelie said. Were actually proposing to you what sources are the most, or historically have been the most, credible on your topic.  We actually look into the domain in correlation to the topic, and sometimes even who is being quoted in an article.
San Francisco's mayor-elect, Daniel Lurie, has tapped OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to help run his transition team, the campaign announced on Monday, as part of the administration's effort to embrace the tech industry. Altman, alongside nine other San Francisco leaders, will provide guidance to Lurie's team on ways the city can innovate, and help the new mayor develop relationships with key partners.

"Im excited to help the city I love, and where OpenAI was started, as it begins its next chapter with Mayor-elect Lurie stepping into his new role," said Altman in a statement to TechCrunch.

Lurie, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, has never held elected office and ran against incumbent Mayor London Breed as an outsider to the rough-and-tumble nature of San Francisco politics. He personally invested nearly $9 million to fund his campaign.

When Lurie takes office on January 8, he'll be tasked with addressing San Francisco's public safety crisis, an issue that has pushed many tech leaders away from the Bay Area. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who has invested millions in the city, has not been shy to criticize the city's failures around public safety. Elon Musk closed X's office in downtown San Francisco in August, citing similar concerns around drug use and crime. However, Musk's AI startup moved into OpenAI's old office in the city's Mission District shortly thereafter.

Nevertheless, these issues have caused many Silicon Valley leaders to exit the area for younger tech hubs such as Miami or Austin -- often with loud condemnations of city officials on their way out the door. A key job for San Francisco's new mayor will be attracting young professionals to the city, and convincing current tech entrepreneurs to stay and build their companies here.

Apparently, the new mayor wants Sam Altman to help lead that effort. Lurie previously called OpenAI's CEO "one of the most important figures on the planet," in a recent interview with The Information, and said he wants Altman and other tech leaders to play a role in reinvigorating downtown San Francisco.

Another Silicon Valley native will join Altman on Lurie's transition team: Ned Segal, Twitter's former chief financial officer. Segal left Twitter, alongside former CEO Parag Agrawal, in 2022 following Elon Musk's takeover of the social media company. Today, Segal sits on the board of several venture-backed companies, including Beyond Meat and RingCentral, as well as Lurie's nonprofit, Tipping Point.
When Microporous first started eyeing the Dan River Region for its more than 2,000-job investment, child care was part of the equation.

Angela Wells, the executive director for the Center for Early Success, was involved.

I want you all to know what a key difference it made in us attracting that industry to have Angela at the table, not just once, but I think we ended up four times, Linda Green, the vice president of economic development at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research and the executive director for the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance, said Friday.

Greens comments were somewhat off-script to open the Virginia Business Roundtable for Early Education session hosted at Danville Community College.

When they started to look, they knew that child care was one of the most important initiatives to make them an employer of choice, Green said.

They dont often hear that from prospective industries.

It was music to her ears.

They saw how hard the commonwealth was working on this initiative, she explained of the problem plaguing the region, state and nation.

Kathy Glazer, the president of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, is bringing these roundtables to all regions of the state. Her groups mission is to be a nonpartisan steward of Virginias promise for early childhood success, according to the website.

We created the business roundtable on education that is hosting these events, she told the Register & Bee after Fridays session. This particular series started in September.

We really want the diverse leaders on the ground in each region to be the ones identifying what their gaps are and really finding out what their collaborative solutions are going to be, she told the newspaper. We cant do that from Richmond.

The sessions are intended to make sure child care isnt just an afterthought with businesses, but instead a centerpiece of the regional, strategic and economic plans.

In Danville and Pittsylvania County, there were 810 early child care slots needed to close the current gap, a regional survey revealed in June reports. That service gap equates to about a $22 million economic impact.

That means sometimes parents are leaving jobs to care for young ones because child care options either arent available or simply out of reach financially.

We also know that child care is incredibly expensive, Emily OBrion, with Kemper Consulting, presented at Fridays session that included business leaders, school superintendents and those in the child care field.

A study found that to adequately afford child care in Virginia, a household must make between $106,000 to $149,000 a year.

Danvilles average household income is $41,500, the lowest earning locality, OBrion said.

Although financial help is available, not all families realize it. And even when money isnt an issue, theres often a waiting list for the services.

A local survey revealed the biggest need is for after-school child care. In January, Pittsylvania County Schools will launch a pilot program at Kentuck Elementary School thats a partnership with Pittsylvania County Parks and Recreation to offer the care for after school hours.

The program would run until 6 p.m. after classes end. The cost is $55 per student. Spots are still available.

Danville Public Schools is exploring offering child care services to employees by using part of a facility slated for demolition after the school board approved the project last month.

A kindergarten hallway at Johnson Elementary School would be an ideal location, Danville Public Schools Superintendent Angela Hairston told the board. The school will eventually be torn down as a new Arnett Hill Elementary School is going up to replace it, but that part could be saved and used.

The first step will be to survey employees to verify a need is there. If so, the Center for Early Success will work with the school system for grant funding and put out a request for proposals for a company to run the child care center.

Fridays session involved teams breaking into groups to identify challenges and opportunities.

Three overall goals emerged including developing a playbook based on what other regions or states are doing.

Theres also a chance to use cross-sector stakeholder collaboration, namely the GO Virginia model as a resource. Thats a state program designed to mesh senior business leaders to foster private-sector growth and job creation through state incentives for regional collaboration by business, education and government, according to its website.

The final goal is to use a strong employer, parent and provider communication plan. Basically, there needs to be a simple way to get the word out about the services available.

Look, things havent always been easy, Glazer acknowledged to the Register & Bee. However, the solutions the Dan River Region already has in place gives her hope.

Theres no lack of determination, persistence and a can-do mentality that will ensure success, she said.

Things are happening, she continued, referencing the $1.35 billion investment at the Southern Virginia Megasite at Berry Hill announced last week. I love that new employers are coming into this space.
State lawmakers are considering making it a traffic violation to operate a vehicle in Arizona with an animal on the drivers lap. The violation would come with a fine. Do you agree?

You voted:
The construction of Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD's plant in Szeged will put the Hungarian city among the biggest 30 industrial centres in Europe, Construction and Transportation Minister Janos Lazar said.

After talks with Szeged Mayor Laszlo Botka, Lazar said construction of the BYD plant, to be the biggest car plant in Hungary, was progressing at a faster than expected pace. The first vehicles should roll off the line in the second half of 2025, he added.



By the time production starts, road, railway and utilities infrastructure upgrades will be completed, he said.



With the cooperation of Serbia and China, the nearby border crossing at Roszke will be expanded to become the biggest road freight and rail cargo crossing in the Schengen zone, he added.



A four-lane road will be built connecting the plant to the M43 motorway, while two other access roads will be expanded. A railway terminal will be built nearby, while the rail line between Szeged and Kiskunfelegyhaza, to the north, will be rebuilt at a cost of HUF 175bn.



Lazar said railway developments were expected to be financed with a EUR 2.2bn loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). He added that the Roszke border crossing would be expanded with Chinese cooperation and credit.



Lazar said 10,000 people would work at the plant, requiring upgrades of Szeged's public transport. He added that HUF 2bn would be allocated immediately to extend the lifespan of Szeged's bridge over the Tisza.



Lazar said the number of cars produced in Hungary annually would rise to 1 million within three years.



Mayor Botka said the municipal council had been working in close cooperation with the central government to prepare for the construction of the BYD plant for a year. He added that there was "full consensus" on the investment among civic leaders and residents.



Source:

MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881.

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Liszt Ferenc International Airport has now become the largest storage and distribution centre in East Europe for parcel traffic from China, website 24 learned from the data of the tax authority NAV.

Only a small part of the goods arriving at the airport from online shops Temu, Shein, AliExpress and other online marketplaces are sent to domestic recipients, as more than 95% of the goods are forwarded to other countries in the region, mainly to Austria, Slovakia, and the entire West Balkan region.



Temu itself has set up separate distribution centres, in the larger Eastern European countries Poland and Romania.



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A highlight of any visit to the Tokaj region is a visit to the charming and fascinating little Swabian village of Hercegkut, and its unique cellar system.

The Swabians, who arrived here in the 18th century from Germany's Black Forest, played a pivotal role in shaping viticulture in Hercegkut. The wine produced in this region was traditionally matured and stored in barrels within the cave cellars of Gomboshegy and Koporos, carved into the rhyolite tufa on the village's outskirts.



Among these, cellar 92 of Gomboshegy and cellar 87 of Koporos are designated World Heritage sites and stand as remarkable examples of folk architecture. Their hillside locations, marked by iconic triangular entrances, are visible from the town and nearby areas, evoking imagery of hobbit homes.



Towering above the Gomboshegy cellar row is Kalvaria Hill, where visitors can follow a sacred path leading to a peaceful chapel. From its summit, youll be rewarded with a breathtaking view of the town and the distant Zemplen Mountains.



In the delightful village, the Koporos cellars exude a truly authentic charm. Scattered throughout Hercegkut, numerous passionate local winemakers warmly welcome visitors to savor their exceptional Tokaj wines, making it a paradise for wine enthusiasts and curious travelers alike.



Address:

Hercegkut, Petofi Sandor u. 52 / Gomboshegyi pincesor 3958



More:

tokajwineregion.com
This winter, bring the magic of Christmas to life - Thermal Hotel Visegrad is thrilled to announce that the real Santa Claus, Joulupukki, from Lapland, will be visiting the hotel on December 8th!

This sensational weekend event promises unforgettable memories for children and a truly magical holiday atmosphere for adults as well. Joulupukki will enchant everyone with his wonderful stories, unique gifts, and the mysterious allure of Lapland!



Meet Joulupukki in Person:

Date: December 8

Time: 10:0011:30



Guests of all ages will have the chance to meet Joulupukki, who will delight everyone with his stories and gifts.



Dont miss this magical weekend!



Available Booking Dates: December 78



Meet the real Santa Claus from Lapland, and enjoy the winter wonders of the Danube Bend!



Accommodation of your choice: Classic, Harmony, or Premium category rooms

Premium room reservations  guaranteed on the 2nd or 3rd floor, with panoramic views, a Nescafe Dolce Gusto coffee machine, a complimentary bottle of mineral water (0.75 l) in the room on arrival, and a special Vintage Beauty cosmetics package.



Half-board dining  a generous buffet breakfast and dinner in the panoramic Danube Restaurant with its unique atmosphere.



Unlimited access to exclusive Lepence Spa wellness area:

Year-round heated outdoor and indoor adventure pools (27-32C)

Thermal pools (34-38C)

Children's paddling pool with slide (28-30C)

Year-round heated 20m outdoor swimming pool (26-28C)

Acapulco summer beach pool with sun terrace

Turkish-style tepidarium and sauna park (Finnish, infrared, and natural saunas, aromatic steam and aroma cabins, plunge pool, experience showers, ice fountain and relaxation room)



Enjoy both childrens and adult activities led by the animators!

A treasure hunt with Visi Squirrel, the Visi Squirrel Adventure Realm, and unique outdoor playgrounds, plus an X-Box Kinect corner.

Fitness room equipped with Technogym machines for active relaxation

Towels and bathrobes provided for both adults and children

Unlimited WIFI throughout the hotel

Free outdoor parking in a gated and camera-monitored area



Click here to virtually visit Thermal Hotel Visegrad



Copy-editor:

Marion Merrick

Language editor and author: Now You See It, Now You Dont / Surprising Expats / Budapest Retro
Indian Tyre Industry: The tyre makers in India are likely to see revenue growth of 7-8 per cent this fiscal (FY25), driven by a 3-4 per cent increase in both realisations and volume, according to a report on Monday. Revenue will grow in single digit for the second straight year (albeit nearly double that of last fiscal) and after logging a compound annual growth rate of 21 per cent between fiscal 2021 and 2023, according to a Crisil Ratings report.

Domestic demand accounts for 75 per cent of the industry's sales (in tonnage terms), while the rest is exported. About two-thirds of the domestic demand is from the replacement segment and the rest is from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), said Anuj Sethi, Senior Director, Crisil Ratings.

This fiscal, replacement demand, mainly from commercial and passenger vehicles, will drive volume growth, while OEM demand is expected to rise only 1-2 per cent due to slow growth in commercial vehicle sales, he added.

With capacity utilisation at 80 per cent, tyre manufacturers rated by us are investing Rs 5,500 crore this fiscal, the report added.

To support domestic tyre manufacturers, the Indian government has extended the countervailing duty on Chinese radial tyres for five years to ease competition, said Naren Kartic.K, Associate Director, Crisil Ratings.

Realisation growth will be staggered throughout this fiscal as tyre makers are raising prices gradually to offset the surge in the price of natural rubber, which constitutes about half of the raw materials needed.

Volume growth, meanwhile, will be driven by replacement demand, according to the report.

It further stated that strong balance sheets and gradual capacity expansion will keep the credit profiles of tyre makers stable.

On the exports front, growth is expected to be muted at 2-3 per cent this fiscal due to weak demand in key markets such as North America and Europe, which make up about 60 per cent of India's total exports.

Moreover, supply-chain disruptions due to geopolitical concerns have led to higher freight costs and longer transit times, weighing on export demand, the report mentioned.

Meanwhile, the sharp rise in natural rubber prices is due to a global shortage caused by inclement weather in major producing countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, which account for about half of the global production.
New Delhi: A Reddit post has gone viral depicting the screenshot of a US-Based Company's CEOs Slack message, terminating 99 out of 111 employees for not attending a meeting.

The screenshot was shared by a Reddit user, who claims that he was recently hired as intern for the company mentioned above that is a marketplace for musical instruments.

The leaked images of the screenshot taken from Slack messaging, the CEO who undersigned as Baldvin, said that the employees failed their contractual obligations.

"You failed to do what you agreed to, you failed to complete your part of the contract, and you failed to show up to the meetings you were supposed to attend and work for. I will cancel all agreements between us. Please return anything you have, sign out of all accounts, and remove yourself from this Slack immediately," he said.

Terminating the employees for not showing up at the meeting he wrote, "For those of you who did not show up to the meeting this morning, consider this your official notice: you're all fired"

I gave you an opportunity to make your life better, to work hard, and to grow. Yet, you have shown me that you don't take this seriously. Out of 110 people, only 11 were present this morning. Those 11 get to stay. The rest of you are terminated, he wrote, concluding with a harsh directive: Get the f*** out of my business right now, the CEO said.

Though some Redditt users have showed their support to the CEO's decision, many have criticized the bizarre option that the manager used to fire employees.
New Delhi: The GST Council will hold its next meeting in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer on December 21, during which it is likely to take a decision on exempting or lowering the GST rate on health and life insurance.

The council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, may also take up the issue of rationalising GST rates on a number of goods consumed by the common man such as bottled drinking water and notebooks for students, to bring them under the 5 per cent slab from 12 per cent at present.

The GST Council has asked the Group of Ministers (GoM) to finalise the report on the GST rate on insurance by the October end. After the GoM meeting on health and life insurance, the council met last month and arrived at a broad consensus on exempting GST on insurance premiums paid for life insurance policies, and senior citizens' health insurance.

GST on premiums paid by individuals, other than senior citizens, for health insurance of up to Rs 5 lakh, is proposed to be exempted. However, 18 per cent GST will continue on premiums paid for policies with health insurance cover of over Rs 5 lakh.

The GoM on GST rate rationalisation also has suggested that the council rework tax rates on goods such as packaged drinking water, bicycles, exercise notebooks, luxury wristwatches, and shoes.

The GoM on rate rationalisation proposed reducing GST on packaged drinking water of 20 litres and above to 5 per cent from 18 per cent. If the GoM's recommendation is accepted by the GST council, GST on bicycles costing less than Rs 10,000 will be reduced to 5 per cent from 12 per cent while GST on notebooks used by students will be reduced to 5 per cent from 12 per cent.

The GoM also proposed increasing GST on shoes priced above Rs 15,000 from 18 per cent to 28 per cent. It also proposed raising GST on wristwatches costing above Rs 25,000 from 18 per cent to 28 per cent.

Currently, GST is a four-slab regime. Essential items are either exempted or taxed at 5 per cent while luxury goods face a 28 per cent levy. The 12 and 18 per cent slabs are positioned between the two.
New Delhi: India is projected to be the fastest growing economy among the G20 countries with a 7 per cent GDP growth rate for 2024, followed by Indonesia in the second spot with 5 per cent while China is ranked third with an economic growth rate of 4.8 per cent.

"India takes the lead in the G20 with an impressive 7 per cent GDP growth rate projected for 2024! This achievement highlights India's robust economy, showcasing its resilience and fast-paced growth amidst global challenges," a MyGov post on X said after the rankings were released at the ongoing G20 summit in Brazil.

Russia has been ranked fourth on the list with a projected GDP growth rate of 3.6 per cent, followed by summit host, Brazil (3 per cent) in the 5th spot.

The African region comes next with 3 per cent while the US is placed at the 7th spot with its projected GDP growth at 2.8 per cent.

Among the western powers, Canada is expected to grow at 1.3 per cent, followed by Australia at 1.2 per cent. France, the EU, and the UK have been clubbed in the 1.1 per cent slow growth category while Italy is expected to grow at an even slower pace of 0.7 per cent, followed by Japan at 0.3 per cent.

Germany is seen as the worst performer among the advanced countries with a projected growth rate of zero.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived to a warm welcome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the G20 2024 which is being held on November 18 and 19.

The focus of the summit, being held amid the ongoing climate crisis and conflict in the Middle East and Europe, is on the fight against hunger, poverty and inequality; sustainable development and global governance reforms. All 19 G20 member states - Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Russia, Turkiye, UK and the USA and the European Union  are attending the two-day summit.
AIIMS INICET Result 2025: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has announced the INI CET 2025 January session results. Candidates who appeared for the Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test (INI CET) on November 10, 2024, can check their results on the official website, aiimsexams.ac.in. The results are available as a PDF document and include details such as the candidate's roll number, category, overall rank, and percentile. The INI CET 2025 determines admission to postgraduate programs, including MD, MS, DM (6 years), MCh (6 years), and MDS, across AIIMS-New Delhi, other AIIMS institutes, JIPMER-Puducherry, PGIMER-Chandigarh, NIMHANS-Bengaluru, and SCTIMST-Trivandrum.

The AIIMS INICET 2025 exam was conducted on November 10, 2024, with a duration of three hours. The question paper included 200 questions. Candidates will earn 1 mark for each correct answer, while 1/3 mark will be deducted for every incorrect answer.Seat allocation for postgraduate seats at participating Institutes of National Importance (INIs) will be conducted entirely online. The process will involve at least two rounds of seat allocation, followed by an open round if required.

AIIMS INICET 2025: Steps to download here

Go to the official AIIMS website at aiimsexams.ac.in.

On the homepage, click the AIIMS INICET January Result 2025 link.

Enter your login credentials on the new page that appears.

After submitting your details, your result will be displayed.

Review and download the result.

Print a copy for future reference.

The minimum percentile cut-off for eligibility in the INI-CET is as follows:

Unreserved (UR) candidates, including Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), EWS, Sponsored, and Foreign Nationals, must secure at least the 50th percentile.

OBC, SC, ST, PwBD, and Bhutanese Nationals (PGI-Chandigarh only) require a minimum of the 45th percentile.

The percentile scores in the INI-CET will determine eligibility for admission to postgraduate programs at all participating institutions.
ICSI CSEET Result 2024: The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has announced the results of the ICSI CSEET November 2024 exam on Monday, November 18. Candidates who appeared for the Company Secretary Executive Entrance Test conducted in November can access their results on the official website, icsi.edu. To view and download the CSEET November 2024 results and marksheet, including a detailed subject-wise score breakdown, candidates need to log in using their roll number and date of birth. The exam, held on November 9 and 11, was conducted in a remote-proctored format. The official e-result-cum-marks statement will be available on the ICSI website, icsi.edu, immediately after the announcement. No physical copies of the marks statement will be issued.

The CSEET cut-off marks will be released along with the results. To pass, candidates must achieve at least 50% in aggregate, combining scores from the CBT and Viva Voce sections. As per the marking scheme, one or two marks are awarded for each correct answer, with no penalty for incorrect or unattempted responses. The maximum score in the exam is 200.

ICSI CSEET Result 2024: Steps to download here

Go to the official CSEET website at icsi.edu.

Click on the result link available on the homepage.

Enter your login details, including your roll number, date of birth, and captcha code.

Submit the details, and your CSEET November 2024 result will be displayed on the screen.

Download the result and print a copy for future reference.

Students will not receive a physical copy of the result-cum-marks statement; instead, they must download it through the provided online link. Correct answers earn one or two marks, and there is no negative marking for incorrect or unattempted questions. Candidates who have reviewed their answer book(s) and wish to raise concerns about errors or inconsistencies in evaluation can submit a grievance using the prescribed application form. This must be done within 60 days from the result declaration date or 15 days after accessing the answer book(s), whichever is earlier.
From the Line of Control (LoC) to hinterlands and towns, security has been put on high alert after intelligence agencies reported that four launch pads housing approximately 120 trained terrorists are ready to infiltrate into Indian territory before heavy snowfall blocks the mountain passes. This comes amid increased terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.

Reinforced Security Measures

Extra reinforcements and an increase in patrolling frequency have been implemented along the LoC and in the hinterlands to thwart any infiltration attempts by terrorists. With heavy snowfall expected in the coming weeks, security agencies have intensified their vigilance along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. Intelligence inputs reveal heightened terrorist activity at four newly established launch pads in the Neelam Valley, located in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Terrorist handlers, backed by the Pakistani Army, are reportedly attempting to infiltrate armed terrorists into the Union Territory before snowfall renders the infiltration routes impassable.

Intelligence Reports

Sources within the security forces stated, "We have received inputs from intelligence agencies indicating that approximately 120 terrorists are stationed at four launch pads in the Neelam Valley, prepared by the Pakistani Army and handlers from terror outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Keeping this input in mind, we have made all necessary preparations and are ready to foil such attempts."

December and January are known for heavy snowfall that complicates movement through infiltration routes, particularly in northern districts such as Baramulla, Kupwara, and Bandipora, as well as the Jammu regions of Rajouri and Poonch. With the declining number of active terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, terrorist handlers are desperate to push new recruits into the region.

Anti-Terror Operations

In response to these threats, security forces have established a robust grid along the LoC and are maintaining a high state of alertness. Top officials from the army and police have assured that comprehensive measures are in place to counter any infiltration attempts.

"We are fully prepared to counter any infiltration attempts. Our forces remain vigilant, and we have a strong operational strategy to address any challenges that may arise," an army official stated.

In addition to heightened border defenses, anti-terror operations have been intensified within the Kashmir Valley. The upper reaches of Kupwara, Baramulla, and Bandipora are undergoing continuous searches.

Counter-Terror Efforts

Over the past 24 hours, joint forces have apprehended two terrorists and one Over Ground Worker (OGW) involved in terror activities in Baramulla and Tral. Security forces also recovered an AK-47 rifle, a pistol, and a large quantity of ammunition in operations conducted across north and south Kashmir. Additionally, a terrorist hideout was uncovered in the Shopian area of South Kashmir during a search operation in an orchard.

A large-scale search operation has been launched in six villages near the Peer Panjal mountain ridge to track down hiding terrorists. In urban areas such as Srinagar and other towns, security has been significantly increased, with mobile checkpoints set up in almost all sensitive locations following intelligence inputs suggesting plans for a major terror attack.

High-Level Security Review

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired a high-level security review meeting in Jammu yesterday. The security situation in Jammu and Kashmir was discussed in detail, with senior officials from all security agencies in attendance. The LG directed officials to take a tough stance on terrorists and dismantle the terror ecosystem.

As Jammu and Kashmir braces for winter, security forces remain vigilant and prepared to counter any threats, ensuring the safety and security of the region.
Books have an unmatched ability to inspire, entertain, and broaden our horizons, and every year brings new gems to the literary world. As we step into 2024 and look ahead to 2025, the publishing world has gifted us a wealth of compelling stories, insightful non-fiction, and groundbreaking ideas.

From tales of resilience to cutting-edge explorations of modern issues, these books have already captured readers' hearts and minds. In this article, well dive into the top five must-read books of 2024-2025 - each a masterpiece in its own right, offering something unique for every reader to cherish and enjoy.

1. Hidden Agendas

Mumbai, India  In an era where the Indian film industry has been searching for high-quality, original Indian narratives, celebrated authors Ajit Menon and Anil Verma have stepped in with a bold solution. Introducing True Vision Stories, a six-volume anthology series uniquely crafted to be shoot-ready, each volume offers authentic, cinematic stories that capture Indian life, culture, and true events. With each story visualized to evoke a film-like experience on the page, the series promises a fresh, Indigenous content pipeline for Indian cinema.

Both Ajit Menon ranked among Indias top 10 inspiring writers, and Anil Verma, a renowned lyricist and storyteller, bring a wealth of experience and creative vision to this venture. Their commitment to Indias cinematic landscape is clear: with each volume focusing on a distinct genre, the series will release one volume per year, ensuring a steady stream of new, adaptable screenplays for the industry. The first release, Hidden Agendas, delves into the thriller genre with four gripping stories inspired by real-life events. Menon and Verma envision True Vision Stories as a cultural resource, set to provide the film industry with 24 unique storylines over six years. "These stories are crafted not only to be engaging reads but to offer visual storytelling that brings every page to life. Readers, and especially filmmakers, will feel like they're watching a movie unfold," says Ajit Menon. Anil Verma adds, "We aim to create high-quality, film-ready content that speaks to Indian audiences and reflects the realities and vibrancy of our culture."

The Indian film industry, with True Vision Stories, now has a powerful ally in its journey toward world-class, homegrown storytelling.

Check out the book: Hidden Agendas: A True Vision Novel | Inspired by Real-Life Incidents of Crime and Murder https://amzn.in/d/0EI9Rz3

2. Beethovens Last Symphony

Oblivious to the impending coronavirus pandemic, it is business as usual for the inhabitants of the Malay peninsula amidst the hustle and bustle of Chinese New Year preparations. On hearing about her aunts sickness, Zoey is confronted with the absurdity of human finitude, and she spirals into angst. Respite appears in the form of an incomplete though long-neglected manuscript presumably authored by her great-grandfather. Intrigued by its existential theme and keen on exploring the human condition, angst-ridden Zoey plunges into a journey of love, loss and resilience dating back to the Neolithic Era. Zoeys poignant quest for meaning culminates with a soul-stirring epiphany and an astounding discovery about her familys past. Read this book by Sudanand.

Check out the book: Beethovens Last Symphony https://amzn.in/d/gbYkHCt

3. Lucky's Life Book

'Lucky's Life Book' by Lucky is a profound exploration of life's trials and triumphs. Like relentless waves crashing against rocks, life's experiences shape us, eroding some parts while moulding others. Each challenge leaves its mark, robbing us of certain comforts but gifting us wisdom and transformation in return. The book emphasizes embracing lifes lessons with resilience and faith, staying open to miracles and Gods mysterious ways. Lucky shares how enduring pain and facing challenges head-on can provide a mental edge, empowering us to overcome adversity. The narrative is a testament to human strength and the power of hope. As long as we breathe, we have the chance to rewrite our stories, transform our circumstances, and recreate our lives. Lucky's Life Book inspires readers to see every struggle as an opportunity for growth, reminding us that miracles happen when we persevere with courage and an open heart.

Check out the book: https://amzn.in/d/iz50YbR

4. I Wish Someone Told Me This Before My First Job

'I Wish Someone Told Me This Before My First Job' by Sushant Rajput is a comprehensive guidebook for navigating the corporate world, focusing on essential professional skills often overlooked in traditional education. Drawing on real-life examples and anecdotes, it equips management students and beginners across industries with the tools to succeed in interviews, presentations, and throughout their careers. From mastering communication and leadership to building resilience and networking effectively, this book serves as a practical roadmap for thriving in the corporate environment. It's a must-read for anyone seeking to bolster their skill set beyond their academic qualifications.

5. Butterflies In My Mind

'Butterflies In My Mind' is a radiant tapestry of poetry, gracefully unravelling the intricate dance of emotions and mental health. With ethereal elegance, these poems capture the fleeting beauty of joy and the profound depths of sorrow, illuminating the complex contours of the human spirit. Each verse is a meditation on love, loss, healing, and hope, offering a sanctuary of solace for those navigating their inner landscapes. The delicate flutter of a butterfly's wings - a metaphor for the fragile yet potent nature of our thoughts - echoes throughout, embodying a dance of vulnerability and strength. In this exquisite haven of reflection, Butterflies In My Mind murmurs the timeless truths of our shared humanity, casting light on the path to inner peace and profound understanding. It is a refuge where the soul finds solace in the gentle cadence of poetry, and the mind can embrace the quiet power of resilience.

(This article is part of IndiaDotCom Pvt Lts sponsored feature, a paid publication programme. IDPL claims no editorial involvement and assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content of the article.)
Due to drastic increase in pollution, dense fog, and a thick layer of smog, visibility in Delhi was significantly reduced on Monday, leading to disruptions in several flights.

At 10:14 PM, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) on Sunday issued a statement confirming that low visibility procedures were being implemented at Indira Gandhi International Airport.

However, flight operations were continuing as usual. Delhi International Airport Ltd also recommended that passengers check with their respective airlines for the latest updates on flight status.

SpiceJet, Indigo Issue Advisory

SpiceJet informed passengers via an X post that flight schedules, including departures and arrivals, could be impacted, and advised travelers to stay updated on their flight status.

#WeatherUpdate: Due to poor visibility in Delhi (DEL), all departures/arrivals and their consequential flights may get affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status via https://t.co/qgJ2NF4QR5. November 18, 2024

On Sunday night, Delhi's dense fog and low visibility began to cause significant delays to air travel. Private airline IndiGo issued a travel advisory, alerting passengers to the impact of fog on flight schedules.





In a statement on X (formerly Twitter) at 11:44 pm, IndiGo warned that reduced visibility in Delhi could lead to slower traffic and delays at airports. The airline advised passengers to check their flight statuses in advance and allow extra time for travel.

"#6ETravelAdvisory: Fog is currently affecting visibility in Delhi, which may result in slow-moving traffic and delays in flight schedules," IndiGo said, underscoring the importance of planning ahead.

#6ETravelAdvisory: Fog is currently affecting visibility in Delhi, which may result in slow moving traffic and delays in flight schedules. We recommend allowing extra travel time and checking flight status before starting your journey https://t.co/rpnOvAOxQl. Safe travels!  IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) November 17, 2024

Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), one of Asias busiest hubs, had also been operating under low visibility procedures, although flight operations were reported as normal until 10:14 pm.

The Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which manages the airport, recommended that passengers stay in contact with their airlines for real-time updates on flight timings.

With more than 1,400 flight movements handled by the airport daily, any delays could cause a ripple effect, impacting flights across the network.
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday convened a high-level meeting in New Delhi to assess the security situation in Manipur as violence is escalating in the state, reported ANI. This marks the second consecutive day the Home Minister held deliberations addressing the state's security concerns.

The discussion centered around the recent developments and challenges in the state and constituting response measures. Considering the volatile situation in Manipur, Home minister directed Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and state police to ensure peace and maintain law and order in the region.

In response to the challenging situation in Manipur, the government has decided to deploy an additional 50 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), adding over 5,000 personnel to the region. This comes after 20 CAPF units were sent to the state just days ago.

With tensions escalating in Manipur, the government is taking proactive measures to ensure stability in the region.

Earlier on Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting at his Delhi residence to review the situation. Shah postponed his scheduled visit to Vidarbha, Maharashtra, where he was set to address rallies ahead of the November 20 assembly elections.

What Is Happening In Manipur

The state is seeing a fresh blow of violence triggered by the discovery of six bodies including three women and three children, who were reportedly abducted and killed by militants in Jiribam. Militants abducted six individuals from a camp for displaced people on Monday, following a gunfight with security forces that resulted in death of 10 insurgents.

Authorities have imposed an indefinite curfew and suspended internet services in Jiribam following violent protests. Irate mobs set fire to the homes of three BJP legislators, including a senior minister, and a Congress MLA across districts in Imphal Valley. Security forces also thwarted an attempt by protesters to attack the ancestral residence of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, according to officials.
Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Sat Sharma on Monday criticised NC president Farooq Abdullah for accusing the saffron party of lack of concern towards Jammu, said the former chief minister was misleading the people of the region.

Sharma alleged that the NC has perpetuated decades-long discrimination against Jammu and claimed that the BJP has ended this bias over the past decade.

"Farooq Abdullah should apologise to the people of Jammu. His remarks are misleading and intended to create confusion. It is the BJP that has worked relentlessly for Jammu's upliftment while the NC has always been anti-Jammu," he said, addressing party workers in Poonch.

In a statement on Sunday, Abdullah criticised the BJP for its "lack of concern" for Jammu and promised comprehensive development under the Omar Abdullah-led government.

The BJP chief accused the NC of neglecting marginalised communities and development needs in the region during its rule.

"Farooq Abdullah and his party have been responsible for the discrimination faced by Jammu for decades. From denying development to marginalised communities, their actions reflect their anti-Jammu stance," Sharma added.

He said that the recent allegation of Abdullah that the BJP lacks concern for Jammu is false and misleading.

"Being in politics does not mean one can utter anything without knowing the facts. Making false statements and charges is not a sign of healthy politics. It raises questions on the credibility of those leaders who indulge in such practices," Sharma said.

He said that it was the BJP that was at the forefront of real concern for Jammu in all matters and at all levels, while NC discriminated against Jammu and its people right from the 1950s.

Calling Abdullah's allegations baseless, Sharma urged party workers to expose the NC's track record and communicate the BJP's contributions to the masses.
Kailash Gahlot, a senior leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and former Delhi minister, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, just a day after resigning from AAP.

Gahlot, who represented the Najafgarh constituency in the Delhi Legislative Assembly for two terms, was inducted into the BJP at its headquarters in the presence of prominent leaders, including Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, BJP national vice president Jay Panda, Anil Baluni, and Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva.

Gahlot, a prominent Jat face for AAP, had held several key portfolios in the Delhi government since 2017, including Home, Transport, IT, and Women & Child Development. In his resignation letter to AAP's national convener Arvind Kejriwal, Gahlot cited unfulfilled promises and internal controversies as reasons for his departure.

He expressed disappointment over the party's departure from its core values, writing, "Today, AAP faces grave challenges... the values that brought us together are being lost."

He specifically highlighted the unaddressed promise of cleaning the Yamuna River, which he said had become even more polluted over time. Gahlot also referred to the controversy surrounding Kejriwal's bungalow, dubbed "Sheeshmahal" by critics, as a source of embarrassment for the party and a sign that it was drifting away from its roots as a party of the common man.

Gahlot further criticized the ongoing confrontation between the Delhi government and the Centre, stating that it was hindering the city's progress. He argued that as long as the Delhi government focused on political battles with the Centre, real development for the city would remain out of reach.

His resignation is a significant blow to AAP, especially with Delhi Assembly elections set for February next year, as Gahlot was seen as a key figure within the party.
Ready-to-use ginger-garlic paste is a staple in many Indian kitchens, valued for its convenience and time-saving benefits. However, its widespread use has also made it a target for unscrupulous groups seeking higher profits by producing adulterated products, putting public health at risk.

Police Task Force officials recently raided the manufacturing unit of "Sony Gold Ginger & Garlic Paste" in Old Bowenpally, Hyderabad, uncovering large quantities of adulterated and spoiled paste prepared for distribution. Hyderabad Deputy Commissioner of Police (Task Force), YVS Sudheendra, revealed that officials seized 1,500 kilograms of ginger-garlic paste, 55 kilograms of citric acid, 500 kilograms of spoiled paste, and equipment used for grinding, mixing, weighing, and packaging during the raid.

According to several media reports, investigations showed that the unit had been operational for several months, with Shakeel Ahmed employing eight workers who played various roles in the production and distribution process. The arrested individuals have been identified as Mohd Sameer Ansari, Mohd Gulfraz, Mohd Mukthaar, Ranjith Kumar, Monu Kumar, Birval Sah, Inayath, and Mahesh Kumar.

The operation led to the arrest of eight individuals, including the units manager, while the owner, Mohd Shakeel Ahmed, remains at large. Acting on reliable information, the North Zone Task Force, in coordination with Bowenpally Police, conducted the raid on Sunday.

According to police, the unit was producing the paste in extremely unhygienic conditions, using citric acid as an additive and storing the mixture in plastic tubs for several days, which caused it to rot. The spoiled paste was then packaged into containers with labels and distributed to local grocery stores and eateries across the city.

Authorities have urged consumers to remain cautious about the quality of such products, as adulteration poses serious health hazards. Further investigations are underway to apprehend the absconding owner.
The upcoming November 20 Assembly elections in Maharashtra and the second phase of the Jharkhand elections are generating significant excitement and anticipation. The first phase of voting in Jharkhand, conducted on Wednesday, recorded an impressive voter turnout of 64.86% across 43 constituencies. The second phase of polling is scheduled for November 20, with the final results set to be announced on November 23.

Maharashtra's 288-seat Assembly has witnessed notable political realignments. Eknath Shinde assumed the role of chief minister after breaking away from Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena to form an alliance with the BJP. While the BJP initially secured 122 seats in the 2014 elections, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalitioncomprising the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Congress, and Sharad Pawars NCPheld power until Shinde's ascension in 2022 shifted the political landscape.

In Jharkhand, the JMM-led coalition is focused on retaining power by emphasizing its welfare initiatives, such as the Maiyan Samman Yojna. On the other hand, the BJP has adopted a strong Hindutva narrative, criticizing the JMM for alleged corruption and issues related to infiltration.

High-profile campaigns have intensified, with key BJP figures like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah holding rallies targeting the JMM on these allegations. Leaders of the INDIA bloc, including Congresss Rahul Gandhi and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, have countered by promoting welfare programs and accusing the BJP-led central government of weaponizing investigative agencies like the ED and CBI against opposition leaders.
A high-octane poll campaigning came to an end on Monday with the stage set for Mahayuti vs Maha Vias Aghadi (MVA) battle. The 288-legislative assembly seats of Maharashtra will vote on November 20 while the counting of votes will take place on November 23. The MahaYuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, is aiming to overcome anti-incumbency sentiments and retain power, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), including Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP-SP, is hopeful of replicating its previous success in the Lok Sabha elections by defeating the grand alliance.

Approximately 9.70 crore voters, including 47,389 individuals aged between 100 and 150 years, are eligible to cast their votes on November 20. A total of 4,136 candidates representing 158 parties, along with independent contenders, are competing in the elections. Voting will be conducted at 1,00,186 polling stations across the state.

Mahayuti' Poll Plank

The BJP-led MahaYuti alliance has approached the voters based on two and half years of the state government's work making a strong pitch for support for continuity in the state's development story. It projected the Maha Vikas Aghadi as one who puts brakes and roadblocks in the state's development while arguing that after the MahaYuti came to power key infrastructure projects including Samruddhi Marg, Mumbai Metro, Mumbai Coastal Road and Atal Setu were completed while launching several other projects. The MahaYuti also painted the state's pre-eminence in attracting domestic and foreign direct investments during its tenure while blaming the Maha Vikas Aghadi for the state losing its ranking during its tenure.

The grand alliance is riding on the charisma and popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the state government's freebies including welfare and development schemes worth Rs 1 lakh crore with a focus on the Ladki Bahin Yojana. The MahaYuti has promised to increase the pace of the state's development laying emphasis on inclusiveness through its 10 guarantees including the rise in monthly benefit to Rs 2,100 from Rs 1,500 under Ladki Bahin Yojana, waiver of farmers' loans, price stabilisation for essential commodities, creation of 25 lakh jobs with a monthly tuition aid of Rs 10,000 for 10 lakh students through specialised training programmes, focus on solar and renewable energy and making Maharashtra a $1 trillion economy.

Maha Vikas Aghadi's Counter

On the other hand, the Maha Vikas Aghadi has appealed to the voters to vote out the MahaYuti alliance for the flight of capital and investments, farmers' plight especially in the wake of increasing farmers suicides, lower prices of cotton and soybean against the guaranteed ones, lack of jobs for youth and educated, rise in cases of molestation and rapes, deteriorating law and order, rampant corruption, collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji statue in Sindhudurg district and its surrender before the Delhi seat. The Maha Vikas Aghadi came out with a Traitors' Report against the MahaYuti especially to focus on the manner in which BJP engineered splits in the Shiv Sena and NCP threatening actions from the central probe agencies.

The opposition targeted the MahaYuti government for the increase in the revenue and fiscal deficits especially due to dole outs and rising debt burden. They also alleged corruption and exchange of money during the award of various contracts that were done by carrying out non-transparent tendering processes. Moreover, the Maha Vikas Aghadi cornered the MahaYuti over the issue of change in the Constitution and the scrapping of reservations as done during the general elections. The Maha Vikas Aghadi in a bid to checkmate the MahaYuti in its Panchsutri (five-point manifesto) announced the Mahalakshmi Scheme promising a monthly aid of Rs 3,000 to women and free travel in state transport buses. This apart, the Maha Vikas Aghadi announced a monthly aid of Rs 4,000 to unemployed youth, a waiver in crop loans up to Rs 3 lakh and an incentive of Rs 50,000 for those who are repaying the farm loans regularly.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi also assured caste census and removal of the 50 per cent reservation limit which is to address the quota demands from Maratha, Dhangar, OBCs and Muslim communities. It has also assured free medicines and medical insurance of Rs 25 lakh. It also promised the voters that the government would not help a select few industrialists but take pro-development decisions while safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders.

Key Constituencies And Candidates

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is engaged in a direct fight against his mentor and former Thane district chief of Shiv Sena (united) Anand Dighe's nephew Kedar Dighe from the Kopri-Panchpakhadi constituency in his home turf Thane. The Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis is pitted against the Congress nominee Pramod Gudadhe from Nagpur South West constituency.

The NCP President and Deputy Chief Minister AJit Pawar, who deserted his uncle and joined the MahaYuti in July 2023, is taking on his nephew and NCP-SP candidate Yugendra Pawar from the Baramati constituency. A veteran OBC leader and NCP Minister Chhagan Bhujbal faces a challenge for his fifth win in a row in the Yevala seat from NCP-SP candidate Manikrao Shinde from the Maratha community. The contest is important against the backdrop of recent protests over the Maratha and OBC reservations.

Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray is locked in a triangular contest against former union minister and Shiv Sena nominee Milind Deora and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) nominee Sandip Deshpande from Worli constituency with a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. MNS chief Raj Thackeray's son and party nominee Amit Thackeray during his electoral debut faces a challenge from Shiv Sena's three-term legislator Sada Sarvankar and Shiv Sena UBT nominee Mahesh Sawant from Mahim constituency.

State Congress chief Nana Patole is fighting against the BJP nominee Avinash Brahmankar from the SAakoli constituency. Congress nominee and former minister Amit Deshmukh, who is the son of former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, is engaged in a direct fight against BJP nominee Archana Patil, who is the daughter-in-law of veteran Congress leader and former union minister Shivraj Patil, from Latur city.

His brother Dhiraj Deshmukh is taking on BJP's member of the legislative council Ramesh Karad, an education baron, from the Latur rural constituency. Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar is pitted against Congress nominee Asif Zakaria from Bandra West constituency, state assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar against Congress nominee Hira Devasi from Colaba seat, BJP minister Mangalprabhat Lodha against Shiv Sena UBT nominee Bhairu Chaudhari from Malabar Hill constituency and former BJP spokesperson Shaina NC, who is now Shiv Sena nominee, against Congress candidate Amit Patel from Mumbadevi constituency.

NCP Minister Hasan Mushrif is pitted against NCP-SP nominee Samarjeetsingh Ghatge from Kagal constituency, another NCP minister Dhananjay Munde against NCP-SP nominee Rajesaheb Deshmukh from Parli, state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule against Congress candidate Suresh Bhoyar and BJP minister Atul Save against MIM candidate and former MP Imtiyaz Jaleel from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar East. Former minister Harshvardhan Patil, who left the BJP and joined the Sharad Pawar faction, is locked in a direct fight against NCP nominee Datta Mama Bharne.

Former union minister and BJP MP Narayan Rane's son and party nominee Nitesh Rane is seeking re-election from the Kankavli seat against Shiv Sena UBT nominee Sandesh Parkar. Rane's other son and former MP Nilesh Rane left BJP and joined Shiv Sena before the last date of filing nominations. Nilesh Rane is locked in a direct fight against Shiv Sena UBT nominee Vaibhav Naik from the Kudal constituency. Naik had defeated Narayan Rane, who had contested as the Congress nominee in the 2014 elections.

Former minister and NCP nominee Nawab Malik is contesting against Samajwadi Party nominee Abu Azmi from the Mankhurd-Shivajinagar constituency while Malik's daughter and NCP candidate Sana Malik is pitted against NCP-SP nominee Farhad Ahmad from Anushaktinagar seat. NCP-SP nominee Jitendra Awhad is fighting against his former associate and the NCP candidate Najeeb Mulla from the Mumbra-Kalwa constituency. (With IANS inputs)
GADCHIROLI: More than 16,000 security personnel have been deployed at polling stations across the Naxal-hit Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra for the November 20 assembly elections, to be assisted by 130 drones fitted with modern technology for aerial surveillance, officials said. Notably, 170 surrendered Maoists will exercise their franchise for the first time in the assembly elections, police said.

Three MI 17 helicopters of the Air Force and two ALH helicopters of the Army are being deployed to assist the Gadchiroli Police in dropping EVM and polling personnel. Gadchiroli, Aheri and Armori constituencies in the district will vote along with 285 seats across Maharashtra on Wednesday. Maoists are known to carry out violent incidents against security forces, detonate explosives, and damage government property in the Gadchiroli district.

Police are, however, fully prepared to ensure smooth polling, the Gadchiroli Police stated in a release. "Over 16,000 security personnel have been deployed at polling stations across Gadchiroli district including personnel from 111 companies of CAPF/SAPF (Central Armed Police Forces/State Armed Police Forces) and also outside assistance of manpower received from Nagpur City Police, Maharashtra Police Academy, Nashik and Police Training Center Nagpur.

"500 police officers and men from various units, and an additional 700 Homeguards from Gadchiroli will also be deployed apart from the Gadchiroli Police and CAPF/SAPF officers and personnel," the police said. The security personnel have received detailed training tailored to the needs of the election. CAPF forces will be deployed at 367 highly-sensitive polling stations in the Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-hit district. Additionally, anti-Maoist operations are being conducted in the highly sensitive pockets by 36 units of the C-60/CRPF-QAT/SAG/QRT squads.

Additionally, 130 state-of-the-art drones will be launched for aerial surveillance in the troubled pockets and will serve as "eyes in the sky" for forces on the ground. Furthermore, five anti-drone guns are being deployed to counter any rogue UAV operated by Maoists. During the election period, a road opening operation is being implemented for approximately 750 km of the route used for travelling to and from polling stations. Vehicle-mounted DSMDs are being used, the police stated.

Apart from the MI 17 and ALH helicopters, two helicopters of Gadchiroli Police will also transport poll workers to various sensitive and highly-sensitive locations in Gadchiroli. Large-scale anti-Maoist operations are being conducted in the border areas of Gadchiroli district with the help of adjoining districts in Telangana and Chhattisgarh, police stated.

"Starting Sunday, heli-dropping 650 polling staff to 153 polling stations in Gadchiroli district has been completed. The process of sending EVMs and polling staff for the remaining 58 polling stations will continue until Nov 19," the release said. A total of 2,979 postal votes were cast by Gadchiroli Police personnel on poll duty. Additionally, 170 surrendered Maoists will exercise their right to vote in Maharashtra elections, police said.

Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police Neelotpal has appealed to people to come forward and vote without any fear.
Nagpur: Nationalist Congress Party (SCP) and Former Maharashtra Minister Anil Deshmukh on Monday suffered injuries after his car was allegedly attacked with stones at his car on Katol Jalalkheda Road in Katol Assembly Constituency, Maharashtra on Monday.

Deshmukh, who sustained injuries during the attack, was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital.

The incident occurred on the last day of campaigning for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.

Anil Deshmukh's son Salil is contesting the election from the Katol seat on NCP Sharad Pawar's ticket against BJP's Charansingh Thakur.

The Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with counting for all 288 constituencies set for November 23.

In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, the Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42.
Patna: Independent MP from Purnea, Pappu Yadav, has allegedly received a life-threatening call via WhatsApp and a text message originating from a number linked to Pakistan.

In these messages, the sender claimed to be a member of the notorious Lawrance Bishnoi gang, threatening to attack Yadav before his birthday scheduled on December 24. The caller also mentioned that his associates are allegedly roaming near Yadav's house and office, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Independent MP Pappu Yadav has responded defiantly to recent threats allegedly made by a self-proclaimed member of the Lawrance Bishnoi gang. The individual behind the threats claimed that their men were closely monitoring Yadav's movements, his house, and his office, and would attack him at the first opportunity unless Yadav apologised to Lawrance Bishnoi.

In his response, Pappu Yadav warned the caller to refrain from involving his family in their threats. He stated firmly, "Your fight is with me and my ideology, not my family. If you have the courage, confront me directly."

Yadav made it clear that his principles and political stance would not be swayed by intimidation.

I have sent the letter along with the recordings of calls and messages to the Union Home Minister to analyse it. Taking appropriate action or not is his call, Yadav said.

Yadav also accused the BJP of orchestrating the threats, calling it part of a broader conspiracy against him.

There is no need for additional security for me. I am capable of protecting myself. I am currently busy with the election campaign in Jharkhand, holding multiple meetings daily, and will soon return to Bihar. If anyone wants to kill me, come, Yadav said.

Yadav invited those threatening him to act openly, declaring, "Choose a certain place and time, if you have the passion to kill, come."

He emphasised that his struggle and ideology are personal matters and warned that dragging his family into the conflict would lead to intensified opposition.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi advocated for the food, fuel and fertilizer crisis faced by the Global South on the first day of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. Modi said that the prevailing reason behind these crises is the ongoing global conflict and called for a One Earth, One Family, One Future approach, that was the Indias G20 theme last year.

US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are among the prominent leaders participating in the two-day G20 Summit at Rio de Janeiro's Modern Art Museum.

During his speech, Modi emphasised that Brazils presidency of the G20 has carried forward the people-centric initiatives and decisions introduced at the New Delhi Summit last year. The Prime Ministers remarks came while addressing the G20 session titled 'Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty.'

At the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, spoke at the Session on the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty. This is an important subject and success in this sector will contribute greatly towards sustainable progress. During my remarks, I talked about Indias efforts, notably how we pic.twitter.com/tHXzLIJkM2  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 18, 2024

"I would like to say that countries of the Global South are most adversely impacted by the food, fuel and fertilizer crisis caused by global conflicts," he said.

"And just as we amplified the voice of the Global South by granting permanent membership of G20 to the African Union during the New Delhi summit, we will reform institutions of global governance," PM added.

PM further highlighted India's achievements in agriculture and its contributions to global food security.

"Under the world's largest crop insurance scheme, over 40 million farmers have received benefits worth 20 billion US dollars," Modi stated, underscoring the success of India's Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

He emphasised India's dual focus on food security and nutrition, noting that the country is not only addressing domestic needs but also aiding global food security by exporting food supplies to various nations.

"The main reason for our success is our approach: 'back to basics' and 'march to the future'," Modi added, highlighting India's balanced strategy of leveraging traditional agricultural practices while embracing modern innovations.

The first day of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro saw the launch of a global alliance aimed at combating poverty and hunger, with backing from at least 80 countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined the summit after concluding a two-day visit to Nigeria.

(With PTI inputs)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received an enthusiastic welcome from the Indian community in Rio de Janeiro upon his arrival on Monday. The diaspora greeted him with Indian flags, paintings, and memorabilia, showcasing their deep connection to their homeland.

Sharing his gratitude, PM Modi took to X, saying, "Deeply touched by the warm and lively welcome from the Indian community upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro. Their energy reflects the affection that binds us across continents." Along with his message, he shared pictures capturing the vibrant reception.

The Prime Minister is in Brazil to attend the G20 Summit hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. In another post on X, he shared his anticipation for the summit, writing, "Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders."

India, as a key member of the G20 Troika alongside Brazil and South Africa, has been instrumental in shaping the agenda for this year's summit. Building on the successes of the G20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration and Voice of the Global South Summits, PM Modi is expected to present India's stance on several global issues during Monday's deliberations.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) highlighted that PM Modi will hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit, further strengthening Indias ties with other nations.

Before arriving in Brazil, PM Modi visited Nigeria, where he engaged in discussions with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The talks focused on strengthening partnerships in defence, technology, health, and education.

After the G20 Summit, PM Modi will make a historic visit to Georgetown, Guyana, marking the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the South American nation since 1968. During his November 19-21 visit, hosted by Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, PM Modi will address Guyana's Parliament and a gathering of the Indian diaspora.

This visit builds on the strong ties between India and Guyana, underscored by President Alis visit to India last year, where he received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman at the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Indore.

Additionally, PM Modi will participate in the Second CARICOM-India Summit in Georgetown, engaging with leaders from CARICOM member countries to deepen India's long-standing relationship with the Caribbean region.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday termed as very strange the fact that 3,000 out of 13,000 panchayat office bearers were elected unopposed in recently held polls in Punjab and permitted aggrieved candidates to file election petitions. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, which had earlier issued notices on a plea alleging rejection of nomination papers of many candidates and other electoral malpractices, said that the aggrieved persons can file election petitions before the election tribunal which has to decide them in six months.

The top court said the candidates whose nomination papers were rejected or torn can also approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court with their grievances and their pleas cannot be rejected on the grounds of violation of the limitation period. The CJI said the petitions have to be dealt with on merits.

We permit the petitioner to file election petitions. The state election commission will decide the petitions within six months, in case of delay petitioners can approach the high court, the order said. In cases where the nominations were rejected or papers torn, they can move review petitions before the high court to be considered as per law It is the right of petitioners to move this court in case their petitions in the high court are dismissed, the order added.

During a brief hearing, the CJI expressed shock when the court was apprised that 3,000 odd posts in panchayat posts, out of over 13000, were elected unopposed. This is very strange! I have never seen such figures These are significant numbers, the CJI said. One of the lawyers claimed that the symbol of a candidate was removed during the elections.

The top court also expressed surprise that hundreds of petitions were dismissed by the high court without affording proper hearing to the affected parties. The bench, on October 18, issued notice on the plea filed by Sunita Rani and others alleging irregularities in the conduct of the Panchayat polls held on October 15.

Another bench headed by the then CJI D Y Chandrachud, since retired, on October 15, the polling day, refused to stay the ongoing panchayat polls on grounds of alleged irregularities in the nomination process, saying there will be "chaos" if courts start staying the process on the election day. Prior to that, the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed around 1,000 petitions challenging the panchayat elections on the grounds of alleged arbitrary rejection of nomination papers filed by the candidates.

The high court had ordered videography of the elections and made clear that no party symbol would be used. Some of the petitioners, belonging to the Scheduled Caste category, claimed that they had gone to Jalalabad to file nomination papers for the panchayat polls but they were assaulted by supporters of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and prevented from filing the same.

Opposition parties have accused the AAP government of arbitrarily cancelling the nominations of candidates associated with them. With a total of 13,937 gram panchayats in the state, approximately 13.3 million voters participated in the elections.
New Delhi: In a significant display of India's maritime vigilance, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) successfully foiled an attempted abduction of Indian fishermen by Pakistans maritime forces in Indian waters. The operation, led by the Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Agrim, prevented a high-stakes intrusion by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA).

The Pakistani vessel, PMS Nusrat, had unlawfully detained seven Indian fishermen from the fishing boat Kaal Bhairav near the maritime boundary line between India and Pakistan. The swift response by the Indian Coast Guard not only thwarted the abduction but also reinforced India's commitment to safeguarding its territorial waters and the safety of its citizens.

The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon when the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) received a distress signal from an Indian fishing boat operating near the No-Fishing Zone (NFZ), according to an official release.

The Coast Guard promptly responded by dispatching a vessel to the site near the India-Pakistan Maritime Boundary. ICGS Agrim aggressively pursued the Pakistani vessel in a tense two-hour chase. After retrieving all seven fishermen, the Coast Guard ship issued a stern warning to PMS Nusrat, that under no circumstances would it allow such abduction.

Watch Video Here:

@IndiaCoastGuard rescued 07 fishermen apprehended by Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) near the #India #Pakistan maritime boundary on 17 Nov 24. #ICG swiftly responded to a distress call, intercepted PMSA, and ensured the safe return of the crew. #ICG remains committed to pic.twitter.com/pP1GiTS8SC November 18, 2024

According to a statement by the ICG, the fishermen were found to be "in stable medical condition" following their retrieval. However, the ICG confirmed that the Indian fishing boat Kal Bhairav, central to the incident, was "reported to have been damaged and sunk during the incident."

"Indian Coast Guard ship Agrim deployed close to the maritime boundary line with Pakistan chased the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency ship PMS Nusrat after a chase of around two hours and clearly told them that under no condition, it would allow the Pakistani ship to take away Indian fishermen from fishing boat Kaal Bhairav from Indian waters," defence officials told news agency ANI.

Despite the PMSA ship's attempts to withdraw, the ICG vessel intercepted it and compelled its crew to release the Indian fishermen.

(With agency inputs)
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New Delhi: Ridhi Dogra, currently garnering praise for her role in The Sabarmati Report, revealed the kind of character she dreams of portraying in the future in an exclusive interview with Zee News. Known for her nuanced performances, Ridhi shared that she is manifesting a role that challenges her. Ridhi spoke about receiving a positive response for The Sabarmati Report," I am a little bit critical about my work, I always feel that I can better myself. I have been very fortunate that I have come from a medium where I have got to play strong female characters. But unfortunately, when it comes to films, the possibilities of playing such strong female characters lessen and that is the reason I am doing fewer films. Not just I am choosy, but I am waiting for writers and directors to approach me for the stories where I want to create an impact.".

When asked if she is worried about the length of the role, Ridhi explained," I played the role of Shah Rukh Khans mother in Jawan, no role is bigger or smaller. I was not sure at that time when I was doing that film because people typecast and give you the same sort of roles. So I was very nervous about that, but I am happy that we are living in a world where all type of contact is accepted. Honestly what I did for the film is just crazy who was a cinema student and was a part of a film with Shah Rukh Khan and Atlee."

We quizzed if she had any dream role in mind, excitedly the actress answered," I have to sort of manifest that there is a huge desire in me to play a ziddi, bigdi hui princess who gets a complete change over and becomes very responsible and does some great work for her Praja".

Ridhi is creating waves with her acting mettle and right now she has become the talk of the town.
New Delhi: In a fitting tribute to Lady Superstar Nayanthara on her birthday, MovieVerse Studios and Drumsticks Productions revealed the title teaser for their upcoming period-action drama Rakkayie. The teaser, launched digitally, has already created a buzz, showcasing Nayanthara in a dynamic, action-packed role like never before.

Directed by debutant filmmaker Senthil Nallasamy, Rakkayie promises a fresh take on the period-action genre. The teaser highlights a visually striking narrative that blends intense drama with high-octane action, leaving fans eager for more.

Watch The Teaser Here:

Aditya Pittie, Managing Director of IN10 Media Network, expressed excitement over the project, stating, "We are incredibly excited to see Rakkayie come to life and couldnt be happier to be associated with the supremely talented Nayanthara on our maiden Tamil production. She has an exceptional ability to bring depth to every role she takes on and cant wait to share her new avatar with her fans. For us, this is more than just a film; it is the start of a new chapter for our team and we look forward to collaborating with talented artists and storytellers to bring more such impactful narratives to life that are agnostic of language and geography."

The film boasts a stellar creative team, with music composed by award-winning composer Govind Vasantha, cinematography by Gautham Rajendran, and editing by Praveen Antony.

Vivek Krishnani, CEO of MovieVerse Studios, highlighted the films vision, saying, "Rakkayie is a film that has been carefully crafted to push boundaries. We are proud to be producing this film, bringing together the powerhouse talent of Nayanthara and a wonderfully crafted story that is steeped in cultural ethos and will connect with the masses. We are happy to have partnered with Drumsticks Productions who have a successful legacy of creating compelling cinema and with our focus on promoting new talent we are excited to back the vision of talented debutant Director Senthil Nallasamy who promised deliver something completely unique and never seen before."

Drumsticks Productions CEO S. Vijayan added, "Rakkayie is not just our 10th production; it also marks a wonderful start of our exciting journey with MovieVerse Studios. We are looking forward to it, and cant wait to bring it to audiences soon. Nayanthara's dedication to her craft and her body of work is unparalleled, and we believe this will be one of her most memorable roles.

As filming is set to begin soon, additional details about the cast and production will be unveiled in the coming weeks, building anticipation for what promises to be a thrilling cinematic experience.
Tyr: At least 11 people were killed and 48 injured in Israeli strikes in Lebanon's Tyr region, AFP reported, quoting Lebanon ministry. The strikes in the Tyr region come weeks after Israel had conducted earlier military operations in the area. According to Al Jazeera's prior reports, the late October strikes caused damage to several heritage sites and left 16 people injured.

These recent attacks follow an Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, which killed Hezbollah's media relations chief, Mohammed Afif, on Sunday, the Times of Israel reported. In a post on the social media platform, X, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also confirmed the death of "Chief Propagandist and Spokesperson of Hezbollah, Mohammed Afif".

According to the IDF, "Afif was a senior Hezbollah military operative, in contact with senior officials and directly involved in advancing and executing Hezbollah's terrorist activities against Israel". IDF also noted that "Messages broadcasted by Afif to the Lebanese media glorified and incited terrorist activities against Israel, and he was responsible for numerous psychological terror operations against the Israeli public".

"Afif's impact on the terrorist organization proves that he was directly involved in Hezbollah's terrorist activity against the State of Israel", the IDF further added. The strikes in Tyr and the death of the Hezbollah spokesperson come in the wake of the attack at Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's home on Sunday.

Three suspects were arrested for throwing flares at Netanyahu's residence. Earlier in October, Netanyahu's private residence was targetted by a Hezbollah drone. Images published in Israeli media showed cracks in a bedroom window where the drone struck but failed to penetrate.
In a significant shift in U.S. policy, the Biden administration has lifted longstanding restrictions on the use of American-supplied weapons by Ukraine, allowing Ukrainian forces to strike deeper into Russian territory. The move is expected to have major implications for the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has already seen heavy fighting for over a year and a half.

Key Policy Shift: Ukraine to Use Long-Range Missiles

Sources familiar with the decision say that, for the first time, Ukraine will soon carry out long-range strikes on Russian military targets well beyond its borders, using U.S. weapons, including ATACMS rockets.

These missiles, which have a range of up to 190 miles (306 km), are seen as a crucial tool for Ukraine to disrupt Russian military operations far from the frontlines.

The decision, which marks a notable departure from previous restrictions, comes as Ukraine has long pressed for more advanced weaponry to bolster its defense efforts and target Russian positions deep inside occupied territories.

Despite concerns from some U.S. officials over the potential escalation of the conflict, the change could provide Ukraine with a strategic advantage at a critical moment in the war.

A Critical Moment Before Trump's Takeover

The timing of the announcement is significant, as it comes just months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.

While Trump has been vocal in his criticism of U.S. military and financial aid to Ukraine, this policy shift under President Joe Biden could reshape the strategic landscape in the months leading up to Trump's administration.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly requested more flexibility in the use of U.S. weapons, arguing that the ability to target Russian military infrastructure deeper into Russian-held territories would improve Ukraine's chances of weakening Russian forces and securing a more favorable outcome.

Rising Tensions

The policy change also comes as Russia has escalated its military efforts, including the deployment of North Korean ground troops to supplement its forces in Ukraine. This development has raised concerns in Washington and Kyiv, as it signals further intensification of Russia's military campaign.

The Biden administration's decision to lift the restrictions on Ukrainian weapon use is seen, in part, as a response to these increased threats and a bid to counter Russian advances.

Despite these gains, some U.S. officials have expressed doubt that loosening restrictions on weapons use will significantly alter the war's overall trajectory. However, others argue that giving Ukraine more firepower could enhance its negotiating position, particularly if ceasefire talks are initiated in the future.

The move comes amid growing pressure from some Republican lawmakers to ease the restrictions on Ukraine's use of American weapons. Some members of Congress have long advocated for providing Ukraine with more advanced weaponry, citing the need to strengthen Ukraines defense capabilities against Russian aggression.

However, Russia has made it clear that it views any loosening of restrictions on U.S. military aid to Ukraine as a major escalation. Russian officials have warned that such a move would further inflame tensions and could provoke retaliatory actions.

Will Trump Reverse Biden's Decision?

It remains to be seen whether President-elect Trump will reverse Biden's decision once he takes office. Trump has repeatedly called for an end to the war, promising to negotiate a swift resolution, although he has not detailed a specific plan for achieving this. His administration's stance on Ukraine is expected to be one of the most closely watched aspects of his foreign policy agenda.

In the meantime, Ukraine appears poised to take advantage of the newfound flexibility in U.S. military support, hoping that these long-range strikes will help shift the balance of power as the war enters a new phase of uncertainty.

With Inputs From Agency
Rio De Janeiro: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday interacted with several world leaders, including from Brazil, Singapore and Spain, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit here.

The Prime Minister was warmly received by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is hosting the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

"Looking forward to the proceedings at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Thankful to President Lula for the warm welcome," Modi said in a post on X.

Modi, who arrived here after concluding a two-day trip to Nigeria, also met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the margins of the summit.

He also had a wonderful interaction with his Singapore counterpart Lawrence Wong.

"A wonderful interaction with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong of Singapore during the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro," Modi posted on X.

The Prime Minister also met Spanish President Pedro Sanchez, who travelled to India on an official visit last month.

"From Vadodara to Rio, the interactions continue! A lovely interaction with the President of the Government of Spain, Mr. Pedro Sanchez," Modi posted on X.

In an address on the first day of the G20 Summit on Monday, Modi said the countries of the Global South are most adversely impacted by the food, fuel and fertilizer crisis caused by global conflicts, and G20 must focus on addressing the challenges.

The leaders of the influential grouping are expected to deliberate on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the situation in Gaza.
Seven pillars of wisdom to uphold right way for China and US to get along well

08:48, November 18, 2024 By China Daily editorial ( Chinadaily.com.cn

In his meeting with US President Joe Biden in Lima, Peru, on Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping talked at length about the current state of China-US relations, which serves as both a succinct summary of their ties over the past four years and an important guidance for the future trajectory of bilateral interaction.

The meeting, held on the sidelines of the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, is the third between the two presidents and follows their telephone call on April 2, 2024. With China-US ties at a pivotal moment and the world mired in conflicts and challenges, it is only natural that their exchange should draw international attention.

Summarizing the lessons of the past four years, Xi condensed them into seven pillars of wisdom to support healthy bilateral relations, namely the importance of having the correct strategic perception of the folly of a new Cold War; of matching words with deeds; of engaging with each other on an equal footing; of not challenging redlines and paramount principles; of increasing dialogue and cooperation; of building bridges to bring the two peoples closer together; and of the two countries shouldering their international responsibilities by carrying out constructive interactions.

Xi stressed that the overall trajectory of China-US relations over the past 45 years proved the validity of these experiences and inspirations, pointing out that although China-US relations have gone through ups and downs over the past four years, the relationship has remained stable on the whole and the two sides have engaged in dialogue and cooperation via more than 20 communication mechanisms that under head-of-state diplomacy's guidance have made positive achievements in such areas as technology, security, economy, trade, fiscal affairs, finance, military, counternarcotics, law enforcement, agriculture, climate change and people-to-people exchanges.

He also made it unequivocally clear that China desires amicable and cooperative relations, rather than a confrontationally competitive relationship.

Leaving no room for misinterpretation, Xi said that China's goal of a stable, healthy and sustainable China-US relationship remains unchanged; its commitment to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation as principles for handling China-US relations remains unchanged; its position of resolutely safeguarding its sovereignty, security and development interests remains unchanged; and its desire to carry forward the traditional friendship between the Chinese and American peoples remains unchanged.

Looking forward, it is to be hoped that the new US administration will engage in dialogue with China to expand cooperation and manage differences so as to sustain the hard-won momentum toward stability in the two countries' relations. It should not overstretch the national security concept, still less use it as a pretext for malicious moves to constrain the Chinese people's right to development and not foul the nest for the US and others by speculating on China's territory, sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

Washington should know what are the most important guardrails and safety nets for bilateral ties as Beijing will remain firm and resolute in safeguarding China's territorial integrity and development interests and it will not sit idly by should its strategic security and core interests be under threat.

It is normal for countries to have some differences, and even disputes between them. To properly handle the differences and disputes between the US and China requires the leaders of the two countries to demonstrate skillful stewardship, recognizing that when the two countries treat each other as partners and seek common ground, their relationship makes considerable progress, producing dividends for both countries and the world at large. But on the contrary, if they regard each other as rivals and pursue vicious competition, they will roil the relationship or even set it back to the detriment of both countries and the world.

Beijing and Washington should therefore keep exploring the right way for the two countries to get along well with each other, for the good of themselves and the world at large.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
" " A U.S. Army soldier from the 14th Infantry points a submachine gun at photographer Dickey Chapelle, who is behind the camera. The photo was taken while she was in Panama during World War II. Dickey Chapelle/Wisconsin Historical Society

In the month since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine, the world has watched the horrors unfold live on television and social media. The images have been graphic and shocking, demonstrating the absolute worst of humanity.

But the pictures have shown another side of war, too. There are the images of brave Ukrainians staying behind to fight for their country. And photos of the women and children who have trekked miles into the arms of myriad volunteers waiting to clothe, feed and house them. These photos highlight the absolute best of humanity.

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Both sides of this story are being photographed by men and women simply doing their jobs  war photographers and correspondents. They're bravely documenting the injustices of war, just as these nine photographers did before them, starting with one man who is considered the father of photojournalism for how he documented the U.S. Civil War.

Editor's note: The images that follow were taken during wartime and may be too graphic for some readers. In addition, in deference to the photographer's vision, HowStuffWorks did not crop the photos that follow to our usual site dimensions.
Recently, at the invitation of the Italian Society of Acupuncture and European Traditional Chinese Medicine Press, Ge Jinwen, director and secretary of the Party Committee of the Hunan Academy of Chinese Medicine, attended the Italian International Conference on Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, China-Europe Li Shizhen International Academic Conference on Medicine and Health & the Annual Convention of the Professional Committee on Li Shizhen Medicine Research and Application of World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, and visited HerbaSinica Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Europaische Penzel-Akademe, and German European College of Chinese Medicine.





The opening ceremony of Italian International Conference on Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine.

At the conference, Ge Jinwen introduced briefly Hunan Academy of Chinese Medicine and extended a warm invitation to Mr. Franco Menichelli, president of the Italian Society of Acupuncture, and Mr. Guo Chunbiao, president of the Italian Society of Chinese Medicine, asking them to make a visit to Hunan Academy of Chinese Medicine to boost further communication and cooperation.





President Wang Ping (right) and Vice President Ge Jinwen (third right) present gifts, on behalf of the Professional Committee on Li Shizhen Medicine Research and Application to Mr. Franco Menichelli (second right).

Fang Rui, associate research fellow and director of the New Drug Clinical Trials Research Lab, Institute of Clinical Pharmacology of Chinese Materia Medica, Hunan Academy of Chinese Medicine, delivered a report titled Efficacy and Safety of Naotaifang Capsules for Hypertensive Cerebral Small Vessel Disease: A Randomized Controlled Clinical trial. He presented at the conference the academic achievements his team has made in evidence-based medicine optimal concepts for treating cerebral small vessel disease with Chinese medicine, compound animal models, and consensus on diagnosis and treatment.

Acupuncture has gained popularity in Europe for its marked effectiveness, making me deeply realize that there is no barriers between cultures; the more traditional the culture is, the easier for it to be accepted. Ge Jinwen expressed that this European trip has enhanced the international influence and culture shaping power of traditional Chinese medicine. In the future, the academy will continue to advance the studies of Mawangdui medicine and expand international cooperation and exchanges to better tell the stories of Mawangdui medicine studies, traditional Chinese medicine, and Chinas development, thus contributing to boosting fine Chinese culture, including that of traditional Chinese medicine go global.


Planting a fall cover crop can be the missing link for dairies looking to boost their feed inventory. While the benefits of cover crops include extending living roots, improved soil diversity postharvest, reduced soil erosion, and higher soil organic matter, being proactive in planting a fall cover crop can also help raise forage supplies for the following year. However, success depends on knowing what type, how, and when to use them properly.

Find your options

On an episode of Iowa State Dairy Extensions Dairy News and Views podcast, Mark Licht and Shelby Gruss discussed how one of the most valuable resources dairy farmers have is utilizing cover crop fact sheets, which can be downloaded from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). These fact sheets help dairy farmers know which cover crop to plant and when it should be sowed. They provide information on each variety, including its features, planting instructions, cultivating traits, and if they are labeled safe for grazing.



Licht, an associate professor and extension cropping systems specialist at Iowa State University, stated that the goal of these sheets is to make sure you get the goal youre trying for out of these cover crops. For example, during a catastrophic event such as flooding, looking at a fact sheet can help dairies recover quickly by suggesting what to plant in this type of situation. You dont have to change all of your acres at one time, added Gruss, an assistant professor and forage extension educator. Test a few acres and see which field benefits from what kind of cover crop. From there, you can work up to more acreage.

After harvesting a crop, such as corn for silage, there is a short window to plant a cover crop to ensure it gets established before overwintering. Licht and Gruss suggested planting turnips with a small grain after a silage harvest since those species will have enough time to grow. In general, cereal rye gives the best overall tonnage as it grows more rapidly in the spring compared to triticale or winter wheat.

Licht recommended overseeding in a raw crop stand as that is the best opportunity to get greater production in the fall. Another option is drilling postharvest, which can result in good seed-to-soil contact. A cover crop such as cereal rye could be planted in this instance, but most growth wouldnt happen until spring. The success of both methods is dependent upon the weather.



Herbicide plans

The key in using herbicides on cover crops is planning ahead, the educators said. After picking your cover crop, check the herbicide labels for any carryover restrictions. No one wants to kill something because you had an herbicide carryover situation, Gruss emphasized. She also encouraged dairies to think ahead to what the crop rotation will be next time.

New research and data are ongoing with the hopes of having more answers to outlying questions about cover crops in the next couple of years. Gruss and Licht are proactively conducting studies to determine the actual impacts of using cover crops as a forage and digging deeper into the impact cover crops have on the soil. For now, dairies can count on fact sheets to help find the type of cover crop that fits their needs or goals, proactively plan ahead toward the next crop rotation, and collect yield data for comparison.





To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com.

(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2024

November 11, 2024
Integration of NVIDIA Omniverse APIs into Rockwells Emulate3D digital twin software aims to enhance factory operations through AI and physics-based simulation technology.

The collaboration will enable improved visualisation and simulation capabilities for manufacturing environments, allowing multiple dynamic digital twins to be combined and visualised as a complete factory through a simple web app.

To quote all the buzz-words, the solution offers hyper-scale capabilities, cloud-based deployment options, vendor-agnostic connectivity, and a unified web app for stakeholder visualisation. This technology particularly targets industries such as consumer packaged goods, food and beverage, life sciences, semiconductor manufacturing, automotive, and material handling.

The cloud-based deployment will offer extensive scalability and flexibility while the vendor-agnostic connectivity will clearly increase market reach. Further, the support for real-time collaboration and system-level testing will make this a compelling offer.

Note that the implementation timeline extends to early 2025, probably indicating delayed revenue impact, further, significant computational power requirements may increase operational costs.

The integration of NVIDIA Omniverse APIs into Rockwell's Emulate3D software brings a significant technological advancement in industrial automation monitoring capabilities. The early 2025 implementation will enable factory-wide digital twin capabilities with real-time collaboration, addressing critical scalability challenges in manufacturing simulation.

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This positions Rockwell to capture a larger share of the growing digital twin market, particularly in complex manufacturing sectors like semiconductors and automotive. The focus on OpenUSD interoperability and RTX rendering technologies will significantly enhance Rockwell's competitive position in the industrial automation software market,.
GUEST RESEARCH: Entrust , a global leader in providing identity-centric security solutions, today released key insights from its Seamless Travel Experience Survey, which aimed to understand international travelers' expectations for a smoother, more efficient travel experience. Surveying 1,750 frequent flyers across the G20 (including Australians), the study highlights the increasing demand for frictionless border control and enhanced security technologies.

The survey reveals that the majority of respondents encounter common challenges during international travel, particularly in the areas of customs, immigration, and visa applications. According to the data, 64% of Australian travelers express a preference for biometric solutions like biometric corridors - a path or location that uses biometric technology to process people without the need for manual processes - and remote identity verification, favoring these advancements over traditional checkpoints. This trend is strongest in India, where support reaches 88%, underscoring a global shift towards advanced, secure travel experiences.

Key Findings from the Seamless Travel Survey:

Biometric Preferences: Travelers increasingly value biometric corridors, with 94% of Australians indicating they would use such options if they reduced airport wait times by 2030%. Support for biometrics remains consistently high worldwide, with India showing the strongest demand, and Australia at 64%.

Travelers increasingly value biometric corridors, with 94% of Australians indicating they would use such options if they reduced airport wait times by 2030%. Support for biometrics remains consistently high worldwide, with India showing the strongest demand, and Australia at 64%. Top Pain Points: Globally, immigrations and customs processes rank as the most challenging steps upon arrival. 87% of Australian respondents found that clearing customs was their number one pain point, followed by immigration at 81%. While respondents appreciate improvements in airline apps and online check-ins, border procedures are cited as areas in need of transformation, especially the visa/ETA application process and security screenings.

Globally, immigrations and customs processes rank as the most challenging steps upon arrival. 87% of Australian respondents found that clearing customs was their number one pain point, followed by immigration at 81%. While respondents appreciate improvements in airline apps and online check-ins, border procedures are cited as areas in need of transformation, especially the visa/ETA application process and security screenings. Data Privacy and Digitalization Concerns : While comfortable with biometric usage, 40% of responders from Australia rank potential technological failures as their primary concern. Data privacy also emerged as a significant factor, with travelers urging transparency in how their data is managed and protected. 24% of respondents from Australia also found that data privacy was their main concern with using more advanced biometric technologies.

: While comfortable with biometric usage, 40% of responders from Australia rank potential technological failures as their primary concern. Data privacy also emerged as a significant factor, with travelers urging transparency in how their data is managed and protected. 24% of respondents from Australia also found that data privacy was their main concern with using more advanced biometric technologies. Future Solutions for Seamless Travel: Surveyed travelers identified three top advancements they desire: electronic visa applications, remote identity verification, and e-passports, with each offering faster, more secure border experiences. In Australia, the majority of respondents considered electronic visa application and approval the most desirable addition to improve their overall travel experience.

"These findings emphasize the global shift toward seamless, biometric-powered travel solutions," said Gordon Wilson, Vice President of Identity Verification at Entrust. "Travelers are calling for an experience where security meets convenience, but with weather, engineering, and worker issues already causing regular disruption, technology needs to be set up to ensure that it alleviates the barriers to travel without creating new ones. To help meet this demand, Entrust aims to redefine borderless travel through trusted digital identity."

Methodology:

This study was conducted in April 2024 by market research firm Cint, involving 1,750 respondents in seven countries who travel internationally, across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Colombia, Spain, Australia, and India.

About Entrust:

Entrust is an innovative leader in identity-centric security solutions, providing an integrated platform of scalable, AI-enabled security offerings. We enable organizations to safeguard their operations, evolve without compromise, and protect their interactions in an interconnected world  so they can transform their businesses with confidence. Entrust supports customers in 150+ countries and works with a global partner network. We are trusted by the worlds most trusted organizations. Learn more at www.entrust.com.
Unsolicited communications  such as commercial email and SMS spam, scams and telemarketing  are a problem for many Australians and the communication and media services regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) , has just announced its two compliance priorities for the 202425 financial year for those unsolicited communications and scams.

The ACMA says the compliance priorities for the 2024-25 financial year are:

1. Targeting misleading spam messages  Our priority is to enforce spam rules to stop commercial messages being misleadingly sent as service or non-commercial messages

2. Disrupting SMS impersonation scams  We will work to disrupt the distribution and impact of these scams by enforcing rules that telcos need to follow to identify and prevent SMS scams and sharing intelligence with fellow regulators in Australia and abroad.

Targeting misleading spam messages

Key actions and outcomes in our focus on misleading spam messages include:

We gave the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) a penalty of more than $7.5 million for sending over 170 million emails that did not comply with Australias spam laws. These marketing messages did not include a way to unsubscribe. 34.8 million of these messages were also sent to people who had not consented to receive them.

This is CBAs second major breach of the spam rules. It paid a $3.55 million penalty in May 2023 for sending 65 million emails without working unsubscribe arrangements.

In addition to the financial penalty, we have also accepted an expanded 3-year court-enforceable undertaking to address the most recent issues. These commit CBA to an independent review and implementation of improvements. It must also provide appropriate resources and governance to ensure its compliance.

We published a statement of expectations for businesses on consumer consent to conduct telemarketing and e-marketing.

Key actions and outcomes in our focus on disrupting SMS impersonations scams include:

We directed bulk messaging company SMSGlobal to comply with anti-scam rules after we found it allowed SMS to be sent without adequate checks to ensure their use was legitimate. The investigation then uncovered that scammers had used vulnerabilities to send SMS brand impersonation scams using message headers of well-known brands like Australia Post, NAB and ANZ.

We gave anonymous scam call data to telcos to inform their blocking activities.

Telcos have reported blocking more than 2.2 billion scam calls since December 2020, and more than 788 million scam SMS since July 2022 (to the end of this quarter). The ACMA and telcos use blocking statistics to identify trends to help inform disruption activities.

We expanded the pilot SMS Sender ID Register by adding new 'alpha tags'. This helps prevent business SMS message headers from being impersonated.

We collaborated with the National Anti-Scam Centre to share information, disrupt scams, and promote awareness.

We issued alerts about Amazon impersonation scams, romance and relationship scams and the 5 most common impersonation scams.

We worked alongside telcos, government agencies, international regulators and big brands to disrupt phone scams by providing data and information.

To read full details of the ACMA report go here
COMPANY NEWS: Known Pty Limited, trading as Kudosity Co, a leader in the messaging technology industry, has announced its early adoption of rich communication services (RCS), launching beta-testing in the Asia Pacific region.

Kudosity invites businesses to register for beta testing and gain exclusive early access to this next-generation messaging platform, designed to transform customer engagement.

RCS represents a significant leap forward in business messaging by offering richer and more interactive experiences than traditional short message service (SMS). With features such as multimedia support, read receipts, and seamless interoperability across Android and iOS devices, RCS empowers businesses to connect with customers in more dynamic and personalised ways to drive meaningful interactions. As Apple and Google commit to integrating RCS, the platform is set to become the next global messaging standard, unifying messaging across devices.

Alex Macpherson, chief executive officer, Kudosity, said, "As a company dedicated to transformational development, Kudosity is thrilled to be at the forefront of the rich messaging revolution. We believe that RCS will redefine business messaging by delivering richer, more interactive customer engagements. This early adoption will let our clients experience the future of communication before anyone else."

As privacy regulations tighten across Australia, RCSs compliance-ready features empower businesses to manage customer data securely while adhering to stringent data protection laws. This makes RCS an ideal solution for companies looking to modernise their communication strategies without compromising on security or privacy.

Kudositys leadership in adopting RCS signals a shift towards advanced communication solutions in the APAC region, including key markets like Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the Philippines. With the region's strong technological infrastructure and appetite for innovation, Kudosity is positioned as the go-to partner for businesses ready to move beyond SMS and embrace rich messaging for customer engagement.

Kudosity is also one of the first organisations in Australia and New Zealand to launch Agentforce, the autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) agent solution from Salesforce, during November, reinforcing its innovative drive and leadership. The solution will be used in conjunction with Kudositys conversational AI solution to enhance customer engagement and deliver added value to a broader customer base.

Adrian Towsey, area vice president, SMB sales, Salesforce, said Salesforce is proud that Kudosity is one of our first customers in the region to leverage Agentforce. They embody the nimble, first-mover approach that so many of Australia's small business community have when it comes to embracing digital innovation.

We believe that humans with agents drive customer success together, and with the arrival of Agentforce, the team at Kudosity now has a set of tools to create and customise their own agents that will support the scaling of its workforce, delivering better customer relationships in the process.

This integration of AI-powered tools with a human-centred approach is core to Kudosity's broader strategy, which extends to scaling customer engagement across multiple platforms and channels and empowering businesses to forge real connections with customers.

Alex Macpherson said, "Kudosity's commitment to innovation goes beyond RCS. We're also embracing an omnichannel approach in 2025 that includes platforms like WhatsApp and Viber in APAC markets. Our dual strategy will equip businesses with the most effective tools for customer engagement, prioritising RCS for first-mover advantage while leveraging these platforms to drive immediate revenue gains."

The official launch of Kudositys Rich Messaging roadmap will take place at the Conversations '24 event on November 21, where industry leaders and innovators will gather to explore the future of business communications. Attendees will learn how RCS technology can revolutionise customer interactions.

Businesses eager to stay ahead in the messaging landscape are encouraged to register for beta testing at kudosity.com/richmessaging to gain exclusive early access to RCSs cutting-edge capabilities and contribute actively to shaping the future of business messaging.

About Kudosity

Kudosity is a messaging technology company that has been at the forefront of innovation for more than 20 years. With a focus on humanising business through conversation, Kudosity empowers businesses to build meaningful relationships with their customers through frictionless messaging experiences. Kudosity offers a range of capabilities, including global messaging and connectivity access, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) messaging platforms with advanced contact, and campaign management, alongside limitless automation to empower businesses to communicate at scale while maintaining a personal touch.
Performed on 29 October 29 Sikorsky headquarters in Stratford, Connecticut the Rapid Wildfire Response Demonstration showed the effective fusion of Sikorskys MATRIX flight autonomy with Rains wildfire mission autonomy system to suppress a fire in its earliest stage. The helicopters ability to be commanded to take-off, identify the location and size of a small fire, and then accurately drop water to suppress the flames was clearly demonstrated.

Representatives from NASA, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Los Angeles County Fire Department, Orange County Fire Authority, and the philanthropic and impact investment community witnessed the demonstration. Each of three successive water drops extinguished a 12-inch diameter propane-fuelled fire ring emitting a three to six-inch-tall flame, demonstrating the precision of the perception and targeting capability. During the 30-minute flight demonstration, guests were able to use a tablet to command the Black Hawk aircraft to take-off, search and find the fire, then drop water from a Bambi Bucket slung 60 feet beneath the aircraft.

During each test, the helicopter was able to cope with 8  10kt cross-winds over the test area. Although at all times, Sikorsky safety pilots remained in the cockpit monitored the flight controls but were not required to touch the controls until the aircraft landed.

Maxwell Brodie, Rain CEO said, Government agencies, aerial firefighting operators, and investors are coming together to learn and see how both flight and mission autonomy can help prevent high-intensity million-acre wildfires.

Wildfires cost the United States over $390 billion annually, and multiple risk factors are set to grow up to 30 per cent by 2030. We look forward to demonstrating to lawmakers how autonomous aircraft can stop fires from breaking out, or continue the fight into the night, and in turbulent and smoky conditions, where crewed aircraft wouldnt venture.

With Rains wildfire mission software loaded onto the aircraft and a tablet, wildland firefighters in the field could deploy autonomous Black Hawk or Firehawk helicopters to search and attack wildfires before they spread out of control, said Igor Cherepinsky, director of Sikorsky Innovations rapid development / prototyping group.

Having worked closely together for over a year, our two companies are ready to demonstrate the joint capability in more dynamic conditions chosen by firefighters.

The ability to search for the earliest signs of fires is very encouraging, although the potential military uses are very obvious. We encourage Australian bushfire authorities to seriously investigate this technology.
Much has been written about Robert F Kennedy Jr.s radical health plans to eliminate fluoride from the drinking water and suppress vaccines, among other lame-brain schemes. But relatively few people are aware of his anti-psychiatry views, possibly endangering the health of a large swath of the populace.

Kennedy is pitching the idea that users of illicit drugs be sent to the wellness farms, and users of antidepressants and ADHD medications should join them. He claims they would stay there for several years, growing and eating organic food, and the wellness farms would be financed through taxes on cannabis products. (I suppose RFK thinks smoking pot is okay or is better therapy for major depression than taking SSRIs.)

Here are Kennedys exact words: Im going to create these wellness farms where they can go to get off of illegal drugs, off of opiates, but also illegal drugs, other psychiatric drugs, if they want to, to get off of SSRIs, to get off of benzos, to get off of Adderall, and to spend time as much time as they need, three or four years if they need it, to learn to get reparented, to reconnect with communities. Kennedy made these remarks during a Latino Town Hall this past summer.

A large number of people could be affected by RFKs proposed policies should his nomination as secretary of HHS be confirmed by the Senate. Approximately 1 in 10 adult Americans take antidepressants, and about 4 percent of people between the ages of 5 and 64 use ADHD medication, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kennedys views are dangerous. He has no understanding of mental illness or addiction medicine. He is an environmental attorney who lacks the credibility to be making medical decisions for millions of Americans. Worse yet, his stance on mental health is clearly anti-psychiatry. The notion that individuals can be reparented was debunked decades ago, along with similar ideas about schizophrenogenic mothers causing schizophrenia and conversion therapy curing gays and lesbians.

The anti-psychiatry movement has existed for a long time, perpetuated by prominent figures such as Thomas Szasz, MD (1920-2012), whose seminal work The Myth of Mental Illness argued that mental illnesses are not real diseases but rather constructs used by society to control and stigmatize individuals who deviate from normative behaviors, and R.D. Laing (1927-1989), a Scottish psychiatrist who wrote The Divided Self and challenged the traditional view that schizophrenia was a biological disorder, instead proposing that it was a meaningful response to an untenable social and familial environment.

Ongoing efforts by the Church of Scientology have also attempted to discredit the field of psychiatry. Since its inception, the Church has been vocally critical of psychiatry, viewing it as a harmful and pseudoscientific practice. This opposition is rooted in the teachings of Scientologys founder, L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986), who denounced psychiatric treatments and institutions as abusive and detrimental to individuals mental and spiritual well-being. Hubbards views are outlined in his book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, published in 1950. This book introduces the core concepts of Dianetics, which later evolved into the broader framework of Scientology.

The anti-psychiatry movement was not merely an academic exercise; it had practical implications and led to the establishment of alternative mental health practices. For example, Scientologys anti-psychiatry position is institutionalized through organizations like the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), which the Church established in 1969. The CCHR campaigns against psychiatric practices, particularly the use of psychiatric medications and procedures such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). It argues that these treatments are often coercive and harmful, promoting instead Scientologys own, controversial methods for addressing mental health issues.

Critics of the anti-psychiatry movement argue that it downplays the suffering associated with severe mental illnesses and fails to acknowledge the benefits that psychiatric treatments, including medications, can provide for many individuals. They also point out that while the movement has effectively highlighted the need for greater empathy and respect in mental health care, it has not always offered practical alternatives to biomedical approaches, nor has it recognized irrefutable scientific findings that, fundamentally, serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, stem from disorders of the brain.

There have been significant efforts within the field of psychiatry to address and rectify previous criticism. Professional organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association and the Royal College of Psychiatrists have played pivotal roles in advocating for the scientific and clinical value of psychiatry. These organizations work to enhance public understanding of mental health issues through educational campaigns that emphasize the effectiveness of psychiatric treatments, the importance of mental health care, and the medical training of psychiatrists. Indeed, psychiatry residents match numbers have been increasing yearly since 2011, and in 2023 psychiatry was one of just 10 specialties with increases of more than 10 percent over the past five years.

Research initiatives funded by government agencies and private institutions aim to advance the field by developing new therapies and improving existing ones, thereby demonstrating the tangible benefits of psychiatric care. Additionally, mental health professionals engage in public discourse through media appearances, publications, and community outreach to dispel myths and misinformation propagated by anti-psychiatry advocates. I doubt such initiatives would be allowed to continue under RFKs domination.

Collaborative efforts with patient advocacy groups such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) also help to amplify the voices of those who have benefited from psychiatric care, providing personal testimonies that counteract negative perceptions. These combined efforts strive to foster a more informed and supportive environment for mental health treatment, ultimately promoting the greater good by ensuring access to effective and compassionate psychiatric care.

This type of empathetic, evidence-based treatment will not be found in wellness farms or labor camps, and it cannot be obtained through ersatz parents.

Arthur Lazarus is a former Doximity Fellow, a member of the editorial board of the American Association for Physician Leadership, and an adjunct professor of psychiatry at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. He is the author of several books on narrative medicine, including Medicine on Fire: A Narrative Travelogue and Story Treasures: Medical Essays and Insights in the Narrative Tradition.
On 17 November candidatesof the incumbent centre-right multi-colour coalition andfor the left-wing opposition coalition Frente Amplio (FA) clashed in a 90-minute television debate ahead of the second-round run-off of Uruguays presidential ballot.

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On 16 November national and international media reports confirmed that Argentina has ordered the arrest of Brazilian fugitives who have been accused or convicted of participating in the far-right riots in Brasilia on 8 January 2023.

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As the price of fuel increased greatly in Ethiopia earlier this year, Awgachew Seleshi decided to buy an electric vehicle, or EV. The decision follows government efforts to slowly remove gas-powered vehicles from the roads.

Months later, Seleshi is not sure whether it was the right decision. He now faces an uneven supply of electricity and a lack of parts for repair. He told the Associated Press that imported parts from China are costly and, few mechanics are able to fix such cars and the resale value of such cars is poor."

Seleshis problems are like those of many in Ethiopia.

Ban on non-electric private vehicles

In January, the East African country became the first in the world to ban imports of non-electric private vehicles. The decision eased pressure on the governments use of limited foreign currency to lower the cost of fuel.

In early October, Ethiopia's government raised the price of fuel by up to 8 percent as part of a plan to slowly end fuel subsidies in Africa's second-most populous country.

Officials say more than 100,000 electric cars are imported into the country each month. And the government hopes to increase that number by 2030. By that time, the countrys new dam on the Nile River is expected to produce electricity at full power.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said earlier this year that the Grand Renaissance Dam will start producing more than 5,000 megawatts of electric power within a year. Officials say such a production level would support the move to electric vehicles.

Repair services

For now, many in Addis Ababa, a city of more than 5 million people, think the country is not ready to provide enough charging stations and repair services.

The few service station owners who can fix broken electric vehicles say they have too much work. And the EV owners say they are overcharged by repair shops because of a lack of competition. Many EVs are now parked, waiting for parts to come from China.

Bareo Hassen Bareo is the transport minister. Bareo believes Ethiopia can be a model nation with a green economy, especially with the move toward electric vehicles. He said that the government will invest in public charging stations and has plans to manufacture EV batteries to reduce imports. Private efforts to manufacture EVs with South Korean carmaker Hyundai in Ethiopia, however, have collapsed over sourcing of materials.

Charging stations

Samson Berhane, an economist based in Addis Ababa, said the sudden flood of EVs into the country makes it difficult for owners to find charging stations. But, he believes Ethiopia can provide enough electricity for EVs within the next 10 years while meeting its industrial goals.

Some Ethiopians are already giving up on electric vehicles.

Yared Alemayehu sold his Chinese-made EV at a loss and bought a used Toyota Corolla. He said the EV frequently broke, and the repair shop was overcharging.

Taxi driver Dereje Hailu said he had high hopes for his Chinese-made EV earlier this year. But now, he says, "With such a car, I fear I might be stuck if I go far from Addis Ababa, where there are no charging stations,"

Im Jill Robbins.

Samuel Getachew reported this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English.

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Words in This Story

mechanic  n. a person who repairs machines (such as car engines) and keeps them running properly

currency  n. the money that a country uses; a specific kind of money

subsidy  n. money that is paid usually by a government to keep the price of a product or service low or to help a business or organization to continue to function

resale  n. the act of selling something that you have bought

give up  phrasal verb. to stop having, doing, or using (something)

stuck  adj. difficult or impossible to move from a position
Scientists say newly examined data from a Chinese explorer on Mars adds to existing evidence that the planet once had a very large ocean.

The exploring vehicle, or rover, is called Zhurong. It landed on the Martian surface in 2021. The rover has been operating in an area known as Utopia Planitia. This area is a large plain in Mars northern hemisphere, the American space agency NASA explains.

The researchers combined data from Zhurongs instruments with observations from satellites and spacecraft orbiting Mars. The team said the examinations appeared to show that Utopia Planitia had geological elements suggesting an ancient ocean coastline.

The scientists said multiple elements, or features, pointed to evidence that a large ocean existed on Mars billions of years ago. The discovered surface features included troughs and channels that may have been formed by flowing water on Mars.

Earlier research that examined data of similar surface features suggested they might have been created by mud volcanoes, which likely formed in areas where there had been water or ice.

The researchers said the evidence suggests the area likely contained deep ocean environments as well as shallow ones. The research findings were recently reported in a study in the publication Scientific Reports.

Bo Wu was the lead writer of the study. He is a planetary scientist at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Wu told Reuters news agency, "We estimate the flooding of the Utopia Planitia on Mars was approximately 3.68 billion years ago. The ocean surface was likely frozen in a geologically short period."

The search for water on Mars is closely linked to the search for signs of possible life. Evidence of a past ocean raises the possibility that the planet may have once supported microbial life.

There have been past studies suggesting Mars once had a large northern ocean. One such study was released in 2022. That research was based on satellite images of the Martian surface. The images were combined to produce detailed maps of the planets northern hemisphere. Examination of the maps led to evidence of coastlines that once sat at the edge of a large ocean.

Another study, released in August, presented evidence suggesting Mars may contain a large ocean deep beneath its surface. That evidence was based on NASAs InSight Lander.

Chinas Zhurong rover began its data collection mission in May 2021. It stopped operating about one year later, with mission planners saying the power system was likely affected by sand and dust. But the rover still outlasted its planned mission of three months.

The researchers said the data shows that the ocean seems to have disappeared by about 3.42 billion years ago.

The study suggests the water that likely filled the Martian ocean was heavily silted, study co-writer Sergey Krasilnikov said. He is a planetary scientist at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Silt is a mix of sand and clay that has been carried by water, but later settles on land.

Krasilnikov added that during the period when the Martian ocean would have been active, the planet probably had a thick, warm atmosphere. At that time, microbial life was much more likely," he said.

Hong Kong Polytechnics Wu said the new findings do provide further evidence to support the theory of a Martian ocean.

However, he told the French news agency AFP the study does "not claim that our findings definitively prove there was an ocean on Mars. Such proof, he said, would likely require a future mission to bring Mars materials back to Earth for closer study.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Scientific Reports.

Quiz - Study: Chinese Rover Finds Evidence of Ancient Ocean on Mars Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

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Words in This Story

plain  n. a large area of flat land

trough  n. a low point in a series of high and low points

channel  n. a long, narrow passageway for water or other liquids to flow along

shallow  adj. not deep

definitive  adj. certain, clear and not likely to change
Scientists say they were able to identify signs that Hawaiis Mauna Loa volcano might erupt about two months before it exploded.

A new study explains the signs they discovered and how their method might be used to predict future eruptions.

Mauna Loa is the worlds largest active volcano. The volcanos most recent eruption began in November 2022. In the weeks before the eruption, scientists identified, or detected, small earthquakes nearby. They also recognized other signs of volcanic activity and were able to warn people on the island of Hawaii.

Now, examinations of lava from the volcano have confirmed when melted rock underground started to move.

Kendra Lynn is a research geologist at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory who helped lead the research. She also co-wrote the study, which recently appeared in the publication Nature Communications.

Lynn told the Associated Press that ground expansion and increased earthquake activity near the volcano resulted from melted magma rising from lower levels of Earths crust. This movement of liquefied rock filled openings beneath the volcano.

When the underground pressure got high enough, the magma broke through hard surface rock and became lava. Later, the researchers collected pieces of the volcanic rock.

The team studied the chemistry of certain crystals within the lava to estimate when major movements began. It found that around 70 days before Mauna Loas eruption, large amounts of melted rock had moved from three to five kilometers underground to just two kilometers beneath the surface. The researchers said this movement matched the timeline the geologists had observed with other signs.

Before 2022, the last time Mauna Loa erupted was in 1984. Most of the U.S. volcanoes scientists consider to be active are found in Hawaii, Alaska and near the West Coast. Worldwide, about 585 volcanoes are considered active.

Volcanoes are tricky because we dont get to watch directly whats happening inside  we have to look for other signs," said Erik Klemetti Gonzalez. He is a volcano expert at Denison University in Ohio who was not involved in the study.

Ben Andrews heads a volcano program for the U. S. governments Smithsonian Institution. He also was not involved in the study. Andrews told the AP that scientists are still not able to fully predict volcanic eruptions. But he said they can issue a forecast based on observations and data.

Andrews compared volcano forecasts to weather forecasts, which are based on the probability that an event might happen. Experts say better data about past volcanic behavior can help researchers produce more detailed forecasts of future activity.

Klemetti Gonzalez added, We can look for similar patterns in the future and expect that theres a higher probability of conditions for an eruption happening.

Im Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

erupt v. to have a sudden and violent explosion

magma n. melted rock underneath the Earths surface

crust  n. a hard, dry layer of the surface of something

crystal  n. a kind of see-through rock

tricky  adj. difficult to deal with or do

forecast  n. a report saying what is likely to happen in the future

pattern  n. a particular way that something is often done or repeated
Martin Edwards studies the shadows of the ancient forest from a high seat and waits. Sitting still, he watches with his special camera.

Then, Edwards aims and fires his rifle.

He has killed a male deer, or buck. It was one of many wild deer found in this forest in Hampshire, southern England.

Edwards supports controlling the deer population with a method called humane deer management.

The idea is to make sure the animals do not become too numerous for the forests and farmland in a country where deer no longer have natural predators. A predator is an animal that catches and kills other animals for food.

Population

There are now more deer in England than at any other time in the last 1,000 years, says the Forestry Commission, the government department looking after Englands public forests.

An estimated 2 million deer now live in the country.

The high deer numbers have had a big effect on the environment, officials say. Deer have damaged large areas of woodland, including young trees, as well as the living areas of some birds like robins. Some landowners have lost large amounts of crops to deer. And overpopulation means that the animals are more likely to suffer from starvation and disease.

Forestry experts and businesses argue that killing the deer  and supplying the meat to consumers  is a good idea.

The reduced deer population can bring back balance to the environment and provide a low-fat, sustainable protein.

Venison

Deer meat is called venison. It is a red meat similar to lean beef but with a stronger flavor.

Although many in Britain see venison as a high-end food, one support group sees it as a good protein for those who do not have enough money to buy other meats.

Why not utilize that fantastic meat to feed people in need? said SJ Hunt of The Country Food Trust. The group gives meals made with wild venison to food banks.

The government says native wild deer play a role in healthy forest environments. Still, the government admits that the deer population needs controlling.

But experts like Edwards, a spokesman for the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, believe killing them for meat is the only effective choice.

The deer population increased greatly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hunters, like everyone else, stayed home and the restaurant market  the main source for venison sales in Britain  disappeared overnight.

There were no sales of venison and the price was absolutely on the floor, said Ben Rigby, a leading venison and game meats seller. The deer had a chance to breed massively.

Rigbys company now processes hundreds of deer a week. The business sends venison or steaks to restaurants and food markets. One difficulty, Rigby said, is growing peoples taste for venison. This is especially important after Brexit put new barriers up for exporting the meat.

From the forest to the table

In England, shooting deer is legal under some restrictions. Hunters must have a permit, use certain kinds of firearms and observe open seasons. They also need an acceptable or valid reason, such as when a landowner permits them to kill the deer when their land is damaged. Hunting deer with groups of dogs is illegal.

Making wild venison more widely available in food stores and beyond will bring out more hunters and ensure the meat does not go to waste, Edwards said.

Forestry England, which controls public forests, is part of the effort to increase venison use. In recent years, it supplied some hospitals with 1,000 kg of wild venison to use for food.

The approach appears to have been well received. However, it has gotten some criticism from animal welfare group PETA. PETA supports veganism  the practice of not eating or using animal products.

SJ Hunt of The Country Food Trust said it is possible to do much more with the meat. Her organization provided hundreds of thousands of venison meals to food banks last year  and people are hungry for more, she said.

She described the meat as nutritious and free-range to the purest form of that definition.

Im John Russell.

Sylvia Hui reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English.

_________________________________________________

Words in This Story

consumer  n. one that uses or buys goods

sustainable  adj. used in a way that does not overly deplete natural resources

fantastic  adj. excellent, very good

massively -- adv. large in scope or degree
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16:53 'The Sabarmati Report' actor Vikrant Massey meets Yogi Actor Vikrant Massey, who has been busy promoting his film 'The Sabarmati Report', recently met with the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, in his residence in Lucknow. Yogi Adityanath shared a picture with the actor on X on Tuesday, writing, Today, film actor Shri Vikrant... Read more >

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15:30 Maha drama: BJP leader accused of cash-for-vote Bahujan Vikas Aghadi leader Hitendra Thakur on Tuesday, the eve of the Maharashtra assembly elections, alleged that senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde distributed money to voters in a constituency in Palghar district. The BJP has, however, rubbished the allegations, saying Thakur's claim was... Read more >

15:00 Got RBI guv's fiscal advice video? It's deepfake The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cautioned public over deepfake videos of its top management being circulated over social media giving financial advice. In a statement Tuesday, RBI said it has come to their notice that fake videos of the Governor (Shaktikanta Das) are being... Read more >

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14:38 BJP-ruled MP govt to make Sabarmati Report tax free The Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday decided to declare The Sabarmati Report, a film on the Godhra train burning incident of 2002, as tax free in the state. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav made this announcement and said he will also go to watch the movie. Helmed by Dheeraj Sarna, the... Read more >

13:36 B'luru police to challenge bail to actor Darshan Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda on Tuesday said that an appeal will be filed in the Supreme Court soon challenging the interim bail granted to Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, who is an accused in the Renukaswamy murder case. The 47-year-old had walked out of Ballari jail... Read more >

12:48 QR codes to help Maha voters get to booths In an attempt to boost voter turnout in Thane district, a one-click facility has been introduced for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections wherein voters only have to scan QR codes to find out about polling stations. Talking to reporters, Thane collector and election officer... Read more >

11:43 Woman pax found dead on flight in Chennai A 37-year-old woman travelling from Kuala Lumpur was found dead upon the flight's arrival in Chennai on Tuesday and she had died of a heart attack, police said. The crew of the private carrier found the woman unresponsive upon the flight's arrival in Chennai, following which a team of doctors... Read more >

11:19 Delhi AQI: CJI says judges asked to go virtual Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna on Tuesday said all judges have been asked to allow virtual hearings wherever possible in view of the severe pollution levels in the national capital region. As soon as the bench comprising the CJI and Justice Sanjay Kumar assembled, lawyers, including Supreme... Read more >

10:54 Delhi barely livable: Tharoor criticises Centre Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday criticised the central government over the severe air pollution in the national capital and said that Delhi is the most polluted city in the world, making it nearly uninhabitable from November to January and barely livable throughout the rest of the... Read more >

10:40 Job crisis a key issue in Maharashtra polls According to the quarterly bulletin of the government's Periodic Labour Force Survey for April-June 2024, the unemployment rate for youths between 15 and 29 years in urban areas in the Current Weekly Status (CWS) was 16.8 per cent. Read more here. Read more >

10:35 Have foreign income? File revised returns by Dec 31 Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Ravi Agarwal on Monday said taxpayers who have not disclosed their foreign income or assets in their Income Tax Returns (ITRs) have time till December 31 to file their revised return for financial year 2023-24. The tax department is in the... Read more >

10:28 India-China disengagement: What FM told Yi External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi reviewed progress in the disengagement of troops in Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh in a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit. It was the first high-level engagement between the two sides after... Read more >

10:16 Meta on CCI imposing Rs 213-cr penalty: We disagree After the Competition Commission imposed a Rs 213-crore penalty on Meta in relation to WhatsApp privacy policy, the company said it disagrees with the watchdog's decision and plans to appeal. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday asked WhatsApp to refrain from sharing... Read more >

09:57 When Modi-Meloni met... Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (local time) held a bilateral meeting with his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil.PM Modi stated that their discussions focused on strengthening ties in defence, security, trade, and technology. He... Read more >

09:45 Delhi AQI 488; eyes burn, breathing issues increase The air quality in the national capital remained in the the 'severe plus' category for the second consecutive day on Tuesday morning, with smog shrouding the city, reducing visibility and worsening air pollution to touch an alarmingly high level of poor AQI. According to the Central Pollution... Read more >

09:34 Govt convenes all-party meet on Sunday The government has convened a customary all-party meeting on Sunday ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said in a post on X on Tuesday that the meet has been convened on November 24 morning in view of the coming Winter session of... Read more >

09:24 Ajmer's Hotel Khadim renamed 'Ajaymeru' The Rajasthan government has rechristened the state tourism corporation's well-known Hotel Khadim in Ajmer as 'Ajaymeru' with an aim to preserve the cultural heritage of the city, according to an official order. The Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) issued the order on Monday... Read more >

09:00 Musk's SpaceX successfully launches Indian satellite Elon Musk-owned Space X successfully launched the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s communication satellite GSAT-N2 from Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA on Tuesday.The advanced communication satellite was launched using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.Named GSAT N-2 or GSAT 20,... Read more >

08:43 UK PM announces relaunch of FTA talks with India United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced that trade talks with India would be relaunched in the new year, following a bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil.Following Starmer and Modi's meeting, Downing Street said... Read more >

00:47 Savarkar statement: Rahul asked to appear in Pune court on Dec 2 A Pune court ordered Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to appear in person before it on December 2 in connection with a defamation complaint filed against him by Hindutva icon V D Savarkar's grandnephew. Satyaki Savarkar had filed a complaint in a Pune court claiming Gandhi, in his speech in... Read more >

00:22 Gold worth Rs 63 lakhs stolen onboard CST-Mangalore train File image A family has reported theft of gold ornaments valued at Rs 63 lakhs while travelling to Udupi on CST-Mangalore train, the police said on Monday. The theft came to light at Indrali railway station on November 16 when the family members found that their baggage was forced open and gold... Read more >

00:11 Woman delivers baby in cab after PHC refers her to another hospital in J-K File image A woman gave birth to a baby in a cab after she was allegedly referred to a superior hospital without a checkup by a primary health centre in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Monday. Deputy commissioner, Rajouri, Abhishek Sharma visited the PHC Teryath after the... Read more >
The bodies of 914 people, including 276 children, have been found in Guyana in South America.

Most of the dead  members of the Peoples Temple Christian Church  had consumed a soft drink laced with cyanide and sedatives.

However, the body of the Peoples Temple charismatic leader, Jim Jones, was said to have a bullet wound in the right temple, believed to be self-inflicted.

The deaths are being linked to the earlier killings of five people, including US Congressman Leo Ryan, on a nearby airstrip.

Mr Ryan had led a fact-finding mission to the churchs jungle settlement  Jonestown  after allegations by relatives in the US of human rights abuses.

Last year Jim Jones and most of the 1,000 members of the Peoples Temple moved to Guyana from San Francisco after an investigation began into the church for tax evasion.

People who had left the organisation told the authorities of brutal beatings, murders and a mass suicide plan but were not believed.

In spite of the tax evasion allegations, Jim Jones was still widely respected for setting up a racially-mixed church which helped the disadvantaged.

Leo Ryans delegation arrived in Jonestown on 14 November and spent three days interviewing residents.

They left hurriedly earlier on Saturday after an attempt on Mr Ryans life, taking with them about 20 Peoples Temple members who wished to leave.

Delegation members told police as they were boarding planes at the airstrip a truckload of Jim Jones guards arrived and began to shoot.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

The US House of Representatives carried out an investigation into the events in Guyana.

It concluded there was no evidence of US government complicity as was widely alleged.

In December 1986 a church member, Larry Layton, received a life sentence for aiding and abetting the murders of those who died at the airstrip.

Layton had gone to the airstrip pretending to be a defector then produced a gun and injured two people.

The bodies of 412 people who committed suicide were never claimed by relatives  they are buried in a mass grave in Oakland, California.
A gold pocket watch given to the ship captain who rescued 700 survivors from the Titanic sold at auction for nearly $2 million, setting a record for memorabilia from the ship wreck.

The 18-carat Tiffany & Co. watch was given by three women survivors to Capt. Arthur Rostron for diverting his passenger ship, the RMS Carpathia, to save them and others after the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in the north Atlantic on its maiden voyage in 1912.

Auctioneers Henry Aldridge and Son, who sold the watch to a private collector in the United States on Saturday for 1.56 million British pounds, said its the most paid for a piece of Titanic memorabilia. The price includes taxes and fees paid by the buyer.

The watch was given to Rostron by the widow of John Jacob Astor, the richest man to die in the disaster, and the widows of two other wealthy businessmen who went down with the ship.

Astors pocket watch, which was on his body when it was recovered seven days after the ship sank, had previously set the record for the highest price paid for a Titanic keepsake, fetching nearly $1.5 million from the same auction house in April.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said the fact that Titanic memorabilia has set two records this year demonstrates the enduring fascination with the story and the value of the dwindling supply and high demand for ship artifacts.

Every man, woman and child had a story to tell, and those stories are told over a century later through the memorabilia, he said.

Rostron was hailed a hero for his actions the night the Titanic sank and his crew was recognized for their bravery.

The Carpathia was sailing from New York to the Mediterranean Sea when a radio operator heard a distress call from the Titanic in the early hours of April 15, 1912 and woke Rostron in his cabin. He turned his boat around and headed at full steam toward the doomed vessel, navigating through ice bergs to get there.

By the time the Carpathia arrived, the Titanic had sunk and 1,500 people perished. But the crew located 20 lifeboats and rescued more than 700 passengers and took them back to New York.

Rostron was awarded the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal by President William Howard Taft and was later knighted by King George V.

Madeleine Astor, who had been helped into a lifeboat by her husband, presented the watch to Rostron at a luncheon at her mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York.

The inscription says it was given with the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of three survivors. It lists Mrs. John B. Thayer and Mrs. George D. Widener alongside Astors married name.

It was presented principally in gratitude for Rostrons bravery in saving those lives, Aldridge said. Without Mr. Rostron, those 700 people wouldnt have made it. BRIAN MELLEY, LONDON, MDT/AP
China has implemented a new certificate free clearance system to streamline travel for residents between the mainland and Macau and Hong Kong.

The National Immigration Administration announced recently that this initiative will be available at Shenzhen Bay Port and Gongbei Port.

Starting Wednesday, residents from the mainland aged 14 and older who possess a valid travel document for Hong Kong or Macau and a multiple-entry endorsement can pass through these ports without presenting additional paperwork. Instead, travelers will undergo fingerprint and facial recognition checks for clearance.

This new measure also applies to Hong Kong and Macau residents aged 14 and above with valid mainland travel permits, including non-Chinese residents. The administration emphasized that these changes aim to further facilitate travel, although they do not apply to mainland residents who hold permits for public affairs. LV
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he wanted a strong and durable relationship with China today (Monday) as he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Brazil.

It was the first time a British leader has met with Xi in recent years as ties between the two countries deteriorated over security and human rights concerns and Chinas support for Russia in the war in Ukraine.

Starmer, who became prime minister in July after his Labour Party won a landslide election victory, is seeking to repair relations with Beijing. The last time a U.K. leader met with Xi was in 2018.

We want our relations to be consistent, durable, respectful, as we have agreed (and) avoid surprises where possible, Starmer told Xi during a meeting on the fringes of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Downing Street said that Starmer wanted a pragmatic approach to working with Beijing on global stability, boosting economic ties and especially climate change and the transition to clean energy.

Starmer also raised more thorny issues including concerns over the detention of Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher and activist Jimmy Lai, a U.K. citizen who has been in custody since December 2020. Lai, 76, could face up to life in prison if he is convicted under the national security law.

Journalists were ushered out of the room at the start of Mondays bilateral meeting around the time Starmer raised Lais case, Britains Press Association agency reported.

Starmer wanted to engage honestly and frankly on those areas where we have different perspectives, including on Hong Kong, human rights and Russias war in Ukraine, his office said in a statement after the meeting.

Xi told Starmer that the U.K. and China have potential for more cooperation despite their differences and should deepen political trust for mutual benefit, according to Chinas Xinhua state news agency.

Mondays meeting came after U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy paid a visit to Beijing last month for talks with his counterpart, Wang Yi.

MDT/AP
Chinas leader Xi Jinping met for the last time with U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday but was already looking ahead to President-elect Donald Trump and his America first policies, saying Beijing is ready to work with a new U.S. administration.

During their talks on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru, Xi cautioned that a stable China-U.S. relationship was critical not only to the two nations but to the future and destiny of humanity.

Make the wise choice, he cautioned. Keep exploring the right way for two major countries to get along well with each other.

Without mentioning Trumps name, Xi appeared to signal his concern that the incoming presidents protectionist rhetoric on the campaign trail could send the U.S.-China relationship into another valley.

China is ready to work with a new U.S. administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation and manage differences so as to strive for a steady transition of the China-U.S. relationship for the benefit of the two peoples, Xi said through an interpreter.

Xi, who is firmly entrenched atop Chinas political hierarchy, spoke in his brief remarks before reporters.

Biden, who is winding down more than 50 years of public service, talked in broader brushstrokes about where the relationship between the two countries has gone.

He reflected not just on the past four years but on the decades the two have known each other.

We havent always agreed, but our conversations have always been candid and always been frank. Weve never kidded one another, Biden said. These conversations prevent miscalculations, and they ensure the competition between our two countries will not veer into conflict.

Biden urged Xi to dissuade North Korea from further deepening its support for Russias war on Ukraine. The leaders, with top aides surrounding them, gathered around a long rectangle of tables in an expansive conference room at a Lima hotel.

They had much to discuss, including Chinas indirect support for Russia, human rights issues, technology and Taiwan, the self-ruled democracy that Beijing claims as its own. On artificial intelligence, the two agreed on the need to maintain human control over the decision to use nuclear weapons and more broadly improve safety and international cooperation of the rapidly expanding technology.

Theres much uncertainty about what lies ahead in the U.S.-China relationship under Trump, who campaigned promising to levy 60% tariffs on Chinese imports.

Already, many American companies, including Nike and eyewear retailer Warby Parker, have been diversifying their sourcing away from China. Shoe brand Steve Madden says it plans to cut imports from China by as much as 45% next year.

In a congratulatory message to Trump after his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, Xi called for the U.S. and China to manage their differences and get along in a new era. In front of cameras Saturday, Xi spoke to Biden  but it was unmistakable that his message was directed at Trump.

In a major flourishing sci-tech revolution, neither decoupling nor supply chain disruption is a solution, Xi said. Only mutual, beneficial cooperation can lead to common development. Small yard, high fence is not what a major country should pursue.

Biden administration officials have said they would advise the Trump team that managing the intense competition with Beijing will likely be the most significant foreign policy challenge they will face.

On Saturday, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden had reinforced to Xi that these next two months are a time of transition and that the president would like to pass off the U.S.-China relationship in stable terms to the new administration.

Biden has viewed his relationship with Xi as among the most consequential on the international stage and put much effort into cultivating it. The two first got to know each other on travels across the U.S. and China when both were vice presidents, interactions that both have said left a lasting impression. They last met a year ago on the APEC sidelines in Northern California.

For over a decade, you and I have spent many hours together, both here and in China and in between, Biden said. Weve spent a long time dealing with these issues.

But the last four years have presented a steady stream of difficult moments.

The FBI this week offered new details of a federal investigation into Chinese government efforts to hack into U.S. telecommunications networks. The initial findings have revealed a broad and significant cyberespionage campaign aimed at stealing information from Americans who work in government and politics.

Sullivan said Biden raised the matter with Xi during their talks and that the U.S. will have more to say about the investigation in the weeks ahead.

U.S. intelligence officials also have assessed China has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry for use in its war against Ukraine.

And tensions flared last year after Biden ordered the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon that traversed the United States.

Biden wants Xi to step up Chinese engagement to prevent an already dangerous moment with North Korea from further escalating.

Biden, along with South Korean President Yoon Seok Yul and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, on Friday condemned North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns decision to send thousands of troops to help Moscow repel Ukrainian forces who have seized territory in Russias Kursk border region.

White House officials have expressed frustration with Beijing, which accounts for the vast majority of North Koreas trade, for not doing more to rein in Pyongyang.

The North Koreans also have provided Russia with artillery and other munitions, according to U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials. And the U.S., Japan and South Korea have expressed alarm over Pyongyangs stepped-up cadence of ballistic missile tests.

Kim ordered testing exercises in the lead-up to this months U.S. election and is claiming progress on efforts to build capability to strike the U.S. mainland.

Xi and Biden started their day at the leaders retreat at the APEC summit, taking part in a photo where they all wore scarves made from vicuna wool, a symbolic animal for Peru. Its common practice that leaders at these gatherings are given a gift  usually traditional clothing of the host country  that they don for the photo. AAMER MADHANI & COLLEEN LONG, LIMA, MDT/AP
SENATOR RONALD "BATO" DELA ROSA

MANIFESTATION

PLENARY DELIBERATION ON THE 2025 PROPOSED BUDGET

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (DA)

November 18, 2024

Mr. President, first of all, I wish to express, for the record, my full support for the budget of the Department of Agriculture for Fiscal Year 2025.

I understand that the DA's budget is based on a strategic framework that targets, first, the achievement of food security for the Filipino people, and second, the development of the agriculture and fisheries sector as a profitable industry.

Nitong nakaraan lamang, ayon sa mga ulat, umabot ng almost P7 billion pesos ang naging damage ng bagyong Kristine at Leon. Crops, livestock, poultry, fisheries, machinery, as well as equipment - for all of those, there were reported damage and losses. At ang mas nakakabahala pa rito, hindi lang naman dalawang bagyo ang kinakaharap ng Pilipinas bawat taon. Mapa-init man o ulan, Mr. President, ang dulot nito'y dagdag na pagsubok sa ating mga magsasaka at mangingisda.

This is why I fully support the budget of the DA, as well as the increase of P744.161 million in the Committee Report of the Senate. I trust that with this increase, we can better help our farmers and fisherfolk. From machinery and equipment, to technical support and training, to research and development - no aspect should be left behind.

Maraming salamat, Mr. President.
A powerful typhoon wrecked houses, caused towering tidal surges and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee to emergency shelters as it cut across the northern Philippines yesterday in the sixth major storm to hit the country in less than a month.

Typhoon Man-yi slammed into the eastern island province of Catanduanes on Saturday night with sustained winds of up to 195 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 240 kph. The countrys weather agency warned of a potentially catastrophic and life-threatening situation in provinces along its path.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the typhoon, which was forecast to blow northwestward on Sunday across northern Luzon, the archipelagos most populous region. The capital region of metropolitan Manila would likely be spared from a direct hit but was placed, along with outlying regions, under storm alerts and warned of dangerous coastal storm surges.

The rain was minimal, but the wind was very strong and had this eerie howling sound, Roberto Monterola, a disaster-mitigation officer in Catanduanes, told The Associated Press by telephone. Along a main boulevard here, the tidal surges went up to more than 7 meters near the seaside houses. It looked really scary.

The entire province of Catanduanes had no power after the typhoon knocked down trees and electricity posts, and disaster-response teams were checking how many more houses were damaged in addition to those impacted by previous storms, he said.

We need tin roofs and other construction materials, aside from food. Villagers tell us here that they still havent gotten up from the past storm and were pinned down again by this typhoon, Monterola said. Nearly half of the island provinces 80,000 people were sheltering in evacuation centers.

Catanduanes officials were so concerned as the typhoon approached that they threatened vulnerable villagers with arrest if they did not follow orders to evacuate to safer grounds. More than 750,000 people took refuge in emergency shelters, including churches and a shopping mall, due to Man-yi and two previous storms mostly in the northern Philippines, Assistant Secretary Cesar Idio of the Official of Civil Defense and other provincial officials said.

The rare number of back-to-back storms and typhoons that lashed Luzon in just three weeks left more than 160 people dead, affected 9 million people and caused such extensive damage to residential communities, infrastructure and farmlands that the Philippines may have to import more rice, a staple food for most Filipinos. In an emergency meeting as Man-yi approached, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. asked his Cabinet and provincial officials to brace for the worst-case scenario.

At least 26 domestic airports and two international airports were briefly shut and inter-island ferry and cargo services were suspended due to rough seas, stranding thousands of passengers and commuters, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippine and the coast guard.

The United States, Manilas treaty ally, along with Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei provided cargo aircraft and other storm aid to augment the governments overwhelmed disaster-response agencies. Last month, the first major storm, Trami, left scores of people dead after dumping one to two months worth of rain in just 24 hours in several towns.

The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons and storms each year. Its often hit by earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the worlds most disaster-prone countries. JIM GOMEZ, MANILA, MDT/AP
Local driver Lei Kit Meng has claimed victory in the Macau Roadsport Challenge, repeating his success from last years 70th Anniversary Challenge. In a race with several incidents that occurred under rainy conditions, Lei comfortably secured the top spot on the podium, followed by fellow local racers Jeronimo Badaraco and Mou Chi Fai.

Starting from pole position, Badaraco in a Toyota GR86 got off to a strong start, immediately followed closely by Lei in his Subaru BRZ, who passed Badaraco at Mandarin Bend. Badaraco then trailed Lei, maintaining a close distance, while Mou, who had started sixth on the grid in his Subaru BRZ, advanced to third at Lisboa Bend after Aaron Kwongs Toyota GR86 ran wide.

A safety car was called in after Celio Alves Dias stopped with a puncture at San Francisco Hill on the opening lap, with multiple cars hitting the barrier and prematurely ending their races. On lap 3, the race was briefly red-flagged before resuming under the safety car. When racing resumed, Lei held the lead, with Badaraco in close pursuit. Mou, in third, had to defend against a hard-charging Kwong in fourth until, a lap later, Kwong hit the barrier at R Bend, bringing out the red flags and ending the race. Fourth and fifth overall were Hong Kong drivers Chan Chak Yin and Lee Min Yip.

Damon Chan wins Macau SAR Establishment Cup

Hong Kongs Damon Chan won the special event dedicated to the Macau Roadsport category this yearthe Macau SAR Establishment Cup.

Damon took the victory ahead of local driver Cheang Kin Sang and Hong Kongs Ivan Szeto, who finished second and third on the podium, respectively.

The race took place under heavy rain on Sunday morning and started behind the safety car, with Chan taking full advantage of starting from pole position
Public servants in Macau will soon be mandated to take an oath affirming their commitment to the Basic Law and allegiance to the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR). This requirement, applicable to both new and existing civil servants, was announced by the Executive Council. Violating this oath could result in disciplinary actions, including dismissal. The proposed legislation aims to amend the civil servants statute and will define disloyal behavior clearly. Civil servants will have 90 days to comply, with refusal leading to automatic annulment of their positions. The sincerity of the oath will be evaluated by superiors during the process.

Related
A total of 24 non-local students were found to have fraudulently submitted their Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) results for university admission in the city, leading to their expulsion.

The Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) has revealed that the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) conducted a verification process with Hong Kong authorities, uncovering that 24 non-local students allegedly submitted false HKDSE results to gain admission.

After confirming that the diplomas were counterfeit, the organization responsible for school examinations in Hong Kong filed a complaint with the police, who are now investigating the matter.

The university is currently revoking these students status and investigating their actions, having reported the situation to DSEDJ as per established protocols. Furthermore, it has been reported that Hong Kong authorities have referred the matter to the police for further investigation, with ongoing communication between DSEDJ and Macau police, the bureau said in a statement.

In response to this situation, DSEDJ reiterated that all universities in Macau have intensified their verification procedures for academic qualifications and examination results, with no additional fraudulent cases identified thus far.

The bureau reiterated that to combat the use of fake academic credentials in higher education applications, authorities have implemented a collaborative mechanism with various institutions. In June, July, and August of this year, guidelines were issued regarding admissions and academic qualifications, alongside several verification meetings.

Christine Choi Yuk-lin, Hong Kongs Secretary for Education, condemned the fraudulent applications as outrageous during a radio interview on Saturday.

According to a report from the South China Morning Post (SCMP), she emphasized the gravity of the offense, noting that using fake documents is a serious crime that could lead to a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

Choi confirmed that upon investigation by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), it was confirmed that all submitted DSE certificates were indeed fake.

Choi stated that a police report had already been filed in response to these findings and urged universities to verify any suspicious qualifications with HKEAA.

This incident marks one of the first known cases in recent years where individuals have attempted to use fraudulent HKDSE qualifications to gain admission to universities outside of Hong Kong.

Other universities in Macau reported no additional cases after increasing their verification checks.

Choi also warned prospective students against trusting intermediary agents who claim to offer guaranteed admissions through dubious means, reiterating that such actions are criminal offenses with severe consequences.

DSEDJ also reminded that that all higher education institutions in Macau will rigorously enforce recruitment and registration processes, ensuring comprehensive verification of academic qualifications and examination results.

Additionally, the bureau reiterated that universities in Macau do not permit applications through intermediaries.
Portuguese motorsports veteran Rui Marques has been appointed the new Formula 1 race director, succeeding Niels Wittich in the critical role, the sports governing body FIA announced last week.

Marques, 51, will assume the position starting at the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix in November, taking over from Wittich who is departing to pursue new opportunities, according to the FIA statement.

Marques explained to the Portuguese news agency Lusa that the outcome is a product of evolution and experience, noting, Things evolve and the experience we gain also brings us these possibilities.

The FIA praised Marques wealth of experience in the role, which is one of the most influential positions in Formula 1, with responsibility for overseeing race control and enforcing the sports regulations.

Marques, who has worked at the Portuguese Automobile and Karting Federation and served as assistant race director in the World Touring Car Cup, said the new role will bring different challenges, particularly in terms of increased media attention.

Marques will become the second Portuguese national to hold the race director role, following in the footsteps of Eduardo Freitas. Freitas was appointed in 2022 but was later removed after the Japanese Grand Prix, leaving Wittich as the sole race director.

It is with great pride that we see one of FPAKs executives taking on such a prestigious role, said Ni Amorim, president of the Portuguese Automobile and Karting Federation. We wish him every success in this new professional challenge.

Marques, who first attended the iconic Macau Grand Prix as a track marshal in 1999, said the Macau Guia street circuit gives an experience that is hard to find in any other circuit.

In a separate interview with TDM, Marques shed light on the transition from F3 to Regional Formula within the racing domain. Emphasizing the learning curve for drivers navigating unfamiliar terrains, Marques urged patience and understanding amid the evolving dynamics of the sport.

We are talking about drivers who are learning, it is normal. They are learning categories, so it is normal to see mistakes that happen, Marques said. It was basically to draw their attention and for them to understand a little what Macau is, the respect that Macau deserves.

When invited to discuss the 71-year history of the Macau Grand Prix, said he always sees evolution in the prestigious street circuit. When asked about potential changes to the beloved yet dangerous track, the FIA member responded:

During this weekend, we have already foreseen evolutions for next year, so there is always room to improve. It is a continuous improvement. Now, in general, I think the circuit is already at a very high level. Everything always has improvements, so nothing is 100% perfect.

We are always evolving, even because every accident that takes place, especially those of a greater significance, we study what happened, we study what we can do differently, and we make changes.

Marques acknowledged that his new position will come with different challenges, particularly in terms of media attention. However, he remained focused on the task at hand, stating, Formula 1 is yet another category in which I will be the race director. Victoria Chan
As expected, the talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Peruvian President Dina Boluarte in Lima on Thursday were held in a warm and amicable atmosphere that reflected the deep mutual understanding between the two sides which has yielded substantial mutual benefits.

One of the major highlights of President Xis visit to Peru was the opening of Chancay Port on Thursday. The port, built by Chinese enterprises, will help consolidate Perus position as a gateway to South America on the Pacific coast and lay a solid foundation for the development of both software and hardware industries as part of the overall development of digital technology in the country. The port will also help the two sides to transform their blueprint for cooperation into concrete action.

China is ready to work with its neighbor across the Pacific to build a new land-sea corridor between China and Latin America through the Chancay Port, which will connect the Inca Trail with the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and open up a road to common prosperity, President Xi said during his talks with Boluarte.

According to a joint statement issued after their meeting, the two countries are to jointly explore new opportunities for cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative framework to realize mutual benefit and promote common sustainable development, and take measures to strengthen their comprehensive strategic partnership.

In this regard, the two countries need to expand their practical win-win collaboration in large-scale infrastructure projects, sustainable agriculture, industry and supply chains, fishing industry, the circular and digital economies, artificial intelligence, and the green economy, the document said.

China-Peru relations have strengthened in recent years thanks to their deepening political mutual understanding and mutual trust, as evidenced in the two countries support for each other on issues concerning their respective core interests.

China has been Perus largest trading partner and largest export market for 10 consecutive years, with the two sides steady progress in major cooperation projects in fields such as mining and infrastructure bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples.

Joining hands to promote common development in a vital region of the Global South, China and Peru will continue to support an open, transparent and nondiscriminatory multilateral trading system centered on the World Trade Organization, and work together to help reform the global economic governance system in order to make it fairer and more representative.

China and Peru have a long history of friendship, deeply rooted in the hearts of the people on both sides.

It is the two countries time-honored cultural bond, their adherence to the principles of mutual respect, win-win cooperation and equality, as well as their joint commitment to multilateralism and a world order centered on the United Nations that have turned their differences in culture, political system and development stage into reasons for deepening mutual learning and mutually beneficial cooperation.

Like the tangible benefits delivered to the people of the two countries during his last visit to Peru in 2016, President Xis latest visit to the country will also yield mutual benefits and further deepen cooperation under the comprehensive strategic partnership framework, ushering in a future of common prosperity.

Editorial, China Daily
Goldstorm Metals Corp. (CVE:GSTM) (OTCMKTS:GSTMF) is a precious and base metals exploration company with a large strategic land position in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia, an area that hosts some of the largest and highest-grade gold deposits in the World. The Company's flagship Crown and Electrum projects consist of six concessions that cover approximately a total of 16,469 hectares, 5 of which are directly located south of Seabridge Gold's world-class KSM gold-copper deposits and west of Newmont Corporation's Brucejack gold mine. Goldstorm Metals acquired the Crown and Electrum properties in 2022 from Tudor Gold Corp., which controls the Treaty Creek gold project, which hosts the Goldstorm Deposit; one of the largest gold discoveries in the last 30 years.
DHAKA  Thirteen Bangladeshi former top government officials arrested after the revolution in August appeared in court Monday accused of enabling massacres, with prosecutors repeating extradition demands for exiled ex-leader Sheikh Hasina.

Dozens of Hasinas allies have been taken into custody since her regime collapsed, accused of involvement in a police crackdown that killed more than 700 people during the unrest that led to her ouster.

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Prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam said the 13 defendants, who included 11 former ministers, a judge and an ex-government secretary, were accused of command responsibility for the deadly crackdown on the student-led protest that ousted the regime.

Hasina, who fled to old ally India by helicopter on August 5, was also due in court in Dhaka on Monday to face charges of massacres, killings, and crimes against humanity, but she remained a fugitive in exile.

We have produced 13 defendants today, including 11 former ministers, a bureaucrat, and a judge, Islam, the chief prosecutor of Bangladeshs International Crimes Tribunal, told reporters.

They are complicit in enabling massacres by participating in planning, inciting violence, ordering law enforcement officers to shoot on sight, and obstructing efforts to prevent a genocide.

Around half a dozen lawyers supported the defendants, who were brought from custody and led into court surrounded by a ring of security forces to separate them from the large crowd outside.

Hasinas 15-year tenure saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.

The charges the 13 face are so far limited to the police crackdown on student-led protests, but Islam requested more time to compile evidence stretching back further.

The crimes that led to mass murders and genocide have occurred over the past 16 years across the country, he told reporters.

The court gave prosecutors until December 17 to submit their investigation report.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the United States and the West are using the Ukrainian military as shock troops to fight Russia and risk triggering a global conflict, state media reported Monday.

Seoul and Washington have accused the nuclear-armed North of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine, with experts saying Kim was eager for Moscows advanced technology, plus battle experience for his troops, in return.

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Pyongyang has denied the deployment, and Kim did not mention it in a speech to battalion commanders carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

The US and the West are using the conflict in Ukraine to expand the scope of their military interventions globally, Kim said.

They are also trying to enhance their combat experience, with Ukraine being used as shock troops against Russia, he said.

Washingtons continuing military assistance to Ukraine raises the concern of World War III, he said.

Kim vowed his country would bolster its nuclear weapons defence without limit.

His warning comes after Seoul said last week that North Korean troops had already begun engaging in combat operations alongside Russian forces near the border with Ukraine.

Kim is likely keeping in mind the possibility of additional deployments to support Russias war in Ukraine, said Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification.

Last week, North Korea ratified a landmark defence pact with Russia, formalising months of tightening military bonds between two nations that were Communist allies throughout the Cold War.

In exchange for sending troops, the West fears Russia is offering North Korea technological support that could advance Pyongyangs nuclear weapons programme.

The reclusive state recently fired a salvo of ballistic missiles and tested a new solid-fuel ICBM.

The nuclear-armed states deployment of troops to Russia has led to a shift in tone from Seoul, which has resisted calls to send lethal weapons to Kyiv so far but recently indicated it might change its no-provision policy.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday called on G20 leaders gathering in Rio de Janeiro to rescue stalled concurrent UN climate talks in Azerbaijan by showing leadership on cutting emissions.

A successful outcome at COP29 is still within reach, but it will require leadership and compromise, namely from the G20 countries, Guterres, who will attend the summit of the worlds biggest economies starting Monday, told a press conference in Rio.

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The annual UN talks in Baku are deadlocked at the midway point, with nations no closer to agreeing a $1 trillion deal for climate investments in developing nations after a week of negotiations.

The talks are stuck over the final figure, the type of financing, and who should pay, with Western countries wanting China and wealthy Gulf states to join the list of donors.

All eyes have turned to Rio in the hope of a breakthrough.

The spotlight is naturally on the G20. They account for 80 percent of global emissions, Guterres said, calling on the group to lead by example.

Climate was an issue advanced by several of the leaders as they converged on Rio.

US President Joe Biden, making a stopover in the Amazon, talked up $11 billion in bilateral climate financing his administration has allocated this year.

He also  in a reference to President-elect Donald Trump taking over from him in two months  declared that nobody could reverse the clean energy revolution directed by his government.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Rio jointly launched a campaign to boost renewable energies in Africa.

Tripling renewables globally until 2030 would mean a cut of 10 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions, von der Leyen said at an event put on by the advocacy group Global Citizen.

She said the EU was increasing investment around the world for the building of infrastructure of renewables, specifically in Africa through the blocs Global Gateway program  designed to rival Chinas Belt and Road Initiative.

The European Union is the worlds biggest contributor for climate financing, most of which goes through multilateral funds.
Athens, GreeceAround 25,000 people marched through Athens on Sunday in closely watched demonstrations to mark the 51st anniversary of the pro-democracy uprising that helped topple military rule in Greece, police said.

Demonstrators take part in a rally marking the anniversary of a 1973 anti-junta uprising in Thessaloniki, on November 17, 2024.  More than five thousand police were deployed in Athens on November 17, for the annual demonstration marking the anniversary of a 1973 anti-junta uprising, when at least 24 people were killed at the Athens Polytechnic, when the junta sent troops and police against a pro-democracy student uprising. (Photo by Sakis Mitrolidis / AFP)

The protests are held every year to commemorate the 1973 Athens Polytechnic protests that killed 24 people, when the ruling junta sent troops to break up an anti-government uprising.

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As the commemoration is often marred by far-left violence on the sidelines, more than 5,500 officers were deployed on Sunday.

They were backed by riot squads, drones and helicopters monitoring key locations, including the US and Israeli embassies, police said earlier.

More than 110 people were detained during checks made before the march, according to police sources.

Much of the city center was closed off to traffic and central Athens metro stations closed early.

The brutal crackdown on the 1973 student-led, anti-junta demonstrations shocked Europe and is generally considered to have broken the dictatorships grip on power, leading to the restoration of democracy months later.

Sundays march began at the Polytechnic campus headquarters and was fronted by students carrying a bloodstained Greek flag that flew over the Polytechnics iron gate the night it crushed by a tank. Many protesters also carried Palestinian flags.

Various civil society groups, anti-authoritarian collectives, opposition parties, workers unions headed toward the US Embassy to protest against Washingtons support for the Greek military dictatorship during the Cold War, and then to the Israeli Embassy.

Student associations chanted The Polytechnic uprising lives on, calling us to fight and Freedom in Palestine.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Sunday emphasised the importance of free parliamentary democracy.

The message of resistance emanating from the Polytechnic uprising is an enduring symbol of progress which is neither trapped in the past nor sacrificed to party exploitation, he posted on social media.

That is why, 51 years later, it still shines. To signal loyalty to democracy. Faith in unity. And the prospect of a better life.

Protests were held nationwide, including in the cities of Thessaloniki, Patras in the Peloponnese and Heraklion in Crete.

In Thessaloniki, where 8,000 people protested, a group of young people hurled Molotov cocktails at riot police after the march ended. Officers responded with tear gas and flash bombs.
A landmark meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has produced significant agreements on maritime security, counter-terrorism, and economic cooperation. This first Indian premier visit to Nigeria in 17 years marks intensified diplomatic engagement between the nations.

The leaders focused on coordinated efforts to protect maritime trade routes and combat piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and Indian Ocean, addressing growing regional security challenges. The partnership extends beyond security to encompass defense cooperation, healthcare initiatives, and food security measures.

Nigeria seeks to leverage this relationship to attract increased Indian investment and secure favorable credit terms for economic development. The collaboration builds on previous commitments, including nearly $14 billion in investment pledges from Indian businesses, with Jindal Steel and Powers proposed $3 billion investment in Nigerias steel sector.

The presence of over 200 Indian companies operating in Nigeria underscores the existing economic ties between the nations. This strengthened partnership reflects Nigerias strategy to diversify international relationships and attract foreign investment for economic growth and job creation.

The diplomatic engagement represents a significant step in strengthening bilateral ties between Africas most populous nation and India, potentially reshaping regional economic and security dynamics.
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Transthoracic two-dimensional echocardiogram. Credit: Espinola-Zavaleta N, Soto ME, Castellanos LM, Jativa-Chavez S, Keirns C./Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

Using an artificial intelligence program to read echocardiograms may reduce the wait time for results and help lead to more timely medical care, according to late-breaking science presented Nov. 16 at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2024. The meeting, held Nov. 1618, 2024, in Chicago, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science.

In this study, an artificial intelligence program called PanEcho was tested on its ability to interpret echocardiography videos independently. An echocardiogram is a type of heart imaging that allows doctors to see heart structure and function, and it is used to diagnose and treat heart conditions.

PanEcho builds on previous AI uses in cardiology that were limited to single views of the heart and disease-specific criteria. The research team developed a novel AI system capable of comprehensive reporting for all major findings from any set of echocardiography videos.

"PanEcho has the potential to be used in simplified, AI-assisted screening echocardiograms," said Gregory Holste, M.S.E., a researcher with the Cardiovascular Data Science (CarDS) Lab at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, who presented the study. "In settings where expert readers may not be readily accessible, PanEcho could rapidly rule out abnormalities that would otherwise require urgent referral."

PanEcho's diagnostic performance was evaluated using a standard measurement of accuracy for diagnostic tests: the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). A 100% accurate test has an AUC of 1, and an uninformative test (e.g., random guessing) has an AUC of 0.5.

The study found:

When PanEcho's abilities were evaluated in 18 different diagnostic classification tasks, its average score was 0.91.

When assessing ventricle function and structure, PanEcho's accuracy scores were:

0.95 AUC for detecting increased size in the left ventricle, making it difficult for the heart to pump blood.

0.98 AUC for identifying systolic dysfunction in the left ventricle reduces the chamber's ability to pump blood into the aorta.

0.91 AUC for detecting left ventricle hypertrophya term used when a heart's left pumping chamber has thickened and may not be pumping efficiently.

0.93 AUC for identifying systolic dysfunction in the right ventricle reduces the chamber's ability to pump blood into the lungs.

When diagnosing valvular disease, PanEcho's accuracy scores were:

0.99 AUC for identifying severe aortic stenosis, restricted blood flow due to calcium buildup on heart valves.

0.96 AUC for identifying mitral stenosis, narrowing of the mitral valve between the left atrium and left ventricle.

0.93 AUC for identifying moderate or greater aortic regurgitation, leakage of blood through the aortic valve.

0.96 AUC for identifying moderate or greater mitral regurgitation, leakage of blood backward through the mitral valve.

PanEcho was also evaluated on its ability to estimate continuous echocardiographic parameters, using mean absolute error, which is a measurement of the average distance between predicted values and actual values, meaning the smaller the distance, the more accurate the prediction. When evaluated in 21 tasks, PanEcho had a median normalized mean absolute error of 0.13.

PanEcho demonstrated accuracy when quantifying left ventricle dimensions and function, including:

4.4% mean absolute error when estimating left ventricle ejection fraction;

1.3 mm mean absolute error when estimating left ventricle intraventricular septum thickness; and

1.2 mm mean absolute error when estimating left ventricle posterior wall thickness.

These measurements are critical to accurately assess left ventricular structure and function, a major aspect of heart health.

"This work represents an advance in AI for echocardiography, and we hope that the public release of our AI model will encourage the research community to move toward flexible, multi-task, multi-view approaches for echocardiogram interpretation," he added.

PanEcho is limited by its retrospective validation in previously acquired data. The next step is to prospectively validate its application in real-world patient care environments to provide further insights into its clinical viability, Holste said. "It also needs to be evaluated for use with portable echocardiogram machines used in emergency rooms and smaller medical clinics, where there is potential for the biggest positive impact with AI tools."

Study background, design and details:

PanEcho was developed using 1.23 million echocardiogram videos with multiple views that were part of nearly 34,000 transthoracic echocardiography tests conducted for people treated at a Yale-New Haven Health System hospital (five locations in Connecticut) or who were seen in one of the system's outpatient clinics between 2016 and 2022. The AI program was developed by the CarDS Lab at Yale School of Medicine.

The echocardiograms were from 26,067 unique individuals whose routine care included this type of imaging.

About 52% of the imaging data collected was from adults who self-identified as men.

The average age of the people whose echocardiograms were part of this collection was 67.

About 80% of the participants in the imaging collection were noted as white people, 14.2% were Black people, 1.8% were Asian people and 4.3% from people who self-identified as other race in this study.
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Liver disease, which is treatable when discovered early, often goes undetected until late stages, but a new study revealed that an algorithm fueled by artificial intelligence can accurately detect early-stage metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) by using electronic health records. The study was presented at The Liver Meeting, hosted by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

"A significant proportion of patients who meet the criteria for MASLD go undiagnosed," said Ariana Stuart MD, a resident at University of Washington Internal Medicine Residency Program and lead author of the study. "This is concerning because delays in early diagnosis increase the likelihood of progression to advanced liver disease."

Researchers used an AI algorithm to analyze imaging findings in electronic health records from three sites within the University of Washington Medical System to identify patients who met the criteria for MASLD, the most common form of liver disease, affecting 4.5 million adults in the United States.

While 834 patients met the criteria, only 137 actually had an official MASLD-associated diagnosis in their record. This left 83% of patients undiagnosed even when data in their electronic health record showed they met the criteria for MASLD.

"People should not interpret our findings as a lack of primary care training or management," Stuart said. "Instead, our study shows how AI can complement physician workflow to address the limitations of traditional clinical practice."

MASLD occurs when fat isn't managed properly in the liver and is often associated with other common diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and abnormal cholesterol levels. Early diagnosis of MASLD is key because it can quickly progress to more severe forms of liver disease, but many individuals in this early stage are asymptomatic, making diagnosis challenging.

More information: Ariana Stuart, MD, presented the study, 'Artificial Intelligence for Early MASLD Identification in the Electronic Medical Record,' abstract 2360, on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 8 a.m. PST.

Provided by American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
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As communities across the Bay Area continue to grapple with jarring scenes of human suffering on the street, counties in the region are rolling out new state-mandated mental health courts aimed at getting people with serious psychiatric disorders into treatment and housing.

Statewide, most counties must launch CARE courtsconceived of by Gov. Gavin Newsom as part of a broader update to California's mental health systemby Dec. 1.

Some counties, including San Francisco and San Mateo, already have the new civil court process up and running. But so far, relatively few people have gone before a judge.

Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa counties say their CARE Court programs are on track to start by the beginning of next month. Local officials say the new model can reach those with the gravest needs, even while acknowledging it's not a solution for the vast majority of homeless people.

"It's geared toward the people with the most serious problems who have not typically received assistance," said Alameda County Superior Court Judge Sandra Bean, who will preside over the county's CARE Court. "Many families are just at a loss for how to deal with their loved ones."

CARE Court works by empowering family members, close friends, first responders, behavioral health providers and others to refer people with severe, untreated psychiatric issues to the program. If a person is eligible, a judge works to come up with a treatment plan, which may include medication, drug counseling and a spot in supportive housing or a residential care facility. Plans last for a year and can be renewed once for another 12 months.

Judges have the authority to order county health officials to provide treatment, but they can't force participants to accept such services. While the goal is voluntary participation, a judge can refer anyone who refuses treatment for a conservatorship, in which a court-appointed guardian makes decisions for a person's well-being and can potentially send them to a locked facility.

Despite being highly touted by Newsom, officials describe the courtsand the county outreach teams and health staff supporting themas an incremental step toward solving the state's intertwined mental health, addiction and homelessness crises. They stress the system is designed only for those struggling with the most severe conditions who can't or won't seek care on their own.

It's unclear how many people might be eligible for CARE Court in the Bay Area. Statewide, officials have estimated that 7,000 to 12,000 people could qualify, a small fraction of California's more than 181,000 homeless residents. Participants do not need to be homeless to enter the program, but the expectation is that many will be experiencing homelessness.

With CARE courts set to open statewide, it's apparent local officials will need to do more to ensure the program is a success.

After eight countiesincluding San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diegostarted the state's first CARE courts last year, only about 450 people were referred to the programs during the first six months. And many of those may not have qualified. San Mateo County's court, which opened this summer, accepted just three participants in its initial two months.

Officials say the low numbers are partly due to the strict eligibility requirements, including having been diagnosed with severe schizophrenia or another serious psychotic disorder but not receiving treatment. They also acknowledge the need to better educate local communities on how to refer people to the program.

"Counties can prioritize public information sessions, targeted workshops for first responders and health care providers, and direct collaborations with local organizations," Rovina Nimbalkarm, executive director of mental health advocacy group NAMI Santa Clara County, said in an email.

Some disability rights advocates, however, argue that bringing people with mental illnesses before a judgewho, under a new state law, has expanded authority to refer them for a conservatorshipis a pathway to involuntary treatment that infringes on the civil liberties of the most vulnerable in society.

The program "unnecessarily involves our court systems to force medical care and social services on people," Helen Tran, a senior attorney at the Western Center on Law and Poverty, said in a statement earlier this year.

Ahead of CARE Court's initial launch last year, health officials across the state also raised concerns about a lack of mental health workers, supportive housing units and treatment beds for those in the program. According to a 2021 study from the public policy think tank RAND, California had a shortage of roughly 7,730 treatment and residential care beds.

In response, CARE Court backers point to Proposition 1, a $6.4 billion bond measure voters narrowly approved in March to fund an estimated 6,800 treatment beds and 4,350 units of supportive housing, though the money won't be distributed for at least another year. Proponents also say recent changes to Medi-Cal, the state's low-income health care program, should help pay for CARE Court participants' treatment.

As Alameda County prepares to open its CARE Court, officials say they're ready to hit the ground running. This month, the county superior court and health department began offering online meetings to inform the public about how to refer people to CARE Court.

The county will begin accepting referrals online on Nov. 28, and in person at local superior courts starting Dec. 2. Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties will begin taking petitions on Dec. 1.

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The first case in the U.S. of a more severe mpox variant has been confirmed in a person who had recently traveled to East Africa and was treated in San Mateo County, the California Department of Public Health announced Saturday.

The person diagnosed with the Clade I variant is isolating at home and recovering, while people who had close contact with the person are being notified by public health officials.

There is no evidence that the strain is spreading in California or the U.S, the California Department of Public Health said. The risk of contracting Clade I mpox in the U.S. remains low, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A less severe variant known as Clade II continues to circulate in the U.S., including in Los Angeles and San Franciscotwo of the epicenters of the last outbreak in 2022.

In Africa, a Clade I outbreak has been centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which had 6,169 confirmed cases and 25 deaths as of Oct. 6, according to the World Health Organization.

Two years ago, cases of Clade II mpox were rapidly increasing in cities across the globe, particularly in the U.S. While that strain of mpox was rarely deadly, officials declared a worldwide public health emergency in July 2022. In the months that followed, the spread of the virus steadily fell, though cases have never completely gone away.

In August 2024, the appearance of the more deadly Clade I variant once again prompted a global health alert.

Recent evidence, however, suggests that this Clade I outbreak may be causing less severe illness than previous ones, especially when patients get quality medical care, the CDC said. In the past, the strain resulted in death rates of 3% to 11%, but the death rate for this outbreak appears to be closer to 1% with good medical care.

Mpox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox but causes milder symptoms such as fever, chills and body aches.

The symptoms for both types of mpox are similar, with more severe cases causing a rash on the hands, feet, chest, face, mouth or genitals. Both strains are transmitted by skin-to-skin or sexual contact.

The CDC recommends that at-risk people, such as men who have sex with men, take precautions, which include getting vaccinated, avoiding skin-to-skin contact with those who have a rash or sores that look like mpox, and washing their hands often.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health continues to recommend mpox vaccinations for some people, including men who have sex with men or transgender persons, those living with HIV and those who have had skin-to-skin or intimate contact with someone with suspected or confirmed mpox.

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If you bring a baby into the Hurley Children's Center clinic in downtown Flint, Michigan, Mona Hanna will find you. The pediatrician, who gained national prominence for helping uncover the city's water crisis in 2015, strode across the waiting room in her white lab coat, eyes laser-focused on the chubby baby in the lap of an unsuspecting parent.

"Hi! I'm Dr. Mona!" she said warmly. "Any chance you guys live in Flint?" She learned the family is from neighboring Grand Blanc.

"That's so sad!" Hanna said. "You should move to Flint! And have another baby! And you could be part of the Rx Kids program!" The parents chuckled politely. But the doctor was not kidding.

Billed as the first-ever citywide cash aid program for pregnant moms and babies, Rx Kids gives Flint residents $1,500 mid-pregnancy, and $500 each month for the baby's first year. There are no strings attached. No income limits. And it's universal; nearly every baby born since the program launched in January is enrolled.

Parents who bring their babies in for checkups at this clinic rattle off the ways the money has helped, from the cribs, diapers, clothes, and wipes they've bought to how it's "kept them afloat" during maternity leave or provided crucial income when a spouse dies.

But the true goal of Rx Kids goes far beyond Flint, as Hanna acknowledged, scooping up one of the Rx Kids babies in an exam room. "Do you think we should do this for babies everywhere? What do you think?" she asked, cooing. The baby gurgled happily, smiling. "That was an affirmative yes."

Cash payments as a tool to reduce child poverty

Many other countries, including Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, already offer a child cash benefit. The U.S. essentially did, too, during the coronavirus pandemic: The 2021 expanded child tax credit gave low- and middle-income families (including those previously excluded because of insufficient income) hundreds of dollars per child in direct, monthly payments for six months.

The child poverty rate fell to a historic low. But the expanded program expired at the end of 2021 and Congress did not renew it. The child poverty rate went back up.

For Luke Shaefer, director of the Poverty Solutions initiative at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy and a longtime advocate of child cash benefits, it was "the most brutal day" of his career.

Soon after, he got an email from Hanna asking if he wanted to collaborate on the program that would become Rx Kids. The program's goals go beyond cash aid for Michigan families: It is also aimed at getting donors, lawmakers, and voters excited about how child cash benefits could help their communities.

The list of the recently converted includes Republican state Sen. John Damoose, who has become an outspoken advocate for expanding Rx Kids. Referring to himself as "a pro-life person," Damoose said, "I sure as heck better be concerned about making it easier for mothers to make the decision to have their children."

He said the Republican Party needs to get serious about supporting programs like Rx Kids. "We've been accused for years about being pro-birth, not pro-life. And I think that's not without merit. We need to put our money where our mouth is and support these children and support their mothers."

Already, what once seemed like a moonshot is gaining traction. Shaefer and Hanna say their communications with Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign helped shape Harris' "baby bonus" proposal. President-elect Donald Trump's campaign also supported expanding the child tax credit.

Meanwhile, Michigan has budgeted some $20 million in state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash to partially fund an expansion of Rx Kids to a short list of communities, if those areas can raise local matching funds. Those areas include rural communities like Michigan's remote eastern Upper Peninsula, part of which is in Damoose's district. "We want to make the tent as big as possible," Hanna said.

But some Upper Peninsula health officials were initially wary. Each new Rx Kids community will need to raise millions of dollars in private donations to start and sustain the program in their community. "It could be a good thing," Leann Espinoza, maternal-infant health program manager for the eastern Upper Peninsula, said in August. "But I'm not getting my hopes up. I know that sounds terrible."

Upper peninsula families 'fall through the cracks'

In the wood-paneled rec room of the Clark Township Community Center, Espinoza broke the news to her team this summer: Rx Kids is not a program the eastern Upper Peninsula will be able to fund on its own.

It's about "$3 million that we would need to raise," she said, looking at three other LMAS District Health Department staff members.

Tonya Winberg, the public health nurse for Mackinac County, looked stunned. "It's just, where does that $3 million come from?" Winberg asked. Other potential Rx Kids expansion sites, like Kalamazoo, have wealthy private foundations that can fund the program. The eastern Upper Peninsula does not.

"And how do we sustain it?" Espinoza added. "We hate to start programs, and then the funding is gone and we have to tell people, "It's not here anymore; we can't do it anymore.'"

The ruggedly beautiful and densely forested Upper Peninsula is used to feeling forgotten. There's a running joke about how often it's mislabeled as Canada or Wisconsin on maps. It has about a third of Michigan's land mass, but just 3% of its residents. The sheer scale and sparse population mean options for food, housing, and child care are limited.

Poverty rates are higher than the state average in much of Espinoza's territory, and the region has some of the highest rates of newborns suffering from prebirth drug exposure in the state, according to the state health department.

At the community center, Espinoza and her colleagues start listing all the ways Rx Kids would be a lifesaver for families in the Upper Peninsula, many of whom have some income and some resources but "don't make enough to make it," Espinoza said. "The fall-through-the-cracks families. And those are the ones that I really, really, really think this program would benefit, especially up here."

Espinoza's next meeting was with one of those families. Jessica Kline and her 18-month-old daughter, Aurora, live in Munising, a tourist town on Lake Superior. "She's got a big personality, and her hair is red, so she came with a warning label," Kline said of her daughter, laughing.

Aurora is a tiny force, speeding around the family's apartment, unfazed by the nasal tube that connects her to an oxygen machine. She was born early, at just 24 weeks gestation, weighing less than 2 pounds. No hospital in the Upper Peninsula was equipped to care for a preemie that young. So Aurora and her parents spent seven months at a hospital in Ann Arbor, five hours south of their home.

"We didn't have a reliable vehicle," Kline said. "We didn't have a source of income." Hospital social services provided $19 a day for food, which Kline would save up to buy supplies for Aurora.

When they finally got Aurora home to the Upper Peninsula, their house had been vandalized, the copper pipes stripped out. Espinoza's team helped them find housing, and drove them to get groceries. Every day is a series of small battles, from finding the medical supplies Aurora needs to figuring out how to get to a revolving door of specialists hundreds of miles away. Still, Aurora's dad has a job in town. They've got family nearby. They're making it work, Kline said.

But having a program like Rx Kids could have made a huge difference in her daughter's first year. "Five hundred dollars a month would have been enough to actually be able to get ourselves on our feet," she said.

After Espinoza left Kline's apartment, she drove south to her office in Manistique. It was late. Everyone else had gone home. Espinoza sat at her desk, trying to be pragmatic. She knows Rx Kids would not magically solve the lack of child care and housing and all the other things you need to break the cycle of poverty. But it would fix Kline's car. It would help.

There will undoubtedly be critics, Espinoza saidpeople who believe parents will just use this money to buy drugs. "What did they do to earn it?" she imagined them saying.

"You're just giving them free money, and they didn't do anything to get it? Because they don't understand. They don't understand the barriers. They don't understand that sometimes the choice isn't always yours. Like, I've talked to moms who desperately want to go to work, and they want to support their family, but there's no child care. And so they have no other choice."

Espinoza recently got an update from Rx Kids' Hanna: Largely because of private foundations outside the Upper Peninsula, the program has raised enough money to fund a "perinatal" version of Rx Kids for five counties in the eastern Upper Peninsula.

The perinatal program would provide the $1,500 payment mid-pregnancy, plus $500 a month for a baby's first three months, rather than the full year. "But the goal really is the full program, so we are still raising money," Hanna said via email.

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A large-scale clinical trial found that intravenous infusion of exenatide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog medication, during heart surgeries involving bypass did not significantly reduce the risk of death, stroke or organ failure. Researchers presented this preliminary late-breaking science trial on Nov. 17 at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2024. The meeting, held Nov. 1618, 2024, in Chicago, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science.

Exenatide is a GLP-1-like (analog) medication primarily prescribed to treat Type 2 diabetes, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2005. The GLORIOUS trial tested whether intravenous infusion of exenatide could reduce complications during and after cardiac surgery that included the assistance of cardiopulmonary bypass.

Health care professionals frequently perform heart surgery with the assistance of cardiopulmonary bypass, also known as a heart-lung machine. During this procedure, the blood is drained from the veins through a pump, passed through an oxygenator that adds oxygen and removes carbon dioxide, and pumped back into the body through the aorta.

The process allows the body and organs to continue to receive oxygen-rich blood and function, while the surgeon operates on a non-moving heart. While helpful, there are still risks to bypass, including death, stroke, kidney failure and new or worsening heart failure. Previous research has suggested that exenatide might have organ-protective effects, the authors noted.

"The evidence for perioperative treatment of patients undergoing cardiac surgery is limited," said investigator Sebastian Wiberg, M.D., Ph.D., an anesthesiologist at The Heart Center, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark. "As such, there is a large unmet need for clinical trials investigating strategies to optimize treatment and reduce the risk of complications, such as organ injury, inflammation and the formation of blood clots."

The GLORIOUS trial included approximately 1,400 adults who had cardiopulmonary bypass-assisted coronary bypass grafting and/or surgical aortic valve replacement at a heart center in Denmark between 2016 and 2021, with the final follow-up visit completed in June of 2024.

The study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, meaning participants were randomly assigned to receive a test treatment or a sham/placebo treatment, and neither the researchers nor the participants knew which group participants were in. Patients were randomized to one of two groups: to receive either a six hour and 15-minute infusion of exenatide or a placebo prior to surgery.

The study found no significant differences in outcomes between the two groups during the average follow-up period of nearly six years:

14% of patients who received exenatide died during the follow-up period vs. 13% of those who received the placebo.

5.8% of patients in the exenatide group had a stroke vs. 4.8% of those in the placebo group.

9.8% of patients who received exenatide had new or worsening heart failure after surgery vs. 10% of those who received the placebo.

4.8% in the exenatide group had acute kidney injury during the initial hospital admission for surgery vs. 5.3% in the placebo group.

"We had hoped exenatide might protect patients from developing heart failure or other common complications after heart bypass surgery, however, the results suggest that this GLP-1 analog does not offer significant benefits. Of note, these findings provide important insights into what does and doesn't work in the complex setting of cardiac surgery," Wiberg said.

"There is still a big gap in knowledge about how to best support patients on bypass during surgery, and there is an urgent need for more clinical trials to find ways to optimize patient health during and after bypass surgery."

Wiberg emphasized that because the trial assessed the effects of a single treatment with exenatide over a relatively brief administration period at one heart center in Denmark, the results may not be generalizable to other medications among different patient populations. In addition, it's possible that different GLP-1 analogs, administration for a longer period of time or a larger dose may potentially be beneficial for patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass-assisted cardiac surgery.

Study details, background and design:

The GLORIOUS trial included 1,389 adult patients scheduled for elective or subacute cardiopulmonary bypass-assisted coronary bypass grafting and/or surgical aortic valve replacement between February 2016 and December 2021 at a heart center in Denmark.

Participants had an average age of 68 years, 17% were female, and 98% self-identified as white.

At the beginning of the study, 30% of participants had heart disease, and 16% had heart failure. Nearly 20% of participants had had a previous heart attack, and 9% had a previous stroke.

Participants were randomized to receive an infusion of either 17.4g of exenatide or placebo infusion initiated at time of anesthesia prior to surgery. The infusion for both groups of patients lasted six hours and 15 minutes.

Participants were monitored during surgery and approximately 6 years (5.9-years) of follow-up health information was collected for various outcomes after surgery, including death, kidney failure requiring renal replacement therapy, stroke, new-onset heart failure, hospital readmission for heart failure or other cardiovascular causes, surgical site infection, hypoglycemia, pancreatitis, a relative reduction of ejection fraction by 50% compared to baseline, reoperation for bleeding or other causes, and post-surgery myocardial infarction.
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In the two counties around nurse practitioner Samantha Marsee's clinic in rural northeastern Maryland, there's not a single clinic that provides abortions. And until recently, Marsee herself wasn't trained to treat patients who wanted to end a pregnancy.

"I didn't really have a lot of knowledge about abortion care," she said.

After Roe v. Wade was overturned, she watched state after state ban abortion, and Marsee decided to take part in the first class of a new training program offered by the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the University of Maryland-Baltimore.

Marsee learned how to administer medication abortion pills, procedural abortions, and highly effective birth control methods, including hormonal implants and intrauterine devices.

She cares for patients with all sorts of everyday ailments and health conditions, including pregnancy. "I do have patients who come in for confirmation of pregnancies and then disclose they don't want to continue with the pregnancy for whatever reason," Marsee said.

Now, with her new training, she can help.

Expanding the pool of health care providers with reproductive health care skills outside of the state's urban centers is vital, said Mary Jo Bondy, associate dean of the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Maryland-Baltimore. She helped create the new training program.

In 2022, Maryland lawmakers passed the Abortion Care Access Act, expanding the type of medical care nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certified nurse-midwives could offer, including abortion, and the training program "prioritized that group," Bondy said.

Those types of professionals have long provided abortions to rural patients in other states, Bondy said, and "we have proof that receiving this care from an advanced practice clinician is safe."

As many as 120 health care providers will be trained over the next two years. Some participants have said they are returning to communities that are hostile to abortion rights.

On Nov. 5, voters approved a ballot measure to protect reproductive rights in the Maryland Constitution, by an overwhelming margin, preliminary results show. The state is widely considered a safe haven for patients who live in states with abortion bans. The number of abortions in Maryland increased 29% from 2019 to 2023, driven largely by out-of-state residents. But one training participant, a family physician from the Eastern Shore, said providing abortions makes her concerned for her physical safety and asked not to be identified.

"The rural catchment and politics really drive it either out or at least into the quiet," she said of abortion availability where she lives. She worries that her employer will question the prescriptions she writes for medication abortion pills and said pharmacists often refuse to give the medication to her patients.

Even in Maryland, pharmacists are allowed to refuse to dispense medication abortion pills.

As more health care providers are trained in abortion care, they need help from the state's medical schools and health officials to overcome these barriers, the family physician said. She wants help with "access to medication and pushing in some ways the hand of our employers, or normalizing, "This is just health care.'"

For Marsee, the next step is to figure out how to let her patients know she can provide abortions. She plans to tell her current patients and hopes they'll tell others.

"I'm working on a way to let people know that I'm here and can provide it," Marsee said. "This is a conservative area, so it's walking that line. I want people to know I'm here, but I don't want to cause too much outrage and attention."

2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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A new nasal spray form of the medication bumetanide may reduce the tissue swelling caused by heart failure as effectively as the standard oral and intravenous formulations of the medication, according to late-breaking science presented Nov. 18 at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2024. The meeting, held Nov. 1618, in Chicago, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science. This research is simultaneously published today in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.

Heart failure occurs when the heart does not pump blood as well as it should, resulting in decreased blood flow to organs and fluid buildup in the lungs and other tissues. Lifestyle changes, including controlling obesity, smoking cessation, being physically active, controlling high blood pressure and controlling blood glucose levels can help prevent the development of heart failure.

Medications used to treat heart failure include diuretics, which reduce tissue swelling and can be administered orally or intravenously. Bumetanide is one of the standard diuretics administered orally or intravenously to reduce tissue swelling from heart, kidney or liver disease by removing excess salt and water through the urine.

In this clinical trial called RSQ-777-02, researchers explored a new nasal spray form of bumetanide in healthy adults. They compared its absorption and ability to reduce swelling to those of oral and intravenous bumetanide among 68 adults who did not have heart failure or risk factors for heart failure at the time of enrollment.

"In patients with heart failure, the body's ability to absorb oral medications in the stomach and gut often decreases as fluid overload builds up (this is called diuretic resistance) and, thus, oral medications are often least effective when the body needs them most," said study presenting author Daniel Bensimhon, M.D., medical director of the Advanced Heart Failure/Mechanical Circulatory Support Program at Cone Health in Greensboro, North Carolina.

"Having a diuretic that does not rely on gut absorption to be effective may be a very important tool to help patients with heart failure and other conditions without having to rely on intravenous administration of these medications, which can only be done at hospitals and in heart failure clinics."

The study found:

The nasal spray was absorbed effectively and was safe, meaning that side effects were consistent with the other versions of administration and that it had fewer treatment-emergent adverse events compared to the oral version.

Compared with the oral and IV versions of bumetanide, the nasal spray formulation led to a similar amount of urine output.

Compared with the oral version, people treated with the nasal spray bumetanide reached a similar blood concentration, and the medication was absorbed 33% faster. The absorption rate of the IV form was faster than both the oral and nasal versions, however, the onset of sodium excretion through urine was faster with the nasal version, the authors noted. Previous research has suggested urinary sodium as a biomarker of diuretic response in heart failure.

Study participants received all three forms of bumetanide in various order. The nasal and IV forms of bumetanide were absorbed at more reliable rates than the oral form for each study participanta measure known as intrasubject variability. The nasal and IV forms had a variability in absorption of 27%, compared to >40% for the oral form, suggesting that the nasal and IV forms are more stable routes of dosing, the authors noted. This would be an advantage for the nasal spray over the oral form for self-administration of the medication at home, they added.

"We were surprised by how fast the nasal spray worked and by how variable the absorption of the oral drug was even in healthy subjects," Bensimhon said. "Patients who require diuretic treatment for swelling associated with chronic heart failure and liver disease may now have a new, self-administered option, particularly when they are unable to take their oral medication or it no longer works."

The study's primary limitation is that participants were healthy and did not have heart failure or risk factors for developing heart failure at the time of enrollment. Now that safety and tolerability have been established in healthy adults, the authors said they will be conducting future studies to evaluate the bioavailability and clinical effectiveness of intranasal bumetanide in patients with heart failure.

"We think this will be a valuable tool for treating heart failure by promoting care at home and potentially reducing the need for costly hospital admissions and readmissions," Bensimhon said. "Keeping patients at home is good for the patient and our health systems."

Study background and details

The RSQ-777-02 clinical trial was conducted at Orange County Research Center in Irvine, California, from December 2023 to April 2024.

The study included 68 healthy adults, ages 18 to 55 years old, who did not have heart failure or risk factors for developing heart failure at the time of enrollment.

66.2% of participants identified as men; 33.8% as women. 60.3% of participants self-identified as white adults, 27.9% as Black adults, 10.3% as Asian adults and 1.5% self-identified as adults of "other" race. 32.4% identified as Hispanic or Latino ethnicity and 67.6% as not Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.

The researchers administered nasal, oral and intravenous bumetanide. Each participant received all three forms of bumetanide in a varied order.

Study participants were monitored on-site for 10 days.

More information: Andrew P. Ambrosy et al, Randomized Study Comparing a Novel Intranasal Formulation of Bumetanide to Oral and Intravenous Formulations, Circulation (2024). DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.124.072949 Journal information: Circulation
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Feeling stuffy and ready to reach for NyQuil, Benadryl, or Sudafed PE?

Not so fast.

The Food and Drug Administration has proposed ending the use of oral phenylephrine, a common ingredient found in many cold and allergy medicinesand some pharmacies are already yanking the popular products off shelves.

Florida researchers have been studying the effectiveness of oral phenylephrine for two decades. As far back as 2005, researchers at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy had suspected that this ingredient doesn't relieve nasal congestion, even though it has been widely used for that purpose.

The researchers evaluated multiple studies done on oral phenylephrine and combined them into a meta-analysis. They concluded that medications with the ingredient work no better than placebo pills in patients with cold and allergy congestion.

"For 20 years, we have been telling everyone who will listen that oral phenylephrine doesn't work," said Dr. Randy Hatton, a University of Florida College of Pharmacy professor. "We have been teaching pharmacy students that it doesn't work. We hear from pharmacists who know it doesn't work. And we actually did something about it."

Hatton and UF professor, Dr. Leslie Hendeles, took their findings to the FDA, more than once. Finally, in September 2023, the federal agency convened a committee and issued a proposed order.

"They looked at all the evidence we looked at and did an in-depth evaluation of what we had been looking at for years," Hatton said.

The FDA is allowing the public to comment for the next six months before it decides whether to pull medications with oral phenylephrine from shelves. But some retail pharmacies aren't waiting. CVS stopped selling products with phenylephrine last year. Other major pharmacies, including Walgreens and Rite Aid, still stock products containing the drug, but say they are monitoring the FDA's actions.

So, what are some options for people suffering from congestion without their go-to medicines?

Hatton said nasal sprays with phenylephrine are an option.

"In spray form, phenylephrine causes nasal constriction and opens up passages," he said. "But only use the sprays for three to five days. People who keep taking them get rebound congestion."

Doctors and pharmacists also recommend other options:

Intranasal steroids like Flonase and Nasonex, or over-the-counter nasal sprays with oxymetazoline such as Afrin and Zicam

Saline irrigation devices, like a neti pot, that help wash sinuses out (but only use distilled water, not tap)

Nasal saline sprays, like Sinex or Simply Saline, which also use a saltwater solution to irrigate sinuses

Products with pseudoephedrine, the ingredient in Sudafed, which can be found behind the pharmacy counter

Oral antihistamines like Zyrtec, Allegra and Claritin, which clear nasal congestion associated with allergies

"If you have questions, talk to the pharmacists. They are trained in nonprescription drugs. Just ask, does this work for congestion?" Hatton advises.

Those seeking non-medication options may try:

Spicy foods, which can create a burning sensation from a chemical called capsaicin, causing a runny nose that drains mucus from sinuses

Steam from a hot shower or a warm compress placed over the nose

Humidifiers

2024 South Florida Sun Sentinel. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Pharmacists who received active feedback about their heart failure patients increased the frequency of their patient interactions and prescribed more heart failure medication adjustments, according to late-breaking science presented Nov. 16 at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2024. The meeting, held Nov. 1618, 2024, in Chicago, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science.

Heart failure is a major public health burden and more than 8 million adults in the U.S. are expected to have the condition by the year 2035, according to the American Heart Association. In this study, called the PHARM-HF A&F Study, researchers gave Veterans Health Administration (VHA) primary care pharmacists educational resources and feedback about the care they were providing to heart failure patients, to assess whether this could improve patient care by improving heart failure medication treatment.

Primary care pharmacists in the Veterans Health Administration System are embedded within primary care panels and work closely with primary care physicians and nurses on medication management for patients.

"In the VHA, primary care pharmacists can provide medication counseling, necessary monitoring and they can independently prescribe indicated therapies," explained lead study author Alexander Tarlochan Singh Sandhu, M.D., M.S., a cardiologist specializing in heart failure at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. "They are empowered to identify individuals who would benefit from guideline-recommended treatments that are not being prescribed, such as heart failure medical therapy, and permitted to contact the patients to initiate therapy."

During the study evaluation period between January and May 2024, 120 primary care pharmacists responsible for more than 7,000 heart failure patients were randomly assigned to one of three study groups.

The groups were 1) the control group, who received educational materials about treatment protocols, monthly webinars and a database of frequently asked questions about heart failure management; 2) an audit and feedback group, who received educational materials and monthly audit and feedback emails nudging heart failure medication management; and 3) a third group of pharmacists who received educational materials, monthly audit and feedback emails, plus targeted information listing patients with heart failure who had potential for improvement with their medication regimen.

Before the study period, each pharmacist averaged two patient visits per month that included heart failure care and 0.4 patient visits per month that included an adjustment of heart failure medication.

Preliminary findings show both groups had increases in their frequency of heart failure management. Pharmacists who were audited and received feedback had an additional significant increase in the frequency in which they managed heart failure patients, with 1.2 more visits with patients per month and more heart failure medication adjustments, with 0.2 more visits per month compared with the education-only arm.

However, adding access to patient-specific information in addition to the audits and feedback did not result in any improved outcomes. Receiving monthly audit and feedback emails led to a small, but significant, increase in the frequency of prescribing a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist medication. Historically, a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist is the most under-prescribed component of heart failure medication therapy.

"We found that when pharmacists participated in the audit and feedback group, they were more likely to identify patients who would benefit from medication adjustment, set up new appointments with patients to adjust heart failure medications and adjust heart failure medication therapy during appointments, thus, potentially leading to improved heart failure management and better patient outcomes," Sandhu said.

"This shows one approach to increasing the use of pharmacists to improve heart failure medication use, and it may also be applicable to other chronic diseases," he added. "This is a major opportunity to improve health for more patients, especially in a system like the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System with a large, robust network of pharmacists nationwide."

A strength of this study was its practical approach and that it is an intervention that is highly scalable, Sandhu said. A major limitation was that the patient-specific data provided to pharmacists was not restricted to their own roster of patients.

"The main surprise was that patient-specific data did not lead to an additional increase in heart failure medication adjustment," Sandhu said. "We know pharmacists can help improve medical therapy for patients with heart failure, however, most pharmacists are not providing heart failure care even when they are allowed to."

The next step in research is to evaluate longer-term impact on medication rates, to conduct qualitative interviews with the pharmacists to better understand what worked for them and how the intervention could be improved, and why the patient-specific information was not useful. Researchers plan to adapt and evaluate this intervention in more VHA locations next year.

Study background and details:

The PHARM-HF A&F Study included 120 Veterans Health Administration primary care pharmacists deemed eligible to participate in the program for their roster of patients with heart failure in Northern and Central California, Nevada, Hawaii, American Samoa and Guam.

The pharmacists were responsible for 7,224 adults with heart failure under the care of 337 primary care teams.

Patients were a median age of 75, and 98% were men.

65% of participants were white adults, while 14% were Black adults, 5% were Asian adults, 1% were Native American or Alaska Native people, 4% were Pacific Islander adults and race was unknown for 11%. Race was mostly self-reported by study participants rather than selected by clinicians.

86% of the participants self-identified as non-Hispanic, 8% as Hispanic and for 6%, ethnicity was unknown. Ethnicity was mostly self-reported by participants rather than selected by clinicians.
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Hospices are increasingly owned by private equity firms and publicly traded companies, but recently Weill Cornell Medicine researchers found that they performed substantially worse than hospices owned by not-for-profit agencies. This is concerning, as nearly 75% of hospice programs, which care for patients in their last stage of life, are for-profit.

The study, published in JAMA, highlights the need for policy interventions that focus on increasing transparency and accountability in hospice ownership.

"To protect vulnerable patients, policymakers should implement stricter reporting requirements for ownership changes and enforce more rigorous oversight measures, ensuring that financial incentives don't undermine end-of-life patient care," said senior author Dr. Robert Tyler Braun, assistant professor of population health sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine. The first author was Alexander Soltoff, a graduate student at Emory University.

The researchers analyzed Consumer Assessment of Health Care Providers and Systems (CAHPS) data from January 2021 through December 2022. CAHPS, the national standard for assessing the quality of patient care, surveyed by telephone and mail the caregivers of those who had passed away in hospice. The researchers compared measures for communication, timely care, treating family members with respect, emotional and religious support, help for symptoms, hospice care training, hospice rating and willingness to recommend.

Of the 2,676 hospices included in the final analysis, approximately 25% were owned by private equity and publicly traded companies and 40% were other types of privately owned for-profit hospices. Though only 25% of the hospices surveyed were not-for-profit, they provided the highest-rated quality care including focus on managing pain, comfort, dignity and quality of life.

Hospices acquired by private equity and publicly traded companies between 2007 and 2021 were found to have the lowest performance ratings across all CAHPS measures. They had worse caregiver-reported experiences, including hospitalizations of patients and higher rates of live dischargesremoving patients from hospice because they no longer meet the criteria for declining health and then re-enrolling them later. This can be distressing for patients and create unnecessary stress for the family.

Although prior research has revealed poorer user experiences in for-profit compared to not-for-profit hospices, this study found that ownership by private equity or publicly traded companies was an especially problematic category of for-profit hospice.

The paper also noted that the facilities surveyed cared for 87% of all Medicare hospice users. The shift toward for-profit hospices has a profound effect especially on these patients, whose quality of care may suffer from the focus on profit maximization and incentives to generate market returns.

"Greater ownership transparency would allow regulators and families to make informed decisions, safeguarding care quality and helping hold hospices accountable when ownership shifts occur," Dr. Braun said.

More information: Alexander E. Soltoff et al, Caregiver-Reported Quality in Hospices Owned by Private Equity Firms and Publicly Traded Companies, JAMA (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jama.2024.20546 Journal information: Journal of the American Medical Association
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Annual exposures to psychedelic substances reported to US poison centers. Credit: Annals of Emergency Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2024.06.025

More than half of psychedelic exposures reported to poison centers across the U.S. between 2012 and 2022 had symptoms that required medical treatment or resulted in residual or prolonged symptoms or death, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The paper is published in the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine.

As the legal landscape around psychedelic substances shiftlike it has in Colorado and Oregonthe need for data persists in understanding real world use and how it's affecting users.

"Every person who uses psychedelic substances is different and reacts differently because they alter your perception, mood, and cognition. One person's desired effect may be another's undesired effect," says Mark Simon, MD, lead author on the study and senior instructor of emergency medicine.

"Because of the mechanisms of each of these agents, particularly through serotonergic modulation, some of the complications that we see are either intrinsic to the substance or caused by excess serotonin," he continues.

"So it's very different, depending on who gets into these and what their goals are for the psychedelic substance."

Of nearly 55,000 National Poison Data System cases analyzed by the researchers, 42% had moderate effects that were pronounced or prolonged effects that usually require treatment, 8% had major effects that were life-threatening or resulted in significant residual disability, and 0.5% of cases resulted in death.

Approximately 41% of cases had concomitant exposures, meaning users were using other substances, such as pharmaceuticals, drugs, or alcohol, when exposed to a psychedelic substance.

Diverse agents with similar effects

Researchers found that exposure severity did not increase over the 10 years they studied. Cardiovascular effects were common, seen in more than 68% of cases.

Additionally, the analysis shows that 62% of cases that were referred to a health care facility needed at least one medical therapy, usually a sedative. Simon says this number is meaningful, but it's important to remember that most psychedelic exposures aren't reported to poison centers and aren't treated in a health care facility.

"Most exposures happen at home and people don't come into contact with the medical system. The subset of the population that we were looking at here was only those that had some reason to seek out medical care, and that the health care facility felt that it was warranted to reach out to the poison center. This usually was because of a severe, atypical, or unexpected effect," he explains.

A subsection of the population, 6.9%, required ventilation or intubation. Respiratory interventions, such as supplemental oxygen, positive pressure ventilation, or intubation were required in 10.3% of exposures.

Knowing the range of outcomes for a range of agents, even if some are uncommon, is important for medical care givers, Simon says. For example, some agents, like ketamine and ketamine analogs, are more likely to lead to respiratory complications, compared to hallucinogenic mushrooms or plants.

"Some agents have similarities in their mechanism, but psychedelic substances are a pretty diverse group. Lumping them all together can be problematic. That is why we attempted to separate agents based on class as these are important to think about separately," Simon says.

Increasing exposures expected to continue

In 2015, 4.7 million Americans said they've used a hallucinogen in the last year. That number almost doubled, up to 8.5 million in 2022.

"We expect that to continue increasing," Simon says. "We saw even higher increases in states that have legalized and decriminalized psychedelics."

Over the course of the study period, Colorado became a frontrunner in legal changes of some psychedelic substances. Denver was the first city in the U.S. to decriminalize psilocybin in 2019, and in 2022, Colorado followed up by decriminalizing the growth, possession, and sale of natural psychedelics. In 2020, Oregon legalized the administration of psilocybin through its license centers.

"It's important to think about and study complications as policy and regulations change," Simon says. "This study is just one puzzle piece in a much larger picture of what effects psychedelic substances can have.

"Clinical trials can display what's happening in ideal circumstances, where these agents are showing promise in the treatment of certain medical conditions. That's important, but so is real world use and knowing how people are reacting to recreational use and outside of clinical trials."

More information: Mark W. Simon et al, Clinical Effects of Psychedelic Substances Reported to United States Poison Centers: 2012 to 2022, Annals of Emergency Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2024.06.025 Journal information: Annals of Emergency Medicine
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Kala Noel captured this image of the Wagar family welcoming their baby at a planned home birth. Credit: Melissa Cheyney, professor in the OSU College of Liberal Arts and a licensed midwife.

In low-risk pregnancies, mothers and children are just as safe with a planned home birth as they are with a planned birth center birth, a national study led by Oregon State University researchers has shown.

The findings, published in Medical Care, contradict doctors' long-held concerns about home birth, including a recent opinion by the American College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians that describes hospitals and accredited birth centers as the safest places to have a baby. A birth center is a health care facility designed to provide a more natural and home-like environment than a hospital.

OSU scientists analyzed two national registries for community birthsplanned birth either at home or in a birth center for low-risk pregnanciesin the largest study to examine how the settings compared to each other in terms of health outcomes.

A low-risk pregnancy is defined as a single baby being carried to full term (at least 37 weeks) and positioned with its head down, with no major maternal complications such as diabetes or pre-eclampsia. At least 70% of pregnancies are low risk, said Marit Bovbjerg, an associate professor in the Oregon State College of Health.

Combined, the two registries documented more than 110,000 births from 2012 to 2019, representing all 50 U.S. states, and the data showed no safety difference between home birth and birth center birth.

"Historically, physicians in the U.S. have objected to planned home births but not planned birth center births, even though from both settings you would need to transfer the birthing person to a hospital for any major complications," Bovbjerg said. "Until now, we've had no evidence about home versus birth center outcomes. Our study is the first to provide evidence that these two birth settings are equally safe."

Bovbjerg and Melissa Cheyney, a professor in the OSU College of Liberal Arts and a licensed midwife, did not directly compare the safety of community settings to hospitals, but they note that the bulk of evidence globally, including a U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine report published in 2020, supports the idea that planned community birth is a safe alternative to hospital birth.

"That means that within the U.S., we already had evidence that birth centers were comparable to hospitals for low-risk births," said Bovbjerg, who with Cheyney co-directs Oregon State's Uplift Lab. "Our study compared home to birth center and suggests that both community settings are a reasonable choice for low-risk birthing people."

The scientists note that the rate of home birth in the United States has been increasing over the last two decades, and that 2% of births in the U.S. happen in one of the two types of community settings, which have similar attendants and interventions available but different practice standards, regulatory guidelines and levels of health systems integration.

They added that planned home birth resulted in a lower rate of transfer to hospital than planned birth center birth for reasons that could relate to concern over negative hospital experiences.

"They might fear a loss of continuity of care provider, as well as possible mistreatment and judgment upon arrival at the hospital," Cheyney said, citing a national care-experience study in which many participants reported mistreatment, including being ignored, scolded, shouted at or subject to an invasive procedure without consent.

"That was especially true for Black and Indigenous people who transferred to a hospital from a planned home birth," she said. "If previous hostile transfer experiences contribute to a reluctance to transfer, we obviously need to work together to improve the transfer experience. Transfer from community settings is often necessary, and anything that discourages a necessary transfer likely causes harm."

The collaboration also included researchers from the American Association of Birth Centers, Georgia State University, Frontier Nursing University, the University of Denver and the University of British Columbia.

More information: Marit L. Bovbjerg et al, Planned Home Births in the United States Have Outcomes Comparable to Planned Birth Center Births for Low-Risk Birthing Individuals, Medical Care (2024). DOI: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000002074 Journal information: Medical Care
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An intensive treatment approach to lowering high systolic blood pressure in people with Type 2 diabetes led to a reduced risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure and death due to cardiovascular disease when compared to a standard treatment approach, according to late-breaking science presented Nov. 16 at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2024. The meeting, held Nov. 1618, 2024, in Chicago, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science.

"We found that for most people with Type 2 diabetes, lowering systolic blood pressure to less than 120 mm Hg reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events," said lead study author Guang Ning, M.D., Ph.D., an elected member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a professor at Ruijin Hospital at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai, China.

"These findings provide strong support for a more intensive systolic blood pressure target in people with Type 2 diabetes for the prevention of major cardiovascular events."

A person living with Type 2 diabetes is twice as likely to have high blood pressure than someone without Type 2 diabetes. Elevated blood sugar levels can cause damage to blood vessels and impair kidney function, leading to elevated blood pressure.

Almost three-fourths of adults with Type 2 diabetes are estimated to also have high blood pressure, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, and when blood pressure levels are consistently elevated, lifestyle modification and medication are recommended. If unmanaged, high blood pressure can cause damage over time and increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney problems and more.

The goal of the BPROAD study was to determine whether an intensive systolic blood pressure reduction approach to a target of lower than 120 mm Hg was more effective in reducing the risk of major cardiovascular events, including non-fatal stroke, non-fatal myocardial infarction, treated or hospitalized heart failure, and cardiovascular death than a standard systolic blood pressure reduction approach to a target of lower than 140 mm Hg among people with Type 2 diabetes.

The BPROAD study included 12,821 adults at 145 study sites located in 25 provinces or municipalities across mainland China were enrolled in the study. All participants had Type 2 diabetes, elevated systolic blood pressure and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. In this study, the criteria for elevated systolic blood pressure was 140 mm Hg without antihypertensive medications or 130 mm Hg and taking at least one anti-hypertensive medication.

The results found:

The mean systolic blood pressure levels of the participants at the four-year visit was 120.6 mm Hg in the intensive treatment group and 132.1 mm Hg in the standard treatment group.

The people who received the intensive treatment had a 21% lower relative risk of major cardiovascular events, compared with those who received the standard treatment during the follow-up period.

Non-fatal stroke, non-fatal heart attack, hospitalization or treatment for heart failure, or cardiovascular deaths occurred in 393 participants (1.65% per year) in the intensive treatment group and 492 participants (2.09% per year) in the standard treatment group.

Serious adverse events such as hospitalization were generally similar between the two treatment groups. However, blood pressure levels that were too low with symptoms (symptomatic hypotension) and high potassium levels (hyperkalemia) occurred more frequently among participants in the intensive treatment group.

"Our study results are consistent with another study of patients with hypertension but without diabetes, which found a significant 27% reduction in the incidence of cardiovascular diseases," said Ning. "Future clinical practice guidelines will hopefully consider these results when making recommendations for blood pressure targets for people with Type 2 diabetes. Beneficial future research could focus on profiling those with the largest benefit and the lowest harm in an intensive blood pressure treatment group."

Study background and details:

The average age of participants was 64 years old.

About 45% of the study participants were women, and 55% were men, with 22.5% having a history of cardiovascular disease, which was self-reported.

The participants all had similar baseline characteristics at enrollment, including blood pressure levels, body mass index measurements, smoking status, HbA1c levels, cholesterol levels, kidney function, duration of Type 2 diabetes and other key health factors.

The study enrollment period was from February 2019 until December 2021, with follow-up lasting up to five years.

About half (6,414) of the participants were enrolled in the intensive treatment group, and half (6,407) of the participants were enrolled in the standard treatment group.

The study was conducted within the framework of the National Clinical Research Center for Metabolic Diseases and the Metabolic Management Center (MMC).

The study had several limitations, including that the participants and study physicians were not blinded, however, other cardiovascular risk factors during follow-up were similar between treatment groups. In addition, telephone interviews were used when participants were not able to come to the clinics, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. During the lockdown, participants used standard home blood pressure monitoring to self-report their blood pressure levels if they were unable to come to the clinics in person. Also, the findings may not be generalizable to people of other ethnic populations or to populations with characteristics different from the participants.

Blood pressure is measured using two numbers: systolic blood pressure (the first number) indicates the force of the blood against the artery walls when the heart beats, and diastolic blood pressure (the second number) measures the pressure of the blood between beats. The American Heart Association defines elevated blood pressure as a systolic blood pressure measurement of 120129 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure <80 mm Hg, and high blood pressure, or hypertension, is defined as a systolic blood pressure 130 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure 80 mm Hg. While a higher than normal reading of either number can be used to diagnose high blood pressure, high systolic blood pressure may be more indicative of risk factors for heart disease.
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In the international SUMMIT trial, adults with heart failure preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and obesity taking tirzepatide for up to 3 years had a reduced combined risk of worsening heart failure events and cardiovascular death, and improved health status and physical function in comparison to participants taking placebo, according to late-breaking science presented Nov. 16 at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2024. The meeting, held Nov. 1618, 2024, in Chicago, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science.

Tirzepatide is a long-acting agonist of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptors, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of Type 2 diabetes for weight management in people with overweight or obesity. Previous research has confirmed a 12%21% weight loss in patients with obesity taking tirzepatide.

"Obesity contributes to worsening heart failure, and while tirzepatide causes considerable weight loss, research is lacking on its effects on cardiovascular outcomes," said lead study author Milton Packer, M.D., a distinguished scholar in cardiovascular science at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas and a visiting professor at Imperial College in London. "This is the first trial that tested the effect of any medication on major heart failure outcomes in patients with HFpEF and obesity."

The international SUMMIT trial enrolled a total of 731 adults, ages 40 years and older, who had been diagnosed with HFpEF and obesity at health centers in nine countries including the U.S. All trial participants had measurements of ejection fraction 50%, and they all had body mass index (BMI) measurements of 30 kg/m2, the criteria for a diagnosis of obesity.

In this double-blind trial, participants were randomly assigned in nearly equal numbers to either tirzepatide or placebo. (A double-blind trial means that neither the patients nor the health care team knew which treatment group patients were assigned.) Participants received a weekly injection of tirzepatide or placebo, and the weekly dose was gradually increased from 2.5 mg to a possible maximum dose of 15 mg per week. All participants continued taking their regular medications, including those for heart failure, while enrolled in the study.

With a median follow-up of two years, maximum of three years, researchers assessed the rates of health status and functional capacity, worsening heart failure events or death due to cardiovascular causes. Specifically, they tracked time-to-first occurrence for cardiovascular death or a worsening heart failure event requiring hospitalization, an urgent heart failure visit requiring intravenous drug therapy, or intensification of oral diuretics.

In addition, changes in participants' health status and symptom burden were evaluated using the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire Clinical Summary Score (KCCQ-CSS). The KCCQ-CSS is a commonly used patient questionnaire of 23 questions to gauge a patient's symptoms, physical function, quality of life and social function with heart failure during the previous two weeks.

The distance participants could walk within a six-minute timeframe, the 6-minute walk test; the KCCQ-CSS score; and high-sensitive C-reactive protein level in the blood were measured at enrollment and after 24 weeks and 52 weeks.

The study found participants in the tirzepatide group had a reduced combined risk of cardiovascular death and worsening heart failure events compared to the participants in the placebo group.

Specifically, the results found:

Cardiovascular death or worsening heart failure events occurred in 36 patients (9.9%) in the tirzepatide group and 56 patients (15.3%) in the placebo group, representing a 38% reduction in risk among those taking tirzepatide.

Worsening heart failure events occurred in 29 patients (8.0%) in the tirzepatide group compared to 52 (14.2%) in the placebo group, representing a 46% reduction in risk for those taking tirzepatide.

There were 15 cardiovascular deaths total among both groups, and 11 were not preceded by worsening heart failure, and 2 in the tirzepatide group occurred after patients had not taken the medication for more than 15 months. Among all participants, there were 34 deaths for any reason.

At one year, KCCQ-CSS scores were improved by an average of 6.9 points more in the tirzepatide group compared to the placebo group, indicating participants perceived greater improvement in health and function with tirzepatide.

Participants had a mean change in body weight: 11.9% greater weight loss in the tirzepatide group compared to the placebo group, measured at one year.

Participants in the tirzepatide group improved their six-minute walking distance test at one year by an average of 18.3 meters farther compared to the placebo group.

Participants in the tirzepatide group had less systemic inflammation, as indicated by a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) measure. When compared with placebo, on average, the difference in the percent changes in the tirzepatide group was 32.9%, indicating lower levels of inflammation. An hs-CRP blood test is able to detect low levels of inflammation in the body and is focused on assessing risk of heart disease and stroke.

"These results indicate tirzepatide produced meaningful benefits for people living with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and obesity," said Packer. "The patients experienced a lower combined risk of worsening heart failure events and cardiovascular disease death, along with improved health status and exercise tolerance. This is the first trial to demonstrate that a medication can change the clinical trajectory of the disease in patients with HFpEF and obesity."

Study background and details:

Between April 20, 2021 and June 30, 2023, 1,494 patients with heart failure and obesity at 129 health centers in nine countries were screened for the trial. The health centers were in the U.S., Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Israel, Mexico, Russia and Taiwan.

731 adults were enrolled; ages 40 years and older; mean age of 65.2 years; 53.8% were women; and a mean BMI of 38.3 kg/m 2 .

. All participants had measurements of ejection fraction 50%, and they were randomly assigned to either tirzepatide or placebo: 364 in the tirzepatide group and 367 in the placebo group.

The median duration of follow-up was 104 weeks, and 15 patients (2%) were lost to follow-up by the conclusion of the study (4 in the tirzepatide group, 11 in the placebo group).

Every 1-6 months during the trial, body weight, heart failure symptoms, major worsening heart failure events, changes in heart failure medications and adverse events were monitored.

Approximately 4% of patients in the tirzepatide group discontinued treatment due to gastrointestinal symptoms.

An important limitation of the trial was that BMI was the body size measure used. People with HFpEF often have a higher than normal waist-to-height ratio, indicating visceral adiposity or high belly fat, with BMI lower than 30 kg/m2, which does not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of obesity. More research is needed to further clarify the most accurate parameters for patients who can benefit from treatment.

According to the American Heart Association's 2024 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, heart failure affects an estimated 56 million people worldwide and greatly impacts a person's ability to do everyday activities. Ejection fraction is a metric often used to diagnose and track the severity of heart failure, and it specifically measures how much blood the left ventricle pumps out with each contraction of the heart. A normal ejection fraction measurement is between 55% and 70%.
How Xi drives G20 cooperation in global crisis

Xinhua) 08:48, November 18, 2024

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses the opening ceremony of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 4, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

BEIJING, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- As a representative mix of the world's major economies, the Group of Twenty (G20) has become the premier forum the world looks up to today in moments of global economic turmoil and crisis.

With a thorough grasp of the G20's unique role, Chinese President Xi Jinping has consistently championed the G20's joint efforts to follow the spirit of sailing in the same boat and join hands to live up to their respective duty.

"All G20 members should take the responsibility inherent in being major international and regional players, and should lead by example in promoting development of all nations, improving the well-being for the whole mankind, and advancing progress of the entire world," he once said.

Now as Xi joins other leaders for the 19th G20 summit in Brazil, the international community is keen to see how they will address the great uncertainties troubling today's world, particularly what solutions China will propose for building a better future for all.

When G20 leaders gathered for their first summit in November 2008 in Washington, they were struggling to cope with an unprecedented global financial meltdown. By championing a collective drive, the group helped steer the global economy away from the brink of an abyss and put it onto the path of recovery.

Over the past few years, China has joined other G20 members in tackling another major crisis, the most serious global pandemic in a century and ensuing economic slump. This time the battle is even more onerous. As Xi observed, the impact was even worse than that of the 2008 maelstrom.

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 16th G20 Leaders' Summit via video link in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 31, 2021. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

To rejuvenate post-pandemic global economic recovery, Xi called on all G20 members to rise to the challenge, enhance international macro-economic policy coordination, jointly stabilize global industrial and supply chains, and reduce trade barriers, including tariffs.

"It is imperative that we apply the right prescriptions to address both symptoms and root causes of the problems we face," he said at the 2021 G20 summit.

Xi's multi-pronged measures "are systematic, comprehensive and focused," said Lu Feng, an emeritus professor of economics at Peking University. "They have enriched G20's policy toolkit, and enhanced its proactivity and foresight in governing global economy."

One of the key problems the G20 members jointly addressed was the debt burden that was straining low-income countries' resources for fighting the pandemic and safeguarding lives. In April 2020, the G20 announced a Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) to help vulnerable countries, an exceptional financial safety net that was extended through December 2021.

Under Xi's leadership, China implemented the G20's DSSI in all respects, and suspended the largest amount of debt service payment among all G20 members.

"China fulfilled its role fairly well as a responsible G20 stakeholder" in helping address African countries' sovereign debt problem, said a report by the China Africa Research Initiative at the Johns Hopkins University, a program dedicated to understanding the political and economic aspects of China-Africa relations.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
Introduction

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the context of oil trade refers to the ethical and sustainable practices that oil companies adopt to minimize their environmental impact, promote social welfare, and ensure ethical business conduct.

The oil industry has long been criticized for its negative impact on the environment and local communities. CSR initiatives are seen as crucial for mitigating these impacts and promoting sustainable development in oil-producing regions.

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Historical Perspective

The concept of CSR in the oil industry has evolved over time in response to growing environmental and social concerns. In the early days of the industry, there was little emphasis on CSR, and oil companies focused primarily on maximizing profits.

However, as awareness of environmental issues grew, so did the pressure on oil companies to adopt more sustainable practices.

One of the key milestones in the evolution of CSR in the oil industry was the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989.

The spill, which resulted in massive environmental damage in Alaska, prompted Exxon Mobil to reevaluate its approach to CSR and implement stricter environmental standards.

Current Landscape of CSR in Oil Trade

Today, many oil companies have adopted comprehensive CSR policies that encompass a wide range of initiatives aimed at promoting sustainability and social responsibility.

These initiatives include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, investing in renewable energy sources, and supporting local communities through social programs.

For example, Shell has committed to reducing its carbon footprint by investing in renewable energy projects and supporting initiatives to promote energy efficiency. Chevron has also implemented various CSR programs, including initiatives to support education and healthcare in communities where it operates.

Environmental Sustainability

One of the key focus areas of CSR in the oil industry is environmental sustainability. Oil companies are under increasing pressure to reduce their carbon footprint and minimize their impact on the environment.

To achieve this, many companies have adopted strategies such as investing in renewable energy sources, implementing energy efficiency measures, and reducing flaring and venting of greenhouse gasses.

For instance, BP has pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and has announced plans to invest heavily in renewable energy projects.

Similarly, TotalEnergies has committed to reducing its carbon intensity by 60% by 2050 and has invested in solar and wind energy projects.

Social Responsibility

In addition to environmental sustainability, CSR in the oil industry also encompasses social responsibility. This includes initiatives aimed at improving the lives of communities affected by oil production and promoting social welfare in these regions.

Many oil companies have implemented programs to support education, healthcare, and economic development in these communities.

For example, Exxon Mobil has partnered with local organizations in Nigeria to provide access to clean water and healthcare services to communities affected by oil production.

Similarly, Chevron has implemented a scholarship program in Angola to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Ethical Business Practices

Another important aspect of CSR in the oil industry is ethical business practices. This includes transparency and accountability in oil trade operations, as well as efforts to combat corruption and bribery.

Many oil companies have implemented strict policies to ensure ethical conduct in their business operations.

For instance, Shell has a code of conduct that outlines its commitment to ethical behavior and compliance with laws and regulations.

The company also has a whistleblower policy that allows employees to report unethical behavior without fear of retaliation.

Challenges and Future Trends

Despite the progress made in recent years, CSR in the oil industry still faces several challenges. One of the biggest challenges is balancing the economic interests of oil companies with their social and environmental responsibilities.

Many oil companies are under pressure from shareholders to maximize profits, which can sometimes conflict with their CSR goals.

Another challenge is measuring the impact of CSR initiatives. It can be difficult to quantify the social and environmental benefits of CSR programs, making it challenging for companies to demonstrate their impact.

Looking ahead, one of the key trends in CSR in the oil industry is likely to be a greater focus on renewable energy and sustainability. As the world moves towards a low-carbon economy, oil companies will need to invest more in renewable energy sources and reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

Conclusion

In conclusion, CSR plays a crucial role in promoting sustainability and social responsibility in the oil industry. Oil companies have made significant strides in recent years in adopting CSR practices, but there is still much work to be done.

By investing in renewable energy, supporting local communities, and ensuring ethical business conduct, oil companies can help mitigate their impact on the environment and promote sustainable development in oil-producing regions.
Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has lauded President William Ruto for enhancing Kenyas global reputation and strengthening the countrys position on the international stage.

Highlighting Rutos achievements since assuming office, Wandayi praised the Presidents successful efforts to build robust diplomatic and economic ties with other nations. He noted that these initiatives are yielding positive outcomes for Kenya.

Recently, I was in Baku, Azerbaijan. Kenya is indeed being held in higher regard. When you mention you are from Kenya and represent President William Ruto, everyone rushes to greet you, he shared, underscoring the respect Kenya has garnered under Rutos leadership.

Wandayi expressed confidence in the Presidents transformative agenda, stating that the country is on course to achieve significant socio-economic milestones through the administrations new policies.

He commended Ruto for fostering national unity, describing it as a foundation for sustainable development.

We must commend President William Ruto for elevating Kenya. We believe the economy will continue to grow, the country will thrive, and citizens will benefit, Wandayi said.

The CS also applauded the President for building an inclusive government that represents all Kenyans, calling it a new chapter in leadership.

President William Ruto has shown he cares about the unity of the nation. He has opened a new chapter in the countrys leadership by choosing to create a government that includes all Kenyans. This is the Kenya we want, he remarked.

Wandayi, who previously served as the Minority Leader in the National Assembly before joining the Cabinet, reaffirmed the Orange Democratic Movements (ODM) commitment to supporting President William Ruto and his transformative agenda.

I have been a staunch ODM supporter. My role as a Cabinet Secretary reflects our full involvement in this government. We will work under President William Rutos leadership until the very end, he stated.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has criticized Members of Parliament (MPs) who disparaged Catholic bishops after they raised concerns about President William Rutos administration.

Speaking on Sunday, November 17, 2024, during the 100-year mission celebration at PCEA Kerarapon Church in Kajiado North, Gachagua emphasized the need for political leaders to respect religious figures, describing the voice of the church as the voice of God.

Gachagua warned MPs against disrespecting clergy, citing his long experience in politics. He reminded them of the political consequences faced by those who insulted religious leaders in the past. Drawing comparisons to the Moi era, he recalled how politicians who attacked the clergy faced significant fallout. He cautioned current leaders that their behavior could lead to similar repercussions.

The voice of the church is the voice of God. When our spiritual fathers speak, they dont speak in vain. I dont believe over 30 bishops would meet and issue a statement without reason, Gachagua stated. If theres anyone doing public participation every day, its religious leaders, as they are in constant contact with their congregations. They know what the people on the ground are saying.

The former DP expressed his disappointment at the abuse directed at the Catholic bishops, especially after they spoke truth to power. He urged politicians to show more humility and respect for church leaders, calling them the anointed men and women of God.

I want to tell you leaders, stop the arrogance. Those of us who have been around know where politics can end up. I have served in the governments of Moi, Kibaki, Uhuru, and Ruto. Weve seen this pride before, especially in the 1990s when politicians insulted bishops. We know the consequences of disrespecting religious leaders, Gachagua said.

He further called on the public to respect church leaders, stating, When our bishops speak, we must listen to them and treat them with respect. We were deeply disappointed when some MPs attacked and lectured our spiritual fathers. These bishops are Gods anointed and must be respected.

Gachagua also praised President Ruto for acknowledging the concerns raised by the Catholic bishops and committing to address them.

However, he singled out National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss Shollei for criticizing the bishops, accusing her of lecturing them as if they were children.

Gachagua remarked, I was pleased to see President Ruto listen and commit to addressing the issues raised by the bishops. But I want to tell these honorable members who insulted the bishops, I saw the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly lecturing them like children. Leaders, stop the arrogance.
Kenya is on track to establish its first nuclear power plant by 2034, with the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (Nupea) confirming that the country is now in the final phase of the project.

Winnie Ndumbai, Nupeas Director of Strategy and Planning, shared this update during a session with the Senate Energy Committee, chaired by Nyeri Senator Wahome Wamatinga. Ndumbai informed the committee that the agency has made significant strides in nuclear development, bringing Kenya closer to realizing its nuclear power ambitions.

Dr. Ndumbai outlined the three key phases of preparing for nuclear power infrastructure: first, the consideration of a nuclear power program; second, preparatory work for contracting and constructing the plant; and finally, the actual implementation phase of the plant.

The government has already committed to a nuclear program by conducting feasibility studies, building capacity, establishing a national nuclear regulator, and identifying the best sites for nuclear power plants, said Ndumbai.

Currently, Kenya is in the second phase of the nuclear power program, which focuses on final preparations for the plants construction. Two potential sites for the plant have been identified in Kilifi and Kwale counties, with efforts ongoing to strengthen the countrys nuclear regulatory frameworks.

Ndumbai emphasized that the final phase, which involves constructing and commissioning the plant by 2034, will mark a major milestone for the nation.

Eric Ohaga, Nupeas Director of Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Development, also highlighted the significant progress Kenya has made in building nuclear energy infrastructure over the past three years. In 2021, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved Kenyas transition to phase two of the nuclear program.

Initially, 29 potential sites were considered across the Lake Victoria region, Lake Turkana, and the Indian Ocean. However, detailed site characterization eliminated areas prone to volcanic activity and earthquakes, leaving Kwale and Kilifi counties as the most suitable locations, Ohaga explained.

Ohaga also noted that detailed scientific studies will be conducted to ensure the selected sites meet all requirements. Additionally, he highlighted Kenyas efforts to build capacity in the nuclear energy sector, with a goal of training at least 1,000 nuclear scientists by 2036 to help localize the design and construction of nuclear power plants.

Kenya is aiming to follow the example of South Africa, which operates two nuclear power plants and plans to add two more by 2029. Egypt is also working on establishing four nuclear plants by 2029, while Ghana and Nigeria are pursuing similar initiatives.

In East Africa, Ohaga pointed out that Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda are progressing in nuclear development but remain in phase one. He emphasized that nuclear energy provides a stable power supply, capable of running uninterrupted for up to two years.

A nuclear power plant will address transmission losses in the coastal and western regions, which frequently experience power interruptions due to voltage drops and load shedding. It will also boost industrial development once operational, Ohaga added.
Detectives have resolved the case of a reported kidnapping involving Mercy Awuor, revealing it to be a family dispute rooted in a love triangle.

The investigation began on November 9, 2024, when Brian Andore reported to Kitsuru Police Station that his wife, Mercy, had been abducted. Andore claimed the kidnappers lured Mercy with a fake job offer and later demanded a ransom of Ksh 150,000.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) launched a search led by its Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB). On November 13, detectives arrested Chiranzi Tsuma Mbaru in Gitaru after linking his phone number to the ransom demand. However, subsequent investigations revealed this connection was false.

On November 16, investigators traced Mercys phone signal to Narok South. They found her living with her husband, George Odada, along with their two children. Further inquiries confirmed that no kidnapping had occurred. Instead, the case involved a love affair and underlying family disputes.

Both Mercy and George were taken to Nairobi for further questioning and legal action.

The police have reiterated that providing false information to public officers is a criminal offense under Section 129 of the Penal Code. They urge the public to refrain from such actions, as they carry serious legal consequences.
Governor Johnson Sakaja has called on Kenyans to exercise patience and give President William Ruto sufficient time to fulfill his promises.

Speaking during a Sunday Mass at Soweto Catholic Church in Embakasi East, Sakaja emphasized the need for a strong partnership between Nairobi County and the national government, underscoring its significance for the capitals growth.

Sakaja criticized those judging President Rutos leadership solely based on his first two years in office. He encouraged citizens to grant the national government more time to tackle pressing challenges.

We need to give Ruto time. He has only been president for two years. I was in Muranga recently, and people were complaining about the Mau Mau roads. Yet, four presidents have come and gone without building these roads, and now all the blame falls on Ruto after just two years. Is that really fair? he asked.

Drawing an analogy, Sakaja compared governance to cooking, stressing that quality results require patience. We must give chefs time; there is an aroma for good work in the government, he added.

Highlighting the gradual nature of development, Sakaja cited the Nairobi Expressway, a project that took years to complete, as an example of consistent government progress.

If you look at other governments, they took time. Serikali ya Mwai Kibaki ilijenga Thika Road kwa mwaka wa tano, and the Expressway was completed in the ninth year of the Jubilee administration, not in year 1, 2, or 3, Sakaja noted.

The Nairobi Governor urged President Ruto to focus on constructing a stadium, a TVET institution, and a hospital in Nairobi to meet the citys critical development needs.

Sakaja expressed optimism about Rutos ability to manage these challenges and ensure the country is on a path to economic success.

To whom much is given, much is expected. Ni vile tunajua wewe (Ruto) ni mnoma. Thats why watu wanakuharikisha because we know who you are. But we need to give him time, he added.

Nairobi County Progress

Turning to county affairs, Sakaja outlined initiatives aimed at tackling youth unemployment. He stressed the importance of balancing infrastructural development with local enterprise support to create opportunities for young people to build successful careers.

Sakaja also spotlighted ongoing efforts to provide affordable housing, a cornerstone government initiative designed to address Nairobis housing deficit. He assured residents that the program was progressing well and emphasized its role in improving living standards.

Additionally, Sakaja promoted the Dishi na County program, which supports food security and full school attendance for primary school children. With just five shillings, children benefit from this program, which is creating a positive impact. If asked in heaven about my work, I will proudly point to this achievement, he remarked.

He expressed optimism that programs like SHA, Dishi na County, and continued infrastructure investments would transform Nairobi into a more prosperous and harmonious city.

My dishi na County programme, which children just have to pay five shillings is creating a positive impact and in heaven if Im asked, I will have done a good job.
Sweden, Finland urge residents to be ready for war

Sweden took part in Nato's Steadfast Defender exercises in March 2024. Photo: AFP

Sweden on Monday began sending some five million pamphlets to residents urging them to prepare for the possibility of war, as neighbouring Finland launched a new preparedness website.



Both Sweden and Finland dropped decades of military non-alignment to join the US-led military alliance Nato in the wake of Russia's 2022 assault on Ukraine.



Since the start of the war, Stockholm has repeatedly urged Swedes to prepare both mentally and logistically for the possibility of war, citing the serious security situation in its vicinity.



The booklet "If Crisis or War Comes", sent by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), contains information about how to prepare for emergencies such as war, natural disasters, or cyber-attacks.



It is an updated version of a pamphlet that Sweden has issued five times since World War II.



The previous version sent out in 2018 made headlines, as it was the first time it had been sent to Swedes since 1961 at the height of the Cold War.



"The security situation is serious and we all need to strengthen our resilience to face various crises and ultimately war," MSB director Mikael Frisell said in a statement.



The 32-page document outlines with simple illustrations the threats facing the Nordic nation, including military conflict, natural disasters, and cyber and terror attacks.



It includes tips for preparedness, such as keeping non-perishable food in stock and storing water.



MSB said the updated 2024 version had a stronger focus on preparation for war.



Over the next two weeks 5.2 million copies will be sent to Swedish households.



The brochure is available in print in both Swedish and English and digital versions are available in several other languages  including Arabic, Farsi, Ukrainian, Polish, Somali and Finnish.



Sweden's former army chief Micael Byden alarmed many of his compatriots in January when he urged them to consider their own preparedness.



"Swedes have to mentally prepare for war," he said.



Also on Monday, the government in Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometre border with Russia, launched a website gathering information on preparedness for different crises. (AFP)
SMPL New Delhi [India], November 18: Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS) has announced the last date of registrations for its Master of Business Administration (MBA) programmes for the upcoming academic year. Admission to these esteemed business management programmes is facilitated through the Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (SNAP), which serves as the gateway to SIMS. Prospective students can apply for both the full-time MBA and Executive MBA programmes by registering through the official link: https://www.snaptest.org/. Important Dates for SNAP 2024 The registration deadline for SNAP is November 22, 2024. The SNAP exam will be conducted on three separate dates, providing flexibility for candidates to choose a convenient slot. The exam dates are December 8, 2024 (Sunday), December 15, 2024 (Sunday), and December 21, 2024 (Saturday). Admission Process and Evaluation Parameters SIMS follows a rigorous selection process, which involves multiple stages to assess candidates comprehensively. After the SNAP test, shortlisted applicants will go through a Group Exercise, a Personal Interaction session, and a Writing Ability Test. This multi-layered approach allows SIMS to evaluate not only candidates' aptitude but also their communication skills, problem-solving abilities, and overall potential to succeed in the management field. Brig (Dr) Rajiv Divekar, Director of SIMS, stated, "Our MBA programmes are meticulously designed to bridge the gap between academic learning and industry requirements. We focus on developing not just theoretical knowledge, but also practical skills and leadership capabilities that are essential in today's rapidly evolving business landscape." Full-time MBA Programme Overview The institute offers a full-time, two-year MBA programme that spans four semesters. The curriculum is designed to provide students with a strong foundation in business fundamentals while allowing for specialization in specific areas. The programme aims to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and practical experience necessary to thrive in the current business environment. The programme offers several specializations to cater to diverse career aspirations. These specializations include Marketing, Finance, Human Resource Management (HRM), Operations and Supply Chain Management (Ops & SCM), and Data Analytics. Each specialization is crafted to provide in-depth knowledge and skills relevant to the chosen field, preparing students for specific roles in the industry. MBA (Executive) Programme for Working Professionals The institute also offers a 24-month MBA (Executive) programme tailored for working professionals. This programme provides flexibility and specialized learning opportunities without requiring participants to leave their current positions. Students can choose a major specialization from options including Marketing, Finance, Supply Chain Management and Operations, Human Resources, or Information Technology and Analytics. In addition to major specializations, the MBA (Executive) programme offers minor specializations in Entrepreneurship & Sustainability and Data Analytics. This approach allows students to gain expertise in their primary area of interest while also developing skills in complementary fields. The programme emphasizes a comprehensive understanding of various management disciplines, enabling participants to develop well-rounded business acumen. Industry-Aligned Curriculum and Placement Success The effectiveness of SIMS's approach is reflected in its placement records. The placement season for the 2022-24 batch has seen significant success, with students securing positions in renowned companies across various sectors. Some of the prominent recruiters include Amazon, Accenture, Deloitte, Genpact, EY, Decathlon, Panasonic, IBM, and Infosys, among others. The highest offer received by SIMS students this season stands at 24 LPA, underscoring the institute's commitment to producing industry-ready professionals. As SIMS continues to accept applications for its MBA programmes, it reaffirms its commitment to providing quality management education that prepares students for the challenges and opportunities of the global business world. Through its rigorous curriculum, industry partnerships, and focus on practical skills development, SIMS aims to shape the next generation of business leaders and innovators. For more information, please visit: https://www.sims.edu/ (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by SMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
SMPL New Delhi [India], November 18: Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM), Pune, one of India's leading business schools, continues its legacy of excellence by empowering students with the skills, knowledge, and experiences needed to thrive in the fast-evolving global business environment. As a constituent of Symbiosis International (Deemed University), SIBM Pune has been a trusted name in business education since 1978, ranking among the topmost business schools of the country and recognized for its industry-focused curriculum and innovative approach to learning. The registration window for the gateway to programmes ( SNAP ) closes on 22nd November 2024. Aspiring candidates can apply to SIBM Pune only via SNAP 2024 through the official registration link. The last date to complete the registration and payment for SIBM Pune is 7th December 2024. Demonstrating its dedication to high-quality education, SIBM Pune offers a variety of programmes tailored to equip students with skills essential for today's rapidly evolving industries. The renowned MBA programme includes specializations in Marketing, Finance, Human Resources, Data Analytics, and Operations & Supply Chain Management. Additionally, SIBM Pune offers an MBA in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, aimed at nurturing creative thinking and entrepreneurial abilities among students. A Curriculum Aligned with Industry Needs SIBM Pune's flagship two-year MBA programme and specialized MBA in Innovation & Entrepreneurship are meticulously designed to make students industry-ready. The curriculum is updated regularly in consultation with leading industry experts to reflect the latest trends and requirements. This ensures that students gain the necessary technical expertise while also understanding the strategic, ethical, and innovative aspects of business. In addition to traditional business disciplines like Finance, Marketing, and Operations, SIBM Pune incorporates advanced topics like Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and Sustainability, enabling students to navigate and lead in a technology-driven world. Students are encouraged to apply theory to practice through a variety of case studies, simulations, and workshops, bridging the gap between academic knowledge and real-world application. Hands-On Industry Exposure Experiential learning is a key pillar of education at SIBM Pune. The institute actively collaborates with prominent companies and industry leaders to offer live projects, internships, and case study competitions. Programmes like the Management Leadership Summit allow students to work directly with industry professionals, gaining valuable insights into real-world business issues. These interactions help students build their professional networks, develop problem-solving skills, and acquire a deeper understanding of the challenges facing various industries. The Student Council at SIBM Pune organizes events such as "Transcend," one of India's largest B-school fests, where students showcase their skills, collaborate with peers from other institutions, and gain practical exposure. Specialized clubs for finance, marketing, consulting, and entrepreneurship offer additional hands-on experience and foster a community of learning, sharing, and leadership. Mentorship from Experienced Faculty and Industry Leaders At SIBM Pune, the faculty consists of seasoned academicians and professionals with rich industry experience. Through their guidance, students are exposed to both theoretical knowledge and practical insights. Faculty members are engaged in cutting-edge research, bringing real-time industry advancements into the classroom. The institute also invites distinguished corporate leaders for guest lectures, bridging academic learning with the nuances of the corporate world. In addition, SIBM Pune's mentorship programmes connect students with alumni and senior professionals, providing them with ongoing support and advice as they prepare for their careers. This mentorship aspect helps students align their academic endeavors with long-term career goals, encouraging personal and professional growth. A Global Perspective As a member of the EFMD Global network, SIBM Pune aligns with international quality standards, providing a global perspective on business education. Students have opportunities to participate in international exchange programmes, gaining exposure to diverse cultures, business practices, and global market trends. This prepares them to take on roles in multinational organizations and equips them with a broader understanding of the global economic landscape. Student-Centric, Holistic Development SIBM Pune is dedicated to fostering leadership qualities, teamwork, and ethical decision-making among its students. The institute's unique student-driven model empowers students to take initiative, make decisions, and participate in shaping their learning experience. Through various student-led committees and councils, students gain first-hand experience in managing teams, organizing events, and solving problems, developing a strong foundation for effective leadership. SIBM Pune's focus on holistic development extends to personal growth through wellness programmes, sports, and extracurricular activities. By emphasizing a balance between academics, professional growth, and well-being, the institute ensures that students are equipped with resilience and adaptability, qualities essential for thriving in an ever-changing business landscape. A Commitment to Creating Future-Proof Leaders SIBM Pune's comprehensive approach to business education--encompassing industry-focused academics, hands-on exposure, and personal development--ensures that students are well-prepared to meet the challenges of not just today but tomorrow's business world as well. With its strong emphasis on experiential learning, industry integration, and global exposure, SIBM Pune remains committed to shaping future-ready, ethically grounded, and innovative leaders. For more information, visit: https://sibm.edu/ (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by SMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
BusinessWire India Denver (Colorado) [US]/ Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 18: L&T Technology Services Limited (BSE: 540115, NSE: LTTS), a global leader in engineering, digital and R&D services, announced a strategic collaboration with the Colorado Smart Cities Alliance (CSCA). This partnership aims to drive innovation and technology integration in smart city development projects across the state of Colorado. The collaboration will leverage LTTS' cutting-edge engineering expertise to advance CSCA's mission of fostering smart city solutions that improve urban living and create sustainable ecosystems. Through the collaboration of resources and expertise, both organizations aim to foster sustainable, efficient, and technologically advanced communities. LTTS stands at the forefront of smart government projects, with extensive experience in USA, India and the Middle East. The company's comprehensive IoT offerings enhance city operations, providing security solutions, citywide surveillance, and border security systems. These initiatives optimize resource utilization and promote inter-departmental collaboration, driving operational efficiency. "Our partnership with LTTS is a testament to our shared vision of creating smarter, more sustainable cities. By harnessing LTTS' engineering strengths, we are poised to accelerate the deployment of smart city technologies that improve infrastructure, mobility, and energy efficiency, benefiting communities throughout Colorado," added Tyler Svitak, Executive Director, Colorado Smart Cities Alliance. "The collaboration with Colorado Smart Cities Alliance marks a significant advancement in our commitment to driving technological innovations that improve urban living," said Abhishek Sinha, Executive Director & President - Medical, Smart World & Functions, L&T Technology Services. "By leveraging our combined expertise and resources, we aim to develop and implement cutting-edge solutions across Mobility, Sustainability and Tech that enhance efficiency, sustainability, and quality of life in urban environments. Together, we are dedicated to providing smart, connected solutions that address the evolving needs of modern cities, ensuring they are equipped to handle future challenges while fostering a vibrant community for all residents." The strategic alliance will focus on several key areas, including smart transportation, intelligent infrastructure, energy management, and data-driven city services. Through pilot projects and collaborative research, LTTS and CSCA will explore innovative solutions that tackle urban challenges and enhance the quality of life for residents. This collaboration marks an exciting chapter in the pursuit of smart city excellence, reaffirming both LTTS' and CSCA's commitment to sustainable urban development. Further updates and developments regarding this partnership will be shared in the coming months. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
PRNewswire New Delhi [India]/ Singapore, November 18: Compport, one of Asia's fastest growing compensation software providers, proudly welcomes Krish Shankar to its Board of Advisors. With nearly four decades of experience leading human resources functions across some of the world's most renowned organizations, Krish brings unparalleled expertise and insight to Compport's mission of transforming compensation practices worldwide. Compport has steadily established a strong presence in the compensation technology space, with solid foundations in India and Southeast Asia and a growing footprint in North America and the EU. As pay transparency and equity become increasingly critical topics, Compport is passionately committed to empowering organizations, to create fair and competitive rewards structures. With its highly configurable and competent modular solutions, Compport is setting new standards and redefining the future of compensation management, globally. Krish Shankar, a distinguished and inspirational human resources leader, brings extensive experience across diverse industries, including technology, telecommunications, and consumer goods. He has held pivotal HR leadership roles at prominent organizations, such as Bharti Airtel, Philips, and Hindustan Unilever, where he played a role in shaping their future and served as a true inspiration to many HR colleagues. Most recently, Krish served as the Group Head of Human Resource Development at Infosys. He served as President of the National HRD Network in India (2019-2021) and was honoured with XLRI's Distinguished Alumni Award, in 2019. He is the author of Catalyse: Power up Your People Ecosystem, a key resource for HR leaders, offering insights on building strong organizational culture and talent ecosystems. "We are honoured and thrilled to welcome Krish to our Board of Advisors," said Sachin Bajaj, Founder & CEO of Compport. "The addition of Krish Shankar, a highly experienced leader in the technology and consumer industries, as a board advisor brings invaluable expertise. His deep understanding of HR and the rewards domain will enhance Compport's ability to deliver solutions that are both highly responsive and tailored to the evolving needs of our clients, ensuring they remain competitive and agile in today's complex compensation landscape." Navneet Rattan, Compport's COO, Partner and Global Product Head, highlighted Krish's impact on the Indian market: "Krish's leadership will be pivotal, as we elevate HR practices in India and beyond. With his guidance, Compport will advance its mission to set new benchmarks in compensation technology." "Having closely observed Compport's impressive journey, I am excited to join the advisory board. I look forward to contributing to Compport's vision of transforming compensation on a global scale through innovative technology -- delivering solutions that make transparency and equity attainable and aligned with the expectations of today's workforce worldwide," said Krish Shankar. As Compport continues to scale its global footprint and enhance its suite of solutions, Krish's deep expertise will play a pivotal role in driving their innovation and excellence. His contribution will strengthen Compport's commitment to empowering companies worldwide, with powerful tools to build fair, transparent, and competitive reward strategies that inspire and motivate talent in today's dynamic landscape. About Compport Compport is a leading SaaS platform providing advanced compensation and people analytics software. It is used in 35+ countries and trusted by some of the world's largest organizations. The platform is incredibly configurable and supports a full range of rewards processes, including annual and ad-hoc salary reviews, bonus structuring, total rewards statements, sales incentives, long-term incentives (LTI), and pay equity initiatives. With Compport, HR and total rewards leaders can efficiently design, budget, and forecast compensation plans, while empowering managers to digitally review and communicate pay details -- all in one seamless platform. For media inquiries, please contact: Akash BhatHead of Marketing, Compportakash.bhat@compport.com Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2559103/Krish_Shankar_Compport.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2345356/4556195/Compport_Logo.jpg (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
VMPL Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], November 18: Ahmedabad based Narmada Agrobase Limited (BSE - 543643) engaged in the business of production and processing of cottonseed meal cake, cattle feed and soybean meal, is pleased to announce a significant increase in its Profit After Tax (PAT) for the Q2 FY25. The company has achieved a remarkable growth in PAT of 660.10% compared to the same period last year. Key Highlights: * Profit After Tax (PAT) increased to Rs. 12.94 million, marking an exceptional growth of 660.10% compared to Rs. 1.70 million in same period last year. * The company's EBITDA grew by 340.85% to reach Rs. 20.68 million. * Strong performance across business segment contributed to the overall growth. Neeraj Agrawal, Chairman & Managing Director, Narmada Agrobase Ltd commented: "We are thrilled to report such strong financial results, driven by both our operational efficiency and strategic initiatives. The significant increase in our Profit After Tax is a testament to the hard work of our team and the continued demand for our products and services. Our performance reflects our commitment to growth and value creation for our shareholders. This outstanding quarter reflects our strategic investments in growth and our ability to execute in a rapidly changing market environment. As we move forward, we remain focused on delivering sustainable growth, enhancing shareholder value, and capitalizing on new opportunities that align with our long-term vision" The company remains optimistic about its growth prospects in the next quarters with continued focus on key growth drivers, such as expanding into new markets, enhancing product offerings, etc. The company is well-positioned to capitalize on emerging opportunities and continue its trajectory of strong performance. Company has recently completed its Rs. 36.58 crore Rights issue. The funds raised through the right issue will be utilised to fund company's expansion plans including meeting the working capital requirements, purchase of plant & machineries, acquisition of land, construction of oil mill plant, other civil works and for general corporate purpose among others. The Company issued 24,387,685 fully paid-up Equity Shares of the face value of Rs. 10 each for cash at a price of Rs. 15 Per Equity Share aggregating to Rs. 36.58 crore. The Rights entitlement ratio for the proposed issue is fixed at 9:5 (9 Rights equity shares of face value of Rs. 10 each for every 5 fully-paid equity share held by the equity shareholders on the record date. Out of the issue proceeds of Rs. 36.58 crore, company intends to use Rs. 17.87 crore towards working capital requirement, Rs. 7.70 crore towards acquisition of land, construction of oil mill plant & other civil works and purchase of plant & machineries and Rs. 9.01 crore towards general corporate purposes. Established in 2013, Narmada Agrobase Limited is engaged in the production and processing of cottonseed meal cake, cattle feed and soybean meal. The company is an ISO 9001:2015 certified company. The company manufactures and exports cottonseed meal, guar meal, delinted cottonseed, organic fertilizers, and cattle feed under the brand names "Ladoo", "Narmada", "Narmada Kala Sona", "Narmada Super", "Super Narmada" "Churma" and "Gaay Chhaap". The products manufactured by the company are used to feed cattle and provide a high amount of protein and other nutrients required by the animals. The by-products of these products are also used in the textile industry, the consumer goods industry and the paper industry. For FY23-24 ended March 2024, the company has reported Total income of Rs. 50.39 crore. Net Profit for FY24 was reported at Rs. 1.2 crore, rise of 56% as compared to Rs. 65 lakh in FY23. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
NewsVoir Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 18: Oakridge International School, Bengaluru hosted its 9th edition of prestigious Model United Nations, this year bigger & better as OAK MUN on 8th, 9th, & 10th November. The one of its kind MUN in the city witnessed the participation of 350+ students from 12 schools. The chief guest of closing ceremony was Rajeev Gowda, former Director on the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India. "When you master the world of research and learn to formulate your opinions, you can start practicing sharing your views and insights", said Gowda in his address. "Over the years you will develop into articulate analysts of what's happening in the world around us", he added. "I am so proud to see how our students worked hard to transition Junior MUN successfully to OAK MUN this year," said Principal Kavita Sukhani, appreciating the student leaders. "It's also fulfilling for us to see many delegates starting their MUN career with Oakridge Model United Nations," she added. "OakMUN is for those looking to learn about diplomacy in its truest form, away from the screaming, yelling, and blatant rhetoric," highlighted Arryaa Oduru, Secretary General of OAK MUN. Over the three days, delegates & advisors experienced the power of debate & diplomacy in deciding the global future. The 9th edition of the prestigious MUN hosted Continuous Crisis Committee (CCC), Historical Security Council (HSC) Committee X, Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC), United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Human Rights Council (HRC), International Press Corps (IPC) and Bharatiya Yudh Kaksh (BYK). Since the first Bangalore JMUN in 2016, the conference has come a long way, this year being OAK MUN, learners from grades 6 to 12 with a passion for debate and public speaking participated ardently in the conference. Trophies & certificates were given away to Best Delegates, Outstanding Delegates, & Special Mentions in all committees. Nord Anglia Education (NAE) is the world's leading premium schools' organisation, with 84 schools across 33 countries. It is also the largest provider of IB education. The schools go beyond traditional learning to deliver a high-quality, transformational education to 86,000+ students from kindergarten through to the end of secondary school. The schools offer multiple internationally recognised curriculums, including the English Curriculum, the International Baccalaureate, the Swiss Maturite and the US Curriculum, amongst others. For more information, visit: oakridge.in/bengaluru. For admission queries- mac.blr@oakridge.in (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
PRNewswire Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 18: Amity University Mumbai celebrates its accomplishment in the prestigious QS Asia University Rankings 2025: Southern Asia, achieving a notable rank #263 among universities in the region, and in the band of 801-850 in Asia. This remarkable achievement underscores Amity University's unwavering commitment to providing exceptional academics and establishing meaningful research collaborations. The QS Asia University Rankings, a worldwide recognized benchmark for evaluating higher education institutions, assess universities across a variety of critical criteria. Factors such as Research & Discovery, which look at the institution's research endeavours have significantly contributed to this acknowledgment. Established in 2004, the QS World University Rankings portfolio has become the leading source of comparative data on university excellence and performance. Expressing immense enthusiasm about the recognition, Dr. A.W. Santhosh Kumar, Vice Chancellor of Amity University Mumbai, remarked, "We are proud to have been recognized in the QS Asia University Rankings 2025: Southern Asia. This accomplishment demonstrates our relentless commitment to offering high-quality education and facilitating important research collaborations. Amity University Mumbai remains committed to achieving academic excellence and making important contributions to the global higher education environment." Amity University Mumbai is devoted to providing students with a dynamic learning environment, fostering innovation, and advancing research projects as it continues to strive for academic excellence. The university's dedication to creating a global perspective and collaborating with prestigious foreign partners continues to elevate its standing in the academic realm. About QS World University Rankings The QS World University Rankings portfolio, established in 2004, stands as the world's foremost source of comparative data on university performance. About Amity University Mumbai Amity University Maharashtra, established under Maharashtra Govt. Act of 2014 of the Government of Maharashtra and recognized as per Section 2(f) of the UGC Act with the rights to confer degrees, on a future-ready, sprawling campus, over a kilometre-long frontage on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway offers a 360-degree career transformation. The university has been recognized as the best institution nationally by 'Times Higher Education' and prominently features in 'THE Impact Ranking.' In addition, the university was recently named the 'Best Education Brand 2024' at the 7th edition of the ET Now Best Brands Conclave. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2559813/Amity_University_Mumbai.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2406523/5031341/Amity_University_Mumbai_Logo.jpg (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
PNN Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 18: Jagriti Yatra 2024 is all set to embark upon an incomparable 15-day journey with 500 handpicked young changemakers from across the country. The 15-day, 8,000-kilometer expedition by train across India commenced from Mumbai on November 16th. The information regarding the launch of Jagriti Yatra 2024 was shared by Ashutosh Kumar, CEO, Jagriti Yatra & COO Chinmay, during a press conference held at Yashwant Rao Chavan Auditorium here today. Giving information about the Jagriti Yatra 2024, Ashutosh Kumar said that the unique 15-day train journey is poised to inspire and empower young leaders to become catalysts of social and economic transformation across India's Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Starting from Mumbai on November 16th, this year's Yatra will take 500 passionate young participants on an 8,000-kilometer journey through 12 cities. More than 50% of them are successful entrepreneurs who are potential role models to the rest. This event will offer the media a chance to meet and interact with some of India's most impactful entrepreneurs and change-makers from corners of our country. As the largest movement of its kind, the Yatra serves as a living incubator for entrepreneurship, empowering youth from diverse backgrounds to discover real-world solutions to some of India's most pressing challenges. "This annual odyssey, organized by Jagriti Sewa Sansthan, serves as a mobile incubator, taking participants through the heart of Middle India, where the most captivating stories of resilience and innovation await," added Ashutosh Kumar. Now in its 17th year, Jagriti Yatra, supported by SBI brings together passionate young leaders from diverse backgrounds, empowering them to understand and address the realities of India's Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Over the course of 12 dynamic stops, including Ahmedabad, Delhi, and Chennai, the participants, known as "Yatris" will meet grassroots innovators and social entrepreneurs already redefining India's future. The journey will provide a rare platform for the country's top media outlets to capture impactful stories of transformation as young leaders connect with local heroes and explore India's untold stories of ingenuity. Exclusive Press Access: A Front-Row Seat to Real-World Changemaking The Yatra provides journalists with exclusive access to workshops, panel discussions, and community interactions with leaders who are transforming sectors like agriculture, healthcare, energy, and education. These stops reveal stories of unsung heroes who embody India's spirit of growth and resilience, bringing to life the challenges, triumphs, and camaraderie that define Jagriti Yatra. Key Highlights for the Media: Stories You Wouldn't Want to Miss - Interviews with India's Hidden Innovators: Media personnel have an unfettered chance to engage directly with entrepreneurs who are breaking new ground in healthcare, sustainable farming, and education - visionaries who exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit often left out of mainstream narratives. - Exclusive Coverage of Collaborative Sessions: Onboard activities encourage Yatris to engage in collaborative brainstorming and problem-solving, blending diverse perspectives to craft solutions for India's future. Media representatives will witness the energy, passion, and commitment fueling the next generation of social leaders. - Behind-the-Scenes Access to Transformation in Action: Journalists will be able to capture the camaraderie and cultural exchanges among participants as they develop life-changing bonds and ideas to drive local impact on a national scale. Spotlight on India's Rising Leaders Chosen through a competitive selection process, participants aged 21-27 are driven by a passion for social change and a commitment to shaping India's future. Supported by mentors over 28, they gain cross-generational insights and develop leadership skills. By covering Jagriti Yatra, reporters will be able to bring to light the voices and stories of young Indians who represent the spirit of Middle India, turning aspiration into action. Apply Now for Exclusive Media Passes Jagriti Yatra 2024 invites members of the media to join this extraordinary journey, capturing the stories that reveal India's vibrant entrepreneurial core. Apply today to secure a spot on the Jagriti Yatra Media Team and gain exclusive access to the stories and individuals transforming India's future. About Jagriti Yatra: Jagriti Yatra, a flagship initiative of Jagriti Sewa Sansthan, empowers young Indians to become socially conscious leaders through experiential learning, entrepreneurship, and sustainable change. Founded in 2008, this nonprofit has catalyzed a wave of socially conscious leadership across India, creating a global community of changemakers who are inspiring local solutions with global relevance. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
PRNewswire Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 18: Ahead of the wedding season, Peter England, a leading name in Indian menswear from Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, has partnered with iconic filmmaker Karan Johar to launch a first-of-its-kind campaign 'The Bollywood Wedding'. Bringing the glamour and vibrancy of Bollywood weddings to life, this campaign celebrates the fusion of traditional elegance and contemporary style, inviting grooms and guests to step into the spotlight with confidence and flair. * Going Big Across India: The campaign goes live in over 150 Stores, through traditional media, on ground activations and Digital Collaborations for a Truly Iconic Experience https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2560315/Peter_England_Karan_Johar.mp4 The film features Karan Johar on a playful quest to choose the perfect name for the collection, suggesting titles like 'Dulha Sajake Rakhna' and 'Baarat Ho Toh Aisi' etc. Through these names, he taps into the quintessential Bollywood wedding tropes, celebrating the glamour, grandeur, and drama that are hallmarks of Indian cinema weddings. Delighted by the collection being named 'The Bollywood Wedding' Karan confidently exclaims that this ought to be the next blockbuster, showcasing his unwavering belief in its appeal and its potential to captivate audiences. The campaign highlights Peter England's commitment to elevating its presence in occasion wear, positioning the brand as a premier lifestyle choice for the modern man. With a refined focus on wedding and festive attire, Peter England aims to establish itself as the go-to destination for sophisticated and stylish celebration wear. The brand's wedding collection features a broad selection of classic two and three piece suits along with sophisticated velvet bomber jackets, tailored shirts providing a perfect destination for the groom and his entourage for the special day. Anil S Kumar, COO of Peter England, shared the vision behind this fabulous collection: "'The Bollywood Wedding' campaign, in collaboration with Karan Johar--a true icon in both film and fashion--embodies our commitment to empowering grooms and groomsmen to shine with confidence on their big day. We have crafted a collection that captures international style, luxurious fabrics, and the magnetic allure of Bollywood, making Peter England the ultimate destination for unforgettable wedding attire." Bollywood director and actor, Karan Johar, announced the launch, exclaiming, "When I heard Peter England was doing a Bollywood-inspired collection, I was immediately curious. But when I saw what they had created, I was ecstatic. I love how the brand has captured the essence of Bollywood glamour in every detail--whether it's a shirt or a suit--and I'm thrilled to be part of this launch." This campaign is now live across India, spanning over 150 stores and reaching audiences through both traditional and digital media. The campaign will be further amplified through on-ground activations and exciting content collaborations, making it a larger-than-life experience for the audience. This campaign reflects Karan Johar's signature style--bold, glamorous, and effortlessly chic--while bringing to life the extravagant celebrations that define Indian cinema weddings. As he confidently states, this collection is his next blockbuster, promising to captivate the hearts of grooms and wedding guests alike and offering every man the chance to shine like a true Bollywood hero. About Peter England: Peter England is one of the most loved and largest menswear brands in India. It sells more than 14 million garments every year across 1100+ exclusive stores, 3500+ multi-brand outlets and 800+ towns. The brand also holds a strong e-commerce presence. Peter England has been voted as India's Most Trusted Apparel Brand for 7 consecutive years by the Economic Times Brand Equity Survey. The brand is committed to offering varied styles across categories at affordable prices. Peter England was first launched in India by Madura Fashion and Lifestyle (previously known as Madura Garments) in the mid-price segment in 1997; the company acquired the world rights for the brand in 2000. What began as a brand of honest shirts in 1997, in India, is today a complete lifestyle brand with merchandise available every day and for all special occasions. The brand's formal wear range of crisp formal shirts, well-tailored suits, jackets & trousers combines high fashion and impeccable fits along with a wide selection of highly curated looks for modern professionals. The casual wear range is a highly eclectic line of washed cotton shirts, denim, cargo bottoms, graphic tees, Polos, and winter wear. The 'Select' line brings together premium formal wear with an emphasis on fine detailing with a hint of colour, comfort, and panache. While the assorted collection of ties, pocket squares and belts assert a distinctive style statement from the newly launched innerwear line ensure the highest comfort and great fit. While the brand continues to expand across India, it introduced a brand-new retail identity called the Peter England Men's Obsession, which is large format store housing over 2000+ unique designs at an unmatched value, all the while delivering a young, vibrant shopping experience for all. About Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited: ABFRL is part of a leading Indian conglomerate, The Aditya Birla Group. With revenue of Rs. 13,996 Cr. spanning retail space of 11.9 million sq. ft. (as of March 31, 2024), it is India's first billion-dollar pure-play fashion powerhouse with an elegant bouquet of leading fashion brands and retail formats. The Company has a network of 4,664 stores across approximately 37,205 multi-brand outlets with 9,563 points of sales in department stores across India (as of 31st March 2024). It has a repertoire of India's largest brands in Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, and Peter England, established over 25 years. Pantaloons is one of India's leading fashion retailers. The Company's international Brands portfolio includes - The Collective, amongst India's largest multi-brand retailers of international brands, and has long-term exclusive partnerships with select brands such as Ralph Lauren, Hackett London, Ted Baker, Fred Perry, Forever 21, American Eagle, Reebok, Simon Carter, and Galeries Lafayette. The Company's foray into the branded ethnic wear business includes brands such as Jaypore, Tasva & Marigold Lane. The company has strategic partnerships with Designers 'Shantanu & Nikhil', 'Tarun Tahiliani', 'Sabyasachi' and 'House of Masaba'. In addition, to cater to the needs of digitally native consumers, ABFRL is building a portfolio of Digital-first brands under its technology-led 'House of D2C Brands' venture TMRW. TMRW is on a path to building a portfolio of Digital First brands in partnership with founders of emerging brands in the E-Commerce market. The Company in Sept 2023 completed the acquisition of a 51% stake in TCNS Clothing Co. Ltd. TCNS is India's leading women's branded ethnic apparel company that designs, markets and, retails a portfolio of women's branded apparel across brands W, Aurelia, Wishful, Elleven & Folksong. Media Contact: Aanchel Batheja+91 9986698119aanchel.batheja@prpundithavasred.com Video: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2560315/Peter_England_Karan_Johar.mp4 (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
PRNewswire Pune (Maharashtra) [India], November 18: In the quiet moments after the last Diwali sparkler fades, another celebration begins to shimmer on Pune's horizon. VTP Realty, the city's beloved real estate pioneer, proudly announces the return of 'Doosri Diwali VTP Wali 2024' for its milestone fifth season. This isn't just another real estate event - it's a celebration that has captured hearts and transformed dreams into reality for countless families. Like a cherished family tradition that grows more special with each passing year, 'Doosri Diwali VTP Wali' has blossomed into a phenomenon that the entire real estate community awaits with bated breath. Even as the first Diwali's memories are still fresh, excitement builds for what has become Pune's most heartfelt home-buying celebration. Sachin Bhandari, CEO & Executive Director, shares the emotion behind this unique celebration: "Every home tells a story, and with 'Doosri Diwali VTP Wali', we're crafting beautiful beginnings for countless families. We chose this special timing to create a celebration free from the festive rush - a moment where each family can pause, dream, and find their perfect home in an atmosphere of joy and clarity. While we stand proud as a fixed-price brand, this special season brings something extraordinary. Doosri Diwali VTP Wali is our way of adding extra sparkle to your homecoming journey with extravaganza gift packages that make your celebration twice as magical. Because at VTP, we're not just building homes - we're creating spaces where happiness finds its address and every moment glows with the warmth of festive cheer." This annual celebration emerges as a testament to VTP's unwavering commitment to excellence. Each project stands as a masterpiece of quality, luxury, and thoughtful design, lifestyle amenities, carefully placed in Pune's most coveted locations. During 'Doosri Diwali VTP Wali', these extraordinary homes come wrapped with exclusive offers and carefully chosen gifts - not just additions, but gestures that make the journey to homeownership even more memorable. ABOUT VTP REALTY: CRAFTING PUNE'S FINEST LIVING EXPERIENCES For six consecutive years, VTP Realty has stood unchallenged as Pune's No.1 real estate brand, earning its place among India's top 10 real estate powerhouses. We are where legacy meets innovation - a brand backed by its 38-years old heritage while boldly defining tomorrow's living spaces. Our philosophy of "Better Design, Better Build, Better Care" isn't just a tagline; it's the blueprint that has made us number 1 in record time, setting new benchmarks that others strive to follow. Every VTP project is a masterpiece of thoughtful luxury. Our obsession with detail transforms everyday spaces into extraordinary experiences. From the grandeur of our architectural vision to the finest finishing touches, we create homes that don't just meet expectations - they redefine them. This relentless pursuit of excellence explains our consistent reign as Pune's most trusted real estate leader. VTP Realty: Where Excellence Lives For more information on Doosri Diwali VTP Wali 2024, visit www.vtprealty.in Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2560277/VTP_Doosri_Diwali.jpgLogo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2452797/VTP_Realty_Logo.jpg (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
SMPL Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], November 18: Artificial Intelligence is a game changer in businesses across genre, but it is yet to materially impact industrial sectors such as construction and agriculture machinery. Partsformachines.com is leading the introduction of AI in the industrial machinery sector with the launch of AI powered part and equipment search capability. With a newly opened office located in Rajasthan's Jaipur, the company's founders are focused on empowering their teams to take ownership of their work and embrace AI in everything they do. PartsForMachines.com is focused on disrupting the industrial machinery parts and services space. The founders believe that the current approach to selling parts and services for industrial machinery is broken, and they are confident that their platform can offer a better way to support customers. PartsForMachines specializes in providing parts for heavy machinery, including diggers, excavators, and tractors. Beyond machinery parts, the company offers a comprehensive range of tools and equipment used in construction and agriculture, such as compressors, pressure washers, welding equipment, and wood and metal cutting tools. With a catalogue of over 100,000 products, PartsForMachines aims to become the one-stop shop to meet the diverse needs of customers across Europe. Cofounder Abhimanyu Rao grew up in Udaipur and completed his graduation in Information Technology with Honors from the UK. With over 12 years of experience in the tech industry, Abhimanyu has been leading Platform and Operations at PartsForMachines since 2019. The other cofounder, Abhishek, brings more than 20 years of industry experience, having held various roles across major organizations. In early 2019, during a conversation, they identified a significant market gap and unmet demand for quality construction and agricultural equipment parts. While living in England, Abhishek saw an opportunity to better serve customers in Europe, and as someone with roots in India, he always wanted to contribute to India's development. This vision resonated with Abhimanyu as well, inspiring the shared mission behind PartsForMachines. As cofounders, they bring domain expertise in operations, technology, business development, and finance to establish the optimal processes for the business. Over time, the team has refined these processes to manage all key areas effectively. For platform development, PartsForMachines collaborates with Owebest Technologies Private Limited, based in Jaipur, to leverage their technical expertise. Meanwhile, the in-house team oversees all aspects of running an ecommerce platform, including pricing, digital marketing, supplier engagement, and product management, ensuring these elements align well with the needs of the European marketplace. PartsForMachines is constantly evolving, continually exploring new capabilities and ideas to enhance customer support. For its founders, the journey of disrupting a traditional industry is filled with constant challenges, yet these challenges are precisely what inspire them each day. This drive and commitment fuel their confidence that PartsForMachines is on the path to success. With a beautifully renovated office in Rajasthan and an energetic team, PartsForMachines emphasizes empowering people to take ownership of their work. The company operates differently from traditional structures--employees understand their roles and responsibilities but enjoy the freedom to step out for coffee, go to the gym, or take breaks without being tied to their desks. This flexible approach fosters a strong sense of ownership, enabling everyone to work efficiently and actively contribute to the company's growth. In sum, PartsForMachines is redefining the industrial machinery parts and services sector with a forward-thinking approach and an unwavering commitment to quality and customer satisfaction. Led by founders with a shared vision and extensive industry expertise, the company is constantly evolving, adapting, and innovating to meet the diverse needs of its customers in Europe and beyond. For more information, please visit - https://www.partsformachines.com/ (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by SMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
The second day of the Odisha delegation in Singapore, led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Industries Minister Sampad Chandra Swain was marked by engagements to explore Singapore's globally renowned infrastructure and establishment of strategic partnerships for Odisha's ongoing industrial transformation. The focus was on key sectors of industrial growth and skill development, as per an Odisha government statement. The day's agenda began with a detailed tour of the Surbana Jurong Petrochemicals Complex, where the delegation saw the infrastructure that has made Surbana Jurong a global leader in petrochemical processing. This visit is particularly significant as Odisha, positioned on India's eastern seaboard, is fast emerging as a key investment destination in the Bay of Bengal region for petrochemicals and chemicals. By leveraging insights from Singapore's petrochemicals ecosystem, Odisha aims to further enhance its own Petroleum, Chemicals, and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) at Paradip, the statement said.. Following their visit to Jurong on Monday, the delegation attended the first G2G meeting with Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Commerce, Singapore. During the meeting, Chief Minister apprised the Singapore Deputy Prime Minister about the rich maritime history of Odisha and 'Boita Bandana', a traditional Odia maritime and naval festival. The Chief Minister extended an invitation to Singaporean companies through the Deputy Prime Minister's Office to explore opportunities in Odisha, and assured him a smooth and supportive investment experience. The delegation also invited the Deputy Prime Minister to visit to Odisha for the Utkarsh Odisha: Make in Odisha Conclave 2025. The delegation also met Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore. The Chief Minister expressed the need for more partnership in the field of "Urban Mobility", "Green Shipping Corridor and Chemicals and Petrochemicals Complex" between Odisha and Singapore. The delegation also invited the Minister of Foreign Affairs to participate in the Utkarsh Odisha: Make in Odisha Conclave 2025 and for Singapore to participate as a country of focus during the conclave. Majhi said, "As the Chief Minister of Odisha, witnessing the world-class infrastructure at the Jurong Petrochemicals Complex is truly inspiring. Odisha, strategically located on India's eastern seaboard, is rapidly emerging as a premier investment destination in the Bay of Bengal region, especially in petrochemicals. The developments at Paradip and other port-based hubs are key drivers for this growth." The day ended with a formal discussion with the travelling business delegation from Odisha regarding business-to-business partnerships between Singaporean and Odia firms. This visit marks a crucial step in Odisha's strategic outreach efforts ahead of the Utkarsh Odisha: Make in Odisha Conclave 2025, scheduled for January. The next two days will be pivotal as the Chief Minister engages in one-on-one meetings with investors and industry associations to discuss potential collaborations. The delegation will also be meeting the Odia diaspora in Singapore to seek their inputs and support to take Odisha to the next level. These engagements are expected to further boost Odisha's reputation as a premier investment hub in India. (ANI)
Giving a sneak peek into her Sindhi lifestyle, she posted a picture of "golden" toothbrush.

"Tell me you're a Sindhi without telling me you're a Sindhi," she wrote as the caption.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Kiara will be seen sharing screen space with Ram Charan in 'Game Changer'.

Recently, the team of 'Game Changer' unveiled the film's teaser in Lucknow.

The over one-minute-long Changer teaser shows Ram Charan going from academia to action. In the clip, he can be seen fighting goons and even romancing Kiara Advani.

Reportedly, the film is set in the world of politics and centres around the story of an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who takes on corrupt politicians and fights for fair elections.

Notably, Ram Charan attended the teaser launch event of 'Game Changer' barefoot in Lucknow. He was spotted wearing an all-black ethnic outfit - kurta, pyjama and stole.Ram Charan is currently following Ayyappa Deeksha, which is a sacred vow observed by devotees of Lord Ayyappa.

During this period, Ram Charan pledges to follow strict rules and regulations, including wearing only a black kurta and the Ayyappa Mala.

The film, directed by S. Shankar, will be released in cinemas on January 10th, 2025. (ANI)
In a post on X on Sunday, CM Saha called it a "very proud moment" for India.

https://x.com/DrManikSaha2/status/1858152159360987314

"A proud moment for India! Nigeria honours PM @narendramodi Ji with the prestigious Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), recognizing his impactful contributions to global diplomacy and development. Global recognition for visionary leadership! #GCON," CM Saha said.

Nigeria honoured Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) during his visit there. This makes PM Modi the second foreign dignitary to receive this honour. Queen Elizabeth was conferred with the award in 1969.

This will be the 17th such international award conferred on PM Modi by a foreign country.

PM Modi concluded his first visit to Nigeria on Sunday on the first leg of his three-nation tour. Upon his arrival, PM Modi was warmly welcomed by Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, Minister for Federal Capital Territory in Abuja and was gifted with the 'Key to the City' of Abuja. The key symbolises the trust and honour bestowed on the PM by the people of Nigeria.

The visit by PM Modi is the first visit by a Prime Minister of India to Nigeria in 17 years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi emplaned for Brazil on Sunday evening as part of his three-nation tour to Nigeria, Brazil and Guyana scheduled from November 17 to November 21. (ANI)
The much-anticipated romantic drama "Her Story" premiered at the 2024 China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival in Xiamen, Fujian province, on Nov. 14, examining contemporary views on love and womanhood.

A still from "Her Story." [Photo courtesy of Maxtimes Culture]

Written and directed by Shao Yihui, the film began as a sequel to her critically acclaimed 2021 Shanghai-dialect romance "B for Busy" but evolved into a parallel narrative. The film maintains its predecessor's exploration of love and relationships while delivering sharp, humorous commentary in the vein of Woody Allen.

Set in Shanghai, this romantic comedy follows a single mother's journey through personal growth and new relationships after relocating. She finds support from a distinctly different neighbor as they help each other through tough times. Drawing parallels to "Barbie" (2023), the film examines modern relationships through a contemporary female lens while exploring nuanced reflections on gender-related issues.

"Her Story" began advanced screenings on Nov. 9, earning critical acclaim for its writing, direction and performances. Critics have dubbed it one of Chinese cinema's most compelling romances this year. The film opened the festival's domestic showcase.

At the premiere, Song Jia, who plays the single mother, said this was her first opportunity to portray a capable, modern female character who seems able to do everything. "But she still has her confusion and vulnerability. Even the term 'independent woman' can be a kind of shackle for her," Song said.

"But that's why she is vivid and charismatic. She grows through her neighbor's guidance and gradually reconciles with herself," she added. "I love this role. It shows a woman's possibilities and lets me engage in conversation with contemporary women."

Zhong Chuxi, who plays the neighbor, described her character as having a "sober love brain" and capacity for generosity. "In today's society, people sometimes weigh their contributions in relationships as though the person who gives more is somehow lower in the relationship's hierarchy. However, that isn't true. Whether in friendship or love, if you're brave enough to give and find joy in it, that's what matters," Zhong said.

Director Shao said she wrote "Her Story" to encourage genuine dialogue between men and women through nuanced character development and diverse perspectives. "Even though our conversations may not always reach the depths of each other's hearts," she stated, hoping the film would encourage viewers to reevaluate themselves or their friends of the opposite sex and enhance communication across gender lines.

She highlighted another key female role: the single mother's daughter, played by Zeng Mumei, a child star and the daughter of renowned Chinese actor Mei Ting and cinematographer Zeng Jian. Shao said certain messages carry more weight when delivered by a child, who naturally speaks without gender stereotypes. Many of her own thoughts, she noted, are expressed and delivered through Zeng's character.

Actor Mark Chao, who plays the ex-husband, attended the premiere and said he found the script's perspective intriguing and forward-thinking, likening his role to Ken in "Barbie." "I've never played an ex-husband before; it feels like quite a breakthrough," Chao said with a laugh. "I'm privileged to have the opportunity to challenge myself with a character who combines sincerity with unreliability, allowing me to explore new territory as an actor."

Director Shao Yihui (first from left) and the cast of "Her Story" at the film's premiere during the China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival in Xiamen, Fujian province, Nov. 14, 2024. [Photo courtesy of Maxtimes Culture]

"Her Story" will be released nationwide on Nov. 22.
According to an official release, the operation, conducted on NH-02 between Tadubi and Mao Gate in Senapati district, was based on credible intelligence.

The forces successfully seized the contraband at Marty's Park, Mao Gate, on the National Highway, as stated by HQ IGAR (East).

The seized heroin, along with the vehicle and the individual involved, has been handed over to the Mao Police Station for further investigation.

"In a significant breakthrough, a joint operation conducted by Assam Rifles and Manipur Police from Mao Gate resulted in the recovery of 578 gms of Heroin of approximate amount of Rs 2.31 Crores in International Market on 17 November 24. The operation was carried out on NH-02 between Tadubi and Mao Gate road of Senapati district of Manipur," the release mentioned.

"Acting on credible intelligence the forces undertook the meticulously planned operation successfully seizing contraband. Heroin at Marty's Park, Mao Gate on the National Highway. The seized heroin, vehicle and individual were handed over to Mao police station authorities for further investigation and necessary action," it added. (ANI)
Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has condemned the tragic deaths of two Hindu girls, aged 15 and 17, in Pakistan's Islamkot area. The girls, identified as Hema and Venti, were found hanging from a tree. The incident has caused outrage and fear among local Hindus. Kalyan also expressed concerns over the atrocities faced by Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh. https://x.com/PawanKalyan/status/1858192232446116122 "It pains a lot to see, our Hindu sisters in Pakistan going through such atrocities and losing their lives. Every time I see such news about the plight of Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh, it pains me deeply. I pray for Hema and Venti's departed souls with tears," Andhra Pradesh Deputy CM said on X. He was responding to information posted by "INSIGHT UK" which reported that two Hindu girls, aged 15 and 17 years old, were found hanging from a tree in Pakistan's Islamkot. Insight UK also questioned the failure of international bodies like the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to address such incidents. https://x.com/INSIGHTUK2/status/1857846765140983962 "In Islamkot, Tharparkar, a tragic incident occurred where two young Hindu girls, Hema and Venti, aged 15 and 17, were found hanging from a tree. This event has instilled a state of fear in the local area. Hindus across the world are outraged and concerned over the safety and rights of Hindus and other minorities in Pakistan who face relentless persuasion from Islamists," Insight UK posted on X. Insight UK describes itself as a social movement addressing issues concerning British Hindus and Indians in the United Kingdom. Earlier in the month, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had condemned the attacks on the Hindu community in Chittagong, Bangladesh and said that such actions would only create more tensions in the community. Jaiswal, during a weekly media briefing, urged the Bangladesh government to ensure the safety of Hindus. (ANI)
The Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has expressed deep concern over the ongoing unrest in Manipur, which has led to the loss of five lives, widespread displacement of communities, and the destruction of ancestral properties. In the release, it stated, saying "We strongly condemn the violence and urge all stakeholders to prioritize dialogue, reconciliation and peacebuilding efforts. The current situation is not only destabilizing for the people of Manipur but poses a serious threat to the harmony and security of the entire Northeastern region." The committee urged the Union government to take immediate and decisive actions to restore law and order. "The NPCC calls upon the Government of India to take immediate and decisive steps to restore Law and Order, address the underlying causes of the conflict, and ensure the safety and dignity of all citizens it is essential to provide adequate support for those affected, including displaced families, and to rebuild trust among the diverse communities present," reads the statement. The NPCC appealed to the people of Manipur to refrain from violence and work collectively towards unity and peace. According to the statement, it said "We appeal to the people of Manipur to refrain from violence and work collectively towards Unity and Peace Let us remember that the strength of the Northeast lies in its diversity and shared aspiration for development and prosperity. The NPCC stands in solidarity with the people of Manipur, our people during this difficult line and reaffirm its commitment to fostering peace and mutual understanding across the region." Meanwhile, amid the escalation in the state, a total curfew was imposed on Saturday in Imphal. Following this, the government immediately suspended Internet and mobile data services for two days. Violence erupted in Manipur on May 3 last year following clashes during a rally organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) to protest against the demand for the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe category. (ANI)
Former Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik on Sunday underlined the importance of mortality in politics, calling politics without morality 'hypocrisy'. He stated that only a politician with high moral values can bring meaningful changes in people's lives. Speaking at an event in Bhubaneswar to mark the 91st birth anniversary of former Odisha minister Harishchandra Baxipatra, Patnaik described politics as a commitment to extend unconditional service to the people. "Politics without morality is hypocrisy. A dedicated and committed politician with high morality alone can bring about transformative changes in the lives of people," the former Odisha Chief Minister said. https://x.com/Naveen_Odisha/status/1858330521149096332 The BJD President further elaborated on the essence of politics. He added, "Politics is a commitment; a commitment to work for an ideal, a commitment to extend unconditional service to the people. No doubt politics is the fountain bed of power and also a medium to do good for the people." Patnaik then stressed that people's love is more important than power, status and position, highlighting that people's satisfaction is the greatest asset for a leader. "Many consider politics as a springboard to power. But I believe that people's love is more important than the world of power, status and position. People's satisfaction is the greatest asset for a leader," Patnaik added. Former Odisha Minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadai and Social Scientist Jogendra Yadav were also present at the event. Reflecting on the life of Harishchandra Baxipatra, Patnaik said, "Late Harishchandra Baxipatra occupied a special place in the political history of Odisha and India. An ardent follower of socialism Late Baxipatra started his career as a Student Leader. His relentless fight against exploitation, his fight for the cause of Farmers, Tribals and the underprivileged had few parallels in the history of Odisha." Patnaik also underscored Baxipatra's close association with legendary Biju Patnaik and his role as a minister in Biju Patnaik's cabinet. "He was a true friend of the poor people. He had deep faith in socialist ideals and this ideal was reflected in his life and work," he said. "Nowadays the absence of such idealistic leaders is strongly felt in politics," Patnaik added. Sharing pictures from the event on X, Patnaik wrote," Politics is selfless service and commitment. Politics without principles is just an illusion. Tribute to eminent leader Harishchandra Baxipatra who occupied a special place in Odisha politics on his birth anniversary." "Struggle was his greatest identity. This identity was much higher than the identity as a minister or MLA. He was a true friend of the poor people. He had deep faith in socialist ideals and this ideal was reflected in his life and work," the post read. Patnaik's post further added, "Politics is a commitment, a commitment to an ideal, a commitment to serve the people selflessly. Only committed politicians can bring change in people's lives. In my opinion, power, position and reputation are inferior to the love of the people. The satisfaction of the general public is the most valuable asset of a politician. Odisha." (ANI)
Raising concerns on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's "slave" remarks on journalists in a rally in Maharashtra, Mumbai Press Club emphasised that the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha should prioritize tangible measures to address the challenges faced by journalists, rather than just making statements. The club advised Rahul Gandhi to redirect his critique toward the media owners and the structural issues within the industry. In a press statement, the Mumbai Press Club also highlighted that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi is rightly criticised for avoiding open press conferences, Rahul Gandhi's recurrent mockery and derision of journalists also deserve rebuke. "At an election rally in Amaravati, Maharashtra, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, made sweeping remarks about working journalists, accusing them of being beholden to the ruling regime and labelling them as 'slaves of their owners.' While cloaked in concern for the plight of journalists, his comments carried a tone of condescension that warrants closer scrutiny," the Club said. It asked the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition if has he ever reflected on the root causes of the challenges faced by working journalists in India and the state of journalism as a whole. "The precarious conditions of journalists today stem largely from rampant contractualisation, driven in part by the neoliberal policies introduced by the Congress-led government in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Until then, journalists had fought for and secured significant rights, including unionization and better working conditions. Contractualisation, however, allowed monopoly media houses to sack journalists at will, weakening unions and leaving journalists vulnerable," the Mumbai Press Club said. "If Rahul Gandhi truly wishes to address the plight of journalists, perhaps he should redirect his critique toward the media owners and the structural issues within the industry," the Mumbai Press Club said. It also asserted that the ever-present threat of dismissal, combined with an oversupply of unemployed and underemployed journalists, makes it unrealistic to expect working journalists to rebel against the system at great personal risk. "While we acknowledge the immense challenges posed by the current government's authoritarian tendencies toward the media, it is equally concerning to witness Gandhi's repeated targeting of journalists. His rhetoric raises legitimate concerns about how his party might approach the press if it were to return to power. If Prime Minister Narendra Modi is rightly criticised for avoiding open press conferences, Mr Gandhi's recurrent mockery and derision of journalists also deserve rebuke," it added. The Club continued to stress that the Mumbai Press Club has consistently stood against the violation of journalists' rights, whether by ruling parties, media owners, or other forces. "We, therefore, view the high-handed approach of the Leader of the Opposition toward working journalists as a matter of serious concern. Constructive dialogue and accountability, not dismissive remarks, are what the media--and democracy--deserve," it said. (ANI)
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday morning held a meeting with the 16th Finance Commission at the Secretariat, welcoming the commission's chairman and its members. He said that the recommendations made by the 16 Finance Commission would contribute to turning India into a developed country in the world. "On behalf of Tamil Nadu and the people of the state, I am happy to welcome the 16th Finance Commission Chairman and its members. I believe the 16th Finance Commission recommendations should fulfil the expectations all Indian states and would play a role changing India as developed country in the world. The recommendations from the 16th financial commission should strengthen India's federal structure," Tamil Nadu CM Stalin said while addressing the gathering at the Secretariat. Meanwhile, a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence was held at Chennai on Saturday to review the working of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) in ensuring coastal security along India's vast maritime boundaries, an official release said. The delegation of Members of Parliament (MPs) was led by MP Shri Radha Mohan Singh, who chaired the meeting. Senior officials from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and ICG also attended the meeting. The ICG was represented by Director General S Paramesh, PTM, TM, Director General Indian Coast Guard, who provided a comprehensive overview of the ICG's operational capabilities, strategic initiatives, and preparedness to address the nation's coastal security challenges. According to the release, the discussion focused on ICG's ongoing efforts to safeguard India's maritime interests, improve coordination with various stakeholders, and enhance response mechanisms for ensuring maritime safety and security. Earlier this week, CM Stalin on Tuesday urged Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar to secure the release of Tamil Nadu fishermen detained and their fishing boats by the Sri Lankan Navy. Sharing the details in the letter, Stalin mentioned that on November 9 Sri Lankan Navy took into custody twenty-three fishermen from Rameswaram, two mechanized fishing boats and again on November 12, another fishing boat and 12 fishermen were apprehended. (ANI)
Samajwadi Party leader Fakhrul Hasan Chand on Monday alleged that the dates for Uttar Pradesh by-polls were shifted so that the people of the state working in other places who came to their homes on Diwali and Chatth Puja couldn't vote. Speaking to ANI, Fakhrul Hasan Chand also exuded confidence in winning the Uttar Pradesh by-polls along with Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. "The unemployed people of Uttar Pradesh, who work in other states, had the opportunity to return home for Diwali and Chhath Puja and cast their votes. But the BJP knew that if the unemployed voted, they would not vote for them. That's why this election was extended from November 13 to 20. However, the BJP is set to lose all nine seats," he said. Further, the Samajwadi Party leader emphasized that they are ready to defeat the BJP. "The PDA (Pichda, Dalit and Minority) is not just prepared in Uttar Pradesh but also in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. The Samajwadi Party is confident that when the results are announced on the 23rd, the BJP will be wiped out in all three places," he said. Notably, the Election Commission has postponed by-elections in Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab to November 20 from November 13. EC's decision to postpone by-polls comes after requests from national and state parties, including INC, BJP, BSP, and RLD, to avoid low voter turnout. National and state parties had requested the EC to shift the dates in these states due to various festivities. Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said that the voice of the Lucknow engine (UP government) has changed as the Uttar Pradesh bypolls are approaching. "The voice of the Lucknow engine (UP government) has changed as the elections (UP Bypolls) approach. Are they talking about any development? They say that Samajwadi people are mafia and goons...But the truth is that when the Chief Minister (Yogi Adityanath) leaves his house, he does not look in the mirror," said Akhilesh Yadav while addressing a public rally in Uttar Pradesh's Katehari Vidhan Sabha. According to the EC order, the Assembly constituencies, where the polling has been postponed to November 20, include Palakkad in Kerala; Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal, Gidderbaha, Barnala in Punjab; and Meerapur, Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Khair, Karhal, Sishamau, Phulpur, Katehari and Majhawan in Uttar Pradesh. (ANI)
Police have arrested the owner and the manager of a resort in Mangaluru, in connection with the drowning of three students from Mysuru at a private beach resort, a senior police official said. The arrested individuals have been identified as Manohar, the owner of the Vazco Resort located in Ullal limits near Mangaluru, and Bharath, the resort's manager. "In the drowning incident of 3 students from Mysore at Vazco resort of Ullala limits two people 1) Manohar(owner) and Bharath(manager) have been arrested. Further investigation is taken up," Mangalore police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal said. Three students from Mysuru - Keerthana (21), Nishita (21) and Parvathy (20) - were found dead in the swimming pool of the Vazco resort a day after they arrived on November 16. "Three young women from Mysore lost their lives in the swimming pool at a private beach resort in Ullal, on the outskirts of Mangaluru. The victims, identified as Keerthana (21), Nishitha (21), and Parvathi (20), had checked into the resort on November 16 and were found dead in the swimming pool the following morning," Mangaluru Police Commissioner, Anupam Agrawal said. Further investigation is underway. (ANI)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over probe into three cases linked to violence against civilians that have disrupted the public order in Manipur. The State government transferred the three cases to NIA on the orders issued by Union Home Ministry. The Manipur police on Sunday imposed a curfew in both districts of Imphal following the killings of six people. The administration also suspended internet in seven districts of the State. The authorities have imposed a curfew in Imphal West and Imphal East in light of the recent tense situation here. Sparse movements of vehicles can be seen on the streets with deployment of security personnel. Security has also been tightened outside Chief Minister Biren Singh's residence and Raj Bhavan. Meanwhile, the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has expressed deep concern over the ongoing unrest in the Manipur, which has led to the loss of six lives, widespread displacement of communities, and the destruction of ancestral properties. "We strongly condemn the violence and urge all stakeholders to prioritise dialogue, reconciliation and peacebuilding efforts. The current situation is not only destabilising for the people of Manipur but poses a serious threat to the harmony and security of the entire Northeastern region," it said in a statement. The NPCC urged the Union government to take immediate and decisive actions to restore law and order. The committe also appealed to the people of Manipur to refrain from violence and work collectively towards unity and peace. Manipur police officials have arrested 23 individuals who were part of the mob involved in the alleged "ransacking and arson of the houses," said Manipur Police on Sunday. These individuals were arrested from Imphal East, Imphal West, and Bishnupur districts of the state. Additionally, the police officials have recovered one .32 pistol, seven rounds of SBBL, and eight mobile phones from their possession, the police said. Violence erupted in Manipur on May 3 last year following clashes during a rally organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) to protest against the demand for the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe category. (ANI)
An aerial drone photo taken on March 12, 2024 shows the BYD battery factory in Manaus, capital of Amazonas state, Brazil. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's trade with Brazil soared 9.9 percent in the first 10 months of 2024 from the same period last year, underpinning the deepening economic and trade ties between the two countries.



The growth rate was 4.7 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate of China's foreign trade, as shown by the General Administration of Customs data released on Sunday.

China's trade with Brazil hit 1.14 trillion yuan (158.33 billion U.S. dollars) from January to October, including 432.08 billion yuan in exports and 708.15 billion yuan in imports, both registering steady growth.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of China-Brazil diplomatic ties. Over the past half-century, the two nations have made fruitful achievements in economic and trade cooperation and significant progress in bilateral economic and trade ties.

China has been Brazil's largest trading partner and export destination for the past 15 consecutive years, while Brazil has long been China's top trading partner in Latin America.

With the deepening economic and trade cooperation, more quality products from Brazil are entering the Chinese market. In the first 10 months, China's share in Brazil's exports of soybeans and iron ore exceeded 70 percent, while in pulp and crude oil, the share surpassed 40 percent.

More quality industrial products from China are entering Brazil. China exported intermediate goods worth 216.86 billion yuan to Brazil in the first 10 months, up 11.8 percent year on year, accounting for half of China's total export value to Brazil.
Nationalist Congress Party candidate Nawab Malik on Monday said that the excitement among the people shows that he and his daughter will win both the seats they are contesting. Speaking to ANI, Nawab Malik, the NCP candidate from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar, said, "The bike rally is starting right now from Sana Malik's constituency and then we will attend the bike rally in our own constituency. The excitement in the people clearly shows that we are going to win both seats. We have done the work and we will keep working." His daughter and NCP candidate from Anushakti Nagar, Sana Malik emphasized that they are moving ahead in a positive manner in the last phase of campaigning. "We have been meeting people, now we have come to make a final appeal to them. The feeling is that we should work among people the same way we have been doing for the last 5-7 years... This is the last phase of the campaign; we are moving ahead in a positive manner... We are always among the people," she told ANI. Notably, in Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar, Shiv Sena, a Mahayuti alliance member alongside NCP, has fielded Suresh 'Bullet' Patil to contest against Nawab Malik. NCP's Mahayuti's alliance partners, BJP and Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) have expressed their opposition to Malik's candidature. Nawab Malik has expressed confidence in winning the upcoming assembly elections from the Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar assembly seat. However, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar has defended his decision to offer a ticket to Nawab Malik to contest from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar, despite the serious allegations against him. Malik was arrested in 2022 on charges of having links with Dawood Ibrahim's associates, but no court has proven these allegations yet. Speaking exclusively to ANI, Pawar stated, "The allegation against Nawab Malik has not been proven, so why not give him a ticket?" He compared Malik's situation to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who faced accusations during his time in office. "Many allegations were made against Rajiv Gandhi, like Bofors, but that doesn't mean he is an accused. This is a democracy, we can't blame anyone without evidence," Pawar said. Maharashtra elections will be held in a single phase on November 20 with counting of votes held on November 23. In the 2019 assembly elections in Maharashtra, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, the Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42. (ANI)
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Manipur on Monday condemned the ongoing violence in the state, which has continued unresolved for the past 19 months, since May 3, last year. The violence has led to immense suffering, especially among innocent people. In a statement, RSS Manipur said, "It is unfortunate that 19 months old violence in Manipur starting from May 3, 2023 has remained unresolved. Due to the ongoing violence, innocent people have immensely suffered. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Manipur strongly condemns inhuman, brutal and merciless acts of killing women and children after taking them in captivity. The act is cowardly and is against the principles of humanity and co-existence." The RSS further called on both the central and state governments to take immediate action to resolve the conflict, urging them to "sincerely" work towards bringing peace to the region at the earliest. Earlier on Sunday, the ongoing violence in Manipur escalated once again, leading the Manipur police to impose a curfew in both Imphal West and Imphal East districts. The curfew was declared, following the discovery of six dead bodies. As a result of the rising violence, the state government also suspended internet services across seven districts. Security has been tightened, particularly around the residence of Chief Minister Biren Singh and the Raj Bhavan, with limited vehicle movement seen in the affected areas. In addition to the curfew, the Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) expressed deep concern over the situation, condemning the violence. "We strongly condemn the violence and urge all stakeholders to prioritise dialogue, reconciliation and peacebuilding efforts. The current situation is not only destabilizing for the people of Manipur but poses a serious threat to the harmony and security of the entire Northeastern region," the NPCC stated in its release. The NPCC also urged the Union government to take swift action to restore law and order. "The NPCC calls upon the Government of India to take immediate and decisive steps to restore Law and Order, address the underlying causes of the conflict, and ensure the safety and dignity of all citizens it is essential to provide adequate support for those affected, including displaced families, and to rebuild trust among the diverse communities present," the statement continued. The police in Manipur have arrested 23 individuals involved in the recent violence, including those part of the mob responsible for ransacking and setting fire to houses. The police also recovered firearms and mobile phones from their possession. Amid the unrest, the curfew will remain in place until further notice, and internet services will be suspended for two days. The violence in Manipur started on May 3, following clashes during a rally organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU), which was protesting the demand to include the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe category. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress have sought an additional seven-day time to submit their comments to the Election Commission of India over complaints on each other on alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), sources said on Monday. The Commission asked BJP president JP Nadda and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to comment on the complaint against star campaigners of the other party and attached the complaints in its communication to them. While the BJP had complained against Rahul Gandhi, the Congress had complained to the Election Commission over some remarks made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in their election speeches. The Election Commission had sought formal responses from both the party presidents by 1 pm on Monday, November 18, 2024, while reminding them of EC's earlier advisory to them dated May 22, 2024, during Lok Sabha Elections, to keep star campaigners and leaders under check so that public decorum is not flouted and MCC is followed in letter and spirit during the election campaign. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had on November 11 lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against Rahul Gandhi's claim that the BJP wanted to "destroy the Constitution." Congress had complained to the EC on November 13 against PM Modi and Amit Shah alleging violation of Model Code of Conduct. Party leader Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, accused the two senior BJP leaders of "divisive, false, and malicious speeches" in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader CR Kesvan on Monday exuded confidence in the Mahayuti alliance, of which BJP is a constituent, winning the upcoming Maharashtra assembly election and stated that the people of Maharashtra have seen 'great' change and progress in the last two years. Speaking to ANI CR Kesvan said, "In the last two years, the people of Maharashtra have seen a great change and progress. In the coming days, people will vote for Mahayuti, ensuring a prosperous and Vikshit Maharashtra." "The people of Maharashtra have a very clear choice between them: one, the Mahyuti, which stands for progress and development, and on the other side, Congress and MVA stand for communal division and politics of polarization," the BJP leader added. Kesavan further alleged Congress and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) of leading a communal campaign ahead of Maharashtra assembly polls and termed the MVA as 'Muslim Vote appeasement.' "Communal campaign by the Congress and its allies makes one wonder whether the MVA now stands for Muslim Vote appeasement," Kesvan added. "The Congress Chief Minister's provocative pronouncements of Muslim quota dangerously mirror one of the outrageous demands by the All India Ulema Board," he added. He further stressed that the religious-based reservations are against the spirit of the Indian Constitution for which Baba Saheb Ambedkar lived and died. He claimed that the Congress party does not care about the Constitution. "The Congress Party does not care about the Constitution nor doing justice to the people because the only agenda is, as you have seen in this campaign, a polarizing agenda, a communal narrative, and communal division," Kesvan alleged. Claiming that the Congress' divisive agenda is to consolidate their minority vote bank by dividing others, he said, "This is what the Prime Minister has exactly warned about." Attacking the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader, he said, "Rahul Gandhi will never talk about the caste in the minority vote bank because he wants to consolidate that." Notably, 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra will go to polls on November 20, with counting of votes to be held on November 23. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar), and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, is up against the Mahayuti alliance, which is comprised of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath-led Shiv Sena, and NCP (Ajit Pawar). In the 2019 assembly elections in Maharashtra, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, the Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42. (ANI)
In a major setback to the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, former Minister and AAP leader Kailash Gahlot joined the BJP on Monday. Gehlot, who resigned from AAP on Sunday citing deep concerns over the party's direction and internal challenges, joined the BJP in the presence of Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and other BJP leaders. Speaking on his resignation from the AAP, Kailash Gahlot said that it was not an easy step for him. "This was not an easy step for me. I have been associated with AAP since the days of Anna Ji and have consistently worked for the people of Delhi. To everyone who thinks that I made this decision under pressure, I want to say that I have never done anything under pressure. This is not a decision taken in just one day. I left my legal career to join AAP, and all of us were united by an ideology. Our sole purpose was to serve the people of Delhi," he said. He highlighted that when he saw those values being compromised, it caused great pain. "The purpose for which we had come together is no longer visible today. If a government continuously engages in conflict with the central government on every issue, then the development of Delhi cannot take place," Gahlot said. "I firmly believe that Delhi's development can only happen in collaboration with the central government. This is why I have joined the BJP. I will continue to work inspired by the vision and policies of the Prime Minister," he added. Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar who was present at Gahlot's joining welcomed the senior leader to the party. "Today, Delhi's former minister Kailash Gahlot has joined the BJP. This is a turning point in Delhi's politics as a senior minister of the Delhi Govt has joined the BJP...I am sure that you must have seen the work of PM Modi and BJP before taking the decision to join BJP. I welcome you to the party," Khattar said. On Sunday, in his letter to AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, Kailash Gahlot criticized the shift in the party's focus from advocating for the rights of the people to advancing its own political agenda, a shift he said has hindered AAP's ability to provide basic services to the residents of Delhi. He highlighted the unfulfilled promise of cleaning the Yamuna River, which remains more polluted than ever and expressed concern over controversies like the 'Sheeshmahal' issue, which, he said, have led people to question whether AAP still upholds its commitment to being a party of the "Aam Aadmi." (ANI)
BJP National President JP Nadda on Monday slammed the Congress party and its allies in the upcoming Maharashtra polls, accusing them of not providing any "report card" while they were in power. Addressing a rally in Navi Mumbai ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, Nadda said that the Mahayuti and the NDA were practising a "politics of report card," asserting that they had done what they promised and even accomplished things they hadn't committed to. He further criticised the Congress for only practising "divide and rule" and claimed they never focused on working for the state's welfare "Today, we are doing a politics of report card... We did what we said and also did that which we hadn't even said...Have you heard in Congress's tenure that they showed their report card? Have you heard if Sharad Pawar showed any report card? These people only divide and rule...never spoke about doing any work. But the Mahayuti and NDA under the leadership of PM Modi are moving forward towards development," the BJP leader said. Nadda further highlighted the growing support for the Mahayuti in the state, asserting that it would be the means to take Maharashtra forward through effective governance. He underscored that the upcoming elections were not just about the change of government but about ensuring Maharashtra's future development, framing the Mahayuti alliance as a vehicle for growth, progress, and advancement under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Wherever I go in Maharashtra, be it West Maharashtra, North Maharashtra, or Konkan, I hear the same voice that this time Mahayuti is going to come. I can also say that if there is Mahayuti, then it is the medium to take Maharashtra forward through a dynamic government. If there is Mahayuti, then there is progress. If there is Mahayuti, then there is advancement. If there is Mahayuti, then there is prosperity. I have come to request that the issue is not about the coming and going of governments. The issue is to take Maharashtra's future-forward," Nadda said. The BJP National President further added, "When I say this, I can say in full belief and pride that the Mahayuti and NDA under the leadership of Modi ji have seen a new way of politics, culture, and a new way of working." Campaigning for the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra has intensified, with both the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) making efforts to win over voters. The polls are scheduled for November 20, with counting to take place on November 23. (ANI)
Amid worsening air quality in the national capital, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said that the meeting of senior officers of departments concerned at 12 noon for implementation of GRAP IV was rescheduled for later on Monday. He alleged that the HoDs were negligent and no senior official arrived at the meeting. Gopal Rai says, "After a rise in the pollution level in Delhi, we had called a meeting of senior officers of departments concerned at 12 noon for implementation of GRAP IV. But there is such negligence that despite the pollution level rising to such dangerous levels, no senior officer reached the meeting." He urged the senior officials to be present at the meeting. "Neither the Transport Commissioner nor MCD Commissioner or Principal Secretary PWD or Special Commissioner Traffic or important HoDs of various meeting arrived for the meeting. So, we had to cancel the meeting. We have sent notices to these leaders once again for a 3 pm meeting," he further added. Meanwhile, eleven flights bound to land at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital were diverted to different cities on Monday due to adverse weather and smog conditions causing low visiblilty. These flights were diverted under the 'Captain Minima' operating procedures, which refers to the minimum operating standards that pilots must meet for landing, and these standards can lead to diversions if adverse weather conditions prevent compliance. The Delhi Airport this morning issued an advisory for passengers informing flight operations may get affected but 'Low Visibility Procedures' were still in progress at the airport. The air quality level in the national capital plunged to 'severe plus' levels. According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 1 pm was 490 in the national capital. According to CPCB data, the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at Dwarka Sector 8 is 500, Ashok Vihar is 497, Mundka is 495, Patparganj is 495, Anand Vihar is 495, Sonia Vihar at 491, RK Puram is 483, Chandani Chowk is 466 and ITO is 447, as of 12 pm. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) imposed the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage 4 in Delhi NCR from today. This decision was taken after Delhi's daily average AQI rose sharply to 441 by 4 PM on Sunday, and further escalated to 457 by 7 PM which prompted an emergency meeting of the GRAP Sub-Committee. The Stage-IV response encompasses an 8-point action plan designed to mitigate the pollution crisis. Key measures include banning the entry of trucks into Delhi, except for the ones carrying essential commodities or providing essential services. (ANI)
Amid the ongoing assembly elections in Jharkhand and the last day of campaigning, State Congress in-charge Ghulam Ahmed Mir on Monday expressed confidence about the party's performance and forming the government in the state, saying that they will perform well in the second phase. The alliance performed well in the first phase as well, he added. "We are confident that our performance will be good in the second phase as well. The alliance has performed well in the first phase as well. We hope that on November 23, our government will come with a bigger mandate than last time. We will form the government for the next five years and work of the people," said Mir. The Congress leader further said that their roadmap was more clear than any other party. People have responded (well) to the work done by Congress and the alliance, he added. "The last phase of elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand conclude the election scenes of 2024. The election campaign will end today and voting is on November 20. We have worked here for five years, and people have also responded (well) to it and acknowledged our work. We have a clear roadmap for the next five years, which has a lot for women, farmers, youth and the Pasmanda (backward) community. Our roadmap is clearer than any other party," Congress leader Ghulam Ahmed Mir said. Meanwhile, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday asserted that Hemant Soren's government would be uprooted from the ground this time. People are angry with the looting policy of the current government in Jharkhand, he added. Union Minister Pradhan further accused the Jharkhand government of corruption and nepotism, saying that a Chief Minister transferring the state property in his name doesn't happen anywhere else. "This time his (Hemant Soren) government is not going to be formed. I have gone to Jharkhand and this time change is certain in Jharkhand. People are angry with the looting policy of the current government. Corruption, nepotism and a Chief Minister transferring the state property to himself, such an incident does not happen anywhere else. Hemant Soren's government has been uprooted from the ground this time," the Union Minister said. (ANI)
Amid the celebration for Rashtriya Sahakar Saptah that is being observed from November 14 to 20, the role of cooperative activities in driving the development of both the nation and the state was duly recognised. Notably, Gujarat's Amul, a flagship cooperative institution, stands as a benchmark not only for India but also as a global exemplar of excellence in the cooperative sector. With approximately 1.71 crore members, more than 89,000 cooperative institutions are operational in Gujarat. Over 48 Lakh Farmers in Gujarat benefitted from Rs3,056 Crore Interest Subsidy Under Government Credit Facilities in the last three years. One in every four Gujarati is part of a Cooperative Society in the state of over six crore people. The first cooperative society in the country was established in 1889 in Vadodara as the "Anyonya Sahakari Mandali." Under the Cooperative Act of 1904, the Visalpur Cooperative Society in Daskroi taluka of Ahmedabad district was the first registered cooperative in Gujarat. At the time of Gujarat's formation, the state had a total of 13,959 cooperative societies. Today, this number has grown significantly, with 89,221 cooperative institutions currently operational, comprising approximately 1.71 crore members. This means that in Gujarat, with a population exceeding six crores, every fourth Gujarati is a member of a cooperative society. Each of Gujarat's 33 district headquarters houses a District Registrar Cooperative Society office. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country witnessed the establishment of a dedicated Ministry of Cooperation for the first time in 2021. Following this, Union Home Minister Amit Shah assumed office as the first Minister of Cooperation, leading to transformative changes in the cooperative sector. Numerous member-centric and welfare-oriented decisions have been implemented, further strengthening the cooperative movement. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and the guidance of Cooperation Minister Jagdish Vishwakarma, the State Cooperative Societies Department has extended various benefits to members over the last three financial years, from 2021-22 to 2023-24. To enhance agricultural productivity in the state, farmers are provided with crop loans through various banks to meet their farming needs. Under the Crop Loan Scheme, farmers receive loans at zero percent interest. This is made possible through contributions of three per cent by the Government of India and four per cent by the Gujarat Government. As a result, the Central and State Governments have jointly disbursed interest subsidies amounting to Rs3,056.48 crores, benefiting over 48 lakh farmers across Gujarat. Similarly, to strengthen the activities of livestock farmers and fishermen, interest subsidies of Rs19.31 crore and Rs78 lakhs, respectively, have been provided on loans. To ensure timely and adequate grain availability for citizens and to enhance crop storage capacity, farmers are offered a 25% capital subsidy, up to a maximum of Rs5 lakhs, for the construction of warehouses. Under this scheme, the State Government has extended assistance amounting to Rs15 crores to 559 farmers for warehouse construction over the past three years, from 2021 to 2024. In addition, under the Skill Development initiative, the Government provides an annual grant of Rs2.5 crore to the State Cooperative Federation to ensure that the members and board members of the state's cooperative societies receive information about cooperative laws, regulations, and various operations. This helps in the efficient management of the cooperative societies. Through this support, more than 3.57 lakh trainees have been provided training over the past three years. To ensure that farmers receive fair prices for their produce, 224 market committees are operational in the state under the Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Development program. Under the "Kisan Kalpavriksh Yojana," these market committees are assisted with the development of infrastructure, including auction sheds, weighbridges, farmer demonstration centres, CC roads, compound walls, and shop-cum-warehouses. Over the past three years, Rs54.55 crore has been allocated to 72 market committees for infrastructure development under this scheme. Under the Digitalization and Data Management initiative, the state began the registration process on the e-Cooperative portal in 2022 to ensure that comprehensive and organized information is available for financial depositors and that they carry out their operations after obtaining the necessary registration. As part of this scheme, online registration certificates are being issued. Between 2021 and 2024, a total of 2,138 new online registrations and 682 online registration renewals have been completed. Furthermore, to ensure that details of various cases involving cooperatives in the Board of Nominees are accessible, a service has been launched on the online e-Cooperative portal. The NCD database has compiled information on 80,000 different types of cooperatives, which is also available online. As part of legal reforms, cooperative societies, including top state institutions, specified cooperatives, citizen cooperative banks, sugar cooperatives, etc. are now required to follow the e-tendering process for purchases exceeding Rs5 lakhs. Cooperative societies distribute dividends from their profits to their members. Historically, these dividends were up to 15%, but now, societies will offer dividends of up to 20%, benefiting millions of members. To ensure the proper conduct of elections for the state's market committees, reforms have been made in the market law. Additionally, amendments to cooperative law have been introduced to address the issue of transfer fees for housing societies. These updates have been outlined in the Registrar of Cooperative Societies' report. (ANI)
Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey said that the BJP is scared and claimed that the popularity of the Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders is at its peak. The Shiva Sena leader also alleged that there's infighting in the BJP ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections. "We should proudly say that we are Hindus...Our Hindutva is not fake like theirs (BJP), 'batenge toh katenge', why don't they say 'Padhenge toh badhenge'? Who are those whom they want to divide?... The popularity of Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders is at its peak. BJP is scared...There is infighting in BJP and there will be a fight between Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis for the LoP post," Anand Dubey told ANI. Meanwhile, BJP National President JP Nadda on Monday took a jibe at the Maha Vikas Aghadi, accusing them of doing "appeasement politics" and providing reservation on the basis of religion if they came to power in the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra. While speaking to ANI following his public address in Navi Mumbai, Nadda targeted the MVA coalition for promoting divisive politics and being primarily focused on gaining power. The BJP leader contrasted the MVA's approach with that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's governance model, emphasising the principles of unity and inclusive development. "As far as Maha Vikas Aghadi is concerned, they have no issues. They are just eager to come to power. They form all their schemes for that. They have divided people. Those who do not believe in the Constitution of Babasaheb Ambedkar, those who do appeasement politics, and those who speak about reservation on the basis of religion--they divide people. PM Modi's mantra is Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas," Nadda said. Campaigning for the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra has intensified, with both the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) making efforts to win over voters. The polls are scheduled for November 20, with counting to take place on November 23. (ANI)
Latin America is set to attract more Chinese businesses seeking trade and investment opportunities, adding greater momentum to both regional and global economies, market watchers and business leaders said.

The significant trade complementarity and intertwined interests of China and Latin America  along with their immense scope for cooperation in emerging industries  are expected to further enrich business ties.

Brazil, Chile and Peru boast large, young populations and growing middle-income groups, which will further drive demand for consumer goods, technology and infrastructure, areas where Chinese companies excel, said Peng Bo, a researcher specializing in foreign trade at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing.

"As these economies continue to grow, they offer substantial market potential for Chinese exports, providing an avenue for China to diversify its trade partnerships beyond developed economies," said Peng.

China saw its foreign trade value with Latin America soar 9.6 percent year-on-year to 2.79 trillion yuan ($391.82 billion) in the first three quarters of 2024, statistics from the General Administration of Customs show.

China's trade with Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Guyana, surged 12 percent, 17.7 percent, 15.1 percent and 16.1 percent, respectively.

Construction machinery, passenger vehicles, solar cells, trains, building materials, manufacturing equipment, electronics, textiles, garments and household appliances are China's main exports to Latin American countries.

In addition to metals, crude oil, natural gas and grains, Latin American countries' exports to China include passenger aircraft, steel and chemicals, timber, wine, coffee, fruit, meat and aquatic products.

Mauricio Hurtado, Chile's ambassador to China, said with the support of the China-Chile Free Trade Agreement and the tangible growth of the Belt and Road Initiative, economic and trade ties between the two countries will continue to grow in the coming years, with notable diversification in areas such as technology cooperation and trade in services.

"Currently, many Chinese companies are interested in visiting Chile to explore potential cooperation opportunities," he said. "We encourage these firms to visit Chile not only to strengthen the existing partnerships, but also to explore new opportunities for collaboration in fields like new energy, advanced materials and environmental protection."

Zhang Shaogang, vice-chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said: "China's continued commitment to deepening institutional opening-up and forging high-standard economic and free trade agreements, along with the rapid growth of its tech-driven green industries, has encouraged its companies to strategically invest in new manufacturing, services and innovation facilities in both developed and developing countries."

"The ongoing restructuring of global supply chains offers opportunities for Chinese companies to align their strengths with shifting market needs," he added.

Zhang said Chinese firms are showcasing their strong competitiveness in manufacturing sectors such as new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products, leading to increased acceptance of their presence in many countries.

Chinese automaker BYD views the Latin American market as crucial to its global business strategy, and is currently building new manufacturing facilities in the Brazilian state of Bahia.

Its Brazil unit will produce electric and hybrid vehicles, electric buses and trucks, and battery products for both local and global markets.

BYD's new manufacturing base is anticipated to begin operations between this year and early 2025, according to an announcement from the local government. The initial production capacity is set at 150,000 electric and hybrid vehicles per year, with the potential to expand to 300,000 units in the future.

CINO Technology (Shenzhen) Ltd, a coffee machine manufacturer based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, this year saw a significant surge in orders for coffee machines and tea makers from Latin American markets such as Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia.

"In the first three quarters, our exports to Latin American countries saw an increase of 20 percent year-on-year, with orders scheduled through December," said Liu Youliang, the company's president.

Despite the current global economic slowdown, Liu said that markets in Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East have seen rapid growth over the past two years.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday convened a detailed high-level review meeting with senior officials in the national capital to assess the current security situation in Manipur. The discussions focused on recent developments in the state, with top officials providing a comprehensive assessment of ongoing challenges and response measures. The meeting underscores the central government's commitment to stabilizing the region and ensuring public safety. This is the second consecutive review meeting since Sunday. Amit Shah reviews security deployment in Manipur during the meeting, directing Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and state police officials to maintain peace and order in the region. In the meeting, it was decided to dispatch an additional 50 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces, totalling over 5,000 personnel, to Manipur due to the challenging situation in the state. A total of 20 CAPFs were deployed in Manipur a few days ago. The situation in Manipur has seen heightened tensions, prompting the government to take proactive steps in monitoring and managing regional stability. Shah on Sunday also convened a similar meeting after he returned to his residence in Delhi, postponing his planned visit to Vidarbha in Maharashtra, where he was expected to attend a series of rallies ahead of assembly polls in the state on November 20. Notably, armed miscreants from both communities in conflict have been indulging in violence leading to unfortunate loss of lives and disruption in public order in Manipur. Two days ago the Ministry of Home Affairs informed that all the security forces were directed to take necessary steps to restore order and peace in Manipur. It was also informed that strict action would be initiated against anyone trying to indulge in violent and disruptive activities. The MHA has requested the public to maintain peace, not to believe in rumours, and cooperate with the security forces to maintain law and order in the state. In light of continued tensions in the region, the Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Anish Dayal Singh reached Manipur on Sunday. His visit was planned as the security situation remained volatile, with the CRPF playing a crucial role in maintaining peace and stability. The CRPF Director General's visit aimed to assess the ground situation firsthand, meet with local security officials, and explore further measures to de-escalate tensions in the area. Earlier on Sunday, the ongoing violence in Manipur escalated once again, leading the Manipur police to impose a curfew in both Imphal West and Imphal East districts. The curfew was declared, following the discovery of six dead bodies. As a result of the rising violence, the state government also suspended internet services across seven districts. Security has been tightened, particularly around the residence of Chief Minister Biren Singh and the Raj Bhavan, with limited vehicle movement seen in the affected areas. The National People's Party (NPP) on Sunday also withdrew its support from the N Biren Singh-led BJP Government in Manipur. Meghalaya CM and NPP Chief Conrad Sangma wrote a letter to BJP National President JP Nadda and said that the Manipur government under the leadership of Biren Singh has "completely failed to resolve the crisis and restore normalcy." Meanwhile, the NIA has taken over the investigation of three key cases linked to the recent violence that took place in Manipur in the first two weeks of this month, resulting in the loss of lives and widespread disruption of public order. The agency took over these cases from Manipur Police following a recent directive issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as the violent activities linked to the three cases had caused incidents escalating in the hilly state leading to fatalities and significant social unrest. The first case was filed at Jiribam Police Station on November 8, concerning the murder of a woman in the Jiribam area by armed militants. The second case was filed at Borobekra Police Station on November 11 related to an attack on the Central Reserve Police Force post in Jakuradhor Karong and Borobekra Police Station, Jiribam, by armed militants. However, the third case was filed at Borobekra Police Station on November 11, regarding the burning of houses and the killing of a civilian in the Borobekra area. These three cases were taken over by the NIA on November 13. Violence erupted in the northeastern state on May 3 last year following clashes during a rally organised by the All Tribals Students Union (ATSU) to protest against the demand for the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe category. (ANI)
Indian Television actor Sudhanshu Pandey was also alongside and worshipped Baba Mahakal (Lord Shiva) on the occasion. They also participated in the Bhog Aarti of Baba Mahakal on Monday and during this, the actors were seen engrossed in the devotion of Baba Mahakal while sitting in Karthikeya Mandapam of the temple.

After the Aarti, they went to the gate of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple and worshipped the Baba Mahakal.

After offering prayers, Shilpa Shetty told ANI, "I am feeling very happy that I came here and offered prayers at this Mahakaleshwar jyotirlinga. There is an amazing energy here. I got the opportunity to visit the temple after 18 years."

Thereafter, actor Shilpa Shetty, her husband and actor Pandey also visited Kal Bhairav temple located in Ujjain city and offered prayers to the lord.

Sharing her experience to ANI about her visit to the temple, Shetty said, "The prayer will be incomplete without visiting Kal Bhairav temple after coming to Ujjain, therefore I came here and worshipped the lord. I felt very good after visiting here."

On the other hand, actor Sudhanshu Pandey told ANI, "I offered prayers here and prayed that may peace and happiness reside everywhere. May every family be blessed with happiness and prosperity." (ANI)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath lashed out at the INDIA bloc, and accused Congress party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) of "ruining" former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's vision. He further alleged that Jharkhand has lagged behind other states because these parties have deprived the state from the dvelopmental schemes run by the Centre. "Congress, RJD, and JMM have worked towards ruining the vision of Atal ji. Naturally rich Jharkhand has lagged in development...The state lagged because it was deprived of the schemes by the Central government and development," CM Yogi said addressing a public rally in Jharkhand's Sahibganj on Monday. Attacking Congress, RJD and JMM further, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister alleged that the money being recovered from the residences of the leaders of these parties is the amount sent by the Centre to implement the schemes. "Money is being found at the residences of Congress and JMM leaders...Does this money belong to Congress, RJD or JMM? No, this money was sent by the PM for the development of the state which was looted by the people of JMM...Therefore I am here today to appeal to you all that the double-engine government is important for the state, for the development of the state," he said. Meanwhile, a major highlight of the Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign has been the 'batenge to Katenge' slogan coined by Uttar Pradesh CM as a call for Hindu unity. However, the slogan has been widely criticised by opposition leaders for its "communal overtone". It has sparked a war of words between the BJP and opposition parties, with critics arguing that the slogan promotes intolerance , while supporters interpret it as a call to resist forces seeking to divide society. Ealier in the day, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from Saraikela assembly constituency and former Chief Minister Champai Soren Monday exuded confidence about his party's victory in the Jharkhand assembly elections and said that the BJP will get a majority. Speaking to ANI, Champai Soren said, "We will win in Jharkhand with a majority... Bangladeshi infiltration is the biggest issue in Santhal Pargana, we have to uproot the infiltrators." State Congress in-charge Ghulam Ahmed Mir also expressed confidence about the party's performance and forming the government in the state, saying that the alliance performed well in the first phase and will perform well in the second phase as well. "We are confident that our performance will be good in the second phase as well. The alliance has performed well in the first phase as well. We hope that on November 23, our government will come with a bigger mandate than last time. We will form the government for the next five years and work of the people," said Mir. The 81-member Jharkhand Assembly elections are undergoing polling in two phases on November 13 and 20, with vote counting scheduled for November 23. In the first phase, voting was conducted peacefully in the 43 constituencies on November 13. While elections for the remaining 38 seats will take place on November 20. (ANI)
The Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta, wrote a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Monday, raising concerns over the illegal settlements of Rohingya in the national capital. The BJP leader further accused the AAP government of enabling these settlements, noting that their encroachments on public spaces and also issuing them with voter IDs was a direct attack on India's democracy and national security. "Your (Delhi CM Atishi) government's role in facilitating the illegal settlement of Rohingya migrants in Delhi has raised serious concerns among the citizens of this city and across the nation. It appears that the Aam Aadmi Party is actively aiding and abetting a process that undermines our Constitution, compromises national security, and endangers the integrity of our democracy," Gupta wrote in his letter. "Reports of Rohingya migrants encroaching on public roads, sidewalks, and parks under the watch of your administration paint a disturbing picture. Even more alarming. are revelations that efforts are underway to issue voter IDs to these illegal immigrants based on fake documents and adopting manipulative processes. This brazen attempt to legitimise their presence and provide them with democratic rights reserved for Indian citizens is nothing short of a betrayal of the nation," the letter further read. He further questioned the AAP government's silence on the issue, enquiring if there was a "calculated political move to appease a specific vote bank at the expense of national security." https://x.com/Gupta_vijender/status/1858451197906080130 Gupta also called for an immediate halt of these activities, warning them to escalate the matter by taking to legal, administrative, or public platforms if the government fails to "act decisively" on this issue. "The AAP government must immediately halt these activities, take strict action against illegal encroachments by Rohingya migrants, and ensure that no unauthorised person is issued identity documents. If your government fails to act decisively, we will be compelled to escalate this issue through legal, administrative, and public platforms to protect the interests of Delhi and the nation," he said in his letter. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav took a dig at the Congress, saying that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gives opportunities to people from all communities whereas Congress has always given priority to one family (referring to Gandhi family). CM Yadav held roadshows and addressed public gatherings at four assembly constituencies, including Sion Koliwada assembly seat in Mumbai in support of BJP-MahaYuti candidates on the last day of campaigning for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls on Monday. BJP-led MahaYuti candidate Captain R Tamil Selvan is a sitting MLA from Sion Koliwada assembly seat and contesting again from the seat. On the otherhand, the opposition Congress party has fielded Ganesh Kumar Yadav from the seat. When CM Mohan Yadav was asked about campaigning against a Yadav candidate in Sion Koliwada assembly constituency, he told ANI, "I am campaigning in favour of BJP and the BJP made a Chief Minister of a state (Madhya Pradesh), it is a matter of pride for people of my community (referring to Yadav community). It symbolises PM Modi's spirit when he said 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas'. The BJP gives opportunities to people from all communities. Whereas the Congress party has always given priority to one family and that's why no one believes in Congress." Meanwhile, in a post on X, CM Yadav wrote that Maharashtra has decided to bloom the lotus of development. "Today, during the public gathering organised in support of Mahayuti candidate Captain R Tamil Selvan in Sion Koliwada Assembly in Mumbai, the public showcased unforgettable love. This enthusiasm of the crowd is proof that the public's faith is with us in taking Maharashtra's development journey further and MahaYuti is once again going to form the government in Maharashtra with a huge majority," CM Yadav wrote on X. The 288-member Maharashtra assembly elections are scheduled to be held in one phase on November 20, with votes to be counted on November 23. In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena secured 56, and Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP won 122 seats, Shiv Sena 63, and Congress 42. (ANI)
The Mattan Police Station attached a single-story residential house valued at Rs 80 lakh, belonging to Afroz Ahmad Bhat, son of Gh Hassan, of Azam Khan Mohalla, Khreibal.

Bhat, a habitual offender, has been involved in multiple NDPS cases for his role in the illegal narcotics trade, the police stated.

Srigufwara police station also attached three commercial shops valued at Rs 70 lakh, owned by Peer Asif Ahmad Shah and Peer Towseef Ahmad Shah, sons of Abdul Rashid Shah, residents of K Kalan, Srigufwara.

Both brothers are under investigation for their involvement in several NDPS cases.

The use of provisions under the NDPS Act to seize properties linked to criminal activities serves as a strong deterrent to those engaged in the illegal drug trade, police said.

Further investigation is underway and more details are awaited (ANI)
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami offered prayers at Kalimath Temple in Rudraprayag on Monday. Meanwhile, CM Dhami participated in a public meeting organised in support of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Asha Nautiyal in the Kedarnath by-election in Guptkashi, Rudraprayag. He also carried out a bike rally in support of her. Addressing a public rally in Guptkashi, CM Dhami said, "Several development works are being done in Kedarnath Dham under the leadership of PM Modi...As per his vision works are being done to make it a tourist place worldwide...Several schemes by the government have made the lives of the people easy here...During the Congress regime, the number of devotees coming here was not more than two lakhs, which has increased to 20 lakhs during the BJP regime." "Congress indulges in the politics of appeasement. They promoted land jihad and worked to settle down infiltrators in the state. BJP has worked to save the demographic structure here. We worked to provide employment to the youth," he added. Further hitting out at the Congress over women's empowerment, CM Dhami said, "Congress leaders say that the BJP does not respect women enough. They are nobody to give us a lecture on that. I want to tell them that it is the BJP government which has made one lakh women in the state Lakhpati didi via the Lakhpati didi scheme. We have made the lives of women smoke-free by providing them with gas cylinders. It is the BJP government which made Murmu ji President of the country. Congress can see their defeat. They are asking people to not go to cast their votes." Notably, the Kedarnath Assembly seat was vacant after the death of the former MLA Shaila Rani. The bye-elections in the Kedarnath Assembly constituency will be held on November 20 and the counting of votes will take place on November 23. (ANI)
The Sikh community of Maharashtra on Monday extended its full support to the BJP-led Mahayuti in the upcoming state Assembly elections. "Over the past 2.5 years, the government has implemented policies for the welfare and upliftment of Guru Nanak Naam Leva Sangat, Sikhs, Hindu Punjabis, Lubanas, Sikligars, Sindhis, and Banjaras, which have played a pivotal role in their social and economic progress," Sikh Samaj Maharashtra stated in the press release. The community stated the BJP government has not only made beneficial announcements for these communities but has also taken historic steps for their upliftment. "Recently, for the first time, the 11-member Sikh Representative Committee, Maharashtra State with members nominated from Guru Nanak Naam Leva Sangat have been granted representation in the Minority Commission, Government of Maharashtra, a milestone move that marks a significant development in the history of the Sikh community," it stated. Additionally, a Sikh member has been appointed to the Minority Commission of the Government of Maharashtra, and an 11-member Maharashtra State Punjabi Sahitya Academy has been established through an official notification. "These initiatives clearly reflect the government's intent and commitment toward the welfare and progress of the Sikh community," it added. The Guru Nanak Naam Leva Sangat, along with Sikh, Hindu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Sikligar, Banjara, and Lubana communities, is highly appreciative of these positive measures. "They are optimistic that the government will continue to work with the same intent and vision for the welfare of all communities in the future," the community stated. The Sikh community urged everyone to participate in the voting process on 20th of this month and extend their full support to the BJP-led Mahayuti for a resounding victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. "Additionally, they appeal to all to encourage their family members, relatives, and acquaintances to support Mahayuti and ensure active participation in the democratic process,' it stated. Campaigning for the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra has intensified, with both the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) making efforts to win over voters. The polls are scheduled for November 20, with counting to take place on November 23. (ANI)
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday addressed a public meeting in favour of BJP candidate Asha Nautiyal in the Kedarnath assembly by-election in Guptkashi. CM Dhami urged the public to support Nautiyal. The Chief Minister said, "Asha Nautiyal ji herself has stood in the election with her report card. Asha Nautiyal ji has an attachment and connection with this area." "As a representative, Asha Nautiyal ji has come to me several times in the last 3 years regarding the development of the Kedarnath area," he added. The Chief Minister said that a dedicated and hardworking leader for the area has to be made MLA from this area. CM Dhami said that the state is continuously moving forward under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had termed the third decade of the 21st century as the decade of Uttarakhand from the land of Baba Kedarnath. Following these words of his, development is also visible in the area. He said that in the Congress, which ruled the country for 60 years, none of its Prime Ministers visited Baba Kedarnath Dham. Prime Minister Modi is the first Prime Minister of the country who has come to Uttarakhand 7 times to visit Baba Kedarnath. "Because Baba Kedarnath resides in his heart." The Chief Minister said that under the leadership of PM Modi, the grand and divine construction work of Kedarnath Dham is going on. Development work is being done in this area with an amount of more than 2 thousand crore rupees. Along with Kedarnath Dham, the entire Kedar Valley is being developed rapidly. Work is being done on many roads, bridges, parks, and religious places in these areas. Many schemes like Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana have worked to improve the lives of the people and take them forward. The Chief Minister said that during the time of Congress, the number of people visiting Kedarnath was continuously decreasing, but today in the double-engine BJP government, the number of pilgrims is increasing every year. It is increasing continuously. This year more than 16 lakh devotees have visited Kedarnath. He said that they are working to overcome the problems faced during the yatra. "We are going to form a yatra authority soon and will work to conduct the Char Dham Yatra systematically. Before the yatra authority, we will take the opinion of all the stakeholders, pilgrim priests, hoteliers, shopkeepers, and horse mule operators. We will give permission to all the traders 2 months before the yatra starts so that no one has to face any problems," he said. The Chief Minister said that systematic work will be done to ensure that the movement of devotees continues in all the other temples of Kedarnath areas. The yatra of Madmaheshwar Dham will also be developed following the yatra of Kedarnath Dham. The Chief Minister said that during the time of the disaster, he goes to ground zero and stands with the people." This time also, during the disaster in Kedarnath this year, 16 thousand pilgrims were evacuated safely. The state government has compensated the loss suffered by the traders with an amount of Rs 10 crore. In the 2013 disaster, the Congress government played with the lives of the people. Played with the lives of the people of the region." The Chief Minister said that the Congress "promoted land jihad" and those who built tombs in Uttarakhand. Congress leader Harish Rawat talks about "settling infiltrators." The Chief Minister claimed that due to these actions of the Congress, the demography of the state is changing. He said that on the one hand, "We are rebuilding Badrinath Kedarnath Dham, building roads, and hospitals and the Congress leaders are talking about building a Muslim University. Our government has removed illegal encroachment from 5 thousand acres of land. The state government will soon bring strict land laws." The Chief Minister said that when the Congress candidates were MLAs in the past, they only made excuses for not working. They were given crores of rupees for development works in the form of MLA funds. But they returned the amount of 6 crores. This shows their sensitivity towards development and the region. The Chief Minister said that the BJP government has always respected women. He said that by giving a ticket to Asha Nautiyal, the BJP has also shown respect for women. The state government has also made 30 per cent reservation for mothers and sisters in government jobs. The state government is committed to the empowerment of women. He said that on November 20, every person in Kedarnath who wants to see a developed Kedarnath will go to vote for the BJP. Kedarnath Assembly seat fell vacant after the death of the BJP MLA Shaila Rani a few months ago. The bye-elections in the Kedarnath Assembly constituency will be held on November 20 and the counting of votes will take place on November 23. (ANI)
Odisha Deputy Chief Minister KV Singh Deo confirmed on Monday that the farmers will get an extra Rs 800 on December 8 as part of the input subsidy distribution over and above the minimum support price. Meanwhile, the state will be starting paddy procurement from November 20 from the Bargarh district, while the distribution of input subsidy will done on December 8. "The CM has declared that the paddy procurement as per procedure will be started on November 20 from the district of Bargarh. The input subsidy distribution of Rs 800 will start on December 8 from Sohela in Bargarh district... Prior to that the MSP will be given," Deo, who is also the Agriculture Minister, told ANI. He highlighted that the government is working towards making the procurement easier, as they have ordered grain analysers to be made available wherever needed. "We have ordered some grain analysers, initially for some districts for procurement, the concerned department is making availability of the analysers in the other districts also. As things keep progressing the grain analysers will be made available there too," he said. Speaking on the death of three elephants due to electrocution in the Sambalpur district, he said the deaths were caused because of people putting up electric fences to hunt wild boars in the area. "Everybody knows that the electrocution of the elephants have been caused due to some people who are using electric wires and doing shikar (hunting) of wild boars. The government is having the matter inquired and investigated into and whosoever is found guilty will not be spared," the deputy CM told ANI. Saying that it is the public's responsibility as much as it is the government's to protect wildlife, he added, "We want to take some steps against those people so that for others it becomes a detriment. It is the responsibility of the public also, you can't have the forest department or the energy department officers doing patrolling everywhere. The public and the villagers also should come forward and ensure such a thing doesn't happen." (ANI)
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BMW has emphasized its pursuit of driving pleasure enhanced by cutting-edge technology and sustainability at the ongoing Guangzhou auto show.

The German carmaker said its Vehicle-to-Everything technology is scheduled to debut in January 2025 with the new BMW 5 Series produced in Shenyang, Liaoning province.

This technology offers advanced safety features like emergency braking warnings and intersection collision alerts, delivering real-time, over-the-horizon assistance that enhances driver confidence.

BMW's intelligent cockpit is tailored to the unique needs of Chinese drivers, integrating local apps like Tencent and QQ Music for enhanced usability.

The company's new BMW Operating System prioritizes seamless interaction, keeping advanced features unobtrusive through its "Shy Tech" philosophy.

The carmaker also revealed plans to unveil its next-generation digital cockpit at CES 2025, signifying its continued investment in digital transformation.

BMW reaffirmed its commitment to delivering unparalleled driving pleasure across its product lineup.

The fully electric BMW i5 eDrive40L features a range of 713 kilometersthe longest among BMW EVswhile the i5 xDrive50L offers sets a record for acceleration among domestically produced BMW models.

In addition, the high-performance BMW M lineup was expanded with the debut of the M235L, aimed at younger drivers seeking a dynamic and stylish driving experience.

As BMW looks ahead to its Neue Klasse era, with the first China-made Neue Klasse model set to debut in 2026, the company continues to push boundaries in electrification, digitalization, and sustainability, maintaining its legacy as a leader in luxury and innovation.
Amid the prevailing law and order situation in the state in wake of continued tensions, the Manipur government on Monday announced an extension of the temporary suspension of internet and mobile data services in the territorial jurisdiction of Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Kakching, Kangpokpi, Thoubal and Churachandpur. The suspension has been extended for two days with effect from 5:15 pm today except for those lease lines and FTTH connections to government offices. In an official statement, the Manipur government stated that this was done after "reviewing the prevailing law and order situation and its possible co-relation with the general operation of internet suspension in the last two days, decided to continue the suspension of internet and mobile data services, including VSATS, broadband (IILL & FTTH) and VPN services." The suspension will continue till 5:15 pm on Wednesday, November 20, 2024. Earlier on Sunday, the Manipur police imposed a curfew in both districts of Imphal until further notice, amid the ongoing violence in Manipur. This comes after six people were found dead. Following the incident, the Manipur government suspended internet in seven districts. The authorities have imposed a curfew in Imphal West and Imphal East in light of the tense situation. Sparse movements of vehicles can be seen on the streets with the deployment of security personnel. The security has been tightened outside Chief Minister Biren Singh's residence and Raj Bhavan. Following the curfew being imposed in Imphal West and Imphal East, the Government of Manipur, Secretariat Higher, and Technical Education Department declared the closure of institutions and colleges, including state universities, in these districts till Tuesday. The decision has been taken in consultation with the Home Department, Government of Manipur. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the investigation of three key cases linked to the recent violence that took place in Manipur in the first two weeks of this month, resulting in the loss of lives and widespread disruption of public order. The agency took over these cases from Manipur Police following a recent directive issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), as the violent activities linked to the three cases had caused incidents escalating in the hilly state, leading to fatalities and significant social unrest. The first case was registered at Jiribam Police Station on November 8, 2024, regarding the murder of a woman in the Jiribam area by armed militants. The second case was registered at Borobekra Police Station on November 11, 2024, linked to the attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) post (A-company, 20th Battalion) located at Jiribam's Jakuradhor Karong by armed militants. The third case was registered at Borobekra Police Station on November 11, 2024, linked to the burning of houses and killing of civilians in the Borobekra area. Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday convened a detailed high-level review meeting with senior officials in the national capital to assess the current security situation in Manipur. The discussions focused on recent developments in the state, with top officials providing a comprehensive assessment of ongoing challenges and response measures. The meeting underscores the central government's commitment to stabilizing the region and ensuring public safety. This was the second consecutive review meeting since Sunday. (ANI)
According to the ICG release, at approximately 3:30 pm on November 17, an ICG Ship on patrol received a distress call from an Indian fishing boat (IFB) operating near the No-Fishing Zone (NFZ).

"The call reported that another Indian fishing boat, Kal Bhairav, had been intercepted by a PMSA vessel, and seven Indian crew members had been apprehended. In response, ICG Ship immediately proceeded to the reported location at maximum speed," it added.

Despite efforts by the PMSA ship to retreat, ICG Ship intercepted the PMSA ship and persuaded them to relieve Indian fishermen.

The ICG ship was able to retrieve the seven fishermen safely, who were all found to be in stable medical condition.

Unfortunately, the Indian fishing boat Kal Bhairav was reported to have been damaged and sunk during the incident.

ICG Ship returned to Okha Harbour on November 18, where a joint investigation involving the ICG, State Police, Intelligence Agencies, and Fisheries authorities was undertaken to investigate the circumstances leading to the collision and the subsequent rescue operation.

The successful effort underscores the ICG's continued commitment to safeguarding the safety and interests of Indian fishermen at sea, showcasing its resolve in ensuring the protection of the Indian maritime community. (ANI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday accused Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi of spreading false information on the Dharavi redevelopment project and said that around two lakh people will be getting homes in Dharavi. "Rahul Gandhi brought a very big 'tijori' in Mumbai. We thought that he had brought it to give something to Maharashtra...He has come to loot the 'tijori' of Maharashtra...He has given the wrong information regarding Dharavi. 2 lakh people will be getting homes in Dharavi," Shinde said addressing a press conference in Mumbai. "Everyone should give priority to Dharavi. This is the biggest project of Asia and I will appeal to the people of Dharavi to keep the political people aside and see what is beneficial for you," he added. Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in his final attempt to land a final blow at the BJP and its Mahayuti alliance before the closing of poll campaigning for Maharashtra elections, mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the slogan of "Ek hain to safe hain." The Lok Sabha LoP framed the election as a contest between the aspirations of the common people and the influence of a few wealthy individuals. "The Maharashtra election is an election of ideologies and an election between 1-2 billionaires and the poor. The billionaires want the land of Mumbai to go into their hands. The estimate is that Rs 1 lakh crores will be given to one billionaire. Our thinking is that Maharashtra, the farmers of Maharashtra, the poor, the unemployed, and the youth need help," he said. "On one side, Adani ji is there eyeing Dharavi and Maharashtra's money. The target of changing the nature of Mumbai, and on the other hand, we have farmers and youth who are dreaming, and the Maharashtra government is breaking their dreams," he said. The Congress leader also mocked PM Modi's remark of "Ek hain to safe hain" with a safe and from that pulled out two posters. One showed PM Modi with Gautam Adani with "ek hain to safe hain" written on it and another shows the map of Dharavi with "Dharavi ka bhavisha safe nahi" written on it. The Maharashtra Assembly elections will take place on November 20, votes will be counted on November 23. In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the BJP secured 105 seats, Shiv Sena 56, and Congress 44. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the MVA delivered a strong performance, winning 30 of the 48 seats, while the Mahayuti managed to secure 17. (ANI)
Delhi's Patiala House Court on Monday dismissed a plea of Delhi police seeking an extension of the investigation period for 90 days to complete the investigation in AQIS Jharkhand Module case. In this matter, 11 were accused including Dr Ishtiyaq of Ranchi. A module was busted in a joint operation of Delhi police, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh police. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Dr Hardeep Kaur dismissed the plea of Delhi police seeking an extension period of investigation for a further 90 days to complete the investigation. The period of investigation of 90 days is going to be over soon. Special Cell is investigating the case. On September 12, the court remanded 11 accused arrested in Al Qaida in the Indian subcontinent (AQIS) module case in judicial custody after police interrogation. They are members of a training module allegedly headed by Dr Ishtiyaq from Rachi, Jharkhand. Accused persons in judicial custody are Anamul Ansari, Shanaz Ansari, Altaf Ansari, Hasan Ansari, Arshad Khan, Umar Farooq, Ishtiyaque Ahmed, Mohd. Rizwan, Motiur Rehaman, Rehmatullahi and Faizan Ahmed. They were arrested in August. IO ACP Rahul Vikram was present through video conferencing during the hearing. Advocate Abu Baker Sabaq appeared for Dr Ishtiyaque Ahmed and nine other accused persons. Accused Hasan Ansari, Anamul Ansari, Altaf Ansari, Arshad Khan, Umar Farooq and Shahbaz Ansari are natives of Jharkhand. They had stayed in Rajasthan for days. Thereafter five more people were arrested from Ranchi in Jharkhand. They were identified as Dr Ishtiyaque Ahmed, Motiur, Rizwan, Mufti Rahmatullah and Faizan. In a coordinated, intelligence-based operation, conducted by the Special Cell of Delhi Police in association with state police forces of Jharkhand, Rajasthan and UP, an AQ-inspired module was busted, Delhi police said. The module allegedly was being led by one Dr Ishtiyaq of Ranchi and was aspiring to declare Khilafat and execute serious terrorist activities within the country, the police said. The members of the module have received indoctrination and weapons training at various locations. Six individuals were detained from Bhiwadi, Rajasthan while undergoing weapon-handling training. Apart from this about eight suspects were detained from Jharkhand and UP for questioning. Police have also recovered arms, ammunition, literature etc. from several locations. Police recovered one AK-47 rifle, one .38 bore revolver, 6 live cartridges of .38 bore, 30 live cartridges of .32 bore, 30 live cartridges of AK-47, one dummy insas, one air rifle, one iron elbow pipe, one hand grenade, one key remote control mechanism, some wires, one AA size 1.5-volt battery, One table watch, four ground sheets, one target, one camping Tent, Some biscuits, one chips packet and one water bottle. (ANI)
Campaigning for the Maharashtra Assembly elections 2024 will end on Monday.

During the campaigning, Shaina NC told ANI that they would work for the welfare of the people.

"I thank every worker for showing so much love. We will work for the service of people. Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde himself said that he will oversee the re-development of the Mumbadevi assembly constituency...The public will vote for development and the atmosphere is one-sided...We will form the government with a majority," Shaina NC told ANI.

Shaina NC, a former BJP spokesperson, joined Shiv Sena after the Eknath Shinde-led party fielded her from Mumbadevi. She is contesting against incumbent Congress MLA Amin Patel, who has represented the Mumbadevi constituency since 2009.

The Maharashtra assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with votes for all 288 constituencies to be counted on November 23.

The opposition MVA coalition, comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Nationalist Congress Party (SCP), seeks to reclaim power in the state, challenging the Mahayuti alliance, which includes Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena secured 56, and Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP won 122 seats, Shiv Sena 63, and Congress 42. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Monday, put on hold its decision passed in the morning asking the secretary to the President of India to place the matter of mercy petition of death-row prisoner Balwant Singh Rajoana before the President with a request to consider it within two weeks. The Central government, which was absent during the hearing in the morning, mentioned the matter before the apex court and convinced the court to retract the order. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Centre, told the apex court that Rajoana's file was with the Home Ministry and not the President and the Union government has things to say in relation to his mercy plea. On Mehta's request, the top court decided to take up on November 25 the plea by Balwant Singh Rajoana. When the matter was taken up in the morning, a bench of Justices BR Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra and KV Viswanathan asked the secretary to the President of India to place the matter of mercy petition of Rajoana before the President. Rajoana was awarded death sentence for assassination of the then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in 1995. The top court was hearing a plea relating to delay in deciding mercy petition of death-row prisoner Rajoana. On the last hearing, the apex court said that they would only consider Rajoana's plea seeking release only after hearing the Union government and the state of Punjab. Rajoana, a sympathiser of the Babbar Khalsa militant group, sought the commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment in connection with his role in the assassination of Beant Singh. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Rajoana, had earlier urged the top court for his temporary release saying he has been in jail for almost 29 years. Rajoana, a death row convict, sought commutation of the death sentence on the grounds of 'extraordinary' and 'inordinate delay' of one year and four months in deciding his mercy petition, which remains pending before the President of India. The petition sought consequential release on the grounds that he has undergone a total sentence of 28 years and eight months as of date, of which 17 years have been served as a death row convict in an "8 x 10" capital punishment cell, including 2.5 years in solitary confinement. The convict, Balwant Singh Rajoana, was sentenced to death for the murder of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh who died in a bomb explosion in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995. The Centre had decided on September 27, 2019, to commute the death penalty of Rajoana to a life sentence on the special occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. However, the decision is yet to be implemented. (ANI)
BJP President JP Nadda on Monday lauded the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra saying that they have set a benchmark in governance by introducing the concept of a "report card" and ensuring transparency, propelling the state toward development and progress. While addressing a public meeting in Akkalkot, the BJP President said, "Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the central and state governments have implemented progressive initiatives, bringing transformative changes to the lives of the people of Maharashtra. The Mahayuti government has set a benchmark in governance by introducing the concept of a 'Report Card' and ensuring transparency, propelling the state toward development and progress." "The people of Maharashtra are united in their resolve to reject divisive forces that hinder growth and development," he added. Attacking the Maha Vikas Agadhi, the BJP leader said that the opposition had stopped the work of Navi Mumbai, Coastal Road, Atal Setu Bridge, and Solapur Airport. "Maha Agadhi including Congress had stopped the work of Navi Mumbai, Coastal Road, Atal Setu Bridge, and Solapur Airport. Now it is necessary that you also stop them here and make Mahayuti victorious," he said. He further urged the people of the state to vote for the Mahayuti alliance and said, "Under the leadership of PM Modi, Maharashtra and the country are developing in every aspect. To give new speed to the development journey of Maharashtra, you have to ensure the victory of the Mahayuti alliance." "This election is not just about making Mahayuti win...but it is important to give new momentum to the country's development under the leadership of respected PM Modi and to decide the creation of a new future for Maharashtra," Nadda added. Earlier, Nadda took a jibe at the Maha Vikas Aghadi, accusing them of doing "appeasement politics" and providing reservation on the basis of religion if they came to power in the upcoming assembly polls in Maharashtra. While speaking to ANI following his public address in Navi Mumbai, Nadda targeted the MVA coalition for promoting divisive politics and being primarily focused on gaining power. The BJP leader contrasted the MVA's approach with that of PM Modi's governance model, emphasising the principles of unity and inclusive development. "As far as Maha Vikas Aghadi is concerned, they have no issues. They are just eager to come to power. They form all their schemes for that. They have divided people. Those who do not believe in the Constitution of Babasaheb Ambedkar, those who do appeasement politics, and those who speak about reservation on the basis of religion--they divide people. PM Modi's mantra is Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas," Nadda said. The polls are scheduled for November 20, with counting to take place on November 23. (ANI)
The senior BJP leader also hailed the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"BJP has become the biggest party in the world under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. India is going to be established as a developed nation under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Today every citizen of India believes that PM Modi has worked to give good leadership to the country. Now the world is acknowledging PM Modi's strength," Brajesh Pathak told ANI on Monday.

Brajesh Pathak also exuded confidence that the BJP will win the assembly polls both in Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

"Rahul Gandhi and his team are a group of power-hungry people... BJP is coming (to power) with a huge majority in Maharashtra and Jharkhand," he said.

The Maharashtra assembly elections are scheduled for November 20. The second phase of polling in Jharkhand will also be held on the same day.

The counting of votes will take place on November 23.

The opposition MVA coalition, comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Nationalist Congress Party (SCP), seeks to reclaim power in the state, challenging the Mahayuti alliance, which includes Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena secured 56, and Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP won 122 seats, Shiv Sena 63, and Congress 42. (ANI)
After Rahul Gandhi mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Ek hai toh safe hai' slogan by showing metal safe, the BJP hit back at the Congress MP on Monday, calling him "chota popat" whose family has looted the "tijori" (safe) of India for years. BJP National Spokesperson Sambit Patra also claimed that "chota popat" was coined by Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray to mock him. Earlier, during a press conference in Mumbai on Monday, Gandhi brought the metal 'safe' claiming a link between the slogan and the Dharavi redevelopment project in the city being given to the Adani Group. He then pulled out two posters from the safe, one shows PM Modi with Gautam Adani with "ek hain to safe hain" written on it and another shows the map of Dharavi with "Dharavi ka bhavisha safe nahi" written on it. Gandhi sought to suggest that the Dharavi redevelopment project was designed to "save" Adani's interests. Addressing a press conference at BJP headquarters here, Patra hit back and said, "The press conference done by the Congress leader and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi was of a very low level. It does not suit the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi to bring a 'tijori' (safe) and do drama around it...'Chota popat ne kiya hai Congress chopat'...Balasaheb Thackeray has named Rahul Gandhi as 'Popat' in one of his interviews...The people who have been looting the 'tijori' for many years, now consider the meaning of 'tijori' as safe...The family has over the years looted the 'tijori' of India. They (the Gandhi family) looted India by doing many scams...Mother (accused no.1) and son (accused no. 2) are out on bail..." Patra said the word safe in the slogan meant "security and keeping people safe" from infiltrators but Gandhi took it as 'tijori' (a safe). "Those who have been breaking 'tijoris' for generations, it's obvious they will understand the meaning of the word safe as 'tijori'," Patra slammed Gandhi. Campaigning has intensified for the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra with both the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) making efforts to woo the electorate. The polls are scheduled for November 20 and counting will be held on November 23. (ANI)
Rajendranagar Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) T Srinivas said that a priest was hospitalised after suffering serious injuries in an explosion.

"An explosion took place near a temple on Laxmiguda Road under Mailardevpally police station limits. The incident occurred when the temple priest was cleaning the premises near the temple. The temple priest was seriously injured in the explosion and has been admitted to a hospital," he added.

The police officials said that more details are awaited and further investigation is underway. (ANI)
Staff members sort packages at a logistic center of Zaozhuang branch of China Post in Zaozhuang City, east China's Shandong Province, Nov. 11, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's courier sector reached a historic milestone with the express delivery volume in 2024 surpassing the 150-billion-parcel mark for the first time, according to the State Post Bureau (SPB).

The record figure was captured live on Sunday at the SPB safety center, with the number "150,000,000,000" lighting up the screen of the China Express Delivery Big Data Platform.

A decade after the country's total parcel volume crossed the 10-billion mark for the first time in 2014, China's express delivery has witnessed tremendous growth as the booming courier market has remained prosperous and active.

Marking the symbolic 150-billionth delivery on Sunday was a shipment of a box of Huaniu apples, a specialty of Tianshui city in the northwest Chinese province of Gansu, destined for a customer in the southwestern city of Chongqing who had placed the order just hours earlier on an e-commerce platform.

Fueled by favorable policies promoting domestic consumption and expanding demand, the express delivery sector has enjoyed rapid growth, while national initiatives, such as policies encouraging large-scale equipment upgrades and trade-in programs for consumer goods, have stimulated an active and robust marketplace, particularly across underserved rural regions.

The growth has also been bolstered by advances in logistics technology and infrastructure, highlighted by investments in unmanned vehicles, drones, and automated sorting systems, all of which have elevated both network capacity and service quality.

Reflecting the sheer scale of demand, the country now averages more than 5,400 parcels per second, with daily peaks exceeding 729 million and monthly transaction volumes above 13 billion, the latest SPB data showed.

Express delivery has also become an integral part of everyday life, with the average Chinese citizen receiving over 100 parcels annually.

Nowadays, from essential household items to large appliances, customers can expect near-instant delivery, often on the same day of ordering.

According to the SPB, expansion of the country's express delivery extends beyond urban centers, with regions in western and central China recording delivery volumes above the national average.

From Xinjiang melon seeds to Tibetan yak meat, unique regional products from across the country now reach a vast network of consumers, connecting rural producers with urban buyers and helping drive rural economic growth.

This expansion of e-commerce and express delivery in central and western regions has also played a crucial role in bolstering local economies and creating a more balanced national development model, according to the bureau.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday lashed out at the BJP for "politicising the government's decision to review eligibility for Below Poverty Line (BPL) card holders". Speaking to reporters, he said, "We are not taking anyone's food away. BJP has no other business than politicising. The percentage of BPL card holders in many constituencies is around 90%. My constituency has 90%, and Holenarasipura has 92% BPL card holders. Hence, we need to ensure that genuine and needy people get BPL cards. Some BPL cards have been cancelled after review." He was replying to the BJP's allegation that the government was robbing people of their food. When asked about MLAs being lured with offers ranging from Rs 50 crore to Rs 100 crore, he said, "Let the BJP first explain Yatnal's allegation of Rs 1000 crore. Where did the money come from? Who collected it and who did they give it to? You should ask this question to Vijayendra, Ashok and other NDA leaders." With the Maharashtra election inching closer, Shivakumar expressed confidence in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) winning the upcoming state polls. "I took part in the election campaign in Maharashtra. I am confident that Maha Vikas Aghadi will come to power in the state. Doubts about our guarantee schemes are cleared and the people are wholeheartedly supporting the Congress party," he said. 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra will go to polls on November 20, with counting of votes to be held on November 23. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar), and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, is up against the Mahayuti alliance, which is comprised of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath-led Shiv Sena, and NCP (Ajit Pawar). In the 2019 assembly elections in Maharashtra, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, the Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42. (ANI)
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel approved Rs 145 crore on Monday for the construction of a four-lane bridge over the Saraswati River in Sidhpur taluka, Patan district on the Mehsana-Unjha-Sidhhpur-Palanpur State Highway. CM Patel has prioritised the development of important roads into high-speed corridors to improve Gujarat's road infrastructure, according to an offical statement. The four lane bridge will be an upgrade from the older two-lane bridge over the Saraswati river, originally constructed in 1959. "To address the increased traffic, the new four-lane bridge will be built to the right of the old bridge, aligning with the six-lane road plan," the statement read. The project is aimed at providing the state with a robust infrastructure for future growth. "This project will provide the North Gujarat region with faster and safer road connectivity, ensuring robust infrastructure for future growth," the statement added. Earlier, a statement by Chief Minister's Office (CMO) highlighted how under the Smart Cities Mission, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the guidance of CM Patel, Dahod district of the state has "achieved remarkable progress." Launched in June 2015, the mission aims to transform urban areas by improving infrastructure, and quality of life, and promoting sustainable growth. Under the mission, a state-of-the-art Integrated command and control centre has been developed at Dahod for Rs 121 crore. Morover, the Chhab Lake of Dahod was revitalized for RS 120.87 crore. Out of 100 selected cities across India, six are from Gujarat: Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Gandhinagar, and Dahod. Notably, Dahod was selected as one of the 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission as the region is predominantly covered by forests and primarily inhabited by scheduled tribes. Under the umbrella of the Smart Cities Mission, Dahod was selected as a smart city in 3rd round. It was incorporated as Dahod Smart City Development Limited in 2017. Subsequently, Dahod Smart City Development Limited (DSCDL) was established as the nodal agency to oversee and manage Smart City projects. Under this mission, DSCDL renovated Siddhraj Jaisinh Chhab Lake for Rs 120.87 crore and built an Integrated Command and Control Centre at a cost of Rs 121 crore, read the statement from the CMO. (ANI)
Deshmukh, who sustained injuries during the attack, was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital.

The incident occurred on the last day of campaigning for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.

Anil Deshmukh's son Salil is contesting the election from the Katol seat on NCP Sharad Pawar's ticket against BJP's Charansingh Thakur.

The Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with counting for all 288 constituencies set for November 23.

In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, the Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42. (ANI)
The temple, situated in the Mustang district, holds a special place for both Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims, and a significant tribute to the late General Bipin Rawat, India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), is permanently enshrined here, the statement added.

During his Nepal visit, General Dwivedi will pay homage at the martyrs' memorial in the Army Pavilion and receive a ceremonial Guard of Honour at the Nepali Army Headquarters.

He will also engage in an official meeting with General Sigdel from the Nepali Army.

General Dwivedi will also interact with the student officers at the Army Command and Staff College in Shivapuri and visit to Western Divisional Headquarter in Pokhara, Nepal.

A key highlight of the visit will be the conferral of an honorary rank of General of the Nepali Army upon General Dwivedi by the President of Nepal. Additionally, he will also meet the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister of Nepal.

Additionally, he will also meet the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister of Nepal.

Nepal shares border with 5 Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The age old civilizational and cultural ties that exist between India and Nepal are exemplified by the strong people to people link between both the countries.

Nepal is a priority partner of India under its 'Neighbourhood First' Policy.

These bonds of friendship are also strengthened by regular exchanges at high level between India and Nepal. These frequent high level visits and exchanges have added momentum to the bilateral partnerships, and helped the leadership to review at regular intervals the entire gamut of the relation. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party leader and in-charge of the party's National IT Department, Amit Malviya, on Monday, criticised the Congress party's 'hypocrisy' over their stance on the Adani Group, pointing to past investments and agreements made with the corporate conglomerate by Congress-ruled states. Taking to social media platform X, Malviya referenced Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's recent "public admission of accepting money" from the Adani Group on November 10, 2024, pointing out that this acknowledgment contradicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's repeated criticism of the Adani Group. He further highlighted that the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, led by Uddhav Thackeray, had signed the deal with the Adani Group for the redevelopment of Dharavi, under terms that were later adjusted to protect the interests of Mumbai residents. Malviya also brought up the connection between Adani and Robert Vadra, the businessman and husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, suggesting that it was important for Rahul Gandhi to recognise the contradictions in his party's actions. "On 10th Nov 2024, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy publicly acknowledged accepting money from the Adani Group," Malviya stated in a post on X. "Today, Rahul Gandhi was ranting against the same corporate group. Besides, there is a long list of investments and MoUs signed by Congress-ruled states with the Adani Group in the last ten years alone. It was in fact the UddhavThackeray-led MVA that signed off Dharavi's redevelopment project to the Adani Group on extremely liberal terms, which the MahaYuti had to tighten later to protect the interests of Mumbai and residents of Dharavi. Not to forget close links between Adani and Robert Vadra," he added. "Rahul Gandhi must understand that he stands exposed," Malviya further stated. Malviya's statement comes following Rahul Gandhi's recent criticism during a press conference on Monday where he criticised Gautam Adani and his interest in redevelopment projects in Dharavi, arguing that corporate control over land in Mumbai would change the city's character and divert resources away from the public. "On one side, Adani ji is there eyeing Dharavi and Maharashtra's money. The target of changing the nature of Mumbai, and on the other hand, we have farmers and youth who are dreaming, and the Maharashtra government is breaking their dreams," Gandhi said. The Congress leader also mocked PM Modi's remark of "Ek hain to safe hain" with a safe and from that pulled out two posters. One showed PM Modi with Gautam Adani with "ek hain to safe hain" written on it and another shows the map of Dharavi with "Dharavi ka bhavisha safe nahi" written on it. (ANI)
Following the implementation of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage IV in Delhi to combat air pollution, environmentalist Vimlendu Kumar Jha on Monday said that these measures "similar to lockdown" were important to be executed in the national capital. "This is the second day when the air quality index of Delhi NCR has been in the severe plus category. Glad that the government or Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has announced GRAP IV measures to be executed in Delhi NCR. It was important that these similar to lockdown measures are implemented in Delhi but we need to understand that this is not a solution," he said. Jha said that GRAP IV measures are "bandages and only a last-minute solution" to the crisis that Delhi people are facing. "Indeed, it's important that we actually forwarn the citizens, we keep the citizens safe but those concrete plans in terms of looking at what should be the ideal solution to pollution, what are the long-term measures for air quality improvement that have not been taken. GRAP IV is only a bandage, it is only a last-minute solution to the crisis that we are in," he said. Highlighting the contribution of stubble burning to the air pollution in Delhi, Jha claimed that the situation in the national capital is going to get worse in in coming days. "The situation is only going to get worse in in coming days. Right now, we saw yesterday the contribution of stubble burning to the ambient air quality of Delhi was around 32 per cent with the temperatures going down, and the wind speed decreasing in the coming week perhaps for the next 6-7 days the situation is going to remain in severe plus category or perhaps cross 500 or 550 in various areas of Delhi NCR," he said. Meanwhile, India Meteorological Department (IMD) scientist Naresh Kumar said that the Delhi-NCR will be covered by moderate to dense fog for the next 3-4 days. "Dense to very dense fog is prevailing in North and North-west India... In the coming days, dense to very dense fog will prevail in Haryana and Punjab for the next 5 days. Delhi-NCR will also be covered by moderate to dense fog for the next 3-4 days," he said. Earlier, Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Monday, asserted that the Delhi government is "doing its part" and demanded the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre to take immediate action to protect not just Delhi, but the entire North India region from the rising pollution. "At its level, the Delhi government is taking all possible steps. We have directed all officials to ensure strict implementation of GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) IV guidelines. I demand that the Central government take emergency measures so that the whole of north India can be saved from this situation," Rai said addressing a press conference in the national capital. Claiming the reduced incidents of stubble burning in Punjab, Rai expressed concerns over the purported increase in stubble burning cases in Uttar Pradesh. "Stubble is a big factor in pollution. In Punjab, we have reduced the incidents of stubble burning to 7 thousand as compared to 74 thousand in 2022, but in Uttar Pradesh, the incidents of stubble burning have increased from 1.5 thousand to 2.5 thousand," he claimed. Notably, CAQM imposed the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage IV in Delhi NCR from Monday, which saw the Air Quality Index (AQI) dipping into the 'severe plus' category. This decision was taken after Delhi's daily average AQI rose sharply to 441 by 4 pm on Sunday and further escalated to 457 by 7 pm, which prompted an emergency meeting of the GRAP Sub-Committee. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav conducted roadshows and addressed public gatherings in four assembly constituencies--Kalina, Dharavi, Sion Koliwada, and Ghatkopar--in Mumbai, campaigning for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Mahayuti candidates on the final day of electioneering for the upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls, scheduled for Monday. CM Yadav noted widespread support for the BJP and Mahayuti during his visits, reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message: "Ek rahenge toh safe rahenge" (If we stay united, we stay safe). He emphasised the importance of unity for the collective benefit of society. "I am happy to see an atmosphere of support for the BJP and MahaYuti wherever I have campaigned. This support ensures we will form the government in Maharashtra again. Under PM Modi's leadership, India's global stature has grown, making the formation of a MahaYuti government in Maharashtra equally significant," CM Yadav told ANI. He further said, "The support for BJP across the state is evident, and its results will soon be visible. As PM Modi has stated, 'Ek rahenge toh safe rahenge,' unity will yield collective benefits." Addressing public gatherings, CM Yadav highlighted the BJP's growth under PM Modi's leadership, stating that the party's influence extends from North to South and East to West. "Today, India is a global role model because PM Modi fulfils his commitments. The slogan 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Prayas, Sabka Vishwas' is not just rhetoric but a reality implemented by the BJP and PM Modi," he said. He also spoke about the implementation of Madhya Pradesh's Ladli Behna Yojana in Maharashtra. "In Madhya Pradesh, we provide Rs1,250 per month to women under the scheme. In Maharashtra, it has started at Rs1,500 per month, which will eventually increase to Rs2,100. This scheme reflects the spirit of our Sanatan Dharma, honouring Matrishakti (mother power)," he added. CM Yadav highlighted the achievements of the MahaYuti government over the past two and a half years, noting the BJP's dominance across India. "The BJP, as the world's largest political party, is flourishing under PM Modi's leadership--from Uttar Pradesh to Gujarat and Rajasthan to Odisha. Maharashtra will not be left behind; the lotus will bloom here as well in the upcoming elections," he asserted. The elections for the 288-member Maharashtra assembly will be held in a single phase on November 20, with vote counting scheduled for November 23. In the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, the BJP secured 105 seats, Shiv Sena won 56, and Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP won 122 seats, Shiv Sena 63, and Congress 42. (ANI)
Sagarmanthan - The Great Oceans Dialogue, South Asia's largest Maritime Thought Leadership summit, began in Delhi on Monday. Sagarmanthan is a two day event organised by MoPSW in collaboration with Observer Research Foundation. The inaugural session was addressed by the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping (MoPSW) Sarbananda Sonowal; Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Greece, Christos Stylianides; Minister of State for Fisheries and Ocean Resources, Maldives, Dr Amzath Ahmed the National Representative for the Province of Rio Negro, Argentina, Maria Lorena Villaverde; MoPSW Secretary, TK Ramachandran along with the President, Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Samir Saran with the session attended by representatives from 61 countries and hundreds of delegates from the maritime sector. "The initiative brings together global policymakers, maritime experts, industry leaders, and scholars to deliberate on advancing sustainable and innovative maritime practices," read a statement by the PSW ministry. https://x.com/sarbanandsonwal/status/1858464635260653797 Addressing the inaugural session, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, "India's Maritime Vision 2047 is a roadmap to transform the maritime sector by fostering sustainability, enhancing connectivity, and leveraging technology. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi our ministry through initiatives like Sagarmala and the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision is aiming at making India a leader in global maritime trade, achieving our goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047." He further highlighted that the government aims to invest Rs 80 lakh crores to "enhance port capacity, shipping, ship building inland waterways," and mentioned various megaport projects like Vizhinjam International Seaport in Kerala, new mega ports at Vadhavan in Maharashtra, and Galathea Bay in Nicobar. "By 2047, India targets a port handling capacity of 10,000 million metric tons per annum, leveraging strategic trade routes through initiatives like the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) and the International North-South Transport Corridor. Reviving its shipbuilding legacy, India is constructing the National Maritime Heritage Complex at Lothal while advancing clean-fuel shipbuilding to meet future sustainability goals," the minister said. Setting the context for the mega deliberations and discussion, minister Sonowal further added, "Recognising India's maritime potential and its significance for economic growth, our government has implemented crucial policy measures for the 'Blue and Ocean-based Economy' over the last decade. Our participation in initiatives like the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) and the International North-South Transport Corridor underscores our commitment to strengthening global trade partnerships." Greece's Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Christos Stylianides also addressed the event, talking about maintaining a stable regulatory framework and a global level playing field. "For us policy makers, it is crucial to ensure a stable regulatory framework and a global level playing field for the industry. It is now time to set the foundations for forward-looking and realistic policies which will the current maritime challenges into opportunities. International transport systems with shipping at its core as an integral part, should serve the three pillars of sustainability: the environmental, the social and the economic one. This will be done by optimising efficiency in connectivity, minimising pollution and ensuring resilience across the entire maritime chain. What we need now is collaboration and the 'Sagarmanthan: The Great Oceans Dialogue' is a great example in this direction. It is in our hands, in a spirit of partnership, to make this happen," Greece's minister said. The Minister of State Shantanu Thakur also highlighted potential of coastal communities and how global partnerships are needed. "India's economic growth is guided by the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam--'The World is One Family.' Our ports and shipping corridors are not just about commerce but about connectivity, collaboration, and care for coastal communities and the environment. The oceans must be a global priority, not just for economic development but for ecological preservation and energy innovation," Minister Thakur said. Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PM-EAC) member Sanjeev Sanyal also spoke at the event, talking about how India should be at the forefront of the maritime sector. "This should serve as a guiding principle for all of us to strengthen and grow our maritime cluster. Our goal is to position ourselves at the forefront of the maritime sector, and to achieve this, we must draw on the expertise of industry leaders who set benchmarks across various verticals. The seas and oceans, gifts of nature, are abundant with resources, energy, and potential. It is our responsibility to harness them wisely, combining knowledge and skill to achieve sustainable growth," Sanyal said. On the sidelines of Sagarmanthan, Union Minister Sonowal participated in a bilateral meeting with the Greece's Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Christos Stylianides. The two leaders discussed an array of topics and agreed to deepen the maritime relationship between the two countries. Both the leaders agreed to expand trade from the existing US$ 1.94 billion to doubling it by focussing on broadening, increasing, and balancing by 2030. The two-day forum's agenda includes sessions on maritime connectivity, sustainable development, technological innovation, and global maritime governance. (ANI)
Salil Deshmukh, the Katol constituency candidate and son of NCP-SCP leader Anil Deshmukh, accused the BJP of orchestrating an alleged attack on his father during a conversation with ANI on Tuesday. He claimed that the BJP does not want Katol and Nagpur to remain safe as they face imminent defeat in the election. "From Gramin Rugnalaya, I reached the Katol police station, where his (Anil Deshmukh) temporary dressing was done, and then he was urgently referred to Nagpur's Alexis Hospital. People accompanying Anil Deshmukh have filed a complaint. Thousands of people gathered, and I appealed to them to maintain peace. It's evident that the BJP is facing a significant defeat here, and they believe that with Amit Shah as the Union Home Minister and Devendra Fadnavis as the Deputy Chief Minister and Maharashtra Home Minister, they can act without accountability. They do not want Katol and Nagpur to remain safe. I haven't spoken to Anil Deshmukh ji yet, as I don't think it's the right time. Doctors are attending to him, and I trust he is receiving proper treatment." Salil Deshmukh is contesting the Katol seat on the NCP Sharad Pawar faction's ticket, facing BJP's Charansingh Thakur. The incident occurred on the Katol-Jalalkheda Road, where Anil Deshmukh's car was allegedly attacked with stones, leaving the NCP-SCP leader injured. He was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. The attack took place on the final day of campaigning for the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly elections. The Nationalist Congress Party (SCP) leader and former Maharashtra minister sustained injuries in the attack. The BJP has yet to respond to the allegations. The Maharashtra Assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with counting for all 288 constituencies set for November 23. The opposition MVA coalition, comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Nationalist Congress Party (SCP), aims to reclaim power in the state, challenging the Mahayuti alliance, which includes the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the BJP, and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction. In the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena 56, and Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, Shiv Sena 63, and Congress 42. (ANI)
According to data from the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), this has raised the total number of such cases in the state to 9,655.

The surge underscores the ongoing challenge of stubble burning, a major contributor to air pollution in northern India. Monday's figures have surpassed the daily tallies of the past three years, with 701 incidents reported on the same day in 2022 and 637 in 2023.

Officials from the PPCB have emphasised the need for stricter enforcement and greater cooperation from farmers to tackle the issue.

Amid worsening air quality in Delhi, stubble burning continued in parts of Punjab, with incidents reported in fields in the Karamgarh village of Sri Muktsar Sahib.

Earlier, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) took a significant step to curb stubble burning by issuing orders to ensure the imposition of revised Environmental Compensation (EC) for such cases.

The directive, issued on November 7, 2024, was addressed to the Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Delhi, as per a press release from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. (ANI)
China unveils heavy 'swarm carrier' UAV at airshow

08:53, November 18, 2024 By Liu Xuanzun, Fan Wei and Ma Jun in Zhuhai ( Global Times

A Jetank heavy unmanned aerial vehicle is on display at Airshow China 2024 in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, from November 12 to 17. It can carry missiles, bombs and smaller drones. Photo: Liu Xuanzun/GT

China has showcased for the first time the Jetank heavy unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at the Airshow China 2024, which wrapped up on Sunday. The large drone can not only carry missiles and bombs, but also smaller drones, earning it the nickname "swarm carrier."

The Jetank heavy drone, displayed at the outdoor static display area of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), has a maximum takeoff weight of 16 tons, a maximum payload capacity of six tons, and a wingspan of 25 meters, the Global Times learned from AVIC.

The drone is described as a next-generation large unmanned aerial utility platform. It has eight hardpoints and a heavy-load fast-switchable mission module, and it can carry out missions such as airlift, airdrop, information support, and countermeasures, as well as fire strike and support by switching different modularized payloads, AVIC said.

The drone is equipped with a radar system and an electro-optical pod at its nose, indicating outstanding battlefield situational awareness and remote control capability via satellite link, said Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military aviation expert, standing beside the Jetank at the airshow.

Fu also noted that the heavy drone is equipped with a jet engine on its back, instead of propellers commonly seen on other armed reconnaissance drones, to provide stronger thrust.

The Jetank is displayed with multiple types of payloads during its exhibit at the airshow, including laser-guided bombs, glide bombs, anti-ship missiles, and air-to-air missiles.

"This huge drone can carry a wide range of weapons and equipment comparable to those carried by modern fighter jets and bombers," Fu told the Global Times.

The heavy drone is also exhibited with an isomerism hive module.

This means that this drone can carry different types of smaller drones in this module, hence the term "isomerism." When released from the "hive" module, these smaller drones can form a swarm in the air for different missions, according to Fu.

According to models shown at the airshow, the module can house dozens of smaller swarm drones.

The module is interchangeable. A logistics transport module was also showcased alongside the drone.

Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Sunday that the Jetank demonstrates China's leadership in developing drone carriers.

The maximum takeoff weight of 16 tons means that the Jetank is comparable to a light fighter jet, and eliminating the need for a pilot and associated equipment, the Jetank swarm carrier drone has as many as six tons of capacity to carry smaller drones, Wang said. "Imagine several Jetanks in a formation flying across a long distance to a combat area and releasing a drone swarm. The drone swarm, incorporated with China's latest AI technologies, could achieve highly effective combat outcomes."

The smaller drones also serve various roles, such as reconnaissance, strikes, communications, and electronic warfare, according to Wang.

Wang said the Jetank has strong potential for operational deployment in the future.

The six-day Airshow China 2024, held in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, concluded on Sunday. Attracting nearly 600,000 visitors, the event facilitated deals worth 280 billion yuan ($38.7 billion), China Central Television reported.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
A staff member inspects a container at a railway station in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, July 18, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

A China-Europe freight train departed from the city of Yiwu in east China's Zhejiang Province on Monday morning heading for Madrid, Spain, marking the 10th anniversary of the launch of this route.

Loaded with 110 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of various goods including accessories, automotive parts, machinery and equipment, the train is expected to arrive in Madrid within 16 to 18 days.

Over the past decade, more than 6,700 China-Europe freight trains have set off from Yiwu, transporting over 670,000 TEUs of cargo. These trains have provided vital logistical support for the city, which is known as "the world's supermarket," facilitating its access to global markets, according to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.

"As the world's largest small commodity market, Yiwu exports a substantial number of containerized goods overseas every day. In the past, we primarily relied on sea freight," said Feng Xubin, chairman of the freight train service operator Yiwu Tianmeng Industrial Investment Co., Ltd.

Feng noted that over the past ten years, the composition of the goods transported by these trains has undergone a significant upgrade.

"I still remember the first China-Europe freight train carrying items such as suitcases, stationery and Christmas decorations. However, as market demands have evolved, we now ship a growing number of high-value-added products, including various types of machinery and electronic equipment," Feng said.

In addition to traders based in Yiwu and other parts of Zhejiang, the China-Europe freight train service is also attracting an increasing number of customers from surrounding regions, such as the Yangtze River Delta, Feng added.

From 2014 until now, the annual number of China-Europe freight train trips from Yiwu has soared from just 23 to over 1,100. Annual cargo value has risen from 92 million U.S. dollars to 2.62 billion U.S. dollars, while the variety of transported goods has expanded from about 10,000 to nearly 50,000 categories.

To date, the China-Europe freight train service has connected Yiwu with more than 160 cities in 50 countries and regions across Asia and Europe.

On Nov. 18, 2014, the first China-Europe freight train (Yiwu-Madrid) departed, opening a fast rail route for small commodity exports from this Chinese city to Europe.

Meerzat Omuralieva, general manager of Mika Import & Export Co., Ltd, heard her cousins sharing details of their experiences in China and speaking Chinese at a family gathering when she was young. Inspired by their stories, she decided to make her own mark in China.

Omuralieva pursued studies at a college in Yiwu and graduated in 2020, after which she established a foreign trade company focused on exporting accessories from China to Kyrgyzstan.

"The opening of the China-Europe freight train service greatly boosted our export business. All five Central Asian countries are landlocked, therefore, thanks to this service, transportation has now become much more convenient," Omuralieva said.

Zhejiang Mundiver Import & Export Co., Ltd. has been trading with Spain since 2008, importing a wide range of Spanish products, including the likes of mineral water, olive oil, sunflower oil, wine, ham and more. The company initially relied on sea freight for foreign trade.

"Traditional sea freight usually takes 45 days and often involves secondary transfers at ports, but the China-Europe freight train takes less than 20 days," said Kong Zhijian, the company's marketing manager.

"The introduction of the China-Europe freight train service in 2014 greatly facilitated our trade channels. This service has enabled us to export domestic products to Europe and import products from countries along the route," Kong said, adding that the shorter transit time gives them greater flexibility in terms of cash flow management, which is very important for their operations.

Thanks to the service and its expansion over the years, Kong's company has grown steadily and now has numerous agents and franchisees in places like Jiangsu, Sichuan, Guangdong, Qinghai and other regions.

The China-Europe freight train service offers a sound logistics experience to its customers, with a transit time that is only one-third of the duration required by sea freight and transportation costs just one-fifth of what is necessary for air freight, according to Bei Xudong, deputy director of Yiwu's market development committee.

"With its advantages of low cost, high efficiency, extensive routes and year-round service, it has supported the stability of supply chains across the province, the country and even along the route," Bei said.

"Over the past decade, China-Europe freight trains have deeply integrated with the city's development, playing an indispensable role in China-Europe trade," he added.
United States President Joe Biden announced major climate initiatives on Sunday in a bid to fight against climate change. President Biden, who is in Brazil to attend the G20 Summit scheduled to be held on Monday in Rio De Janeiro, visited the Amazon rainforest on Sunday and became the first US sitting president to do so. Addressing the press after his visit, Biden promised an additional 50 million dollars as a contribution to the Amazon fund. The US has previously contributed 50 million dollars. During the address, Biden stated that fighting climate change has been a "defining cause" of his administration and made four key announcements to tackle it. He announced that the US development finance corporation will mobilize hundreds of dollars in partnership with a Brazilian company to reforest the Amazon. He also promised restoration and a bioeconomy finance coalition to mobilize at least 10 billion dollars by 2030 to restore and protect 20, 000 square miles of land in Brazil. Moreover, he stated that the US will provide funding to help launch Brazillian President Lula's important new initiative 'The Tropical Forest Forever Fund'. "It is in the interest of all of us. US benefits from it as much as any other country does including here in Brazil," President Biden said. President Biden outlined that the fight to protect the planet is "literally" a fight for humanity for generations to come. "I will leave my successor and my country with a strong foundation to build on if they choose to do so. It's true some may seek to deny and delay the green energy revolution that is underway in America but nobody can reverse it," he added. President Biden's announcement comes with only days left before President-elect Trump takes over the position in January 2025 following his win in the recent US Presidential Polls. During his first administration as President of the US, Trump has not been vocal nor very supportive towards climate causes. Donald Trump won a second term as President of the United States after securing 295 electoral votes in the 2024 presidential election, defeating Democratic rival Kamala Harris, who garnered 226 votes. Following his victory, President-elect Donald Trump has moved swiftly with finalising his foreign policy and national security team ahead of his formal inauguration in January 2025. (ANI)
Brazilian Vedic scholars set to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi by chanting Vedic mantras upon his arrival to Brazil for the G20 summit on Monday. Speaking to ANI, the scholars emphasised the influence of the Vedas on their lives. They feel joy and peace while chanting the mantras. They also expressed their excitement to meet PM Modi. "I started about 10 years ago, I could not see any meaning in my life at the time. When I started studying Vedas I realised who I am. I am a little bit nervous but I am happy," Jenifer Scholles, a Vedic scholar said while speaking to ANI. Another Vedic scholar Jonas Masetti also known as Acharya Vishwanatha said people in Brazil connect with Indian culture. He noted that students are learning Sanskrit, mantras, and stories of Ramayan and Mahabharat. "Many people in Brazil connect with Vedic culture and Indian culture. The first time they hear mantras, they feel a lot of joy and peace in their hearts. Many students learn Sanskrit, mantras, stories of Ramayan and Mahabharat," he said. PM Modi will attend the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit, scheduled to take place from November 18 and 19 in Brazil. As a Troika member, India will play a significant role in shaping the agenda, building on the momentum from its own G20 presidency. Brazil is expected to maintain the focus on Global South priorities, ensuring continuity and progress on key issues. PM Modi stated earlier that after India's successful presidency at the G20 Summit last year, Brazil is expected to continue efforts to advance the Global South's priorities. "In Brazil, I will attend the 19th G-20 Summit as a Troika member. Last year, India's successful Presidency elevated the G-20 to people's G-20 and mainstreamed the priorities of the Global South into its Agenda. This year, Brazil has built upon India's legacy. I look forward to meaningful discussions in keeping with our vision of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future.' I will also use the opportunity to exchange views on furthering bilateral cooperation with several other leaders," PM Modi said in an official statement. (ANI)
Abu Dhabi [United Arab Emirates], November 18 (ANI/WAM): UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has received a written message from Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, which included an invitation to attend the meeting of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders, scheduled to be hosted by the State of Kuwait on 1st December 2024. The message also dealt with the historic, fraternal relations between the two nations and their peoples. The message was delivered to H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, during his reception today in Abu Dhabi of Abdullah Ali Abdullah Saleh Al-Yahya, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait. H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Abdullah Al-Yahya reviewed the outcomes of the state visit made by President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the State of Kuwait on 10th November and its key role in enhancing the avenues of cooperation and the UAE-Kuwait strategic partnership, in light of the strong historical fraternal relations between the two brotherly nations. During the meeting, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed expressed his pride in the distinguished fraternal relations between the two nations, their leaderships, and their peoples. H.H. also expressed his hope for further development and prosperity in the cooperation and partnership between the UAE and Kuwait at all levels, bringing benefit and prosperity to their people. The two ministers discussed several issues of mutual interest related to the joint GCC work, as well as the broader developments in regional and international arenas. The meeting was attended by Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State. (ANI/WAM)
Executive Director of India-Brazil Chamber of Commerce Leonardo Ananda Gomes highlighted the successful bilateral trade between the two countries, which as of now has crossed the USD 15 billion mark. Speaking to ANI on Sunday, Gomes also highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "strong relationship" with Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. "Now the trade between India and Brazil is USD 15 billion, in our opinion we are just starting. There is a huge potential to explore. We are always hosting Indian delegations here in Brazil," Gomes told ANI. On PM Modi's visit to Brazil to attend the G20 Leaders' Summit, Gomes said, "PM Modi is doing a great job and he has a strong relationship with Brazilians and with our President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva." "So, I am sure that we are facing the best moment for this relationship. India did a very good job and I think it was the best G20 ever. In Brazil, we are trying to do the same thing," he added. PM Modi will attend the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit, scheduled to take place from November 18-19 in Brazil. In the G20 summit, India, as a Troika member, will play a significant role in shaping the agenda, building on the momentum from its own G20 presidency. Brazil is expected to maintain the focus on Global South priorities, ensuring continuity and progress on key issues. PM Modi stated earlier that after India's successful presidency at the G20 Summit last year, Brazil is expected to continue efforts to advance the Global South's priorities. "In Brazil, I will attend the 19th G-20 Summit as a Troika member. Last year, India's successful Presidency elevated the G-20 to people's G-20 and mainstreamed the priorities of the Global South into its Agenda. This year, Brazil has built upon India's legacy. I look forward to meaningful discussions in keeping with our vision of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future.' I will also use the opportunity to exchange views on furthering bilateral cooperation with several other leaders," PM Modi said. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a rousing welcome from the Indian diaspora upon his arrival in Rio de Janeiro for the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, "Deeply touched by the warm and lively welcome from the Indian community upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro. Their energy reflects the affection that binds us across continents." https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1858340996792148365 PM Modi was greeted at his hotel with a vibrant dandiya ceremony performed by dancers dressed in traditional Gujarati attire, celebrating his arrival with cultural fervour. Adding a spiritual touch to the occasion, Vedic scholars chanted Vedic mantras to welcome the Prime Minister. Members of the diaspora also presented him with gifts as a gesture of respect and admiration. The Indian Prime Minister landed in Brazil after completing the first leg of his three-nation tour in Nigeria. In Rio de Janeiro, he was received by Indian officials, including Indian Ambassador to Brazil Suresh Reddy. The Indian diaspora gathered in large numbers, waving flags and carrying pictures of the Prime Minister, expressing their enthusiasm. Speaking to ANI, a diaspora member remarked, "We are excited for this moment. We wanted to meet the leader of one of the largest democracies in the world." Another member said, "It's an honour to see him in person. It is a proud moment for us." Earlier, PM Modi shared his anticipation for the summit, posting, "Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the Summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders." The summit holds special significance as India, a Troika member, plays a key role in shaping the agenda while passing the presidency baton to Brazil. https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1858308652395847762 During his visit to Nigeria, PM Modi held discussions with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, focusing on cooperation in defence, health, technology, and education. India also announced a humanitarian aid package of 20 tons to assist Nigeria's flood relief efforts. PM Modi emphasised Brazil's continuity of the Global South agenda, stating, "This year, Brazil has built upon India's legacy. I look forward to meaningful discussions in keeping with our vision of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future.'" (ANI)
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has called on the government to initiate dialogue with relevant stakeholders to address critical issues, including the deteriorating security situation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). Speaking to the media at the JI's Islamabad office on Sunday, he emphasised the urgent need to revise policies to safeguard lives in the troubled regions. "Every person's life is precious. The government needs to revisit its policy," he remarked. Rehman also appealed to Afghanistan's Taliban-led government to act responsibly and ensure that Afghan territory is not used against other nations, including Pakistan. Stressing the need for collaboration, he urged the Pakistani government to engage in talks with Afghanistan to resolve mutual concerns. The JI chief criticised the government for failing to deliver on its promises of economic relief, particularly in light of the electricity cost crisis. Rehman pointed out that the federal government had not implemented agreements reached with the JI after sit-ins staged earlier this year. He dismissed the recent winter electricity relief package announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as inadequate, labelling it "a joke" and a "deception for the public." Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during an event commemorating the birth anniversary of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, unveiled an electricity relief package promising reductions of up to PKR 26.7 per unit for domestic consumers, PKR 15.5 per unit for industrial users, and PKR 22.71 per unit for commercial users during the winter months. However, Rehman criticised the package, questioning its relevance and sustainability. "Why would anyone consume 500 units? This drama of fooling the public must stop," he said, adding that a fuel levy of PKR 60 per litre continues to burden citizens. Rehman suggested the promotion of solar energy as a viable solution, noting its cost-effectiveness and environmental benefits. He reiterated the JI's commitment to advocating for practical and long-term solutions to address the economic and security challenges facing Pakistan. (ANI)
United States President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday named Commissioner Brendan Carr as the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and US territories. An independent US government agency overseen by Congress, the Commission is the federal agency responsible for implementing and enforcing America's communications law and regulations. Sharing a post on X, Carr wrote, Thank you, President Trump! I am humbled and honoured to serve as Chairman of the FCC. Now we get to work - United States. In a statement issued on Sunday, Trump said, "I am pleased to announce that Commissioner Brendan Carr will be Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Commissioner Carr currently serves as the senior Republican on the FCC. Before that, he was the FCC's General Counsel. I first nominated Commissioner Carr to the FCC in 2017, and he has been confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate three times." The statement added, "His current term runs through 2029 and, because of his great work, I will now be designating him as permanent Chairman." The statement by Trump further called Carr a "warrior for Free Speech." "Commissioner Carr is a warrior for Free Speech, and has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans' Freedoms, and held back our Economy. He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America's Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America. Congratulations to Chairman Brendan Carr on a job well done. Lead us into a great future, Brendan!" the statement added. Notably, Carr has served at the FCC since 2012, including as an Advisor to then FCC Chairman, Ajit Pai. Earlier in his career, Commissioner Carr worked as an attorney specialising in Appellate, Litigation, and Regulatory matters. Previously, Commissioner Carr clerked on the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit for Judge Dennis Shedd. After attending Georgetown University for his undergrad, Commissioner Carr earned his JD Magna Cum Laude from the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law where he served as an Editor of the Catholic University Law Review. Donald Trump won a second term as President of the United States after securing 295 electoral votes in the 2024 presidential election, defeating Democratic rival Kamala Harris, who garnered 226 votes. Following his victory, President-elect Donald Trump has moved swiftly with finalising his foreign policy and national security team ahead of his formal inauguration in January 2025. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was welcomed by Brazilian Vedic scholars chanting Sanskrit mantras upon his arrival in Brazil for the G20 summit on Monday. The group of Vedic scholars, comprising men and women of all ages, sang melodious Sanskrit shlokas in PM Modi's presence. They were dressed in traditional Indian attire, and the Prime Minister keenly listened to their harmonious recitation. According to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs, there is significant interest in India's culture, religion, performing arts, and philosophy in Brazil. Organizations like the Ramakrishna Mission, ISKCON, Satya Sai Baba, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and the Bhakti Vedanta Foundation have active chapters in Brazil. Indian philosophy and spirituality were among the first aspects of Indian culture to influence Brazil, resonating with the country's colourful folkloric traditions and joyous festivities. Upon PM Modi's arrival at Hotel Nacional, he received a warm welcome, including a traditional Dandiya ceremony performed by dancers in vibrant Gujarati attire. Members of the Indian diaspora greeted him with gifts, waved Indian flags, and displayed his pictures to express their enthusiasm for his visit. Speaking to ANI, the Vedic scholars underlined the influence of the Vedas on their lives. "I started about 10 years ago, I could not see any meaning in my life at the time. When I started studying Vedas I realised who I am. I am a little bit nervous but I am happy," Jenifer Scholles, a Vedic scholar said. Vedic scholar Jonas Masetti also known as Acharya Vishwanatha said, "Many people in Brazil connect with Vedic culture and Indian culture. The first time they hear mantras, they feel a lot of joy and peace in their hearts. Many students learn Sanskrit, mantras, stories of Ramayan and Mahabharat." PM Modi is in Brazil to attend the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit, scheduled for November 18 and 19. As a Troika member, India is playing a significant role in shaping the agenda, building on the momentum from its own G20 presidency last year. In a statement, PM Modi expressed optimism about Brazil's leadership in continuing the focus on the Global South's priorities. "Last year, India's successful Presidency elevated the G20 to people's G20 and mainstreamed the priorities of the Global South. This year, Brazil has built upon India's legacy. I look forward to meaningful discussions aligned with our vision of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future,'" he said. PM Modi also plans to use the summit to strengthen bilateral ties with other world leaders. (ANI)
In a message shared on behalf of incarcerated former Pakistan PM Imran Khan, it was claimed that Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi faced a mistrial in the Toshakhana case. https://x.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1857697772868116540 In a post on X from Imran Khan's handle the Pakistan Tehrek-e-Insaaf claimed, "After keeping me and my wife in jail for a year, the Prosecutor General has admitted in the High Court that there was a mistrial in the ToshaKhana (Gift Repository) case, and that the requirements of justice were not observed". The message by Khan noted that the mistrial, "Is an admission of political vengeance" and said that government machinery and organs such as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which serves as the anti-corruption body of Pakistan, being used for "victimisation". Khan in his message said that these actions raise a big question on Pakistan's judicial system. Former PM Khan then demanded for the resignations of "the Chairman NAB, the Prosecutor General, and the investigation officers, and the relevant judges" and called for disciplinary actions against them. "I was sentenced in five frivolous cases in an equally ridiculous manner and two more bogus trials are speedily being conducted so that I can be detracted from the movement for genuine sovereignty, democracy, and rule of law. But I will continue the fight for the genuine freedom of Pakistanis until the very last drop of my blood", the message read. He expressed dissatisfaction in the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment in Pakistan and said that the contentious amendment was seen to curb the powers of the judiciary in Pakistan. "The High Court and the Supreme Court have become no more than kangaroo courts, and their status now is similar to any government department. By curbing the power of the judiciary, the country's already corrupt judicial system will come to a complete stand still", Khan noted in his post. He reiterated the call for a nation-wide protest on November 24 to realise the dream of "genuine freedom, democracy, and rule of law". (ANI)
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) will be co-hosting Sagarmanthan: The Great Oceans Dialogue, in New Delhi, India, from November 18-19. This first-of-its-kind dialogue positions India as a hub for global maritime ideas. It aims to build pathways that will shape global maritime policy, emerging from the debates amongst stakeholders representing different cultures, contexts, aspirations, and ambitions at the forum, MoPSW and ORF said in a press release. The Dialogue, hosted in partnership with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DP World, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Deutsches Schifffahrts Museum, will feature more than 160 participants from 60 countries, including ministers, former heads of state and government, a delegation of parliamentarians, senior officials and experts. Ahead of the dialogue, Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said, "Sagarmanthan is an attempt at celebrating the best available knowledge in the maritime sector from global experts with deep understanding, wisdom and insights on upcoming trends. As India's role as an important and key maritime player has increased manifold, especially since 2014 under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sagarmanthan serves as a premier platform for everyone to seek knowledge, share wisdom, chalk out pathways and set the course for maritime sector's collective journey onwards." He added, "We, as humanity, are in a precarious situation with a moral responsibility towards our future generations through sustainable developmental efforts. At Sagarmanthan, during these two days of intense, sincere, and focused discussions, we hope to gather rich knowledge that will sharpen our wit and wisdom for better outcomes from our initiative and unlock potential from the Blue Economy. The Ministry aims to convert this maiden effort into an annual premier event to cherish the provoking ideas on maritime and to celebrate Bharat's tryst with knowledge--a celebration which is thousands of years old. With Sagarmanthan, India aims to lead critical discussions on inclusive growth, sustainable practices, and resilient communities, fostering a shared vision for a thriving and sustainable blue economy aligned with 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam'--The World is One Family." Meanwhile, Shantanu Thakur, the Union Minister of State, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways said, "This forum reflects India's commitment to a resilient and sustainable maritime future, balancing economic growth with environmental stewardship. Together, we are setting the course for a blue economy that is inclusive, forward-looking, and prepared to meet the challenges of the future." Dr Samir Saran, President of the Observer Research Foundation, emphasised, "As the world's future becomes increasingly linked to India, and as India's own future is anchored in the maritime domain, the country finds itself at a pivotal crossroads. India now has both the opportunity and the responsibility to shape the global maritime agenda through strategic partnerships. With its growing role in maritime governance, the need for a comprehensive ocean dialogue is more urgent than ever--a gap that the Sagarmanthan Dialogue seeks to bridge." Notably, the Dialogue will commence with an Inaugural Session featuring Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, India; Samir Saran, President, Observer Research Foundation, India; Christos Stylianides, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Greece; Amzath Ahmed, Minister of State for Fisheries and Ocean Resources, Maldives; Maria Lorena Villaverde, National Representative for the Province of Rio Negro, Argentina; and TK Ramachandran, Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, India. This will be closely followed by Keynote Addresses by John Kayode Fayemi, President of the Forum of Regions of Africa, Nigeria; Rizwan Soomar, CEO and Managing Director, Middle East, North Africa and India Subcontinent, DP World; Sanjeev Sanyal, Member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, India; and Signe Brudeset, Director General of the Regional Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway. Participants will engage in critical conversations on topics such as the blue economy, maritime logistics, ports, shipping and waterways, critical minerals, diversified supply chains, the global maritime economy, and training and labour standards. Expert interventions from Nancy Karigithu, Special Envoy and Advisor on the Blue Economy, Executive Office of the President, Kenya; Lord Karan Bilimoria, Member of the House of Lords, United Kingdom; Mohamed Nasheed, Former President of the Maldives; Carl Bildt, Former Prime Minister of Sweden and Co-Chair, European Council on Foreign Relations, Sweden; Mehdi Jomaa, Former Prime Minister, Tunisia, Anna Maria Corazza Bildt, Former Member of the European Parliament, Sweden; Stella Alexia Mantzari, CEO of AS Marine Ltd., Greece; Tarun Kapoor, Advisor to Prime Minister; Yuvraj Narayan, Group Deputy CEO and CFO, DP World; and Arjun Chowgule, President of the Indian Shipyards Association are scheduled. Over two days, Sagarmanthan will act as a catalyst for engaging diverse stakeholders from policymaking ecosystems, helping inform perspectives on India, its ambitions, presence, and interests, and steering conversations on maritime issues of global relevance. (ANI)
Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter for the official commissioning of the country's first domestically designed and built deep-ocean drilling vessel Meng Xiang.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said that the successful sea trial and official commissioning of the Meng Xiang marked an important step of China's deep-ocean access, exploration and development.

It is another major achievement in improving the maritime and sci-tech strength, the letter noted.

Xi said that the workers engaged in the design and construction of the drilling vessel have overcome a number of world-class technical difficulties. He expected them to make good use of the major sci-tech device, strengthen innovation in marine science and technology and expand international maritime cooperation.

The commissioning event of the drilling vessel was held on Sunday in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. He Lifeng, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier, attended the event and read out Xi's congratulatory letter.
In a post on social media, PM Modi shared visuals on the celebration of Indian culture in Brazil.

The video shared by the PM showed young kids singing Vande Mataram with traditional Indian instruments such as Harmonium being played.

The Prime Minister was greeted with chants of Jai Shree Krishna and also witnessed beautiful Garba performance from the members of the Indian community.

With folded hands, PM appreciated the Vedic chants sung by Brazilians and lauded them.

"A celebration of Indian culture in Brazil! Gratitude for a memorable welcome in Rio de Janeiro...", PM Modi wrote on X.

https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1858352856312787150

India and Brazil share a very close and multifaceted relationship both at bilateral level as well as in plurilateral fora.

In Brazil, there is a lot of interest in India's culture, religion, performing arts and philosophy. Ramakrishna Mission, ISKCON, Satya Sai Baba, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Bhakti Vedanta Foundation and other spiritual gurus and organizations have chapters in Brazil. Folkloric traditions and celebrations from India relate a lot to the joyful and colorful festivities in Brazil. Indian philosophy, spirituality and religion were the first forms of Indian culture to reach Brazil.

The closeness in cultural ties is reflected from the fact that the first cultural centre in Latin America was opened in Sao Paulo in 2011.

The bilateral relationship is based on a common global vision, shared democratic values, and a commitment to foster economic growth with social inclusion for the welfare of the people of both countries.

The Indian Prime Minister landed in Brazil after completing the first leg of his three-nation tour in Nigeria. In Rio de Janeiro, he was received by Indian officials, including Indian Ambassador to Brazil Suresh Reddy.

At the G20 Summit, PM Modi will represent India as a Troika member, building on the momentum established during India's presidency last year. (ANI)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his deep gratitude to international partners for their support in providing air defence systems and missiles to Ukraine. He further emphasised the need for these systems, citing the ongoing Russian attacks on Ukrainian territories. Zelenskyy urged partners to facilitate the delivery of defence systems like the Patriot. Zelenskyy took to X ot post, "I am deeply grateful to all our partners who support us with air defense systems and missiles. This is a truly global effort. Every time Russia carries out such attacks, it underscores how critical it is that partners don't leave systems like Patriot and others sitting idle in warehouses, but instead provide them to those who know how to protect lives and urgently need them." "We still haven't received all the necessary systems from our allies--but we continue to work toward that goal. Once these systems are in place, our ability to repel attacks will be much stronger," he posted. The Ukrainian President further said that one of the key element of Victory Plan is providing the Ukrainian army with long-range capabilities. He said, "One more thing: The plan for strengthening Ukraine is the Victory Plan that I presented to our partners. One of its key elements is providing our army with long-range capabilities. There's been much said in the media today that we have received approval to take relative actions. But strikes are not carried out with words. These things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves." Meanwhile, Zelenskyy also condemned Russia's latest large-scale attack on Ukraine, which saw 210 missiles and drones target critical civilian infrastructure, resulting in fatalities, including children. Sharing another post on X, Zelenskyy wrote, "This morning began with one of the largest Russian strikes on Ukraine. 210 missiles and drones, including aeroballistic and hypersonic missiles, as well as dozens of Shahed drones, were launched. All of them targeted civilian infrastructure--critical facilities like power plants and transformers." "Putin drowns the world in his rhetoric, but his only true message is written in destruction and death, delivered through every missile and drone Russia sends. This evening, a Russian missile hit a nine-story residential building. There are confirmed fatalities, including children. Many people are wounded. Emergency services are on the scene, doing everything to save lives. But what is still missing--and desperately needed--is the principled reaction of the world to this evil,"the post added. Zelenskyy further stressed the need for a decisive action from the global community, particularly as G20 leaders meet, urging them "not to turn a blind eye to Russia's continued terror." He added, "These days, leaders of the G20 are meeting. The entire world needs them not to turn a blind eye to Russia's continued terror. Only when the world reacts decisively can the situation change. Russia has involved North Korea in its war--and the reaction has been weak. Russia has continued its terror for nearly 1,000 days--and the world's decisions are still delayed. Two years ago, at the G20 Summit, Ukraine presented the Peace Formula--a clear path to ending this war. Yet it has not been implemented. The time to act is now. The G20 cannot afford weakness or indifference. It must rise decisively to this challenge." US President Joe Biden has authorised the use of long-range missiles by Ukraine to target the deepest part of Russia, the New York Times reported on Sunday. The missiles could be used in the Kursk region of western Russia to defend Ukrainian forces against Russian and North Korean offensives, the New York Times quoted US officials as saying. This comes as President-elect Donald Trump is set to assume charge. In earlier statements, Trump has called to bring an end to the war.As per the officials, Ukraine will be allowed to use the long-range missiles, known as the Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, the New York Times reported. Biden's decision comes in response to Russia's surprise decision to bring North Korean troops into the fight, officials told the New York Times. (ANI)
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee condemned the Pakistan Coast Guard for firing at a Baloch vehicle carrying fuel on Sunday, highlighting growing brutalities against the border dwellers. In a post on X, the BYC stated, "Yesterday, a tragic incident unfolded in Panwan Jewani, District Gwadar, where the paramilitary force Coast Guard opened fire directly on a vehicle carrying fuel. Fortunately, the driver survived, but the vehicle was burned to ashes". The BYC further added that the locals of Panwan town blocked the main road in response to the attack. The Coast Guard and local administration made false promises to grant concessions to the victims as more than 24 hours have passed but nothing has been done to provide any concession. The BYC highlighted, "It is a well-recognized reality that the people of Balochistan lack economic incentives and a basic economic structure. They are heavily reliant on border trade, which has long been an integral part of Baloch culture. The region is mired in poverty, with the majority of the population living below the poverty line. In such dire circumstances, where many struggle to afford even two meals a day, state atrocities and oppression only exacerbate their suffering. Daily, border dwellers face humiliation and torture, violating their fundamental rights to income and sustainability". In its post on X, BYC observed, "The ongoing oppression by the Pakistan forces has aggravated the miseries faced by the Baloch people. These people struggle to get proper education, health and food facilities. Under such woeful circumstances, the Pakistani forces commit atrocities against such innocent people". The BYC said that it "stands in solidarity with the border community and is in support of peaceful trade opportunities for every individual in Balochistan who is dependent on the border for basic amenities". The BYC further lamented, "The genocidal policies manifesting as unlawful cruelty and barbarism must be brought to an end." (ANI)
US and Philippines on Monday signed and agreement on sharing classified military information and technology as the two countries seek to deepen cooperation in a bid to counter Chinese influence in the region. The Philippines-United States General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) .agreement aims to enhance the sharing of military information between the two nations, promoting greater cooperation and interoperability in defense and security matters. Philippines Department of National Defence shared a post on X and wrote, "Signing of the PH-US General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA)." Notably, the agreement was signed by US Defence Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro Quezon City, Manila. Security agreements between the Philippines and the United States have strengthened, with both countries aiming to counter China's aggressiveness in the South China Sea. The two countries have also resumed joint naval exercises, and the Philippines has granted US forces greater access to its military bases. Following the signing of the agreement, Austin said that along with his Philippines counterpart, they are "committed to deepening alliance, strengthening regional security, and upholding shared values in Indo-Pacific." Sharing a post on X, Austin wrote, "Great to be in Manila at a transformative time for the US-Philippines alliance. I met with my good friend, the Secretary of National Defense Teodoro. Together, we're committed to deepening our alliance, strengthening regional security, and upholding our shared values in the Indo-Pacific." https://x.com/SecDef/status/1858378663504556213 Philippines-United States GSOMIA would lay the foundation for enhanced, expanded, and timely sharing of information and defence technology. The United States established diplomatic relations with the Philippines in 1946. US-Philippine relations are based on strong historical and cultural linkages and shared democratic values. The 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty provides a strong foundation for robust security partnership. Vibrant people-to-people ties and strong economic cooperation provide meaningful ways to engage on a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues, according to the US Department of State. The US-Philippine Bilateral Strategic Dialogue (BSD) is the annual forum for forward planning across the spectrum of our relationship. The most recent BSD took place in January 2023 when senior Philippine and US Department of State and Department of Defence officials convened in Manila. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Austin hosted their Philippine counterparts for a "2+2" ministerial in April 2023, and President Biden hosted President Marcos for a four-day official working visit in early May 2023. (ANI)
In a significant move urging Japan to reconsider its stance, Salih Hudayar, a prominent Uyghur-American politician known for advocating for the independence of East Turkistan, called on Tokyo to refrain from cooperating with China. In a post on X, Hudayar stated, "Japan must not cooperate with China's genocidal regime, which continues its ongoing Uyghur Genocide in occupied East Turkistan. Cooperation with China betrays humanity and justice, as well as Japan's own security. We urge Japan's Prime Minister to align with freedom, not tyranny." https://x.com/SalihHudayar/status/1858324515530395721 Salih's statement came in response to a post by Japan's Prime Minister's office on X, which read, "I met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and confirmed that we share a broad direction to comprehensively promote a 'strategic mutual benefit relationship' and build a 'constructive and stable relationship' with President Xi. We will strengthen communication to reduce the issues and pending matters between the two countries and increase cooperation and collaboration." Notably, East Turkistan is a term often used to refer to the region commonly known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China. The area is primarily home to the Uyghur people, a Turkic-speaking Muslim ethnic group, as well as other minority groups, such as Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and Tajiks. Geographically located in the far west of China, Xinjiang is rich in natural resources and strategically important, sharing borders with several Central Asian countries, as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan. Since the Chinese government's formal establishment of control over Xinjiang, the Uyghur population has often struggled to preserve their cultural identity, religious practices, and political autonomy. Many Uyghurs regard the region as their homeland, and there has been a long-standing aspiration for independence or greater autonomy. Over the decades, tensions between the Chinese government and Uyghur separatist movements have flared, particularly in the context of regional demands for self-determination and the preservation of Uyghur culture and religion. On September 14, 2004, in response to increasing repression, the East Turkistan Government in Exile was established in Washington, DC. This government-in-exile, led by Anwar Yusuf Turani, sought to represent the interests of the Uyghur people globally, advocating for the recognition of East Turkistan as an independent or autonomously governed region. The creation of this government-in-exile was a symbolic act reflecting the deep discontent among Uyghurs worldwide with China's policies in the region, as well as their ongoing struggle for political and cultural freedom. (ANI)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the G20 nations to take lead in addressing global challenges, including achieving peace in war-ridden regions such as Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine and Sudan. He emphasised that peace requires actions grounded in the values of the UN Charter, the rule of law, and the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. "We must step up for peace in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine and Sudan. Everywhere, peace requires actions grounded in the values of the UN Charter, the rule of law, and the principles of sovereignty, political independence and the territorial integrity of States," Guterres said. On finance, the Secretary-General further highlighted the situation of vulnerable countries which "face tremendous headwinds and obstacles that are not of their making." Guterres further spoke about the 'Pact for the Future' and said that it calls for ambitious reforms to make the system more representative of today's global economy and the needs of developing and vulnerable nations. "This includes expanding the voice and representation of developing countries in international financial institutions. The global community is looking to the G20 to deliver on these agreements," he said. On climate, the Secretary-General voiced concern over the state of negotiations at COP29, noting that countries must agree to an ambitious climate finance goal that meets the scale of the challenge faced by developing countries. Earlier in the day, Brazilian President has said that summit will feature 42 nations engaging in discussions on fight against hunger, poverty, and energy transition. Sharing a post on X, he said, "What matters is that 42 countries will participate in the G20 Summit in Brazil. In addition to discussing the fight against hunger and poverty, we will talk about the energy transition, a topic in which our country has a great advantage, in addition to global governance. The UN needs reform to ensure that its decisions are respected." The G20 Leaders' Summit is scheduled for November 18 and 19 in Brazil, with the presence of the leaders of the 19 member countries, along with the African Union and the European Union. (ANI)
In a post on X, Jaishankar said, "Felicitations to Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Vijitha Herath on his re-appointment".

https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1858408079546552691.

The External Affairs Minister noted that he looks forward to working together and further strengthening the "historic bonds of friendship" and deepening the wide-ranging partnership, India and Sri Lanka have, for the mutual benefit of each other.

In the recently concluded elections, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's leftist coalition registered a landslide victory, according to official results announced by the country's election commission.

Dissanayake, needed a clear majority to fulfil his promises and his National People's Power (NPP) coalition secured a two-thirds majority in the 225-member parliament, winning 159 seats, whereas, opposition leader Premadasa's party won 35 seats.

Dissanayake won the presidential elections held in September this year. With his coalition holding just three seats in the outgoing parliament, the 55-year-old leader of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) called snap legislative elections in search of a new mandate.

The parliamentary poll mandate enables Dissanayake to ease punishing austerity measures in crisis-stricken Sri Lanka.

EAM Jaishankar had paid a visit to Sri Lanka, earlier in October this year.

Sri Lanka has been struggling to recover from its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948 following economic mismanagement by successive governments, the COVID-19 pandemic and 2019 Easter bombings.

In his interactions with Foreign Minister Herath, EAM had conveyed India's strong commitment to advance bilateral cooperation based on its 'Neighbourhood First' policy and SAGAR outlook. In this context, he assured that India's ongoing development assistance to Sri Lanka through projects of Sri Lankan priority will be continued. (ANI)
The event, organised by the India Tibet Friendship Society and the Jagjivan Ram Institute of Parliamentary Studies and Research, gathered prominent figures to discuss India-China relations, with particular attention to the Tibet issue, as reported by the Central Tibetan Administration.

Addressing the conference, MP Lopon Thupten Gyaltsen emphasised the critical need for India's support for Tibet amidst the ongoing geopolitical tensions between India and China. He invoked Tibet's historical independence, referencing the 1914 Shimla Convention and Tibet's participation as an independent nation in the 1947 Asian Relations Conference in Delhi.

MP Gyaltsen asserted that prior to China's occupation of Tibet, the Indo-Tibetan border remained peaceful, without military presence. He advocated for the re-establishment of Tibet as a neutral and peaceful buffer zone between India and China, highlighting its potential to bolster regional security and stability.

Underscoring the profound cultural, spiritual, and historical ties between Tibet and India, MP Gyaltsen noted the influence of Tibetan Buddhism, rooted in ancient Indian spiritual traditions, on the Himalayan region's cultural and religious landscape.

He urged India to play an active role in preserving Tibetan religious practices and cultural heritage, emphasising that Tibetans in exile and the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) rely heavily on India for refuge and protection of their traditions and way of life.

In a stirring appeal, MP Gyaltsen called for formal recognition of the Dalai Lama's contributions to Tibet and the world. He proposed awarding the Dalai Lama the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.

According to MP Gyaltsen, "Such an award would be a significant gesture of solidarity from India and would inspire pride among Tibetans, the Himalayan peoples, and His Holiness's global following."

The Dalai Lama, a globally revered spiritual leader, remains a symbol of Tibet's nonviolent resistance to Chinese oppression.

The Tibet-China conflict, a complex geopolitical dispute, revolves around national sovereignty, human rights, and cultural identity. At its heart lies Tibet's political status, its relationship with China, and the rights of Tibetans under Chinese governance. The issue carries significant historical, cultural, and political implications and continues to attract global attention without resolution. (ANI)
This collaboration underscores Taiwan's ambition to become a key hub for drone production and innovation in the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan News reported.

Poland is the second ally to join the alliance, following the United States. The Ministry of Economic Affairs emphasised the global trend of seeking partnerships beyond China in the rapidly expanding drone market.

Chair Hu Kai-hung of the Taiwanese alliance highlighted the initiative's strategic importance, stating, "The alliance is an important gateway for international companies seeking partnerships in Taiwan."

The Taiwanese drone industry has set ambitious goals, with President Lai Ching-te projecting the sector's production value to reach NTD 30 billion (USD 922 million) by 2028, reported Taiwan News.

The alliance plans to produce over 10,000 drones per month, cementing its role as the Asia-Pacific's first drone supply chain hub. Hu further noted the synergy between Taiwan and Poland, asserting that the partnership "can combine their strengths to boost drone development and production."

Polish-Taiwanese Chamber of Industry and Commerce Chair Bartlomiej Dobosz welcomed the partnership, expressing Poland's honour in joining the alliance. "We hope to foster a mutual exchange of technologies to advance drone development," Dobosz stated, signalling a commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation in the technology sector.

This agreement reflects Taiwan's growing influence in the global drone market and its capacity to collaborate with international allies to achieve technological innovation and growth, Taiwan News reported.

The alliance's ongoing efforts demonstrate the strategic importance of fostering partnerships and diversifying supply chains in this pivotal industry. (ANI)
At least 2,406 children have been killed or injured since the escalation of the war in Ukraine nearly 1,000 days ago, according to the latest available verified reports, UNICEF said in a statement on Monday. In addition to child casualties, which include 659 children killed and 1,747 children injured - amounting to at least 16 children killed or injured every week - millions of children continue to have their lives upended due to ongoing attacks. UNICEF further said that children are enduring relentless hostilities, prolonged displacement and severe shortages of essential resources including safe water, electricity, and other necessities. Escalating attacks on Ukrainian territory have sharply increased civilian casualties and infrastructure damage since July this year. "The toll on children is staggering and unacceptable," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. "Children have been killed in their beds, in hospitals and playgrounds, leaving families devastated by the loss of young lives or life-altering injuries." UNICEF further said that the attacks have severely disrupted water, heating and electricity services. Between March 22 and August 31 this year, attacks on energy infrastructure across Ukraine destroyed nine gigawatts (GW) of electricity generation capacity. This is equivalent to half of what Ukraine needs during the winter months. "Millions of children are living in constant fear, many spending an equivalent of up to six hours a day sheltering in basements under air raid sirens. Without continued and increased support for children, the psychological wounds of this war will echo through generations," Russell said. In frontline regions, nearly three million people are in dire need of warmth, safe water, and healthcare, as schools and hospitals continue to be targeted. Over the past 1000 days, at least 1,496 educational institutions and 662 health facilities have been damaged or destroyed, according to UN data. Approximately 1.7 million children are without safe water, and 3.4 million lack access to centralised sanitation, heightening their risk of disease amid plummeting temperatures. "Schools, hospitals, and civilian infrastructure are not just physical buildings; they are lifelines and symbols of hope for children's recovery and resilience," said Russell. "Ukraine's children must be protected from the lasting horrors of this war. The world cannot be silent while they suffer," he added. Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned Russia's latest large-scale attack on Ukraine, which saw 210 missiles and drones target critical civilian infrastructure, resulting in fatalities, including children. Sharing a post on X, Zelenskyy wrote, "This morning began with one of the largest Russian strikes on Ukraine. 210 missiles and drones, including aeroballistic and hypersonic missiles, as well as dozens of Shahed drones, were launched. All of them targeted civilian infrastructure--critical facilities like power plants and transformers." Meanwhile, Zelenskyy had also stressed the need for a decisive action from the global community, particularly as G20 leaders meet, urging them "not to turn a blind eye to Russia's continued terror." In a post on X, Zelenskyy said, "These days, leaders of the G20 are meeting. The entire world needs them not to turn a blind eye to Russia's continued terror. Only when the world reacts decisively can the situation change. Russia has involved North Korea in its war--and the reaction has been weak. Russia has continued its terror for nearly 1,000 days--and the world's decisions are still delayed. Two years ago, at the G20 Summit, Ukraine presented the Peace Formula--a clear path to ending this war. Yet it has not been implemented. The time to act is now. The G20 cannot afford weakness or indifference. It must rise decisively to this challenge." (ANI)
In a post on the social media platform, X, Jaishankar said, "Congratulations to FM @Braze_Baiba and the Government and the people of Latvia on their Independence Day".

https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1858416545745051907

He emphasised that India will continue efforts to advance the bilateral ties between the two countries. India and Latvia share warm and friendly relations that are expanding steadily across various fronts.

Latvia became an independent nation in 1991 and was a part of the Soviet Union until 1991. It is a member of the EU, Eurozone, Schengen visa regime, and NATO.

India recognized Latvia as a sovereign and independent State in 1991. Diplomatic relations were established shortly thereafter on 20 December 1991.

As a part of India's efforts to further cement ties with the Baltic state, India operationalised the Indian Mission in Latvia from July earlier this year.

This step will help expand India's diplomatic footprint, deepen political relations, enable the growth of bilateral trade, encourage investments and economic engagements, facilitate stronger people-to-people contacts and strengthen sustained political outreach in multilateral for a, the Ministry of External Affairs shared in its press statement.

The Indian Mission in Latvia will also better assist the Indian community and protect their interests. The two countries have seen frequent high-level interactions between the leaders.

On the trade and investment front, Latvia's location affords access to ice-free deep-water ports and good rail and road links act as a gateway for trade between east and west.

Former Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins had visited India earlier this year to attend the Raisina Dialogue.

At the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue, Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins said that relations between India and Latvia as well as the European Union were progressing in a positive direction.

While speaking to ANI, he had observed, "The diplomatic relations with India and Latvia are actually very good. And the relationship between the European Union and India is also growing and developing in a very positive direction." (ANI)
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) concluded its 38th Annual General Meeting with a stern call for urgent action to address Pakistan's worsening human rights situation and growing threats to democracy. In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), the HRCP vehemently opposed the proposed amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, which would grant the armed forces and paramilitary forces the authority to detain individuals for up to 90 days without trial. The Commission warned that such a move would further undermine democratic freedoms in the country. https://x.com/HRCP87/status/1858136665090314256?t=VcsfAd8BCvrS_Gac0KxZSA&s=08 HRCP stressed that the government must prioritise the rule of law and take action to address violence against women, children, and transgender individuals, protect workers' rights, and ensure equitable access to health and education. However, the Commission expressed concern that the state had shifted focus towards consolidating power, rather than protecting democratic values and safeguarding fundamental rights. HRCP urged political parties to reach a consensus on maintaining civilian supremacy and preserving Pakistan's federal system of governance. In addition to its concerns about political governance, HRCP called for stronger trade unions and the establishment of dignified wages for marginalised workers. It emphasised the state's fundamental responsibility to provide healthcare and education to all citizens. Special attention was given to rising suicide rates, particularly among vulnerable groups such as fishermen, stateless individuals, and the impoverished. The alarming increase in suicides in Thar was highlighted as an urgent issue requiring immediate intervention. HRCP also urged a review of controversial provincial labour codes, with consultations involving trade union leaders. The Commission also expressed strong opposition to the Gilgit-Baltistan Land Reforms Bill 2024, which seeks to seize private, communal, and indigenous lands under the pretext of "developmental reforms." HRCP warned that this land grab, orchestrated by powerful vested interests, would further impoverish and destabilise the local population. The Commission called for the granting of constitutional rights to Gilgit-Baltistan, which its residents have long demanded. In its statement, HRCP condemned the increasing use of enforced disappearances, particularly targeting political opponents, and reiterated its demand for the dismissal of the head of the investigative commission on enforced disappearances due to his incompetence. The Commission also raised alarms over the detention of its Chairperson for questioning and the registration of four cases against its members, actions linked to their ongoing advocacy for human rights. HRCP further expressed grave concerns about the rise in extremism in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where attacks on construction workers, miners, and polio workers have intensified. The Commission warned that these developments were pushing Pakistan toward a critical tipping point and called on Baloch and Baloch-Pashtun leaders to come together and seek an independent resolution to the crises in these provinces. (ANI)
In a significant show of commitment to enhancing bilateral relations, Catherine West, the UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific, arrived in India for a two-day visit. Her visit, aimed at deepening the UK's engagement with India, comes at a time when both nations are keen on fostering closer cooperation in various sectors including climate, technology, education, and development, an official press release by the British High Commission stated. West's discussions with senior Indian ministers will centre on driving forward growth and strengthening the enduring partnership between the two countries. Minister West's visit builds upon the UK's ambition to unlock the full potential of its relationship with India, following the Foreign Secretary's visit in July. She is expected to meet with senior Indian officials, including those at the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi, to reinforce the UK's dedication to strengthening ties. West will also highlight the UK's efforts to negotiate a mutually beneficial Free Trade Agreement and Bilateral Investment Treaty, aiming to further enhance the trade and investment landscape between the two countries, stated the press release. In her remarks, Minister West expressed her excitement at visiting India for the first time in her official capacity. "I am delighted to be visiting India for the first time as Minister for the Indo-Pacific. As one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, India is a vital partner. My visit reaffirms the UK's commitment to fostering deeper cooperation with India and to driving forward greater growth and prosperity for both our nations," she said. During her visit, West will also focus on strengthening the cultural connection between the UK and India. At an education roundtable hosted by the British Council, she will explore the shared "living bridge" between the two nations, which includes over 1.7 million people of Indian heritage in the UK. This cultural exchange spans areas such as education, food, sports, and more, the press release stated. As part of her cultural engagement, she will visit the Jama Masjid in Delhi, learning about its architectural and historical significance. (ANI)
Baku [Azerbaijan], November 18 (ANI/WAM): Mariam Almheiri, Head of International Affairs at the Presidential Court, has affirmed the importance of partnerships and technological breakthroughs in transforming food systems for a changing climate, during her participation in a series of pivotal events as part of COP29 in Baku. Following the announcement of the UAE and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Partnership on Agricultural Innovation at COP28 last year, she participated in a number of events at COP29 aimed at highlighting progress made in implementing the partnership over the last twelve months. Almheiri participated in a fire-side chat at the UAE Pavilion co-organised by the UAE, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The event, entitled "Partnering to Create AI-based Public Goods for 500 Million Smallholders" focused on how to increase access to agricultural extension services, which hold the key to transforming the lives of hundreds of millions smallholder families worldwide. The event discussed the potential of harnessing generative AI as powerful tool for improving the delivery and broadening access to agricultural research and extension services in climate vulnerable countries. Almheiri said, "Extension workers and farmers could be well served by gaining access to a new generation of digital tools powered by regenerative AI technology, such as large language models. With the new pilot AgriLLM project we have launched with our global partners at COP29 we will leverage UAE's open-access suite of Falcon LLMs to make accurate, trustworthy and transparent information available to farmers from around the world." She added, "As a first step, the AgriLLM will aim to act as a decision-support tool for agricultural researchers, development professionals and extension agents." Martien van Nieuwkoop, Director, Agricultural Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said, "At COP28, the United Arab Emirates and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched a new partnership to invest in agricultural innovation, responding to the urgent needs of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia for better tools and resources to help them adapt to the escalating threats of climate change." As part of her engagement programme in Azerbaijan, Almheiri also participated in an event focused on the Agriculture Innovation Mechanism for Scale (AIM for Scale), entitled "Empowering small-scale producers with farmer-centred weather information". To open the event, she participated in a Fireside chat moderated by chaired by Professor Amir Jina, the AIM for Scale Technical Panel Chair. Speaking about the importance of the event, Almheiri said, "Imagine empowering hundreds of millions of farmers with the most critical climate knowledge they need to secure their future: weather forecasts. We've seen the positive impact that access to improved climate services can have on helping farmers adapt to climate change by making informed decisions about planting, harvesting and risk management." Speaking about the purpose behind AIM for Scale, she said, "Innovation is the lifeblood of climate action and at the heart of AIM for Scale. The UAE believes we must foster a global ecosystem that supports the development and deployment of groundbreaking technologies to accelerate our transition to a net-zero future, including reimaging our food systems." During the event, she also expressed UAE's commitment to the AIM for Scale Weather Innovation Package by announcing the launch of a new AI-based Weather Forecasting Research and Training Programme. Lead by MBZUAI, the programme will work with global technical partners - including the World Meteorological Organisation, the University of Chicago and the UAE's National Centre of Meteorology to develop new techniques for using artificial intelligence to inform weather forecasts. In addition, the programme will also provide technical training and support to more than 30 country partners over a three-year period. Earlier in the week, Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, was joined by multilateral banks, and senior government and non-Governmental representatives, at the AIM for Scale Launch Event, hosted at the UAE Pavilion. The event provided a platform to formally launch AIM for Scale's first Innovation Package: a blueprint for collective action to scale access to high-quality, farmer-centred weather forecasts in LMICs which mobilised USD 1 billion in funding commitments." (ANI/WAM)
Two Palestinian men, aged 38 and 68, were arrested at the scene and are now under investigation. Authorities confirmed that other suspects have been identified and are expected to be apprehended soon.

"Every night, our forces work tirelessly to arrest terrorist operatives and confiscate weapons. This operation is part of our relentless fight against terror, in collaboration with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet, to ensure the safety of Israeli citizens," said Police Superintendent of Judea and Samaria Moshe Finchi.

The police did not specify if the suspects were affiliated with Palestinian terror groups or organised crime.

Since the October 7 attacks, Israeli security forces have arrested more than 5,250 wanted Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, of whom around 40 per cent are associated with Hamas. (ANI/TPS)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday that conferment of Nigeria's national award 'Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger' on Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a recognition of PM Modi's leadership in furthering partnerships with the Global South and also underlines the special ties between India and Nigeria. Jaishankar said he was privileged to witness the conferment of the 'Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger' on PM Modi. "A recognition of PM Modi's leadership and commitment in furthering partnerships with the Global South. Also underlines the special ties of friendship between India and Nigeria," he said in a post on X. In a ceremony at the State House, Nigeria President Bola Ahmed Tinubu conferred "Grand Commander of the Order of Niger" on PM Modi for his statesmanship and stellar contribution to fostering India-Nigeria ties. The award citation notes that under Prime Minister's visionary leadership, India has been positioned as a global powerhouse, and his transformative governance has fostered unity, peace and shared prosperity for all. While accepting the award, Prime Minister dedicated the honour to the people of India and to the longstanding, historical friendship between India and Nigeria. He further stated that the recognition underscores the Strategic Partnership between the two countries and their shared commitment to the aspirations of the Global South. PM Modi is the first foreign leader to be conferred with this award since 1969. The Prime Minister embarked on a five-day visit to Nigeria, Brazil and Guyana on November 16. Nigeria is India's close partner in the West African region. The Prime Minister's visit provided an opportunity to build upon Strategic Partnership that is based on shared belief in democracy and pluralism between India and Nigeria. (ANI)
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday sworn in a new 21-member Cabinet, following landslide win for his party in the recent parliamentary elections. Dissanayake will directly oversee key ministries, including Defence, Finance, Planning, and Digital Economy. Harini Amarasuriya was appointed as the Prime Minister of the new government. Sharing a post on X, Dissanayake wrote, "This morning, at the Presidential Secretariat, I had the honour of swearing in the new Cabinet of the National People's Power (NPP) government. The Cabinet is made up of 21 members, with the Ministries of Defence, Finance, Planning, and Digital Economy coming under my direct responsibility." He added, "I am pleased to announce that Dr. Harini Amarasuriya has been sworn in as the Prime Minister of the new government." https://x.com/anuradisanayake/status/1858432482712142309 Unveiling the full list of Cabinet ministers, Dissanayake announced Harini Amarasuriya as the Prime Minister, who will also be the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education. Vijitha Herath has been announced as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism; Chandana Abeyratne as Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, Local Government; Attorney Harshana Nanayakkara as Minister of Justice, and National Integration; Saroja Savithri Paulraj as Minister of Women and Child Affairs and KD Lal Kantha as Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Livestock and Irrigation. Additionally, Anura Karunathilake has been named the Minister of Urban Development, Construction and Housing; Ramalingam Chandrasekar as Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources; Prof. Upali Pannilage as Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment; Sunil Handunneththi as Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development; Ananda Wijepala as Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs; Bimal Rathnayake as Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation. Dissanayake also announced Hiniduma Sunil Senevi as Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs; Nalinda Jayathissa as Minister of Health and Media; Samantha Vidyarathna as Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure; Sunil Kumara Gamage as Minister Youth Affairs and Sports; Wasantha Samarasinghe as Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Co-operative Development; Chrishantha Abeysena as Minister of Science and Technology; Anil Jayantha Fernando as Minister of Labour; Kumara Jayakody as Minister of Energy; and Dhammika Patabendi as Minister of Environment. In the recently concluded elections, President Dissanayake's leftist coalition registered a landslide victory, according to official results announced by the country's election commission. Dissanayake needed a clear majority to fulfil his promises and his NPP coalition secured a two-thirds majority in the 225-member parliament, winning 159 seats, whereas opposition leader Premadasa's party won 35 seats. Dissanayake won the presidential elections held in September this year. With his coalition holding just three seats in the outgoing parliament, the 55-year-old leader of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) called snap legislative elections in search of a new mandate. The parliamentary poll mandate enables Dissanayake to ease punishing austerity measures in crisis-stricken Sri Lanka. (ANI)
Widespread rallies were held across Sindh on Sunday in opposition to the controversial plan to dig six canals to irrigate lands in Punjab. The protests saw participation from almost all political and religious parties, nationalist groups, and civil society organisations. Although the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chose to stay out of the street protests, it firmly rejected the canal project in no uncertain terms. According to Dawn, the largest rallies took place in Hyderabad and Larkana. During their impassioned speeches, protest leaders strongly condemned the canal project, demanding that it be scrapped, as they argued it posed a grave threat to Sindh's very existence. Ayaz Latif Palijo, president of the Qaumi Awami Tehreek (QAT), warned that the construction of these canals would result in Sindh losing its vital water flows, further devastating its already struggling agricultural sector. "The rulers have destroyed the agriculture sector of Sindh and if these six canals are dug, then Sindh would lose its water flows" Dawn quoted Latif Palijo as saying. Latif emphasised that any attempt to seize Sindh's water, lands, islands, or minerals would not be tolerated. Other key figures who spoke at the rally included Lal Shah of the Awami Jamhoori Party, Maulana Taj Mohammad Nahiyoon of JUI-F, Rafiq Magsi of PML-Functional, and Tahir Majeed of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI). The protesters, chanting slogans against the canal project, vowed to resist it and any changes to the Irsa Act, which governs water distribution in Pakistan. The leaders accused the government of trying to systematically deplete Sindh's water resources and ruin its agricultural sector through calculated measures. As per reports, the leaders also sharply criticised the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for what they described as "double-faced" policies, particularly pointing to former President Asif Ali Zardari's approval of the canal project on July 8, while other PPP leaders in Sindh continued to oppose it. They urged Sindh's citizens to rise up against "anti-people projects" that would "ruin" the province's agricultural economy. The protestors warned that the canal project would have disastrous consequences for vital crops such as wheat, sugarcane, rice, cotton, and bananas. They also expressed concern about its severe impact on the ecosystem of the Indus River. They claimed that the groundwork for four of the six canals was already underway, describing the project as "economic murder" for farmers. As reported by Dawn, similar rallies were also held in other cities and towns across Sindh, including Shaheed Benazirabad, Sanghar, Naushahro Feroze, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Dadu, and Jamshoro. The protests reflect widespread opposition to the canal project, with people from various segments of society voicing their concerns about its potential impact on Sindh's agricultural and environmental future. (ANI)
During the meeting, Al Kaabi conveyed the greetings of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as his wishes for further development and prosperity for the government and people of Jamaica.

Al Kaabi expressed his pride in representing the UAE in Jamaica, and his keenness to enhance cooperation across various sectors to reinforce ties between the two nations.

For her part, Johnson Smith conveyed her greetings to Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as her wishes for further progress and prosperity for the government and people of the UAE.

Furthermore, she wished Al Kaabi success in his duties, stressing her country's readiness to provide all possible support to facilitate his duties.

During the meeting, the two sides underlined aspects of cooperation between the UAE and Jamaica, and discussed ways of developing them to achieve the interests and aspirations of both countries and peoples. (ANI/WAM)
Union Minister for Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal held a bilateral meeting with his Greek counterpart Christos Stylianides on Monday wherein they discussed the operationalisation of the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. During the meeting, Sonowal also invited Greek shipping companies to play a significant role in its shipbuilding industry. The meeting was held on the sidelines of ORF's Sagarmanthan, the Great Oceans Dialogue. The discussion touched on the IMEC, which was agreed upon during the G20 summit last year. Talking to reporters following the meeting, Sonowal said: "We discussed IMEC. The IMEC corridor was decided during the G20 meeting last year. We will take all the steps required to operationalize [it]." The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is a new trade route connecting India, the Middle East, and Europe. Announced in 2023, it aims to improve trade, transport, and communication between these regions through a network of railways and sea routes. The project is designed to make trade faster and more efficient, boosting economic ties and reducing reliance on longer routes. Praising Greece's global stature in the shipping industry, Sonowal expressed India's interest in fostering Greek investments. "We have welcomed the Greek minister here at Sagarmanthan. We are building on the agenda set up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart during their bilateral meeting," Sonowal noted. "In the shipping sector, Greece has a leadership. We want Greece companies to operate in India and play an important role in the shipbuilding sector," he stated. Stylianides also shared a positive outlook on the meeting, emphasizing their shared goals amidst global geopolitical shifts and the importance of practical initiatives that benefit both nations. He remarked, "After the excellent meetings between our ministers and our Prime Ministers, we found practical initiatives and decided to collaborate, especially in shipping and maritime affairs." Earlier this year in February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis.During his visit to India, Mitsotakis asserted that despite the Israeli war in Gaza "destabilising" plans for the India-Middle East Economic Corridor (IMEC), India and Greece should persevere with the "peace project". "The war in Gaza and turmoil in the Middle East is undoubtably destabilising but it does not undermine the powerful logic behind IMEC. Nor should it weaken our resolve to work towards realising it," Mitsotakis had told a gathering of international delegates at the conference organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF). (ANI)
China watched the US elections on 5 November with as much interest as in any other part of the world. Bilateral relations between Beijing and Washington DC are fraught, and China officially maintained a neutral position on which candidate it wanted to win. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing would continue to engage "under the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation." However, before polling results were announced, the party mouthpiece Xinhua was already reflecting antipathy towards the USA in general, referring to the election as "political turmoil" that "revealed the state of American democracy." Sino-US ties deteriorated sharply during Trump's previous presidency, as he instigated a trade war. His position has not changed this time around, with accusations of intellectual property rights theft and unfair trade practices continuing. Trump's 2017 National Security Strategy declared Beijing a revisionist power bent upon long-term strategic competition with the USA. His 2017-21 presidency emphasized hub- and-spokes architecture, such as US-Japan-Australia- India cooperation. Biden's subsequent approach of "invest, align and compete" built upon this, but his was more of a latticework of trilateral and multilateral coalitions like AUKUS, the Quad and Japan-US relations and South Korea. Sourabh Gupta, a senior fellow at the Institute for China-America Studies in Washington, noted, "None of this pleases China. In its view, the Trump and Biden administration's strategies were intended to build it out economically, isolate it diplomatically, encircle it militarily, and suppress its development technologically. The networking of alliances, partnerships and mini-lateral groupings is more an accelerant of major-power conflict than a building block for deterrence and stability, in its view. And expectations of change for the better, going forward, are minimal regardless of the victor on Nov. 5." However, Gupta reckoned a Harris presidency would have been the lesser of two evils for China, as the latter generally prefers continuity and it is seeking less disruption. Historically, China has done well under Democrat leaders like Clinton and Obama. Taking a contrary view was Derek Grossman, a senior defence analyst at RAND, who commented before the election: "If Trump wins, then it'll be the lesser of two evils for China. Harris represents continuity with the Biden administration, i.e. strengthening US alliances and partnerships to counter China. Trump does too, except he also presents opportunity for a grand strategic bargain. Ease up on Taiwan for a better trade deal? Maybe. Just maybe." American awareness has grown of Beijing's desire to turn international norms on their head, and the USA has gone too far down the competitive track to turn back. Therefore, the USA will continue to discourage regional conflict with China, will promote Western values and "abiding by the rules", counter Chinese government influence campaigns, maintain a technological and innovation edge, and fight unfair Chinese trade practices. One method in Trump's toolbox is trade sanctions and tariffs. During campaigning, Trump said of the Biden administration, "They allowed Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and others to unite. I want to break them up." Trump makes a lot of his personal relationship with Vladimir Putin, and one of many imponderables is whether he will initiate a deal to end the Ukraine conflict. Such appeasement would unfairly disadvantage Kyiv, hand authoritarian Russia a win, and fracture allied support for Ukraine. Under such an eventuality, China would also be encouraged to believe that aggression bring great reward. Against the weak and ailing West, would Chairman Xi Jinping be encouraged to use force against Taiwan? Bethany Allen, ASPI's head of China investigations and analysis, remarked: "Trump is a wild card on foreign policy, including towards China. On the campaign trail he promised increased tariffs on China but criticized Taiwan. Anti-China sentiment runs deep in the Republican Party, but so does its opposition to US support for Ukraine. A Russian win in Ukraine would be a major foreign policy victory for Xi Jinping, Putin's top supporter, and would make the world safer for revisionist authoritarians such as Xi." Indeed, what about Taiwan? Biden's policy has emphasized the important strategic role Taiwan plays in the First Island Chain, whereas Trump states Taiwan does not have a bearing on US interests. He has previously, and incorrectly, argued that Taiwan stole the US semiconductor industry. He also said the island should pay for US protection. Interestingly, the Republican National Committee's 2024 party platform did not mention Taiwan at all, the first time since 1980. Could Trump flip decades of bipartisan support for Taiwan? Biden pledged American military intervention in the event of any Chinese attack on Taiwan, but it seems unlikely Trump would make such a thing sacrosanct. While there are questions over whether Trump will exact a price on China for its constant harassment of Taiwan, there is nonetheless likely to be continuity in US support for Taipei. Yet Trump will surely demand that Taiwan do far more to boost its own defences rather than using the USA as an insurance policy. Regarding Taiwan, Sara A. Newland, Associate Professor of Government at Smith College, noted, "...US policy in the Taiwan Strait has long relied on a dual deterrence strategy intended to discourage Taiwan from declaring independence and to prevent Chinese military aggression toward Taiwan. If the new administration signals reluctance to assist in Taiwan's defence, it will undercut the basis for a policy that has helped to sustain a difficult peace in the Taiwan Strait for over 40 years." She suggested that Trump's election might spur higher domestic defence spending in Taiwan, something necessary in any case. "An unreliable partner in Washington may push Taiwan to continue to improve its own military preparedness," Newland said. Taiwan is putting a good face on things. President Lai Ching-te tweeted, for instance, "The longstanding Taiwan-US partnership, built on shared values interests, will continue to serve as a cornerstone for regional stability." Putin has weighed in to support his ally China too. Doubtlessly thrilling Xi, the Russian tsar said, "Everyone formally acknowledges, yes, Taiwan is part of China. But in reality? In reality, it is acting in a completely different direction, provoking the situation towards escalation. We do support China and, because of this, we believe that [China] is conducting a completely reasonable policy." Trump's transactional approach to politics opens the possibility of horse trading. However, Trump's administration - replete with hardliners - could spell difficult times ahead. If such hawks emplace Taiwan as a centerpiece of their stance, this could cause endless trouble for Beijing. Looking at Trump's picks for key positions, he has already selected well-known hawks with track records of criticizing China. Mike Waltz will be the national security adviser, Pete Hegseth's defense secretary and Marco Rubio secretary of state. Indeed, the latter is sanctioned by Beijing, so officials will not be able to meet him unless China rescinds its sanction. Such a concentration of hostile people at the top of Trump's government may signal the direction that bilateral relations will go. Yet Trump's unpredictability, fickleness and brashness are good at rubbing other countries up the wrong way too, so some Chinese analysts think another Trump presidency could weaken US ties and introduce fault lines with allies like Japan, the Philippines and South Korea. Reduced American involvement in Asia would help advance Chinese interests in the Asia-Pacific region. Nishank Motwani, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), said, "As president, Trump will likely reinforce foreign policy unpredictability. This could undermine US commitments to NATO and Indo-Pacific allies, including Australia. This in turn could embolden Russia, China, Iran and North Korea to act aggressively. Trump views alliances transactionally, favouring financial returns over strategic interests." Raji Pillai Rajagopalan, an ASPI resident senior fellow, added, "Trump's presidency brings uncertainty, as he is unlikely to have a steady policy. It is more likely that each issue will be taken in isolation rather than as part of a strategic whole. Such unpredictability will likely scare adversaries such as China and Iran, as it did in Trump's first term. But US partners will also be concerned by Trump's shotgun approach, particularly on issues such as trade and economic security partnerships, if he does not distinguish between friends and foes." Professor Victor Shih, Director of the 21st Century China Center, observed, "...In the course of campaigning for the presidency, Trump has relied on significant financial help from some people with major financial stakes in China, such as Elon Musk. Thus, the way that China policy unfolds in the new Trump administration may be more complicated than people had expected." Some 30% of Musk's Tesla revenue comes from China. Those American entrepreneurs who make money from the Chinese market could prove a mitigating factor on harsher sanctions and tariffs. With volatility assured under Trump, Shih said, "Of course, many global leaders, including Chinese leaders, have come to expect this and will calibrate their engagement with the United States accordingly. China has already shown its willingness to be strategically flexible by being one of the first countries to reach out to Trump to congratulate him on his victory. The next four years may well be characterized by episodes of transactional pragmatism instead of a tailspin toward worsening ties." Angela Huyue Zhang, professor of law at the University of Southern California, warned that a hard line could reap unintended consequences, however: "The US is likewise beginning to feel the unintended consequences of its own hostile approach toward China. The China Initiative has led to an exodus of talented Chinese scientists, many of whom have returned home. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of tough US sanctions and export controls is waning. Huawei, which initially struggled under these measures, has grown stronger of late, invigorated by state support and a firm resolve to achieve self- sufficiency. In its efforts to contain China, the US risks creating a more resilient rival - one strengthened by the very pressures meant to suppress it." The US-China Perception Monitor, dedicated to fostering dialogue between the two countries, published a submission from Professor Wang Dong of the School of International Studies, Peking University. Wang said, "With Trump's reelection, the United States is likely to intensify its economic and security competition against China, thus bringing greater risks to bilateral relations ... New McCarthyism might again be on the rise and the element of racism might become more prominent in US policy toward China. Predictably, there will be more unpredictability, uncertainty and instability in the China-US relationship. It is more likely than not that China-US relations under 'Trump 2.0' might increasingly slip into a new Cold War." Professor Xin Qiang, Deputy Director of the Center for American Studies, Fudan University, thought the same: "...President Trump, accompanied by hawkish officials, might turn to exert extreme pressure upon China. Such a set of policies, which has been interpreted and defined by China as 'containment, suppression and encirclement' in the name of 'strategic competition', will trigger harsher countermeasures from China." Xi met Biden in Lima on 16 November, and a communique from China's Foreign Ministry said Biden and Xi had "jointly brought China-US dialogue and cooperation back on track." However, Xi also drew a line in the sand for the incoming president. He said it "is important not to challenge red lines and paramount principles". And what are Beijing's redlines? Xi stated, "The Taiwan question, democracy and human rights, China's path and system, and China's development rights are four red lines for China. They must not be challenged. These are the most important guardrails and safety nets for China-US relations." The ironic mention of democracy and human rights shows that China thinks it is succeeding in redefining these Western touchstones. China and the USA are deep in an era of strategic competition, whether they like it or not, and this reality is not going to alter significantly simply because of who is in charge of the USA. The trajectory has already been set, and while some minor deviations may occur, the course is set. The question is whether the two countries can successfully manage that competition, or whether it will degenerate into downright rivalry and antagonism. (ANI)
PM Modi further said that he looked forward to the proceedings at the Summit.

In a post on X, he said, "Looking forward to the proceedings at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Thankful to President Lula for the warm welcome."

https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1858504141703971033

Upon his arrival, President Lula and PM Modi were seen shaking hands and the two leaders interacted.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi appreciated the display of vibrant Indian culture in Brazil as he was warmly welcomed in Rio.

In a post on social media, PM Modi shared visuals on the celebration of Indian culture in Brazil.

The video shared by the PM showed young kids singing Vande Mataram with traditional Indian instruments such as Harmonium being played.

The Prime Minister was greeted with chants of Jai Shree Krishna and also witnessed beautiful Garba performance from the members of the Indian community.

With folded hands, PM appreciated the Vedic chants sung by Brazilians and lauded them.

"A celebration of Indian culture in Brazil! Gratitude for a memorable welcome in Rio de Janeiro...", PM Modi wrote on X.

https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1858352856312787150

India and Brazil share a very close and multifaceted relationship both at bilateral level as well as in plurilateral fora.

In Brazil, there is a lot of interest in India's culture, religion, performing arts and philosophy. Ramakrishna Mission, ISKCON, Satya Sai Baba, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Bhakti Vedanta Foundation and other spiritual gurus and organizations have chapters in Brazil.

The Indian Prime Minister landed in Brazil after completing the first leg of his three-nation tour in Nigeria. In Rio de Janeiro, he was received by Indian officials, including Indian Ambassador to Brazil Suresh Reddy.

At the G20 Summit, PM Modi will represent India as a Troika member, building on the momentum established during India's presidency last year. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a three-nation tour to Nigeria, Brazil and Guyana, gifted the Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a 'Silofar Panchamrit Kalash' (pot) which is a stunning example of traditional craftsmanship from Kolhapur, Maharashtra. Made from high-quality silver, and shaped with skill and precision, the 'Silofar Panchamrit Kalash' features elegant engravings typical of Kolhapur's renowned metalwork, with motifs that often include floral patterns, deities, and traditional Kolhapur designs. The Kalash's handle and lid are crafted to provide ease of use during religious ceremonies, where Panchamrit - a sacred mixture of milk, curd, ghee, honey, and sugar - is served. On Sunday, PM Modi met with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The two leaders held a meeting at the President's House in Abuja. Discussion between the two leaders focused on strengthening their partnership in sectors like defence, technology, health, and education. They also agreed to work together to meet the development aspirations of the Global South. Prine Minister Modi also announced that the country would send 20 tons of humanitarian aid to support the relief efforts of the floods. "On behalf of 140 crore Indians, I express condolences over the loss of lives due to flood in Nigeria last month. In support of relief works, India is sending 20 tons of humanitarian aid," PM Modi said during a meeting with Nigerian President in Abuja. PM Modi was also conferred with Nigeria's highest national honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, and said that the honour will continue to inspire him to elevate the India-Nigeria strategic partnership to new heights. After receiving the honour, PM Modi said, "I express my heartfelt gratitude to the government and the people of Nigeria for conferring on me the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, Nigeria's national award. I accept this honour with humility and respect. I dedicate this honour to the 140 crore Indians and the deep friendship between India and Nigeria. This award will keep inspiring us to take the India-Nigeria strategic partnership to new heights." PM Modi's visit to Nigeria is part of his three-nation tour, under which he will also visit Brazil and Guyana between November 17-21. India and Nigeria enjoy warm, friendly, and deep-rooted bilateral relations. Prime Minister Modi is currently in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro for the G20 Leaders' Summit. (ANI)
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) reported Chinese military activity on Monday and detected six aircraft and as many vessels. The Ministry of Defence stated that the aircraft and vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 am (UTC+8). Two of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern and eastern ADIZ. In a post on X, the MND said, "6 PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels 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 southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1858314181528699000 Taiwan stepped up security on its maritime borders. In a post on X, the MND said, "Always standing on the front line of defending our maritime borders." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1858361992383475749 The Ministry said that it has monitored the situation and is responding accordingly. China has increased its military activities around Taiwan by deploying aircraft and naval vessels since September 2020. It is using grey zone tactics to achieve its security objective. On Sunday too, the Taiwanese MND reported Chinese military activity, detecting five People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels. https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1857951792715411584 Earlier, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te convened a high-level national security conference in which he assured the public about the government's commitment to neutralising any threat to Taiwan's democracy and security after China staged a large-scale military drill around the island. He made his remarks in response to the Chinese People's Liberation Army's (PLA) announcement of military drills, named "Joint Sword-2024B," in the Taiwan Strait and surrounding areas, which were described as a "stern warning" to advocates of Taiwan independence, according to the Taipei Times. On November 16, Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) stated that four Chinese coast guard vessels entered the waters of the Taiwanese island Kinmen twice on Friday, as reported by Focus Taiwan. According to the CGA, the Chinese vessels first entered Kinmen's waters at 8:50 am (local time) from various points, including Fuxingyu, Zhaishan, Liaoluo, and the southern entrance of Beiding. In response, the CGA dispatched four patrol boats, which monitored the Chinese vessels and issued warnings in both Mandarin and English for them to leave, Focus Taiwan reported. (ANI)
"With @POTUS Joe Biden at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Always a delight to meet him," PM Modi said in a post on X.

PM Modi also met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. He also had an interaction with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

"A wonderful interaction with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong of Singapore during the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro," he said in a post on X.

Earlier, PM Modi thanked Brazilian President Lula da Silva for the warm welcome upon his arrival at the venue of the G20 Summit.

"Looking forward to the proceedings at the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Thankful to President Lula for the warm welcome," he said in a post on X.

President Lula and PM Modi were seen shaking hands and briefly interacted with each other.

Prime Minister arrived in Brazil in the second leg of his three-nation visit. India is part of the G20 Troika along with Brazil and South Africa and has been actively contributing to the ongoing G20 Summit discussions.

During the Summit, Prime Minister will put forward India's positions on various issues of global importance and build on the outcomes from the G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration and Voice of the Global South Summits which were hosted by India in the past two years. (ANI)
High population density, restricted healthcare access, and the misuse of antimicrobials amplify the risks and impacts of Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), Regional Director for South-East Asia of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Saima Wazed said. AMR remains a major threat to global health, affecting the effectiveness of life-saving medicines and the management of infectious diseases worldwide, a press release stated. "This year, we mark World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW) after the landmark approval of the 2024 Political Declaration on AMR at the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on AMR, and the 4th Global High-Level Ministerial Conference, in Jeddah. This significant declaration sets ambitious targets while also establishing sustainable financing for AMR action, including the target of at least 60 per cent of countries implementing funded national action plans by 2030," Wazed said in a statement. https://x.com/WHOSEARO/status/1858465182814437522 She further said that in the WHO South-East Asia Region, the urgency of addressing AMR is clear, adding that high population density, restricted healthcare access, and the misuse of antimicrobials amplify the risks and impacts of AMR. Recognizing these challenges, SEARO has been proactive in advocating action against AMR at regional and global levels., she added. "Noting that developing countries are particularly more vulnerable, SEARO co-hosted a side event on fostering an equitable global response to AMR at the 79th UNGA, with the Pan American Health Organization, the United Nations Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and the governments of Thailand, Timor-Leste, Paraguay and Malta. Together with the Western Pacific Regional Office and the government of Japan, SEARO also cohosted an important side meeting at the 77th World Health Assembly, where a Joint Position Paper on AMR in the human health sector in the Asia-Pacific region was endorsed by health leaders from South-East Asia and the Western Pacific," Wazed added. WAAW's theme this year, 'Educate. Advocate. Act now', reflects the urgency and commitment needed to combat AMR at every level. It calls on the global community to take immediate and decisive action by educating all stakeholders on AMR, advocating for bold political and financial commitments, and ensuring concrete actions are taken to address AMR, the release stated. Wazed further asserted that all those political commitments generated from global and regional events must be translated into more specific and measurable outcomes, adding that for achieving thi, community engagement, private-sector partnerships are critical to assisting governments with turning pledges into real-world results. "SEARO is committed to supporting Member States in achieving their AMR targets under the One Health framework, particularly those laid out in the UNGA declaration and the 4th Global High-Level Ministerial Conference. In this effort, I am pleased to count on the support and cooperation of our Quadripartite Partners- the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Organisation for Animal Health, and the United Nations Environment Programme, the statement added," Wazed said. She added, "As we observe the World AMR Awareness Week 2024, let us commit to educating our communities, advocating for robust policies, and taking decisive actions to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). It is only through united efforts and commitment that we can protect the efficacy of antimicrobials for years to come." Wazed asserted that the choices made today will impact the health of future generations. "Your commitment and leadership are key to transforming declarations and commitments into outcomes and impact," her statement read. (ANI)
He will also address the forum on Regional and International Security Issues during the meeting, the Ministry of Defence said in a press release.

On the sidelines of the 11th ADMM-Plus meeting, the Defence Minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings with participating counterparts from Australia, China, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Korea and the US, according to the Ministry of Defence.

These meetings are aimed at further enhancing bilateral defence cooperation with these countries.

"ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN. ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and its eight Dialogue Partners (India, US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand) to strengthen security and defence cooperation," the release stated.

India became the dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992 and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam on October 12, 2010.

Since 2017, ADMM-Plus Ministers have been meeting annually to bolster the cooperation between ASEAN and the Plus countries. Lao PDR is the chair and host of the 11th ADMM-Plus. (ANI)
Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Inland Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal here on Monday held "important bilateral discussion" with Greece's Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Christos Stylianides. "An important bilateral discussion took place between India and Greece. We welcomed Greece's Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Christos Stylianides and his team. We discussed taking forward the agenda of talks between PM Modi and the Prime Minister of Greece," Sonowal told ANI. Sonowal said that they would do all it takes to start the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). "Greece is the leader in the world in terms of Ship ownership. We want the companies from Greece to operate in India and encourage India in ship building sector. We also discussed the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. Many decisions were taken in this regard during the G20. To operationalise the route from India to UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and through Mediterranean Sea, to finally Greece, we will do all that it is needed." Stylianides said that that Sonowal and he had productive discussions. "First of all, I would like to thank my dear friend, Sonowal, for this excellent meeting, for receiving me personally, me and my team. We had a very good discussion about the historic ties between India and Greece. We tried to find new practical collaboration on the ground after the excellent meetings between our ministers, my Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and also Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said. Stylianides said that in these politically turbulent times, the two countries have common interests and they'll work together. "We found some practical initiatives. And we decided to be together in this very turbulent geopolitical situation in the world, but at the same time to see how we can cooperate in the shipping sector, in the maritime affairs, and in other many fields which is in our common interests," he said. The Greek Minister added that the IMEC corridor is mutually beneficial for both the countries. "I am very glad because I had this excellent meeting with the minister. I already invited him to be in Athens to continue our collaboration and to see also there more practical initiatives for the togetherness of our people and for the common benefit. No doubt that we talk for our collaboration in many things, and IMEC is an initiative which is for the common interest for Greece and India and for India and Europe," he said. (ANI)
Abu Dhabi [UAE], November 18 (ANI/WAM): Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan extended his condolences today to Staff Major General Pilot Faris Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Commander-in-Chief of Abu Dhabi Police and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority, on the passing of his mother. During his visit to the condolence majlis, he conveyed his sincere condolences to the family of the deceased. He prayed that God grants her eternal rest and also prayed for her family and loved ones to be blessed with strength and patience during this difficult time. He was accompanied during his visit by Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs and Khaldoun Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority, Member of the Executive Council. (ANI/WAM)
United States President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for national security advisor, Mike Waltz raised concerns over Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific and said that Beijing's takeover of Taiwan would mean that Beijing would get control of over 80 per cent of world's most advanced computer chips, Taiwan News reported. "Not only would they control 80 per cent of the world's most advanced computer chips, if you look at the geography they would control the shipping lanes into Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, about 50 per cent of global GDP," Waltz said. Last week, Trump tapped Representative Mike Waltz to serve as his national security advisor. Waltz, considered a China hawk, serves on the House China Task Force, and is a member of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus. Further, Waltz also stressed Taiwan's strategic importance and the need to arm the country to deter a Chinese invasion. During a recent promotion event for his book at the Reagan Foundation in California, Waltz highlighted Taiwan's strategic importance. He also shared insights on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, revealing that Kyiv requested weapons from the Biden administration a month before Russia's invasion in 2022 to deter Putin, but it refused, as reported by Taiwan News. He said the reason by the White House was that the weapons delivery would be too provocative and escalatory, providing Putin with an excuse to invade. Waltz said the Biden administration is "applying the same mentality to Taiwan right now." He further added that its premise is that the US should not arm Taiwan because it would provoke Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Referring to these actions as weakness, Waltz called them the "exact provocative action." He accused the Biden administration of having "slow rolled us" into a stalemate by gradually allowing weapons into Ukraine, thus not enabling them to have a decisive effect. Meanwhile, every day Taiwan reports an increased Chinese military presence around it. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) reported Chinese military activity on Monday and detected six aircraft and as many vessels. The Ministry of Defence stated that the aircraft and vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 am (UTC+8). Two of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern and eastern ADIZ. Notably, From May to November last year, Chinese aircraft intruded into Taiwan's ADIZ 335 times, Ministry of National Defence data showed. In the same time this year, China entered the airspace at least 1,085 times, as per Taipei Times. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, China's President Xi Jinping, and other leaders posed for a family photo at the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit. The photo was taken following the launch of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. The official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, described it as "a photo for posterity." "A photo for posterity! The #G20 leaders together for 'Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet'," Jaiswal posted on X. Earlier in the day, PM Modi welcomed Brazil's initiative to establish the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, emphasising that the Global South is severely impacted by food, fuel, and fertiliser crises caused by ongoing conflicts. He stressed that their concerns must be prioritised. "We support Brazil's initiative for a 'Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty.' This is an important step towards implementing the Deccan High-Level Principles for Food Security, adopted at the New Delhi Summit," he stated. During his address at the G20 session on 'Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty,' PM Modi highlighted India's success in lifting 250 million people out of poverty over the last decade. He also reaffirmed India's support for Brazil's initiative. Speaking about India's achievements in ensuring food security, PM Modi noted that the country's approach, based on "Back to Basics and March to Future," is delivering significant results. He elaborated on measures taken by India to promote women-led development, highlighting that over 800 million people are provided with free foodgrains, and more than 550 million people benefit from the world's largest health insurance scheme. "With respect to the theme of the first session, I would like to share India's experiences and success stories. Over the last 10 years, we have lifted 250 million people out of poverty. Over 800 million people are provided with free foodgrains. More than 550 million people benefit from the world's largest health insurance scheme. Now, 60 million senior citizens, over the age of 70, will also be eligible for free health insurance," he said. Prime Minister Modi emphasised that the development of the Global South hinges on decisions made with their unique challenges in mind. "Countries of the Global South are most adversely impacted by the food, fuel, and fertiliser crisis caused by global conflicts. Our discussions can only succeed if we consider the challenges and priorities of the Global South. Just as we amplified the voice of the Global South by granting permanent G20 membership to the African Union during the New Delhi Summit, we will continue to reform global governance institutions," he said. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted India's effort to remove 250 million people from the clutches of poverty, during his address at G20 Leaders' Summit in Brazil. He was addressing the G20 Session on 'Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty', where he emphasised that that India's believes in approaches of 'Back to Basics and March to Future'. He mentioned the nation's emphasis on organic farming and encouraging climate-resilient crops. In a series of posts on X, PM Modi summarised his address in which he noted the key steps that India has taken in its fight against poverty and hunger. "At the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, spoke at the Session on the 'Fight Against Hunger and Poverty.' This is an important subject and success in this sector will contribute greatly towards sustainable progress. During my remarks, I talked about India's efforts, notably how we collectively worked to remove 250 million people from the clutches of poverty," PM Modi wrote on X. https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1858558065265832126 "India believes in the approaches of 'Back to Basics' and 'March to Future.' That is why we are emphasising on organic farming, popularising millets (known as Shree Anna in India) and encouraging climate-resilient crop varieties," he added. PM Modi also highlighted India's achievement of providing free ration to 800 million people. He further spoke about initiatives to ensure healthcare for the poor and elderly. "Highlighted how India is providing free ration to 800 million people, thus strengthening the fight against hunger. Also spoke about initiatives being undertaken to ensure top quality and affordable healthcare for the poor and elderly, steps to boost financial self-reliance among women and ensuring food as well as nutritional security," PM Modi wrote on X. https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1858558070315774241 PM Modi met First Deputy Managing Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Gita Gopinath on the sidelines of the summit. Gita Gopinath hailed India's initiative to reduce hunger and poverty and said that the world can learn from them. "Great to meet Prime Minister @narendramodi at the G20 summit in Rio. He conveyed the many successes of India in reducing hunger and poverty. Numerous creative initiatives for the world to learn from," Gopinath said. https://x.com/GitaGopinath/status/1858522247876796705 During his address PM Modi also welcomed the Brazilian initiative to establish a Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, underlining that the Global South was severely impacted by food, fuel and fertilizer crises created by the ongoing conflicts, and therefore, their concerns ought to be given primacy. "We support Brazil's initiative for a "Global Alliance against hunger and poverty". This is an important step towards the implementation of the Deccan High level principles for Food security, adopted at the New Delhi Summit," he stated. Prime Minister Modi stressed that the Global South can be developed only if the decisions taken at the summit have their challenges in mind. "Countries of the Global South are most adversely impacted by the food, fuel and fertilizer crisis caused by global conflicts. So our discussions can only be successful when we keep in mind the challenges and priorities of the Global south. And just as we amplified the voice of the Global south by granting permanent membership of G20 to the African Union during the New Delhi Summit, we will reform institutions of global governance," he said. Prime Minister arrived in Brazil in the second leg of his three-nation visit. India is part of the G20 Troika along with Brazil and South Africa and has been actively contributing to the ongoing G20 Summit discussions. (ANI)
PM Modi along with the Indian contingent, including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and his contingent.

PM Modi highlighted that their talks were focused on improving ties in commerce, security, and more.

"Delighted to meet President Prabowo Subianto during the G20 Summit in Brazil. This year is special as we are marking 75 years of India-Indonesia diplomatic relations. Our talks focussed on improving ties in commerce, security, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and more," PM Modi said on X.

https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1858595907216044267

Minister of External Affairs official spokeperson Randhir Jaiswal, taking to X, said that PM Modi assured Prabowo of expanding the India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

"India-Indonesia, Commemorating 75 years of warm and friendly ties! PM Narendra Modi met President Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia on the sidelines of the G20 Brazil Summit. PM congratulated President Prabowo and assured him of India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, in existing domains as well as expand it to newer areas." Jaiswal wrote on X.

https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1858598154137964922

PM Modi also held a bilateral meeting with the PM of Portugal Luis Montenegro where they focused on strengthening economic partnership. PM Modi said that both countries explored opportunities for more collaboration in sectors like renewable energy and green hydrogen.

"Had a very good meeting with Prime Minister of Portugal, Mr. Luis Montenegro. India cherishes the long-standing ties with Portugal. Our talks focussed on adding more vigour to our economic linkages. Sectors like renewable energy and green hydrogen offer many opportunities for more collaboration. We also talked about strong defence relations, people-to-people linkages and other such subjects," PM Modi wrote on X.

https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1858596417654399181

Earlier in the day, PM Modi met with President of Spain Pedro Sanchez on the sidelines of G20 summit.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, China's President Xi Jinping, and other leaders posed for a family photo at the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit.

A photo was taken following the launch of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty.

The official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, described it as "a photo for posterity."

"A photo for posterity! The #G20 leaders together for 'Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet'," Jaiswal posted on X. (ANI)
PM Modi stated that their discussions focused on strengthening ties in defence, security, trade, and technology. He remarked, "India-Italy friendship can greatly contribute to a better planet."

"Glad to have met Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the Rio de Janeiro G20 Summit. Our talks centred around deepening ties in defence, security, trade, and technology. We also discussed ways to boost cooperation in culture, education, and other such areas. India-Italy friendship can greatly contribute to a better planet," PM Modi shared on social media platform X.

https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1858606881180447042

PM Modi also held a bilateral meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store during the 19th G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Earlier, PM Modi met with leaders from Indonesia and Portugal on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Brazil.

In his discussions, PM Modi emphasised strengthening ties with both nations in areas such as commerce and defence.

The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, shared on X that PM Modi assured Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto of expanding the India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

"India-Indonesia: Commemorating 75 years of warm and friendly ties! PM Narendra Modi met President Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia on the sidelines of the G20 Brazil Summit. PM congratulated President Prabowo and assured him of expanding the India-Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, both in existing domains and by exploring newer areas," Jaiswal wrote on X.

https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1858598154137964922

Additionally, PM Modi met with Spanish President Pedro Sanchez on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. (ANI)
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed gratitude towards the US, Japan, and Australia for their joint statement calling for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan News reported. This statement followed the 14th Trilateral Defence Ministers' Meeting (TDMM) in Darwin, Australia, where defence ministers from the three nations, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles, Japanese Minister of Defense Nakatani Gen, and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III reaffirmed their commitment to regional security. https://x.com/TaiwanPresSPOX/status/1858435843511427524 Taiwan Presidential Office Spokesperson shared the joint statment on X, and wrote, "Presidential Office responds to joint statement following trilateral meeting of US, Japanese, and Australian defence ministers." "Through this fourteenth meeting, we affirm the longevity and enduring commitment of our partnership," the three officials said in a joint statement. "Grounded in shared values, deep trust, and our unbreakable commitment to strengthening collective deterrence, our cooperation continues to evolve." Presidential Office Spokesperson Karen Kuo expressed gratitude to our international partners for placing attention and emphasis on the situation in the Taiwan Strait and the region at large, according to an official statment. The spokesperson said that the trilateral joint statement once again demonstrates that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is not only a critical regional issue but also an essential element in global peace and prosperity. "Spokesperson Kuo said that the joint statement reiterates the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and calls for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues. It also reiterates the spokesperson added, strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion, as well as concern for issues in the East and South China Seas," the statment added. Spokesperson Kuo stated that Taiwan stands on the frontline of the defence of democracy and is a responsible member of the region and the international community. She emphasized that in the face of an increasingly complex regional situation, Taiwan will continue to strengthen its self-defence capabilities and deepen its cooperative partnerships with the US, Japan, Australia, and other like-minded countries to jointly defend the rules-based international order, according to official statment. According to Taiwan News, the joint statement by the three countries highlights that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is not only a critical regional issue but also a necessary element for global peace and prosperity, Kuo said in a press release Kuo also emphasised Taiwan's role as a key member of the democratic defence line and a responsible participant in the regional and international community. She reiterated Taiwan's commitment to strengthening its defence capabilities and deepening partnerships with like-minded nations to uphold the rules-based global order. (ANI)
India has released the second tranche of USD 2.5 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), fullfilling its annual contribution of USD 5 million for the year 2024-25, Representative Office of India to Palestine said on Monday. Over the years, in its endeavour to support the Palestinian refugees and their welfare, India has provided financial support to the tune of USD 40 million for the UN Agency's core programmes and services, including education, healthcare, relief and social services provided to Palestinian refugees, the release said. In addition to financial assistance, India continues to provide humanitarian assistance and medicines to UNRWA to assist the Agency in meeting its responsibilities towards the welfare of Palestinian refugees, it added. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had on Friday extended his felicitations to the government and people of State of Palestine on their Declaration of Independence Day. He said India is committed to developmental partnership and long-standing friendship with Palestine. "Warm felicitation to the Government and people of State of Palestine on their Declaration of Independence Day. Committed to deepening our developmental partnership and long-standing friendship," Jaishankar said in a post on X. The post said India supplied 30 tons of medical supplies comprising essential life-saving and anti-cancer drugs to Palestine in October this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas in September this year on the sidelines of the Summit of the Future in New York. Prime Minister had expressed deep concern at the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza and the deteriorating security situation in the region and reaffirmed India's unwavering support to the people of Palestine, including continued humanitarian assistance. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (local time) held bilateral meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil. Both leaders embraced as PM Modi referred to Macron as his "friend" and congratulated him on the successful hosting of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics earlier this year. PM Modi stated that their discussions focused on strengthening ties in key areas such as space, energy, artificial intelligence (AI), and other future-oriented sectors. "It is always a matter of immense joy to meet my friend, President Emmanuel Macron. Complimented him on the successful hosting of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics earlier this year. We talked about how India and France will keep working closely in sectors like space, energy, AI, and other such futuristic areas. Our nations will also work closely to enhance people-to-people linkages," PM Modi wrote on X. https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1858622532079022556 Additionally, PM Modi held bilateral talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, describing the meeting as "excellent" as they discussed enhancing investment linkages between the two nations. "The meeting with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store was excellent. Our Arctic Policy has led to further cementing of India-Norway bilateral relations. We talked about how investment linkages between our nations can improve, particularly in renewable energy, green hydrogen, and the blue economy. Closer cooperation in sectors like innovation and research were also discussed," PM Modi wrote on X. https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1858622034072531006 Earlier, PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. He noted that their discussions focused on strengthening partnerships in defence, security, trade, and technology. PM Modi stated, "India-Italy friendship can greatly contribute to a better planet." "Glad to have met Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the Rio de Janeiro G20 Summit. Our talks centred around deepening ties in defence, security, trade, and technology. We also discussed ways to boost cooperation in culture, education, and other such areas. India-Italy friendship can greatly contribute to a better planet," PM Modi shared on X. PM Modi also engaged with leaders from Indonesia and Portugal during the G20 Leaders' Summit in Brazil. (ANI)
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Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers an important speech under the title "Shouldering Responsibility to Our Times And Jointly Promoting Asia-Pacific Development" at the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting at the Lima Convention Center in Lima, Peru, Nov. 16, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced on Saturday that China will host the 2026 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and is ready to work with all parties to deepen Asia-Pacific cooperation.

He made the remarks when addressing the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting held in the Peruvian capital. Under this year's theme of Empower, Include, Grow, APEC members agreed to work towards an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community at a time of mounting challenges and uncertainties.

China's hosting of the 2026 APEC summit underscores its advocacy for openness and cooperation, serving as a tangible step toward strengthening Asia-Pacific solidarity and fostering an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future.

It is expected to play a positive and pivotal role in building broader consensus and deliver more tangible results for regional connectivity and a more balanced, sustainable, and inclusive growth of Asia-Pacific and beyond.

Close bond with APEC

It will mark the third time China has hosted APEC. When China first hosted the APEC summit in 2001, it was poised to join the World Trade Organization, signaling its readiness to step fully into the global economic arena.

By the time China hosted APEC again in 2014, the country had become an economic powerhouse, driving global growth through deepened integration into the world economy.

Now, China is set to play host again with a significant mission: to unite Asia-Pacific economies to champion open economic and trade cooperation while rejecting protectionist and confrontational trade tactics.

To advance Asia-Pacific cooperation, China took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility by offering to host APEC in 2026, which is welcomed by APEC members and has received their endorsement at this year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Saturday.

"We look forward to working with all parties to deepen Asia-Pacific cooperation to the benefit of the peoples in the region," Xi said during his speech.

China's previous experience in hosting APEC demonstrates its ability to build consensus, said Carlos Vasquez, 2024 chair of APEC senior officials ambassador.

"China played a very important role along with some other very important economies ... to gain consensus again from the very beginning in the APEC year 2024 here in Peru," said Vasquez.

Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan, executive director of the Islamabad-based Centre of South Asia and International Studies, said it is foreseeable that China will further share the achievements of its policies of openness, modernization, digitalization, and qualitative industrial development. He expressed the hope that Chinese policymakers will share new befitting propositions, plans, and initiatives to enhance regional and global economic integration and foster international cooperation.

Call for better Asia-Pacific development

During his speech, Xi urged APEC economies to "act in solidarity and cooperation to meet the challenges, fully deliver on the Putrajaya Vision 2040, build an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future, and start a new era in Asia-Pacific development."

The Putrajaya Vision 2040, adopted by APEC leaders in 2020, envisions "an open, dynamic, resilient, and peaceful Asia-Pacific community by 2040, for the prosperity of all our people and future generations."

This vision of shared prosperity and enduring stability faces growing challenges. Geopolitical tensions, coupled with economic disruptions fueled by unilateralism, protectionism, and attempts at "decoupling" and "de-risking," have placed unprecedented strain on the region's stability and growth.

"We should stay committed to multilateralism and an open economy, firmly uphold the multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, fully reactivate APEC's role as an incubator of global economic and trade rules, and advance regional economic integration and connectivity," said Xi.

He also emphasized the need to make green innovation a catalyst for the Asia-Pacific and called on APEC members to increase support for developing economies and disadvantaged groups and work together to grow the pie and distribute it equitably to allow more economies and people to benefit from development.

Neo Letswalo, a researcher at the Department of Politics and International Relations in South Africa's University of Johannesburg, said APEC members should foster more regional integration efforts, starting with establishing joint commitments to enhancing free trade, decarbonization and investments, as "strong economic interdependency prevents conflict and tension."

In the views of Khan, "Xi's suggestions facilitate a positive, productive, and participatory trading system, producing win-win situations for every country in the Asia-Pacific."

Commitment to shared future

For the past three decades, APEC members have joined hands towards closer cooperation and deeper regional integration, making Asia-Pacific the world's most dynamic and promising economic powerhouse, as well as a key driving force for global growth and poverty reduction.

Today, the world looks different. It is gripped by anemic growth and confronted with challenges such as unilateralism and protectionism. China, which has made great strides in economic growth and social development since its reform and opening up over 40 years ago, has offered and will continue to provide solutions to these problems.

Opening up is a distinct hallmark of Chinese modernization, and China has remained committed to opening its door wider to the world.

China continues to implement the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership against high standards, and is also working actively to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, Xi said.

"China welcomes all parties to continue riding the 'express train' of its development and grow together with the Chinese economy so that we can all contribute to the modernization of all countries featuring peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation and common prosperity," he added.

In interviews with Xinhua, Asia-Pacific experts and officials noted that China's remarkable success through high-quality opening up has given it a deep understanding of the importance of an open global economic system and the critical need to advance multilateral and win-win cooperation.

As a major country in the Asia-Pacific, China "has consistently adhered to a development path that aligns with APEC's spirit of openness, inclusiveness, and mutual benefit," said Woo Su-keun, director of the Institute of East Asian Studies of Korea.

"It is more important for countries to demonstrate strong leadership through concrete actions rather than words," Woo said.

For Ong Chong Yi, executive director of the Malaysian think tank Belt and Road Initiative Caucus for Asia-Pacific, China has opened its market to provide development opportunities for countries in the region, driving inclusive economic growth within the Asia-Pacific.

"At the same time, China actively supports infrastructure development in developing nations, enhancing connectivity and economic and social inclusivity across the region. These efforts create more opportunities for shared progress and prosperity," he said.
Last month, Ukraine announced it had made its first contact with North Korean forces. The skirmish occurred in Russias Kursk province, where Ukraine has made gains in recent months.

The Ukrainians were successful during the attacks. According to reports, the North Koreans likely sustained casualties during the fighting, and Ukrainian forces are standing firm. Ukraine continues to hold over 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory.

Aside from the event, the North Koreans and Russians in Kursk province are experiencing other issues. First, they are struggling to overcome language barriers. Russian officers have had to take time to teach North Korean soldiers basic military commands, which has been a painful process for Russia.

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It is estimated that North Korea has sent around 10,000 troops to help Russia with its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. According to defense experts, North Koreas involvement will not alter the scales of the war. Instead, it suggests that the Russian Federations invasion is not going according to plan, and that it is desperate for assistance.

In addition, the Russian and North Korean soldiers are struggling with military operations. Both militaries use different tactics, which has made coordinating efforts an issue. In one instance, the Daily Beast even reported that North Korean soldiers fired upon and accidentally killed Russian soldiers who were fighting alongside them in Kursk.

Given these issues, Russia may turn to Belarus to help it in its fight.

Over the past two and a half years, Russia has used Belarus as a staging ground for its operations. Russian forces have stayed in Belarusian barracks, the Russians have transported soldiers and equipment from Russia into Belarus and they have previously entered Ukrainian territory from the north.

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In addition, the Russians have launched bombardments on Ukraine from Belarusian territory. Russia even deployed nuclear weapons to Belarus.

There are also advantages for Russia in having Belarus join its war. First, the Belarusian government and Belarusian military still operate in Russia. This would mean that Belarusian and Russian soldiers would be able to easily communicate with one another.

In addition, Belarus and Russia hold several military exercises and drills throughout the year. They are interoperable with one another as they have operated together before. Belarusian soldiers would be familiar with Russian tactics and battleground operations.

Finally, Belarus and Russia neighbor Ukraine. The soldiers in these countries are familiar with the terrain and landscape of the region, something the North Koreans lack.

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However, the Belarusian government understands that sending its soldiers to aid Ukraine would be a costly and unpopular mistake. Most Belarusian citizens oppose the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The majority of citizens also do not want Belarus to send its soldiers to fight in Ukraine.

Aside from civilian opposition, numerous members of the Belarusian military do not support the war. In fact, several officers resigned in protest and others have joined foreign legions in Ukraine to fight against the Russian invasion.

Finally, the Belarusian government is aware of its unpopularity and fears the nations opposition movement. Belarus officials understand that sending soldiers to fight in Ukraine would spark outrage nationwide, leading to protest movements. Therefore, to avoid losing power, the Belarusian government is doing everything possible to push back against Russias request to send soldiers to join its war.

But Russia is getting impatient and desperate, and it may use forceful tactics to have Belarus enter the invasion. The Russian Federation understands that it is Belaruss largest trading partner. Russian trade and loan programs have helped the Belarusian economy stay afloat.

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Should Russia determine that the North Koreans are not enough to help it in its invasion of Ukraine, then Russia may opt to use financial pressure to have Belarus join. This would condemn thousands of Belarusian soldiers to their deaths.

Now, as Ukrainian forces continue to hold their ground against the invading Russian and North Korean forces, they will be on high alert as they monitor the situation in Belarus. Ukraine understands the complexities Belarus would bring to the war but is prepared to accept the challenge.

North Koreas involvement in Russias war has done little to alter the battlefield. Russia will continue to turn to Belarus for additional assistance, and at the same time, Ukraine will continue to operate carefully to defend its homeland against the ongoing invasion.

Regardless of what is to come, Ukraine will be ready.

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Mark Temnycky is an accredited freelance journalist covering Eurasian affairs and a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Councils Eurasia Center.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Tropical Storm Sara will bring lots of rain to Honduras as Florida gets relief from cooler temperatures.

The latest storm in the Atlantic hurricane season was still stationary, though the National Hurricane Center in Miami warned of torrential rainfall with life-threatening flooding and mudslides for portions of Central America.

At 7 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, Tropical Storm Sara was 25 miles southeast of Isla Roatan Honduras or about 160 miles southeast of Belize City with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. The storm remained stationary.

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According to the National Weather Service, Florida temperatures were in the high 70s to about 81 in the central parts of the Sunshine State and low 70s in northern Florida with lows in the upper 60s to near 70 for central and northern Florida this weekend.

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Where is Tropical Storm Sara?

A tropical storm warning was in effect for:

The Northern coast of Honduras from Punta Patuca westward to theHonduras-Guatemala border

The Bay Islands of Honduras

The Caribbean Sea coast of Guatemala

The coast of Belize

The coast of Mexico from Puerto Costa Maya southward to Chetumal

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A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area.

Interests elsewhere in the Yucatan Peninsula should monitor the progress of this system.

For storm information specific to your area, please monitor products issued by your national meteorological service.

At 7 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, the center of Tropical Storm Sara was nearly stationary. A slow west-northwestward motion was forecast to begin late today, with a faster motion toward the west-northwest and northwest expected on Sunday and Sunday night. On the forecast track, the center of Sara will continue to move near the northern coast of Honduras during the next day or so before approaching Belize, and then move onshore in Belize during the day on Sunday.

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Maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph with higher gusts. Little change in strength is likely today. Slight strengthening is possible tonight and Sunday before landfall in Belize, with weakening expected after landfall. Sara is expected to dissipate Sunday night or Monday as it crosses the southern portion of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles from the center.

Hazards affecting land

Rainfall: Through early next week, rainfall amounts of 15 to 25 inches with isolated storm totals around 35 inches area expected over northern Honduras. This rainfall will lead to widespread areas of life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides, especially along and near the Sierra La Esperanza.

Elsewhere across the rest of Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, eastern Guatemala, western Nicaragua, and the Mexican State of Quintana Roo, Tropical Storm Sara was expected to produce 5 to 10 inches of rain with localized totals around 15 inches through early next week. This will result in areas of flash flooding, perhaps significant, along with the potential of mudslides.

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Wind: Tropical storm conditions are expected in the warning area in Honduras through tonight. Tropical storm conditions are expected in Guatemala, Belize, and portions of Mexico beginning later today.

Storm surge: Storm surge could raise water levels by as much as 1 to 3 feet above normal tide levels along the immediate coast in areas of onshore winds along the northern coast of Honduras. Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves. A storm surge could raise water levels by as much as 1 to 3 feet above ground level near and to the north of where the center of Sara crosses the coast of Belize.

In the Gulf of Mexico, a cold front affects Florida

A cold front extending from the Straits of Florida to the central Gulf as stationary to the eastern Bay of Campeche. Some scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms are noted just northwest of the stationary front portion.

For the forecast, the front will wash out over the far southeast Gulf later today with the remnants drifting west as a trough through tonight. High pressure will build in from the northeast with a tight pressure gradient supporting moderate to fresh E to SE winds across the basin by early Sunday, then locally strong from the Yucatan Channel to the Texas coast through Monday. The next front will move into the NW Gulf by early Tuesday, reaching from Apalachee Bay to Tampico, Mexico early Wednesday, with reinforcing fresh to strong northerly winds and large seas across the basin Wed night. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Sara was forecast to move over the Yucatan Peninsula later today through Sunday, dissipating as it approaches the eastern Bay of Campeche Monday afternoon.

In the Atlantic Ocean, another cold front affects Florida

Another cold front extends from 31N46W to 19.5N55W where it becomes stationary along the north coasts of the Greater Antilles, from Puerto Rico to eastern Cuba. A band of showers with embedded thunderstorms is ahead of the front over the Atlantic waters as well as over portions of the Greater Antilles. Moderate to locally fresh S to SW winds are noted north of 22N ahead of the front to about 42W, where seas are 7 to 10 foot. In the wake of the front, gentle to moderate winds prevail, except moderate to strong north of 25N and west of 60W outside of the front associated with the gale force winds, along with seas of 8 to 11 feet in NW to N swell in the gentle to moderate wind area. Farther E, over the eastern Atlantic, another cold front extends from the west coast of Africa, then becomes a frontal trough. Seas of 6 to 10 feet in NE swell are north of this third front. Seas are 4 to 7 feet across the remainder of the Atlantic waters away from these features, along with mainly gentle to moderate winds, except fresh to strong north of 30N between 12W and 23W.

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For the forecast west of 55W, the stationary front will dissipate through tonight before shifting E as a remnant trough ahead of the next cold front. That cold front will reach to the Anegada Passage Sunday while weakening significantly. Very rough seas is following this second front and will through the weekend, with very high seas possible N of 27N between 65W and 75W today and tonight. A reinforcing front or trough may clip the NE waters Tuesday and Tuesday night with increasing winds and building seas. Yet another cold front may move off the SE United States mid-week with another round of increasing winds and building seas.

Weather radar: Will it rain in Gainesville, Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, Florida?

Shown is the National Weather Service radar for Jacksonville area, which shows conditions in real-time for parts of North Florida. The current date and time show up on the bottom right of this radar embed; otherwise, you may need to clear your cache.

Weather radar: Will it rain in Melbourne, Orlando, Lakeland, Tampa, Sarasota, Fort Myers, Fort Pierce, Florida, today?

Shown is the National Weather Service-Melbourne radar, which shows conditions in real-time for the Space Coast and other parts of Florida. The current date and time show up on the bottom right of this radar embed; otherwise, you may need to clear your cache.

Weather radar: Will it rain in West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Naples, Miami, Florida, today?

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Shown is the National Weather Service radar for West Palm Beach, which shows conditions in real-time for parts of South Florida and the Florida Keys. The current date and time show up on the bottom right of this radar embed; otherwise, you may need to clear your cache.

Weather radar: Will we get showers, thunderstorms, rain in Florida today?

Shown is the National Weather Service radar for the Southeast United States, which shows conditions in real-time. The current date and time show up on the bottom right of this radar embed; otherwise, you may need to clear your cache.

What are the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season names?

According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, these are the list of names for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season:

Alberto

Beryl

Chris

Debby

Ernesto

Francine

Gordon

Helene

Isaac

Joyce

Kirk

Leslie

Milton

Nadine

Oscar

Patty

Rafael

Sara

Tony

Valerie

William

When is 2024 hurricane season over, in Florida and beyond?

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, 2024.

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The Atlantic basin includes the northern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

How bad was Hurricane Milton damage in Sarasota County, and Manatee County, Florida?

How bad was Hurricane Milton damage in Fort Myers, Florida?

How bad was Hurricane Milton damage in Martin County, Florida?

How bad was Hurricane Milton damage in Vero Beach, Florida?

How bad was Hurricane Milton damage in Cocoa Beach, Florida?

How bad was Hurricane Milton damage in Polk County, Florida?

How bad was Hurricane Milton damage in Naples, Florida?

How bad was Hurricane Milton damage in Lake County, Florida?

How bad was Hurricane Milton damage in Jacksonville, Florida?

How bad was Hurricane Milton damage in Volusia County and Flagler County, Florida?

Stay informed. Get weather alerts via text

Contributing: Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY Network-Florida

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida weather dips, Tropical Storm Sara brings rain to Central America
Drinking water for about four million Arizonans would change if fluoride is removed from community water systems, an action that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could try to take as head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Kennedy was tapped by Republican President-elect Donald J. Trump to head the federal health department Nov. 14 and Trump has promised to let him "go wild" on public health.

Days before the election, Kennedy posted on social media that a Trump White House would advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from the public water supply, which goes against public health recommendations yet jibes with a large number of people who question the safety of fluoridating water.

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In Arizona, such an action would affect nearly 58% of all residents who get fluoridated drinking water through community water systems, which works out to about four million people, the most recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

If communities in Arizona that add fluoride to their drinking water were to stop doing so, the results would not be immediate but rather begin showing up in about five to 10 years with increased rates of tooth decay, tooth loss and cavities said Dr. Regina Cobb, a dentist and former Republican state legislator who is now executive director of the Arizona Dental Association. Cobb is an advocate of water fluoridation to prevent cavities.

The Arizona Dental Association is part of the American Dental Association, which maintains that fluoridating water at federally recommended levels prevents cavities and is also an issue of health equity for lower-income populations that may not have regular access to a dentist and may not have consistent access to fluoridated toothpaste or fluoridated mouthwash. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC recommend community water fluoridation, too.

Arizona ranks in the bottom half of states for its percentage of residents who have a fluoridated public drinking water supply. The national average is 72.3%, the CDC says, but there is a wide range. The public water supply is 100% fluoridated in Washington, D.C., while in New Jersey just 16% of residents served by a community water system get fluoridated water, the CDC says.

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Some cities have naturally occurring fluoride at levels that meet or are close to the federally recommended level of 0.7 parts per million (or milligrams per liter) without adding fluoride. Among those cities is Kingman, an area that Cobb represented for eight years in the state Legislature.

Phoenix adds fluoride to its water, Tucson does not

Phoenix fluoridates its water, but several other Arizona cities do not, among them Tucson, Flagstaff and Bisbee. The Bisbee City Council chose to remove fluoride from their water supply in 2018. In 2012, the city of Phoenix revisited the issue after a local resident was concerned that her thyroid problem was caused by fluoridated drinking water. Phoenix city officials ultimately decided to continue with fluoridation.

In two recent instances, North American cities that had stopped adding fluoride from their water systems  Calgary, Canada and Buffalo, N.Y.  said they planned to re-fluoridate. In Buffalo, a group of parents filed a class action lawsuit over the lack of fluoridated water and they are seeking damages for their children's dental problems, according to multiple media reports.

Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1945 became the first city in the world to fluoridate its public water supply, according to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, which found that after 11 years, the rate of tooth decay among Grand Rapids' almost 30,000 schoolchildren dropped by more than 60%.

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Products that have fluoride in them, most significantly fluoride toothpaste, are more widely available now than they were in 1945 when water fluoridation began. That's why the U.S. Public Health Service recommended lowering levels of fluoride in drinking water in 2015, for the first time in 53 years, to the current 0.7 milligrams per liter/parts per million. That's the level necessary to prevent cavities, officials found, while also minimizing risks of harm such as developing dental fluorosis.

"It's like any kind of vitamin, A, E, D, K  all those have to be done at a certain level. If you go to a level that's too high, you have side effects. If you go to a level too low, you are not getting the benefits of it," Cobb said.

Some skeptics of adding fluoride to public water are worried about dental fluorosis, which is caused by overexposure to fluoride and can mottle teeth. Too much fluoride could also cause a bone disease called skeletal fluorosis.

The maximum allowed level of fluoride in U.S. water systems by the Environmental Protection Agency is 4.0 milligrams per liter/parts per million and 2.0 milligrams per liter/parts per million as a secondary standard to prevent enamel fluorosis. It's important to check the levels of fluoride in one's water, particularly if it's not a public water system, to make sure the levels are not too high, dental experts say.

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Most dental fluorosis in the U.S. is mild and appears as white spots on the teeth, the CDC says, and the condition does not affect dental function. The severe form rarely occurs in communities where fluoride in the water is less than 2.0 milligrams per liter/parts per million  nearly three times the federally recommended level, the CDC says.

Study, federal ruling fanned doubts about fluoride safety

The National Toxicology Program in August released a controversial systematic review of published literature about the effects of fluoride in drinking water that found that at higher levels, fluoride is linked to lower IQ levels in children, the Associated Press reported. Those higher levels were 1.5 parts per million, which is more than twice the federally recommended level.

Public health officials continued to recommend fluoridated water to prevent cavities after the report's release, and some, including the American Dental Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, questioned the validity of the review.

Further fueling skepticism of fluoride, in September, an Obama-appointed federal judge ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen regulations for fluoride in drinking water. According to Reuters, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen said advocacy groups had established during a non-jury trial that fluoride posed an unreasonable risk of harm sufficient to require a regulatory response.

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Responding to the ruling, the American Dental Association, also known as the ADA, said it "provides no scientific basis for the ADA to change its endorsement of community water fluoridation as safe and beneficial to oral health." Chen's ruling also does not conclude with any certainty that fluoridated water is injurious to public health, according to the dental association.

"Nowhere in the decision does the California court order the EPA to ban water fluoridation," Cobb said. "Instead, the agency was asked to draft a new rule in this area. Given the circumstances, it would be unwarranted for communities to end fluoridation. If you look at the statistics on what kind of reduction in decay, we get a 25% reduction in decay in children by having fluoride in the water. And that is significant."

Protecting teeth requires consistent, low levels of fluoride in the mouth (in the saliva and on tooth surfaces), according to the CDC, which has called the fluoridation of drinking water one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century, along with, among other things, vaccination, family planning and the recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard.

While questions about fluoridating the water supply have become more common from Kennedy and other advocacy groups in recent years, the public health community is standing by the practice as a positive preventive health measure.

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"There's tons of evidence about how important it is for oral health, especially for preventing cavities in children," said Will Humble, who is executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association. "The evidence is super clear how valuable it is."

Even in an era with widespread availability of fluoride from various sources, studies show that community water fluoridation prevents at least 25% of tooth decay in children and adults throughout their life span, Dr. Linda J. Edgar, president of the American Dental Association said in a written statement in September after Chen's order in the EPA case.

"The scientific weight of sound evidence around the benefit of community water fluoridation is clear and compelling.

Reach health care reporter Stephanie Innes at Stephanie.Innes@gannett.com or follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @stephanieinnes.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What is flouride? What you need to know about Arizona drinking water
TOKYO, Nov 19 (News On Japan) - An Egyptian man has successfully traveled overland from Cairo to Tokyo without using an airplane, completing a journey spanning nine months and over 46,000 kilometers.

Omar Nok, 30, began his journey on February 8th from Cairo, Egypt.

Throughout the trip, he hitchhiked, rode horses, and even slid across deserts on a snowboard to keep moving forward.

He crossed 12 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Uzbekistan, covering a total of 46,239 kilometers. After 274 days, he arrived in Tokyo on November 7th.

Reflecting on his journey, Nok said, "The first day was the hardest. But once you take the first step, you just go with the flow and keep moving."

Source: ANN
TOKYO, Nov 19 (News On Japan) - Microsoft, the American tech giant, has established a research facility in Tokyo aimed at advancing artificial intelligence (AI) research and fostering collaboration with universities and companies.

This Tokyo-based hub marks Microsoft's third research center in Asia, following facilities in Shanghai and Beijing. The center will focus on leveraging Japans strengths in robotics, with applications expected in complex tasks and AI systems capable of comprehension and dialogue.

In addition to research, the facility plans to offer human resource development programs, including joint research initiatives with Japanese universities and businesses.

Microsoft President Smith revealed the plan to open this research hub during an April meeting with then-Prime Minister Kishida. The announcement was made alongside a broader investment plan of approximately 440 billion yen in Japan, including data centers.

Source: ANN
Wakayama, Nov 19 (News On Japan) - In the trial of a wealthy businessman, known as the 'Don Juan of Kishu,' who was murdered, prosecutors have called for a life sentence for the defendant.

Sudo Saki, 28, is accused of killing her husband, Nozaki Kosuke, then 77, in May 2018 by administering a fatal dose of stimulant drugs at their home in Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture. Sudo has maintained her innocence throughout the trial.

In their statement on November 18th, prosecutors argued that Sudo was not only present when Nozaki ingested the drugs but also had the opportunity to provide him with food or drink. They described the crime as highly premeditated and equated it to a robbery-murder, claiming it was carried out for the purpose of inheritance.

The defense, in their closing argument, questioned the prosecution's evidence, pointing out that Sudos internet search history showed no indications of her researching methods of administering stimulant drugs.

The verdict is scheduled to be delivered on December 12th.

Source: ANN
TOKYO, Nov 19 (News On Japan) - A new shopping street, set to be Japan's longest, will open in Tokyo's Asakusa area on November 20th. Spanning 3 kilometers, it aims to surpass Osaka's Tenjinbashisuji Shopping Street, which currently holds the title at 2 kilometers.

The shopping street's highlight will be its focus on ramen, featuring around 20 ramen shops. Branded as a 'Ramen Street,' it is expected to attract a significant influx of visitors, with organizers aiming to double the current numbers. The project seeks to expand foot traffic beyond central Asakusa, contributing to the area's overall revitalization.

Source: TBS
Cardinal Onaiyekan

By Ikenna Ngere

The Emeritus Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has pointed out that politicians driven by greed often select churches and preachers that do not challenge their corrupt practices.

The respected cleric emphasized that it is the duty of religious leaders to speak truthfully to their congregations to foster meaningful societal change.

Naija News reports that Onaiyekan made these remarks during his appearance on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political show on Channels Television.

I have noticed in Nigeria that greedy people have a way of choosing the kind of churches they go to and which preachers they listen to. If they go to a church where they are constantly being challenged and made uncomfortable, they wont come back next Sunday but we need more of that, the Cardinal explained.

He argued that building grand cathedrals filled with worshippers is not enough, adding that there must be a deeper, transformative impact on society.

The official religious institutions we have in Nigeria have a task to do self-evaluation. They should ask themselves: have we been projecting the right message of our faiths? If we have been doing it, we will not have this kind of outcome.

The kind of corrupt and godly outcomes have shown that the kind of religiousness that we have is not leading anywhere, he stated.

Cardinal Onaiyekan cautioned against the complacency of religious institutions in Nigeria, urging them to reflect on their role.

We cannot just be rejoicing that our churches are full, that we are building big churches. Very good but we still want to see where is godliness in all of these. And if religion does not lead to godliness, it is even worse than none at all, he added.

The Archbishop lamented the growing corruption among the countrys leaders, whose mismanagement has deepened the nations poverty.

There is so much impunity. People take a lot of things that dont belong to them and nobody asks them. Whereas if a poor man steals a piece of yam in the village, they throw him in jail for six months or more. So, there is something wrong with the justice system, he said.
 Flash

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Rio de Janeiro for the 19th G20 Summit and a state visit to Brazil at the invitation of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Nov. 17, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday said he looks forward to having an in-depth exchange of views with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on further enhancing China-Brazil relations, promoting synergy of the two countries' development strategies, as well as international and regional issues of common interest.



Xi made the remarks in a written statement upon his arrival in Brazil for the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit and a state visit to the country at the invitation of President Lula. Xi also extended sincere greetings and best wishes to the government and people of Brazil.

Noting that he has visited Brazil four times and witnessed the development and changes in the country over the past 30 years, Xi said he feels very close to Brazil as he again stepped onto this passionate land.

China and Brazil are like-minded friends with the same aspirations and good partners forging ahead hand in hand, Xi said. Although separated by oceans, China and Brazil, two major developing countries in the eastern and western hemispheres respectively, are attracted to each other and echo each other at a distance, he said.

In recent years, the two countries have continued to deepen political mutual trust, yielded fruitful results in practical cooperation, achieved flourishing people-to-people and cultural cooperation, and showed new vitality of the times in the traditional friendship, Xi said.

China and Brazil have also jointly made the just voice of the Global South in the international arena and made important contributions to promoting world peace and development, Xi added.

As China and Brazil celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year, relations between the two countries stand at an important historical juncture of building on past achievements and forging ahead, he said.

Xi said he believes the visit will further strengthen the two countries' strategic mutual trust, deepen exchanges and cooperation in various fields and usher in a new "golden 50 years" for China-Brazil relations.

Looking forward to attending the 19th G20 Leaders' Summit, Xi said he is ready to work with all parties to discuss plans and seek development, jointly advocate an equal and orderly multi-polar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and promote the G20 to continue to play a greater role as an important platform for international economic cooperation.

Xi arrived here from Lima, where he attended the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting and paid a state visit to Peru.
By Rachel Okporu Fadoju

The Emeritus Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has described the administration of President Bola Tinubu as a minority government, stating that more Nigerians voted against him in the 2023 election.

Naija News reports that the cleric while featuring on the Sunday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political programme on Channels Television, said Tinubu, the then-candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), should switch from campaign mode to governance mode and serve Nigerians well.

Onaiyekan warned Tinubu against running a polarised government where his political cronies are rewarded with appointments, noting that it was not the best way to move the country forward.

He urged the President to do his best to move the nation forward as he would give account of his stewardship to God.

He said, There are Nigerians who did not vote for APC. Granted that APC got the highest number of votes and that is why they have the right to rule us. But they also forget that there are millions of Nigerians who did not (vote for the APC).

Whatever the rules say, the reality is that more people vote against Mr President than those who voted for him.

Even if you are a minority government, which is what I call what we have now, you still have a duty to serve the people and to do all you can to give everybody what is their right, and to rule well.

Mr President, its about time you switched from campaign mode to governance mode. Elections are over. Campaigns are over. You now have to govern and govern the whole of Nigeria and every Nigerian.

And therefore, the whole system whereby high political offices are given as a reward for those who were political activists, I dont believe that that is the best way to move the nation forward.

I would say, now that you (Tinubu) have been declared the President of Nigeria, sit down comfortably on that chair. As a religious leader, I would say God has allowed you on that chair. If God puts you there, you must then know that he is watching you and that He will be asking you what you did on that chair.
By Enioluwa Adeniyi

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has accused the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, of misleading Nigerians with his claims regarding the zoning of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2023 presidential ticket.

Wike recently alleged that Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and others influenced the PDPs decision to zone the presidential ticket to the North, contrary to the partys policy of rotational zoning.

Reacting to the statement, Eze described Wikes comments as broad daylight lies from the pit of hell and insisted on setting the records straight.

The APC chieftain argued that it was, in fact, Wike who influenced the PDP to throw open its 2023 presidential primaries, not former Vice President Atiku Abubakar or Governor Bala Mohammed, as Wike suggested.

In a recent interview, Wike defended his position, stating, We have always done it North and South, and accusing the PDP of undermining an unspoken agreement on zoning.

Eze noted that Wike is hellbent on decimating the PDP to sustain his unholy relationship with President Bola Tinubu

Reacting to Wikes statement, Eze said, In making this beguiling statement, it skipped Wikes memory that Nigerians of sane mind will ask him questions on how the gentleman agreement of the PDP in respect of its zoning policy was undermined, he added in a statement on Monday.

Wike deliberately refused to mention in the interview that it was his dictatorial tendencies backed by his inordinate ambition to pick the PDP Presidential ticket, that led to the collapse of the partys policy on zoning in 2022.

It is sad and unfortunate that some people who are saying that Wike was right on PDP zoning have refused to know the truth because they are heavily benefitting from the former Rivers State Governors financial inducements.

It is instructive to state categorically that Atiku Abubakar didnt kick against zoning the PDP Presidential ticket to the South. What the former Vice President proposed at the PDP meeting was that if the partys presidency should be zoned to the South, it must be to the South-East.

With Peter Obi still in the PDP, and following Atikus statement that he already had his choice of who to support in the South-East, Wike became jittery and started abusing Obi.

Blindfolded by his overweening disposition, and the fact that he wanted to contest the PDP Presidential primary, Wike positioned his hangers on, who later formed the so-called G-5 to influence the PDP Presidential slot to him.

Acting on Wikes satanic script, the G-5 governors and their loyalists kicked against Atikus proposal of zoning the Presidency to the South-East, and instead voted that it should be thrown open. This was what took place and when it was thrown open, anyone at that point could contest.

In preparing himself for the elusive 2023 PDP Presidential slot, Wike, like a dog let loose out of its cage, went on rampage, abusing Atiku, and others, boasting in the Church that the slot is just for him and nobody born by a human being can wrestle it from him after forcing Peter Obi out of PDP.

It is on record that Peter Obi didnt even let Atiku know of his intention to leave the PDP until he jumped ship to the Labour Party.

Even on the venue of the PDP Presidential primary, Wike was very much convinced that he would defeat Atiku hands down, but that was the thinking of a neophyte and greenhorn when it comes to party and national politics.

Till date, Wike is yet to recover from the political upper-cut and psychological trauma as a result of his decision to jump into the ring to engage his father (Atiku) in a bout, not knowing the stuff that Atiku is made of.

After losing the PDP Presidential primary woefully to Atiku, in a contest he called for, and having lost out in his bid to become the PDP Vice Presidential candidate, Wike went ahead with his misguided and lilly-livered G-5 Group to ensure that PDP lost the 2023 election. The rest is now history.

As a rampaging bulldog, Wike is hellbent on decimating the PDP in order to sustain his unholy relationship with President Bola Tinubu.

With time, this marriage of strange political bed fellows will crumble because of Wikes political antecedents of betrayal, blackmail, egocentrism, and tyranical tendencies.

Finally, I wish to counsel PDP leadership to stop deceiving itself and forget the idea of reconciling with Wike, because that is not the agenda given to him in order to be relevant in his marriage off convenience with APC.

It is believed that Wikes pact with Tinubu is to suffocate PDP to morribond status, for Tinubu to have an easy sail in 2027. Except the leadership of the party is complicit, if not, the PDP has to look inwards and expel Wike from the party.

More so, Wike should desist from dropping Atikus name in his bid to sustain his presence in the APC administration. I dare Wike to resign from the APC government, and see if he will be relevant in the scheme of things.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin gives a speech during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku on November 13, 2024. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP)

G20 leaders began arriving for a summit in Brazil on Monday to try reignite deadlocked climate talks and overcome their differences on the Middle East and Ukraine wars ahead of Donald Trumps return to the White House.

US President Joe Biden will attend his last summit of the worlds leading economies, but as a lame duck leader eclipsed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the most influential leader at this years meeting.

Brazils left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is using his hosting duties to promote issues close to his heart, including fighting hunger and climate change and taxing the super-rich.

But the wars which have bitterly divided G20 members are also set to feature prominently in the discussions.

A Brazilian foreign ministry source said Monday that some countries wanted to renegotiate a draft summit communique.

For Brazil and other countries the text is already finalized, but some countries want to open up some points on wars and climate, he told AFP.

Bidens decision Sunday to allow Ukraine to use long-range US missiles to strike targets inside Russia  a major policy shift  could prompt European allies to also review their stance.

G20 leaders are also under pressure to try rescue UN climate talks in Azerbaijan, which have stalled on the issue of greater climate finance for developing countries.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for G20 members, who account for 80 percent of global emissions, to show leadership to facilitate a deal.

Security is tight for the gathering, which comes days after a failed bomb attack on Brazils Supreme Court in Brasilia by a suspected far-right extremist, who killed himself in the process.

The get-together will cap a farewell diplomatic tour by Biden which took him to Lima for a meeting of Asia-Pacific trading partners, and then to the Amazon in the first such visit for a sitting US president.

Biden, who has looked to burnish his legacy as time runs down on his presidency, insisted in the Amazon that his climate record would survive another Trump mandate.

 Spotlight on climate 

All eyes at the stalled COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan are on Rio to break an impasse over how to raise $1 trillion a year for developing countries to cope with global warming.

Rich countries want fast-developing economies like China and Gulf states to also put their hands in their pockets.

The meeting comes in a year marked by another grim litany of extreme weather events, including Brazils worst wildfire season in over a decade, fuelled by a record drought blamed at least partly on climate change.

At the last G20 in India, leaders called for a tripling of renewable energy sources by the end of the decade, but without explicitly calling for an end to the use of fossil fuels.

Conspicuously absent from the summit is Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose arrest is sought by the International Criminal Court over the Ukraine war.

Lula, 79, told Brazils GloboNews channel on Sunday that he did not want the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East to take the focus off global poverty.

Because if not, we will not discuss other things which are more important for people that are not at war, who are poor people and invisible to the world, he said.

 Taxing billionaires 

The summit opens on Monday with Lula, a former steelworker who grew up in poverty, launching a Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.

Brazil is also pushing for higher taxes on billionaires.

Lula had faced resistance to parts of his agenda from Argentinian President Javier Milei, a libertarian Trump uber-fan who met the Republican last week at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

The head of the Argentine delegation, Federico Pinedo, told AFP that Buenos Aires has raised some objections and would not necessarily sign the text, however. He did not elaborate.

But the Brazilian foreign ministry source on Monday downplayed the likelihood of Argentina blocking a consensus.
A humanitarian convoy consisting of 13 trucks (12 tankers and a repair and tool vehicle) departed from Tanger-Med on Nov 16, and was sent to flood-stricken Valencia, Spanish news agency EFE reported. It was the second assistance convey sent by Morocco to Valencia.

The first convoy had arrived last week. It included 25 truck vacuum pumps and 70 rescuers and 34 Moroccan volunteers who were mobilized to provide logistical and humanitarian assistance.

Following the floods that devastated several regions in Spain, King Mohammed VI had instructed the Interior Minister to inform his Spanish peer of Moroccos full readiness to dispatch rescue teams and provide all necessary assistance to Spain to cope with this natural disaster.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez thanked Morocco for its solidarity and quick response.

Several voices were joined to that of PM Sanchez to express thanks and gratitude to King Mohammed VI for Moroccos precious and efficient support to the rescue efforts in the Valencia region.

They all praised the speed and efficiency of the resources mobilized by Morocco in support of the intervention teams, describing this support as a precious contribution to the rescue operations and the management efforts of this crisis, and as a gesture that illustrates the perfect solidarity and solid partnership between Spain and Morocco.

These include Director-General of Civil Protection and Emergencies, Virginia Barcones, the president of the Valencian Community Volunteer Platform, Miguel Salvador, and the president of Jovesolides, Valencias largest association, Lourdes Miron, among others.

The recent floods in Valencia have resulted in over 200 deaths, numerous casualties, and extensive damage to infrastructure, transforming roads into rivers and leaving many areas without basic services.
The Moroccan people is celebrating this Monday November 18 the 69th anniversary of Independence Day, a major event that crowned a long national struggle to defend the unity, sovereignty, and core values of the country, thanks to the perfect harmony between the throne and the people.

Engraved into the annals of the Kingdoms history and in the hearts of all Moroccans, Independence Day is an opportunity to recall the historical context of this epic event that marks the triumph of the shared will of the throne and the people, united in a long battle to free the country from colonial rule and lay the foundations for an independent Morocco, destined for a bright future. A key moment in this national struggle for independence was the historic visit of the father of the nation and the hero of liberation, the late Mohammed V, to Tangier in April 1947. This visit confirmed the attachment of Morocco, King and people, to its freedom, territorial integrity, and identity.

One of the greatest achievements of the national movement was the shift in the early 1930s toward political activism to revive patriotic sentiment among all segments of Moroccan society, especially the youth. The national movement also worked to raise awareness of the Moroccan cause on the international stage, which threw the colonial authorities into disarray. In response, they resorted to repressive measures aimed at stifling the independence project that had been developed in close coordination with the father of the nation, the late King Mohammed V.

Despite the exile imposed by the colonizer on King Mohammed V and the royal family, first in Corsica and later in Madagascar, the momentum of the national struggle did not weaken. On the contrary, it led to a general uprising in cities and villages across Morocco.

The entire national territory witnessed numerous heroic battles and popular uprisings that embodied the Moroccan peoples resistance against foreign presence and colonial domination. Among these, it is worth mentioning the battles of El-Hri, Anoual, Bougafer, Djebel Baddou, Sidi Bou Othmane, as well as the uprisings of the Ait Baamrane tribes, the Southern provinces, and other historical events where resistance fighters inflicted heavy defeats on colonial forces.

The Revolution of the King and the People, on August 20, 1953, represents another moment of national cohesion and courageous struggle by the Moroccan people, united behind their Sovereign. For new generations, it is an opportunity to measure the extent of the sacrifices made by their ancestors to free the country from colonial rule and regain its independence. Upon his return from exile on November 16, 1955, King Mohammed V announced the end of the French protectorate and the beginning of the era of freedom and independence, describing it as the transition from the small struggle (Al Jihad al-Asghar) to the great struggle (Al Jihad al-Akbar), that of development, thus sealing the triumph of the Revolution of the King and the People.

A decisive turning point in Moroccos history, independence represented a resounding victory that crowned the relentless and multifaceted struggle of the entire nation against the protectorate imposed since March 30, 1912. A new era then began, marked by reforms launched by the late Mohammed V in all vital sectors, aimed at building a modern Morocco and ensuring its territorial integrity.

Following in his fathers footsteps, King Hassan II led the battle to complete the territorial unity of Morocco, recovering Sidi Ifni on June 30, 1969, followed by the recovery of the Southern provinces through the Green March on November 6, 1975. At the same time, King Hassan II dedicated himself to the building of the rule of law and institutions and the consolidation of democracy. Today, under the reign of King Mohammed VI, Morocco is experiencing a dynamic process of modernization in all areas, with priorities including the defense of the Kingdoms territorial integrity, the achievement of sustainable socio-economic development to ensure a dignified life for all citizens, and the promotion of the human element as the cornerstone of economic and social policies.

The celebration of Independence Day is an opportunity to revisit the glorious pages of Moroccos history, filled with heroic acts and sacrifices made to defend the sacred values of the nation. It is also an opportunity to draw the necessary lessons from this historic event to instill the spirit of citizenship in new generations, who are called upon to engage in another equally fundamental struggleto preserve democratic achievements and consolidate the territorial integrity of the country.
The American complacency with the authoritarian Algerian regime is over. Time has come for U.S. engagement and deterrence to prevent the Algerian warmongers (de facto rulers) from destabilizing North Africa and Morocco, a major non-NATO Ally of the United States in the region.

With tension soaring and emerging reports of Algerian plans of escalating the dispute with Morocco into a war, a flurry of diplomatic contacts have been engaged by Washington with Algiers, warning Algerian Generals against engaging in a suicidal military adventure.

On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a telephone conversation with Algerian foreign minister Ahmed Attaf. They discussed the war in Gaza, the situation in Lebanon, the hostages, and the Sahara issue.

Blinken has reiterated Washingtons support for UNSG Personal Envoy Staffan de Mistura as he intensifies efforts to advance UN negotiations leading to a mutually acceptable political solution for the Sahara issue, without further delay, said a press release issued by State Department.

The same day, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya started a working visit to Algeria for talks on stability, security, and prosperity in North Africa and the Sahel.

She will also discuss with Algerian officials the issues of fundamental freedoms, including of religion or belief and expression; safe, orderly, and humane migration management; and cooperative efforts to address trafficking in persons and advance counter-narcotics cooperation throughout the region, said a State Department statement.

Under Secretary Zeya will be joined by Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Assistant Secretary Barbara Leaf, showing the importance of the mission. She will raise with Algerian officials the issues of human rights, religious freedoms, freedom of expression, migration management and cross-border trafficking. The Algerian authorities will certainly be uncomfortable as the Americans will turn up the heat during their talks and meetings.

At UN Security Council, Algeria, a non-permanent member, wanted to include human rights monitoring in the MINURSO mandate, but its politicallymotivated proposal was rejected by two veto power holders, the United States, penholder of resolutions on Sahara, and France.

Now, Washington sent envoys to Algiers to discuss the deteriorating human rights and the restrictions imposed on religious freedom and freedom of expression.

This demonstrates a shift in U.S. engagement which comes following the tough words sent by King Mohammed VI to the delusional Algerian rulers, the return of Donald Trump to U.S. presidency, and the nomination of Marco Rubio Secretary State.

The nightmare scenario for the Algerian regime has become a reality with the return of Trump who had recognized the Moroccanness of the Sahara in 2020 and the appointment of an advocate of sanctions against Algiers Head of U.S. diplomacy.

Faced with a perfect storm with cascading crises, including growing social uproar, increasing international isolation, and the prospect of an aggressive U.S. foreign policy, the Algerian regime becomes disoriented and cornered, falling into its own traps.

The Blinken-Attaf talks and the visit of U.S. Under Secretary Uzra Zeya and Assistant Secretary Barbara Leaf may be seen a prelude to the storm which is gathering strength over the heads of Algerians battered by political inertia and reeling under clans internal fights, the regimes failures & contradictions, an unpopular and uncharismatic president, and a deep economic crisis fueling popular discontent.

It is clear that the Trump transition team heralds a paradigm shift in relations with Algiers. The days of U.S. disengagement and complacency towards the provocative and destabilizing actions of the Algerian junta are over. A new era is dawning and the Algerian rulers will be held accountable for their regional destabilization schemes. They will also bear the consequences of meddling in their neighbors domestic affairs.
Photo-Illustration: Tyler Comrie

I watched the 2016 election returns at a friends co-op house in Brooklyn with dozens of millennial leftists. You can imagine the pitiful shape of the night: blase confidence giving way to nervous titters to gallows humor to dread-filled silence. People cried. I got drunk and called my mom. The days that followed were filled with frenetic activity, urgency, and reevaluation. My girlfriend and I broke up; we were unhappy, and the rote hope that had sustained us seemed naive, delusional in the face of historys reproach. Things, we realized, did not simply get better. Meanwhile, my days filled up with meetings: tactical confabscumtherapy sessions where fellow activists, many of us newly minted, processed and prepared for what might be coming.

This time feels different. At least to me. Perhaps its simply a matter of non-novelty. The devil you know is at least less alarming than the devil you dont, and Donald Trump is a devil we know all too well. Or maybe Im just old. Part of me hopes the young are feeling the way I did eight years ago: angry and brave, buoyed by collective indignation and defiance. I certainly hope they dont feel resigned. Many young people refused to vote for Kamala Harris over the ongoing butchery in Gaza. They did so out of moral seriousness, not cynicism. And I suspect they have moral seriousness to spare. The Democrats didnt deserve to win; the victims of Trumps policies wont deserve whats coming for them either.

I feel pre-exhausted, I heard someone say on the street after the election. I know what they mean. Many liberals and leftists experienced the beginning of Trumps first term as a constant barrage of menace and mayhem  much of it directed at them personally. That there was some narcissism in this didnt diminish its effects. Paying close attention to Trumps every move  like tracking a horse loose in a hospital, as comedian John Mulaney memorably put it  was full-time work. It was enervating. It narrowed our field of view. People forgot how to talk about other things or felt they had to apologize for remembering. Alertness and action were self-cures for unmoored terror. Without vigilance, the world might get away from us.

This time, fewer have the appetite for such monomania. There are many things we fear losing under Trump. One of them is our minds: Allowing national politics to colonize our psychic lives again  that sounds like surrender. The prospect is exhausting. And it feels pointless. Not that I havent felt panic or despair. Trumps initial staff and Cabinet picks are a frightful jumble of loyalists and MAGA misfit toys, populists and neoconservatives, ruthless bureaucrats and faces from television: hawkish Marco Rubio for State; isolationist Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence; the bellicose Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, advocate for alleged war criminals (whom he convinced Trump to pardon), for Defense; accused sex pest Matt Gaetz for attorney general; anti-vaxx activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services; the virulent nativist Stephen Miller for deputy chief of staff for policy. Many horses loose in many hospitals. But what will matter is minimizing the damage they can inflict, not our fretful watching.

Is there a difference between accepting pre-exhaustion and preemptively opting out? Yes. The best kind of political engagement strengthens bonds among neighbors, co-workers, and co-congregants; it cultivates belonging and agency. The worst sort is entirely mediated by the pageantry of Washington, D.C., allowing the latest palace intrigue  whos up, whos down, whos about to be knifed  to keep us frantically engaged. It is perhaps Trumps singular talent to orchestrate his political life as a captivating show of which he is the protagonist. Among the most popular recurring subplots of Trump, season one, was the vanquishing hero. Many were cast in the role. But their earnest performances suffered from a tonal mismatch with the material. Dutiful bureaucrats like Jim Comey, Robert Mueller, and Anthony Fauci had rehearsed for melodrama; Trump was starring in a farce. Moral solemnity finds little purchase in a world ruled by irony, camp, and shamelessness. Through all this, we were mere spectators, bemused or anguished, far from the action. The Trump show works as theater, or reality TV, but its parasitic on our capacity for self-government.

Of course, theres also the matter of winning next time. This moment could be a galvanizing one for the political class, a moment for serious self-inquiry. But since the election, the exhausting pastime of my peers  pundits and pontificators  has been the postmortem. Its a funny term. Who died? Not democracy, surely. When all the votes are counted, Trump will have won some 312 electoral votes and carried the popular vote, all while spending half a billion dollars less than his opponent. For better or worse, democracy had a good night. What we really mean by postmortem is determining why the losers lost. Harriss campaign is the corpse. But then why so many coroners? As it happens, the cause of death, in each report, is a disease for which the examiner is selling a cure. The post-mortem is not a fact-finding mission but a contest for power, for the privilege of defining the partys future.

I have my own cures to peddle. For example, I think the Democrats should be recruiting candidates from among rank-and-file union leaders, people who have learned to speak plain and forcefully about economic need, who understand solidarity, and who know how to mediate conflicts among workers with shared interests (and common enemies) but different cultural values and tastes. The truth, however, is I dont know exactly what happened. No one does. The result was overdetermined. We lost bad. And I feel humbled by defeat.

Shame, I think, is what afflicts us when we refuse to be humbled. One feels shame for having missed something, misapprehending political reality, misunderstanding ones country. One feels shame for risking too much hope, for encouraging others to do the same. And most of all, one feels shame  humiliation, even  over feeling powerless: powerless to stop bad things from happening to people we love but also simply less powerful, ousted from the drivers seat of history. Shame causes people to act out, to cling to the flimsiest satisfactions: to reciprocal cruelty, recrimination, illusions of control, self-pity. All of these too are exhausting, though they can easily be mistaken for solutions.

Ive been remembering a line from Bertolt Brecht: It takes courage to say that the good were defeated not because they were good, but because they were weak. Trump himself teaches a different lesson: self-doubt should be avoided at all costs, especially when you lose.

But if humility is a bad way to win, its a better way to live. And democracy requires it: We have to be curious about what other people want. In a functioning democracy, politics isnt separate from living. It is attained, Jane Addams wrote, by mixing on the thronged and common road where all must turn out for one another, and at least see the size of one anothers burdens. In our decrepit Republic, we exhaust ourselves most grievously in isolation, rooting for politicians well never meet to protect us from each other.

Its true, exhaustion can be demobilizing, but it can also be a guide. Triviality is exhausting. So is sanctimony. Likewise, self-satisfaction, meanness, and smarm. If were exhausted by the idea of letting our imaginations and our lives be limited by the whims of a charismatic child-king, the obsequious efforts of his courtiers, and the feeble scheming of his electoral opposition, then exhaustion is a wise teacher. We have lives to live, families to nurture, movements to build. We know what exhausts us. But what gives us energy? What makes us hopeful instead of cynical? What makes us curious about the world and other people, instead of bored or contemptuous? What if we exhausted ourselves with each others burdens instead of our own dread? Things wont necessarily get better. But they might.
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Israel's military on Sunday claimed responsibility for an airstrike in central Beirut that killed Hezbollah's media relations chief Mohammad Afif.

The midday strike targeted a multi-story building in the Ras al-Nabaa district without prior evacuation warnings, killing at least four people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

Afif joined Hezbollah in the 1980s and served as a media advisor to the group's late leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated by Israel in late September.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces described the attack as "an intelligence-based strike," alleging that Afif "directed Hezbollah operatives to gather field footage for use in propaganda and psychological warfare."
Retail Workers Feel Unprepared for Workplace Violence Despite Training, Survey Finds

Federal and state policies aim to improve retail worker safety amid increased reports of workplace violence.

A new survey reports that 38 percent of Gen Z retail workers witnessed workplace violence against a coworker within the past five years, compared to 13 percent of Baby Boomers, 20 percent of Gen X, and 22 percent of millennial workers.

Coming from compliance training provider Traliant, the survey was conducted among more than 500 retail workers employed at organizations with 100 or more employees. And the data showed that a significant portion of these employees lacks confidence in their ability to handle violent situations. The findings come as workplace violence continues to be an issue affecting approximately two million U.S. employees annually.

The retail industry is a challenging space as employees are at higher risk for workplace violence and employers have a growing list of requirements to contend with when it comes to keeping their workers safe, Traliants Chief Strategy Officer Michael Johnson said in a statement. Our study identifies critical areas where retailers need to understand generational differences in the workforce so they can enhance workplace violence prevention programs and create safer work environments.

Despite training initiatives in states like New York and California, Traliants survey suggests that many retail employees remain reluctant to report violent incidents without anonymity. Forty-nine percent of Gen Z retail workers said they would only report violence if they could do so anonymously, in contrast to 19 percent of Baby Boomers.

Meanwhile, Gen Z had the highest rate of completed training at 86 percent but the lowest confidence in de-escalating violent incidents. Almost all retail workers (94 percent) agree that other states should adopt policies similar to New Yorks Retail Worker Safety Act, a testament to the growing desire for regulation among workers.
The average U.S. gasoline prices are on track to fall below the $3-a-gallon level, just in time for Thanksgiving and the busy holiday travel season. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), average U.S. gas prices stood at $3.071 per gallon on Monday compared to $3.191 a month ago and $3.320 a year ago. Gas prices are not at the lowest level since January, and just a few cents above its 2021 level. Prices are on track to fall further as West Texas Intermediate crude clings near its lowest level since September.

While the election has come and gone, gas prices have stayed the course, with the national average price of gasoline declining for a fourth consecutive week as seasonal demand weakens and Americans begin to take refuge from falling temperatures, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

De Haan noted that some 28 U.S. states now enjoy average gas prices below $3 per gallon, as projected in GasBuddys annual Fuel Outlook from last December.

With the median U.S. gas price now at $2.95 per gallon, the lowest since 2021, it appears to be just a matter of time before the national average falls below $3 per gallon for the first time since May 2021, something weve already seen for diesel prices, which many Americans will be thankful for as we get closer to Thanksgiving, De Haan added.

Oil is the primary factor that determines gasoline prices in the United States, and commodity experts at Standard Chartered have predicted that U.S. oil production will not surge under Trump. StanChart points out that U.S. crude output clocked in at 13.40 million barrels per day (mb/d) in August 2024, an all-time high above the previous record of 3.31 mb/d set in December 2023.

Low gas prices come as a boon for American drivers ahead of the holiday season after years of pain at the pump. AAA has projected that 79.9 million travelers will travel at least 50 miles from their homes over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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Trump's energy plan includes faster permitting for pipelines and LNG terminals, facilitating the export of US natural gas to meet global energy needs.

US natural gas exports can displace coal and other dirtier energy sources, particularly in developing nations.

A second Trump administration's focus on increasing US natural gas production and exports could lead to a decrease in global CO2 emissions.

Authored by Diana Furchtgott-Roth via RealClearEnergy,

At the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Azerbaijan, attendees are full of dire predictions that the worlds climate will worsen under President-elect Trump. But when Trump fulfills his campaign promises to increase U.S. oil and gas production and removes President Bidens pause on new liquid natural gas exports, global emissions will likely decline rather than rise.

This is because exports of U.S. natural gas generally displace coal, reducing global CO2 emissions. Even Germany, Europes largest manufacturer, is using lignite coal (rather than the less-polluting bituminous coal) to deal with shortages of renewables now that it has closed its nuclear power plants and Russian gas is no longer available.

About 3 billion people in emerging economies lack electricity and running water, and cook over wood and dung. Natural gas power plants would reduce particulates from wood and dung and make the air cleaner. Under President Biden, the World Bank does not make loans for fossil fuel power plants.

More U.S. gas for export will lower prices of Russian and Qatari gas, harming countries that are invading Ukraine and tied to Iran. Prices are set based on future production, and even announcements of energy production will weaken Americas enemies.

Natural gas production has lowered U.S. emissions of CO2, which have declined by a billion metric tons over the past 16 years as natural gas has substituted for coal use in the generation of electricity. Over the same period, CO2 emissions in China have risen by 5 billion metric tons.

Between 2022 and 2023 US coal exports to Europe increased by 22% compared with the prior year. Because coal has more emissions than natural gas, it is surprising that Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has not asked for a pause in coal exports, only on natural gas exports.

Americas natural gas exports to Europe have been soaring since 2022, when Russia decreased the flow of natural gas. According to the Energy Information Administration, America exported an average of almost 12 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas in 2023, more than any other country.

Europe is Americas biggest customer, and in a phone call to President-elect Trump, European Union President Ursula von der Leyen suggested that US natural gas could replace Russian gas.

But even if America stopped all use of fossil fuels immediately, global temperatures would only be two-tenths of 1 degree Celsius by the year 2100, according to government models. This is because China, India, Africa, and Latin America are ramping up their use of coal to reach Western standards of living. China is home to large supplies of coal, but little natural gas, and uses its domestic coal supplies for generating electricity to power its global manufacturing capacity.

A second Trump administration will not only encourage production of natural gas but also faster permitting of pipelines and LNG terminals to move the natural gas from the interior of the country to the ports, and into export terminals to be shipped to Europe and Asia.

Americas natural gas production, at over 100 billion cubic feet per day, is greater than pre-pandemic levels, but production is primarily on private lands. It could have been even higher if Biden had not restricted leases on federal land and if pipeline approval were faster.

Trumps energy plan includes permitting reform, allowing different sources of energy to compete on a level playing field, opening more lands to natural gas development, reversing Bidens climate agenda, expediting nuclear technology, and protecting the energy grid.

Trump, unlike Biden, will not instruct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to slow down pipeline and liquid natural gas export terminal construction in the name of a transition to renewables. Nor will Trump instruct the Securities and Exchange Commission to discourage investment in pipelines, or the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to discourage loans for fossil fuel projects.

The more natural gas is exported, the lower are global emissions. With Trumps changes, natural gas will be able to travel to where it is needed due to faster infrastructure permitting.

As the northern hemisphere moves into its winter season, the need for more energy for warming homes and businesses becomes even more pressing, and natural gas is cleaner than coal. COP29 attendees have no reason to demonize Trumps energy agenda, which will be a boon to the environment.

Diana Furchtgott-Roth serves as the Director of the Center for Energy, Climate, and Environment and The Herbert and Joyce Morgan Fellow in Energy and Environmental Policy at The Heritage Foundation.

By Zerohedge.com

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Whatever Chinas diplomatic rhetoric has been since it launched its One Belt, One Road project in 2013  officially re-translated into English in 2016 on Beijings insistence to the less totalitarian-sounding Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)  the goal of the regime remains to challenge the U.S. as the worlds leading superpower. President Joe Biden is acutely aware of this and so was Donald Trump when he first took the top office in 2017. As President-elect again, Trumps view has not changed but his approach to handling the U.S.s major global superpower rival is likely to be different this time around, both from his previous strategy and from Bidens.

During his previous term as president, Trump was privately criticised by some very senior members of his government and of the Republican Party for his handling of China  and especially its leader, Xi Jinping  on several occasions. Most serious of these accusations was that which was later made public by Trumps former National Security Adviser, John Bolton, that the then-President [gave up] security considerations for trade. An early notable case in point had been the almost complete reversal of hard-hitting U.S. sanctions imposed on Chinese telecommunications company ZTE for committing major and repeated violations of the U.S.s sanctions on Iran and North Korea. According to Bolton, after a private telephone call to President Xi  in which it transpired that Xi told Trump that he would owe [Trump] a favour if he reduced the sanctions against ZTE  Trump did exactly what Xi had asked for. Shortly after doing this, Trump tweeted: President Xi of China and I are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done! As Bolton put it in his book on the first Trump Presidency, Since when had we started to worry about jobs in China?. Exactly the same methodology of personally flattering Trump and then offering him some vague commitment on Chinas part to buy more of some product or another from the U.S. was again used by Xi to hold off Trump from imposing quick, full and irreversible sanctions on another company seen by the U.S. intelligence community as being a Chinese intelligence-gathering operation working under the guise of a telecoms corporation, Huawei.

Related: Oil Executive Sued for Fraud Involving Iranian Firm Under U.S. Sanctions

It is often assumed that with the present-day Republican Party shaped in Trumps image and now controlling the Senate, the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court, the new president can afford not care about such criticism. This may be true, but he does care anyway, according to multiple sources who worked closely with him in his first presidency, exclusively related to OilPrice.com. Like all of us, he thinks of himself in a certain way, and these types of comments [implying susceptibility to manipulation by others] do not fit that view [of himself], so he wont be doing the same thing again, said one former senior source in his first Presidential Administration last week. He genuinely believes America is the greatest country in the world, wants it to stay that way, and wont be doing anything that calls either of those things into question, the source added. If anything, such criticism may play a part in a harder  and more direct -- line to be taken toward China than was taken under Joe Bidens presidency.

The basic objective of both mens presidencies was to reduce the dramatic economic imbalance in dealings between the U.S. and China that have for years enormously favoured the latter. Both presidential administrations also knew that by reducing the economic wellspring that this created for China its ability to expand its geopolitical influence across the world would also be decreased, as analysed in full in my latest book on the new global oil market order. It was always Bidens intention early on in his presidency to implement two core measures that were broadly aimed at achieving the core objective (and the corollary one), aside from never trading security considerations for commercial opportunities. First, U.S. companies would no longer be allowed to sign any contracts with Chinese companies that included any element of sharing technology. For decades, China had insisted that any U.S. company that wanted to do business with it must share its technology with its Chinese partner. This had allowed it to systematically reverse engineer everything that was shared and then to re-sell China-made versions back to the U.S. and the rest of the world at much lower prices, given the much lower unit cost of labour in China than in the U.S. The practice had been one of the keys to the creation of such huge trade surpluses for China and deficits for everyone else. For various reasons, these measures were never fully implemented by the Biden team, although some of the policies implemented under his administration have reduced Chinas economic might over the previous few years, albeit with the help of the effects of Covid and Chinas Draconian Zero-Covid containment policy, as also detailed in my latest book.

Consequently, Trump will begin his second presidency with an economically weaker China than he did in his first term. Back even then, he described China as a strategic competitor and imposed tariffs on many Chinese imports to the U.S. This time around he mentioned during his campaign imposing new tariffs of 10-20 percent on most foreign goods, with China possible facing an additional 60 percent charge. He also pledged to cut the U.S.s trade deficit. These promises are inextricably linked in the narrative of many of his voters to protecting American jobs in and related to its once-mighty manufacturing sector, and Trump is likely to be unwilling to break this tacit assurance. Additionally, given the increasing economic strains for China of continuing to roll-out its multi-generational power-grab project, the BRI, across the Middle East at the same pace as before Covid struck, Trump may decide to push ahead on a new cycle of Abraham Accords sooner rather than later. Under these relationship normalisation deals between Israel and various Arab states beginning in August 2020, Trump was able to establish the basis for a new era of cooperation across the region that was not focused on military intervention. Indeed, he stated on the campaign trail that resuscitating this deal type would be a foreign policy priority for his team.

Now, as then, the success of such an initiative will depend in large part on how secure from the Iranian threat the surrounding countries of the Middle East feel. A key part of the reason why the U.S. unilaterally withdrew in May 2018 from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or colloquially the nuclear deal) was that Trump believed Iran was cynically using the agreement to quietly build up its nuclear weapons programme from money accrued through the deals associated increased trade and investment, as also analysed in full in my latest book. This, and the promises of increased protection for countries participating in the Abraham Accords, was the main reason why the process began to develop a positive momentum of its own among Arab states. The aim at that time was to conclude such a deal with Saudi Arabia too  the other great regional power  after the eventual death of the reigning monarch, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. His successor, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was widely believed among Trumps inner circle to be in favour of such a deal. It was only after Trump had left office that Saudi Arabia felt insecure enough to be persuaded by China to conclude an (uneasy) relationship resumption deal with Iran.

By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

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Climate activists and experts are calling for significant reforms to the COP system to address the urgency of the climate crisis.

The absence of many global leaders and the controversial remarks of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have further hampered progress.

COP29 in Baku is marred by disagreements over climate financing, sidelining of key issues, and political tensions.

Hopes at COP29 in Baku for a breakthrough on climate financing are fading fast, fueling frustration that the United Nations framework for addressing global warming is dysfunctional.

Non-governmental organization participants are complaining about being sidelined, while governmental representatives are perceived to be dithering. Some insiders report that haggling over funding is preoccupying governmental participants, preventing them from addressing other key issues. Meanwhile, COP29s one seeming achievement, a breakthrough on the establishment of a carbon credit system, is coming under criticism from some attendees as little more than smoke and mirrors.

Financial discussions have stalled progress on almost every other topic, so not much is actually happening, one participant at COP29 said.

The fact that many global leaders, including top US officials, EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, opted to skip the Baku gathering, means that discussions on financing lack a galvanizing force, participants report. The realization that global-warming denier Donald Trump will soon regain the reins of government in the United States also has had a chilling effect on the conference.

Elsewhere, climate activists are complaining about the lack of space to stage activities highlighting specific climate challenges. Azerbaijani authorities have imposed comprehensive restrictions on outdoor gatherings. Theres barely any space for meaningful actions at this COP, one regular attendee of the annual gathering said.

Climate activists attending the Baku gathering get the impression that nations are scaling back their commitments to tackling warming-related issues. For example, Brazil, which will host next years COP gathering, received a mixed response to its updated Nationally Determined Contribution climate plan, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 59 percent to 67 percent by 2035 compared to 2005 levels, even though the new proposed target represents an improvement over its previously stated goal of a 53.1 percent reduction by 2030.

In the run-up to COP29, the events host, Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev, hoped it would burnish his countrys (and by extension, his administrations) image. Instead, observers have characterized COP29 as a circus, condemning Aliyevs stewardship of the proceedings.

In what should be one of the most urgent meetings of the year  aimed at slowing a global crisis fast spiraling out of control  the talks have descended into a circus of boycotts, political tirades and fossil fuels celebrations, a commentary posted by the American news outlet CNN stated. Its host, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, has been its spectacular ringmaster.

Aliyev at COP29 has picked fights with non-governmental activists and international journalists, calling them out for alleged hypocrisy. He also has used the meeting to pursue a political vendetta, as well as tout the blessings of fossil fuels, the reliance on which many view as the main cause of global warming. He has paid particular attention to the environmental plight of small island states, using one November 13 speech to attack France, which Baku perceives as a biased supporter of Armenia in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process.

Josep Borrell, the EUs foreign affairs chief, said Aliyevs speech harmed COP29s ability to function. These unacceptable statements risk to undermine the conferences vital climate objectives and the credibility of Azerbaijans COP29 presidency, he wrote on X.

Beyond the self-inflicted PR damage done by Aliyev, environmental experts and activists wish the Azerbaijani leader would pay more attention to the challenges faced by mountainous states and regions, such as Azerbaijan and the Caucasus in general. The region is confronting a looming water shortage due to glacial melting.

If donors were encouraged to pay special attention to mountainous regions, it could make a big difference, a regional environmental expert said.

With COP29 seemingly rudderless, momentum for significant reform of the COP operating structure is brewing. An open letter signed by former UN chief Ban Ki-Moon, along with prominent climate scientists and other public figures, has called for major structural reform of the COP system.

We need a shift from negotiation to implementation, the letter stated.

Some participants say the most significant progress made so far at COP29 involved transportation to and from the venue. To the delight of participants who had complained about having to walk long distances to reach transport options, the conference secretariat announced today that shuttles from the venue to the metro will run until 1 am.

By Eurasianet.org

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This decision comes amid concerns about a potential decrease in US support for Ukraine under a Trump administration.

The Biden administration has granted Ukraine permission to use long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia, a move that could significantly impact the war's trajectory.

There has been little to cheer about in Ukraine this fall.

Russia has been seizing territory in eastern Ukraine at the fastest clip in more than 2 1/2 years just as its ally North Korea sends thousands of fresh troops to the front.

Meanwhile, the United States -- Ukraine's biggest backer in its war with Russia -- just elected as its next leader Donald Trump, who has criticized large-scale aid to Ukraine. That has raised fears that a future lack of U.S. support could lead to Kyiv being forced to concede territory in exchange for peace.

There are also concerns that Ukraine's European partners appear too divided to fill the potential U.S. void.

But just as the prospects of a brutal winter grow with the launch of a new Russian counteroffensive, Ukraine has seemingly secured one of its biggest military requests. According to multiple U.S. media reports, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has finally given Kyiv the green light to strike inside Russia with powerful, U.S. long-range weapons.

"This is a message to the Kremlin that we're not just folding up our tents and waiting for Trump, that the United States has not quit," retired U.S. Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, who commanded U.S. Army forces in Europe from 2014 to 2017, told RFE/RL.

Cautious About Escalation

The move also opens the door for the U.K. and France to follow suit, potentially enabling Ukraine to deal Russia a blow at a critical moment in the war. Ukraine is seeking to hold onto territorial gains in Russia's Kursk region that could be crucial to any future negotiations.

Kyiv had been pleading with the Biden administration for months to grant permission for deep strikes to destroy airfields hosting the Russian bombers and fighter jets that are terrorizing Ukraine.

Earlier this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia was dropping as many as 3,000 glide bombs on Ukraine every month. Those bombs have decimated Ukraine's forces, destroyed its infrastructure, and opened the door to Moscow's seizure of territory.

The Biden administration, which had been cautious about the delivery of powerful weapons systems to Ukraine since the war began, has previously rejected Kyiv's request amid concern it would trigger Russian escalation. The administration had also blocked the U.K. from granting permission for long-range strikes because its Storm Shadow cruise missiles also use U.S. parts.

Some experts suggested that the Biden administration was also concerned the Trump campaign could use the issue of deep-strike permission to stoke fears of a wider war ahead of the November 5 election. Trump ran on a promise to end the war soon after taking office.

The reported White House decision to permit deep strikes comes a day after Russia launched 210 missiles and drones into Ukraine, one of the largest aerial attacks by Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

It also comes as Russia has reportedly deployed 50,000 men to retake Kursk, including thousands of North Korean troops. Military analysts have suggested that Putin wants to regain full control of the region before Trump takes power on January 20 to strengthen its bargaining position.

Likely Impact

The battlefield impact of the deep-strike permission will depend on how many ATACMS -- missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers -- and other allied long-range missiles Ukraine is given and what restrictions are placed on their use. The New York Times and Washington Post reported that Ukraine is being limited to striking the Kursk region.

Following the Biden administration's announcement, the French daily Le Figaro reported that the U.K. and France said they, too, would allow Ukraine to use their Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles to strike inside Russia. That will put pressure on Germany, which has so far refused to deliver its Taurus missiles to Ukraine.

Colby Badhwar, a Canadian-based defense analyst who has written extensively about ATACMS, said the United States had about 2,400 of the long-range missiles in stock as of December 2023, roughly half of which were expired. He said more than 500 ATACMS have been added to the stockpile over the past year. However, he said the Pentagon has been hesitant to supply them in large numbers.

Manpower Issues

Retired Lieutenant General Hodges said Ukraine could undermine Russia's ongoing counteroffensive in Kursk with a healthy supply of missiles.

"You can defeat mass if you have enough precision weapons that can destroy headquarters, logistics, and artillery," he said.

Earlier this year, as rumors heated up that the United States might grant the use of ATACMS inside Russia, the Kremlin began moving some of its military assets out of their range.

Badhwar said in a tweet that there are still plenty of Russian military assets within striking distance.

Yet even successful ATACMS strikes won't address Ukraine's main problem on the battlefield, something the United States and its NATO allies can't really help with: manpower.

Ukraine moved late to step up recruitment and is now struggling to attract and train enough men to repel the constant Russian troop assaults. Although Russia is losing as many as 1,500 men a day -- more than Ukraine -- the Kremlin is still able to replenish its forces.

By RFE/RL

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Austria appears to be still receiving some Russian gas two days after the countrys integrated energy company, OMV (OTCPK:OMVJF), declared it would stop paying Gazprom to offset a 230 million-euro ($242 million) arbitration award by the International Chamber of Commerce over a previous gas cut-off.

According to Reuters, gas flows from Slovakia--a transit route mostly for Russian gas flowing through Ukraine to Austria to Austria--clocked in at 27 million cubic meters (mcm) per day before Gazprom stopped supplies to OMV on Saturday. Supplies, however, fell only around 17% to around 22.6 mcm/day on Sunday. Data from Eustream showed that Austria received about a third of planned shipments for 22.3 million cubic meters for Monday.

Meanwhile, gas flows of gas from Slovakia to the Czech Republic have jumped by 74% since October despite Czech companies lacking any supply contracts with Gazprom. Last week, Slovakias national oil company, Slovensky plynarensky priemysel (SPP), signed a short-term pilot contract to buy natural gas from Azerbaijan as it prepares for a possible halt to Russian supplies via Ukraine, Reuters has reported.

Ukraine has signaled it has no intention to renew a five-year pipeline transit agreement to supply natural gas to EU countries when it expires on December 31, 2024, while EU energy chief Kadri Simson indicated that the EU executive has "no interest" in pushing to revive the agreement. The EU has warned member countries to prepare for a world without Russian gas, with Ukraine gas amounting to 5% of total EU gas imports. Aura Sabadus, a senior analyst at the ICIS market intelligence firm, told Politico that Austria, Hungary and Slovakia are likely to be the hardest hit when the imports are cut off.

Meanwhile, Turkey has said it is prepared to significantly increase natural gas exports to the European Union, desperate to further wean itself off Russian gas. However, this will not be easy or cheap: In order to do that, the most likely route is to re-export Azeri natural gas from Turkey. That, in turn, would require Turkey to take in more Russian gas to make up for the shortfall. Ankara is keen to play the role of savior and boost its leverage with respect to Brussels; but it wants some demand guarantees before it starts spending on the necessary infrastructure.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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France is importing record volumes of Russian LNG even as overall LNG purchases are falling, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed on Monday, highlighting Europes growing imports of Russian LNG.

So far this year, France has already imported more LNG from Russias Yamal export plant than in any other full year since these deliveries began six years ago, per the data collated by Bloomberg.

Shipments into the French terminal of Dunkirk have surged in particular, also helped by deliveries of German state firm Securing Energy for Europe GmbH (SEFE), the former Gazprom unit in Germany, which the German government nationalized in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

SEFE has a contract to deliver LNG cargoes from Yamal into Dunkirk inherited by the former owner, Gazprom.

The German state company is buying the Russian LNG cargoes and the contract is therefore being fulfilled in order to keep the advantage for the Russian side as low as possible, a spokesperson for Germanys economy ministry told Bloomberg.

SEFE has never delivered or attempted to deliver Russian LNG into Germany, company spokesman Jan-Peter Haack told Bloomberg in an email.

Last week, reports emerged that Germanys economy ministry had warned the operators of its LNG import terminals to refuse acceptance of cargoes from Russia until further notice, as the import of Russian LNG undermines the very concept of rushing to set up LNG ports in the first placecutting off dependence on Russian gas supply.

The German economy ministry has sent a letter to Deutsche Energy Terminal, advising it not to accept any deliveries of Russian LNG, the Financial Times reported last week, quoting the letter it had seen. The ministry was informed by Deutsche Energy Terminal that the LNG import facility was scheduled to receive a cargo of LNG from Russia.

Russian LNG accounted for 20% of the EUs liquefied natural gas imports in the first nine months of 2024, compared to 14% for the same period last year, amid markedly lower EU imports of the super-chilled fuel, a report by the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) showed last month.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Global natural gas demand rose by 6.1 billion cubic meters (bcm) in September from a year earlier, and inventories jumped to a record high, the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) said in its monthly oil and gas overview on Monday.

Worldwide natural gas production also rose year-over-year by 7.65 bcm in September, according to the latest data after 52 countries updated their self-reported figures in the JODI database.

The growth in production compared to September 2023 was driven by Russia, the United States, Nigeria, Norway, Canada, and Azerbaijan, the data showed.

Meanwhile, natural gas inventories jumped and were 12.6 bcm above the five-year average, according to the JODI data shared by the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum (IEF).

Total natural gas inventories rose by 9.9 bcm in September compared to August, settling at a new high of 251 bcm, the data showed, as countries were stockpiling gas ahead of the winter in the northern hemisphere.

Combined natural gas inventories in the EU and the UK rose by 2.3 bcm month-on-month and remained almost unchanged year-over-year, settling at 98.7 bcm in September, according to the JODI database.

While global demand in September fell from August, the EU + UK demand increased by 3.06 bcm month-on-month to settle at 21.9 bcm in September.

In the middle of August, the EU reached its target of filling gas storage facilities to 90% of capacity 10 weeks ahead of the 1 November deadline. This achievement is on par with last year, when EU countries reached the 90% target on August 18, the European Commission said three months ago.

In mid-October, the EU storage was already 95% full. With the beginning of the heating season and the low wind speeds across most of northwest Europe in recent weeks, EU countries are already drawing down the gas in storage, which was 90% full as of November 16, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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This photo shows the fire caused by Israeli airstrikes in central Beirut, Lebanon, on Nov. 17, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

Two people were killed and 22 others injured on Sunday night in an Israeli airstrike targeting Mar Elias, a densely-populated neighborhood in Beirut, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Local TV channel Al-Jadeed reported that the airstrike targeted Hezbollah's head of operations on the southern front, Mahmoud Madi, but his fate remains unknown.

The channel reported that the airstrike targeted Madi Technology, an electronics shop owned by Hassan Madi, the brother of Mahmoud Madi. The explosion of electronic devices at the shop following the airstrike triggered a massive fire.

Civil defense teams quickly arrived on the scene to extinguish the fire, while ambulances were dispatched to transport the injured to the hospital.

Since Sept. 23, the Israeli army has intensified airstrikes on Lebanon in an escalation of conflict with Hezbollah. In early October, Israel launched a ground operation across its northern border into Lebanon.
The chief executive of a UK oil and gas firm is being sued by a former company he headed for embezzling funds from sales from an Iranian petrochemicals company designated by the United States.

Francesco Mazzagatti, an Italian national who is CEO and majority owner of UK-based Viaro Energy, is accused by a Singaporean trading company that he headed in 2018-2020 of embezzling money and forging documents as part of a scheme to steal funds from product sales of Irans Mehr Petrochemical Company.

The Iranian firm was designated in 2023 by the U.S. Treasury for being part of a significant shadow banking network.

Alliance Petrochemical & Investment (API), the Singaporean company in which Mazzagatti was CEO between July 2018 and September 2020, partially owns Mehr Petrochemical Company.

The Singapore-based company alleges in a lawsuit in the High Court in London that Mazzagatti embezzled $151.6 million (143.8 million euros) through product sales of Mehr Petrochemical by forging bank and board documents to divert money to a separate company he has set up in the UAE, the Financial Times reports.

The lawsuit also alleges that Mazzagatti used part of the money to finance the 2020 Viaro Energy acquisition of RockRose Energy.

Since this acquisition, Viaro Energy has acquired 16 non-operated gas interests in the UK.

The most recent deal is a high-profile oneearlier this year, Viaro Energy signed an agreement with Shell and ExxonMobil to acquire a full ownership interest in their Shell-operated UK Southern North Sea assets. The deal has yet to be approved by UK regulators.

Mazzagatti denies all allegations and says the lawsuit has been orchestrated by a third party, Arshiya Jahanpour, a former close friend of his.

The Italian executives defense claims that the bank accounts Mazzagatti has opened were opened by or at the request of Mr Jahanpour, and Mr Jahanpour controlled them at all material times, FT quotes court documents as saying.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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The world is far from reaching its offshore wind capacity installation targets amid rising costs and canceled lease sales, analysts and government and industry representatives have told Reuters.

Last year, governments set a goal to triple overall renewable energy capacity by 2030. Currently, the world is off track to reach these goals, and much of the shortfall could be in the offshore wind energy sector, where expensive projects have become even more expensive over the past two years.

To help triple renewable capacity, offshore wind capacity needs to jump to as much as 494 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, up from 73 GW now, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has estimated.

But this goal is likely to be missed, IRENA Director-General Francesco La Camera and analysts at Wood Mackenzie told Reuters.

Were pretty far away from these targets, Soren Lassen, head of offshore wind research at WoodMac, told Reuters in an interview published on Monday.

Offshore wind farms have seen costs surge by 30-40% over the past two years and the average cost of $230 per MWh is now triple the average onshore wind cost of about $75 per MWh, Lassen added.

As a result, companies and governments are rethinking offshore wind strategies.

Supermajor BP, for example, is reportedly considering a potential sale of a minority stake in its offshore wind business in a move to reduce spending on project developments in the sector.

Earlier this month, the Swedish government rejected plans for the construction of 13 offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea, citing defense risks and protecting its national security.

In the U.S., President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to scrap offshore wind, on day one.

The worlds progress to reach the goal of tripling renewables capacity by 2030 is falling short and needs another tripling, of investments, from $570 billion in 2023 to $1.5 trillion every year between 2024 and 2030, IRENA said in a report last month.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Saudi Arabias crude oil exports increased by 80,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 5.75 million bpd in Septemberthe highest in three months, the latest data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Monday.

The September crude exports were the highest since June, likely due to the lower direct crude burning for power generation as the hottest months in the Kingdom ended.

Direct crude burning slumped by 296,000 bpd from August to stand at about 518,000 bpd in September, according to the JODI data which compiles self-reported figures from individual countries.

Saudi Arabia, the worlds top crude oil exporter, saw its oil production fall slightly by 17,000 bpd to 8.98 million bpd in September, while refinery runs hit a four-month high of 2.756 million bpd, up by 35,000 bpd from August, per the JODI data.

The Saudi crude oil production was in line with the Kingdoms pledge from last summer to keep output at around 9 million bpd with the OPEC+ production cuts and the voluntary 1-million-bpd reduction.

Saudi Arabia and its OPEC+ partners have delayed their planned production increase to January 2025 from December 2024. The group currently intends to start adding supply to the market in January next year, initially at a pace of 180,000 bpd for the first month.

However, for a fourth consecutive month, OPEC last week slashed its estimate of global oil demand growth for both this year and next.

Saudi Arabia, for its part, is set to deliver lower crude volumes to China, the worlds top crude oil importer, in December.

Weak demand in China will lead to lower supply from the worlds top crude exporter, Saudi Arabia, to the worlds largest crude importer in December, trading sources told Reuters last week.

December will see a second consecutive month of lower Saudi deliveries to China, estimated at a total of 36.5 million barrels. This would be down from 37.5 million barrels expected this month, and 46 million barrels in October, according to trade data compiled by Reuters.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Chris Wright, chief executive of Liberty Energy, has been nominated to lead the Department of Energy in the Trump administration.

Wright is a vocal critic of the energy transition as envisaged by most Western governments to date, instead calling for energy realism and prioritizing the supply security and affordability of energy rather than its emission footprint.

Three decades from now the vast majority of energy will come from hydrocarbons, Wright told Bloomberg two years ago in an interview, also warning that subsidizing wind and solar would not only not help reduce emissions but would end up increasing electricity prices and rendering the grid more vulnerable.

Indeed, this is already happening in Europe, with the Czech government recently announcing a retroactive cut in solar subsidies because it can no longer afford to support the industry. Solar developers threatened to sue the government, saying that without subsidies there would be bankruptcies. Czech electricity consumers pay some of the most expensive electricity on the continent, along with Germans and Britonsboth champions of the transition.

There is no climate crisis, and we're not in the midst of an energy transition, either, Wright said last year in one of a series of video presentations he posted on LinkedIn, challenging the transition narrative and urging a more realistic approach to energy.

President-elect Donald Trump said that Wright will be a key leader, driving innovation, cutting red tape, and ushering in a new Golden Age of American Prosperity and Global Peace, as quoted by the Financial Times.

Wright will also be appointed to a new federal entity dubbed a Council of National Energy, whose task would be to do a complete makeover of U.S. energy policies across government agencies, the FT reported.

This Council will oversee the path to U.S. ENERGY DOMINANCE by cutting red tape, enhancing private sector investments across all sectors of the Economy, and by focusing on INNOVATION over long-standing, but totally unnecessary, regulation, Trump said.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Reduced hydropower generation in Canada and low natural gas prices in the U.S. have resulted in a jump in U.S. exports of electricity to Canada since 2023, according to estimates by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The U.S. and Canada have been each others main electricity trade partners for decades, and for most of the past two decades, Canada exported much more electricity to the U.S. than it imported.

However, cheap natural gas in the U.S. and consequently, cheaper power prices, made U.S. electricity more competitive in Canada last year.

In addition, hydropower generation in Canada, the countrys primary source of electricity generation, was slashed amid drought conditions in western Canada which reduced inflow to water reservoirs, the EIA said.

Last year, the U.S. was still a net importer of electricity from Canada, but U.S. exports jumped by 70% from 2022, while the U.S. monthly average imports from Canada slumped by 36%.

The decline in imports from Canada was large enough that by September 2023 the United States switched to become a net electricity exporter to Canada on a monthly basis. This trend continued for five of the following nine months, according to EIAs Quarterly Electricity Imports and Exports Report.

Although electricity exchanges across the United States and Canada remain relatively small, representing less than 1% of their respective total generation, the trade is important to grid balancing, especially during drought conditions in Western Canada, the EIA notes.

U.S. domestic electricity demand has been soaring over the past year, due to the AI and data center boom, and the U.S. is using growing volumes of natural gas to meet the increased consumption. Power-generating companies are announcing plans for the highest volume of new natural gas-fired capacity in years.

Natural gas-fired electricity generation in the United States has jumped year-to-date compared to the same period last year, as total power demand rose with warmer temperatures and demand from data centers.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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The war premium is back in the oil market, pushing prices higher after the Biden administration reportedly gave Ukraine the green light to use U.S.-manufactured long-range missiles to strike Russian territory.

Reuters reported the news on Sunday citing unnamed sources from the Biden administration, with the sources also saying that the government in Kiyv planned to take advantage of the decision in the next few days.

Russia has warned repeatedly that such a move by Washington would constitute a significant escalation in the war.

Biden allowing Ukraine to strike Russian forces around Kursk with long-range missiles might see a geopolitical bid come back into oil as it is an escalation of tensions there, in response to North Korean troops entering the fray, Ig analyst Tony Sycamore said, as quoted by Reuters.

Oil prices, meanwhile, were on the rise earlier today, with Brent crude trading at $71.33 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $67.20 per barrel. The benchmarks may well have further up to go if the Ukrainian government does go through with the long-range attacks on Russian territory as this would inevitably prompt retaliation.

On the other hand, Market participants continue to fret over the prospects for higher supplies from the US and OPEC+, Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist with IG Asia, told Bloomberg. Theres not much of a bullish catalyst for oil prices to ride on.

Weighing in on the potential development of the Ukraine war, Saul Kavonic noted to Reuters that So far there has been little impact on Russian oil exports, but if Ukraine were to target more oil infrastructure that could see oil markets elevate further.

Last week, oil prices booked a 3% slide following demand updates from OPEC and the IEA, which both signaled expectations of continued weakness with the possibility of a supply surplus.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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 Flash

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Israeli President Isaac Herzog attend a joint press conference in Ankara, Turkey, on March 9, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

Turkiye has denied Israeli President Isaac Herzog's airplane access to Turkish airspace on his way to Azerbaijan, the semi-official Anadolu Agency reported on Sunday.

The Israeli government had requested permission for Herzog's plane to use Turkish airspace en route to the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Baku, which kicked off on Nov. 11. However, Turkish authorities rejected the request, Anadolu reported, citing an anonymous Turkish official.

Herzog canceled his visit to Azerbaijan on Saturday due to "security considerations," the Times of Israel reported.

Relations between Turkiye and Israel have been strained since 2010, largely over the Palestinian issue, and it took more than a decade for the two countries to normalize ties.

While political interactions had started to improve before the Gaza conflict, the ongoing crisis has reignited tensions, with both sides trading accusations. Turkiye has also suspended all trade with Israel amid the hostilities.
Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says about 7,000 drivers who were arrested for various traffic offences have gone through psychiatrist tests since 2017.

The FRSC FCT Sector Command, Corps Commander Wobin Gwora, disclosed this at a press conference organised by Fundacion Exito Ltd, an NGO, to launch the #StopAtRed# campaign in Abuja on Tuesday.

This policy came as a result of the crashes that were being experienced, and the Corp Mashal on the 30 of June 2017 flag off the enforcement and the enforcement started on the 1st of July 2017 and we will not stop it until everybody key into it.

I might not give the exact statistics but the number of people since the inception of this emotional evaluation to the hospital, we have over 7000 people that have gone to the hospital for that evaluation and over 140 people result tested positive in some areas.

According to him, those who tested positive were given another fine and advised to stay away from alcohol and drugs.

He said that traffic offences taken seriously in FCT included making calls while driving, driving on one way and carrying overload.

Gwora appreciated the NGO for the #StopAtRed# campaign to help in enlightening Nigerians to always be disciplined and do what is right at all times.

I have a good news for those who break traffic light especially when you get into the FCT, if you are arrested for beating traffic light, first of all you will be issued a ticket, and secondly your vehicle will be impounded.

Thirdly, having paid your fine, you must go to the hospital for a psychological, emotional evaluation. If we dont see that test results, your vehicle will remain with us.

Mr. Dominic Obozuwa, Director, Fundacion Exito Ltd, (FundELG Africa), said the NGO was founded on September 2013 and the vision was to build a national ideology for the next generation.

He said that the #StopAtRed# campaign was organised to mark the United Nations Day, stating that the sustainable development goal was relevant to the organisation.

The #StopAtRed Rally is a segment of#TheGreenCampaign, a strategic National Re-Birth Project created by FundELG Africa to promote adherence to traffic rules, making the roads safe, keeping the environment tidy by road users especially drivers; thus making our cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

The essence of traffic rules is to protect all road users in Nigeria and strict adherence with these laid down rules will curb road accidents and incidences.

He said that the campaign was focused on promoting safety and national security.

The three pronged objective of the #StopAtRed Rally, is to promote road safety awareness, adherence to traffic rules, especially the traffic lights, zebra crossing, driving against traffic, creating multiple illegal lanes, to mention a few; symbolised by the hashtag, #StopAtRed.

Promote national security, peace and unity; symbolised by our convergence at, take-off from and return to the Unity Fountain, Abuja.

PV: 0
An Ikeja High Court has sentenced a 51-year-old dockworker, Lekan Shonde, to death by hanging for beating his 39-year-old wife, Ronke, to death at their Egbeda, Lagos residence.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Josephine Oyefeso found Lekan guilty of murder in a two and a half hours judgment on Friday which was also the International Womens Day.

This is the sentence of the court upon you: That you should be hanged by the neck until you are dead. May the Lord have mercy upon you, Oyefeso said.

The judge held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt in the light of overwhelming evidence against Lekan.

The violence used by the defendant was in excess of a reasonable man.

The defendant was very economical with the truth, stating in his evidence before the court that he only slapped his wife when he overheard her on a phone praising the sexual prowess of a lover.

This does not match the degree of injuries indicated by the autopsy report, she said.

Ms Oyefeso said that the report of a pathologist, Shokunle Shoyemi indicated that there were old and fresh injuries on Ronke, a banker.

She said that bruises on the deceaseds cheeks, blood collection in the brain, brain swelling and other multiple injuries could not have been self-inflicted.

The judge held that the sentence was in line with Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that, on hearing the sentence, Lekan appeared perplexed as he alighted from the dock.

He was immediately told to sit down for a while in the courtroom before he was whisked away by a prison official.

I.B. Mohammed, who held brief for Robert Clarke, Lekans counsel, had prayed the judge to temper justice with mercy.

My Lord, we want to plead with the court to, while administering justice in this case, see reasons in this allocutus to temper justice with mercy.

There are two children in the marriage. I know as a matter of fact that these two children have passed through worst moments of their lives; agonies that are immeasurable.

I know, if these two children have any control over this proceeding, it will be that their father should not be prosecuted at all. But since it was not so, their wish is that their father should be sentenced in very liberal terms.

The defendant has no criminal record, he has developed failing health since his detention.

This defendant hardly sees very well, he sees faintly. My Lord, he is hypertensive, the authority of the prison can confirm this, Mohammed said.

NAN reports that Lekan, who was arraigned on Oct. 24, 2017, on a charge of murder, had pleaded not guilty to the charge.

During the trial, the sister of the deceased, the investigating police officer, the pathologist and the nanny to the children of the deceased, all testified for the prosecution while Lekan was the sole witness for the defence.

The pathologist testified on September 25, 2018, that Ronke suffered from severe brain injuries which led to her death.

In his evidence on October 24, 2018, exactly a year after his arraignment, Lekan denied killing his wife.

He said he only slapped her during an argument over her alleged extramarital affair.

The prosecution led by Y. G. Oshoala had said that Lekan committed the murder at 8.30 p.m. on May 5, 2016, at their residence at No. 3, Tiemo Close, Egbeda, Lagos.

The dockworker was said to have locked their residence and fled after Ronkes death, leaving her corpse in the living room.

The crime scene was discovered by neighbours, who heard the cries of their two children struggling to wake up their lifeless mother.

The story of Ronkes death went viral on social media and Lekan was said to have surrendered to the relevant authorities five days later, after an extensive hunt for him.

(NAN)




The Police Command in Lagos State have arrested 32 suspected cultists and recovered firearms in the last one week.





Spokesman for the command, DSP Bala Elkana confirmed the arrest in a statement on Sunday.





He said that a 32-year-old man (name withheld), a member of Aiye Confraternity, was arrested on Saturday.





Elkana said the suspect, arrested by the Cultism Squad while on patrol at Mosafejo Amukoko Street, Ajegunle, was found in possession of one locally-made pistol.





He stressed that the suspect confessed his gang was responsible for series of violent crimes in Ajengule.





Investigation is ongoing and efforts are in place to apprehend other members of his gang. The suspect will be charged to court, he said.





Elkana said on the same day operatives of the Operation Crush from 8 Division in Area H Command, Ogudu raided a cultists hideout at Bariga.





The raid, he said, paid off as a 39-year-old suspected cult leader, a resident of Kajora Street, Bariga, was arrested with 22 members of his gang.





They all confessed to be members of a deadly gang and a cult group responsible for various killings and violent crimes in Bariga.





Investigation is ongoing, and suspects will be charged to court, he said.





He noted that a follow-up operation carried out by officers of the Bariga Police Station on Wednesday, at Oyenaya Street, Bariga, led to the arrest of 20-year-old suspect and five other members of his gang.





Elkana said two other suspected cultists were arrested on July 24 at Itabale Igbolomu area of Owutu, Ikorodu, while engaging each other in a battle for supremacy.





He said one locally-made pistol was recovered from them, stressing that all the suspects would be charged to court soon.
2 killed, 22 injured in Israeli airstrike on Beirut neighborhood

Xinhua) 09:18, November 18, 2024

BEIRUT, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and 22 others injured on Sunday night in an Israeli airstrike targeting Mar Elias, a densely-populated neighborhood in Beirut, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Local TV channel Al-Jadeed reported that the airstrike targeted Hezbollah's head of operations on the southern front, Mahmoud Madi, but his fate remains unknown.

The channel reported that the airstrike targeted Madi Technology, an electronics shop owned by Hassan Madi, the brother of Mahmoud Madi. The explosion of electronic devices at the shop following the airstrike triggered a massive fire.

Civil defense teams quickly arrived on the scene to extinguish the fire, while ambulances were dispatched to transport the injured to the hospital.

Since Sept. 23, the Israeli army has intensified airstrikes on Lebanon in an escalation of conflict with Hezbollah. In early October, Israel launched a ground operation across its northern border into Lebanon.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
As is the case with many nations, Vietnam has endured several different phases over the course of its history. Here, we look at two flags that have represented parts of the country over the years.

Present-day Vietnam

" " Vietnam flag. Manuel Augusto Moreno / Getty Images

The flag of Vietnam, known as the Vietnamese national flag or the National Flag of the Vietnamese Socialist Republic, is a red background with a central yellow star.

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The red represents revolution and the sacrifices of the Vietnamese people, while the single gold star symbolizes unity among the country's workers, peasants, soldiers, intellectuals and youth.

The Vietnam flag has a rich history, symbolizing Vietnam's journey toward independence and national construction, first for North Vietnam and later as the unified flag after the Vietnam War.

Former South Vietnam (National Liberation Front)

" " Viet Cong flag. ak_phuong / Getty Images

During the Vietnam War, the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, also known as the Viet Cong, used a flag with a red and blue background and a central yellow star.

The red symbolized the revolutionary spirit of the movement, while the blue sky and yellow star represented the hope for independence and unity.

Flown in Southern Vietnam during the hostilities, including the invasion by U.S. forces, these Vietnamese flags eventually fell out of use after the end of the Vietnam War, as the whole country came to be unified under today's Vietnamese flag.
1. Czech Republic

" " Czech Republic flag. SimpleImages / Getty Images

The flag of the Czech Republic consists of two horizontal bands of white and red, with a blue isosceles triangle extending from the hoist side.

The white and red colors are traditional Pan-Slavic symbols, representing the country's Slavic heritage and the historical connection to other Slavic nations. The blue triangle symbolizes loyalty.

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2. France

" " France flag. SimpleImages / Getty Images

The flag of France, known as the tricolore, consists of three vertical stripes of equal width. The blue represents the people of Paris and the revolutionary spirit, while the red symbolizes the blood of those who fought for liberty during the French Revolution. The white stripe, historically associated with the monarchy, represents the nation's commitment to unity.

The flag as a whole embodies the principles of the French Republic: liberty, equality and fraternity.

3. Iceland

" " Iceland flag. visual7 / Getty Images

On the flag of Iceland, blue represents the country's mountains and the ocean that surrounds it, while the red symbolizes the volcanic fire that is a significant feature of Iceland's landscape.

The white cross stands for ice and the country's glaciers; together, the colors represent the contrast between Iceland's natural elements of fire, ice and sea.

4. Luxembourg

" " Luxembourg flag. Elizabeth Fernandez / Getty Images

The flag of Luxembourg consists of three horizontal stripes. The colors are derived from the historic flag of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, with the red symbolizing the nation's strength, the white representing peace, and the blue signifying loyalty and justice.

5. Netherlands

" " Netherlands flag. Manuel Augusto Moreno / Getty Images

The Dutch flag, the first to be designed with red, white and blue colors, set a precedent for many other nations, including the French flag, which was influenced by the horizontally striped design.

The flag of the Netherlands consists of three horizontal stripes: red at the top, white in the middle and blue at the bottom. The red symbolizes courage and strength, the white represents peace and honesty, and the blue stands for loyalty and justice.

This tricolor design has been in use since the 17th century, reflecting the country's history as a maritime power and its commitment to liberty and democracy.

6. Norway

" " Norway flag. SimpleImages / Getty Images

The flag of Norway features a red field with a blue cross outlined in white, with the vertical part of the cross shifted towards the hoist side. The design is a variation of the Scandinavian cross, symbolizing Norway's historical and cultural connections with other Nordic countries.

The red, blue and white colors represent the nation's loyalty and freedom, with the colors also reflecting Norway's ties to the broader Scandinavian heritage.

7. Serbia

" " Serbia flag. Magnilion / Getty Images

The Serbian flag's colors are traditional Pan-Slavic colors, symbolizing the nation's Slavic heritage, with red representing the bloodshed for freedom, blue for the sky and white for peace.

On the left side, near the hoist, is the Serbian coat of arms, which features a double-headed eagle, symbolizing sovereignty and the nation's historical ties to the Byzantine Empire.

8. Slovakia

" " Slovakia flag. Manuel Augusto Moreno / Getty Images

The red, white and blue colors represent Slovakia's Slavic roots, with red symbolizing valor, blue representing vigilance and white standing for peace.

On the left side of the flag, within the white stripe, is the national coat of arms, which features a double-cross on a blue shield, symbolizing the country's Christian heritage and its historical connections to the Kingdom of Hungary.

9. Slovenia

" " Slovenia flag. SimpleImages / Getty Images

In the upper left corner, the flag includes Slovenia's coat of arms, which depicts a blue shield with a white, two-towered castle and Mount Triglav, the highest peak in the country, representing Slovenia's natural and cultural identity.

The white symbolizes peace and honesty, the blue stands for loyalty and truth, and the red represents courage and valor.

10. United Kingdom

" " United Kingdom flag. SimpleImages / Getty Images

OK, to be fair, the United Kingdom isn't a country; it includes the countries of England, Scotland, Wales Northern Ireland. But we'd be remiss to leave the U.K. flag off this list as it's become an iconic symbol of the U.K.'s global influence.

The flag of the United Kingdom, commonly known as the Union Jack, is a combination of three crosses: the red Cross of St. George (representing England), the white saltire of St. Andrew (representing Scotland) and the red Saltire of St. Patrick (representing Northern Ireland).

The design symbolizes the union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland under one monarchy, with the various patron saints integrated into a unified emblem. The flag's blue field represents the unity and loyalty of the British people.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Striped bass populations in the lower Chesapeake Bay are not doing well, marking the second year in a row for below-average numbers in Virginia waters.

According to a 2024 survey from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, which monitors the success of young bass in the lower Chesapeake Bay, this year was "significantly lower" than the historical average. In Maryland, the Department of Natural Resources reported it saw the sixth consecutive year that young striped bass fell far below the long-term average.

During the Virginia survey, researchers usually get about 7.77 fish per haul, but the latest count had only about 3.43.

Using very large nets, called seines, the survey samples waters from 18 historically sampled sites and 22 auxiliary sites along the shores of the James, York and Rappahannock rivers. Getting an estimate of how many juvenile bass live in the bay help guide annual and long-term trends in bass populations, said Mary Fabrizio, professor at VIMS and director of the study. Data is also used in guiding recreational and commercial fishing regulations.

Allison Colden, Maryland executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said it's important to protect fish born during the 2015 and 2018 surveys since those were particularly strong years for reproduction.

"The current trajectory of our striped bass population is alarming," Colden said. "Without continued diligence by (the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission) and proactive conservation by the board, the possibility of rebuilding the striped bass stock will continue to slip further from our reach."

Now, regulators will decide if more oversight is necessary to meet its 2029 goal of rebuilding the Chesapeake Bay's striped bass stock to non-overfished status. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will meet again in December to consider further action. It had already determined in October that at least an additional 15% reduction in fishing mortality would be necessary for the stock to have a 50% probability of rebuilding to sustainable levels.

In 2023, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission lowered the maximum allowable size for catches of striped bass from 36 inches to 31 inches to comply with an emergency action by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Then, in January, the Atlantic States commission approved more updates, including a one-fish limit and a size limit in the Chesapeake Bay only allowing fish between 19-24 inches to be kept.

For fisheries along the Atlantic Coast, a one-fish limit and a size limit allows only fish between 28 inches and 31 inches to be kept. The commission also approved a 7% reduction in the commercial harvest quotas.

"Despite recent management actions, striped bass continue to struggle," said Chris Moore, the Virginia director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. "It is obvious that conditions have changed and striped bass will not have the same recovery they had in the 1980s.

"Warmer water from climate change, habitat loss and invasive species are all making it very hard for striped bass to bounce back."

2024 The Virginian-Pilot. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

a) Aurora photos taken from Aomori, b) from Hokkaido, c) from Chubu, and d) from Tohoku, Japan. Credit: a) KAGAYA b) ~d) @Courtesy of a citizen scientists

Citizen scientists in Japan enabled researchers to learn why May 2024's aurora appeared a magenta color over the country. This effort in extending research beyond academies and laboratories has greater consequences for humanity than explaining pretty lights.

Around the world, the historic geomagnetic superstorm of late spring 2024 inspired millions of non-scientists around the worldmany armed with highly sensitive smartphone camerasto take a fantastic, unprecedented number of images of the aurora it produced.

In Japan, this widespread popular uptake of what is now quite advanced imaging technology (even if it is kept in everyone's pocket) proved to be a tremendous boon for atmospheric physicists and other scientists specializing in "space weather." It allowed them to discover why the Northern Lights over Japan appeared as a mysterious magenta color this time instead of the typical red that is observed when aurorae are visible over that country.

The researchers describe both their findings and what could be a model for the organization of future "citizen-science" operations in the journal Scientific Reports on October 28.

In early May this year, one of the most extreme geomagnetic storms in the history of recording such events hit the Earth's atmosphere. This great "storm" in space, composed of ionized particles, is what produces the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, in the northern hemisphere and the aurora australis, or Southern Lights, in the southern hemisphere.

This time, however, the storm was so strongthe ninth most severe storm in the 110-year history of Japan's Kakioka Magnetic Observatory, one of the oldest geomagnetic stations in the worldthat the polar lights could be photographed at much lower latitudes than normal.

The distribution of 179 auroral observations over Japan during the 11 May 2024 magnetic storm. Credit: National Institute of Polar Research

In Japan, space weather researchers took advantage of ordinary people taking pictures of the aurora with their smartphones to organize one of the densest citizen science observation efforts anywhere, despite being a low-latitude country where the aurora was somewhat fainter than in places like Canada or northern Europe.

The different colors of an aurora come from the emission of light from different atoms and molecules in the atmosphere when they are bombarded by the particles from space. The dramatic green hue seen in many photographs of the polar lights comes from atomic oxygen (single atoms of oxygen rather than molecular oxygen, or two oxygen atoms bound together) at the lower altitudes within the atmosphere that are visible to people. (The human eye is also just very sensitive to this color). At even lower altitudes, where atomic oxygen is less common, blue is more visible, and this comes from the greater presence of nitrogen.

At the very highest altitudes in the atmosphere, however, there is a lower concentration of atoms of any kind. The fewer collisions there result in a perception by humans of the excited atomic oxygen atoms as the color red. This is why the upper parts of the aurora curtains can appear as green fading into a scarlet hue.

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At low latitudes, as in Japan, normally there is no green at all, only red because only the upper part of the aurora can be seen above the horizon.

"Yet this time, weirdly, the images revealed a very clear and dominant magenta hue to the aurora 'curtains' over Japan, not red," said Ryuho Kataoka, the lead author of the study and a specialist in extreme space weather.

To solve the mystery, the researchers quickly took to social media to encourage people to observe and report their sightings of the auroras, as well as to input data into a questionnaire asking about observation locations, time, elevation angles and other details, allowing researchers to analyze the auroras' characteristics in unprecedented detail.

Estimated auroral emission altitude around the 11 May 2024 magnetic storm peak. Credit: National Institute of Polar Research

The effort resulted in an impressive 775 grassroots submissions, which the researchers then combined with satellite observations and advanced modeling techniques to explore the conditions that had led to the magenta aurora.

The elevation data from these citizen scientists proved to be particularly useful. The researchers used elevation angles to calculate the position of the aurora over time, and found that it was often a surprisingly high altitude of roughly 1,000 km above sea levelwhich should thus drive a red appearance. But on top of this, the time and season of year meant the atmosphere was more "preheated" ahead of the aurora, in turn driving an upwelling of ionized molecular nitrogenwhat is usually responsible for a blue hue.

"Blue plus red makes us see magenta," added Professor Kataoka. "And the magenta was made all the more visible and vibrant by the sheer volume of solar activity, even though, ironically, the preheating would also have worked to reduce the peak brightness of the aurora."

Better understanding of magnetic storms goes beyond explaining why humans see the pretty colors of aurorae; these storms can have profound, negative impacts on satellite operations, GPS systems, power grids and even the safety of passengers and crews aboard high-altitude flights.

And so ahead of the next magnetic storm, the researchers want to take an even more coordinated approach to citizen science and spread their efforts further afield. This particular study was limited to Japan and used only the Japanese language, representing something of a proof of concept.

But by using automated translation of their questionnaires and social media posts into local languages around the world, the researchers feel that they will be able to produce a global replication of this effort, with the ultimate aim of analyzing different phases of magnetic storms, to better protect humanity from the dangers posed by extreme space weather.

More information: Ryuho Kataoka et al, Extended magenta aurora as revealed by citizen science, Scientific Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-75184-9 Journal information: Scientific Reports

Provided by Research Organization of Information and Systems
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African Penguins are now listed as critically endangered.

Mashudu Mashau says it takes about two minutes to catch a penguin, a task he does weekly to investigate sightings of injured or sickly seabirds.

"We don't rush... we go down, sometimes we crawl, so that we don't look threatening, and when we're close, we aim for the head, hold it and secure the penguin," the 41-year-old ranger told AFP.

Sometimes, when penguins waddle up from South Africa's coastline onto nearby streets and hide under cars, it is more of a struggle.

"We had one today. They're not easy to catch because they go from one side to the other side (of the car), but we got it," said Mashau, who has dedicated the past eight years to working to protect the species.

Once caught and placed with care into a cardboard box, the small feathered animals are sent to a specialist hospital for treatment.

But conservationists and veterinarians are worried their efforts aren't sufficient to stop the decline of the African Penguin, listed as critically endangered last month by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

"No matter how much we do, if there isn't a healthy environment for them, our work is in vain," said veterinarian David Roberts, who works at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) hospital.

Fewer than 10,000 breeding pairs are left globally, mainly in South Africa, down from 42,500 in 1991, and they could become extinct in the wild by 2035, the BirdLife NGO says.

The Boulders Beach penguin colony near Cape Town.

'Starving' penguins

The dwindling numbers are due to a combination of factors including a lack of food, climate change, disturbances, predators, disease, oil spills and more.

But the biggest threat is nutrition, says Allison Kock, a marine biologist with the South African National Parks.

"So many of the penguins are starving and are not getting enough food to breed successfully," she told AFP. When penguins do not eat enough, preferably sardines or anchovies, they tend to abandon breeding.

Authorities have imposed a commercial fishing ban around six penguin colonies for 10 years starting in January.

But SANCCOB and BirdLife say the no-fishing zones are not large enough to have a significant impact, and have sued the environment minister over the issue.

"Ideally we would want more fish in the ocean but we cannot control that. What we can ask for, is to limit direct competition for the remaining fish between the industrial fisheries and the penguins," SANCCOB research manager Katta Ludynia told AFP.

Staff treat injured African Penguins at conservation group SANCCOB.

The South African Pelagic Fishing Industry Association says the impact of the fishing industry on penguin food sources is just a small fraction.

"There are clearly other factors that have significant negative impact on the population of the African Penguin," chairperson Mike Copeland said.

The environment ministry has proposed a discussion group "to resolve the complex issues", a spokesperson said. While a court hearing is scheduled for March 2025, the ministeronly in the post since Julyhas called for an out-of-court settlement.

Apart from the no-fishing zones, many other initiatives are underway to save the African Penguin, including artificial nests and new colonies.

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Tourist traffic

Being labeled "critically endangered" can be a double-edged sword.

While conservationists are hoping to get attention and funding, it also makes penguins even more attractive to tourists who sometimes disturb them.

An African Penguin swims in a pool at the SANCCOB sea bird rescue center near Cape Town.

Visitors at a viewing deck at the Boulders Beach penguin colony near Cape Town.

"Penguins are very susceptible... and the level of disturbance, people with selfie sticks, it's becoming more and more of a challenge," Arne Purves, coastal conservation and compliance officer for Cape Town, told AFP.

"Especially as the penguins are now even more high-profile."

Tourism is a vital sector for South Africa and each year thousands of people visit the penguin colonies, bringing in millions of dollars in profit.

For those on the frontlines to save the flightless black and white birds, like Mashau, the spotlight has been a long time coming.

"In the last five years, it was the rhinos... we hope we'll get the same respect now and the same assistance," he said.

It is also about protecting the environment. "This is a species that is an indicator of a healthy ecosystem that humans are also part of... and the healthier the penguins, the more humans also benefit," he said.

 2024 AFP
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Distribution of PDO and PGI food products in Sicily. Credit: Geographical Indication as a Strategy to Revive Small-Scale Agriculture: Evaluating Prospects for Geographical Indication Commodities as a Value-added Mechanism for Sustainable Agriculture (2024)

A recent study by researchers in the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington and the School of Liberal Arts at Indiana University Indianapolis highlights the potential benefits of a European-style certification for local foods, known as a Geographical Indication (GI), to boost the Hoosier state's rural economies.

The studywhose co-authors include Jeffrey Wilson, Professor of Geography at IU Indy, Angela Babb, a research scientist at IU Bloomington, Professor of History Carl Ipsen within the College at IUB, Professor of Geography (Emeritus) Daniel Knudsen in the College, and Sicilian scholars Gianni Petino and M. Donata Napoliasserts that GI designation could help Indiana's small agricultural communities thrive by linking the quality of local foods to their place of originakin to protected names like Champagne in France, or Parmigiano-Reggiano in Italy.

Recent IU Bloomington graduates McKenna Conway and Siddartha Das, and Kamila Czebotar, also of IUB, contributed to the study.

Notably, the authors point out GI certification for the Upland persimmon, native to Mitchell, Indiana and surrounding areas, could transform the fruit into a valuable symbol of local identity, which would help uplift rural economies.

The GI system has long been used in Europe to protect and promote regional food products, ensuring that specific cultural and geographic attributes are tied to the food's reputation and economic value. This system helps support small farmers by granting them exclusive rights to market the product as unique to their region.

In Indiana, the Upland persimmon stands out for its unique flavor, attributed to the soil and climate of the region. However, lack of official recognition has limited its commercial value, making it challenging for local farmers to capitalize on its potential. Designating the persimmon as a GI product could open doors to national and international markets, benefiting local economies and preserving a unique piece of Indiana's agricultural and cultural heritage.

The researchers highlight that while only 1.3 percent of Americans are employed in agriculturecompared to Europe's 4.5 percentGI systems offer a pathway to make farming more economically viable for small U.S. communities. Historically, American agriculture has been dominated by large-scale, corporate-driven farms, with limited opportunity for small producers to differentiate their products in the market. A GI designation for Indiana Upland persimmons could break this pattern, empowering small farmers by helping them sell at premium prices based on their unique qualities.

"We've seen from European examples that these labels can help maintain rural life, supporting community resilience in the face of challenges like climate change and market fluctuations," said Gianni Petino, study co-author. "In Europe, GI products also play a significant role in preserving local food cultures and maintaining agricultural biodiversity, and such an approach could provide economic and other benefits to Indiana's small farmers and rural communities."

Among other benefits of GI designation is the promotion of sustainable, environmentally friendly farming practices. European GI-certified farms must adhere to "social-cross-compliance" obligations which require sustainable practices that can mitigate environmental challenges, such as the effects of climate change. Indiana Upland persimmon farmers would similarly benefit, potentially adopting more resilient, climate-conscious farming methods to meet these standards.

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Specifically, the study outlines a three-step process to establish GI status for Indiana's persimmons. First, lawmakers designate the persimmon as Indiana's official state fruit. Second, the state would acquire a U.S. certification mark held by the Indiana Department of Agriculture, and third, acquire a U.S. Department of Agriculture Market Order, a federal regulatory mechanism to support and protect consumers and producers.

Such a regulatory structure, the authors explain, would resemble the protections in place for other GI products in the U.S., such as Vidalia onions in Georgia, which have achieved considerable market success.

In the study, the IU researchers note that if the persimmon receives this status, it could inspire other U.S. regions to seek similar designations for their specialty products, creating new economic opportunities for small farmers nationwide.

More information: Gianni Petino et al, Geographical Indication as a Strategy to Revive Small-Scale Agriculture:

Evaluating Prospects for Geographical Indication Commodities as a Value-added Mechanism for Sustainable Agriculture (2024)
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Dr James Heffernan working with a FaBA-funded bioreactor at the UQ Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. Credit: University of Queensland

Forming a National Food Plan and appointing a food minister are among the key recommendations of a white paper into growing a precision fermentation industry in Australia.

The Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA) based at The University of Queensland has released the report "Precision Fermentation: A Future of Food in Australia."

Professor Esteban Marcellin from FaBA said precision fermentation was a transformative opportunity to strengthen food systems, foster economic growth, enhance environmental sustainability, and boost food security.

"Fermentation has been used for centuries to create staples like bread, cheese and beer," Professor Marcellin said.

"Precision fermentation builds on traditional methods, offering the potential to develop entirely new ingredients, flavors and tastes.

"This technology can enhance and diversify our food supplyimagine microbial strains precisely engineered to yield high quality protein.

"We are on the brink of producing tailored, sustainable food sources."

More than 70 authors from industry, government and academia contributed to the white paper, which explores areas crucial for industry growth, such as regulatory needs, sustainability, economic impacts, and ethical considerations.

Among the eight key recommendations are establishing common international standards, boosting investment in large-scale manufacturing, and standardizing methods to assess environmental impacts.

"Our primary recommendation is to develop a National Food Plan that would unify efforts in regulation, innovation and promotion of precision fermentation," Professor Marcellin said.

"This approach would enable streamlined approvals, better integration with traditional agriculture, and a coordinated strategy to build a robust industry."

FaBA Director Dr. Chris Downs said research had an important role to play in meeting future food challenges.

"As a global society, we must innovate and transform the food system if we are to address some of the greatest challenges of our time," Dr. Downs said.

"Precision fermentation represents a promising approach, alongside conventional food production, for the future of Australia's food and beverage industry."

More information: Precision Fermentation: A Future of Food in Australia. faba.au/wp-content/uploads/202  ood-in-Australia.pdf
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An ocean surgeonfish with black spot syndrome. Credit: Cheyenna de Wit

For many researchers in biology and other natural sciences, dissecting specimens may not be desirable, though it is often necessary. This is because dissection means killing the animal a researcher is trying to studya big issue, especially if the species is experiencing a population decline.

Over time, such concerns have led scientists to develop a number of non-invasive techniques, including video transects. This is a type of video recording used in marine biology, in which divers film along a line of fixed length and depth to record images for computer-assisted analysis, obtain permanent data that can be reassessed later and survey wider areas in shorter amounts of time.

In a study recently published in Marine Biology, Pieter Johnson, a University of Colorado Boulder professor of distinction in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and lead author Cheyenna de Wit of the University of Amsterdam demonstrate the benefits of recording rather than dissecting specimens.

In their paper on black spot syndrome in ocean surgeonfish, the researchers use video transects to measure the severity of the disease among thousands of fish and identify the environmental factors contributing to its distribution.

What is black spot syndrome?

Black spot syndrome is a collection of several symptoms, the most prominent being the dermal lesions or spots for which the condition is named, according to Johnson. In many species, Johnson says, these lesions are black, "but in some species they'll show up as white." They form on the skin, scales and fins of fish.

The spots appear when the free-swimming, larval form of trematodescommonly known as flukes, a type of parasitic flatwormpenetrate the skin of the fish and form cysts inside them. The distinctive coloration occurs when fish surround the cyst with melanin in response to the invasion, similar to the formation of pearls in oysters.

Relatively little is known about the genus of trematode that causes black spot syndrome, Scaphanocephalus. "Prior to us detecting it in 2017," Johnson says, "it had never been reported from Caribbean fish. So, it was wholly undescribed from that area." Much remains unknown about this trematode, including the type of snail that Scaphanocephalus infects before moving on to fish.

However, trematode infection is clearly very common in certain regions: In Johnson's study, 70% of observed fish showed signs of infection, while a companion study of other Caribbean fish, published in Coral Reefs, demonstrated both how high the parasite loads are in that region, and how many different fish species seem to be affected, according to Johnson.

As to the consequences of infection for fish, there is some evidence, Johnson says, that infected fish may graze less and have more trouble maintaining buoyancy. Researchers also hypothesize that they are more conspicuous to predators.

"One in particular, of course, is osprey, which are visual, fish-specialized predators that are looking for fish through the water," Johnson says. "When these infected fish tend to flash or turn sideways, and you can see those black spots, it probably makes it a lot easier for the bird to detect them."

If this hypothesis is true, black spot syndrome could bolster the numbers of the trematodes that cause it, as Johnson says osprey are their definitive host. That means these trematodes must enter the body of an osprey to reproduce. The transmission of the parasites is trophic, so they are passed along when infected fish are eaten.

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Noninvasive methods

While black spot syndrome can have negative effects on infected fish, the most important consequences could be for reef ecosystems. According to Johnson, black spot syndrome has been increasingly prevalent in important herbivorous grazing fish in the Caribbean, such as surgeonfish and parrotfish.

"In tropical coral reef ecosystems," Johnson explains, "surgeonfish and parrotfish, and other herbivores play a key role by grazing on algae." Since infected fish are evidenced to graze less, and since they may be more likely to be eaten by osprey, the population of algae in the affected area can increase.

"Algae and coral are in a dynamic balance," Johnson says, and if there is enough algal growth, "it can start to overwhelm and kill corals. So, in these areas, we try to keep those populations of surgeonfish and parrotfish as viable as possible, so that they can continue to regulate and graze down the algae."

In fact, some studies have even said that grazing fish can help save coral reefs, with particular emphasis on parrotfish because the prior primary grazer in the Caribbean, spiny sea urchins, were killed off by disease in the 1980s. Also, trematode infection isn't the only thing threatening surgeonfish and parrotfish populations, as they are popular catches for fisheries.

Because the fish being studied are ecologically important, it is particularly important to avoid interfering with their populations. Ordinarily, this is difficult, since dissection is the surest way to confirm a trematode infectionthe parasites being clearly visible inside the fish's bodies. In this case, though, the black spots characteristic of black spot syndrome allowed for a different approach: the video transect method.

To record as many surgeonfish as possible, and therefore provide an accurate estimate of how many fish were infected, SCUBA divers filmed at 35 sites along the coast of Curacao, an island in the southern Caribbean. They recorded 2 and 5 meters below water for either 10 minutes or until 20 adult surgeonfish had been filmed.

Environmental factors

Besides determining that 70% of surgeonfish showed visible signs of black spot syndrome, Johnson and de Witt correlated different environmental factors with the severity of the syndrome, which they based on the average number of spots per fish.

One of the most significant effects the researchers observed arose from longitudethat is, the position of fish from east to west along the leeward (downwind) shore. Both the prevalence and intensity of black spot syndrome was lower toward the east and higher toward the west.

Johnson hypothesizes that this effect is caused by urban and industrial development, as the east end of Curacao, where a portion of the research took place, is privately owned and less developed. The researchers observed the same association between development and infection intensity in Bonaire, the neighboring island.

The first component of the effect was wave intensity, which was negatively associated with infection intensity because the larval form of trematode that infects fish can't swim well enough to overcome opposing tides. Wave energy is usually greatest at the eastern end of Curacao, so this will have contributed to the lower intensity of infection at the east end.

The other components were positively associated with infection intensity. Nitrogen concentration increases with sewage and domestic runoff, which can contain nutrients and other pollutants. Nutrients can increase the population of trematode hosts, and pollutants can weaken the immune systems of fish that trematodes infect.

While fishing pressure can be either positively or negatively correlated with parasite abundance, Johnson says, this depends on the species involved. In the case of Scaphanocephalus, fishing pressure could increase abundance if it removed predatory fish from the environment, resulting in an increased snail population.

Since most of the factors composing the difference between the east and west ends come from human action, it is possible that the severity of black spot syndrome could be significantly reduced if the handling of runoff and/or fishing behavior were changed.

A unique methodology

One noteworthy part of the way Johnson and de Witt's study was conducted is that, with the videos collected, the researchers had observers record the number of lesions on each fish. This is unique, as prior studies have simply noted whether lesions were present, leaving the severity of infection uncertain.

Moreover, methods like the one used in this study may help to solve the challenges that come with observing ocean life. "There's a lot of ocean out there and not a tremendous number of people to study it," Johnson explains, "so I think approaches like this could be applied in other areas where we're detecting blackspot syndrome."

Photos are an especially useful way to study the ocean because they are easy for anyone to take thanks to digital technology, he adds. For this reason, community science platforms like iNaturalist can be used to aggregate a large amount of data.

"When people are on vacation, or they're diving, or they're swimming," Johnson says, "they upload all of their observations and fish photos, and we've been using that to scan across large sections of the Caribbean and lots of different fish species; and now some of the undergrads in the lab are also extending that to look into parts of the Indo-Pacific and other regions of the world where Scaphanocephalus occurs.

"So, I think those kinds of approaches, video transects and these community science-uploaded images, together start to give a much bigger picture of patterns of infection over large geographic areas."

More information: Cheyenna D. G. de Wit et al, Black Spot Syndrome in ocean surgeonfish: using video-based surveillance to quantify disease severity and test environmental drivers, Marine Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s00227-024-04426-1 Remon J. Malawauw et al, Parasitism in reef fish communities: evaluating the roles of host traits, habitat use, and phylogeny on infection by Scaphanocephalus (Trematoda), Coral Reefs (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s00338-024-02480-1 Journal information: Marine Biology , Coral Reefs
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Field work on the Findelen glacier. Credit: Matthias Huss

Glaciers around the world are shrinking at an alarming rate, threatening sea-level rise, water availability, biodiversity, and ecosystem stability. A new study led by researchers from ETH Zurich and Vrije Universiteit Brussel and published in The Cryosphere provides the most comprehensive projections to date, projecting the future of over 200,000 glaciersexcluding those in Greenland and Antarcticaunder the newest climate scenarios.

"By modeling glacier evolution throughout the 21st century under various climate scenarios, we found stark differences in outcomes depending on future emission levels," explains lead author Harry Zekollari, a former postdoc at the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW) at ETH Zurich and now a professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

"In the most optimistic, low-emission scenario, glaciers are expected to lose 25% to 29% of their mass by 2100. However, under a high-emission scenario, that figure rises significantly, with up to 46% to 54% of global glacier mass projected to vanish."

The study reveals that glacier loss will vary significantly by region. Glaciers in the European Alps are among the most vulnerable, with projections suggesting more than 75% volume lossand possible complete disappearanceunder high-emission scenarios. Meanwhile, polar regions such as Arctic Canada, Iceland, and Svalbard are expected to retain a larger part of their glacier mass through the end of the century, though they, too, will face considerable loss.

"The study represents an improvement compared to prior assessments, and projects slightly higher losses than those included in recent IPCC reports," says Daniel Farinotti, head of ETH's Professorship of Glaciology and co-author of the study.

"The projections rely on the most recent models, calibrated with detailed glacier-specific observations, rather than regionally aggregated data. This approach offers a clearer picture of individual glacier changes, which can be relevant for the management of local water resources, natural hazards, and glacier-fed hydropower plants."

Looking ahead, advancements in satellite monitoring and glacier modeling approaches are expected to enhance the accuracy of glacier projections. These tools will offer valuable new data to inform the science community's understanding of glaciers' response to climate change and improve planning for affected regions worldwide.

More information: Harry Zekollari et al, Twenty-first century global glacier evolution under CMIP6 scenarios and the role of glacier-specific observations, The Cryosphere (2024). DOI: 10.5194/tc-18-5045-2024 Journal information: The Cryosphere
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

King tides will sweep across San Diego beaches this weekend and a few others over the next few months, sending powerful waves surging against seawalls and making for unusually low tidesprime opportunities to explore tide pools.

The California Coastal Commission is asking the public to photograph the rising tidal waters as part of a project working to document flood and erosion risks in coastal areas.

But as San Diegans flock to the coastline to behold this unique occurrence, one expert is pointing out a couple of misconceptions that come with their royal moniker.

The term "king tides" describes very high tides, but scientists really call them perigean spring tides. They occur when new and full moonswhen the sun, Earth and moon are all in a line, a condition known as a spring tidecoincide with the moon being in its closest position to Earth, known as a perigee.

It's often said that king tides are a winter phenomenon, but these tidal events actually happen three to four times per year.

That's why oceanographer Reinhard Flick hates the popular term. The way we understand king tides isn't entirely accurate, he saysthey can't all be the very highest tides.

"There's all these (tidal) cycles that are different every four-and-a-half years and every 18 years," said Flick, one of the founders of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Center for Coastal Studies. "So which are the true king tides?"

To him, the term is a misnomer. He gives his students a facetious definitionpreferring instead to describe a royal court of tides, with lesser royal titles describing smaller tidal events.

He's broken king tides into categories, with waves larger than 7.1 feet classified as kingor queentides. Tides between 6.8 and 7.1 feet would be considered prince or princess tides, and those below 6.8 feet would be more common tides.

The highest true king tides of recent years in La Jolla were about 7.2 feet, as high as they get, in July 2022 and August 2023both good examples of how the highest tides of the year were not in winter at all, Flick explained.

This weekend, king tides are expected to hit the coast on Saturday and Sunday morning during the fourth and final supermoon of the year.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's tide predictions show high tides expected at just under 7 feet in La Jolla, with the greatest height on Saturday, at 6.95 feet at 8:21 a.m.a prince tide, if Flick had his way. The heights and times will vary slightly up and down the coast.

Tidal predictions indicate that tides will reach nearly 7 feet again later this winter in December and January, but Flick says they aren't predicted to reach maximum heights around 7.2 feet again until two summers from now. After this weekend, king tides are expected to return Dec. 1315.

King tides aren't a byproduct of climate change, but they offer a glimpse of what our coast may look like as sea-level rises, said Annie Frankel, statewide manager of the California King Tides Project.

The effort, a project of the California Coastal Commission, asks the public to photograph the high tidal waters. The images submitted will then be used to create an interactive map to help researchers document flood and erosion risks on the coast.

"We're trying to create a visual record of changes to the coast," she said.

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Seas are expected to rise by 1 to 2 feet in the next three to five decades, and when they do, the extreme water levels now only reached during king tides could happen more frequently, experts say.

"An inch or two can make the difference whether a wave is going over the seawall or not," Flick explained. "The point is that sea level is going to go up. Pretty soon, these peak high tideswhatever you want to call themare going to start flooding things with or without waves."

That could spell trouble for coastal communities where a combination of king tides and winter storm surges have caused larger waves and coastal destructionfrom bluff collapses to parking lot damage to pillars knocked off the now permanently closed Ocean Beach Pier.

In fact, NOAA's research suggests that the mild coastal flooding seen once or twice a year today in La Jolla will occur nearly 50 times a year with around 1 foot of sea-level rise.

That's why the California King Tides Project is asking the public to gather both high- and low-tide video and photos of as many local beaches as possible during king tides this weekend and next month.

The images will not only allow researchers to compare climate change models to reality, but also help the public understand the effect of rising sea levels.

That means some of the most powerful images are taken in areas subject to flooding and erosion, and where water levels can be gauged against familiar landmarks.

"I usually recommend people to think about, 'Where's the place along the shoreline that's important to me, that I care about?"' Frankel said.

"These kinds of citizen science projects can be very, very helpful," Flick added. "They don't replace science, but they can complement science in a really strong way, not just for the data, but for people to become involved and understand the importance of the research."

Tips from the experts

You don't have to be a professional photographer or have special gear to participate in the California King Tides Project. You can even take photos on your smartphone. Learn more: coastal.ca.gov/kingtides/participate.html

Be sure to have your phone's location services on when taking photos. If using a digital camera, please make a note of exactly where you are, so you can mark your photo location on the map when you upload it.

Timing matters! Consult NOAA tide charts to see the exact times of the highest and lowest tides.

If participating in the project, take photos as close to high tide as you can, ideally within a half hourso arrive early.

However, visiting beaches at least an hour before and after the listed low and high tides will give you optimal results to explore.

Be safe! Never turn your back on the ocean. Watch high tides from a safe distance ,since the waves can reach new levels and be dangerous if you're standing too close.

Take extra precautions when you walk on slippery areas or near big waves.

Don't disturb shore birds taking cover above the tide line at high tide.

Tide pools are best seen during king tide eventsbut watch your step and leave the creatures alone.

Don't forget to upload your photos onto the project's website. You can also submit photos to Surfrider San Diego's website.

2024 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Reasons behind firearm-related threats reported by Latin American and Caribbean immigrants entering the USA, 2023. Credit: Injury Prevention (2024). DOI: 10.1136/ip-2024-045369

Almost half of the migrants crossing into the United States from Latin America and the Caribbean report previously experiencing firearm-related threats or violence in their home country, according to a University of Michigan study.

The research examined the narrative that U.S.-manufactured firearms fuel violence in other countries and in turn contribute to migration. Prior studies have shown that U.S. firearm markets are associated with gun-related violence in Central America and the Caribbean, as well as Mexico and other countries, and that fleeing violence is a main reason people journey to the U.S.

To better understand the complex relationship, researchers at the University of Michigan's Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus designed firearm-related questions for a survey given to new arrivals from Latin America and the Caribbean between March 2022 and August 2023. The participants were recruited for the survey while being processed and housed at a respite center at the southern border of the U.S.

After analyzing the responses of 321 participants, the survey found that 48% reported previously experiencing gun-related threats and violence, and 34% showed signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. Of those that reported high levels of PTSD symptoms, roughly 27% had a higher prevalence of receiving firearm threats than those with low or no symptoms, according to the study published in Injury Prevention.

"In the U.S., 21% of people report such experiences, less than half of those migrating from Latin America and the Caribbean. As we work to improve our systems, it is critical that we understand and acknowledge the background of people seeking help in the U.S.," said Eugenio Weigend Vargas, lead author of the study and postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention.

Of the survey participants, nearly 73% said they were victims of violent crimes such as robberies, extortions or kidnappings; 9% reported political repression or police threats; and another 9% were threatened to not report a crime or to "keep quiet."

"The high number of individuals that have experienced firearm violence in some capacity is alarming and something that should be considered when developing policies and having conversations around immigration," Weigend Vargas said.

The study authors say their findings can help guide discussions and actions around proper health resources at some entry points, international firearms trafficking and overall immigration policies.

Thousands of people migrate to the U.S. from Latin America and the Caribbean each year, according to the study, and homicide rates in Latin American and Caribbean countries are among the highest worldwide and guns play a major role. Survey participants came from 13 countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, with more than 80% of migrants coming from five countriesHonduras, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador.

"Immigrants face an innumerable number of threats when making the journey to cross the border into the United States. Understanding how firearm violence specifically plays a role in both migration and mental health is critical to informing how we care for these newcomers clinically and in our community," said study senior author Laura Vargas, assistant professor of psychiatry at CU Anschutz.

"Further, the prevalence of firearm threats in the region should be considered by policymakers when making policy decisions related to migration because prior research demonstrates that most of the firearms recovered in Mexico and Central America come from the United States."

More information: Eugenio Weigend Vargas et al, Firearm-related threats before migrating to the USA from Latin America and the Caribbean, Injury Prevention (2024). DOI: 10.1136/ip-2024-045369 Journal information: Injury Prevention
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Carbon dioxide creates the acidic environment necessary for calcium ions to link alginate chains, forming the hydrogel. However, the rapid release of CO after gelation limits calcium ion availability, resulting in reduced crosslinking of the alginate chains. Credit: Reproduced from Teshima et al. with permission from the Royal Society of Chemistry

Hydrogels, which are soft materials made of water-filled, crosslinked polymer networks, have a wide range of uses, from wound dressings to enhancing soil moisture for plant growth. They are formed through a process called gelation, where polymers in a solution are linked together to form a gel.

Biopolymers, such as polysaccharides and proteins, often require the addition of acidic agents for this gelation process. However, these agents can remain in the hydrogel, posing risks for biological applications. To address this issue, a new gelation method uses carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) instead of acidic agents. CO 2 acts as an acidic agent during gelation but escapes into the atmosphere once the hydrogel forms.

A study led by Professor Hidenori Otsuka and Ryota Teshima from Tokyo University of Science, Japan, investigated the effect of CO 2 release on the properties of hydrogels. Their findings are published in the journal Materials Advances and provide valuable insights for synthesizing hydrogels suitable for medical uses.

"The degree of crosslinking in hydrogels is typically controlled by 'pre-gelation parameters,' such as polymer and crosslinker concentrations. However, we demonstrate that the crosslinking degree of hydrogels prepared using carbon dioxide as the acidic agent is also influenced by post-gelation conditions," says Prof. Otsuka and Teshima.

The researchers synthesized hydrogels called Alg-gels from alginate, a polymer derived from brown seaweed. They mixed alginate with calcium carbonate (CaCO) and added carbonated water, resulting in a porous hydrogel where alginate chains were crosslinked by calcium ions.

To control the release of CO 2 from the Alg-gels, two samples were prepared: one incubated in a Petri dish, exposing only its top surface to air, and another on a wire mesh, exposing the entire surface. The rate of CO 2 release was monitored using bromothymol blue (BTB), a pH indicator that changes color with acidity (yellow in acidic conditions, green when neutral, and blue in alkaline conditions).

The gel in the Petri dish gradually turned green (neutral) over 60 minutes, indicating slow CO 2 release, and became fully blue after 5 hours. In contrast, the gel on the wire mesh released CO 2 much faster, turning fully blue by 40 minutes and releasing all the CO 2 in just 90 minutes.

The rapid release of CO 2 immediately after gel formation prevented the calcium carbonate from fully dissolving in the solution, leaving fewer calcium ions available to link the polymer chains.

"Rapid release of CO 2 from the hydrogel after gelation increased the pH of the system and decreased the degree of crosslinking," explain Prof. Otsuka and Teshima.

When both samples were subjected to a compression test, the stiffness, breaking stress, and energy required to break the disks were higher for those incubated in the petri dish compared to those on the wire mesh.

This study enhances our understanding of how CO 2 release after gel formation affects the degree of crosslinking and the mechanical properties of hydrogels, providing insights for creating hydrogels using CO 2 . Additionally, the use of alginic acid derived from marine waste can transform waste into high-value hydrogels for medical uses such as tissue engineering, including wound healing and organ regeneration.

More information: Ryota Teshima et al, Effect of CO 2 release behavior on the crosslinking degree of alginate hydrogels prepared with CaCO 3 and carbonated water, Materials Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1039/D4MA00257A
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NASAs Curiosity captured this panorama using its Mastcam while heading west away from Gediz Vallis channel on Nov. 2, 2024, the 4,352nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The Mars rovers tracks across the rocky terrain are visible at right. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

NASA's Curiosity rover is preparing for the next leg of its journey, a months-long trek to a formation called the boxwork, a set of weblike patterns on Mars's surface that stretches for miles. It will soon leave behind Gediz Vallis channel, an area wrapped in mystery. How the channel formed so late during a transition to a drier climate is one big question for the science team. Another mystery is the field of white sulfur stones the rover discovered over the summer.

Curiosity imaged the stones, along with features from inside the channel, in a 360-degree panorama before driving up to the western edge of the channel at the end of September.

The rover is searching for evidence that ancient Mars had the right ingredients to support microbial life, if any formed billions of years ago, when the Red Planet held lakes and rivers. Located in the foothills of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain, Gediz Vallis channel may help tell a related story: what the area was like as water was disappearing on Mars. Although older layers on the mountain had already formed in a dry climate, the channel suggests that water occasionally coursed through the area as the climate was changing.

Use your mouse to explore this 360-degree view of Gediz Vallis channel, a region of Mars that NASAs Curiosity rover surveyed before heading west to new adventures. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Scientists are still piecing together the processes that formed various features within the channel, including the debris mound nicknamed "Pinnacle Ridge," visible in the new 360-degree panorama. It appears that rivers, wet debris flows, and dry avalanches all left their mark. The science team is now constructing a timeline of events from Curiosity's observations.

The science team is also trying to answer some big questions about the sprawling field of sulfur stones. Images of the area from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) showed what looked like an unremarkable patch of light-colored terrain. It turns out that the sulfur stones were too small for MRO's High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) to see, and Curiosity's team was intrigued to find them when the rover reached the patch. They were even more surprised after Curiosity rolled over one of the stones, crushing it to reveal yellow crystals inside.

Science instruments on the rover confirmed the stone was pure sulfursomething no mission has seen before on Mars. The team doesn't have a ready explanation for why the sulfur formed there; on Earth, it's associated with volcanoes and hot springs, and no evidence exists on Mount Sharp pointing to either of those causes.

NASAs Curiosity Mars rover captured this last look at a field of bright white sulfur stones on Oct. 11, before leaving Gediz Vallis channel. The field was where the rover made the first discovery of pure sulfur on Mars. Scientists are still unsure exactly why theses rocks formed here. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

"We looked at the sulfur field from every anglefrom the top and the sideand looked for anything mixed with the sulfur that might give us clues as to how it formed. We've gathered a ton of data, and now we have a fun puzzle to solve," said Curiosity's project scientist Ashwin Vasavada at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

Spiderwebs on Mars

Curiosity, which has traveled about 20 miles (33 kilometers) since landing in 2012, is now driving along the western edge of Gediz Vallis channel, gathering a few more panoramas to document the region before making tracks to the boxwork.

Viewed by MRO, the boxwork looks like spiderwebs stretching across the surface. It's believed to have formed when minerals carried by Mount Sharp's last pulses of water settled into fractures in surface rock and then hardened. As portions of the rock eroded away, what remained were the minerals that had cemented themselves in the fractures, leaving the weblike boxwork.

Scientists think that ancient groundwater formed this weblike pattern of ridges, called boxwork, that were captured by NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Dec. 10, 2006. The agencys Curiosity rover will study ridges similar to these up close in 2025. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

This weblike crystalline structure called boxwork is found in the ceiling of the Elks Room, part of Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. NASAs Curiosity rover is preparing for a journey to a boxwork formation that stretches for miles on Mars surface. Credit: NPS Photo/Kim Acker

On Earth, boxwork formations have been seen on cliffsides and in caves. But Mount Sharp's boxwork structures stand apart from those both because they formed as water was disappearing from Mars and because they're so extensive, spanning an area of 6 to 12 miles (10 to 20 kilometers).

"These ridges will include minerals that crystallized underground, where it would have been warmer, with salty liquid water flowing through," said Kirsten Siebach of Rice University in Houston, a Curiosity scientist studying the region. "Early Earth microbes could have survived in a similar environment. That makes this an exciting place to explore."

Provided by NASA
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Credit: AI-generated image

150 million years ago, Laurasia .The massive neck dips, casting a curving shadow on the mossy ground. The dinosaur's jaws close around its prize. The creature lifts its head, nearly dainty in scale, and contentedly gnaws a mouthful of ferns.

It's the late Jurassic Period in the super continent of Laurasia, some 85 million years into the reign of the dinosaurs. The animal belongs to a herd of hefty herbivores who spend their days lumbering through an open landscape of conifers and gingkos, horsetails and monkey puzzle trees.

It's 10 tons at least, far longer than it is tall, its seemingly endless neck and tail held parallel to the ground in surprisingly delicate balance.

Stubby ankylosaurs graze in the distance; carnivorous allosaurs stalk for prey. Tiny mammals scamper out of the path of its thunderous footsteps.

One day the dinosaur will have a name: Gnatalie. One day it will crisscross continents that don't yet exist, coming to rest in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

But all that is a long way off. On this day in prehistory, Los Angeles still lies beneath a shallow sea.

This far back in time, some details are too fuzzy to make out. We don't know the dinosaur's sex. We don't know how it dies: illness or injury, predators or old age. But we know it lives three or four decades, and eventually the day comes when the dinosaur falls and does not rise again for many, many years.

A hungry ecosystem devours its flesh and muscle. Rains come and the dinosaur's bones wash into a river, where they lodge in the sandy bottom. Flowing water covers them in thin blankets of silt.

This is just the beginning.

80 million to 50 million years ago, Laramidia

Above ground, things live and die and disappear. But the dinosaur, encased in layers of sediment, is exempt from this endless cycle of growth and decay.

Millennia tick past. Those layers of soil compress into rock studded with the remains of forgotten creatures. More time goes by, and as the organic material in the bones wears away, water seeps into its place from the surrounding rock.

The water carries minerals, and with enough timetens of thousands of years, or millionsmineral deposits fill up the bone-shaped cavities in the rock, creating perfect replicas of teeth that once chewed ferns and tibia that held up a giant.

Volcanoes set off a cascade of chemical changes in the environment that make their way to the subterranean rock. The area becomes rich in celadonite, a soft greenish mineral. Over time, the bones concealed in the ground turn the same emerald hue.

Somewhere in there an asteroid strikes, the planet burns, and the dinosaurs' era comes to an end. Gnatalie's fossils, already ancient, lie untroubled in Earth's crust.

6 million years ago, North America

Continents shift and oceans spread. Unseen forces drive a massive plateau of rock upward, carving spectacular features that one day will have names: Grand Canyon, Arches, Monument Valley. Gnatalie rises with it.

2007, Utah

Time passes. Things happen. Ice ages, cave paintings, nation-states, Bach.

The earth the dinosaurs once trod is now a massive expanse of solid rock. The place where Gnatalie's remains lie has a name: the Colorado Plateau.

The closest town has a name tooBluff, Utah. Even that small outpost is miles from the desert where a dozen paleontologists are hiking, looking for signs of long-ago life.

In the rock they spy something that is not rock, something surprisingly green. They mark the place and agree to come back.

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20082019, Utah

Led by Luis Chiappe, director of the Natural History Museum's Dinosaur Institute, the paleontologists return with generators and tents and jackhammers and dental picks. Amid hordes of gnats they excavate that first fossil, which turns out to be a damaged leg bone.

Beneath it is another one. And another. The Earth spills secrets like it's been waiting for someone to ask.

Under the rock is a field of fossils, the commingled remnants of camarasaurs, sauropods, crocodiles, ankylosaurs, ornithopodseverything that washed into that long-gone river 150 million years ago.

The team returns every summer, year after year. Strewn throughout the bone bed are massive relics of something no one can quite identify, a mysterious dinosaur more numerous and better preserved than any other animal.

They nickname the unknown species "Gnatalie," after the pests that plague them as they work.

The green fossils are each wrapped in a plaster jacket and carefully loaded into a truck for the 700-mile drive to the museum at Exposition Park.

20082022, Los Angeles

At the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, in rooms the public aren't allowed to wander, preparators carefully clean, weigh and catalog each fossil. At benches they brush and gently scrape dust from fossilized bone, with the gentle dexterity of dentists cleaning Jurassic-era teeth.

Gnatalie, at this point, is a puzzle waiting to be assembled. But nature doesn't make this game easy.

The staff has to sort through hundreds of fossils. They know they have found some kind of sauropoda long-necked, long-tailed quadruped. The strange green dinosaur has the neck of a barosaur, a diplodocus-like spine. A review of the quarry's haul reveals a long length of vertebrae from a single animal that connects the two and solves the riddle: Gnatalie, Chiappe confirms, is indeed a previously undiscovered species.

Dinosaurs are hardly ever found in their entirety, and this one is no exception. From a half-dozen fossil skeletons, paleontologists assemble a representative of the Gnatalie species, their best educated assumption of what the animal looked like. On a computer screen, the dinosaur's internal architecture is put back together for the first time in millennia.

There are plans for this animal. The museum is opening a new welcome center, and space needs something big and bold. The answer is right there in the prep labthe world's only green dinosaur skeleton.

Two hundred bones are packed in crates, each in its own custom foam cradle. They are loaded onto trucks with specialized suspension, and a fleet carrying priceless cargo begins the 2,600-mile journey north.

20222024: Trenton, Canada

Research Casting International's unassuming warehouse sits on the bank of a quiet bay about 100 miles east of Toronto. Outside, beavers gnaw at the vegetation around the chilly waters. Inside is a steampunk fossil carnival.

In one corner the lanky, headless skeleton of a Quetzalcoatl appears ready to take flight. Welding sparks fly nearby as a worker puts finishing touches on the joints in a replica T-rex toe.

The rearing barosaurus in the rotunda of New York's American Museum of Natural History, the T-rex and triceratops locked in battle in the Natural History Museum's main hall in L.A.all of them first took form here in founder Peter May's workshop.

And in the back of the cavernous warehouse, in a secure hangar, Gnatalie stands for the first time in 150 million years.

It's 75 feet from nose to end, longer than the letters in the Hollywood sign are tall. A quirk in the fossilized sacrum, a bone in the lower back, means that the animal's neck curves slightly to the left, giving the impression of a dinosaur turning its head curiously toward an unexpected sight.

Hand-forged armatures connect some 350 bones to an underlying steel skeleton. Two-thirds are real fossils. The remainder are 3D-printed replicas of pieces nature didn't preserve well, each hand-painted and textured to match the real bone.

As RCI employees walk through remaining work to be done on the mount, museum staff visiting from Los Angeles mark the location of the future hall's entryway with painter's tape on the warehouse floor.

"We want that jaw-dropping moment that compels you to want to learn more about the specimen," says Chris Weisbart, associate vice president for exhibits.

The dinosaur will stand on a specially constructed platform that provides a better view to the public and keeps the neck and tail beyond reach of over-eager visitors tempted to jump up and touch it.

Nature makes most of the decisions about how a dinosaur mount will look, but there is a little room for interpretation within the realm of the scientifically plausible. At the moment, Chiappe, May and paleontologist Pedro Mocho are locked in an intense discussion about the precise positioning of an ulna. Chiappe carries a laptop around the front leg so that Mocho, watching via Zoom from his office in Lisbon, Portugal, can examine the bone.

"It's a weird angle," Mocho says finally. The leg needs adjusting.

"We have quite a lot of work to do," Chiappe says, looking somewhat abashed.

"We have quite a lot of time," May says with a smile.

2024: Los Angeles

On Sunday, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County will open the long-awaited $75 million NHM Commons expansion.

Earlier in the year, the museum asked the public to name their new dinosaurnot the species, which will get its scientific moniker when the long process of publishing the discovery is complete, but the mounted skeleton that people will come to visit, the green dinosaur that belongs to L.A. alone.

They threw out some options. Sage, for the native plant and earthy green color? Olive, a symbol of peace? Dinosaur enthusiasts voted to keep the name that stuck as soon as it came out of the Earth: Gnatalie.

Gnatalie will spend the rest of its fossilized existence welcoming visitors, its head arcing gently toward the windows, bony face turned toward the future Lucas Museum.

The height of the hall's doors means that the shorter a visitor is, the better their perspective. Children coming to see the green dinosaur will gasp before their parents do. Small mammals will scamper at Gnatalie's feet again.

2024 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Most sexual violence and domestic violence crimes in Canada are male-perpetrated. Data from Statistics Canada shows that men commit 99% of sexual assaults against women and are significantly more likely to offend criminally, including violent crime. Recent data indicates that nearly nine in 10 victims (89%) of police-reported sexual assaults were women and girls between 2015 and 2019.

These statistics paint a grim picture. However, the key to ending domestic violence is hiding in plain sight.

According to new research we are spearheading at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Social Work and School of Public Policy, 73% of men charged with domestic violence have already interacted with the police at least once. In addition, nearly two-thirds of the men saw a clear increase in police interactions in the previous two years before a domestic violence-related charge in 2019.

Our work finds clear trajectories of behavior leading to criminal acts of domestic violence. This suggests that the majority of domestic violence can be predicted and prevented.

This research makes it clear. If we want to prevent domestic violence from happening, we need to work with men. We need to remove the burden from survivors by focusing our attention and resources on the people and systems that cause harmbecause the cost of raising perpetrators hurts everyone.

About our study

Emerging evidence from our study tells us that distinct red flags emerge right before a criminal charge for domestic violence happens.

Most research on male perpetration focuses on the after-effects of domestic violence crimes, with an emphasis on how survivors can keep themselves safe or how to prevent repeat offenses. Instead, our study asks what could have prevented the violenceand the chargefrom happening in the first place.

Our research focused specifically on men who faced a domestic violence-related charge in 2019 and whose incidents involved a female partner. Utilizing a 10-year dataset supplied by the Calgary Police Service with a sample size of 934 men, we identified four key typologies of domestic violence perpetrators.

These typologies include perpetrators who had:

No prior police involvement before they were charged with domestic violence Prior police involvement only related to domestic violence encounters A criminal history and no domestic encounters before they were charged Both a criminal history and a history of domestic violence encounters before they were charged.

Flipping the script to prevention

In examining these typologies, we found that only 27% of men charged with domestic violence had no prior police involvement beforehand. That means over seven in 10 men had been involved in an incident with police prior to their domestic violence charge.

This pattern suggests domestic violence is not a random event. Most perpetrators of domestic violence have contact with police well before they are charged with a domestic violence crime.

Further, for 64% of men, there was a clear increase in police charges and interactions in the two years before their domestic violence charge. In other words, encounters with police increased right before most perpetrators committed domestic violence, indicating a trajectory.

When nearly three-quarters of men who perpetrate domestic violence have had contact with police before their eventual charge, it's an important warning sign and a prevention opportunity.

It means we can do better at intervening early to prevent domestic violence from happening. There is a window to prevent the escalation of violence if we provide these men with the right support at the right time.

Our data also shows that domestic violence perpetrators can be found in every neighborhood and come from all income levels. This means domestic violence is an issue of power, not poverty. We need a prevention strategy that reaches all communities across socioeconomic lines. We need to offer free education, counseling and support services to help men, and their families build and sustain healthy relationships.

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The takeaways

Perpetrators are made, not born. Though most men who were charged with domestic violence had a history with police, nearly three in 10 did not.

This means we can't rely solely on the law enforcement system to identify men at risk for violence. We need to fundamentally change the conditions that turn people into perpetrators.

In isolation, changing policing practices will not end domestic violence. This needs to be paired with a community-government-based approach that addresses risk factors before police involvement.

Federal and provincial governments have created violence prevention plans. However, Canada does not currently have a comprehensive national strategy for engaging men and boys to prevent violence, and no comprehensive government action plan that is focused on men and boys exists at the provincial or territorial level anywhere in the country.

Our research hub, Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence, has been working for over 14 years to stop violence before it starts. We already know the importance of engaging men and boys in the settings where they already live, work, play and worship.

We have the solutions needed to change the cultural and structural conditions that make it possible for men to perpetrate 83% of all violence against women.

Now, we just need the political will and resources to implement them.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Colorado ranchers are renewing their demand for state wildlife officials to delay the release of more wolves until they finalize more programs to prevent attacks on livestock.

Ranchers on Thursday formally asked Colorado Parks and Wildlife commissioners to delay the releasesexpected in early Januaryto prevent communication issues and depredations similar to those that happened after the first wolves were reintroduced in December 2023 as part of the voter-mandated program.

"CPW needs more time," Tim Ritschard, president of the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association, told commissioners during their meeting.

The Middle Park Stockgrowers and 26 other livestock and agricultural producers first filed their petition to delay the next release on Sept. 27. The petition asks the CPW Commission to adopt a rule that would pause further wolf releases until CPW defines chronic depredation, fully funds range riders to haze wolves from livestock, conducts site assessments on ranches near the release site and creates a rapid response team to deploy to areas where wolves are preying on livestock.

Since the reintroduction last year, wolves have killed or injured at least 17 head of cattle, nine sheep and one llama, according to CPW's list of confirmed depredations. Most of the killings occurred in Grand County.

"Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife itself has admitted that the agency needs to provide 'additional support' to livestock producers to address wolf-livestock conflicts, and it is safe to say the agency's introduction of wolves has not gone smoothly," the petition states.

"Given the turbulent start to this program, the program elements described below need to be funded and in place before any additional gray wolves are introduced in Colorado."

Ritschard and other ranchers urged the commission to take action and quickly implement the rule delaying releases until those conditions are met.

Caitlyn Taussig, a fourth-generation Grand County rancher, said at the meeting Thursday that she had been waiting for three years for clear answers about how best to manage livestock carcasses to prevent the attraction of wolves, since she does not own the equipment necessary to bury them. She also noted that the range rider programwhich sends someone to watch for wolves and keep them away from herdswas neither fully funded nor fully operational.

"Adding more wolves now will inevitably create more conflict and further damage relationships between landowners and CPW," she said. "Decades of good relationships have deteriorated in just a year."

CPW staff is tasked with reviewing the petition and writing a recommendation for the commission. But CPW has not yet drafted its recommendation, and CPW Director Jeff Davis on Thursday did not give a specific answer as to when the recommendation would be ready.

"We're still in the review process, so it's hard to say how long it would take for the drafting of the recommendation, in coordination with the attorney general's office," Davis said.

Davis said that the agency already had begun work on many of the changes desired by the livestock industry. CPW officials met with government officials and ranchers in Garfield, Eagle or Pitkin countiesthe three counties where the next releases may take place.

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The agency is finalizing a definition of "chronic depredation," CPW deputy director of policy Reid DeWalt said.

Wolves that are found to be chronically depredating can be removed from the landscape, but the agency never formally defined the term. The lack of definition created contention between ranchers in Middle Park and the agency when CPW for months would not kill or remove a male wolf found to be routinely killing livestock.

The agency later removed the wolf from the wildalong with its mate and their pupsand it died in captivity.

CPW is also working on creating an improved range riding program that would contract with riders across the state to provide hazing services when wolves are in an area, DeWalt said. The new program could cost about $500,000 a year.

"Trying not to be defensive, but we have learned a lot and are doing a lot differently already," Davis said.

Since CPW relocated 10 adult wolves to the state and released them in December, three have died. In addition to the seven survivors, CPW has confirmed five pups, and the state also has two known adults from a pack established earlier by wolves that migrated from Wyoming.

Wolf advocates during the meeting said CPW should continue the releases as demanded by a majority of voters and outlined in the wolf management plan.

"Pausing wolf releases is not consistent with the mandate of Prop. 114," said Delia Malone, wildlife chair for the Colorado Sierra Club.

Ritschard said the law requiring the reintroduction of wolves does not mandate when more wolves are released, only that the reintroduction begin by Dec. 31, 2023, as occurred late last year. A delay would not violate the law, though it would contradict the wolf management plan drafted by CPW.

"You should be willing to change your approach to address challenges as they arise," he said.

CPW Commission chair Dallas May said scheduling a special meeting to rule on the petition before the panel has received CPW's recommendations would be fruitless.

"I understand the implications and that this is a very contentious issue," he said, "but the fact remains that we have to do it in a proper way."

2024 MediaNews Group, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

In a study, led by the University of Oxford's Department of Physics and published 18 November in Nature, an international group of authors who developed the science behind net zero demonstrate that relying on 'natural carbon sinks' like forests and oceans to offset ongoing CO 2 emissions from fossil fuel use will not actually stop global warming.

The science of net zero, developed over 15 years ago, does not include these natural carbon sinks in the definition of net human-induced CO 2 emissions.

Natural sinks play a vital role in moderating the impact of current emissions and draw down atmospheric CO 2 concentrations after the date of net zero, stabilizing global temperatures. Yet governments and corporations are increasingly turning to them to offset emissions, rather than reducing fossil fuel use or developing more permanent CO 2 disposal options.

Emissions accounting rules encourage this by creating an apparent equivalence between fossil fuel emissions and drawdown of CO 2 by some natural carbon sinks, meaning a country could appear to have 'achieved net zero' while still contributing to ongoing warming.

The authors call on governments and corporations to clarify how much they are counting on natural carbon sinks to meet their climate goals, as well as recognizing the need for "Geological Net Zero."

Geological Net Zero means balancing flows of carbon into and out of the solid Earth, with one ton of CO 2 committed to geological storage for every ton still generated by any continued fossil fuel use. Given the cost and challenges of permanent geological CO 2 storage, achieving Geological Net Zero will require a substantial reduction in fossil fuel use.

The authors stress the importance of protecting and maintaining natural carbon sinks while accepting that doing so cannot compensate for ongoing fossil fuel use. Total historical CO 2 emissions determine how much a country or company has contributed to the global need for ongoing natural carbon sinks.

A country like the UK, with large historical emissions and limited natural sinks, has implicitly committed other countries to maintain natural sinks for decades after UK emissions reach net zero. This is not currently addressed in climate talks.

Professor Myles Allen, of the University of Oxford's Department of Physics, who led the study, summarizes, "We are already counting on forests and oceans to mop up our past emissions, most of which came from burning stuff we dug out of the ground. We can't expect them to compensate for future emissions as well. By mid-century, any carbon that still comes out of the ground will have to go back down, to permanent storage. That's Geological Net Zero."

Dr. Glen Peters, of the CICERO Center for International Climate Research in Oslo, Norway, a study co-author, says, "Countries report both emissions and removals, but using all removals in climate targets is a recipe for continued warming. Natural carbon sinks currently clean up around half our annual emissions for free, but this ecosystem service must be kept separate from the fossil emissions driving climate change. Relabeling things will not stop global warming."

Professor Kirsten Zickfeld of Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, co-author and leader of one of the other 2009 net zero papers, says, "It is a common assumption that removing carbon from the atmosphere to offset burning of fossil fuels is as effective as not burning fossil fuels in the first place. It is not.

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"Offsetting continued fossil fuel use with carbon removal will not be effective if the removal is already being counted on as part of the natural carbon cycle and if the carbon is not permanently stored. Unless we can increase transparency in national Greenhouse gas reporting and target setting, offsets will become part of the problem instead of part of the solution."

Study co-author Professor Jo House of the University of Bristol UK says, "Land is limited, we rely on it for food, nature, biodiversity, leisure, water storage, and so on. It cannot offset more than a portion of fossil emissions even now, probably less in future, with worsening pressures on the biosphere such as population increase, fires, and drought.

"Giving carbon credits for natural processes that are happening anyway undermines trust in the whole idea of offsetting. We have to urgently protect natural carbon sinks, but there are more scientifically credible and equitable ways of doing this than relying on carbon offset markets."

More information: Myles Allen, Geological Net Zero and the need for disaggregated accounting for carbon sinks, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08326-8. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08326-8 Journal information: Nature
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Country comparison of the movement profiles of the top three refugee countries of origin (Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan) and the top non-refugee country of origin (Germany). Credit: Complexity Science Hub Vienna

Refugees move nearly four times more often than other migrants, signaling greater instability, according to a new study published in Genus. Gender and country of origin significantly influence this mobility. Although based on an Austrian case study, its findings are globally relevant, especially in light of the rising number of migrants worldwide.

While the integration of refugees into the labor market and health care system is often studied, less is known about the stability of their housing situations.

To address this, CSH researchers have now quantified all registered changes of address for non-Austrian nationals who had their primary residence in Austria at least temporarily between November 2022 and November 2023. This involved 1.6 million people, 17% of whom were refugees, and 83% were migrants, i.e., people who came to Austria voluntarily and are not threatened by persecution in their home country.

"Our findings show that refugees experience significantly greater instability in their housing situation," explains CSH Ph.D. Candidate Ola Ali. On average, they move 3.8 times more frequently within the investigated year than migrants in Austriaeven when they come from the same country. While almost 60% of migrants did not change their address, only 33% of refugees remained at the same address.

Housing mobility as indicator

Although changing residences can be linked to improved housing, personal choices, or job changes, longer stays at one address are crucial for building connections to a place and integrating into the local community. Frequent moves within a year can lead to several challenges, including financial strain, difficulty accessing education and health care, and a lack of stable relationships within neighborhoods.

"Up until now, most research has focused on what happens to refugees before they arrive in a new country, rather than how they fare once they are living there," says Ali. "However, with a growing number of people fleeing worldwide, this issue will become increasingly important for all host countries. If we want to understand how well people are doing in a new country, we should also consider the stability of their housing situation, among other factors," she adds.

Gender and country of origin

The study found that male refugees change addresses almost twice as often as female refugees.

"We also see significant differences based on the country of origin. Refugees from Syria change their residence most frequently. Refugees from Syria move the most often, relocating on average 0.55 times per year2.2 times more often than Ukrainian refugees, 1.7 times more often than Afghan refugees, and almost 5.5 times more often than migrants from Germany," says Ali. While migrants from Syria move half as frequently as Syrian refugees, they still relocate as often as Ukrainian refugees.

Among those labeled as "Churning movers"individuals who relocate particularly often within the same district, signaling an unstable living situationnearly 40% were from Syria, followed by Ukraine (17%) and Afghanistan (12%).

Top churning moves from both the refugee and non-refugees populations. Credit: Complexity Science Hub Vienna

Legal status

"Our results suggest that housing instability may be related to the legal status assigned upon entering Austria, which affects various aspects of life," Ali explains. The level of housing stability can vary based on whether someone is an asylum seeker, displaced person, or has a different legal status in the country. For instance, while most Syrian refugees have asylum status (81%), almost all Ukrainian refugees are classified as displaced persons (99%).

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Moving toward Vienna

In terms of movement direction within the refugee population, there is significant migration towards Vienna, with 16.2% of movements directed to Vienna compared to 4.7% moving out of Vienna. In contrast, only 4.7% of migrants move to Vienna, compared to 5.8% moving out of the city.

Global picture

"Even though the study is based on an Austrian case study, its findings are global in relevance, especially given the rising number of migrants around the world," says Rafael Prieto-Curiel, head of the Human Migration research group at CSH.

By the end of 2023, the number of people forcibly displaced reached a record high of 117.3 million, according to the UNHCR. This figure has doubled in less than a decade, mainly due to violence and conflict.

And it is likely to continue rising: "Firstly, the world population is growing. By 2050, there will be about 20% more people. Secondly, factors like water shortages, food insecurity, and natural disasters will force more people to migratealong with increasing political instability and generalized violence," says Rafael Prieto-Curiel, who co-leads the Human Migration research group at CSH together with Ljubica Nedelkoska.

"With the global number of refugees rising, understanding the complexities of refugee populations and their living conditions is essential for helping them settle in a new country," emphasizes Prieto-Curiel. "This is why we want to highlight with this study that there are differences that have so far received little attention and that could have a significant impact," Ali adds.

More information: Ola Ali et al, Quantifying the stability of refugee populations: a case study in Austria, Genus (2024). DOI: 10.1186/s41118-024-00231-2
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The frozen mummy of Homotherium latidens (Owen, 1846), specimen DMF AS RS, no. Met-20-1, Russia, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Indigirka River basin, Badyarikha River; Upper Pleistocene: (A) external appearance; (B) skeleton, CT-scan, dorsal view. Credit: Scientific Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-79546-1

Found encased in ice in 2020 along the Badyarikha River in the Republic of Sakha, a northeastern region of Russia that borders the East Siberian Sea of the Arctic Ocean, a well-preserved specimen offers a rare opportunity to examine an extinct predator that roamed Eurasia during the Late Pleistocene.

The specimen is a cub with short, thick, and dark brown fur, with longer hair on the back and neck. The front paws are rounded, featuring paws adapted for walking in snow. The claws are sharp and strongly curved, similar to those of modern felines.

A team led by the Borissiak Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences has identified the frozen saber-toothed cat as belonging to Homotherium latidens. This makes it only the second evidence of H. latidens in the Late Pleistocene of Eurasia, the first being a mandible from the North Sea.

In the study, "Mummy of a juvenile sabre-toothed cat Homotherium latidens from the Upper Pleistocene of Siberia," published in Scientific Reports, researchers conducted radiocarbon dating, detailed morphological and tomographic analyses of the mummified carcass, comparing it to modern lion cubs of similar age.

The remains include the head, anterior body, partial pelvis, and limbs, all encased in ice. Radiocarbon dating places the specimen at approximately 35,471 to 37,019 calibrated years before present.

External appearance of three-week-old heads of large felid cubs, right lateral view: (A) Homotherium latidens (Owen, 1846), specimen DMF AS RS, no. Met-20-1, frozen mummy, Russia, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Indigirka River basin, Badyarikha River; Upper Pleistocene; (B) Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758), specimen ZMMU, no. S-210286; Recent. Credit: Scientific Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-79546-1

Estimated to be around three weeks old at death, the Homotherium cub exhibits significant anatomical differences from modern lions, including a more massive neck, elongated forelimbs, smaller ears, and a larger mouth opening.

The shape of the digital pads are adapted for navigating snowy environments, suggesting persistent dwelling in cold climates and hunting strategies that would be very distinct from those of contemporary big cats.

CT scans revealed features characteristic of the Machairodontinae subfamily and the genus Homotherium. The skull shows a pronounced mandibular flange, a short and low coronoid process, and an elevated position of the incisors relative to the cheek teeth row.

The braincase is more swollen compared to that of a modern lion cub, and the zygomatic arches are more widely spaced. Enlarged premaxillary bones house large, cone-shaped incisors forming a convex arch.

Comparative measurements indicate that the Homotherium cub's skull and forelimbs are proportionally larger than those of a similarly aged lion cub, confirming its unique developmental trajectory.

Homotherium latidens roamed across Eurasia, Africa, and the Americas during the Plio-Pleistocene. Historically, most Late Pleistocene fossils of Homotherium have been concentrated in North America, where over thirty localities have yielded specimens traditionally classified under the species H. serum.

Genetic analyses have since revealed that H. latidens from the North Sea is genetically identical to H. serum, consolidating on these classifications under the name H. latidens. The newly discovered mummy significantly broadens the known geographical range of the species and offers invaluable data on its physical characteristics and adaptations.

More information: A. V. Lopatin et al, Mummy of a juvenile sabre-toothed cat Homotherium latidens from the Upper Pleistocene of Siberia, Scientific Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-79546-1 Journal information: Scientific Reports

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Credit: Dcrjsr, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

In the tension between ecology and economics lies an uncomfortable truth: while both words share a root in "eco" (from the Greek oikos, meaning home), our modern economies often seem to overlook the home we all sharethe natural world.

In her new book The Serviceberry: An Economy of Gifts and Abundance (published by Allen Lane), Indigenous scientist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer, renowned for her previous bestseller Braiding Sweetgrass (2013), invites readers to rethink this link by looking to an unlikely teacherthe serviceberry tree.

So, what exactly is a serviceberry? More than just a flowering tree native to North America, the serviceberry is deeply rooted in Indigenous calendars and knowledge systems. Its blossoming signals the arrival of spring, and its berries have sustained human and non-human (or as Kimmerer more aptly refers to them, "more-than-human") communities alike for generations. For Kimmerer, a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and a scientist, the serviceberry becomes a lens for understanding what it means to live abundantly on this planet.

Her book is as slender as a serviceberry twig, only 105 pages in a small, beautifully bound format. But it bears a weight of wisdom, unfolding like a series of ripple-effects that spread from the berry itself to the entire web of life.

John Burgoyne's black-and-white illustrations bring a rustic, timeless quality to the text, evoking homely woodcuts. This aesthetic choice mirrors Kimmerer's approach: while modern economics treats nature as a resource to be exploited, The Serviceberry offers a different visionone where nature is a gift to be shared. Through a blend of storytelling and careful scientific observation, Kimmerer makes a powerful case for gift economies as an alternative to our market-driven society.

Kimmerer argues that Indigenous knowledge systems, including the Potawatomi's, have long promoted a culture of reciprocitygiving back to the land that sustains us. This notion is rooted in a simple but profound question: what can we give back to nature, especially when we have already taken so much?

The book addresses this question through Kimmerer's perspective as both an ecologist and an Indigenous scholar, grounded in traditions that emphasize balance and gratitude.

Central to her argument is the idea that abundance is not linked to the mindset that resources are limited, as capitalist economies would have us believe. Instead, Indigenous knowledges show that abundance can come from cooperative relationships with nature, where humans are just one part of a larger system.

Kimmerer writes that "all that we need to live flows through the land." This is a reminder that seems both honest and humbling in a world that prioritizes economic growth over ecological balance. To embrace a "culture of gratitude," as she suggests, is not merely to say thanks but to actively reciprocate, ensuring that the gift continues.

This approach challenges two central assumptions in economic theory: that humans are "rational economic actors," and that scarcity is the only driver of value. By exploring alternative systems like gift economies, Kimmerer invites us to rethink what wealth means and what we are truly taking when we consume.

Gift economies exist outside of traditional market structures, grounded in practical examples such as potlatch feasts and public libraries. These are cultural systems where resources are shared, and value is measured in relationships rather than transactions.

This way of thinking aligns with the so-called "cuddly capitalism" seen in some Nordic countries, where policies prioritize well-being and foster high levels of happiness.

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From tragedy to hope

Kimmerer's discussion challenges the famously cynical "tragedy of the commons" theory, proposed by ecologist Garrett Hardin, which suggests that common resources inevitably lead to depletion because of self-interest. Kimmerer argues that humans are not inherently driven by selfishness, as biologist Richard Dawkins's selfish gene theory suggests.

Recent studies indicate that mutualism and cooperation are foundational in evolution, hinting at the idea that ecosystems, and perhaps economies, thrive on cooperation, not just competition.

In Kimmerer's hands, these concepts feel intuitive, almost obvious: why wouldn't we look to natural systems that have survived for millions of years to guide our future? Her answer lies in having the humility to accept that we are just a part of this vast web of life.

Ultimately, The Serviceberry is a hopeful book. It offers a way out of what Kimmerer calls a "cannibal economy," where endless consumption depletes the world around us. Instead, she imagines a system where resources circulate through communities, creating webs of independence that nourish both humans and nature.

This visionone that replaces the tragedy of the commons with an abundance of communityinvites us to rediscover the serviceberry tree's simple wisdom: when we take, we must also give back. Through Kimmerer's words, the serviceberry is not just a fruit but a guide, helping us reimagine our relationship with the Earth, grounded in reciprocity, gratitude, and the possibility of abundance.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Scott Evans and Ian Hughes excavating a fossil bed at Nilpena National Park. Credit: Mary Droser/UCR

Everyone has a past. That includes the millions of species of insects, arachnids, and nematode worms that make up a major animal group called the Ecdysozoa.

Until recently, details about this group's most distant past have been elusive. But a UC Riverside-led team has now identified the oldest known ecdysozoan in the fossil record and the only one from the Precambrian period.

Their discovery of Uncus dzaugisi, a worm-like creature rarely over a few centimeters in length, is described in a paper titled "An Ediacaran bilateran with an ecdysozoan affinity from South Australia" published in Current Biology.

"Scientists have hypothesized for decades that this group must be older than the Cambrian, but until now its origins have remained enigmatic. This discovery reconciles a major gap between predictions based on molecular data and the lack of described ecdysozoans prior to the rich Cambrian fossils record and adds to our understanding of the evolution of animal life," said Mary Droser, a distinguished professor of geology at UCR, who led the study.

The ecdysozoans are the largest and most species-rich animal group on Earth, encompassing more than half of all animals. Characterized by their cuticlea tough external skeleton that is periodically shedthe group comprises three subgroups: nematodes, which are microscopic worms; arthropods, which include insects, spiders, and crustaceans; and scalidophora, an eclectic group of small, scaly marine creatures.

"Like many modern-day animal groups, ecdysozoans were prevalent in the Cambrian fossil record and we can see evidence of all three subgroups right at the beginning of this period, about 540 million years ago," said Ian Hughes, a graduate student in marine biology at Harvard University and the paper's first author.

"We know they didn't just appear out of nowhere, and so the ancestors of all ecdysozoans must have been present during the preceding Ediacaran period."

DNA-based analyses, used to predict the age of animal groups by comparing them with their closest living relatives, have corroborated this hypothesis. Yet ecdysozoan fossil animals have remained hidden among scores of animal fossils paleontologists have discovered from the Ediacaran Period.

Ediacaran animals, which lived 635538 million years ago, were ocean dwellers; their remains preserved as cast-like impressions on the seabed that later hardened to rock. Hughes said uncovering them is a labor-intensive, delicate process that involves peeling back rock layers, flipping them over, dusting them off, and piecing them back together to get "a really nice snapshot of the sea floor."

This excavation process has only been done at Nilpena Ediacara National Park in South Australia, a site Droser and her team have been working at for 25 years that is known for its beautifully preserved Ediacaran fossils.

Uncus fossil from Nilpena Ediacara National Park. The numbers correspond to the coordinates of this fossil on the fossil bed surface. Bottom: 3D laser scans enable the researchers to study the fossils' shape and curvature. Credit: Droser Lab/UCR

"Nilpena is perhaps the best fossil site for understanding early animal evolution in the world because the fossils occur during a period of heightened diversity and we are able to excavate extensive layers of rock that preserve these snapshots," said Scott Evans, an assistant professor of Earth-Life interactions at Florida State University and co-author of the study.

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"The layer where we found Uncus is particularly exciting because the sediment grains are so small that we really see all the details of the fossils preserved there."

While the team didn't set out to find an early ecdysozoan during their 2018 excavation, they were drawn to a mysterious worm-like impression that they dubbed "fishhook."

"Sometimes we make dramatic discoveries and sometimes we excavate an entire bed and say 'hmmm, I've been looking at that thing, what do you think?'" Hughes said.

"That's what happened here. We had all sort of noticed this fishhook squiggle on the rock. It was pretty prominent because it was really, really deep."

After seeing more of the worm-like squiggles, the team paid closer attention, taking note of fishhook's characteristics.

"Because it was deep, we knew it wasn't smooshed easily so it must have had a pretty rigid body," Hughes said. Other defining characteristics include its distinct curvature and the fact that it could move aroundseen by trace fossils in the surrounding area. Paul De Ley, an associate professor of nematology at UCR, confirmed its fit as an early nematode and ruled out other worm types.

"At this point we knew this was a new fossil animal and it belonged to the Ecdysozoa," Hughes said.

The team called the new animal Uncus, which means "hook" in Latin, noting in the paper its similarities to modern-day nematodes. Hughes said the team was excited to find evidence of what scientists had long predicted; that ecdysozoans existed in the Ediacaran Period.

"It's also really important for our understanding of what these early animal groups would have looked like and their lifestyle, especially as the ecdysozoans would really come to dominate the marine ecosystem in the Cambrian," he said.
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Earth's oceans, forests and soil absorb carbon dioxide, meaning they play a crucial role in efforts to fight climate change.

Countries must not count the carbon dioxide naturally sucked up by Earth's forests in their net zero climate plans, scientists said on Monday, warning that "vague" rules could end up with the world warming more than expected.

The scientists, who developed the original science behind net zero, issued their warning in a new study as nations gathered in Azerbaijan for the latest round of UN climate talks.

The world's oceans, forests and soil absorb planet-heating carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, meaning they play a crucial role in efforts to stop temperatures from rising further.

These "natural carbon sinks" currently suck up around half of all the carbon dioxide emitted by humanity.

Under the Paris climate agreement, nations committed to curbing global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times.

While they did not specify how they were going to achieve that target, scientists say the world needs to slash emissions almost in half this decade and reach net zerowhen humanity will no longer emit more greenhouse gas than it capturesby 2050.

Once emissions are down to virtually zero, forests and oceans should be able to absorb some of the additional carbon dioxide that has built up in the atmosphere so that global temperatures can "stabilize," said Myles Allen, an Oxford University scientist and lead author of the study in the journal Nature.

Allen helped develop the science behind net zero in the 2000s.

But a problem has emerged since that "didn't occur to me at the time," he told a press conference.

As nations have announced their climate plans, some have claimed the amount of carbon naturally removed by their forests and land would make up for some of the emissions by their people and industries.

But natural carbon sinks cannot be counted on "to do two jobs at once," Allen emphasized.

"If we're going to count on them to mop up our historical emissions... we cannot at the same time use them to offset future fossil fuel emissions."

Insufficient efforts to limit global warming.

Warming risk

This may seem like a slight tweak in greenhouse gas accounting, but it could mean that the world thinks it is on a path to limiting warming to 1.5C, whereas in fact it could shoot past 2C "and have warming continuing into the future," he said.

Russia, for example, "apparently recently pointed out that they might just achieve net zero while increasing their fossil fuel use because they have such large forests," Allen said.

The European Union has recently started partly claiming the work of its forests as an offset against emissions, said Glen Peters, research director at the Center for International Climate Research in Oslo.

It is not that countries are breaking the rules, Allen said, "It's just the rules are a bit vague."

Most countries and many big companies have announced some kind of net zero plan, but the details about exactly how and when they will be carried out vary widely, threatening their integrity, experts have warned.

'Geological net zero'

The researchers called for the world to set its sights on "geological net zero", which would mean that for every tonne of carbon dioxide emitted by a fossil fuelthe main source of emissionsa tonne would need to be sucked out of the atmosphere and permanently put back in the ground.

While there are hopes of a boom in technologies that extract CO 2 from the air, just 0.1 percent of carbon dioxide emissions are currently captured and locked awaythat needs to increase to 100 percent by mid-century, Allen said.

Peters added, "If you don't take the fossil fuels out of the ground in the first place, then you're a long way to solving the problem."

Last week, it was predicted that humanity would again break the record for carbon dioxide emissions in 2024which is expected to be the hottest year in recorded history.

 2024 AFP
The Cherry Hill school district has been accused of violating student privacy by mistakenly releasing the names of at least 92 students whose families opted out of sex-education classes in the 2022-23 school year.

The names of the elementary school students were released in September 2023 in response to an Open Public Records Act request seeking information about how many parents were excluding their children from classes after the state adopted new controversial standards on sex-education concepts that include gender identity, puberty, and masturbation.

The families of an additional 82 children were also notified that their names may have been released, Superintendent Kwame Morton said last week.

Morton acknowledged the mistake and said the names were removed last week from the OPRAmachine, a website that assists requesters with accessing public records, where the 2023 request had been filed. Morton said the names were redacted in the districts PDF files, but showed up when they were converted to a different format by OPRAmachine.

Cherry Hill used the incorrect redaction procedure to format a digital record, and that allowed the names to appear despite being blacked out, said Charlie Kratovil, a leader of the OPRAmachine.

District lawyers sent a letter to the website to get the names removed once they were made aware. The district has implemented new security measures, Morton said, and employees were also retrained on confidentiality rules.

In no way shape or form was the intention to release any names, Morton said Wednesday. The important thing is not ever is it our intention to harm any child.

In a complaint submitted online last month, parent and former school board candidate Harvey Vazquez asked the U.S. Department of Education to investigate whether the district violated the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, which protects students privacy and education records.

Vazquez, whose 6-year-old son was on the opt-out list, brought up the issue last month at a school board meeting, where Morton says he was first made aware.

A parent notified the district about the release of the names in November 2023, but nothing was done, he said.

Morton confirmed that no action was taken but said he was not informed about the release at the time.

A lot of parents are upset, said Vazquez. Somebody needs to be held accountable.

The unauthorized disclosure came to light during a hotly contested race for three school board seats in Cherry Hill among Vazquez and nine others. Vazquez said he discovered the release after he began investigating the New Jersey Public Education Coalition, which labeled three other candidates in the race as like-minded. Vazquez narrowly lost.

The coalition, which touts itself as a nonpartisan group of educators, parents and other stakeholders, made the OPRA request as part of a statewide project surveying districts. The group wanted to dispute claims that a majority of New Jersey parents had opted out of the new sex-education standards, said its founder, Michael Gottesman.

The revised guidelines, which took effect in 2022, prompted an outcry from some parents. The state allowed districts to decide whether to amend their curricula to meet the expectations of what students should learn by the end of the second, fifth, eighth and 12th grades. Parents who believe the instruction conflicts with their moral or religious beliefs may have the student excused from that portion of the course.

Gottesman said the coalitions survey results were analyzed by an outside vendor, and the coalition never saw the students names. He said he only recently learned that names had been disclosed.

NJ correctional officers charged with sexually assaulting teen at juvenile facility Two senior correctional officers in New Jersey have been charged with sexually assaulting an 18-year-old housed at a juvenile female detention center in Burlington County, officials announced Tuesday.

As a coalition, we would never release that type of information, Gottesman said.

Bridget Palmer, one of the newly elected school board members, said she wanted the district to make policy changes to protect students privacy and prevent information from mistakenly being released.

There is no arguing that there was a huge mistake made, Palmer said. You cant undo what has already been done, but we can take steps to make sure it never happens again.

Vazquez wants the district to better explain how the lapse occurred and wants there to be disciplinary action against anyone found responsible.

There needs to be a public apology, he said. Thats the least they can do.
Kathmandu, Nepal, November 18, 2024: The government has declared a public holiday today, Monday, in mourning of former Speaker Daman Nath Dhungana.

A Cabinet meeting held on Monday morning decided a public holiday in mourning of former Speaker Dhungana.

Dhungana passed away on Sunday afternoon while undergoing treatment at a Kathmandu based Hospital.

According to government spokesperson and Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung, the national flag will be flown at half-mast at all government offices across the country and at Nepals diplomatic missions abroad today in mourning of Dhunganas death.

Dhungana served as Speaker following the countrys first general election in 1990.
Authorities tour affected areas after passing of Sara

Mahahual, Q.R.  Authorities toured streets in Chetumal and Mahahual after the passing of Tropical Storm Sara. Critical areas such as 4 de Marzo Street in Chetumal and various neighborhoods in Mahahual were toured for damage. Industrial pumps were brought in to drain streets of standing water.

Pumps were used to remove standing water from flooded streets.

Authorities toured the hardest hit areas Sunday afternoon where they cleared flooded streets, clogged drains and removed storm debris from roadways. Personnel from the Navy, National Defense, Civil Protection, Conagua, Seop, CAPA and municipal authorities including Mayor Yensunni Martinez Hernandez, carried out the work.

Together with federal forces, the entire team from the State Government, the municipality, DIF and Conagua assisted the families affected by the rains. We supervised the cleaning of sewers, responded to reports of flooding and to reports from the CFE, Governor Mara Lezama reported.

Low lying areas of Bacalar were also left under water Sunday.

With the support of the Navy and Sedena, we delivered food packages and direct support to those who needed it most. The priority is to protect and support the affected families. We will not leave anyone behind, she posted on her social media.

A military truck is seen here at Mahahual during a patrol after the passing of Sara.

The Governor also monitored CFE bridages in response to residential electrical issues. During the tour, she confirmed that Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) trucks were patrolling the region to respond to any contingency.

CFE brigades made rounds to affected areas.

We are accompanying the CFE brigades, responding to reports from residents of Mahahual and surrounding communities affected by the rains caused by Sara. We are working together to restore service as soon as possible, she said Sunday afternoon.

There was no major damage reported during the passing of Tropical Storm Sara, only felled trees and various degrees of flooding.

The streets of Jose Maria Morelos were also left under water due to Tropical Storm Sara.

The State Coordination of Civil Protection also reported brigade work in Mahahual and Chetumal.

In Mahahual, the brigades worked in coordination with the Navy to assist affected families, offering direct support and assessing damage in the area. In the city of Chetumal, brigades were activated in collaboration with the Secretariat of Public Works, focusing on cleaning sewers, dredging absorption wells and eliminating puddles in critical areas, Coordinacion Estatal de Proteccion Civil reported.
Judge hands down 31 year sentence for murder of Playa del Carmen police officer

Playa del Carmen, Q.R.  Two men have each been sentenced to 31 years in prison for the murder of a Solidaridad police officer. On Saturday, a judge sentenced both Marco Antonio N and Erick Alejandro N for the 2021 shooting death.

The events for which they were sentenced occurred on the night of March 11, 2021, outside a commercial premises located on 125th Avenue by CTM, where they took the life of a male who was inside a municipal patrol car, the State Attorney General (FGE) reported in a statement.

Marco Antonio N was in charge of driving the motorcycle in which he was traveling with the person who shot the victim to later flee into the woods where Erick Alejandro N was waiting for them, aboard a taxi to escape from the scene.

At their hearing, the judge sentenced them to 31 years in prison for the murder of the Playa del Carmen police officer as well compensation for material damages in the amount of 708,500 pesos and 96,000 pesos for moral damages.
Devising a logical sequel to the Oscar-winning 2000 blockbuster Gladiator was not a self-evident task, given that the hero of the original, Russell Crowes Maximus Decimus Meridius, does not survive the movie. Rather than go back in time and imagine an origin story for Maximus, director Ridley Scott and his longtime screenwriter David Scarpa (Napoleon, All the Money in the World) have chosen to set the story a generation after the events of the first film. That choice in and of itself was not a bad one: The prequel as an excuse for franchise extension has become such a cliche its generated its own genre of online joke (see: calling a particularly maddening news story or social phenomenon ones villain origin story). But Gladiator 2 (or as its spelled in the opening title, GladIIator) sadly comes off as less a reinvention of the original than a curiously literal retread of its plot beats, characters, and themes.

Scott, still an active and relevant filmmaker at the age of 86, isnt returning to this material to cash in on whatever audience was out there waiting for the follow-up to a 24-year-old swords-and-sandals epic. Having just looked at the early-19th-century face of tyranny in Napoleon, Scott, ever the history buff, now seems interested in turning his attention to power and corruption in Imperial-era Rome. At heart, Gladiator 2 is more a drama of palace intrigue than it is an action movie, even if Scott serves up a Roman-banquet-size surfeit of sword-clashing, shield-smashing, and helmet-bashing. Scott has always known how to direct a rousing grand-scale action sequence, but the advance of CGI has made those elaborate spectacles both less plausible and harder not to snicker ones way through: Did we really need the full-on naval battle inside the Colosseum to be complete with circling sharks?

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If you answered that question with a hearty Hell, yeah! then maybe Gladiator 2 is the holiday movie for you. But I make no guarantees that a taste for bread and circuses will get you through the dramatic longueurs of this two-and-a-half-hour saga, which would be intolerably dull but for the presence of one mannot our noble and self-sacrificing hero, but his canny archenemy. If Russell Crowes stolid star power was what made the first Gladiator memorable (even with stiff competition from a young Joaquin Phoenix as the mad emperor Commodus), what keeps Gladiator 2 afloat is the charismatic villainy of Denzel Washington as the deceptively easygoing courtier Macrinus. Paul Mescals Lucius, the nominal hero and long-exiled heir to the now-legendary Maximus, gets little more to do than to pine for his slaughtered wife and to grimly slog, increasingly outnumbered, through one fight sequence after another.

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As Gladiator 2 begins, Lucius is living humbly as a farmer in a North African colony, though his ancestry is easy to guess from clues in one early flashback. (The reveal of his true identity is also given away in the movies trailer.) When Lucius is kidnapped by the Roman army to be sold into slavery after the murder of his wifea setup thats dispiritingly identical to that of the first movieWashingtons Macrinus, a former enslaved person turned trader in human flesh, notices the young mans fire and combat prowess and takes it upon himself to train him for the gladiatorial ring.

Meanwhile, the grandeur that was Rome is being run into the ground by two bratty, pleasure-seeking brothers, co-emperors Geta (Stranger Things Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (The White Lotus Fred Hechinger). These debauched and vaguely inbred-seeming despots, one of whom goes everywhere with a jauntily dressed monkey on his shoulder, are a far cry from Lucius grandfather Marcus Aurelius, the wise and principled leader of just two generations before.

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On his arrival in Rome, the invincible and, not for nothing, hunky Lucius becomes a fan favorite at the Colosseum, where bloodthirsty crowds cheer as human bodies get torn apart by tigers or charged at by warriors mounted on rhinoceri (unfortunately, unlike in the 2000 film, there are no shots of lavish banquet tables groaning beneath platters of roast rhino head). When Lucius mother, the noblewoman Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, reprising her role from the 2000 movie), learns that her long-lost son is back in Rome and being regularly served up to wild animals, she visits him in his prison cell to attempt to heal the rift caused by their long-ago separation. Lucilla is married to the empires greatest military leader, General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), a good man whos tormented by the pointless bloodshed of the emperors wars of conquest; like Crowes character in the original, he is secretly amassing a rebel army to reclaim Rome for the people.

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Inevitably, Lucius and Marcus Acacius will be forced to face off in the gladiatorial arena, but when they do, its such a battle of Dudley Do-Rights that its hard to get up a rooting interest. Mescal and Pascal can both be wonderful actors in the right role, but they seem ill at ease as beefcake-daddy warriors in box-pleated miniskirts. Though they both look impressively ripped and can hack their way through a convincing fight scene, they never manageunlike Crowe in the first filmto make brooding while brawny a dramatically engaging pursuit. Luckily, Washington is there to enliven the proceedings with his sneaky wit and unexpected line readings. (Thats politicsssss, he tells another character at one point, somehow investing that long s with such a cynical excess of meaning that he had the whole audience in stitches with a simple drawn-out consonant.)

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When pedants came after Scott about the historical accuracy of some details in last years Napoleon, the venerable director of such genre-reinventing classics as Alien and Blade Runner hilariously advised his haters to get a life. And hes rightits the touches of humorous excess in his recent historical epics (cf. Ben Afflecks magnificently campy turn as a dissipated count in The Last Duel) that stand out as the films most memorable moments. The problem with Gladiator 2 isnt the xenomorph-like design of the giant CGI baboons who are sicced on poor Lucius in the Colosseum; its the audiences sense that weve seen much of this before, sometimes quite literally, as scenes from the original movie are revisited in recurring soft-focus flashbacks. Are we not entertained? Well, we were back in 2000.
Since the election, women in the United States have been coping with the second administration of Donald Trump by looking into a movement that originated in South Korea: something called 4B. As the Instagram user @4bworldwide put it a few weeks ago, Life begins for women when we start to center women. The accounts name references the 4B movement, which is so named for followers commitment to the 4 Noes: rejecting heterosexual marriage, sex, childbirth, and dating. (The Korean word for no begins with a b sound.) The movement started in 2019 in South Korea in response to an increasingly misogynistic culture that South Korean women feel constrains their rights and devalues their personhood.

Abroad, 4B is more of a lifestyle choice for a small group of women than an official, organized movement, but interest in it stateside has skyrocketed nonetheless. Since the U.S. presidential election, Google searches for 4B have risen dramatically, its subreddit has doubled its membership, and young women on social media are urging each other to recognize its principles as a matter of survival. If you want to live a long time, stop dating men, one TikTokker explained. Others are more blunt: Dont have sex with men, another woman wrote. If you get pregnant and theres a complication, doctors will simply watch you die. Any man who even wants sex with you wants to knowingly put you at risk of pregnancy and subsequent death.

Already, the rollback of protections for abortion care in the United States has directly caused the deaths of many women (undoubtedly more than whats been reported). Maternal mortality has increased from what were already high rates across the industrialized world. These things will likely only worsen under the incoming administration, which is peppered with proponents of Project 2025, a lengthy policy document and a blueprint for Trumps second term. In addition to gutting comprehensive sex education, deliberately spreading misinformation about reproductive health, and ending coverage for contraception, it calls for the Food and Drug Administration to ban approved medications used in most abortions and to revive the 1873 Comstock Act, which outlawed use of the U.S. mail to send any information or materials related to contraception or abortion. Beyond these dangerous policy priorities, Trumps win has validated the violent misogyny of the manosphere. White supremacist Nick Fuentes tweeted late Nov. 5 that Trumps reelection meant Your body, my choice. Forever.* Trump himself has already suggested he will nominate two men credibly accused of sexual assault to serve in his cabinet.

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All this factors into the rights increasingly extreme pronatalist push. Just last year, the Heritage Foundation (the publisher of Project 2025) retweeted a clip from a forum it hosted with Mary Harrington, a British writer and self-described reactionary feminist: Conservatives have to lead the way in restoring sex to its true purpose, & ending recreational sex & senseless use of birth control pills, it read. In her critique of recreational sex, Harrington imagines a society in which married men have unfettered sexual access to their wives and women have extremely limited means of controlling their fertility, forcing women instead to reconnect with the fullness of our embodied nature, as every instance of sexual intercourse brings with it the possibility of pregnancy.

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Marriage, compulsory heterosexuality, uncontrolled pregnancy: This does not sound pleasant to many women. But for some, especially those in right-leaning states with draconian abortion policies, its understandable that a sex strike like 4B feels like the best course of action, and maybe the only form of protection that they have. Perhaps its an extreme reaction, but were in an extreme moment.

Its also an imperfect ideal. Although 4B aims to protect women from an increasingly choiceless and dangerous culture, it prescribes a limited version of womanhood itselfone that presumes that women neither want nor need heterosexual sex and relationships, and that they have them only out of obligation. What if a woman does meet a man she feels called to date and have sex with? What if she does fall in love and wants to have a child?

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Similar complaints have been leveraged against subsects of the manosphere. 4Bs restrictive, gender-based antagonism resembles Men Going Their Own Waya misogynistic, mostly online sect that encourages men to cut ties with women as a way to resist a society that they consider irreparably corrupted by feminism. Writer Magdalene Taylor picked up on this, writing on X that 4B is essentially the inverse of the manosphere  eagerly divesting from all men. Taylor, who covers sex and culture in her newsletter Many Such Cases, sees a revenge fantasy at work in 4B, a heteropessimism so deep that young women categorize all men as potential abusers and insist on avoiding intimate relationships with them. Nowhere in either movement is there much room for nuance about gender, love, sex, or parenthooddepending on what side of the coin youre on, the opposite gender is evil and bad, no questions asked.

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Sex strikes like 4b have a long and complex history. They seem to have origins in the comic play Lysistrata, attributed to Aristophanes in the fifth century B.C.E. In it, an Athenian woman believes she can end the Peloponnesian War by persuading other Greek women to refuse to have sex with men. Lysistrata used the sex strike as what the political philosopher James C. Scott would have called a weapon of the weak: withholding something of value to win concessions from more powerful interests.

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But the 4B movements call for women to withdraw from all intimacy with men is less about punishing men and more about keeping women safe. It probably has less in common with Lysistrata than with the lesbian separatists of second-wave feminism. In 1970 a New Yorkbased group called Radicalesbians unveiled its manifesto, The Woman-Identified Woman. The manifestos opening lines describe the creation of a woman-focused world as a necessary response to the violence of living as a woman under patriarchy: What is a lesbian? A lesbian is the rage of all women condensed to the point of explosion. Frustrated by the male chauvinism they encountered in gay liberation groups and the heterosexual emphasis of the womens movement, radical feminists declared that they would live apart from men entirely. Relationships with women would be their highest priority.

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Lesbian separatists included many women who desired sex with women, but it also led some to subordinate their desires to their politics, much as 4B women do now. Throughout the 1970s, many of these feminists began to self-identify as political lesbians, women whose preference for sexual intimacy with women arose not from their erotic desires but instead from a concerted decision not to share their bodies with men. Some of these women described their coming out as a kind of conversion experience and lived the rest of their lives in the company of women. Some of these feminists, like Ti-Grace Atkinson, argued that sex was far from the most important item on the agenda for womens liberation and should not be overemphasized. They portrayed Americans fascination with sexual pleasure as a vestige of patriarchy, and they accused women who willingly had sex with men of literally sleeping with the enemy. In the name of womens liberation, they had seriously repressive standards of sexual behavior.

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This is a complicated issue: Although adopting a new sexuality based on politics might feel empowering and necessary to some, the whole idea of choosing lesbianism out of a frustration with men diminishes the importance of authentic desire for others. It offers a limited horizon for womens liberation, one in which any male-desiring woman must sacrifice her own romantic and erotic pleasure for the sake of political purity. And it seems to have led some political lesbians to avoid sex altogether, offering defenses of sensualityaka gentle touch and caressingas an alternative to sex. (Needless to say, many women found these options unsatisfying.) Though its intentions are earnest, and in some cases necessary, 4B similarly pressures women to conform.

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Plus, it might infuriate another group of feminists: the pro-sex feminists. These women have historically celebrated kink and erotic exploration, and have argued that sexual repression, not orgasm, is a product of a patriarchal society that hides or misrepresents information about female desire and pleasure. They tend to agree with philosopher Herbert Marcuse, who argued in Eros and Civilization that sexual repression fed authoritarianism (a contention that has remained persuasive, if unproven). Political liberation was possible, he wrote, only once individuals could pursue the pleasure principle, an enjoyment of sex and play. In the early 1970s, sex-positive feminists preached that womens liberation depended on their ability to achieve orgasm through masturbation, opened the first women-only sex shops, published newsletters that celebrated kink and pleasure, and insisted that erotic satisfaction was necessary for womens political liberation. These sex-positive feminists were not about to allow other women of any political persuasion to shame them for their desires. The problem was, neither they nor the anti-sex feminists described above dislodged a dominant culture that celebrated masculine violence and sustained economic inequality.

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Thus, were left with 4B, a well-intentioned system that attempts to grapple with encroaching authoritarianism by also championing sexual repression. This view of womens sexuality as a liability rather than a resource unintentionally and perhaps ironically echoes the purity culture of the Christian right that blames women for mens sexual violations. Their demands risk conceding the conservative movements call for premarital chastity; a disdain for recreational sex is exactly what the extreme right wants. Scholars and activists have begun to pick up on this: As Erin Tansimore wrote in a 2021 article about sex strikes for Juniata Colleges Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, Some have argued that womens political action based on withholding sex may actually perpetuate the very violence it seeks to oppose by emboldening patriarchal power and heteronormative oppression. This view is a far cry from the lighthearted plot of Lysistrata, which may also be part of the problem. Moreover, as Rolling Stone writer E.J. Dickson recently pointed out, young women are already less interested in marriage and children and are already having less sex than older generations. Do they really need an organized movement to institutionalize this for them?

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4B might be more convincing if it offered legitimate alternatives to celibacy and singledom. Yet, pleasure and sexual self-expression are noticeably absent from most statements of solidarity with its principles, and the relative silence about masturbation and queer desires reduces the movements critique to a complaint against heterosexuality. Some have also pointed out that 4B has homo- and transphobic elements, something it seems to share with lesbian separatists of the 1970s who also tended to think about gender as a binary and were often antagonistic toward trans people. This, too, seems unnecessarily limiting. If the 4B movement is going to advance feminism in any meaningful way, it will need to reckon with its current reliance on a very binary view of gender. Without a more nuanced, empathetic, and realistic discussion of the vast expanse of sexual, emotional, and relational experiences that exist outside procreative sex, it all starts to feel a little like control.

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As of now, 4B in the United States exists mostly as a meme; its not exactly an on-the-ground movement. Still, the women posting about it are confronting the misogyny they see all around them: online, in American politics, and in their personal lives. These women understand the rights obsession with sex, particularly within marriage. They know that the conservative movement in the U.S. is not anti-sex per seits anti-sex outside mens control in matrimony or otherwise. 4B is an understandable, if complicated response to that. It might not be the right response for everybody, but its still a choice. For far too many women, thats a luxury that feels as if its slowly slipping away.
In a reversal of a controversial long-held policy, President Joe Biden decided last week to let Ukraine fire U.S.-supplied missiles against targets fairly deep inside Russian territory. The shift, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had been requesting for a year, will likely improve the Ukrainian armys ability to stave off an impending Russian offensivebut how much, and to what strategic effect, cant be predicted.

The weapons, known as ATACMS (pronounced attack-ems, the acronym stands for Army Tactical Missile Systems), can deliver 375 pounds of explosives at targets 175 miles away from the launch site. They are ballistic missiles, meaning they soar very high into the atmosphere, then plunge back down to earth at an extremely high speed, making them harder for air-defense weapons to hit.

The key to Bidens decision is that Russia is currently amassing 50,000 troopsincluding 10,000 North Korean soldiersfor an attack to push Ukrainian troops out of Kursk, the region in western Russia that the Ukrainians have occupied since a daring incursion in August. The Russian troop deployments outside of Kursk are about 150 miles from the area in Ukraine where the ATACMS would be launched, well within the missiles range.

Last summer, in his first relaxation on the use of American weapons, Biden let Ukraine fire missiles launched by HIMARS (High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems) against sites in Russia that were supporting a massive offensive against the eastern Ukrainian town of Kharkiv. HIMARS have a range of about 50 mileslong enough to hit the Russian sites but not those where the counteroffensive against Kursk is currently being prepared.

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Ukraine has had a small number of ATACMS for some time, but Biden supplied them on the condition that they be used only against Russian forces inside Ukraine, including those in Crimea. And they have been used very effectively. Biden has imposed no restrictions on the use of Ukrainian-built weapons, which have been fired against targets inside Russia for some time. However, those weapons have mainly been drones, which are much less powerful than ATACMS payload.

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Biden has held a tight leash on the ATACMS until now, in part because Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he would regard any use of U.S.-supplied weapons against Russian territory as an attack by the United States, a major escalationcrossing a red line, as Putin has put itwhich he would match, either by firing tactical nuclear weapons or by attacking U.S. military targets in Europe.

Related From Slate There Is Only One Reason Trump Would Put These Absolute Crackpots in Charge of Military and Intelligence Agencies Read More

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Biden sent Kyiv massive quantities of military aid, but his administration said that he would avoid steps that might start World War III. At first, he refused to send Ukraine not just long-range missiles such as ATACMS and HIMARS, but also Abrams tanks, F-16 fighter jetsany weapon that could even potentially be sent across the border into Russian territory. From the start, supporters of Ukraineincluding some of Bidens own advisersthought Biden was too fearful of Putins red lines. The U.S., some charged, was self-deterring itself from properly filling Ukraines defense needs.

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In retrospect, Bidens caution seems justified, at least to some extent. Bob Woodward reported in his recent book, War, that, in late September 2022, seven months into the conflict, the U.S. received highly sensitive, credible intelligence, based on conversations inside the Kremlin, that Putin was seriously considering using a tactical nuclear weapon as a way to reverse Ukraines battlefield successes at the time.

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However, soon after, the war settled into a slogging stalemate, and this threat subsided. Since then, Biden has gradually relaxed the restrictions; recently, he even allowed American contractors to service and repair U.S. weapons on Ukrainian soil. (U.S. armed forces are still barred from taking part in the fight.)

So why did Biden change his policy now? There are a few reasons.

First, by drawing foreign military forces directly into the fight, Russias recruitment of 10,000 North Korean troops is escalating the war in much the same way that Biden was trying to avoid. So Biden feels counterescalationwhich, even so, is much less extreme than Russias moveis justified.

Second, Biden is well-aware that Donald Trump will be sworn in as president in two months. Trump has said he wants to end this war immediately. He told Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the most pro-Putin leader in Europe, that he would do this by ending all aid to Ukraine. Trumps vice president, Sen. J.D. Vance, has endorsed a peace deal that lets the two combatants own the territory their troops currently occupy. This would give Russia about 15 percent of Ukrainian territoryand, of course, would provide no guarantee that Russia, after a brief respite, wont resume the war and eventually take over all of Ukraine.

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For this reason, Putin is thrilled with Trumps electoral victory, but he wants to push Ukrainian troops out of Kursk and back across the border before any peace treaty is negotiated. Hence, his recruitment of 10,000 North Korean troops, which Kim Jong-un gladly supplied, in exchange for who-knows-what favor. This is the reason for the timing of Bidens new permissiveness on the use of ATACMSto let Ukraine fire back at the Russian and North Korean bases outside of Kursk, and thus to blunt and delay the attack.

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Bidens move will have a multiplier effect. Some time ago, Britain and France sent Ukraine their own long-range missilesthe British Storm Shadow and the French SCALPbut, not wanting to get out ahead of the American president, also barred their use against targets in Russia. Now that Biden has dropped the restriction, their leadersPrime Minister Keir Starmer and President Emmanuel Macronare likely to do so as well.

To the extent Biden still fears that this shift in policy might cross a serious red line in Putins mind, the timing of the shiftcoming just two months before Trumps return to the White Houseis likely to mitigate the risk. Putin learned well how to push Trumps buttons the first time around; Trump still admires Putin and very much wants to restore friendly relations between Washington and Moscow. Putin probably wouldnt want to risk this prospectwhich could include the lifting of U.S. sanctions, the softening (if not total end) of U.S. support for Ukraine, and many other benefitsby attacking American military targets, an action that even Trump might not tolerate.

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Few believe, at this point, that Ukraine can win this war in any meaningful sense of the term. Bidens objective now is to lower the chances that Russia can win it. Zelensky mounted his incursion into Russian territory in part to lift the nations morale but also to grab a bargaining chip so he can enter any negotiations from a position of strength, allowing him to say, Ukraine will withdraw from Kursk if Russia withdraws from eastern Donbas province.

This scenarios plausibility depends on a few things: whether Ukraine can hold on to Kursk while also stopping Russian troops from plowing any deeper into eastern Ukraine; the extent to which Trump cares at all about the fate of Ukraine (Zelensky is hoping the returning president can be jolted to care a little bit); and how badly Putin wants to end the war. About 200,000 of his soldiers have been killed and another 400,000 wounded; his military has been depleted to the point of relying on Iran for drones and on North Korea for artillery shells; his economy is in a tailspin; his country is isolated. Its unclear how much this weighs against his dream of restoring the old Russian empire, the first step of which is to regain control of all of Ukraine.

But if an even partly fair peace agreement is possible, Ukraine has to hold tight for the next few months. For that, ATACMS are vital.
How Many Cups Of Instant Coffee Can You Drink Before You Have To Start Worrying About Acrylamide?

How Many Cups Of Instant Coffee Can You Drink Before You Have To Start Worrying About Acrylamide?

If I say the word acrylamide theres a better than likely chance that 1.) you are a coffee drinker in California, or 2.) are the brain worm thats about to be the head of the Department of Health and Human Services. Basically the coffee bogeyman that new-age hucksters will point to as the reason that coffee is going to kill you, acrylamide is a naturally occurring chemical that is the result of applying high temperatures to foods. Like roasting coffee. While it can be carcinogenic in very high dosesand was the reason some California congresspeople wanted to require a cancer warning on all bags of coffeethe amount youd find in your average cup of coffee is something below nominal, roughly .45 micrograms (which is basically a rounding error in comparison to the 39-83 micrograms of the stuff found in fast food French fries.

Thus it is generally concluded that drinking coffee doesnt pose an acrylamide-based health risk. Unless you are drinking lots and lots of instant coffee. A study has found that instant coffee has twice the level of acrylamide as freshly ground coffee.

As reported by Daily Mail, the findings are based on a 2013 Polish study that examined acrylamide levels across 42 different coffee samples, including 11 instant coffees (and three coffee substitutes). That study found that the instant coffee samples had twice the acrylamide levels of the fresh coffee, 358 microg/kg to 179 microg/kg. In terms of single cups (160ml), fresh brewed coffee conformed with earlier findings of .45 micrograms per, meaning instant had .9 micrograms. Coffee substitutes, by the by, led the way with 3.21 micrograms per cup.

Using this figures, researchers at McGill University sought to determine at what levels does instant coffee consumption become a concern. Using conservative estimates of safe daily acrylamide consumption levels, about 25 micrograms a day, they state that a person would have to drink around 2.5 liters of instant coffee daily to reach that amount, or roughly 10 cups.

They also note that some agencies set safe acrylamide level at 195 micrograms daily, which brings your total cup count to over 70.

Which is all to say, even if you are drinking instant, the most acrylamide-packed type of coffee, youre fine. Unless you are drinking more than 10 cups a day on the conservative end. And if you are, I just want to know, like, why? Who hurt you? Is this a cry for help? I also agree that you shouldnt be drinking more than 10 cups of instant coffee a day, but more on principle than anything.

Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
Californias Coffee Manufactory, the coffee-forward brand born out of San Franciscos delicious Tartine bakeries, got a fresh new rebrand for 2024. Collaboration is an integral part of this bag design, says Director of Brand Partnerships Robert Metzger, we worked with our production team for feedback on the bag construction, as well as our distributor partners who suggested including more information to connect with consumers.

To learn more, we spoke with Metzger about the project.

As told by Director of Brand Partnerships Robert Metzger.

What was the core inspiration behind this design?

We realized our bags needed to be optimized for shelf presence and decided on a path which would celebrate the original designincluding the initial color palettecreated by Gin Lane, but with a bolder approach to being balanced and clean.

Who designed it?

We designed it in-house with the collaboration of our team.

From first vision to final product, how long did the design process take?

We began drafting this update in late 2023 and created the final artwork in early 2024. The new bags landed in June.

How does the package design reflect the companys overall branding and messaging?

On this iteration, we continue to pay homage to Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee and one of the origins we have immense involvement in. The CM Lion is inspired by the 1954 modernist Lion of Judah statue by Maurice Calka located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This mark is a symbol of producer independence and the origin of coffee. We further emphasize this by prominently placing the Lion on each panel of this design.

Tell us about some of your favorite design details.

The color associated SKUs are printed directly on each bag and give a preview of the color that is revealed on each side panel. These colors continue to connect consumers to what they are buying.

Are there key elements of the packaging meant to educate the consumer?

We continue to be very transparent about what goes into our blends. The blend compositions are detailed by percentage on the companion label for each bag, along with the roast profile.

Additionally, we now include information on our Cloud Roasting process which envelops our sustainably sourced beans in a controlled, gas-fired vortex, produces intensified aromatics and smoother flavors, and beats the traditional drum roasting method.

Is the design optimized for shelf presence? How does it aim to stand out?

The coffee set in many markets is a crowded house. We wanted our update to be crisp, clean, and bold for contrast, yet still maintaining an elegance that honors the original design.

Are any of the packaging materials recyclable or compostable?

The materials are recyclable PE60, including the valve and zipper closure.

Where is this available to purchase?

Through our website, plus our amazing wholesale partners: Whole Foods Markets (NorCal, SoCal, and Rocky Mountain regions), Gelsons Markets (SoCal), Bi-Rite Market (San Francisco), BeanBox.com, Crema.co

Learn more about Coffee Manufactory on their official website and follow them on Instagram @coffeemanufactory.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20241118/bidens-nod-for-ukraines-strikes-deep-into-russia-how-world-reacts-1120918039.html

Bidens Nod for Ukraines Strikes Deep Into Russia: How World Reacts

Bidens Nod for Ukraines Strikes Deep Into Russia: How World Reacts

Sputnik International

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that allowing Ukraine to strike deep into Russia with Western long-range weapons means that the outgoing US administration what to go ahead with provoking escalation of tensions in Ukraine.

2024-11-18T12:02+0000

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world

russia

us

ukraine

joe biden

dmitry peskov

army tactical missile system (atacms)

strikes

territory

decision

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Politicians, journalists and entrepreneurs have reacted to outgoing US President Joe Bidens reported nod for Ukraine to use American long-range missiles to strike Russia.Who Condemned the DecisionDonald Trump Jr., the eldest of US President-elect Donald Trump, accused "imbeciles" from the military industrial complex, who are seeking to unleash the Third World War before his father "has a chance to create peace and save lives."He was echoed by Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who tweeted that "On his way out of office, Joe Biden is dangerously trying to start WWIII by authorizing Ukraine the use of US long-range missiles into Russia."Venture capitalist David Sacks in turn pointed out that Trump wins a "clear mandate to end the war in Ukraine" as Biden is massively escalating the situation and trying to "hand" the President-elect "the worst situation possible."Spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the US Liu Pengyu underscored that Beijing condemns possible ATACMS missile strikes on Russian territory and actions that could lead to an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that Bidens purported move means that America has entered a phase of madness of North American imperialism.Who Applauded the EscalationEU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he supported the idea of allowing Kiev to strike deep into Russian territory with Western long-range weapons, and this issue will be discussed at the EU Foreign Ministers Council.German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made it clear that Berlin supports Bidens decision, insisting that the use of long-range weapons is within the right of self-defense.Alex Soros, son of billionaire George Soros did not trhink twice before "This is great news," in a reference to Biden's move. US Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss said that the outgoing POTUS' decision is a "long-awaited progress," while member of the European Parliament Thijs Reuten praised the move on his X page: "Finally! Now Ukraine needs more ATACMS to attack the positions from where it is being attacked."On Sunday, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed representatives of the US administration, that President Biden had for the first time authorized Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike Russian territory. According to the sources, the first strikes deep into Russian soil will most likely be carried out with ATACMS missiles.Commenting on the reported developments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps - in fact, they talked about this - in order to continue to add oil to the fire and continue to provoke further escalation of tension around this [Ukraine] conflict."

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kremlin spokesman dmitry peskov, western long-range weapons, us president-elect donald trump, ukraine's use of us long-range missiles into russia, the ukraine conflict
https://sputnikglobe.com/20241118/discussion-ahead-of-international-day-of-islamic-art-brings-together-prominent-cultural-figures-1120919526.html

Discussion Ahead of International Day of Islamic Art Brings Together Prominent Cultural Figures

Discussion Ahead of International Day of Islamic Art Brings Together Prominent Cultural Figures

Sputnik International

Sputnik hosted a roundtable discussion ahead of November 18  the International Day of Islamic Art. Held as a videoconference, it gathered speakers from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Doha, Beirut, Cairo, and Damascus.

2024-11-18T15:03+0000

2024-11-18T15:03+0000

2024-11-18T15:03+0000

state hermitage museum

institute of oriental studies

mikhail piotrovsky

russia

beyond politics

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Speakers included State Hermitage Museum Director Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of Qatars Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) Shaika Al-Nassr, Director General of the Museum of Oriental Art and Lead Research Fellow at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Sedov, Director and Founder of the Beirut Center of Photography, Lebanese-French photographer Patrick Baz, Head of the Culture Department at the Muslim Spiritual Authority of Russia and Imam at the Moscow Cathedral Mosque, ethnologist Renat Abyanov, and Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East News Agency Salah ad-din Maghawry.The conversation focused on the latest trends in Islamic art and its future, with speakers covering several topics, including the way museums operate in this domain, Russias contacts with Arab countries and their joint cultural projects, as well as prospects for having more joint exhibition projects with Middle Eastern countries.Mikhail Piotrovsky got the ball rolling by saying that Russia and Arab countries have generated considerable momentum in promoting their cooperation. The director of the State Hermitage Museum went on to elaborate on these projects and talked about working with Omans museum.He turned to other museums in the Gulf Region and the Hermitage Museums strong bonds with the museum in Qatar.We are preparing an exhibition on light and light fixtures in Islamic art and hope that the Qatar museum will share some of its exhibits with us. Turning to cooperation with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Mr. Piotrovsky, who also heads the St. Petersburg State Universitys Oriental Studies Department, said that there are ongoing consultations. Mr. Piotrovsky also shared his take on the challenges museums face in todays environment, arguing that museums have always sought to preserve and safeguard culture during conflicts and other challenging situations.Director of the Museum of Islamic Art Shaika Al-Nassr discussed the importance of enabling museums to retain their role as an integral part of Qatars social fabric. Turning to international cooperation, she thanked Mikhail Piotrovsky for the opportunity to work with the State Hermitage Museum. She said that she was delighted to work with the Hermitage Museum and hoped that this cooperation carries on and brings about more joint exhibitions. Shaika Al-Nassr noted that the core mission of her museum consisted of preserving the cultural heritage of the Islamic world and proactively engaging with the public through educational programs by facilitating cultural exchanges and dialogue.The floor then went to Director General of the Museum of Oriental Art Alexander Sedov, who said that his institution has presented Islamic art exhibitions every year. In 2025, it will hold two major exhibitions dealing with Islamic art and Russias role in it in various aspects. Director of the Beirut Center of Photography Patrick Baz talked about the main stages in the development of photography as an art in the Middle East and posited that it is about to enter a new stage in its development. Having realized the importance of photography for Islamic art, they have been able to take a major step forward, he argued, adding that it has enabled them to build bridges between new and traditional artforms, explore the past and touch upon social issues, while challenging stereotypes, including the cultural stereotypes regarding the Global East.Renat Abyanov focused on the Muslim Spiritual Authoritys cultural projects by placing a special emphasis on the Moscow International Quran Recitation Context. Held for 22 years in Moscow, it has established itself as a prominent and respected platform with leading Quran scholars and researchers converging for this event. The contest won the prestigious Dubai Award as the best Quran recitation contest in a non-Arab country, which was a major achievement, he said.Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East News Agency Salah ad-din Maghawry stressed the importance of preserving Islamic cultural heritage with dedicated educational programs. He talked about the importance of promoting educational programs on Islamic art, including trainings, workshops and other initiatives, by reaching out to the public and its various social groups. In particular, this included promoting international cooperation and working with foreign partners on these projects, he pointed out.Established by UNESCOs 49th session in 2019, the International Day of Islamic Art is designed to raise awareness about Islams past and present artforms, as well as the Islamic cultures contribution to our civilization through art.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20241118/eu-foreign-ministers-to-discuss-lifting-of-ban-on-strikes-deep-into-russia---borrell-1120916735.html

EU Foreign Ministers to Discuss Lifting of Ban on Strikes Deep Into Russia - Borrell

EU Foreign Ministers to Discuss Lifting of Ban on Strikes Deep Into Russia - Borrell

Sputnik International

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that he had initially supported the lifting of restrictions on strikes deep into Russia, and this issue will be discussed at the Foreign Ministers council.

2024-11-18T09:46+0000

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russia-nato showdown

ukrainian crisis

us arms for ukraine

josep borrell

joe biden

european union (eu)

army tactical missile system (atacms)

le figaro

ukraine

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On Sunday, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed representatives of the US administration, that US President Joe Biden had for the first time authorized Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike Russian territory. According to the sources, the first strikes deep into Russian territory will most likely be carried out with ATACMS missiles. Le Figaro newspaper claimed that France and the United Kingdom had also authorized Ukraine to use their long-range weapons to attack Russian territory.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20241118/madness-unlimited-us-deep-state-tries-to-instigate-wwiii---french-politician-1120916025.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20241118/hungarys-szijjarto-believes-us-brussels-could-turn-ukraine-conflict-into-global-one-1120919384.html

Hungary's Szijjarto Believes US, Brussels Could Turn Ukraine Conflict Into Global One

Hungary's Szijjarto Believes US, Brussels Could Turn Ukraine Conflict Into Global One

Sputnik International

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday that Brussels and Washington could spread the conflict in Ukraine to the rest of the world, amid reports that the West had authorized long-range weapons to strike Russian territory.

2024-11-18T12:58+0000

2024-11-18T12:58+0000

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world

russia-nato showdown

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peter szijjarto

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"The pro-war mainstream in Brussels and Washington has launched a last desperate attack on the new reality ... This is not only anti-democratic, but also extremely dangerous. It seems that the pro-war forces, in their final desperation, are not afraid of the worst, especially spreading the war in Ukraine to the whole world," Szijjarto said on social media. On Sunday, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed US administration officials, that US President Joe Biden had for the first time authorized Ukraine's use of US long-range missiles for strikes on Russian territory. The sources said the first strikes deep into Russian territory were likely to be carried out with ATACMS missiles. Le Figaro newspaper claimed that France and the UK had also authorized Ukraine to use their long-range weapons to attack Russian territory, but later removed this information from its article. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in September that NATO countries were not only discussing the possible use of Western long-range weapons by Kiev, but were essentially deciding whether to become directly involved in the Ukraine conflict. Direct involvement of Western countries in the conflict will change its nature, and Russia will be forced to make decisions based on the threats to it, Putin added.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20241118/kievs-troops-share-uav-skills-with-terrorists-in-coordination-with-us---russian-diplomat-1120915349.html

Ukrainian Troops Train Terrorists in UAV Tactics with US Collusion, Diplomat Affirms

Ukrainian Troops Train Terrorists in UAV Tactics with US Collusion, Diplomat Affirms

Sputnik International

Ukrainian militants in close coordination with US instructors are actively sharing the drone skills they have developed with terrorists, for example, from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (banned in Russia) Yulia Zhdanova, acting head of the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, said in an article for RIA Novosti.

2024-11-18T01:54+0000

2024-11-18T01:54+0000

2024-11-18T09:11+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

russia

yulia zhdanova

russian armed forces

hayat tahrir al-sham

kursk

syria

us terrorism

ukraine

terrorism

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Terrorist organizations like the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group can later use the skills against the Russian Armed Forces in Syria, Yulia Zhdanova, acting head of the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, noted. According to the diplomat, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have about 3,000 teams of UAV control experts, and more than 10,000 people undergo training every year, including in third countries. Nevertheless, according to her, the Ukrainian army says it needs even more such personnel. The fact that the Kiev regime is actively using UAVs for terrorist purposes is confirmed by the criminal practice of deliberately using drones against the civilian population of Russia, she said. "The most intense UAV attacks are recorded in the DPR and LPR, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kursk and Belgorod regions," she specified.*Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is a terrorist organization banned in Russia.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20241118/madness-unlimited-us-deep-state-tries-to-instigate-wwiii---french-politician-1120916025.html

Madness Unlimited: US Deep State Tries to Instigate WWIII - French Politician

Madness Unlimited: US Deep State Tries to Instigate WWIII - French Politician

Sputnik International

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier warned that direct participation of Western countries in the Ukraine conflict will change its essence, and that Russia will be forced to make decisions based on the threats it faces.

2024-11-18T05:44+0000

2024-11-18T05:44+0000

2024-11-18T05:44+0000

russia

us

ukraine

joe biden

vladimir putin

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Florian Philippot, the leader of the French Patriots party, has lashed out at outgoing US President Joe Biden over his reported approval of Ukraines long-range missile strikes deep inside Russia."We expected this kind of thing: their madness knows no bounds! Reasonable people will have to take over and get rid of NATO once and for all!" he pointed out.The New York Times earlier cited unnamed sources as saying that Biden authorized "the first use" of Ukraines US-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles deep into Russian territory. The NYT called the decision "a major change in US policy," which "divided" Biden advisers. Neither Biden nor the White House have yet commented on the matter.This was followed by France's Le Figaro newspaper claiming that France and the UK have also allegedly allowed the Kiev regime to strike at Russian territory using their long-range weapons.Russias Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova for her part, recalled that President Vladimir Putin had already shared his thoughts on possible Western approval for Ukraine to conduct strikes deep within Russian soil.In an interview with Russian television in September, Putin said that allowing the Zelensky regime to strike Russia with ATACMS missiles will actually mean NATO's direct participation in the Ukraine conflict.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20241117/biden-authorizes-ukrainian-long-range-strikes-into-russia-using-atacms-missiles---reports-1120914282.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20241118/strike-hits-dormitory-of-ukrainian-military-in-odessa---pro-russian-underground-network-1120919022.html

Strike Hits Dormitory of Ukrainian Military in Odessa - Pro-Russian Underground Network

Strike Hits Dormitory of Ukrainian Military in Odessa - Pro-Russian Underground Network

Sputnik International

A powerful strike has hit a hotel in Odessa (also known as Odesa) accommodating Ukrainian military personnel, coordinator of the local pro-Russian underground network Sergei Lebedev told Sputnik on Monday.

2024-11-18T12:25+0000

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russia's special operation in ukraine

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There was a powerful strike on a five-story hotel-dormitory of Ukrainian military personnel in Odessa  Locals report that the area has been cordoned off and ambulances have rushed there, Lebedev told the news agency. The Russian armed forces started striking Ukrainian infrastructure on October 10, 2022, two days after a bombing attack on the Crimean Bridge, which Russian authorities believe had been carried out by Ukrainian security services. The strikes target energy, defense, military administration and communications facilities across the country. Since then, Ukraine declares air alert in its regions every day, sometimes nationwide. At the same time, the Kremlin said that Russian troops did not strike apartment buildings and social infrastructure.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20241118/ukraine-loses-up-to-695-soldiers-in-battles-with-russian-southern-forces---russian-military-1120919923.html

Ukraine Loses Up to 695 Soldiers in Battles With Russian Southern Forces - Russian Military

Ukraine Loses Up to 695 Soldiers in Battles With Russian Southern Forces - Russian Military

Sputnik International

Russia's Yug group of forces eliminated up to 695 Ukrainian servicepeople over the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.

2024-11-18T13:34+0000

2024-11-18T13:34+0000

2024-11-18T13:34+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

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russian defense ministry

russian army

ukrainian crisis

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"The enemy's losses amounted to 695 servicepeople, two tanks, two armored personnel carriers, an armored combat vehicle, and 12 vehicles," the ministry said in a statement. Russias Zapad group of forces has eliminated up to 450 Ukrainian soldiers, the Tsentr group of forces has repelled 11 counterattacks and eliminated over 500 Ukrainian troops. The Russian forces have also taken control of the village of Novoalekseevka in the Donetsk People's Republic.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20241118/strike-hits-dormitory-of-ukrainian-military-in-odessa---pro-russian-underground-network-1120919022.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20241118/us-permission-to-strike-deep-into-russia-will-not-change-scholzs-stance-on-taurus--berlin-1120919138.html

US Permission to Strike Deep Into Russia Will Not Change Scholz's Stance on Taurus

US Permission to Strike Deep Into Russia Will Not Change Scholz's Stance on Taurus

Sputnik International

Berlin was informed in advance of the US decision to allow Kiev to strike long-range missiles at positions in Russia, but this will not change German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's decision not to deliver Taurus missiles, German government deputy spokesman Wolfgang Buchner said on Monday.

2024-11-18T12:33+0000

2024-11-18T12:33+0000

2024-11-18T16:23+0000

world

russia-nato showdown

ukrainian crisis

olaf scholz

joe biden

army tactical missile system (atacms)

russia

berlin

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"The German government was notified in advance. This will not have consequences for the German chancellor's decision [not to supply Kiev with Taurus missiles]," Buchner told reporters. On Sunday, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed representatives of the US administration, that US President Joe Biden had for the first time authorized Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike Russian territory. According to the sources, the first strikes deep into Russian territory will most likely be carried out with ATACMS missiles. Le Figaro newspaper claimed that France and the United Kingdom had also authorized Ukraine to use their long-range weapons to attack Russian territory.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20241118/western-intel-trained-ukrainian-nationalists-for-maidan-coup-since-2012---ex-sbu-worker-1120916260.html

Western Intel Groomed Ukrainian Extremists for Maidan Coup Since 2012, Ex-SBU Insider Reveals

Western Intel Groomed Ukrainian Extremists for Maidan Coup Since 2012, Ex-SBU Insider Reveals

Sputnik International

Agents of Western intelligence services had been training nationalist battalions for the Maidan protests since 2012 in Western Ukraine, former employee of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Alexander Mazur told Sputnik.

2024-11-18T07:18+0000

2024-11-18T07:18+0000

2024-11-18T08:47+0000

world

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This type of training was officially implemented during the administration of former Ukrainian President Yushchenko, he addedThese camps provided not only training but full material support, including weapons, Mazur added. Mazur retired as a senior inspector of the Security Service of Ukraine in October 2013.From 2017 to 2018, Mazur provided confidential assistance to the SBU. His tasks included preparing analytical reports on the social and political situation and the activities of state authorities and law enforcement agencies of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). In October 2024, the DPR Supreme Court convicted Mazur of espionage based on materials from Russia's Federal Security Service. In November 2013, a series of protests, dubbed Euromaidan or simply Maidan, broke out in Ukraine over the authorities' decision to halt policies aimed at integration with the European Union. The unrest quickly took on a sharply anti-presidential and anti-government character. More than 100 people died in clashes between Ukrainian security forces and demonstrators. The protests eventually turned into a coup, leading to the ouster of then-President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014. It also led to the estrangement of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region and the subsequent offensive against it by the new authorities in Kiev.*a group designated as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia

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Yonkers Trot and New York Sire Stakes champion three-year-old male trotter Sir Pinocchio has been voted the United States Trotting Association District 8 Horse of the Year.

Trained by Eddie Hart for owner and breeder Carolyn Atherton, the altered son of Mets Hall has 11 wins in 17 starts and has amassed $876,707 in seasonal earnings. Aside from the aforementioned first leg of Trottings Triple Crown, driver Jason Bartlett has guided Sir Pinocchio to victories in the Dexter Cup, Matron Stakes, a division of the Simpson (where he took his 1:51.4f lifetime mark), several legs and the final of the New York Sire Stakes, and an elimination of Canadian Trotting Classic.

When the Monticello-Goshen Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA) holds its 65th annual Awards Banquet on Sunday, Dec. 8, presenting sponsor the New York Sire Stakes, along with representatives of the United States Trotting Associations District 8 will honour a host of additional equine honourees, including Kentucky Futurity winner R Melina, NYSS champion Howlenthehills and multiple Grand Circuit stakes winner Super Chapter.

This year at a new, larger venue, the chapter has been given the opportunity to include the New York Sire Stakes and U.S. Trotting District 8 Awards, which will be in addition to the year-end awards for horses and horsepeople from the local tracks. These New York State awards include:

U.S. Trotting District 8 Human Awards: NYSS Driver of the Year, Jason Bartlett; NYSS Trainer of the Year, Travis Alexander; Breeder of the Year, Crawford Farms; Owner of the Year, Winbak Farm; County Fair Trainer, Ron Houghtaling; County Fair Driver, Claude Huckabone Jr.

U.S. Trotting District 8 Horse Awards: Horse of the Year, Sir Pinocchio; Fast Choice (2CP), The Last Martini (2FP), Super Chapter (2CT), Royal Mission (2FT), Holwenthehills (3CP), Tarrific (3FP), Sir Pinocchio (3CT), R Melina (3FT).

New York Sire Stakes 2024 Human Awards: Leading Driver, Jason Bartlett; Leading Trainer, Travis Alexander; Leading Breeder, Crawford Farms; Leading County Fair Driver, Claude Huckabone Jr.; Leading County Fair Trainer, Ron Houghtaling.

New York Sire Stakes 2024 Champions: Courts On Fire (2CP), The Last Martini (2FP), Variegated (2CT), Royal Mission (2FT); Howlenthehills (3CP), Tarrific (3FP), Sir Pinocchio (3CT), R Melina (3FT).

NY Excelsior Series 2024 Champions: Invictus (2CP), Fashion Terror (2FP), Habanero Blues (2CT), Inn Of The Stars (2FT), Escape To America (3CP), Tempville (3FP), It Wasnt Me (3CT), Nymeria (3FT).

NY County Fair 2024 Champions: Full Metal Jacket (2CP), DWs Lazy Gal (2FP), Devious Vacation (2CT), Georgia Time (2FT), Henceforth (3CP), Drama Club (3FP), Reel Busy (3CT), Ms Titan (3FT).

In addition, Eddie Hart will receive the USHWA Monticello-Goshen chapter's highest honour, the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Monticello-Goshen chapter will also honour Steve Jones (John Manzi Leadership Award); Kim Crawford (Excelsior Award); Heather Reese Marshall (John Gilmour Good Gal Award); Irv Atherton (Amy Bull Crist Distinguished Service Award); Jessica Otten (Phil Pines Award); Tyler TJ Miller (Rising Star); Carolyn Atherton (Cradle of the Trotter Breeders Award); Andrew Adamcyzk (Amateur Driver); and Dale Berenson (Mighty M Award of Appreciation).

Funds raised through the banquet and souvenir journal have allowed the Monticello-Goshen Chapter to give well over $135,000 USD to Goshen Historic Track and the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame over the last two decades. The Track and the Museum are two separate and distinct entities that share the same hallowed ground and a mutual purpose of preserving and promoting harness racing. The practice of raising money and donating funds to Historic Track and the Hall of Fame began in the mid-1970s with Monticello Raceway publicity icon John Manzi, and has continued ever since.

Tickets for the gala event at the new venue, The Country Club at Otterkill in Campbell Hall, New York, can be reserved by contacting Shawn Wiles at 845-798-4074 or by emailing [email protected].

To place a congratulatory ad in the souvenir journal, contact Chris Tully at 845-807-7538 or by emailing [email protected].

(USHWA)
Proofpoint announced that JP Yu has been appointed as Vice President of Southeast Asia and Korea (SAK). In his new role, JP will lead Proofpoints sales organisation in the SAK region, which includes Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, and continue to drive the companys growth and expansion across SAK, based out of Singapore.

JP Yu is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of experience in the cybersecurity and risk management space, where he has led high-performance teams to drive business success and worked with many multinational corporations and partners across the region. This appointment underscores Proofpoints ongoing commitment to investing in a high-growth region that is strategically important to the company.

As the cyber threat landscape continues to evolve, human error remains one of the top concerns for regional CISOs, with 67% citing this as their biggest vulnerability in Singapore, according to Proofpoints 2024 Voice of the CISO Report. To combat this, the majority (86%) of CISOs in Singapore are looking to deploy AI-powered capabilities to help protect against human error and advanced human-centred cyber threats. While regional security leaders are concerned about cyberattacks, they are demonstrating increasing confidence in their ability to defend against them: just 36% feel their organisation is unprepared to cope with a targeted cyber attack, compared to 55% in 2023 and 39% in 2022.

Im thrilled to join Proofpoint, a trusted cybersecurity leader, for its commitment to protecting people who are at the heart of every business, said JP Yu. In Southeast Asia and Korea region, where digital transformation is accelerating rapidly, organisations face increasingly sophisticated threats targeting their people and data. Im excited to bring Proofpoints award-winning, human-centric cybersecurity platform to this region, helping our customers navigate an evolving threat landscape and protect what matters most: their people, their businesses, and their customers.

George Lee, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific and Japan at Proofpoint commented, Proofpoint is deeply committed to advancing human-centric cybersecurity. Our expansion across APJ is strategic, and I am excited to welcome someone of JP Yus calibre, with deep expertise in cybersecurity and a strong understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities in Southeast Asia and Korea. I believe his leadership will be pivotal in driving growth and strengthening our mission to protect people and defend data in one of the worlds most dynamic markets.

Before joining Proofpoint, JP held positions at NetWitness, Dell-EMC, Hitachi, Fujitsu and Avanade, where he drove business development and sales in the SAK region.
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

German and Finland expressed deep concern over the discovery Monday of a severed undersea data cable between the countries through the Baltic Sea, saying it raised suspicions of sabotage and that an investigation was underway.

The foreign ministries of the two countries said in a joint statement that the damage comes at a time that "our European security is not only under threat from Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors."

The statement said the countries were investigating the incident, and that it was crucial that such "critical infrastructure" be safeguarded.

"The fact that such an incident immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage speaks volumes about the volatility of our times," the two countries said.

The Finnish state-controlled data services provider Cinia said the severed data cable was detected Monday in the C-Lion1 cable that runs nearly 1.200 kilometers (750 miles) from the Finnish capital, Helsinki, to the German port city of Rostock.

Cinia said Finland's international data and telecommunications connections are secured by running them through several redundant lines, and the effects of a single cable failure would depend on the security level of service providers' connections.

The C-Lion1, commissioned in 2016, is Finland's only data communications cable that runs from the Nordic country directly to central Europe, according to Finnish public broadcaster YLE.

Finnish media outlets noted that the cable's route to Germany runs in the vicinity of the two NordStream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany that aren't currently functioning.

 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Credit: Ohio University

Transportation of the future may be closer than we think; however, a collaborative project between DriveOhio, the Department of Transportation and Ohio University is finding just how close we may actually be to autonomous vehicles and the impacts they could have on improving well-being and access.

The collaborative research project wrapped up a significant four-year study on the viability of autonomous vehicles in rural settings, focusing specifically on the challenges and opportunities faced by communities in southeastern Ohio.

The Rural Automated Driving Systems (ADS) project, which commenced in 2020 and concluded in June 2024, aimed to collect data on the performance of self-driving cars in less populated areas, where infrastructure can differ greatly from urban environments.

Led by Dr. Jay Wilhem, director of the Avionics Engineering Center and associate professor in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, the project involved a team of undergraduate and graduate students from the university's mechanical engineering and computer science departments, as well as Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Dr. Issam Khoury and Dr. Julie Brown, an associate professor in the College of Health Sciences and Professions.

Together, they drove an autonomous vehicle along rural state roads, meticulously gathering data to evaluate how well the technology adapted to the unique challenges of the region, as well as performed community outreach to survey people's perceptions of the technology and the potential benefits.

"Autonomous vehicles have predominantly been tested in urban areas with consistent infrastructure. Our goal was to assess their effectiveness in rural contexts, where access to essential services like food and health care can be limited," explained Wilhelm. "This research highlights both the technological advancements needed and the potential benefits these vehicles could bring to underserved communities."

When choosing to focus the efforts in rural areas, especially southeastern Ohio, several considerations were taken into place as to why this would be beneficial for those who live in these types of areas. According to Wilhelm, southeastern Ohio suffers from being a food and health care desert where often times people have to travel to surrounding counties to get necessary needs taken care of or rely on family members or friends to drive them around.

"We found that a lot of people in this region don't have access to reliable transportation. It's normally family members coming to get them. In big cities, there are public transportation options and everything is more centrally located whereas in rural areas, these options aren't available," Khoury, who led the outreach efforts, added.

In addition to looking at the barriers that impact people in southeastern, Ohio, the team also emphasized how this technology could impact older generations. Khoury and Brown traveled across Ohio to rural regions with higher older populations to gain insights about their perceptions.

"Initially, many community members were skeptical about self-driving cars. However, after engaging in discussions about safety and the technology's capabilities, most shifted their views positively," Khoury noted.

According to Wilhem, the way the autonomous vehicles worked was similar to having cruise control on. The safety "driver" would hit a button and the autonomy would take over, however, if at any point the autonomous portion of the vehicle stopped working, the safety driver would easily be able to take over.

The team faced various challenges, including GPS signal loss in remote areas and the detection of traffic signals. Despite these obstacles, they successfully identified critical areas for improvement, such as enhancing the vehicle's ability to recognize stoplights and navigate complex environments like uptown Athens, where pedestrian traffic is high.

The findings from this comprehensive study suggest that while the technology is advancing, significant work is still needed in both regulatory frameworks and technological infrastructure to support autonomous vehicles in rural areas.

The research revealed a strong demand for improved cellular and GPS coverage, particularly in regions where services are spotty, which could hinder the effectiveness of autonomous driving systems.

Undergraduate and graduate students also had the opportunity to gain experience working on the project with many of them being the ones to operate the computer in the back of the vehicle, collecting data.

"Working with large amounts of data in Python and other data visualization platforms gave me a lot of valuable experience that will definitely be applicable to work later on in my career," Tony Tonkovich, a recent OHIO graduate who is now pursuing a Masters of Engineering, said.

"The opportunity to work on a project with an autonomous vehicle is also a large step towards some of my career goals. Having this early experience working with autonomous systems is extremely valuable and will open future opportunities for very cool careers."

For the project, most of Tonkovich's work consisted of analyzing the various data (such as GPS and LiDAR) that was collected while their group was driving the autonomous vehicle around three planned routes in the greater Athens area. One of the specific things he focused on was studying the times that a driver had to takeover from autonomy to manually operate the vehicle.

"I was looking for trends and challenges that were specific to rural Appalachia in order to promote additional research to hopefully encourage future development of autonomous driving for rural communities," Tonkovich explained.

Tonkovich adds that through working on this project, he went from knowing practically nothing about autonomous vehicles to the different systems that go into them and encourages students interested in researching these types of systems to reach out to Wilhelm for other opportunities.

As the demand for innovative transportation solutions grows, the findings from this study may play a pivotal role in shaping the future of mobility in rural Ohio and beyond.

"Some areas, especially in urban settings, are already doing this, however, the overall technology needs improvement before there can be demand and this can become a reality for those living in rural areas.

"I think five to 10 years down the line we could see more autonomous vehicles starting out with corporate companies like Uber that could offer experiences for their customers before the demand expands to people being able to purchase one themselves," Wilhelm said. "But once we get there, the opportunities for a more accessible mode of transportation could be endless."
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Harford County is moving to preserve 1,110 acres of agricultural land to meet its goal of preserving 75,000 acres by 2040 as solar farms pose mounting pressure for land use across the state.

The 1,110 acres for preservation are outlined in 19 resolutions introduced to the Harford County Council in October. If all are passed, Harford County could pay as much as $7,128,116 to property owners to preserve land in Havre de Grace, Bel Air, Jarrettsville, Aberdeen, White Hall, Darlington, Whiteford and Street.

Per the county charter, qualifying landowners can apply to have their land preserved through the county's Agricultural Preservation Program that has preserved more than 64,000 acres in Harford thus far. The program eliminates all development rights for each property and secures its use for agricultural purposes only.

During a public hearing for the resolutions Tuesday, the county's director of planning and zoning, Shane Grimm, said land preservation is an effective way to protect greenspace from not only housing and development, but the rapidly growing popularity of solar farms.

"One of the most important things we are dealing with now is the onslaught of solar farms that are trying to come in all across the stateparticularly in Harford County," Grimm said. "By preserving these properties, it makes it exponentially harder for them to get those properties for solar development."

In recent years, solar farmsareas of agricultural land occupied by solar panelshave become a popular alternative for landowners to earn a higher income off their land through means outside of farming.

Solar farms called Community Solar Energy Generating Systems, introduced by the General Assembly in Maryland through a pilot program in 2015, are growing in popularity.

The law states that property ownersnot electric companiescan build community solar energy generating systems on their property as long as the property is simultaneously being used for solar power and a farming activity recognized by the Department of Agriculture as agricultural.

Each system is connected to the electrical distribution grid serving the state. Electric companies then use the energy generated by the systems to offset purchases from wholesale electricity suppliersproviding income to the project property owners and allowing energy providers to reduce consumer costs.

Per state legislation, community solar systems cannot exceed five megawatts and at least 40% of the energy output must serve low- to moderate-income subscribers.

House Bill 908, passed last year, made the state's pilot solar program permanent and removed a statewide megawatt cap of 418 megawatts to allow for unlimited statewide community solar energy generationleading to an increase statewide in Community Solar Energy Generating Systems.

Maryland is one of 19 states and Washington, D.C., to allow community solar projects. Currently, New York leads the country in community solar with more than 1,940 megawatts in operation.

Four Community Solar Energy Generating Systems are moving through Harford County's development process with two of the four having already received site plan approval.

A growing concern among land use officials in Harford County is that the General Assembly will strip counties of their oversight of community solar systems as local governments cannot regulate solar farms larger than the community solar projects outlined in state legislation.

Solar projects in the state have been controversial, with projects in Carroll County receiving pushback from local leaders and residents. In July 2023, Carroll County commissioners adopted an ordinance that prohibits solar-generating facilities on farmland. The ordinance allows for the construction of solar facilities on land zoned for commercial and industrial use.

Harford Councilman and Maryland Association of Counties representative Aaron Penman said Tuesday during the public hearing that one of the four main priorities of MACo is getting a handle on solar farms.

He said he spoke with a farmer who said he receives roughly $200 per acre of land that he rents for farming per year. Penman called solar developers "aggressive" as he said they are offering farmers as much as $7,000 per acre, per year with a 2.5% escalatormaking solar farms a financially viable option for landowners.

"That, for anyone, is very hard to turn down, so we have to have some sort of plan in place to stop these from happening," Penman said.

To further encourage Harford land owners to preserve their land, Harford County created a bonus system for property owners that grants an additional $1,000 to $3,000 per acre to property owners preserving land in sought-after development areas.

However, as the county moves to increase its incentives for property owners to combat solar farms, county officials are also evaluating potential incentives for solar developers to build on land that is already developed rather than agricultural land.

"What we would like to do is look at incentivizing the use of solar in redevelopment areas, for example, large buildings which have rooftops that aren't being used for anything and parking lots," Grimm said.

Kristin Kirkwood, the executive director of the Harford Land Trustthe county's only non-government organization dedicated to land conservationsaid Tuesday that the land trust supports the resolutions as land preservation is something all county residents agree on.

"Land preservation is the only permanent way to restrict what would otherwise be never-ending sprawl," Kirkwood said. "The natural beauty of Harford County, the working lands that sustain us, and our beloved public spaces and rural landscapes that anchor our traditions are treasures that transcend politics and resonate with anyone who is lucky enough to call Harford County their home."

The Harford County Council will vote on the 19 agricultural preservation resolutions during a future meeting that has not been determined at this time.

2024 The Baltimore Sun. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Evgenii Ptitsyn, 42, a Russian national, has been extradited to the US from South Korea to face ransomware charges.

A Russian national has been extradited to the United States from South Korea to face charges he distributed ransomware that targeted schools, hospitals and other institutions, the Justice Department said Monday.

Evgenii Ptitsyn, 42, allegedly extorted $16 million in payments using a ransomware program known as Phobos, the department said.

"Ptitsyn and his co-conspirators ran the Phobos ransomware group, whose members committed ransomware attacks against more than 1,000 public and private victims throughout the United States and the rest of the world," Nicole Argentieri, a senior Justice Department official, said in a statement.

"Ptitsyn and his co-conspirators hacked not only large corporations but also schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and a federally recognized tribe," Argentieri said.

The indictment alleges that Ptitsyn began offering access to Phobos in November 2020 to "affiliates" which allowed them to encrypt the data of victims and extort a ransom payment in exchange for the decryption keys.

Ptitsyn is charged with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, causing intentional damage to protected computers and extortion in relation to hacking.

If convicted, he could face decades in prison.

 2024 AFP
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Credit: University of Strathclyde, Glasgow

A pioneering project is helping lifeboats safely navigate the shifting waters of the Solway Firth on rescue missions by harnessing data from satellites.

The estuary is regarded as one of the U.K.'s most treacherous stretches of coastline as it is exposed to some of the fastest tidal movements and ranges in Europe. Large areas of mudflats surround the estuaries of the River Nith and River Annan, with many areas vulnerable to quicksand.

Lifeboats must frequently navigate the areas at high speed, but even state-of-the-art marine navigation maps leave areas blank and uncharted, increasing the risk of the rescue services themselves becoming casualties.

Satellite imagery

The University of Strathclyde was approached by Nith Inshore Rescueone of the U.K.'s busiest independent lifeboat stationswith an idea to use satellite imagery to identify navigational channels through uncharted waters. The volunteer lifeboat is based in Glencaple, South-West Scotland and serves the Upper Solway and Dumfries area.

Under the "Safe Passage" project, the research team are now using the estuary as a trial site to support safe navigation of the flats.

Researchers from the University's Applied Space Technology Laboratory are investigating the use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from satellites to provide regular, accurate mapping of moving channels in the coastal region.

Radar signals

Through the use of polarized radar signals, the data can differentiate between sand and water, and even works under nocturnal or cloudy conditions, allowing the lifeboat to find a consistent minimum depth along the route.

The crew had to previously manually conduct depth soundings, but during bad weather and strong tidal periods these passageways shift rapidly, rendering the measured route futile. Inaccurate information can mean the lifeboat has to switch course mid-rescue, slowing down response and even potentially grounding it.

Principal investigator Professor Malcolm Macdonald, chair of applied space technology at Strathclyde, said, "The work investigates the alternatives to provide regular mapping of the intertidal zone, enabling these teams to reach casualties without becoming casualties themselves. They need to get to the scene as safely and quickly as possible.

"The crews were manually depth gauging the flats every fortnight but they can change on an almost daily basis. A key challenge is that we're trying to provide an operational service to a volunteer crew, so we can't just buy expensive, state-of-the art data.

"Optical satellite datasimilar to how your phone worksworks well in other parts of the world, but on the west coast of Scotland, you get predominantly pictures of clouds. Radar data penetrates the cloud but can be difficult to interpret, and so we started looking at how we could use that data."

Coastal flooding

The volunteers now receive updated charts of satellite imagery generated waypoints, with the routes used in real life rescues, including a successful call out on the Cumbrian coast for two casualties trapped in a car due to coastal flooding.

The route charts are also backed up by the crew's own skills and local knowledge, but climate change is making this increasingly difficult.

The team is now working with ESA to improve the charting and believe the system could make the 13 million hectares of tidal flats across the world more accessible. It's also hoped to eventually commercialize the data feed service, with a slice of the profits funding the independent rescue service.

Safe navigation

Crew Member Gwilym Gibbons, who is also founder of project partner Creative Help, said, "Working with the team is the key enabler of this innovative way to aid safe marine navigation for search and rescue. To see and test the results of the work in a real environment as an additional aid has already proved the huge potential this could have across the world.

"Our ambition is for Safe Passage to become a commercial navigation data feed service for a range of marine navigation uses, with a proportion of revenues generated going to support the vital work of our wholly volunteer lifeboat services.

"It's literally saving lives at sea from space."
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

When a person applies to work for Uber or Lyft they must fill out several online forms detailing important information, including their date of birth and their driver's license.

Applicants must also provide more sensitive information such as their Social Security number.

New Northeastern research, published in Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies, has revealed that until just recently those ride-hailing companies had been unintentionally sending that data to TikTok and Metatwo of the world's largest social media companies.

"Lyft shared unsalted hashes of workers SSN with Facebook (Meta) and TikTok, while Uber shared unsalted hashes of SSN with Facebook," the researchers wrote in the paper.

Hashes are used in cybersecurity to make information harder to be collected by hackers by transforming data in to a string of characters. Hashes that are unsalted are considered to be insecure because they are not randomized the way a salted hash would be.

David Choffnes, a Northeastern University professor of computer sciences and cybersecurity expert, is one of several researchers who uncovered security issues with tracking pixels, which are analytics tools that follow users around the web.

Tracking pixels are small lines of code embedded in images on a site's interface. They allow companies to see users' behavior and collect valuable information for advertising efforts.

"Almost every website you visit these days has trackers on it," Choffnes says. "If you ever wondered if you've been on Facebook or Instagram and you see ads that were very relevant to a website you were just looking at, it's because Meta, the parent company, has trackers on a bunch of websites. They know who you are and what websites you are visiting. The same is true for TikTok. The same is true for Google, and a number of other companies in that marketplace."

Companies like Uber and Lyft have been incentivized to add these trackers to their website because in exchange Meta, TikTok and others provide these companies with free tools that allow them to analyze their own web traffic, Choffnes explains.

What Choffnes and his colleagues uncovered was that these pixels were inadvertently collecting data from private application web forms and then sending that data directly to Meta and TikTok.

"The issue here is that companies are deploying tracking in many cases to help with targeted ads, understanding the effectiveness of ads, and ultimately monetization. Because of the way these things are configured, often these companies are slurping up a lot of data about individuals, including stuff we put into web forms where there is no warning that says, 'Hey, your data is also going to be sent to Facebook when you click submit,'" says the team.

Choffnes and his colleagues were able to uncover these vulnerabilities by going through the same process an interested worker would when signing up to be a driver of the services. Notably, they only discovered the issue was present when they applied using Uber or Lyft's desktop website.

They were inspired to conduct the experiments because they were interested to see how vulnerable gig workers are when sharing their personal data to gain employment, he says.

"The larger context was looking at gig worker privacy and how that is a group of individuals that often don't have a choice in terms of how much of this online tracking they are exposed to, so we were trying to quantify just how much of their personal data is exposed, which parties are getting it, and what kind of data is exposed," he adds.

For Uber and Lfyt's part, Choffnes says that when the researchers shared their findings with the companies, they quickly worked to fix the vulnerabilities.

"The word that was used in our correspondence was 'unintentional,'" says Choffnes. "They did not intend to do this. Once they knew what the issue was, yes, it was just a configuration option. These pixels do not have to collect data from web forms," he says.

"You can tell them not to, but it's kind of telling that they seem to be on by default, whether it was just an oversight by someone who initially configured it for their website or whether these website owners when they sign up for these pixels are guided toward turning them on."

Choffnes and his colleagues propose that companies should not treat worker data in the same way they handle the data of general consumers.

To apply for a job, you have to share such data as your tax ID, Social Security number, mailing address and phone number, he highlights.

"It's much different when you're just a consumer of that service," he says. "If you want somebody to deliver your food, you need a credit card, an email address, and that's it."

However, the way things are presently configured at most websites, these companies are treating worker data and consumer data in roughly the same way.

These companies must do a much better job of implementing purpose limitation statements, he highlights, which are essentially written out statements that explicitly state how the company plans to use the data of its employees, and keep their word.

So what can workers do to protect themselves against their personal data being shared without their consent?

In Europe, under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), companies are required to set purpose limitations. However, no such rules exist in the United States, and we do not have any type of federal data privacy laws that would protect these workers, Choffnes highlights.

Choffnes stresses that more needs to be done to make these companies more accountable and transparent with their actions.

"We need more transparency and advocacy for privacy in general," he says. "If we don't want companies like Meta and TikTok to be gathering our personal data from web forms, we should make it illegal. It should not be allowed without a prominent disclosure that before you hit send says, 'Wait, I'm about to send that data to a bunch of other people too. Are you OK with that?' Even then that sounds pretty terrible, and maybe it shouldn't happen at all."

More information: Amogh Pradeep et al, Gig Work at What Cost? Exploring Privacy Risks of Gig Work Platform Participation in the U.S., Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies (2024). DOI: 10.56553/popets-2025-0027

This story is republished courtesy of Northeastern Global News news.northeastern.edu.